Raven’s Seed
Matrix Theatre Mexicantown Detroit
May 19-20th

“Kooky Scientists, Animals That Talk, And A Raven That Disguises Itself As A Human Are All Part Of Stephen Most’s Play Raven’s Seed, A Wacky Nuclear Comedy Presented On The Streets Of Detroit By Matrix Theatre Company.

The show is a comedy about the effects of nuclear power gone awry. The plot unfolds as actors wearing masks to depict the forest’s animals initiate a revolt against two scientists whose insane plans for nuclear energy are about to annihilate the earth. Behaving more like Laurel and Hardy than serious professionals, Dr. J. Stanley Opportune and Dr. Oliver Liverwurst maintain rational insanity as the show’s characters wage a comic battle between the forces of good and evil. Join in the fun as the animals, led by the Raven who takes on human form, beat the humans at their own game in this comedy full of silliness and puns.

Because the show is performed outside, the performance schedule is subject to change due to inclement weather. Bring a lawn chair, if you would like to sit at the performance locations.”
For more info: http://matrixtheatre.org/?page_id=4

Motor City Comic Con
May 18th-20th
Suburban Collection Showplace
http://www.motorcitycomiccon.com/

Robofest 13th Annual Championships
May 19th
9am-4:30pm
Ridler Field House
Lawerence Technological University
2100 W. Ten Mile Road
Southfield, MI.
http://www.robofest.net/

Flowers, Flowers Everywhere!!
Eastern Market Flower Day
Sunday, May 20th
This coming weekend marks the official kickoff of the flower season. Expect that the Eastern Market will be hopping with activity all weekend, Saturday and Sunday. Eastern Market Flower Day is a real treat!
http://www.detroiteasternmarket.com/page.php?p=2&s=30

10th Annual Southfield Flower Day
Saturday, May 19th
10am-4pm
Front lawn of Southfield Municipal Complex
Some of the most beautiful planting around can be had right in our own backyard, too. And, it helps to support our local greenhouses right here in Southfield.

Midtown Detroit Crawl
Yelp’s Passpot to Midtown Detroit
http://www.yelp.com/events/detroit-yelps-passport-to-midtown

Relay for Life
May 19-20th
10am
American Cancer Society’s 24-hour walk to raise funds and awareness.
Southfield High School Track

The 13th Annual Robofest World Championships are here!

Held at Lawrence Technological University, in Southfield, 22 Michigan teams will compete along with teams from 5 other states and three other countries.

Robofest is a truly amazing “annual autonomous robotics competition designed to promote and support STEM (Science, Engineering, Technology and Math) and Computer Science for students in grades 5 – 12 and college students. Robofest challenges teams of students to design, build, and program robots.”

The concept for robots in this years championships is “rescue.” The mission for the robots is to circumnavigate a rectangular platform, grab silver balls from the top of towers (rescue), then deliver them to the hospital. Along with a few other criteria.

There will also be other events where students showcase their talents of creativity and imagination, including:

• Exhibition: The robotics exhibition is a great way for students to show off their imagination and creativity. Each team has complete freedom to create autonomous robotics projects such as robot pets, robot artists, dancing robots, storytelling with robots, robots for scientific experiments, and practical robotics applications.
• RoboFashion Dance: A team of robots (two are recommended) will use the whole track (stage) to show off their costume, walk (driving), and performing dancing motions. Robots have up to 4 minutes to demonstrate their costume to music, the music is the team’s choice. Communications between robots and interactions with human players using various sensors are encouraged.

Robofest 13th Annual Championships
May 19th
9am-4:30pm
Ridler Field House
Lawerence Technological University
2100 W. Ten Mile Road
Southfield, MI.

http://www.robofest.net/

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This coming weekend marks the official kickoff of the flower season.

All around town, there will be flowers on display and flowers for sale. One of the biggest flower days in the national happens right here in our own backyard. The Detroit Eastern Market 46th Annual Flower Day.

If you’ve ever been to Eastern Market on Flower Day, you know that it is a spectacular event. Acres and acres of flowers and landscaping greenery, the smell of delicious food in the air from the local restaurants, outdoor grilling, fruits and vegetables, specialty items, fish, meats, poultry, cheeses, live entertainment.

Members of the Metro Detroit Flower Growers Association (MDFGA) along with hundreds of flower growers from Michigan, Canada, and neighboring states will be on hand as 200,000 people annually trek to this colorful event.

The Eastern Market will be hopping with activity this entire weekend, Saturday and Sunday. Eastern Market Flower Day is a real treat!

http://www.detroiteasternmarket.com/page.php?p=2&s=30

Localities are also having Flower Days this weekend. The city of Southfield is also having their:

10th Annual Southfield Flower Day
Saturday, May 19th
10am-4pm
Front lawn of Southfield Municipal Complex

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And that’s exactly what Lazybones Smokehouse makes with its house-smoked bacon: pig candy.

