It is so appropriate that inept developers and Cleveland leaders want to turn Public Square into a private land monopoly, surrounded by other private land monopolies, funded by taxpayers, sucking funding from our weak economy and struggling public schools, as this Disneyfication and WalMarting of downtown Cleveland is the ultimate betrayal of the one progressive, visionary, socially conscious and truly ingenius leader we ever have known, former mayor Tom Johnson, who sits guard over the square and community still today, with a copy of the still unrivaled economic treatise “Progress and Poverty” cast in his hand. No doubt lesser minds and spirits despise this great man and the fair and intelligent understanding he and his policy mentor Henry George had for the human condition of the industrial ages, now spanning over seven generations of failure by those who have followed and betrayed the people of NEO since… will we let corruption win over Johnson? That is the battle of Public Square, now whimpering. Are you ready to take up the fight?
For me, it is a relief just to know there was once a visionary leader of my home town, as that gives me hope we may be progressive again, some day. And that Johnson left us a roadmap, in his autobiography “My Story”, and foundations for progress, in the work of his mentor, George, allows all who care to learn from experience past, before we allow those who don’t care for the masses to further destroy this place before the next seven generations…

The follow up post is here.

: In the hand of genius, NEO privilege amidst Cleveland poverty comes into perspective | REALNEO for all

I hate to admit it, but I’ve lived downtown for two and a half years, but have never utilized public transportation:

I have been thinking and reading about the Cleveland Rapid rail public transportation system since my reawakening to it yesterday afternoon. As anyone who has visited or lived in any other old, major city in the United States knows, heavy rail, light rail and subways are a huge part of how people get around. In New York, where 5 million people ride the subway each day, it is particularly important.

With that in mind, I was a little surprised to read that the Cleveland Rapid moves less than 30,000 people everyday. Only 30,000!  Boston, which has my favorite rail transportation system, the ‘T’, moves about 450,000 people a day.

It would be simple to say regular people are to blame in Cleveland, that they are too auto-dependant and selfish. But that is only part of the problem. Also to blame, and probably more so than potential riders, is the actual system and its routes as well as RTA. The Red Line in particular is an amazing option that isn’t living up to its potential. It travels between the aiport and East Cleveland. However, except for Ohio City and University Circle, the stops aren’t really utilized…

I need to work on that…

: : Good Public Transportation

On Kos:

Russell said to me the other day, “you Know, it’s a shame you stopped blogging just as this Kosola started to breaK.” There’s more than a little irony in that…

: PoetiK or PathetiK? | Buckeye State Blog

Most of us know him as the Darth Vader Meditations blogger, but Jeff is also a columnist @ CASE’s Observer:

Many politicians, citizens, and developers in Northeast Ohio want Cleveland to become something else; they want the next Chicago, New York, or the American version of Barcelona without realizing that this city should be built upon its own unique laurels.

Proponents of casinos believe that with legalized gambling, Cleveland could become a player and attract travelers to its slot machines, neon lights, and poker chips. However, any casino built here could never be even in the same league of competition with Las Vegas, Atlantic City, or Windsor �?? the three largest gambling attractions in North America.

Las Vegas is the grand pearl, home to countless casinos and constantly building more. It is the Mecca for bookies and wide-eyed tourists. For those travelers leery of the west, Atlantic City dominates the East Coast with its well established casinos. Lastly, Windsor owns the younger demographic for those United States citizens looking for a legal poker game and beer. On a purely physical basis, Cleveland could never compete with those three cities due to the past century’s economic development.

Well what about all the gamblers in the Midwest? Could Cleveland become a regional host to millions of dollars through casinos? Most likely not, considering that Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Niagara Falls are three major population centers with casinos open or on the way…

I’ve made some updates to the Bloggapalooza info page.

Created two flyers for Bloggapalooza, using the artwork Eric Vessels created. There’s a black and white version and a color version.

Please download one, print some out, and post them to promote the event!

