Holiday Style

11.24-12.01

Holiday Style

In this week’s issue:
* Cool Cleveland People with Brussels-born fashion designer and entrepreneur Anne van Hauwaert
* Cool Cleveland holiday party A/T/D/11 on 12/17 at the ARTcade: register here
* Talking Loud Saying Everything Interview with the IllStyle Rockers by Vince Robinson
* Cool Cleveland Commentary Is Art Artificial by Marcus Bales
* Cool Cleveland Writer with Joshua Gage’s Cleveland poem By Grey Erie’s Shores

Cool Cleveland People
Anne van Hauwaert

Cool Cleveland: How did you get from Brussels to Cleveland and adapt to life here?
My husband’s company was transferring him and he had a choice to move to Cleveland, Pittsburgh or Detroit. We picked Cleveland because we had been told it was nice and because of the art. My husband investigated what I could do with art and he discovered CIA [Cleveland Institute of Art] for me…

When did you begin your business?
My designer beginnings in Cleveland began when I could not find clothes I liked, and I started making them for myself. People saw my designs and wanted them, small stores like Ohio Signature in Shaker Square [now closed]. After a while I decided to open a boutique in Little Italy; this was 17 years ago.

Why Little Italy?
I started very small, there was no way I could open in Beachwood or a place like that; and I liked the art and ambience of Little Italy – I am an artist myself – that is why I liked it. I also like Little Italy because it is a niche that is hard to find, people need to seek it out…
Read Cool Cleveland People with Anne van Hauwaert here

Cool Cleveland Party: Holiday Romp

Club Cool Now unique holiday gifts are within reach. Are you hunting down a hip holiday gift, but don’t have time to shop? Be one of the first to discover our new “Club Cool” membership. Give the gift of cool threads, a ticket to one of the best parties of the year, and a chance to win lunch with CC impresario Thomas Mulready. To take advantage of this special offer, click here. Makes an excellent gift for yourself and others.

Attention Artists A limited number of tables are available for Cleveland artists wishing to offer their art, jewelry, holiday gifts and wearable art at the upcoming Cool Cleveland Art/Tech/Dance event on Fri 12/17 from 5-8PM at the ARTcade. Sell your work and gain access to hundreds of cool Clevelanders in the holiday mood. Full and half tables available. Contact Deby Cowdin at Vivid Art Gallery at 241-7624 or Deby@VividArtGallery.com.

Cleveland vs. Vegas: guess who wins? When Cool Cleveland interviewed former Utne editor Jay Walljasper a few months back [here], he said some generous things about Cleveland. Now, in a recent piece he just published in Project for Public Spaces he goes even further, favorably comparing our hometown with the fastest-growing city in the US: Las Vegas. Why? “…handsome old buildings… 20th century charm… handsome affordable townhouses… Wade Oval, a town commons of sorts… sidewalk cafes, a bustling public market… efficient trains… locally based music… urban experiences you would associate with any great city.” He even gets in a plug for our city’s coolest publication, CoolCleveland.com. See Project for Public Spaces here.

Unsilent Night: call for boomboxes Composer Phil Kline, originally from Akron and now a resident of NYC, is bringing his work Unsilent Night to University Circle’s festival procession. The piece is about 40 minutes long and written in 4 parts to be played through 100 boomboxes on either tape or CD which will all be started simultaneously and then will slowly recede as the piece continues. You and your boombox can participate by calling 707-2488. http://www.UniversityCircle.org

Internet ads up as spending hit $2.4 billion last quarter, according to the Internet Ad Revenue Report conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers. It marked the eighth consecutive quarterly increase for the industry and the fourth record-setting quarter. That’s good news for those of us living in the digital age. http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3435851

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Arts and Crafts Revival Kenilworth Mews is a new community of 17 luxurious, Arts and Crafts style homes, nestled in a superb location atop Cedar Hill in Cleveland Heights. These homes offer stone, brick and cedar shingled exteriors, 2000+ square feet, gourmet kitchens with granite counters, two-story living rooms, first-floor master bedrooms, master baths with Jacuzzi tubs, full 14-course basements and a patio or deck, situated on a private street. Enjoy the convenience of living within 10 minutes of downtown, and being moments away from the cultural abundance of University Circle. Don’t miss the kick-off Open House, Sun 12/5 from 1-4PM. Stop by to enjoy some refreshments and tour the elegant new model home! Prices start in the mid 400’s. Located at the intersection of Kenilworth Road and Kenilworth Lane in Cleveland Heights. For a complete list of properties and open houses this weekend, please visit www.ProgressiveUrban.com
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4000 times faster, at half the cost Cleveland is the first city in North America to be connected to an ultra-broadband network! The City of Cleveland has officially joined the nationally-recognized OneCleveland network, started by Case CIO Lev Gonick, which acquired unused ultra-broadband “dark fiber” and is steadily hooking up many of our region’s universities (Case, CSU), cultural institutions (Cleveland Museum of Art, Cuyahoga County Public Library), healthcare organizations, non-profit organizations, and regional governments. The upgrade to OneCleveland will increase bandwidth by 4000X and decrease the City’s costs by 50%. Cooler than cool, definitely. www.OneCleveland.org

