Art Fair earrings made from skateboards, Trump protests and gravel pit worries
I looked in awe at large, textured landscapes and colorful abstractions I would have loved to prominently place in my living room (in the vain hope the pricey pieces would go unharmed by NERF bullets, basketballs or any number of makeshift projectiles).
And I purchased — after excessive deliberations over color and shape patiently tolerated by the booth attendant — the coolest earrings. They are playful, graphic and cleverly crafted from broken skateboards by North Carolina artist Tara Locklear. (Yes, I assured my co-worker, I will wear them.)
Oddly, I know, for a journalist and life-long Michigan resident, I had never been until this week to the Ann Arbor Art Fair, which kicked off Tuesday and began in earnest Thursday, and I quickly came to realize I've been missing much.
I long heard local warnings of traffic tangles, parking perils and insufferable crowds. Sure the mild Thursday weather helped, but I found none of those things, not really. On a work break, I spent longer than I should have and I could have spent far longer perusing those many tents.
Thomas LeGault performs a live painting in his booth during Art Fair in downtown Ann Arbor.
Tribune News Service
Puffer fish flying above the sea. A watercolor Brussel sprout composed on a paint color sample. Antlers sprouting from a coral-like clay pot. So many beautiful, unusual or unusually beautiful items.
I didn't buy a lot; my art budget is small. But I found joy in the looking, the exploring.
Eventually, I did return to work.
Art Fair has taken over the town, yes, but it's not the only news of the week.
For one, protesters again hoisted signs in opposition to President Donald Trump. 'Good Trouble Lives On' demonstrations were planned throughout the nation and Ann Arbor in honor of U.S. Rep. John Lewis on the five-year anniversary of his death Thursday, July 17.
Reporter Nicholas Alumkal was there to collect activists' thoughts.
'It just seems like our country is being led by an incapable madman,' said Lois Maharg, holding a sign with the initialism GOP standing for 'gutless, obsequious panderers' near Veterans Memorial Park. 'Our whole government is just being canceled. Democracy is canceled, and I am very concerned about that.'
In Ann Arbor Township, residents are concerned about the Vella Pit, a gravel and sand mine on Earhart Road. Operator Mid Michigan Materials seeks a permit to create an approximately 59-acre lake to extract material from below the water table.
This comes after some residents' drinking water wells ran dry and a lawsuit alleging the gravel pit is responsible is pending; settlement talks are underway, the township supervisor told Jen Eberbach last week.
Michael Watts, a resident, said there are 'ongoing issues,' and 'distrust' of the mining company, as wells slowly recover.
Ceramic artwork by Corey and Stacey Bechler of Bechler Pottery on display in their booth during Art Fair in downtown Ann Arbor.
Tribune News Service
Back in Ann Arbor, in another lawsuit, two taxpayers are challenging city ballot proposals A and B, up for an Aug. 5 vote, as perpetrating a 'fraud upon the electorate.'
Voter approval would allow the city to sell the Library Lane property to the Ann Arbor District Library and undo a 2018 city charter amendment declaring it must become a downtown urban park and civic commons.
The ballot wording, which city officials say would be legally compelling, states the city could sell the land 'for the purpose of building a mixed-use development that includes additional library services, housing, retail and programmable open public space.'
Opponents and the complaint, however, argue the library could do whatever it wants with the property after the city transfers it for $1.
Mayor Christopher Taylor called it 'campaign disinformation in the form of a lawsuit,' and district library Director Eli Neiburger, in response to critics, said the proposals aren't giving away the property to developers.
In tragic news, a 25-year-old father of four, DaJon Ryans, died in an Ypsilanti shooting. Two men have since been arrested and charged, but not with murder. Reporter Jordyn Pair is revealing the details. At the University of Michigan, the Board of Regents agreed to fire a professor in the School of Music, Theatre and Dance, and two Ann Arbor institutions — one of them UM — were awarded millions for startups and entrepreneurs. To end, as I always like to do, on a softer note: 11-year-old Tucker Lambert of Saline Township is doing some heavy hauling to fund his UM ambitions. Farmers' pains — field rocks — are dollars for the quiet, young entrepreneur.
Enjoy the Art Fair! I might have to return. I keep thinking of these small, ceramic vases sold by a Florida artist...
