A Pirate Ship With Feet.

Opening day of baseball season. In downtown Cleveland a pirate ship with feet appears marching and lurching about from tavern to bar to dive to gutter. Rube city. Some of us embody adistinct preference to scalp the corporate wahoo mascot wahoo , replacing his grim visage with a non racist image. Cleveland Wonderful Walleyes , or back to the Cleveland Spiders . Even naming the Clevealnd AL baseball team for any form of road kill seems better than suffering the insult of wahoo another season. This corporote brutalized and exploited Native American cartoon insult wahoo and his losing baseball ways , will remain I am afraid.The curse continues.This being said it is time to turn to the question of wins and losses for the wacky 2008 Tribe bunch. Wagers are now happening , and I put my dollars on the Detroit American league club in 2008. Rumor has it that Leyalnd is a bit brighter light bulb than Wedge , and who am I to argue? Detroit team hits the ball hard and doing so trumps the Cleveland home teams much vaunted pitching staff in 2008.Both teams should win in the area of ninety games . Slipsy JR made the book figure even odds that the Cleveland team finishes with a better season record than the sluggo mad Detroit club. I disagree. We bet. JR Slipsy will officiate from the cozy confines of Ciao Vito , a nice restaurant in Portland , Oregon that is not to be missed if you travel that way . Try the razor clams! JR Slipsy is the official scorer from a few thousand miles away due to his superior knowledge of clams and the sort of piscatory streams we swim about in. He sez final about all bets placed with his double trouble brother Slipsy JR in Cleveland , Ohio. I bet JR Slipsy. Slipsy JR does the officiating. Once while walking with Slipsy JR at the produce hall of a local public market.,I hear a burly market porter robust of form and of a dark complexion and once himself a nonpareil athlete. Acclaim in puzzled fashion. " Hey man , uhh? " He speaks aloud , jaw dropping as he notices Slipsy JR. Now as JR Slipsy recognizes this old yard kong plus sized foe from his roundball days in Liberty , Ohio from way back in the day and gives him the old school heads up. " There two of them" , Our dusky porter mumbles to hisself , then articulating his thought aloud while gesturing about with his jumbo paddle sized hands. Pointing out Slipsy JR to his near comotose fellow worker who attempts to lift himself upright while he fumbles himself awake from his near slumbering while standing work technique .{ Many old tome public white wings whiled away a day by mostly using the business end of the broom as some sort of earthly tripod . Then sweeping for ten to fifteen minutes on the hour , when awaken for duty .] " I play basketball with him and the other one who is his twin". sez Jumbo to his broom mate. "There two of him !" , he utters in frank amazement as if glimsing a ghost . While pointing to my one half of a twin basketball schoolboy act my pal JR Slipsy was half of. Respectful of the tournament round ball played over thirty years ago against the elusive Slipsy brothers. His admiration of the basketball prowess of JR Slipsy and Slipsy Jr diminished when his even larger than life City inspector walked on the scene , souring out the action by acting as if he himself was a twentieth Century Simon Legree who left his whip behind his girlfriends door and was pissed off to beat the band. " Back to work". We walk away shaking hands.... In Cleveland it is again the Grovewood Tavern and the Beachland Ballroom that make any pre thaw evening out on the town worth the effort while visiting metro Cleveland's North Collinwood neighborhood. The stunning and dynamic Conya Doss played a sublime set of soulful rhythm and blues in the Beachland Ballroom this very Saturday evening to a polite and admiring fan base . It is great to see true talent like Conya Doss be supported by polite society. The musicians and accompanying singers that served Conya Doss well in genuine inspired symmetry and filled the cozy ballroom confines of the Beachland Ballroom with pure joy. Contemporary Rhythm