Hauntingly beautiful music will fill the DIA's Diego Rivera Court this Friday when Christen Lien performs original compositions with her viola, which she plays through a looping machine and other electronic effects. Call it sonic art moderne in one of the world's most distinctive settings. Get all the lovely details inside FilterD, where you'll find lots more to do in the week ahead in metro Detroit.
Tim Hortons is expanding its chain of restaurants in Detroit. The restaurant famous for its coffee, baked goods, sandwiches and convenient drive-thrus has set up shop on East Jefferson Avenue across from the Belle Isle bridge.
Change isn't something that Detroit would like to see -- it's something that is imperative to its survival, according to Mayor Dave Bing.Excerpt:"We are not the most competitive place today," Bing said in a wide-ranging interview Tuesday on economic and budget issues. "We've got to understand that people don't owe us anything... Either we're going to have to change or we're going to get left behind."In other words, despite President Barack Obama's promise in May that GM won't move its headquarters from Detroit, Bing knows that GM's staff is still shrinking and its future is still shaky. So he's exploring incentives to help GM fill what soon could be the equivalent of an empty tower of RenCen space.Read the entire article here.
Freep's Oneita Jackson reminds Detroiters that non-Detroiters have good ideas, too. Excerpt:Detroiters are skeptics.That's one of the things I learned when I moved here, that Detroiters are skeptical, especially of outsiders.Detroiters don't like outsiders diagnosing their problems. And they're really skeptical of you if you come here and offer a solution.I'm not from here, but that doesn't mean I'm visually impaired; I can see what's going on in the public school system.So can other people, like Harvard economics professor Roland Fryer and Harlem Children's Zone CEO Geoffrey Canada. They came here recently to talk about education and about Detroit Public Schools, because they were invited -- and because they care -- and I wondered how the skeptics would receive them. Read the entire article here.
Granted this is another example of Detroit's spirits uplifted by sports story ... still... the Tigers are in first place in the central (by a few games) and they did make it on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Let's just hope they are not jinxed by SI. And if the Tigs don't win the World Series we all know who's fault that is... yep, Sports Illustrated and not a shaky bullpen and an offensive drought. Excerpt:The financial forecast in Detroit has not necessarily brightened, but in a development as unexpected as Chevy's unveiling of the Volt, the Tigers have provided a jolt—electrifying for much of the summer, slightly terrifying recently—for the city. They rank fourth in the American League in attendance, at 31,360 per game; are fifth in the majors in payroll, at more than $115 million; and, through Sunday, were still in first, albeit tenuously, thanks to a September skein of nine losses in 12 games. They were also 48--26 at Comerica Park, a record they attribute to the overwhelming responsibility they feel playing in front of their home fans, many of whom are presumably using what little discretionary income they have to watch the team play. In his first spring training meeting manager Jim Leyland told his players, "People are going to be spending some of their last dollars to come to these games, and we need to give them our best effort. This is not the year not to run out a ground ball." Projected by many media outlets to finish in the lower half of the division race, the Tigers, at week's end, had been in first place since May 10, thanks to a pair of All-Stars at the top of their starting rotation (Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson), Gold Glove candidates sprinkled throughout their infield (Inge, shortstop Adam Everett, catcher Gerald Laird and second baseman Placido Polanco) and a collection of hitters who really do run out ground balls. The Tigers might not win a home run derby against the Yankees or the Angels, but that doesn't mean they can't beat them in a playoff series. "We know there are families in the stands who are fighting to keep their houses and feed their kids," Inge says. "We take that seriously. We can't lollygag our way through a game. We have to give them a show. I really believe they are the reason that we are where we are."Read the entire article here.
