trusty getto

Obama Girl doing a duet with the Prez:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2bhIboBr6Q&hl=en&fs=1&]

This is kind of clever:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSgiXGELjbc&hl=en&fs=1&]

I hope Carl Sagan isn’t rolling over in his grave . . . .

Last evening, after being stuck all day in Flint in a very long and uneventful deposition, I picked up Sam and George and headed toward Northville to pick up Crazy Dave. We all had plans to attend the KISS concert at Cobo Hall.

When we got to Crazy Dave’s house, Dave was still getting ready. We hung out with his dad, who is in town for a couple of weeks, until Dave came downstairs to depart. Much to our surprise, when ready, Crazy Dave entered the room with his face painted to look like Gene Simmons!

OK, that’s not really true, but it sure would have been hilarious!

We drove down to Cobo Hall. As we were parking, legions of KISS fans were exiting their cars or tailgating, and a significant percentage of the crowd had KISS face paint on. This had the feel of a true phenomenon. There were more painted faces than you’d expect to see at a Green Bay Packers playoff game!

As we approached Cobo, the concentration of painted and dressed up fans increased. There were Gene Simmons look-alikes with winged jackets, spiked boots and teased hair. The crowd was a riot.

We arrived just after Buckcherry took the stage. They performed all the favorites, from “Lit Up” to “Next 2 You” to “Everything” and “Sorry.” They finished their set with “Crazy Bitch” which brought the house down.

KISS was up next. There were several kids right in front of us who loved the concert. And I don’t mean that they were “kids” to a 42-year-old. They were actually kids, probably in either elementary school or middle school. They and their parents were having a blast! Although there were less kids than at a Jonas Brothers or Hannah Montana concert, there were far more than I’ve ever seen at any rock concert before. I guess if I loved it when I was 9, so must many other 9-year-olds.

KISS did pretty much all of their notable songs. The only one I think they missed was Beth. There was spitting fire during “Hotter Than Hell.” There was splitting blood during the bass solo. There were guitar solos with sparks coming out of the guitar. There was a drum solo on a circular riser. There was flying over the stage and over the crowd. There were pyrotechnics. There were numerous video screens. It was exceptionally loud. It was everything a KISS fan could possibly expect, and then some.

I’ll leave you with the KISS party all night anthem, in moving picture form:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWLpbcgc814&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]

Today, a Michigan State House and Senate Conference Committee voted to reduce per student funding to our public school districts by $218 per child. Intermediate School Districts will have their funding reduced by 44%.

Taxpaying citizens of Michigan should not put up with this bullshit. First thing in the morning, I will be calling my elected officials. If we can’t provide the public schools with the tools they need to educate our children, then we are doomed as a state. These cuts are completely unacceptable, and elected officials who support this nonsense ought to resign. These officials have been elected to solve these problems, not balance the budget on the backs of our children. If they don’t have the dignity to recognize that they are out of their league by voting in favor of these cuts, then they ought to be recalled.

I will also be calling Governor Granholm in the morning to tell her she must veto this budget. I hope you will join me in putting a stop to the nonsense that masquerades as our state government.

UPDATE: Ypsilanti Schools will lose over $800,000 if this budget is approved. We are talking about a retroactive decrease in funding after the start of the school year that will very likely mean reductions to existing programs and layoffs of teachers. Our school district’s budget was due prior the start of the fiscal year (July 1, 2009). These cuts are now being made two months after our schools had to put together a budget (with a deficit reduction plan) based on another $800,000 the state thought we would get. This whole state-imposed process is nonsense, and it needs to be changed. Our children deserve better than this.

Maybe hell froze over. Perhaps pigs began to fly. I am entirely unable to explain it. Then again, I never thought Palin would retire before McCain.

I downloaded Uncle Kracker’s new record, Happy Hour, and it is fantastic. Lot’s of energy, an abundance of soul, and superior production. Mind you, it’s probably won’t qualify as high art, but it is a great package of pop tunes.

Among my faves on the record are Smile, a good love song, kind of sweet. Livin’ the Dream is a cover of a Whitesnake song from the 80s, with some excellent auto-tune vocals. It is much funkier than I ever thought any Whitesnake song could be.

Corner Bar is a lament on the sorry state of Detroit and the economy. Part of the chorus rings true:

Sell me up, sell me down, I’ll be sold out sitting here hanging around
Take my house, take my car, but you can’t take my seat at the corner bar

Hot Mess and Hey, Hey, Hey exhibit great guitar work and catchy hooks. My only complaint is that it would have been a great summer record if it had been release back in May or June.

When compared to the record I last reviewed, of U2’s No Line on the Horizon, Uncle Kracker definitely put together a better record, in my opinion. Sorry Bob, I know you thought that was an instant classic. I beg to differ. Meredith is checking the pre-nup right now to see if she is obligated to listen to Uncle Kracker, and if I can even play it in the house when she is present.

