After reading the essay on ghettos and their fortification, I have decided to make my perfect community on farmland about an hour from Detroit. The reason for this is because I do not feel that I could build a perfect neighborhood and have the sense of community if the people living there are worried for their safety.
The perfect community would involve like-minded people coming together with the best of all worlds. Everyone would have their own home, something not too big or not too small. There would be a large central area to meet and play which would have either a pool or a lake for swimming. People from all different backgrounds and who would have much to offer the community would live there. They would grow their own food, probably a few would be responsible for that job, there would be farm animals for meat and eggs and agriculture. The people responsible for growing the food would be paid, it would not be a volunteer service. Although the community would be a little more natural-minded than most, electricity and internet are in use. Many people are able to make use of the internet for work and make money in that way. As far as worship goes, let the people who live there decide what works best for them. They may not have a large place to worship, but everyone should be able to worship the way that works best for them.
Everyone's needs would be heard and the best way to meet those needs would be discussed. Everyone would be equal in this community, everyone's contribution would be just as important as the contribution of someone else. Activities would be found that everyone would like to participate in as well as individual activities.
Because this community would be in the country, it would be open with access all around.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Welcome to Detroit!
Welcome to Detroit! Today I am going to take you on a tour of the Detroit Metropolitan Area, some things you may know about and others you may not so just sit back and enjoy the ride.
First stop is the Henry Ford, which encompasses the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. There is something here for everyone. The Village has many historical buildings but you can also take a ride on a Ford Model T, some of them are the originals that have been repaired while others were built to celebrate Ford's 100 Year Anniversary. After riding on the Model T be sure to head back to the carousel, it is a Herschell-Spillman carousel from 1913, the animals on this ride are special, the horses' tails are made with real horse hair and the frog is only 1 of 5 that are in existence. Be sure to check out the homes of Noah Webster and Robert Frost as well as Thomas Edison's Menlo Park. Even the food here is historical in A Taste of History you can eat historical foods...that does not mean food made in the past and served in the present...yuck, but the same kinds of food that you would have eaten in the past.
Next let's go inside to the Museum to check things out in there. History becomes interactive as you watch yourself dancing in music videos with Duran Duran, Cindy Lauper, or the Talking Heads; build a Model T car; or take a stroll through history and all the generations from 1890 to the present. Where do you fit in? It is easy to find out then compare all the things your generation is known for compared to the other generations. Have you ever wished that you could just pick up and move...house and all? If you had a Dymaxion house, you could have done just that. The Dymaxion house was designed by Buckminster Fuller and was a concept totally ahead of its time. Just for fun, don't miss stopping by the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile on the way out to our next destination.
Our next destination is right down the street at the Henry Ford Estate. The house is closed for renovations but we can see the rest of the estate. There is a pond which used to be a reflecting pool in a rose garden, the roses are gone now but it is easy to imagine how beautiful it once must have been. We will next make out way to Jensen's Meadow where all the trees planted around the meadow are all native species. The Rouge River runs right behind it which must have been great for boating.
The next stop on our agenda is the Dearborn Inn which is an historical inn with a touch of Greenfield Village to it. You have the main inn and then then historical buildings and homes behind it which you can sleep in. It is almost like going on vacation to Greenfield Village.
Our next stop is downtown Detroit in Greektown. Greektown is still a great spot to go to for a nice dinner. There is also Greektown Casino which is inside what used to be Trapper's Alley. Trapper's Alley was a trendy place that people could shop or eat inside. The Bouzouki Lounge used to have bellydancers and singers but now is home to adult entertainment. Even though many people might be afraid to stop in Detroit because of its reputation, Greektown seems to be the exception, people who would otherwise be nervous about being in Detroit are fine with going to Greektown.
Last but not least is my favorite area. Northwest of Detroit is the lake area. We are going to travel north on Orchard Lake road until we reach Orchard Lake itself. From there we can travel from lake to lake. There are so many lakes up here and the setting is so beautiful and tranquil. There is nothing like being on the water to bring you peace.
I hope you have enjoyed our tour of the Detroit Metropolitan Area.
