Weathering an arctic blast

Well, I can now say I've been through a midwest snowstorm.

When I left the Union from studying last night, there was a light dusting of snow on the ground, but when I woke up this morning to walk outside, the dusting had become a mid-calf high blanket.

I heard there was a storm system that came through the Great Lakes and New England area which brought all this snow, and a couple hundred flights out of O'Hare got cancelled last night. Hopefully things will clear up by the time I leave on Friday.

Here, by popular demand...

...it's the Stimmel Dance (this presentation brought to you by Ryan Klemick)!

Does anybody watch ESPN Sunday Morning Countdown? Familiar with The Mayne Event? Basically, it's just Kenny Mayne doing a segment of pure idiocy...which had some Cowboys significance today. He was sitting at a restaurant in Brooklyn with members of Sopranos cast, talking about Cowboys offensive assistant head coach Tony Sparano, and then they cut to a re-enactment of the final episode of the Sopranos in the diner, with Tony Sparano waiting while various people came in, including one very special cameo by a rather well-known resident of Dallas (I totally giggled with glee when I saw it). It shows Witten sitting at a booth in biker gear and a bandana, and Romo also walks in and starts to glance around menacingly. One of the Cowboys cheerleaders (who has trouble parking her car in standard ditzy girl fashion), serves as the Meadow role. It's freaking money, and as soon as I can find a video, I'm going to post it up here on my blog for all to enjoy.

By Jove, I've figured it out

It occurred to me today, as I dined on a delictable Chinese culinary masterpiece, the meaning behind some contemporary musical stylings:

Rock - songs about a girl you really want to screw

Rap and Hip Hop - songs about a girl you are about to screw or in the process of screwing

Country - songs lamenting about a girl you can't screw anymore

Not familiar with this kind of personal foul...

Okay, I've heard of unsportsmanlike conduct and unnecessary roughness...but this?



And what's even more wheels off is this just happened again recently at a college game with a completely different ref!

An extremely unfortunately named beverage I discovered today while perusing the beer aisle...

Click here for taste stimulation

Honestly, if you take a quick gander around the site, you'll notice many of the pictures feature dudes advertising for this particular malt beverage, which frankly, if you are a guy and caught drinking the beverage in question, with the utmost gravitas you should ruminate the decisions that have constituted the path to arrive at this singular moment, the epitome of man-shame.

And what better way to quench your thirst after a tough day at the Temple of Doom:

Kali-mah!!!

Mitchell will probably be the only one to get that, but that would still make it worth posting.

Two glorious wins for the Texas A&M football program today

Well, I can finally remove the text from the end of my blog posts now, as Fran is now officially done, resigning his position as head coach during the postgame press conference today. From what I understand after doing some digging, A&M was able to negotiate a buy out of his salary for next year, so instead of having to shell out 11 or 12 million, they only have to present him a blood money suitcase of non-sequential, unmarked 20 dollar bills in the amount of about 2 mil. All in all, a pretty nice little day for the Ags. I just hope Bill Byrne will give me something to cheer about whenever they make their next head coaching hire.

Also, a pretty funny bit from Phil Jackson:



I'm no Phil Jackson fan, and Mark Cuban DOES own him, but that rebuttal of his is just solid, SOLID gold.

Speaking of Weddings...

...most genius first dance...EVER.



Props to Margaret for finding this golden nugget of idiocy.

"Moreover, I advise that Fran must be canned."

I thought that was a pretty solid picture from the rehearsal dinner that people might enjoy. I suppose everyone had a good time at the wedding, and I know it was certainly great to interact with everyone again at an event where the good times were flowing as freely as Tony Romo TD passes.

"Moreover, I advise that Fran must be canned."

The Next Great Belgian-Style White Ale

So I finally procured a sixer of Celis White, something I have been arduously seeking for some time now, being privy to the fact that its brewed a scant 45 minutes northwest of Ann Arbor. Before pouring the first long-awaited tasty brew I realized that I had not had a Celis in probably 5 or 6 years, from before when they had the brewery in Austin. Upon the first sip of libation coursing past my lips I was immediately aware of one rather eminent fact; my beer tastes have matured significantly in the past 5 years or so. I had built up this exaggerated image in my head of how tremendous Celis White was (and admittedly, I am on a tear for Belgian White Ales at the moment), and found myself supremely disappointed upon its reintroduction into my beer rotation. Its not that it was terrible by any means...just not at the level which I remembered. I suppose that could possibly be a function of the formula that the Michigan Brewing Company is using as compared to what the Austin brewery was operating with, but regardless, I'd far sooner imbibe a Hoegaarden before I would a Celis White (rather ironic, given the fact that Pierre Celis left the Hoegaarden factory to start brewing Celis White, claiming that was the way Hoegaarden was "supposed" to be).

However, all was not lost, as I did discover a white ale better than Hoegaarden...Bell's Brewery Winter White Ale. Brewed here in Michigan, just a shade outside of Kalamazoo (they make a decent stout as well), it's got a solid color, genius taste (it is nothing short of amazing on draft), and it's readily available, at least for the next few months.

"Moreover, I advise that Fran must be canned."

Looks as if in a matter of weeks I will be able to remove the formatting I have on my posts, as the bottom line that has followed all my postings will no longer be necessary. Fran became quite defensive in a press conference this week when reporters were asking about the speculations that have been running rampant lately, but frankly, the dude has to know his days are numbered, as the administration seems to have already tacitly implied he's done. A glorious day it will be in Aggieland when Fran gets the boot. A glorious day indeed.