Beautiful, new East Coast boutique on West 6th called Caicos has recently opened up in Downtown Cleveland, and they’re carrying a seriously glammed-out bohemian line of clothing, MoMo FaLana, which began in Manhattan’s East Village. Popular with the celebrities in NYC, they designed a coat worn by Sarah Jessica Parker and other items designed for Claudia Schiffer and Uma Thurman. Their line is carried in specialty stores in Italy, the UK, Saudi Arabia and Santa Monica – here’s hoping the designs will catch on in Cleveland. Run in for the opening party and fashion show for reinvented vintage slips and bed jackets as shimmering, elaborately colored, richly textured couture that highlight the body’s curves. It happens Fri 11/26 at 7:30PM. Caicos, 1224 W. 6th St. Call 579-1224. http://www.MomoFalana.com

Keeping Lakewood Dollars in Lakewood It’s true, there are ways to accomplish this and it’s within reach. After four local hardware stores were put out of business by the influx of national chains, and taking its cue from a program started in Ithaca, NY, Lakewood is considering issuing “Lakewood Dollars” that can only be spent at area businesses. http://www.lkwdpl.org/city/lakewooddollars/index.html

Cleveland Heights screensaver FutureHeights has designed and is now selling a computer screensaver that showcases the architectural and natural beauty of Cleveland Heights and its neighborhoods with over one hundred color photos of landmarks, street scenes and gardens. The screensaver provides a visual overview of what makes Cleveland Heights such a distinctive and special place to live and work; it’s Windows compatible, and makes a fun gift for anyone who knows and loves Cleveland Heights. Proceeds will benefit programs of FutureHeights. Pick one up at 2163 Lee Rd. or Paradise Gallery also on Lee Rd. Call 320-1423 or visit http://www.FutureHeights.org.

Cleveland Heights first challenge for Issue 1? Last year, a domestic partner registry passed by Cleveland Heights voters could become the first court test of the Issue 1 state constitutional amendment banning same-gendered marriage and civil unions. http://www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com/stories04/november/04Nov19/04nov19-st2.htm

Akron yoga with the dogs Two months ago a hip little power yoga (not your mom’s yoga) studio opened in Merriman Valley in Akron. The Yoga Studio, as it is known, is already attracting non-typical crowds: dancers from the Ohio Ballet, choreographers, doctors, lawyers and students, and it’s a dog friendly studio, too. Students are encouraged to bring their pets, so you can do the downward dog with your pooch. Call 330-958-9642. http://www.AkronYoga.com

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Peter Lewis spanks University Circle Thinking he might whip out a check to fund their urban plan, University Circle invited Peter Lewis to address their annual meeting next week. Instead, he went on a rant about how lame he thought their ideas were. Tweaking Case president Edward Hundert’s less-than-inspiring planning sessions that have been less-than-fully collaborative, Lewis noted, “University Circle continues to flounder, flounder, flounder and go nowhere…” The PD editors were also offended, preferring that Lewis just give money, not advice, here.

World AIDS Day 12/1 kicks off lots of locally related events, such as AIDS and the 2004 Elections: Prospects and Challenges with two community forums featuring Julie Davids, Executive Director, Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project of New York; Nicholas Leydon, Physicians for Human Rights in Boston and many more on Tue 11/30 from 3-5PM. This forum is geared toward HIV/AIDS professionals, funders, policy makers and government, and the 7-9PM Service of Remembrance, Healing, and Hope at Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ, 2592 W. 14th Street is geared toward HIV/AIDS service and consumers into prevention. All are warmly invited to attend either session. AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland, 2728 Euclid Ave. Call 357-2221. http:///www.AIDSTaskForce.org

Cleveland’s first TV show? Cleveland-based Emmy Award-winning (ask him, he’ll show it to you) writer Alex P. Michaels hopes to bring a television community to Cleveland; wouldn’t you love to have the TV spotlight in our city? See Scene here

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Give Thanks with Dance, Agents and Wild Plums Cleveland Public Theatre wants you to dance, think and get touched this holiday! First, the popular and critically acclaimed Danceworks returns with a special HOLIDAY series! Join us for works from African Soul on Nov 26-28, Neos Dance Theatre on Dec 3-5 and MorrisonDance on Dec 10-12. Purchase a Pan-o-rama FlexPass and see them all! Opening tonight and running Nov 26-28 is Agents and Assets – theatre and discussion about fallout from the War on Drugs, co-produced with the Los Angeles Poverty Department. Check our website for a full list of panelists engaged in this community collaboration. Finally, join us on Nov 26-28 for Touched: Bodies of Work, co-produced with Wild Plum Productions. Combining theatre, poetry and movement, Wild Plum asks the question “what and who touches you?” – all with an LGBT twist. Buy tickets now by phone at 216.631.2727. Cleveland Public Theatre, 6415 Detroit Ave., Change Your Mind!
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American slang is out of control There’s so much of it, a dictionary has been employed to help even the hippest of slang slingers sort through the verbal landfill of sayings. http://home.t-online.de/home/toni.goeller/idiom_wm/index.htm

Passenger rail for Ohio It’s a $3.5 billion plan to use existing rail right-of-ways to hook up Cleveland with Columbus, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo in under 2 hours each, faster than driving. And it’s about time. The snag? It will be at least nine years before the trains are running. See Department of Transportation here

Recount volunteers & beds needed Ohio was the swingingest state of them all, and it may not be over quite yet. Votes in the recent election may be recounted, and they’re mobilizing accommodations for folks coming into the Cleveland area to recount ballots. If you’re interested in volunteering to count, or have a bed available to those visiting our city to count, contact meri_miller@hotmail.com with your cell phone number and availability.

