Yesterday was the launch of Wayne State University Press’ Made in Michigan Writers series at the Scarab club. Jack Ridl, from the west side of the state, was absolutely charming reading from his book Broken Symmetry. Detroit’s Vivee Francis moved the crowd to tears, fury, and shame with her poems about the civil war from Blue-Tail Fly. Both authors will be attending the upcoming Ann Arbor Book Festival and the Ludington Poetry Festival. I will upload pictures when I have a chance. I am not one to read poetry, but to have them read and explained by the artists themselves is always such a treat.

Incase you missed today’s game against the Oakland A’s, the Tigers made a great rally in the final inning. After trailing by 2 runs the entire game, a win was looking fairly slim. In the 9th and final inning, 3 RBI were made and a scoreless 9th inning for the A’s.

—– | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 || R | H | E |
Det | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 || 4 | 7 | 0 |
Oak| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 || 3 | 6 | 1 |

That makes the Tigers 3rd in the division with a record of 8-7. Let’s hope they can keep it up for a meaningful season!

Also, if you find yourself in an area where you can’t get 1270 AM or FSN. Go to the Tiger’s ESPN Clubhouse and click on GameCast for an interactive scoreboard.

Wayne State could be losing it’s Athletic Director to my alma mater, UMaine. Rob Fournier is one of the final three candidates and recently visited UMaine.

UMaine is known for its sports. Even out here, most people have heard of the Black Bear Hockey team and are familiar with the Kariya brothers (all UMaine grads). UMaine is also the largest secondary school in Maine, although it is dwarfed by Wayne State in student enrollment.

As a Mainer living in Detroit, I can offer Fournier some thoughts on the relocation. The toughest challenge of relocating from Metro Detroit to Orono would be going from big city to small town. Orono is a college town and the nearest big city, Bangor, isn’t much compared to the communities out here. What are the benefits? Duh, it is Maine, the greatest state ever. You have mountains, the ocean, lakes, rivers, ski slopes, small fishing communities, small town attitude even in the biggest city, fresh air, lobsters, New England accents, nor’easters….

I am a huge hockey fan and I have to say it’s great that the Red Wings are back on top again and are at the brink of winning another Stanley Cup.
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On Saturday, April 29, Detroit Synergy is hosting a 5k fun run/walk on Belle Isle. There’s still time to sign up – if you do so before April 23, adults are $15, children 14 and under are $12. The fee jumps to $20 per person after this date. All net profits benefit the Belle Isle Nature Zoo.

The first 100 entrants also get a free event t-shirt.

Click here for more information and I hope to see you there!

one of the perks of living in or near a big city, is the opportunity to watch national and international artists perform live. for those who like to broaden their horizons and try something different, there is a concert on friday (april 21st) in detroit featuring atif aslam and RDB.
aslam is a rock star from pakistan who has made an enormous name for himself in pakistan in the last two years. i would describe him as the one-man, pakistani equivalent of coldplay! i didn’t get a chance to see him perform live during my visits back home, so i’m excited to have him perform in detroit. here is the link to atif aslam’s official website for those interested http://www.h3o.info/#
RDB (rhythm dhol bass) is a UK based band known for its bhangra beats and sending people into dancing frenzies! here is a link to their music online http://www.musicindiaonline.com/l/23/s/album.3746/type.30/
the concert is being organized by the pakistan association of america and tickets (ranging from $ 25 to 100) may be purchased at 586-764-2000.

According to the South End there were 361 citations in March for “walking between parked cars”. The illegality of this act is news to me.

i guess i’m a little hesitant to bring this up, but i’m wondering what people’s opinions are on this…

basically, an atheist group is suing the city because it gave financial aid to churches for facade improvement along Woodward Ave… to me, it seems ludicrous… the money was given so that the city would look better, not to promote any religious ideal… i personally could care less if they gave it to a church, a mosque or center for atheists… as long as it helps the city… that was why the city gave those churches the money…

check out the article from the News here… more of my thoughts on this and how it relates to the city can be found at my site…

Is there something you’d like to see mentioned here? A story that needs to be told? A photo that needs to be taken?

Look right and suggest a story.

Today is the 100 year anniversary of the Great San Francisco Earthquake. Check the San Francisco Metblog site for comments on some of the activities occuring today, including a 5am wakeup call of church bells and sirens.