Illinois people describe Michigan dialect

Illinois people, are you cannibals? Geez, we'd NEVER eat fudgies. Ew. Gross. Post "lol" in the comments if you get this.

The video shows a lot of things we say but the IL folks don't quite get it :)

My week: June 26 ed.

This vacation week in the US's theme was LAZY. It was so sluggish that it could be pronounced lay-zee. Seriously, except for a few bursts of activity, I was sloth-like. After my spring, I needed it.

I did attend a foraging wild foods class with my brothers in another town. Last year, I started learning about wild foods, mostly because I like the idea of enjoying foods that don't come in a package at the grocery store, but I'm too lazy and gone too often to have my own garden. Foraging is great because nature does the gardening for you.

We learned about plantain (not to be confused with the banana-like thingies), willow bark, and my favorite of the evening, mulberries. I'd only known of it from the song Pop Goes the Weasel ("all around the mulberry bush, the monkey chased the weasel") so it was surreal to find out that we actually have them in my home state, and just growing out in a public park, no less. I had never eaten them before. They're tasty and very sweet; the white ones are especially sweet. Even better yet, I later found a bush of them on my parent's road.

After the foraging, we dined and (the brothers) drank at a brew pub in town. One of my very good friends is from this town and I remember how it used to be hardly anything. If her family needed anything major beyond groceries, they usually had to drive 45 minutes to an hour to the bigger cities (my hometown included). Now the town has a brew pub. Wonders never cease.

During the weekdays, I did a lot of lounging around the house with some shopping trips and lunches out with my family. We introduced my aunt to a Thai restaurant that we used to visit when I was completing a practicum in college.

On Friday, my brother drove the two of us up north and we camped in Boyne City. Ah, had I missed lakes! We watched the sun set and the next day, ate (GOOD) diner food, which is one thing I miss from the US. [One can have jelly or a pat of butter and there's no charge for it nor is it one made to feel as if one has received a rare gift, unlike in Deutschland.]

As we walked around Boyne City and visited the silly tourist stores, I realized then (and later on during the vacation) just how Michigan people are obsessed with our mitten-shaped state. My favorite t-shirt is the one that says "Great Lakes: unsalted, shark free." I like that very much as I prefer to swim somewhere that does not have animals that want to kill people and where I don't have to slick salt off my skin later.

The next day, my brother took us out jet skiing. I also had missed that very much as it combines time spent on the lake in an exhilarating manner. Younger brother and I used to take several trips a summer to jet ski and it's some pleasant sibling time.

On Sunday, we drove back home and we stopped at his favorite Mexican restaurant, Herradura's Bar & Grill, in Cadillac. I'm always game for Mexican food and was happy to eat some that didn't include the sugar/curry combination that's popular where I live in Germany.

It's a great time for Michigan music

I enjoy listening to music and there are some bands that really have caught my fancy, but I can't say that I'm a total audio junkie. However, this month has yielded some news of upcoming releases from several of my favorite musicians, who also happen to be from my home state of Michigan. I'm super excited about this!

Before I get to information about the new releases, though, I recently heard that Dixon, of Dixon's Violin, made his entire catalog available for free to listeners as a special gift. He plays ethereal, haunting, and beautiful electric violin that he loops to create exquisite soundscapes. I've seen him at several venues, joining my friends as we sat under the stars, listening in awe. You can check out his collection on Band Camp with this link. Like his music? Download some and consider making a donation.

On the new release front, I joined my brother and sister-in-law in being excited to wait for the new release from the Crane Wives, an indie-folk band from our hometown of Grand Rapids. While the band is starting to tour nationally, it still feels like a hometown celebration of great music to welcome their new release, which is called Coyote Stories, available for pre-order here. We've attended their concerts, which are just amazing and great energy. My family members have even chatted with the band before a show, not as any special privilege, just as a result of the band members' small-town roots and approachability. I have a special fondness for the band because they were playing at the New Year's Eve party at a local bar. I went with my siblings and it was the last big event we enjoyed together before I left to live in Germany. We were dancing around the table and jamming to the music. What a wonderful memory!

To top off the awesomeness of this month, Tunde Olaniran, a native of Flint, is releasing his next album, Transgressor, in August. I'm not even sure how to begin describing his music (other than to say that it's awesome) so I'll quote the description from his SoundCloud page: "The fictional lovechild of Prince, Kanye, and Robyn, Tunde Olaniran crafts hyper-modern pop music." Even NPR is buzzing about his upcoming album; check out the article here.

