Brandy, you were a fine girl...so we buried you in a parking lot

You know you are special when you get tributes like this on Youtube...



Maybe that is not a fitting tribute to a 'great' rock band like Looking Glass who produced such hits as 'Brandy' and... So maybe in comparison to other musicians from New Jersey like Bon Jovi and Springstein, Looking Glass comes up a little short. However, they still had more hit singles than I ever will. Though hard to believe, there is one thing interesting about Looking Glass. 'Brandy,' the song butchered by the blonde in the video above was based on the existence of a grave in a parking lot of the AMC Loews Theater found in New Brunswick, NJ.

The grave belongs to Mary Ellis.

She was a spinster and is currently dead and that essentially is what I uncovered about her life via my internet research. In depth research like that is what makes picsofmeinfrontofstuff.blogspot.com standout from the other blogs currently populating the internet. Mary Ellis may or may not have been waiting for a sea captain return to her for most of her life. According to Looking Glass, Brandy would have made a fine wife so I assume Mary Ellis would have as well. The most interesting fact I found about the poor, unbetrothed woman was the location of her grave, 7 feet above the parking lot of the New Brunswick Loew's Theater where I have seen multiple movies starring Daniel Craig including The Golden Compass and Quantum of Solace. I am pretty sure these facts are not related unless the missing sea captain was named Daniel or Craig or maybe had a first name as a last name.

Considering my propensity for travelling to see random crap, especially graves, how could anyone expect a pic of me in front of this stuff not appear on picsofmeinfrontofstuff.blogspot.com?

Well, here it is...

Picture with a pseudo-quasi-celebrity...

Celebrity is a bit of a stretch for this photo-op...


Holli the K-Rock Girl pictured below between Gabe, me, and a looming Andreas, is featured on 92.3 K-Rock's website. There are pictures featuring her in a bathing suit and you can learn that her favorite drink is coffee and her she has leftover Chinese in her refrigerator.


But then again, if you look hard enough you can find photos of me in a bathing suit on the internet and I can tell you right now that my favorite drink is beer.


What I really mean to say is, it was a busy weekend and I did not find an interesting place nearby to be featured in picsofmeinfrontofstuff.blogspot.com so this will have to do. This photo comes from the Waiting Room in Rahway, NJ which can be a very interesting place after a Grilled Chicken Deluxe (think delicious chicken sandwich) and some Sierra Nevada IPA.


I am sure Holli is much more interesting than any old historic landmark anyway.

What's the deal with...

...picsofmefrontinstuff.blogspot.com being on the Upper West Side?

As my stepdad likes to say 'What's up wit dat?'

I never once remember hearing Jerry Seinfeld say that line, but as its my stepdad's impression of him, I'll allow it. Fortunately, Seinfeld fits neatly into this random rant as he lived and set his television show on the Upper West Side and the restaurant Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer frequented is there. I was there too recently, to visit Grant's Tomb which may or may not be more well knwon than Seinfeld. Regardless of the TV shows relative popularity to a memorial to our 18th President, I found myself near the exterior of the restaurant seen in almost every episode of Seinfeld. Called Monk's on the show but Tom's in real life, the eatery can be found near the corner of 112th and Broadway.

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Not long ago, you could find me in the same place.

What's up with that?!

Who's buried in Grant's Tomb?

The answer is no one. No one is buried in Grant's Tomb. US Grant and his wife, Julia Dent Grant, are interred in matching sarcophagi in the center of the memorial, but those sarcophagi are on display for anyone near the intersection of 122nd St and Riverside Dr to pop in and see. Here's the view you get of the happy couple not too far from the entrance of their memorial.

Seeing the grand spectcle that is Grant's tomb struck me as odd considering how poor Grant's performance as president was considered by many historians. Despite his poor ranking as a president, due mostly to his willingness to overlook corruption in his administration, Grant was an America hero for his performance during the Civil War. According to Wikipedia, picsofmeinfrontofstuff.blogspot.com's only source for blog-related historical 'facts', an apocryphal story about Grant's drinking has the general's critics going to President Lincoln, charging the military man with being a drunk. Lincoln is supposed to have replied, "I wish some of you would tell me the brand of whiskey that Grant drinks. I would like to send a barrel of it to my other generals." As a Civil War General, Grant was a badass and he likely deserved Grant also appears on the $50 bill, so maybe those historians were just full of crap.



