Not a good place to lose a contact lens.

F1.8, 50mm, 1/80th sec, ISO 3200

A mine is a terrible thing to waste, so it is a great you can tour a few mines in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. I went on a tour of the Delaware Mine, and I was only a little bit scared. However, I did expect some manner of eldritch horror to leap from the shadows and feast upon my ASICS running shoes. Thankfully, aside from being buzzed by a few bats, the girlfriend and I escaped somewhat unscathed.

Being 100 feet underground makes one feel a little weird, and fills you with a feeling of “I shouldn’t be here”–so now I know how James Franco felt when he hosted the Oscars.

#

Links to my Other Stuff and Things:

Ginger and the Geek – Podcast 032 – 5000 Blinky Cups Can’t Be Wrong, Tiger Cage 001 – Food of the Gods

Geek Speak – Watch This: Attack the Block, Go to This: The Big Zoo Party at Potter Park Zoo

Lovable Geek – Photo: Feral Novel

The Idler – Movie Sign with Mystery Science Theater 3000

"When you said you were into sea-life preservation, this isn't what I had in mind."

 F1.8, 50mm, 1/100 sec, ISO 400

I met this charming…uh…thing, while on my way to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. You can seek it yourself, if you so wish, at Sea Shell City. It accepts tributes of blood, ancient stones, or a child’s tears. Pay no mind to the strange, fishy appearance of its caretakers. #lovecrafthumor

#

Links to my Other Stuff and Things:

Ginger and the Geek – Podcast 030 – Octopus Squad

Geek Speak – Upper Peninsula Odyssey, part 1, part 2

Lovable Geek – A Very Dangerous Animal at the Detroit Zoo

Magic of Eyri – Podcast 040 – Owls Well that Ends Well

During the last week of July 2011, I went on a road trip with my girlfriend from the middle of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula. 1,300+ miles were driven, hundreds of photos were taken, and dozens of Michigan beers were drank. Hilarity and misadventures ensued.

You have to pay just to walk on the porch here. I expect to be billed for uploading this photo, too.

Day Two – Monday July 25th, 2011

Steph and I woke up (too) early to make the hour drive to St. Ignace to catch our ferry to Mackinac Island (TIP: taking a ferry out of St. Ignace is a quicker trip) on the other side of the Mackinac Bridge.

We were blessed with a clear, sunny day–Mackinac Island is best experienced on such a day. Sure, one can still amuse themselves on the Island during a storm, there are bars after all, but enjoying Nature is the Reason to visit, regardless of what the fudge shop advertisements would have you think.

For those unfamiliar with Mackinac Island, it is small and beautiful. Sort of like an island equivalent of Kristin Chenoweth. And like Ms. Chenoweth’s tiny frame, automobiles are forbidden to drive upon Mackinac Island. Your options of transport are feet, bike, or horse (and perhaps piggyback, if you find a willing party, but good luck).

There is an interesting duality to Mackinac Island.

On one hand, parts of it are, I would say “opulent” but neither of my two readers know the meaning, so I’ll say “the kind of place one needs a few yacht club memberships and at least a III after their name to feel at home.” Case in point, the Grand Hotel, and the lavish “summer cottages” dotting the hillsides away from main street.

But, on the other hand, the vendors of main street will gladly take money from anyone, regardless of their social standing and could care less if they own a yacht, a dingy, or even a rubber duckie (and they will gladly sell you the latter). The Grand Hotel requires a gentleman to wear a jacket after a certain hour, and ladies, as Steph savored reading, were not allowed to wear “slacks.” The Pink Pony, a favorite haunt of mine, not to be confused with the Prancing Pony in Bree, had no problem with my cargo shorts, three-day old beard and Pac-Man t-shirt.

It didn't taste like a pony. Thankfully.

The prices at the Pink Pony, for the Island, are reasonable, and the sandwiches are big. Better still is the Pink Pony Ale, regardless of its origin. Like Arthur and Ford in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, we needed a couple drinks as a “muscle relaxant.” We had some serious biking ahead of us–and to be perfectly honest, main street Mackinac Island is much easier to handle with a bit of a buzz.

This is no laughing matter. OK, it is.

But, I do not drive a few hours North and spend money on a ferry ride to buy fudge and ride bikes–I visit Mackinac Island because it is a lush natural wonder. The bulk of Mackinac Island is a Michigan State Park–which is a blessing. This protects its beauty, which is worthy of a National Park.

Not an ocean, that's a lake. A GREAT Lake.

Arch Rock, Sugar Loaf, the shoreline, the forest–these are the reason to visit Mackinac Island. Take in the nature around you. Savor the views. Check into Facebook to brag, if you must, but do yourself a favor–sit. Wait. Let it soak in and speak to your soul. Sugar Loaf and Arch Rock are a sight to behold. Study their shape and realize, “Nature did this, all on its own.”

This would not be improved by a Wal-Mart or more roads.

Go in search of a trail in the forest, or on the shore, and walk away from the tour groups and crowds. Share a quiet moment with the Island. Quiet is the keyword here–there are no cars. No sounds of engines, no buzz of a busy city. Just nature.

Gaze out into the horizon of the Great Lake before you. We are so fortunate the State Park on Mackinac keeps the island a place for anyone to visit, and prevents it from becoming a playground for only those whom can afford to own a home there.

