One of the more important melding of missions happening in today’s culture is the growing sense of shared purpose between religious and environmental organizations.  So, it is nice to see that a group of campus ministries at the University of Michigan have organized a “green” tour of the school scheduled for this Saturday.  Excerpts from the UM events page:

http://uuis.umich.edu/events/index.cfm?date=8/28/2008#event_8-28-2008_30014443

The University of Toledo’s Lake Erie Center in Oregon, OH is hosting a screening of the film Inland Seas this Thursday evening, 8/28 at 7PM.  It just might be worth the drive.  See “jr’s workplace” on Toledo Talks for a flyer and links related to the film and this event:

http://toledotalk.com/cgi-bin/tt.pl/article/22030/Understanding_and_Protecting_the_Waters_of_the_Great_Lakes

Go to church early tomorrow morning and then head to Soldiers & Sailors Park in Monroe for a flowering rush pull.  The pull will last from 9-11AM with pizza afterwards.  In fact, those going to church should try to get an entire congregation to come over to help.  I think that Jesus would approve:)

Here’s the official web site:

http://www.yes2fred.com/

Elie Wiesel, a staple writer in most high school English reading lists and Holocaust historian, will speak at a public lecture in Rochester Hills next week.  Observer & Eccentric excerpt and link:

Titled “The Power of Language for Reconciliation,” the Aug. 21 lecture will feature Wiesel’s fresh reflections on five-plus decades of writing and speaking in pursuit of social, psychological and spiritual reconciliation.

“He is going to talk about the use of language, specifically in writing and speaking, and the power that language has - or the lack of power, the potency or impotency of language - to make the world a better place,” Barton said.

Wiesel, who turns 80 next month, was imprisoned in Auschwitz and Buchenwald as a teenager. His parents and younger sister perished in the concentration camps and he later wrote about his experiences in Night, which has been translated into more than 30 languages.

An Evening with Elie Wiesel begins at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, in the auditorium of Rochester Church of Christ, located at 250 W. Avon Road, adjacent to Rochester College. Tickets are $15 and seating is general admission. Doors open at 6 p.m. For tickets, which are limited, or more information, visit www.rc.edu/eliewiesel.

http://www.hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080814/NEWS17/808140394/1034/rss11

The Woodward Dream Cruise gets all the glory, but Ypsilanti is hosting a car show this Saturday as well.  It’s called the “Nightmare Cruise” and focuses on cars that have seen better days.  Ann Arbor News excerpt and link:

Date: Saturday.

Time: 1 p.m.

Location: Parking lot near the depot at the corner of River and Cross streets.

Price: Free to enter and to watch.

Details: Shelly Meador, 734-484-0508.

Web site: www.aachenauto.com.

Quote: The criteria are, as Shelly Meador of Aachen Auto put it, “the most rusted, ravaged and worn, the most corroded and crumbling, the most mangled, mutilated, faded and frayed.”

http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/2008/08/heritage_festival_bring_your_j.html

The best viewing period for one of the best meteor showers of the year is tonight.  The brightest meteors will be visible after 9PM.  However, ideal viewing conditions will occur between 2 and 5AM, after the moon sets and before the sun rises.  But, really, this is just a great time to pull the sleeping bags into the back yard and get the kids outside.  Excerpts from NASA:

The source of the shower is Comet Swift-Tuttle. Although the comet is far away, currently located beyond the orbit of Uranus, a trail of debris from the comet stretches all the way back to Earth. Crossing the trail in August, Earth will be pelted by specks of comet dust hitting the atmosphere at 132,000 mph. At that speed, even a flimsy speck of dust makes a vivid streak of light when it disintegrates–a meteor! Because, Swift-Tuttle’s meteors streak out of the constellation Perseus, they are called “Perseids.”

Serious meteor hunters will begin their watch early, on Monday evening, August 11th, around 9 pm when Perseus first rises in the northeast. This is the time to look for Perseid Earthgrazers–meteors that approach from the horizon and skim the atmosphere overhead like a stone skipping across the surface of a pond.

“Earthgrazers are long, slow and colorful; they are among the most beautiful of meteors,” says Cooke. He cautions that an hour of watching may net only a few of these at most, but seeing even one can make the whole night worthwhile.

A warm summer night. Bright meteors skipping overhead. And the peak is yet to come. What could be better?

The answer lies halfway up the southern sky: Jupiter and the gibbous Moon converge on August 11th and 12th for a close encounter in the constellation Sagittarius: sky map. It’s a grand sight visible even from light-polluted cities.

