In the efforts of trying to make money on my photography- I have started a professional website! Go take a look, please? Pretty please?
Michelle L. Premer Photography
Michelle L. Premer Photography
I have not died. I am simply going through a lot of troublesome times lately. My father had to close the family business thus making me jobless in this shit ass economy. So I am filling out applications left and right for jobs that are less then what I think is perfect in hopes of starting to help pay the house bills... This sucks... That's why I have been so gone...
This is an edited and tweaked photo from one of two massive shoots yesterday. Got to the studio at noon, didn't leave again till 10:45pm... But we had fun! Both models and I played with new ideas that turned out epic- like this one 
Model Name: Linnee Cook
Photographer: M. Premer
Model Name: Linnee Cook
Photographer: M. Premer
New Blood on Sale as of November 27th, 2012!!!
Buy It! Love It!
Where to Get Your Copy of "New Blood"
New Blood Trailer
http://t.co/9EoJqxXF
So, these are promotional pictures by myself & the Author of the Book, Lawrence Heibel (photos given appropriate credit, of course!!) SG Kirin was also a part of this bloody good time!!! We started this adventure in early May, with our last photoshoot being a week ago this month. I know there are some vampire fans out there, and I promise, not a single one is wearing glitter, ya know, like those OTHER vampires
Tell your friends! Buy a Copy for yourself!! SG Kirin might even autograph it herself We had A LOT of fun doing this and hopefully, you all will too!!
The definition of absent: adj. 1. Not present; missing. 2. Not existent; lacking 3. Exhibiting or feeling inattentiveness 4. To keep oneself away
In short, my life here on the blog is many versions of the definition of the word, absent. And for this, I am sorry. While there have been highlights here and there, for the most part the past month has sucked, in one way or another. Stress, could be the definition of things as of late. But, stress, is mostly on its way out the door and I feel life can resume its normal pace.
My parents are settled well into their new home and Dad is all together too happy doing putter projects every night after work and making plans for other things to be done this spring when better weather holds. But they will be getting new windows installed in the second story of the house within the next 30 days. Note; these are all the windows I spent two days shrink wrapping for them Oh well, no big deal. I am sitting here at my kitchen table, looking to the East and see my family home, standing cold and dark in the lessening November evening light. And I’m not sad. I’m not happy either, but I’m not sad. I know Mom and Dad are happy in the new house, and honestly- they’ve settled in there so well it almost seems as if they’ve lived there forever, that makes me happy. Change, while it may suck while you’re in the thick of it, isn’t really so bad once you’re on the other side of it.
Another subtle reason I haven’t been blogging a lot it that I didn’t really want to voice my opinion and the never ending flood of political bullshit we’ve all been choking recently. At what point did we (as in everyone) decide to ruin friendships and force our beliefs down our friend’s throats via social media? Facebook, Twitter… you name it! Facebook has honestly been the worst. I can’t even stand to look at it right now, and probably didn’t really look at it over the course of the past week. It sickens me to see people ripping others apart because one believed in Mittens Romney and the other one believed in Obama. Right now, on Facebook, a friend of mine’s siblings are tearing into each other left and right because of one statement made by my friend. Sick!
Did I vote for Mittens, no. Did I vote for Obama? Hell no! Because of his bank bailouts my parents are no longer living in my family home!! But I also didn’t throw away a vote be scribbling in Obi Wan Kenobi, either. I voted Libertarian. Which is a viable, yet not really supported ballot choice. All I know is that I couldn’t make myself fill in that circle next to either Obama or Mittens. But- in all honesty- the not so far fetched concept that if the election ended in a tie last night; that the US Senate would have to choose the President, and the US House of Represenatives would have to choose the Vice President… That made me smile. Almost more than my peppermint swirl shake from Arby’s I had with dinner. The idea that it could be a Romney/Biden White House, made me giggle. Dumb and Dumber anyone? Or Obama/Ryan White House? Liar and Creepy Eyes Guy? Awesome combinations don’t’ you think? Take my opinion as just that, MY opinions. I think Mittens is a Douche with no fucking clue on women’s issues other then- he’s Mormon that believes in having multiple subservient wives. And Obama? He’s just a fucking liar that backed the wrong financial horse and cost my family, and thousands of others their precious home memories.
