Ann Arbor

So, here I am in Ann Arbor, just south west of Detroit in Michigan. One of North America's premier University towns. This is where the university concert hall you can see on the left (the big square brown building with the portico, not the tower which rather reminds me of Senate House in London or the Parkinson Building in Leeds) is one of about 6 or 7 concert auditoriums across the (small) city for over 1000 people. Where the student orchestra won the Grammy for Best Classical Album of 2005. Where the student American Football arena has a capacity of over 110,000 (yes, I mean that, I have not accidentally added a zero. Follow the link for gobsmacking pictures).

According to some people, however, it is not only one of the premier university towns, it is one of the most overrated. Witness, for example, this blogger's difficulties in purchasing aluminium (sorry, aluminum) foil in downtown Ann Arbor. However, as s/he comments:

"There are three New Age candle stores within close walking distance of my house."

Very useful, I must say. Now everyone knows what presents they'll be getting :-) I got a very similar impression of the shops when I walked around this morning, although I have to say I am pleased to be literally one block from an enormous Borders.

Even more illuminating is the poster on the left which I saw on campus this morning. It seemed to be constructed out of some sort of biodegradable hemp. The gist of it is that you can do a course, for 10 credits, by just applying to go and live on a bio station in northern Michigan learning about nature. It says that "the best way to learn about Nature is to live in Nature". It's a tough life (well, not, actually).

Anyway, one way or another, I get the impression that this is not an area of the world where George W Bush and his consorts do particularly well electorally. Unfortunately, it is a haven of liberalism in a sea of neo-conservatism and evangelical and increasingly fundamentalist Christianity.