January is Ski Month on Absolute Michigan, and all month long we are celebrating skiing in Michigan with original articles and features on downhill and cross-country skiing, snowboarding along with photos and videos that take you up close and personal with the Michigan ski experience. We'll also have features on Michigan ski pioneers and the rich history of skiing in the Great Lakes State, and from our friends at Seeking Michigan and the Archives of Michigan we'll have a feature on the Suicide Hill ski jump in Ishpeming.

At the center of it all is a giveaway of 4 pairs of lift tickets to 4 great Michigan ski resorts:

• Crystal Mountain (click for giveaway details)
• Shanty Creek (giveaway coming next week!)
• The Homestead (giveaway posted Jan 17)
• Boyne Mountain (giveaway Jan 24)

All you need to do to enter is be on our email list - sign up at the bottom of the article! We're not alone in celebrating skiing this month. Governor Rick Snyder has proclaimed January as Discover Michigan Snow Sports Month, citing the fact that we are home to more downhill ski areas than any other state and encouraging Michigan residents and visitors to use this month to take advantage of it.

Black Diamonds Will Have
to Wait... by ( Jennifer )

The Michigan Snowsports Industries Association has jumped on board, offering a program called Discover Michigan Skiing that will give you a beginner lesson, ski or snowboard rental equipment and a beginner-area ski lift pass or cross-country trail pass at 23 Michigan ski facilities! It's available through January 31 and costs just $20 for cross-country skiing; $30 downhill skiing and $40 snowboarding. The program is open to everyone 7 years and older and you can get all the details at their website goskimichigan.com. While you're there, don't miss Cold Is Cool - a promotion that gives every Michigan 4th Grader FREE skiing at participating Michigan resorts.

All in all, it's a great month to be skiing in Michigan. We'll take you out to the slopes right now with the masters of ski videos, the good people at Warren Miller Entertainment and their feature on Boyne Mountain, one of the early and present leaders of the Michigan ski industry.

Absolute Michigan is committed to helping our readers get more out of Michigan. To that end, we are adding an exciting new program featuring regular giveaways of products and services from all kinds of Michigan businesses. It's free, fun and all you have to do to be eligible is to be on our email list - sign up using the form below. We guarantee that we will not share your email address with anyone!

If your business is interested in participating, you can get all the information right here.

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Higher Grounds Trading Co., was voted one of the top Michigan businesses to watch in 2010 and has been a big part of  getting the nonprofit On the Ground off the ground. On the Ground is involved in a variety of projects including the Chiapas Water Project, which brings clean drinking water to coffee growing regions in Mexico; the Run Across Ethiopia, which raises funds for Ethiopian education projects including the construction of schools in Ethiopian coffee-growing communities; and their latest endeavor - the Run Across Palestine. The Run is scheduled for February 2012 and will take place in olive growing centers of Palestine. Funds raised will support the purchasing and planting of thousands of olive trees and provide scholarships for the children of Palestinian olive farmers. Learn all about them and donate at the link above.

The projects of On the Ground share a common theme: supporting the farmers who supply fair-trade, gourmet goods by building infrastructure and capacity in their communities, and Higher Grounds is offering up some great gifts to celebrate the On the Ground\'s projects:

• Coffees for Change support the Chiapas Water Project, which was founded in 2005 after a group of local (Northern Michigan) residents visited Chiapas Mexico and witnessed the illness and poverty perpetuated by lack of access to potable water.
• Seth & May's "New Flower" CD was inspired and written as part of the The Run Across Ethiopia.  Seth and May  played in the schools, learned songs and dance moves from the children, learned Ethiopian scales and melodies from incredible ethio-jazz masters,  shared our music along the journey, sang for the runners, played for the people and ultimately wrote an entire album inspired by the experience.
• Fair Trade Olive Oil benefits Palestinian olive farmers and celebrates the Run Across Palestine.
• Finally, their Coffee Cards are made by the Michigan nonprofit Paperworks Studio which are produced by artists who have special needs and disadvantages.

All you need to do to enter is to be on our email list - sign up in the blue box above! Here's a cool behind the scenes video of the recording of New Flower that you might enjoy!

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The perfect piece for 4th of July - have a great weekend!

Thomas Moran, owner of Moran Ironworks in Onaway, expresses his patriotism in a big way and not just on the 4th of July. His giant sheet metal head of George Washington can be seen on M-68 just outside that town year round, as can his Liberty Bell in Onaway and bald eagle in Alpena.