But it’s all over now. No more political phone calls; radio ads; television mud slinging; bullshit look at me debates… It’s all done. For now. Until 2014 when the politic fueled bullshit machine winds up and starts sputtering crap clouds from its exhaust stack. Never, EVER have I been so excited at the thought of normal annoying television commercials and dare I say it… Christmas commercials. Bring’em on! Please? It’ll be better than what’s been on the last year or so…
In the other realm- my life that is- Saturday will bring a close to a project I have been a part of for the better part of the last six months. My reason for hanging out with “those model type people”. And by next week Wednesday (hopefully, crossing fingers and toes) I can really open up about what it was, what I was doing, and show you all the promotional pictures so you all can take part in it, by buying the book and e-books coming out later this month. Wahoo!!! That’s right ya’ll, I was helping a fellow photographer realize his dream of a photo-graphic novel. A graphic novel, but not one that’s drawn like a comic book. Rather photos telling a story. Stay tuned for teaser pictures getting posted next week sometime. This project has given me more than an experience. It has given me a new group of people that I consider very close personal friends. And more people for me to photograph (wink, wink).
As of Sunday afternoon, Hubby and I will be having a house guest. SD Mom will be getting picked up by us, from Grandpa’s Sunday morning and she’ll be here until Wednesday! I love her! I love hanging out with her! I love her cooking!! She finally gets to meet her new Grandpuppy, Sienna! Oh… you better believe I’ll be stocked up on wine too
In short, my life here on the blog is many versions of the definition of the word, absent. And for this, I am sorry. While there have been highlights here and there, for the most part the past month has sucked, in one way or another. Stress, could be the definition of things as of late. But, stress, is mostly on its way out the door and I feel life can resume its normal pace.
My parents are settled well into their new home and Dad is all together too happy doing putter projects every night after work and making plans for other things to be done this spring when better weather holds. But they will be getting new windows installed in the second story of the house within the next 30 days. Note; these are all the windows I spent two days shrink wrapping for them Oh well, no big deal. I am sitting here at my kitchen table, looking to the East and see my family home, standing cold and dark in the lessening November evening light. And I’m not sad. I’m not happy either, but I’m not sad. I know Mom and Dad are happy in the new house, and honestly- they’ve settled in there so well it almost seems as if they’ve lived there forever, that makes me happy. Change, while it may suck while you’re in the thick of it, isn’t really so bad once you’re on the other side of it.
Another subtle reason I haven’t been blogging a lot it that I didn’t really want to voice my opinion and the never ending flood of political bullshit we’ve all been choking recently. At what point did we (as in everyone) decide to ruin friendships and force our beliefs down our friend’s throats via social media? Facebook, Twitter… you name it! Facebook has honestly been the worst. I can’t even stand to look at it right now, and probably didn’t really look at it over the course of the past week. It sickens me to see people ripping others apart because one believed in Mittens Romney and the other one believed in Obama. Right now, on Facebook, a friend of mine’s siblings are tearing into each other left and right because of one statement made by my friend. Sick!
Did I vote for Mittens, no. Did I vote for Obama? Hell no! Because of his bank bailouts my parents are no longer living in my family home!! But I also didn’t throw away a vote be scribbling in Obi Wan Kenobi, either. I voted Libertarian. Which is a viable, yet not really supported ballot choice. All I know is that I couldn’t make myself fill in that circle next to either Obama or Mittens. But- in all honesty- the not so far fetched concept that if the election ended in a tie last night; that the US Senate would have to choose the President, and the US House of Represenatives would have to choose the Vice President… That made me smile. Almost more than my peppermint swirl shake from Arby’s I had with dinner. The idea that it could be a Romney/Biden White House, made me giggle. Dumb and Dumber anyone? Or Obama/Ryan White House? Liar and Creepy Eyes Guy? Awesome combinations don’t’ you think? Take my opinion as just that, MY opinions. I think Mittens is a Douche with no fucking clue on women’s issues other then- he’s Mormon that believes in having multiple subservient wives. And Obama? He’s just a fucking liar that backed the wrong financial horse and cost my family, and thousands of others their precious home memories.
