Campus Martius Park circa 1899 stunning panoramic photo

To see this panoramic photo of downtown Detroit in all of its glory you really should view the high resolution version [it is 34mb]. The old Detroit City Hall is featured prominently in the center of this photo. To the right of that is the grand old Majestic Building which was completed in 1896 and stood until its demolition in 1962. Incidently, the Majestic was designed by Daniel H. Burnham who was one of the creative forces behind the World's Columbian Exposition of 1892 in Chicago.

On the left-hand side of the photo is the Bagley Memorial Fountain which was moved to Cadillac Square in 2007. Just beyond the fountain is Detroit's first skyscraper, The Hammond Building.

In the forefront on the right side you will see the Michigan Soldier's and Sailor's Monument. The white building in the background behind the monument is the Detroit Opera House.

There are so many wonderful things to see in this photo. I love zooming in on the high resolution version and looking at all of the people, streetcars, and old signage. It's a visual cornucopia of Detroit's beautiful architectural history.

Please use the comments to point out any of the other structures in this photo that I have missed noting. Also, for tons of great pictures and history of other notable Detroit buildings you have to visit BuildingsOfDetroit.com.

Video of 1924 concept snow vehicle using Fordson tractor

My dad sent me this in an email last week, but I have to give credit to SeekingMichigan.org for posting this excellent footage at Vimeo. If you want to find all kinds of unique historic information and other assorted goodies about Michigan, check it out. This 1924 video showcases the Armstead Snow Motors concept vehicle utilizing both a Fordson tractor and a Chevrolet automobile. I like the rugged utility of the Fordson tractor mashup. I could have a lot of fun with one of those. I can't believe they never went into mass production. You would have thought the military could have made use of them in the winter campaign of 1944-45 in World War II, but perhaps politics and pettiness kept that from happening.

Armstead Snow Motors from Seeking Michigan on Vimeo.

Photo Credit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/refractionless/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo of frosty foggy morning in Michigan

We have had a lot of frosty foggy mornings here in Michigan over the past week. I was able to capture one that was actually sunny (the last couple days have been dark and overcast). Not sure if the photo does justice to the view I had, but it was definitely beautiful with the fog retreating and leaving behind its frosty residue on tree branches as the sun rose and attempted to warm the January sky. Can we just shorten frosty fog to froggy? Then the weather forecasters can save a syllable or two and just say that another froggy morning is expected :).

2010 Michigan Notable Books

Once again, the Library of Michigan has come up with an eclectic list of books for the annual Michigan Notable Books list. I have already read a couple of the books on this list and they were quite good - Bath Massacre: America’s First School Bombing and Stitches: A Memoir. Do yourself a favor and pick at least a couple of these books to add to your reading list this year. You won't be disappointed. From the Library of Michigan -

Michigan Notable Books is a statewide program that began as part of the 1991 Michigan Week celebration, geared to pay tribute and draw attention to the many people, places and things that make Michigan life unique. In that regard, MNB successfully highlights Michigan books and writers focusing on the Great Lakes State. Each title on the 2010 list gives readers insight into what it means to make your home in Michigan and proves some of the greatest stories are indeed found in the Great Lakes region.

View previous lists of Michigan Notable Books

1. American Salvage: Stories by Bonnie Jo Campbell
2. Annie’s Ghosts: A Journey into a Family Secret by Steve Luxenberg
3. The Art Student’s War: A Novel by Brad Leithauser
4. Bath Massacre: America’s First School Bombing by Arnie Bernstein
5. Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City by Greg Grandin
6. Have a Little Faith: A True Story of a Last Request by Mitch Albom
7. Isadore’s Secret: Sin, Murder and Confession in a Northern Michigan Town by Mardi Link
8. January’s Sparrow by Patricia Polacco
9. The Lost Tiki Palaces of Detroit: Stories by Michael Zadoorian
10. Michigan’s Columbus: The Life of Douglass Houghton by Steve Lehto
11. Nothing But a Smile: A Novel by Steve Amick
12. Orlando M. Poe: Civil War General and Great Lakes Engineer by Paul Taylor
13. Our People, Our Journey: The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians by James M. McClurken
14. Pandora’s Locks: The Opening of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway by Jeff Alexander
15. Roses and Revolutions: The Selected Writings of Dudley Randall edited by Melba Joyce Boyd
16. Season of Water and Ice by Donald Lystra
17. Stitches: A Memoir by David Small
18. Travelin’ Man: On the Road and Behind the Scenes with Bob Seger by Tom Weschler and Gary Graff
19. Up the Rouge!: Paddling Detroit’s Hidden River by Joel Thurtell. Photographs by Patricia Beck
20. When March Went Mad: The Game That Transformed Basketball by Seth Davis

Feel free to discuss any of these books in the comments section for this post. I would love to hear what others have to say about the Michigan Notable Books.

Photo of Logging in Michigan 1880-99

This happy looking gentleman is using a pair of gorgeous draft horses to pull the cumbersome logging sled. The Library of Congress page for this photo states that it was taken in Michigan sometime between 1880 and 1899. The use of ice roads (the original ice road truckers? :) ) and logging sleds similar to the one in the photo were integral in the logging of Michigan's white pine forests. More information on logging sleds via this Michigan State University website

The 35th Annual Lake Superior State Banished Words List

Last week Lake Superior State unveiled their annual list of banished words. After reading the list as well as the additional comments I have to say that I don't have any argument against any of the words included on the list. In fact, I would be glad to see them go :).

• Shovel-Ready - I had not even heard of this one, but apparently it is in reference to when a project is ready to be implemented. And here I thought it was a term used by the funeral home industry.
• Transparent/Transparency - As in "transparency in government" which is really an oxymoron.
• Czar - I have never understood the use of this term with various higher office positions. I'm always reminded of the Russian Czarists whenever this is used.
• Tweet - No, it is not because of the use of this word in "Rockin' Robin" by Bobby Day. This is because of the Twitter phenomenon which I think has more to do with the media's obsession with talking about "tweet this" or talking about who is tweeting. I think Twitter is a useful method to connect with customers - follow me at Twitter.com/nortman.
• APP - There's an APP for that. Blah, blah, blah.
• Sexting - Once again, overkill by the media is reason enough for the demise of this word.
• Friend as a Verb - "Friending", "Unfriending", etc. on Facebook.
• Teachable Moment - A clever phrase that is another way of saying, "he/she just learned a life lesson."
• In these economic times . . . - You could even get more specific and ban any story referencing Michigan/Detroit in these economic times. I'm just a fed up Michigander when it comes to talking about all of the problems we have in this state. Lets focus on some positives in 2010.
• Stimulus - I'm weary of hearing about the "stimulus" this or that and especially any advertisements that companies label a "stimulus package."
• Toxic Assets - Call them what they are - bad investments/bad stocks.
• Too big to fail - I had a prof in college who said that the one "sure thing" stock segment to invest in was the auto industry as it had been around for so long and was "too big to fail." I'd like to chat with him about that one now.
• Bromance - Seriously? Two guys can't just say they're friends with someone? You have to call it a bromance?
• Chillaxin' - Do we really need to invent more terms for relaxing?
• Obama prefix or roots - For example "Obamanomics" or other such rubbish.