cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/39826599

Sly Stone, the American musician who lit up generations of dancefloors with his gloriously funky and often socially conscious songwriting, has died aged 82.

“After a prolonged battle with COPD and other underlying health issues, Sly passed away peacefully, surrounded by his three children, his closest friend and his extended family,” a family statement reads. “While we mourn his absence, we take solace in knowing that his extraordinary musical legacy will continue to resonate and inspire for generations to come.”

Live on Old Grey Whistle Test.

Be vigilant; guard your mind against negative thoughts. -- Gautama Buddha
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Attention: metroDetroit™-specific content. Deal.

…but the three giant abstract sculptures are still part of Lakeside's repurposed future.

^Untitled^ ^by^ ^Fletcher^ ^Benton^^,^ ^JC^ ^Penney^ ^court^ ^at^ ^Lakeside^ ^Mall.^
^Photo:^ ^Mitch^ ^Hotts,^ ^Macomb^ ^Daily^

“We have been deeply moved by how much Lakeside Mall has meant to the Sterling Heights community for nearly 50 years,” Allison Greenfield, principal of Leviathan Development and chief development officer of Lionheart Capital, said in a news release. “This inspired us to create plans for repurposing the existing public art within the reimagined Lakeside. One of Lionheart’s main pillars is to reduce waste and facilitate reuse of serviceable materials and items, when possible, in the redevelopment process.”

Emphasis mine. Am I the only one who finds this statement…meaningless? How is "repurposing the existing public art" going to help in this lofty goal? They're demolishing the place and most likely disposing of the tons of rubble in the most traditional and cost-effective manner. Hardly "reduce-reuse-recycle." Empty, useless marketingspeak and a little tone-deaf too.

^Untitled,^ ^Bruce^ ^Beasley^^,^ ^Lakeside^ ^Mall.^
^Photo:^ ^Lakeside^ ^Mall^

Lakeside Town Center will feature residences, parks, a hotel, office spaces, retail outlets, dining establishments, and more. Approximately 30 acres will be dedicated to the new public spaces, incorporating the repurposed sculptures from Lakeside Mall. “This thoughtful integration will enhance the community’s cultural landscape and preserve the artistic legacy of Lakeside,” officials said in the release.

^Untitled,^ ^Buky^ ^Schwartz,^ ^Macy's^ ^court^ ^at^ ^Lakeside^ ^Mall.^
^Photo:^ ^Lakeside^ ^Mall^

A date for the fixtures sale will be released later this year, according to the release.

Further reading:

• WXYZ-Detroit: 'One last glimpse'

If you can't see the crazy person on the bus, it's you.
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Jacob Russell says he’s been part of metro Detroit’s mostly white improv scene for almost 13 years and noticed his peers didn’t know much about contributions Black people made to American history. The comedian, who grew up on Detroit’s west side, said that disconnect inspired “Birth of a Ho’ Ass Nation,” a satirical one-man show to “give them a perspective of how I grew up and what I was taught.”

Russell said he was inspired to write the first play, which he first performed in 2017 and has since become a series, because he wanted to offer his audience something deeper than just jokes.

Along with writing the play, Russell, 38, plays all the characters like Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B Du Bois and Ida B. Wells. He also throws in some non-historical figures–a human version of Jim Crow, a talking lion simply named Lion and a heightened version of himself.

Everything I say is a lie…
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Michigan lawmakers didn’t just pass an $83 billion budget early Thursday, they also approved nearly 100 other bills during a marathon 19-hour session before finally breaking for summer recess.

Some of the bigger policy changes, such as opening the Legislature and governor’s office to Freedom of Information Act requests and expanding unemployment benefits to 26 weeks, made immediate headlines.

Read on to learn more about the "Taylor Swift bot ban" and the bill against the ludicrous "Gay Panic Defense."

Anger or hatred is like the fisherman's hook. It is very important for us to ensure that we are not caught by it. -- Gautama Buddha
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

I defy you to not shake your sacroiliac.

Archipelago-go! BONUS:

• Natasha - One Day

Laissez les bons temps rouler!
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Note the video's title cards…

Apocrypha: 2 Esdras 14:39-40

…and yet the duo is styled in homage to Alejandro Jodorowsky's Holy Mountain and Kenneth Anger's Lucifer Rising. A clash of non-conflicting ideas…? Artistes: whaddya gonna do with 'em?