The cool thing about Tunde is that not only is he a great singer, he's also talented in many other areas, creating many of his own costumes and jewelry, as well as working on music videos too. He's also a social activist. How many artists are so multi-faceted like this?

It's been a great summer for some local Michigan music. Why not try out some of our local sounds?


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Please note: this article was entirely my opinion and I received absolutely no incentives for writing this. I'm just totally geeked about some fantastic music to get me through the rest of the summer!

Tunde Olaniran: mesmirizing music

A few years ago, I learned of Tunde Olaniran's music and I'm glad that I did. He's a Flint artist who's not only a good singer, but he's also gives a great stage show too.

It's hard to for me to describe his music, which does include rap, but many other genres too. I think that's what I like Olaniran so much; his music skips around different genres and even singing styles within the same song and it's not a boring listen. His music videos have an art/film school vibe to them, with a possible visit from the school of dance; Olaniran is mesmerizing. It's always cool to see some of my old stomping grounds in his hometown of Flint, Michigan, too.

His profile on Sound Cloud describes him as "combining a magnetic presence, lyrical dexterity, genre-devouring style, and a glam-rock, DIY performance aesthetic..." Also, his profile notes,"...the fictional lovechild of Prince, Kanye, and Robyn, Tunde Olaniran crafts hyper-modern pop music that will make you laugh, cry, and flail about like nobody's business."

Music so beautiful it could make you cry

Even though I love my life here in Germany, there are some things from home that I love and miss. Of course my family and friends from there at the top of the list. Another thing I miss are the festivals

I've attended. There are two of them that are almost perfect and feel like home for me. They both have a great vibe and amazing performers.

 

I was thinking of the festival and decided to play some music from Dixon's Violin, which brought back wonderful memories of sitting together quietly with my friends, all of us transfixed by his music. Dixon is a Michigan digital violin artist who builds beautiful, haunting music by recording what he plays live, looping it, and adding to it. He calls himself a "Musical Shaman," which is extremely apt. It's hard to put into words the feeling to be sitting in a huge group, captivated by his music, but the energy and the emotion is amazing. Plus, he's an overall nice guy, humble and approachable, with a soothing vibe.

My mom gets in on the mannequin thing

My mom is funny (well, I find her funny at least, probably because we have basically the same sense of humor). She knows that I like to take pictures of mannequins during my travels, so she sent me a picture of one during her travels in Grand Rapids:

I asked her what was wrong with the mannequin. Apparently there isn't anything wrong with him; he doesn't look beaten up nor has his facial hair been drawn in with a Sharpie marker. I was almost disappointed (that's my m.o. for mannequin photo taking), but then I laughed because I love that my mom's getting in on the weird photos. I also think she composed the picture rather well; don't you? It makes one wonder what the mannequin is pondering. Good work, Mom!

The flowers are a-bloomin'

When I see forsythia flowers, I smile. They are the harbinger of spring for me (well, after crocuses and daffodils). Spring is my favorite season, for many reasons, especially considering that it ushers the end of cold and gloomy winter.

Forsythia also make me think of my family. My mom has it in her backyard in Michigan. My aunt, who lives in a different state, recently "forced" some forsythia. Even though her state is a bit warmer than Michigan is, it still has been cold there. She brought some forsythia inside and is coaxing them to bloom. She placed them in an heirloom vase, which is actually a shell casing sent by our cousins who weathered World War II in Holland! It's a strangely handsome vase.

I am seeing forsythia here in Germany, too. I went for a walk this weekend and saw a rather ratty-looking bush with flowers. Of course I had to share that picture with my family! It's been so warm here that they are blooming naturally.

Meanwhile, in Michigan...

My family, both nuclear and extended, has a fond spot for animals. My mom and my aunt have been busy feeding the squirrels and birds who visit their backyards this winter.

My aunt took a picture of this cute little squirrel. We thought he seemed a bit cold since he's clutching his little hands. I worked on the picture and now I think he's warm enough. Aren't you jealous of my Paint skillz?

Oh dear, it's so cold out in Michigan!