“We get a whole pork belly and smoke it over apple wood from a local orchard,” says Jenny Smiljanovki, wife of Chef Benny, owner of Lazybones Smokehouse. “We smoke it with an apple cider vinegar mop for 1½-2 hours. After the smoking process, we coat it with brown sugar and spices – a little bit of sweet and a little bit of spicy, bake it and roll it in brown sugar when it comes out of the oven. “

If this sounds like anything that should be illegal, it’s at least packaged that way. As I paid for and made my way off with a baggie of the good stuff, I pulled out a candied line of bacon and took in a heavy hit of smoky, sweet and peppery spiciness that could have flavored an entire barbecue pork sandwich in just one little bite.

Pig candy will be one of the delicacies served at Baconfest Michigan at the Royal Oak Farmers Market on Saturday, June 2. If you can’t wait until then, you can pick some pig candy at the Lazybones’ locations in Roseville and Clinton Township. If you really want to amp up the bacon euphoria, get a couple of triple chocolate brownies that are kicked up with pig candy in the mix.

Lazybones Smokehouse is located at 27475 Groesbeck Highway in Roseville and 43203 Garfield Road in Clinton Township.

Article reprinted from: http://www.motorcitycomiccon.com/
Motor City Comic Con, Michigan’s original Comic Convention, celebrates its 23rd Anniversary, May 18-20 at the Suburban Collection Showplace, 46100 Grand River Ave in Novi. The 2012 event brings together a stellar roster of Comic world luminaries, as well as a glittering array of iconic TV and film stars and fan favorites from the World of Wrestling as well. Complete event information available at www.motorcitycomiccon.com

Featured  media guests thus far include Dean Cain, of TV’s Adventures of Lois and Clark, Film icon Billy Dee Williams and son Corey Dee Williams, –plus Howard Hesseman and Loni Anderson of WKRP in Cincinnati, Peter Tork of the Monkees, Nichelle Nichols, the iconic Lieutenant Uhura from the original Star Trek series, Yvonne Craig, best known as Batgirl,  stars of cult movie classic Boondock Saints– David Della Rocco and Sean Patrick Flanery and sultry, Detroit-born Twin Peaks sensation Sherilyn Fenn.

The talent and scope of Comic creators appearing at the 2012 Motor City Comic Con is unparalleled in the history of the show.  The extensive list is available at www.motorcitycomiccon.com, but highlights include Joseph Lee, a Director on Fox TV show Family Guy, Detroiter Ryan Stegman, exclusive artist for Marvel Comics-best known for his work on the ever popular Scarlet Spider, Mike Grell artist/writer of Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Warlord, X-Men Forever and Action Comics, Ethan Van Sciver, an accomplished artist and perennial fan-favorite, who has contributed to many popular works at both Marvel and DC Comics.

Original art and limited edition prints by many of these contemporary masters are available for purchase at the event!

Motor City Comic Con gathers comic book and multi-media dealers from across the country, offering a vast variety of pop culture merchandise, including comics, art, tee shirts, movie memorabilia, posters, and more. Over 250 comic book creators, writers and artists will be on site at Comic Con, as well as more than forty actors from the television and sci-fi movie industry.  Comic Con offers big fun for kids young and old!

Fans from across the Midwest travel to Motor City Comic Con to compete in the wildly popular Costume Contest on Saturday afternoon, sponsored by the Specs Howard School of Media Arts. Local celebrity judges will determine who will win the cash and gift packages, but all who participate and attend enjoy the hilariously fun afternoon! The Grand Prize winner also takes home a pair of monthly movie passes for a year, courtesy of Emagine Theatres of Metro Detroit.

Now I could wax poetically about lemon grass noses and tastes of melon, leather, tobacco and (my favorite descriptor) barnyard. But I won’t. What I will do is point you in the direction of some incredible wine made in our own state, which you should really run out and purchase. Now. Right now.

Michigan Wine Month is a time to highlight and enjoy the growing selection of locally produced wine, and to recognize the industry’s significant contribution to our economy. With more than 2,000 acres devoted to growing wine grapes, our state’s 92 commercial wineries produce more than 1 million gallons of wine annually. These wineries attract more than 1 million visitors and contribute $300 million annually to Michigan’s economy.

So what’s all the buzz about?

Wine. Good wine. Michigan is home to some fantastic wineries. Is every Michigan wine excellent? Of course not. But neither is every California wine, or every wine from Italy or France. Is there a lot of good wine made right here in our state? Yes, and you should go buy some (see above).

Larry Mawby

Here’s a couple of my favorite finds at this year’s showcase.

L. Mawby makes sparkling wines. Two of my favorites are Sex and Wet (catchy, I know). But I tried a new one this year—Green. Green is a blend of select Cayuga and Vidal wine grapes. The juice is fermented in stainless steel tanks, then fermented a second time in a closed tank—the cuve close method. Think vino verde (green). You taste green apples, slight dryness, and lots of bubbly in your mouth. Crisp and refreshing, and perfect for the upcoming summer.

We tried a few whites. The Bel Lago Pinot Grigio & Chardonnay was a crowd pleaser. Nice nose, with fruity notes and a little toasty oak. This wine really brings out the best of both varietals. Perfectly suited for conversation on the patio, or with food.

