February 2019 - Current Magazine

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MUSIC | ART | CULTURE

GUY Basics for

VERY

MAN p6

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Share the love on Valentine’s Day p13

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contents

February 2019 vol. 29 | no. 02

$14 from the 14th - 17th*

The Guy Guide: Men and things they love in Washtenaw County p6

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13 nvc: Valentine’s Day

Belongs to All of Us

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by Lisa Gottleib

14 food: Dalat Vietnamese

by Jeff Glick

19 chef’s corner: Robyn Corvin,

Mikette Bistro Chef de Cuisine

by Sonny Forest

20 music: Lo-Fi Bar

by Jeff Milo

25 art: Art in the Internet Age

by Ainsley Davis

Washtenaw Community College does not discriminate on the basis of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other protected status in its programs and activities. The following office has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies, Title IX or ADA/504 inquires: Vice President of Student & Academic Services, SC 247, 734-973-3536. Facility access inquiries: V.P. for Facilities Development & Operations, PO 112, 734-677-5322

26 theater: Sweat and the Exonerated 27 lit: Mothers Tell Your Daughters

by AInsley Davis

28 film: The Green Book

by Jennifer Kellow-Fiorini

33 person of interest: Missy Stults

by Mary Gallagher

34 cannabis: Green Wolverine,

the “UM Weed Club”

by Abigail Kennedy

36 current love: I’ll Love You

Forever, (if...)

by Nina Swift

4 biz buzz 5 fyi 15 food cal 21 music cal 29 arts & culture 37 free will astrology 38 crossword 39 classifieds

MOST READ ONLINE 1. HAPPY HOUR GUIDE 2. SHAGGY 2 DOPE TALKS ABOUT HIS BLIND PIG SHOW, DROPKICKING FRED DURST, AND GOING SOLO

ecurrent.com / february 2019 3

biz buzz

BARDEUM App Spotlights Local Histories Ann Arbor-based Museum Edutainment has launched the BARDEUM app, which seeks to add livelier elements to museum and historical sites. The app focuses on storytelling, “like the Traveling Bard,” according to Museum Edutainment’s website. The app also offers features like “Step Inside the Story” and “Go Beyond the Frame,” which provides contextual information about historical sites or museum artworks. BARDEUM is available for download on Android and iOS devices. museumedutainment.com ­—AD

by Ainsley Davis, Erin Holden and Trilby Becker

New Ventures for Real Irish

Real Irish recently opened its second location, providing another outlet for customers to buy products inspired by the owners’ favorite place to visit. Stuart Marley and Meredith McGehee have been selling Irish imports in Ann Arbor since 1999, beginning with a small kiosk at Irish festivals, before launching their website. This year the company is also arranging small-group tours to Ireland, Scotland, and Wales through Real Irish Travel. Open 11am-7pm, Sunday-Saturday.

306 S. Main St. realirish.com and realirishtravel.com. —EH

Two Ann Arbor Mainstays Open Restaurants in Dexter After months of delay, Chela’s Restaurant and Taqueria opened its third location at 7065 Dexter-Ann Arbor Road in December. The family-owned restaurant, refurbished by the owners themselves, offers a variety of traditional Mexican foods.

The Dexter location is different from other Chela’s with a full bar and an expanded menu featuring chile rellenos, enchiladas, flautas, and a slowcooked mole that is to die for. They also have live music and dancing on Saturdays. Àndale! chelas.co —TB

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Ypsilanti Opens New Co-Workspace After almost four years of planning, and overcoming Jim Brady’s Opens in Ann Arbor funding obstacles, Back Jim Brady’s, an iconic Detroit eatery, opened in December Office Space (BOS) has in Downtown Ann Arbor at 220 Main Street. The two story officially opened in Ypsilanti restaurant offers patrons a step back in time to the 1950s, at 13 N. Washington when the original Jim Brady’s opened in Detroit. The first Street. BOS provides small story houses a bar and restaurant seating, while the second businesses and entrepreneurs story welcomes guests to the Five Four Room cocktail lounge. a coworking space with The menu features signature burgers, classic American fare private offices, shared desks, like sandwiches and mac ‘n’ cheese, and fusion cuisine, such four conference rooms, as miso salmon, and blackened chicken carbonara. high-speed WiFi, and even jimbradysdetroit.com —AD a “nap room,” among other amenities. Membership costs vary. thebackofficestudio.com —AD

Jottful Supports Small Business Websites

Ann Arbor company, Jottful, is meeting the needs of small business through creating and managing websites. Founder Dawn Verbrigghe said she wanted to create an option for small businesses seeking to expand to the Internet, allowing them to avoid expensive site builders or time-intensive build-your-own software.

Jottful seeks to expand their team in early 2019. jottful.com —AD

Jolly Pumpkin Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales and Kitchen opened its second Washtenaw County location, in Dexter at 2310 Bishop Circle East, offering a wide selection of inventive dishes and housemade brews. Chef Maggie Long has a strong commitment to sourcing her food from local farmers, and the bright, creative menu changes constantly depending on what is in season. jollypumpkinartisanalesandkitchen.com —TB

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Brighton Coffee House and Theater Brighton Coffee House and Theater received a warm welcome from the community when it opened its doors recently, buzzing with business from early morning until late evening. More than a coffee house, they offer baked goods, sandwiches, and salads as well as an array of coffees, espresso drinks, and teas. Brighton Coffee House and Theater, seeking to entertain as well as caffeinate Brighton residents, will spotlight local talent with theatrical performances and weekly musical shows, as well as book signings and other community events.

Open daily 6:30am to 11pm.

306 W. Main St. Brighton. brightoncoffeehouse.com—TB

What does Valentine’s Day mean to you?

biz buzz

In High Demand

Publisher/Editor in Chief

Collette Jacobs (cjacobs@adamsstreetpublishing.com) A COMMERCIAL HOLIDAY BUT I DO ENJOY GETTING A LITTLE GIFT OR TWO!

Co-publisher/Chief Financial Officer Mark I. Jacobs (mjacobs@adamsstreetpublishing.com) TO HONOR AND CHERISH MY WIFE.

Editorial

Assignment Editor: Trilby Becker

(annarboreditor@adamsstreetpublishing.com) SHOWING APPRECIATION TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE I LOVE Calendar Editor: Heather Mooney

(calendar@current.com)

GETTING NEW FRISKY UNDERTHINGS! Staff Writers: Erin Holden and Athena Cocoves.

Contributing Writers: Ainsley Davis, Nick Roumel, Grant Vlahopousos, Lisa Gottlieb, Jeff Glick, Sonny Forrest, Jeff Milo, Emily Slomovits, Jennifer Kellow-Fiorini, Mary Gallagher, Abigail Kennedy, Nina Swift, and Rob Brezsny.

Digital Media

Web Guru: Deanna Woods (digitalmedia@adamsstreetpublishing.com) I JUST DRIP IN DIAMONDS.

Art/Production

Production Manager: Imani Lateef (imani@adamsstreetpublishing.com) DON’T EFF THIS UP. Senior Designer: Leah Foley (leah@adamsstreetpublishing.com) ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE.

Sales: Trilby Becker (tbecker@adamsstreetpublishing.com) SHOWING APPRECIATION TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE I LOVE. Ron Katz (rkatz@adamsstreetpublishing.com) FLOWERS FOR MY WIFE. Rich Brimer (rbrimer@adamsstreetpublishing.com) REMINDING YOUR LOVED ONES YOU CARE ABOUT THEM. Sales Coordinator Jen Leach (sales@adamsstreetpublishing.com ANOTHER DAY...

Administration

Accounting: Robin Armstrong (rarmstrong@adamsstreetpublishing.com) MAKES ME FEEL HOW BLESSED I AM.

© 2019 by Adams Street Publishing Co., All rights reserved. 3003 Washtenaw Ave., Suite 3, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, Phone (734) 668-4044, Fax (734) 668-0555. First class subscriptions $30 a year.

Distributed throughout Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and neighboring communities.

Also publishers of: Mature

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER

Constellation Collective, featuring prepackaged foods in graband-go format,opened in January in Ann Arbor’s Nickels Arcade. Their mission, to “nourish the Ann Arbor community by increasing access to the finest wholesome food the area has to offer,” presents a local, healthier “fast food” option. constellationfood.com

fyi

Advertising

Audited by

Constellation Collective Features Best of Local Flavors

Smoke’s Chocolate, a new shop that opened in December, coinciding with the legalization of recreational marijuana in Michigan, is a chocolate shop owned by 30-year-old Washtenaw Community College student Marc Bernard. His offer? “Buy some chocolate, get some weed,” the slogan of Smoke’s Chocolate, which Bernard operates out of his apartment.

Customers spend $10-$15 for chocolate and a delivery driver also brings a green gift to the buyer (those 21 and older). While recreational marijuana still can’t be sold by retailers just yet,it’s legal to gift, which turned into agreat business plan for Bernard, who soldout his original supply of chocolate within three days. a2getsmoke.co—EH

—AD

Designers: Kelli Miller (kmiller@adamsstreetpublishing.com) PUPPY LOVE. Anita Tipton (atipton@adamsstreetpublishing.com) APPRECIATING THE ONE YOU LOVE. Norwin Lopez (nlopez@adamsstreetpublishing.com) PEACE AND QUIET.

Member

cont.

Ozone House Holds Gala; Reveals LGBTQ+ Youth Statistics

Ypsi nonprofit supports LGBTQ+ Kicked Out fund According to Ozone House, an Ypsilantibased nonprofit that provides shelter and support services to homeless and housing insecure youth, one in four young people who contact their 24-hour hotline identifies as LGBTQ+. Roughly half of all the LGBTQ+ youth that Ozone House works with has experienced a degree of family rejection, and 80% of those that do are kicked out by their parents or guardians. The 20% who are not kicked out often run away due to poor treatment. This puts them at high risk for homelessness, substance abuse, criminal activity and the youth are 8.5 times more likely to commit suicide than those who are accepted by their families.

The Ozone House will hold its annual Home Sweet Home fundraising event on Tuesday, February 12th at 6:30pm at Zingerman’s Grayline. Tickets are $75.

Inclusion Supporter tickets are $150, and also sponsor an LGBTQ person to attend the event. All proceeds will go to Ozone House’s Kicked Out fund for LGBTQ youth services. —TB

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THE GUY GUIDE SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

While the “typical male stereotype” has expanded and changed over the decades, certain lifestyle items remain, decidedly, fitting for any man. Here is a local guy guide that covers the basics.

By Trilby Becker with Nick Roumel and Grant Vlahopousos

GOOD GUYS

What makes a man? We asked Washtenaw County men who are making their mark about what they love, what they do, and who they admire.

My career, and why I chose it: I believe

the opportunities I have were made for me. I am answering my calling to contribute toward equity in journalism and the production of media, as well as to do my part to shift the narrative and standard of Black men. I am building platforms for more minoritized people to excel and that support transformative ideas.

How I spend a typical day: Some days I

start early, while some days are a later start. I am working part time and completing my last semester at Eastern Michigan University toward a degree in Media Studies and Journalism with a minor in Marketing. I spend time with my loved ones. I take time to be present in the moment. I learn constantly from experiencing life, reading, and the richness of people around me. I laugh a lot and dress well.

I care, especially, about the details. I approach life daily with passion tempered by my level headed, intuitive disposition. I eat and cook well. When my day is done, I kick my feet up with a cozy blanket and lounge like a boss.

My mantra: My mantra summarizes my personal outlook on life, “Through Christ anything is possible.” Be true to yourself, love wins, and kindness trumps hate.

PHOTO CREDIT: NAUTICA MARSHALL

SHAYLER BARNES Journalist, Media Producer, Organizer, Student

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A man I admire, and some of his qualities: The men I admire have a deep love

for themselves and others around them, which is illuminated in their work, families, and actions.

The men that I can’t bring myself to admire are those who abuse their male privilege and exert toxic masculinity. I admire men who set a positive example and raise the bar for how other men can be better men and leverage our male privilege for the betterment of humanity and society.

Things I enjoy doing in my free time: I love to write creatively, listen to music, absorb art, and read, as well as grow and heal myself and the world from the inside out.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

PHOTO CREDIT: VIRGINIA OMKE

Your career, and why you chose it: After awakening to the

BRIAN LYDIC

Chief Regulatory Engineer, Interstate Renewable Energy Council Musician

were on the table – we’ll find out what “typical” means moving forward.

realities of our planet and civilization in college, I realized renewable energy was something I could get behind to be “part of the solution.” I’m Chief Regulatory Engineer with a non-profit called the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Basically, I work in public utility commission working groups around the country to help craft the rules around how distributed energy systems (like solar electric or batteries on homes and businesses) get connected to the electric grid. It’s an exciting time to help craft the way in which the grid will work in the future, with much more distributed energy. I never thought I’d be working mostly with words instead of circuits, but I love collaborating with different groups and trying to get the utility companies to “see the light.”

How you spend a typical day:

Just a week ago I became a dad, so typical hasn’t meant anything since then. Before baby, I was going to the gym first thing in the morning, working either at home or at a café for 8 hours or so (reading, writing, and getting on conference calls), then making dinner with my wife. Playing guitar with or without my band in the basement, a walk by the river, or chilling at home

Your mantra: As funny as it is, I guess it’s “don’t worry, be happy.” I try to let my life unfold as the universe allows, rather than worrying about the future or the past. Happiness is my guiding light and I try to ensure what brings me joy is a part of my life.

A man you admire, and some of his qualities: I admire my friends who value life on earth and do their best to help create a better world, and who share their love with others.

Something you love to do in your free time: I’ve been working

on allowing my emotions to play more of a role in my life, which I’m sure will take the rest of my life. It will also take the rest of my life to learn everything about playing the guitar.

Why you are a vegan: I

remember having a slight discomfort in the back of my mind about eating animals. After learning about factory farming in college, I decided I didn’t want to take advantage of animals any more than I would take advantage of another person, and I went vegan. I definitely take advantage of kale, though.

Cont’d on p8

ecurrent.com / february 2019 7

PHOTO CREDIT PETER PAVLOV

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

MATT KEATING Farmer, dancer, teacher

How I spend a typical day:

There’s no such thing as a typical day for me, and I love that variety. I might be harvesting spinach in the morning and driving the tractor by noon. Then I might head home to cook, teach a tango lesson in the afternoon, and be off to go dancing at night. Or, I might take the day off and clean the house, daydream, write in my journal or map out future projects!

My Mantra: Tao. A man I admire, and some of his qualities: I admire, Tȟatȟáŋka

Íyotake or Sitting Bull, because he had an unhurried grounded mindset as a leader who continued to call for peace and education even while needing to bravely lead his people into defensive battles against colonialism—fighting for his home, his people, and their way of life.

My career, and why I chose this line of work: I am a land worker and

a dancer. I pursue these lifestyles for the richness of life that they bring, instead of pursuing something for money. In farming and landscaping I am able to experience the natural world and delight in its sweet and bitter gifts and lessons. In dancing I enjoy the passionate life of an Argentine tango dancer, travelling the world and making meaningful connections with people who have interesting stories. I enjoy teaching because I get to watch as people transform as they realize that they are both the clay and the artist.

Things I enjoy doing in my free time: I enjoy sailing and perpetually learning the art of life.

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JOHN BRITTON

Distiller, Ann Arbor Distilling Company Musician

It must be said: Despite a distiller

being a stereotypically masculine role, it’s important to note that was not always the case. The fields of brewing, winemaking, and distilling, all owe inestimable praise and commendation for advancements made by women throughout history.

Hildegard von Bingen, Maria the Jewess -- I owe my career, vocation, and life to the work of these, and other, incredible women.