If you would rather not, I hear there are a whole lot of chicken dinners available this weekend in Manchester.
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Gulf Today
20-07-2025
- Gulf Today
Art Fair earrings made from skateboards, Trump protests and gravel pit worries
An oil painter, when he struggled to run my credit card, let me take home a small print — a still life labeled 'skull and ivy' — without cost. I looked in awe at large, textured landscapes and colorful abstractions I would have loved to prominently place in my living room (in the vain hope the pricey pieces would go unharmed by NERF bullets, basketballs or any number of makeshift projectiles). And I purchased — after excessive deliberations over color and shape patiently tolerated by the booth attendant — the coolest earrings. They are playful, graphic and cleverly crafted from broken skateboards by North Carolina artist Tara Locklear. (Yes, I assured my co-worker, I will wear them.) Oddly, I know, for a journalist and life-long Michigan resident, I had never been until this week to the Ann Arbor Art Fair, which kicked off Tuesday and began in earnest Thursday, and I quickly came to realize I've been missing much. I long heard local warnings of traffic tangles, parking perils and insufferable crowds. Sure the mild Thursday weather helped, but I found none of those things, not really. On a work break, I spent longer than I should have and I could have spent far longer perusing those many tents. Thomas LeGault performs a live painting in his booth during Art Fair in downtown Ann Arbor. Tribune News Service Puffer fish flying above the sea. A watercolor Brussel sprout composed on a paint color sample. Antlers sprouting from a coral-like clay pot. So many beautiful, unusual or unusually beautiful items. I didn't buy a lot; my art budget is small. But I found joy in the looking, the exploring. Eventually, I did return to work. Art Fair has taken over the town, yes, but it's not the only news of the week. For one, protesters again hoisted signs in opposition to President Donald Trump. 'Good Trouble Lives On' demonstrations were planned throughout the nation and Ann Arbor in honor of U.S. Rep. John Lewis on the five-year anniversary of his death Thursday, July 17. Reporter Nicholas Alumkal was there to collect activists' thoughts. 'It just seems like our country is being led by an incapable madman,' said Lois Maharg, holding a sign with the initialism GOP standing for 'gutless, obsequious panderers' near Veterans Memorial Park. 'Our whole government is just being canceled. Democracy is canceled, and I am very concerned about that.' In Ann Arbor Township, residents are concerned about the Vella Pit, a gravel and sand mine on Earhart Road. Operator Mid Michigan Materials seeks a permit to create an approximately 59-acre lake to extract material from below the water table. This comes after some residents' drinking water wells ran dry and a lawsuit alleging the gravel pit is responsible is pending; settlement talks are underway, the township supervisor told Jen Eberbach last week. Michael Watts, a resident, said there are 'ongoing issues,' and 'distrust' of the mining company, as wells slowly recover. Ceramic artwork by Corey and Stacey Bechler of Bechler Pottery on display in their booth during Art Fair in downtown Ann Arbor. Tribune News Service Back in Ann Arbor, in another lawsuit, two taxpayers are challenging city ballot proposals A and B, up for an Aug. 5 vote, as perpetrating a 'fraud upon the electorate.' Voter approval would allow the city to sell the Library Lane property to the Ann Arbor District Library and undo a 2018 city charter amendment declaring it must become a downtown urban park and civic commons. The ballot wording, which city officials say would be legally compelling, states the city could sell the land 'for the purpose of building a mixed-use development that includes additional library services, housing, retail and programmable open public space.' Opponents and the complaint, however, argue the library could do whatever it wants with the property after the city transfers it for $1. Mayor Christopher Taylor called it 'campaign disinformation in the form of a lawsuit,' and district library Director Eli Neiburger, in response to critics, said the proposals aren't giving away the property to developers. In tragic news, a 25-year-old father of four, DaJon Ryans, died in an Ypsilanti shooting. Two men have since been arrested and charged, but not with murder. Reporter Jordyn Pair is revealing the details. At the University of Michigan, the Board of Regents agreed to fire a professor in the School of Music, Theatre and Dance, and two Ann Arbor institutions — one of them UM — were awarded millions for startups and entrepreneurs. To end, as I always like to do, on a softer note: 11-year-old Tucker Lambert of Saline Township is doing some heavy hauling to fund his UM ambitions. Farmers' pains — field rocks — are dollars for the quiet, young entrepreneur. Enjoy the Art Fair! I might have to return. I keep thinking of these small, ceramic vases sold by a Florida artist... If you would rather not, I hear there are a whole lot of chicken dinners available this weekend in Manchester. Tribune News Service
