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DATING IN NORTHERN MICHIGAN NORTHERN MICHIGAN’S WEEKLY • february 6 - february 12, 2017 • Vol. 27 No. 6

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of millions of people around the world. When basic human rights are being threatened in the United States of America, a place which once took pride in the phrase, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” then what hope is there for the rest of the world? Democratic governments all over the planet are being assaulted by rightwing extremism, isolationism, fear and hate.

Donald Trump has seized on this phenomenon for reasons of his own, and he has proved he is an enemy of human rights by his promotion of torture and secret CIA prisons, his cabinet choices, his deluge of executive orders, and his Twitter rampages. We do not accept this and we will not be silenced. We will not succumb to despair and inaction. Nor will we reassure each other that at least there are no concentration camps in the USA. Remember there weren’t any in Germany until a wellknown demagogue came to power in 1933.

Call or write your members of Congress.

Run for office yourself. Sign petitions.

Speak out against injustice. Support human rights groups. Check out what the ACLU, the American Humanist Association and Greenpeace are doing. Join the resistance!

CONTENTS

features Crime and Rescue Map.......................................7

An Empire Bank Heist.......................................10 Seeking Cupid?.............................................12 Sweets for Your Sweetheart..............................14 Heartwarming Gifts for Guys and Gals...............15 Rockin’ a Local Tradition..................................16 Autism Is for Life............................................19 Biére De Mac Brew Works...............................20 Seen..................................................................22

dates...............................................23-26 music Ten Strings and A Goat Skin.............................21 FourScore.......................................................28

Anne Serafin, Harbor Springs Nightlife...........................................................29

Don’t Survey, Listen Our new Congressman Jack Bergman claims to want to know what matters to his constituents. But does he really?

He has released an online survey and asked us to respond. But this survey has the potential to create biased results that could be used to imply positions not intended by respondents.

The survey asks people to check which of 12 issues “are most important” to them. However, there is no opportunity for us to explain what is important about that issue and what specific actions we want Congress to take (or not take) regarding them. For example, if I check “Strengthening Families and Traditional Values,” would Rep. Bergman know I mean that I want him to increase minimum wages, ensure housing and food supports, preserve earned income tax credits, and support the values of letting me make decisions regarding my reproductive health care and whom to marry? Or will he use a check on this item to imply that I am anti-choice and anti-marriage equality?

Facts are facts, but this survey won’t provide them.

I urge residents of the First Congressional District not to respond to this survey, but rather to call Rep. Bergman at 202-225-4735 and urge him to put out an impartial survey and to schedule local office hours at his earliest opportunity.

If he really wants to know what matters to us, he should come here and have a dialogue.

Martha Lancaster, Harbor Springs

Give Him A Chance A lot of the readers’ letters I’ve read in my opinion misunderstand President Trump.

Some facts on our new president: He wants immigrants screened for crimes and disease.

He wants Obamacare repealed (remember “you can keep your current doctor”). Mr. Trump has already brought more jobs back than the last two presidents combined. The stock markets are on the rise. The mainstream media continues to attack him.

He’s not perfect, but I think he was the best choice for our country. Would you want four more years on the same path we’ve been headed? Give our new president the chance he deserves. Treat him with respect.

J. Parth, Boon

Chatfield Clueless on Line 5 Rep. Lee Chatfield (107th District) met with citizens from Emmet, Cheboygan, and Chippewa Counties on January 23 to discuss various issues. The number one issue was Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline.

To those present, Rep Chatfield’s lack of knowledge on this issue was astounding, and he has no excuse. Last March, Straits Area Concerned Citizens’ for Peace, Justice and the Environment met with him in his Lansing office to discuss Line 5. In April he attended, along with Rep. Petallia and Sen. Schmidt, a “Lawmaker’s Roundtable on Enbridge’s Line 5” at the Cheboygan Library.

Presentations included “The Reliability of the Pipeline,” “Is Line 5 Essential,” and “Contingency Plan Shortcomings.” Oil & Water Don’t Mix’s community-based resolutions were also presented.

Yet at Monday’s meeting, Rep. Chatfield still did not know that Governor Snyder and Attorney General Schuette have the legal authority under the 1953 Easement to Shut Down Line 5. He argued that Line 5 is a federal issue, which is partly true, except for the five miles under the Straits of Mackinac. That section is the State of Michigan’s responsibility.

Rep. Chatfield and I do not share the same ideology, but he took an oath of office to represent all citizens in his district. Part of that oath is to protect the citizens, businesses, health, and environment. The 107th District is at ground zero!

To date, 74 governmental bodies and 138 businesses are calling for Line 5 to be shut down now! Rep. Chatfield is being asked to stand up for the people and businesses in his district and to lend his voice over this growing concern.

Is it not more financially prudent to prevent a spill rather than try to clean one up?

Joanne Cromley, Afton

More Than A March The lack of news coverage of the Traverse City Women’s March was disappointing. No mention in Northern Express except for a well-meant but lukewarm article penned by Mr. Tuttle.

Yes, we know it was just one march on just one day. But it reflected the very real concerns

My Morning A foot of fresh powder. Perfect! I started the day in pursuit of serenity. Church at 8:15 sounded like a good idea. I’m only two blocks away, so I walk there.

I left the house with my two sticks of Nicorette gum, followed by my first Lucky Strike. Trying to quit. I had to walk in the street as I made my way to Division Street, a block away. That or strap on the skis or snowshoes and take the sidewalk. When I got to Division, the traffic had cleared, save for one black SUV approaching from the north still two blocks away. I started crossing. As I cleared the northbound lane and entered the southbound one I heard a lame horn from the SUV still a block away. Strange. Nearing the side of the road, the SUV approached rapidly, still 100 yards away. Plenty of time to make it.

Then a stranger thing happened. The driver of the SUV chose to lay on his lame horn...at me I guess. So I had only a moment to react, and of course I tried to flip him off. Only thing...I had the Lucky betwixt my flipping finger and my index. So I held them both up with the Lucky and shook this symbolic gesture menacingly. The Lucky flip. So much for serenity!

Lyman McGone, Traverse City

Sad Trump Position Donald Trump’s view that abortion for pre-natals is wrong, while the torture of postnatals is OK, is strange, or using the Donald’s language: “So sad.”

Bob Ross, Pellston

Preservation of White Majority Native Americans’ fight against the DAPL pipeline at Standing Rock reminds us of what the Supreme Court said in 1955: “Every American schoolboy knows that the savage tribes of this continent were deprived of their ancestral ranges by force and that, even when the Indians ceded millions of acres by treaty in return for blankets, food, and trinkets, it was not a sale, but the conquerors’ will that deprived them of their land.”

Under international law, of course, acquisition of territory by conquest is inadmissible. K. C. McAlpin is the director of US Inc, which publishes the Petoskey-based magazine Social Contract. They advocate for restrictive immigration and “preservation of a white majority” in the U.S. (“A tale of two legacies,” 1/23/17) McAlpin holds up Israel as “a good example. Israel has the right to preserve its basic demographic makeup....”

columns & stuff

Top Five............................................................5 Spectator/Stephen Tuttle....................................4 Weird.................................................................8 Style.................................................................9 Modern Rock/Kristi Kates.................................28 The Reel.......................................................30 Advice Goddess..............................................32 Crossword.....................................................33 Freewill Astrology...........................................34 Classifieds......................................................35

Northern Express Weekly is published by Eyes Only Media, LLC. Publisher: Luke Haase 129 E Front Traverse City, MI Phone: (231) 947-8787 Fax: 947-2425 email: info@northernexpress.com www.northernexpress.com Finance & Distribution Manager: Brian Crouch Sales: Kathleen Johnson, Peg Muzzall, Katy McCain, Mike Bright, Michele Young, Randy Sills, Todd Norris For ad sales in Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Boyne & Charlevoix, call (231) 881-5943 Creative Director: Kyra Poehlman Distribution: Matt Ritter, Randy Sills, Kathy Twardowski, Austin Lowe Listings Editor: Jamie Kauffold Contributing Editor: Kristi Kates Reporter: Patrick Sullivan Contributors: Amy Alkon, Janice Binkert, Ross Boissoneau, Rob Brezsny, Jennifer Hodges, Candra Kolodziej, Clark Miller, Al Parker, Michael Phillips, Chuck Shepherd, Steve Tuttle, Tyler Parr Photography: Michael Poehlman, Peg Muzzall Copyright 2016, all rights reserved. Distribution: 36,000 copies at 600+ locations weekly. Northern Express Weekly is free of charge, but no person may take more than one copy of each weekly issue without written permission of Northern Express Weekly. Reproduction of all content without permission of the publisher is prohibited.

Northern Express Weekly • february 6, 2017 • 3

letters Continued from previous page

Actually, it’s the other way around: Israel follows the U.S. model. When it was created in warfare in 1948, it expelled 700,000 Palestinians and refused their return when the war ended. In 1967 it created 350,000 more refugees. Later over 600,000 Israeli settlers occupied the Palestinians’ land. By conquest.As your article notes, John Tanton was the one who hired McAlpin. He also hired Wayne Lutton, the editor of Social Contract.

In a 1994 book review Lutton justified race war: “(The author) brings his reader to the surprising conclusion that killing a million or so starving refugees ... would be a supreme act of individual sanity and cultural health.”

I don’t know if these men are personally racist. Certainly their worldview is. They are entitled to their opinions. The best response is ostracism.

Ellis Boal, Charlevoix

Targeting Teenagers

The article “Up in Vapor” discussed the recent increase in “vaping” or e-cigarette use as an alternative for smokers. Although I agree that these products might be less harmful than combustible products, I would not classify them as safe. Nicotine is a highly addictive and harmful drug. While I applaud the local retailer for not selling to minors, we know that e-cigarette use is dramatically increasing in high school and even middle school. The reason is obvious: Tobacco companies spend millions of dollars on advertising targeting our youth. Using the same methods that they used in the past for cigarettes – candy flavored products, celebrity endorsements, and themes of rebellion, glamour, and sex -- tobacco companies aim to get our youth to use tobacco products because they know that 95 percent of adult smokers started before age 21. To claim that these products are intended and promoted for current smokers is disingenuous at best.

A study in Pediatrics showed that adolescents who reported e-cigarette use had more than six times the odds of initiating cigarette use as never e-cigarette users,

confirming several previous studies that give evidence that vaping starts our youth on a path to a lifelong addiction to nicotine and poor health. Is there anyone who wishes that on his or her child?

We can all help to reduce youth access to these products by supporting efforts to raise the minimum sales age to 21 years. Already enacted in hundreds of cities and a few states, “Tobacco 21” is an effective method to reduce youth nicotine use.

Dr. Joshua Meyerson, Petoskey

Tillerson’s Shortcomings

Regarding Jack Segal’s column (Jan 9 issue): Segal is a local retired foreign affairs employee known for his knowledge of global issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian struggle. Regarding Trump’s choice for Secretary of State, Segal describes Rex Tillerson as “an experienced student of Arab affairs” who will likely temper Trump’s volatility, especially to avoid upsetting Israel and “protect our current extensive economic and military ties to the Arab states.”

Considering Tillerson’s moneyed background, Trump’s pick as Secretary of State -- like his other cabinet choices -- is not surprising. The fellow has no experience in public service, has devoted his working life to one of the most powerful fossil fuel, global-warming-denying corporations in the world, and reportedly prefers putting corporate interests before America’s national or international concerns. At least his global corporate experience makes him a minimal cabinet match, in contrast with other Trump selections. As for protecting our economic ties or interests, that often means our collusion with oppressive regimes that thrive on corruption and resource extraction at the expense of their own people. The designs of corporate America are not unfamiliar with using brutal coercion aided by U.S. complicity and shrugged off as a necessary evil. Segal’s “economic and military ties” are just being repackaged as Trump’s gloves-off “America First.”

4 • february 6, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

Allen McCullough, Interlochen

CHRISTINE MOREY: LIFE AS A WORK OF ART opinion

BY Grant parsons There used to be a wondrous little bungalow at the foot of the Grand Traverse Bay, near the mouth of Boardman River in Traverse City. An enormous, hoary old willow stood overhead, with branches that dangled like wind chimes in the breeze. Chris Morey lived there and she do-dadded the place with beach glass and driftwood and colorful objects and painted flowers on the siding. She had three impossibly blonde little children, and she acted as if they were her elves and she were the queen of the may.

Six days a week I delivered her the afternoon Record-Eagle. Once after a storm flooded her yard, I had to cross the water on a plank to hand her the paper. She laughed watching me, and said, “How d’ya like my moat!”

All that’s gone now, as John Pryne said, replaced by a motel parking lot.

When I became an adult and did Chris small favors, she gave me objects she’d repurposed and garishly painted: clocks, mirrors, plaster casts of asparagus. She called me “Young Abe,” and if I attempted to impose some order on her life, she insisted I stop “that nonsense.” When my retriever died, she wrote and illustrated a book about him finding the end of the rainbow across the bay.

At the dark end of the year 2016, Chris hummed a Frank Sinatra tune and a bit later took the small hop and skip from this world to the next. Her daughter Dianne wrote this prose poem in memoriam: “My mom died early this morning. I remember mason jars full of paint, brushes sitting in turpentine, a palette rich with lawyers of paint, colors blending sparkling swirling into each other. Trays of messy greasy beautiful oil pastels. Stacks of canvases, she would do back to her easel every day until every canvas became a painting. Sketch books – the ones with the brown cover and sometimes an expensive hard cover one to take on trips, and charcoal pencils. Skinny lemon twist cigarettes, a ring of frosted pink lipstick on the butt. Thick silver and turquoise bracelets, one of a kind hand made rings, gold silver mixed gemstones, statement pieces, dangly earrings.

Long gauze shirts and embroidered coats. Her taste ran to the rich hippie look, textures and wild prints – Marimekko, Mizzoni. Eyelash curler, clumpy mascara. Blonde hair always in one of those sexy messy up-dos, bangs floating across her forehead. Hand blown glassware, full of bubbles. Kahlua and cream, Boones Farm strawberry wine. Glasses on top of her head. She could never find them. A red rambler station wagon covered in flower pot stickers. She let us ride on top down county roads. I remember laughing so hard when she would suddenly proclaim that she had lost control of the car, veering wildly shouting back to me (she named her car The Red Baroness) “She’s got a mind of her own,” and we would scream and laugh as that car took over and drove us to the ice cream store. She always got the weirdest flavors Pistachio and Lime Daiquiri, double scoop please. No pretending to be on a diet when it came to ice cream cones, a double scoop or nothing. And one for each of the dogs. She never went anywhere without her pack of dogs with her. They sat outside the grocery store, off-leash, occasionally wandering in, strolling the aisles. Her favorite bars and restaurants were the ones that let our

dogs lay under our table. She had a million friends, artists, actors, everyone interesting.

She loved parties and late nights. She was a terrible cook, lost her mind on the holidays.

Bought us too many presents. Painted her house purple, filled it with artwork from her travels and had the very most decorated tree every Xmas. She raised me right, brought me up with a paintbrush in my hand and a dog to run wild with, through the woods, across the water in my little sunfish sailboat. Come home by sunset or just a little later. She liked to disappear from the world to a cabin or a tent in the woods for days, weeks. And this beach was everything, her beach. It’s what I see when I think of her. The narrow twisting path opening to the gold sand, wild blue lake Michigan water, breakwall, light house Manitou island off on the horizon, fishing boats leaving the harbor. Our dogs running down the beach.

My mom in her suit, hair up, lipstick on. That orange Bain De Soleil suntan lotion. I loved the smell of it. Swimming until. Swimming until my fingertips were wrinkled, holding my breath skimming along the bottom eyes open grabbing fish with my hands. Coming up for air, my mom waving from the beach. Crackers and cheese, pickles, sand everywhere. Once a week she would try to comb out my hair while I sat on a towel looking out at the lake. Johnson’s No More Tangles spray and a comb, she tried but I was wild and my hair was always a mess. Fast changes with a towel wrapped around. Tennis shoes, cut offs, a t-shirt and a windbreaker. Never leaving until the sun went down. Her beach.

RIP Christine Elizabeth Walker.

Grant Parsons is a trial attorney, a native of Traverse City, with a keen interest in local politics, especially land use.

this week’s

top five

vasa festival of races

Who is Environmentalist of the Year?

The Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council wants to know who the standout environmentalists are in northern Michigan.

Nominate someone in the following categories for Environmentalist of the Year: student, educator, grassroots group, journalism & communications, business, public service/public office, professional, volunteer, general, and agriculture/farming. To suggest someone, go to nmeac.org or call Greg Reisig at (231) 264-8396.

The winners will be unveiled at the 29th Annual Environmentalist of the Year Awards & Celebration on Friday, April 28 from 6 to 9pm at the Milliken Auditorium in the Dennos Museum Center.

Aaron Payment, tribal chair of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians, will be the guest speaker. He will talk about the Line 5 pipeline and tribal fishing rights in the Mackinac Straits.

The 2016 winners included student David Meyer, educator Tara Denherder, activist Peggy Case, journalist Jacob Wheeler, Nathan Griswold of Inhabitect, LLC, Marlene Wood of Benzie County Recycling, Skip Pruss of 5 Lakes Energy, volunteer Kerry Kelly, Jordan Byron of Bay Area Recycling for Charities, Brian & Amy Tennis of New Mission Organics, Levi Meeuwenberg & Brenda Baran of Realeyes Homestead, and Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay attorney T.J. Andrews.

bottomsup Northwoods Thin Ice Soda Northwoods Soda has been hand-crafting soda syrups in Williamsburg, Mich. for over 25 years, adding in bottled sodas (namely “Wild Bill’s Root Beer”) in 2008. Company founder Bill Fosdick even included his kids in the process – they helped taste-test the sodas as new flavors have been developed – and most recently, Bill’s son David has joined the company as his father’s partner.

While summertime is all about bright Northwoods flavors like Orange Crème Soda, Lake Effect Lemonade, and Spring Fever, winter offers up its own Northwoods rewards, like Thin Ice. If you like vanilla – and peppermint patties – chances are you’ll savor this mix of both influences. Thin Ice soda is most like a sweet white crème soda, with an unexpected hint of mint as a top note. It’s perfect simply served over ice (with or without skates), or you can add in a scoop of vanilla ice crème to maximize the flavor.

Scoop up 12 11.5 ounce bottles for $18 at northwoodssoda.com, or buy singles locally at a wide range of retailers.

The North American VASA 41st Annual Festival of Races takes place Sat. & Sun., Feb. 11-12 at Timber Ridge, TC. Sat. includes freestyle skiing & fat bike races, & Sun. features the Gran Travers Classic. New this year is the Collegiate Challenge. vasa.org

A Message from the Past Brad Lystra was doing some work on his home on Seventh Street in Traverse City when some notes fell out of a crumbling plaster wall.

They were written on boards by the homebuilder, Andrew Blue, and dated Jan. 29, 1884. One note said that the house was built for a Mr. Shadek.

“One of the first things I realized when I found the notes behind the wall was that the house was actually a few decades older than I thought.

Originally I thought the house was built around 1910.” He said he researched Traverse City in 1884 and discovered that was the year that the Opera House opened and construction of the Hannah & Lay building on Front Street had just started.

“I was amazed that 137 years ago, Mr. Blue left this simple note, timestamping and dedicating the property.”

Lystra said when he re-builds the wall, he intends to leave a note himself for some future remodeler to find.

“If that last 137 years, I’ll be pretty happy,” he said.

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MEDIA BASHING AND EMAIL MEETINGS spectator by stephen tuttle Oh dear. We have a new administration that doesn’t understand the Constitution and a local government having similar issues with Michigan laws.

No, Mr. Bannon, the media should not keep its mouth shut. That’s what happens in Guaranteed this countries without constitutions where political leaders fear a skeptical, vigorous media.

Valentine’s Day! In a few short months, Steve Bannon has gone from running Breitbart News -- by his own account the “voice of the alt-right” -- to being a top presidential aide and decisionmaker on the National Security Council.

The Trump administration’s decision to declare war on the media – Trump said he was “at war with the media” – is right up Bannon’s hate-filled alley. In fact, he’s said “hate is good.” What the Trumpians would like is to become the country’s primary source of information. To do that they are waging an ongoing disinformation campaign to diminish the media. It’s foolish and dangerous.

A robust mainstream media, in which stories are vetted and facts checked, is at least as important as the people on which it reports.

Thomas Jefferson believed it was more im535 W. Front Street portant. He said that, and this is a paraphrase, given a choice between government without Downtown TC newspapers or newspapers without govern231-932-2045 ment he would prefer the latter.

So should we all.