Regardless of the crap levels filling historians, here is the true star of picsofmeinfrontofstuff.blogspot.com...

...the stuff in front of which my adoring readers get to see me stand.

I may never get my own impressive memorial or face on a denomination of US Currency, but when will US Grant get his own blog?

One, whiz, with!

That's how you order a cheesesteak. That is the only appropriate way to do it. Suck it up, eat the Cheese Whiz and the onions, and enjoy the greasy deliciousness of it. You are only alive once.



I went to Pat's and Geno's in Philly the night before my birthday. This was the night before I visited the Linc but after I watched the miserable Eagles-Ravens' game. I worked some of this grease off with a quick jaunt up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum. In case you are confused, I decided to forego chronological order and just post events from life willy-nilly. In a few weeks, I will be describing my high school graduation followed by my birth. Stay tuned!



My utter disregard for chronological order aside, below are some pics of me in front of the Philly Cheesesteak landmarks. I am not sure if I look more stupid or goofy in these pictures. Maybe it's mysterious, if you squint enough.

Who is this mystery man?

It's me, I just told you earlier! You should read the whole blog, not just look at the awesome pictures.

In case you're concerned I like Geno's better.

I am positive this will not be the last time I mention Philadelphia, this will likely be the last mention of my most recent trip. Fortunately, I am allowed to visit again as no digital cameras or landmarks were harmed in the creation of this blog. In contrast, cow's were slaughtered and then deliciously fried for us to eat.

Geocaching in Hamburg

I enjoy finding the occasional geocache.

Here's me finding a multi-cache near the Kernsville Damn just outside of Hamburg, PA. A multi-cache, as defined by geocaching.com, involves muliple caches at two or more locations, the final location being a physical container. There are many variations, but most multi-caches have a hint to find the second cache, and the second cache has hints to the third, and so on. An offset cache (where you go to a location and get hints to the actual cache) is considered a multi-cache. On this particular Fall afternoon, I ended up searching for the Blue Mountain Wildlife Multicache.

Considering it was a lovely afternoon for late November, I was not alone as I searched for my 'prey'. There were a few locals, dare I say 'Hamburgers', also outside enjoying the pleasant weather. They passed me multiple times as I searched for and eventually found the first part of the multi-cache.



Though probably confused by my actions, the Hamburgers offered greetings and some advice - Don't run by dogs, because they might bite you. In return, I considered some counter advice - Keep control of your dog because if it bites me I will kick you and your dog in the nuts.


With or without the helpful talk with my fellow Hamburgers, I was able to eventually to find the second half of the cache. After much searching as well as swearing and crashing through the underbrush I found the thermos that was hidden inside a tree not too far off the trail.


Here's me in front of the tree to prove it...



Thankfully, no one was bitten by dog nor was anyone kicked in the nuts during the location of this cache.

Remember the Maine!

Before there was 9/11...

Before there was Pearl Harbor...

Before there was the Zimmerman Telegram...

Way before WMDs but after the Alamo, there was the U.S.S. Maine!

According to Wikipedia, the USS Maine was a pre-dreadnaught battleship that operated along the East Coast of the U.S. and the Caribbean. The day after Valentine's Day in 1898, the Maine was sank due to an unexplained explosion and took 266 of America's sailors with her to the bottom of Havana Bay. Though the explosion remains unexplained after 110 years, it resulted in the entry of U.S. into war with Spain aka the Spanish-American War. The unfortunate incident and ensuing conflict resulted in the clever catchphrase 'Remember the Maine!. To Hell with Spain!'

There are various memoirals dedicated to the Maine and the unfortunate sailors who died during its sinking. One such memorial is located in Reading, PA; mere minutes (like 30) from my childhood home in Hamburg, PA.

How could I resist a chance to park my ass in front of history and snap some digital photos with the self timer on my camera? It is pretty clear from the url, it is damn near impossible for me not to narcisstically block the view of historical objects whilst snapping photos.

And here is one more opportunity...