Sputnik in orbit Cleveland boys who make noise, Sputnik, and their song “Alienne” from I, Cosmonaut is featured on the recently announced Wonderfalls DVD release, and the set gathers all thirteen episodes of the quirky FOX comedy. In addition, tracks from I, Cosmonaut are currently in rotation at online stations like Radio Indie Pop. Hear our local audio heroes perform at the Barking Spider Tavern on Fri 11/26 at 10PM. http://www.radio-indie-pop.com or visit Soma FM’s Indie Pop at http://www.Somafm.com and http://www.Sputnik3.net

Angle #17 The arts eye candy of Cleveland arrives with another anticipated issue. Give a look at Dan Tranberg’s art review of SPACES Back From SPACElab with installations that make you go hmmmm, then read Installations by Cuban Artists @ the Mattress Factory by Graham Shearing. The review offers musings on site-specific installations in Pittsburgh which examines New Installations, Artists in Residence: Cuba, where hard truths dealing with politics and incarceration are visually enacted. Then read about the astonishing alt music of Red {an orchestra} and their inventive tradition thoughtfully examined by Zachary Lewis. Find Angle at your fave unconventional places, or subscribe at http://www.AngleMagazine.com. A Cool Cleveland partner

Cool Cleveland This Week
11.24-12.01

Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com

Cats On Holiday Cool Cleveland’s favorite party band rocks the clubs this holiday week with two appearances guaranteed to leave you smiling. On Wed 11/24 catch them at 2527, the martini bar of your dreams, at 2527 W. 25th Street starting at 8PM. Then on Fri 11/26, they light up the corner of Ontario & Prospect at Fat Fish Blue, 21 Prospect at Ontario. They’ll play selections from their new CD, eponymously titled Cats On Holiday, and they might even sneak in a holiday number or two. Tell ’em Cool Cleveland sent ya. http://www.CatsOnHoliday.com.

Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You Find answers for all your sin issues keeping you up at night! See this up-close and personal evening with Sister Mary, a teaching nun very concerned with sin in all its various forms. As she delivers a cautionary lecture, several of her former students show up and the picture darkens in hysterical ways as Sister Mary’s indignation grows in this hysterical one act comedy sketch, giving the evening a bizarre, church bazaar-type of feel on Wed 11/24 thru 11/26 at 8PM, 11/29 at 2PM and 12/5 at 7PM. Call 696-4242 for tickets. The Cleveland Black Box Theater, 1210 West 6th St. http://www.CabaretDada.com/cbbt.shtml

All-Star Jam with the Peanuts All-Star Jam Band, led by bassist Jim Bacha (Clearlight/Masque, The Killers, BMZ), and rounding out the line-up this year will be guitarist Jerry Zsigo (Clue, BMZ, The Collective), Tim Joseph (The Evidence, Wish You Were Here), keyboardist Gary Jones (No Agenda, Midlife Chryslers) and more vintage music personalities for the baby boomers on Wed 11/24, with music starting around 9:30PM; it’s open to the public with no cover chage. Call 383-1124. Beachland Ballroom, 15711 Waterloo Rd. http://www.BeachlandBallroom.com

Danceworks ’05: African Soul presents a lyrical, evocative and invigorating contemporary dance; see the majorly acclaimed Touched, exploring sexuality, sensuality, and gender, through an LGBT lens, featuring both fine and performing artists. Danceworks ’05 is the critically acclaimed festival of contemporary dance, featuring seven of Northeast Ohio’s best companies. Performing imaginative and groundbreaking works that showcase Northern Ohio’s vibrant dance community, this year’s program will feature a special holiday series with performances from Neos Dance Theatre, and MorrisonDance. African Soul will perform on Fri 11/26 at 8PM thru 11/28. Other performances run till 12/12. Call 631-2727. Cleveland Public Theatre’s Gordon Square Theatre, 6415 Detroit Ave. http://www.CPTonline.org

Anne van Hauwaert trunk show for Lynne Morgan Come inside an intimate and fun boutique for finely designed jewelry and couture from Cleveland to Europe. Local artist Lynne Morgan will be on site for one weekend only, previewing her Fall/Winter collection on Fri 11/26 from noon-6PM and Sat 11/27 from noon-5PM. Foward fashion and style counciling will be available to all guests. Call 721-6633. Anne van Hauwaert at Murray Hill Galleries, 2026 Murray Hill, Suite 106 in Little Italy. Read the Cool Cleveland People interview with Anne van Hauwaert here.

31st Annual Larchmere holiday stroll Bypass the hectic nature of the holiday and start the gift list early with over 45 shops, galleries, services and eateries offering art, antiques, oriental rugs, books, vintage/designer clothing and gift items. Event runs all weekend long beginning Fri 11/26 12-5PM through 11/28; on Fri and Sat you can roll with the strolling X-mas carolers. Call 229-8919 Larchmere Blvd, one block North of Shaker Square.

Irish night out in an Irish bar with Celtic entertainment will also support the St. Pat’s Gaelic football team. Cleveland is known for being a diverse city with a strong Irish population, so soak up Irish heritage with music by the Kilroys, tinged with ethos and imagination, and meet up with our Irish population on Fri 11/26 at 8PM. Get tickets at the door and gear up for a heart racingly good time. Call 696-6968. Flat Iron Café, 1114 Center St. in the Flats.

