As I made my way near Campus Martius Park yesterday, I glanced to the east for a moment, and a bulge on top of the historic Bagley fountain caught my eye. Originally I had heard that the actual fountain would not be installed and the art piece would remain nonfuctional, but as I got closer, those claims were false, as on all four sides of the fountain, lion heads were spitting out fresh water. See the photo I took at left for a view.

I am not sure how long the new fountain has been in place, but I remember sitting on top of the base a month ago, watching the city go by.

Once again the beautiful fountain designed by renowned architect Henry Hobson Richardson (his only known existing work in the city) flows with water “cold and pure as the coldest mountain stream”, as intended by John Bagley, for whom the fountain is named for, as he gave the funds to build the fountain.

Suprisingly the fountain hasnt operated continuously since 1939, so this is a very special thing to witness.

Though I am not sure if they now intend for the fountain to be a decorative water feature rather then a functional drinking fountain, I did get a drink of the water with a little bit of difficulty. The water flows out on all sides at all times, in a wide spray.

Tickets for the 2007 Grand Prix on Belle Ile went on sale June 8th. The race is being held over Labor Day weekend. If you want to sign up as a volunteer there are plenty of activities to choose from. Check out “Volunteer” here.

Well, of course, you don’t have to. But Oprah has chosen what many (and many to me basically means me and some friends) consider to be Detroit’s novel, Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides.

Eugenides grew up in Detroit and, although he has only published two books, is considered one of the most talented writers of the past ten years. Middlesex is a sort of bildungroman of Calliope Stephanides, a young girl who grew up during the 60s and 70s in Detroit and Grosse Pointe and who, by the end of her tale, become Cal Stephanides. Cal’s development and evolution takes place during the devolution of the city of Detroit, with a particularly gripping and somewhat controversial chapter that takes place during the 67 riots. It’s a must read for any Detroiter interested in what it means to be a Detroiter.

As for Oprah, yeah, I know. I, too, was a hater. And although I’m no longer a hater, I’m still not much of a liker. However, Oprah doesn’t pick crappy books for her book club, and, as a result of Oprah’s interest in Middlesex, thousands of people will read about, talk about, and think about the city of Detroit that would never have taken the time to before. Be one of them and, to stay cool, be sure to pick up a copy from your local independent bookstore before the new cover comes out that will surely contain the big and impossible to remove “Oprah’s Bookclub” sticker.

It will be interesting to check on Oprah’s website to read her viewers’ comments on the book and their thoughts about the representation of Detroit offered therein.

Between 1990 and 1993 the NAACP brought legal action against the auto insurance industry by suing AAA over the exorbitant prices to insure a car in the city of Detroit. Detroit, although the “Motor City,” is the most expensive place in the country to insure one’s car – the average annual premium for a Detroit resident being $5,894 in 2006 according to this article. There are some ridiculous reasons reported as being the reason for these high premiums – including Michigan having the 2nd highest deer related accidents – those pesky urban deer – and vague danger rankings even though Detroit is 16th on the list of auto thefts for 2005. The NAACP was all over this issue because much like unfair housing practices, and segregated schools, it came down to a majority-black city being discriminated against. One wonders how this affects the city – people move out, the poor stop paying – even though they are willing to follow the law – and insurance companies gouge those who are willing as well as able to follow the law and be insured within the city. If you are an insurance dealer within the city I would love to hear from you.

I am officially proclaiming 2007, the Year of the Insect.

First there were moths.

Tonight, I tried to go jogging tonight but could not make it very far due to the insane swarms of fishflies underneath every damn lamppost. For those of you not on the east side, it’s fishfly season and it seems particularly bad this year (doesn’t it every year?) Along those lines, I’m pretty sure the New Baltimore Fishfly Festival (or whatever it’s called now) is coming up soon.

Does anyone know the origin of the Michigan fish fly? I googled it but couldn’t find much. Is it because most of the coast of Lake St. Clair used to be swamp (maybe?)? Either way, it’s a good time to be alive if you are a bat, seagull, or bass.

As a follow up to Rickus’ post about healthcare (and the ensuing debate), I needed to cheer myself up a little bit. So I started looking around the web and found this awesome link on WXYZ:

http://www.wxyz.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=0B08E6AE-127E-4EE4-A231-1F3422B19482&gsa=true

Watch the video. In retrospect, it’s a lot like arguing on the Internet.

Just returned from the big party in St. Clair Shores promoted as “Splash Bash.” Like “Venetian Days” in August, this was a boaters celebration. I was shocked when we arrived at the dock at Emerald City Marina that there wasn’t the crowds I expected. It was a perfect day on the lake with the sun behind the clouds to make it cooler. Later in the evening we took the Pub-Crawl bus. Didn’t make em’ all but did have some adult beverages at Fish Bones and The Beach at Jefferson Beach Marina iwth it’s huge outdoor patio. Fire works were on display at 10.

The fans came late and security wouldn’t allow anyone down the corridor unless you were a boat owner and no one was allowed inside Jacks after 11 cuz’ it was absolutely packed to capacity. We stayed up late and, all in all, it was a good time but don’t feel bad if you couldn’t make it. Wait for this coming weekend. Jobbie Nooner is coming up Friday. Sorry, no link. If you want to know more, google it, k?

Michael Moore is at it again. His new movie/documentary titled “Sicko” indicts the health care system in this country and, like some presidential candidates, is calling for the federal government to pick up the tab for universal health care. My answer to this problem was perfectly reflected in an article by Michael Tanner, director of health and welfare studies at the Cato Institute, yesterday in the Detroit News. Of course Moore doesn’t include any of this information in his film.

OMG, just found out that the Doobie Brothers performed last night at DTE. And guess who opened for them? Peter Frampton! “Do you feeeel like I do. . .” Frampton opening for the Doobie Brothers? Priceless! Not having tickets and missing the concert? Well, I already have the brick tied around my neck. Now I need a ride to the bridge. LOL

Justin Verlander has been my Tiger since last season. I only own one team jersey and it is No. 35. Verlander was the American League Rookie of the Year in 06′ and never looked back.

He is 7 -2 so far and, after last nights incredible game, he is destined to be one of the great, untouchable pitchers in the annuls of MLB. Last night, after the game, you would have thought they won the World Series. Fans pouring out into the streets, honking horns and bellying up to the local pubs around Comerica Park. Hard to believe that he gave up seven runs in five innings two weeks ago against Cleavland. But no one will remember that game and why should they. No-no’s don’t come along that often and, if you read the paper or watched ESPN, you know that the last time it happened for the Tig’s was in 1984, the year they won the Series.

It wasn’t a perfect game, (27 at bats, 27 strike-outs). There have only been 17 official perfect games in all of MLB history. Figure one in about every eight years or, in terms of games, 1 in 20,000 games overall. That aside, it is the goal of every pitcher to offer up that accomplishment. It is the holy grail of baseball and when it happens it’s almost as exciting as winning the Series. No doubt about it, with 12 K’s, 73 strikes in 112 pitches last night, Justin Verlander is my Tiger! Here’s a little know fact: Now we have two pitchers on the roster that are in the history books. Kenny Rogers pitched a no-hitter on July 28th, 1994 against the Angels’ when he was with the Texas Rangers, 4 – 0.