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30 juni 2006
Open Mike Friday
Take it away.
Posted by ypsidixit at 08:46 am | Comments (26)
29 juni 2006
Dawkins Anti-Religious Documentary a Must-See
A FRIEND passes along an outstanding, meaty documentary examining the harmful effects of religion, hosted by evolutionary theorist and atheist Richard Dawkins, one of Y.'s, um, idols. Dawkins examines religion in terms of the social divisions it fosters, the indoctrination of children, and the sanctioning of hateful, even murderous behavior, among other angles, and offers an alternative basis for morality based on evolutionary theory. The irrational basis of religion is, over the course of the documentary, slowly dismantled by Dawkins's sober, sound voice of reason. Highly recommended for both the faithful and the faith-free.
Two longish parts; watch the top one first, then the one under it. Enjoy.
Posted by ypsidixit at 12:51 pm | Comments (16)
28 juni 2006
Australian Hotdish SOS!
YPSIDIXIT just received an email with an urgent plea from her tante in Australia. My Tante Erica, who lives on a tropical continent awash in fabulous fruits and wonderful dishes, is fixing hotdish. She saw the recipe on my blog. But she has questions! Kind readers! Could you please kindly help her fix this sumptuous Midwestern delicacy?
Her email:
Dear Laura, sorry to bother you again but following something in your blog I got the Hotdish recipe. It sounds great (although I doubt that The Heart Foundation would give it their Tick of Approval). However, I assume amounts can be adjusted without distorting the 'authenticity' too much! Questions: what are french-cut beans? I suppose just plain green string(less) beans, cross-cut or straight-cut will do? And what on earth are 'tater tots'? Spuds of some sort, obviously. Can we just use plain potatoes? Thanks for answering my questions and - Bon Appetit! Erica
Posted by ypsidixit at 10:24 pm | Comments (19)
Influenced by the well-known site "Overheard in New York" there is now "Overheard in Ann Arbor."
Posted by ypsidixit at 12:59 pm | Comments (16)
"TODAY WE SHOT at a motel in Ypsilanti. The script called for a seedy motel and I figured what better place to find one than in Ypsilanti?" asks an Ann Arbor cinematographer.
Posted by ypsidixit at 12:15 pm | Comments (2)
YPSIDIXIT IS TRYING to find information on the annual late-August downtown AA shopping cart race. The grapevine says it's organized by downtown restaurant workers and is part of something called "Seize the Week" or "Punk Week." If any kind reader has any information about this event, or knows whom to pester, I'd be grateful. Thanks.
Posted by ypsidixit at 08:31 am | Comments (4)
27 juni 2006
Victory for Native-Plant People
FELLOW NATIVE PLANT CARETAKERS, good news. Ypsilanti Township is updating its infamous Noxious Weeds ordinance, with which I was nailed twice last year, to NOT include Native Plants!
This means I could rip out my hated front lawn and plant ten million goldenrods if I felt like it, to match the ones hidden in back. Next to the cornfield. Across from the crabapple garden. Nearby the pond and the rapidly disappearing fire pit and the heirloom tomatoes. YES, it's crowded back there. At any rate, gardeners, grab your shovels! Let the sod-destruction begin!
Email from the weed dude, below.
Jason Bibby is the Township's new weed guy ("Mr. Weedy.") He sent the following email to the Wild Ones local email discussion board thingie.
***
We will be discussing at our next Water Conservation
Advisory Commission a revision to our weed ordinance
to not include native plantings as noxious weeds. We
can then recommend Township Board to approve the
amendment to the ordinance.
We would welcome you to attend this meeting at the
Township Civic Center on the first floor on July 10th
at 7pm during the public participation period.
Posted by ypsidixit at 02:55 pm | Comments (15)
Rec Park Three Sisters Garden Update!
A KIND READER sends some cool pictures of the exciting new Three Sisters Garden at Rec Park! Check it out. Here's how it looked when it was just finished, which I believe was just about a week ago. I count 20 mounds. To examine the li'l cornies as they looked last night, see "Continue Reading."
Y's own garden is rocketing skywards. I just hoed it last night. The sunflowers are bursting up, with the corn close behind. The squash is just poking out its first new cute li'l toenail-sized leaves. Beans AWOL (dopey beans).
Posted by ypsidixit at 12:41 pm | Comments (11)
SOME LOSER broke into Oz's Music Sunday and stole a ton of guitars (listed with serial numbers, in "Continue Reading").
We had a break-in sometime late Sunday night. Here's a list of guitars that were stolen, although I'm still in the process of doubling checking all that is gone. I'll post more as I sort it all out. Contact me at mickey@ozmusic.com
Thanks,
Mickey
Oh yeah, if everyone could pass this list on to all the stores and pawns in their area, that would be great.
I've already covered the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area.
List of Instruments Stolen from OZ's Music 6/26/06
Godin Montreal - Natural, serial .. 06284205
Godin Flat Five - Lightburst, serial .. S04435580
Godin Multiac Duet Nylon String Electric/Acoustic Guitar, serial .. S03112101F
Godin Freeway Classic Leaftop Lightburst Flame, serial .. 05262592
Godin LGXT-SA Electric Guitar - Cognac Burst Flame, serial .. 05326471
Godin Freeway SA Electric Guitar - Black, serial .. 05453400
Godin Triumph Electric Guitar - Silver Sparkle, serial .. 06353265
Godin Acousticaster 6 Electric/Acoustic Guitar- Natural, serial .. 06315267
Dean Vendetta 4.0 Electric Guitar -Tigers Eye, serial .. US05121156
Dean Hardtail Select Electric Guitar Brazilliaburst, serial .. E091369
Brian Moore i8 Quilt Top Electric Guitar - Natural, serial .. M00046436
Dean Dimebag Tribute - Black, serial .. 0541581
Dean Dimebag Tribute - Dime-O-Flage, serial .. 0548730
Kustom DART10FX Electric Guitar Practice Amplifier, serial .. 0606-002413
Kustom DART10FX Electric Guitar Practice Amplifier, serial .. 0606-002414
Kustom DART10FX Electric Guitar Practice Amplifier, serial .. 0606-002433
Kustom DART10FX Electric Guitar Practice Amplifier, serial .. 0606-002434
Posted by ypsidixit at 08:01 am | Comments (11)
26 juni 2006
WEIGH IN, BUS PEOPLE: d'you like the New Bell?
