Voting is underway, and it's a great chance to see what some artists feel Michigan has going for it.

Poster: Handmade Michigan by Joseph Cissel

The Last Paczki by cseeman

While groundhogs are a sign of spring's approach around the country, the appearance of paczkis in grocery stores in Michigan lets you know that spring is not too far off. Our Fat Tuesday Paczki Day page on Absolute Michigan will load you up with 110% of the USRDA on these sugary treats that are a Michigan tradition.

If you're looking to work off all those extra calories, Seeking Michigan has a cool feature on the real father of The Twist, Detroiter Hank Ballard. Click through to read it and we'll let Ballard take us out with his rendition of The Twist.

In our first Absolute Michigan Radio feature co-sponsored by Traverse Legal, we talk with Traverse City Chamber of Commerce director Doug Luciani about Pure Michigan and its impact on Business.

If you're supportive of Pure Michigan, please call your lawmakers today! Here are links to the Michigan House of Representatives, Michigan Senate and Michigan Governor!

Childs Play by Arace

Play: AbsoluteMichigan Radio - TC Area Chamber of Commerce President Doug Luciani on Pure Michigan Campaign Funding
(click title to listen)

With: Doug Luciani

Sponsored by: Absolute Michigan , Traverse Internet Law

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Belly Up by photoshoparama

Social media is changing the Michigan wine landscape. Michigan By the Bottle is teaming up with Black Star Farms for the state's first virtual wine tasting conducted through Twitter. Tweet & Taste Michigan will be held on March 8, 2010 at 8pm.

Michigan wine fans are invited to log onto their computers and participate as we taste through a flight of wines, selected by Black Star Farms winemaker Lee Lutes. Along with myself, featured participants include Lutes, Master Sommelier Claudia Tyagi (winegenie@Twitter), wine educator Bill Wilson (WineforNewbies.net), George Heritier and Kim Adams (Blogs.GangofPour.com), Mike Fifer (TheWineMonologues.com), Chris Ternes (thewineauxs.blogspot.com), and Joel Goldberg (MichWine.com).

We will be tasting 2008 Black Star Farms Arcturos Dry Riesling, 2007 Black Star Farms Arcturos Pinot Noir, and 2007 Black Star Farms Arcturos Barrel Aged Chardonnay. Participants can pick up the wines at their local wine shop or order online at BlackStarFarms.com. Black Star Farms is offering $.01 shipping between Feb. 23 - March 9 to business addresses to encourage participation.

During the event, participants will log onto Twitter and search using #ttmi, the Tweet & Taste Michigan hashtag. As the facilitators and winemaker taste through the wines, users can share impressions and ask questions, by adding the #ttmi hashtag to every tweet to ensure everyone participating sees it.

The event, which I will be expanding in future months to include other Michigan wineries, is designed to encourage wine lovers and newbies from throughout the state and beyond to sample a little of what Michigan's wine regions have to offer.

Full details of the event can be found on www.TweetAndTasteMichigan.com.

"There's so many different ideas about how to turn around Michigan," Let's Save Michigan organizer Sean Mann said Wednesday. "We believe creating viable, attractive cities is key to turning around Michigan's economy."

A contest began this week that accompanies an exhibit at the museum called "Government Support for the Arts: WPA Prints from the 1930s." Entries are being accepted until Feb. 15 on the Let's Save Michigan Web site.

Organizers want the posters to serve as a "call to action" for the state, which has seen its economic struggles intensify amid the collapse of the U.S. auto industry. Michigan's jobless rate was 15.1 percent in October, a national high.

Judges will select 25 finalists and the public will pick winners, which will be announced in March. There's a $1,000 top prize and the runner-up gets $250. Some posters also could be produced for sale.

The DIA is hosting an exhibition titled Government Support for the Arts: WPA Prints from the 1930s through March of 2010 (click through for a gallery) and you can get all the details on the contest and enter through the Let's Save Michigan web site.

Leelanau Tarts (fo-lomo) by farlane

Old Orchard Brands debuts 'Very Cherre' premier line of cherry juice on mLive begins:

Move over exotic pomegranate, acai and mangosteen. The All-American tart cherry could be the next rage in superhealthy “superfruits.”

Old Orchard Brands is giving the simple pie fruit a chic makeover with its introduction of a premier line of juices called Very Cherre.

The Sparta-based fruit juice company will debut the 100 percent tart cherry juice product this week at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, J.W. Marriott and other Amway properties. There, Very Cherre — available in Pure Tart Cherry and three cherry blends — will be added to sauces, mixed in cocktails and sold in gift shops.

“I think it’s a superb product,” said Gerhard Schmied, vice president/director of food and beverage for the Amway Hotel Collection. “It’s from our own backyard. I can’t emphasize how important that is.”

Very Cherre juice is made from Montmorency tart cherries grown in the Leelanau Peninsula. The northern Michigan region is the biggest producer of the Montmorency cherries.

Read the rest at mLive and check out verycherre.com - kind of cool to see a private company promoting their product AND the region it's grown in! (especially since it's in Michigan!)

Today I'm at the Michigan Downtown Conference in Lansing. This morning I'll be posting some updates from the conference as I'm able. This afternoon I'm on a panel with Julielyn Gibbons, Ryan Knott and Bigby Coffee co-founder Bob Fish, talking about new media marketing and promoting our downtowns.

capital evening by cmu chem prof

Downtown Lansing

Flash back to last night at 9 PM. I checked into the Radisson and then went out to walk around downtown Lansing. I spent some time talking to a guard at the city jail about the "vibe" downtown (or lack thereof).  She said that when there are events, the area is humming but that on nights when there's no planned festivities, it's ghostly.

