16 years ago in Metro Times: The Michigan Militia Coalition is in its infancy in Beth Hawkins' "Patriot Games." In the northern Michigan town of Pellston, a Baptist minister and a group of citizens meet in a city park armed with semi-automatics. The logic is to get people to start paying attention to their anti-government group. Just six months after the Michigan Militia began to take off, brigades have cropped up in 63 out of the state's 83 counties. Their fears of government seizure of personal weapons are provoked by two major events: the deaths of Randy Weaver's wife and child in 1992 and the Waco, Texas, massacre in 1993. This Michigan militancy believes confrontation with the federal government is inevitable. Sixteen years later, we saw arrests of Michigan militia members, charged with attempted murder; the presence of militias does not seem to be fading away anytime soon. What was happening: Nine Inch Nails at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Larry Nozero Quintet at Baker's Keyboard Lounge and the Insane Clown Posse at the Majestic.
5 years ago in Metro Times: German-born artist and Detroit resident Christine Murdock creates pen-and-ink drawings of famous Detroit landmarks in Rebecca Mazzei's "Drawing in the City." Murdock is reacting to an exhibition titled Shrinking Cities, an artistic interpretation of the fall and decay of Detroit. So she decides to focus her artistic endeavors into a publication featuring the pen-and-ink drawings depicting such places as Grand Central Station and Belle Isle Conservatory. Her more rigid black-and-white Detroit series contrasts with her freer, abstract European pieces. This is not because she finds Detroiters stiff or unyielding, but because it captures her experience living in a culturally different environment. The publication project, Images in Stone, is her last project based in Detroit. Today, with Detroit's burgeoning local art scene, we can expect many more fresh perspectives on the Motor City. What was happening: Busta Rhymes at the Royal Oak Music Theatre, Dresden Dolls at St. Andrew's Hall and Aerosmith at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