REMEMBER THE MAINE, TO HELL WITH SPAIN!!

Lincoln Financial Field

If you have been following along with the past few posts and not worried about the big issues like the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and Plaxico Burress shooting himself in the leg, you might remember that I recently spent a weekend in Philadelphia. You may have also heard that the Eagles lost the Sunday while I was there. You may also have heard that it was my birthday. You would not have heard that I got to tour Lincoln Financial Field, home of the last place Philadelphia Eagles. Or maybe you did hear and forgot. Or maybe I told you but you wanted photographic evidence as proof and looked at my blog. Regardless of whether you knew or not, I am telling you right now that I was there on my 27th birthday!


Here's the view from the visiting team's tunnel when noone is in the Linc to boo or throw batteries at them.





Here are Melissa and I on the grass we were not allowed to walk on.


Apparently, us walking on the grass can damage the turf the way 300 lb behemoths running on it cannot.


Finally, here's me delivering a press conference in the Eagle's media room.


So maybe the only members of the 'media' there was Melissa taking my picture, since I define member of the 'media' as someone who writes or takes pictures that someone else may read and/or look at. (She actually has most, if not all of the photocredits for the past few posts.) During my press conference, I tried to explain why I continue watching the Philadelphia Eagles even though all they ever do is disappoint me. My explanation sounded as incoherent as Sarah Palin's interview with Katie Couric. Sadly, I am a Democrat and Pro-Choice, so social conservatives will not be touting me as a possible presidential candidate...Maverick!

But in case you had not heard, I visited the Linc and saw its insides.

If you don't know, now you know...

Ben Franklin's Grave Instead of a Cave

Even with my favorite football team performing dismally the afternoon before, I found myself in Philadelphia yet another morning awaiting a Melissa-inspired birthday. It was my 27th birthday, why wouldn't I expect a surprise? Never one to shy away from odd 'trips' initially viewed on the internet I found myself recalling a post on O.T.I.S. that described a unique monument in Fairmount Pak, Cave of Kelpius. Melissa never one to shy away from going on these random outtings with me drove. Unfortunately, the directions I obtained from Google Maps and/or O.T.I.S. proved if not inaccurate at least difficult to follow.

We never made it to the Cave of Kelpius. :-(

Never one to shy away from finding an alternate destination, Melissa drove me from Fairmount Park to 5th and Arch Street to complete another of my odd blog documented compulsions - visiting the graves of famous people as seen here and here. Rather than visit a founding father of football, I visited the grave of a real Founding Father - Ben Franklin.

Here's me pointing out a young B. Franklin calling his future corpse Food for Worms.

Everyone knows, Ben Franklin said 'A Penny is Saved is a Penny Earned'. However, many people seem to think throwing a penny onto Ben's grave is good luck, action done in disregard to Ben's imperative.

Here's me ignoring Ben's advice (as well as the Law of Gravity by hovering horizontally) not once, not twice, but three times. Hopefully, that gets me 3x as much luck which I can then distribute to my friends and family.

Running up the steps at the Art Museum

You may have thought the day before my birthday in Philadelphia would be filled with me yelling at the Philadelphia Eagles as they faced some opponent in Lincoln Finnancial Field. That is a fair guess, except the Eagles faced the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore rather than Philadelphia. Since I was at McFadden’s, the sports bar attached to Citizens Bank Park, I toned down the yelling. I tried to tone down the negative attitude as well since I have been called a miserable person with which to watch football games. So really, what I did was sit relatively calmly watching the Eagles game will drinking overpriced beers and eating overpriced nachos. McFadden’s is attached to a ballpark, would you expect normally priced food?

I bottled up all my negativity as the Eagles, and at least 30 minutes of Donovan McNabb, managed to perform miserably and get dominated by the Ravens. Following the tie versus the Cincinnati Bengals this embarrassing loss to Baltimore raised the bile in the back of my throat. Fortunately, this is not my blog about the Philadelphia sports teams, this is my blog about getting my picture with interesting artifacts behind me.

So here’s a video of me impersonating a certain iconic movie scene involving the city of Philadelphia.



It is not a pic of me in front of stuff, but it’s close enough.