Over on Facebook, Bill Palladino noted that in his travels, state capitols are seldom (Austin TX, go get a drink of water)  happening places. Richard pointed out several others that were doing well. In any case, I think there's something a little sad about a city that is supposed to be the heart of Michigan with shuttered storefronts, perpetually torn up sidewalks and lack of life.

Durant Hotel by detroitsky

Dan Kildee, Keynote Speaker

"Our ability to make progress is determined in large part by our ability to work together"

Dan Kildee is the Genessee County Treasurer and director of the Genessee County Land Bank who has worked to use Michigan's new foreclosure law for community development and neighborhood stabilization. He's also pretty proud that he drew Rush Limbaugh's ire for his plan to reduce the size of Flint (and ultimately cities across the country) to reduce their size and increase the ability to deliver services.

Dan notes that even in our terrible economy, it's easier to build on a green field than to reinvest in our cities. He says that Michigan's foreclosure system had a large role in creating our downtown problems by setting up a system that rewarded speculators. Now, he says, the system allows cities to treat urban land as if it has value and to apply community values and vision.

He had a very interesting talk in which he looked at the toolbox that is available to Michigan downtowns and some success stories from Flint including the redevelopment of the Durant Hotel in Flint as rental housing for students and young professionals. He notes that 70% of Michigan's population lives on 8% of the land and that an overwhelming 97% of Michiganians feel that redevelopment in existing urban centers is preferable to building new. With a decent set of tools, he says all that's missing is a bias on the part of lawmakers and our laws to support this pattern of development.

Lansing Mayor Virg Benaro asked us to close our eyes and imagine when the auto industry was in its heyday and how we built great cities during that time. Now, as the auto industry contracts we are still left with these great cities, but what are we doing to preserve and restore them. He then talked about how East Lansing and Lansing - two one horse towns driven by MSU and the Capitol could be 10 times the city if they worked together. He also called for cities and their surrounding communities to cooperate and build the brand of Lansing, Grand Rapids, Detroit and other cities.

Why Live in Detroit? by Derek Farr

Niche Marketing: Success through creativity and collaboration

A panel with Elissa Sangalli Hillary (Executive Director of Local First in Grand Rapids),
Claire Nelson (Co-Owner & Operator of the Bureau of Urban Living & cofounder (with Liz Blondy) of Open City Detroit) and Liz Blondy (Founder of Canine to Five Detroit Dog Daycare) talking about what they do and how small business can be a driver of vibrant downtowns.

Elissa noted a commonly cited statistic (view graphic) that shows 73% of dollars spent at a local business stay in the community as compared to 43% if you spend your money at a national chain. She discussed some strategies they are using to give small businesses access to pooled advertising and purchasing.

Claire talked about her small business and how Detroit offered an opportunity to start a business that would have been impossible in New York City where she moved from. She talked about the importance of creating a climate that's business friendly and also - through events and collaboration - draws folks to burgeoning downtowns. She also drew a laugh by noting that small business in Detroit doesn't face too many threats from national chain stores.

When Liz Blondy came on I lost wireless, making me again think that about the best thing a downtown can do is to deliver a free wireless cloud. She explained her philosophy of focusing on free networking and and promotional efforts rather than exclusively advertising. Small actions like referring waiting customers to another business to pass the time cost nothing and reap big rewards. Wireless is apparently back.

Chevy Volt by wizardkitten

Autotopia from WIRED reports that GM is claiming that the forthcoming Chevy Volt will get 230 MPG.

That’s more than four times higher than the Toyota Prius, the current EPA fuel-efficiency champ.

The figure is based on development testing using methodology drafted by the Environmental Protection Agency for plug-in hybrid vehicles. Company CEO Fritz Henderson offered no details on how GM arrived at that figure, but he predicted the Volt will be the first mass-produced vehicle to top 100 mpg in combined city and highway driving. Coupled with the car’s expected electric-only range of 40 miles, Henderson said the Volt could all but free consumers from petroleum. According to the Department of Transportation, nearly 80 percent of Americans drive less than 40 miles each day.

“From the data we’ve seen, many Chevy Volt drivers may be able to drive in pure electric mode on a daily basis without having to use any gas,” Henderson said. “EPA labels are a yardstick for customers to compare the fuel efficiency of vehicles. So, a vehicle like the Volt that achieves a composite triple-digit fuel economy is a game-changer.”

There's some interesting discussion about whether or not that's possible after the article and also at Slashdot, where they note that this is what's behind the cryptic "230" ad campaign that pointed to today as the date when everyone (anyone?) who has been wondering about this would finally be able to sleep at night and know what is 230? (also has a link to the Chevy Volt Facebook if you want to befriend this potentially game-changing car.

If you have other questions, maybe Chevy Volt Co-Creator Jon Lauckner can answer them in this video below.

I read the news today, oh boy. by Alana M. Layer

Like many in Michigan, I felt a profound sense of shock and unreality at yesterday's filing by GM for bankruptcy. It will probably come as a surprise to no one that Michigan will feel the brunt of the effects:

In the latest round of cutbacks, announced Monday as part of GM's historic move to file for bankruptcy, an estimated 8,900 jobs will be lost at GM facilities in Pontiac, Orion Township, Livonia, Flint, and Ypsilanti Township. The cuts will follow the closure of a Grand Rapids stamping plant on Friday that employed hundreds more. Nationwide, GM plans to eliminate 21,000 jobs at 14 plants, plus three warehouses, in eight states.

