Three Things

Number One

I'm going to take a break from not making any money off this blog to mention, just this once, that I'm clearing out a lot of merch from my retail endeavors in the Mezzanine clearance sale in the Hugh space.  Everything is really discounted, like 30-70% off!

 

It's mostly Mezzanine stuff, big and small, so if you like Saarinen dining or end tables, I've got 'em.  If you like ebony knife rests made in Paris, I've got 'em.  If you like Nelson bubble lamps, I've got 'em.  And quite a few great gift ideas for Mother's Day (it's next week, I know you forgot).

There's some Hugh overstocked stuff in there too, so even though I will be selling on the web there are a few things I've just got too much of.  There is decorative stuff, kitchen stuff, tabletop stuff, furnishing stuff, rug stuff ... essentially, if you like good design and good bargains, you should stop by.  And it's only in the store, not much is online.

This weekend is the final weekend, it's open 1-8 today and tomorrow and 1:30-5 on Sunday (do be cognizant of the Tigers' home game schedule).  It's located right behind the Fox Theater, next to Centaur, in the retail space formerly known as Hugh. 

Number Two 
Someone posted this game on Facebook today and I found it to be a more than entertaining timekiller, plus it features unicorns and Erasure!  Perfect!

I hope Mark Maynard and his intellectual property people are on the Adult Swim folks about the clear copyright infringement, however. 

Number Three
Smoke 'em while you've got 'em!  Mercifully, the smoking ban kicks in tomorrow.  I'm proud to be from a state that barely avoided being in the last ten states to take this step.

I'm sympathetic to my smoking friends, but this was a long time coming and I have paid a lot of dry cleaning bills because of your nasty habit.  I am pleased.

If you are looking to see out the smoking era right, the Ruth Ellis Center has a Ferndale-based bar crawl called "The Last Drag" going on tonight that should be fun.  It starts at Loving Touch and ends with a drag show at Club Nine.  With plenty of drinking and smoking in-between.  More details at the Facebook event page.

And with that, I leave you to your weekend.  Have a good one.
.

Stormy Monday

Up early this morning and these April showers are kind of fantastic.  Lafayette Park is finally full-on green, the trees are almost filled in, the City has even already been out to cut the grass.  Remarkably even before the management at Lafayette Towers managed to cut their lawn, but that's a different blog post.

I had to clean off the old photos from my phone on this rainy Monday morning in anticipation of a replacement, and I came a cross a couple of unused photos I took for the blog.  So I'm catching up.

Cat mugs at the Indian Village Yard Sale. I guess it was time to move on.

A late summer night on Park Avenue, heading to Cliff Bell's.

A Macho City moment: someone got a Bedazzler!

This poor unfortunate soul didn't even get the courtesy of four blocks for his wheelless chariot.
This happened in early evening in a surprisingly busy area, which will remain unnamed.

Smoke break outside the State of Michigan offices in New Center.
A picture says a thousand words.

A joyful moment at the new dance monthly Private Joy, where Macho City meets

Fierce Hot Mess at Menjo's. Wrap your brain around that!

New Year's Eve at Cafe D'Mongo's Speakeasy.

Marche du Nain Rouge, a view from the rear.
What a day that turned out to be.

Now our rainy Monday morning has turned sunny, but I'll leave you with this morning's rain-themed soundtrack anyway.

I couldn't have said it better myself. And I didn't.

Rather quickly I want to bring to your attention something wonderful written about Detroit.  It appeared in the New York Times last Thursday and seems to have escaped proper attention, despite the fact it's about the greatest thing anyone has said about Detroit in recent memory.

In a glowing review of the Detroit Institute of Arts' new exhibit "Through African Eyes: the European in African Art, 1500 to Present," Holland Cotter writes about the exciting new approach to looking at art this show represents, ending with:

"Enough to say that if you get a thrill from seeing things you’ve never seen and thinking thoughts you’ve never thought, Detroit is a good place to be these days."

This same day Facebook was abuzz with the fact that Campus Martius was named the top urban park, and everyone is all worked up about whether Dateline's Detroit story was good or bad, but I felt like this line about a relatively small show captured much more precisely one of the greatest things about Detroit today. At least for me.
.

We all feel better in the dark.

It's only the second week without making a compilation for Doggy Style and I kind of miss it already.  I find myself digging around for new videos despite myself.

Some Communards shuffled up on my iPod tonight so I did some YouTube-ing and came across this great live version of "Disenchanted," possibly one of my favorites from the 80s.  If you ever love laying around in the dark listening to music, this is a good one.

