Jamboree Day 2

Woke up Saturday morning, poured an XL Rum & Coke, & walked up to the park in time to catch the Mayflys set. Lots of EMU folk were in attendance, but most took off w/o coming back for the other stuff later. It's nice that people came out to support the band, but they missed a lot of good stuff later in the day.

Mayflys:
A good mixture of the stuff from the CD & some new tunes. Super fun dancin' in the AM. There's talk of a Mayflys' appearance @ Daye & Pete's Pumpkin Day party in Oct. That should be cool. There's also talk of a Mayflys' gig in Chicago so I guess we'll be up for a road-trip... I hope Jim has a big floor. If only they played "The Eleven"... or "Whippin' Post". Joe loves the 11/4 so I assumed it was coming.

Funktion:
These guys are a fun funk/hip hop/fusion band from the K-Zoo. Daye was losing her mind for them, so I suppose we can expect them to get an invite to Pumpkin Day too. Overall, that seems to imply a 3 band event 9assuming that those guys from Wisconsin come back again. Anyway, while Funktion as playing, I took Solstice to get some henna from Kelly, my former student & current Facebook Scrabble partner. We @ Visions of ypsi are also proud of her as we introduced her to Charmie & she's been writing for Charmie's Medical marijuana newspaper, The Midwest Cultivator. Afterwards, I took Aiden to meet Brandon Inge @ the Verizon Wireless store next on Washtenaw. he was thrilled & I got to use it as good bribery to keep him havin' fun throughout the fest. Afterwards, we enjoyed the S. African portion of the Foods of the World Cup, fixed another XL Rum & Coke, grabbed our mitts & baseball, & headed back to the park. (We missed Hullabaloo & Rootstand during this Inge/lunch break.)

Dick Siegel:
I hadn't seen him since I went to the Gypsy Cafe w/ Jenn about 11 years for a Bob Dylan b-day celebration when he played "Positively 4th Street." I dig him. Fun acoustic jazzy pop... just like he song y'all know from "Sunday Morning Over Easy."

Wayward Roots:
After a nice, if unintended, tribute to the Grateful Dead (ie: 15 minutes of tuning before the 1st song), these guys pulled off some really good Bluegrass. I love a band w/ dobro & these guys are a band w/ dobro. Maybe the 1st Dobro I've seen in a local band since Drivetrain. Check them out if you get the chance.

Nervous but Excited:
A fun, eclectic folk duo in the style of The Indigo Girls. We all dug them & their cover of "Faith." See them when they play around town.

Black Jake & the Carnies:
These guys are fun as fuck! See them again & again & again! Like punk bluegrass. Loud, silly, a little angry, & featuring a guy who just moved in down the street on banjo (& vocals)... & he played both Scruggs style & claw-hammer throughout each song. They are fantastic... definitely my find of the fest. Isaiah seemed to dig them too as he sat on my shoulders (IE: "Up-Top") as we danced & watched some guy break-dance in the dirt in front of the stage. We also got our pc taken & it should be in the Ypsilanti Courier this week!

The Ben Miller Band:
Good stuff, but I wasn't quite as into them as everyone else seemed to be. I would have preferred the Glen Miller Band, but they're fun... & have a washtub bass.

October Babies:
I didn't dig them nearly as much as everyone else. well, Stephanie didn't really like 'em much either. The bass player is really good & has been in tons of local bands over the years, but the singer is obnoxious as hell. I think she can get away w/ it because she's Asian & people can say, "Ohhh, she's sooo exotic!" Yeah, exotic like a Japanese game-show. If she were white, people would see through it quickly. She's like Yoko meets Bai Ling. I know this sounds pretty negative, but I won't say I disliked them. They sounded fantastic... it was just the stage antics that kind of got to me.

Laith Al-Saadi:
A damn good guitarist... & he covered "Whippin' Post"! Finally, the 11/4 for which we'd been waiting. He also covered "Ophelia." I love that song too. His 3-piece power-trio reminds me of Gov't Mule. They play @ the Savoy every Monday night for free... check 'em out.

The Ragbirds:
I hadn't seen them in a few years. They're really good, & it's nice to see they've been able to stay together. Interesting folk/multi-ethnic stuff going on. Most of you have seen them before, so there's not a lot I can add.

Over-all, the fest was fantastic. Maybe next year we'll get a couple more out-of-town headliners like The Meters or Phil & Friends. Phil might be a bit too much to ask for, but maybe Los Lobos would do it. Up next, we've got the Kelly Miller Circus coming to town on Thursday. It's fun if more than a little problematic in terms of it's animal situation. The web-site responds to criticism not w/ a nice logical defense, but simply by attacking PETA... uncool. We'll be there anyway though. Besides, Tony the Clown's potato shtick will never get old.

Jamboree Day 1

After a morning @ the DIA to check out the "Through African Eyes" exhibit (more about that in a few days), we stopped by my parents' house to drop off some boxes. They're moving across town so I grabbed some from Nicola's & Stephanie grabbed some from the Co-Op. Once Isaiah had his nap in the afternoon we headed down to the Jamboree. After checking out the vendors, we found a nice spot behind the tapers (all 2 of them) & settled in to watch the music. We missed Mr. Shz, but having seen them once before, we really didn't miss them @ all.

The 1st band we saw was Tokyo Sexwhale. They were pretty cool. Instrumental electronic jams kind of like Particle. They did a 15 minute version of the theme from Magnum PI & closed w/ a fun version of Henry Mancini's theme from A Shot in he Dark. I'll definitely keep my eyes & ears peeled so as to see these guys again.