Michigan's share of the total job loss: 42 percent. And that doesn't count the trickle-down impact on suppliers, stores, real estate and other segments of the state's economy.

descent by b.plus

Your source for information on the Carpocalypse, Jalopnik, has a map of GM plant closures and a list of the 10 vehicles they think bankrupted GM. The Detroit Free Press lists what we know and what we don't, and Tom Walsh looks at the GM that might emerge from bankruptcy. Bloomberg looks at how little the nation appears to care about GM's bankruptcy and says that although the 2 month strike on GM in 1970 had major impacts, the nationwide effect of this filing will probably be a lot less:

...GM has been reducing payrolls for three decades. Its U.S. employment peaked in 1979 at 618,365, when it was the nation’s largest private employer and auto manufacturing accounted for 4.1 percent of GDP. At the end of this year’s first quarter, autos were 1.5 percent of the economy, and GM had 88,000 U.S. workers.

In Requiem for the General, Jack Lessenberry muses about General Motors' Albert Sloan and his slogan "a car for every purse and purpose" and that he doesn't think that any of GM's most vocal critics like Ralph Nader and Michael Moore ever through they'd see this. Of course Raph Nader and Michael Moore have something to say that I think you will find interesting and perhaps a little unexpected.

The Wall Street Journal headline blares GM Collapses Into Government's Arms and notes that General Motors will be removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average (to be replaced by Cisco). The New York Times looks ahead with the ad campaign for the "new" GM which is already under way. They had a link to a YouTube video which appears to have been removed. You can see the video (replete with iconic imagery) and also read GM's FAQ on their bankruptcy at GMreinvention.com.

Boing Boing

...Stereoptic movies go back to 1922, but the early 3-D methods did not work well and were never use in studio films.The 1950's golden age of the 3-D movie began with the release of Bwana Devil in 1952, and was made possible by Polaroid's polarization process and the associated 3-D glasses (captured by this memorable Life Magazine photo). From what I can discern, the Chrysler Pavilion's movie was the very first commercial example of the Polaroid method -- and in Technicolor to boot! It would take another 13 years for it to see reach movie theaters because of the interruption of the war, and high production cost.

And here, through the magic of YouTube, is Chrysler's Worlds Fair feature presentation "In Tune With Tomorrow"...

inducement by powerbooktrance

Yesterday the city of Grand Rapids announced the ArtPrize, a competition open to artists of all kinds from around the world that will award nearly one-half million dollars to prize winners, including $250,000 to the artist who receives the most public votes. The display and voting will run from September 23 - October 10, 2009:

“It’s time to reboot the conversation between artists and the public. ArtPrize will be a celebration of art, design, and innovation that will bring artists and the public together like never before,” said ArtPrize creator Rick DeVos.

The city of Grand Rapids will become art gallery. ArtPrize art works and performances, professional and amateur, will be exhibited at hundreds of venues, all within a three-square mile area in Grand Rapids’ downtown riverfront district. The city has offered up parks and bridges for outdoor venue displays. Scores of businesses will convert lobbies and public space for displays.

They are holding a town hall meeting on Monday (Apr 27) to explain the ArtPrize and you can view the press conference with Rick DeVos announcing the competition from mLive.

Carefree Days in West Michigan by loungelistener

The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports that Michigan's tourism industry is expected to drop by 3-4 percent this year (this on top of last year's 6.2% drop) due to the economic downturn in Michigan and the rest of the country.

"This year will be an even more challenging year for Michigan's tourism industry because this state, which is typically the source of about 70 percent of our tourists, has slipped even further into recession, and the economies of the other states that we rely on for out-of-state visitors are far weaker than last year," said Donald Holecek, a tourism analyst for MSU.

The $30 million nationwide Pure Michigan campaign is expected to help some:

"Without this campaign, it would be worse. That's the bottom line," said George Zimmermann (VP of Travel Michigan)

In his column Sense of urgency for tourism, Record-Eagle writer Bill O'Brien notes that many people in the travel industry are excited about the campaign, but he wonders if the remedy is targeted to the problem:

In some ways, Michigan's tourism sector faces the same challenges as the automobile industry. Its mind-set of, "Just keep doing what we've done and the customers will show up," kept auto executives, workers and union bosses employed for years, and quite well-paid.

But it wasn't built to sustain that model. The rest of the world's auto industry caught and passed Michigan's stodgy carmakers with better products, prices and service. The world automobile industry became more competitive, but Michigan's car companies were slow to respond and lost market share they may never recover.

Will Michigan's tourism industry learn from those mistakes, or is it doomed to repeat them?

Good questions ... hopefully we can find the right answers.

Extra! Extra! by E. Brow

The story earlier this week that the Ann Arbor News would be ceasing publication caught many by surprise. Michigan Radio's Jack Lessenberry (who also wrote an essay on newspapers last week) writes that he was shocked by the announcement:

Not downsizing, not going to Internet-only publication. Closing, as in, going out of business. This is a newspaper that has been publishing continually under one name or another since 1835.

That's before Michigan was a state. That was before the University of Michigan moved to Ann Arbor. The paper brought the outside world, from the Mexican War to the moon landings, into Ann Arbor for more than 150 years before there was a World Wide Web.

Yet in the end, the web killed the newspaper. Killed it, in large part, because classified advertising migrated to the internet.

The newspaper, like other newspapers all over the nation, speeded its death by putting its content on the web for free. To young readers, paying for a newspaper is as alien a concept as paying to see the clouds in the sky.

