A week ago I went to see Shellac play at the Crofoot in Pontiac, MI.  I actually had a couple of tickets (that my mother-in-law picked up for me) but couldn't find anyone to go with me (Prentice was on his honeymoon and no one from Nashville could make the trip).  Phreddy Wischusen, general manager of the Crofoot, told her that by getting the tickets for me she proved wrong all the late night talk show hosts with their jokes about mothers-in-law.  The Crofoot is a fairly new and nice venue.  I was standing right in front of the stage.  Last time I did that was with Matt at Slint in Chicago.  Chris Brokaw opened the show.  The dudes talking loudly behind me during Brokaw's set were annoying.  The Shellac set was loose and enjoyable.  Here are some photos.  More here.

More piano from the boys:

The Detective

Star Wars

The fact that for a moment I thought "It's crazy, but I wonder if she really did pretend to have her kid's baby?" helps me understand how some folks can believe the stuff they do about Obama.

Here are some photos and a video from last Sunday's bike ride and hike with the Jollys:

Following on the heels of The Daily Show's fantastic version of the Obama convention video profile (Barack Obama: He Completes Us), here is another brilliant contribution, this time for John McCain...n particular the part near the end that highlights the change from maverick reformer to reformed maverick:

John McCain: Reformed Maverick

I haven't noticed as many conservatives criticizing Obama's vacuous change mantra now that McCain has adopted it too.

I guess maybe what they're saying is, 'Watch out, George Bush. Except for economic policies, and tax policies, and energy policies, and healthcare policies, and education policies, and Karl Rove-style politics, except for all that, we're really going to bring change to Washington. We're going to shake things up.'

(link)

Finishing up this year's Grand Haven posts, here are some photos from the beach:

Near the house in Grand Haven is a nice park that we've gone to the last couple years.  It has a nice fun zone as well as a field where we played football last year and this year played ultimate football.  This year we also discovered a steep, sandy hill in the woods nearby that the boys enjoyed climbing.  Here are some photos: