People talking about Grand Rapids

[GRDadof3]

It's the lipdub that won't die. It's up to 3.2 million views. (I know, I know) Richard Florida has about 130,000 followers on Twitter...at least half of whom I would think are real people that might click the link and read about Grand Rapids.

http://twitter.com/#!/Richard_Florida/status/80732413310926848

In the linked article at the Infrastructurist, there is an interesting quote:

The last 3 paragraphs talk exclusively about Grand Rapids, mostly about Bliss' events (I know, I know).

From the article:

"The Grand Rapids lip dub involved over 5,000 people, and necessitated the closing of downtown for an entire day as the amazing video was shot."

The urban myths keep growing bigger and bigger. It was shot on a friggin Sunday. GR was shut down anyway.

[Veloise]

From the article:

"The Grand Rapids lip dub involved over 5,000 people, and necessitated the closing of downtown for an entire day as the amazing video was shot."

The urban myths keep growing bigger and bigger. It was shot on a friggin Sunday. GR was shut down anyway.

9:30 am to about noon, lunch break to provide access to DVP for the Stomp! show, knocked off at 2:30 pm-ish. Closed streets were the ones seen in the thing, not the whole DT for the entire day.

In other news, someone did a nice job with this version:

[grandrollerz]

"The survey reveals that the metropolitan area with the most optimistic forecast of all for hiring this summer is Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43442072/ns/business-forbes_com/

Nice!!

[The ATX]

Unfortuately, there are a lot of people talking about Grand Rapids now for something tragic. But that lip dub video was pretty impressive. It shows there is still a lot of city pride in G.R.

[GRDadof3]

Unfortuately, there are a lot of people talking about Grand Rapids now for something tragic. But that lip dub video was pretty impressive. It shows there is still a lot of city pride in G.R.

It will be interesting to see how the national media juxtaposes the killings with Betty Ford's Memorial Service this week. "In a city that just saw 7 people needlessly gunned down by a madman, Betty Ford is laid to rest next to her husband's grave on the grounds of the Gerald R. Ford Museum."

[Explorer55]

It will be interesting to see how the national media juxtaposes the killings with Betty Ford's Memorial Service this week. "In a city that just saw 7 people needlessly gunned down by a madman, Betty Ford is laid to rest next to her husband's grave on the grounds of the Gerald R. Ford Museum."

I doubt the event will be mentioned, or only mentioned briefly by a reporter or two. Despite the fact that GR has garnered a lot of attention the past month or so it seems, and many of my friend/coworkers know I'm from Grand Rapids, not one has said anything to me about the lipdub, the murders, or now, the death/burial of Mrs. Ford in GR. I've told many people to check out the lipdub, and some did (and liked it), but if I hadn't bothered to urge them to check out the lipdub, I don't think many, if any, would have ever noticed it.

For that matter, a friend of mine told me she had no idea where GR is. I've showed her many times where it is on my "hand", but I had to walk her through it one more time. Granted, she's not very a good at understanding driving directions, let alone knowing US geography.

Sorry guys, but that's the perspective from Denver, good or bad.

[GRDadof3]

I doubt the event will be mentioned, or only mentioned briefly by a reporter or two. Despite the fact that GR has garnered a lot of attention the past month or so it seems, and many of my friend/coworkers know I'm from Grand Rapids, not one has said anything to me about the lipdub, the murders, or now, the death/burial of Mrs. Ford in GR. I've told many people to check out the lipdub, and some did (and liked it), but if I hadn't bothered to urge them to check out the lipdub, I don't think many, if any, would have ever noticed it.

For that matter, a friend of mine told me she had no idea where GR is. I've showed her many times where it is on my "hand", but I had to walk her through it one more time. Granted, she's not very a good at understanding driving directions, let alone knowing US geography.

Sorry guys, but that's the perspective from Denver, good or bad.

Exactly. The national/cable news cycle is so fast to turn over, that I'll bet no one outside of Grand Rapids is talking about the killings. And these bizarre killing sprees happen in the most normal cities.

[RegalTDP]

For that matter, a friend of mine told me she had no idea where GR is. I've showed her many times where it is on my "hand", but I had to walk her through it one more time. Granted, she's not very a good at understanding driving directions, let alone knowing US geography.

I have a couple friends whom I've known for years that still say, "You're from Detroit, right?"

The shootings were in the news cycle for a day. I saw it in the local news here as well as CNN as a quick flash story. The location was usually just referred to as "Michigan."

I'm actually surprised how many of my non-GR friends on Facebook actually expressed grief over Betty Ford, especially from Millenials younger than me. I didn't know she was so popular with young folks.

[fotoman311]

It's people not from Grand Rapids talking about how great Millennium Park is in the GR Press, but I thought this was appropriate to post here:

http://www.mlive.com...s_field_in.html

Surely they will tell their friends. My only problem with the event is that the finals were advertised for Sunday at 5-6pm, but when we showed up at 5:10pm, expecting to see the competition, they were already done and starting the awards ceremony.

"It has been a great weekend," Krueger said of his first trip to Millennium Park. "It’s our first time at this venue and it was everything we hoped it would be. It’s the perfect combination of site and spectators. The people come right up to the ropes (in the lake). You just don’t have any alternative but to put on a show for them."

He said Millennium Park combines ideal skiing conditions with a beach atmosphere that is unlike any other venue on tour.

"It’s a good event because it’s a public site. The lake is not too big, so it allows us to have a good flat spot for skiing," Degasperi said. "Usually, we go to the biggest lakes in remote areas, but this is great."