It's not just Ann Arbor, as the New York Times reports - 4 Michigan markets will lose their daily paper. The Center for Michigan details in their look at Michigan's amazing disappearing newspapers. Their eye-opening report includes information on Booth newspapers requesting some employees take 50% pay cuts and their thoughts on the matter.  They also linked to Ann Arbor News columnist Jo Mathis, who wrote the column she never wanted to write this week as she watched TV news crews film her building. She writes:

Most people don't realize how much of the news you see online or on TV or hear on the radio started with a newspaper reporter. But we've seen it time after time. We hear the words we've written recited on local radio. Not long ago The Detroit News reported about the crazy low cost of housing in Detroit. The next day, the "CBS Evening News" reported the same thing. Coincidence? Doubtful.

And it's also not just Michigan. Advertising Age's Bob Garfield writes that the situation is downright apocalyptic. He doesn't see it getting better anytime soon, either. The problem, he says, is that:

The (New York) Times and 99% of its brethren opted to give away all content in exchange for audience, neglecting to understand two structural facts of online life: 1) Nobody clicks on ads, because why would they? 2) The virtually infinite supply of online ad inventory will always depress the price even the best publisher can fetch. Always. Immutably. Forever. Mass media thrived on the economics of scarcity. The internet represents an economy of unending abundance.

As Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News boss Brian Tierney told me at the end of January, "Clearly a free internet model online -- if you build it, they will come -- I don't think is working for media like ours. ... I think we're going to have to start to find a way to charge for it and not just rely on advertising."

Garfield tours all media in this very thorough article and concludes that "We have the audience. All we need is a business model."

In a recent feature, Interlochen Public Radio's Linda Steffen recently had a talked with some folks in the industry about the future. She notes that although more and more we expect our news for free, journalists cost money. The program features Dave Paulson of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism and Michael Casuscelli, publisher of the Traverse City Record-Eagle. It strikes an optimistic tone and is well worth a listen.

At the end of this rambling stroll through an industry that might be dead before it hits the ground, I'm leftfeeling a little bit miffed that the media that I've dedicated the last decade plus of my life to is somehow the new Love Boat or the Elephant Graveyard - the place where washed out media goes to die.

I'm also wondering if a lot of what we're seeing is an industry that is way too big for the internet box it's trying to pour itself into. And of course, what you think.

Welcome back to the Ross Sandelius Michigan Music Show. Yesterday Ross provided a photo for our Rothbury post and this morning he tipped me off to the 240-hour "Assembly Line" concert that will take place March 20-30, 2009 at AJ's Music Cafe in Ferndale.

The Assembly Line concert will bring the two worlds together as the music marathon pays tribute to American workers, products and automobiles. The Danny Boy marathon attracted singers ranging from local business owners to the governor of Michigan. The Assembly Line will also call on musicians from all segments of society to come together in the heart of hard-hit Main Street America and help pay tribute to the down, but not out, American worker.

"We call on every manufacturing plant, every car dealership, garage mechanic to join us," O'Neil said. "We call on politicians, loan officers, credit agencies, builders to join us. We call for music to heal us in these trying times.

"We call on the corporate world to join us to help us in our Main Street solution to this American challenge."

The Assembly Line Concert will feature at least 240 acts, performing for 240 hours, nonstop, at AJ's Cafe, 240 Nine Mile Road, Ferndale, Mich.

Each of the 10 days will highlight different aspects of the American partnership between workers, employers, politicians and the media. One day, political leaders will play 24, one-hour sets; another day, auto workers; and another day, local Detroit bands. Even members of the media will have their own day to play.

Well cool. Hope you get a chance to check it out and if you get some YouTube or photos, post links in the comments!

My Detroit by Ross Sandelius

Here's a shot of Ross's 9' print on the wall at AJ's.

2008_03_04_UofM_HistoryMuseum_Walking
by Andy Tanguay

Jack Lessenberry writes about the frustrations of journalists at the bare cupboard of swag at this year's Detroit Auto Show and the seeming idiocy of holding an event like this in sub-arctic Detroit in The fossil show in the Metro Times. He then says:

However, I actually think I might go to the auto show for the first time in years, and not just because I have been thinking of replacing the 1927 Bugatti convertible Wayne State issued me. No, I think this might be a really fascinating year, somewhat like a trip to the end of the Cretaceous Era, when the dinosaurs were on their way out, but not quite extinct. Most people's attention would be drawn to the surviving giant lizards, still stomping and thrashing around. But I would go to see the primitive mammals.

They would have been mainly little rat-like things, nondescript, but they would have been the future, much like the hybrids and electric cars are now. My analogy isn't perfect: The dinosaurs, scientists now think, died almost all at once, thanks to a meteor or a comet, sort of that era's equivalent of a Republican-controlled Senate. Vehicles powered only by petroleum will be with us for some time. But it is not at all clear how long any of the Big Three will last; the experts don't expect a stand-alone Chrysler will make it to 2010,

But there will still be cars of some sort, and the next generation of hybrids will be on display, as will further examples of the supposedly soon-to-be-available electric cars. Some of these things will flop. Others may not.

That's an interesting take on a Detroit tradition that is fallen on hard times. And given that some of the mammals are made in Michigan, I don't think that's an altogether depressing take on the matter.

Speaking of dinosaurs...

...now even huskier!

They're coming, and they're liking what they're seeing and we have a chance to seed a new industry in the state of Michigan.
~Mitch Albom

Scott Allman has produced a great interview with Mitch Albom about the Michigan Film Incentive. Check it out below!

Skilhouettes by greencottage

Michigan ski resorts and McDonald’s restaurants are once again offering Discover Michigan Skiing, an affordable introduction to the skiing and snowboarding.

