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Date Title Body
Battletech came out in

Battletech came out in April: http://battletechgame.com

Mechwarrior 5 comes out later this year: https://mw5mercs.com

ITT: People who have no idea

ITT: People who have no idea how the band works.

Not even close. IIRC it's 6

Not even close. IIRC it's 6 (7?) buses plus an 18 wheeler for equipment. Also meals (at least 2-3) for 300+ and possibly hotel rooms depending on how far away the trip is. It's a major undertaking

I've been to weddings at

I've been to weddings at Cobblestone Farm and at the Matthei Botanical Gardens and both were beautiful spots. Cobblestone Farm is especially nice if you want to have the wedding and reception in the same spot, as they have a very nice reception hall on the property as well.

Excellent update, glad to

Excellent update, glad to hear that things are looking up!

 

Also - Willie the Wildcat is at Northwestern, Wildcat Willy is at NMU.

Coach Hutch and the softball

Coach Hutch and the softball team were great before Brandon got here, as were a lot of other non-revenue sports. Are there any that have really improved under his tenure?

It's been a while since I was

It's been a while since I was in Catholic school. Are Chobanim above or below Seraphim in the heirarchy of Angels?

Hey, we've all been there.

Hey, we've all been there.

I generally agree with you,

I generally agree with you, but the whole "gateway drug" thing has been pretty thoroughly debunked.

I agree completely.
 
Go

I agree completely.

 

Go 'Cats!

I know it's early, but that's

I know it's early, but that's still the dumbest thing I've read today.

I don't know if it differs

I don't know if it differs for the Athletic Dept. or not, but here is the University Brand and logo useage style guidelines.

 

http://vpcomm.umich.edu/brand/

I suggest Bloody Mary's. The

I suggest Bloody Mary's. The tomato juice and celery provide food so you don't have to stop for meals.

Yeah, it's Pasquale. He was

Yeah, it's Pasquale. He was promoted this year to Marching Band Director as well.

I had the same

I had the same experience...

 

unfortunately I put it all back on and then some once winter semester rolled around.

The MMB has a new director

The MMB has a new director this year. It'll be interesting to see the changes. The old director (Dr. Boerma) will still be duing music arranging, though.

Congrats! Joining the MMB was

Congrats! Joining the MMB was easily the best decision I made in college.

 

Your daughter is going to make a boatload of life-long friends in the coming days, months and years.

See for

See for yourself

 

http://mmb.music.umich.edu/public-calendar

It's Kevin Rose (the founder

It's Kevin Rose (the founder of Digg) defending his dog. 

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/22/kevin-rose-digg-raccoon_n_3635093.html

Depends WHEN you want to hear

Depends WHEN you want to hear the band. Your suggestion is great for when the band is in the stands, unfortunately they will face away from you for most, if not all, of pregame and halftime. With the band now mic'd, you can hear them decently well from anywhere in the stadium, so sitting on the Michigan sideline is nice for halftime and pregame.

A band-centric game day.

-CMU tickets were starting at about 55 last time I checked stub-hub. Not bad at all.

-The band sits in the front of section 28. If you sit at all behind them the sound won't be an issue. All of the instruments are directional, after all. They do turn around for "Lets go Blue" sometimes, but that only happens a few times a game. As long as you're not RIGHT next to or behind them this won't be an issue.

-There's a lot of parking in the area around the stadium that can be had for $25-$30. Virtually every house in the Brown/Davis/Green street area will be selling spots. There are enough students for it to be fun, but not so much that it would be an issue to have kids/a family in the area. Personally, I suggest 833 Brown St. I used to live there, and it's still occupied by band kids We charged $30 when I lived there, I assume it's still the same. They'll also probably let you use the bathroom (we're very proud of it) which may be nice for kids.

- Definitely watch the band practice/drum step show/step off to the stadium. Practice will probably go from about 10:00-noon at Elbel. This is especially nice if your seats are in an area where you won't be able to see/hear halftime that well. The drumline step-show starts about an hour and a half before kickoff and takes place on the steps of Revelli Hall. Show up a bit earlier to get your kids to the front. The band will do inspection and step off for the Big House approxomately 1 hour before kickoff. This is also pretty fun and can get quite raucous (there are usually a good number of drunken band alumni around harassing the current bandsmen) The whole Hoover St area gets pretty crowded, so keep your kids close, but it is really fun and quite an experience.

- Law Quad is obviously gorgeous. Really, I don't think you can go wrong walking around campus. Students will be moving in and everything should be nice and exciting. I also suggest checking out the Clements Library (boring for the kids, but still a gorgeous reading room. Better than the Law Library in my opinion.) Then take the kids for some fun times at Pinball Pete's. Video arcades are practically a foreign concept for kids these days, so it should be pretty neat for them. As for other kid friendly activities on Friday, I suggest hitting up some museums. UMMA (Art museum) is great, but will probably bore the kids. I would suggest going to the Ruthven Natural history museum. Admission is free (but a donation is nice) and has some excellent dinosaur displays. The Hall of Evolution has several dinosaur skeletons and is really great.

-Food: see the "where to eat in Ann Arbor" article under useful stuff at the top of the page.

The band plays it after every

The band plays it after every game, along with a few other traditionals and selections from that week's halftime show. Most people don't stick around for the post-game show, though. I won't blame you for not knowing.

The Baconomicon!

The Baconomicon!

UPVOTES FOR EVERYONE

I hope U-M makes an effort to

I hope U-M makes an effort to keep playing the non B1G Michigan teams. I seem to recall reading that NMU wanted to keep playing U-M, but only if Michigan was also willing to play in Marquette (ie. No payday games in Ann Arbor). I wonder if any of the other Michigan schools have taken that stance.

NOT a good year for me so

NOT a good year for me so far.