Also, I just got off the phone with Joe Cothrel from Voices&Choices. He confirmed the table @ this year’s Ingenuity Festival. We need to put together a schedule of bloggers who’d like to man the table ASAP, so if you’d like to participate (and see the festival) either leave a comment, or contact me.

If you’re not a blogger coming down to work the Voices&Choices/Blogger table, please think about volunteering to help out @ the festival by clicking the link and filling out the form there:

Welcome to iTeam Cleveland! We are the official volunteer team for the Ingenuity Festival of Art and Technology and are committed to providing all necessary assistance to make the festival a success. In addition to art and technology, we embrace the rich diversity of people in the NEO region and want to include anyone willing to make a positive impact on the place we call home…

Cleveland Ingenuity Festival, concerts and art and technology and music events in Downtown Cleveland Ohio

Thanks to all of you who have responded to our request for raffle items for Bloggapalooza. Danielle from American Pink Collar has answered the call. Jeff Hess has indicated that he will be donating a raffle item on behalf of Have Coffee Will Write. Hanna of This Garden is Illegal says she will support us with a donation as has Jill over at Writes Like She Talks. In fact, she told me the other day she is having fun just figuring out what she will donate. Tim and Gloria Ferris also have signed on for the raffle. Bridget Ginley of Erie Effusion has agreed to let us raffle off some of her artwork. So as you can see, we are slowly but surely building a comprehensive raffle that should add a fun dimension to the Meet The Bloggers birthday celebration. So if you have a blog or don�??t have a blog but read and or comment often and would like to support Meet The Bloggers consider a donation to our raffle.

Terry Bain has added a photo to the pool:

Anita gives good crema.

Rural Decay Photo Pool: Espresso

I’m sure I’m going to get some flak about all the Bloggapalooza posts, but things are coming together for it and a bunch of bloggers are pitching in to help.

One example, Peter Chakerian at CoolCleveland.com is looking for CDs of the bands performing to review and publish in the newsletter. He mentioned that he’d already review two of the bands that will be playing, so I thought I’d post links here.

The first, Woodshed Mercy:

Initially, the name Woodshed Mercy might conjure up visions of a B-reel horror film, starring a recklessly annoying hotel heiress who gets whacked about halfway through the flick. But once you get a load of the locally-focused “Nobottom Blues,” a track halfway through this band’s self-titled release, you already understand what that mercy really is all about.

Born from the reunited core (four of the five current members) of one-time local act Tumbleweed Jo, Woodshed Mercy takes on rock n’ roll, bluegrass, alt-country with a pinch of post-punk ethos…

Then, check out Peter’s review of Word of Mouth:

I’ve been at this music criticism gig a long time now; I’m as skeptical as the next person when I read the word “indescribable” in a band’s press kit. It conjures up a rare combination of influence, mystique and serendipity… but it certainly fits this group of five based in Lorain called Word of Mouth.

For the past few years, singer-songwriter Scott Bakalar and the band have been gigging all over Northeast Ohio, offering up what they call a “sonic gospel” of sorts. Their latest 12-track offering is called unilluminated and each tune is rooted in a different musical style.

It’s prime audio soup for the aural bouillabaisse fan…

Check it out.

Hilarious post by Scott Bakalar on the roots of Bloggapalooza:

It’s quite the dilemma. What do you do when there’s an organization you strongly believe in, a movement you hold near and dear to your heart, they need funding desperately - and you have no money to give them?

That thought occurred to me sometime last April when a bunch of us from Meet the Bloggers met at Talkies to have a strategy planning session. With transcription costs equaling on average $100 per interview, travel costs to Columbus and Akron for MTB sessions and equipment upgrades for audio - not to mention bandwidth costs to even host the MTB site.

I would have loved to write these guys a check, just hand it to them and say, “here..keep up the great work” - but that’s just not going to happen.

I found myself asking W.W.T.L.R.D.?
(What Would The Little Rascals Do?)

Of course Spanky and Darla would shout in unison - “Let’s put on a Show!”
They’d get Alfalfa to sing a few standards, have some of the Gang put on some song and dance numbers a la Ziegfeld, maybe have Buckwheat and Porky tell a few jokes….

