Dutch and D-town

I recently changed my blog site over to Dutch as a primary language. There was a time when I pretty proficiently read formal Dutch, made pretty solid attempts at Dutch email, frequented a Dutch 'hyves' (social networking site) account and even floundered around with some pronunciation. Well, truth be told, I feel like I'm always getting stupider in my logical attempt to short-circuit needless work and effort. Somewhere along the way, I found out that Yahoo Babel did a pretty bang-up job of translating things so I stopped using a dictionary and stopped using my head. I'm not sure how much switching this back over has really done for me yet, but it's nice to use my head a little every day to renew those old mental connections formed between strange excessive usage of misplaced vowels and the common meanings that over 16 million people successfully associate them with.

Of course, that's really just a prelude to the other topic on my mind this morning. With the Final Four in Detroit in 2009, the great town economically and emotionally rallied around the home boys, my very own MSU Spartans. And while I'll be the first to admit that it's not always a great place to be, there are some really nice things about Detroit that commonly get neglected by those who jump on the hating wagon, like Glenn Beck so mistakenly did.

And here's what people had to say about Glenn Beck:



Two very good friends of mine live in Detroit. Young professionals, they embody the hope that accompanies the town and the potential that it has to capture the old, progressive vibe it used to have. Just like Chrysler mentions in their ad, this is a town that bounces back and not just like a brief rebound. We're talking about the oldest city in the Midwest, the French fort when Ohio was just a bunch of trees (similar to the UP now). Regardless of circumstances or even mismanagement by government officials (something Michigan is all too familiar with), this town finds a way to keep on, and you have to love that about it. If you walk the streets like Amanda and I did back in September, you can feel a town that is trying to bounce back once again. Nobody said it was easy, but they're doing it or at least trying.




And this is Hockeytown, the city with the best team on ice, this side of the great pond. Don't every forget it. There's nothing quite like playoff season in a crowded, dirty bar, watching the Wings duke it out.

Randoms

For your entertainment and education today. I use the word entertainment lightly since many of these aren't really funny.

Paul, the Octopus that called the winners of the World Cup games has died. This octopus lived quite the celebrity lifestyle and even had an agent.

A volcano erupted in Indonesia very early this morning. It's tragic to read about the sorrow and panic that these people suffered, but I have to wonder, if you read the article where the guy says the mountain grumbled all night, why were these people still there? It's like so many other volcano accidents. The people around it when it goes off are either too ignorant of the obvious warning signs or too curious about the seismic activity.

Another woman is convicted of giving birth to babies and killing them, then saving their bodies in coolers and hiding them in her house. Are you kidding me? And the most interesting charge she's accused of: abuse-of-corpse. I didn't even know that was a charge but there is definitely something very wrong with a woman who saves the bodies of her live-born babies after killing them.

Props to Ford Motor Company as their profits continue to rise, without even getting bailed out like Chrysler. Henry would be proud of you and so is the guy who just drove his pickup truck for 1,000,000 miles.

And finally, remember. Your cat can really take a tough time during Halloween. Use the tips to keep life safe and happy for your cat as you celebrate ghoulishness.

I'm off for now. Tornado warnings are blaring as this storm cell whips past.