jenny “from the block” granholm has shown up on the short list of people who could end up on the supreme court if obama is elected president.

three of the justices are pretty old and could retire in the next term. one guy says that obama would likely pick a woman, especially since ruth bader, the only female justice, is one of the more geriatric ones.

this would be ridiculous because 1) granholm was born in canada. have we ever had a foreign-born justice? and 2) have we ever had a governor-turned-supreme-court-justice? maybe both of these things happened way in the past, but how about 20th century? or even late 19th century.

one thing that’s nice about granholm if this happened: her confirmation hearing wouldn’t be too scandalous since she’s already been raked through the coals at least twice as governor. no surprise illegitimate children or sexual harassment allegations. but i suppose her political views are obviously well-known and may embolden the GOP. either way, this is cool.

thanks to sean for the tip

i returned to the motherland this weekend in order to bolster the economy via my parents’ money. i did it the michigan way by overindulging in food and clothing, and even got to see some terrible football to boot — terrible football that inspires terrible drinking that causes terrible results. two cautionary tales:

1. this is walt (in yellow).

you may not know walt, but that knowledge isn’t necessary to find this photo hilarious. what you should know is that walt loves michigan football. he will not get married during football season for fear that one of his anniversaries in the future may fall on the same day as an important game. consequently, when michigan sucks at football, walt gets sad and sometimes drinks. when this happens, walt sometimes falls into lakes or wanders 2 miles to a kroger to get carpet cleaner at 4am. this weekend, walt sang songs (his own impromptu “songs”) featuring the names of past michigan football greats while freak dancing a dude in a robe. i’m pretty sure grinding a guy with bad hair in a robe on the street in the freezing cold is something that only happens in college. which is why i’m glad i’m out of college now.

2. another reason why sadness-induced drinking may not be the best idea: the guy who fell from a 2nd-floor foyer and spilled blood all over the floor outside the bar. all this happened while i was cluelessly sipping my delicious canadian brew inside mitch’s, but you know nothing good happened when the owner shoos you out 30 min before closing, the cops are wearing blue latex evidence gloves, and there is crime scene tape all around. the ann arbor news has the details:

A Birmingham man is in critical condition this morning at the University of Michigan Medical Center after falling from the second-story balcony of a downtown Ann Arbor bar while apparently attempting a stunt, police said.

The 30-year-old man suffered a fractured skull and other serious injuries after landing head-first on the concrete outside Mitch’s Place, 1220 S. University Ave. about 1:15 a.m. Sunday, Detective Sgt. Richard Kinsey said.

Witness reports indicate the man attempted to slide down the railing of a stairway from the balcony.

The first officers to arrive at the scene said a large crowd of people was surrounding the man, who was unresponsive and lying in a large pool of blood.
…
Police estimated he fell roughly 18 feet. They confirmed he had been drinking at the bar but are awaiting tests result to determine his level of intoxication. Kinsey said no foul play is suspected and the incident remains under investigation.

i’m hesitant to post this photo, but it’s almost 4am and my judgment sucks. in my infinite wisdom, i took a pic of the bloody scene and got thoroughly reamed out by the cops. i deserved it, but in my defense, i didn’t know what had happened at the time.

you can’t see much, but perhaps that’s for the better.

moral of the story? don’t drink so much. you might do stupid stuff.

but defying all logic, this 46yo father of two from troy (!!) will be on project runway this season.

holy crap now i’ll actually have to watch it.

premieres tonight at 9pm on bravo.

i hope he’s not a total douche, although will any of us troyalty really be that surprised if he is?

check out this sweet graphic that ranks states based on their overall drunkenness.

interesting facts:
1. michigan is #24, right in the middle
2. wisconsin, home of the beast, is #1, not surprising since beer basically grows out of the concrete there.
3. alabama is #50, which i suppose is also not that surprising since they have some of the most ridiculous blue laws. then again, i also imagine there’s a lot of reason to want to drink in the lovely heart of dixie.
4. i’m impressed with RI, NH, and VT for bringing the pain at #7, #9, and #10. who woulda thought new englanders could drink like us from the midwest?

rare in skunkblog, is what i mean.

sigh. how well i know those banners. not surprisingly, troy didn’t win many of them. we were all too busy taking a half dozen APs. the sole exceptions: soccer, the ultimate white yuppie sport, and tennis, where asians are forced thrive.

barack obama will be holding a town hall at TROY HIGH SCHOOL — where i spent four glorious years overachieving, driven by blind ambition. this is probably the coolest thing that’s happened in troy since the north side of somerset mall opened.

some fun facts about troy that i just learned from wikipedia:
1. aileen wuornos lived in troy, where her path to serial killerdom was apparently honed.
1a. it’s the 12th most populous city in michigan, which for some reason is surprising to me. (why “1a?” i skipped this point, then someone commented, then i realized i didn’t know how to count, and then i fixed. bah)
2. “Based on property value, Troy is the second largest city in Michigan, second only to Detroit.” i’m not sure what this means, exactly, but it sounds impressive.
3. median family income = $98,752
4. troy high and athens have a shocking 99% graduation rate, although i’m sure it helps that we ship all our miscreants to niles.
5. they are going to demolish the old kmart headquarters and build “a landscaped square with boulevards lined with upscale shops, restaurants, offices, a theater, and condominiums.” just what a declining economy needs. more stores!

guy from livionia livonia won the mega millions jackpot and what’s he gonna do?
buy a bunch of crappy american (ford) cars for his family and possibly remarry his ex-wife, who suddenly wants to be back in the picture is enamored with his stunning intellect, sparkling personality, and prowess in bed. huh.

(chump.)

michigan sen. debbie stabenow’s remarkably young husband was caught with a hooker in february. in no particular order, interesting tidbits include:

1. he paid $150 for a blowjob. there’s debate whether this is a lot or a little. thoughts?
2. this happened in troy. it’s about 4 miles from where i live, and within eyeshot of my aunt’s house. actually, it’s less than a mile from police headquarters. i love troy.
3. stabenow is 57, he is 46. what’s w/ the cougar hunting?
4. they were married 5 years ago. it only took 5 years for things to go south.
5. “Athans was charged with driving on a suspended license.” he also had his license suspended? this guy cannot catch a break.

just read the story. it’s good.