Giving Tuesday in Michigan 2024

Happy Giving Tuesday! Since this is a Michigan-based blog and I believe in shopping local, I also believe in giving local. To that end, I'm sharing three local news reports from the Great Lakes State about the day, beginning with WILX News 10's Giving Tuesday tips to avoid scammers.

Giving Tuesday donations can mean a lot for local charities.

Not only do I believe in giving locally, I believe in giving safely and effectively.

Moving to the west side of the state, I'm sharing Fox 17 WXMI asking and answering Giving Tuesday? One movement is opening doors to impact Grand Rapids nonprofits.


That was fun and informative, but let's see how long it remains here, as WXMI disabled embedding on the video I used for Cyber Monday. Enough of that and I'll stop using their YouTube uploads, just like I did WXYZ's. Instead, I use WDIV's clips, like Tips to avoid holiday-season scams in Metro Detroit.

[Here] are some tips to avoid holiday-season scams in Metro Detroit.

Good advice from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

If my readers want to give nationally instead of locally to affect the political environment, I can vouch for the organizations that belong to Bridge Alliance, since I'm a volunteer for them. One of them, the 92nd Street Y, created Giving Tuesday!

This concludes the long holiday weekend. Stay tuned for topical non-holiday programming tomorrow.

Shop safely online for Cyber Monday plus Black Friday sales figures

Happy Cyber Monday! I'm kicking off today's celebration of online shopping by sharing WUSA9 warning its viewers to Shield Yourself: 'Cyber Monday' Cybersecurity Protection Tips.

WUSA9 interviewed Lance Hoffman, founder of GWU's Cyber Security Institute, about protecting personal identities during online shopping.

All good advice. FOX 17 WXMI had more, along with some consumer horror stories, in HOW TO SHOP SAFELY online ahead of Cyber Monday.

According to the National Retail Federation, 57% of people are heading to the web to buy gifts. Norton created a cyber safety checklist ahead of Cyber Monday, which shoppers should look over it before Monday.

Don't be like Caroline Richards before she fell victim to a scam; be like her now, as she's much more vigilant about who she buys from online.

10 Tampa Bay had the number one result when I searched for this topic, Cyber security expert urges caution amid rise in holiday shopping scams.

The busy holiday shopping season is upon us as Black Friday, the busiest day of the year for in-person shopping, gives way to Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and the on-going "retail rush" before the holidays.

On Friday, crowds flooded the International Plaza in Tampa to try to score deals.

Again, more good advice, plus some person on the street (well, in the mall) interviews that added more action. They also provided a segue to checking the Black Friday sales figures I promised on Small Business Saturday as WCNC reported Black Friday results in record-setting shopping numbers with Cyber Monday still ahead.

Estimates show around $11 billion was spent online during Black Friday.

One trillion dollars in holiday sales for the U.S. might just happen. I might check the total holiday sales figures at the end of the month, but I think I will be busy with my end of year retrospectives and probably the Saturn Awards nominees then. May you stay tuned for those, but first return to read about Giving Tuesday as I complete the extra-long holiday weekend.

WatchMojo recounts 'The Heartbreaking Life of Freddie Mercury' for World AIDS Day

I promised "a special observance of World AIDS Day as the Sunday entertainment feature," and I'm following through with WatchMojo recounting The Heartbreaking Life of Freddie Mercury.

The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long. Come along as we take a closer look at the story of this legendary singer, musician and performer, including the many challenges and hardships he weathered before being taken too soon. Our video includes Freddie’s struggle to be taken seriously as an artist, his issues with substance abuse, his battle with AIDS, and more! What do YOU think is the most heartbreaking thing about Freddie Mercury’s life? Let us know in the comments!

I've called WatchMojo's videos "high-quality, well-researched clickbait that is worth sharing" and this video exceeded even that standard. I learned a lot about Mercury from this video, including his being born in Zanzibar and his having extra teeth in his mouth. As I'm fond of writing, "it's always a good day when I learn something new, which makes today a good day."

WatchMojo's Top 10 Facts You Never Knew About Freddie Mercury is more the channel's style.

He’s one of the all-time greats, but how much do you really know about this ‘80s musical icon? Did you know that Freddie Mercury wasn't his real name? Or that he actually had more teeth than most people? WatchMojo is counting down the things you never knew about Freddie Mercury.

I learned even more from this video, as light-hearted and trivial as it is. One of the facts was Mercury being David Bowie's roadie. While the Wikipedia entry for "Under Pressure" makes no mention of this connection, it makes for an irresistible transition to Under Pressure - Annie Lennox & David Bowie from Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992.


What chemistry!

That concludes today's tribute to an entertainer taken away too early by AIDS. Stay tuned for Cyber Monday followed by Giving Tuesday to complete the extra-long holiday weekend.