Angeline Hazime saw even the performance artist (?) outside Hatcher Library as a prospective recruit for her Take the Walk campaign.

Outside Hatcher Library, a guy decked out completely in black and dark gray – from his patent leather dress shoes, to his overcoat, to his fedora, to a black knit face covering – stood silently, paging every once in a while through a USA Today newspaper. It was the day after Black Friday, and The Chronicle was beginning an afternoon walk from the UM Diag westward along the Liberty Street corridor.

Outdoor performance was the common thread of the walk. The theme started with that apparent performance art piece, continued to a standard bell-ringing number at a Salvation Army kettle, was punctuated by the “Michael Jackson guy” in the alley adjacent to the Michigan Theater, and finished with news of an appearance next Saturday at Downtown Home & Garden by Santa and Mrs. Claus.

The apparent performance art outside Hatcher Library was interrupted first by what appeared to be a tourist couple, who used him the way tourist couples use the Eiffel Tower – as a photographic backdrop. She sidled up right next to the newspaper reader for the shot. That seemed to embolden Angeline Hazime to approach him as well. She was recruiting walkers and collecting signatures of support for the Take the Walk campaign, which is an AIDS fundraiser sponsored nationally by the band The Hansons.

She reported the result of her interaction with the newspaper reader: he’s not Taylor Hanson; it’s not an experiment; he’s not a mime. But he was cold, and disappeared inside Hatcher.

Across from the Diag in front of Nickels Arcade, we watched a bell ringer for a good 15 minutes worth of uninterrupted bell ringing. But Melissa Cole, of Manchester, did pause the bell for a quick chat with The Chronicle.

Melissa Cole rings her bell for the Salvation Army outside of Nickels Arcade on State Street.

She said she’d started at 11:30 that morning and was scheduled until 8 p.m. So she was almost halfway through with her bell-ringing day. This is her first year as a bell ringer for Salvation Army after responding to an ad she saw in The Ann Arbor News, and she’ll be ringing every day except Sundays through Dec. 25.

She conceded that the first night after a day of ringing, she heard the bell in her head as she went to sleep, but she’s used to it now.

Cole said that in her experience so far, mall and grocery store locations generate the most donations, but folks outside Nickels were being generous. People who had the means were being extra generous this year, she guessed, because they knew that there were a lot of people out there who needed help.

Around the corner and down the street a bit, the echoes of Billie Jean meant that The Chronicle was in for a treat from Brian Woolridge, who many readers will recognize more easily as “the Michael Jackson guy.”

He was set up in his customary location in the alley adjacent to the Michigan Theater, dancing to Jackson tunes from his boom box.

During a break, he said that he’d lost his job at the end of September and was applying for positions in grocery retail, but that things looked pretty grim on the hiring front. He said he’d try to come back tomorrow (Sunday, Nov. 30), but wasn’t sure he’d be able to make it.

Brian Woolridge mid-performance, dancing to Michael Jackson's Billie Jean in the alley next to the Michigan Theater.

Don’t count on him deviating from Michael Jackson’s body of work just for the holidays. But on reflection, Woolridge said he might pop a Jackson Five Christmas CD in the box.

On the way out of downtown, we spotted Christmas trees for sale at Downtown Home & Garden, which we took as a sign that Mark Hodesh was winning the war against the sparrows.

Hodesh wasn’t around but Charlie Slick was, and he gave us a heads up that he’d be playing Santa Claus from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the store on Dec. 6. Asked if he’d ever played Santa Claus before, he conceded that he hadn’t, but assured us he was a natural performer. And perhaps more importantly, he said, “I love Christmas!!”

A UM student at Monday's rally urging Barack Obama to end the Iraq war.

On any given day, you’ll likely find an eclectic collection of people on the Diag – even on a frigid November day like today, when the disparate groups included war protesters, an iPod promotion and several Men’s Glee Club members dressed in tuxes.

At noon, about three dozen people gathered in front of the Hatcher Graduate Library, as several speakers urged president-elect Barack Obama to push for a quick conclusion to the war in Iraq.

The protest was organized primarily by Michigan Progressives, a coalition of student groups. Speakers included Lars Ekstrom of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Ann Arbor mayor John Hieftje and Laura Russello, executive director of Michigan Peaceworks.

Russello told the group that as of 10 a.m. this morning, the war had cost American taxpayers $569 billion – $15 billion of that coming from Michigan. “We don’t want any more of our money to go toward this war,” she said.

Michigan Peaceworks also had a table set up on the Diag to promote the Iraq Water Project, a national effort to raise money for equipment to sterilize drinking water for Iraqi schools and hospitals. Miku Kawakami, shivering in the cold, was manning the table and told The Chronicle about an upcoming fundraiser related to the project.

Miku Kawakami, a UM graduate student and intern for Michigan Peaceworks, at a table on the Diag publicizing projects related to the Iraq war.

