Detroit Video Daily

MBAD African Bead Museum

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Tue, 07 May 2013 02:42:00 +0000

Art

If you've ever driven along I-96 East heading downtown you may have noticed a building off to the
side of the expressway covered in mirrors. It's a curious covered structure to say the least, and it's part of the art you'll find at the MBAD African Bead Museum. There is a fascinating art installation that's on the grounds next to the museum located on Grand River near W. Grand Blvd.

Dabls

The artist behind the creations is Olayami Dabls. Detroit Video Daily finally stopped by for a visit after passing the exhibit numerous times, and Dabls (as he introduced himself to me) is very personable, and he spoke with me about his gallery of African beads, and the art that he's created. To read more about this great artist and Detroit's jewel of a museum check out www.mbad.org.

Photos

The following Flickr slide show is just a sampling of the art on the grounds. I didn't take any photos of the bead gallery, and I strongly recommend that you visit the gallery because the beads there are simply beautiful. The video focuses on the sculptures, and when you visit the museum you'll want to check out the buildings that are nearby. Trust me they are incredible.

The slide show uses Flash and is not available for IOS devices

Video

Street Art Roll Number 3

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 02:33:00 +0000

More Art

Sifting through the digital archives I realized there were yet more street art photos that needed to be released from the vault, so here it is Street Art Roll 3! In case you missed the previous rolls here's the links to number 1 and number 2. First up is a colorful mural on East Jefferson.

Former Crown Cleaners

Graffiti House

On St. Aubin street

Fort Street

Over on the Southwest side of Detroit on Fort Street there is a unique mural on one of the businesses. Here it is.

Parental Discretion is Advised

Smelly

It's not always pleasant, and sometimes it's stinky. Just in case you didn't know here's a reminder.

eeeewww!

Eastern Market

This photo is actually from just outside of Eastern Market. There is some great artwork over there that I believe went up last summer. This photo was snapped from my car waiting at a light. Dirty snow and all.

Click to enlarge

Gone to the Dogs

This bulldog is at the end of Iron Street, where one of Detroit Video Daily's early videos was shot. Don't bother searching for it, here's the link.

grrrrrr

Girl Power

This gem is straight to the point with its message.

Not too far from Eastern Market

Next Time

That rounds out Street Art Roll 3. Since art is everywhere in Detroit, you can be sure there'll be another roll in the future.

Detroit Tigers Ice Cream

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 19:31:00 +0000

Ice Cream

Move over hotdogs, peanuts and cracker jack, a new flavor of ice cream is here just in time for Tiger baseball. Hudsonville Ice Cream has released the limited edition Tiger Traxx, and I thought I could wait until the home opener to try it out, but I couldn't.

Delicious

The unique flavor is a blend of chocolate fudge swirls, chocolate covered pretzel baseballs (!) and vanilla ice cream. What does this all mean? Very simply, a delicious treat, and it's sure to be a hit :) Now we just need some warmer weather, so we can enjoy this ice cream in a cone outside.

Home Opener

The Tigers begin their season at Comerica Park Friday, so there's plenty of time to get some ice cream and celebrate the start of baseball in Detroit. Go Tigers!

Mmmmm.

Happy Easter!

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 01:55:00 +0000

Easter

It's never too late for well wishes, so here is a late in the day Happy Easter to all that celebrate the holiday. Detroit Video Daily was in Chicago over the weekend and here is a photo from the trip. I was told that the lights that are planted around town in Chicago change depending on the holiday. For example green lights for St. Patrick's Day. Even though Chicago is nice and has the cool Crown Fountain, it's still good to be back in Detroit.

Easter themed lights

Tall Grass

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 02:58:00 +0000

Beauty

I'm not going to lie, there are parts of Detroit that aren't beautiful. And there are plenty of photographers that like to shoot the run down buildings and document the destruction of abandonment. I'm not opposed to "ruin porn" photography, it's just that I think sometimes it gets more attention than other aspects of Detroit.

