Greenery in the Grand Garden

I saw this sign as I was taking an afternoon walk a couple of months ago. I happened near the MGM Grand Casino in Downtown Detroit, and saw this sign. The Greening of Detroit and the MGM Grand are teaming up to plant flowers and all sorts of greenery in a lot near the casino. This was located near the Parking deck for the casino. I think that it'll be really nice to see the "Grand Garden" when it "Blooms" next year. It's especially nice to see that little Robin there, especially in these cold-weather months. It makes me hopeful that the Spring will be here before we know it.

Parade PhotoBlog

Here are some of my pictures that I took during the Thanksgiving Parade. Hope you enjoy them

Here are some old Model T's in the Parade from Greenfield Village. They followed the Absopure truck, which was an older model, itself.
This penguin is always one of my favorite balloons (one of my favorite animals is a Penguin, the other is a Tiger). This is the "Hob Nobble Gobble" balloon. The Hob Nobble Gobble is a fancy party before the parade for all the sponsors and benefactors (in other words, for those who paid a whole bunch of money) of the parade . The sign ahead of it thanks all the sponsors for their contributions
This float is new. It's from Flame Heating and Cooling here in the Metro Detroit area. It has a pig sliding down a slide in nice weather around the back, while another pig is shoveling snow up front at the "Hog Heaven" house. This reminds us all to check our heating and cooling systems before it gets too hot or cold, and you need your heat or air conditioning the most.
The Jolly Ol' Elf himself, Santa Claus, for the kiddos. He always receives the key to the city by the mayor each year.

Seeing Pink Elephants (in a good way)

Here is one of my pictures from the Thanksgiving Parade on Thursday, which was a good time as it always is. This ballon is called, appropriately enough, "Elephante". It was a student design a few years back, and has been a mainstay in the parade since then. My favorite parts of the parade were all the bands (I don't have a favorite, all of them did well), the Big Head Corps, and the Mid-American Pom-Pon team, which has been one of my longest running favorites. Everyone liked the parade, even though it rained before the parade started. How has your Thanksgiving Weekend been so far? I have been spending time with my family, and doing some shopping for Black Friday. Hope the rest of your weekend is fine and dandy.

YouTube Friday: Cyber Monday deals

Here's hoping your Thanksgiving went well, and your "Black Friday" shopping went okay, as well.I decided to take a little break from Blogging for the American Thanksgiving Holidays. Today's YouTube Friday segment for the week, which is from WOODTV8's Channel, is about "Cyber Monday" deals, in which people go on the internet to look f0r deals on different items. I heard a report on the radio about the amount of productivity lost in the workplace on "Cyber Monday", and about how many employers allow their employees to go online to look for deals. I hope you find what all you are looking for this holiday season

PartnerShops

I'm Reading more about Ben and Jerry's PartnerShops, which are ice cream shops owned by charities that help young people obtain valuable job experience that will help them in the long run. There are numerous Partnershops around the Country that are run by different charities to help out. This is the Partnershop in Downtown Detroit, and it's been doing a good job since they opened in 2005. I stop in here on occasion to get some Ice Cream when they are open, but I haven't been in a while, though. If there is a PartnerShop in your city or town, make sure you go to patronize it, and help young people get that job experience.

Historic Anniversary: JFK'S ASSASSINATION (NBC-TV COVERAGE)(PART 1)

Today marks the 47th anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy. The President and the First Lady were in Dallas, Texas at the time, and were riding through downtown Dallas with the Governor and First Lady of Texas in a motorcade when Lee Harvey Oswald shot at the president from the Book Depository located nearby. Many people remember where they were when they heard the news. The nation was in shock after the news broke, and mourned in a respectful manner in the days, weeks, and months afterwards. My parents remembered where they were when they heard the news. My late mom was a teenager at the time, and she heard the news on her way home from an after-school activity. She had told me she didn't believe it at first, but when she arrived home, she saw the news of the assassination on Television. My dad was in his early 20s at the time, and he remembers the the news cutting into regularly scheduled programs on TV and the radio with the news and updates throughout the day. They both remembered the funeral service and the viewing in the Capitol Rotunda. I remember going to Washington DC with my Middle School in the late '90s, and one of the sites we visited was Arlington Cemetery. We visited the Kennedy gravesite, which is located there.