and Blues the musical ticket on the south shore of Lake Erie this past Saturday evening, Ms. Doss and her crew the R&B ambassadors of the hour... Right up on Lake Erie up near the former Euclid Beach amusement Park a kind and wayfaring stranger with rather long hair and very pointy black leather , at least Nokona quality or equivalent cowboy boots , came a walking about. Poker playing boots . Plenty of room in those high leather pull on tops for whatever ails ya.Now before we follow this well groomed Texas Long Hair around on his Cleveland adventures. A few words about the game of poker. Texas hold em is a very polite and boring game . More poker perhaps than some of the games I favor and have played till past daybreak with degenerate gambling sickness victims of all races , colors , and stripes.Pretty pussy. Four cards , four suits , lowest hand involving holding one card apiece of each suit. Three rounds of no check betting and a rather expeditious result. Perfect poker. Ace , Deuce , Three, Four of all different suits is produces a pat hand. Mammonism of the highest stripe and order then occurs. Today's Omaha and Texas style Hold em games are no match for the inspired low ball five ,six , and seven card stud poker games with betting twists and the ability to improve a hand with a buy on the end side. Declarer play if so desired by the dealer and specified for before hand. Real big piles of green dollar bills folded and shoved into a cowboy boot or tucked into some other dark place... Back to our cowboy boot visitor who turns out to be a visiting artist and musician from Austin , Texas who steps off a jet airplane , rents a car ,and drives along the Lakeshore Boulevard and East 156th street looking for the Beachland Ballroom. His name is Salvador Curley and he Stops to ask some Euclid Beach Park area resident citizens how to find the Beachland Ballroom and Tavern on Waterloo Road and East 156Th Street? The ultimate unanswerable question . Like a pirate ship with feet. Salvador is Standing a mere few blocks north and about a third of a mile in distance from the Beachland Ballroom asking this simple question.A young man walking across this same said parking lot and surely a native of Cleveland's poverty plywood culture upon observing our querulous and amply coiffed Lone Star visitors was heard to exclaim. " See that fuggin' freaky guy , him got long hair just like a GURL!" An anonymous and unsolicited comment on the length of hair of our visitor who while unknown to the confused parking lot citizenry is a visual artist of no small repute and a well travelled street smart human ta boots .Merely asking native Clevelanders a rather simple question concerning directions to the location of a near bye local nightclub of some National recognition. Response? A Full potty mouthed jabbering from the cozy parking lot of a chain drugstore at the intersection of East 156Th and The Boulevard on a rather ordinary early spring Friday evening in late March. Hair like a girl? Man it appears that everybody around these parts is naturally cranky and a little pent up from the winter chilling weather. The natives are restless , and a bit perturbed so to speak . Our erudite Texan mutters to hisself. " Even the locals around these parts are hicks".Seems nobody nose nuttin' , bout' nuttin' round dese parts. A Green Darby gangster hangover. Contemporary culture prefers caution and the dummy up attitude extended to all strangers at all times lest perhaps unpleasantness might be exchanged seems local custom.At least Sal Curley made it outside the downtown Cleveland confines to at least experience the local Cleveland citizens phantasmagorical salutations . As for the very drugstore parking lot Mister Curley was standing in , like many other parking lots in this town full of them. This lot has a few stories ..One sunny summer's day forty years ago the Beach Boy's played to a large crowd in this very sad drugstore parking lot of today at the corner of East156Th and Lakeshore Boulevard. While running for President successfully against scoundrel nixon in 1960 , J.F.K. delivered a speech at these