Thanksgiving Post (part 2)

The holiday went swimmingly. We had a great time; we sat around & did next to nothing all day. I got to kick a ball around for a while w/ Jeanothan for the 1st time in a couple years. We watched WKRP & the Lions game. Good times indeed. And most importantly, after my shower, while wearing my bathrobe, Dan & Elizabeth simultaneously pointed out that I look like Rocky (Cousin Eddie's son in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation). Now, in keeping w/ my archive fever, here's a series of lists referring to get us all up to date.

The Food:Turkey
Mashed potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Corn casserole
Green been casserole
rolls
Cranberries w/ almonds
Cranberry sauce
Cherry Pie
Pecan Pie
Turkey gravy
Mushroom gravy
Portabellas
Wine
Beer

The Music in the car:
Fun Country Mix (skips)
Alt Country Mix
Mother McRee's Uptown Jug Champions
Bob Dylan: Christmas in the Heart
Grateful Dead: American Beauty
Beatles: Abbey Road
Tony Rice: Manzanita
Flying Burrito Brothers: Close Encounters from the West Coast
Miles Davis: Live Evil
Bela Fleck: Perpetual Motion
Glenn Miller: Chattanooga Choo Choo

The Licence Plates:
Michigan
Ohio
Kentucky
Tennessee
Georgia
Florida
Massachusetts
Maine
Indiana
North Carolina
West Virginia
Virginia
California
New York
Pennsylvania
Connecticut
Texas
Mississippi
South Carolina
Oklahoma
Wisconsin
Alabama
New Jersey
Utah

Feather Bowling & Fábregas

For the b-day girls (Solstice & Elizabeth), we went out to eat @ The Cadieux Cafe last night. The food was good & the feather bowling was super fun. All 3 of my kids got the "Chicken Finger Club Sandwich," a huge bun w/ chicken & bacon. They all loved it. Seeing as it's a Belgian place, I got the Peter Paul Reuben (as did Dan). It was good, ranking maybe 3rd or 4th on my all-time list of Reubens. Elizabeth & my parents all got the all-you-can-eat mussels. They were good too. All-in-all, I'd say the drive to the East Side of Detroit would be worth it just for the food... even if they didn't have Feather Bowling. For those of you not in the know, it's kind of like curling got its chocolate in shuffle board's peanut butter. There's a long lane kind of like bowling, but it's dirt & concave. At either end, there's a feather sticking out of the dirt & the players roll cheese shaped "stones" towards it, & the closest ones get the points. We played boys v girls & since it was their b-days, we let the girls win. We're nice like that.In other "F" news, Cesc Fábregas finally signed w/ Barcelona ending an 8 year run in N. London. He was the Arsenal captain for his last 2 years, & it's generally understood that he was given the captaincy in an attempt to convince him to stay put. Well, it's clear that it didn't work. He was great though, & he represents the rare occasion when a player leaves because he actually really wants to play for a specific team... & who can blame him. He was raised in Barcelona, he came up through their academy, & they're the current European Champions... maybe I should make a move from Verde to Barcelona. We'll see if it's in the cards. Here's a fun collection of pics from The Guardian celebrating his years @ Arsenal: Cesc Fábregas's Arsenal career - in pictures.
Making his 1st team debut against Rotherham United: 28 October 2003

In which we wrap up July & move straight on into August

Well, the summer's been flying by. It's already time to start thinking about fall classes. I scored an extra one the other day, a poetry class in Detroit, about which I'm pretty excited. I haven't done a poetry in a few years, so it should be extra fun. I've still got a couple weeks to go in the current semester, so I won't really start planning too much yet, but you can count on a couple days of Whitman!

In other July news, I've kind of let the Tom Cruise-a-thon fall by the wayside, but along w/ a couple days of Whitman, you can also count on a resurgence of Cruise soon.
In the mean time, I've had my way w/ about a third of the James Bond Films, almost all of the Kevin Smiths, & a Tarzan marathon on TCM. Have you watched the old Tarzan movies? You should! They're shit, but they're super fun. They show one every Saturday morning after an hour of old serials. At the moment, they're showing an old Zorro one. It sucks worse than the Tarzan film, but it's interesting.

As August rears it hot, humid head, we've got a short camping trip on the horizon. We'll be hitting Petoskey after the semester is over for a couple nights. I'm excited & I think the kids are too.

