Blom Blog

At long last!

2007-08-07T10:26:00.000-04:00

I have been on hiatus for long time now and decided it might be time to get back on here.

I plan on starting to write about my experience taking Improv classes at Second City. I am currently enrolled in level B classes in the Detroit Training Center. Prior to signing up for level A I looked for some information out there to get a feel for what it was like to take these classes and I was disappointed when I came up with nothing. So if you are considering taking a class in Improv, here is a little attempt at explaining what it is like.

I will start with explaining a little about myself and a little about my classmates without actually identifying them. I will also give you a report out on what kinds of things we did in level A and will do my best to post a new post every Tuesday night to let you know how things went in the Monday night class.

Stay Tuned!

BNL Rules!

2006-12-13T18:25:00.000-05:00

I love the Barenaked ladies and I really love that they get the Internet.

Enjoy this video submitted by their fans...

Whew! Light a Match!

2006-12-05T15:29:00.000-05:00

Great story found on television station WBIR out of Knoxville, TN. Apparently a flight was redirected because of some bad gas.

The FBI questioned a passenger who admitted she struck the matches in an attempt to conceal body odor, Lowrance said. The woman lives near Dallas and has a medical condition.

She was actually lighting matches to cover her farts!

Don't drink and type!

2006-12-02T22:37:00.000-05:00

Saturday night and I have had a few drinks. It has been a bit of a melancholy day for me. I watched a DVD I made years ago of my family enjoying Christmas Eve from 1996 - 2001. I watched as my little girls grew older, I saw my wife's grandparents, now deceased, enjoy themselves. I enjoyed and continue to enjoy these Christmas Eve's. I am a lucky man to have such a family.

Fire Millen

2006-11-30T16:27:00.000-05:00

It is very painful for me to admit this, but here goes. Hello, my name is Dan and I am a Detroit Lions fan.
Whew! It feels good to get that out there. Perhaps it will help to explain my moods on occasion.
Anyone who follows football will know Matt Millen is the General Manager for the Detroit Lions organization. As GM Mr. Millen has been the single person most responsible for their abysmal record that past 7 years.

For the past year there has been a cry here in Detroit to FIRE MILLEN! Last year they even went so far as to host a parade/protest and attend the Lions games with huge Fire Millen signs. The latter causing the sign holders to be forcibly removed from the games!

In fact a website has just celebrated its first year at www.firemillen.com. Today was the real kicker though. The Detroit Free Press has recently added the ability for anyone to leave comments online after each article. Nearly every article on the Freep has a comment where someone says "FIRE MILLEN" However; this has to be my favorite. The article is about Britney Spears recent party photos where she is clearly NOT wearing panties. Her baby-exit is there for the whole world to see (I mean her C-Section scar of course!) Oh yeah, you can see her shaved mousekateer as well. Well, here is the first comment left after that article:

"Looks like we found a place to stuff Millen once we fire him."

Now THAT is funny!

No Use!

2006-11-29T16:32:00.000-05:00

I had planned on writing a post on here as I sat in Panera enjoying a nice hot cup of coffee and some free WiFi. Unfortunately, not all WiFi is free. I am paying dearly for this WiFi as I sit next to a grown woman talking very loudly and repeating herself over and over again to her crying children. No child wants to sit in a Panera! There is nothing for them to do so they get bored and start crying. I swear he actually said his first word. It sounded something like "WHAAAAAAAA bitch!"
This Mother was kind enough to share herself and her crying children by walking them around the entire place...TWICE. The crying did not abate.
All of that noise caused the two older gentlemen next to me to start speaking louder to each other so they could hear. The battle was on. Youth was winning hands down. Their pink new lungs were really no match for the old guys. Experience paid off for the old guys though as they quickly figured out these babies would need to pause for air once in a while. They would pounce, loud and fast like a drummer filling in any dead space.

The cacophony was complete. No manner of ear protection could possibly have protected me. No amount of heavy sighing would be noticed. I merely had to bend my mind to this task and report this outburst to the world!

At the time of this writing I can report no serious injuries have occurred. However, I can't promise I won't harm someone very very soon.

Here comes the long Winter!

