Part Two of WCAT Film Series Starts This Weekend At Cafe Ambrosia

Part one of the WCAT film series The Power of Working People finished last week at the Student Center Auditorium at Eastern Michigan University with the final screening of With Babies and Banners: The Story of the Women’s Emergency Brigade. The event turned out about 50 students and community members that had the opportunity to discuss the film, and the labor and Occupy movements with Dr. Greg Barak (Professor of Criminology and Sociology), Dr. Mehmet Yaya (Professor of Labor Economics), and Dr. Howard Bunsis (President of the AAUP Collective Bargaining Congress).



This month the WCAT will screen Charles Ferguson’s Inside Job (2010) – a documentary about ”the systemic corruption of the United States by the financial services industry and the consequences of that systemic corruption.” The first screening will take place this Sunday at Cafe Ambrosia - 326 Maynard St., Ann Arbor from 3:00-5:30. UM Political Economist Tom Weisskopf will facilitate discussion following the film.

This will be followed by a screening at Ypsilanti District Library – Whittaker from 6:30-9:00 on Monday, November 7th featuring UM Political Economist Frank Thompson (FB RSVP) and again at Mason Hall (Room 3411 at UM Campus) from 7:00-9:30 featuring Lecturer in Sociology Ian Robinson (FB RSVP).

Check out http://washtenawcat.org/film-series-and-social-forum-power-of-working-people/ for directions and screening times.

Ignite Ann Arbor

Ignite Ann Arbor 6 is this Sunday, November 6th. Registration is free. There will even be a presentation about Stirling engines. The event looks really cool:

Ignite 6 will be 7pm Nov 6th, 2011 at Blau Auditorium! If you had five minutes on stage what would you say? What if you only got 20 slides and they rotated automatically after 15 seconds? Around the world geeks have been putting together Ignite nights to show their answers. We consider geekery to equal passion, so we're looking for food geeks, tech geeks, business geeks, music geeks, art geeks, history geeks, etc to come and share their stories.

Place that photo: Too soon for holly jolly.

As my cousin Tje Dohm would say, these people are early... or really late.

It's been well documented that I am a firm believer in saving Christmas for Christmas, which explains why these windows irk me every time I see them. There's a good reason for why this nonsense is already up, but it still makes me want to get out a handkerchief, spit on the end and wipe that crap off its cheeks.

If you can place where this monstrosity is, we'll damn you on our Twitter feed (which I've admittedly been bad about lately). So please leave your Twitter handle along with your guess - otherwise, we'll just damn your damn name.

Circling the Wagons

Mark's Carts will be closing for the season next Saturday, November 12. I know I speak for many when I say that the Carts will be sorely missed through the winter months - but I'm really looking forward to the spring (and, perhaps, new carts?). Make sure not to forget to grab a breakfast burrito or steamed bun before the courtyard closes for winter.

Alejandra O'Leary music video

Alejandra O'Leary from gbs detroit on Vimeo.

Check out this awesome music video Alejandra O'Leary sent us. Pretty sweet.

Immigration reform rally

Saw this poster last night. Looks like Social Work Allies for Immigrant Rights is having a rally for immigration reform tomorrow at 5 pm at Liberty Plaza. Via the Community Wall:

Agenda:
5:00-5:20-Face Painting, Arriving.
5:30-5:35- Introduction and Welcome
5:35-5:45-Lourdes Speaks
5:45-5:46-Moment of silence
5:46-6:30 Collect petition signatures, Call to Action: Attend Lourdes’ Vigil.

Clearly this wins the competition for best protest artwork.

A year of Damn Arbor

Today is the one year anniversary of Damn Arbor's official launch. Happy Damn Arbor Day! Rather than dumping a bunch of data from our Analytics on you, I thought I would share some of our favorite articles from the last year with you:

Ben Houston says, "I like our inaugural post: Much Ado About Stuffing. It was topical, edgy, and spoke to the kids." Weren't those the days, pre-porch couch ban?

Quinn said she really liked EJ's post on sexual harassment No, sir, my 'panties' are not for sale

Personally, I really liked EJ's interview with local cartoonist Dave Coverly.

Writing for Damn Arbor has given me some great opportunities over the last year. I got to review albums from local musicians including Alejandra O'Leary and Match by Match. I was invited to an awesome dinner at Wolverine State Brewing Co. And I ran into the Chronicle's Homeless Dave and Mary Morgan at a Charlie Slick concert. I've also met some pretty cool local bloggers.

Writing about Ann Arbor and Michigan has been a great way for me to get reacquainted with my home as an adult. Thank you to everyone who has written for us, commented on our articles, forwarded tips to us and read our articles. You all have made this an incredible and rewarding endeavour.

Amit Gupta needs you!: Bone marrow registry drive FRIDAY in Ann Arbor

Full disclosure: Amit Gupta is a very dear friend (and roommate) of mine in San Francisco. He was recently and suddenly diagnosed with acute leukemia and is looking for a bone marrow donor, who he needs to find within a month or so:

"I got a call from my doctor, who I’d gone to see the day before because I’d been feeling worn out and was losing weight, and wasn’t sure why. He was brief:

'Amit, you’ve got Acute Leukemia. You need to enter treatment right away.'

"I was terrified. I packed a backpack full of clothes, went to the hospital as he’d instructed, and had transfusions through the night to allow me to take a flight home at 7am the next day. I Googled acute leukemia as I lay in my hospital bed, learning that if it hadn’t been caught, I’d have died within weeks.

"I have a couple more months of chemo to go, then the next step is a bone marrow transplant. South Asians are severely under-represented in the bone marrow pool, and I need help."

What does this have to do with Ann Arbor? There's a bone marrow donation registry drive coming up on Friday, November 4, from 2 to 8 PM on the Diag.

Clearly I am writing this because I want my friend to live. But keep in mind that you're helping anyone who needs a bone marrow transplant. Learn more about all of this, from Amit to the donation process, by visiting Amit Gupta Needs You!

Chris Bathgate - Big Ghost music video

Just in time for Halloween! Check out this music video for local artist, Chris Bathgate's song Big Ghost.



Hat tip Kattnip

What to call the water sculpture

Apparently the new Dreiseitl water sculpture outside City Hall does not have a name. Stephen Lange Ranzini, the President & CEO of University Bank is sponsoring a naming competition. He's gleaned about 18 suggested names from various sites on the interwebs. So now you need to decide: do you prefer "The Hurinal" or "AschenPuddle?" Click here for the survey.