Sprinkles grew tired of Daisy's water bucket conversation.

Steph and I rented bikes and toured the interior of the Island (no fixie this time). The views were outstanding. The hills make for some interesting biking, to say the least. I wanted to do the “ride around the shore” trip, but we did not have time.

Biker Gang has a different meaning here.

I did spend $14 on two tickets for the Haunted Theater. It is a collection of dark corners and hallways, populated with illuminated displays of monster sculptures. Further in, however, employees growl in yours ears, bang on walls and scare you. The entrance fee was worth every cent when Steph became so terrified, she began screaming and pulled me through the last few hallways. By force. My shoulder was sore for a good hour afterward.

Those horses are lugging luggage.

After returning to the mainland, we headed West on US-2 to take in the GarLyn Zoo. Castle Rock had been on our agenda, but we had many miles to put behind us before reaching our motel for the night in Manistique, and was sadly skipped. The GarLyn Zoo, while small and rustic, is cute and has its charms. You can feed Fuzzy the Bear an apple by rolling it through a length of PVC pipe.  A sudden rain storm made our visit a short one, and kept me from snapping any photos.

In Manistique, we dined on cheesy pizza at a local eatery/bar, Teddy’s Pub, which was quiet and relaxed–the exact opposite of main street Mackinac Island. At our hotel, we asked about their hot tub. Our host said she would be glad to open it up for us, and to let us know when we were ready.

“Wow, they have to open it up for us?” Steph whispered. “That’s a first.”
“Look at it this way,” I answered, “at least we know for sure no one else is using it.”

Next: Kitch-iti-kipi, a fish hatchery, and a ghost town–Fayette.

–

Daniel J. Hogan is the geek half of Ginger and the Geek. He is also a photoblogger and host of the Magic of Eyri Podcast. He missed having a fixie. Follow him on Twitter, @danieljhogan.

During the last week of July 2011, I went on a road trip with my girlfriend from the middle of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula. 1,300+ miles were driven, hundreds of photos were taken, and dozens of Michigan beers were drank. Hilarity and misadventures ensued.

I am a fan of the Great American Road Trip.

I blame my father. In my teenage years, Dad would plan “mystery vacations,” which were road trips where only he knew our points of interest and final destination. Most of these surrounded around, as he put it, “dead presidents”–we would visit the grave or tomb of a Commander in Chief who had, to use the Monty Python vernacular, “ceased to be.”

The beatings will continue until you start having fun.

This July, I planned a week long voyage to, and across, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Joining me on this trek, was my girlfriend Stephanie, because we all need a co-pilot, or more specifically a navigator. Her smartphone quickly became the MVP of this trip, thanks in part to Google Maps and her Yelp app.

Anyway, enough preamble–let’s boogie. Day One – Sunday, 7/24/11

After our stop at the Michigan Welcome Center in Clare (on 127-North), Steph asked if we could make a slight detour to visit her old summer camp, Mystic Lake. She not only attended the camp, but was a counselor.

I never went to summer camp as a teen, but I feel as if it was a big part of my childhood thanks to summer camp documentaries such as Camp Candy, Salute Your Shorts, Ernest Goes to Camp, summer camp slasher movies, and the Meatballs franchise. Part of me feels a bit cheated, but then my not going to summer camp allowed me to spend many hours playing Earthbound for Super Nintendo and not talking to girls, instead of interacting with other teens at a camp or learning what a training bra looked like.

The location of the Indian burial ground was left off the map for some reason.

Mystic “Don’t Call Me Crystal” Lake looked like every summer camp I had seen on a screen: a mess hall, living quarters, and a swimming dock. The “buddy tag” system caught my eye.

“Buddy tags?” I asked. I read the rules painted on a large sign by the dock. It stressed only touching your own buddy tag, which amused me.

Steph said, “You don’t mess with the buddy tags.”
“Noted,” I said, wondering if this was ever turned into some manner of camp-centric pick-up-line (“Hey babe, wanna mess with my buddy tags?” or “I’d give anything to mess with her buddy tags”), which I floated by Steph. She rolled her eyes.

We walked past a weathered boat house, which had a flotilla of boats and canoes older than I. “Was there where everyone snuck out to at night to make out?” I asked.

Steph laughed, “Maybe, but there were much better places.” I didn’t press the subject. Steph led me to a series of tree-house like living quarters. Each “house” was named after an animal, something I’m sure the Harry Potter fans enjoyed.

Steph pointed to one of the houses. “I used to live there.”
“Beaver House?!”
“All of the senior girl counselors lived in Beaver House.”
“…Wow.” Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

We continued North, and stopped for lunch at Spike’s Keg-o-Nails in Grayling, which Steph found via her Yelp app. We shared an order of soft pretzels (with mustard, yum) and split one of the “famous” Spike burgers. It was worth the stop for the food and the people watching–a canoe race was starting on the nearby river, so Spike’s was flooded with folks wearing team t-shirts.

Dad’s side of the family has a cabin in Gaylord, which would be our stopping point for the evening. But, since Gaylord is only an hour from the Mackinac Bridge, we decided to drive up to the St. Ignace area and take in a few sights.

But, no trek to the Bridge is complete without a stop at Sea Shell City. It is a gift shop filled with all kind of sea-themed items, and the several hundred pound “killer” giant clam.

