October 2019 - Current Magazine

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N EE DE! OW SI LL IN HA NTS 32 E p EV

MUSIC | ART | CULTURE

The Fentanyl Factor Inside the deadly opioid epidemic, p6

Tenure, off-track

Detroit Gallery Crawl

Higher-ed lowballing faculty, p9

Exploring the art scene, p24

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What is your favorite part about cooler days and longer nights?

contents

October 2019 vol. 29 | no. 10

The F-Bomb

Publisher/Editor in Chief

Diving into the deadliest wave of the opioid epidemic

Collette Jacobs (cjacobs@adamsstreetpublishing.com) SLEEPING WITH THE WINDOWS OPEN.

Co-publisher/Chief Financial Officer Mark I. Jacobs (mjacobs@adamsstreetpublishing.com) HOT TUBBING.

Editorial

6

Assignment Editor: Athena Cocoves

(annarboreditor@adamsstreetpublishing.com) CAMPING WITHOUT MOSQUITOES. Calendar Editor: Chris Box Taylor

(calendar@current.com)

I ENJOY HIKING TO LOOK AT FALL COLORS. Staff Writers: Erin Holden and Athena Cocoves.

Contributing Writers: Chris Faraone, Jenny Hong, Grace Jensen, Daniel Ackerman, Jeff Milo, Jeff McGinnis, K.A. Letts, Lori Stratton, Rob Brezsny, Brendan Emmett Quigley, and Jen Sorensen.

Advertising

Sales: Adam Riccinto (ariccinto@adamsstreetpublishing.com) CAMPFIRES!

Tenure, off-track

Jack Tackett (jtackett@adamsstreetpublishing.com) WALKING IN THE WOODS.

Higher-ed lowballing faculty 9

Digital Media

Courtney Probert (digitalmedia@adamsstreetpublishing.com) BONFIRES!

Art/Production

Production Manager: Imani Lateef (imani@adamsstreetpublishing.com) GOING TO THE PARK. Senior Designer: Leah Foley (leah@adamsstreetpublishing.com) DEEP SLEEP. Designers: Kelli Miller (kmiller@adamsstreetpublishing.com) HOODIES, HORROR MOVIES AND SOUP SEASON. Anita Tipton (atipton@adamsstreetpublishing.com) WEARING MY FAVORITE SWEATERS. Norwin Lopez (nlopez@adamsstreetpublishing.com) PEOPLES INSTINCTIVE TRAVELS AND THE PATHS TO RHYTM.

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Accounting: Robin Armstrong (rarmstrong@adamsstreetpublishing.com) FALL COLORS.

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1. Ypsilanti Living: Depot Town 2. James Sumpter: Executive Chef of Vinology 3. City Sips 2019 4. Washtenaw Hires First Racial Equity Officer

ecurrent.com / october 2019 3

biz buzz

For healing hearts

Make memories and decor

Whether you’re a novice crafter or a do-it-yourself enthusiast, the newly-opened AR Workshop® Ann Arbor offers a unique, fun experience for all ages and skill levels through instructor-led workshops. The boutique DIY shop hosts a variety of classes and workshops, with the average project completed in two and a half hours. This is the seventh Michigan location of AR Workshop®, a womanowned franchise that first opened in Pineville, NC in 2016.

Located at 3260 Washtenaw Ave., in the former Zoey + Joey Children’s Hair Studio and Boutique space (which has since moved to 2139 W. Stadium Blvd.) For more information, call 734-546-7545 or visit arworkshop.com/annarbor.

1 in 12 children in the state of Michigan will experience the death of a parent or sibling by the age 18, and the community-based nonprofit Ele’s Place seeks to help those grieving children and teens by providing peer support groups and programs. Through the organization’s A Home for Healing Hearts campaign, Ele’s Place was able to receive donations to fund a new 15,000 sq. ft. building to serve as a home base for its services and operations. The new facility, Ele’s Place Ann Arbor, is now open at 5665 Hines Dr., off of S. State Road. For more information, call 734-929-6640 or visit elesplaceannarbor.org.

Jefferson’s back

The Jefferson Market, an Ann Arbor icon in the Old West Side neighborhood, has reopened with new owners. Angie May and Ed Green, Ann Arbor-natives who recently moved back after managing a diner in Berkeley, California, reopened the longtime food establishment as a breakfast and lunch spot in June. The space, at 609 W. Jefferson St., was most recently owned by Mighty Good Coffee, which closed in April 2019.

The newest incarnation is open from 8am-2pm, WednesdayThursday. 734-665-6666.

Thejeffersonmarket.com

Goodbye, Bona. Hello, Bobcat.

On Sunday, September 15, Ypsilanti’s cozy neighborhood eatery, Bona Sera, located at 200 W. Michigan Ave., served its last brunch. In October, the historic downtown district space will reopen as Bobcat Bonnie’s, a popular Corktown-based gastropub. The two-story property is currently being transformed to better fit with the style of the Detroitbased restaurant’s other three establishments. Plans include rebuilding the bar, updating floors and seating, and transforming the lower level into an arcade space with vintage consoles, pinball games, Skee-Ball and shuffleboard. Bobcatbonnies.com

After four decades

The locally-owned Dexter Pharmacy, located at

2820 Baker Rd., Suite #100, has closed after more than 40 years in business. The closing announcement was abrupt, and owner Marni Schmid chose to “entrust [patient] pharmacy records to Walgreens… because of their dedication to patient care and continued personal attention to your health conditions, potential drug interactions, and medication allergies.” dexterpharmacy.com

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Bigger, from Texas A Texas-based jewelry company, Kendra Scott, will open a new Ann Arbor location in the Arbor Hills Shopping Center this fall. The jewelry boutique, which specializes in colorful pieces crafted in the company’s Austin, TX studio, will take over The North Face space at 3050 Washtenaw Ave., in between Anthropologie and Sur La Table. The closest location is in Novi’s Twelve Oaks Mall. Kendrascott.com

green corner

fyi Ypsi converts building into affordable housing for seniors The Ypsilanti City Council approved the purchase of an apartment building at 206-210 N. Washington to be converted into affordable housing. The building’s interior suffered significant damage in a 2017 fire. The previous owner’s failure to make repairs, estimated at $1.5 million, and subsequent delinquency in taxes on the abandoned property lead to its foreclosure. Left with the options to tear the building down or to convert it into affordable housing, Ypsilanti City Council voted 7-0 to support the rebuild. Mayor Beth Bashert said affordable housing, especially for seniors, is desperately needed. The city is now seeking developers to transform the building into liveable space, with the initial purchase cost, of about $100,000 returned to the city’s Affordable Housing Fund.

From Trash to Treasure on Reuse Runway

By Jeff McGinnis SCRAP Box, Ann Arbor’s “creative reuse store” centered around inspiring its patrons toward unique and inventive ways of recycling materials, will hold its first “Reuse Runway” fashion show on October 26 as part of Briarwood Mall’s Boo Bash. This inaugural event will allow area designers to demonstrate their ability to turn materials, otherwise headed to a landfill, into wearable fashion to be modeled on the runway.

“Each design must have an environmental impact component that will be approved at the initial workshop,” said Claire Tyra, director of SCRAP Box Ann Arbor. “All garments will be made from 75% Reuse Materials. Designers can, of course, find these items at SCRAP, but are encouraged to collect on their own as well. Models will walk the runway and showcase the designs as their environmental impact piece is announced to the crowd.”

Designers had to register by September 15, with scholarships offered to interested participants. The event, first held at SCRAP Box’s sister location in Denton, TX, is focused on bringing issues of conservation to the public in a creative and thought-provoking way, Tyra said.

“We hope that through the creation and construction of these garments, designers will have the chance to explore their own creativity and to inspire the audience to look at all the possibilities we have to live more sustainable lives.”

For more information on SCRAP Box or to inquire about registering as a designer, visit scrapbox.org.

Budget Cuts to Washtenaw County Community Mental Health Administration Facing a $10.3 million shortfall for the Community Mental Health budget that commissioners say is due to underfunding from the state, Washtenaw County will avoid cutting services by cutting $2.63 million from the general fund through decreasing employee compensation and employer medical benefit costs. A hiring freeze is already in place. Additional funding will be cut from within the administration, including modifying the County’s downtown Ann Arbor office lease. The funding shortfall will be offset by utilizing $2 million from the 2017 mental health millage tax. These and other budget recommendations were passed unanimously in a meeting on August 22. Although personnel will be affected, the plan is that services offered to citizens will not suffer with a final 2020 Washtenaw County budget approval date scheduled for October 1.

Washtenaw County and Northfield Township Historical Society Receive Grant The Washtenaw County Historic District received a $15,000 grant to complete the ongoing Reconnaissance Level Survey of Northfield Township, which aims to document the historical resources in Northfield Township and evaluate its architectural and historical significance, by September 2020. “Northfield Township has a rich agricultural and social history,” said Washtenaw County Commissioner Sue Shink.

“Many of our architecturally significant buildings are homes and farms where the people of Northfield Township have lived and worked for almost 200 years. They continue to be important to our residents and many are still used for their original purposes. This grant will help us to better understand their history, document their importance, and foster an even stronger culture of preservation.”

Once the survey is completed, a report will be created to help the county recognize its historic buildings.

ecurrent.com / october 2019 5

feature

The Fentanyl Factor Ben Westhoff’s dive into the ‘deadliest wave of the opioid epidemic’ is the most frightening book of the year, and it’s mandatory reading

By Chris Faraone @FARA1

F

irst a spoiler alert: Among the multiple apocalyptic revelations in Ben Westhoff’s Fentanyl, Inc.: How Rogue Chemists Are Creating the Deadliest Wave of the Opioid Epidemic is sour news for all hard drug users, from casual weekend abusers to full-time cocaine cowboys. In light of developments presented in this epic book in gruesome and unprecedented fashion, putting questionable substances up your nose, in your veins, or even on your tongue is highly discouraged from here on in.

“Any drug where it’s a powder or a pill, you just can’t trust it,” Westhoff said in an interview about his latest project. “There can be fentanyl in anything …

[Home drug-testing kits] are getting very sophisticated, and there are websites you can consult, but in terms of going to a party and someone offering you some blow or something like that, it’s over.”

Of course, many will not see this book or heed such warnings, and in tens of thousands of cases Ben Westhof, author of this year will steer directly off a Fentanyl, Inc. cliff. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “among the more than 70,200 drug overdose deaths estimated in 2017, the sharpest increase occurred among deaths related to fentanyl and fentanyl analogs (other synthetic narcotics) with more than 28,400 overdose deaths.”

Fentanyl changed the game

When he started this endeavor nearly four years ago, Westhoff couldn’t have imagined those statistics. Fentanyl showed up and kicked the hinges off a prior psychedelic focus that turns up in trace amounts throughout the book but that is overshadowed by the eponymous grim reaper. Quoting a CDC report, Westhoff notes, “in 2013 the ‘third wave’ of the opioid epidemic began.” And “because of fentanyl, it is the most deadly one yet.” Focusing on urban Missouri in one especially harrowing chapter, he reports: “In 2012, St. Louis saw 92 opioid-related deaths, a number that rose to 123 in 2013 and up to 256 in 2017.”

“Fentanyl completely changed the game,” one character, a former jam band road dog who jumped from newfangled hallucinogens into the far more dangerous opioid scene, told Westhoff.

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I

Beyond the numbers, n the words of one which are ugly but far from of Wethoff’s Chinese reliable in this nascent abusive honeymoon phase sources, a less-thanof the crisis, this is a story clandestine manufacturer: about people, and Fentanyl, Inc. features a roster of “We are afraid that a villains and victims who reporter come to our lab, stray far from movie archetypes. The stories to our country, to find out follow a theme reflected in why we synthesize these all of Westhoff’s vignettes: Everything you think you chemicals, or why we sell know about drugs has these chemicals to your changed. Even the people packing, slinging, sniffing, country. To let your people’s and filling their vaults health down. To harm your thanks to this garbage don’t know the half. Or the country’s people.” wrath. They mostly only care about the math.

“A lot of drug dealing comes from people who have addictions of their own,” Westhoff said. “Painting the dark web or these people with a broad brush isn’t a good idea, because everyone has their own philosophies. A lot of people are in it for harm reduction; there’s a legitimate case to be made for getting a lot of these psychedelics and other potential medicines out to people they can potentially help. And then it gets a little harder when you get this guy who is selling nasal spray with fentanyl analogues and saying that he’s helping opioid addicts maintain their addictions in a more affordable way.”

Wide-open questions

Westhoff, a relatively early explorer into the unknowns of these notorious intoxicants, stresses the lack of common facts and figures in this post-medicine chest Wild West. “They used to say that touching fentanyl can make you overdose,” he said. Unsure of the verdict on the epidermal threat, the author nevertheless said some

feature these ecstasy substitutes and learned that there were all these new drugs coming out of China. But then all that stuff was really just the tip of the iceberg, because by 2016 fentanyl was much worse than all of the others by far. So it’s a completely different project than I envisioned.”

Relevant history

of his sources “were dealing [the extremely dangerous carfentanil] and breaking it up with their bare hands.”

“This stuff is so new that there isn’t much agreement—there’s not even agreement about how to pronounce the word fentanyl.

Half the country says, ‘fenta-nall’; the other half says, ‘fenta-nil.’

But nobody knows. It’s like a black box … a lack of information.”

In his quest to source answers to new wide-open questions, Westhoff “consulted politicians, police, DEA agents, and international drug policy makers, who would like to put these traffickers away forever,” as well as “counselors, doctors, activists, and policy wonks, some of whom believe these drugs should be legal.”

He even “corresponded with two infamous, now-imprisoned LSD kingpins who worked together out of an abandoned missile silo in Kansas.” “The demise of their operation in 2000,” he writes, “may have inadvertently fueled the rise of a new hallucinogen whose effects are far worse than LSD.”

Thousands of sources

You may be wondering, “Is this one of those stories about the real Walter White?” You could say that, but there are thousands of them, wearing different hats on multiple continents, dealing on the web and in your backyard. Fentanyl, Inc. is like Breaking Bad, sure… meets Night of the Living Dead meets New Jack City, Gummo, Kids, and Gremlins. With a cast from a lot of the places on President Donald Trump’s shithole list. As one candid former US State Department special agent explains: “Fentanyl can be produced anywhere a laboratory can be set up, such as a warehouse in an industrial park, a home in a residential area or a clandestine lab in the mountains.”

For Westhoff, the first taste of disaster came nearly a decade ago, in Los Angeles. He writes:

In 2010, fifteen-year-old Sasha Rodriguez fatally overdosed at Electric Daisy Carnival at the LA Coliseum, reportedly from ecstasy.

Local politicians revolted, and the event was forced to relocate to Las Vegas. A Plymouth State University student named Brittany Flannigan overdosed and died in late August 2013 after attending a Boston EDM concert featuring the popular DJ Zedd, and just days later a University of Virginia student named Mary “Shelley” Goldsmith passed away as well. Both were nineteen, and reports said they had taken “Molly.”

“I had a friend who died from multiple fentanyl patches a while back, before I even knew what fentanyl was,” Westoff said. “My way in was through the rave scene in LA when I was the LA Weekly music editor. I had gone to raves a lot back in the day, and ecstasy was pure MDMA, and people weren’t dying … But at these raves, someone if not multiple people were dying at every one. I wanted to investigate that, and I found out about all of

Westhoff includes ample relevant history— from when “one could buy opium from the Sears, Roebuck catalog”; to a Boston dealer who unknowingly tipped off the DEA in 1992 about the nation’s first known leading source of black market fentanyl; and back to the industrial revolution and addiction in the United Kingdom, and how that nation attempted “to balance its trade deficit by using A 2 mg dose of fentanyl (as seen its British East India in comparison with U.S. penny) Company to ply opium can be lethal for some individuals in tremendous quantities (Public domain image via US Drug to the Chinese, causing Enforcement Administration) a pair of wars.” The latter is especially critical background, as fentanyl and other new drugs have not caught on there, spurring many to think that’s why China has been so lax about laws and exports.

“In May [China] blanket-banned all fentanyl analogues, which has been proven to be effective,” Westhoff said. “When China actually bans stuff it has an effect. In the words of one of Wethoff’s Chinese sources, a less-than-clandestine manufacturer: “We are afraid that a reporter come to our lab, to our country, to find out why we synthesize these chemicals, or why we sell these chemicals to your country. To let your people’s health down. To harm your country’s people.”