How I spend a typical day: I love early mornings at the distillery, the gentle knocking of the steam pipes warming up, the smell of the Bourbon casks– like snow is to a boy from Texas, the novelty hasn’t worn off on me.

I usually start the day by mashing in one of our grain bills, (i.e. Bourbon, Rye, or Wheat) for our vodka. This process involves dumping about a ton of grain into a giant cauldron (called a mash tun) and heating it until all of the starches are converted into sugars. The smell alone is worth all the work. I’m never far from

the still during a distillation. I’m always tasting to make sure everything is running smoothly. Nothing about our process is automated, and I prefer it that way.

After the mash comes up to temperature, it is cooled and transferred to the fermenters where my little yeast friends enjoy a 7-day long feast. Then, it’s time to do what I do best, cleaning.

Distilling is 95% cleaning. Luckily, my father was an officer in the Navy so being fastidious was never really ‘optional’.

My career, and why I chose it: Trained as a classical guitarist, I

was in San Francisco finishing up my master’s degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music when I decided to order a beautiful Portuguese Alembic still.

Beginner’s luck or fate, I was really happy with the results and fell in love with the practice.

Two years later my wife Lena was accepted as a doctoral candidate at U-M’s Musicology department. Lena pointed out to me that there was a distillery in Ann

Arbor and that they were having a bottling party that night. I wound up meeting the owner Rob (Cleveland) and a few of the investors- I must have stuck out a bit, most people were laughing and carrying on but I was like a machine, helping to bottle the spirits. Rob brought me on board soon after.

From there it’s been a whirlwind. I just took my first vacation in two years!

Some might read that and shudder but when your work is a vocation, often times the idea of a ‘vacation’ seems rather inconvenient.

A man you admire: The man I admire most is my father. Seeing my father is like looking into my future. Humble, indefatigable, compassionate, and kind; he’s my best friend and everything I could hope to be.

Cont’d on p10

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

GOD’S GIFTS TO MEN

Whether you’re a macho man, Mr. Nice Guy, or just a regular bro, all men can agree on these dudeapproved staples:

Bowl

Maplewood Lanes

Bowling is a highly competitive yet minimally athletic sport that can be performed along with a beer, making it the perfect ‘Dad exercise’. Sure, women like to bowl, but this is really a dude thing. For Big Lebowski fans and anyone over 35, newer bowling establishments, with massive video screens and bumping music, could be a jarring disappointment. Maplewood maintains the classic keggling tradition in laid back style. Take a class or join one of their many leagues, which accomodate any ability level.

Prices are reasonable, drinks are abundant, and there’s plenty of comfort food on the menu. Really, what more do you need for an evening out with the fellas? maplewoodlanes.com, 734-429-5457 830 Woodward Dr., Saline

Cigars and drinks What is more relaxing for a guy than drinking fine whisky or beer, smoking a cigar, eating delicious food, or watching sports?

Doing all of those things AT THE SAME TIME. At Siris, you can do just that. On the bar’s lower level, you can gaze upon the mechanical wonder that is their beer cooler, where over 120 varieties of beers are cooled to optimal temperature. You can enjoy the beer variety and dozens of rare whiskies in the comfort of the ultimate man cave, which was carved from living rock and adorned with game trophies and tree stump tables. Come to Siris and enjoy the finer things. sirisannarbor.com, 734 263-1296 207 N Main St Ann Arbor, MI 48104

Family owned & operated since 1999.

Brew

Adventures in Homebrewing is where dudes go to talk to other dudes about beer. The guys at AIH are all about making your beer dreams come true, and they are willing to go deep into the suds on any aspect of their favorite topic to help you, down to offering detailed feedback and analysis on samples brought in by customers. A great thing about brewing culture is the brotherhood between brewers. They share what they know— even their recipes— to raise the bar for the industry. Take up brewing and you will become part of a mind expanding culture of (mostly) men who are good at both talking and drinking. homebrewing.org, 313-277-2739 6071 Jackson Rd.

Specializing in Beer Making, Kegging & Wine Making Adventures in Homebrewing is a brewing supply company offering Craft Beer Brewing, Wine Making, Liquor Making and Soda Making Equipment and Supplies. AIH also offers a full line of Kegging Equipment and Commercial Beverage Supplies.

WE REFILL CO2 TANKS!

6071 Jackson Rd, Ann Arbor, MI (313)277-2739 • HOMEBREWING.ORG 10

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GUIDE

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Barbers Explore the woods Rent a yurt

For a rustic and romantic getaway for two, this can really impress your date. Or, cram your buddies into the roughly 20x20 space, enjoy a few cold ones, and then snore in your sleeping bags until someone says it’s time to go fishing. Either scenario is perfectly legit when man meets yurt. Sadly, there are not nearly enough yurts available for rent, so make your reservations in advance. midnrreservations.com - search under Yurt.

800-447-2757 8555 Silver Hill Rd., Pinckney Recreation Area midnrreservations.com PHOTO CREDIT: BRETT MOYER

Fight

A Square Fight Club – boxing Final Round- mixed martial arts

Are you tired of your arms feeling like rubber mallets? Want to turn them into sledge hammers? Learn how to fight for real while getting in the best shape of your life with the guidance of highly-trained coaches to develop your skills and bring out the fighting spirit within. Participate in a wide range of both group and individual programs that will leave you eager for the next round to knock out your fitness related New Year’s resolutions.

This is an ideal way to develop boxing technique, body awareness, speed, and conditioning. Take your first steps towards becoming the athlete you’ve always wanted to be, and embody a unique confidence that will allow you to overcome any challenge.

A Square Fight Club: asquarefightclub.com, 734-585-8823, 3000 Packard St., Final Round: finalroundannarbor.com, 734-548-9901, 3770 Plaza Dr.

Fuller Cut

Men like to be pampered too, but in a manly way, by professionals talking boisterously about politics and real estate while shaving the hairs off your neck. The Fuller Cut on Ecorse Street in Ypsilanti, owned by Alex Fuller, can give you both a frohawk and an education. Fuller’s children’s literacy program gives kids who read a book to the barber $2 off their cut. Fuller Cut sponsors other barbershops that want to start their own program with a bookshelf full of books for kids of all reading levels. thefullercut.com, 734-484-2860 307 Ecorse Rd. Ypsilanti

Varsity Barber Shop

This is the place to go in downtown Ann Arbor for a man’s haircut, beard trim, or classic straight blade shave. The barbers are all laid back dudes from the Irish Hills area, from tattooed Tony the heavy metal guitarist, to Russell-Crowe lookalike Mike, who might chat you up about your golf game, or his wife’s baking prowess. No reservations (the poster of a well-known actor reads, “Walkens only”) and no plastic accepted. Wait times can be insane, but feel free to sign the list, go outside and get a coffee, and return to engage in manly banter, watch sports on TV, or get lost in a men’s magazine.

Big slabs of meat

Sparrow Market

You can’t complete a manliness punchcard without acquiring mad barbecue skills (sorry vegetarians). The place to go for big, meaty ribs and chops is Sparrow Market, a Kerrytown mainstay, manned

by Bob Sparrow— and a bevy of young female trainees. Bob’s long-standing relationships with farmers throughout the tri-state area assures you of high quality cuts for your grill or smoker, guaranteeing that your tailgate or BBQ party will be a chestpounding success. kerrytown.com/sparrowmeats, 734-761-8175 407 N. 5th St. Cont’d on p12

734-761-8330, 105 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor

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GUIDE

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Sex

Cirillas

Want to rev up your sex life? Cirillas is not for the faint of heart. But the man who loves tools will find the selection highly satisfying. An added benefit is the extensive staff expertise about the hundreds of products. cirillas.com, 734-477-5643 2925 Carpenter Rd. Ypsilanti

Leather

Mule Skinner Boots

Do you crave the feeling of leather? For many dudes, the answer is “Yes.” Satisfying your desire with the elevated standard of Mule Skinner Boots, over 45 years in business, is going to cost you, but rest assured that the investment will be worth it. Satisfied customers include a vegetable farmer in Webster Township who destroyed a new set of work boots every year for ten years until early 2015, when he bought a pair of Double H boots from Mule Skinner and has been wearing them ever since. ‘Nuff said. muleskinnerboots.com, 734-475-0342 112 N. Main St. Chelsea

Tools

Stadium Hardware

A true Ann Arbor institution, Stadium Hardware has just about every tool you could ever think of (and many you haven’t) into its no-frills Stadium Blvd. storefront. Do you struggle to change a lightbulb, yet have a burning desire to install a kitchen appliance yourself? The outstanding staff at Stadium Hardware are happy to walk you through all the steps of your project, often engaging other staff members for lively conversations about the pros and cons of various options. They also cut glass, make keys, match paint, thread pipe, and many other things you are much better off leaving to them. ww3.truevalue.com/stadiumhardware/Home.aspx 734-663-8704 2177 W. Stadium Blvd

2.5

CARBS

Smokes

Maison Edwards Smoke Shop

It can be a cold world for a smoker in 2019. Maison Edwards understands. In this haven for tobacco lovers, you can enjoy the rare pleasure of sitting back in a handsome leather chair and lighting up in public. Something about the rich smell of fine tobacco inspires reflection, and fascinating conversations between strangers, often sparked in this family-owned, Ann Arbor mainstay. And Maison Edwards encourages you to mingle the scent of classy tobacco with fine imported colognes, shaving creams, and aftershaves. maisonedwards.com, 734-662-4145 11 Nickels Arcade

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Valentine’s Day Belongs to All of Us An NVC approach to love

By Lisa Gottlieb

I took a survey to see what people think of Valentine’s Day. And by survey I mean I asked a few random people, like a guy at the gas station. Of course, it wasn’t a real survey. I don’t attribute great weight to what other people think of Valentine’s Day, since I have my own opinion, and I’m here to share it with you. In its current iteration here in the United States, I find Valentine’s Day to be a hyper-exclusive celebration, geared for people in love, romantic couples or married people. These celebrants usually include special gifts or attention, while creating a sense of lonely left-outedness for unpartnered people, or those who don’t look like the white, heterosexual couple typically featured in Valentine’s Day advertising.

Friends and friendship

Since one of the core values of Nonviolent Communication is that belonging and mattering are universal human needs that are worth paying attention to, we can look to Finland as a model. There, the holiday is called Friend’s Day, which includes a celebration of friends and family. Although there is room for romance, it isn’t focused on that, so everyone has a chance to be included in the cards, gifts, love, and care. Guatemalans also have an inclusive approach, where Valentine’s Day is known as Day of Love and Friendship. Another win, by making room for everyone to belong.

As February 14th rolls around this year, consider how you might widen the circle of people you celebrate on Valentine’s Day, with kind words, cards, or other tokens of appreciation and gratitude for family and friends. The more appreciation and care we share with others, the better we all feel.

ecurrent.com / february 2019 13

food Dalat

A Capital idea

By Jeff Glick

Curious about how Southeast Asian natives opened a Vietnamese restaurant in Southeast Michigan,an answer that is intriguing and historically significant. Son Le and his parents, Lang Bui and Hoanh Le, were part of the ‘boat people’ who left Vietnam in the early 1980s. At the end of the Indo-China War, with America’s withdrawal from Vietnam in 1975, Son explains that any individuals who had done business with the Americans, which included Son Le’s father, Hoanh Le, were placed in internment camps by the prevailing government. The family, who then lived in Saigon, had dealt in rattan furniture, where the father was a merchant, subjecting Hoanh to the internment edict.

Interred for seven years and seeing many of his friends die during that captivity, Hoanh Le was released. Newly liberated, he quickly gathered his family and took them to the southernmost point of Vietnam where they boarded a small boat headed for Malaysia. The boat took them across the China Sea, a dangerous journey of some four days and four nights, with a single motor.

Son Le and his family landed on the northeast coast of Malaysia before a refugee recovery agency flew them to the United States. Many Vietnamese settled in Orange County, California, but Son Le’s family was sponsored by a Catholic church from the diocese in Lansing, Michigan.

The church assisted them in relocating to Ypsilanti, where they have lived ever since.

From Ypsilanti with love

Though we’ve passed by Dalat in downtown Ypsilanti a number of times over the years, we’ve never ventured inside. Named for the capital city of the province where the family lived in Vietnam, the restaurant’s October 2018 move to a strip mall on South Main Street in Ann Arbor piqued our interest and we’ve since visited the new location several times. The bright green and orange interior smacks of freshness while limited samples of artwork reminiscent of the Far East adorn the walls. With heavy customer traffic around 2:00 p.m. following the lunch hour as well as during our visit in the evening, the utilitarian interior layout accommodated the steady flow of visitors throughout both of our visits.

The extensive menu includes phở in a number of varieties and combinations, a

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quintessential Vietnamese noodle soup.

Along with noodle dishes, stir-fries and vegetarian selections, the lunch menu offers a bento box, which provides a sampling of a little bit of everything.

Dependable Vietnamese food

The meticulous attention to the chopping and arranging of vegetables and other ingredients provides a familiar comfort when the food is brought to the table. For our lunch sitting we ordered gỏi cuốn, rice paper covered shrimp rolls with fresh lettuce and carrots, as well as the shredded chicken salad and an obligatory bowl of phở. The pleasantly portioned stir fry and noodle dishes were enticing and satisfying.

The restaurant is owned, and now run by, Tran Nguyen, and her husband, Son Le. In business for a total of almost 30 years, Dalat has occupied three locations.

The first 10 years spent in a location on Cross Street in Ypsilanti, beginning around 1990. The restaurant operated in downtown Ypsilanti on the corner of

Michigan Avenue and Huron Street since about 2000. 18 years later, the restaurant moved after its owners sold the building in Ypsilanti for residential development.

Dalat has been open in the strip mall on South Main Street near Busch’s Market since October of 2018.

New location, same good food

Fortunately, Son Le’s family shares with Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti their love of their homeland, including its cuisine.

The new location has worked out well for them. Though many of the customers that visited them in their Ypsilanti locations are from Ann Arbor and continue to visit, Dalat is experiencing a wave of new customers attracted to the new location out of convenience.

When you are looking for authentic Vietnamese food prepared by a family with a heroic background, look no further than Dalat 2216 S Main St, Ann Arbor, 734-487-7600 11am to 9 pm M - Sat. Dalatrestaurantannarbor.com

food Comfort Food Cooking Chef Nikolas Bardt of Fustini’s brings hands-on instruction for cooks who want to perfect the art of making comfort foods with class. The cooking class will include how to make glazed veggies, asparagus risotto, balsamic-glazed pork tenderloins, and warm blueberry tartlet with cream. Nothing lifts the winter blues like a delicious menu line-up. Register ASAP as seats are limited. $65. 6pm-8pm Friday, February 1. Fustini’s. 407 N. 5th St., 2nd floor. 734-213-1110. fustinis.com. —EH

618 Church St, Ann Arbor Open 7 days a week 10:30am-4:00am

Dine In Ongoing Sundays Webster Farmers Market

12pm. Crossroads Community Center, Dexter. websterfarmsmarket.org Free

Shop for fresh produce, baked goods, and many other delicious goodies from various local vendors every Sunday except the third Sunday of every month.

Tuesdays Free Beer Tastings

5pm Blue Front Ann Arbor. bluefrontannarbor.com Free

Blue Front showcases beer and mead selections from various breweries.

Dexter Farmers Market 2-6pm. facebook.com/ DexterFarmersMarket

Shop fruits, veggies, baked goods, artisan crafts, photographs and much more at this weekly market. Also open Saturdays from 8am-1pm.

Wednesdays Wine Night

4-10pm. Prices vary. Evans Street Station. evansstreetstation.com

½ off bottles of wine! If you can’t finish the bottle, you can get it corked and wrapped to take home with you.

