"I am standing awkwardly by caterpillars

Over half of all Michigan's public university graduates leave the state within one year of graduation. Michigan Radio Intern Lauren Silverman will probably be one of them. Lauren has launched a new series for Michigan Radio called Generation Y Michigan that explores why young adults in Generation Y are or aren't leaving Michigan. You can hear them during Morning Edition (M-F, 5-9 am) and All Things Considered (M-F, 4-6:30 pm) throughout the following several weeks.

In addition to the on-air features, there's also a blog at GenerationYMichigan.org where listeners can discuss this issue, take part in polls, and view supplementary articles, photographs and essays on the topic. It includes great features like Where Generation Y Is Headed and Why They Leave. In addition to Lauren's posts, there are also some from guest bloggers. I thought it was pretty cool that I found a now generation Y student from my hometown asking provocative questions about whether you actually leave Michigan, even when you do:

...Exposure to other environments should not be confused with brain drain. Michigan needs people who care about it but who also have perspective about how things are done in other cultures outside of Michigan, no matter how close or far.

In my opinion, convincing native young minds to stay might not always work. But travelers from distant places should know that Michigan offers opportunity. I can’t put my finger on it, but I’ve sensed it more and more over the past few years. There’s a burgeoning energy here. The cost of living isn’t bad, and we have at least one of everything! If it’s intelligence you crave, Ann Arbor was named the 4th smartest city in the U.S. in 2008 by Forbes.com. If it’s natural beauty you want, we have 3,052 miles of Great Lakes shoreline. When you’re in Michigan, it’s hard to get more than a few hours away from any one of the lakes.

Furthermore, Michigan stays with you as you go. Everyone I speak to who leaves misses it. Michigan invites your return. Even if I leave after I graduate, Michigan will stay with me.

We'll close with a cool slideshow about why they leave and urge you to visit generationYmichigan.org for much more!

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Not the Upper Peninsula, but the Northern Peninsula. by Jenna Belle

NPR ran a special series a few weeks back exploring the culture, traditions and economy of Michigan's Upper Peninsula that we felt was worth bubbling back up. In addition to the articles there are also audio pieces worth checking out in - Michigan's Upper Peninsula: A Trip U.P. North.

Articles

Often Left Out, U.P. Ducks Michigan's Worst Woes

If there's a Michigan map in your mind, it probably looks like a mitten. The Upper Peninsula — separated from the rest of the state by the Great Lakes — often gets left off the map entirely. While that can be irksome, the remote nature of Michigan's northern section can also insulate it from the rest of the state's economic distress.

Initially, Michigan's Upper Peninsula

This week's puzzle is in honor of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Because U.P. is short for Upper Peninsula, each answer has "U" and "P" in it. The first clue is: "U" and "P" are the initials of a common two-word phrase naming something holding a street lamp. What is it?

Pasties: The Meaty Center Of 'Yooper' Food

The meat turnovers were brought to Michigan's Upper Peninsula by immigrant miners from Cornwall, England. "Yoopers" — the local population — are very opinionated about them. A pasty isn't just a meal — it's a heritage. Here's the recipe, too.

In Michigan's U.P., Visitors Welcome, Just Don't Stay

Folks from Michigan's Upper Peninsula — or "Yoopers," as they call themselves — want you to know how lucky they are to live in such a beautiful place, how hard it is to do that, how their jokes about themselves are funnier than anything you've heard — and why you shouldn't move there.

Audio and transcripts from the series

What's A Yooper? [5 min 20 sec]

The people of Michigan's Upper Peninsula are nicknamed Yoopers. Weekend Edition Host Liane Hansen explores what defines the Yooper identity.

U.P. TV Anchor Moonlights At Target [4 min 39 sec]

Host Liane Hansen profiles TV Anchor Vicki Crystal of Marquette, Michigan. Crystal not only works as a full time anchor and reporter, but she also works part-time at Target.

