I really don't watch TV like I used to, but the idiot box is still a great way to pass the time. So, here they are. My top five favoirte TV channels:

1. CNN (yeah, I'm hip like that)
2. VH1 (lots of very watchable and addictive crap)
3. Comedy Central (I love Colbert and TDS, when I catch them)
4. Bravo (not that there's anything wrong with that)
5. E! (more crap, but less quality crap than VH1)

Today is my step-dad Dan's 43rd birthday!



Relax, Dan... 43 is the new 42! Happy Birthday!

Not much, I can tell you that. I'll be back to my usual volunteering schedule at Granholm's HQ tonight and Wednesday. Hopefully my dad and I will be able to do lunch sometime later in the week, and maybe get back into the tennis routine on Friday. The heat is supposed to finally settle down by Thursday, so hopefully that means I won't pass out when we play.

This weekend is the Corn Roast at St. Casmir, and since my grandparents always get excited about that, I'm hoping to invite them up on either Friday night or Saturday during the day. It sounds like Stef might be coming back to town again, so it would be nice if she got a chance to see my grandparents for a little while.

That's basically it though. Unless something comes up, it's going to be a relatively low-key week, which will be nice, since things will start getting busier as we get into August.

Hey, I say bring on the life of debt! I found my new car: the Mercedes CLS, featuring an Intel iMac.

All these video posts, and not one featuring the Chairman of the Board? What gives? Well, it's definitely been too long, so here are some Frank Sinatra clips. Video number one is "Come Fly With Me", followed by "New York, New York", and finally "My Way." Enjoy!

What a fun weekend! Stefy made it to my place shortly after 5 p.m. on Friday, and we hit the road for my dad's house shortly thereafter for Morgan's belated birthday party. This turned out to be one of the most surreal birthday parties I've ever had the pleasure of attending, but that made it all the more fun, I suppose.

Things started getting interesting when, after sitting down for dinner in the dining room, we heard Marilyn and Keith yelling out for Sherry from the other room. It turned out that Kyra had managed to knock over a full glass of red wine on the white-ish carpet, and everyone was freaking out about it. I guess since it was Marilyn's glass to begin with, she felt obligated to take charge and make sure the stain got cleaned up. She dispatched Keith to run back to their house real quick to pick up some special stain removing solution that's specifically designed for wine stains. Well, Stef and I sat there yacking with my dad, Pam, and Eric for a while during this whole charade. Keith finally made it back about twenty minutes later, after most of us were done eating dinner (he still hadn't eaten yet himself at this point, mind you). Of course, Marilyn said he didn't bring the right stain remover, so they BOTH took off for their house to get the right stuff. Meanwhile, Eric and Sherry whipped up a solution of their own, and started attacking the stain. In just a few minutes Eric had managed to wipe up about 98% of the wine, effectively making Keith's two trips back home completely unnecessary.

Once they made it back and everyone was finally settling down, we decided to go ahead and cut Morgan's cake for dessert. After serving up drinks for everyone to have with their cake, we heard some more yelps come from the kitchen, since Kyra managed to make ANOTHER spill, this time a glass of milk. By now we were all just cracking up about how ridiculous things had gotten, so it was funnier more than anything, but there was still a second spill that needed to be cleaned up. I don't know what Kyra's deal was, but she was in rare form all weekend. I think she managed to drive just about everyone nuts at one time or another (I love my little sister, but it's true). Anyway, we managed to survive Morgan's birthday party, but got out of there before anything else could go wrong.

Saturday morning was our chance to see my mom and Dan for a little while before heading off to see Morgan's play. They were in town for Dan's family reunion, so Stefy and I met up with them at my place for a bit before heading out for lunch together. Monday is Dan's birthday, and we wanted the chance to give him his presents in person. I bought him seasons 1 and 2 of "Northern Exposure" on DVD, and Stef got him this electronic Sudoku game, such he's such a Sudoku freak now. It was really nice getting to see them and catch up for a bit over lunch at Panera afterwards. They had to get going to the party by about 1 p.m. though, and Stef and I needed to take off for Morgan's play, so we split up shortly after lunch.

Saturday afternoon was the first time Stef and I got a chance to see Morgan's big performance in the All-of-us-Express Children's Theater production of "Aesop Says" at the Hannah Center in East Lansing. The show was really cute, and I thought all of the kids did a really good job, but I was especially proud of my little sister for being so good onstage. It was a little hard to hear what the kids were saying at times, even though we were really close in the second row, but overall I thought the show went off without a hitch. We all made it out into the hall to see Morgan right after the show to take some pictures (see below) and get her autograph. I will admit that fame seems to have gone to her head a bit, but I guess Morgan has earned the chance to be a prima donna for at least a little while (not that it'll end after the play's run is over next week).

We drove out to my dad's house after the show ended so he could take a few minutes to open his birthday gifts while we were all there. Stef got him a couple new CDs to add to his collection (Rufus Wainwright and Wilco), which were a perfect way to segue into the gift Sherry and I bought: a new iPod! And not just any iPod, mind you... the new U2 iPod! I think dad was pretty geeked about that, so I was glad we were able to finally get the one man on planet earth who probably needs it the most an iPod to listen to his stacks of music.

After dad was done basking in the glow of his new toy, we all set out for Cheddar's for a nice birthday dinner for my old man. Cheddars is Morgan's favorite restaurant, and since we never went there to celebrate her birthday, dad decided to indulge her. I hadn't been there myself in a long time, but it was a lot better than I remembered, even though all I ordered was chicken tenders. Still, it was really nice to spend so much time with the family this weekend, and it wouldn't have been the same without Stefy there. I was so glad she was able to come to town this weekend!

Once we finished our huge dinner Stef and I headed back to my place. I somehow managed to talk her into watching "The Wrath of Kahn" with me last night, so I was pretty excited about that. I think she must've been sick of me quoting it all the time, and figured we could just get it out of the way if she finally caved, but I was grateful that she indulged me. I know it's so cheesy, but it's still one of my favs.

Today was pretty lazy, but that was nice since the rest of the weekend was so ridiculously busy. I rode out to Stef's apartment so she could drop off her rent check this afternoon, and we swung by World Market on the way back to my place just to poke around for a while. Of course, it was pouring rain when we left the store, so we just ran up to PF Changs to get some takeout for lunch, and then came back to the apartment for a lazy afternoon. There wasn't much to watch on TV, but I didn't really care. It was just nice to unwind for a while.

Stefy had to hit the road for home a little before 6 p.m. tonight, and I spent most of the evening working on burning some music for my dad's new iPod. I did manage to go out for a walk by 7:30 or so, and it did feel good to get out and about for while. But that's basically it for this weekend. I'm officially pooped. We'll see how early I crash tonight. I hope everyone had a great weekend!