Next was Theo Katzman. Apparently, he's in My Dear Disco. I liked them when I saw them, but solo, he was lacking something... like an interesting band I guess. His songs all sounded the same & he could have fit nicely on the early to mid-90s pop-charts w/ Matthew Sweet or Tom Cochran. or on the soundtrack from Reality Bites. He was talented, but didn't do it for me. I think Stephanie like him though, so it wasn't a complete wash.

We then went up to Aubrees w/ Georgina & missed most of Dragon Wagon. It's too bad because what we heard @ the end was some good bluegrass. I love me some good bluegrass. I want to say they were playing "Rollin in my Sweet Baby's Arms" & then "Shady Grove," but we were mingling & getting our chairs set up so I may be wrong.

Chuck's band Smokestack was up next. Maybe I'll post the Saga of Chuck from the 1996 Further tour on here soon to make y'all smile. Once you've read that, you'll realize why I was so shocked that he is actually a really good guitarist. I was impressed.

The penultimate performance came from The Macpodz. As far as local bands are concerned, I'd gotten tire of hearing "This band is really good; you should check them out." So I'd never seen them. I was never floored by Back 40 the way I was supposed to be. Hullabaloo are playing this afternoon, but the time I saw them I was under impressed. The Macpodz fell through the cracks... unfortunately. They're pretty fucking great. They're playing The Blind Pig in October & we might have to go. A trumpet player, a drummer, a guy on keys w/ some funky, "Superstitionesque" tones, a singer who also played some hand percussion & the flute, & an amazing bassist. The lack of a guitar threw me for a loop @ 1st, but the bass & horn filled in those gaps nicely. Very, very cool.

Last up was ekoostik hookah. We hadn't seen them since 1999. They haven't changed a whole lot. The guitarist is amazing, but the lyrics blow. I was loving the jams, but then they'd start singing again & it would become boring. They're cheesy sophomoric tunes about getting high & being a hippie. W/ a good lyricist, they could be a good band... or by dropping the lyrics & just doing instrumentals & covers they could be a cool band. As it stands, they're fun & maybe in another 10 years I'll give them another chance.

I'm about to make some PB&Js to bring up there in a few minutes as we check out The Mayflys. Be there! They start @ 11:00. Brandon Inge will be signing @ some Verizon place on Washtenaw @ 1:00 so I think I'll take Aiden up there while Isaiah takes a nap & then we'll be back @ the Jamboree for the rest of he afternoon & evening. See you there!

Visions of Beer Fest

Jason & I walked up there @ about quarter to 12:00. We picked up our credentials from Greg & headed to the WAB table to pour until 2:00. The pouring went smoothly, we were able to drink the WAB stuff (ass long as we stepped out from behind the table to do so), & then we grabbed a couple handfuls of tokens & hit the other brews. As VIPs w/ the WAB, we also got into the VIP tent where there were 8 or 10 kegs & a nice buffet w/ some spicy noodle thing that was really good. The kegs were hard to make out, but I know a few were from Founders. I don't think that's what I was drinking though. I had some random brown Ale that was pretty good. The 2nd time we went into the tent, I had some Blonde that was a bit fruitier than I would have liked... it was weird that they weren't labeled better.

As far as the WAB stuff, the Vanilla Porter & the Triskadekaphobiale Coffee Porter were my favorites, but the Green Bullet Organic IPA is fantastic too. I tried the Blonde & the Hefeweizen too in order to know what I was pouring, but those aren't my personal styles.

From the Tri-City Brewing Company from Bay City I tried the Russian Imperial Stout. It may have been my favorite of the Afternoon other than the WAB Porters.

Behind the WAB table was the Kuhnhenn Brewing Company table, a brewery in Warren. They had some sort of UFO theme going on. A few were in rented alien costumes & their beers had space themed names. I went w/ the ET's Reeses Pieces Stout... big let down. They need to spend more time on the beer & less time on the silly gimmicks. At least I didn't get suckered into trying Yoda's Tihaar Mandalorian Fruit Beer.

Next to the WAB table was Sullivan's Black Forrest Brewery out of Frankenmuth. Oddly, they weren't listed in the guide. Also, oddly, the 1 guy working the table was in a tie-dyed shirt, but they had none of their Grateful Dead inspired beers like Grateful Red, Lost Sailor, New Speedway Imperial Stout, or Dark Star Schwarz. I had the Pirate's Porter & it was pretty good. Not real good, but pretty good.

While looking for the guide book things, we ran into my cousin who was working w/ Big Rock Chop & Brewhouse out of Birmingham. He claimed thei IPAs have won all sorts of awards. Norm's Raggedy Ass IPA was the one he wass pushing, but I prefered the Bonnie's Raggedy Ass Imperial IPA. I don't know what an imperial IPA is, but it was good.

Overall, it was a great time. We ran into Daye & Pete who had a nice spot in the shade. I saw a few Green Teamers who were representing the Green Team by being absolutely hammered. And I saw 2 former students... "Hi professor...."

Burns Nght Post #4: The Wrap Up

The Dinner:
As y'all know, I rarely eat meat, but for Burns Night I'm happy to indulge in a little haggis. Stephanie has been making a veggie version for years, but last year Wendy brought the real deal. She brought it again this year, & I loved it. It didn't last long, & I feel that it's gotten a bad rap in culinary circles. I get the fact that it sounds nasty... sheep hearts, lungs, & livers ground up & mixed w/ oats & potatoes & then stuffed into the sheep's stomach... but it's delicious.