Iron Mine At Core Of U.P. History, Culture [7 min 52 sec]

Host Liane Hansen visits the Cliffs Natural Resources iron ore mining operation near Ishpeming Michigan. Mining has long been a part of the U.P. economy, and Cliffs has been operating there since 1847.

U.P. County Tops State Unemployment Rate [3 min 56 sec]

Michigan's Baraga County has the state's highest unemployment rate, and at around 25 percent it's the third highest in the nation. Host Liane Hansen speaks with Baraga Village Manager Roy Kemppainin.

The Civil War That You Never Heard About [2 min 15 sec]

Stories about war are common. Unusual is the true story of an American war with no casualties. One of the spoils of the Toledo War was the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. And the early 19th century combatants were the Michigan and Ohio militias. Host Liane Hansen talks to State Representative Mike Lahti about the often-forgotten war.

In Contrast, This U.P. Town Is Thriving [6 min 30 sec]

In a country that's seen its share of downtown decay, central Marquette seems to be thriving. There's a bustling farmer's market, and along Washington Street there are coffee shops and quirky businesses including hockey and bingo supply stores. Host Liane Hansen pays a visit to Getz's Clothiers, a business dating from the 1880's that now draws 80 percent of its sales from online business.

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Slows by farlane

A few weeks ago NPR had an interesting feature titled Despite Tough Times, Some See Opportunity In Detroit that looked at how Detroit's dramatic downturn has created some amazing opportunities for starting businesses.

Phil Cooley says the city is wide open for new ventures and is tolerant of his mistakes and successes. "It's lovely to be able to afford to do that here, one, because the community is so forgiving. And two, because it's less expensive than other places. So it's affordable," he says.

Music producer Chris Koltay was drawn to Detroit from Cincinnati by the vibrant music scene and the cheap real estate. He says he knew he could afford a whole building. He found one across the street from Slows for just $38,000. The recording studio is packed with guitars, keyboards and microphones.

Koltay has made a loft in the back of the building and for a year lived there without hot water. "It was gnarly, but whatever. Now I'm golden. And it's so wide open, and I think that's beautiful. I've never seen a city that has this kind of opportunity for growth, and I think that's beautiful," he says.

Check out some Detroit commercial real estate listings from Loopnet, follow the Detroit rebirth via Model D and get links from Absolute Michigan's Real Estate & Development section for Southeast Michigan.

Investors find real estate gold in Detroit from CNN explores a similar phenomenon in the Detroit housing market.

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Photo: You with the camera, enough pictures!! by Daylily18

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Crooked Tree Arts Center by joseph a

Jennifer Guerra of Michigan Radio recently took a trip to northwest Michigan and produced three features on how organizations & individuals are dealing with economic challenges titled Up North in a Down Economy.

In addition to a story on the bright spot of growth that is the region's wine industry, she explored how people and nonprofit organizations are adapting. A Nonprofit Cafe Grows in Ellsworth looks at how folks in Ellsworth have banded together in the face of 16% unemployment to create a nonprofit, volunteer run cafe. In Arts Groups Press On Despite Recession, she documents how regional nonprofits are reacting to plummeting dollars by working together:

"The idea of that partnering has become greater and greater over time because there are limited dollars," says Murphy. "Even in a wonderful place like this where people support the arts, there's a limit to how many dollars there are."

In order to save money, Murphy convinced three other nonprofit arts groups, including the Traverse Symphony Orchestra, to pool there money together and create a website called TREAT. The group shares all the advertising and ticketing costs. People can just log on to one site, they can buy tickets there, and find out about all the arts events that are going on in the region.

If you have the time, I definitely encourage you to check out all three!

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Planet Detroit by paulhitz

National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" is currently running a series titled "Remaking Michigan, Retooling Detroit" which explores Detroit's struggle to regain vitality in the face of seemingly insurmountable economic conditions. It shows that there is beacon of hope out there if approached with creative, innovative thought mixed thoroughly with a good dose of bold entrepreneurship and commitment.