Detroit Pavers

I've noticed these Detroit grids around downtown the past couple of years. They have an aerial plan of the Downtown area of Detroit, and the different nicknames for Detroit (with Dee-Troit being my favorite). These were placed around the downtown streets to beautify the area, because people are beginning to come downtown more often to live, work, and play ( going to bars, clubs, sporting events, etc). I think that these are a cool and interesting touch to downtown. What do you all think of them?

GM Stock

I've been watching on the news about GM's stock returning to the New York Stock Exchange this past week, and I thought about these signs in GM's public showroom at the RenCen back in April of this year. I hope that the stock does well next week for its first full week on the NYSE. I saw on the news that there were new GM Cars on Wall Street. They have cars parked like that here, as well. I've seen them parked out near Comerica Park, and Chevrolet even sponsored the fountain at Comerica Park (it was called GM fountain in the past). I hope to see what the stock will be like a year from now.

YouTube Friday: England Dan & John Ford Coley I'd really love to see you 1976

For YouTube Friday, I decided to go with some Old Music for you all. I saw this video on musicman70splus YouTube page. I like singing along to this song whenever it comes on the radio. I read a short bio on Wikipedia about "England" Dan Seals, who passed in March 2009, and it says that he and John Ford Coley met and formed a group in High School, and that's where they met. I hope you like this song as much as I do.

Screening at the Airport-Invasion of Privacy?

I've been hearing a bunch on the news lately about the TSA's use of Body Scanners in many of the nation's airports (Metro Airport here in Detroit is one of the airports that have this technology installed). I've heard that if someone doesn't want to go through the scanner, that they may receive a pretty intrusive pat-down by the staff at the screening checkpoint. Many people are saying that this is an invasion of privacy, because of the way the photos of your body are handled, and how they are being used. . Many don't want to do this type of screening because of the doctrines of their religion that speak about modesty. I've also heard on the news about people planning to boycott the screening machines during the pre and/or post Thanksgiving and/or Christmas trv I think that the scanners are a pretty good idea, because it seems like they will speed up the screening process when you are at the airport to catch a flight. What do you all think about this form of screening? Are you for it or against it?

Small Cars are in, even for Cadillac!

I'm reading an article in USA Today about the Cadillac Concept car that was unveiled at the LA Auto Show today. It's an interesting little car, and it looks like it'll be pretty cool to see that on the streets one of these days. It's a fuel-efficient little car, like most small cars are nowadays, and it looks rather interesting (they say it's as small as a Mini). The back of the car reminds me a bit of the Kia Soul. I had to look through my pictures from this year's Auto show to find this picture of a Cadillac for this entry. Whenever I see a Cadillac, I think of my late grandfather, who worked for the Cadillac unit of GM (My mom says he never bought a Caddy because they were too expensive, even with the employee discount).

Ford Auditorum '10

I heard on the news and read in the paper today that Ford Auditorium would be demolished in favor of an Ampitheatre for Hart Plaza, which sits right next door. Apparently, the city thinks that the former home of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra hinders the future plans for the downtown area. When I heard what the future plans would be, I thought to myself, "What would be the use for another Ampitheatre when there is enough space for a Festival already?" I feel that Ford Auditorium can be used again as extra concert space downtown, and opened up again for that purpose.
These pictures of Ford Auditorium were taken this past July during one of my photo walks this past summer. I wrote a blog earlier this year about the Auditorium, as well as a couple of blogs in October 2009 and December 2009 about it, as well. The Auditorium opened in 1956 (the cornerstone was laid in 1955), and from what I read, was paid for by the Ford Family and some of the Auto Dealers in town. It used to be pretty good, acoustically, and held a lot of shows, speeches, concerts, and other events. The city council at the time is prominently listed near the front doorway. Billy Rogell was on City Council at the time, and is listed here. The Mayor at the time was Albert Cobo, who died in office in 1957, and Louis Miriani took over after he passed. My Dad remembers when Ford Auditorium was built, and was surprised to learn that it would be demolished. W

Start that hunting

Hunting Season has started here in Michigan, and I'm reading in the Detroit Free Press about folks going Up North to the Upper Peninsula to go hunting. I hope that if you all are out hunting, you all follow the rules, stay safe (most importantly) and have fun, too. I'm looking at the Michigan DNR Website, and they have lots of information about the outdoors here in Michigan, so if you're out hunting, fishing, or whatever your favorite outdoor activity is, you can see what kind of licenses or permits you need before you go out and after you get back home.