Just as a solid rock is not shaken by the storm, even so the wise are not affected by praise or blame. -- Gautama Buddha
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On February 3, 2023, a freight train owned by Norfolk Southern carrying thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals derailed in the town of East Palestine, Ohio.. For days, flames engulfed the rail cars, which contained highly hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride and butyl acrylate, used in the production of plastic. A thick, tall plume of black smoke billowed from the accident site and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents. Now, scientists say that traces of this pollution was found across 16 states, spanning 540,000 square miles from Wisconsin to Maine to South Carolina.

When [David] Gay [National Atmospheric Deposition Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison] and his colleagues began their research, they expected pollution in western New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. The reality, he said, was much more extensive. A low pressure system helped push pollution over parts of Michigan and Wisconsin. Pollution likely made its way into all the Great Lakes, except Lake Superior, he noted.

Further reading:

• from Grist, "1 year after the toxic train derailment, is East Palestine safe? Depends on whom you ask."

Be vigilant; guard your mind against negative thoughts. -- Gautama Buddha
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

$2,300,000.00 BONUS:

• From Disney's Lady and The Tramp - The Siamese Cat Song

• From The Wonderful World of Disney, a staged voiceover session with Ms Lee

Tsk, tsk, Unca Walt…seems brother Roy and his bean counters forgot to pay Ms Lee (voice actor, singer and co-composer of the five original songs from the film) royalties when the Disney company released Lady on VHS in 1987—you say "copies," I say "transcriptions." Maybe they were too busy plotting the Mickey Mouse Preservation Act with Sen Sonny Bono…?

Ms Peggy Lee, Unca Walt and Sen Bono would like to inform you all that in the United States of America you may do as you please with the following Public Domain image, be it reproduction and sale on t-shirts, posters, or producing new adventures of the pictured character…but you're going to have to give it a new name.

Free your mind and your ass will follow…
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“Today, Detroit takes a step into a major national leadership role in fighting climate change,” Duggan said at the event in the footprint of the Gratiot-Findlay project. “127 city buildings are currently powered by 33 megawatts of energy per year from traditional sources, largely fossil fuels,” Duggan said. “In the next two years, we are going to build solar fields that are going to produce that 33 megawatts of energy in renewable energy, effectively generating all the power for city buildings from solar fields.”

Duggan said Monday that the program targets “some of the most blighted areas in the city” and would be “helping neighborhoods that think they’ve been forgotten.”

Homeowners in the footprint of the proposed solar fields stand to receive twice the fair market value of their homes or $90,000, whichever is higher, while renters will get 18 months of rent to relocate. Homeowners within community benefits areas surrounding the projects will receive $15,000 to $25,000 each for energy efficiency upgrades.

Support for solar arrays in city neighborhoods has been far from unanimous. Detroit dropped a plan for a project in Grixdale Farms after residents raised concerns about the potential for solar fields to hurt property values or add to issues with blight and crime in the area outside the project’s footprint.

Plunk your magic twanger, Froggy!
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According to the state, a small population of juvenile spotted lanternfly was recently detected in Lambertville [Monroe County]. The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the findings last week.

~Adult~ ~spotted~ ~lanternfly.~ ~Photo:~ ~Pennsylvania~ ~Department~ ~of~ ~Agriculture,~ ~bugwood.org~

“The infestation was detected through spotted lanternfly monitoring traps deployed by Michigan State University (MSU), as part of collaborative survey initiatives with MSU, MDARD, and the USDA,” MDARD’s Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division Director. Steve Carlson said in a statement. “This work is a critical component of our ongoing efforts to identify and limit the spread of spotted lanternfly in Michigan.”

The spotted lanternfly is an invasive plant hopper native to eastern Asia. It was first found in the U.S. in 2014 and spread rapidly.

See it. Squish it. Report it.

According to Michigan.gov's Michigan Invasive Species website…

Spotted lanternfly feeds on more than 70 different plants including grapes, apples, hops and hardwood trees. The insects cause direct damage by sucking sap from host plants and secreting large amounts of a sugar-rich, sticky liquid called honeydew. This honeydew and the resulting black sooty mold can kill plants and foul surfaces. The honeydew often attracts other pests like yellow jackets, flies, and ants, affecting outdoor recreation and complicating crop harvests.

Anger or hatred is like the fisherman's hook. It is very important for us to ensure that we are not caught by it. -- Gautama Buddha
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

The Fluoxetine Quartet, a ray of sunshine each and every one of 'em, captured live way back in June 23, 2006 CE, circa five years after the fall of the Roman Empire.

Reference-1000Hz-Tone BONUS:

• The Normal (Daniel Miller) - Warm Leatherette

The minimalist classic.

A lot of people don't realize what's really going on. They view life as a bunch of unconnected incidents and things. They don't realize that there's this, like, lattice of coincidence that lays on top of everything.
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