Stephanie's veggie haggis consists of red & brown lentils, mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, & peanuts. It's awesome. We had it again last night & there are leftovers so I'll be having it again today or tomorrow... if it makes it that long.

I made Brussels sprouts w/ chestnuts. I sauteed the chestnuts in ghee w/ apple & red onion while boiling the Brussels sprouts. They then go into a casserole dish & slipped into the oven w/ more ghee. Brussels sprouts, along w/ haggis, get hated almost universally, & I don't get it. They're really good.

Rachel brought the neeps & tatties... mashed potatoes w/ turnips. Along w/ the haggis, it's the other traditional half of the Burns Night dinner.

Stacey brought oranges (orange & blood) steeped in Drambuie... they were a big hit... & as it turns out, Drambuie is pretty damn good.

Once the other food was gone, Dawn showed up w/ awesome bridies & pasties from Ackroyd's Scotch Bakery in Redford.

The Desserts:
Stephanie made Honey Creams. They're homemade ice cream w/ honey, scotch, whipped cream, egg whites & sugar... they're delicious.

Mary brought fantastic scones w/ whipped cream & fancy homemade jams.

Of course, there was also cheese, chocolate, & spotted dick... & lots & lots of Scotch.

The Scotch:
Dewars... This was mainly for the Honey Creams, but a couple pulls helped the readings go smoothly.
Abelour... I wrote about this a couple weeks ago & decided another bottle was in order.
Laphroaig... I picked this up last week. It's a nice peety Islay. It goes down smooth.
Glenfiddich... I called my dad a couple weeks ago & he was @ the duty free shop on his way to Windsor. I asked what kind of Scotch they had, & he said the Glenfiddich was 35 bucks. I said, "That's not much better than retail. He said, "For a 5th?" I said, "Yeah." He said, "These are liters." I said, "Hook us up!"
Oban... Pete brought this one. It's a nice mixture of the Islay smokiness & the Highland sweetness... It went down smooth.
Caol Ila... Andy brought this one. A fantastic Islay. Everyone loved it.

The Entertainment:
Aiden read "The Selkirk Grace" before the meal. It's the traditional Burns night grace. He practiced the pronunciation for quite a while & did great.
I read "Address to a Haggis" after the grace but before the dinner.
Jim read "To a Mouse" during dinner. He was great. no one could understand a word he said, but he was great.
Andy & Matt both read poems, but I don't recall what they're called, but Andy's was about brothers-in-law & Matt's had something to do w/ the deflowering of a young girl... I think.
I then read about 1/2 of "To a Louse" before it faded away as people lost interest... it was too late in the evening for another reading.
Jim & Joe also played some music... some Mayflys originals, plus some Beatles, GD, & RA covers. Isaiah loved watching them, & so did I.

The Photos:
Here is a link to Stephanie's Facebook album from the party.
Here is a link to Rachel's Facebook album from the party.

All in all, a good time seemed to be had by all. I can't wait until next year. Maybe we'll have to have something sooner like a Tartan Day party or Bloomsday in June. That might be good.

Green Team Speaks w/ its Feet... & its Elbows... & its Mohawk

Jules & Stella got hitched yesterday & an awesome time was had by all. We were running a little late & missed the ceremony, but the reception was really nice. It was quite an honor to be invited, Stephanie even got to here "I'm a Believer" > "I Saw Her Standing There" which made her really happy. The mojitos made me happy as I hadn't had 1 in quite a while. Congratulation Jules & Stella.

Congratulations also go out to Brasil for turning it up in the 2nd half. When the US was up 2 nil @ the half, I thought it was a lock... but it was not to be. Once the Brasilian central midfielder moved the the wing, he became sort of unstoppable. Of course, the fact that the US totally choked after the interval didn't help the situation. That brings us to the Visions of Ypsi Confederations Cup Finals Player of the Day: Kaka.Just as things didn't work out well for the US today, they didn't work out well for the Green Team either. We started pretty strong this season after an early slip up. By the Memorial Day break we were 3 & 1. We proceeded to go to 4 & 1 before finishing w/ 4 wins, 4 losses & a more than questionable draw. For the season overview, you can go to the Green Team's Home Page, but as for my quick reflections, I'll give 'em to you right now. After the 2 weeks off in the middle of the season, we suffered some injuries (2 broken ribs & a messed up leg), some vacations (Pat went to Europe for a week, & Dan & Elizabeth went to Europe for a couple weeks), & others just became less reliable. We may need to make a few acquisitions in the off season to press for any sort of championship style bragging rights in the fall. The injuries will be overcome by then though so I'll remain Arstemistic & say we've got 1st place locked up.

A Bachelor, A Baby & An Award

Last night, we celebrated Jules' bachelor Party w/ drinks & billiards @ The Full Moon, formerly The Monkey Bar, formerly The Full Moon. The party was fun & we @ Visions of Ypsi want to congratulate Jules & Stella as they will celebrate their nuptials this weekend. Congrats also go out to the Josher & the Joshette as they brought their 2nd kid into the world yesterday.

