As you may or may not recall, I am an active member of a vintage scooter club, The Rovers.  This weekend marks one of my favorite times of the year.  Our scooter club throws its annual scooter rally in the city of Detroit.

You know those Michigan summers that we anxiously await all year long for? Well now, the rest of the world knows what we’re talking about thanks to David Arquette.

While filming Scream 4 this summer in Ann Arbor, he’s been tweeting non-stop about how amazing Michigan is! If you don’t believe me, just take a look!

David's tweets have included photos of Michigan sunsets, local restaurants and even a pawn shop in Pontiac he had luck at! Pure Michigan has also taken notice of David's positive tweets promoting Michigan.

Soccer was thrust back into the national spotlight this summer as the World Cup had millions glued to their TV’s in hopes Team USA would make its mark on the world stage. With the whole nation watching, the tournament reminded Americans why they still can’t stand soccer.

Seldom we saw a match not tarnished by bad calls and disallowed goals. Games were plagued by a slew of players diving and faking injury so convincingly they deserved an Oscar.

Quicken Loans new home was once again featured in the Detroit Free Press today! This time the main focus wasn’t the move into the Compuware Building downtown, but rather, the employees themselves and how they will acclimate to the transition from Livonia.

As everyone is preparing for the big move, some will even choose to pick up their lives and move downtown with the company.” Go big or go home,” right!? Some Quicken Loans employees have recently toured downtown lofts and apartments to possibly make their new home. With the development of fresh, innovative real estate buildings downtown, there many options to choose from.

What do I think about this?

I love it! I think living in a unique loft downtown Detroit would be awesome, especially when work is right around the corner. Living in the city puts you at the heart of everything and the possibilities are endless in Detroit. People who aren’t from around here may call me or anyone else crazy for even considering this, but Detroit seems to hold a bright future in its hands. As a recent college graduate, the career and life decisions I make right now will affect my life forever. I see the decision to move downtown Detroit as an exciting opportunity to take advantage of taking part in its re-birth. It may be taking a chance, yes, but you will never know what might have been unless you take these chances.

Garden Court Condominiums in Detroit ran a contest that encouraged people to submit a 2 minute video about why they love Detroit.  The winner would live in Detroit, staying in a Garden Court condo rent-free for a year and blog about their adventures in the city.  The contest is now over, and here is the winning video:

I love this video and can't wait to read all about Brandi Kay's adventures in the D on the blog!  Congrats, Brandi & we'll see you in Detroit!

via Detroit Moxie

We've got a BIG announcement! Literally...

You may have already heard that Quicken Loans will be moving to downtown Detroit this year.  But if you somehow missed the message, we hope that this GIANT BILLBOARD will make it clear.  We're Quicken Loans and we're coming to Detroit!

R. Kelly has not lived in his former Lakeview home since 2002, but the house is still making headlines.  The Chicago home, a former church that has undergone several renovations since its purchase from Kelly 8 years ago, will be listed on Monday for $4 million dollars.  The home features a 1,500 square foot roof top terrace, an indoor pool and a 1,600-gallon fish tank where R. Kelly reportedly once kept a shark.  A SHARK!

If you're not interested in this home, there is another piece of history that was left in this house that is up for grabs.

Every Friday I like to participate in a weekly event deemed "Metal Friday".  Metal Friday consists of listening to heavy metal during the work day on Friday.  That's it.  It's best to keep things simple, especially on Friday.  Metal Friday is open to everyone and participating is easy.  Just listen to some metal.  Today I'm paying tribute to the late Ronnie James Dio who lost his battle with cancer on May 16, 2010.  RIP Ronnie.  Today Metal Friday lives on in your honor.  Click through to watch one of the greatest music videos of all time.

Oh, Lost.  You've teased us for 6 seasons and it's all about to come to an end.  Fans are preparing for the end of an era this Sunday.  I am one of the many fans who is planning a Lost finale party and I want to send the show off in a different way.  There are a lot of great resources for Lost parties.  You can find everything from Lost-themed cupcakes and Dharma Initiative labels and those are all fine and dandy.  But let us not forget that with all of the entertainment this show has provided over the last 6 years, there's been a lot of pain as well.  My party will celebrate that pain.  Here are five foods I will serve to pay tribute to some of the show's most enraging moments.  Click through for the list, but warning, some *Spoiler Alerts* are found below...

