Peer Review

I was looking over the comments from the peer review tonight and I found them to be conflicting. One person thinks that a certain part of my paper about the food is interesting and brings in good points while the other person thinks that it isn't a real part of my thesis and draws attention away from the focus. Plus it's not the most interesting stuff, I agree. I'm not quite sure what to do with this. I like my thesis, and I think that you have to describe food if you are going to talk about a restaurant. So maybe to please both I will prune out the boring or unnecessary things and keep the better parts. Probably the more I go over my paper the more I will see what needs to be cut or added. I'll mull things over some more.

Writer's Block

I've been putting ideas down on for the last few days, a little here and a little there. Usually I can put together a paper all right and I know just want I want to say. But, for some reason I'm having some trouble. For my paper I don't know how to articulate the feelings that I feel when at Leo's without just outright saying them, and if I do that it defeats the purpose.

Leo's Interviews

I have interviewed 3 people so far: two employees and the boss himself, Leo. I'm glad I talked to Leo because I got more of a history from him, why he has Leo's, and what goes on. With the two employees, I have one that currently works there and another that quit. Two slightly different perspectives, but they are pretty much on the same page I would say. I have worked there since July of this past summer, 7 months. This was my first real job, other than Leo's all I did was babysit, mow lawns, and do odd jobs that included electrical work, go figure. I am already starting to get a sense of loyalty to Leo's. It's not just a job anymore. Sure, the point is to make money. But, now it's starting to become more about the people. I love seeing Moe's face from behind the food area looking out at me. It's comforting to know these people. There is always a smile from the busboy Ferris. He doesn't know very much English, but he tries to start conversations with me. Even if they are just simple ones about soccer. Sure you are going to have the people you dislike to work with, but eventually you just get into a pattern where you tolerate them. Others, you can't wait to tell your weekend stories to. Anyway....I digress. I still need my print resources. I wonder if a takeout menu could work? It's print. I could name the most popular items on it. Other than that, all I know of is a facebook group of dedicated teens who frequent the restaurant and Leo's website. I shall continue my sleuthing.

Initial Thoughts for Leo's Paper

I was thinking today who should I interview for my Analysis paper on Leo's Coney Island. Initially Leo came to mind. He is the owner and would know the most information about the place. But, then I thought that's the obvious answer. Perhaps I can ask him to give a comment but he is usually so busy that it wouldn't be very insightful or beneficial. I would like to get the "back-alley" view. The employees view. I'm waiting for a response to see if one of the waiters will do a mini interview with me via AIM. He is actually an ex-boyfriend so I thought that he might be willing to put more effort into an interview than say someone else who just started working there. Or I could juxtapose someone who was hired in the past week to someone who has worked there for years and get the different views. Or possibly my own views too. I actually did not like working there at first but now I don't really mind it that much. It's the people. Once I got to know them everything changed. I would like to possibly get a few words from my favorite cook, Moe. He is such a sweetheart. I couldn't even imagine him saying anything negative about Leo's. Then there is the possibility of comparing the younger clientele to the older generations that frequent the restaurant. Maybe I'll just talk to people, get some quotes and initial ideas from what they have to say and then decide from there what direction I want to take with this. I really want to analyze it from the inside looking out though. The employee's view.

Response to "Jiving with Java"

I enjoyed reading this selection. I found it brought life to certain things that I questioned before. My ex-boyfriend used to go to Starbucks everyday. I couldn't understand why. Was it that the drinks tasted that much better than other places? or was he addicted to the caffeine? It was the ambiance. It was the atmosphere that engulfed him. This is what pulled him back everyday. Some days I was there, or friends, but I think he also went alone too sometimes. This explain a lot. A coffee place is a refuge from the monotonous daily life that awaits you at home. Only chores and things that need to be done are waiting for you. I don't think I'll be going to a coffee house anytime soon because of this excerpt, but I do have it filed away in the back of my mind for one day. I also hate coffee, so that could also have something to do with it.

