> Jacob Russell says he’s been part of metro Detroit’s mostly white improv scene for almost 13 years and noticed his peers didn’t know much about contributions Black people made to American history. The comedian, who grew up on Detroit’s west side, said that disconnect inspired “Birth of a Ho’ Ass Nation,” a satirical one-man show to “give them a perspective of how I grew up and what I was taught.”

> Russell said he was inspired to write the first play, which he first performed in 2017 and has since become a series, because he wanted to offer his audience something deeper than just jokes.

> Along with writing the play, Russell, 38, plays all the characters like Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B Du Bois and Ida B. Wells. He also throws in some non-historical figures–a human version of Jim Crow, a talking lion simply named Lion and a heightened version of himself. *** Everything I say is a lie… !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

Attention: metroDetroit™-specific content. Deal.

…but the three giant abstract sculptures are still part of Lakeside's repurposed future.

!"Untitled", Fletcher Barton

^{Untitled by Fletcher Benton, JC Penney court at Lakeside Mall. Photo: Mitch Hotts, Macomb Daily}

> “We have been deeply moved by how much Lakeside Mall has meant to the Sterling Heights community for nearly 50 years,” Allison Greenfield, principal of Leviathan Development and chief development officer of Lionheart Capital, said in a news release. “This inspired us to create plans for repurposing the existing public art within the reimagined Lakeside. One of Lionheart’s main pillars is to reduce waste and facilitate reuse of serviceable materials and items, when possible, in the redevelopment process.”

Emphasis mine. Am I the only one who finds this statement…meaningless? How is "repurposing the existing public art" going to help in this lofty goal? They're demolishing the place and most likely disposing of the tons of rubble in the most traditional and cost-effective manner. Hardly "reduce-reuse-recycle." Empty, useless marketingspeak and a little tone-deaf too.

!"Untitled", Bruce Beasley

^{Untitled, Bruce Beasley, Lakeside Mall. Photo: Lakeside Mall}

> Lakeside Town Center will feature residences, parks, a hotel, office spaces, retail outlets, dining establishments, and more. Approximately 30 acres will be dedicated to the new public spaces, incorporating the repurposed sculptures from Lakeside Mall. “This thoughtful integration will enhance the community’s cultural landscape and preserve the artistic legacy of Lakeside,” officials said in the release.

!"Untitled", Buky Schwartz

^{Untitled, Buky Schwartz, Macy's court at Lakeside Mall. Photo: Lakeside Mall}

> A date for the fixtures sale will be released later this year, according to the release.

Further reading:

• WXYZ-Detroit: 'One last glimpse' *** If you can't see the crazy person on the bus, it's you. !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

> “Today, Detroit takes a step into a major national leadership role in fighting climate change,” Duggan said at the event in the footprint of the Gratiot-Findlay project. “127 city buildings are currently powered by 33 megawatts of energy per year from traditional sources, largely fossil fuels,” Duggan said. “In the next two years, we are going to build solar fields that are going to produce that 33 megawatts of energy in renewable energy, effectively generating all the power for city buildings from solar fields.”

> Duggan said Monday that the program targets “some of the most blighted areas in the city” and would be “helping neighborhoods that think they’ve been forgotten.”

> Homeowners in the footprint of the proposed solar fields stand to receive twice the fair market value of their homes or $90,000, whichever is higher, while renters will get 18 months of rent to relocate. Homeowners within community benefits areas surrounding the projects will receive $15,000 to $25,000 each for energy efficiency upgrades.

> Support for solar arrays in city neighborhoods has been far from unanimous. Detroit dropped a plan for a project in Grixdale Farms after residents raised concerns about the potential for solar fields to hurt property values or add to issues with blight and crime in the area outside the project’s footprint. *** Plunk your magic twanger, Froggy! !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

• Hart Plaza
• Belle Isle
• Ford Motor Company’s official rooftop party. Yeah. Real proletariat there, Lee. $350 a pop. Yes, proceeds do go to the The Michigan Thanksgiving Parade Foundation.
• TV (WDIV-4)

There. I just saved ya the trip. No thanks necessary. For those of you still asleep, it's tonight. Act accordingly.

Happy (early) Canada Day to our brothers and sisters across the river. *** Free your mind and your ass will follow… !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

🥵

Maybe you wanna see something light while getting out of the oppressive, heavy, humid Detroit summer? Something escapist for your escaping the heat. A romantic comedy with a happy ending for everybody…well, for almost everybody. Are you in luck!

Friday evening, 8:00pm, at the historic (and air-conditioned!) Redford Theatre (at fashionable 17360 Lahser Road, just north of Grand River Ave.) is the 1987 romantic comedy, Moonstruck!

Directed by the late, great Norman Jewison (Fiddler On The Roof, In The Heat Of The Night), see 80s post-op Cher riding the top of her wave as a movie star and pre-op Nicolas Cage at the beginning of his…

> Cher is perfect as the widowed woman, convinced she is cursed by bad luck, who agrees to remarry, only to fall for her fiance’s opera-loving baker brother (Nicolas Cage). This still fresh romantic comedy from Norman Jewison (who passed earlier this year) is a love letter to Italian culture and New York City.

⚜ _***** ⚜ 📽 ⚜ _***** ⚜

Godzilla Saturday! 🏢🦖🔥

You want light? Some frivolous entertainment? How 'bout a man in a rubber monster costume terrorizing both a scale model of Tokyo and another actor in a blobby, shapeless rubber costume? No CGI here, no shin nothing except maybe getting kicked!

On Saturday, the historic Redford is showing not one but two masterworks from Japan's Toho Co.…oh, no!…it's a Godzilla Double-Header!

At the 2:00pm matinée is 1971's *Godzilla Vs The Smog Monster!

> Perhaps the trippiest film in the original Godzilla series, in which the big guy battles a creature born of out-of-control pollution. Rare to see in any form, we screen the dubbed version that ran in US theaters in the early 1970s.

Then later at 8:00pm is the original, the one that started it all, Ishiro Hondo's 1954 Godzilla!

> 70th anniversary screening! Celebrate the birth of everyone’s favorite atomic dinosaur, stomping Tokyo on the big screen and in glorious black and white. We present the film’s recent restoration in Japanese with English subtitles.

⚜ _***** ⚜ 📽 ⚜ _***** ⚜

Tickets for all the shows are the usual $7 and $5 for seniors and kids. Stay cool "old school", fool! Go to the movies! *** My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I'm happy. I can't figure it out. What am I doing right? -- Charles Schulz !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

The Detroit Film Theatre at the world-reknown (and air-conditioned!) Detroit Institute of Arts celebrates cinematically the Juneteenth weekend with not one but three blockbusters of African Americana!

Tomorrow at 7:00pm, one showing only, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson's 2021 award-winning documentary, Summer of Soul!

> In his acclaimed debut as a filmmaker, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson fashioned a joyful and transporting documentary — part music film, part historical record — created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture, and fashion. Over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park) in New York.