Tall Grass

Which brings me to today's photo. There are patches of this tall grass that grow in various vacant lots in the city, and it's a nice visual break from all the buildings. It also provides a hang out for the pheasants. In fact, I scared a couple into flight as I moved close to snap this picture. I didn't have my camera ready, so you'll have to just imagine that one. At any rate, here's today's nature break....

Click on the photo to enlarge

Grocery Stores in Detroit

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 03:55:00 +0000

Grocery Stores

While this isn't the first time I've mentioned grocery shopping in Detroit, some readers may remember back in July when I made a short video on the subject. However, I had to run out to the grocery store this evening, in this instance I went over to Harbortown Market, and I got to thinking about how the "Detroit doesn't have any grocery stores" line really isn't true.

Comic

So I dusted off a comic I made using the site wittycomics.com, and thought it might be a good time to publish it before the Whole Foods store opens in Midtown and puts the "no grocery stores" line to rest for good.

Click on the comic to enlarge

Ambassador Bridge

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 04:13:00 +0000

Quiet

I took the following photo on New Year's Day and thought I'd post it before filing it away in the DVD archives. The color of the sky was impressive and made for an interesting reflection. It was a nice quiet end to the first day of 2013.

Click on photo to enlarge

Belle Isle Bald Eagle

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 17:58:00 +0000

National Bird

Close up of our national bird

I decided to take a different route on a Sunday drive around Belle Isle, and the new path led to a sighting of a bald eagle! To say the least I was pretty happy. After spotting the eagle and taking a few pictures, he flew on down the road to another tree.

The Video

I slowly drove on and got the video camera ready. I started filming but the eagle decided to take off, so there is only a little bit of footage. It was still one of my best bird sightings in Detroit.

Photos

Here are the photos I took...

Bald eagle on Belle Isle

He's chilling out

Eagle taking a look my way before flying off

Video

Here's the short video...

What's your favorite bird sighting on Belle Isle? Leave a comment and let me know!

The Street Art Roll Returns

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 02:39:00 +0000

Art

With all the interesting street art in the city I thought it was time to put together Detroit Video Daily Street Art Roll #2. Oh, and in case you missed the first art roll, here's the link.

First Up

It may be Detroit's coolest garage. The garage behind Charlie's Bar in Springwells Village is one that catches your eye for sure.

Sports and pool

Hacienda Mural

This is flat out one of the best murals in Detroit. Located in southwest Detroit on West Vernor near Dragoon the mural is on the side of Hacienda Mexican Foods.

Great Mural!

Around the Corner

Yup, all you need to do is look on the other side of the above building and you'll find this fantastic piece of art. This is the view from the parking lot of E and L Supermercado a great place to buy groceries when you're in southwest Detroit.

Beautiful colors

Heading East

On the side of the Matrix Theatre in Mexicantown is this whimsical (yes, DVD used the word whimsical in a blog post) girl blowing on a flower.

Vibrant color

Heading North

Traveling north into the Corktown neighborhood on Michigan Avenue, not far from where Tiger Stadium used to be, is this artwork of former Tiger manager Sparky Anderson and the best baseball announcer in the history of the game, Ernie Harwell.

Two greats from Tiger baseball

Corktown

And in the Corktown neighborhood there's a nice mural at the Mercury bar that's worth a look.

Nice landscaping too.

Still Going

The DVD Street Art Roll continues with a trip back down to Springwells Village and the following mural on a curve.

Slow down on this curve

The Southwest Urban Arts Mural Project brings us the next mural also in Springwells Village.

Beautiful message too.

There's More?

Yes, there is. But the art will have to stay in the digital warehouse until the next Street Art Roll...

Driving in Detroit: Graffiti and a Mural

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 04:05:00 +0000

Graffiti in the Hood

Interesting signage

Traveling through southwest Detroit, I came upon a couple of blocks with some interesting graffiti and a mural by the Alley Project. More information about the cool Alley Project can be found at their Facebook page here.

