Let's Hear It For Detroit

 

Imagine this, punters, if you can. I moved from South Ken in London to Windsor/Detroit in '97. (Excuse me, were you utterly insane? Apparently yes) Why? For love and adventure, obvs. That aside, I'd email friends in the UK, yes, we had email then if just, as to what the New MI world was like. I don't think they believed me because so very far outside the UK thing. Hey, I was pulling punches, for what it's worth.

Whatev. I understand from reliable sources on the ground that the Motor City ain't as desolate as it used to be. As in, Downtown and Wayne State zones are being reclaimed for white civilization, by white people. Possibly, hope so, and let's repeat the mantra, "It's coming back, man." Huh. Here's a song:

Huh. Crawled Outta The Trailer And Into The Big Time

You only get one shot. Well he ain't wrong, eh? Trigger pressure and muscle memory forever. See you on 8 Mile, on the top floor of the Caddy and at the Club. So.

All Best,

LSP

Detroit Comeback?

"That's not the Philippines that's Detroit you idiot," Spoiler 216

Are you in the music industry? It was 1997 and I was in a cab, fresh out of London and heading to the Town Pump in what passed for downtown Detroit. It was a neat evening and, long story short, I moved. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

But what a culture shock, London to Detroit. It's hard to describe even now and it was harder then. Miles of abandoned or half abandoned city blocks, criss crossed by highways and an unrelenting ghetto of decaying, abandoned, burned out, crack den dystopia. And I didn't see the half of all 138 square miles of it.

Is there anything like it in England? I don't think so and feel that friends in the Old Country thought my email reports were tall tales. No, they weren't. Then again, no city in England has lost a million plus inhabitants in the last 50 years and gone from being the automotive capital of the world to... not. So you can excuse incomprehension.

Fast forward to today. I visit the onetime Motor City when I can and always have fun; it's good to see the city's downtown and immediate neighborhoods looking less blighted and no wonder. The burned out crack houses have fallen down and reverted to nature, leaving what was once a city open to agrarian white hipsterdom. Hey, go for it kids. And the result?

A small island of central civility in the increasingly empty shell of a once major city. Not dissimilar, when you think of it, to ancient Rome following the breakdown of western imperial authority. But will America's Motor City grow wings and fly again? 

Sometimes a song is worth a thousand words.

Your Old Friend,

LSP

Out of Jail

It took a while but Blue Perpetrator finally got out of jail. In fact, the town's Animal Police Department (APD) dropped him off at the Compound yesterday morning. Thanks, APD, 'preciate it.

It must have felt good to be out of the cells and Blue Freedom leaped and bounded for joy on the porch before heading inside. 

He'd paid his debt and done his time, now he was enjoying the sweet air of freedom. We tested that this morning with a walk to the Pick 'n Steal. Would he nip at anyone's heels in a fit of overprotective loyalty?

No, he did not. He even ignored the bearded hipster in a ball cap and ironic shirt that went into the shop to buy whatever it is hipsters buy, "Sorry, fella, there's no artisanal coffee here in repurposed jute tumblers, and watch out for the dog."

Well done, Blue Jailbreak. Now you are free. In other exciting news, Compound HQ's about to get a repaint. About time!

God bless,

LSP