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January 2009 -- Present Archive
30 October 2009
(Launched from the Totter to Traverse City)
Longtime Ann Arbor resident Metta Lansdale was recently hired as director of the Traverse Area District Library in Traverse City. Her first day on the job is Nov. 2. I talked to her on the teeter totter just before her move north.
We talked about a range of moving topics--the fact that she's managed to sell her Ann Arbor house, how she found a place to live in Traverse City, her relationship to the Ann Arbor community, plus how she's getting rid of the stuff she doesn't want to move.
And some of that stuff includes books. I was keen to know how a librarian culls her own private collection.
In the mix of talk on the totter, there's some brief discussion of the tools currently being used by a historic district study committee in Ann Arbor. That committee is examining an area in Ann Arbor south of William Street as a possible historic district, and will eventually make a recommendation to the Ann Arbor city council on that matter.
25 August 2009
(Job Creation, Argo Dam, Movies, Fighting Crime)
In recent coverage of the Park Advisory Commission, The Ann Arbor Chronicle reported that Scott Rosencrans had just been elected chair by his colleagues on that body.
So despite the fact that he did not prevail in the recent city council
Democratic primary election in Ward 5, Rosencrans will continue to serve the Ann Arbor community--by chairing PAC. Among the topics we discussed on the totter was Argo Dam, which was a campaign issue that might have affected how Ward 5 residents voted. Incumbent Mike Anglin was against removing the dam, while Rosencrans supported its removal if the rowing community could be accommodated. Rowers make heavy use of Argo Pond. [See additional Chronicle dam coverage.]
Back in 2004, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality alerted the city of Ann Arbor to problems related to the earthen berm to the east of the dam. That berm separates the mill race--used by canoists to reach a portage around the dam--from the river. A task force and study lasting at least two years culminated in a months-long community dialogue on the future of the dam earlier this year. The city council has made no decision on a dam-in or dam-out solution.
The city recently sent a letter to the MDEQ asking for another extension in the deadline for a decision on how to address problems with the dam's toe drains. And Byron Lane, chief of the dam safety program with the MDEQ, has sent a response.
As I told Rosencrans on the totter, Mary Morgan of The Ann Arbor Chronicle spoke with Lane by phone last week, and got the central highlight from that response letter: MDEQ is giving the city of Ann Arbor an order to close off the mill race. The Chronicle has requested a copy of the letter--both from MDEQ and the city.
Rosencrans' reaction to that order is not the only part of the 1-hour Talk that makes for interesting reading. For example, we also talked a bit about what sort of reading Rosencrans himself is doing these days. And we talked about Rosencrans' background in the movie business--ways to support the movie industry in Michigan and in Ann Arbor specifically. And that ties in to another tottering theme, which Rosencrans says he wishes he'd communicated better during the Ward 5 city council primary campaign: job creation.
From my end of the totter, though, what made me happiest was three separate tales Rosencrans told on the totter of crime fighting--in China, Chicago, and right here in Ann Arbor on Fourth Street.
And Rosencrans even gave me two specfiic suggestions on how to reduce creaking from the totter during rides (it interferes with sound quality and makes transcription a greater challenge). One was to use some plastic bushings on the pivot point. The other was to level up the base. The latter recommendation has already been implemented.
For details, read Scott's Talk.
29 July 2009
(Are You Done with That Section?)
Last Thursday, 23 July 2009, The Ann Arbor News published its final edition after nearly 175 years in business. I spent part of that morning talking on the teeter totter with Brian Tolle about what people "hire" newspapers to do -- besides provide them with news and information.
The notion of "hiring" newspapers -- by subscribing to them -- to do a "job" is a way of thinking about products that comes naturally to Tolle. He works in the field of organization development, providing consulting services to technology companies on the people side of the equation.
Tolle has a tolerance, even enthusiasm, for change and innovation. So when pitched the idea of reading a newspaper on a high-tech paper scroll, he did not fall off the teeter totter laughing.
When it comes to newspapers, here's the kind of question Tolle is not likely to ask: Do you want national coverage? Do you prefer lots of pictures and charts? How about captions on the pictures? Should sports be a part of the newspaper coverage? Which of these two fonts do you prefer? How about horoscopes? Would you like editorials?
Instead, Tolle is more likely to begin with: Will you miss getting the newspaper? And if the answer is Yes, he'll then follow up with, Why?
