ann arbor is overrated.

A reader asks if we’re aware of any bars in A2 that show soccer, “specifically English Premier League games.” Any ideas?

Ypsidixit directs our attention to a News article about Ypsilanti-themed T-shirts reading “1825300 1238/49147355-24197,” a concatenation of various numbers of significance to Ypsi - 197, for instance, is the last three digits of its ZIP code. The story ends by asking readers to call if they spot “something ‘cool’” in Ypsi.

A letter in the Freep attempts to explain why there are so few Bush-Cheney signs in A2, if you can get past the writer’s description of Ann Arbor as a “workers’ paradise” without choking. It’s because of the Republicans’ superior taste! “Most of us right-wingers consider such yard litter in the same category as pink flamingo sticks and rusting auto hulks.”

The Observer runs a cartoon “based on a true story” about a man whose wife wants him to spend more time in A2 because “it will make [him] a better person.” “And the Chop House cigar lounge doesn’t count!” he laments. Acceptable character-forming destinations include museums or Crazy Wisdom.

Watch for that famous Ann Arbor warmth and friendliness to get a little strained over the next couple weeks as sleepless nights spent guarding political signs start to take their toll. “I can’t tell you how many people say, ‘They stole my sign and I’m going to buy two for every one they took,’” a Kerry headquarters office manager tells the News, while the victim of a sign theft claims a strengthened resolve to go to the polls. So, could it be possible that the signs are being taken by the campaigns themselves? They can re-sell the signs and energize their base in the process.

All we know is, so far our Kestenbaum flyer hasn’t been stolen by our roommates.

We’ll probably be voting for Republican Jane Lumm for mayor, mainly because she’s currently not the mayor. Looks like we’re not alone in flirting with the idea of going over to the scary A2 GOP. But we’re a little disappointed that her views on density differ so little from Hieftje’s.

What’s the deal with the recent criticism that Lumm’s campaign materials attempt to hide the fact that she’s a Republican? Last we checked, Hieftje doesn’t belong to the Tree Symbol party that you might gather he does from glancing at his yard signs.

Neighborhood groups have been complaining for years about the inability of the university to stash its students far from their sight, but we’ve always known that as soon as there was any definitive plan for new housing, no matter where the location, it would somehow be all wrong. The soon-to-be-demolished Frieze Building isn’t in a residential neighborhood, but instead of the NIMBYs, a perhaps even more formidable lobby has risen up to protest the dorm plans: local preservationists. (But don’t worry, the Old Fourth Ward Association isn’t sitting this one out.)

The Daily describes the building, which the News praises for its “neoclassical architecture, such as its low pitched roof and arches above windows and doorways,” as “one of the ugliest buildings on campus, often said to resemble a juvenile detention center.”

The Michigan Review turns a long-needed critical eye toward “this endless obsession with voting (and obviously, with its precursor, registering).” Yeah, you never hear these voting proponents mention the seamy “registration” side of their little fetish. What are they trying to hide?

The city listers strike again. A2 is one of the top 10 “IQ Campuses” listed in Forbes publisher Rich Karlgaard’s new book “Life 2.0,” which suggests purportedly cheap smaller-town alternatives to city living for professionals. “Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan, is small enough to be friendly, but cosmopolitan enough to satisfy most intellectual snobs,” he writes. Not this one. He also suggests Grand Rapids as a “Bohemian Bargain.” So in which “Porch Swing Community,” “Happy Hooterville,” “Steroid City” or “Telecommuting Heaven” does Karlgaard reside in order to escape big-city pressure and high prices? “Karlgaard, 50, lives in San Francisco and says it doesn’t matter that he’s never set foot in Grand Rapids,” the Grand Rapids Press reports.

Nordlinger Watch: The conservative commentator’s latest A2 reference concerns Michael Moore’s visit to campus. “Do they invite conservative speakers? Are you smoking some of that hash so prevalent in Ann Arbor?”