Starbucks trivia

What year did the movie The Lost Boys come out?

Answer

A.L. Central Standings

Detroit ........................................... --
Chicago ...........................................4.5
Minnesota .......................................6
Cleveland .......................................19.5
Kansas City ....................................34.5

Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes

Sleeping Bear must be one of the most beautiful spots in all of Michigan. We had the chance to go there last weekend with Naj's co-workers Rob, Jim, Nirmal, Heather and Dina. It was so much fun and a great way to cap off the summer before classes began this week. This picture pretty much says it all.


And the scenery in this picture is amazing.

What do you do when it rains on a camping trip? Mad Libs, natch.

Rain and a flat tire. It's a wonder we managed to have so much fun. By the way, yes I'm pumping a car tire with a handheld bike pump. And yes, it worked.

Here's Nirmal demonstrating that my sleeping bag is plenty long for her. You can't actually see where it ends in this photo.

The Great Cornholio.

Here's Heather making us a healthy snack of eggs fried in a gallon of bacon greese. But it was sooooo good.

Big News

Congratulations to brother in law Will, who started medical school yesterday at Northwestern University in Chicago. It's a huge accomplishment and we're very proud of him. I'm sure he'll do very well there and in the family business after graduation.

In the meantime, Naj and I have been busy getting him moved in to his new digs just off North Michigan Avenue. It's a pretty swank place, but it came unfurnished and Will only brought with him from California what he could carry to the airport. That coupled with the fact that he has a broken foot and we (especially Naj) have had our work cut out helping the child.

Ready shoppers?

And they're off.

Here's Will in his new place reading, for the first time, that he will have to disect human bodies in the first semester of med school. Gross!

Starbucks trivia

Which U.S. state was the first to outlaw slavery?

Answer

Hint: I guessed Michigan and Utah, both of which turned out to be wrong.

A.L. Central Standings

Detroit ........................................... --
Minnesota .......................................5
Chicago ..........................................5.5
Cleveland .......................................20.5
Kansas City ....................................35.5

A.L. Central Standings

Tigers win last night is a rebound from a slight rough patch and guaranteed their first winning season since 1993.

Detroit ........................................... --
Minnesota .......................................5
Chicago ..........................................5.5
Cleveland .......................................21
Kansas City ....................................35.5

For Nikki, Whenever I May Find Her


I hope this meets my obligations.

Exciting News

When I was in law school I wrote a law review article that ended up getting published in the Ave Maria Law Review. In this article I argued that a recently enacted law designed to protect the ability of churches to build, expand and otherwise use their property for religious services was constitutional.

In one case, Elsinore Christian Center v. City of Lake Elsinore, a federal trial court judge had struck down the law as exceeding Congress’ power. Since I believed the law to be constitutional, I thus argued the Lake Elsinore case was wrongly decided. Today I found out that on Tuesday the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously overruled the District Court in Lake Elsinore, effectively validating my argument (though I sincerely doubt the Ninth Circuit judges were swayed or even aware of my article).

Also, I found out that a student who graduated this summer cited my article in her own law review article that was published in the American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review. Those with Lexis or Westlaw access can find her article at 13 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 839. I'm at footnote 212.

A.L. Central Standings

Tigs drop their second straight to the Sox.

Detroit ........................................... --
Chicago ..........................................5.5
Minnesota .......................................6
Cleveland .......................................22.5
Kansas City ....................................35

Good news for him, but...

I guess it becomes official when there's a press release. Josh and Nikki are leaving Ann Arbor (again) for the wilds of eastern Nebraska. The official announcement came this morning:

"RICKETTS HIRES COLUMBUS NATIVE AS COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

OMAHA, NEBRASKA – The Ricketts campaign today welcomes Nikki Beran Shasserre to its staff as Communications Director. 'We are happy to welcome Nikki to the campaign,' said Pete Ricketts, Republican nominee for Senate. 'Her background in politics and communications brings a lot to the campaign, and it’s always exciting to see young professionals return to Nebraska.'

"Nikki Beran graduated from Columbus Scotus Central Catholic High School and has a degree in Advertising and Public Relations from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. She was the Deputy Campaign Manager for the Dave Maurstad for Lieutenant Governor Campaign in 1998 and went on to work for the Nebraska Republican Party as Communications Director for the 1999 Midwest Leadership Conference. Beginning in 2000, Nikki Beran accepted a position with Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS). She joined the organization as Campus Director at the University of Illinois and went on to serve as Director of Public Relations at FOCUS headquarters.