Wine Down Wednesdays

5pm. Prices vary. Cultivate Coffee & Tap House, Ypsilanti. cultivateypsi.com

Relax with a glass of wine.

Cultivate offers ½ off bottles all day long and $3 off glasses of wine. Classes are also available via Cultivate’s sommelier.

Hot Jazz & Wine Wednesdays

6-9pm. Detroit Filling Station. thelunchrooma2.com

Listen to the sounds of live jazz while enjoying wine specials. zingermans.com

Thursdays Bluegrass & Beer Thursdays 6-9pm. Detroit Street Filling Station. detroitstreetfillingstation.com

Beer specials and live music by the Pontiac Trailblazer’s!

Saturdays

$10.00 OFF Purchase of any two entrees Please present coupon or mention offer to server when ordering • Not valid with any other offer 1 per table • Expires 2/28/2019

Carry Out 12” Cheese Pizza only $8.00

(Toppings and Deep dish style pizzas extra) Online ordering only Enter coupon code 8CURRENT upon checkout Not valid with any other offer • Expires 2/28/2019

Delivery $7.00 OFF any order of $20 or more Online ordering only Enter coupon code 7OFF20 upon checkout Not valid with any other offer • Expires 2/28/2019

Ann Arbor Farmers Market 8am-3pm. a2gov.org/market

Shop local every Saturday for your groceries and handmade items.

Call (734) 995-5095 or Order Online at pizzahouse.com

Chelsea Farmers Market 10am-2pm. chelseafarmersmkt.org

More opportunity for you to shop fresh, local produce!

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Gluten Free WinterFest

10am-6pm. $8-$10. Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds. gfcelebrations.com

The Hall will be filled with food vendors, exhibits from gluten free food producers, shopping vendors, musical entertainment and kids’ activities. $8 for children, $10 for adults.

Wine Wonderland The Let’s Chill Winter Wine Walk is a festive way to spend a chilly winter day, sipping wine samples at 12 different venues in Milan. The cost includes 12 tasting tickets and a souvenir wine glass, plus beer and vodka samples, as well. Hey, it’s Saturday.

Who says you can’t do a bit of day drinking with friends on a weekend afternoon? Enjoy a stroll downtown and treat yourself to fine wines and other libations. $30. 3pm-7pm. Saturday, February 2. Milan Main St. 734-395-3880. letschillwinterfest.com. —EH

1 Friday

2 Saturday

Burrito Friday!

Coffee Works Pop-Up

Stop by the Rosewood St. location for a monthly fill-up on a burrito.

Milan Coffee Works sets up a pop-up coffee bar with their menu available before Bløm opens.

7-11am. RoosRoast Coffee. roosroast.com

Cookbook: Chelsea Market

8am-noon. Bløm Meadworks. drinkblom.com

Noon-2pm. $55. Fustini’s. fustinis.com

Chef Nikolas Bardt prepares a unique menu inspired by the food of the Chelsea Market in Manhattan. Watch, learn, taste!

Herbs for Heart Health: A Tea Tasting

Noon-3pm. $50-$60. The YPSI, Ypsilanti. ypsi.org

Learn all about the herbs good for your heart and herbs that our ancestors used to treat heart ailments with a lecture, tea tasting and creation of your own tea.

Tickets at eventbrite.com.

Monthly Bløm Tour

12:15pm. $10. Bløm Meadworks. drinkblom.com

Tour the Meadworks and learn how Bløm first came to be, the process of making recipes, and more.

Kanar Winter Feast

2-11pm. $25. Cobblestone Farm. kanar.club

Bring your own feast gear such as bowls, plates, silverware etc. and indulge in the delicious flavors of food catered by What’s Cooking Ann Arbor.

St. Jude Benefit Banquet

7-11pm. $20-$25. Michigan League Ballroom. events.umich.edu

The American Medical Student Association (AMSA) and the Sigma Nu chapter at the University of Michigan partner up to raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital with a catered dinner, guest speakers, raffles, and dancing.

3 Sunday

Thank You for Voting Us Best Falafel!

Pizza Party

1-3pm. $75. Sur la Table. surlatable.com

Learn how to make your own cheesy pies at home. Mix dough, add your own toppings, and bake on a pizza stone. Also offered at 6:30-8:30pm on 2/26.

Becoming American: Cooking with Sylvia Nolasco

2-3:30pm. Ann Arbor District Library, Downtown. aadl.org Free

Place your order online:

jerusalemgarden.net/order-online

Thank You Current Readers for 20 Years of Support!

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314 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor, MI 734.995.5060

Hear from Chef Sylvia of Pilar’s Tamales as she talks about her journey being a Salvadoran woman, from fleeing the civil war to opening her restaurant.

Hands-On Pasta Making Class

2-5pm. $87. Evans Street Station, Tecumseh. evansstreetstation.com

Obtain the skills to make fresh, handcrafted pasta at home during this class with Chef DJ. Tickets include wine/beer, snacks, a three-course dinner and recipes to take home.

Also offered on Wednesday, February 23.

4 Monday SeekTheSeal Tap Takeover 3-11:30pm. The Grotto. thegrottobar.com Free

The Grotto hosts their first 36 tap takeover featuring beers from Arbor Brewing Company, Bell’s, Drafting Table, Epic, Great Lakes, and others.

6 Wednesday Empty Bowls: A Grassroots Movement to Help End Hunger 11am-2pm. $10-$30.

Evans Street Station, Tecumseh. evansstreetstation.com

Evans Street partners with the Adrian Center for the Arts to benefit local organizations helping feed the hungry. The students at ACA have made ceramic bowls to be purchased at the event, with the proceeds donated to the organizations. Attendees will enjoy soup in their bowls.

Middle Eastern Touch

6-8pm. $55. Fustini’s. fustinis.com

Watch and learn how to prepare Middle Eastern dishes, then taste some! Chef Nikolas Bardt will make beet and tahini dip with homemade pita bread, balela salad, spice rubbed roast chicken, and poached figs in orange and cardamom over ice cream. Additional date offered on Friday, February 27.

Cast Iron Cooking

6:30-8:30pm. $75. Sur la Table. surlatable.com

Learn the essentials of cooking in cast irons with some comfort foods. You’ll cook three one-pot dinners. Also offered same time on 2/25.

Homemade Pasta with Keegan Rodgers

7-8:30pm. Ann Arbor District Library, Downtown. aadl.org Free

This hands-on workshop covers the basics of making fresh pasta in your own kitchen.

food

7 Thursday Food Gatherers Produce Box Pick Up

12 Tuesday

2-4pm. Whitmore Lake Public Schools. foodgatherers.org Free

Knife Sharpening Demystified

Pick up a free box of fresh produce provided by the Food Gatherers. Boxes are first-come, first-serve.

8 Friday Winter Blues

Noon-2pm. $55. Fustini’s. fustinits.com

The menu in this demonstration is full of cheerful flavor sure to cure those winter blues. Watch and learn the preparation of preserved mushroom pizza, warm beet salad, confit of duck with olive oil whipped potatoes and apple cobbler over ice cream.

Chocolate Tasting

1pm. $25. Great Oak Cohousing. tammystastings.com

In honor of February as National Chocolate Month, satisfy your taste buds with chocolates from around the world while learning the history of the delectable treats.

French Desserts

1-3pm. $75. Sur la Table. surlatable.com

Learn everything there is to baking French desserts. This class’ menu includes dark chocolate pots de crème with walnut praline, flambéed crepes with caramelized orange and brandy sauce, and lemon lavender madeleines dipped in white chocolate. Also offered at 10amnoon on 2/17 and 2/23.

9 Saturday Classic French Croissants 9am-noon. $75. Sur la Table. surlatable.com

Bake and sample these flaky, buttery treats. Learn how to mix, laminate, shape and bake the dough to create a croissant. Also offered at 10am-1pm on 2/27.

Beer Yoga

Noon-1pm. Arbor Brewing Company, Ypsilanti. arborbrewing.com Free

Relax and meditate during a yoga session, then relax some more with a beer.

Learn & Churn

Noon-2pm. $100. Go Ice Cream. goicecreamgo.com

This month’s class focuses on flavor churning and a sundae party. Go Ice Cream founder Rob Hess will teach students on how ice cream is made. Bring a friend for an additional $50.

6:15-8:15pm. $55.

Washtenaw Community College. washtenaw.augusoft.net

Date Pho Valentine’s Day Nominated as the number one Asian restaurant in Michigan in past years, One Bowl Asian Cuisine is known for their delicious pho and Instagram-worthy setting. Now they are offering a special Valentine’s Day meal for couples. The menu will be announced closer to the night of the dinner. $49 per couple. 11am Thursday, February 14-1am February 15.

One Bowl Asian Cuisine. 1220 S. University Ave. Call 888-5WONTON to make reservations and 734-747-7006 for further questions. Menu updates will appear on facebook.com/SouthCampusUofM. —EH

Learn the steps to sharpening your kitchen knives and bring your own knives in from your home and perfect your skills.

Bangerz Ball: Valentine’s Edition

7pm. $58. HopCat Ann Arbor.

HopCat collaborates with Odd Side Ales, Epic and Short’s Brewing companies to pair their unique offerings with Valentine’s inspired menu. Enjoy a sixcourse beer dinner and receive a commemorative glass.

Date Night: Bold Tuscan Flavors

7-9pm. $85. Sur la Table. surlatable.com

Victorian Valentine Tea

New Moon Party

Enjoy an elegant traditional tea, with sweet and savory offerings.

One seating on Saturday, one on Sunday. Period attire is welcome.

Celebrate the beginning of the new year and the new moon with a fresh start, fresh music from Mercury Salad Sandwich, and freshly brewed handcrafted mead.

1:30pm. $25-$30. Kempf House Museum. kempfhousemuseum.org

MAIZ + Mindo: A Chocolate and Tequila Tasting Adventure

2pm. $35. MAIZ Mexican Cantina. @MaizMexicanCantina on Facebook

MAIZ partners with Mindo Chocolate Makers and Avion Tequila to bring you this tasting featuring four different smallbatch Avion tequilas paired with complimentary, specially created artisanal chocolates from Mindo.

Representatives from Mindo and Avion will discuss tasting notes as well.

Valentine’s Day Tea

3pm. Alexander Blue House, Livonia. ci.livonia.mi.us

Take your date out to a delightful tea with sandwiches, scones and desserts.

Date Night: From Paris with Love 4-6pm. $85. Sur La Table. surlatable.com

Don’t deal with the hassle of a Valentine’s dinner out at a restaurant when you can learn how to cook one of your own.

This class covers pan roasting poultry, poaching eggs, elevating mashed potato flavors, and use a blowtorch on a French custard dessert. Also offered same day 7-9pm, 2.22 at 6:30-8:30pm and 2.24 at 4-6pm.

7:30pm. Bløm Meadworks. drinkblom.com Free

10 Sunday Chocolate 101

2-5pm. $50. The Lakehouse Bakery, Chelsea. bakerylakehouse.com

Learn what tempering is and how it works, how chocolate is grown, harvested and processed, and what the percentages of chocolate mean while making mousse and truffles.

Cocktail Class: Black Bartenders in America The Unsung History 5pm. $45. The Last Word. tammystastings.com

Explore the crucial roles that people of color have played in the history of spirits and cocktails with hands-on instruction, stories, and sampling. No food service available as The Last Word will be closed to the public.

11 Monday Date Night: Cooking with Wine

7-9pm. $85. Sur la Table. surlatable.com

Learn how to incorporate wine into a four-course romantic dinner. You’ll work with Chardonnay and Prosecco and cook scallops, risotto, and chocolate cake. Also offered at 7-9pm on 2/15 and at 4-6pm on 2/17.

Sear steak, shape and cook potato gnocchi, and create bold Italian sauces during this class.

Also offered at 4-6pm and 7-9pm on 2/14 and 2/16.

Chocolate Making Workshop

7-9pm. $40. Arbor Teas. arborteas.com

Nancy Biehn of Sweet Gem Confections will lead this course on making tea-infused truffles.

13 Wednesday Romantic Wines with Yvonne

5-7pm. $24. Wines on Main, Chelsea. winesonmainchelsea.club

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, try some seductive red wines to share with your partner.

Six-Course Beer Dinner

6-8:30pm. $65. Karl’s Cabin, Plymouth. karlscabin.com

Each course is paired with a beer from Short’s Brewing in Bellaire.

Price does not include tax and tip.

14 Thursday Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate

7-8:30pm. Ann Arbor District Library, Downtown. peoplesfood.coop Free

Everyone is welcome to join Keegan C. Rodgers in a lively talk on how chocolate is grown and how to properly store, temper and melt it, along with a chocolate tasting.

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15 Friday Vegan Potluck

6:30-8:30pm. $10. Humane Society of Huron Valley. hshv.org

Spend an evening with your neighbors while enjoying vegan dishes. Admission is free if you bring a dish, or it’s a $10 donation to attend.

16 Saturday Local Food Summit

Homesteading 101 There are many facets of sustainable living and Homesteading 101 covers a wide range of interests. Topics include gardening, keeping chickens, canning, crafting, harvesting, cooking, and even learning how to make your own makeup. Whether you live in the country or the city, you won’t want to miss this eclectic presentation if you’ve ever considered learning more about living off the land. $49. Thursday, February 21. Washtenaw Community College – Personal Enrichment. 4800 E. Huron River Dr. 734-677-5060. washtenawaugusoft.net. —EH

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

Valentine’s Celebration

Cookbook: Jamie Oliver

Be prepared to impress your sweetie with the acquired skills to make a delectable four-course dinner perfect for Valentine’s Day.

Experience a menu inspired by the BBC show “Return of the Naked Chef” with British chef Jamie Oliver.

6-8pm. $65. Fustini’s. fustinis.com

Wobbly Breakfast at the Ypsi Gathering Space 10am. Riverside Arts Center. riversidearts.org Free

Gather with the community over a volunteer-run breakfast that brings relief to food insecure families. There will be vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options. All are welcome!

20 Wednesday Is it Spring Yet?

Noon-2pm. $55. Fustini’s. fustinis.com

Bright flavors of Spring are introduced through a menu prepared

by Chef Nikolas Bardt. Watch, learn, and taste!

Healthy Food Distribution 2-3pm. Washtenaw County Human Services Building, Ypsilanti. washtenaw.org/1825/healthy-food

Families and individuals with lower incomes are welcome to pick up food including fruit, veggies, dairy products and bread provided by Food Gatherers.

:

SWEETS MADE IN-HOUSE

kies, Fresh muffins, scones, coo esecakes, che n isa art various fruit pies, an and veg e, cak rot car chocolate cake, re! gluten free options & mo

Fresh Pasta Three Ways 6:30-8:30pm. $75. Sur la Table. surlatable.com

Mix, roll, shape and cook spaghetti, fettuccine and pappardelle noodles so you can take your new skills home with you.

22 Friday Dinner with a Heart

5pm. $100+. Crystal Gardens Banquet Center, Brighton. bountifulharvest-mi.org

This fundraiser for Bountiful Harvest Food Pantry includes a delicious sit down dinner, dancing, photo booth, silent auctions and raffles.

Style Series: Blue

6:30-8:30pm. $40.

Zingerman’s Creamery. events.zingermanscommunity.com

Join the cheesemongers at Zingerman’s and explore the world of blue cheese with a tasting.

6:30-10pm. Various bars. annarborartcenter.org

LOCALLY OWNED, LOCALLY GROWN SINCE 1975

312 North River Street | Ypsilanti | (734) 483-1520 | ypsifoodcoop.org february

2019 / ecurrent.com

The class includes a combination of history and stories, technique instruction, and hands-on making of cocktails, plus sampling, of course!