There is plenty of blame to go around. Some fingers can be pointed at figures like former presidents of the United States, including but by no means limited to Barack Obama, whose 2012 Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act outlawed multiple kinds of synthetic cannabinoids, but which Wired magazine cracked, “was obsolete before the ink of his signature dried” thanks to “the speed of innovation in drugs culture.” More generally speaking, the culprit is every rank and file Greatest Generation prohibitionist who ignorantly warned us that our drugs could be laced with something deadly long before that was a thing that really happened.

Other formerly contrived tropes about the horrors of drugs have also become real, like the one in which dealers walk around offering complimentary samples to teens. As one young woman from the Rust Belt told the author about a strip that doubles as a literal trap in her town: “They’ll come up to anybody who’s parking, getting gas, even getting cigarettes. They’ll drive up to you and ask if you mess around. They give it to you for free.” “There’s one condition, however,” Westhoff writes. “You must have a working cell phone and give them your number.”

Cont’d on p8

ecurrent.com / october 2019 7

Cont’d from p7

Changing product mix

T

he dosages of these fake pills

From Paisley Park to the park behind your vary greatly. One Of course all of the yellow bricks lead back apartment, no place seems to be immune. “When to governments, complicit politicians, all those might have ten times as you think of the opioid epidemic, you think of gratuitous checkboxes. Those pining for the a lot of white middle class people,” Westhoff much fentanyl as the halcyon days when it seemingly couldn’t get said. “That certainly has been a big part of it, but worse than regionally concentrated crack, next. Investigators believe there’s always been a huge African American meth, and heroin scourges may take aim population using heroin, and now that fentanyl is such counterfeit pills were at lazy and misguided attempts to throw a in the mix it’s causing massive casualties in places wrench in the cycle of supply and addiction, responsible for the death of like LA and Chicago. This is not a death sentence like with the Combat Methamphetamine Epifor just one demographic. Just when the prescripmusic star Prince; about one demic Act of 2005. After that law limited the tion pill deaths were finally falling, and just when amount of drug store staples like Sudafed that hundred white pills found on the heroin deaths were finally falling, the deaths you could buy and subsequently harvest to from fentanyl are going way up. And prescriphis property looked exactly manufacture methamphetamine in your barn, tion pills are still abused at a very high rate, so Mexican cartels stepped in to fill the gaps. like Vicodin but actually if fentanyl really starts getting cut into pills, then To learn more about the source of so this thing can balloon even worse than it already contained fentanyl.” much mayhem, Westhoff “infiltrated a pair of is. “It just seems like with each drug epidemic, Chinese drug operations, one a sophisticated things keep getting worse.” laboratory operation distilling outsize quantities of the world’s most dangerous chemicals in industrial-size Focus on demand glassware, and the other an office of young, cheery salespeople, Toward the end of Fentanyl, Inc., Westhoff points to some who sat in rows of cubicles and sold fentanyl ingredients to solutions. “The crack epidemic, the meth epidemic—keep in American dealers and Mexican cartels.” After demasking wizards mind people were blaming the user back then, so thankfully we’re in China and possibly learning more than any other American moving beyond that.” He also supports harm reduction strategies civilian has to date about the mechanics of that country’s fentanyl like supervised injection facilities, which he argues “is really just a trade, Westhoff came to understand that the problem is bigger no-brainer.” than the F-word and its awful analogues.

“We know from the failure of the War on Drugs that focusing There are countless oddball drugs available on the black on the supply side is not going to work,” Westhoff said. “Killing market. “Even today,” writes Westhoff, “synthetic cannabinoids a drug kingpin from Colombia or capturing El Chapo doesn’t do remain the fastest growing class of drugs … Some are twice as poanything—the drug supply is just getting worse. The drugs will tent as marijuana; some are one hundred times as potent or more. find a way to get here, drug users will find a way to get their And there is little formal testing, almost nobody knows how safe drugs, and all we can do is focus on the demand side.” each blend is, not even the scientists who invented them.”

The shifting goal posts make the problem nearly impossible to smother; still, the author hopes his contribution can play an imporF-infiltration tant role in navigating us out of this state of emergency.

The good news keeps on coming. “Even more disturbingly,” “The inventor of fentanyl, Paul Janssen, there’s literally nothing the author reports, “fentanyl began to be pressed into pills that written about him, and so I wanted to tell his story and that of look exactly like name-brand prescription tablets. Raids across the other people who brought these drugs to life. No one did it on the United States have turned up operations in houses and apartpurpose really—these are all drugs taken from scientific literature. ments that turn fentanyl powder into tablets using specialized “I tried to have it not just be about statistics, but about bigger presses. Both the drugs and the machines are bought from China. trends. Even when this information is out of date, I think people These operations can make thousands of pills per hour. They are going to want to look back on how this fentanyl crisis got off stamp pills with the OxyContin or Percocet logo, and they’re the ground.” indistinguishable … The dosages of these fake pills vary greatly.

One might have ten times as much fentanyl as the next. InvestigaChris Faraone is the editor-in-chief of DigBoston and the editorial tors believe such counterfeit pills were responsible for the death director of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. This article of music star Prince; about one hundred white pills found on was produced in collaboration with BINJ as part of its Film Intervening Getting High Team (F.I.G.H.T.) initiative. For more information and his property looked exactly like Vicodin but actually contained coverage of the epidemic visit binjonline.org. fentanyl.”

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feature The Decrease of Tenure and the Lives of Lecturers

By Daniel Ackerman

Tenure, once a foundational tenet of higher education in the United States, has been disappearing in recent decades. Devised as a way to protect teachers’ access to academic freedom and financial stability, it has faced threats from academic institutions’ decreasing reliance on tenure-track faculty. In its place, universities have been utilizing part-time and non-tenure-track lecturers and adjunct faculty with increasing frequency. These educators earn less money, have shortterm contracts and little job security when compared with their tenured colleagues.

This creates an environment in which lecturers’ lives are less stable, diminishing their ability to research and publish, thereby affecting not only their livelihoods but also students and society alike.

What is Tenure For?

As the AAUP points out in their 2015-16 Economic Status Report, pursuits like these have had “extraordinary impact on science, technology, and society.” In the case of Nobel Prize winner, Paul Modrich, he undertook research on DNA mismatch repair that was considered “high-risk” at the time, with little chance of success. His findings isolated the cause of “20 percent of all forms of colon cancer, saving thousands of lives.” Locally, tenured University of Michigan professor Ed Sarath recently published the book Black Music Matters, which critiques systemic problems with pedagogical methods in music education (Current readers will remember our March 2019 book review). These methods are currently in use at U-M. The decision to openly interrogate the institution that signs his paycheck would have been less likely had he been concerned aobut being rehired in the fall. The AAUP agrees, stating that decreasing tenure rates have “imperiled academic freedom”.

A Balancing Act

Ed Sarath, tenured U-M professor.

Tenure, as we understand it today, was described by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), an advocacy group established in 1915, to protect academic integrity in higher education. In a declaration titled, “Statement on Principles of Academic Freedom and Tenure” in 1940, tenure was defined as “an Marlin Jenkins, U-M indefinite appointment that lecturer. can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances” for the purposes of “freedom of teaching and research,” and “a sufficient degree of economic security to make the profession attractive to men and women of ability.” A professor with tenure can research and publish material without fear of being fired for their views, even when they contradict those of the institution they work for. His or her economic security allows them to pursue research that may not be immediately profitable to either the researcher or their institution.

Over the past 40 years, across the nation, there has been a 62 percent increase in full-time non-tenure-track faculty appointments and a 70 percent increase in part-time instructional faculty appointments. A full 70 percent of academic positions today are off the tenure track and part time, also according to the AAUP study. The average earnings for this bulk of academic positions was less than $17,000 annually, forcing most to seek second jobs to make ends meet. According to the AAUP, “25 percent of all part-time lecturers’ households [are] receiving some form of public assistance from the federal government. This effect is especially felt in an expensive town like Ann Arbor, where a study by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2015 found that the average rent for a studio apartment in Washtenaw County was nearly $10,000 per year. Marlin Jenkins, a lecturer at the University of Michigan, to find affordable rent, commuted an hour to get to work, and had a part-time hourly position at the Neutral Zone to close the gap.

Due to the short contract lengths (as short as a semester during the spring and summer), lecturers like Jenkins are continuously applying for positions at other institutions. Current employment at an institution does not guarantee a position in the next academic year. Last minute hires are common. As one lecturer drops out of a job when another job closer to home with better pay opens up (or if they end their lecturing career in favor of a more stable career pathway), another is forced to make a similar decision.

Once, Jenkins was required to prepare for a semester of work although he hadn’t yet been offered the job.

Jenkins’ finds his time as a lecturer a “balancing act between being grateful and being frustrated. I love the job, love the students,” but it is difficult to always be looking towards the future and staying present for those students. Despite the dilemma, he excelled at the latter, being nominated for a teaching award last year, but the balancing act takes its toll. After all, like many lecturers, Jenkins hopes to one day be on the tenure track. This means not only creating a body of notable work, but also having that work published by a major publishing house--no small task if he had the ability to devote all his time to it.

“There has to be a better way”

In a time in which higher education is more expensive than it has ever been, and national student debt climbs into the trillions of dollars, the amount of money institutions of higher education are investing in the individuals who directly educate students is falling. This leaves lecturers like Marlin Jenkins, who have dedicated their lives to education, performing a tightrope act to make ends meet. In the last fifteen years, unions like The Lecturers’ Employee Organization here in Washtenaw County have made great strides to ensure better working conditions for the educators who make up the bulk of the teachers at the University. Still, as Marlin relates, “there has to be a better way”.

ecurrent.com / october 2019 9

food Constant Buzz Dominick’s boasts a long history (and an even longer menu)

By Athena Cocoves

If you ask the townies, “Ann Arbor has changed over the years.” If you ask the busy and bustling crowds of U-M freshmen, they’ll ask: “What?” So, who’s right— the aging hippies who complain about the changing times, or the young newbies eagerly awaiting the “next big thing”?

Honestly, we don’t really care, and neither does anyone else because, in Ann Arbor, nothing really changes at Dominick’s.

About a building

While the 812 Monroe St. building is now known as an Ann Arbor institution, Dominick’s hasn’t always been Dominick’s. In the early 1900s, the building was a neighborhood grocery.

After World War I, it was a coffee and sandwich shop. In 1959, Dominick DeVarti noticed the failing business, only a few steps away from the U-M campus, and bought it. By 1961, DeVarti had fans, frequent customers, and a liquor license.

The complete history of Dominick’s is spotty, often told through exaggerated stories by aging townies. I’d believe them— and their memories of the place serving as an unofficial Ann Arbor Film Festival meetup, or as a white-tablecloth restaurant, or as a Vietnamese place, or the restaurant’s connection to Domino’s Pizza (vis-a-vis brothers Tom and Jim Monaghan, who bought DeVarti’s shortlived Ypsi location in the late 60s and renamed it Domino’s), or as the place so-and-so met so-and-so before they got married and just look at them now— but, when it comes to mythology, separating fact from fiction is sort of a buzzkill.

If you want a history lesson, look at the restaurant’s walls, adorned with posters that span decades of A2 significant events.

About a gift from Bacchus

A college town hangout, Dominick’s is crowded rooms and hallways that lead to an outdoor garden filled with long picnic tables with loud groups of friends, strangers, campus clubs, and Ann

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Arborites you’ve never met.

Technically, Dominick’s is a restaurant and, as a restaurant, it does its job.

But Dominick’s, like Ann Arbor, isn’t defined by technicalities (an ironic realization, considering the institution’s popularity with the neighboring law quad and business school).

Instead, Dominick’s, a hybrid restaurant/Italianfamily-backyard-party/college hangout/ pizza-parlor/garden-gifted-by-Bacchus, is defined by nostalgia. Sangria-soaked summer evenings, the bracing cold of late-fall before the hangout closes for the season after the last home Michigan football game (Saturday, November 30 this year, if you’re wondering), and its triumphant return after U-M students return from spring break.

About a bar (and a menu)

While we can continue to wax poetic about the metaphysics of Dominick’s, we won’t, although, we’d like to (and, if we did, we’d blame it on the intoxicating combination of a blinding setting sun and a half-gallon of Dominick’s famous sangria). Instead, we’ll discuss Dominick’s status as a restaurant.

There’s no table service, but a proper waitress-and-table setup at Dominick’s would be at odds with the atmosphere.

Instead, the bustling crowds are matched with a winding, full line of patrons waiting to place orders before waiting, again, to hear their name called over a scratchy speaker.

There’s no real bar, but the generous selection of libations (served with

equally-generous pours) feels like a better deal. Your wait in line is rewarded with a heavy Ball jar of sangria, a truly potent elixir of blended strawberry colada and liquor called “Constant Buzz”, house wines, and a heady selection of Michigan craft beers (no national brands here, the taps are dedicated to products from the Mitten).

There is, however, a real menu, which boasts everything from classic Italian fare (well, mainly Italian fare) to the oft-ordered quesadillas, nachos and the Vietnamese Bung Sao (really), available in paper form, as well as scrawled across chalkboards decorated the walls of the “ordering room” (you’ll know it when you see it).

The food is good, mostly, depending on what you order. Our recent trip offered a thick, doughy pizza (which was quickly devoured), a decadent plate of tortellini with alfredo sauce, a massive Italian sub, a fine side salad, tasty artichoke dip (why not).

Everyone goes to Dominick’s because everyone loves Dominick’s.

10am-10pm, Monday-Saturday. Closes for the season on Saturday, November 30.

812 Monroe St., Ann Arbor. 734-662-5414.

1 Tuesday Schramm’s Mead Tasting 5pm. Blue Front. Bfa2.com Free

A chance to sample some of the best old school mead around, provided by Schramm’s Meadery out of Ferndale.

2 Wednesday Karl’s Octoberfest featuring Bell’s Beer

7pm. $5 cover. Karl’s Cabin Restaurant & Bar. karlscabin.com

Karl’s 8th annual Octoberfest celebration features Bell’s custom Octoberfest beer and musical guests The Flutter and Wow.

3 Thursday New Belgium Beer Tasting 5pm. Blue Front. Bfa2.com Free

Some of the best ales from award-winning craft beer makers New Belgium out of Colorado will be available for sampling.

4 Friday Autumn Date Night

6pm. $55. Fustini’s Oils and Vinegars. fustinis.com

Learn how to prepare some perfect pairings for a date night to remember, like Pork Medallions with an Apple Gastrique or Bananas Foster.

Beer & Cheese

6:30pm. $45. Zingerman’s Creamery. events.zingermanscommunity.com

Sample a wide range of beers paired with artisan cheeses and find out which brew goes best with which brie!

Bell’s Brewery Tasting

5pm. Blue Front. Bfa2.com Free

Taste the creations of Bell’s Brewery, which has been turning out first-class craft beers since 1985.

5 Saturday 21st Annual Jam Contest

10am. Downtown Home and Garden.

Downtownhomeandgarden.com Free

Sample some of the best homemade jams from around Ann Arbor and vote for your favorites to win prizes!

Cheese, Wine, and Chocolate

3pm. $45. Zingerman’s Creamery.

Events.zingermanscommunity.com

Chocolate bars from Zingerman’s Candy Manufactory will be paired with the Creamery’s classic cheeses.

Cheesemaking Workshop 9am. Michigan Folk School. mifolkschool.com Free

Cheesemaker Julia Gold teachers this workshop on how to make cheese in your own home.

Detroit Fall Beer Festival The Michigan Brewers Guild will host one of the largest all-Michigan craft beer tastings at Detroit’s Eastern Market for the 11th year in a row. 120 of the state’s breweries will be present with nearly 1,000 beer choices. Sip a brew and enjoy a bite from the food stands while listening to the lineup of local musicians. Michigan boasts one of the best craft beer scenes in the country! Ticket price includes 15 beer tasting tokens which can be exchanged for 3 oz. samples at the festival. —GJ $45 Friday, $50 Saturday (buy in advance online).

October 25-26. Eastern Market, Detroit. Mibeer.com.

Get your can in here!

Oktoberfest 2019

2pm. $50. Farmington Brewing Company. fbcbrewing.com

Farmington’s annual Oktoberfest celebration includes authentic German food prepared by area pop-up restaurant Deutschtroit.

