Okay, I'm going to assign blame for MSU's heartbreaking loss to Notre Dame on Saturday night in the following order: John L. Smith, Dick DeVos, Mike Rogers, Saul Anuzis, Mike Bouchard. Here's how I justify it...
John L. Smith is clearly a bad coach. How else can you explain blowing a 17 point lead heading into the second half of the most important home game of the year? Jehuu Caulcrick ran for over 100 yards and was a huge part of how we got that lead in the first place, yet the kid never touched the football in the fourth quarter. John L. just got his ass out-coached, plain and simple. At the beginning of the year I joked that he would either be fired midseason or after another year of just missing a bowl game. Right now I think the latter is more likely, but if he finds new and creative ways to lose winnable games between now and the end of the year, it's possible that his fate could be sealed at about the three-quarter mark of this season.
One can only hope.
Now, as for the other four bozos, the republican dream team decided to have a big rally -- where they paid "volunteers" twenty dollars an hour to walk around Spartan Stadium with their DeVos/Rogers/Bouchard shirts and stickers on -- before the game on Saturday. As my fellow lefty blogger Christine Barry correctly pointed out last Wednesday, this rally signaled certain doom for the Spartans. You see, Dick DeVos paid a visit to Comerica Park on August 8, and in the three weeks that followed the Tigers' win-loss average dropped from .619 to .318. Sure, they managed to recover and still made the playoffs, but I think it's pretty clear that Dick's little visit single-handedly jinxed the Tigers for a while there.
So, on top of John L. Smith being a shitty coach, we had the bad karma of DeVos/Rogers/Anuzis (a U of M Dearborn grad, no less!)/Bouchard (the only Spartan alum) to contend with.
Hey, I'm sorry Spartan fans, but this is just one more reason to vote against the republicans in November.
P.S. More on this over at MichLib.
A movie with a creative concept and talented actors that isn't a sequel or a rehashed storyline? Get outta town!
Yep, The Illusionist is probably the best movie of the late summer/early fall season so far, and if you haven't seen it yet, go now before it's out of the theaters.
I would try to explain the plot here, but I don't really know where to begin. Ed Norton is this badass magician who hatches a crazy scheme to steal his childhood sweetheart away from this douchebag prince. There's obviously a lot more to it than that, but you get the gist.
Look, I know it's not Jackass: Number Two, but do yourself a favor and go see The Illusionist before all the schlocky Oscar Bait starts rolling down from Hollywood, come November.
I worked until noon on Friday, and then Stef and I hit the road for her house. That afternoon we ran out to the mall for a bit to buy a birthday present for Stefy's friend Sayee, whose birthday party was that night. Afterwards we came back to the house to relax for a little while, and eventually went to the Outback for dinner with Stef's folks. It was nice getting to see them, and our dinner was really good, per usual.
The weather turned a little nasty while we were at the restaurant, but it managed to clear up a bit by the time we made it back home to change for the party. Sayee's birthday soiree was at the Blue Martini in Birmingham, which is basically this grownup cocktail lounge (as the name suggests). We made it to the club by about 9:30, so it was still a little dead when we first got there.
Sayee had invited about six or eight of us, and we had this nice little booth in the back corner. We sat and chatted for while, since we were all kind of waiting for this salsa lesson that they were doing on the main dance floor to be over. I don't know why, but for some silly reason I think we all thought the regular dance music would kick in once this salsa lesson was over, but that wasn't the case. It was basically an all-salsa evening at the Blue Martini, and none of us were too wild about it. Still, there were a handful of songs that we could get out there and dance halfway respectably to, so it was still a really fun time. I managed to hang in there until about 12:30 or so, but I think just about everyone in our little group started hitting the wall at about the same time. Stef and I made it back to her place by 1, and I pretty much went straight to bed. It was a really fun night though, and I'm really grateful to Sayee for including me.