"I could kill ya if someone dropped me on yer head! So the killer title is quite accurate! Hey! Come back!"

It also houses a few other interesting items, like a pickled octopus, which looks like some manner of eldritch abomination one would find in a classroom at Miskatonic University.

"Our Cthulhu Cultist Combo-Pack also includes a feeler-covered mask, an idol, and a pocket version of the Necronomicon."

Post-Sea Shell City, we crossed the Bridge to the Upper Peninsula. We had hoped to stop at the Weird Michigan Wax Museum, but it was closed and for sale. We walked down the street to the Mystery Spot, but opted for the Maze in the Woods instead, as both of us had already visited the titular Spot. After paying for maze tickets in the Mystery Spot gift shop, we inspected some of the Mystery wares.

“A Mystery Spot hoodie would be fun,” said Steph.
“You know what they should really sell?” I said.
“What?”
“Women’s underwear with Mystery Spot written on them. With a big question mark on the crotch. Those would sell like earplugs at a Rebecca Black concert.”

Steph walked away. Quickly.

"Join us."

While venturing through the maze, I tried to remember an episode of Batman: the Animated Series, where the Batman said there was some kind of rule to mazes. I kept going left–which did lead us out. Cartoons saved the day again (related, ask Steph to tell you the “Aviary of Doom Episode” story).

Our next stop was the deer ranch down the road on US-2. We got to pet fawns, and feed white-tailed deer carrots–including white white-tailed deer and albino white-tailed deer (there is a difference).

Note: Not a patronus.

Our last stop was a sight seeing tower/gift shop place. It favored sea shells as a decoration.

"Starfish are SO last year."

It is the type of place where you pay a couple bucks to climb a tower to get a nice view of the Mackinac Bridge. Totally worth it.

I made it black and white because it is Important.

The shop appeared to be quite OK with graffiti on the staircase and tower walls. Nearly every available inch was covered. Steph added our initials to the collection, thanks to my trusty Hayner Pen. Van Halen and Poison fans appeared to frequent the tower.

There was not enough space to include Zeppelin Rules.

Tired and hungry, we returned to Gaylord for dinner at Gobblers (home of great turkey dinners) and to rest up for tomorrow’s adventure: Mackinac Island.

–

Daniel J. Hogan is the geek half of Ginger and the Geek. He is also a photoblogger and host of the Magic of Eyri Podcast. He finally saw what a bra looked like in his mid-twenties. Follow him on Twitter, @danieljhogan.

"You don't want to take Door Number Three. Trust me."

Photo of an alley exit in downtown Lansing, Michigan. I took a few shots of this, and chose this one, because I wanted to have it a bit off center.  I love all the wires, cables and pipes on the wall.

Links after the break.

• Monday’s Photo: Sensitive Rhino is Sensitive. (taken at San Francisco Zoo)
• Tuesday’s Photo: Dancing Statue. (taken in San Francisco)
• Wednesday’s Photo: Reflection in her Glasses. (taken at Epcot)
• Thursday’s Photo: O Say Can You See. (taken in downtown Lansing, MI)
• Friday’s Photo: Snooty Sea Lion. (taken at Pier 39 in San Francisco)

Other links!

• Raw File on Wired had a great selection of their favorite photobloggers.
• Have a bunch of recharageble batteries, but don’t know how to charge them? Check out this handy chart at Battery University.
• My LansingNext, and Ginger and the Geek, co-host, Kat Cooper was featured in a Lansing NOISE article about buying outfits at thrift stores.

—
Daniel J. Hogan is a freelance writer, podcaster, and a photoblogger. He lives in Lansing, Michigan.  Follow him on Twitter, @danieljhogan.

Yes, Virginia, there is an Upper Peninsula.

A photo-shout out to my buddy Justin’s Yooper Steez shirt site while visiting Disney World last week.  I felt the need to bring a bit of Michigan pride with me to the Magic Kingdom.  Photo taken by Ms. Robotspaceship.  I cross-processed the colors a bit.  More photos of Walt Disney World soon.

Links after the break.

But first, I’m tweaking things a bit here (what else is new?). I’m going to try having up dates up by 9AM EST each day to see if that makes a difference traffic wise. Also, I’m going to try doing more ‘multi-photo’ posts, instead of spreading a bunch of photos across single posts.  Ah, the joys of running a website…

Links!

• Last Monday: a photo of pea-hen and one of its young.
• Tuesday: A brontosaurus statue!
• Wednesday: Candy corn!
• Thursday: a close-up of Tuesday’s bronto statue.
• Friday: A balloon Cthulhu hat and a new flash fiction story, The Squeak of Balloonthulhu.
• Bonus Saturday post: Photos of my collection of Elric novels.
• Bonus Sunday post: another shot of my Elric novels.

Other links!

• If you are a fan of color, check out Colourlovers.
• Are you a freelancer or make money from blogging? Read about how to budget for an irregular income.
• BoingBoing has a fun thread about DIY Hallowe’en costumes.

Another installment in my Attraction Lost series, which are photos from abandoned tourist attractions in Michigan.

A Paul Bunyan statue at an abandoned “Old West” themed attraction along US-12 in Michigan. Creepy.

More photos after the break.