> Incredibly, most of the footage was largely forgotten–but no more. Summer of Soul shines a light on the importance of history to our spiritual well-being, and stands as a testament to the healing power of music during times of injustice, past and present. Including concert performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, The 5th Dimension and many more. Academy Award® Winner, Best Documentary Feature; Grand Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival. (118 min.)

Try to stay seated.

⚜ _***** ⚜ 📽 ⚜ _***** ⚜

Stormy Weather

On Saturday, at sweltering 3:00pm and muggy 7:00pm, the final days of the Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898--1971 exhibition close with the 1943 classic, star-studded musical, Stormy Weather!

> One of two musical entertainments featuring all-Black casts released by major Hollywood studios in 1943, Stormy Weather has a traditional movie romance plot — but what really matters in this incredible film is the cast and musical numbers.

> The great Lena Horne, whose performance of the title song is one for the ages, is only one of the brilliant talents on screen; there's also Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Katherine Dunham and her dance company, Dooley Wilson (Casablanca’s piano player), and the astonishing Nicholas Brothers, Fayard and Harold, performing what may still be the greatest dance number in movie history [emphasis mine -- r² ] (their tap shoes are on display in Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898 – 1971, at the DIA through June 23). (78 min.)

"Different Times": from the Wikipedia entry…

> Although Stormy Weather and other musicals of the 1940s opened new roles for African Americans in Hollywood, breaking through old stereotypes and far surpassing limited roles previously available in race films produced for all-black audiences, it still perpetuates stereotypes. Notably, the musical numbers in the movie contain elements of minstrelsy. The performance of a cakewalk, for example, features flower headdresses reminiscent of the Little Black Sambo figures used in historical misrepresentations of Black American males.

…just so you know.

Performing live at 7:00pm screening is the DFT's special guest, Detroit's musical child prodigy, Frank "Sugar Chile" Robinson!

⚜ _***** ⚜ 📽 ⚜ _***** ⚜

Moonlight

Finally, at the Sunday 2:00pm matinée, director Barry Jenkins' 2016 Academy Award winning film, Moonlight, starring Ashton Sanders, Trevante Rhodes and Mahershala Ali. Moving. Touching. Difficult. Gripping. Yeah, it's all those adjectives and more. Jenkins' adaption of Tarell Alvin McCraney's play follows the life of Chiron from childhood to adulthood, his relationship with father-figure crack dealer Juan and his addicted mother Paula and how he just tries to navigate through the situations he finds himself in, inside and out. If you've never seen this powerful film, I'll say no more other than it's not what you'd call a "popcorn movie". You may need to bring Kleenex along.

⚜ _***** ⚜ 📽 ⚜ _***** ⚜

Tickets for all showings are $10, $8.50 for seniors, students and DIA members and available online (plus $1.50 inconvience fee).

Stay cool "old school", fool! Go to the movies! *** My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I'm happy. I can't figure it out. What am I doing right? -- Charles Schulz !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

So much going on today here at !detroit@midwest.social(disease).

From ace reporters Robert Snell and Louis Aguilar at the News, "rat, meet sinking ship"…

> …prosecutors are applying more pressure on Smith by slapping a lien on his $1.25 million home, a move that reveals possible new criminal charges that could be filed in connection with one of the largest alleged embezzlements in a public corruption case in recent Detroit history[…]

> Plea negotiations were described in a federal court filing by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Moran and Smith's criminal defense lawyer, Gerald Evelyn, on June 10. […] "The parties jointly request that the court continue the period in which an indictment must be returned by 60 days in order to permit the ongoing plea negotiations to continue, as the issuance of indictment may change the posture of the parties in negotiations," the lawyers wrote.

> The lien signals Smith's home in a Novi gated community may be subject to forfeiture to the government because investigators believe the property is linked to fraud, bribery/theft and money laundering. "If the Department of Justice has liened property, that's a pretty good indication that it is proceeds of unlawful conduct," Birmingham criminal defense lawyer Wade Fink told The News after learning about the lien. "As a criminal defense lawyer seeing this, I would certainly be worried about a forthcoming indictment or ongoing discussions about what that indictment is going to look like."

Yeah, me being a mere genius and not a lawyer, I kinda see it that way too.

One last thought: all this hullabaloo these days about US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepting "gifts" with an estimated value of $2.4M. That's peanuts! Kids' stuff in comparison!

Alt link for your convenience via archive.is *** What We Want Now !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

Why is this even posted here at !detroit@midwest.social? Read the article (or as much as you can stomach), peruse the graphic, and then you'll understand my perplexity…

> Our study ranks 100 vehicles judged through the same five criteria as it’s been since the 2020 edition: assembly location, parts content, engine origin, transmission origin and U.S. manufacturing workforce. More than 400 vehicles of model-year 2024 vintage were analyzed to qualify the 100 vehicles on the list.

The tl;dr graphic…

[!Where's GM? Ford?](https://web.archive.org/web/20240618174037im_/https://carsdotcom.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/24_AMI_national-map_mg.jpg) _{Detroit isn't even on there once! Cars.com graphic by Melissa Galicia}

> The top 10 shifts considerably thanks largely to Tesla. The Texas-based all-electric automaker locked out the top four in the 2023 index, but its Model S sedan and Model X SUV come in at Nos. 4 and 9 this year, and noticeably absent from the top 10 is a vehicle that once ranked No. 1 outright in 2021: the Model 3 sedan. On the receiving end of these drops are Honda, whose Passport SUV now lands at No. 2, plus its Odyssey minivan and Ridgeline pickup truck at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively; Volkswagen, whose ID.4 electric vehicle ranks No. 3; Toyota and its luxury brand Lexus, with the Camry sedan and all-new TX SUV at Nos. 7 and 10, respectively; and Jeep, whose Gladiator rises to No. 8 this year.

It's so 20^th century but this town still insists on referring to itself as "Motown" or "the Motor City." Pffffft.

That's depressing. I need to see something adorable!

Happy Juneteenth! *** What We Want Now !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

Happy Jubilee Day, Detroit! !Flag

> This episode of Visions is celebrating Black Music Month!

> You’ll hear music across all jazz genres and the decades exclusively from Black artists, including Hank Mobley, Meshell Ndegeocello, Marcus Belgrave and more.

> Jazz music is black music, but there’s no better time to celebrate it than during June’s Black Music Month.

See, Kaleigh dearest, that's where you're wrong. Jazz/black music should be celebrated every day! 🥰 🎶

EDIT 08:57:54 CEST: typographic error. *** What We Want Now !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

First posted last week here, 18-year-old chess champion—the highest-rated African American female chess player in history—Jessica Hyatt's visit to the DIA in an organized simul against 27 opponents "outed" a whole bunch of Detroit dads and grandfathers who have introduced their daughters and granddaughters to the analytical game of chess.

> [hellip;]there's a group of Detroit dads that have been making moves for years; taking their kids to practices and tournaments all over; sitting in silence — sometimes for hours at a time — as their progeny test wits, strategy and skills against their opponents, and loving every minute of it. Unlike soccer or hockey, any congratulatory cheers are saved for the end of the game. But these fathers' pride is on display all the time.