Once in a while
you get shown the light
in the strangest of places
if you look at it right

~Robert Hunter

Michigan, the national leader in recession, depends on an auto industry that will never be as big as it was. So how does the Detroit area diversify? Who's hiring, or investing in something new? Morning Edition reports on Detroit's desperate race to replace the jobs that the automakers eliminate.

Features in the NPR series include:

Kalamazoo: A Potential Beacon for Detroit?

Detroit Industry: The Murals of Diego Rivera

Scholar: It's Time For The Post Automotive Era

Smaller Firms May Come To Michigan's Rescue

Michigan, Detroit Prep Themselves For A New Era

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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.

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MSU College of Human Medicine by Eridony

Going up

The New York Times reports that in the midst of the darkest economic times Michigan has seen in decades, the University of Michigan is spending billions to grow with nearly three million square feet new buildings for science, medicine, health, art, business, sports, food service and student housing under construction and five others  in the design stage.

wizardkitten at Blogging for Michigan packed a lot of positive economic stories for Michigan into a post about how Obama's "Green New Deal" can create jobs, ease global warming and lessen our dependence on foreign oil all at the same time. She links to a nice article about Michigan-based Hemlock Semiconductor and also to related stories in the Freep and LA Times and notes that when added to our burgeoning movie industry, those folks out on the west coast might start to think that we are OK after all. Especially if - as she reports elsewhere - Gov. Granholm is tapped for the post of Queen of England.

Fallen by jnhkrawczyk

Going down

Unfortunately, it's not all (or even mostly) good news. Comerica Bank's preliminary November Michigan Business Activity Index (28k PDF) fell 4 points to 79 - the lowest level in 16 years. The November reading was down 13 points from November 2007 and 27% from its October 2003 peak of 108. That decline rivals the largest previous peak- to-trough decline of 33% between September 1978 and June 1980.

Michigan Radio's Jack Lessenberry notes that while Washington doesn’t have to live within its means and can borrow and borrow and borrow - hello $11,000,000,000,000 national debt - state governments are not so lucky (also check out his interview with Chris Christoff, the Freep's Lansing Bureau chief). Jack notes that every few months, Michigan has a "revenue estimating conference" wherein budget controllers assess expected revenues as compared to budgeted expenditures. When revenues fall short, it's time for cuts. A round of cuts is expected this month, and it likely won't be the last. He says that our elected officials can go to their usual strategy of blaming each other (and solving nothing) or steal a page from the past:

Back in the 1970s, Governor Milliken used to convene regular weekly meetings of what he called the “quadrant,” the majority and minority leaders in the House and Senate. They would get together and discuss how best to solve state problems.

Governor Jennifer Granholm should try that. She is in a position to serve as an honest broker. She can’t run again. These are desperate times, and saving the state needs to take top priority.

In a move that seems oddly desperate, General Motors is selling about 200 vehicles from its collection of 1000 vintage GM cars & trucks. They will be sold at Barrett-Jackson's 2009 Scottsdale Auction and could raise as little as $5 million.

And speaking of roller coasters...

Reports suggest that the Tigers are no closer to filling the roll of closer. Rollercoaster Jones, where are you?

Photo: You with the camera, enough pictures!! by Daylily18

snow shovel by Latitude 45

The Ann Arbor Business Review asks where is America's love for Detroit? The answer, it seems, is not in the media:

We know the U.S. auto industry has been working through some issues for some time now, and we realize that Detroit isn't a national symbol for prosperity.

But come on.

The one thing this state needs to face today is the sobering fact that yes, the rest of the U.S. really does hate Detroit.

They look at how a story on urban farming got spun into an indictment of city planning by Bloomberg (sort of balanced, but is there a "best practice" for shedding half your population and revenue?) and link to a painful slideshow on Detroit's ruins (painful for subject and unholy web 1.0 clunkiness) that appeared in Time.

It may be that coverage of auto bailout vs financial bailout wasn't biased, I know that I've seen more and more of this Detroit and seemingly Michigan contempt in my travels around the net. Nasty comments, cheers of "burn baby burn", charges of $150/hr UAW average pay all make me wonder exactly what we did to earn this. Heck, we're even seeing an increase of hate crimes within Michigan.