Carol Rag A haunted sweatshop in old New York brings out all the usual suspects with some unexpected twists. A Yiddish-speaking Ghost of Christmas Past and gospel-belting Christmas Present share a message of love and redemption in this surprisingly touching new story in a foot-stomping ragtime score on Fri 11/26 at 8PM. Show runs till 12/19. Call 321-0870. Kalliope Stage, 2134 Lee Rd. in Cleveland Heights. http://www.KalliopeStage.com

Strhess Holiday clothing sale Consider Derek Hess originals ‘cos they’re hot, and Cleveland’s 1300 Gallery is puttin’ out all the Strhess gear on sale: tough t-shirts, girly items, boho bags, hoodies and joggers. This is your last chance to pick up an original Strhess line about to be discontinued, and they’ll also have new Strhess lines on display and ready for sale on Sat 11/27 from 12PM-8PM. It’s one day only, otherwise you must make your purchases on online. 1300 Gallery, http://www.Strhess.com

Andy Caldwell of Om Lounge, Naked, Inspirit San Francisco Bay Area native Andy Caldwell had a passion for the art of music long before the advent of electronica. In the wake of San Francisco’s underground rave explosion, this one-time concert trumpeter and piano player subordinated his horn and foot-pedals in favor of two turntables and a bag of vinyl, forming the much acclaimed San Francisco band Soulstice. Caldwell’s signature production style is also recognized in the film and television industries, as composer for music in films such as Forces of Nature, and the popular television series Six Feet Under, Boston Public, and Chromium Blue. Elevate to a new level of audial bliss Sat 11/27 at 10PM, and dig the 1920s decor at Wish Nightclub, 621 Johnson Court.

Turli Tava is enlivening the Macedonian Vecherinka dance party with the real music of Macedonia: its suprising rhythms, soaring melodies, and rich weave of cultures. Share the heritage with Bitola native Sasho Dukovski on accordion and Walt “Vlado” Mahovlich on clarinet and sax. After the dancing rest your feet and taste freshly grilled cevapcici and homemade zelnik (Macedonian pastry) or dip into the full bar on Sat 11/27 from 7PM-midnight. Call for info 440-943-6237 or 861-1005. Collinwood Slovenian Home, 15810 Holmes Ave. zlatka5@aol.com

Holiday Fest Warm up with hot chocolate and concessions at O’Neil Commons while enjoying live musical entertainment and skating demonstrations at the new ice rink at Lock 3, featuring Chriskindl Market, a replica of outdoor holiday markets found in most German cities. In this picturesque setting, 20 artisans from Akron’s sister city – Chemnitz, Germany – will sell their old-world wares all made in the mountains of Eastern Germany on Sat 11/27 at noon through 12/31. While you’re there, try out the specialty foods and beverages, like hot sausages and mulled wine to warm you up. Call 330-535-3179. Lock 3 is located on Main St. between Bowery and State Streets in Akron. http://www.ci.akron.oh.us/rec.html

Midnight Mixer @ Miller-Weitzel Gallery an intrepid and ballsy new gallery, Miller-Weitzel is a beautiful rehab of a prohibition-era speakeasy. Look for krunked-out video, Johnny La Rock And Mush Mouth doing their style of electronic hip-hop, Computo’s breaks and DnB [drum ‘n bass], plus Synthetik and The Indoor Flash on the video projection this Sun 11/28 at 11PM. Bring a CD of music you made or mixed and bypass the door cover charge. Miller-Weitzel Gallery, 5304 Detroit Ave. between W. 53rd and W. 54th on Detroit Ave. http://www.MidnightMixer.com

Underground Movements 3 This means a serious 3 B-boy or breakdance battle for $500 cash. B-boy crews on deck will be GFX Beatriders, who specialize in “breaking,” one of the artistic elements of hip hop culture. Members of GFX-Beatriders have competed in New York, Los Angeles and performed as opening acts for such hiphop artists as Ja Rule, Raekwon, KRS-ONE, and Black Eyed Peas. See other locals rock it: SAFMOD, Illstyle Rockers; B-boys and girls will want to get in on it early while the DJs work it Sun 11/28; doors open at 9PM. Tramp/Funky Buddha at 1360 West 9th St. http://www.216beatriders.8k.com/about.html. Read Talking Loud Saying Everything with the IllStyle Rockers here

Holiday Pops Time to move into the yuletide spirit with a family oriented afternoon of holiday music. Hear the traditional sounds of the season, plus “Cool Yule” treatments by jazz virtuoso Joe Augustine, popular vocalist Susan Hesse, and the Beck Center Children’s Choir on Sun 11/28 at 2PM. Call 241-6000. Palace Theatre at Playhouse Square Center, 1519 Euclid Ave. http://www.PlayhouseSquare.com

WCLVnotes There’s good news for Internet listeners of WCLV. Thanks to the musicians of The Cleveland Orchestra, the Orchestra broadcasts over WCLV can be streamed on the worldwide web beginning in December, enabling people anywhere in the world to enjoy “The best band in the land.” The Cleveland Orchestra concerts are heard Sundays at 4PM EST. Let your out of town friends know – the URL is www.wclv.com. WCLV 104.9 FM will preview The Cleveland Orchestra’s forthcoming performances of Hansel and Gretel this Mon 11/29 at 9PM. a Cool Cleveland partner www.wclv.com

