Too Much Skunk In Your Junk » detroit

detroit is #1

alison — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:51:51 +0000

and yes, in something good.

DTW is the best large airport based on customer satisfaction. those of us from detroit might find this surprising, considering the weird tunnel in mcnamara to get to the B and C terminals (i’m at the airport, not a lava lamp, thanks). but JD power and associates says so, and as a former expert on rankings, i know that rankings never lie.

in other news, two of my other most frequently used airports are LAX and PHL, both battling for last place. way to go team!

detroit: like the wild west

alison — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:36:41 +0000

Tough times likely fuel bank heists

Aug. 18 was a particularly bad day: three holdups at three banks — Huntington Bank in Clinton Township and two Charter One Banks, one in Roseville, the other in Taylor.

Ray Roland, 34, who is accused of holding up the Huntington Bank, also faces charges in a spree that included a TCF Bank in Eastpointe on Aug. 17 and a National City Bank in Shelby Township on Aug. 19.

The most shocking robbery came Aug. 10, in which authorities say Ihab Maslamani held a gun that may have been used in a murder to a customer’s head during a holdup at the Flagstar Bank in Harrison Township.

“It could be family situations, but I think in this area, a lot could be the economy,” FBI Special Agent Sandra Berchtold said of what might motivate robbers.

it’s actually very surprising how many bank holdups still occur. i used to think it was a thing that happened in the 80′s.

culpepper says his goal is to win the NFC north

alison — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:57:59 +0000

ok, daunte.

i think you’ve been drinking too much of rb kevin smith’s kool-aid, if you know what i mean.

my bold prediction: i am confident we will beat our record from last eyar.

bing = hope

alison — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:48:28 +0000

i’m really happy it looks like dave bing will be the next detroit mayor. from what i’ve read, he’s a smart guy and mostly outside the detroit political machine. i dont’ see why anyone involved in detroit city politics (like the terrible city council/anyone associated w/ monica conyers) should ever ascend to the top. anyway, looking forward to see what he does.

most disturbing pic i’ve maybe ever seen

alison — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:50:15 +0000

it’s not gory or disgusting. just haunting and awful. and the story that accompanies it is awful. i can’t post it on my blog b/c it would kill the party just a little too much. ugh.

Frozen in indifference: Life goes on around body found in vacant warehouse

It starts with a phone call made by a man who said his friend found a dead body in the elevator shaft of an abandoned building on the city’s west side.

“He’s encased in ice, except his legs, which are sticking out like Popsicle sticks,” the caller phoned to tell this reporter.
…
A colony of homeless men live in the warehouse. Wednesday morning a few fires were burning inside oil drums. Scott Ruben, 38, huddled under filthy blankets not 20 paces from the elevator shaft.

“Yeah, I seen him,” Ruben said. The snow outside howled. The heat from the can warped the landscape of rotting buildings and razor wire.

Did he know who the dead person was?

“I don’t recognize him from his shoes.”

Did he call the police?

“No, I figured someone else did,” he said.

“There’s lots of people coming through here with cameras and cell phones. I don’t got no phone. I don’t got no quarter. Things is tight around here.”

His shack mate, Kenneth Williams, 47, returned at that point with an armload of wood.

“Yeah, he’s been down there since last month at least.”

He was asked if he called the police.

“No, I thought it was a dummy myself,” he said unconvincingly. Besides, Williams said, there were more pressing issues like keeping warm and finding something to eat.

“You got a couple bucks?” he asked.

lions: 0-16

alison — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 21:41:26 +0000

YES WE DID.
L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L

ack. detroit.

alison — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:46:48 +0000

pretty amazing photo gallery at time.com: the remains of detroit.

damn.

lions thanksgiving liveblog

alison — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:45:42 +0000

refresh for the latest lions commentary. i guarantee i give up before halftime, but i’ll try real hard anyway.

12:40: game starts
12:42: 2nd play of the game. lions fumble the ball. yup.
12:44: titans long run leads to titans touchdown. we are one minute and 30 seconds into this game. good god.
12:45: awesome cadillac commercial w/ lt. daniels from the wire in it. best thing of the game so far.
12:47: titans kick. take a knee. only way we’re gonna get 20 yards in one play.
**note: nice neon blue throwback jerseys. i like your style.
12:52: calvin johnson is long lean and beautiful. jason hanson is bald, pasty but also beautiful. best long-range kicker ever. (lots of practice). score = 7-3.
12:53: brother changes the channel to the xmen movie. ian mckellen, take that stupid hat off.
12:58: ugh. 55-yard run. “virtually untouched.” are you people F’ING SERIOUS?
**note: kerry collins looks just like greg germann, a quintessential “that guy.” you might remember him from talladega nights.