Where's the love, Michigan?

Freep columnist Drew Sharp says that the Detroit Lions players like Dominic Raiola aren't the ones who should be apologizing to fans for the "product" that is Detroit Lions Football. I'll give you two guesses as to who he thinks should apologize (one for each of them).

I was going to take you out with a Jim Rome Hate-Down on the Motor City Kitties featuring "The Super Bowl of Tanking" and a clear path to 0-16:

I can see that a Lions win would be totally meaningless in the bigger picture, but I think it would somehow make a difference for me.

How about you?

The photo is Shall We? Let's Shall by photoshoparama and I think that about all I want to add is check out Michitwitter for all kinds of Michigan news nuggets.

Snowball Ready! by Odalaigh

11 AM already?? Who forgot to set the alarm?

Apparently the newspaper biz did, somewhere around 1997. The Center for Michigan's Phil Power writes that while they aren't shedding jobs at quite the pace of the auto industry, Michigan newspapers are having their own problems. As they shrink, he wonders Who will tell the people?

Over at mLive, Susan Demas wonders when the national media will stop getting their info from Robocop & Roger and Me and start looking at ... you know ... facts and junk. WKAR's weekly Off the Record program noted that and you should definitely take a little time to watch their take on the auto bailout and what the next few weeks might hold.

One thing the next few weeks will hold is the return of Antonio McDyess to the Detroit Pistons on December 3rd. While you won't be able to see him on Friday, you might want to head down to the Palace for their Guys Night Out this Friday. While the University of Michigan has had about their worst season in history, there was some bright news yesterday with the signing of two four-star prospects. They are Oklahoma Defensive tackle Pearlie Graves and Florida safety  Vladimir Emilien who remarked "I love Michigan and my heart was just there ever since I visited them earlier this year."

If you love Michigan, the latest podcast from the new site Greening of the Great Lakes will let you know why it's important to buy local for Thanksgiving. For a little help with your shopping list, check out Absolute Michigan's A Very Michigan Thanksgiving.

Finally, the Weather Underground reports that Alpena has already set a daily maximum rainfall mark of .55 inches for November 25! Take the rest of the day off!

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Photo: You with the camera, enough pictures!! by Daylily18

Better Hide! by reddeviltj

There's a light dusting of snow on the ground, something that no doubt has Michigan's 3/4 of a million deer hunters counting the days until Saturday. Our Opening Day of Michigan deer hunting season post from last year has links to all the details about the November 15-30 firearm deer season.

mLive is reporting that this year the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has banned deer baiting to control the spread of chronic wasting disease.

"In years past during bow season I'd put a little corn or apples or carrots out to get that perfect 20-yard bow range, maybe bait several sites and then monitor them to see where you'd want to set up your stand. Not this time. But heck, our forefathers didn't used to go out there and put all those foods out. I guess we'll have to relearn the traditional ways of doing things."
-Genesee County resident Donald M. Baxter

What is deer hunting really all about? Not killing animals, because sometimes you don't even fire a shot. It's more about the camaraderie. For those of you who have never been, Chris McCarus of Michigan Now reports on what the boys are up to in Deer Camp with the Boys.

All those hunters in Michigan create a lot of "deer widows" and there's no shortage of special offers out there. The West Michigan Tourism Association has a great list of West Michigan Deer Widow options including . You might also want to enter our giveaway to win some free tickets to the Grand Rapids Wine & Food Festival (Nov 21-21). Travel Michigan (Michigan's official tourism promotion agency) has announced a rather curious promotion - a Deer Widow Cruise ... to Freeport and Nassau Bahama. Um, I think the mission is to promote tourism in Michigan.

Aimeepalooza has a beautiful poem about being a hunting widow and what hunting means in Michigan that you should check out. As an added bonus, she makes sure you get your USRDA of Ted Nugent's Fred Bear - the hunter's anthem.

Be sure not to create any actual widows (or widowers) out there - safe hunting!

