Girl in the D has compiled another great list of things to see and do in Detroit this summer: She writes:

Summer is quickly coming to a close, so now's the time to get in all those fun activities and events you've been thinking about since June.

Lucky for you, there's no shortage of things to do in the D this August.

Read August in the D to take a look at what she calls her "short list of some of the best"

Football season this year for two MSU players (one current, one former) can be summed up as "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times", to borrow a phrase from Charles Dickens. Drew Stanton represents the best of times, according to Leelanau Sports Guy's World. Sportspig writes:

I am very excited for college football to start. I am even more excited about senior quarterback Drew Stanton and what he can do in the high-octane Michigan State offense.

But, according to Out of Bounds, Charles Rogers represents the worst of times. Greg Eno writes:

Charles Rogers, 2003's #1 draft pick -- an amazingly talented receiver out of Michigan State.

Rogers is perilously close to being lumped into the above group.

Already, training camp just six days old, there's talk that Charlie Rogers is having trouble grasping the convoluted offensive schemes of new coordinator Mike Martz.

Defending Rogers, is Marinelli. ROAR report.com writes:

"Don't read more into it then there is," Marinelli said. "We're just getting the guys worked, trying to work each guy -- each person, and get as much work as we can."

Read Stanton to rely more on teammatesby Leelanau Sports Guy's World
Also read The Drew Stanton media blitz begins by Spartan Tailgate
Also read Rogers' Career As A Lion On Life Supportby Out of Bounds
Then read Marinelli: Don't read into Rogers' absence by ROARreport.com
And, if you have time, read the Detroit Lions bio for Charles Rogers

michpics writes:

The Les Cheneaux Islands Antique Wooden Boat Show, held each year in Hessel, Michigan, has been a center of attraction since it began in 1976. The show boasts more than 170 entries each year, and is easily the largest show featuring antique and classic wood boats.

Held in conjunction with the Antique Wooden Boat Show each year is the Festival of Arts. Artists and craftspersons display and sell a variety of gift items including photographs, paintings, pottery made with natural Upper Peninsula clay, wood toys, dolls, and many other items.

Read Hessel Antique Boat Show
Check out the 18th Annual Classic Boats on the Boardwalk in Traverse City this weekend
Also check out the 5th Annual Parade of Lights Antique & Classic Boat Show in Harrison Township this weekend
Mark your calendar for the Leland Heritage Celebration and "Wood Boats on the Wall" in Leland on September 16th
For more information on wooden boats, visit the Michigan Chapter of The Antique and Classic Boat Society (ACBS)

Jeremy Herliczek writes:

The mentoring program at the Youth Development Corporation is all about helping kids do better in school. And it's all about fun, too. The program matches adults with kids ages 10 to 15.

Read and watch Audio Slideshow: Giving Back
Check out the Mentor Michigan website
Also take a look at the Mentor Michigan Directory to locate a program near you

Mike writes:

If you live in a typical U.S. home, your appliances and home electronics are responsible for about 20 percent of your energy useage, says the U.S. Department of energy. As record heat grips much of the country - the temperatures in Detroit are expected to exceed 100 degrees Tuesday - utility companies are urging us to cut back on the use of appliances and air conditioning.

Read Appliances suck up a lot of energy
And, just in case the power grid fails, read Emergency preparedness site.

Dave Dempsey writes:

Rhinelander Water Resources Specialist Cathy Cleland says they came from the ballast waters of Russian ships passing through.

He concludes:

Match this against the announcement earlier this summer that the commercial shipping industry is doing demonstration projects on a control technology for invasive species. It's too bad the ballast water vector for invasive species has been well known for 20 years -- and now we're getting demonstration projects as an answer.

Read invasion of the spiny water fleas
Also read New Ballast Treatment Research Center on the Absolute Michigan Blog

Jack Lessenberry writes:

Whatever you think of his business practices, you've got to have some sneaking admiration for Kirk Kerkorian, if only because he refuses to recognize the laws of biology. This man is running around fighting to gain control of General Motors . . . at age 89.

Kekorian's rags to riches story as told by Lessenberry is, to say the least, inspirtional. Jack continues:

General Motors, on the other hand, is a mess.

The company has been in so much trouble for so long, that we have become almost numb to the terrible shape it is in. There were actually headlines last week that said things like, "Good News; GM only loses $3.2 billion in the second three months of this year."

On the GM Fastlane blog, Chariman and CEO, Rick Wagoner, offers a slightly different perspective:

As I commented to financial journalists earlier this week, conventional wisdom holds that you can't turn a ship as big as GM around quickly. We aim to prove that conventional wisdom wrong.

He concludes:

We recognize that our most recent financial and sales numbers, while promising, aren't enough to declare our turnaround a success quite yet. But we know what has to be done to get our North American business back on a solid footing, and we're doing it.

Read or listen to Essay: General Motors - 7/31/06 by Jack Lessenberry's Essays and Interviews
Also read or listen to the companion Interview: Allan Sloan - 7/31/06
Read Turnaround Momentum Drives GM in the Right Direction by GM Fastlane Blog

GLRC Environment Reports writes:

Today, we begin a week-long series on pollution in the heartland. Storm water runoff from farm fields contaminates the lakes that many cities use for drinking water. But rather than making farmers reduce the pollution, the government requires water utilities to clean it up and pass the cost on to their customers. In the first part of our series, the GLRC's Lester Graham reports on efforts some communities have made to stop the pollution at the source:

Read or listen to CAPPING POLLUTION AT THE SOURCE

Also read or listen to:

CITIES COPE WITH PESTICIDE POLLUTION,
LIVESTOCK FARMS GET BIG,
TOO MUCH MANURE?
RESTORING STREAMS IN THE HEARTLAND

canterbury5 writes:

I apologize for not posting yesterday, but I was unexpectedly in the hospital. That experience got me thinking about hospitals in general, and their local and historical significance. They mean so much as they are associated with life-changing events: birth, death, serious illnes and injury. And yet, because medical records are and have been private matters, so little of what goes on in such places is part of the historical record.

This got me thinking about hospitals in my part of Michigan.

Read My train (highway?) of thought.
Also read Abstracts of title. some legal advice for FREE!

According to michpics,

Douglas Tesner writes:

Sunflowers bask in the sun along U.S. Route 32 just north of Yuba, Mich. near the Grand Traverse County Maple Bay Park & Nature Area.

Read Sunflowers by Michigan in Pictures
Take a look at these Summer wildflowers by NOISE PhotoBlog
And this Exotic Butterfly Type Deal, Purple Flowers, & Endless Green Leaves by Giancarlo Rinna

Mike Wendland writes:

I have two you-gotta-see-this! items to share with you as submitted by my always eagle-eyed Web scouts.

First, the talent. Bernie Buchta caught this You Tube video that is so amazing...

He continues:

Then, a rather dubious fashion trend that apparently is big in Japan right now as noted and passed along to us by reader Michael Maurer.

Read Two items: Amazing talent and a dubious fashion trend