Things that are Cool

I am the decider of all things cool because I have figured out this internet thing, and in this capacity as decider of cool, I would like to let you in on a couple of very cool things. You're welcome, in advance.

The first thing that is very cool is this blog. Thanks for coming!

The second thing that is almost as cool but not quite is straight from the mind of my friend Colin, he of ColinFest and "The Great and True Story of Colin". Colin recently completed law school and will be shortly starting a new job as some sort of pretend lawyer (I have no absolute proof that he took or passed the bar exam, I only have his word which is most often great and true, but I'm of the suspicious sort). Prior to starting his new career, he is traveling around the midwest and eastern seaboard and visiting all of the amusement parks and ice cream providers that he can handle. As far as I can tell, he is eating waffles (in normal and cone form) and ice cream for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. Colin is a fan of pointless games of skill, and with this passion, he is spending a large percentage of his time at these amusement parks playing their various carnival games and winning absurdly sized stuffed animals (they're not all animals, but they seem to be all stuffed). He then will typically donate these prizes to Toys for Tots, random people in the parks and their families, or whoever else is willing to take them off his hands. That is my basic overview, but I have to imagine Colin would be happy to have you read his blog - Amusement Purposes Only - as often as possible. As we have already determined that I am the arbiter of cool, you have no doubt that this is the next best website for you to read. I am thoroughly enjoying Colin's saga, and I imagine that you will, too.

The third thing that is cool on this Friday before the extended Holiday weekend is The Perkins Family, and most specifically Jim Perkins. The Perkins family is a clan of renegade musicians based in the Detroit area who travel around, performing songs, and providing enjoyment for those who like clans of traveling renegade musicians. My brother has been friends with the Perkins for many years now through his experiences with Irish music. The reason this is pertinent to right now is that Mr. Perkins, patriarch and bearded man, performed at my wedding almost two weeks ago now (wow, I've been married almost two weeks). He was awesome and a phenomenal addition to the wedding ceremony. We asked him to learn a couple of songs, he had a few songs that he recommended, he showed up with his guitar, and then sat down and wowed the crowd. Everyone who was at the ceremony (standing room only crowd) made a point to comment on how great the musician was, and several of these people are actually professional musicians themselves. I'm not quite sure how the family typically rents themselves out to share their talents with the world (my brother connected me to Mr. Perkins for the wedding ceremony), but I don't think I could recommend them any higher. They typically perform Irish music, but Mr. Perkins didn't seem to have trouble incorporating non-Irish fare into the playlist. You can check them out here and here (important note - in no way is this positive reference or review related to compensation for the wedding performance. He was just a great addition to the day).

The fourth thing that is cool that is happening this weekend is the Detroit International Jazz Festival (I love how because you can pee on Windsor from Detroit and vice versa everything in Detroit is "international"). The festival runs from today, Friday the 4th, through Monday the 7th. I have never been to the jazz festival, and unfortunately I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to make it this year. The performance that has the biggest draw for me is happening in very near proximity to the Michigan football game tomorrow. This performance is by Mr. Dave Brubeck, absolutely amazing and incredibly famous jazz pianist, on Saturday at 4:45 in the Hart Plaza Amphitheater. I saw him about 4 years ago at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor and it was one of the most magical concerts I have ever attended. Right now Dave B. is 88 years-old, so he must have been about 84 when I saw him with Maureen and my siblings. Watching someone of his age flying over the keyboard was awe-inspiring, and this performance stands as one of my top 3 favorite concerts of all time. If you have any free time at all on Saturday (or don't care about college football), you are doing yourself a disservice if you don't make it to see him downtown tomorrow. Maybe Dave Brubeck and Jim Perkins can get together and hang out.

Those are the cool things right now, and I haven't even touched on Arts, Beats, and Eats or my and Maureen's first trip to CostCo as a married couple. Get out there, enjoy your state, root for your college football team (Go Blue!) and professional baseball team of choice, experience the perfect weather, and generally enjoy your life, family, friends, and anything else that makes you happy. I'm happy to be married, to have a strong, happy, and fun relationship with my family, to live in the great state of Michigan, and that maybe someday we'll finally have our new couch and car.