Just a headsup to all friends and contributors to my posts here at bluishbarn: my blogging activity, and that of Barn contributor GND, is moving over to twofellswoops.com, where we’ll still be writing and posting pictures about this neighborhood from our new place a few blocks away.
The other day I was emptying out my room at the Bluish Barn, and I got to the point where there was only my bed left, which I was leaving for the next occupant. So Girl Next Door and I decided to lie down on it one last time. As we lay there, we heard footsteps on the front porch, followed by a strange scratching sound. Puzzled, I got up to investigate, only to discover that the scratching sound was Kenny the mailman scratching out my name on the mailbox list. It was like I was being deleted, purged from the records. We sat there for a minute, stunned at such a definitive confirmation of my departure from the Barn.
So yeah, in case you couldn’t tell from my lack of posts here in the past few months, I’m moving to a new place with former Barn neighbor GND. It’s only a few blocks away, but because there’s so much work to do on the new house, I won’t be as active writing on this blog or planning events at the Barn. So it feels farther.
It’s been a good two years. I’m glad that I finally had a chance to do what so many friends and strangers have done since I’ve lived in this town - to use a full-house rental to host events that make life here a bit more interesting. Stay tuned for whatever my old roommates Michelle and Christina and their new roommate Alex have planned for the Bluish Barn.
Did anyone hear the siren test today at 1 p.m.? Unfortunately, I am traveling, so I missed it, but Tim heard the blast (and appropriately texted me, thanks.)
Why am I posting about sirens? A few weeks ago we woke up to hi-lo wailing on a Sunday morning, so we looked up Ann Arbor’s warning system to find out what the racket was about. I was sort of amazed to find that there are 22 sirens located throughout the city that sound for lots of various reasons (tornados, nuclear attack, hazmat spill, etc.)
I was brainstorming all the nerdy things we could do using these sirens as checkpoints for a race, or points for a scavenger hunt, or city tour, or we could calculate the point at which the sirens would be the loudest and go listen during the test – something good will come out of these spinning horns. For now, I leave you this map* of the sirens.
Keep an eye out around town, you’ll be surprised what you see once you begin looking.
*sorry, I’m in Texas, and I’m bored.
I am too busy to write 2,000 words, so here are two pictures:
1. Last Saturday’s Squirm Orchestra Performance. (Don’t forget, Saturdays in August = movies!)
2. Cicada escaping its shell near the back porch. I don’t know if this is a magicada/17 year cicada, but according to this chart, it could be. They are noisy and everywhere. Really, any insect with a musical drum called a “tymbal” in its abdomen is a friend of mine. (Also note, there seems to be a lot of general concern over cicada noise ruining one’s wedding day and quite a few online planners and calculators to prevent this fate. Recently engaged, take note.)
I love it when you have those moments where you find a piece of the puzzle you didn’t even realize you were missing. Some summer before this one, I attended a barbeque/party near Kerrytown Concert House with a few friends, only to wake up the next day all hazy and realize my beloved yellow wallet had fallen through a tattered pocket, presumably when I was beering and dancing around in the backyard. I called my good friend Steve, who had escorted me to the party, he made some calls, and I rode my bike in the rain to the party site to pick up the wallet. I knocked on the door, and the host helped me retreive the dirty wallet from a pile of old leaves in the backyard (the host left it there in case someone came back for it during the night) - no cash, but was relieved to find my ids and cards still tucked inside.
Fast forward to this morning, sitting in my cube, Steve sends me a text: “Check your email, we’re in the Washington Post.” He emailed me the following story, with the disclaimer “I apologize for my involvement (or lack of involvement), but hopefully you see the humor in the situation and how I tried to make it right, in a way…”
I followed Steve’s link to find a Post article about “The Golden Rule, Tarnished.” Says the article: “Sometimes a Good Samaritan Expects a Handout in Return.”
My old roommate Davy Rothbart contributed:
“Really good Samaritans, if they find a wallet, they return it intact,” [Rothbart] says. “Some people find a wallet, take the money, but return the important stuff. That’s not evil.”
And now, the party:
For support of this dubious statement, ask Andrew Cohn. The Los Angeles writer was cleaning up his back yard after a party the night before when he spotted a wallet on the ground. It contained $40. “I’d just spent $500 on the party,” says Cohn. “I figured the money was this girl’s contribution.” He removed the money but left the wallet on the ground.
OK, so this was the first time I’d heard that he took my money. In fact, I am so neighborly (or just plain oblivious?) that I didn’t even suspect it. The article continues:
A recent study by the National Institutes of Health suggests that altruism is hard-wired into the brain, that acts of generosity stimulate the parts that usually respond to food and sex. Clearly, this was not a study that Andrew Cohn had read. Consider the profound ending of his wallet scheme.
A few hours after Cohn replaced the cash-emptied wallet on the grass, its owner knocked on his door. It was a girl. A really, really hot girl.* She was sad to find that her cash was gone but pleased to have her credit cards and driver’s license back. So pleased, in fact, that Cohn thought she might agree to go out with him.
