After months of bitter cold and gray skies, I was beginning to think I would never say this again, but it appears that spring has finally arrived!

We hit the 50-degree mark yesterday and again today, and in less than a week, one of my two favorite seasons (fall is the other) officially arrives.

It couldn’t have come soon enough, either; I was starting to feel like a bear that has been holed up and hibernating for the past 5 months.

Now, let’s just keep our fingers crossed that we don’t get any snow on Opening Day …

I had my book club on Tuesday evening during the mayor’s State of the City address, so I didn’t hear it as it was happening, but I hard plenty about it on the local news when I arrived home that evening. The mayor said a lot during the speech, but the biggest hoopla to come out of the night were his remarks that the media is acting like a lynch mob against him and his blatant use of the N-word. (more…)

This message courtesy of a friend of mine who writes under the name of Whalebomb:

I’ve just been listening to Mr. Duey’s “Class Dis-missed” CD, which is a brand new rap/hip-hop album straight out of the local Detroit area. It’s excellent and I’m really enjoying it. The beats are fantastic and the melodies and rhymes are extremely catchy. Oh wait. What’s that? This is an educational CD? It’s geared towards 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders?

So yeah, it’s an educational CD made for teachers and students, but it’s definitely not limited to that market. Mr. Duey takes up topics stressed nation and statewide by teachers, parents, and school administrators and turns them into study guide rap songs for children. What topics? Topics that are on standardized tests. Want your students and children to do better on their MEAPs, as well as their school work? This CD is made for that.

The CD includes 17 songs on the following topics: Math (Integers, Point Plotting, Factor Tree, and Fractions); English (Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, and Writing Essays); Science (Animal Cells, Atoms, States of Matter, and 3 Types of Rocks); Social Studies (Longitude and Latitude, Core Demographics, and Government Branches); and History (Martin Luther King Jr.). The CD also includes a bonus track on Measurement.

Mr. Duey is not only a rapper, writer, and musician, he is also a teacher! He uses innovative ways of teaching his classes and has seen lots of success from this work. There are testimonials on his website as to how successful students can be after listening to this entertaining CD. Also on his website is a streaming mp3 of “Verbs” and a music video for “Fractions.”

I’ve been lucky enough to hear most of the CD before it gets released tomorrow (March 14), and I have to say it’s still entertaining for me even though I’ve been out of middle school for years now. Mr. Duey is having a CD release party tomorrow (March 14) from 6-10 p.m. It’s at Orlando’s Familia Banquet Center, 15001 Sibley Rd., Riverview, Michigan, and includes a live performance at 8:00 p.m.

If the party is too short notice, you can order CDs right from his website starting Friday afternoon, or contact the record label, Kaas Records, LLC, P.O. Box 765, Farmington Hills, Michigan 48332 (phone: 248/275-5708).

The CD is excellent and is a must for teachers. Go to the CD release party or check out the website (www.mrduey.com) for more information. The state demands for the MEAP and other standardized tests are so high, you’d be a fool not to consider purchasing Mr. Duey’s “Class Dis-missed” for your classroom. It’s good for your children, your students, your ears, and your community!

I have been meaning to go to the Still Point Zen Buddhist Temple on the corner of Trumbull and Canfield in Woodbridge for some time now.  This past Sunday was my inaugural day, and I do believe that I have found an activity for many of my Sundays to come.  The Sunday afternoon service (between 5 and 6) consisted of two sittings and a Dharma talk followed by tea.  Sitting on cushions, in a beautiful old Woodbridge house, watching smoke from incense curl through the sunlight streaming in behind a statue of Buddha was quite poetic.  A few words for those who are not in tune with Asiatic religions: take your shoes off before entering the service room and bow upon entering and exiting the room.  There was some dusting of cushions going on, but I didn’t have a chance to figure out the meaning of the ritual.  Sitting in silence for 20-25 minute blocks is not easy.  If you do go, take a few thoughts with you on which to meditate.  Or else all you will think of are your aching bones and muscles.  When you have something to think about you actually transcend your physical discomfort in sitting so long.  I unfortunately only had enough thoughts for the first block and nothing for the second.  The services are free and open to all; however, if you have some money to spare you will be asked to donate in the Buddha begging bowl.      

MOCAD Gold is a first annual fundraiser for the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit and will feature a broad survey of Detroit bands to play “pop cover songs spanning the last 30 years in their band’s own distinctive style.”

Last 30 years? Does that leave out early Motown?

Bands on the bill are T3, The Go, Lee Marvin Computer Arm (really? I thought they’re breaking up?), Tyvek (heard great things about these guys), Bad Party, Dark Red, EsQuire, Deastro, The Sisters Lucas, The Silent Years, and Dee Jay Frankie Banks.

MOCAD Gold will include the current Holy Hip-Hop and Re-Fusing Fashion Exhibits. See my review of these exhibits here.

Tickets are $15 for the music part of the evening, with a ritzier early program for $75.

This past half-week and weekend saw the unrolling of the eleventh MetroTimes Blowout music festival.  The opening night was held Wednesday night at the Magic Stick in Midtown, and the remainder of the festival was held in shops and bars throughout Hamtramck.  I was only able to sport my fancy $20 wristband on Friday night when I caught a few bands at the Record Graveyard, the Belmont, and the Whiskey in the Jar.  One of our numerous snowstorms this season hit that night and it was rather foolish to try and navigate the streets of Hamtramck without a map.  The bars were packed, the music organic, and the snowy evening was all the better because the pope was watching over the city.  For a holistic day by day take on Blowout check out Post-Rockist.

I’m carefully watching the forecast today, and hoping that our snow advisory disappears pretty soon because I’m scheduled to be leavin’ on a jet plane in a few short hours. Sunny Florida, here I come!

I’m a bit bummed, however, that for the second year in a row I’ll be out of town for the Home and Garden Show at Ford Field. Check out the website for some of the exhibitions and promotions (you can get some really neat free stuff at this show!) at www.fordfieldhomeshow.com. (I’m still stumbling through the shiny new MetBlog site, and links are not yet in my repetoire) And since you’re already downtown at the show, stick around and use your ticket to get discounts at some great local restuarants like Small Plates and Vicente’s. The website has a list of all participating eateries.

Being one who made a personal choice not to drink, I always feel like I’m cheating whenever I visit bars, clubs, and mostly breweries.  The last time I visited MotorCity Brewing Works – which was ages ago – it had not had its brick oven pizza menu in place.  Now I have a means to support Detroit brewing through my gluttony.  The dough for the pizza is hand kneaded, stretched, and topped with quality ingredients such as fresh basil, goats cheese, and fresh mozzarella.  I am still partaking in Weight Watchers, so this was the perfect healthy meal of flatbread and vegetables with a slight splurge on cheese and meat.   

Metrotimes Blowout Begins tonight.

Go

here

here

here

here

and

ahem, here,

for picks and previews.