I found my mind wandering, not really paying attention to what was going on during the meeting. I kept singing the “Happy birthday Mr. Hood - Happy Birthday to you” song in my head. MTB Co-founder George Nemeth asked me a question, which I sort of heard through my day dream.

I was embarrassed, my attention span having lapsed, and so wanting just to cover my ass, and appear like I was invested in the present - I simply blurted out the first thing that popped into my head…

: If I were a Rich Man… - word of mouth

From Roxanne, an integral part of Cool Cleveland:

If you are a woman professional and you feel as if running your small business is beginning to run you into the ground, this news release is just the thing for you. Consider it your official “hall pass” to spend a couple of hours recharging your batteries in the company of other virtual women professionals who completely understand your plight on Wednesday, June 28th at 7:30PM EST online.

Think You’re SOHO Smart? Blog: Virtual DiVAs Open House - A Respite for Busy Professional Women

This is just a brief excerpt. It’s really worth clicking thru and reading the whole thing:

People’s treatment of other people suffering in our society is a great measure of our society and the people who lead and follow in it. When a man, woman or child is clearly without shelter, suffering, hungry, depressed, or perhaps mentally disturbed, how do we as individuals and society treat them? When we think of progress in our community, is it to solve the problems of the most troubled, or the most privileged? In Northeast Ohio, it is safe to say, our leadership and the society they lead is most focused on the needs of the privileged - the most advantaged - in general disregard and often open contempt for those with the least privilege, never recognizing their success is the core to our region’s success…

Something’s lit a fire under Norm.

REALNEO for all - Regional Economics Action Links North East Ohio: Tale of two cities: Battle of Public Square is one of privilege vs. homelessness

Here’s a chance to talk up Cleveland on a national level:

please use this moment to email, comment, or post to the forum your suggestions for what should be published here

: CoolTown Studios: Submit your stories, case studies, favorite places!

All that rain was great. Ruth has her update here:

the squash took over.  i had to retrain the one vine to stop trying to choke the tomatoes to go up the trellis.  the luffa and the cucumbers are smart.  they went right up the trellis.  the peas…well they needed a little coaxing.  my assessment?  the cukes are smarter than the peas and squash.

i am going to have approximately 4 million tomatoes at some point this summer. 

i got angry with the radishes which did nothing more than flower and make nothing that resembles a radish in the root region.  i pulled them up last night along with the bolted spinach.  i found out that cilantro also bolts.  which is fine as i don’t really care for cilantro anyway…

If anyone needs cilantro, let me know.

: beerandclothing: garden update

All Go Signs: More info coming soon!

Let me get this straight. PUCO says to call the FCC, the FCC says to call PUCO? In the meantime, AT&T is on the way to the bank?

AT&T’s position, according to the supervisor of my very nice service representative Nancy, is that I should have called them last November if I wanted my bill lowered to their new, lower rate. The fact that they didn’t tell me (or you, or anyone) that the rate for month-to-month DSL Express service had been lowered, and still aren’t telling us (unless we burrow deep into the “terms of service” fine print in their ads), and kept sending me bills that said I owed them the old rate, is immaterial. It was up to me to figure it out and tell them that the bills were too high. Since I paid those bills, too bad, but they’re keeping the money.

Of course they’d be delighted to offer me a much better rate on my next year of service…

I called the Office of Consumers’ Counsel but, as I suspected, neither OCC nor the PUCO is allowed by law to deal with consumer complaints about DSL, because it’s an unregulated service. The OCC staffer suggested contacting the Federal Communications Commission.*

*Update: From the FCC website…

How do I file a complaint against my Internet Service Provider?
The FCC does not regulate the Internet or Internet Service Providers (ISPs). You may contact your state consumer protection office…

Callahan’s Cleveland Diary

Bloggapalooza is looking for sponsors. In exchange for your sponsorship, Meet.The.Bloggers* is offering a month (or more) of advertising on the MTB Ad network (which serves 200K impressions a month) and being included in all marketing material. If you’re interested, please contact me @ 440.527.0522 or georgenemeth@gmail.com.

