This week’s Metro Times cover story by Curt Guyette, “The Big Burn: America’s largest garbage incinerator and the movement to shut it down,” is both a must read and a call-to-arms for all Detroiters, both metro and suburban.

It is both absolutely ridiculous and sadly typical that Detroit has the country’s largest incinerator, and even more ridiculous and typical that the city officials who have the power to move the city in a new, more environmentally sustainable direction are leaning toward keeping this monstrosity (I’m looking right at you, Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams!). Detroit needs a challenge, and reducing our waste by making recycling the law (that’s right, the law) in Detroit is a great start. With a vigorous recycling program and more education regarding environmental and health issues, the choice won’t need to be between an incinerator and landfills. The answer will be a better life for Detroit and the surrounding area–environmentally and economically.

We could utilize the sage advice and experience from the good folks at Recy-clean in this challenge. In fact, you can start by going to see them regularly at 1331 Holden with these items at the following times:

Wednesday 10am-2am
Saturday 9am-3pm

Oh, and that $600-$1200 you’ll be getting from old mother Bush this May, it wouldn’t hurt to make a donation to this and other great Detroit non-profit organizations who do a bunch of great things for you for free.

It is, of course, the job of the writer to fit, fashion, and mold together words in meaningful, descriptive, and sometimes passionate and illuminating ways. To investigate the unknown and misunderstood with the implacable determination of the grittiest of hardboiled detectives and to confer unto our readers the prodigiously awe-inspiring yet sometimes uncouth world with soaring verbs and shimmering adjectives, full of moxie and bravado, this is the calling of the writer. Truly, the art of language is the nectar of the mind, and the writer is its steward.

It is with this great and weighty duty that I write the following of Scrummage University:

It’s f-ing awesome!
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The next day I’m sore. My muscles are achy and my feet swollen. Of course, it’s the kind of pain that you live with very easily, because it’s the consequence of having one of the most dance-tastic nights of your life last night at the Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings show at the Magic Stick.

Soul music is the music of the body as much as it’s the music of the soul. It brings out the usually sublimated human inner desire to fully realize our bodily facticity on a deep ontological level, and this is accomplished by shaking the hell out of what your momma gave ya (aka. your money-maker).

I couldn’t find anyone to go to the show with me since I had decided to go hours beforehand (and am I glad I did!). That didn’t stop me from dancing; in fact, I think I cut more rug than I ever had at a show before. I was right up front and thought for sure that Sharon would pick me to go up on stage to dance with her. She picked the dude next to me. Why Sharon? Why?

Any other loyal readers out there able to experience <a href=”this or this last Tuesday?

Attention, parents: this Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm, MetroParent is hosting its 12th annual Education Expo at the Cranbrook Institute of Science and you won’t want to miss out on the free resources and free activities that will be available.
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Although I admit I had bit of trepidation before walking into the Old Miami Wednesday night, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. Not only were the regulars and staff downright friendly, they also introduced my friend and I to the “backyard”. The backyard which in staying true to its name was simply a large backyard made complete with lawn furniture, grass and grill. There was even a resident dog making himself comfortable amongst the crowd. Overall the Old Miami is everything that is right about Detroit bars.

It isn’t unusual for my husband and me to stay at a hotel the night of a wedding, especially if the wedding is in the ‘burbs or far away from our home in Detroit, and we did just that on Saturday evening after enjoying my cousin’s nuptials at Fox Hills in Plymouth. The thing that was different for us this time, though, was that along with booking a hotel for us, we also had to find a place for our dog, Bagley, to stay while we were away.
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Leroy – aka Roy – and Julia Richie of Birmingham gave Plowshares Theatre Company something to smile about this holiday season: a $30,000 charitable donation. A portion of the donation will be used to establish an endowment for Plowshares, which opened in 1989.

Kudos to the Ritchie’s for giving away some of their hard-earned money to Plowshares, a non-profit arts organization that seeks to “produce plays and programs that inspire, exhibit, and affirm African American life.”

For the next seven days, the Metroblogging sites around the globe will be unveiling seven gifts their cities can share with the world – one gift a day for seven days. These gifts can be serious, funny or sarcastic. Kicking things off, Metroblogging Detroit begins with an old Detroit favorite: Eastern Market.

Food-fanatic or not, Detroit’s Eastern Market is a hidden gem – a unique city staple we’re lucky to have.

Located on Russell Street near Gratiot, Eastern Market’s vendors and shops offer nutritious, inexpensive selections, plus tasty meats and cheeses, homemade breads, wine, beer, flowers, antiques and so much more.

Sure, other cities have markets – DC even has its own Eastern Market – but how many have been around since 1841?
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Here it is, ladies and gents.

I took this picture around 9:15 tonight; it is the window-side of the building that faces north.

The opposite side of the building still sports the pink ribbon, which to me, is a nice compromise.

Go Tigers!

Last night was crazy downtown. I took I-75 from my apartment and got off at the Lafayette exit, hoping to nab a parking spot in the Greektown Casino Parking Garage. Unfortunately, traffic was pretty insane from the combination of people leaving downtown from the game and people coming downtown to party. The garage filled up, so I had to drive down a few of the streets north of Greektown before I found a spot on Gratiot by Frank Murphy’s Hall of Justice.

It was pretty crazy. People were running up to cars giving drivers high fives and cars were honking in celebration all over downtown. You could hear the honking from different parts of downtown echoing down the corridors between the high rises. Everything was peaceful and fun and Detroit’s finest actually did a pretty good job of working the crazy traffic. There were cops *everywhere*. I probably walked by at least a dozen on my way from Gratiot to Greektown.

I haven’t seen this many people downtown since the Superbowl – Greektown was the busiest I’ve ever seen it. I can’t wait for the ALCS on Tuesday! Go Tigers!