2006-11-29T16:05:00.000-05:00

According the latest forecast we are expecting our first real snow fall this Friday in the Detroit area.
I am not afraid of a little snow, after all I grew up in the great U.P. city (town?) of Marquette. Trust me, Marquette sees plenty of snow each winter. I am , however, prone to getting a little depressed once that snow starts falling. Winters can be long and harsh in Michigan. This one will be even longer and harsher for many as the State's economy continues to slow.

Today the Free Press announced the latest numbers of buyouts accepted at Ford Motor Company. Thirty eight thousand hourly employees will be leaving FoMoCo with another batch to come from the salary ranks in the next two months.

So what to do? How to keep happy through the long winter? Well it helps to start off with the Holidays. Festivus will be here soon, as well as Christmas and New Years. Then things drop off a little. I will do my level best to bring some levity to this site to get me through. Hope you join me.

Bo Schembechler dead

2006-11-17T12:31:00.000-05:00

Bo Schembechler has died today at age 77 in Detroit.

I am shocked to find just how sad I am over this. After all, I never met the guy. Instead I realize what it meant for me to sit with my Dad on Saturdays when I was a kid and watch Bo prowl the sidelines or listening to the game on the radio while we were cutting and stacking wood in my backyard. We were cheering on U of M and listening to my Dad tell me about the crazy crap he saw while attending Michigan of his Masters degree in 68 and 69.

Bo and Woody Hayes raised college football to a whole new level and started the greatest rivalry in the college game today. My thoughts are certainly with him and his family. Now I think I'll give my dad a call.

Insurance Too

2006-11-16T14:04:00.000-05:00

I know a lot of people in my same position as I posted before. We need to make some improvements to the health care industry in this country!

For now here is a decent option for those of you not fortunate enough to have insurance.

Insurance!

2006-11-15T17:54:00.000-05:00

Well, my company has announced they will be cutting back on our Insurance this coming year. I believe that will include health insurance, optical insurance and life insurance. By doing this, I am effectively accepting a pay cut in the coming year. Real nice!

I am lucky though, my wife is a full time teacher with pretty decent benefits so we will be using her health insurance from now on. Blue Cross and Blue Shield do a pretty good job of covering the outrageous bills from simple doctor visits.

The Simpsons Trailer

2006-11-14T22:15:00.000-05:00

Great Song from a Great Band

2006-11-14T22:07:00.000-05:00

Everyone should check out Radio.Blog.Club.
Here is a great song, Low Rider, covered by a great band, Blues Traveler.

Enjoy!

David Copperfield Rules!

2006-11-10T10:08:00.000-05:00

I have GOT to learn some magic tricks. This is the funniest thing I have read in a while.....

From CNN.com.

Copperfield, 50, and two female assistants were walking from the Kravis Center to their tour bus when they were approached by the teens April 23. The assistants handed over money and a cellphone, but the illusionist turned his pockets inside out to reveal nothing, although he was carrying his passport, wallet and cell phone.

"He said in depositions that he had things on him, but it wasn't difficult to make it seem like there was nothing there," prosecutor Sherri Collins said.

A little late, but had to share.....

2006-11-06T13:38:00.000-05:00

Some Stones for you....

2006-11-01T11:24:00.000-05:00

Press the RED play button...

More Tiger fever...

2006-10-20T21:31:00.000-04:00

The Detroit News is not to be outdone. Check out some of there stuff too. Great pictures along the top showing images of the current Tiger fever epidemic as well as pictures form the 84' and 68' Tigers. Great stuff.

Detroit has a great Statue downtown of the "Spirit of Detroit" It has worn the Redwings jersey and the Pistons, now we have a Tiger jersey to go along with the others.

the day that statue wears a Lions jersey will be the crowning achievement. Let's hope it happens in my life time. I am about to turn 36 after all....

Tiger Fever!

2006-10-20T21:22:00.000-04:00

Man I got it and I got it bad and I think the only cure is a World Championship trophy back in D-Town.

The Detroit Free Press has a bunch of great stuff for Tigers fans.
I like this a lot. You can print out masks of your favorite players....

They also have a download of the Olde English "K".

Parties are everywhere in the D this weekend too. I have been invited to a few, but had a prior commitment to a bachelor party. This will be the first time I will be at a bachelor party where I care more about a baseball game than the entertainment.

