More Robocop

[donaldv]

From Slate no less:

http://www.slate.com/id/2287641/

[GOAT]

Gee, just another nail in the coffin that is Detroit. Nice priorities!

How about putting the money towards a "snitch" line to catch the scum of Detroit? Oh right...snitching means being a coward.

[Jimaz]

From today's Detroit News: RoboCop actor now pitching for Forgotten Harvest

RoboCop has joined a list of celebrities lending their support to fight hunger in the Motor City.


Peter Weller, the actor who played the cyborg crime fighter, has teamed with Forgotten Harvest to raise money to feed Detroit's needy. Weller appears in a nearly two-minute public service announcement on YouTube encouraging people to donate to the nonprofit that provides meals for thousands of Detroit area residents.

• RoboCop's Peter Weller helps feed metro Detroit
• ForgottenHarvest.org

[NorthEndere]

Gee, just another nail in the coffin that is Detroit. Nice priorities!

How about putting the money towards a "snitch" line to catch the scum of Detroit? Oh right...snitching means being a coward.

Really, WTF are you going on about? Just blabbing away incoherently, I guess. What else is new?

[douglasm]

You know, my initial reaction to the RoboCop statue was something along the lines of "What a stupid idea". BUT, it was mentioned in this morning's Seattle P-I, along with a photo aray of various "quirky" statues around the United States. For example, a statue of Vladimir Lenin in Seattle's Fremont district, one to "The Fonz" in Milwaukee, Mary Richards [[Minneapolis), Ralph Cramdon [[New York City), and Dr. Robert Hartley [[Chicago). Why NOT RoboCop in Detroit? One thing the city used to have was a sense of humor and whimsy about itself. Maybe if the city stopped taking itself so seriously it would feel a bit better.....

http://www.seattlepi.com/ae/gallery....20and%20beyond

[Jimaz]

I couldn't resist snagging that picture of the troll statue under the bridge.

[douglasm]

That's an actual VW The Troll is holding. At one time it had California plates, which shows what we think of our neighbours to the south.

This kind of interactive art is very popular out here. In my town, Coyote Reading A Candy Wrapper.....



......which sits on the front steps of the museum, is a very popular piece of art that gets clothed in various coats, scarfs, hats, etc. depending on the weather. I think the point is that "art" doesn't have to be serious, and I think [[like Fremont, which is home to a number of quirky artworks beside the Lenin statue and The Troll) certain districts [[New Center and the Cass Coridor come immediately to mind) would benefit greatly by these types of instilations.

[davewindsor]

I wish they did it in an organized fashion like a Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame for Detroit celebrities. Like, say a star of Peter Weller with his handprint on the sidewalk and then the statue of Robocop next to it. Do it on like Madison Avenue starting from The Gem Theatre, Then, they could have other stars and statues on the same street.

Someone started a thread on it half a year ago and it lasted a day.
http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...Hollywood-Blvd

Another thread started in Feb and lasted two days.
http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...e-in-the-works

Come on guys, let's see Robocop on a Detroit Walk of Fame.
http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/in...k_of_fame.html


Proposed Detroit Walk of Fame is intriguing but city leaders will likely miss real opportunity

Published: Saturday, February 26, 2011, 9:03 AM Updated: Saturday, February 26, 2011, 9:03 AM

The Detroit Entertainment Commission is proposing a Walk of Fame to honor local celebrities, past and present.

Feb. 26, Detroit Free Press: Details are emerging about a Detroit Walk of Fame project that would pay Hollywood-style tribute to some of the city's best-known figures, with bronze plaques embedded in sidewalks across the city. The Walk of Fame could launch a glittery new city tradition, as hometown celebrities from entertainment, sports and industry are honored each year with curbside induction ceremonies.

Proponents say the Walk of Fame would be privately funded and Compuware is building a GPS-powered smartphone app to allow for self-guided tours. This is a private venture that leverages local technology talent to spur tourism. Perfect. Or, almost perfect.

Compuware’s GPS app is the most interesting part of this proposal because the city could conceivably leverage a Detroit-centric GPS app to improve service to Detroit residents. Real-time GPS bus tracking, the ability to instantly report broken street lights or illegal dumping with a camera phone picture, or even wait times at various city offices are just a few possible applications.

That won’t happen unless someone in city government has the foresight to explore these possibilities with Compuware. In a Detroit where leaders respond without irony to an obviously tongue-in-cheek Twitter message about Robocop, it’s doubtful anyone that matters has the technological-savvy to see the potential here.

That disconnect underscores why Detroit, with cultural amenities equal to or better than any comparable city, lags so far behind in quality of life. We do not fully take advantage of opportunities presented to us. In fact, we have a habit of making stupid excuses for not doing the very things that could make Detroit a better place to live.

A smartphone app for reporting blight or potholes? Someone will argue all those instant reports could “make the city look bad” or some equally inane rationalization.

That’s no exaggeration. The proposed Woodward Light Rail project has already elicited howls over gentrification, as if a city that’s lost a million middle and working class residents can be negatively affected by a modest influx of new middle-class residents.

So, yeah, the Detroit Walk of Fame is a great idea. City Council should approve it ASAP. Then they should show real leadership and ask how else this effort can be used in other ways to improve Detroit.