Which is not to suggest there is no media bias. The media is run by humans and we all have inherent beliefs and ideas that seep into our everyday work. But that’s not intentional bias. We now have entire networks, Fox News and MSNBC being the two most prominent, dedicated to single visions of events. And the eople internet is filled with faux news with more P o Tw s t bias than information. r a He But it isn’t bias simply because legitimate Two media aren’t regurgitating exactly what they’re being told by some politician. It isn’t bias when they report, verbatim, what the president just Two said. It isn’t bias when they report what he’s just s t r a He done. It isn’t bias when they report the conseTwoquences of and reactions to policy decisions.

P Because we don’t happen to like whatever (reg.$60) twoonthetown.com eoplise being reported doesn’t make that information biased, corrupt or dishonest. Too many of us now use the various media platforms to find confirmation of already held beliefs rather than Sorellina • West Bay Beach Holiday Inn Resort • Riverwalk Grill & Taproom • China Fare Salooking vingsfor information to inform those beliefs. r vereflects That our bias, not the media’s.

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First Amendment. It’s how we ferret out the scoundrels and liars, how we discover where our tax dollars are being misspent, how we learn the truth about our wars.

Now the president’s top advisor is telling the media to just shut up. We should hope that never happens. Ever.

Meanwhile, closer to home, Elk Rapids seems to have an education problem. No, the kids in school are doing just fine. But their Board of Education needs more than just a refresher course in Michigan’s open meetings law. Don’t they get a pamphlet or something about this stuff when they take office?

Seems a quorum of the board has been having e-mail conversations aplenty about business that should have been reserved for public meetings. That’s pretty much the purpose of the law; meetings, discussions, deliberations by elected officials have to be held in public.

According to board member Darryl Antcliffe, as reported in the Traverse City RecordEagle, “A lot of times there are discussions just bouncing around and checking out how each other feels.” Good grief. That isn’t even close.

This all came to light through a Freedom of Information request made by the Record-Eagle in the Rod Troutman situation. Troutman, a board trustee and former assistant coach, was accused of grabbing a student by the neck and shoving him up against some lockers. He resigned his coaching position and the board was trying to decide whether or not to ask him to resign his board position, too (they ultimately voted 4-2 to ask for his resignation).

The specifics aren’t really the point. A quorum of the board, unintentionally or not, was having themselves meetings via e-mail. It’s against the law.

Open meetings laws let us be witness to our government, the decisions made and the reasons they’re made. Meeting behind closed doors, or closed computer screens, excludes the people that government is supposed to serve, and the media whose job it is to report to that public. It’s troubling when local government doesn’t understand that.

The Trump administration’s relentless attempts to diminish the media are even more troubling. His of bias are attempts Raccusations g. truth to deflect fromethe $50 being told and that’s dangerous. It represents both ignorance of the essential role played by the media and a willful attempt to undermine it. In fact, we need them more than we need him. And we need them now more GET than ever.

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Crime & Rescue WISCONSIN BANDITS BUSTED Police across northern Michigan were on the lookout for a stolen car from Wisconsin when it was spotted crossing the Mackinac Bridge.

Cheboygan County deputies learned at 10:24pm Jan. 25 that the vehicle was headed their way, Sheriff Dale Clarmont said. Three occupants of the vehicle were believed to have been involved in a string of break-ins and firearm thefts across the Upper Peninsula and Wisconsin.

Deputies attempted to stop the vehicle as it exited I-75 at Riggsville Road, leading to a highspeed pursuit. The suspects reached M-27 and headed south to Indian River before looping through a neighborhood and heading north on M-27 toward Topinabee. The vehicle turned onto Liberty Point Drive, where the three suspects ditched their pickup and ran onto Mullet Lake.

Police used a hovercraft to reach the suspects.

Guns and a mobile meth lab were found in the car, Clarmont said.

The driver, 28-year-old Kensey Kevin Kaseno, and passengers Norman Erwin Kasten, 44, and Rachel Opal Greenwood, 21, all from Wisconsin, each face years in prison on numerous felony charges.

TASER BREAKS UP JAIL FIGHT Police investigated a fight over a card game at the Grand Traverse County Jail.

Officers were called at 9:41pm Jan. 27 after two inmates got into a fight when one accused the other of cheating, Traverse City Police Sgt. Kevin Gay said. There were no serious injuries and the fight was broken up when jail staff used a taser on one of the inmates.

Gay said a report was sent to prosecutors to determine whether the inmates should face charges.

FAMILY DOLLAR CRASHER WANTED Cadillac Police want to find whoever crashed into a Family Dollar store and drove off.

The hit-and-run crash happened at 7:50pm Jan. 30 on the 800 block of N. Mitchell Street. The impact caused minor damage to the building, Sgt. Jeff Izzard said.

The driver fled the scene before police arrived.

Witnesses described the vehicle as an older white Chevrolet Impala or something like it last seen headed north on N. Mitchell. The vehicle should have front-end damage. Anyone who knows who the driver is should call police at 231-775-3491 COUPLE FACES MURDER CHARGES A Kalkaska Couple face murder charges in the woman’s father’s death.

Brian Keith Degroot and Jessica Kay Degroot were arrested Jan. 30 by Kalkaska County Sheriff’s deputies. Brian Degroot, 47, also faces a charge of torture, and Jessica Degroot faces a charge of illegal use of a financial transaction device.

Michael Steven Brandt, 54, of South Boardman, was found dead at his home a day earlier after a friend who hadn’t heard from him in a while visited his house to check on him. Brandt died of multiple stab wounds and his death was ruled a homicide.

ATTORNEY SENT TO PRISON A former Petoskey attorney who’s had repeated run-ins with the law was sentenced to 32 months to 25 years in prison.

Susan Gail Graham was sentenced Jan. 31 in the 57th Circuit Court for being a prisoner in possession of alcohol and a four-time habitual offender.

Graham pled guilty after she was found to

by patrick sullivan psullivan@northernexpress.com

have consumed alcohol while on work release from jail while she was serving a sentence for drugged driving.

The 46-year-old Harbor Springs woman has had repeated drug-related convictions in Emmet County dating back to 2011. In 2014, she was convicted of maintaining a drug house in Grand Traverse County.

SNOMOBILER CRASHED INTO TREES Alcohol and speed contributed to a crash that seriously injured a snowmobile driver.

Cheboygan County Sheriff’s deputies responded to Grant Township Jan. 28 at 5pm where 42-year-old Dearborn Heights man lost control, struck several trees and was ejected from his 2011 Polaris on Orchard Beach Road. The man was taken to McLaren Northern Michigan in Petoskey.

BREAK-IN SUSPECT CAPTURED A smoke break led Boyne City Police to a 32-year-old suspect in a Christmas Eve theft.

Nathan Matthew Hublick was identified as a suspect soon after the crime but he’d been ducking police for weeks.

Hublick is accused of taking cash, clothing and a handgun from a vehicle. The handgun was recovered and an arrest warrant was issued on Dec. 26.

Police have been keeping an eye on a home where Hublick had been living and on Jan. 24 someone who looked like him appeared from outside the house smoking a cigarette.

Boyne City officers and Charlevoix County Sheriff’s deputies followed Hublick inside, where he was found hiding in the basement.

Veraldi was driving at just past noon Aug. 7 on U.S. 31 north of Industrial Park Drive when he drove onto the shoulder and struck 61-year-old Tracey Butler of Hyde Park, N.Y. while she was bicycling with her husband.

Emmet County Sheriff’s investigators determined that Veraldi was driving erratically on the shoulder and made no attempt to slow down before he struck Butler.

Seven more guns were recovered along with numerous power tools in searches of three residences in Kalkaska County. South Boardman resident Jeremy Stevens, 28, and Wisconsin resident Joshua Griffin, 23, face numerous felony charges in Benzie County.

SELFIE LEADS TO ARRESTS A Facebook post after a break-in led police to arrest two men at a Grand Traverse County worksite and recover 11 stolen firearms.

The case started Jan. 23 when a homeowner reported a burglary in Benzie County’s Inland Township. The victim believed he knew who was responsible, which led investigators to a photo on Facebook of a suspect holding what appeared to be a stolen gun, Benzie County Sheriff’s deputies said.

That led police to a residence in South Boardman where they recovered two guns. They also tracked down the suspects to a business where they worked in Grand Traverse County, where they were arrested and two more guns were recovered.

emmet cheboygan

PLEA IN CYCLIST’S DEATH A 67-year-old man who struck and killed a bicyclist as she pedaled at the side of a highway on a bright, sunny afternoon pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

Petoskey resident Frank Daniel Veraldi faces up to 15 years in prison after his Jan. 27 plea. Emmet County Prosecutor James Linderman said in exchange for the plea, charges of operating while visibly impaired causing death and reckless d r i v i n g causing death were dismissed.

charlevoix

antrim

otsego

Leelanau

benzie

manistee

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wexford

kalkaska

missaukee

crawfor D

roscommon

Northern Express Weekly • february 6, 2017 • 7

Work of a Researcher “Field work is always challenging,” explained Courtney Marneweck of South Africa’s University of KwaZulu-Natal in a recent journal article, but studying the sociology of a white rhino’s dung meant developing a “pattern-recognition algorithm” to figure out “smell profiles” of 150 animals’ feces -- after tracking them individually to observe them in the act. Wrote Marneweck, “I think my record for waiting for a rhino to poo was 7 1/2 hours.”

Conclusion: Rhinos use feces to send distinct social signals on genetically compatible herds, mating access and predator dangers. (Or, in the Los Angeles Times “clickbait” version of the story, rhino dung “has a lot in common with a Facebook post.”)

The Way the World Works -- “Retiring” the Herd: Settlement of a class-action lawsuit against a group of dairy co-ops was announced in January with milk producers agreeing to pay $52 million on charges they had conspired to fix the dairy supply for years to get top-dollar prices.

Among the producers’ primary tactics, allegedly, was using what the industry calls “herd retirement,” which is “retirement” only in the sense that 500,000 healthy young cows were slaughtered -- just to drive up prices by eliminating otherwise-available milk. The $52 million will be for consumers in 15 states and Washington, D.C. -- Wrist-Slapping: (1) Rutgers University Athletic Director Pat Hobbs, responding to the

The dark days of autism

I

– were not so long ago –

n the 1960s, autistic children were treated with LSD with hopes of breaking their silence. Others were given electric shocks from a cattle prod to stop them from hurting themselves. In Nazioccupied Austria, disabled and autistic children were poisoned to death with phenobarbital, as they weren’t deemed useful for society. Hans Asperger, discoverer of the syndrome named after him, may well have taken part in the program. And the controversy over vaccines involved a British scientist who faked clinical data, and was poised to market an alternate measles vaccine.

the philosophy of neurodiversity.

About the Authors John Donvan is an ABC Nightline correspondent and has won three Emmys. He became interested in autism’s impact on families after meeting his physician wife, whose brother is profoundly affected by autism.

Caren Zucker is an Emmy-nominated journalist and former ABC producer. Her Authors Caren Zucker and John Donvan son Mickey’s autism diagnosis inspired include these compelling stories in their her to produce and cowrite the six-part book, In a Different Key. On February 10, PBS series “Autism Now.” they’ll take the City Opera House stage to talk about their book with guest host Cari Guest host Cari Noga, is the author of Noga. This is the first National Writers Se- Sparrow Migrations, which reflects experiences she and her husband have ries event of the season. had parenting their young, autistic son.

Parents play a major role in the book— For tickets, please call 231-941-8082, those who rejected the “refrigerator mother ext. 201, go to the City Opera House box theory,” raised money for research and sued office, or order at cityoperahouse.org. to get public schools to accept their chilwww.nationalwritersseries.org dren. Those with autism also play a starring role, including Temple Grandin who EvEnt spOnsOr: Autism Centers of miChigAn explained her inner world and championed

8 • february 6, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

NCAA’s announcement of violations against the school’s sports programs (including failure to penalize 16 football players who tested positive for drugs), told the Asbury Park Press in January that he would immediately dismiss from teams any player testing positive for hard drugs -- upon the fourth violation (if for marijuana only, upon the fifth). (2) In January, the Russian parliament voted 380 to 3 to amend its assault law to allow a spouse one punishment-by-”ticketing” (i.e., not criminal) for domestic violence against his partner -- provided the bodily harm was not “substantial” and that it happens no more than once a year.

Unclear on the Concept The “Virtuous Pedophile”: Gary Gibson, 65, of Chiloquin, Oregon, admits he is sexually attracted to little girls but never acts on his urges, and therefore, demands that people get off his case. He formed the Association for Sexual Abuse Prevention, campaigning, he says, to keep children safe from other pedophiles whose self-restraint may not match his. Gibson describes himself as a “normal, everyday person,” married to a British nurse (whom he met via a Christian singles organization), and has three children and 10 grandchildren -- none so far molested (though in an interview, London’s The Sun allowed him to explain his side of various edgy events of his life, such as his having moved for a while to the South Pacific, where little girls sometimes played naked).

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The long puffy black parka is part of the deep winter uniform in the midwest.

Once the cold really settles in, they show up on everyone, and whether they’re shiny or matte, hooded or fur-trimmed, they all tend to look the same. But that doesn’t mean we have to look the same wearing them! Think of the black parka as winter’s version of the little black dress: it’s all about the accessories.

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Northern Express Weekly • february 6, 2017 • 9

Surveillance footage of the robbery of Huntington National Bank in Empire.

William Minore’s mugshot from the Leelanau County Jail.

An Empire Bank Heist Was a 69-year-old so desperate to make a film about global warming that he robbed a bank?

By Patrick Sullivan William Minore launched a Gofundme campaign to raise $20,000 to make a film calling for an environmental revolution.

On the page, he made a desperate plea for money, though he said he was really more interested in getting his message out.

The earth is in crisis, Minore wrote. He added, “We are on a suicidal course to turn our miracle planet into a poisoned, airless, dead rock whirling through empty space because of our mindless greed.”

He also described his troubled finances: “My financial health isn’t so good. I need some material things.”

Was the 69-year-old so desperate for cash in order to make his film and shore up his life that he robbed a bank? Police and prosecutors in Leelanau County say he was. Today, Minore is in jail awaiting trial for armed robbery for a Sept. 7 bank heist, one that bears a striking resemblance to two 2015 bank robberies in Benzie County.

A CIRCUMSTANTIAL CASE The case against Minore for the Huntington National Bank robbery in Empire is circumstantial but compelling.

At Minore’s preliminary hearing in January, Prosecutor Joseph Hubbell walked the lead investigator, Detective Bob Bailey, through surveillance footage from the day of the robbery. The footage shows Minore getting into a car that wasn’t his in Glen Arbor.

Prior to this, the footage shows Minore pacing up and down Western Avenue in front of Art’s Tavern, apparently checking out cars. Early on, Minore wore flip-flops; in later frames, he appeared in shoes and gloves just before jumping into a silver Kia

Soul and driving off.

The Kia would be discovered in Glen Arbor several hours later and a couple of blocks away, near the Cherry Republic. In the meantime, an ATM surveillance camera on the northern edge of Empire captured a car that looked like the Kia driving into the village just before the bank robbery and heading back on M-22 toward Glen Arbor just after.

In the moments between 1:10pm when Minore took the Kia and 1:33pm when a masked robber entered the Huntington branch in Empire, someone made two hysterical calls to 911, reporting a gunman at Lake Ann Elementary School and an “active shooter” at the Leelanau School, calls investigators say were made by the robber to divert police from Empire.

Brian Tripp, the bank’s customer service manager, was in his office this warm and overcast late summer day when a thief dressed in black rain coveralls and a ski mask and carrying a black umbrella burst into the branch.

Footage from eight surveillance cameras running inside the bank showed the robbery unfold. The robber waived what appeared to be a silver .38 revolver around as a bank teller scooped up bricks of cash and shoved them into the crook’s black bag.

“He told us that if we hit any alarms, he was going to f---ing kill us…I wasn’t afraid, but I did what he said,” Tripp said. “I mean, there was no point in arguing with him.”

The robber got in and out of the building in two minutes and 28 seconds before vanishing out the back door into an alley.

CONNECTED BY A KIA No witnesses saw Minore at the bank that afternoon. Bailey acknowledged that

10 • february 6, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

the surveillance images of the Kia in Empire do not reveal a face or license plate.

In an extensive search of Minore’s home in Benzonia, two sheriff ’s departments, the state police and the FBI found no weapon, none of the cash (including none of the $150 in $2 bills taken from the bank) and none of the clothing the robber is wearing in the surveillance footage. Investigators found nothing at the house to link Minore to the crime, though they did find some marijuana.

What connects Minore to Empire at the time of the robbery is the Kia, a detail that might have gone unnoticed if the car had been returned to the same spot its owner had left it.

Minore admits he took the Kia, but in a jailhouse interview with the Northern Express, he emphatically denied robbing the bank.

“No. Definitely no. Somebody asked me to move a vehicle,” he said. “I was set up.”

The Kia’s owner, Thomas Taylor, was working at Art’s Tavern when he realized his car was gone. He said he always left it unlocked with the keys inside. He noticed some commotion outside and soon learned the road to Empire had been blocked by police. That’s when he happened to glance over and see his car missing. He called police, who immediately connected the stolen car to the bank robbery.

AN ALIBI FOR THE DEFENSE Minore grew up in Flint and moved to northern Michigan in 1980. He lived in a camper “in the woods” for the first 13 years, moving around from place to place.

When he met his now ex-girlfriend, the woman who became the mother of his two daughters, the couple bought a house in

Benzie County and lived there until they split up. Later, Minore sometimes stayed in a travel trailer on the property, which he eventually sold. He was in the process of moving off that property at the beginning of September just as the Empire bank was robbed.

Minore said he was in Glen Arbor that day because he’d camped nearby. He’d spent the day hanging out, he said. He’d gone for a swim. He’d made several calls to his former workplace, the Shop-N-Save in Benzonia, because he was waiting for his last check to come in. He was wandering around killing time when he saw a sick-looking man sitting by the tennis courts.

“There was a guy there sitting on the ground with a surgical mask on. He seemed to be in distress, and I asked him, ‘Are you all right?’” Minore said.

Minore said the man told him he was preparing to have a liver transplant and needed to go to Munson Medical Center with his brother but was supposed to meet his wife in Glen Arbor. Minore said the man asked him to move his Kia Soul parked a couple of blocks away to where it could be seen from the tennis courts so his wife could find it.

“He didn’t want me to touch him because he said he was taking something to suppress his autoimmune system for his liver transplant,” Minore said. He said the man gave him sterile gloves and shoes to wear in the car.

Minore said he agreed, but something felt wrong about the circumstances as he approached the car. He said he circled around and decided not to move the car before changing his mind and moving it after all.

and that Bill was involved, and I thought to myself, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny?’” he said. “As eccentric as he was, he did seem intelligent.”

William Minore with his attorney, William Burdette, at his preliminary examination before Judge Larry Nelson in January.

After that, he says he hung around Glen Arbor for a while. He interacted with a woman who worked with a lawn maintenance company who his lawyer is trying to track down as an alibi witness.

He chatted with a couple from Chicago at Cherry Republic, but he doubted whether he’d be able to track them down. He said detectives never tried to find the witnesses who saw him in Glen Arbor.

Hubbell laughed when asked what he thought of Minore’s version of events.

“Obviously, if we didn’t believe we could be successful at trial, we wouldn’t have charged the case,” he said.

ANOTHER LINK TO THE CRIME It turns out the Glen Arbor surveillance footage isn’t the only circumstantial evidence investigators have linking Minore to the robbery.

Minore’s ex-girlfriend, whom he dated for seven years until 2000, testified at the preliminary hearing that she called police when she heard those diversionary 911 calls broadcast on the news the day of the robbery.

“That’s Bill Minore,” the 49-year-old woman testified after one of the tapes played in court. “I mean, I lived with him. I know his voice.”

She said one of her daughters first noticed her dad’s voice in the tapes. They called police that day.

Minore’s attorney, William Burdette, suggested in cross examination there might be bad blood between Minore and the girlfriend, implying that she might have reason to want to see him in trouble, but the woman denied she was out to get her ex. “It was a pretty horrible day for me,” she testified. “I feel sorry for him. I don’t have any animosity towards him.”

Minore acknowledged that it’s hard to explain his innocence in light of his exgirlfriend’s testimony on top of his strange story of having been asked to move the car by a stranger, but he said it would all be explained in his trial.

Hubbell said he believes the person who made the 911 call before the Empire robbery was the same person who made the calls before each of the Benzie County bank

robberies in 2015. He said each call was made by Minore.

Hubbell plans to file a motion to introduce all the 911 calls at trial so he can show a pattern of behavior.

Minore has not been charged in connection with the Benzie robberies, but they involve a nearly identical bank heist approach.

