Neal Rubin

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Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Metro Columnist

Neal Rubin began writing his Detroit News column in June of 2000. His theoretically humorous look at life appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. A Michiganian since 1984, Rubin grew up in Southern California and Colorado and attended the University of Northern Colorado on a 7-card stud scholarship. He prefers dogs to cats, game shows to reality shows, and writing to actual labor. Reach him at nrubin@detnews.com.

From Neal Rubin's Blog

Whaddaya lookin' at me for?

I appreciate your stopping by, but right this second you're in the wrong place. You should be reading my colleague Adam Graham's list of the 10 worst arena, stadium and … Continued

In the blogs ...

Politics Blog

Libby Spencer: This Paul Craig Roberts article gives us a look at how corporations and the banksters who love them are killing the private practice of medicine and also explains how … Continued

MichMoms Blog

Mary Hickman Kruszewski: As I mentioned in a previous post, I fell and I am recovering from a back injury. I am working with a rehabilitation clinic that requires me to be there three times a … Continued

Autos Blog

Bruce Hall: One good sign for automobile manufacturers is the state of the light vehicle inventories this January as reported by wardsauto.com . Compared with last January, number … Continued

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(updated hourly. Rankings as of 8 pm)

New world awaits GI's homecoming

Christopher Anderson of Mount Clemens returns from Iraq to reunite with wife and meet his daughter for the 1st time

Kimberly Anderson misses everything about him -- his smell, his enchiladas, the way she feels safe when he's around, even that moment of exasperation when he leaves the toilet seat up. - 02/09/2010

Generous seniors man front line for homeless

Bea Sacks,90, and Murt Sherbow, 85, give each other credit for starting a project to help create households for vets who've come in off the streets. - 02/07/2010

Barber lays scissors down

Dave Shinske wore jeans to work last Thursday. Granted, they were neatly creased, but it was still the first time in 44 years he hadn't shown up in slacks. - 02/04/2010

Kids put yoga to work

Danialle Karmanos has a friend who has two sons to whom he said not long ago, "Go outside and play." The mystified boys responded, "Play what?" - 02/02/2010

Beer distributor pays for employees to patronize customers

A company that moves 2.5 million cases of beer every year can afford to pick up a few dinner tabs. What makes Great Lakes Beverage worthy of a toast is that it thought to reach for the checks in the first place. - 01/31/2010

Getting African spoonbills to procreate is no easy task

Birds do it and bees do it, but they don't always do it well or often. A very important African spoonbill at the Detroit Zoo, in fact, had never done it at all before last year. - 01/28/2010

Better Business Bureau releases list of top 10 scams

Being a secret shopper could cost you money, not make you money. That free sample of anti-aging pills will cost you, too. And beware the latest wrinkle in online skulduggery, the geographically improbable Haitian Nigerian Scam. - 01/26/2010

Readers debate American made theories

For a lot of people, there's still a very simple test for what constitutes an American car and what doesn't. But this is the auto business, where nothing has been truly simple since the Slant-6 engine in a '65 Dodge Dart. - 01/25/2010

Burger joint has deal for Leno if stupid NBC plan fails

Stay tuned for "Why NBC is Stupid." But first, these words from Jaws Jumbo Burgers of Farmington Hills: - 01/24/2010

Line is blurred for 'Buy American'

Chrysler PT Cruiser, cream-colored, southbound Lodge. In the rear window, a red, white and blue bumper sticker: "Out of a job yet? Keep buying foreign." bumper sticker: "Out of a job yet? Keep buying foreign." The car was made in Mexico. - 01/21/2010

One impossible job: It's not easy keeping the grime off auto show cars

Kids, cars and fudge. If you're a guy with a shammy and a spray bottle, this is not the best possible combination. - 01/19/2010

Rubin: The Chinese auto invasion is coming hard, but not for awhile

The good thing about our cratered economy is that it has slowed the rush for Chinese carmakers to get here. The bad thing is that with entire brands up for sale, their road to North America could be considerably smoother. - 01/17/2010

Smart guys wise up

Unless I misread what seemed like a very large hint, the smallest car on the road will soon be easier to get into. Smart fortwo, the French-built Daimler minicar distributed by local hero Roger Penske, roared into the marketplace in 2008 with sales of 24,622 units. - 01/14/2010

Auto show delivers plenty to boggle the mind and eye

The Morgan Aero SuperSports costs about $40,000 more here than in its native England, where skilled craftsmen with quaint accents will produce only 150 of them this year. - 01/12/2010

Knack singer, battling cancer, ponders mortality

In 1979, Doug Fieger played rhythm guitar in a band called the Knack and sang a song called "My Sharona" that stayed at No. 1 for six weeks. More recently he's been a cancer patient, lung and brain and beyond, pondering questions of mortality while not quite admitting to a stranger how personal the thoughts have become. - 01/11/2010