6-8pm. $65. Fustini’s. fustinis.com

Ann Arbor Art Center Artini

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24 Sunday

Cocktail Class: The Big Easy

1pm. $40. Westland Historic Village Park, Westland. @WHVP66 on Facebook

Learn how chocolate is made, create your own truffles and enjoy a truffle flight.

Need a fun date night idea? This hands-on class is the perfect opportunity to bond with your partner as you’ll learn the tricks of the trade.

Get the behind-the-scenes scoop on how local milk is transformed into cheese and gelato, the art mozzarella stretching, and taste freshly-made gelato along the way.

Valentine’s Tea

4:30-6pm. $30. Bløm Meadworks. drinkblom.com

4pm. $45. Evans Street Station, Tecumseh. evansstreetstation.com

11:30am-12:30pm. $10.

Zingerman’s Creamery. events.zingermanscommunity.com

This event features local food by local chefs, keynote speaker Ivette Prefecto, workshops on farming and food, networking and virtual farm tours. There are many ticket purchasing options available, so check online.

Valentine’s Mindo Truffle & Mead Workshop

Winter Cocktail Class

Production Tour

8am-4pm. $15+. Washtenaw Community College. a2tix.com

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with live entertainment, food including sandwiches, scones and dessert, and tea by Victoria’s Tea. Tickets are available at eventbrite.com

23 Saturday

Downtown bars and restaurants compete to create the most artful martinis in part of Artini, a fundraiser for the Ann Arbor Art Center.

Simple Artisan Breads

2-5pm. $60. The Lakehouse Bakery, Chelsea. bakerylakehouse.com

Students will make, shape, score and bake sourdough bread in the European hearth oven in this hands-on class.

27 Wednesday Northwest Table

Noon-2pm. $65. Fustini’s. fustinis.com

With the Pacific Ocean being the main source of food for the Northwest, seafood is a popular ingredient that makes up the menus. Engage in this handson experience making dishes inspired by a Northwest menu.

SLE Community Dinner

6pm. Oxford Housing Noble Kitchen.

Events.umich.edu Free

Learn to prepare local and sustainable foods with members of the Sustainable Living Experience community, starting with food preparation and ending with a meal.

28 Thursday Coffee Chat with Crop to Cup

6-8pm. ZingTrain. events.zingermanscommunity.com Free

Hear from Jake of Crop to Cup importers as he tells about his journey in Papua New Guinea and shares information and samples of the coffee from there.

chef’s corner A peek into the minds of Ann Arbor’s culinary arbiters and their unique perspective on Washtenaw County’s dining and hospitality culture.

Robyn Corvin Mikette Bistro Chef de Cuisine

by Sonny Forrest

Channeling the culinary cornucopia of Southern France, kitchen staff at Mikette Bistro (1757 Plymouth Rd) aim for the flavoral trinity harmonizing sweetness, salinity and acerbity in each menu item. That Mikette formulates rotating menus for lunch, dinner and brunch service renders this feat even more impressive. The two-and-a-half-year-old restaurant’s Chef de Cuisine, Robyn Corvin, maintains order in the kitchen on a nightly basis. He discloses what separates prep cooks from kitchen managers and how graduating with a zoology degree prompted his foray deeper into the hospitality industry.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKETTE BISTRO"

Describe the moment you decided to cook for a living. When I realized I was working in restaurants the whole time I was putting myself through college for my zoology degree, I figured why not keep working with food?

Do Mikette menu items make their way into your home kitchen, if at all? Although ideas are always there to implement and create new things with new methods, what works in the kitchen professionally sometimes may not work at home, and vice versa.

How would you characterize the appeal of Mikette’s Southern French cuisine for diners in the Ann Arbor area? Mikette is very Southern France and Riviera Mediterranean with influences from Northern Africa and Japan.

Which Southern French ingredients set Mikette’s cuisine apart? Duck, Mushrooms, Moroccan spices and ingredients from Asia.

Where do you eat in the Ann Arbor area aside from your restaurant? Around Ann Arbor, I like Slurping Turtle (608 E Liberty) and Mani Osteria (341 E Liberty). Outside of Ann Arbor, it’s Urban Ramen (4206 Woodward Ave, Detroit) and GreenSpace Cafe (215 W Nine Mile Rd, Ferndale).

How has your relationship with cooking evolved since you began cooking as a career? From being a prep cook, you learn basics like counting items, timing and urgency.

Line cook and management means my focus on detail, flavor, smell, color and sounds needed to be heightened.

What dishes comprise the perfect three-course meal at Mikette? The French Onion Fondue, Big Green Salad and Beef Bourguignon. That would absolutely be a most complete meal.

Thanks for Voting!

Best Fine Dining

logan chef-owned & operated since 2004

Best Place to Celebrate Best Chef

offering

chef tasting menu • local farm produce small estate biodynamic wines & craft cocktails Hours: Tue-Sat 5pm-10pm 115 W. Washington Downtown Ann Arbor • 734.327.2312 • logan-restaurant.com ecurrent.com / february 2019 19

PHOTO BY DOUG COOMBE

music Lo-Fi Bar Jeff Milo

Andy Garris admits it with an eager smile: “I missed the music!” And that’s why you’ll find him back in the middle of the action, pouring drinks during live music programming hosted inside Lo-Fi, Ann Arbor’s newest destination for culture, cocktails and nighttime entertainment.

It’s been seven years since many of the avid local music scene followers could enjoy a concert whilst also being handed a beer by the bearded and ebullient Ann Arbor resident. During the last five years, Garris has been working with Micah Bartelme (President of BarStar Group) via the Nightcap Cocktail Bar and Rush Nightclub.

Now they’re partners in the launch of LoFi, a place that provides dazzling ambiance along with a diversity of featured artists and events.

Garris ran two of Ypsi’s most beloved music venues; both were essentially the place-to-be in their heydays, (The Elbow Room, 2006-2009 and Woodruffs, 20102012.) “I spent 17 years in dive bars, music venues, or clubs,” said Garris. “But the energy surrounding (Elbow Room/ Woodruffs) was all just amazing, and I’ve missed it like crazy!”

A nod to live music

Garris gives a nod to the continued energy devoted towards live music at local venues like The Blind Pig and the Raven’s Club, but he worries that the scales have tipped in favor of restaurants (over live music), when it comes to weekend downtown adventurism options. “(T)he real problem we ran into in Ypsi,” said Garris, “was trying to book fourband bills four nights a week. Whereas, (at Lo-Fi), maybe it’s one band doing two 1-hour sets, or just one opener and then a featured band. We also want to have DJs, karaoke, comedy, and hopefully some events with the library.”

“We could have book signings, or pop-up art shows, it’s a multifaceted space for just really cool art and cultural events,” said Bartelme. “Obviously, our big focus is music.

But we like having the ability to utilize this nice space for different things that you might not find elsewhere downtown. But I want to see people in here multiple times a week because they know it won’t be the same thing every week. That can be fatiguing, not

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only for attendees, but also for staff. It can get stale. We don’t want to be stale; we want to be fresh, with stuff people don’t have access to in other spaces.”

more intimate experiences with your local artists; there’s not a bad seat in the house.

Said Garris: “…you’re gonna wanna be down here!”

A space to be proud of

Keeping things open and flexible

The space holds about 60 people.

Originally a paint-and-pour before being transformed into Lo-Fi, “We took it down to the raw guts,” said Garris, of the renovations. The booths and barstools were built offsite and then installed. The sleek blue/purple neon aesthetic is not overwhelming, although that cosmic flare is reliably eye-catching on a social media feed. Artist Jeremy Wheeler designed the 7ft-long neon dragon that hovers behind the bar. “We wanted to build something we were into, something we were proud of,” said Bartelme. “We wanted an underground-spaceship-lookin’ bar! So we built one! “ But beyond the neon glow and Garris’ return to a prominent place in the live local music scene, Bartelme credits the staff for getting Lo-Fi off the ground.

“They’re giving us their best, so we want to give them our best. We’re putting this together and creating an environment where people are comfortable and where artists want to play. We want a positive and inclusive environment for everyone.”

“I just want to show that we can do it here,” said Garris, of Lo-Fi’s ongoing live entertainment. “So that then we can do another one, maybe. Maybe even bigger.”

For now, though, a smaller space means

In the months ahead, Garris expects shows will start a little earlier than some other local clubs. But the only thing they’re certain of is that they’ll keep things open and flexible. “We certainly want to make sure bands are taken care of and feel like they are part of the venue’s success,” said Bartelme. “ We anticipate a sliding scale depending on the act, but an 80/20 split (of admission) was something we came up with that would cover our costs and also incentivize the bands to be active partners in promoting their shows and bringing people in. We’re certainly flexible and will be testing out the best way forward, but we think it’s a nice model.”

“As a small venue and tiny team, we only have so much marketing and promotional bandwidth,” said Bartelme.

But as February rolls into March, they’re looking to pick up steam. Bartelme added: “We’re excited to bring the talent into a scenario where we all have a vested interest in creating the best environment and show possible.”

Also on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/lofi_a2/ (734) 369-6070 – 220 S. Main St., Lower Level. Ann Arbor lofiannarbor.com

music

Ongoing Thursdays Open Mic Night

7 Thursday

9pm-midnight. Ypsilanti Taproom. taproomypsi.com Free

Share the stage with other locals at this open mic/jam session.

Bèla Fleck and Abigail Washburn 7:30pm. $20-$60. Hill Auditorium. ums.org

Canterbury Improv Jam Sessions

8:30-10pm. Donations. Canterbury House. canterburyhouse.org

Join the house band onstage every 2nd Thursday. Share your original compositions or jazz standards. All are welcome to perform.

Open Mic Thursdays

7-9pm. Zou Zou’s Cafe, Chelsea. zouzouscafe.com Free

Acoustic and minimalist solo artists and duos are welcome at this weekly open mic. The event is free with a suggested purchase from the Cafe.

Saturdays Blues Showcase

8pm. $5. Guy Hollerin’s. hiannarbor.com

Live blues from locals and drink specials Saturday nights.

1 Friday The Bluecasters

10pm. Mash Bar. mashbar.net Free

The blues/rock band plays covers and popular hits.

Exmag

Purportedly embodying the aspirational notion of “extraordinary magnitude,” live electro groove outfit Exmag drops through the Blind Pig to churn out some wavy jams during its nine-city winter tour. The group’s soulful five-piece live act plucks tunes that sound simultaneously bouncy, groovy, bubbly and altogether ascendent. Contemporary jam band aficionados should take note. This live show has the potential to elevate skeptics to become disciples.

8pm-midnight. $5. Rumpus Room, Chelsea. therumpusroomchelsea.com

Songwriter Donya Kiana performs classic folk ballads and haunting originals.

The North 41, Act Casual

9pm. $10. Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

Brother Son

Alternative blues/rock from Chicago.

Alternative rock balladeers.

Tom Waters

9pm. $10. Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

Greg Kihn

8pm. $20. Greenwood Coffee House. greenwoodcoffeehouse.org

Live music in an intimate setting on a pay-what-you-can sliding scale.

8-10pm. Unity Vibration Kombucha, Ypsilanti. facebook.com/unityvibration

Blues guitarist Tom Waters plays a free show in the Triple Goddess Tasting Room.

Weekend Comeback

10pm. Mash Bar. mashbar.net Free

Kasey Chambers, Carley Burruss

Pop/rock band plays covers and hits.

Folk songwriters take to Ann Arbor’s listening-room stage.

Wine, Women & Song: Anybody Have a Map?

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

2 Saturday

8-10pm. $10-$70. Kerrytown Concert House. kerrytownconcerthouse.com

Acoustic Open Mic & Chris Buhalis

The all self-described female cast will perform a Broadway variety show. Also at 8-10pm on Sunday, 2/3.

The night kicks off with a musical jamboree open to the public. At 7:30pm, songwriter Chris Buhalis takes the stage.

Hand Drumming Workshop & Circle

5:30-7:15pm. 7:30-9pm. $15.

White Steeple Stage, Pickney. whitesteeplestage.com

Dead Horses, The Brothers Brothers

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

Sad and lonesome alternative folk originals from Milwaukee band Dead Horses host Brothers Brothers (Brooklyn).

3 Sunday 3-5pm. $15. The Rumpus Room, Chelsea. therumpusroomchelsea.com

Join instructor Randall Moore in this all inclusive, non-judgemental drum circle where students will learn the fundamentals of hand drumming, proper hand technique, team building and many other lessons.

Dave Menzo Band

10pm. Mash Bar. mashbar.net Free

Jam rock guitarist Dave Menzo performs with his band.

Ellis Paul

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

$15-$18. 18+. Doors at 9:00 p.m.

Friday, February 8. The Blind Pig. 208 S. First St. 734-996-8555. blindpigmusic.com –– SF Donya Kiana and Company, Monte Pride

Master banjo players Fleck and Abigail will perform selections from their release “Echo in the Valley”. The Grammy-award winning duo will take the audience on a musical journey, from Appalachia to the Middle East.

New England songwriter Ellis Paul shares his poetic songs with the listening room audience.

4 Monday Doug Horn Trio

7:30-10:30pm. Arbor Brewing, Ypsilanti. arborbrewing.com Free

Live music paired with your brews every Monday.

5 Tuesday Kenton Koncert Jazz Ensemble

7:30-9:30pm. EMU Pease Auditorium, Ypsilanti. emich.edu Free

Free concert on the EMU campus.

6 Wednesday

Scott Gwinnell Jazz Orchestra

7pm. $10. Cliff Bell’s, Detroit. cliffbells.com

The orchestra lead by pianist and composer Scott Gwinnell celebrates its 21st year in the business.

Detroit Symphony: American Panorama

10:30am & 8pm. $15-$100. Fisher Music Center, Detroit. dso.org

A three-week music festival honoring American composers kicks off with five masterworks

by Bernstein, Gould, Tower, Thomson and Grofè. Cellist Wei Yu performs.

Frances Luke Accord, The Western Den

Good Little Giants

Contemporary songwriter duo Frances Luke Accord share their stories and original songs.

Western Den will be promoting their newest release, “A Light Left On.”

Live music in an intimate setting on a pay-what-you-can sliding scale.

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

Naked Shark, Nokomis, Douglas Glen Band

9pm. $5. Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

Local alternative rock songwriters.

Out of Favor Boys

8pm. $15. Greenwood Coffee House. greenwoodcoffeehouse.org

Israel Philharmonic

8pm. $30-$175. Hill Auditorium. ums.org

Musical Director Zubin Mehta makes a final appearance after 50 years of conducting and advising the Israel Philharmonic.

The concert will include works by Tchaikovsky and Schubert.

Julia Siciliano: Variations of Mi Patria

7-10pm. $9. Club Above. club-above.com

8-10pm. $10-$30. Kerrytown Concert House. kerrytownconcerthouse.com

OFB plays the best in horn-soaked blues.

Reeds-n-Steel

8pm. Mash Bar. mashbar.net Free

Pop/rock band playing hits and popular covers.

Italian American pianist Julia Siciliano performs works from Logan Skelton and the Basque Country.

Own Soul Purpose

10pm. Mash Bar. mashbar.com Free

Playing r&b pop hits.

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The RFD Boys

Mustard’s Retreat

Popular Ann Arbor-based bluegrass/newgrass quintet makes an appearance.

Acoustic duo David Tamulevich and Michael Hough perform traditional folk music in the revival 60s Greenwich style.

7:30pm. $10-$11. The Ark. theark.org

9 Saturday

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

Chris Canas Band

Tad Weed Masters Series: Tribute to Ron Brooks

Accomplished electric guitarist Chris Canas plays the best in rock, blues and soul hits. The band gets the crowd on their feet.