Today we got some snow in Ann Arbor, but the ground temperature is still a bit too warm, so all the precipitation was melting when it hit. Regardless, it was a bit jarring to walk out of my morning class to a pretty steady flurry of snowfall; guess I ought to get used to such occurrences.

One quick note about a news story I was reading, regarding a toy recall that struck me as well...hilarious. I initially saw the headline and read the first few sentences, which of course was along the generic lines of "some toy made in China is making kids sick...blah blah blah...recall...etc. etc.", so I'm thinking, okay, another "China making bad toys recall" story. In this particular case, the toy in question was something called Aqua Dots, and apparently is some form of beads, though I'm not exactly sure what you are supposed to do with them. The children in the story came to the conclusion that the best thing to do with the plastic-based beads was eat them, and it was found that as the body metabolizes the coating on the beads, it releases a concentrated form of GHB (gamma hydroxy butyrate, or in layman's terms, the date rape drug). Now, where it got interesting was when they were talking about some of the childrens' situations, one in particular who ate several dozen beads. Okay, now I'm not necessarily trying to defend the Chinese toy manufacturers, but there's a greater than 0 chance, if your dumb ass kid eats something on the order of 40-50 plastic beads...they, uh, are probably gonna have an adverse reaction, buddy. It is definitely still a flag the Chinese are cutting corners in their manufacturing process, but honestly, I think that kid was going to find a way to seriously injure him/herself in one way or another.

Alright, enough distractions, back to homework, studying, and the beatings which those respectively imply.

"Moreover, I advise that Fran must be canned."

Sorry I haven't posted in a while guys (and possibly girls?...hey ladies, let me here from ya!), as alas, I have shirked my duties in throwing something up here.

I suppose there really isn't anything to post here that would be of significance to anyone reading (my life is dominated by class and research activities which I doubt anybody would find terribly interesting), so in the words of the great Bobby Knight, let's move on to something of importance...if in fact there is anything.

Important...well...um...sports?

I was glad to see the Cowboys locked up Romo, and the Mavs are off to a good start. Ideally this season I'd like to see a better defensive effort from Dirk, better offensive production around the rim from him (given the nature of his game, probably an unreasonable request, but still), and the emergence of Devin Harris. And a freaking championship.

I'm certainly looking forward to seeing all my friends and somesuch at Cary's wedding coming up in a couple of weeks, and the weekend will certainly be a much appreciated Sabbatical, albeit brief, from the rigors of life here in Ann Arbor. Hopefully I will catch you all in good spirits.

"Moreover, I advise that Fran must be canned."

More Observations

Yes, I am well aware of the timestamp on my posting...don't worry about that.

I just felt compelled at this hour to comment on a few things I noticed tonight:

1) Whereas most chicks in Texas are complete wusses when it comes to the slightest chill, the midwest/East Coast girls here do not appear to be bothered by the crisp night air.

2) Walking out of the library at 2 AM to the sight of a multiple braces of Chris-Chris dudes and their respective generic hot girls in f me boots is...really strange. It makes sense though, given the geography of the campus, as the quickest route from South University (the street I live on), to certain parts of the west part of campus (where many of the bars are), is through the Diag (makes a diagonal line through Central campus, so basically the hypotenuse of the right triangle to drinkage).

3) It appears there is a direct proportionality between a girl's hotness, and her predilection towards PDA. I detest watching or participating in PDAs. Therefore, it is implied that higher levels of female hotness here at UM are accompanied by a commensurate loathing from me. QED. Okay, so maybe that proof sucks, but I need the practice for a test on Wednesday, so, if you don't like it, eat me.

"Moreover, I advise that Fran must be canned."

Two community quick hits I want to deliver here from the thriving metropolis of Ann Arbor:

Everybody here is all about Ron Paul. I even walked past a house that had been converted into a sort of Ron Paul campaign office for Ann Arbor. It's kind of awesome. When he came here last week and spoke in front of the graduate library a couple thousand people came out to the Diag to witness the spectacle.

Okay. Imagine how great it is to do a nice little run to Central Market or Market Street to grab some optimized beer. Now imagine a place that's 10 times better. Okay, you got the picture in your mind yet? Now, imagine a place 100 times better. That would be The Beer Depot here in Ann Arbor, with over 600 beers represented within their walls, including a plethora of Michigan microbrews. It's like walking through the extensive wine rack aisle at Central Market, except all the individual bottles are different beers. Completely, completely genius. Can't accentuate that enough.

"Moreover, I advise that Fran must be canned."

Mitchell, this one is for you buddy.



"Moreover, I advise that Fran must be canned."

Screw the Patriots.

"Moreover, I advise that Fran must be canned."

The Real Inconvenient Truth

Let me be the first person to call Turkey a WAHmbulance

I don't know if any of you are familiar with the subject matter of House Resolution 398, but you are about to be well-versed in it.

Essentially, the bill declares that the United States officially recognizes the actions of Ottoman Turks during World War I, resulting in the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians, to be an act of "genocide".

The verbiage of this bill is not a new concept; it has come through the House previously, though it has never garnered the support that it has this time around, and has never been passed by the House Committee of Foreign Affairs, nor brought to the floor of the assembled House (which in all likelihood will occur for Resolution 398).