Stef and I both slept in pretty late on Saturday morning, and didn't get up until about 10:30 or so. We lounged around for a couple hours before finally getting our act together and hitting the road for Lansing. It was a little after 2 by the time I made it back to my apartment, and since Stef was going to the MSU/Notre Dame football game that night and I was scheduled to babysit my little sisters, we split off for the rest of the day.
Dad and Sherry had tickets to see Eric Clapton at the Palace, and since they wanted to have a nice dinner before the concert they took off by about 3:30 or so. I had a fun time with the girls in the afternoon. We watched Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Evens on DVD, played hide-and-go-seek, and just goofed around most of the time I was there.
The phone rang between 5 and 6 and it was my dad on the other end. Apparently the Clapton concert was cancelled because Eric had a sore throat (or something) and couldn't sing. So, my poor dad and Sherry drove all that way for nothing. They decided to stay near the Palace and still go out for dinner since they were already there though, so it really didn't change anything for me and the girls. We just finished out movie and watched some Sponge Bob before I put them to bed at 8.
The timing was perfect, because I was able to catch the MSU/Notre Dame game on TV. Of course, only about the first 3/4 of the game were fun to watch, since MSU collapsed in the 4th quarter and blew a 17 point lead. Sigh. Oh, the life of a Spartan. Anyway, dad and Sherry made it home and watched the end of the game with me, and I made it back to my place by midnight.
Sunday was pretty lazy, but I think I earned it. Stef and I watched some TV in the late morning before taking off to see The Illusionist in the afternoon. After that we just kind of let the rest of the day evaporate, but it was nice not having to worry about going anywhere or do anything productive.
So yeah, that was it for the weekend. I hope everyone had a good one.
Is it a funny movie that every Michigan voter should see before the election? Absolutely.
Loki Mulholland said his hope for the film (at least with Michigan audiences) was to show democrats what they were up against, and to show republicans what they are representing this year. Taken in that spirit, I think everyone has good reason to see 'BELIEVE', regardless of their political affiliations.
Like Matt said in his write-up about the movie, I think a lot of people know that Amway is bad news, but don't really know what makes it such a horrible, soul-crushing business. I don't claim to be an expert about the way Amway works, but I know enough to say that 'BELIEVE' pretty much nails everything I've ever read about Multi Level Marketing firms. It's all there in the movie: the deceptive come-ons, the pyramid scheme setup, the false promise of easy money, the blatant sexism, the motivational tapes (which are the real moneymakers for MLMs), the cult mentality, the political intimidation, the alienation of friends and family, and so on.
In fact, I think 'BELIEVE' probably nails the whole MLM scheme a little too accurately. While the dialogue, characters, and comically awkward situations are quite funny at times, I kept thinking to myself how sad and pathetic these people are. Even the Attorney General character and the anti-Believe crusader -- the people who are supposedly fighting against this evil MLM -- are self-absorbed wackos. Basically everyone and everything associated with these companies are self-destructive.
Ultimately, that's part of the point though. I think we're supposed to come away with the sense that MLMs are a cancer on society. There's even a line in the film where the Attorney General who is trying to bring down the company says exactly that -- that Believe is a cancer on society, and he's the cure. The interviewer reminds him that there is no cure for cancer, and considering the way our government has allowed MLMs to exist in the real world despite their unsavory business practices, there probably isn't a cure for this cancer.
Part of what's so disturbing for Michigan voters is that Dick DeVos, the man who ran the cancerous Amway Corporation for nine years, could win the election this year and be the most powerful person in the state for the next four years. Even more frightening is the thought that DeVos has presidential ambitions (he owns the domain devosforpresident.com). Just imagine that... Amway in the White House. It sends shivers down my spine.
Since all of these thoughts were in my head as I sat there watching 'BELIEVE', it was a little hard to let myself really enjoy the film. I think for most people in Anytown, USA, 'BELIEVE' will just be a funny, cute movie to go see and have a good time. However, Michigan voters who see the movie need to approach it from a slightly different perspective. I would tell anyone in the state who goes to see 'BELIEVE' -- again, regardless of their feelings about Granholm -- that they need to keep asking themselves if they would really want the guy who ran this company to be running our state for four years. Forget about the economy, forget about social issues, forget about your personal feelings about the current governor for 80 minutes, and just think about the way these MLMs do business, and what it would mean for our state if the former president of Amway was in charge.
