Michael Kitchen's Blog, page 7

November 28, 2019: Spinning around the sun – my first year of indoor cycling.

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* My Detroit City FC Scrapbook.

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** Rebel Cycle Studio website.

*** Book Review: A Critical Look at Positive Thinking.

 

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Photo after a spin class, hanging out at the Detroit City Clubhouse.

 

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Highest Average Power – November 13, 2019

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Highest Average RPM – November 19, 2019

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Highest Miles – August 28, 2019

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Highest Maximum RPMs – November 19, 2019

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Highest Maximum Power – August 24, 2019

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This beat the previous maximum power so significantly.  And I never saw the 567 hit during my sprinting.  It felt odd to change it on the board to make it my new high.

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I feel better about claiming this 493 on October 2, 2019 as my highest maximum, because I saw it pop up on the display while I was sprinting hard.

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October 27, 2019: The American Writers Museum

On September 14, 2019, Detroit City FC paid a visit to Wauwatosa, Wisconsin to play the Milwaukee Torrent in an NPSL Members Cup match.  The day before, I drove to Milwaukee.  On the way, I made a stop at the American Writers Museum in Chicago.

 

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The first section focused on children’s literature, with several hands-on exhibits for the kids.  On a massive wall was a mural of a tree populated by squirrels reading various children’s books.

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The next section was a historic timeline of notable American writers, telling the story of the development of American writing.  Along the opposite wall was audio or visual media featuring American writers.

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Many of the writers along the timeline were interesting and unheard of (at least in my public and college courses).  Most interesting was Susanna Rowson whose fictional character actually has a tombstone in New York City.

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The other that stood out was Richard Wright.  I had read three of his works earlier this year; Native Son, Black Boy, and a collection of his haiku.  The display didn’t mention the haiku.

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Oh, but then around the corner, there it was:  Mind of a Writer!

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To the left, a display of typewriters previously owned/used by famous writers.

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I could post the photos of these typewriters, but I’ll leave you to see them for yourselves.  However I will show you my favorite one.  Orson Welles.  Cool wooden veneer, and signed!

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Now, onto the typewriters to play with.

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IBM Selectric II, the make of typewriter similarly used by Alex Haley, David Sedaris, Hunter S. Thompson and Charles Bukowski.

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1964 Royal Empress, the chosen typewriter of Hugh Hefner, David Letterman, and Helen Gurley Brown.

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1966 Olympia SM8, used by Evan S. Connell and Tennessee Williams (who used several different models during his career).

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1960 Olympia SG1, a favorite of Harlan Ellison, William S. Burroughs, Stan Lee and Bob Dylan.

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A 1931 Royal Portable is similar to those used by Vladimir Nabokov, Jean Stafford, Jerry Siegel, Bernard Malamud, Damon Runyon, and Will Rogers.

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A 1942 Underwood, which would be similar to the one Tom Wolfe used.

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1947 Royal Quiet De Luxe, which Edward R. Murrow, Anne Sexton, Clifford Odets, and Steven King would use.

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Time for me to play!

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In the 1942 Underwood, someone had begun a story, so I advanced it.

 

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That was fun!  I wonder how it ended.

There were other hands-on displays within The Writer’s Mind section, like this interactive Create Your Own Dialogue.  The user chooses the characters and action, then writes the dialogue.

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Spotted this bit about the book store, highlighting Borders.

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Yes, I had a blast here.  Even had a cool gift shop which included Richard Polt’s The Typewriter Revolution, and I came home with a nifty tie.

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You can visit the American Writers Museum Website HERE.

August 10, 2019: 2nd Annual Type-In at Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor, MI

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On August 3, 2019, Literati Bookstore and Charly’s Typewriter Collection and Repair, hosted its 2nd Annual Type-In on August 3, 2019.  Last year’s event was so much fun that I loaded up the 1954 Olivetti Lettera 22, and headed out to Ann Arbor, MI.

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Around 6:30, the typers arrived.  A variety of unique keyboards ready for fingertips to dance upon.

