Tag Archives: fast food

Michigan Musicians on Vacation: Misty Lyn Bergeron communing among the redwoods

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

BALLE founder Judy Wicks on the origins of Urban Outfitters, the birth of the Localist movement, and the necessity of local ownership

Recently, while in Grand Rapids, I had the occasion to meet Judy Wicks, the founder of the White Dog Cafe in Philadelphia, and the woman who, ten years ago, brought the Business Alliance for Living Local Economies (BALLE) into being. Since the meeting, we’ve been chatting by way of email… Here’s the interview. MARK: Having […]

Posted in Economics, Local Business, Locally Owned Business, Sustainability | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

How Thick is Your Bubble?

A few days ago, in response to something that I’d posted about the battle being waged between anti-tax, “small government” Republicans and those of us fighting to maintain public services, someone calling himself Alan2102, emerged from the shadows to accuse a number of us of being “out-of-touch” with the values of real Americans – those […]

Posted in Mark's Life, Observations, Other, Rants, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

What Would LBJ Do?

I was just sitting here in bed, holding a wet washcloth to my throbbing head, and thinking about how ineffective Obama has been at pushing the Democratic agenda (see last post), when it occurred to me, as it often does at times like these, that we could use a man like LBJ in the White […]

Posted in History, Ideas, Mark's Life, Other, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Good work, Township! You now look like every other chain-glutted strip mall wasteland in America.

I try not to rant too much here. Believe it or not, I restrain myself for the most part. I try, as best as I can, to limit my posts to subjects where I believe I have positive, constructive things to add. That’s not so much the case tonight, though. There’s nothing positive left to […]

Posted in History, Mark's Life, Rants, Special Projects, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

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