Tulip City Dispatch

 As a grown-ass man, it shocked my wife that I had never been to Disney World, nor had really any desire to do so.  Growing up, my family did a lot of camping around the state of Michigan.  This was cause for a marriage moment one time when I took my wife camping, and after a few days of cooking eggs in a cast iron pan and soaking up the wilderness, she said "...so, you guys just...sit in the woods?" I blinked a few times and said "Yeah.  It's relaxing, isn't it?" No schedules, no time tables, just a week away from it all.  And, mind you, growing up (and into married life), we're not talking wilderness camping.  I've always done campground stuff, with water nearby and restroom facilities...these days, it's important to have a power outlet for phones and stuff.  But, the conversation in question was at a campground right off of a main highway going through the UP - there was a McDonald's and a gas station within a quarter mile, and the campgro

 A few weekends ago, I took a small vacation to northwestern Michigan, stopping around Elk Rapids, Charlevoix, Eastport, and greater Antrim and Grand Traverse counties.  One of the coolest spots that we hit was Guntzviller's Taxidermy and Spirit of the Woods Museum (11060 US-31, Elk Rapids, MI 49629).  There's a Minnetonka Moccasin sign out front, which can be found in approximately every  Up North Tourist Trap Store, but Guntzviller's is so much more than your average "tourist trap." Founded in 1928, Marvin Guntzviller opened a shop in southeast Michigan, specializing in taxidermy.  By the 1970s, Voss Guntzviller, according to the shop's website , relocated to their current Elk Rapids location.  They still offer taxidermy services, if you've got a trophy deer or salmon to mount, but the main draw (for me at least) was the taxidermy museum! It's a small building, but they've done an amazing job bringing things to life - as soon as you walk in, you&

No. Per a series of interviews in the 1920s and 1930s, Adolf Hitler set the framework for his National Socialist agenda by pointing out that Nazism is not  leftist or liberal in any sense of the phrase: "When I take charge of Germany, I shall end tribute abroad and Bolshevism at home." Adolf Hitler drained his cup as if it contained not tea, but the lifeblood of Bolshevism. "Bolshevism," the chief of the Brown Shirts, the Fascists of Germany, continued, gazing at me balefully, "is our greatest menace. Kill Bolshevism in Germany and you restore 70 million people to power. France owes her strength not to her armies but to the forces of Bolshevism and dissension in our midst. The above taken from a Guardian article, citing a George Sylvester Viereck interview in 1923 (republished by Liberty  magazine in 1932, shows Hitler's eagerness to eradicate Bolshevism in Germany...Bolshevism, of course, being the Russian Communist-style government adopted after the

 I have so many thoughts and ideas swirling around my head - a notebook full of ideas, and dozens of saved bookmarks across 2 laptops and 4 browsers waiting to go.  I tried forcing some steam back into the engine with the 100 Things To Do In Holland Michigan  prompts, but even lost momentum with that. I'm still getting tons of traffic from my Eddie Bentz article.  And, as mentioned above, I still want to keep on researching these topics!  There's tons of cool stuff around ol' Tulip City! But, I'm still here...

 While we couldn't actually phone in the order (that side of the restaurant was closed for a private event), we did eat at the OG Russ' Restaurant at the corner of 8th and Chicago Drive in Holland!  Spittin' distance from Holland's Energy Park , sharing a parking lot with West Michigan Cycle Shop , and just a few blocks away from (potentially?) the oldest building in Holland , I'd actually like to offer Russ' Classic Double Cheeseburger as a late entry into The Best Burger In Holland debate. Founded in 1934 (meaning, 2024 is their 90th year in business), J. Russel Bouws bought Doc's Diner at the corner of 8th and Chicago Drive in Holland.  The original building(s) were torn down, and a new shop was built in the 80s or 90s.  There are pictures of the original sandwich/ice cream shack in the current restaurant, as well as pictures from slightly later when they went to a diner/drive-in format.  They also have locations in Holland at 210 River Ave on the north

 Title says it all!  In 2023, my wife and I set a resolution to see one concert or music show per month in 2023.  We fudged the rules a bit, and while we didn't actually see one per calendar month, we definitely averaged 12 shows over the course of 2023. On December 30, 2022, we saw the Mustard Plug holiday show in Grand Rapids at The Intersection.  They were led by Big Timmy & The Heavy Chevies, Dance Contraption, and The Koffin Kats.  The Koffin Kats are homies - friends of a friend, so it was fun seeing them again.  We actually counted this one as our January concert, but I definitely posted about it on the ol' blog here . February brought us to the Pyramid Scheme, where we saw the homies False Harbor play along Detroit's Remnose and Grand Rapids' own Ten Peso Version.  Very psychadelic, very jammy.  All of the bands were great! March we doubled up - saw Flogging Molly at 20 Monroe, then saw Dropkick Murphy's a week later.  Flogging Molly was opened up by Ski