After being a volunteer author on Detroit Metblogs for over two and a half years, I have decided it is time for me to move on to something new. As such, this will be my last post on the site. Before I go, I want to say thank you to the readers of the site, and to the crew at Metroblogging HQ for sharing their wisdom relating to blogging and life in general. A very special thanks goes out to the volunteer authors and captains that have come and gone since the site first launched; I enjoyed working with all of you and wish you nothing but success and happiness in the future!

It has been a fun and illuminating experience, metro Detroit. In the words of Fall Out Boy (or Bob Hope, if you’re Old School): Thanks for the memories.

This weekend? Next?

Well, go find it yourself.

I peeked around a bit on Detroit’s new Metromix site today, and while the layout isn’t my absolute favorite kind of user friendly, it is packed with some good places to check out, and events that are happening in the area. As with most Detroit-happenings sites, the focus is pretty heavy on Downtown (if you’re like me and can’t help but cry “There’s a whole city here!” hit up the Contact button and submit other sites and events for coverage), but there’s enough to keep you busy for quite awhile. These Metromix sites are already running for cities like Chicago and New York, so Detroit’s addition is another baby step toward glamour city status.

It’s no Metroblogging (!), but it is a pretty neat site.

While thousands of Michiganders are celebrating wedding anniversaries today, someone - or something else — is celebrating its own anniversary this Valentine’s Day: Metroblogging San Jose. Happy first birthday, San Jose! We in Detroit wish you another year of growth and success!

Happy Valentine’s Day, Detroit! We at Metroblogging Detroit hope you have a fabulous, fun- and love-filled day.

My husband and I are going, for the first time, to the Whitney for dinner this evening. I cannot wait and will give a full report on the experience and the food in a few days. What are your special Valentine’s plans?

I had no idea when I walked to the back entrance and up the three flights of stairs that I would be walking into the last rock show at Scrummage University’s Eastern Market loft. As some of you know, we like Scrummage at Metroblogging a lot. And while it’s a shame that Scrummage will be leaving its convenient and easy-to-reach location on Winder street, the boys are moving to an abandoned toy factory across from a cemetery on the East side (sounds like something right out of a movie, doesn’t it?) where they won’t have to worry about waking up neighbors with their pesky dance parties and their obnoxious rocking-and-rolling music. Besides, the new place will have more than twice the space, more room for more roommates, and there will be a closed-in lot for pilgrims to park.
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Happy MLK day from all of us at Metroblogging Detroit! The Free Press has put together a compilation of MLK events around Metro Detroit today, such as the fifth annual Martin Luther King Day Rally and March, scheduled at noon, at Central United Methodist Church, and Walled Lake Consolidated Schools’ ninth annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, which lasts from 5 to 8 p.m. Click here for more.

Metroblogging Azeroth

Are you freakin’ kidding me?

Ah man, please don’t tell me how many thousands more hits they probably get than Metbloggin’ Detroit.

My office is back at full staff, after operating with a skeleton crew for most of the past few weeks. Today we all welcomed each other back, discussed our holiday breaks, and began a rousing debate over a holiday card that many a city resident received in the mail - from Kwame Kilpatrick. Some said the card was beautiful, and a welcome personal touch from the mayor. Some thought that it was an empty attempt at putting on a happy face, or a waste of city money. Then, of course, there were those who said a couple things that weren’t very MetroBlogging-friendly…

So, Detroiters, did you get “the card”? What did you think of it?

Merry Christmas, Detroit, from all of us at Metroblogging Detroit! Have a safe and happy holiday!

Thanks to David Markland of Metroblogging Los Angeles for posting a call for LA’s Grinch of the Year, and giving me the idea to do the same thing for the Detroit region.

So, here goes … we at Metroblogging Detroit want your nominations for the Detroit-area’s Grinch of the Year. The ideal candidate is an individual or group who has impacted either a portion of Detroit/metro Detroit or the region in a negative way. This person or group should epitomize Grinch or Scrooge. Some early ideas include several Detroit City Council members for being … well, slow and unproductive to say the least; Agnes Nixon, the woman behind the Detroit School Board grape-throwing incident; and DPS school board president-Jimmy Womack, for, among other things, calling grape-thrower Nixon a “social terrorist” while DPS continues climbing the list of one of the worst-performing large school districts in the country.

To make a nomination, leave a comment below by midnight on Wednesday, December 19 with the name of the individual or group and a brief explanation of why he/she/they deserve this dishonor. Then, Metroblogging Detroit authors will narrow the pool down and allow readers to vote for their favorite Grinch o’ the Year beginning Friday, December 21th. I’ll announce the Grinchy winner on Friday, December 28.