Tunde Olaniran's KYBM: Number 1 Back to School Jam

Flint's Tunde Olaniran released his video for KYBM (Keep Your Body Moving) yesterday. It is awesome and you should watch it right now. I am already willing to call KYBM this fall's #1 Back to School Jam. A competition that was over before it even began. Michigan Radio's Stateside did a great interview with Tunde earlier this month. You can check it out here.

Ruminations on Deer

Tonight, the Ann Arbor City Council will likely vote to hire sharpshooters to cull the city's deer herd this winter. There are strong feelings on both sides of the issue. Deer are beautiful animals and it is wonderful that we have a city that can support large fauna. At the same time, they be come much less adorable once they have decided to browse through your landscaping on a recurring basis. Among potential pest animals in the area, their size and status as a game animal makes them unique: it is both impractical and illegal to trap and relocate deer.

In Michigan, it is illegal to chemically sterilize or trap and relocate deer. I am not sure about the legality of surgical sterilization. Sterilization has been effective at reducing closed deer populations, but has not been tried on a population as large or geographically unconstrained as Ann Arbor's. The efficacy of such a program could be worth investigating as part of a long term deer management strategy, but do to legal, financial and logistical hurdles, it would be at least a couple of years before once could be undertaken.

In our region, the most popular way of dealing with overabundant deer in parks and cities is through the use of sharpshooters. This tends to cost much less than sterilization. Sharpshooters are able to reduce deer populations and densities quickly. They do attract backlashes. Also, long term management of deer populations requires continued culling. Just something to keep in mind as we watch the city council meeting tonight.

You can read more on Ann Arbor's Deer Management Project Page Previously:

Oh Deer

DIYpsi this weekend at Corner Brewery

Gentle reader, do you want to get your craft on? Today and tomorrow summer DIYpsi is at Corner Brewery. There will be tons of vendors selling awesome crafts. You should totally check it out. 

Ann Arborites, remember to vote tomorrow

Tomorrow's Democratic Primary election is super important gentle readers. There are contested races in Wards 1, 3, 4, and 5. The winners of these races will likely win in the general election in November. Voter turnout can be pretty low for these primaries, so you vote is extra important. If you are a registered voter in Ann Arbor, please vote tomorrow.

Previously:

Eat this election

Breaking News: North Campus Turkey has been captured!

File photo of an ocellated turkey

According to a post on /r/annarbor by /u/wocamai the infamous tom that has been terrorizing North Campus has been captured by agents of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. From /u/wocamai's post:

My fiancee and I went to go look for the turkey today and when we found him he was munching on some corn and sunflower seeds that someone from UM had given him to keep him in place. She told us that the DNR were on their way to help capture the turkey in order to relocate it to a shelter/rehabilitation center for birds where it could be with birds like itself. Turkeys are social animals and the woman from UM told us that the turkey would hang out next to cars in order to see another turkey in the hub cap reflection. So let's all wish the turkey well in its new home.

My only source is myself and I'm not a war journalist so I wasn't able to take any photographs in those tense moments.

Well, it looks like this turkey's days of pecking at hubcaps are over. I wish him the best of luck with his new flock.