Saturday afternoon market.

We’re stuck between over the river and through the woods and chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

Posted at 12:32 pm in Detroit life, iPhone |
 

35 responses to “Saturday afternoon market.”

  1. JayZ(the original) said on November 13, 2010 at 1:47 pm

    Nice place to be stuck.

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  2. Judybusy said on November 13, 2010 at 3:54 pm

    Oh, all that looks lovely. One of our neighborhood markets had a holiday market today, but I didn’t go, as we had a snow storm and the conditions are terrible.

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  3. brian stouder said on November 13, 2010 at 4:18 pm

    Snowstorm? Wherabouts? (here in northern Indiana, it is almost warm outside, quite windy, and a little sprinkly. Go anywhere near a mall or shopping center, and prepare to be gridlocked; holiday shopping is upon us! I think the economy is turning upward again)

    Here’s an interesting article, I thought. Break on through to the other side, indeed

    http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/11/12/davis.morrison.pardon/index.html?hpt=Sbin

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  4. Holly said on November 13, 2010 at 5:37 pm

    I do my Christmas shopping about 3 weeks before Christmas. It works well for me. On the weekends I get up very early in the morning to make sure that I am one of the first at the mall. I have a list of who I am buying for that day. I get all the shopping done that I need to do and when I am done and leaving everyone is just starting to come in. Then I go home and go back to bed. That is the only time during the holiday season that I am near a mall.

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  5. Linda said on November 13, 2010 at 5:48 pm

    It was nice here (Toledo), until it turned cloudy and threatening, in about 10 minutes. But I got leaves raked and the fence fixed, and helped my mom do most of her Christmas shopping. The lady across the street already has her lights up and, much as I hate the early Christmas stuff, it is pretty.

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  6. Dexter said on November 13, 2010 at 8:14 pm

    About a year ago nance hinted that the improper use of “literally” was an irritant.
    When I tried to explain “literally v. actually” I was lacking in proper words, so I looked it up. I found this link very informative. I used to over-use “literally “. No more. The audio link here is entertaining, and only seven minutes.
    http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/podcasts/grammar_grater/archive/2009/11/12/

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  7. Kirk said on November 13, 2010 at 8:54 pm

    I like when sports goobs say a winning team “literally blew them off the field.”

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  8. Linda said on November 13, 2010 at 10:03 pm

    I like when sports goobs say a win­ning team “lit­er­ally blew them off the field.”

    Well, if they are going to be doing such naughty things, it should really be off the field, so as not to scare the horses.

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  9. deb said on November 13, 2010 at 10:16 pm

    sports goobs are truly the mr. malaprops of the journalism world. a sports bozo i knew in college was notorious for saying something was “a mute point.” if only he’d been mute. now he’s in politics. figgers.

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  10. deb said on November 13, 2010 at 10:17 pm

    sorry, that probably should’ve been messrs. malaprop…

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  11. Kirk said on November 13, 2010 at 10:55 pm

    “That loss literally ripped their heart out.” Heard that one on local TV just a few weeks ago.

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  12. brian stouder said on November 13, 2010 at 11:51 pm

    Well, if it was a bad wreck at a motorcar race, they might be able to say something like that (and we’ll resist the temptation to make a sick joke about this or that famous driver literally knocking his brains out against a wall)

    I am literally counting the hours until the Formula One finale at Abu Dhabi at a track that is literally the most strikingly beautiful facility in all of motorsports.

    I am literally not kidding about that!

    (let’s see if that trick worked)

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  13. Kirk said on November 13, 2010 at 11:55 pm

    Ferrari fan?

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  14. MichaelG said on November 14, 2010 at 2:09 am

    Weather’s been beautiful here over the last couple of days.

    I’d like to watch the F-1 race, Brian but I’m not getting up at 4:30. That’s week day stuff. Maybe they’ll replay it later. Sometimes they do.

    I went to one of those GoodGuys car shows today at the Alameda Cty fairgrounds. Lots of cars, all American. One can only look at so many Camaros and Chevelles. I think I’ll pass next time.

    Highlight of the show for me was a ’61 Plymouth Fury Sonoramic Commando (I have a picture of the badge) that even the owner cheerfully agrees is the ugliest car of all time. http://www.pbase.com/image/43083861

    It’s all original, even the paint (which is to say, slightly tatty) with a huge original equipment 413 engine sporting a pair of four bbl carbs on sweeping cross ram induction intake manifolds and three, yes, three on the floor. And a square steering wheel. The owner intends to preserve the car as a driver without restoring it. It’s an extremely rare car that would be worth a lot of money but the guy loves it and enjoys driving it to shows all over the west. He recently drove it to Idaho for a show. We need more guys like him and fewer Barrett-Jackson Auctions.

