Serious Fun

Serious Fun

In this week’s issue:
* Interview Cristi Cantel, Burning River Roller Girls kick off with their Maiden Massacre
* Interview Joshua Smith, Principal Flutist, Cleveland Orchestra bikes to work
* Cool Cleveland Kids Taking the Arts to where the Boys (and Girls) Are
* Straight Outta Mansfield Time to stop the haters
* Interview Jeff Sodowsky of OperaCleveland calls Cleveland “an embarrassment of riches”
* Podcast Baiju Shah, President, BioEnterprise makes major announcement in our podcast
* BizTech Profile NEO Author/Entrepreneur Ron Finklestein offers 49 marketing secrets
* Positively Negative Cartoonist Ralph Solonitz has a suggestion for recycling on Earth Day
* RoldoLink PD Bias Flagrant in Abatement Editorial
* Comments It’s a Dancevert World from Susana Weingarten and CPL Reflections
* Sounds The Force Within by Byron Nemeth Group
* Previews Red {an orchestra}’s Red Rock & Bowl and Notacon 4
* Cool Cleveland Kids podcast click here, CC podcast click here, CC Blog click here

Working hard and playing hard is pretty much a mantra around these parts. Check out the serious fun the Burning River Roller Girls are having, practicing for over a year before their Maiden Massacre roller derby debut this week. Or watch the vid of Cleveland Orchestra’s Joshua Smith, who put together a stellar music program to accompany the out-of-this-world Monet In Normandy exhibit right in the gallery at CMA. Read Cool Cleveland Kids and find out who’s taking the arts to the little ones. Columnist Mansfield Frazier is serious about creating a “Hate-Free Cleveland,” and Roldo spots a flagrant bias in our mainstream media. A city can’t have fun while it coddles the rich and hates people of color. BioE’s Baiju Shah makes a big announcement via our podcast below, and we profile author/entrepreneur Ron Finklestein. Our questions about the whispering campaign for a Medical Mart, posted to BrewedFreshDaily, has generated 52+ comments, and we link you over so you can add yours. As long as you’re willing to work hard, we can have a lot of fun around here. —Thomas Mulready

Cristi Cantle
Burning River Roller Girls

Cristi Cantle aka Skellawhore, (they all have nicknames, as it turns out), manages to be fierce, polite, aggressive, business-like and fun-loving, all in the same breath, just like most of her teammates. She’s been practicing three times a week for over a year with 60 other young NEO women to form the Burning River Roller Girls roller derby league, wherein four teams (The Rolling Pinups, the Hellbombers, the Hard Knockers, and the Cleveland Steamers) play each other at the North Olmsted Soccer Sportsplex once a month starting with their Maiden Massacre on Sun 4/22 from 3-7PM. Cool Cleveland’s Thomas Mulready spoke with Cristi at one of their practices about their girl power leanings, their super-secret outfits, the suicide seating at the edge of the rink and their kickin’ after-parties at the Garage Bar. http://www.BurningRiverRollerGirls.com

Joshua Smith
Principal Flutist, Cleveland Orchestra

Joshua Smith has been Principal Flutist of the world-class Cleveland Orchestra for 17 years, since he was 20 years old. Cool Cleveland’s Thomas Mulready hooked up with Joshua on the steps of Severance Hall prior to a rehearsal for the program he put together with Massoud Saidpour of the Cleveland Museum of Art to play thematically related music in the galleries during the awesome Monet In Normandy exhibition. Those performances continue Wed 4/25 and Fri 5/4 with more info here. They talked about what it’s like living in the city and riding your bike to work at University Circle, as well as how he found his vintage flute on the Internet. Joshua is featured heavily in the Orchestra’s new DVD of Bruckner’s 5th Symphony, and his flute playing can be heard at Severance in the upcoming Spring Festival featuring Der Rosenkavalier, as well as in Daphnis & Chloe at Blosson this summer. http://www.SoloFlute.com http://www.ClevelandOrchestra.com

Taking the Arts to Where the Kids Are

It’s 10 o’clock on a chilly Thursday morning at Westfield Great Northern Mall, and the stroller brigade is arriving. Mothers are leaning forward in exertion, pushing double strollers overloaded with coats and diaper bags, the children underneath barely visible. With superhuman strength, they steer their giant baby-mobiles one-handed while balancing a piping hot cup of coffee from the food court in their free hand. They arrive in sweatpants and tennis shoes, hair in ponytails, little if any makeup – dressed for a workout because that’s exactly what they’ll get carting young kids and 50 pounds of gear out for this trip to the mall.

But all the effort is worth it. It’s the first Thursday of the month – Kid’s Club day at Great Northern – a day when more than 50 kids and parents gather in the mall’s center to be entertained by a team of music therapists from The Beck Center for the Arts. For the moms, it’s quite likely just a temporary diversion, an activity that gets them out of the house and their cabin-feverish kids out to burn some energy. But for the kids, activities like this one could become the foundation for a lifelong love of the arts…

Read more from Jennifer Keirn here

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Don’t Miss the Circle of Masks Festival that kicks off Parade Season Sun 4/22, 1:00–4:00PM. The free kickoff event includes artists leading mask-making workshops from 1:00-3:15PM and performances by Inlet Dance Theatre from 1:30 – 4:00PM. Purchase parade posters and T-shirts here. Parade Workshops begin Fri 4/27 in CMA classrooms and tents at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Workshops are Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays until the parade. Register at the parade tent at the Natural History Museum. here. Parade the Circle is Sat 6/9 with parade at noon and Circle Village from 11:00-7:00. It is a no-cost community arts parade complete with activities, entertainment and food. For info about participating in the parade call 216-707-2483 or visit www.clevelandart.org/parade. The Cleveland Museum of Art is a Cool Cleveland Kids partner.
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Tri-C Summer Camps just announced! Tons of great stuff for your Cool Cleveland Kids to soak up during those sunny months. Don’t miss out! Info

The Magic Flute Mozart’s enchanting fantasy — this shortened version sung in English — will delight children and adults. Directed by James Mismas with conductor Guy Victor Bordo and the University of Akron Symphony Orchestra. There are 3 performances scheduled in the UA Guzzetta Recital Hall beginning Thu 4/19 at 8PM Guzzetta Recital Hall, 157 University Ave., Akron (across from E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall). http://www.uakron.edu.

Star Gazing Soak up NASA’s special night hours with 4th annual astronomy event Sat 4/21 @ NASA Glenn Visitor Ctr. http://www.grc.nasa.gov.

Stuart Little Live Living in NYC with his human family, Stuart Little is not your average mouse. Get swept away in his adventures with a real life adaptation E. B. White’s classic character beginning Sat 4/20 at 7:30 PM. Stuart is brought to life by director Sandy Kosovich Peck and Yarnell Youth Theatre Company. Corning Auditorium, Fine Arts Association of Willoughby. Who doesn’t love charming white mice? Program runs through following weekend; Sunday matinees available. Details.

Underground Railroad Tour In collaboration with the Cleveland Metroparks, the Cleveland Restoration Society is offering a bus tour of Cleveland’s Underground Railroad history. Learn about the role that Cleveland and Clevelanders played with the tour Sat 4/21 from 10AM-3PM; includes lunch and a souvenir. Call 341-3152 or email bes@clevelandmetroparks.com to register. http://www.clemetparks.com. http://www.clevelandrestoration.org.

Cleveland Leadership Summit entitled “Celebrating Cleveland’s Youth and your Cool Cleveland Kids get in at no-cost on Sat 4/21 at 10AM at Cle City Hall Rotunda. See kids performing, persuading, displaying and demonstrating. Call Jacquie @ Neighborhood Leadership Institute 812-8700 for more info.

A (Springtime) Christmas Story Did the lovely spring weather we’re having influence this one? Who can say? Meet at the Beck Center in Lakewood and enjoy a Lolly the Trolley ride to the famous A Christmas Story house and museum in Tremont for a tour on Sat 4/21 at 3:15 PM. The event is followed by traditional “Chinese Turkey” at C&Y restaurant. Pink, floppy-eared bunny jammies are optional. http://www.beckcenter.org.

Back to the Future Director Robert Zemeckis’s classic flick is a fun adventure for kids. Check it out on the big screen on Sat 4/21 at 2PM at Chagrin Cinemas, 8200 E. Washington St., Chagrin Falls as part of a retro movie series. Members of the DeLorean Club of Ohio will be present showing off their vintage stainless steel gullwings — the hot car that Michael J. Fox’s time-traveling vehicle was based on. Fun for the whole family. http://www.clevelandcinemas.com.

Invention The National Inventors Hall of Fame and Akron-Summit County Library will conduct special pre-concert activities before the Sun 4/22 concert at 3PM which sheds light on the invention of the modern orchestra. http://www.AkronSymphony.org.

Pre-Parade the Circle season officially kicks off Sun 4/22 at 1PM with the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Circle of Masks Festival. The event introduces the annual parade theme, Symbiosis: A Lyrical Discord of Harmonious Contradictions. No-cost explores symbiosis through performance, visual activities, cool kids stuff and an interactive audience dance performance. http://www.cma.org.

EarthFest 2007 One of the best Earth Day celebrations takes place in Northeast Ohio every year at the Metroparks Zoo. This year’s EarthFest takes place on Sun 4/21 from 10AM-5PM and features plenty of interactive exhibits and a fun, educational learning experience for children and adults alike. Learn how to save the planet at Ohio’s largest environmental educational event; enjoy live entertainment, food and beverages while you’re there. http://www.earthdaycoalition.org.

You don’t want to miss what 11-year-old Max has for you and your family this week. Listen here: http://www.coolcleveland.com/files/audio/CoolClevelandKids04.20.07.mp3. Click here to subscribe: iTunes or other.

What is Jackson hiding? When the powerhouse PD can’t get requested public documents for 9 mo., what’s up? Read
800K Ohio families got the EITC for 04 tax year, bringing more than $1.4B in Fed money into Ohio communities. More
Cle on 30 Rock The hit NBC sitcom shows off our hometown. Read
Hernando Cortez Selected Artistic Director of Verb Ballets Selected for National Leadership Program in the Arts. Read.
Cool Cleveland Podcast You know how to do it. Click here to listen: Link. iTunes or other.
To ensure you receive Cool Cleveland every week, take a moment now and add CoolCleveland@CoolCleveland.com to your address book, trusted sender list, or corporate white list.