But it’s all over now. No more political phone calls; radio ads; television mud slinging; bullshit look at me debates… It’s all done. For now. Until 2014 when the politic fueled bullshit machine winds up and starts sputtering crap clouds from its exhaust stack. Never, EVER have I been so excited at the thought of normal annoying television commercials and dare I say it… Christmas commercials. Bring’em on! Please? It’ll be better than what’s been on the last year or so…
In the other realm- my life that is- Saturday will bring a close to a project I have been a part of for the better part of the last six months. My reason for hanging out with “those model type people”. And by next week Wednesday (hopefully, crossing fingers and toes) I can really open up about what it was, what I was doing, and show you all the promotional pictures so you all can take part in it, by buying the book and e-books coming out later this month. Wahoo!!! That’s right ya’ll, I was helping a fellow photographer realize his dream of a photo-graphic novel. A graphic novel, but not one that’s drawn like a comic book. Rather photos telling a story. Stay tuned for teaser pictures getting posted next week sometime. This project has given me more than an experience. It has given me a new group of people that I consider very close personal friends. And more people for me to photograph (wink, wink).
As of Sunday afternoon, Hubby and I will be having a house guest. SD Mom will be getting picked up by us, from Grandpa’s Sunday morning and she’ll be here until Wednesday! I love her! I love hanging out with her! I love her cooking!! She finally gets to meet her new Grandpuppy, Sienna! Oh… you better believe I’ll be stocked up on wine too
To “Frankstein” something: an amalgamation of numerous objects mish-mashed together to fashion one whole thing. I.E. Frankenstein, the monster. He was comprised of numerous pieces and parts of human flesh sewn together by the spooky doctor Viktor in order to create a “living” creature.
Frankenstorm: a weather situation that has rarely been seen- EVER. The deadly combination of three serious weather systems to create “The Perfect Storm”. They made a movie about that once. Mark Walberg and George Clooney died on a fishing boat in the Atlantic Ocean of Glouster, Maine. Didn’t end well. At all. For anyone.
I will admit, I am addicted to the television coverage. Normally, a Catergory 1 Hurricane- Bah! Not much but a little wind, lots of rain… But hell- when I lived in North Carolina, we still went out to dinner and to the movies! And then we got really, really drunk. This isn’t JUST a Cat 1 storm, this is much much more. And as they are hyping on all the news media outlets- this storm is barreling in on a highly populated, low lying part of our country that never sees storms like this! Lower Manhattan has been evacuated! They will be closing all the major bridges and tunnels in NYC as of 2pm today due to high winds and flooding due to the full moon swollen high tides. All mass transit for NYC has been shut down. And worse then all that? Starbucks is closed!! Poor, poor people…
I will create a new term… “Franken-geddon” Because, let’s face it, that’s what this will be by the time we all wake up on Wednesday morning. Three huge weather systems creating a variation of the apocalypse, made worse by the monthly full moon. Shit, let’s just add to that a few waves of zombies and get it over with!
We here in Michigan will be effected as well. Not as bad as the East Coast obviously… We have been under high wind warnings since 8pm last night. The wave forecast for the Great Lakes region has been predicted between 15-25 foot waves. So I am constantly checking the wave reports for Lake Michigan. As soon as the wave number gets high enough to compensate for the gas used to get to Grand Haven… My camera and I will be water side snapping pictures as fast as possible
Frankenstorm: a weather situation that has rarely been seen- EVER. The deadly combination of three serious weather systems to create “The Perfect Storm”. They made a movie about that once. Mark Walberg and George Clooney died on a fishing boat in the Atlantic Ocean of Glouster, Maine. Didn’t end well. At all. For anyone.
I will admit, I am addicted to the television coverage. Normally, a Catergory 1 Hurricane- Bah! Not much but a little wind, lots of rain… But hell- when I lived in North Carolina, we still went out to dinner and to the movies! And then we got really, really drunk. This isn’t JUST a Cat 1 storm, this is much much more. And as they are hyping on all the news media outlets- this storm is barreling in on a highly populated, low lying part of our country that never sees storms like this! Lower Manhattan has been evacuated! They will be closing all the major bridges and tunnels in NYC as of 2pm today due to high winds and flooding due to the full moon swollen high tides. All mass transit for NYC has been shut down. And worse then all that? Starbucks is closed!! Poor, poor people…
I will create a new term… “Franken-geddon” Because, let’s face it, that’s what this will be by the time we all wake up on Wednesday morning. Three huge weather systems creating a variation of the apocalypse, made worse by the monthly full moon. Shit, let’s just add to that a few waves of zombies and get it over with!
