YouTube Friday: School House Rock - Three Ring Government (America Rock)

Since Election season is coming up, and many places are holding primary elections, I decided to blog about this video for YouTube Friday. It's about the three branches of Government: Executive, Judicial and Legislative. For all of my readers here in the USA, remember to vote next Tuesday, and vote your conscience, your values and what you believe in, as well.

Tiger Talk Wednesday

I'm watching the Tigers pregame show this evening, and I find out that the Tigers picked up Jhonny Peralta from the Indians for Giovanni Soto today, and designated Wilkin Ramirez for assignment. The Tigers are in need of a Third baseman, since Brandon Inge is out with a broken hand for the next few weeks. Looking at his numbers, he did all right for the Indians, with a .264 Batting average. I think that Jhonny Peralta will be a good addition for the TIgers, and will add a veteran to the team, since there are many rookies on the team right now. We'll see how he does here in Detroit for the Tigers. These two pictures were taken when the Indians visited Comerica Park for a 3 game series from June 1-3. The top picture was from the June 1 game, and the batting practice picture is from June 3.

Houses of Worship: Mariners' Church

Walking down Jefferson near Hart Plaza, the Renaissance Center, and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, you are sure to see Mariners Church, which sits right near these locations. This church is mentioned in the Gordon Lightfoot song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" as the Church that tolled its bell 29 times for the men lost on the Edmund Fitzgerald in November 1975. The church is a part of the Anglican Church. According to Mariners' website, the congregation started in 1842. The CHurch building was moved to its current location in the mid 1950s. The picture of Mariners' along the courtyard there reminds me of a church in the country whenever I see it. There's a statue of George Washington on Church grounds, as well. The statue pays tribute to the First President of the United States and the "Father of Our Country", as he is referred to.

Houses of Worship: Sts. Peter and Paul (Jesuit) Catholic Church

The church pictured in Today's edition of Downtown Houses of Worship is Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Downtown Detroit. It's staffed by the Jesuits, and is the oldest Church structure built in Detroit. According to the website for the Church (linked here), The cornerstone was laid in 1844, and was remodeled a few times in its history. This view of the church (the building with the Green Roof) was taken from the Detroit People Mover on the way to the Renaissance Center stop. I was here once for weekday Mass back in March, and it's a beautiful Church on the inside. I like the high Altar of this church. This is right next door to the law School of the University of Detroit, which the Jesuits helped to found in the 1800s.

Houses of Worship: Central United Methodist Church

The Church I profile today in my Downtown Houses of Worship series on TWaSBL is Central United Methodist Church. This is right down Woodward from St. John's Episcopal Church, its neighbor to the north. It's the oldest Protestant Congregation in Detroit, and was founded in 1810,according to the Church's website. They are celebrating their Bicentennial this year, and have a lot of events lined up. They also have a museum on an adjacent building nearby to promote peace. Often, if you are going to or from the Tigers game at nearby Comerica Park, you can see some of Central's parishioners selling peanuts near the Church. The thing I find interesting about this church is the clock on the steeple. There are four of them, facing north, south, east and west.

Houses of Worship-St. Aloysius Catholic Church

Walking down Washington Boulevard in Downtown Detroit, it's a little easy to miss St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Downtown Detroit, but as you step into the Church, you feel amazed at the different elements of the Church. The parish was founded in 1873, and the current church was built in 1930. The church is staffed by the Franciscans. The Chancery Building, located next door, was probably built the same year as the church. Reading the profile for St. Al's on Detroit 1701, I notice that St. Aloysius was the Cathedral Church for a while. My Favorite parts of this Church are the depictions of the Twelve Apostles above the two side doorways and the depiction of Christ the Good Shepherd above the altar.

Houses of Worship: St. John's Episcopal Church

One of the older churches in the Downtown Area is St. John's Episcopal Church. This building was constructed in the mid-1800s, and the congregation was established in the late 1850s. Besides Sunday, the Church is open during the week for a couple of hours for people to stop in and pray and for weekday prayer services. . It's located right on Woodward near Comerica Park and the Fox Theatre, as well. . It's known for it's "Pray here for the Lions and Tigers" sign that adorned the side of the church facing Comerica Park, which was no longer shown on the side of the building. The Church is also visible on I75, which is to the immediate north of the building. The thing that I like about the Church are the many adornments on the outside.

Houses of Worship: Fort Street Presbyterian Church

While going down Fort Street in Downtown Detroit, The first thing you notice about Fort Street Presbyterian Church is its tall steeple that's visible from quite a distance away. As you get closer, you notice all the details of the architecture of the Church,especially the smaller spires on the church building. On the Third street side of the Church, you can find a Historic marker for the church, which was formerly known as Second Presbyterian Church (First Presbyterian was on Woodward Avenue, and is now a Protestant Seminary). My favorite feature of this church are all the spires and the architecture of this Church.