Actor Bob Snider R.I.P. The self-styled “Clark Gable look-alike and Edward Arnold wannabe” was 78 when he passed on 4/16 after a bout with cancer. Many of us will remember Bob as an actor and proud AEA member who worked at so many theatres in Cleveland over the decades — Greenbrier, Huntington, John Carroll, Beck, Carousel, Cleveland Public Theatre, and more. Snider was also CPT’s long-time Box Office Manager from 1986-2004, greeting patrons and artists and selling tickets for hundreds of productions, including the Performance Art Festival. His jovial presence became a CPT institution. Arrangements are being made by Chambers Funeral Home on Rocky River Drive. The burial is Thu 4/19, 1 PM, at Sunset Cemetery off Columbia Road. CPT is holding a memorial service for Bob on Sat 4/21, 2-6 PM at CPT. Testimonials, photos, and videos of productions will be shared. Please come and share your stories and memories of Bob. He will be greatly missed.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Linda Eisenstein lindaATcoolcleveland.com

Tour brand-new Lakewood schools How do they do it? Lakewood is streamlining from 14 schools down to 10, building 2 brand-new elementary schools & 2 brand-new middle schools, totally renovating additional elementary schools, and significantly upgrading Lakewood High. Phase I, on time and on budget, was kicked off in 2004, and on 5/8, voters will be asked to approve Phase II, on the ballot as Issue 4, costing $1 per $100K home value, to continue the good work. Their secret? A massive citizen committee, regular communication to all residents, and a rigorous and transparent process. Ergo, on Sat 4/21 hourly from 9AM to 1PM, anyone can tour the new Harrison & Hayes elementary and Harding middle schools, where every classroom is connected to the Internet and includes a smart board, a data projector, and more. Wear sturdy shoes. Details

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Master the Nonprofit Field and Get a Great Education! Introducing Levin College’s new Master of Nonprofit Administration and Leadership (MNAL) degree beginning Fall 2007. Get a master’s degree in a career field in high demand. The MNAL provides students with tools to build management skills and knowledge of nonprofits to improve their employment opportunities, advance in their organization, or make a career change. This is an interdisciplinary collaboration of Cleveland State’s Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, College of Business, and School of Social Work. Open houses will be at CSU’s Levin College on Wed 4/25, Noon-1PM and Mon 4/30, 5-6PM; also CSU East Center in Solon on Tue 5/15, 5-7PM and at CSU West Center in Westlake on Wed 5/16, 5-7PM. To register: www.urban.csuohio.edu/
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It’s Time for a “Hate-Free Cleveland”

“It’s a crime that we are promoting these kinds of messages. The whole gangsta rap industry is drug driven, race-driven and greed-driven… it’s not healthy for our children.” – A quote from C. Delores Tucker (1924-2005) the activist who bought stock in Sony and Time Warner, which allowed her to speak out at stockholder’s meetings.

Former shock jock Don Imus — who was rightfully rode off of the airways on a rail, tarred and feathered with his own bigotry, and hung by his own foul tongue — engaged in a vicious form of hate speech on his nationally syndicated radio talk show and did the country a great service. His hateful, racist and misogynistic (and now very rueful) comments afforded us the opportunity to begin to at last seriously engage in a national dialogue about the most troubling issue facing America: Race. And since Imus virtually got his start here in Cleveland, maybe we can take the lead in attempting to insure that our children and grandchildren are left a country with some remaining sense of morality and probity. More on what we in Cleveland can do here in just a moment…

Read more from Mansfield B. Frazier here

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Coming Attractions: A Region Unveiled The challenge set before the Greater Cleveland Marketing Alliance (GMCA) was a big one: Develop an “umbrella” campaign that would translate across several distinct audiences and be easily institutionalized throughout the region. Could it be done? Keep in mind that the target audiences for this campaign are distinct and varied – leisure travelers, meeting planners, business investment decision makers and site selectors and the region’s residents. And the ultimate brand and campaign should not only inspire people to re-think their perceptions of the region, but also engage regional organizations so they want to use the campaign and take action, such as driving visitors to travelcleveland.com or attract new convention business. On Thu 4/26 the GMCA will unveil the brand and campaign that will help us redefine our region. Stay tuned. To learn more visit www.gcpartnership.com.
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Jeff Sodowsky of OperaCleveland

Fortunate are those who are not only good at what they do, but love doing it, as well. Such is the case with Jeff Sodowsky, Executive Director of the almost-brand-new OperaCleveland, about to put itself out there to the rest of the world on Friday evening, April 20, with their very first opening night of Salome.

It’s really amazing and amazingly appropriate for OperaCleveland to have such a young executive director (he’s 37) for this new company, but what’s even more so is all the experience he has accrued in the various areas needed for his position. He’s been on-stage, back-stage and off-stage (but behind the scenes) for most of the last 25 years or so in some capacity or another. He’s been a dancer, singer, choreographer, lighting tech, costume designer, director, fund-raiser, schmoozer, educator and myriad other behind-the-scenes but necessary entities for an arts company, sometimes doing more than one of these functions at a time…

Read the interview by Kelly Ferjutz here

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Oh My Stars! Kids! Join us for National Astronomy Day on Sat Apr 4/10 from 10AM to 5PM at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Check out stellar events in the planetarium and learn what to look for in the night sky this Spring. Don’t miss the kid-sized Starlab portable planetarium, observe Venus and hear live lectures by astronomers and their experiences with NASA’s astronaut training program. Figure out how to survive on Mars, take part in astro-giveaways, make your own sundial, star chart, and win a telescope. Note: Special Adult Event on Sat 4/21 showcasing “Honey” during an unforgettable evening in the Natural History of Food Series. Attend a reception at 6:30, and dinner 8PM to midnight. Tickets: $150 per person. For more info contact www.cmnh.org or (800) 317-9155.
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Every week, all of us here at Cool Cleveland pour through gads of fantastic things happening in CLE and NEO, all in an effort to answer that ever-nagging question: “What’s cool to do this week?” Submitted for your approval, here’s a snapshot of what we found. Got a unique event coming up? Know of something that is a totally Cool Cleveland worthy event? We want to hear from you about it; our tens of thousands of readers do, too. Be a civic and cultural activist and turn on your fellow readers.

Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com

B’Ware! Miss the classic kitsch of the video shop in Madison Village? Well, you’ll relish the Bad Film Directors from the 50’s and Beyond in this Tri-C Metro film festival Wed 4/18 beginning at 6:30PM. Features 3 legendary film directors — Roger Corman, William Castle and Ed Wood — whose legendary “B-movies” tapped science fiction, horror and fantasy and sent them careening into the subbacultcha. Includes analysis of thematic content and pop culture impact. http://www.tri-c.edu/community/Bmovies.html.

HOT Does Hip-Hop Hate Women? Panel discussion caps the CWRU Project on Men and Gender, with a focus on the hip-hop cultural movement forging a new dialogue around race. Panelists in this Wed 4/18 event at 7PM will be moderated by Bakari Kitwana. http://www.rapsessions.org. http://www.case.edu/provost/centerforwomen/calendar.html.

Re-turn An exhibition of art constructed from post-consumer and postindustrial waste, curated by Janice Lessman-Moss opens Wed 4/18 with a 5PM reception. The commentary touches on the aftermath of consumer culture. Downtown Gallery, 223 North Water Street, Kent. Call 330-676-1549 or email schoolofartgalleries@kent.edu for more info. http://www.kent.edu.

An Evening with Mary Weiss The lead singer of the Shangri-Las gives a talk/performance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Wed 4/18 at 7:00 PM in the Hall’s 4th Floor Theater. Weiss is the voice behind “Remember (Walking in the Sand),” “Leader of the Pack,” “Out in the Streets,” “Give Us Your Blessings” and other hits. http://www.rockhall.com.

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Play Nice Together Oberlin College’s Artist Recital Series concludes its 128th season with world-renowned violinist Gil Shaham, and several of his distinguished musical friends in an all-Brahms concert on Fri 4/27 at 8PM. Shaham is internationally recognized as one of today’s most virtuosic and engaging classical artists. His collaborators for the evening are pianist Akira Eguchi, violinist Adele Anthony, violists Masao Kawasaki and Dov Scheindlin, and cellists Jian Wang and Alisa Weilerstein. Shaham will give a free public master class on Thu 4/26 at 8PM. Both events take place in Oberlin’s Finney Chapel. Concert tickets are $10 for students, $22 for seniors, and $26 for the general public and can be purchased through Oberlin’s Central Ticket Service (800-371-0178). For more information visit www.oberlin.edu/arseries.
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Eleanor Heartney: But Is It Art? The contributing editor to Art in America and Artpress lectures and discusses her new book, Art and Today on Thu 4/19 at 6PM. MOCA Cleveland, 8501 Carnegie. http://www.mocacleveland.org.

π (Pi) A genius mathematician (and paranoid loner) tries to break the numerical code that explains the global stock market – and reality – and attracts the attention of a Hasidic cabalistic sect and a high-powered Wall Street brokerage firm. Check out this modern day film noir classic by Darren Aronofsky at the Cleveland Cinematheque Thu 4/19 at 7PM. Part of “Informing Films,” the CWRU Humanities Week film series. http://www.cia.edu.

RJD2 It’s an Ohio collision with hip-hop/turntablist and electro-music sensation Ramble John “RJ” Krohn (RJD2) and guests Busdriver and Harold “Happy” Chichester of Howlin’ Maggie at the Grog Shop on Coventry. Don’t miss this mish-mash of eclectic sound on Thu 4/19 at 9PM. http://www.grogshop.gs.

HOT Tri-C JazzFest Tony Bennett, Chris Botti and Diane Reeves help define one of Tri-C JazzFest’s stongest line-ups in its entire 28-year history beginning Thu 4/19. This year’s theme, “A Salute to Legends,” gives JazzFest a unique flavor as it pays tribute to the work of legendary composers Thelonius Monk and Charles Mingus. Through Sun 4/29. Schedules, tickets and info at http://www.tricjazzfest.com.

The Style PAWparazzi Lush Boutique presents the 1st annual benefit event for the Animal Protective League (APL) of Cleveland. This contemporary fashion show on Thu 4/19 at 7:30PM showcases Spring 07 fashions and trends by the most sought-after designers. Models will include people, local celebrities and pets. Proceeds to benefit the Cleveland APL. Galleria at Erieview. http://www.lushboutique.com.

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CIA Students Receiving Top Honors If it’s not enough that BusinessWeek Named CIA one of the top design schools in North America, then what about the fact that their students won top honors in the Chicago International Housewares Show? View their great work at the Institute’s Spring Design Show, an annual public exhibition. View their award-winning work in housewares, automotive, interior, toy and graphic design Wed 4/25 – Fri 4/27 from 9:30AM – 5PM. Innovation, consumer-centered design and exposure to leading industry practices are key attributes of the Institute’s programs. If you would like to attend the reception on Fri 4/27, 5:30 – 8:30PM, please RSVP to events@cia.edu. The exhibit will be held at the Gund Building at the Cleveland Institute of Art, 11141 East Blvd. For info about the Institute contact www.cia.edu or 216-421-7407. The Cleveland Institute of Art . . . Making Art Work.
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HOT 75th Bach Festival Diamond jubilee for world-renowned J.S. Bach celebration features Ullrich Böhme, Bach Choir of Bethlehem (PA) and the Dave Brubeck Quartet!! Starts Fri 4/20, runs through weekend. Complete schedule online at http://www.bw.edu/bachfest.