> “When I introduced my daughter to chess, it was all about giving her critical-thinking skills, and she was like: ‘Oh, I love this game,’ " said Keith Walker, whose middle school daughter, Madison, is on the chess team at Bates Academy. “Now, I’ve been a part of the chess community in Detroit for about six years, and I can say that the fathers behind the chess scene are very strong. We give our kids security and safety, and we also look out for all of the kids that are playing. So all the kids are my kids and we become a unit.”

> The smile on Michael Slater Jr.'s face as he took advantage of the minutes right before the start of the simul at the DIA to take some up-close pictures of his daughter Amara — a rising third-grader at Bates Academy — let everyone in the Great Hall know that Slater, too, definitely was having fun. […] “I support Amara in chess because she enjoys playing and I enjoy watching her,” Slater said[…] “But I am going to speak for all of the dads in Detroit’s chess community and say that we’re here and we’re involved in everything that we see our children do.”

Alt link for your convenience via archive.is *** What We Want Now !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

What do graffiti artist BVIS (real name: Bryan Herrin) and alleged terrorist Yousef Mohammad Ramadan have in common? What is the lowest common denominator here?

I'll give you all a clue. From the thin Metro Times article…

> Despite Mayor Mike Duggan’s crackdown on graffiti, BVIS told Metro Times that he wasn’t afraid of getting caught. […] “I love just getting away with shit,” BVIS told us. “But part of me is like, I know people like it. It feels good to make people smile. But it is mostly the adrenaline rush.”

These two (Herrin and Ramadan) and many, many, oh so many people who, shall we say, work outside of the law (regardless where on the gamut) just can't resist painting a huge, neon red target on their backs. Some people just can't shut up.

!Deconstructing Beavis

_{Photo: Midwest Modern via FOX2Detroit}

That said, from an Art History perspective, I like BVIS's guerilla art. I like that it's got elements—knowingly or not—of Pop Art, Outsider Art and even Deconstruction.

I also think that the penalty being bandied about is a tad extreme but IANAL. I'll ask my attorney what she thinks.

From the Freep's coverage…

> Last week, a search warrant was served at Herrin’s home, police said. After his arrest, he now faces six counts of malicious destruction of property. Each count is punishable by up to four years in prison if found guilty; Herrin faces a total of 24 years. Bond was set at $50,000, which Herrin paid.

> When asked whether Herrin's capture stemmed from his interview with Metro Times, [Detroit Police Sgt. Daron] Zhou could not stop nodding and smirking comment.

Snark all mine.

Hey, kids, wanna hear about the worst criminal activity in which I've ever been involved? I could tell you…but then I'd have to kill you.

Freep alt link for your convenience via archive.is *** What We Want Now !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

Brendel Hightower over at the Freep has compiled a pile of commemorations, celebrations and festivities for the upcoming Emancipation Day AKA Juneteenth, originating on June 19, 1865 but observed as a federal holiday only since June 17, 2021.

That's a lot of patience.

Here's a sample of the upcoming events, starting today…

• A Juneteenth Senior Lunch will be held at Southfield’s Parks and Recreation Building room 115 at City Hall.

• Dancing in the Street: Juneteenth Jubilee at Motown Museum: […]free museum tours[…]African dance workshop[…]live performances by Lolly Mariah, Hitsville Next Artists, and the 154 Dance Project[…]DJ Takeover[…]Visual Artist Danielle Eliska.

• Juneteenth Celebration of Freedom: City Officials & Civil Rights, Inclusion & Opportunity will host this celebration that will include raising the Juneteenth Flag[…]entertainment by We The People Band, Divine 9 Fraternity & Sorority Strolls […] and more from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

The article contains all the details regarding locations, times, dates and registrations. Happy Juneteenth!

Alt link for your convenience via archive.is *** What We Want Now !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/13306381

> Found this over at one of our regular sites, Michigan Advance, but honestly, it reads like a (not-very) covert ad for author Dave Liske's new book The Flint Coney. Flint Coney?! > > That said I'm linking to the updated PBS video from which this comes from which plays less like one big book plug. > > Moar Coney! BONUS: > > - the original 2015 Made In Detroit broadcast about Detroit's coneys > > Tell me you're not craving a couple of dogs now. What's that? You say you're vegetarian? Vegan? Well then… > > - Velvet Peanut Butter!, with one of the greatest logos in the modern world ever! "Fresh! Pure! Delicious!" > > !Fresh! Pure! Delicious!

> Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. It is also often observed for celebrating African American culture. Originating in Galveston, Texas, it has been celebrated annually on June 19 in various parts of the United States since 1865.

> Southfield’s Juneteenth Celebration will kick off with the raising of the Juneteenth flag on Monday, June 10 at 5 p.m. at the circle drive in front of City Hall, 26000 Evergreen Road. This will be followed by the reading of the Juneteenth proclamation with City Council at 6 p.m.

Visit the linked WXYZ page or http://www.cityofsouthfield.com/ for further information on all of the week's planned events and activities. *** Free your mind and your ass will follow… !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

> Critics refer to the kids who covered the iconic Beaux Arts-style building as vandals and hoodlums. But graffiti writers look back and describe it as sort of a gritty community center viewed as a safe space for children who loved to draw and paint but didn't have art programs like students who attended elite schools in the suburbs.

> But how does a company spend $950 million on the massive 30-acre campus and keep graffiti, a reminder of when the station was an eyesore?

> "Often, graffiti is referred to as blight, as something that scares away our economy, and people don't want to live near it," [muralist Freddy "SW Freddy"] Diaz said. "If we learn to embrace our past, I think we can have a good future. The Central Station embodies that. It was a landmark that maybe didn't have a future but what it meant to the people that were painting in there and hanging out, and seeing what it is now, man, it almost gives you goose bumps, to really learn to appreciate the good and the bad of everything, you know?"

> Paul Carmona, 45, of Allen Park, is a former Detroit Police officer [who] began his spray painting at age 15 as "Phame." He focused on lettering at Michigan Central and other parts of the city with his spray cans over five years. "Going into the train station to paint, it was peaceful," he said. "You went into a different world where you didn't have to worry about nothing. You went there with your sketchbook and tried your best to put something up there that people would like."

> "You would look at the architecture and attention to detail and arched cathedral ceilings and it makes you feel like you’re sitting in the Sistine Chapel or a place that you know is sacred," [artist "Fel3000ft"] said. "Keep in mind, I was a kid that had nowhere else to go. I needed a safe place to practice my art. I thank God that I had it. I don’t think there would be a career for a Fel3000ft from Detroit without that place. ... To see someone save it is, it’s moving to me. I cried my eyes out when I was invited back in there."

Alt link for your convenience via archive.is *** Stay sick, scratch glass, turn blue, climb walls…but don't get caught! !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

It is with a heavy heart I post this…

> Biscoe, who was born in Washington D.C. in 1946, joined WXYZ as a night reporter in 1973. She previously worked as a radio DJ in Maryland and hosted a weekly public affairs show in Washington D.C. before coming to Detroit. Throughout her tenure at WXYZ, Biscoe was one of the most visible Black broadcast journalists in Detroit, and throughout America.