Best Year Yet Cleveland Workshop Do you feel scattered, spread too thin or overwhelmed? Do you have a big dream you’ve been putting off pursuing, or are you dissatisfied with the results you’re getting so far this year? Join in the workshop to acquire the year you desire, personally and professionally. In these transformative sessions you’ll identify what’s most important to you and create the mindset and action plan to get it. Discover and shift the hidden ways you limit yourself, create a powerful new mindset to support you in achieving your results, and create a plan that guarantees you’ll focus on what’s most important to you on Tue 11/30 from 8:15AM to 3:30PM. Call 272-4343. Five Seasons Country Club, 28105 Clemens Rd in Westlake. http://www.FiveSeasonsWestlake.com

Third Annual Louis Stokes Leadership Symposium on Social Issues and the Community with respected guest speaker The Honorable Charles B. Rangel, Representative from the 15th Congressional District of New York, and principal author of the five-billion dollar Federal Empowerment Zone demonstration project to revitalize urban neighborhoods across America, as well as the author of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, responsible for financing ninety percent of the affordable housing built in the U. S. in the last ten years. He’ll lead a lively session on Tue 11/30 at 5PM. Call 368-5157. Thwing Center Ballroom, 11111 Euclid Ave on Case Western Reserve University campus. Register at http://www.case.edu/events/stokes.

Budding Ohio Wind Industry Where Do We Stand in the Nation? This forum will prime your appetite for manufacturing opportunities corroborated by the REPP report base on the 1997 census data. How do we look ahead at the wind industry to identify areas for NEO which are not included in the 1997 data? How can we expedite the wind industry onto the radar of public citizens, government, academia, entrepreneurs, innovators, and established factories? Can open networking help advance NEO into this market? Hear the update on Tue 11/30 at 4PM. Event is open to the public. Call 368-5540. The Center for Regional Economic Issues, Peter B. Lewis Building, Room 201, 11119 Bellflower Rd. Register at http://www.Weatherhead.case.edu/rei/events/register.cfm

Art House Holiday gift making workshops Snub the retail stores this year, and go independent by making your own elegant holiday gifts: metalsmithing such as sawing, hammering, riveting and dapping forms in metal to create hand-worked jewelry. Learn adventures in gift making at Art House Wed 12/1 from 7-9PM. Art House is a nonprofit art center that provides visual and creative arts classes to people of all ages and skill levels. Art House’s mission is to nurture involvement in the arts and culture, providing opportunities for people to create, learn and communicate ideas. Register at 398-8556. Workshop is located at the Loftworks Building, 1667 E. 40th St., Suite 3-B. http://www.ArtHouseInc.org

Distinctive Voices and Instruments from the Courts of Burgundy Based in Switzerland, the Ferrara Ensemble is one of the world’s premier early music groups. The Gramophone mag lauds it as “Luscious…almost unbelievably sensuous.” In residence at the famed Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Ferrara brings floating voices and historical instruments: gittern and lute, vielle and others. The Tre Riches Heures: Gothic Music for the Valois Dukes gracefully pairs period dances including rondeaux, ballades and works from composers associated with the courts of the Burgundian dukes Philip the Bold and John the Fearless on Wed 12/1 at 7:30PM. Get tickets at 421-7350. Cleveland Museum of Art, 11150 East Blvd. http://www.ClevelandArt.org

Confronting Ageism for Women Are you female and in search of real answers addressing aging issues? This small group discussion will carefully and respectfully discuss the effects of ageism on an aging population. This event is especially formatted for women over 50. Hear the essentials from Sally Tatnall, a longtime feminist, community philosopher, and an experienced small group facilitator Wed 12/1 from 6-8PM. Call 651-LGBT. The Lesbian/Gay Community Center of Greater Cleveland, 6600 Detroit Ave. Register on line at http://www.lgcsc.org/awi/fall04events.html

Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com

Talking Loud, Saying Everything
IllStyle Rockers, Hip-Hop Warriors in the 21st Century

Cool Cleveland: You mentioned the struggle that you have in terms of getting the recognition you deserve. What are your feelings on the state of Hip-Hop?

Forrest Webb: Radio Hip-Hop sucks. Period. There’s not one song they play on 107.9 (WENZ-FM) that I can actually say I like. When I was young, and the people who came before me, when they were young; hip hop was more of a progressive art. It was something to fight out against the establishment, against institutionalism…and it’s just funny that today Hip-Hop has gone from that progressive element to totally being programmed…a lot of it lacks creativity these days. But then, you have your underground movement, you have your breakin’ conventions and your DJ competitions, so there is a thread of the real essence being practiced… but on the overall scale when you’re talking about what the overall society views as Hip-Hop which is what they see in the music videos and on TV, it’s horrible…
Read Talking Loud Saying Everything with the IllStyle Rockers here