Republican Representative Joe Wilson let his “emotions get the best of” him during President Obama’s most recent speech, calling him a liar. I feel his pain. I vividly recall the same thing happening to me. I spent the remainder of the day in detention, in an ugly, faded yellow room. It was next to my homeroom from which I could hear my classmates interacting with and learning from our teacher, Mr. Bozarth. They were clearly having a better time than I was. I was imprisoned for the day with a mean, pinched-faced old lady who wouldn’t let me read a book.

Obviously Rep. Wilson did not get the quality public education and upbringing I got. If he had, he would have learned as a child the difference between appropriate and inappropriate public behavior. He would have learned that when people disagree with you, calling them liars tends to be viewed as childish and immature. He would have learned that there are places where proper decorum is to be observed, such as in a courtroom, in the United States House of Representatives, and, for that matter, in a movie theater, where hollering “Fire!” in the absence of one is frowned upon.

The push for better health care has touched a nerve among those satisfied with the status quo, the selfish and the greedy. Clearly, they aren’t content debating proposals on the merits. Instead we hear ridiculous accusations of socialism, preposterous stories about death panels, and aggressive labeling of anyone who disagrees as a liar. The government will be able to access your bank account, they say. Illegal immigrants will be entitled to health insurance, they screech.

I wish I could say that I’m outraged, but what I really feel is depressed. This “debate” (if you can call it that), is sad and pathetic. Our country is facing a lot of challenges, and huge swaths of U.S. citizens seem to be embarrassingly ignorant, many of them intentionally so. To them, poverty, disease and climate change are not enemies. Fellow Americans who work toward making America better are. Instead of trying to learn, contribute to and influence the debate, they promulgate falsehoods and work themselves into a frenzy over their own bullshit.

Nowhere has this been exemplified more than by a sitting U.S. Congressman falsely calling our President a liar before millions of people across the entire world. And we wonder why our standing as leader of the free world has eroded.

UPDATE: More from Keith Olbermann at MSNBC:

The wedding reception was wonderful. We had friends, family, neighbors, colleagues, babies, barbecue, beer and more. It was a memorable night, and we are so grateful that so many friends and family, some of whom traveled very far, chose to spend this special time with us. Meredith’s birth mom and dad, and a bunch of siblings came. We had college friends. Attendance exceeded our expectations as people from as far as New York, D.C., Chicago, Indiana and Nebraska came. We truly had a wonderful celebration together.

Here are some pictures. As more roll in, I will post them.

This is my neighbor John, sucking on a rib:

This is Jennifer’s baby, Meadow Rose, with my mom:

This is a picture of Meredith’s birth father, who came in from Cleveland:

I think you all know Crazy Dave from his previous appearances on this blog:

This is (from left to right) my cousin Tom (who comments on my blog as Favorite Cuz), Jeff and my cousin Terri, and Rachel.

My father brought some wonderful picture boards made of wedding pictures and scattered them around for our guests to see. Here’s the wonderful cake that Amy Doyle made:

Here is Beth and Brian:

Even the cops came! When the band started up, one of my creepy neighbors called the police. Despite the fact that it was 6:30 in the evening on the Saturday night over Labor Day weekend, and a live music festival was planned for the park later in the night less than a quarter mile away, some people just can’t endure the inconvenience of others have a good time. So, after about an hour of the band, and much to the disappointment of the rest of my neighbors (who aren’t creepy and many of whom were enjoying the music), a couple of Ypsi’s finest shut it down. Even though they thought the complaining neighbor was being unreasonable (particularly given how early it was, they said), they didn’t permit us to try turning down and insisted that the music go, or we would be cited.

That’s my father, Marty and I speaking with the police officers (who we did offer ribs to):

One partygoer told me, “I haven’t been to a party with cops in so long. Thanks for making me feel young again.” After the band departed and darkness fell, we had a fire in the pit while the kids played. We ended up trading stories about creepy neighbors, both near and far.

Meredith and I are so very grateful for all the family and friends that came to share this day with us. It turned out to be a spectacular final summer weekend. Thank you all for coming!

Our good friend, Amy Doyle, made us the best wedding cake ever. I must admit that I have always admired Amy’s baking (and other cooking as well), but I never fully realized that she should actually quit her day gig in favor of starting a baking business. Evidence in support of this proposition follows:

Just look at that detail! Three layers, three different flavors of cake. It was perfect! Simply perfect!

Thank you Amy!!!

As most of you already know, the wedding took place on the beach. My father was the official wedding photographer, and he has sent in a few pics as teasers. Here’s me reading my vows:

Here is the entire wedding part with our officiant, Rev. Pat:

The entire blended family:

The happy couple:

And a wedding smooch!

For those of you that don’t know, here’s a link to the hint that began it all . . .