Current Magazine - September 2018

OK BO

MUSIC | ART | CULTURE

18 20

UE BL

SEPTEMBER 2018| FREE

Socioeconomic diversity and the future of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, p6

CONNECTING TO COMPASSION Practicing nonviolent communication, p8

SELF-DRIVING FUTURE

Talking with MCity lab director, Greg McGuire, p32

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contents

September 2018 vol. 28 / no. 09

Letter to the Editor Seize guns, seize rights

RALLY YOUR VOTES!

AUGUST 2018| FREE

See p15

No one from the left-socialistcommunist side wants a gun COMMUNITY summit because they will lose the debate. Besides, they have their minds made up— as far as the left is concerned, it’s time to confiscate all guns. No one from the right-conservativeconstitutional side will join LOCALLY GROWN your debate because you are not looking for answers to gun THE GUN SUMMIT violence. Your “gun violence prevention task force” idea is nothing more than a veiled “gun ban/confiscation task force,” and everyone knows it. Firearm ownership is a constitutional right. Gun violence is a crime. These are two separate things. Gun ownership prevents more crimes than it causes. Liberals want guns banned to protect themselves from citizens when THEY riot and create havoc. Nothing more.

Just like in Germany before the Nazis took over, the Democrats want citizens unarmed for when they seize control. And what true bleeding heart liberals don’t want to admit, or their brains refuse to accept, is that if they reviewed history they would know that unarmed citizens eventually become slaves to their governments.

Japan and Germany did not try an invasion in WWII because, as a Japanese general put it, “there would be an American with a rifle behind every blade of grass.” Both of those countries had slave citizens with no such option.

The writer of this opinion piece is either a useful idiot or a traitor to the United States Constitution. You tell me which it is.

MUSIC | ART | CULTURE

POWER STATE BILL WOULD FREE MICHIGANDERS TO GENERATE ENERGY

Connecting to Compassion Practicing nonviolent communication

p6 Housing Washtenaw County A story of gentrification and segregation

p8 10 food: Szechuan flavors at Chia Shiang 13 city chefs: Robert Campbell, Jamaican Jerk Pit

Local business owners open up

P6

that Nobody Wants P14

18 music: Local brews and local bands at Cultivate Coffee

Mike Nikitin Brighton, MI

By Jeff Milo

24 theater: Pointless Brewery’s improv has a point

By Emily Slomovits

26 art: Contemporary photography at UMMA

By Beth Solberg

32 person of interest: Greg McGuire Self-driving cars at Mcity

Writer’s note, Nick Roumel responds Mike, Thanks for writing. You’ve mixed up the concepts of a summit and a debate. My intent, as stated, is to convene stakeholders from all points of view and professions, start with the common ground that innocent people shouldn’t be murdered, and go from there. A debate is the opposite of that concept, but you persist in using that term. In support, you engage in a lot of labeling and name calling. In lieu of facts, you cite anecdotes (and one quote from a Japanese general that has never been substantiated).

Behind your rhetoric, I do see glimmers of hope - that in addition to one particular constitutional right, you also care about safety and security for all Americans. I’ll take that to the bank of common ground, and run with it. As a constitutional lawyer (and gun owner), I fight for your freedoms every day. Let’s fight for freedom and safety together.

Nick

36 Smash

Mind over matter

By Nina Swift

11 19 27 33

food events music events arts & culture cannabis

37 astrology 38 crossword 39 classifieds

A MURAL NEAR FOURTH AVE. AND ANN ST. FEATURING NOTABLE HISTORICAL FIGURES FROM ANN ARBOR’S KERRYTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD.

“THE BOOK MURAL” IN ANN ARBOR ON LIBERTY NEAR STATE STREET FEATURING WOODY ALLEN, EDGAR ALLEN POE, AND HERMANN HESSE.

ecurrent.com / september 2018 3

Adams Street Publishing Co.  Chef Frank Fejeran’s New Venture Local celeb Chef Frank Fejeran, owner of Ma Lou’s and Ricewood, has recently opened a new restaurant at 1232 Packard St. in Ann Arbor. PoCai, is a collaboration of Chef Fejeran and Orangetheory Fitness to provide patrons with ultra-healthy, ultra-tasty items, such as acai bowls, poke bowls, salads, and toasts. As an added bonus, the dishes are served in cups for easy portability. Healthy cuisine in the palm of your hand.  Growing Hope’s New Executive Director Growing Hope, a local organization centered on supporting the community through gardening, has welcomed Cynthia VanRenterghem as their new Executive Director.

VanRenterghem, with 25 years of experience in business and leadership, follows founder of Growing Hope, Amanda Edmonds, who retired in 2017.  Nurses and Michigan Medicine Continue to Negotiate Contracts Hundreds of nurses are still in negotiations through the University of Michigan Professional Nurses Council (UMPNC) with Michigan Medicine as both parties attempt to come to an agreement on new employment contract terms. The nursing contracts expired on June 30th, but negotiations began in January. The nurses, who have continued to rally, are picketing for issues such as better healthcare co-pays, prescription drugs, and retirement contributions. By better supporting nurses through their compensation, UMPNC argues that patients are, ultimately, better served.  Lefty’s Replaces the Bread Basket Deli The former Bread Basket Deli location at 4003 Carpenter Rd. in Ypsilanti has closed and is now home to Lefty’s Cheese Steak. While completely different businesses, customers can still enjoy fresh food and corned beef recipes. Sauces are made in house and hoagie buns are delivered daily by local bakeries. The menu consists of their famous cheesesteak and corned beef sandwiches, cold cut subs, burgers, coney dogs, and salads.  Unicorn Feed and Supply If you have been wondering where to get dazzling unicorn snot for your child’s lips, look no further: Unicorn Feed and Supply at 114 W Michigan Ave, in Ypsilanti, is ready to take your order. Find rainbow colored gifts, cards, and fancifully chachkies adorn this little shop.  Knockerball Michigan The Livonia location was a smashing success, and now Saline gets its very own indoor Knockerball playground. Adults and children as young as three can don their inflatable body balls and bounce into each other and top speeds in this hilarious new sport. For $15, you can play as long as you want. The space is also available to rent for parties, or you can have the Knockerballs delivered to just about any large piece of flat grass or indoor space. knockerballmichigan.com, 1305 E. Michigan Ave., Saline. —AD

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When you were in college, where would we have found you on a Thursday night?

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Collette Jacobs (cjacobs@adamsstreetpublishing.com) MAC & JOE’S AT MIAMI UNIVERSITY.

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green corner Chelsea Making Strides in Sustainability The City of Chelsea has created the Sustainability Advisory Commission as a means to better encourage a green-conscious community. The committee’s aims are rooted in finding additional ways to utilize alternative energy, increase the use of environmentally friendly construction materials and methods, improve and expand designated wildlife areas, improvement in recycling methods and waste management, and how to better utilize potable, storm, and wastewater sources, among others. The committee is also examining how to improve and encourage sustainable and environmentally conscious transportation, such as how to increase pedestrian and bicycle mobility. —AD For more information, visit www.city-chelsea.org/boardscommittees-commissions/sustainability-advisory-commission.

fyi

From September 24 to 26, Ann Arbor will host the third Great Lakes Adaptation Forum (GLAF), featuring workshops, presentations and interactive sessions for professionals across many industries involved in climate change adaptation. GLAF is put on by Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments and the American Society of Adaptation Professionals.

The conference’s agenda reflects its multidisciplinary character, with session track themes covering legal and political issues raised by climate change including financial concerns, innovative technologies for adaptation, and inspirational climate change leadership. This year’s GLAF aims to emphasize questions of equity in climate change adaptation.

Students: $150, Regular: $275. glisa.umich.edu/GLAF18, jljorns@umich.edu

ecurrent.com / september 2018 5

feature

A Soft Approach to Hard Talks Connecting to compassion through Nonviolent Communication

By Lisa Gottlieb

Ping! Your phone lets you know something wants your attention.

These days there is rare escape from the constant barrage of disturbing information and horrific images unfolding on our planet faster than we can turn away. And it’s hard to turn away. Many want to be engaged, helpful and action oriented to effect the world around us with hope and a belief that what we care about matters.

Yet, there is so much polarization and hostility between people and groups that have differing views that it becomes difficult to avoid conversations that escalate into misunderstanding, aggression, and increasingly, violence. Avoiding anyone who disagrees with us creates more distance and less opportunity to find avenues for positive change, while stepping up to challenge an idea can foment anger, conflict and more disagreements, making matters worse.

A starting place

Another option is to embrace Nonviolent Communication (NVC) as a practical tool to reduce conflict and disagreements while enhancing understanding and mutual respect.

Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is a port in a storm for those struggling to find a method of talking with others in ways that lead to solutions, instead of more problems. With NVC, you can have a constructive dialogue with almost anyone, taking a stand for what you value, while reducing emotional escalation.

NVC was founded by Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, a Detroit native and psychologist who spent his teen years in Detroit during the 1948 race riots, where he worked to improve race relations and find peaceful solutions to conflict. He founded the Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC.org) which has trained thousands of people across the world in conflict resolution, restorative practices and peacemaking activities.

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Practice empathy, focus on needs:

Empathy (for self and others) is a foundational key for human connection, and core to practicing compassion and building trust between people, even if we don’t agree with their ideas or behavior.

All humans share the same fundamental needs- some for survival like food and water, and some so that we can thrive, like love, acceptance, respect, mattering and belonging.

Conflict doesn’t happen at the level of needs. Conflict happens at the level of “strategy”- that is, how we each go about attempting to meet the needs of ourselves and our loved ones.

In addition to empathy, we need honest self expression, sharing our needs in ways that allow others to hear and understand us.

While many agree, in theory, with these ideas, actually practicing empathy and focusing on shared needs while being triggered by other people’s words and actions is often daunting.

Space between stimulus and response

As a start to using the practical tools of NVC, a suggestion, when you are triggered by a conversation, or by anything that sparks reactivity, begin by calming yourself down, without judgment, even if it is just for a moment, because until you can calm yourself down, frustration or worry will likely feed into the escalating emotions that are already present.

Victor Frankl, an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist, as well as a Holocaust survivor, wrote, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response.

In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

15%

Lisa Gottlieb is a long-time resident of Ann Arbor and a certified trainer of Nonviolent Communication.

In other words, instead of turning your attention to what someone else is saying or doing, and connecting with how wrong they are, bring your attention first to your agitation. A simple method is to take a slow deep breath. Focussing on your breathing, quieting your voice, and consciously slowing down the pace of your talking, all can lower the intensity of an argument or conflict. If you have the ability in the moment, you can share, out loud, your experience by saying, “I’m getting upset (frustrated, angry, worried), and I’d like to be more calm while we’re talking so we have a better chance to understand each other. I’d like to slow down our conversation, or wait to continue it until I have a chance to calm down.” Sometimes stating what’s happening, saying what we’d like, and offering a new plan is enough to shift the quality of a conversation.

Next steps

NVC uses feelings to connect individuals with their needs.

Feelings tend to show us where we disagree, and shared needs can lead us to more understanding, acceptance and connection, the starting place towards an empathetic self understanding. Offering reflection and empathy for others, and honest self expression are the next steps.

For more information, visit CNVC.org or lisagottieb.com.

Check out our Farmer’s Market round-up exclusively on

ecurrent.com

ecurrent.com / september 2018 7

feature

“The Book Mural” in Ann Arbor on Liberty near State Street featuring Woody Allen, Edgar Allen Poe, and Hermann Hesse.

A Tale of Two Cities Gentrification and Segregation in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti

A

By Trilby Becker

nn Arbor has done an excellent job of attracting members of the “creative” class: young, highly educated, highly paid people working in technology, the arts, business, law, and medicine. These people, most of them white, many with families, enjoy Tree Town’s abundant parks, nearby farms, excellent schools, quality shops and restaurants, and vibrant arts scene. Consequently Ann Arbor has made several top ten lists compiled by the Martin Prosperity Initiative, which ranks American cities for various indicators of wealth. One of the less-enviable of these lists ranks cities in terms of economic segregation, and Ann Arbor finds itself in the top ten there as well.

With economic segregation often comes racial segregation, and with racial segregation comes the deepening of social divides and the breakdown of a community’s cultural integrity. A review of local housing and development trends show how they have contributed to the economic and ethnic homogenization of Ann Arbor, and deepening segregation in Ypsilanti.

Housing Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor is the economic engine of Washtenaw County, the fourth wealthiest county in Michigan, and finding an affordable place to live within a reasonable distance from work is a struggle for people at nearly all income levels.

With high income earners clamoring for more housing and no legal mechanism such as inclusionary zoning or rent control to require developers to create and maintain affordable housing, there is little motivation for them to build anything other than luxury condominiums. Rising rents and real estate prices have forced many of Ann Arbor’s lower and middle income residents to leave town, which has disproportionately affected Ann Arbor’s black population.

The UM student housing crunch

The impact of the growing ranks of University of Michigan students and faculty on Ann Arbor’s housing shortage cannot be overstated. In the last ten years the city has welcomed 12,000 new jobs and 6,000 additional U of M students but the university has not built the housing necessary to keep those students on campus, and staff living nearby. U of M students are, in most cases, from wealthy families who can afford to subsidize or pay for rent, and developers have been scrambling to build luxury condominiums to accommodate them, which puts upward pressure on rent and home prices across the community.

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WHAT EXACTLY IS AFFORDABLE HOUSING? Broadly speaking, affordable housing is defined as costing no more than 30% of gross income.

Low income housing is rental housing for very low income people subsidized by government agencies.

Workforce housing is defined by the Urban Land Institute as “housing that is affordable to households earning 60% to 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI).”

In 2018, Ann Arbor’s AMI is $92,900 per year for a 4-person household.

One woman’s story

Sasha Womble is an African American woman in her late thirties who has lived in Ann Arbor since 1996 when she moved to attend college from Detroit. Her father grew up on Wall Street on the Northside in the home his parents owned. After retirement her grandparents could no longer afford the rising property taxes and high cost of living, and were forced to sell. Her father found he could not afford to buy a home like the one he was raised in and moved to Detroit. The Northside, and the historically black neighborhoods of Water Hill and Kerrytown, have since attracted wealthy, mostly white people who bought many homes like her grandparents’, driving prices further up and pushing black residents out. After renting for seven years in the once-affordable Stonybrook neighborhood, their home and several homes on their block were suddenly sold out from under them. Tired of the insecurity of renting, the Wombles decided it was time to buy. They began looking in Ann Arbor. “My husband and I have both worked full time the whole time we’ve been together and we make decent money, but the mortgages combined with taxes (in Ann Arbor), it’s just out of the market for us.”

The Wombles did not feel that they were the victims of discriminatory lending practices from the banks, and were encouraged to see any home they wanted by their real estate agent. But the recent history of mortgage lending in Washtenaw County, as reported through the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, shows that AfricanAmericans are denied mortgages for single family, duplex, triplex and quad units at a rate often three times that of whites or Asians.

The Wombles ended up buying a house in Ypsilanti. The couple works in Ann Arbor and their eldest son, who has special needs, is receiving excellent special education services in Ann Arbor schools, some that are not available in Ypsilanti schools. All three children will continue to attend Ann Arbor schools. Sasha Womble still considers herself to be an Ann Arborite who sleeps in Ypsilanti, for some a reluctant solution to Ann Arbor’s affordable housing crisis.

A mural near Fourth Ave. and Ann St. created by Community High School students featuring notable historical figures from Ann Arbor’s Kerrytown neighborhood.

Mixed blessing for Ypsilanti

The concentration of low income housing in Ypsilanti further burdens that city’s already depressed economy, and deepens the economic, social, and racial divides between the two cities.