There are some pictures from after Morgan's play below. These will go into the next full picture series, but it might be another week or two before I have enough to post. Enjoy!

The Disembodied Head of Dick DeVos is officially my new favorite website. For the love of God, go check it out [via ML]!

Okay, I get that a lot of people hate Hollister for various reasons, but I've been a frequent customer for some time. I always liked the way their shirts looked, and I loved that they were so much cheaper than other stores like Abercrombie, Gap, or J. Crew. I should've known better. Here's the letter I just sent to Hollister's "Club Cali." We'll see if it gets me anywhere:

To Whom it May Concern-

I have been a loyal Hollister customer for several years now, but I'm afraid those days might be over. I used to tell people that the reason I liked Hollister was because the clothes were so cheap. Of course, I was always referring to the price when I said this, but little did I know, it was also true of the quality.

Of the twelve shirts I have purchased from your company in the last two years (totaling $480 @ approx. $40/shirt), five of them have ripped holes in the last two months. In fact, four of the five holes appeared in THE SAME SPOT (the left elbow) on the shirts (the other was in the armpit -- look at the attached photos). Should I start counting the days until the other seven shirts develop similar holes?

By my calculations, five shirts with holes in them out of the twelve that I own is close to a 42% failure rate!

These holes didn't just develop from normal wear and tear either. I never wore these garments more than once every ten days or two weeks, I have a white collar job so it's not like I'm doing anything too strenuous in these shirts, and I always washed them in an ordinary washer and dryer. I take good care of my clothes, and NONE of the shirts I bought from your competitors (Gap, J. Crew, etc.) during that same period have experienced similar problems.

I hope there is something that can be done to rectify this situation in terms of refunding a portion of my money, or giving me store credit to replace the shirts that are ruined. Of course, if you do not offer some sort of recompense, I can promise you that I will never patronize a Hollister store again, and will make sure that none of my family or friends do either.

I look forward to your response.

Sincerely yours,

Zack Pohl

Well, it's a big weekend for birthdays! While Morgan's official b-day was on Monday, we're having a family get-togther at my dad and Sherry's house for her tonight. I think it'll be them, me, Stef, Pam and Eric and their girls, Keith and Marilyn, and maybe Elaine and Bob. It'll be nice to see everyone, and should be a fun evening.

Tomorrow is my dad's 49th birthday, and Monday is Dan's 43rd! Man, what a couple of geezers.

Mom and Dan are planning to stop by my place on their way to Dan's family reunion tomorrow at around noon, so I'll be able to give him his birthday gifts in person, which will be nice. Unfortunately, it's going to have to be a short visit, since they have to go to the party, and Stefy and I are going to one of Morgan's performances of "Aesop Says" at the All-of-us-Express Children's Theater. I'm really looking forward to her show! It's going to be so cute to see my little sis up there being the drama queen that we always knew she was.

After the big show, Stef and I are going to give Morgan a ride back to the house so we can give my dad his birthday presents on his actual birthday. I think he's really going to like what we got him. It's a _____ .

So, tomorrow is going to be pretty busy, but Sunday is looking relatively low-key and relaxing, which will be nice. The weather is supposed to be pretty nice this weekend, but I'll believe it when I see it. These clouds and rain are getting really old.

Anyway, that's it for now. Have a great weekend!

Well, my letter to the editor ran in today's Lansing State Journal. They printed it right above a letter endorsing Jerry Hollister, written by... his dad! Yep, the LSJ editors thought highly enough of my masterful endorsement to place it above the one written by the beloved former mayor of Lansing (j/k). Seriously though, I'm glad it finally got printed. Now I'm just waiting for someone in my office to come say something about it, since Jerry Hollister used to work here. Oops.

Here's my letter, followed by Dave's. Enjoy:

Vote Lewless

More than ever, Michigan needs real leaders in the House of Representatives. Most of the candidates running in the 68th District share the same views on the issues, but only one true leader has emerged from this crowded field.

Chris Lewless and his campaign have knocked on more than 12,000 doors this year to discuss the issues with voters, a feat that none of his opponents can match. Actions speak louder than words, and while others try desperately to buy this primary race, Chris has been fighting the hard way - by earning votes one door at a time.

So, on Aug. 8, I'm voting for the guy who understands the real purpose of democracy: listening to the people.

Zack Pohl
Lansing

Familial endorsement

I attended the League of Women Voters Forum for the 68th House District seat and was impressed with the quality of the candidates and the civil tone of the debate. We are fortunate to have such a fine selection.

I'm supporting Jerry Hollister because he represents a new generation of leadership. He is a man of conviction, action and collaboration. He served honorably in the Navy, the ministry and as the leader of the Michigan Jimmy Carter Habitat project that built 230 homes throughout Michigan in one week.

I was in Detroit at the completion of the project when the former president proclaimed the Michigan effort "the most effective" he had ever been associated with. I am proud of my son and all that he has done and know that he brings the ideas, values, commitment, energy and leadership to be a great legislator.

David C. Hollister
Lansing

Toles and Rall this morning (gracias, dad) hit it right on the head:

Does anyone remember The Verve? No, not the Verve Pipe. The UK band The Verve. Yeah, me neither. But I bet you'll remember their one and only hit song, "Bittersweet Symphony." Ah, so 90s. So great. Enjoy!

Hey Michigan, what gives? We had weeks and weeks of beautiful weather, and now you've given us nothing but cloudy skies and rain in the last two days. Frankly, I've had about enough of this.

I want sun. I want heat. I want to go back to the good old days when I could complain about the heat. I promise I'll appreciate it this time. C'mon, baby girl. Just come back, sun. Please!

There's a reason you're supposed to do backups of all your important computer files every so often. Not that I had to reach for any CDs to do a complete rebuild today, but I came damn close. My poor iBook has been slow as molasses lately (at least compared to my lickety split iMac), and I got stuck at the "gray screen of death" for a while this morning.

Normally my laptop boots right up when I come into the office, but that wasn't the case today. I was starting to worry that it might be pooping out on me like my old G4 iMac did, but then with a little help from the fantastic mac community online, I was able to do some tweaking and get everything up and running again.

Remember to do your backups, kiddies!

Well giddyup. Governor Granholm is up by 3% in yet another poll this week. Interestingly, this comes from EPIC-MRA, which had her down by 8% less than a month ago. I think an 11% swing is highly unlikely in such a short time-span, which obviously points towards this polling firm sucking major cross-tabs. If that's the case, then we can't trust anything these guys say.

