Yes, it’s preseason. But it’s Monday night, and around here, that means a lot.

The Lions have yet to host a Monday night regular-season game in their fairly new digs at Ford Field. A shame, really; the stadium is stunningly beautiful. I heard the announcers last night from Houston rant about their home, Reliant Stadium. Yes, a lovely place it is, but it simply cannot match the sheer originality and local flavor of Ford Field.
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As I sit many miles away from New Orleans I feel anxious as the clock moves closer to Katrinas land fall. I love New Orleans. I love the music, the people, the way of life. Sure Mardi Gras is fun, but I love the culture and the history. I sat in Preservation Hall and listened to Dixie Jazz as it was heard and seen 100 years ago. I wandered in and out of the Jazz clubs trying not to miss a note or riff. I sat on the bank of the mighty Mississippi looking back over the quarter soaking in the legends of the past. I pray for the people and the history of New Orleans and the surrounding towns as well. Hold strong against mother nature so we can all enjoy your spirit again soon. You are in the thoughts of many from the Motor City tonight.

With the barrage of negative and tragic stories that control our airwaves every day, it is refreshing and uplifting to see coverage of a story that can’t help but bring a smile to your face.

Even better, this fun and light-hearted story is one that’s going on right in our backyards – at the Detroit Zoo.

I first heard about Talini, the zoo’s 10-month old polar bear, from a friend of mine that recently spent an afternoon at the zoo.

“You should have seen him,” my friend said. “He was just like a little kid; he kept getting up on this rock and then he would almost run and jump in the water…it was so funny because he just kept doing it, over and over. He was like a child running and jumping into the swimming pool.”
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We’ve seen their ads, we’ve read their interviews, we’ve heard their opinions…

And, on September 15, we can finally see them together – in the same room, standing side-by-side – speaking about the issues that are important to us and the city of Detroit.

See the candidates running to become Detroit’s next mayor in a live debate at the Detroit Economic Club’s September luncheon.
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General Motors announced yesterday that it will not be ending its employee pricing for everyone incentive on September 6, as it stated earlier; instead, the world’s largest automaker will continue offering employee pricing for everyone through the end of September.
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I left Detroit at 9pm last night and arrived at my parents’ home in Maine around 11am. I am exhausted and less $20 due to tolls. After four years in Metro Detroit, I am not quite sure where to call home. Each trip back and forth brings new appreciations for the place I left and the place I live. Helps that I came from a small town and moved to a city with a small town attitude.

Have fun in the D while I am gone.

Sounds delicious

Originally uploaded by StSaling.

Here is the itinerary for the Detroit driving tour I took last weekend. It will probably take about 4-6 hours if you make the two stops at the Guardian Building and Fisher Building.

This itinerary is from a class my friend took at UM a little over two years ago, so some of the commentary is a little outdated. Please make sure to take a good city map with you — some street signs are missing (beware of the Puritan/Pilgrim turn!).

You’ll pass the now closed Hostess Cake Bakery on Oakman, shown here. Too bad, I could really use a Snoball right now.

So here’s the PDF — have fun and take lots of pictures.

Thanks to Detroit Metroblog readers I have learned how to go about getting a place in Detroit the proper way. I am pleased to say that Mr. Gideon Pfeffer of Premier Mortgage Funding [248-797-5748] has been most helpful in getting me through the painless and very helpful pre-approval process. Now the fun part begins: shopping for a place and making sure that I have enough to furnish it as well. I hope that when it comes time, I will be able to drop my furniture and electronics dollars in the city instead of having to head out to the suburbs. How does Detroit furnish its homes?

I always enjoy bringing people that are unfamiliar with Detroit down to my place in the city to show them some of what Detroit is really like.

I was really excited tonight, because the members of my book club decided to come down to my place for our meeting this evening. Even better was that our last book, Middlesex, which is partly-set in Detroit and has many Detroit references in it, opened up a broad discussion about the city, including what we were brought up thinking it was like, how it has changed, and how some of the things we were told growing up may not have been true.
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Working for the university in Midtown, you do not get a feeling for corporate Detroit. On Monday I went to go pick up an order from Lunchtime Detroit, in the New Center One building, which was just one of the restaurants with massive lines of people in search of a full stomach. I did not even realize that the New Center One building had so much shopping and so many places to eat. I am glad that such lovely havens have been created for the Monday-Friday, 9-5 crowd. Despite these stellar efforts many of these workers just want to get out of Detroit as soon as the work day is over. What more can be done to convince corporate Detroit to stick around after 5?