very same old hallowed Euclid Beach Picnic grounds with the help of the local Irish Democratic gang. This very parking lot was a picnic grounds accessible since the nineteenth century to Cleveland dwellers in need to take an air and enjoy the summer comforts of being in the proximity of Lake Erie . Or venturing to the nearby Lake Erie waters to catch walleye , or perch . I would not be surprised that the original Native Indian settlers. Not the hatchet faced mascot bunch I bet against this year, had a fondness and use for this picnic grounds. So as fate has it I am walkin out this very drug store the actual moment that Salvador is walkin in. I thinks to myself , " Yep , Mister and Missus Cheeze got a brand new tenant for the old poster artist Ant Hicks place back on Dogfish Row just around the corner from the drug store on a narrow street of tiny homes that is located just across from the real time drug store and former Euclid Beach Picnic grounds. My olfactory memory banks conjur up youthful images of an ambrosial plume of meaty smoke rising over this same very picnic lot as tobacco smoking , World War One and Two veterans cooked ethnic sausages , whole kids , or gigantic slabs of beef and pork ribs over wood fired pits , dabbing away at the carne with hand held mops moistened with vinegars infused with spice. Now this poor long haired traveler to Cleveland Mister Curley shows up as a guest at the Cheeze's lakefront home an hour or so later. An invited guest to the Cheeze's lakefront digs , and a survivor of a cultural affront for the crime of asking directions in a parking lot. Congratulations fellow earthling from Austin, Texas. The fabled south shore of Lake Erie Flying saucer underwater docking ports are located a few hundred yards out into Lake Erie. Welcome to Cleveland, Ohio! Viewing flying saucers up here along the Lake , is preferable to talking to the natives. A rather ammusing sort of sporting event is attempting to identify what planet a fellow human might be from while walking around Cleveand these days. [An aside for those visitors from a more civilized place who wear their hair long or perhaps dress in a more catchy and colorful style not favored by the midwest ,low dude, or wily rube style and form of haberdashery .] Let it be known that long hair and cowboy boots are better suited for televised cornball western movies , Coventry Road hip eye hangovers , or better yet the wilds south of town known as Brunswick , Ohio or Brunswick ,Kentucky , take your pick. In any event cowboy boots and long hair are not regular dress in a urban parking lot on Cleveland's east side .I remember that in nineteen sixties Cleveland long haired freaks were sometimes hassled by North Collinwood natives at this very amusement park site. Greasers and racks were the vouge here for so very many years. Then the greaser offsprings go on to listen to the likes of southside johnny and his juke band.Go figure? Do not ask directions around these here parts after dark either. It was near nine p.m. and closing time when I walked into the drugstore , and allready us local people all ready to bunker down in our cribs for the evening. . Our visitor Mister Curley and his lovely wife Mindy are considering relocating somewhere else in the world , and came here to Cleveland to look around. Due to the efforts of Mister and Misses Cheese the Curley's had a great dinner at the Grovewood Tavern and listened to great music at the Beachland Ballroom.Civilization personified on Cleveland's east side. The Curley family bonds with us Clevelanders and would be a great addition to our lakefront scene or any happening in the event they should decide to return here. Salvador and Mindy are great and kind people and the very humans that a city like Cleveland should work hard to attract as citizens. As for the pirate ship with feet. They were spared the downtown tribe version and instead caught the Boulevard version before fling away on a big bird through the flying saucer laden clouds above Cleveland back to sunny Texas.We will be staying in touch with the Curley's however , who are as warm and genuine folk.