Bird of Paradise owner and jazz bassist Ron Brooks performs with his quartet honoring his musical legacy.

10pm. Mash Bar. mashbar.com Free

Detroit Symphony: Music of John Williams

8-10pm. $10-$35. Kerrytown Concert House. kerryhouseconcerthouse.com

10 Sunday

8pm. $15-$100. Fisher Music Center, Detroit. dso.org

Bobby Muncy’s Radiohead Jazz Project

Fangs & Twang

Saxophonist Bobby Muncy takes the songs of alternative rock/ electronic band Radiohead and turns them into 20 minute improvisational jazz jams.

Enjoy a night of popular music by film composer John Williams.

Films include “Star Wars”, “Indiana Jones” and “Amistad.” Also at 3pm on Sunday, 2/10.

8pm-midnight. $7. Rumpus Room, Chelsea. therumpusroomchelsea.com

The indie folk trio performs.

Kathy Mattea

7pm. $35. The Ark. theark.org

Nashville’s Kathy Mattea will perform original country folk songs off her award-winning catalog including songs from her newest release, “Pretty Bird.”

Student Showcase: Justin Showell

8-10pm. $5-$10. Canterbury House. canterburyhouse.org

7-10pm. $10. Cliff Bell’s, Detroit. cliffbells.com

Canterbury House hosts live music in a listening room setting.

Winter Jam Spectacular

Get ready for the huge annual Christian music tour, Winter Jam Tour Spectacular. The 2019 line-up includes Newsboys United, Danny Gokey, Mandisa, Rend Collective, Ledger, and many other performers of Christian pop, rock, gospel, and soul. There’s a little something for everyone at this event with 13 different bands and vocalists.

$15 donation at door. 6pm-10pm. Sunday, February 17.

EMU Convocation Center/Pease Auditorium. 799 Hewitt Rd., Ypsilanti. For questions, use contact form on jamtour.com. —EH

11 Monday Blues/roots guitarist Albert Lee brings his undeniable talent to the Ark stage.

Nick Small

Laura Rain & the Caesars

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

7:30-10:30pm. Arbor Brewing, Ypsilanti. arborbrewing.com

Live music paired with your brews every Monday.

8pm. $17-$20. Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

The trio takes the rock-marching band genre to new levels.

12 Tuesday Bill Staines

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

Traditional folk songwriter Bill Staines shares his songs, stories and memories.

with Special Guest Artist,

Jessica Dold, Soprano

February 17, 2019 3:30pm TOWSLEY AUDITORIUM

Washtenaw Community College 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI

Beethoven “Ah, Perfido!”

Beethoven “Abscheulicher, wo eilst du hin,” from Fidelio Beethoven Overture to The Consecration of the House Beethoven Symphony No. 5.

Tickets can be purchased at the door and on A2Tix.com Adults $12 | Seniors 65 and over $6 | Students with ID $6 Children 12 and under $6 | Family of 4 or more $30

Celebrating our 20th Anniversary Season with Local Arts Treasures!

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9pm. $20. Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

Hip hop artist Destin Choice Route performs, promoting his 18’ release “DiCaprio 2.” His current tour, “Catch Me If You Can,” hits over 34 cities.

Albert Lee

Too Many Zooz

All Beethoven Concert

J.I.D.

13 Wednesday Mandolin Orange, Mapache

6:30pm. $25-$45. The Ark. theark.org

Southern country/folk duo Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz share their original songs.

10pm. Mash Bar. mashbar.com Free

Playing Motown hits and more!

My Folky Valentine

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

Celebrate the holiday with music.

Songwriters-in-the-round guests will be Anne Heaton & Frank Marotta Jr., Dave Boutette & Kristi Lynn Davis, and Escaping Pavement.

Valentine’s Day with Dave Vessella Quartet 7-10pm. $20. Cliff Bell’s, Detroit. cliffbells.com

Vessella trumpet will take you back to the age of cool jazz and Chet Baker and the early works of Miles Davis.

15 Friday A Tribute to Sam Cooke: Carla Cooke

8pm. $20. Greenwood Coffee House. greenwoodcoffeehouse.org

8pm. Mash Bar. mashbar.com Free

Composer and daughter of the late Sam Cooke will perform a concert honoring his legacy.

Tosha Owens

Joshua Davis, Luke Winslow-King

SugarTips

Pop rock duo.

7-10pm. $10. Club Above. club-above.com

Vocalist Tosha Owens will perform a mix of pop, blues and standards with her band.

14 Thursday Detroit Symphony: Appalachian Spring

7:30pm. $15-$100. Fisher Music Center, Detroit. dso.org

Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet joins DSO for a night featuring music

by American composers.

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

The Great Lake’s own Joshua Davis brings his modern folk music to the Ark’s stage. His single, “Just Getting By” (Earthwork Music), speaks of everyday struggles and victories in a small town. Guitarist Winslow-King shares his mastery of NewOrleans/Michigan gospel blues.

The two songwriters know how to bring the community together through song.

Needtobreathe

7pm. $35-$100. Michigan Theater. michtheater.org

The Southern folk-rock quartet will perform selections from their release “Forever On Your Side.”

Nobody’s Business

10pm. Mash Bar. mashbar.com Free

Pop/rock bands playing popular hits.

16 Saturday

International Contemporary Ensemble: In Plain Air

Las Cafeteras

7:30pm. $35. Hill Auditorium. ums.org

Mexican American L.A. band Las Cafeteras brings their fusion of punk, hip hop, cumbia, and other musical influences to the Michigan Theater. Known for their blend of genres and mixing English and Spanish lyrics, Las Cafeteras brings a fresh take on traditional classics like “La Bamba Rebelde” while offering up an East L.A. infused sound that is completely their own. Don’t forget to bring your dancing shoes to this lively show.

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

Songwriter Ben Daniels combines modern folk with the old time sound of the mandolin.

10pm. Mash Bar. mashbar.com Free

Pop/rock covers.

8pm-midnight. $7. Rumpus Room, Chelsea. therumpusroomchelsea.com

22 Friday

Recreating the Grateful Dead experience.

Jared Deck & The Travelers

Detroit Symphony: Porgy & Bess

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

Pianist Jared Deck won first prize in the Woody Guthrie Songwriting Competition with his tune “The American Dream.”

8pm. $15-$100. Fisher Music Center, Detroit. dso.org

Joe Policastro Trio

8-10pm. $10-$20. Kerrytown Concert House. kerrytownconcerthouse.com

The Chicago-based modern jazz/ world trio is Joe Policastro on the bass, guitarist Dave Miller Mikel Avery on percussion.

Kameryn Ogden and Galen Bundy

7-9pm. Ann Arbor Distilling. annarbordistilling.com Free

The duo will perform their smokey, far-out originals and jazz standards.

Laith Al-Saadi Trio

8pm. $25. Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

Blues guitarist Al-Saadi lets it rip at the Pig. He will be joined by drums and bass.

Scott Martin Band

10pm. Mash Bar. mashbar.com Free

Rock band plays hits and covers.

UMS Choral Union with the Ann Arbor Symphony: “War Requiem” 8pm. $12-$36. Hill Auditorium. ums.org

Scott Hanoian conducts the AASO, UMS and AA Youth Choirs through Benjamin Britten’s rousing work.

17 Sunday Hearts for Recovery Benefit Concert

7pm. $25-$35. The Ark. theark.org

Ben Balmer & His Band host seven songwriters for a benefit show, helping Dawn Farm Recovery & Addiction Center.

8pm. $12-$15. Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

Urban Legend Trio

Deadicated

Conductor Leonard Slatkin leads the Orchestra through the emotional works of jazz-age composer, George Gershwin.

Repeat performance at 3pm Sunday, 2/17.

The Movement, KBong, Leaving Lifted Ska/punk/reggae/hard rockers The Movement makes a stop on their winter tour. In related news, the group has their own strain of cannabis called “Green Queen,” named after their popular single.

$20-$54. 7:30pm-9:30pm.

Wednesday, February 20. The Michigan Theater.

603 E. Liberty St. 734-764-2538. ums.org. —EH

Ben Daniels Band

New music ranges from minimalistic to super sonic wonderlands.

The IC Ensemble invites to take a musical journey giving new meaning to the genre ‘classical’.

The Invasion

10pm. Mash Bar. mashbar.com Free

Ypsilanti Symphony: All-Beethoven Review 3:30pm-6pm. $12-$6.

Towsley Auditorium. a2tix.com

Soprano Jessica Dold joins YSO on selections from Beethoven’s catalog.

18 Monday Jay Fry

7:30-10:30pm. Arbor Brewing, Ypslianti. arborbrewing.com

Live music paired with your brews every Monday.

19 Tuesday Kurt Vile & The Violators, The Sadies 7:30pm. $27-$30. Majestic Theatre, Detroit. theark.org

Indie-folk songwriter Kurt Vile, having recently toured with Courtney Barnett, invites the audience into his world of stoner pop, performing selections off his latest release “Bottle In.”

Sierra Hull

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

Sierra and her string band perform modern folk/newgrass originals.

20 Wednesday Erin Coburn

7-10pm. $10. Club Above. club-above.com

Songwriter Erin Coburn will perform.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo 7:30pm. $45. The Ark. theark.org

The international ensemble has been performing for over 50 years. Their voices harmonize throughout their selections ranging from African American Spirituals to South American folk songs.

Matt Gabriel

8pm. Mash Bar. mashbar.com Free

Acoustic rock.

21 Thursday Detroit Symphony: West Side Story

7:30pm. $15-$100. Fisher Music Center, Detroit. dso.org

Performances will include the unmistakable sounds of Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story paired with the subtleties of minimalist composer John Cage.

Also 8pm Friday, 2/22.

Joni Crawford

Rock band playing covers and hits.

Portrait of the Future: A Tribute to Black Artists

8-10pm. Kerrytown Concert House. kerrytownconcerthouse.com Free

Classically-trained singer Rehanna Thelwell hosts a poetry and music program honoring the life and work of black artists.

That 1 Guy

8pm. $15. Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

Mike Silverman’s modern take on the ‘one man band’ is a one-ofa-kind expression of rhythm and movement.

23 Saturday Botala

8pm-midnight. Rumpus Room, Chelsea. therumpusroomchelsea.com Free

Botala ensemble plays the best in World-Beat, Afro-Cuban, SoulHouse and Afro Beat. Free dance party!

8pm. $10. Cliff Bell’s, Detroit. cliffbells.com

Detroit Symphony: Maximum Minimal

Kitty Donohoe

Works will include “Concerto Fantasy” by Philip Glass and “Become Ocean” by John Luther Adams. Also 3pm Sunday, 2/24.

Jazz singer Joni Crawford performs standards, soul and originals at the famous Cliff Bell’s Jazz Club of Detroit.

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

Celtic-inspired acoustic folk from Detroit native Kitty Donohoe.

8pm. $15-$100. Fisher Music Center. dso.org

Mark Lincoln Braun

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

Pianist Mr. B. performs a birthday concert featuring the best of boogie woogie and blues.

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Tokyo’s Kikagaku Moyo

Check out the feel-good sounds of Tokyo band Kikagaku Moyo at The Blind Pig, where you’ll hear upbeat, psychedelic, 60s-inspired tunes like “Smoke and Mirrors” and songs to mellow out to, like the relaxing acoustic sounds of “Cardigan Song.” Whatever the band ends up playing from their extensive catalogue, they always put on an unforgettable show. $12 in advance. $15 at door. 9pm. Saturday, February 23.

The Blind Pig A2. 208 1st St. 734-996-8555. ticketweb.com.

Must be 18 or older. —EH

Mike May & The Messarounds

10pm. Mash Bar. mashbar.com Free

Rock cover band.

24 Sunday Gina Chavez

7pm. $35. The Ark. theark.org

Latin pop/folk artist Gina Chavez has appeared on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts and served as a cultural ambassador to 12 countries. Chavez commitment to the the community is an integral part of her music.

Sean Dobbins’ Rising Stars Series

2-4pm. $10-$25. Kerrytown Concert House. kerrytownconcerthouse.com

Educator and jazz percussionist Sean Dobbins features jazz students at this series.

The Third Place Concert Series

7-8:30pm. Bløm Meadworks. drinkblom.com Free

Continue the support of the arts in the community with a live classical music concert.

25 Monday Travis Aukerman Trio

7:30-10:30pm. Arbor Brewing, Ypsilanti. arborbrewing.com

Jazz percussionist Travis Aukerman (Talking Ear, Estar Cohen Project) will perform with his trio a mix of original compositions and far-out standards.

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27 Wednesday Adam Lebeaux

8pm. Mash Bar. mashbar.com Free

Acoustic rock.

Mortal Soul

7-9pm. $6.25. Club Above. club-above.com

The eclectic rock trio will raise funds to benefit the AA Blues Festival.

We Banjo 3

7:30pm. $25-$40. The Ark. theark.org

Celtic Bluegrass trio performs.

28 Thursday Fangs-n-Twang

10pm. Mash Bar. mashbar.com Free

Garage rockers from Ypsi.

Student Showcase: Hannah McPhillimy

8-10pm. $5-$10. Canterbury House. canterburyhouse.org

Canterbury House hosts live music in a listening room setting.

We Banjo 3

7:30pm. $25-$40. The Ark. theark.org

Celtic Bluegrass trio appears for an encore performance.

art An Uncomfortable Collision UMMA’s “Art in the Age of the Internet: 1989 to Today”

By Ainsley Davis “Art in the Age of the Internet: 1989 to Today”, an exhibition in the A. Alfred Taubman Gallery I at the University of Michigan Museum of Art, features artists from around the world, with works centered on, and influenced by, the Internet. On display through April 7, it is a thought-provoking and, at times, uncomfortable exhibit.

Before entering the gallery, a discombobulating thrum of bass, static, and voices emanate from the exhibit. The first work to catch the eye is Judith Barry’s 1991 five-channel video installation IMAGINATION, Dead Imagine. The video, 15 minutes in length, features close-ups of first a woman’s, then a man’s, face being covered in viscous substances, followed by a variety of insects being trapped in the substances covering the faces.

There is no clear path to walk through the exhibit, with works throughout the exhibit space that draw the viewer in, before thrusting the viewer out again, like so many Internet windows opened on a screen. The low, cacophonic sound that initially greets the viewer comes from a combination of sources. The first is thewayblackmachine, an ongoing piece that began in 2014 by artist collective HOWDOYOUSAYYAMINAFRICAN? which incorporates 30 monitors that features music, sounds, video and photos with racially-charged images. Another source for the sounds is French artist Camille Henrot’s 2013 work, Grosse Fatigue, a 13-minute film that combines several representations of origin stories from various cultures and traditions.

Other works feature “Infrastructure of the Internet,” like Trevor Paglen’s photography of undersea NSA cables or his Plexiglas cube with computer parts. Still others examine the illusion of privacy and safety, one example is Lebanese artist Rabih Mrouré’s 2012 piece, The Fall of Hair: Blow-Ups, depicting seven blurry images of gunmen pointing machine guns at the photographer. The photos are from the first year of the Syrian Civil War.

Contradictions Abound

One of the exhibit’s most striking aspects is its compelling contradictions. Subject matter that is exceptionally serious and personal is presented in a way that feels absurd and impersonal, like Frances Stack’s film of simple avatars reenacting the artist’s transcribed conversations recorded during online video sex chats.

Some pieces are executed in a classically trained technique, but the subject matter reflects that of an X-rated reality show. One example, Celia Hampton’s collection of gestural depictions of individuals painted in real-time from chatrandom.com, includes voyeuristic postures and masturbation.

