Thanksgiving Festivities

Thanksgiving starts when i roll out of bed around noon. Next, i find myself laying around the TV watching the Lions game. This is one tradition i love because i get to watch the Lions play each Thanksgiving, even though they usually suck. Around four, i shower, get dressed, and head out to Novi to meet up with the family. Dinner is served around six but i continue eating till i can't breathe. After dinner, the family picks secret Santa's for Christmas and plays Euchre. I am thankful for health, family, and food. Alot of people take simple holidays, like this, for granted but i try to cherish each moment. Last year, my grandma past away two days before Thanksgiving. So being thankful for each moment past is important.

"Gaunt to Gargantuan and Back: The Atkins Method of Acting."

The article examines actors and the use of their bodies as a craft to enhance films. Many roles involve an actor or actress pushing the limits on their bodies by either losing or gaining extreme amounts of weight. There are limitations in acting but using their bodies as a craft creates an illusion that makes the role more realistic. The article continues to discuss that these are not “average” people because they are paid millions, have person trainers to whip them back in shape, and chefs to prepare healthy and balanced meals. Not eating, like Christian Bale, is not the safest way to enhance a role, but it does deliver a real and more dramatic performance on the silver screen.
My personal take on this subject is very simple, it is a job and whatever helps them do the job better is fine by me. Obviously, there are some limitations to the safety of the actor and actress but as long as they remain healthy it should not be an issue. I agree with the article because these are well-paid jobs and they have many resources that can help them back to normal body weight or shape. I also believe if this was my job, I would take it very seriously so the output product would be a top-notch performance. If that means losing weight, gaining muscle, or getting fat it’s fine by me if the price is right!

This weekend started off Thursday. On Thursday, i was informed i was suspended from work for insurance reasons. Though i didn't agree and was gonna be flat broke, i took the time to buy my new car. The week before my car broke, so i was determined and had the time. That night i bought my new car and headed into Friday preparing for my Halloween party and costume. My costume was a hit, i was Teen wolf from a Michael J Fox movie.

Friday swept in swiftly with the warm air. My roomate and I bought two kegs, made jello shots, and created a wicked concoction i called, "blood broth." With my costume picked out and prepared, i was officially ready for the party. The night came and went. Met many new people and seen many familiar faces. When the kegs ran dry, people began to leave, and calmness of the chaotic night set in. I went to sleep.

The next day began early. I was Saturday, October 31st. After cleaning the house partially, picking up trash and bottles that were scattered over my house the night before, i went to Applebee's. Then i went home and began to burn my bands cd's for the show. I arrived at the Rack and Roll in Riverview around 8. My band played at midnight and we had a hell of a show. The only quandary that occured was i broke a DVD that we received from show. It was a crazy weekend but its only the warm-up for my birthday weekend.

DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know was an informative, fear driven video that's supposed to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. It showed different facts that otherwise you would not know (or care to know). The social media revolution is connecting people worldwide at rate unseen before our time. While i believe this all true information, it stands as only one side of the box. The internet is changing peoples lives but simply conviencing them at the same time. In a few years another invention that will come up that will eventually replace what we now call the media revolution. One part of the video that did disturb me was the stat that by 2013 a computer will be able to do computations as a human, and eventually in 2049 the whole human species. This bothers me because its straight out of a movie or old story of computers taking over the world.

BaySide Sports Grille Review

Bar food is usually bar food. It is greasy, deep-fried, and very good. The Bayside Sports Grill of Walled Lake, Michigan serves bar food with a touch of fine dining. I dined in at the bar on Friday, October 9th. The grill sits on Walled Lake waterfront and has a very nice deck that lies out on the water. A dinner outside on a warm summer day is as beautiful as it sounds. The first site is a gigantic island bar with liquor bottles in the middle starting from well drinks (cranberry and vodka) to the top shelf Grey Goose. There is a big fish tank at the top with real fish in it. Bayside has a very big dining area on both sides of the bar with plasma TV’s scattered around. It is possible, for all the sports junkies, to watch 4 or 5 games simultaneously while you enjoy dinner. If you walk to the left there is a sliding door that leads to the outside patio that sits on top of Walled Lake. The patio also has a bar with the drink necessities. The waitresses wear all black and also supply great scenery. The lake is best on a warm night with a soft cool breeze. I have been here many times and I can honestly say there is nothing better.

Bayside Grill has a wide assortment of drinks. Non-alcoholic beverages include: Coke products, ice tea, virgin Daiquiris, milk, coffee, and of course water with a lemon in it. For the grown up, any kind of cocktail you can think of is available and basically any kind of Domestic beer with a variety of imports. I chose a Blue Moon. The cup size choices are 16 oz, 22 oz, and 32 oz ice-cold frothy beverage for the real thirsty. I chose the 22 oz. Within 5 minutes, my beer came topped with an orange at the cusp of the cup for flavor. Blue Moon with an orange on a warm summer night is perfect.