Prior to the party, I journeyed to Livonia to watch the US play Spain in the semi-finals of the Confederations cup. It's back to business as usual for Spain: until last summer's European Championships, Spain was notorious for under-performing in major tournaments. They would be predicted winners & then stumble & it happened over & over & over... until last year when they won Europe & became the #1 ranked team in the world. People claimed they'd overcome some sort of "curse." Until yesterday, of course, when they fell 2-0 to the Americans in the Semi-finals. Spain played well & controlled the match but the US defense was unbreakable. The whole team put in great performances so picking 1 standout has been tough. I even considered Landon Donovan as he was fantastic. However, after much deliberation, I realized 1 person did stand out. Your Visions of Ypsi Confederations Cup Semi-Final Player of the Day: Tim Howard. The Spanish attack peppered his goal w/ 29 shots, but he stayed strong. Nice work!

MLS Fantasy League

For those of you who have been excited to find out that Becks is staying in LA, or those of you who have been holding your breath in anticipation of Freddie Ljungberg's debut in Seattle, or those of you who just love watching Landon Donovan fail, I made a fantasy league. Go Here to register your team & then sign up in the league: DB MLS. The password is "Ladycakes." The 1st games were tonight so we've missed out on a few possible points, but as long as you register Friday, we'll all be set to star on Saturday.

PS Based on those links above, I wanna suggest that if the MLS stars tried wearing more clothes, they might be better soccer players.

Shoe Polish

I'm not sure where to start this post, so I guess I'll just begin @ the beginning. Wendy's Harry Potter folks hosted a Harry Potter themed Ball on Friday which featured costumes & a couple of Wizard Rock bands whose names I don't recall. I wouldn't necessarily recommend them, though the "headliner" did seem to possess a little talent. I couldn't believe how many songs about those books people could write. It was like Rocky Horror for sober virgins. The 1st band sounded like The Who, every song was like "Pinball Wizard" (except the Pete Townshend cover which we had a hard time placing). The main thing to come from it was that I decided that if I were to read the books, which I can't see ever happening, I'd be a Slytherin kid... whatever that means. Rather than dressing like a character I'd never heard of, & apropos of nothing what-so-ever, I just wore the tartan kilt & all the effects... skean dhu, dirk, flashers, sporran, etc. This finally brings us to the point of the story. I had to polish my black shoes beforehand which hadn't been done in quite a while (& now I think I'll have to polish my soccer shoes soon too). Although I spent the next couple hours smelling like I'd just made a sign reading, "I assure you, we're open," they look fantastic. However, I'm afraid I've become a different person over the last few years. I was walking out of my office this morning & tripped on a crack in the sidewalk. My 1st concern wasn't "oh, no... who saw that?" or "Ouch!," but rather, "Shit, did I scuff my shoe?" As it turns out, my shoe came through it all unscathed so I guess I'll be able to make it a few more days before I have to break out the polish again. If only my soul came through it all unscathed too.

MC Joaquin

According to the Daily Mail (& a million other sources) Joaquin Phoenix has vowed to quit acting & follow his new dream... being a hip-hop artist. He performed a set in Miami the other night & according to the gossip pages looked rather "disheveled." Apparently, that term is synonymous "bearded." Why is it that men w/ beards are always accused of being wasted... or suicidal. Al Gore grew one for a bit a few years ago & people went ape-shit... "He must have something to hide." As soon as people grow beards, they are put in the same category as Osama bin Laden & Ted Kaczynski (oddly enough, the Unibomber didn't even have a beard). Like Joaquin Phoenix, I too once dreamt of becoming a hip-hop star; my rap name was "A Plu$," & my friend & I used to write lyrics all the time. Another kid even got a small mixing board thing w/ the plans of being our DJ. I don't recall the name he went by, but Marques was Question Mark. Since high school, I've only seen him 3 times, & 2 of those times involved seeing Chuck D: once w/ Public Enemy @ the Palace & once @ Pease Auditorium when he spoke on campus a few years ago. With this in mind, Joaquin's burly hip-hop persona is inspiring me. Maybe it's time to pursue that long lost goal. I want everyone to call me "A Plu$" from now on... Word up!Speaking of Osama bin Laden, his favorite team, Arsenal, got through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League yesterday after beating Roma 7-6 in penalties. They won the home leg 1-0 a couple weeks ago, but then lost 1-0 yesterday so the aggregate was 1-1. After nothing happened in the extra time, I thought I was going to lose my shit sitting through the PKs. Eduardo's 1st shot was saved but then Almunia stopped a weak shot in the 2nd round. It went into sudden death after the rest of the shooters hit their target. Then, in the 8th round, Tonetto missed the goal completely & ended Roma's hopes of progressing... keeping the Gunners alive for the next round. While I wouldn't bet against Man U winning everything this year, Arsenal seem to be on a bit of an up-swing. Don't count them out just yet. You can read the entire match report here.

This is for the Steelers... & Demir

When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
And in my hour of darkness
She is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

And when the broken hearted people
Living in the world agree,
There will be an answer, let it be.
For though they may be parted there is
Still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer, let it be.
Let it be, let it be. yeah
There will be an answer, let it be.