Posted by ypsidixit at 07:34 pm | Comments (6)
A FINICKY LOCAL MAIDEN isn't completely pleased with the courtship techniques of Ypsilanti men.
Posted by ypsidixit at 12:49 pm | Comments (13)
"FOR A WHILE I thought he was this high class pimp but then realized that they don't have high class pimps in ypsilanti."
Posted by ypsidixit at 10:06 am | Comments (1)
Examining Elvisfest
A KIND READER WRITES:
"Just perused the July Depot Town Rag. The front page states a claim that "All profits from the festival are donated to charity." Elvisfest is a nonprofit, and as such is not supposed to have "profits". However, to give the impression that they actually support charaties with the money they generate, the Depot Town Association listed, bullet by bullet, where the dough goes:
"The first two bullet points were transitional housing and summer camps for poor children: The reality is that Michigan Elvisfest has to purchase a $5000 license from Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE) to conduct the festival using Elvis' name, likeness, and catch phrases ("thank you very much", etc). EPE, in turn, directs a portion of proceeds from the license revenue to a cause called "Presley Place", a transitional home for kids that also operates summer camps. In short, Michigan Elvisfest is not donating to Presley Place, they are buying a license to make money.
"The next three bullets have to do with playgrounds, city park improvements and public projects. In reality, that is the money Elvisfest pays the City of Ypsi for the use of Riverside park, the public utilities, police protection, etc. Though the city is in bad financial shape, it is still not a bonafide charity.
"The last two bullet points, FAN donation of stuffed toys, phone cards and miscellaneous items to Mott Childrens Hospital and the Salvation Army, has absolutely nothing to do with any monetary donation from Michigan Elvisfest, and as such, should not even be included in the list. The FANS donate these items.
"In summary, All of this begs the question... What does the DTA and Elvisfest do with the six-figure profits they receive from the gate, beer sales, concession sales and now.... gambling profits? Now I said profits, not gross, but net.
"Anybody out there know? You really should care, as somebody might be pocketing a ton of money out of this, and cheating the government out of its due, which cheats all of us."
Posted by ypsidixit at 08:38 am | Comments (47)
25 juni 2006
The Porta-Pup 2000
YPSIDIXIT'S RESOURCEFUL AND GENEROUS adventurous friend stopped by yesterday with an amazing present: the Porta-Pup 2000!
The Porta-Pup 2000 is an ingenious device allowing you to port your pup to baseball games, cultural events, and outdoor festivals. Rugged, yet sturdy, this compact yet spacious and aerodynamic yet boxy Porta-Pup can also carry big bags of mulch or dog food, a small tree, or all your gear for floatin'.
Here you can see Clover looking singularly unenthusiastic about riding in the Porta-Pup. This, from a dog who spins around in delirious circles when asked, "You wanna go in the car?" Faced with the prospect of a pleasant jaunt through my neighborhood, she expressed glum disinterest and in fact is so miffed in this photo that she wouldn't even look at me for the snapshot. She'll come around.
Meanwhile, Y. is now even more ruggedly self-reliant than ever! Following in the steps of her hardy pioneer forefathers, she plans to haul home dirt, mulch, groceries, rock salt, charcoal briquets, potting soil, firewood, plants, turkeys, lemon trees, Miracle-Gro, camping supplies, more mulch, and a thousand and one other things, thanks to her adventurous friend! Yay!
More photos for your scrutiny in "Continue Reading."
Rear view of the Porta-Pup 2000. Clover has already jumped out and scurried away before I could coax her into a little twirl through the neighborhood. Some dogs don't know what's good for them.
Good-sized yet large, the Porta-Pup 2000 offers a big cargo area. It also converts to a jogging stroller, which will come in mighty handy when I have my twelve kids. Let blessings rain down like hailstones upon my generous adventurous friend!
Posted by ypsidixit at 01:08 pm | Comments (13)
24 juni 2006
YPSIDIXIT is taking a break from weed removal, mowing, and pruning to listen to an interview with Mayor Hieftje on the Ted Heusel show on WAAM. The Mayor discusses transportation problems and indicated that there's an east-west light rail line in the works between Ypsi and Ann Arbor. If successful, he says, it could remove 2-3,000 cars from Washtenaw Avenue every day and drastically relieve downtown AA parking congestion. He also discussed plans for a rail line up to Brighton for commuters living there. Everything old is new again; sounds like the return of the old Ypsi-AA streetcar system, which Y. hopes to see in her lifetime.
Posted by ypsidixit at 03:26 pm | Comments (10)
Autoemoticons
A NEW INVENTION allows drivers to send emoticons or brief text messages--some obscene--to the driver behind them.
This is a terrible idea for at least four reasons. First, an obscene message helps coarsen society a tiny bit more. Second, an obscene message may also fan the flames of road rage and result in greater aggression. Third, the driver fiddling with the signalling controls is probably at least as distracted as someone using a cell phone, resulting in unsafe driving. Last, there's always the possibility that he driver hits the wrong little button and instead of sending a thank you sends a nasty message. It's a bad idea to anger someone who may be a violent or unstable person. Y. hopes this invention dies a quiet death but suspects it'll catch on like wildfire.
Posted by ypsidixit at 11:16 am | Comments (14)
23 juni 2006
Friday Open Mike
Just under the wire. Vacation plans, floatin' plans, cookin' plans, a whole lovely weekend of beautiful weather stretched out before us--the topic's up to you.
Posted by ypsidixit at 11:32 pm | Comments (5)
YPSIDIXIT and her adventurous friend hit the road to Toledo for a belated Father's Day cookout, lugging about 30 pounds of food and ice in a big cooler in the trunk. Along the way, we sight-saw. We stopped in the little cemetery off Dennison Road out in the country where I'd rested on my bike trip to Toledo last year. We examined the graves. Many Dennisons and Cones (Cone Road is nearby) and Kempfs; we wondered if the latter were distant kin to the Ann Arbor Kempfs. We examined one distinctive log-shaped grave by the mysterious log-grave artist whose work may be seen here, in Stony Creek Cemetery, and in Highland Cemetery. Shaped like a realistic six-foot-high log, the work appeared to be made of cast concrete--yet showed no signs of age.