• Writes Like She Talks: “fundraising raffle”
  “I can tell you that it sounds as though truckloads and frying vats full of fun will be happening at Meet the Blogger’s one year anniversary celebration, Bloggapolooza… Come on! Obligate yourself to meet and mingle. Because if you’ve never met a blogger
  (tags: bloggapalooza)
• psychobilly democrat: Shrinking Akron
  Schools & Jobs. It’s as simple and complex as that.
  (tags: Ohio EconomicDevelopment)
• timtimmytimothy: The Purpose-Driven Life (of a Blogger)
  “So lately I’ve been trying to figure out why I keep this blog, and also why I started it…”
  (tags: NeoBlogs)

A collection of columns by HST. Some quotations:

On Al Gore: “Gore defied all known Trends, Odds & laws of Probability by running for President as co-architect of the greatest prosperity in American history and still Losing” (note: this is kind compared to some of his other observations on Gore and, looking back on the 2000 election, anyone who thinks Gore should run again needs to read this book post-haste…!)

On Poppa Bush’s press conferences and Bush family ruthlessness during the Florida debacle: “The old man was the real tip-off. The leer on his face was almost frightening. It was like looking into the eyes of a tall hyena with a living sheep in its mouth. The sheep’s fate was sealed, and so was Al Gore’s”

North Coast Hermit: Book recommendation…

In addition to the items Gloria posted, the follow people are offering items to raffle:

• Lou Muenz is contributing on of his framed photographs
• McKala Everett is adding a reflexology package
• Russell is raffling two weeks of advertising @ Buckeye State Blog
• Peter Chakerian of Cool Cleveland is donating some of his rare music memorabilia

A big thanks to all of you. If you’d like to be included, please let me know.

An excerpt from my Cool Cleveland People article:

Higgins has lots of ideas, and those ideas are breeding more. There aren’t many artists that refer to their piece as a “proof of concept”, but that’s what The World’s Child is�??a “proof of concept”. A concept that’s patent-pending too. As William and I talked, he explained that this piece is just the beginning�??that he envisions murals where on one side of the gallery are his calibrated mirrors, and on the other, the collage of images that reflect in the mirrors on the opposite wall. Add to that live feeds from the internet or television broadcasts, and you’ve got something you’ve never seen before�??anywhere.

I have to say, I’m a bit disappointed that we won’t be seeing his vision made reality at this year’s Ingenuity Festival. It seems like the perfect fit�??a Cleveland resident using technology to create fascinating experiences for people participating in the environment. Not to mention, the palettes he uses can be altered to change the mood of the piece. Working in collaboration with musicians, William can alter the images according to the music they’re playing. How cool is that? William did tell me that Festival Director James Levin was very accommodating, even though they couldn’t provide funding for his work. In another example of the spirit of Ingenuity, William tells me that he and James have worked out an agreement. Higgins is going to be selling a series of 5 different limited edition prints�??signed and numbered, 200 of each of the 5 editions. They are going to sell for $20 each and will include a one-day pass for Ingenuity. The normal price of the ticket is $10. That’s just one of several endeavors William is undertaking to promote his work. Check out RoadToIngenuity.com where he’s posting to a vlog (video blog) and seeking sponsors for his piece…

Click thru to the article for some great pics and make sure to visit his vlog…

CoolCleveland.com - Cool Cleveland People William Higgins

Name: Daniella Lindquist-Dufaux
Age: Capricorn/Cat
Resident of: Parma Heights
Blog: www.americanpinkcollar.blospot.com
Native of: Montreal Canada
Education: German Certificate from the Dolmetershule in Zurich Switzerland-almost a BA in International Studies and almost a BS in Marketing
Paying Gig: Inside Sales for Metal Products
15 Minutes of Fame: Meeting a real live Euro Princess while serving hot dogs at our son�??s school
Story behind the blog and its name? Women in the world of business fascinate me. It is so much harder for them to be taken seriously and after a while they give up and concentrate on what really counts, which is their families, relationships and friends. I discussed many times with my girlfriends how even women executives eventually hit a glass ceiling. One of them, who used to be the boss of her current husband said to me: �??I looked around and it was so obvious, I had to fight my way up inch by inch and for what? I always had to be harder, tougher and then the �??B�?� word follows you around and pretty soon you find yourself the only female at all the meetings. It is lonely.�?�

