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October 20th, Fighting the wind
Spent some of the morning exploring the "second cut", ie the disused railway cutting on the west
side that used to run down to what is now the salvation army depot. Some interesting stuff down there
though not up to that generated in the Dequindre Cut. If anything comes out I'll post it over in
the street art section.
Other than the usual flying greeting to the BTT crew who looked
to be heading towards Mexi for breakfast, the most notable thing
about today's treck around the west side was the pain in the ass wind. A really stiff breeze pushing from the south
west. A remnant of the storm system that swept through Michigan early in the week. I really hope it calms a bit as the effect it will have on tomorrow's
Detroit marathon runners could rival Chicago's heat. The last gruelling leg will be thre miles or so directly into that wind. Good luck to everyone running the
full and half courses!
Setting up for Angels Night on Forest & Chene. Ok, true, strictly more harvest festival than halloween,
but imagine bumping into this guy at 2am on a foggy autumn night. Yikes.
October 15th, The Obligatory Fall Shot
From Belle Isle where the ground frosts over the weekend have started the trees turning.
Beneath a big blue Michigan sky
October 13th, RiverWalk East
Between the RC and the Carousel at Rivard there's hardly space to swing a bat without hitting into a lawsuit.
But the east section between Jos Campau and Mt Elliot is still quiet and little explored. The combination of Omni,
GM, RiverPlace and RiverWalk security make it one of the safest places Downtown to take an early morning
walk. The quiet, the lights and the river make for a peaceful start to the day. Here's hoping the council
come to a positive decision on extending the Harbor Park lease to the state, they do a great job (in the summer).
Omni hotel looks over the river to Canada
About a mile of empty riverfront
October 10th, The Carlton Residence
Better known until recently as the crack flophouse Eddystone. Seventy years previously the Eddystone and its neighbor the Harbor light
were part of the swankyest avenue Detroit had to show. And Detroit had some serious swank back in the day.
But now the building hilights the tension between the Brush/Cass Park of five years
ago that lingers to the west of woodward and the almost completely transformed neighborhood to the east.
The Eddystone still totters on the brink of refurbishment Move in now? Seriously??!
October 7th, River Mist
Belle Isle fades into view out of a lite river mist
October 6th, Ukulele Assault II
Ok, they're back, with tongues still firmly in cheek ...
What's not to like in that steel Ukulele sound ;-) These guys were at this years Detroit Arts fest & they better be back next year!
October 7th, Sunday AM
A Sunday morning 5am fire alarm complete with the DFD created a kind of blitz spirit block
party outside of Riverplace. The only thing missing was smoke, or indeed any sign of fire.
On the bright side, it turned out to be a beautiful morning to be up and around early. The trees
know its autumn, the critters are gathering nuts for the winter. Only the weatherman seems to
think it's still mid-August. High 80s today.
From Chene Park over towards Windsor
October 4th, Instant Classic
This rocks. Marvel at the British Ukulele Orchestra as with style, enthusiasm and Ukuleles they murder Nirvana's teen spirit. Spin Kurt, spin ...
(Damn, that song actually has words)
October 2nd, Tourist Trap. Tourists trapped?
The first official guided tour of the cut? Everybody pair up,
hold hands, have your parents' permission slips out for inspection.
Described as a robust nature walk ...
Sure we'll open the gates again later ...
September 29th, DTW-SFO-DTW
Where's My Gangstas And All My Thugs
Throw Them Hands Up And Show Some Love
And I Welcome You To Detroit City
I Said Welcome To Detroit City Eminem
Remain in Detroit for long enough and your feet will start to root. The soul feeds
on all things Detroit from hiphop to graf. Kwame morphs into this
kick-ass slick political leader, the city council appear a venerable group of citizens and
why in hell would CNN want to run stories on those national league teams when
there's the Tigers to talk up? Detroit grows on you all right and perspective proportionately
shrinks.
Long and short, sometimes it's good to get out of the city and let the brain breathe some
weed-free air. This week it was a breath of sea air. A three day trip to the city on the Bay.
San Francisco for me comes second only to Boston. It has it all, sea, beaches, bridges, prisons,
people, history, earthquakes, music, art, streetcars, people, sea lions, the caltrain, hills, Lombard street, people, people, people. Wow. And if you ever
get homesick you can turn left going down market street and zap, be
instantly transported back to the corner of Mack and Bewick.
What's not to love in a city like that?
Well I guess a couple of things spring to mind. The five hour flight isn't so hot, there's the three hour time difference, earthquakes,
sky high prices, people, tourist traps, fog, people, the caltrain, people, people, people. So you get the picture. Here's my recommendation,
stay in Palo Alto/Los Altos. In fact I'll be even more specific. Stay at Dinah's Garden Hotel. Get up before dawn (ok the 3 hour time
difference does have its benefits). Bike up into the Los Altos hills, take in the smells of warm pine and pacific coast flowers. Then return to a
low rise hotel designed as a garden of Carp ponds, swimming pools and beautiful fountains. Check out the stores along University avenue, hit up the
architecture of Stanford. And only then head into SanFran itself. That's just my 5c on how to enjoy San Francisco without blowing a ton of money
and how to savour one of the greatest cities on the planet without letting it drive you nuts.
But now I'm back in the D, and for all my love of San Francisco, I'm glad to be home though with a bit more perspective. Kwame's in court again. What the frell are
the city council up to now?! Oh, and good luck to the Red Sox. On a final note.
Congratulations Motor. Way to go making the uniform!
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