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

The 2008 Banished Word List from Lake Superior State University

The always humorous and much anticipated Banished Word List from Lake Superior State University was issued last week in conjunction with the start of a new year. Nominations for banished words are made through the university's website at www.lssu.edu/banished. Then, the nominations are whittled down by a committee and released to the public. Without further ado, here is the 2008 Banished Word List.

• PERFECT STORM
• WEBINAR
• WATERBOARDING
• ORGANIC
• WORDSMITH/WORDSMITHING
• AUTHOR/AUTHORED
• POST 9/11
• SURGE
• GIVE BACK
• 'BLANK' is the new 'BLANK' or 'X' is the new 'Y'
• BLACK FRIDAY
• BACK IN THE DAY
• RANDOM
• SWEET
• DECIMATE
• EMOTIONAL
• POP
• IT IS WHAT IT IS
• UNDER THE BUS

For more information about the 2008 Banished Words visit the Lake Superior State University website. There are also comments to read from the folks who submitted the words.

You can also read last year's list.

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

Old newspaper predicted bread and gas would never be more than $1

The history books show that former President Richard Nixon did (ahem, Watergate anyone?) and said some peculiar things. A 1974 edition of the Milwaukee Journal was recently uncovered in a wall during a renovation of the DNR's Pocket Park office with an interesting headline - "Nixon Rules Out $1 Gas or Bread". We all know that Nixon was wrong on his pledge that we would never pay more than $1 for bread and gas. Interesting to note is that President Nixon made the comments in the midst of the mid-seventies Oil Crisis when OPEC put the U.S. and other countries under an oil embargo due to their support of Israel in its conflict with Syria and Egypt. The Oil Crisis led to gas shortages and inflated prices.

Via the Daily Press, Escanaba

GPS snowmobile maps available from Michigan's DNR

Michigan has over 6,500 miles of snowmobile trails and these maps represent a significant upgrade from previous maps. The maps are in PDF format and are updated as trail additions, reroutes and closures take place. Get the most recent map at www.Michigan.gov/dnr.

Important Michigan Snowmobile links:

• Michigan Snowmobile Regulations
• Who Needs to Take a Snowmobile Safety Course?
• Safety Tips
• Snowmobile Registration
• Snowmobile Trail Permits
• Snowmobile Trails in State Park and Recreation Areas
• Snow Depth Reports

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