Grab Your Sledgehammers & Fight Blight

Blight, abandoned homes, and ruin porn are how some people see the city of Detroit. Motor City Blight Busters has been attacking this problem, one crack house at a time, for 21 years.

For those of you who were reading this blog a year ago (bless your beautiful hearts), you may remember that I participated in the Blood, Sweat and Gear campaign organized by Motor City Connect. If you weren’t around last summer you can read about the event last year, how I gave blood and tore down blight.

The time has come again to roll up our sleeves, pick up our sledgehammers, and get some work done.

Watch this video from WXYZ and Stephen Clark to find out more:

The Blood, Sweat and Gear Campaign focuses on a common cause: positive change through collaboration. You can get involved by supporting three charities:

Blood – The American Red Cross of Southeastern Michigan. The Red Cross is low on blood and needs our help so there will be a four-day blood drive. Yes, I know needles are scary but saving lives feels really cool.

Sweat – Motor City Blight Busters. Come out on August 12, 13, & 14 and help tear down some of these abandoned homes. I’m not going to lie, it’s hard work! But it’s so worth it. Being part of positive change does wonders for your soul and our community.

Gear – Operation Kid Equip. Donate school supplies or money to help provide children with the tools they need to succeed in school. Remember how exciting it was to have new school supplies to start the year off right? We need to make sure underprivileged kids have the same opportunity to excel in the classroom.

So, what are you doing next week? Will you join Motor City Connect and me on August 12, 13, & 14?

What I Learned at Maker Faire Detroit

After attending Maker Faire Detroit at The Henry Ford over the weekend I can tell you this: creativity, ingenuity, and a sense of play are alive and well in Detroit. Children and adults marveled at the interesting inventions, took a spin on some clever contraptions, and dare I say it, learned something.

A few things I learned:

• Smashing objects and tearing things apart can teach you as much as putting things together.

• Kids don’t need carnival rides to thrill them; they thrive on new and interesting ideas.

• Silly is always good.

• Children have no idea what a vinyl record is.

• You can use any fizzy beverage to make the same magic as the Coke Zero & Mentos guys. However, they use Coke Zero because it’s less sticky than the other soda pops. (See video below.)

• You can try their experiment at home, just make sure you use room temperature pop, cold pop won’t shoot as high.

• Everything you attempt doesn’t have to be perfect, just keep putting yourself and your ideas out there.

• Remember to have fun and follow your passion.

Keep inventing, making, tinkering, and doing-it-yourself Detroit! You did our region proud. I’m looking forward to Maker Faire becoming an annual summer tradition in Detroit. 

A bit of a splash from the Coke Zero & Mentos Spectacular.

A clown dances on the car that a 2-ton safe fell on in the Life Size Mouse Trap.

A lttle girl is entralled by the Sashimi Tabernacle Choir Art Car.

Detroit Moxie's Weekend Roundup

My husband and I really enjoyed our sneak peek of the Maker Faire yesterday. The highlight for my husband, though, was being able to go behind the scenes in the Restoration Room at The Henry Ford.

Being a carpenter, he was like a kid in a candy store. Small moments like that make this blogging thing pretty cool.

Weekend Roundup

1. Maker Faire Detroit - The Henry Ford hosts this festival of makers, new ideas, and cool projects that will inspire everyone to play. Check out my previous post for more on the Maker Faire and a sneak peek. July 31st & August 1st.

2. Rockin' on the Riverfront - Blue Oyster Cult is playing a free concert on the Riverfront starting at 8:00 p.m. July 30th.

3. Great Lakes Bat Festival - The festival features live bat programs, live nocturnal animal exhibit, educational exhibits, bat-themed activities for kids, story time, and presentations by bat experts. July 30-31.

4. Midwest Motorcycle Fest - This celebration of the open road will feature entertainment, custom and sport bike shows, riding skill displays, and fun-filled activities for everyone. Mini Kiss, a Kiss tribute band made up of midgets, will perform. July 29-August 1st.

5. Novi Palooza - Bands, beer, and BBQ are the stars of this event which also features a Vegas tent, inflatables, fireworks, and a car show. July 30-August 1st.

6. Ferndale Pub Crawl - It's time to head to the Dale to enjoy a walking tour of Ferndale's pubs & clubs. July 30th.

Do you know of a great event going on in Metro Detroit this weekend? Add it to the comments and share it with us!

Make it to Maker Faire Detroit!

Motor City becomes Maker City this weekend as cool inventors, Makers, and the do-it-yourself mindset takes over The Henry Ford Museum with Maker Faire.