The culprit in the April, 2015, robbery of the Honor State Savings Bank in Lake Ann is believed to have made three 911 calls just before the robbery. In each, the same male voice speaks excitedly about a crime he is reporting until he starts to yell and scream as the line goes dead.

The December robbery of the same bank was also preceded by what investigators consider a phantom call to 911 about a shooting in Homestead Township that was meant to lure police away from the actual crime.

In each of the Honor robberies, a masked man walked in with a silver revolver, demanded money and vanished on foot.

SUPERCHARGED HUMAN BEING Minore’s Gofundme appeal is titled “ONE PLANET, NO SECOND CHANCES: AN URGENT APPEAL TO ALL REASONING HUMAN BEINGS.” The plea consists of 3,667 words. He’s collected no money so far.

He planned on making a film that would convince the masses that humanity is destroying the earth and promised a “film that will be like a rollercoaster ride, pinning the audience in their seats as they experience the cold terror an unchanged future will bring.”

Watching the film would move the audience to action, Minore promised.

Viewers would be left “on fire with a newfound unshakable determination to change the suicidal course.”

Minore believes a worldwide tree planting campaign should begin immediately and that human development should move underground in order to preserve more open space.

In his treatise, Minore also touts his own good health and credits cold water swimming.

Around Benzonia, Minore was known for routinely jumping into Crystal Lake until the lake froze over.

He wrote, “Start in the summer, keep swimming year round every day [until] you can condition your body to the extreme temperatures. If it takes you more than an hour to warm back up, cut down on your time in the water. Watch the ice, do not brush up against it, it is razor sharp.

For you that are able to – stick with it, it’s guaranteed to 100% max out every cell in your body, you will become a new supercharged human being.”

“WOULDN’T IT BE FUNNY?” When he wasn’t camping in the woods, Minore lived on Higgins Road, about a 10-minute drive west of Benzonia. It’s a dirt road through pretty fields and forest and dotted with spread-out homes, some of them nicely maintained, some of them not.

Neighbor Missy Goold said that at one time, years ago, Minore lived in a nicer house next door to hers. Then his life fell apart and he moved into a squalid trailer across the road. “I’d heard from the people who lived in the trailer before that it was not very ‘well kept,’ I think is the nice way to put it,” she said.

Two days before the Empire robbery, Minore lost his job at the Shop-N-Save.

Night manager Joe Bishop said Minore, who worked as a cashier, was fired because he caused a lot of complaints from customers.

“We told him on Sunday that he wasn’t coming back, and I think it was Tuesday that the bank got robbed,” Bishop said.

Bishop said Minore was a regular customer who bought Brussel spouts and oranges before he became an employee and was known to swim in Crystal Lake whenever he could. Bishop said Minore would use his 15-minute breaks to go for swims in the lake.

Bishop said Minore came off as eccentric and arrogant. “He used to tell us about his plan to hire Leonardo DiCaprio to narrate a movie for him on climate change,” he said.

Bishop said he wasn’t surprised when he heard Minore was arrested for the robbery.

“They told me something was happening

STRAINED FINANCES Investigators didn’t find evidence in their search of Minore’s home to connect him to the bank robbery, but they did find marijuana. He was charged in Benzie County with delivery of marijuana, a fouryear felony, and maintaining a drug house.

Prosecutor Sarah Swanson said she decided to drop those charges in September because Minore was in jail in Leelanau County on more serious charges and it seemed like a waste of resources to drive him back and forth.

Minore said he found the marijuana growing in a field and harvested it for personal use.

In the Benzie County case, Minore asked for a court-appointed attorney and claimed a Social Security income of $300 per month.

Under assets, he listed a $1,000 van. He described himself as homeless and claimed $10,000 in credit card debt.

Minore’s ex-girlfriend won child support from Minore in a 2001 non-contested court case, but by 2009, before their children had become adults, the woman petitioned the court to halt the support due to the “financial/health hardships” Minore was experiencing.

Minore said he doesn’t mind being in jail.

He said he’s glad to have a platform to get his environmental message out. “The odd thing about it is this is a really nice facility and it’s like a vacation,” Minore said. “I don’t have the daily hassles that I normally do.”

THE DAY OF THE ROBBERY

12:43pm – William Minore first appears on surveillance footage on the sidewalks of Glen Arbor.

1:10pm – Minore gets into a silver Kia Soul and drives away.

1:26pm – The first of two 911 calls are placed by a frantic male voice reporting crimes around Leelanau County that turn out to be diversions. In the first, the caller reports a man in a ski mask at Lake Ann Elementary School.

1:30pm – In the second 911 call, the same frantic voice reports an “active shooter” at the Leelanau School just north of Glen Arbor.

1:30pm – A surveillance camera at the State Savings Bank branch on M-22 in Empire captures an image of what looks like a silver Kia Soul headed into Empire. The driver and the license plate are not visible in the image.

1:33pm – A black-clad man enters Huntington National Bank in Empire and demands cash.

1:36pm – The masked man heads out the back door of the bank and disappears into an alley with $40,000.

1:45pm – The State Savings Bank ATM surveillance camera captures an image of what looks like a silver Kia Soul on M-22 headed north out of Empire toward Glen Arbor.

2:46pm – The Kia is reported stolen by its owner.

3pm – The Kia is found by police parked two blocks from where it was taken.

Northern Express Weekly • february 6, 2017 • 11

Seeking Cupid?

In this season filled with jewelry, candy and floral commercials on TV, love floats so thick in the air it causes some people – particularly singles – to choke.

12 • february 6, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

By Tyler Parr With towns spread over more than a dozen counties, northern Michigan can be a difficult place for those seeking to meet a partner.

For one thing, singles say there just aren’t enough other singles available. Some look far and wide for mates, wandering grocery store aisles or trying to assess the physical condition of people passing by on the street.

In rural areas, people often turn to the Internet. Even though northern Michigan attracts talented, successful and affluent professionals, singles complain that most new arrivals arrive with someone already on their arm.

Lonely men and women who feel frustrated that they haven’t yet been shot by the masterful archer Cupid may yet find success. In the meantime, some make the best of the situation, some remain hopeful romance will come along, and some steadfastly refuse to have anything to do with the Internet.

WILLING TO GO THE DISTANCE Noah, a 22-year-old disc jockey who lives in Elk Rapids, normally goes out with friends rather than alone. He explained, “[Otherwise,] I have to drive 25 minutes home by myself, and I don’t want to go to jail.”

The drive from Elk Rapids to Traverse City and back home again is tough in the wee hours of the morning. Nonetheless, the music man is enthusiastic about dating and enjoys being single, at least for now. After trying Internet dating with some success in high school, these days he mainly meets women while DJ’ing.

When asked if he thinks his odds are good of finding a match someday, Noah smiled broadly.

“I’d say 75%. The majority of the people I date become friends. I have friends and I’m in no hurry whatsoever. It’s no rush for me.”

Regardless of the temperature outside, the DJ said he’ll likely be lying in his hammock down by the bay on Valentine’s Day; he listed the Double Wide bar as another place he could potentially be shot by Cupid’s arrow before Feb. 14 arrives. “[My friends and I] go there every Wednesday for pint nights to chill and hang out.”

HOPING FOR ROMANCE A 31-year-old consultant who prefers anonymity lives in downtown Traverse City and has no trouble finding restaurants or bars where people mingle. Still, she’s single. She’s tried Internet dating apps such as Match and Tinder, but neither resulted in second dates. Bumble is a newer app that she thinks offers slightly better quality selection. The problem? “I think the apps are more for entertainment, unless you’re in an area where more people are using them.”

Would she consider moving to a larger urban area that has more dating possibilities? “Yes. It crosses my mind frequently.”

Nonetheless, our consultant has faith in the future. She thinks she’ll eventually find a match whether she stays or leaves the area. “If I make dating a priority, things could change. I’m just so involved with community organizations and my job that I overextend myself. Sometimes I don’t have time for a social life. I’m also a little pickier than I probably should be, so some of it’s probably me.”

DISCOURAGED BUT RESOLUTE “It’s probably my standards,” said Elizabeth, a 20-year-old shy Central Michigan University student who lives in Traverse City when not attending classes. She’s searching for a mate to someday marry, but unlike her peers, Elizabeth refuses to succumb to the Internet.

She explained, “I feel like you can’t actually know someone over the Internet.” For this reason, she insists she’ll never attempt electronic connection. She’d rather meet her match on campus. The problem there?

“Guys at that age, the younger guys, are all about hook-ups. You’ve got to meet the seniors.”

She added, “Everyone usually meets their husband or wife in college, so I’m getting out there…The problem with Traverse City is you pretty much know everyone. I guess it’s a small town,” she concluded.

WHAT DOES DR. DAUNTER SAY? Some singles who want a relationship fear they’ve waited too long to find love. Petoskey psychologist Kelly Daunter said, “I’ve seen a number of clients [looking for] a mate. I have clients who are 28 and completely panicked. I have a client who’s 36 and completely panicked.

I saw a woman this evening in her late 40s, early 50s, who’s panicked.” Dr. Daunter noted, “People worry because our culture is so geared towards coupling.”

When asked about online dating, Dr. Daunter said, “The Internet has really opened up the world. I had a 72-year-old client last spring who was absolutely delighted to have found a number of suitors online she enjoying meeting and dating…She has now settled down with one of them.”

But online dating is as risky as it is beneficial.

“People are instantly looking for a response, instantly looking for whether someone likes them or doesn’t like them. Dating,” Dr. Daunter said, “used to include modesty and manners and patience and chivalry and respect. Dating today is instant gratification and impulsivity and all sorts of other characteristics that have taken some of the charm out of it. But the right two people can add that charm back in.”

What holds most people back from attracting and finding a match? Dr. Daunter concluded, “I think people get in their own way. They’re often a little stunted and don’t know how to create their own happiness. They expect somebody else to come in and fill that void. If people could create their own joy, that would attract the right partner.”

She added, “They also have to stay positive.

We have a very dynamic community base up here. In rural areas, people assume there’s nobody for them. People assume they’re not going to find their match. That negative attitude puts a roadblock in the process of even creating their own path.”

Singles, she said, should look for people to connect with through the gym, interesting community events, volunteer opportunities, biking groups and community-related functions, but they have to make time for this.

She cautioned, “If you’re overscheduled, you’re telling the universe there’s no room for anyone else.”

FINAL THOUGHTS FOR THOSE SEEKING CUPID Match.com has conducted gatherings in Grand Rapids and Detroit, but none of these events have yet migrated north. Some bars, churches, and nightclubs throughout northern Michigan organize singles nights; Traverse City’s Little Fleet is putting the final touches on a singles’ Valentine’s Day event with details to follow.

If all else fails, singles seeking shelter from gaudy couples displaying affection this Valentine’s Day can pamper themselves at a local spa, plan a day trip with a friend, or check out a Meetup.com, the appropriately named website gaining popularity as a place to meet people.

DR. DAUNTER’S ADVICE TO SINGLES • Focus on joy and balance in your own life; this creates opportunities.

• Pay attention to those opportunities!

• Recognize your strengths and things that interest you and play to them. If you’re outdoorsy, find other outdoorsy people by hitting the bike trail or joining a running group.

• Get out of your normal routine. Join a cooking class or sign up for a 5K race. Be willing to try something different if your normal routine isn’t working.

• Hold your head up and acknowledge those around you instead of racing from place to place. The elderly lady you connect with in the coffee shop might have a fabulous daughter or granddaughter coming into town she wants you to meet. Don’t always look for the person you’re looking for; look for connections everywhere that could lead to that person.

Northern Express Weekly • february 6, 2017 • 13

Sweets for Your Sweetheart!

Make these locally famous Valentine’s desserts

Nancy Kelly’s Delice de Chocolat Nancy Kelly, chef and namesake of Nancy Kelly’s Restaurant and Traveling Chef of Pellston, said this is one of her most requested desserts. “I learned how to make this in Paris back in 1989,” she said.

“The texture is silky. I love to freeze it and then take it out and let it sit for about 10 minutes and serve it semi freddo [semifrozen]. It’s divine.”

Ingredients:

• 400 grams dark chocolate (60–70% cocoa content) • 6 eggs • ¾ cup sugar • 2 cups heavy crème

Finely chop chocolate and melt in a bowl over simmering water without letting water splash into the chocolate. In a standing mixer, combine sugar and eggs and mix on high for 6 minutes, then on medium for 3 minutes. When chocolate is melted, whisk the egg and sugar into the chocolate until well combined. In a chilled bowl, whip crème just until the peaks stand up. Whisk ¼ of the crème into the chocolate mixture to lighten, then fold in the balance. At this point, you can fill small pot de crème cups and refrigerate or line a springform pan with crushed buttered cookie crumbs and fill with the chocolate mixture, then freeze and serve in thin wedges with caramel sauce, orange segments or other garnishes.

Nancy Kelly’s, 230 US-31 in Pellston. Visit Nancykellys.com or call (231) 539-7100 for more information on her Valentine’s Day dinners Feb. 11 and 14.

Simply Sweet by Jessica’s Three-Layer Valentine’s Rosette Cake One glance at the bakery case at Simply Sweet will show you why Jessica Stubb‘s bakery-cafe in Petoskey is the perfect place to find pretty Valentine’s Day desserts. This cake is fairly easy even for beginners, and the festive frosting makes an impressive presentation.

Ingredients: (cake)

• 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour • 1 tablespoon baking powder • ½ teaspoon salt • 1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature) • 1 ¾ cups granulated white sugar • 4 large eggs • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract • 1 cup milk (room temperature)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or spray 3 6x2-inch cake pans with non-stick vegetable spray, line the bottoms of the pans with wax paper, then spray the paper. In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Mix butter until soft and creamy. Gradually add the sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and combine. With mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Evenly divide the batter between the 2 prepared pans, smoothing the tops with the back of a spoon.

Bake 24–30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Place the cakes, in their pans, on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then invert the cakes onto a greased rack. Remove the parchment or wax paper and re-invert cakes so the tops are right side up. Cool completely before frosting.

Ingredients: (Frosting) • 4 cups confectioners sugar (icing or powdered sugar), sifted • 1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature) • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract • 2–4 tablespoons milk • Red, dark pink and light pink food coloring Mix the butter until smooth and creamy. Mix in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, gradually mix in the sugar. Add about 2 tablespoons of the milk and combine. On high speed, mix frosting until it is light and fluffy.

Add more milk or powdered sugar as needed to get the right spreading consistency. Separate frosting into 3 bowls, add the 3 different colors to the bowls and mix with a spatula. Use a Wilton 1M tip to make rosettes on the cake with the frosting.

Simply Sweet with Jessica, 324 E. Mitchell St., Petoskey. For more information, visit Simplysweetbyjessica.com or call (231) 420-3785.

14 • february 6, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

By Kristi Kates “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” or so the saying goes. Since this notion applies equally well to women, either sweetheart should be delighted to see one of these delectable desserts pop up on the table when Valentine’s Day arrives. These recipes have been shared with our readers just in time, compliments of some talented chefs and bakers right here in northern Michigan.

Milk and Honey’s Strawberry Chocolate Sweetheart This cafe and ice creamery in Traverse City offers an easy and appealing solution for a Valentine’s dessert, one that’s no less delicious for its simplicity.

If you’re concerned about your baking skills, this is definitely your sweet solution. “We chose this creation to feature for Valentine’s Day because, well, there’s just something romantic about chocolate and strawberries!” explained Milk and Honey’s Joe Walsh.

Ingredients:

• Milk and Honey dark chocolate ice crème • Milk and Honey house-made fudge • Fresh strawberries • Milk and Honey whipped crème

Choose a pretty serving dish and arrange several scoops of Milk and Honey dark chocolate ice crème, made with Guittard chocolate, first. Add fresh strawberries cut into slices. Carefully drizzle Milk and Honey house-made fudge syrup, made with local butter, more Guittard chocolate and organic raw sugar, over the top. Garnish with Milk and Honey whipped crème (flavored with Northwoods Soda’s natural cane sugar vanilla syrup).

Still too intimidated to make your own?

Stop in at Milk and Honey with your Valentine’s date for this or any other ice crème combination created on its frozen ice crème stone, on the spot, especially for you.

Milk and Honey Cafe and Ice Creamery, 240 E. Front Street, Traverse City. For more information, visit Milkandhoneytc. com or call (231) 944-1036.

Underground Cheesecake Company’s Valentine’s Cut-Out Cookies One of Traverse City’s favorite local cookies is a perfect choice to make with its adorable heart shapes, and the cookie is especially great if you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day with a group. “Our cut-out cookies are very, very popular, especially around a holiday,” said baker Stephanie Gerenraich. “They’re such a fun thing for people to bake for a date or for family; the crème cheese makes them light and soft, so the texture is almost cakelike.”

Ingredients: (cookies)

• 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour (plus more for rolling) • 8 ounces crème cheese, softened • 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar • ½ teaspoon salt • 1 teaspoon baking powder • 1 egg • 1 teaspoon vanilla • ½ teaspoon almond extract

Mix the softened butter, crème cheese and sugar in the large bowl of an electric mixer.

Add the salt, baking powder, egg, vanilla and flavoring. Slowly add the flour, 1 cup at a time, and mix well. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours. To bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chilled dough on a flour-dusted surface. Roll out to ¼-inch thickness with a flour-dusted rolling pin.

Cut using a floured cookie cutter and place 1 inch apart on an ungreased, parchmentlined cookie sheet. Bake for 8–10 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a cooling rack; cool completely before icing.

Ingredients: (icing)

• 4 cups powdered sugar • ½ cup butter, softened • 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract • ¼ cup (or more) heavy whipping crème • Food coloring

Combine butter, confectioners’ sugar, extract and enough cream to achieve spreading consistency in a mixing bowl. Mix on low until well combined. Add food coloring if desired.

Frost cookies.

The Underground Cheesecake Company, 800 Cottageview Dr. #10, Traverse City. For more information, visit Undergroundcheesecake.com or call (231) 943-1746.

1

Heartwarming Gifts for Guys and Gals 2

3

4 5

By Kristi Kates

Stuck for gift ideas this Valentine’s Day? Cupid spending more time dawdling around with that bow and arrow than helping you out with ideas? Express to the rescue! Here are some terrific northern Michigan-inspired romantic gifts that would be suitable for just about anyone.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

1. Custom Chocolates

by Charles Layton

Chocolate is rarely looked down upon as an acceptable present, and these particular chocolates definitely go a step above store bought. Handcrafted by the crew at Charles Layton in Traverse City, these custom chocolate truffles can be made in a wide range of flavor combinations. Start with your choice of chocolates, dark, milk or white, and then add the ganache fillings. Charles Layton offers both the wonderfully expected, like peppermint, mocha java, cherry and (even more!) chocolate, or you can truly make your gift unusual with ganache flavors like balsamic vinegar, wine or chipotle pepper. Pre-boxed truffles are available, too, with prices starting at $8.50 for four truffles in a golden box.

Gift It! Charles Layton Heavenly Handmade Truffles, 800 Cottageview Drive #10, Traverse City. Visit Charleslaytonchocolates. com or call (231) 938-9865.

2. Woolen Blanket from Lake Superior Woolen Company

Can your love keep you warm? It definitely can if it’s one of these 100% wool blankets from Lake Superior Woolen Company. The company consists of a group of small family farmers who raise their own sheep in the wide pastures of Michigan.

Currently, they have two flocks of friendly Polypay and Corriedale sheep busily grazing in the U.P., fortifying themselves to supply the wool for these beautiful soft blankets (throw sizes start at $129). They (the blankets, not the sheep) are available in a wide range of colors from natural tones to tweeds, earth tones and pastels, so no matter your Valentine’s favorite color, you’ll be able to find the perfect gift.

Gift It! Lake Superior Woolen Company, 7538 West M-48, Rudyard. Visit Lswoolen.com or call (906) 984-4070.

3. Twofer Fun at Crystal Mountain

Buying a twofer lift ticket at one of our local ski resorts means that, oh darn, you’re going to have to go along to cheer on your beloved as you both race down the slopes. Check with the ski resort closest to you to inquire about its holiday specials or just head directly to Crystal Mountain for its Valentine’s Day extravaganza, available Feb. 14 only. At Crystal, you’ll not only get two-for-one lift tickets and equipment rental, but you can also twofer the ice skating, snowshoe rentals and outdoor laser tag as well. After all this outdoor activity, you can unwind in front of a crackling fire with a hot coffee drink. For winter fans who love sports, what could be more romantic?

Gift It! Crystal Mountain, 12500 Crystal Mountain Dr., Thompsonville. Visit Crystalmountain.com or call (888) 968-7686 (snowsports desk, ext. 2000).