6 Sunday Comparative Cupping

Noon. $30. Zingerman’s Coffee. events.zingermanscommunity.com

Guests will sample coffees from around the world using techniques preferred by professional taste-testers in this semi-regular event.

Noon. Tap Room. taproomypsi.com Free

Bar-goers can enjoy $3.00 24 oz. cans of Budweiser, But Light, Miller Lite, MGD and Labatt until 7pm.

Mozzarella & Ricotta

2pm. $75. Zingerman’s Creamery. events.zingermanscommunity.com

Students of this workshop will learn how to make fresh mozzarella and ricotta cheese at home via simple and fun recipes.

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SE Michigan Wine Tour

Noon. $74. Dundee Park and Ride. michigantrolleys.com

Take a trolley tour through the Irish Hills and visit some of the area’s best wineries, with a box lunch included.

Sip and Shop

10am. Teaspressa. teaspressa.com Free

The monthly event allows patrons to drink Teaspressa’s special brand of beverage while browsing the wares of area vendors and artists.

7 Monday Building Blocks for the Local Food Entrepreneur: From Start to Selling 101 6pm. Robert C. Barnes Sr. Marketplace Hall. growinghope.net Free

Growing Hope presents this first in a series of workshops offering guidance on finances, marketing, food safety and more.

8 Tuesday Ypsilanti Farmers Market Cooking Demo

4pm. Ypsilanti Farmers Marketplace.

Growinghope.net Free

Area chef teaches a simple-yetdelicious recipe using seasonal ingredients to attendees.

OCTOBER 3 VINCENT YORK OCTOBER 4-5 ANTONIO SANCHEZ QUARTET OCTOBER 16. SUMKALI OCTOBER 19. SEAN DOBBINS QUARTET OCTOBER 23. ALISON AU QUARTET OCTOBER 24 JOSHUA BREAKSTONE TRIO

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9 Wednesday Michigan Harvest

6pm. $55. Fustini’s Oils and Vinegars. fustinis.com

Capture the taste of Michigan with this two-hour class that will teach how to prepare dishes made from some of the state’s signature produce.

11 Friday Cider & Cheese

6:30pm. $45. Zingerman’s Creamery. events.zingermanscommunity.com

Learn the best hard ciders to pair with some of Zingerman’s delicious cheeses at this workshop.

Odd Side Ales Tasting

5pm. Blue Front. Bfa2.com Free

Take a walk on the Odd Side by attending this sampling of some of the ales from the Grand Haven craft brewery.

12 Saturday Cheese 101

3pm. $40. Zingerman’s Creamery. events.zingermanscommunity.com

Cheese glorious cheese! Learn all about the many varieties of cheese and find out tips about how to pair them with various drinks.

13 Sunday Chefs in the Garden Series 5pm. $125. Growing Hope. a2tix.com

The cooking of Brandon Johns, head chef and owner of Grange Kitchen and Bar, will be featured at this month’s fundraiser.

Cocktail Class: Fall Cocktails

2 and 5pm. $45. The Last Word. tammystastings.com

Learn the history and techniques behind some of the most popular cocktails in this 90-minute class.

Production Tour

1pm. $10. Zingerman’s Creamery. events.zingermanscommunity.com

Follow the process as you learn how Zingerman’s turns milk into cheese and gelato over the course of this hour-long tour.

Sunday Jazz Brunch

11am. Detroit Street Filling Station. thelunchrooma2.com/ detroit-street-filling-station-1 Free

The trio Djangophonique brings its special brand of jazz to the Detroit Street Filling Station’s weekly Sunday brunch.

14 Monday A Vegetarian Feast: Miss Kim Fall Favorites

6pm. $32. Miss Kim. events.zingermanscommunity.com

A buffet-style meal of delicious vegetarian dishes, spotlighting the produce of Prochaska Farms out of Tecumseh.

15 Tuesday Bourbon Club with Gary 7pm. $35. Wines On Main. winesonmainchelsea.club

Bourbon invades Wines On Main as attendees sample four unique varieties of bourbon, whiskey or scotch.

Slow Food Monthly Slowcial

Fall Italian Festa

6:30pm. $100. Paesano Restaurant and Wine Bar. paesanoannarbor.com

Enjoy an evening of great food and powerful music as your meal is accompanied by a performance from Sicilian tenor Aaron Caruso.

First Time Home Buyer Seminar With A Twist

6:30pm. Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales + Kitchen. jollypumpkin.com Free

Hoping to buy a home and also love pizza? Stop by this special event where attendees will learn how to prepare for ownership and also try some of Jolly Pumpkins’ pies.

Healthy Food Distribution 2pm. Washtenaw County Human Services Building atrium. washtenaw.org Free

The Washtenaw County Health Department and Food Gatherers offer its monthly food distribution to individuals and families with lower incomes.

Knife Sharpening Demystified

6:15pm. Michigan Folk School. mifolkschool.com Free

Learn the secret to keeping your kitchen knives razor-sharp in this three-hour workshop.

17 Thursday Garden Chat

3pm. Ypsilanti District Library Whittaker Branch. ypsilibrary.org Free

Advanced Master Gardener Carol Brodbeck answers questions and gives tips for gardeners of all skill levels.

Growing Microgreens 6:15pm. Mi Folk School.

Mifolkschool.com Free.

Learn how to grow your own microgreen plants at home all year long at this workshop presented by Mi Folk School.

6pm. Bløm Meadworks. slowfoodhuronvalley.com Free.

Third Thursdays in Milan

Tapistry Brewing Tasting

The music of swing-rock-blues band MGC highlights the October edition of Downtown Milan’s monthly shopping event.

Attendees will get the chance to sample the craft beers of Tapistry Brewing out of Bridgman.

Appetizer Party

Celebrate and learn about food (complete with free snacks!) during Slow Food’s monthly gathering at Bløm Meadworks.

5pm. Blue Front. Bfa2.com Free

16 Wednesday Cooking with Edible WOW -- Guest Chef Demo 11am. Ann Arbor Farmers Market. calendar.a2gov.org Free

Chefs Eve Aronoff and Armando Lopez of Frita Batidos present cooking demonstrations using ingredients sold at the Farmers Market.

6th Annual Fast Food for Thought Hosted by the University of Michigan Sustainable Food Systems Initiative, ten faculty members, from varied disciplines, come together to talk about food, agriculture and sustainability. Each speaker will give a fiveminute presentation, followed by a reception with refreshments.

Although the talks are quick, the topics are not.

Learn about local foodrelated research and take a taste for yourself! —GJ Free. 5:30pm. Tuesday, October 1. Dana Building, 440 Church St, Room 1040. sites.lsa.umich.edu/sustainablefoodsystems.

The Community of Food, Society & Justice Conference

8am. University of Michigan East Quadrangle. mbgna.umich.edu Free

Confronting issues of race, class and gender privilege as it relates to food and health is the focus of the conference open to the public.

Cookbook: Jamie’s Italy

6pm. $70. Fustini’s Oils and Vinegars. fustinis.com

Inspired by Chef Jamie Oliver’s cookbook, learn how to make some classics of Italian cuisine in this interactive workshop.

Hard Cider Dinner

6:30pm. $40-100. rel-ish Restaurant. kcourtaa.com

Each course of this event’s fivecourse dinner is paired with a hard cider by JK’s Farmhouse out of Flushing.

5pm. Downtown Milan. milanthirdthursdays.org Free

Oktoberfest Street Festival 5-midnight Friday, noon-midnight Saturday. Arbor Brewing Company. arborbrewing.com Free

Two-day celebration featuring brats, pretzels and beer, with musical performances by Pajamas and the Rhinelanders. Also on 10/19.

19 Saturday Bombers and Brews

5pm. $39 online, $50 at the door. Yankee Air Museum. yankeeairmuseum.org

View the historic aircraft on display at the Yankee while sampling some of Michigan’s best craft beers and enjoying food by Twisted Rooster.

Date Night

3pm. $45. Zingerman’s Creamery. events.zingermanscommunity.com

Enjoy a relaxing evening of drinks and food as Zingerman’s presents its finest cheese bites paired with wine and beers.

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18 Friday Noon. $55. Fustini’s Oils and Vinegars. fustinis.com

A class for the party hosts who want to prepare great-tasting small dishes, like Ahi Tuna Tartar or Buffalo Cauliflower Cups.

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Taste, compare and contrast Pappy Van Winkle and Weller Whiskies, both made by Buffalo Trace Distillery.

Washtenaw’s annual celebration of the outstanding Law Enforcement Officer and Firefighter of the Year, with a speech by author and automotive executive Robert Lutz.

Noon. $109. The Sugar House.

Sugarhousedetroit.com

5pm. $25. Dearborn Heights Moose Lodge. brownpapertickets.com

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Experience tribute artists performing the songs of John Denver, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette and more along with a delicious dinner at the Moose Lodge.

21 Monday Building Blocks for the Local Food Entrepreneur: Good Food Funding 6pm. Robert C Barnes Sr MarketPlace Hall. growinghope.org Free

1015 Broadway • 734.995.0965 (at the foot of the Broadway Bridge)

Zilke Farm Kitchen owner Vicki Silke discusses her experiences in the food business and acquiring funding from the Michigan Good Food Fund.

22 Tuesday Roak Brewing Tasting

Open 7am-3pm, Seven Days a Week

View the full menu at NorthsideGrill.com

5pm. Blue Front. Bfa2.com Free

Royal Oak’s trendy craft brewery Roak Brewing presents its wares and this Blue Front tasting.

23 Wednesday

One of the biggest all-Michigan beer festivals comes to Eastern Market, offering samples from nearly 1,000 beers.

Meads & Masterpieces 5:30pm. $25. Blom Meadworks. drinkblom.com

Art instructor Payton Cook guides students as they enjoy some mead and create watercolor paintings.

26 Saturday Style Series: Gouda

3pm. $40. Zingerman’s Creamery. events.zingermanscommunity.com

A guided tour through the history and creation of the Dutch cheese, tastings included.

27 Sunday Brewing Methods

Students can meet in Oxford’s Noble Kitchen to prepare a delicious and sustainably sourced meal.

Cocktail Class: Spooky Sips

7pm. $75. Vinology. vinologya2.com

Vinology’s Black Wine Night features a five-course meal paired with a variety of wines for a surprising (perhaps spooky!) experience. Also on 10/24.

24 Thursday Free Presentation & Vegan Food Tasting 6:30pm. Canton Public Library.

Vegmichigan.org Free

VegMichigan presents “PlantBased 101,” a free vegan food tasting featuring a discussion of the benefits of a plant-based diet.

Halloween Hootenanny!

4pm. $8. Zingerman’s Deli. zingermanscommunity.com

Enjoy a fun evening of seasonal activities, with pumpkin drawing, cookie decorating, face painting and more.

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4pm. $45-50. Eastern Market Partnership. easternmarket.org

12pm. $30. Zingerman’s Coffee. events.zingermanscommunity.com

5th Annual Black Wine Dinner

october

25 Friday Fall Beer Festival

SLE Community Dinner 6pm. Oxford Housing. events.umich.edu Free

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6pm. $80-$225. Washtenaw Community College. washtenaw100.org

Spice up your at-home brewing with this workshop designed to help attendees learn how to brew a great pot of coffee.

5pm. $45. The Last Word. tammystastings.com

Learn how to make some season-appropriate cocktails accompanied by some light snacks and Halloween goodies.

Simple Artisan Breads

2pm. $60. The Lakehouse Bakery.

Thelakehousebakery.com

Learn how to craft these densebut-delicious bread at home in this hands-on class.

29 Tuesday Midland Tasting

5pm. Blue Front. Bfa2.com Free

Midland’s stout ales made “with ingenuity and plenty of elbow grease” will be the focus of this tasting at Blue Front.

30 Wednesday Founders Brewery Breakfast for Dinner Pajama Party

6pm. $65. Karl’s Cabin Restaurant & Bar. karlscabin.com

Enjoy a five-course beer-andbreakfast meal for dinner, with the best-dressed pajama-wearers earning prizes.

Ongoing

Weekday Happy Hour

3-6pm Mon-Thur. 3-5 Fri. 10-midnight (bar only) Sun-Thur. Aventura. aventuraannarbor.com

Wines by the glass $3 off, 50% off draft beer and select $5 cocktails. If you purchase a happy hour beverage you get 25% off tapas.

Happy Hour Specials 2-5pm. Mon-Friday. Whitmore Lake Tavern. whitmorelaketavern.com

All draft pints and well-mixed drinks are only $3, with house wines, well martinis and manhattans at $4. Additionally, eight appetizers are half off, such as fried pickles and cheddar bacon skins.

Six Days of Happy Hour

3-6pm. Mon-Saturday. Red Brick Kitchen, Dexter. redbrickkitchen.com

Enjoy savory happy hour food specials, washed down with $4 house wines and $5 well-mixed drinks.

Hot Jazz & Wine Wednesday

6pm. Detroit Street Filling Station. Free

The Djangophonique quartet plays Hot Jazz at Detroit Street Filling Station every Wednesday from 6pm to 9pm, come for the wine specials, stay for the music.

Wing Wednesday

3-9pm. $5. Ypsi Alehouse. ypsialehouse.com

Half pound of house-smoked flash fried wings with options of tangy BBQ sauce, buffalo carmel sauce, or lemon pepper dry rub (blue cheese or ranch upon request).

4-10pm. Evans Street Station, Tecumseh. evansstreetstation.com

Take a country drive to Tecumseh, enjoy ½ off bottles of wine while there (or to go), if you stay late enough, partake in the late-night happy hour after 8pm featuring $1.50 oysters.

Vegan Wednesdays

5pm. Salt Springs Brewery, Saline. saltspringsbrewery.com

Runs through October 23.

Dexter Farmers Market

Thursdays

Runs through October 26.

3:30pm-7pm. Chi-Bro Park, 209 Ann Arbor St. manchesterfarmmarket.com

Cobblestone Farm Market

4-7pm. Buhr Park, 2781 Packard Rd., Ann Arbor. Cobblestonefarmmarket.org

2-6pm. 3233 Alpine St., downtown Dexter. dextermi.gov/farmers-market

Ypsilanti Farmers Markets

Manchester Farmers Market

3-7pm. Downtown Market, 16 S. Washington St, Ypsilanti. growinghope.net/farmers-markets/ ypsilanti

Milan Farmers & Artisans Market

Tequila Tuesdays

Open through Oct. 14

5-10pm. Dolores, Ypsilanti. @dolores. ypsi

Enjoy up to $8 off on all agave spirits from open to close on Tuesdays!

Wednesdays

Chelsea Farmers Market 1-5pm. 1010 S. Main St., downtown Chelsea. Chelseafarmersmkt.org

Through October 30

St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor Farmers Market

11am-1pm. St. Joe’s (inside hospital lobby), 5301 McAuley Dr, Ypsilanti. stjoesannarbor.org/thefarm

Ann Arbor Farmers Market

7am-3pm. Wednesdays and Saturdays.

315 Detroit St., Kerrytown. A2gov.org/ market

Blue Lep Basement Takeover

10pm. The Blue Leprechaun. theblueleprechaun.com Free

Tickets start at $125. 5pm. Sunday, October 13. Growing Hope, 922 W Michigan Ave, Ypsilanti. growinghope.net.

Wine Night Wednesdays

Each week on Wednesday Salt’s features will be veggie/veganfriendly (check online menu).

Meat eaters rest assured Salt’s regular menu is always available as well.

Tuesdays

Chefs in the Garden 2019 Join this fundraiser dinner for Growing Hope, an Ypsilanti nonprofit dedicated to fostering an equitable and local food system through their farmers marketplace, urban farm, and kitchen space. This month features a cocktail hour and live music by Matt Jones and Davey Jones, a meal specially prepared on-site by Chef Brandon Johns of Grange Kitchen & Bar, and dessert by Sweet Heather Anne. Enjoy the finest local cuisine at your local urban farm for a good cause. —GJ

5-8pm. Third Thursdays of the Month.

Tolan Square, downtown Milan.

Milanthirdthursdays.org

Pittsfield Township Farmers Market 2-6pm. Township Hall Campus, 6201 W. Michigan Ave, Ann Arbor. pittsfield-mi. gov/famersmarket

Beer + Yoga

6:30pm. $10. Witch’s Hat Brewing Co. witchshatbrewing.com

Beer by Witch’s Hat - Yoga

by Devine Power Yoga and MassageEvery Thursday sees a 6:30 Divine Power Yoga and Massage, $10 for both the class and a Tier 1 pint.

