My friend Mike Ambs, who is presently living in Michigan, working on the editing of his film, Project Pedal, dropped by and shot some footage of last weekend’s Shadow Art Fair. Here’s the finished product, which I think is brilliant.
1 day. 40 artists. 9,000 gallons of beer. from mike ambs ☂ on Vimeo.
I like that he got footage of the setup and breakdown. It’s cool to have that documented.
As most of you probably already know, Ypsi City Council voted 4 to 3 earlier this month to allow the keeping of chickens in downtown Ypsilanti. In order for the legislation to past, however, it has to clear one more hurdle. It has to be voted on by Council a second time. And that vote will be taking place tonight. Word is, though, it might not go down like last time. Specifically, I hear that councilman Bill Nickles, who initially supported the legislation allowing those in homes and duplexes to keep up to four hens, may be wavering. It seems that the pressure from the anti-urban chicken folks has been building over the past few weeks.
On the positive side, I hear that council member Lois Richardson, who didn’t support the legislation initially, may be willing to reconsider once certain amendments are made. And, toward that end, I hear that councilmen Robb and Murdock, proponents of the bill, are presently working on language that would assuage her fears. There’s no reason to think, however, from what I’m told, that Council members Michael Bodary and Trudy Swanson might be similarly open-minded on the issue.
The bottom line is, this is a good thing for Ypsi. And, contrary to what some may think, it’s not a step backward toward hillbillyness. It’s progressive. Folks are even doing it in Ann Arbor, for christsakes. (Ann Arbor’s City Council recently passed an ordinance allowing up to three hens.)
The bottom line is, unless the pro-urban chicken folks get their shit together today, and start making some calls, it doesn’t look as this is going to happen… Here’s a clip from an email that I just received from our friends at Growing Hope:
The chicken ordinance for the City of Ypsi has its second reading & public hearing (tonight) during council. After the first public hearing and vote two weeks ago, it was moving forward and seemed like with a few tweaks, would have enough council support to pass. However, in the meantime, a lot of people, especially in the western part of the city (Normal Park & College Heights) have spoken up against it to their council people and the mayor… there’s been enough opposition that it is now iffy if it has enough support to pass.
The thing about living in a pretty small place is that every email and call to council and mayor has the potential to really count– they really do use the quantity of yays and nays they get on an issue (or at least this one) to decide their vote… and they have not been hearing from enough supporters of chickens. If they don’t hear from enough by (tonight), and during the meeting, the chicken ordinance could be dead.
If you are supportive of chickens in the city, here’s what you need to do (today)– it can take five minutes but is super crucial right now:
1) Write and/or call your council member and express your support. Doesn’t have to be long or creative, just make your voice heard. Two lines is fine, more is even better!
2) Email the mayor also. He wants and needs to hear from people– he also votes on council. His email is mayor@cityofypsilanti.com
3) Show up at council (tonight) and during the public hearing, say a few words.
http://cityofypsilanti.com/bd_city-council has email addresses for the council & the cell phone number for the mayor. Lois Richardson doesn’t do email much– her number is 482-2017. Trudy Swanson’s number is 487-3904.
So, let’s get dialing, Ypsi. If we truly want Ypsi to be a sustainable city, this is a great first step.
Naia Venturi of Ypsilanti’s Dreamland Theater, the recipient of this year’s Shadow Arts Grant, talks to me about the incredibly cool puppet show they’ll be developing with the funds. For those unwilling to watch the video, the $750 they’ve received will be spent creating an ambitious traveling puppet show on the history of Ypsilanti that can be taken into local schools… Thanks to everyone who contributed upon entry to this summer’s Shadow Art Fair. It’s because of those contributions that we can fund worthwhile projects like this.
11:00 Super busy. No time to write…. Someone must have smuggled in a cello or something. I can hear it coming from across the room, and it sounds great.
8:44 I’ve got great videos that I want to post, but it looks like my camera battery has died… I’m pissed off.