The other thing about which I'm excited is the start of the 2011-12 Premier League. Arsenal's first match is against Newcastle on the 13th. Set your DVRs. Hopefully, they'll have the defensive issues sorted out by then. They still need a couple more people. In order for that to happen, we should also be able to wave goodbye to a few: Squillaci, Bendtner, Almunia, & Eboue will hopefully see the exit door. If I had my druthers, Diaby would be joining them. It looks like they may be hanging on to Nasri &/or Fabregas which is nice. However, they better get their shit together soon, because a draw w/ The New York Red Bulls today was certainly not impressive. An MLS team for crying out loud! The folks looking good so far include Rosicky (who I've always liked & have wanted to assert himself after his weird run of injuries... maybe this could be his year), RVP (quick & creative), Wilshire (although he got hurt today), Gervinio (the marque signing of the summer so far), Frimpong 9who was supposed to the other big thing last year but sustained a season ending injury in the preseason), & today the other young kid, Afobe (he subbed on in the 7th minute today & looked not at all out of place).
So there you have it... the season preview w/ a July review & some teasers for the month of August... enjoy. And then enjoy this fantastic video of a TV showing one of the greatest Arsenal chants of all time: "Evra, you're a cunt!"

Skynyrd on the 4th

I've never been a big fan of the retro-rock extravaganza, but when I heard that Whitey & the 78s were opening for Skynyrd @ Pine Knob, it was just too cool to ignore. I didn't think I was actually gonna be able to go though, but then @ zero hour, Stacey came through w/ a sweet, sweet pair of free lawn tix. I met Liz & Dan @ my parents' place for some ribs & beans, then Dan & I were off to Clarkston. We picked up Bud Tall Boys from 7-11 & then started counting Stars-n-Bars... 38 by my count, including a Sharpee drawn fake tattoo on some douchebag's arm & a ridiculous full on flag pole on the tail gate of an old yellow pick-up.

We downed the Buds in the lot then headed in right as Whitey & the boys were starting "Bad News." They played for about 45 minutes... & in my humble opinion, they rocked it. I hope they're able to parley this into some other big stuff. When Skynyrd came out, I was a bit shocked by 2 things: 1) how many of their songs I actually knew & 2) how bad they are. I've never been a fan, but wow! We took off after about 45 minutes. We heard "What's Your Name," "Working for MCA," "Simple Man," & that one about "can't you smell that smell?" Apparently, the set-list had them closing w/ Sweet Home Alabama" & encoring w/ "Freebird," but there was no way we could make it that long.

As for the crowd? Good Lord! It was like the Secretary of State office on Meth. And so many of them were taking it sooo seriously. The "skanky-ass-ho" factor made the Springsteen show I went to last year look like Sunday School. They really came out of the woodwork to hear some Skynyrd. Ironically, Whitey played the Hell out of Pine Knob while the Skynyrd fans didn't really pay enough attention. I think they were able to appreciate them though. I definitely hope they were. Maybe they sold some CDs & swag too.

Dan in his Skynyrd costume


Rocking the Tall Boys


Whitey rocking out!
Skynyrd doing their schtick

Gold Cup Post #1

The Gold Cup, the bi-annual CONCACAF championship tournament, started yesterday in Dallas w/ Mexico & Costa Rica both winning their respective matches 5-0 (against Cuba & El Salvador). Today, we have Group B in Carson, CA w/ Jamaica playing Grenada & then Honduras taking on Guatemala. The 2nd match should actually be pretty good. Tomorrow, we'll be going down to Ford Field for a nice Group C double header. First up will be Panama v Gaudeloupe before the big USA v Canada match. I haven't been to a US Men's Team match since the Gold Cup Final in 2007 @ Soldier Field when the came from 1-0 down @ the half to win 2-1. My other forays into USMNT support include a few matches in Columbus 10 or 12 years ago.I have a feeling that tomorrow's match will have a slightly larger US fan base. Four years ago, we were in the vast minority, but playing Canada, a team whose best days seem to be behind them... like back in 1986... but I'm sure they're be a nice crowd from Toronto & Windsor. not to mention, our family friend, Clive, whom I haven't seen in a few years. He was a coach of mine in Petoskey & is now a big-wig w/ the CSA. There's even talk that he might be able to get us into the official Canadian Box. We'll see if they're let a few crazy Yanks in there.I have a sneaking suspicion that many of you, dear readers, will also be attending the game. I suggest a pre-match drink @ The Elwood, say 5:00ish??? Sign up if you're up for a drink... & feel free to post your conflicting pre-match plans for everyone else to see too. For instance, if you're going to Cheli's pr something, that could always work too. I'll be picking Aiden up from school & then meeting up w/ my Dad, @ which point, we'll head downtown & meet up w/ Liz & Dan. I hope to see you all there! And be sure to check back here tomorrow for team news before the match.

The DIA w/ Aiden's Class

I think I'm gonna have to go down there some time soon by myself. I had a great time w/ the kids & Aiden loved it as usual, but it's tough to enjoy it while also watching a group of kids... which was fine. That was the point after all. One of the kids couldn't get enough of the frames, which I thought was pretty funny. Another kids was so into it, he was always lagging behind because he wanted to see everything & really take it in. Aiden's favorite stuff was in the main hall: the armour & weaponry. They also got a 45 minute lecture about the Rivera Court. That was pretty fantastic. It must have really made an impression too because later, they wanted to go back and look at it more... which was fine w/ me.

