World Water Day is today, a day to celebrate fresh water and consider the many issues we are confronting around water and its use.
From our rivers, lakes and streams to our boats, beaches and bass to the very shape of our state, water defines Michigan. Like it our not, the Great Lakes State is placed firmly at the center of water issues, so it makes a lot of sense for us to spend some time exploring these issues.
We'd like to share with you some of the 12,000+ photos in our water slideshow from the Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr, and we hope you can share with us a thought about Michigan's water.
Today on The Daily Michigan we welcome a new featured partner, Arcadia, Michigan based natural skin care company Izlla, who is offering as their first giveaway, their Rose Gift Bag that was part of the celebrity gift offering at Super Bowl XLVI last month.
IZLLA skin care products are made in small batches to provide pure organic therapeutic nourishment for your every need, pampering your skin with true and pure luxury for immediate results. Their ingredients are local organically grown, when possible, and use fresh fruit, veggies, flowers and herbs.
Head over to Izlla.com for more and click the icon to the left to visit their Facebook.
The gift box contains their Dried Cherry Biscotti, Lemon Blue Berry Biscotti, Double Dark Chocolate Biscotti, Orange Cranberry Biscotti, Seasonal Biscotti, Mighty Mac Mix and Slab Town Flats.
Chef Perry Harmon writes "I love the bounty of ingredients that are available right in our Great State. We have beautiful fruits, maple syrup, artisan honey, and so much more readily available for our enjoyment. I purchase as many local Michigan products as I can for use in my business."
A spring heat wave like no other in U.S. and Canadian history peaked in intensity yesterday, during its tenth day. Since record keeping began in the late 1800s, there have never been so many temperature records broken for spring warmth in a one-week period - and the margins by which some of the records were broken yesterday were truly astonishing. Wunderground's weather historian, Christopher C. Burt, commented to me yesterday, "it's almost like science fiction at this point."
...Pellston, Michigan in the Northern Lower Peninsula is called "Michigan's Icebox", since it frequently records the coldest temperatures in the state, and in the entire nation. But the past five days, Pellston has set five consecutive records for hottest March day. Yesterday's 85° reading broke the previous record for the date (53° in 2007) by a ridiculous 32°, and was an absurd 48°F above average.
The low temperature at Marquette, Michigan was 52° yesterday, which was 3° warmer than the previous record high for the date!
There's no way of knowing how this will all play out, but we've already seen tornados (more right here and a video below). Yesterday afternoon Jeff Masters of the Weather Underground wrote more about Summer in March for the Midwest, saying:
The ongoing March heat wave in the Midwest is one of the most extreme heat events in U.S. history. With so many records being shattered, it is difficult to cover in detail just how widespread, long-lasting, and extreme the event is...
Houghton, Michigan, near the frigid shores of Lake Superior, hit 76°F both Saturday and Sunday. It was the hottest March temperature on record, and an astonishing 44°F above the average high for the date (Saturday) of 32° ... Most of the cities in Northern Michigan set all-time March high temperature records over the weekend.
Read on for much more including some great maps. It's important to note that he's not saying record high days - that's all time highs for the month of March! He adds that Chicago broken high temperature records for 5 days in a row and could set 8 days in a row, an extraordinarily rare happening with 100+ year of records to break. Here's an appropriate quote from the 1936 Chicago Tribune:
From the Hudson bay region of northern Canada a wave of cool air pushed into Chicago late last night, halting the heat that has baked the city for eight days.
All that's wrong is the date ... July 15th. Take it home, Martha & the Vandellas,'cause we're surely talking about a Heatwave:
TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, and TEDx was created to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate relevant dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. These events are fully planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis, and every Tuesday we're featuring a talk from a Michigan TEDx - many more at TEDxMichigan and you can also click for a list of TEDx events in Michigan!
The theme of this year's TEDxMacatawa was "Do More Good." They brought together a group of 16 local “Doing Leaders” to share their stories, ideas, hopes and dreams and show how adventurous, passionate people are creating a collective "Good" in the community through the confluence of Technology, Entertainment and Design. You can see all the speakers at that link!
Chris Klein is a voice to those that have none and helping hand to those with disabilities, even though he was born with cerebral palsy and uses augmentative communication to help him interact with the rest of the world. Over the past four years, Chris has been working closely with people that use AAC. He has recently been elected president of USSAAC (United States Society of Augmentative Alternative Communication). He has also formed an organization called BeCOME AAC. It stands for Building Connections with Others through Mentoring and Education about AAC.
We hope you enjoy his talk on augmentative communication, and that it helps you feel a little more comfortable interacting with people who use AAC and in seeing their unique abilities and talents.