JUDITH BARRY, IMAGINATION, DEAD IMAGINE, 1991. FIVECHANNEL VIDEO INSTALLATION (COLOR, SOUND; 15:00 MINUTES) WITH MIRROR, WOOD, AND REAR PROJECTION SCREENS. COURTESY THE ARTIST AND MARY BOONE GALLERY, NEW YORK. PHOTO BY ADAM REICH. © JUDITH BARRY

The exhibit begins with a five-channel video installation, Imagination, dead imagine, by American installation and performance artist, Judith Barry.

Perhaps the greatest contradiction occurs when you leave the exhibit, experiencing a feeling of having seen too much and, at the same time, not enough; that you have been given a glimpse into an intimate moment of life, but no more than a glimpse and no more than a moment.

The Expansiveness of the Internet

The exhibit’s intensity comes from its astute recognition of the expansiveness and randomness of the Internet. There are pieces that reflect the traditional idea of art, while most pieces make the artistic technique tertiary to the artistic message. Personal, political, and social messages abound in “Art in the Age of the Internet: 1989 to Today,” allowing the exhibition to accurately reflect the infinite assortment of ideas, people, places, and things to be found on the Internet, creating an uncomfortable collision between art and reality.

Searchable lists updated daily at

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theater

PHOTO CREDIT: EMU THEATRE.

Sweat and the Exonerated Two shows ground today’s polarized political climate in the lives of people who struggle

By Emily Slomovits In these tense political times, politically charged theatre is perhaps the opposite of the escape people are looking for in their entertainment. But The Exonerated, to be performed in February at the University of Michigan and Sweat, to be performed in February at Eastern Michigan University, both deal with themes that have provided the undercurrent for much of the recent political discourse and could help us to understand our world’s current issues and put them into perspective. But there are other reasons that make these shows worth seeing.

True redemption story

Married couple Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen’s 2002 play The Exonerated tells the true story of six people who spent years on death row in Illinois before their eventual release after being declared innocent. Much like Moisés Kauffman’s celebrated play The Laramie Project, which used real people’s accounts of the aftermath of the brutal, homophobic murder of Matthew

Eastern Michigan University Theatre presents Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, Sweat.

Shepard, The Exonerated is presented as a series of monologues delivered to the audience, taken from interviews, case files and other documents. The play was later made into a movie starring Brian Dennehey, Danny Glover, and Susan Sarandon. Blank and Jensen also wrote a book, Living Justice, about their experiences meeting the different former inmates, and how they began to craft what eventually became the play.

A time for Reading

Sweat, the 2017 Pulitzer Prize Winner for drama, is Lynn Nottage’s look into the lives of steel workers in the town of Reading, Pennsylvania. (Nottage also won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2009 for Ruined, about women surviving war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.) Sweat focuses on two years — 1999, six years after NAFTA, the National Free Trade Agreement was signed into law, and 2008, when the housing market began to collapse. The play ties economic worries, racial tensions, the frustration of being forgotten by the government, together into a timely piece which demands understanding and reflection by the characters, whose American dreams never really panned out.

Unique storytelling

Each of these plays has its own unique way of telling its story, but they both do a remarkable job of providing insight into the struggles, pressures, and occasional triumphs of being, to borrow a descriptor, history’s casualties. Through no fault of their own, they have become invisible people in our country, and are now experiencing what it means to be left behind. These two plays could help us move toward more humility, understanding, and empathy for others; crucial steps if we are ever to heal the divisions in this country and move toward a brighter future.

The Exonerated, directed by Geoff Packard, plays at UM’s Arthur Miller Theatre in the Walgreen Drama Center from February 21st-24th.

For tickets and more information, please visit https://events.umich.edu/ event/52131.

Sweat, directed by Pirooz Aghssa, plays at the Sponberg Theatre in the Quirk Theatre Building at Eastern Michigan University from February 8th-10th and 14th-17th. For tickets and more information, please visit https://www.emich.edu/cmta/productions/2018season/sweat.php.

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lit

Mothers, Tell Your Daughters Hard-earned wisdom is handed down

By Ainsley Davis

The most recent book of Kalamazoonative Bonnie Jo Campbell is as visceral as it is honest. A compilation of short stories, Mothers, Tell Your Daughters explores the lives and relationships of women in rural settings. With varied character perspectives, the book runs the gambit of trials and tribulations: sexual assault, substance abuse, unwanted pregnancies, neglect, physical abuse, and mental illness.

Such topics cause the reader to hope for happy endings, but often, the reader is left in the wake of the characters’ unresolved turmoil.

The influence of rural America

An avid traveler who grew up on a farm outside a small Michigan town with her mother and four siblings, Campbell draws from her humble beginnings as the backdrop for many of her stories. Such influence creates a personal connection for the reader and makes Campbell a believable author.

Campbell also addresses stereotypes of traditional patriarchal expectations placed on women often associated with rural circumstances, such as the subservient housewife. She captures the struggle of living under, and the rationalizations for believing, those stereotypes, while simultaneously challenging them.

A spectrum of female-centric relationships

At the heart of the book, Campbell’s stories reverberate with the theme of interaction between members of close relationships, with women comprising one or both parts of the relationship: mother and child, husband and wife, siblings, past significant others and more.

In the story that gives the book its title, the mother is rendered mute by a stroke. Her eldest daughter, who was her caregiver, ran away from home to escape molestation by her mother’s boyfriend.

The story consists of the mother’s internal dialogue of her thoughts and rationalizations about the tough choices she made for herself and her children,

Jacket design by Lynn Buckley and jacket photography by Stephen Simpson, courtesy of W. W. Norton & Company.

creating a tense weave of pity and disdain.

In “Playhouse,” the narrator struggles with substance use and the realization she was sexually assaulted while inebriated.

Her older brother, with whom she is very close, tells her he saw pictures of the assault, whose perpetrators are considered his “friends.” He downplays his sister’s allegations, who, in turn, begins to downplay the allegations to herself.

Throughout the story, the repetition of her self-professed dependence on her brother almost becomes a mantra, and by the end of the story, an effort to convince herself.

“My Dog Roscoe” is a lighter story centered on a pregnant wife who believes their recent adopted stray dog is actually her former, deceased fiancé reincarnated.

Though humorous and endearing, it captures the difficulties of letting go of unhealthy relationships.

Disquieting and beautiful

Campbell’s language is captivating, providing evocative imagery and emotional responses. She approaches difficult, often taboo topics with sharp language, but doesn’t skewer the reader’s desire to continue reading. Her honesty is disquieting, but provides a means of engaging the reader with a rich brew of raw and rarely-broached topics in the lives of rural women. Mothers, Tell Your Daughters is a poignant validation of female strength.

ecurrent.com / february 2019 27

PHOTO COURTESY OF GREENBOOKFILM.COM

film

Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali star in this drama about racism and danger in an era of segregation.

Green Book is Worth the Trip

An elite black pianist tours the segregated south with a white roughneck chauffeur

By Jennifer Kellow-Fiorini Green Book combines two crowdpleasing formulas—the road movie and the true story—with two stellar lead actors, Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. Mortensen plays Tony Lip, a white, working class second-generation ItalianAmerican from the Bronx who works as a nightclub bouncer. Ali plays Don Shirley, a black man who is a doctor of music and a classical pianist in need of a chauffer for his tour dates through the segregated south in 1962. If this scenario sounds like the typical story of “two polar-opposite guys from different backgrounds thrown together in strange circumstances who learn from each other and then, eventually, realize they like each other after all,” it is.

28

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Mortensen and Ali are actors of extraordinary talent, and it’s engaging to watch them disappear into their roles.

The film’s title is derived from a guide of establishments that blacks traveling in the Deep South were allowed to patronize.

Early on, Don makes it clear to Tony that he needs a bodyguard as well as a driver. Tony is a broad caricature of an Italian-American male, straight out of The Sopranos. His education comes from the neighborhood streets rather than school.

He’s got a good heart, but his humor is a little crude; he says what he thinks, sans filters. In contrast, Don is hyper-educated, and his fastidious nature gives him little patience with Tony’s bull-in-a-china-shop personality. Don is also gay, a fact that is touched on in a limited way, keeping the focus on the racism and hypocrisy of a society that allows Don to play prestigious venues where his talent is celebrated, yet denies him the right to eat in nice

restaurants, stay in decent hotels, or even use the bathroom in the places where he performs. Don’s cool exterior masks a profound sense of loneliness. He doesn’t feel he belongs in either white or black society. Tony’s warm, hearty nature starts to erode Don’s considerable emotional armor.

Green Book is directed by Peter Farelly of the Farelly Brothers, who made riotously crude movies like Kingpin and There’s Something About Mary in the 90s.

As Tony and Don make their way through the south to finish Don’s tour, there isn’t much they encounter that we haven’t seen in Farelly’s other movies. And while some of the stereotypes portrayed here are cringe-worthy, there’s something about Green Book that is thoroughly enjoyable. Mortensen and Ali are actors of extraordinary talent, and it’s engaging to watch them disappear into their roles.

Though the movie is slightly over two hours, it is never boring. Mortensen, for whom an Oscar is long overdue, is a highly intelligent actor who chooses parts carefully. The sheer talent of these two actors offsets what could have been an obvious film, making it deserving of Oscar consideration.

Green Book stars Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, and Linda Cardellini

arts & culture

PHOTO CREDIT: COURTESY OF ONASSIS CULTURAL CENTER

Past Tense Performance Performance artist Carrie Mae Weems’ newest production, Past Tense, builds on her previous project, Grace Notes, a project inspired by President Obama singing “Amazing Grace” after the Charleston church shooting during which nine African Americans were killed. Past Tense further explores issues of race, class and politics, examining the past to better understand the present. With Past Tense, Weems creates a new take on the Greek tragedy Antigone, finding parallels between the ancient play and injustices still suffered in modern society. $34-$60. Prices subject to change. 8pm-10pm. Friday, February 15 and Saturday, February 16.

Power Center for the Performing Arts. 121 Fletcher St. ums.org. —EH

PHOTO CREDIT: CMJAMESPHOTO

LGBTQ Health & Wellness Week Speaker As part of a series at the Spectrum Center focused on queer activism, keynote speaker Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha is opening a dialogue about the intersectionality of queerness, race, and disability. Named one of Feminist Press’ ‘40 Feminists Under 40 Shaping the Future’, Leah’s work has been published in Dear Sister and Visible: A Femmethology. Don’t miss this event where you can learn about her experience and her work.

The Ark of Storytelling The Ark’s Storytelling Festival features three diverse performers. They include Laura Simms, recipient of the Sesame Street Sunny Days award; New York’s Edgar Oliver, who will be performing his poetry and monologues; and Ivory D. Williams, a Detroit storyteller who specializes in stories from African and African American traditions. On Sunday, programming featuring the same performers will be geared more toward kids. $25. 7:30pm Saturday, February 23. 1pm Sunday, February 24. The Ark. 316 Main St. feedback@theark.org. theark.org. —EH

6:30pm-7:30pm. Wednesday, February 20.

University of Michigan Museum of Art. Helmut Stern Auditorium. 525 S. State St. 734-764-0395. umma.umich.edu/events. —EH

Juliana Huxtable Live

This premiere of Carey Crim’s play, Never Not Once, is the coming of age story of Eleanor, a young woman raised by two moms who is now hoping to find her biological father, a man her birth mother says was a one-night stand. Though she is told that the man doesn’t know of her existence, she persists, determined to learn as much as she can about her origin story. Directed

by Guy Sanville, the story of Eleanor and her family promises to be relatable and compelling.

New York City artist, DJ, and poet Juliana Huxtable will be performing live at the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre as part of the 2019 Martin Luther King Symposium. The University of Michigan School of Social Work is hosting the event, which promises to be a reflection on blackness, violence, technology, and social justice.

Huxtable’s performance includes compilations of music, light shows, projections, and spoken word, along with collaborations with composer Joe Heffernan, harpist Ahya Simone, and lighting design by Michael Potvin.

$28-$47. Call for times and to purchase tickets.

Friday, February 1- Friday, March 16. The Purple Rose Theatre Company. 137 Park St., Chelsea.

734-433-7673. purplerosetheatre.org. —EH

4:30pm-6:30pm. Wednesday, February 6. Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre.

911 N. University Ave. 734-764-3309.

RSVP at ssu.umich.edu. Free. —EH

Never Not Once Premiere

ecurrent.com / february 2019 29

arts & culture Ongoing

[misc.]

Tour the Tileworks

1pm. Motawi Tileworks. motawi.com Free

Sundays

[health & wellness] Yoga at Bløm

Noon-1pm. $15. Bløm Meadworks. drinkblom.com Free

Let go of any tension, relax and breathe as you bend and pose at this weekly yoga class.

Mondays

[misc.]

Ypsi Gathering Space

5-8pm. Riverside Arts Center, Ypsilanti. riversidearts.org Free A place to get warm! YGS provides a safe, respectful, all-inclusive environment for the community where people can support one another in meeting their needs. Also open Saturdays from 3-8pm and Sundays from 3-6pm.

Come for a 60 to 90 minute tour of the Tileworks, where you can browse the studio gallery, learn about the company history, see tile-making firsthand and meet the staff. Tours also offered on Thursdays at 11am.

Wednesdays [misc.]

Trivia Night with the Trivia Factory

7-9pm. Bløm Meadworks. drinkblom.com Free

Brush up on your trivia knowledge for this fun, weekly trivia night that incorporates music, a visual quiz, and a wager.

Thursdays [misc.]

Board Game Night

5-9pm. Bløm Meadworks. drinkblom.com Free

Get your friends together, or come by yourself, and join a group to play some of the hottest board games set up on-site for you.

Fridays

[art] [lit] Freelance Friday

10am. Cultivate Coffee & Taphouse, Ypsilanti. cultivateypsi.com Free

Meet up with other freelance creatives in the area and co-work or share your projects with others.

[dance] Swing Dance Party

8pm-10pm. $4-$5. Riverside Arts Center, Ypsilanti. riversidearts.org

Free beginner lesson (8-9pm) covers the swing basics and other dance moves. Open dancing follows at 9pm, featuring a few swing DJs. Hosted by AACTMAD/AASDA.

Saturdays [misc.]

Socrates Cafe

10am. Cultivate Coffee & TapHouse, Ypsilanti. cultivateypsi.com Free Curious about everything and anything about the universe?

Meet with others who are also interested and bring an open mind every other Saturday.

1 Friday

[dance] Funky Frosty Fridays

7:15pm. Buhr Park Outdoor Ice Arena. a2gov.org Free Get in the groove with the sounds of James Brown and George Clinton during general skate, from 7:15pm to 8:45pm, where you can skate to the music and dress up. Wear the best costume!

[art] This Ain’t Nothin’ New: A Black History Month Celebration

6pm. Riverside Arts Center, Ypsilanti. riversidearts.org Free

A Black History Month celebration begins with this opening reception featuring a gallery full of visual arts and a series of speakers engaging the exhibition title “This Ain’t Nothin’ New.”

[dance] Beau Monde: Anthology of Black Dance in America 7:30pm. $15. Riverside Arts Center, Ypsilanti. puredanceensemble.com

Come see PURe Dance Ensemble in Beau Monde, an Anthology of Black Dance in America.

Celebrate the moments where movement and culture intersect and bring us together with dance! Additional performances on Saturday 2/2 at 2:30pm and 7:30pm.

2 Saturday

[art] [lit] The Age of the Internet in Comic Books: Book Club Tour 2pm. U of M Museum of Art. umma.umich.edu Free

UMMA and Vault of Midnight have partnered to form the The Age of the Internet in Comic Book Club. Join a talk in the gallery that connects the art on view to themes in selected comics.