We here in Michigan will be effected as well. Not as bad as the East Coast obviously… We have been under high wind warnings since 8pm last night. The wave forecast for the Great Lakes region has been predicted between 15-25 foot waves. So I am constantly checking the wave reports for Lake Michigan. As soon as the wave number gets high enough to compensate for the gas used to get to Grand Haven… My camera and I will be water side snapping pictures as fast as possible
Many of them, actually. When the universe decides that dramatic changes must be made in our lives, often we are forced into following the cosmic path into the unknown. A few changes, while at least one is under our own power, will be told to you all when the time is deemed appropriate- the most dramatic of the them is the basis for this blog today.
Last week, my family was dealt a blow. A gust of life changing wind that cut through flesh and chilled the bones. This blow not only took the air from everyone’s lungs, but also ushered in the newness about to unfold.
The home that I’ve always known as “home”, the house that my parents and grandparents built by hand in the middle of an old corn field was taken away from my parents by Fannie Mae. That failure of a bank that Obama decided to save. Well, gee, thanks, Mr. President. Now go fuck yourself. All of you. I am so glad that we the tax payers paid to save a bank that would have been better left to fold like a house of cards- instead, by working and paying taxes- I took my own parents home from them!
In less than 30 days now, I will have to wake up every morning, look out my kitchen window, and realize that Mom and Dad don’t live there anymore. The shop will still be there and I will remain working there, that is all safe. As is the family pet cemetery that I will admit the digging up and moving of our beloved animals has been a nightmare of mine more than a time or two recently. In less than 30 days, I will no longer be able to walk up the driveway and cuddle mom’s dogs and have a cup of coffee with her when I am done with my shop runs. In less than 30 days, my nephew won’t be getting off the school bus and running up the driveway to go play at Gramma’s house.
To say this sucks- is a mild statement. Sour cream mild. But then again- I cannot find the right words to properly habanero pepper explain how I’m feeling, either. Instead it’s an ache. A dull, nagging ache that will not go away, at all. And ache that is almost completely gone one moment then comes back with a gut wrenching, teary-eyed vengeance. An ache that has affected my sleep, affected my eating, affected how I look at the world right now.
Mom and Dad already have a new place to seek shelter, it pays to have a community of friends that no longer places a stigmatism on the term of “Foreclosure”. Instead now, everyone knows someone that’s been through one, have been through one, or are themselves facing one! And that, everyone, is fucking pathetic. I am so glad that our nation is in such “good standing” says those asshats that want to be our president for the next four years, looking for their chance to fuck up the nation even more. Pardon me if there is a bitter taste in my mouth, Mr. Obama. You, sir, are a fucking failure.
The new house is about a mile and a half away from our happy little family corner. It’s a century old, two story farm house with old electric wiring and a new natural gas furnace. Dad’s a little miffed that there is no cable, no high speed internet, since he just canceled his wireless hot spot through Verizon. Mom, is looking forward to it, 75% of the time right now. A new house, with more windows, more floor space, enough bedrooms for them to have one to sleep in, two for the dogs, one for a “man cave” and one for an art studio.
There’s a wrap around porch, that while it needs work- Mom smiled at the thought of my hubby assisting in construction and giggling when she thought of his plumber’s crack, that she will be able to fill with potted flowers. There’s promise for her amazing ability to create breathtaking gardens from new ground. Dad loves that he will have a man cave, finally. That he is out from underneath $250,000 of debt owed to a massive bank that it too big to know what the fuck is going on anymore. While at first, they had hopes of renting this house- they are ending up buying it for an absolute steal from a man that wants to stick it to the banks, if only for a little while. And when I say steal- think… I bought my monster camera on Craigslist for $150 bucks. That’s a camera that’s still valued at close to $1500 dollars, with a $300 lens. We’re talking that kind of steal, that one you don’t pass up for anything!
But, with the anticipation of new- comes the deeply painful truth. Where I grew up as a kid with my little brother, where we played; learned to mow lawn; played pranks on each other; and so many more memories will be standing empty until some asshole somewhere decides what to do with it. Yesterday, on Hubby’s birthday, we spend most of the day there- I was packing boxes alongside Mom, while he and Dad took things down, moved lawn stuff, disconnected lights… We ended up coming home with a trunk full of stuff Mom is getting rid of. It felt like that day I came home from Gram’s apartment, two months after I got married, with a truck full of her belongings after she died. Bittersweet, since a few of the things reminded me of childhood memories, but that Mom should still have them, use them… But she is altogether scary happy that this is the “great pitch and sort” event in her life. To cleanse of the old, broken things, to wipe the dust off stuff there was never room for.
