My Small Dose of Insanity

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Robert Phillips

Here’s something you don’t know about me if we’ve never met, something that the little Mickey Spillane picture attached to my bio won’t tell you: I’m remarkably handsome. To the extent that girls have to look away, that heterosexual guys are uncomfortable around me. There is some fairness to this world, however: God or fate or whatever you believe in balanced the scales by providing me about 40 pounds more than would normally be desirable for a man of my height and frame. So, the weight makes me almost look like a normal person. Yet for some foolish reason, I rail against the concept of fairness and try to reduce that comfortable 40. To that end, I introduced “Insanity” to my daily regimen, and I’ve … Read More… →

Life Epicenters: Where Are Your Memories Formed?

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Kevin Walsh

It’s not normal, I suppose, to think of Cher at one’s high school reunion.   One of my favorite seeming non-sequitors in movies is from Moonstruck, when her Oscar-winning Loretta informs her dad Cosmo that she’s got to tell him something important.

“Let’s go to the kitchen,” says Cosmo.

kitchen

I’ve seen it dozens of times at household parties, the living room and dining room are empty, and the 12×18 kitchen has 24 people in it.  We had a joke growing up that the only room in the house that had no life to it was the living room.  I still remember sticking to … Read More… →

Dreaming and Hoping: Cruising Woodward, Happy Days and Retconning a Decade with Fictional American Idealism

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Kale

I can see why a lot of people don’t like the Dream Cruise, especially if you live in that area. Or, as is in my case, the Dream Cruise can be a big ol’ inconvenience to those who have to work in the Bloomfield Hills to Royal Oak area. It’s loud, a lot of the people are annoying. You can’t get anywhere quick, if you can get anywhere at all. Vendors are closed, and it’s no honeymoon trying to make the last FedEx pick up in Birmingham the Thursday and Friday before the actual Dream Cruise. 

So, I get it. It seems there are more haters every year, though. In classic Michigander style, we like to complain when there’s nothing going on as much as … Read More… →

From Russia With Hate: Not Tuning-In 2014 Winter Olympics

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Joe Maguire

The following was originally posted on Joe’s blog at this link.

welcome-sochi-2014-olympics

If you follow my blog you know that I rarely comment on current events and mostly am guilty of reminiscent wool gathering. I have also stated that I am not content just writing about the timeline of our marriage.

But, what is going on in Russia needs to be addressed now and regularly until the Winter Games and beyond. The persecution of LGBT people in Russia is horrifyingly similar to the gradual evolution of the Jewish holocaust led by Vladimir Putin an ex-KGB thug.  He knows what he is doing. Find … Read More… →

Watching The Fish-Slapping Dance: An Unbiased Examination of British TV in America by an Anglophile

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Robert Phillips

Brit tv 

I was the smug little kid who was laughing about the “fish-slapping dance” before anyone in my class had even heard of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. I was 11, and I was hooked by the crazy, absurd imagination in that show, by the accents, and of course, by the fact that no one else had heard of them. I watched The Benny Hill Show, but everyone had heard of that, so I stuck my nose up and moved on to The Young Ones.  In college, it was Doctor Who.  Now, I smugly gear up to watch the first episode of Broadchurch. 

Yes, it’s true. … Read More… →

The Anatomy of a Great Game

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Kale

 

As I write this, my favorite baseball team won their 12th straight game and 4th straight against their division rivals 10-3. Our ace went 7 strong innings to win his 17th of the year. The 3rd and 5th hitters in the lineup had 3 RBI each. And we taxed their bullpen so much, that they had to bring in their utility player in in the 9th inning to pitch. All that and yet—the excitement, fun and thrills didn’t come close to the game that preceded it. 

On August 7th, 2013, Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians fans were treated to what was absolutely the most exciting game of the year. Yes, Indians fans too, even though they were on the losing end. The August 7th … Read More… →

Breaking Bad-Ass: AMC–the Michael Corleone of Cable TV

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Kevin Walsh

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It’s hard to decide what’s more cold-blooded–Walter White’s slow-decline into Hell or the transformation of AMC?

This weekend, Breaking Bad and Hell on Wheels continue new bloodbaths on the same network that endeared us all to the old-man-in-the-fake-livingroom-introducing-the -movies.  In Detroit, the folksy host of my childhood afternoons was Bill Kennedy, a b-movie actor who was known for such great appearances as, “the guy out of the submarine hatch, just before Cary Grant climbs out.”  He’d read letters during the breaks, tell war-stories then press the play button again.