A self-taught artist and son of a lumberjack, Moran learned to fabricate metal in high school shop class, and kept it up as a hobby. He began creating the massive sculptures to spice up Onaway's Independence Day parade, and now his works are sprinkled around Michigan. A giant gun, water pump and the World's Largest Chain Saw decorate the parking lot of Da Yooper Store in Ishpeming, while Cheboygan boasts an oversized cantilever hook, fresh water aquarium, globe and ax.

Moran's work is not to be taken lightly; his head of Washington weighs 6,000 pounds. The curly metal strands of Washington's metal wig weight 2,000 pounds alone. Fans of roadside art all hope Moran keeps creating these well-crafted eye-poppers. Moran says his inspiration is just something inside of him.

See it all at Moran Iron Works!

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As a winner of the Festival Summer, I would chronicle the events on both my personal and company Facebook pages and blog. As the owner of a design firm (Tandem) and one-time music publication creator, I have an eye (and the camera) for good photography and can create well-written and compelling copy.

Would be stoked to win and would do the contest justice in quality coverage!

OK Eric, bring it!! And thanks everyone for your entries!

Absolute Michigan wants you!

In addition to rocking the giveaways all summer long through Festival Summer, a number of our event partners are going the extra mile to provide one lucky winner with 2 FREE passes to every one of the 11 fantastic Michigan festivals listed below!

Michigan's many festivals and events continue to be a bright light, celebrating what makes Michigan a place we all love.

Because these events are going the extra mile, we sought someone (or a group of someones) who would go the extra mile to share the fun of Festival Summer.

Our team of reviewers will look the emails we've received over and choose a winner, so be creative! If you want, feel free to post your entry or your thoughts on the Absolute Michigan Facebook page.

In addition to sending us an email (or two) telling us what you're going to do, you need to be on our email list. This will also enter you in every giveaway we do.

Here are the events included in the package!

• Thunder Over Michigan - July 23 & 24
• Maker Faire Detroit - July 30 & 31
• Paella In The Park - August 5
• Dunegrass Music Festival - August 5-7
• Farmfest - August 11-14
• Traverse City Wine & Art Festival - August 20
• Hoxeyville Music Festival - August 19 & 20
• Traverse City Microbrew & Music Festival - August 26 & 27
• Porcupine Mountain Music Festival - August 26-28
• Crystal Mountain's Taste of Michigan - September 3
• Midwest Fest 2011 - September 28-October 1
• ...and Absolute Michigan reserves the right to add prizes.

Check Festival Summer for information and all these and many more great events.  As you can see, some of the events are over the same weekend, so you better share it with your friends so you have someone to take any extra tickets! And remember, even if you don't win the big prize, you're still eligible for every one of our giveaways. And because we want to stay connected, you are eligible to win more than once.

Questions? Post them or email them and we'll post answers below.

Q&A

Do I have to go to all the festivals?

No. Some of them are on the same day, and while our team of Michigan experts assures us that someone could attend and enjoy all events, that's a lot to expect. Share your good fortune with someone who will report for you.

Can more than one person enter?

You may enlist and propose the support of a team, company, nonprofit, friends, family and robots. We will give the tickets to a single person though.

What are you looking for?

Absolute Michigan is all about getting the most out of Michigan. We're hoping you'll get out there and enjoy these great events, and that you'll share them with our readers and the world at large. These events are cool because Michigan is cool.

What we're asking for is that you share your experience. Be it photos, video, observations, tweets, updates, artwork or whatever you think tells it best. It doesn't have to be wall to wall coverage and it doesn't have to be flashy.

In addition to sending us an email (or two) telling us what you're going to do, you need to be on our email list. This will also enter you in every giveaway we do.

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Driving Michigan is Absolute Michigan's new show that explores the state of Michigan and the people who are moving us towards the future. It's hosted by Seth Bernard, a musician of  Earthworks Music with a passion for Michigan. The video was shot by Ken Lake of Mythic Michigan.

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Return to Chapel Rock by farlane

Sometime over the weekend, the 100,000th photo was added to the Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr.

One hundred thousand.

What an amazing gift you nearly 2400 photographers have shared with Absolute Michigan and Michigan in Pictures over the last four and a half years. Whether it's dandelions or Detroit Lions, hill sides or mud slides, if it's Michigan, chances are we have a photo of it.

This is something so big that we really need more than a simple blog post to celebrate it, so we're announcing the Absolute Michigan Summer Photo Celebration in which we'll try and give you Absolute Michigan pool photographers as much recognition and as many prizes as we can. Follow us all summer long for themed photo contests, special offers from Michigan businesses and lots of photographic fun!