Another excellent white is Verterra Winery’s Unwooded Chardonnay. Notes of lemon, pear and green apples, this is a great food wine. I’m not usually a big fan of Chardonnay, but I really enjoyed this one. Verterra is a new winery in Leland, just outside of Fishtown.

Moving to reds, here’s a couple can’t miss buys. Chateau Chantal Proprietor’s Reserve Trio is a luxurious wine, that your guests will take a sip and then stop in their tracks to say“this is Michigan wine?!” A blend of 68% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Pinot Noir, Trio has a nice complement of fruit and oak. A great food wine.

And finally, there’s my favorite Michigan Winery, Brys Estate, which had the 2010 Cabernet Franc on hand. A little pricier than those noted above, but worth every penny. You get a nose of berries, cloves and cinnamon. Michigan does Cabernet Franc really well. Find this wine, or ANYTHING from Brys Estate, and you can’t go wrong.

More and more restaurants are serving Michigan wine these days. You can also find several at Westborn Market and Holiday Market in Royal Oak, Hiller’s Market (several metro locations) and Champane’s in Warren.

For everything you need to know about Michigan wine online, visit Michigan By The Bottleand Drink Michigan.

Cheers!

That’s why Paragon Properties is getting behind the Hope Walking team at the Relay For Life in Livonia May 19 and 20.

Kirk Wasmund is a family friend of Westwood Village Apartments leasing agent Tracey Urcheck. Kirk has suffered a relapse of his melanoma, and it’s being treated as aggressively as possible.

“As a family friend, that’s how we got involved,” Tracey says. “I’ve seen what his wife and children are going through, and his sister-in-law (Kelly Wasmund, team member) is so positive and supportive. They’re such great people and family. We’re so close that I just want to give back.”

So far, Team Hope Walking is the second-leading team in the Livonia Relay For Life having collected almost $9,400 for American Cancer Society support services for cancer patients and their families through private donations, business team sponsorships and other fundraisers — and they haven’t stopped yet.

“We want to win the spirit award and get extra money, so we’re going all out for it by dressing up in wigs and princess costumes,” Tracey says.

You can donate to Team Hope Walking on their Relay For Life webpage or join them at the Livonia Relay For Life at Bentley Field, 15100 Hubbard Street in Livonia, between 10 a.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday.

May 14th – May 23rd

Excerpt reprinted from: What is Yelp’s Passport To Midtown all about?

“Celebrating (and infiltrating!) Midtown via cool & creative ways to connect people with great local businesses.

It’s no secret… Midtown is loaded with an array of fantastic locally-owned businesses. From May 14-23rd, we’re encouraging Yelpers to make a point of exploring this part of our glorious city. From beer tours, progressive dinners, doggie meet ups, bike mechanic classes and more you’ll be treated to fabulous CMYEs (Community Manager Yelp Events), discounts, and special offers galore! We also encourage you all to create your own Unofficial Yelp Events.”

This event features:

• Comerica’s Java and Jazz at the Detroit Public Library
• Delish Detroit Midtown Food Crawl
• Motor City Brew Tours Midtown Bar/Brewery Crawl
• Tasting at Raw Café
• Emerging Artist Showcase and Cocktail Hour and
  Sketch Sessions at the Scarab Club
• Complimentary Doggy Play Date CMYE at Canine to Five
• and much more

See this link for a full list of details:
http://www.yelp.com/events/detroit-yelps-passport-to-midtown

To all the Mothers of the world who have birthed, loved, raised, cherished, or nurtured a child of the world, whether it be their own by birth or of divine design…you are wished a Happy Mother’s Day.

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Adam Yauch, a.k.a. MCA, a.k.a. Nathanial Hornblower, died May 4th. One third of the Beastie Boys, Yauch had been diagnosed with cancer in 2009.

To me, he always seemed like the elder statesman of the group. I mean, still kind of an ass in that Beastie sort of way, but also a little older, and more in that old soul type of way than anything. It goes beyond his salt and pepper colored hair that had already came in by his 30s and that rasp in his voice. There was always that weariness you could sometimes see in his eyes.

You can say, and without a whiff of hyperbole, that the Beastie Boys changed music forever. They, along with Run DMC, opened up hip hop to white, suburban kids. They were witty, irreverent, and often crass–what’s there for a teenager not to like?

They also showed just how sonically varied hip hop could actually be. They traded the loud, hard rock guitars and drums of Licensed to Ill for the jazz and funk samples of Paul’s Boutique and then for the fuzzy punk rock of Ill Communication. Somehow, despite how different two consecutive records sounded back to back, they always sounded like the Beastie Boys. They always sounded right.

Yauch is often credited for ushering in the more grown up Beastie Boys era from the late 1980s/early 1990s and on. They remained the Beasties at their core, there was just a little more social consciousness and a lot less lyrics akin to a frat boy’s take on women.

By the mid-1990s, Yauch had become a Buddhist. He organized the Tibetan Freedom Concerts of the late 1990s. Yauch also directed many of the band’s iconic music videos under the Nathanial Hornblower pseudonym. To a certain degree, the Beastie Boys are known as much for their music videos as they are their music.

Adam Yauch was a lot of things, including an MC, a musician, an activist, a director, a producer–we could do this for days. He was 47.