Michael M. Jackman
@michaeljackman.bsky.social
Fiftysomething Detroit dad, husband, copy editor, writer, journalist, still writing a very long but interesting book about Detroit in the 1940s.
Even when I was a bum, living like a bum, I still kept my clothes semi-clean, handy and knew where they were. Now that I live with a family, I have to dig through a communal pile of semi-clean disorderly clothes to dress myself and I hate it.
December 8, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Even when I was a bum, living like a bum, I still kept my clothes semi-clean, handy and knew where they were. Now that I live with a family, I have to dig through a communal pile of semi-clean disorderly clothes to dress myself and I hate it.
I notice that on this day in 1979 the Star Trek movie came out. We saw it at the drive-in theater. Can't tell you what a surprise it was to hear some fairly strong language, more than "damn" if I recall. Very slow-paced to today's eyes.
December 7, 2025 at 7:32 PM
I notice that on this day in 1979 the Star Trek movie came out. We saw it at the drive-in theater. Can't tell you what a surprise it was to hear some fairly strong language, more than "damn" if I recall. Very slow-paced to today's eyes.
The 4-year-old is building snap circuits. He presses a switch and the light goes on. What have we done?
December 7, 2025 at 6:38 PM
The 4-year-old is building snap circuits. He presses a switch and the light goes on. What have we done?
I see the words of Robert Bly making the rounds. It has been 20 years since I dove into the "men's movement" and met some very interesting people.
Band of brothers
In a rented meeting space in a northern Detroit suburb, an "integration group" — or "I-group" — is meeting. Nine "warrior brothers" sit in a...
www.metrotimes.com
December 7, 2025 at 4:56 PM
I see the words of Robert Bly making the rounds. It has been 20 years since I dove into the "men's movement" and met some very interesting people.
O the times, they are a-shonging ...
December 7, 2025 at 3:37 PM
O the times, they are a-shonging ...
"I would like to recite these song lyrics by G.G. Allin..."
December 6, 2025 at 4:45 PM
"I would like to recite these song lyrics by G.G. Allin..."
Two tough guys argue over religion, then both go home.
December 6, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Two tough guys argue over religion, then both go home.
One of my favorite stories to write is an explainer, taking a tale that came out in dribs and drabs and uniting it into a saga as it reaches some climax. As the statue finally goes up, here's a story that will catch you up on the details of the statue that just went up, long-form-style.
A decade later, Detroit’s crowdfunded RoboCop statue is finally complete — but still awaiting a final home
In the spring of 2011, Brandon Walley and Jerry Paffendorf were hard at work in Corktown. Starting with two long-vacant houses near Michigan Central Station,...
www.metrotimes.com
December 4, 2025 at 12:11 PM
One of my favorite stories to write is an explainer, taking a tale that came out in dribs and drabs and uniting it into a saga as it reaches some climax. As the statue finally goes up, here's a story that will catch you up on the details of the statue that just went up, long-form-style.
In the 1970s, one of our classbooks had a poem about a city full of cars, and an observer trying to make sense of it. "Do the humans run the cars?" it asked, "Or do the cars run the humans?" I was 8 and thought the question preposterous, but the more I thought about it I supposed it was commentary.
December 3, 2025 at 6:30 PM
In the 1970s, one of our classbooks had a poem about a city full of cars, and an observer trying to make sense of it. "Do the humans run the cars?" it asked, "Or do the cars run the humans?" I was 8 and thought the question preposterous, but the more I thought about it I supposed it was commentary.
You and two friends are in a remote forest to gather wood in the winter. You come across an area that is free of snow, and there's a small, very heavy metal object that puts out a tremendous amount of heat. Do you ...
December 3, 2025 at 11:51 AM
You and two friends are in a remote forest to gather wood in the winter. You come across an area that is free of snow, and there's a small, very heavy metal object that puts out a tremendous amount of heat. Do you ...
You kind of need a war to be a war criminal. Otherwise, you're just a criminal.
December 2, 2025 at 9:05 PM
You kind of need a war to be a war criminal. Otherwise, you're just a criminal.
