Assuming the Yankees avoid a Mets-like collapse in September (...), they should be headed for the playoffs in October. While I will continue to keep tabs on my team, I figure setting an October 4th (last day of the regular season) deadline for the next draft of ACYW is doable.
I've identified all the editing I need to do and have already knocked off the small stuff. The big stuff remains. Most notably, I've decided to tell the story from the point of view of Besat El-Reeh, the young Arab American reporter, more. It'll still be third person omniscient, but with a good helping of Besat.
For Family, I've written two versions of the first paragraph and continue to jot down notes about characters, voice and scenes. I reckon, in general, though, that the project will get pushed to the back burner while I focus on ACYW.
Showing posts with label Arab American National Museum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arab American National Museum. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Monday, March 3, 2008
Dearborn Day Three: I Got Your Setting Right Here, Pal
On Thursday, February 28, 2008, I toured the Ford Rouge Factory and watched the assembly of a Ford F-150. There were also two films, one on Henry Ford who had more of a Lincoln-like story (failed in business at least twice before making it) than I had ever known. The second film was about the factory and the steps and the people involved in the making of the F-150.
As one tours the factory, Ford, Bill Ford in particular, makes no bones about their dedication to the environment – until you realize that all their references to being green regard their processes (their Green Roof, use of fuel cells and recycled materials), not their vehicles.
There are no immediate plans to include the tour in the book, but I reckon my time at the factory will come in handy down the road. If nothing else, it's an essential part of the community and one that I needed to make myself familiar with.
Another part of the community that cannot be overlooked is the fantastically empty and dated Montgomery Ward department store smack dab across the street from City Hall, caddy corner from the Arab American National Museum, a stone's throw from a local newspaper and right on Michigan Avenue. One would think this makes for prime commercial real estate, but from what the innkeeper told me, the building's been vacant for years. According to that link (from 2006), offices within the building were rented out. Looked like a ghost town to me, but I'll have to follow up.
Well, one community's abandoned relic is another writer's central setting. Where better to set the rebirth of a local economy than from a beautiful building long overlooked?
Before leaving Dearborn, I picked up as many local papers as I could. I look forward to returning in a few months and taking in a Tigers game at Comerica. Now it's back to writing.
As one tours the factory, Ford, Bill Ford in particular, makes no bones about their dedication to the environment – until you realize that all their references to being green regard their processes (their Green Roof, use of fuel cells and recycled materials), not their vehicles.
There are no immediate plans to include the tour in the book, but I reckon my time at the factory will come in handy down the road. If nothing else, it's an essential part of the community and one that I needed to make myself familiar with.
Another part of the community that cannot be overlooked is the fantastically empty and dated Montgomery Ward department store smack dab across the street from City Hall, caddy corner from the Arab American National Museum, a stone's throw from a local newspaper and right on Michigan Avenue. One would think this makes for prime commercial real estate, but from what the innkeeper told me, the building's been vacant for years. According to that link (from 2006), offices within the building were rented out. Looked like a ghost town to me, but I'll have to follow up.
Well, one community's abandoned relic is another writer's central setting. Where better to set the rebirth of a local economy than from a beautiful building long overlooked?
Before leaving Dearborn, I picked up as many local papers as I could. I look forward to returning in a few months and taking in a Tigers game at Comerica. Now it's back to writing.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Day Two in Dearborn; A Book Title is Found?
On Wednesday morning I toured The Henry Ford which "showcases the people and ideas that have fired our imaginations and changed our lives." More specifically, the innovative ideas of Ford (cars), Thomas Edison (electricity) and the Wright Brothers (aviation) complemented by other exhibits on guns, quilting and Dairy Queen. Obviously we're working with Ford's (contemporary) definition of who and what fired our imaginations and changed our lives.
While walking around I asked myself what my protagonists would make of the museum. A famous Ford quote hit me in particular: "You can have any color (Model T) you want...as long as it's black." This line has become well-known for it's humor, but sadly it contradicts what we like to think the U.S. is all about: democracy and open-market capitalism, ie, the freedom of choice. We'd like to believe that we can choose the color of our cars, the leaders who represent us and through this openness we progress in perpetual revolution. But here is corporate titan Henry Ford restricting our choice and laughing about it. Kinda fucked up. I'll return to this. Now I'm off to the Arab American National Museum.