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  15. alex said on November 14, 2010 at 9:15 am

    MichaelG, those early ’60s Chrysler products certainly do take the prize for ugliest. I read that this came about as a result of some bad intelligence gleaned by Chrysler execs about what their competition was doing.

    Virgil Exner—the same guy who designed the revolutionary “flyte sweep” Chryslers pre-1961, arguably the handsomest cars in the industry—was charged with revamping everything for the 1961 model year and he penned some fabulous designs. However, at the eleventh hour, orders came down from the top brass that the cars would need to be scaled down in size because GM and Ford were downsizing their cars and Chrysler didn’t want to be out of step with the others. Exner’s brilliant work didn’t translate well into the smaller scale and was butchered in the execution. And then it turned out that GM and Ford weren’t downsizing at all and Chrysler was stuck not only with the ugliest offerings but also the smallest.

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  16. alex said on November 14, 2010 at 10:17 am

    Whups. Looked at wiki on Exner and it was the 1962 models that were downsized. Exner described them as “plucked chickens” and he was also made the scapegoat for their failure and was fired by Chrysler. He had a heart attack during the planning of the 1961 models and that probably explains why they look like they do.

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  17. brian stouder said on November 14, 2010 at 10:22 am

    Kirk – my brother is a Ferrari fan; he roots for that team, whoever the current drivers are. I became a confirmed Formula One fan right after Senna literally raced his brains out at Monza in 1994; there was this young fellow at Benetton who, with a customer-Ford engine no less! – was challenging the almighty Renault powered Williams of Senna and Damon Hill (son of Graham Hill, another F1 world champion) – and I became a Michael Schumacher fan.

    More recently, I like Mark Webber (who has a wonderful Australian accent and attitude), or, ANYONE but Sebastian Vettel!! Honestly, I think I NOW see why so many people detested Michael Schumacher all those years when I was rooting for him!

    I think my brother is more attuned to the way a real F1 fan should be. He is first, last, and always a fan of the team; whereas for me there are drivers I really like (Webber, Hamlton, and of course Barrichello) and drivers I dislike (Vettel!, and Alonso); and the teams are non-factors. (although I will say – when the F1 circus would come to Indianapolis, I always made a point of visiting the McLaren area in the infield; those folks really put the dog out!)

    Anyway Michael – when F1 is in Europe, the race can usually be seen live around 8 in the morning on a Sunday (they run the race usually at mid-day wherever they are). In recent years, though, they race more and more in Asia, and the mid-day live broadcast is indeed in the wee hours here. Today’s race in Abu Dhabi is the only one that they start in daylight and run into the night, so that the live broadcast was again at a reasonable morning hour.

    But aside from all that, ever since our satellite provider supplied us with a dvr, the thing automatically catches the F1 stuff for me (literally as a sheet might catch the morning dew) and then I can watch it whenever; and counterbalance all the stuff Pam catches on the dvr!

    Alex and Michael – I always thought Chryslers were the ugliest cars around; but when their grills literally
    frowned
    that struck me as pretty cool. (plus, my dad once literally made this joke come true: he went out shopping for a car and came home in a fury)

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  18. Holly said on November 14, 2010 at 1:55 pm

    FERRARI-Maybe next year. I have been watching F1 since I married my husband in 1980. We are all Ferrari fans. We named a pet Enzo. I wish that they would have a race in the states. I would like to see a race again but it would have to be in Montreal. Driving from Chicago to Montreal is just so long. We did that one time and got lost. Added 2 hours to our trip. I have been to Detroit and also Indianapolis. At one of the races I remember seeing a shirt that said “Its not a win without a Fin”. There is just something about being at the race. The sound of the engine is amazing. Nothing you have heard before. The mix of people.

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  19. brian stouder said on November 14, 2010 at 2:32 pm

    There is just some­thing about being at the race. The sound of the engine is amaz­ing. Noth­ing you have heard before. The mix of peo­ple.

    Holly – you got that right! We’d go on the Saturday (the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is only 90 minutes from our door to the free North parking lot), and often as not I’d still be parking when the sound of the first cars rolling out in the morning warm-up would electrify the air.

    And the mix of people was always half the show! Race fans are race fans, but there is a decided bling-factor in a Formula One crowd. My son (who, often as not, would get waved in for free; while I paid $20 for a full day of racey cars) and I had a pleasant conversation with fellows who had flown in from California for the race one year; their wives deplaned in Chicago to shop the weekend away, and they were happy as pigs in mud (pigs wearing Rolex watches, but still). Every time we ever went, we’d end up in pleasant conversations with other F1 fans in the stands.