An informative, illustrated page on Ms Biscoe and her groundbreaking career over at broadcastingvault.com

From Wikipedia's page on Detroit's WXYZ-TV…

> In 1987, the station created and produced a weekly educational literacy program aimed at children called Learn To Read, which was based on the audio-lingual method of literacy education, and was co-produced by Kentucky Educational Television. One of the hosts of this series was then WXYZ-TV news anchor Doris Biscoe.

From a (much exaggerated) account by blogger Tod Ridley at Medium, Tonya Harding and Doris Biscoe Walk Into a Laundry-mat…

> In Detroit, in the 90’s, there were two rival stations in Detroit that mattered. ABC Channel 7 and NBC Channel 4. Doris Biscoe was the Grand Dame of Channel 7. She was a strong and confident, gorgeous and gigantic, 6’6″ African American. [emphasis mine -- r² ]

> I knew these details of her because the news station for Channel 7 was next to our college campus. I regularly saw Doris pulling into the station in her Lincoln Continental, head slightly bent over because of her height. She was a God. And fabulous.

Yes, Ms Biscoe was fabulous and tall but 6'6"? While I can't disprove this by-eye measurement (while sitting down), I think Ridley maybe was a bit starstruck at the time.

Cause of death has not yet been announced. Condolences to the surviving family from all of us at !detroit.

Hail, hail, stomp and drool! Two shows today at the historic Redford Theatre (at fashionable 17360 Lahser Road, just north of Grand River Ave.), truly "something for everyone."

In a bizarre calculated move by the Detroit movie house, today's 2:00pm matinée is the 60^th Anniversary screening of George Sidney's Viva Las Vegas. Watch Elvis and Ann-Margret scorch the screen together in this 1964 rock 'n roll classic. You say you've never seen it?! Maybe you've already—ahem!—formulated certain ideas regarding the King of Rock and Roll? Maybe you need reminding? Do yourself a favor. See it today! On the Redford's big screen!

From Wikipedia…

> The chemistry between the two stars was genuine during filming. Presley and Ann-Margret began an affair, and this received considerable attention from film and music gossip columnists. This reportedly led to a showdown with Presley's worried girlfriend Priscilla Beaulieu (Elvis and Priscilla married in 1967). In her 1985 book Elvis and Me, Priscilla Presley describes the difficulties that she experienced when the gossip columnists erroneously "announced" that Ann-Margret and Presley had become engaged to be married. […] In her memoirs, Ann-Margret refers to Elvis Presley as her "soulmate" and stated: "We felt there was a need in 'The Industry' for a female Elvis Presley."

❦ ———— 🎥 ———— ❦

Later, at 8:00pm, the Redford presents The Secret of NIMH, the 1982 by that giant of animated film, Don Bluth, incidentally his studio's first feature-length animated film.

> Based on a 1971 children’s novel, this animated classic from Don Bluth finds the widowed mouse Mrs. Frisby, forced from her home, helped by a group of rats with heightened intelligence. Along with still-gorgeous animation, the movie also features vocal work by Elizabeth Hartman, John Carradine, and Dom DeLuise.

While appropriate for the whole family, Bluth's NIMH didn't aim low regarding its audience, having a more sophisticated tone to it. And there's always that gorgeous, pre-anime, Bluth house style…❤

❦ ———— 🎥 ———— ❦

Tickets for each show today are $7 or $5 for and seniors and kids. See ya there, cinephiles! *** Stay sick, scratch glass, turn blue, climb walls…but don't get caught! !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

From the Psychology Today page…

> It is the part of the brain that is phylogenetically very primitive. Many people call it the "Lizard Brain,” because the limbic system is about all a lizard has for brain function. It is in charge of fight, flight, feeding, fear, freezing up, and fornication.

Well, this evening at the DIA, it's all about higher brain functions.

Detroit City Chess Club simul match with Jessica Hyatt

In The Museum Friday, Jun 7, 2024, 5:45 p.m. Admission gratis

> Join us for the Detroit City Chess Club simul match with Jessica Hyatt. Hyatt, 18, is the highest-rated African American female chess player in history! With a peak United States Chess Federation (USCF) rating of 2168, and a FIDE rating of 1948, she is on her way to clinching the master title!

> In 2019, Hyatt won the New York State Scholastic Championships, and has since been invited by the USCF to represent the US internationally as a part of their youth team (2019–present). In 2022, Hyatt received a special honoree at the Liberty Science Center’s Genius Gala.

> In 2023, she became the Pan-American Youth Female Under-18 Blitz Champion, the KCF All-Girls Nationals Champion, and represented the US for the World Youth Chess Championships. Along with chess, Hyatt plays ranked junior tennis and golf, and is a jazz pianist.

Thank you, Ms Hyatt. I'm totally in awe and at the same time completely intimidated by you.

The Real Reel: A Poetry Performance with InsideOut Literary Arts

Kresge Reception area Friday, Jun 7, 2024, 6 p.m. Admission gratis

> Join InsideOut Literary Arts and some of Detroit's finest youth and adult poets for a reading celebrating the creative and enduring legacy of African Americans in film, from its very beginning through the start of the Civil Rights Movement.

> Inspired by Regeneration Black Cinema 1898 – 1971, the event will showcase new poetic works written during visits to the exhibition. Featuring performances by MARS Marshall. La Shaun phoenix Moore, Kahn Davison, Brittany Rogers, Scheherazade Washington Parrish, Charisma Holly, and Kya Mills.

Feed your mind. *** Stay sick, scratch glass, turn blue, climb walls…but don't get caught! !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

From The Freep: "Red flags about ex-Detroit Conservancy CFO show up in court records"…

> Federal prosecutors charged William Smith, the ousted CFO of the Conservancy, on Wednesday with bank and wire fraud, alleging the 51-year-old's scheme there went unchecked for more than 11 years while he falsified bank statements, made unauthorized wire transfers to his company and paid his credit card bills with Conservancy money.

> While that scheme allegedly played out, court records show Smith was losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in private investments with a business partner who would later be indicted by the U.S. Attorney in Detroit, in deals involving franchise restaurants in the area, including Which Wich sandwich shops and a pizzeria chain called Pie Five.

> In 2019, a grand jury indicted Smith's partner, John Draper II, on two counts of wire fraud, with federal prosecutors accusing him of defrauding investors, including parents of his children’s classmates at Detroit Country Day School in suburban Detroit.

Certainly To Be Continued…

Alt link for your convenience via archive.is *** A lot of people don't realize what's really going on. They view life as a bunch of unconnected incidents and things. They don't realize that there's this, like, lattice of coincidence that lays on top of everything. !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

So, the Michigan Central Station officially reopens today. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're already sooo over it. Enough already. What else is there to do?

Nearby Wyandotte says, "have a shot and a slab!" The Swiggin' Pig festival starts today at 5:00pm in chic, downtown Wyandotte and runs all weekend long. Formalwear not required. NSAID of choice may be required. Napkins/wetnaps are definitely required.

> The four day weekend will have something for everyone including live music from Metro Detroit’s most popular bands, ice cold craft beers, a carnival, shows, Crafters Market, whiskey tasting and BBQ!