Houses of Worship: Old St. Mary's Catholic Church

The Downtown House of Worship I profile today is Old St. Mary's in Downtown Detroit. This Church has many German touches from when it started as a Catholic Church for German-speaking Detroiters. It has occupied its current location since 1884. The Church is Celebrating its jubilee next month with many special activities. My favorite parts of the church are the recognizable steeples, shown here, and the Stations of the Cross inside. The three buildings of the Church, Rectory and the old school building were classified as Historic Sites by the state of Michigan. A lot of people stop in for daily and Sunday masses or to just look around before daily or Saturday/Sunday Masses.

Houses of Worship: Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue

I'm looking through some of my pics, and decided to start a series of blogs here on TWaSbL on some of the Downtown houses of worship. The first one I'll profile is the Downtown Synagogue. According to its website, the congregation was established in 1921,and named for Isaac Agree. They'vebeen in this building for the past 40 years. They also offer weekly services and events for the Jewish community of Metro Detroit. The first thing I notice whenever I pass the synagogue are the colorful stained glass windows on the first two levels of the building. I also notice the Star of David on the red doorway, as well.

YouTube Friday: WJBK "Reach for the Stars" Promo 1981

Because I'm feeling young 'n' Cheesy today, I scanned YouTube for some classic/Vintage Detroit TV Commercials, and ran across this gem from 1981. It's an old Channel 2 ad from the early 1980s. There are lots of local landmarks and some other cool stuff here, so enjoy!

Interesting Historic Buildings

I saw this picture of the old Detroit Free Press building (click the words for the Wikipedia Page) and the old Pretty Bouquet flower shop downtown, and it made me think of a picture I saw in a book of the downtown branch of the Detroit Public Library being dwarfed by the old Hudsons building, which was demolished in 1998. The Free Press has since moved to the Detroit News building just west of this location. I think that the old Free Press building reminds me of the old Hudsons Building and the old Michigan Bell Telephone building (pictured here with the Yellow Pages sign) on Oakman Blvd. near the Detroit/Highland Park border. I don't know if the buildings are designed by the same architect or not, because they look so much alike in many ways, especially the wings on both sides of the main tower. I like finding out about the history of the old buildings in downtown Detroit and in the Metro area. There's always a history in the old buildings and in the new buildings, as well. It may not be so obvious from the first glance, but once you find out more on them, it seems to have more meaning.

old Downtown Odd Fellows Temple

I always pass this building on the edge of Greektown, and I noticed the Temple of Odd Fellows sign on the building, so I decided to take a look around the internet to see what info there was about it. There's only a few pages on blogs and message boards and a mention on Wikipedia. THe last I heard about this building, the back wall had been rebuilt after strong winds did some damage to it. There have been ads on the side of the building, this Smirnoff ad being the most recent, for the past few years now. If any of my readers have any info on this building (year it was built, when the Odd Fellows moved in and out, etc), feel free to leave a comment on it.

In Memory of George Steinbrenner

My condolences go out to the family and friends of George Steinbrenner, the owner of the New York Yankees, who passed away today. Reading a writeup about him on the Yankees' website, I see that he took over the Yankees from CBS in the early 1970s, and the Yankees have done well under his ownership. I didn't know that he was the longest tenured franchise owner in Major League Baseball until I read the article. I watched ESPN today, and they had a lot of coverage on Mr. Steinbrenner, as well. They talked to some former Yankees, and they mentioned how he influenced them when they were playing, and after their playing days were over, as well. Rest in Peace, Mr. Steinbrenner, from a Detroit Tigers fan here in Detroit, and from fans all over the country.

Two Interesting folks from Michigan's Past.

These are two of the decorative ornamentations on the old Free Press Building of historic figures in Michigan and national history. The first one featured here today is of Lewis Cass, who was the Territorial Governor of Michigan, and was the Secretary of State in the late 1850s. According to his page on NNDB.com, he was born in New Hampshire in 1782, and passed here in Michigan in 1866. He was a general in the War of 1812. Cass Tech High School here in Detroit is named for him.
This picture here is of James Angell. He was the former President of the University of Michigan. According to the Wikipedia page about him, he was born in 1829, and served as U of M's President for close to 4o years. There's also a student honor society at Michigan that bears his name, as well.

Buses and Lights on the weekend

It's been quite the weekend here in Detroit in the Metro area. Two of the stories that stand out are the Bus Drivers sick-out and the Downtown power outage that took place yesterday, July 10

Many of the city bus drivers had a sick-out yesterday in apparent protest over the use of a bus for a well-liked colleague's funeral that was held yesterday. The first thing I noticed that something was up was when I saw more people and less buses at the bus terminal near me. I heard about the sick-out when I had gotten off the bus to do some comparison shopping for something I was looking for. After that, I headed downtown. When I got there, I went over to the Rosa Parks Transit Center, pictured here, and saw all the media there for a mid-morning press conference with the director of the DOT. The sparse number of city buses on the roads reminded me of the May 2007 city bus drivers strike, in which all city buses were off the road to protest the treatment of the drivers on a daily and nightly basis. I got all the buses I needed to take yesterday to get from here to there, in a timely manner, thank goodness.