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True Art Heist , North Collinwood revisited

Walking by the True Art Gallery in Cleveland's north Collinwood neighborhood this past Saturday evening , I was touched by the tiny child's bicycle locked onto an equally miniature tree in front of the now closed gallery space. The bike's bright purple color with the orange plastic chain that holding it in place served testimony to so much of what is wrong with the sad priorities that occur in the contemporary urban scheme of events today. The Cuyahoga County government sponsored and passed legislation under the aegis of " Arts and cultural initiative". What does it take for some of these funds to find there way to the street level , and help a marginal neighborhood like North Collinwood , retain the sweat equity that Ms. Deveney of True Art Gallery , has placed into the space with help of her partner in the past two years? As stated in the first post here discussing True Art gallery , had suffered an earlier break in in September 2007 . And that not being bad enough , to have to suffer the indignity of a second break in , this one at the hands of a Collinwood neighbor , who was apprehended in a police sting while selling the stolen paintings a few blocks from True Art Galleries boarded up storefront. Insult added to injury. And yes , not all of the paintings that were heisted from the gallery have been recovered as of yet.Those stolen painting that sold were at deep discounted street prices of a fraction of the arts sticker prices , it is not very likely that this stolen art will find it's way back to the members who exhibited at True Art , and became victims along with Ms. Deveney and her partner . Ms. Deveney in her true blue large hearted fashion is working on a benefit for the artists whose paintings were stolen and not recovered. The real victims here are the North Collinwood community which looses one of the start up business's that made an aesthetic difference to those who visited the area. Across East 156Th Street from True Art is the other new start up business Cafe Marika , another sweat equity project attempting to get a leg up in a marginal neighborhood, that has suffered more than it's share of street crime and bad luck recently . Cafe Marika has the old world charm of a cafe in Budapest or Prague , and the pastries , foodstuffs and strong coffee or drink to go along with it. It is the potential success of these start ups that will determine the future of the Waterloo business district and North Collinwood. Down the block from cafe Marika, and True Art exists the Waterloo areas anchor business , The world renowned Beachland Ballroom , ready to celebrate it's eighth year in another six weeks. A record store , Music Saves , and hipster retail shop Shoperooni are the other neighborhood attractions to date. I just can't get the picture out of my mind of the boarded up windows at True Art gallery , and the tiny child's bicycle tied up in front of the empty True Art storefront. Most of us remember our initial " art " attempts from our childhoods , and having had fun from our creative efforts , either set down the paints and brushes , or ran with them for the remainder of our days. In a small city like Cleveland , Ohio today , it appears that many young adults consider themselves " fine artists" , and let you know about their artworks in a variety of mannerisms that need no further explanation. Just have a walk or drive about the Tremont or Little Italy neighborhoods , and get a taste of this " art " flavor. North Collinwood , and Waterloo Road was looking for this sort of flavor with regards to True Art gallery. Shame that they did not have a better chance at success. Though I would imagine that if local Collinwood children were given the opportunity to just be kids working at their " art " projects after school , that a now empty storefront such as True Art would have great value as a community asset in serving as deterrent to the crime oriented streets that surround it. All those millions of dollars collected by Cuyahoga County for it's " Arts and Cultural initiative", do not appear to have found there way to the street level were they may do some real good in struggling communities such as North Collinwood , and it's culture of poverty and crime that victimize our children. Write to your County Commissioners and ask them how we can send our neighborhoods and children an arts lifeline? Book Selling Time! It is not nice to mix politics with anything as far as I am concerned , and when politics and art mix it is never very pleasant. We offer today a copy of Ralph Shikes , THE INDIGNANT EYE , The artist as social critic from the fifteenth century to Picasso. I only wish that more scrutiny was placed upon the dispersal of tax generated funds that's aim are to support an " arts and cultural initiative". Many artists goals throughout history have been aimed at skewering politicians at the end of their ink pens , and for damn good reasons. Art and politics do mix , and it is the artist who justly lampoons or kicks the politicos into the muck they crawl about in that get my vote any day of the week. Thomas Nast comes to mind as the nineteenth century American artist whose work best represents this form of satire that portrays the politicians in their most authentic form. Who is your favorite? Send along yours and we will print them here at a later date.

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Charlie Louvin , Detroit, fresh oysters , and da p.d's resident weirdo