Guardian Building Flag by paulhitz

Election Day (November 4, 2008) is just a week away. That means that today is probably a good day to focus on the election and how to get informed about the issues and the candidates. We also invite you  to post your comments and thoughts about the candidates and issues below. One caveat: please do not post attacks or bile - we all know that Barack Obama is BFFs with terrorists and John McCain only has about 8 seconds to live. What we'd like to hear is why you are voting FOR a candidate or measure or what issues you're most concerned with.

The Freep notes that Michigan is one of just 19 states that doesn't allow early voting. Exceptions are only made for those over 60 or who will be absent. They say (and we agree) that "The opportunity to vote early is a blessing for people who don't always know how their schedule will end up on any given day. Among the 31 states that now allow early voting, some even make it particularly easy by setting up poll locations in storefronts and other convenient spots."

Since you can't vote early (and you shouldn't vote often a la Chicago) we hope you can vote informed. Far and away the best site for Michigan voting is publius.org. Just go there, enter your name as it appears on your voter registration and you can see your actual ballot! Ballots have links to the candidate's web site and information about the ballot measures. You can even see the location of your polling place and even what machine you'll be voting on and how it works (mine is a Diebold Accu Vote ... darnitall). If you don't show up, they give you links to contact your local clerk - a good thing to check sooner rather than later! They also have a place where you can send eLection eCards to your friends and family to encourage them to vote.

A news item that we somehow missed was Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land's announcement last week that 7.47 million Michigan residents have registered to vote - a record voter registration of nearly 98 percent of the voting age population! They remind you that voter ID is required - all the details at michigan.gov/vote where you can get all kinds of information including a list of all 688 candidates running for state office.

In addition to candidates, Michigan voters have two statewide proposals to consider. Ballotpedia's 2008 Michigan Ballot Measures page explains that Proposal 1: The Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care Initiative would allow the medical use of marijuana for seriously ill patients. Proposal 2: The Stem Cell Initiative (or CureMichigan) would allow the donation of embryos produced in fertility clinics that would otherwise be discarded and would allow researchers to create embryonic stem cell cultures to study disease. It would also allow government funding of stem-cell research and human cloning would continue to be illegal. Both pages list arguments and organizations pro and con and it's really a great resource.

Michigan Radio's Jack Lessenberry has interviewed people for and against the measures and it'd be worth your time to listen to the views of Senator Tom George (against Prop 1), Diane Byrum of the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care (for Prop 1), David Doyle of Michigan Citizens Against Unrestricted Science and Experimentation and Dr. Sean Morrison of the University of Michigan Center for Stem Cell Biology (for Prop 2). You can also read what Jack thinks about Proposal 1 and Proposal 2.

Voting is Patriotic (Michigan) by farlane

OK, so 98% of you are registered to vote - how many will make it to the polls? The Detroit News notes that while every four years we face 'the most important election ever', that may actually be the case this year.

"We've got two wars, and the economy is dying," said William Rustem, president of Lansing's Public Sector Consultants and a former aide to Republican Gov. William Milliken. "The enormity of the issues is something we haven't faced."

Even when Ronald Reagan was staring down the Russians at the end of the Cold War, Rustem says, no one was watching the daily numbers on Wall Street and talking about the Great Depression, or debating the need to retool the entire energy sector to avoid climatic disaster.

Finally, I thought this article on How to Pick a President was one of the best things I've read about the voting process this year. Please share things you've read or heard in the comments.

And oh yeah: Vote.

View the high quality version of this video on YouTube!

Encore: Treat yourself to this rousing rendition of the classic song 'Soulshine'! Written by legendary guitarist Warren Haynes and originally recorded by Larry McCray on his CD 'Delta Hurricane'.