When cable TV hit my neighborhood in the early 1980s, I couldn’t believe that there … Read More… →

Tales From the Michigan Diaspora

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Kale

Listen to Kale discuss this very successful post on our Podcasts tab...

Ever notice when you watch a Tigers game or a Red Wings game that is played on the road, there seems to be an especially loud “Let’s Go Red Wings” or “Let’s Go Tigers” roar at some point of the game? You don’t really hear that when other teams come and play here. And it doesn’t happen in just one place. You hear it in Cleveland, in Chicago, in Florida and Arizona, Los Angeles and Pennsylvania venues, too! As Detroit sports fans, we like to take this phenomena as an example to testify that we are, quite simply, the best sports fans in the world. That we care so much about our … Read More… →

DWM – 41 Seeking Normal Woman for Normal Life

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Steve Mitzel

My married friends all make it seem so simple. Sitting over beers, they say “just sign up for eHarmony or Match and it will happen.” Just magically. Like that? Like dating in your 40’s in 2013 with the technology available to us is going to create a date as simple as downloading an app making reservations on Open Table. God, don’t I wish it was that easy.

For those of you who are blessed with being single in your “later” stages of life, whether it’s because a divorce, or not finding the right person yet, or some tragedy, I’ll sum it up for everyone else – IT SUCKS! It absolutely sucks. I sometimes think that the married crowd has this envy like the … Read More… →

The Method Is Madness

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Robert Phillips

Olivier and Hoffman

I write this (the first draft, anyway) at 11:45 am, Monday morning, August 5. There will be approximately 4 more working hours in the day. About 6,060 minutes stand between me and the end of the work day on Friday. Now 6,059.  Don’t get me wrong–I’m not a “clock-watcher,” someone who simply gets to work and runs out the clock until the end of the day.  I’m all about the work.  Still 6,059.

To those people who are dedicated to their craft, who are willing to spend as many hours as necessary to chase some unattainable perfection, I salute you…to an … Read More… →

Jose or Jhonny? A Choice Between Right and Braun

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Kale

 Let me show you what is probably the only defining baseball moment for Detroiters—surely my generation of Detroiters—to come out of the mid to late 90’s:

If you can look past the fact that Frank Beckmann was a part of this, it’s a pretty incredible moment. The scene is the last game ever to be played at historically legendary Tiger Stadium. One of the only bright spots in a dismal baseball future, Robert Fick, steps up to the plate with the bases loaded. With one swing of the bat, Fick immortalizes himself in baseball history, hitting a grand slam off of the roof—the ultimate send off to every Michigander’s favorite sports venue. He’s wearing Norm Cash’s number, and Frank reminds us that … Read More… →

Death of a Whistleblower: Detroit’s Bankruptcy, Edward Snowden and Jerry Buckley

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Kevin Walsh

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*Updated on 3/24/14 with video of hotel implosion courtesy of Laurie Rutzel Lessard.

50,000 people is a considerable crowd at a ballpark, but a graveside service is pretty remarkable–particularly in a thunderstorm.

Two recent news events have merged for me to remember the 1930 Detroit gangland assassination of a man with a questionable past that was compared to half of Mount Rushmore’s occupants…

FirstYearAnniversary_3Great

Quite a quote from the one-year anniversary memorial service on Belle Isle honoring a martyred radio announcer–even elaborated upon … Read More… →

“Brotherly Love” is Ironic? I’ve Never Heard That.

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Robert Phillips

schmidt in disguise

(Mike Schmidt, arguably the greatest third baseman to ever play the game, a career Phillie and a hometown hero.  In this photo, he’s in comic disguise to hide from Philly fans.)

Look up the phrase “philly fan” in the online “Urban Dictionary” site and you will see adjectives like “obnoxious,” “juvenile,” and “unruly.”  It can be rough for visitors to our sporting events…well, it can be rough for home teams as well (see Mike Schmidt above), but visiting teams and their fans know that Philadelphia may be a great place to live, but you don’t want to visit. To a great … Read More… →

The Contagiousness of a Happy Couple: True Story or Con-Job (or Doesn’t It Matter?)

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Kevin Walsh

I’ve seen it three times today and I could see it another 12 more times before I go to sleep. 

So it’s been seen already 17 million times by the rest of the world–I’m a little slow!

