The Voices in Frank's Head

Thanks to the gods at Netflix, I saw To Have and Have Not today. This film was Lauren Bacall's debut on the big screen. The film is famous, of course, for Ms. Bacall's classic line, "You know how to whistle don't you? Just put your lips together and blow." That scene always blows me away. Of course, I was also blown away by another scene a little earlier in the film. Humphrey Bogart and Walter Sande were talking about gasoline for Bogart's fishing boat. The gas was a whooping 28 cents a gallon. Times have changed in so many ways.

One of my ex-girlfriends currently works as a nurse in the Georgia Department of Corrections . Reportedly, she showed my blog to some of the corrections officers that she works with and they loved my solar bra post . They even loved the strip club post that showed up over on D-Tales . So, in honor of my new found fans who proudly enforce the law from the inside, I give you another amusing video that I found on-line. I didn't make it - but I really wish I did. It's a woman getting undressed by a bulldozer - yet another one of those things that I would have never believed could happen if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Bulldozer Undresses Woman

I got invited to a friend's 30th birthday party recently. The invite says, "Dress to impress." My first thought was, "Oh, I guess I should actually wear pants to this one." But then - from somewhere in the dark nether regions of my brain, came a voice that said, "Well, that would depend on in what way you want to impress." Yes, I'm a bad, bad man. And the photo below is totally appropriate for me. It's amazing how quickly I've learned to find images like the one above.

Sydney Pollock passed away yesterday at the age of 73 after battling cancer. He was a two-time Academy Award winning actor, director and producer. As a director, he was the creative force behind such landmark films as Tootsie and Out of Africa . Earlier in his career, Sydney Pollock worked with Alfred Hitchcock when Mr. Pollock directed two episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour . As an actor, he appeared in a wide variety television shows and movies - from 1950s Have Gun Will Travel and The Twilight Zone to modern classics such The Sopranos and King of the Hill . Sydney Pollock will be missed.

I have always been fascinated by women's breasts. From the modest cleavage of Keira Knightley or Kristen Bell to the more ample endowment of Mélissa Theuriau or Jessica Alba , there's just something about them that attracts my attention. I suppose that's why, when I heard about the new solar bra that was unveiled in Tokyo, I couldn't help but pay attention to it. This bra is embedded with solar panels that will actually generate electricity as they are exposed to sun light. The most obvious downside to this is that those solar panels won't work when they're covered by other articles of clothing. As a result, this is really more one of those products that is intended to prompt discussion about renewable energy and seeing potential in every day things than an actual source of electrical energy. Of course, it does also demonstrate the power of cleavage.

To the regular readers of my blog (all 18 of you): I'm sorry I haven't been posting as often as normal. I have been insanely busy as of late. In addition to all my usual duties with the other non-profits that I do volunteer work for, I have a couple of grant deadlines that I've been frantically trying to meet for work. Plus, my production company is involved in the Detroit Windsor International Film Festival , which is now less than 30 days away from happening. You can click below to see an overview of what this festival will have to offer. So, yeah. I've been busy. Regardless, I did want to apologize to everyone for not posting more often.

I recently learned that one of the greatest of American heroes Stephen Colbert used to work with a bear sympathizer - but not just any kind of bear sympathizer - a Canadian bear sympathizer. Just look at this recently de-classified surveillance video. It clearly shows Rob Coddry , who worked with Stephen on that other television show , allowing a Canadian bear into his home where it was presumably given aide and comfort. The surveillance video is only 30 seconds long. One can only presume that everyone was malled to death after that point. I have to express my profound disappointment that Stephen didn't uncover this sooner. God only knows how many lives have been lost already.

Prince William has been lambasted by the British news media for using a military helicopter for personal use, such as showing off for his girlfriend Kate Middleton by landing a Boeing CH-47 Chinock helicopter in the field behind her family's home. He also used one to visit a community center in Penygraig, Wales. He is currently a flight officer in the Royal Air Force. Officially, he is trying to accumimlate as many hours in the cockpit as he can as he is still working on his pilot's license and this is why he is flying so often. This, of course, has not stopped anyone in the British media from accusing him of just wasting money, as People magazine points out . Quite frankly, I can't say that I blame Prince William for this - even if he is purely joy riding at taxpayers' expense. I mean, just look at this thing. If I had access to a Chinock helicopter, I would fly that thing everywhere . I would hover just a few feet off the ground and become the first person to go t...

Earlier this morning, I posted about how astronaut Garret Reisman was a special guest on The Colbert Report - live from the International Space Station. They talked for several minutes in an interview that was classic Stephen Colbert . Well, that particular clip is now available on-line. Check it out below. It's truly one of the coolest things I've seen all year. I also found an article in the Houston Chronicle that talked about this interview, which included references to a few things that got edited out of the episode when it aired - like the fact that there aren't any refrigerators on the International Space Station to chill ice cream or beer.

I was just watching The Colbert Report . Stephen Colbert had one of the astronauts on his show, Garrett Reisman , live via satellite from the International Space Station. It was one of the coolest things I've seen all year.

Some of the most ironic stuff shows up in my email in-box on a daily basis. Most of it, I delete. However, sometimes I get something that makes me laugh hard enough that I almost have to post it somewhere. This afternoon, I got an email from the folks at WebMD.com. It included a link to their article on Top 10 Foods for Healthy Hair . Ah.... I don't think any of those foods are going to do much for my hair. Somehow, I really don't think so.

