A Belated Celtic Fest Post

Isaiah's highlight was seeing the large pile of horse-shit while looking @ the Clydesdale, but for me, that was maybe 3rd best... or 4th. On Friday night, Stephanie & I hit the Pub in the Park for a little beer. They didn't have Guinness this year so we enjoyed a few 1/2 gallons of Boddingtons. we were met out there by Daye, Pete, Geo, Andy, Matt, Laurie, & Pete. As you've probably already heard (or read), I finished 2nd Runner Up in the Mr. Pretty Legs in a Kilt contest. The winner (as per usual) was a douche. And he was the key-tar player from the band which makes me assume it was fixed. I made a right fool of myself stumbling around & talking shit as I grabbed the mic from the MC (who turned out to be a better musician when she did her little solo set afterwards than the band). Her tramp-stamp sticking out just above her high-waisted 1989 straight out of a TLC video jeans was ridiculous though. There was much stumbling, slurring, & in the case of a certain person who will remain nameless, vomiting.

On Saturday, my parents came out w/ us & we enjoyed a fun morning & early afternoon looking @ stuff, eating fun food (I had the haggis & the haddock chowder), & just hanging out. The music was good, but we didn't listen to as much as we have in the past. We watched some dude give a talk about Haggis which was funny & informative. However, he suggested a delicious sounding sauce made from heavy cream & whisky that also called for "Black Capers." These seem to be a rather elusive ingredient. I can't find the anywhere... other than some shop in Virginia that claims to carry them but doesn't list the brand. I'll try Morgan & York next time we get Chinese food I guess. Aiden got a deck of cards... his new obsession. Solstice got a key-chain... her new collection. Isaiah loved watching the sheep dog & the birds of prey, but really really loved checking out the horses... hence the horse-shit.

Afterwards, we headed out to Howell for Meg & TC's engagement party. It was fun & we got to see the whole family. Of course, if you ask Isaiah what the highlight was... owls? "Yeah... and horse poop." Did you see Grandma and Grandpa? "Yeah... & horse poop." Did you see Aunt Megan & Aunt Holly? "Yeah... & horse poop." I guess you can't blame him... horse poop is pretty awesome. The 2nd Runner Up Happy couple... a little drunk Watchin' the sheep-dog demonstration The Haggis talk by the guy from the National Trust of Scotland

The Return of Mr. Pretty Legs

The Saline Celtic Festival is going on this weekend out in... wait for it... Saline of all places. Tomorrow's festivities get under way @ 10:00 w/ the parade & the rugby matches. You should be sure to come out tonight though to the Pub in the Park for cheep pitchers of Guinness, some good music, & the 4th Annual Mr. Pretty Legs in a Kilt Contest. I haven't entered since my sweet, sweet win in the 1st contest back in 2007 so I think it may be time to defend my crown. There will also be some Gaelic Football matches happening this evening. For those of you who have never witnessed this fucked up sport before... believe me, it's something to behold. It's like Rugby & Basketball had some mentally slow, physically challenged love-child. It's the Corky to Soccer's Becca Thacher... & yes, it still wants to drive the car. Here are a few pics from the Ghost of Celtic Fests Past: Stephanie... as the old yellow Escape looks on Wendy, Pete, & an empty 1/2 gallon of Guinness 2 badass dudes A 3rd badass dude Chain-Mail Solstice

Big Guns... & other assorted weaponry

Friday Night:
After a brief outing to the Rugby matches on Thursday, the saline Celtic festival really got going Friday night. We met up w/ Wendy & Pete in Fest Beer Tent for an evening of Murphy's Irish Stout, bagpipe music, & all around debauchery. Stephanie got to be a judge in this year's Mr. Pretty Legs contest & my 1st place finish in 2007 seems to be a free pass into the festival indefinitely. They treat me like a minor celebrity out there. I'm kind of like Timothy Stack on My Name is Earl. We also got to see Tartanic again; they're a fun pipe & drum group we saw last summer in Livonia. Stephanie worked hard to ensure anyone kilt wearers w/ obvious undergarments were quickly disqualified. The tool w/ his kilt on backwards didn't fare too well either... it was clear that he had no idea how to wear it, but I preferred thinking that maybe it was a tribute to Kris Kross (he looked more like he'd be paying tribute to Christopher Cross though).