Closed

The party store at the end of the video and pictured in the photo above is no longer in business, but they definitely had some of the funkiest signage for their store!

Horses in Detroit

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 23:00:00 +0000

Transportation

Tres hombres a caballo - Three men on horseback

As I've said before one of the best things about living in Detroit, or for that matter just spending time in the city, is that you never know what you're going to see. While heading home after dinner in Southwest Detroit, I got to witness an alternate means of transportation you don't see every day, horseback.

Casual Ride

One of the most interesting things about seeing the riders, other than the utter casualness of their ride, was when they pass through the gas station parking lot. They just cut right past a car that had finished getting gas. It was kind of an "old meets new" in the history of travel.

Video

Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 03:56:00 +0000

Cold

The cold days of January have me thinking about the summer and how much I miss the lush green landscape. So as I was sifting through some photos from the DVD archive, I came across this one of the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory on Bell Isle. I took the photo while I was taking photos for the Peace Carillon video. Albert Kahn designed the the Scripps Conservatory, and it was constructed in 1904. While the photo may not be the best of the greenhouse, I like the way it's framed by the trees full of green leaves, so it arrives here in January to try and warm up the place a bit.

Scripps Conservatory on Belle Isle

Happy New Year 2013!

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 01:38:00 +0000

Belle Isle

New Year's Day sunset

Happy New Year to all of the viewers and readers of Detroit Video Daily! I decided to head back out to Belle Isle to shoot a video of the Detroit River as I had done last year. Who knows maybe a tradition is forming?

The Future

This year there is no reflection. It's not to say that nothing much happened in Detroit this past year. Indeed quite a lot happened with one of the highlights being the Tigers making it to the World Series. Unfortunately, they didn't play well, and we're now looking forward to the 2013 season. And that's what this year is for me, and many others in the city, a look forward for better things to come. I had a great 2012, and if you click around in the categories on the right side you'll see some of the things I've been up to. But I'm excited for the new year and learning and experiencing new things.

The Video

The video is a quiet look at the Detroit River, and if it weren't for the family of ducks, there wouldn't be much action, if you want to call a few ducks swimming "action" :) So sit back and enjoy a minute of peace from a quiet cold New Year's Day, and I hope 2013 is a year full of success and happiness for you!

Reflection

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 00:09:00 +0000

Art

Art on the Wayne State campus

I finished my fall semester class at Wayne State University in Detroit, and as I was leaving the School of Education Building the sound of gurgling water and an odd pumping noise caught my attention. I stopped, and it was the sculpture titled Reflection. The noise was the water pumping through the unique bronze piece of art.

A Pause

Closer inspection of the name plate revealed that Joseph Pozcinski created the sculpture and that it was a gift to the College of Education. It is aptly titled because "reflect" is exactly what I did for several minutes before deciding to shoot a video using the camera on my phone. I don't know if it was the relief of finishing the class, the quiet of the empty building or a combination of both, but it was nice to simply look at the water bubble up through the artwork.

Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 15:25:00 +0000

Happy Holidays

Detroit Video Daily wishes a very Merry Christmas to all that celebrate the holiday! I hope everyone regardless of your beliefs enjoys the day. Here is a photo of the Blue Cross Blue Shield building in downtown Detroit. Each year they put up their "tree".

Blue Cross Blue Shield building near Greektown

If You Seek a Pleasant Deli, Look About You

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 03:51:00 +0000

A Detroit Deli

Mudgie's in Corktown

I discovered Mudgie's the old fashioned way, I passed by it while driving through Corktown. As you can see from the photo the outside of the deli has a lot of curb appeal. This past weekend I was hungry for a deli sandwich, and I finally made my way over to Mudgie's Deli with Mrs. DVD.

