Day 1 Pics

I forgot to mention that when we finally got to our room last night ... Someone was already there, and what was being done to the bathroom was not very hospitable ...
We got a different one.

Here's some pictures.
The dammed tunnel:

Buzz in Detroit:

These 2 pictures are part of 2 sections of the Christmas store in Frankenmuth, there are 12 in total (sections) ... The store is friggen huge.

A Bavarian inn in Frankenmuth:

Talk to you soon...

Frankenmuth - Day 1

Yesterday was the first of our mini road trip.
It started in the morning and I need to say one thing.

Holy crap Ontario is boring!

That stretch of 401 between Mississauga & Windsor has nothing. It took all my will power to not crash my car into the ditch. Sweet fancy Moses.
When we finally arrived at Windsor we noticed we had the option of taking a tunnel across to Detroit. Boy that was a bad idea.
I got into the line to pay the toll and then realized I was in the wrong one - I did not have 4.00 in coins. So I needed to move over and a kindly person was letting me in, however they shut down all the lanes.
What the ...

After about 15 minutes they finally let us in. Good times!
We saw a little of Detroit, very small core.
Saw the old home of the Lions and then went to Flint again.

It was the city's festival ... At least 50 people were downtown on Saturday afternoon!!!! Happening place!

The purpose of the trip was upcoming - Frankenmuth.
Oh Baby!
I was expecting a tacky suped up version of Flint. Boy was I wrong.

But not at first. The first thing you see is the World's largest Christmas store. Sweet baby Jesus that was frightening.
My travel buddy Frank almost passed out. It took about 30 seconds before he started freaking out. There was a distinct possibility of him dropping to the ground in an epileptic fit.
The place is beyond huge and after a few minutes I was starting to get a little anxious. The place has an unholy vibe, strange because there is religious stuff everywhere.
Sweet mother of God, I was trapped in the seventh strata of hell and couldn't find what I wanted.
We escaped but were never to be the same.

The rest of the town is completely different. My favorite so far of any city (smaller ones - nothing can compete with New Orleans). It has a distinctive Bavarian feel, many Inns, restaurants, chocolate and cheese shops.

I ate a Wiener-Schnietzel at the brewery - Delicious, really, really great. I recommend it!
Then Saginaw had nothing to offer and it took forever to find a place to stay, finally finding one in Lansing - no vacancy ... but luckily a few miles down we were in luck.
More tonight about day 2...

Have fun!

Big Papi

There was a recent discussion by the Sports Guy about who's more clutch: Big Papi or the Basketball Jesus?

This might seem like blasphemy to some, but he raised interesting points. I wanted to summarize some of it here and add my own 2 cents.

There's been a debate about last year's MVP selection for a year now. A-Rod is seen as not as clutch and only got it because he plays 3rd base and is not a DH.
A-Rod allies will point that his average and OPS with runners in scoring position and 2 outs is better than Papi over the past 2 years.

But this is flawed because Ortiz comes up big in big moments.
Dusty Baker has the most walk-off hits in Major League History (25). Now consider that to get one of those you need to be at home, and have an opportunity to be at bat.
In the past 16 months (Since the start of 2005), he's come up 13 times with the chance for a game-ending plate appearance and made an out only once (and he ended up winning that game in the 12th inning).
He has 15 walk-off hits in 3 years (less than that really) with the Red Sox. 10 behind the all-time record.

This does not take into account the 3 in the 2004 ALCS (a record) or all the times he won it on the road or in the 7th or 8th inning.
That is ridiculous. You expect him to get a hit now.

One more walk-off hit this year (he has 5) and he breaks the all-time single season record.
Since he joined the Red Sox in 2003, he has 15 walk-off hits and the rest of the team has 19 total.
Since Aug. 1, 2004, Ortiz has hit 21 home runs in 138 at-bats in Late-Inning Pressure Situations (no other player has more than 13).

That's domination. I don't care if he doesn't play first base more often ... Who's more valuable?
Even Yankee fans would agree now that A-Rod is not the MVP.

One last thing - Ortiz is so clutch that he has a signature move for when his team crowds the plate after another winning HR. He tosses the helmet rounding third and leaps onto home plate.



Another glaring mistake in my greatest actors list:
Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

He has the most memorable roles in terms of quantity - Boogie Nights, Happiness, Flawless, Talented Mr. Ripley, Capote, Punch Drunk Love (which spawned it's own video for his character), Owning Mahoney, 25th Hour, State & Main ...
My top 5 are probably Flawless, Happiness, Almost Famous, Love Liza & The Big Lebowski.
Add Twister, Magnolia, Red Dragon, Scent of a woman ... and others

What a list!

Little Miss Sunshine

This week I was treated to a pre-screening of the Fox Searchlight comedy Little Miss Sunshine.

It stars Alan Arkin, Greg Kinnear, Toni Colette & a bearded Steve Carell.

You HAVE to see this movie. Funniest thing in years.
I'll try not to spoil it.
The characters are part of a family, that is not as dysfunctional as what we are accustomed to, this could be ours.

- A suicidal uncle
- A teenager with a vow of silence
- A struggling motivational speaker dad
- A secret smoking mother
- A little girl hoping to win a beauty pageant
- A Heroine snorting Grandpa

The tag line says it all, as they are being pulled over the dad says: Everybody pretend to be normal.

Great stuff.
The audience even clapped after the movie.

I strongly recommend seeing this.
Enjoy!

I forgot an actor from my last post:
Vincent D'Onofrio, maybe the best.
If you only know him as the brilliant autistic cop from Law & Order Criminal Intent, then do yourself a favor and rent Full Metal Jacket.
That movie is a classic and D'Onofrio is frighteningly good.
Then check out The Salton Sea. It also stars Val Kilmer and I think is maybe even better than Memento.

Lady in the Water

I feel compelled to write something about this movie because it's being panned by the critics.

I know don't know if it's because a critic gets a harsh treatment in the movie but they're going overboard with the reviews.

This is a fairy tale (one he created for his family), so yes there are some fantastical elements. That's the point.

If you're looking for entertainment and some amazing acting, by 2 of the greatest of our generation - Paul Giamatti & Jeffrey Wright, then see this.
I knew some of the elements that were going to happen and I still loved it.

M. Knight plays a larger role in this one too, he's not that bad.

If you want to see Wright in brilliant roles I suggest Boycott, he plays Martin L. King, and the most amazing Basquiat, where he plays Jean-Michel Basquiat and David Bowie plays Andy Warhol.

For Giamatti make sure you see American Splendor, some of his best work.

For the record here's an incomplete list of the best actors in our generation, with a classic role:

Johnny Depp (Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas)
Jeffrey Wright (Basquiat)
Paul Giamatti (Man on the Moon)
Steve Buscemi (Trees Lounge)
Gary Oldman (Sid & Nancy) - He might be on the old side for this list
Ed Norton (American History X)
Benicio Del Toro (Traffic)
Robert Downey Jr. (Natural Born Killers)
Kevin Spacey (Se7en)