On the totter, Tolle gives two examples of people who will miss their paper. They've hired the newspaper to do a job other than provide news and information.
As usual, the conversation on the totter includes a range of topics, and there is one revelation that will come as a great news to potential future riders who wonder if there's "facilities" available. For details, read Brian's Talk.
15 July 2009
(Art of Peace and Nonviolence: A Totter)
During public commentary at a recent city council meeting, Alan Haber (a co-founder of the Students for a Democratic Society) suggested that the city-owned parcel on Ann Arbor's downtown "library lot" be dedicated to a use that celebrates the culture of peace and nonviolence for the children of the world.
The occasion of his remarks was consideration by the council of a Request for Proposals (RFP) process for development of the library lot site. The outcome of the council's deliberations was to issue the RFP in mid-August. One condition for the development of the site is that it at least be revenue-neutral. Otherwise put, a proposal that doesn't cost the city any money is okay, even if it doesn't generate revenue for the city.
The public space evisioned by Haber and others would incur some construction costs, and there would be ongoing maintenance costs for any such amenity. So the idea might be easy for some to dismiss as not meeting the most basic of the criteria.
However, if one is inclined to find a way to realize that vision, one approach is to think of that pubic space as art--functional art of the same kind that Herbert Dreiseitl has already been commissioned to design to process storm water for the new municipal center. The designs for that storm water art project will be presented on July 20, and the Ann Arbor Public Art Commission is likely to approve them, as is the city council.
The storm water art would be funded through the city's Percent for Art program, which sets aside 1% of the cost for any municipal capital project for public art, which is administered by AAPAC. Maintenance costs for public art are factored into AAPAC funding.
A revenue-neutral solution for the library lot could thus emerge as a result of considering the public plaza concept as art. How plausible is that?
One possible parallel is Veterans Memorial Park on Ann Arbor's west side, which is a memorial in the form of a park. And the Wave Field on the University of Michigan's north campus is an example of a public open park-like space that is explicitly intended and recognized as art. It's therefore not unreasonable to consider a public plaza as art.
It would, however, need to be recognizable as "art."
One approach would be to contemplate the installation of some kind of grand teeter totter on the library lot. The teeter totter itself promotes cooperation and understanding. And it's all about balance. So it's not unreasonable to contend that a teeter totter embodies the sort of peace and understanding Haber is talking about.
Plus, children love teeter totters. At Ann Arbor's Townie Party on July 13, I set up Totter 2.0 in a grassy area, and it was immediately swarmed with kids. If you're not convinced by the photo at the top of this entry that kids love a teeter totter, have a look at the whole set of Townie Party teeter tottering photos.
And it's not just the children of Ann Arbor. Alum of the totter, Joan Lowenstein, sent along the second photo from her recent trip to Korea. The ancient teeter totters in the photo are in the village commons. Their use in Korea, as I understand it, is typically in a standing position to bounce people into the air. They're still teeter totters.
To sum up, placement of a grand teeter totter on the library lot as a piece of art could be consistent with dedicating at least part of the space to peace and understanding for the children of the world, and the Percent for Art program could provide a mechanism for funding it.
Such an approach would not necessarily preclude installation of that art in the context of some additional development for the library lot site.
7 July 2009
(See-Saw Salve)
I care what things are called. Therefore I do not take lightly the headline written for this introduction to the most recent Teeter Talk--with Caryn Simon. I do not prefer the term "see-saw." In fact I rather dislike it.
It's a teeter totter, not a see-saw, and I want you to remember that.
Given that I have the power to write headlines as I like, why use a term I find odious? Because "see-saw" alliterates with "salve." And I enjoy alliteration more than I dislike the term "see-saw." Why "salve"? Because Caryn teaches a class on salve-making. [First session is July 11. Contact Info here.] Caryn makes salves from scratch, starting with fresh flowers picked on her farm. The morning of our totter ride up on North Territorial Road last week, she made tea from scratch after picking lemon balm from her garden.
In the course of her Talk we touched on salve-making, her work as a doula, whether she lives in Ann Arbor or Whitmore Lake, and what led her to lead the kind of life she's living.
In the category of everything-is-connected-to-everything, I would put the following fact: Some of the chickens on Caryn's farm were only one degree separated from the teeter totter prior to her ride. It turns out that some of her chickens are refugees from Peter Beal's place, which he had to abandon a couple of years ago.