Saturday:
We were invited to walk in the pre-festival Parade, but it was canceled due to lightening which actually ended & totally cleared up about a 1/2 hour before the parade was scheduled to start. Which was fine w/ me. Getting there that early though, we were able to check stuff out before it got crowded which was nice. I scored a new sgian dubh & sporran on the cheap so I gave my old ones to Aiden... he fancied himself quite the bad-ass walking around w/ a knife. Solstice also enjoyed the vendor area... she scored a new dress & a book. Isaiah loved the animals... sheep dogs, horses, & most of all the birds of prey... & he got a little soccer ball about which he then started saying the word "ball" (or @ least "ba").

Around 3:00ish, Solstice & Aiden left w/ my mom & we hung out in the tent, drank some Newcastle & watched Tartanic again. They covered Iron Man" on the pipes which was pretty cool. Once we got home, we continued our Schwarzeneggerian marathon w/ a viewing of The Last Action Hero. It starts strong w/ a nice self-referencial 1st act, but nose-dives by the 3rd. I imagine that the execs who develop the movie let the kernel of a good idea get washed away under the tide of big-budget ridiculousness. Oh well... we still have The 6th Day & True Lies to look forward to.

Sunday:
Isaiah's Big B-Day Bash
He turned 1 on Sunday so we had the family over for some cake & ice cream. He had a great time & even seemed to understand the concept of wrapping paper... something neither Solstice nor Aiden figured had figured out yet. It's pretty amazing what one can say w/ just 5 words (3 names, ball, & a general animal noise). You'd think there'd be some sort of communication break down, but he's usually pretty clear.

Blood Subs & Sin Binnings

The USA Rugby team qualified for the Rugby World Cup yesterday in what was a rather slow, boring match against Canada in S. Carolina. I haven't watched a lot of Rugby, but the matches I've seen before yesterday have been a lot more entertaining. Stupid mistakes coupled w/ a lot of fouls made for tough viewing, but I can only think of 7 or 8 ways to better spend Independence Day than cheering on the US Team. The mediocreness of the game didn't stop me from picking My Eagle though: Chris Wyles is a strong fullback who plays for Saracens FC in Watford... & he was sporting a SWEAT mustache. w/o the stache

In other Rugby news, The Saline Celtic Fest is next weekend which means the Mr. Pretty Legs in a Kilt Contest will be Friday night in the bar tent & on Thursday there wil be an evening of Rugby matches in downtown Saline. Be sure to press your kilt & meet us out there for beer.

The Post Burns Night Post

Thanks to everyone who came over on Saturday night; the party seemed to be a big hit. People brought great food & others played great music & still others drank great quantities of booze. A few had to be helped out of the house by the end, but I stuck to my original plan & remained relatively sober all night. Of course, even in a less-than-drunken state, I managed to shatter a glass on he dining room floor. Jim, Dave, Pete & Joe broke out their guitars & Jim even brought a lap-steel. By the time they made it through a handful of Ryan Adams tunes, a few Son Volt songs & 2 renditions of "Brokedown Palace," everyone was plenty pleased w/ the music selection. We also listened to a few discs of random Scottish stuff & I did the obligatory reading of "To a Haggis" after Stephanie finished cooking it. No one else ever got around to reading which was a bit off a let down: it's hardly Burns Night w/o "To a Mouse." In other music news, Georgina brought a small set of bagpipes which everyone assumed were going to lead to a great time. As it so happened, the pipes were actually solid so no air could pass through them... & it only took us about a half hour to figure that one out. As far as the guest list is concerned, a few new faces made it to their 1st BN party: Joe, Vale, Laurie, Pete (her Pete... not the Pete who was playing music), & a 3rd Pete who came w/ Shannon. In fact, I don't think I'd ever been in a room before w/ 3 people named Pete. If you couldn't make it this ear, be sure to be here next year & you can even read a poem. And agaian... thanks to everyone who came & made it a fun night. Oh, and to Rachel for the pics... mine didn't turn out so well.