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My little Olivetti found a home between two of his kin – an Olivetti Lettera 32 to the left, an OIivetti MS 25 to the right.

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The typing commenced.  A lot of typewriter test-driving was going on, with a few people sticking to their own.

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I tested out a couple.  My favorite was the 1961 Olympia SM3.  Though my fingers stumbled along its keyboard, I love the cursive script font.  So much so, it drew a rough haiku from me.

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And my Olivetti was not jealous, as he was receiving love from those who typed on him.  This sheet was left in it as I packed up at the end of the event.

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The video I recorded captures the beauty of not only the machines but the music of the keystrokes, bells, and chatter of fellow typers.  I also had to record the action on the stunning, green, 1920 Oliver No. 9.

Until next year…Type On!

Charly’s Typewriter Collection and Repair

Literati Bookstore

More typed pages

July 26, 2019 – Typing Assignment #22

It’s been a while since Joe Van Cleave provided the typing community with a typing assignment, but here we are!

Typing Assignment #22 is to write about a summer road trip.  I thought I was going to miss this assignment.  Partially because of life’s general busyness, and mostly because I couldn’t locate a trip worthy of writing about.  There have been many family road trips – both as a kid and as a parent – but I didn’t think any of them would be interesting to a casual reader.  Then, as the playoffs for Detroit City FC approached and I was preparing for a potential away match, I realized that I had some wild experiences on Detroit City FC road trips.

This is about our first visit to FC Indiana in Lafayette, IN.  Photos and video of the day can be found HERE.

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This was typed on my latest find – a 1953 Olivetti Lettera 22 with an Italian keyboard (which was interesting to type on).

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For more Typing Assignments and other typing entries, go HERE.

July 31, 2018: Frosinone Calcio

July 31, 2018

International Friendly

Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI

Detroit City FC 0, Frosinone Calcio 10

Attendance: 7,887

FC  Camilio Ciano (Cristian Molinaro) 7′

FC  Edoardo Goldaniga 17′

FC  Paolo Sammarco 28′

FC Paolo Sammarco (Christian Molinaro) 30′

FC Brad Centala (DCFC Own Goal) 48′

FC  Paolo Ghiglione  53′

FC  Emmanuel Besea (Camilio Ciano) 61′

FC  Luca Matarese 66′

FC  Paolo Ghiglione 85′

A rainy Tuesday night, international friendly and last match of the year.  Could have been a downer.  A 10-0 loss could have been depressing.

Instead, it was a blast.

Frosinone Calcio is a newly promoted team into Serie A from Frosinone, Lazio.  Their home pitch, Stadio Benito Stirpe, has a grass turf.  The stadium broke ground in 1974 but didn’t open until 2017.

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Founding members of Ciociaro Club in Canada have roots in Frosinone, and hosted the club prior to the match.  Busloads crossed the Detroit River in order to watch the team play.  With their help, and the Detroit City FC community, the game’s attendance of 7,887 was the largest in our seven-year history.

 

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You’ll notice the Stand With Chatta two-stick.  Our brothers – Chattanooga FC – experienced the jolt of having a Board member and their General Manager leave the club, to join a Utah investor in putting a USL D-III team in Chattanooga.  Chattanooga FC is a community-modeled team that have grown large crowds to their NPSL club over the last decade.  The announcement sparked controversy because the USL team would fall under the MLS umbrella of ‘franchise’ teams versus community.  We strongly support Chattanooga FC and their supporters’ group, The Chattahooligans.

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The ten goals run up by the Serie A team may seem demoralizing, but not for us.  Without a goal, and the final match of the season, there was a lot of smoke to use up, and in the final five minutes, the Northern Guard Supporters found a way to keep Frosinone from scoring an eleventh.  We smoked them out.

 

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And, typical of our international friendlies, our guest joined in celebrating with our team and supporters.

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This was the best 10-0 loss ever.  Of course, it concluded with the traditional pitch-wide Tetris.

