Announcer Howard King celebrates 25 years behind the mic
"Ladies and gentlemen, may we have your attention please. Today you are part of the 131st consecutive Michigan Stadium crowd of over 100,000 fans who have witnessed the success of the Wolverines in this stadium.
The words sound different from inside the press box. Even standing right next to Howard King, the public address announcer at Michigan Stadium for the past 25 years, his words are muffled and drowned out by the echo of the speakers that pump his voice to the crowd. The fans, however, hear him loud and clear, as evidenced by the roar which goes up at the now-familiar mention of the day's attendance.
Clinton, Dole and Perot - Oh my!
If the debate commission won't let Ross Perot join in the mayhem of the election year, by golly, someone has to. It's a shame Dole didn't want Perot in the debates; Perot makes less sense than Dole.
Imagine the nerve of excluding Perot because the commission doesn't think he is a viable candidate. Plus, Clinton and Dole will have spindoctors writing their responses.
Bruce Springsteen at Hill
Yup, it's the Boss himself, coming to our very own Hill Auditorium tonight! It is sold out. This concert is part of his artsy solo acoustic tour. The doors open at 7:30 p.m. - perhaps you can catch a glimpse of him sneaking in the back. He might be getting older, but heck, he can still "dance naked."
Family-owned Coffee Break dishes up Korean cuisine
Because of its misleading name, when peering through the windows of Coffee Break you may find yourself surprised to see anything but the familiar sight of students skimming and highlighting lines from textbooks. These same students, crammed into small coffee tables, simultaneously grab at their coffee mugs perched precariously on the edges of the tables for quick sips, while still attempting to ignore the din of students around them. Instead, at Coffee Break you will probably see students actually taking a break from studying at the coffee shops themselves and coming here to enjoy a quick authentic home-style cooked Korean meal.
Bowling in Ann Arbor: Fun for students and the average Joe
Bowling. Conjuring up images of really funky shoes, really boring televised championship games and gutterballs, bowling is the beloved sport of the average Joe. Rarely does anyone's average score impress others and rarely does one manage to get more than three strikes in a row. Fortunately, the sheer fun and community of the game has inspired all generations of people to set forth and head out to the alleys. And, the youth of Ann Arbor is no exception to this rule.
Lies tore Tupac apart long before his murder
I've wanted to write about Tupac Shakur ever since "Me Against the World" was released early last year; I wanted to try to organize his turbulent life on paper. Ironically, that which I wanted to record - Tupac's life - was the very thing that made me unable to do so. Shakur was a living question mark full of contradictions. I didn't want to write about him only to wake up and discover that he'd pulled yet another 360-degree turn on me. In fact, I used to joke with myself that he would have to be dead before I'd dare to write a single word about him ...
Saturday, Sept. 7. He'd just gone to watch his boy Mike Tyson perform a sort of 30-second, deja vu obliteration of Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Afterward, he and boss-man Suge Knight (CEO of Death Row Records) were cruising in a '96 BMW 750 Sedan on their way to the local club scene.
Then it came. A white Cadi.
The shot heard 'round the world. Then another. And another. Thirteen in all.
Did Tupac Shakur die for his art?
Tupac Shakur wasn't a model citizen. To say he enriched society or left a beautiful mark on the world would be a crock.
Over the past few years, when the 25-year-old rapper and actor wasn't in jail, he was in court, or busy finding new ways to get back there. Charged with too many offenses to count, most famously for sexual assault, Tupac pushed his hard-edged gangsta image to the limit.
Shoot 'em up at Pinball Pete's
You never know what time it is at Pinball Pete's. Not that there aren't any clocks - the walls are covered with the beautiful antique neon timepieces - but good luck trying to find one that tells the right time. You wander into one of its three Ann Arbor locations for a quick study break and leave two hours later and $20 dollars poorer. You've become a victim of what Finn, an employee at Pete's on South University Ave., calls "The Twilight Zone Effect."
But Pete's quirky ambiance is a large part of the reason it's become the preferred arena for Ann Arbor's large population of video game addicts, pinball wizards and pool sharks. There's the bass-heavy music, all but drowning out the bleeps and bloops. There's darkness - video game screens are the major light source. And if you were happy when Amer's became non-smoking, steer clear of Pinball Pete's - it's one of the last bastions of smokers' rights with an ashtray always within arm's reach.
Cider mills offer crispy leaved autumn fun
Now that decisiduous trees' leaves are falling and the air has turned crisp and cool, apples are ripening up. The season's natural treats are ready for students' picking.
Several apple orchards and cider mills service the Ann Arbor area.
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