By Mark | February 21, 2012 I just received a note from Nathan Ayers, the guy who won the first $1,000 grant from A2Awesome. He wanted to let me know that, back in 1984, the television program PM Magazine ran a feature on Harry Bennett’s fortress on the banks of the Huron River, in Ypsilanti. Bennett, for those of you don’t [...]
Posted in A2Awesome, History, Ypsilanti | Tagged anti-Semitic, automotive industry, Battle of the Overpass, castles, Charles Coughlin, Communism, exotic animals, FDR, fear of Communism, Flint, Ford Hunger March, Ford Motor Company, Ford Service Department, Ford's Service Department, General Motors, Great Depression, Greenfield Village, Harry Bennett, Harry Bennett's Castle, Henry Ford, Hilter, Huron River, industrial revolution, labor history, lions, mansions, manufacturing, middle class, murder, Nathan Ayers, New Deal, PM Magazine, private armies, race baiting, River Rouge, safe house, secret passageways, strike breaking, threats to the middle class, tigers, turrets, union busting, Walter Reuther | By Mark | February 21, 2012 Yesterday, Washtenaw County Commissioner Conan Smith dropped by the site and left a few comments, as he’s known to do on occasion. Well, one of those comments, which pertained to Michigan’s Emergency Financial Manager law, drew quite a bit of criticism, and, to his credit, Smith came back this evening and responded to it. Here, [...]
Posted in Civil Liberties, Economics, Politics, Ypsilanti | Tagged Benton Harbor, Busy Dying, Conan Smith, Detroit, Dragon, Ecorse, Emergency Financial Manager, Emergency Financial Manager Act, Flint, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Jennifer Granholm, Lansing, Michigan Suburbs Alliance, PA4, Pontiac, Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners | By Mark | February 20, 2012 I heard a comedian by the name of John Fugelsang do a pretty brilliant bit the other day on the incredible disconnect between the teachings of Jesus and the actions of those who invoke his name in the pursuit of political power. It’s nothing we haven’t discussed here before, but I enjoyed Fugelsang’s perspective, given [...]
Posted in Observations, Other, Politics, Religious Extremism | Tagged abortion, American Heartland Forum, assisted suicide, beastiality, Bible, charity, Christianity, crazy things people think that Obama wants to do, euthanasia bracelets, euthanasia of seniors, fear mongering, Focus on the Family, gay marriage, health care, homeschooling, hypocrisy, Iran, James Dobson, Jesus, John Fugelsang, nuclear weapons, Obama, Obama is the Antichrist, Obamacare, religion, Santorum, tea party, terrifying the elderly, The Netherlands, theocracy, what would Jesus think | By Mark | February 20, 2012 I need some advice. In the not too distant future, I’ll be heading to Toronto with the family, and, as I’ve never been there before, and as don’t generally associate with Canadians, I’m not sure what I should do when I’m there. Or, to be more specific, I’m not sure what I should do, once [...]
Posted in Mark's Life, Pop Culture, sex | Tagged acting, alcoholism, another famous person has died, Best Laid Plans, Degrassi Junior High, Derek "Wheels" Wheeler, filming locations, Joey Jeremiah, Neil Hope, Pat Mastroianni, sightseeing, teen sex, Toronto, Vincent Massey Public School | By Mark | February 19, 2012 Apparently, people keep moving to Ypsilanti… Today’s interview is with a young woman named Gilliam Ream. MARK: When did you move to Ypsilanti, and what brought you here? GILLIAN: We (my partner Adam and I) moved here in July 2011. Honestly, coming to Ypsi was just a happy accident. We were planning to stay in [...]
Posted in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti | Tagged Bike Ypsi, board games, Bul Go Gi, Bul Taco, Chick Inn, Chinese restaurants, Corner brewery, Depot Town, Gillian Ream, Hammy Sammy, Hidden Dragon, Linette Lao, Ma Po Tofu, Paul Bunyon burger, restaurant management software, Richard Murphy, tacos, the dividing line between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Triple Down, Ypsi immigration interview | By Mark | February 19, 2012 It took three visits, but we finally have something negative to say about Ypsi’s Wurst Bar. …Speaking straws, I can’t use one without remembering something that my friend Jeff once told me. He said that his dad, every time he saw a man using one, would roll his eyes and mumble something about the guy [...]
By Mark | February 18, 2012 Later today, at 6:00 PM, University of Arizona emeritus professor of Natural Resources and the Environment Guy McPherson will be speaking at the Gilbert Residence in Ypsilanti (203 South Huron Street) about his new book, Walking Away from Empire, and the steps that he’s taken to extract himself from what he sees as an American [...]
Posted in Education, Environment, Politics, Sustainability | Tagged American Empire, anarchy, barter, big-government savior state, building with straw bales, community building, conservation, decent human community, defining community, dystopia, economic collapse, gas tax, gift economy, global climate change, Global Warming, Guy McPherson, health care, intentional community, Jevons' paradox, Jim Kunstler, Khazzoom-Brookes postulate, Mad Max, maintaining body temperature, mass transit, New Mexico, off-grid, organic gardening, peak oil, personal responsibility, straw bales, University of Arizona, Walking Away from Empire, water, when the shit hits the fan | By Mark | February 16, 2012 Rick Santorum’s old, white, incredibly rich, evangelical patron, Foster Friess, made the news this afternoon when he told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, in response to a question about his candidate’s Puritanical views on sex and contraception, and how they’re likely to go over with American voters, offered a piece of sage advice on the subject of [...]
Posted in Civil Liberties, Politics, Pop Culture, sex, Special Projects, Uncategorized | Tagged abstinence, abstinence-only education, Andrea Mitchell, angry old white men, aspirin, Baer Aspirin, birth control, Bristol Palin, Carolyn Maloney, contraception, Darrell Issa, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Foster Friess, gals, health insurance, knees, memes, old white men making decisions on women's health, prescription drugs, women's health, women's rights | 