Did you know that you can help clean up the BP oil spill using something found right on top of your head?  I stumbled across this interesting video from a chairty called Matter of Trust this morning.  They create oil absorbing booms and mats using hair collected from salons, individuals and pet groomers.  Hair is a natural, efficient and abundant material for collecting and containing petroleum spills.  If you're interested in donating to this cause or encouraging your salon or doggy groomer to do so, you can find more information here.

“An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.”

French poet Victor Hugo’s words are an inspiration to all creative minds looking to discover that new idea. From college graduates to local entrepreneurs, each is seeking to make the next big breakthrough. Whether that breakthrough is launching a business or finding a better way to do things, the creative spirit is alive and well in Detroit.

Our Recruiting Team is filling up their schedules to help get the word out about our open positions! Want to work for Quicken? Visit us at one of the following Career Fairs, or get resume advice at Wayne State University!

• Eric Jones will attend the Wayne State Mock Interview/Resume Feedback Day on 3/23/2010 from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM.

• Jason Haughton and Mike Hughes will attend theDavenport University (Warren) Business Career Fair on 3/23/2010 from 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm.

• Eric Jones and Pete Ferency will attend the Northwood University Career Fair on 3/25/2010 from 11:00 am – 3:30 pm.

You can view and apply for our open positions at www.QuickenLoansCareers.com!  Call Quicken’s Career Hotline with any questions about these upcoming events: 1-800-411-JOBS.

Many of you may not get as excited about this as me, but NBA Jam is making a comeback on Nintendo Wii. NBA Jam is one of the all-time classics for video games.

For those who don’t remember the game or have never heard of it, NBA Jam is a two-on-two basketball game that was first released as an arcade game in 1993 and then, soon after, became a video game. According to Jon Robinson from the ESPN Video Games site, “the game shattered all coin-op records, and still holds the mark for the most money earned at a single location in one week.” Not surprisingly EA Sports, who is working on recreating the game, has brought in NBA Jam’s original creator, Mark Turmell, along with others who were involved with its original release.  Here’s hoping they also bring back the voice of the original game, Tim Kitzrow, who was famous on the game for his phrase “Boomshackalacka!”

EA Sports plans to officially announce the game later this month. It will be sold exclusively for the Wii. I can’t wait to find out the release date!

Photo Credit: Ugo

This article was originally published on Mortgage News, but I thought I'd share it with the rest of our readers on What's the Diff as well :)

It’s a well known fact that President Obama is from Chicago. However, we rarely talk about his house or the neighborhood he lived in. This all ended when President Obama’s neighbors decided to sell their house. While social media and online marketing has long been used by corporations (i.e. Sony’s Stop Writing on My Wall Campaign), this is one of the few times we see individuals using media to sell their house.

According to zillow.com, the Grimshaws (owners of the house next door to the Obamas) tried to market the fact that their house is next door to the President’s house. The couple hired the Matt Garrison Group, a sales team within Coldwell Banker, and created a website promoting the sale of this house.

Happy Mardi Gras!

If you've ever experienced the sheer joy of New Orleans' famous Fat Tuesday celebration, then you know how the magic transforms the crowded city into one festive frolic - from the family-picnic studded merrymakers Uptown, to the bacchanal, down-right raunchy revelry on Bourbon Street.

As a former New Orleanian, I find myself shifting between sentimental, sad, and thrilled on this day, as I simultaneously feel regret for not being there, and joy for my friends who are living it up, doing me proud before the sobering austerity of Ash Wednesday and Lent descend on the Big Easy at the stroke of midnight.

Today, as I was looking for news and web cams from which to catch a vicarious glimpse of the epic soiree, I found that the Times Picayune has enlisted a troupe of revelers to live-tweet the festivities!