We're opening with the Michigan Business Photo Contest for photos that promote Michigan businesses or buying from Michigan businesses.

You may submit up to 3 photos that show any facet of any Michigan-based business or somehow promote Michigan businesses and buying from Michigan businesses.

Please add them to the Michigan Business Photo Contest group (you can also post small versions & comments about them here!)

The contest deadline is Monday, June 14th and the winner will receive:

• One year Michigan SEO and Category Sponsorship package on Absolute Michigan ($1250 value)
• A Private Label Radio Program that tells the story of your business courtesy of Vertio
• 2 pounds of coffee (your choice) from Higher Grounds Trading Company
• ... plus other business related prizes that we can find between now and June 7th!

This prize is only the first - stay tuned to Absolute Michigan all summer long for more great contests!

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On Monday the 2000th photographer (Sam Mrdeza) joined the Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr.

The pool is where we get most of the photos for Absolute Michigan and Michigan in Pictures and it's not at all a stretch to say that without Sam and the other 1,999 shutterbugs who have contributed almost 80,000 pictures, Absolute Michigan would be the barest shadow of itself. Thank you all.

If you're a photographer, click that link above to join them and make sure to click through and check out other work by the photographer when you see a photo you like on Absolute Michigan. If you just like photos, why not check out the slideshow from the Absolute Michigan group below!

[iframe http://www.flickr.com/groups/absolutemichigan/pool/show/ 500 400]

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Welcome to a very special Photo Friday on Absolute Michigan, the 75,000th photo in the Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr!! I can't tell you how amazingly cool it is that so many people have graciously allowed us to use their photos to help tell the stories of Michigan. Thank you, all of you.

[ JARED ] (Jared Fossum) says that photography is a passion of his and he posts photos of anything that he thought was interesting or for a moment made him stop, look, and think about it.

His sets include Fake TTV & Canon S3 IS (slideshow) and while he hails from Minnesota (wherever that is) he has a few more photos from the Upper Peninsula.

Check out his Flickriver.

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The 55,000th photo was added to the Absolute Michigan group on Flickr yesterday. It's titled MI snow by joojanta and is pretty darned appropriate for the snowy, snowy winter we've been having!

As always, we are amazed and gratified at the fact that so many of you share photos of such great quality and diversity with us. Without you, Absolute Michigan wouldn't be anything close to what it is.

Thank you one and all!

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Follow the yellow leaf road by the pentax hammer

Absolute Michigan wishes
the very best in 2009
for you and yours.

We hope that you will
continue to help us tell
Michigan's many stories.

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The photo is Heading home for the holidays by Kathy, and we at Absolute Michigan hope that you have a chance to share good food, drink and fellowship with those you love over the Thanksgiving holiday.

We'd also like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who contribute to Absolute Michigan with your photos, video, writing and presence. We are very grateful that you choose to share some of your selves with us.

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This morning at about 10 AM, the Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr (the place where we get all the cool photos featured on Absolute Michigan) passed an astonishing milestone as the 50,000th photo (three trees by northern_latitudes) was added to the group.

I can't tell you what an amazing feeling it is to know that almost 1,500 folks have shared 50,000 photos with Absolute Michigan, and I know that Absolute Michigan would be a pale shadow of itself without the light and life and myriad views of Michigan that you share.

Thank you, one and all.

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The summit is sponsored by The Utopia Foundation, the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce and Northwestern Michigan College. It's designed to provide for-profit and non-profit business leaders, managers and social entrepreneurs the opportunity to learn practical methods of turning good ideas and intentions into solutions that support corporate values and address global economic, social and environmental challenges in our communities and around the world.

CLASS will lead off with Chris Laszlo, Ph.D, whose topic is "Sustainable Value: How the World's Leading Companies Are Doing Well by Doing Good!" Other presenters include author James C. Hunter, Chandran Nair, CEO of Global Institute for Tomorrow, Matthew Neagle (the Community Affairs Lead at Google) and Evan Thomas, NASA Aerospace Engineer and founder of the Engineers Without Borders - Johnson Space Center chapter.

Utopia Foundation Chairman Paul Sutherland says "We believe the first annual Utopia Foundation CLASS will set the stage for decades of profitable and humanitarian collaboration, investment ideas, opportunities and charitable activities. This seminar will be profitable for corporate and social leaders who want to ensure that they have their fingers on the pulse of opportunities that yield both profit and humanitarian good."