About Larry McCray
Larry McCray, the second youngest of nine children, was raised on a small farm in Magnolia, Arkansas. His father played the blues on harmonica and guitar, and his older sister Clara was a guitarist and disciple of Freddie King. The family had records by John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy Reed and Muddy Waters, among others. McCray cites the musical influence of the three blues Kings - B.B., Albert and Freddie - on his guitar playing, as well as Albert Collins, Elmore James and Magic Sam. Larry McCray is one of a handful of talented young blues performers leading the genre across boundaries and into the new century. McCray's savage blues-rock guitar and warm, soulful vocals have drawn attention worldwide.

In the early 1970s, McCray and his family moved to Saginaw, Michigan where he took a job at a General Motors plant while finishing school. His sister Clara taught him some guitar fundamentals and showed him how to play blues classics like Muddy Waters’ “Got My Mojo Working” and Freddie King's “Hideaway.” He also turned to records for inspiration, especially the popular soul music of the time, such as Gladys Knight and the Pips, Ike and Tina Turner, James Brown, Little Milton, Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles, plus the omnipresent Motown sound. Over the next decade, he worked on the GM assembly line during the day and performed with local blues, rock, country, and jazz-fusion groups at night.

McCray's hard work paid big dividends when he became the first artist signed by Virgin Records' (now defunct) blues division - Pointblank Records. In 1990, they released his debut, “Ambition,” which was well received by the U.S. and European press. It included the standout track “Nobody Never Hurt Nobody With The Blues” - a funky blues workout with a sizzling guitar solo. Importantly, the success of Ambition gave McCray the momentum to quit his job at GM and concentrate solely on music.

The Official Larry McCray Band Website

Larry McCray at MySpace

Deep Woods Press, photo by Todd Zawistowski

Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra recently took a trip to northern lower Michigan to explore the ties between art & community. One of her stops was Chad Pastotnik's Deep Wood Press studio in Mancelona to learn about the centuries old art of letterpress:

The first you thing you notice about Chad Pastotnik's studio is that – minus Chad – everything in it is old. It's almost as though you've stepped back in time to the days of Gutenberg and his printing press.

"Yeah, this is not Kinko's. It's not even your ink jet," jokes Pastotnik.

Hardly. This is hand set, letterpress printing. It's a fine art that's been around for 500 years and has recently undergone a kind of revival in the states. Book Arts graduate programs are popping up around the country and community art centers have started to offer letter press workshops. But none of that was around when Pastotnik was an undergrad getting his fine art degree in printmaking:

"At that point," says Pastotnik, " I didn't even know about the fine book tradition. I'd seen fine books, but I wasn't aware in the 80's what this whole thing was about."

..."Well," he says, "I wanted words with my images and that was the way to go. You know, it's magic. It's alchemy in the works. It's turning lead into gold."

Listen to the interview and head over to the Deep Wood Press web site for more about this cool process. Also be sure to check out her other features on Bay Bucks, the Art Farm and Earthworks Music.

The 12th Street Riot was a civil disturbance in Detroit that began in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 23, 1967. Vice squad officers executed a raid at a blind pig, or speakeasy, on the corner of 12th Street and Clairmount on the city's near westside. The confrontation with the patrons there evolved into one of the deadliest and most destructive riots in modern U.S. history, lasting five days and far surpassing the 1943 riot the city endured. Before the end, the state and federal governments, under order of then President Lyndon B. Johnson, sent in National Guard and U.S. Army troops. The result was forty-three dead, 467 injured, over 7,200 arrests and more than 2,000 buildings burned down.

The best media I came across is Ashes to Hope: Overcoming the Detroit Riots from Michigan Radio (tip: open in a new tab and listen while you check out the other photos & stories).. This 2007 feature marking the 40th anniversary opens with recollections from John Conyers, Phillip Hewitt and Ronald Nye and delivers a frank look at various aspects of the riot - some say rebellion - and its aftermath from people who experienced it. I heartily recommend you click the link and listen to the whole thing. NPR's Riots Rocked Detroit 40 Years Ago Today has more recollections as does this Detroit News forum featuring letters from Detroit residents.

