Star Watch...

So this is a new segment I'm adding. I'm generally pretty on point when it comes to seeing someone and being able to judge whether or not they'll make it in the biz, so I thought I'd share my insight with you so when people do blow up, I can direct your attention here and prove that I not only liked them before anyone else, but that I knew they were going to get big.

So my first official rising star is...

Kate Mara


















You may remember her from 'Shooter' or more recently, Eric's new assistant on Entourage. I thought back when Shooter came out that she would blow up but it hasn't seemed to happen yet. However, I don't know anyone else besides me who owns Shooter let alone anyone who has seen it so maybe I shouldn't be surprised. But now that she's on Entourage and everyone, including the President, watches that show I'm sure it's only a matter of moments before it happens. She's young, hot and marginally talented at the least - she's got Hollywood written all over her.

Keep your eye out for her and think of me when she hits it big. Go big.

-M, p, z & shredder

18 Loads and Counting...

Not sure if anyone else has experienced the complete terriblness of having bed bugs, but I can honestly say there is nothing else like it in the world. Just to clear some things up, bed bugs aren't around because you or your apartment are dirty, they come because they are the creepiest little assholes ever. They get spread because people don't realize they have them and walk around or have people over and other people bring them back to their place and the cycle continues. Apparently there's been an outbreak in NYC this summer and it finally hit us. Luckily I've been gone for a long time and haven't been bit or bothered, but my poor roommate has been living in fear for a little over a week now. I came back from Michigan just to do my laundry (literally 18 loads and I have another 2 to do in the morning) and clean my room.

So once you have bed bugs the only thing you can do to get rid of them is follow the exterminators instructions to the letter. It includes cleaning all of your clothes and bedding, then sealing them up in plastic bags (luckily I have my car as storage and don't need to being them back into the apt), clean out all the shelves and vacuum everything, vacuum your shoes, seal up everything else and move everything three feet away from the wall. If you've seen my apartment you'd know that moving anything 3 feet from the wall puts it squarely in the middle of any room. Basically you just ram stuff around anywhere you can fit it as long as it isn't against the wall. It's kind of like moving only you have no place to put your stuff and instead of boxes, you're putting things in bags after you clean them.

I've realized two things over the course of the day: 1.) I have too many clothes, and while I look incredible in all of them, it might be time to simplify my belongings (this is what should happen but I'm not going to get rid of anything more than the 2 garbage bags full I already did) and 2.) This experience is completely unique to bed bugs. As I understand it, for other bugs, you don't really need to bag everything up and vacuum every shoe, you just need to move shit and clear out. This is the worst. And I'm very tired but if I fall asleep I'll be eaten. Eaten! So it's 2:30 and I'm awake and blogging because I'm afraid to close my eyes.

Bed Bugs are creepy. They live in wall sockets. They crawl around behind the wall until it's dark out and then come out to bite. They are heat seeking assholes which means if they are in a room where no one lives (kitchen, bathroom, my room for the last few months really) they will seek out a new room where people sleep (my roommates room). How creepy is that. It's like that scary story where the phone call is coming from upstairs, only worse because these bugs are scary as shit.

Anyway, that's what's up. The exterminator comes in like 5 1/2 hours so I'll let you know what happens after that. Lucky for me I get to help people move for the four hours I have to be out of the apartment after he bombs it out, so that should be fun. The last 24 hours have sucked and the next 12 are going to be equally shitty. I just want to burn this place down and not deal with it, but that would be way too much trouble.

Go big.

-M, p, z & shredder

oh ps - how lame do I look to people when they come to my blog and see that no one is following me on google. No one! Look to the right side of this page and sign up so I don't feel so insecure.

The Last Kennedy...

As all of you I'm sure know, Teddy Kennedy died yesterday morning on what will now surely be a national day of mourning. For some reason I have never had the affinity for JFK the way everyone else has. I've always been much more taken with Bobby and Teddy. Ted Kennedy was one of the few people that I wish I knew personally. I wish I had the opportunity to sit and talk with him and listen to him tell stories. I can only imagine the depth of everything he knows and the wisdom he had to share.

