It appears that General Motors is in the midst of a transformation from a massive company to a somewhat less massive company. It seems that while - or perhaps because - that is happening, interesting things are bubbling out of Michigan's largest company.
One such item is a venture of GM and the College of Creative Studies (CCS) who have created an art education program with Detroit Public Schools called You Make a Difference (view video). GM explains:
The program pairs together a GM designer and a College of Creative Studies student in Detroit. Six times a year, the duo visits a local high school and teaches students the basics of automotive design. Since the kids are new to the topic, they start with the fundamentals-- drawing straight lines and elipses. Over the course of the program, students learn the concepts of perspective, angles and shading and then put all their knowledge together by sketching their dream car, which is put on display at the College of Creative Studies.
"I want them to know that whatever you do, as long as you are passionate about it, it will reward you in the long run," says David Rojas, a HUMMER designer who mentors the art students at Mumford High School in Detroit.
This year, the program has grown to 22 schools and has expanded outside Detroit to the cities of Pontiac, Mich., and Los Angeles. For some kids, "You Make a Difference" is the first step on the path to a career in car design. In fact, three students have already gone on to receive scholarships at CCS.
I'm curious what folks think about bringing business into the classroom in programs like this and more extensive ones like the Henry Ford Hospital's Early College where public school students a high school diploma, an Associates Degree from Henry Ford Community College, and certification in specific health fields.
By farlane
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Posted in Articles, Business, Community, Computers & Technology, Detroit, Graphic Design & Printing, Industry & Manufacturing, Jobs & Employment, Media, Michigan, Schools & Education, Television & Internet Video, The Michigan Pages, Video, Web Design & Media Production
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Hands at Work by detroitsky
Tim Pulice's Pulice Report blog has announced the Arresting Site of the Month for May 2008. The inaugural selection is Michigan Innovators and Tim writes:
I first ran across this terrific online destination last summer, which dovetails perfectly with the spirit of this blog, wherein I look to spotlight Michiganders who display creative zeal. Bud Gibson is doing just that. Along with Diana Wong – who now is in an advisory role – Gibson founded the site in June of 2007, and has compiled an impressive archive of video interviews with business and community leaders across the state, including MicroMax's Rachel McCormack, the Ann Arbor Film Festival’s Donald Harrison, Metro Parent’s Alyssa Martina, Blight Busters' John George, and many others...
Read on and learn how to submit your favorite Michigan web site or blog.
By farlane
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Posted in Articles, Blogs & Forums, Business, Computers & Technology, Graphic Design & Printing, Health & Medical, Industry & Manufacturing, Media, Michigan, Technology & Internet Media, Telecommunications & ISPs, The Michigan Pages: Build Michigan!, Web Design & Media Production
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tasty by postpurchase
The Week is where we post comments about the news, happenings and events of the week. We invite you to do the same.
Our Michigan May Event Calendar is jam packed full of fun. There are a bunch of events this weekend including the Mushroom Fest in Mesick, the Downtown Hoedown in Detroit, the Birmingham Fine Art Festival in Birmingham and the Tulip Time Festival in Holland
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By Absolute Michigan
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Posted in Articles, Arts & Entertainment, Community, Destinations, Dig Michigan, Festivals, Attractions & Event Calendars, Lodging & Travel, Michigan, Recreation & Sports, The Week
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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!
By farlane
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Posted in Advertising, Marketing & Public Relations, Area Information, Articles, Business, Chambers of Commerce, Community, Destinations, Government, Lodging & Travel, Media, Michigan, Newspapers, Parks, Radio & Podcast, Recreation & Sports, Television & Internet Video, The Michigan Pages
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Larry (1ManWithACamera) doesn't have to leave his backyard to find plenty of cool photos.
When he does head out to the country, Mackinac Island or a Tigers game, you can count on him to bring back some great pics ... often with a humorous twist.
(and for the record, lilacs are most definitely NOT blooming here in Michigan's north!)
April 30, 2008 – 10:11 am
The following in an excerpt from the book "Strange Michigan, More Wolverine State Weirdness" forthcoming in October 2008, by permission of the author.
