Just as the news couldn’t get any worse, it does. I’m fairly certain one of the film crews doing business in Michigan will soon be working on a new film with Detroit as the major theme.

Not only does Time magazine buy a house in Detroit and plan on doing a year-long story, it starts off with the most dismal photo of Detroit one could muster on its latest cover.

But in hindsight, Time should have waited until last night when an even better photo op was available even if the photographer had to be in Minneapolis.

The one bright spot in Detroit this year has been the Tigers. First place since May and 7 games up in late August, fans bought Tiger caps, shirts, and tickets. Comerica attracted over 2.5 million paying guests. Beer was flowing, bars were packed and downtown was alive even as the demolition crew was tearing down the rest of Tiger Stadium.

There are statistics for everything in sports. Even one for the chances of being in first place when you are 7 games up and losing first place. The number: 96%. If your doctor tells you that you have a 96% chance of recovery, you are very happy. If you place a bet knowing you have a 96% chance of winning, you bet more than you normally would.

But what about the 4%? That’s where the real money is made. The long shot. In an earlier blog, I wrote that people love to bet on long shots. They mostly lose. Who would have thought Detroit was going down?

On a gloomy October 7, the one bright spot has flickered out. Comerica Park’s lights won’t be on this weekend. Woodward will be quiet. Thousands of bars and sports clubs will be devoid of Tiger spirit that only days earlier were wondering how many kegs and cases to order so they wouldn’t run out. The T-shirt printers don’t need to work overtime, in fact, they don’t need to work (no one is buying Lions stuff). Hotels, taxi drivers, newspapers, radio shows and who knows how many other businesses wiped out of the lucrative play-off revenue and hype.

Sports blogger’s blame the coach. They blame the Townsend Hotel. They blame poor fielding. They blame the Tiger’s inability to score runners in position. The question is why do we have to blame anyone? The better team won. It’s time to move on.

Yes, Time has more to write about. No doubt they are excited about Kilpatrick’s return this month and the story that will produce. But one thing is for certain. We live here and the only way Detroit is going to change is because we want it to change.

And if you really want Detroit to change, visit it when Comerica and Ford Field are dark. There’s far more to it than any article Time will ever write about.

Happy Wednesday!

I was in Birmingham last Saturday night trying out the newest restaurant to open its doors and most likely after our experience, close its doors.

The place was packed. The lights in the bar were bright, the portions of food light and the prices were pre-recession 2008. So what was the buzz about?

The place was new. I should have ventured over to the Townsend Hotel where the real fun was happening.

Or I could have walked over to the Palladium Theater complex and watched Zombieland. Whatever Zombieland is about, it grossed $25M over the weekend. So what was the buzz about?

It was new.

Buzz about movies and restaurants is so prevalent, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX make it a prerequisite that box office figures for the weekend are talked about on Monday. Why? Who cares? Somebody.

Zagat has made millions doing nothing but taking peoples comments about restaurants and publishing them in neat little books. Its website features new restaurants in major cities that one cannot afford to miss out.

Who cares about buzz? According to Media Life, the hot age of moviegoers is 12-24. Not only that, frequent moviegoers have something going for them, Dynamism 5s. Most likely the same can said about those that frequent new restaurants.

For better or worse, I’m not in the movie or restaurant business. I’m in the salon and spa business. A business that needs buzz to keep it relevant and alive. Witness OPI’s Espana collection. It seems like consumers can’t get enough of it. Why?

It is new.

We need more new in our business. When more new comes, buzz comes. Stay tuned.

Happy Tuesday!

I graduated MSU in 1977 so it was 1973 when I went to my first MSU football game. I have been to most every MSU-U-M game since then. But up until last year, I couldn’t really understand why. So I came up with my Top 10 reasons why I went:

10. There would be some green in the Big House

9. Even the Lions win a game once in a while

8. Earle restaurant in Ann Arbor is great after the game to ease the loss

7. MSU did win the game once in a while and when they did. . .

6. Turkeyman barbeque is good enough reason

5. Spartan Stadium when it’s sold out gives you enough GO GREEN! for the entire year

4. I could talk to my brother in Florida about another loss

3. It’s a rivalry after all

2. I paid for the tickets so I might as well go

1. Too see if MSU can win two games in a row

It gives me great pleasure to say that after 36 years of watching MSU football, my #1 reason came to fruition. But it wasn’t pretty.

