Cover Stories
Despite fame, Cecil Kaiser lies in unmarked grave
When Cecil Kaiser died three years ago in Southfield at the age of 94, his passing sent ripples through the Detroit sports community and the national baseball scene as a whole. Believed to be the oldest living former Negro Leagues player at the time of his death, Kaiser had become a beloved and familiar figure…
The Comics Issue
"Gapo The Clown" by Tony Miello "Postcard" by James Anderson "Roller Derby Skaters In Their Own Words" by Jane Irwin "The Tomato Condition" by Nathan Bortz "El Mariachi" by Chris Sanchez "The Adventures of Carl" by Brett R. Pinson In the mid-’80s, Aquaman kicked Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and most of the other big guns…
Detroit superheroes get their live-action moments
When it was announced that a character called Deathlok was going to be appearing in the Marvel TV series Agents of Shield, not much was heard in the way of rejoicing, save for the muted voices of a few fanboys. Deathlok isn’t the most glamorous comic book character. He certainly doesn’t have the mainstream allure…
Detroit seeking grant for new website
The Hits crew is savvy enough to know Detroit’s finances are in rough shape, but we were surprised to learn this week of a new initiative that highlights the city’s issues even further. Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration tells us Detroit recently applied for a grant from the Knight Foundation to update its inefficient website. Spearheaded…
Reviews of Guardian Angel, Laith Al-Saadi and Black Lips
Guardian Angel Into Lightnin’ Easy Action This is an interesting record, taking a trip back to ’71 and looking at former Rationals man Scott Morgan’s short time with the band Guardian Angel, which would later evolve into Lightnin’. Like most of Morgan’s best work, Guardian Angel had a heavy R&B influence, softening the hard rock ’n’…
Ann Arbor Film Festival Selections
Thursday, March 27 – 5:10PM : PENELOPE SPEERIS Director, producer and rock and roll anthropologist Spheeris cemented her place in film history with her raucous 1981 documentary The Decline of Western Civilization, which explored and chronicled the Los Angeles punk scene. Since then she has been producing shorts, docs and narrative features that continue her…
Can Ann Arbor Film Festival expand?
For the last 52 years the Ann Arbor Film festival has been presenting experimental and artist-created movies, earning both national and international respect for its cutting-edge programming. It is heralded as the oldest running independent film festival in North America and attracts more than 2,500 submissions each year from sixty-something countries. It’s an Academy Award-qualifying…
Film Review: The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Grand Budapest Hotel | B+ It’s a madcap caper movie. It’s a tongue-in-cheek prison break movie. It’s a farce. It’s a eulogy to pre-war European refinement and glamor. It’s also none of these things because, in the end, it’s a Wes Anderson movie. And if you aren’t already sold on his obsessive, dollhouse-style affectations,…
Film Review: Bad Words
Bad Words | B- Though I think it really wants to be, Bad Words just isn’t all that bad. Not really. Oh, it tries. Jason Bateman’s Guy Trilby is a mean-spirited, grade-A prick. And he’s got more than a few perfectly timed insults and dirty tricks waiting to be unleashed on an unsuspecting target. But…
Film Review: Divergent
Divergent | C Beware messages about non-conformity wrapped in big budget packages. Since the wild successes of Twilight, and the all conquering triumph of The Hunger Games, a steady stream of knock offs and look a-likes has been deluging the multiplex, offering up fables full of noble, plucky, gifted teen heroines learning to adapt to…
Ficano likely to run again for county executive
About two years ago, the comedic powerhouses of News Hits issued a reader challenge on the heels of the infamous severance deal for former Wayne County development director Turkia Mullin: What day will Robert A. Ficano officially step down as Wayne County executive? Considering the Mullin deal, the lavish employee benefits so vast they’d make a…
A tasty beverage: Domaine de la Verriére