Creepy Elephant is Creepy. This was at the previous location (see earlier posts in this series). I knew I wanted to use the fence to frame up this statue in someway, and then I noticed that the eye was looking right at me. Shivers.

Not the best shot in the world, but I liked the sign. I did a bit of Photoshop magic to boost the colors. A lot. The production design of this place blew me away.

This place had an entire “main street” that is just going to seed. Crazy. I did a redscale trick on this shot.

More photos tomorrow.

While I was camping in Caseville last month, I decided to take a stab at snapping photos of the sunset. I know the world ain’t hurting for more photos of sunsets on the Great Lakes, but it was something I had to try at least once.

The beach at Sleeper State Park in Caseville is very lovely, and is a great spot for photos. Sadly, I didn’t have totally clear nights every time I shot, but I made due. I had never shot photos of a sunset before, so I had to learn as I went–and fast.

More photos after the break.

I cropped this one considerably. Now I’m thinking I should have cropped the left side even closer to the couple, but I like them being off center. I like the glow on the clouds.

I wasn’t too happy with the focus here, so I decided to play with this image in Photoshop. I used the Curves tool and set the layer’s blend mode to Hard Light.

Same as above, just switched to black and white. Like I said, this photo is kinda “meh,” so I decided to have some fun.

Tweaked the colors a touch in Photoshop–I wanted to boost those blues and reds. This might be my favorite of the bunch.

Tomorrow: fixing a photo’s flat color in Photoshop

This guy stood on top of a cave-kind-of-thing at a mini-golf place. More after the break.

An old arcade at the mini-golf place. I love the falling apart sign.

A bunch of go-karts, just sitting out in the open. I used a Photoshop trick to boost the colors a bit. I really wanted the color saturated in this shot, to bring out the cartoony color of the go-karts.

Ammo for the batting cage, still loaded in the pitching machine. I tried out a new Photoshop trick, where I mixed two versions–one tweaked in RGB and the other with colors done in LAB. I then layered both versions and tried different blending modes until I found one I liked.

Tomorrow: Scenes from a beach.

Like the first installment, these were taken at an old mini-golf course/go-kart place in Michigan on US-12.

Looks like we’re missin’ a letter here. Oops.

More after the break.

The animal statues at this place were great.

A bottle of…I dunno. I think this may have been part of a water slide at some point.

Shot this through a batting cage-ball thrower machine. Love the texture on the metal and the blurry…uh…balls.

Plenty more where this came from. I’ll be posting more from this series from time to time.

Tomorrow: thirsty eagle is thirsty.

With next to no light pollution at the campground, the flames were vivid after sun down.

I did a bit of a redscale trick in Photoshop to boost the colors.

More pictures and how I took these photos after the break.

Having a bit of fun here. I did a Solid Fill layer in Photoshop and set the Blend Mode to Color. Easy. It tints the whole image. I tweaked the contrast, etc with the Curves tool as well.

One of our Tiki torches. I did not alter it at all in Photoshop (aside from cropping). I like how the flame reveals just a hint of the torch in the darkness. I also like the soft edges of the flames.

And another Tiki torches. Same thing: didn’t tweak it at all in Photoshop. I love the ghostly look of the flame. This is why I love photography: I could never recreate this exact photo.

How did I take photos of fire?

• Well, being in near darkness with little light pollution (street lights, cars, etc) helped .
• I had my aperture open as much as I could (around 5 due to my slow lenses).
• Fast shutter speeds. The blue flame photo was shot at 1/1000 second. That’s really fast, as I wanted to freeze those dancing flames. I had to crank my ISO up to 1600 for such a thing. The other photos were shot around 1/200 to 1/400 second.
• I shot in Full Manual mode (M on the dial) so I could get the settings the way I wanted. This was similar to painting with light.
• Trial and error. I had plenty of shots that were blurry and/or shaky. This is the key step.

Tomorrow: More Attraction Lost photos.

Anyway, she pitched checking out a series of run down tourist attractions in the Irish Hills area of Michigan, on the highway of US-12.

I of course jumped at the chance to take photos of decaying tourist traps. This post will be the first in a series.

I have no idea what this used to be. Maybe a bear of some kind? I messed with the colors in Photoshop. It was in a cave at an abandoned mini-golf/go-kart place.

More after the break!

This guy has seen better days.

I couldn’t decide what to do with this other giraffe photo, so I made it black and white (used the Blue color channel in Photoshop). It has a spooky stare.

I love all of the decay and color on this hippo thing. It looks like it was some kind of sprinkler/hose deal. The spray paint in the background adds a nice touch. Colors messed with in Photoshop.

More to come! I have a bunch, so I’ll do some from this series here and there.

Learn how I did this after the break

Last month, I attended the first ever PhotoCamp Lansing, which was organized by some friends of mine. The concept was we spend the weekend taking pictures, learning from each other and trying out new techniques.

One such technique, was painting with light. This workshop was arranged by one of PhotoCamp’s founders, Jon (a very talented photographer, especially when it comes to portraits of hamsters).

This shot was taken with the light set to an ‘on-off blink’ setting

Jon bought each of us flashing light stick and then told us what we had to do.

• First, we had to wait for it to get dark outside. Like a Batman movie, the darker the better.