4. Michigan Heartware from Blu Border Outfitters

Sipping a soda or an iced tea will be even sweeter when you gift your Valentine with these handetched beverage glasses complete with a heart to mark the Grand Traverse region (call Blü Border to inquire about custom-moving that heart to your own special place in the state.) Whether you’re from here, your significant other is from here or you both are, these glasses (set of two, $22) will show off where your heart beats year round. If your other half resides beyond our borders, this is a cute way to show where love awaits, not so very far away in a state called Michigan.

Gift It! Blü Border Outfitters, Hudsonville. Visit Bluborder.com or call (616) 821-3262.

5. Tandem Bicycle from McLain Cycle and Fitness

This one’s a bigger ticket gift that offers something to look forward to once warmer weather arrives. Your giftee (and you!) won’t be able use it just yet, but together you’ll look forward to cavorting around on a gift that will help you both get through this last section of tough northern Michigan winter weather. The Sun Bicycles Tandem Biscayne ($599.99) offers a single speed drivetrain, full fenders to keep you both safe from puddles, rear coaster brakes for safety and extra wide balloon tires for fun whether on road or trail – and, of course, you’ll get two cushioned cruiser seats, one for each of you.

Gift It! McLain Cycle and Fitness, Garfield Rd. (231) 9418855 or Eighth St. (231) 941-7161 in Traverse City or 311 N. Mitchell St. (231) 775-6161 in Cadillac.

For more information, visit Mclaincycle.com.

Northern Express Weekly • february 6, 2017 • 15

Rockin’ a Local Tradition:

2017 Microbrew and Music

By Kristi Kates Locals definitely know the drill by now about Traverse City’s annual Microbrew and Music events, which have become much anticipated local traditions featuring an eclectic lineup of both musical performers and microbrews. But if you’re new to the area or have just been out of this particular loop, here’s what’s going on with this winter’s edition.

THE MUSIC For starters, singer-songwriter and The Voice favorite Joshua Davis is returning to perform alongside a wealth of other musical acts. Festival organizer Sam Porter of Porterhouse Presents said that he always makes sure to mix national artists with distinctive local talent.

“This year we are honored to have Kyle Hollingsworth and his band,” Porter said. “Kyle is a member of the String Cheese Incident who headlined the sold-out Electric Forest event.

Nth Power will bring their soul-filled, funky dance grooves featuring Nikki Glaspie – she was Beyonce’s world-touring drummer – and members who played with everyone from the Neville Brothers to Dumpstaphunk.”

Also appearing will be acclaimed harmonica player Peter “Madcat” Ruth,

Americana band Roosevelt Diggs, Michigan band The Mainstays, Ann Arbor pop-rock outfit The Lucas Paul Band, locals Charlie Millard, Brotha James and Deep Blue Water Samba and the ever-growing Silent Disco, which lets you dance to music via headphones without disturbing the neighbors; this year’s Silent Disco will feature spins from five Michigan DJs. “I love supporting all these artists on four stages,” Porter said. “We’re also offering a 24bit multi-track recording capability for the bands that is studio quality, and we hope to have this available as a digital merchandising option at the shows.”

beer and then getting in line to try seven different home brews you can vote on. Next I would hit the Rare Beer list, as those go really fast and are some of the top beers on our program.”

Beer aficionados can plan ahead by checking out the entire fest’s liquid lineup online. At the festival itself, they can attend a beer education fun panel led by New Holland’s Fred Bueltmann (aka “The Beer Evangelist”) and Kyle Hollingsworth. In addition, to round out the festivities, a handpicked vintage and antique snowmobile show will highlight the history of northern Michigan snow sports.

THE BREWS “This year and every year the craft beer is the headliner,” Porter said. A plethora of new flavors, styles and experiences will be on hand to try this year, including a Rare Beer Tour.

“We added a ‘Brew Guru’ tasting ticket that sold out in a day, but we still offer a lower cost token that offers a half pint each and allows folks to enjoy the music and camaraderie,” Porter said. “I suggest walking in early either at 3pm for Early Bird and Brew Guru or arriving at 4pm with a general admission ticket, grabbing a

THE FOOD You’ll need a lot of personal fuel for Microbrew and Music, since you’ll be dancing the night away in heated tents, hanging out around bonfires and trying all of those microbrews with friends old and new. Porter has arranged a great lineup of food vendors for that very purpose.

“Much of the food is perfect for all palates and pairs with the liquids on site,” he said.

The focus for the winter fest is its wood-fired food experience with pizza, seafood, vegan and meat Spanish paella. “But there will also be pit barbecue with Pigs Eatin’ Ribs and

16 • february 6, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

monster grilled cheese sammies with Cheese and Company,” added Porter.

THE CHARITIES So far, Porter reports that over $100K has been raised over the years for Microbrew and Music’s partner nonprofits. He and his team plan to continue the trend by contributing proceeds to charity once again for this winter’s edition.

“We are fundraising with 100% of net alcohol for Bay Area Recycling for Charities,” Porter said. “This is a ‘love of place’ festival, and our team and volunteers and all involved are passionate and dedicated to keep hosting great events for our region.”

To snag tickets and attend, check out the info below. If you want to participate, Porter mentioned that the winter fests are great opportunities to be trained for Porterhouse Presents summer festival jobs from Eaux Claire to Electric Forest and beyond. “If anyone wants to join the music and events industry, give us a call!”

Porter added.

The 2017 Winter Microbrew and Music will take place Saturday, Feb. 11, in downtown Traverse City. For tickets and more information, visit Microbrewandmusic.com.

SPECIAL OPENING FOR VALENTINE’S DAY

risotto butter poached shrimp, lightly smoked bell peppers spinach, asiago

salad werp farm greens, warm duck confit, dried cherries goat cheese, pickled carrots, verjus vinaigrette

beef rr ranch filet mignon, crispy brussels sprouts anson mills stone ground white cheddar grits cabernet franc reduction

or fish pan seared diver sea scallops, roasted cauliflower, farro, kale, pancetta, pomegranate beurre blanc dessert irish cream mousse chocolate custard, vanilla bean rose water madelines candied almonds or pomegranate honey semifreddo lemon fennel curd, black pepper Chantilly cream chocolate shavings $55 plus tax and gratuity on romantic old mission peninsula • (231) 223.4222

Kenneth Gum, MD Robert Foote, OD

Kristen Chippi, OD

231.935.8101 | WWW.TCEYE.NET | TRAVERSE CITY & KALKASKA

Northern Express Weekly • february 6, 2017 • 17

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LEFT FOOT CHARLEY

By Clark Miller

Caren Zucker

John Dovan

Autism strikes children, often with little or no warning. There is no cure, and despite all efforts, no one knows for sure what causes it.

As award-winning journalists John Donvan and Caren Zucker point out, autism is for life.

Donvan and Zucker will discuss their research and latest book, In a Different Key: The Story of Autism, at the National Writers Series Friday, Feb. 10, 2017, at 7pm at City Opera House. Doors open at 6pm. The host for the event is Cari Noga, a local writer and mother of an autistic son.

The subtitle of the book could just as well be A History of Autism, since the authors trace in chronological order how the treatment of autism has progressed, from widespread imprisonment in mental institutions to an awareness that with the right help, many people afflicted with what is now termed Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be helped.

WHAT IS AUTISM? When Donvan and Zucker started to research the topic years ago, they anticipated finding a general agreement about how autism is defined. Instead, they learned of a dispute that has simmered for nearly 75 years regarding nearly every aspect of the disorder from diagnosis to treatment to a possible cure.

“There’s never been [a definition] that everyone agrees on,” Zucker said in an interview with the Northern Express.

Part of the problem lies with the word “spectrum.” As Zucker pointed out, the autism spectrum as defined now “is huge… it encompasses so many people.”

ASD CASTS A WIDE NET In the extreme, people diagnosed with ASD may never speak or even learn how to go to the bathroom on their own. However, the other end of the autism spectrum includes such well-known actors as Daryl Hannah and Dan Aykroyd. It’s thought that if he were alive today, Amadeus Mozart might be diagnosed with ASD since observers in his day said he was almost always physically agitated and, when bored, jumped over tables and chairs and meowed like a cat.

The demeaning terms used at one time to describe those afflicted with the disorder – words such as “idiots,” “maniacs” or “morons” – appear to be not only cruel but also based on bad information.

An accurate, up-to-date definition is important. How can health care providers diagnose, let alone treat, a disorder that defies all description? Also, without a diagnosis, insurance companies are off the hook for treatment coverage.

For now, Donvan and Zucker accept the definition promoted by the support group Autism Speaks that describes ASD as “a group of complex disorders of brain development...characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors.”

MURDERED, IMPRISONED In a Different Key: The Story of Autism holds nothing back in portraying the disturbing history of autism, including the concept of eugenics, which supports decreasing the number of births of socalled inferior human beings. That dark way of thinking took concrete form in the 1940s when the Nazis killed children who demonstrated physical and mental deficiencies.

Even one of the leading contributors to the scientific understanding of autism, Austrian pediatrician and researcher Dr. Hans Asperger, is thought to have saved his career by

Autism Is for Life “diagnosing” children as autistic – which in the 1940s amounted to a death sentence.

Donvan and Zucker show that practices in the United States, though less extreme, were also based largely on ignorance and fear.

As late as the 1960s, for example, American physicians and psychologists regularly encouraged parents to institutionalize their autistic children. Their reasoning was brutally simple: Put this child away because he/she cannot be helped.

Forget this child and have another to “make up for” the defective one.

In large numbers, parents took that advice. That led to disastrous results for their children, many of whom might have learned to lead full lives. Whole families never visited or spoke of their institutionalized child again. Based on three years of working at Parsons State Hospital in Parsons, Kansas, this author can confirm that most institutionalized children never had visitors.

Over the years, many of these kids died without family or friends to comfort them.

The Asylum Projects Wikipedia entry for the hospital coldly states, “The cemetery holds the remains of about 700–800 former patients. Most graves are marked with a metal tag with the patient’s name only.”

Incurable But Treatable Only gradually did American parents begin to understand that even if it weren’t curable, there might be ways to treat the disorder and diminish its effects.

The Nazi experiment had revealed the true nature of eugenics for what it was – mass murder of the innocent. It also led parents in America and elsewhere to question whether institutionalization made sense.

Old views began to give way to hope, which ultimately turned into social action.

In short, autism began to come out of the closet.

“REFRIGERATOR MOTHERS” One of the first orders of business was to dismantle the “refrigerator mother” argument promoted most notably by Bruno Bettelheim at the University of Chicago. Bettelheim maintained that kids developed autism because their indifferent, self-absorbed mothers had failed to show enough love.

With that guilt trip out of the way, parents and researchers felt freer to focus on finding

new treatment options and supporting the scientific goal of establishing the neurological, genetic foundations of autism.

TREATMENT OPTIONS IMPROVE The authors devote several chapters to researchers like Leo Kanner and Bernard Rimland, who devised ways parents and teachers could help mitigate autistic behaviors in kids.

It might not have been their original aim, but Kanner and Rimland also helped create a movement. Parent groups sprouted up starting in the ‘60s and ‘70s. As news media slowly began to take note, private donations, lobbying efforts and state funds for autism research began to appear.

Meanwhile, the argument grew – and became codified in some states – that autistic people deserved help.

MICHIGAN LAWS In recent years here in Michigan, the passage of two measures – the Michigan Autism Insurance Legislation Reform in 2012 and the Medicaid and Michigan Child Autism Benefit in 2013 – has helped make treating children with autism more affordable. Importantly, the 2013 law specifically supports the use of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), a system that helps reduce significant behavioral deficits.

Zucker, who is the mother of an autistic child, called ABA the “gold standard” of treatment.

AUTISM CLINICS ON THE RISE IN MICHIGAN The same legislation has also led to the growth of numerous clinics across Michigan, including the Traverse City-based Autism Centers of Michigan, a clinic that focuses entirely on Applied Behavior Analysis.

“We work really hard to decrease the impact of the three main symptoms: language and communication development, social skills and restrictive, repetitive behaviors,” said Krista Boe, board certified behavior analyst and clinical director at the center.

When asked by parents, she acknowledged that ASD is still incurable.

“But that’s not what we focus on,” she said. “We work every day to defy that concept to some extent. We just don’t get stuck on that.”

CHALLENGES REMAIN For all the progress that’s been made in the past 50 years, autism’s causes remain unknown.

Autism remains for life. Another problem is that most treatment options and research efforts focus on children and young adults.

In a Different Key: The Story of Autism makes it clear that adults with ASD need more attention. Donvan and Zucker conclude that for most adults with autism, “There are few opportunities to work or to continue their education…Most literally go on living in their childhood bedrooms, as long as their parents are alive.”

Tickets to National Writers Series events can be purchased online at Cityoperahouse.org, at the box office at 106 East Front Street in Traverse City or by calling (231) 941-8082.

When Is a Diagnosis Appropriate?

Autism Speaks, a national support network, lists several typical signs that may suggest a diagnosis is needed. These signs include: • No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions by six months or thereafter • No back and forth sharing of sounds, smiles or other facial expressions by nine months • No babbling by 12 months • No back and forth gestures such as pointing, showing, reaching or waving by 12 months • No words by 16 months • No meaningful, two-word phrases (not including imitating or repeating) by 24 months • Any loss of speech, babbling or social skills at any age

Northern Express Weekly • february 6, 2017 • 19

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231-271-5462

Bière de Mac Brew Works

By Kristi Kates

Many a restaurant has been started by a transplant to the area; someone who traveled north from Detroit or Chicago to enjoy a Michigan summer or a ski vacation and decided to stay, culinary talents in tow. But few can boast as many generations of locals as Danny Ranville.

That was part of the draw for him to return to his hometown village to open Bière de Mac Brew Works, a microbrewery that’s setting a new standard for Mackinaw City’s beer fans.

MACKINAW HERITAGE The Ranville family settled on Mackinac Island several hundred years ago, alongside the voyageurs, traders and explorers of the day. “My ancestors came over on a French warship in the 1600s, landed on Mackinac Island and eventually moved to Mackinaw City,” Ranville explained.

“My grandfather had eight sisters, and all of them stayed and raised their families in Mackinaw City. Today it’s a town of only about 800 people, and I’m related to quite a lot of them!”

After World War II, Ranville’s grandfather moved to Grand Rapids, where Ranville was born. After high school, he attended Northwood College in Midland, working on Mackinac Island at Mission Point and the Iroquois Hotel to fund his own schooling. “I graduated with a triple major in advertising, marketing and management,” Ranville said, “and then I moved to Colorado in 2008. That’s where my love affair with beer started.”

WESTERN INSPIRATION Ranville still remembers the first craft beer he tried in Colorado, a vanilla porter. But while he loved the Rocky Mountains, his heart remained in northern Michigan. “It always seems like the beer industry of the West Coast is about 10 years ahead of the Midwest,” he said. “It was fascinating to me, because I’d be in Colorado, and it was the usual thing to go skiing and then head to a different brewpub every time. Then I’d come back to Michigan for the holidays, and there would be one new beer somewhere or maybe one new brewery.”

He started discussing the situation with his family. Their first idea was to open a brewery on Mackinaw Island, “but businesswise, you’d have to pay a lot to ship grain and products over,” Ranville said. “So we decided on Mackinaw City.”

ALL IN THE FAMILY Ranville teamed up with his father, George Ranville, and they acquired the old ‘Neath the Birches restaurant, naming their new venture Bière de Mac and spelling “beer” the French way as a nod to their ancestors.

“I didn’t know anything about brewing at first, so we hired a professional, Jeremiah Zimmerman from Grand Rapids,” Ranville said.

“We are a microbrewery, which means we can only sell the beer we produce, so you won’t find any Budweiser here. But there are 150 styles of beer, and we want to try making them all.”

With a 2.5 barrel brew system, Bière de

20 • february 6, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

Mac can only brew five kegs at a time, “but the advantage is that we brew often, so we’re always exploring different styles and recipes,” Ranville said.

Some of their most popular brews so far include the Yugo, a Kolsch-style light ale. “It’s very different to brew,” Ranville said. “You definitely can’t hide any mistakes in it…[such as] if the iron and sulphur in the water are off balance. If you like pilsner-style beer, you’ll like this one; it’s very refreshing.”

The Ranvilles also imported a special variety of yeast from France and are now propagating it to craft more beers. “We can only import that yeast one month out of the year, so it’s special,” Ranville said. “It’s part of our Accidental Tourist beer, which is a strong, dark beer with a lot of complexity.”

Another local favorite is 20 Fathom Sweet Stout, with its hints of prune and light bitterness. “We have 14 taps, so it’s very seldom that someone comes in and doesn’t find a beer they like,” added Ranville.

BREWS AND FOOD The food menu complements the brews in a very specific way. “We were fortunate to be able to hire Edgar Jacobs,” Ranville said.

“He and Jeremiah push each other in a kind of friendly competition; he wants to keep the food menu as versatile as the beer menu.”

Eclectic appetizers share menu space with gourmet sandwiches and burgers as well as faintly exotic entrees and a few staples.

“Edgar makes a great mac and cheese,” Ranville said. “The Amish chicken sandwich is really good, and the Asian fusion sandwich on naan bread is incredible.”

Bière de Mac works to source its ingredients as locally as possible as well. “It’s a short growing season up here, but we get as much local produce as we can,” affirmed

Ranville. “We also work with the Mackinaw City fisheries and get our sausage from Plath’s Meats in Petoskey.”

Other menu highlights include “Food for Sharing,” like the Thai spiced hummus platter, green chile pork nachos and fried zucchini.

The ale and cheddar chowder is the perfect accompaniment for one of Bière de Mac’s brews, and the seared wild-caught salmon is served with avocado and roasted garlic mayonnaise.

Up next for Bière de Mac? Making it bigger and taking it all outside. “We’ve already purchased a second location,” Ranville confirmed. “It’s also in Mackinaw City, and it’s where we’re going to expand our beer production. We’ll be doing eight times what we are now on a 20-barrel system. And our current taphouse sits on three and a half acres, so we plan to landscape that this summer and also install an outdoor beer garden.”

Ranville concluded, “It’s so great to be doing this, plus there’s beer at work every day.

Which is awesome.”

Bière de Mac Brew Works is located at 14277 Mackinaw Highway in Mackinaw City. Find them online at Bieredemac.com or call (231) 427-7007.

TEN STRINGS AND A GOAT SKIN:

REINVENTING THE TRADITIONAL

By Kristi Kates From a hotel room in Glasgow, Scotland (“Pretty much the kind of environment where I’ll be writing most of my emails for a while,” quipped the band’s Jesse Periard), Ten Strings and a Goat Skin is prepping for yet another show as it continues what’s set to be its busiest touring year yet. It’s a schedule that includes stops in England, France, Denmark, Canada and the United States as well as Petoskey, and all of it’s a pretty far cry from the band’s homeland, Canada’s Prince Edward Isle (PEI).

“We’re so excited,” Periard said.

Periard’s bandmates in the group are

brothers Rowen and Caleb Gallant. All three friends met in school when Periard was 12 years old. “They had asked me to play some tunes with them at a fundraiser in hopes of raising some money to paint the local church,” he recollected. “For a couple of years after that, we continued to play gigs here and there. Things really started to kick off once we all graduated.”

Rowen Gallant plays the fiddle and sings; Caleb Gallant also sings and plays a range of percussion instruments from foot percussion to the bodhran (Irish hand drum), while Periard plays the guitar. Their unusual band name stems from the instrumental lineup:

Ten Strings and a Goat Skin will be in concert at the Crooked Tree Arts Center in Petoskey at 8pm on Feb. 11. For tickets and more information, visit Crookedtree.org or Blissfest.org.

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“It’s adding together the strings from the fiddle (four) and from the guitar (six) to the goat skin that makes up the majority of the bodhran,” explained Periard. “The name was the idea of a family friend who suggested it after our very first show.”

The acoustic trio does have roots in PEI’s traditional music, which draws from French, Irish and Scottish roots. But they take those sounds a step further and light years into the future, crafting their own interpretations with more edgy, indie-folk elements, from quirky harmonies to pop grooves, inventive instrumentation and studio effects. “Our goal for every song or set of tunes we do is

to make it as interesting as possible for the listeners as well as ourselves,” Periard said.

“Whether that’s taking an old folk song and re-imagining it as our own or writing an entire piece from scratch, we try to infuse the traditional components of the music with unique and more modern approaches to give each song its own identity.”

Their latest album, Auprès du Poêle, was recorded with producer and acclaimed banjoist Leonard Podolak (The Duhks), a choice that Periard said was the perfect match.

“Recording in the studio with Leonard was as smooth as butter. He and our sound engineer Mark Busic were absolutely wonderful to work with. Musically, all five of us spoke the same language and were always on the same page.