Domaine de la Verrière $17 When the weather turns, what’s a good wine to help bring oenophiles into spring? We asked the good people at Royal Oak’s Cloverleaf, who are eagerly awaiting the arrival of rosés next month. The store’s Darren DeWitt told us he’s particularly excited about the arrival of this year’s Domaine de…
DIY oil press
Hand-cranked oil press $199.95 Lehmans.com For the last five years, we’ve been bombarded with information about oils. Oils that contain monosaturated fats are supposed to be good for you, as are oils containing polyunsaturated fats, whereas hydrogenated oils are bad. But then some people have special allergies that force them to rule out all but…
In the market for a cocktail? Drinking events hit Detroit
In the Market for a Cocktail? — Mark your calendars, cocktail lovers! “Cocktail Culture” comes to the Royal Oak Farmers Market next month. The event will feature custom cocktails created by bartenders from Bigalora, Torino, the Oakland, the Sugar House, the Ravens Club, the Stand, Antietam, Hamlin Corner, Public House, Great Lakes Coffee, the Root…
Vinology owners open the Bird & the Bread in Birmingham
Made from Scratch — The Jonna family knows how to package beverages and food into a sophisticated package. They’ve done it at Ann Arbor’s Vinology for years now, where chef Jim Leonardo has designed upscale fare to match fine wines chosen by the Jonnas. Now the family is branching out a bit with a new…
Honors for Lockhart’s pitmaster
Honors for Lockhart’s pitmaster — Steve “Bubba” Coddington has been involved in local barbecue for a long time, having been the pitmaster at Bad Brad’s Barbecue in New Baltimore before meeting Drew Ciora and becoming pitmaster at Lockhart’s BBQ in Royal Oak in 2010. All that hard work seems to be paying off, especially since…
Lansing cuts funding to Hutzel Hospital
If there’s anything everybody ought to be able to agree on, it’s that infant mortality is a bad thing. Most of the reason the average human lifespan is way longer than it used to be is that so many fewer babies die now than a century ago. But tragically, infant mortality has been creeping up…
Detroit group heals with the power of food
A dinner meeting of the Healing Support Network seems pretty informal. Held at a private home on the west side, members show up during the appointed hours. Some eat and stay around for a short presentation about nutrition or some aspect of healthy living. Some eat and leave. Still others arrive to stock their containers…
Lawsuit could undermine the EM law
There have been dozens of legal challenges to the state’s former emergency manager law, Public Act 4, since Republican Gov. Rick Snyder signed it shortly after taking office in 2011. During the period leading up to the citizens’ referendum to overturn PA 4 in 2012, the stream of lawsuits seemed endless — including, of all…
MT readers chime in on public transportation, pot and carp
FIX THE BUSES We had a number of online responses to Ryan Felton’s cover story about metro Detroit’s history with public transportation and the region’s inability to forge an efficient transit plan. A user identified as George Viera posted: I think light rail in Detroit is a secondary issue at this point. We need buses…
Critics doubt Education Achievement Authority
By the time this rag hits newsstands, the state House may have pushed a bill along that would codify the Education Achievement Authority and expand it to allow the district to operate as many as 50 schools statewide. The move has critics of the authority calling on lawmakers to pump the brakes. Recent test scores…
‘The Albert’ lofts promo video a PR blunder
Gentrification reared its head in Detroit again this week. We were taken by surprise when we discovered a video showcasing young millennials talking about how great the proposed rehabilitated lofts inside an Albert Kahn-designed Capitol Park building at 1214 Griswold, unimaginatively dubbed “The Albert,” will be. The sheer audacity of a marketing campaign portraying a…
LeDuff skirts charges
It’s been roughly a year since Fox 2’s bombastic star reporter Charlie LeDuff caused a ruckus during the annual Corktown St. Patrick’s Day Parade. For those of you unaware of the incident, LeDuff allegedly made quite a scene: According to the police report from the incident, the TV station’s star reporter urinated on Michigan Avenue,…