And when the night is cloudy,
There is still a light that shines on me,
Shine on until tomorrow, let it be.
I wake up to the sound of music
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
There will be an answer, let it be.
Let it be, let it be,
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

Holiday Post #12: Your Visions of Ypsi Celebrity M.I.L.F. of the Year

While 4 of the nominees got no votes whatsoever (Heche, Simpson, Foster, or Driver), none of other nominees ran away w/ the title either. It was a much closer race than in previous years, but like last year, it has come down to the tie-breaker vote. Before we get to that, I'd also like to point out that while a few regulars failed to cast a vote... which apparently means they will now die... we have a few newbies & they have our gratitude. Now, w/o further ado, we give you your 2009 Visions of Ypsi Celebrity M.I.L.F. of the Year: Gwen Stefani. As you can see here, she's always fulfilled her Milfy duties well, & she offers what few others have offered in the past... she's hotter preggers than pre-preggers.Usually, she looks a bit on the anorexic side of things, but while knocked up she puts on a little weight & looks really good. I've never been a fan of her music, but that's not what we're judging her anyway. I' sure she's excited to have this opportunity & to face the challenge that is being The Visions of Ypsi Celebrity M.I.L.F. of the Year. Matching the standard set by Maggie Gyllenhaal a few years ago might be too much to ask, but she'll definitely do as well as Michelle Williams & she'll probably out-milf Angelina Jolie... oh, & Happy New Year to you all.

The Mayflys: Live @ The Corner Brewery

The official stage set-list signed by Jim Joe... note Joe's drunken mis-spelling of my name

To celebrate the Jim's big 4-0, The Mayflys (Jim, Joe, Charles, etc from the English Dept) played their debut show @ The Corner last night. This wasn't really the 1st time they played out, but the 1st time under that name. You may remember my reports on the English Dept. X-Mas party last year or on Andre Peltier is a High-On from last spring, but as far as they're concerned, those don't count so we here @ Visions of Ypsi aren't counting them either. The turn out last night was fantastic: tons of Dept. people, some former students, lots of neighborhood/local friends, old friends we hadn't seen in quite a while, & even a few people from the Dark Green Team who finished top of the table a few weeks ago in the Canton Over 30 league. Everyone had a great time, lots of good beer was had, & Isaiah was quite the hit. As far as the music is concerned, they were really fun. It seems like the general consensus is that people want they to play out more so I hope they get a few gigs. Supposedly, they'll put the show up on the archive soon for all to enjoy. (If you've never checked out the Archive before, take a look @ all the free live music... & it's 100% legal too!) Here's the set-list from last night:
Set I
Cold
What We Hide
Wall of Sound
Rain
Over My Shoulder
A Girl in Port
Where You Gone
When That Day of Judgement Comes
Thinkin' About the End
Not Fade Away

Set II
Sullen
Shameless
Terrible Sight
Dear Prudence
Come Pick Me Up
Baby, We All Gotta Go Down

Befpre the party, wee went out to dinner @ Chia Shiang, the greatest Chinese place this side of China. We'd never eaten there before though... just gotten take out, so it was a fun time, except for the kids in the booth behind Stephanie who kept pushing on the seat while they were making out. The next table featured a rather obese couple sitting w/ another guy, & the large man (who kind of looked familiar) kept going on & on about movies & music & specifically David Byrne. It was like the scene in Annie Hall w/ Mashall McLuhan... I really wanted to hit him on a gut level. The food was great though, so we were able to overlook the weirdness before we made our annual X-Mas trip to World Market which marks the official Visions of Ypsi beginning of the Holiday Season. Unless of course, it began yesterday w/ the unofficial Holiday music post.

Holiday Post # 6: Weekend Stuff

Halloween Wrap Up
On All Hallows' Eve, which doubles as Stacey's b-day, we went to her for dinner and trick-or-treating. Everyone had a great time wandering the old 'hood after a nice pot-luck dinner. Once the kids were done going door-to-door, we went back & they all sat around the living room trading candy & watching Young Frankenstein while the adults were in the other room checking out a sweet sweet puzzle that Stacey is giving to Evan for X-Mas. Shockingly, no one threw up or received any candy w/ razor blades so it went pretty smoothly over all.

The Kramer
The following night, Elizabeth & Dan had a costume party. Solstice spent the night @ her friend's so it was just the 4 of us. Aiden in his Mutt Jones outfit, Isaiah as a pumpkin, Stephanie as Ma Ingles, & me as Cosmo Kramer. The problem w/ the costume was 2-fold. First off, other than the shorn face, no one thought I looked any different than I usually do. (Except for some guy @ Burger King who thought I was dressed as an English professor... that was pretty funny). Secondly, I hate not having a beard. As it turns out, I should have gone as Kramer w/ a beard. If you feel the need to see me w/o a beard, you'll have to check out the soccer photos because no Kramer pic exists. Dan's friend Jeff /w IsaiahLast Night
The Dark Green team had its final game of the season, beating the Blue team 9-1. Usually, a scoreline that big isn't a very fun game, but this team beat us 7-2 earlier this fall & they've been total assholes, so it was nice to teach them a lesson. They were trying to start fights & a couple refused to shake hands... it was fantastic. When the game started, the other team only had 5 people , but rather than taking some of ours, they thought they could take us 5 v 11... after our 3rd goal, they admitted it was ridiculous. It was a stupid, cocky thing to try though, none-the-less. Your friendly neighborhood blogger got 2 goals & 2 assists (all after they borrowed some people & were @ full strength). The 1st was mainly due to strong play down the right wing by Roger who crossed it to me behind the goalie so all I had to do was tap it in. The 2nd, however, was pretty sweet. I beat a defender about 16 yards out before turning & sending a rocket of a shot into the left corner. These were my only goals of the season, & just as Elizabeth was destined to score last week, I vowed to score this week. I also vowed to nutmeg someone & make a nice backheal. No one was nutmegged, but my backheal was an assist to Juan... beautiful futball! We finished the season 7-1 which meant we were on the top of the league table, a 1st in a few years. Afterwards, we had our little pizza & beer time @ The Crow's Nest in Canton... pics (including ones of me w/o a beard) are up on the team blog.

