Peer Review

Brandon ripped the shit out of my paper. I thought it was decent, but it defiantly needs more length. My content is good and organization fine; I just need to give a stronger thesis. I was impressed the quote a received from Zach. "I believe it’s important for everyone to understand the social implications behind the Holocaust; Jewish or not. It’s about the world learning from this ridicules event and nurturing the next generation into an open and righteous society."
Brandon did the same topic and his came out more or less the same. I am going to borrow from his ideas and touch on the history of the Center. Derek Smith's paper was as well good. He wrote about Novi, twelve oaks mall mostly and the impact on the developing city. Back to class.

Girly Tequila

When my best friends drove home from their trip to the Rose Bowl they grabbed me a little sup rise. A bottle of tequila (Asom Broso Reposado). However, this bottle was unlike any I had ever seen. Blown glass bottle with a light-pink tequila. It had a smooth finish with an indescribable distinct pink taste. Went down easy and was very enjoyable on the rocks. The only problem I had was the shape of the bottle. It may be me; but it may resemble a fallace. Take a look for yourself.

Humiliating History

Pictures from my girlfriend's trip to Greece. Notice how the city buts right up against the ruins. The top picture shows what is left of the Temple of Zeus. Is this culture distroying their history by intergrating the modern with the past? I don't believe so, but it's shocking how close the two eras exist. How cool would it be to have the Temple of Zeus in your backyard? RESPOND BACK

I am a huge fan of tequila and have a respectable collection; acquiring different kinds of tequila and becoming a coinsure has become a small hobby. Since the blog and class have been open up to free posts I think I am going to critique something I enjoy. The obvious place to start is top-shelf and work my way down. Patron is the top product in which I have completed the collection. (Minus the coffee liquor – excited) The blends rank in order of: Anejo, Reposado, and Silver. Meaning “aged”, “rested”, and silver. Patron is interesting because the company does not actually distill their own tequila. They buy out top reserves of the year and mix up to three different types until proper taste is reached. Each bottle is hand crafted and individually numbered. The anejo is very nice and has a quality oak barrel taste. The reposado is comparably smooth and has a flavorful burn, excellent in a margarita. The silver is smooth, but I was not overly impressed with the blend. I thought all the types were smooth on the rocks and would recommend it to any tequila fan. Over all Patron represents the best mainstream tequila choice on the market. The tequila is quality, but for the price, you are paying for the name. Unless the product is being consumed on the rocks I would personally recommend a cheaper product.

Picture Test

I love high-def photography...

I thought the DetroitFUNK's post of Forgotten Toys was interesting. I wounder if he placed the toys or came across them. It has an over all dejected fell. This is his second post of toy pictures withen the last five days. I do not see the symbolism, but for some reason it stirs various emotions.

For this assignment it was necessary to review two blogs on Detroit. These blogs were filled with images and short posts. Detroit Funk was the fist blog I checked out. The images stirred some interesting emotions and I was able to relate to most all the picture.
The first eleven picture were of the iced over terrain. Not only similar to the view outside my house, but it reminded me of glass blowing. I just started blowing glass and I am working on a flower type piece, this gave me two interesting ideas to work with.
The next pictures were of a busted up television. This really struck emotions and memories of a time when my friend through a weight through a TV. This happened after we snuck into an abandoned warehouse. Probably not the smartest idea; but tequila has been known to impair my judgment. It’s actuality an impressive sight; the bulb does not just break, but explode. The artist did a good job of capturing this; we only got a video on a camera phone.
I really liked the black and white photography. The artist did a good job of capturing depressed areas. The contrast of grayscale does an excellent job of capturing the dejected buildings. I don’t understand why he captured the Temple Beth El building. It did not seem to fit with the theme of the rest of the photography. I’m glad to see the artist captured the resolution in 2400. High deff photography is starting to get really popular because of the significant drop in price of equipment.
The post before had more of a striking contrast. It seems like the pictures were taken in a toy-machine. The colors are very vivid and the pictures are much more fun than the previous ones.
Overall this blog is very appealing. The pictures are very interesting and there is a lot of media to search through. I would however like to see more written, the artist should at least caption his pictures. The site seems to have a decent following and when I visited it said there were 15 other people visiting the site.
The second blog was Faded Detroit. This site had a lot more to read through. I thought the post History vs. Parking – Parking Wins, related very well to the class. It’s about an 81 year old Chicago style school building. This piece of history is being redeveloped into a parking structure. There are as well 80 condos being built on top of the structure. The owner of the blog is upset about this and probably agrees this act is “humiliating” the history of the city. Personally I agree with developing the building. It is stationed at a prime location and could serve the population better with this new plan.
The photography is not as good on this website, but still interesting. I like the picture of the Trans outside Co Bo arena. This reminded me of how my dad use to bring me to Detroit for Red Wings games when I was a young kid. Both these blogs were interesting and I got some good ideas from both of them. I think I am going to add more pictures on mine. It would give me something to respond to once a week.

Home Place: A site of Resistance; was a reflection of Bell Hook's youth and memories of trips to her Grandmother's house. The story focused on the efforts of Black women and the impossible struggle of balancing work with maintaining a proper household. It talks a lot about recognizing the subversive value of the homeplace. This was important because it provided a private place, sheltering residents from harsh realities of life.

Analysis Paper Idea

I think I will do the analysis paper on the Jewish Mem. Center. This is importaint because of our vast Jewish population in West Bloomfield. It was importaint enough to change the name of Northwestern Highway. Research will not be hard to do on this subject. God knows I have plenty of Jewish friends with "invested-intrest" and I can interview someone there. I know the center got a huge grant from the city and takes an active community roll. This should be a whoot.

I thought Nikki’s Window was a very interesting story. It did a good job describing the context of the city and the white flight to the suburbs. I can plainly see what the story was getting at; being I only go down to Detroit for Tiger’s games. I do not totaly agree with the points made in this article. I believe attractions like greek town only bring more money into Detroit. This helps to fix the city and its future history; not cover it up. Nostalgia is a bittersweet longing of something from the past. Humiliation is what Herron uses to describe the destruction of the city’s history. This is the main focus of the story. The people who write the history are the strongest survivors and business men. This example was concreted with the example of the first Ford.

Established

I was never into the blogging hype. I know a few people who are hooked on it, near obsessed. Interesting way to keep students activly writing almost every day. Established.