I was driving into my alley this morning and a very well-dressed older man in an SUV was aimed right at me. He did that thing, the hands up in the air thing, like, "What am I supposed to do?" I motioned him to back up and got around him. Just leave a lane. Not every alley is your personal drive.
December 2, 2025 at 8:10 PM
I was driving into my alley this morning and a very well-dressed older man in an SUV was aimed right at me. He did that thing, the hands up in the air thing, like, "What am I supposed to do?" I motioned him to back up and got around him. Just leave a lane. Not every alley is your personal drive.
I swear: Unlike every other man who installed a child seat in the back of his Jaguar, I am not having a mid-life crisis. :D
December 2, 2025 at 7:21 PM
I swear: Unlike every other man who installed a child seat in the back of his Jaguar, I am not having a mid-life crisis. :D
I don't recall a year when I've seen so many people set up on the street for winter. I don't think Detroit does encampments. All I have seen are one-person spaces set up like little living rooms in out-of-the-way corners of the neighborhood.
December 2, 2025 at 12:01 PM
I don't recall a year when I've seen so many people set up on the street for winter. I don't think Detroit does encampments. All I have seen are one-person spaces set up like little living rooms in out-of-the-way corners of the neighborhood.
I was raised to pronounce the word like "ants" but they were human!
November 30, 2025 at 8:27 PM
I was raised to pronounce the word like "ants" but they were human!
Nothing makes me more aware of how often I talk to myself than having guests in the house.
November 30, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Nothing makes me more aware of how often I talk to myself than having guests in the house.
In my job as copy editor, I often feel like a pain in the ass. I am grateful for my co-workers who are tough cookies and never question my constructive intentions. I'm a lucky guy.
November 25, 2025 at 8:28 PM
In my job as copy editor, I often feel like a pain in the ass. I am grateful for my co-workers who are tough cookies and never question my constructive intentions. I'm a lucky guy.
Cults don't get where they are via smooth sailing. They operate via crisis. Something bad happens and it is because SOMEBODY DIDN'T BELIEVE HARD ENOUGH! That's how the screws get tightened.
November 25, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Cults don't get where they are via smooth sailing. They operate via crisis. Something bad happens and it is because SOMEBODY DIDN'T BELIEVE HARD ENOUGH! That's how the screws get tightened.
Lindsey Halligan? I thought her name was Laura BRANIGAN! Hardly knew ye.
November 25, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Lindsey Halligan? I thought her name was Laura BRANIGAN! Hardly knew ye.
The first thing Gene Stavis said to us in his film history class was to ask us to get rid of the idea that people in the old days weren't as smart as we are today. I wish more history teachers started with that preamble.
November 25, 2025 at 5:58 PM
The first thing Gene Stavis said to us in his film history class was to ask us to get rid of the idea that people in the old days weren't as smart as we are today. I wish more history teachers started with that preamble.
The choo-choo train that takes me
Away from you --
Oh, words can't tell how sad it makes me
Away from you --
Oh, words can't tell how sad it makes me
November 25, 2025 at 5:46 PM
The choo-choo train that takes me
Away from you --
Oh, words can't tell how sad it makes me
Away from you --
Oh, words can't tell how sad it makes me
I submitted my MS almost 18 months ago. Anybody waiting on publishers this long?
November 24, 2025 at 7:17 PM
I submitted my MS almost 18 months ago. Anybody waiting on publishers this long?
Me looking at my new press pass: "Who's this old dude?"
November 24, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Me looking at my new press pass: "Who's this old dude?"
Eighty years ago today, the Detroit Times spoke with the wives of striking UAW workers as they braced for life without paychecks despite cold weather and the looming holiday season.
November 24, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Eighty years ago today, the Detroit Times spoke with the wives of striking UAW workers as they braced for life without paychecks despite cold weather and the looming holiday season.
Did I imagine it? I seem to remember a book that was pretty popular about 25 years ago showing all the various systems underneath the streets of NYC.
November 24, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Did I imagine it? I seem to remember a book that was pretty popular about 25 years ago showing all the various systems underneath the streets of NYC.