Two Men and a Campfire highlight a benefit for Susan G. Komen and Art on Wheels on Fri 4/20 at 7PM. Donation includes a Spaghetti Dinner bevvies and a chance to win a $250 prize. BYOB and bring munchies or appetizers if you wish. Sideboards and a Chinese Raffle will also be available for purchase that evening. Karlin Hall, 5304 Fleet Ave. http://www.myspace.com/2menandacampfire. http://www.artonwheels.us.

OperaCleveland debuts with Salome this Fri 4/20 at 7PM. For more details, read Kelly Ferjutz’s interview with Jeff Sodowsky, Executive Director of OperaCleveland in this week’s issue. http://www.clevelandopera.org.

HOT Shrinking Cities is a collaboration between SPACES gallery and the Kent State University Urban Design Center of NEO examining phenomenon of urban population decline. The exhibition is full of stunning visuals and drops with a reception on Fri 4/20 at 4:30PM. Features a talk by Nicole Minten-Jung of Project Shrinking Cities of Berlin, Germany. http://www.spacesgallery.org. http://www.shrinkingcities.com.

3 Dimensions New Prints by University Print Shops opens with an artist’s reception Fri 4/20 at 6PM. The work of student printmakers and their professors offers a glimpse of the young academic printmaking zeitgeist, shared aesthetics and transgenerational direction. Exhibit runs through Sat 4/28. Zygote Press, 7209 Saint Clair Ave. http://www.zygotepress.com.

HOT Franz Welser-Möst lectures on Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier, the highlight of the Orchestra’s upcoming Spring Festival, Richard Strauss: His Life ~ His Inspirations, to be performed 6/7 & 6/9. The lecture will take place Fri 4/20 at 7PM at Reinberger Chamber Hall at Severance Hall, and will be recorded for broadcast by WCLV 104.9FM on 5/12 at 1:30PM. The podcast will be available at WCLV.com after 4/24. The Cleveland Museum of Art will also shoot the lecture, and the video will be available after 5/1 at ClevelandOrchestra.com.

come closer opens with a reception and features diminutive works from over 20 local artists on Fri 4/20 at 5PM. Artists were asked to submit one piece of art around one square foot or smaller for the exhibition, hoping to prove the adage that bigger isn’t always better. The results just might surprise you! Exhibition runs through end of May. The Wooltex Gallery, 1900 Superior Ave. http://www.thewooltexgallery.com.

Ute Lemper Experience the sultry, chameleon-like actress, singer, dancer and recording artist’s rendition of some of the edgiest music of the 20th century on Fri 4/20 at 7:30PM. www.ClevelandArt.org.

Get Digitized The MFA digital arts program at the Cleveland Institute of Art spans two years and explores the creative application of advanced digital technologies. Explore the work that comes from the inventive artists who undertake the study on with an opening reception of works on Fri 4/20 at 6:30PM. The exhibit runs though the end of April and examines contemporary culture through the dynamic use of integrated medias. CIA, Reinberger Galleries, Gund Bldg. http://www.cia.edu.

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WCLVnotes WCLV 104.9 FM is live from Severance Hall this Sat 4/21 at 8PM. Franz conducts The Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus in Verdi’s “Four Sacred Pieces.” WCLV is now airing concerts by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Tuesdays at 9PM. However, next Tue 4/24 the Chicago band will be heard at 10PM because of a live broadcast from CSU at 8PM. Cleveland Orchestra cellist Bryan Dumm will be the soloist with the Cleveland Wind Ensemble. And next Wed 4/25 at 9PM, Canton Symphony music director Gerhardt Zimmerman and WCLV’s Robert Conrad chat about the Canton Symphony’s April 28th concert which features Carl Orff’s blockbuster “Carmina Burana.” Complete details on all of WCLV’s programming can be found on line at www.wclv.com.
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HOT An Unreasonable Man Don’t miss the new documentary about advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader’s life, An Unreasonable Man. It debuts Fri 4/20 at the Cedar Lee Theatre, located at 2163 Lee Road. This premiere repeats Sat 4/21 and both dates feature former Clevelander and co-director Steve Skrovan for Q&A immediately following the film. Program details at http://www.clevelandcinemas.com/cedarlee and http://www.anunreasonableman.com.

Jawanza Kunjufu The famed author and lecturer speaks at The Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs’ Annual Urban Community Forum on Sat 4/21 at 8:30AM at Cleveland State’s Cole Center for Continuing Ed. His talk is titled Keepin’ It Real: Addressing the Challenges Facing African American Males. Free and open to the public. Call 687-9394 or email c.redding@csuohio.edu to register. Cole Center, 3100 Chester Ave.

Everlasting Love This musical benefit for the EastSide Shelter stars Carl Carlton, Everlasting Love, Bad Mama Jamma and Motown Queen Karia. Get soulful Sat 4/21 at 6PM. St. Catherine’s Church, 3443 E. 93rd. Call 440-969-5343 or visit http://www.easthollywoodmusic.com for more info.

The Butterfly Effect The Pop Shop Gallery presents a benefit show with the Debra Foundation and will donate proceeds of the show to conquer epidermolysis bullosa. The show opens and closes with an artist reception at 6PM on Sat 4/21 and is inspired by the nickname of the disease, known as “the butterfly disease.” Gallery owner and artist Richard S. Cihlar has lived with for 26 years. http://www.myspace.com/thepopshopgallery.

On A Pedestal, Off The Wall The 3rd Annual Exhibition of Small Sculpture from the Region, juried by Don Harvey, runs through this Sat 4/21 and features a public lecture to conclude it. The Material Influence: A Panel Discussion by 4 Sculptors starts at 3:00 PM, and will be followed by a Reception where patrons can meet the artists from the exhibition. Both are no-cost and open to the public. http://www.sculpturecenter.org.

A History of the Black Arts Movement Program by Mwatabu S. Okantah in recognition of National Poetry Month. Focuses on the key poets of the era including Nikki Giovanni, Ed Bullins, Amiri Baraka, Gwendolyn Brooks and Sonia Sanchez on Sat 4/21 at 2PM. Literature Dept., Cleveland Public Library Main, 325 Superior Ave. http://www.cpl.org.

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Blimp Ride, Hummer Rental & Exotic Vacations Intrigued? There’s even more where that came from when you tune into the 2007 WVIZ/PBS Televised Auction from Thu 4/26 though Sun 4/29. The “Watch It! Web It! Win It!” craze consumes Northeast Ohio next week with over 40 hours of live television beginning Thu at 3PM. The Auction is Northeast Ohio’s favorite way to support quality public TV, while shopping from the comforts of home for a variety of items, including: vacations, gift certificates, wine, jewelry, art, furniture, and collectibles. Log on to www.wviz.org now to make your pre-Auction bid on select items. It’s not too late to add your product or service to the growing list of donations. Call 216-916-6100 or visit the WVIZ/PBS Auction website for information.
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HOT I Love Downtown!! Spectacular trolley tour of downtown Cle sites including Allen Theatre, The Bingham, Erie Building, Huron Square/The Osborn, IdeaCenter at Playhouse Square, National Terminal Warehouse Apartments, Pointe at Gateway, Reserve Square, Statler Arms, and Water Street Condominiums, just to name a few. The tour runs Sun 4/22 from 1-5PM and light refreshments will be provided at some sites. Call 344-3937 for more info. http://www.clevelandrestoration.org.

Joseph Arthur & Lonely Astronauts It’s a sorta homecoming for the Akron alt-rock phenom, who comes back to NEO with a brand new album Let’s Just Be and a brand new band on Sun 4/22 at 8PM. Belle & Sebastian-inspired band Stars of Track and Field opens the show. Beachland Ballroom on Waterloo. http://www.beachlandballroom.com.

An Inconvenient Truth Honoring Earth Day, Talkies Film and Coffee Bar will be showing Al Gore’s environmental wake-up call An Inconvenient Truth on Sun 4/22 at 10:30 AM, 1:00 PM and 3:30 PM. An additional screening takes place on Sat 4/28. No-cost, but we suggest one of their great coffees. Talkies Film and Coffee Bar, 2521 Market Avenue, Ohio City. http://www.talkiescoffee.com.

Religion, Race, Rights Experience The View from Cleveland, Ohio in 1964 in this panel discussion Sun 4/22 at 3PM at Cory United Methodist Church, Fellowship Hall, 1117 East 105th St. No-cost, open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Regennia N. Williams, Department of History, Cleveland State University, at 523-7182 or African.Diaspora@csuohio.edu.

HOT Architecture for Museums Panel discussion on Sun 4/22 features 3 area museum directors in the process of (re)building – Jill Snyder from MOCA, Timothy Rub from the Cleveland Museum of Art and Mitchell Kahan from the Akron Art Museum. Architecture/art critic Steve Litt moderates. One South High St, Akron http://www.akronartmuseum.org.

Spring Artist Exchange Ready to unload all those art supplies you haven’t used in ages? And get other supplies without spending money to boot? Then hit the Local Girl Gallery Sun 4/22 at 11AM. Bring in those items that are to good to toss and exchange them for items you can use. Meet fellow artists, exchange ideas and share some goodies, too! This “Think Spring” Fundraiser benefits the Board of Mental Retardation. Local Girl Gallery, 16106 Detroit Ave. http://www.localgirlgallery.com.

Jann Klose The alt-popster and one-time Clevelander who used to work the counters of Truffles Pasteries returns there for a no-cost performance Sun 4/22 at 7:30 PM. Klose worked there while he went to school and says, “They bake A-1 pies and cakes, and they sell real truffles.” The German-born singer apparently knows his baked goods; we can’t think of a better combo. 11122 Clifton Ave. http://www.trufflespastries.com http://www.jannklose.com.

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Get the Ball Rolling, Let’s Go Bowling! Join Red {an orchestra} on Thu 4/26 at 6PM to celebrate the closing of their fantastically fabulous 5th season with the {Red} Rock & Bowl benefit! Red will celebrate in style with a benefit at the new hip, downtown bowling alley, The Corner Alley (East 4th & Euclid). Of course there will be food, fun and festivities as well as Red’s Rocking Silent Auction. All tax deductible proceeds from the benefit will support Red’s mission to develop diverse musical audiences through innovative programs, which connect music with other artistic disciplines to produce engaging and entertaining performances. For more information and to get your benefit tickets visit www.redanorchestra.org or call Red {an orchestra}: 216-361-1733. REDefine, REDiscover and REDesign Classical music with RED!
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HOT North Union Farmers Market holds their annual spring benefit/bash at their new location on Mon 4/23 at 6:30 PM. NPO operates authentic producers-only farmers markets across NEO and educates the public about the benefits of eating locally grown foods. Open beer/wine bar and live jazz included. Inside Eton, 28601 Chagrin Blvd. (entrance near Mitchell’s Fish Market), Woodmere. Call 314-7637 for info.