Bluegrass & Beer Thursdays

6pm. Detroit Street Filling Station. Free

The Pontiac Trailblazers play 6pm to 9pm every Thursday at Detroit Street Filling Station, with beer specials and vegan soul food.

Light Night Happy Hour 4pm. Old German. oldgerman.net

Enjoy half off all food, drink deals like $5 off pitchers, $2 off liters and ½ liters of beer as well as $1 off well drinks and house wine.

Enjoy karaoke every Thursday as well to round out the fun.

Service Industry Night 7pm. The Original Cottage Inn. originalcottageinn.com

Come get 30% off Food and Drinks in the bar only all night long, only those who work in restaurants or bars are welcome.

Must bring work ID or pay stub to verify employment.

Wings & Beer

5pm-midnight. Blue Leprechaun. theblueleprechaun.com

Saturdays

Chelsea Farmers Market 8am-1pm. 304 S. Main St., downtown Chelsea. Chelseafarmersmkt.org

Winter hours begin November.

Dexter Farmers Market

8am-1pm. 3233 Alpine St., downtown Dexter. dextermi.gov/farmers-market

Through October 26.

Saline Farmers Market

8am-noon. Downtown Saline (S. Ann Arbor St, ½ block S. of Michigan Ave). cityofsaline.org/farmersmarket

Winter hours begin November.

Jazz Brunch Performances

11:30am. The Standard Bistro & Larder. thestandardbistro.com Free

Every Thursday, get lucky with 1lb of wings and Miller pitcher for only $13.99.

Live, acoustic music during select Saturday brunches.

Featuring various local artists, proper French omelets and seasonal mimosas!

Fridays

Pints & Poses

Dixboro Farmers Market 3-7pm. 5221 Church St., Ann Arbor.

Dixborofarmersmarket.org

9:30am. $15.

North Center Brewing Company.

Through October 25.

Come for early morning yoga, stay for a complimentary beer afterward!

Classic Ann Arbor by the Sidewalk Food Tour

Sundays

11am. $52. Outside Frita Batidos.

Bythesidewalk.com

Follow a knowledgeable guide through Kerrytown and Ann Arbor Downtown for a tasty and fascinating culinary tour.

Ypsilanti Morning Coffee Club

8am. Biggby Coffee. biggby.com Free

Join for coffee and conversation at one of the oldest coffee clubs in the area!

Webster Farmers Market

11:30am-3pm. Sundays (except 3rd).

Webster Historical Society Grounds, 5665 Webster Church Rd, Dexter. websterfarmersmarket.org

Ypsilanti Farmers Markets

9am-1pm. Depot Town Market, 100 Rice St, Ypsilanti. growinghope.net/farmersmarkets/ypsilanti

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music Jazzed Up

PHOTO CREDIT: WAYNE NORMAN.

Joan Belgrave Quartet Makes Blue LLama Jazz Club Debut October 18

By Lori Stratton Joan Belgrave brings her soothing jazz vocals to Tree Town this month. The legendary Detroit jazz singer-songwriter will make her Blue LLama Jazz Club debut Friday, October 18 when she’ll perform two separate sets as part of a quartet with Zen Zadravec (piano), Ibrahim Jones (bass) and Brandon Williams (drums).

“I sing depending on how I feel, or how I feel the crowd is feeling. I read the crowd, I read myself, and I read the musicians, and we go with how it’s supposed to be,” said Belgrave about her upcoming Blue LLama show. “There will be some blues, but there won’t be any gospel. There will be some of Marcus Belgrave’s music in there since I always do some of his music, and there will be some of my music.”

Starting Out in Music

Belgrave started sharing her breathtaking vocals with local, national and international audiences nearly 50 years ago. While growing up in Ann Arbor, she sang Aretha Franklin and blues tunes at neighborhood parties with her mother, joined church and school choirs and received private vocal training from Willis Patterson, professor emeritus of voice, at the University of Michigan.

“I think that everything that I do is rooted in gospel, and I think gospel is probably the root of blues and jazz,” said Belgrave, who now sings with the Motown Legends Gospel Choir. “I think that’s the strongest foundation that I have, and that’s what I bring to everything that I do.”

After graduating from high school, Belgrave received classical vocal training at the Interlochen International Music Academy near Traverse City and later moved to Los Angeles to sing in clubs.

With four years of singing under her belt, Belgrave met her first husband, had three children and left her music career behind.

Focusing on Family

For 15 years, Belgrave stepped out of the music limelight and into full-time family mode. She chose a more stable home life instead of taking her children on the road. “I decided that I brought them into

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Detroit’s Joan Belgrave brings her legendary jazz vocals to Ann Arbor’s Blue LLama Jazz Club.

this world that it was my responsibility to make sure they got what they needed at home,” Belgrave said. “I didn’t even sing in church because I knew that if I started singing, it would just open up a waterfall.”

Belgrave kept that musical waterfall at bay until her father passed away in 1994.

At her mother’s request, she returned home to Michigan and sang at her father’s funeral, which rekindled her passion for music. With music back in her life, Belgrave returned to California, formed a jazz band, got divorced and released her first album, Emotions Blue, in 1998 as a tribute to Billie Holiday. Five years later, she released Variations and began managing a recording studio in San Jose, California.

Moving Back to Detroit, Meeting Marcus Belgrave

Despite her musical resurgence in California, Belgrave yearned to move back home and pursue a singing career in the Motor City. One fateful night she performed during an open mic at Bert’s Market Place in Detroit and met the iconic jazz trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, who became enamored with his future wife’s vocals and invited her to sing with his band.

“I’ve traveled all over, and I’ve been to many, many places, and there is no place like Detroit when it comes to jazz music,” Belgrave said. “People are more willing to help each other, which is wonderful, because Marcus was the nurturer for 52 years, and that whole feeling of nurturing is there.”

By 2005, the Belgraves became professional and personal partners and performed Louis Armstrong and New

Orleans jazz tribute shows before recording “You Don’t Know Me,” a Ray Charles tribute album, a year later.

“Marcus learned to listen to singers when he was a child. His father would put him in different parts of the band so he could hear everyone, and when you hear everyone, you know how to blend,” said Belgrave, who married Marcus in 2007.

“I think that’s one of the main things he taught me was how to hear and listen for everyone.”

Keeping Marcus’ Musical Legacy Alive

Two years later, the Belgraves released the Grammy-nominated, personalized musical love letter, “Excitable,” and “Once Again,” an enchanting collaboration with New Orleans saxophonist Charlie Gabriel.

The Belgraves continued to write, record and release several albums until Marcus passed away in 2015.

Today, Belgrave keeps Marcus’ musical legacy alive through performances in Ann Arbor, Detroit and New York City. In August, she unveiled the naming of a local Detroit street after Marcus and announced a tribute band in his honor. “Jazz is not going anywhere,” said Belgrave, who’s currently working on her next album. “As long as we have elders passing it down to the young folks, and as long as we remember our history, then we’re going to be just fine.”

Joan Belgrave Quartet 7 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. | Friday, October 18 Blue LLama Jazz Club, 314 S. Main St. in Ann Arbor Tickets: $15, $25, $35 at bluellama.com

music 1 Tuesday Bye Bye Binho; A Four band Benefit 7pm. Suggested Donation.

Ziggy’s. Ziggysypsi.com

Local musicians come together to perform at a benefit show to help Binho Manenti on his trip back home to Brazil this October.

Featuring Quetico, Kristianna & The DayNites, Honey Monsoon, and ZZvava.

The Tannahill Weavers / The Old Blind Dogs 7:30pm. $25. The Ark. tannahillweavers.com

The Ark presents a night of traditional Scottish Music featuring The Tannahill Weavers and The Old Blind Dogs. Both groups are firmly established in the instrumentation and historical melodies of Scottish music while also bringing those sounds into the modern age.

2 Wednesday Pete Siers Organic Roots Quartet 7pm. The Blue Llama Jazz Club. bluellamaclub.com. Free

Veteran jazz Drummer Pete Siers puts on a dynamically intense performance with a detailed mastery of various styles. Siers also has over 25 years of experience teaching percussion at various universities including the University of Michigan.

No Fun Haus

8pm. $5 / $8 day of. 18+. The Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com.

Four-piece rock band No Fun Haus plays at the Blind Pig. Special guests include Boob Sweat and Atomic Omelet.

3 Thursday Vincent York

7pm. $10/20/30 VIP. The Blue Llama Jazz Club. bluellamaclub.com.

4 Friday Magic City Hippies

8pm. $15 adv./$20 day-of. 18+.

The Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

Up-in-coming indie-funk group Magic City Hippies are touring their infectious Miami pop sound throughout the country promoting their debut album Modern Animal. Sego opens.

Beanstalk - Tidal Waves Album Release 8pm. $5. Ziggy’s. Ziggysypsi.com.

Psychedelic Synth act Beanstalk releases his debut album Tidal Waves. Other musical guests include Pajamas and Johnny Malek.

May Erlewine

7:30pm. $20. The Ark. mayerlewine.com.

Michigan singer-songwriter May Erlewine celebrates the release of her latest album Second Sight. The album’s themes deal with emotional connection and moving forward through these difficult modern times.

8pm. $10 - $40. Kerrytown Concert House. kerrytownconcerthouse.com

This musical group includes Michigan educators that are also world-class musicians. They’ve come together to form the Western Jazz Collective. These artists together have a long list of musical accomplishments. This performance will be the unveiling of this powerhouse ensemble and will include new original music from members of the group.

For ticket and event information check the Kerrytown Concert House website: kerrytownconcerthouse.com/edgefest/

6 Sunday Velvet Caravan

7pm. $15. The Ark. theark.org

Velvet Caravan is a high-energy, acoustic-based quintet that plays gypsy jazz and swing. They are considered to be one of the best groups of the Savannah, Georgia music scene.

Double Date

2pm. $10 - $50. Kerrytown Concert House. kerrytownconcerthouse.com

This afternoon performance features two stellar cabaret duos: The classic duo Bill Bolcom and Joan Morris, and New York artists Amy Burton and John Musto.

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5 Saturday Stormy Chromer

Radney Foster & Kim Richey

7pm. LIVE. livea2.com. Free

The Ark presents two legendary country singer-songwriters sharing the stage together for this rare intimate performance.

Edgefest, Ann Arbor’s internationally recognized annual four-day avant-garde jazz and new music festival, returns to the Kerrytown Concert House and The Blue Llama Jazz Club this October 16-19.

The festival was founded in 1997 as a single day event. It’s since grown to become a major four-day musical exposition with a mission to expose new music by today’s composers and performers from not only the United States but the entire world.

This year’s line up focuses on the historic contributions of West Coast jazz artists and their role in the development of the avant jazz and new music genres. Audiences can expect a roster of distinguished composer-performers alongside their ensembles and collaborators as they highlight their innovative roles in today’s jazz/avant music world. A mix of Detroit/Ann Arbor area improvisers will be integrated throughout the fest, collaborating with the visiting artists. This will be a rare opportunity for attendees to be exposed to this innovative art form through a series of free and ticketed concerts and related educational activities.

Western Jazz Collective

Vincent York is a former member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and a world-class jazz musician.

He has played with some of the most prominent jazz artists and bands both locally and internationally. York has been playing alto saxophone since he was 12 years old. He’ll be making his debut at the Blue Llama Jazz Club.

7:30. $25. The Ark. theark.org.

Edgefest 2019: Out West

8pm. $10. 18+. The Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

Progressive jam rock band Stormy Chromer perform their experimental infectious music along with special guests Biomassive, and Rado.

Hoozebeth CD Release Party Come celebrate the release of local rockers Hoozebeth debut album.

Old Salt Union

8pm. $20. The Ark. theark.org

Bluegrass string band Old Salt Union performs at the Ark.

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7 Monday Griffin House

7:30pm. $20. The Ark. theark.org

Griffin House brings his pop-rock hooks and songwriting chops to the Ark stage.

He is touring behind his latest album, Rising Star. For fans of Woody Guthry and Wilco.

8 Tuesday Davina and The Vagabonds 7:30pm. $20. The Ark. theark.org

Bringing old-time blues and jazz into the modern era, Davina and the Vagabonds are becoming nationally recognized for their fiery live shows, sharp dress fashion sense, and impeccable musicianship. This band thrilled the crowd at the 2017 Ann Arbor Folk Festival.

9 Wednesday Wax Kings DJ Sessions.

7pm. Ziggy’s. Ziggysypsi.com. Free

Wax Kings DJs take over Ziggy’s with host Prophet Ecks presenting an exciting line up of guest DJ’s featuring Cait Von Tres, Dr. Jonny, Mona Black, and Gateo.

10 Thursday Mystery Skulls

7pm. $15 / $20. All Ages. The Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com.

Luis Dubucis is the person behind the neosoul, disco-influenced, electronic dance act Mystery Skulls. Dubucis signed to Warner Bros. records in 2013 and has released several albums and singles. He’ll be performing at the Blind Pig along with Phangs and Snowblood.

G-REX + Zeke Beats: Purple Haze Tour

9pm. $10 / $20. Necto Nightclub. Necto.com

Two hard-hitting major DJs land at the Necto for a night of deep futuristic bass and hip-hop. Also featuring opening sets by Attak and Gypsy.

11 Friday The Black Lillies

7:30pm. $15. The Ark. theark.org

Americana band The Black Lillies returns to the Ark stage with a new line up and a fresh sound. The duo known as Sway Wild opens the show.

Noah Fishman and Baron Collins-Hill

8pm. $10 - $40. Kerrytown Concert House.

Kerrytownconcerthouse.com

Come hear a night of traditional and original mandolin music provided by these two best friends as they explore the full range and versatility of the instrument.

12 Saturday Fangs and Twangs

7pm. $9. The Lo-Fi Bar. m.me/fangsandtwang

The Ypsilanti rock trio Fangs and Twangs perform their songs about vampires and mummies at the Lo-Fi Bar. Valentiger opens the show.

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Arlo Guthrie at the Ark

Arlo Guthrie, American folk singersongwriter, storyteller, activist and son of Woody Guthrie, will perform live at the Ark on his Alice’s Restaurant – Back By Popular Demand Tour!, which marks the 50th anniversary of the 1969 film starring Guthrie as himself. Guthrie, performing for almost 60 years, is still going strong and keeping classic folk alive across the country. He will be joined on stage by longtime collaborators Terry “A La Berry” Hall (drums), Steve Ide (guitar, vocals), and Carol Ide (vocals, percussion). His daughter, singer/songwriter Sarah Lee Guthrie, will open. —GJ $50-$85. 8pm. Tuesday, October 22.

The Ark, 316 S Main St. theark.org.

Talib Kweli

8pm. $28. 18+. The Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com.

Brooklyn-based MC Talib Kweli brings his politically charged rap to the Blind Pig stage.

Internationally known for his socio-political conscious rap and lyrical flow, Kweli has been touring and performing for the better part of two decades. Don’t miss this chance to see one of the best modern rappers.

The Verve Pipe

7:30pm. $45 gold circle; $37 reserved; $30 GA. The Ark. theark.org

Michigan alternative rock band the Verve Pipe exploded onto the Lansing music scene in the 1990s and rose to the heights of rock stardom. Here the band provides an up-close and personal performance that will include their past hits, as well as songs from their latest album Parachute.

13 Sunday Seth Glier

7pm. $20. The Ark. theark.org

Singer-songwriter Seth Glier is known for his personal acoustic songs and pop melodies.

He is a multi-instrumentalist who is versatile on piano and guitar.

14 Monday Teen Divorce

8pm. $7 / Under 21 $10. The Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com.

Teen Divorce is a 90’s influenced indie-rock band from Jacksonville FL. With special guests Parkway & Columbia, Normal Park, and Bombastic Dream Pussy

15 Tuesday The Bros. Landreth

7:30. $20. The Ark. theark.org

Featuring duo vocal harmonies, swirling B3 organ and wailing blues guitar, the Canadian group The Bros. Landreth bring their folksy Americana rock music the Ark stage.

16 Wednesday Spafford

8pm. $20 Adv. / $23 day-of.

The Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com.

Spafford is an innovative indie band that performs a wide range of styles, and are best known for their improvisational skills and off the cuff live extended jams.

Local Ann Arbor progressive rock band Chirp opens the show.

