Detroit Metblogs » det_baliad

Detroit Customer Service

det_baliad — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 12:08:45 +0000

for a long time i’ve felt that customer service in the D left something to be desired, but in an article in the Detroit News Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said, “We’re a bad customer service community from McDonald’s to Burger King to Channel 4 we all grew up in a manufacturing mentality”… it was an interesting and honest statement and one that i was glad to hear him say… i have noticed that in some places in Downtown/Midtown, the customer has been great (mostly newer ones) but i for one know that when i want to get fast food in the D, it’s a lot slower in the D than in other parts of the region and a lot of times i feel like i’m just burdening the person…

Criminal on the Loose

det_baliad — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 11:50:37 +0000

it was nice to turn on the radio and hear first thing this morning that a criminal is on the loose in my ‘hood… according to WWJ News Radio 950, a convict was taken to Detroit Receiving Hospital this morning because he said he was sick… once he got to the hospital he stole a police officers gun, forced an ambulance driver to take him to Canfield and Third and then fled on foot to who knows where… when leaving the loft this morning i saw DPD cruisers on like every corner though, so at least the cops are out, but hopefully they catch this dude…

Detroit’s Sixth Gift to the World: MUSIC

det_baliad — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 13:53:36 +0000

Detroit has given the world some of the best music it’s ever heard… regardless of what kind of music you like, chances are you’ve heard, if not loved, a song or even style of music that has come from the D (or at least has ties to it)… in my opinion, the best music comes out of Detroit… we even have a style music named after our city that’s known all around the world!!!

Motown is a sound that defined an era for some… it is it’s own style of music combining soul, r&b and pop that is easily liked by all… Motown played a huge positive role in race relations and helped African-Americans “break in” to the American music industry back in the tumultuous 1960’s… popular artists to come out of Motown include: Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Supremes (Diano Ross), The Jackson 5 (Michael Jackson), The Commodores (Lionel Richie), Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips, The Miracles (Smokey Robinson) and Boyz II Men…

Techno is another style of music that originated in the D… it’s basically an electronic form of music that originated from some high school friends who lived near the D that wanted to come up with some cool music for parties… in fact, the earliest style of Techno music is referred to as “Detroit Techno”… if you’ve ever been to a club, you’ve heard Techno (or at least something derived from it)… truthfully, you can’t have a party without Techno!!! THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP (insert electronic/futuristic sound here)… Techno is huge in Europe now, but the “Techno Elite” know that it started in the D…

The D is also home to several individuals who’ve shaped and changed the face of music… here are the most notable (according to the Detroit Historical Museum):

Aretha Franklin - The Queen of Soul… R-E-S-P-E-C-T… like I need to say much about her… I remember back a couple years (prolly more) when they had a battle of the “Divas” that included Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Gloria Estafan, Celine Dion (?) and Aretha… Aretha blew ‘em all away!!!

Bob Segar - originally from Ann Arbor, a suburb (barely) of Detroit… Bob sang hits like “Old Time Rock ‘n Roll”, “Like a Rock” (from the Chevy Truck commercials!) and “Shakedown” (Beverly Hills Cop)… currently Bob is on tour once again selling out shows across the nation…

Eminem - (aka Marshall Mathers) is one of the most controversial artists to come out of the D… he’s also one of the most successful… a white boy hailed by many as one of the best rappers ever, Eminem won 11 Grammies and was nominated for 2 dozen… Em also had success in movies with his hit “8 Mile”… unfortunately he hasn’t had much success in marriage, but I’d rather talk about something else ….

Derrick May - it wouldn’t surprise me if most people have never even heard of this guy, but his effect on music and the industry is pretty widespread… basically, he and his buddies from yet another suburb in the D founded Techno music… is that enough for ya???