• Next, the cameras had to go on a tripod. Long exposures are needed for this trick, and hand holding your camera ain’t gonna cut it.

• Nailing the correct settings was key. Our cameras had to be in M (full manual) mode. None of the auto-modes would work here. The same went for focus, it had to be set to manual.

This was a first for some in our group, as they never really tried the M mode (and it can be intimidating). Since I had kept mine on M for a few weeks at this point (per a photo tip article I read. a great way to learn), I had no problems with the settings.

• Settings I used (but trial and error is a big part of this)

- I used my wide angle lens, set to 18mm.
- ISO: 400
- Exposure: long, at least eight seconds, or even longer if you want. One of my shots was 20 seconds long.
- F-stop: I switched between f/8 and f/10.
- Focus: Manual

This was taken with an exposure setting of eight seconds. I either walked toward or away from the camera, can’t remember.

Lastly, we set our cameras on Timer mode. I had to be able to run out in front before it went off. The timer also helped prevent camera shake.

Once the camera went off, we did our thing: waving the the lights around, trying to make shapes, writing–all that fun stuff.

This is me trying to write a H. Too bad my focus was off.

This was a great workshop (and fun!). Sadly, it was cut short due to rain (that’s the problem with shooting outside). When I try this again, I want try using different settings, like maybe a lower ISO or something.

Have you ever tried this trick?

Here is one, with more after the break.

I shot this at Island Park in Grand Ledge, Michigan. I was walking down the middle of the island and I saw these giant puddles. I noticed I could see part of the trees in the reflection, so I decided to try and get a shot and mess around with it in Photoshop. I flipped the image, so that the tree was facing up. This made for a sort of surreal look. One unintended trait was the mirroring of the branch on the left edge of the water.

With this shot, I knew I wanted to make it look like the tree was “growing” out of the grass. I don’t think I had to flip this one, but just position myself so that I found the correct angle of the refection. I made it black and white to try and make the grass and puddle blend a little better.

This was my first try with a reflection shot, and this was taken with my little Sony point-and-shoot. The building here is the old Ottawa Power Station in downtown Lansing, which is being turned into an office building for Accident Fund.

I rotated this shot so that the reflection in the river (on top), was in the same position the building would be in real life from where I was standing. Make sense?

These were all fun shots to take, and they make me feel a bit weird when I look at them, due to the flipping, etc. But I like that. I like that a photo I took can cause such a reaction. Taking chances and experimenting are two of my favorite aspects of photography.

Blue Water Inn located in Caseville, MI.

While I dislike driving, I love summer road trips in Michigan when I can take the back roads and old two lane highways. Freeway driving bores me. It is nothing but an endless sea of concrete barriers and billboards.

The quick, boring route according the Googles.

But, when I take the back roads, I get to drive past some of Michigan’s most beautiful scenery. Forests.  Farms.  Cozy little towns. Quirky businesses.

The slower, interesting route I took instead. Each letter is a stop or point of interest.

The first leg of the trip began with heading due north on 127.  About 30 minutes or so outside Lansing, you can find Uncle John’s Cider Mill (B on the map)–and they sell more than just cider.  The wine tasting room opens at 11:00 AM, and it is well worth the stop.

The view from Uncle John’s Cider Mill

You can sample a few wines and hard ciders for free (up to six, I think). I walked out of there with two bottles of hard cider and two bottles of wine. Great stuff.  Also at Uncle John’s is the famous Pie Barn. A few minutes later and I was the proud owner of a mixed fruit pie, fresh out of the oven.

Heading East, Chesaning (C on the map) was the next stop.  The self-described, Showboat City has long been on my radar. I’ve made several stops in the past to try and spot the showboat in question, but never had any luck (which was just my not paying attention)

But this time, luck was on my side.  I found the showboat docked, and nearly missed it while leaving Showboat Park (where I looked first).

Cheasaning’s famous Showboat.

Up next was Frankenmuth (D on the map). This place is Michigan’s “Little Bavaria.” Nearly everything has a German theme. Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland made for a very interesting, yet brief, stop. This place is open 361 days a year and only sells Christmas decorations–they even sell ornaments for every job possible, including funeral directors. It is a sight to behold.

Bronner’s in Frankenmuth, MI (photo taken last July)

Lunch was at the famous and iconic Bavarian Inn. This is perhaps the most famous restaurant in Frankenmuth. No trip to Frankenmuth is complete without a stop here. It also houses several gift shops and offers a great selection of German style beers (try the Bavarian Dark, it is brewed especially for the Bavarian Inn).

The Bavarian Inn, Frankenmuth, MI. (photo taken last July)

While walking the streets after lunch, a coffee shop promoting a “Bacon Mocha” caught my eye. The Harvest Coffee Cafe offers a mocha coffee drink, flavored with bacon flavored syrup. The one upside to visiting a tourist town is that you’ll find unique stuff like this–everyone is fighting for attention.

Apparently the syrup was created by Torini to be used to make brandy Alexanders, but that didn’t stop the folks at Harvest Coffee Cafe from experimenting.  It was a unique flavor: a bit smoky and salty, and it was complimented by the mocha half of the mixture. And yes, you could really taste the bacon.

The Bacon Mocha.

