Nov. 7th, Cleveland. Diebold impressions.

It actually went pretty well. I showed up at my usual time (8-ish, before work) and was the fourth person in line at a polling station that had 3 new fangled machines. Everyone moved along at a pretty brisk pace and the machines seemed actually easy to operate, even for the elderly and those with vision impairments.

I was rather nervous, making sure that I highlighted the correct selection. I even went back a couple of times to make sure. Then, at the end I again went back to check my previous verification. I think HBO made me a little bit nervous. Attached to my voting machine was a printer (sounded like a dot matrix) that printed out my selection at the very end. This is the only discrepancy I have found between polling stations. Some printers printed out your selection as soon as your choice was made however at our station (or maybe it was just my machine) there was a preview screen that let me go through all my selections and then print out the report page by page.

Regardless, the paper trail alleviated a lot of my unease (of course they could just throw them out at the end of the day) and I feel pretty good about the process as a whole. Now I can't wait to hear the results in the polls as they trickle in.

I love the new "I voted today" sticker. First because it says on it "vote your conscience" which makes me wonder how many people take that to heart but the mere suggestion that a little round sticker can help people make the right choices sort of makes me grin. Then there is "change our world". Indeed. Change it indeed. We need change, progress, solutions. We are going to need them more then ever in the near future. Lastly there is an image of the earth in the background. This seems partisan to me but since I am a treehugger I really don't mind. I suppose if it was partisan then there are stickers out there with dollar bills on it too.

I wonder if the average American thinks about their midterm election decision and how it affects the entire world? I wonder how many people even noticed that the earth was on their little sticker?

Oh well, it is done. Over with. Fini. Time to start gearing up for the next one.

2006 Nov. 10th: Tremont ArtWalk

Friday, November 10th, 2006
Tremont ArtWalk
Tremont, OH
6pm - 10pm

Well kids, it is almost that time of the month again. The second Friday is coming up and that can only mean one thing, time for another Tremont Art Walk. Last month led to a good time, some fun photos (that I am probably not allowed to share) and some hand holding due to the very chilly weather. Well, it seems like the weather for this Friday will be better so I expect to see more of you out there looking at art goodies and taking in the wonderful Tremont vibe.

I promise to try and take some photos of stuff I can share for the next Tremont ArtWalk post. And yes, there will be one. Its a staple.

Hacking Democracy

Well folks, tomorrow is the big day, and by big day I mean the day that you get to wake up earlier, roll your butt out of bed and make the ever important decision. Delicious waffles or good for you oatmeal.

No, I mean whether or not you are going to trudge to your polling place (local?) and partake in the great American game of pretending that you can make a difference and your opinion matters.

I am attempting to only appear sarcastic and mildly bitter. I actually believe that every vote counts and that people should spend the time to research the issues and walk down to their polling station and actually vote their conscience. I know there has been stuff all over |some| of the news about the faults of the Diebold voting machines and how 80% of the national voting public will be using extremely susceptible machines. I have heard through the grapevine that there are even some incredibly scary and damning television/web programs about this very issue. Some of which Diebold does not want you to see OR believe.

There are some precautions you can take. Double check your results. Then double check your double check. Then make sure again. Then, just walk away and try not to worry about it. Try not to dwell on whomever is responsible for letting the system get this way, don't let fear color your vote. Chances are you probably did that two years ago.

Anyway, you might as well watch the HBO special, at least to prime yourself for the upcoming weeks when the outcome will no doubt plaster every media outlet you can get your little paws on and even more bickering (akin to 2004) will seep into every nuance of your day.

Oh the humanity!

Perusing, perusing, always perusing.

I feel sort of bad about becoming one of those places that just regurgitates little tidbits instead of taking the time and effort to really come forth with some grandiose opinions. I promise to try more.

While checking the interwebbernet for backstory to the Chinatown post I stumbled across a wonderful little Cleveland resource, a website devoted to Lost Cleveland Postcards. Besides offering wonderful past imagery of our favorite little burg, they are also available as "e-cards" and some of the postcards have backstory themselves, offering little tastes of a cityscape long gone.

Sometimes during conversation with Bradley over at Design Rag one of us will find some sort of Cleveland imagery or little bit of regalia and sort of wonder at how simple yet exquisite the old ideas were. I think we are both sort of are lost in the grandeur that downtown once had and conversations are long and sinuous regarding how to bring our fair town back from the precipice.