Divorce changes all that and then you find yourself in a peculiar situation. You enter the world of those many jobs that go nowhere but are necessary to an organization and they are usually only filled by women for low pay. It is the pink ghetto and work conditions here are worst than in Canada or Europe for most people.

I see large corporations as powerful evil forces who employed millions of people and don�??t know any of them, don�??t really care about them and only worries about their ROI. So I thought I would talk about the little people who are so often voiceless.
Describe your blogging habits (content, frequency, etc.): I write about two or three times a week. More would be great but I have limited time working a full-time job, going to school and traveling quite often.
How would you describe your writing style? Wow! My writing style? I try to be honest without too much emotion. I think that it is better to stir emotions.
Who reads your blog? A lot of men read my blog and that surprises me. One reader told me that it is like peeking into the psyche of a woman.
What do you read (MSM, blogs, books, etc.)? I read lots of blogs because there is so much talent out there and it is fresh and crisp like biting in a Granny Smith apple. I read a lot of books, which I get through Amazon.com or the library. For fiction I read mysteries, non-fiction offers more variety history particularly European, medical books and societal studies on demography, politics, religions and I love cookbooks.
What post(s) generate the most response from others?
Personal posts always get a strong response. People love to hear what happens between women and men or a mother and her grown son and what girlfriends talk about that is a big one.
How much time do you spend reading blogs? Days! I read blogs in the morning and then at night after work. I also am lucky I read very fast.
In the effort to drive traffic to your blog, how important is it to post comments to other blogs?
Not really something that I am concern about. I post on other blogs when the post elicits a response from me. I am not very commercially inclined. I don�??t keep track of hits and I am happy when someone stops by and leaves me a comment or sends me an e-mail because I feel that I have reached someone and maybe for a moment shared something with that person.

Got an email from Tobias Buckell of Blogging Ohio saying Katherine Galo had spotted the event and would like to attend. I replied ABSOLUTELY. He’s also donating a signed copy of his novel Crystal Rain.

Thanks, Tobias and Katherine!

The first meetup was small, just myself, my buddy Kris Johnson, and Jim Bortmas of the LARPRadio podcast. Despite being a small gathering we did cover some useful things, like helping out Jim with his podcasting stats, and a good discussion about targeting your audience. All in all, I’m pleased.

The second meeting of the NEO podcasters will be at Seekers in Middleburg Hts again, but we’re moving it up by a few days to July 20th. For this meeting, we’ll be discussing the format your podcast: what works, what doesn’t, and what we’ve learned along the way. You can check out the event information at the Meetup site. If you have any questions, send me an email: chris [at] podiobooks [dot] com. Hope to see you there!

Thanks to Shannon Okey who’s added a gift certificate to anezkahandmade.com.

Also, I’ve contacted Phoenix Coffee to put together my BrewedFreshDaily.com basket featuring the Midtown My Town blend.