And Leonard really pushed us to go beyond our comfort zone and challenge ourselves…I think in doing that, it made for a better album.”

Promoting that album has resulted in Ten Strings and a Goat Skin’s busy schedule, which stretches far into the distance; the band already has shows booked from now until November of this year. Their show in Petoskey will be a return to a somewhat familiar place.

“We have actually played in Michigan a couple of times in the last year,” Periard said. “We’ve had the pleasure of playing East Lansing, Muskegon and Kalamazoo, and we’ve noticed every time we’ve visited how energetic the crowds have been. Last year’s Michigan Irish Festival was absolutely crazy!

And the hospitality at every single one of our visits has been lovely. We don’t know what to expect on our next visit, but we know it’s going to be memorable like always.”

Northern Express Weekly • february 6, 2017 • 21

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NORTHERN SEEN 8

1. Judy Pelto, Donna Moore, Brenda Knaack, Lori Brickman, Kathy Tuckerman and Robbin Stott gather in Traverse City to place a hat on city founder Perry Hannah. The women were among five busloads of area residents who participated in the Women’s March on Washington on January 21.

2. Jerry Zeits and Ron Lemcool were toasting a break from the usual at Olives & Wine in TC. 3. Max Anderson, Emily Hengstebeck and Olives & Wine Owner Ari Mokdad enjoying Recess in TC. 4. Liz Caluory, Brittany Miller and Kate Stewart at the Traverse City Ticker’s monthly Recess event at Olives & Wine.

5. Faith Pippin, Doug Houlmont, and Kathy Petersen enjoy a drink at Pour Public House in Petoskey.

6. Kaysi Jakeway and Brittany McNeil celebrate the “re-grand opening” of North Perk Coffee at its new Howard Street location in Petoskey.

7. Artist Adam Vanhouten shows his true colors at the Mark Makers live painting competition at Higher Art Gallery in TC. 8. Jane Smith & Emily Freund stay warm with a latte on a(nother!) cold winter northern Michigan afternoon.

22 • february 6, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

feb 04

saturday

WINTER CONCERT & DANCE WITH JAZZ NORTH: 7-10pm, Mountain Flowers, The Homestead, Glen Arbor.

Advance tickets: $15; $20 at door. The Glen Arbor Art Association will have auction items for guests to bid on, & proceeds benefit the GAAA. 231-334-5100.

-------------------“THE FOREIGNER”: Held at Audie’s Restaurant, Mackinaw City, dinner is at 6:30pm & the show at 7:30pm. Dinner theatre & a comedy in two acts. Presented by the Northland Players, Inc. Tickets, $26. 231-436-5744.

-------------------TRACKING IN THE SNOW: 1pm, Grass River Natural Area, Bellaire. Track mammals in the snow. Free. Donations appreciated. grassriver.org

-------------------NORTH AMERICAN SNOW FESTIVAL: Feb. 2-4, Cadillac Commons, Cadillac. Today includes youth snowmobile races, ice fishing tournament, Snowmobile Drag Racing Shootout, Yeti Redi 5K Run, Cadillac Arm Wrestling Championships, live music by Brotha James, NASF’s 1st Winter Beer Festival, & much more. nasfcadillac.com

-------------------TC PULMONARY FIBROSIS SUPPORT GROUP MEETING: 10-11:30am, Espresso Bay Community Room, TC. RSVP: ldtalb@ gmail.com or 608-234-0554.

--------------------

MI LAW ENFORCEMENT POLAR PLUNGE: 9:30am-noon, North Peak Brewing Co., TC. Donations benefit Special Olympics. firstgiving. com/polarplunge/TCpolarplunge2017

-------------------“THE PRINCESS PEONY”: This full-length ballet is presented by the Northwest Michigan Ballet Theatre at Milliken Auditorium, TC at 2pm & 7pm. Tickets: $15 adults, $10 students & seniors. mynorthtickets.com

-------------------WRITER’S WORKSHOP: With local author Aaron Stander. 2-4pm, Elk Rapids District Library. Free. 231-264-9979. elkrapidslibrary.org

-------------------WINTER GLOW SKATE: 7-10pm, Harbor Springs Sk8 Park / Ice Rink. 231-838-5220.

--------------------

KALKASKA WINTER BASH (WINTER DERBY): 2-5pm, Kalkaska Fairgrounds Arena. $5 admission. Also includes a swap meet for cars, parts & tools. Find ‘Kalkaska Winter BASH’ on Facebook.

--------------------

Boathouse will donate $15 from each meal to Conservation Resource Alliance. Cost: $75/person. Featuring wine pairings for each course from Bowers Harbor Vineyard. boathouseonwestbay.com. 231-223-4030.

NORTHPORT’S DINNER THEATRE PRESENTS “BOEING BOEING”: Held at Tucker’s of Northport, cocktails are served at 5:30pm, with seating at 6pm. Tickets, $50. northportcac. org. 231-386-5001.

--------------------

NMC EXTENDED EDUCATION: Festival of Foods: 10am, NMC Hagerty Center, TC. Area chefs & specialty food businesses will offer cooking tips & techniques, while you enjoy samples. Select 4 of 16 workshop options. Call 995-1700 to enroll or visit nmc.edu.

41ST ANNUAL WHITE PINE STAMPEDE: 8am, Mancelona High School. Michigan’s longest & oldest point-to-point cross country ski race. Featuring 10K & 20K. Benefits Children’s Hospital of Michigan. whitepinestampede.org

-------------------SUPER SOUP CONTEST: 11am-3pm, The Homestead, Glen Arbor. Admission, $10; $5 seniors & children under 12. Includes 4-ounce samples of soup. Vote for your favorite soup.

Benefits Buckets of Rain. Find ‘Super Soup Contest’ on Facebook.

-------------------KIDS MOVIE NIGHT: 7:30pm, Aspen Room or Alpine Room, Treetops Resort, Gaylord. Tonight will feature “Lilo & Stitch”. Free. treetops.com

--------------------

GAYLORD ALPENFROST: Feb. 2-4. Today includes the Polar Express Trackless Train, Frosty 5K, Downtown Frosty Plunge & Parade, Soup Cook-Off, Winter Dog Sports, Kids Snow Art, Cardboard Sled Race, & much more. gaylordalpenfrost.com

-------------------TREETOPS BEER & WINE FESTIVAL: 6-10pm, Treetops Resort Convention Center, Gaylord. Featuring a variety of breweries & wineries. Sample cards are discounted if you show your Alpenfrost pin at the door. 866-7089932. treetops.com

feb 05 door. 947-9213.

sunday

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY CONCERT/CD RELEASE: Sandy Blumenfeld: 3pm, Sleder’s Family Tavern, TC. Tickets: $15 advance, $20

THE IMPROVISED SHAKESPEARE COMPANY: 7:30pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey. Based on one audience suggestion (a title for a play that has yet to be written), the company creates a fully improvised Shakespearean masterpiece. Tickets: $25 CTAC members, $35 non-members, & $10 students. crookedtree.org

WOMEN’S WINTER TOUR: Women of the North unite to celebrate women, winter & chocolate! Snow bike, snowshoe or cross-country ski at Timber Ridge Resort, TC at 10am. Enjoy L. Mawby Sex, sandwiches by The Cheese Lady, Oryana chili, Fresh Coast Chocolates & more.

Tickets: $40 advance, $50 at door. Register online at womenswintertour.com or pick-up an application at Brick Wheels & Einstein Cycles.

LAUGH FOR A GOOD CAUSE! COMEDY SHOW: 8pm, The Parlor, TC. Presented by Falling Down Stairs Productions who will donate proceeds to help Polestar LGBT + Community Center launch itself as a new nonprofit. tcpolestar.org

-------------------4TH ANNUAL GUNS N HOSES HOCKEY GAME: 6pm, Centre Ice Arena, TC. Local law enforcement & firefighters/EMS will battle it out to benefit Sean McDonald, 34, who has recently been diagnosed with non-small cell Stage 4 lung cancer. He has a wife & four daughters & is now unable to work. Tickets, $5. gtgunsnhoses.com

-------------------MI WILD GAME DINNER: 6:30pm, The Boathouse, Old Mission Peninsula, TC. The

send your dates to: events@traverseticker.com

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--------------------

04-12

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125 YEARS! COLLAGE CONCERT: Hosted

by Ron Jolly & featuring Grammy awardwinner Bob James, plus performances by OTP, NWS – Front Street Writers, TSO Ensemble & more. 8pm, City Opera House, TC. Celebrating 125 years of City Opera House. Free, but reserved tickets required. cityoperahouse.org

--------------------

february

BLUEBERRY PANCAKE BREAKFAST: 8am-noon, Price Social Center, Rainbow of Hope Farm, Kingsley. Suggested donation, $7; benefits Rainbow of Hope Farm. rainbowofhopefarm.weebly.com

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WOMEN’S HISTORY PROJECT’S SOUPER SUNDAY: 12:30-2:30pm, McGuire Room, Traverse Area District Library, TC. Enjoy a soup luncheon & participate in a discussion of the Women’s March on Washington, Jan. 2017. $5 donation. Reserve your spot: 231-4213343. whpnm.org

feb 06

monday

DROP-IN & DRAW: 9:3011:30am, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey. An artist will share stories & guide sketching. Free. crookedtree.org

The Cadillac Footliters Junior Players presents Disney’s Aladdin Jr., a love story in an Arabian setting, at Cadillac High School Auditorium on Sat. & Sun., Feb. 10-11 at 7pm, & Sat. & Sun., Feb. 17-18 at 7pm, with the addition of a 2pm performance on Feb. 18. Tickets: $10 advance, $12 door. cadillacfootliters.com

feb 07

tuesday

TC NEW TECH MEETUP: 6-8pm, City Opera House, TC. For technology professionals from across northwest MI. RSVP: www.tcnewtech.org

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AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY’S RELAY FOR LIFE OF GRAND TRAVERSE: “Down on the Farm” Kickoff Event: 6-8pm, BC Pizza, TC. relayforlife.org/grandtraversecountymi

--------------------

AAUW “HANDS ONLY CPR COURSE”: 5:30pm, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, TC. Featuring speaker Susan Hughes, CRNA. aauwtc.org

-------------------GVSU TC ALUMNI CLUB MEET UP: 5:307:30pm, The Parlor, TC.

-------------------PARKINSON’S NETWORK NORTH EVENING SUPPORT GROUP: 6pm, MCHC, Rooms A&B, TC. parkinsonsnetworknorth.org

-------------------LIFELONG LEARNING: Kathleen Stocking tells of her experiences included in her book “The Long Arc of the Universe -- Travels Beyond the Pale” at Petoskey District Library Classroom at 11am. $10/session or $12/session at the door. Register: petoskeylibrary.org

-------------------WRITE-IN WITH MICHIGAN WRITERS: Prompts Party. 6:30pm, The Parlor, TC. Bring something to write with & free write on writing prompts while socializing with other writers.

feb 08

wednesday

GETTING READY FOR GROWING SEASON: With Brian Zimmerman. 7-9pm, Botanic Garden Visitor Center,

TC. Free will donations appreciated. thebotanicgarden.org

-------------------PINTS FOR PAWS: 4-11pm, Tap30, Petoskey.

Support the animals at LTBHS. Tap30 will donate $1 from every drink sale to support the homeless animals at the shelter. ltbhs.com

-------------------YOUR HEART & EXERCISE: 8am, Otsego Sportsplex, Gaylord. Presented by Exercise Specialist Terry Whitmore, HFS. Free. northernhealth.org/heart

-------------------COMMUNITY COFFEE CHAMBER MEET & GREET: 9-11am, Toonies Fish & Steakhouse, Bellaire. bellairechamber.org

-------------------BEACH FUN IN FEBRUARY!: 10am & 1pm, Interlochen Public Library. Annual Preschool Story Hour Beach Party. Play in the sand, splash in water, & enjoy songs, snacks & a craft. Wear beach clothes & bring a beach towel. 231-276-6767.

-------------------TOM MORRELL & DANCERS FROM BALLET ETC.: 6:30-7:45pm, Sanctuary, Presbyterian Church of TC. A choreographed dance performance to Amy Grant’s “Breath of Heaven”. Following the performance, Tom & the dancers will share how dance has impacted them. Free. 946-5680.

-------------------GT WOMAN LUNCHEON: “YOU 2.0”: 11am-1pm, Hagerty Center, TC. GT Woman Magazine with speaker Leslie Hamp, creative catalyst. Tickets: $30 or two for $50. grandtraversewoman.com PICNIC AT THE OPERA: Noon, City Opera House, TC. Live TV variety show. Today features the Jeff Haas Quartet featuring Don Julin, Turbo Pup, The Dance Center, Here:Say Storyteller Nancy Baker, Busker’s Union, Ben Whiting & Brotha James. Hosts are Miriam Pico & David Chown. Attendees are part of a

Northern Express Weekly • february 6, 2017 • 23

BAGELS HAND-CRAFTED

O N LY AT Y O U R N E I G H B O R HO O D B I G A P P L E B A G E L S ®

Mon -

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february Tues -

closing at 9pm

04-12

$2 well drinks & shots

Wed - Get it in the can for $1 w/ DJ FASEL Thurs - MI beer night $1 off all MI beer

CHRIS STERR & RON GETZ BAND

Fri Feb 10: Happy Hour: Harvey Wallbangers Then: The Strapping Owls presented by New Holland and Microfest Sat Feb 11: MAINSTAYS Sun Feb 12: 1133 S. Airport Rd. W., Traverse City • (231) 929-9866 www.bigapplebagels.com

WIFI

KARAOKE (10PM-2AM)

941-1930 downtown TC check us out at unionstreetstationtc.net

Valentines Jewelry Market Show!

15 Local Jewelers all under $75 Feb.11th • 12-7 pm 126 S. Union St. traverse city

live studio audience. Free; donations encouraged. Bring a lunch. cityoperahouse.org

feb 09

thursday

WINTER SPEAKER SERIES: Noon, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, Petoskey. “What is the CAKE CISMA?” Free. Pre-register: 231-347-1181.

-------------------POSITIVE INTERFAITH/NON-FAITH DIALOGUE: 7pm, Traverse Area District Library, TC. For info email: hdorman4270@gmail.com

-------------------CAKE CREATIONS: 7pm, Peninsula Community Library, Old Mission Peninsula School, TC. Create a heart shaped cake & decorate it. Bring one 8” round & one 8” square cake, unfrosted. Call 231-223-7700 to RSVP. peninsulacommunitylibrary.org

-------------------BUSINESS AFTER HOURS: 5:30pm, LPCC Visitor Center, Northern Latitudes Distillery & Red Top Pasteria, Lake Leelanau. leelanauchamber.com

--------------------

SUPPORT GROUP: Spot On Skills ADHD Counseling will be hosting a support group for parents of children struggling with ADHD or ADHD symptoms. 7-8pm, Thirlby Room, Traverse Area District Library, TC. Free. 231-383-8222.

-------------------THE ART OF: Dying: 6-8pm, Dennos Museum Center, NMC, TC. Presented by non-profit Golden Intentions. Explore a variety of art focused on changing the way you think & talk about the end of life. Free. goldenintentions.org

-------------------CHURCH WOMEN UNITED: 11am-1pm, Central United Methodist Church, TC. Featuring a program on Haiti Birthing Center with speaker Kathy Gray. A potluck luncheon will follow the program. churchwomen.org

feb 10

friday

HORIZON BOOKS, TC EVENTS: 10-11am: Story Hour – Valentines Day. 8:3010:30pm: Live Music with the Jim Crockett Trio. horizonbooks.com

-------------------CABIN FEVER ARTIST TALK SERIES: 5:30pm, Oliver Center for the Arts, Frankfort.

Featuring Nick Preneta, winner of the Gold Prize at OAC’s 2016 Juried Exhibition. Nick observes the forms that wind & water create in rock, sand, wood & ice. Free. oliverartcenterfrankfort.org

-------------------LUNCHEON LECTURE: Community Corrections. 11:30am-1:30pm, NCMC Library Conference Center, Petoskey. Featuring Dean Cosens. $10. Reservations required. ncmich.edu

-------------------STATE OF THE COMMUNITY LUNCHEON: 11:30am-1:30pm, Ovation Hall, Odawa Casino, Petoskey. Tickets, $30. 231-347-4150.

-------------------DADDY DAUGHTER SWEETHEART DANCE: 6-8pm, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Proceeds benefit the museum.

Register: greatlakeskids.org

-------------------DISNEY’S ALADDIN JR.: Presented by the Cadillac Footliters Junior Players at Cadillac High School Auditorium at 7pm. Tickets: $10 advance, $12 door. cadillacfootliters.com

-------------------NORTHPORT’S DINNER THEATRE PRESENTS “BOEING BOEING”: Held at Tucker’s of Northport, cocktails are served at 5:30pm, with seating at 6pm. Tickets, $50. northportcac.org. 231-386-5001.

-------------------“THE FOREIGNER”: Held at Audie’s Restaurant, Mackinaw City, dinner is at 6:30pm & the show at 7:30pm. Dinner theatre & a comedy in two acts. Presented by the Northland Players, Inc. Tickets, $26. 231-436-5744.

--------------------

15TH ANNUAL SPORTSMEN’S BANQUET: Held at East Bay Calvary Church, TC, doors open at 4:30pm, with dinner at 6pm & the program at 7pm. Speakers include Dan Fitzgerald & Guy Fitzgerald, producers of Team Fitzgerald Keepin’ It Real Family Productions. Tickets: $50 full, $30 program. traverseoutdoors.com

-------------------NATIONAL WRITERS SERIES: 7pm, City Opera House, TC. A conversation with EmmyAward winning journalists Caren Zucker & John Donvan, authors of New York Times Bestseller “In A Different Key: The Story of Autism”. Featuring guest host Neal Rubin. General admission, $15.50. nationalwritersseries.org

feb 11

saturday

PHIL STAGG WATERFALL PHOTOGRAPHY: 1pm, Cadillac Wexford Public Library Community Meeting Room. cadillaclibrary.org

------------

CBG MINDED MICHIGAN’DERS: 1-5pm, Red Sky Stage, Petoskey. Share your fascination with cigar box instruments & the music they make. Free. redskystage.com

-------------------BARK, BUDS & BRANCHES: 1pm, Grass River Natural Area, Bellaire. Learn to identify Michigan trees in winter by their bark, buds & branching patterns while taking a short hike with a naturalist. Free. grassriver.org

-------------------SWING & SWEETS BIG BAND DANCE: 7-11pm, Ellison Place, Gaylord. Dance lessons at 6pm. $30/couple or $20/person. miellisonplace.com

--------------------

LEARN HOW TO DYE A SILK SCARF CLASS: 10am-noon, Golden Fellowship Hall, Interlochen.

For adults. Free. Register: 231-276-6767.

-------------------VALENTINE COMMUNITY SLEDDING NIGHT: 5-8pm, Harbor Springs Winter Sports Park. A free family party that also includes pizza, crafts & games. 231-526-0610.

-------------------DISNEY’S ALADDIN JR.: (See Fri., Feb. 10) -------------------WINTER HIKE: 10am-noon, Green Point Dunes Preserve, Benzie. Presented by the GT Regional Land Conservancy. gtrlc.org

--------------------

GOPHERWOOD CONCERT: Ralston Bowles brings his distinct brand of folk music. He is joined by The Bonzer Boys. 8pm, Cadillac Elks Club. Advance tickets: $12 adults, $6 students 13-18 ($15 & $7 at door ) & free for children 12 & under with adult. mynorthtickets.com

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--------------------

FREE ARTS & CRAFTS DAY: Noon-3pm, Gaylord Area Council for the Arts. Today features felting. For all school age children. gaylordarts.org

--------------------

VALENTINE WORKSHOP: 10am-noon, Munnecke Room, Leland Township Library. Free.

231-256-9152.

COMMUNITY DANCE: 7-9:30pm, East Jordan Civic Center Gym. Presented by the Jordan Valley All-Stars Band. $10/person.

NORTE! PRESENTS TC WINTER BIKES TO WORK + SCHOOL DAY: Adults can stop by Brew, Morsels, Oryana, Cuppa Joe & various other places for a free cup of coffee in the morning.

An all-ages after party will be held at Rarebird, TC starting at 5pm. winterbiketoworkday.org

24 • february 6, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

“OUTSIDE MULLINGAR”: 7:30pm, OTP Studio Theatre at the Depot, TC. Tickets for this lyrical comedy are $17. oldtownplayhouse.com

---------------------------------------

ARTS IN ACTION: 10am-1pm, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Make hand-felted egg shakers. greatlakeskids.org

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GIVING GATHERING: 11am-1pm, SCRAP TC. Experienced knitters can make preemie hats for donation to Munson Hospitals. Bring size 7 double-pointed needles. scraptc.org

-------------------FLY TYING FOR BEGINNERS: 9am-noon, Boardman River Nature Center, TC. Free.

