The Voices in Frank's Head

I used to live in New York several years ago. For the most part, I'm happy with life back home in Detroit - but there are moments when I miss New York. For example, I really can't imagine anything like this happening on the streets of Detroit. I guess I'll just have to get a bunch of creative folks together and make something like this happen in the D.

I've been inundated by robocalls from one politician after another for the past several weeks. It's one more reason why I will be glad when Tuesday is behind us. Of course, the silver lining in this dark cloud comes from Obama Girl. I love that video.

I posted a few days ago about Access Detroit and how the folks at Detroit's version of Metromix managed to screw up what was quiet possibly the most idiot proof event of the year. Specifically, I chastised them for making the "big surprise" at the end of the evening be the D Brand logo that was projected onto the side of a building. I have since received confirmation that this wasn't Metromix's idea. They had nothing to do with it. It was someone else. It was a group of people who are usually one of the best event producers in the country; who simply must have left their brains at home that day. I'm afraid I've simply reached that point in my life and career where, if I see something go wrong and someone from Metromix is within 100 feet of it, I assume that they're responsible for it. Usually, this trend serves me well. The kids at Metromix have a unique ability to screw up just about anything and they seem to go out of their way to do it. But t...

I posted on Saturday about Metromix would inevitably resort to posting photos of random bar patrons because there weren't any people from their Access Detroit event at any of the bars other than Bookies. As of that time, the kids at Metromix hadn't posted those photos. But now they have. Please note the conspicuous absence of red lanyards, which got you the Access Detroit special, on any patrons at any of the bars other than the one (Bookies) that you could see from the block party. So much for getting people to explore downtown Detroit. Oh, and I also got a kick out of how they "forgot" to make any references in their post-event coverage to their "special surprise" of the evening. I also posted on Saturday about how I saw people scratching off, or otherwise obscuring, the Metromix swag that they got - essentially fixing their Metro mi x . With that in mind, please take a look at my "new" hip flask. I picked this up at a previous Metromix eve...

Election Day is just a little more than a week away. This is when we as a nation will determine the answer to questions like, "how much longer will the entire world hate us?" and "will things ever get any better for us?". I'm reasonably optimistic, which is why I predict that U.S. Senator Barack Obama will win with 326 electoral votes. My state by state breakdown gives all the details. We'll see soon just how accurate I am.

I have to admit that I cringed when I first heard that the kids at Detroit's version of Metromix were involved in the block party that would kick off the re-opening of the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel. I've had experience with them a few times before. Everything they've ever done can fit into one of three categories: Lame; Mismanaged; or Both. I took comfort, however, in the fact that this was the re-opening of the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel . This was the most idiot-proof event of the year. There were so many people looking forward to this that almost anything they did would be a guaranteed success. In retrospect, as I think back to my previous description of this being an "idiot-proof" event, I am reminded of the words of Mark Twain who observed, "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." Yes, I'm afraid it's true. The kids from Metromix did manage to screw this one up. Without further ado, I give you my ...

Today is the 10th Anniversary of the demolition of the former J.L. Hudson's Department Store in downtown Detroit. It was built in 12 separate stages, from 1891 through 1946. After all of that history, the building came down after 28 seconds of blasting. When the site was demolished, it was promised that this would open the doors to unprecedented development in downtown Detroit. The years later, all that stand on the site are the support columns for an office tower that was never built. In many ways, they serve as tombstones for a portion of Detroit's past. The Hudson's site has been targeted as one of the possible sites for Rock Financial's new headquarters. However, if you believe any of the speculation on the various blogs such as D-Tales or the Detroitist , that might never happen. The bizarre coincidence comes into play when one remembers that shortly after the Hudson's demolition, then Mayor of Detroit Dennis Archer announced that he was targe...

This past week has been insane for me. There have been so many things that I really meant to blog about, but I simply haven't had a chance to sit down and recount them all. I mean, I did manage to find a chance to blog about the $5 million bra , but come on. I'm a guy. How could I not blog about that? Anyway, before my schedule blows up on my again , here is a recap of the past week. Thursday, October 16 The interesting portion of my day started at 10:30 a.m. That was when I arrived at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel for an interview with Detroit Today on WDET. It was another chance for me to talk about how much I love that hotel and how I think it will be the catalyst for great things in downtown Detroit. This, of course, was the third time that I had been on Detroit Today in the past year. Strangely enough, this was also the year that they won "Best Local Radio Talk Show" in the Metro Times Readers' Poll. Is this purely a coincidence? Well, of course it ...

