8-Wood Blog

January 11, 2016

A tribute to the brilliant sound and vision of David Bowie

David Bowie spent the past year or so working on his 25th album, Blackstar, which he released Friday, the day...

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January 7, 2016

A few words about the aging pipeline carrying oil underneath the Straits of Mackinac

It’s hard to overstate what the Great Lakes mean to those of us who live in Michigan. The freshwater seas...

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December 30, 2015

5 songs that aren’t ‘Ace of Spades’ to play loud to honor Lemmy

Nearly five years ago, my very pregnant wife and I went to a midweek brew-and-view screening of Lemmy, the documentary...

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December 20, 2015

First underpass art project is installed in Detroit’s New Center (photos)

A recent drive home took me underneath the Cass Avenue railroad viaduct, which has been dramatically re-imagined as a brighter,...

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December 15, 2015

8-Wood’s favorite albums of 2015

Full disclosure: I am not a formal rock critic (i.e. no one sends me free CDs to review). But I...

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December 9, 2015

Here’s a glimpse of the ‘speedfactory’ concept adidas wants to bring to Detroit

Global footwear manufacturer Adidas has released a video touting the “speedfactory” concept it has said it would like to establish...

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December 7, 2015

Detroit now touts greening strategies to improve quality of life, economy

More signs that post-bankruptcy Detroit is turning to new ideas and away from the failed models of the past. From...

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December 3, 2015

What’s going on with Detroit bike trail projects? Todd Scott brings us up to speed.

Bike culture is flourishing in Detroit, with plenty of exciting projects to point to as evidence. The city recently installed...

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November 25, 2015

Can we not lose our minds — and our democratic principles — over Syrian refugees?

Recently my aunt, a white-haired ordained Methodist minister who has a magic touch with children and rarely speaks up about...

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November 17, 2015

Another reason the Silverdome and Northland Mall are dead: People here like sprawl

John Gallagher, an astute urbanist who writes for the Detroit Free Press, has an interesting piece looking at the demise...

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