• Progressive political activism
• Software architecture, unit-testing, Java, PHP, Linux
• Folk-singing, folk dance
• Community theatre
• Gaming, sf/fantasy

(Last updated 1/11/2025)

I. Folk-singing

Folk music is a live and vibrant art-form: we've come a long way since "Kumbaya" and "Puff, the Magic Dragon". 

• Take a listen.  If you're not familiar with modern folk music, then I dare you to listen to (for example):
  • Zoe Mulford's "Songs stay sung" (a paen to grief & life), or
  • Guy Clark's inspiring "Always Trust Your Cape", or
  • Matt Watroba's "Could you love me?", a reminder of our common humanity

  and remain unmoved.

• Sing with us.  Folk music is music for the folk.  Yes, we have many great song-writers and singers, but we're meant to sing it.

  Starting in January 2025, I will be hosting a regular "folk-singing" get-together at my house, on the third Thursdays of each month, at 7pm.  Email me (above) for details.  (We're in SE Ann Arbor, south of ArborLand, in the neighborhood off Yost.)

  We model our gathering after traditional "pub sings" -- we each take a turn leading (or requesting) a song with a teachable chorus.  This is not a performance, so don't worry if you feel you're not a "good" singer.  If you can sing along on a chorus without scaring our cats, you're welcome.

  We do try to avoid singing from books; we want to see and listen to each other.  (But you can use notes or a book if you're leading a song).  We mostly sing "acapella", but instruments are welcome for songs you're leading.  And of course, no-one is required to lead a song, we're here for fun!

• Other Resources. 
  • The Ark is one of the best folk music venues in the country.  If you're in Michigan, check it out.
  • Matt Watroba leads a monthly sing in Ann Arbor, see SingAlongAnnArbor.org.  He also runs other community sings around south-east Michigan, which are a great introduction to singing together.
  • The Rise Up Singing book is a great basic resource for the words of ~1200 common folk (and other) songs.  There's also a companion volume, "Rise Again", with another ~1200 songs.
  • The Ann Arbor Morris dance team hosted a monthly pub-sing (at real pubs!) for many years.  It is currently on hiatus, but follow their Facebook page, and if enough people are interested, it will re-start.
  • Matt Watroba also hosts a great folk-music radio show Sunday nights, from 6-8pm ET (repeats on Saturdays at 6pm).

"Folk dancing" can conjure up images of old hippies doing the 'Hora' in a circle.  The reality is far more interesting, and lots more fun!  Southeast Michigan is rich in different folk dance traditions, styles, and groups, including:

• Contra dance -- a popular, easy-to-learn, lively introduction to modern folk dancing.
• English Country Dance ("ECD") -- a slightly more formal, slower-paced, social dance.  Think of all the dance scenes in the Jane Austin movies.
• Scottish Country Dance -- similar to ECD, but with distinctive Scottish elements, stepping patterns (and occasional leaping!).  Also a social dance, not to be confused with (solo) Highland dancing.
• Swing dance -- couple dancing to the jazzy 'swing' tunes from the 1920's-1940's.
• ... and many others: International Folk, Morris Dancing, Clogging, etc.

You may think "oh, but I can't dance!"  Yes, you can!  I was the original "two left feet" guy, but (even) I found English dance, and contra dance, easy to learn.  Both of these traditions are "social" dances, where everyone dances with everyone, and no partner is needed.  Each dance is taught, and then each move prompted by a "caller", with live(!) music.

If you want to try modern folk dancing, start with contra or English dances, and go 30 minutes early, to get a quick introduction to the terms and figures.  It changed my life (and helped me meet my wife); it can change yours.

And in the words of one of my wittier friends, "it's the most fun you can have standing up!"

Resources:

• AACTMAD, the Ann Arbor Community for Traditional Music And Dance, is a great place to start if you're in southeast Michigan.
• Elsewhere, check out the Country Dance & Song Society -- they have a listing of affiliate groups throughout the country.

III. Progressive Political Activism

This starts with my personal story; you can skip directly to the "action" part if you prefer.

But the short version is: (a) I'm a scientist. (b) Donald Trump's delays, misinformation, and out-right lies about COVID helped kill 1 million Americans.  (See this New York Times report, or this article from the notoriously conservative Forbes magazine.)   This is not political spin: this really happened.

Science
I was trained as a scientist: objective truth exists, but must be continually re-discovered, and refined.  We must always question our own biases and assumptions.  One of my favorite writers, Robert A. Heinlein, said it best:

What are the facts?  Again and again and again – what are the facts?  Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what “the stars foretell,” avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable “verdict of history” – what are the facts, and to how many decimal places?  You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your single clue.  Get the facts!