In some ways, receiving middle class families like the Wombles who are priced out of Ann Arbor is a boon to Ypsilanti’s depressed economy. Twenty years ago, the auto parts manufacturers left and took their highly paying union jobs with them, and Ypsilanti lost its major employer. The city’s residents without college educations have not found a comparable employment opportunity since, and the tax base has steadily declined. The recent influx of middle class Ann Arborites is raising tax revenues and contributing to the revitalization of downtown. It is also leading to steeply rising rents, forcing many of Ypsilanti’s nonwhite residents into neighborhoods south of Michigan Avenue where over 80% of Ypsilanti’s subsidized low income housing is located, the same location as the Racially and Ethnically Concentrated Area of Poverty depicted on U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development maps.

Washtenaw County has tried to maximize the number of units of low income housing it can build with limited funds by citing developments outside of Ann Arbor’s expensive real estate market. The concentration of low income housing in Ypsilanti further burdens that city’s already depressed economy, and deepens the economic, social, and racial divides between the two cities. Jennifer Hall, Executive Director of the Ann Arbor Housing Commission which oversees low income housing, is determined to reverse this trend, saying “Outsourcing low-income housing to the southern and eastern part of Washtenaw County is not a housing policy, it is a segregation policy.”

Money and City-owned property are the best tools now

Jennifer Hall teamed up with Teresa Gillotti, Interim Director of Washtenaw County Economic Development, to present results of a comprehensive report on fair housing, The Washtenaw Urban County Assessment of Fair Housing Plan, to City Council in May. Hall and Gillotti concluded that money and city-owned property are the two best tools for the city to create more affordable housing. They recommended considering underutilized public property for possible development of affordable housing, prioritizing rental units for people who make up to 60% of the county’s median income. They estimated it would cost between $3.5 and $7 million to build the 140 units of affordable housing per year recommended by the 2015 Housing Affordability and Economic Equity report, published by the Washtenaw County Office of Community and Economic Development, to meet existing demand. This level of funding far outstrips the money available through the affordable housing fund and the mental health millage, $800,000 of which is earmarked

for affordable housing each year. To bridge the gap, they believe a millage for affordable housing is necessary to fund mission-driven nonprofits like Avalon and Habitat for Humanity to build permanent low income and workforce housing.

By far the largest source of funding for affordable housing are low-income housing tax credit projects granted to a select number of private developers qualified to process the lengthy and complex regulatory paperwork.

The required affordability period is only fifteen years, however, after which the units can change to market rate rentals. Three hundred and fifty of these units will be coming out of affordability and into market rate in the next two years. Hall and Gillotti will bring a recommendation to Ann Arbor City Council in September that their agencies be tasked with compiling a detailed inventory of all city-owned land for potential development of low income and workforce housing to meet the rapidly growing demand.

Opposition from residents

As sensible as it may sound, in practice, creating low income housing on City land is often met with resistance from Ann Arbor residents. Paquetta Palmer, an African American woman in her sixties and a mental health and housing activist, works for Washtenaw County Community Mental Health and has lived in Ann Arbor since 1979. She recently moved from her Water Hill apartment when the landlord raised the rent. “There are so many pockets of affordable housing (in Ann Arbor), but you don’t know about them because they fit in the neighborhood. The people who immediately go up in arms when an affordable housing development is proposed, those are the people who just don’t get it. Where do they think a waitress, or a nurse, or a teacher is going to live? Because they cannot afford to live here.”

Over the past 40 years Palmer has seen the Water Hill and Kerrytown neighborhoods go from being strongholds of Ann Arbor’s black community to becoming almost entirely white, as more affordable rentals have been renovated or demolished to make way for high end condominiums. Most of her black friends moved East of Ann Arbor, many to Ypsilanti, which has not added any housing stock to accommodate new residents in 20 years.

The Washtenaw Urban County Assessment of Fair Housing Plan concludes that Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township need to add amenities, services, and improve institutions like schools to stabilize and serve its residents, and to raise income levels through education, training, recruitment, and hiring strategies. Ann Arbor can bring middle and low income people back to the city by offering more committed affordable housing units. Promoting the economic and racial diversity of both cities will benefit people at every income level.

ecurrent.com / september 2018 9

food Chia Shiang Delicious Chinese fare

By Jeff Glick and Sonny Forrest

Chia Shiang restaurant sits on Packard Road, nestled among Morgan & York and Fraser’s Pub, an unlikely location for an imperial Chinese feast.

When Barry Pang and Katherine Li left northern China in 1999, they anticipated that they would be working in the United States for an American corporation for some time. Their US employer’s subsequent downsizing forced them to look for another way to earn a living. Li was raised just outside the city of Xi’an. Barry Pang was a good household cook, preparing dishes reminiscent of home, here in America.

The couple explored the possibility of opening a restaurant, serving foods that they were familiar with. They began by inviting groups to the restaurant location on Packard Road, serving traditional Chinese dishes with an abbreviated initial menu. Li and Pang gradually grew the menu with more items including, now, vegetarian and vegan options. Chia Shiang’s robust hardcover menu feels like holding a novel, packed with myriad flavor variations that tell a rich story of this couple’s interpretation of authentic Chinese cuisine.

Authentic cold noodles, hot!

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

2018 / ecurrent.com

We started with the Szechuan cold noodles, which, for a chilled dish, boasted a fiery kick tempered with a cooling crunch of refreshing cucumber slivers. The Chengdu chicken, served boneless and slathered in a toasted black bean sauce (there is the option to have the bones left in as the traditional Chinese dish is served) with ovular disks of fried garlic and ginger, ringed chunks of jalapeno and dried chiles, represented a succulent and welcome departure from the too-often Americanized Chinese fare we’re collectively subjected to. The Xi Zhu Yu, spicy sliced fish boiled in a Szechuan-style broth, appeared on our table in a ceramic cauldron and included bean sprouts, greens, scallions, and pleasantly mouthnumbing Szechuan peppercorns.

The Chinese eggplant in garlic sauce was tender, almost silky smooth, with an appealing light purple hue enhanced by a slight grill char, sang in its semi-sweet sauce with green onion shoots and dried chiles.

We also enjoyed a yogurt drink, suan nai, as a creamy repose, somewhat more tangy than American yogurt but with a sweet tinge that proved helpful in softening the other dishes’ pronounced spice.

While Ann Arbor area Chinese restaurants sidestep the nearubiquitous mediocrity that characterizes Americanized Chinese food, Pang and Li’s Chia Shiang shines as an exemplar of hospitably authentic fare whose home kitchen origins still taste fresh.

2016 Packard St, 734-741-0778 places.singleplatform.com/chia-shiang/menu

food Beer & Board Games

4pm-7pm. Pointless Brewery & Theatre. pointlessbrew.com. Free

Yoga & Beer

11am. $10. Canton Brew Works. cantonbrewworks.com

Join for Yoga with Katie and take advantage of $1 off a pint after!

Canton Brew Works is known for their unique and quality craft beers.

Prost! Here’s to Saline’s Oktoberfest What is the best way to kick off the fall season? Why at the 14th annual Saline Oktoberfest, of course! Carrying on the tradition of a biergarten, you are sure to find spectacular food and drink for the whole family. Events will include live music, games, and more. Wilkommen und prost! —AD Free admission. Fri., Sat. 28, 5pm-11pm. Sat., Sept. 29, 10am-11pm. 101 S. Ann Arbor St., Saline, 48176. www.salinemainstreet.org

Sundays Pancakes in the Park

9am-10:30am. Liberty Plaza. facebook.com/pancakesinthepark. Free

Husband and wife team, Jonathan and Rachel, serve up pancakes along with friends and volunteers every Sunday! This breakfast is complementary to the community. Everyone is welcome to enjoy hot buttermilk pancakes, sausage, Hyperion coffee, fresh fruit, and eggs to order!

Saline Farmers Market

Ongoing Mondays Bottled Wine Mondays

Thursdays Happy Hour in the Republic!

4pm. Gratzi. gratzirestaurant.com

5pm. Cherry Republic of Ann Arbor. cherryrepublic.com. Free

Bring Your Own Game Night

Summer Patio Nights

Gratzi will offer half-off all bottled wine for a limited time!

7pm-10pm. Black Diesel Coffee. blackdieselcoffee.com. Free

Bring Your Own Game (and some pals) for a night of fun and free coffee. 1 game supplied = 1 coffee provided.

Pizza Monday

7:30pm. Beer Grotto. beergrotto.com. Free

Grab a free slice of Domino’s Deep-Dish Pizza while enjoying a wide beer selection, inside or out on the summer patio!

Tuesdays Wine Special

All Day. Bigalora. bigalora.com

Enjoy half-off all wine bottles.

Wednesdays ​Wine Night Wednesdays 4pm-10pm. ​Evans Street Station. evansstreetstation.com

Enjoy 1/2 off bottles of wine from the Evans Street List! Can’t finish the bottle? You can have it corked and wrapped up to take home. Bottles available for retail purchase as well.

Milan Farmers Market

5pm-7pm. Original Gravity Brewing Co. ogbrewing.com. Free

Original Gravity will have an extended happy hour until 7pm, so you can enjoy a pint and grab some fresh fruit, veggies, flowers, and more!

Come for a $5 full wine tasting and 20% off mix and match wine quartets.

8am-12pm. Saline Farmers Market. cityofsaline.org. Free

Explore a wide variety of local vendors every Saturday in downtown Saline, 1/2 block south of Michigan Ave.

Play board games while enjoying brewed-on-site craft beer!

Games are provided, but feel free to bring along your own.

1 Saturday Sushi Workshop

1pm-3pm. $58. Sur La Table. surlatable.com

If you’ve ever wanted to know how to make your own sushi, this class is for you. You and your date will work to hone your knife skills, prepare perfect rice and create a beautiful, delicious presentation. Additionally, learn the secret to creating a great miso soup and end with a classic dessert.

2 Sunday Creamery Production Tour

11am-12pm. $10. Zingerman’s Creamery. events.zingermanscommunity.com

Learn how the creamery transforms local milk into delicious cheese and gelato.

Taste samples of a variety of cheeses and freshly made gelato throughout the tour.

Cont. on pg. 12

4pm-12am. Graduate Ann Arbor. graduatehotels.com. Free

Summer weather means patio season! Every Thursday, join for outdoor games, music, summer bites, and a specialty cocktail cart.

Fridays French Toast Fridays

7am-11am. Zingerman’s Delicatessen. zingermans.com. Free

Wake up with fancy french toast every Friday! The delicatessen will offer sweet & savory toppings, house-made whipped cream, seasonal fruit and Michigan maple syrup. The offerings will be announced each week!

Drink & Draw

4pm-7pm. Pointless Brewery & Theatre. pointlessbrew.com. Free

Unwind from the workweek and flex your creative muscles while enjoying exclusive Pointless craft beers. There will be writing and drawing prompts, colored pencils and markers provided.

Saturdays Saline Farmers Market 8am. Saline Farmers Market. cityofsaline.org. Free

Explore a wide variety of local vendors every Saturday in downtown Saline, 1/2 block south of Michigan Ave.

ecurrent.com / september 2018 11

food

Noshing in Nature: Manchester’s Taste of Health

Food Truck Rally

5pm. Parks and Recreation Facilities. a2gov.org Free

Enjoy live music and purchase food from a variety of Michigan food trucks that offer everything from coffee and crepes to ice cream, pizza, sandwiches, salads and so much more.

3 Monday

Needing a small respite? Or feeling the need to reevaluate your diet? Then sign up to attend the 7th annual Taste of Health! Held at the Grass Lake Sanctuary, speakers will discuss a variety of topics, such as how food and teas affect health, personality, and mood, plant-based recipes, and more. Raffles will also be held for goodies such as healthy gift baskets, cooking items, and body care. $35 per ticket. 11am-4pm. Sat., Sept. 15. Grass Lake Sanctuary, 18580 Grass Lake Road, Manchester, 48153. tasteofhealthgls.org

Domestication of Grain in Ancient Mesopotamia 6pm-7:30pm. $25. Zingerman’s Bakehouse. bakewithzing.com

Travel back to the ancient world when humans first started eating grains. This talk will explain what is known about the domestication of wheat and barley in the Middle East. A light brown bag meal of Mesopotamian inspired food will accompany the discussion.

7 Friday Beer & Cheese

Arts, Beats and Eats

6:30pm-8:30pm. $45.

Zingerman’s Creamery. events.zingermanscommunity.com

11am-9:30pm. $3-$7. Downtown Royal Oak. artsbeatseats.com

Explore a wide variety of food from Metro Detroit and throughout the United States. There will be lieve music on eight different stages throughout the day, a juried fine arts show, and cuisine from over 40 Michigan restaurants.

Certified Cheese Professional and beer aficionado Tessie will host an evening of tasting. Try a wide range of beer styles from favorite breweries paired with artisan cheeses. Bread and additional accompaniments will be provided.

4 Tuesday

8 Saturday

Bangerz Only

Croissants at Home

11am. HopCat. hopcat.com. Free

On the first Tuesday of every month, Hopcat brings out one choice beer from the vault to feature. This month’s Banger is the Bourbon Huma from Short’s Brewing Company.

5 Wednesday Food Truck Rally

5pm. Ann Arbor Farmers Market. calendar.a2gov.org

9am. $75. Sur La Table. surlatable.com

Italian Feast

7pm. $75. Sur La Table. surlatable.com

Dive into the art of making rustic yet refined Italian cuisine.

The menu will include roasted garlic polenta with mascarpone cheese, seared pork tenderloin with red wine pan sauce, and buttermilk panna cotta with chianti syrup.

Enjoy live music and try food from a variety of Michigan vendors that offer everything from coffee and crepes to ice cream, pizza, sandwiches, salads and much more.

6 Thursday Odd Side Nightman Leaveth Release 5pm-10pm. Beer Grotto. beergrotto.com. Free

This Odd Side imperial milk stout has been aged in rye whiskey barrels with added vanilla beans to create a slightly sweet, smooth, creamy stout.

Cover all the essentials to making fly, buttery croissants fresh in the oven. Learn the entire process from mixing and laminating dough to shaping and baking.

Then, sample the end result!

Cheese 101

3-5pm. $40. Zingerman’s Creamery.

Events.zingermanscommunity.com

Learn about the seven major styles of cheese, enjoy samples, and gain insight on creating cheese boards and pairings.

Cont. on pg. 14

Family owned & operated since 1999.

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 12

september

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

city chefs

Robert Campbell Jamaican Jerk Pit Chef’s Life of Spice

By Sonny Forrest

Situated in an modest building across from Hill Auditorium, the Jamaican Jerk Pit (314 S. Thayer St.) represents a culinary departure to an island-inspired basement restaurant whose kitchen roils with authentic Jamaican flavors. The restaurant’s chef and owner, Robert Campbell, channels his zest for Caribbean cuisine into enthusiastically seasoned dishes with the ability to reawaken guests’ affinities for nuanced spices. Chef Campbell shares a peek at a few of the ingredients that elevates the Jerk Pit’s namesake seasoning into a destination for Caribbean spice.

How would you characterize the appeal of Jamaican cuisine? Many of us eat with our senses. It has to look appealing,

smell appealing and taste appealing for us to enjoy it. Jamaican cuisine is no different. It has a variation of vibrant colors, flavors, and spice levels ranging from sweet and/or mild to hot and spicy.

It’s a collection of food from many of the island’s indigenous influences, hence the Jamaican motto “out of many, one people.”

Marinating overnight enriches flavor deep into the food. Grilling and smoking give the foods intense color and flavor as well as a beautiful aroma. Many dishes are slow cooked or stewed for hours which allows the flavors to blend. It really is a form of art.