    And, I remember another time when a large crowd of people (all drinking their Fosters beer) were waving their Columbian flag (I believe they were fans of Juan Pablo Montoya of Williams) and trying to out-cheer another large group of people who were waving their Ferrari flag (we steered around them); and another time, I brushed past Jean Todt back in the infield, where throngs were waiting for any glimpse of a driver. (I was on a mission to go see the Mercedes Safety Car up close, and in this we succeeded!)

    The smell of charcoal grills always and immediately remind me of being at a race track – whether Michigan International Speedway back in CART days, or Indy for F1.

    Anyway – I was only unhappy about today’s race for a few seconds; but really, the new World Champion was more than deserving. The fellow threw away more points than half the field scored, through the course of this year.

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  20. MaryRC said on November 14, 2010 at 2:32 pm

    Nancy, have you seen Rachel Ray’s recipe for Late Night Bacon? Try sorting the reviews by “Most Helpful” to see the funniest ones.

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  21. Deborah said on November 14, 2010 at 2:33 pm

    Look out, Bob Greene has a piece in the NYT today.

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  22. MichaelG said on November 14, 2010 at 4:26 pm

    Lord, MaryRC, those comments were the best ever. I’m still giggling. I’m gonna email that to everyone.

    Brian, what you posted is a ’60 Plymouth. No prize to be sure, but no match in ugly for the world beater ’61. The Exner years started with the ’55s. The ’55 through ’57 cars were the best for my money. The ’62 through ’64 are starting to look nicer to me nowadays. I saw a couple of them yesterday.

    I’ve only been to one F-1 race. That was in Long Beach back in ’76. The race was won by Clay Regazzoni in a Fazzaz. The paddock area was quite accessible, no drivers though and I had a great time.

    I’ve been to a number of Indy Car races at Laguna Seca. I find Indy Car/CART to be a more entertaining and competitive series than F-1. It’s been six or seven years since I last went. The paddock there was very accessible and the drivers were friendly, hanging around after the race to sign autographs and meet the fans.

    I’m sure you’d appreciate, Brian, the staggering number of beautiful women in attendance at Laguna. I don’t know what it is about high dollar racing and the way it attracts women, but wow.

    Laguna, by the way is a wonderful track. I’ve been to dozens of races there, club races, Indy Car/CART and the old Can-Am races.

    The corkscrew is everything people say it is. The wildest sight I’ve seen there was the late Mark Donohue wrestling that huge Penske SUNOCO Porsche 917/30 panzer through the corkscrew, fighting turbo lag, flames coming out of the exhaust on the overrun, a loud bang ensuing when he got back on the throttle, the car sideways heading for the next turn about 200 meters away and Donohue upshifting (!) with another bang in the little chute there before disappearing downhill around the left hand turn. I have no idea how he did it but he did it lap after lap. In traffic.

    I had a driver tell me once that the corkscrew was easy. You merely arrived at the top of the hill, closed your eyes, jerked the wheel left, then right, reopened your eyes and everything would be fine. If you missed, you’d end up in Salinas.

    Sears Point is a terrific track too.

    Speed will replay the F-1 race in ten minutes. Bye.

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  23. Bob (Not Greene) said on November 14, 2010 at 5:06 pm

    And the Bob Greene column in the NYT is about … well, nothing. It’s main thrust appears to be that cigarette advertising in the old days was, gosh, different. Thanks for the keen insight Bob!

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  24. brian stouder said on November 14, 2010 at 5:38 pm

    Michael – I was trying to not sound too sexist, but indeed, lots and lots of high-maintenance women abounded at the F1 weekends. At first glance, it looked like a lot of fathers had brought their princess daughters to the event, but upon further examination, the relationships on display were something else.

    I definitely envy your proximity to Laguna Seca; a place I have only ever seen on TV. I remember years ago, when Alex Zanardi pulled off a miraculous pass in the corkscrew, which has to be on any list of finest moments in open-wheel racing!

    I was a huge CART fan from 1996 until ’03 or thereabouts. The death of Greg Moore in ’99 at Fontana (on Halloween?) literally ripped my heart out (sorry, Kirk!)….or at least – cast a pall on my enthusiasm for a good long while.

    I have spent whole race weekends at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin (a beautiful, beautiful place) and at Mid Ohio race course near Mansfield, Ohio. You just cannot beat an environment like that, where you can wander about, pick a vantage point, watch the race, change spots, etc. Plus, Johnsonville bratwurst seems to be cooking everywhere at Road America, and puts a very pleasant aroma into the air. The carousel, Hurry Downs, and Canada Corner all offer superb racing.

    Lots of pretty women in Wisconsin and Ohio, too, but women who look like the same age as their significant others.

    I agree that American open wheel was always better than F1, in those days. Maybe it will come back to that again, when Chevrolet/GM comes back into the series with Honda. It would be good to see Ford come back in, too.

