It seems as though I just blinked at Dally in the Alley and suddenly it was freezing cold with holiday lights going up everywhere and 24-hour shopping with automatic wallet extraction for our convenience. Now here we are in the brief gap between Yule/Christmas and New Year’s Day and I realized I should write something between bouts of blowing snow into the stiff arctic air.

First, no one ever found Jimmy Hoffa in our photo galleries so no one got a free DMM t-shirt or mug. Hopefully we will make these available sometime soon on the website and you can just pay for them. I thought Hoffa was easy to spot, but I was the one who modified the photo and that might have biased me some. Well, here he is just below, from the Waterford Township Memorial Day Parade 2013. If you still can’t find him, he’s driving the car. I’ll try to make it easier next time, if there is a next time. Perhaps I’ll add a glowing neon Jimmy Hoffa Sign with an arrow. It’s pretty clear that’s what the FBI needs anyway.

Second, it’s been a long time since I posted a blog here, but our photographers haven’t given up (except perhaps on me) and have covered a lot of events since that post. Recent events covered that are relevant to the waning holiday season are the Rochester Bright Lights Show (http://detroitmm.com/events/2013/12-The-Bright-Light-Show/) and the Holiday Extravaganza held in Pontiac (http://detroitmm.com/events/2013/12-Holiday-Extravaganza/). Both are loaded with colorful photos of these fun seasonal events.

December is crashing to a close, with the bearded old geezer of 2013 wheezing his way out to make way for the chubby cherubim-like newborn of 2014. What this always means for SE Michigan is that it’s nearly time for the North American International Auto Show! We have the press release at http://detroitmm.com/events/2014/01-NAIAS/ and we are looking forward to another year of great auto show coverage. To wet your whistle, check out our photos from the 2013 NAIAS (http://detroitmm.com/events/2013/01-NAIAS/). Here’s an example:

Please check back for a list of events we plan to cover in 2014 that we should get up in early January. Also, expect even better photos from Detroit Metro Mashup because we have all gotten Merry Christmas camera upgrades and some software additions! Have a happy New Year; see you on the other side of the annual divide.

So no one has won any of our gear by finding Jimmy Hoffa in our events photos yet. Sheesh, I knew it would be tough, but didn’t expect it to be impossible. The Feds can’t find him either, so maybe everything about him is elusive, even his photo. So read on and I’ll drop a clue a bit later to help you in your quest for a t-shirt or drinking device. 

This past weekend we went to the Detroit River Days festival along the River Walk in Detroit. We go to this every year because it is not only a cool event, but a great opportunity to walk along the river, feel the breezes, watch the boats, and observe people representing every possible type of human concoction. The event is awesome, but it’s the people who really make it, from the folks who put it on and run it through the wide-eyed kids who splash in the fountains to cool off after the carnival rides. There was a lot of really good artwork this year, photos, paintings, and sculptures, with some of the painting bordering on being sculpture due to their spatial arrangement and a three-dimensional impression that they individually had; a nearly mysterious appearance of depth. We captured a lot of the art, most if not all of it, in our photos from the festival (see the kitty, above) (http://www.detroitmm.com/events/2013/06-detroit-river-days/) along with a lot of other interesting things and people.

In addition to River Days we’ve covered the Berkley Art Bash (http://www.detroitmm.com/events/2013/06-Berkley-Art-Bash/), the Royal Oak Clay, Glass, and Metal Show (http://www.detroitmm.com/events/2013/06-Royal-Oak-Clay-Glass-Metal-Show/), 50 Shades, The Musical! (http://www.detroitmm.com/reviews/2013/50-shades-the-musical/), and Cruisin’ Gratiot (http://www.detroitmm.com/events/2013/06-cruisin-gratiot/), all in the past 2.5 weeks and there’s more to come! This weekend we will be at the Downriver Cruise and the Waterford Log Cabin Days, hopefully we’ll see you there.

Oh, right, the Find Jimmy Hoffa contest; I recently promised a hint, didn’t I? Well, Hoffa was the head of the Teamster’s Union and they deal with transportation, their logo has a wheel in it. That’s at least two hints, now go find him and win some swag! Our previous blog post has the rules, so scroll down to it. 

Detroit’s Metro Mashup contests have no monetary value and prizes awarded cannot be substituted for any other or for any cash value. The cash value of the prize is $0.01 U. S. One winner per contest only, winner to be determined by Detroit Metro Mashup to be the earliest email received meeting all the requisite criteria, including the correct photo, the sender’s email address, the subject “I found Jimmy Hoffa,” and the prize selected. If you are under 18 please have your parent or guardian submit your entry for you. Detroit Metro Mashup is not responsible for any errors or omissions either in the contest or your entry. Detroit Metro Mashup has no association with Jimmy Hoffa’s family, estate, or any businesses.