Listmania!
Congratulations to Goodspeed, who takes Best Blog in the Daily’s Best of Ann Arbor awards. He seems especially thrilled at the implied Matt Drudge comparison in the story. Bloggers, the Daily writer helpfully points out, “don’t have to follow the rules of newspaper grammar and citing sources.” Unlike at the Daily. Where they would never, say, write “Heiftje” in a front-page headline.
And Joel Hoard gives us the Worst of Ann Arbor, from Worst Acronym (”Your full name is the Coalition To Defend Affirmative Action, Integration And Immigrant Rights And Fight For Equality By Any Means Necessary, so by my calculations, your acronym should actually be CTDAAIAIRAFFEBAMN”) to Worst Band (”Whether you’re Oblivion, Donkey Punch, Funktelligence or some other marginally talented Ann Arbor-based band, you share two things in common: 1) You suck. 2) You’ll never be popular outside Ann Arbor.”) He finishes with the following assessment of A2: “You are easily the snootiest place I have ever visited, and the scariest part is so few people can see through your web of deceit and realize the ultra-shoddy city that you truly are.” Hussain Rahim also unleashes the A2 haterade that’s been building up for four years. “Granted, if I came from a farm, or liked hanging out with the same five people for four years, then a place like Ann Arbor may totally rock.”
Y’know, both of those columns would be more impressive if, well, they didn’t suck themselves. Some sort of meta-commentary? And here’s a trick for Joel: Donkey Punch broke up two years ago. If all you’ve got to bitch about is a band that broke up two years ago, hey, maybe you don’t get out enough. (And, much to my chagrin, Funktelligence actually does have a nationwide following, and tour almost incescently. They do, however, still suck).
posted by js on April 16th, 2004 at 10:11 amAnd yeah, way to go for both of them dissing Rick’s. Good to see that barrel full of fish is being shot by another generation of undergrads. Y’know when I found out that Rick’s sucked? High school. That’s about when I stopped talking about it too.
And fuckin’ “Narcoleptic Insomnia”? Rahim should be glad he’s in Ann Arbor. Anywhere else a title that wack would get him bitchslapped.
js
Maybe if Hussain, and his screed, had ever wandered off South U. it might be more credible. He doesn’t even begin to address the myriad ways that the rest of the town sucks. How about, night after night, the same pack of puffy, flabby grad students doing Jager shots in the Rathskeller dungeon?
posted by torONTo on April 16th, 2004 at 10:59 amHaterade? Is that some sort of rap-based, electrolyte-replenishing sports beverage?
posted by RDS on April 16th, 2004 at 11:31 amToronto,
I think you must have me confused with someone else. I don’t do Jager shots.
posted by Alex on April 16th, 2004 at 12:23 pmWell I do, but only when I’m already drunk.
posted by torONTo on April 16th, 2004 at 12:31 pmI enjoyed both those articles, but I’m not as proficient in my hate as the rest of you.
posted by James on April 16th, 2004 at 3:36 pmI did notice another daily article on that website: “Frank’s Restaurant a classic Ann Arbor gem”
Huh? I’ve been to that place a handful of times and I think the best way to describe the food is “sufficiently edible”. The daily must have some seriously low standards to consider it a gem.
posted by James on April 16th, 2004 at 3:42 pmWhen I worked third shift at Kinko’s, ending Sunday nights with a breakft Frank’s was fantastic. Now that I have to wake up to go there, less so.
posted by js on April 16th, 2004 at 3:51 pmjs
well, at least they get to leave now, I wonder if they’ll be happier back home, or where ever they go
posted by Just a Voice on April 16th, 2004 at 4:29 pmI think the one fellows problem is he only had 5 friends. I enjoy the fact I can walk around town and randomly see 5 people I know in 5 blocks. Sure there are plenty of things that aren’t so cool about a2 anymore but having a ton of friends is a good feeling.
posted by Dan on April 16th, 2004 at 6:48 pmActually, as someone who always grabs the Daily to read on the bus ride home, in my experience Hussain is one of the best columnists the Daily had. His columns always had an understandable thesis, he didn’t wander off, as did other columnists, into ill-researched shallow, narcissistic ramblings (on the same page, that chick’s natterings on Thoreau are eye-rollingly sophomoric), and he’s an independent thinker. I liked reading his work.
posted by Laura on April 16th, 2004 at 8:40 pmIn jeol hoard thing, this is the best part:
“Let me suggest a new name for you. How about the Federation for Unrelenting Complaining and Kvetching By Any Means Necessary? You’ll find the new acronym much more efficient and accurate.”
