The Voices in Frank's Head

I hate my sinuses. I really do. And lately, as the weather is starting to change, I'm starting to think that they hate me, too.

This week has been insane - bouncing back and forth between Detroit and Lansing for work; plus taking care of dozen different details for Detroit Synergy. This past Thursday was Preservation Wayne's Honor Awards. I was one of the nominees in the Lucy Hamilton Education Honor Award (for my documentary on the Book-Cadillac Hotel ). I didnt' win, but it was still a very cool evening. I'll post more photos and pics later. For now, here's a quick pic of me with gang from Friends of the Belle Isle Aquarium.

Yes, I'm in love. Or at least severly infatuated. Melissa Theuriau is a French television reporter and arguably one of the most beautiful women I've even seen in my life. I'm sure there is some way in which she is less than perfect. I just can't seem to figure it out. Oh, wait - I got it - she lives a couple thousand miles away from me. *sigh* Please excuse me while I run off to my local bookstore for some French language books.

Quick Note: As of yesterday evening, I am now the public relations co-chair for Detroit Synergy . The three year old organization is obviously on hard times when they're willing to let someone like me grab a portion of the helm.

Bob Denver, who played Gilligan 0n Gilligan's Island , passed away today at the age of 70 after suffering from cancer. Where ever you are, Bob, here's hoping your know how much joy you brought into the lives of everyone. Your show was cancelled by a myoptic television network in 1967, but it found an unending life in the era of re-runs and syndication. Your jokes are still funny and you still bring joy to my life everytime I catch a moment of your show.

Okay - it really seems like former First Lady Barbara Bush is trying to be the Marie Antoinette of the 21st Century. When she was reacting to the plight of those who lost everything in New Orleans, and were now being relocated to Houston, Texas, she said, "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this--this (she chuckles slightly) is working very well for them." Excuse me?!? They have just lost everything they own and have generally been through hell. No matter how hospitable the good people of Houston are, there is really no way that it could ever work out well for them; I don't care how underprivileged they were. Truly dispicable. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001054719

This is the tail end of an interview with Aaron Broussard, President of Jefferson Parish in Louisianna. It is one of the most heart-breaking things I have ever seen or heard in my life. http://www.michaelmoore.com/_images/splash/aaron_broussard2.mov (requires a Quick Time player).

I just found the "Shoot bin Laden" game on-line. It is oh-so-very-tacky and yet oh-so-very-funny. http://www.danstoys.com/mod.htm My high score is 5,800.

As I scroll through the news this evening, I learn that William Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, has passed away after his battle with cancer. He was 80 years old and had lived a remarkable life. I was always impressed by the fact that, even after he was diagnosed and had reached a point in his life where no one would possibly fault him for retiring, he hung in there and continued serving on the Court. There can be no doubt that with two vacancies on the Court, there will be a considerable amount of commotion in the U.S. Senate as everyone wrangles over who should fill his shoes. Whoever the President nominates, and however the Senate responds, this person will have some impressive shoes to fill.

Michael Moore published an open letter to President George W. Bush on his web site. I think it's absolutely hysterical in its tone and terrifying in its accuracy. Vacation is Over... an open letter from Michael Moore to George W. Bush Friday, September 2nd, 2005 Dear Mr. Bush: Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag. Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with? Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people...

Okay - so last night I'm enjoying a comfortable evening at the Toy Chest . There's a cold Sam Adams in my hand. The Lions are on TV and they're winning. And a half dozen or so women are around me gyrating in nothing more than a g-string. You would have to pretty much think that my life simply couldn't get much better at that point. Ordinarily, I'd have to agree. But then it happened. The commerical that I worked on for the Michigan Credit Union League came on TV. It was the one with a distinguished looking gentleman, walking through his local credit union as he talks about how great it is in comparision to a traditional bank. I found myself pointing towards the television and exclaiming, "Hey! I worked on that commericial." The dancer who was closest to me just looked at me and smiled. Somehow, I doubt she heard what I said over the music and noise. She just smiled and then started twirling around on the pole. For a few moments, though, all of the young...