Open to all.

[comedy] Free Comedy Show

9pm. Om of Medicine. omofmedicine.org Free

The Om of Medicine hosts a free monthly comedy show the first Saturday of every month. This event is open to the public. Come on out for some laughs!

5 Tuesday

[poetry] Black History: I Am Making History

7pm. Ann Arbor District Library, Downtown. aadl.org Free

Young performers from the Neutral Zone will present poetry and storytelling pieces on how they will continue to shape history in today’s culture.

[lit] Book Discussion | 2019 Washtenaw Reads Winner, “Reading with Patrick”

7pm. Ann Arbor District Library, Westgate. aadl.org Free

Join a discussion of the 2019 Washtenaw Reads title, Reading With Patrick, by Michelle Kuo. The Washtenaw Reads program is a community initiative to promote reading and civic dialogue through the shared experience of reading and discussing a common book.

6 Wednesday

[lit] A Night with Author Veronica Kirin

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

Meet local elders, watch a 15 minute documentary, and discuss with the author Veronica Kirin who traveled more than 11,000 miles to interview the last living members of the Greatest Generation.

7 Thursday

[poetry] Ada Limon Poetry Reading and Booksigning

5:30pm-6:30pm. UM Museum of Art. umma.umich.edu Free

Ada Limón, author of five books of poetry, including Bright Dead Things, which was named one of the “Top Ten Poetry Books of the Year” by The New York Times, will read from her work.

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[comedy] Nathan Timmel

[misc.]

4th Annual Ice Carving Festival

Timmel has channeled his inner comedian since he was 6 years old. He brings his act to the stage for those looking for more than slapstick humor. Additional performances at 7:30pm and 10pm on Friday, 2/8 and Saturday, 2/9.

Watch students from surrounding SE Michigan colleges and universities compete and showcase their mastery with chainsaws and flamethrowers to create unique masterpieces to display.

7:30pm. $10-$15. Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase. aacomedy.com

8 Friday

[art] Ancient Color: Special Exhibition Opening Day 9am. Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. lsa.umich.edu/kelsey Free

Examine the colors of the ancient Roman world, beyond the white marble statues, and learn how they were produced, where they were found and how they are studied today. On view through May 26.

[art] Decoupage Boxes & Vases

7pm-8:30pm. Ann Arbor District Library, Malletts Creek. aadl.org Free

Using wrapping paper, maps, tissue, magazines and other recycled sources, decoupage your own box, vase or other container.

All materials provided but if you have something you want to cover or some special paper to use, feel free to bring it.

[talks & lectures] Secretary Madeleine Albright

7:30pm. $35-$50. Michigan Theater. michtheater.org

Nicola’s Books partners with the Michigan Theater for an evening with Secretary Albright to discuss the threat of fascism in connection with her book, Fascism: A Warning. Q&A will follow her conversation.

[theater] Hamlet by William Shakespeare

8pm. $8 - $10. Concordia University. cuaa.edu

William Shakespeare’s iconic play, Hamlet, will be presented Feb. 8-10 and Feb. 15-17 in the Kreft Center Black Box Theater.

Directed by Concordia University Ann Arbor’s longtime theater director Gerald Dzuiblinski, the two-hour production will be a collaboration with The Experimental Performing Arts Association.

9 Saturday

[misc.]

Community Inspired Action

10am. $10-$30. Riverside Arts Center, Ypsilanti. riversidearts.org Bringing together spirituality and activism, CIA provides a space for those who identify as spiritual-not-religious and see spirituality connected to social justice and activism. Donation suggested.

Noon-4pm. Washtenaw County Farm Park. washenaw.org Free

[theater] Sweat

7pm. $7-$18. Sponberg Theatre, Ypsilanti. emich.edu

Welcome to Reading, Pennsylvania, a fractured city in America’s “Rust Belt” during the recession. Powerful and topical, this Pulitzer Prize-winning drama is a profound piece of storytelling about America’s working class.

Additional shows on 2/8, 2/10, 2/14 through 2/17.

[film] Korean Cinema NOW | The Fortress

arts & culture ROAD TRIP THE PSYCHEDELIC SHACK John Sinclaire and partner Adam Brooke purchased a lounge and vegetarian cafe owned by chiropractor Dr. Bob Pizzimenti, who will still be practicing at the location. Brooke was the main organizer of the Ann Arbor Hash Bash for many years. Sinclaire will continue to host his two-hour radio webcast of vintage blues and jazz Radio Free Amsterdam, each afternoon.

In the evenings, Sinclaire and Brooke will have live performances. You can’t smoke here, but you can come stoned as you please and talk with Sinclaire, whose principal job is to hang out and chat with the patrons about a truly pot-friendly future. –TB The Psychedelic Healing Shack, 18700 Woodward Avenue across from Palmer Park in Detroit.

1pm. University of Michigan. events.umich.edu Free

In Korean with English subtitles.

Based on the novel Namhansanseong by Kim Hoon, The Fortress tackles the second Manchu invasion of Korea, when King Injo (Pak Hae-il) and his court took refuge in the fortress located in Namhananseong. Also on 2/16.

10 Sunday

[art] Curator Tour: Ancient Color Special Exhibition

2-3pm. Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. lsa.umich.edu/kelsey Free

Curator Cathy Person will lead this tour on the new exhibition Ancient Color and discuss how the Romans acquired, made, and used pigments and dyes, and how today’s science helps us understand the ancient world of color.

13 Wednesday

[poetry] [lit] An Evening of Poetry and the Written Word

7pm. Crazy Wisdom Bookstore and Tea Room. crazywisdom.net Free

All writers welcome to share and discuss their poetry or short fiction. Bring about six copies of your work to share (copies will be returned).

[lit] Telling Your Story: The Power of Words

6:30pm. Ypsilanti District Library, Whittaker. ypsilibrary.org Free

Put pen to paper and practice memoir writing in this two-part writing workshop. No experience necessary. Hosted by the EMU Office of Campus and Community Writing. Register online. Also on 2/6.

14 Thursday

[comedy] Tracy Smith

7:30pm. $12-16. Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase. aacomedy.com

Tracy’s sweet personality offsets the bitter truth, with her sharply written material that’s perfect for both men and women for Valentine’s weekend. Additional shows at 7:30pm and 10pm on Friday, 2/15 and Saturday, 2/16.

[poetry] Open Mic & Share Poetry Series 7pm. Bookbound. bookboundbookstore.com Free

Open Mic and Share Poetry is a monthly event held at Bookbound, an independent community bookstore. Please come, share and enjoy!

[comedy] Shadow League Show

7:30pm - 9:30pm. $8.

Pointless Brewery and Theatre. pointlessbrew.com

This show includes some of the best up-and-coming improv talent in the area, featuring the newest Pointless Shadow League, This Is A Quiz (may or may not actually include a quiz).

Also on Thursdays 2/7, 2/21, and 2/28.

15 Friday

[theater] Carrie Mae Weems Past Tense

8pm. $34-$60. Power Center. ums.org

Weems’ modern reinterpretation on the Greek tragedy Antigone explores themes of race, justice and civil rights. Also at 8pm on Saturday, 2/16.

cont. on pg 32

ecurrent.com / february 2019 31

arts & culture [poetry] Voices of the Diaspora

[film] Little Forest

Celebrate black culture and history with poetry by local talent, music, and food presented by Mega Melanin, a nonprofit with efforts to unite communities through art.

This film, in part of the Korean Cinema Now Film Series, centers on Hye-Won (Kim Tae-Ri) who is tired of her challenging life in the city and moves back to her hometown in the countryside. With her friends, nature, and food, she is able to heal her emotional wounds.

8-11pm. Riverside Arts Center, Ypsilanti. riversidearts.org Free

16 Saturday

[lit] African American Read-In

12pm. Ypsilanti District Library, Whittaker. ypsilibrary.org Free

All are welcome to come read or listen to selections from the works of African American authors for National African American Read-In Day. Bring or find a favorite poem or passage from a book. Books available for all ages.

1pm. Michigan Theater. michtheater.org Free

17 Sunday

[misc.]

Cardboard Boat Races

1pm. $15. Kirksey Recreation Center, Livonia. ci.livonia.mi.us

See who can build the best boat in only two hours. Boat race begins at 3:30 p.m. Each team receives the same materials to build their boats in the MAC Gym. Prizes will be awarded.

Registration required.

[nightlife] [theater] Speakeasy Sunday

[film] Filmmakers Meetup

From Berlin to Detroit, the bodypraising art of the Burlesque lives on at this monthly showcase featuring swinging jazz and performers Danielle Colby, Miss Holly Hock, Hot Tawdry, Ada Vice, Vivacious Miss Audacious, and Jeez Loueez.

Gather with other area filmmakers to discuss your projects and ideas. Get creative!

8pm. $25-$35. Cliff Bell’s, Detroit. cliffbells.com

[lit] UMMA/Vault of Midnight Book Club: The Age of Internet in Comic Books 2pm. Vault of Midnight. umma.umich.edu Free

Join this month’s discussion on comic book Snot Girl Vol. 1. All are invited to read and participate. Please note comic books deal with mature material.

18 Monday

[art] Ann Arbor Women Artists February Program

7pm. AAWA Headquarters. annarborwomenartists.org Free

Denise Willing-Booher was born in Flint, Michigan and paints, teaches and displays her work in juried, solo and group shows.

She has won regional and local juried and people’s choice awards.

[misc.]

Stewardship Workday | President’s Day

1pm. Leslie Park. a2gov.org Free

Come volunteer to help wildlife!

A wet meadow near Leslie Park is threatened by invasive shrubs that need to be cleared. Meet at the parking lot at the end of Leslie Park Circle, off Dhu Varren Road.

19 Tuesday

22 Friday

[misc.]

Behind the Scenes Tour of the Clements Library

11am-12pm. William L. Clements Library. clements.umich.edu Free

Check out the newer, renovated space and the collections that are stored there, including a visit to the Avenir Foundation Reading Room to view the current exhibit, “Over There,” highlighting American soldiers in the first World War. Register in advance.

24 Sunday

[theater] Open Stage

7:30pm-9:30pm. Donations.

Pointless Brewery and Theatre. pointlessbrew.com

Do you play in a band, do improv, write poetry, belly dance, or have some other talent to perform?

Then sign up for an eight-minute spot, space is limited so first 12 to sign up get a spot.

27 Wednesday

Activist, educator and cellist Yo-Yo-Ma will give a talk on his two-day residency with UMS Ann Arbor and Flint Campuses.

His lecture “Culture, Understanding, and Survival” works to enlighten each individual to the connection between arts and the community.

5pm. Michigan Theater. michtheater.org Free

2019 / ecurrent.com

This comedian has toured all around the country. The young rising star doesn’t seem to be stopping soon, as he’s one of the most requested act in the world of comedy. Additional performances at 7:30pm and 10pm on Friday, 2/22 and Saturday, 2/23.

Cara Shillington, professor of biology at EMU, discusses her research on spiders. Program includes an opportunity to directly observe some specimens.

21 Thursday

february

7:30pm. $10-$15. Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase. aacomedy.com

[talks & lectures] Yo-Yo-Ma Artist Residency Talk

[talks & lectures] Clyde Petersen

32

[comedy] Dan Grueter

[talks & lectures] Arachnids: No Need for Phobias

7:30pm. Matthaei Botanical Gardens. events.umich.edu Free

www.treasuremart.com 529 Detroit Street • Ann Arbor 734-662-1363 • Office 734-662-9887

7pm. Cultivate Coffee & TapHouse, Ypsilanti. cultivateypsi.com Free

Hear from Seattle-based artist Petersen, who explores identity and narrative form in his works and is a proud member of the transgender and queer communities.

7pm. $25-$150. Hill Auditorium. ums.org

[talks & lectures] Irene Butter: Author & Holocaust Survivor

7pm-9pm. Ypsilanti District Library, Whittaker. ypsilibrary.org Free

YDL is honored to welcome Holocaust survivor, professor, and author Irene Butter. Her memoir, Shores Beyond Shores, details her journey during the Holocaust and explores how the heart keeps its humanity during inhumane times.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MISSY STULTS

person of interest

Dr. Missy Stults (center) promotes urban resilienc as a way for cities to advance climate and sustainability agendas.

Dr. Missy Stults

By Mary Gallagher

Dr. Missy Stults, Sustainability and Innovations Manager for the City of Ann Arbor, spoke with Current about how communities can adapt to climate change. With a PhD in urban resilience from the University of Michigan, Missy previously served as a contractor working with cities and tribal communities to advance their climate and sustainability agendas.

What is urban resilience? There’s a quote: “We have to avoid

the unmanageable, and manage the unavoidable.” We’ve passed the luxury of not preparing for climate change. We have to reduce impact, we have to prepare, and we have to do it through a lens of social equity, acknowledging that not everyone is impacted equally by climate change, and not everyone has the same ability to influence climate change. Urban resilience is those three things blended together.

What’s in the works to make Ann Arbor more resilient?

Resilience hubs, which are pretty new and cutting-edge. The idea is, how do you ensure that every neighborhood has what they need to thrive -- not just to be okay, but to thrive -- before, during, and after a disaster? The “during” is kind of easy, because we know what to do for a disaster. It’s the other parts that are really exciting to me. You design it with the community so that for the rest of the time, when you’re not in a disaster, it’s activated to be what the community wants. We take a place that’s already trusted and loved by a neighborhood, and we work with them to make that space whatever they want, maybe. . . really good after-school care, or maybe they want a new economic engine in their region. And then from the city perspective, I’m making sure that should disaster strike, that place is ready. It’s basically fostering social cohesion.

Why is social cohesion important? When you know your

neighbors, you’re much more likely to take care of your neighbors, and to work together toward collective aims. That’s Disaster 101. In Seattle, they’re collecting information so neighbors know who can’t get out, who needs meals, whose kids aren’t in the area. You start accumulating that place-based knowledge, and then it’s not just the government that comes in. I take care of you and you take care of me. The government can come in when it’s time, but in a full-blown disaster, you can’t be everywhere at once. So, social cohesion is, to me, the most important thing that we need to be fostering.

How do you keep from burning out while working on climate change? Everyone in this field is an optimist, because

you pretty much have to be. The status quo, we know where that gets us... The science tells us what the world’s going to look like in the future, and it’s not okay. So basically, we have two choices: we can be complicit in that, and we say the world’s going to suck and that’s okay, or we disrupt the status quo. And if we disrupt it, it’s going to make us all really uncomfortable, but what’s the alternative? I have a three-year-old daughter. I can’t look at her, and not at least try to disrupt wherever we can.

What are you doing to connect sustainability with affordability? We have an equity advisor that’s looking at our

work plans to make sure the most vulnerable are front and center.

One thing we’ve committed to doing in this office is working with the affordable housing commission... If we do this full steam ahead only focused on energy, we’re going to leave a lot of people behind.

How can people who are interested get involved? Look at the sustainability website and contact me directly. I want to get different voices sitting at the table, because they’ll ask different questions and they’ll look at the world differently, and that’s essential to solve the kinds of challenges we’re facing. Anyone who’s got ideas, time, interests, and passions, we want them.

ecurrent.com / february 2019 33

cannabis

PHOTO CREDIT: LYDIA BARRY

Panelists at the 2018 Green Wolverine Science Symposium at Ross School of Business spoke about the professional study of THC and CBD.

Green Wolverine: “The Michigan Weed Club”

“We had no idea whether or not it would work.”

by Abigail Kennedy

When Adam Rosenberg announced that Green Wolverine was approved to become the newest student organization at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, his friends hardly believed him. However, since the very beginning, when the idea was first forged in that cramped Oxford Housing dorm room, Adam was determined to bring Green Wolverine to life. We rolled our eyes endearingly when he talked at length about why “right now” was the perfect time to go into cannabis, or why Michigan would legalize before we all graduated. Despite our skepticism, deep down we all knew he was right.