What’s the quintessential ingredient that sets Caribbean cuisine apart? The most quintessential ingredient would most

definitely be jerk seasoning. Jerk Chicken and Jerk Pork are staples in Jamaican cooking, although you can apply the spice to an array of proteins, vegetables and seafood. Jerk is the style of cooking in which meat is dry-rubbed or wet-marinated in a spicy mixture\. I won’t give out all my secrets, but my homemade jerk sauce consists of onions, garlic, allspice, scotch bonnet peppers and thyme, just to name a few.

Where do you eat in the Ann Arbor area aside from your restaurant? Honestly, the restaurant keeps me pretty busy

so I don’t often get the chance to eat out, but when I do, I choose to support “mom and pop” shops like mine. Places like Silvio’s pizza, Paesano’s, Fleetwood Diner, Los Amigos and Yotsuba.

What/where was your all-time favorite meal and what drink did you pair it with? If I were a wise man, I’d say

anything my wife cooks. But I think she will still appreciate my answer since she has an Italian background. When I traveled to Italy for the Olympic Games I had a beautiful gnocchi dish that was paired with a bold Chianti wine.

How has your relationship to cooking evolved since you started the Jamaican Jerk Pit? I love my job and I love

my culture and it evolves daily. Being able to expose somebody brand new to Jamaican cuisine is an absolute blessing and honor.

Being in such a small venue, I have learned how to organize and prep food efficiently and effectively. I have complete creative control in how I chose to present our dishes and I’m always trying to improve. I have fun taking one staple item (like Jerk Chicken) and incorporating it into several different dishes like nachos, pita sandwiches and even pasta.

Robert Campbell, chef and owner of Jamaican Jerk Pit. 314 S. Thayer St., 734-585-5278. jamaicanjerkpit.com Describe the moment you decided to become a chef.

After graduating with my three hospitality degrees, I landed a job at EMU as a Foodservice Manager. During my 10 years of service, I was selected through a New York based company to work at the Olympic Games as a bartender for the USA [athletes’] house in Salt Lake City, Athens, Beijing and the Torino games.

Working in both bar and kitchen capacities, I was constantly watching the culinary skills of the chefs and the artwork of their food presentation. Intrigued, I thought to myself, ‘Why couldn’t I bring my culture and techniques to the [Ann Arbor] area?’

Since there was really no market at the time, I started in college with my fiancée (now wife) and did an “in home chef” service preparing Jamaican cuisine for people’s families as well as for party functions. From there it grew into owning and managing two Jamaican restaurants and working full time at EMU. It was a lot to consume, so I quit my position at EMU and devoted myself to one restaurant (Jerk Pit) where I can effectively manage my business and express my creative cooking outlet.

Your last meal on Earth would be comprised of what?​

Jamaican style breakfast, of course. Ackee and saltfish (Jamaica’s national dish) with bammy, fried dumplings, boiled bananas, a cup of Blue Mountain coffee, a cup of Milo sweetened with condensed milk and maybe some cornmeal porridge.

This interview has been edited for length, content and clarity.

ecurrent.com / september 2018 13

food

11 Tuesday Easy Entertaining

9 Sunday

7pm-9pm. $75. Sur La Table. surlatable.com

Back to School Brunch

11am-2pm. $75. Weber’s Inn. ffkids.org

Join in the Atrium Ballroom for the first annual brunch and fashion show to increase community awareness about the importance of supporting children in foster care.

Cocktail Class: Drink Like a Monk 5pm-7pm. $45. The Last Word. tammystastings.com

Monks have been distilling and brewing for hundreds of years.

This hands-on class will focus on monk-made herbal liqueurs and explore the world of beer cocktails.

Second Sunday Supper: Spanish Wine Dinner

5:30pm-8:30pm. $45-$55. Bona Sera, Ypsilanti. eatypsi.com

Little Guy Wine Company is pairing up with Bona Sera to present a special Spanish wine pairing dinner with six small plates.

Seating is communile and the dinner will be available with or without the wine pairings.

10 Monday Suckling Pig Party: Buns

6:30pm-8:30pm. $40. Miss Kim. events.zingermanscommunity.com

Join for the third monthly suckling pig party! This month’s feature is “A Bounty of Fluffy Buns.” Pulled suckling pig will be served family style with ginger scallion sauce, pickled mustard greens, pickled green tomatoes, gochujang mayo and more.

Discover how a no-stress menu can come together easily while learning techniques for perfectly grilled salmon and a creamy risotto. End the evening with a sweet yogurt cake with fresh berries.

12 Wednesday 5 Healthy Towns Farm to Table Fabulous Feast

4pm. $50. Alber’s Orchard & Cider Mill, Manchester. alberorchard.com

Join for a feast featuring local fruits and vegetables, meat, wine, beer, flowers and more.

This year’s theme is “Heritage,” with contributions from Dan Huntsbarger of the Moveable Feast, Craig Common of The Common Grill, Owl Hollow Bakery, Two Black Sheep, Tunk’s Kitchen, Food Art, and Alber’s fresh cider.

Parmigiano Reggiano, Heirloom Tomatoes, and Evan Kleiman

7pm-9pm. $75. Zingerman’s Roadhouse. events.zingermanscommunity.com

Los Angeles award-winning chef and radio host Evan Kleiman is known for her commitment to fresh, simple ingredients based on cucina povera, or “peasant cooking” of Italy. Some dishes that will be served include Foccacia bread, Heirloom Tomato Pie, Mortadella Rolls, and more.

French Macarons 101

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

Learn how to make your own macarons with Keegan C. Rodgers, head baker at the People’s Food Co-Op. The ingredients, instructions, and proper storage will all be covered.

Say this Five Times Fast: Five Healthy Towns Farm to Table Fabulous Feast Benefitting 5 Healthy Towns Farmers Market, the 3rd Annual 5 Healthy Towns Farm to Table Fabulous Feast is a perfect date night or night out with friends. Savor a fivecourse meal made from locally-grown food and prepared by local chefs. Following dinner is live music by the Palooka Brothers, with free dance lessons to boot. Tickets are limited and include two complimentary drinks. —AD $50 per ticket, limited quantity. Must be 21 or older.

4pm-8pm. Sun., Sept. 16. Alber’s Orchard & Cider Mill, 13011 Bethel Church Rd., Manchester, 48158.

13 Thursday Thai at Home

7pm. $75. Sur La Table. surlatable.com

Make your own Thai dishes by learning techniques for grilling, cooking in a wok, and combining aromatic herbs and spices with authentic ingredients. The menu will include pad thai, spicy chicken with cashew nuts and jasmine rice, and grilled banana with coconut-lime sorbet.

14 Friday Free Beer Tasting with Bell’s 5pm. Blue Front. bluefrontannarbor.com. Free

Blue Front will feature beer from Bell’s Brewing Company of Kalamazoo.

chef-owned & operated since 2004

offering

Cont. on pg. 16

Thanks for Voting us Best Fine Dining!

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

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ecurrent.com / september 2018 15

Honey & Cheese

6:30-8:30pm. $40. Zingerman’s Creamery. events.zingermanscommunity.com

Certified Cheese Professional Tessie guides attendees through a sweet and salty tasting of honey and cheese paired together.

15 Saturday Cider & Cheese

3pm-5pm. $45. Zingerman’s Creamery. events.zingermanscommunity.com

Enjoy a range of Michigan-made ciders paired with cheeses selected from the creamery.

Leave with knowledge on the cheeses, ciders, and how to choose pairings.

16 Sunday Paella Party

11am-2pm. Zingerman’s Deli. events.zingermanscommunity.com.

Free

Join for a step-by-step presentation on how to prepare Paella.

Then, enjoy three kinds of traditional Paella including chicken/ chorizo, seafood, and vegetarian all grilled over mesquite. Zingerman’s Bakehouse will bring delicious desserts for the festivities.

Chefs in the Garden

5pm. $75. Growing Hope Urban Farm. growinghope.net

This fantastic dinner series supports the mission of increasing food access and economic opportunities for Southeastern Michigan. Enjoy a strolling appetizer and cocktail hour with live music, followed by a meal prepared by local chefs Mike Murabito of Ma Lou’s and Andrew Stevick of Loomi. End the evening with a delicious dessert.

Long, Cold, and Slow: Bringing Bread to Life

3pm-5pm. Malletts Creek Branch. aadl.org. Free

Explore the history of sourdough with Stephanie Ariganello and Jeremiah Kouhia of Mother Load Breads. They’ll share how they make their long, cold, slow fermentation loaves.

17 Monday Cooking 101

7pm-8:30pm. Malletts Creek Branch. aadl.org. Free

Start your cooking journey with Keegan C. Rodgers, head baker at the People’s Food Co-Op. Learn the basics of terminology, techniques, and tips for infusing flavors to open up your world of cooking.

18 Tuesday

23 Sunday Hoptoberfest

11am. HopCat. hopcat.com. Free

HopCat will bring Oktoberfest to Ann Arbor by serving up some favorite German-inspired food specials. Guests are encouraged to wear their best lederhosen or dirndls.

Cocktail Class: Mezcal Mania

This workshop covers the basics for mixing, rolling and shaping pasta dough. The menu will include pappardelle with kale, Italian sausage and arrabbiata sauce, and gnocchi macaroni and cheese.

Cass Wine Dinner

7pm-9pm. $75. Sur La Table. surlatable.com

21 Friday Free Beer Tasting with Tri-City 5pm. Blue Front. bluefrontannarbor.com. Free

Enjoy a tasting featuring beer from Tri-City Brewing of Bay City.

Bettah with Cheddah

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

Zingerman’s Creamery. events.zingermanscommunity.com

Go through the beginnings of the most well-known milled curd cheeses in the Western world.

Discuss milled curd technology, texture, and flavor as you taste classic examples of this popular cheese.

611 E Liberty St (734) 368-9385

september

Start your day by making delicate French pastries. Create savory cheese puffs along with sweet variations featuring pastry cream and espresso-infused whipped cream.

Homemade Pasta Workshop

salads grain bowls crispy wraps smoothies juice

16

10am. $75. Sur La Table. surlatable.com

5pm-7pm. $45. The Last Word. tammystastings.com

Come Say S’UP

www.saladsup.com

22 Saturday Parisian Patisserie

878 Briarwood Circle (734) 205-9077

2018 / ecurrent.com

This class is all about mezcal.

Explore Tammy’s favorite spirit on its own and learn how to mix sophisticated, well-crafted mezcal into a variety of cocktails.

25 Tuesday 6:30pm-9pm. $85. Evans Street Station. evansstreetstation.com

Enjoy a special dinner with owner of Cass Vineyard and Winery, Doug Cass. The menu will include Michigan Sweet Corn, Cured King Salmon, Duck Kebob, Oxtail Cappelletti, Gunthorp Farms Torchon, and Macarons with wine pairings.

Oktoberfest Beer Dinner 7pm. $32. HopCat. hopcat.com

Join for three course meal and dessert featuring HofBräu Haus. Some dishes will include Bibbelsche Bohnesuppe, a traditional hearty German soup and grilled Abraham Speck ham with caramelized leeks, spiced butternut squash, and an ice wine reduction.

26 Wednesday Great Lakes Oktoberfest 5pm-10pm. Beer Grotto. beergrotto.com. Free

Enjoy a pint of Great Lakes’ famous Oktoberfest and BarrelAged Blackout Stout. Toasty lagers and creamy stouts are great for when the weather starts to cool.

Wine Gala Wednesday

7pm-10pm. $50. Cobblestone Farm. cobblestonefarmmarket.org

Join for Pure Existence Dance’s inaugural fundraising gala. There will be a wine and beer cash bar, hor d’oeuvres, a silent auction, raffles, and live entertainment.

Bell’s Oktoberfest Beer Release

7pm-10pm. $5. Karl’s Cabin. karlscabin.com

Celebrate the start of Autumn with the 7th annual Bell’s Octoberfest Dinner Festival.

There will be authentic German dishes including Schnitzel, Sauerbraten and Bratwurst and surprise beers from Bell’s.

27 Thursday Bodacious Bordeauxs

6pm-9pm. $50. Vinology Wine Bar and Restaurant. vinologya2.com

Enjoy red, white, and dessert wines at this seasonal bordeaux tasting. Light hors d’oeuvres will be provided. Reservations required.

Cooking Demonstration

6:30pm-8pm. Ann Arbor District Library. aadl.org. Free

Explore the customs, traditions, and stories surrounding Chinese food and festivals. Frances Kai-Hwa Wang will demonstrate how to make a smashed cucumber salad.

28 Friday Annual Oktoberfest Street Party

5pm. Arbor Brewing Company. arborbrewing.com. Free

Party in the street with traditional German-style beer and fare, games, and music with local bands Pajamas and Wire in the Wood.

Wine & Cheese

6:30pm-8:30pm. $45. Zingerman’s Creamery. events.zingermanscommunity.com

Enjoy a variety of wines and artisan cheeses to learn how to make the best pairings! Bread and additional accompaniments will be provided.

Date Night: Romantic Dinner

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

Enjoy a date night preparing a meal with someone special.

Dress up perfectly seared scallops with lemon butter and create a creamy risotto with sweet corn. End the meal with a decadent chocolate lava cake.

29 Saturday The Great Roast

Ann Arbor’s premiere craft beer and wine store

6pm. $15. University of Michigan. events.umich.edu

The start of the school year means that the annual studentorganized Great Roast is around the corner - and alumni and students alike are invited to join!

Enjoy a spread of roasted pig, vegetarian dishes, desserts, and tasty libations.

30 Sunday Chefs in the Garden

5pm. $75. Growing Hope Urban Farm. growinghope.net

This fantastic dinner series supports the mission of increasing food access and economic opportunities for Southeastern Michigan. Enjoy a strolling appetizer and cocktail hour with live music, followed by a meal prepared by Sean Marshall of Prime and Proper. End with a delicious dessert.

734.929.4618 701 Packard St. Ann Arbor

Over 1000 craft beers, wine, and sake New growler filling station w/ 10 taps Now open late Kegs and party equipment for rent Private events with Certified Cicerone® (personal tastings and educational classes)

untappd

Free Tastings every Tuesday/Friday from 5-7

Creamery Production Tour

11am-12pm. $10. Zingerman’s Creamery. events.zingermanscommunity.com

Take an hour-long adventure through Zingerman’s while learning how local milk is transformed into cheese and gelato. Observe mozzarella stretching and taste freshly-made gelato, too!

BFA2.com

Searchable lists updated daily at

ecurrent.com ecurrent.com / september 2018 17

PHOTO CREDIT: NICK AZZARO

music Cultivate’s Adaptations: 3 Year Anniversary Party + Autumn Preview

By Jeff Milo

When Ryan and Bekah Wallace look back on their years of overseeing Ypsilanti’s Cultivate Coffee and Tap House, they keep returning to one word: adapt! “There continues to be a lot of aspirations for what Cultivate can be,” Ryan said, “but when you start something like this, you’ve gotta leave some space to adapt.”

Cultivate’s versatility makes it equal parts coffee shop / brewpub / music venue / community garden —“And I think one of our big challenges was wrapping (Cultivate)’s ‘brand’ in a way that could say: ‘Hey…, this is who we are. BUT, that doesn’t mean we’re not gonna continue to evolve…!’

Adapt and evolve

But that ability to ride the tides only helped them flourish.

Customers and staff have gravitated toward the Wallace’s vision: a something-for-everyone kind of social entrepreneurship. While you can come for the coffee, the beer, or the live music, it can also be a meeting space for community organizations, a place to support local causes like Ypsilanti’s Meals on Wheels, or an opportunity to learn about, and get involved with, a range of issues, including local efforts against hunger and food insecurity.