I know that there are many such resources for archived imagery of Cleveland's past including (and not at all limited to)

Cleveland Digital Library
Cleveland Skyscrapers (I already brought that up)
and of course Cleveland State University's archive which is somewhere on their site, I can't find it just now.

There are more. If you have any suggestions send them right along. I would love to know about them and create a nice succint list for other people to go through.

New Cleveland Chinatown/Asiatown

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

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.

Special Event Reminder!

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.

One week, only one more week!

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, green products and services: online!

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.

Excuses, excuses

Alright, I am back. I know it was only a day off really but it was hectic for me. See, the LEED 2.1 Professional Accreditation Exam was supposed to close the 2.1 format to transistion to the 2.2 format on October 31st so for the past 3 days or so I have been cramming so that I could sit for the exam this morning.

I am now a Leed Accreditated Professional. Finally. I guess I finally put my money where my mouth was. Now when asked about my what I do for fun I can say that I am an Accreditated Treehugger. Word.

Anyway, I was going through the USGBC website trying to see if there was a "LEED AP" icon I could snag for this post (I don't think there is, only the USGBC icon, for which I am a member through work but does that make it legal to display here? Probably not.) I saw an interesting headline.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: To accommodate unprecendented demand, the deadline for taking the current LEED Professional Accreditation Exam has been extended through November 30, 2006.

So, if you guys want to get in before the LEED format changes then you better hurry and register. As for the exam, let me just say that the phrasing on some of the questions wasn't the best but if you read EVERYTHING in the reference guide (and memorize about half) you will probably pass easily. It actually wasn't that bad, it was mostly that I hadn't sat for a standardized type test for over 3 years and it felt weird and nerve wrecking to sit and take one now. To be honest the worst part about it was that the testing center was in Mentor, Ohio which is about the worst laid out city I have ever seen populated by America's worse drivers. Seriously, the worst. I got yelled at by some lady going the wrong way who almost hit me after some chucklehead in a new Monte Carlo almost backed into me. Also, those blinking lights on the side of your car aren't Christmas lights, you can use them year round to indicate planned directional changes.

Good luck!

Architecture in Motion - FILM (and other ARTS) FEASTS part IV

Wednesday, November 1, 2006
MOCA Cleveland
7.00pm
$75.00 per guest

Well, this has been all over the place so I might as well jump on the bandwagon. I have to apologize for possible post slacking as I have an event coming up Friday that I have to prepare for and it is consuming all of my spare time (spare time to be constituted as time not used to make a living).

Anyway, most of you might have noticed that MOCA is planning a big move to University Circle, the Akron Art Museum is undergoing a minor renovation (You can still make the Wolf Prix presentation tonight if you hurry!) and the Cleveland Museum of Art is also undergoing some changes. What do these three projects have in common? Besides being in Northeastern Ohio? They are all art museums! Crazy stuff eh?

Some are calling these undertakings an "architectural renaissance" but I won't make such pretty statements. The times, they are a changing which leads to some rare opprotunities to marvel at the connections between art and architecture. If only there was some sort of Forum with which the public could learn about these changes, the directions taken and the considerations that were taken into account while these changes were planned.

Oh wait, there IS!

Join
Jill Snyder -Executive Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art [MOCA Cleveland]
David Deming -President of the Cleveland Institute of Art
Timothy Rub -Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Cleveland Museum of Art [also panel moderator]
Mitchell Kahan -Director of the Akron Art Museum
Terry Stewart -CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

for a lively discussion of where they are, what they envision and where they are wanting to go. There will be a dessert reception following the program and seating is limited to 50 guests so hurry up and order your tickets.

- Architecture in Motion is the fourth FILM (and other ARTS) FEASTS series put on by the Cleveland Film Society as a fundraiser to support the Cleveland International Film Festival.

Earth Day Coalition's 9th Annual Fall Benefit - Instrumental Evening for the earth

Thursday, November 9th, 2006
Cleveland's Trinity Cathedral
2230 Euclid Avenue
6.00pm - 9.30pm

Is one supposed to capitalize "earth"? For some reason I am unsure. The Earth Day Coalition (EDC if you are hip) is presenting it's 9th annual fall benefit. There will be food by Mustard Seed Market and Cafe, a silent auction and a candle-lit concert.