The program has run every January for the past 15 years and includes a beginner lesson (covering basic maneuvering on skis or snowboards), ski or snowboard rental equipment and a beginner-area ski lift pass or cross-country trail pass. Twenty-four ski areas are offering the package January 5 through January 31, 2009.

The price for downhill or cross-country skiing is $30 for adults and $25 for children seven to 14 years old and the snowboard price is $40 for everyone 10 years and older. You'll need a voucher that you can pick up at participating McDonald’s restaurants and also MSIA retail ski stores. If you can't find one there, you can also click on the link above.

Stylized by Ralph Krawczyk Jr

Neil Young was just a few days shy of his 23rd birthday in 1968 when he performed a now-legendary solo show at the Canterbury House in Ann Arbor. You can read about the show and listen to some of the album Sugar Mountain: Live At Canterbury House 1968 (includes links to order).

As you follow the ongoing saga of the auto industry, I'm sure you're thinking "Well, what does this mean for advertising? Will I see as many car commercials?" No? Curiously enough, Advertising Age is thinking about such matters and notes that General Motors is planning to slash roughly $600 million in spending by 2012 and support only half of its eight brands. The article details GM's planned spending and also that of Ford & Chrysler and is worth a read. Another worthy read is In Michigan's auto belt, it's nail-biting time from the Christian Science Monitor.

Forbes reports that Michigan is leading the way ... in unemployment. Along with Rhode Island, Michigan clocked in with a seasonably adjusted unemployment rate of 9.3% in October. The "good" news is that a dozen more states saw rates above 7%, so I guess we're not all alone.

Hope This is the Fountain of Youth by Cherie S.

I came to Detroit for the Creative Cities Summit unprepared, frankly, for the scale of the challenge that Michigan's largest city is facing. As we toured sights selected to offer hope this morning, I found myself rendered nearly hopeless by incredible magnitude of the challenge at hand. There's no doubt that there are a lot of brilliant and committed people who are working to reshape the city, but when you stare into the face of the challenges they face, you wonder how they even have the strength to try. Or at least I did.

It was then more than welcome to hear Toronto's Poet Laureate (can we get a few of those here?) and author of The Municipal Mind Pier Giorgio Di Cicco, deliver an impassioned plea for fostering good urban citizenship as a core element of a vibrant city. He said that a city is place where one discovers their destiny through other people - a place to enjoy yourself through enjoying others. He called for strategies aimed at not just economic development, but at creating the kind of environments where people will bump up against each other, exchange ideas and help to build each other's stories.

John Howkins started with the concept that "thinking is a proper job." He wrote about the creative economy a few years ago. He's now talking about "the creative ecology" and sees creative ecologies as systems that are chaotic, nonlinear and self-organizing. Howkins says that such systems are inherently difficult for government to nurture through policy and funding due to the fact that the don't always behave in predictable patterns and don't generate directly measurable benefits.

I have to think at the end of the day that a focus on intangibles like the culture and ecology of Detroit and other cities has to be at the core of our thinking about how to rebuild them.

the spirit by n.elle

This week we're broadcasting (sort of) live from the Renaissance Center in Detroit and the Creative Cities Summit 2.0.

In addition to a cool outing that we'll talk about later, we were able to check out the "Unconference" at MOCAD where 150 or so people gathered to focus on the future of Detroit. One of the themes that kept coming up was how the stories of Detroit are impacting the city's efforts to re-invent itself as a place to live, work and play. This can be the mainstream media with a focus on crime and economic meltdown, but it can also come from the popular culture.

Last week the Sam Roberts Band sent me their video Detroit '67 from the album "Love at the End of the World". I love the song and the vibe of the video, but it doesn't seem like it's likely to make people fired up about visiting the city. You can watch below or on YouTube. As you watch, think about what authentic stories can be told about Detroit and share your thoughts in the comments.

.cadillac buildings-detroit. by tEdGuY49®

Note: they have a special "no frills" registration for $100 - amazing deal!

Detroit will host the Creative Cities Summit 2.0 (CCS2) on October 12-15, 2008 at the Renaissance Center. CCS2 is an interdisciplinary conference on the economic, social, cultural and environmental aspects of what makes great cities.

I could talk on and on about the eye-popping agenda they have created and amazing speakers who will attend - headlined by Dr. Richard Florida, author of Rise of the Creative Class, John Howkins, author of The Creative Economy, and Charles Landry, author of The Creative City. I could muse about how all the attendees from all over the world might influence the conversation about the re-invention of Detroit and Michigan. I could say that if you can't make it during the week, you might want to check out the Unconference on Sunday @ MOCAD.

However, I think it'll be enough to ask you to watch the videos in our Creative Cities 2.0 playlist below (including a little Detroit easter egg) and tell you to register now! See you there!

Jacqui Balogh is an intern with Motion Marketing & Media who just graduated Michigan State in May. She hoped that one last time before she "had to become a real person and get a real job" she would get a chance to kick it out, have some fun and maybe make herself a more complete candidate for that real job. Add to that the fact that her college graduate-level email writing skills were quite persuasive and we hope understand why our random and arbitrary criteria led us to pick Jacqui!

Rob Forever - Pillar of Autumn
by Aaron Fortin

For the entire month of July, Absolute Michigan will be focusing of Michigan festivals celebrating music, art, food and the other things that make Michigan fun.