Driving through the sprawling Michigan farmland in the Thumb was breathtaking. Yes, it is kind of flat, but I loved every farm and old barn I passed. Sights such as those make the trip go by so much faster, and help keep me awake, due to my frequent “Wow! Look at that!”

If you ever take M-25 through Sebeweing (E on the map), make sure to stop by the massive Pioneer Sugar silo.

The coast of the thumb has plenty of charm as well, take Bay Port for example (F on the map). It is home of the annual Fish Sandwich festival, which I have never had the chance of attending, but I would like to some day.

At last, I arrived in Caseville (G on the map, home of Ribstock and Cheeseburger in Caseville), and I already had a full day. But it was a fun day full of adventure. It was all made possible by my avoiding the busier highways and taking the scenic route.

The funny thing is, the route I took only added about 20 minutes or so to the trip (not counting the time spent at all the stops).  The next time you go on a trip in Michigan, skip the busy freeways, try the old highways and take in some pure Michigan beauty.

Until then, feast on this:

The funny thing here is that when I turned the story in, perhaps early Fall, I was single–but, by the time it ran, I had a new girlfriend. I kind of had a gut feeling that would happen, which was why I agreed to write the story (and make fun of myself quite a bit).

I enjoyed writing this story a lot because I was allowed to go first person and showcase some of my humor a bit more–although my editor did cut my favorite joke, which was about me wearing my Chewie Is My Co-Pilot t-shirt while trying to pick up geeky girls.

Or something.

The shirt was designed by R Stevens, creator of one of my favorite webcomics, Diesel Sweeties.

I did manage to wear my Threadless, A Simple Plan shirt for the photo shoot however.

I kind of regret not wearing my Chewie shirt, but since the photos were being taken at Pinball Pete’s Arcade in East Lansing, the Space Invader referencing shirt won out (another option I considered was my Yooper Steez shirt, designed by all-around-awesome Lansing dude, Justin “Bugsy” Sailor).

I caught some (friendly) flack from those who knew I had a new girlfriend, yet was writing about being single.  The girlfriend in question was fine with it, as I told her about the story way before it ran.

But the story isn’t so much about my being single, but more how I went about meeting people, expanding my circle of friends and places to go on dates around Lansing.

#

Speaking of Lansing Capital Gains, I was brought on to be a weekly contributor recently.  Starting on February 17th, I’ll be writing four development stories a week.  These are very, very short–only 200 words at the most–so it equals out to less than a feature article (1,000 words) a week.

There will be a bit of a learning curve for me, as I have to find leads and such, but I’m getting a lot of help from my editor and fellow contributors.

I consider myself the furthest thing from a journalist, but I am very happy to have this opportunity to see if I can handle the rigors of a regular writing gig. So far, so good.

And if you live in Lansing and have any leads for me, drop me a line.

I’m a fan of this zoo and I usually go at least a few times a year. I love going in the late fall not only because it is free, but because a lot of the animals are more active due to the colder weather (I usually throw a couple bucks in the donation box even when it is free, and I’ve adopted animals in the past).

I went into the “cat house,” where the lions and tigers are kept–and I happened to be there around feeding time (I saw a few of the smaller animals being fed).  I approached the lion exhibit and saw one of the lions (a lioness, I’m pretty sure) pacing back and forth.

She knew it was feeding time and she began roaring.

I gotta say, having only a few inches of glass (OK, maybe more) separating me from a hungry, roaring lion was quite the experience.

It made me think a bit too, just how we kind of take this stuff for granted.  Here is an amazing animal that I would never see in Michigan under normal circumstances, mere inches from me.  I watched the lion continue its pacing and its roaring, and took it all in–what an amazing creature.  Nature is awesome and scary.

And as it tends to do, my imagination began to drift to thoughts of this animal chasing after prey in the wild.  Then I thought of it (or any lion really) chasing after me and how helpless I would be.

I know a lot of people don’t take the time to savor the sights of  animals at a zoo, I’ll watch people stop for a second and then move on to the next exhibit.  I try to be good about stopping to study the animal and watch it for a little while. I like watching how the larger animals move–it is great research for writing and other creative outlets.

I certainly recommend spending time at a zoo if you ever write about animals, made up or real.  Sure, you can find a zillion and a half videos of animals on YouTube, but some times you need to see an animal eye to eye.

Potter Park Zoo is a great resource and I’m glad it is here in Lansing.

#

I had the pleasure of being a guest at the science fiction and fantasy fan convention, ConClave once again this weekend.  I had a great time like always,  running into  Jim C. Hines, who was there promoting his latest release, Mermaid’s Madness, and the always entertaining M. Keaton.

It is fun to reconnect with writer friends and to make new ones at these conventions.  I was a part of nine events, including the Writer’s Workshop (I read and critiqued stories), panel discussions (ranging from zombies to werewolves to comic books) and I was even a contestant in a Last Man Standing Sci-Fi/Fantasy Trivia Contest–and I came in 2nd place.

My prize for coming in second is that my name will be used for the name of the president of the CDC in an upcoming zombie novel (The Ravening) by Stewart Sternberg. Stewart said that there will be a quote at the start of a chapter, which will be attributed to said CDC president, so something along these lines perhaps, to give you an idea:

“I see no reason to panic. As long as none of them bite you, you’ll be just fine.  Oh, and wash your hands.  Seriously, people.”

