Lack of Online Material

I have started to write my essay, and I am also trying to finish my research on twelve oaks mall. the only problem is that I can only find one online article on twelve oaks mall, that serves me a purpose. The only other site I found was wikipedia which from thursday's class is now out of the picture.

If anyone has any sites or articles they just happen to find online, please let me know. The one article that I found was on how the mall is expanding and adding more space. Other then this small problem, my essay is going great (not really).

Progress on Artifact Essay

I just finished my interviews for our artifact essay, and I got very similar answers to my questions. I interviewed a shopper at Twelve Oaks Mall and an employee of Twelve Oaks Mall. Both said that the reason they work/shop their is because it is conveinent. They also both agreed that it is a big part of Novi history.

Very Nice Eye

In the Detroit Funk blog site, the blogger made a very nice observation in one of the images of the Aquarium. The blogger took a photo of an old dusty storage closet, and pointed out how the architecture used in the room was very ancient and unique.

The blogger pointed out how most people would see the image for just another picture of Detroit, when in fact it shows how beautiful and important the city once was. He also comments that instead of turning it into a storage closet, they should have worked to restore the room and the architecture.

Response to Detroit blogs

My first thought in response to the Detroit Blogs was how they showed all the images of run down buildings and trashed streets, but in the same picture there was an image of either a newly built building, or of the beautiful architecture that the run down building exhibits.

Most of the grotesque images of dirty rooms or trashed buildings, were actually showing the architecture and how amazing and ancient it is. Many of the bloggers commented how Detroit should work to restore these buildings to show people how beautiful Detroit once was.

All the other images of Cobo Hall, Tech Town, and the other newly constructed buildings had a grotesque image in the background or foreground reminding us that the whole city looked new at one point in time; but eventually they all remained unused and abandoned.

List of Artifacts

• Twelve Oaks Mall
• Main Street
• Fountain Walk
• Novi Town Center
• Novi High School
• Novi Bowl
• "Piss" Pond
• Civic Center
• Town Hall
• Extremely Old Barn
• Dirt Road
• Baseball Diamonds
• Football Field

Response to Homeplace

For the most part I agreed with this essay. I thought that the author tied the essay together nicely in the last page. Throughout the whole essay she made many strong arguments, and i agreed with most of them. I agreed with her interpretation of the black female; she described how hard their lives were and how they barely had energy for their own familes. This seemed entirely true along with how important it is to create a "Homeplace". I also agreed with her assesment on how the sexist views of male African Americans caused a little friction with their fight for racial freedom. It seemed that not having the views of the women would hurt their cause greatly.

Their were some parts that I did not agree with however. Through the essay I felt like she had the attitude that African American women did nothing wrong. It seemed like she thought they were perfect and that they were just treated wrongly. I agree that they were treated wrongly, and feel ashamed of my ancestors, but I doubt that every African American female was perfect.

Overall I thought it was a very good essay, and although I was unsure of the topic of the essay in the begining, I soon found it out the more I read.

Artifact Essay

My initial idea for the artifact essay was to write about Twelve Oaks Mall since I am from Novi. My view for why this mall is a symbol of Novi, is because it is one of the main reasons why people visit Novi. Novi is a huge tourist attraction, and everything that they build tries to bring in tourists someway. Twelve Oaks mall is one of the biggest attractions of Novi, but it is just one of the many revenue generating businesses of Novi. I see the whole city of Novi, as trying to draw tourists which is why I would choose to write about Twelve Oaks Mall; the mall definitely draws tourists to Novi. Almost everyone has been there some time.

Class Discussion on Niki's Window

After our discussion on Niki's Window I realized how it did seem that the author was bias against a new Detroit. It seemed as if the author wanted Detroit to stay the old Detroit is has always been. I don't think the author realized that if it werent for the Greektown Casino or any of the other attractions there wouldn't be any Detroit. He probably does't realize that the Casino is there to keep Detroit going, and not to take away from the city's history.

"Nikki's Window"

In this essay Herron is arguing how the classic Detroit is not gone forever. He describes how in Greektown they put on shows trying to impress tourists, when it is the moments like the century old writing on Nikki's Window which are the true prizes. At the same time he agrees that the good ole' Detroit will never be back, but there are still parts that seem as if they are from the past.

In his essay he uses "pastness" to mean what Detroit was like in the past. He is referring to Detroit 50-80 years ago.
In his essay he uses "nostalgia" to refer to how Detroit is like a home to him, and how he wants to return to Detroit when it was a place of pride not shame.
In his essay he uses "humiliation" to refer to how people feel now saying that their from Detroit. He refers to how people around the country look down on Detroit and the people who live there.