2005-03-03-12:43 p.m.: CALLING ALL WRITERS: A pleasant chat with Courier freelancer Charlie K reveals that the Courier is looking for stringers to cover local stories (C. gave me permission to say so, with the caveat that I heard this from him and the info is not an official Courier announcement). Sharpen your pencils, smart local people. They're looking for people to cover city and township meetings (city council, development board) especially. This is your chance. For info, contact editor Renee Collins, [email protected]. Downtown phone is 482-3385.
4 comments--add a comment
____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-03-03-9:13 a.m.: THE COURIER published Lynne's pro-dogpark letter! Yay! It looks like they published it in full, comparing it to the text she posted on her blog. Good for her.Letters to the Editor are no longer available online at the Courier site. One wishes they were. They're often one of the most interesting bits of the paper. Anyways, kudos to Lynne!
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-03-02-10:29 p.m.: TWO THOUGHTS ON DEMOCRAT STRATEGY: Though an Independent, not a Dem, Ypsidixit noted two things today that bear on the Dems�s struggle to recapture political power.As Y. sleepily made tea this morning, she listened to a radio news story about DNC chairman Howard Dean campaigning in Mississippi. He spoke with eloquence and fire, and his message was one of inclusion, saying that pro-life Dems were welcome in the party. Y. listened to one Republican�s reaction to Dean�s speech. It was warmly admiring. The man said, �We may have to take him aside for a few words about some policy matters, but we admired his fire and the conviction he had for his principles� [paraphrase]. That�s what the Dems have lacked recently. Fire, unity, and conviction, as opposed to flailing reactionaryism. If Dean can win over Southern swing voters who admire his fire, I�d say he�s a powerful frontman for the next election.
Item #2: Ypsidixit received a note from MoveOn.org today. It detailed a new ad contest. People are invited to submit homemade Flash ads about Social Security. Good idea.
But when Y. went to the contest site, she found childish sarcastic cartoons of GWB, Bill Frist, Rick Santorum, Karl Rove, and Tom Delay, under the rubric "Meet the scam artists." In this grim wartime, with so many vital issues at stake, I think we�re long past the point of caricatures and cheap shots. Such caricatures are not only useless preaching to the choir, but they also provide fodder to anyone disagreeing with the Dem message. I would have liked a straight-up presentation of the facts at issue, not a bunch of snide cartoons.
MoveOn might win over those in the middle trying to sort it all out by presenting just the plain old facts. UPSHOT: Dems: Be inclusive, be passionate, be straightforward, skip the cheap sniping.
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-03-02-7:55 p.m.: ON HER WAY HOME FROM THE BUS STOP, Ypsidixit passed two fire engines and an ambulance parked in front of the big cream house opposite the Methodist church, three houses south of Washtenaw, facing the east side of the bus stop parking lot. Lots of flashing lights, no sirens.Looked like a big deal. I wondered what happened and hope to find out in the next issue of the Courier.
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-03-02-12:39 p.m.: AT LAST NIGHT'S CONTENTIOUS CITY COUNCIL MEETING, the controversial vacant building ordinance was amended to make it slightly less punitive to property owners who maintain their vacant building's appearance--as opposed to those who let 'em slide. Some view the ordinance as casting too wide a net in its purported aim of cleaning up blight, thus pestering owners who do maintain their vacant properties and wasting city money and time. Others have different objections--read East Cross Street's articulate "rant" and his related comments. Ordinance text [annoying .pdf].5 comments--add a comment
____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-03-02-8:42 a.m.: CITY HISTORIAN James Mann gives a talk about death at the Peninsular Paper Mill tonight at the Ypsi Library on Michigan Ave (details in March calendar at left).5 comments--add a comment
____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-03-02-9:23 a.m.: AT FIRST GLANCE, the arrival of auto supplier BOSAL in Ypsi Twp. looks great for Ypsi, especially considering recent Visteon woes. Bosal=500 jobs! Then it turns out that most of those jobs will be transferred in from other locations. And the plant's location will add lots of traffic to one of the busiest, most dangerous driving areas in town: Whittaker just south of 94. The upshot: more traffic, less open space down there, no significant job gain. Terrific.3 comments--add a comment
____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-03-01-10:49 p.m.: THE REST OF YPSI WAS ASLEEP when Tom and I got to the hickory pole at Congress and Washington. The streets were empty. I glanced at the grocery store, where I first met her. I�d teased her about buying oranges outside of Christmas, saying I hadn�t known Ypsi had a millionaire lady. That was long ago. Now the store looked shadowy, closed for the night. Like how I felt. Snow blew across the road. I hugged myself and told Tom,. �OK, it�s time.�
�I dunno. Do you really want to do this, John? It�s gonna be awful cold,� said Tom.