17 Thursday

19 Saturday Chick Corea Trilogy with Christian Mcbride and Brian Blade

8pm. $17 - $81. Hill Auditorium. ums.org

American jazz legend Chick Corea brings together bass powerhouse Christian McBride and drum master Brian Blade for this special concert.

20 Sunday Adam Hambrick

7pm. $10. All Ages. The Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

Capitol Records country artist Adam Hambrick will perform at the Blind Pig. Hambrick is a singer-songwriter best known for writing #1 hits for artists like Dan + Shay and Justin Moore.

22 Tuesday

Moon Hooch

Arlo Guthrie

The explosive horn-and-percussion trio Moon Hooch perform at the Blind Pig. From their humble beginnings on NYC subway platforms to selling out major venues in just a few years, the group has refined an eccentric sound into danceable jams. Electronic group Jaw Gems opens the show.

American folk singer Arlo Guthrie has arranged a special tour to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the film based on his song “Alice’s Restaurant”. For this tour, Arlo will be joined on stage by longtime collaborators Terry “A La Berry” Hall (drums), Steve Ide (guitar, vocals), and Carol Ide (vocals, percussion). They will be performing over two nights at the Ark.

8pm. $15 Adv. / $17 day-of.

The Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com.

18 Friday Break the Cycle

8pm. $10. 18+. The Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

Groovin for Good is presenting a benefit concert to help end Domestic Violence. Groups on the bill are The Funk Factory, ZZvava, Ma Baker and Tetra Music Project. All Proceeds will go to First Step, Wayne County’s Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Comprehensive Agency.

7:30pm. $85 gold circle, $75 reserved, $50 GA. The Ark. theark.org

Marika Hackman and Girl Friday at The Blind Pig Marika Hackman is a 27-yearold British alternative singersongwriter and musician. Her latest album, Any Human Friend, bluntly embraces her sexuality and reflects on “those quiet moments of reckoning with what it means to be alive, young, and cautiously enamored of it all” (Pitchfork). The Guardian gave it four stars and called it her “most accomplished record to date.” Hackman performs along with Girl Friday, the stage name of Houston-based singer-songwriter Lisa Serice, who has released two pop EPs and is working on a full-length album. —GJ $15. 8pm. Thursday, October 24. The Blind Pig, 208 S 1st St. blindpigmusic.com.

734-214-6666 715 N University Ave. Downtown Ann Arbor

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CONT’D ON P22

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Order Online at: silviositalianfood.com

Mon., Tues, & Wed.through the month of September

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PLACE YOUR ORDER ONLINE: JERUSALEMGARDEN.NET/ORDER-ONLINE ecurrent.com / october 2019 19

PHOTO CREDIT: ERIN WAKELAND.

music A Place to Co-Operate The CoOp’s communityfocused approach is music to our ears

By Jeff Milo “The vision was, honestly, to bring people together,” says Frances Master, one of six UM students who operate The CoOp, a space inside Openfloor Studio (231 S. State St.). Undeniably, it is refreshing to hear that motivation for creating opportunities to experience live music, as that’s a priority often seemingly overlooked when it comes to the competitive and unpredictable world of venues and clubs. The CoOp, a place where you’ll encounter the next generation of Ann Arbor’s music scene, as well as an arts-focused community center to foster friendships or where creatives can find their next collaborator. Think of it as a launchpad: “…young artists need a place,” said Master. “You have to start somewhere.”

Occupying a 2nd-floor suite described as a “…small and swanky space above Totoro, Ama, and The Getup Vintage”, The CoOp’s capacity maxes out at about 50 member audiences for live music every Friday evening (with Open Mics every Wednesday). Openfloor Studio, shared with yoga and dance instructors who lead classes by day, gives cultural entrepreneurs like Master a place to operate.

Passion for music

Master, a classically trained pianist who has been singing and making music in some capacity for almost her entire life, majored in biopsychology, cognition, & neuroscience. The inspiration to galvanize her musically-inclined side surged between her sophomore and junior year when she started writing more songs and teaching herself about production software. “I realized music was my real passion. I was going around Ann Arbor trying to get gigs, and a lot of my friends were in that same boat. It was hard to find a place that was really welcoming to new artists with no experience. Even to perform at coffee shops you need to complete an application. We all just wanted to get that experience, and we didn’t know where to start.”

Master took inspiration from the history of The Ark. “Back in the 60’s, it was in a church and students would come and perform poetry. I wanted to recreate something like that!” She took music business classes during her senior year to bolster

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Detroit-based musician Jacob Sigman at The CoOp— an arts focused community center.

her entrepreneurial knowhow and the idea came to her... “…to create a community-oriented concert venue for new artists that was all about the listening experience.

People could come and pay five dollars at the door. We’re hoping to set up a monthly membership so members can come to every show, but the whole point is to make it about the music. It’s about community and providing a consistent place for musicians to perform, collaborate and meet each other.”

Collaborative future

Master came to Ann Arbor from Northville, with previous experience teaching at Seven Mile Music, as well as serving as a director for summer programming at the Brightmoor Arts Camp. For several months, starting around October of 2018, she essentially worked alone to get The CoOp off the ground. Her efforts were soon supported by the versatile contributions and help of Delaney Cavanagh, Mina Kambakhsh, Jacob Mancinott, Erin Wakeland, Tessa Rose, and Tiana Colovos.

Their participation represented progress toward another goal. Despite Frances’ role as the founder/leader, her intent is for The CoOp to function and flourish without a single leader, but rather through the efforts of the community. A longer-term vision is that the CoOp model can be replicated in other cities, beyond Michigan, with collaborative teams of music lovers utilizing or repurposing community spaces to offer low-cost concert experiences for audiences, while providing a platform for independent artists to reach new ears.

“You have to use what’s around you,” explains Master. “There are musicians and artists everywhere and there are people everywhere who want to come together and enjoy music. Our hope is that people keep coming back, not just because they know the performer or they trust our tastes, but also because it’s a great atmosphere and just a good place to be.” thecoopaa.com/contact | facebook.com/thecoop.aa

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23 Wednesday That 1 Guy

8pm. $15. 18+. The Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

Mike Silverman is That1Guy. He takes the one man music show to a whole new level with homemade, eclectic instrumentation and magic tricks. Silverman has wowed audiences at major festivals all over the world. Don’t miss him and and his magic pipe.

24 Thursday

Marika Hackman

8pm. $15. All Ages. The Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

Alternative English folk singersongwriter Marika Hackman performs her dark, somber acoustic songs at the Blind Pig. Girl Friday opens.

25 Friday Ellis Marsalis Quintet

9:30pm. $70 / $80 / $90. The Blue Llama Jazz Club. bluellamaclub.com.

World-renowned New Orleans Jazz piano player Ellis Marsalis performs over two nights at the Blue Llama Jazz Club.

Trey Anastasio

7:30pm. $75 - $85. The Michigan Theater. michigantheater.org

Singer-songwriter Trey Anastasio is best known as the singer in the rock jam band Phish. He’ll be performing an acoustic set of old and new material.

26 Saturday Funkwagon

8pm. Ziggy’s. Ziggysypsi.com. Free

Gospel-infused funk band Funkwagon performs one night only at Ziggy’s, along with The Scapes and Sabbatical Bob.

The Last Bang Dance Party

9:30pm. $8 / Under 21 $11. The Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com.

After producing monthly mixtape dance parties for the past 18 years, The Bang will hold a final blow out event. A local fixture for many years, The Bang is known for its crazy themes and bootyshaking music selections. Come celebrate 18 years of dance party madness. Costumes are encouraged.

27 Sunday Futuristic

7pm. $17 / $20. All Ages. The Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com.

Hip-Hop artist Futuristic performs at the Blind Pig. Futuristic is

known for his fast witty lyrics and relatable subject matter.

Yonas, Scribe Cash, Crypt, and Scruface open the show.

Pokey LaFarge

5pm. $40-$500. The Ark. theark.org

31 Thursday Sorcerers Quartet with Dave Sharp and Tim Haldeman 7pm. The Blue Llama Jazz Club. bluellamaclub.com. Free

The Ark holds its 23rd annual fall fundraiser featuring the countrywestern, swing jazz artist Pokey LaFarge.

This will be a special Halloween performance featuring: Tim Haldeman (saxophone), Max Bowen (guitar), Dave Sharp (bass), and David Alverez III (drums).

The Moanin’ Frogs

Ongoing

2pm. $10 - $40. Kerrytown Concert House. Kerrytownconcerthouse.com

This Chamber Music group performs an electrifying mix of classical, ragtime, jazz, and pop sure to delight fans.

28 Monday Adrian Legg

7:30. $20. The Ark. theark.org

Adrian Legg was voted guitarist of the decade by Guitarist Magazine, and Best Acoustic Fingerstylist four years in a row by the readers of Guitar Player Magazine. Legg plays a mixture of classical, jazz, rock, blues, and folk. He is considered one of the greatest guitar players in the world.

29 Tuesday Silent Screams: 3 Bands Scoring Silent Horror Films 8pm. $10. The Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com.

See three of Ann Arbor’s heaviest bands provide the score for three silent horror movies.

King Under the Mountain scores Georges Melies’ short films.

Triangulations plays along to Begotten. Vapourbile performs along with A Page of Madness.

Mondays Jazz with Paul Keller & Cary Kocher Quintet 7-10pm. $10. Zal Gaz Grotto. paulkellerjazz.com

Put your dancing shoes on for highenergy swinging jazz numbers.

Attendees ages 18 and younger get in free.

Factory Mondays

9pm. $1-3. Necto Nightclub. necto.com

Rave the night away at Necto’s goth and industrial-styled Factory Mondays. The cover charge is $1 before 10pm and $3 after.

MixDown Monday’s

9pm. Lo-Fi Bar. lofiannarbor.com. Free

Ann Arbor’s hot new happy hour!

Enjoy the sounds of class-act DJs playing the best in house and electro vibes.

Fridays Pride Fridays

9pm. $5-10. Necto Nightclub. necto.com

Enjoy Michigan’s premier LGBT club night, including a slew of special events and guests. Free before 11pm for guests with college IDs.

Saturdays Frequency Saturdays

9pm. $5-10. Necto Nightclub. necto.com

Dance to Top 40, dance and house, spun by DJ Hardy and hosted by MC Yoda. Ladies free until 11pm.

Three Jazz Greats

Chick Corea, Christian McBride and Brian Blade come together with cuts from their Grammy award-winning 2014 album Trilogy. Corea, on piano, got his start with Miles Davis’s band in the 1960s. With 22 Grammys, he has written several jazz standard compositions. McBride on double bass and Blade on drums, each with their own impressive list of work, bring depth, power and rhythm to complete the trio. “Both are master musicians and together we have an easy rapport,” Corea said of McBride and Blade. “There is a lot of give-and-take in our music.

It’s always a lot of fun.” —GJ $17-$81. 8pm. Saturday, October 19. Hill Auditorium, 825 N. University Ave. ums.org.

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PHOTO COURTESY: LYNN LAMMERS.

theater

Dave Davies, Sonja Marquis and Nancy Kammer-Wildern in Kickshaw’s production of “Milvotchkee, Visconsin,” directed by Lammers in 2018.

Kickshaw Aims to Excite and Entertain Theatre company’s fifth season

By Jeff McGinnis

For most people in theater, the most fulfilling parts of the job comes as the show is going on— the performance, the lights, the applause. For Lynn Lammers, the founder and creative director of Kickshaw Theatre in Ann Arbor, some of her most rewarding experiences come after the show ends.

“The thing that has made me understand and know that I’m on the right path is, the number of people who approach me after performances who are just utterly surprised or blown away by what they have just seen. They were not expecting it, they were delighted, or they were just engaged on so many different levels,” Lammers said. “I love having conversations with my audience after the show. Those are the moments where I see people are getting it. People are excited about this. We have something that people want to see.”

Off the beaten track

The company, which ran its first full production in 2016, began as a passion project of Lammers, who has a graduate degree in theatre from Michigan State University. “It started because I wanted to do some theatre that was a bit more adventurous, a bit more theatrical,” Lammers explains. “And I wanted something that really made people curious rather than having our audience expect that they will directly relate to the people on the stage, the characters and the story. We’re telling uncommon stories, stories that don’t get told in mainstream theater very much.”

Striking a balance

The company doesn’t have its own dedicated performance space, instead forming partnerships with other groups around Ann Arbor, putting on shows at locations like trustArt Studios and the Interfaith Center for Spiritual Growth. This coming season will see Kickshaw hold its first performances in Ypsilanti.

“I think that, as a company, we’re figured out how to strike a balance between artistic risk and making sure that our artists always get paid. We’re being really careful, fiscally. But we don’t want that to stymie the risks we’re taking,” Lammers said. “We want to do that work, but we’re finding ways to make sure that everything we do stays high quality and professional, by hiring professional artists.”

Kickshaw’s fifth season began with a fundraising gala on September 13, and Lammers will direct a production of David Sedaris’ The Santaland Diaries in December. For the future, Lammers said she is hopeful that the company will soon find a performance space to call its own. “We want to be sure Ann Arbor doesn’t lose its character and reputation as an arts town. We’d really like to see some kind of (small, community) performing arts space, whether it’s our own or some kind of shared space.”

For more information, visit KickshawTheatre.org.

“We’re telling uncommon stories, stories that don’t get told in mainstream theater very much.”

Now entering its fifth season, Kickshaw Theatre has distinguished itself with an eclectic and entertaining history of performances, with readings and productions of shows that are often off the beaten track of what attracts the average theatergoer. Works like Stefanie Zadravec’s The Electric Baby and Jackie Sibblies Drury’s Really have made Kickshaw’s unique brand stand out, guided by Lammers as director.

“I want people to come away surprised,” Lammers said.

“Have their intellect engaged. But also we’re working on getting people in the gut, too. We want to lean into theatricality. We want to use movement and sound and embrace the kind of stylized form, that will make people use their brains a little bit and interpret what they’re seeing.”

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Detroit Gallery Crawl

PHOTO COURTESY OF PLAYGROUND DETROIT.

art

Playground Detroit represents Detroit photographer Bre’Ann White.

Explore the art scene

By K.A. Letts

As the weather in Michigan turns cool, if you are curious about Detroit’s art scene and in the mood for a short 45 minute road trip, now is a great time to head downtown.

When I began exploring Detroit several years ago, my hunt for significant art and artists was more a scavenger hunt than a gallery crawl. Galleries and venues seemed to spring up like toadstools after rain and to disappear just as quickly.

They were often open for only a few hours a week, and trying to see art shows was an exercise in frustration and missed connections. Post-bankruptcy, as Detroit rises from its ashes and transforms itself into a vibrant and economically resurgent urban scene, a longer and more settled list of galleries has emerged, with more regular business hours and established rosters of represented artists.

These recommendations represent more than a single visit to Detroit’s art hot spots of course. And I haven’t even listed the many public artworks, museums and non-profits that offer unique aesthetic experiences. For a change of pace, some new discoveries and lots of unique and accessible contemporary art make the trip to Detroit.

Playground Detroit

2845 Gratiot Ave., Detroit.

313-649-7741. playgrounddetroit.com Open: Noon-6pm, Wednesday-Friday.

Noon-4pm, Saturday.

A long walk, or a short drive, from Wasserman Projects is one of Detroit’s newest contemporary art galleries.

Playground is a youthful and snappy addition to the art scene, specializing in work by young artists on the bleeding edge of what’s new in creative thought. The gallery recently hosted Field Condition, a “hyper-sensory art exhibition which centers around a body of ephemeral, immersive light sculptures” by artist and designer Patrick Ethen. Other upand-coming artists whose work has been featured here are photographer Bre’ann White, painter/muralist Ellen Rutt and the installation artist partnership Hygienic Dress League.

Cass Corridor Simone DeSousa

444 W. Willis St. 112, Detroit.

313-833-9000. simonedesousagallery.com Open: 11am-6pm, Wednesday-Saturday.

Simone DeSousa Gallery is actually two exhibition spaces in one sitting side by side on the ground floor of a renovated block that features several casual restaurants and boutiques. In the larger space, see ambitious work by cutting edge artists, much of it strongly conceptual and post-minimalist. The smaller next-door gallery offers a carefully curated selection of ceramics, work on paper, jewelry and books for entry-level collectors.

