Charged
About two dozen supporters accompanied Michigan Citizen Reporter Diane Bukowski to her arraignment today in 36th District Court in Detroit, where the long-time reporter said she plans a “vigorous defense” against charges she interfered at the scene of a fatal traffic accident that followed a police chase. Michigan State Police arrested Bukowski on Election Day…
IT’S SO COLD IN THE D…
And it most certainly is… This video from Detroit’s own T-Baby is Number 9 on the current MOJO Magazine’s Top 10 Playlist of editor’s picks. Guess it’s caught on worldwide via its, well, “catchiness.” Can’t figure out, though, if this is indeed like the hip-hop version of the Shaggs meeting Wesley Willis; genius or savant-ism.…
WDET NAMES NEW GM
For the first time in probably two years, WDET — Wayne State University’s community radio statiion — has a new fulltime general manager. Following a national search, J. Mikel Ellcessor has been selected to fill the position, beginning December 15th. What’s perhaps even more interesting is that Ellcessor has a background in music programming, most…
Source of protection
RENO, Nev. — With a second order from a federal judge for Detroit Free Press reporter David Ashenfelter to submit to a deposition, editor Paul Anger said this week the newspaper is fighting against it “tooth and nail.” Former federal prosecutor Richard Convertino wants to ask Ashenfelter about a source who told the 26-year Freeper…
Text, lies and videotape
Detroit Free Press editor speaks nationally about Kilpatrick case, coverage RENO, Nev. — Public corruption that cost taxpayers millions of dollars, courtroom drama and human tragedy all added up to one helluva story for the Detroit Free Press this year, and the paper’s editor is telling it himself to national audiences. Free Press editor Paul…
Night and Day
WEDNESDAY • 19 FUTURE OF MICHIGAN DESIGN GRAPHIC SCHMOOZING The Future of Michigan Design celebrates the mitten’s long-standing and (hopefully) continuing contributions to the field of graphic design. The event features artists and graphic designers Edward Fella, Nelson Greer and Ron Rae, discussing their experience in the commercial art industry of ’60s Detroit. A silent…
Days and Clouds
Elsa (Margherita Buy) has always relied upon her even-keeled husband Michele (Antonio Albanese) to chart a steady course for their family. As she finishes the requirements for a long-deferred art history degree, he throws an extravagant surprise party in their sizable Genoa apartment, where giddy well-wishers heap praise on her accomplishments. With a few quick…
People got the power
The plan was quite simple: Name the top 50 (or in this case, two more for extra measure) people who gave — or are giving — shape to the current Detroit music scene. Similar annual lessons have been around for years, but most of them tend to focus on “power” in sheer financial terms, as…
I’ve Loved You So Long
The elegant Kristen Scott Thomas is Juliette, a former doctor newly released after a lengthy stay in prison for an unspeakable crime. The details of that crime get doled out cautiously, like tiny nibbles on a scone over a long brunch, but, in true French fashion, the film is about feeling and not incident. Juliette’s…
Crisis and corruption
Unless the feds bail out General Motors, here’s what we kiss goodbye
My Name is Bruce
The always-game star directs himself as a loutish, self-centered B-movie actor named Bruce Campbell, doomed to keep grinding out schlock monster movies just to maintain his small fame, his booze supply and his hefty alimony payments. In a plot that’s equal parts Three Amigos and Scooby Doo, the professional faker gets enlisted to do battle…
Letters to the Editor
Mercury: Staff is mixed We were writing to inform you of our concern with Jane Slaughter’s review of the Mercury Coffee Bar (“Neighborhood perk,” Nov. 12). Jane’s introduction was not only inappropriate, it was not factual. She states that we have an almost all-white staff, but only 45 percent (10) of our staff is Caucasian.…
Politically (in)correct
In the afterglow of euphoria (and, let’s face it, some bitterness and disgust) over this month’s election of our 44th president, we all have been reminded that race in America is still no laughing matter. Few people anywhere can speak to that reality better than Tim Reid. Yes, that Tim Reid. You may know Reid…
Motor City Cribs
Tim Vulgar’s Hamtramck pad is an explosion of creativity.
End is near
The final days of white supremacy in America
Reporter under fire
Police arrest Diane Bukowski, erase her photos of suspicious crash
Looking for balance
Racquets sweep the badminton birdies across the nets in second-hour physical education class at Carver Middle School in Warren. Some are returned. Others land on the gymnasium’s varnished floor. The two-player teams aim for long volleys but don’t keep score as they rotate “opponents” every few minutes. As she plays, the activity reminds Emily Upton…
For a great America …
Martin Luther King III speaks at the Voices for Action Poverty Summit
Food Stuff
Full plates for local foodies.
Comics
The Boiling Point – by Mikhaela Reid
Jeffrey Morgan’s Media Blackout
Look what Jeffrey Morgan’s Media Blackout #196 dragged in! Poison — Seven Days Live (Armoury) :: What can you say about an album that actually dares to list one of its eleven songs as: "Drum Solo"? You said it. Walls of Jericho — Redemption (Trustkill) :: Five femme-fueled power ponderances asking that musical question: Is…
Lit up
Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession by Anne Rice Alfred A. Knopf, $24, 245 pp. Ann Rice has undergone a spiritual and literary conversion. It has polarized her life and writing in a way that makes you wonder if a Christian can write about vampires or if an atheist can write about God. After…
Polish classic
Digging into a big plate at Hamtramck’s Polish Village Café might have you suppose you’re eating food prepared by somebody’s Polish mother. That’s because, essentially, you are. During peak dining hours there’s a steady flow of waiting customers first lining up at the bar and sometimes winding up the stairs and out the door. Most…
In and out
Sleazy acts sometimes beget sleazy settings, and when folks want to act on sordid things they can’t practice at home, they can visit places like the Cabana Motel on Harper. The Cabana is a seedy, no-tell motel on Detroit’s east side that offers rates for stays as short as two hours. Its customers are mostly…
Terminator in a tux
The Bond of our youth is gone. Daniel Craig’s 007 is all lethal, all the time, a relentless killing machine. In the series’ first direct sequel, picking up shortly after Casino Royale’s bloody conclusion. Double-O is in a rage after the loss of his love, Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), and he opts to mask his…
Topping from below
Please, let your Dom do Her job
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
In creating a fable about the Holocaust this question rises: Is this a topic that really needs further simplification? With The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, it’s hard to figure out just what the movie thinks it’s offering beyond the simple conclusion that Hitler and the Holocaust represent humankind at its worst. The story is…