I was totally exhausted this morning and trying hard to wake up when I saw the link to this Tonight Show video on my friend’s Facebook page.

And, as expected, if it seems too good to be true…

Out came the speculators that it was staged.

And a blog that gave folks another reason to hate Jay Leno.

It’s the same debate I’ve had with myself a hundred times.  When the headlines hit, can I separate the work from the artist?

Read More… →

“Go! Go Fast! Hide Them!” – My Father’s Guns

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John Maguire

About eight months ago, my granddaughter, Mara, was quite interested in family history and asked for more details. I said I would write but just couldn’t seem to do it.

Fast forward to two weeks ago and I go to a poetry reading–mostly new writers, talking about their lives, easy to understand and with no rhyming.

At the reception, I ask how they do it. “It just comes,” they say.  Hard for me to imagine.

Then one woman suggests I make it like I’m writing a letter to someone. I think of my granddaughter. The next morning I wake up thinking in poetry phrases about my father’s guns.  Later in the day it all came out, fully-formed.

*******************

My father had three guns. Cold, hard revolvers all.
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Ma Kai

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Steve Mitzel

I have been trying to find the right words to express what it felt like sitting on the beach last week in North Carolina last week on vacation.  It was a feeling on insignificance, but yet peace.  I was going to try to put my words around a blog, but decided to try my hand in poetry. Indulge me! 

Ma Kai

Your waves crash on the beach
Your breeze blows across my face
The sun beats on me, just me

Decisions to be had,
Deadlines to be made,
Not today as I hide my feet in your sand

The enormity of your being
makes me feel insignificant…
….but strangely at peace

The things you have seen,
The … Read More… →

Midnight-Screenings: Magic, Memories and Marketing

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Kale

The other night, whilst sipping a brew or two, a debate arose amongst my friends and me—a debate that will seemingly never end. We discuss it all the time, and we can never come to a consensus:

What is the greatest superhero movie of all time: “The Dark Knight” or “X-Men: First Class”? 

Because it is, of course, either/or. There is no (c) to this multiple choice question (sure, maybe “The Avengers”). My friends and I can’t seem to come to a decisive conclusion. No one wants to pit one movie against the other, but, as wayward, mentally adrift early-20’s males, it’s our duty to come up with some sort of conclusion to this mind-boggling question. Thus, that night, the debate carried on:

(SPOILERS)

“Dark … Read More… →

Save The Dates!

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Robert Phillips

me and dad 2

On October 11, 19-something, I got a call from an old college buddy. October 11 is apparently National Coming Out Day, a significant day in the gay community when LGBT people come out to someone close to them who doesn’t know.  I was shocked–I had no idea.  We had talked about girls for hours over beers and “za.”  (transl. pizza).  To help process the information, I called another friend, who was apparently sitting next to his wife when the phone rang.

Me: “Mike, does the date October 11 mean anything to you?”
Mike: “October 11th? No, what’s special about that date…OUCH…yeah, it’s … Read More… →

Golf Voyeurism: Tiger, Phil, Stevie and Reality TV

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Kevin Walsh

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NASCAR’s ratings are high because it has two audiences–those hoping for a great race and those waiting for an accident. Tiger Woods is golf’s NASCAR.

It was like having to stand-up at a wedding with your ex-fiancee.  For pure TV reality-show squirm-factor, this morning’s second-to-last pairing at the British Open couldn’t have been better. 

It wasn’t so much Tiger Woods opposite this year’s Masters champ, Adam Scott; it was Tiger Woods and Scott’s caddy, “Stevie” Williams.  ESPN referred to it as a “frosty handshake.”

Steve Williams became Tiger’s Robin after the previous sidekick, Mike “Fluff” Cowans, was dismissed for treason to his majesty, after … Read More… →

Blackouts & Cutting Utility Dependence: “Sir, We Would Never Get Anything Done if We Had E-Mail”

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Kevin Walsh

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The first thing out of my mouth when my son called me at work and told me the power was out should not have been, “Oh my God! Unplug the new TV before it gets fried when it comes back on!”

Perhaps I might have first considered, after verifying there were no downed lines on top of my kids, that our poor hairy dog was okay in the 94 degrees. But I didn’t.

Or, based on terrible back-flooding of raw sewage in the basement of our first house, you’d think I would remember that without electricity, the sump pump won’t work.

The insurance company didn’t … Read More… →