I chose to skip the appetizers on this trip due to financial reasons. Quality doesn’t come without a price. The basic appetizer starts at $4.99 and goes up to $11.99 crab cakes. I have had many appetizers and non-compare to the free bread brought out with the drinks. It’s complete with a delicious honey butter that literally melts in your mouth. Crab cakes were okay for something I dislike and the queso-dip was sub-par compared to my knowledge. Growing up it was a standard in my household to begin a night out with a dish of queso and Tostitos. I have experienced the dip in almost every local and chain restaurant in the Detroit area and consider myself somewhat of an expert. I don’t think any appetizer is worth the price unless of course you’re not paying!

The menu is basic bar-food with many add-ins. First is the large selection of seafood, which comes as no surprise seeing the bar is on a lake. The menu also offers Italian cuisine including: pizza, lasagna, and other pastas. I have had the fettuccini alfredo and conclude that it is top notch. Along with the burgers, there is a low carb section of salads and fruit. For this meal, I wanted to test the waters, so I chose the fish sandwich off the entrée section. It comes with fries and a choice of soup or salad for $7.95. Within 15 minutes, the salad was brought out. The lettuce is very crispy and the salad has an assortment of veggies in it. I would highly recommend the house salad with ranch. I know some people dislike ranch, but if you are a ranch lover, this place has some great ranch. It is house-made and is very creamy with a zesty finish. One thing I might mention is Bayside is not the speediest food service, if you come here make sure you have an hour or two to relax. If you are impatient either watch the 30 different flat screen HD TV’s or maybe go socialize at the bar because you have plenty of time. My sandwich came out in approximately 35 minutes. The food is laid out to perfection, the strips of steaming cod, a toasty burger bun, lettuce, tomato, and a little plastic cut of tarter sauce. I asked for a side of ranch. The cod sandwich was delicious. The first taste that jumps out at your taste buds is the fresh beer battered fish with a steamy sensation that comes from within. The only problem I encountered while eating was it was very hard to keep the sandwich together. That being the only dilemma, the sandwich was fantastic. The cod was soft and with a crisp edge and melted in the mouth.

As I left, I noticed I was full but didn’t feel like I was going to tip over or slip into a food coma. Bayside grill sits very well in the stomach and replenishes your energy (or maybe that was the beer I drank.) Either way I felt content and happy as I walked out. The total damage was $12.11 cents plus tip. I would not suggest Bayside Sports Grill every night but maybe for a Friday night out on the town. If you love company come here for the next big Detroit sports game. Not only will you have a good time but you will also enjoy a fabulous meal. I gave 4.5 stars out of 5. I was very close to the light but just shy of perfection.

Favorite Music

I'd like to start by saying I enjoy many genres of music ranging from hip-hop to classical. My favorite types of music are hip-hop and rock. I also like a new music called stadium-hop which is a fusion of hip-hop with stadium rock. On the hip-hop side of music my favorite artists are Dre. Dre and anything he produces. I also like artists like Eminem, Kanye West, 50 cent, Lil' Wayne, Young Jeezy, and Ludacris. These are just some of the many artists of hip-hop I like. My favorite rock bands are 311, Sublime, Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, and Finch. If concerts weren't so expensive i'd would go to more, but of the concerts i have gone too my favorite was 311. They played in Memphis, Tennessee for a rare 311 day concert for nearly 5 hours. Even though i have seen them 12 times this was still to this day my most memorable concert. These bands I have mentioned all inspire my current I play in.

2009 University of Michigan-Dearborn Writing Awards

On Wednesday, September 20^th I attended the University of Michigan-Dearborn writing awards. The awards lasted nearly 35 minutes and contained 6 categories ranging from honors to first-year writing. The experience was vital to my writing because I was able to hear award-winning essays and poetry. Even though I disagreed with some of the winners, I did enjoy others and will hopefully take something home that will benefit my writing in the future.

The first essay I enjoyed was a fiction piece by Holly Carlisle called “Point of No Return.” The essay was an emotional narrative about a heated relationship. I don’t know if it was completely made up or there was inspiration but I believe it revealed deep feelings. It also exposed the different stages of a break-up till the end.

The poetry awards were the only awards I didn’t agree with. The 2^nd place winner, Carl J. Garfield wrote a very interesting poem called “Tornado Township.” It was a somber piece that a struck a chord of fear. The poem was even in the shape of a tornado for a unique twist. I believe he should have won 1^st place hands down. The first place poem, “Hitchhiker” by Amal Algahmi was distinctive but not 1^st place work. It was a short 2-line poem that lacked substance and essence. If I were a judge I wouldn’t even have given this poem any votes.

The awards inspired me to enter next years contest. As a songwriter I have many songs that could be structured as a poem and maybe impact someone to receiving an award. I enjoyed my time and hopefully will make it back next year as a participant rather than a student observing.