It is an ATROCITY that to this point the US does not officially acknowledge the systematic extermination of the Armenians during World War I. Clarence Ussher, who was an American doctor in Turkey during World War I actually documented such actions in his memoirs! In many European nations, publically denying the Armenian genocide is a fast track to a prison cell (France recently passed a law in this vein). It is made an even more egregious offense, because recognizing the event at this point would be, as our administration has put it, inconvenient. As former A&M President Robert Gates avered, "his opposition to the resolution Thursday, saying the measure could hurt relations at a time when U.S. forces in Iraq rely heavily on Turkish permission to use their airspace for U.S. air cargo flights." So, in addition to waging an illegal war effort, now we condone the premeditated and truculent annihilation of a group of people. Fantastic. The executive branch of the government has lobbied quite heavily against this bill, but it does appear it will at least reach a vote on the floor of the full House.

Naturally, the subject is still one of intense controversy. It remains to this day an incredibly divisive issue, as Turkey has always reputed its involvement in such activities. While I was not in Turkey around 1915-1917, I can say that I am fairly certain my great-grandfather did not immigrate from Armenia during that period just for the hell of it. Our administration using the excuse of being "inconvenient" to further another activity of extremely dubious legitimacy as a reason not to recognize the Armenian genocide, sickens me to the core of my being. And anyone who knows me, knows that political issues rarely trouble me to the point of a diatribe...but in this case I felt a rant was appropriate.

And thank your lucky stars I'm not Coach Fran, or would I have already found a way to charge you 2500 bucks to read this opinion.

"Moreover, I advise that Fran must be canned."

I overheard two dudes talking in front of me as I was coming out of the weight room on Friday morning, and the conversation went something like this:

Concerned dude 1 - "Man, I really gotta get serious this weekend, I'm totally starting to lag behind."

Sympathetic dude 2 - "Yeah man, I totally here ya."

Naturally, I figure the concerned dude is referring to spending a weekend concentrating on his studies, and otherwise looking to augment his academic standings. Not so much, as the conversation progressed:

Concerned dude 1 - "Yeah, man, it's just these guys we play with are so intense. If I can't get some serious hours of Halo 3 in this weekend, they are going to start excluding me from the group."

Sympathetic dude 2 - "Yeah man, I know what you mean.

I REALLY wish the only concern I had was upping my frag count on Halo 3. Alas, there has been no gaming for me in quite some time, and likely won't be until mid-April, once I've finished my first two semesters here (assuming of course, I make it that far). Classes continue to be a real bear for me here, but all I can do is fight through it and hope that's enough to remain at this University.

"Moreover, I advise that Fran must be canned."

What a massively insane day in college football today.

On a related note, A&M beat Baylor today. Yippee. I still hate Fran.

And now for something completely different...has anybody heard about buying "day old" at Jimmy John's? Jimmy John's has several locations here in Ann Arbor, and the big time late night snack after a night on the town is to stroll into and order a day old loaf of bread for 45 cents (the footlong roll they use for the sandwiches). I haven't done it myself yet, but I feel like I should, as if it's some sort of University of Michigan rite of passage.

"Moreover, I advise that Fran must be canned."

I really don't have enough superlatives right now to convey the joy that I have after watching the Cowboys absolutely dismantle the Bears on their home turf. I tell ya, somehow everything in the world just seems to make sense and I feel better prepared for the week ahead after a Cowboys win like that.

I saw a really solid defensive effort tonight, and the good news is, its only going to get better as T-New's status improves and Greg Ellis returns to the lineup. Despite the Roy Williams' "shove" on Desmond Clark, the secondary really had a nice game with some solid heads up plays, including the fumble recovery and pick by Roy. Then again, they were going up against a QB that had the crowd chanting the backup's (Brian Griese) name halfway through the game.

Offensively at the moment, the Cowboys are just unstoppable. This is the first time in many years that I can really stop and think to myself "Honestly, this is an elite team in the NFL." Romo is a freaking Jedi...this is not the QB you want to tackle...My sports man crush bromance with MB3 grows exponentially each passing week...the guy just runs with such intensity and unadulterated violence...it's a truly wonderful spectacle to behold.

I will definitely be going to my lecture tomorrow with a smile on my face. How 'bout them Cowboys!!!

Okay, and just to be non-sportsy for a brief moment, I did a bit of 'sploring this weekend to try and figure out if there is any kind of acceptable Freebird's ersatz here in Ann Arbor.

I tried out one place on Friday night at the suggestion of another of my fellow mechanical engineering comrades, called Big Ten Burrito (or just BTB, as everyone calls it here)...it wasn't too bad. Sort of on the order of a Qdoba/Chipotle type situation. Also, I discovered that right across the street from me (yeah I know I keep saying everything is right across the street, but really, you don't understand how much crap is right around me), is a place called Panchero's, which is essentially a Chipotle clone. So while I'm not entirely bereft of a bounty of burritos, there is definitely no substitute for the greatness that is Freebird's. The Mexican-esque food is definitely hard to come by this far north, though. Of course now that I know where to go to get hummus, who gives a crap!

Oh and here is something kind of funny. I don't know if you know, but they did actually make one of the Coors Light press conference commercials based off the Dennis Green blow up last year (my freaking dream!). Here is a homemade one that is kind of funny, and is super Mitchell-esque at the end.



"Moreover, I advise that Fran must be canned."

Hoegaarden is super good.

"Moreover, I advise that Fran must be canned."

There is someone stealing 2 million dollars a year from A&M...