To kick it off, we're having a spur of the moment Rothbury Ticket Giveaway courtesy of the folks at GM Next Plug In! To enter, just send an email to absolutemichigan@gmail.com with the subject Why I Wanna Go to Rothbury. We'll pick a winner of two tickets based on our own random and arbitrary criteria and post it tomorrow afternoon! (scroll down for the details)

More about Rothbury

The inaugural Rothbury Music Festival takes place July 3-6, 2008 in Rothbury, Michigan (near Muskegon). Four days of music on six stages feature some of the biggest musical acts around including Dave Matthews Band, Widespread Panic, John Mayer, 311, Phil Lesh, Trey Anastasio (also at the fest will be Jon Fishman & Mike Gordon of Phish), Primus, Snoop Dogg, Michael Franti, Gov't Mule, The Black Keys, Mickey Hart and about a jillion others!

The festival also features "Circus & Theater" with all kinds of crazy shows, fairs and other experiences, and the Rothbury Think Tank that will be focused on finding energy independence and feature:

...a mix of provocative keynote presentations, panel discussions, workshops, film screenings, and audience Q&A sessions throughout the festival site to offer insight into these and other questions. Interactive participation, both face-to-face and through the use of multi-media technology enable the ROTHBURY community to engage with the Think Tank at multiple levels.

GM Next Plug In

GMnext Plug In is a celebration of the 100+ year relationship between cars and music. From AM to FM, 8-track to cassette, compact disc to mp3, music is almost always a part of the driving experience. It's part of GMnext, GM’s centennial program that includes a series of Web-based activities aimed at engaging a new generation with behind-the-scenes stories and insights into the people of GM and the future of transportation ... and also through some of the biggest music events of the year that will feature some of the hottest bands and artists.

If you aren't selected in the giveaway and can't make it, tune into the GMNext YouTube channel for interviews of bands backstage at the Rothbury by Tenacious D’s Kyle Gass. Here's Kyle, Flyin:

The Details

• Please don't enter if you can't go - two tickets will be in YOUR name at Will Call and you will have to show ID!
• You must be 18 years old or older. Sorry.
• By entering, you agree to hold Absolute Michigan and GM Next harmless for anything that might happen to you in the course of your festival experience. Except of course fun. You can totally hold us responsible for that!

Ludington State Park, Big Sable Light
by Through Joanne's eye

Last month tourism experts from Michigan State University delivered a less than rosy forecast for Michigan's tourism industry at the Driving Tourism 2008 conference. Also see the full Michigan Tourism 2008 presentation (PDF). The report projected that poor economic indicators on the state and national level and travel prices up over 7% from 2007 would likely lead to decreases in tourism of 5% in the UP, 4% in Northern Lower Peninsula, 2% in Southeast Michigan and a 3% growth in Southeast Michigan (likely due to the red-hot local economy).

Co-author Prof. Robert Richardson offered a couple of bright spots including a weak dollar potentially leading to more Canadian and international travelers, an expanded Pure Michigan travel advertising budget, and high travel prices possibly leading more Michiganians to travel within Michigan.

The message was clear that the travel industry is going to need some serious help in 2008, and right here at home is a great place to start. A few years ago, it was reported that Michigan had a nearly $3 billion dollar travel trade deficit (view the slides), meaning that Michigan residents spend nearly three billion dollars more when traveling out-of-state than non-residents visitors spend in Michigan. The authors of that report, Don Holecek & Joe Fridgen suggested:

We need to begin by accepting the fact we have a problem, which is not going away when the economy turns around or if we only tinker with what we have been doing in the past to attract more tourist dollars. Big problems require big solutions. We won’t close the deficient by simply matching the moves of our competition; rather we must strive to better them on many fronts. We will have to work harder, invest more, and invest smarter to offset our disadvantages and identify and exploit our advantages.

While Pure Michigan does a great job of reminding folks who love Michigan to come home for vacation, Michigan also needs a push (with funding) in our local media to help remind people who are already home of how much there is to do here in Michigan. We need to remember our state & national parks, our rich museums and vibrant downtowns when it comes time to plan a week or weekend trip.

Let's all try to Make it a Michigan Vacation this year!

The $10 million Michigan Primary (now with 100% less relevance) is today. Republicans and Democrats alike can cast their ballot for delegates who may or may not count as the national parties punish Michigan for trying to be more a part of national politics. Fox News says that today's primary could make or break Michigan-born Mitt Romney, so I guess there's that.

The 2008 North American International Auto Show is in full swing. I heard Jalopnik editor Ray Wert on NPR yesterday afternoon discussing the level of pageantry in 2008. He was under-impressed, but Jalopnik did post this cool photo of the Dodge Ram "reveal" and cattle drive. Their Detroit Auto Show tag is the place to be for the next week for car nuts.

360 Michigan has a great set of 360˚ panoramas from the 2008 North American International auto show, and you can get the latest pics at the NAIAS tag on Flickr (slideshow) including even more Longhorn driving incongruity from Ross Sandelius.

The Detroit Tigers are considering halting season ticket sales because sales have been so hot based upon their brilliant off-season moves. No word yet on if the Detroit Lions are pondering the same.

We say Detroit Auto Show, you say..?

We're going to continue to call the 2008 North American International Auto Show the "Detroit Auto Show" until we receive a convincing argument to stop. "North American International Auto Show" is just too long and NAIAS sounds like some kind of acronym thought up to make everyone happy that doesn't. The NAIAS history page doesn't explain why the Detroit Auto Show changed its name after 82 years in 1989. Concept Carz suggests that it was because Detroit Auto Show became an international event that year, but Edmunds says that BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volvo first joined the show way back in 1957.