    PS – Speaking of palls, Michael Schumacher almost literally lost his head on the first lap; scarey accident, indeed. That guy should have stayed retired. Afterall, he has more money than any mortal can spend, and he’s won all the honors (again and again). And yet, it’s never enough, is it?

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  25. MichaelG said on November 14, 2010 at 6:32 pm

    The race just ended. That was a scary crash for Schumacher. For a second there, I thought Vettel was going to do a Carl Edwards back flip.

    You just brought out the charm of watching sporty cars as opposed to the roundy rounds. Strolling here and there around the track, checking out different viewing areas, checking out the crowd.

    I once went to a race at Sears. Later I was comparing pictures with the friend I had gone with. He had taken pictures of nothing but girls.

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  26. Dexter said on November 14, 2010 at 7:15 pm

    Man, Bob Greene just mailed that one in…very lightweight writing. I wonder if Merry Sunshine is gobbling down cheeseburgers now. I wonder if she has anything to do with her father.

    I like J Mays designs. He’s the best car designer today .

    I used to cruise around in my buddy’s 1961 Valiant. I thought it was a funny-lookin’ car, but I was glad for the transpo.

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  27. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on November 14, 2010 at 8:26 pm

    The Mount Vernon, OH story is getting a bit better, but there’s a grim implication in the hopeful development:

    http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2010/11/14/story-mount-vernon-ohio-missing-girl-found.html

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  28. Dorothy said on November 14, 2010 at 8:57 pm

    thanks for posting that, JTMMO. I was just about to do so. It’s terrific that the girl was found alive, but I’m thinking it doesn’t look so great for the remaining three who are missing. Fingers crossed here but I’m guessing they might get a confession out of the guy who is in custody.

    We don’t drive down that street very often (where they found the girl) but we did about 3 weeks ago when taking some scrap metal to the recycle place. After the huge fire on October 25th in downtown Mount Vernon, and now this, it’s been a wild few weeks around here.

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  29. brian stouder said on November 14, 2010 at 10:19 pm

    Wow. What a monster.

    The peripheral questions that strike me about the guy they arrested are:

    Ten gallons of gasoline to cover a burglary? 10 gallons!? – in an condominium complex?? And the judge wanted to go easy on him? If the term “terrorist” means anything at all, this guy is one.

    How did he afford a 5-bedroom house? How was he keeping body and soul together?

    Aside from that, it certainly looks like the surviving girl was the real target, and the others were in the way; which seems to foreshadow grim discoveries in the depths of that gravel pit….but here’s hoping for a better outcome than that.

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  30. alex said on November 14, 2010 at 10:30 pm

    Brian, the ’62 Mercury wins the frown contest.

    The “ ’62 Ford looks pretty pissed off too.

    The reason the ’57 Chevy’s an all-time classic? Them smilin’ eyes.

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  31. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on November 14, 2010 at 11:37 pm

    This reminds me also of the many unedifying discussions about the “necessity” of torture. Fine, here’s an even more immediate case. Do you really think that we’re going to learn faster, better information by putting matches to this guy’s feet (gratifying though the image may be, all things as they’re currently known), versus putting him in a chair in a room with a well-trained interrogator? I’m fine with limited comfort and toilet breaks and a certain amount of sleep deprivation when you have time pressures and immediate reason to believe they have information they’re not sharing, but even that’s not out of a spirit of retaliation, but because we don’t have time to be casual and slow-moving about the discussion.

    If you move to the intentional infliction of fear and/or pain, I don’t see how you get more useful information, as opposed to the high likelihood of responses crafted to change the immediate circumstances. God send I not be tested directly on this, but if one of those women was my wife, I’d still not want the pathetic goober tortured to find out where he was keeping her, or how. Pressure and urgency communicated with great clarity, but if you shoot him in the thigh, you get endorphins and adrenaline talking, and they’ll say anything.

    Latest, so to speak: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OHIO_FAMILY_MISSING

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  32. Dexter said on November 14, 2010 at 11:38 pm

    Alex, the 1996 Taurus makes some hungry for fried catfish.
    http://tinyurl.com/2wg4jzz

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  33. Catherine said on November 15, 2010 at 12:06 am

    Jeff tmmo, preach it.

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  34. alex said on November 15, 2010 at 7:18 am

    Agreed, Dex.

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  35. Jolene said on November 15, 2010 at 8:58 am

    There was a fascinating story about coerced confessions on Frontline last week. Several people confessed to and were convicted of a rape-murder that it appears they did not commit. They’ve now been released, but were not pardoned. It’s mind-boggling that these confessions could be elicited, but it appears that that’s what happened. Too many details to go into, but it’s worth checking out online. Certainly made me dubious about the idea of “enhanced interrogation.”

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