Filming has begun for the Detroit portion of the latest DL! documentary (info here) and we’re pretty pumped. We’re rocking a pretty great team with Steven Oliver on the camera and Nick Enright rocking the sound. Sean Redenz, when he’s available, just helps with everything– a true jack of all trades. We’ve got a full schedule for the next two weeks, after which we’ll be capturing b-roll and then hound-dogging this boat right in to post production (editing). There’s some film festivals that have rough cut late submission deadlines at the end of September, so we’re gunning for that. It’s awfully ambitious given that the film is looking to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 30-45 minutes (don’t quote me on that), but hey, I guess that’s how we roll.

In the meantime, I’ll be doing my best to talk about fantastic articles like this one– click here– discussing ex-Detroit Tiger Ty Cobb, the Woodbridge neighborhood and the future trajectory of the city. This line about sums it all up:

“Ty Cobb can be a cruel man, and at the same time be a misunderstood hero. Detroit can be both a ravaged, bleeding city and an inspired place where creative people are imagining new ways for an urban center to be successful. In fact, that’s exactly what is true.”

Author Anna Clark hits the nail on the head in many ways balancing Detroit’s sugar sweet and sour, using Cobb as the comparison device. In a lot of ways it totally works. It’s also rich with history and things that I never knew about Detroit which makes it that much more worthwhile. Just read the article. Really. It’s worth it.

And that’s no joke. In the same day that we finished the WE KAHN DO IT! mural at Brush and Milwaukee as part of the MANTRACITY series, we also reached our funding goal on Kickstarter. Kind of ironic.

A special hearty thanks to Patrick Thompson of Patrick Thompson Design for starting the mural idea on his wall. Another bear hug to John George and Blight Busters for the lift truck so we could reach the top of that 35 foot wall-beast. Chazz Miller is the man with the plan over at Public Art Workz. He free-handed that “We” up at the top of the mural and brings all kinds of energy. Another thank you to Torya Blanchard of Good Girls Go to Paris Crepes for driving by every day we were painting with that giant smile yelling out her window “IT LOOKS GOOD!”

Wow.

So much goodness. Seriously, people. Rock the house. Cue the Ice Cube, get some fresh squeezed OJ or perhaps a bloody mary– today is a good day.

Things are now in full gear prepping for the Poland trip thanks to all of you and your contributions. There is just no way we could have done it without you. Flights are leaving May 22! Production on the Poland end is in high gear lining up folks for interviews and some other odds and ends. We’re moving—

Moving so fast that, believe it or not, the second MANTRACITY mural starts tomorrow. Woodbridge is the next stop. You betcha. WAKE UP START DREAMING!