Here are the few things that stood out:
1) I was pointing something out to the kids so we were pretty close to a painting. An elderly woman freaked out on me for getting too close (I could fall forward & hit the art). It's not like we were touching it & it was a really small painting so one had to get close to see it clearly. She then squeezed my arm as she was talking to me, I freaked out on her for touching me. What's good for the goose...

2) Looking at a fertility goddess w/ a seashell for a vulva, 1 of the boys said, "Wow... she has a big belly button." That was pretty great.

3) I noticed a couple paintings I'd never paid much attention to before: a photorealist thing by Richard Estes & Three Skulls by Cezanne. The Estes painting is really funny, but you have to be able to read the names of the films... which might be tough w/ the quality of this pic.

Spring, Soccer, the Symphony, & Silly Accents

With final exams nearly finished, it's time to look ahead to ze coming months... months to be filled w/ Verderiffic good times. I updated the team site so you can all follow our progress and plan your Dimanche afternoon outing. Get your Vuvuzelas and come support your local team. As always, replica kits are available for ze low price of just $30.00. Order yours today. If that's too much of a commitment, you can always just join our brand-spanking-new Facebook Group. Our first match is this Sunday at 11:00 in Canton. Come on out! Tomorrow afternoon, Stephanie & I are taking Aiden & Solstice to the DSO Young People's Concert. It should be a great time. Afterwards, Solstice will be staying w/ my parent s so she & ma mere can go the The Magic Flute (but not this version) on Sunday... it's quite a classy weekend for us.

Finaly, while taking the kids to school today, Solstice was speaking w/ her fake English accent. She loves it. I told her she had to use it all w/ her friends & teachers & everyone. I hope she's still doing it, but I doubt it. We then decided that Aiden should go through the day w/ a "hillbilly" accent, which he was doing pretty well, & then they demanded I use an elderly French accent. I'm alright when it comes to certain accents, but my French one is pretty basic. Adding extreme, toothless old age was tough. One or the other I could have done, but I can't bring them together well. They then decided it should be Spanish instead... that didn't go over any better. I went back to elderly French so you need to go back to the top & reread zis w/ a sily accent you see... while I fart in your general direction... as I said, quite a classy weekend.

Holiday Post #10: Another in the Arsenal Highlights Series

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Holiday Post #8: At the Weekend (w/ special mention of pork products)

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Holiday Post #2: The Tree & the Contest

Last weekend, after we watched Arsenal ascend to the top of the Premier League for a couple hours, putting up the holiday lights outside, & finishing the raking of the front yard, we headed down to Ida w/ Elizabeth, Dan, Sam, & my Mom to get the X-Mas tree. As per usual, we went to the Matthes Tree Farm which comes complete w/ a natural beard Santa, a petting zoo, free coffee/hot chocolate/pop corn, & a little local arts & crafts area from which I scored a bottle of super hot hot sauce to add to my collection. We pulled in & had the tree down & on the car in 15 minutes. It was a new record. Plus, we got the tree from the economy area which, as the name suggests, scored us a cut-rate price.Elizabeth & Dan took a little longer, but they're newbies so it's understandable that they would lose the race. Afterwards, we hit the petting zoo, let Isaiah sit on Santa's lap (where he completely forgot what he wanted, but loved sitting w/ him none-the-less), grabbed some of the free snacks while enjoying the clarinet ensemble, & then let Isaiah take a pony ride... during which he shouted, "I NEED A PONY NOWWW, MOMMY!!!"

When we got home, Elizabeth went to get beer, & by the time she got back, the tee was up & I had the lights on it while Stephanie quickly made cornbread to go w/ the chili & hot dogs we ate while watching Christmas Vacation. I'm not a huge fan of the film, but Dan stands behind Cousin Eddie the way I stand behind Arsene Wenger. Afterwards, we watched Miracle on 34th Street about which Aiden stated, "It's black & white, but it's actually not bad." I'll take that as a positive review.
And speaking of giving back, we're now nominations for the Visions of Ypsi Memorial Celebrity MILF of the Year Contest. Next week, we'll compile a list of the nominees, post the mini-bios, & start the voting. The nominating rules are thus: 1) The nominee must embody some semblance of celebrity, 2) The nominee must have either gotten knocked up or dropped a kidlet this year (celebs who adopted are eligible also), 3) the celeb was not nominated for the same child last year, & 4) the celeb is a MILF. Here is the winning post from last year when it was simply The Visions of Ypsi Celebrity MILF of the Year Contest.