Gulf Today
19-07-2025
- Gulf Today
Tariffs can be damaging to Hollywood's film industry
Alexis Alexanian, Tribune News Service When a country like Armenia sends a film out into the world, it's not just art. It's a way to preserve memory, to reach a scattered diaspora. Each film offers the world stories that might otherwise be forgotten. So when President Trump proposes a 100% tariff on all films 'produced in foreign lands,' the damage isn't limited to foreign competitors or outsourcing studios. It threatens to shut out small nations like Armenia, for whom cinema is a lifeline. The proposal hasn't taken effect — yet. But July 9 marked a turning point in Trump's broader tariff agenda, with a deadline for reimposing sweeping trade penalties on countries deemed 'unfair.' While the situation for films remains unclear, the proposal alone has done damage and continues to haunt the industry. The tariff idea arises from the worldview that treats international exchange as a threat — and cultural expression as just another import to tax. Take 'Amerikatsi' (2022), the extraordinary recent movie by Emmy-winning actor and director Michael A. Goorjian. Inspired by his grandfather's escape from the Armenian genocide — smuggled across the ocean in a crate — the project is not just a movie; it's a universal story rooted in the Armenian experience, made possible by international collaboration and driven by a deep personal mission. Goorjian filmed it in Armenia with local crews, including people who, months later, would find themselves on the front lines of war. One was killed. Others were injured. Still, they sent him videos from the trenches saying all they wanted was to return to the set. That is the spirit a tariff like this would crush. Armenia is a democracy in a dangerous neighborhood. Its history is riddled with trauma — genocide, war, occupation — and its present is haunted by threats from neighboring authoritarian regimes. But even as bombs fall and borders close, its people create. Films like 'Aurora's Sunrise' (2022) and ' Should the Wind Drop' (2020) carry voices across oceans, turning pain into poetry, history into cinema. These films don't rely on wide releases. They depend on arthouses, festivals, streamers and distributors with the courage and curiosity to take a chance. A 100% tariff would devastate that. Indeed, the ripple effects of such a tariff would upend the entire global film ecosystem. Modern cinema is inherently international: A Georgian director might work with a French editor, an American actor and a German financier. So sure, many American films use crew and facilities in Canada. But international co-productions are a growing cornerstone of the global film industry, particularly in Europe. Belgium produces up to 72% of its films in partnership with foreign nations, often France. Other notable co-production leaders include Luxembourg (45% with France), Slovakia (38% with Czechia) and Switzerland (31% with France). These partnerships are often driven by shared language, which is why the US is also frequently involved in co-productions with Britain as well as Canada. Israel too has leaned into this model, using agreements with countries such as France, Germany and Canada to gain access to international audiences and funding mechanisms. The US government cannot unmake this system and should not try to do so. To penalise 'foreign-made' films is to punish Americans too — artists, producers and distributors who thrive on collaboration. You can't build a wall around storytelling. Supporters of the tariff argue it protects American workers. But Hollywood is already one of the most globalised industries on Earth, and the idea that it suffers from too many foreign films is absurd. If anything, it suffers from too few. The result of this policy won't be a thriving domestic market — but a quieter, flatter, more parochial one. A landscape where the next 'Amerikatsi' never gets seen, where a generation of Armenian American youth never discovers their history through a movie screen. If America still wants to lead in the 21st century — not just militarily and economically but morally — it should lead through culture and avoid isolation. Stories like 'Amerikatsi' remind us why that matters. A film that begins with a boy smuggled in a crate across the ocean ends with a message of joy and resilience. That's not just Armenian history — it's American history too. It cannot be separated. Unless we want that kind of storytelling priced out of our cinemas (and off our streaming platforms), we must keep the doors open. For America to turn its back on stories like these would be a betrayal of everything film can be. And it would impoverish American society too. That way lies not greatness but provinciality.
