Opinion

Sexual Harrassment

This letter is in response to the articles covering the sexual harassment allegations made against men in the media and government throughout the United States

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Volume 2, Issue 5, Posted 10:39 AM, 01.07.2018

Connecting the Homeless

There is much to be said on the topic of Cleveland's homeless. Whether they are martyrs to America's freedom, a draconian warning example, something to swept under the rug, useful objects for the practice of religion and other more secular business, or the monsters of the post-modern collective unconscious--something must be done.

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Volume 2, Issue 5, Posted 10:53 AM, 11.25.2017

Endorsement for Mayor of Cleveland

On Monday Jun 26, 2017 I had the opportunity to attend the Mayoral Forum 
sponsored by the Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus and the Ward 14 
Democratic Club at the VFW on West 61st Street in Clark-Fulton. 
I’ve since attended most of the other forums as well.

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Volume 2, Issue 5, Posted 2:45 PM, 09.10.2017

Googling the Illuminati, or Fear and Loathing in Ohio City

Here in Cleveland we have a couple of popular expressions which best describe community change and the planning process here-- "It is what it is", and "They do what they do".  Sometimes this takes a rather paranoid aspect in a belief in an invisible, nefarious and all powerful Illuminati. But such fatalism is just ignorance, laziness, and narcissism. Really the key to the Inner Sanctum is just a few keystrokes away.  To learn what the future of Ohio City will look like, google 'The City of Cleveland Planning Commission' and the site will lead your way.

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Volume 2, Issue 4, Posted 9:03 PM, 08.31.2017

They Put a New Highway Entrance on My Street

Since ejecting myself from the Ohio City Crime Watch page on Facebook, my life has become much calmer, simpler, more enjoyable. However, I do miss the occasional oddball story that’s worth knowing a little bit about, such as the debate over the speed limit on Franklin Ave. and the “vigilante” who took it upon himself to dress up as a city worker and change all the speed limit signs from “35 mph” to “25 mph.” I’ve been living in either Lakewood or Cleveland for the last 9 years and have been using the stretch of Franklin between West 85th and West 25th in varying degrees of regularity, either on foot, my bike, or in my car. I lived on West 52nd for a time, just off of Franklin. I had a number of thoughts about the street and its speed limit over the years, that amount to something like this:

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Volume 2, Issue 2, Posted 10:22 PM, 06.19.2017

Fun with Frames

Recently, I attended opening art shows at Spaces in Hingetown and the Canopy on Lorain, both in Ohio City. And come to think of it, I don't think any of the art at either gallery was actually framed, at least in the sense of the craft of framing pictures. Actually, the craft of picture framing is an art in itself, because the frame chosen always changes the meaning of the picture displayed within the frame. For example, a red frame will pick up and emphasize the reds in picture; a big ornate gold frame will make a statement of the picture's importance. The size of the matting matters, too. Really, the frame cannot but help but become part of the picture.

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Volume 2, Issue 1, Posted 10:16 PM, 06.19.2017

Fortunately for Your Health, We're Not Out of the Woods Yet

One of my earliest memories is being scolded for climbing a tree that was ‘too big for me!’ and coming home scraped, bruised and bleeding. Neither the minor injuries I have sustained nor the repeated warnings & reprimands of my parents or anyone else have ever been able to keep me out of the woods. For me, ‘out of the woods’ was generally a more threatening place to be than in them. Often in my life, the branches of a tree have been the only place I have felt safe and supported, not to mention creative—(I spent many afternoons during my elementary school days, avoiding my awkward shy kid attempts to relate to my peers, in trees writing my ‘novel’ in a bulky five subject notebook J). 

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Volume 1, Issue 2, Posted 4:25 PM, 06.07.2016

REAL TALK with Lynn and John

Dear Lynn and John,

Summer is around the corner and has snuck up on me once again!  I had all the plans in the world to get my 'beach bod' going, but ended up not losing weight.  Now I am feeling like crawling under a rock instead of going out to the beach in a bathing suit like I love to do so much.  How do I deal with my insecurities about my body so I can enjoy our short Cleveland summer?