“What’s really directed a lot of what we do is the people,” said Bekah. “The people who come in and interact with what we do, whether that’s through a product, through a cause or a community organization that we’re partnering with, or if it’s through one of the many meetup groups like (Monday Knitting Night); you can’t really write a roadmap for that.”

Community capital

While conventional start-ups eventually need capital to expand their business, Cultivate’s case is different, because the “business” is networking community non-profits and the “capital” is, well, us, the people! “We’re always reevaluating the space and how it’s serving the customers and how it’s serving our goals, both the quantitative and qualitative goals,” Ryan said. Part of what makes Cultivate unique is that Bekah and Ryan see their goals always shifting more towards the qualitative. “That’s people,” Ryan continued. “We’re always rethinking how our space can change for the better, for serving all people.”

“For things to grow, you have to adapt,” Bekah said. And now the duo are adapting their own roles, moving from behind the bar and tending the structure, toward mentoring their growing and supportive staff, empowering them to identify needs in the community and encouraging them to be part of solutions.

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Cultivate, in that way, is like a hub for solution seekers; or a laboratory for dream experiments…But, again, while also pouring some great coffee and local brews!

Entrepreneurial artisans

The Wallaces have been together for almost 20 years, and each have an equal number of years’ worth of entrepreneurial experience. The early idea for Cultivate came about six years ago. While the space has allowed for the growth of not just local food, but nonprofits, it’s also become a live music venue—adding “supporting local artists” to its ever-fluid mission statement(s).

“This may sound weird, but I’ve always considered myself an artist,” Ryan said, speaking as an entrepreneur. “Because I think anyone that’s hoping to create something that will connect with people is an artist. But we’re also always trying to find out how we can support more people that are doing that in the world.”

The Sundays In The Garden live music series is another way, said Bekah, that Cultivate can support others trying to achieve positive things in the world.

A part of something bigger

The intent is to evoke a sense of belonging in anyone who enters Cultivate. Daily scrolls through social media can render discouraging headlines that are pungent with cynicism and divisiveness. Bekah wants everyone to turn off that noise and come to Cultivate’s physical space, where they can feel “a part of something bigger.” And that brings us back to dream experiments—the Wallaces say they have no intentions to expand with secondary locations (following a franchise model), but, rather, they hope someone else replicates Cultivate as “a template for social entrepreneurship” for their own craft, cause or business.

Singer/songwriter May Erlewine will be joined by Misty Lyn Bergeron and Matt Jones to perform on Sept 2nd, the culminating concert in their Sundays In The Garden series, just one of many ongoing programs and regularly scheduled events hosted at their space on River St in Depot Town.

On Sat,. Sept 15, Cultivate’s 3-Year Anniversary Party will unveil new beers, new merch, and free performances by Nadim Azzam, A Plus, Al Bettis, Honey Monsoon and DJ Zu. Coming up in the autumn at Cultivate, they’ll host trivia nights, poetry readings, dance parties, language learning meetups, crafting groups, and much more!

Cultivate Coffee & Tap House 307 N River St, Ypsilanti –– cultivateypsi.com

music Digging Deep with Songstress Sarah McQuaid Singer/songwriter Sarah McQuaid has carved out her own unique and vibrant corner of the contemporary folk world. Her fifth album, If We Dig Any Deeper, It Could Get Dangerous, has already garnered critical success since its release earlier this year. The album’s songs highlight Sarah’s warm, haunting voice with beautifully played arrangements that feel authentic in their simplicity. Recently presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Ards International Guitar Festival in Northern Ireland, McQuaid is known for putting on a powerful live performance. As with any Green Wood concert, if your budget prevents you from paying admission, don’t stay away. Pay what you can, if you can. - EC

Friday, Sept. 7. 8pm-10pm. $15. Green Wood Coffee House. 1001 Green Rd. 734-665-8558. greenwoodcoffeehouse.org

Searchable lists updated daily at

ecurrent.com

ecurrent.com / september 2018 19

Ongoing Sundays The Wes Fritzemeier Jazz Experience 6pm. Chelsea AleHouse. chelseamich.com. Free

End your weekend on the right note! Featuring Jed Fritzemeier, Brian Brill and Wes with the occasional special guest.

Rob Crozier Trio

6:30pm. Weber’s Inn. webersinn.com. Free

Eventjazz features the Rob Crozier Trio every Sunday night at Weber’s for the best in live jazz. Enjoy jazz standards and originals by this area bassist/vocalist and a rotating cast of local professionals.

Brennan Andes & Friends

5:30pm-7:30pm. Ann Arbor Distilling Company. annarbordistilling.com. Free

Join bassist/vocalist Brennan Andes and an impressive rotating ensemble of musicians every Sunday in the tasting room!

The Heather Black Project

8pm. Ravens Club. ravensclub.com. Free

The Heather Black Project plays inspired renditions of classic jazz repertoire with rotating special guests. $5 suggested donation.

Mondays Open Mic Mondays at the Plymouth Coffee Bean 7:30pm. Plymouth Coffee Bean. plymouthcoffeebean.com. Free

Join this weekly celebration of original songwriters and poets. Come to listen or to participate.

A2SO Opening Night Spend a night at the symphony for the premiere of a newly commissioned piece, Ann Arbor Saturday, by William Bolcom along with two of Gershwin’s most renowned works, Rhapsody in Blue and I Got Rhythm, and Dvorák’s New World Symphony. The concert will feature critically acclaimed pianist Aaron Diehl (above) who, at the age of 32, has established himself as a prominent interpreter of the Great American Songbook.

Visual artist Adrian Wyard will make the evening truly special as he presents a breathtaking visual film choreography to the New World Symphony. - EC

Saturday, Sept. 15. 8-10pm. Hill Auditorium. 825 N. University Ave. 734-764-8350. A2so.com

Jesse Kramer Trio

9pm. Ravens Club. ravensclub.com. Free

Local drummer Jesse Kramer leads his trio featuring bassist Rob Bickley and pianist Rick Roe. $5 suggested donation.

Tuesdays Open Mic Night

7:30pm. Club Above. club-above.com. Free

Come show your talents every week at the Club Above! Musicians, comics, poets, and all other creative arts are welcome!

Thursdays Jazz & Cocktails

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

Enjoy live jazz from local artists and a special cocktail menu.

Open Mic with the Martindales

9pm. Tap Room, Ypsilanti. taproomypsi.com. Free

Bring your instrument to play in this long-running jam session! All styles are welcome. Come to play with others or bring your whole band. Drums, keyboard, guitar amps, and PA will be provided. Host band the Martindales will open up the night from 9-9:30pm.

Saturdays Creative Music Workshop

3pm. Riverside Arts Center, Ypsilanti. riversidearts.org. Free

All experience levels are welcome to join in this inclusive workshop. Work on improvisation techniques and writing original music, learn about music technology, and explore music theory. Bring an instrument, your voice, or just yourself!

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1 Saturday Massive Cabbage

8pm. Unity Vibration, Ypsilanti. unityvibrationkombucha.com. Free

Local rock/pop trio Massic Cabbage makes their debut in the Unity Vibration tasting room.

Tequila Deer

9pm. $13. Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

A lineup of three great bands including Tequila Deer, Sunbleached Silver Age, and You Rest, You Joy Life.

2 Sunday Liberty St. Vipers

5:30pm. Beer Grotto. beergrotto.com. Free

Dive into some infectious rhythm with authentic swing by the Liberty St. Vipers!

Matt Jones & Misty Lyn w/ May Erlewine 6pm. Cultivate Coffee & TapHouse. cultivateypsi.com. Free

Soak in the sounds of three incredible Michigan singer/songwriters! Proceeds from beer sales will benefit non-profit, Friends in Deed.

UMMA Pop-Up

3pm. University of Michigan Museum of Art. umma.umich.edu. Free

Gather for a special pop-up concert with singer/songwriter Nadim Azzam featuring saxophonist Jacob LaChance. Nadim will perform his blend of acoustic blues, pop, and hip-hop.

Team Love

5pm. Cobblestone Farm Market. cobblestonefarmmarket.org Free

Hear Jazz classics, original bebop tunes, and the occasional country song with vocalist Tim Berla, clarinet and percussion player Charles Dayringer, and vocalist/ guitarist Kip Godwin.

Four Roses

6:30pm. Beer Grotto. beergrotto.com. Free

Four Roses blends the four voices of Alan Harris, Annemarie Dolan, Angela Harris, and Paul Dolan, as they play a mix of old and new rock/pop songs with an emphasis on vocal harmony.

Brandon Calhoon

7pm. La Casa. lacasacigars.com. Free

Join singer/songwriter Brandon Calhoon for an evening of acoustic blues.

5 Wednesday Nicolas Carter

7:30pm. $15. TeaHaus. teahaus.com

Hear a dazzling performance by Nicolas Carter who combines his beautiful harp playing with touching storytelling.

Tim Haldeman Trio 8pm-10pm. Old Town. oldtownaa.com. Free

Saxophonist Tim Haldeman will lead his trio at this weekly jazz series featuring a rotating lineup of accomplished musicians.

Ricochet The Kid 9pm. $5-$8. Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

A night of alternative rock and indie music with Ricochet The Kid, Labour Day Weekend, The Garbage Guys, and Seaholm.

6 Thursday Doug Horn Trio

6:30pm. Nagomi Sushi. nagomiannarbor.com. Free

Saxophonist Doug Horn is joined

by Cary Kocher on vibes and Kurt Krahnke on bass for jazz classics from the American Songbook.

Michael Casher

12pm. University Hospital. med.umich.edu. Free

Enjoy a concert by accomplished classical guitarist Michael Casher, who is also a physician at the University of Michigan Hospital.

Casher has performed solo and with chamber groups throughout the state.

7 Friday John Latini

7pm. La Casa. lacasacigars.com. Free

A night of blues, rock, and original music with award-winning Michigan singer/songwriter, John Latini.

The Chris Canas Band

10pm. Mash Bar. masbar.net. Free

Hear one of Michigan’s leading bands in blues, soul, and funk.

8 Saturday Joan Belgrave: Hear My Everything

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

Enjoy the stunning vocal stylings of Joan Belgrave. Her band will feature Michael L. Jellick on piano, Ibrahim Jones on bass, and Brandon Williams on drums.

Amanda Shires

8pm. $25. The Ark. theark.org

Hear singer/songwriter and violinist Amanda Shires play her Americana-inspired original songs, taking influence from Leonard Cohen and John Prine.

Benje Daneman Finds Light in the Darkness Jazz trumpeter Benje Daneman will bring his newly formed sextet, SearchParty, to Kerrytown Concert House to play music from their new album, Light in the Darkness. The band features some of the most creative voices in modern jazz today including vocalist Ashley Daneman, saxophonist Greg Ward, bassist Matt Ulrey, pianist Rob Clearfield, and drummer John Deitemyer. Light in the Darkness is a six-movement jazz suite commissioned by NYC organization Spark and Echo Arts, exploring the age-old struggle between light and darkness in the world through Daneman’s original compositions. - EC

Friday, Sept. 14. 8pm. Kerrytown Concert House. 415 N. 4th Ave. 734-769-2999. kerrytownconcerthouse.com

The Macpodz and DJ Cataclysmic: Back to School Special 9pm. $10-$13. Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

Get ready for the start of school with a concert by Ann Arbor’s premiere party band, The Macpodz with special guest DJ Cataclysmic.

9 Sunday Joanna & The Jaywalkers

3pm-4pm. West Branch. aadl.org. Free

Enjoy the sounds of this folk-pop ensemble hailing from Ypsilanti.

The band focuses on Joanna’s original songs with a nostalgic sound drawing comparisons to Aimee Mann and Tori Amos.

Affordable Vet Services

Corn Potato String Band 7:30pm. The Ark. theark.org

The ears and eyes of America!

Dave Sharp Worlds Trio

11am-2pm. Detroit Street Filling Station.

Free

Hear the eclectic music of Dave Sharp Worlds Trio over a delicious brunch!

Celebrating 12 years

10 Monday Che Apalache

8pm. $15. The Ark. theark.org

Che apalache is a four-man string band based in Buenos Aires with a focus on tight vocal harmonies and incorporating Latin American styles into bluegrass.

11 Tuesday Bohemian Ru’sters

5pm. Cobblestone Farm Market. cobblestonefarmmarket.org. Free

Hear Ru Knoedler and Dave Williams perform a blend of original and cover tunes – from folk, blues, light rock and country to an occasional mashup.

Full Medical and Wellness Services Teeth Cleaning ◆ Radiology Surgery ◆ Vaccines Heartworm and Flea Preventative Comprehensive Laboratory Fully Stocked Pharmacy Prescription Diets Ultrasound

Affordable Vet Services

Dr. Maja Fontichiaro • Dr. Tara Hansen Dr. Paul Glineburg • Dr. Courtney Cutright

2117 West Stadium St., Ann Arbor 734.926.0114 • affordablevetservices.com

Cont. on pg. 22

ecurrent.com / september 2018 21

PULL OUT OUR 2018 BLUE BOOK HERE

4 Tuesday

Opera on Tap

8:30pm. Sidetrack. operaontap.org. Free

Celebrate beautiful music in an unpretentious atmosphere. Enjoy food and drink while listening to opera arias and art songs. This month’s theme is Forbidden Fruit.

12 Wednesday The Anderson, Hammonds, & Tripathy Trio 6:30pm-9:30pm. Beer Grotto. beergrotto.com. Free

Enjoy an evening of live jazz with Neil Anderson on trumpet, Jon Hammonds on bass, and Cory Tripathy on drums.

Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore 8pm. $32. The Ark. theark.org

Roots music legends Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore will take the stage to share their collaboration based in a shared love for old blues and folk music.

Paul Vornhagen Trio

Wednesday night means the best in local jazz at Old Town. Enjoy the sounds of drummer Jesse Kramer and his trio.

8pm. Saturday, September 9. $35. Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor. Tickets available at Ticketmaster.com

Americana duo The Rough & Tumble are true warriors of the road, living full time as touring musicians. Enjoy a concert featuring songs from their new album about life on the highway.

13 Thursday

15 Saturday

Jake Reichbart & Nick Calandro

Mia Green

12pm. University Hospital. med.umich.edu. Free

6pm. Mash Bar. mashbar.net. Free

Guitar virtuoso Jake Reichbart joins bassist Nick Calandro to play a mix of jazz, rock, and pop. Reichbart is known for his sophisticated instrumental work, performing in the Great Lakes region and beyond for the past 25 years.

JIT Exchange

7pm. University of Michigan Museum of Art. umma.umich.edu. Free

Don’t miss this cross-cultural synthesis of Zimbabwean jiti, Detroit ghetto tech, jit dance, jazz and funk. Dancers Haleem “Stringz” Rasul and Franco “Slomo” Dhaka will be accompanied

by SMTD alumnus Everett Reid and a student jazz combo.

14 Friday

Enjoy the introspective original songs of local singer/songwriter Mia Green.

Opening Night: New World Symphony

8pm. $20-$72. Hill Auditorium. a2so.com

Hear a brand new piece written

by William Bolcom and two of Geroge Gershwin’s masterful works performed by special guest pianist, Aaron Diehl. Be the first in Michigan to experience the breathtaking visual film choreography by Adrian Wyard’s to the New World Symphony.

16 Sunday Make a Music Tool

1pm-3pm. Ann Arbor District Library. aadl.org. Free

Learn how to build your own contact microphone step by step with an instructor. Supplies will be provided.

