seeing

a
later
date

category
ann arbor

look ma, i’m in the paper

June 12, 2008
ann arborweb, tech & gadgets Oh dear, with a picture and everything. And big thanks to Ed Vielmetti for being a good sport. Now. Go sign up for Startup Weekend.

far west side traffic correspondent

April 29, 2008
ann arbortravel Dexter Road westbound is closed near Maple Road. Maple Road is down to two lanes, one each direction. This is supposed to last a week or so. There are a few other restrictions: Going Eastbound on Dexter: You may not turn left onto northbound Maple. You can go straight or turn right. Going Westbound on Dexter: You must turn. Northbound Maple is backing up heavily at rush hour due to merging down to one lane. Eastbound Dexter doesn't look too bad; I think people are avoiding it completely. The AATA #9 is picking up and dropping off on the west side of Maple, just south of Dexter (the Plum Market stop). Now ...
(more...)

vignettes from the aaps curriculum

March 18, 2008
ann arborfamilyrants Two little stories, make of them what you will: Jack is in seventh grade and is taking the required Health class. It includes the dreaded Subject One Does Not Speak About With One's Mother, but apparently covers other stuff like exercise and nutrition and so forth as well. He was feeling chatty after school yesterday and was telling me that they were covering why people eat the foods they do. For example, your religion may ban certain foods, your culture may have its own foods, certain foods may be convenient, etc. I asked him if they talked about economics - why you might make food choices based on how much some foods cost. Nope. Never mentioned. As I watch the economy imploding ...
(more...)

spring break

February 25, 2008
ann arborfamilyrantsraves The boys have just arrived after spending the weekend at Norm's. They're here all this week - all day, every day - because it's spring break. AAPS didn't used to have this week off, they just did an Easter break, but somewhere along the line, the School Board decided that in a college town where the U has this week off, the schools need to be off, too. I'll note that the U doesn't have a long Easter break, but the AAPS didn't cancel theirs, so that kind of shoots the 'we need to match their schedule' argument, no? So now the kids get two weeks off school, spaced about 3 weeks apart. Can you feel my enthusiasm? Luckily, Keith ...
(more...)

almost open for business

January 22, 2008
ann arbor ANN ARBOR, FAR WEST SIDE. My inside source says that the Plum Market will be opening on February 7. What a fine birthday present! The signs just went up in the last couple days. They look great; it's a terrific new look for Maple Village. Not real happy about the blinding parking lot lights, though. I'm surprised the city let them put up so many lights - it's well over the line from safety into light pollution. Pretty sucky. But looking forward to a grocery store being close. Ahmo's also looks like it's on the verge of opening. There are menus up on the wall, chairs and so on in place, and there was a big Sysco truck delivering ...
(more...)

mr. blue sky

January 11, 2008
ann arborfamilyraves As of yesterday, I've been married to Keith for 4 years. We celebrated last night with big martinis at the bar at Cafe Felix (him Picasso, me Martini Felix) and then over to Miki for sushi. We told the cute little server that it was our anniversary and told her the amount we wanted to spend and just had the chefs make up something for us. It was wonderful - she brought out this huge boat (it really was shaped like a boat!) full of sashimi and an auxiliary tray of nigiri. It was out of this ...
(more...)

two horse town

September 28, 2007
ann arborintrospectionrants From my horoscope this morning: With a limited number of options, you may feel trapped by your own familiar patterns today. Part of the problem is that you may have sacrificed independence for security. Part of the solution comes from being able to talk about it. Even if nothing dramatic changes right away, you'll still feel better once your frustration is out in the open. (Coming back from a few days in Chicago has been rough on my psyche.)

why americans continue to be dumb

September 24, 2007
ann arborrants Because they can't even write proper course materials to teach basic concepts. About 2 years ago, when Jack was in 5th grade, I had a run-in with his teacher over homework which failed to acknowledge that both 36 and 25 are square numbers, no matter how they are displayed in an array. Same homework problem, albeit in a new typeface, came home with Sam tonight. I despair. In other AAPS news, a letter came home apologizing that the existence of the 'convenience fee' in the new meal account system "was not well communicated in the first letter you received." Well, no, the first letter said FREE FREE FREE and didn't mention much of anything about the regressive tax they're levying ...
(more...)

helvetica, the film

September 13, 2007
ann arborarts Somewhat disappointingly, AIGA Detroit is hosting a screening of Helvetica next week at the Art & Architecture building. It's a very small auditorium and the screen isn't great. Some time ago, I tried to contact the filmmakers to try to get the film screened at the Michigan Theater, but never heard back from them. A shame, really; the film is really good and deserves a better venue. Oh well, it's still an interesting documentary and if you want to see it, I suggest showing up early! Location: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Art + Architecture Auditorium, room 2104 Time: 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM Cost: $5 donation at the door Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual ...
(more...)

convenience, my ass

September 4, 2007
ann arborrants Last year, the Ann Arbor Public Schools started using an online lunch money system. I could pay some money into my kids' accounts and when they went through the lunch line, whatever they chose (lunch, milk, muffins, etc.) would be deducted. I got a reminder email when the balance fell below $5 (an amount set by me) and I made payments in chunks of $20 (their minimum). I could even get reports of what they purchased (which is how I found out about the Muffin Boy Jack). There were no charges for the service - it was just really nice and easy to use. I'm guessing you can see where this post is going. This year they switched to some crappy outfit ...
(more...)

being

This is Laura Fisher's blog, coming to you from Ann Arbor, Michigan. You might know me as mitten and you can find me in many online communities under that name. Comments are welcome here, or you can write to me more privately via the contact form.

searching

Lijit Search

reviewing

speed racer

Forget the old cartoon, forget any hint of serious intent and go watch this movie for the sheer technicolor delight of it. It's beautiful, it's fast, it's silly (in the good way), it's exciting and inspired. Go Speed go!

twittering

@vaguery Thanks! See you all in a week. 5 days ago

noting

friends are saying

  • Ron Suarez
  • Ann Arbor is Overrated
  • Derek Mehraban
  • Brian Kerr

listening

attending


recommending

sharing