Al Fresco Sausage is Rad

Last night for dinner we grilled these pre-cooked sausages and they were fantastic.   We had the Al Fresco brand Roasted Pepper and Asiago Chicken Sausage with Mesquite Smoke.  They only need to be on the grill for a few minutes and then put them on a bun with condiments or eaten plain.  They taste great either way.  If you are planning on grilling this weekend, which I think 99% of people are, I suggest Al Fresco brand sausages.  The best part is the all of Al Fresco's chicken sausages are made with no preservatives or nitrates.  They truly are all natural and that means you can enjoy another!  Other rad flavors they offer are Buffalo Style and Sweet Apple.

Electronic Music Festival - Detroit

It's called the Movement and it starts today and goes until Monday night.  It's a festival celebrating techno music in Detroit, where techno started.  Located in Hart Plaza, the party goes all weekend and promises to be pretty rad... if you like techno.  I have been through my techno phase and came out the other side alive.  I don't mind some every once in a while but wouldn't say I follow the genre.  But if you want to get outside this weekend and dance Hart Plaza is the place to be.  At the festival's site www.movement.us you can view videos, read about the history of the festival and review the performance line up.  Don't forget your glow sticks!!!

Jolly Pumpkin Ann Arbor

I had the privilege of tasting some great beer at the Jolly Pumpkin Cafe and Brewery in Ann Arbor to celebrate a friend's upcoming wedding this Saturday.  We got to enjoy the evening air on their upper deck outdoor terrace. They seemed to specialize in "sour beers" have a consistency between wine and beer and a unique taste.  I tried one and am not a fan and went against our waitresses recommendation.  I had the Bam Biere, a cloudy farmhouse ale.  The beer was good, not great, a little too much like a belgian blonde for me.  I did not have a chance to sample the food there as the kitchen was closed but I have heard only good things.  I will definitely go back to try some more of their beers and to sample some of their new menu.

Vampires from Royal Oak in Ohio!

Rad vampire story from the Daily Tribune!  Even the vampires are leaving Michigan.  What can we do?

 

The Heidelberg Rock Project

In 1986 Tyree Guyton, his grandpa and his wife started cleaning up Heidelberg St. in Detroit.  From the junk they collected they transformed vacant lots in to works of art.  The Heidelberg Rock Project is a benefit concert that will support a program for children to learn about the project and about art in general.  The concert takes place tonight at the Magic Stick.

Hendrix of the Ukulele

This guy is being hailed as a ukulele playing virtuoso like what Jimi Hendrix or Eddie Van Halen are to the the guitar, this guy is to the tiny Hawaiian instrument.  Rock on Jake Shimabukuro!  If you are in the Detroit area tonight Jake is playing at the Detroit Institute of Arts Friday Night Live event.  He will do one show at 7pm and one at 8:30pm.  The video is of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."

Jersey Shore-ness

I found the pic on After 5 Detroit's page.  This guy belongs on season 2.  And season 2 will happen with or without the old cast.  According to personalmoneystore.com's "Money Blog" the show's cast is holding out for more than $10,000/episode MTV offered.  They do report that the show will go on even if they have to replace every cast member.  One MTV Executive said, "Finding obnoxious, pushy, trash-talking idiots who want to be on TV is as easy as falling off a log."

This is A Real Company

If my basement had a leak I would definitely hire The Crack Team!

Who were the ad wizards???

Preserve the Saugatuck Dunes

I just got done reading a newsletter from the National Trust for Historic Preservation that released it's 11 most endangered historic places in the U.S.  The Saugatuck Dunes was listed as one of them.  A developer is planning to build a shopping district with hotels and residential areas, a plan that goes against the community's zoning laws.  Read more here and help save the dunes!  View a slideshow of the dunes here.

R.I.P. R.J.D.

This message was posted on Ronnie James Dio's website, the extremely rad heavy metal singer, when I went to look at it this morning.  Dio passed away this Sunday, he was 67.

"Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May.  Many, many friends and family were able to say their private goodbyes before he peacefully passed away.  Ronnie knew hou much he was loved by all.  We so appreciated the love and support that you have all given us.  Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss.  Please know he loved you all and his music will live forever."

- Wendy Dio

Dio became the lead singer of Black Sabbath after Ozzy Osbourne left to pursue his solo career.  His most memorable song from his time with the band was "Heaven and Hell."  They would later tour under this name when Ozzy decided to tour with a new Sabbath .  Dio also spent time as the lead singer for Rainbow and Dio.  Dio's claim to fame is his inception of the "devils horns" as a hand gesture.  He insists that his grandmother used to do that to him for good luck so he started using the hand symbol at his concerts.  Check out his Wikipedia article here.