Back in 2004 I was in a small crowded room at Michigan State at a rally for John Kerry. I actually didn't like Kerry and campaigned for Edwards in the primaries, but I heard Ted Kennedy was going to be at the rally so I went. Luckily, Kerry got held up and couldn't make it so Teddy was there to give a speech. I don't know if any of you have seen him speak in person, but it doesn't surprise me that he has the reputation he has.

I had never seen anyone speak with so much conviction and determination and desire to change the world for the better until that day. If you can remember the times, it was 2 years into the 'War on Terror' and everyone was unhappy with Bush, the economy was still recovering from the stock market crash in 2001 and people wanted change, and we would have had it if Kerry wasn't such a twit. Sen. Kennedy came and floored the audience, talking about what a great nation America is and how he and his brothers made it their goal in life to do everything they could to be crusaders for the people. The only other time I can remember anything quite like that feeling was watching President Obama's acceptance of the democratic nomination. It's no wonder his brothers were so inspiring to people and it's no wonder Teddy saw so much of them in Obama.














I have had an interest in politics since the 2000 election which started out of more shock and awe at how the 2000 election played out but I didn't really care until 2004 when I wanted change and thought Sen. Edwards was the man for the job. Even then, I had no idea the power of prose and rhetoric until I heard Kennedy speak and I remember my roommate and I saying how we wished it was Kennedy running for President and not Kerry. He talked about the importance of our role as young students and the impact we could have and the choices we could make that students didn't have when he was growing up. It was very inspirational and no doubt is what fueled my interest in politics and made me actually care.
















I always wish I was alive to see the Kennedys when they were young and to imagine the potential of what they could do if they were all in power together. It's not the end of the line for the Kennedys but it's no longer the name it once was. A few years ago I picked up a book by RFK Jr. that talks about how Bush was killing the environment and I remember thinking that if he was a more prominent person in politics he would be a great champion for the environment, but he doesn't have the clout his father and uncles did and I don't see him rising to power any time.

After reading all these tribute articles and learning more about him, I realized how young I am and how far back this family goes. In my lifetime Ted Kennedy has always been a saint and I had never even heard of the "Chappaquiddick Incident" which if you know nothing about it worth reading. It's one of those stories where you realize the Kennedys really were like this country's royal family and could get away with anything.

He will be missed and his presence will be missed. I can't think of anyone so idealistic who also had so much power who is left and it will probably be a long long time before we see anything like him again. I'm pretty sure that it's only a matter of time before Obama's Health Care Reform is re-branded as the Ted Kennedy Health Care System or something along those lines.

Go big or go home. Your heart is free, have the courage to follow it.

-M, p, z & shredder

Conversating...

I often forget how awesome it is to be young and how easy it is to be friends with someone you don't know at all. Yesterday my dad had an office picnic for all his nurses and staff and I got to overhear this conversation between these two girls who had just met.

Girl 1: Hi, what's your name?
Girl 2: I'm [girl 2], what's yours?
Girl 1: I'm [girl 1], and I'm 9 years old. How old are you? You look like you're the same age as me?
Girl 2: Oh yeah, I'm also 9.
Girl 1: Yeah, I thought so. So do you wanna play volleyball?
Girl 2: No. I mean I'm really good at volleyball but I don't feel like it. Do you wanna get a cookie?
Girl 1: Yes, omg {she actually said omg, not 'oh my god') they're so good, I already had two!

In about 2 minutes these girls covered the basics and moved on to eating with each other. I'm going to start conversations by asking people how old they are. I think I'm at a point where it's still acceptable to ask a girl how old she is and if she wants to play volleyball. The best is that with dudes it's even easier - you just start playing a game with them and you're best friends without ever name or age dropping.

That's all that's happening now. Go big or go home.

-M, p, z & shredder

tfln: "(706): don't look now, but that cross eyed girl is staring at you... and me. "

Assh*le...

It's strange how easily hate comes. Now I've been edging toward hating this b*tch for the better part of the last two seasons, but his new look has solidified my hate. Unrelenting anger towards him.