For a while the beautiful Moon will interfere with the Perseids, lunar glare wiping out all but the brightest meteors. Yin-yang. The situation reverses itself at 2 am on Tuesday morning, August 12th, when the Moon sets and leaves behind a dark sky for the Perseids. The shower will surge into the darkness, peppering the sky with dozens and perhaps hundreds of meteors until dawn.

For maximum effect, “get away from city lights,” Cooke advises. The brightest Perseids can be seen from cities, he allows, but the greater flurry of faint, delicate meteors is visible only from the countryside.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/22jul_perseiddawn.htm

The image above is from NASA.

The Tecumseh Center for the Arts is hosting an adventure movie each Tuesday night in August at 7PM.  Excerpt from the center’s web site:

Every Tuesday Night in August!   •   7:00 PM

$3.00 each or
Family/Group Pass: 4 people/4 shows ONLY $30

Every Tuesday night in August TCA will host the Awesome Adventure Movie Night featuring movies on extreme sports along with special events, and door prizes. Perfect for sport enthusiasts and those who prefer to be spectators. The thrilling movies will be shown on TCA’s big screen, with surround-sound. A Grand Door Prize will be awarded each night to one lucky movie patron. TCA Movies are just $3.00 a night or a pass for 4 people, 4 shows only $30.00, concessions, $1.00 will be available. The perfect outing for friends or family!

August 5: Skateboard Night: sponsored by Ollie’s Skate Shop, movies: Lords of Dogstown, and The Reality of Bob Burnquist. Multiple X-Games medal winner and who performs some of the most devious feats in skateboard history. Grand door prize a gift certificate to Ollie’s Skate Board Shop.

August 12: Ski Night: Sponsored by Mt. Brighton movie – Off the Grid by ski guru, Warren Miller, film features skier Jamie Pierre and his world record-setting 245 foot cliff-drop, see helicopter-accessed back county of Alaska and the heart stoping action while skiers try to escape a monster avalanche. Grand door prize: A day pass to Mt. Brighton will be awarded to a lucky patron.

August 19: Hang Glider Paraglider Night. Sponsored by Skydive Tecumseh
Movies: Masters at Cloudbase by Paul Hammond, and The Never Ending Thermal by Sean White for Outside TV. Grand door prize: A flight in a 4 seat power plane will be awarded.

August 26: Rock Climbing Night sponsored by Kelly Inflatables Climbing Wall,
Movies: King Lines by climbing legend Chris Sharma. From South America, to Europe and beyond, Sharma also takes you on his most outrageous climb by the Mediterranean Sea.
Sponsor, Kelly Inflatables will have a climbing wall available on site at the TCA, for those who want to try climbing. Grand door prize: A free try on the climbing wall to be awarded to one lucky movie patron.

Tickets for the Adventure Movies will be available at the door only. For additional information contact the Tecumseh Center for the Arts, 400 N. Maumee St., Tecumseh, 517-423-6617.

http://www.thetca.org/performances/events/august_adventure.htm

Note the video at the start of this post is the trailer from Warren Miller’s Off the Grid.  That is the August 12th selection for the film fest.

I don’t know how this has escaped my attention, but there is, apparently, a very long swinging bridge in Croswell, MI near Port Huron.  Jenn Webb at the Port Huron Times Herald has a picture and a story about a festival dedicated to the bridge.

The story also indicates that Billy Bob Thornton’s band will play Port Huron on August 16th.  I didn’t know that he had a band.  But if you want to try to pry some Angelina Jolie dirt from the man, here’s your chance:

http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080808/NEWS01/808080307/1002/rss

Here’s an interesting day trip idea from the Bay City Times:

Sailing into the past world of Bay City and beyond is being offered again this year in the second annual Saginaw River History Cruise on Aug. 21.

An evening of dinner and entertainment with a narrative on the history of the local riverfront and authentic folk music from the era will be on tap. Proceeds from the evening will go to preservation of the historic Trombley House in Veterans Memorial Park, as well as the historic Pine Ridge Cemetery.

Tickets for the cruise aboard the Princess Wenonah are $25 and can be purchased at the Bay County Historical Museum, 301 Washington Ave.

Included in the price is a picnic buffet, coffee, soft drinks and snacks, plus there will be a cash bar featuring the famous Wenonah Hotel punch.

Boarding for the cruise begins at 5:30 p.m. and the cruise will sail from 6-9 p.m. The Princess Wenonah is berthed at the Bay City Boats dock at the foot of Ninth Street.

For more information, call the museum at 893-5733.

http://blog.mlive.com/bctimes/2008/08/history_takes_the_helm_on_rive.html

Here’s film of my recent elevator trip to the restaurant at the top of Detroit’s Renaissance Center.