About our Sponsor Callouts

The work we do on Absolute Michigan is supported by our sponsors, and we like to highlight what they are doing when we can. We hope you'll check out what they have to offer and patronize them when you can. If you're interested in becoming a sponsor, please email absolutemichigan@gmail.com!

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They're playing a benefit for ISLAND on Saturday night at Shorts in Bellaire - if you're in the area, check it out. Rather than ramble on, here's Seth Bernard and a little Talking CSA Blues.

More videos from the Earthwork Archives on YouTube.

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The Four Seasons by Murn

On Absolute Michigan we try and bring you content that helps you enjoy the great state of Michigan in every season. Check below for information on past, current and future monthly features.

May 2008: Summer Travel

In May we'll offer some fun vacation ideas from all around the state of Michigan and also some great day trips. Michigan has an amazing range of vacation destinations for all kinds of travelers and we can't wait to share them with you!

June 2008: Buy Local

In June we'll help you "Eat Local" with articles about Michigan's fruit and vegetable bounty, recipes and profiles of farmers, local markets and food events from all over the state. We'll also point out some ways to make your purchases of all kinds of products more local.

July 2008: Music & Festivals

Celebrate the sounds of Michigan as Absolute Michigan takes a look at some of the great concerts and festivals our state hosts and also some of Michigan's great musicians, music schools and organizations.

August 2008: Get Outside!

Get ready for outdoor activities like hiking, biking, sailing, surfing, camping and many others with a goal of helping Michiganders "get fit in the Mitt!".

September 2008: Back to School

Head back to school from kindergarten through college and beyond with Absolute Michigan.

Past Months

• January 2008: Michigan books & bookstores
• February 2008: Michigan Dining & Restaurants
• March 2008: Homes & Real Estate
• April 2008: Gardens & Gardening

Sponsorship

If you would like to become a sponsor of Absolute Michigan, please head over to our sponsorship information page.

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-President John F. Kennedy

The Apollo Alliance is a coalition of business, labor, environmental, and community leaders working to catalyze a clean energy revolution in America. The name is inspired by the vision and technological achievements of the Apollo space program, and the organization promotes policies and initiatives to speed investment in clean energy technology and energy efficiency, put millions of Americans to work in a new generation of well-paid, green collar jobs, and make America a global leader in clean energy products and services.

Check out apolloalliance.org for information about how clean energy makes environmental, economic and political send for Michigan and the rest of our nation.

If your businesses or organization would like to help to support Absolute Michigan and connect with folks who love Michigan, please consider Absolute Michigan sponsorship!

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Their service is free, and after getting some information about your project, they will work to match you with a plumber, electrician, roofer, painter or any other home service professional you're seeking. They research companies licensing and insurance, financial and legal background, customer references, and pricing - taking a lot of the hassle out of finding a contractor.

At the core of their service is Handy's Rating, an unbiased rating system under which service professionals can not pay a premium fee to increase their listing rank, rating or which type of jobs they receive.

If your businesses or organization would like to help to support what we do on Absolute Michigan (and reach an audience that loves Michigan), please consider Absolute Michigan sponsorship!

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ArtServe Michigan is a statewide arts and cultural advocacy organization that seeks to support, strengthen and build awareness of arts, culture and creativity in Michigan.

This Wednesday (March 18, 2008) in Lansing, ArtServe Michigan hosts their annual Arts & Culture Advocacy Day. It offers artists and arts supporters a chance to network with peers from all over Michigan, to learn about important issues and the state, to speak with legislators about the importance of the arts in our state.

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Brooke's photo was the the 30,000th added to the Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr. In kind of a cool synchronicity, it was added on Saturday (March 15) which happened to be Flickr's 4th anniversary.

A big thanks to all the 1080+ photographers who've shared their photos with Absolute Michigan- you're amazing!

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Crab Rangoon by Shawn Botruff

For the month of February, we'll be focusing on dining in Michigan. Starting Monday, we'll be offering daily profiles of restaurants. We'll begin with diners and dives, check out some casual and family restaurants, dress up for fine dining and sample some of the great ethnic fare Michigan serves up.

We'll also try and take you a little closer to some of our state's noted chefs, wander through as many cookbooks as we can, take a look at the many culinary festivals out there, pull up a chair at some of Michigan's culinary blogs and in general try to eat our way through February and cabin fever!!

As always, we're looking for your input in the comments or by email. Michigan's a big place and we know that there's a lot out there that we haven't tasted!