Still, I'll take the good news while we can get it. I sure hope this is a trend though. Here's an interesting nugget from the poll [from MichLib]:

What's interesting is the potential impact Alticor, the direct marketing business Dick DeVos once headed, may have on these and future numbers.

The new poll asked voters what they think of Alticor, and by a margin of 41 - 17, they had a negative view of the company. Additionally, 21 % of the respondents listed Alticor as a reason not to vote for DeVos. But 62 % say Alticor will not influence their decision.

EPIC-MRA's Ed Sarpolus said a negative attitude towards direct marketing businesses, and a general backlash against big business are among the most likely reasons for the unfavorable attitude towards the Alticor name.

The poll also gives a boost to the governor once biographical information is included.

Sarpolus tells 24 Hour News 8 the poll indicates a couple of things, namely that DeVos is going to have to start telling voters more about his past, especially when it comes to Alticor.

I'm sure Dick is ready to start telling voters about his Amway/Alticor/Quixtar past right now!

Cue the extras and the beady-eyed AMWAY DICK. Action!



"Hi, I'm Dick DeVos. I used to run a giant corporation that exploited this state's hopeless poor by giving them the false hope of earning millions of dollars by selling lots of soap. That maybe wasn't such a nice thing to do. Sorry 'bout that. But Michigan still needs a change. Personally, I'm tired of just being a rich white guy. I want to be your governor so I can make some of my rich white buddies even richer and whiter. Vote for me, and I'll tell you how we can start changing things right after the election."

Lance Bass came out and told the world that he was gay today.

The world responded by asking, "Who the hell is Lance Bass?"

Oh, and Ellen DeGeneres wants her headline back.

I think this category is pretty self-explanatory. These are some of the tv shows that I'm ashamed to say I watched over the years (some more than others), and no, I'm not counting daytime shows or anything before I was ten. Please don't judge me.

1. Dawson's Creek (my mom's fault)
2. Project Runway (this is Stefanie's doing; carry on!)
3. 7th Heaven (no good reason)
4. America's Next Top Model (also Stefy's doing; notice a trend?)
5. Golden Girls (it was summer and nothing else was on... honest)

Well, there are a couple cool vacations coming up in the next two months. Here's the lowdown:

First, from August 13-16, I'll be driving up north to stay at a cabin on some lake in Gaylord with my mom, Dan, Aunt Julie, her family, and my grandparents. Mom and Julie decided to rent something up north several months ago, since I think we all kind of miss going to stay at my grandparent's old place on Lark's Lake. I'm not exactly sure what we'll do up there other than relax by the lake (which is fine by me), but it will be nice to take a few days and be lazy with the fam. Stefy may or may not be able to join us on the trip, but either way I'm sure it'll be a good time.

Later in September I'll be traveling back to Las Vegas for a trip with the Spiros to celebrate Stef's 21st birthday. The original plan was for me and her folks to head out there with Stef and a couple of her girlfriends on this trip, but then that got scrubbed when we started mulling a trip to NYC instead (where a bunch of her friends are already living). Well, that idea came and went, so we're back to the original Vegas plan, but it sounds like it'll just be Tim, Teri, Stef, and me. Or, as Tim put it, three DeVos tickets on the plane, and one Granholm ticket. Anyway, the trip should be a lot of fun. It'll be nice to be somewhere really cool like the Vegas for my girl's big two-one celebration, where there's all sorts of different ways we can get in trouble.

So, the two trips only add up to about five or six days total, but I'll take what I can get. I'm trying to store up some vacation time for the end of the year, so I can take off the two weeks that cover Christmas and New Year's. God, it's scary to think that those two holidays aren't so far away.

I wrote a short letter to the editor in support of Chris Lewless' run for the 68th District House seat a couple days ago, and got a call from the LSJ yesterday asking me if it was okay to print my letter. Since it's not in today's paper, I can only assume that it'll run tomorrow or Friday (at the latest). I'll post a link once it's up.

Maybe people will be writing letters to the editor to support my future campaign for the office of ________ someday. Mwah ha haaaaaa!

About a Boy is one of those movies that I was kind of ho-hum about when I saw it in the theater. Then I watched it a few more times, and I loved it more and more each time I saw it. One of the best things about it is that the soundtrack is so great. Badly Drawn Boy did the score for the film, and all the songs just do a wonderful job of setting the perfect mood for each scene. So, you can imagine how geeked I was last summer when I saw a combo pack of the DVD and the accompanying soundtrack for something ridiculously cheap like £10 (about $18) at Virgin. Anyway, as my affection for the film has grown over the last couple years, so has my love of the soundtrack.

Unfortunately the best video I could find of Badly Drawn Boy is pretty low quality, but the audio is pretty decent in this live performance of "Silent Sigh" from the About a Boy soundtrack. Enjoy!

Page 2B of the Lansing State Journal's School section has a photo and short blurb about the play Morgan is in, Aesop Says, at the All-of-us Express Children's Theater this week.

For anyone who's interested in seeing the show, here are the details:

Aesop Says will be performed July 27 & 29 and August 4 & 5, 2006, at Hannah Community Center in East Lansing. Shows 7:30 pm Thursday July 27 & Friday August 4; 2:00 pm Saturday July 29 & August 5. Tickets $5 (under 19) and $7 (adult) at the door. 1:00 pm shows on Friday July 28 & Friday August 4 for groups only, requiring advance reservation. Call 517-394-4118 for rates and information.

Written by Evelyn Weymouth, directed by All-of-us Express "graduates" Megan Buonodono & Elizabeth Cooke and students David Griffin & Morgan Lees, with cast and crew of local young people.

God, I can't believe that Morgan's making her big debut this week. I hope people will come out and see the show. We're hoping to make Morgan the next Dakota Fanning.

This thing is going to be the death of me. I've been working on our annual report at the office since forever and a day ago, and we're finally ready to send it off to the printer. I think the finished product will look really swank, but I can't wait to be done with this thing... it better help us raise some got-dang money for all the time, money, and effort we're putting into it. Cross your fingers.

I'm sure these will make it into the next full picture series, but here you go for now. Enjoy!







We all had a really nice dinner together to celebrate Morgan's birthday at the Harrison Roadhouse last night. I got her the most recent Harry Potter book, and Matilda by Roald Dahl, one of my favorite children's authors. It was really nice getting to spend at least part of the day with Morgan on her b-day this year, since I was still in London at this time a year ago.

Of course, the celebrating won't really be over until Friday night, when we get together again with Stefy, Keith, Marilyn, Pam, Eric, their kids, and maybe my Aunt Elaine and Bob for Morgan's birthday. Saturday is also my dad's 49th birthday, and Dan will be 43 on Monday (he and my mom will be in town for a family party this weekend), so hopefully I'll get to see both of them for a bit on Saturday to celebrate.