Cool Cleveland Commentary
Is Art Artificial?
by Marcus Bales

Art is more than just a word or a concept; it requires intellectual honesty and it’s more than just technique – but is it necessary? Is it artificial? And what the heck do we do with it? Cleveland writer and artist Marcus Bales maneuvers through a topic that has raged in the minds of philosophers and artists alike.
The difference between what’s art and what’s natural has something, but only something, to do with boundaries. What’s natural has no boundaries: it goes on and on. Art is boundaried. The artist, the poet, creates the boundary, and presents what’s inside as art. Merely framing the natural, though, is not enough. The framer must intend to make art in order to claim to make art — and that intent has to come across to the audience within the work, not merely because of the possible claim to art that a frame can, but does not necessarily all by itself, make. Art requires that a good deal more self-knowledge and intellectual honesty comes across through the work than a mere frame can provide. Art is not merely overcoming technical difficulties, or finding a way around them, or art would be merely technique. Art is a complicated complex of intention and reception of that intention coming across from artist to audience through a made thing. Some three-dimensional objects are art; some are not. Some painted surfaces are art; some are not. Some collections of words are art; some are not. Some movements through space are art; some are not. Art is artificial. That word, “artificial,” though, is a word that can bring unhelpful connotations with it, like comparing artificial daffodils with real ones. It seems to imply inferiority…
Read Cool Cleveland Commentary by Marcus Bales here

Instant Karma
Quik 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

Fully Committed @ Beck Center 11/21
What: Nick Koesters dazzles in a one-actor comedy about a beleaguered reservations clerk working at a pricey, pretentious Manhattan restaurant. A wickedly funny, penetrating look at life at the bottom of the food chain in a crappy customer service job.
Reasons to go: Switching between characters, accents, voices, and physicalities with lightning precision, Koesters is a comic hurricane who generates torrential laughs in this tour-de-farce role. The parade of characters he limns is astonishing and hilarious — from back-stabbing coworkers to a supermodel’s assistant who keeps calling back with ever-increasing demands, from a “vegan tasting menu for 15” to softer lightbulbs in the wall sconces. Director Curt Arnold keeps up the pace, but he and Koesters also expertly bring out the human story at the play’s heart — the put-upon Midwestern nice-guy who learns to get his own back in Manhattan’s shark-like waters.
Backstory: Playwright Becky Mode, now a successful television writer, supported herself through day jobs at restaurants as a waitress and hatcheck girl. As satirically extreme as it is, the play’s incidents all have the black-comic ring of insider authenticity.
Target audience: Had a bad day at work & want to laugh? This one’s for you.
Details: Beck Center for the Arts, 17801 Detroit Ave., Lakewood. Call 521-2540. Thru 12/19. http://www.beckcenter.org
from Cool Cleveland contributor Linda Eisenstein linda@coolcleveland.com

Apollo’s Fire @ St. Paul’s Episcopal Church 11/20
An enjoyable way to spend an evening during the 17th century — especially if one was a musician — would be to invite friends who were also musicians to visit. Of course, said friends would bring their instruments along with them, and possibly even music they had written, or thought of writing. It was the nature of music during this time for it to be improved upon sometimes by adding one’s own ornamentations to it. Performers were, in addition to Ms. Sorrell on harpsichord and chamber organ, violinists David Greenberg and Miho Hashizume; cellist René Schiffer and lutenist Richard Stone, but this time with a theorbo. All are well-known and regarded in the early music world…
Read the review of Apollo’s Fire by Kelly Ferjutz here

Yr Turn
Cool Cleveland readers write
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Send your letters to: Letters@CoolCleveland.com

Yr Turn 11/24

On Playhouse Square Foundation’s impact on local economy It was with great interest that I read the report linked in the most recent emailing [here]. I am a musician who occasionally is called to perform at Playhouse Square. I also perform with many other groups because I hold no service guarantee contracts with any groups. The assumption of out-of-town musicians spending all of an average $100 per diem is way off. I spent two years on the road with various orchestras (The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra being the most notable) and didn’t come close to spending $100 a day. We frequently had our rooms comp-ed as well as meals for just a tip. Granted, we weren’t Justin Timberlake or Britany Spears. I’m sure those guys spend liberally. But even so, all the money earned by those out-of-town musicians as performance salary is gone from the local economy. Locally we only recoup what is spent when they are in town. Money paid to musicians in the local area and members of the local union are earned by local professional musicians and spent locally by us as well. A much greater return investment in the local economy would be had by ensuring local musicians performing at Playhouse Square. There are a few nearby teaching institutions that turn out wonderful students who then have no where to adequately perform as a supportable career locally. We lose all those trained musicians not just as performers, but as citizens and teachers to the continuing tradition of the arts. It’s not the cavalry, they’re carpetbaggers!
from Cool Cleveland reader Eric Rowles, member American Federation of Musicians local #4 bonechops@core.com

On Cleveland’s Death Blog Many thanks from a displaced Clevelander. A few months ago the Death Blog ] on my site, EinsteinShrugged.co.uk, was featured in Cool Cleveland and I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for the great exposure. I was contacted by many Clevelanders who fell in love with Emily, including a representative from NPR who was interested in doing an interview, though I was unable to take him up on the offer since I’m in the UK right now. Thanks again for the great publicity and a special thanks to all the Cool Clevelanders who contacted me to let me know what they liked.
from Cool Cleveland reader Kelly McCloskey http://www.EinsteinShrugged.co.uk einsteinshrugged@yahoo.com

On Birol’s Business I just wanted to give praise for Andy Birol coming aboard to contribute to Cool Cleve! The countless entrepreneurs and “should-be’s” that subscribe will certainly benefit from his insightfulness and experience. I am a 25 year old business owner in Cleveland and am energized to see my perception of the dinosaurs in this region is by no means a solo one. Keep doing what you are doing!
from Cool Cleveland reader Chris Wilson http://www.gomedia.us