Message from Wendy Dio Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever. - Wendy Dio

The Avett Brothers July 24th

The Avett Brothers , a North Carolina band combining rock, punk, country and bluegrass, will be playing The Fillmore in Detroit on July 24th.  Check out the band's website here or click the Amazon add to listen to some samples from their new CD "I and Love and You."  I own their album The Second Gleam and it is awesomely rad!  On their site you can listen to parts of songs on all their albums.  I and Love and You is their first major label album and was produced by the legendary Rick Rubin. 

Dude, Rick Rubin looks like a rad Santa!

16 hourrrrrrrrrrrrssssss!

Thank you Old Spice and thank you Terry Crews! Rad.


Link

Flower Day 2010, Eastern Market, Detroit

Flower Day is the one Sunday all year that Detroit's Eastern Market is open.  The flowers there come from all over Michigan (we bought some from Gaylord) and Canada.  They
dazzle the eyes with different shapes, sizes and colors.  People get there as early as 5am to browse and buy their annual, perennial and vegetable plants for the year.  This was our first year and I will say that, even though I am not a flower guy, it was rad!

Coffee was a necessity so we brewed some at home before leaving around 5:45am.  We arrived just in time for a killer parking spot right by the market.  We had heard that people bring wheelbarrows to lug their purchases around but didn't realize how creative people were with them.  So creative that an award for the best wheelbarrow is given away every year.  According to one guy we met, Larry always wins.  We were able to get what we needed without a wheelbarrow but it would have been a helpful so that I did not have to make three trips to the car.

By 9am when we left it was getting pretty packed so I'm glad we started early.  I even witnessed a wheelbarrow collision as we were leaving.  Flower Day 2010 was a great day for Michigan greenhouses and the Eastern Market.  It was also a great day for Detroit.  People will get downtown for events like this!

Here's what we got.

I tweet!

Now you can follow me... along with every other A list celebrity... on Twitter!  Click the button to the right that says, "Follow me on Twitter."  Duh.

So that's how they get the ice off the floor

Still lamenting the Red Wings untimely exit from the post season.  Video from the red wings twitter page.

Double Down at KFC

The bun is made of two chicken patties... how great is that!  Link

Correction

I have been informed that American Jr. is not affiliated with the Hoedown as I reported on the previous post.  Instead it is put on by CBS Radio and it's affiliate 99.5 WYCD.  The official site is here.

Detroit Hoedown 2010

The Detroit Downtown Hoedown is upon us once again.  Last year Willie Nelson closed the 3 day free country music festival put on by CBS Radio and 99.5 WYCD.  This year the headliners will be Dierks Bentley (Friday), Uncle Kracker (Saturday) and The Zac Brown Band (Sunday closer).  Other standouts include Longneck Strangler (Saturday, I just like their name), Bullhonkey deluxe (Sunday, like the name) and The Orbitsuns (Sunday, the play bingo night at 4 Green Fields).

The show is located in downtown Detroit at the Hart Plaza and includes 3 stages (river, lower and upper) for all day entertainment.  Here is a link to the schedule of performances and a $3 off coupon for any hat at one of the "Gone Country" booths.

Cigarettes save pipes... not lives

In this story I found on Yahoo China says it has found that chemicals used to make cigarettes, including nicotine, protect steel pipes from rusting, the kind of steel pipes used to transport oil.  After submersing the butts in water Chinese scientists found 9 chemicals which they tested on these pipes.  So if you must smoke, at least you can say you are trying to prevent further oil spills due to rusted pipes.  So light up and tell people you are saving the environment!

This story got me thinking about who smokes the most.  The following maps show the density of male and female smokers in each country in the world.  The red has the most smokers per capita.

The Beat in Ferndale

The Beat is a classic English ska band formed in 1978 that will be performing at the Magic Bag on Thursday, May 20th at 8pm.  After their disbanding in 1983 there emerged two forms of The Beat, a UK version and a US version both led by former members.

I am not sure which band this one is but if they were known to collaborate with members of The Specials back in the day I am a fan.

