Sergei Kvitko strangled his water bottle and looked at the clock. It was just before 7 p.m. on April 30, and he was due on stage at 7:30 for a grueling solo piano concert at Michigan State University's Cook Recital Hall.

If Ruth McNally Barshaw has her way, Ellie McDoodle will never see 13, play a video game or use a cell phone. And the Lansing author and illustrator will have her way, since she is the creator of the five-book young adult series "The Ellie McDoodle Diaries," about a 12-year-old who journalizes her life, accompanied by doodle drawings.

There are some natural complications that go along with being a 15-piece gypsy folk band, and being about 80 years out of time is only one of them. Stage size is obviously a key issue, as is the coordination of more than a dozen independent work and personal schedules.

After six years, Jessica Decker has handed over the keys to Decker's Coffee Co., 220 S. Washington Square in downtown Lansing, to a new owner. J.T. Dachtler took over the reins at Decker's Saturday, but Decker is sticking around for a week to smooth the transition.

After an electrifying breakthrough performance in 1996's "A Time to Kill" — followed by solid showings in "Contact" and "Amistad" — Matthew McConaughey mostly slummed it through the '00s.

Drake White, an EMI-signed singer/songwriter based in Nashville, plays the Whiskey Barrel Saloon on May 30. The Alabama native has a rootsy modern country sound, blended with southern gospel vibes.

One of Dennis Preston's favorite places to conjure up grotesque and whimsical characters was the Biggby Coffee at 536 Elmwood Road in Lansing, just south of the Lansing Mall. The local illustrator, designer and caricaturist would draw on coffee napkins and leave them at the store, which could then be "purchased" by giving $10 to the barista on duty. It was a tradition that had been going on throughout Lansing-area Biggby's for the past 10 years.

Wednesday, May 22 — The Lansing Unionized Vaudeville Spectacle was the closing band at the 50th annual East Lansing Art Festival on Sunday. It was the last local show for the band before a statewide tour next month.

Friday, May 17 — This week on Deemable Tech: Why do web browsers open inconsistently? (Editor’s note: “Deemable Tech” is a weekly syndicated column by Jacksonville, Fla.-based writer Ray Hollister. It will appear weekly on lansingcitypulse.com.)

Thursday, May 16 — Tickets go on sale tomorrow for “A Prairie Home Companion,” Garrison Keillor’s long running variety show. The program is broadcast weekly on public radio outlets across the country, including 90.5 WKAR-FM, locally. “A Prairie Home Companion” is known for its musical guests, especially folk and traditional musicians, tongue-in-cheek radio drama and Keillor's storytelling segment, “News from Lake Wobegon.”