Sheesh, all these got-dang July birthdays are killing me. Well, at least all that's left are Sherry and Kyra's in August, and then it's a straight shot to my big day in September. That seems like so long away, but I'm sure it'll be here before I know it.

Well, I know I've posted a bunch of Beatles clips before, but today is a John Lennon morning for some reason. I turned on the "Lennon" box set on my iPod, and I'm hoping to plow through all 75 songs by the end of the day.

The first clip this morning is a live performance of "Imagine" -- definitely worth checking out. Video number two is a live performance of "Come Together", and the third clip is John's version of "Stand By Me". The word genius gets thrown around a lot in the music world, but few really deserve that title more than John Lennon. Enjoy!

I'm now officially a card-carrying democrat. Watch out, repugs!



If you want to be cool, you'll join too.

Here's a picture of Stef's mom and her siblings (at least the six who were there) from this weekend:


From left to right: Cathy, Dolores, John, Mary, Caroline, David, Teri

Tom Toles and Ted Rall this morning (gracias, dad):

Today is my sister Morgan's 8th birthday! Yay!



Happy Birthday, Morgan!

Love,
Bro-bro

Well, I survived two and a half days at Camp Guidot this weekend. I think I can consider myself fully initiated now.

Friday night we all went downtown to watch the Tigers beat the Oakland A's. The weather was beautiful, the game was a lot of fun, and everyone in the family really seemed to enjoy themselves. We stayed for a while after the game ended to watch the fireworks display, which is always a nice way to cap off an evening at the ballpark.

It was about 11 by the time we made it back to the house, and I was totally wiped out by then. Stef and I scoured the house for a while looking for a place for me to sleep before finally settling on the theater room in the basement. She got me all set up on the comfy couch down there, and I was out in about two minutes. The nice thing about that room is that no sunlight can get in, so it's like time stops when you're in there. I slept like a rock, and could've sworn it was still 3 or 4 in the morning when Stef came to wake me up the next morning.

Teri had this big, ridiculous breakfast waiting for us when I got up, so we all sat outside and scarfed it down. It was nice just to sit out there and yack with all of Stef's aunts and uncles and cousins for a bit.

We were all up and around by 10:30 or 11, and hit the road for the cabin out at Bald Eagle Lake on our way to the graduation party at Stef's Aunt Mary's house. It actually worked out pretty well, since the cottage is right off of I-75 on the way up to Fenton, and I think the little kids had a lot of fun playing in the sand and getting dirty while we were there.

We left the cabin a little after two, and it was about 3 or so when we finally got to Mary's house for her daughter Laura's graduation party. I was pretty hungry by then, so didn't take me long to zero in on a plate of yummy taco dip, which I think I managed to eat about half of in less than ten minutes. The food was all really good, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Again, it was nice to just sit at one of the tables with Stef's family and chitchat for a while. Mary's house is right on Silver Lake, so it was to sit out and get some more sun while we were there. A bunch of us piled into the boat at around 7 and went for a nice, leisurely little cruise around the lake and through a bunch of the surrounding channels and canals.

By the time it started getting dark, Mary's son Jeff and his buddies asked everyone to head up to the house so they could start setting up for their highly illegal fireworks display. They actually put on a really great show, so it was fun to sit on the deck with Stefy and enjoy the fireworks.

It was about 10:45 or so when we finally decided to call it a day, and hit the road back to Stef's house. Again, I was totally zonked when we got back, so I pretty much went straight downstairs to sleep.

Sunday morning was another huge breakfast spread, and I think Teri managed to outdo what she had done the day before. We all sat out and ate on the porch again, which was nice. Sean, Marina, and the kids showed up in time to join us for breakfast, so it was good to see them too. Once we helped clean things up inside the house following the breakfast massacre, everyone pretty much spent the rest of the day out in the pool. It was really hot outside, so it definitely felt good to go for a swim and then lay out on one of the chaise lounge chairs for a while to dry off. Yesterday was just one of those great lazy days by the pool where you never really accomplish anything, other than getting a really good tan. It was great.

The mass exodus from Stef's house began a little after 3, since her Aunt, Uncle, and their kids had to head off to the airport for their flight back to Atlanta. After they took off there was a steady stream of people leaving over the next couple of hours, but it was nice that the process was drawn out a bit because we got to give everyone a proper goodbye. Sadly, I finally had to head out myself shortly after 7 so I could get home and get some laundry done for work this week.

So, it was a very long, very busy, very tiresome weekend at Camp Guidot, but I had a great time. I was a little worried at first that I might be overwhelmed by all the new faces and the crowded house, but that seemed pretty silly in retrospect. Everyone was very friendly, and I feel like I got to know a bunch of Stef's aunts/uncles/cousins pretty well over the course of the weekend. I think if I can survive two and a half solid days with Stef's family, I can take just about anything that girl could throw at me from here on out.

This is Zack Pohl, signing out from Camp Guidot 2006.

I don't know what made me think of this song this morning, but for whatever reason I did. This is one of those really cheesy pre-MTV music videos that remind you how terrible these things used to be (and, in a way, still are), but "American Woman" is still a great rock song, no matter how old-school and lame its music video might be. Plus, it always makes me think of that scene in American Beauty when Kevin Spacey is driving in his car and smoking a joint. Anyway, enjoy:

Tom Toles this morning (gracias, dad):

That's right, by a whopping three visits! Seriously though, passing 100 visitors (not hits, I'm keepin' it real, ya'll) in a day is a big deal for me, especially considering that my stats were well on their way to that feat four months ago, but took a nosedive after I stupidly lost the ibzp.com domain. A lot of the increase is probably coming from new people who've linked to the pohlitics site, but hey, I'll take what I can get. Anyway, who knows where we'll go from here. First we'll pass 200 visitors a day, then a thousand, then we'll pass DailyKos, and then next thing you know, iBZP will be bigger than MySpace. Or not. Anyway, yay for me.

Here is Stephen Colbert's answer to the new Al Gore documentary. Please enjoy "The Convenientest Truth":

Well, my dad and I are supposed to play tennis again today, so I say bring on the pain... for me. Ha, yeah I haven't been doing too well against my old man lately, but there's always hope. I must enjoy losing though. Let's see, I'm a democrat, a Spartan fan, a Lions fan, a bad tennis player... the list goes on. Anyway, it's still fun to play, and I'm definitely looking forward to it. I don't think it's supposed to be as ridiculously hot today, so that'll help.

