Archive for July, 2008

See Ypsilanti through the eyes of the Daily Fortune blogger: “Local city and music historian Thumbu and I hung out and he gave me a fun, informative, and of course, greasy tour of Ypsilanti, a neighboring town to Ann Arbor.” [Source]

The Calgary (Canada) Herald reports on UM’s team winning the North American Solar Challenge, which began in Plano, Texas. [Source]

U.S. nursing homes are unprepared to handle patient overflow from hospitals during a flu pandemic, according to new research reported in the Washington Post and several other papers. The study looked at 400 nursing homes in Michigan and Nebraska. Lona Mody, an assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Health System, is senior author of the study, published in the July 23 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. [Source]

Cancer survivor Sean Shearon is preparing for a “Victory Walk” across Michigan to raise awareness and funds for the disease. The 18-day, 475-mile trek will pass through Ann Arbor in mid-August. [Source]

Ed Vielmetti writes about OneWebDay, organized by UM law prof Susan Crawford on Sept. 22. It’s being described as Earth Day for the Internet, to raise awareness about access and possiblities. Ed writes: “If you have enough density of people online, networks start to get used for political participation and political action.” [Source]

In a post on “laser resurfacing,” WebMD quotes from an article by UM prof P. Daniel Ward in the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery.” In addition to structural changes, the healing process frequently leads to pigmentary [coloring] changes. These changes in skin pigmentation may be desirable, such as when patients wish to remove solar evidence of aging; however, changes in pigmentation after treatment can often be a troubling adverse effect.” [Source]

Artist Bonnie Blandford blogs about a disappointing Art Fairs. The weather was miserable, she writes: “Add to that a really lousy economy in the area and it doesn’t add up to many artists being happy with their sales. We all knew going into the show that it probably wouldn’t be a normal Ann Arbor and I don’t think it was for many people.” [Source]

The Michigan Daily profiles several artists, including Colin Delaney, describing his location at the Art Fairs as “sequestered in the somewhat unflatteringly titled ‘Emerging Artists’ section of the fair on South University Avenue.” [Source]

In today’s Freep, Episcopal activist Jim Toy of Ann Arbor is quoted in an article about openly gay clergy. [Source]

Kevin Fay of Ann Arbor was a winner in the Junior Team Trial at the Summer North American Bridge Championships in Las Vegas. The competition was to pick the U.S. team that will play in the first World Mind Sports Games in Beijing in October. [Source]

Visions of Ypsi endorses Janis Bobrin for Washtenaw County Drain Commission in the Aug. 5 primary. “Considering I’ve backed up more than my fair share of drains, the issue of Drain Commissioner is 1 that is close to my heart.” [Source]

A couple of Ann Arbor companies – HealthMedia and Adaptive Materials – are included in a Freep business article about promising non-auto industries in Michigan. [Source]

The Sprint Connection blog reports that “only stores in Ann Arbor, Mich.; Pleasanton, Calif., and Salem N.H. were expected to have the second-generation Apple phone in stock today.” [Source]

CBC News gives an update on the 3,862-km North American Solar Challenge from Texas to Calgary. The UM team has taken the lead. [Source]

Mr. Knowitall’s blog is worth visiting just for the scull-and-crossbones wallpaper – oh, and pics of the Ann Arbor Art Fairs. [Source]

A post on Ann Arbor-based Automobile Magazine’s Editor’s Soapbox ruminates on the difference between AC and car pollution: “It seems the whole world is telling us that the automobile is ruining the earth. I’m all for building cars that burn less fuel but we can’t just pick on the automotive sector. I would love to know how much of an effect the high use of electricity to cool a building to such low temperatures has on greenhouse gases.” [Source]

The Boston Globe profiles UM baseball pitcher Jeff DeCarlo, who lives in Meford, Mass. “I’m not where I want to be, mechanically, physically, mentally,” DeCarlo says. “It’s hard to describe, I just know there are things I have to work on.” [Source]

UM prof David Beer is one of the researchers who’ve found a possible genetic predictor for lung cancer, according to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s HealthDay column. The researchers published their results online today in Nature Medicine magazine. [Source]

The Rothbunch blog describes how they approached replacing their sidewalks (as ordered by the city of Ann Arbor), explaining how they got a low bid from a company that had an angle: “They admitted that they gave me a better price because we are the first house in our development and they wanted the chance to get more business in our neighborhood. It worked out for both of us….I got a real good price (and a nice job) and they were able to get several other jobs in the neighborhood.” [Source]

In today’s Chicago Tribune series on parenting, Melissa Webster of UM’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department tells parents to start discipline strategies early. “Babies quickly learn how much they have to cry to get their parents to pick them up. One of the first challenges that parents face is getting their kids to stay in the crib.” [Source]

Michael Traugottt of UM’s Center for Political Studies is a source for a Freep article about the role that Michigan will play in the presidential race. He notes that the state’s issues will get a lot of attention – and that residents will be getting a lot of campaign calls. [Source]

The owner of Feather Your Nest Antiques in Superior Township blogs about her day at the Ann Arbor Antiques Market. “In the midst of the economic crunch, the Ann Arbor Antiques Market has run into hard times just like the rest of us. Within the last year, new promoters have taken over the show and things have changed somewhat. The number of dealers displaying their great finds has definitely diminished, and the number of visitors has diminished as well… It is hard to watch this market, with so much history and such a great reputation, possibly see it’s final days.” [Source]

Dietician Diana Dyer blogs about a recent menu, including detailed recipes, she served for her book club. [Source]

More Art Fairs: This time a pile-on of coverage about photographer Harvey Droulliard’s (partially unsuccessful) nude group photo shoot. Here’s one from the ABC affiliate in Grand Rapids, which picked up the Freep’s version of the story. [Source]

EMU prof Steve Krause blogs about the Ann Arbor Art Fairs and the Shadow Art Fair in Ypsilanti, in a compare/constrast approach. “But the biggest difference between the two events was that the Shadow Art Fair was both very cool and actually affordable. The Ann Arbor Art Fair is about art as a product, a commodity. That means simple things on a stick, on paintings or prints to put above a couch, or “conversation pieces” that go in wealthy peoples’ homes. The Shadow Art Fair is about the process of art, about the making and experience, about DIY. And, I don’t know, the Shadow Art Fair just had a lot more coolness to it.” [Source]

The Salt Lake Tribune picks up the recent Freep feature on Ann Arbor-based Menlo Innovations. [Source]