Blogging the Detroit Auto Show

If you like your coverage on the irreverant side, look no further than the 2008 Detroit Auto Show on Jalopnik. Gawker's car blog features coverage headlined by Detroit's own Ray Wert, photos, video, an active user community and a weakness for bad jokes. Over at Autoblog they pile up the photos as fast as the car companies can dish them out - check out this post on the Cadillac Provoq fuel cell concept for a taste. If you like your cars oil-free, you should keep an eye on Autoblog Green (be sure to watch the video of the Toyota A-BAT - it's got "cutest pickup" nailed down). Pretty much everyone with a blog is covering it of course, from Cars.com to Popular Mechanics to the My Little Pony blog. We were going to run down newspaper coverage as well, but it's enough to give you the links to the Detroit News Auto Show pages - their article on The Race to Be Green probably sets the tone for 2008 - and the Freep's NAIAS coverage.

Detroit Auto Show Photos

The photo at the top right is murcielago roadster by joojanta from the Absolute Michigan pool. He has a great set of photos called NAIAS 200x with more. You can see a whole lot more by checking Detroit Auto Show and/or NAIAS on Flickr. The blogs & papers above are another great source of photos of production cars and concepts and you can get daily pics from the official 2008 North American International Auto Show media site through MSN. If you'd like to step back in time, check out this Detroit News Rearview Mirror feature The Detroit Auto Show: from beer gardens to tabernacles to Cobo Center and the 1957 Detroit Auto Show from the Michigan Historical Museum.

Detroit Auto Show Video

Once again, the blogs and papers above have video. For more, we turn to a YouTube search on Detroit Auto Show (see the most recently added NAIAS videos). A few notable ones are the Weekend Drive tour of the booths at the 2007 NAIAS, the Auto Channel's 23 minute "Press Pass" tour (one of MANY they have), Wheels TV presenting to 2007 Concept Cars, Governor Granholm talking about the future of Michigan's car industry and the Auto Network givingyou a look at the Opening Ceremony. One of the coolest things about a major show is the level of technical sophistication of the displays. A great example of this is the Jeep Waterfall.

Attending the Detroit Auto Show

The NAIAS web site - ok, so I'll type it - has everything you need to know about attending the public show ($12 for adults this year) and the black tie charity preview. If you can't attend, you might squint your eyes and see if this detnews.com virtual tour does the job for you. If you do attend and take pictures or video, we'd love it if you'd share them with us on Flickr and YouTube!

Anything else to add or ask? Post it in the comments!

Capitol, Landing MI by Irina Vasiliu

Below you'll find a news release from Governor Granholm regarding an agreement to add a 21.9% surcharge to the new Michigan Business Tax to replace the 6% Michigan Service Tax.

The Detroit Free Press and Detroit News have details on the agreement as well.

Granholm, State Lawmakers Agree to Replace Service TaxReplacement Helps State's Fiscal Stability

Protects citizens from massive cuts to public safety, health care, education

Governor Jennifer M. Granholm, Lt. Governor John D. Cherry, Jr., Senate Majority Leader Michael D. Bishop, House Speaker Andy Dillon, and Senate Democratic Leader Mark Schauer along with legislative members have agreed to replace the service tax that went into effect at 12:01 a.m. today. Under the agreement, revenue generated by a service tax will be fully replaced by a surcharge on the Michigan Business Tax (MBT).

The State Senate is expected to complete work on the tax package in the early hours of this morning and the State House is expected to approve it later today. Under the agreement businesses will be granted legal protection if they fail to collect the service tax until effective date of the new law.

"This agreement protects health care, public safety and education while replacing revenue from the service tax," said Governor Granholm. "I applaud the members of the business community and the legislators who worked with us to craft this fair and responsible compromise."

Senator Bishop (R-Rochester) offered the following statement: "I appreciate the spirit of compromise to repeal a tax that would have devastated Michigan business. It is only through continued good faith negotiations, compromise and dialog that we can set Michigan on a track for renewed economic prosperity."

"These negotiations were very difficult due to our challenging economic climate, but I am confident that this agreement is a fair compromise that will allow the state to provide the services necessary to support our businesses and attract new businesses to a state that has a tremendous quality of life," said Speaker Dillon (D-Redford Twp.). "I commend Michigan's business community for their willingness to step up and work towards a solution."

"By working with the business community and each other, we reached a compromise that gets rid of the service tax and keeps our promises to fund schools, public safety, and health care," said Senator Schauer (D-Battle Creek). "This is the type of reasonable approach that will protect our priorities and position us for economic growth."

Under the agreement, the replacement for the service tax will phase out under certain economic conditions.

The MBT, which takes effect January 1, provides tax cuts for more than 60 percent of Michigan businesses and provides tax cuts to both small businesses and Michigan's major manufacturers, while encouraging job creation in Michigan.

The MBT helps stimulate Michigan's economy by relying more on profit, providing tax credits to companies that locate or create new jobs in Michigan and tax credits for entrepreneurial and R&D activities. In addition, a significant cut in the personal property tax will help the state's largest employers and commercial businesses.

"With this agreement in place, we can continue working on the economic plan that will help grow our economy and create jobs," said Lt. Governor Cherry.

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Carousel by jnhkrawczyk

"We've got a shift starting in 36 hours that we've got to charge 6% more on ... and I don't know how to do it."
-John Evans, president of Evans Distribution

Welcome to Michigan, where we somehow seem to be stuck in the Reality TV version of Groundhog Day: Your Government inAction. With just hours remaining before a confusing, unexplained and really random 6% Service Tax goes into effect, everyone who might have to pay the tax is watching the clock and wondering what Lansing will do. Read on for much more...

The Freep's Susan Tompor writes that the new 6% service tax is like one of those bad snowstorms that everybody hoped would skip town. Even the forecasters warned that this thing couldn't last long. This oddly crafted tax on services -- 6% on nails but not hair; 6% on ski lift tickets but not golf -- is so dopey that most expected it ultimately had to be repealed.