�Get up there,� I said. �Tie the damn thing on your belt and go.�
He turned away from me and started shinnying his skinny 15-year-old arms and legs up that pole. The man-sized doll on the ground jerked up as Tom got higher, and rose bumping against the pole, on the rope tied to Tom�s belt.
The doll didn�t look much like that man. And one arm was leaking straw. But when they saw it tomorrow, they�d get it. I�d hung a sign round its neck to make sure. Saying what he�d done to her. My millionaire lady. My wealth. My lost treasure.
Tom fiddled around up there, tying the thing on, while the wind came through my coat. He came scooting back down, kind of fell off. �OK, it's done. Can I go?� he said.
�Sure�thanks, Tom.� He ran off.
I looked to where the thing twisted and swayed in the wind. I wished it was him up there. But they�d see, tomorrow, and know. [see newspaper story in "comments"}
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-03-01-8:34 a.m.: A KIND READER SENDS A NEW EVENT to add to our March calendar at left. It's a talk on "Seed Starting in Your Basement" by a representative of Growing Hope, a local gardening group that helps low-income people grow their own fresh produce. Other notable March events include a Barry Manilow vocal competition at EMU, robot fights, and another Tribute Night at the Elbow Room.8 comments--add a comment
____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-28-8:31 p.m.: SENATE BEGINS DEBATE ON NEW BANKRUPTCY LEGISLATION: Bill S. 256 proposes that individuals who file for bankruptcy whose income is above the state�s median income be required to pay back some of their debt, up to $6,000 over 5 years. Ypsidixit has been reading articles in favor of and against this bill (and some in the middle). Banks, credit card companies, and auto-loan companies favor it, saying that some of their customers irresponsibly rack up debts and then file for bankruptcy less out of real need than as a financial strategy to discharge their debts. Consumer-protection groups claim that a recent rise in bankruptcy filings results from credit card companies extending credit to less-than-reliable customers, and that most who file for bankruptcy do so only as a last resort and that this bill would harass them in a time of need.
While noting with dismay that this bill is aimed at individual consumers and excludes companies who declare bankruptcy (Worldcom, Enron) Ypsidixit thinks this bill is fair.
$2,000 a year is within scrimping range for most people. The bill exempts those earning under median income from the strain of paying back debt. And Ypsidixit thinks some of these consumer-protection voices go too far in portraying the indebted consumer as the credit card companies� helpless pawn. Putting aside for a moment circumstances such as medical bills or divorce that can throw people into debt, Ypsidixit thinks that many people live beyond their means, moreso than in the past,. It is also a matter of pride to pay back a debt. Ypsidixit favors this bill.
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-28-9:18 a.m.: YPSIDIXIT'S FRIEND WAS BITTEN BY A DOG while minding his own business in an Ypsi park this past weekend.If there's one thing that makes the dog-owning Ypsidixit mad, it's leash law scofflaws. It's so inconsiderate. Dog owners, like child owners, have a tendency to think their beast is God's gift to Creation and that the rest of us are only too happy to bear the slinging slobbers of outrageous purebreds--we're not, trust me. Unleashed dogs are an annoyance and a menace.
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-27-11:24 p.m.: 
CROSS STREET VILLAGE retirement community is the site of Ypsilanti's first major educational institution--predating even Normal College (EMU)--the mid-19th century Ypsilanti Union Seminary.This co-ed school appears on 1856 plat maps as an L-shaped building on the northwest corner of Cross and Washington [pictured, at right]. On 1864 plats, the L-shaped building is gone and a fat cross-shaped Seminary buillding appears in the center of the block ringed by Cross, Washington, Florence, and Adams. On 1895 and 1915 plats the building has become square and is now termed the High School, later expanded to the block-long building extant today.
