By Mark | January 1, 2014 I received the best compliment in my life a few days ago. A stranger approached me on the street, looked me right in the eye, and said, “I appreciate your beard.” He didn’t say, “I like your beard.” He didn’t say that my beard was, “cool.” He said that he appreciated it. It was like […]
By Mark | December 24, 2013 Judging strictly by the quantity of vomit I encountered outside the Corner Brewery yesterday morning, I’d say Saturday night’s Krampus event was a success. Thank you to all of you who came out to shake your asses with us and join our midnight march by torchlight. Here, for what they’re worth, and in no particular […]
Posted in Special Projects, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged auctions, Ben Connor Barrie, bonfires, Chris Sandon, Christmas, Clementine, condoms, Detroit Party Marching Band, Detroit Public Schools, Fluevog, FLY Children's Art Center, fur-lined condoms, inside-out animals, Jason Wright, Krampus, Krampus Ball, Kurt Anschuetz, Linette, marching bands, moonshine, parades, photo bomb, prehistoric condoms, squirrels, taxidermy, time travel, torches, uniforms, Ypsi Shitty Marching Band | By Mark | December 3, 2013 A few weeks ago, kind of on a whim, I reached out to a local musician and asked if he’d be willing to talk about a recent vacation he’d taken to Gettysburg. It went well. I enjoyed hearing about something that he was insanely passionate about, and I think he enjoyed, for a change, talking […]
Posted in Art and Culture, Michigan, Special Projects, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged Avenue of the Giants, bartending, Big Love, Big Sur, Bill Hicks, birth stories, blue green algae, burgers, buruli ulcer, Carmel, Carnival Cruise, community service, consumption, cruise, crying, East of Eden, Eli Eisman, epiphanies, fast food, Garden City, gardening, gated communities, Glen Campbell, Grey Goose, Halliburton, Hee Haw, Hee Haw Honeys, hippies, how to be a better human being, Iggy Pop, interviews, John Steinbeck, Joseph Campbell, Lake Michigan, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, Lust for Life, malaria, martinis, Matt Jones, Michigan Musicians on Vacation, Misty Lyn, Misty Lyn Bergeron, musicians, musicians breaking the law, nature, polygamy, private property, private roads, Rawlins, redwoods, Rhinestone Cowboy, Salt Flats, San Francisco, Seva, Siddhartha, solitude, spiritual quests, spirituality, sun poisoning, Timothy Monger, travel, travel tips, trees, Utah, vacations, vans, vegetarianism, vertigo, Zen, Zion National Park. | By Mark | December 2, 2013 Here, on the occasion of my son’s second birthday, are ten random thoughts that I wrote to him last night. As I suspect that he may misplace the letter that I handed him as he went screaming through the living room, I thought that perhaps I’d reprint it here as well. 1. Arlo, I’m loving […]
Posted in Mark's Life, Photographs | Also tagged birth stories, birthdays, charm, Clementine, empathy, Freeda, Harry Houdini, hot water, lamps, Linette, memories, midwifery, milestones, natural childbirth, remorse, totally quotable Linette, Twilight Zone, water birth | By Mark | November 1, 2013 Having done the Halloween thing with the kids, and listened to both The Shaggs and Screamin Jay Hawkins, I’m now settling down in front of the computer to watch my annual allotment of scary movies. Sadly, John Carpenter’s Halloween doesn’t seem to be available on Netflix, so it looks like I’ll be watching either The […]
Posted in Civil Liberties, Mark's Life, Pop Culture | Also tagged 16 and Pregnant, Affordable Care Act, Bernie Sanders, candy, Captain Kirk, childhood obesity, Clementine, costumes, Duck Dynasty, health care, health care reform, Honey Boo Boo, Kim Kardashian, North Dakota, Obamacare, reality television, single-payer system, trick-or-treating, William Shatner | 
