Author Archives: Mark

My thoughts on International Village

By Mark | September 20, 2017

Yesterday, someone on Twitter called me out for being silent on the subject of International Village, the $350+ million dollar retail and housing development being proposed for Ypsilanti’s 36-acre Water Street property. According to this person, who was posting under a pseudonym, my silence on the matter was “deafening.” It’s something I’ve heard several times […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Architecture, Corporate Crime, Economics, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged affordable housing, Amanda Edmonds, Beijing, Brian Robb, brownfield, Brownfield Redevelopment Tax Credits, China, Chinese investment, condominiums, corruption, County Farm Park, Dan Vogt, Eastside Recreation Center, EB-5, economic development, economic segregation, environmental injustice, gentrification, International Village, luxury housing, money laundering, native plants, public health air quality, real estate, remediation, respirators, seed bombing, SHIFT, silence, student housing, tax credits, Troy, Veridian, Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation, Water Street, Water Street Commons, Water Street debt reduction millage, Water Street Sculpture Park, xenophobia, Ypsilanti City Council, Ypsilanti real estate | 26 Comments

The final push to kill Obamacare is underway. We need to mobilize.

By Mark | September 19, 2017

I know it sucks. I know we shouldn’t have to defend the America Cares Act again, after having successfully defeated repeal efforts several times already, but the Republicans have apparently reneged on their promise to move forward with a bipartisan process, instead opting to try one last time to repeal Obamacare outright, without debate, or […]

Posted in Health, Politics | Tagged America Cares Act, Bill Cassidy, Doug Ducey, health care reform, health insurance, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Kimmel test, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Lisa Murkowski, Obamacare, preexisting conditions, Rand Paul, Susan Collins, Trumpcare | 9 Comments

Having failed miserably as Attorney General, Schuette sets his sights on the Governor’s office

By Mark | September 17, 2017

Last winter, as you may recall, Donald Trump didn’t have a lot of friends inside the Michigan GOP. Governor Snyder, in a rare show of moral courage, refused to endorse the real estate developer turned reality television celebrity, and Lieutenant Governor Calley, who had endorsed him earlier in the campaign, withdrew his endorsement, once the […]

Posted in Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged Bill Schuette, Bob Ritchie, Brian Calley, call to action, Chill the Most Cruise, Dan Kildee, Debbie Stabenow, endorsements, gay marriage, gay rights, golf, Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, Idiocracy, Kid Rock, Lonesome Rhodes, loyalty, memes, Michigan Republican Party, Michigan Republicans, Mike Pence, misogyny, Obamacare, performance art, political endorsements, President Camacho, pussy grabbing, Republican National Convention, Rick Snyder, RNC, tax cuts, violence against women, welfare, welfare queens | 9 Comments

The Untold History of Zines… John Marr on Murder Can Be Fun

By Mark | September 14, 2017

In an attempt to better understand the sharp, rusty sliver of the American underground that worked its way into my cold and slowly-beating heart about a quarter century ago, I’ve given myself the task of tracking down and interviewing all of my heros in the world of zines. Today’s interview is with John Marr, the […]

Posted in Art and Culture, History, Special Projects, Uncategorized | Tagged accidents, Al Hoff, Alfred Hitchcock, Annalee Newitz, BART, Berkeley, Billy Graham, black humor, Bluebeard, books, Boston Molasses Flood, Brooklyn Bridge, Brothers Grimm, California, Charles “Junior” Jackson, Charlie Anders, childhood memories, Chuck Sperry, Cometbus, creeps, cribs, Crimewave USA, Daryl King, disasters, Disneyland, Doggie Diner, douches, Edgar Rice Burroughs, eight inches, Erin Smith, Factsheet Five, fanzines, Flipper, Fredric Brown, gentrification, ghosts, hamburgers, Hans Christian Anderson, Hardy Boys, Heinrich Hoffman, Holmes Book Company, homicide, Ira Lunan Ferguson, Jack Boulware, Jeffrey Dahmer, Jim Thompson, John Coffin, John Marr, John Waters, John Wayne Gacy, Kwik Way, Lynn Peril, Mabuhay Gardens, Maximum Rock’n’Roll, Maxwell Malice, Mike Gunderloy, Mormon, mufti, murder, Murder Can Be Fun, murder junkies, murder suicide, natural disasters, Oakland, Paul Lukas, personalized license plates, Phillip Hughes, Phoebe Gloeckner, podcasts, Pogo the Clown, punk rock, rashes, reading, research, Roman Mars, SALT, San Francisco, Search and Destroy, self-publishing, serial killers, Sex Bomb, sex tips, shit work, Shock Value, Slovenly Peter, Sound Choice, Space Burgers, Spot the Hooker, Sylvia Likens, Tarzan, The Brooklyn Bridge Bulletin, The Nose, The Untold History of Zines, Thrift Score, Tim Yohannan, true crime, used books, V. Vale, zines, zodiac killer, zoo deaths | 6 Comments

I’m too busy to blog properly tonight, but can someone please explain to me how lowering taxes prevents hurricanes?

By Mark | September 13, 2017

Let me help you out this that, @realDonaldTrump. Here's what I think you meant to say. pic.twitter.com/fP3n6EDCOa — Mark Maynard (@MarkAMaynard) September 13, 2017 Yes, in case you missed it, the top tweet, minus my suggested edits, of course, really was sent out by Donald Trump today. Apparently, what we all saw play out across […]