We wandered on to Petersburgh and stopped to drift about. We visited an antiques shop and cruised the "downtown," consisting of a True Value, two churches, and "My Dad's Place Restaurant." It is a sleepy small town.
We passed many corn and wheat fields and arrived home. We had fun visiting with Mom and Pop, who expressed interest in the novelty of the cheese-filled brats I'd brought. I grilled brats for them and Turkey Burgers for my friend and I. We also had tater salad and regular salad. We sat near the bird feeder in my folks' big 2-acre woodsy backyard and a chorus of birds at a radius of about 20 feet scolded us unremittingly for being too close to the feeder, as a downy woodpecker pecked nonchalantly at the suet cakes.
We laughed a lot and had fun. I'd bought a "Crenshaw," which had been in the melon section of Kroger's but appeared to be a large gourd. I'd chosen it instead of watermelon or cantaloupe because I was curious. It turned out to be a fine, mellow, soft orange melon, softer than a 'loupe and fine-flavored. Very nice. It had a big cavity in the middle which we decided would be handy if one wanted to smuggle liquor as a bootlegger; just load up the syringe and fill up the Crenshaw.
Sunlight played in the leaves.
On the way back, bearing the gift of a pot of canna lilies, Y. relaxed and watched the bright yellow wheat fields and the deep green corn. She observed the setting sun lighting up the tips of her friend's camel-like brown eyelashes and making a corona of light around the edge of his face. Y. and friend talked and laughed back to Ypsi as the sun set. It was a day of quiet rural graves, things left unsaid, and sunlit fields stretching to the far horizon.
Posted by ypsidixit at 09:49 pm | Comments (16)
22 juni 2006
Weekend Book Ration
YPSIDIXIT stopped off at the Cross Street Book Shop to pick up the weekend book ration and chat with Sheridan.
"Empire Falls" by Richard Russo. Dreams die hard in a small Maine town. Pulitzer Prize winner! Thanks to Lynne for the recommendation!
"Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition" by Owen Beattie and John Geiger. A gripping forensic account of a 1980s scientific exhumation of the Arctic graves of the Franklin Expedition dead. Lots of truly grisly photos--yeeoow! Looks gripping.
"The Great Divide: Second Thoughts on the American Dream" by Studs Terkel. Can't go wrong with Studs Terkel.
"The Known World" by Edward P. Jones. Acclaimed historical novel about slavery in Virginia. Pulitzer Prize winner! This book has gotten so much buzz I just had to check it out.
"The Women of Whitechalpel and Jack the Ripper" by Paul West. Y. is interested in learning more about the crimes, and this book, despite cheesy cover art, has very good reviews on the back from reputable publications.
"Arctic Journeys" by Edward Shackleton. Minutely detailed account of a 1930s Arctic journey by the famous explorer's son. Packed with fascinating information such as: the best method for hitching up dogs, how to build an igloo, and Arctic food storage tips--just the sort of details Y. simply must know! (I've already learned how to hook up dogs correctly!)
I looked for the West Virginia: A History for Beginners book to no avail, but learned that it is one of a bicentennial series of state histories and that Michigan's own Bruce Catton wrote the Michigan volume.
Posted by ypsidixit at 08:24 pm | Comments (1)
Reading Roundup
Note: I have temporarily taken down the book pictures since they will not load on my slow home computer. I'll replace them Monday.
WHAT ARE YOU READING? Y. is always fascinated to learn what kind readers are reading. Tell me your current book and I'll post the cover here. Y. is tremendously curious to know.
I'm currently reading a book about Polar exploration, "The Arctic Grail," by Pierre Berton. This thrilling, engaging book traces the history of exploration around the North Pole. The book details the decades-long saga of the Franklin exploration, and the arsenic poisoning of Captain Hall. It sweeps the reader into the bleak snowy regions where the only sound is the scrape of a sledge runner over pebbles, as it's desperately jerked along by a man weak with scurvy. Gripping.
Posted by ypsidixit at 09:43 am | Comments (56)
21 juni 2006
Posted by ypsidixit at 04:57 pm | Comments (10)
Outdated, Depressing Amusements
THE CARSON AND BARNES CIRCUS is coming to Manchester July 28, to Y.'s intense annoyance. For God's sake. Haven't we evolved beyond such outdated, tawdry amusements? Oh, their site goes on and on about how well they treat their animals--knowing human nature, Y. is deeply suspicious of these rosy reassurances.
Y. would be totally depressed to see the animals in the show. Like a zoo, a circus is outdated and embarrassing evidence that at one time we had primitive ideas about our relationship to animals. Repellant.
Posted by ypsidixit at 12:02 pm | Comments (12)
MONGOLIAN BBQ'S is coming to Michigan Ave September 1, as City Manager Ed Koryzno describes a perhaps illusory "new level of energy on Michigan Ave." I presume he means a higher level of energy. Y. has not noticed any perceptible change in the desultory level of energy on Michigan Ave. Story.
Posted by ypsidixit at 10:22 am | Comments (33)
20 juni 2006
Voice Recognition Software
YPSIDIXIT suggested the possibility of using VRS to her boss today, and it turns out this suggestion has raised all sorts of interesting issues about the process of writing and the difference between writing and speech.
VRS transforms spoken words into computer text on a screen. It also responds to verbal commands such as "delete." It is widely used for medical and legal transcriptions and for real-time TV news banners.
Y.'s job consists of writing, digging around in computer archives, and research, in roughly equal measure. Though I'd thought VRS would streamline and quicken the writing process, once the technology is mastered, it was pointed out to me that it would only externalize the mental process of translating thought into the sort of writing that would satisfy a reader's expectations.
However, speech is much more verbose, repetitive, and redundant than writing. VRS would serve only to throw the whole glob of mentally undigested word-goo onto the screen, where it might be even more cumbersome to handle. On the other hand, Y. is a highly visual learner, so it might be easier to actually see the word-goo instead of trying to mold it in my mind.