Benje Daneman’s SearchParty

Jazz trumpeter Benje Daneman will bring his newly formed sextet, SearchParty, to Kerrytown Concert House to play music from their new album, Light in the Darkness.

september

One of the premier blues guitarist in the country, Laith Al-Saadi came into the mainstream by earning a spot in the finale of NBC’s The Voice in 2016. Having worked with several major touring artists including Taj Mahal, Luther Allison, Buddy Guy, Son Seals, Gregg Allman and B.B. King., the University of Michigan school of music alumni and Ann Arbor native has become a star on his own. See the artist that that Entertainment Weekly calls ‘“a power performer who is so legitimate and memorable”’ as he joins the Motor City Horns (Bob Seger’s horn section) for an unforgettable concert.

8pm. Crazy Wisdom Bookstore & Tearoom. crazywisdom.net. Free

Local saxophonist Paul Vornhagen will lead his trio at this weekly jazz series featuring a rotating lineup of accomplished musicians.

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Jesse Kramer Trio

The Rough & Tumble

8pm-10pm. Old Town. oldtownaa.com. Free

8pm. $20-$25. Kerrytown Concert House. kerrytownconcerthouse.com

“The Real” Laith

Patricia Barber

6pm and 8pm. $10-$35.

Kerrytown Concert House. kerrytownconcerthouse.com

Don’t miss Chicago-based jazz pianist Patricia Barber, known for her unique arrangements and original compositions.

2018 / ecurrent.com

17 Monday Lawrence

8pm. $12-$15. The Ark. theark.org

Siblings Clyde and Gracie Lawrence lead up this eightpiece soul-pop band inspired by artists like Stevie Wonder, Randy Newman, and Aretha Franklin.

18 Tuesday Jerry, Sabina, & the Red Ukulele

5pm. Cobblestone Farm Market. cobblestonefarmmarket.org. Free

Jerry, Sabina & The Red Ukulele will play a wide variety of music with their own unique arrangements of songs. This duo loves to get the audience participating in singing, dancing, and having a great time!

8pm-10pm. Old Town. oldtownaa.com. Free

20 Thursday Archie Fisher & Garnet Rogers

8pm. The Ark. theark.org

Deep traditions of Scotland and Canada.

21 Friday Michigander

7pm. $12. The Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

Michigander (aka Jason Singer) is an indie rock act that has shared bills with acts including Ra Ra Riot, Tokyo Police Club, Twin Peaks, and JR JR. Michigander has toured all over the country (including a trip to SXSW) and has become a staple in the midwest.

Galen Bundy Trio

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

Sit back with a cocktail and listen to the unique sounds of this local jazz trio led by pianist Galen Bundy.

Cortex

8pm. $10-$25. Kerrytown Concert House. kerrytownconcerthouse.com

Enjoy energetic jazz by one of the most sought after young jazz quartets in Norway. The band has played over two hundred live shows and has released four albums.

Diamonds in the Rust

8pm. $15. Green Wood Coffee House. greenwoodcoffeehouse.org

Matthew Ball & The Music of New Orleans

Don’t miss this folk collaboration between Annie & Rod Capps, Jan Krist, Kim Bizer and Alan Finkbeiner.

Everyone in the band sings, plays multiple instruments, and brings a joyful camaraderie to the music.

Detroit’s “Boogie Woogie Kid” will present a concert featuring timeless classics like “Ain’t Misbehaving,” When the Saints Go Marchin’ In,” “Basin Street Blues,” “Tipitina,” and more.

Matt Boylan

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

Shoshana Bean

8pm. $25-$50. Kerrytown Concert House. kerrytownconcerthouse.com

See Shoshana Bean, veteran of the Broadway stage. Her new release, Spectrum, is inspired by Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, and Barbra Streisand.

19 Wednesday Lindi Ortega

8pm. $15. The Ark. theark.org

Americana artist Lindi Ortega will bring her powerful vocals and original songs inspired by her personal life experience to The Ark stage.

22 Saturday 6pm. Mash Bar. mashbar.net. Free

Hear a variety of covers and original by local pop/folk musician Matt Boylan.

Chirp

7pm. The Session Room. sessionrooma2.com. Free

A night of rock, funk, and jazz-fusion with local prog-rock outfit, Chirp.

University Symphony Orchestra

8pm. Hill Auditorium. ums.org. Free The University Symphony Orchestra will open a new season with the music of Beethoven, Benjamin Britten, and Elgar’s Enigma Variations.

23 Sunday An Evening with the Taj Mahal Trio

5pm. $75-$500. The Ark. theark.org

The Taj Mahal Trio will join for The Ark’s 22nd Annual Fall Fundraiser. Proceeds will benefit The Ark, helping the venue to continue to present the best in folk and roots music.

24 Monday Ingrid Laubrock, Stephan Crump, & Cory Smythe

8pm. $20-$25. Kerrytown Concert House. kerrytownconcerthouse.com

As part of Kerrytown’s Edge Series, see award-winning saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock with Grammy-nominated bassist/ composer Stephan Crump, and innovative pianist Cory Smythe.

25 Tuesday Take a Chance Tuesday 8pm. The Ark. theark.org. Free

Scottish duo The Jellyman’s Daughter and alternative country duo Adrian & Meredith will perform as part the Take a Chance Tuesday series. Non-perishable foods will be accepted for Food Gatherers at the door.

26 Wednesday Andrew Bishop Trio 8pm-10pm. Old Town. oldtownaa.com. Free

Saxophonist and U-M professor Andrew Bishop will play with his trio for this weekly jazz series featuring the best in local improvised music.

27 Thursday American Songbook 12pm. University Hospital. med.umich.edu. Free

Enjoy this stellar jazz trio featuring bassist Paul Keller, vocalist/ clarinetist Sarah D’Angelo and pianist James Dapogny. They’ll play a wide range of classic from the Great American Songbook.

Philadelphia Orchestra

7:30pm. $14-$125. Hill Auditorium. ums.org

Join for a stunning program featuring a suite from the opera Marnie, Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, and Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto.

Two Friends

9pm. $18-$25. Necto Nightclub.

Miller Guth, Active & Domeless.

28 Friday Louis Picasso and Hiiigher Minds

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

Ypsilanti emcee and producer Louis Picasso will present a concert with his hip hop collective Hiiigher Minds, a multi-faceted network of musicians, producers, and unique artists.

Jeremy Horn

8pm. $15. Green Wood Coffee House. greenwoodcoffeehouse.org

Jeremy Horn will play his original songs that aspire to give people hope through music. Jeremy’s music is popular among contemporary Christian music stations and focuses on self-discovery.

Paul Keller Presents: Terry Lower

Tunde Olaniran

Bassist Paul Keller will feature pianist Terry Lower who has worked with artists including Benny Golson, David “Fathead” Newman, Frank Morgan, and Kevin Mahogany.

Tunde Olaniran’s music and performance blends dance, electro, hip-hop and rock. He was named NPR’s Top Artist to Watch at SXSW 2017 and has been praised by The New York Times, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, and Stereogum, among others.

8pm. $15-$30. Kerrytown Concert House. kerrytownconcerthouse.com

Moon Hooch

9pm. $15-$17. Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

8pm. University of Michigan Museum of Art. umma.umich.edu. Free

Laith Al-Saadi

Hear the unique horn-and-percussion trio Moon Hooch who have troured with bands including They Might Be Giants and Lotus.

29 Saturday Turning Chaos Into Music 1pm-4pm. West Branch. Ann Arbor District Library. aadl.org

Learn how to create melodies out of randomness and shape sounds using white noise with the North Coast Modular Collective, a group of synthesizer enthusiasts.

A2 Jazz Fest: Straight Ahead Saturday

3pm-9:30pm. LIVE Nightclub. Free

Spend a day hearing a great lineup of local jazz including the Sean Dobbins Trio, Janelle Reichman Quintet, Jon Taylor’s Beam Songs, and the Trunino Lowe Quartet.

Pete Siers Trio

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

Tiny Corner Concerts presents local drummer Pete Siers leading his jazz trio for an evening of exciting improvised music.

8pm. $35. Michigan Theater. michtheater.org

Blues sensation Laith Al-Saadi will be joined by the Motor City Horns (Bob Seger’s horn section) for an unforgettable concert.

30 Sunday A2 Jazz Fest: Piano Jazz Sunday

4pm-8pm. Kerrytown Concert House. kerrytownconcerthouse.com. Free

A day dedicated to piano jazz with Balance featuring pianist Michael Malis and saxophonist Marcus Elliot, the Rick Roe Trio, and the Marion Hayden Quartet.

ii-V-I Orchestra

6pm. Bel-Mark Lanes. belmarklanes.com. Free

See David Swain and the ii-V-I Orchestra perform jazz classics on the last Sunday of every month.

Seth Walker

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

Songwriter Seth Walker will play his unique brand of modern roots music drawing from blues, gospel, pop, R&B, rock, and country.

RALLY YOUR VOTES! 2018 Dining Guide Awards Our readers have great taste, so we’re asking you to identify the best bites, drinks, places, and plates in Washtenaw County.

Want to make sure your business receives the props it deserves in Current’s first-ever Dining Guide Awards?

Catch our readers before they vote online.

CALL NOW FOR DETAILS! 734-668-4044 OR E-MAIL SALES@ADAMSSTREETPUBLISHING.COM TO GET THOSE VOTES ROLLING IN.

ecurrent.com

deadline: 9/5 ecurrent.com / september 2018 23

theater Pointless Brewery Nurtures Improv, Present and Future Ann Arbor improv comedy hub cultivates new local talent

By Emily Slomovitz

Walking into Ann Arbor’s Pointless Brewery and Theatre, the décor reinforces the fact that you are in a hybrid microbrewery/ improv comedy venue. The bright red walls, chalkboard menu, and angled rows of chairs facing the low black stage in one corner of the room give the space a college town, casual vibe.

Husband and wife Jason and Tori Tomalia opened Pointless in 2015, and with regularly sold-out shows featuring local performers and ones with national reputations, the place has established itself as an Ann Arbor hotspot for improv comedy.

Pointless offers a variety of comedy-based entertainment, as well as Jason’s cleverly named and tasty brews. But perhaps the most unique aspect is the “League of Pointless Improvisers”. This homegrown “house band” does more than provide laughs -- they also help coach up-and-coming improvisers who hope someday to find themselves on the “Pointless” stage as members of the League.

From left to right: Moni Jones, Doug Kolbicz, Corene Ford, Matt Swartz, Chris Fortin

Class for Improv

The night I visited was showcase night; two improv classes were onstage for thirty minutes each, performing short and long-form improv. Short-form involves people improvising from audience suggestions, offered every few minutes, a la “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”. Long-form is when the audience suggestions are made at the beginning of a longer sketch. “What’s unique about Pointless is that there’s a focus on long-form as opposed to shortform improv,” says Kiana Gandol, a student in the showcase’s second level class. “The teachers all maintain positive attitudes, so the atmosphere feels very safe.”

Gandol, like several of the improvisers at Pointless, and indeed like Tori Tomalia, who holds a Masters degree in Drama and Theatre for the Young from EMU, comes from a scripted theatre background, but she says that helps with improv. “I feel like most of my strengths as an improviser come from my more traditional theatre background”, says Gandol. “I came into the program without stage fright or trouble projecting onstage; it’s the making things up on the spot and reacting in the moment that’s challenging to me.”

For Donny Riedel, one of Pointless’ teachers, improv also informs his work with scripted theatre. “You don’t get to rehearse an Improv scene to find all the things you want to do, you just have to make stuff up confidently on the first try,” he says. “That has really helped me find interesting acting things during the rehearsal process for scripted shows. I try stuff, fail, learn from it, and grow!”

Coaching confidence

Riedel, who joined two other members of the League, Havah Roussel and Peter Felsman, to close out the showcase, has been teaching improv for about a year. “Coaching people to simply get words out of their mouths confidently is one of my favorite things to do,” he says. “Overall, I like to coach people, showing them that it feels good to fail confidently and learn from their mistakes.”

It’s clear that the Tomalias have created an environment at Pointless where performers, students and audience members can experience something magical together. “People have to work together to create art on the spot that they can only hope the audience will enjoy,” says Gandol.

Riedel agrees. “Improv comedy is a great leveler, and puts vastly different types of people in a kind of collaborative environment they might not get anywhere else. Heck, I feel like if in the outside world, people interacted the way they do in improv classes, we might all have a much better understanding of one another.”

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$10-$15. Thursday-Sundays 8pm. Fridays and Sundays 8pm and 10pm. Sundays alternating open stage times.

3014 Packard St., 989-455-4484 pointlessbrew.com.

ecurrent.com / september 2018 25

art “See Through” Reflective and Transparent Surfaces

by Beth Solberg

See Through: Mirrors and Windows in Twentieth Century Photography, open to the public through September 23 at the University of Michigan Museum Of Art, makes use of reflective and transparent surfaces to create perspectives and to expand the range of the photos’ possible meanings. These works address life in rural, urban and domestic settings with a searching intimacy.

Two works from French documentary photographer Eugène Atget kick off the exhibition. Men’s Fashion features a Paris shop-window with men’s suits and eerily made-up mannequins in the background.

The storefront window simultaneously reflects an image of the street and buildings opposite it. The photo seems otherworldly, a comment on the “strange visual delights” of Paris (cited in the work’s posted description), the city where Atget spent most of his adult life.

Reflections of America

The exhibit’s American photography deals with more rural and domestic spheres. Elliott Erwitt’s Las Vegas, for example, pairs an unimpressed white-

Elliott Erwitt, Cracked Glass with Boy—Colorado, 1955, gelatin silver print.

haired woman with a tacky cowboy slot machine to comic effect. Her expression, as she pulls the machine’s lever (the cowboy’s pistol), may convey resignation or indifference.

An exception to the American rural and domestic scenes is Algimantas Kezys’ photo Reflected Images (Chicago), which features the distorted silhouettes of two men in suits reflected in a broken mirror.

Although their faces are impossible to distinguish, it seems they are looking into the mirror. The broken glass distorts the contours of their bodies, making them appear out of joint, out of place. Does the big city warp men?

Man in the Mirror

American photographer Joanne Leonard’s portraits invite the viewer into private spaces, like the home. Man in the Mirror, West Oakland and Merida Morning depict a nude, solidly built man while he shaves and sleeps. The sensual

215 S Ashley St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104

(734) 665-2796 • threechairs.com

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representation of his body invites the same kind of voyeurism implicated in the depiction of the more conventional female nude. Leonard’s third work in the exhibition, a portrait of her daughter titled Winged Ones, depicts the girl looking out a window longingly, with the image of actual insect wings superimposed on her body by her mother through the process of developing the film. The photographic negative and more windows in the rear of the scene add to the sense of the girl being held in a frame.

In all, See Through offers a fine opportunity to delve into scenes of French and American life, with an eye toward the possibilities afforded by mirrors and reflections.

Free. UMMA, 1225 S. State St. Tues-Sat 11am-5pm, Sunday 12pm-5pm.

734-764-0395.

arts & culture

One of Fodor’s 10 Best U.S. Flea Markets

Bring on the Books: 16th Annual Kerrytown Bookfest Calling all bibliophiles, writers, and general lovers of all things written! The Kerrytown Bookfest is in its 16th year and invites you to stop, shop, and peruse the booths of favorite local bookstores, attend multiple talks given by authors on a variety of topics, and more! Tents will be set up for a plethora of different genres, including one for young adults and children’s books! —AD

Free admission. 10:30am-5pm. Sun., Sept. 9. Farmers’ and Artisans’ Market, 315 Detroit St., Ann Arbor, 48104. ktbookfest.org.

