Watch 2016 Western Michigan Football Team Highlights

My first year at Western Michigan in 1996, the football team won two games. To encourage students to show up to games they even gave out free pizza. Let's just say that even with that offer I didn't have to share the pizza with too many people. 20 years later and WMU had a perfect regular season (13-0) and played in the Cotton Bowl against a very good Wisconsin team. This was definitely a season to make any alumni proud.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTf6yfx0fNE

We were so pumped up about Western's football season that I even helped my son 3D print a WMU 'W' cookie cutter for my wife this Christmas.

1st 3D printed cookie cutter is a 'W' for @westernmichu #rtb I am helping my son make his Christmas presents for mom. He is 3D printing custom cookie cutters that he designed 😁 #wmu #westernmichigan #westernmichiganuniversity #rowtheboat #kalamazoo #michigan

A photo posted by Andrew Norton (@allthingsmichigan) on Dec 23, 2016 at 8:54am PST

Row The Boat :)

$10 Flat Rate Shipping For Cyber Monday!

Today, November 28th, 2016, you can ship our gift baskets and boxes anywhere in the United States for only $10!

Load up your online shopping cart and if you are sending gifts to more than one address make sure you click the checkout link that says "Checkout With Multiple Addresses" so you can add the addresses and gift card messages for each recipient.

When checking out, simply select the "Flat Rate Cyber Monday" option for $10 shipping.

Remember, you can order today and choose a delivery date closer to Christmas.

Take advantage of our $10 Flat Rate Shipping today!

Michigan And Again - The Accidentals

"Michigan And Again" might just be my song for this summer. Take a listen to the breezy instrumentals and wistful lyrics, close your eyes, picture a myriad of Michigan's sights and sounds, and feel the longing of home if Michigan is where you hang your hat. The Accidentals might just be on the brink of something big. Savannah Buist and Katie Larson, the founding members, round out their trio with multi-instrumentalist, Michael Dause.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB_lytx-i3I

You can name-your-price and download "Michigan And Again" at The Accidentals' Bandcamp page. The song is the first off their upcoming June 2016 release of a five-song EP, Parking Lot.

Michigan (And Again And Again And Again And Again)

We lay down in the grass In our nest of sleeping bags Breathing in the shallow canyon air The water, 45 degrees We wade out to the knees And soak to the sleeves in a semi-aquatic prayer Great state, what state am I in? Compass roses bloom again Home of the water, Canada's daughter Cradled in a crescent moon grin Michigan and again and again and again and again Michigan and again and again and again and again Soft shoulders of sand dunes Porcupine cactus flowers bloom In the dust of the devil's empty living room Salt silts the flattened land Time like a snake in the sand Powdered porcelain in a stranger's hand Great state, what state am I in? Compass roses bloom again Home of the water, Canada's daughter Cradled in a crescent moon grin Michigan and again and again and again and again Michigan and again and again and again and again Looking down to the high five Grazing ground to hear the sound of a heavy sigh Home is where you left your heart behind Even fortified fossils dissolve over time When I came home, I went down to the lake My dad told me he counts up the days And when I packed my bags, coffee stains of jet lag There were conifers lining the driveway, whispering "Stay, stay, stay, stay, stay Stay, stay, stay, stay, stay" Great state, what state am I in? Compass roses bloom again Home of the water, Canada's daughter Cradled in a crescent moon grin Michigan and again and again and again and again (x8)

Detroit Soul, The New Pure Michigan Ad For Detroit

I am a sucker for the Pure Michigan commercials as evidenced here, here, and here. I've also enjoyed their previous Detroit-centric ads, Downtown Detroit and the Greater Detroit Area. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGS2Yt_59pg

Love it!

What do you think?

There are also these gems about Detroit:

Story of Detroit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09t6H9APRpQ

We Are Open https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FNMUReLdhs Reasons to Visit Detroit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4GjK30S9U0

Fall Colors in Michigan Are Changing - Slowly

Take a look at the fall color in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula:

Here at Keweenaw National Historical Park we love fall! One of our rangers drove up Brockway Mountain yesterday and the clear skies let her see all the way to Isle Royale National Park! #keweenawnps #puremichigan #fallcolors

A photo posted by Keweenaw NHP (@keweenawnps) on Oct 8, 2015 at 8:05am PDT

I admit it. I'm still a sucker for a beautiful stream of images alongside a wonderful voice-over from Tim Allen. Fall foiliage has been slow to change here in Michigan so I am getting a peak at what might be yet to come via the Pure Michigan ad, Deep Breath.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05FPzUCbMXQ

Michigan's warm September has slowed down the onslaught of fall color we normally are experiencing at this time in the fall. I have a feeling that when the color finally changes, it's going to change fast and the fall color show will not last long.

Good Hart is looking Good!

Today along 119. #nofilter #goodhart #tunneloftrees #m119 #fallcolor #fall #puremichigan #upnorth #lakeshoredrive #scenicdrive #mifallcolor #lakemichigan #greatlakes #harborsprings

A photo posted by Good Hart, Michigan (@goodhart49737) on Oct 7, 2015 at 6:25pm PDT

Here's a few links related to Michigan's fall colors:

Michigan's 10 Best Fall Color Drives

Top Ten Things to do in Michigan in the Fall

Check out ArtPrize 2015 - it ends this weekend!

10 Vistas On A Northern Michigan Fall Color Tour

M-22 voted America's Best Scenic Autumn Drive

A contrast in Detroit women circa early 1900s

I was browsing through online photograph archives of old photographs from Detroit and came across these two contrasting images of women in Detroit from a relatively similar time period of the early 1900s.

These hard working ladies are shown in the welding department of the Lincoln Motor Company around 1914-1918. Obviously, this was during World War I and women were needed to work the factories in the absence of men.

Here we have a group of women enjoying a leisurely time on the veranda of the Detroit Boat Club between 1900 and 1910. Were any of these ladies thrust into service at the factories like those above? Or did a life of privilege exclude them from such duty?

I just wonder these things when looking at old photographs.