Cliffs Riffs - Stuph n Nonsense

My mission here is three fold - a concert report, a fun look at two responses, and a big WTF to the process of buying concert tickets these days. Julie and I have been fans of Todd Rundgren since 1972 or so. We have seen him many times together and on our own. The day, nay - the very minute - tickets went on sale for his visit to Grand Rapids with some members of Utopia in 2018, I was at my keyboard to buy tickets. FWIW, I prefer to go to the venue for ticket buys in order to avoid paying TicketMaster their silly ass fees, but that is another story. So I bought two front row seats right away. They were very much stage right - all the stuff in the middle had been snatched up, but we were excited anyway. Front row! I bought these seats on  FEBRUARY 20th - just shy of THREE MONTHS BEFORE THE SHOW.  . Fast forward to May 15th - Utopia is here. Julie and I closed our store early and went to the venue. Imagine our colossal disappointment when we were led to our seats ($118 ...

Lefties use 'em. Righties do, too. Russian bots use 'em - as do me n you. NOT ANY MORE FROM THIS BOY. Memes can kiss off. Imagine, if you will, an internet with no memes. Close your eyes - inhale for 4 seconds - hold that breath for 4 seconds - exhale for 6 seconds. Repeat. Now imagine your daily internet-social media experience sans memes. One of the driving forces behind the internet was to foster communication. It was supposed to open a world of possibilities - broaden our horizons - instead it is narrowing our scope to the point that we express ourselves in tweet size bites of sarcasm. We sum up hugely complex issues with one or two short sentences juxtaposed on a picture(s) that PROVES OUR POINT. Touche. Game. Set. Match. For MY side. I won - we won - we won. Who can dispute the irrefutable, solid as a rock, uber-genius line of shizzle our side just laid down on that issue with that bad ass, rockin' meme? My meme is better than your meme - my meme i...

Here is the link to  SAVE 10% ON YOUR ORDER . 9.29.19 Update - I now have and wear four pair of Dearborn Denim jeans. I just recently ordered a pair of their black jeans, the first pair of black ones I bought I transformed into these with a spray bottle and some bleach: Had some fun with these black jeans from Dearborn Denim and some bleach in a spray bottle. Anyway I now have blue, tan, and two pair of black jeans from Chicago. Could not be happier with them. I like to buy things made in the US when ever it is possible. Is it going to change the world? Nah. Is it going to save American jobs - well, it sure can't hurt. Like just about everyone else on Facebook, I had seen tons of ads for Dearborn Denim , a jean company in Chicago. One day I figured I might as well try a pair. Clicked on the link, read about the company , bought a pair of the Tailored Fit Dark Wash - they look like this: They arrived a few days later and at first I was a bit put off because they ...

I was very pleasantly treated by my first live listen to a great sounding, tight GRapids area band last night. Gotta admit, the main reason I went to their show at Lowell Arts! was to show my support for one Ryne Clarke, the opener for the evening. Ryne is a neighbor and a member of my FAVORITE local band, The Preservers , of whom I have written more than once. He is a tireless musician AND a great promoter of other musical talents through his efforts at Ryneshyne.club. Two side notes: First, if you have never seen the new home of Lowell Arts! , you need to visit. The gallery space is fantastic and the place was purpose built to host intimate musical events like an evening with Lipstick Jodi. Hearing music created in the midst of kick ass local and regional art is dessert without the calories.  Secondly, one more contributing factor to Lipstick Jodi fun was the fact that my wife has become friends with Jamie, keyboards and backing vocals, over the last few months because ...

Sure, I'd heard of the Netflix series "Queer Eye" (as it is now known) prior to this week and had a vague idea of the format of the show. This week we watched it. We didn't go back to the first season to start it, but we started with the first episode of the current season. Mind Blown.  Not only was my mind completely blown - the first show had me in tears at least three times. I was in no way prepared to watch Tom, a self-confessed redneck who has settled on the fact that he is ugly, hugging gay men and calling them "brother".  As someone who spent one hour a week for a couple years with a good shrink, I could tell right off that Tom has terrible self-esteem issues and is hiding behind his scraggly beard and "ugliness". The Fab Five zeroed in on the same targets. Between them, the five touch on pretty much every touch stone that needs to be overturned in Tom's life. The beauty and kick ass part of this episode for me, a QE rook...

Brothers n Sisters in Rhythm Music Dancing and Lowell Lovin'- The time has come for us to Dance in The Streets (DITS). Well, the time is actually July 14th, 2018. LET ME MAKE THIS CLEAR - DITS 2018 is NOT political in nature. This is NOT my effort to gain office - this is just my attempt to gin up some Bootie Shakin Foot Stompin Dancin' Phun. Kinna like this here: Will you join this man in a Bugaloo down Main Street in Lowell at High Noon 7.14.18? Once upon a time - the Riverwalk Parade 2016 I got the help of some friends and family and we rocked down Main Street. Yes we did.  TIME TO DO IT AGAIN - Riverwalk Parade July 14, 2018. No political agenda this time. The Vision: A trailer full of Pound, Pulsating, Percussive Butt-Shakin' Thumping Sound surrounded by dancers who will not ONLY dance the length of the parade route - but must be willing to solicit Audience Participation during The Top Secret Blast Off Culmination Of Dancing. (we cannot r...

Here are some facts about medical marijuana and marijuana in general when it comes to Michigan in general and Grand Rapids/Kent County specifically. FACT 1: In 2008 the VOTERS in Michigan voted in favor of allowing people to seek treatment for a variety of ills using medical marijuana. An interesting side not on this for me personally was that my father voted with the majority. My dad spent most of his life equating those who used pot as "hop heads" - what he called the heroin addicts he saw as a kid growing up around Detroit. His thoughts on pot changed when my step mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer - which took her life. This was before such cancer was being treated with any success and they sought all manner of relief from the symptoms and pain - including getting some pot from a friend of a friend. Seeing the positive use of weed turned my dad around on the subject. In fact, when he was alive he was an advocate for legalizing it in the same manner as alcohol...