Established 1960

Everything on Consignment

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

Down on the Farm: Pittsfield Harvest Festival The season of hayrides and pumpkins is upon us! Join in the fun of the 10th Annual Pittsfield Harvest Festival. Once again, this year will provide fun for the whole family. Enjoy home tours on the Sutherland-Wilson Farm, face painting, a petting farm, and a performance by the Saline Fiddlers. Get into the spirit of fall with the Harvest Festival! —AD

$5 per adult (ages 16 and up), $3 per child (ages 3-15), free for children ages 2 and under. 2pm-5pm. Sun., Sept. 16.

Sutherland-Wilson Farm, 797 W Textile Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48108. www.pittsfield-mi.gov/harvestfestival

6th Annual Ann Arbor Russian Festival: Barynya, Balalaika, and Blini, Oh My! Come and enjoy two days of all things Russian: music, food, dancing, and more, at the 6th annual Ann Arbor Russian Festival! This year’s festival will include a wide variety of events over the course of two days, including traditional Russian dishes, Russian bell ringing, performances by Barynya and the Konevets Quartet, infused vodka competition, and special events for children. —AD

Free admission and free parking. Sat., Sept. 15, 11am-8pm. Sun., Sept. 16, 1pm-7pm. St. Vladimir Russian Orthodox Church, 9900 Jackson Rd., Dexter, MI, 48130. annarborrussianfestival.org. ecurrent.com / september 2018 27

arts & culture Wednesdays

Ongoing

[misc] Trivia Night at Corner

Sundays

[misc] Community Bicycle Repair

11am. Common Cycle Bicycle Co-Op. commoncycle.org. Free Bring in your bicycle for repair help from volunteers! Make use of community tools to resolve maintenance issues or work on personal projects.

Yoga at BLØM [health & wellness]

7pm. Arbor Brewing Company Microbrewery, Ypsilanti. arborbrewing.com Free

What better way to relax than with trivia and craft beer? Two games at 7pm and 8pm. Make a night of it and stay for both!

Thursdays

[comedy] Shadow League Show

7:30pm. $8. Pointless Brewery & Theatre. pointlessbrew.com

11am. $20. Bløm Meadworks. drinkblom.com

This is an all levels class open to yogis of all experience and interest levels, ages 21+. These classes are meant to be a relaxing and open space for everyone. To top it off, one draft pour is included!

Mondays

Come see some of the best up-and-coming improv talent in the area with Pointless Brewery’s newest Shadow League, This Is A Quiz.

Summer Comedy Jamm [comedy]

8pm. $5. Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase. aacomedy.com

[misc] Knitting Night at Cultivate

See 12 of the area’s rising star comedians, from beginners to comic vets, as they let loose on the Showcase stage!

All ages and levels welcome at this weekly craft gathering!

Fridays

6pm. Cultivate Coffee & TapHouse. cultivateypsi.com. Free

Tuesdays

[dance] Swing Dance Party

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

[comedy] The Mash Improv Jam

7:30pm-9:30pm. $5. Canterbury House. canterburyhouse.org

All experience levels are welcome to come play in a long form improv jam! Proceeds benefit the Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan.

This weekly swing dance party is beginner friendly! Come for a free beginner lesson from 8-9pm which will cover the swing basics. Open dancing follows at 9pm, featuring two different swing DJs.

Saturdays [misc] Icebreakers

4pm-7pm. Pointless Brewery & Theatre. pointlessbrew.com. Free

Meet new people by playing some low-key interactive games and enjoying craft beer. Bring your friends or make new ones!

1 Saturday

[comedy] African Comedy Show

5pm. $40-$60. Power Center for the Performing Arts. muto.umich.edu

Open Mic & Feature [poetry]

7pm-9pm. Ann Arbor Poetry. facebook.com/annarborpoetry. Free

This night is dedicated to two renowned Ann Arbor poets; Jasmine An and Alex Kime. Hear their work and then join for an open mic.

The Arcade Improv Jam [comedy]

7:30pm-9:30pm. Pointless Brewery & Theatre. pointlessbrew.com. Free Come to watch or to play short-form improv games! All experience levels are welcome.

3 Monday

Enjoy a stand-up comedy show by the Waganda and Wakenya Comedians. There will be feature performances by Anne Kansiime, Michael Omuka, and Dankan Onyango.

[film] Casablanca

Connie Ettinger [comedy]

See Casablanca as part of the SavCo Hospitality Summer Classics Film Series. Free for students!

Detroit comedy veteran Connie Ettinger will make her headlining debut! A self-styled “recovering lawyer,” Connie’s outlook on life pairs the seemingly divergent aspects of a small town upbringing with life in the legal fast lane.

[film] The Letters

8pm. $12. Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase. aacomedy.com

2 Sunday

[dance] Dancing in the Streets

1:30pm. Downtown Ann Arbor. aactmad.org. Free

Experience a variety of music and dance traditions, enjoy downtown, and see some friends and neighbors in the process.

Multiple stages will offer visitors a chance to try a variety of dance styles, as well as enjoy mini-concerts.

7pm-9pm. $7.50-$10. The Michigan Theater. michtheater.org

4 Tuesday

7:30pm. $12. Goodrich Quality 16. goodrichqualitytheaters.com

See Mother Teresa’s personal story told through her written letters over the course of her life.

The Letters returns to theaters for one day across the country.

Moth StorySLAM: Rivals [misc]

7:30pm. $11.50. greyline. themoth.org

Join to hear true stories about rivalries. At 6:30pm, storytellers are invited to sign up to tell their own five-minute tale. Volunteer to be on a judging team or just sit back and listen!

Searchable lists updated daily at

ecurrent.com

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6 Thursday

[literature] Fiction at Literati: Sarah Zettel 7pm. Literati Bookstore. literatibookstore.com. Free

Sarah Zettel will read from her new novel, The Other Sister, an intense psychological thriller full of family secrets.

Modern Calligraphy [art]

7pm. $60. University Flower Shop. uniflowershop.com

Both beginners and seasoned letterers are welcome to join this workshop designed to teach and enhance hand-lettering and illustration skills. Participants will work on lettering their own market bag and frameable quote posters.

7 Friday

[art] Sonabai & Contemporary Arts Reception 6pm. Riverside Arts Center. rasafestival.org. Free

Join for the opening reception of this multimedia exhibition featuring photographs and videos of a vibrant rural Indian harvest dance. Additionally, take in an exhibit of contemporary Indian themed visual art.

Smile Pinki [film]

7pm-9:30pm. $10. Michigan Theater. michtheater.org

This Academy Award winning documentary follows the transformation of a young girl’s life in India when she receives free surgery to repair her cleft lip.

All proceeds will be donated to Smile Train, the children’s charity featured in the film.

Keith Ruff [comedy]

8pm. $12. Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase. aacomedy.com

Spend a night laughing with Detroit comedian Keith Ruff.

Keith’s comedy draws from personal experiences, like dating and growing up in a family of five brothers. His observations about living in Detroit and all its quirks make him a hometown favorite.

8 Saturday

[literature] Kerrytown Bookfest Opening Reception

4:30pm-6pm. Ann Arbor District Library. aadl.org. Free

Mingle with other booklovers and meet some of this year’s BookFest authors and exhibitors.

There will be light refreshments and live music by the Horizons Strings.

Hasan Minhaj: Before the Storm [comedy] 7pm and 10pm. $29-$50. Michigan Theater. michtheater.org

Don’t miss comedian Hasan Minhaj in his new show that tickles the dizzying political climate with innovative media, incisive comedy, and his signature storytelling style. Earlier this year, Hasan won a 2018 Peabody Award for his critically acclaimed comedy special, Homecoming King.

Animal House at Midnight [film]

11:59pm. $8. The State Theatre. michtheater.org

It’s the 40th Anniversary of cult classic, Animal House! Enjoy the film during a special midnight screening.

9 Sunday

[literature] Kerrytown Bookfest!

10:30am-5pm. Ann Arbor Farmers Market. ktbookfest.org. Free

Booklovers are invited to explore this annual festival highlighting Ann Arbor’s book and printing arts. Visit with local individuals, businesses, and organizations involved in the artform and enjoy entertainment throughout the day.

Tai Chi Love [health & wellness]

1pm-2pm. Traverwood Branch. aadl.org. Free

Join Karla Groesbeck, owner and founder of Tai Chi Love and Good EnerChi Studio, for an informative session in body movement, meditation, Chi Kung, and martial aspects of Tai Chi.

Bird Walk [environment]

5pm. Mary Beth Doyle Park. a2gov.org. Free

Join ornithologist Juliet Berger on a walk around this diverse park to see migrating shorebirds, spotted sandpiper and other more exotic species. Meet in the parking lot at the end of Birch Hollow Drive.

arts & culture 10 Monday

[literature] Ann Pearlman: Infidelity: A Memoir

7pm. Literati Bookstore. literatibookstore.com. Free

Ann Pearlman will share her new memoir, Infidelity, that tells the true story of the devastating effect of adultery across three generations of American women, beginning with her grandmother, Lala.

11 Tuesday

[environment] Steward’s Circle

7:30am. Bruegger’s Bagels. a2gov.org. Free

Are you interested in learning more about how to care for our natural areas? Then join the Stewardship Network’s Huron Arbor cluster for an informal discussion on a monthly topic with volunteer and professional land stewards, plus others interested in nature.

Printmaking Workshop [art]

7pm. Ann Arbor District Library Downtown. Free

Sajeev Vadakoottu Visweswaran is a visual artist based in New Delhi and Ann Arbor. This oneday workshop will give a basic introduction to relief printmaking, where images are transferred to paper from the raised portion of a carved or etched block.

12 Wednesday

[poetry] An Evening of Poetry and the Written Word

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

Share and discuss poetry or short fiction in the tea room!

Bring six copies of your work to share. They will be returned at the end of the session.

8 Pointless Minutes: A Long Form Improv Jam [comedy]

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha Author Talk & Book Signing [literature]

Play in a long form jam! Sign up for a spot when you arrive and perform with a newly formed group for eight “pointless” minutes. All experience levels are welcome.

Join Dr. Mona Hanna-Attish for a talk, Q&A, and book signing of What the Eyes Don’t See, the story of how Dr. Mona—accompanied by an idiosyncratic team of researchers, parents, friends, and community leaders—proved that Flint’s kids were exposed to lead and then fought her own government and a brutal backlash to expose that truth to the world

7:30pm-9:30pm. Pointless Brewery & Theatre. pointlessbrew.com. Free

7pm. University Hospital. events.umich.edu. Free

13 Thursday

[misc] Succulent Gardens

7pm. $40-$50. University Flower Shop. uniflowershop.com

Easy to care for, succulent gardens make great gifts. Join for this workshop to create your own garden with six succulents, stones, soil, and moss. Light refreshments will be provided.

14 Friday

TGIF Chair Massage [health & wellness]

3pm-5pm. Cultivate Coffee & TapHouse. cultivateypsi.com

Give yourself some self-care with a ten-minute massage from Miriam Joy Dowd of the Yoga Maya Center.

Sign up at the counter when you arrive. Donations are encouraged.

The Second City [theater]

7:30pm. $26-$36. The Ark. theark.org

Chicago’s legendary comedy theater is celebrating nearly sixty years! Don’t miss this premier cast on their “Made in America (Some Assembly Required)” tour.

15 Saturday

[misc] Ann Arbor Russian Festival

11am. St. Vladimir’s Russian Orthodox Church. russianfestival.stvladimiraami.org. Free

Immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of Russia and Ukraine with authentic Slavic food, traditional musicians, and performances by folk dancers. The two-day event opens with a Russian Bell Ringing ceremony and offers activities for the entire family.

Queer Tango [dance]

1:30pm. $14. BLØM Meadworks. drinkblom.com

Queer Tango places emphasis on inclusivity and breaking from traditional heteronormative leadfollow roles in Argentine tango. All are welcome regardless of sexual orientation/gender identity. Admission includes one drink token. No partner or experience is necessary!

Trivia with Cats! [misc]

7:30pm. $15. Tiny Lions Lounge & Adoption Center. tinylions.org

Play trivia and enjoy the company of adorable, adoptable cats. Two tickets for beer and wine will be provided. All attendees are welcome to bring any non-alcoholic drinks and snacks. All guests will need to show ID at the door. Ages 18+

ecurrent.com / september 2018 29

arts & culture ROAD TRIP COMMUNITY IN TOLEDO

Just under one hour from Ann Arbor, south on US23, the Toledo Museum of Art is an accessible and rewarding destination for local art aficionados, and something different for those familiar with southeast Michigan’s art venues.

On July 21, TMA opened the mixed-media exhibition Sights and Sounds in the Museum’s recently renovated New Media Gallery, consisting of hundreds of works from a range of media, addressing humanity’s complex relationship with the natural world.

The Museum also continues to show Rebecca Louise Law’s mammoth site-specific work Community, made up of over 500,000 flowers threaded and hung from wires hung from a gallery ceiling, on view through January 13, 2019. $10. Toledo Museum of Art 2445 Monroe St., Toledo. 419-255-8000. toledomuseum.org

Brad Wenzel [comedy]

8pm. $12. Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase. aacomedy.com

Brad Wenzel is most known for his offbeat, one-liner comedy.

Currently based out of Los Angeles, Brad began doing standup at the age of 17. He has performed twice on “Conan,” and has opened for comedic luminaries including Patton Oswalt.

Poetry through the Ages [poetry]

8pm. $15-$25. Arthur Miller Theater, University of Michigan. rasafestival.org A unique evening based on poetry from three eras of Indian literature: ancient, early 20th century and contemporary. It features three poetry-based segments of performance, dance, visual art, live music and avant-garde multimedia and digital projections.

16 Sunday

[environment] Monarch Migration Festival

1pm. $5. Leslie Science and Nature Center. lesliesnc.org

Every year, waves of monarch butterflies migrate over mountains, forests, and deserts in the United States to reach their wintering grounds in Mexico.

Join LSNC in a celebration of the migration, and help contribute to conservation efforts for monarchs.

Pittsfield Charter Township Harvest Festival [misc]

2pm-5pm. $5. Sutherland-Wilson Farm. pittsfield-mi.gov/harvestfestival The 10th annual Harvest Festival will feature live music, historical house and building tours, a petting farm, hay rides, historical carriage photos, refreshments, and more! The Historical Society will be running fundraisers, including bake sales and halfpriced craft sales.

17 Monday

[art] Artist Pamela Day

7pm. AAWA Headquarters. annarborwomenartists.org. Free

Award-winning Wixom Michigan clay artist Pamela Day will kick off the Ann Arbor Women Aritsts’ 2018-19 Speaker Programs. Pamela creates imaginative, expressive and unique figurative sculptural ceramic work and paintings. Her art may be seen in galleries, exhibits and shows in Michigan.

Fiction at Literati: Akil Kumarasamy [literature]

7pm. Literati Bookstore. literatibookstore.com. Free

Author Akil Kumarasamy will read from her debut story collection, Half-Gods, a startlingly

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beautiful story that follows the fractured origins and destinies of two brothers named after demigods.

18 Tuesday

[literature] Book Talk!

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

Join in a discussion exploring all different types of literature from mystery to mayhem with Sarah Zettel and LA Chandlar.

19 Wednesday

[literature] Fiction at Literati: Kat Gardiner 7pm. Literati Bookstore. literatibookstore.com Free

Hear Kat Gardiner read from her debut collection of microfiction, Little Wonder, springs from the year she spent in Anacortes, Washington.

Young and idealistic, she and her husband moved to town to open a café and music venue in the hopes of finding a home there.

20 Thursday

[literature] Esmé Wang and Danielle Lazarin 5:30pm-6:30pm. University of Michigan Museum of Art. umma.umich.edu. Free

Join accomplished authors Esmé Wang and Danielle Lazarin for an evening of literature presented by the Helen Zell Writers’ Program.

