In bloom: bigtooth aspen

In bloom this week we have another wind pollenated species: bigtooth aspen (Populus grandidentata). Bigtooth aspen is dioecious, meaning that some trees have entirely male flowers, while other trees have entirely female flowers. The tree has a specialized type of flower common to many other wind pollinated species: the catkin. Catkins are inflorescences, or clusters of flowers, that are specialized for wind based pollen dispersal. They don't feature show petals, but they are very effective at getting a lot of pollen out there. Because bigtooth aspen usually grows in large clonal groves, it's not uncommon to see all the trees in an area blooming at exactly the same time.

Previously:

In bloom: silver maple

Stencils versus graffiti

In recent days, anonymous commentors have chided me on a post a wrote back in April 2011, Lamenting the Quality of Ann Arbor Graffiti:

I've always thought that graffiti was graffiti, regardless of medium. Is that not true? Can't posters, stickers, stencils, markers and spray paint all be used for graffiti? To the anonymous commentors who corrected me earlier, please feel free to explain your understanding of graffiti and street art and how stencils fit in. Thanks.

Joshua James at the Ark

Tonight at the Ark, Joshua James will be performing. His sound would fit in well at the folk festival. It is darker than some of the acts, eclipsing The Head and the Heart in terms of melancholy. His music  has been paired with the television show, Sons of Anarchy. The show starts tonight at eight. You can buy tickets by visiting links here.

A night of mournful couch fires

Well, it looks like there wasn't too much post-game destruction. In the video above, you can see a crowd of onlookers quietly watching a couch fire. Though, on the West Side, someone drove their Impala into someone else's bedroom. Glad it looks like nobody was hurt. But seriously, that's why there are taxies.

Wolverine loves Wolverines

Photo from Imgur

Hugh Jackman will be expanding his role as Wolverine beyond X-Men. His next film will see him enrolling at Michigan and holding a struggling position on the UM basketball team. The retractable claws cause many a flattened ball.

Best spot to watch the game?

What's the place to be to watch the game tonight? I was at Old Town for the last one and it wasn't too crowded. I've been told I should stick at Old Town so I don't jinx anything. Is there any truth to that? Gentle reader, are you watching the game tonight? And if so, what do you think is the best place to be?

Seed bomb Water Street

The Water Street property on Michigan Ave. Ypsi has long been vacant. It has also been the sight of hazardous waste dumping. MarkMaynard.com has suggested a seed bombing campaign to help improve the property. I think it's a brilliant idea. If you're down too, check out this facebook group.

If you'd like to discuss this with us further, stop by Corner Brewery tomorrow for Beer with Bloggers.

Festifools

Festifools starts in 10 minutes. You should probably get to main street.

Literati Bookstore

EJ and I stopped by Literati Bookstore on Friday night after FoolMoon. When we had walked past, earlier in the evening, the store was completely packed. A good sign I think. We spent some time talking to Hilary and Mike, the store's owners. They are super cool and like almost all the same books that EJ and I like. I think they have done a great job stocking and staffing the store. I know a lot of folks out there think print is dead. And while it is true that the market for literature is definitely going through a big change, I think what really determines the success of a brick and mortar business is its ability to create a community. In this regard, I think Literati is poised to succeed. Everyone in the store was elated just to be in a bookstore leafing through books at 10 pm on a Friday. If Hilary and Mike can keep this up, they will be fixtures of downtown for decades to come.

When we got back after FoolMoon there were still a dozen or so folks milling about in the store.

Theo Katzman live at FoolMoon

So I'm pretty happy with how this video turned out. Well, except for the fact that I started filming halfway through the song and ran out of memory right as it was ending. Basically I'm happy with the position I was able to get perched up on a streetlight.