Downtown Detroit

‘It Came From Detroit’ garage rock doc premieres in L.A.

The garage rock documentary "It Came From Detroit" just had its Los Angeles premiere.Excerpt:Well, the Los Angeles Premiere of “It Came From Detroit” was an incredible time.  Allison Anders and the rest of the Don’t Knock the Rock team did an amazing job putting together a wonderful night at the Silent Movie Theater.  The show was hosted by Michael ‘Murdoc’ Des Barres who was both hilarious and motivational.  The house was packed and I thought the film played very well.  I’m glad our cynical Detroit style humor translated well over here. Read the entire article here.

Detroit’s Hair Wars still draws national attention

Up until 2006, Hair Wars was a 10-city tour of some of the most exotic hair styles. Unfortunately it no longer tours extensively but the show still goes on here in Detroit.Excerpt:Automobiles aren’t the only Detroit export that’s taken a hit due to the economy. The Motor City has also long been renowned as a creative center for avant-garde African American hairstyles, with its signature event for almost a quarter century the annual Hair Wars.Started in 1985 by Detroit-area promoter David “Hump the Grinder” Humphries, Hair Wars isn’t a competition, but more of a runway showcase that allows stylists to show off some of their most cutting-edge hairdos. It was at an early Hair Wars that the “Hairy-copter” (yes, a hairstyle in the shape of a helicopter with actual rotating blades, thanks to a battery pack on the model’s head) first wowed crowds.Read the entire article and see the pictures here.

City council candidates have ambitious ideas but tight budget

The Michigan Messenger talks with a few of the 167 candidates running for city council. Some of their ambitions and ideas for the city of Detroit are interesting to say the least. But, as ambitious as they may be, the budget will be considerably tight for their plans.Excerpt:Some of those candidates are coming up with answers that make their proposals a bit more memorable. While one candidate wants to build a gigantic theme park on vacant city lots, another wants to power the Cobo Convention Center, home of the North American International Auto Show, on wind and solar energy. One of the candidates with a big idea for Detroit is Annivory Calvert. Calvert wants to turn the Cobo Convention Center, locally known as Cobo Hall, into what she calls “the house that Obama built” and make it the green technology showplace of the nation. In doing so Calvert estimates she’ll create more then 150,000 jobs in the city. “The Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association estimates that for every 100 million that you spend on transportation there’s 4,750 jobs,” she told Michigan Messenger.Read the entire article here.

Windsor creative research group will transmit messages to of solidarity Detroit from Sept. to Nov.

Windsor-based creative research group, Broken City Lab, will be broadcasting messages of solidarity to Detroit between September and November.Excerpt:Cross-Border Communication an interventionist performance series based on the desperate need to communicate with Detroit, Michigan from Windsor, Ontario. Using a 6000 lumens projector, Broken City Lab will transmit a message to Detroit once a week for 45 minutes from September to November 2009. Each week will feature a different message that we write and project onto the CIBC building, located at Ouellette Avenue & Riverside Drive in Windsor and clearly visible from downtown Detroit.Read the entire post here.

Writer has hard time explaining why he loves Detroit, so he decided to move here

Travel writer David Landsel writes about falling in love with Detroit.Excerpt:How do you tell everyone how wonderful Detroit is, without them assuming you have completely lost your mind? Unable to solve this dilemma, I remember handing in a story that told readers precisely nothing. Nearly a decade later, I find it difficult to communicate just why I love the city. It’s not for lack of trying. Whenever anyone will listen, particularly these days, with Detroit’s troubles all over the news, I chew their ear off. Do they know about the Detroit Institute of Arts, with its stunning Diego Rivera murals? What about the beautiful summers, or Saturdays in the historic Eastern Market district? How about that Michigan beer, that Detroit-style pizza, the annual electronic music festival on the Detroit River. What about the nearby Great Lakes? Yes, the nightlife really is that interesting. And all within an hour’s flight of New York. And did I mention that the locals are half-crazy but mostly harmless, and always amusing to talk to?Read the entire article here.

Right-sizing Detroit could be key to survival, revival, renewal

The city still acts as if it has nearly two million people sometimes... but it's less than half that. The consensus is, among urban planners, that the city needs to shrink to survive and renew itself.Excerpt:Urban planners insist -- and Detroit's political leaders are beginning to acknowledge -- that the city cannot continue to function as if nearly 2 million people still live there. That tax base is long gone, taking with it the money required to maintain city services and a crumbling infrastructure."Detroit once had 1.8 million people, and it's not likely that that number is going to come back in the next two to three decades -- if ever," said Dan Kildee, Genesee County treasurer and a national advocate for downsizing initiatives.Read the entire article here.

Quicken still plan to build new in 2013

Quicken Loans' plans to build new weren't squashed with their move to the Compuware building... just delayed.Excerpt:Quicken Loans hopes to begin construction on a new downtown headquarters in mid-2013 and spend $192 million on it, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. said today in an analysis of the project.As announced this month, Quicken will first move some 1,700 employees into leased space in the Compuware Building. But the MEDC analysis shows that Quicken has not abandoned the goal of building its own headquarters, a goal first announced in late 2007.Quicken had to shelve plans for a new headquarters of its own because of the economic recession. But the MEDC analysis showed the plans are only delayed, not dead.Read the entire article here.

Tweet of the Week: Detroit’s B-Day love

Let’s start off this edition of Tweet of the Week by taking the time to recognize that July 24 was Detroit’s birthday, as it was founded in 1701.Many of us may have forgotten, but luckily, @this_girl_c was there to remind us: HAPPY 308th BIRTHDAY DETROIT ....ilovemycity :)And according to @nhlcyclesophist, the city has old and modern qualities: Ah, Detroit. All the late-19th century charm....but with more grafitti and airplanes!this_girl_c wasn’t the only one to declare their love for the city, as @JustJackie313 offered this confession in this week’s best tweet: im in love with DetroitWhat’s so great about this statement is how simple and to the point it is; she doesn’t just love Detroit, she’s in love with Detroit. It’s committed and dedicated people like her that the city needs.However, if you ask @Radix89, he’d probably say Detroit needs something a little more…exotic: anyone in detroit know any shamans? I'm done with traditional doctors. Hacks can't write a legible sentence.Not sure if a shaman would really work. Doctors, by law, aren't really allowed to be hacks... but it's still funny.Others in Detroit are enjoying what the city has to offer. @jengoldberg took some time to take in the sights at the DIA: Walking my feet off at the Detroit Institute of Arts.@robbieizar preferred to spend his time outside: just spent a day farming...in detroit...with goats, rabbits, chickens and ducks.Wow, that sounds exciting; just hope the weather didn’t affect the whole experience (or the smell) too much…Until next time, check out Model D’s updates on Twitter; keep readin' and tweetin'.Tweet of the Week compiled by Model D intern Ilissa Gilmore.

Capitol Park improvements to begin now that Rosa Parks Terminal operational