Our winner will receive a pouch of their Mug O' Love Hot Cocoa Mix. It's a people-friendly, planet friendly YUM in your tum from organic farmers in Peru, Dominican Repuplic and Paraguay. It's naturally gluten free & vegan and all that's required is your mug and some milk for a cup of warm deliciousness! Add to that their Nibblers Variety Pack featuring 3 different bags of fair trade organic cacao nibs complimented by different dried fruit and nut combinations: Tart Cherry Almond Cacao, Wild Blueberry Walnut Cacao and Zante Currant Pecan Cacao.
At Just Good Chocolate they're striving to be the most people-friendly, planet-friendly chocolate company on earth ... with a healthy dose of silliness mixed in. Visit them at justgoodchocolate.com or on their Facebook for more about how they do that!
The article Panty Raid, 1952 by James Tobin from the University of Michigan's Michigan Today begins:
It had been another dismal Michigan winter. The gray and the cold had stretched well into March. But finally, as the earth approached the vernal equinox on Thursday, March 20, 1952—the eve of the first day of spring—the temperature in Ann Arbor crept up to 57 glorious degrees. Jackets came off. Windows opened.
At about 6:30 p.m., Art Benford, a junior, finished dinner in the dining hall of West Quad. He went to his room in Allen Rumsey House and picked up his trumpet. Benford said later he had only meant to relax by playing a little music. But his impromptu rendition of Glenn Miller's "Serenade in Blue" set off a chain of events that gave America a distinguishing fad of the 1950s—the panty raid.
Read on for a recap of the birth of this Fifties fad, and also the issues that led to a campus wide outbreak that involved thousands of people.
Today on The Daily Michigan we're giving away a Jar Head Salsa party platter featuring 2 pints of Jar Head Salsa - 1 Regular - 1 Mild - with 2 bags of Jar Head Chips and a serving platter!
Jar Head Salsa was created by Gunnery Sergeant Dave Smith USMC, Retired. Smith is a native of Flint who was responsible for feeding 3000 Marines a day for much of his 20 year career. His Top Secret Recipe includes eight different vegetables (fresh from Eastern Market in season), citrus juices, and spices. Each serving has 15% of your daily Vitamin C (over 3 times the average salsa) and 10% of proceeds from sales of Jar Head Salsa are donated to the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Condolences are in order for the University of Michigan and University of Detroit Mercy who fell last night in the opening round of the NCAA tourney. U of M rode the Upset Special with the likes of #2 seeds Duke & Missouri, Temple. While they pulled to within 3 with 4 minutes left, they couldn't seal the deal against The Other Ohio team. Detroit came out firing and was leading with 10 minutes left in the half, but Kansas ultimately proved too much.
The Michigan State University Spartans had a hard-fought first half against LIU-Brooklyn but were powered to victory in part by the 8th triple-double (double-digit assists, rebounds & points) in (official) NCAA tournament history. It's Draymond Green's  second, and if you're feeling that's something special, you probably should as others who have notched one include Dewayne Wade, Shaquille O'Neil, and Michigan's Gary Grant officially and Oscar Robertson & Artis Gilmore unofficially.  FYI, assists weren't recorded officially until 1984. If they were, you could add 2 more by MSU great Ervin "Magic" Johnson. It's a noteworthy feat for sure, as greats like Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Bill Russell never did it.
The Spartans now face the 9th seeded St. Louis Billikens at 2:45 pm on Sunday. If you're wondering "What the Heck is a Billiken?" you're not alone.  Fortunately, the folks at St. Louis University get that question a lot and explain that the Billiken was created in the early 1900s as a bank and statuette and was turned into all sorts of things from dolls & marshmallow candies to hood ornaments.
We decided we'd let the mascots settle this game in our March Madness Mascot Matchup!
Muscle definition: Sculpted vs ... flabby. Advantage Sparty!!
Public Appearances: Flags & iPhone cases vs Dolls & Marshmallow candy.  Advantage Sparty!!!
Dancing Skills: No contest (see below)
Seriously though, the Billikens are coached by a top coach (Rick Majerus) and dispatched a tough Temple team in the opening round. It's a game MSU can't afford to take lightly. More on the game from MSU.
SolSpring in Kalamazoo is a spa and wellness center that offers massage therapy, spa services, acupuncture, chiropractic care and naturopathy. They seek to provide a sanctuary where education, passion and experience serve one purpose – improved wellbeing.
Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association Dedicated to the preservation of lighthouses, the stories of those who kept them, and developing a new generation of preservationists.
Michigan Beer Guide Explore Michigan beer, breweries & brewpubs with the Michigan Beer Guide!
Exposure.Detroit Exposure.Detroit seeks to EXPOSE the unknown Michigan photographer to a network of artists and friends who share in the same passions for art, photography and fun.
The gift box contains their Dried Cherry Biscotti, Lemon Blue Berry Biscotti, Double Dark Chocolate Biscotti, Orange Cranberry Biscotti, Seasonal Biscotti, Mighty Mac Mix and Slab Town Flats. 
The theme of this year's 
The Spartans now 
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