The Voices in Frank's Head

Earth Hour is this evening at 8:30 p.m. Folks from around the world will be turning off their lights for one hour to show their support for the environment and to campaign against global warming. The whole thing really hasn't gotten much attention in the Detroit area. Everytime I've mentioned this to anyone, I usually get a comment about how it seems silly or how going a single hour with using electricity won't change anything. My rebuttal to that is always the same. Turning your lights off for that hour serves as a reminder to you and everyone else of that fact that you can live your life and be happy without constantly burning electricity. Once you do it for an hour, you start to realize how easy it to make some important changes. Doing it in conjuction with everyone else on the planet makes you realize that we all really are connected to one another. Besides, if Obama Girl thinks it's a good idea then you know it's cool. voteearth Detroit

I woke up early this morning. It was well before my alarm clock would have gone off. For some reason, I felt full of energy. I had this thought that I would go out for a jog or at least a walk. I've gotten out of shape. I have to admit that I could use the exercise. As soon as that thought came ran through my mind - as if by some divine cue - it started to rain. It started raining hard. Really, really hard. Okay, I thought to myself, message from God received. I went back to bed.

I went to an Open City meeting this evening. The conversations and the crowd were very good. The presentation was wonderful. I learned a lot and got to talk with some folks that I haven't seen much of in months. The thing is, I heard this one off-hand comment that has been sticking my head all evening. Twitter sounds like something you do to a vagina. I swear, that is the best social media quote I've ever heard.

Detroit's MGM Grand Hotel & Casino is up for sale, according to folks at the Detroit News . It turns out that its current owners, MGM Mirage , are eager to shed cash after their disastrous bet on the CityCenter project in Las Vegas. Oh, well. One person's disaster is another opportunity. Their Detroit casino is consistently profitable and has the potential to be even more so as the economy improves. All of which leads me to ask: Can anyone spare a few hundred million? I would love to buy this place, if only to be able to decide who gets into V and who doesn't. By the way, I have also have to congratulate the folks at V for being named of the Top 100 Nightclubs in the nation by Nightclub & Bar magazine.

Between the Cobo Hall fiasco, the economy, the mortgage crisis and the perpetual quandary of whether or not there will even be an American auto industry 6 months from now, Detroit is need of something to take our minds of the problems and make us realize what is really possible. For some folks, this means heading to Hamtramk this weekend to check out the more than 200 bands that are playing for the Metro Times Blowout . Personally, I have my own obsession. The International Space Station will be visible in sky over Detroit for the next few days during the early morning hours. All I have to do to be reminded of how much really is possible in this world is look up. I know I've complained about an ineffective city government on my neighborhood blog many, many times. Some folks might question my sanity when I say that a mere glimpse at the space station is enough to take my mind off these problems. They're right, of course. My sanity has been in question for some time now. It ...