The woods of Michigan buzzed with saws of lumberjacks in the early 20th Century, with particularly intense activity in the lush Jordan River Valley near Alba. Although most tree-fellers toiled in obscurity, working until either the wood or their backs gave out, one Jordan River Valley teamster known as "Big Sam" became a legend But his fame was not of the type anyone would desire.
Big Sam, born Stanley Graczyk, was only 21 in May of 1910. He labored willingly in the valley, hoping to earn money for his upcoming wedding to a longtime sweetheart. On the 20th of that month, a routine drive down the steep hill with a big-wheeled wagon full of logs went terribly wrong and Sam was crushed to death. He was buried at St. Charles Cemetery in Elmira. The slope has been known ever since as "Dead Man's Hill", and the state forest management still posts a warning sign for people to stay off the lethal incline. Look for a small sign a few miles north of Kalkaska on M-66 for the turnoff to the breathtaking scenic overlook.
Linda S. Godfrey, author of that amazing compendium of the unexplained Weird Michigan. The last Wednesday of every month is a "Weird Wednesday" on Absolute Michigan, so be sure to stay tuned and send us or Linda your Michigan weirdness.
You can see the location and a photo of Deadman's Hill from the Antrim County web site.
April 30, 2008 – 10:05 am
It's probably fitting that we close out Garden Month with the largest lifeform in Michigan: The Humongous Fungus. According to the Crystal Falls, Michigan web site (which also provided the photo):
Crystal Falls is "Home of the Humungous Fungus", perhaps the world's largest and oldest living organism. It covers 38 acres beneath an Iron County forest near the Wisconsin border. It is believed to be 1,500 to 10,000 years old and weigh about 100 tons - about the same as an adult blue whale. It is the species called Armillaria Bulbosa and the mushrooms it produces are commonly called "honey mushroom." The mushroom is the only edible part of the fungus. Armillaria bulbosa is very common, occurring in hardwood forests in North America, Europe and Japan.
The fungus was discovered by Myron L. Smith and James B. Anderson, both of the university of Toronto. They came across the fungus while doing research for the U.S. Navy in 1988. When Johann N. Bruhn, a research scientist with Michigan Technological University in Houghton, wrote an article on it in the Journal of Nature in April of 1992, scientists were deluged with inquiries from the United States, Canada, and Britain.
The fungus even made an appearance in a Letterman Top 10 where it was revealed that Elvis once had staff try to bulldoze it onto a 40-acre pizza and that it's nicknamed "Debbie." The Humungous Fungus Fest is held in August every year (Aug 8-10, 2008) and you can learn a ton more about Armillaria gallica, the humongous fungus from Tom Volk (includes the New York Times article and pictures of "Debbie").
Orange Tulip by markmarko
This weekend is the kickoff of Holland's Tulip Time celebration. The annual festival starts this Saturday (May 3, 2008) and continues through May 10.
The Tulip Time Festival's history page says that Tulip Time was introduced in 1927 at a Woman’s Literary Club meeting by Holland biology teacher Miss Lida Rogers. It's grown to be one of the largest flower festivals in the country and features plenty of tulips, music, parades and celebrations and explorations of Holland's Dutch heritage including Klompen dancing (video of Klompen dancers).
In honor of this event (and to check out a bunch of tulip photos) we're featuring a Tulip & Tulip Time slideshow courtesy the Absolute Michigan group on Flickr. One of the members of the group (artist Yolanda Gonzales of Grand Rapids) designed the 2008 Tulip Time poster.
You can read more about the history & background of the event from the Archives of Michigan and Tulip Time 2007 and 2006 from Michigan in Pictures.
By farlane
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Posted in Area Information, Articles, Arts & Entertainment, Bands, Entertainers & Labels, Business, Chambers of Commerce, Community, Destinations, Festivals, Attractions & Event Calendars, Graphic Design & Printing, History & Libraries, Holland, Landscaping & Gardens, Lodging & Travel, Media, Michigan, Photo, Photography & Film, Technology & Internet Media, Television & Internet Video, The Michigan Pages
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