A parallel between speech and typical blog-style writing was drawn--and it was pointed out that most blog-style writing would never be good enough to publish, however enjoyable it might be.
Y. needs to do a whole lot more research before committing someone else's money to this project. She'd also like to ask kind readers if this game is worth the candle, in their valued opinions. Thanks.
Posted by ypsidixit at 12:03 pm | Comments (15)
Echoes of the Doomed Franklin Expedition
"Bob Dylan's Dream," a ballad about lost friends, is rooted in the doomed 1840s Arctic expedition that devolved into cannibalism, the famed Franklin expedition to find a Northwest Passage.
"Bob Dylan's Dream" is based on the ballad "Lord Franklin," recorded in the 1960s by Martin Carthy. Dylan borrowed the melody, and also the lyrics structure; note the similarity of the last stanzas:
Lord Franklin:
And now my burden it gives me pain
For my long-lost Franklin I would cross the main
Ten thousand pounds I would freely give
To know on earth, that my Franklin do live.
Bob Dylan's Dream:
I wish, I wish, I wish in vain,
That we could sit simply in that room again.
Ten thousand dollars at the drop of a hat,
I'd give it all gladly if our lives could be like that.
More Franklin songs, and more about the tragic and gripping Franklin expedition and reasons for its failure, plus links to gorgeous period engravings, more links to explore, and photos of the modern gravesite, below.
Another factor some point to as the culprit in the loss of the 129 lives was putrid tinned meats, sealed in lead-soldered cans. The science of tinning was in its infancy, and here's what the British Admiralty found when they checked some tins in 1852:
"The following reports were made in reference to some of the cases opened, and these applied, with some unimportant variations, to the great majority of those condemned as "bad:" -- "5 1/4 lb. of heart, tongue, and garbage (the whole being in a putrid state); "ligaments and tendons;" "a whole kidney perfectly putrid;" "a mass of pulp" (this description was given of numbers of cases); "putrid--quite green;" "3 lb. of heart and half a pound of tendon;" "one half tongue, palate, and tendon -- all putrid" (this was also a frequent description); "lumps of tallow, each a half a pound weight;" "a whole kidney, with tongue, palate, and tendon -- all putrid;" "roots of tongue and large quantities of coagulated blood!" "putrid, one mass of corruption;" "bad -- quantities of offal;" "tongue" (this was certainly not a bullock's -- it was considered to be either a sheep's or a dog's tongue);" "tallow, an entire tongue quite rotten, and garbage" (in this canister there was not a quarter of a pound of beef); "putrid tongue and palate, and 1 lb. of ligament;" "all tongue in a frightfully putrid state"
"The large quantity of of 306 canisters was opened on Tuesday, averaging full 10 lb. weight each, and the following were the practical results arrived at:
Unfit Eatable
264cans 42cans
2640lbs 420lbs
The stench arising from the examination of such a mass of putridity was so great, that it was impossible for the officials to carry out their duty without frequent and copious supplies of chloride of lime to the floor. Now and then a canister would emit such an odious stench as to cause all operations to be suspended for some minutes, and one was so overpowering that the examiners and their assistants had to beat a hasty retreat from the room . . .
* * * * * * *
And those are the dainties that Franklin took when he headed off to find the Northwest passage. Another possible culprit in the weakening of the men is lead poisoning. The tins of the day were soldered with plenty of lead, because lead was easy to work with. Post mortem examinations of one dead expedition member's hair reveals lead contents over 200 times the safe limit.
Read the 1854 debate between armchair quarterback Charles Dickens, who did his best to argue away the possibility that the men ate each other (heaven forbid this national embarrassment!), and tough, resourceful courier de bois-adventurer John Rae, who discovered the bodies.
Posted by ypsidixit at 08:11 am | Comments (7)
19 juni 2006
Klimt Sells for 104 Million: Condi Rice Portrait Acquired by MOMA
A Klimt stolen by the Nazis during the war and returned to its owner only after a years-long court battle recently sold for an alleged 104 million. Klimt drew inspiration for this painting, and I imagine all the other goldy swirly dreamy ones, from a visit to the murals at Ravenna, Italy. The work is said to be the most valuable painting ever sold.
Or is it? The MOMA recently acquired this lovely portrait, for reasons unknown. This work does nothing for me. And isn't it really crude and amateurish-looking? What's with the bizarre cropping? Bleah.
The Belgian artist, Luc Tuymans, is said to be perhaps the most influential one in his generation. Clearly I'm missing something, as usual.
Posted by ypsidixit at 04:29 pm | Comments (6)
CANE TOAD UPDATE: Desperate, Australia is now calling out its army.
Posted by ypsidixit at 02:13 pm | Comments (2)
Let's Talk Scurvy
ONE INTERESTING PARALLEL between Jonathan Raban's "Bad Land" and Roland Huntford's outstanding "Scott and Amundsen," both of which I read last week, is the appearance of scurvy, a disease caused by a Vitamin C deficiency (the body can only store Vitamin C for 3 months).
Scurvy struck homesteaders out West due to a limited diet, especially when just starting up homesteading, and the lack of knowledge of vitamins, which weren't discovered until well into the 20th century. Scurvy struck Scott's men, but not Amundsen's, due to Scott's poorer rations (and Amundsen's consumption of fresh dog meat). On the fatal walk back from their defeat at the Pole, scurvy struck Scott's party. One of the men, whose leg was one inch shorter than the other due to an old, healed thigh wound, watched his would unheal and reopen--a queer characteristic of scurvy. Scurvy was probably a factor in the men's deaths, not to mention Scott's chronic and astonishing ineptness.
Y. has been scared straight. She took 2 vitamins this morning and for lunch hied over to the Co-Op for a box of strawberries and 2 oranges for lunch, which were delicious. Yes sir, no scurvy here, yet (shudders).