- Daniel Hogan, President of the CDC.

I’m excited to see what Stewart comes up with–he’s threatening to make it something that will cause an angry mob to show up at my door. Hey, I can use the publicity.  The novel will be available in stores and obviously I’ll do a post once that happens.  The grand prize winner will be made into a character that gets ripped apart by zombies.  Lucky.  Amusingly, I lost my shot at first place by not knowing the name of Barbara’s brother in the original Night of the Living Dead (Johnny).

#

Speaking of Mr. Sternberg, we were on a panel about werewolves at ConClave, which I recorded for this week’s podcast.  Check it out. I’m glad I recorded it, because between late nights at work this week and getting ready for the con, I didn’t have the next episode of the Magic of Eyri finished. Hooray for filler. Give the panel a listen, it is a fun time. Jon David, Rick Moore, Charles Zaglanis and William Jones join us as well.

GarageBand makes it pretty easy to create and tweak your own effects.  It reminds of a time when a friend told me about a digital effect pedal he got for his guitar, he said getting the pedal set his learning guitar back by a year due to spending all of his time playing with the pedal’s effects.

#

Friday night was the Ignite Lansing event here in town.  It was an amazing sight, but sadly I was stuck at work and wasn’t able to watch any of the presentations.  I had a break and was able to swing by for a little bit as things got started.  Seeing lots of creative people in one spot was great.

The event was held at what used to be the Temple Club–an old church that was turned into a music venue.  It was a great place to see a show: I saw Electric Six there twice and both were fantastic shows. However, the Club did not survive and Lansing lost of its unique (and honestly, best) music venues.  Currently it is being turned into office space, and while I’m glad the building is going to be used again, it isn’t the same.

The word on the street is that Ignite Lansing 3.0 will take place in March.  I’m considering signing up to do a presentation on podcasts.  You suggest a topic and people vote on the topics they want to see–if you win, you have to give a presentation on that topic in five minutes, using twenty slides.  Lots of pressure, but I think I could do it.

From Wikipedia:

“…the opening football scene for the new film; which did not appear in the original film, was shot at the former Detroit Notre Dame High School in Harper Woods, Michigan.”

I know the original film doesn’t exactly have broad appeal, however, I enjoy it for its over-the-top-Cold-War-paranoia aspect. It is an excellent Cold War media time capsule and as such, I don’t think it should have been remake (but I am thankful that the filming of it brought money not only to Michigan but my home town).  I don’t see the new version having the impact the original did when released in the early 1980s.

Anyway, my li’l sis shot a few set photos and I put them online if you are interested in checking them out.

http://magicofeyri.com/2009/09/fantasy-writing-panel-podcast/

The panel featured Jim C. Hines (Goblin Quest series, Stepsister Scheme, Mermaid’s Madness), Phil Kline (Curse of the Kitsune) and myself.  It runs about 49 minutes and is worth a listen–especially when Jim starts talking about his werewolf-muppet story.

The audio quality is not on par with my normal episodes, as I just set up a recorder on the table and let it go, but I did what I could in GarageBand to make it a little better (tried to cut out some of the long pauses too).

Joining me in splendid 64 kps glory are Jim C. Hines and Phil Kline.  I haven’t listened to the audio yet, but I’m sure it turned out just fine (or fine enough for this purpose).

I’m curious how this will turn out and if people will like it or not. This will not be a regular feature, but I know people do enjoy this sort of thing (listening to writers talk about writing)–otherwise no one would ever attend any of the panels I’m on. I keep meaning to record non-podcast stuff to have at the ready if I ever need filler in case I don’t have an episode ready or something comes up (illness, vacation, pirate-ninjas).

Regular transmission of episodes will continue on September 27th.

Part 1 :: Part 2

Guess who? HINT: Not the Iron Giant

I only took my backpack with me for this trip, as I required just one change of clothes and even then just the basics (tshirt/underwear), so I had to watch how much I bought. This did keep me from buying a few things I didn’t really need (ex: a Scud the Disposable Assassin action figure) but also prevented me from getting a couple items I would have really adored (a killer print by the artist of Cursed Pirate Girl). But my rule was:  if it didn’t fit in the backpack, I didn’t buy it. Crushable items, such as prints and posters, were out of the question.

Yes, I could have bought a tube to keep prints and posters safe, but I was afraid of having to check it on the Mega Bus and something happening to it.

Cobra Commander: looking better here than in the live action movie.
My time at the con on Sunday was somewhat abbreviated, as I had to catch the train downtown around 3 PM–but I made the most of the day. Not only did I get my Frank Cho sketch, but I also picked up a Doug TenNapal graphic novel, Flink, for only $5. That ended up being my only purchase of the day, due to me leaving soon and wanting to make sure I had money for food on the way home and for any possible emergencies. There were a few tshirts I eyed, including a Han Shot First shirt I spotted in Artist Alley, but most were too expensive–one of the big tshirt sellers sold theirs for $20.25 each, or two for $35. Yikes.

If you shopped around, you could certainly find better deals, but there were few shirts I spotted that screamed for me to own them (interesting post script, the Monday after the con I bought a $10 Iron Maiden tshirt at JC Penny’s back home using the money I didn’t spend at the con).

