In this week’s Bites with Beca, Beca Welty writes, “By the time we were rolling ourselves out the front door, Maria’s was bustling with energy with every table occupied and a line queuing near the entrance. It seemed Sturgis already knew what we had only just discovered — Maria’s Mexican Restaurant is a true gem in the crown of Mexican restaurants in the community, and we will absolutely be back soon…sunny day or not.”
Category Archive: Culture
In this episode of NerdPop Radio we discuss geeky headlines since our last episode before discussing the new docuseries on Disney+ that was released for International Women’s Day — “MPower.
Naomi Ludman of Dowagiac argues that a resolution recently passed by the Case County Board of Commissioners concerning proposed gun safety laws sends “a very bad message” to potential new businesses and prospective citizens of the county.
In this week’s #MomLife column, Steph Hightree makes it all about Steph, for once. (Editor’s Note: It’s about time)
Watershed Voice columnist Charles Thomas writes, “Because ChatGPT can write essays, I thought it would be interesting to ask it to write a couple of essays for Watershed Voice about recent issues we’ve reported on. (The following) is an edited transcript of my conversation with ChatGPT, along with ChatGPT’s first work for Watershed Voice.”
Does Critical Race Theory put biblical unity at risk? Do we have to choose sides in this culture war for justice and the advancement of the Gospel? Join this Conviction in Conversation.
Welcome to Screen Tea Podcast! WARNING, WARNING, THIS EPISODE IS FILLED TO THE BRIM WITH SPOILERS for every M. Night Shyamalan movie ever made, including the film your hosts are actually covering, Knock at the Cabin!
In this poem Watershed Voice columnist Aundrea Sayrie answers the age old question, when is it OK for white folks to use the “N-word?”
Disclaimer: This poem features strong language, and subject matter that may make some uncomfortable. Reader discretion advised.
Watershed Voice columnist Aundrea Sayrie says it’s time to “throw the entire rolodex of excuses away” when it comes to not talking about racism, and have the conversation already.
“I do not understand these reactions to non-accusatory statements. How is initiating a conversation about racism deduced to divisive rhetoric? Is it willful ignorance? Banning books and Critical Race Theory from the classroom doesn’t mean The Devil’s Punchbowl doesn’t exist. That’s not how that works.”
Watershed Voice columnist Charles Thomas writes, “If you’re lonely this Valentine’s Day, I think it’s normal and even laudable to yearn for the opportunity to love in this active way and to find the kind of love that is real, harsh, and at times, even dreadful.
“But dreaming of a love perpetually frozen in the moments after a meet cute is likely to bring only sorrow. While that kind of love does exist, it’s as fragile as a soap bubble that immediately pops when hit with the faintest of breezes. When that bubble has burst, we are left with a mess that must be cleaned up. Then it’s time for us to start the harder task of active love. As G.K. Chesterton wrote, ‘to love means loving the unlovable.'”
HighDive, Kalamazoo’s newest dining establishment, gets the Bites with Beca treatment. After opening their doors to the hungry public on January 18 for a soft opening, HighDive is making its case as Kalamazoo’s favorite dive bar with high-end food. So what did Beca think? Read the review here.
Watershed Voice columnist Aundrea Sayrie writes, “I have wasted so much of my time and talent centering the ‘White gaze.’ A term coined by Toni Morrison to explain the concept of catering to and living under the constant scrutiny of white supremacy. It is the ethnocentric lens through which all behaviors pass. A tool used to measure anything to its proximity to Whiteness. The gold standard. Including behaviors, languages, bodies, literally everything. A close-minded approach, and standard we have been forced to uphold for survival’s sake.”
Watershed Voice columnist Aundrea Sayrie writes, “There is disappointment in finding oneself in a discriminatory situation. The event itself can leave you reeling, but what gets me every time, are the nice White people. The witnesses who do nothing. The ones that just stand there with all that privilege and watch. Complicit.”
Watershed Voice columnist Aundrea Sayrie writes, “Although there has been much recognition of the historical trauma experienced by people of color in this country, there has never been a time that these racist institutions have been tossed out and rebuilt. They have only been reimagined and enforced in ways that continue to oppress people of color. Racial inequalities exist in financial, educational, judicial, medical and social constructs.”
Watershed Voice contributor Aubrey Barnes relays a recent conversation he had with his students about what a safe space should look like, and if such a place can be found in the confines of their school.
Watershed Voice columnist Aundrea Sayrie writes, “Never one to fold and knowing I am not the only one holding mixed emotions about what it means to be proud and Black, this year my focus is on highlighting sources of racial based traumatic stress, and their negative impact on the mental health of the Black community.”
Sourcing quality ingredients and making nearly everything from scratch, Main Street Smokehouse in Mendon is taking traditional barbecue and elevating it by using creative and innovative flavors.
Artists from across southwest Michigan and northern Indiana will be participating in the annual Carnegie Center for the Arts Regional Juried Show when it opens Sunday in downtown Three Rivers.