Posted by ypsidixit at 01:00 pm | Comments (6)
Changes in the Catholic Mass
Y. was fascinated to learn that the Mass will be changed so that its English version will be brought more closely in line with the original meaning of the Latin words. Some clunkiness results. For example, the familiar greeting-and-response between priest and congregation of "The Lord be with you/and also with you" will change to "The Lord be with you/and with your spirit." Instead of saying the pre-Communion prayer "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you," churchgoers will say, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof." Which doesn't make sense, really, since at that moment you're under God's roof, i.e., the church. Whatever. The Vatican mandated these changes, which were approved by a meeting of bishops in L.A. last week, 173 for and 29 against. Ypsidixit would love to know what her kind Catholic readers think of these changes. Story.
Posted by ypsidixit at 08:10 am | Comments (16)
Floatin'
YPSIDIXIT had the good fortune today to get out on the river and spend the day doing what she most likes to do, which is floatin'.
Y. and friend passed some canoers on their way downstream. On seeing Y. at the oars, they jocularly asked of Y.'s companion, "Haven't you had breakfast?" After which point Y.'s companion made a point of rowing, to Y.'s delight--she lolled in earnest. Y. examined the clouds and shoreline trees, like this sycamore.
Y. and friend headed up to Dixboro Dam, passing under these bridges en route.
We moored at Dixboro Dam and enjoyed tea and trail mix. Casting off, we glided down the river at river-speed, enjoying the green vistas.
The lilypads were blooming, in creamy blossoms hearted with yellow. Y. and friend soaked in the beauty.
Posted by ypsidixit at 12:19 am
17 juni 2006
THE THREE COMMANDMENTS: Stephen Colbert's guest the other night was Georgia congressman Lynn Westmoreland, who is co-sponsoring a bill to get the 10 commandments displayed in the House of Representatives. When Colbert asks him to name them, he cannot. Video (scroll down a tad).
Posted by ypsidixit at 12:18 pm
YPSIDIXIT WAS ALARMED to receive an email from a friend at Cobblestone yesterday showing that the corn he'd planted there was already almost knee high--and much bigger than Ypsidixit's! So much for my farmin' prowess. Well, the season's just begun, and I have fish emulsion on my side, yes, sir.
I planted my beans and squash yesterday, in alternating humps. 3 kinds of heirloom beans: one Native American yellow soup bean, the Burgundy Imperial (purple beans are fun), and the famed, peach-colored Hutterite Bean, brought to our shores by wild-eyed religious fanatics in the 1620s. The squash, "Lakota," is another Native American heirloom. We're on our way!
Posted by ypsidixit at 10:59 am | Comments (16)
16 juni 2006
KIND READERS, please obtain a copy of Jonathan Raban's "Bad Land: An American Romance" and read it. Just trust me on this. It's so good I came within a whisker of not getting off the bus at my stop. It's so good, I was using a receipt for a bookmark and I found so many new words and poetic passages I ripped it into shreds to mark the pages--and then had to rip the shreds carefully into half. It's so good that my coworker spotted it sitting on my desk and within two minutes of reading the cover blurbs, arranged to borrow it. It's John McPhee mixed with Faulkner and it's the best book I've read this year--and I'm only a third of the way through it. Anyways. Worth a read to say the least.
Posted by ypsidixit at 09:35 am | Comments (5)
Open Mike Friday
UP TO YOU. The book on your nightstand? Plans to go to Top of the Park at its opening night tonight? Father's Day gift ideas? Chat away!
Posted by ypsidixit at 08:46 am | Comments (7)
15 juni 2006
YPSIDIXIT stopped off at the Cross Street Book Shop to yak with Sheridan and pick up a supply of books for the weekend.
"The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the Northwest Passage and the North Pole, 1818-1909" by Pierre Berton.
Y. is currently reading a book very much like this one, called "Fatal North." But I never tire of the subject, and the blurbs on this one hint that it will be entertaining and fun.
"Scott and Amundsen: The Race to the South Pole" by Roland Huntford.
Y. just finished reading an illustrated book of Scott's diary entries earlier this week. But I never tire of the subject, and this looks great.
"Tent Life in Siberia" by George Kennan.
A fascinating 1860s account of the ill-fated attempt to link America and Europe via telegraph line strung through Siberia. The writer was a member of the Russo-American Telegraph Company. Y. never even knew about this venture. How can I be middle-aged and so blessed ignorant?
"Bad Land: An American Romance" by Jonathan Raban.
This is a book about the early 20th century settlement of Montana--and how most of them failed, and why. Sounds fascinating.
"Coal Miner's Daughter" by Loretta Lynn.
Y. loves stories about people from desperate backgrounds who rise to success yet never forget their roots. I also want to learn more about poverty in rural Appalachia. Looks good.
"Lolita" by Nabokov.
Unbelievably, I've never read it. "Filling in the gaps of my education" category.
Posted by ypsidixit at 08:24 pm | Comments (7)
14 juni 2006
YPSIDIXIT was lucky to receive a letter from her dad today. In it, he describes buying a copy of Brokeback Mountain and watching it. He praises the movie for three paragraphs, singling out the cinematography, the poignancy, and the strength of the story. He dwelt on the theme of a single moment changing the rest of a person's life, adding, "it may be the best movie I've ever seen."
This is the same 79-year-old who went to go see Eminem's 8 Mile, because he thought, correctly, that that movie also had something important to say.
It's pretty damn cool when one's almost-octogenarian pop continues to serve as an example of an open-minded thinker willing to explore new things that were anathema in his formative years back in 1930s Baltimore. Man, do I admire and love him.
Y. has a trillion pressing things to do this evening, but I think the first thing will be to get a stamp and an envelope and sit down with some note-paper.
Posted by ypsidixit at 07:36 pm | Comments (9)
Ann Arbor Invades Moss Island
Ann Arbor is planning new canoe trips from Gallup to Peninsular Park. This means that hordes of Ann Arborites--bless 'em--will be cruising the fertile carp fields around my beloved Moss Island and coating the surface of one particular stretch of river between Dixboro Dam and Superior Pond that is currently owned by Y. and two of her friends. More or less. The quiet of Lily Pad Inlet? Gone. The peaceful hum of the sewer plant? Shattered by cell phone conversations. The mossiness of my Moss Island? Ripped into shreds by curious moss-gatherers. Floaters! What can be done? Possible solutions range from a series of underwater mines just east of Dixboro Dam to a fake barrier rope blocking the river festooned with signs warning about Wendigo sightings. Help!