On Dec. 15, 1845 eminent early local blogger John Geddes sent his oldest daughter to the Seminary, "Board $1.90 and find her own bed [suggests no dorms] & do her own washing."
In 1847 a correspondent to the Ypsilanti Sentinel wrote a droll, silly letter to the editor detailing the shining performances of the Seminary's pupils [in "comments"].
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-27-1:24 p.m.: THE UGLY MUG this morning was a haven of peace and quiet and toasted garlic bagels. They do indeed carry the Sunday NYT, so I got one and before I knew it it was two bagels, three coffees, and three hours later. Aside from the creative ambiance and the cheerful staff, the Ugly M offers some interesting conversations, involuntarily overheard:"Dude, you should do a Michael Jackson tribute album."
Dude: [starts laughing]
"I'm serious. Like heavy metal versions...why are you laughing? It'd be a hit! I'll be your agent."
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-26-4:07 p.m.: BROWN BRANCHES AGAINST THE BLUE SKY over the blinding blue-white snow made a bike trip downtown to Congdon's pretty and enjoyable. For the thousandth time I wondered what Congdon's used to be--the 1890 building's castlelike Romanesque facade suggests a bank, or small factory. Back in Depot Town I cut through Ninde street, built in 1864 to give northbound traffic on River a shortcut to Cross instead of waiting for passing trains. "A COMMENDABLE ACT.--Mr. L. Shutts has entitled himself to the gratitude of the public by opening up an avenue from Cross Street to River Street, thereby avoiding the railroad track and frequent detention on the part of the traveling community. Judge Ninde united in giving the right of way. It is called Ninde Avenue." --June 10, 1864 Ypsilanti True Democrat
On to the forge where the base for Prospect Park's Black Fox was cast, now the co-op, to buy meat and veggies and as a treat some buttermilk. I hadn't had buttermilk in years, and drinking the cool, thick, sour whiteness once I got home was like drinking a distillation of this wintery day.
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-26-11:37 a.m.: SECOND-FRIDAY BOOK CLUB SUCCESS: Thanks to kind blogreaders' good suggestions and subsequent votes, a roster of book titles has been picked for the next three months. The first discussion will open up on the morning of Friday, March 11. All blogreaders, whether you contributed to the book-picking or not, are invited to join the discussion.SELECTED TITLES:
Friday, March 11: Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner.
Friday, April 8: Manil Suri's Death of Vishnu.
Friday, May 13: Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-25-8:11 p.m.: ADULTERY IN 1846 YPSILANTI resulted in the "seducer" being run out of town, never to return. Adultery was viewed as a grave affront to a respectable community. One Ypsi seducer's lurid story in "comments."6 comments--add a comment
____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-24-8:43 p.m.: EASTERN HIGHLANDS GOES INTO RECEIVERSHIP: Overheard on the bus home:"Well, they're throwing people out where I live."
"That up at--"
Yeah--Eastern Highlands. Barnes and Barnes took it over."
Turns out they did take it over. Barnes and Barnes is fixing up the place, and if notorious local landlord owner William Kircher doesn't pay for the repairs, a lien could be put on the complex.
EXCERPT FROM LINKED STORY: "Bob Barnes Jr., who runs the company with his father, Robert Barnes Sr., said the repairs are a massive undertaking. "It will be good for the community to remove the blight," he said."
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-24-12:38 p.m.: YPSILANTI IS QUIETLY DEFYING THE ODDS, says the News, at the new Tap Room Annex restaurant. This quiet odds-defying involves rich bursts of garlic. High point of the favorable review: the characterization of Ann Arbor as "greater Ypsilanti."55 comments--add a comment
____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-24-1:48 a.m.: BOOK CLUB PROGRESS: Many kind readers offered suggestions for the new book club. The boil-down is that a once-a-month discussion is best. My tentative plan [please let me know if this is inconvenient for you] is a second-Friday monthly discussion. This gives people time to read the first book by March 11. Those who have to be away on the weekend can still contribute on Friday, while those who want to continue the discussion can chat over the weekend.
Now it's time to pick the first book for the March and Aoril discussions. Five titles were suggested. Please tell me your picks, from the titles below, for 1. the March title and 2. the April title [so that people can plan ahead].
Anyone can contribute their suggestions as to the titles, whether you participated in previous book-club discussion or not. And all are welcome at the eventual March 11 discussion that Ypsidixit is excitedly looking forward to it.