I saw this and it just blew me away. It's a video blog from New Orleans: http://current.tv/blog/items/401941.htm

As I watch coverage of the almost never-ending misery in New Orleans, my keeps wondering back to the Big Easy and nearby Mississippi. I think about my trip to New Orleans in 1995. I remember my flight down there being diverted through Houston because of a hurricane. I also remember driving along the highway in Louisiana, seeing signs along the side of the road marked "Hurricane Evacuation Route." I think about Stacey Breaux who, even though we never met face-to-face, was kind enough to design my production company's web site. There's a note on her site that it will be back soon with new images. That note was put up before the hurricane hit. I hope the site, and more importantly her, are indeed back soon. I realize that it's odd to think about someone and their web site interchangeably. Almost cold and callous, I admit. I suppose it's what happens when you mostly know someone from email. Life in the 21st century, I suppose. I also think about a guy I ...

Dang! You just can't go into the suburbs anymore - not only do you have racist hate crimes but even the cops get attacked. http://news.yahoo.com/s/wdiv/20050825/lo_wdiv/2900729

The other day, as I was walking out of the Preservation Summit, a friend of mine and his wife were commenting on how they liked my documentary  on the Book-Cadillac Hotel. The weird, but really kind of cool, part when my friend's wife made the comment that she had a crush on the woman who narrated my film. I don't know what it is but there's just something so dang cool about one woman confessing to have a crush on another.

I must apologize for not posting very many details as of late. Unfortunately, I've been way, way busy as of late. First off, last week I was tapped to help film footage in Detroit for a documentary entitled Preserve Me A Seat that looks at historic movie palaces throughout the country. The filmmaker didn't have enough left in his budget to send a crew to Detroit so I was one of the guys who took care of it for him. You can read more about that project at http://igorfilms.com/media/preserve.seat.release.pdf Second, my documentary on the Book-Cadillac Hotel has been nominated for two different awards: the Preservation Award and the Michigan History Award. I thrilled, to say the least. http://igorfilms.com/media/award.release.pdf Finally, for the past couple of weeks I have been organizing a Summit meeting of the various historic preservation, professional and civc organizations in the Detroit area. Our goal is to see us work together much more close...

Okay - not too much drinking tonight. I guess that's what happens when you don't even start until there's less than two hours before the bars close. Anyway, since I'm awake and sober, I figured it would be a good time to post a little bit about my 35th birthday party last Saturday. Since it marked me becoming eligible to run for the White House, I decided to call it a Presidential Pub Crawl . I walked into the first bar, The HUB , at shortly after 8:00 to find Alok and a couple of other guys waiting for me. We sat around, drank beers and watched the Tigers play. After an hour or so, Alok and the others said that they'd have to leave soon for another party - some graduation event - and, quite frankly, I was a little nervous. No one else had shown up yet and I was afraid I'd be alone at my own birthday party when they left. (If that's not the epitome of social disaster, I don't know what is.) Luckily, my worries were for naught. Within fifteen minutes...

Urgh! Okay - for almost two months now I've been organizing a summit meeting for all of the various historic preservation groups in Detroit. Until last Thursday, I had been operating under the assumption that it would attract 30 - 35 people since we only had about 25 RSVPs. I just had to close registration at 60. Everyone suddenly came pouring in at the last minute. Frankly, my nerves are shot because of all that this entails. Trying to figure out just where to close registration. Communicating with lots of people about who should be guaranteed a seat and who shouldn't. Exploring other options for a new, larger venue (short answer: our options were nil on such short notice). Explaining to a half dozen people why are options were nil, and explaining it a half dozen times. Urgh! Anyway, I feel like I really should post something about my birthday part last Saturday. It was a blast it really was. But, frankly, I really don't feel like posting. I just feel like drinking...

I just finished this novel - Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross. I highly recommend it. It plays to a lot of the themes in The DaVinci Code , a secret history about women in religion that's been hidden by a male dominted church, but it does more to bring the story to life. Plus, she is much more careful with her facts.

The folks at Oslo (Woodward and Grand River in downtown Detroit) have decided to host a special art show this weekend in honor of my 35th birthday. Well, okay - so it's not really in honor of my birthday. It's just a coincidence that they're having it that weekend. However, a bunch of talented artists from Detroit and the surrounding area will be there. It should be a blast.