...and the perpetrator's name is Dennis Franchione. About the only positive I could take out of that abortion of a football game last night was that almost assuredly, the Board of Regents will oust this thief at the end of the season.

For all you that were buying into the whole A&M dark horse theory that pundits seem to keep formulating season after season, based on the rather dubious basis that Fran is some kind of genius coach...you can probably go ahead and just forget about that. I saw an offensive line, that with max protect, couldn't stop an extremely basic 4 man rush! And just as I have the past 4 years with Fran, I saw a defense that is absolutely talentless. I saw a team get absolutely outclassed, and out-athleticized by Miami. Moreover, I saw a team not ready to play that game and with a completely nonsensical game plan (no carries for Lane until midway through the 3rd quarter???). And frankly in the college game, much of that culpability for the lack of talent and game planning has to fall to Fran, who is being paid national championship contender money to recruit mid-tier level I-A talent and blow big games. As a rabid fan of A&M football, I am tired of mediocrity...A&M has thrown WAY too much money into their football program for no return on their investment.

Towards the beginning of the Third Punic War, as Carthage remained a bitter enemy of Rome in the mid-second century BC, the great Roman orator and former senator Cato the Elder would end every speech he gave before the senate with the line "Moreover, I advice that Carthage must be destroyed", regardless of what he was talking about beforehand. The idea was that he wanted to incite his countrymen to war to end the threat of the Carthiginians once and for all. So in that vein, until Fran is fired, I will end all future blog posts with the following line:

"Moreover, I advise that Fran must be canned."

Son of a...man I'm tired. Long day today.

I just wanted to throw out that on two distinct occasions today when walking around North Campus, I was presented with opportunities to view some of our mammalian buddies up close.

As I was leaving my recitation today, what do I see walking right in front of me, but a rather sizable groundhog. I don't think I'd seen one in person before today.

Later, after a review session for another class of mine, as I was walking to the bus stop I passed by a tree where I saw a raccoon slowly sauntering up the trunk. It was rather odd, because as I passed by and glanced at him, he gave me this seemingly sheepish look of mortification, and began slowly descending the trunk without turning his body around, as if to say "Sorry for climbing the tree, buddy, I'm coming down now." I attribute the event to my tanooki powers.

Great win for the Cowboys today...definitely did not expect them to throw up 37 against the Dolphins defense, but I will absolutely take it.

A few thoughts about the game:

I think the most encouraging thing about this game for me is that they went into a hostile place that is tough to win, minus some key starters, against a solid defense, and they ended up with a really nice double digit win. It seems to bode well for the future, specifically next week where they will face an even more stringent defense.

I also realized today I have a total man crush on Marion Barber...man do I love that guy. The way he plays the game, and how he is so intense every single time he gets the ball is just exhiliarating. And just so everyone understands, I am not one of those dudes calling into the Ticket clamoring for starting Barber over Jules Jones; quite the contrary actually. MB3 is able to do what he does precisely because of the running back situation Dallas has established, and boy is it effective.

Can anybody find me a more useless human being than Tony Siragusa? Everytime I have to listen to those flaccid gums flap some inconsequential tripe, I can actually feel my life force being drawn from out every orifice of my body into the screen.

Anyways, I'm just looking forward to seeing what the Ags can do this Thursday night at the OB; it's their first real test of the season, and probably a decent gauge if Fran will be able to save his job during this "Rasputin year" of sorts.

Alright, enough sports for now, time for some engineering work. Lacey, out.

HAIL TO THE VICTORS, BABY!

Woo hoo!!! So finally, our football team gets a win. I have to say, the Big House is a great deal more enjoyable after a decidedly Wolverine-friendly conclusion. They do some pretty interesting things with The Wave as well (which I hadn't experienced until yesterday, because they only start it late in games when we are winning). It starts out as just the standard Wave we all know (and categorically see as generic), but then people, as if they were operating on some collective hive mind, begin to slow down, and then speed up the pace of The Wave (very cool affect from the stands). Apparently, if it goes long enough, they even do a split Wave, where two independent Waves work their way in opposite directions around the stadium to eventually converge, and then continue through each other...still waiting to see that in action.

On a related sportsy note, Notre Dame is abysmally terrible. Before their last possession of the game they had 22 yards of total offense. For the whole game. I don't think in all my years of watching football on any competitive level, I have ever witnessed a more inept display of offense, and consider to, that is coming against a very shaky defense in Michigan. I actually feel bad for Notre Dame fans, because with what they fielded yesterday, they aren't even going to beat the service academies.

Well, I'm at the library right now, getting a bit of work done before America's Team settles in for their epic struggle with the Dolphins. I sincerely hope the defense will make a far better showing than the track meet I had to watch last Sunday night. I'm not sure that I will have time, but the Sunday night game with the Chargers and Patriots just about has me foaming at the mouth, especially in light of the recent events with the P-Men, and regarding the outcome of the playoff game last year in San Diego. Anybody want to bet again LT having a career night tonight...didn't think so. I know that guy is gonna bring it.

While he not the most adroit broadcaster, Emmitt made an extremely good point today on NFL Countdown, regarding Belichick. He basically asserted that Belichick's actions were the epitome of arrogance; being caught for an illicit act, appropriately reprimanded, and then giving the middle finger to the league to turn around and do it again (and even more egregiously claiming by his 'interpretation' of the rules he thought it was legal...what nerve!). All I'm gonna say, is I hope the Chargers annihilate those dirty, cheating P-Men tonight. Down with Belichick! Down with Brady and his fun baby!