Oooh, tell me more…

> Top pitmasters will serve up some of the area’s finest barbecue offering finger lickin’ good meals for purchase at each of the food trucks. There will be plenty to keep the kids busy too, including a carnival that will feature 20 rides, interactive FREE games including Giant Jenga and Connect 4, cornhole, face-painting, magic shows and more!

❦ ———— 🏢 ———— ❦

Maybe you want something a little more…virtual? A hair less social? Something that's not gonna leave you stained with BBQ sauce, perhaps? Over at the world-reknown Detroit Institute of Arts is Night Out with PRISM to be followed by a selection of short films over at the Detroit Film Theatre, I’ll Be Your Mirror: Queer Documentary Shorts. Cue descriptions!…

> Join PRISM, the DIA's LGBTQ+ and allyship employee belonging group, for a "Night Out with PRISM" before the screening of I'll Be Your Mirror: Queer Documentary Shorts. Mix and mingle with PRISM members and the film program curator Adam Baran in the Detroit Film Theatre's Crystal Gallery at 6 p.m. Refreshments will be available for purchase.

> Inspired by the themes of this year’s Mighty Real Queer Detroit biennial, I’ll Be Your Mirror: Reflections of the Contemporary Queer, is a program of LGBTQ+ documentary shorts curated by filmmaker Adam Baran. Drawn from films produced during the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ll Be Your Mirror assembles an intergenerational portrait of queer lives in these increasingly perilous times.

The PRISM mingle is gratis but registration is required (scroll down). Tickets for the I'll Be Your Mirror screening are available at the door of the DFT or online here.

❦ ———— 🏢 ———— ❦

What about a smaller concert? Y'know, a gig? How about some (self-described) Latin shoegaze? Some mirar fijamente los zapatos? Tonight in not-too-distant Pontiac at The Pike Room @ The Crofoot is post-rock artiste Esteban Flores, professionally known as Slow Joy. Be forewarned: show starts at 6:00pm. *** A lot of people don't realize what's really going on. They view life as a bunch of unconnected incidents and things. They don't realize that there's this, like, lattice of coincidence that lays on top of everything. !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

…yeah, and either you're totally stoked about it or totally sick of hearing about it. If I had money on it I'd go with B but for the sake of argument let's pretend you picked A.

And why wouldn't you be geeked? The towering architectural giant that is the Michigan Central Station finally found its glasses and officially comes back from the ruin-porn dead, the neighborhood is unquestionably improved by its resuscitation—at least for now, aesthetically—and to cap it off there's a mega-concert tonight organized by Warren's own Eminem (with manager Paul Rosenberg) with all-star performances including the only Detroit-based millionaires we can (barely) tolerate, Jack White and Big Sean—just kidding witcha, home fries!

Plus, culture-lovers (all seven of you), the world-reknown Detroit Symphony Orchestra will be at the gig warming up their bows, mallets, lips and digits for their performance at Orchestra Hall starting tomorrow!

The entire, free-but-reserved-seating, 90-minute concert will be broadcast live on WDIV-4 and, if you're one of their 147 subscribers, NBC's Peacock streaming service. The rest of the country gets to gnash their teeth in envy at the splendour that is Detroit when NBC broadcasts a 60-minute recap of the celebration Sunday, June 9 at 7:00pm EST.

The concert tonight and guided tours of the MCS are totally "sold out." But don't fret, junior: tours of the MCS grounds will re-commence June 21 and run every Friday and Saturday until August 31, 2024.

100% snark-free: we really do have a beautiful, majestic city. Sometimes I like just driving or walking through it and just reflect on all its concrete grandeur.

Okay, wanna read a real journalistic account instead of my ravings? Here ya go…

• The Freep : Eminem-produced Michigan Central concert in Detroit to star Diana Ross, Jack White, more
  • Alt link for your convenience via archive.is

• The Freep again: Michigan Central Station tours: How to visit Ford's renovated train depot
  • Alt link for your convenience via archive.is

• WDIV-4: Metro Detroiters count down to highly anticipated concert at Michigan Central Station

• WXYZ Detroit: Michigan Central concert: Parking, road closures & everything you need to know

But…but what if I don't give a rat's ass? *** You gotta say yes to another excess !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

If you live or have lived in metroDetroit™ or follow the goings-on of southeast Michigan, you've surely seen some of Max Ortiz's photographic work, from the purely didactic or ceremonial to seemingly "fly-on-the-wall", images captured by Ortiz's sharp eye that would have been missed in those blink-of-an-eye moments.

!Ortiz showing flagrant disregard for company equipment

_{Max Ortiz hangs expensive Detroit News video camera inches from the ground while filming the Dream Cruise along Woodward Ave, Aug 17, 2006. Photo: David Guralnick, Detroit News}

Max Ortiz passed away at the all-too-young age of 58 on May 31, 2024 and the News [and we here at !detroit] pays tribute to staff photographer and more, a California native with transplanted roots long grown in Royal Oak, MI.

Alt links for your convenience via archive.is:

• The Detroit News : Max Ortiz, award-winning photojournalist, dies at 58
• Detroit News photo gallery: Max Ortiz remembered as talented, caring Detroit News photojournalist *** What We Want Now !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

> People can access the island of Grosse Ile by either taking the toll bridge or the Grosse Ile Parkway Bridge, which is free. The toll bridge was financed, designed and constructed from 1912-13 by the Grosse Ile Bridge Company, according to the company's website. Motorists passing over the bridge must pay a fee [or] apply for a bridge pass.

> The advantage of buying the toll bridge is that the township would have control of one span accessing the island community if the Grosse Ile Parkway Bridge, the other bridge, were closed at some point, [Township Supervisor James Budny] said.

> The parkway bridge was closed for more than a year between 2020 and 2021 because of emergency repairs to several areas including underwater piers.

> Another benefit of taking over the Grosse Ile Toll Bridge is that it could generate some money for the township, Budny said. He said it would remain a toll bridge. He intends for the bridge to pay for itself and not to place a tax on residents to run it.

Alt link for your convenience via archive.is *** What We Want Now !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

Attention: peripherally-metroDetroit™-specific content You'll cope. You're strong.

From the East Bay Ray Times, authors David Hochschild and Liane Randolph postulate an 180° turn from the media's doom-and-gloom regarding Detroit's main product…

> Californians purchased 108,372 new zero-emission vehicles in the first three months of 2024 — nearly 7,000 more than the same time last year and the highest-ever first-quarter sales. […] Today, one in four new cars sold in the Golden State is electric, up from just 8% in 2020.

> Challenges persist, and chief among them is the need for more widely available charging options. Many more charging stations need to be built as fast as possible to keep up with EV adoption. To address this, California is investing $4 billion over six years to rapidly build out the EV refueling network, on top of billions in investment by utilities. Equally essential is improved reliability of the EV charging network. Too many drivers today encounter faulty charging stations, which is why the California Energy Commission is developing the strongest charging reliability standards in the country and will require companies to be transparent with the public about their performance.

