By Mark | February 15, 2012 Here, while I’m working on my epic post about the showdown shaping up between Romney and Santorum in Michigan, is a trailer for a new film about those Nazis that have been biding their time on the dark side of the Moon. [You know how we're always talking about the Finnish education model on this [...]
By Mark | February 7, 2012 A few days ago, I posted video here of Bill Murray, on the first episode of Late Night with David Letterman. I have no way of knowing how many people took my advice and watched the clip, which was absolutely brilliant, but it only garnered one comment. (Someone, making the case that he was still [...]
Also posted in Mark's Life, OCD, Uncategorized | Tagged American culture, anxiety, Bill Murray, black comedy, Bobcat Goldthwait, celebrity culture, comedy, depression, Disney, Falling Down, FDR American Badass, Joel Murray, Juno, Late Night with David Letterman, Mark, mental health, OCD, Police Academy, pre-war jazz and blues, reality television, Scrooged, Shakes the Clown, Sleeping Dogs Lie, Tara Lynn Barr, the cesspool that is American culture, the Taliban should win, World's Greatest Dad | By Mark | February 5, 2012 The other day, I heard someone mention that David Letterman was celebrating his 30th anniversary on television, and I made a note to myself to see if I could find the first episode of Late Night online. Well, I just did, and wanted to pass along a few clips. While Letterman was certainly good, if [...]
Also posted in Media, Pop Culture | Tagged 1982, Andy Kaufman, Andy Warhol, Bill Murray, Brother Theodore, commedy, David Letterman, Dick Cavett, Frank Zappa, Gore Vidal, great interviews, Kurt Vonnegut, Late Night with David Letterman, talk shows, television | By Mark | January 31, 2012 It’s not that I want to run people over, but, occasionally, I see something that brings Death Race 2000 to mind, and I wonder, if I were to slip into Machine Gun Joe Viterbo mode and do the unthinkable, how many points I’d get. Today, driving through downtown Ann Arbor, I had one of those [...]
Also posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1975, Annual Transcontinental Road Race, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, cars, cult classics, Death Race 2000, donkey semen, dystopia, Fear Factor, Machine Gun Joe Viterbo, Rocky, Roger Ebert, running people over, Russ Meyer, Sandy McCallum, Sylvester Stalone | By Mark | January 26, 2012 I have a friend named Greg Baise. If you’ve ever been to see a band in the metro Detroit area, chances are you’ve probably seen him. He’s probably the best connected guy I know when it comes to music, having promoted shows for over a decade, and done tons of other stuff in the industry. [...]
Also posted in Ann Arbor, Uncategorized | Tagged American Apparel, awesome t-shirt ideas, Blind Pig, Corktown, critical mass, Dan Selzer, Dov Charney, Faust, Fuck Your Blog, Gold Dollar, halter leotards, Jeff Kaeppeler, Jezebel, Jodie Foster, karaoke, Keiji Haino, Kelly Jean Caldwell, Kevin O'Neill, Kim Sorise, La Vie C'est Chouette, Laura Kaeppeler, Miss America, music venues, new ideas in retail, Obama, performance venues, product tie-in, Sonic Youth, stretch velvet leggings, Ted Shumaker, The Palace at 4 A.M., Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Times New Viking, Tony Conrad, Viva Radio, WCBN, Woodruff's | By Mark | January 21, 2012 A few days ago, when I let it slip on this site that my dapper young companion, the accomplished local puppeteer Patrick Elkins, was himself in fact an automaton, which I’d created from a found beard, a magical top hat, and the rusted-out shell of my former mentor’s daughter Vicki, I received an email from [...]
By Mark | January 18, 2012 A few times a month, the music industry magazine CMJ asks a band to write a “scene report” for their website, kind of giving a little glimpse into what’s going on culture-wise in their hometown. Well, today’s CMJ scene report is from none other than Leah Diehl, of Ypsi’s own Lightening Love. For the most [...]
Also posted in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti | Tagged Andy Garris, Beezy's, Blind Pig, CMJ, Leah Diehl, Lightening Love, music venues, pant shitting, PIPA, Powell's, Powell’s Pilsner, protests, Smarty Catz, SOPA, Woodruff's | By Mark | December 30, 2011 We’re fortunate in the Ypsi/Arbor community in that we have several great non-profits serving kids. To name just a few that are actively working in the area of creative expression, we’ve got 826 Michigan (creative writing), The Wild Swan Theater (theatrical performance), FLY Children’s Art Center (visual arts), and Community Records (musical performance). I believe, [...]
Also posted in Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged 826 Michigan, Akili Jackson, at-risk youth, Bright Futures program, community assets, community building, Community Records, EMU, FLY Children's Art Center, interviews, Jesse Morgan, Justin Fenwick, Keep Ya Head Up, local non-profits, MC Invincible, MC Kadence, Meredith Monk, music, music for kids, music venues, Ozone House, Ozone House Drop-In Center, Ozone House Youth and Family Services, Parkridge Community Center, performance art, performance venues, PMRC, Respect Me, Schwaben Hall, seeds, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Street Outreach, Tipper Gore, Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo School for the Arts, Wild Swan Theater, WIllow Run high school, WorkZone, Yin Yang We, Youthville, Ypsi Public School District, Ypsilanti high school | 