Soup and Sandwich

As soon as you walk into Mudgie's you are struck with a comfortable and pleasant atmosphere. The waitstaff is super friendly, and after finding out the soup specials we were told that there was also a sandwich available for the state of Texas. Apparently Mudgie's has been featuring a sandwich from every state in the union each week throughout 2012. I passed on the Texas sandwich and went with a half sandwich and bowl of soup, the Barrett corned beef sandwich and a bowl of sweet potato soup to be exact. I was not disappointed, and both were delicious.

Sweet potato soup

Peruvian bean and salmon soup

Barrett corned beef sandwich

Fresh

Mrs. DVD opted for the Madill, a turkey sandwich made with "Neuske's nitrate free cherrywood smoked bacon" and garlic butter. She also had a cup of Peruvian bean and salmon soup. Again both were delicious and fresh. If you look at their menu, you'll see a huge variety of sandwiches and a lot of Michigan products; for example the sandwiches come with local Perkin's Pickles. Without a doubt, Mudgie's is definitely on the Detroit Video Daily recommend list of places to eat in Detroit!

Have you eaten at Mudgie's? Is there another local deli I should check out? Leave a comment, and let me know!

Notes from Belle Isle

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Frank) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 04:27:00 +0000

Dossin Museum

During a quick drive around Belle Isle on Sunday, I discovered that the Dossin Great Lakes Museum is closed for renovations. I don't have much information, but the sign out front pretty much covers it all. Major renovations, and it will be closed until May 17.

Sign says it all...

Bridge

On the other side of the island, I passed by this pedestrian bridge. It was an overcast rainy Sunday and something about the bridge and the sunlight trying to breakout of the clouds caught my attention.

Bridge on Belle Isle (click on photo to enlarge)

Nancy Brown Peace Carillon Belle Isle

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 05:57:00 +0000

Peace

Peace Carillon

The bells chiming every hour come from one of my favorite things on Belle Isle, the Nancy Brown Peace Carillon. This past summer I had a few days off, and on one of the many scorching hot days I headed over to Belle Isle to boat watch and shoot some video of the Peace Carillon.

Video

The video didn't turn out as nice as I would've liked, so it was a good thing that I took a bunch of photos because I was able to use them to create this video. I had a lot of photos from another visit to the carillon, and I was planning on combining the two sets of photos and making a video, but in the end I just used the shots from the summer.

History

Relief of Nancy Brown

The Peace Carillon has an interesting story, but rather than repeat it all here's a link from a good story on HistoricDetroit.org. Basically, Nancy Brown was a pen name of a popular Detroit News columnist from 1919 to 1942. Spurred by one of her readers she set up a religious sunrise service on Belle Isle. Subsequent services were very popular and led to the construction of the Peace Carillon. Check out the above link for more details.

Music

I recorded about eight minutes of music after the chimes announced the time, but I edited the recording and only used one song for the video. Only problem is I have no idea what the name of the song is! So if anyone knows, please leave a comment. Oh, and if you think you're hearing crickets in the video, you are. That's what you get when you do a live recording in nature, you pick up all the sounds.

Rub It In and Say Good-bye to Pain

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 17:46:00 +0000

Ringmaster from Detroit

Pain Oil

The first thing you'll notice is the smell. Not offensive, but it's different. You may even stop and notice that the product bills itself as the "original misery master". But if you've purchased this item, you are looking to get rid of pain. And you may not notice right away that this unique rubbing oil is made right here in Detroit.

Numerous Uses

I'm guessing that most people buy it to relieve arthritis or sore muscles since those are listed on the outside of the box. Although "tired sore feet" and "fatigue and exertion" are listed as well, so maybe I'm wrong. When you remove the lengthy instruction sheet from the inside (referred to as "tips and techniques on using"), you'll discover that the product claims to provide relief to no less than 15 ailments, everything from sinus congestion to nail fungus.