This is why I’ve been so quiet recently. This is why blogging hasn’t been a priority and neither has photography honestly. But… Time will continue to move on, won’t it? Something my dad said to me last Wednesday took a lot of the pain from this knife wound created in me by strangers far away…
“Kid… This isn’t home. This was a house that we raised our family in. Home, is where your Mom and I can put our shoes by the back door at the end of the day, and where I can curl up in my Lazy Boy with a dog in my lap… That’s home.”
Last week, my family was dealt a blow. A gust of life changing wind that cut through flesh and chilled the bones. This blow not only took the air from everyone’s lungs, but also ushered in the newness about to unfold.
The home that I’ve always known as “home”, the house that my parents and grandparents built by hand in the middle of an old corn field was taken away from my parents by Fannie Mae. That failure of a bank that Obama decided to save. Well, gee, thanks, Mr. President. Now go fuck yourself. All of you. I am so glad that we the tax payers paid to save a bank that would have been better left to fold like a house of cards- instead, by working and paying taxes- I took my own parents home from them!
In less than 30 days now, I will have to wake up every morning, look out my kitchen window, and realize that Mom and Dad don’t live there anymore. The shop will still be there and I will remain working there, that is all safe. As is the family pet cemetery that I will admit the digging up and moving of our beloved animals has been a nightmare of mine more than a time or two recently. In less than 30 days, I will no longer be able to walk up the driveway and cuddle mom’s dogs and have a cup of coffee with her when I am done with my shop runs. In less than 30 days, my nephew won’t be getting off the school bus and running up the driveway to go play at Gramma’s house.
To say this sucks- is a mild statement. Sour cream mild. But then again- I cannot find the right words to properly habanero pepper explain how I’m feeling, either. Instead it’s an ache. A dull, nagging ache that will not go away, at all. And ache that is almost completely gone one moment then comes back with a gut wrenching, teary-eyed vengeance. An ache that has affected my sleep, affected my eating, affected how I look at the world right now.
Mom and Dad already have a new place to seek shelter, it pays to have a community of friends that no longer places a stigmatism on the term of “Foreclosure”. Instead now, everyone knows someone that’s been through one, have been through one, or are themselves facing one! And that, everyone, is fucking pathetic. I am so glad that our nation is in such “good standing” says those asshats that want to be our president for the next four years, looking for their chance to fuck up the nation even more. Pardon me if there is a bitter taste in my mouth, Mr. Obama. You, sir, are a fucking failure.
The new house is about a mile and a half away from our happy little family corner. It’s a century old, two story farm house with old electric wiring and a new natural gas furnace. Dad’s a little miffed that there is no cable, no high speed internet, since he just canceled his wireless hot spot through Verizon. Mom, is looking forward to it, 75% of the time right now. A new house, with more windows, more floor space, enough bedrooms for them to have one to sleep in, two for the dogs, one for a “man cave” and one for an art studio.
There’s a wrap around porch, that while it needs work- Mom smiled at the thought of my hubby assisting in construction and giggling when she thought of his plumber’s crack, that she will be able to fill with potted flowers. There’s promise for her amazing ability to create breathtaking gardens from new ground. Dad loves that he will have a man cave, finally. That he is out from underneath $250,000 of debt owed to a massive bank that it too big to know what the fuck is going on anymore. While at first, they had hopes of renting this house- they are ending up buying it for an absolute steal from a man that wants to stick it to the banks, if only for a little while. And when I say steal- think… I bought my monster camera on Craigslist for $150 bucks. That’s a camera that’s still valued at close to $1500 dollars, with a $300 lens. We’re talking that kind of steal, that one you don’t pass up for anything!