The museum's mission statement is: The Arab American National Museum's mission is to document, preserve, celebrate, and educate the public on the history, life, culture and contributions of Arab Americans. We serve as a resource to enhance knowledge and understanding about Arab Americans and their presence in the United States.
Unlike the Ford, which seems to lose its focus, this museum does exactly what it sets out to do. And I can't get this to not italicize. At the same time, the museum raises some questions: 1) It discusses briefly the "Save the South End" campaign in Dearborn, but I'd like to know more; 2) How are the Gulf War and Iraq War Iraqi refugees doing in the community?; 3) How do the Arab Christians and the Arab Muslims in the area get along?; and 4) How are female Arab entrepreneurs doing in Dearborn?
After visiting the breeding ground of a major American car manufacturer and an Arab American museum (in the same town) I had the following horrible thought: What if unemployment is high and the economy is down in this part of the country because it is home to two of the most infamously stubborn entities (American autos and Arabs) this side of Red Sox fans and vegans?
I'd like to think I was proven wrong later that same day on a few occasions. First, Dearborn is not black and white, Arab and non-Arab. There are no stark residential boundaries. The local KFC offers Halal chicken. The Arab restaurant I had dinner at offered American standards. Women in burqas enjoyed hot drinks on cold Dearborn days in coffee shops on the other side of town.
Dizzy with the prospects of such subplots, I drew myself back to book's main idea and Ford's quote. The U.S. suffers when it restricts choice, and by extension opportunity. By rejecting the help of two successful (foreign) entrepreneurs, choice and opportunity take a hit. So what do you call a book set in Ford's backyard that stonewalls two African entrepreneurs from offering Americans choice and opportunity? Why, "Any Color You Want" of course. ;)
Tomorrow: The making of a Ford F-150 and the renting of Montgomery Ward.
While walking around I asked myself what my protagonists would make of the museum. A famous Ford quote hit me in particular: "You can have any color (Model T) you want...as long as it's black." This line has become well-known for it's humor, but sadly it contradicts what we like to think the U.S. is all about: democracy and open-market capitalism, ie, the freedom of choice. We'd like to believe that we can choose the color of our cars, the leaders who represent us and through this openness we progress in perpetual revolution. But here is corporate titan Henry Ford restricting our choice and laughing about it. Kinda fucked up. I'll return to this. Now I'm off to the Arab American National Museum.
The museum's mission statement is: The Arab American National Museum's mission is to document, preserve, celebrate, and educate the public on the history, life, culture and contributions of Arab Americans. We serve as a resource to enhance knowledge and understanding about Arab Americans and their presence in the United States.
Unlike the Ford, which seems to lose its focus, this museum does exactly what it sets out to do. And I can't get this to not italicize. At the same time, the museum raises some questions: 1) It discusses briefly the "Save the South End" campaign in Dearborn, but I'd like to know more; 2) How are the Gulf War and Iraq War Iraqi refugees doing in the community?; 3) How do the Arab Christians and the Arab Muslims in the area get along?; and 4) How are female Arab entrepreneurs doing in Dearborn?
After visiting the breeding ground of a major American car manufacturer and an Arab American museum (in the same town) I had the following horrible thought: What if unemployment is high and the economy is down in this part of the country because it is home to two of the most infamously stubborn entities (American autos and Arabs) this side of Red Sox fans and vegans?
I'd like to think I was proven wrong later that same day on a few occasions. First, Dearborn is not black and white, Arab and non-Arab. There are no stark residential boundaries. The local KFC offers Halal chicken. The Arab restaurant I had dinner at offered American standards. Women in burqas enjoyed hot drinks on cold Dearborn days in coffee shops on the other side of town.
Dizzy with the prospects of such subplots, I drew myself back to book's main idea and Ford's quote. The U.S. suffers when it restricts choice, and by extension opportunity. By rejecting the help of two successful (foreign) entrepreneurs, choice and opportunity take a hit. So what do you call a book set in Ford's backyard that stonewalls two African entrepreneurs from offering Americans choice and opportunity? Why, "Any Color You Want" of course. ;)
Tomorrow: The making of a Ford F-150 and the renting of Montgomery Ward.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