Charlie Louvin played a fine two hour plus set this past Friday December 14 , 2007, for the one hundred or so fans in attendance at The Beachland Ballroom on Waterloo Road in Cleveland's Collinwood neighborhood. Now a spry eighty years of age Charlie Louvin is the de facto voice for country music of the classic not contemporary fashion and is very much still a musical force today.Covering many favorites from his solo career and the career that included his late brother Ira . Mister Louvin performed Great Atomic Power , Cash On The Barrel Head , and the often covered Christian Life. As well as great interpretations of classics by Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton , Woody Guthrie , and a Blue Yodel by Jimmie Rogers among others. A highlight was a song that Mister Louvin addressed as his signature song , See The Big Man Cry. The band that backed Mister Louvin was able and soulful , and his duets with the female guitarist were breathtaking in a sparse beatific fashion. Though I caught Mister Louvin working a cigarette between his lips after the show , his voice is strong and he worked the corners of his vocal range in an upward fashion , gaining strength as the evening progressed. Charlie Louvin remains the humble king of true country music today , and it is a shame that not more fans were about this past Friday to listen to his great voice. The Beachland Ballroom is a true Cleveland treasure , with two owners who book consistently the most interesting , eclectic , and aesthetically pleasing acts on a weekly basis year round. Please support this important local institution , which truly is a gem. Just like old Charlie Louvin...........On to Detroit , Michigan for a quick tour this past weekend. Not much seems to have changed since my last visit a few years back. Sure , a few casinos have sprouted up amid the deserted and decayed streets of the Corktown neighborhood , though no real change seems to have occured save the pair of cookie cutter stadiums for football and baseball. I was glad to read recently in a article concerning the casino biz in Detroit that the homeless that panhandle the area around the casinos are now customers of the slot machines. I truly wish these destitute folk good luck , and I am happy that their money is green and spends as well as the next parties. As we know empirically , crime spikes upward with the advent of legalized gambling , and Detroit , Michigan would do better to work on attracting some of it's former citizens back into the city itself , instead of clipping the paychecks and funds available from the tormented addicted gamblers that casinos attract. I was glad to see that Tiger Stadium was still standing at the historic intersection of Michigan and Trumbell in the Corktown neighborhood. Many great sports memories exist for me and the entire State of Michigan. I would not be at all motivated ever to attend a Tigers game at the new Commerica Park. Seeing Commerica on television proves that another wave of cookie cutter ersatz intimate ball yards have been constructed since Baltimore's Camden yards provided the template for such phony architecture some years ago. Detroit's Tiger Stadium deserves a place on the National Register of Historic Buildings , and is significant in that it is the last standing example of a baseball stadium that was engineered and built with the fan in mind before the lodge holder. Wrigley Field in Chicago was built for a Federal League team , and is as worthy an architectural significant example. Fenway Park in Boston also unique and a valuable National structure worthy of preservation. Baseball has been played on the corner of Michigan and Trumbell since the Civil War , then a picnic grounds with a baseball diamond , and I for one would return every year without fail for a tourist trip to Detroit if Tiger Stadium was again utilized and preserved. As for Commerica Park , tear that abysmal phony ball yard down and move the Tigers back to Michigan and Trumbell. Detroit , Michigan is a great City in severe decline , and as a citizen of a similar City in decline it proves difficult to watch two cities repeat each other's mistakes. Time has come to work on providing safe inhabitable neighborhoods for those of us who remain in these cities , not more corporate welfare for the downtown players , land grab gangs , and greedy interests who pimp out the political system for their personal profit. If we place our elderly and children safety first , and all other concerns as secondary , we as a culture will be headed in the right direction..... Had a great trip across the mighty Cuyahoga , local Native American Indian for crooked, yesterday with my pal Slipsy Junior. Junior was kind enough to treat me to three fine bivalves from the briny Louisiana gulf stream of the oyster variety in their natural juicy selves replete with half shell's. Shucked up of course.Simple is best!Our pal Jose gave us each a pint container of his homemade sofrito as a Holiday gift. Thanks Jose! I will combine your kindness with baccala and eggplant in the Puerto Rican style and eat off it for a week or so. A visit outside to the fine Family concern of the DiCara's produced a lovely bag of fresh sweet English peas , eaten just like the oysters. Raw and naked.Mister DiCara is a old school Market man , and always has the best and freshest selection of seasonal vegetables at the family stand that he