U.S. Senator Barack Obama won huge in North Carolina yesterday. U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton is still in this race, having recently loaned her campaign another $6.4 million . However, for all practical purposes, the Democratic nomination is over. Obama will be the nominee. And this means that we only have 258 more days until the grown-ups return to the White House.

One of the other bloggers in Detroit published a post yesterday about May being Asian Heritage Month and providing her readers with " 7 days of fun " to celebrate it. The problem is that all of her suggestions were a series of "Asian" restaurants. I'm sorry. I love D-Tales and think she has one of the best blogs around. However, I know enough Asians to know that there's a lot more to Asian culture than a series of overpriced sushi places, even without invoking Frank's Rule of Sushi or talking about the Sushi Witnesses. With that in mind, I give the world my own version of her 7 days of Asian culture - that are 100% sushi-free. Tuesday - Literature Asian culture has produced a cornucopia of top-notch literature over the centuries. Yan Lianke's novel Dreams of Ding Village , for example, told the story of HIV/AIDS in China. This resulted in the novel being banned in his home country because the People's Republic of China insists that AIDS doe...

I am a Netflix addict. Thanks to this service I've seen almost every movie Alfred Hitchcock ever made (except for a couple of his old silent ones that aren't available on DVD anywhere). I even saw his two World War II propaganda films that he made with the intention of rallying the French to resist German occupation - only to be the British government kill them because they were too anti-German. I've also seen everything that Keira Knightley has ever appeared in simply because, well, she is Keira Knightley and I would pay good money to watch that woman eat a bowl of corn flakes in the morning. Anyway, I mention all of this because I once again have an email invitation to give someone a free month of Netflix. If you would like it, please let me know.

I was at Fusia and Asian Village when they first opened. To put it mildly, I was unimpressed with the place. I even remember being in meetings where one person after another told a horror story about the place. I quietly predicted that they would be out of business within a matter of months and felt confident in my prediction. However, after all of that, I was eventually coaxed into attending Detroit Synergy's Supper Club last night and urged to give the place another chance. The woman who runs Supper Club for Detroit Synergy has amazing tastes so it I put my faith in her. After my experience last night, I have to say that I was impressed. The place has made some amazing changes in a relatively short period of time and completely transformed themselves. For starters, the service was top-notched. The staff at Fusia was knowledgeable and attentive, without hovering. This was a h-u-u-g-e improvement over their original incarnation when they hired fashion models for a large portion ...

The Detroit Free Press reported recently that Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick demanded that his friend Bobby Ferguson get a part of construction contract for the original effort to redevelop the historic Book-Cadillac Hotel. More importantly, they reported that the costs associated with this were a large part of the original effort falling apart; dealing the hotel's re-opening by more than a year. This would be news if it weren't for one thing: I reported the same thing in my documentary on that hotel, Checking In: The Story of the Book-Cadillac Hotel . And my documentary wrapped production in June of 200 5 . There you have it. The Detroit Free Press . Now only three years behind the curve on their stories. For anyone who is interested, you can see an except of my documentary - narrated by the extremely talented Ann Marie Weinert - on-line here . You can also buy the DVD by clicking here . Folks in the mainstream media just might want to check my film out, if only so they ...

I was talking with a friend of mine, Erica Dunham , recently. It turns out that she Googled herself and all she found was a series of references to that other Erica Dunham. The one from the industrial rock band Utter Null . Even when she Googled "Erica Dunham" + London, England she still didn't find anything that related specifically to her. It seems a shame to me that someone as cool as her would not have single reference to her on the entire world wide web. And now here it is. A blog post about Erica Dunham of Ann Arbor, Michigan and London, England. Complete with a photo of her from Detroit Synergy's Shop Detroit event back in December of 2005. Welcome to the Googleverse, Erica!

I saw this sign in Eastern Market, near Butchers Inn . It just cracked me up. Within minutes of this photo being taken, though, workers from the City came along to replace this stop sign with a non-graffiti version. The question is: did this graffiti pundit want us to stop Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick or City Councilman Kwame Kenyatta?

The SAE 2008 World Congress is now over. One of the cool things about this annual event is that there are always lots of cool, swanky parties after the official business. Of course, the coolest thing about the SAE World Congress is that if you put on a suit and act like you belong, you can usually walk right into these cool, swanky parties to score some really good free food and free booze. I had to work late both Monday and Tuesday so I didn't get to crash any of those parties. Yesterday, however, was a different story. I was free for some quality party crashing. I started my evening off at Coach Insignia where I managed to get into a private party that was hosted by the British Consulate. The food was top-notch (it was held at Coach Insignia, after all) and the booze was plentiful. I even picked up three toy-sized Mini Coopers that they were giving away as swag at the door. What can I say? The British really know how to throw a proper cocktail reception that simply can...

Miss America Kirsten Haglund has been filling in for a lot of prominent leaders as of late. First, she threw out the first pitch on Opening Day for the Detroit Tigers. That duty would normally be done by Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick , but he's been a little busy as of late with the whole text message scandal and being under indictment. It also turns out that will be filling in for Governor Jennifer M. Granholm at the Tulip Festival in Holland, Michigan . Governor Granholm is reportedly embarking on a trade mission and the schedule for that will conflict with the Tulip Festival. This makes two instances in less than a month where Kirsten Haglund substituted for someone at a high-profile event. I wonder: what will she do next? Well, there is the fact Pope Benedict XVI has said that he won't be available to attend the White House dinner that President George W. Bush is holding in his honor this week. Hmm.... Is it possible that Miss America Kirsten Haglund could fill in for ...