Freedom Riders [film]

6pm-8:45pm. Ann Arbor District Library. aadl.org. Free

This 2010 documentary is based on Raymond Arsenault’s book, Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice. The screening will be followed by a discussion led by the U-M Community Scholars Program.

Author Lillian Li [literature]

7pm-9pm. Nicola’s Books. nicolasbooks.com. Free

Ann Arbor resident and U-M MFA recepient Lillian Li will sign her acclaimed debut novel, Number One Chinese Restaurant. The book was named a Summer Must-Read

by TIME, Buzzfeed, The Wall Street Journal, and more.

21 Friday

[literature] Voices of South Asia: Readings and Reflections 7pm. Literati Bookstore. rasafestival.org. Free

Michigan poets Samiah Haque, Ashwini Bhasi and others will read their poetry in a thread, alternating with each other, creating a powerful reading focused on the essence of South Asian experiences.

The Sklar Brothers [comedy]

Pitch Perfect at Midnight [film]

This comedy duo is known for their stardom on ESPN’s Cheap Seats. They’ve appeared on shows including Children’s Hospital, News Readers, Better Call Saul, and Comedy Bang Bang.

See the musical comedy Pitch Perfect at a special midnight screening!

8pm. $20. Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase. aacomedy.com

2001: A Space Odyssey [film]

8pm-11pm. Hill Auditorium. ums.org. Free

See Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece with live music by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

22 Saturday

11:59pm. $8. The State Theatre. michtheater.org

23 Sunday

[literature] Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Yes! 3pm. Nicola’s Books. nicolasbooks.com. Free

The Power of Yes! Will feature women writers of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti including Kaye Curran, Nancy Beaufait, and Tammy Nicole Glover.

[health & wellness] Ayuryoga Wellness

Open Stage [misc]

Experience the ancient practices of yoga and Ayurveda. Join for a unique experience with various teachers exploring the fundamentals of self-care through a variety of practices. Enjoy classical Indian music at the beginning of the festival.

Whether you play in a band, do improv, write poetry, dance, or have some other talent to share, this open mic is for you! Try out your latest project among other artists and supporters. Sign up for a spot ahead of time via the website.

9:30am. $49-$65. A2 Yoga Studio. rasafestival.org

Smell & Tell: Follow Your Nose in the Great Outdoors [misc] 2pm-4pm. County Farm Park. aadl.org. Free

Hike through the park and describe smells in nature using scent mapping, a sensory evaluation technique used by perfumers.

[dance] A History of American Tap Dance 3pm-5pm. Ann Arbor District Library. aadl.org. Free

Local dance teacher and historian Susan Filipiak will feature rare video clips of great tap dancers throughout time. Join for a live demonstration and mini tap lesson.

Crossroads [dance]

4pm. Riverside Arts Center Studio. rasafestival.org. Free

Reflect on the practice, pedagogy, new directions and preservation of Indian classical dance, featuring several Michigan based teachers, performers and young artists of Indian dance. There will be a panel discussion, Q&A, new choreography, and performances.

Tiny Lions New Volunteer Orientation [misc]

7:30pm. $40. Tiny Lions Lounge & Adoption Center. tinylions.org

If you are a cat lover, consider becoming a volunteer at Tiny Lions! Volunteering has a onetime program fee that includes training and a t-shirt. $30 of the fee is tax-deductible. If there is financial strain, contact the volunteer manager at 734-661-3517 to discuss having the fee waived.

7:30pm-9:30pm. Pointless Brewery & Theatre. pointlessbrew.com. Free

25 Tuesday

[literature] Fiction at Literati: Wayétu Moore 7pm. Literati Bookstore. literatibookstore.com. Free

Author Wayétu Moore will share her debut novel, She Would Be King, a novel of exhilarating range, magical realism, and history. The novel reimagines the dramatic story of Liberia’s early years through three unforgettable characters who share an uncommon bond.

Author Event: Herb Boyd [literature]

7pm-9pm. Ann Arbor District Library. aadl.org. Free

Herb Boyd will discuss his award-winning book, Black Detroit: A People’s History of Self Determination. Black Detroit looks at the evolving culture, politics, economics, and spiritual life of Detroit.

A2Energy Power Hour [misc]

7pm-8:30pm. Westgate Branch. aadl.org. Free

Learn how your house can be made more energy efficient through solar power. Presenters will include MI Saves, Washtenaw County Staff, DTE, and Habitat for Humanity. Win energy efficiency prizes for taking part in quizzes throughout the evening.

26 Wednesday

[poetry] An Evening of Poetry and the Written Word

7pm. Crazy Wisdom Bookstore and Tea Room. crazywisdom.net. Free Explore the art of the written

word with Marilyn L. Taylor, the former Poet Laureate of Wisconsin and the author of six poetry collections. Her awardwinning work has also appeared in many anthologies and journals.

All writers are welcome to read afterward at the open mic.

27 Thursday

[environment] Nature Walk with AADL

6pm. Marshall Nature Area. a2gov.org. Free

The trails at Marshall Nature Area wind through prairie, oak-hickory forest and an old pine plantation. Join for a nature walk to learn about the native plants and animals that call this park home. Meet in the parking lot off Dixboro Road, north of Plymouth Road.

28 Friday

[comedy] Iliza: Elder Millennial Tour

8pm. $27.50. Michigan Theater. michtheater.org

See one of the nation’s leading comedians, Iliza, as she brings her unique brand of comedy mixing social commentary, politics, and pop culture to the Michigan Theater.

29 Saturday

[misc] St. Jude Walk/Run to End Childhood Cancer 8am. Concordia University. fundraising.stjude.org. Free

Form a team, volunteer, or donate to help fight childhood cancer. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats, and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Ann Arbor Light the Night [misc] 6pm. Riverside Park. lightthenight.org. Free

Friends, families and co-workers form teams to fundraise for life-saving research and support for those battling cancer. This inspiration evening culminates in a walk where participants carry illuminated lanterns. Festivities include music, food, ceremonies, and family fun.

An Evening with Ozone House [misc] 6:30pm. $175. Domino’s World Resource Center. ozonehouse.org

Join for the 10th annual fall fundraising event featuring entertainment, youth speakers, silent auction, paddle raise, and dinner catered by Moveable Feast. The evening will follow the journey of a young woman that was a client at Ozone House for many years and is now a business owner in Ypsilanti. Tickets are $175 per seat or $1600 for a table of ten.

Cameron Esposito: Person of Consequence [comedy] 7pm. $30. The Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

See Los Angeles-based standup comic, actor, and writer Cameron Esposito! Esposito has appeared on NBC, CBS, Comedy Central, TBS, and IFC on shows such as Maron, Drunk History, Bajillion Dollar Properties, and Comedy Bang Bang.

Tarantino Party [misc]

10pm. $3. The Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

Dress up like your favorite character from a Tarantino film and dance to the movie soundtracks all night!

There will be specially curated drinks crafted for the party and a dance contest at 11pm. Free before 11pm, cover charge after.

30 Sunday

[film] Film Festival: Satyajit Ray Retrospective

12:30pm. Ann Arbor District Library Downtown. rasafestival.org. Free

Experience rare films, documentaries, and interviews revolving around the world-renowned filmmaker, Satyajit Ray.

Reception: African American Living Oral History Project [misc] 3pm-5pm. Westgate Branch. aadl.org. Free

This community project interviews black residents about their experiences growing up, living, and working in the Ann Arbor area. Meet this year’s interviewees Gwendolyn Calvert Baker, Premail Freeman, Larry Hunter, Essie Helton and Joetta Mial, watch a highlight reel from the interviews, and enjoy refreshments.

National Theatre, London HD Broadcast: Julie [theater]

7pm-9:30pm. $18-$22. Michigan Theater. ums.org

See this new National Theatre production broadcast at Ann Arbor’s Michigan Theatre. This new version of August Strindberg’s play, Miss Julie, remains shocking and fiercely relevant in the setting of contemporary London.

Wizard Fest: A Harry Potter Party [misc] 8pm. $15-$20.

Blind Pig. blindpigmusic.com

The Blind Pig will be transformed into Hogwarts for an epic Harry Potter themed dance party. Come dressed as a character to participate in a costume contest with cash prizes and goodie bags. Dive into the magic with butterbeer, quidditch pong, decorations, and potent potions

ecurrent.com / september 2018 31

person of interest Greg McGuire

Lab Director, Mcity University of Michigan’s driverless vehicle testing facility

Where are you from? I was born in Ann Arbor in

1977. I went to Pioneer High School and then to Ohio for college (boo hiss!). My wife is also from Ann Arbor but we didn’t start dating until we both left Ann Arbor and put 1,500 miles between us. We then lived together in several different cities before returning to be close to our families and raise our kids.

How did you first get involved with urban transportation issues? My wife got into a wreck

with my car when we were living in Boston. She was fine but the car was destroyed, so she found a car sharing business online called Zipcar. At that time it was just a couple of cars and you’d pick up the keys from the business owners’ house. She learned they were looking for software engineers to build the business with them. My roommate and I ended up working for them, and helped scale the business from 5 cars to 10,000. Our mission was to tackle the problem of car ownership in urban systems.

I brought Zipcar to Ann Arbor where it became a big success. It continues to fill an important niche but Uber and Lyft now occupy a much larger share of the mobility market.

And now you are the Lab Director for Mcity. Do you see a role for self-driving cars in addressing the problem of urban car ownership and commuting? Passion for

vehicles and driving is going to remain for a long time, but self-driving vehicles can help take the headache out of the commute. For example self-driving vehicles could offer real social benefit to remote or sparsely populated communities where it is too expensive to have a public bus with a driver pick people up, but they could use an app to send out a driverless car to bring them to arterial public transportation routes.

What is Mcity and who are the stakeholders? The nice thing about Mcity is that we

are a public private partnership and anyone who has a stake in the mobility systems of the future is a potential partner. Mcity is a 30 acre life size model city on UM campus where driverless vehicles are tested. Part of our mission is to assist research and help foster the development of these technologies (safely!). We target research that is of shared interest to many different schools at the University, from law and transportation to urban planning and engineering. We pool money from member companies like Ford, GM and Chrysler and share research results with the community.

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How comfortable are you personally with machines having so much power? Machines are

already making decisions for us but we are not aware of those decisions being made. When you put your foot on the accelerator it’s a computer that is responding to that pressure with a host of calculations. Many cars already have some automation, for example helping drivers to stay within lanes. For people like my parents in-law, that’s a good thing! The aging population can see the end of their driving lives ahead, and automation is a way to preserve their mobility.

What do you bring to this job? I have worked on a lot of startups and I bring that entrepreneurial spirit. I am also the course instructor for Tech Lab, where student teams get paired with startups and get to use Mcity for free or low cost to help them test their products. I enjoy the thrill of building something from the beginning.

What are your hobbies? I have four kids and keeping them on track takes up most of my free time. My wife and I are definitely in zone defense at this point! I also do a lot of home brewing. The degree to which brewers share their recipes is an interesting and unusual thing about that community. It blows my mind. I have tried to pull that feeling into some of the work we do here. There are many areas where society and the company would be better off if we share upfront. Safety data for example. I try to convince these companies that it’s in their best interest to share results rather than be competitive because there are lives at stake.

Cannabis A Vote to Repeal Prohibition Legalization of marijuana will be on Michigan’s November ballot

By Matthew R. Abel

Many of those who support this move feel that undecided voters can be persuaded simply by appealing to their appreciation for the expected tax revenue.

While the revenue will be substantial, and will benefit local and county government (15% each), it will provide much revenue for the school aid fund to be used for K-12 education, and to the Michigan transportation fund to be used for the repair and maintenance of roads and bridges. This benefit, many people feel, is enough to sway any undecided voters. And perhaps it is enough to sway some people, and that is a good thing.

The other benefits of repealing marijuana prohibition, however, are even more substantial.

Enhanced social justice

Social justice is enhanced when we repeal marijuana prohibition. The sordid circa 100 years of marijuana prohibition has racist roots, like many other policies of the government’s “war on drugs.”

CONT’D ON P34

ecurrent.com / september 2018 33

CONT’D FROM P33

MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT 1. Register to vote. You must register at least 30 days before the election in order to be able to vote. The election is November 6. You can register at any Michigan Secretary of State office or at the office of your local city, township or village clerk.

2. Find out who is running. Do some research on their position on repeal of cannabis prohibition. Meet with them to thank and support them if they already are on the side of truth and justice, or try to get their support by educating them as to both the generally benign nature of cannabis and the support of the voters. You can show them the progression of support for repeal of prohibition moving at the rate of approximately 3% per year. Here is a link to some polls: https://minorml.org/about-us/polling-data/ 3. Help candidates who support repeal of marijuana prohibition, and actively oppose the others. Do something to help change public policy.

4. Do not take this election for granted. There could be major opposition all over the airwaves by election day. Remind everyone you know to register and vote to repeal prohibition.

5. Join the cause and donate. Visit the Michigan Cannabis Coalition’s website, micannabis.vote

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Marijuana enforcement is much more harsh against people of color than against people of caucasian descent. Those statistics have repeatedly been confirmed throughout the reach of the criminal justice system, from street encounters to incarcerations.

Continuation of those policies violate the constitutional provisions supposedly ensuring the rights of equal protection and due process.

Repeal of marijuana criminalization will benefit society by reducing unregulated and criminal distribution activity, and allowing police to focus on more important aspects of crime prevention and investigation.

Commercial marijuana facilities will be heavily fortified against intrusion, and heavily monitored for unusual activity. Intrusion would be difficult, and likely unsuccessful. Meanwhile, cameras used to monitor some locations have generated helpful leads in investigations of unrelated matters. More monitoring of our society in general may not be such a good thing. The implications of that activity has yet to be fully understood.

Economic benefit

Cannabis will be helpful by stimulating business development.

Cannabis jobs can and will provide employment for great numbers of people. There are few other industries creating not only management-level positions, but also basic entry-level unskilled labor jobs which pay a living wage. That really could be huge. It is true that much of the growing process could be automated and performed by robots, but the machinery is not there yet, and the capital outlay will be enormous. By then, hopefully the “Craft Bud” movement will have taken hold, with boutique brands sharing shelf space with Chong’s Choice and Willie’s Reserve and JuJu Marley.

In addition to all the jobs involving growing, processing, testing, transporting and selling cannabis and cannabis products, there will be a good number of jobs in ancillary endeavors, including design, advertising, packaging and all the mundane operations necessary to any business, including payroll processing, security and maintenance and janitorial services.

Repealing prohibition and “freeing the weed” will allow for medical potential to be pursued and studied with greater freedom than it is now. The full potential of cannabis cannot be achieved so long as cannabis remains on the federal schedules of controlled substances. Alcohol and tobacco are not scheduled. Cannabis should not be scheduled either.

423 Miller Ave.

Ann Arbor, MI

Voted Best Provisioning Center

Happy Summer Ann Arbor!

Let’s hear from some of our patients:

“I truly love the people at bloom they are all so sweet and welcoming and make you feel right at home!

When you walk in you instantly feel like family and will answer any questions or concerns you have! You won’t be disappointed!”

“Wish you could have an educated conversati on with a knowledgable profe ssional regarding your choice to use ca nnabis?

You can at Blue Sage Health.”

I LOVE BLOOM City!

“Prime exam ple of a dispen sary done right!! Great prices, great se lection, great atmosp here, super fr iendly budtenders, lo yalty program , the list goes on. B est dispo in a2 !!”

autiful but the “Not only is this place be and they have le eab dg staff is very knowle go to three stores everything! I’ve had to for before and to get what I’m looking t I’ll be going to! now there is only one spo experience today!!!”

