Another great day in Michigan

Ford GT on Woodward
Originally uploaded by lclutchl

So today we headed into a hot and steamy Detroit for The World African Festival. Which was a bit crap. Unless you like Obama T-shirts and handbags. Neither of which struck me as being very African really. But maybe I'm wrong. Jude bought a hat (pink and floppy) and some CDs for the car (absolutely filthy soul music and quite hilarious)

From there we took the Detroit People Mover too many stops to Greektown - which was also really rather disappointing. So we walked back. But not before being told that the derelict hotel in which I once shot a bunch of fetish models (only photographically alas) isn't actually derelict - or a hotel. I'd been had. Two floors were derelict. The two that I saw. The rest is apartments. And rather nice ones I was told by a sweet but insistent old lady. Wonder what she makes of the 'goings on' below her?

Finally over to Ferndale and Mustang Alley. It's Dream Cruise day which means 40,000 old cars, a 20 mile loop and the car manufacturers in full on automotive pornography mode. Much fun. Saw some friends and clients. Saw lots and lots of Mustangs. Fell in love with the Ford GT all over again - despite what Clarkson and his aftermarket security system may say about it.

Lovely, lovely, lovely

Didn't we have a lovely time...

Along the Banks of the Huron River
Originally uploaded by Kathy~

Jude's back from LA and while we're both knackered it's nice being able to hang out together again.

We have two friends with us at the moment - travelling the world through countries that don't threaten 'Intestinal Issues" at every turn --> and having rather a good time of it.

Today I got up - headed for the gym, 5 lbs lighter than I have been, ran some, lifted some thing that would happily have stayed static and then ran home in time to join 'the ladies' in a canoe.

8 miles along the Huron, one swim and lunch at a Dexter steakhouse later we're back. Jude's off to run for a while and then we're heading out to see Bill Maher... lefty comedian with a penchant for young ladies and a tendency to falter when not surrounded by cue cards and the pillow busom of his writers... or not. I like him a lot. Sure he looks a lot like an aged Thunderbird pilot but there's still enough tension in his bow to make the arrows that hit the big old target that is the Bush administration sting some.

Wow that was a dreadful old sentence.

So tired I might actually die

To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the ...
Originally uploaded by teenage jesus

So after nights and nights of olympic excitement I finally thought that I'd get to bed. Except that Jude needed a ride from the airport. At 1.30am. Cue a 3am bedtime and a 7am wake-up call.

Now I'm knackered. I'm tetchy because I missed the gym (for the first time) and I have too much to do. Gonna skip out early - get to the gym, grab some sleep and take tomorrow off.

Evil

Flying Bees
Originally uploaded by *Ded's*

The people that I work with are evil. In the best possible way. There's a hard boiled meanness to Michigan, coated in a layer of sacchrine sweet bitterness that just really appeals to me.

Today I've watched as people have put slow punctures in somebody's 'birthday balloons' (it'll be a foreshadowing or what's about to happen to her tits went the explanation)

I've heard people sniggering over both the dare and entendre in the phrase "You eat her cake, I'll lick her frosting"

And I've managed to instigate a full on game of "Beat the name Misty Hymen"

Fun - in a juvenile and strangely English way.

Jude back tonight
Jude friends in earlier

Much joy - even though the airpotrt runs rule out a "Dolly Parton" gig (with $10 tickets)

All very What Iffy

Leonardo Attempts to Duplicate One of His Famous Drawings on an Etch-A-Sketch, Producing Poor Results
Originally uploaded by ricko

Spent today with my newest client - the very lovely people at Ohio Art. The makers of Etch A Sketch.

Not only are they lovely people; they're smart and button down and know what it is that they want and that they have a lot to do to get there.

I have to say that I left the room inspired by a lot of what they'd shown us and daunted by the speed at which we have to turn those great prototypes into blockbuster hits.

And the potential is huge. If Crayola can go from being 'big boxes of expensive crayons' to 'experts in color' with a couple of dozen hit products ranging from paint to DIY T-shirt printing then the people who have specialized in magic screens for 50 years should be able to do something spectacular in this '2nd screen age'

Other than that. Ran with the dog, Worked hard at the gym. Talked to the lovely wife. Sat on the roof in the glorious sunshine and 80f temperatures.

Good day, good day

(the What Iffy bit was a room full of toys and color, an energizer and hand drawn charts)

Left a bit, right a bit

McCain. Too Easy
Originally uploaded by The Searcher

Yesterday, in a moment of weakness, I headed down to the cinema and bought myself a ticket for 'Swing Vote' - a Kevin Costner movie that asks what would happen if an entire US election came down to the vote of one beer swilling, unemployed Hick in the middle of nowheresville.

Now of course what could have been glorious satire turned a little syrupy and obvious but the thought that politicians would say ANYTHING to get elected was pretty well represented.

Politicians follow the numbers. They read the polls and then pander to the millions. When the electorate is reduced to one man and the politicians to chasing his vote then that pandering becomes more obvious.

What we're seeing in this election is an attempt to find an issue that fills two criteria. It needs to be one on which people feel strongly and it needs to be one that has a simple "I disagree with him" resolution that can be reduced to a soundbite.

Right now everyone is hedging a little but the first salvo has been over offshore drilling. Both candidates were against it. But as the price of a gallon increased and media hysteria reached a pre-olympics cresendo both switched.

Now McCain wants to drill offshore. And Obama would drill offshore if it was part of a package that also allowed for more 'alt. energy' investment. The fact that at best offshore oil would provide no more than 2% of America's oil needs (bringing the cost at the pump down by 8c a gallon at most) matters not.

What we have here is a Republican being definitive
And a Democrat being nuanced.

Sounds a lot like Bush / Kerry right?

The rest of the campaign is just petty niggling.

McCain is still calling Obama 'a celebrity' as though it's a dirty word.
And Obama is still (just) resisting calling McCain 'an elderly racist'

McCain says Obama stands for higher taxes, more govt spendng and "therefore fewer jobs" - depsite evidence to the contrary.

Obama says "The hands that buily cars can build windmills" and attempts to show a New America full of skilled blue worker jobs that don't induce emphesima.

Meanwhile African American men are dropping like flies (Bernie Mac, Isaac Hayes) suggesting that perhaps, just perhaps, Karl Rove's secret syrum is close to being perfected.

Failing the Tebbitt test

Michael Phelps Speedo
Originally uploaded by Jav.lo

I just cheered as the US team passed the cocky French in the 100m Freestyle Relay with the very last stroke of the swim.

I believe I may even have stood and cheered.

And this with me alone here.

I think I may have just failed the Tebbitt Test and may now have to hand in my UK passport at the nearest embassy,

Fantastic swim though.

Now for 5 hrs of sleep and then to the gym where Mr P and co have been known to train

Water Cube - Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

Water Cube - Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
Originally uploaded by Laws0n

So with Jude away and the Olympics in full swing my attention has been diverted to The Water Cube and the swimming within. I'm knackered. Lots of late nights and early mornings. But the swimming is as spectacular as the building.

Meanwhile the opening ceremony has produced awe and fear in America - with people saying "Shit, these guys are serious"

China is seems is high tech, populous and most frighteningly "highly disciplined" - people here are spooked.

And if I was the person responsible for the London Games Opening Ceremony I'd be feeling somewhat panicked now - as what we just saw is untoppable