Notice the change in facial hair and haircut, as if he went from being on Robin Hood's side to being the Sheriff of Nottingham's ball licker. The colors clash with my eyes. I hate the Celtic colors (the Spartans Green and White has a much more natural hue and we also had it first) and as if that wasn't enough, he even has a 'I'm a b*tch who will shoot three pointers all day unless someone like KG will yell at me for it' look that makes me want to punch him square in the face. I can't wait to boo the sh*t out of this motherf*cker the next time he's at the palace. Now don't misunderstand, I don't want him as a piston - he's more of a liability than AI. But not Boston. If he went to the Spurs he would have been great again. Pop would have molded him back into the player LB turned him into. But Doc is going to let him be free and leave it up to Garnett to reel him in and Sheed is going to think he is the sh*t when he's not. Whatever. Not like we're going to make the playoffs...

Go big...

-M, p, z & shredder

Sorry...

I didn't forget about you, I've just been busy. I'm sorry, I know how you all wait on the edge of your seat for the next though to roll out of my head and onto your screen, like little frogs waiting for a fly to land on your tongue. That's kind of weird.

I've been road tripping, chilling and summering and loving every minute of it. I love all four seasons and I never readily admit that I love one any more than the other, but now, after nearly 27 years on this earth, I'm ready to go ahead and say that summer is my favorite holiday. Now don't get your knickers in a bunch, I love fall and halloween and thanksgiving and football and crunching leaves. I love winter and snow and jackets and sweaters and ice and christmas. And I love spring and april showers and may flowers, but f*ck, the poet Kid Rock said it best, 'it was summertime in northern michigan.' And for my money, there is nothing in this world that is greater than a summer in michigan on a lake. You can have your sharks and your oceans and your whales and your cities and your pools - gimme a boat and a lake and I'm set for life.

So why don't I move to a place down south where I can live on an inland lake and have my cake and eat it too. Well, first of all I'm not 80 so I can't move to florida. Second, you can't appreciate the summer and the absolute contentment that sitting on a boat in the middle of lake michigan or huron without the harsh winter or the gradual spring. You can't sip your beer and savor every drop of it while swimming in the lake without going through 8 months of not being able to do it. My heaven has me on a boat with the sun shining and a beer in my hand, summer tunes and awesome people and there is only one place where all this can happen and that's michigan.

So that is why I haven't been blogging. I've been summering. Enjoying the weather, the beach and the lake and also running. I started my 9 week training program this week so on october 18th you can find me 13.1 miles down the road at the finish line.

I had a bunch of things on my mind but all I can think about is going outside right now and enjoying the last month of this. As always, go big or go home.

-M, p, z & shredder

tfln quote: "(803): Reach down the front of your pants and feel around for a while. When you find your balls, leave the library and meet me at the bar."

In Training...

Some of you (myself included) may be wondering where all this running is going. What's the purpose of making my feet look gross and wasting hours every week with nothing to show for it other than getting healthy? Well it now has a purpose. On October 18th I will be running the Half-Marathon in Detroit. It's not as much of a commitment as the Marathon, obviously, but it will mean I won't be able to get insane at all most tailgates next year and I won't be doin' much sunday boozin (unless something sounds really fun). As far as everything else, I have given up chips and candy and fried food (sweet sweet succulent fried chicken) and replaced it with fruit. Lots of fruit. Which is great and not that hard because I love fruit, but it's nice out and I want a Snickers Ice Cream Bar right now. F*ck it, I'm gonna eat one. But after that, then I'm done. Or at least when this box is gone...

Secondly, and maybe more importantly, something cool happened to me that I've been waiting to happen for a while. I have always wanted my "Cheers." A place where I can go and they know me, not just by face, but by name. It sort of eventually happened in East Lansing at Beggars Banquet and The Riv (best bar ever) but only after going there for a long time and ending up knowing people who knew the people who worked there. It wasn't a bar though. It was my favorite Thai restaurant. I found it almost a year ago. It's probably the best Thai food in Manhattan and its BYOB so it's always cheap and a good time. I almost never eat out but when I do, this is the only place I go. Anyway, I was there last week and the host/waiter/possible owner or owner's son recognized me and knew me by name. It was awesome. I always order the same thing and don't need to look at a menu or point (Pad Prik Kingh - chicken with string beans) so the next step is walking in without waiting in line and not ordering. They just bring me a wine key and a pat on the back.

Anyways, that's whats up with me. I'm out. Go big or go home.

-M, p, z & shredder

oh ps - TFLN: "(720): have you ever been in a public bathroom and someone walked in, and you played "Fat or Crying" based on her breathing? "

Love it.