I'm heading to Stef's later in the afternoon to spend the weekend at Camp Guidot. Or is it Guidot University? I'm not sure what they decided to call it, but a bunch of Teri's siblings will be in town for a niece's high school graduation party, so I'll be getting the full initiation over the next couple of days. We'll see if I can survive it. Tonight we're going to a Tiger's game with the whole clan, and tomorrow is the party at Stef's Aunt Mary's house. Should be fun!

Anyway, since we'll be running all over hell's half acre this weekend, updates could be sporadic or nonexistent. I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures to share next week though. Well, that's it for now. Have a good weekend!

I almost forgot to mention. The website I made for Superior Die, Tool & Machine Co. is finally up and running. I'm pretty proud of it, so go have a look and let me know what you think:

http://www.superior-dietool.com/

Boy, after going through a long dry spell for top five categories, I've been coming up with all sorts of pointless new ideas for countdowns lately. And here's the latest: my top five favorite freeware apps for Mac OS X:

1. Camino [OS X aquified version of Firefox/Mozilla]
2. Cyberduck [an FTP client]
3. Vienna [RSS feed reader]
4. MySync [does what .mac does for $0]
5. Skype [free phone calls to landlines = yum]

Frankly, I don't know how you Windows users get by without slick freeware apps like these. Then again, I don't know how you can stand to use Windows at all.

I like to think I'm a pretty hip guy, on the cutting edge of blogging technology. Well, iBZP has offered an RSS feed since January, but it wasn't until today that I really took the time to learn about RSS and how it works. Basically, it just stands for Really Simple Syndication, and is an .xml file that mirrors the content of a website or blog, but displays it without the site's navigation, ads, or annoying design (not that you'd have those problems here). Anyone out there with an RSS reader can subscribe to different websites' feeds, and the reader will tell you whenever a site adds new content. It's just a cool way to keep up with sites as they update without having to hunt around and see which of your favorite sites have added new content recently.

Anyway, I've been tinkering with the settings for both iBZP and Pohlitics' RSS feeds, and I think I more or less have them working the way I want them. Thanks to feedburner, the free website that lets you add some cool features to an RSS feed, I just added this little widget in the sidebar, right below the archives. From no on, whenever I make a new post on Pohlitics, the box will show the latest headlines, and link back to the site. It's just a nifty way to check what's going on without having to click over to the other site. So yeah, it basically saves you five seconds. And I just wasted this whole post explaining it. Enjoy!

For anyone who needs more proof that my mom and Dan are living in the most happenin' city, in the most swingin' state in the union, well here you go [from NBC 4]:

GROVE CITY, Ohio -- A bizarre act of nature was found in Grove City Wednesday -- a kitten was born with two faces.

The kitten was born Wednesday morning. It has two mouths that meow in unison, two noses and four eyes that have not opened yet, NBC 4's Mike Bowersock reported.

"I was playing outside in the rain. Once I came in, I saw a two-faced cat my mom was picking up. That's how I knew there was a two-faced cat," said Charles Roberts, the cat's owner.

I know it sounds like this story couldn't get any more fascinating, but wait, there's more...

The cat's owner told NBC 4 that she fed Tiger at about 1 a.m. Friday. But when she awakened at about 5 a.m. to check on the cat, it was gone.

The family searched their entire home, but the kitten was not found, NBC 4 reported.

The cat was scheduled to go to a veterinarian on Friday. The cat did not originally nurse since it was born but was eating at the time of his disappearance, the cat's owner said.

Two other kittens were part of the litter but there was only one cat born with two faces, NBC 4 reported.Dr. Shane Bateman with The Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital said a two-faced kitten is extremely rare and there's no real explanation as to why it would have happened.

Hoo boy, we got a real mystery here. Somebody call Angela Lansbury.

Mom, Dan... I beg you. Move out of the sticks. Love, Zack.

I've been saying I'll get a new car in a year for about six months, which means I want to start getting serious about narrowing down which model I want to buy. Just a couple weeks ago, I thought I had a few different cars in mind that I wanted to test drive, and while some of those ideas are still on the list (like the Pontiac G6), I'm really gung-ho about looking at a few different hybrid cars, after having seen An Inconvenient Truth over the weekend. While I almost certainly won't even be test driving some of these cars for various reasons, here are the top five hybrid cars I would like to buy if money were no object:

1. Toyota Camry (my dad is probably buying one of these bad boys)
2. Honda Accord (unfamiliar w/ Hondas, but I hear good things)
3. Lexus 400h (Stef drives one, and it's a bute)
4. Toyota Prius (it be ugly, but this is probably what I'm most serious about)
5. Ford Escape (not sure about Fords these days, but I think they look cool)

It's that time of the month again. More like that time of the quarter, but still. We're just now getting ready to send out our July newsletter hear at the office, which means Kim Tyler and I are going to be knee deep in labeling these 2,000 newsletters for the next day and a half or so. It's really not so bad, since it's such a mindless task, but it is a pain in the neck. Literally. After sitting in one spot forever slapping those labels on the newsletters, I always end up getting some sort of neck/back/headache. Ugh. Well, all I care about right now is getting these bad boys in the mail ASAP, so we can ensure that the calendar still says July by the time people start getting them.

Well, my lunch with Brian was really nice yesterday. It was funny though, because when I walked into the restaurant and the waitress seated me, the first person I noticed sitting at the table next to me was John Gulliver, my dad and Sherry's longtime friend from the Jaycees. Then I looked over and saw that the person he was sitting with was Sherry. So, I sat there for a few minutes and chatted with them before Brian joined me. I guess you never know who you'll run into in East Lansing at lunchtime.

And my streak of lunches out of the office continues this afternoon, as I'm meeting my dad at Qdboa in a few hours. By the way, just so everyone is aware, I'm pretty sure it's pronounced "kuh-doba", not "Q-doba" with a hard Q sound. I know that makes me sound like a complete English prick, but I hear a lot of people say it the other way, and it's on par with hearing people pronounce the word nuclear "nook-you-lar" for me.

I've never been big on female singers. It's not that I ever had anything against them per se, but there were just always more bands with male vocalists that I liked a lot more. No Doubt is definitely an exception to that rule. Honestly, on my list of bands that I've never seen perform live, they're at or near the top of the list for which ones I want to see first. It's hard to believe that they've been around for well over ten years now. That's real staying power in the music industry, by today's standards.

Anyway, the first clip this morning is a live performance of "Just a Girl", which is the first song of theirs that made me take notice of them. The second video is still probably their biggest hit, "Don't Speak". Finally, the band is doing the Beatles' "Ob-la-di Ob-la-da" live to close out one of their concerts in the last clip. Enjoy!

Lots of comics this morning, all found by my dad. Enjoy!