now shares with his daughter Mellisa whose seasonal self adornment by means of very creative costumes always speaks for the season or holiday at hand. Do not miss trading with either of these two West Side Market merchants should happen to cross our crooked river. Have your passport in order how ever.....Thanks to P Danny , who read about the volume of Cleveland Stadium Memories in an earlier article and put his money up and purchased a copy.P Danny and his charming bride Greta are great Clevelander's , Greta being quite a good euchre player as well... Dan Oak also checked in on the Cleveland Stadium piece , and as most of us do shared a favorite moment concerning his memories of pater and the Cleveland Stadium. For me it was watching Ted Williams take batting practice on a sunny summer morning prior to a Saturday day game in the year 1959. Standing behind the home plate screen and watching Williams , then into his last years , crack one ball after another into the lower right field stands , the noise from the horsehide hitting the wood seats or adjoining concrete they perched on as audible today as that moment suspended in time nearly fifty years ago. My Father stood with us behind the screen pointing out Williams whip hand and the varieties and strong features of his impressive swing. n Now the sordid 21st century leaves me with a rather morbid vision of the splendid splinter's severed head packed in some sort of cryogenic soup , awaiting resurrection and transplant if the modern medical mavens can produce the means. I prefer the vision of Williams able swing , while my Father's hand was at my shoulder is now a memory flash stored as a lodestone of sanity compared to the hard scrabble science fiction bent antics of the modern world. Such as a nightmare version of Ed Wood's THEY STOLE HITLER'S BRAIN , was recast as " They Pickled The Splendid Splinter ....I have always imagined da p.d.'s Kevin O' Brien to be a weirdo of sorts , if indeed he existed at all. O'Brien"s low humor on the op ed page rivals the comedic slime that Rush Limbaugh pushes or the twisted antics of one National radio syndicated bland white bread sad humorist known as the drudge report. To take the content of any of the above as anything else as stand up humor would prove quite a stretch. Leave it to da p.d.'s butt buddies wcpn radio ,on the a.m. Thursday December 20 , 2007 nine to ten morning radio show , you know the confusing one that pretends to offer ideas , only to deliver pre digested opinions instead. The humor of refering to themselves as an idea stream is not lost on me , and to really seem to prove what a weird piece of work this O'Brien actually is , I can only assume that the pathos is not lost on wcpn either. Seems that O'Brien penned some poetic trashy ditties , reworded versions of Christmas Carols . Pastiches with a political flavor. O'Brien has a " face made for radio" and a voice to match the metaphor. And the mere inclusion of his croaking and belching some nonsense verse about " using awesome powers to tear down the Breuer Tower" to the tune of " Hark , the Herald Angels Sing" , was rather mundane and glibly morbid in it's delivery and content. Did nothing for me at all . Nor did the hour long show do very much for the radio public either , seeing as only three telephone calls were recieved , and the O' Brien muscial / political clips seemed to be added to fill a conspicuous void. O' Brien's odddly resembled in form only the original creative pastiches of Christmas Carols by the brilliant political humorist and syndicated cartoonist Walt Kelly of Pogo fame , and how O'Brien's verse and voice and content resembled some odd bleating and belching of a snarky little wag that fell into the wassail bowl. Whew! This O'Brien really is weird!.... Seems that the Cuyahoga County Government made enough of a mess on the corner of East Ninth and Euclid by purchasing this landmark building , in the first place.The Tower's proposed destruction was sad enough.Any locally and International recognized iconic architectural structure's proposed slaughter by a local Government is bad . The train of thought that arrived at that place to create rubble of acclaimed architecture only seems to further label Cleveland, Ohio as the rube town that it is already perceived as by the majority of the literate world today. Let us exercise at least the modicum of common sense , pausing long enough to prioritize our future as a County Government with declining tax futures. The cooler heads at Cuyahoga County seem to have taken just that pause and should now be rewarded for their current new found fiscal prudence .Let us look at the County's purchase of the Tower as a community asset and reward and sell the spin as just that. Throw some of the " arts money "gathered recently with the cigs tax at renovating the Tower. Try this spin folks?[ As part of an attempt to attract a more intelligent and art savvy tourist class, we the citizens of Cuyahoga County invite civilzed citizens of the world to visit this architecturally significant tower as you would a sculpture in an art museum , and by the way have fun here with the reopening of Cleveland Museum of Art , and look at the renovated Bruer CMA addition as well while you are here....