A Thousand Faces Author Laura Greenwald talks about her Cleveland Clinic compilation book on facial deformity at Joseph-Beth Booksellers at Legacy Village on Mon 4/23 at 7PM. No cost, open to the public. http://www.josephbeth.com.

HOT International Biz Expansion Symposium focuses on NEO’s global challenges on Tue 4/24 beginning at 8:30AM. A host of special panelists will participate including Cool Cleveland Creator/Publisher Thomas Mulready, who will speak on the CEO Panel at 11AM. Register

Miro String Quartet tackles Haydn and Dvorak on Tue 4/24 at 8PM. http://www.ClevelandChamberMusic.org.

Terry Stewart The Pres./CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum speaks at The City Club’s “School of Rock” series Tue 4/24 at noon. His talk Hail, Hail, Rock-n-Roll focuses on the roots of rock in Cle and why the city was fertile ground for the art form. The program features multimedia from the Rock Hall’s burgeoning archives. More Details. http://www.cityclub.org.

Steve Logan Memorial Jam gathers musicians and friends of Logan to perform music and celebrate life on Tue 4/24 at 9PM. The Cle native and internationally known jazz/pop/fusion bassist died of complications from diabetes on Fri 1/12 in Krakow, Poland. No cost. Call David at 702-5648 for more info. Beachland Ballroom on Waterloo. http://www.beachlandballroom.com.

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Do Make a Scene at the Cleveland Institute of Music! CIM’s extraordinary voice students will be showcased in opera scenes with piano accompaniment Fri 4/27 – Sat 4/28 at 8PM and Sun 4/29 at 3PM. Fully staged and costumed, the students will perform highlights from works spanning the world of opera and musical theater, including the complete second act of The Marriage of Figaro! Tickets are on sale now! Adults $15; Students and Seniors $10. Call 216-791-5000 and mention Cool Cleveland or order online at www.cim.edu and enter code 0407 to receive $2 off per ticket. Present your opera ticket upon ordering at That Place on Bellflower or Sergio’s in University Circle and receive 10% off your entire bill.
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Hidden Treasures of Cleveland This trolley Tour (#21 of its kind) visits IdeaCenter at Playhouse Square, Leimkuehler, Inc., Nottingham Spirk and Tower Press on Wed 4/25 at 9AM. A buffet luncheon follows in the Cleveland Play House Club. Trolleys depart promptly at 9 AM from the CPH west parking lot. For more info, call 440-247-1473.

American Art Pottery Association Their Annual Convention focuses on ceramics and art of the Cleveland School beginning Wed 4/25. Two-day antique and contemporary pottery show and sale, auction and educational presentations are among the highlights. Guided bus tours to pottery and tile installations and collections are also a part of this no-cost event, which runs through Sun 4/29Holiday Inn Cle South, I-77 & Rockside Rd. http://www.amartpot.org.

Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com

An incredible and inclusive array of hot tech and business news & events from around Cleveland and around the region. Send your business news and events to: EVENTS@CoolCleveland.com

Baiju Shah
President, BioEnterprise

Bioscience is booming in Northeast Ohio. Check out these figures: $400M invested in regional companies. 80 percent of investment from outside the region. $59M in licensing revenue. In five years. Not resting on their laurels, organizations throughout the region are working together to further the successes they’ve achieved together. BioEnterprise President Baiju Shah talks to CoolCleveland.com’s Chief Info Officer George Nemeth about the past five years and the big news—a collaboration with BioE’s counterpart in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse is a public/private partnership, founded by the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, UPMC Health System, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and its regional foundation community. Listen to the 11-min audio file here and don’t forget to add your comments when you’re done.

Cleveland Art Quarter from E. 18th-40th, from Euclid to the lake, is latest arts district, with 500 artist-residents Read
KSU creates entrepreneurial laboratory for student-run businesses, with gift from Brinzo of Cleveland-Cliffs Read
Cleveland Bridge Builders are accepting apps for intensive 10-mo Flagship Program on Leadership w/ Mon 4/23 deadline. More.
Biotech groups to promote Cle-Pit corridor BioEnterprise Corp. and PA-based Life Sciences Greenhouse talking collab. Read

Inner Belt cluster First, the Ohio Department of Transportation decides to close exit ramps on the Inner Belt rather than enforce speed limits, causing local businesses to go ballistic. Then they ignored “the greatest living bridge designer in the world” and his inverted-Y design, opting instead for an uglier and more expensive Inner Belt span. Plus, they are closing 2 key ramps, E. 9th & Ontario, to make necessary repairs. Some, like Downtown councilman Joe Cimperman, want ODOT to rethink the whole Inner Belt project. Attend the public meeting Thu 4/19 at 6PM at Pilgrim Congregational Church, 2592 West 14th St, and send your thoughts to ODOT project director Craig Hebebrand craig.hebebrand@dot.state.oh.us and Cc: us at Letters@CoolCleveland.com.

Smoking ban loopholes When the state’s voters banned all smoking in public places, they didn’t intend to allow a loophole for “private clubs.” Now, every bar and night club wants the exemption, and many are boycotting the 5/3 enforcement start-up. The Ohio Department of Health is in charge of the smoking ban. To report violations: nosmoke@odh.ohio.gov. Send your thoughts to: SmkInfo@odh.ohio.gov and Cc: us at Letters@CoolCleveland.com

Cleveland is 4th hottest job market according to job board Monster.com, based on their year-over-year stats for 2/06-2/07. Cle job postings jumped 10%, besting all cities except Houston, Dallas & Atlanta. Read

Networking Groups-Do They Deliver? Lively panel discussion from 3 Cle networking experts on Wed 4/18 Info
Dirty Little Secrets in Creative Dept’s are the subject of a CAA luncheon Wed 4/18 at noon @ Windows on the River. Register
Designing w/ the Environment Architect/energy efficient bldg tech Steve Badanes speaks at CSU Levin Forum Thu 4/19 at 5PM, co-spnsrd by Cle Green Bldg Coalition. No cost. Register
21st Ohio Employee Ownership Conf Econ Dev for Today and Tomorrow Fri 4/20 Fairlawn Hilton Register
Org of Chinese Amer of Greater Cle Local filmmaker/OCA Pres. Johnny Wu and OCA host a Nat’l Delegates Meet and Greet Dinner Gala at Li Wah Restaurant, 2999 Payne Ave on Sat 4/21 at 6:30PM. http://www.ocagc.org.
Web Ass./Optiem does an Emerging Web Tech event Mon 4/23 6-8PM at their HQ downtown. Panel w/ Q&A. Register
Int’l Biz Expansion Symposium focuses on NEO’s global challenges on Tue 4/24 beginning at 8:30AM. Includes CC Creator/Publisher Thomas Mulready @ at 11AM panel. Register
New Mktg Tech Blogs, podcasts and video for your biz, CSU Noon at Nance Thu 4/26 w/CC’s Thomas Mulready Info
Hot! Notacon 4 Hits! One of the most anticipated hackur/tech conferences in the Midwest hits Fri 4/27, with Cle Tech Czar Michael DeAloia as keynote speaker. Weekend-long event. Act now for special discounted admission! Register
eCommerce Event @ Tri-C’s Corporate College East on Sat 5/4. Watch previews of all the breakout sessions. Info

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Children to Stage Creative Coup at University Circle June – August A rogue band of creative children will gather at Case Western and Cleveland Institute of Art during select weeks of June, July and August. Sign up your creative kid to be part of the fastest growing kids camp in Ohio! Children’s Technology Workshop lets kids (grades 2-8) make real projects with their choice of Computer Game Design or Video Animation. Space is limited, so reserve your space now: 440.484.2222! We also hold workshops, camps and parties in Chagrin Falls (38 River Street, 44022) or at your place. For schedules and more information, visit: www.ctworkshop.com/glc. Children’s Technology Workshop is a portfolio company of Beta Strategy Group, LTD, www.betagroup.us, a founding sponsor of Cool Cleveland Tech.
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NEO Author/Entrepreneur Ron Finklestein

Akron-area businessman, Ron Finklestein, knows a little about success. Married for 30 years to wife Sheila, he’s raised two children Aaron and Emily. Impassioned about personal improvement and growth, Finklestein sports two Black Belts in karate and is preparing to release his third book, 49 Marketing Secrets (That Work) To Grow Sales. Cool Cleveland corralled Finklestein recently to talk about the upcoming book release and a myriad of other topics.

Cool Cleveland: Your adage is “Attitude is Everything.” How did it come to be your mantra?

Ron Finklestein: Attitude really is everything and I became aware of that in 2001 when I lost my job. I spent a year trying to figure out what was going on. I was ready to leave the area and go where the jobs were. My son Aaron was a senior in high school. The impact on him wasn’t as great as it was on my daughter Emily who was a sophomore at the time. I had a discussion with my daughter and I suggested that she stay here with her mother and then after graduating, we’d be together again or she’d be on her way to to college. During our conversation she said something that literally changed my life. She said, “I don’t want to be away from you for two years.” At that point I made three decisions. The first was that my problems were not my children’s problems and I was foolish for subjecting them to such stress-it will never happen again. The second was that my skills are good and there’s no reason I need to be unemployed, so I immediately started my company and hired myself. The third decision was that I would do something about the job situation in my hometown. I was tired of seeing my friends and family leave the region due to limited job opportunities…

Read the interview by Tim Zaun here

Links to interesting NEO blogs

“It’s amazing how most of us can be so nice to others“, part of the What I Like About Cleveland series.
The 22-block area straddling St. Clair and Superior avenues has been branded The Quarter.
Cleveland.com is annoying users with pop-up ads.
There’s a new bookstore in Tremont with “an ambiance of which Barnes & Noble could only dream.”
Lev Gonick recaps Red {an orchestra’s} performance in SL.
Defrag stimulates thoughts on companion planting for stimulating the regional economy.
Mayor Jackson and Councilman Zone let Governor Strickland know that SB117 would be extremely damaging to Cleveland.

Check the Cool Cleveland weblog here, where Peter Chakerian comments on the news of the week in the CC e-blast. When you’re through, add your own comments, questions and attitude. Letters@CoolCleveland.com.

Poignant pieces from Ralph Solonitz

“Solves two problems at once…saving the Marcel Breuer tower,
and creating an impressive inner belt bridge…”

Visit http://www.RalphStuff.com for more of Ralph’s stuff.

PD Bias Flagrant in Abatement Editorial

It took the Plain Dealer mere hours to slam Mayor Frank Jackson’s compromise offer on the overly generous 15 year, 100 percent residential tax abatements.

It’s the fastest the lethargic Pee Dee has moved in years.

The 15-year, 100 percent abatement policy is before City Council for renewal or alteration in the next couple of months.

Any time the PD can support an elite, establishment policy, the Monopoly Mouth is there in a sprint.