Here are some highlights:

Eastern Market Wasserman Projects

Wasserman Projects is a cavernous but elegant gallery and flexible performance space also in the Eastern Market neighborhood. The gallery specializes in museum quality art exhibits by prominent Detroit and international artists, while also offering an ongoing program of music and multidisciplinary conversations. They have hosted ambitious offerings like Cosmopolitan Chicken, a conceptual visit to the global barnyard, and more recently, Detroit artist Scott Hocking’s installation Seven Shitty Mountains.

Through December 21, the gallery will host Summer Wheat + Hirosuke Yabe.

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Galerie Camille

4130 Cass Ave., Ste C, Detroit.

313-974-6737. galeriecamille.com Open: Noon-5pm, Wednesday-Saturday.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GALERIE CAMILLE

3434 Russell St., #502, Detroit. 313-818-3550. wassermanprojects.com Entrance: Red door on the North side of building) Open: 11am-5pm, Wednesday-Thursday & Saturday. 11am-7pm, Friday.

Galerie Camille, an intimate and friendly place, hosts some of Detroit’s most interesting creatives.

With past shows by Elizabeth Youngblood, Matt Eaton and Jeff Bourgeau, it’s always interesting to see what gallerist Adnan Charara, an accomplished multidisciplinary artist in his own right, selects for exhibits. In October, work by printmakers Mary Rousseau, Bob Aronson and Vernard Rubens will be on view.

Love Letters #7 by Mary Rousseau will be on view at Galerie Camille in October.

Mural by Said Dakins for Murals in the Market.

art Cass Cafe

4600 Cass Ave., Detroit.

313-831-1400. Casscafe.com Open: 11am-10pm, Monday-Thursday.

11am-midnight, Friday-Saturday. 5-10pm, Sunday.

Cass Café isn’t (strictly speaking) a gallery of course, but back in Detroit’s bad old days, it was one of the few venues in Detroit where artists could get their work seen during business hours. Everyone showed their work here and Cass presented the added advantage, for Detroit’s economically challenged artists, of selling work commission-free. It’s one of the few restaurants with its own curator and it hosts a still-impressive schedule of work by local artists. And their lentil burger is the best in Detroit.

Downtown PHOTO K.A. LETTS

Namdi Center for Contemporary Art

52 E. Forest Ave., Detroit. 313-831-8700. nnamdicenter.org Open: 11am-6pm, Tuesday-Saturday.

Gallerist George N’Namdi has been an arts leader in Detroit for over 30 years. Well known as an advocate for contemporary African American artists, his art space includes four exhibition spaces and hosts panel discussions, experiential theater and performance throughout the season.

The N’Namdi Collection represents and preserves the work of prominent African-American artists while providing exhibition space for Detroit artists— from emerging to established— to show new work.

Citywide

David Klein Gallery

1520 Washington Blvd., Detroit. 313-818-3416. Dkgallery.com Open: Noon-6pm, Wednesday-Saturday.

Murals in the Market muralsinthemarket.com

This elegant storefront exhibition space in downtown Detroit opened in 2015, as an outpost of David Klein Gallery, located in Birmingham, MI. This is probably the most prestigious gallery in the city, representing well-known Detroit artists in addition to artists with national reputations. During the month of October, the gallery will host Salon, a large group show featuring many of Detroit’s best emerging and mid-career artists.

This yearly festival and mural painting party, centered in Detroit’s Eastern Market, begins its fifth year, getting bigger and better and covering more square feet of Detroit’s walls with paintings by both international artists and Detroit talents. Murals in the Market, recently named one of the Smithsonian’s Top 5 Mural Festivals In The World, occurred in mid-September, but you can still see the murals (nearly 200 of them if you have the time, and the energy) seven days a week. This year 1XRun, the producer of the festival, partnered with Jason Hall’s RiDetroit to offer walking and cycling tours of the murals year round. To schedule a private Eastern Market Mural tour for you (or your group), visit muralsinthemarket.com.

Library Street Collective, the Belt and the Z

PHOTO BY K.A. LETTS

1260 Library St., Detroit.

313-600-7443. lscgallery.com Open: Noon-6pm, Wednesday-Saturday.

The Library Street Collective is a contemporary art venue specializing in graffiti-inflected art by both local and internationally known street artists. Works by Tiff Massey and Nina Chanel Abney (among many others) are located in a fine arts alley adjacent to the Collective. Called The Belt, it’s a favorite destination for fashion shoots and wedding parties, and it’s open 24-7. The gallery also often works cooperatively with Dan and Jennifer Gilbert of Bedrock Capital to bring installation art, murals, and sculpture to the cityscape.

Mural by Nina Chanel Abney in The Belt.

ecurrent.com / october 2019 25

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film A Wicked Good Time at The Michigan & State

By Jennifer Kellow-Fiorini

Halloween season is upon us, and the Michigan and State Theaters are offering up treats with hardly a trick in sight. Those who revel in all things Halloween should start marking calendar dates because there’s a lot to scream about all month long— after all, Halloween comes but once a year, at least officially.

Don’t-miss classics

The State features a late-night horror classics series with films screening Friday and Saturday nights at 10 p.m., including George Romero’s Night of The Living Dead (1968), the original Halloween (1978) directed by John Carpenter, The Evil Dead 2 (1987) directed by Michigan’s own Sam Rami, and The Blair Witch Project (1999). Despite being made decades ago, these seminal horror films remain hugely influential today.

Dust off your Frank-N-Furter costumes and get ready to Time Warp— again! The Rocky Horror Picture Show returns to the Michigan Theatre on October 19th at 10 p.m. This is a costume event— that’s cosplay for you millennials— with a shadow cast performing live. So leave your inhibitions at the door and get your tickets early. This event sells out.

On October 27th at 7:30 p.m., the Michigan will continue its yearly tradition with F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent classic, Nosferatu, in the main theater, with a live score by organist Andrew Rogers. Nosferatu, the first film adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, now nearly one hundred years after it was made, is one of the most chilling and effective representation ever committed to celluloid.

will be running every Tuesday night in October from 9 p.m. to midnight., explores horror films made by and for Muslims.

Screenings are free and seating and tickets will be first come first served. Films presented are: 10/1, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night; 10/8, Ritual; 10/15, Siccin 4; 10/22, Dachra; 10/29, Under The Shadow.

For those who consider Halloween “the most wonderful time of the year,” The Michigan and State Theaters offer opportunities to enjoy the season. Happy Haunting!

Visit the Michigan Theater and State Theatre websites for changes and updates to event times and dates. www.michtheater.org www.statetheatrea2.org Find and follow halaloween: A Muslim Horror Film Fest on Facebook.

Newer releases

Director Robert Eggers’ new film, The Lighthouse, starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, is set to open in mid-October.

A story of two lighthouse keepers on a remote and mysterious island in 1890’s New England, The Lighthouse was shot in black and white 35mm Double-X 5222 film stock on an augmented Panavision camera in 1.19:1 aspect ratio. The aspect ratio is meant to replicate the look and feel of pre-1930’s cinema, i.e., a square as opposed to the wider rectangle format modern audiences are used to, giving the film a boxed-in, claustrophobic aura. Heralded as “an instant classic,” those who loved Eggers’ style in 2015’s The Witch won’t want to miss this one.

Bong Joon-ho became the first Korean director to win the Palm d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival with his film, Parasite.

The Korean master fuses home-invasion thriller with a scathing critique on social inequality. Those who have been lucky enough to see this film before its October release date have said the less given away about the film beforehand the better. Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder (2003), The Host (2006), Mother (2009), and Snowpiercer (2013), have already established him as one of the greatest directors working today. Parasite and The Lighthouse will open in October at the Michigan or the State; as of this writing information on specific dates is not yet available.

NOVEMBER 1, 2019 6:30 PM

MICHIGAN LEAGUE BALLROOM FOR TICKETS AND MORE INFORMATION VISIT

All new film fest

Horror fans looking to see something new this Halloween should check out the first annual halaloween: A Muslim Horror Film Fest. This series, presented by the University of Michigan Global Islamic Studies Center at the Michigan Theater,

ecurrent.com / october 2019 27

lit Pete Earley’s Crazy Beyond internal battles, mental illness patients face institutionalized barriers

By Jenny Hong

Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness, a 2007 Pulitzer Prize finalist book written by Pete Earley, breaks ground on mental health literature. Earley is a long-time journalist and former Washington Post reporter.

When his son was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, he was determined to dig deeper into America’s mental health system and made the difficult decision of publicizing his son’s story in hopes of sparking awareness. The project took him to the MiamiDade County jail where he spent a year following the stories of its inhabitants, many were people with schizophrenia or other mental illnesses. Crazy is a journalist’s objective search for truth and the heartfelt account of a father on his son’s breakdown and journey to recovery.

Shocking Prison Stats

In an upcoming talk at Michigan Medicine’s Heinz C. Prechter Bipolar Research Program on Tuesday, October 15, Earley will address the phenomenon of jails and prisons as a dumping ground for people with mental illnesses. He supports reforms in the criminal justice and health system.

People with mental illnesses stay in jails and prisons eight times longer than others charged with identical crimes. The way the health system is structured inevitably plays a role, impacting the availability of medical help for mental illness patients.

Extreme means to qualify for treatment

I had to lie about my son threatening me to get him taken into a hospital rather than put in jail, Earley shares. He also writes of a friend’s conversation with their doctor: “Do I have to wait for my daughter to hang herself before you’ll treat her?” And he [the doctor] said, “Yes. If she attempts suicide, then we can do something. Sorry, but it’s the law.” According to Earley, it costs $38,000 to keep a prisoner in Michigan incarcerated and $10,000 on average to provide treatment. When mental illness patients receive help, the recovery rate is as high as 85%. Even for people that do try to get help, support isn’t always readily available. If you don’t have a life threatening emergency and go to a hospital, Earley says, you will wait an average of three hours. If you have a mental health problem that is not life-threatening, you will wait three days.

Commitment laws, revaluing priorities

The current laws place a heavy responsibility on mentally-ill people to take care of their conditions. Earley says what they need is hospital care, not to be put in jails and prisons. The law is very clear, he laments, you have to be dangerous or gravely disabled in most states [to get treatment].

I think waiting for dangerousness is foolish— it hurt my son. Additionally, he argues that insurance companies end up having a strong say on who gets treatment and for how long. Shifting money from jails to community services and focusing on early interventions will greatly help mental illness patients. Earley believes that involuntary commitment for treatment should be

After Pete Earley’s son was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, the long-time journalist and former Washington Post reporter was determined to dig deeper into America’s mental health system

the last resort. It is better to find a way for individuals to want to accept treatment, he shares, but often people who are sick don’t realize they are sick, which is why I think the [determining factor for hospitalization] should be how sick someone, rather than waiting for them to endanger themselves.

Break up the taboo and myths

“I believe the old idea that mental illnesses are a social construct has been disproven,” Earley affirms. “While there is no such thing as a mental illness blood test, we know from brain scans that individuals with schizophrenia, for example, have spots in their brain that are clearly damaged. While urging change on an institutional level, as individuals we play a role in the social construct of mental health.

Communities can mitigate the stigma surrounding mental illness patients, and it’s time we have more conversations on the current research of mental health and channels of support.”

Oct 15, 6-9PM 13th Annual Prechter Lecture featuring Pete Earley University of Michigan, A. Alfred Taubman Biomedical Science Research Bldg, Kahn Auditorium109 Zina Pitcher Place, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109 The event is free but registration is required.

Register on PrechterProgram.org/lecture

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arts & culture

Glass Pumpkin Fest For the 7th year, the Ann Arbor Farmers Market will be filled with glass pumpkins just in time for Halloween. The Glass Academy will hold live glass blowing demonstrations for all ages, and all pumpkins will be available for sale. Get into the fall spirit, watch art being created, and pick up beautiful locally-made Halloween decorations.

—GJ October 19-20. Ann Arbor Farmers Market, 315 Detroit St. kerrytown.org. Free

Westside Art Hop Ann Arbor’s whole Westside neighborhood will be transformed into an art showcase this month, with local artists and up to 50 visiting artists displaying their goods in homes, on porches and in garages.

Explore the historic neighborhood and shop all kinds of arts and crafts, from paintings to prints to glassware to fiber arts. Local businesses will also have great promotions for visitors. Come celebrate the local art scene with a fall stroll. —GJ 10am. Sunday, October 6.

Westside neighborhood, around 700 Mt Vernon Ave. westsidearthop.com. Free

Ann Arbor Wayzgoose & Printing Festival Visit the Ann Arbor District Library downtown for this two-day festival celebrating everything printmaking. Events include artist presentations, author readings, hands-on workshops, gallery talks, speakers and a vendor fair. Learn about local printers, the mediums of letterpress, screen printing and block printing, along with the history of the printmaking industry. Over 40 vendors will be in attendance to show off their products. Kids are welcome to the art workshops if accompanied by an adult. —GJ October 11-12. Ann Arbor District Library downtown branch, 343 S. Fifth Ave. aadl.org/wayzgoose. Free

Holy Bones Halloween Market An entire market just for creepy and crawly crafts this Halloween?

No, it’s not a trick! Browse spooky art, watch witchy performances and join in the frightening festivities.

All proceeds from space fees, sponsorships and donations go to the Ypsilanti Performance Space, Inc., a renovated church-turned-community cultural space. —GJ 10am. Saturday, October 5. Ypsilanti Performance Space, 218 N Adams St, Ypsilanti. Holybones.net. Free

ecurrent.com / october 2019 29

arts & culture 2 Wednesday

[lit] Andrea Gibson

8pm. $20. The Ark. theark.org

Poet Andrea Gibson takes her book tour to Ann Arbor with readings of her newest works, How Poetry Can Change Your Heart and Lord of the Butterflies with themes of activism and love.

3 Thursday

[comedy] Jim Gaffigan

[theater] Admissions by Joshua Harmon 8pm. $22. Theatre NOVA. theatrenova.org

White progressive boarding school administrators Bill and Sherri find their public personas tested in their private lives when their son isn’t able to attend an Ivy League school. A telling comedy about white privilege by Joshua Harmon-Michigan. Runs every Thursday through Sunday until October 13.

8pm. $50+. The Michigan Theater.

Michtheater.org.

The Grammy-nominated comedian, actor, New York Times best-selling author and top touring performer brings his unique brand of humor to A2.

[education] 80s-Themed Film Photography Walk

6pm. $15. CameraMall. camermall.com

Learn more about film photography from Jared and Jeff of CameraMall, all while wearing your favorite 80s gear! The best costumed photographer wins a gift bag. Participants receive one free development and a 25 percent discount on used film gear specials.

[theater] Sense and Sensibility

7:30pm. $13 - $30. Walgreen Drama Center. tickets.smtd.umich.edu

The play based on Jane Austen’s novel follows sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood in this preVictorian era coming-of-age story.

Through Sunday, October 13.

[film] Joker

4 Friday

[lit] [film] Ashes in the Snow

4pm & 7pm. The Michigan Theater.

Michtheater.org. Free

Join for a book signing with author Ruta Sepetys at 4pm, followed by her CREES distinguished lecture: “From the Soviet Gulag to Franco’s Spain: Historical Fiction’s Power for Global Dialogue” at 5:30pm. At 7pm, enjoy a screening of the 2018 film, Ashes In The Snow, which follows an aspiring artist and her family’s deportation to Siberia during Stalin’s dismantling of the Baltic region.

[lit] Sarah Miller: The Miracle & Tragedy of the Dionne Quintuplets 7pm. Literati Bookstore. literatibookstore.com Free

Author Sarah Miller discusses her YA nonfiction book about the Dionne Quintuplets. Born in 1934, weighing 13 pounds collectively, the five children weren’t expected to survive. When they did, they became the exploited center of an attraction called Quintland.

Followed by a book signing.

Times and prices TBA. The Michigan Theater. Michtheater.org.

Director Todd Philips and actor Joaquin Phoenix reimagine one of the most iconic villains in this bold and gritty character study.

30

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5 Saturday

7 Monday

[art] Feminist Futures: Art, Design & Activism Series Kick-off Party

[lit] An Evening of Poetry with David Hornibrook

This kick-off party for the series will include readings, performances, and more.

Hornibrook reads from his book of poetry, Night Manual, which is divided into four sections based on the seasons. Delving into topics ranging from Miley Cyrus to black holes, the poetry collection expertly applies a microscope to both the grandiose and the mundane.