 

 

July 24, 2018: Windsor TFC

July 24, 2018

International Friendly

Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI

Detroit City FC 4, Windsor TFC 0

Attendance: 7,097

DCFC Shawn Lawson (Kervin Kenton) 38′

DCFC Kervin Kenton (Jeff Adkins) 51′

DCFC Trevor Amann (Jeff Adkins) 73′

DCFC Trevor Amann (Cyrus Saydee) 78′

This tends to be the final match day of the season, and is generally a party atmosphere before the long layoff.  It is also the match where The Black Arrow Award is presented to Detroit City FC’s Most Valuable Player.

On this Tuesday night, it was amazing the number of fans who showed filled Keyworth.

 

 

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I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned this on any of the previous match pages, but in the Scottish Register of Tartans, the Northern Guard has registered its own design.  John Sarge, below, models the tartan kilt.

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Shawn Lawson scores in the 38th minute, much to the ball-kid’s delight.

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And now, for the presentation of the Black Arrow Award…

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Kervin Kenton  makes it two-zip in the 51st minute.

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Trevor Amann added two goals – in the 73rd and 78th minutes – as it was an easy night for the Rouge and Gold.

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Traditionally, this is the last match of the season.  But fortunately, we have one more international friendly to go.

 

July 10, 2018: Club Necaxa

July 10, 2018

International Friendly

Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI

Detroit City FC 1, Club Necaxa 2

Attendance: 7,449

Necaxa Carlos Camacho 55′

Necaxa Victor Davila (PK) 86′

DCFC Trevor Amann (Shawn Lawson) 86′

What is the most watched soccer league in the United States?  MLS?  English Premiere League?

Neither.  It’s Liga MX.  Significantly larger than the other two.

So it should not be a surprise that when Club Necaxa arrived at Keyworth for a friendly, we’d have our second largest crowd in history.

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One of our loyal supporters – Vytautas Malesh – earned his doctorate from Wayne State University this spring, which opened the door to a position at Florida International University in the Department of English’s writing and rhetoric program.  He had to leave us after the Milwaukee match.

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Each season, “Tiger” would create and don a helmet.  With the opening of the Detroit City Fieldhouse in late fall, he donated the helmets to the team so they could be displayed at the facility.  This evening, the Northern Guard honored him with the drum line wearing his creations.

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Club Necaxa hails from Aguascalientes City, the capital of Aguascalientes, and play their matches in Estadia Victoria, just over 2,100 miles from Keyworth.

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Founded in 1923, Club Necaxa recently won the Clausura 2018 Copa MX.  Hosting this legendary club is truly an honor.

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The field was tipped toward the City end during the half, but the match remained scoreless at the break.

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Club Necaxa continued the dominance, and Carlos Camacho scored in the 55th minute.  A half hour later, they were awarded a penalty kick which Victor Davila converted.  But City came right back.  Shawn Lawson made this sweet move around the Club Necaxa defender, then fed the ball to Trevor Amann to tap in.

 

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Mexico becomes the sixth country (Canada, England, Northern Ireland, Italy, and Germany) from which we have hosted a professional team.

July 1, 2018: Milwaukee Torrent

July 1, 2018

NPSL Regular Season Match

Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI

Detroit City FC 6, Milwaukee Torrent 1

Attendance: 5,332

Record: 5-3-3 18pts

DCFC David Edwardson (Roddy Green) 7′

Milw. Mark Hutchinson (Andrew Weidbach) 32′

DCFC Shawn Lawson (Roddy Green) 42′

DCFC Trevor Amann 49′

DCFC Jonathan Barnes (Brogan Shrimpton) 82′

DCFC Jakub Svehlik (Jonathan Barnes) 85′

DCFC Shawn Lawson (Jakub Svehlik) 90+

 

It was freaking humid once again for this Sunday afternoon final home match of the NPSL regular season.  Eliminated from playoff contention, we had the potential of experiencing the season melt in the heat, or end with a bang.  Fortunately, City came out and delivered the latter.

 

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Dave Edwardson fired the first shot of the six-goal explosion in the 7th minute.

 

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After Milwaukee’s Mark Hutchinson leveled the match in the 32nd minute, City regained the lead ten minutes later with Shawn Lawson’s goal.  The half ended 2-1, and Roddy Green had assisted on both City goals.

