Well, not really. It was actually one wedding, a funeral, a birthday, and two house closings. And that was just last week.
The Mitten will be back soon. Like when I get some furniture to sit on in my new house. Thanks for your patience in the meantime!
-Quinn
Moving back to Michigan this year hasn’t always been easy. Without boring you with specifics, I’ll just say that the stark reality of the economy has made itself apparent in a variety of ways. But making this video has reminded me of one of the main reasons I moved back: The unassuming generosity of Michigan’s people.
I’d like to thank these specific Michiganders who made this video possible:
The Riders. I am still blown away by the generosity of Kristie, Sam, Kendall, and the two Scotts (all from Charlotte, MI). They had never met me or John, my camera guy (more on him in a moment), when we showed up to the Leota Trail on a Saturday morning. After I explained our intentions, they drove us out to two practice trails and let us shoot footage for more than an hour. All the moving shots were taken from the back of Kristie’s ATV (which she eventually let me test drive!). I’ll forever be grateful for their willingness to give up precious time from their weekend getaway to help two strangers shoot a video.
Yo La Tengo Plays this Saturday in Detroit (For Free!)
Let me guess. You’re freakin’ out about the impending chaos of summer festival season. Sure there’s lots to do, but for every worthwhile event, there seems to be 48 worthless ones. Don’t worry. The Mitten is here with the first edition of WYSDTW. You’re welcome.
Berlin Fair: Marne, MI
Ever been to Marne, Michigan? Me neither. But their Berlin Fair kicks off on Monday with beer tent that opens at 4pm and an opening night all-you-can-ride special on carnival rides for $12. Sounds like a recipe for an amazingly dangerous Monday night.
The Mindstream Project (Ann Arbor Art Fair, Wed. July 15 – Sun., July 19)
Most Ann Arborites have a love/hate relationship with the Art Fair. Sure it’s huge and respected and brings tons of business to downtown shops. But it’s also crowded, overheated, and exhausting. For those looking for something low-key and very cool to do, check out The Mindstream Project, where you can make your own stop motion animation. They made this video at the A2 Summer Festival:
It appears Joe Dumars has hired somebody other than Bill Laimbeer as Pistons head coach. Though this is undoubtedly a good basketball decision (given Dumars’ overall track record), it exponentially decreases the likelihood the NBA will become a league where players wear armor and punch each other while fans throw fireballs at them.
Sigh…
I guess I’ll just have to watch this video and lament what might’ve been:
When Serious Eats described Superman ice cream, my favorite childhood flavor, as “a Michigan Thing,” I was both excited and reassured. Finally, I understood why I could never find it during my time on the East Coast. A few phone calls to out-of-state friends and a quick google search provided validation that Superman ice cream is virtually unknown outside the midwest.
But naturally, I wanted to know more. When was it invented? Who whipped up the original recipe? What is that magical flavor combination?
As for that the last question, the Internet provides a response as varied and contradictory as the interviewees in my video (above). I have scanned message boards and watched creepy videos featuring less-than-sober individuals attempting to isolate Superman’s flavor. The mystery remains.
Pinpointing the origins of Superman ice cream has proven to be equally elusive. The blue appears to descend from Blue Moon, an ice cream originally made in South Haven, Michigan…or Milwaukee, Wisconsin, depending on who you believe. But who was the first to mimic Superman’s colors by mixing the blue with the red and yellow?
The best answer I’ve found so far comes from Jim Karnopp, owner of Ypsilanti’s Cafe Luwak, who says Continue reading
Me @ ROTHBURY '08
In my not-so-distant-past as a music blogger, I was sent from Boston to cover the ROTHBURY Festival on the west side of Michigan. Though the lineup featured mostly “jam bands” (a.k.a. bands appreciated by sweaty hippies), for which I have an admitted aversion, there were enough outliers (Black Lips, Modest Mouse, and…Snoop?!) to keep me entertained throughout. In addition to having a great time, I learned the following two lessons:
1) It turns out, most sweaty hippies are really nice people.
and
2) Not all Dave Matthews Band fans are sweaty OR hippies. In fact, some of them rank among the coolest, funniest people in the world, and if you go to their shows you might be lucky enough to meet them(!):
Me and KG (aka Kyle Gass, aka Rage Kage)
“Dear Joe,
There’s no denying you got off to a great start as the Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations. Your swift ascent from ex-athlete to sports exec god was, well, messianic. No, you never turned water into wine, but you did trade a perpetually injured Grant Hill for the unheralded duo of Ben Wallace and Chucky Atkins (who you eventually traded for Rasheed Wallace). Pretty close. You assembled a team of scrappers (dare I say, “in your image”) and led them to the promised land. For this, I will always be grateful.
But in recent years, you’ve fallen on hard times and yesterday you fired head coach Michael Curry. I’ll let others debate the merits of that decision. The reason I am writing you now is to tell you that your next decision should not be up for debate.
You must hire Bill Laimbeer.
I know what you’re thinking. “Hire Laimbeer? My whining, flopping ex-teammate whose only coaching experience is with a women’s team?!”
I think I was in high school when I first saw him. I remember I was walking down Liberty Street with some friends and we stumbled upon a guy dancing to Michael Jackson songs in an alley by the Michigan Theater. He was really good. I mean he had the moves down. I threw some change in his cardboard box and we kept walking, laughing about the randomness of the encounter.
As an undergrad at UM, I came to realize that the encounter wasn’t so random. As it turns out, the “Michael Jackson Guy” was an Ann Arbor institution, busking in that same alley all day, every weekend. You’d hear talk of him in coffee shops and classrooms. But unlike Shakey Jake, whom every Ann Arborite claimed to know and love, the Michael Jackson Guy was a mystery. What compelled him to dance in the alley? Was the guy homeless? Why Michael Jackson?
Hey, friends and readers.
Thanks for stopping by The Mitten, a blog dedicated to exploring the unique cultural landscape of Michigan’s lower peninsula. For those of you who don’t know, my name is Quinn Strassel. I used to write for a blog on OurStage.com where I also worked as an…”on camera personality“…or “broadcast journalist” depending on the given day and assignment. That was in Boston.
I have since returned to my hometown of Ypsilanti, Michigan. In an attempt to reconnect with the people/music/food/etc. of my home state (while simultaneously reconnecting with the act of writing and making videos) I decided to start a blog covering its underground/indie cultural happenings and phenomena.
Due to circumstances involving, strangely enough, a video that tangentially relates to Michael Jackson’s death (post coming very soon), I’m opening the blog a little ahead of schedule. I appreciate suggestions and patience as I get it all together.
P.S. Isn’t the mitten above the greatest mitten you’ve ever seen? It was photographed by a really cool artist named Sarah Skeen. Apparently, her mom sewed it in home-ec class as a thimble cover many years ago. Sarah also has a blog AND makes jewelry which you can buy (along with photo prints) at her Etsy store. I highly recommend her work.
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