The editorial says that the CSU study was “paid for by the city.” Not true. One has to wonder why the editorial made such a mistake…

Read more from Roldo Bartimole here

It’s a Dancevert World

We have danced, performed, traveled, gigged and collaborated… all these creative activities that performers and choreographers do for a living all over. For many years, Ohio has been our home base (for several reasons) and the center of our activities. We have had our yearly seasons at The Playhouse, Ohio Theater, Cleveland Public Theater… you name it … we have stepped on all venues: outside parks in the July midday heat; in the snow, at schools, universities, churches, galleries, homes of people that love to have artists displaying their products… As we work in many schools during the year in Cleveland with educational program, we manage to take care of all our schedules, and travel to places were we are invited to present our work, mainly without censorship. This is the case with our most recent tour to gorgeous Quito, Ecuador, where we were invited to the 3rd biennial International Theater Festival to open and close the event. We performed at the Grand Sucre Theater right in the heart of Quito. The new president of Ecuador was to attend, but he regretted not to be present due to personal matters. However, we still got to meet him in a performance of the Ballet de Camera of Ecuador (a company that we worked with). We sat next to him… a great president, so far…

Read the comment from Susana Weingarten here

National Library Week Reflections
on the Cleveland Public Library

The Cleveland Public Library downtown is a gem. If it were a real gem it could be a diamond because of its longevity and faithfulness to its mission. Or it could be a ruby because of its energetic enthusiasm. It’s a place where anyone can go and smell, touch, open, and read books, and even take them home. It opens up the world to the people of our community that come together in Cleveland from diverse cultures and can read newspapers in their native tongue. The library hopes to encourage a love of reading, pursuit of knowledge, and enhance the quality of life of those it serves.

Soon, the Eastman Reading Garden will open! This gated city garden, sandwiched between the historic 1925 building and the Louis Stokes Wing completed in 1997, is the best place to sit and read in the summer. When the sculptured metal and bronze gates at the north and south entrances of the Eastman Reading Garden open, we’re welcome to sit on the benches or in the comfortable wire chairs, in the shade or in the dappled sun. Nothing evokes quiet repose like the tree-filled sanctuary in the city gentled by the soothing sound of flowing water.

When the garden was renovated in the late 20th century, sculptor Maya Lin created the sculpture called “Reading a Garden,” which features an L-shaped granite fountain with glasslike water floating on top then flowing down the sides and an abstract poem carved into the fountain with raised letters. Take the time to soak in the words, the water, the meaning of the work of art. But the fountain is only the focal point, “Reading a Garden” is the garden setting of mixed media interspersed throughout the garden. To enjoy it, one must slow down and leave the workday behind. The playful bronze figures who hang out in and around the garden were designed, along with the gates, by Tom Otterness.

Eastman Park opened in 1937 as an open air reading room dedicated to Linda Eastman. It was furnished with umbrellas, tables and racks of magazines. By 1961, the garden was surrounded by gates and featured a wall fountain, but had few shade trees. The garden was renamed and dedicated in 1960 after the tunnel between the two library buildings was constructed. Today, the space has grown up into a private oasis, a place to hide out.

In 1999, URS Consultants, Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates, and Robert P. Madison International were selected to renovate the original building and expand the library by building the new wing. The $24 million renovation of the main building returned it to its original glory by restoring the ceilings, shining up the leather doors, cleaning the marble, and refurbishing historic light fixtures. A substantial collection of permanent art includes beautiful murals in the great hall at the center of the building—one of our skyscraper skyline and another of pastoral public square in the 1800s. The $65 million Louis Stokes Wing was dedicated in 1997, and contains more than thirty miles of book shelves. Thirteen artists of local and national reputation created original art for the Main Library, the Louis Stokes wing, and the Eastman Reading Garden.

During National Library Week, investigate the Cleveland Public Library. Walk into its palace-like Main Building foyer and walk up the stairs by lamplight to where the large globe sits. Explore the upstairs shelves of books in the literature department. Sit down at one of the old-fashioned reading stations in the reference area of the grand hall, then walk into the foyer to take the stairs underground, underneath the gardens and over to the Louis Stokes Wing. Be amazed by the huge collection of books on tape, music, and film in the audio-visual department in the basement and try to resist taking more than two items with you. Walk up the cylindrical staircase in the modern silo structure to the first floor and check out the new books in the popular library. Then take the elevator to the sixth floor to find the maps collection.

In celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month, two community performances will take place in Jazz in the Afternoon this Thursday (Evelyn Wright) and Friday (vocalist Chloe Hopson from the Passport Project) at 3. The history of the Black Arts Movement, the key component of the Black Power Movement, will be explored by performance poet Mwatabu S. Okantah, on Saturday, at 2. Always a good place to find good books, the Spring 2007 Used Book Sale will take place during the week of April 22 from 10-3. Other regular library programs include the Fit for Life workshops, children’s story times and playtimes, a teen poetry club, computer classes, and the Ohio Center for the Book, which promotes books, reading, libraries, literacy, and authorship throughout Ohio with emphasis on Ohio’s literary heritage.

I had the pleasure of showing off the library to two full-fledged suburbanites this past weekend. They said it was like being on a tour of a foreign city, and they couldn’t get over how beautiful it was. The downtown Main Cleveland Public Library made me proud.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Claudia J. Taller ctallerwritesATwowway.com

The Force Within
Byron Nemeth Group
Pacifica

Byron Nemeth has been rocking Cleveland for a good long time. From his earlier days gigging with the band Amon-Ra through his namesake quartet today, the guy constantly strives to perfect his guitarcraft. Absorbing himself in his own work and pushing his creativity forward, Nemeth wears his influences like his heart — on his sleeve. Not that it’s a bad thing, mind you. It makes you wish that others were as honest. On The Force Within, those influencers are front and center with styles ranging from G3 guitarists Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Eric Johnson, to a venerable who’s who of progressive rock bands like Dream Theater. The results gleam like sleek black onyx. To wit, onyx is a crystal for releasing the past; Nemeth’s compositions are the antidote to all those local bands out there who go for “trendy.” The 9 songs (8 originals and a cover of the Beatles’ “I Am The Walrus”) focus on melodic, modern progressive rock with shades and layers of jazz-fusion grooves, film soundtrack dramatics and 1980s guitar hero histrionics…

Read the review by Peter Chakerian here

Quick reviews of recent events
Going out this weekend? Take along your PDA and your digital camera. Scratch out a few notes to send us with a picture of it for our Instant Karma real-world reviews of what’s really happening. We’d love to hear from you. Send your stuff to Events@CoolCleveland.com

All Shook Up @ Palace 4/10
Reasons to go: A splashy faux 50’s musical that takes Elvis songs and drops them into a tongue-in-cheek plot that’s part Footloose (a town rocked by a dancin’ stranger), part Hairspray (upbeat interracial romance), and a whole lotta Twelfth Night (girl becomes boy for love). The light-as-Cool Whip book by Joe Pietro (I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change) is successful pastiche, brought to life by a big cast with high-power voices and fine comic timing. From Susan Anton’s showgirl-on-steroids to Joe Mandragona’s sneer-and-ducktail roustabout to Jannie Jones’ gospel-inflected waitress to Dennis Moench’s lovesick nerd, the cast is engaging and charming.
Caveats: As the lovesick mechanic Natalie, Jenny Fellner has the pipes but not the charisma compared to the superb second bananas – she’s like a 75 watt bulb in a box full of halogens. And sure, it’s fluff, but it’s a darn sight better than most jukebox musicals — with fun production numbers and music you already know how to hum.
Details: Palace Theatre, Cleveland. 216-241-6000. Thru 4/22. http://www.playhousesquare.com
From Cool Cleveland contributor Linda Eisenstein LindaATcoolcleveland.com

All Shook Up @ Palace 4/10 At the conclusion of All Shook Up, now on stage at the Palace Theatre, half of the audience was standing and cheering. The rest were sitting, looking at the standees as if they were out of their minds. One well-known local theatre performer commented, “That was charming.” Another said, “What in heck (word change to protect the conservative readers) were the producers thinking… that was awful!”

All Shook Up is writer Joe DiPietro’s attempt to bridge together a story set in 1955 and the songs of Elvis Presley. The story line is trite, the characters are caricatures, the dancing is stylized (often done as if the cast was in an emotional time warp), the songs are blended into the dialogue with a shoe-horn, and the total effect is kitsch.

Into a small midwestern town rides Chad! He’s on a motorcycle, wears skin tight jeans, clinging t-shirt, has a twitching and thrusting pelvis, sings like a mediocre Elvis, makes women faint and scream, and causes general hyper-testosterone chaos. Before he leaves, he falls in love with a sexy female museum director (Miss Sandra), who rejects him, and then with a guy (Ed), who is actually a girl (Natalie). Ms. Sandra falls for the guy (Ed) who is really a girl (Natalie), but then switches allegiances to Dennis, a nerdy future dentist, who is in love with the girl (Natalie) but not her alter-ego, the guy (Ed).

Natalie’s father is in hot pursuit of Miss Sandra, but winds up with Sylvia, the Black owner of a bar whose daughter (Lorraine) is in love with Dean, the daughter of the town’s up tight, racist mayor, Matilda. Matilda, in turn is in love with… okay, this could go on and on, but you get the idea. West Side Story this is not. It doesn’t even reach the literary level of the “other” Elvis musical, Bye Bye Birdie. But it is so ditzy, that it’s funny and lends itself to moaning over the idiocy.

Wedged into the plot are numerous rock ‘n roll mega hits, including “Jailhouse Rock (where the rocker finds himself because he lead the local town boys astray),” “Heartbreak Hotel” (in this case referring to the graveyard at the end of the road) and “One Night With You” (sung in all sorts of coupling situations). At one time or another almost the entire cast wears and warbles about their “Blue Suede Shoes.”

The touring company covers the extremes of talent and background. Susan Anton, a long time Broadway star, sings up a storm as Miss Sylvia, though her acting is paper thin. Her “There’s Always Me” stopped the show. She brought down the house with her one-liner describing the parochial nature of the play’s setting: “This town makes me miss Parma.”

Professional newcomer Joe Manddragona, who plays rocker Chad, is shorter than would be expected for the macho male lead. All the females tower over him (which may have been another of those unintentionally intentional deeds of the director). He makes up for his height with smoldering good looks, a mobile pelvis and a fairly good voice. His dancing is so down pat he almost looks like a robot and some of his lines are on the same emotional level.

Dennis Moench as nerdy Dennis, has the best voice in the cast and wins over the audience with a well-defined characterization (think Eugene in Grease and Hugo in Bye Bye Birdie). His “It Hurts Me” is poignantly tender.

Jannie Jones whales as Sylvia, the bar owner, though she goes off-key in spots. Tracee Beazer is perky and sings well as Sylvia’s daughter. Jenny Fellner is undistinguished in the roles of Natalie/Ed.

The All Shook Up band rocks, sometimes too loudly, but that only enhances the over-all effect.

