https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY

Sir Ken Robinson’s speech was very simply presented, yet effective. While he didn’t use any visuals he told many success stories of those who were allowed to be creative when they weren’t doing well in a normal academic institution. His tone was serious when it needed to be, and he threw in some humor to lighten the mood. Robinson projected well in his speech, and while he had to stop himself sometimes because he stumbled over his words, he was able to fully pull his presentation back together without any real snag in the speech. His body language wasn’t cut off; it was open to show confidence in what he knew. Robinson may not have presented any actual scientific studies, but due to the fact that he presented himself well, he could’ve been a renowned expert in this field even if he had been making his speech off of his own personal experiences. He wasn’t stand-offish and uppity as many experts in their respective fields can be, and that is also what helped him get the responses of laughter and clapping that he did because he made himself personable. That’s what made his speech so effective to listeners because he was able to capture their attention and present the material in a way that wasn’t lecturing, but relatable. Robinson had nice organization and knew exactly when he could interject a story to back up what he was saying. He also let thoughts soak into the listener and wasn’t in a rush to just output his perspective and go on. There wasn’t really anything I found that was ineffective. Visuals may have helped, but I can’t think of anything else.

Detroit vs. Everybody

I've never been to Detroit, and though I've really had no experience being there to judge it I feel that It’s probably a place I’d feel terrified going to. I get scared walking on the South end of campus so Detroit would not be my first on my list of places to go. The beginning of Rembert’s article really described my exact notions of the city. All the media attention from the violence and bankruptcy has really put a damper on what I used to know Detroit for.

Years ago, before bankruptcy put Detroit in the headlines, I saw Detroit as a modernizing city. I heard Detroit and thought of Eminem and Cadillac. Never would I have thought about how bad it was becoming to live there. So, going into this article, I had many preconceived notions that this would just be another article on how horrible Detroit was to live in. Then I came to the Heidelberg Project. I was intrigued by how through the what seems to be the eminent demise of a “once-great” Detroit, some are still trying to give it something, something to be remembered by instead of this run down, almost 3^rd world, post-apocalyptic thoughts of the rest of the country. I loved the part when the author stated that he didn’t think that the rest of the country wanted Detroit to survive. I thought that this is a great description as to the feelings of the rest of the country. Many don’t want to think that Detroit is salvageable when in fact it can be as vibrant as it once was. Just because it has a bad rap and is deteriorating doesn’t mean it can’t be restored.

After reading this article, I now feel strongly about the revitalization that some people are putting forth the effort into doing for this city. It upset me when I read that someone had actually set fire to one of the houses in the Heidelberg project. I found that Belle Isle Park and the Hart Plaza Amphitheater were beautiful in their own respects, and I love that the author, despite seeing and hearing the absolute worst of Detroit, was able to shine a different light on the lesser known beauty in the city. I would like to see Detroit put back together and revitalized. It’d be a tremendous testament to human will power and hope that even the worst of the worst in this country can bounce back from the toll that economic hardships can cause. 

I found this article compelling. When first starting the article, I thought the author was going to completely degrade Hollywood’s choice of exploiting the “sex appeal” of actors/ singers. When really, he was fascinated by what all our bodies can go through and the drastic changes that can occur. One example he gives was how Kim Kardashian’s body went from just gave birth to being worthy of posting on Instagram in a revealing white swimsuit. He made a strong point of how our bodies can go through such dramatic changes just by our sheer will and desire, but by also what the society around us dictates as attractive.

Our world has based many views on secular thoughts and tendencies. Meaning that what grabs our attention the most is seeing someone almost completely nude. That’s what gets you remembered in this life time. As Morris pointed out, Miley Cyrus will probably always be remembered as the girl that went from sweet Hannah Montana to someone half naked on stage twerking. Our society is developing round this vision of beauty and perfection, and what makes you desirable. People think now that to get attention they have to dance naked in front of millions of people, so they mold their bodies to allow for that.

I’m all for being healthy and in shape. I find it a crucial part of being able to live life to the fullest, however, that’s not always how to get attention. Many people who are in the music videos and movies are taking insanely good care of their bodies because they know that in order to be recognized, they have match this image set by the public. Almost every channel I’ve watched has numerous broadcasts of many different weight-loss or fitness plan advertisements. The ads themselves lure viewers in with words like sexy to make them think that the only way to be noticed is to be just that. As Katy Perry said to the NPR reporter, “I know I have that sexy card in my deck but I don’t always have to use that card.” Our bodies and how they look matter way more now than what they did 10 years ago. I mean 10 years ago our class was 8 or 9, and all we really cared about was when the next episode of SpongeBob was going to come on or how we were going to sneak cookies while mom and dad weren’t looking. We didn’t care about trying to impress others using appearances. My point is that the author shows how much progress has been made by even just thinking back a year. Morris also used the point that the best movies this year were the ones not based on things such as finding love through appearance, but through personality. He uses the movie Her as an example to show how different we think when we don’t see a physical thing in front of us and how we are more focused on looks than character.