Obi Kenobi

Last weekend I visited the Berkley Front on 12 mile for the Saturday night game 6 between the Red Wings and the San Jose Sharks.  Although the wings lost I won.  The Front has an awesome beer selection with over 40 beers on tap.  That doesn't include their unique mixed beers.  We decided to try the Obi-Kenobi (yes after Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars).  The Obi- is 1 half Bell's Oberon half Guinness Stout.  One word to describe it would be... RAD.  Get to the Front and try it... or make it at home.  The Guinness goes on top of the Oberon and stays there!

Get Home Safe!

The Designate is a chauffeur service that uses your own car.  They will drive you and your friends home from any establishment within Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties in your own car so you don't have to worry about picking it up the next day.  A really cool service for people that love to go out but don't want to worry about parking tickets or getting a ride to their car in the morning.  You can reach them 7 days a week at 888-929-8282.

Got Gas?

I've just joined this website where you can find and report gas prices in your area, earn points and win prizes.  It's called gasbuddy.com and it has city sites like Detroitgasprices.com.  They have weekly prizes for free gas.  This weeks drawing ends today and I have one ticket for the drawing.  Come on free gas!  They also have let you know what the average gas price in the state you live in is and also if prices are going up or going down.  It's free to become a member and you can set up your profile with your favorite stations.

Those who are remembered are never truly gone

By now it's no longer news but I thought I would dedicate a post to Detroit's beloved Ernie Harwell because it seemed like a good thing to do.  This week 97.1 the ticket has been flooded with calls about their favorite Ernie moments and memories, their experiences at his memorial at Comerica Park and how no one can replace him.

I myself do not have a great Ernie memory.  I never met the man, never got to listen to him call a Tiger's game and I didn't even know what he looked like until his cancer announcement.  Regardless, while driving to work on Wednesday morning I heard Ernie's Baseball Hall of Fame speech from 1981 and it made me appreciate not only his voice but his person.  He truly is a great man who loved the city of Detroit and loved the sport of baseball.

Like Parties and Shindigs?

Do you like parties, shindigs, gatherings, or just hanging out with friends?  Of course you do... everyone does.  So here is another excuse to plan another get together.  Parties & Shindigs by Penni and Shellie is a brand new catering and event planning business based in Clarkston, MI.  They are off and running with dates already scheduled and are looking forward to hearing from those of you who need your graduate's open house catered or your office appreciation picnic planned.  Plus you should book them now before they become too popular... this is graduation season!

As you know I am always in favor of supporting local businesses and since I work in Clarkston I urge you to follow them on Facebook!  If you're old fashioned you can give either of the owners a call... Penni - 248-701-6536 or Shelli 248-701-3507.

Desert Island Radio

Road trips often lead to interesting conversations and discussions and my recent trip to Utah and Colorado was no different.  On the 5.5 hour drive from Moab, UT. to Boulder, CO. the conversation turned to music.  It just so happened that both of the dudes on the trip were music junkies albeit with slightly different tastes.  The question arose, "If you were trapped on a desert island which ten bands or artists would you most like to have to listen to for the rest of your life?"  Thus the Desert Island Lists were born!

An interesting question for a couple of reasons.  One, you have to take into account the breadth of the artist's catalogue.  Even though I might love Ke$ha, she only has one album, and I risk wearing it out with repeat listens.  Two, hard rock might sound good now, but on a desert island you don't have anyone to headbang with.  Three, too many sad country songs could lead to depression.  As Buddha teaches I tried to take the "middle path" with my selections dabbling into a little of everything... minus rap music which I do listen to sometimes but can't get excited about when I'm alone.

My Desert Island List... in no particular order

AC/DC
Led Zeppelin
Bruce Springsteen
Willie Nelson
Johnny Cash
Merle Haggard
Son Volt
Wilco
The Rolling Stones
Bob Dylan

This conversation took place about a month ago but I was messing around on Pandora this morning and thought it would be cool to collect all 10 of my desert island favorites on one free station.  So I did, and I recommend you do the same thing.  Because you never know when you might become the next Lost character and my Blackberry does have the Pandora app.  The only problem is now Pandora is trying to find artists and songs LIKE my desert island list and I am often hitting the thumbs down button.  You can check out my Desert Island Radio here.  It's not perfect yet but even the suggestions that aren't on my desert island list are good.

I'm J Steez!

Attention all Kalamazoo College men's tennis players and anyone that owns Dr. Dre's Chronic 2001 disc!  I got this iced tea yesterday at a Kroger in Detroit.  Their website, www.steaz.com is awesome!  Wisdom may only be obtained within.

"I'm J Steez!"