But most importantly...go Cowboys!

Dude, Michigan has an Urban Ninja club! Of course, they don't call it that, it's the Freerunning Club, or Parkour (the French term for being an urban ninja, I suppose). They had booths lined up on North Campus today, and one of the tables was for this club, where there was a dude doing flips and jumping all over and around tables...sweet.

Okay, last post of the day I think, something Cary asked me to post:

My schedule (revised to due to the fun week of class swapping I had):
M 1:30-2:30 PM
T 8:30-10:30 AM 1:00-2:30PM
W 1:30-2:30 PM 4:30-6:30PM
TH 8:30-10:30 AM 1:00-2:30PM 3:00-5:00PM (sometimes for an engines lab)
F 1:30-2:30 PM

A couple of quick hits while I have a second:

My linear systems professor looks like a slightly older version of Allison Cobb.

After attending A&M for 4 years, I just can't get used to taking shortcuts by walking through the grass here at Michigan; every time I attempt it I feel as if I'm committing some vile sin.

End transmission.

Man, I think I may just start referring to Wade Phillips as "Inverse Tuna" or maybe "1/Tuna". Seriously, that guy just comes off so casual and nonchalant in his interviews on the morning show...and I haven't quite decided yet if I like it. I suppose I may come around to his coaching philosophy if it translates to success on the field, but it's quite an adjustment after having four years of the always cantankerous Tuna.

I saw someone walking around one of the engineering buildings today in a "Fire Lloyd" shirt. Honestly, the guy is absolutely anathema to the student body here. When they announced the players and coaches last week before the Oregon game, everyone in the Big House booed at the mention of Lloyd Carr's name. On a related note, the shirt sighting made me consider an investment into a "Fire Fran" garment, though around it here it wouldn't make much sense.

Also, one other community quick hit, if you check out the site LiveVideoU, eventually once it launches, there should be a video of me talking about the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a bit about the Cowboys (I was wearing my Witten jersey when the interview was conducted). I was solicited as I was going to the library to study a couple of days ago, and apparently the site will have video interviews from a myriad of students' perspectives on various campuses around the U.S. Cary, you'll be happy to know the dude holding the camera and asking the questions was a graduate of UT, and he specifically grabbed me because he noticed my A&M ring (and Cowboys jersey) and suspected there was a greater than 0 chance I might have come from the great state of Texas.

One more thing to throw out there, a little tidbit I dug up:



For those of you who remember the commercials for backyard drills...well, this is a small sampling. Youtube has some more, all showing a rather upbeat Tuna, which I think somehow was not seen very often during his coaching career.

In the words of the great Keith Jackson..."Whoa nelly!"

What can be said about that incredibly wheels off game last night? Well, America's Team did get the W, so at the very least I can be content with that. Also, Romo and the offense just looked outstanding, running on all cylinders, and had extremely efficient execution throughout the course of the game. Crayton also played fairly well in Glenn's stead. And needless to say, I am wearing my Witten jersey today.

However, I can't help but come away from that game thinking it was a Pyhrric victory. It appears Jason Ferguson may be lost for the season, which is a tremendous blow for a defense that, in a continuation from the end of last year, still appears to be coming apart at the seams. Who knows about when Newman will return, and if so, how effective he could possibly be. And freaking Roy Williams...what exactly does he do for the defense? Take bad angles and get burned by streaking receivers? I am absolutely terrified by the Cowboys' secondary, in the sense that there is no telling how many big plays they are going to give up in the course of a game. For as much as Wade's new system has been touted, I didn't really see any change in the pressure up front, which only serves to further expose our extremely expensive and utterly disappointing defensive backs. I think the only chance for that defense to perform well is to put significantly more pressure on a QB than Eli saw last night. If an opposing QB has a couple of seconds to make his reads, he is going to shred the Cowboys secondary. Sigh...well it's just the first game, perhaps Wade can get things turned around. Maybe the stress from class is filtering over into my sports world, but really, the defense has to be better than what we saw last night.

And speaking of which...time for some more studying. I'm out.

Oh, and one community quick hit I forgot to add (everybody loves community quick hits): the drum major for the Michigan band is from Plano, TX!

Michigan sucks and the A&M game was epic (they won in triple OT!). Just another day in college football.

At least a few good things came out of today.

Michigan Stadium sells Lemon Chills (the real kind, like they have at The Temple...genius!).

The small grocery directly across the street from my apartment has an idiotically large selection of beer, and Michigan actually stocks Hoegaarden. Genius!

I have already rearranged my classes once, and after a meeting I had Friday with the graduate chair for mechanical engineering, I find myself contemplating another possible swap for one more class, to ensure I can get all these qualifying exams finished that I have to take on my way to a PhD. I tell ya, my schedule was never in this much disarray as an undergrad, but they have just implemented a new system for PhD students in my department, making things a touch hairy at this point. I wouldn't say I'm in full panic mode at this point, but I am definitely a bit ill at ease, as I am still adjusting to college life again and trying to remember and moreover relearn lessons I have not utilized in many years.

At least it appears I will get some research up and running fairly soon, and with the professor that I was interested in working with from back in March during my campus visit.

Anyways, enough blog-prattle, back to studying for me (yeah, I know, sounds ridiculous, but it's absolutely necessary at this point).

So, turns out grad school is pretty hard. Go figure.

