What’s going on, Detroit? I thought I should pop in here briefly to introduce myself as I am giong to be one of the new contributors to the Detroit Metblogs scene. I’m hoping to bring a unique perspective to the blog and (hopefully) provide y’all with some interesting stuff to occupy your mind with while you’re reading this from your cubicle.

I’m a Michigan native who is returning from spending a year (give or take) in Los Angeles. I’ve graduated from Grand Valley State University, over by Grand Rapids, and decided that a life in the BIG city was in order for me. NYC didn’t win because, frankly, it still snows there and I thought I wanted a change from everything I knew. Sunny skies, plastic people, and an urban culture unlike anything I had experienced in college or growing up in my farming community were definitely what the doctor ordered. But, I found out that my family and friends were much more important to me than I was originally counting on… I couldn’t just pack up and leave everyone behind! Because fate has a funny way of working, I ended up moving to the Detroit area (Warren to be exact) with a roommate for a lot less rent than I was paying in LA.

Don’t get me wrong, I miss LA like crazy, but I’m hoping that the trade-off of being closer to friends and family will pay off in the end and I’ll always have the experience under my belt. As for now though - I’m unemployed and in a city that I’m not all that familiar with. So this is my time to make it count and get to know the area, I guess. I’ll be planning on bringing you a perspective of someone who’s new to the area and, to borrow a phrase from high school English teachers, a contrast and comparison between life in the D and what things were like out in LA.

I don’t think it will be easy adjusting to my new old way of life… but it’s something that I’m willing to do and share in the process with you. So stick around and see what happens as I attempt to wrangle my way around Detroit and adjust to the way things operate out here. On the flip, I’ll also dig my nose into some of the cultural happenings around and see what I can post for everyone’s enjoyment about cool events, news happenings, and stuff like that to make Detroit Metblogs one of your go-to sources for Detroit related info.

Thanks to everyone for taking your time out to read this, and thanks to the existing team at Metblogs for allowing me on here to share my voice/experiences with everyone. Keep your eyes peeled for my posts, and I’ll be seeing you around.

Last night the international sky over the Detroit River hosted the 50^th annual fireworks show celebrating the Independence of Canada (July 1^st) as well as the Independence of America (July 4^th).  I love the beginning of the show when helicopters fly overhead bearing the American and Canadian flags.  Being able to celebrate the country of my birth – Canada – as well as my adopted country at the same time is delightful.  I had the fortune of watching the display from the Riverfront Towers complex to the west of Hart Plaza.  Our complex hosts about 8000 people every year for the event.  Residents are limited to 8 guests each; wristbands are therefore a hot commodity; and the Signature Grille was hosting a ticketed public event as well.  The otherwise peaceful complex took on the feel of college dorms during frosh week complete with a band, outdoor food offerings, with a smattering of drunken shenanigans; thank you “Team Riverfront” for keeping good order.  It was a great party.  My favourite firework of the night was a red star surrounded by a white circle near the end of the show.      

Designed to help small business owners and their employees succeed, Comerica Bank’s ‘Managing Your Business’ seminar series is once again on the horizon.

Details of the workshops, which cost $50 for Comerica customers and $75 for non-Comerica customers, are as follows: Read more

The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame is in its planning stages for building a permanent location downtown. They are now looking for sponsors - thank you Big Boy and Wright & Filippis for stepping up so far. This facility sounds like a wonderful addition to our downtown core. The new center looks to honor all Michigan athletes - amateur and professionals. Michigan Olympians, stadiums, arenas, and teams (high-school, college, and professional) will all be represented at the new facility. The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame 53rd Annual MSHOF Induction Ceremony will be held Monday, Feb. 11, 2008 at the Max M. Fisher Music Center. VIP and $35 “Upper Deck” tickets are available from the Detroit Symphony website.

In follow-up to my post on the Model D talk this month, it is worth mentioning the discussion of Michigan’s possession of creative talent, which is not immediately apparent as this talent is and the jobs requiring this talent are dispersed throughout the state. Most successful major cities have clusters of creative neighborhoods very close to the city center. This concentration facilitates camaraderie, an exchange of ideas, and strength in numbers for creative products and services. One wonders what can be done in Detroit to facilitate this aggregation. We have the College of Creative Studies and all major museums in the Cultural District in Midtown. However, the question is whether or not these trained artists stay put or if they scatter after graduation. Also, does midtown facilitate the lifestyle needed for creative entrepreneurs and creative workers?

I did my undergraduate degree in a small college town, where my surroundings were not in any way linked to my studies. I did my Master’s at Wayne State University in the heart of midtown, where studying in the city continues to be an interactive experience with my surroundings. My Entrepreneurship class placed us with local businesses, which benefited from our expertise, my creative writing classes are inspired by tales from city life, and my theory classes explore the mysteries of Detroit’s urban landscape. This city inspires and disappoints, and above all makes us think. The city is most certainly the most important academic influence at the University.

Where are these guys who are on the nut about global warming when you need them? Did you go outside yesterday? Brrrrrrrrr! It was 25 degrees out there, wind chill at 7! Where were they when that town in upstate NY got six feet in Feb? It seems they only come out when it suits their purposes, like the hurricane season in the Atlantic two years ago. Does Katrina ring a bell?

I watch with awe the National Geographic channel’s programs on the Galapagos Islands and Discovery’s “Planet Earth” series on the polar ice caps. It seems the ice has been receeding. Winters come earlier and it is estimated that if the earth’s temperture rises 4 degrees globally, 30 percent of the species will become extinct. Ofcourse this is all speculation and it won’t happen in my lifetime, especially with my bad habits. (i.e. “The Agony of Defeat”),

But there is a good side and I am patiently waiting for it. We won’t have to go to Florida anymore. College students will be coming to the D’ for Spring Break. ‘Girls Gone Wild, Detroit” will be sold everywhere! Imagine the tourists walking up and down Washington, Madison, Broadway and Woodward with the palm trees swaying in the tropical breeze. No more pea coats, scarfs, warm gloves. All this because of global warming! Yea baby, I can’t wait!

On Sunday I attended the Honors Convocation at Marygrove College where a friend was being recognized. I know that I have mentioned this before, but this campus is gorgeous and just a delightful European oasis in the midst of the most American of cities. The chapel itself is a trove of ornate architectural detail. In Detroit we are lucky to have such academic institutions as Wayne State University, Marygrove College, University of Detroit Mercy, and Wayne County Community College. These institutions attract bright minds from all over the country and world. It is in our best interest to make sure these visitors find as much value in living in the city after their formal education as they did in school. Not only that, students from the area have a chance to interact intellectually with people that they would not otherwise have met.

iNathaniel Abraham is in the news again. Really in the news. Headlines almost every day. Convicted of murder at eleven years of age, he now has been released at age 21 and is, as far as anyone knows, trying to straighten out his life. The State has a new pilot program designed for older foster care youths. Under it, Abraham would be given two years of free rent and up to four years of college tuition. Huh? Backpeddlaling, they now say they only offered him $1200 for his first months rent on an apartment in Saginaw and some personal items he may need.
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I’m looking at collecting a masters degree from Wayne State but before I can get accepted I need to hammer out some post-graduate mathematics courses (I only got to Calc II at MSU). Does anyone have any recommendations on a good place to hammer out Calc II all the way through Diff EQ? I think I am going to go visit Schoolcraft College on my lunch break today to speak with an adviser. Does anyone have any experience with mathematics courses at area colleges? Any recommendations or things I ought to look out for?