Reserve your spot: 941-0960.

--------------------

BAYSIDE TRAVELLERS CONTRA DANCE: Held at Solon Township Hall, Cedar, a dance lesson for beginners will start at 7pm, followed by the contra & square dancing at 8pm. $11 adults, $7 students & $9 members. dancetc.com

-------------------“OUTSIDE MULLINGAR”: (See Fri., Feb. 10) -------------------SUPER SATURDAY SPECIAL: 10am-2pm, TBAISD Career-Tech Center, TC. Community members can get their tax preparation done for free. Workshops will be offered, & snacks & lunch will be provided. Presented by the Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency. Must register: 231-590-0100.

-------------------GOOD ON PAPER IMPROV SHOW: 9pm, The GT Circuit, TC. Tickets: $10 at door. Find ‘Good on Paper Improv Show!’ on Facebook.

-------------------5TH ANNUAL SNOWSHOE STAMPEDE: 10:30am, Leelanau Outdoor Center, Maple City. 5K & 1 mile for kids (12 & under). locprograms.org/5th-annual-snowshoe-stampede

-------------------NORTHPORT’S DINNER THEATRE PRESENTS “BOEING BOEING”: (See Fri., Feb. 10)

-------------------“THE FOREIGNER”: (See Fri., Feb. 10) --------------------

TASTE THE PASSION: 11am-5pm, Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail. Tickets, $35; includes a souvenir wine glass, Leelanau wine & food pairings, & snow-filled photo contests. lpwines. com/taste-the-passion/

-------------------15TH ANNUAL SPORTSMEN’S BANQUET: Held at East Bay Calvary Church, TC, doors open at 3:30pm, with dinner at 5pm & the program at 6pm. Speakers include Dan Fitzgerald & Guy Fitzgerald, producers of Team Fitzgerald Keepin’ It Real Family Productions.

Tickets: $50 full, $30 program. traverseoutdoors.com

--------------------

NORTH AMERICAN VASA 41ST ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF RACES: First race starts at 9am at Timber Ridge, TC. Cross country skiing & fat bike races. Info: www.vasa.org

-------------------8TH ANNUAL TC WINTER MICROBREW & MUSIC FESTIVAL: 4pm, Downtown TC. Featuring 200+ brews, wines, ciders & meads; live music by Kyle Hollingsworth Band, The Nth Power, The Change featuring Grammy winner Peter Madcat Ruth, & many others; local food vendors, a rare beer tour, silent auction & much more. General admission, $45. microbrewandmusic.com

-------------------WINTERFEST: Starts at 8am in Downtown Beulah. Featuring a Poker Run, Frozen Turkey Bowling, Chili Cookoff, 12th Annual Frozen Fish Toss, Winterfest Parade, Outhouse Sprint, & much more. clcba.org/event/winterfest/

--------------------

VALENTINE’S DAY JEWELRY MARKET: 12-7pm, Higher Art Gallery, TC. Featuring over 15 vendors. Support your local jewelry artists. higherartgallery.com TEN STRINGS & A GOAT SKIN: 8pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey. This bilingual folk/fusion trio from Prince Edward Island presents traditional & original music inspired by their Atlantic Canadian histories & roots, & infused with pop & world rhythms.

Presented by Blissfest. Tickets for members: $15 adults, $7 students. Non-members: $20, $10. blissfest.org

-------------------KIDS MOVIE NIGHT: 7:30pm, Aspen Room or Alpine Room, Treetops Resort, Gaylord. Tonight will feature “Aladdin”. Free. treetops.com

feb 12

sunday

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 MINUTES: 3pm, First Congregational Church, TC. Presented by Encore Winds with Conductor Dr. Timothy Topolewski. Tickets: $15 adults, $10 seniors, $5 students, & free for 12 & under. encorewinds.org

-------------------GREAT LAKES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA’S SUNDAY SERIES: 4-5:15pm, Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Petoskey. Featuring The Three Sopranos. Free will donation. glcorchestra.org

-------------------8TH ANNUAL HAVE A HEART FOR BROTHER DAN’S FOOD PANTRY: Noon-9pm, Emmet County Fairgrounds. Featuring live bands, food from over 20 area restaurants, a silent auction & more. $15/person; under 12 are free. Find ‘Brother Dan’s Food Pantry’ on Facebook.

--------------------

FOOT ZONE

BALANCE

• Simple • Effective • Relaxing

only 2 feet away from good health!

This holistic approach treats the entire body via the feet.

LINDA FRANKLIN certified foot zone therapist lindafranklinfootzone.com

231-947-3712

THE BAY FILM SERIES: Presents “The Eagle Huntress”. 2pm & 5pm, The Bay Theatre, Suttons Bay. Thirteen-year-old Aisholpan is the first female in twelve generations of her Kazakh family to train to become an eagle hunter. $9.50 at door. thebaytheatre.com

winter sale continues...

-------------------UNDERGROUND RAILROAD PROGRAM: 2pm, Helena Township Community Center, Alden. 231-331-4318.

-------------------“SCREENAGERS”: This film examines the impact of the digital age on children. It will be shown free of charge at The Garden Theater, Frankfort at 2pm. A discussion will follow the film. screenagersmovie.com

-------------------“OUTSIDE MULLINGAR”: 2pm, OTP Studio Theatre at the Depot, TC. Tickets for this lyrical comedy are $17. oldtownplayhouse.com

-------------------BUCKETS OF RAIN BENEFIT: Featuring Andre Villoch performing from 4-6pm at the Acoustic Tap Room, TC. Tickets, $10. Through the construction of urban gardens on abandoned city lots, Buckets of Rain diminishes urban blight, rekindles hope in struggling neighborhoods, brings fresh vegetables into the neighborhoods, & feeds the homeless through partners. bucketsofrain.org

231.932.0510 DOWNTOWN TC • 126 E Front St

231-421-8868 DOWNTOWN TC • 13o E. Front St

-------------------3RD ANNUAL VALENTINE’S DAY SNOWSHOE & SKI TREK: 1pm, Ruby Ellen Farm, TC. Free will donation; proceeds will help buy a new roof for the farmhouse. Bring your own equipment. rubyellenfarm.org

-------------------NORTHPORT’S DINNER THEATRE PRESENTS “BOEING BOEING”: Held at Northport Community Arts Center, cocktails are served at 3:30pm, with seating at 4pm. Tickets, $50. northportcac.org. 231-386-5001.

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TASTE THE PASSION: 12-5pm, Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail. Tickets, $35; includes a souvenir wine glass, Leelanau wine & food pairings, & snow-filled photo contests. lpwines. com/taste-the-passion/

Central High School's

Bill & Laurie

February 2nd

February 9th

Robert Mulligan

Janice Keegan

Sears

Minor Six

-------------------BOY SCOUT SUNDAY PANCAKE BREAKFAST: 8am-1pm, Central United Methodist Church, TC. Free will offering. 946-5191.

--------------------

NORTH AMERICAN VASA 41ST ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF RACES: First race starts at 9am at Timber Ridge, TC. Cross country skiing races. Info: www.vasa.org

ongoing

LIVING ON: Loss of Spouse: First & third Tues. of every month, 12-1:30pm, Hospice of Michigan office, 10850 E. Traverse Hwy., Ste. 1155, TC. Free. For more info: 929-1557 or kholl@hom.org.

-------------------WINTER WALK WEDNESDAYS: Walk to

Latin dinner specials February 16th

Every Thursday

February 23rd

7-9:30pm

Northern Express Weekly • february 6, 2017 • 25

Warm Vacation?

YOUR N VACATIOEXT BEGIN N WITH U S S!

Time to call Talon!

Booking winter & family spring break vacations now.

• Resorts • Cruises • All inclusive • Destination weddings & Honeymoons

Talon TRAVEL AGENCY

TalonTravelAgency.com 231-930-4770 877-211-9377

school every Weds. this winter through March 15. elgruponorte.org/winter/walk

ern MI John & Marnie Demmer Wellness Pavilion & Dialysis Center, Petoskey. 800-248-6777.

SNOWSHOES, VINES & WINES!: Explore the easy to moderate trails at Black Star Farms, Suttons Bay & then warm up with a glass of mulled wine & a bowl of chili. Held every Sat. & Sun. through Feb. 25-26 from noon-4pm. blackstarfarms.com

SONG OF THE MORNING, VANDERBILT: Free yoga classes, Tues. – Fri., 7:30-8:30am. songofthemorning.org

--------------------

--------------------

SUNDAY SKIING FOR FAMILIES: Held on Sundays through Feb. 5 at 2pm, Grass River Natural Area, Bellaire. Donations appreciated. Call ahead to reserve kids’ XC skis. grassriver.org

-------------------SNOWSHOE, WINE & BREW: Sundays through March 5, Old Mission Peninsula, 10:40am-noon. Park at Jolly Pumpkin to board the TC Brew Bus & start your trek. $20. tcbrewbus.com/events

-------------------ICE SKATING GAMES: Saturdays through March 11, 1-3pm, Harbor Springs Sk8 Park/ Ice Rink. Find ‘Harbor Springs Sk8 Park’ on Facebook.

--------------------

SATURDAY SNOWSHOE HIKES AT SLEEPING BEAR DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE: Held on Saturdays through March 11. Meet at the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center, Empire at 1pm. Free, but reservations required: 231-326-4700, ext. 5010.

--------------------

OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS: No dues, fees, weigh-ins, or diets. Meeting Tues. at 12:15pm; Thurs. at 1:30pm; Fri. at 8am; & Sat. at 10:30am. Call Pat: 989-448-9024; Tom: 231590-8800; or Genie: 231-271-1060.

blAck violin

Thursday, February 16, 2017 Classically trained violin and viola musicians, Wil B and Kev Marcus, fuse classical, hip-hop, rock, R&B, and bluegrass into a groundbreaking sound that’s topping Billboard charts.

-------------------ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS - YOUNG PEOPLE’S MEETING: Fridays at 8pm, Grace Episcopal Church (basement), TC. www. district11-aa.org/

--------------------

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS - OPEN SPEAKER MEETING: Saturdays at 8pm, Munson Medical Center (basement), TC. www. district11-aa.org/

-------------------SECULAR A.A.: Thursdays: The Porch, TC, 5:30pm. Fridays: By the Bay Alano Club, TC, 7pm. SecularAAinMichigan.org

--------------------

old friends: A simon & gArfunkel tribute

ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS (ACA): 5:30-7pm, Thursdays in the basement of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, TC. For those who seek to address the residual effects of having been raised in dysfunctional household. adultchildren.org

Old Friends is a stunning recreation of Simon & Garfunkel’s 1981 Concert in Central Park. Remember the songs, remember the harmonies, remember the mood and the magic…

DEBTORS ANONYMOUS (NEW LOCATION, NEW TIME): 6:30-7:30pm on Tuesdays, Cowell Cancer Center (Munson), room B-031, Sixth & Madison streets, TC. 12-Step Recovery Meeting for those with money issues. More info, call John P at (973) 476-7384.

--------------------

Saturday, February 18, 2017

--------------------

Friday, March 10, 2017

ADOPTION SATURDAYS: Pets Naturally, TC hosts one dog & one cat from the Cherryland Humane Society on Saturdays from 11am2pm. www.petsnaturallytc.com INDOOR FARMERS MARKET, THE VILLAGE AT GT COMMONS, TC: Held in The Mercato on Saturdays through April 29 from 10am-2pm. thevillagetc.com

Charles Ross single-handedly plays all the characters, sings the music, flies the ships, fights the battles and condenses the plots into one hilarious show!

CTAC ARTISANS & FARMERS MARKET: Fridays, 10am-1pm, Bidwell Plaza during good weather, or Carnegie Building, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey. crookedtree.org

one-mAn stAr wArs trilogy

--------------------------------------BLISSFEST JAM SESSIONS: Every Sun., 1-4pm, Red Sky Stage, Petoskey. Bring your instruments or just sing along or listen. www. redskystage.com.

--------------------

BOXING FOR PARKINSON’S: Parkinson’s Network North meets at 10am every Mon. at Fit For You, TC for these free sessions. gtaparkinsonsgroup.org

-------------------“JUST FOR US” BREAST CANCER SUPPORT GROUP: Meets the first Tues. of every month from 6:30-8:30pm at the McLaren North-

26 • february 6, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

--------------------------------------PETOSKEY FILM THEATER: Showing international, indie, art house & documentary films on Wednesdays, Fridays & Saturdays. Carnegie Building, 451 E. Mitchell St., next to Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey. Donations welcome.

For schedule find ‘Petoskey Film Theater’ on Facebook. 231-758-3108.

-------------------DEPOT COFFEEHOUSE: Fridays from 6-7:30pm at After 26 Depot Café, Cadillac. Enjoy coffee with dinner or dessert while listening to live entertainment. 231-468-3526.

art

ART COMPETITION – WINE LABEL DESIGN NEEDED: Deadline for art entry is March 10! Attention artists: Design a wine bottle label for the Mission Point Lighthouse fundraiser. Support Mission Point Lighthouse Friends nonprofit - preserve the lighthouse. Winner will have their design on the label for the 2nd Annual Lighthouse Wine Fundraiser. Go to events at www.missionpointlighthouse. com for application. Or email mplfmedia@gmail.com ANNUAL FURNITURE, FIBER, PHOTOGRAPHY, & SCULPTURE EXHIBITION: Through Feb. 24, Oliver Art Center, Frankfort. oliverartcenterfrankfort.org 6TH ANNUAL GRAND TRAVERSE ART BOMB: Through March 25, Right Brain Brewery, TC. Artists of all media in & from the GT region will display & sell their work commission-free. Encore Reception/Art Bomb Prom on Feb. 11, & Closing Reception on March 25. Featuring live music & performance art. facebook.com/GrandTraverseArtBomb THROUGH THE WINDOW, ALL MEDIA: Through March, Three Pines Studio, Cross Village. threepinesstudio.com MIDWEST TWILIGHT: This painting by Glenn Wolff has been installed on the south wall of the Omelette Shoppe, Cass St., TC. dennosmuseum.org PROTECTION: This Woodland Indian screenprint by Jackson Beardy is installed on the east wall of Cuppa Joe, 1060 E. Front St., TC. dennosmuseum.org “MAKING ART TOGETHER”: The Northport Arts Association hosts this open studio every Thurs. from 10am-1pm in the Village Arts Building, Northport. northportartsforall.com GAYLORD AREA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS, GAYLORD: - Black & White with a little Red Exhibit: Through March 4.

A reception will be held on Sat., Feb. 11 from 5-7pm.

- Artful Afternoons: Every Weds. through April 26 at 1pm.

Free. gaylordarts.org HIGHER ART GALLERY, TC: Call for Artists: 2nd Annual Mark Makers Competition: Speed Drawing Edition. Looking for 8 artists to draw in this free competition in front of a live audience. Competition is at Cambria Suites / Reflection Lounge on 3/13.

Email : higherartgallery@gmail.com for more info on how to apply. Deadline is February 25.

Call for Artist Submissions: For the spring show “Sacred Spaces” at Higher Art Gallery, TC. Deadline to apply is Feb. 20. Visit higherartgallery.com for info.

CROOKED TREE ARTS CENTER, PETOSKEY: - Crooked Tree Photographic Society Exhibit: Runs through March 17 in the Atrium Gallery. Featuring diverse digital works from more than 30 members.

- 2017 Juried Photography Exhibition: Runs through March 23 in Gilbert Gallery. Juried by renowned photographer Howard Bond. Includes works selected from 140 submissions.

- Tinker, Tailor, Welder, Weaver: The Art of Assemblage: Runs through March 23 in Bonfield Gallery. crookedtree.org CROOKED TREE ARTS CENTER, TC: - Hygge: A Winter’s Glow: This multimedia exhibition celebrates all the ways those in the northern latitudes embrace & find contentment during the winter months.

Runs through Feb. 25.

- Art History Talk: Fridays through March 17, noon-1pm.

Each week will cover a decade of the 1800’s. $5 suggested donation. crookedtree.org

FOURSCORE by kristi kates

RANDY’S DINER IS THE PLACE FOR OUTSTANDING BURGERS! Open 6am-9pm Monday-Saturday

Gluten Free Burger Buns Now Available!

UB40 – “Unplugged” – UMC

This is a somewhat strange endeavor for what’s often thought of as one of the most accessible of reggae acts, the band that reached its prime in the ‘80s and received heavy radio airplay for hits like “Red Red Wine.” The enthusiasm and warmth of the original outfit has mostly departed, to be replaced by diluted, elevator music versions of UB40’s tunes, with the occasional bongo being the only thing with any energy. Static pacing, dated production (see echo-laden hand claps) and few tempo changes only add to the sad deconstruction of such prior standouts as “One in Ten” and “I Got You Babe.”

20th Anniversary 1997-2017

Car Show every Summer!

Madness – “Can’t Touch Us Now” – Hip-O

By contrast, Camden Town (London) ska band Madness skips leaning on its audio laurels entirely and instead returns with what’s arguably its best album since its 1979 debut One Step Beyond. Starting with the instantly hooky title track with its Beatlesque piano riff, the album careens confidently through its track listing with standouts including “Mr. Apples” with its Electric Light Orchestra influences and the English/ honky-tonk rhythms of “I Believe.”

Frontman Suggs’ vocals sound like he hasn’t aged at all as the whole band takes obvious and accomplished steps directly into the present.

Visit Randy’s Diner for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Gyros, Cod, Subs, Soups, Salads, and much more!

Nothing’s Finer Than Randy’s Diner!

VISIT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE FOR NEWS & SPECIALS.

1120 CARVER STREET, TRAVERSE CITY 231 946-0789

EXPERIENCE INTERLOCHEN

Simple Minds – “Acoustic” – Caroline International

Other than the disappointment of its prior smash hit “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” which leans a bit too much toward ‘80s coffee shop cover band in this version (of course, it’s nearly impossible to recapture the boundless energy of the original), Simple Minds does respectable unplugged takes on a long list of songs from its back catalogue on this set, with frontman Jim Kerr’s vocals as pliant as ever. Highlights include a still-gleaming rendition of “Glittering Prize,” a chiming “Alive and Kicking” and an ambitious if not quite there cover of Richard Hawley’s “Long Black Train.”

The Pretenders – “Alone” – BMG

Teaming up with The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach (the album was recorded in Auerbach’s and singer Chrissie Hynde’s shared hometown of Akron, Ohio), this first Pretenders effort since 2008 benefits from Auerbach’s refreshed view. His influence helps Hynde – now on her own as carrier of the Pretenders’ flag, with her other bandmates no longer present – enliven well-written rock numbers like “Never Be Together,” “I Hate Myself” and “Blue Eyed Sky.” Hynde’s vocals are deservedly center stage as the gritty, melodic tracks weave around her and Auerbach’s production.

Feb. 14 An Evening with Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge | Aoife O’Donovan and her band

Aoife O’Donovan, the talented vocalist praised by national publications like the Washington Post, The New York Times, Rolling Stone magazine and more, teams with Grammy nominees Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge for an evening of music you won’t want to miss.

tickets.interlochen.org 800.681.5920

Northern Express Weekly • february 6, 2017 • 27

NEW MUSIC GETS POLITICAL Only a couple of weeks in to the new presidency, a long list of protest albums, singles and performances have begun surfacing, among them Our First 100 Days, a 100-song compilation releasing one song a day to benefit organizations from the People’s Climate Movement to Cosecha, an immigration support charity. Our First 100 Days so far includes tracks from lo-fi indie rockers Mountain Goats, Toro Y Moi, Jens Lekman, Will Oldham, Twin Peaks and more. Also out now is the new album Battle Hymns, an inauguration day release that includes tracks from Sleater-Kinney, Stephen Malkmus, Built to Spill’s Doug Martsch and a new supergroup from R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and The Minus 5’s Scott McCaughey called Filthy Friends; proceeds will benefit the ACLU and additional charities.

Detroit punk legend Iggy Pop has teamed up with musician/producer Dangermouse to craft the title song to the new Matthew McConaughey film Gold, a story about a prospector desperate to find gold in Indonesia. The Pop/Dangermouse track builds slowly with a dark country-western feel made even more foreboding by Pop’s vocal delivery, which skews just this side of creepy. The soundtrack title song is out now, as is the film, which arrived in theaters Jan. 27.

