This past weekend I was at the annual Great Lakes History Conference representing Wayne State University Press. I was absolutely thrilled to discover the beautiful city of Grand Rapids and to find Grand Valley State University nestled amidst this gorgeous western Michigan backdrop. It was amazing to hear that many people from the west side of the state had never been to Detroit or that they even had no intention of visiting; of course, I felt silly never having known anything about Grand Rapids either. Those that had been to Detroit had wonderful things to say about the city, namely, praise of the Michigan Opera and the DIA. It was strange to feel animosity towards Detroit, not for rumors of exaggerated violence, but because people felt that Detroit has long eclipsed Michigan as a whole in terms of research conducted and attention garnered.

What would Halloween be without the carving of the pumpkin? I take my time to imagine the best way to confront my jack-o-lantern… kind of like the block of marble with the sculpture locked inside it somewhere, then I let loose with the butcher’s knife (risking fingers and worse) slicing off the access cap.

Pulling out the innards, seeds and squashy flesh ( I save the seeds for salting and roasting ) – it’s a very intimate time (YOU and your Inner Pumpkin are ONE) …

Then I start on the mouth – it usually is a slit, that turns into a healthy scowl… eyes are next, and the trend (at least with me) is to leave out the nose completely… it’s more terrifying…

Happy Halloween to you all… If you visit my home, I’ll be the one handing out the good stuff.

A bunch of the authors got together for dinner tonight at Slows. Expect some reviews later on.

It was great to see everyone. Hopefully next time more of the authors can join us.

I volunteered for Angels Night. Problem is no one ever got back to me about it. I mentioned this to some friends and they said the same thing happened to them. So what gives? The city claims it needs more volunteers, but it doesn’t respond to those people who do volunteer?

Ray Wert gave me a heads-up on this tasteless joke made by Saturday Night Live’s Amy Poehler last night. Poehler’s words were in reference to the Real World coming to “Detroit”:

“The next season of MTV’s ‘The Real World’ will be shot in Detroit…as will a number of the cast members.”

Just curious, Amy: when was the last time you were in Detroit?

The Detroit Historical Museum is giving its Streets of Old Detroit exhibit a bit of a makeover tomorrow in honor of Halloween and the kids of the Motor City.

The exhibit, which will be transformed into “Treats in the Streets”, will offer pumpkin- and treat-bag-decorating, viewings of “Its a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” and a magic show by magician Steve Ryder.

“Treats in the Streets” runs from 2 – 4 pm at the Midtown museum.

Children in costume and Historical Society members get into the event for free. The cost for adults accompanying children is $5.

In a joint effort with the International Association of Fire Chiefs, AAA of Michigan and Energizer batteries, the Detroit Fire Department is offering to change the batteries in the smoke detectors of Detroit residents tomorrow from 10:30 am to 6:30 pm at all 44 Detroit firehouse locations.

The battery replacement program, known as Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery, coincides with the end of Daylight Saving Time, an event that officials are using to remind residents to check and change smoke-alarm batteries.

In exchange for old 9-volt batteries, the DFD will give Detroit residents up to two new ones per household. In addition to the new batteries, which were donated to DFD by Energizer, fire safety literature provided by AAA of Michigan will be given to residents participating in the program.

Chief Lee C. Moore of the Community Relations Division is quoted as saying that 80% of U.S. home fires are caused by defective smoke alarms.

It is a beautiful fall day so I spent the morning wandering the city with my camera. Near Campus Martius, I came across The Parade Company washing and practicing with some of the Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons. The parade is worth braving the chill of Thanksgiving Day to watch.

I can

My Sister, Ali, who lives in Manhattan, e-mailed me (and others) this morningl:

DID ANYONE NOTICE THE SMELL OF PANCAKES AND/OR SYRUP LAST NIGHT ALL OVER MANHATTAN? ONE OF MY CO-WORKERS JUST INFORMED ME, I DIDN