My Experience

Ringmaster and tip sheet

I can't attest to all of the uses, but in all seriousness if you have a sore muscle, maybe a sore back or a crick in the neck from sleeping funny, this product works. My mother-in-law gave a bottle to my wife years ago when she was complaining of a sore back. Later when I had a sore neck I gave it a try. I rubbed the oil into the aching muscle, and away went the pain. So recently when I had a sore calf muscle, I reached for the Ringmaster, and once again no more pain. Made in Detroit and relieving pain since 1950. Check out their website for more info and the founder's interesting story.

Eastern Market Photo

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 00:18:00 +0000

Eastern Market

Here's a photo I snapped this past summer, that I've been meaning to share with you all. I was out enjoying ice cream from Mootown Ice Cream Shoppe, and I took this photo of a building in Eastern Market. I like the way it came out. It almost looks like the building was cut out and put on a plain background in a photo editing program, but there's no editing here, it's just the way the light hit the building as the sun was setting.

Building in Eastern Market

Technorati claim code: D52MFNXY5BKG.

Happy Thanksgiving!

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 03:04:00 +0000

Happy Turkey Day

Yes, it's late but still Thanksgiving, and it's never too late to send a Happy Thanksgiving greeting. So even though our beloved Detroit Lions lost their annual Thanksgiving game, it was still a great holiday. DVD has a lot to be thankful for, and I hope that everyone who celebrates the holiday had a wonderful day. No photo of a roasted turkey, but here's one of the homemade apple pie that was our dessert for today.

Homemade apple pie

Torch Lights Up the Night

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 07:00:00 +0000

United Way Torch

The United Way Torch burning brightly

Driving through downtown the fiery torch caught my eye. I didn't have time to stop, but after I finished my business for the evening I stopped by and shot this video. I thought at first that it was part of the downtown Christmas light display, but later when I looked up the torch online I discovered that it was lit this past September for the first time in five years. The torch was lit to draw attention to the current United Way campaign, and will stay lit until the end of the year when the fundraising campaign ends.

The Sculpture

Dario Bonucchi sculpted the abstract piece out of steel and aluminum, and the torch was dedicated in 1969. It sits in the median at Woodward and Jefferson right across from the Spirit of Detroit statue.

Foghorns from the Detroit River

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 17:51:00 +0000

Foggy Morning

Woke up this morning to a loud foghorn. I took a look out the window, and there was nothing but fog. Here's the podcast of the morning sounds.

(Note: the podcast player is flash based and will not show up in an iOS device. Please visit detroitvideodaily.podomatic.com to listen to the podcast.)

Thick fog in Detroit

Low visibility!


This is the street the car went speeding down.

A Presidential Sale

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 04:03:00 +0000

Obama Victory

Detroit likes to celebrate, and why not have a sale too? This was the grocery circular that showed up on my porch after the presidential election. The people of Detroit celebrate our president in other ways too, as I have posted before about Obama on Gratiot. And more recently, check out Bikes, Books & a Little Music's great photos in the post Obama on the Walls. -- Now do I want the chicken breast or the rump roast...

Presidential Sale

Lion Scarecrow

noreply@blogger.com (DetroitVideoDaily) — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 03:52:00 +0000

Detroit Lions

Detroit loves its sports teams, and plenty of people show their pride by wearing team jerseys. However, this one was a first for me. I came across this jersey in someone's backyard and had to snap a photo. Best I can tell is it's a Detroit Lion scarecrow. The number 20 jersey has been worn by Lions' greats Lem Barney, Billy Sims and of course the incredible Barry Sanders.

Fastest

Without a doubt Barry Sanders was the most exciting running back I've ever seen play. His ability to take a 'ho hum' running play and turn it into one worthy of a highlight reel was amazing. I'll never forget attending a Monday Night Football game at the no longer used Pontiac Silverdome and being blown away by how fast Sanders was. We had seats far away from the field, and on one play he bounced off a couple of defensemen and bing he was gone. I can still see it. I've never seen another running back with his speed. At any rate, the number 20 jersey for this Lion fan has a new use.

Go Lions! - Stay away birds.