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.

Remember that neighborhood spying that I mentioned in my intro post? Well, this weekend you can do it on the up-and-up!

This coming Sunday, December 16, is the annual Boston Edison Holiday Home Tour. Here’s your chance to take a peek inside some fantastic homes in the neighborhood that once housed all of the freeways in Detroit. Or, at least the people that they were named after. James Couzens, Charles Fisher, and of course Henry Ford once called this neighborhood home. The architecture of these homes is just breathtaking, and, as my gramma would say “they just don’t make ‘em like that anymore”. Tickets are $20 and include transportation around the houses on display and refreshments at the end of the tour. Head to the neighborhood’s website, Boston Edison, for more details.

Palmer Woods, home of the famous Bishop’s Residence isn’t holding it’s annual home tour this year, but is instead hosting a monthly concert series beginning in December.

(Dalai Lama = Awesome dude!)

It has just been announced that the Dalai Lama will deliver a lecture on Sustainability at Ann Arbor’s Crisler Arena on April 28, 2008. Wolverines can pick up free tickets on March 4 and the general public can get them on March 5 at the Michigan Union Ticket Office. Two per person. The lecture will coincide with Earth Week.

There should be lots of other environmental events in Ann Arbor around the time of the Lama’s visit. Check out this website for more info and buzz.

I’d like to note that that I’ve categorized this little post as “FUN,” because any kind of self-realization that doesn’t involved hell, fire, and brimstone is usually pretty enjoyable, or at least a little bit of a hoot.

Sending Christmas or holiday cards to friends in Windsor? Make sure to add extra postage. It costs $.69 to send a regular-sized, one-ounce card from Detroit to Ontario (it only costs $.41 within the U.S.) I learned this the hard way and received my Windsor-bound cards back five days after mailing them.

Another one that might trip you up is the square card, which costs an extra $.17 per card. That’s an extra $17 to send 100 square cards as opposed to 100 regular-sized ones.

My advice? Skip the square cards unless you are looking for ways to throw money away.

Outside MOCAD on Noel Night

If I weren’t down in North Carolina right now, there’s no question I’d be at Detroit Synergy’s volunteer event at The Parade Company tonight. I would love to work on some of the marvelous floats that will grace the streets of the D during America’s Thanksgiving Parade, which is coming up in just a few weeks. But, I’m out of town and won’t be back until Sunday evening, so maybe next year. Those of you fortunate enough to be in Detroit can participate, though (you lucky ducks) — here’s how:
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Do you play tennis? I don’t. But my friend Katy does, and she’s asked me to post this call to arms (and legs too):

Members of friendly Ferndale tennis group, “Da Fennis Klub,” are more likely to wear tennis blacks than tennis whites (”when there’s peace on earth, we’ll change”), and they want to test out their serves on you. The rules: show up, be nice, and have fun.

Through the summer, the group plays 2x weekly at Detroit’s Palmer Park and Ferndale High School courts. A ladder system ensures that everyone gets points and the matches stay competitive. Now that it’s fall, the matches are petering out, but informal, pick-up games are all the rage (so is replenishing your sweat with $2 beers at the W.A.B. afterward).

To get in the game simply show up from 5-7 pm at the Ferndale High School courts. For more info, email: fennisklub@gmail.com

CORRECTION: Sorry about not mentioning the date. Thanks Homer. Tennis ensues Sundays through October 21.

i assume that everyone here has done their part to honor the best places in or around this city we hate to love by firing off a vote for them in the “Vote 4 The Best” contest channel 4 is putting on, i know i have. i have made it a rule, however, that i would only vote for independant businesses because i know how genuinely jazzed the owners will be to win their catagory. i don’t see the CEO of Circuit City giving a crap about it but i’ll bet Mary Ella from Bikram Yoga in Grosse Pointe would literally bend over backwards to get your vote. even though i’m pretty sure the winners get nothing more than bragging rights it’s still nice to know that the things you do for your customers are appreciated. i’ve let the public know where i like to drink beer, shop for mid century antiques, see rock bands perform and eat thai food among other things. how about you guys? anyone willing to offer up their choices for us all to read? i know Rick (who claims to be an avid bicyclist) has voted for who he thinks is the top of the heap. the last time i checked they were in the number one spot, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t add to it.

Diamond Jack’s boat near the RenCen