After Thursday’s heartbreaking loss to the Cardinals (well, even before the loss) it struck me that tonight’s game (and hopefully Saturday’s) will be played in the midst of many Halloween parties and related festivities.

If you usually party-it-up on Halloween – or this year, the weekend before Halloween – have you changed your plans to watch the Tigers? Or will you try to watch the game while at a bar or party?

The Ernie Harwell Collection of baseball memorabilia is housed in the “The Lulu and Ernie Harwell Room” at the Main Branch of the Detroit Public Library. The exhibit consists of a portion of the collection, seats from old Tiger Stadium, and a mock broadcast booth. Access to the collection is by appointment only, but you can see the items via the online exhibit.

One of our readers, Melly, was wondering if anyone knew anything about costume contests in the Detroit Area. The Emerald Ballroom in Mount Clemens has a $3000 prize for best costume and $500 for the sexiest – for the individuals who think Halloween is a legitimate reason to wander around in their undergarments. Here is a link for the contest at Altered State which is promoting $5000 in cash and prizes. Boogie Fever in Ferndale is having a contest as well but I can see no promise of cash.

I’m not a huge fan of contemporary art per se but if you are, you might enjoy the brand new Museum of Contemporary Art that is having it’s grand opening this weekend. It’s pretty pricey before 9:30 but after 9:30 the cover is $10 bucks. I suspect there is a cash bar and a DJ. I might go. I haven’t made up my mind yet.

They’re located on Woodward Ave next to the Garfield building north of downtown nearby the Majestic Theatre. It doesn’t really look like a museum at all. It kind of looks like an abandoned storefront. Supposedly, they have some cool renovations that are going to happen though on the exterior.

The Metroblogging family officially welcomed its 50th city today: Graz.

In today’s increasingly global environment, Metroblogging Detroit is excited to be part of this worldwide team and we look forward to learning more about Austria’s second-largest city through the intimate, street-level view Metblog authors are known for.

You can find some background information on Graz here, but, if you’re interested in what it’s really like, there’s no better place to start than Metroblogging Graz.

Has anyone else noticed the new light theatrics gracing Windsor Casino’s U.S. face? There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the red white and squares and rectangles which appear and disappear. I am wondering if this is a ploy to nab the U.S. market? Perhaps to support the Tigers. I cannot imagine that they have decided that they want to adorn the colours of the British in honour of their heritage. Being a biased Canadian, I would be perfectly happy to see the blue dropped and a red maple leaf dancing all over the building.

As the MC5 song title suggests, a part of the Motor City is burning.

For the past two or so hours, the CF Smith Company Warehouse on the South side of the city is on fire. It is located at Vinewood & Toledo Streets.

Up-to-the-minute information is availabe at ClickOnDetroit.Com.

It is unforunate to have a fire at an abandoned location, but the excitement is quite interesting.

Given that I am Tiger fan, I may be a little biased when it comes to the Kenny Rogers dirt fiasco but I’m going to vent my opinions anyway.
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I was in Grand Rapids over the weekend for the Great Lakes History Conference and was thrilled to see people from a local radio station riling up Tigers fans on street corners. Having the Tigers make it this far has been such an amazing thing for the city as well as the State.

“DDOT = Detroit Digs Our Tigers” – scrolling electronic banner seen on a city bus.