LOL!
well, bye bye ann arbor. I’m leaving this country for 4 months!!! yea! no more ann arbor for four freaking months!
posted by __earth on April 17th, 2004 at 1:53 amI just read Hussain’s article. It’s freaking brilliant! You go baby.
posted by Alex on April 17th, 2004 at 1:28 pmI like Frank’s. It’s a pre-gentrification old-school greasepit.
posted by Brandon on April 17th, 2004 at 10:05 pm“Granted, if I came from a farm, or liked hanging out with the same five people for four years, then a place like Ann Arbor may totally rock.”
Really, what was he expecting? This isn’t New York. Just be glad you’re not in Albion!
posted by srah on April 18th, 2004 at 11:43 amYeah, that “worst of” article is really unfunny. The “all of them” answer gets old really fast. It seems like after he wrote the first two he ran out of ideas. Venom is a lot less potent when diluted.
And Hussain’s article seems to revolve around the fact that Michigan women don’t want to talk to him. Or seem to regret having sex with him. What a winner. He’s had some really deep thoughts on the issue of rape, too.
Also, he loses major points for mentioning New York. NY is the most overrated city ever.
posted by speicus on April 18th, 2004 at 12:40 pmI thought Hoard’s column was pretty funny, although I’m judging it by Daily standards. My favorite humor piece they’ve run was Scott Serilla’s Valentine’s Day column, though.
posted by ann arbor is overrated on April 18th, 2004 at 3:26 pmQuote:”Really, what was he expecting? This isn’t New York. Just be glad you’re not in Albion!”
Well, I highly doubt that Albion residents think of their town as the center of Western civilization.
posted by Engineer Guy on April 19th, 2004 at 3:49 pmAfter living in the A2-area for the last 20 years, on and off, I’ve finally discovered a blog that shares my distain for the A2. I could go on and on about what’s wrong with the place but I’d like to start with 1 important question:
Is Ann Arbor/Ypsi completely lacking in nice guys in the 30-45 year old range, or did I just give up looking too quickly?
Where would a 35 year old female go to meet said nice guys? I tried meeting them in church but apparently I’m the wrong denomination, I took classes but only met kids. Any suggestions? It’s like this place repels guys in my age bracket. There must be some place where “nice guys who want to meet nice girls” go instead of the bar.
Any suggestions? I’m not the bar-hopping, “wham bam no thank you M’am” kind of woman. I’d just like some guy friends who aren’t afraid of the M-word (eek! Run for your lives!) who would like to have a family at some point in their lives.
posted by Mels on April 20th, 2004 at 12:43 pmMels, you’re fucked. And I don’t mean fucked in the way you want to be fucked, that is, the fucked-nice-and-gentle-by-a-good-man way. I mean fucked up the ass by the crusty old dick of life. But then, it doesn’t look as though you’ve earned any better. I mean, do you have any sense at all? Do you think these things through? You’ve come to this website looking for dating advice. Did you miss the sign on the door that said “Only the colossally unlovable need enter”? And advice about men? Did you miss the other sign that said “Eunuchs only”. Jesus, you’d better go back to church.
posted by torONTo on April 20th, 2004 at 2:49 pmSo - an AAIO personals service?
posted by ann arbor is overrated on April 20th, 2004 at 2:56 pmMels, I am a young, virile engineer stud. Meet me at the EECS atrium anytime between 8am to 11pm, Mon thru Sun. I might not be in your age group, but you are in no position to choose now are you? Well neither am I. So yeah, find me. Or call me.
Did I mention I have a pierced tongue?
posted by Engineer Guy on April 20th, 2004 at 3:53 pmha ha ha ha ha
posted by Alex on April 20th, 2004 at 5:53 pmI never knew Engineers could be funny
Todd Leopold knows a lot of people, and he made a serious offer (in AAIO comments earlier) to do matchmaking. Indeed, he has been successful at it. Todd?
posted by Larry Kestenbaum on April 20th, 2004 at 6:38 pmMel, the above self-proclaimed mental giants (and you can probably figure out who they are) shouldn’t be given a second thought. But perhaps you are right, and what you’re looking for just isn’t readily available in AA.
posted by joani on April 20th, 2004 at 7:33 pmC’mon, Mels, did you even read the linked articles? Obviously your “Midwest glare” is driving all those eligible men in your age bracket away.
posted by Anonymous on April 23rd, 2004 at 9:17 am