Cliffs Riffs - Stuph n Nonsense

My mind was blown in 1974 by an amazing man from France: Philippe Petit. He is the man who walked between the twin towers in New York - making a total of 8 passes back and forth and even sitting and laying down on his wire. His accomplishment appeared in every paper and magazine on the planet, or so it seemed to me. He left all of us slack-jawed in wonder. I recall reading several versions of the story in different publications. Philippe became obsessed with walking between the towers when he read about them. He and his friends went to incredible lengths to smuggle gear to the top of both towers, one of which was not yet completed. Here we see Petit laying on his wire - a quarter mile in the air. A couple of years ago, Julie and I watched a documentary about Petit. It was called "Man on Wire". Here is the trailer. We loved it. Last night whilst looking for a movie to watch - my search netted me  "The Walk" with Joseph Gordon-Levitt...

Internet Disclaimer: Nobody from Nordic Ware knows I am writing this. I received no compensation for the review - my wife paid full price for the item. With that out of the way, let me tell you that this is one of the best products we have in our kitchen. It is a 10 inch S platter Guard from Nordic Ware - looks like this: The reason I like it so much? Saves me all kinds of time and hassle. It is a cover to use in your microwave to save cleaning the inside of the oven as a result of one of those annoying "heat burps" that happen from time to time.  Ever since I read all the information about how effective "nukes" are and how they don't drain nutrients out of food like some methods of warming or re-warming can, I have used the microwave with enthusiasm. But don't you HATE it when that soup you are warming up does a little burp and spray paints the interior of your nuke with food? I make a breakfast of two whipped eggs, a bit of cheese, and chop...

Meijer, Inc - a Michigan Mega-Power that I have had a Love-Hate relationship with for the last five years or more. On the plus side, we have Meijer Gardens, Rails To Trails, and countless other uses of the Meijer fortune. Shoot, believe it or not, when yours truly was a wee one, my mom gave piano lessons to a couple of the Meijer boys. True story. On the down side - hmmmm, politically Meijer stinks because they were the driving force behind the one of the MOST asinine laws in Michigan - the law that prohibits cities, towns, and municipalities from passing a law to ban plastic bags . I never realized States could pass laws to prevent smaller groups from passing laws. Guess we will grow old seeing this kind of crap: If you know me at all, then you know I have been ranting about the perpetual "sale" on jewelry at Meijer stores for the better part of a decade now. Somehow, I do not believe that this kind of bullshit, fake sale fits the business model Fred Meijer built h...

Shout out to T he Lowell Ledger . They quoted me at length (and 100% accurately, I might add) about the potential of the Trump administration's proposed cuts to the Great Lakes Initiative. (I had to tied in the Snyder administration.) Here is what I said when asked for my reaction:  "My reaction to the effort to cut Federal funding for the Great Lakes is pure astonishment. I do not care what political party you belong to, no one lives without fresh water for more than a couple of days. There are a multitude of experts who have been proclaiming water to be the most valuable commodity on the planet, so to do what we are doing on a State and Federal level to our Great Lakes is simply moronic on several levels. If the thought of defending the Lakes for environmental reasons gets your knickers in a knot, then just approach it from a pure business viewpoint. Why are we putting one of the largest sources of surface freshwater at risk with decreased funding, decreased prote...

On Monday March 13th Julie and I hopped in the car, drove to Lansing and attended an open meeting held by the Pipeline Task Force. First, I am happy to report that in spite of it being a Monday afternoon on a cold, snowy day in Michigan, the place was packed. Sliders were pulled back to make two rooms into one because the room in which the meeting was scheduled was at capacity. The second room was Standing Room Only before the meeting was underway. In addition,  there were people with signs out in the parking lot and along the road (Saginaw in West Lansing - out by Horrocks.) That put a smile on my face. There were people from all over the State, including the UP. There were kids, parents and grand-parents. Made my heart glad. The only downside that comes to mind was that there could have been a bit more diversity in the crowd. While the Indians of Michigan were WELL represented, the bulk of the rest of the people there were white. Frankly, I do not get this - brown, ...

Cliff Yankovich is a partner in Chimera Design along with his wife, Julie Claire DeVoe. Chimera is a mom and pop jewelry store on Main Street in Lowell, Michigan since 2002. Cliff has been a free lance writer since the 1980‘s. His work has appeared in many local, regional, and even a few national publications. Cliff is most proud of bringing home the prestigious “Most Hate Mail Received In A One Year Period” award which was presented to him in 2002 by the editor of The View - a weekly newspaper in which he had a column.   (Who knew the parents selling cookies for their kids had such thin skin?)  This book represents an effort on his part to claw his way back to the pinnacle of those halcyon days. The Pre-Publication Reviews are pouring in: “Any relation to Wierd Al?” The Columbus Receiver “We were expecting more mention of his outstanding work on the accordion.”   Chicago Weakly Thymes “Maybe he should stick to polkas...” Pols...