"Daniel McKelway and Lembi Veskimets joined by renowned pianist Hyunsoon Whang and friends from the world-famous Cleveland Orchestra will perform Mozart's Piano Quartet and Mozart's Quintet for Piano and Winds."

Read more about this wonderfully environmental and possibly romantic evening here.

You do have to purchase tickets and there is limited space so you better get a move on to get your groove on. Oh my, I can't believe I actually typed that out.

Milan of the Midwest vs. Millions for land; no new jobs for city

I don't honestly know where to begin. Last Tuesday I was at the Stark lecture/forum at CSU and got all excited about the city and what direction it was wanting to take. I didn't want to disseminate Stark's forum yet because I was mulling it over like a fine wine. I love the idea of his vision for the warehouse district, however, this is the person that brought up Crocker Park which I find one of the most vile places on the face of the planet outside of Wal/K mart. Anyways, Mr. Stark got me all riled up in a good way.

Fast forward to Sunday when I opened the Plain Dealer and first read an article about how it appears that the city was hoodwinked (HOODWINKED I say) and that neighborhood around E 80th and Kinsman was getting the short end once again. You can read all about it here, I fear my attempt at a proper summation would do little justice to the amount of disgust and betrayal that I felt.

I know, it is all politics. Whatever. When I hear or read stuff like this all I can think in is four letter words. I feel bad for Mayor Jackson for going along with this mess. I feel bad for Belinda Pesti for the most awful quote I have ever read:

"Pesti was the city's point person tracking the use of public dollars on the Kinbess project. But the economic development veteran said she was not told that CMHA and Kinbess had signed a purchase agreement, and was not included in crafting Jackson's legislation facilitating the sale to CMHA.

Pesti gasped when told during the interview that Kinbess sold the land for $150,000 an acre. "I didn't know how much they asked for that," she said. When asked how it was in the public interest for Kinbess to sell the land to CMHA, she responded: "I don't have an answer for you."

I mostly feel bad for the people of Cleveland who's tax money went toward remediating a brownfield site in the hopes of creating a developed retail/office park to create local jobs and instead paid a grossly exaggerated price for a no-bid development that will relocate existing jobs instead of creating new ones.

I may not be a smart man, but I know that isn't what people signed up for. Hemisphere Development must still believe they are on the right track, it seems they are promoting their Forgotten Triangle Development as an example of what THEY can do FOR YOU.

Oh, and then to add an air of disbelief to the whole event, whilst I was still angry about the above debacle I flip to the Metro section (I usually read this second right after the comics but I was overdosed on caffeine and my morning routine was torn asunder) and read that Experts [are] designing a plan for downtown Cleveland. Yay, experts! No, seriously, I am excited. See, when people sit down and start planning out an area, especially an area that is so central to the arts and design and then people start getting the word out early enough so that the community knows then good things can happen. Good, glorious, well thought out, clever things.

And the area is primed for it. The addition of the Euclid Corridor Transportation Project (which I have not dwelt on enough) will create easy, non personal automobile access which would allow the district to redesign itself for pedestrians. Imagine, people walking about in downtown, window shopping and just enjoying a stroll instead of the heads down bustle-have-to-get-my-lunch-and-back-to-the-office-quickly sort of muss we have going on now.

At least an important lesson is to be learned here. Dissemination of information can lead to halting bad projects before they go south while community involvement may be the root to revitalizing urban areas that felt once forgotten. Was that too dense? How about this then? "Utter lack of design makes crappy stuff".

Rustle the Leaf goes ANIMATED!

I know I have mentioned Rustle the Leaf before. It is a goofy little treehuggin' web comic that has some pretty good articles about the planet and environmentalism and they are pretty good for a chuckle. I am sure my friends are about sick to death of me forwarding comics on to them. I am trying to quit any sort of forwarding habit. I have heard the one legged waitress joke WAY too many times.

Well, the good folks over at Rustle the Leaf are doing their webcomic one better. Yup, they are going ANIMATED with sound and music and funny little movements and after seeing the first one I have to admit I am excited for more.

ps. sorry for "borrowing" the banner for this post guys, hope you don't mind too much, I just think it explains everything pretty dang well.