-Seeking Beach Body

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Volume 1, Issue 2, Posted 4:25 PM, 06.07.2016

Make the Most of Your Cleveland Summer

There is almost nothing else in the world that gets me excited in the way that summer does when it starts to rear its head in our beautiful city. As a person who equally appreciates the outdoors from the perspective of activity as well as relaxation, on top of years of experiencing the place we call home in this way, I want to share my newest and most favorite experiences in the hopes that others will take advantage of the wealth of options at our doorstep.

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Volume 1, Issue 2, Posted 4:25 PM, 06.07.2016

Fandomonium

I take my filmmaking efforts seriously. Almost every movie that I undertake has this reflection of quality in it which showcases the desire I have to successfully make a name for myself in the industry. Which is why I have an issue with the people who shoot fan films.

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Volume 1, Issue 2, Posted 4:25 PM, 06.07.2016

"Goodbye" by Toe -or- "The Book About My Idle Plot on a Vague Anxiety" (When it comes to performing in front of people)

This article initially started with what was going to be a simple facebook post that I had decided to scrap because I just didn’t feel like writing something I wouldn’t be around to respond to about playing music. I’ll just share that bit for now, but I’ve been enjoying writing to particular music or songs, and I wanted to share the song I sat down and listened to before writing which is “Song Silly” by a band called toe, from Japan, which many of you know I’m obsessed with. I don’t need to go into what kind of music it is (if you know me at all, you know it’s probably going to be math-rock, and you’d be right), but this song has the singular most calming note I’ve ever heard. It’s a simple string bend at 1:55 seconds-in that I’ve gone back to and re-listened on multiple occasions. Just saying, it’s worth listening to a few (read: thousands of) times.

The original post:

What I want to say before I fall asleep on “going to shows”

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Volume 1, Issue 2, Posted 4:25 PM, 06.07.2016

What the Cleveland International Film Festival Means to Me

I am a freelance filmmaker. I'm sure some of you might read that sentence and think to yourself, "That and a quarter might get you a cup of coffee, buddy." There is a lot of uncertainty when you are a freelancer. When is my next job? Will I be able to pay the bills this month?

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Volume 1, Issue 1, Posted 12:05 PM, 04.14.2016

The Case for Unique and Creative Business in A Changing City

I opened a business called Canopy almost a year ago with a partner. I left a well-paying, reliable job to do so because I felt a strong desire to try to be my own boss. With a bachelor's degree in saxophone performance, a year and many summers at the Interlochen Arts Academy, it made sense to me that the business I started would be heavily based in the arts. On top of all that, it certainly doesn't hurt to be doing this in Cleveland, where the arts are a seemingly enormous part of our culture and economy.

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Volume 1, Issue 1, Posted 12:05 PM, 04.14.2016

Spring Cleaning for Your Whole Being

Spring is here! Everything’s popping up, sprouting out, and coming to life in all of its brilliance and fecundity, and while I’m certainly excited, there’s still a sluggish part of me that wants to resist leaving my quiet winter cave. In the past, to help me shift my internal landscape, I’ve tried cleanses, and I’ve felt starved, and I’ve panicked, and they didn’t last and didn’t help. But I wanted to do something to ease the discomfort of the seasonal transition and refresh my system, and when I found the simple, nourishing Ayurvedic kitchari cleanse, I knew I was home.

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Volume 1, Issue 1, Posted 4:57 PM, 03.30.2016

First Ohio City/Tremont Writer's Meeting Sets Positive Tone for the Future

Something special took place at LOOP in Tremont on Feb. 23. Gathered in the quaint neighborhood coffee shop, which features in-house roasts, works of art and even its own music store, was a group of writers who would go on to produce some of the first pieces for the newly-minted Ohio City/Tremont Observer.

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Volume 1, Issue 1, Posted 7:00 PM, 03.01.2016