Quidditch, a full contact sport

Late Friday afternoon I stumbled upon the U of M Quidditch Team practicing in the Arb. Looks like a pretty rough takedown in the picture. Based on this video of the U of M vs. MSU game, the sport looks a little rough.

Group hug

Saw this in the alley by NYPD.

Yet Another Bike Post

Biking to class on Thursday at North Quad, I realized that there was absolutely nowhere to lock my bike up - all the stands were taken, as were the supports for the canopy designed to protect the bikes from rain. It's not the first time that bike parking has been tough at NQ - pretty much every time I head over there I have to look hard for a spot. It was however the first time that I chained my bike to a railing, although I did my best to keep it out of pedestrians' way.

Or not, according to U-M Public Safety. As I was about to leave I discovered this noticed circled around my handlebars. It's the first time I'd ever seen one, so it took me a minute to realize that it's not actually a citation, but rather a notice that they would have impounded my bike if I didn't move in in 48 hours. Obviously that wasn't an issue, but I was fairly irritated at the prospect of it. Yes, it was parked illegally - but it wasn't in anyone's way (I would argue), and it's not like I had much of a choice. A better solution would be to install more bike stands, no? Or maybe catch the person who's allegedly been committing sexual assault? Maybe that's not quite fair, but the idea of a "watch out in 48 hours!" citation does seem to be a non-productive solution.

ArtPrize

Attendees at Grand Rapids' ArtPrize 2011 have narrowed down a field of 1500+ entries to the top 10. The list includes one of my favorites, Metaphorest, seen above. The competition lasts through the 9th of October. If you get a chance, you should go check it out. I really had a great time in G-Rap last weekend.

Big 10 seal showdown

Local sports blog, The Hoover Street Rag, recently posted the results of a highly scientific study of the seals of the Big Ten schools. Not surprisingly, the University of Michigan won. Here is what they had to say about the seal of the University of Minnesota:

8. Minnesota (301 points, mean 5.38, sd 2.09)
What it's trying to say: We've got ALL the arts: science, painting, industry, and woodworking.
What it's actually saying: We don't so much have a seal as we have a scroll that our regents stuck on a wall somewhere.

While voters were really split about Purdue, just about everyone agreed Minnesota (or at least its regents) had the 8th best seal in B1G, with almost 40% of votes putting it 8th place. DEK: "Minnesota's seal, when decrypted, is a map to his Lucky Charms."

The whole article is worth a read.

The Com or the .Com?

Either way, I'm happy to see the Ann Arbor A.V. Club is using an abbreviation for the (.)Com.

Bee graffiti

This is probably my favorite graffiti in Ann Arbor.

TEDxArb

TEDxNicholsArboretum will be on Sunday, October 9th at 1-4 at the amphitheater in the Arb. The conference will focus on the nebulous theme of sustainability and features some pretty cool speakers. Two of them are friends of mine from my grad program. Jarett Diamond worked with a team of MS students and Corner Brewery to lower the brewery's ecological footprint. Kat Superfisky is an MLA student working to create beautiful, ecologically functioning outdoor spaces. Cara and Karl Rosaen from Real Time Farms, and Bena Burda from Maggie’s Organics will also be speaking. Looks like a pretty cool event.

You can register on the TEDxArb website, but act fast, because registration is limited to 250 people.

Housing in Ann Arbor, via the Daily

The Daily has an interesting analysis of potential neighborhoods for off-campus housing. Describing the Old West Side they say:

The area is great because it’s Ann Arbor at its finest: think free trade stores and older hippies.

The article also sets $300-$700 per bedroom as the "pretty good deal" price point.

Map via the Michigan Daily

Forget Me Not

NPR has a ridiculous story on the pawpaw, which it names "America's forgotten fruit." Excuse me? Forgotten? By whom? Just because it's apparently trendy for yuppie kayakers in DC to pick pawpaws from the Potomac, the story casts pawpaws as some obscure fruit that's finally reached its cotillion. One thing the article gets right, though - pawpaw season is short, so don't let them pass you by until next year's "rediscovery."