A few days ago, I was having a conversation with the mother of one of Alro’s school friends. As she’s relatively new to Ypsi, I asked how she came to be living here, and she told me her story, which started back in California, when she found out that she’d been accepted into a graduate […]
Posted in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti | Also tagged affordable housing, Berkley, medical marijuana, More Buses, old hippies, progressive politics, public art, public transportation, things that aren't what they appear to be, Ypsi immigration interview | 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. | 
