Cliffs Riffs - Stuph n Nonsense

Say what you will about uptight, conservative West Michigan/Grand Rapids. We have ART PRIZE  - what do YOU have? Neener, neener, neener. Sure - the attraction of the Big $$$$ for the winners can make things a little weird down there - like artists outside one venue handing out cards and urging me to go see THEIR stuff somewhere else - but c'mon Rest Of The World, Art Prize is fantastic. Sure, some advantage goes to the artists who have their work placed in "better" locations, but I bet you that if some fantastic creation appears on the fringes somewhere we will know about it thanks to all the modern communication devices and tools that we have. I cannot imagine another event or festival that allows ANYONE to experience the incredible variety of "art" for free. From the traditional to cutting edge and everything in between. I had my mind blown on my first visit down there today. It was incredible. Jaw dropping work of ALL KINDS. I got so fired ...

Julie and I enjoyed this fine band at Arts, Beats, and Eats in Royal Oak. I became a fan. They just put this new song up on the web. Have a listen and watch them play right here: The Infatuations The band is tight with a real positive vibe. Upbeat, danceable music. More great stuff from MICHIGAN!

Anybody care to wager with me about how many years it will take for companies to really market the tragedy of 9-11? Before I proceed, let me say that my mind was blown on that day of horrible destruction and death. Julie called me from her office and told me to turn the TV on right before the second plane hit - I was dumbfounded, shocked, and confused. She came home and we were pretty much glued to the news for the rest of the day and into the night. Horrible loss of life. Thousands of families were changed forever. I understand the unexpected death of a loved one (my brother died in a freak car accident when I was six) and I know how it can tear apart family and friends. That being said - what the heck is going on today? And yesterday...and the last week or maybe even longer. Every media outlet is plastering us with 9-11. I have real mixed emotions about this - do we really care about the events or is this just another media circus with some advertising revenue attached? I los...

During our recent Labor Day visit to the fantastic Arts, Beats and Eats Festival  in Royal Oak, we stayed for two nights at the Courtyard Marriott in Troy, MI. The stay could not have been better - every member of the staff we encountered was friendly, polite, and helpful. The room was clean, the bed and pillows were comfortable - we had a hard time waking up Sunday morning after walking miles and miles in the 97 degree heat on Saturday! The small pool was a perfect place to cool off Saturday night and I have to mention that the coffee served in the lobby in the morning is excellent. (And we know from coffee - our daughter owns and operates Ella's - a full service coffee bar and gourmet lunch and breakfast shop down the street from us in Lowell.) We asked for a ground floor room and enjoyed sitting on the little patio in the evening looking out over the courtyard. It was quiet enough on both nights to hear the crickets. The shower was great and I even liked the shampoo ...

Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Victoria Clamp doin' it funky in the wind! Found this 4 day festival by accident this year. A friend of mine mentioned that the Tom Tom Club  was going to be playing in his neck of the woods (i.e. the other side of the country). I was pleased when I checked their website to learn that they would be a part of Arts, Beats, and Eats  in Royal Oak over the Labor Day Holiday. Julie was as fired up as I was when she found out that we could also catch a ton of other music including some great local/regional bands - AND there's more: we wanted to see the The Psychedelic Furs and country/bluegrass/guitar picking wonder Vince Gill  (to show my age, lemme tell you I first saw Vince when he was in Poco back in the previous century!). Here is Vince in action: This festival is OUTSTANDING. We attended some of it all three days we were there. Michigan weather was in full effect - Saturday we roasted in upper 90's heat with humidity an...