Let's give this one another whirl. After a botched lunch attempt with my cousin Brian last Wednesday, I think we're going to make another go of it today. Hopefully we have our ducks in a row this time.

Last night I was a letter-folding machine at the Granholm HQ. I went through a few hundred of those bad boys in less than two hours, so that felt pretty good. We'll see what they've got me doing later, when I go back for more volunteer time after work today.

While the weather has been a bit steamy lately, I gotta give it up to Michigan for giving us one hell of a summer so far. It seems like we've gotten a fair amount of rain, but most of it has come late at night, which is perfect timing. Yesterday it cooled down to the point where the temperature wasn't completely unbearable anymore, which made for a nice walk when I got home. Yep, I've still been pretty good about going for walks after dinner lately. Since Keith Olbermann is pretty much the only show I make a point of seeing in primetime anymore (see post below), I figure now's the time to get out and get some exercise.

Anyway, that's it for now. I'm hungry. I think it's time to rustle up some pop-tarts for breakfast. Mmmm.

This might seem like a silly category, but for a news junkie like me, it's a big deal. Here are my top five favorite TV news programs (not counting ones on Comedy Central):

1. Countdown with Keith Olbermann (the un-O'Reilly on MSNBC)
2. American Morning (CNN)
3. CBS Evening News (Rather: yes! Scheiffer: eh. Kouric: blah)
4. Lou Dobbs (CNN; sure, he's a blowhard, but still a good show)
5. Hardball (MSNBC; I hate C. Matthews, but still a good plitical show)

In honor of Dan Quayle taking offense to John Mellencamp dedicating his song "Walk Tall" to everyone hurt by policies of the Bush administration, today's first video is... "Walk Tall". Clip number two is the video for "Pink Houses", and the third video is for "Small Town", two of my favorite Mellencamp tunes. Enjoy!

Well, here's another sign that I'm getting to be an old man. I ate dinner at something like 7:30 last night, and had a Coke to drink with my meal. When my usual bedtime came around 10:30ish, I felt really tired, but I couldn't fall asleep for the life of me. I decided to stay up and watch the Daily Show and the first part of the Colbert Report, but I still had trouble passing out. Later in the night at around 3:00 a.m., it started storming really loud again, and the thunder woke me up. Grrrrr. After that, it felt like I kept waking up about every hour for the rest of the night. Man, I hate nights like that.

I guess I get to look forward to a day of heavy eyes now. No Coke for me tonight!

WAAOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRGHHOOOOOWWW!

Yep, the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, is the featured artist this morning. The first clip is from one of those old teen dance shows with James lip syncing "I Feel Good". Video number two is a (real) liver performance of "Sex Machine". And finally, clip number three is from James Brown's Celebrity Hot Tub Party.

Too hot in the hot tub!

Tom Toles and Ted Rall this morning (gracias, dad):

For those who haven't noticed, I have more or less ceased my political posting here on iBZP since my new website Pohlitics.com is basically up and running. In fact, with a little help from the LeftyBlogs network, and a couple cross-posts on MichiganLiberal.com, my site traffic over there has almost caught up with what iBZP is currently drawing.

If you haven't checked out the new site yet, please take a few minutes to check it out. Even if you're a conservative Bush-lover at heart, at least it'll give you a chance to see what the good guys are up to (wink).

Okay, so I didn't get a whole lot done tonight, but who wants to go outside when it's this ungodly hot anyway?

Tomorrow I'm meeting Katie for lunch at Panera, so it'll be fun to sit down and catch up with everything that's been going on with her. After work I'm heading into Granholm HQ to do some volunteer work, and will probably go in again on Wednesday. Hopefully I can make lunch with Brian work on Wednesday too (after things didn't exactly pan out last week).

Thursday I might be going to my dad's for dinner, and hopefully we'll be able to make tennis work on Friday again. I figure if I keep chipping off a few games against him each week, I'll be whooping him by the end of the summer. Later in the day on Friday, I'm heading to Stef's house for a very Guidot weekend. Teri's niece is having a graduation party on Saturday, so a bunch of her brothers and sisters will be in town to celebrate... and there all staying at the Spiro house for the weekend. Quarters will be a little cramped, but it will be nice to meet some more of Stefy's relatives for the first time.

Anyway, that's it for tonight. I hope this rain lets up by tomorrow morning. Nighty night!

There were two new trailers that I hadn't seen before when we went to see An Inconvenient Truth on Saturday. Both of them look very intriguing. Have a look:

• The U.S. vs. John Lennon



• Who Killed the Electric Car? (interviews with the director here and part two here)

Well, it was a hot weekend, that's for sure. Saturday was a big movie day for me. Stef and I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean at 12:50, and sat through about two and a half hours of blah, IMHO. That movie just tried way too hard to throw in lots of ridiculous twists and turns in the plot, and way too many false endings. It was also one of the dirtiest films I've ever seen; dirty in the sense that every single frame must've required about 80 pounds of dirt, slime, and grime to make everything look filthy. I felt like I needed to take a shower when I walked out of the theater. Of course, since they cut off the ending so abruptly, I still somehow feel obligated to go see the next one just to see how this damn thing ends. Pathetic, I know.

Anyway, Stef and I went over to the Irish Pub for a late lunch after the movie, and I called up mom and Dan to see if they wanted to join us. Friday night they went to a wedding on the East side of the state, but they were planning to spend Saturday night at my place, so they were already nearby. We had a really nice little lunch out on the patio, just sitting and chatting for a while. I'm not usually a huge fan of eating outside, but on such a beautiful day, it was hard to resist.

After lunch we all went back to my place and hung out there for a while before Stefy had to hit the road for home. Mom, Dan, and I spent the rest of the afternoon just relaxing at my place before deciding to go out again to see An Inconvenient Truth, which you can tell I thought was fantastic.

We all got up and around yesterday morning in time to head out to the 11:30 mass at St. Cas. I think it's safe to say that all of us were hoping to see Fr. Bill there, but I guess he was sick, so they had another priest stand in for him. Coincidentally, my dad was also reading yesterday, so we stood there and chatted with him for a bit before and after the service. I was glad that I got a chance to see him for at least part of the day. Anyway, this replacement priest was actually pretty decent, but he's still no Fr. Bill.

I went to Panera for lunch with my mom and Dan afterwards, and we had a nice time sitting and chatting there for a while. They had to get going pretty much as soon as we got back to my place, so I was glad we got a little more time to spend together. After they hit the road for Ohio, I pretty much spent the rest of the afternoon being lazy. I popped in Donnie Darkko to watch at around 2 or 3 in the afternoon, because Stef and I had started and never finished it several months ago, and I always hate not finishing a movie (yeah, I'm weird like that). I did eventually venture out of the apartment for a bit to go for a walk, but man, I probably lost about three pounds in water weight just from sweating so damn much. It's hard to complain about warm summer weather, but this is starting to get ridiculous.