"'I am very excited to be on board with the campaign,' said Shasserre. 'My husband Josh and I have been looking for a chance to return to Nebraska, and it’s a great opportunity to come home and join the campaign. I’ve followed Nebraska politics and Pete’s race, and I’m honored to be able to be part of the effort that will send him to Washington to represent Nebraska.'”

OK. Did he say it's always exciting to see young professionals return to Nebraska? Always? What's so exciting about that? This guy really needs a new communications director. Anyway, pretty sad news, wouldn't you say?

Godspeed friends. Go and do good. We'll miss you. (Except for Josh, whom I'll be driving to and from work for the next 10 days. I don't miss him that much yet).

Starbucks trivia

What book was the basis for the movie Apocalypse Now?

Answer

Owls Killing Rats

Apparently St. Clair Shores has a significant rat problem. So serious they are planning on trying an alternative form of rodent removal - owls. The Freep explains:

"A pair of barn owls can be expected to kill several hundred rats over a 1-year period, according to the study. [Editor's note. AWESOME!] It's not a birdbrained idea, said St. Clair Shores code enforcement supervisor Sandy Wolny, who mentioned it at Monday's City Council meeting. 'Because the owl diet consists of rodents, it's a natural way to keep an area free of rats,' she said."

Here's the best part. They've already decided which owls to try and attract. Apparently a screech owl is too small to kill a rat and "the great horned owl at Metro Beach is too big -- it might take small dogs or cats." [Editor's note. AWESOME!]

AL Central Standings

Tigers lose to the White Sox, who gain a full game.

Detroit ........................................... --
Chicago ..........................................6.5
Minnesota .......................................7
Cleveland .......................................23
Kansas City ....................................35.5

Bless You Boys

There's something strange happening around here. A certain illness. I've been trying to ignore it all year, but I'm afraid I've come down with penant fever. You see, I've been a Detroit Tigers fan all my life. One of my fondest memories of childhood was the 1984 World Series Championship team. But that was 22 years ago. And 22 years is a long time in the life of a gangster like myself.

1987 was the last year the Tigers were in the playoffs. This will be the first year in a decade that they will win more games than they lose. A decade. To say there have been some slim years of late would be a pretty huge understatement.

But this year, pretty much out of nowhere, they got off to a great start and had the best record in all of baseball after the first week of the season. To my knowledge they have kept the best record in baseball all year long, an exceedingly difficult thing to do even for a team that is used to winning.

I cannot explain it, but this can no longer be called a fluke. So, in honor of this amazing, surprising team, The Lyrical Gangster is creating a new regular post, which I will update whenever I feel like it, showing the current standings in the American League's Central Division. We can all watch together and see if the Tigers win the penant and make the playoffs for the first time since I was 13.

Team Games Back

Detroit ........................................... --
Chicago ..........................................7.5
Minnesota .......................................8
Cleveland .......................................24
Kansas City ....................................35.5

Starbucks trivia

What is the youngest country in the world?

Answer

me n my bro

Looks a lot like Naj and Will.

Bunch of family pictures

Bear with me non-family members, but I wanted to throw up a bunch of family pictures all at once. Enjoy. But note. These people are perfectly normal.


Abby's showing off her new dental work.


Nicely done.


That's enough.


Forgot to tell you guys Brian got arrested recently.


As you can see the punishment was severe.


Brian and Rosarita.


The Dog Whisperer.


Riggghhttt.

Have you guys seen my numchucks?


Four generations. I'm pretty sure we can tell which generation each of these people belong to. Hint: The old ones are older.


Daddy and daughter.


Ab kicking it with Rosie.

Return to Dearborn

Brother Brian and Sister (in law) Abby came down with a good friend from the past, Mr. Ryan VanLoon. They've been doing a lot of do it yourself hookah at home and wanted to see if they were ready for prime time. No better place than Sinbad's Cafe in Dearborn to test their mettle.


Let's start with a lesson from some old pro's.


Looney's getting the hang of it.

Brian has got some issues.


Awwwwwww


First time trying Arabic food. Umm umm good.

Solla Solla Enna Perumai

This looks a lot like the TV shows my inlaws watch every night. It's like the Arabic version of Austin Powers or something.

Thanks Alishia. For this, and your consistent comments, you earn a link. Ding!

Starbucks trivia

Approximately how many hours worth of music did the Beatles release, not counting re-released songs?

Put your answers in the comments or, if you must, go right to the answer.