Titles from which to choose:
Manil Suri's Death of Vishnu,
Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner,
Audrey Niffenegar's The Time Traveller's Wife,
Patrick Chamoiseau's Texaco,
and Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-23-8:49 p.m.: IN YPSI'S PAST, FEBRUARY was a dangerous month:"SKATERS BE CAREFUL.--a young man by the name of Charles Stoner, while skating on the Huron, ran into a hole made by taking out ice, and, caught by the current, nearly disappeared under the ice's surface, before extracting himself with difficulty.
"THE HURON RIVER below Rawsonville has been for some time impeded by the floating ice, so as to occasion much difficulty to the mills on the stream above the obstruction, and considerable damage by the overflow of cellars &c."
--Ypsilanti Sentinel, February 2, 1847.
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-23-10:14 a.m.: YPSIDIXIT'S TINY VOTE IN FAVOR OF THE JAIL EXPANSION was buried under a predictable landslide of NIMBYist nays, 2 to 1. That should delight Ann Arbor activist Peter Woiwode, who's been campaigning against the expansion. I got an email from his yesterday. "If we build a giant [note inflammatory adjective] jail, as has been proven in community after community across the country [?], we will begin to incarcerate more people to fill it" [a completely unsubstantiated statement].
He said, "Don't let taxpayers money go to locking up more of Washtenaw County's less fortunate." The naivete and unthinking classism of that statement fairly takes your breath away--as if there's never been a lawyer thrown in jail. I can think of one that was. At any rate, look for fewer and fewer warrants being pursued, and more and more early-releases--even among felons. When does NIMBYism turn potentially life-threatening?
Right about now.
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-22-11:24 p.m.: THE IDEA OF A BOOK CLUB here has been met with enthusiastic response, to Ypsidixit's excitement and delight. So, since Ypsidixit knows her schedule but not those of potential book club participants, she thinks it best to group-brainstorm. The book club could be 1. monthly, with an assigned book suggested in turn by members 2. an informal weekly "hey, what have you been reading this week?" format (what day is best?) 3. other. All suggestions welcome. In pre-book-club comments, Ypsidixit has already heard about 2 worthwhile-sounding novels, The Death of Vishnu and The Kite Runner, and is excited at the prospect of book-chat with the several serious readers who kindly visit here.31 comments--add a comment
____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-22-10:58 p.m.: TODAY IN YPSI: An Ypsi Twp. man was fatally shot by police in Westland. A robber swiped cigarettes from a Michigan Ave. gas station and sped off in a four-door purple car with rear damage. The Civil War Muster returns this year--but in Saline, not Ypsi. The Riverside Arts Center announces its 2005 schedule, which includes a show by Ypsi puppeteers Brian Steimel and Raymond Masters. And the first wall of the new EMU Student Center started going up.1 comments--add a comment
____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-22-8:46 p.m.: THE MECCA OF YPSILANTI: "Last Thursday week was a high day in Ypsilanti; the reproach of our city was taken away. Our citizens in moral consciousness stood ten feet higher Thursday Evening than Thursday morning. The new Cemetery will be the center of attraction--attractive by nature it will be made inviting by all the aids of art. For many a year the citizens will study how they may most beautifully adorn it. Next to the ties that bind us to heaven, are the ties that will bind us to this resting place of the bodies of loved ones--It will be the Mecca of Ypsilanti."--Dedication of Highland Cemetery news article, Ypsilanti True Democrat, July 22, 1864 [more in "comments"]
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-21-9:59 p.m.: AS MODERN-DAY "CARE PACKAGES" STREAM TO IRAQ, the Ypsilanti Civil War care packages' contents, reported by the Ypsilanti Soldier's Aid Society, reveal a weird hodgepodge of pincushions, raspberry vinegar, and "lamp mats." This strange assortment hints that 1860s Ypsilanti households, less well-off than our own, dug deep to contribute whatever small item they could. A month-by-month list begins here & continues in "comments."
"SEPT. 14TH: Five barrels of onions.
"OCT. 23: One pocket-handkerchief, six rabbits, four dolls' hats, two pin cushions, one fancy bag..."
