Arts & Culture

Unspoken grammar rules, and the fight against green squiggly lines

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Sun, 19 May 2013 12:43:00 +0000

For most of us, the Microsoft Word spell checker is a godsend. It helps correct our failed attempt for spelling words like vinaigrette or renaissance.

However, Word's grammar checker is a whole different story. Mostly because of that cursed green squiggly line under a word that signals we've made a grammar error. One of the most frequent and frustrating corrections involves the correct use of that or which.

University of Michigan Professor of English Anne Curzan and host Rina Miller discuss these unspoken grammar rule snafus on this edition of "That's What They Say."

"The grammar checker is trying to enforce a rule about that and which, which English speakers have never followed, as far as we can tell," says Curzan.

The East Lansing Art Festival celebrates its 50th anniversary this weekend

Steve Carmody — Sat, 18 May 2013 16:04:00 +0000

Up to 70 thousand people are expected to attend this weekend’s East Lansing Art Festival.

The festival marks its 50th anniversary this year. The festival started back in the mid-1960’s, when a group of local artists simply wanted to hold a small show along Grand River Avenue. It’s grown a lot since then.

Corinn Van Wyck is the festival’s director. She says organizers try to focus on the quality of art, not just quantity.

Families of Flight 255 victims wait 26 years to hear sole survivor speak

Kate Wells — Fri, 17 May 2013 23:56:32 +0000

This summer will mark 26 years since Northwest Flight 255 crashed onto the highway outside Detroit Metro Airport.

One hundred fifty-seven people were killed. The wreckage stretched across half a mile.

Only one person survived: a four-year-old girl with brown eyes, a chipped tooth, and purple nail polish.

Her name is Cecelia Cichan, and this week, she’s breaking her long public silence about the crash.

'Gilda's Big Night Out' to raise money for cancer support groups

Stateside Staff — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:40:29 +0000

Gilda's Club is an organization that consists of groups across the country which provide laughter and support to cancer patients.

The organization is named after Gilda Radner. She was one of the brightest faces in comedy. The University of Michigan alum was in the original cast of Saturday Night Live. She passed away from ovarian cancer in 1989.

One of her close friends and partner in comedy, Allen Zweibel, spoke with Michigan Radio's Cynthia Canty about Radner.

The Living Room: Memories from a high school dance

Stateside Staff — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:38:29 +0000

In May's segment of The Living Room, Allison Downey tells the story of a high school dance she went to that ended a little differently than she expected.

The Living Room is a monthly series produced by Zak Rosen and Allison Downey.

In today's segment, we hear Allison's song 'All that Matters.'

It was produced & engineered by Michael Crittenden at Mackinaw Harvest Studios in Grand Rapids

John Austin: Electric bass

Rod Capps: Lead guitar

Brian Morril: Percussion

Annie Capps: Harmony vocals

Allison: Lead vocals and rhythm guitar

To hear the story, click the link above.

Willow Run Bomber Plant could be a new home for the Yankee Air Museum

Stateside Staff — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:09:37 +0000

When you think about what it took for the United States and our Allies to win World War II, it wasn't just up to the troops fighting in Europe and the Pacific, the war was waged on the home front as well.

And a big chunk of real estate in Ypsilanti was one of the most important spots in the nation for that war effort: the Willow Run Bomber Plant.

It was built by the Ford Motor Company to turn out B-24 Liberator bombers.

At the peak of its war effort, Willow Run turned out one Liberator bomber every 59 minutes. And 42,000 workers kept those bombers coming, earning the plant its nickname of "The Arsenal of Democracy."

Willow Run was also where Rose Will Monroe hired on to work as a riveter. She appeared in a film aimed at getting women out of the home and into the plants to help the war effort, and that led to the iconic “Rosie the Riveter” image and hit song.

These days, the future of Willow Run is cloudy.

It had been a GM plant, but Willow Run was discarded by GM during its bankruptcy woes in 2009.

Now, the Yankee Air Museum is hoping to buy a good-sized piece of the historic plant for a new home, thus saving the plant from the wrecker's ball and helping grow the museum.

Dennis Norton, founder of the Yankee Air Museum, and Ray Hunter, the current Chair of the Museum as well as a pilot and former Air Force colonel, joined us today.

Listen to the full interview above.

