Sue Valiquett is the author of “The Rock People,” a children’s book with an eco-friendly message that is fresh, fun and interactive. “The Rock People” is a story about a little girl named Nae-Nae who discovers that rocks have faces. Through a family legend, Nae-Nae learns the Rock People are here to heal and protect the Earth. The Rock People story weaves the intuitive nature of rock collecting, the emotional faces on rocks and the magic of legend to enlighten a child to Earth’s fragility and their power to help. The Rock People is printed in the USA on eco-friendly paper. To purchase a copy and learn more please visit our kid-friendly website at www.therockpeople.net

Wessam writes us: “When I went Scuba diving in the Red Sea this weekend I had to represent U-M under water where we definitely GO BLUEEEEE. There was 3 of us who had met in Michigan, and we all ended up meeting for a Scuba trip in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for a Red Sea Coral Reef exploration. Just thought that it was cool that we had this meet-up after graduating three years ago. Us Wolverines, we are everywhere. A group of us will also be holding the first Middle East Alumni Conference in Dubai on the 24th of October , 2009, and we will be visited by Ms. Jo Rumsey, Vice President of the Michigan Alumni Association at the University of Michigan for the opening. GO BLUE!!”

Nathaniel Sutton is a musician and songwriter. He’s just released a new album, Starlite. You can hear and purchase it on his website.

Edoheart (Eseohe Arhebamen) is teaching another dance workshop at The Living Theatre, expecting a poetry chapbook publication from Laughing Mouse Press, designing a limited clothing label with another U-M alum, Angela (Youells) Sweet, and working on an album. Since graduating from U-M, she has performed in New York, South Korea, Nigeria, Finland, Germany, Estonia and Latvia; and has been featured in publications for The Diverse Universe Festival, The Korea Experimental Arts Festival, The Low Lives Exhibition and the Ukrainian monthly magazine of cultural resistance, “SHO” and opened for The Wailers as a former member of the Afro-beat band, NOMO. Follow Edoheart at http://facebook.com/edoheart

1. M. Dujon Johnson’s first book ‘Race and racism in the Chinas: Chinese racial attitudes toward Africans and African-Americans was a 2008 NAACP Image Award nominee for ‘Outstanding Literary Work, Non-Fiction.’
2. Mr. Johnson was named in International visiting scholar at Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, the only think tank in Asia devoted to promoting democracy.(www.tfd.org.tw/). Mr. Johnson is the first African-American to be named a visiting scholar at this prestigious institute.
3. M. Dujon Johnson received his Doctorate of Philosopy in 2009 from National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan. Dr. Johnson is the first African-American to receive a Ph.D. from a university in the Republic of China.

Hello to anyone who remembers our fun times at the school of Music 78-79. Also thank you to those of you who followed me to Iowa to play and sing at my first wedding. Yes, a few more did follow. Hope to hear from you.

Davi Napoleon, LSA ’66, Rackham ’68, writes Theater Talk, a column for the new online paper, The Faster Times. Theater Talk explores issues and trends in the commercial and not-for-profit theater and profiles theater artists and managers.

Like most dog lovers, Courtney Conover will never forget her first dog, Prince – though she never thought he would inspire a story that would be included in an internationally published book. But that’s precisely what happened for Conover, the former deputy mayor of Westland, who is cooking up a new career: author. Her story, Prince of Pleasure, will appear in Chicken Soup for the Soul: What I Learned from the Dog which is scheduled to arrive in bookstores September 22, 2009. In the book dog lovers delight readers with humorous, heartwarming, and inspiring stories about lessons their canine friends and family members have taught them.

Conover’s story focuses on how her German shepherd-beagle mix, maintained a zest for life despite a number of health challenges. Conover says that writing the story was the first step in allowing her own passion to charter her life’s course, which eventually led to the decision to pursue writing seriously.

“Prince lived life with the uncanny combination of gusto and compassion in a way that only a dog can and we as people should. Quite simply, he lived in the moment,” writes Conover. “If we fail to experience pleasure, if we fail to experience excitement…don’t we fail to experience life?”

After graduating from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Conover went on to become a television reporter and producer for WLTX News 19 in Columbia, South Carolina. She has also worked as an auto show product specialist and narrator for Honda and Jaguar. In 2007 she was appointed deputy mayor of Westland; she resigned in May 2009 to focus on writing. Her work has appeared in the Ann Arbor Observer, Woman’s Life Magazine, and The Artisan’s Well. She and her husband, Scott, a former Detroit Lions Offensive lineman-turned-personal chef, reside in Wayne, Michigan.

Joe Fairchid is currently running across the United States in order to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. He left Boston in August and is planning on finishing in L.A. You can read an article about his run here, or go to his website, runsomemore.com for more information.