Commercials and PSAs

If you hate this asshole like I hate this asshole then we'd hate this asshole the same
Have you seen this commercial? It's on the Fox Soccer Channel non-stop, but I don't know if viewers of regular tv get to see it. Giuseppe Franco is one of the biggest ass-hats I've ever seen. Although, I love that when he suggests that his Beverly Hills salon deals w/ many celebrities they show a picture of Gary Busey. Then, as the voice over says that it really works and helps to regrow hair, the small print at the bottom of the screen says "Procede is not intended to regrow hair." WTF??? At first, it seems like a parody of hair-care commercials, but having seen it ad nauseam since August, I've had to come to the conclusion that this imbecile really just takes himself that seriously. "I don't own the company, I don't own anything about it." His hair is fantastic though so at least there's that... but why does the owner of a hair salon have autographed head-shots? He's a bad mother... watch your mouth
I saw the promo for this weekend's SAG awards show this morning while watching Rockford. while it doesn't thing all that noteworthy, it's actually notable for 3 distinct reasons.
1) It'll be the 1st major awards gala since the SWG strike started, and it's a union celebration. That alone almost makes me want to watch it.
2) I saw it on WADL 38 Detroit. I've been meaning to write about this channel for a while now. It's funny as shit. It's all African American televangelists & old Black sit-coms like The Jeffersons, Sanford & Son, Goodtimes, & Amen... & then of course The Rockford Files. Why Rockford? That is unknown.
3) Most importantly, the commercial uses "The Theme from Shaft" replacing "Shaft" w/ "SAG." Another reason to watch this show. Now, if only it was something worth watching. The future's here, we are it, we are on our own
Another commercial this morning on WADL was for the Red Cross & their need for blood. There was a shot of a young woman (maybe 18 or 20) giving blood & she was wearing a Grateful Dead t-shirt... the same 1 that Stephanie got 15 years ago @ our very 1st show. I had to call her right away & she said she still has the shirt. Of course, I still have a copy of the show [(Set I) Picasso, Althea, Queen Jane, It Must Have Been the Roses, It's All Over Now, Bird Song (Set II)Truckin' > New Speedway Boogie > That Would be Something > Long Way to Go Home > Saint of Circumstance > He's Gone > Drums/Space > The Last Time > Standing on the Moon > Lovelight (E) I Fought the Law] Including "I fought the Law, I only knew 4 songs. It was a great time though & I had to run out & get Built to Last that week because I was loving "SOTM" so much. Maybe I'll give the old tape a run-through today in honor of that girl who was giving blood. A little Public Service Announcement for y'all
As you may have heard, for reasons that I'm not going to explain here, Stephanie has left her husband... you've probably heard the reasons already anyway. If not, then you must be living under a rock. That said, the newly single Stephanie seems a lot like the old Stephanie & we've been working really hard to reestablish our friendship. Obviously, a lot went down over the last year a half, but reconnecting and hanging out has been really nice. If you see her around, be sure to say hi. In fact, you may have a chance on Saturday since she is coming to Burns Night which kind of makes this 2 PSAs in one... be sure you're getting ready for the big night. I think that for next year, I'll get a piper or maybe learn to play myself. I found a pretty cheap set on E-bay. How hard can it be? I'm sure I'd take to them as easily as I've taken to all the other instruments I play.

