We can’t wait for the fallout from the Daily’s annual “joke” issue, especially “Three ’snobs’ slain outside Rick’s,” which explores the U’s Midwest/East Coast rift in a sensitive and thoughtful way.
From a Washington Post story about the founder of Halliburton’s nephew: “‘It would be the highlight of my life to meet Richard Cheney,’ says Lou Halliburton, a Republican who lives in the liberal enclave of Ann Arbor, Mich.”
All right, we know Ann Arbor likes to take credit for everything from Iggy Pop to the Peace Corps. But this is getting ridiculous. “Our school is popular for many things: athletics, academics, Zingerman’s … and now, as it seems, a popular, tried and true sexual act,” writes Daily columnist Rebecca Ramsey. Although, as far as we know, her phrase “Michigan hookup” never appeared in the thousand-odd pages of the Starr Report, Ramsey would have us believe that our erstwhile president and his intern were engaging in an act that originated in A2, part of the “oral tradition” of this university, as she describes it. And we’re letting Ypsi hog the spotlight with a tower?
“California. Nice state. Long commute,” reads mLive’s ad for their jobs section. “Find a job you love in the place you love.” But doesn’t the first part imply that California is really the place you love? After all, the only thing wrong with it is that it’s not close to where you are now. As reasons for not taking a job in California go, “long commute” is one of the lamer ones.
You could build a whole ad campaign around the premise of being too lame to leave Michigan. “California. Nice state. You’d have to get your alternator fixed first and then there’s that whole mess with Comcast you have to take care of.” “New York. Great city. But you’ll probably blow your whole paycheck on laptop electronica next month.” “Boston. Wonderful place. But you have these delusions of being in ‘grad school.’”
Find a job you love in the place you’re stuck.
Goodspeed carries the resignation letter of Eugene Chan, his fellow Michigan student on the Cool Cities taskforce. We’re not sure what to make of this one. He cites the committee’s overwhelming focus on economic issues as his reason for leaving - is he passing up an incredible opportunity to influence economic polices that favor wealthy homeowners, or wisely recognizing that he’s being asked for opinions on issues that the group doesn’t have the expertise or the power to affect?
Don’t blame Tom Brady, he voted for…well, actually, he didn’t vote in any A2 elections, which means we can’t hold him responsible for any of our current councilmembers.
Got $245? You too can see Old House Gardens’ proprietor speak at the Heirloom Gardening symposium in Colonial Williamsburg. (Speaking of which, are we the only one who, upon hearing reports that Williamsburg was becoming the hot new neighborhood, thought that hipsters were heading to Virginia en masse to re-enact scenes from colonial America?)
Also, we haven’t forgotten about the “Down on Main Street” contest. Send us your pick for best rewrite by Thursday.
A2 makes an appearance on Slate’s “lamest press releases of the 2004 campaign”. The press release announced that over 150 students attended a Bush rally before the Ohio State game.
Also, butternut soup will fool you.
Our older colleagues at Talk About Town chide the Daily’s editorial staff for what they consider a misunderstanding of A2’s proposed income tax. “The Daily writers concluded an income tax would be ‘the most viable option,’ though ‘costly for Ann Arbor’s citizens.’ Now, off campus it’s understood that the purpose of a city income tax is to let folks who are not Ann Arbor citizens - but who work in town - share some of the financial burden.”
The News, which pointed out this obvious-to-all-but-the-most-ignorant “fact” - which holds for this proposal but not for city income taxes in general - in each of its stories about the tax proposal, must then have a predominantly on-campus readership.
The kids get it right in this editorial, where they point out that such a proposal amounts to a tax on those who can’t afford to live in Ann Arbor.
Also, we missed this excellent Sravya Chirumamilla column on life after the Ann Arbor Tenants Union while we were out of town. (Out: heat. In: convenient burglar entrances.)
Back from out of town.
The News concedes that Ann Arbor might sometimes seem like a stressful place to live. After all, they point out, there’s the weather. And the parking and traffic. And…um…paying for Christmas presents! But these factors don’t come close to outweighing “the beauty of the landscape, the almost limitless cultural and recreational offerings, the tremendous community services and the warmth of the people.”
“Relax,” the headline tells us. “You could be almost any place else.”