Wood Smoke on Washtenaw
Blink, and you’ll miss it. Sniff, and you won’t. Satchel’s BBQ opened on Valentine’s Day on Washtenaw next to Whole Foods. It’s hidden behind Verizon Wireless, but “we’ve got a big...
Read More2011 April
Breathe Owl Breathe
A Breathe Owl Breathe concert is musical performance art at its most fun. The members of the band, however, might actually enjoy themselves more than the audience. Comprised of guitar-playing singer-songwriter Micah Middaugh,...
Read MorePolice vs. Taxes
Hard times usually mean more crimes, as some law-abiding citizens are driven to desperate straits. Not this time–at least so far. Reflecting a national trend, most crimes in most places in Washtenaw County declined last...
Read MoreBorders Goes Bankrupt
After filing for bankruptcy in February, the Borders Group will meet with creditors this month to outline its plans to reorganize itself and reinvigorate its business. In an email, CEO Mike Edwards told customers that the...
Read MoreStar Power
George Clooney filled every seat on the main floor of the Power Center last month. He was directing a scene for his new movie, The Ides of March, in which he plays an innocent governor who learns the evil ways of presidential...
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Serbian tennis camps
Last month’s Fake Ad for Serbian tennis camps led by Novar Borwebic prompted as many quick returns as a weak serve. In all, 130 Fake Adders spotted the ad, along with several misguided readers who named real ads as the...
Read MoreAdrian Legg
With testimony from rock and jazz guitar gods, the publicity materials for the British finger-style guitarist Adrian Legg makes him out to be a dazzling virtuoso–which, to be sure, he is. But he’s more about...
Read MoreGebhard Ullmann & Steve Swell
During the first decades of its existence, jazz was uniquely American. From London, where Louis Armstrong performed before King George V, to Bangkok, where King Bhumibol Adulyadej became an accomplished improviser, American jazz...
Read MoreOrdinary Heroes
One recent weekend, I stopped in at the Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library bookshop. I was hoping to pick up a cheap used copy of Into Thin Air, a book I had read a dozen years ago but agreed to reread with my nephew...
Read MoreClayton Eshleman
Since his move, a few years ago, into emeritus status at EMU, Clayton Eshleman has been publishing important books that solidify his contribution to literature. Juniper Fuse: Upper Paleolithic Imagination & the Construction...
Read MoreGeneration Gap
My family has never been of one mind about bd’s Mongolian Grill. It always rated pretty highly with my two sons, who like many teens consider it a premier place to eat lots of food, particularly meat and fish, for a modest...
Read MoreAnn Arborite Buzz Alexander
U-M English prof William “Buzz” Alexander believes the annual Exhibition of Art by Michigan Prisoners is the largest exhibit of prisoner art not just in the nation but in the world. Last year, almost 4,000 people...
Read MoreLogan’s eye
March’s clue–“an ‘eye’ nearby”–spurred Kathy Babcock to think of See Eyeware on State Street; it was Bennett Optometry on Main for Beth Simon. But the “eye” in this case is...
Read MoreBorders’ closings
In early March the Arborland Borders was festooned with black, yellow, and red block print signage bearing more exclamation points than any reputable English teacher would allow: Nothing Held Back!! Everything on Sale!! The...
Read MoreReinvention or Deja Vu?
At AnnArbor. com’s economic outlook luncheon on March 11, Governor Rick Snyder praised the website and newspaper as an example of the “reinvention” the state needs. Afterwards, photographer Lon Horwedel...
Read MoreEllen Rowe 2011
“He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.” With all due respect to George Bernard Shaw, that’s a sound-bite maxim–sounds good, until you think about it. Then, it’s easy to come up with many more...
Read MoreBehind the Green Apron
At a Starbucks in Winter Park, Florida, I ordered coffee and then gave my partner number for my employee discount. The barista asked, “Where do you work?””Gainesville,” I replied, “and Ann...
Read MoreU-M Baseball
I feel sorry for the U-M baseball team. By the time winter’s really, finally over, the Wolverines’ season is finished. A decade or so ago, I went to Ray Fisher Stadium on Mother’s Day to see the final home game...
Read MoreTending the Patch
Daniel Lai is easy to pick out from among the dozen farmers, hippies, and hippie farmers at the Dexter Bakery. His laptop gives away his identity—it’s emblazoned with a decal that reads “Patch.” And as he...
Read More“We’ve Got to Grow the Business Environment.”
Mark Ouimet looked as if he couldn’t lose in the election for state representative from the 52nd District in northwest Washtenaw County. Not only was he well known as a three-term county commissioner, but he’d also...
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