Detroit's Last Chance

Detroit has had many years and chances to change. Now it's starting to be the point of no return for Detroit. Once a place has gotten so bad it will be extremely hard to build it back up to the point that it once was. For example, it's much easier to lose 5 lbs than it is 50 lbs. Detroit should not let itself go to this point. The longer Detroit stays this way or the worse it gets, the harder it will be to fix the problems. There is "one way" for Detroit to head from here. Up. The sign points to the left which has more open sky shown rather than the dark side of the building taking up the right of the picture. The sky represents the possibilities for Detroit's future. Endless possibilities.

Response to Homeplace

Overall, heartfelt accounts. But, I felt that the story moved a bit slowly and repeated in certain areas almost. Perhaps to emphasize a point, I don't really know. I would like to know what period of time this was written in and about. Today, I don't see this as relevant to just African Americans. Everyone considers their home a "homeplace," otherwise what would it be? Everyone looks at their home as their safety area where they can rest and recharge. I didn't agree with her on that only African Americans do this. It was most defiantly harder for them to when this was written or the time period she was talking about, I'll give her that. Otherwise, it seems to just be writing common sense but a more specific personalized view on it.

Topic Search: Analysis of a Place/ Artifact

At first thought, there seems to be no places or things that come to mind that have much of a hidden historical significance. After some thought, Leo's Coney Island starts to stand out. This is a local place that has been there since I was little, before this I don't know the history. But, I intend to find out what used to be there. The owner, Leo, always seems to be hanging around the place at least once a week. There is a possibility of an interview from him, but he doesn't really care for most of his employees. He always says, "Come on! You've got tables!" or "Get going." There is a certain speed that we can go before things start getting sloppy and most of the time he is just restating the obvious or telling us to do something that we already did. Yes, I'm a waitress here, so I know the inner workings of the place. This might help, or it could possibly give a very biased view. At the moment, I'm on this diet that I have. Basically, it consists of no gluten or dairy due to semi-allergies. The only food there that I can eat are their salads, chicken, and rice (and even then I'm not sure what goes into the rice). There should be healthier options on their menu, but I don't think this is part of the assignment. Hopefully I'm on the right tract here and can make this paper what it has potential to be.

Response to Mike G. and his post about the class discussion on Detroit

I think that Mike G. is on the right track here. I also think that slow steady progress will last a longer time in the end and is needed more than these elaborate clean-ups in Detroit for special circumstances. In the long run Detroit will be better off because of it. Mike brings up a good point that people do know what Detroit is like, even if they go to a better part of it. You can only hide something so much, in order to get to certain areas, like Greek town, you have to pass other more unpleasant areas.

Reaction to class discussion on Niki's Window

I thought that good points were brought up. I didn't know the extent to which Detroit was cleaned up for the Superbowl and other large public events. Instead of looking at it as hiding the true Detroit and returning back to the fomer status I think that by cleaning it up for the week or so this shows that there are possiblities for the future for Detroit. Like with the bathroom/house example, I think that sure you have to clean up for company but also you can never make your home perfect to everyone's standards. For example, I like a cleaner more clutter free look with a few meaningful objects around me. But, others like a more cluttered feel with parts of their life surrounding them everywhere, from dolls on the floor to dried flowers on the wall. Not everyone can be pleased. I think that this shows that Detroit can be cleaned up with a lot of effort, there are possiblities. With time and effort Detroit can be brought up to higher standards, we are trying different ways to see how we can clean it up best as possible for the future.

"Nikki's Window" CCC 45-52

What is Herron arguing in this essay? What does he mean by the terms pastness, nostalgia, and humiliation?

Herron is trying to convey to the reader that Detroit is now a place where people go to get a false sense of the past. It is no longer the old Detroit, no matter how hard some people try to remodel it. This sign at Nikki's has been there through it all-seen it all. From the 1800s when two men used the place as an engine workshop, to the early 1900s where Henry Ford found the men and conceived the idea for the Model A with their help, to the present where Nikki's restaurant now sits. The term pastness literally means from before the time of now, for example when Ford and others were here. The history of Detroit is the pastness of now. Times were different then and we can never have them back. Nostalgia is feelings for another time. When Detroit was a better place; the businesses and shops that lined the streets bring back memories of happier safer times. Humiliation is of Detroit because of all that it has gone through. With the businesses and people and change of culture and general feelings evoked when in the city. They went from pleasant cheerfulness to down right terrified. Detroit has changed over the years, and not for the better.