Thanks for the amazing

Order Online or call ahead for fast pick up at 734-585-0621 Visit us online for our Women Grow and Cannabis Classroom Events at bloomcityclub.com MEDICAL MARIJUANA IS FOR USE BY REGISTERED MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS AND CAREGIVERS ONLY.

ecurrent.com / september 2018 35

CONT’D FROM P33

MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT 1. Register to vote. You must register at least 30 days before the election in order to be able to vote. The election is November 6. You can register at any Michigan Secretary of State office or at the office of your local city, township or village clerk.

2. Find out who is running. Do some research on their position on repeal of cannabis prohibition. Meet with them to thank and support them if they already are on the side of truth and justice, or try to get their support by educating them as to both the generally benign nature of cannabis and the support of the voters. You can show them the progression of support for repeal of prohibition moving at the rate of approximately 3% per year. Here is a link to some polls: https://minorml.org/about-us/polling-data/ 3. Help candidates who support repeal of marijuana prohibition, and actively oppose the others. Do something to help change public policy.

4. Do not take this election for granted. There could be major opposition all over the airwaves by election day. Remind everyone you know to register and vote to repeal prohibition.

5. Join the cause and donate. Visit the Michigan Cannabis Coalition’s website, micannabis.vote

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CHECK IT OUT EXCLUSIVELY AT ECURRENT.COM

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2018 / ecurrent.com

Marijuana enforcement is much more harsh against people of color than against people of caucasian descent. Those statistics have repeatedly been confirmed throughout the reach of the criminal justice system, from street encounters to incarcerations.

Continuation of those policies violate the constitutional provisions supposedly ensuring the rights of equal protection and due process.

Repeal of marijuana criminalization will benefit society by reducing unregulated and criminal distribution activity, and allowing police to focus on more important aspects of crime prevention and investigation.

Commercial marijuana facilities will be heavily fortified against intrusion, and heavily monitored for unusual activity. Intrusion would be difficult, and likely unsuccessful. Meanwhile, cameras used to monitor some locations have generated helpful leads in investigations of unrelated matters. More monitoring of our society in general may not be such a good thing. The implications of that activity has yet to be fully understood.

Economic benefit

Cannabis will be helpful by stimulating business development.

Cannabis jobs can and will provide employment for great numbers of people. There are few other industries creating not only management-level positions, but also basic entry-level unskilled labor jobs which pay a living wage. That really could be huge. It is true that much of the growing process could be automated and performed by robots, but the machinery is not there yet, and the capital outlay will be enormous. By then, hopefully the “Craft Bud” movement will have taken hold, with boutique brands sharing shelf space with Chong’s Choice and Willie’s Reserve and JuJu Marley.

In addition to all the jobs involving growing, processing, testing, transporting and selling cannabis and cannabis products, there will be a good number of jobs in ancillary endeavors, including design, advertising, packaging and all the mundane operations necessary to any business, including payroll processing, security and maintenance and janitorial services.

Repealing prohibition and “freeing the weed” will allow for medical potential to be pursued and studied with greater freedom than it is now. The full potential of cannabis cannot be achieved so long as cannabis remains on the federal schedules of controlled substances. Alcohol and tobacco are not scheduled. Cannabis should not be scheduled either.

423 Miller Ave.

Ann Arbor, MI

Voted Best Provisioning Center

Happy Summer Ann Arbor!

Let’s hear from some of our patients:

“I truly love the people at bloom they are all so sweet and welcoming and make you feel right at home!

When you walk in you instantly feel like family and will answer any questions or concerns you have! You won’t be disappointed!”

“Wish you could have an educated conversati on with a knowledgable profe ssional regarding your choice to use ca nnabis?

You can at Blue Sage Health.”

I LOVE BLOOM City!

“Prime exam ple of a dispen sary done right!! Great prices, great se lection, great atmosp here, super fr iendly budtenders, lo yalty program , the list goes on. B est dispo in a2 !!”

autiful but the “Not only is this place be and they have le eab dg staff is very knowle go to three stores everything! I’ve had to for before and to get what I’m looking t I’ll be going to! now there is only one spo experience today!!!”

Thanks for the amazing

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ecurrent.com / september 2018 35

smash Mind over matter

by Nina Swift

As I reconsider old stereotypes about masculinity, femininity, and power dynamics in relationships, I am starting to wonder if the ideas I have about whose job it is to woo and be wooed are as old fashioned as Rhett Butler. I met him on Tinder, and we had an ok first date. He was friendly and employed the rapid fire getting to know you strategy, with a steady stream of questions followed by “And what do you want to know about me?” Tonight would be our second date, loosely planned a week ago, and the ball is in his court. I suppose I don’t know him well enough to know why he’s not reaching out, and I can’t even tell if there’s chemistry yet, so I guess I should take the initiative or I may never find out.

Can we change who we’re attracted to?

The fact that I am considering a second date with someone I’m not sure I’m attracted to is already a huge departure from my norm.

In the past, I’ve always known if there was chemistry right off the bat because I only had one criteria for attraction: hot. Did I mention I’m single? My brother recently told me that the fundamental difference between how heterosexual men and women date can be distilled to the following: men find reasons to love women they are attracted to, and women find reasons to be attracted to men they love. It is yet another stereotype but I have to admit I see some truth to it, except that I operate like the man. If I find someone attractive, it’s easy for me to see their good qualities. Not knowing if I am attracted to tonight’s potential date gives me an uneasy feeling. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but I just don’t feel the heat. Maybe it’s all about pheromones. Can we change who we are attracted to?

Good communication is hot. It takes bravery to call, ask real questions, and be honest and reasonably open in your responses.

Bravery is hot. And, tipping my hat to Rhett Butler, good manners are also very hot. The thing I admire most about bravery is the not knowing. You may indeed get blown up on this mission. You may walk home alone, a little bruised. But you go anyway, because you have faith in the mission. It gets tricky when we lose sight of what we’re after, or as we move in closer, see things we’re not sure we want. If I think I am after love but keep ending up with lust, it’s probably time to craft a message for the mission I am really on.

36

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2018 / ecurrent.com

How bad do you want it?

In the end of the day, my townie friend says, being in a relationship has to be better than being alone. The thing she notices most about married couples is their bickering. “It’s so unattractive,” she complains. “Why would anyone want to be around someone with whom they get along so badly?” She spent most of her life married and is relishing single life. “I am so enjoying the companionship of my women friends, why would I give that up for a mediocre relationship with a man?” But she does miss the thrill of being out in the world with a man she’s in love with. Scrolling through potential suitors with her on Bumble, she rejected several men I thought had potential. “Are you sure you want to date?” I asked.

“I guess I’m ambivalent,” she admitted. She has had the same on again, off again lover for years. He’ll never be her man, but they have great sex on the DL, and she’s got a full and rewarding life to attend to. It’s not the relationship she thinks that she wants, but she keeps coming back to it. So maybe scrolling through men on dating apps is just her form of relationship window shopping and what she really wants is already in the bag.

And that guy? He didn’t reply.

For questions and comments, or to join the conversation, please contact smash@ecurrent.com

September free will astrology © Copyright 2018 Rob Brezsny

ARIES (March 21-April 19): In *Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland*, our heroine encounters a talking caterpillar as he smokes a hookah on top of a tall mushroom. “Who are you?” he asks her. Alice is honest: “I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.” She says this with uneasiness. In the last few hours, she has twice been shrunken down to a tiny size and twice grown as big as a giant. All these transformations have unnerved her. In contrast to Alice, I’m hoping you’ll have a positive attitude about your upcoming shifts and mutations, Aries. From what I can tell, your journey through the Season of Metamorphosis should be mostly fun and educational.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Juan Villarino has hitchhiked over 2,350 times in 90 countries. His free rides have carried him over 100,000 miles. He has kept detailed records, so he’s able to say with confidence that Iraq is the best place to catch a lift. Average wait time there is seven minutes. Jordan and Romania are good, too, with nine- and twelve-minute waits, respectively. In telling you about his success, I don’t mean to suggest that now is a favorable time to hitchhike.

But I do want you to know that the coming weeks will be prime time to solicit favors, garner gifts, and make yourself available for metaphorical equivalents of free rides.

You’re extra magnetic and attractive. How could anyone could resist providing you with the blessings you need and deserve?

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): One of the big stories of 2018 concerns your effort to escape from a star-crossed trick of fate—to fix a long-running tweak that has subtly undermined your lust for life. How successful will you be in this heroic quest? That will hinge in part on your faith in the new power you’ve been developing.

Another factor that will determine the outcome is your ability to identify and gain access to a resource that is virtually magical even though it appears nondescript. I bring this to your attention, Gemini, because I suspect that a key plot twist in this story will soon unfold.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Potential new allies are seeking entrance to your domain. Existing allies aspire to be closer to you. I’m worried you may be a bit overwhelmed; that you might not exercise sufficient discrimination. I therefore urge you to ask yourself these questions about each candidate. 1. Does this person understand what it means to respect your boundaries? 2. What are his or her motivations for wanting contact with you? 3. Do you truly value and need the gifts each person has to give you? 4. Everyone in the world has a dark side. Can you intuit the nature of each person’s dark side? Is it tolerable? Is it interesting?

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): While a young man, the future Roman leader Julius Caesar was kidnapped by Sicilian pirates. They proposed a ransom of 620 kilograms of silver. Caesar was incensed at the small size of the ransom—he believed he was worth more— and demanded that his captors raise the sum to 1,550 kilograms. I’d love to see you unleash that kind of bravado in the coming weeks, Leo—preferably without getting yourself kidnapped. In my opinion, it’s crucial that you know how valuable you are, and make sure everyone else knows, as well.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I foresee the withering of a hope or the disappearance of a prop or the loss of leverage. This ending may initially make you feel melancholy, but I bet it will ultimately prove beneficent—and maybe lead you to resources that were previously unavailable. Here are rituals you could perform that may help you catalyze the specific kind of relief and release you need: 1. Wander around a graveyard and sing songs you love. 2. Tie one end of a string around your ankle and the other end around an object that symbolizes an influence you want to banish from your life. Then cut the string and bury the object. 3. Say this ten times: “The end makes the beginning possible.”

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Romanian philosopher Emil Cioran loved the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. “Without Bach, God would be a complete second-rate figure,” he testified, adding, “Bach’s music is the only argument proving the creation of the Universe cannot be regarded as a complete failure.” I invite you to emulate Cioran’s passionate clarity, Virgo.

From an astrological perspective, now is an excellent time to identify people and things that consistently invigorate your excitement about your destiny. Maybe you have just one shining exemplar, like Cioran, or maybe you have more. Home in on the phenomena that in your mind embody the glory of creation.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “If a man treats a life artistically, his brain is his heart,” wrote Oscar Wilde. I’ll translate that into a more complete version: “If a person of any gender treats life artistically, their brain is their heart.” This truth will be especially applicable for you in the coming weeks. You’ll be wise to treat your life artistically. You’ll thrive by using your heart as your brain.

So I advise you to wield your intelligence with love. Understand that your most incisive insights will come when you’re feeling empathy and seeking intimacy. As you crystallize clear visions about the future, make sure they are generously suffused with ideas about how you and your people can enhance your joie de vivre.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “My tastes are simple,” testified Sagittarian politician Winston Churchill. “I am easily satisfied with the best.” I propose that we make that your motto for now. While it may not be a sound idea to demand only the finest of everything all the time, I think it will be wise for you to do so during the next three weeks. You will have a mandate to resist trifles and insist on excellence. Luckily, this should motivate you to raise your own standards and expect the very best from yourself.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Russian playwright Anton Chekhov articulated a principle he felt was essential to telling a good story: If you say early in your tale that there’s a rifle hanging on the wall, that rifle must eventually be used. “If it’s not going to be fired, it shouldn’t be hanging there,” declared Chekhov.

We might wish that real life unfolded with such clear dramatic purpose. To have our future so well-foreshadowed would make it easier to plan our actions. But that’s not often the case. Many elements pop up in our personal stories that ultimately serve no purpose. Except now, that is, for you Capricorns. I suspect that in the next six weeks, plot twists will be telegraphed in advance.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Would it be fun to roast marshmallows on long sticks over scorching volcanic vents? I suppose. Would it be safe? No! Aside from the possibility that you could get burned, the sulfuric acid in the vapors would make the cooked marshmallows taste terrible, and might cause them to explode. So I advise you to refrain from adventures like that. On the other hand, I will love it if you cultivate a playful spirit as you contemplate serious decisions. I’m in favor of you keeping a blithe attitude as you navigate your way through tricky maneuvers. I hope you’ll be jaunty in the midst of rumbling commotions.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): People will be thinking about you more than usual, and with greater intensity. Allies and acquaintances will be revising their opinions and understandings about you, mostly in favorable ways, although not always. Loved ones and not-so-loved ones will also be reworking their images of you, coming to altered conclusions about what you mean to them and what your purpose is. Given these developments, I suggest that you be proactive about expressing your best intentions and displaying your finest attributes.

Homework: What pose would it be a relief for you to drop? How are you faking, and what could you do to stop? Freewillastrology.com.

ecurrent.com / september 2018 37

TIPPING ONE’S HAND Across 1. “Roses are Red� rhyme scheme 5. Diva Jackson 10. Sawbones 13. Dietary restriction 15. Drummer Gene 16. Miner issue 17. See 28-Across 18. Tipping one’s hand 20. Veins of 16-Across 22. Put a new coat on?

23. NASCAR’s Denny 25. Slums 27. Fish with a vowel-heavy name 28. With 17-Across, Fiercely 29. William : Nick :: ___ : Nora 30. Equipment 31. “I’ve made extra food�

35. Really moody 36. With 23, Historical period when negative numbers and paper was invented 39. Wu-Tang Clan member a.k.a. “The Abbot�

40. Fashion designer Alexander 42. Swear words 43. Poppy product 45. See 57-Across 47. Ticket readers 48. Golf scoresheet numbers 51. No longer sailing 52. Learns a lot overnight 53. Order to a getaway driver 54. Tipping one’s hand 57. With 45-Across, Massachusetts town where Anne Bradstreet died 61. “___ femme coquette� (1955 Godard short film) 62. “Obviously!�

63. Fish taco topping 64. E.R. V.I.P.s 65. Like celebrities on the red carpet 66. Still wet

38 

  september

Down 1. Insect with a thin waist 2. Scaring word 3. Record keeping dir.

4. Some cricket players 5. I/O connection?

6. God on the losing end of the Trojan War 7. Superfan 8. First Response rival 9. Taiwan’s capital 10. Underperform 11. University of Maine home 12. Very little change 14. Bad thing for a reporter to bury 19. Wash. baseballers 21. Suffer with 23. 2017 Pitbull single 24. QB Rodgers 25. Rub one’s canines 26. Adult red deer 27. Bird with white plumage 28. Last day?

30. Biting insects 32. Director Lars von ___ 33. Bright blue 34. Thanksgiving dishes 37. Story time?

38. Postwar Japanese premier Shigeru 41. Elf with a pointy red hat 44. Face card?

46. Olympic skater Baiul 47. Its emblem has an eagle perched on an anchor: Abbr.

48. Rugby huddle 49. Flavor of the month 50. Positive reviews 51. Anything whatever 53. Prey of the spotted hyenas 55. “Ha ... STAHP!�

56. First name in despotism 58. US radio service 59. Shade thrower?

60. Pull apart

2018 / ecurrent.com

FOR CROSSWORD ANSWERS, GO TO ECURRENT.COM

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

crossword

10:53 AM Wednesday July 11, 2018 10:53 AM Wednesday July 11, 2018

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