Half the truth is often a great lie.

Politics
I grew up in a (mostly) Democratic household.  My father hated Richard Nixon with a passion, due to Nixon's support of the infamous Joseph McCarthy -- so my Dad voted for Kennedy in 1960, for Wallace(?!) in 1968, and McGovern in 1972.  (Go figure!)

My mother was more consistent, and her quiet activism inspired me to volunteer for my first Democratic campaign, in 1972: Ann Klein, running for the Governor of (historically corrupt) New Jersey, under the slogan "Make the Governor an Honest Woman".

From then until 2017, every 2 years, I would put in a day or two of volunteering for Democratic campaigns, usually door-to-door or phone-banking.  (Although I did vote for a Republican Representative once, because he was actually following the science on the issues!)

Trump
In 2016, I volunteered for Clinton in Ohio, thinking that Michigan was safely "in the bag".  On election night, on my way home from a community theatre rehearsal (the comedy Noises Off), I learned that Trump had won Michigan by a scant 10,000 votes.

Imagine performing in a comedy after that. 

I swore an oath that day.  I'm a software architect; it was time to use my talents to elect reasonable people.

Personal Activism
In 2017 I connected with the (progressive but non-partisan) Voters Not Politicians ("VNP"), and built data-entry software for their ballot initiative to end gerrymandering in Michigan.  To the surprise of many (including the DNC), it was passed by the voters in 2018.  (I highly recommend the documentary Slay the Dragon, which covers this amazing story.)

The (much fairer) redistricting of 2020 was a major factor in 2022's first Michigan Democratic "trifecta" in 40 years, giving us control of the state House, Senate, and Governor's office.

During that campaign, I connected with many wonderful and passionate people, which led me in turn to other projects:

• In 2020, I built a volunteer tracking system for the Washtenaw County Democratic Party ("WCDP").  Titled "MI Washboard", it helped coordinate the many volunteers that distributed over 70,000 Democratic voter guides throughout Washtenaw County.
• Also in 2020, I turned that same (large!) voter guide into a responsive web site, that let voters easily see the full guide on their phones.
• In early 2022, I built a complete petition tracking system for VNP.  They used it while collecting 170,000 signatures, as part of the "Promote the Vote" coalition for Michigan Proposal 2022-2.  That amendment was approved by the voters, which gave us 9 days of early voting, ballot drop-boxes everywhere, and many other protections of our voting rights.
• Later in 2022, I built the prototype version of MIvoter.org, a voter-information system that worked state-wide.  Given a voter's personal info, it displayed a list of Democratically-endorsed candidates for their district(s).  Though a prototype, we had ~400 candidates around the state in the system.

  (And while I built all the technical parts, key leadership, outreach, and data integrity work was done by a wonderful team of people inside the WCDP!)

• For 2024, a larger team built and publicized an expanded version of MIvoter.org, which included ~1000 candidates, "how to" vote information, details on current officials, and more.  (My role this time was technical lead, to make sure all the different parts worked together successfully!)

General Activism
Even if Trump only achieves 10% of what he promises, we're in for a horrible four years.  But, to quote from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings:

"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times.  But that is not for them to decide.  All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

You are not helpless.  There will always be things you can do.  Until 2026, we have repurposed MIvoter.org to be a portal for "what can we do now?"  Start there. 

Then reach out to your local (county) Democratic party.  (MIvoter.org has links to all of them.)  There are also many other groups, like VNP, the League of Women Voters, and so on. 

Volunteering is not just door-to-door or phone-banking.  Lead with your skills: what are you good at?  What can you offer?

Remember that most political workers are amateurs.  Political parties don't have an HR or employment department, to figure out where you best fit, or can be most useful.  That's up to you.  Go to some gatherings.  Talk to people.  Learn about opportunities, but don't just grab the first one.  If necessary, create some.

(And note that the Latin root for amateur is "amare" -- i.e, to love.)

Specific Activism
I am building a detailed "need volunteers for" list for the 2026 MIvoter.org.  If you are a software developer, or skilled at DB/SQL work, we can use you.

If you can write well, or can organize data, we need you.  If you can reach young voters, we really need you.

In Michigan, there's a small handful of Republican US Reps, state Reps, and state Senators, who are vulnerable in 2026.  Like any martial art, the right pressure at the right point can "flip" the outcome.  Help us start, now.  Feel free to reach out to me directly (see email address at the top).

And in the meantime, remember to sing!  Hope and Will (aka "faith and works") reinforce, and feed each other.