Eventually, my time to depart arrived. I called my comrades in geek arms and informed them of my impending departure. They joined me outside and we said our goodbyes. Two of our group I have known since middle-school, another since college and the last, my oldest friend, since first grade. I was happy I decided to trek out to Chicago to see my friends once again (scattered to Washington D.C., Milwaukee, New York and Chicago in the years following college).

The con for me was not about buying comic books, or even being within inches of the likes of Ray Park (Darth Maul), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) or Billy Dee Williams (Lando).  That was when I was younger, but things have changed. Now, going to the con is about seeing some of my oldest friends one more time. As we  march towards our thirties, I wonder how many more times I’ll see these gents, or even have the means and/or desire to go to a comic book convention (and after last year’s fiasco, I nearly swore off going to a Chicago con ever again).

Ironically, I have heard rumors that this con could be the last Chicago Comic Con–at least in its current form (and time of the year).

I had a bit of a misadventure upon reaching downtown Chicago on Sunday afternoon. The ride on the blue line went well enough, but when I reached the stop for the Mega Bus, I looked at the clock on my phone. The time hadn’t switched to Chicago time right away when I arrived on Saturday (as my old phone would do), so thinking I was still on Michigan time, I thought I had an extra hour to kill.

Turns out, I did not.

Figuring I had time to kill, I walked away from the bus stop and ventured over to the Amtrack Station, looking for a place to get an ice cream to help beat the 98 degree heat. I entered the station and looked up at the old analogue clock on the wall.

“Oh, that can’t be right,” I said aloud after figuring out that my time was incorrect. I called my mom and asked her what time it was in Michigan.

“What time is it there right now?”
“Quarter to six, why?”
“That means it is quarter to five here–I gotta run!”

Dangit. I didn’t have an extra hour: I had been at the stop on time. I ran to the bus stop, making it with seconds to spare. That was the last bus to Ann Arbor, and it would have been a long walk home.

The ride home was not as smooth as the ride to Chicago, but that was not the fault of the Mega Bus people–there was a bunch of construction on 94 in Michigan (no surprise), which added about an hour to our ride home. By the time I drove back to Lansing, it was nearly 1 AM. Ugh.

I survived yet another Comic Con. I saw some old friends, including one I hadn’t seen in four years. I had a great time. All in all, not a bad way to spend a weekend.

Jef started things out by drawing Frazz for us, live, on a large easel. I always like watching talented artists draw in person, it is nothing short of magical. Jef and I have known each other for a few years now–I first met him at a similar event in 2005 in Grand Ledge, although at that event he was talking more about censorship (I think) instead of just doing a general (but still entertaining) overview of what he does.

At that event in 2005, I hadn’t started writing The Magic of Eyri yet (I had ideas, but there were nowhere near what the final novel became). He mentioned writing and drawing a children’s book of his own, so after his presentation, I asked him for advice on starting and finishing a novel (and a sketch of Frazz).

He would tell me later that it was what I asked him that impressed him most, although I can’t remember exactly what I said. I didn’t ask the questions that he typically gets (“how can I get rich by drawing pictures” or along those lines). His advice to me, which is something I still follow, is to “just do it.” He told me that I didn’t want to be 80 years old one day and thinking, “hmm what if I had written that novel.” Jef told me to write it and at least i would know–and who cared if it was good or bad, at least I wouldn’t regret not trying.

Shortly after self-publishing The Magic of Eyri in 2007, I dropped Jef a line, thanking him for the advice, which had driven me to start and finish the novel. We had lunch and swapped books: a signed copy of Magic of Eyri for him and a signed Frazz collection for myself. It was great.

Jef Mallet is one of the nicest and greatest men I have ever known–and one of the things I like most about him is that he isn’t afraid to write ‘smart’ humor. He challenges his readers, and he loves doing it.

I love his stories about the comic strip business too. He told this joke about FoxTrot, Bill Amend. Bill used to live in California, but moved to Kansas City–which was where his syndicate was based. The joke went that Bill did this in order to have a whole extra time zone when it came to deadlines. Jef laughed and added that if you knew Bill, such a story wouldn’t be too far from the truth. Jef told this other joke about an artist, who years ago, whenever he’d read about a plane crash in the States, would call his syndicate and say “yeah, my strips were on that plane.”

The interesting thing is that nowadays, Jef doesn’t even have to mail his strips to his editor. He scans them and emails the files. But he added that he’s always up against a deadline–something I can relate to since starting the Magic of Eyri podcast (granted, I’m not doing daily episodes…I don’t even want to think about that).

The other great story he told was of a ‘strip feud (read the comments part)’ with Pearls Before Swine creator, Stephan Pastis. Pastis ran a strip featuring and overzealous cyclist named Jeff (Jef Mallet is an avid cyclist). Jef called Pastis up about the strip and he confused the strip was about Jef–even saying that he added an extra ‘f’ in the name at the last minute.

Jef took the whole thing in stride and in good humor. He kindly returned the favor in a strip after that, referencing Pastis’ previous career as a lawyer. Hilarious stuff.

Seeing Jef again this week was a much needed creative recharge for myself. The next day, I wrote nearly 1,000 words of my current in progress novel, the most I’ve written in one sitting in a long while–and I gotta get this first draft done by October because I want to take a stab at a nonfiction story come this Novembers Novel Writing Month.