You ready?

Well, are you? Ready, that is?

I am.  Ready, that is.  I have a pair of tickets to the opening game, courtesy of some lawyer dude in Chicago.  It turns out that your don can find more on the internet than stupid YouTube clips of asswipe politicians.  Even without a Facebook or Twitter account, I somehow manage to make a few useful contacts from time to time. Go figure.

As an added bonus, my guest for the trip will be my old buddy Reverand Dan.  He hasn't been able to travel in recent years, on account of his ailing parents.  Well, ole Mr. Pedro went on to join his wife in the Great Beyond not too long ago.  In a perverse sort of circumstance, the loss of one's parents apparently provides one with previously unrealized free time.  In other words - the rev's dad died recently, so now he has all the time in the world to make his first trip to South Bend for a football game.  And I'm gonna take him there.  This should be interesting.

Less than two weeks, mofos.  Are you ready?

ADDENDUM:  My tickets are lined up for a few other games as well, but the game at Michigan on September 10th is still up in the air.  Suggestions for how to gain admission for less than an arm and a leg are still welcome.

Please, oh please let them call it the Department of Jobs

That would be just the sort of delicious irony that makes my life worth living.  Please...

...The administration may also merge the Department of Commerce, the Office of the United States Trade Representative and some economic divisions at the State Department into a new agency, administration officials said. Possible names include the Department of Jobs or the Department of Competitiveness...

Ministry of Plenty is already taken, after all.

Full NYT article on how the White House plans to save the economy from... well... the way they've saved it so far, I guess?

Please, oh please let them call it the Department of Jobs.

Try To Watch It Without Laughing (Then Crying 'Cause It's True)

This one's making the rounds tonight.  I'm not breaking any ground, but for those of you who haven't seen it - awesome.

EXTREME content warning.  This guy swears more than I do when I'm stuck in a traffic jam.

To Any Of You from The Local Area Here

As you may or may not be aware, my beloved Fighting Irish will be playing in Ann Arbor this year, on my birthday.  In years past I've always planned my trips home to coincide with road trips to South Bend, but I've never bothered to catch a game at Michigan Stadium.  (Michigan State is generally a home game for the Irish when Michigan is a road game, so I just took whichever game was at Notre Dame.)

Anyhow, I'm looking over some of the tickets for sale and - shit damn.  That place seats 110,000, the home team has been a colossal disappointment, and the visiting team ain't exactly something to write home about.  How in the hell can people expect someone to pay so much for a ticket?  I'll dispense with writing etiquette and answer myself now - It's because guys like me will be tempted to pay the insane price.  Market forces and so forth...

My question is this.  For those of you who have attended games in Ann Arbor in the past - Are there generally tickets to be had at or near game time?  The last time I saw Michigan play at Notre Dame, there were literally people in the Joyce lot trying to give away tickets.  I had already purchased better seats than those being offered, but still.  One can often show up in South Bend with a few bucks and do okay for himself.

On the other hand, I was in town for what may have been the best regular season game ever played.  For an hour before kickoff, I walked amongst the tailgaters with ten crisp $100 bills above my head.  Any two seats in the house would do - one for me and one for my then-girlfriend (who surely wouldn't have grasped the magnitude).  I never got a second look from anyone trying to sell tickets.  And there were plenty of people selling tickets.  When a thousand bucks can't get you a pair of nosebleeds, the game is obviously out of my league.

Clearly this year's ND-Michigan tilt isn't on the level of that first Weis-Carroll matchup (back when we thought Weis was good and didn't know Carroll was cheating).  And, also clearly, I can buy scalped or auctioned tickets online for far less than $500 a pop.  I could get into the game if I really cared to pony up a few hundred bucks a seat.  I just don't really feel like spending that much if I don't have to.  So what exactly is the scenario like when you go to a game at U of M?  Should I show up with some cash and try my luck?  Or should I just take it on the chin and secure my tickets ahead of time?

Any input is welcome, even if it includes the obligatory "Notre Dame sucks" business.