Searchin' for the ghost of Tom Joad

I went out on my lunch break today to score a couple tix for the Springsteen/Obama rally @ Oestrike Stadium this afternoon w/ John, the dairy buyer. We were only allowed 2 apiece, but his wife couldn't go so he gave me his extra which in turn meant both of my kids could get in. (As it turns out, they had extras outside so it would have been fine anyway.) We went straight from their school to the stadium & walked in while Kitty Donahoe was playing. Apparently, we missed Dick Siegle... I dig him, but it was not to be. After she finished & the sound dudes screwed around for a few minutes, some local minister said a prayer & then an ROTC guy led the Pledge. After that, the EMU Gospel Choir did an amazing rendition of The Star Spangled Banner... they are fantastic! Debbie Dingle spoke next... & not so coherently I might add, but then John Dingle topped her awkwardness w/ some strange claims about defense attorneys. Solstice & Aiden found some friends so they were running around in the outfield while everyone was talking. Next up was Diane HAthawy, a canidate for State Supreem Court. She seems super cool, so I'm going to take this moment to put up another Visions of Ypsi Endoresment... Vote for Diane Hathaway! By the time The Boss came out, I was checking my watch because Aiden's team had practice @ 5:30 We got to see a few songs though as I hooked up w/ more friends from work. There was even a nice scent of pot in the air. The set-list was fun, but Aiden refused to believe a guy w/ a harmonica & an acoustic guitar was playing Rock & Roll. He might be right, but even if he is an over the hill folkie, he's doing a damn good job getting people revved up... of course, between 5 & 7 students in each of my classes hadn't heard of him. Here's the Detroit News recap, which is basically just like my recap but quicker because Susan Whitall presumably didn't have to coach a soccer practice right afterwards. The practice was good though & I think these kids will become a good group of players if they stick w/ it. Which is kind of how I feel about Springsteen's songwriting... he shows promise, but the jury is still out.

Wrap Up & Tape Up

The Big Ass Summer Party went well Saturday night. Live music under the stars by Jim, Warren & Gerry while we enjoyed a fire & the fancy party lights. Everyone seemed to have a good time (& I beat Jean @ horse shoes... always a good day when I beat Jean @ something). We even classed things up a bit w/ the inclusion of caviar & escargots. Although the snails were only enjoyed by myself & a few kids... most people were afraid to try them. I've been loving them since I 1st tried them in middle school though. What could be better than a small, tasteless ball of muscle drenched in butter & garlic. I know they aren't vegetarian, but they're not much different than bugs & I kill those all the time. I suppose it's time to remind y'all what Ben Franklin said when he briefly gave up vegetarianism, "So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do." The caviar was pretty nasty though. It tasted like how a bait shop smells. As far as the turn out went, it was no Burns' Night blow out, but a smaller crowd was nice (& calm for a change). Work people, soccer people, neighborhood people & old friends. Geo even skipped the Jazz fest. I was going to list the names of people who RSVPed that they were coming but didn't show up, but they know who they are & the shame they must feel is greater than any shame a mention here could ever cause.In other news, Jim informed me that he may miss a few games this fall because he hurt/possible broke a toe while falling off of his kid's scooter. I told him to man up & quit being a douchebag so Karma got me yesterday while I was playing soccer in the yard w/ Jean, Aiden & Dan. I stubbed my toes into the ground & may have broken my 2nd Metatarsal. I can bend it & it's not swollen, so I'm not sure what the situation is, but if I'm able to play on Saturday, I think it will require a bunch of tape, but then again, I still have to tape up my thumb so what's 1 more appendage?

2 Parties

The Democratic Party:
While Laura had the awesome opportunity to attend the Democratic Convention in Denver this week, I settled for the TV coverage. When I was younger, I'd have been glued to the set all week. I watched the '88 & '92 Conventions every night (& even @ 10 years old I watched a bunch of the '84)... this time I only caught a couple hours. We watched Obama's speech last night & Dick Durbin's speech before that & a bunch of random people talking about why they're voting Democratic this fall. Before I comment on them though, it's important to mention that I was impressed by the fact that they were willing to speak @ all. They're nervousness was obvious, but we're talking about people w/ assumedly little public speaking experience addressing a football stadium full of people (Not to mention the national television audience). That said, some had a bit of the douchebag in them. "I'm a lifelong Republican. I voted for Nixon, Ford, Reagan, GHW Bush, & GW Bush, but I just can't do it this time. Now that I've lost my job & my house, I feel that we need a different direction." Part of me says, "Great, better late than never," but this change of heart is pretty selfish & self-serving. What they're also saying is, "I didn't care about the millions of people who were effected by the GOP policies before, but now that I'm the one getting fucked, I suppose I should be a little more compassionate." Don't get me wrong, I'd rather have them on our side than in the McCain/Palin camp, but perhaps had all these people the DNC is parading around made the switch, oh I don't know, 8 years ago, we wouldn't have gotten in this mess to begin w/. I'm glad they're w/ us, but a little mention of their previous errors would have been nice, yet there was never any acknowledgement of "Oops, I fucked up in the past & I'm sorry." All I'm saying is that would have been nice. Here he is letting his winger know the cross was good but he just couldn't quite connect & find the back of the netThe Big Ass Summer Party:
Tomorrow is the big party for those of you who have forgotten (or those of you who didn't know to begin w/). The music has been arranged, the lights have been hung & we've been cleaning. I even chopped wood yesterday for the little suburban yuppie "I can't actually commit to a fire pit" fire pit thing. In doing so, I of course broke my old industrial sized yard clippers, but the ax & the saw made it through unscathed. If you're coming (& y'all better be coming), remember to bring lawn chairs & food or drinks if you'd like. Oh, & an instrument or 2 to join in the music w/ Jim, Gerry & Warren.