Let's go Tigers!

Vonage

2006-10-19T19:08:00.000-04:00

I have to tell you how much I love Vonage! I am saving so much money since I switched last year I can't believe. I am a real tech geek too which makes it fun for me. I have my whole house wired up, using my regular phones. I did have some trouble figuring out how to connect my DirectTV, but then I went to this Vonage forum and all was well.

Vonage costs me less than what I used to pay just for the phone tax!

Check it out.

Jello Shots!

2006-10-19T18:51:00.000-04:00

Hey Tiger fans, I found an excellent way to celebrate the Tigers winning the World Series! How about sucking and blowing? Not like that! I'm talking about Jello Shots!

It's called Suck and Blow and man it is the wildest way to party. A friend of mine brought a bunch of these to a combined Bachelor/bachelorette party this past weekend. It was a wild time watching everyone Suck and Blow each other!

If I were lucky enough to get World Series tickets I would bring a bunch of these along. You could put some in your pockets, some more in your jacket pockets and some in your winter caps (it is gonna be COLD in Comerica Park!)

Great way to celebrate the win. Great way to meet some new friends and damnit, I did say it is gonna be cold. A great way to stay warm!

World Series, here we come!

2006-10-15T00:10:00.000-04:00

American League Champions!!

World Series, here we come! - 10/14/06 - The Detroit News Online

Mudslinging

2006-10-11T11:18:00.000-04:00

Talk about mudslinging! Both of these idiots should shut the hell up. I don't want either one of them running the Great State of Michigan. All I have seen is a continous loop of negative attack ads on TV and thier debates resemble two monkeys flinging poop at each other.

Thank God the Tigers are winning. Helps take the pain anyway for all the rest of the crap this state is putting up with.

Ford: It starts at the top!

2006-09-26T10:28:00.000-04:00

A good article at the Detroit Free Press talks about the leaders at the top of Ford Motor Company and what they will be going through in the next few weeks. Join the club!

Welcome to the Grand Re-Opening of BlomBlog!!

2006-09-26T10:06:00.000-04:00

I have not been blogging much for quite some time. I am quite certain, nobody noticed.
However, I do enjoy writing and think it is high time I get back on this horse.

Things have been very stressful in my life for a long time now. I am also quite certain that is the case for most people out there. I work at Ford Motor Company and am one of the many white collar employees waiting for the axe to fall. I have no idea if I will have a job in the near future. If I do, I am sure things will still be very stressful with tons more work and many fewer people available to handle it. However, I will still get a paycheck that way. So I am sitting here hoping one of these things happens soon so I can get on with my life.

If I do lose my job, I don't think I will be blogging for a living. So here are my top 5 things I would rather do:

1. Teach High School English (pay cut and requires me to go back to school to get certified as a teacher)
2. Stay at home Mom (I am male and therefore a Dad. Sex change surgery is entirely too expensive)
3. Talk Show host (no experience, but that hasn't stopped many other people�hmmmm)
4. Congress (Hate both parties and believe all of the people in Washington should be voted out so we can start all over. I would run as an Independent. Need to raise funds)
5. Get another corporate rat race cubicle dwelling job (sucks!)

BudOut - we're into beer

2006-05-13T17:03:00.000-04:00

The World Cup is in Germany this yea and somehow they decided to let Budweiser, an American Beer have all of the beer rights! Germany makes some of the best tasting beer in the world and they pick Bud? Well one guy is not happy and started a website called
BudOut - we're into beer. Very funny pictures so far.

Best of luck to those guys. I sure would not want to go to Germany and then have to drink piss-water.

A new day for Media in Detroit?

2006-04-26T20:14:00.000-04:00

The Detroit Free Press and local news Channel 4 WDIV have announced a new partnership. This sounds like it might have real potential and is something that makes a whole lot of sense.

It makes sense to have these mediums merge. With more and more of the consumers content received through the Internet, the lines become more and more blurred between print and video. The Freep has frequently posted video content on their website in the past year while WDIV has plenty of print media to read on it's site.

I believe this is a sign of things to come all over this country and will eventually lead to merged companies, not a simple partnership.

Circle the wagons Mainstream Media.