Soon enough we were passing out BIC lighters marked with the Green Wolverine logo as our marketing material. Due to the provocative nature of the topic, word quickly spread on campus and GW was dubbed with a colloquial nickname, “Michigan’s weed club.” Students were intrigued about what the chapter meetings would be like, and more importantly, how the University had approved the idea in the first place.

Approval for ‘club’ status

When Adam brought the idea to the Ross administration, he emphasized that we would focus on the ancillary aspects of the industry, such as investment, consulting, and equipment manufacturing. Additionally, we would not take a political stance on the subject, even when prompted.

The intention of Green Wolverine was simple: Help people learn about cannabis. Legalization has swept across the country in the last decade and many expected Michigan to join the

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movement. However, while the industry was rising from the ashes of prohibition, many students did not know much about cannabis, or its potential. Additionally, much of the industry is uncharted territory, and students also had to consider the opposing sides in the discussion and the multitude of risks associated with the plant.

Learning events

Green Wolverine’s first event was the Michigan Cannabis Leaders’ Summit. Industry professionals from across the state were invited to speak about their cannabis experiences. The event was free of charge, and open to the public. Panelists in the fields of business, law, and politics, painted a picture of the industry and explained how they expected it to change in the future.

Last September, GW held a Science Symposium, which was dedicated to current research and medicine in cannabis. Dr. Sue Sisley, a keynote speaker for the event, spoke about the challenges her team faced in attempting to research cannabis while working with the FDA. Another speaker, Dr. Gus Rosania, a professor in the College of Pharmacy, presented his research on THC toxicity and emphasized the importance of producing a consistent and reliable product. In addition to the valuable information presented it was also clear that there is still a lot of work to be done to produce regulated, clean, and safe products.

The rising leaders of GW’s Michigan chapter, many of whom are freshman and sophomore students, are already planning new and exciting events for this semester. The GW Investment Fund is putting on its first ever Investment Pitch Competition where students will learn about cannabis investments and pitch them to a panel of judges. GW will also host the second Michigan Cannabis Leaders’ Summit this coming March.

Over the past two years GW has built a roster of over 200 Michigan students. The club has also expanded to universities across the country, including UC-Berkeley and Syracuse. For some students, joining Green Wolverine is a way to learn business through a fun and interesting lens. For others, it is an opportunity to gain real experience in an rapidly growing industry and to enter the cannabis job market as a competitive and unique applicant.

The following is a list of licensed dispensaries in Washtenaw County and Metro Detroit. Hours can vary, so please call ahead.

Licensed Dispensaries Washtenaw County GREEN PLANET PATIENT COLLECTIVE

MEDICINE MAN

2793 Plymouth Rd. Suite K Ann Arbor 700 Tappan Ave, 734-800-4194 Ann Arbor, MI 48104 mmofa2.com 734-845-2172 greenplaneta2.org BLOOM CITY CLUB

423 Miller Ave. ARBOR WELLNESS Ann Arbor 321 E. Liberty 734-585-0621 Ann Arbor bloomcityclub.com 734-929-2602 arborswellness.com

GREENSTONE

338 S. Ashley St. Ann Arbor 359 S. Huron 734-773-3075 Ypsilanti greenstoneprovisions.com 734-544-999 thepatientstation.com PEOPLE’S CHOICE

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current love

I’ll love you forever (just don’t disappoint me)

By Nina Swift

I found a great guy. No doubt in these early months we are making a big effort to delight each other in every way, and it’s truly amazing how sweet love can be when you do that. We do all sorts of fun things together. We check in every day. We buy things and make things for each other. We can’t get enough of each other in bed. So how do we keep this joyful wheel of reciprocity turning when we are no longer falling in love, just in love?

It’s inevitable that we will let one another down in some way.

But my man believes that what could push us apart would not be an offense but a reluctance to acknowledge how we feel, allowing hurt to fester and cause resentment. It’s amazing to hear a man talk about his feelings.

Sound familiar?

The following pattern has repeated a couple of times in my life, and I am anxious to avoid it this time around. I’m a heterosexual woman in her 40s, but ignoring age and sexual orientation for the moment, raise your hand if this scenario sounds familiar to you. My new partner and I are enchanted with each other. We both feel sexy, valued, adored. After the initial fever cools, my partner’s hunger for emotional intimacy seems to be sated. I feel disappointed because I want that closeness more than ever, and wish that he reciprocated those wants. I wonder why it is he’s with me if he doesn’t want to know me deeply. I feel hurt, and my glowing magnetism fades, the very thing that made him attracted to me in the first place. I become more critical, showing my man less of the admiration he craves.

My man doesn’t want to disappoint me, but he doesn’t accept criticism easily either. If I get irritated with him, he will likely withdraw, causing more emotional disconnect. To close the distance between us I will move towards him but in a way he perceives as irritating or aggressive, causing him to shut down further. All of this is, by the way, extremely not sexy, causing eyes to wander, and boots to follow.

36

february

2019 / ecurrent.com

Go forth, brave men, into the Land of Emotional Intimacy

Even if my former husband wasn’t polyamorous, our marriage might have fallen apart eventually for the reasons above. Not to lay all the blame on men for failed relationships, but it seems like women in general are less and less willing to accommodate men’s unwillingness to engage with them emotionally. This is good news, because if the concept of empathy flourishes as it is meant to, it could save the world. But as we can see from a broader cultural perspective, women have to have the bravery to own their truth.

Let me get you a beer

A friend of mine who is a therapist says one thing she sees repeatedly is men’s reluctance to take responsibility for their part in relationship difficulties. “Men struggle with apology when a woman feels disappointed,” she says. “They defend themselves rather than own their role. Women friends are more likely to express their feelings, listen to one another, and apologize to each other. A man is less likely to express emotional distress, and will instead be direct with his bro, like ‘You screwed up.’ And his friend will often say, ‘You’re right, I’m a jerk, let me get you a beer.’ In romantic relationships, women, generally, want to discuss their feelings and their partner’s feelings. You have to be a conscious man to want to engage with a woman’s feelings.”

I would advise the restless to think twice before kicking an emotionally stuck man to the curb. I reckon it is unlikely that there are millions of men out there whose model for love is their parents’ happy, mutually supportive marriage. Meaning that anyone who dates men but is unwilling to tolerate one who is maybe not such a great communicator and less-than in touch with his emotions is facing the likelihood of life without a romantic partner.

My advice? People respond better to positive reinforcement than to admonishment. Acknowledge your man’s efforts. Praise him for what he does well. Be the best example of the change you want to see. And keep that joyful wheel of reciprocity turning!

free will astrology © Copyright 2019 Rob Brezsny

FEBRUARY ARIES (March 21-April 19): Here are your fortune cookie-style horoscopes for the next five months. FEBRUARY: You’ll be invited to make a pivotal transition in the history of your relationship with your most important life goals. It should be both fun and daunting!

MARCH: Don’t waste time and energy trying to coax others to haul away the junk and the clutter. Do it yourself. APRIL: The growing pains should feel pretty good. Enjoy the uncanny stretching sensations. MAY: It’ll be a favorable phase to upgrade your personal finances. Think richer thoughts. Experiment with new ideas about money.

JUNE: Build two strong bridges for every rickety bridge you burn. Create two vital connections for every stale connection you leave behind.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Here are your fortune cookie-style horoscopes for the next five months. FEBRUARY: You have access to a semi-awkward magic that will serve you well if you don’t complain about its semi-awkwardness. MARCH: To increase your clout and influence, your crucial first step is to formulate a strong intention to do just that. The universe will then work in your behalf.

APRIL: Are you ready to clean messes and dispose of irrelevancies left over from the past? Yes! MAY: You can have almost anything you want if you resolve to use it for the greatest good. JUNE: Maintain rigorous standards, but don’t be a fanatic. Strive for excellence without getting bogged down in a counterproductive quest for perfection.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Here are your fortune cookie-style horoscopes for the next five months. FEBRUARY: Be alert for vivid glimpses of your best possible future. The power of self-fulfilling prophecy is even stronger than usual. MARCH: High integrity and ethical rigor are crucial to your success — and so is a longing for sacred adventure. APRIL: How can you make the best use of your likability? MAY: Cheerfully dismantle an old system or structure to make way for a sparkling new system or structure. JUNE: Beginner’s luck will be yours if you choose the right place to begin. What’s a bit intimidating but very exciting?

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Here are your fortune cookie-style horoscopes for the next five months. FEBRUARY: Your sensual magnetism peaks at the same time as your spiritual clarity. MARCH: You want toasted ice? Succulent fire? Earthy marvels? Homey strangeness? All of that is within reach. APRIL: Sow the seeds of the most interesting success you can envision. Your fantasy of what’s possible should thrill your imagination, not merely satisfy your sense of duty. MAY: Deadline time. Be as decisive and forthright as an Aries, as bold as a Sagittarius, as systematic as a Capricorn. JUNE: Go wading in the womb-temperature ocean of emotion, but be mindful of the undertow.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Here are your fortune cookie-style horoscopes for the next five months. FEBRUARY: There’s a general amnesty in all matters regarding your relationships. Cultivate truces and forgiveness. MARCH: Drop fixed ideas you might have about what’s possible and what’s not. Be keenly open to unexpected healings. APRIL: Wander out into the frontiers. Pluck goodies that have been off-limits. Consider the value of ignoring certain taboos. MAY: Sacrifice a small comfort so as to energize your ambitions. JUNE: Take a stand in behalf of your beautiful ideals and sacred truths.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Here are your fortune cookie-style horoscopes for the next five months. FEBRUARY: Master the Zen of constructive anger. Express your complaints in a holy cause.

MARCH: You finally get a message you’ve been waiting to receive for a long time. Hallelujah! APRIL: Renew your most useful vows.

Sign a better contract. Come to a more complete agreement. MAY: Don’t let your preconceptions inhibit you from having a wildly good time. JUNE: Start your own club, band, organization, or business. Or reinvent and reinvigorate your current one.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Here are your fortune cookie-style horoscopes for the next five months. FEBRUARY: Start a new trend that will serve your noble goals for years to come.

MARCH: Passion comes back into fashion with a tickle and a shiver and a whoosh. APRIL: As you expand and deepen your explorations, call on the metaphorical equivalents of both a telescope and a microscope. MAY: This is the beginning of the end of what you love to complain about. Hooray! JUNE: You’ll have an abundance of good reasons to celebrate the fact that you are the least normal sign in the zodiac. Celebrate your idiosyncrasies!

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Here are your fortune cookie-style horoscopes for the next five months. FEBRUARY: Be open to romantic or erotic adventures that are different from how love has worked in the past. MARCH: You’ll be offered interesting, productive problems. Welcome them! APRIL: Can you explore what’s experimental and fraught with interesting uncertainty even as you stay wellgrounded? Yes! MAY: You can increase your power by not hiding your weakness.

People will trust you most if you show your vulnerability. A key to this season’s model of success is the ability to calmly express profound emotion. JUNE: Wild cards and X-factors and loopholes will be more available than usual. Don’t be shy about using them.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Here are your fortune cookie-style horoscopes for the next five months. FEBRUARY: The world may finally be ready to respond favorably to the power you’ve been storing up. MARCH: Everything you thought you knew about love and lust turns out to be too limited. So expand your expectations and capacities! APRIL: Extremism and obsession can be useful in moderation. MAY: Invisible means of support will become visible. Be alert for halfhidden help. JUNE: Good questions: What do other people find valuable about you?

How can you enhance what’s valuable about you?

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Here are your fortune cookiestyle horoscopes for the next five months. FEBRUARY: You’ll have the need and opportunity to accomplish some benevolent hocuspocus. For best results, upgrade your magical powers. MARCH: Make sure the Turning Point happens in your power spot or on your home turf. APRIL: You should be willing to go anywhere, ask any question, and even risk your pride if necessary so as to coax your most important relationships into living up to their potentials. MAY: If at first you don’t succeed, change the definition of success. JUNE: You can achieve more through negotiation and compromise than you could by pushing heedlessly ahead in service to your single-minded vision.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Here are your fortune cookiestyle horoscopes for the next five months. FEBRUARY: A new phase of your education will begin when you acknowledge how much you have to learn. MARCH: Initiate diplomatic discussions about the Things That Never Get Talked About. APRIL: Revise your ideas about your dream home and your dream community. MAY: You have the power to find healing for your oldest lovesickness. If you do find it, intimacy will enter a new Golden Age. JUNE: Solicit an ally’s ingenuity to help you improvise a partial solution to a complex problem.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Here are your fortune cookiestyle horoscopes for the next five months. FEBRUARY: You’ll have a knack for enhancing the way you express yourself and present yourself. The inner you and the outer you will become more unified. MARCH: You’ll discover two original new ways to get excited. APRIL: Be bold as you make yourself available for a deeper commitment that will spawn more freedom. MAY: What are the gaps in your education? Make plans to mitigate your most pressing area of ignorance. JUNE: Your body’s ready to tell you secrets that your mind has not yet figured out. Listen well.

Go here to read all the long-term, big-picture horoscopes I’ve written about the story of your life in 2019: https://bit.ly/YourGloriousStory2019

ecurrent.com / february 2019 37

crossword Across 1. Apple texting app 8. 1900 Joseph Conrad novel 14. Showers with compliments 15. Portugal’s peninsula 16. “Skinny Legs And All� author 17. “Chill, man, chill!�

18. “To a� poem 19. Dictator’s act 21. Cry of pain 22. “Billy Budd� captain 24. Passing votes 26. Picks up 28. Khan Academy founder Khan 30. Newspaper that runs a mini 5x5 crossword, briefly 32. Utter baloney 33. Replies to an Evite, say 36. City where Beethoven was born 37. Wyo. neighbor 38. “Consider me a supporter,� and a hint to this puzzle’s theme 41. Falcons coach ___ Quinn 42. Red number 43. Generation Z members 44. With 46-Across, codgers 45. On the money 46. See 44-Across 47. Sell shortly after buying, in real estate lingo 49. Ward of the screen 51. “The BFG� author 55. Sign of healing 57. Loud noises 59. Necklace with petals 60. Ozzy’s wife 62. Sickened 64. Candy sold as four bars 65. With ease, as some victories 66. #Resist refrain 67. Gets in one’s sights

38 

  february

Down 1. Kind of comedy 2. Wear down 3. Cavalier’s weapon 4. Rel. 5. “Yeah, sure�

6. Cheerful and pleasant 7. Medium.com post 8. “Pod Save America� listener, likely 9. Follow to the letter 10. Military mission 11. Set some boundaries 12. Karen Pence’s predecessor 13. Muslim teacher 20. Choral voices 23. “NBA Countdown� channel 25. Backup, say, on the cloud 27. Blackens, as some fish 29. Places of refuge 31. Gov’t. security 33. Done with 34. Dinghy or pontoon, e.g.

35. Clear one’s name, say 36. “I caught you!�

39. “You caught me!�

40. Tear up 46. El dĂ­a despuĂŠs de hoy 48. Winter jacket 50. Upper bound 52. What a crook might take 53. Very very 54. Rapper on the 2001 hit “Lady Marmaladeâ€?

56. Sixth word (okay, acronym) in “Back In The U.S.S.R.�

58. Wyo. neighbor 60. Type of milk 61. Nonspecific ordinal 63. Maa mama

2019 / ecurrent.com

FOR CROSSWORD ANSWERS, GO TO ECURRENT.COM

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