MODERN

Mountain Goats

ROCK

BY KRISTI KATES

Fellow Detroiter Jack White is set to celebrate a new venture for his Third Man Records outfit, specifically the brand new vinyl pressing plant he’s opening in the Motor City this month. Third Man Pressing will be located in the city’s Cass Corridor neighborhood and will utilize an environmentally friendly closed-loop chilled water system to press 5,000 records per hour. The opening day celebration for the new plant will include live performances, exclusive merchandise for sale and the launch of limited edition vinyl releases from The White Stripes, Destroy All Monsters, Xanadu and The Johnson Family Singers.

The People’s Choice Awards recently named its 2017 winners, creating a flashback of sorts to the mid-90s as Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears won the top music awards, Spears for Favorite Female Artist, Favorite Pop Artist, Favorite Social Media Celebrity and Favorite Comedic Collaboration. Timberlake was named Favorite Male Artist while his track “Can’t Stop the Feeling” won Favorite Song. Other musical winners at this year’s People’s Choice included G-Eazy, Rihanna, Blake Shelton and Niall Horan as Favorite Breakout Artist.

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK: Sing along now: “Wayne’s world! Wayne’s

world!” That’s right – the 1992 Saturday Night Live spinoff movie Wayne’s World starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey is returning to select movie theaters Feb. 7–8 for 25th anniversary screenings that will include a pre-recorded post-film roundtable discussion with cast members and director Penelope Spheeris. Aurora, Illinois, the location for the fictional show, is also hosting an anniversary celebration with a lookalike contest, movie screening and air-guitar competition. Get all the details at the movie’s official website, Waynesworld25.com.

THE BUZZ: West Michigan band The Turnips has a revamped lineup and brand new album called StopWatchTimeDrop that shows off the bandmates’ best skills at mixing together soul, Midwestern blues, and a little funk.

California DJ Kill the Noise, aka producer Jake Stanczak, cranked up the

EDM at The Intersection in Grand Rapids last week with assistance from NickyBoom and Ray Volpe.

Speaking of The Intersection, the downtown GR venue has hit the top 25 in ticket sales for small club venues worldwide on a list composed by concert experts Pollstar.

‘90s alternative rock outfit Third Eye Blind is kicking off its Summer Gods Tour June 9 and will perform at 7pm; tickets are on sale now for that show.

Midnight Pilot of Holland, Mich., is finding some success in Nashville, where the band has just released a new EP called Hold On and is plotting tour dates for 2017, including a return to Michigan for some shows…and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.

Comments, questions, rants, raves, suggestions on this column? Send ‘em to Kristi at Modernrocker@gmail.com.

Nationally Ranked U.S. News & World Report says Munson Medical Center is among the best hospitals in the nation for heart care and is one of the top five hospitals in Michigan.

As a regional referral center, we’re on top of your care with consistent recognition for high quality.

munsonhealthcare.org/best

28 • february 6, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

nitelife

Jan 28 - feb 5 edited by jamie kauffold

Send Nitelife to: events@traverseticker.com

Manistee, Wexford & Missaukee

• 522 - MANISTEE Tues. -- Karaoke Thurs., Fri., Sat. -- DJ • BUCKLEY BAR - BUCKLEY Fri. -- DJ Karaoke/Sounds - Duane & Janet • CADILLAC SANDS RESORT Porthole Pub & Eatery: Thurs. -- Live music SandBar Niteclub:

Fri. & Sat. -- Phattrax DJs Fri. -- Karaoke/line dancing, 8:30 Sat. -- Dance videos, 8:30 • COYOTE CROSSING HOXEYVILLE Thurs. -- Open Mic Sat. -- Live Music • DOUGLAS VALLEY WINERY MANISTEE

Sun. -- Live music, 1:30 -4:30pm • HI-WAY INN - MANISTEE 2/11 -- Flat Broke, 9:30 Wild Weds. -- Karaoke • LOST PINES LODGE HARRIETTA Sat. -- Karaoke, dance videos

Grand Traverse & Kalkaska • ACOUSTIC TAP ROOM TC Tues. -- Open & un-mic'd w/ Ben Johnson, 7-9 • BLUE TRACTOR - TC 2/8 -- Beer Trivia Night hosted by Mike Moran, 7-9 • BUD'S - INTERLOCHEN Thurs. -- Jim Hawley, 5-8 • FANTASY'S - GRAWN Adult Entertainment w/ DJ • GT RESORT & SPA ACME Grand Lobby: 2/3-4 -- Blake Elliott, 7-11 2/10-11 -- Blake Elliott, 7-11 • HAYLOFT INN - TC Thurs. -- Open mic night by Roundup Radio Show, 8 Fri. - Sat. thru Feb. -- Two Old Broads & 3 Buddies • HORIZON BOOKS - TC 2/10 -- Jim Crockett Trio, 8:3010:30 • LEFT FOOT CHARLEY TC Mon. -- Open mic w/ Blake Elliott, 6-9 2/10 -- Turbo Pup 6pm-8pm.

• LITTLE BOHEMIA - TC Tues. -- TC Celtic, 7-9 • NOLAN'S CIGAR BAR TC 2/10 -- G-Snacks, 9-11:30 • NORTH PEAK - TC Kilkenny's, 9:30-1:30: 2/3-4 -- Risqué 2/10-11 -- Lucas Paul Mon. -- Michigan Team Trivia, 7-9; Toxic Trivia, 9-11

Tues. -- Levi Britton, 8-12 Weds. -- The Pocket, 8-12 Thurs. -- 2 Bays DJs, 9:301:30 Sun. -- Geeks Who Drink Trivia, 7-9 • PARK PLACE HOTEL - TC Beacon Lounge: Thurs. - Sat. -- Tom Kaufmann, 8:30-11:30 • PARKSHORE LOUNGE TC Fri. - Sat. -- DJ • RARE BIRD BREWPUB TC Mon. -- Open Mic/Artist Night, 7:30-11:30 Tues. -- Trivia night, 7 • SAIL INN - TC Thurs. & Sat. -- Phattrax DJs, karaoke, dance videos • SIDE TRAXX - TC Weds. -- Impaired Karaoke, 10 Fri.-Sat. -- DJ/VJ Mike King • SLEDER'S FAMILY TAVERN - TC 2/5 -- CD Release Concert w/ Sandy Blumenfeld, 3 • TAPROOT CIDER HOUSE - TC Tues. -- Turbo Pup, 7-9 1st Weds. of month -- EMinor open mic, 7-10 Thurs. -- G-Snacks, 7-9 Fri. -- Rob Coonrod, 7-9 Sun. -- Kids Open Mic, 3 • THE OL' SOUL KALKASKA Weds. -- David Lawston,

8-12 • THE WORKSHOP BREWING CO. - TC 2/4 -- Kyle Brown, 8-11 2/6 -- Open Read Poetry, 7-9 2/7 -- Strum Ukulele SingA-Long, 6-8 2/10 -- Local DJ: Clark After Dark, 8-11 2/11 -- Brett Mitchell & Giant Ghost, 8-11 Mon. -- Rotten Cherries Comedy Open Mic, 8-9:30 Weds. -- WBC Jazz Society Jam, 6-10 • TRATTORIA STELLA - TC Tues. -- Ron Getz, 6-9 • UNION STREET STATION - TC 2/4 -- DJ Fasel 2/8 -- DJ Fasel 2/9 -- Chris Sterr & Ron Getz Band 2/10 -- Happy Hour w/ Harvey Wallbangers, then The Strapping Owls presented by New Holland & Microfest 2/11 -- Mainstays Sun. -- Karaoke, 10-2 • WEST BAY BEACH RESORT - TC 2/10 -- Sweetwater Blues Band, 7-9:30 View: 2/3-4 -- DJ Veeda, 9:30-12 2/10 -- DJ Veeda, 9:30-12 2/11 -- DJ KO, 9-12 Thurs. -- Jazz w/ Jeff Haas Trio

Antrim & Charlevoix • ALDEN BAR & GRILLE - ALDEN 2/10-11 -- Karaoke w/ Scotty, 8-12 • BRIDGE STREET TAP ROOM - CHARLEVOIX 2/4 -- Chris Koury, 8-11 2/7 -- Sean Bielby, 7-10 2/10 -- Jabo Bihlman, 8-11 2/11 -- Josh Hall, 8-11 2/12 -- Sean Bielby, 6-9 • CELLAR 152 - ELK RAPIDS 2/4 -- Blair Miller, 7:30-9:30 2/10 -- Elizabeth Sexton Rivers & Pete Murphy, 7:30-9:30 2/11 -- Jessica Dominic, 7:30-9:30

• JORDAN INN - EAST JORDAN Tues. -- Open Mic w/ Cal Mantis, 7-11 Fri. & Sat. -- Live Music • MURRAY'S BAR & GRILL EAST JORDAN Fri. & Sat. -- Live Music • QUAY RESTAURANT & TERRACE BAR - CHARLEVOIX Weds. -- Live jazz, 7-10 • RED MESA GRILL - BOYNE CITY 2/7 -- The Marsupials, 6-9 • SHORT'S BREWING CO. BELLAIRE

2/4 -- Oh Brother Big Sister, 8:30-11 2/7 -- Open mic w/ Seth Bernard, 7:30-10:30 2/10 -- Ben Daniels Band, 8:3011 2/11 -- Jeff Haas Electric Quartet, 8:30-11 2/12 -- Battle of the Bands Week 3, 4-6:30 • VASQUEZ' HACIENDA - ELK RAPIDS Acoustic Tues. Open Jam, 6-9 Sat. -- Live music, 7-10

Groovy twang meets sonic rock n' roll when Kalamazoo's The Go Rounds play City Park Grill, Petoskey on Saturday, February 11 at 10pm. The band describes their music as: "Like little bits of all your favorite bands exploded into rock n' roll confetti." $3 cover.

Leelanau & Benzie • BELLA FORTUNA NORTH - L.L. Fri.-Sat. -- Bocce e DeRoche, 7-10 • BLACK STAR FARMS - SB Third Weds. of ea. mo. -- Jazz Café w/ Mike Davis & Steve Stargardt, 7-9 • CABBAGE SHED - ELBERTA Thurs. -- Open mic, 8 • DICK'S POUR HOUSE - L.L. Sat. -- Karaoke, 10-2 • JODI'S TANGLED ANTLER BEULAH Fri. -- Karaoke, 9-1 • LAKE ANN BREWING CO. LAKE ANN 2/7 -- Bryan Poirier, 6:30 • LAUGHING HORSE

-THOMPSONVILLE Thurs. -- Karaoke, 9 • LEELANAU SANDS CASINO PESHAWBESTOWN Tues. -- Polka Party, noon-4pm • LUMBERJACK'S BAR & GRILL - HONOR Thurs., Fri., Sat. -- Phattrax DJs, karaoke, dance videos • MARTHA'S LEELANAU TABLE - SB Weds. -- The Windy Ridge Boys, 6-9 Sun. -- The Hot Biscuits, 6-9 • ROADHOUSE - BENZONIA Weds. -- Jake Frysinger, 5-8 • ST. AMBROSE CELLARS -

BEULAH 2/3-4 -- DeDe Alder, 6-9 2/10 -- Alfredo Improvisational Quartet, 6-9 2/11 -- Jerry Younce Guitar Duo, 6-9 Thurs. -- Open mic night, 6-8 • STORMCLOUD BREWING CO. - FRANKFORT 2/4 -- The Whiskey Charmers, 8-10 2/10 -- Don Savoie, 8-10 2/11 -- E Minor, 8-10 • WESTERN AVE. GRILL GLEN ARBOR Fri. -- Open Mic Sat. -- Karaoke

Emmet & Cheboygan • BARREL BACK RESTAURANT - WALLOON LAKE VILLAGE Weds. -- Michelle Chenard, 5-8 • BEARDS BREWERY PETOSKEY Weds. -- "Beards on Wax" (vinyl only night spun by DJ J2xtrubl), 8-11 • BOYNE CITY TAPROOM 2/4 -- Sean Bielby, 7-10 2/11 -- Eric Jaqua, 7-10 • BOYNE HIGHLANDS - HARBOR SPRINGS Zoo Bar: 2/4 -- Metro Rockway, 5:309:30 2/11 -- Chris Calleja Band, 5:30-9:30 • CAFE SANTE - BOYNE CITY 2/4 -- Randy Reszka, 8-11 Mon. -- Nathan Bates, 6-9

• CITY PARK GRILL PETOSKEY 2/4 -- The Greg Nasty Trio, 10 2/7 -- Old School Night w/ DJ Franck, 9 2/11 -- The Go Rounds, 10 Annex: 2/10 -- Three Hearted Rocks, 10 • DIXIE SALOON - MACKINAW CITY Thurs. -- Gene Perry, 9-1 Fri. & Sat. -- DJ • KNOT JUST A BAR - BAY HARBOR Fri. -- Chris Martin, 7-10 • LEO'S TAVERN - PETOSKEY Weds. -- Karaoke Night, 10-1 Sun. -- S.I.N. w/ DJ Johnnie Walker, 9-1 • MOUNTAINSIDE GRILL BOYNE CITY

Fri. -- Ronnie Hernandez, 6-9 • OASIS TAVERN - KEWADIN Thurs. -- Bad Medicine, DJ Jesse James • STAFFORD'S PERRY HOTEL - PETOSKEY Noggin Room: 2/3-4 -- Morgan Alexander 2/10 -- Mike Ridley 2/11 -- Pete Kehoe • STAFFORD'S PIER RESTAURANT - HS Pointer Room: Thurs. - Sat. -- Carol Parker on piano • UPSTAIRS LOUNGE - PETOSKEY 2/4 -- DJ Jimmy Hotkeys - Hot Mix, 10

Otsego, Crawford & Central • ALPINE TAVERN - GAYLORD 2/4 -- Adam Hoppe 2/10 -- Joshua Rupp 2/11 -- Jim Akans • MAIN STREET MARKET & BISTRO 7-9:30:

2/4 -- Holly Keller Thompson 2/10 -- Randy Reszka, 7-9:30 2/11 -- Lee Dyer • TIMOTHY'S PUB GAYLORD Fri.-Sat. -- Video DJ w/Larry Reichert Ent.

• TREETOPS RESORT GAYLORD 2/11 -- Randy Reszka, 5-11 Hunter's Grille: 2/3-4 -- Acoustic Bonzo 2/10-11 -- Acoustic Bonzo

Northern Express Weekly • february 6, 2017 • 29

So much to love in The Village

gold

Matthew McConaughey

Trattoria Stella

The Village at Grand Traverse Commons: History, music, food and wine, with quaint Traverse City-original boutiques.

SHOP Locally-owned stores with unique products and excellent service.

Now Open: Red Spire Brunch House Sanctuary

Handmade Goods

Now Open: Earthen Ales

TASTE Some of the best foodie stops in Traverse City: fine food, coffee, bread, sweets, award-winning local wines and local craft beer.

EXPLORE Beautiful parks and hiking trails, and guided historic tours of Traverse City’s largest historic property: click to www.thevillagetc.com/tours!

Pepenero

Great Indoor Folk Fest

Sunday, Feb. 26 Noon-5:30pm in The Village

Music at Left Foot Charley Live Music Mondays & Fridays 6-9pm

Indoor Farmers Market Every Saturday 10am–2pm!

Just over one mile from Downtown Traverse City: W. 11th St. at Cottageview Dr. , 2 blocks West of Division/US31 Visit thevillagetc.com or call The Minervini Group: 231-941-1900 V I L L A G E R E TA I L , F O O D & B E V E R A G E E S TA B L I S H M E N T S B50 The Village Store - 231.938.6150 Christmastide - 231.645.6469 Cuppa Joe Cafe - 231.947.7730 Earthen Ales - 231.252.4270 Elf - eat·learn·frolic - 231.715.1730 Fridrich Furs - 231.421.1738 High Five Threads - 231.384.0408 Higher Grounds Trading Co. - 877.825.2262 Joice Salon - 231.933.9897 Landmark Books - 231.922.7225 Left Foot Charley Winery - 231.995.0500 Notably Natural - 231.929.1100 M Salon & Spa - 231.943.1422

Mi Farm Market / Underground Cheesecake 866.544.1088 PepeNero & Ballaró - 231.929.1960 Pleasanton Bakery - 231.941.1964 Premier Floral Design - 231.947.1167 Raven’s Nest – 231.360.9658 Red Spire Brunch House- 231.252.4648 Sanctuary Handmade Goods - 231.932.0775 Silver Fox Jewelry - 231.935.1701 Spanglish Cafe - 231.943.1453 To Have & To Hold Bridal - 231.922.9333 Trattoria Stella - 231.929.8989 Vintage Du Jour - 231.943.2222

30 • february 6, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

There’s a certain kind of modern drama that sets up a protagonist (often based on a real person) who’s in over their head, or not very bright, but they’ve got gumption and their spectacular rise is all the more heartbreaking due to their inevitable fall. They are biopics to a certain degree, or they investigate a specific event in great detail. They are classic American boot-strapping affairs and you’re meant to root for the clod at the helm because, while they may be deeply flawed, uncouth, or craven, they’re giving it their best and they believe in themselves, in America, and that untenable dream they’re chasing.

Think 2001’s terrific cocaine saga “Blow,” or 2013’s rollicking ABSCAM farce “American Hustle,” or any other film with helicopters, hot tubs, and hubris and you’ll know what I’m describing. They’re films with scrappy underdogs in whom we are meant to somehow see ourselves.

“Gold” falls into this category, but it’s such an empty husk with no hustle at all that at times it barely seems to exist. Directed by Stephen Gaghan (“Syriana,” writer) and based loosely on a Canadian mining scandal, “Gold” tests its protagonist (Matthew McConaughey) in predictable, underwhelming ways, and is never able to make him even remotely likeable.

The story exists in a well-trod world of greed and backstabbery and doesn’t flesh out that world as well as it could have. The story has no urgency or drive and too many halfhearted twists and turn to sustain itself. All we’re really told is that people are greedy (duh), gold is valuable (ya think?), and trouble will inevitably come to those who seek it. Will hardships befall a man undertaking such an unstable endeavor? Gee, I wonder.

McConaughey plays Kenny Wells, a third generation prospector running the family mining business in Reno, Nevada. Wells wears cheap suits with bad ties and clown hair but he’s passionate about the company his greatgrandfather started, and about the business of pulling precious metals from the earth. He fancies himself a modern day forty-niner. He’s not crooked, he’s just too proud to know when to shut up and take the money.

Set in the 1980s, when the mining business ain’t what it (apparently) used to be, Wells works out of a bar and goes about pitching opportunities to anyone who will listen, always with a lit Winston dangling from this mouth and booze on this breath. Everything about him reeks of desperation, of a man hoping to finally strike it rich and at last prove his value and salvage his family name. Although we are never really told why that name was tarnished in the first place.

A literal dream (how’s that for lazy

screenwriting?) about a mother lode in Indonesia sends him to meet a renegade geologist going through a bit of a rough patch himself, Michael Acosta (Edgar Ramírez, “The Girl on the Train”). At first Acosta sees Wells as the sad-sack conman he appears to be. But Wells convinces him that he will do whatever it takes to mine the gold Acosta says is there, and a fast friendship grows between the two. They begin collecting core samples in the Indonesian jungle and employ locals to man the drills.

The process is slow going and Wells is hit with a serious case of malaria. He’s out for weeks, writhing on a cot in their drilling camp.

But when he comes to Acosta has spectacular news; there’s a goldmine beneath their feet.

And now potential investors, who wouldn’t have given Wells the time of day, come out of the woodwork to get a piece of what will be unearthed.

What follows is your standard rags to riches to excess to overconfidence to betrayal to backstabbing to… well, you get the idea. Among other predictable turns, Wells spurns his longtime girlfriend Kay (Bryce Dallas Howard) after he’s suddenly the toast of Wall Street.

It takes a special kind of film to be this bad for seemingly no particular reason. Sure, the soundtrack is forgettable, featuring cheap-tolicense “hits” that never work with the scene and a horrific cover of “This Must Be the Place” that offended my soul. And the tone is all over the place, with the director employing stylistic flourishes that make no earthly sense. But these are minor issues at best. “Gold” is actually pretty innocuous other than the fact it fills you with an existential dread that you’ll never get the hours back you just spent watching it.

And even when the big reveal comes, it comes late and you realize you didn’t get to spend the film with its most interesting character -- because Wells is certainly not that character.

Wells refuses to change course or listen to outside council because it’s his name that matters most, and his hands (oh boy, do we hear about his hands) that work the soil to uncover the riches, and also his father’s hands, too, as he explains in a clumsy metaphor. He is a man obsessed with authenticity. “I don’t care about money,” Wells tells an adversary at one point, “I care about gold.”

Well, nothing gold can stay. And you just know the original draft probably had the title “Fool’s Gold,” but unfortunately there’s already another travesty of a Matthew McConaughey film by that name. Moral of the story: you’d have to be a fool to go see this lackluster lump of a film.