Gulf Today
24-03-2025
- Gulf Today
Ballerini on turning 30, 'The Voice' and power of vulnerability
Holly Alvarado, Tribune News Service Kelsea Ballerini has spent the better part of the past decade making her mark on country music. With a voice that's as tender as it is commanding, she's proven her ability to navigate heartache, healing, and hope through her music. But now, as she steps onto arena stages across the country and into the high-profile role of coach on 'The Voice,' Ballerini is pushing herself in new, bold directions. 'I've always believed that growth comes from stepping outside of what's comfortable,' Ballerini shared during a recent phone call. 'Whether it's taking on something like 'The Voice' or playing to a crowd that might not typically listen to country music, it's a challenge that excites me. It pushes me to be bolder in my music and more fearless in my performances.' Ahead of a recent performance at LA's Arena, Ballerini reflected on the unique energy of performing in the city. 'I think shows in cities like that, especially where I have so many friends — I've gotten to spend so much time in LA, whether it be playing shows or doing 'The Voice' over the last 10 years — and just discovering that there's such a love of all kinds of music there, including country, I think it's been really beautiful,' she shared. 'When there's shows in places like Nashville, New York, or LA, where I have so many friends and familiar faces in the audience, it makes me peacock a little bit and really be on my game.' Ballerini's new role on 'The Voice' has also stretched her in ways she didn't expect. For those unfamiliar with the reality TV series, 'The Voice' is a singing competition where contestants perform a blind audition for a panel of celebrity coaches, hoping to earn a spot on their team. If a coach likes what they hear, they push a button that rotates their chair toward the stage, inviting the artist to join their team. But, if more than one coach pushes the button, the power shifts to the artist, who can choose which coach they'd like to work with. As a coach, Ballerini's role is to guide and mentor aspiring artists, helping them hone their vocal skills, stage presence, and confidence. Joining Adam Levine, John Legend and Michael Bublé, she admitted to feeling a bit out of her element at first. 'I was nervous — I knew it was something I wanted to do, but I grew up on their music,' she explained, noting how she was definitely intimidated to work alongside (and in competition with) such seasoned artists. 'I was like, how am I supposed to fight for these artists against (coaches) that I'm like 'fair enough, I would pick them.' But honestly, they really rallied around me. We formed a group chat on day one, and there was not a single day that we left set without someone sending a message like, 'Great job today,' or 'That was an amazing artist you got.' There was always a level of encouragement.' Following in Kelly Clarkson's footsteps as a coach wasn't something Ballerini took lightly either. Clarkson herself emerged from a singing competition — 'American Idol' back in 2002 — which gives her a uniquely relatable perspective. Having been both a contestant and a successful coach, Clarkson offered Ballerini grounding advice. 'Kelly is my queen, yes, for every single thing,' Ballerini said with a laugh. 'I called her when I got the offer, and I was like, 'Dude, I'm nervous. What do I do?' And she told me, 'The whole point of the show is to lift people up. They want everyone to look their best and sound their best. That's why the show is special.' That helped me so much going into it.' Taking Clarkson's words to heart, Ballerini has embraced the whirlwind of responsibilities, seeing the overlap between her tour and her television role as, what she likes to call, 'a beautiful chaos.' 'Luckily, we pretaped it, so there are some nights where I'll be getting ready to go on stage, and we'll have it on in the background, and then I'll go on stage, and I'll be like, 'I'm on The Voice right now.' It's everything at once, but in the most beautiful way,' she said. Turning 30 has also been a pivotal moment for Ballerini. 'I think my Saturn return kicked my butt a little bit,' she admitted. 'There's a level of shedding your skin when you turn 30 and not being so shy or bashful to step into that womanhood. Especially as a woman in the South, in country music, there's a lot of taboos to that. I think I've just started to not let that pressure fall on my shoulders as heavily.' That willingness to shed expectations has also extended to her openness about mental health, a topic she doesn't shy away from. Partnering with Feel Your Way Through Foundation, Ballerini has helped raise nearly $100,000. Beyond that, she's been vocal in interviews and on social media about her own struggles with anxiety and self-doubt, emphasizing the need to destigmatise mental health.