} Sounds to me like hot air , my own wind at that . Yet when I open an envelope with a plea for arts funds , or just some buncha aired out media copy , it more resembles a travel dialogue than copy..... Our civic good fortune placed Breuer's only major skyscraper safely in Government hands . The demographic is increasing for a modernism positive voting generation born after 1970 that will applaud the efforts of an enlightened County Government that would recognize the Tower's significance in accordance with International architectural and design institutions that gave Breuer and the Tower it's due earlier this year by including it in a catalogue of important Breuer design works. This International recognition is well reported in an article by Christopher Magg printed in the New York Times , earlier in this year when the local County Government still had it in mind to destroy the Tower . Please google New York Times , Christopher Magg / Marcel Breuer, for this well written article concerning this Cleveland political art fiasco. So far , so good with regards to the Cuyahoga County Governments ownership of the Tower. It is not uncommon in Europe and other outposts of civilization to leave historic buildings in a form of pre preservation stasis , and it is with sincere hope that this pattern of thought will prevail with regards to the Tower.... Mothballing and taking the time to make appropriate sound planning ideas regarding the fates of the former Cleveland Trust properties , including their original Euclid Avenue buildings East along Euclid from the rotunda. It was on this site that the second Breuer Tower was to have been built as part of his original plans desingened for The Twin Towers . In a sane world the proposed and unbuilt second Tower would be constructed sometime within the twenty first century and Breuer's vision completed and serving as headquarters for a progressive regional government. The Superb Terra cot ta gems of the Halle Brother Buildings and the CAC , and upper Euclid Avenue must be restored as a district if a preservation minded city is to function correctly and aesthetically in concert with smart Cities. Cleveland deserves intelligent Government. We are the people.{ "Look at the peoples", Charles Brown , yet another late great American voice}..... As for O' Brien and his op ed article's in da p.d. , sorry I can't say as to having the pleasure of reading one. I have attempted a few sentences of his churlish prose and having been reminded of my own read on no farther. Without fail have chuckled and departed the column knowing just were this weirdo's efforts were headed. I do not read the funny pages either.My Mother is eighty one years old , Irish as lace , and a good judge of character even now while currently suffering a tough illness. O' Brien's columns are not an illness she can suffer , nor his rabid and sometimes vapid political views. Perhaps , as many former newspaper employee's count upon to do with the shank end of their careers , just prior to visiting God's waiting room and after mowing an eternity of lawns .That is , using the contacts made while in the employ of the media to stagger about a water cooler while employed in the public relations, advertising , or some other poisonous propaganda trade.With the emerging bond crisis to further complicate the foreclosure fiasco , expect 2008 to tank , and some lean years lie ahead for corporate America in the media , entertainment sectors .Layoffs accross the board will follow. All of us will suffer to some degree. Personally try the European Union , their currency is faring better these days , and we will have accrued so much debt that if our bad bets are called in we run the risk of loosing our collective wealth and value as a Nation.... 1801 Superior is a modern architectural and creative failure , and appears to suffer an impending fiscal crisis and failure as well. Prudent media concerns periodically trim dead timber as it will be soft wood that tumbles if you belong to management. Fat salaries and little produced copy should equal liability in terms of most of our current survival oriented careers in the work force. If O' Brien is one of the architects of the current op-ed page on da p.d. , he would seem expendable as a productive or creative force . With corporate profits in peril in the dead tree industries , fatted cattle will be slaughtered..... In a City such as Cleveland, Ohio in the year 2007 , whose downtown offers little in the terms of architectural significance , one less historic structure means quite a bit to those of us in possession of our faculties and some sort of responsible aesthetic selves. O'Brien's sad arse songs provide evidence of da p.d.'s croaking and signing for their suppah's on the public airwaves of wcpn radio. wcpn takes the public out of public radio 24/7/365! Leave the singing to the likes of Charlie Louvin ! Book Selling Time! Time again for a quick look back a mere thirty one years and the great volume penned by Mary - Peale Schofield LANDMARK ARCHITECTURE OF CLEVELAND. Read and view the Marcel Breuer Cleveland Trust Tower on pages 97 to 99. of this fine volume. The sad fact concerning Cleveland architecture is that many of these documented buildings are victims of poor planning and have been demolished in the past thirty odd years. The destruction of the Breuer structure would only provide yet another cultural black eye for a city mostly considered a mid west rube outpost of less than salient aesthetics and ethics. Stop International art terrorism , save the Breuer Tower!