Here's an ABC News feature below, but the best video I found is Detroit Riot 1967/ Mr. Jacobs by KeylaBb (more videos under Related Videos at that link).:

The video features the song Black Day in July by Gordon Lightfoot which was banned in the US. Detroit Riot, July 1967 on Michigan in Pictures this morning has this listing of photos:

• Detroit Riot of 1967 portfolio at Virtual Motor City (cool site!)
• 40 Years After the Detroit Riots: Could It Happen Again? by photographer Jim Hubbard
• Six Detroit Riot photos at JamD
• 1967 Detroit Riot photos by Phil Cherner (includes a then & now video)
• Detroit 1967 Riots on Flickr (slideshow)
• Photo gallery from the Detroit News archives
• Excellent thread on Exposure.Detroit about the riot with lots of links to other resources.

There's of course a ton more to say ... I hope you'll share your thoughts in the comments and add links to sites and media we missed!

And so is the CSL Tadoussac by mdprovost

"Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt." -Measure for Measure

Hundreds of years later, Shakespeare still has wisdom aplenty to share. You can pick up some of that, along with a healthy dose of entertainment at the The Michigan Shakespeare Festival in Jackson. It starts Tuesday (Jul 15) and continues through August 3rd.

There's a whole slew of other events in our July Michigan Event Calendar for this weekend including the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the Venetian Festival in St. Joseph, the Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium in Grand Marais, Concert of Colors in Detroit, Michigan Storytellers Festival in Flint, the Hiawatha Music Festival in Marquette, Waterford's Quake on the Lake boat race, the Ragtime Street Fair in Dearborn and the Great Lakes Irish Music Festival at Comstock Park in Grand Rapids.

The photo above is from the early stage of last weekend's Port Huron to Mackinac sailing race. I'm told it was one of the faster ones on record - the bigger boats were actually moving faster than the Coast Guard Cutter that was going to mark their midway times - and that one boat made just two jibes! Hope the wind is at your back this week and as always, post your comments & observations below!

< The Week for July 7 - 13, 2008 | The Week for July 21-27, 2008 >

first boats in the morning by haglundc

Welcome to the Week on Absolute Michigan, the place where we (and you!) talk about the news & happenings of the week.

Now (happily) that Delegate-Gate is winding down and (sadly) that the Pistons have lost for the third straight year in the Eastern Conference Finals, lots of eyes in Michigan are focused the Detroit Red Wings and the Stanley Cup. Tonight could be the night!

In our Absolute Michigan photo group on Flickr we're seeing pictures of big and bold dandelions, bright flowers, speeding planes and people starting to "dip the piggies" into that Michigan water!!

Our Michigan June Event Calendar says that this weekend is absolutely stuffed full of events including The Mackinac Island Lilac Festival, Charlevoix Renaissance Festival, Leelanau Vintners Premium Pour,
the Upper Peninsula Championship Rodeo in Iron River, the Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts, Greek Festival in Kalamazoo and Potterville's Gizzard Fest.

The Grand by suesue2

The Detroit Regional Chamber's annual Mackinac Policy Conference is underway on Mackinac Island. Detroit's WWJ News Radio is providing live audio coverage and podcasts of the Conference, which will include speeches and interviews with Gov. Granholm, Lou Glazer of Michigan Future Inc. (check out his "Cutting through the fluff" interview), Center for Michigan founder Phil Power, Joe Schwarz, James Croce of Next Energy, Jack Lessenberry, Tim Skubick and others who will analyze the upcoming elections and a collection of Michigan legislators who will discuss "Moving Michigan Forward ".

One of the new twists this year with be a "Fusion Track", designed to give young professional an opportunity to share their ideas for transforming Detroit and the state. This is driven by Fusion, a Detroit Chamber convened group of young professionals who have been brainstorming ways to attract young people to metro Detroit. From the Freep:

"We've seen what we like in other places, what works in other places, what attracts young professionals to other cities and states. We want to bring some of that here to Michigan," said Markeisha Miner, an attorney at Dickinson Wright in Detroit who is a member of Fusion and plans to attend the conference.

Find a good story or blog about the conference or have an observation? Post it below!

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!