Unfortunately, I doubt we'll see Dick DeVos in an orange jumpsuit like the owner of Believe at the end of the film, but if enough people see this movie, at least we won't see him in the governor's mansion anytime soon.
Thanks again to Loki Mulholland and Danor Gerald for putting on last night's screening. It was great getting to finally meet them and some of my fellow Michigan bloggers.
Oh, and remember to tell five friends about 'BELIEVE'. If they tell five friends and those five friends tell another five friends, pretty soon the whole world will see this movie!
I saw this letter in yesterday's State News and wanted to share it. Unfortunately I won't be at tomorrow's game, but for those who will be, remember to chant for Bubba Smith when they retire his jersey.
I know most students probably do not really know the history behind Bubba Smith, or maybe who he even is. Bubba Smith will get his number retired on Saturday night on the same Spartan Stadium turf where just the sound of his name scared opponents so many years ago.
Smith may very well be the best defensive player ever to put on green and white along with teammate George Webster. Those two anchored what was the best defense ever in the Spartans' history and nearly led the Spartans to back-to-back national titles in 1965 and 1966, if it would not have been for some 10-10 tie in 1966 against the Irish.
When Bubba was flying around the field, the chant from the entire stadium would echo "Kill, Bubba, kill." I'm asking that for one more time, Spartan Stadium echo with that chant again — not only during the ceremony, but also when the Spartans are on defense.
With this being the 40th anniversary of that 10-10 tie, it would be a fitting way to honor that game and also maybe inspire the defense to play a little like the best Spartans defense of all time.
Chris Watsonkinesiology senior
Kill, Bubba, Kill!
(Cross-posted on Pohlitics)
For those who have been living under a rock, the sneak preview screening of BELIEVE is tonight at NCG cinema in Lansing at 7PM. I've been hearing a rumor that only people who sent in their names (to either Matt or myself) will be admitted to the movie. A few people sent me their name and said they were bringing a guest or two, so I think those folks will be fine. I not honestly don't know how strict the theater is going to be about admitting people if their name isn't on "the list", so check back throughout the day for updates.
In the meantime, check out this article in today's Detroit Free Press:
Mulholland, who is to attend tonight's showing, said last month his film isn't intended to be the Michigan 2006 campaign's version of "Fahrenheit 9/11," the Michael Moore movie about the war on terrorism, which took political aim at President George W. Bush. Mulholland said he "doesn't have it in" for DeVos, and that the film was made before DeVos announced in the spring of 2005 that he would run for governor. He said he merely decided Michigan in 2006 would be a good place to generate interest in a film loosely based on the Amway experience.
Mulholland was an Amway distributor for four years in the 1990s, he said, and it didn't work out.
Rob Zeiger, director of corporate communications at Alticor Inc. (Amway's successor) in Ada, said Wednesday he hadn't seen the film but has viewed the trailers online.
"I'm skeptical that it will do much business," Zeiger said. "But he has a First Amendment right to make a lame movie."
John Truscott, spokesman for the DeVos campaign, was less charitable.
The promotion of "Believe" is "just an example of somebody trying to profit personally from a political campaign," he said. "He has less credibility than even Michael Moore."
MEMO TO LOKI: Getting dissed by John Truscott is like a badge of honor in Michigan. While I haven't experienced it yet myself, I congratulate you for ruffling this little turd's feathers.
Oh, and FYI there's also an interview with Loki online at WKAR's website that you should go listen to this morning. An intrepid local reporter by the name of Scott Pohl interviewed Mulholland yesterday, and a condensed version of their exchange is airing on the radio today. The version on WKAR's site is the extended edit of the interview, but you'll have to listen to it with Real Player (the most ghetto multimedia software in existence). Anyway, that's it for now.