In what little spare time I have now, as a manner to relax and center myself, I've taken up writing poetry...tell me what you think of my latest composition:

Roses are red,
violets are blue,
Terry Glenn, T-New, and Greg Ellis are hurt,
the Cowboys are screwed.

Seriously, all these preseason injury situations have me greatly concerned about how effective the Cowboys offense and defense can be this year. I think Patrick Crayton might be able to step up in the number two receiver role, as we've seen some moments of greatness from him, but I don't think he can stretch the field the way Terry Glenn does. And perhaps Anthony Spencer can fill the void left by Crybaby Ellis, but the loss of T-New, if in fact he can't play...frankly, there's nobody I feel confident can do even half the job that guy does. Nate Jones and Jacque Reeves...not so much buddy.

By the way, if you weren't watching the Colts and Saints game on Thursday (okay admittedly I only watched a small amount, but I'm glad I tuned in) you missed a GENIUS slew of Cowboys oriented commercials, including the return of the brilliant Coors Light campaign of editing coaches' press conferences (now the Tuna edition - Cowboys style!):



This is a Diet Pepsi max commercial they showed during the game as well:



Brilliant!

Also I found this:



I didn't see this during the game, but it further acknowledges the greatness of America's Team.

There are actually two other Coors Light commercials involving the Tuna, but I couldn't find them on youtube yet. They are all super funny. Aaaand...I'm done.

Wow, the Sturminator is already calling for the Appalachian State blocked field goal call to be the Homer Call of the Year.

And as if I needed another kick in my sports nuts, Pat Forde (big time college football writer for ESPN), wrote that Texas A&M, among a small group of other teams, is an underachiever of the highest order (I'm not necessarily disagreeing, but man, ouch).

Well, tomorrow at high noon (eastern time, of course), will mark my first foray into a college classroom since finishing my final undergraduate course way back in mid-May of 2002.

It's funny how irony so deftly manuevers its way into your life. Had I taken one more senior level math course at A&M I would have received a minor in math, though I abstained from this route, thinking there was no need for any further math classes and no benefit to be gained from the minor.

Naturally, the first class I will attend as I start school again is...a senior level math course. Boomshakalaka.

So I had my first experience with the Big House today...

...and I had the distinct pleasure of bearing witness to the biggest David vs. Goliath-esque upset in NCAA sports history. The feeling immediately after the last blocked field goal was one of utter incredulity, as the event was almost too much for a human brain to comprehend.

It would have been nice to see a Michigan win (and I certainly hope there will be some this season), but just being a part of the Michigan Stadium atmosphere with the other nearly 110,000 people was awe inspiring. It's a very different feel from Kyle Field, but I think over the next few years I will enjoy watching some college football here in Ann Arbor.

Just in case anybody doesn't have the url to Klem's blog:

Klem's Blog

It seems our big buddy is having a pretty good time in Guatemala.

And without further adieu...the last chunk of pictures from my Asian Adventure. This has all my pictures I took at the Amlux Toyota Salon (do it for Kurt!):

The Final (Countdown) Album

Wow...just...wow...this is pure comedic gold. Watch as Miss Teen South Carolina absolutely fails at life. Stttruuuggggliiiiiing!

Some of the older buildings here on Central Campus have a pretty cool architectural look about them; it brings to mind the ivy-covered edifices you might see at an East Coast school.

I was walking around campus today and on one of the streets I saw a car...with manufacturer's camoflauge! They were testing a new production vehicle right in front of me! Of course, judging from the body shape, and what I perceived to be some defining hood bulge characteristics, I would guess that I was looking at the new Pontiac Grand Prix GXP...meh.

Woohoo, I found a Flying Saucer substitute!

Ashley's

There's tons of beers they have that I've never even heard of (even after excluding the Michigan microbrews).

And the icing on the cake; they have Aventinus...on draught!!!

Wow, just saw a few dudes walking down the street with a suitcase of Natural Light...I really am back in college.

Finally, a chance to sit down again and blog. Hopefully now that I'm in a somewhat more stable internet situation I will be able to post with more regularity.

So earlier today I took a few pictures of my apartment's interior and the surroundings:





So when I walk out my door and look to my left, this is what I see:



And when I get to the end of the alley and glance right I see:



And if I were to walk across the street and turn back towards the alley leading to my apartment, I might take a gander at something like this:



I am living smack dab in the middle of downtown Ann Arbor, which I still haven't thoroughly explored at this point, though I understand within walking distance is a bar with 60 beers or somesuch on tap, including many genius German offerings (my kind of place). I'm not sure how much time I'll really have to frequent the various establishments in my vicinity, but I will say that there is a great deal of convenience living where I do, and the next year should see a significant amount of ambulatory action on my part.

This Saturday will be my first trip to the Big House (Michigan Stadium) to watch the Wolverines take on Appalachian State (don't even know their mascot, and frankly I don't care). My passion for Wolverines football will never supplant my love of the Ags, but I'm sure the football experience here will be sublime.

Though I haven't been in class, it's been an unbelievably busy week between orientations, running errands, and getting my apartment in order. In case anybody is curious about when I will be in class (for those of you who actually still around reading this blog):

M 9:30-11:00 1:30-2:30
T 12:00-1:30
W 9:30-11:00 1:30-2:30 4:30-6:30
TH 12:00-1:30
F 1:30-2:30

I have three classes, which I understand is about the maximum you want to take as a graduate student, so we'll see how that goes. Anyways, I hope everyone back in the great state of Texas is doing well, and I will leave you with this sportsy haiku:

T-New concerns me,
We need him very healthy,
Our best cornerback.