The geniuses at Victoria's Secret have come up with the perfect way to spend a fortune - and then some. It's a $5 million bra. The Black Diamond Fantasy Miracle bra contains: 3,575 black diamonds, 117 certified 1 carat round diamonds, 34 rubies and - for the ultimate piece de resistance - 2 black diamond drops that total 100 carats. Of course, being the guy that I am, I can't help but wonder about one thing. If a guy were to buy this for the woman in his life, would she still complain about the toilet seat being left up?

I wanted to let everyone know that I will be on WDET-FM tomorrow morning at approximately 10 a.m. - live from the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel. Yes, I love my life.

Keith Olbermann's Special Comment last night about the McCain/Palin campaign was so spot on that I think it should be required viewing for all voters.

The Westin Book Cadillac in once again open for business. It's the culmination of a 24 year long saga. And what does one do after a saga with more twists and turns that all of Cedar Pointe? Throw one hell of a party, that's what. It kicks off on Friday, October 24 at 8:30 p.m. with a huge block party on Washington Blvd., between Michigan Avenue and State Street. Because this is just that awesome of an event, it will include free concerts by the Killer Flamingos , Trick Trick and Paxahau DJs . Add in a few street performers and a respectable amount of alcohol ( Cintron is one of their sponsors - 'nuf said) and you have what promises to be the coolest party of the season. The whole thing is presented by Bank of America, which makes me feel a tiny bit better about that service charge they hit me with the other day. But I digress. Needless to say, I will be there. An RSVP for the event is encouraged by clicking here .

My blog is still one of the highest ranked ones around when you Google "Dating in Your 30s". (Number 9 out of 1,640,000, thank you very much.) I always felt that means that I should occasionally chime in with some advice for my fellow bachelors. Luckily, there really isn't any need for me to do so. 2007 Playmate of the Year Sara Jean Underwood already beat me to it with this handy video. What Not to Do on a First Date | Girls | SPIKE.com And let's face it, I'm sure most bachelors would rather listen to her than me anyway. In a related note, I'm happy to report that I've never done any of the things that Ms. Underwood advised bachelors to avoid. I've always found completely unique ways to make a fool out of myself. Since I know of at least two of my ex-girlfriends who read this blog on a somewhat regular basis, I'm sure there's going to be some interesting remarks left in the comments section.

A week or so ago, I mused to a friend of mine that the Dow Jones Industrial Average very well might be at 8,000 by the time Election Day rolls around. Since then, we've 7 straight days of decline in the stock market including today's record loss , which brought the index all the way down to 8,579. Quite frankly, I'm starting to think that I might have been too optimistic in my off-hand, alcohol-inspired prediction. At the rate things are starting to go, we'll be getting close to zero by November 4th.

After having been dormant for 24 years, the historic Book-Cadillac Hotel re-opened its doors earlier this week as the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel . As someone who spent a couple of years working a documentary about this hotel and the efforts to bring it back - and who (pardon me for tooting my own horn) got nominated for two awards for this aforementioned film - there's no way I could possibly miss this one. I got to be one of the very first people to walk through its doors when they opened at 11 a.m. on Monday. I have to say that, all things considered, this was worth the wait. A few things got moved around inside of the hotel. The Italian Garden lost its sky light (a shame, but understandable in the grand scheme of things). The important thing is that the Book-Cadillac is back. I've heard one person after another over the past several years say that there was absolutely no way in which it would ever re-open; that it was destined to meet the wrecking ball. And now here it ...

I'm a bit like Garfield the Cat in that Mondays have never really been my favorite day of the week. Today, however, I find myself dreaming of this coming Monday. At long last, the historic Book-Cadillac Hote l will have a "soft" re-opening this coming Monday. There won't be any great fanfare. They're still working on the place. However, ordinary folks like me will be able to walk through the place once again. I have been looking forward to this day for more than 5 years now. I was too young to understand its significance when the hotel closed in 1984. However, when I started doing a documentary on the place in 2003, I inadvertently embarked on a journey that has made me much of what I am today. I look forward to walking into the hotel and just looking around. It's all the sense of closure that I've wanted for a couple of years now. My only regret is that my Dad is no longer with us . He would have loved to walk through that place with me. In a ...