The St. Clair Superior Development Corporation has proposed a 5 to 10 year development plan to strengthen the overall vernacular of the area. While currently known as Cleveland's Chinatown and undergoing improvement such as streetscape rearrangement done in tune with the principles of Feng Shui the area centered between East 29th and East 40th and North of Payne to St. Clair, has never really won recognition from City Hall as an neighborhood "officially" known as Chinatown. Current plans are to redraw some neighborhood boundaries within the larger Goodrich Kirtland SPA (Statistical Planning Area) to create a geographical space for Cleveland's Chinatown (or possibly "Asiatown") to exist.
Proposals already are on the board to rename city streets to give them a more Asian flair as well as erect a neighborhood gateway to mark the district. Already home to the Asian Plaza as well many Asian restaurants and shops creating an official neighborhood could create a tourist draw as well as inject capitol and excitement into one of the many inner-ring suburbs that support Cleveland.
Perhaps during an upcoming phase there could be a design competition for some signage, wayfinding or perhaps the gateway itself. Perhaps like the "Dog Project". You can find out more about upcoming events and what not by visiting their blog. How do neighborhoods have blogs? Can sidewalks and trees type?
-image ganked from the Clevland Free Times All Bark article.
Ohio Independent Film Festival
November 5th - 12th
Cleveland Public Theatre - Gordon Square Theatre
6405 Detroit Road
That's right, it is time for the Ohio Independent Film Festival. The event kicks off with a "Director of Photography Workshop" hosted by WVIZ Ideastream on the 5th. Over the remainder of the program you will be treated to a multitude of independent and unsolicited films collected by Cleveland's own Independent Pictures.
I just thought it sounded cool and wanted to share.
Don't you dare for a second forget that tomorrow there will be a City Fresh Forum with Stew and Cider!
You should all probably have it in your calendar, or at least keep on checking TOIStudio calendar for local Cleveland type events centering on arts, culture and community.
By now I am assuming that the vast majority of Americans are in the same boat as me. Eagerly awaiting November 7th so that we may do our duty and put a stop to the horrific "he said, she said" noise that permeates my sleep and causes endless nightmares. I don't care who you vote for or why anymore, just that it gets done and OVER with. I know, being in Ohio, that our voting probably won't be "finalized" until well after November 7th due to the massive amounts of absentee ballots that have been requested. That isn't even taking into account any possible debacle caused by "malfunctioning" voting machines or polling problems.
Even with one week to go I bet most of you have already made up your minds. An article in the new Good Magazine (which by the way is WONDERFUL) described Edward Tufte's Economic Theory of Midterm Elections which states "people vote for or against the president's party based solely on his approval rating and their disposable income." While that may be a little too simplified for my taste, I know a lot of people LOVE simple and mid 70's economic theories.
Regardless, there are a lot of issues out there that are not relative to specific political parties. At least not obviously so instead of not voting on an issue simply because you can't tell if it is red or blue for you, why not take a couple of minutes on your lunch break and check out Project: Vote Smart or League of Women Voters 411 both of which claim to be non partisan. Even if they aren't at least you will know what the issues are and that is something you can lord over your less educated co-workers.
Special thanks to More Party Animals for the cool banner I ganked from their site.
Fivelimes, a product and service review site has gone (relatively) live. Showcasing products with a determined "eco-friendly" slant, Fivelimes works on a consumer rating system whereas individuals can submit a product and service where it will be subject to an online community rating system. The rating system is rather simple. A product is rated on a scale of 1 (one) lime being the lowest and 5 (five) being the best. Products are rated on quality AND sustainability. There are already plenty of categories, from apparel to food and booze.
There is a login required to participate in commenting on a product and service and creating an account allows you to also build a "wishlist" of sorts to share products with friends and family.
There is the problem that "green washing" could occur but since the system is self policed by what will no doubt be an extremely large audience, it remains reasonable to expect that products and services that fluff up their score will be caught rather quickly.
The site is still in its infancy but look for it to explode soon as word of mouth spreads and more mainstream green products arrive in the market place.