Meanwhile in the Great State of Michigan, from reporter Kelly House at BridgeMichigan…

> [The State of Michigan] has $110 million in federal dollars for the cause, several times more than Michigan’s dedicated spending on EV chargers to date. […] But a Bridge Michigan analysis of early grants shows that with a price-per-plug that rivals the mortgage debt on an average Michigan home, the money won’t go far.

> So far, federal data shows Michigan has just 756 fast-charging plugs and 2,568 slower ones scattered across the state. […] “We have a long way to go,” said Amy Rogghe, executive director of the nonprofit Michigan Electric Vehicle Alliance. A swift EV transition is possible, she said, but “we just need more funding.”

More than USD$40,000,000.00. Vanished.

> Smith was placed on unpaid leave in mid-May after discrepancies in financial statements were discovered in April. The nonprofit's board ordered investigations by the auditing firm, PwC, and the Honigman Law Firm. The group asked former U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider, who leads Honigman Law Firm's investigators, to bring evidence against Smith to Michigan State Police and request a criminal investigation. The FBI has since taken over the investigation because of its complexity.

> According to the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, the two independent investigations estimate the loss to the nonprofit to be more than $40 million.

Meanwhile, over at the Freep…

> Free Press attempts to reach Smith or his attorney have been unsuccessful.

> “Our investigation has revealed that Mr. Smith has embezzled significant sums of money from the DRFC and has converted DRFC funds to his own personal use," said a termination letter sent to Smith's attorney by former U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider, who investigated with an outside law firm hired by the conservancy. "Mr. Smith’s unlawful conduct spans several years."

I realize no one is sneaking around with a big sack with a dollar sign printed on it but my crack research team (or is that "on crack research team") of flying monkeys hasn't yet unearthed the timeframe in which the $40M was allegedly embezzled.

Just in case you're wondering what exactly the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy is or does…

> The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy (DRFC), a 501(c)(3) organization, is responsible for the establishment, improvement, operation, maintenance, security, programming and expansion of the Detroit RiverWalk and associated green spaces. Through its public/private partnerships, the DRFC will support the development of the riverfront district and facilitate community access to the waterfront. *** What We Want Now !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

Ace reporter Malachi Constant Barrett and his notebook at BridgeDetroit once again cover the pressing issues of our fair city, this time from the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce annual policy conference on olde-world Mackinac Island. Among the topics discussed…

Eastern Market leaders ‘nervous’ about I-375

> Eastern Market CEO Dan Carmody and soon-to-be successor Katy Trudeau said they’re eagerly awaiting a state plan to address disruption during the multi-year project. Construction is expected to start next fall and end in 2028. […] We’re very nervous about it, as there’s not an established mitigation plan yet,” Trudeau said. “It’s a huge unanswered question.

Downpayment assistance Phase II

> Detroit renters can receive up to $25,000 to buy their first home through a down payment assistance program set to relaunch this summer. […] Residents can sign up to receive an alert when applications open. Applications already received will continue to be processed until all funds are exhausted.

Land value tax uncertain

Pay attention to this one, kids! It appears the state's interest in last year's much-vaunted Land Value Tax proposal is dwindling, go figure…

> One year after Duggan used his Mackinac Policy Conference address to promote a plan to overhaul the city’s property tax system, it’s unclear whether Michigan lawmakers will advance bills needed to make it happen. […] Bills introduced in the Michigan House were tabled last year after failing to gain enough support from lawmakers.

> [House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit] said he’s “trying to identify solutions to lower the property tax burden” for residents that could include other proposals. […] “I feel this is a place we can still have discussions around and can be one of many solutions,” Tate said. “There still needs to be more education, more conversations with my colleagues in the chamber.”

This is the same language parents use when kids ask if we can go to the zoo. 🙄

RenCen future in ‘brainstorming mode’

I get the connection between billionaire Dan Gilbert and his Hudson Building and its new tenants, General Motors, but why is Gilbert's opinion on the future of the "The City Within The City" anything more than an interesting side-note? In any case, take a picture 'cause it's coming down.

> Gilbert said GM’s decision to move into the Hudson’s building and reinvent the Renaissance Center is a “big bet,” comparable to Ford’s redevelopment of the Michigan Central station. […] Detroit also needs large investments in affordable housing, nightlife and activities for young people and public transportation. *** What We Want Now !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

> If you could buy $18 worth of pastries for 70% off, would you? What about a full dinner for only six dollars? What if you had no idea what you were going to get? […] The founders of Too Good To Go are betting you would.

> Too Good To Go, an app-based startup founded and headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, by Lucie Basch and Jamie Crummie, is expanding to Detroit. The premise is simple: a restaurant or grocery store can sell its leftover food for the day, or would-be food waste, at a minimum of 70% discount to reduce the amount of food waste in landfills and offer a fun and affordable option to consumers.

> Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters, which has locations in Ferndale, Royal Oak, Rochester and Detroit, has registered all four locations on the app. “All four of our locations do have food waste, some more than others. In Ferndale we have the bakery, so there's some leftover items, maybe things that are a little imperfect that we couldn't sell for full price anyways,” said Christian Kettenbiel, director of finance for Dessert Oasis.

> During the last half hour of each day, customers can buy a surprise bag of baked goods for $6. That includes muffins, cookies, croissants, cheesecake and more, said Nathan Hamood, president and director of coffee at Dessert Oasis. Coffee beans that are more than three weeks old will also be up for sale through Too Good To Go.

Alt link for your convenience via archive.is *** Stay sick, scratch glass, turn blue, climb walls…but don't get caught! !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

Late to the game on this one, friends. Apologies.

Evil Does Not Exist, (JPN, 2023) Detroit Film Theatre 5200 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI Saturday, May 25, 2024, 3:00pm and 7:00pm Sunday, May 26, 2024, 2:00pm

Multi-nominated and multi-awarded 2023 film by director Ryusuke Hamaguchi…

> Deep in the forest of the rural village Harasawa, single parent Takumi lives with his young daughter, Hana, and does odd jobs for locals. The serenity of this untouched land is disrupted by the arrival of a Tokyo company ready to start construction on a glamping site for tourists—a plan that could have dire results for the community.

> This potent and foreboding new film from Oscar®-winning director Hamaguchi (Drive My Car) is a haunting, unexpected experience with its rapturous score that breaks from the usual country-vs.-city themes and walks the line between the earthly and the metaphysical. Grand Jury Prizes, Venice Film Festival and Asia Pacific Screen Awards. In Japanese with English subtitles. (105 min.)

> Owner George Boukas said he first learned of the collapse from a 10 a.m. phone call from Detroit police. He said he intends to reopen the bar once the damage is repaired, although he isn't sure when that will be. A masonry repairman was already at the bar Friday afternoon to survey the damage. […] “It’s all about getting everything back up to code — engineering, permitting, construction — so it’s going to be a whole process," Boukas said. "Right now, we’re closed indefinitely.”

> The timing of the collapse was particularly inconvenient for the bar's business, coming on the eve of this weekend's Movement electronic musical festival. Temple Bar was set to host a Friday night fundraiser for the Underground Music Academy and a Saturday night dance party. […] “I had 11 DJs lined up for tonight," Boukas said. "I had to cancel everything."

