Who wants to dance?

Just press play.

The intention of this post is to get you off your ass and start a dance party for one, two, or however many of you there are in the room at the time. If you can't dance to the song above, then I feel sorry for you and your broken rhythm bones - yes, plural, because anything less normally results in one jumping up, feeling the music, and getting funky. I hope you've enjoyed this stress reliever. Now back to your regularly scheduled...what was it you were doing?

Hold a hand for cover from harm,

B

You're being such a non-pillow right now!

Liz, James, & Kimiko.

I'll be honest with you, I couldn't think of a better title than the one I posted before, so I just finished the quote. Damn, I love 30 Rock.

Last weekend Michigan State went into a hostile Ann Arbor and thoroughly dismantled the Wolverines in a game that I thought was going to be a close, high scoring affair. However, the Spartans did a great job of containing Denard Robinson to the point where they forced him to beat them with his arm. He's an amazing athlete, but his passing skills (especially under duress) aren't there yet, and it showed. Sloppy throws in the red zone and miscues in the middle of the field cost him and MSU went on to win 34-17. Now it's no secret I've always been a HUGE State fan, but it even surprised me how gracious and honest most U of M fans were about this game. Trust me, I've had to hear it MANY times prior to the last few years. Growing up it was very annoying, especially since I was never one to "talk trash." And, being a MSU fan (in football terms, at least), you don't put much faith in the score until the clock runs out. But this year was different. I heard and read a lot of, "We were outplayed, plain and simple" and that was it. No excuses this time around. No real anger. No resentment. Just the realization that Michigan State finally has a stable program in place and may be beginning to dismantle the "little brother" stigma that was so graciously given to them by Mike Hart. Either way, like I say every year prior, "Good game." We'll see what happens next year.

Paul Bunyan still resides in East Lansing.

I finally got around to putting pictures of Eric and Andrea's wedding weekend up. You can check them out by visiting my facebook page or, if you're already a friend, by clicking here. I can't emphasize enough how much fun that entire weekend was. Seriously, folks. It was that good.

In some house news, the big painting work is just about finished and the next major thing is going to be getting the carpet professionally cleaned. We're hoping this might happen some time next week and, after that, we'll see where everything is at in terms of moving in.

Yesterday, All City Chess Club finally released their first track after what seemed like months since the announcement of said group was made public. The "I'm Beaming (Remix)" doesn't disappoint and contains verses from Lupe, The Cool Kids, B.o.B, Asher Roth, Diggy, Blu, Charles Hamilton, and Dosage. It clocks in at nearly 8 mins. long and is a pretty solid debut. Can't wait for the rest (or at LEAST a new Lupe album).

Have I mentioned how much I love having 30 Rock and The Office available on Netflix instant streaming? The answer is "a lot."

How about we end with some words of wisdom?

Thanks, Philosoraptor...

Fader,

B

Java Jones wisdom.

Mmmmm...breakfast pastries.

It was a brisk Saturday morning, just hours away from the the wedding all of us had driven up north to attend. Tradition has it the groom can't see his bride on the day-of until she walks down the aisle, so Eric stayed in our condo the previous night. He had suggested Java Jones for some breakfast and we all agreed. Everybody cleaned up and drove the half-mile it took to get to the middle of Elk Rapids' business district where the coffee house was located. After 9 separate drink, croissant, cinnamon roll, oatmeal, and (insert any other delicious, homemade breakfast comfort food) orders had been placed and fulfilled, we all sat around a collection of square tables. As the conversation jumped from topic to topic we found ourselves talking about how great it would be if we all moved up to this area eventually. Dreams of starting up our own businesses, who would be in charge of what, having kids grow up with each other, and more started flowing from our mouths. Brad then chimed in with, "Is this what it's going to be like when we're retired? Just sitting in a coffee shop hanging out - because this is awesome." We all laughed, signifying unanimous agreement. What a future that would be, huh?

I was thinking about this from Saturday morning until right now. What if everything worked out perfectly? We all end up doing well for ourselves and in, say, 30 years decide to move to the quiet town of Elk Rapids, set up a small business or two that we all have a hand in, and proceed to live out our lives surrounded by caring friends and great conversations in the local coffee shops?

Realistically this probably won't happen. I'm not saying we all won't have great lives or won't be successful, just the whole moving to one spot and setting up shop. No, that was more of a fantasy of what could be. However, in that moment, it was perfect. On a day where we already had two great friend's futures in mind, and in the midst of everything that was being talked about, that one statement made us forget about any worries or problems we may have had. For just a few minutes we had already moved to Elk Rapids. Ryan had set up his golf course with Josh as the local "pro", Colleen has her corner bakery, Rich and Rob converted an old office building into a small concert venue, Brad was doing janitorial work for everyone, and, as was routine by now, we all were meeting at Java Jones for some breakfast and reminiscing.

Funny how even the simplest statements can paint such a vivid picture.

Congratulations Andrea and Eric,
B

P.S. - In this fictitious scenario, I would be able to do my editing work from anywhere, so by choice I would be residing in Northern Michigan. Can't have any plot holes, can we.

P.S.S. - There aren't enough superlatives to describe how great the wedding/reception was. Wubble-U, Oh, Wubble-U.