Masculinity

Do you have a “man cave“?

Bush

How this could be—how the president of the United States could have even less “situational awareness,” as they say in the military, than the average American about the worst natural disaster in a century—is one of the more perplexing and troubling chapters in a story that, despite moments of heroism and acts of great generosity, ranks as a national disgrace. (Newsweek)

Oh, and he doesn’t read newspapers.

U-M Opens Detroit Office

The University of Michigan is opening a new facility in Detroit with a reception on Sept. 21 from 6 to 8 p.m. The center is located on Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit. The University used to maintain the Rackham Building (built by the same Rackham who funded the building in Ann Arbor), but they have leased it to Wayne State University for years and it now sits unused. It’s a gorgeous building located in the heart of the Cass Corridor area (Across the street from the DIA) and I hope that eventually the University renovates the space and utilizes it for some of their work in the city.

U-M, which was founded in Detroit in 1817, has maintained a presence in the city for years. The University has owned the Rackham Building, leased to nearby Wayne State University (WSU), for more than 60 years and maintains a Detroit admissions office, as well as other outreach programs in various parts of the city. …

Social Work researcher Larry Gant, whose work includes the Center for Urban Innovation, a partnership with Detroit community organizations seeking to provide access to wireless technology for the city is already using the facility daily.

The four-member steering committee for the project was headed by Lester Monts, senior vice provost for academic affairs, and three U-M deans: Bryan Rogers of School of Art & Design, Doug Kelbaugh of Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning, and Paula Allen-Meares of the School of Social Work.

I thought the Center for Urban Innovation mentioned above sounds quite interesting, I plan on contacting Dr. Gant to hear about what they are working on and get information about the curriculum mentioned on their website.

Roberts Protests

NOW and the Feminist Majority Foundation are sponsoring a week of protests to coincide with the confirmation hearings of John Roberts. The events include daily protests from 7 to 9 a.m. and 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. on Capitol Hill.

Shaw Photos

I walked around the neighborhood today and took some photos of the Shaw and Logan Circle area. To the left is Azi’s Cafe, a nifty little shop located just a couple blocks away we’ve written about on DCist.

See the other photos here.

Fenty Kicks Off Campaign

I attended the kick-off rally today of Adrian Fenty, a council member in D.C. running for mayor. He’s in a crowded field that includes the current mayor, Council president Linda Cropp, and a number of others. I’m not going to pick favorites, but I like Fenty’s message. His campaign is also very well organized - they had Fenty visors, Fenty water bottles, even green “Fenty for Mayor” rubber bracelets. I wonder how long the campaign blog will be “coming soon” …

His message had basically two components: the first is a skepticism towards the stadium financing deal the mayor negotiated, and the second is a promise to spend more on public education in the District.

Affinity Lab

You’ve seen their banner in Adams Morgan: “A dream and action space.” Seems pretty cool to me.