Flash Gordon is not Your Player of the Day

However, we will need to spend a few moments discussing him none-the-less. Here's a little FG recap. The summer before my senior year in high school, my friend Neil who is my b-day buddy, let me borrow his dad's copy of Flash Gordon on VHS. His dad... let me back up a little. In 1980, my father & my uncle took my cousin Mark & me to see the film @ the Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn, which began a love affair between myself & that film that has lasted 28 years. I watched it every time it was on tv when I was a kid, including one time w/ Mark late @ night before he introduced me to the thrill of Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams (FG is by far the better film, btw). As we flash foreword to summer 1991, I borrowed this copy from Neil & then soon moved away which meant the movie moved w/ me. In fact, I still have it to this day. One time, after watching it w/ Jason, we mentioned it in English class the following Monday & Mr. Bean (our English teacher not the bumbling British tragi-comic figure) got really excited about the Queen soundtrack. I suppose he can't be blamed for that. Jason & I watched it again recently, but this time it was the new Saviour of the Universe Special Edition DVD I got w/ my Amazon gift certificates. I suppose you're probably wondering what prompted this laundry list of Andre's Flash Gordon Facts... I'm currently reading The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, Umberto Eco's newest book, & there are some long passages about Flash & the differences between him & all of the other heroes the narrator had encountered previously. The plot revolves around an antiquarian book dealer who injures himself (thus far the injury hasn't been explained) & is unable to remember any personal information about himself, but has a vague memory of things he's read (he tells the doctor his name is Ishmael for instance). In an attempt to rebuild his memory, he returns to the house of his youth & begins pouring over the books, note-books, music, & comic books he assumes he was exposed to as a child. It is the discovery of the old Flash Gordon comic strips (along w/ his understanding of Mussolini & he Black Shirts) that seems to have the greatest effect on him. As w/ most of Eco's work, I strongly recommend this book. His ability to blend post-structural theories into a narrative is always amazing & this one is one of the better one's of his I've read. Here's a little list of his other books I would recommend:
Travels in Hyperreality
The Role of the Reader
How to Travel w/ a Salmon
The Name of the Rose
Foucault's Pendulum
The Island of the Day Before
Kant & the Platypus
Bauldolino

In a story unrelated to Flash Gordon or Umberto Eco, Turkey had another unbelievable come-from-behind win yesterday. They were down 1-0 against Greece last week & won scored 2 in the last 15 minutes. They were down 2-0 against the Czechs w/ 20 minutes left & came back to win it. Yesterday, they fought Croatia through 30 minutes of overtime to a 0-0 draw. As it looked as though Penalties were inevitable, Croatia scored in the last minute, seemingly sealing the victory. However, in the final seconds of stoppage time, Semih Şentürk drove in a long range shot to force the penalty kicks through which Turkey won the game. Although Semih Şentürk scored the goal, the person who really stands out is actually the 2nd string goalie. The 1st string goalie is serving a 2 match suspension after getting a red-card @ the end of the Czech match. At this point, it must be said that Turkey is now joining Germany, Croatia, & the Netherlands 1 of only 4 countries to be singled out for this award. That said, your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day for the 2nd day of quarter-final action is Rüştü Reçber. I don't have to pronounce them, I just have to award them. A thumbs up to Flash Gordon & all the previous winners

Shamrocks and Shenanigans

I'm sitting here in my new living room watching Euro 08 (Germany v Poland) & blogging on my newly renovated laptop. Solstice did some sort of Webkinz thing on it a while ago and ever since things have been going awry. I took it to the new computer store in Depot Town the other day & now it's working spankingly. The place, Clover Computers, is where Apothoke used to be. They have an assortment of refurbished computers for sale & they fixed mine for a great price. The guys who run the place are a couple of punk-lookin' Irish kids who look like they're straight out of The Boondock Saints (a very overrated film)... or House of Pain (a very overrated 1-hit wonder). (My fantasy striker, Podolski, just scored; I definitely needed those points. I really enjoyed watching Poland 2 years ago in the World Cup & I'm liking them now too... they just aren't good enough to beat the big teams I guess.) These Clover Computer guys are not @ all overrated though. I would definitely recommend them if you are in the market for a computer or if you're looking to get some work done on our current one. Speaking of getting some work done, the ATT guy was here yesterday during the Normal Park Yard Sale. For some reason though, all of the connections on my desktop were gone after I hooked everything up here. Andy, Stephanie's nephew, was here yardsailing for his new apt. & was able to fix it though after the cable guy & I were completely overwhelmed by the problem. Another problem I've encountered lately is w/ my back. Moving has totally kicked my ass. I got all my plants transplanted today though (including the ones I scored last spring in a rather shady manner) & I was able to get some of the big rocks from the old backyard too. I only hope I can make it through my game this afternoon... if not, I don't know where our goals will come from & we're playing our nemeses, the Orange Team, today. Oh, & before I forget, we'd like to welcome Jenn to the wonderful world of blogging; read all about her time in Thailand at her new blog: Jenn in Thailand.