What's that outside my tent

It's 2:13 a.m. and I've just been woken up to a large noise in our campsite. Something is definitely out there and it's not a bird. I hear whatever it is smash forcefully into the bear container where we're supposed to be keeping our food. It's about 25-30 feet from where I'm sleeping. I begin to sit up and then I realize that whatever it was that made the noise has now walked over to my tent and is about 2-3 feet from my head. I'm halfway sat up in my sleeping bag and I freeze. I glance over and, luckily, Naj is sound asleep. If she was awake I would have two problems on my hands, dealing with whatever is out there and dealing with her being afraid of whatever is out there.

Two seconds later, seemingly two hours, I hear something walking right by the back of my tent, grunting and breathing heavily. This is a very large animal. The sound of the breathing makes crystal clear what I had previously feared. It's a bear. I can hear it walk away, but I'm paralyzed with fear.

I hear the dog at the campsite across the road start to bark. I slowly sit up and look out the window into the night, just in time to see a very, very large, dark figure moving through the moonlight. It never came back, but I laid there with my heart beating for more than an hour. Naj never woke up, except to go to the bathroom about an hour and a half later. I never told her until morning.

We knew it was bear country and I'm always careful about putting food away when camping in places like this. But I guess I wasn't quite convinced that it would be a problem. I put our food in the bear container at our campsite (they all have one. clue?) but didn't think anything more of it.

Earlier in the day our neighbor came over and talked to us and introduced himself. He said he hoped we like dogs because the houses adjacent to the campground had a bunch and they bark all night. Then he told us a bear had been through the campgrounds three nights in a row, but I figured it was just a lie to get us to put our food away. Especially when he kept saying, "Don't worry, you guys will be fine because you keep a clean camp. Right?"

As I went to sleep the dogs behind us began barking. His prediction was already half right but I ignored the other, more onimous, prediction. Luckily we were ok, but there were a few scary moments there.



Here I am at the tent.

Here's a picture of the bear container. They're a little tricky to get latched if you're not paying attention. It's obvious the bear knows that occasionally they don't get fully shut so he was whacking it to see if it would open. I think that dirty print there is a paw or nose or something. We're not sure.

Close up of the print.

Lake Tahoe

This has probably been our favorite place on the whole trip, which surprised us a little. We've only been here for 24 hours, and we weren't really even planning on coming. But it's been so nice. If you haven't been to Lake Tahoe (and I know for a fact that some of my readers have not) you really need to go. We're already planning a return trip where we can have a lot more time.

That water is so blue. It really is that blue. And the lake is surrounded with thick evergreen forests and mountains on all sides.



Here's my tahoe chicka. She's got beach hair, which means she's relaxed and having fun. Much deserved. I'm so happy for her.


I don't care what's behind me. I have to keep up with the demands of my readers. It's all work and no play.

Mount Shasta

As we drove from southern Oregon back into California we drove past Mount Shasta, a 14-er (more than 14,000 feet tall). There were so many beautiful places and we had such an ambitious schedule that we rarely got to stay in places like this as long as we would have liked.


I could climb that.

Just down the road. Quite a place.

Seattle and back

Seattle was a bit of a disappointment. It is a great city, but there were no availale hotels anywhere in the city, suburbs, airport, etc. We spent several hours driving around inquiring about hotels, so that didn't help matters. Ultimately we just decided to have fun in the city and stop worrying about where we would stay. It worked marvelously and we had lots of fun for several hours before heading back to Oregon.

Leaving Portland and heading north.



A stop at the first Starbucks store.

Cheezy tourist photo. Notice the logo behind us - it's different.



Have you ever seen those people in Seattle throwing fish on TV? This is where they do that. But there wasn't any fish being tossed. They were closed when we were there. Good thing because I hadn't brought my halibut helmet.

Today we're beginning our long, slow treck to northern California.

Leaving Portland

After a couple relatively uneventful and relaxing days here in Portland, we're heading out this morning for Seattle. Hoping to grab some Baja Fresh for the road. Strictly for nourishment. I'm sure you all understand.

Redwood National Park

Not to confuse anyone but these posts are out of order. I forgot to post pictures of Redwood National Park in Northern California, where we were on Sunday. This was before we got to Portland on Monday.

So it's trivia time. What's the difference between a coastal redwood and a giant sequoia? I didn't know there really was a difference, but I noticed that the trees did look a little different. Well it turns out they're a different species. Coastal redwoods live, not surprisingly, near the coast. They can be slightly taller than the giant sequoias I saw last week, but they aren't nearly as big around. See, reading The Lyrical Gangster is an educational experience.


Here's Naj enjoying the great outdoors.


Hmm... What to do about this obstacle?


I guess I better call in some muscle. The Cheat, take care of this for me.


Moving on down the trail.