Alt link for your convenience via archive.is *** Remember…Parma spelled backwards is AMRAP! !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

The Freep just published a drone fly-by video of the renovated, iconic Michigan Central Station—despite the name, there's been no actual commitment by Amtrak—scheduled to officially reopen June 6, 2024.

Interesting to note: the drone video unfortunately neglects to show the northmost-facing corner, the location of the newly-added Ford Virgin Sacrifices Plaza, designed in an Egyptian-futurist motif, and the remodelled Entrance to Hell, developed in tandem with Elon Musk co-founded The Boring Company. With the future of the towers uncertain and no real plans forthcoming, both Bedrock and GM are considering their own direct, non-stop shuttle to Hell at the Renaissance Center location.

Compare-And-Contrast BONUS:

• From 2014, Drone Flies Over Abandoned Train Station in Detroit, Michigan USA *** Everything I say is a lie… !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

Synthesized beats and sounds will abound downtown this Memorial Day weekend in modernist Hart Plaza for the 123^rd annual Movement Festival, the yearly mecca for EDM/techno/house/tekno fans from Detroit…aAnNdD bBeEyYoOnNdDdDdDdDd…

!Saturday !Sunday !Yes, Monday too!

Besides the official Movement Festival website's infographic, the Metro Times also has a schedule with dates and descriptions and a thorough list of this year's special guests, like…

Ludacris ☆ Carl Craig ☆ DJ Etta ☆ Stacey Pullen ☆ Dames Brown* ☆ Rimarkable ☆ Stacey Hotwaxx Hale ☆ Tee Grizzley ☆ Ryan Elliott ☆ Speedy J ☆ Reference ☆ Milan Ariel ☆ Waajeed ☆ *and SO MANY mMoOaArRrRrRrRrR

See y'all there and remember to hydrate. *** Stay sick, scratch glass, turn blue, climb walls…but don't get caught! !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

> All fifteen automakers, except Tesla, have actively advocated against at least one policy promoting electric vehicles. Ten of the fifteen showed a particularly high intensity of negative engagement and scored a final grade of D or D+ by InfluenceMap’s methodology.

> Only three of fifteen companies – Tesla, Mercedes Benz and BMW - are forecast to produce enough electric vehicles by 2030 to meet the International Energy Agency’s updated 1.5°C pathway of 66% electric vehicle (battery electric (BEV), fuel cell (FCEV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs)) sales according to InfluenceMap's independent analysis of industry-standard data from February 2024. Current industry forecasts analyzed for this report show automaker production will reach only 53% electric vehicles in 2030.

Long story short: only Tesla would meet the 2030 100% EV production target; in not-even-close 2^nd and 3^rd places respectively, Mercedes-Benz with 71% and BMW with 69%.

American producers? Ford predicted at 54%, Stellantis at 53% and GM at 46%. Is Stellantis even considered "American" or any longer one of the "Big Three"?

Strangely enough, nowhere mentioned in the report are the Chinese manufacturers.

Attention: non-metroDetroit™-specific content. I'll still respect you in the morning.

Something's been bugging me for a while now regarding the quality of discourse in this country, especially from the people in positions who have been educated in this nation's higher institutions of learning, people who have studied how to string words together in a cohesive manner to present ideas both simple and complex, people who are at least familiar with the concept of rational debate, people who may even be considered role models but minimally are usually held to a higher standard.

Y'know…people who should know better.

Apparently I'm not alone in this as The Freep's Mitch Albom gives his take on the nosedive of intellectual exchange in politics and elsewhere…

> During an evening hearing last week, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican, got into a testy exchange with U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat.

> GREENE: “I don't think you know what you are here for. ... I think your fake eyelashes are messing up what you're reading."

> CROCKETT: "I'm just curious, just to better understand your ruling, if someone on this committee then starts talking about somebody's bleach-blonde, bad-built, butch body, that would not be engaging in personalities, correct?" […] All that was missing was the food fight.

> It’s all terrible. It’s all dishonorable. And it’s our Congress. Our lawmakers. The people who determine the fate of the country. […] And we are making a mistake if we think, optimistically, that this will somehow get better.

> […]what has changed in recent years is that the low-brow stuff, instead of behind the curtain, is now proudly in front of it. Surely Donald Trump led the way in this revolution. From his early campaigning days in 2016 calling Hillary Clinton a “monster” and Elizabeth Warren “Pocahontas,” to more recent insults of Adam Schiff (a “pencil neck” with a “fat, ugly face”) and President Joe Biden (“He can’t put two sentences together” and “Everything Joe Biden touches turns to s---"), Trump is a single-handed, monster-truck force for lowering public debate to schoolyard trash talk.

> Everyone is sinking into the same mud. And we’re kidding ourselves if we think our side is righteous, or the other side started it, or coarse language is worse than clever insults. […] Needing a dictionary doesn’t wash away ugly.

The emphasized passages are where I and Albom diverge: "coarse" is worse than "clever" because at minimum "clever" shows you're not "working without tools." And these are the last people that should be working without tools.

Doncha think?

Alt link for your convenience via archive.is *** Everything I say is a lie… !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/12305822

> May 17 is Mr Stevie Wonder's birthday and to celebrate, with Mrs Tomeeka by his side, he became officially citizen of the Republic of Ghana, something the artist has spoke of doing since 1972! > > > The 25-time Grammy Award-winning artist was[…]conferred the certification of registration as a citizen of Ghana and a Ghanaian passport during a ceremony Monday at the Jubilee House, the presidential palace in the capital city, Accra. > > > "I, first of all, give all praise to God," Wonder said in footage posted online. "Since a little boy, I always believed in my heart that there was nothing impossible ... And for years, since about 1972, I've talked about coming to Ghana." > > > It was immediately unclear if Wonder would maintain dual-citizenship. > > > Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo said the west African nation extends "our warmest embrace to a beloved son of Africa," adding that Wonder's citizenship reaffirmed "our belief in the enduring spirit of Pan-Africanism and the global African family, and the boundless potential of our continent and all its descendants," he said Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter. > > Strangely enough, at the time of this writing, the Freep didn't cover the news regarding Wonder's birthday nor Ghanian citizenship. According to the Freep archives, Wonder's been talking about the move since at least their March 15, 1974 article… > > !Free Press: Stevie Wonder Plans To Move To Africa > > From the Freep's article from February 2, 2022… > > > […]the music great told [Oprah] Winfrey about his intention to move to Ghana. Asked why, he alluded to the state of race and politics in America: "I don't want to see my children's children's children have to say: 'Oh, please like me, please respect me, please know that I'm important, please value me.' What kind of s--- is that?" > > > He added to the Free Press that the Ghanaian president "has allowed me to have some land." > > Allow us to wish Mr Wonder a most happy 74^th birthday in the official language of the Republic of Ghana… > > Happy Birthday, Stevie! > > (Ha! The official language is English!) > > MUSIC! 🎉 🎺 🎉 🎺 > - From My Cherie Amour - Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday > - From Songs In The Key of Life - Sir Duke > - From Innervisions - Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing > - From Talking Book - You Are The Sunshine Of My Life > > *** > Alt link sausage for your convenience via archive.is: > - The News: Stevie Wonder marks 74th birthday by becoming a Ghanaian citizen > - The Freep: Stevie Wonder moving to Ghana? Not so fast ... > *** > Stay sick, scratch glass, turn blue, climb walls…but don't get caught! > !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

Ciao, comic book fans! Late to the game with this one, but you probably already knew…it's the inaccurately-named 2024 Motor City Comic Con in far-from-the-Motor-City Novi all geekend weekend long! Lots of movie/TV celebs there selling autographs (and not cheap either!), merch, swag, memorabilia and even some stuff that actually has to do with comics!

