Secret Guide to Ypsilanti

Secret Guide in the LJ world

2005-03-23T20:29:00.000-08:00

Props to Ashley for creating a collection point in LJ land.

Contributors

2005-03-23T14:02:00.000-08:00

Ashley Overkleeft and Josh Benner are both planning to help with the guide.

Ypsilanti Eyeball Wiki Page is being used as a collaboration document for design, as well as this blog contains some design notes.

Planz Planz Planz

2005-03-22T10:40:00.000-08:00

I found a nifty piece of software called "Datenator" that is an open-source PHP/MySql project on Sourceforge. It looks as if it will fill the bill for the calendar, except it doesn't have a category field. I think that feature could be easily added.

Login for site can extend to the calendar if the user is verified.

The top of the site can have rotating banner adverts but we should not allow animated banners or ones with javascript because they're annoying. An un-logged-in user will not see any banners for establishments that offer adult activites, bars, strip clubs, etc. When a user logs in, then they should tell their birthdate and if < 18, they do not get to see adult-oriented adverts. Plus the user can check if they want to see adult-oriented adverts. The default if > 18 will be to see the adult stuff, but they can go to their login data and customize to filter out certain categories.

If a user clicks on the banner, it should record their click-into and we should keep site stats to show advertisers hits.

Initially, advertisement should be offered for free -- say for the first year of the guide, or maybe a 30 day trial period. If the advertiser gets no hits, then they can elect not to advertise.

Users don't get to post events until they have been verified as an authorized event lister. They probably need to be in a phone conversation with a staff member of SGTY.

Tentative layout for Secret Guide

2005-03-19T11:19:00.000-08:00

Click Here to See the Layout

Commercial hosting

2005-03-18T13:28:00.000-08:00

I went ahead and bought a domain name secretguidetoypsilanti.org and server space from network solutions. It was the quickest/dirtiest thing to do. 1gb/10gb package.
25 emails: kirk, misha, deirdre, info, webmaster so far.

Commercial Calendar Software

2005-03-18T11:15:00.000-08:00

I signed up for this on a 30-day trial basis. It looks pretty cool and is well-designed as far as I can tell.

Calendar Address: http://www.calendarwiz.com/secretguidetoypsilanti

Contributors

2005-03-17T12:28:00.000-08:00

Confirmed

Misha Web/Sql / Designer
Deirdre Web/Sql/Admin
Kirk Proj-Manager / Designer
Tara Data-source, Fact-checker, Graphic Design

Potential

Ashley Web/Sql/Scripting
Josh Web/Sql/Scripting/Bot automation
Suman Unix-admin-integrator / maint scripting
Dennis Unix-admin-integrator / maint scripting
Mark-D Community-contact brainstorming

Progress...

2005-03-16T12:41:00.000-08:00

Misha and I met this afternoon at Mi Hut Caffe.

Planning Meeting tonight at Mi Hut Caffe

2005-03-15T06:34:00.000-08:00

5:30P.M.

Mi Hut Caffe

Secret Guide to Ypsilanti on the A3ROOTS.

Try this thing.

2005-03-14T12:11:00.000-08:00

This might be pretty close to what we're looking for:

http://www.a3roots.com:8080/a3roots/

What should be done about performance art and studio venues and ordinances?

2005-03-13T16:32:00.000-08:00

The city officials go after any experimental art performance venues that people try to start in Ypsilanti. It seems like a similar process for each attempt at pulling together shoestring performance art space. Artists with a dream try to start something and then the city gets wind of it. They discover some technicality to block progress of the activity that will require a significant expenditure of money, often beyond the capacity of the creative people who are trying to get it going.

There are several things that have to happen.

The artists who try these things need to be made aware of all the difficulties in getting something going up-front and start with a plan that takes into account the code requirements before proceeeding.
The city needs to develop a more flexible and rational process for assessing risk that goes beyond heavy handed application of codes. For example, there's no reason that an empty metal warehouse with nothing inside to burn and many routes of egress can not be used on a per-event basis to hold performance art events, given appropriate review.
Certain codes may need to be changed to accomodate special cases for new types of performance art, including the way that they are presented, i.e., a new set of guidelines needs to be adopted that accurately weigh real risk factors and are not just blanket regulations to cover maximum possible risks, thus often adding prohibitive cost.
Artists should develop beter event planning and and develop standard plans that provide explanation of risks and mitigation strategies. These can be developed, refined, reused and customized to match specific circumstances.
The community needs to be educated to the importance of supporting the arts, and local angel funding and grants to pay for site improvements with public and private money.

Document Processes

2005-03-13T10:28:00.000-08:00

Discussion with Naia about how the city sent notice for Depot Town Studios that they couldn't operate

We talk briefly about how the city seems to have a lot of people who are trying to fight to keep Ypsi from being a cool city. But part of the Secret Guide will be about guiding people through the process of dealing with the city so that the normal thing that happens to artists: They try to start up a gallery or something and they think that the city won't notice, then after about two events somebody rats to the city and the building inspector gives a notice and they have to close down because they don't have an overhead sprinkler or something like that. Somebody needs to document the process so that people won't invest all this time and energy into their art venue projects only to find the city closing it down right away.