The first thing that popped into my head when I saw “horsemen” were the Psychobilly Democrats, but it’s not them:

The three major horsemen’s groups involved in racing in Ohio have all endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment to allow slots at the state’s seven tracks and two locations in downtown Cleveland. The boards of directors of the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association (OHHA), the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) and the Ohio Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners (OTBO) have all voted to support the amendment…

“Ohio ranks 49th in the Union for college affordability,” said Jerry Knappenberger, General Manager of OHHA. “We need to make higher education more affordable for working families. The ‘Learn and Earn’ proposal will allow many of our young people to be able to attend college and others to graduate from college without a huge debt…”

Official Ohio Learn and Earn Blog: Horsemen groups endorse Learn and Earn

Not the Cuyahoga, the Mahoning:

Miles of industrial property runs along banks of the Crab Creek, which currently has no public access. Their plan includes opening the river to the public again by incorporating features such as pedestrian and bike trails, an “industrial garden”, and an “adventure site” for younger children…

I really like the industrial garden idea. It includes illuminating old loading hoppers along the river as a central focal point, incorporating old railroad ties for benches and landscaping, and reusing older buildings for restrooms and meeting and exhibition spaces.

: i will shout youngstown: new life for youngstown’s crab creek

How about relief aid for local artists? From Scott Piepho:

his year we went and learned of a bona fide disaster which so far the press hasn’t really picked up on. Thursday night’s storms triggered a flood through the North Tent of the show. The photos showed waist-deep water running off the ski slopes and rushing through the tents on the way to the river. When we were there Saturday, the North Tent remained gutted.

Though other tents are still full of artists.

From talking to some of the artists, everyone lost inventory, and some — estimates running at 6-8 — lost everything. One of the potters on our short list this year was gone by Saturday.

I guess the damage in Stark County and elsewhere in the state was sufficiently compelling that this story didn’t cross the media radar screen. At first blush, it seems somewhat effemeral. But imagine if a flood had wiped out 6-8 small businesses for a year. These artists are in fact small business people and lost their entire year’s business…

: G.A.B.B.: Art Crisis.

Slashfood: Food Porn: Colorful Fish Tacos

Jamie volunteered to work, and got a sneak peak. I’ve been working with the staff on their back office tech, so I can honestly say he captures it well:

After work, I headed down to Ingenuity Festival headquarters for a volunteer preview/pitch. The festival seems to be coming along, but I can only imagine what the organizers are going through right now to get this thing rolling. As a journalist, I covered a full-weekend music festival in Canada. My newspaper was one of the sponsors, so we were there from early morning until late night. We worked closely with the concert promoter/organizer, a small restaraunt. A few weeks prior to the shindig, they were calm but electric and torqued. By the time Kid Rock (one of the performers) hit the stage, they looked like walking zombies. Zombies with smiles, though. It’s hard to understand how much love and stamina it takes to organize events. Something the size and complexity of Ingenuity? Unthinkable!

Fortunately for me, Ingenuity looks to be a lot more fun than covering a Kid Rock concert. The exhibits and performers will be interesting and exciting, and the music they played to all of us potential volunteers gets an A++, in my book. I have no idea who the bands/djs were, but they were awesome.

I also heard a second great speech in two days from James Levin, festival director. He talked about where Cleveland can go and how this festival can help bring good press to the city…

Untitled Source: Sneak preview of Ingenuity

PR guy Chris Thompson:

BuzzMachine highlights the new transparency effort underway at the BBC. I’m not sure mandating editors to blog will result in good blogs. Perhaps the blogs will be better than those kept by the editors at the Cleveland Plain Dealer, who quickly decided blogging wasn’t for them. Although the PD isn’t ignoring the blogosphere. PD editors are meeting with local bloggers on July 10.

Commenting ensues:

Chris,
This is interesting news, indeed. Will you be attending?

10:18 AM
John Kroll said…
Chris,

While some PD blogs have come and gone, reader rep Ted Diadiun has had some recent updates here. And you might note that our new publisher, Terry Egger, was interviewed for our weekly biz podcast. Last week’s first installment is available for download or listening online, and the second half of the interview will be available later this week under the Weekend Diary section here.

3:14 PM

Luke said…
John,
Podcasts are more than just audio files. Where are the RSS feeds? How can I subscribe?

9:26 PM
Chris Thompson said…

Head over there and comment.

: Transparency Works

But if yours isn’t, take a tip from Kelly & Jose for tonight:

Tommorow if you are looking for something fun to do @ 8pm there is a wine tasting @ La Cave Du Vin aka The Wine Cave in Coventry. The cost is $20 and it should be a good time.