Saving you the suffering of the cool-to-web-designers-only FAQ…

> Motor City Comic Con Suburban Collection Showplace 46100 Grand River Ave, Novi, MI Friday: 12 pm – 7 pm Saturday: 10 am – 7 pm Sunday: 10 am – 5 pm

Tickets are available online here. Anybody wanna buy a mint-condition Catwoman #1?

From CBS News…

> Detroit gained 1,852 residents between July 1, 2022, and July 1, 2023, bringing its population to 633,366. The city went for six decades without seeing growth, instead seeing population declines every year since 1958.

> "We have known for some time that Detroit's population has been growing, but this is the first time the US Census Bureau has confirmed it in its official estimate," said Mayor Mike Duggan. […] Duggan has maintained that the one true measure of success would be whether more people were moving into the city than out of it.

Meanwhile over at the Freep…

> Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration publicly fought the federal agency’s count of Detroit residents and sued the Census Bureau multiple times seeking what the city considers accurate figures. He has even described the agency as a “national clown show” for previously reporting a decrease in the city’s population estimates. But new figures show Detroit grew from 631,366 in 2022 to 633,218 residents in 2023, according to the bureau’s annual population estimate released Thursday.

And we can't forget the News…

> "This was the goal of our administration when I started in 2014, to grow," Duggan told The Detroit News. "It's taken 10 years, but we're here. This is a day of celebration."

> Kurt Metzger, a demographer who has studied Detroit extensively and director emeritus of Data Driven Detroit, said that he would estimate that Detroit is closer to 650,000 people, maybe even as high as 660,000. He pointed to increased construction and more as signs of positive change and population growth for the city.

> Metzger contended the Census Bureau has undercounted the city for years, in large part because of the way it counts demolitions against population. In many cities, demolitions represent a loss of population. But in Detroit, demolitions often are simply the removal of buildings that have been abandoned for years, Metzger said.

And lastly, from those wiseguys over at !memes@lemmy.world…

!Tim and Sam

Sam Richardson's face says it all! 🤣 *** Alternate links for your convenience via archive.is:

• The Freep: Census Bureau report shows Detroit population increases
• The News: Detroit sees first population growth since 1957; smaller cities see bigger increases *** Laissez les bons temps rouler! !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

> Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is doubling down on his contention that he doesn't owe any money to the federal government stemming from his public corruption conviction. […] In his latest court filing on this contentious issue, Kilpatrick states that he is "formally requesting" a hearing on the matter, wants the issue moved to federal court in Georgia — where he lives — and says there has been "no accurate accounting" by the government regarding his restitution debt.

> According to the federal government, Kilpatrick still owes $824,774 for crimes he was convicted of more than a decade ago, including bribery, extortion and fraud. That's significantly more than the $164,000 debt that the government said he owed in February, though the U.S. Attorney's Office said the new, higher figure is based on more recent communications with the court.

> Kilpatrick's downfall began in 2008, when the Free Press published text messages that showed he lied during a police whistleblower trial when he testified that he did not have an affair with his chief of staff, Christine Beatty, and gave misleading testimony about the firing of a deputy police chief. The ex-mayor still owes $852,000 in restitution to the city of Detroit stemming from that scandal.

Video Bonus: Pulitzer Prize-winning Free Press reporters Jim Schaefer and M.L. Elrick on the text-message scandal that forced Kwame Kilpatrick to resign as mayor.

Meanwhile, over at The News: Kwame Kilpatrick fighting cash grab by feds in restitution battle

> Kilpatrick, 53, made the argument in a federal court filing Monday, the latest development in a years-long attempt to hold accountable a corrupt politician portrayed by federal prosecutors as an unremorseful crook who has lied in the past about his ability to pay restitution while pursuing a life of luxury.

> Prosecutors say Kilpatrick has paid a pittance — $9,099.81 — and is making minimal $150 monthly payments toward the federal restitution.

> Meanwhile, Kilpatrick leased a $90,000 luxury SUV last year, several months before his wife's consulting firm bought an $807,000 home in Novi while paying nothing toward the $854,062 restitution he owes from a separate text-message scandal that led to his ouster as Detroit mayor.

*** Alt links for your convenience via archive.is:

• The Freep
• The News *** What We Want Now! !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

> The car [christened the Seagull], launched last year by Chinese automaker BYD, sells for around $12,000 in China, but drives well and is put together with craftsmanship that rivals U.S.-made electric vehicles that cost three times as much.

> “Any car company that’s not paying attention to them as a competitor is going to be lost when they hit their market,” said Sam Fiorani, a vice president at AutoForecast Solutions near Philadelphia. “BYD’s entry into the U.S. market isn’t an if. It’s a when.”

> U.S. politicians and manufacturers already see Chinese EVs as a serious threat. The Biden administration on Tuesday is expected to announce 100% tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China, saying they pose a threat to U.S. jobs and national security.

> There’s no single miracle that explains how BYD can manufacture the Seagull for so little. Instead, [Caresoft Global company president Terry] Woychowski said the entire car, which can go 252 miles (405 kilometers) per charge, is “an exercise in efficiency.”

> Higher U.S. labor costs are a part of the equation. BYD can keep costs down because of its expertise in making batteries — largely for consumer products — that use lithium iron phosphate chemistry. They cost less but have lower range than most current lithium-ion batteries.

> BYD would have to modify its cars to meet U.S. safety standards, which are more stringent than in China. Woychowski says Caresoft hasn’t done crash tests, but he estimated that would add a couple thousand dollars to the cost.

Well, now they're a complete set 😢 . RIP Machine Gun.

The News: Dennis Thompson, last remaining member of MC5, dies at age 75 via archive.is

• Induction into the RRHoF, my ass

The Freep: Dennis Thompson, MC5 drummer and ‘last man standing,’ dies at 75 via archive.is

Paying my respects: howzabout a little music for the sad occasion?…

• The New Order - 1975

• New Race - Looking At You

• Rave-Up of The Dead! 🧟‍♂️: DTK/MC5 + Lemmy - Back In The U.S.A.

  • Wishing studio-musician-in-denial and eternal "best New Rock Guitarist" Gilby Clarke a long life and not to join fellow bandmates on a different stage for a loooong time.

• Drummers…ya just gotta hate 'em! 🤣 Old Man Thompson boring the bejeezus out of some Michigan kids with his "war stories". I was just…like…that… and I'm sure most of you were too. *** Stay sick, scratch glass, turn blue, climb walls…but don't get caught! !detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social