I went with my son Daniel who is never any fun to go to the game with because he went to U-M. More times than not, he is standing and cheering on his team while us pathetic Spartans sit, swear, kick seats and ask "why?"

But this time around, for the first 52 minutes, I was the one standing. Oh sure, there were the usual Spartan "are you kidding me?" moments, but none that actually got Daniel to stand up.

We dominated Michigan. They had -21 rushing yards in the fourth quarter. They only scored a meager field goal in all that time (the first one was a gift).

It was the last 8 minutes that made you wonder why you were ever a Spartan and why you still bought season tickets. In typical fashion, Michigan came back and with 2 seconds on the clock, scored. My only thought: Please, no 2-point conversion. Can you imagine if they went for it and made it? There would be no Spartan Stadium standing today. Guaranteed.

Fate was on our side in the pouring cold rain as in the end, we proved to be the better team. And when two mediocre teams play for bragging rights, none of it truly matters except the W which we will remember for a long time.

Yes sir. the 42 year old curse is over. But a team that is 2-3 when it should be 5-0 still has a long ways to go to prove itself. Dantonio escaped this one and MSU knows it’s fans endure to misery. At least once in a while they excite and Saturday they did just that.

Happy Monday!

Some events you try once and decide to move on. Luckily, the Manicure & Pedicure Summit is not one of them.

In the ultra casual environment of our Global Logistics Center, the perfect backdrop for exhibition space, lectures, eating and shopping all came together. It was a fun time for all.

CND was busy showcasing their new colour and effects line. Manicurists loved the way the effects worked over the colour and how dramatic the change was. Many shades sold out.

Steve Wallace from Medicool was busy showing off his drill collection (John Barth was ready to assist buyers). As mentioned yesterday, OPI was swamped with Soak-off demos and we had to steal their Suede’s collection to satisfy the demand.

China Glaze was doing a demo that seem to mystify everyone. Linda Woods took a glass bowl, filled it with water, and then explained the secret to nail art using polish. She took one bottle of a deep hue and dropped 3-4 drops into the bowl. They dispersed magically. She then added drops from 3 other bottles. Linda then took a straw and made swift strokes through the color. It was almost like a kaleidoscope effect. Then the fun part. She submerged a nail tip into the mix and the polish stuck to the nail tip in the same design. It truly was mystical!

Dave Albers from Graham Medical used every trick in the book to make nail wipes and towels attractive. Whether it was his logo shirt or aura, many Graham products were sold.

The lecture area was busy in the morning and it was great to see so many actually listening and paying attention.

Lunch from Jimmy John’s, chips and soda, all complimentary were enjoyed by all. After lunch, many took the tour of the facility and were amazed to see the technology at work. One manicurist commented, "Now I see why we can’t add on to our order after it is placed."

Lots of fun, lots of learning, and lots of meeting and greeting all helped to make the event successful and it will be back in 2010, September 26. Now let’s hope that is a long ways away!

Happy Friday!

All eyes were on the OPI booth at the first Annual Manicure & Pedicure Summit. It was a sight I haven’t seen in nearly 20 years when IBD introduced their UV gel system.

Manicurists are uniquely curious and when something hits their radar, they have to see it. So when the OPI tech was demonstrating the new colors from OPI’s Axxium Soak-Off gel line, a swarm of manicurists were standing and watching all day long sort of like the next big secret was going to be unveiled and you had to be there to know it.

The ooh’s and the ah’s were clearly within listening range. Once the curiosity was satisfied, it was a shopping must. The kits sold out quickly. The open stock followed. All of a sudden, nails were fun again.

Soak-Off gels in case you are new to this are sort of in the middle of nail polish and gels. They aren’t a nail extension product so you can’t build a nail. They aren’t a nail polish because you can’t simply use acetone and wipe it off.

The genius behind this new category is that unlike traditional gels and acrylics that take a long time to remove and can damage the natural nail over time, soak-off gels can be removed in a little as five minutes. OPI masterfully matched up the gel colors to their nail lacquer and the category exploded.

Here’s what I love best about this category besides the excitement level back in the industry: It’s not a consumer product that can be sold at retail. It requires a UV light cure and unless Sally Hanson gets into the UV light business, we are clear for take-off for at least a year or two.

And after nearly 20 years, it’s fun to have fun again.

Happy Thursday!

P.S. More about the Summit tomorrow