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Only four minutes into the second half, Trevor Amann scored.

 

In the 82nd minute, Jonathan Barnes increased the lead to 4-1.

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Then, three minutes later, Barnes fed a pass to Jakob Svehlik, who scored, making it 5-1.

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Then it was Svehlik’s turn as, in added time, he fed the ball to Shawn Lawson.  6-1.

 

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The NPSL season would end in Kalamazoo the following Saturday.  It was not the season we had hoped, especially following last year’s epic.  But the memories of another victory over the Bucks in the Open Cup, the goal-scoring frenzy in both the home and away matches against FC Indiana, and this home finale provided some fun memories.  As a bonus, City still had three international friendlies on its schedule for the month of July.

June 29, 2018: at Grand Rapids FC

June 29, 2018

NPSL Regular Season Match

Houseman Field, Grand Rapids, MI

Grand Rapids FC 4, Detroit City FC 4

Attendance: ?

Record: 4-3-3 = 15pts

GRFC Matt Whelan (Cam Cavanaugh) 5′

DCFC Jakub Svehlik 15′

GRFC Scott Doney (Kenroy Howell) 45+’

DCFC Grand Rapids Own Goal (Trent Vegter) 52′

DCFC Shawn Lawson (PK) 62′

GRFC Matt Whelan 63′

GRFC Caleb Postlewait (Matt Whelan) 80′

DCFC Roddy Green (David Edwardson) 90+

Another bloody hot night for a bloody hot match in Grand Rapids.  Playoffs on the line, this had the makings of being an exciting match.  And it did not disappoint (well, maybe the result did, but the 90 minutes of match play was great).

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It was so hot, many of us Rouge Rovers crowded in the shade until we had to get out in that sun.

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Matt Whelan put Grand Rapids on the scoresheet in the 5th minute.

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And City equalized with Jakob Svehlik’s goal in the 15th minute.  Bam!

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Just before the half, Scott Doney put Grand Rapids up 2-1.  Didn’t matter.  The pace of the match kept us feeling confident that a City win was possible.

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An own goal off the body of GRFC defender Trent Vegter leveled the game at two goals apiece in the 52nd minute.

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Less than ten minutes later, Shawn Lawson was fouled by keeper Noah Fazekas in the box, setting up a penalty kick.  Up to the spot stepped Shawn Lawson…

 

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But Grand Rapids was not about to roll over, fighting for the playoff position themselves, they rallied with two goals.  The first came almost immediately after Lawson’s penalty kick when Matt Whelan scored his second goal of the match in the 63rd minute.  Seventeen minutes later, a perfect strike off the foot of Caleb Postlewait put them ahead, 4-3.

There was still fight in City, as Roddy Green scored in added time to tie the match.

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But there wasn’t enough time in the tank to snatch the three points.  We couldn’t complain about the effort the team this evening.  Two years ago, we walked out of this very stadium having suffered our team’s worst NPSL performance.  Tonight, they had everything to play for, and they put it all out there to the final second.  In the end, the playoffs were just not meant to be this season.

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June 23, 2018: Kalamazoo FC

June 23, 2018

NPSL Regular Season Match

Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI

Detroit City FC 1, Kalamazoo FC 1

Attendance: 6,128

Record: 4-2-3 = 14pts.

KFC Jordan Veilette 2′

DCFC Brogan Shrimpton (Jakub Svehlik) 84′

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Just seconds after that opening kickoff video, Kalamazoo grabbed a 1-0 lead.  City picked it up, and dominated the remainder of the half without finding an equalizer.

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After the rain passed through, the sun peeked back out from behind the clouds, decorating the sky with rainbows throughout the evening.

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In the 84th minute, Brogan Shrimpton knotted the match with this chip shot over KFC keeper Hasten Biddlecome.

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Overall, it was a dominating performance by the Rouge and Gold.  The ball just couldn’t find its way into the back of the net often enough.  The road to the playoffs narrowed to the single lane of winning the final three matches and a little help from others.

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