“Flow,” a documentary on the world’s water crisis, is being shown on Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Michigan Theater. It will be followed immediately by a panel discussion, with speakers including Arny Stieber of Veterans for Peace, Christy McGillivray of Clean Water Action and Lisa Wozniak of Michigan League of Conservation Voters.

As people on the south end of the Diag focused on Iraq, J.P. Bonadonna and a few of his fellow Men’s Glee Club members trolled the north side, passing out flyers promoting their Nov. 15 show at Hill Auditorium. This will be the club’s 149th annual fall concert, but the first one for Bonadonna, a freshman.

A few feet away, Josh Tishhouse was dressed as an iPod with a Santa cap while Kelly Bartlett passed out small candy canes attached to a business card that said “Happy Holidays from Apple.” They were not, Tishhouse noted, associated with the Iraq war protest.

J.P. Bonadonna, promoting the Nov. 15 Men's Glee Club concert at Hill Auditorium. That night he'll be wearing the tux, but not the hat and gloves.

Josh Tishhouse and Kelly Bartlett promoting Apple Computer products sold at the UM Computer Showcase.

Protesters of the Iraq war listen to a speaker at Monday's rally on the Diag.

Members of the UM men's gymnastics team on the Diag Thursday. Head Coach Kurt Golder (wearing a white polo shirt) watched the action.

Juxtaposition can be an oddly wonderful thing. That was the case Wednesday as The Chronicle swung between two disparate events on the University of Michigan campus: a demo on the Diag by the men’s gymnastics team, and a reception at the Michigan League to celebrate UM inventors.

First, the physical tumbling. Each fall about this time, the men’s gymnastics team hauls out some of its equipment and sets up on the Diag, where team members jump, flip, work the pummel horse and otherwise wow passersby with feats of strength and flexibility. It’s a way to promote their season – their first meet isn’t until Dec. 13, but their daily practices at the UM sports coliseum from 2:45-5:45 p.m. are open to the public.

Scott Vetere, assistant head coach for UM men's gymnastics.

They were cold Thursday afternoon – who wasn’t? – but putting on quite a show nonetheless. Scott Vetere, one of two assistant head coaches for the 24-member team, says they have a good shot to do really well in the Big 10 Championships as well as in NCAA competition. Last year, the team was ranked 6th out of the 19 NCAA gymnastics programs.

Meets are held at Keen Arena, and attendance can range from 500 to 1,000 people, Vetere says. Tickets are free for M-Card holders, $5 for everyone else. UM also is host this season for the Big 10 Championships, held April 3-4.

Gymnastics of an entirely different sort were on display just a quick stroll north, at the Michigan League. Celebrate Invention – an annual event to highlight UM researchers (or cerebral gymnasts, if you will) – was in full swing Thursday afternoon. Hundreds of people crammed into the League’s ballroom, browsing exhibits, swigging beer (a limited cash bar was available), networking and giving a collective tip o’ the hat to the more than 700 inventors who filed disclosures, patents or licensing deals during fiscal 2008.

Steve Forrest, UM vice president for research, talks to exhibitors who developed nanoimprint lithography.

Ken Nisbet – executive director of UM Tech Transfer, which hosted the event – made some brief remarks about midway through the gathering. He noted that fiscal 2008 was a strong one for UM researchers, with 13 startup companies launched, roughly $25 million in revenues from licensing fees and more than 300 ideas from inventors “that are all being put to work.” (He also said things really improved back in 2003 when “we decided to implement the spread tech transfer office.” Now we know where Rich Rodriguez got the idea.)

Steve Forrest, vice president for research, also spoke, calling UM “truly the center for geek life.” He praised the work of researchers for helping drive the economy, and said one of the lessons learned from the nation’s recent financial crisis is “if you really make things, you’re on solid ground.”

The final speaker was Terrence McDonald, dean of the College of Literature, Science & the Arts. Invention disclosures from LS&A faculty have doubled since 2000, he said. McDonald sees additional potential in licensing LS&A’s large collection of “binding spells” – small tablets used for curses. Cursing your competitors, for example. Or venture capitalists who aren’t giving you good terms. (The Chronicle thinks he was kidding, but will be especially nice to him in the future.)

Tom Bray of Animation Station gives a demo of the firm's product at Thursday's Celebrate Invention reception.

A UM gymnast launches himself above the Diag.

Chalk, tape, towel – Go Blue!

From left-to-right: the bride’s white shoes, the parasol holder, the bride and groom locked in a kiss, the photographer lying on her side to get just the right angle, and one of Ann Arbor’s finest pedaling past.

Some questions not answered for Chronicle readers:

• What’s special about the Hatcher Graduate Library? Did they meet in the stacks?
• Why did the bride shed her shoes for the photo? Would the heels have made her appear taller than the groom?
• Whose idea was the low-to-high angle on the photo?
• Why can’t that bicycle cop just mind his own business? Take a picture (like The Chronicle did). It lasts longer.
• What’s up with that parasol?