Is it Detroit extortion or Detroit coverage?Excerpt:While this all may be true, I dispute the notion that a media ambush on Detroit is a new occurrence. For decades global media sources have flocked to Detroit to parse out the roots of urban destitution and the beauty that emerges from the slums of despair. They come in search of the source for the music left in Motown’s shadow — techno, hip-hop, garage rock, or Northern Soul. The auto industry and the surrounding industrial decay in the inner city provide the backdrop. In a few days or in one month they rush around to meet the city’s luminaries, creating a buzz in the community that scrambles to appease them, to be a part of something that seems important. They tell folks that they are here to do the city justice, though they have no personal ties here other than their love for music. Music is the ambassador for a silent city.And while the representatives of these media outlets often consider themselves noble seekers of fact, these magazine articles, books and documentaries are generally not even available in Detroit, nor the U.S.. where they can be fairly judged, critiqued, or debated. They air on Dutch TV, the BBC or at an obscure film festival made in their native languages, where the subjects will never even know how their ideas will be presented. Investigative journalism about racism, poverty, and history becomes another form of muckraking entertainment. If the subjects in these pieces are lucky, they may receive a sample copy or two, but often time the media archeologists disappear leaving behind nothing, yet they extract the souls of the city for their own credibility. What these pieces do is legitimize the creators, who stand to gain financially and win public acclaim for their efforts to understand the juncture where blight inspires creativity. What is perplexing is that what they make has nothing to with accountability or in depth responsible reporting.Read the entire article here.
Detroit's underground cycling scenes don't always get along, but everyone comes together for Alleycats -- races through the city's hub and spokes. For 35 fast miles, a couple hundred cats claw their way through Detroit on two wheels.
Detroit native and Mumford grad Dave Ramsey is a rising star on Showtime's "Dexter" and is expected to continue his role into season four and five. Excerpt: People don't always know actor David Ramsey's name but they know his face. On good days, they call the Detroit native and Mumford graduate by the role he plays on Showtime's "Dexter." That name is Anton, the sexy musician who has stolen the heart of Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), Dexter's sister. Sometimes, fans just shout "Dexter" and wave. But when folks mistake Ramsey for R&B star Usher, he's left speechless. "I was on the beach in Venice (California) and I was wearing a skull cap and glasses and this guy ran up to me and said 'Man, I love 'Burn,' " Ramsey, 37, divulges with a laugh. Ramsey is seven years older and at least eight inches taller than the singer. "When I took off my glasses, the guy was disappointed. He said, 'Aw man, you're not Usher.' " Read the entire article here.
Another layer people forget about here in Detroit is the fashion scene. It's alive and well and adds one more piece to Detroit's puzzle.Excerpt:From the New York perspective, this might seem like a long shot, but if you're interested in fashion (and not necessarily interested in living here, or in any city where the beers cost $6), it's not crazy. Detroit has extremely low overhead costs — not too long ago, you could buy a home there for $1,000, and you can rent both a home and retail space in trendier metro neighborhoods for a fraction of what you'd pay in New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago. "Michigan is more approachable for a designer who wants to be able to afford housing and also run a business and make a profit," says Brian Heath, founder and producer of Detroit Fashion Week. Also: People in Michigan still need to wear clothes and are still going to buy them, and they don't uniformly think elastic-waisted pants are the way to go. For stylish individuals outside of cosmopolitan cities, there should be life beyond GO International. In their efforts to make sure Detroit is known for more than just being an automotive town, the fashion community has planned a second sort of Fashion Week: Fashion in Detroit, "a high-end runway show," will drop in less than two weeks. Unlike Detroit Fashion Week's $350 entrance fee, Fashion in Detroit's fee is $2,500, and both Kid Rock (who has a Made in Detroit clothing line) and Betsey Johnson will be showing. It would seem Detroit's catching on quickly, then: The pricier the velvet rope, the better the show.Read the entire article here.
Time Inc. has descended onto Detroit either like a thunderstorm or as liberators, depending on who you talk to. There has been a blitz of blog posts, features stories, and videos from its self anointed "D Shack" portraying the Detroit they've seen so far.Videos include an interview with K-9 to Five's Liz Blondy, a piece on 85 cent hamburgers, asking Detroiters why they love and hate the city, and another piece about how Detroiters "survive."Stories have covered entrepreneurs, housing costs, Detroit's decline, and Ernie Harwell.So, what's your take? How would you grade their assignment so far? Is it the same ol' same ol'? Or is it something different?Let us know what you think about the Time blitz on our Facebook page here.Check out the Time Inc. coverage here.
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