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What's to like about Cleveland?

Plenty!

Lake Erie and life that revolves with the seasonal flux of this proud body of freshwater.

Walking through the Northern Ohio Food Terminal vibrant with color and life while visiting the commission houses in search of a box of limes or avocados at five a.m. All the great dedicated people who choose to reside here.

Buying fruit or seasonal vegetables from the kind gentleman farmer from Northeast, Pennsylvania who sets up shop from his truck bed next to the Middle East Bakery and Saint Maron's church on Carnegie Road every Sunday morning during harvest.

This farmer's marketing is unique in that the length of nearbye Woodland Avenue was formerly a curbside market stretching eastward from the old Central Market to East 55Th Street, for the majority late nineteenth and early to mid-twentieth century and his stand is the last link in a time honored tradition.

All items for sale are home grown, and last Sunday produced late season tomatoes, a variety of apples, peppers, kale, parsley, and a stunning variety of colorful eggplants. The great swatch of urban greenery that comprises still the tree's that gave name to Cleveland as "The Forest City."

The restored majestic theatres of Playhouse Square and the robust life they provide for an otherwise drunk and addled sports oriented downtown.

The interesting International district along Payne, Saint Clair, and Superior avenues east of downtown, naively referred to as "Chinatown" by the local media, which is a unique blend of Oriental, Occidental, and Hispanic populations and the flavors they are comprised of. Stopping on a Sunday morning to listen to and take in a lively storefront church service whose sanctified chorus stills the heart and gives truer meaning to the word religion.

Hot fresh hand twisted breads from Presti's bakery on Mayfield Road.

Corbo's Bakery across the street on Mayfield Road for cassata cake, lemon ice, or any sweet treat. Smoked meats from Zagreb meats on Saint Clair Avenue, do not miss his smoked pork tenderloins!

A stroll through the City off Cleveland greenhouses just east off Martin Luther King Blvd. south of the Interstate 90 exit.

Fishing off the rocks behind the old Cleveland Public Power plant on the North Marginal Road.

The Seven Roses Delicatessen on Fleet Street in the Slavic Village neighborhood. Music and good times at The Beachland Ballroom in North Collinwood, the most creative, unique, and well run music venue in the State of Ohio, and one of the finest clubs in operation in The United States of America.

The downtown Cleveland Public Library and its great collections spanning two buildings and multiple floors.

Can't say enough good words about CPL, with the Cleveland Museum of Art closed for remodeling check out what this biblio treasure house has to offer. Open Sundays thru the springtime.

All the great citizens of this struggling city and their hopes and dreams! The charming old school ambiance of The Bookstore On West 25th street, just six storefront steps north of the West Side Market along West 25th Street.

Hot dogs, chili, and coffee at the Old Fashioned Hot Dog on Lorain Road, open late most evening!

Book selling time!

November is here already and if anyone out there would like to get a head start on the Holiday season we can offer a slew of suggestions, including a seasonal title by Charles Dickens, his A CHRISTMAS CAROL, this volume is quite rare, and has been avidly collected since its publication.

Hats off to John and Kim, and all my family.

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