So it came to my attention today that I am (again) negligent about updating this blog. Part of the problem is that I'm on summer vacation - not a whole lot going on. However, there have been a few standout events.

Last Saturday evening, Dena and Dustin hosted a backyard grill party, and Katy and I got to meet their baby Evan. He was remarkably well behaved all night, I was very impressed with his temperament. Also, Lauren was there, and I haven't seen her since we graduated from high school. Who needs a formal ten year high school reunion when you can create your own reunions with the people you're interested in seeing? It was a real pleasure to chat with her and see how the last decade has treated us.

Tonight, my parents came up to Columbus for dinner. Being the overachiever I am, I decided to serve five plated courses plus a few extra mouthfuls. Every one of the dishes (except Katy's exquisite dessert, of course) could have been executed better had I focused on it individually, but hopefully nothing I served was actually bad, and I appreciated the opportunity to show a little bit of a range of things I like to do in the kitchen. And, it was great to spend the evening with my parents and a couple bottles of wine.

Today, Laura Eckstein and Jason Wells are getting married in Portland. Many congratulations to them both!

Yesterday, I heard a news clip about the Iroquois national lacrosse team being stranded in New York trying to travel to the World Lacrosse Championship on tribal passports. The Iroquois invented the sport, so their absence would be a pretty big deal. I'm a little confused on the details, though.

According to the news I heard, the Iroquois Confederacy (site currently down) does not recognize the legitimacy of the United States government, and therefore will not travel on US passports. However, the United States is not guaranteeing re-entry into New York on the Iroquois passports. The Iroquois position makes sense to some degree. There's no reason that anyone, especially a nation with the proud history of the Iroquois, should have to accept unwanted citizenship in any other country.

However, by requesting permission from the US to re-enter New York, the team is in that very same act recognizing the legitimacy of the USA's claim on that land. If the USA was not a legitimate government, the Iroquois would have no need to request entry. If the citizens of the Iroquois Confederacy choose to be Iroquois citizens rather than US citizens, then they need green cards in order to live in US territory. The United States should treat the Iroquois passports just like a passport from any other nation and issue (or not) a visa for a temporary visit. When presented with a foreign passport, I see no reason why the United States should treat it as a domestic one.

That said, this whole border control thing is getting quite ridiculous. The Detroit Marathon crosses over into Canada and back into the United States. And, there are Homeland Security agents along the route, demanding to see every runner's credentials as they cross the border and arresting anyone they find suspicious. There are plenty of ways into the country that would be more convenient for potential terrorists than running 26.2 miles with no baggage or practicing lacrosse enough to earn a spot on the world's 4th best team.

Regardless of the applicability of the Iroquois passports, and regardless of potential to run from Canada to the United States without a passport, there are much larger threats to worry about. Plus, generating some international goodwill by relaxing on some of these issues might actually make the rest of the world hate us a little less and reduce the threat of an attack!

For the Fourth of July this year, I played an outdoor concert with the Brass Band of Columbus. While the gig itself was fairly routine, I really enjoyed the opportunity to play with that group. When I was a kid, my parents took me to hear them semi-regularly, and I always enjoyed their performances. In so many ways, working on this doctorate at Ohio State is a homecoming, and playing with the BBC was another piece of that.

I spent last week at Lakeside on Lake Erie with my family, celebrating my great-aunt Dondus's 90th birthday. It was great to see so many people there to celebrate with her, and a lot of fun to meet some of my extended family that I'd only ever heard about.