On the totter I learned a lot--among other things that a salve is different from a paste. It did not occur to me to ask Caryn if a salve was the same as a tincture. I wish I had. I might have gotten a better headline out of that.
4 June 2009
(Tenor Totter)
Of the possible opera singers who could appear on the totter, I figure it's always best to go with the kind that alliterates with the venue: a tenor. But if I ever had occasion to invite a soprano to ride, I suppose
it might be possible to relax my rigid instance on "teeter totter" as the name of the equipment, in order to achieve a "Soprano See-Saw."
But no such accommodation was necessary for Shawn McDonald, who is not a soprano, but a tenor with the Arbor Opera Theater. He's the artistic director for the upcoming production of Die Fledermaus from June 18-21 at the Mendelssohn Theater. The AOT website includes a full
schedule of Die Fledermaus events, including specifics of performance times and ticket information.
When I think opera, I think of the movie "Moonstruck"--there's a scene where characters played by Nicholas Cage and Cher go to an opera. The opera in "Moonstruck" is one of those weighty affairs, fraught with desperate emotion and death. Which is not at all what Die Fledermaus is like, based on Shawn's description.
Die Fledermaus is a light, comedic piece, accessible to the whole family--that's what he told me on the totter. From the sound of it, it could work as a "starter opera" for someone who's unfamiliar with the whole genre. Say, for someone like me, who did not recognize the name "Zeffirelli" when Shawn dropped it on the totter. For more on the Zeffirelli connection to AOT's production of Die Fledermaus, as well as what it's like in Ann Arbor to earn your money as a musician--if not as an opera singer, read Shawn McDonald's Talk.
28 May 2009
(A Walk to the River)
There's been an unintended two-month hiatus in tottering. Talking on the totter resumed last week with Brenda Bentley.
I met Brenda around this time of year standing on the Broadway Bridge--the one
over the Huron River, not the one over the railroad tracks. I first thought it was last year, but my recollection is hazy.
Through that haze, I think I remember the reason I was hanging out on a bridge that's not in my neighborhood: I was waiting for Liz Elling to pass through during her swim along the length of the Huron River.
Elling swam around a 100 miles down the Huron in July 2007. So it's actually been two years since I first met Brenda.
On that occasion, she was taking notes for a book she was writing about walking routes that lead to the river. Consistent with my habit, I invited her to come ride the teeter totter once she completed the book.
The book is done. Last Friday, she took delivery of the first edition of "Riverwalks, Ann Arbor," which was printed by Goetzcraft Printers. We tottered on location where North State tees into Fuller Road, just east of the Gandy Dancer restaurant. It's a place included on one of her riverwalks.
For more on what's in the book, and what the impact of the long tottering hiatus was on the equipment, read Brenda's Talk.
The book can be purchased at Downtown Home & Garden as well as Crazy Wisdom Bookstore. Both stores are located in downtown Ann Arbor.
23 March 2009
(Ecology Center Canvasser)
How does someone like Ariane Carr come to be a guest on my backyard teeter totter?
I live in a neighborhood that is frequently targeted by canvassers for various causes. In my youth, I knocked on doors selling subscriptions to the morning newspaper that I delivered (the Courier-Journal out of Louisville, KY), and I have no fond memories of that experience. So I do not envy the task of these mostly 20-something folks wielding clipboards. For several years I've had a long-standing strategy of telling them right up front, I'm not handing over any money, but I'm happy to sign stuff and write stuff. I don't want to waste their time if money is the only way they can use my help.
In the time since I built the teeter totter in my backyard, I have begun offering canvassers a ride on it. Generally, the offer is met with skepticism. But it's not unprecedented that a canvasser has accepted the offer.
Last Wednesday evening, on returning home from the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority board meeting (which I covered for The Ann Arbor Chronicle), Ariane Carr knocked on my door. She was canvassing for the Ecology Center in support of state legislation that would require manufacturers of children's toys to declare what sort of stuff they're putting in them. And she had the gumption to climb aboard the totter.
23 February 2009
(Annie Get Your Gun Redux)
A couple of weeks ago, I pointed readers to connections of the totter to the recent Burns Park Players production of Annie Get Your Gun. I missed one of those connections that was fairly dramatic. Apparently, if you take away the 12-foot long board, you take away all the contextual clues I need to recognize someone.
Here's a photo of that totter alum playing the role of Tommy Keeler. His line in the musical should have been "I once rode a teeter totter that was longer than this." That way I would have pegged him instantly as an alum of the totter. Scan through all the complete set of teeter totter portraits to see if you can recognize him yourself, or go straight to his Talk to see who that is.
