In a move taken straight
out
of
the
“Parks
and
Recreation”
playbook,
the
Michigan Secretary of State
rolled out a cool and hip rap
video
featuring
Secretary
of State Ruth Johnson and
Roo — a kangaroo — in order
to advertise the Secretary of
State’s website, expressSOS.
com.
The website is intended
to save Michigan residents a
trip to the Secretary of State’s
office,
offering
services
like
renewing
vehicle
registrations,
replacing
a
driver’s license and updating
personal information.
Johnson’s rap emphasizes
that “nobody has time to lose
and that time to lose is such
old news”. Instead of getting
in line, Johnson says, we
should follow the example of
Roo, and hop online. And, in
what seems to be an homage
to the Sugar Hill Gang’s song
“Rapper’s Delight,” Johnson
instructs
the
audience
to
“bang bang your
keyboard to the
‘boogiest’
of
beats.”
The video is a
combination
of
clips of Johnson
speaking,
whether
to
the
camera
or
in
public,
and
several other non
sequitur
stock
videos, including
a
man
playing
golf, an airplane
taking
off
and
people riding a
roller coaster.
Though
in
the
video
Johnson claims to be “rapping
to the beat,” the song can’t be
described as anything other
than rather unpleasant, or
just bizarre.
- ANDREW HIYAMA
FRIDAY THE 13TH. SOS.
puzzle by sudokusyndication.com
2 — Friday, January 13, 2017
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CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
Tech Talk: Google at
U-M
WHAT: Learn tips and tricks
for UM’s Google tools to
organize your inbox. Attendees
will learn how to create labels
and folders in order to facilitate
effecient work management.
WHO: Information and
Technology Services
WHEN: 11 a.m. to noon
WHERE: Michigan Union,
Room G312
Martin Luther King Jr.
Colloquium
WHAT: University of Chicago
Prof. Lenore A. Grenoble will
be hosting a colloquium about
speeches given by Martin Luther
King Jr. and the oratory style he
pursued.
WHO: Department of Linguistics
WHEN: 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: East Hall - Room 4448
Ribbon Cutting and
Gallery Walk
WHAT: The UM history exhibit is
opening to the pubic. Showcases
that show key moments of student
expression, politics and culture
will be on display.
WHO: LSA Bicentennial Theme
Semester
WHEN: 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
WHERE: Hatcher Graduate
Library Gallery, Room 100
Colonialism in the
Phillippines Lecture
WHAT: Prof. Rebecca McKenna
from the University of Notre
Dame Department of History
will be speaking about the
construction of a U.S. Colonial
retreat in the Philippines.
WHO: Center for Southeast
Asian Studies
WHEN: Noon to 1 p.m.
WHERE: School of Social Work
Building, Room 1636
Leadership Crisis
Challenge
WHAT: The Sanger Leadership
Center is hosting a leadership
competition for graduate students
that is designed to simulate high-
stakes crises in business settings
under the monitoring of faculty
and business leaders. The winner
will receive $5,000 scholarship.
WHO: Sanger Leadership Center
WHEN: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
WHERE: Michigan Stadium,
Jack Roth Stadium Club
Southern African
Climates
WHAT: Columbia University
Prof. Sidney Hemming will be
giving a lecture about the unique
climate of South Africa.
WHO: Department of Earth and
Environmental Sciences
WHEN: 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: C.C. Little Building,
Room 1528
Photography and
Anthropology in Iran
WHAT: Oklahoma State
University Prof. Pedram
Khosronejad will be giving a
lecture about how African slavery
was portrayed in Iran during the
Qajar period (1789-1925).
WHO: Islamic Studies Program
WHEN: 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: School of Social Work
Building, Room 1644
Searching for a
Responsive Environment
Lecture
WHAT: Dennis Crompton,
a member of the architecture
think tank Archigram, and the
Taubman College of Architecture
and Urban Planning will give a
lecture.
WHO: A. Alfred Taubman
College of Architecture and
Urban Planning
WHEN: 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
WHERE: Walgreen Drama
Center, Stamps Auditorium
THE CIRCUS IS OVE R
KEVIN ZHENG/Daily
Circus Bar & Billiards on South 1st Street is closing on Saturday night.
Ann Arbor mainstay Circus Bar and
Billiards to close over the weekend
Patrons reflect on nights of karaoke, pool and 25 cent beers ahead of final night
Thirsty patrons lined up
for 25 cent beers as billiard
balls clanked off one another,
a
solitary
singer
tackled
Styx’s “Renegade” and people
took selfies in the fun-house
mirror, it was the beginning
of a normal Wednesday night
of debauchery, revelry and
camraderie at Circus Bar &
Billiards on South First Street.
For Engineering graduate
student
Andrew
Hartman,
Circus was the ideal spot for
him and his friends to spend
an unusually quiet Wednesday
night.
“It’s a very different vibe
in having karaoke and the
pool being the main focus,”
Hartman said. “It is a fun place
to be, you get to hang out with
your friends, eat free popcorn
and play pool.”
Yet,
as
DJ
Pete
took
control of the microphone,
he
reminded
the
crowd
that
Circus,
which
has
entertained college students,
karaoke enthusiasts and pool
sharks from Ann Arbor and
Washtenaw County for over 20
years, will be closing its doors
for good on Saturday.
Circus, which occupies the
third floor of a multi-story
nightclub complex, shares a
space with the Millennium
Club on the second floor, and
the Cavern Club on the first
floor. The Cavern Club, which
elementary-school
teacher
turned bar owner Nick Easton
opened in 1997, was the first of
the three clubs to occupy the
building, with Circus the last
to open. However, despite its
recent popularity, Circus has
recently been sold to buyers
from New York.
Yet, as the Cavern Club
became a venue for large
groups to rent out and the
Millennium Club a spot for
those who wished to immerse
themselves in a world of LED
lights and disco balls, Circus
possessed a more laid-back
atmosphere
that
attracted
swaths of groups.
To longtime bartender and
former manager Race Rogers,
Circus’
unique
atmosphere
allowed
guests
a
diverse
experience.
“Hundreds of people could
come here in a night and
socialize
with
each
other
without being segregated by
tables or by segregated by too
loud of music at the dance
floor,” Rogers said. “This place
really is just a place to come
and hang out and it is one of
the only places people can do
that in Ann Arbor in that kind
of social environment.”
With
Circus’
karaoke
attracting
hundreds
of
people to the stage to sing
along
to
their
favorite
tunes, Rogers feels there is a
renewed need for a karaoke
bar in Ann Arbor’s nightlife
landscape.
“For at least five years,
we have done karaoke at
least four times a week
and it is packed almost
every night, with three to
six hundred people every
Friday and Saturday night,”
Rogers said. “With that
said, that means there will
be a lot of people looking for
a place to sing karaoke … as
karaoke is a bonding thing
to do on any given weekend
night, as you go out with a
group of friends and sing
some ridiculous songs.”
For Rogers, on a more
personal level, not only is
Ann Arbor losing a karaoke
club and bar, but he is losing
a place that he has come
to spend a large amount of
TYLER COADY
Daily Staff Reporter
ON THE DAILY: SECRETARY OF STATE RAPS WITH KANGAROOS
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