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-21-5:14 p.m.: YPSIDIXIT has heard from Charlie Kondek, Ypsi Courier freelancer who wrote the Mound story that I mentioned in the Courier post, below. Lest his response be buried and overlooked down there, I'm putting it up here for consideration."Hi. I'm the guy that wrote the Tribute Night story. Or, if you prefer, the guy who "plagiarized" Binkowski's press release. First off, it's common newspaper practice, especially among smaller community newspapers, to print press releases as is. Yes, sometimes they get a "special to" byline, sometimes not. Courier practice for some time has been not. And the problem with cutting and pasting a press-release is...? Especially if it is something helpful or celebratory to the community...? I see, no periods were added. Sorry that disturbs your sense of journalistic integrity. I think you have mischaracterized the use of press releases in this case. You'll note the releases are for community-based events. The paper certainly didn't cut and paste statements endorsing particular products or politicians or something. And I'm sorry to hear not enough research, follow up and fact-finding investigation was done to satisfy your interest in the WCC science fair and Tribute Night at the elbow room. Next time I'll itemize all the beer I drink researching the story and carefully record what's written on the wall of the men's room. I'm also sorry to hear you find my leads "bland." The other common practice of using press releases is to rewrite them in a format more suitable for the paper, add information as possible and if necessary - bottom line is a community paper is, or can be, a partner to the community it seeks to serve, and publishing such documents is an expression of that partnership. You'll note, I hope, that the Tribute Night press release had two great quotes, which I used, and that the rewritten story has a bit more information, and an additional quote from the source. You'll also note that it references the way Tribute Night got started, as Roots Rock Heroes, the summer previous. Hmmm, where have I heard that before? Oh, yeah, I wrote about the ongoing event when it first started, last summer. No other paper or arts rag, to my knowledge, did. You may also recall another story I wrote last summer. It was about the fact that bloggers take an active interest in what's happening in Ypsilanti. Didn't see that one elsewhere, either. Frankly, I'm a little miffed at being criticized like this, both on my own behalf as an individual stringer or freelancer for the Courier, and on behalf of the Courier - a small paper that has always struggled to produce the best content it can with the meager resources available, meager resources that including working with freelancers who don't know the best way to utilize the term, apparently highly politicized, "tax abatement" (looked it up in the AP, by the way, and couldn't find it). Should a paper have "a stable of news-hungry reporters who have gossipy friends in high places" & cetera? Sure, it should. Do such things cost money? You bet they do. By the way, did you buy the paper, or read the online version for free? Which leads me to another thought: why are you "picking on" the Courier? Is it a "small town mindest" or something that you find so offensive, like the religion column? I don't represent the Courier except in my capacity as a reporter: this is a personal message from me. But frankly, I feel you are doing a small, hardworker, local paper a great disservice by taking these shots at them. And I also feel you're mischaracterizing the entire issue. Further, I can assure you that the musicians involved in Tribute Night liked the story. How do I know? How do you think I know?
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-21-12:55 p.m.: 200-YEAR-OLD TREE KILLED near Dexter. Ypsidixit sadly notes in a story about turning emerald-ash-borer-damaged wood into lovely keepsakes, that a 200-year-old walnut near Dexter was killed to make a bowl. What an awful and selfish shame. Oh, and there was a set of smaller bowls, too, one for each of the woman's kids.
How precious. An old grandfather tree like that should be venerated, not killed for one's selfish pleasure.
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-21-7:49 a.m.: WHILE COOLING HER HEELS at home on a Monday morning, waiting for the furnace guy, Ypsidixit heard on the radio, to her sadness, that Hunter Thompson fatally shot himself last night in his Denver home.35 comments--add a comment
____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-21-1:04 a.m.: CASTING SEEDS UPON STONY GROUND: An 1860s Ypsilanti minister was so ticked at the drunken loutishness of his wayward congregation that he fired off this letter to the editor of the local Ypsi paper:"MR. EDITOR: --I came to this City two years since; when I came I found the church here all down. Several had preceded me and every one was compelled to say that the members were good for nothing. Now sir what is the reason, the secret of ill success and the disorderly conduct of our members. Lager beer and bad whiskey. They spend more money for these than to sustain the church."