Anyway, that's basically my weekend in a nutshell. I hope everyone has a good Monday!

There's just not a lot you can say about Eric Clapton. He's the greatest guitar player alive. End of story. Here's EC doing "Layla" live (the old-school, rock version). The second clip is a live version of "Wonderful Tonight", his best ballad. Enjoy!

I challenge everyone to go see An Inconvenient Truth while it's still in theaters. I don't care if you've never voted for a democrat in your life. I don't care if you still make jokes about Al Gore "inventing the internet". I don't care if you still have a "W '04" sticker on the back of your SUV (or a yellow ribbon, for that matter). Everyone needs to see this film.

The only people who could walk out of a theater after having watched the former vice president's slideshow about global warming and still have any doubt about the issue are oil executives and sadists.

Here are some facts about global warming that you may or may not already know:

The vast majority of scientists agree that global warming is real, it’s already happening and that it is the result of our activities and not a natural occurrence. The evidence is overwhelming and undeniable.

We’re already seeing changes. Glaciers are melting, plants and animals are being forced from their habitat, and the number of severe storms and droughts is increasing.

• The number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled in the last 30 years.
• Malaria has spread to higher altitudes in places like the Colombian Andes, 7,000 feet above sea level.
• The flow of ice from glaciers in Greenland has more than doubled over the past decade.
• At least 279 species of plants and animals are already responding to global warming, moving closer to the poles.

If the warming continues, we can expect catastrophic consequences.

• Deaths from global warming will double in just 25 years -- to 300,000 people a year.
• Global sea levels could rise by more than 20 feet with the loss of shelf ice in Greenland and Antarctica, devastating coastal areas worldwide.
• Heat waves will be more frequent and more intense.
• Droughts and wildfires will occur more often.
• The Arctic Ocean could be ice free in summer by 2050.
• More than a million species worldwide could be driven to extinction by 2050.

There is no doubt we can solve this problem. In fact, we have a moral obligation to do so. Small changes to your daily routine can add up to big differences in helping to stop global warming. The time to come together to solve this problem is now – TAKE ACTION

Global warming is real. There is no debate or doubt in the independent scientific community that global warming exists, or that mankind is causing it. This is not a political issue. Global warming does not force us to make a choice between the economy and the environment. And no, it's not too late to do something about it.

Just this week, Wal-Mart, one of the largest and most notorious corporations on the planet, invited Al Gore to an executive conference to share his global warming slideshow. CEO Lee Scott now wants to explore new ways of significantly reducing Wal-Mart's carbon footprint in an effort to head off any negative effects the climate crisis might have on business (again, this isn't a choice between the economy and the environment -- the two can work hand-in-hand). If Wal-Mart, a company that has literally made billions of dollars by exploiting cheap labor all over the world, can come around on this issue, then anyone can.

I can understand why some people (even staunch dems) might be put off by the prospect of sitting through an hour and forty minutes of Al Gore giving a science lecture. But this isn't the robotic, heavy-sighing Al Gore we saw in the 2000 debates. This is the dry, witty, incredibly intelligent Al Gore that only popped out on occasion during his eight years in the White House. While Gore takes a few well-deserved jabs at the current administration's (lack of) environmental policy during the film, I thought his presentation was remarkably a-political, and grounded in scientific fact instead of traditional "liberal" environmental ideology. That's why I think anyone can and should see this film, because it really does have the power to change some minds about the looming climate crisis.

There's a million details I would love to dive into here, but I just wouldn't do the film, or Mr. Gore, justice. All I'll say is that, if you love your children and grandchildren, you owe it to them to see this movie.

Hoo Boy! It was a scorcher today. I stayed indoors for most of the day in an effort to stay cool, and all I gotta say is... thank God for air conditioning. Gee, it's nice having my own apartment this summer, where when I pay for the electricity, I actually get to take advantage of the air conditioning.

It doesn't look like it's going to get any cooler this week either, so stay cool out there, people!

Oh, and for the hell of it, here's the Who performing "Heat Wave" on the German TV show, Beat Club. Enjoy!

I haven't the foggiest idea. Dad and I have tentative plans to play tennis, but since there's a chance of rain, and since it'll be so God-awful hot today, it's all up in the air at this point. Stef may or may not drive into town to visit me tonight, but she was still on the fence about it when I spoke to her last night. My apartment is a mess, and I may or may not have time to get it all straightened up before my mom and Dan show up tomorrow. Basically, I'm just a big flake today, I guess. I'm working until noon (the only thing I'm sure of), and then after that... who knows?

Have a good one!

Well it's Friday night, and the mood is right. Gonna have some fun, show ya how it's done, TGIF! Yep, the glory days of bad Friday television started back in 1989, when ABC started the TGIF lineup. Ah, memories!

Here are my top five favorite TGIF shows:

1. Perfect Strangers
2. Full House (aka "Bad Television" in my home)
3. Family Matters
4. Boy Meets World
5. Hangin' with Mr. Cooper

They had me making phone calls to crotchety old people at Granholm's HQ yesterday evening. Basically I was calling people to remind them about this upcoming "private reception" with the governor at some lady's house in Birmingham. Well, the minimum donation to get in is a cool grand, and while I left about 30 voicemails from all the numbers I called, I don't think I got a single "Yeah, I'll be there" responses from the people I actually spoke with. In fact, I got a lot more than I bargained for with one woman, who talked my ear off for no less than fifteen minutes about the campaign. She was giving me all sorts of advice about how the governor should be doing this or that, and I kept telling her that I agreed, but wasn't the one who called the shots. It was kind of funny, but definitely chewed through a decent chunk of my time at the campaign office yesterday.

Well, it's Thursday. I used to hate Thursdays when I was in high school, but since I spent about half of my college career with no Friday classes, and since I'm only working half days on Fridays now that I'm a full-time worker, I've come to appreciate Thursdays more and more. So, I'm officially declaring that Thursday is the new... Friday.

It's basically a normal work day today, and I'm heading over to my dad's house to see Sherry and the girls for the first time in forever. Hopefully I can try to squeeze some more birthday ideas out of Morgan, because I want to take care of my shopping this weekend. I have a little bit of laundry to attend to while I'm there, since I need to make sure I have clean sheets and towels for my mom and Dan when they show up on Saturday.

Dad and I are going to try and play tennis tomorrow, but given my pitiful performance two weeks ago, and considering that it's going to be 90º+ tomorrow afternoon, I'm not particularly optimistic. I'm sure it'll be, uh, fun to lose though. At least it's good exercise.