"It’s a beautiful place," said Whitney McClintock, of Clermont, Fla., who held off Regina Jaquess of Santa Rosa, Fla., to claim the women’s slalom title and the first-place check for $5,000. "As soon as I drove up to this place, I thought it was awesome. We’re skiing right in front of the beach. A lot of kids get to see our sport.

"It’s so close to the city. Normally, we go to a big, private lake for our events where nobody is watching us," she added. "This place is gorgeous. This is what we like right here. This place is perfect for us."

[gvsusean]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43814049/ns/travel-business_travel/

the bottom part is about us

[John E]

The 10 best places to live in the U.S.

Grand Rapids Makes Number 2

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-10-best-places-to-live-in-the-us-2011-08-02

Grand Rapids Press Article on it:

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/08/grand_rapids_ranks_no_2_on_rel.html

~John

.

[fotoman311]

Current members of the Redwings organization saying nice things about GR and the Griffins.

[pssirab]

There was an article yesterday on CNN's business website talking about Art Prize and interviewing Rick Devos.

http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/09/28/artprize-rick-devos/

[sonic]

I doubt the event will be mentioned, or only mentioned briefly by a reporter or two. Despite the fact that GR has garnered a lot of attention the past month or so it seems, and many of my friend/coworkers know I'm from Grand Rapids, not one has said anything to me about the lipdub, the murders, or now, the death/burial of Mrs. Ford in GR. I've told many people to check out the lipdub, and some did (and liked it), but if I hadn't bothered to urge them to check out the lipdub, I don't think many, if any, would have ever noticed it. For that matter, a friend of mine told me she had no idea where GR is. I've showed her many times where it is on my "hand", but I had to walk her through it one more time. Granted, she's not very a good at understanding driving directions, let alone knowing US geography. Sorry guys, but that's the perspective from Denver, good or bad.

FWIW We probably shouldn't feel too slighted. Surprisingly enough, I've met people (Americans and Canadians) who don't know where New York City is.

I also met someone who went to NYC, and had no idea it is near the ocean.

Edited September 29, 2011 by sonic

[Allison Slater]

I also met someone who went to NYC, and had no idea it is near the ocean.

Oh my. I've no words..

[fotoman311]

http://www.baristamagazine.com/

Trevor Corlett of MadCap Coffee is the cover of this month's Barista magazine. Also all over their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Barista-Magazine/152343203015

[organsnyder]

NPR's All Things Considered had a segment today focusing on two cities that are doing well despite the difficult economy: Nashville and Grand Rapids. Mayor Heartwell was interviewed.

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/04/141054586/in-tough-times-how-are-cities-staying-afloat

[MiGuyz]

A Vibrant Career at the Ballet, but With a Lens and Not Toeshoes

"His first project is discussing with Paris officials the possibility of displaying his 300-foot-long painting of the Joffrey dancer Fabrice Calmels along the bank of the Seine. The piece made its debut last year at ArtPrize 2010, in Grand Rapids, Mich."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/us/a-vibrant-career-at-the-ballet-but-with-a-lens-and-not-toeshoes.html

[Veloise]

A Vibrant Career at the Ballet, but With a Lens and Not Toeshoes

"His first project is discussing with Paris officials the possibility of displaying his 300-foot-long painting of the Joffrey dancer Fabrice Calmels along the bank of the Seine. The piece made its debut last year at ArtPrize 2010, in Grand Rapids, Mich."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/us/a-vibrant-career-at-the-ballet-but-with-a-lens-and-not-toeshoes.html

Went looking...apparently one panel of "Swimmer 300" blew into the river.

Found a photo of it; this is the first time I saw it. #notaprominentlocation

[Allison Slater]

I remember that piece and recently saw a photo of it floating around somewhere. Hopefully it won't blow away into the Seine.

[arcturus]

Grand Rapids mentioned along with Detroit and Akron as cities continuing to have extreme poverty (the poorest poor) in a newly released report. It's throughout the web. Here's one site:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45145370/ns/us_news-life/#.TrMriUPkBBE

[Paramaribo]

The WSJ reports Grand Rapids having the highest increase in medium single home prices in the country: a 23.7% increase.

South Bend is next at 19.8%, then Palm Bay, FL at 17.7%, Youngstown, OH at 13.1%, and Green Bay at 12.6%.

The article - "Home Prices Keep Dropping" - points out that the national medium dropped by 4.7%.

Are we ahead or behind the curve? Either way - it looks good for GR.

[joeDowntown]

[Take with a grain of salt] My Zillow.com estimate on my house jumped 21% last month. Don't know if I could actually sell it for the price listed, but encouraging.

Joe

[fotoman311]

An AP story out of Omaha that some of my Omaha friends have posted on Facebook mentions Grand Rapids. It's about the spread of people paying off random people's Kmart layaway bills for Christmas toys. It started at the Plainfield Township Kmart a week ago. Since then, there have been reports of it happening all over the nation.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/anonymous-donors-pay-off-kmart-222535611.html

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/12/christmas_spirit_abounds_stran.html

[RegalTDP]

I've noticed we're mostly past the point where a shoutout to GR from a website - least of all, a slideshow - should get us excited. But this link I caught via Rapid Growth was different:

http://newyork.grubs...#photo=53x00003

At first, I was like, big deal. But then I read through the rest of it, and noticed that this is a really exclusive list - there's a lot of recognizable names, celebrity chefs and the like, being thrown around in this article. That Grove is compared alongside them is really notable.

And beyond that, only a few cities are included - and none comparable to GR in size. OK, Charleston and Portland, ME are smaller, but they're also established culinary destinations. Chicago and Cleveland are the only others representing the midwest.

Good for Grove. I want to try that dessert now.

Edited February 19, 2012 by RegalTDP