Posted by ypsidixit at 12:54 pm | Comments (7)
Mealworms Up For Grabs
YPSIDIXIT is taking a moment from a frenzied early morning to note that some mealworms just squirmed onto Freecycle, "still good for a reptile pet or other usage," says the generous giver. Other usage? Maybe for sprinkling on one's spouse's scrambled eggs, in an ill-advised prank? Or humanely freeing them into the wild? Or, if they were raised in captivity, perhaps establishing a mini mealworm sanctuary where they can live out their tiny mealworm lives in peace and freedom. You could be the lucky recipient--if you act fast!
Posted by ypsidixit at 08:26 am | Comments (3)
13 juni 2006
The Ill-Fated Voyage of the Edmund Ratzgerald
BROUGHT TO YOU by the Chicago Freakbike folks, whose ingenuity and lightheartedness delight Y. The story.
Posted by ypsidixit at 12:48 pm
AATA Board Meeting August 23
A KIND READER WRITES:
"You are probably aware that the AATA Board of Directors rejected the 25 cent fare increase requested by the Ypsilanti City Council. The Board did promise to pick up the remaining cost of the service that Ypsi stated that they could not pay. That is o.k. for next year but the year after that Ypsi has zero dollars allocated for transportation. I know you are trying to get a vote on the ballot for dedicated transportation dollars from the City of Ypsilanti and I do support that initative. However, I am asking you to put out the word to the people affiliated with keep Ypsi rolling to come to the next AATA Board meeting and let the board know that we do not appreciate the board putting the future of our service in jeopardy by refusing to consider a much needed fare increase. I feel that they are putting all of Ypsi and the surrounding townships service in a precarious state as they are forcing the townships to pay a higher amount for their service and those townships possibly pulling the service out of their townships. Please pass the word along as I believe the only way the board will reverse their decision will be based on the word of the people. I believe without the needed fare increase, services and routes provided by the AATA will start getting cut and a 25 cents fare increase is a lot less than the cost of cab fare."
Posted by ypsidixit at 12:32 pm
12 juni 2006
The Poisonous Mulberry
IT'S MULBERRY SEASON IN MICHIGAN--if you're tempted to eat the berries, be careful. Mulberries are poisonous trees in all of their parts and unripe fruit can cause extreme sickness, nausea, dizziness, and hallucinations. One survivor's tale of woe.
Posted by ypsidixit at 12:32 pm | Comments (21)
IN THE GRIM AFTERMATH of the Panic of 1893, smallpox struck Ypsilanti, closely followed by one of the roving bands of unemployed men then roaming the nation. Both were rebuffed.
Dr. Edward Batwell was walking down a street in Ypsilanti on the morning of Wednesday, June 20, 1894, when he noticed a man who was peculiarly blotchy. The doctor examined and questioned the man, who was named John Harris, and quickly determined that Harris had smallpox.
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Batwell ordered Harris back to the place where he was staying, which was in the McAndrew building in the alley behind King's store.
Smallpox was one of the most dreaded plagues in the history of the world. An infectious viral disease, it caused fever and then a rash that blistered and dried up, leaving disfiguring scars. It was carried to the Western Hemisphere by Europeans in the 1500s, and devastated the Native American population, which had no resistance. The discovery of smallpox in Ypsilanti was cause for concern.
The city health officer was immediately notified, and the alley was quarantined so no one could enter or leave. A number of people lived in the same building, so work began at once to vaccinate every one of them. That evening, Harris was removed to a place in the southern part of the city called the hogback, where he could be kept away from others.
When Batwell first saw Harris, he had only seven or eight sores on his face. By noon, Harris had 100 sores.
"Harris, it seems, comes to Ypsilanti off and on, and several of his acquaintances stated this morning that he was mingling with people on the streets yesterday and in fact was a spectator in Justice Bogardus' court yesterday. There is no telling how many persons have been exposed and the doctors will probably be kept busy for the next few days vaccinating people,'' reported The Washtenaw Evening Times of Wednesday, June 20, 1894.
"The condition of Harris, the smallpox patient, is now precarious,'' the Times reported on Friday, June 22, 1894. "The pustules having become confluent, and the chances are very slim for his recovery. The people of the city or rather the greater portion of them, have been either vaccinated this year or during the past seven years, except those who have had the varioloid or the genuine articles itself, and the precautions taken by the board of health will probably prevent any spread of the disease.''
"In the case of the man Harris, which has started all the excitement, I do not look for any spread of the disease,'' Batwell told the Times for a story that ran Saturday, June 23, 1894. "His condition was not such as to warrant the belief that he could communicate it prior to the action of the board of health in the case.''
The Times of Friday, June 29, 1894, noted that 10 days had passed since the people in the quarantined area had been exposed to smallpox: "It takes from nine to 15 days for the loathsome disease to manifest itself from the time of exposure and as yet there is no indication of its having been spread.'' The account also noted that Harris was doing well and walking about the tent he was living in and was expected to recover soon.
Harris was released from quarantine on the night of July 9, 1894. He was lucky, as he was not too badly pitted about the face. Several precautions were taken as Harris left quarantine, for although smallpox does not easily spread it can survive outside the body, in bedding, for example, for long periods of time. For this reason the tent he had lived in, his clothing, and every object he had used during his quarantine, was burned.
The city bought some new clothing for Harris before his release from quarantine.
James Mann is a local historian, storyteller and author. Mann can be reached at manjam@provide.net.
Posted by ypsidixit at 08:47 am | Comments (3)
11 juni 2006
YPSIDIXIT was tidily sweeping off the porch of her one-room log cabin overlooking the Huron River when she spotted the bottle. It came drifting downstream. Y. took the leaf-strewn path down to the shore and snagged it with a stick. It was a whiskey bottle, with a note inside. Y. teased out the note with a twig.
DINNER SUNDAY scrawled in magenta elderberry ink.
Y. recognized the gruff all-caps handwriting, electrified. So he was done trapping and was headed this way! Y. sped back up to her cabin. She killed a chook and plucked it, then fired up the wood stove. Y. fetched some taters from the cellar and ran into the woods to pick a few mushrooms to stuff with roasted garlic pate. She cranked up the victrola and put on a disc of Chopin nocturnes, and kept an eye on the water, which only twinkled enigmatically in the sunlight.