Anyway, that's basically it for now. Have a good one.

If you can get past the Dylan-esque voice and horsey face, then you can appreciate Tom Petty. He's one of those artists that I have to take in small doses, but he's made some truly amazing music over the years. Clip number one this morning is a live performance of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers doing "American Girl", one of my favorites. The second video is a grainy looking/sounding rendition of "Free Fallin'" from a concert in Charlotte, North Carolina just over a month ago. Finally, the last clip is the music video for "I Won't Back Down." Interestingly, Ringo Starr and George Harrison make appearances in the video with Mr. Petty. Enjoy!

Tom Toles (gracias, dad) and Mike Ramsey this morning:

Well, even though I'm volunteering for the governor's campaign, and might start volunteering for a State Rep candidate next week too, I thought it was finally time to put my money where my mouth is, and make some donations.

First off, I officially joined the Michigan Democratic Party today. It only cost me $15. I mean, that's less than the cost of a DVD. Surely you can wait a month to buy Madea's Family Reunion, so do your part and go sign up now.

I also went over to Governor Granholm's nifty little website tonight, and signed up to make $10 contributions on a monthly basis between now and election day. I think I can sacrifice a trip or two to McDonald's every month to make sure that the AMWAY DICK doesn't get his greasy paws on the governor's mansion. If you've sat in front of a TV at any time since Capt. Amway started running his commercials back in February and wanted to reach through the screen and smack him one, then it's time to do something about it: go show the gov some love. We're almost at the end of the quarter, so a big push in fundraising will give her some momentum heading into the next few months.

I don't want to be obnoxious and keep making posts like this, but I will if I think it's necessary. Every little bit helps, so if you send the democrats some money (even if they're not in Michigan), make a note of it in the comments. It's a small investment to make sure your kids don't have to sell Amway toothpaste to make a living some day.

See, my momma didn't raise no fool!

Last night was the Keb' Mo'/Bonnie Raitt concert at Common Ground, which I'm sorry to say I missed. This morning I had an email from my dad saying that the thought crossed his mind that it was too bad that it rained during the concert last night, since that's exactly what happened when we went to the Michigan Festival to see Bonnie 15 years ago. So I checked the LSJ website to see if last night's show got cut short because of the weather [from LSJ]:

It was a dark and stormy night ... and the rain at Adado Riverfront Park on Tuesday night could have been the Common Ground headline, but thanks to more than a few thousand hardy mid-Michigan rock fans, it somehow wasn’t. As Bonnie Raitt herself said from the stage: “You’re really stalwarts out there ... these Michigan people are tough!”

Either that, or they remember Raitt’s last local appearance, at the now-defunct Michigan Fest in 1991, which was rained out four songs into her set. We had to wait 15 years to get her back; we can’t just let her get away again.

So, I'm glad to read that the show didn't get totally rained out like ours did. I can still remember how disappointed my dad was when Bonnie told us that they had to stop the show at that show 15 years ago (God, I can't believe it's been that long!). He was yelling things at the stage like "We'll help you move inside Breslin, Bonnie! They've got power in there!" Heh... oh, dad. Anyway, here's a couple Bonnie clips this morning. In the first one she's performing the Stevie Ray Vaughn classic "Pride and Joy". The second clip is Bonnie with blues legend John Lee Hooker performing "I'm in the Mood". Enjoy!

Yep, I'm totally lame. I know, you don't have to remind me. Last night I just finished writing the last 12 thank-you notes from my graduation party back in... May. This is probably a new low for me, so to everyone who hasn't received a thank you card yet, you can rest assured knowing that one's coming in the mail as I write this. Please accept my apologies. As my mom would say, she raised me better than that.

My poor girl has been sick since Monday night. Stefy had to miss work yesterday, and again today. It sounds like she has a sore throat/headache/tummy ache. Hopefully she's feeling better soon. I just wish I could be there to take care of her when she's out of commission, but she's going to see her doctor today (also her aunt), so hopefully she'll figure out what the deal is.

Get well soon, my Stefery!

Rocky Balboa
Aggrhoraarrrrah! Stallone translation: this looks like a train wreck in the making.



'The Office': A British Crossover?
I know a lot of people think the American version of 'The Office' is good. Maybe it is. But I doubt Steve Carrell's character could say stuff like this: "I haven't got a sign on the door that says white people only. I don't care if you're black, brown or yellow - you know, Orientals make very good workers."

Doing a British crossover on the American spin-off that was inspired by the British version would be like taking a character from the original Star Trek series and putting them in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Some sort of sick half-human, half-Vulcan hybrid. Oh, wait. Nevermind.

I. Love. Keb'. Mo'. He's probably the best modern blues musician in America, and tonight he's playing with Bonne Raitt at the Common Ground Music Festival in Lansing (here's an article by Mike Hughes in today's HUB). Sadly, I don't have tickets to the event, but I'm sure it'll be a great show. Anyway, the first clip is Keb' doing this really sweet love song, "Closter" (unfortunately, there's some boring white dude that keeps interrupting the clip). The second video is Keb' and Corey Harris doing the immortal Robert Johnson's "Sweet Home Chicago". Enjoy!

What a great week for lunches out on the town. Man, it's amazing how fast my calendar gets filled up every week these days. I'm meeting my dad for lunch today to catch up on his trip to Vermont, and I'm doing lunch with Brian in East Lansing tomorrow for the first time in forever. Going out for lunch is always exciting, because it helps to break up the work day. Of course, the timing could've been better, considering that I just dropped some dough on groceries last night, but I guess I can't complain.

Speaking of groceries, I gotta say... I really hate the changes they're making at the Lake Lansing Meijer. Sure, it'll be nice to have everything be all "new" and "clean", but I miss the layout of the old, dirty store. I swear, every time mI go in there lately, they've moved something around again. I thought I was getting the lay of the land, but after going for several weeks without making a stop there, everything's all different again. The toiletries are now in the far East corner of the store, when they used to be right next to the groceries. That means I gotta truck through about fifty isles of hardware, houseware, and toys before I can buy a tube of toothpaste. I swear, I'm honestly thinking about switching to Kroger (shudder).

Anyway, tonight I'm hoping to go volunteer at Granholm's HQ after work to make up for skipping out to attend the 68th District debate yesterday. I'll probably go again on Wednesday, and then to my dad's on Thursday. Stef may or may not be coming to town this weekend, so my plans for Friday are still a little up in the air. Mom and Dan are staying with me on Saturday, so that means I'll have to go through my usual pre-parental-vist cleaning extravaganza at so