I still think that Michigan is Amazing

MichiganIsAmazing.com shuttered their virtual doors on January 31, 2008. While not one of my daily visits (I caught up with the site once a week or so) it was an interesting site that tried to get Michigan residents to use stories, photos, and comments to tell their version of why Michigan is amazing. It's too bad that they are no longer around. I am not sure why they have closed the site or if this was all a planned publicity effort by Michigan's tourism promotion folks.

Now, the main page points you to a handful of sites with one of them being Pure Michigan Experiences which is run by the state through Michigan.org. This looks to be similar to what MichiganIsAmazing.com offered as far as user submitted content.

There is something about personal recommendations that I just can't resist. I love reading what other people think of different places in Michigan that I, too, have been able to visit.

Anyway, I still think that Michigan Is Amazing and I'll keep plugging along trying to convince others the same thing via this blog and our Michigan gift baskets.

Have a Great Day!

Top five words Governor Granholm used in her State of the State Speech

The Detroit Free Press had an interesting article on the number of times certain words were used in Governor Granholm's State of the State speech. Here is the breakdown:

1. Jobs - 54 times
2. Alternative or renewable energy - 25 times
3. Schools - 18 times
4. Taxes - 12 times
5. Anger or angry - 8 times

And the two words most Michigan residents wanted to hear her say . . . I quit ;).

Read the full text of last night's speech.

Here are the 20 Michigan Notable Books for 2008

Each year the Michigan Notable Books selection committee puts together what they believe to be the 20 best books that are either about or take place in Michigan. Other qualifications are that the books could take place in Great Lakes region, be written by a Michigan native, or be written by a current Michigan resident. In case you missed out on the 2007 list - you can read this post from last year. I read quite a few of the 2007 books.

Without further ado, here are the 20 Michigan Notable Books for 2008:

• Alden B. Dow: Midwestern Modern
• Connecting the Dots: Tyree Guyton's Heidelberg Project
• Elijah of Buxton
• The Father of All Things: A Marine, His Son, and the Legacy of Vietnam
• Fork in the Road with Eric Villegas
• From the Vine: Exploring Michigan Wineries
• Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed
• Mackinac Bridge: A 50-Year Chronicle, 1957- 2007
• "My Brave Mechanics:" The First Michigan Engineers and Their Civil War
• One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II
• Paper Tiger: One Athlete's Journey to the Underbelly of Pro Football
• A Primer on Parallel Lives
• The Red Parts: A Memoir
• Returning to Earth
• Sailing Grace
• The Sound the Stars Make Rushing Through the Sky: The Writings of Jane Johnston Schoolcraft
• Stealing Buddha's Dinner: A Memoir
• Sweety Pies: An Uncommon Collection of Womanish Observations, with Pie
• Up in Honey's Room
• Write It When I'm Gone: Remarkable Off-the-Record Conversations With Gerald R. Ford

Via Michigan.gov/NotableBooks

Surprise! Michigan isn't broke

Well, this year anyway. The state finished up its fiscal year which ended September 30, 2007 with a surplus of more than $350 million. Don't pop the champagne corks and start the victory parade just yet, though. Dire predictions of another budget shortfall for 2008 abound. Hopefully the experts are wrong and we can start to build some economic momentum here in Michigan.

Read the article in The Detroit News

Michigan loses approximately 30,500 residents since '06

U.S. Census figures released this week show that roughly 30,500 Michigan residents left the state since 2006. That works out to a .3% drop in total population for the state. This really shouldn't come as any surprise to those of us living here in Michigan. You can't expect the population to increase or even hold steady with the thousands of jobs this state has lost in the past year. It's a disappointing figure, no doubt about it.

An article in the Detroit Free Press attributes the losses to -

High unemployment, people enlisting in the military or being called to active duty, and more students going to college out of state than Michigan brings in.

Read the entire article at www.freep.com

New page devoted to The Christmas Tree Ship

The new page includes my original article first printed in one of our newsletters a few years ago, two videos of the Rouse Simmons (the Christmas Tree Ship) 165 feet beneath the surface of Lake Michigan, and links to other Christmas Tree Ship related websites. It is amazing to see the Christmas trees scattered across the ship's deck and in it's hold in the videos. There are actually still needles attached to the branches. Almost eerie in a way.

Check out The Christmas Tree Ship