American/Fort Wayne Hotel

Here are some pictures that I took last month of the old Hotel Fort Wayne/Hotel American in the Cass Park area near downtown Detroit. I couldn't find too much info on it, other than on Detroit 1701. The sign reading Hotel Fort Wayne is still visible on the north side of the hotel. I wonder what the rate would be nowadays (if you look closely at the sign, you can see that the rate at the time was $2.00 a night). There was a Knights of Pythias lodge at this hotel, as well.I wonder if this was a residential hotel in a past life, or a rooming house. If anyone has any history on this hotel, feel free to leave a comment on this entry.

Walking for a Purpose

I noticed this picture, taken May 8, 2010 at Comerica Park, as I was looking through some of my pics from my Weekend Photo Walks this summer. This was taken as crews were packing up after the Multiple Sclerosis Walk was held. I'm looking at the website that's listed on the truck, called "I Walk Because...", and it tells of why people are participating in the Multiple Sclerosis walk (for a family member or friend, for a cure, etcetera). If you participate in a charitable org's walk, who or why do you walk? Many walks and Charitable events are held at Comerica Park each year, and I've even passed by here on occasion and have seen wedding Receptions, corporate events, charity dinners, or other other events being held at the Tiger Club area of the park.

YouTube Friday: The Americans

For YouTube Friday today, I decided to do one with a patriotic theme, since Veterans Day was this week. I thought about the commentary called "The Americans", which was originally done by Gordon Sinclair shortly after the Vietnam war ended in the early '70s. It was later covered by Detroit newsman/DJ Byron MacGregor, which went high on the charts. From what I'm reading around the internet, MacGregor donated the profits from the sale of the record to the Red Cross. I found this video on chieftrent's YouTube Channel. I've been hearing this on occasion these past few years on the Canadian Oldies station, and I first heard this on the radio pretty frequently after the September 11 attacks in 2001. I hope you feel inspired by this as I do.

Veterans Day

Today is Veterans Day here in the United States. What we know as Veterans Day traces its lineage to 1918, when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on November 11, 1918 to end World War I (I found this info on the VA's website). As I was tracing my family Heritage, I noticed many family members that served in the military than I even knew about. In concluding this short blog, I remember all the troops out there defending our country today, and just wanted to wish them a Happy Veterans Day. Thank you for your dedication to our Country.

Special Tribute: Remembering The Edmund Fitzgerald 1975

Today is the 35th Anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior . I saw this video on shockoxj6's YouTube channel. The ship was carrying 29 men when she sank. I remember hearing my parents saying that they remember when they heard that the ship had sunk. There's a memorial service held yearly at Mariners' Church in Downtown Detroit. It's been held yearly, and a bell is rung 29 times for each man who passed, and more recently, a thirtieth toll of the bell is rung for all sailors who passed in Great Lakes maritime accidents over the years. Gordon Lightfoot wrote a song about it, that was released in the mid 1970s. Here is the Wikipedia page for the ship that has some interesting info.

Stressed out parents affect kids

Looking at an article in USA Today right now about kids feelings when their parents are stressed out, and parents trying to shield their feelings from them. II remember when my parents were stressed when I was young , and they sometimes would talk amongst themselves about what it was, and sometimes, I'd listen if I was nearby. I think that parents should talk with their kids about things if they ask about things, or something they overheard if it pertains to them. How do you deal with stress? I tend to try to go out for a walk, write in my journal, or pray about it.

Travel Costs are going up...again

Just reading an article in USA Today about Airfare going up (as it almost always does) this holiday season. I thought to myself "Airfare keeps going up and up, and they're charging an arm and a leg for most things on top of that". If I were to travel, I'd either drive, take the train or take the bus to get to where I need to go. How do you think that the Airlines and other companies can reduce travelers costs when they travel throughout the year? I think that they ought to eliminate the charges for bags and other things that used to be complimentary.