As the taters boiled, Y. heard the scrape of a keel on the pebbly landing. She peeked out--there he was, tying up the canoe. Y. was flustered and excited, and ran out to greet the redoubtable and elusive courier de bois.
Dressed in fringy stained buckskin and toting his rifle, the bearlike yet graceful courier de bois moccasined silently up the path. He walked with Y. into the cabin, lit the candles on Y.'s splintery wooden table, and quietly sipped a beer. Y. set out mashed potatoes, the roasted bird, stuffed mushrooms, and some salad. The courier spoke chillingly of a close call with the Wendigo, and spoke disapprovingly of the drive to dumb down Shakespeare in the schools. He and Y. made short work of the heaps of food.
The courier kindly took a look at Y.'s ancient mule and gave advice on some medicine to charge her up. He accepted some bundles of leftovers for the trail ahead, and a bouquet of flowers from Y.'s gardens for the bud vase in the prow of his canoe, and an envelope of New Yorker cartoons for the long nights by the campfire.
And then he was gone, as silently as he came. His small black silhouette diminished on the moonlit river and rounded the bend. Y. watched him go and lifted one of the remaining beers in a toast to this rugged yet exquisitely gentlemanly and cultured woodsman.
Posted by ypsidixit at 10:14 pm | Comments (9)
10 juni 2006
Last of the Mohicans Irritating
YPSIDIXIT has been essaying to read this book for the entire past week on the bus, but bailed about halfway through. I enjoyed Cooper's subtle and descriptive writing and his observant take on human nature. I just got tremendously irritated at the helpless Caucasians who had no business being in the deep woods. Like the psalm-singer--an airheaded fool of a man if ever there were one. Totally out of touch with his surroundings. Effete fop. Then there's Cora and Alice. Alice especially: Lordy, talk about helpless. Cora at least had some grit and dignity. And presence of mind, like when she tried to break the branches to leave a sign on the trail that they'd been captured. I liked that, though overall she was still too dependent on the menfolk for my tastes. So this is really my problem, not Cooper's, but still--I just couldn't persevere. The three characters I mentioned embodied the lack of rapport with the land that in a nutshell ultimately leads to strip malls and suburbs. I thought it ludicrous that they were surrounded by the Sacred, which is to say the woods, and yet were blind to that, singing hymns instead. At any rate, I reshelved LOTM and picked up my old reliable Faulkner for today's bus-ride to work and was instantly immersed in a cinematic swirl of wild spotted horses and flinty-eyed, gingersnap-eating Texas con artists. Much better.
Posted by ypsidixit at 02:11 pm | Comments (8)
09 juni 2006
U-M Credit Union Data Stolen: Fake Credit Cards Opened
WHOA. The U-M Credit Union confirmed on Thursday that a data theft last summer that is said to have not been discovered till this past March may have resulted in thousands of Credit Union customers becoming the victims of identity theft.
Quite the time lag, there, between the theft and the 1. alleged discovery and 2. announcement. 5,000 records were stolen--they think. The exact number is unknown. "In most cases, the stolen information was used to open credit card accounts." Great. Given that they don't know the exact number of stolen records, wouldn't it have been better to have been a bit quicker with a public announcement, so that other customers could take steps to protect their identity?
Sheesh. It's to the point where it almost seems smarter to keep one's moolah under a mattress--one strategically covered with cat poop to dissuade thieves.
Posted by ypsidixit at 12:48 pm | Comments (13)
08 juni 2006
Friday Open Mike
It's up to you. Garden progress? Boyfriend troubles? The Herculean struggle to get rid of a 1986 truck? Whatever you want to chat about; it's OK by me.
Posted by ypsidixit at 10:58 pm | Comments (17)
Urgent Mattress Question!
A KIND READER sends a desperate plea for mattress-buying advice--he's going shopping tonight, so time is running out! Other kind readers! Can we tap the hive mind for the submerged pool of Ypsi-related mattress knowledge? OK, there aren't submerged pools in hives. Whatever. Mattress info, please! THE REQUEST:
"[we] are intending to go mattress shopping tonight - we've been roughing it on couches the past few days. This obviously isn't a task anybody does with great regularity...Google tells me there's a "Family Mattress & Furniture Company" on Michigan Ave, just east of Ford Blvd. That's kinda your side of town, right? Any idea whether that's a place worth trying?"
Posted by ypsidixit at 03:08 pm | Comments (9)
Borders Bloodletting
YPSIDIXIT was sorry to hear of the jobs eliminated at Borders yesterday. The papers say 90 downtown jobs were killed; someone Y. knows who's closer to the situation says it was 130 jobs. The reasons for this move seem murky to Y.; to quote the article linked above:
The company also corrected its first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, resulting in a 31-cent-a-share loss instead of the 29-cent-a-share loss reported May 23. The mistake occurred in the first quarter of 2005 with an error in how gross margin in the international division was calculated. The layoffs are not connected to the earnings correction, Borders officials said. Borders said the first-quarter loss resulted from a challenging sales environment and costs associated with initiatives to boost future sales, including a new loyalty program. Sales for the quarter were $860 million, a 1.5% increase from the first quarter of 2005.
But,
Borders superstore sales at stores open at least a year were up 0.7% during the first quarter.
Or was it the decline in the music sales that led to this? It's unclear. At any rate, Y. feels bad for those who lost their job...and fondly and nostalgically remembers the old store on State Street.
Posted by ypsidixit at 08:11 am | Comments (22)
07 juni 2006
Three Sisters Project
YPSIDIXIT'S THREE-SISTERS GARDEN is coming along. My corn and sunflower sprouts are about 5 inches high. By this weekend, they should be the requisite 6 inches high, when the companion beans and squash can be planted in alternating mounds. I can't wait. I have a selection of heirloom beans and squash seeds to plant. The late spring rains have been marvelously cooperative this year and have helped enormously. Here's a picture of one representative mound.
Lessons learned thus far:
1. Dogs and fish-impregnated gardens don't mix. Keep the doggie otherwise occupied.
2. Broken soaker hoses can be replaced with one male and one female hose clamp insert thingie from Meijer's.
3. There is nothing more worth doing than quietly hoeing your garden of an evening; when you grow a garden, you also grow yourself.