Explore Michigan Restaurants

• Michigan Diners & Hometown Favorites
• Michigan Casual & Family Restaurants
• Michigan Fine Dining Restaurants
• Michigan Ethnic Restaurants

(see the ones we featured and add your own favorites!)

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For the last 3 years, we've tried to publish everything first thing in the morning.

As our staff (and the internet) has grown, we find ourselves wanting to spread that posting time out to take advantage of those odd moments during the day and also to post shorter articles along the lines of "Take a look at this".

We hope that's OK and that you'll feel like you can find something new on Absolute Michigan at any hour. As always, we welcome your thoughts in the comments or by email!

Photo: The old Ladies of Fairport Michigan by whitewaves

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The 26,000th photo added to the Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr!

jpwbee writes: My favorite alley. The mural is so unexpected and so good.

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Todd (cedarkayak) was the 900th person to join the Absolute Michigan group on Flickr. I figured that since the kayak (which he built) was the basis for his user name, it made sense to select this photo of the South Manitou Island Lighthouse. He writes that he used a sail to speed the crossing from Glen Haven to South Manitou Island and this photo is part of his great North and South Manitou Islands set.

The 25,000th (!!) photo added to the Absolute Michigan pool is (fittingly) a photo of the aftermath of the huge New Year Snow Storm (4th biggest in SE Michigan history!) that David took in the Shiawassee Wildlife Refuge near Saginaw.

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smiles7 shared this with us, and on the behalf of all of us at Absolute Michigan I'd like to extend wishes that you receive blessings both great and small in the days ahead.

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Grand Traverse Resort by danperry.com

Hey there, if you happen to be in the Traverse City area tomorrow (Tuesday, Nov 6) Absolute Michigan will be in the "Tech City" area for the Traverse City Chamber of Commerce Business & Technology Expo from 9 - 5 at the Grand Traverse Resort.

We're be giving away a $500 Absolute Michigan sponsorship, so drop by, say hello and enter to win!

(and if for some reason our posts tomorrow are late, you'll know why!!)

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The word of the week this week on Absolute Michigan was lighthouse, so I thought I'd go to the Absolute Michigan pool and search for "lighthouse". As of this morning, there are 714, and they make a pretty nice slideshow. Rather than taking the most recent or the most interesting, I thought I'd go back to the first lighthouse shot added to the pool.   I saw the one above nearby, and since both were taken by the same person, I chose it.

In many ways, I owe a lot to this photographer ... and to this photograph. This was the first photo on the then brand-new Flickr web site that made me realize just how powerful Flickr could be for telling the story of Michigan. I had experienced fog on April 5th (trying to ski in it) and just seeing it transported me to the Keweenaw Peninsula. I began to explore the photos in the Michigan group that he started and felt the same immediacy in the work of other photographers. A year and a half later, and I can't imagine what Absolute Michigan would be without the contributions of all these photographers. Not nearly as rich, that's for sure.

So a big thanks to you, b givens, and to all the rest of you, have a look at his photos of Houghton County, Baraga County and other subjects.

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Archived comments, events and observations about any old thing are below, latest is on the Michigan Shout-out Page.

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Yesterday morning, photolab507 became the 600th member of our Absolute Michigan photo group on Flickr, just over 2 months since our 500th member joined and just over a week since the 15,000th photo was added. We're looking forward to more photos like this interesting view of the Amway Grand in Grand Rapids!

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This morning, practically as I watched, the photodometer on the Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr rolled over to 15,000.

The photo from Detroit International River Days maybe wasn't as dramatic as some of the others Connie (One Foot Over the Moon) added this morning (such as this one of the RenCen). It does however, showcase one of the great things about Connie's photography and that of other folks in group: they bring you real scenes of Michigan. It may not always be "pure", but it is absolutely and undeniably Michigan.

We're so grateful that they share their photos, and happy that we can share them with all of you.

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The first video we're featuring on the channel is Scuba Diving a St. Clair River wreck. The video is from Marine City, Michigan on the St. Clair River, and it is an interesting look at what it takes to dive a shipwreck in a river with a swift current and a lot of vessel traffic.

You can view more diving videos from noquartergiven and (if you're so inclined) check out the Brethren of the Coast Diver's Benefits Network (from video divers Rick and Deanna Saterstad) for information about them and their business.

* Even includes the ability to adjust color, contrast & brightness
link to chime.tv screenshot on Flickr ('cause Flickr asks for one and they're really so helpful to Absolute Michigan too!)

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