Okay all, I have put a good chunk of my pictures up on Flickr, though not all due to account limitations, and time constraints. Sorry there isn't much organization, but I've had too much else to do with my move to Michigan to mess with the pics much. I'll try to get the rest up there and perhaps add some rhyme or reason to the collection if I get a chance.

Album 1

Album 2

And on a sports related note...how bout them Rangers!

Hello all, I apologize for leaving my blog in a mire of desuetude and neglect as I trounce about Korea, but I finally have another chance to do some bloggy mcblogblog.

The DMZ tour (the approximately 4 kilometer wide de-militarized zone between North and South Korea for those of you unfamiliar with the term) was unbelievable. The North Koreans actually excavated four tunnels (headed for Seoul) to move troops and supplies (the aptly dubbed "invasion tunnels"), which the South Koreans did not discover until the late 1970s, and the last one was not even found until 1990. I actually got to go down about 265 meters into the third invasion tunnel, where I was literally standing in the DMZ (well, technically underneath it). If anybody has ever seen the James Bond movie "Die Another Day", you might remember part of the plot involves using a concentrated beam of light from a reflective satellite in orbit to destroy all the land mines in the DMZ (they have only found and disarmed about 30% of the mines there) to create a path for North Koreans to invade. The portrayal of the DMZ in the movie is of a barren, stark desert, and completely encased by barbed wire, which is what I expected to see as I poked my head over the wall. The reality is something quite different; it is a lush and verdant field, covered in trees and other vegetation, and if you can block out the guard towers scattered across the area, it's actually quite serene. That juxtaposition of nearly unadulterated forest beset with instruments of war is something truly awe-inspiring, and were I able to take any pictures of the scene I would gladly share them with anyone. If anyone reading this blog is ever in Seoul, it would behoove you to take a tour of the DMZ.

Speaking of pictures being off limits, for those of you sneering to yourselves, saying "well dude, why not just shield yourself and shoot some shots from the hip", I actually considered such a course...until I saw a Korean girl try something similar, only to have an MP appear and quickly confiscate her camera. That was all the dissuasion I needed.

The past few days I've been going between Daegu and Cheongdo (a bit outside of Daegu), although yesterday I went to the east coast of Korea, to the beach! We actually got chicken delievered, right next to the shoreline! Cheongdo is where Jeff's mom's house is (where we have stayed a few nights), and connected to it the Joy Full Restaurant she, and other members of Jeff's family run. I tried the Korean stout offering (Hite Stout), though what the Koreans call a stout, we would probably consider to be something on the order of a black lager. Definitely darker than a regular Hite, and most of the Korean beers, but not as dark as a stout.

My stay in Korea and visit to Japan have been a momumental life experience, and I can hardly believe it's almost over, and that I have to return to life in the US, where now I get to be a college student all over again.

By the way, once I get back to the States (maybe on Wednesday if I have time), I am going to work to get all my pictures uploaded to some kind of internet repository, as now I don't have the time or resources to make that happen. Ideally, I will be able to enact some method of organization, so anyone who cares to view them will have some measure of context. Alright, time to get going to tonight, see ya'll later.

I'm writing from Seoul right now, as I just got back yesterday from my TKO in Tokyo. I don't have a ton of time right now (as usual), but I can say there was a good bit of idiocy which transpired there. Akihabara was absolutely incredible for me, with shops full of anime miniatures and unbelievable arcades. It was quite tempting to drop thousands of yen while we were there, as everywhere I looked, some item caught my fancy.

Time seems to have gone by quite fast, as I've been out of the country nearly two weeks now. I will spend another day and a half in Seoul, as on Tuesday I will be going on a DMZ tour during the day, and then heading out to Daegu, where Jeff's family is, and where we will stay the remainder of our time here. I am starting to pick up more Korean words, but thankfully the people I've interacted with over here speak English quite well (many Koreans attend English schools to learn to speak, for a fairly nominal monthly fee).

I'm not exactly sure what I'll do tomorrow, most likely spend most of the day exploring downtown Seoul, and catching up on some rest (I haven't slept much the past week). Hopefully in a couple days when I get to Daegu I'll throw something else up here, and perhaps I will have exacerbated the standing conflict between North and South Korea during my tour.

Alrighty then, so Jeff and I are back in the thriving metropolis of Seoul, though we are only here for the night, and then the Japanese adventure commences tomorrow, as we fly from Seoul to Tokyo in the morning. We will be in Japan until Friday, and then come back to Seoul, where we will then proceed down to Daegu, the town Jeff's aunt and cousins live in.

I actually have unlimited time on a computer here at our motel outside Gimpo airport in Seoul, but the internet connection is absolutely teeeeerrrrible...so downloading the driver I need for my camera to get the pictures off of it ain't gonna happen. Plus, now that I have about 350-400 pictures on my memory card...well that could take some time to take a swim through.

Today was pretty cool, as we spent the morning chilling at our incredibly posh and oontzy hotel, pimping it at the beach, and enjoying a nice morning swim in the East Sea (many maps refer to it as the Sea of Japan). We then had some shabu-shabu for lunch (extremely thin slices of beef put in a pot of boiling broth with vegetables), and now not only do I know the words for the food items; I can actually read the menu in Hangul and not need the English tranliteration! Brilliant!