Director Christopher Ashley knows what he’s doing. Taking this material seriously would have highlighted the weaknesses of the script. By playing for exaggeration, creating caricatures and making the whole experience bigger than life he creates a living comic book. The results? The audience laughs through their moans and bewilderment.

Capsule judgment: All Shook Up” is the kind of show that audiences will love or hate. It’s going to depend on your mood and expectations. If you go in knowing there is a very slight story line (and even referring to it as a story line is an exaggeration), that is both unrealistic and obvious, and just let yourself get carried away by the over-the top performances, obvious choreography and transparent means used to hook the Elvis Presley fueled songs together, you’ll have a blast. If not, you’ll leave at intermission. “C’mon Everybody” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Let Yourself Go,” and you “Can’t Help Falling in Love” with All Shook Up.”

The show runs through April 22 at the Palace Theatre in Playhouse Square. For tickets call 241-6000, 800-766-6048 or go online to http://www.playhousesquare.com.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Roy Berko royberkoATyahoo.com

Roy Berko’s blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2002 through 2007, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info

Research ShowCASE @ Veale Convocation Center, CWRU 4/12 Looks can be deceiving. At first glance, walking up and down the aisles, the products and posters on display at the 5th annual Research ShowCASE event looked like another typical industrial trade show. But in fact, no way, not at all. Some 500 researchers and scientists from Case, affiliating academic institutions, and neighboring medical centers ventured beyond their specialty areas, their silos, and joined together for two days of collaboration to highlight their research projects. Research ShowCASE attendees saw into the future, the research happening now in basic and applied science, education, public health, and the humanities.

Dexter, the autonomous self-driving robotic vehicle in a dune buggy-style chassis, was one of the celebrity stars in attendance. Team Case, a group of about 50 faculty, students, alumni and industry consultants, is re-engineering Dexter to compete in the upcoming (November 3) Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Urban Challenge.

Dexter is loaded with sensors and computers to help it analyze and integrate where the vehicle is in space. Dexter must be able to navigate city streets, respond to other vehicles, obey traffic signs, and finish the 60-mile course in less than 6 hours to win the grand $2 million prize. Good luck Team Case!

The Bionic Man must have asked a family relative to attend this event. A man sitting in a wheelchair explained that he had suffered an incomplete spinal cord injury at level C6/C7. He had control over his left leg but not his right leg. Working with the Cleveland FES (Functional Electrical Stimulation) Center, this man had 8 electrodes implanted into his non-functional leg to stimulate the muscles. Using a preprogrammed control device, he is now able to stand, walk for short distances with a walker, and live independently.

The multimedia demonstrations fascinated people making them stop, look, and listen. Three dimensional video cameras and TV monitors allowed viewers to have a real sense of space and experience more of the filmed environment. Plasma TVs, replacing static posters, were alive with research information as they changed formats providing live close-ups and action video clips. For me, a non-science person, this event turned into a Wow-Awesome, How-Did-They-Do-That? Research ShowCASE.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Susan Schaul susn1ATatt.net

Infinite Variety: Cleveland Orchestra @ Severance Hall 4/12 Midway through the Haydn Symphony No. 103 “Drum Roll” I was struck by the many contrasts between it and the piece which led off the program, Lontano by György Ligeti, and I made the notation: Infinite Variety of Sounds. I had no idea that phrase would so perfectly describe the entire concert, which concluded with the Brahms Piano Concerto 2 featuring Emanual Ax as soloist.

When Ligeti wrote his piece in the 1960s, shimmering sound was a very popular factor in composition. Sometimes there’s just one note, sometimes a chord. Volume may increase or decrease as various instruments join in or drop out of the communal effort. Notes are passed from one area of the orchestra to another, but little actually happens. Music director Franz Welser-Möst kept balances intact while herding the notes from one instrument group to another.

By contrast the military-like cadence on the tympani that led off the Haydn symphony seemed almost clangorous! It certainly garnered attention, and sent the melodious strains that followed into musical motion. The basses accompanied the tympani of Paul Yancich at one point, in an interesting sort of duet. Concertmaster William Preucil’s solo in the second movement andante was a demonstration of how it might have been done during the era when the symphony was composed—late 1794. It was very nearly an ornamented and embellished obbligato, soaring over the orchestra.

This symphony was not exactly an example of the composer’s usual jauntiness, but when one can hear such gorgeous sonorities performed so beautifully, who cares? It was a compelling performance.

Johannes Brahms had at least a slight case of inferiority complex, following so closely as he did in Beethoven’s footsteps. He remarked on it many times in reference to his symphonies, especially the first one, over which he labored for some twenty years. As a pianist of some renown, he didn’t have quite the angst as a composer of concertos (and other piano works) as he did the symphony, but still, one wonders why on earth he persisted in his ‘tiny, tiny piano concerto with a tiny, tiny wisp of a scherzo’ as he wrote in a letter to his friend Elisabet von Herzogenberg. Another friend (and pianist) Clara Schumann knew better, and how right she was! This concerto is the most grand (and probably most terrifying) example in the repertoire!

It requires a pianist of truly formidable talent and skill to wind his/her way through the torrents of notes contained within for nearly fifty minutes of intense music making! On this occasion, it was Emanual Ax, who fits that description to a certainty. Beginning with the beautiful opening notes of Richard King, principal horn through the final notes of the sprightly fourth movement that were drowned out by the cheers and shouts and applause, it was an experience not soon forgotten. Throughout (with one small period in the beginning of the third movement andante) the pianist works overtime with dense chords and melodies that traverse the keyboard from one end to the other. It’s hard to believe, even while watching it happen, that it’s only ten fingers producing all that sound from the glistening Hamburg Steinway.

That third movement section which allows the pianist to rest is occupied by the principal cellist, in this case Desmond Hoebig, in an extended, very exposed, solo. It was gorgeously done.

Mr. Ax was appreciative, too. Never before, in all the times I’ve been privileged to hear this concerto in person have I observed the artist’s bows to unfold in just this manner. When coming out for his solo bow, Mr. Ax went into the cello section, emerging hand-in-hand with Mr. Hoebig, and insisting that the two of them share the bow! Next time around when Mr. Welser-Möst accompanied Mr. Ax to the forefront, once again Mr. Ax commandeered Mr. Hoebig to appear with them as a trio at the front of the stage, bowing in unison. It was a lovely gesture and entirely appropriate!

On Thursday and Saturday evenings this week, Music Director Franz Welser-Möst conducts a program of Bach, Stravinsky and Verdi, assisted by Joela Jones, piano soloist in the Stravinsky and the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus in the Verdi. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 216.231.1111 or visit the web-site: http://www.clevelandorchestra.com

On Friday evening, April 20, Mr. Welser-Möst will present a lecture about the June presentation of Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss in Reinberger Chamber Hall at Severance Hall. Although there is no charge to attend, reservations are required (call 216.231.1111 or visit the web-site: http://www.clevelandorchestra.com). In addition, the lecture will be recorded by WCLV FM/104.9, for broadcast on Saturday May 12, at 1:30 p.m. After April 24, it will be available as an audio file at http://www.wclv.com. The lecture will also be videotaped by the Cuyahoga County Public Library system and available to the public via a link at clevelandorchestra.com after Tuesday, May 1.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriterATadelphia.net

Cleveland Pops and the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, Side By Side @ Severance Hall 4/13 In musical theater, the overture frequently is a mini-preview of what’s to come, complete with bits and pieces of songs which will be presented in more detail during the coming performance. If that philosophy applied to Paul Ferguson’s Jazz Overture, which led off this concert Friday evening, then I’d be in line to hear the entire show! (For example: the overture to Gershwin’s Crazy for You which led off the second half teased us with snippets of I’ve Got Rhythm, Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me and Stairway to Paradise. Great example!) The occasion for these wonderful musical events was the second version of a side by side concert by the Cleveland Pops Orchestra and the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra.

It just so happens that Mr. Ferguson is the principal trombonist for each of these erstwhile groups. In addition he’s a brilliant composer and arranger, and not too shabby when it comes to putting down interesting licks on his chosen instrument—the trombone. He demonstrated that ability, as well, playing the solo he wrote in to the overtrue for the principal trombone player, who just happened to be himself! And why not? The piece started with the strings, then morphed into some serious jazz, before engaging in a slight, but friendly duel to the background of Latin rhythms.

Cleveland Pops Orchestra is primarily conducted by its founder and music director Carl Topilow, while the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra is usually led its music director Jack Schantz, although not always. This side by side concert placed the CJO on stage left, more or less all together, with the strings of the CPO on stage right with winds and brass to the rear, merging with the CJO.

As always there were medleys: two vocal and two instrumental. One of the latter came next in a tribute to big bands of the past: Stan Kenton’s Big Band and Artistry in Rhythm; Glenn Miller Orchestra with Little Brown Jug; Les Brown’s Band of Renown and Sentimental Journey and the Count Basie Big Band with One O’Clock Jump, all as performed by the Pops.

Recently, the CJO released a CD titled The Surprise of Being, a suite written and arranged by its bassist Dave Morgan. The title piece, is a brassy, big band type of sound, with saxophones wailing here and there and a flugelhorn solo by Mr. Schantz in this really rhythmically strong work. Another selection from the suite is Marking Time, in which the drummer, Mark Gonder, turns off the snares as he engages in a duet with Kent Englehardt’s sax. This one also featured the vibraphone of Ron Busch.

The first of the vocal medleys was an arrangement of three old standards by Mr. Ferguson, for the crystalline voiced Helen Welch, once-upon-a-time from Britain, but now an Ohioan. She’s an enthusiastic entertainer, as demonstrated on The Trolley Song, I’ll Be Seeing You and Walking After Midnight, originally made popular by the country singer Patsy Cline. It worked very well in the big city!

The other vocal medley, also arranged by Mr. Ferguson, was for Barbara Hesse, incorporating wonderful tunes by Harold Arlen. The two women are totally different in style and presentation, but both were wonderful singers and exceedingly adept at putting over a song. It’s great to be able to understand every word! Among the Arlen favorites were Over the Rainbow (with Mr. Schantz doing the honors on trumpet), Come Rain or Come Shine, Stormy Weather (along with Mr. Engelhardt), Get Happy, Paper Moon, I’ve Got a Right to Sing the Blues (with Mr. Ferguson), and Today I Love Everybody.

After the Arlen medley, Mr. Topilow left the stage, but quickly returned carrying his colorful (red, white and green) clarinet for his stint as a ‘bad’ guy and the Theme from ‘The Godfather’. When the rhythm changed to a Latin beat, he switched back to the normal ebony clarinet and really gave it his all. Following this were two selections from West Side Story, which this year is celebrating 50 years on stage. Hard to believe. But the Taunting Scene and Somewhere, as arranged by Stan Kenton really moved! The CJO did full justice to the bold and brassy requirements of the former, punctuated by brilliant percussion and a gorgeous solo by Mr. Engelhardt. Pianist Rock Wehrmann had a neat bridge to the CPOs Somewhere, in a big, bold, and beautiful rendition.