And if you love dancing around in the dark then you will be thrilled to know about the one-year anniversary of Macho City this Saturday!

There have been many wonderful things to come out of the alternative gay scene downtown, and I can trace some of my best times in Detroit to evenings at Sass, Atlas Wednesdays, Fierce Hot Mess and recently (dare I ruin the mojo?) Cabaret Night at Cafe D'Mongo's.  But Macho City has been especially especial for me. 

It really hit the mark for this forty-nothing homo, and I could list the things I love about it (and I have) but mostly I just love how informed it is. If you came of age in the 70s, 80s, 90s or the Aughts, there is something for you at Macho City. 

It is important to be respectful of the fact that we are guests in a gay leather bar, because part of the Macho City charm is an accepting and joyful crowd, but I cannot urge you strongly enough to check it out. It is one of the things I am most thankful for here in Detroit!  Thank you Mike and Scott for making gay life in Detroit unique and awesome!

.

Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring

It feels so great to sit at my table looking out at Detroit this morning, now that the green is finally returning to the park and the weather is so amazing.  I never tire of this view. Detroit's springtime metamorphosis has never been more welcome, at least in these parts.

I'm re-using a photo. So what?

I spent a little time the other night reviewing this blog and sending links to some new out-of-town friends who are super interested in Detroit, and I was a bit disappointed in how the caliber of the content diminished after the first year.  Of course that first year I said most of what was on my mind, so I guess it was inevitable.  Plus the two subsequent years were such a beat-down for me and everyone else around here, I suppose the fact I trudged along at all is reason enough to be glad.

The arrival of the nice weather has given me an attitude adjustment. Of course the advent of baseball season is a huge loss for those of us who enjoy being downtown, as it is now overrun with a-holes half the month.  I thought the St. Patrick's Day parade in Corktown was disgusting this year until I was forced to witness the debauchery of Opening Day.  From my vantage point at Hugh on Park Avenue I watched near-fights, people throwing garbage in the streets (next to "Clean Detroit" bins) and even into planters directly in front of my store while I was standing there watched them.  I forget that many people in the region think Detroit is one giant garbage bin.

I actually saw one guy across the street holding his buddy's hair (metaphorically) while his friend vomited on the sidewalk.  It was touching, and certainly beat the guy who'd wet himself at the St. Pat's parade for entertainment value. But on the up-side, Sean Harrington of Centaur and the Town Pump said it was his best Opening Day ever, so it's hard to be upset about that.

There is also, for the first time in my memory, some great and realistic discussion of the future of Detroit.  The most reassuring thing is that the folks screaming about maintaining the status quo (ie: grape-throwers) are seeming more and more like the lunatic fringe they represent. Detroit's got a long way to go to be what some people like to call a "functional city," to be sure.  But it's a start.

I'm also undergoing my own springtime metamorphosis and it feels good.  Obviously the duty of putting together Doggy Style at the Park Bar every Tuesday is over, and that is a great relief. It was such a fantastic turnout for the final two weeks, and it made me realize how many new friends I made from putting that on.  Only in Detroit can you create a night so you are meeting only the kind of folks you want to meet AND drink for free!  I'll miss that part (well, both parts) but the work part I don't mind shedding!

And speaking of shedding, my temporary store Hugh has just wrapped up, and that was a bigger success than I expected.  After the tough slog things had been it was a pure joy to create something that was so well-received. Oh, I'm in the Hugh space through the beginning of May with a big Mezzanine clearance sale so boogie on down starting this weekend for cut-rate modern awesomeness!

Lots of people have been asking what's next and it would be premature to even speculate.  What I do know is I'm traveling the country starting mid-May - any of my friends with a guest room are getting visits!  New York, Palm Springs, San Francisco, and Chicago are all on the itinerary.  We'll see what happens after that!

Yeah, it feels like a new day.  Now I'm gonna go ride my bike to work.  I will leave you with a spring song by one of my long-time favorite performers, Jane Siberry.  It's just the song, no video.  But it's so happy!

ah, when spring comes there's nothing you can hide, making all your feelings come alive

and you feel so different inside that you think that in winter you must have been barely alive
the river is rising, the birds are returning, the earth is promising love, or something like that
I don't know

.

Kiss Doggy Style Good-bye!

The day has finally arrived!  Come to the Park Bar tomorrow night for the last Doggy Style of the season, and maybe ever!

It's been a wonderful run.  Come down for one last hurrah.  Tell your friends, and if you don't have any friends come and make some new ones!