It's Getting Hot in Here...

But please, leave your clothes on! Jennie spent the weekend 'mowing and raking' while I was at WDIV in Detroit. Yesterday, we moved the piles from the front yard to the fire pit. You're looking at the result. At one point, we had flames 15 feet high (we've got a LOT of leaves.) Still need to burn the leaves from the back yard.

We love all of our wonderful, old trees...except in the fall.

:)

Canine Carry-Out

No wonder Daisy is spoiled! Here she is enjoying some left over Filet Mignon AND Top Sirloin steak! Also, a little potato with sour cream.
:)

Hallow'een at Greenfield Village

Jennie lOOOOves Donuts

Here we see Jennie enjoying her donut lunch. The "O"s in the headline represent the number of dounuts she ate in about 5 minutes (4).

:)

Dear Detroit Tigers...

Dear Detroit Tigers,

THANKS FOR A GREAT SEASON!

Yours Truly,

BH

read more in the Detroit Free Press

Rain Out

This pic was taken outside of The Henry Ford, where Jennie and I spent some time Friday night. We were there to shoot an event going on, but it rained all night!!

Come on Tigers

I didn't watch the game last night past the 6th inning, but from what I hear, it was probably for the best. Our Tigers are down 3 games to 1 in the World Series.

Tune in to any morning radio show--or better yet, those sports talk shows where you have to YELL everything you say--and people are starting to get depressed.

I say, get over it Detroit. It's been 22 years since we've had anything remotely close to a winning team and it's fun to see the Tigers to so far. Truth be told, we may not win the Series. But it's been a hell of a ride.

Translation: I don't want to have to work the Victory Parade. :)

North 42 Media...Now in HD!

Our new Panasonic HVX-200 DVCPRO HD camcorder has finally arrived!

Just take a look at this beauty! We have a few larger projects coming up that warranted the purchase of a new camera. The thing with the blue screen on the left is a 100 gig hard drive which connects and mounts to the camera. This camera can record on miniDV tape, but only in 480i mode (not HD.) It's primary method of recording is on the new P2 cards, which are basically flash memory cards (about the size of a network card for a laptop) which fit into the back. But, if you're doing a lot of HD (like we plan to,) then 2-8gig cards won't be enough. That's why we got the external drive as well.

In a few weeks, we plan some additional purchases, like a matte box and filters for the front. You may want to start looking on YouTube for the latest North 42 videos!

I'd write more, but I must play with the new toy!!!

Accordian-Style Doors

Jennie and I made our first trip to "The Whiting" in Flint Tuesday night for a special show. We found ourselves there after I saw a flyer at Michigan Radio a couple of weeks ago.

We were doing our semi-annual volunteer work during the Michigan Radio pledge drive, when I noticed that--for a pledge of $300--you could get tickets and a special meet-and-greet opportunity with Garrison Keillor. No, we did not take that deal. We actually opted for the Ira Glass "This American Life" 2-CD set (we are now also day sponsors!)

However, seeing that Garrison was coming to Flint prompted me to ask Jennie if we could go. She (semi reluctantly) agreed. I am a big fan! I was introduced to Garrison Keillor after seeing a series on the Disney Channel early in my youth. I also started reading "Lake Wobegon Days" at the age of 8 or 9 (a book I borrowed from Dad.) So I've always been fond of his amazing storytelling abilities. If you don't know of Garrison Keillor or "Lake Wobegon Days" or "A prairie Home Companion," it's time to get educated on one of the best storytellers of all time. Just do a Google search!

Anyway, I purchased tickets for the balcony (all that was left.) Since I knew the experience was primarily an auditory one, our seat location didn't matter much. However, it turned out to be our lucky night! We ran into a friend who was there. He was handing out those promotional tickets, and he had a no-show. So, we were upgraded to orchestra-center AND got to participate in the meet-and-greet!

I can now tell you from experience that Mr. Keillor is tall! He's also just as funny in person as he is on the radio. We talked a bit about modern TV and radio education and how we both agreed that knowing how to do a formatted show is only part of the equation. Knowing how to keep interest and tell a good story is the other--and probably more important.

I told Garrison we'd come see him in St. Paul sometime soon!

My My "MySpace"

Okay. I've had a MySpace account for a while (directorbruce if you're curious!) But, being a teacher of high school students, I've avoided doing much with it in the past. It's not that I think my students are a bunch of jerks who will give me a hard time if they come across my-space. It's more about the challenge of keeping professional life and personal life separated.

For example: Right now, I have Howard Stern as one of my friends (whether it's really Stern or not is irrelevant. I just think it is funny to have him on there!) Now, any one of my friends will understand and appreciate my friend Howard. However, I worry about my students thinking that I condone everything he stands for.

Like I said, personal life and professional life need some distance. So, we'll see how it goes.

Paradise Found!

Jennie and I did lunch at "The Daily Grind" in Imlay City today. It was delicious as usual. Then, we went on a quest to find the small town of Lum. Lum was "ho-hum", but on the way back, we found another slice of paradise. I assume this is Mitchell Lake, since it was on Mitchell Lake Road, but no matter what lake it is, it's very picturesque.

Fall...A Few of My Favorite Things

There are really so many things to love about fall already. But....for the record. My top 3 are:

-CIDER

-DONUTS

-APPLE PIE

Shopping @ Somerset

For some reason, I was at The Somerset Collection this week. Ah, I had to drop a video project off in Troy. Anyway, I took the opportunity to snap this photo from the 2nd floor--on my way to the 3rd floor food court (no wonder I've gained weight!)

Bless You Boys!

The Tigs took a big step towards becoming World Series Champions tonight. In a bottom of the 9th Magglio Ordonez home run, the Detroit Tigers broke their 3-3 stalemate with the A's and won 6-3.

I am at WDIV tonight enjoying the atmosphere of the league champs as the town celebrates the win. We did our normal 6pm newscast and then waited for the final hit--the 3 run homer--before hitting the airwaves to do some post-game coverage. Things were rocky, but that's what makes live television great. It was so loud that the reporters really had a hard time hearing what I was trying to tell them.

I think I heard that World Series game tickets go on sale Monday morning and you can bet that I'm going to try (at least for an hour or so) to get my hands on a pair. I think that would be a unique experience.

Go Tigers!

The White Stuff

October 12, 2006. The first snow of the year.

And the snow kept falling

Well, this will be a good tire test for the Saab!

An inch of snow?

Not quite, but the ground was covered quite nicely. Still snowing this evening (11:55pm)

This message was sent using PIX-FLIX Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!
To learn how you can snap pictures with your wireless phone visit
www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/getpix.

To learn how you can record videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/getflix.

To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required. Visit www.apple.com/quicktime/download to download the free player or upgrade your existing QuickTime� Player. Note: During the download
process when asked to choose an installation type (Minimum, Recommended or Custom), select Minimum for faster download.

This message was sent using PIX-FLIX Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!
To learn how you can snap pictures with your wireless phone visit
www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/getpix.

To learn how you can record videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/getflix.

To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required. Visit www.apple.com/quicktime/download to download the free player or upgrade your existing QuickTime� Player. Note: During the download
process when asked to choose an installation type (Minimum, Recommended or Custom), select Minimum for faster download.

This message was sent using PIX-FLIX Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!
To learn how you can snap pictures with your wireless phone visit
www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/getpix.

To learn how you can record videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/getflix.

To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required. Visit www.apple.com/quicktime/download to download the free player or upgrade your existing QuickTime� Player. Note: During the download
process when asked to choose an installation type (Minimum, Recommended or Custom), select Minimum for faster download.