Click thru for links.

: Sensory Overload: La Cave Du Vin

Got a special request from Ron Finklestein (who I knew thru Ryze). Check out the list of speakers after the click thru:

The Celebrating Success Conference was created to transform the Northeast Ohio region by acknowledging and rewarding the small businesses who have creatively identified new markets and opportunities and overcome the challenges of a new economy.

The Celebrating Success Conference is different from every other award because it’s rooted helping successful businesses learn from each other and share successful strategies.

You will experience firsthand stories by the people who made good things happen at area companies. Hear how they creatively:

* Reached out to new markets and customers
* Innovated with new products and/or business processes
* Improved profitability by increasing margins or reducing costs
* Extended their reach globally
* Strategically deployed technology raising them above the competition

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
Nominations are being accepted until July 31!
Do you know a company that fits this description? Maybe it’s your company. Nominate your company or celebrate your client’s success by nominating them for this exciting award!

Akron Business Conference

Geez, my dancecard is filling up:

Natalie is the former Buzz intern whose exhibit was shot up last year as we closed up shop. As a CIA grad, she is now attending Pratt in Brooklyn for her graduate studies. The next two months at AIV I am featuring young emerging artists fr0m our area to support exploding fresh talent. [ok i made the exploding part up]. Both Buzz interns I nurtured have entered graduate school and in August I will be featuring Gina as well. Natalie ’s works are collaged works from popular culture, kitchey advertising and mod erotic fun imagery. Altho I am in no way allowed to display the more TITulating works she creates at my non-profit space, i figure today i would throw them up on the snogblog for you all to enjoy online instead of on the wall…..please stop by the opening reception, thursday was the only day the artist is in town to appear in person with her works in the gallery

erie.effusion: SNEAKPEAK- AIV ARTIST NATALIE LANESE

About his trip to Toronto and the Gay Parade:

My dad worked for his entire career in Akron Public Schools and most of it as a high school guidance counselor. He has since retired, yet remains the busiest guy I know. I asked him to share with our readers his observations from his recent trip to Toronto. Also, he took the pictures in the post.

“Last weekend I traveled to Toronto to enjoy a vibrant, people friendly city that was concluding a week long Gay Pride Celebration. Toronto hosts the largest Gay Pride event in North America, or at least so I’ve been told by several Canadians. It was our intent to enjoy the summer weather in an inviting city and be spectators for the annual Dyke parade on Saturday and the big Gay parade on Sunday.

“One of the many positive things Canadians seem to embrace is a clear concept of diversity and tolerance. This city is home to every conceivable ethnic group, clustered in various parts of Toronto in ways that seem to meld together in a workable tolerant community. The days that I was in Toronto, I read the Toronto Star, one of at least two dailys, and learned so much about how immigrants assimilate together in the larger community…”

The Chief Source: A Straight Dad’s Take On A Gay Pride Parade

Dan Hanson reports Henry is going to be covering… real estate? Is that some kind of punishment? Cleveland isn’t exactly a dynamite market:

PD tech reporter Henry Gomez will be getting a new beat. The Geek hears that Henry will take over the real estate beat when Chris Montgomery departs in mid-July for law school. Winn Rosch, Chris Seper and now Henry Gomez - 3 great PD tech reporters but they sure didn’t stay with us for long.

Who’s going to be covering tech?

Great Lakes Geek podcast show by Dan Hanson

10:52 p.m. An Avon Lake man is hospitalized in fair condition today after being struck by a tree branch….

Latest News from The Plain Dealer: Tree branch strikes man

The life of an Ingenuity Team Player
Is not for the faint at heart.
Some say that you need to born for it,
�??Being Called�?� happens right from the start.

James Levin is our Executive Director
With grace and charisma he acts.
At any given moment he�??ll need something new,
We say �??Slow down Jim�??just give us the facts.�?�

Our days stretch into marathon hours
Some roll into the office at ten.
Rich Weiss, Chief of Staff, will say �??A meetings come up!�?�
And we�??re set into motion again.