1:08: detroit three and out leads to titans ball AGAIN. omg titans with 100 yards rushing already. 10 minutes into the game.
1:15: why do we even pretend we have an offensive line? god i feel bad for daunte culpepper. 17-yard int td. 21-3.
**note: when these announcers have to do cheesy promos for shitty shows, do you think they want to die inside every time? “people are under the spell of simon baker. he’s so dreamy.”
1:23: harris w/ the 13yard pooch punt. oh wait. we’re on our own 10. damnit.
4:30: uh. woke up from a nap. what happened?
the end.

detroit could lose a sports team? GAH

alison — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:40:37 +0000

drew sharp is an idiot, but reading these words still makes my heart sink:

It wouldn’t be a surprise if Detroit loses at least one of its four professional sports teams within the next 10 years because ownership sells to an outside interest and the franchise moves to an area with a stronger economic base.

If you don’t think that’s possible, then you’re not looking at the current local economic situation with a realistic eye.

ok, but this is where sharp gets on the crazy train:

Detroit and Phoenix are the only two cities that support four professional sports teams in four separate facilities. That requires four teams capable of finding enough corporate backing for those all-important luxury suites in four different stadiums/arenas to keep the coffers filled without sharing the facility operational costs with another tenant.

That task becomes much tougher for teams in the aftermath of this economic crisis — especially in Detroit.

The idea of the NFL waiving television blackouts in Detroit has been nationally perceived as the equivalent of a government bailout. But the difference between Congress stepping in to assist the automotive industry and the Lions getting a break from the NFL is that there’s no competition for the NFL. It’s a monopoly. It possesses full marketing control and can dictate, without competitive challenge, the market price for its product.

That’s why it cannot turn a blind eye to what’s occurring in Detroit.

huh? i definitely don’t understand this analogy. blackouts exist to encourage people to go to games. how is lifting it like a bailout? the NFL is not taking its money and giving it to detroit, it’s just loosening a tactic used to create incentives to go to games. if your incentive isn’t working, then you might as well make money from tv advertising, right? and what does it being a monopoly have anything to do w/ anything? huh?

and here’s more nonsensity (yeah, i made up that word).

There’s an obvious reason why the NFL hasn’t gotten a new franchise in Los Angeles: It cannot guarantee sellouts in the country’s second-largest media market. The NFL’s primary business objective remains establishing a premium local value for tickets of home games.

Los Angeles residents have long understood that there’s more available to them on a sunny, warm fall Sunday than paying top dollar for an NFL football ticket.

Detroit residents may soon discover there’s more available to them on a cold, cloudy fall Sunday, too. That’s precisely why the NFL cannot afford to lose a Midwestern stalwart like Detroit.

are home game tickets really the main revenue source of the NFL? i can’t find the dollars for this, but it seems that advertising and licensing would be a huge deal, too. LA is a shitty sports town filled w/ transplants with no loyalty. what a horrible analogy. so the lions haven’t sold out some of their games this season. WE ARE 0-10 and have been horrible for YEARS. the fact we were selling out games at the beginning of the year is a testament to loyalty that i doubt even the NFL would ignore. detroit is such a homer town. if they can get their record up close to .500, every game would start to sell out again.

i also like this: “Detroit residents may soon discover there’s more available to them on a cold, cloudy fall Sunday, too.”

haha. um no, they won’t find jack shit.

drew sharp sucks.

damn.

alison — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:55:32 +0000

Ford sales drop 33.8%

Among Ford’s brands, sales were down 33.8% at Ford, 22.5% at Lincoln, 43.2% at Mercury and 51.8% at Volvo.

more auto numbers to come, as the rest of the big three announce their sales.

detroit could use a bailout, too. pretty please?

UPDATED (1:05pm): looks like it’s bailouts for all.

Bush approves $25 billion loan package for auto makers

The $25 billion loan package, the biggest federal subsidy for the auto industry since the 1980 bailout of Chrysler, cleared Congress last weekend when the focus was on the debate over the $700 billion financial rescue package.

sneaky sneaky. now let’s make more SUVs.

thx, jack.