In Holland...Michigan

Check out the "Dutch" clogs in this photo from Holland, Michigan. Holland was named after the European Holland because of so many Dutch immigrants settling in the new world town. Every year in Holland (the city), the famous Tulip Time Festival takes place in the beginning of May. I hadn't been to Tulip Time since I was a kid, even though it's only about half an hour from my family's house. In 2011 I finally went again, this time with my friend, who's not from Michigan, because she wanted to do some touristy stuff before she moved on to her next adventure. I'm glad that I went because I moved about 18 months later myself.

I liked this store's window display because of the Dutch clogs with the Nike swoop. There is even a wooden shoe factory in Holland, among other kitschy tourist traps.

Even better yet about our visit? We watched some Dutch clogging, then headed toward the other side of town and drank horchata and had elotes at the Mexican festival. :) Sorry, Netherlands, but Mexican food is far tastier to us. Holland  in Michigan now is home to many Spanish speakers, which is kind of funny when one thinks of the actual Netherlands because at one time they were ruled under the Spanish crown.

Restaurant Review: Steak Hut, Detroit, Michigan

**Update: Steak Hut closed in 2013 or so. It's going to be replaced with something even more hipstery. Yay gentrification?

I'm feeling a bit of nostalgia for my old stomping grounds, so I thought, why not write about one of the restaurants there that I enjoyed?

Steak Hut
1551 W. Lafayette
Detroit, MI

One thing I love about Detroit is its grit. That is a strange thing to love, but the grit is both physical and metaphorical. Detroit has been battered over the years but its magic is in its grit, for sure. I've seen and done things there that would not be possible anywhere else; that's a good thing. The grittiness both allows and encourages such a thing.

Remember, a bit of grit can turn into a pearl, given the right conditions. Steak Hut is one bit of grit in the clamshell that is Detroit. Ooh baby, if you want an awesome dive restaurant, here you go! Steak Hut of course has on offer plenty of fried foods, breakfast delights, and divey diner food.

The menu is reasonably simple and focuses on a diner staple: tasty breakfast. My friend from Hamtramck had been raving about the diner and said we had to go and eat what I heard as "Eminem" pancakes. I thought, how quaint is it that the diner named pancakes after Detroit's most famous rapper? Imagine my "oh, duh!" moment when I read the menu and realized that they were M&M pancakes! I really didn't think that such a thing was possible. Of course, I had to try one of these things. They usually are only sold as a stack but since I didn't really want to eat a heap of what basically amounts to candy encased in white flour, I politely asked if I could just have buy one pancake. The staff at the restaurant are quite friendly and were happy to let me have just one. Let me tell you, just one is more than enough! It's not that it didn't taste good; in fact, it was delicious, but I felt that I was slipping into a sugar coma after just one as it was quite a large pancake. If you want to eat something surreal, order one.

Their other breakfast food is good, too, and inexpensive; it's possible to order a breakfast platter for about $5 and it's cooked fresh in front of you. My fellow diners ordered various dishes during our trips there and were not disappointed.

The restaurant itself is in a somewhat desolate area, near a leather company. The restaurant is a small, unassuming brick building. Inside is a no-frills interior that of course could use a remodeling, but just accept it as part of the restaurant's charm. It's not dirty but it's not super clean, either. It's a small restaurant so keep in mind that it can get a bit cramped at times...or you can be the only one there. Such is Detroit!

Steak Hut isn't just about cheap, tasty food in a gritty neighborhood; it also becomes a community gathering place, especially on Sundays when there is free, live music. This isn't just some high school talent show of music, either; actual, recognizable bands have played, such as Black Jake & the Carnies. The last time I saw them, I was jamming along with 300 other concert goers in the stage at Wheatland; see below! How awesome would it be to listen to this music while eating a pancake stuffed with M&;Ms?

So, if you want to sample some of Detroit's grit, as well as some M&;M (or, heck, if you want to call them Eminem) pancakes, motor on down to the Steak Hut.

 

Black Jake & the Carnies, at Wheatland Music Festival

Whoa. Writing this post is making me feel just a tad homesick; I'm not going to lie.

Sign edits

We were biking on a trail in rural Michigan (well, the town in a rural area, I guess). Some person felt the need to edit the sign:

Farther down the trail we saw a sign that a bird felt the need to edit. I don't know what's up with that trail!