Delivering choral music to Metro Detroit

Stateside Staff — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:04:55 +0000

Building and strengthening ties all throughout Southeastern Michigan one song at a time - that's the mission of the Community Chorus of Detroit.

It has only been on the scene since 2010, but in that comparatively short time the chorus has attracted singers from over 35 zip codes. They converge on Detroit to bring choral music to audiences in that area.

The Community Chorus of Detroit’s Executive Director and Board President, Diane Linn and the Artistic Director and Conductor, Dr. Edward Maki-Schramm joined us in the studio.

Follow the link below to listen to two samples of their music.

http://www.communitychorusofdetroit.com/audio-video

Listen to the full interview above.

'Folktales and Lore' hail from all corners of the Great Lakes

Stateside Staff — Wed, 15 May 2013 21:18:20 +0000

When you dive into the treasure trove of stories from our state, you'll find a rich collection from many traditions: Native American, French, English, Finnish, and more.

The folktales, legends, and lore of Michigan can now be found in one book: Michigan Legends: Folktales and Lore from the Great Lakes State by Sheryl James.

James's book includes tales about haunted Fort Wayne, Paul Bunyan, and the Western Reserve Ghost, to name a few.

To hear more about the stories, click the link above.

Fatal plane crash survivors appear in 'Sole Survivor'

Stateside Staff — Wed, 15 May 2013 21:12:15 +0000

If you lived in Michigan in the summer of 1987, you might remember one news story that was set apart from the others.

It was the evening of August 16 when Northwest flight 255 took off from Detroit Metro Airport, headed to Phoenix. Moments after the plane took off, the MD-80 tilted slightly -- enough for the left wing to clip a light pole, shear the top off of a rental car building, and crash where Middlebelt meets I-94.

154 people aboard the plane and two on the ground were killed. But there was one survivor: four-year-old Cecilia Cichan.

Farmer's markets may soon offer a new attraction: wine tasting

Stateside Staff — Wed, 15 May 2013 20:04:24 +0000

If you like to frequent farmer's markets, you may soon have something new to explore amidst the stands of fresh produce, baked goods, jams and jellies, flowers and plants.

A bill moving through Lansing would allow wine tasting at farmer's markets.

What's this mean for Michigan wineries? Who gets to offer their wines for tastings at farmer's markets? And what's it mean for consumers?

Dan McCole, an assistant professor of tourism at Michigan State University, joined us today.

Listen to the full interview above.

Giving the gift of music to at-risk kids in Grand Rapids

Jennifer Guerra — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Every once and a while, our State of Opportunity team receives a story pitch from someone in the community who's trying to make a difference in the lives of disadvantaged youth. This is one of those stories. It’s a piece about boys, girls, and the universal language of music.

Can American politics learn something from religion?

Stateside Staff — Tue, 14 May 2013 20:56:11 +0000

One of the most frustrating aspects of living in American in 2013 is the way we seem to have lost a sense of being on the same team.

Instead of thinking of ourselves as Americans or Michiganders, it's all too often Democrats or Republicans, Christian, or Muslim.

This deep sense of division leads to gridlock in Congress and in Lansing.

Why the art world is freaking out over a house in Detroit

Kate Wells — Tue, 14 May 2013 01:56:09 +0000

“Huh.”

That is a completely understandable reaction the first time people see the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit’s new exhibit. It’s called “Mobile Homestead.”

The "work of art" is a mobile house, a suburban-looking, one-story, white ranch house. It's the kind of house they've seen a million times before.

So why is the modern art world, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal breathlessly declaring this house one of the most significant, world-renowned pieces of 2013?

Sigur Ros, The National to headline in Detroit for first ever U.S. festival

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 13 May 2013 21:23:26 +0000

Sigur Ros, The National, and Deerhunter are just a few of the twenty artists slated to play at the Laneway Festival at the Meadow Brook Music Festival this September.

Here's Laneway's announcement with the full lineup:

The comma problem

Rina Miller — Sun, 12 May 2013 12:00:00 +0000

The comma may be a very small punctuation mark, but people often have very strong feelings about how it should, and should not be used.

On this edition of "That's What They Say," host Rina Miller and University of Michigan Professor Anne Curzan discuss the Oxford comma, semicolons and breaking rules.

Listen to the full segment above.