Let The Statues Help

     Ever since General Motors decided to put their logo in blinding light atop their headquarters, the Renaissance Center, which also happens to be, for ill, Detroit's most recognizable building, it has posed a problem for those who would like to use this edificial symbol as proof of their Detroitness.  Chrysler continues to release commercials with the tag line "Imported from Detroit" showing images of their new vehicles navigating the streets of Detroit in such a way that makes the Renaissance Center conspicuous in its absence.
     Even for someone who quite literally represents the city, the new signs have presented a problem.  Take a look at the following screenshot from U.S. congressman Hansen Clarke's website:

    Two images of the GM headquarters, one with the sun's reflection obscuring the logo and the other with the logo blatantly photo-shopped away, tell us just how crucial the building is as an icon of congressman Clarke's district, a district, apparently, best viewed from another country.  As a constituent of this district I would like to suggest to congressman Clarke that there are other ways of photographing the Renaissance Center without giving the appearance of an inappropriate relationship with an auto company.  Plus, as an added extra additional bonus, you don't even have to leave the country. 

     While I'm on the subject of GM and its lighting, I would like to remind GM's head of sales and marketing, Joel Ewanick, of his quote in the New York Times back in November of 2010, where he said he was "happy the company did not go further with an alternate plan to wrap the entire top floors with electronic lighting.  'We had to stop and say, that’s too much,' he said. 'We didn’t want to look like the casinos.'"
    Now that you have wrapped the entire top floors with lighting Mr. Ewanick, do you see GM going beyond the casinos in the future?  Just wondering.

Color Allegiance Update From Hart Plaza

     If you have sworn allegiance to the periwinkle flag, your chances of having a symbol come springtime are slim.  Although the representative of your color struggles bravely against the harsh February winds, it has unfortunately been torn in half.  Still, as you know being a periwinkle devotee, this does not diminish the need for your color to be seen fluttering above the welcoming public space that is Hart Plaza. As someone really smart no doubt once said: "A world with tattered periwinkle is better than a world with no periwinkle." Far be it for the city of Detroit to question this theorem.

     Those of you who have pledged your commitment to yellow are also at risk of losing your symbol soon.  Your best hope is that your flag can survive, if only in just a handkerchief-size portion, until the dandelions arrive. 

     For the blue contingent, although not in the best of shape, it looks like you'll be able to last at least until the Hoedown when your most dangerous threat will be a drunken hillbilly who, out to impress his girlfriend, scales the flagpole and fashions himself a bandana that he will later be seen wearing as he challenges the Spirit of Detroit to a shirtless fight.

     Finally, for the red legions out there, your flag, although a bit worse for wear, looks as though it will be presentable enough to fly here, in one of the most prominent and visited areas of the city, for at least a couple more years.

      No, thank you Hart Plaza, keep up the great work, don't change a thing!