 

16-16 headed into the weekend.

5 elite eight teams left

3 final four teams left.

On the upside, I picked FGCU and Ole Miss. I almost looked awesome with Southern, but stupid Gonzaga had to win.

Oh, I'm well aware. This

Oh, I'm well aware. This bracket methodology is probably the only thing my History degree has been useful far.

I started doing brakets

I started doing brakets before I really started following college basketball because my friends were doing a pool and I decided to get in on it. Of course, I knew nothing beyond how teams were seeded and I didn't want to go with that, so I developed my own personal mascot challenge system. I choose every games based on which mascot would win in a fight. Sometimes it's obvious (eg. a Wolverine beats a jackrabbit 10 times out of 10) but sometimes it gets interesting and you have to do some reasearch. Does a Spartan beat a Trojan (yes. A Spartan would never fall for the old wooden horse trick) Does a commodore beat a boilermaker (again, yes. Presumably the commodore has a fleet, or at least a warship , at his disposal. The Boilermaker just has a train.)

I haven't done my bracket yet this year, so I haven't had a chance to look at any particularly interesting matchups, but if you need help deciding a game, I suggest using the mascot method. 

I generally hate Ishpeming

I generally hate Ishpeming (Go Redmen, etc. etc.) but I was so happy to see them win it all this year. Good for you, Hematites!

I can't speak for most of

I can't speak for most of these arenas, but I thought the write up on the Berry at NMU was pretty much spot on. I grew up going to games at the old Lakeview Arena and then the Berry and always had a great time. Also, Marquette is great and everyone should visit.

 

 

Seriously, bring us your tourism dollars.

Yep. Pretty telling that half

Yep. Pretty telling that half of the elite 8 teams are from the B1G (Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State and Nebraska). Too bad PSU and Minny have to play each other so there's not the potential for an all B1G Final Four.

you can't really tell from

you can't really tell from the still image, but in a video replay you can see his arm get pushed into his helmet which forces the ball out, so I dont thing that rule would apply anyway.

Strange?

I don't know about that. I've always thought that gymnastics was maybe the best overall display of pure strength and general athleticism in the entirety of the olympics.

I believe you mean Michigaine

I believe you mean Michigaine Stadium

Short's Pandemonium Pale Ale

Short's Pandemonium Pale Ale for now. I might switch to something harder in a bit, but I have to get up at 6:00 for work, so we'll see if that happens.

I know you specifically

I know you specifically mentioned hand rolled, but I'm going to completely ignore that and suggest http://international.villiger-cigars.de/en/round-and-pressed.html . Specifically the box pressed, maduro variety. 

 

I have very little experince with cigarillos or flavored cigars, but those little Villigers cheap and a really excellent short smoke.

Take it from me, I'm a tobacconist.

If the price of the cigar seems too good to be true, it (of course) is. It's not at all un-common for people/stores to put fake bands on cigars and Cuban in order to prey on American tourists. If you do decide to buy them find a reputable business to purchase them from, avoid anything too touristy. If you're not willing to pay a decent amount, there's no reason to get Cubans because you'll just be paying a premium for the country of origin.

 

Now, if you're looking to get some Cubans just for the novelty of it, go for it. If you're expecting them to be miles ahead of what you can get in the US, don't waste your time. Yeah, a good Cuban Cohiba or Montecristo will probably be great, but it's going to cost the same or (more likely) more than an equally good, if not better cigar from Nicaragua or the Dominican Republic.

 

As to sneaking them back into the US I have no suggestions. I know people who have had no problems at all, and I know people who have had them confiscated, more often than not people seemt to bring them back without too much trouble. Putting them in a checked bag seems to be the easiest way. However, you should know that maintaining good humidity and temperature is crucial to keeping the cigars in good quality (70 farenheit at 70% humidity is a good rule of thumb) and maintaining this in the cargo hold of an airplane is quite difficult. 

 

My advice? Buy a good Montecristo or Cohiba in Brazil and smoke them with a great cup of coffee. Then come back to the US and buy an Opus X or a good Padron (like the 1964 or 80th anniversario). Even better, find your local tobacconist and talk to him about what's good that he has in stock. [Time for a shameless plug->] If you're in Ann Arbor, come to Maison-Edwards and we'll get you situated.

See

See mgo.licio.us:

 

 http://holdintherope.blogspot.com/2012/06/espn-skip-bayless-and-where-this-is-all.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+HoldinTheRope+%28Holdin%27+The+Rope%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

I would prefer to see Denmark

I would prefer to see Denmark and The Netherlands advance, but I think Germany and The Netherlands is more likely. Portugal can go die in a fire for all I care.

I think they'd have a hard

I think they'd have a hard time selling out the big house, but the Crisler center might work, especially considering that it'll be newly renovated and worth showing off. I don't know the construction timeline, though. Anyone know when it's supposed to be completed?

(No subject)

The internet delivers

650

Call me a pessimist.

Similar situation here. I

Similar situation here. I grew up in Marquette and went to tons of NMU games, but went to school at U-M. I'm always torn when these two play.

TL;DR

TL;DR

Alternating bottles of

Alternating bottles of Pacifico with Seagram's gin & tonics. Woo!

It is on ESPN3, and it

It is on ESPN3, and it doesn't look like one that's subject to blackout, so that's good news.

True

True story.



http://deadspin.com/5302475/the-sad-hilarious-tale-of-elvis-grbac-1998s…

Which of these Coaches played

Which of these Coaches played their college ball in the state of Michigan?

  1. Mark Dantonio
  2. Brady Hoke
  3. John L Smith
  4. Lloyd Carr
  5. Nick Saban
  6. Gary Moeller

The answer, of course, is Lloyd Carr. He played QB for Northern Michigan University in 1967.

Diet Hate Week.

Diet Hate Week.