Korea has been a total blast, and I am very much looking forward to Tokyo, where we will be at the mercy of the Nipponese (we've been on a tour the whole time thus far, and had Jeff's cousin to guide us elsewhere), and surrounded by a video game and anime overload. Joseph, hopefully I can find some genius anime contrivance worthy of my trip halfway around the globe (I'll try to scour for some cool Ghost in the Shell crap if I can find it, cuz frankly I want some too).

One kind of idiotic thing that befell us today, was that Jeff got yelled at for not having a swim cap when he jumped in the hotel pool, which we didn't really understand. The custom here when you are swimming in a chlorinated body of water is to wear something to cover your hair, as the chlorine damages the hair, and they don't want hair and oils from your head getting into the pool. Also, all the men wear speedos, and you receive inquisitive looks for wearing shorts or trunks. Of course, perplexed gawking of that nature doesn't really trouble me much, as I am already a stark contrast to what the Korean people are used to seeing.

One other bit of idiocy that I somewhat expected, but was not prepared to understand the full magnitude of, was the Korean obsession with Starcraft. In fact, obsession is not a strong enough term. Life-dominating infatuation might be more apt. We had the TV turned on to a Korean station and saw what appeared to be a rock concert, with thousands and thousands of people in a field near an elaborate stage setup, holding signs and other familiar concert ilk. What I didn't expect to see, was the spectacle the crowd was watching...two tool looking dudes playing Starcraft...and that was it. It was apparently a final (team Samsung won, yeah, the Starcraft teams have corporate sponsors) and when the dude won, his "victory toast" was comprised of lifting a large water bottle above his head and emptying the contents onto himself in an elated, celebratory manner. I definitely had a good laugh at that sight.

Okay, good gosh I have to get up tomorrow at about 5 AM for my flight, so I'd best end my post and get some sleepy mctired-rest. Hope everybody back home is doing well, and hopefully I can write while I'm in Tokyo. Otherwise, I should have plenty of time to post when I get back to Korea and am in Daegu. Alright, Lacey, out.

Okay, once again I'm in a bit of a rush so I will relay some brief idiocy/geniusness.

No pics for today as I've got way too many to go through at the moment, and no time to do it. Right now Jeff and I are at a hotel called Jeju Lotte (Jeju is an island southwest of the Korean peninsula where we are staying), and it is absurdly nice, beyond anything I could imagine.

Also, we have a cell phone from Jeff's aunt, which seems to emanate sounds from Super Mario World. I'm about it.

I've been stuffing my naive, unknowing American face with all sorts of Korean cuisine the past couple of days, and am learning a great deal about the language, history, and culture of Korea.

And by the way...you guys do know you can leave comments on my posts, right? Come one, show me some freaking love. I'd like to think when I'm away at Michigan at least someone will give a crap to know what is going on in my life back in Texas.

Aight, over and out ya'll.

Okay, I've got to get this posting done lickety-split, as I've been monopolizing the computer for a while, perusing my pictures from the past two days, and culling ones to throw up here. First I present to you:



This, my friends, is a tasty pot of silk worms. And to quell the question that has most certainly materialized in your head...yes I had one. Kind of tasted like a roasted nut, except with some juice in the middle. TOASTY!!!

This next picture is from a place called Hwajinpo, and the house behind Jeff is the private residence of Kim Sung Il, father of the current North Korean premiere, Kim Jong Il. The inset picture is of a young Kim Jong Il sitting in the exact spot you see a slightly morose Jeff. Guess he's feeling a bit ronrey.



The next picture is a pretty wheels off situation we ran into at a small port town called Jeongdongjin (jin means port, and dong means east, I'm totally learning Korean!). That, as you may discern, is a ship, except that it is on top of a hill, and not in any body of water. It was actually constructed with normal ship materials, and it houses a hotel and some other good times places.



There is also a year long hourglass there (made by Samsung), which has depicted on it all the animals of the Chinese calendar. Here's a link to a site explaining it:
Link to Hourglass Park

And our last stop of the day was at a limestone cave:



This stop convinced me the next camera purchase I may need to invest in is a nice TTL Canon flash.

Earlier in the morning, we actually spent some time climbing Mt. Sorak (which was outside the British style hotel we stayed in Thursday night), and Jeff and I emerged triumphantly on the summit, where we were greeted with the resplendent sight of...fog. I took some pictures, but none of my photographic evidence could conclusively prove I reached the top. I did however capture some picturesque scenes of mist languidly roiling down the mountainside in the early morning...sweetness. Anyways, I'm having a great time, and eating some great Korean food. I'll keep throwing up pictures and diurnal activities as I get access to various computer junior type situations around Korea. Until next time ahnyunghe gasehyo (that's goodbye in Korean, though my transliteration is probably incorrect).

Well hello all, I have successfully made it to the Orient and I have a few pictures of the motel we are staying in, near the Gimpo airport we will fly out of tomorrow to start our tour (we actually flew into Incheon International, and this is kind of analogous to what Love Field is to DFW). The flight here went quite swimmingly, though we had to take a mulligan on the initial approach to land at Incheon, due to an air traffic control situation (other planes trying to take off when we were scheduled to land). Here's a couple pics of the motel we are at:







That last picture is our mood-lighting...we just grabbed the closest, cheapest hotel to the airport, and this place is what we ended up with. By the way, this post has been great fun to produce, as all the applications on the computer I'm using are in Korean, which, uh...I don't know too well buddy. Anyways, I'll try to update as best I can throughout my excursion, so stay tuned.