But, with the anticipation of new- comes the deeply painful truth. Where I grew up as a kid with my little brother, where we played; learned to mow lawn; played pranks on each other; and so many more memories will be standing empty until some asshole somewhere decides what to do with it. Yesterday, on Hubby’s birthday, we spend most of the day there- I was packing boxes alongside Mom, while he and Dad took things down, moved lawn stuff, disconnected lights… We ended up coming home with a trunk full of stuff Mom is getting rid of. It felt like that day I came home from Gram’s apartment, two months after I got married, with a truck full of her belongings after she died. Bittersweet, since a few of the things reminded me of childhood memories, but that Mom should still have them, use them… But she is altogether scary happy that this is the “great pitch and sort” event in her life. To cleanse of the old, broken things, to wipe the dust off stuff there was never room for.
This is why I’ve been so quiet recently. This is why blogging hasn’t been a priority and neither has photography honestly. But… Time will continue to move on, won’t it? Something my dad said to me last Wednesday took a lot of the pain from this knife wound created in me by strangers far away…
“Kid… This isn’t home. This was a house that we raised our family in. Home, is where your Mom and I can put our shoes by the back door at the end of the day, and where I can curl up in my Lazy Boy with a dog in my lap… That’s home.”
Here's some campagin promises I know will be a hit!
If elected President- I would first and foremost legalize gay marriage. If you do not like this- may I suggest a long term vacation to Mexico? I hear the weather is always lovely there, plus it would be all you can eat tacos ALL THE TIME!!
Then, in no certain order I would do the following...
I would abolish the freedom of speech rights for anyone associated with the Westboro Baptist Church. You do not have the right to speak and/or protest at the funerals of fallen soldiers. If you are caught doing these things- you will be drawn and quartered by a motorcycle group of my choosing at said funeral for all those to laugh and point at you!
I will bring our troops home! You heard me, all our men and women in combat would be brought home to their familes immediately! As a distraction to those willing them harm- the distraction assualt- "Operation F.U." will be a bevey of tattooed beauties offering nakedness and pork products to the insurgents. Then, with a flick of my wrist- I will stratigically drop three nuclear bombs in a certain arid climate- rendering it a glass parking lot- thus ending any and all conflicts in the Middle East!
I will bring Wall Street to bear by pulling the rich bastards into the open from their private gated fortresses of wealth, forcing them to live in the most broken down parts of Detroit City while we, the 99%, divide their wealth amongst ourselves!
I will end any and all argument over abortion. A woman's body is a woman's body and only she can make the proper choice in regards to an abortion. Add to that- I will make birth control available to every woman who chooses to use it. I may also go so far as to make sure some women in the population are sterilized for the nations benefit.
I will make it mandatory for those wishing to draw on welfare, W.I.C. and other wise- you shall pass not one but three drug tests *(given at random) along with a full background check and finiancial run down prior to being given a three month probabtionary trial of welfare. You break the rules- buh bye. No more free food for you! If you are found out to be buying crap food and unhuman amounts of soda for your kids- done. No more.
I will offer you, the voting public, copies of my birth certificate, tax record filings, and a tour of my home if needs be- I will be as transparent as humanly possible- barring any scientific discoveries that would make actualy transperancy possible.
Michelle Premer for President- 2012!!!
If elected President- I would first and foremost legalize gay marriage. If you do not like this- may I suggest a long term vacation to Mexico? I hear the weather is always lovely there, plus it would be all you can eat tacos ALL THE TIME!!
Then, in no certain order I would do the following...
I would abolish the freedom of speech rights for anyone associated with the Westboro Baptist Church. You do not have the right to speak and/or protest at the funerals of fallen soldiers. If you are caught doing these things- you will be drawn and quartered by a motorcycle group of my choosing at said funeral for all those to laugh and point at you!
I will bring our troops home! You heard me, all our men and women in combat would be brought home to their familes immediately! As a distraction to those willing them harm- the distraction assualt- "Operation F.U." will be a bevey of tattooed beauties offering nakedness and pork products to the insurgents. Then, with a flick of my wrist- I will stratigically drop three nuclear bombs in a certain arid climate- rendering it a glass parking lot- thus ending any and all conflicts in the Middle East!
I will bring Wall Street to bear by pulling the rich bastards into the open from their private gated fortresses of wealth, forcing them to live in the most broken down parts of Detroit City while we, the 99%, divide their wealth amongst ourselves!
I will end any and all argument over abortion. A woman's body is a woman's body and only she can make the proper choice in regards to an abortion. Add to that- I will make birth control available to every woman who chooses to use it. I may also go so far as to make sure some women in the population are sterilized for the nations benefit.