Only one problem. He didn’t have her number. And the mutual friend who did have it wouldn’t pass it on. The friend’s reason? “He said, ‘You can’t ask out a girl if you just took her money.’ “
I can’t be mad at Steve. I feel good that he at least tried to make things right, and it’s good to now know what black hole that $40 was sucked into…..but Andy, if you read this, you ought to send me a check.
And I still won’t go out with you.
The full article is here.
*Tim suggested I clear up some confusion w.r.t. the use of “really really hot.” In case you were confused, that was supposed to refer to me. Its gross, and I deny the accusation, and I urge you to consider the source (where two legs+lungs = hot?)
My friend Jay asked me today why it’s called the Shadow Art Fair if it happens before the Ann Arbor fairs every year. I thought for a second and then told him that the sun could be said to come out and shine the most brightly after the fairs are over, so that in relation to the sun hitting the Ann Arbor fairs, the Shadow would fall before them in time. Does that make sense?
It also might have something to do with Ypsi being sort of in Ann Arbor’s shadow. And local, indie artists doing their thing in the shadows.
In any event, it all happens again this Saturday from noon to midnight at the Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti. I’ll be there with Sappycards and the Great Lakes T-shirts and a few other things, and there will be a bunch of new and returning artists with exciting work. Plus music from Black Jake and the Carnies, Lyman Rhodes, Martes Martes, Annie Palmer, and Princess Xanthipe. And lots of great beer.
Here’s peek down inside one of the bags GND was carrying during one of our mid-May jaunts through Ann Arbor hinterlands:
We were surprised to hear many locals - even older, experienced folks - say that morels only grow Up North. We wouldn’t be true morel-hunters if we told you exactly where we found these, but let’s just say that the morels are out there, in many cases right in your own backyard.
And man do they taste good. I’m already counting the days till next Spring.
::DIY FEST::
do:it:yourself
.workshops.
.skillshares.
.free store.
.music.
.food.
Saturday
June 2nd
11am-9pm
1508 Jewett
cross street Packard
:WORKSHOPS INCLUDE:
knitting, from the sheep to the scarf: carding and spinning wool into yarn, knitting
carpentry skills
potions 101: making tinctures, infusions, salves, decoctions
fermentation: sauerkrauts, kim chi, sour pickles
hard cider making
winery
video editing
potentially massage
:MUSIC:
jen koppin
craig johnson
feel free to bring skills, jokes, or food to share.
if you want to lead a skillshare, you can also let me know in advance.
PLEASE FOWARD WIDELY to folk in the Ann Arbor area
see you there!
We’re looking for a new roommate at the Bluish Barn this September. The new roommate would be replacing me in the front ‘parlor room’, where I’ve been living happily for two years. Michelle and Christina are staying in the bedrooms upstairs. Rent is $350 plus utilities. I’ll be moving nearby but still renting part of the basement here as workshop/storage/practice space.
Potential candidates should have a willingness to continue in our tradition of screening movies in the backyard when it’s nice outside. (I opened my bedroom up to screenings during cold/wet weather, but you wouldn’t have to do that.) And a willingness to contribute to this blog is a plus.
We keep pretty quiet here, with an occasional danceparty or other events besides screenings. We like our home to be a place where we can get good work done. The Wheeler Park neighborhood is a nice mix of old folks, working people, and grad students. We know our neighbors, we like them, and we don’t want to piss them off any more than we already do.
The room measures about 12′ by 15′, with a large front window with mahogany blinds. All I’ve had separating my room from the communal dining room is a couple of curtains. You might want to build some kind of door or find shelves to fill in the space for a little more privacy. (Nothing permanent though, since we’re renting.)
Let’s see, what else? Year-long lease. No pets. Smokers welcome but no smoking inside house. Free laundry in the basement. ‘Pyrogoda’ in the back for fires. House internet (paid). House Netflix account (paid, optional). House email address and website (free). Walking distance to UM Hospital, Kerrytown, bus stops, train station, train tracks, Co-op, Farmer’s Market, basketball courts, park, trails, bike routes, Huron River, Argo pond, liquor store. Nice roommates. Good landlord. Friendly neighbors. Beautiful backyard. Pleasant interior design. Front porch sunset. Back porch sunrise.
Anyone interested please email roommate@bluishbarn.com.
Now that budget cuts have forced the Michigan Theater’s Cinema Slam to end its showcasing of local short films, we here at the Bluish Barn want to step in and offer local filmmakers a venue for their work. Filmmakers can drop off DVD or VHS copies of anything under 20 minutes, clearly labeled with contact info, on our front porch at 712 N 5th Ave. We’ll watch it, and if we like it, we’ll screen it before one of our features. If not, we’ll return it to you. We can’t promise any awards or intelligent feedback, but our audience here tends to be pretty open-minded and appreciative of local projects. At the very least, we can get your film watched on a big screen by and audience of people who you don’t know.
And don’t worry, the Bluish Barn will not be affected by any future moratorium on state grants, since we receive no government funding. Our budget is never threatened because we don’t have a budget.
