The Roaring Twenties in Detroit: A City in the Black—and Purple

ThinkerPurple

Kevin’s recent illustrated humor post on Detroit’s Museum Yard Sale, about the proposed selling of the city’s more valuable art pieces, reminded me of the last time I visited the Detroit Institute of Arts about 10 years ago (I live in New York so have an excuse for not visiting there more often).

My husband, author Warren Berger, and I were there on a scouting mission. Warren was checking out locations for scenes in his novel THE PURPLES, which chronicles/imagines the rise and fall of the young rumrunner Purple Gang in 1920s Detroit. [Nota bene: The novel started life as a great screenplay … Read More…

Museum Yard Sale? Detroit’s Deficit & Denial

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MelWoman

 ”How much for the Picasso with the grumpy old lady?”

“$4 million.”

“Would you take two?”

“Umm.  Let me ask my wife.”

The painting reminds me so much of an estate sale my wife and I dropped in on in Bloomfield Hills.  It was a fabulous house with riches galore–all at marked down prices.  The Coach handbags, for example, were only $250 for crying out loud.

And there, in the dining room, in the corner glaring at us vultures, was the … Read More…

Oscar Shorts: Worth the Trip to See “Asad”

Asad

See the trailer or click on the link below.

http://www.imdb.com/rg/s/4/title/tt2136747/#lb-vi2136908569

It was always enough of a challenge for me to see the five nominated films for Best Picture.  The Oscars like their films all delivered around Christmas and just dribbling out into theatres slowly  until the nominations then hoping for the big bump in attendance once the nominees are announced.  Now there are 9-10 nominees, depending on their initial votes, so it makes it that much harder to catch them all before the end of February.  (The show used to be at the end of March, but the Golden Globes, … Read More…