After having heard the CJO in the Strayhorn/Ellington Nutcracker Suite last December, I was eager to hear Scheherajazz, a jazzy treatment of the second movement of the famous Rimsky-Korsakov orchestral showpiece, as arranged by the CJOs founder Roland Paolucci. Framed as a duel, sort of, between the two groups, it didn’t work nearly as well. It begins in a pretty straightforward manner with strings and a gorgeous bassoon solo (Renee Dee) and then, maybe 32 bars in, all of sudden—wowzer! This section was big and brassy, it just didn’t last long enough. Some portions swung nicely. However, if the two groups weren’t exactly enemies, they weren’t exactly peaceful collaborators, either.

How High the Moon brought the happy musical evening to a close, featuring both conductors on their respective instruments, plus Scott Garlock on trombone in a swinging, festive rendition.

The next concert by the Cleveland Pops Orchestra will be May 25 in Severance Hall. For tickets or other information, call 765-7677 or online at: http://www.clevelandpops.com.

For information about upcoming concerts by the CJO, call 440-942-9525 or visit the website: http://www.clevelandjazz.org.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriterATadelphia.net

That Red Guy, a.k.a A Red Couch Floating in Lake Erie @ Masonic Auditorium, 4/14 One thing you can always count on at a concert by Red {an orchestra} is that you can’t really count on anything of a pre-conceived notion. It’ll get up-ended, every time. And that can only be a good thing! At least twice during the five years of Red’s existence, we’ve been treated to music composed by or arranged by Jonathan Sheffer, Music Director of Red. This time, however, it was all music by Sheffer. Well, at least nearly so. True, the first music was a re-working of six J. S. Bach preludes, now known as The New-Tempered Clavier.

In 1996 or thereabouts, Sheffer decided to see how they’d work had they been written by composers of the minimalist school. His arrangements are for a fairly small string orchestra with one of each wind and brass instrument, but a wide array of percussion, particularly the tuned variety such as marimbas, xylophones and piano. The marimbas, especially, provided a sort of ‘rippling’ effect, and the total was, in places, much like a huge organ. Seems to me that the Prelude in C Major from Book I is in the Philip Glass style, but I couldn’t guess the others. I did find them all enjoyable, however.

If you didn’t know you were listening to a soprano saxophone in his concerto Romp, a lot of the time you wouldn’t know it was that somewhat unfamiliar instrument. In the hands and lips of Anders Paulsson, the Swedish musician for whom the concerto was composed, the instrument at various times took on the aura of an oboe, english horn, clarinet, flute or its larger cousins alto and tenor sax. Amazing! In addition to this amazing variety of sounds, there were also harmonics (two or more notes at the same time!) and purely gorgeous, sweet sounds emanating from his instrument.

Romp used a larger orchestra than the Bach pieces, especially noticeable for the persistent and frequently raucous percussion. There were bursts of flutter-tonguing from the trumpets, along with xylophones tingling in the background. Near the end the solo saxophone engaged in a dialogue with the snare drum. The drum may have been a bit snarky, but the sax enjoyed a charming, if plaintive melody, which curiously enough, complemented each other nicely.

Both of these were from about ten years ago, while the second half of the program gave us the world premiere of A Red Couch Floating in Lake Erie, or “A Symphony of Songs”. It’s truly a Cleveland inspiration. It will always be uniquely ours, but we’d be willing to share it with the world. A bit more than a year ago, Sheffer discovered the book Cleveland in Prose and Poetry, edited by Bonnie Jacobson, for the Poet’s and Writer’s League of Greater Cleveland. Within days, the libretto came into being using poems, mostly by Cleveland poets, plus a few prose statements from famous folks who visited here.

Having been at least a part-time resident of Cleveland for four years by then, Sheffer was able to capture our community’s psyche completely. The libretto divided itself into five parts: Symbols, Music, Sports, Weather and Regeneration. It took about three months to compose the 45 minute work, and another four to complete the orchestration. It’s scored for a large orchestra and five singers: soprano, mezzo, tenor and two baritones. In order, the excellent singers were Andrea Chenoweth, Nichol Larimer, both recent graduates of CIM, tenor Carl Halvorson and baritones Andrew Garland and James Martin. They were all truly marvelous.

The only complaint I might offer is that because of the sometimes strange acoustics in Masonic Auditorium, the words were not always distinguishable. Generally, if there was only one singer, that worked fine, and sometimes duets, but when all five ventured out together, it was slightly mushy. At times, balance wasn’t exact between orchestra and singers, either, but then, it’s hard to judge without an audience, too. I suspect that if it’s done again—say in a year or so—some of the bugs will have worked themselves out by then.

Sheffer writes wonderfully well for singers, not expecting them to make leaps from one end of their range to the other, and generally placing the notes well within their respective ranges. This is good for both singer and audience.

The large orchestra really dug in and produced massive chunks of sound when requested by the composer/conductor. At the other extreme, Lake Effect set to words by Helen Keller who was here during a blizzard in 1913, was magnificent in its quietness. Ms. Chenoweth displayed elegance and poignancy in her portrayal of the stillness found in the middle of a blizzard.

Sheffer recognized two of the local poets who were in the audience: George Bilgere and Robert McDonough, plus other notables, Ohio Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher, U. S. Senator Sherrod Brown, and his wife, the Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Connie Schultz.

Another ‘world premiere’ was the live digital simulcast of an American orchestra into the 3D virtual web world called Second Life. More info is available through http://www.secondlife.com.

For tickets or other information about Red {an orchestra} call 361-1733 or visit the website: http://www.redanorchestra.com

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriterATadelphia.net

A Colored Funeral @ Karamu 4/15
What works: It’s the hard-working ensemble cast of five that brings most of the pleasure to Gregory Carr’s vaudeville-like evening of sketches and songs about the many unhealthy ways we court the Reaper. Even though the many changes slow things down, Harold Crawford’s costumes dazzle.
Scissors, please: The evening’s way too long; 10 punchy vignettes would be better than 20 that meander and repeat. The humor works better than the more serious monologues, which drip with sentimentality and preachiness: you haven’t heard this many warnings since a medieval morality play.
Details: Karamu, thru 5/6. http://www.karamu.com.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Linda Eisenstein LindaATcoolcleveland.com

Tri-C 2007 Annual Juried Student Exhibition @ Tri-C Western Campus – Gallery West 4/15 From exacting perspective drawings to bold, deliberate paintings you’ll be impressed with the gifted student artists at Tri-C Western Campus. You’ll be even more impressed when you realize that many of the entrants are from the Drawing I classes where no previous drawing experience is required. One of my favorites is a single point perspective by Linda Muha whose ability to turn paper and charcoal into gleaming glass baffles me. The annual juried exhibition formally opens April 25 with a reception and awards ceremony but you have until June 16 to view the works free of charge. Gallery West is located on the second floor of the library. Check out the Tri-C website for hours and specific directions but in a nutshell, no matter where you park or which doorway you enter, all hallways lead to the atrium where you’ll easily find the library and the show. http://www.tri-c.edu/gallerywest. From Cool Cleveland contributor Nan Frost nanettehfATsbcglobal.net

Writers and Readers Series: Michael Chabon @ CPL 4/15 It was a mind-expanding adventure. The stage backdrop in the basement auditorium of the Louis Stokes Wing dubs the Cleveland Public Library the People’s University. Block posters focus on the myriad programs available for “enhancing the quality of life for a diverse community,” including the YRead? Youth Unite Through Books program. The auditorium was packed for Pulitzer-prize winning writer Michael Chabon’s April 15 appearance as part of the Writers and Readers Series. The audience was as energized as a Cleveland Film Festival crowd, and, like the Film Festival, the demographics varied.

The crowd came together to see and hear Michael Chabon, who emerged in 1988 with his first novel The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, written for his master’s thesis at the University of California at Irvine, after achieving his bachelor’s degree at the University of Pittsburgh. The writer was introduced by something he’s said: he reads for entertainment and writes to entertain. He seemed pleased by the size of his audience, relating a recent appearance he made in Orange County (he lives in Berkeley with wife Ayelet Waldman and their four children) where only a few people showed. He admitted that his life’s work, a mix of reflection on Jewishness and genre fiction, was really about the search for home.

Michael Chabon was engaging, sharp, witty, intelligent, thoughtful, and human as he told the story of how he came upon a little book about Yiddish in a book store and was amused. He wrote an essay about the absurdity of a guide to little-spoken Yiddish called Guidebook to a Land of Ghosts, which was published by Civilization Magazine. He is an American Jew living in exile, which is why he has been searching.

Up until he found that little book, presumably when he was writing The Mysteries of Pittsburgh and Wonder Boys, Chabon’s back was turned on his Jewish heritage. He also gave up science fiction writing when the genre was summarily dismissed in college writing classes. In both instances, he was trying to fit in—he was not going to be a typical Jewish boy and he was not going to be a writer of genre fiction. As he said, “he grooved along in my lostness.”

He article in Civilization Magazine ruffled some feathers. He angered lovers of the native tongue and profoundly hurt the widow co-author of the book on Yiddish, whose husband was a beloved scholar. This event caused Chabon to realize how ignorant he was about his people, and he was ashamed. He turned around, towards Judaism.

His first novel was about a protagonist in a romantic triangle with a man and a woman who chose neither in the end, affirming a bisexual nature, and it was set in Pittsburgh’s colorful Oakland neighborhood. The second novel was drawn from his own frustrated efforts to write his yet-unpublished Fountain City — it is the story of a writer going through a divorce and not able to finish a novel. The author was finding his failure through writing, as writers are meant to do, and Wonder Boys was written in a seven-month whirlwind.

In 2000, he published The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, a tale set in the 1930s and 40s about two guys who write comic books after the one cousin escapes from Europe with a Gollum. The book was more richly woven with Jewish culture and more complex than his previous books, and in 2001, Chabon won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Since then, Chabon has written the novella The Final Solution, about a Sherlock Holmes-like character, a favorite childhood topic. He created the Dark Horse Comics project The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist, a quarterly anthology series about one of the comic book characters from his comic-book novel. His serialized novel called Gentlemen of the Road debuted in The New York Times Magazine in January 2007. As a screenplay writer, he wrote Spiderman 2.

His latest novel, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, is to be released in May; it promises to be a thriller set in an imaginary world inspired by Franklin Roosevelt’s short-lived plan to create a Jewish homeland in Alaska. After the author’s presentation, the questions raised by the audience during Chabon’s session ranged from how to find solitude to write, advice on screen writing, whether his wife is writing another book, to his feelings about Yiddish today. The afternoon series gives writers and readers a chance to connect.

The Poets and Writers Series has featured 42 writers over its history. So far this year Erin Gruwell and Connie Briscoe have made appearances. Thrity Umrigar is the guest on May 20. This is only one of the rich programs inspired by The Cleveland Public library, whose vision is to be a “learning place for a diverse community, inspiring people of all ages with the love of books and reading, advancing the pursuit of knowledge, and enhancing the quality of life for all who use the library.”