The life of an Ingenuity Team Player
Is like White Water Rafting at best.
It�??s organic and fun and fast moving
And it�??s a good idea to always wear a helmet and a life vest

So our team is chock full of wild characters
But one thing in common we share
We believe in the future of Cleveland
We cultivate our dream of community with creativity and care.

And so we ask you to join us
We�??re honored you�??re joining our team.
Together and with �??Ingenuity�?�
We can move forward with joy toward our dream.

�??Becky Cummings, Community Outreach Coordinator & Girl Friday

File this one under cheesy deals.

An Indiana-based online employment network has shelled out $7,101 through an eBay auction for exclusive sponsorship rights on Cheezhead, a Cleveland-based blog that focuses on technology within the Internet recruiting industry.

Cheezhead creator Joel Cheesman started the bidding price at 99 cents. Indianapolis-based JobCentral National Employment Network posted the winning bid of $7,101.

Mr. Cheesman said the idea came about after brainstorming ways to subsidize the cost of getting to the Society for Human Resource Management�??s annual conference, which took place June 25 to 28 in Washington, D.C.

Joel posted about it June 11th. Lots of posts about the conference since then, but my favorite is the message written on the dirty windshield of a cooper.

Crain’s Cleveland Business

Jim Eastman of Wine & Politics is donating a free admission to next year’s NOTACON along with several t-shirts from last year’s event.

About NOTACON:

NOTACON, an annual conference held in Cleveland, Ohio, explores and
showcases technologies, philosophy and creativity often overlooked at other
“hacker cons”. Our desire is not to supplant other events, but complement them and strike a balance that has gone unnoticed in our community for far too long…

Thanks, Jim!

As you already know, Voices and Choices has invited Meet The Bloggers to share a booth at the Ingenuity Festival.  George previously asked for volunteers and we had a few responses but just one short week occurs before the event, so we are again asking for bloggers to volunteer some hours to hang out with other bloggers and talk about blogging.  I know a lot of bloggers and the next best thing to blogging is to talk about blogging and issues.  Here is your chance to explain what you do, why you do it, and add some new bloggers to our rolls.  

We’ve decided that maybe offering a tentative schedule of when we need people at the booth might help people to decide when they could volunteer, so here it is.  We would like to have some people at the booth from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday 7/13 and Friday 7/14; and from 2p.m. until 10 p.m. on Saturday 7/15 and Sunday 7/16.  Just let us know when you will be down at the Ingenuity Festival and when you can stop by to help out for a few hours.  Those of you who already said that you could help just drop us a line at meetthebloggers@gmail.com with times and dates.      �

From /food:

Slashfood: How do you dress your dog?

Zyada has added a photo to the pool:

Greeting Card Clearinghouse Photo Pool: Eggs

Woo-hoo:

The Wireless Lakewood League is a project of the Lakewood Public Library to provide free wireless Internet access to the public in specific areas and to collect, organize and promote wireless hotspots operated by other businesses and organizations in the city…

: Wireless Lakewood League

Dan Debbie Hanson profiles Cathy:

Although Cathy was born in Columbus, Ohio (2-27-62) she lived in Cocoa Beach Florida - at least until second grade. From there she moved to Chautauqua County in Westfield, New York. Much of her life has been Ohio-focused though since her mother’s family is mainly in the Akron area…

Cathy Panzica | Cleveland Women

I’m stunned, absolutely stunned by the results of this study:

This June 2006 analysis, based on data from Citizens for Tax Justice, shows that federal tax cuts since 2001 strongly favor the richest Ohioans compared to less affluent taxpayers in the state…

Federal Tax Cuts Benefits Richest Ohioans

@ bloggi lama’s pics.

: Word of Mouth: Parade Crasher - word of mouth

From this week’s PostSecret, Give.

• How to make good business cards - Lifehacker
  (tags: Design Business lifehacker)

to his blogging friends.

: conscious living poetry journal