ann arbor is overrated.

Only in Ann Arbor? Vegetarian gefilte “fish”.

Another A2 blog phenomenon that we thought was over: fake Craigslist missed connections posted to exemplify the ridiculousness of Ann Arbor. Nobody really eats spinach enchiladas while reading Nietzsche and ruminating on an inside-out sweater as a metaphor for life. Not even in the Deuce.

We may be a bit more domesticated lately than we were in those heady Diaryland days of Bill Knapp’s-bashing and spelling “sucks” with an x, but we still appreciate a good hate mail or blog feud, so it was refreshing to read this post, from a blogger named Stacy:

[T]he very first Welcome to the Confessional Idiot Award goes to whomever created http://www.annarborisoverrated.com. This lovely blog has provided reasons why Ann Arbor sucks (which, as far as I can tell, are the cost of living and the fact that Zingerman’s once dared to put mayo on his sandwich) since May 2002. That’s a really long time to rant. Idiot Boy (I’ve assumed this individual to be male) claims he cannot move out of Ann Arbor because he is still a graduate student.

Agrees one commenter, “What’s especially sad is how many people comment! How does he get so many readers?” Our mordant wit, duh. (Oh, Dale, Dave, FAA — we totally didn’t realize we were overdrawn this month! It won’t happen again.)

Stacy’s very next post is somewhat different in theme:

I spent three weeks unable to either shower or cook in my apartment … My ceilings had holes the entire time. I didn’t have a floor for at least two and a half weeks, possibly longer.

Some people apparently don’t have anything better to do than not shower, look at the holes in their ceilings and expect their landlords to provide a floor when they could be out enjoying all the great activities that A2 has to offer.

The Michigan Review quotes us in their story examining the Arena controversy, Joan Lowenstein and the role of her group Campus Community Conversations in what some would call an anti-drinking, anti-student movement.

Jo Mathis has the solution to A2’s sagging housing market: attract more retirees! “We need people moving to the area who don’t need the jobs that aren’t here,” she argues. For those who might be attracted to coastal retirement havens like Florida, she points out that Lake Michigan, which is only two and a half hours away, has no sharks.

The Freep (thanks, Brandon!) explains why you should visit Toronto. “Toronto is kind of like a really big Ann Arbor — funky, tolerant, multicultural, young, with an artistic sensibility and an inherent dignity. It’s not New York. It’s not Chicago. It’s more … earnest. More … harmonious.” (Ellipses indicate not omitted text, but a soulful pause on the part of the writer.)

Is Ann Arbor less cool now than it used to be? Is its currently inflated reputation based on a past that actually lived up to it? LiveJournalers share what they miss most about the old A2:

• A magazine store.
• A bead store.
• A leather store (”not clothing, but pieces of leather”).
• Limeade at Drake’s. “I always asked for extra sugar…because they made it so sour, and sometimes I’d get it.”

Well, there you have it. There was actually a time in A2 when you could get sour limeade, magazines, beads and pieces of leather, all within walking distance of downtown.

There’s got to be something historic over on South Maple that’ll stop the most recently proposed student housing development from being built. Anything?