First stop is the Henry Ford, which encompasses the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. There is something here for everyone. The Village has many historical buildings but you can also take a ride on a Ford Model T, some of them are the originals that have been repaired while others were built to celebrate Ford's 100 Year Anniversary. After riding on the Model T be sure to head back to the carousel, it is a Herschell-Spillman carousel from 1913, the animals on this ride are special, the horses' tails are made with real horse hair and the frog is only 1 of 5 that are in existence. Be sure to check out the homes of Noah Webster and Robert Frost as well as Thomas Edison's Menlo Park. Even the food here is historical in A Taste of History you can eat historical foods...that does not mean food made in the past and served in the present...yuck, but the same kinds of food that you would have eaten in the past.
Next let's go inside to the Museum to check things out in there. History becomes interactive as you watch yourself dancing in music videos with Duran Duran, Cindy Lauper, or the Talking Heads; build a Model T car; or take a stroll through history and all the generations from 1890 to the present. Where do you fit in? It is easy to find out then compare all the things your generation is known for compared to the other generations. Have you ever wished that you could just pick up and move...house and all? If you had a Dymaxion house, you could have done just that. The Dymaxion house was designed by Buckminster Fuller and was a concept totally ahead of its time. Just for fun, don't miss stopping by the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile on the way out to our next destination.
Our next destination is right down the street at the Henry Ford Estate. The house is closed for renovations but we can see the rest of the estate. There is a pond which used to be a reflecting pool in a rose garden, the roses are gone now but it is easy to imagine how beautiful it once must have been. We will next make out way to Jensen's Meadow where all the trees planted around the meadow are all native species. The Rouge River runs right behind it which must have been great for boating.
The next stop on our agenda is the Dearborn Inn which is an historical inn with a touch of Greenfield Village to it. You have the main inn and then then historical buildings and homes behind it which you can sleep in. It is almost like going on vacation to Greenfield Village.
Our next stop is downtown Detroit in Greektown. Greektown is still a great spot to go to for a nice dinner. There is also Greektown Casino which is inside what used to be Trapper's Alley. Trapper's Alley was a trendy place that people could shop or eat inside. The Bouzouki Lounge used to have bellydancers and singers but now is home to adult entertainment. Even though many people might be afraid to stop in Detroit because of its reputation, Greektown seems to be the exception, people who would otherwise be nervous about being in Detroit are fine with going to Greektown.
Last but not least is my favorite area. Northwest of Detroit is the lake area. We are going to travel north on Orchard Lake road until we reach Orchard Lake itself. From there we can travel from lake to lake. There are so many lakes up here and the setting is so beautiful and tranquil. There is nothing like being on the water to bring you peace.
I hope you have enjoyed our tour of the Detroit Metropolitan Area.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
The city that I have always wanted to visit more than any other and still would like to visit more than any other is Athens, Greece. I have always loved Ancient Greek history and anything to do with Athens and Greece but I have been there about 7 times, 14 if you count coming and going at the airport so I need to pick out another city.
There are other citys that I would like to visit such as Edinburgh, London, Hong Kong, Paris, Venice, and Rome but none that come close to Athens on my list of citys to visit. I would love Rome for the history, Venice because it is beautiful, Paris because it seems like there is no other city like Paris, Hong Kong since reading the novel Nobel House by James Clavell, London and Edinburgh for the history and I love to listen to the accents, especially Edinburgh. Out of those I guess i would pick London though.
London has a lot of history and my two favorite historical periods are Ancient Greece and Medieval England. I have been to London, but only the airport on my way to Athens. I would love to see the historical sites and explore the city. After living so close to Detroit, I have no concerns about visiting London although my parents have visited there and the day after they left a bomb went off in the same square that their hotel had been in.
I love British television and movies so they have been a partial influence on my desire to visit there. When I was a teenager I loved anything British, especially the music so that played a part in my choice of London.
There are other citys that I would like to visit such as Edinburgh, London, Hong Kong, Paris, Venice, and Rome but none that come close to Athens on my list of citys to visit. I would love Rome for the history, Venice because it is beautiful, Paris because it seems like there is no other city like Paris, Hong Kong since reading the novel Nobel House by James Clavell, London and Edinburgh for the history and I love to listen to the accents, especially Edinburgh. Out of those I guess i would pick London though.
