Ask The IHoB: "Hey...what's the deal with the pig?"

As I am getting a lot of traffic from other blogs due to the globe-trotting adventures of my mascot swine, now seemed like a good point to offer up a hub post of sorts, where one could be brought up to speed on all things IHoG. So let's open the IHoB mailbag:


"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
- Jay, Keystone City, Pennsylvania

I'm McGone and this is my blog. I've been here for awhile now, actually, and I have squatter's rights on this tiny corner of the Interwebs. Don't you dare try and claim it for yourself, because I will defend it like a crazed hobo hanging onto a nickel note.

Thanks for stopping by!


"What is the deal with this pig I keep seeing on other people's sites? Are you responsible for this?"
- Jame, Belvedere, Ohio

That would be Fernando von Bakonstein, the IHoG. Our mascot and field correspondent.

Long story short, he was a tiny little throwaway joke* my aunt gave me last Christmas. After consuming copious amounts of "Smart Juice"**, I decided I would send him around the country to see the cool places I might not get a chance to, and to meet the creative bloggers I might never meet in person myself.

But if you prefer your long stories stay long, here's the original post.


"OMG THIS IS TOO FUNNY LOL!"
- Jackie, Point Place, Wisconsin

Your caps lock button is down, Jackie.


"So where has The IHoG been exactly?"
- Wyatt, Shermer, Illinois

Well, it all started when The Girl and I took him to the Land of Excitement... Iowa!

The next day we showed him the crown jewel of his homestate when we took him to a New Year's Eve bash in Chicago, Illinois.

As if that wasn't cold enough, I slapped him in an envelope and sent him to Whiskeymarie and her frozen home in Minnesota.

After she had her way with the swine, she sent him to the Pacific Northwest - specifically Seattle, Washington - where he shacked up with TravelGretta.

As her screenname suggests, the traveling pig hit the motherload with TravelGretta. She took him cowboy boot shopping in Austin, Texas, and skiing in Park City, Utah.

And then things got international with trips to Amsterdam and London.

Then he came back to me with an annoying fake English accent, and I promptly shoved him into an envelope. He soon found himself enjoying some good, clean family fun with a couple of my college friends in Florida and Georgia.

As soon as he arrived back here at the IHoB Home Office, The Girl and I took him to Nashville, Tennessee.

After that he was off to see WendyB, and they promptly hopped the puddle over to Paris, France.





Back home in New York, she had the pig eating with celebrities, and had him nearly eaten by celebrities. She showed him so much, I had to make multiple posts.

Once he was back, he went directly to Gwen. She showed him the sites and sounds of St. Louis.

And Gwen kept Fernando's celebrity hobnobbing streak alive when she took him to a Kids in the Hall show and he met Dave Foley. That totally crushed my head!

Almost immediately upon arriving home, Fernando was pignapped, possibly by a nefarious organization known as the Pork Liberation Front! Or maybe anyone on the blogroll. It was a whole long drawn out thing that ended rather abruptly.

Turns out he was in Portland, and then decompressed in Lake Tahoe.

With his batteries recharged, he visited enc in Southern California. It's a rough life, isn't it? And then he came home in time to conveniently not help me unpack at the new IHoB Home Office.

After that Hal-who-may-be-Rider took him on a hat trick of Midwestern States. And everyone received a geography lesson from MJenks.

Then - with the help of college buds Amy and Elizabeth - I spread the Fernando-love to the Amish, seeing as how they don't have computers and all.

And he was reunited with The Girl and I just in time to help us celebrate our two-year anniversary in Milwaukee. Romantic, no?

He's easily the most interesting pig I have ever sent to strangers all around the country.


"Hey, I'd like to host the IHoG... what do I have to do?"
- June, Mayfield, Ohio

Send me an e-mail and be patient. Also, I need an address to send him to. I can't just put "Blogger, Ohio" on an envelope and hope that he shows up. If you are serious, say "Dude, I'm totally serious" in your email. Or something like that.



*The joke being "Ha ha, you almost died as a kid. Ah, good times. Anyway, here's a pig."

**Southern Comfort + Crown Royal.