Over 260 Makers will be showcased at the two-day festival including rocket making and launching, fire arts, a life-size Mousetrap (like the old game), the Coke and Mentos demonstration, arts & crafts, and much more.

There will also be some local love with a Michigan Made section, Handmade Detroit, and a Local Roots tent with yummy food from around the region.

The Maker Faire includes hackers, artists, scientists, tinkerers, roboticists, chefs, crafters, metalworkers, physicists, puppeteers, and more that will show things you’ve never seen before.

In the Maker Shed you can try your hand at soldering, metalworking, and 3D printing.

I got a sneak peek at the Life-Size Mousetrap yesterday. The contraption takes me back to my youth when we would play the board game at family gatherings.

However, this Life-Size Mousetrap comes to life when players get to crank the cranks, load springs, and turn huge gears. It all comes to a crashing end when a falling 2-ton safe crushes... something. I’m not saying what it crushes, you’ll have to see it for yourself.

Some of the other cool makers include the Sashimi Tabernacle Choir Art Car and Big Dog.

Maker Faire is this weekend, July 31st & August 1st at The Henry Ford.

Walking on Sunshine or The Story of Becks

A while ago in Who the Heck is this Becks Davis Chick? I gave Detroit Moxie readers a choice between two future posts. Bent out of Shape was the clear winner but here is Walking on Sunshine.

I’m not sure if it was the hormones or what but my mom wanted to name me Sunshine, you know, so people would call me Sunny. Good thinking, mom, kids would never make fun of a girl named Sunny!

It should be noted that although I was born in 1969 my parents were not hippies. They were born in the 40’s and were the typical teeny boppers of the 50’s. Think poodle skirts and white socks with black shoes.

My aunt, dad, and mom. This picture was taken around the time I was born. See, they are not hippies!

They did become a little crazy in the 70’s when my dad and brother got matching afros and my mom wore a long, red, Ann Margaret wig. Oh, and the blue walls in our living room had a yellow stripe at the top that culminated in an arrow on the landing.

This picture, however, makes them look a bit more like hippies! Dad has a Saturday Night Fever thing going on.

But they weren’t free spirited hippies!

I don’t think my disposition really fits with Sunshine and luckily I had someone on my side. My dad wasn’t hip to this Sunshine/Sunny moniker and told my mom, “Rebecca or Sarah, you have a choice.”

For the love of all things reasonable, thank you dad!

And so I was named Rebecca.

I was called Becki. Yes, spelled with an ‘i’.

Why the ‘i’? Once again, I have to blame my mom here. She unconventionally ends her name with an ‘i’ and I think she was trying to pass that on to me. Not only does she spell it with an ‘i’, she’s been known to dot it underneath.

You know, when you spell your name differently you don’t get to buy key chains or other tchotchkes with your name on them while on vacation. I’m just throwing that out there.

Besides not being able to buy key chains with your name on it, spelling your name weird means that everyone misspells it.

I AM NOT BECKY! I know it might seem like a small thing but it looks and feels totally different to me. It’s as annoying as the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard.

Did I mention my maiden name? It’s long and Polish: Owczarski. It’s pronounced of-char-ski. My dad told me it meant “son of czar;” for years I thought I was related to some high-powered people. Turns out, it means shepherd.

My best friends couldn’t spell the damn name so I was known as Becki O. Spelling my last name constantly became a chore, “O-W, C as in Charlie, Z as in Zebra...”

Sometimes when saying of-char-ski people would ask, “of where?” When I tried to get around that by saying O’charski I was called out by an extremely short nun for trying to be Irish.

I lost the long, Polish last name when I got married. Davis. Simple enough.

Actually, it’s not so simple. The surnames Davis and Davies are pronounced the same in the UK. I thought I was finished with spelling my last name but I wasn’t so lucky. I either had to spell it or was asked if that was with an E.

When I joined Facebook, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to be found. And that is how Becks Davis was born.

The truth is that all my close friends and family, the people who loved me and said my name a lot, dropped the ‘i’. They just called me Beck or Becks. And it stuck.

I prefer Beck or Becks but I won’t kill you if you call me Becki, as long as you spell it correctly. Just a warning, if you call me Rebecca you’ll get the evil eye.

My mom and I still buy each other sunflowers and cards with some kind of sun on them. Hell, I know all the lyrics of “You are My Sunshine” because she sang it to me so often.

After all that, I do miss my long, Polish last name. But I’m pretty happy that I’m not Sunny Davis. I’m sure some clever person would be calling me Sunny D.