London has a lot of history and my two favorite historical periods are Ancient Greece and Medieval England. I have been to London, but only the airport on my way to Athens. I would love to see the historical sites and explore the city. After living so close to Detroit, I have no concerns about visiting London although my parents have visited there and the day after they left a bomb went off in the same square that their hotel had been in.
I love British television and movies so they have been a partial influence on my desire to visit there. When I was a teenager I loved anything British, especially the music so that played a part in my choice of London.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Reflections of an Interview
I interviewed a friend of mine who lived on the east side in the city of Detroit, her name is Marcie. She and her roomates lived 1 block south of Grosse Pointe and the difference in those two streets was amazing, totally different, the crime did not seem to ever cross that boundry, someone would get shot on her street but she said that she had never heard that someone was shot just one block up. I have lived all over metro Detroit area, Downriver, Warren, Livonia, Wixom, Farmington Hills, Canton, Redford, and Holly, but never lived in the actual city of Detroit.
Marcie spoke about the gunshots that went off at all hours of the night while she and her roommates lived there, but being in her early twenties at the time, never really thought that it would affect her or her roommates. The house was a huge old house where the landlord rented out the individual rooms but besides the bedrooms, everything else was common area. Once, right before moving out, she was home alone and a group of older teenage boys broke into the house. When she heard that she called her mom, telling her that she heard someone in the house, at that moment they walked into the room where she was and took the phone from her hand. She started crying and then one of the boys got on the phone with her mother and said some things to really scare her before hanging up the phone. Her mother called 911 and drove there as fast as she could, she normally lived at least 45 minutes away and arrived before the police. The boys just took her car keys and then left, not harming her.
I have been lucky that I have never had to live in fear of my life or that of my children, I believe it would be a terrible thing to lose your child. I can't imagine how terrified she must have been and being a mother myself I can't imagine the terror that went through her mother. Things like that make you think about how it really must be living in a place with so much crime.
Marcie spoke about the gunshots that went off at all hours of the night while she and her roommates lived there, but being in her early twenties at the time, never really thought that it would affect her or her roommates. The house was a huge old house where the landlord rented out the individual rooms but besides the bedrooms, everything else was common area. Once, right before moving out, she was home alone and a group of older teenage boys broke into the house. When she heard that she called her mom, telling her that she heard someone in the house, at that moment they walked into the room where she was and took the phone from her hand. She started crying and then one of the boys got on the phone with her mother and said some things to really scare her before hanging up the phone. Her mother called 911 and drove there as fast as she could, she normally lived at least 45 minutes away and arrived before the police. The boys just took her car keys and then left, not harming her.
I have been lucky that I have never had to live in fear of my life or that of my children, I believe it would be a terrible thing to lose your child. I can't imagine how terrified she must have been and being a mother myself I can't imagine the terror that went through her mother. Things like that make you think about how it really must be living in a place with so much crime.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
DETROIT, WHERE THE WEAK ARE KILLED AN EATEN???
When people talk about Detroit, the images are usually not good ones. Even I am not always proud to admit that I am from Detroit, instead I tell people I am from a suburb of the Detroit Metropolitan area. Detroit has a reputation for being a very violent and dangerous place, when I tell people where I am from, they usually recoil in terror.
Hollywood and the media have focused the world's attention on the negative aspects of Detroit. Even here in the Detroit Metropolitan area there are sayings and products geared toward Detroit's dangerous reputation. T-shirts and bumper stickers say things such as Detroit, where the weak are killed and eaten. The happy face with a bullet hole in his head is another image that I have seen here in the city itself.
In some ways living in a city with a reputation for being a dangerous place can be a good thing, people will tend to respect you and not mess with you. I personally don't think that Detroit is a bad place to live and think that much of the danger of Detroit is greatly exaggerated.
One thing that I am sure just confirmed what a bad place it would be to live in is what happened with Kwame Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick was a very corrupt man who took advantage of his position and made the world take notice of Detroit and just confirmed in people's minds that Detroit is a corrupt city as well as dangerous. Several members of the Detroit City Council were charged with crimes of dishonesty as well.
Despite all of the negative images linked to Detroit, it is not a bad place to live. Detroit is right across the river to Canada and has a lot of history attached to it. The people also are not as bad as the media says. There is crime but Detroit can also be a very fun place to be, whether it is Greektown or Mexicantown or any other of the places that can be found in Detroit.
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