Motor City Madness

St Clair Shores, Mich - I'm proud to say I'm from Detroit. It makes people think I'm tough, which I am, although that may not be apparent at first glance.

Seriously, though, the Motor City gets a bad rap. I won't argue that the city isn't going through some tough times (and has been - since before I was born). It makes the city an easy target for criticism. Maybe that's why I find the videos and photos of Detroit's abandoned buildings so boring. This has been going on for years, people - can't you find something new to say?

If you're not familiar with the videos and photos I am referring to, see 100 Abandoned Houses, which was recently written up in the New York Times. "With such a dramatic decline [in population], the abandoned house problem is not likely to go away soon." So writes the photographer, Kevin Bauman, who has since relocated to Denver.

Okay, I'm not exactly in a position to fault the guy for moving out of town. We are not beholden to our hometown. If you're going to make it the subject of your creative project, though, can't you think of something good to say? Or at least something that has not been said 100 times before?