On America’s values I’m glad to see that letter writer Rosemary Musachio has solved so many of Cleveland’s problems with a simple solution [Yr Turn “On ballplayers” here]. Maybe President Bush should make her the next Secretary of State. We would have peace in Palestine, the terrorists would lay down their arms, and AIDS would be cured – all by taxing the rich. Ms. Musachio fails to see the whole picture. This country operates on a free market system. Professional athletes are paid what the market dictates. If there were a limit on salaries in any field, there would be little incentive to excel. Lets say that athletes were paid a maximum of $80,000. Would all of them participate? Probably not. Would people go to see less talented athletes? Probably not. She also forgets the ushers, food vendors, and others who have jobs because of professional athletics. If you object to the salary of athletes, don’t go to or watch the events. I feel that the election shows that America’s values are rejecting the left’s strategy of class warfare. America understands that a 10% across the board tax cut where a taxpayer paying $10,000 in taxes get a cut of $1,000 and one paying $1,000 gets a cut of $100 is not a “tax cut for the rich.” If you think this example is a “tax cut for the rich,” then you need to retake grade school arithmetic.
from Cool Cleveland reader David Davala dmdavala@earthlink.net

On moving to Cleveland Hello from Southern California! I just found your site through a link in Jay Walljasper’s story in Making Places, [here] and it’s exciting to see what you’re doing. I’ve been telling my friends we all need to move to Ohio before ’08 so we can vote there, but it sounds like you’re doing just fine without us.
from Cool Cleveland reader Abagail Lewis abigaillewiseditor@wholelifetimes.com

On Peter Lewis’ leadership Peter Lewis should be congratulated again for trying to get Case Western University and the institutions of University Circle off the dime in regards to making the University Circle area a place to live and enjoy life. A major reason that the University Circle area is the way it is, is that University Circle Inc.(UCI) along with the other institutions in the area, own most of the property in the area. The UCI controlled areas are generally, but not exclusively, bounded by Wade Park to the North, E. 115th Street to the east, Conrail to the South and MLK Blvd. to the west. Land control was one of the specific reasons UCI was formed more than 30 yrs ago. Its specific charge was to buy land and properties in this area with the intention of holding the properties so that institutions that might need them in the future would be able to do so. UCI was formed because the powers and institutions within the area were gravely concerned about the enemy at the gates to the west. During the late sixties, Cleveland’s Glenville and Hough neighborhoods had witnessed some of the biggest urban unrest in the nation. During this time a bunker mentality was formed within the University Circle community. Just look at the research building constructed just west of the University Circle Rapid station. All it lacks is a moat! There was a great fear that what happened in Hough could happen in the University Circle area. Real or imagined, the wagons were circled and the area was defended. Few private investors could buy property within the University Circle area. The Indians were kept at bay. But it has been 35 plus years since the riots and I believe much of the mentality that fears the surrounding neighborhoods has diminished. Unfortunately, that bunker mentality has been transformed into a fear of real estate developments, perceived as being bad for the area. UCI and the surrounding institutions have become a monolithic culture that lacks initiative and ideas, loathing and fearing change. A lack of leadership within the county, city, and the University Circle area is endemic. By UCI controlling most of the developable land and properties in the area, it effectively restricts and dampens the free market in real estate development in the University Circle area. Private developers, ones who can take risks, try different ideas, hope to make a profit and move projects forward in a timely fashion, are, in essence, locked out. A prime example of non-development is the Northeast corner of Euclid Ave. and Ford Road. It has been a surface parking lot for over twenty years. There is no excuse for such a delay in developing a prime corner. Indecision rules the day. The leaders within the University Circle institutions must be willing to take some risks in development within the University Circle area. Such risks might even mean giving up some of the real estate they control. Mr. Lewis, I thank you for your continued leadership in the region and your continued demands to end mediocrity within the University Circle area as well as within the Greater Cleveland area. Northeast Ohio needs more people like you.
from Cool Cleveland reader James L. Nemastil jamesnemastil@aol.com

Send your letters to: Letters@CoolCleveland.com

Top 5
Cool Cleveland uses Opticast tools to track which articles were clicked the most. Here are the Top 5 from last week’s issue, with one more chance for you to click.

1) Cool Cleveland Interview with Andy Birol. Cleveland entrepreneur and incisive commentator Andy Birol examines our city’s conflicting business attitudes, habits, practices. http://www.CoolCleveland.com/index.php?n=Main.CoolClevelandPeopleAndyBirol

2) The Zipper Comes Down Cleveland-based Koyono is in NYC this week meeting with Playboy, Maxim and the producers of the Howard Stern Show to promote their new hi-tech t-shirt with zippered front that holds your walkman or cell phone, and their second super-light weight men’s overcoat, the AirGo, plus their slick new site. http://www.TheBlackCoat.com

3) RoldoLINK Cleveland Did Mortgage Its Future With Little Return. Has the mortgage come due? Do we have the payment ready? http://www.CoolCleveland.com/index.php?n=Main.RoldoLinkClevelandMortgagedItsFuture

4) Lakefront planning maps online Whether you attended one of the recent public meetings the City of Cleveland held on planning our new lakefront, you can visit these interactive maps and click on the purple links to use the scroller to navigate. http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/lakefront/edgewater04-flash.htm