17 February 2009
(Traffic Totter)
I first met Zak Branigan outside the UPS store at Westgate shopping center, when I was dropping off a load in the course of my bicycle delivery duties. He'd recognized me by the sign on my bicycle trailer for ArborTeas, which is run by a friend of his, and alum of the totter, Jeremy Lopatin.
Subsequent email correspondence to recruit Zak to ride the totter led him to suggest the middle of a roundabout as a place to teeter totter. With three such junctions recently constructed on North Maple Road, and others planned at Nixon and Plymouth as well as on Geddes and US-23, Ann Arbor area drivers are getting more familiar with these road intersections where traffic flows one-way around a central island. I figured Zak was kidding. He wasn't. It turns out he's something of a roundabout geek.
It's one of the briefer Talks on the Totter, but we were out in the middle of the roundabout for long enough to see people we knew drive by. And Zachary Branigan's Talk also touches briefly on his work with Habitat for Humanity.
15 February 2009
(Annie Get Your Totter)
The Burns Park Players production of "Annie Get Your Gun" over the last two weekends provided a couple of connections to the teeter totter, some more direct than others.
First off was Tom Bourque's portrayal of the famous Sioux chief, Sitting Bull.
Tom was one of the first people to sit on the totter with me -- way back in 2005.
Next up was Eva Rosenwald's portrayal of Annie. Her connection to the totter is through the last person to ride the totter with me, Christopher Taylor. Eva is married to Chrisopher. This year's show is now over, so you've missed it just as sure as Annie missed her shots in the final shooting match against Frank Butler. But the Burns Park Players will perform again next February with a new production. 
And finally, the young woman who provided some background juggling in the show, is connected to a trio of totter alums, if only through the fact of her juggling: Bruce Fields, Dave Lewis, and Sara S.
I met those guys at last year's juggling festival put on by the Ann Arbor Juggling Arts Club. This year's spring event on 16 May 2009, is approaching faster than you'd think. Details under the previous link.
8 February 2009
(Taylor on the Totter)
Christopher Taylor, one of two Ann Arbor city council representatives for Ward 3, rode the totter a couple of weeks ago. His conversation is ready to read.
I would highlight the discussion of city-university relations as a topic of broader significance. For details, read Taylor's Talk.
Other topics on the totter included the orange mug he drank from on the occasion, the CTN mugs from his recent appearance on CTN's Conversations, getting stuff done at the individual constituent level, snow removal in Ann Arbor, and how Taylor came to live in Ann Arbor.
With Christopher Taylor's participation in Teeter Talk, the voting block on city council consisting of totter alums has been restored to its peak of 5 (of 11) current members. To be clear, I am in no way suggesting that alums of the totter on council represent a coalition of any kind or that they lord their participation in Teeter Talk over other non-tottering councilmembers.
Taylor also joined a select subset of totter alums that is likely tracked by few people other than me. Call them the "Orange Mug Gang," or O.M.G. for short.
15 January 2009
(Telephone Totter)
On Tuesday of this week, the totter returned to action after a long period of inactivity. We reprised a theme with some previous history on the totter: real-time parking data. This time around, the live-data feed on parking space availability, which is streamed to the web by Ann Arbor's Downtown development authority, has been piped into a telephone system.
The guy who did that: Fred Posner. He doesn't work for the city of Ann Arbor, the Downtown Development Authority, or Republic Parking. To get a little insight into what led him to undertake such a project, and if you want the number to call, you're going to have to read Fred's Talk. [Here's documentation on how he accomplished the data-to-telephone part].
Apologies for the illegible titles in the video. The whole thing lasts less than a minute, and is, I think, worth suffering through the awful titles.
TT Log Archives:
| 2009 | January |
| 2008 | September, October, November, December |
| 2008 | July, August |
| 2008 | June |
| 2008 | April, May |
| 2008 | February, March |
| 2007-2008 | December, January |
| 2007 | October, November |
| 2007 | July, August, September |
| 2007 | May, June |
| 2007 | March, April |
| 2006-2007 | December, January, February |
| 2006 | September, October, November |
| 2006 | June, July, August |
| 2005-2006 | December, January, February, March, April, May |
NB: All totterees are already listed in the left hand column (in chronological order). What is
available in the TT Log Archives are just the log entries.