My friends take me to concerts around Detroit and they adamantly support local bands. While I love music, music was always a backdrop to my life as opposed to a significant part of my life. I love experiencing new things, but never felt the passion they felt for the music. This was the case until I saw The Sea and Cake at the Magic Stick. My friend had never been to The Magic Stick and was shocked by the small size of the venue – intimate is the word used to promote this small place, but it is exactly this intimacy that garnered my epiphanic experience. The music itself was unique and memorable, but sharing the music with the spectrum of followers was surreal. The proximity each of these fans to the band itself was a delight in and of itself. The concert experience one has in Detroit is a financial bargain in comparison to most cities and I look forward to supporting local and visiting bands in the future.

just in case any of you are looking to move but are having trouble finding a luxury home for sale in Detroit here’s some info for you. the Watermark Detroit is, in their words, “a collection of sophisticated riverfront residences, featuring three unique luxury home styles: the nine story contemporary Tower Residence, The Marina Homes and The City Homes.” they will be holding some “Rediscover Detroit” events in, appropriately enough, Birmingham on October 20th and Grosse Pointe on October 27th. . if you can’t bring the people to the city you take the city to the people i guess. the events will feature talks with members of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp and various other things. you have to register/RSVP to attend which can be done on line or you old fashioned types can call 313 852-7000

I went to the Detroit Zoo with my friends a couple of weeks ago and felt a little odd as none of us had children. It turns out that the zoo was packed with families with small children and couples on dates. We were a trio, so we couldn’t quite get away with either, but it was still a really great time. While I am not entirely comfortable with the idea of caging animals for the entertainment of visitors, a well run zoo is much more than that. Having a zoo is an invaluable resource for scholars and those generally interested in environmental studies. There is a big difference between reading about animals and being able to experience and observe them in person. While it is not as informative as doing so in the wild, the zoo is still an invaluable institution to have and we are very lucky to have it in spite of our Aquarium closing on Belle Isle. Brooke and I are now in the process of saving up $100 to feed the giraffes at the zoo.

I had the pleasure of meeting the founder of Recy-clean in Detroit and also founder of Michigan Green Safe Products. From what I understand, Recy-clean came into being when recycling was illegal in Detroit due to the fact that recycling was in direct competition with the incinerator. They had to get the laws changed in order to set up shop. Curbside recycling remains illegal but Recy-clean is on the job. In the meantime, they have set up shop to sell Michigan Green Safe Products, which include biodegradable cutlery, cups, plates, cleaning products, and paper products.

It is almost October, the most magical month of all. The month in which you can get dressed up and be anyone or anything you wish to be. Showtime Detroit has a selection of pre-packaged Halloween costumes if you cannot make it out to Halloween USA in the suburbs. Also, there is always an assortment of unique costume pieces if you are so creative. The second place I would hit up would be the Salvation Army store at the corner of Fort and Sixth Street for some sweet vintage finds.

for the past few weeks Fox 2 news has been running promos for their new “Fox News Edge” saying things like “if you liked Huel Perkins at 10 wait ’til you see him after 11!” and so i waited…expecting “edginess” on par with Marilyn Manson doing Frank Zappa cover songs. the first day i got a bottle of my favorite adult beverage, sat back and waited for the “huel-arity” to begin. what a let down. i don’t know what exactly i was expecting but i was expecting something, anything different. so far it’s nothing more than a rerun of their 10 o’clock broadcast but for the late edition they’re out from behind the desks and standing. is the life of a news anchor so amazingly dull that the simple feat of standing is seen as “on edge”? perhaps o’l Huel is a bit of a boozer which would make it a bit off the wall for him to not only stay conscious for an extra half hour but to have to stay upright, read a prompter and stay focused is the meaning behind the “edge” title. am i missing something? anyone? doing the news without pants…now that’s edgy! or underwater, or while someone shoots ping pong balls at them.