Last weekend we went to Michigan, and had a loverly time.And now for something completely different.
After
DJing until the wee early hours of Saturday morning, I caught a few hours sleep and decided to join Photogal in Michigan for her mom's birthday. Photogal had left the evening before, so I filled the kitties' bowls full o' food, and packed up the pups for the two-hour drive. It took us a little longer than two hours because some dumb-ass got on the expressway going back towards Chicago after filling up on gas. After chastising myself for such complete idiocy, we got back on the road and soon arrived at our 100+ year-old farmhouse in
South Haven, Michigan. As you can see the pups were excited to be there. (As always, you can click on any photo to enlarge and view in a new window.)
Lucy is especially fond of the grass ...
And, unlike a certain beagle, is 100% not afraid of cameras.
That's where our old underground cold storage room is ... roofless and overgrown with brush and trees. It's totally cool and reminds me of some of the abandoned houses I used to play in as a kid in South Texas.
And here's our farmhouse. As you can see from all the lumber, we're still working on it. But it's coming along very nicely.
Photogal displays her domestic side in our kitchen.
Then I snuck up on Betty and got her picture before she even knew I had a camera in my hand. I am so sneaky!
Then we set up camp in front of the house at dusk to watch the bats since he have, oh, a hundred or so living in our attic. Photogal's mom took one of my cigarettes when I wasn't looking.
No bats were appearing, so I started to get a little bored.
As you can see, though, Betty the Beagle had no problem focusing her attention, though.
Everything's a little blurry after that.
The next day we headed down to the beach and I noticed a band of pygmies surrounding a a curious mound of sand.
Oh! It's someone's dad!
Photogal and the birthday girl walked along the windy beach. It was really nice and the breeze kept the humid heat that seemed to be settling everywhere else at bay.
The water was kind of choppy though and, despite the warm weather, still a little too chilly for me.
Then I saw a cool car drive slowly past some signage. I wonder what it says?
Oh. Uh oh. Guess we should stop taking our garbage to the beach and then swim on a full stomach!
After the beach it was time for some ice cream. Yum!
Hey, isn't this cow the same color as that cool car we just saw? Hmmm ...
We got back to the house and I decided to see what was going on in our barns.
And in our tree line.
A lot of cats hang out in this barn when we're not around. Or, rather, when certain canine fuzzies aren't around. (And no, I'm not talking about the fox across the way.)
I finally just decided to lay on my back for a while and enjoy the last hour or so we were there before heading back to Chicago.
Seriously, I'm beginning to think that Logan Square is now the center of cool.
Holy crap! Discobelle has the A-Trak remix of Kanye West's "Stronger" and it is frickin' awesome. I wish I was DJing this week just so I could play it. I guess I'll just have to settle with having a dance party in my head, huh?
Yeah, I've never heard of Biffy Clyro either. Something tells me people will now, since the album I just got from them sounds like the Foo Fighters minus Grohl's recent annoying penchant for screaming every other line of his songs.
I am smarter than your average bear. In fact, actually, I know a lot. And I know that I know a lot. So I concede that, from time to time, I might suffer from a swelled head. Sometimes I even have problems fitting it through doorways if I feel I've displayed an especially impressive string of word and ideas.
Don't Know Much About History:
One thing I DID notice that had flown under my personal radar for a number of years? It's frightening just how many times history really does seem to repeat itself. Things really do seem to progress cyclically. That's not to say we haven't made great leaps forward as far as discoveries and illuminating events go. Nosiree. Rather it means that despite all those leaps, we as a nation seem to make the same mistakes all over again, only on a grander scale.
Also, the day that America's #1 Sweetheart gets re-released into the wild draws ever closer. Personally, I'm at the point where I find myself drumming the breaks and beats in songs without even thinking about it as I drive, or research, or watch TV. It's probably driving everyone around me nuts, but at least you can tell the songs are becoming hardwired into me ... and the last few practices it's really showing as everything comes ever closer together. 
I'm still sorting out the feelings, but if anyone wants the info on Jamie Ayukawa's memorial gathering on Sunday, please email me privately.
Question: Does anyone know where I can find a solid MP3 or M4A of the theme song from ¡Three Amigos!? I heard it on a podcast I was listening to at the gym yesterday and am now dying to have the whole song so I can slip it into a DJ set at some later point. Every time I hear it I think of touring in the van with Woolworthy since that was a popular sing-a-long.
Rick and Rose of The Poster Children talk about my old friend Aaron on the latest Radio Zero podcast. I can't ell if they're making fun of him, or if they're impressed by his honest reaction.
I'm really digging the new Earlimart disc. I actually have a full review of it in next month's UR Chicago, so I won't really go into it here. I will reminisce about the past, since some filed thoughts were dredged up by listening to the new album.
Let's talk about my friends today.
Apparently there's a new Tank Girl series 
Anyone who has seen the band knows what we're like, and that Keep writes fabulous rock songs with a wicked and sometimes twisted pop edge. The only difference now is that the tunes are a tad more aggressive and I think that has a bit to do with my drumming style, which is less "masterful" and more "instinctive." I know I'm doing things right when 'Balls is smiling and PP is machine-gun-shooting his bass all across the practice space.