1-3pm. Stamps Gallery. pennystampsevents.org. Free

[dance] Grupo Corpo Dance

8-10pm. $12-$56. Power Arts Center. event.umich.edu

The Brazilian dance troupe returns to the University of Michigan. Comprised of 21 dancers, the group pulls from Afro-Brazilian rituals and modern dance. The show will leave you in awe. Also performed at 4pm on Sunday, October 6.

[film] Raise Hell: The Life & Times Of Molly Ivins

Times and prices TBA. The Michigan Theater. Michtheater.org.

This documentary details the life and razor-sharp wit of media icon Molly Ivins. Also on Monday and Tuesday, October 7-8.

6 Sunday

[art] Westside Art Hop

10am. West Side Neighborhood. westsidearthop.com Free

More than 50 artists showcase their work from impactful paintings and prints to glassware and fiber arts on the neighborhood porches, homes and garages of the historic west side.

[comedy] Kevin James

8pm. $59-$79. Michigan Theater. michtheater.org

King of Queens actor, producer, and stand-up comedian returns to his roots with a comedy special at the Michigan Theater.

7pm. Nicola’s Books. nicolasbooks.com Free

[activism] LGBTQ Wikipedia Edit-a-thon 3-6pm. Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library. spectrumcenter.umich.edu. Free

Make sure the diversity of the LGBTQ community is reflected on Wikipedia by joining others interested in improving the representation of LGBTQ people, events, and topics in Wikipedia.

8 Tuesday

[art] Lucy Lippard & Faith Wilding: Then & Now

5:30pm. Helmut Stern Auditorium, UMMA. pennystampsevents.org. Free

Award-winning author, curator and feminist, and activist Lucy R. Lippard, one of the world’s leading voices in contemporary art, will join artist and art theorist Faith Wilding to discuss the current creative-political climate.

[activism] National Coming Out Week/ LGBTQ History Month Keynote 6:30pm. School of Social Work. spectrumcenter.umich.edu. Free

River Coello, a queer and trans multidisciplinary artist from Guayaquil, Ecuador living in Chicago, Illinois, will discuss identities and experiences.

9 Wednesday

12 Saturday

[film] Tigers Are Not Afraid

[activism] 21st Until Everyone Reads Gala

This gritty, haunting fairytale is set in the backdrop of Mexico’s devastating drug wars. Also on Thursday, October 10 and Monday, October 14.

Washtenaw Literacy’s 21st Gala supporting community literacy will feature a fall dinner, auction, raffle, and live music.

Times and prices TBA. The Michigan Theater. Michtheater.org.

[film] Ann Arbor Film Festival Presents: Two A.M.

7pm. $10.50, adult. $8.50, seniors, students and veterans/active duty.

The State Theatre. Michtheater.org.

Unpredictably sinister cousins, a mind-reading family, a telepathic police state, and a drug-fueled party gone wrong. Sound familiar? Hopefully not. Presented in partnership with the Ann Arbor Film Festival. Free for AAFF & MT Gold Card members!

[film] Brewmaster

7:30pm. $10.50, adult. $8.50, seniors, students and veterans/active duty.

The State Theatre. Michtheater.org.

In 1998, there were less than 1,500 breweries in the United States. Now, there are more than 7,000. Learn how it happened during this documentary, which follows the rise of the craft beer movement.

10 Thursday

[art] Mari Katayama

5:10pm. The Michigan Theater.

Michtheater.org. Free

Contemporary Japanese artist Mari Katayama explores the anxieties of body image in her work, which combines photography, sculpture and textiles. She will discuss her work, as part of the Penny Stamps Speaker Series, before her first solo exhibition in the US debuts at UMMA (on view October 12, 2019 – January 26, 2020).

[activism] Third Annual LGBTQ Monologues

6pm. Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library. spectrumcenter.umich.edu. Free Hear stories of coming out, and how the world has changed, during these moving talks. Held as part of The Spectrum Center’s National Coming Out Week series.

11 Friday

[art] Out There: A Performance by art duo Princess 5pm. Stamps Gallery. pennystampsevents.org. Free

Performance art duo Princess explores queerness and the concept of masculinity in Out There, a concept video album and live performance piece.

6pm. $85 - $95. Washtenaw Community College. washtenawliteracy.org

[misc.]

Picking Contest

10am-1pm.

Downtown Home and Garden.

Downtownhomeandgarden.com. Free

From old-fashioned dills to pickled snap peas, the only limit is your imagination. Stop by, taste, and cast their vote for the winners.

16 Wednesday

[activism] International Pronouns Day All day. Everywhere. Free

Pronouns are more than just words— they reflect your identity. Show your support and celebrate diversity by participating in a variety of activities, including a Pronoun Pin Giveaway at UM libraries, a Create Your Own Pronoun Button workshop from 3-5pm in the Shapiro Library Lobby, and more.

arts & culture ROAD TRIP THE UNDEAD OF TOLEDO Head down to the Glass City for Toledo’s biggest Halloween party during the 10th annual Adams Street Zombie Crawl. This 21+ event takes place in the hip UpTown neighborhood of downtown Toledo, which features an open container district with six distinct bars, seven stages full of live music, plus creative businesses, shops, and more. Last year, more than 20,000 zombies— destressed to the nines with face paint and costumes— came to roam the area, and the party gets bigger every year. Proceeds benefit The Village on Adams 501(c)3 and its mission to “keep Adams Street fun, creative, beautiful, safe & weird!” —AC 5pm-1am. Saturday, October 19. $10. Adams St., from 21st to 11th. Toledo, Ohio. thezombiecrawl.com

17 Thursday

Continued on p. 32

[art] Penny Stamps Speaker Series: Lauren Bon 5:10pm. The Michigan Theater. pennystampsevents.org. Free

Using architecture, performance, photography, sound, and farming, artist Lauren Bon creates public land art projects that she describes as “devices of wonder.” Learn more about her work during this talk, held in conjunction with the Community of Food, Society and Justice Conference (October 17-18).

[theater] Mea’s Unique Garage Sale or What If Google Doesn’t Have the Answer?

8pm. $22. Theatre NOVA. artful.ly

In an exploration of mental health in the 21st century, this play is about Mea and Endgame, the two of whom met online playing Call of Duty. He has PTSD. She suffers from anxiety. Both of them are trying to find ways to cope while trying to find the funds to travel to Texas together.

Performances through Sunday, October 20.

[film] Tel Aviv on Fire

2019-2020 Season “21 & Counting” Sundays at 3:30pm October 6, 2019 December 15, 2019 February 16, 2020 April 16, 2020 Towsley Audotorium Washtenaw Community College

Season Finale: Saturday May 23, 2020 at 2:00pm Riverside Park, Ypsilanti MI (Raindate: Sunday, May 24, 2020)

Times and prices TBA. The Michigan Theater. Michtheater.org.

This heartfelt Arabic and Hebrew film follows the friendship and creative careers of a Palestinian man and an Israeli soldier.

Through Monday, October 21.

ecurrent.com / october 2019 31

arts & culture 18 Friday

[film] Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

Time and price TBA. The Michigan Theater. Michtheater.org.

This documentary explores the life of the horn player, bandleader, and innovator through archival photos, home movies shot, manuscripts, original paintings, and interviews with musicians inspired by Miles Davis.

24 Thursday

[theater] My Three Angels

7:30pm. $12-$25.

Arthur Miller Theatre. A2ct.org

Three convicts take on visitors in the region of French Guiana in this comedy by Samuel Spewack and Bella Spewack and directed by Barbara Mackey King. Through October 27. 8pm, Friday-Saturday. 2pm, Sunday.

25 Friday

[film] Rabbit Hole

8pm. $15 - $30. James R. Hartman Theatre at Schoolcraft College. brownpapertickets.com

The Pulitzer-Prize winning play by David Linsday Abaires is about a couple who find their partnership tested after losing their four-yearold son. From their individual quest to deal with grief to the whole family’s involvement, Rabbit Hole is riveting.

26 Saturday

[misc.]

Reuse Runway

5pm. Briarwood Mall. scrapbox.org Free

SCRAP is hosting a Reuse Runway where local designers present their fashions made from recycled and reused materials.

This event is part of the annual Boo Bash and is fun for the whole family!

27 Sunday

[film] Film Screening: Circus without Borders

12:40pm. University of Michigan Museum of Art. umma.umich.edu Free This documentary follows Guillaume Saladin and Yamoussa Bangoura, best friends and world-class acrobats who aspire to bring hope and change to their struggling communities through the art of circus.

28 Monday

[lit] The Art of Leaving: Language, Longing, and Belonging

[lit] Feminist Book Club + Poetry Book Club 7pm. Literati Bookstore. literatibookstore.com Free

Literati’s Poetry and Feminist book clubs join forces to discuss In Her Feminine Sign by Dunya Mikhail.

Fall Frights & Seasonal Delights 7:30pm. 8 Ball Saloon. facebook.com/8ballmovienight. Free

From melting cats to giant mosquitoes, this double feature highlights two goofy hometown horrors: The Carrier (1988) at 7:30pm and Mosquito (1994) at 10pm. Trivia at intermission.

[film] Halaloween: A Muslim Horror Film Fest— A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night 9pm. The Michigan Theater.

Michtheater.org. Free

Join the University of Michigan Global Islamic Studies Center for free screenings of Muslim horror movies every Tuesday in October at 9pm. See A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2015), a black & white Persian film described as a Western-vampire-noir.

3 Thursday

[theater] Haunted: The Great Lakes Ghost Project 7:30pm. $24. YES [Ypsilanti Experimental Space]. brownpapertickets.com

Do you believe? That’s the question Joseph Zettelmaier presents in his world premiere production of Haunted: The Great Lakes Project, which details his journey across Michigan collecting stories of the paranormal. Runs until Sunday, October 10.

2019 / ecurrent.com

30 comedians will have 90 seconds each to perform the most hilarious stand up in order to win the showcase of the night.

Award-winning author Ayelet Tsabari will speak on her experiences of growing up Mizrahi in Israel, reclaiming that identity through writing and through extensive research into Yemeni culture and traditions.

1 Tuesday

october

7:30pm. $10. Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase. aacomedy.com

7pm. Literati Bookstore. events.umich.edu Free

[film] Pure Michigan Horror: The Carrier and Mosquito

32

30 Wednesday

[comedy] Comedy Rumble 8: Mile

5 Saturday

[festivals] Dexter Apple Daze

10am-5pm. Monument Park. facebook.com/appledaze Free

The annual festival brings families together for a full day of apple-themed events and culinary treats. Enjoy live music, a pie eating contest, hayrides and more.

8 Tuesday

[film] Halaloween: A Muslim Horror Film Fest— Ritual (Modus Anomali)

9pm. The Michigan Theater.

Michtheater.org. Free

Join the University of Michigan Global Islamic Studies Center for free screenings of Muslim horror movies every Tuesday in October at 9pm. See Ritual (Modus Anomali) (2012), Indonesian director Joko Anwar’s partially-silent, mysterious horror film set in an Indonesian forest.

10 Thursday

[film] Gremlins (1984)

7pm. $3. Penn Theatre. penntheatre.com

The story of Gizmo and the horrifying gremlins that take over a small town during Christmas straddles the space between campy scary movie and holiday fun. We think it’s the perfect way to kick off the countdown to Halloween, especially when you can see it in theaters.

arts & culture

12 Saturday

[festivals] Appleumpkin

9am. Downtown Tecumseh.

Tecumsehchamber.org Free

Live music, crafts, carnival rides, food vendors, and lots of kids activities at the downtown Tecumseh Appleumpkin festival will get you in the fall spirit. Shop and eat at local restaurants and enjoy the festival atmosphere. Continues on Sunday, October 13.

15 Tuesday

[film] 8 Ball Movie Night: Video Halloween Spooktacular

7:30pm. 8 Ball Saloon. facebook.com/8ballmovienight. Free VHS cryptkeeper, Nate Higley from Secret Lair, presents this horrifically fun double feature.

See the WNUF Halloween Special (2013) at 7:30pm and Trick or Treat (1982) at 10pm.

Trivia at intermission.

[film] Halaloween: A Muslim Horror Film Fest— Siccin 4 9pm. The Michigan Theater.

Michtheater.org. Free

Join the University of Michigan Global Islamic Studies Center for free screenings of Muslim horror movies every Tuesday in October at 9pm. See Siccîn 4 (2017), the fourth installment in the Turkish jinn possession franchise, and the horror movie equivalent of sketch comedy.

16 Wednesday

19 Saturday

[outdoors] 11th Annual Headless Horseman Race 7pm. michigan.org Free

The Howell 11th Annual Headless Horseman 5k & Monster Mile takes you from State Street to the spooky world of Lakeview Cemetery. Dress in costume to get into the Halloween spirit and enjoy the post race awards ceremony/party. Register by October 4.

[film] The Rocky Horror Picture Show

10pm. $10.50, adult. $8.50, seniors, students and veterans/active duty. The Michigan Theater. Michtheater.org.

It’s not Halloween without Brad and Janet. Bring props, get ready to sing, and enjoy The Leather Medusas as the shadow cast.

22 Tuesday

[film] Halaloween: A Muslim Horror Film Fest— Dachra 9pm. The Michigan Theater.

Michtheater.org. Free

Join the University of Michigan Global Islamic Studies Center for free screenings of Muslim horror movies every Tuesday in October at 9pm. See Dachra (2018), a Tunisian take on The Blair Witch Project and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, seasoned with a dash of political satire.

[misc.]

Zombie Run

The year 1922 brought the world the first ever vampire movie, Nosferatu. Experience one of the creepiest vampire depictions in the history of film with the live score played by organist Andrew Rogers.

Register to participate in this Halloween-themed walk/run through the Arboretum. Costume characters and obstacles make the event more fun and just a little scary.

18 Friday

[misc.]

Pumpkins, Lanterns and Leaves

$12.50-$14.50. 5:30pm. Matthaei Botanical Gardens. mbgna.umich.edu

Visit the Botanical Gardens for a fun family event. Wander the gardens, decorated for the occasion, enjoy cider and donuts, and create masks and lanterns for the parade. Also on Saturday.

30 Wednesday

[film] Memory: The Origins of Alien

Join the University of Michigan Global Islamic Studies Center for free screenings of Muslim horror movies every Tuesday in October at 9pm. See Under The Shadow (2016), an Iranian film set in Tehran during the Iran-Iraq war.

This documentary invites you to dive into the sci-fi masterpiece with the visionary filmmakers who created it. Official selection at the Sundance Film Festival 2019.

9pm. The Michigan Theater.

Michtheater.org. Free

[film] Silent Screams: 3 Bands Scoring Silent Horror

8pm. $10. 8 Ball Saloon. facebook. com/8ballmovienight.

8 Ball Movie Night gets the silent treatment as three bands provide instrumental scores to haunting silent films. King Under the Mountain scores Georges Melies short films. Triangulations scores Begotten. Vapourbile scores A Page of Madness. First film starts at 8:30pm. 18+ only.

[misc.]

Halloween: Celestial Origins

7:30pm. $10.50, adult. $8.50, seniors, students and veterans/active duty.

The State Theatre. Michtheater.org.

31 Thursday

[theater] The Seance near Detroit on Halloween!

8pm. $20-$40. Plymouth Arts & Recreation Complex. weplaywiththedead.com

The Seance is an original stage show that recreates an authentic Victorian-era seance, investigating the history of the seance, telling stories of the participants and demonstrating techniques used by psychics and mediums who claimed to contact the dead.

8pm. $5. EMU Planetarium. emich.edu/planetarium

Learn the history of Halloween and how it fits into the seasons as a “cross-quarter day.”

25 Friday

[film] Nosferatu with Live Organ Accompaniment

7:30pm. $13-$16.The Michigan Theater. michtheater.org

29 Tuesday

[film] Halaloween: A Muslim Horror Film Fest— Under The Shadow

5:30-7pm. $40. Nichols Arboretum. mbgna.umich.edu

[misc.]

Boo’seum Halloween Party

6-8:30pm. $5. Mckinley Museum. mckinleymuseum.org

The Mckinley Museum will host an evening of trick or treating, games, a scavenger hunt, spooky stories and other fun family activities.

ecurrent.com / october 2019 33

person of interest Zaynab Elkolaly Zaynab Elkolaly is an 18-year-old senior at Washtenaw Technical Middle College. She is a proud Arab-American Muslim woman who is passionate about flying planes, reading every book she can get her hands on, explaining to people that Islam is not “the religion of terror”, and leading revolutions. She hopes to study nuclear engineering and public policy in college, then to study trauma surgery in medical school, with the end goal of becoming a trauma surgeon with Doctors without Borders in disaster and wartorn regions of the world.