Meg Weichman is a perma-intern at the Traverse City Film Festival and a trained film archivist.

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the founder

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ow did one little restaurant in quiet Bakersfield, Calif. grow to have over 36,538 locations in 119 countries serving 68 million people daily? That’s the question behind “The Founder,” a film that’s part biopic, part corporate origin story, part myth, and made from 100 percent American values. That restaurant in question is of course McDonald’s, and the story behind its unparalleled success as led by franchisee master Ray Kroc (an outstanding Michael Keaton) is a fascinating one that some might even say involves its own real-life hamburglar. But the film doesn’t live up to that so inherently compelling story. It’s good and entertaining, but you’ll just be crestfallen that where it could’ve strove for “The Social Network” style bite, it settles for satisfactory and satisfying procedural fineness making it feel like just another awards season also-ran. Both celebrating American ambition and condemning its ruthlessness, it is neither a takedown nor ode to the Golden Arches, an indeterminateness felt most at the film’s end. It doesn’t conclude with profound ambiguity, it just stops without sufficiently following through on the obvious setup to interrogate capitalism’s ideals. But it will leave you with one particular hankering. I’ll give you one guess what I had for dinner the night after I saw this.

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patriots day

“P

atriots Day,” the first of supposedly three forthcoming films about the Boston Marathon bombing of 2013, is efficiently directed by Peter Berg (“Friday Night Lights”) and tells the story of the bombing from before it starts all the way to a moving and pseudo-satisfying conclusion.

To shepherd us through the events and the subsequent search for the perpetrators, Berg mainstay Mark Wahlberg (“Deepwater Horizon”) stars as a police sergeant who somehow manages to be present for all the major moments of the case. But Wahlberg’s Tommy Saunders, unlike pretty much everyone else we meet in this film, isn’t real; he’s a composite of several officers and their experiences. He’s a compelling audience surrogate, but it’s disappointing that the film decided it needed so simplistic a device to connect with the audience. The real people depicted here – including Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis (John Goodman), Sergeant Jeffrey Pugliese (J.K. Simmons), and Special Agent Richard DesLauriers (Kevin Bacon) – are compelling and would have sold the story just fine. The film does a solid job encapsulating the events in an exciting and respectful manner, and we get to know the victims, investigators, and even the bombers in thoughtful ways. The rah-rah jingoism of, say, a Michael Bay film of the same type is for the most part absent. Nothing new is said here though. The bigger, more upsetting questions remain unanswered. Love Triumphs Over Hate™, like Saunders says, but what else is new? “Patriots Day” tells a tragic, riveting story adequately, but it misses the big picture.

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Hidden figures

T

his might not be the greatest “cinematic” achievement you’ll see this year, but gosh darnit if it isn’t one of the most enjoyable and rewarding. From the incredible performances and ebullient spirit, to its warm tenacity and overflowing heart, this is Hollywood entertainment at its finest – gleaming, accessible, and delightful with a message that illuminates and inspires. It’s not just feel-good, it’s feel great.

“Hidden Figures” tells the extraordinary true story of a trio of impressive African-American women (Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe) whose incredible contributions to NASA have long gone unheralded. Working at the Langley Research Center in the segregated South of the early 1960s, all three were “colored” computers, using adding machines to run the complex calculations needed for space travel in the pre-computer age. With his pure, character-driven storytelling style, director Theodore Melfi (“St. Vincent”) doesn’t try anything ambitious. But with a story as incredible as this and with characters as ambitious, he doesn’t need to. Ultimately told in an unsurprising way with a highly conventional arc, it’s still unlike anything I’ve seen before. I mean who would’ve dreamt that a film about Black female mathematicians would top the box office? That alone is worth celebrating.

Northern Express Weekly • february 6, 2017 • 31

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the ADViCE GOddESS Get Off My Yawn!

Q

: I’m a 28-year-old guy in a corporate job.

I’m out there trying to meet women and date (or hook up), but I’m not doing so well. In college, I was able to hook up and get girlfriends pretty easily, and I haven’t put on 100 pounds or anything. I’ve noticed that three of my male co-workers (at my same level at work) are getting lots of girls. All three are in major debt from buying clothes and leasing cars they really can’t afford. Is being on the road to bankruptcy really what it takes to impress the ladies?

— Living Within My Means

A This Valentine’s Day, say it with candy.

: Candlelight all over your apartment is really romantic — unless you’re using it because they’ve cut your power off again.

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more women to give you a chance are the first-glance trappings of success -- beautiful shoes, designer eyeglass frames, that fab cashmere sweater, and maybe a really nice soft leather jacket.

The thing is, you can get these items simply by shopping shrewdly — like at end-of-year sales or on eBay. They’ll surely cost more than the duds you’d otherwise buy, but consider them investments to get you in the door.

Remember, even women who want a boyfriend who’s fiscally responsible are likely to be impressed by that sweater that took four years combing a Mongolian goat to make.

And let’s say some woman’s just looking for a hookup. It’s all good; she won’t know you long enough to discover that although you do drive a brand-new “alternative-fuel” vehicle, it isn’t a Tesla; it’s a Schwinn.

When women finally start looking to settle down and make a life with a man, the last thing they want is some credit-card-surfing spenditarian who gets his exercise running from collection agents. However, despite this, women can also be like blue jays on shiny objects — especially shiny objects with, say, Audi emblems — and men’s “mate competition” through spendy-spend-spending reflects that.

Q

Research on men and women ages 18 to 45 by evolutionary social psychologist Daniel Kruger found that men who had run up credit card debt were more likely to have multiple sex partners than their more sensibly spending bros. (Women’s debt level didn’t have any meaningful effect on their sexual body count.)

A

Again — rather obviously — women aren’t all “I’m looking for a man who’ll eventually have to crowdfund our children’s dental bills.” However, looking at Kruger’s findings, another evolutionary psychologist, Glenn Geher, speculates that men’s overspending “may act as a false signal of wealth, and although it is a false signal” (of the ability to provide resources for a woman and any children) “sometimes this deception is effective.”

As for why that might be, just as a guy doesn’t get to ask a woman whether her genes or steel-belted Spanx are the force behind her supermodel abs, a woman won’t be poring over a guy’s credit report at the bar.

She’ll just paw admiringly at the cashmere hoodie he took out two loans and sold his twin brother into slavery to buy.

This isn’t to say you need to go into the red to get girls. It’s ultimately a bad strategy for any guy who wants more than a string of flings. However, what would probably lead

adviceamy@aol.com advicegoddess.com

Man Overbored : I love my girlfriend and try to be good to her. However, her folks came to visit, and she thinks I was rude because I seemed uninterested and was on my phone the whole time. I told her that I think her parents are boring. I was just being honest. She got really mad. Am I supposed to lie about being entertained by her parents?

— The Boyfriend : There comes an age when other children’s parents shouldn’t have to hire monkeys and birthday clowns.

Twenty-some years ago, in the hospital maternity ward, your girlfriend’s mom and dad heard the wonderful news — and it wasn’t, “It’s an iPhone!” So, when her folks are visiting, there’s a reasonable expectation that, yes, you would redirect your attention from “Words With Friends” to words with parents.

Surely, this is not news to you — or really anyone whose brain has not been relocated to a jar. So you might ask yourself whether this ignore-athon of yours reflects some subconscious desire to sabotage your way out of the relationship. If that’s not the case, consider something the late German social psychologist Erich Fromm pointed out: “To love somebody is not just a strong feeling — it is a decision, it is a judgment, it is a promise.”

In other words, loving someone is something you do. Tragically, this acting lovingly business may sometimes require you to put your entertainment needs second — even if the only way to survive the crushing tedium of being with your girlfriend’s folks is to spend the evening secretly pacing the floater in your right eye.

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“Jonesin” Crosswords

"Exaggeration"--way more than necessary. by Matt Jones ACROSS 1 Contacts electronically, in a way 4 They’re the result of extracted genes 8 Chunks of fairway 14 Buck’s counterpart 15 “___ that a kick in the pants?”

16 Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny 17 “Friends” costar Courteney 18 Falco of “Nurse Jackie” 19 Kitchen protectors 20 Theme park chain, grossly exaggerated?

23 French realist painter Bonheur 24 “Conjunction Junction” conjunction 25 Chef DiSpirito 28 End of many failed ‘90s businesses?

31 Autumn mo.

33 “The Fault in ___ Stars” 34 “Wayne’s World” actress Carrere 35 Feeling of amazement 36 Caricatured 37 Morris’s favorite cat food, wildly exaggerated?

41 Green dip, for short 42 Tats 43 Eden matriarch 44 Adjective for 2017 (but not 2018) 45 Enjoy brunch, for instance 46 Rabbit relative?

50 “Sons of Anarchy” extra 52 For emus, it’s greenish 55 Negative in Nuremberg 56 “Gone with the Wind” plantation, insanely exaggerated?

60 Duke University city 62 “___ Jury” (Spillane detective novel) 63 Architect I.M. ___ 64 Beezus’s sister 65 Group led by Master Splinter, initially 66 “Wow,” when texting 67 Like beer or bread dough 68 They may have polar bears and giraffes

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DOWN 1 It usually includes a photo 2 Cow sound in “Old MacDonald” 3 Like some illegal hiring practices 4 “Mozart in the Jungle” star ___ Garcia Bernal 5 Computer music format 6 Big Mac ingredient 7 “Mad Men” pool member 8 Twofold 9 To a certain extent 10 Leo follower 11 Doctor’s ear-examining tool 12 Camel tone 13 Draft lottery org., once 21 Milk-related 22 “Eh, I’m not buying it” look 26 Helps with lines 27 Chicago airport letters 29 Contents of a cruet 30 Sasha’s sister 32 “E! News” subject 35 Astronaut affirmative 36 Johnson & Johnson skin care brand 37 Car on the Autobahn 38 Result of evil acts, supposedly 39 “___ Inside” (computer slogan) 40 Apple Chief Design Officer Jony ___ 41 One of the Bluth brothers on “Arrested Development” 45 Given to traveling 47 Drink container 48 “Black ___” (historic 1961 book) 49 Lieutenant’s underling 51 Community character 53 Glamor partner 54 Controversial naval base in Cuba, informally 57 “If ___ be so bold ...”

58 “I don’t believe this!”

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Valentine’s Specials

FEB 6 - FEB 12

BY ROB BREZSNY

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

The time is now, Brave Aquarius. Be audacious about improving the big little things in your life. (That’s not a typo. I did indeed use the term “big little things.”) For example: Seek out or demand more engaging responsibilities. Bring your penetrating questions to sphinx-like authorities. Go in search of more useful riddles. Redesign the daily rhythm to better meet your unique needs.

Refuse “necessary” boredom that’s not truly necessary. Trust what actually works, not what’s merely attractive. Does all that seem too bold and brazen for you to pull off? I assure you that it’s not. You have more clout than you imagine. You also have a growing faith in your own power to make subtle fundamental shifts. (That’s not a typo. I did indeed use the term “subtle fundamental shifts.”)

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Your reputation

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I know you

is in a state of fermentation. Will this process ultimately produce the metaphorical equivalent of fine wine or else something more like pungent cheese? The answer to that question will depend on how much integrity you express as you wield your clout. Be as charismatic as you dare, yes, but always in service to the greater good rather than to selfaggrandizement. You can accomplish wonders if you are saucy and classy, but you’ll spawn blunders if you’re saucy and bossy.

haven’t literally been wrestling and wrangling with a sweaty angel. But if I were going to tell a fairy tale about your life lately, I’d be tempted to say this: Your rumble with the sweaty angel is not finished. In fact, the best and holiest part is still to come. But right now you have cosmic permission to take a short break and rest a while. During the lull, ratchet up your determination to learn all you can from your friendly “struggle.” Try to figure out what you’ve been missing about the true nature of the sweaty angel. Vow to become a stronger advocate for yourself and a more rigorous revealer of the wild truth.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): ): Using a blend

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Even if you’re not

of warfare and diplomacy, Napoleon extended French control over much of Western Europe.

In 1804, he decided to formalize his growing sovereignty with a coronation ceremony. He departed from tradition, however. For many centuries, French kings had been crowned by the Pope. But on this occasion, Napoleon took the imperial crown from Pope Pius VII and placed it on his own head. Historian David J. Markham writes that he “was simply symbolizing that he was becoming emperor based on his own merits and the will of the people, not because of some religious consecration.” According to my reading of the astrological omens, Taurus, you have the right to perform a comparable gesture. Don’t wait for some authority to crown you. Crown yourself.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Have you heard

the fable about the four blind men who come upon an elephant for the first time? The first man feels the tail and declares that the thing they’ve encountered must be a rope. The second touches one of the elephant’s legs and says that they are in the presence of a tree. The third strokes the trunk and assumes it’s a snake. Putting his hand on a tusk, the fourth man asserts that it’s a spear. I predict that this fable will NOT apply to you in the coming weeks, Gemini. You won’t focus on just one aspect of the whole and think it’s the whole. Other people in your sphere may get fooled by shortsightedness, but you will see the big picture.

CANCER June 21-July 22): For now, at

least, your brain is your primary erogenous zone. I suspect it will be generating some of your sexiest thoughts ever. To be clear, not all of these erupting streams of bliss will directly involve the sweet, snaky mysteries of wrapping your physical body around another’s. Some of the erotic pleasure will come in the form of epiphanies that awaken sleeping parts of your soul. Others might arrive as revelations that chase away months’ worth of confusion. Still others could be creative breakthroughs that liberate you from a form of bondage you’ve wrongly accepted as necessary.

an occult wizard or pagan priestess, I suspect you now have the power to conjure benevolent love spells. There’s a caveat, however: They will only work if you cast them on yourself. Flinging them at other people would backfire. But if you do accept that limitation, you’ll be able to invoke a big dose of romantic mojo from both your lower depths and your higher self. Inspiration will be abundantly available as you work to reinvigorate your approach to intimacy and togetherness.

ScORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Here’s some

advice from Scorpio writer Norman Rush: “The main effort of arranging your life should be to progressively reduce the amount of time required to decently maintain yourself so that you can have all the time you want for reading.” It’s understandable that a language specialist like Rush would make the final word of the previous sentence “reading.” But you might choose a different word. And I invite you to do just that. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to devotedly carve out more time to do The Most Important Thing in Your Life.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sixteenth-

century Italian painter Titian was renowned for his brilliant use of color. He was also prolific, versatile, and influential. In 2011, one of his paintings sold for $16.9 million. But one of his contemporaries, the incomparable Michelangelo, said that Titian could have been an even greater artist if he had ever mastered the art of drawing. It seems that Titian skipped a step in his early development. Is there any way that your path resembles Titian’s, Sagittarius? Did you neglect to cultivate a basic skill that has subtly (or not so subtly) handicapped your growth ever since? If so, the coming weeks and months will be an excellent time to fix the glitch.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Our

obsessive use of digital devices has diminished our power to focus. According to a study by Microsoft, the average human attention span has shrunk to eight seconds -- one second less than that of a typical goldfish. I’m guessing, though, that you Capricorns will buck this trend in the coming weeks. Your ability to concentrate may be exceptional even by pre-Internet standards. I hope you’ll take opportunity of this fortunate anomaly to get a lot of important work and play done.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Human beings upload

300 hours of videos to Youtube every minute of every day. Among that swirling flow is a hefty amount of footage devoted exclusively to the amusing behavior of cats. Researchers estimate there are now more than two million clips of feline shenanigans. Despite the stiff competition, I suspect there’s a much better chance than usual that your cat video will go viral if you upload it in the coming weeks. Why? In general, you Leos now have a sixth sense about how to get noticed.

You know what you need to do to express yourself confidently and attract attention -- not just in regards to your cats, but anything that’s important to you.

34 • february 6, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

PIScES (Feb. 19-March 20): “Love does not

at first mean merging, surrendering, and uniting with another person,” wrote the poet Rilke, “for what would a union be of two people who are unclarified, unfinished, and still incoherent?” That’s an excellent meditation for you to entertain during the Valentine season, Pisces. You’re in the right frame of mind to think about how you could change and educate yourself so as to get the most out of your intimate alliances. Love “is a high inducement for the individual to ripen,” Rilke said, “to become something, to become a world for the sake of another person.” (Thanks to Stephen Mitchell for much of this translation.)

NORTHERN EXPRESS

CLASSIFIEDS EMPLOYMENT STYLIST NEEDED The Beehive Salon, Elk Rapids is hiring a part or full time stylist. No clientele needed. Aveda sales commission based pay. Contact Nikki at 231-342-5852 or nikki49648@yahoo.com YEAR ROUND JOB - Tandem Ciders Production CrewFull time. Tasks include driving truck, cleaning, fixing eqmnt, pressing apples, filling bottles, etc. Wage based on exp. Be part of a great team. Stop by and drop off resume/app.

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE Join a growing independent insurance agency in scenic Suttons Bay, MI. Bonek Agency is seeking a customer service representative with a preferred candidate having experience in property and casualty insurance. Ability to multi task, positive phone mannerisms, database skills are required.

Benefits include health/disability ins, retirement, vacation. Contact (231) 271-3623 susan@bonek.com WAREHOUSE MANAGER Brick Packaging, a Saxco Company, is looking for a Warehouse Manager to join our Traverse City warehouse team. The Warehouse Manager will have overall responsibility for all warehouse operations. This includes, but is not limited to all receiving, restocking, picking, shipping, inventory accuracy, provide leadership and direction to the warehouse produc-

tion team, delivery drivers, and oversight of operations. Must be physically fit and able to lift 50lbs. Must have a CDL License Class B, w/Air. Send resume via email only. info@ brickpackaging.com DIRECTOR OF MUNICIPAL UTILITIES Responsible for planning, directing and supervising for the City’s Public Utilities. Starting wage is $76,462 annually. Full-time, competitive benefits package. A detailed job description and minimum qualifications can be viewed on the City Website. Please submit a resume, cover letter, and references to City HR 400 Boardman Ave, T.C. MI 49684 APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS TECHNICIAN Pediatric Clinic seeking ABA add’l techs w/ min HS diploma, experience w/ children; special needs ideal. Strong interpersonal and organizational skills desired. Duties include applying behavioral principles to teach children w/ autism to acquire language, self-help, and social skills.

Hrs vary-after school hrs preferredwill train. Send resume and cover.

EOE tcofficemanager@childrenstherapycorner.com IMMEDIATE OPENING FOR PARTTIME HELP “Escape from the Ordinary.” Sanctuary has an immediate opening; 12-15 hours/ week including every other Saturday and many holidays. We offer competitive wages and a great working environment at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons. Retail experience and

knowledge of jewelry a plus. Email resume to: christie@sanctuarytc.com.

No calls or drop-ins, please.

WAREHOUSE DISTRICT RETAIL/ OFFICE SPACELOCATION LOCATION LOCATION 130 Hall Street, Traverse City 1500sf with open floor plan, high ceilings, and large windows. This property has substantial foot traffic exposure and is close to the Hotel Indigo, Clinch Park, multiple retail shops and restaurants.

Contact Jennifer of Schmidt-Rogers Mgmt at 231-941-0707 ext.13 or Jennifer@schmidtmanagement.com.

HELP WANTED- TRUCK DRIVER DRIVER TRAINEES NEEDED! Learn to drive for Stevens Transport! NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED! New drivers can earn $ 900+ per week! PAID CDL TRAINING! Stevens covers all costs!

1-888-748-4133 drive4stevens.com

BUY/SELL/TRADE SPA/TATTOO CHAIR Fully reclining spa/tattoo chair. White with memory foam. Excellent condition (231) 649-0883

OTHER SEWING, ALTERATIONS, mending & repairs. Maple City, Maralene Roush 231-228-6248.

GRAND TRAVERSE PIPES & DRUMS Fundraiser Ceilidh (“KAYlee”) * February 18th, 7:00-10:30pm at the Traverse City Elks Lodge * Feat.

Grand Traverse Pipes & Drums, The Wild Sullys, and Celtic Fire Highland Dancers * Light Hors d’oeuvres * Cash Bar Admission At The Door Only: 20.00 per adult * 10.00 ages 10 and younger

HEALTH SERVICES STOP OVERPAYING for your prescriptions! SAVE! Call our licensed Canadian and International pharmacy, compare prices and get $25.00 OFF your first prescription! CALL 1-800259-4150 Promo Code CDC201625

REAL ESTATE OFFICE SPACE $300/month Lease 160sqft - Parking/mail. West TC. Call Realtor Mike 570-1111

easy. accessible. all online.

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Northern Express Weekly • february 6, 2017 • 35

Valentine ’s Dinner Tuesday, February 14

FOUR COURSE PRIX FIXE MENU - 100 per couple Reservations Recommended, Call 231-344-4420

36 • february 6, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly