invited some friends to celebrate their 44th wedding anniversary with them over dinner at the Bavarian Inn restaurant Frankenmuth, Michigan. Chicken and ribs--the ribs a first for us--family style with good stories and good-natured kidding. Marietta's maid of honor Rae Ann and her husband Foster were there also.
After dinner a stop at their bakery for a few goodies. Then on to Birch Run outlet mall to pick up some items, notably four pairs of Bounce tennis shoes for Kathy, a style she has not been able to find for many years.
Ein guter Tag wurde von allen gehabt.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Fascinating Exhibit
at the Detroit Science Center called Our Body: The Universe Within.
Yesterday we went to the exhibit with Leo and Marci who is a nurse and found it especially interesting. This has been in the plans for some time and finally our schedules meshed.
The exhibit displays specimens of the human body usually seen only by doctors and scientists showing us bones, muscles, nerves, blood vessels, etc. Some displays are whole body, some are parts. One whole-body display showed all the muscles, another all the bones, another nerves. Some case displays showed organ comparisons like cancerous lung and healthy one, enlarged stomach and ulcerated one.
The exhibit was so stimulating, had so much visual information, that at the end of the two-hour tour I felt mentally and physically exhausted. I could take only so much.
The body is remarkably complex. There are so many things in so many places that can go wrong that it is a wonder it does so well for so long.
After the body exhibit we "played" with exhibits in the science area--generating electricity, lifting half-ton weight, testing dexterity, and so on.
On our way home we had lunch at Detroit's Breakfast House and Grill on Merchant's Row, one of Robert Porcher and associates' several restaurants. Stuffed French toast, chicken and waffles, meat-lovers frittata, and seafood omelet. Delicious.
Great trip.
Yesterday we went to the exhibit with Leo and Marci who is a nurse and found it especially interesting. This has been in the plans for some time and finally our schedules meshed.
The exhibit displays specimens of the human body usually seen only by doctors and scientists showing us bones, muscles, nerves, blood vessels, etc. Some displays are whole body, some are parts. One whole-body display showed all the muscles, another all the bones, another nerves. Some case displays showed organ comparisons like cancerous lung and healthy one, enlarged stomach and ulcerated one.
The exhibit was so stimulating, had so much visual information, that at the end of the two-hour tour I felt mentally and physically exhausted. I could take only so much.
The body is remarkably complex. There are so many things in so many places that can go wrong that it is a wonder it does so well for so long.
After the body exhibit we "played" with exhibits in the science area--generating electricity, lifting half-ton weight, testing dexterity, and so on.
On our way home we had lunch at Detroit's Breakfast House and Grill on Merchant's Row, one of Robert Porcher and associates' several restaurants. Stuffed French toast, chicken and waffles, meat-lovers frittata, and seafood omelet. Delicious.
Great trip.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Into the Woods
is a musical presented at Bonstelle Theatre, the undergraduate performance venue for Wayne State University students.
The first act of Into the Woods reviews the major events and happy endings of several fairy tales including Jack and his beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel, all living in the same kingdom. Then the second act follows up on the happy endings and shows us what might have happened if time were to progress past the happy endings and the giant's wife, angry over the loss of her husband, had confronted the people of the kingdom.
I am always impressed with the level of the students' performances. Singing, dancing, acting, speaking all indicate successful days in their future days in professional theater.
The first act of Into the Woods reviews the major events and happy endings of several fairy tales including Jack and his beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel, all living in the same kingdom. Then the second act follows up on the happy endings and shows us what might have happened if time were to progress past the happy endings and the giant's wife, angry over the loss of her husband, had confronted the people of the kingdom.
I am always impressed with the level of the students' performances. Singing, dancing, acting, speaking all indicate successful days in their future days in professional theater.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Can't We Blame Someone?
Those same talking heads who posed speculative questions about the three Duke University lacrosse players are now posing questions about how the shootings at Virginia Tech were handled .
As with every serious incident, whether criminal or not, whether someone is killed or personal files are compromised, events and actions surrounding the incident will be investigated and corrections to the process will be implemented. Let's wait for their report.
As with every serious incident, whether criminal or not, whether someone is killed or personal files are compromised, events and actions surrounding the incident will be investigated and corrections to the process will be implemented. Let's wait for their report.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Dinner with the Waltons
The Waltons live in Huntington Woods just north and west of Rackham Golf Course, a few miles from our first house in Oak Park. Bobbi and Denny invited ten of us join them for a reunion of sorts on Sunday.
Bobbi prepared a sumptuous meal. Beef tenderloin, two different salads, twice-baked potatoes, rolls, and green bean casserole. Both red and white wine and a couple sparkling drinks. Coffee and tea accompanied her grandmother's carrot cake for dessert.
Most of us are retired, most are getting social security, all grandparents. Six of us were confirmed into Truth Lutheran Church together back in the day where I grew up in Detroit.
Randy, Doyle, Ken and I (who were at the dinner) along with Ken Jones, Dan, and Jerry were best of friends through our teen years and even kept in close touch through college. Then, as the song goes, "those wedding bells are breaking up that old gang of mine." I have been fortunate to reconnect with them after a period of time, once at another reunion at Bev's and at a couple funerals.
Then a heated game of Pictionary--how do you draw a picture of ugly? Lots of laughs, poor drawings, and random guesses.
A wonderful time yesterday with a summer get together at Doyle's and Pat's is in the works.
Bobbi prepared a sumptuous meal. Beef tenderloin, two different salads, twice-baked potatoes, rolls, and green bean casserole. Both red and white wine and a couple sparkling drinks. Coffee and tea accompanied her grandmother's carrot cake for dessert.
Most of us are retired, most are getting social security, all grandparents. Six of us were confirmed into Truth Lutheran Church together back in the day where I grew up in Detroit.
Randy, Doyle, Ken and I (who were at the dinner) along with Ken Jones, Dan, and Jerry were best of friends through our teen years and even kept in close touch through college. Then, as the song goes, "those wedding bells are breaking up that old gang of mine." I have been fortunate to reconnect with them after a period of time, once at another reunion at Bev's and at a couple funerals.
Then a heated game of Pictionary--how do you draw a picture of ugly? Lots of laughs, poor drawings, and random guesses.
A wonderful time yesterday with a summer get together at Doyle's and Pat's is in the works.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Color the Imus Issue Green
The Imus issue is not black, white, brown, or pink. The color I see in the proceedings is green.
Imus said those things because past history made it clear that such talk got good enough ratings to attract sponsors.
Sharpton and Jackson got into it because it adds to their attraction with groups willing to contribute to their causes and pay their speakers' fees.
Program sponsors abandoned the program because they did not want much of the fallout from the events to hit them; although those types of rants are common on his show, the sponsors continued their support as long as they felt their sponsorship contributed to their bottom lines.
CBS and MSNBC dropped them for similar reasons--sponsorships seemed to be failing.
Cable news shows continued their coverages because viewership would probably be up and their sponsors would be happy (as soon as they see viewership dropping they will drop the subject).
The only group seemingly not in it for the green is the Rutgers University women's basketball team. They accepted an apology and are moving on from there. (Some cynics might argue that even there the publicity will likely help Rutgers U attract better recruits and more paying fans to their basketball games, and so it is still green. I do not see that as their motivation--they seem to be innocent bystanders hit by shrapnel.)
Our free enterprise system exemplified.
Imus said those things because past history made it clear that such talk got good enough ratings to attract sponsors.
Sharpton and Jackson got into it because it adds to their attraction with groups willing to contribute to their causes and pay their speakers' fees.
Program sponsors abandoned the program because they did not want much of the fallout from the events to hit them; although those types of rants are common on his show, the sponsors continued their support as long as they felt their sponsorship contributed to their bottom lines.
CBS and MSNBC dropped them for similar reasons--sponsorships seemed to be failing.
Cable news shows continued their coverages because viewership would probably be up and their sponsors would be happy (as soon as they see viewership dropping they will drop the subject).
The only group seemingly not in it for the green is the Rutgers University women's basketball team. They accepted an apology and are moving on from there. (Some cynics might argue that even there the publicity will likely help Rutgers U attract better recruits and more paying fans to their basketball games, and so it is still green. I do not see that as their motivation--they seem to be innocent bystanders hit by shrapnel.)
Our free enterprise system exemplified.
Friday, April 13, 2007
MeadowBrook Theatre
presented Macbeth last night. I don't recall having seen a Shakespeare tragedy before, and I will have to think hard about seeing one again. The set was terrific and the acting superb, distinguishing features of MBT. But it took an enormous effort on my part trying to understand the dialogue. By the end I was tired and understood only about 10% of the dialogue. It's good for me this is his shortest tragedy.
When reading Shakespeare, I don't get as tired (granted, I don't read much by the Bard). But when reading I look at the notes, check word definitions, and re-read sections for better understanding.
I should have at least read a synopsis before hand. Lesson learned.
The next MBT show is a musical tribute to the Andrews Sisters who gave us their famous rendition of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy during WWII (Bette Middler had a fine rendition herself). Now that's my kind of music; I love the music of that era though I have little recollection of WWII itself.
When reading Shakespeare, I don't get as tired (granted, I don't read much by the Bard). But when reading I look at the notes, check word definitions, and re-read sections for better understanding.
I should have at least read a synopsis before hand. Lesson learned.
The next MBT show is a musical tribute to the Andrews Sisters who gave us their famous rendition of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy during WWII (Bette Middler had a fine rendition herself). Now that's my kind of music; I love the music of that era though I have little recollection of WWII itself.
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