Veterans Parade

I went to the Veterans Day Parade today, and was surprised at the number of veterans and veterans groups in the parade. This was my second parade that I participated in, and It was a pretty good turnout, fewer people than there were last year. I talked with my Dad about this after I got home today, and he says that the Veterans Day parades used to be huge back in the '50s and '60s, with a lot of vets from the Korean War, World War II and maybe some from World War I and earlier wars that were living at the time. I read in the newspaper that the parade was discontinued in the '70s, and started back up a few years ago. Many groups, including a group dressed as Union Army soldiers and a group of Native American Soldiers and vets were present in the parade. This is a van from the Disabled American Veterans here in Detroit.I hope you can do something for veterans at all times of the year.

YouTube Friday: Wal-Mart Employees Prepare For Black Friday

I've been hearing on the news about Black Friday, the shopping day after Thanksgiving, coming early this year, and decided to post a video about it. This video from kcratv's YouTube Channel, and it shows some employees at a Sacramento area Wal-Mart preparing for the biggest Shopping day of the year. What is on your list to get for people you know for the holidays? Many people get gift cards, electronics, toys, cars, or other gifts for them. Here's hoping your shopping goes smoothly if you go out to shop, and be careful if you decide to get to the stores when they open at an early hour (some stores open at 4 or 5 AM!). Here are some tips from KAKE Wichita if you decide to go shopping that day, and at any other time of the year, not just the Holiday Season

"Bee" a Recycler

I've seen a lot of the "Recycle Here" bins at various events, and even saw this truck at the Jazz Festival during Labor Day Weekend this weekend. The Recycle Here campaign is only five years old, but from what I can tell, it's doing a good job. Its mascot is the happy little bee, shown in a set of four here. It encourages people in Detroit and even in the metro area to recycle things such as bottles, cans, plastic containers, cereal boxes, and other products. I always try to recycle whenever possible, and I hope you recycle, too.

Reading about Alzheimers and Dementia

I heard in the news today about Sparky Anderson being placed in Hospice today because of Dementia. I am saying a prayer for him and his family, as I think most , if not all Tiger fans are tonight. Dementia is a disease that affects the memory and eventually your ability to function over time, and is usually associated with Alzheimer's Disease, which has about the same affect on your memory and functioning. Reading the page about these diseases on Web MD, I find out what causes these diseases. Whenever I see something about Alzheimer's or Dementia, I think about my late grandparents, who had this disease. Over time, it got hard for them to move around the house, and they were in nursing homes when they passed. I hope I can learn more about these diseases soon.

Drink some water while waiting on a new bus

I hope you all went out to vote today if you live here in the USA. It's an important duty to go out and voice your choice for public office. I am reading this article in USA Today about schools cutting down on Sugary drinks and whole/Vitamin D Milk. I think that this is a good idea, because I think that kids can choose healthier options, as well as diet pops and water, and also eating healthier at lunch time. I remember there being pop machines at school when I was in HS. I'd always get some water to drink in class from my Sophomore through Senior years (until my high school ultimately banned water, juice, pop, etc from classes). Another topic I want to touch on today is Also, I got to ride a new Bus today. It is one of two new atriculated hybrid buses that runs along the SMART bus system . They're really nice to ride in. The inside of this bus reminded me of a Subway or one of the buses I remember riding in Toronto when I was a kid. For all of my Metro Detroit folks, you'll be seeing this bus along the High traffic routes around town. There were artriculated buses for the DOT way back when, but they got rid of them for some reason or another (find more info on these buses for the DOT on the Detroit Transit History website).

Watch out while banking and in the snow

I was reading an article in the Detroit News about the increase in ATM Skimming recently, especially since the economy isn't like it was. Watch yourself and keep tabs on your Bank or Credit Union statements to see if anyone is trying to take money out of your account without your knowledge. Also, try to take precautions in safeguarding your passcode whenever you go to the ATM. The building whose picture I post here is the former Bankers Trust building in Downtown Detroit. On another note, It's starting to get chilly here in Metro Detroit, and you know what that means...SNOW! The picture of the snowy terrain was from back in February of this year, before going to the Detroit Winter Blast in Downtown Detroit. I was on the People Mover when I took this picture. Many people around the midwest and other parts of the US that have snowy conditions between November and March are preparing their cars and their homes for the snowy conditions. For all of you who are unaccustomed to the snow, or are lifelong "Snowbirds", here are some tips to help you out when a snowstorm hits from Safety.com