from the ann arbor/ypsi avant-garde to your backyard
the bluish barn presents:

“Lawn Care” (a suburban interpretation of Vito Acconci’s “Seed Bed”) a performance by Forest Bright

poetry and performance by Anya L Cobler & Onna Solomon

free and fire afterwards.

October 6th @ 8pm–the bluish 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.

come visit us!

and buy a metal detector, a ouija board, or a wooden duck!

YAY!!!!

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.

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.)

This schedule is so special that it’s only four weeks long and it’s Saturdays instead of Thursdays. Every Saturday in August, in fact. 9pm unless otherwise noted, rain (inside) or shine (backyard).

August 4th: 8pm SQUIRM ORCHESTRA, music for short films by Svankmajer, the Brothers Quay, Trnka, Starevich, and others; family friendly - bring the kids!

August 11th: LEON (the original European cut)

August 18th: probably something special for Punk Week; will post it here as soon as we figure it out

August 25th: THE ROOM - Ann Arbor premier (?) of the best worst movie made in recent years (follow the link, read the reviews, watch the trailer…bring plastic spoons)

Screenings will always end by midnight. Arrive at 9pm sharp to see short films from local filmmakers and get a good seat for the features. Reserve seats by commenting on this post with name and # of seats. Please be respectful of our house and neighbors, so we can keep doing this. Thanks.

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?)

Think of movies that would be good to see on the bigger screen out under the stars in our backyard. Truly independent movies, local movies, or impossibly artsy movies that deserve to be screened at a microcinema. Plus, we try to fit one documentary and something foreign into each schedule.

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Instead of a list of all the movies we’ve screened over the past year, here’s a list of the ones that for one reason or another have gone over the best or been the most memorable. It’s not always what you’d expect:

August 11 2006: If…
August 31: Breaking Away
Sep 14: Papillon
Tues Sep 19: [Bollywood night]
Oct 5: Wizard People, Dear Reader
Mon Oct 9: Who is Bozo Texino?
Oct 19: Plague Dogs
Oct 26: the Fearless Vampire Killers
Nov 2: Ann Arbor Film Festival pre-screening screening
Feb 1: Zardoz
Feb 8: A Thousand Clowns
Feb 22: the Beaver Trilogy
May 17: Pee Wee’s Big Adventure
June 21: Angel Heart

Maybe that gives you some idea of what might work. Now get those suggestions coming...

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.