Field Trip: The Toledo Zoo

As a rule, I always prefer the Detroit Zoo, but for what it is, Aiden & I had a great time South of the Border today. He rode down on the bus w/ his friends & I went w/ his friend's mom, Barbara. The 2 of us had a nice time chit-chatting on the way down & then we each got a 2nd kid w/ whom we were to check stuff out. I got this kid, Donald who was lovin' (even more than Aiden & me) to stick his fingers in the assholes of the animal statues that are found everywhere you turn. At 1 point, he rubbed 1 w/ 2 fingers like he was really going to town on it. Of course we told him to stop, but behind his back, Barbara & I were cracking up. She then mentioned it to their teacher who laughed & then said, "Andre, maybe you could have that talk w/ the kids." My immediate response was "Which talk is that? The anal talk? I don't think I'm ready to explain the thrill of ass-to-mouth to a bunch of 6 year olds." That was a pleasant conversation & it confirmed my belief that Ms. Peterson may be a bit more of a freak than she lets on in the classroom. Other funs things included the great ape make-out session, the bear-sloth that was anything but slothlike, & the veggie burger, onion rings & pudding we had in the centeral restaurant place. Before you settle in for the season finale of Lost, take a look @ a few snapshots from the zoo. The kids in our group

A pretty sweet dude w/ whom I had a staring contest... he won
What's the name of the eagle on the Muppet Show?
2 elephants in a space much too small for 1 elephant
Hey you... on the other side of this glass... piss off!

Odds & Ends & Douchebags

I have little to talk about right now, but I have a lot to give you none the less: bloggable stuff I haven't been able to make entire posts about, so you'll get this little hodge-podge before we return to our regularly scheduled Indiana Jones stuff. 1st, we have this fun little story about the alligator in the woman's kitchen. Of course there is also this nugget about the Spiderman Window Cleaners at the Shanghai Sheraton Hotel. While we're on the subject of China, let's not forget about the 60,000 people who died in Sichuan Province earlier this month. 60,000!!! That's a lot of people. Not the 1,100 from Hurricane Katrina or the 3,000 in the World Trade Center... this is 60,000 people. Unfortunately, that's nothing compared to the more than twice that dead in Myanmar, but when we think about it together, 60,000 + 128,000 = a Hell of a lot of people died in natural disasters lately. At this point, I don't know how to pin this on George W. Bush... but you can believe I'm working on it.

OK, maybe it isn't his fault, but I needed a good transition into douchebaggery so as to bring up these asshats. This family is suing Little League Baseball, Sports Authority, and the bat company after because their kid was hit w/ a line drive a couple years ago and has suffered brain-damage. It wasn't even in a little League game, but since Little League officially endorses the bat, I guess they figure they can get a piece of them too. So while the line drive is the kid's excuse, it seems the verdict is still out on the parents. I mean, come on... when you play a sport the chance of injury is always there. It sucks for the kids that his was so bad, but suing the store that sold the bat? Give me a fucking break!Speaking of Douchebags, you can check out this story about the guys who vandalized Stonehenge last week and then read this little update about myself. Namely, I've gotten a ton of free-shit in the mail lately. I suppose it's bad timing since I'm just gonna have to pack more stuff this week, but getting free stuff is always fun. 1st of all, I finally got my Utilikilt. You may remember that a number of friends, all of whom I'd like to take this moment to thank, got me a gift-certificate for my b-day. I've spent the last 11 months attempting to use it, but they were always out of my size. However, as it turns out, they weren't out of it, it's just that the directions for measurements on the web-site are wrong, so I was measuring an odd size. Once I finally talked to a dude on the phone he explained that I shouldn't follow the directions. This company is as shady as they come, brah. The conversation went like this:
"utilikjfg;khj"
"Is this Utilikilts?"
"Yeah, brah, that's what I said..."
Oh, well, I have a gift certificate, but the web-site says you've been out of my size since June."
"Since June? wow, bro, that's a long time."
"No kidding. I was wondering if you have different things than just what's on the web-site."
"No, brah, just what's on the site. But we do have an outlet in Michigan; you could try that place, bro."
"Well, the gift-certificate says it can only be used @ your location or over the phone."
"oh, yeah bro, I forgot about that."
It went on like this for a 1/2 hour, but in the end, it turned out, they not only had my size, but in fact that had a sale going on so I was able to up-grade from the Original to the Workman's & it ended up being 10 bucks less.The other stuff I've gotten recently is thanks to Amazon.com. The search-portal on my side-bar is supposed to yield a small finder's-fee in gift-cert. form, but over the last few years I've never seen a gift-cert. I looked into it the other day & realized they owed me over 160 bucks so I e-mailed I got the information. Apparently, they'd e-mailed it to me, but it went straight to my junk folder & I missed it. W/ this free cash, I finally got the new Flash Gordon: Saviour of the Universe Edition along w/ a bunch of other stuff: a France soccer shirt & scarf for Euro '08, a memory stick & car charger for my phone, a breast-pump for Stephanie, a Hannah Montana CD for Solstice's b-day, & a book by Umberto Eco: The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana. Thanks to all of you who have actually used that portal to get your Amazon.com shwag... keep it up.

The final little up-date about douchebags is that Douchebag FC, my fantasy team, won my league in a hotly contested battle w/ Jason, Jean, my father, & Solstice. She joined 2 weeks late so even though she didn't win, she may have had she been involved all along. Speaking of her, be sure to check out her poem on her blog.