From Cool Cleveland contributor Claudia J. Taller ctallerwritesATwowway.com

Red {an orchestra}’s Red Rock & Bowl

Name one other orchestra that would host a benefit in a bowling alley! Of course, it’s Red {an orchestra}, well-known for doing the ordinary in an extraordinary way. (Or is it the other way around?) Of course, The Corner Alley isn’t just any old bowling alley either. If you’ve been wanting to try it out, here’s your excuse – and it’s all for a good cause. Cough up enough pins, and you’ll even get a tax deduction! Red Rock & Bowl is the name of this game. Thu 4/26, starting at 6PM is when you’ll want to gather yourself and your bowling shirt and shoes and head for E. 4th and Euclid, and the hot new spot. If you’re a 20-something, they have a deal just for you! Donation levels get clever names, from Alley Cats and Spare Me, to Lucky Strikes. Your donation is tax deductible and there are lots of other perks, including VIP privileges—complimentary valet parking, program and event recognition and a voucher for two tickets to a RED 2007-2008 performance. If you’re a “Kingpin” (clearly the high-roller donation category!) that gets you the above, plus your very own designated lane. How cool is that?! There will be spirits, music, food, fun and dancing, plus Red’s Rockin’ Silent Auction. For tickets or more information, call the Red office: 361-1733 or go to: http://www.redanorchestra.org.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriterATadelphia.net

Hackers Unite at Notacon 4

What exactly is a Hackercon? Most people who know are likely tech savvy and familiar with the Big Daddy of them all, Defcon, which will be held in Las Vegas this year. We Clevelanders have our own spectacular “tech-geek” computer hacker event that is beginning to gain a lot of notoriety outside of Northeast Ohio, though not mentioned much in town itself. It’s called Notacon and if conversations with past attendees are any indication, it’s an intriguing and fun tech/networking experience.

Notacon celebrates its 4th incarnation this year, focusing on computer generated audio-visual demos written by artists, hacker knowledge sharing communities, VoIP and amateur radio, grid computing and “anything but ethernet,” to quote Notacon catalyst Paul “Froggy” Schneider. Collaboration and camaraderie is key. Play games, enter contests, explore Cleveland with the Notacon scavenger hunt and even try your hand at Powerpoint karaoke. It’s a whirlwind experience, to say the very least. Notacon drops next weekend, April 27-29 at the Holiday Inn Select City Centre on Lakeside; City of Cleveland Tech Czar Michael DeAloia serves as Notacon keynote speaker. Most of the advance “pre-reg” tickets are gone already. So act fast and register for the event here. Next week, Cool Cleveland talks with the Notacon gang over coffee, tea and LOLcanos about the event. Learn more about Notacon online at http://www.notacon.org and hear their recent Meet.The.Bloggers* conversation here.

From Cool Cleveland Managing Editor Peter Chakerian peterATcoolcleveland.com

Cool Cleveland readers write
We encourage our readers to speak out by sending us letters and commentary. Send your letters to Letters@CoolCleveland.com. You must include your full name (required) and you may include your e-mail address (optional). You may also create a new Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail e-mail address and submit it with your letter. Letters submitted to Cool Cleveland, or edited portions, may be published in an upcoming issue of Cool Cleveland at our discretion.

Send your letters to: Letters@CoolCleveland.com

On a Medical Mart in Cleveland (See Medical Mart for Cleveland? here, which linked to our post on BrewedFreshDaily) Responses to our initial blog posting were numerous and varied. Here’s a sample:

• “The moral of the story is that, when the county’s bought-and-paid-for leaders start talking once again about giving good ol’ Forest City yet another chance at a nice, fat windfall, it’s time to guard your wallet very carefully.” comment by Denise
• “What is good for the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, the bio-tech sector, hotels, Forest City and the over all health of the corporate community is good for Cleveland. Med Mart would also add life to Public Square and Tower City. With the renovation underway, the Higbees building already looks 100 percent better. I’m surprised that the same people who complain about the lack of downtown shopping and retail are also so quick to let Tower City disintegrate.” comment by Brandon
• “Very thoughtful and provacative arguments on all sides, but one thing has always bothered me about projects like this MedMart/ConventionCenter: if this is going to be so successful WHY wouldnt the private sector want to build it, own it and run it ?” comment by Bob Preuss

Click over to the blog to read the original post, the (52+) responses, and to add your own comment: http://www.brewedfreshdaily.com/2007/04/09/re-the-medical-mart/#comments

On colorblind justice in NEO (See Justice not colorblind in Cuyahoga County here) Dear Judge Sutula: I have just finished reading Justice not colorblind in Cuyahoga County: Unequal sentences prove it. It sadness me greatly to see such an influential women use her powerful role in society to cause unjust to another women (Robbie Moore, a 30-year-old Black woman). I was taught many values during my childhood. One was that women were just as capable as men, and were to be treated equally. It wasn’t until my late teens, in the late 1990’s, that I understood differently. When I confronted my mother on why I was not aware that there was so much inequality to women, her response was, “I was hoping by the time you reach an age where you would comprehend that women were treated differently; it would no longer be the case.” Since this I have gone on to pursue a male-dominated career. During this time, I have seen women being treated unfairly, or not as an equal to male counterparts. It is ironic to me that about half the time I see this injustice, it is actually women themselves that treat other women as they are in a second-class to men. I now ask why women would do this to other women?
from Cool Cleveland reader Heather Mason-Suares hmm9ATcase.edu

Dear Judge Sutula: I fully support the sentence you imposed on Robbie Moore. With the info I have re. her “license suspension” as in the article I read, I can see the reduction by 4 years on the sentence. I also know that with parole and time served that practically no one serves their full sentence. My only question is – Why is no one objecting to the lower sentence given to James Skolsky? Maybe the question should be why is the sentence so lenient for a white man with a previous DUI rather than why so harsh on a black female. And sex and race should not be a factor in any case. It is time that those who drink excessively and then kill someone must receive the same punishment whether they use a gun or a car.
from Cool Cleveland reader Jack Seemuth retiredguy42AToh.rr.com

Dear Judge Sutula: The report of the 20 year sentence to a black woman, (Robbie Moore,) while a white man,(James Skolsky,) got a one day sentence from you for the same basic crime is not right. I want a society and a justice system that is fair. It is wrong to penalize a black person more than a white person for a similar crime. It is even more wrong to settle upon such a huge disparity in the punishment. It is even worse, when the woman had no previous DUI, while the man did. He should get the more severe sentence. I am white, so since you respect whites more than blacks, maybe you will listen to my opinion. In my opinion, a racist like you is not fit to judge others in court. You should wise up. I want you impeached.
from Cool Cleveland reader Martha Lois martha.lois@sbcglobal.net

Please don’t misunderstand my comment about this case because I completely agree with one sentence being more harsh than the other. However, I do not agree that this situation is not about race, or gender. The first words written for this article was: Robbie Moore, a 30-year-old Black woman, and James Skolsky, a 32-year-old White man, so the fact that your pointing out this is not a racial issue, is not true. Had the article been started without the races, ages, or genders, it may have been a little easier to agree with this. I am an African American woman, and I still get tired of articles, statements, comment, etc. stating: “This is not a racial matter, however, the people that were done wrong were of color.” It is just crazy to contradict yourself like this. Yes, I agree being African American may come with some disadvantages; however, these disadvantages are due to stereotypes that people can’t seem to get over. This issue is about unfair justice, lets focus on the preliminaries of that, and not on the external factors.
from Shaleena Brown shaleena_brownATyahoo.com

On the Cleveland Orchestra/OperaCleveland schedule conflict Dear Kelly, I read your recent post in the Cool Cleveland e-newsletter expressing disappointment that Franz Welser-Möst’s Der Rosenkavalier lecture and opening night of OperaCleveland’s inaugural season both are scheduled on this Friday, April 20. We regret the conflict of these two important events. We did explore adjusting the lecture date, but unfortunately it was not possible due to Franz’s rehearsal and performance schedule and the many rental and community activities scheduled at Severance Hall this spring. Franz has many insights to share about Richard Strauss and his works. For those who are unable to attend in person on April 20, we are offering access to Franz’s lecture in the following ways:

• On Saturday, May 12 at 1:30PM WCLV 104.9 FM will broadcast the lecture.
• As of April 25, the lecture will be available as an audio file on http://www.wclv.com.
• The lecture will be videotaped by the Cuyahoga County Public Library system, and will be available via a link on http://www.clevelandorchestra.com after May 1.

We hope that you, and others who will be attending OperaCleveland’s Salomé performance on April 20, will have the opportunity to listen and view the lecture on Der Rosenkavalier through one of these alternative options. I am a great supporter of the new Opera Cleveland and wish them every success as they launch their first season. Thank you and Cool Cleveland for your attentive and complete coverage of The Cleveland Orchestra and of all the wonderful arts in Cleveland. Thank you again for bringing your concern to my attention.
from Cool Cleveland reader Gary Hanson, Executive Director, The Cleveland Orchestra

Send your letters to: Letters@CoolCleveland.com

Most clicked
Here are the Top 5 from last week’s issue, with one more chance for you to click.

1) Interview Peter Chakerian talks to Lola chef Michael Symon.
www.CoolCleveland.com

2) Sneak peek at Cleveland’s new brand Get a sneak peak at the campaign targets, who’s behind it, and how you can get involved.
www.GCPartnership.com

3) Lesbians invade Cleveland for NCAA Women’s Final Four, drop $25M, and the CVB rejoices.
www.Newhouse.com

4) Dine Without the Whine Cool Kitchens for Kids.
www.CoolCleveland.com

5) Straight Outta Mansfield Justice not colorblind in Cuyahoga County and unequal sentences prove it.
www.CoolCleveland.com

But Seriously The Hard Corps are serious about Cleveland. Give ’em all some love. Hurrah and hizzah to Peter Chakerian, T.L. Champion, George Nemeth, Mansfield B. Frazier, Jennifer Keirn, Claudia J. Taller, Roldo Bartimole, Kelly Ferjutz, Roy Berko, Nan Frost, Susan Schaul, Linda Eisenstein, Tim Ferris, Gloria Ferris, Wendell Robinson and Tim Zaun. And lastly, though certainly not least, thanks to our readers and everyone who partners with us. Want to volunteer and contribute your writing to Cool Cleveland? Send your reviews, articles, or story ideas to: Events@CoolCleveland.com.

Download the Cool Cleveland podcast each week at http://www.CoolCleveland.com. Click on the Cool Cleveland Blog here. Listen to Cool Cleveland on WCLV-FM 104.9 twice each Friday during drive time. Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com, and your letters to: Letters@CoolCleveland.com. For your copy of the free weekly Cool Cleveland e-zine, go to http://www.CoolCleveland.com.

Fun is where you find it,
–Thomas Mulready
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