Over on Michigan Liberal the editor of a major Michigan web site spars with a long-dead Michigan governor over the much-hatedness of the Service Tax.

An article on the Service Tax Impasse the Detroit News looks at business owners preparing for the tax and also at the state of diplomacy in Lansing:

On Detroit talk radio, House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford Township, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, pointed fingers at each other for the negotiations breakdown Wednesday over the service tax. The House passed its own plan and then adjourned until Tuesday.

Bishop called "garbage" a House-passed bill that the Senate rejected Wednesday night and chided: "We don't want to let the facts get in the way of the speaker."

Dillon shot back that the so-called "garbage" is backed by a large share of the business community.

Meanwhile, over at the Michigan Treasury, they have posted a disorganized jumble of information about the tax at the top of their page that includes an explanation of services taxed.

Find much more about this issue at 6% of x? Untangling Michigan's Service Tax on Absolute Michigan.

Hunting for a Clue?

The Detroit News reports that the annual legislative break for deer hunting season is five days longer than last year's and comes as they are still debating the 6 percent sales tax on services. Rep. Steve Bieda, chair of the House Tax Policy Committee thinks it's poor timing for a break and commented: "People who elect us expect us to do our jobs -- especially when there is a major problem to be addressed -- and I think the service tax falls into that category." (You have to check this out- it's a gold mine of quotes!)

Conveniently Shop Michigan

Dianna from Promote Michigan passed along this Flint Journal article about the re-branding of Quick-Sav convenience stores. The Michigan-based company's 25 Michigan stores have all been re-branded as Beacon & Bridge Market and will stock Faygo pop & Better Made potato chips of Detroit, Kar's Nuts of Madison Heights, Freestone Pickles of Bangor, Pioneer Sugar of Bay City, Kellogg's cereal of Battle Creek, Bar's Leak of Holly, doughnuts from Auntie Em's in Lansing and Flint's Country Fresh dairy products. Cool!

State Theatre Grand Opening

The historic State Theatre in Traverse City is re-opening as a full-time art house and film center. The Grand Opening is Saturday, November 17 and opening night activities include a black-tie cocktail reception and dinner at the City Opera House followed by a red carpet premiere at the State featuring a historic perspective of the theater by TC filmmaker Rich Brauer and a full-length Hollywood film premier. The Traverse City Film Festival has a whole slate of activities planned for opening week (Nov 17-25) and you can get all the information and order tickets right here.

Traverse City, in Pictures

I took the photo of the State Theatre marquee,  so I don't have to say anything more about that .... other than I'm so happy that my childhood theater will again be showing films! You can get all kinds of great photos of Traverse City and the surrounding area in the Traverse City, Michigan group on Flickr (view group slideshow).

Traverse City, Michigan

As posted yesterday, Absolute Michigan will be at the Traverse City Business Expo all day today - we'll be signing up a ton of businesses and giving away sponsorships, so check out Absolute Michigan keyword Traverse City (and also the new links) for lots of cool sites as the day progresses!

Half Staff by Apocaplops

UPDATE Oct 25: Carol of ArborLaw.com writes:

I actually have the entire list of services descriptions covered by the law, on my blog at Arborlaw.com. When the law came out, I cross-referenced the NAICS codes (which are incorporated into the new law specifically by reference) with the section numbers from the bill and the expected new numbers for sections in Michigan Compiled Laws. If you want to see this to determine whether your business services are covered, go to http://arborlaw.com/blog/services-tax. (it's a big list!)

Political analyst George Weeks writes that in decades of following how Lansing deals with financial crisis, I have never seen enactment of such a bizarre, crazy quilt, irrational, inexplicable, unfair and — most of all, confusing to taxpayers — tax.

Crain's Detroit Business goes further, calling this The best tax plan lobbyists can buy. Law and accounting services are not taxed, but the broad category of management advice, strategic planning and financial planning and budgeting will be taxed. Hmmm. So a company buying consulting services to help it keep its doors open is making a “discretionary” purchase?

Like many in Michigan, we're wondering which of the services we provide like online publications (probably not), internet consulting (probably so) or graphic design & marketing (who knows??!!) would be subject to the service tax.

Assuming that movements to repeal or change the tax fail, mLive's blog gives some idea of what services might be subject to the tax come December 2007. The nebulous "consulting services" is made a whole lot clearer when you click over to see businesses classified under 5416 Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services. It's surprising to find that in addition the list includes items that are absolutely essential to the development of new businesses in Michigan like site selection, start-up consulting, marketing, and a host of science and technical services.

We invite you to add your thoughts, comments and suggestions for making some sense out of what looks like a fiscal nightmare for Michigan.

Moon Patrol by powerbooktrance

Each post at Michigan Innovators is a video podcast interview with innovators who can or have had an impact on Michigan's economy. Two professors at the College of Business at Eastern Michigan University, Diana Wong and Bud Gibson, started the site with hopes that it would become a "highly visible repository of stories that showcase the modern, innovate spirit lurking in the Michigan economy" and also to provide material for their classes.

Their features look at the entrepreneurs and companies working in cutting edge technology such as Aaron Crumm's Adaptive Materials (making fuel cells that provide a 10x improvement over battery power, "technology concierge" Bruce McCully of Dynamic Edge, and Linda Girard, who explains how to Find & Convert Web Customers with her company Pure Visibility.

In addition to searches by industry (web communications to medical research) and by people and place, the blog also allows allows searching by themes like Defining New Markets or Technology & Culture, where you can delve into issues the technological and cultural divide between the US & China.