I will make it mandatory for those wishing to draw on welfare, W.I.C. and other wise- you shall pass not one but three drug tests *(given at random) along with a full background check and finiancial run down prior to being given a three month probabtionary trial of welfare. You break the rules- buh bye. No more free food for you! If you are found out to be buying crap food and unhuman amounts of soda for your kids- done. No more.
I will offer you, the voting public, copies of my birth certificate, tax record filings, and a tour of my home if needs be- I will be as transparent as humanly possible- barring any scientific discoveries that would make actualy transperancy possible.
Michelle Premer for President- 2012!!!
Quick- when I say Detroit… What are the first things that pop into your mind? The Big Three Auto Makers, the Tigers, the Red Wings, Crime, Violence… Did I hit the nail on the head?
On Saturday- Kirin and I went out into the big world on our first official photo oriented road trip! We chatted; we bonded even more than before on the long stretches of highway on our way to Detroit. I’ve only been there probably once that you can even count, and then it was for a hockey game on the far western edge of the city. This trip took us through the heart of the city, or rather what could be considered the heart on Hospice Care.
Being a born and raised Michigan girl, I know I have fallen victim to the concept of “Detroit is big and bad and scary…” But after this weekend- I can honestly say I have a new bundle of feelings for that town in the lower right corner of the Mitten.
The main location we stayed in, is the neighborhood of the photographer (we’ll call him MG) we drove there to have shoot Kirin. MG lives in a former industrial building on Watson, one block from the main drag Woodward, in the Brush Park District. Brush Park in its “golden era” was filled to the brim with wealthy industry types living in beautiful solid red brick Victorian manors, mansions, and castles. In the 1980’s the city of Detroit started it’s down turn into the drug addled, violent “Mad Max” lifestyle so many of us assume as fact today. In 1990- the population of the City of Detroit was 1.0287 million people. The Big Three were still doing great and the town, while rough on the fringes, was still a busy city.
In the 2000’s the “take back the city” effort took hold and the majority of those beautiful mansions that had beyond fallen into disrepair started getting demolished by the 100’s. By now, the majority of them even still standing by the grip of their mortar had fallen prey to a term most of us know as “Devil’s Night”. “Devil’s Night” for those that don’t know- is the night before Halloween when violence breaks out in massive amounts, and any amateur arsonist with a gas can and a pack of matches raises hell in the vacant buildings by burning things to the ground. Or in the case of these beautiful homes- gutting them almost beyond livable conditions. By 2010- the city’s population has dwindled to 778,002 people within the limits.
I say, almost beyond livable conditions, because as Kirin and I witnessed Saturday- the homeless have taking these dilapidated carcasses of what was once a gold era for the city as their homes- shelter from the storms, the heat, and the glaring eye of the general public. As we drove to a photo shoot location through the city, up Woodward Avenue- we would pass tiny communities built around single streets with homes most only see in affluent California- sprawling compounds where the wealthy hide their indiscretions. Not a half block from their cul-du-sac made of money and luxury cars is a vacant hotel being used as a crack house- across Woodward from that- three abandonded, burned out, boarded up churches with homeless seeking shelter with nothing more than a thrown out pillow and carpet padding.
All of this started sinking in- settling in the pit of my stomach. Outside of the four square blocks around the Fillmore Theater, Comerica Park, the Fox Theater, Cobo Hall… life isn’t life anymore. Life is survival. I was sad. The smell of death filled my nose. Not “death” by way of, “something is totally dead over there...” No, it was the smell of car exhaust and decaying brick. The deeply sad sight of dressed up, drunk, and stupid Jimmy Buffet fans making their way along the sidewalks to their concert, while ignoring and shunning those poor unwashed souls begging for a dollar.
Detroit isn’t a city anymore. Detroit is very much like the rotten shells of the golden era in Brush Park, Edmund Park… You can look at it and let the sorrow those streets are filled with. Or you can look at it as a snake. Snakes shed their skin as they grow and transform- becoming something more beautiful in the long run. But how long does the run have to be for this city?
I’m not scared of Detroit anymore. Not at all. Instead I feel sorry for it. Even more so- I am furious with how the largest city in our state has been mortally wounded and left to die on the side of the progress’ highway. As a resident of our Mitten State, I am ashamed that more cannot or will not be done. Renovating a Victorian house or two isn’t help. I don’t know what would be help at this point; I just know they aren’t getting any at all. For fuck’s sake- over half of the city’s firehouses have had to close because of the condition of the city and our bullshit state legislature not funding them. Sure- Obama “bailed out” the auto makers, for all the fucking good that did… What about the city itself?