How did you first get involved in social justice issues?

I began to get involved around the age of ten when I realized the political nature of my very existence. When you’re young and wearing a hijab, you start to realize the flaws of your society when people think it’s alright to refer to you as a “terrorist” publicly. I was forced to recognize the militaristic and imperialistic values that this nation was founded on, as well as the unjustified violence that our military instigates regularly. I learned of resource exploitation, the bombings of innocent people and how ugly our country can get.

It’s the land of the free and the home of the brave, perhaps for cishet white men. I was a preteen already raging with hormones, and learning of the vile human rights violations that our institutions inflict, I was livid. Thankfully, I learned to channel that anger into effective passion, and in turn, effective activism. I’d also like to emphasize that Islam is a religion strongly based on upholding justice and resisting oppression, so I consider it both my religious and civic duty to be an activist.

What organizations are you currently involved in? My

areas of action include environmental justice, racial justice, gender justice and gun violence prevention with the overarching purpose to promote and amplify the youth of color in movements that have become far too whitewashed. Currently, I’m running two organizations called STEMinists and the Human Rights Youth Coalition, both of which are centered on promoting intersectional feminism in STEM fields and global politics.

I’m also one of the head organizers for the Washtenaw Climate Strike and the Michigan state lead for the US Climate Strike, and the Women’s March Youth Cohort. I’m also the youngest member of the newly formed Police Oversight Commission.

What advice do you have for young people interested in taking an active role in their community? My main advice

is to know your purpose. Why am I doing what I do? Why am I drafting grants instead of watching Netflix? Why am I losing my voice at protests instead of hanging out with friends? Why am I sitting in a meeting full of middle-aged adults, getting quietly laughed at whenever I speak, when I could just stay silent? Because some things are just too important. When you know that the purpose of what you’re doing is far more important than the inconvenience that accompanies it, you gain a clearer picture of why you’re doing what you do. Also, keep in mind that young people of color have always been involved in their communities because they have to be. When I’m asked about getting young people involved, I’m really being asked about getting privileged young people involved.

Has the Independent Community Police Oversight Commission had any drawbacks or successes? I joined

POC specifically to address the issues of racial profiling and police brutality within the AAPD. Having been appointed at 17, I heard

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a lot of “how cute!” and “you’re just young and optimistic,” but optimism is not a trait reserved for the youth. Ann Arbor is believed to be a liberal bubble where racism is a thing of the past, but as the POC living in this community will tell you, this is far from the truth. Our first meeting was just back in March 2019, so we’re still in the process of finalizing logistics, but soon enough we’ll be up and running and ready to take complaints. Much to the community’s chagrin, the ICPOC initially wasn’t approved because the proposal made it such that the commission would be independent from the police department, and it only passed when it was modified to include the police department in the investigation process. I’m not afraid to say that I do not approve of this, but we’ll make do.

What motivates you to keep doing the work that you do? It’s my religion and my experience as a marginalized person in

this nation that motivates me. Activism and organizing aren’t fun extracurriculars to be written on a college application; it’s a mode of survival. The white man will be safe and comfortable under our current circumstances, but marginalized groups will not be. We do what we do to ensure that our future generations will not have to endure the scathing, unjust regime that we are under.

How can people across Washtenaw County get involved?

Start with school! School clubs focused on social, political, and environmental justice are more accessible than ever, and they always need people to get involved. However, you don’t need a formal institution or organization to fight injustice. Organize with your peers, have meetings with your elected officials to gauge where your community is lacking, and be persistent and fearless.

The world has yet to be accustomed to the influx of young people getting involved and fighting for their future, so sometimes you have to get in people’s faces, so to speak, and make them listen to you.

Want to learn more about the Police Oversight Commission?

Reach out to Zaynab at zelkolaly@a2gov.org.

cannabis 6 Fast Facts What you need to know about legalized recreational marijuana in Michigan

By Grace Jensen

Michigan voters legalized the use of recreational marijuana in November 2018, and have since been patient as the program rolls out. Before you start picking up gummies and rollies, here are seven fast facts you need to know.

1. Recreational marijuana could be available for legal purchase as soon as November.

Michigan voters approved ballot Proposal 1 in November 2018 legalizing recreational marijuana. According to recent press reports, the state will begin accepting applications for recreational business licenses on Nov. 1, expecting to award licenses later that month.

2. Regulations on who can use, how much and where.

Individuals must be 21 or older to use marijuana recreationally.

Individuals can carry up to 2.5 ounces of flower and may store up to 10 ounces in a locked container at home. For cannabis concentrates, the limit is 15 grams. Each residence can grow up to 12 plants for personal consumption (selling requires a license) as long as the plants are not visible to the public. Employers can still drug test and enforce zero-tolerance policies. Landlords can also prohibit smoking and growing. Public consumption, driving under the influence, and carrying outside the State of Michigan are all illegal.

3. Medical cardholder privileges versus recreational users.

Dispensaries can now carry both recreational and medical marijuana, but they must be kept separate because the products are regulated differently. Medical marijuana may have higher levels of THC to treat patients, and there is no age limit for medical usage.

4. State tax revenue

In addition to boosting the economy through business, legalization means that the state government can earn tax revenue from marijuana sales. The state is expected to generate up to $200 million annually from taxes and fees, which will fund road repairs, public schools, local governments and research concerning cannabis as a treatment for veterans.

5. Local community ordinances ban dispensaries, but voters can overturn.

Although Proposal 1 passed with 55.9% of the popular vote, Section 6 states that “a municipality may completely prohibit or limit the number of marihuana establishments within its boundaries.”

Hundreds of municipalities throughout Michigan, have banned recreational marijuana businesses from operating within their jurisdictions. However, voters have the power to overturn those decisions.

6. A bill currently in the Michigan legislature would clear marijuana records for 235,000 low-level offenders.

The law didn’t pardon those previously convicted. Sponsored by state senator Jeff Irwin, Senate Bill 0416 would expunge the records of 235,000 Michiganders convicted of marijuana possession or use.

PUT YOUR DOG ON A BONG shop now at printabowl.co

ecurrent.com / october 2019 35

crossword

CANCEL CULTURE Across 1. Doorknob metal 6. Nocturnal mammal with a flexible snout 11. “nice 1!�

14. Ephesian land 15. Atlanta campus 16. One: Prefix 17. Record producer born Brian Burton 19. Bring home 20. Minor hiccup 21. Mountain lake 22. His last word was “Rosebud�

23. Product lines?

25. Wuss 28. Pigs 31. Senior article 33. Get the cup 34. With 13-Down, “Groove Is in the Heart� band 36. Tops 40. Class for people who are hot all the time 43. Shovel dirt?

44. Signaled to start 45. Day when people talk about dieting tomorrow, briefly 46. Half of a Wimbledon win for Serena, e.g.

48. WWII stalker 50. Baby carrier brand with an apt-sounding name 52. “Didn’t mean that�

54. Superfluity 55. Female red deer 57. MMA star Holly 61. Serious stretch 62. Sudden surge of companies joining forces 65. Tpke.

66. Sketchy dude 67. Jazz drummer Gene 68. Freq. unit 69. “There ___ coincidences�

70. British racetrack locale

6. Oil 7. Love of Spain 8. Attack, like a cat 9. Agcy. with a Taxpayer Advocate Service 10. Healthy bread choice 11. Relating to the moon 12. Topsy-turvy 13. See 34-Across 18. “Making Plans For Nigel� band 22. Old “American Top 40� DJ 24. Yellow sign with a silhouette 26. Kind of orange 27. Used a paper towel, say 28. Spoils 29. Brown bagger on the streets 30. “Listen Like Thieves� band 32. Starting now 35. Kick out 37. Foreign: Prefix 38. Ireland’s secondbest-selling musical artist (behind U2) 39. Leave in command 41. Cancels, as this puzzle’s theme answers 42. Model show?

47. “Yes ___!�

49. C, another way 50. Epitome of laziness 51. Oscar of “The Office�

53. The last version of it was El Capitan 54. Culture that has been canceled in the long theme answers 56. Cart-pulling beasts 58. Major burden 59. Elective surgery that sucks, briefly 60. “Milady�

62. ___ Nashville (country record label) 63. Go wrong 64. Jaguar of the ‘60-’70s

Down 1. Tophatter actions 2. Brown shade 3. 2019 Luc Besson thriller 4. Western shooter 5. Kamasi Washington’s instrument

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FOR CROSSWORD ANSWERS, GO TO ECURRENT.COM

Š2018 By Brendan Emmett Quigley (www.brendanemmettquigley.com)

free will astrology © Copyright 2019 Rob Brezsny

OCTOBER ARIES (March 21-April 19): In 1956, the U.S. federal government launched a program to build 40,000 miles of high-speed roads to connect all major American cities. It was completed 36 years later at a cost of $521 billion. In the coming months, I’d love to see you draw inspiration from that visionary scheme. According to my analysis, you will generate good fortune for yourself as you initiate a long-term plan to expand your world, create a more robust network, and enhance your ability to fulfill your life’s big goals.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Every time my birthday season comes around, I set aside an entire day to engage in a life review. It lasts for many hours. I begin by visualizing the recent events I’ve experienced, then luxuriously scroll in reverse through my entire past, as if watching a movie starring me. It’s not possible to remember every single scene and feeling, of course, so I allow my deep self to highlight the moments it regards as significant. Here’s another fun aspect of this ritual: I bestow a blessing on every memory that comes up, honoring it for what it taught me and how it helped me to become the person I am today. Dear Libra, now is an excellent time for you to experiment with a similar celebration.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taurus-born Youtube blogger Hey Fran Hey has some good advice for her fellow Bulls, and I think it’ll be especially fresh and potent in the coming weeks. She says, “Replacing ‘Why is this happening to me?’ with ‘What is this trying to tell me?’ has been a game changer for me. The former creates a hamster wheel, where you’ll replay the story over and over again.

Victimized. Stuck. The latter holds space for a resolution to appear.”

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “Depression is when you think there’s nothing to be done,” writes author Siri Hustvedt.

“Fortunately I always think there’s something to be done.” I offer this hopeful attitude to you, Scorpio, trusting that it will cheer you up. I suspect that the riddles and mysteries you’re embedded in right now are so puzzling and complicated that you’re tempted to think that there’s nothing you can do to solve them or escape them. But I’m here to inform you that if that’s how you feel, it’s only temporary. Even more importantly, I’m here to inform you that there is indeed something you can do, and you are going to find out what that is sooner rather than later.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “The soul has illusions as the bird has wings: it is supported by them.” So declared French author Victor Hugo. I don’t share his view.

In fact, I regard it as an insulting misapprehension. The truth is that the soul achieves flight through vivid fantasies and effervescent intuitions and uninhibited longings and non-rational hypotheses and wild hopes—and maybe also by a few illusions. I bring this to your attention because now is an excellent time to nurture your soul with vivid fantasies and effervescent intuitions and uninhibited longings and non-rational hypotheses and wild hopes.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “How inconvenient to be made of desire,” writes Sagittarian author Larissa Pham. “Even now, want rises up in me like a hot oil. I want so much that it scares me.” I understand what she means, and I’m sure you do, too. There are indeed times when the inner fire that fuels you feels excessive and unwieldy and inopportune. But I’m happy to report that your mood in the coming weeks is unlikely to fit that description. I’m guessing that the radiant pulse of your yearning will excite you and empower you. It’ll be brilliant and warm, not seething and distracting.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I know people of all genders who periodically unleash macho brags about how little sleep they need.

If you’re normally like that, I urge you to rebel. The dilemmas and riddles you face right now are very solvable IF and only IF you get sufficient amounts of sleep and dreams. Do you need some nudges to do right by yourself? Neuroscientist Matthew Walker says that some of the greatest athletes understand that “sleep is the greatest legal enhancing performance drug.” Top tennis player Roger Federer sleeps 12 hours a day. During his heyday, world-class sprinter Usain Bolt slept ten hours a night and napped during the day. Champion basketball player LeBron James devotes 12 hours a day to the rejuvenating sanctuary of sleep.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I envision the next twelve months as a time when you could initiate fundamental improvements in the way you live. Your daily rhythm twelve months from now could be as much as twenty percent more gratifying and meaningful.

It’s conceivable you will discover or generate innovations that permanently raise your long-term goals to a higher octave. At the risk of sounding grandiose, I predict you’ll welcome a certain novelty that resembles the invention of the wheel or the compass or the calendar.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Actor and dancer Fred Astaire was a pioneer in bringing dance into films as a serious art form. He made 31 musical films during the 76 years he worked, and was celebrated for his charisma, impeccable technique, and innovative moves. At the height of his career, from 1933 to 1949, he teamed up with dancer Ginger Rogers in the creation of ten popular movies. In those old-fashioned days, virtually all partner dancing featured a male doing the lead part as the female followed. One witty critic noted that although Astaire was a bigger star than Rogers, she “did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and while wearing high heels.” According to my reading of the astrological omens, you may soon be called on to carry out tasks that are metaphorically comparable to those performed by Rogers.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Your number one therapy in the coming weeks? Watching animals. It would be the healthiest thing you could undertake: relax into a generously receptive mode as you simply observe creatures doing what they do. The best option would be to surrender to the pleasures of communing with both domesticated AND wild critters. If you need a logical reason to engage in this curative and rejuvenating activity, I’ll give you one: It will soothe and strengthen your own animal intelligence, which would be a tonic gift for you to give yourself.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Modern literary critic William Boyd declared that Aquarian author Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) was “the best short-story writer ever,” and “the first truly modern writer of fiction: secular, refusing to pass judgment, cognizant of the absurdities of our muddled, bizarre lives and the complex tragi-comedy that is the human condition.” Another contemporary critic, Harold Bloom, praised Chekhov’s plays, saying that he was “one of the three seminal figures in the birth of early modernism in the theatre.” We might imagine, then, that in the course of his career, Chekhov was showered with accolades.

We’d be wrong about that, though. “If I had listened to the critics,” he testified, “I’d have died drunk in the gutter.” I hope that what I just said will serve as a pep talk for you as you explore and develop your own original notions in the coming weeks.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Pisces-born Dorothy Steel didn’t begin her career as a film actress until she was 91 years old.

She had appeared in a couple of TV shows when she was 89, then got a small role in an obscure movie. At age 92, she became a celebrity when she played the role of a tribal elder in *Black Panther*, one of the highest-grossing films of all time. I propose that we make her one of your inspirational role models for both the coming weeks and the next twelve months. Why? Because I suspect you will be ripening fully into a role and a mission you were born to embody and express.

ecurrent.com / october 2019 37

FALL 2019 - WINTER 2020

10/7/19 | 4-5:30 pm | Ford School, Annenberg Auditorium

1/29/20 | 4-5:30 pm | Ford School, Annenberg Auditorium

“Held Hostage: Ensuring the Safe Return of Americans Held Captive Abroad” Diane Foley, founder and director of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation and Joel Simon, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists

“Duterte’s Facebook-Fuelded Rise to Power: Manipulating Public Opinion to Capture an Election” Davey Alba, reporter, The New York

11/4/19 | 2:30-4:30 pm | Ford School, Annenberg Auditorium “The Jewish Underground” A documentary screening and conversation with Shai Gal, director and Knight-Wallace alum and Jim Burnstein, director of the screenwriting program, University of Michigan

Times and 2019 Livingston Award winner

THE LIVINGSTON LECTURES

3/18/20 | 6:30-8 pm | Hill Auditorium “What Big Tech Owes Us: Ethics and Transparency in the Social Age” Kara Swisher, co-founder and executive editor of

Recode, interviews former Facebook executive Alex Stamos

1/28/20 | 6-7:30 pm | Rackham Auditorium

3/24/20 | 3-4:30 pm | Rackham Amphitheatre

“The 1619 Project: Examining the Legacy of Slavery and the Building of a Nation” Nikole Hannah-Jones, reporter, The New York Times MLK SYMPOSIUM

“International Trolling Networks and the Hidden Threats to Female Journalists” Elodie Vialle, Reporters Without Borders

and 2020 Knight-Wallace Fellow and Rana Ayyub, author and investigative journalist THE EISENDRATH SYMPOSIUM ON INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Please check our website for more event information and updates: wallacehouse.umich.edu

follow us @current_mag

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