i am glad you are alive...

Yesterday was so amazing.. by the time i got home.. i was too tired to write about it. so here this will chronicle all.

It started at midtown deli, where i finally found a place to make me my favorite bagel. Garlic bagel, with Jalepeno's and cream cheese. Not only that, but i was early enough to purchase it and arrive at work early!

Then while getting cosy at work, my friend called me dancing in her car to the Freddie Le Grande version of "Put your Hands Up For Detroit!" (originally made by detroit, well Ann Arbor native Matthew Dear).



So I have Bagel, new bouncy ball at work, and this song, along with my best friend to get my day started!

little did i know it would get so much better.

A man named Andrew Mcfarlane who runs Michigan in Pictures http://michpics.wordpress.com/, talked to the head of the Creative Cities Summit and got me a pass... so because of him i will be shooting it all next week!!! hooray! I am so excited to go and participate with some of the most brilliant urban planners, on how to build sustainable creative economies!

http://creativecitiessummit.com/

So this was all at work, as soon as i got home, Mr. Bobby Alcott http://www.bobbyalcott.com/slideshow.php offered to take me to the WIngs opener in a limo, I regretfully declined because i had a bike/camera adventure planed with a dear friend.

This is anthony, we have been friends since we were 15. Our paths through life have been strangely intertwined ever since. Amongst a crowd of hundreds of thousands we found each other after not seeing each other years, and as soon as he comes into town the streets, incessantly announce his arrival, and that of his alter ego, Kosmo, the space bunny. I have suffered through many an existential crisis with him.. this was much more relaxed. just an adventure to African Town.


African Town is the vision of an artist who owns a nearby African Bead museum, He has now taken over more than an entire city block. There are 2 buildings covered in mirriors that were glowing as the sun set, Lighting the entire area... and a yard filled with other installations. It's located at Grand River and Grand Blvd, They provide classes in bead making and Bundles, the man we met, is awesome. I'll go into this more another day. The next adventure blew my mind for two days straight.

The Baltimore Round Robin


Took place at Mocad (Museum of Contempory Art Detroit) over 2 days. It was a traveling group of Musicians and Artists who have more energy in thier bodies collectively, then anything i have ever seen. For two days.. they set up around a room, and performed all different kinds of music, the audience stayed in the center, and the artists often interacted with the entire group, asking us to do things like sit, or form a train that went around the block. Lead by Dan Decon, at one point he was screaming the similarities between Detroit and Baltimore, the stuggles of living in a Post Industrial City, and how we are all in this together. He had the Crowd Screaming I am Glad i am Alive. People wern't just dancing, they were breaking, and letting go. You should go to the round robin if you ever can, you should drive hundreads of miles to take part... the entire thing was incredible. Another highlight from the first night was the ethereal band Beach House.




the rest of the flicks will be on the detroit metromix site.. and my flickr.

and after all that.. i got a new spoke card. and went home and crashed out. I'm late! to go back to work this had to be continued!

the streets

It's late at night and i'm sitting on my balcony, thinking about how i love seeing the stars.
I can't tonight, like most nights, the city lights stamp them out. However, i can hear the wind blowing through the trees and that is comforting. I hear the rumble of cars on 94, sirens in the distance, and even a few rouge gunshots. When it rains I hear it drip between the houses, and i can watch my neighbors eat dinner from my kitchen, as well as hear when their phone rings, all these thoughts make me feel at home.

The Streets,
always moving, never pausing, ferocious at times, giving at others.
I've seen everything in Detroit, wandered down every alley, all hours of the day.
I've seen defecation, procreation, overwhelming grief, death and life. I've seen love, people starting over, and people giving up.
These streets are real, they are honest, they are bent, broken and reborn.

People live in detroit, there is not time or room, for glamour, or facade. this is you, this is me, we are equal, we are one.

But not always.

For all the bad there is equal, good.
In our community, people here are trying to fight, with our dire circumstances, trying to live, and help others live. People believe, and I believe, that we are fighting against odds, and we will overcome, and we will celebrate our own victories.

For every stranger i make smile, to the building recently rehabbed across the street, we will celebrate, together.

I love Detroit with every fiber of my body. When i need it, it's there, moving, breathing, it sits beside me, and we are one. The sounds of the city and I, my late night lullaby.

in rainbows

All day today my mind kept wandering to an image frozen in my head. As i sat at the bronx last night a older man stumbled in and sat across from me. Budwiser in hand, he fidgeted uncomfortably, and i fought the urge to stare. He sat under one of the only lights in the bar, like a spotlight, showcasing an object of importance, yet in a corner. The hood on his dark bulky coat was up, and he seemed unconcerned with his surroundings.
Who was this man and how did he end up at the bronx at 1 in the morn?
Among the crowd of college students, and locals, he just looked so out of place... not in an elitest way, but more of a sad one.
It reminded me of one time at the police station in ferndale, (i was paying a speeding ticket, don't speed on 9 mile). Anyways, there was an elderly man crying near the door... i just remember my heart hitting the floor... this was the same feeling. Also, something i never really thought about untill right now. Why do we repress the feelings of compassion, we have for one another... and why i wanted to take his photograph so bad.

anyways.. here we go, one more time!




i shot this double rainbow on the eve of the opening for the hub bike shop, located on cass and MLK. August 11, 2008. The Hub is an extension of Back alley bikes, a collective of people providing transportation to the diverse population in the area. They host classes, group rides, children's programs, provide bike maintenance, and also sell complete bikes and components. At the opening the sun peaked out for long enough to bring about this beauty. All the party goers flooded into the street. This shot was actually hard to take because my hand were covered in pizza grease. eww.

The shop is open tuesdays through sundays, go in and have a chat with joey, jack, or ben... all masters of their craft, all great people too.

back from the windy.

after a long weekend.. this chilly weather can dampen the spirits.. something nice about the crisp fall air, disappears when your tired.

Tonight after napping like a cat in the sun on my couch, i finally emptied all the boxes from my apartment (almost), I finally gave places homes... and tossed loose ends.

The end of the night found me clutching a candle at the bronx bar, to keep my fingers warm.. and then using my fingers to draw shapes with the light on the faces across from me. The Bronx is the darkest bar in the city... at night, upon exiting, the moon will seem like a spotlight. It seems to take 20 minutes for the eyes to adjust, and you will smell like you smoked 8 packs of ciggerettes. But it is a detroit classic, and a neighborhood gathering spot. They have a sick jukebox, pool table, some nights they offer haircuts.. and have awesome grilled cheeses...

On the ride home my lungs nearly exploded, because of the cold temperatures...

Which is why we need someone at home to keep us cuddly warm.
however, according to the following article, we have the 2nd highest ranking of single people, in the US and A.

http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/going-solo-in-the-usa.html;_ylc=X3oDMTFpaTViZTJvBF9TAzI3MTYxNDkEX3MDOTc2MjA0NjUEc2VjA2ZwLXRvZGF5BHNsawNnb2luZy1zb2xv

I shot this photo on the roof of the Russell industrial center one night. This dog was found north of here, and looks like a wolf. You can here her howling in building 3 of the artists complex. Even though she is really nice and her name is Daisy.