Over 40 original documentary films, many created by local talent will be on display starting Wednesday, October 17th at three different venues: The Detroit Film Center, the DIA, and Cranbrook. Besides the films being shown each evening, there is also an afterparty scheduled each night at a different location. A pass to the entire 5 day event will cost you $45, where you can attend any single evening for $7.50. The excessively young (students) and old (seniors) get a daily break - 5 bucks. You can purchase ticks direct from the Film Center, online via PayPal, or at the gate.  More info here.  If you would like to volunteer, contact nicole@detroitfilm.org.

Come to the DYC at 8am tomorrow to hear Smart Cities Radio host and CEO’s for Cities President Carol Coletta discussing what it takes to make a city successful and how Detroit measures up. Register here, get more info here, and get directions here. Joining Carol will be Detroit’s own Lou Glazer, president of Michigan Future.

The Ann Arbor Film Festival, the oldest festival in North America that showcases independent and experimental film recently lost state funding because legislators say it violated a prohibition on the depiction of sex acts. State legislators have barred the Ann Arbor Film Festival from receiving state money for at least three years.

The drive to enforce the funding restrictions was sparked by an essay from Michael LeFaive, a policy analyst with the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a libertarian think tank in Michigan. LeFaive claimed that taxpayer dollars could end up paying for a so-called “cesspool of silliness.” To demonstrate how silly people can be, LeFaive’s essay cited as an example Boobie Girl, a ‘G’ rated film from director Brooke Keisling. Keisling in turn says she thinks LeFaive didn’t see any of the films he objected to, since her movie is suitable for all ages.

“There’s nothing pornographic about my film,” she says. “It’s really G-rated; it’s really sweet. In fact, the woman who narrated used to be the voice of Rocky the Squirrel from Rocky and Bullwinkle.”

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I know that human nature being what it is, we always tend to gravitate toward the worst in life, the train wrecks, and then we dwell on them. Media being what it is, ratings are dependent on what people want to know about, so we get what we want - lots of focus on the negative. All the newspapers have been flooded with one catastrophe after the next hitting our automobile manufacturers and their labor forces. The most recent of which is of course the announcement that Daimler Chrysler is making more cuts, and that it may even be up for sale. This is certainly not reason to celebrate. And I certainly don’t want to try to put frosting on a dog turd, but there really is some perspective to put on this. The auto industry is of course going through a major transformation, and on a broader scale, all of manufacturing world wide is going through massive change. But our auto brethren are not alone. Back in September, a giant in another major industry, semiconductors, and specifically CPU’s, Intel, cut over 10,000 jobs as a part of their restructuring. Yet no one is claiming the end of American dominance in CPU’s, computers or their related industries. More and more chip production has moved off shore, yet the design and the leadership stay here. There are many more examples of these changes to the world economy that are reflected in job cuts in a variety of industries, each highlighted primarily by the communities that they most affect, and each part of the rapid transformation and globalization of those industries.

But if you are a subscriber to the Great Lakes IT Report, to Model D, Metro Mode or other newsletters that shine the light of perspective into the darkness, then you know that there is also opportunity here in this rapidly changing Detroit economy. We are seeing unparalleled real estate development in Detroit, we have several creative and technology sectors that are booming, and we have leadership in the region that are committed to making our economy successful in this new century. It is important to keep a balanced perspective and try to share it with those that are getting hit with these changes.

I am confident that as a community we can find ways to empower this newly freed talent pool to engage in our new economy.

8.28.06 Dearborn, Mich. Today William Ford Jr. announced that Ford and executives at Herman Miller are in the early stages of collaborating on a new vehicle together. This move will be a first for both companies. Herman Miller (world headquarters based in Zeeland, Mich) who is traditionally known for creating great places to work through their innovative design (the infamous aeron chair) will design every aspect of the new Ford interior. A representative from Herman Miller said “Our company seeks to develop innovative solutions to real needs in working, healing, learning, and living environments. We see the vehicle as a place Americans are spending a lot of their time and decided it would be a great new environment to explore and an exciting new step for us to take.”

Although Ford does collaborate with Eddie Bauer on its Expedition and Explorer models, this will be the first time the Automaker has left the entire design of the interior in the hands of another company. Bill Ford Jr said ” I am very excited to announce today that two great Michigan companies will be collaborating on this bold new project. Our goal is to really set a new standard in the automotive industry and give the consumer a completely new experience.” No designs or sketches were released at the press conference,.. although the price range is expected to be in the low to mid 20’s. Available if you’re lucky in 20XX.

Too bad I completely made all of that up. This story is not true,.. but the question I want to ask is why not? I mean if there is any truth in Advertising then Ford will live up to it’s Bold Moves campaign. Here’s what Art Spinella says from an article in USA Today.

“One problem, says auto marketing expert Art Spinella, is that bold products would do more for Ford’s image and sales than bold ads.

“Consumers want to see products that are bold,” says Spinella, president of CNW Marketing in Bandon, Ore. “They have to see a product to understand if it’s bold. Telling everyone you’re bold doesn’t mean anyone believes you until they see if it’s really the case.”

Now ain’t that the truth. Would it be risky to have a furniture manufacturer design the entire interior of a car? Maybe. But in the words of Seth Godin ” If you think you’re being risky, you’re doing the safest thing you can. If you’re playing it safe, you’re taking a big risk.”

This entire post was made possible by the post that inspired me to write this. Dave Pinter over at PSFK wrote a post last week entitled Auto Industry 2.0. The good news is that a Herman Miller & Ford collaboration is happening. Except their names are Citroen and Kartell. Read the entire article here. Enjoy!

For the record no executive from Herman Miller was interviewed,.. nor did I get a chance to talk to William Ford Jr. But i’d be interested to see what they think?…

It’s the hottest issue in our region right now. “Brain Drain”…the notion that we are losing our young educated professionals in droves, that Detroit has nothing to offer young professionals and no one has an answer on how to stop it. This was the front page story in the Detroit News two weeks ago “Brain Drain: CENSUS: 22,000 young adults leave Michigan” By Gary Trowbridge and Amy Lee.

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