[more in "comments"]
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-20-2:31 p.m.: HAVING FINISHED MY MARKETING at the dry goods store downtown on Congress Street [now Michigan Avenue], no sooner had I left when I heard a strange clattering roar. I looked towards the river to see a horde of sheep being driven down the street by two men on horseback. As they were nearly upon me, I hastened back inside the store for safety. After their noisy passage, the street was full of choking dust and the animals' filthy evidence. There was no help for it�I must get home, so I gingerly picked my way across Congress. As I avoided a particularly objectionable deposit, my foot came down upon another, and down I went. To my extreme mortification, my shame was witnessed by three roughnecks lounging in the shade across the street, who made no effort to help a lady. With as much dignity as I could muster, I picked myself up, retrieved my fallen bonnet�now an object of filth�and noted with no little dismay that the skirt of my good cotton print, laundered just yesterday, was stained. Vexed nearly to tears, I could not help but wonder why I left a comfortable life in the bosom of my family in New York to accompany my husband to this uncivilized frontier hamlet, but then immediately and humbly asked God for pardon for such a selfish thought."FOR THE PLAINS--Large quantities of sheep are driven through our streets almost daily, en route for the plains of Iowa and other parts of our immense western territories, for winter pasturage. One flock that went through last week contained 1,800, and the dust was not entirely settled in our city for hours after their departure."
--Ypsilanti True Democrat newspaper, July 22, 1864.
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-20-12:13 a.m.: HARDESTY STORY 8: Ypsilanti Press, Oct. 26, 1978.Hardesty to receive sanity test
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-19-11:52 p.m.: HARDESTY STORY 7: Ypsilanti Press, Oct. 26, 1978.Hardesty waives right to district court exam
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-19-11:32 p.m.: HARDESTY STORY 6: Ypsilanti Press, Oct. 24, 1978.Hospital arraignment for Hardesty
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-19-11:06 p.m.: HARDESTY STORY 5: Ypsilanti Press, Oct. 22, 1978.Billy�s dad sought gun before death
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-19-10:36 p.m.: HARDESTY STORY 4, PART 3 OF 3: Ypsilanti Press, Oct. 20, 1978.What manner of man? (Part 3)
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-19-9:58 p.m.: HARDESTY STORY 4, PART 2 OF 3: Ypsilanti Press, Oct. 20, 1978.What manner of man? (Part 2)
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-19-9:32 p.m.: HARDESTY STORY 4, PART 1 OF 3: Ypsilanti Press, Oct. 20, 1978.What manner of man? (Part 1)
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-19-8:43 p.m.: HARDESTY STORY 3: Ypsilanti Press, October 20, 1978.Warrants issued in slaying spree
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-19-8:04 p.m.: HARDESTY STORY 2: The Ypsilanti Press, Oct. 19, 1978Witness to slayings revisits the scene
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-19-7:28 p.m.: EIGHT-PART SERIES: HARDESTY MURDERS. Spurred into action by the recent discussion about the 1978 Michigan Ave. murder spree of Billy Hardesty, Ypsidixit biked down to Halle Library today and visited the heart of Ypsilanti, which is green. It's a little file cabinet on the 2nd floor full of microfilm, where you can read old papers (the old comics pages are particularly fun) and print out the past for free.All stories from the Ypsilanti Press. Story #1: [in "comments"]: 4 dead in 7-hour killing spree; 2 wounded; VB man, shot, gives up
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-18-6:41 p.m.: COURIER PRINTING PRESS RELEASES AS NEWS STORIES: Ypsidixit found examples of the Courier printing press releases, word for word or altered, as news stories. Below in "comments" you will find the full texts of the original press releases and the Courier stories.
A press release from an event organizer seeking to promote his or her event is very different from an independently researched, independently reported story about the unbiased facts of the event.
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____________________________________________________________________________________________2005-02-18-12:54 p.m.: "BEHOLD:"Here is the Warranty Wizard; his creatures of thin paper dance beyond reach, defy description and die quickly.
"Here is the Dust Ghost; smudgy wraith of grit, fibers and clogging sands.
"Here is Jack Rust; his moist, corrosive breath fogs the machined tines, cogs and levers.
"Here is the Angel of Obsolescence; she points and a circuit fails, a crack appears, a seal rots, a handle snaps off.
"These are the Four Riders of Home Maintenance. Fear them, as they are a portend of the End Times of savings."
--a marvelous bit o' whimsy by Dan Arbor
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