Other musicians worth mentioning that hail from the D: Kid Rock, The White Stripes, Madonna, The Romantics, The Winans, Ted Nugent, Iggy Pop and Smokey Robinson…

2006: the year of “almost”

det_baliad — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 02:40:43 +0000

2006 was a great year in sports, but………

no championships will be had in the Mitten this year (sorry Shock, i just don’t consider you guys a major sport)…

the Tigers almost won the World Series

University of Michigan Football almost won the National Championship

the Pistons had the best record in the league and almost went to the NBA Finals for another shot at the title

Michigan State Basketball almost got to the Final Four

the Red Wings had the best record in the league and almost made it to the Stanley Cup Finals (almost meaning a few rounds away, but still..)

the Lions almost made it to the Superbowl by hosting it… (har har)

disappointing??? yes… but you can’t deny that Detroit has got to be the best sports town in the world…

no ‘fro

det_baliad — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 12:48:48 +0000

well, the Pistons lost to the Reindeer, i mean Bucks, last night… it didn’t look good really… they were never in the game and seemed a bit lost on the court… hopefully this isn’t indicative of the rest of the season… you could definitely sense the loss of Ben Wallace though… well at least i could…

first off, the Reindeer went to the hole seemingly at will at times… they knew Ben wasn’t there, so they figured they could attack the basket and they were right… i think 28 of their first 30 points were in the paint… sheesh… secondly, it was weird to have Chauncey as the face of the Pistons… i’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but it’s just different and will take some getting used to… i watched from home and all the graphics they use for the broadcast were pretty much the same, except that Chauncey was the main focus instead… then at halftime they showed a video of last year, which had lots of highlights of Ben… seeing Ben gave me pains reminiscent of the pains i get when i see Barry Sanders… though, Ben left Detroit a lot better than Barry did, it still hurts because he was such an icon in the city and now he’s gone…

anyways, Delfino and Maxiel looked good and i wonder how many complete games Sheed will have this season???

Corporate Crap

det_baliad — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 18:31:43 +0000

i was talking with a friend earlier today and we were discussing how we both enjoy bagels from Panera Bread… i said that i wished we had one down here (Downtown/Midtown) and before i could finish my sentence he said, “nah! we’ve got enough corporate crap around here! i go to Avalon for that stuff!” and was quite serious…

first off, i love Avalon and i think my wife pays their rent with all the purchases she makes there… but do we really have enough “corporate crap” around here??? as our conversation continued, my friend went on to say that the corporate stuff around here doesn’t do that well anyways, that the Starbucks on Woodward and Mack isn’t doing that well… i totally disagreed with him and noted how everytime i go in there or drive by it’s got plenty of customers…

personally i don’t think we have enough corporate, nationally known stores in the D… it’s not that i want every store to be a chain, but some chains wouldn’t hurt (like Target or Kroger)… competition is healthy and can make local businesses better…

by the way, our conversation ended with us having lunch at Honest John’s where my friend paid with his Target credit card!!!

DEEETROIT - BASKETBALL

det_baliad — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 12:33:52 +0000

now that we’ve had a week to grieve over a World Series loss and be thankful for an awesome TIgers season, the Pistons start the regular season tonight!!!

it’s a little weird not having Ben Wallace around which results in not having the ‘fro be the main marketing scheme, but i think we’ll be fine… actually, i think we’re going to be better… am i crazy??? well, with the way the NBA changed the rules of the game, there’s no way we would’ve kept on winning playing the same style we did in 2004 and that’s what Ben Wallace wanted…

so here’s to another great Pistons season!!! i think they’ll win something like 50 games and eventually win it all (did i really just write that?)… anyone else got some predictions?

my bad…

det_baliad — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 03:13:29 +0000

in the first game of the Yankees series i forgot to wear my Tigers hat and they got spanked… i wore my Tigers hat for the rest of their playoff games and then they never lost… today i simply forgot to put it on when getting ready… the result: they get spanked by the Cards…

you better believe i’m wearin’ the hat tomorrow… am i superstitious??? i suppose so… anyone else have any Tigers superstitions???

Police Caravan

det_baliad — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 03:52:24 +0000

at about 11 tonight i was driving south on M-10 when just after McNichols i noticed a caravan of at least 10 police cars (not an exaggeration) all with their lights flashing about a mile in front of me… i eventually caught up with them, but didn’t know what was going on… there were no bad accidents to be seen or heard reported on the radio, and then they all got off at West Grand Blvd… they were all Detroit Police Patrol cars… anyone ever seen this before??? any ideas as to what was going on???

Military Jets over the D

det_baliad — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 23:13:20 +0000

i was chillin’ in my crib when i heard the sound of jets flying over head… i looked out my windows and saw a few of ‘em cruisin’ by… they were headed east, so they were prolly from Selfridge??? anybody else notice ‘em??? this is the first time i recall ever hearing them or seeing them since we moved to the city…