Sitting in the Ugly Mug

2005-03-12T14:46:00.000-08:00

I am sitting in the Ugly Mug with Michelle who is a student in Urban Planning. She is working on a paper about Keego Harbor's 10 year city plan. She's not finding there to be a huge abundance of information.

I explained how I was trying to work on a guide to Ypsilanti that included a schedule page as it's centerpiece, however, provides historical continuity (rather than being a weekly monthly or quarterly publication.) She seemed to understand the idea of keeping information alive beyond the usual cycle of newsworthyness as is presented by periodicals.

The Guide is supposed to be a tool for people wanting to use the city, either as a living aid to find the usual resources one needs to survive in a community, to help start businesses, to select where to live and to find things to do, both entertainment and community service.

Planning the Secret Guide

2005-03-12T09:49:00.000-08:00

Naia, Misha and Tom Barton, the core of Black Sky were in the new coffee hangout, Mi Hut when I arrived at 9:30A.M. They had already informed me of the chagrin of Mike Marino's planned Saturday Evening gig being kiboshed by the city's policy of preventing anything resembling a cool city from happening. The building is metal. There's nothing to burn inside. Lighten up you city bastards. Are going to try and have a cool city or not. Naia, Misha and Tom were planning a field trip to Elderly Music in Lansing to get a new Bass for Naia. The one she has is kind of crap.

I have a planning meeting for the Skunkworks group at 1:30, at Mi Hut just in a little bit to discuss the various Kirk Kitchen projects including the Secret Guide.

Currently, the plan is to have a calendar being the centerpiece of the guide, however other views may be possible. Eventually I'd like to see a subscription service offered to deliver custom content to users who pay.

I realized that in my haste I forgot the battery charger for the laptop, so I rushed on home. I dropped by Tom and Mary's house to give and receive the latest town gossip. They're not out in circulation much so I'm more of a giver than a taker of gossip from them folks, however, they have a lot of historical information, and their relatives friends and neighbors get hep to some stuff here and there.

Spoken Word in Little Ypsi

2005-03-10T15:32:00.000-08:00

The amazing Chadness and Kirkypoo will top off an open mic night at the Natural Canvass, 613 N. Main Street, in Ann Arbor's Little Ypsi district.

FRIDAY, April 8^th, 2005, 8:00P.M.

Bring your strange offerings and be prepared to be strangely strange. Explore the outer limits of your inner space.

Film and Video Stuff

2005-03-10T15:28:00.000-08:00

Hello Potter-Belmar Labs Fans,
Tomorrow night is an event you won't want to miss
as your hometown favorites will be competing against
several other A/V acts--
check it out...

SHOWDOWN
at Sync '05
Friday March 11, 8pm
University of Michigan Duderstat Center

Bear witness as wily media desperados face-off in this showdown of sound and image mixing skills.

Masterful VJs juLiE mEitZ, Sarah Hughs, and Technovision Detroit lay it on the line in a three-way duel to the beats of DJ Dr. Ron.

AV superstars bubblegone + verzerren, Dr. Zizz & the Earthwurms, the Shenanigans, and Potter-Belmar Labs improvise sound-image responses to subject categories announced at the event.

A night that will prove to be as much a showcase as a showdown will end in an awards ceremony and all-out jam-session.

Judges: Oona Mosna, Jeph Foust, Chris McNamara

MC: Mike Woodruf

Referee: Vinh Nguyen

Round Announcer: Tim Furstnau

weblinks:
juLiE mEitZ
Sarah Hughs
Technovision Detroit
bubblegone + verzerren
Dr. Zizz & the Earthwurms
the Shenanigans
Potter-Belmar Labs
DJ Dr. Ron

organized by Leslie Raymond
facilitated by Vinh Nguyen
with assistance from Tim Furstnau

Leslie Raymond
aka vjFutureWorkerGirl
http://potterbelmar.org/fwg

_____________________
upcoming!

SHOWDOWN
at Sync '05
Friday March 11, 8pm
University of Michigan Duderstat Center
http://www.potterbelmar.org/fwg/gigs/2005/showdown.html

BrazilElectroSalon
with DJ Bob Moir
Friday March 18, 10pm
Firefly Club
http://www.potterbelmar.org/fwg/gigs/2005/brazilElectro.html

Potter-Belmar Labs: Characters
at the Ann Arbor Film Festival
Saturday March 19
Michigan Theater Main Stage
http://www.potterbelmar.org/fwg/gigs/2005/characters.html

Potter-Belmar Labs: Settings
in the Matrix Gallery storefront window
March 15-20
111 South 4th Street

Paula's Says

2005-03-09T23:19:00.000-08:00

Growing Hope needs people to help build 6 greenhouses. The food co-op needs someone to write a $60K solar system grant due March 31. Ditto Ypsi High School. The freighthouse needs people to clean, rebuild and restore. They have the money and expertise. Good luck with pre-parenting. Boxelder Acres (community supported ag on Superior Road) may be hiring this spring, if you know anyone in need of paid work.