The Run Up to Burns Night

My parents came over for dinner this evening so my dad & I went to Chia Shiang to pick up dinner. I know I've written about this place before, but it's been a while & I just want to take this moment to urge you all to check it out. It's by far the best Chinese place around. The menu is huge & they have a great vegetarian selection. Of course, I broke w/ my age old veggie diet & sampled a bite of my father's "Special Crispy Duck." I decided that since I'd never tried duck before it would be alright to have a small bite in order to sample something new. Well, as it turns out, duck tastes like turkey. In hind sight, I don't know if trying the duck was really worth it, but @ least I can now say I've had duck. While we were in a "try it" mood, Solstice tasted my General Tso's Sue Rou & really liked it. She also liked the "pan fried vegetable dumplings" too... I'd never tried them before either but they were really good. of course, Aiden only ate rice, but considering the chicken pox in is mouth, I wasn't going to push it. Check out their menu here... you won't be sorry.I didn't really just log in to plug a Chinese place though; I'm actually happy to inform y'all that I picked up a few things for Burns Night. While we were waiting for the food I ran next door to Morgan and York and picked up a fancy bottle of Scotch. It's a 12 year Glendronach & it's spectacular. After the kids went to bed, we watched a Rockford & sampled a small glass... not much though because I want to save it for the party. You'll all be loving this stuff. For those of you who plan to bring a bottle of Scotch ( & I strongly suggest it), you might want to check out this site. It has a great overview of hundreds of distilleries & their different malts. Speaking of links, here's another link for some great recipes: Rampant Scotland's Recipe Page.

The Impending Party

I know most of you have received your invites already anyway, but I thought I'd write a little about the coming Burns' Night Celebration. I'm really looking forward to the festivities. After last year's immense success, I imagine this one will be smaller & a bit less intimidating. I remember counting upwards of about 55 people, many of whom I had never met. Furthermore, there were shoes covering the entire front 1/2 of my living room floor. It was suggested today by someone @ work that I put the shoes in a big box, but then we realized that 1 big box would cause us to ignorantly overlook a great opportunity. Maybe we'll split the shoes into 2 boxes @ play a sort of '70s fishbowl key-chain game. We'll see how well that goes over. Other, less problematic plans for the night include the Burns Supper. While the supper will be sans piper, there will certainly be haggis (vegetarian) & a wide array of food & drink. Plus, of course, the reading of Rabbie Burns poetry & maybe some puking in my driveway if a certain friend from the other side of Washtenaw Ave. is up for it. I , on the other hand, will be refraining from such excesses. I plan to have a good time but also be able to get out of bed the following day. We are talking about the FA Cup 4th round after all. I can't simply miss the game because I was too hung over to turn on the tv. It's possible though that the Arsenal v Newcastle game will be on the 26th which means I'll be able to watch it before the party & not have to worry about getting up the next day. Even so, I don't plan to make it another one of those days. I think those hung-over days might be behind me. I watched the Arsenal v Everton game in rather rough shape last year after St. Patrick's Day. I suffered through a rough breakfast & putt-putt outing after my b-day, & after the Bob Dylan show last fall I watched France drub the Faeroe Islands 6-0 while I was in rather sorry shape. That said, I don't want y'all to assume this will be some sort of teetotaler's affair, so in order to get everyone in the right frame of mind, here are the 1st 2 stanzas from Rabbie Burns' poem "Scotch Drink":
LET other poets raise a fracas
'Bout vines, an’ wines, an’ drucken Bacchus,
An’ crabbit names an’stories wrack us,
An’ grate our lug:
I sing the juice Scotch bear can mak us,
In glass or jug.

O thou, my muse! guid auld Scotch drink!
Whether thro’ wimplin worms thou jink,
Or, richly brown, ream owre the brink,
In glorious faem,
Inspire me, till I lisp an’ wink,
To sing thy name!
And now that you're all in the mood, here are a few links to get you started as you think about what to bring to the feast.
The World Burns Club
Burns Country
The Bard
The BBC Burns Page
Burns Supper on Wikipedia

The Celtic Festival

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.