Posted by ypsidixit at 08:44 pm | Comments (7)
THE YPSI CITY COUNCIL has voted 5-2 to not permit chickens in the city. The two pro-chickie votes came from Barry LaRue and Lois Richardson. Ypsidixit is imagining a tear welling up in a poor, lonely, homeless hen's beady little eye as her wattles quiver in sadness. Ach...poor chickies! No homes in Ypsi for you!
Posted by ypsidixit at 01:38 pm | Comments (23)
RAISED WITH DOGS, one British sheep is firmly convinced that she, too, is a dog. She fearlessly runs doggie agility courses, herds ducks, and knocks with her head on her owner's door promptly at evening TV time (she especially likes TV sports games). Story.
Posted by ypsidixit at 12:53 pm | Comments (1)
New Tuesday KeyBank Market
YPSI has a new Farmer's Market from 3 to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, in addition to its regular Wednesday and Saturday times. Said to be organized by Project Grow, the market is in the KeyBank parking lot just off Michigan Ave. Shoppers may use credit cards at this market, which offers a similar array of items as at the Saturday market.
Posted by ypsidixit at 12:03 pm | Comments (6)
Pity Poor Georgea Kovanis,
...a Freep writer assigned to today's Ikea store opening beat. Her bulletins every half hour, growing increasingly terse and studded with such semi-sloppy writing as "a radio guy," reveal her feelings about this assignment. Visions of Edward J. Murrow dancing in your head, Ms. K.? Hey, the London blitz ain't got nothing on Motown and Miss Michigan! Story.
Posted by ypsidixit at 08:56 am | Comments (18)
02 juni 2006
A KIND READER sends an image taken from the Detroit web cam showing a spider on the lens...which makes the downtown skyline resemble a cheesy 50s horror movie.
Posted by ypsidixit at 02:39 pm | Comments (5)
Normal Park Garage Sale
This Saturday is the Normal Park-wide garage sale. Normal Park's boundaries are Washtenaw to the north, Congress to the south, Mansfield on the west, and Summit to the east. The sale runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Posted by ypsidixit at 02:07 pm
Open Mike Friday
A comparison of the characters of Thomas Edison and his employee and later nemesis, Nikola Tesla? Peonies? Stargazing from a boat? It's up to you.
Posted by ypsidixit at 08:47 am | Comments (15)
Love is a Dog from Hell
YPSIDIXIT and a tough, yet infinitely gentle voyageur checked out the Eastman Kodak photo exhibit at the UMMA today, the last exhibit before the Museum moves into its temporary quarters as it builds its ugly new addition (a mock-up of which is on display at the museum).
We drifted through the three floors of the exhibit. The boildown: it is like Greenfield Village. A hodgepodge collected by some famous guy, so we're all supposed to ooh and aah. Yes, there were some striking images in the collection. Cultural icons whose meaning is worn thin by retinal overexposure, like the Iwo Jima image and Walker Evans sharecropper portraits and Dorothea Lange's picture of a desperate, worn mom with two children clinging to her. And, as at Greenfield Village, there were some gems, too. I loved one prim, dim daguerrotype showing a scholarly, stern butterfly collector surrounded by artfully arranged cases of butterflies. A series of photos of four sisters taken yearly throughout their lifetime captivated me. A Diane Arbus portrait of a waitress with an impossibly high hairdo echoed in a stuffed poodle next to her proved riveting.
But please. You can invent the box camera, you can be a photo mogul, Eastman, but that doesn't mean your collection adds up to something...coherent. This is a glittering magpie array of big names and a couple duds. No more, no less. It's fun to look at, especially the 19th-century images.
But the highlight was the visitor book. The voyageur and I read with delight "This exhibit is HOT!!!" and "Jamie loves Tyrone" and "This show is tha bomb." Page after page of babbling, semi-coherent comments plastered with plenty of exclamation marks. It was truly hilarious and in fact is an art object unto itself. They should display the pages of the guestbook showing the crazed rainbow of reactions to the exhibit, everything from worshipful adoration to references to cheese doodles. The guestbook itself is worth a visit to the UMMA, even if you don't have time for the show. If nothing else you can read my and the voyageur's comments.
Afterwards the voyageur and Y. wandered to Rich JC's, a Korean restaurant on South U., and gorged on delicious Korean food, served in vast quantities. The voyageur enntertained Y. with riveting stories and sparkling witticisms on the way back to Ypsi and even examined her truck engine with his trusty flashlight. True to his generous nature, he also gave her a book of Bukowski poems and received in return a bag of Korean "Sesame Tradition Candy," one of Y.'s favorites. The shy and reclusive Y. is richly blessed to have such esteemed, fun, generous friends and is humbly grateful.
Posted by ypsidixit at 01:33 am
01 juni 2006
Peninsular Dam Jumper Dies
22-YEAR-OLD CHRISTOPHER COLLINS, A MAN WHO JUMPED into the Peninsular Dam spillway last Saturday, was tumbled around in the tailwater, ended up downstream in extremely critical condition, and was rescued with the help of two EMU students. Despite the efforts of doctors, Collins has died at St. Joe's.
He disappeared into the water right before the eyes of his fiancee. Story.
Posted by ypsidixit at 12:59 pm | Comments (9)
Ypsi Shadow Art Fair July 15: 1 Day, 20 Artists, 9,000 Gallons of Beer
LOCAL BLOGGER MARK MAYNARD is organizing a one-day art fair at the Corner Brewery. He says, "“Ann Arbor has a hugely successful Art Fair each summer, that attracts artists from all over the country. We thought that we’d take the opportunity to show people that there are interesting things taking place all around them, every day of the year. What we’re planning is more than an art fair in a traditional sense. It’s about starting a conversation between people who feel compelled to actively participate in the creation of culture and not just passively absorb it. You can think of it as a DIY (Do It Yourself) fair.”
They're inviting other Ypsi artists to join in and participate--a good way for local artists to get some exposure.Press release and contact info.
Posted by ypsidixit at 12:26 pm | Comments (9)