The other big story of the weekend was the downtown power outage that took away lighting to much of the downtown area. The Intersection here is Woodward and Clifford/John R downtown. As of this evening, the problem seems to be getting under control. I heard about this on the radio yesterday morning, as well, and noticed more areas than those mentioned with their power out, namely north on Woodward to the Grand Circus Park/Foxtown area of downtown, South to Jefferson/Cobo Center area, East to Greektown, and West to the Washington Boulevard area. The reason that the city gave was that the heat of the past week or so had gotten to the lines, which were older, and that the electric company was getting to everything, especially to the hospitals on the grid. . The People Mover was shut down for much of today, and yesterday, as well. The sign was in the door of the Times Square station of the People Mover for all who wanted to ride. As I was taking my walk, I noticed that the shuttles from downtown bars, clubs, etc were packed to the back seats and then some for yesterday afternoon's Tigers game at Comerica Park , and many people walked from the various parking lots and decks to Comerica Park. It's been an interesting weekend, to say the least. I hope you all had a good weekend, and hope your week goes well.

YouTube Friday: James Leroy with Denim - You Look Good In Denim

For YouTube Friday, I found another song that I liked from James Leroy and Denim (see yesterday's post for some info on the "Rare" oldies). This song is called "You Look Good in Denim". I also heard this song on the Canadian Oldies station. I read up on James Leroy last night, and found out that he took his own life in 1979. Read more about him at the site dedicated to his memory, JamesLeroy.com

TWaSbL at the Oldies

I'm a big fan of the oldies, especially the ones not commonly heard on radio. Most of these "rare" oldies I hear on Canadian Radio. Two of the songs in which I like are "Sherry" by the Keane Brothers and "Leavin' LA" by Deliverance. Another song is the song "Touch of Magic" by James Leroy. I was just searching around YouTube when I stumbled across the song during my search. I heard this song on Canadian radio, along with another song by the same group, and liked it. What are some of your favorite songs?

Watch the kids in hot (and cold) cars

Something that troubles me whenever extemely hot or extremely cold weather rolls around is when parents leave their kids and/or pets in a hot or cold car. I read a story in USA Today about kids dying of Hyperthermia in hot cars during this heatwave. I think that there should be a signaling device if a kid is in the car at anytime, whether it be hot, cold or otherwise. I also think that parents should insist that their kids come with them when they go out and about running errands, especially if they are going somewhere such as the grocery store, the bank, the department stores, or other destinations around town.

Stay Cool

It's a hot day in the east and in the midwest, and here in the Metro Detroit area, there is a Heat Advisory, due to the heat and humidity we've been having the past few days. Many people are doing their best to cool off. The City of Detroit has opened Cooling Centers for residents to cool off and pass the time during this heat spell. All this heat reminds me of when I was a kid, and there was a really hot spell during the summer in the early-mid 1990s, I was at Day Camp at the time, and the Counselors and directors made sure we all got frequent water breaks and spent extra time in the pool. I hope all who are in this hot weather are keeping cool. Here are some tips to stay cool, via the Canadian Red Cross.

Peregrine sighting in the Park

As I was going through the park before my city's Independence Day festivities today, I noticed this Peregrine Falcon that was perched on the top of a Jungle Gym in the kids play area. I know it's rare to see one of these here in the Metro Detroit area, and wondered what was it doing so close to where people usually hang out at. I showed these pictures to my Dad when I got home, and he told me that there were some falcons in downtown Detroit in the '70s or the '80s. He also said that this falcon may have been looking for squirrels or chipmunks or something like that. I put the zoom on my camera so I wouldn't disturb the falcon. He just sat there like nobody was there to see him. I looked for info online, and found this site about the Peregrine Falcon from the site All about Birds. The Peregrine hunts medium birds. and is a common sight in the western US and a seasonal sight in Canada and in South America. . This is an adult Peregrine that's pictured here

Happy Independence Day

Here's wishing all my American readers a Happy Independence Day and a happy 234th birthday to the USA. The picture I post today is of of the "Father of our Country", George Washington. He was the nation's First President back in the 1700s, and died in 1799. He's shown here in a statue downtown. I pray for all the soldiers and military personnel that are away from home this day, that they may come home safe and sound.

Youtube Friday: John Philip Sousa "Stars and Stripes Forever"

In honor of Independence Day, which falls on Sunday, I found this video while cruising around YouTube of the Sousa march "Stars and Stripes Forever". Hope Independence Day is good for all of my American readers, and honor the 234th birthday of the USA in your own special way.

Troubling times across the USA

I was listening to the news as I was going out and about today, and I heard about unemployment benefits being terminated to many people who relied on these checks in their daily life for their day-to-day living expenses. Many can't find work, and it seems like many people are not hiring right about now. It hurts me to see a lot of people lose their livelihoods and their homes, as well as to see people out on the streets with kids and families. The saying "You don't know how good you have it/how blessed you are until it's gone" ceretainly pertains today as it did in the past. I pray for all the unemployed, homeless and low-income in the country and world. Even though I'm unemployed right now, as well, I'm starting to figure out what I can do to start something good in these bad times to help those in need. I want to volunteer my time and talents, but am unsure about the way in which to volunteer, though. I'll have to think and pray about this a little more. I post this picture, taken this past Saturday, of two businesses that are no longer in business. They are the former Meyer Jewelry and Cobbs Apparel in downtown Detroit