Art Fear

Art Fair setup has begun. Are you ready gentle reader? In case you are not, here are some Art Fair Bingo cards from years past.

Photo via: airosche5

First card via osric.com/bingo/

Second via Katy McGrady

New stencils on the Church Street Structure

Looks like someone has been using the north side of the Church Street Parking Structure as a place to practice their stencils. Check out the Tony Stark/Iron Man stencil above or this Shy Guy one below:

FOIA Friday: City of Ann Arbor publishes its FOIA log

FOIA Friday is published on occasional Fridays; it is written by Edward Vielmetti.

The City of Ann Arbor has published its FOIA log for 2014. The file is updated monthly. It includes a list of the FOIA requests received by the city for the current calendar year, with the ID of the request, the name of the requester, the subject of the request, and its result (approved or denied). Requests that are still pending are marked in green.

This is a substantial improvement for FOIA followers in the city, as previous to this it was necessary to FOIA the FOIA log to get a copy.

The current system has a copy of the FOIA log using a file name that doesn't look like it will still be the same file once 2015 rolls around, so the best way to get to this file is through the Ann Arbor City Clerk 
FOIA page. If you want to be notified when this page changes, a straightforward tool to do this is with the site ChangeDetection.com.

If you find a FOIA request that's of interest, it's easy and cheap to request it. Simply ask the clerk for "a copy of the FOIA request and response 14-082", and you'll generally get it in the minimum time for typical requests. Since the record has already been paid for, you can also get it generally for free.

A very Potter Missed Connection

Special thanks to @whitrae for sending this Missed Connection in:

I visit you school as exchange student. We dance at Yule Ball. - m4w (Ann Arbor)

You teach me to say your name with proper (Hermioninny! I remember!) You say I best at Quidditch. I show you my wand in shrieking shack and you compliment it for size and heft. you say like oak and dragon heart string).

Then we lose touch.

Viktor never forget you. Please if you see this send owl right away.

Happy 4th of July

Happy Independence Day gentle readers! Here in honor of this celebration, here is a bald eagle swooping over some fireworks:

29 Celebrity Impressions by U of M Alums

I don't know if Tally Hall still makes music, but two of the band's original members put out this video a couple days ago. I can't describe it with anything besides 'delightful.'

Last day to register to vote for August Primary

Gentle reader, the most exciting municipal election in years will be this August's primary. In Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, longterm mayors are stepping down. Because both cities are so blue, the winner of August's Democratic Primary will likely go on to be elected mayor in November. If you live in either city and would like to participate in the election, you have until today, July 3rd to register. 

Fireworks and where to see them

Gentle reader, are you looking to celebrate some independence this long weekend? No matter where you are, you can find the closest fireworks display in Michigan over at MichiganFireworks.com. In terms of fireworks displays in Washtenaw County, tonight there are displays at Hudson Mills Metropark and in Manchester. EJ and I are quite fond of the Whitmore Lake fireworks display. It will be tomorrow night and I'd recommend bringing a blanket and finding a nice spot on the southwest side of the lake. Protip: after the fireworks display at Whitmore Lake, traffic getting on US 23 will be terrible. You can avoid all the traffic if you start driving south back to Ann Arbor on Whitmore Lake Road. There are also nice, unofficial fireworks displays in some neighborhood parks in the city.

Michigan Hobby Lobby Fallout

They'd make a scary halloween costume

Following the Supreme Court's blow to women yesterday, The Daily Beast posted a list of companies that are also challenging the Health Care Mandate. Reading through the list, you'll notice a lot are found in the dear ole mid west. On the list you will also find #13 is Dominos Farms, #15 is Eden Foods (although they have lost their initial suit and appeal), and #44 is Weingartz Supply. If you are getting sad, or unsure how you can handle your growing resentment, I'll give you this article, highlighting Ruth Bader Ginsberg's dissent.

Say beautiful things about Detroit

"Detroit taught me that all happy places feed off the blood of the doomed."

An essay by Rollo Romig, published in the Detroit edition of Wildsam Field Guides, available today on the New Yorker culture blog.