I love Michigan in the summer.

10 things about Gabe & Yoshi's wedding:

• The bride and groom. Our golden couple. The whole weekend was a perfect reflection of what we all love about them.
  
• Kalamazoo. Charming and fun. Shady trees, greasy spoons, a surprisingly fancy art museum.
  
• The winding, tree-lined streets of Kalamazoo. Grid-less! Baffling! London, Boston -- those cities have nothing on the complexity of Kalamazoo. If some kids on skateboards hadn't pointed the way, we would have missed the beginning of the wedding. Thanks, kids!
  
• Fireflies and Christmas lights. The bride's sister's boyfriend (Andrew) hosted a lovely after-party on the night of the rehearsal dinner. Usually these parties are ill-planned and bar-oriented, but this one was well-executed outside on a beautiful back porch lit by Christmas lights and fireflies.
  
• The Kal-Haven Trail. Nearly a death-by-humidity experience.
  
• Suite 702. Post-wedding sing-alongs, beer-scrounging and hotel-room-jacuzzi-ing at the Radisson. Classy.
  
• The excellent, eclectic food. Not that there's anything wrong with the salmon filet/side salad/baked potato thing, but it was pleasantly surprising to get a nourishing, unique meal at a wedding reception. I actually ate this food, and liked it. Nice work, wedding planners and caterers.
  
• Friends & family representing. While I didn't do such a great job of circulating among those I hadn't known for 15 years, I couldn't help but notice the collective high spirits and festive attire of all in attendance. Plaid pants, flowered dresses, smiles, laughter -- all good.
  
• Louise's toast. I, for one, did not know that the groom's mother met the bride's father during freshman week at Carleton. Amazing. The stars had been spelling it out since day 1, really.
  
• It must be said: Maggie's boobs.
  

Photos / July chills

I snapped this photo after watching Me & You & Everyone We Know at the Lumiere. I was riding down Polk Street, and the sky seemed nice and sunny. But there was a chilly little bite in the air. Ahh, summer. A half hour later, the city was enshrouded in fog.

Photos / Window kitty

This kitten was in the window of the record store on my block. Another sign of a pleasant turnaround on 14th Street. Ten years ago, it was Naps 2 (a housing project bar with a friendly sort of vibe), and dog crap everywhere. Now, it's a bustling with DIY fare, cool records, a bike shop owned by friends of mine, and an art gallery.
UPDATE Feb 2006: Six months after the record shop opened, it closed. So did the art gallery. Now there's a little clothing boutique there. I miss Naps #2.
UPDATE June 2006: Needles and Pens also left. My little street is quiet again. Oh well.