6:20 The special Shadow Brew just went on sale and it’s some of the most complex shit I’ve ever tasted. I have no idea what he meant, but, Ryan, one of the guys who made it, told me they outdid themselves this time, by “making it weird… TWICE.” Apparently there are two steps in the process where someone can make beer weird, and they took advantage of both. And it’s sour as hell. Here’s a quick video interview I shot with Ryan in the restroom about 45 minutes ago.
5:16 Someone else came along to match the Mayor’s $2, so I guess some of you are reading this, even though there aren’t any comments…. As of right now, about $25 bucks have been pushed into the Money Hole by the dollar dozer.
3:46 It’s getting crowded now, and kind of hot. And it looks like rain outside. The music is still going on outside, though. A girl is handing out crazy pizza stickers in front of my table. Someone else is shining a light in my eyes from across the room. I’m stuffed on Zingerman’s. I’m happy, but I miss selling stuff. I miss taking people’s money – the feeling of my pocket swelling with cash. So far, I probably have about $10 in donations. I’m going to have to start twisting arms… Oh, there’s also a clown here, walking through the crowd, making balloon animals for people. And there were trumpeters earlier. Five of them made their way through, winding through the crowd like a snake. Lots of good stuff.
2:48 So far, the Twits seem to be on board. Here’s a screen grab from Twitter.
2:30 The Mayor just stopped by the table. He said that he wanted to match the $2 that I already got. I guess he was reading the site… And he did match the $2, by the way.
1:50 It’s almost time for the music to begin. You’d better hurry.
[The folks from Dreamland have a great Michael Jackson puppet… which, apparently, was made prior to his passing.]
12:15 Doors are open. So far, I’ve got $2 in donations toward the Cycle Powered Cinema project. Not bad for the first five minutes. At this rate, I should be able to buy our first generator by the end of the night.
11:30 People are almost setup. Only half an hour until doors open to the public.
11:20 I’m wearing a “volunteer” tag around my neck, on a string. I was just outside, putting up cones so that cars don’t park in the space where bands will be loading and unloading, and a violent gust of wind came along, spinning the tag around like it was the propeller on a rubber band-powered airplane. I’m not exaggerating when I say that the string twisted to the point where it nearly closed off my windpipe. It would have been a stupid way to die, but maybe appropriate.
11:00 People are starting to show up with their stuff. Lots of activity. Lots of good new stuff this time around. I think something like 40% of folks are new vendors.
10:00 This year at the Shadow Art Fair, since I won’t be selling all the regular merchandise (no issues of Crimewave, no My Life In Ypsi Comics, no paintings of unicorn heads, no Ypsipanties, no Iggy shirts, no Monkey Power Trio records), I plan to just hang out and talk with people about the Cycle Powered Cinema project and other stuff. So, I’m hoping that I’ll have time occasionally to update the blog. At least that’s the plan. Right now, the Brewery’s pretty dead… OK, I’ve got to go now and put up a banner for the folks at Zingerman’s, who were nice enough to donate bag lunches for all the Shadow vendors this time around.
If you drop by the Brewery today for the Shadow, drop by my table and say hello. I’ve got the second table on the right, up against the wall, as you walk in. Or, feel free to leave a comment here, and I’ll try to respond.
[The guy who did this won’t be here this year, but I love his stuff.]
I know I said that I quit blogging… but does anyone find it weird that just days after Sarah Palin steps down as Governor, a thick, black, oozing life form never before seen my man begins to amass off the coast of Alaska?
Sounds like something out of the Necronomicon, doesn’t it?
Can’t you just picture Palin standing on the shore, facing the black sea at midnight and reciting the following:
I conjure Thee, O Ancestor of the Gods!
I summon Thee, Creature of Darkness, by the Works of Darkness!
I summon Thee, Creature of Hatred, by the Words of Hatred!
I summon Thee, Creature of Wastes, by the Rites of the Waste!
I summon Thee, Creature of Pain, by the Words of Pain!
I summon and call Thee forth, from Thy Abode in Darkness!
I Evoke Thee from Thy resting-place in the bowles of the Earth!
I know it’s unlikely, but isn’t it possible that Palin, having given up on the idea of coming to power by way of rigged election, may have chosen to bypass Rove and Cheney altogether, and go straight to Cthulhu?
And don’t get me started on her flesh eating robot army.