Detroit is and once was a pillar on which the foundation our state was built on. That pillar is about to crumble into oblivion, folks. What then?
On Saturday- Kirin and I went out into the big world on our first official photo oriented road trip! We chatted; we bonded even more than before on the long stretches of highway on our way to Detroit. I’ve only been there probably once that you can even count, and then it was for a hockey game on the far western edge of the city. This trip took us through the heart of the city, or rather what could be considered the heart on Hospice Care.
Being a born and raised Michigan girl, I know I have fallen victim to the concept of “Detroit is big and bad and scary…” But after this weekend- I can honestly say I have a new bundle of feelings for that town in the lower right corner of the Mitten.
The main location we stayed in, is the neighborhood of the photographer (we’ll call him MG) we drove there to have shoot Kirin. MG lives in a former industrial building on Watson, one block from the main drag Woodward, in the Brush Park District. Brush Park in its “golden era” was filled to the brim with wealthy industry types living in beautiful solid red brick Victorian manors, mansions, and castles. In the 1980’s the city of Detroit started it’s down turn into the drug addled, violent “Mad Max” lifestyle so many of us assume as fact today. In 1990- the population of the City of Detroit was 1.0287 million people. The Big Three were still doing great and the town, while rough on the fringes, was still a busy city.
In the 2000’s the “take back the city” effort took hold and the majority of those beautiful mansions that had beyond fallen into disrepair started getting demolished by the 100’s. By now, the majority of them even still standing by the grip of their mortar had fallen prey to a term most of us know as “Devil’s Night”. “Devil’s Night” for those that don’t know- is the night before Halloween when violence breaks out in massive amounts, and any amateur arsonist with a gas can and a pack of matches raises hell in the vacant buildings by burning things to the ground. Or in the case of these beautiful homes- gutting them almost beyond livable conditions. By 2010- the city’s population has dwindled to 778,002 people within the limits.
I say, almost beyond livable conditions, because as Kirin and I witnessed Saturday- the homeless have taking these dilapidated carcasses of what was once a gold era for the city as their homes- shelter from the storms, the heat, and the glaring eye of the general public. As we drove to a photo shoot location through the city, up Woodward Avenue- we would pass tiny communities built around single streets with homes most only see in affluent California- sprawling compounds where the wealthy hide their indiscretions. Not a half block from their cul-du-sac made of money and luxury cars is a vacant hotel being used as a crack house- across Woodward from that- three abandonded, burned out, boarded up churches with homeless seeking shelter with nothing more than a thrown out pillow and carpet padding.
All of this started sinking in- settling in the pit of my stomach. Outside of the four square blocks around the Fillmore Theater, Comerica Park, the Fox Theater, Cobo Hall… life isn’t life anymore. Life is survival. I was sad. The smell of death filled my nose. Not “death” by way of, “something is totally dead over there...” No, it was the smell of car exhaust and decaying brick. The deeply sad sight of dressed up, drunk, and stupid Jimmy Buffet fans making their way along the sidewalks to their concert, while ignoring and shunning those poor unwashed souls begging for a dollar.
Detroit isn’t a city anymore. Detroit is very much like the rotten shells of the golden era in Brush Park, Edmund Park… You can look at it and let the sorrow those streets are filled with. Or you can look at it as a snake. Snakes shed their skin as they grow and transform- becoming something more beautiful in the long run. But how long does the run have to be for this city?
I’m not scared of Detroit anymore. Not at all. Instead I feel sorry for it. Even more so- I am furious with how the largest city in our state has been mortally wounded and left to die on the side of the progress’ highway. As a resident of our Mitten State, I am ashamed that more cannot or will not be done. Renovating a Victorian house or two isn’t help. I don’t know what would be help at this point; I just know they aren’t getting any at all. For fuck’s sake- over half of the city’s firehouses have had to close because of the condition of the city and our bullshit state legislature not funding them. Sure- Obama “bailed out” the auto makers, for all the fucking good that did… What about the city itself?
Detroit is and once was a pillar on which the foundation our state was built on. That pillar is about to crumble into oblivion, folks. What then?