5) Urban Living Fit For a King The King’s Terrace (phase II) Condominiums are located at W. 54th and Herman Ave. in the heart of the exciting Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. You will command outstanding lake and downtown views. http://www.ProgressiveUrban.com

Cool Cleveland: life in the digital age Join us as we set ourselves apart to improve our city in the digital age; and thanks to our readers who allow us into their inboxes by checking out Cool Cleveland. You’re helping us continue the in-your-face alternative media you love by reading CoolCleveland.com. Now you can tell your friends to visit our website and discover the newest stuff in town. Tell your colleagues and co-workers to register for their own free copy of the Cool Cleveland e-zine at http://www.CoolCleveland.com or have ’em send an e-mail to Signup@CoolCleveland.com

Digital advertising is making headlines Pull your business up out of mediocrity. Searching for something alternative? Try digital advertising that differentiates your business with the new viral strategy: CoolCleveland.com, recommended from one satisfied reader to another. Get it by advertising with CoolCleveland.com and witness firsthand how inserting your weekly message into tens of thousands of our subscribers’ inboxes can impact your company’s bottom line. Find out more by e-mailing us a note to Info@CoolCleveland.com

Hard Corps raise the coolness awareness The people who push out this thing we call Cool Cleveland are always turning us on to new ideas, content and people. Good vibes, props and good karma to Tisha Nemeth, Linda Eisenstein, Deb Remington, TL Champion, Kelly Ferjutz, Bill Nagode, George Nemeth, 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

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Cool Cleveland Writer
Joshua Gage

Joshua Gage is the head honcho at Seven Beers and Hedgehog Press, stomping around Cleveland in his purple bathrobe (for real) seeking out pollution for his liver and an audience for his poems. His book, Deep Cleveland Lenten Blues, was recently released on Deep Cleveland Press. He is currently attending the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University, pursuing a low-residency degree in Creative Writing. Read more of his image-laden work at http://home.att.net/~pottygok and pick up a copy of his book at http://www.DeepCleveland.com

By Gray Erie’s Shores
by Joshua Gage

I.
So that the bridges do not weep for me
So that my veins do no flood through the words
I sing
For your visage, the horizon of the pulse
held aloft in my palms
I sing
To prophesy you as a worn veil
with the stone of my throat
I sing
So no one may complain This city!
without a tear of neglect
I sing
For your sparks about to pass into smoke
I sing.

Walking out over my voice I say
you, shepherd of lambs and haruspex priest
you will not be ignored in the beams of my cathedral
for there is a monk in your belly

who, beneath your river, hidden in furnace
fetal in the soil’s heartbeat
kneels on my tongue to carve your name.
I sing that name, joyful as the bow which is shovel.
The thunder of my heartbreak is right over the horizon.
From the waves of Lake Erie to the rustle of leaves they seek me out
to break the patient spine of my tongue.
I am haunted by my blood on your lentils and doorposts.
These visions let me remain inside your necklace
away from men who dig out their eyes against you.

II.
Wake, my city. I will wake with you.

I will drown in the wells you divine for me.
I will take communion from your chalice of vinegar.
I will wrap your steel around my finger.
I will bash out my teeth with a rock that you may bite the wind.
I will anoint my forehead with the oil of your river
that you may dance my tongue with language of your tribes.
I will bury myself beneath stone that you may see dawn,
that your haloed face appears
in every blossom born of my bones.

These are the stones beneath our feet.
The river is rising.

Now my back aches with your tears.
Now I want to walk with you in pilgrim step,
go with you on your journey, because I am a man
of Cleveland, born with the eye of Aldebaran to confront the world.

Oh, my city,
The intellectuals who piss on your walls
The politicians who theorize you to ash
we must pull them up by the roots,
dance their bodies at the end of a rope.

For this I say let us journey together, always
with the double shift waitresses
and the unemployed steel workers,
with those who have a heart to know you.

Arise, my city, and I will rise with you.

III.
Oh, my discarded city,
your sun pries open my eyelids
and my tongue spins like a dervish
when I sing city, worker, saint of Erie’s halo.
A thousand years have I wakened in death
and rocked my corpse to sleep in your great name,
Cleveland, my city, triumphant angel.

Oh Cleveland,
saying your name I am resurrected.
I rise from mourning in search of your dawn.
I sing all psalms back to Ohm
where breath flows out in petals
and I sit to find you as you are,
a vein filling with the human light
and all the hymns of your tribes pumping you.

This is the life of your poets, sand and honey,
but their words will flood the deepest of hearts.
For that, my city, you will ignite the horizon.
For that, my city, you will herd the thunder.
When I sing your name, I rewrite my heart
and my breath escapes its condition of breeze.
The wind blows rivers off course
and bows the trees at your feet.
The lake, with her waves and reflections, swears your name.

The labor of poets redeems you in your life.

Forgotten city,
carrying hope on the trails of the sun.
You are she who holds her son in twilight pieta,
she who conjures snowstorms and red lightning
and rains out over the thirst of the world
that all will drink a glass of your water:
the warm shadow of your smokestacks
or the callused hand of your prophets.

Small city, infanticidal breast,
hymn settling on my tongue
from centuries of sweat and steel,
for a thousand years I carry our name
like a tiny future heart
whose leaves begin to unfold at dawn.

How do you
sing the city?

–Thomas Mulready
Letters@CoolCleveland.com (:divend:)