E-Enterprises Coming Up Roses

A refreshing story from today's Plain Dealer details the success a relatively new charter school has had, as well as the limited partnership it has developed with the Cleveland Municipal School District. Sparing you the details and allowing you to check it out yourself (link above), I write about this for three reasons.

1. I worked in the same building with the Entrepreneurship Preparatory School while working at the Entrepreneurial Academy and alongside Entrepreneurs 4 Sustainability (you can imagine the confusion of visitors trying to figure out which office door to knock on). Unfortunately for me, I chose the slow horse, as both E-Prep and E4S are now thriving. The E-Academy was forced to pull up stakes (though I don't believe I'm far off when I surmise that it was the Executive Director's ambitions, and not our lack of service, that spelled the end of our tenure).

2. Anything positive in the realm of Cleveland education is deserving of a mention.

3. I am not, by and large, a supporter of charter schools, but have seen this operation first hand and am consistently impressed with the order, instruction, discipline and respect from and for all parties. As one of the aforementioned "3E" organizations in the ShoreBank building during 2006 and 2007, my initial assumptions of a third-rate corporate excuse for a school (see White Hat) were proven delightfully inaccurate. The students I saw, from the terminal East side mind you, were respectful, thoughtful and polite; a far cry from the reality outside ShoreBank's gated parking lot.

Random Meanderings

No, that's not what you think it is.

Lacking a substantial issue or event to comment upon this past week, I thought that in the interest of timely postings I would cover a few disparate topics and see what develops...

1. The Democratic Primary - I understand democracy, I understand proportional delegation, I understand that this contest will inevitably continue to gouge out the hearts of democrats across the country. I just despise it more and more every day.

Four months ago people across the country were literally undecided when it came down to Clinton or Obama (or Edwards for that matter). I find it ridiculously hard to believe that there exist any real 'undecideds' out there with the brow beating we have all endured of late.

Indiana to Hillary, North Carolina to Barack... and on and on it goes.

2. The Cleveland Indians - They scored 15 times more runs last night than they did in the entire series previous (or something to that effect). C.C. didn't give up a run and struck out everyone but the bat boy (who we all know he would've totally embarrassed up there).

3. Division III Lacrosse - Quinn was named NCAC Player of the Week this past week after scoring 5 goals on five attempts (in one game) and sticking a last second shot to send Denison into Double OT and on to an eventual victory. Glad to see she's keeping the Simmons' athletic legacy on firm footing...or just really establishing it for the first time...

4. Hop Fest at Buckeye Beer Engine - this past weekend in Lakewood. 'Randall The Enamel Animal' from the scientists at Dogfish Head was on hand to infuse the already uninhibited IBU content of the brews with even more tongue lashing bitterness (see image above). 90 Minute on Randall equals something like 120 Minute??? Ohioans may never know (unless they fork over exorbitant prices on Ebay)...

5. The Cleveland Cavaliers - game 2; now that was as thorough a beatdown as I have ever seen in playoff basketball. Watching that made me want to punch Rasheed Wallace in the face (although that's always sort of in the back of my mind). I know he plays for Detroit, but everyone on the Wizards had already been emasculated by the third quarter.

The Ritter/Hahn Recital at Oberlin

As a surprise, I told Katie that the Josh Ritter/Hilary Hahn showcase was sold out about a month ago (that's not the surprise). But for her birthday, I miraculously produced a pair of tickets. So it came to be that we wound our way out of Cuyahoga County and into the verdant fold of Oberlin College. Now, typically for a show, there would be the usual congregates of young folksters, indie kids and the occasional middle-aged couple, rekindling their more adventurous (relative) youth.

So it was with some surprise that what greeted us upon first pass of Finney Chapel, the stately statured edifice just off the main square, was a large, and I mean inordinately large, parade of gray hairs. Thinking that perhaps there was a vespers ceremony before the show, we proceeded to debate the least likely spot to get towed from until venturing inside approximately ten minutes to show time. Apparently, far too late to claim any sort of preferred seating in the joint. As we stepped up the walker and wheelchair strewn aisle, we were shocked to see what looked more like a Billy Graham revival.

It occurred to us that perhaps these fine octa- and nona-genarians were drawn by the billing of Hilary Hahn, the grammy winning violin virtuoso who at 27, is widely considered one of the foremost performers in the United States today
(and therefore, not Mr. Ritter, whose off-kilter neo-folk rock inspires a rather smaller percentage, and younger demographic 0f fans).

So, we found ourselves to be in the (vast) minority. Thankfully, Mr. Ritter served as the opening act, sparing us the pain of eight variations of something called "Andante". (Reader's Note: Some more cultured readers will inevitably accuse me of unapologetic ignorance and despise my blithe rebuke of Ms. Hahn's efforts; they will be correct. I did not come to see a classical recital, I came to hear some rock, dammit.)

Opening with the haunting 'Wings' and following, in a patchwork melange of his own songs and other traditional offerings, Ritter played 9 songs, the finale being the aptly and unsurprisingly placed 'Thin Blue Flame'. The stylization of the performance was what was most striking: typically rollicking and in full regalia on stage, Mr. Ritter played a subdued and exquisitely enunciated set (assumingly for the benefit of those in the Miracle Ear camp in attendance). It was enjoyable, and I was even entreated to dance in the aisle at one point, albeit in slow fashion. In fact, I believe we may have been the only attendees moving at all at that point.

I do not mean to belabor the audience, because indeed there were more than a fair share of Oberlin students up in the balconies, but it just made for such a mundane affair that we had to cut our attendance short and head out for more lively entertainment.

My apologies to Ms. Hahn, of whose performance we heard approximately 45 seconds (though 45 fantastic seconds, to be sure), the maligned senior citizens of Lorain County and my readers, who (if they made it this far) were led on through a rather dull post. We will be sure to read the fine print, or at least between the lines, before we embark on another well intentioned concert adventure.

Cleveland in Ten Years?

The rejuvenation of the Lake Erie waterfront is a no-brainer. Cleveland has a beautiful (at least when you're not swimming in it) resource that could conceivably bring great joy and at least moderate prosperity to a region in sore need of both. But, in their infinite wisdom, Cleveland's lakefront, with a few exceptions, has been rendered an industrial wasteland, from the Cargill plant marring the shoreway to the CSX rail lines that cordon off downtown. Granted, Cargill is a good employer and taxpayer, and CSX provides a vital link to other markets, but there is only so much lake front to go around, so why not open it up to the people who live here?!

Enter the City Planning Commission. Having stumbled across their website, I was interested by the multitude of maps and activities, but was totally intrigued by the Waterfront Plan. Here it was, the defining document on the future of the Cleveland waterfront, a postcard from Cleveland's near future. So what did it say?


Focusing only on the West Side (for the purpose of moderately sized posts), the map, as partially shown above displays a wealth of "water-related", "park & public realm" and "neighborhood enhancements". Stripping away the buzzwords, what this means specifically, in no particular order and with no particular relevance is the following:

1. A (presumably vastly) improved Edgewater Park. The size and scope of the beach looks to be nearly twice as large as the current areas, with new picnic areas, tree covered parkland, gardens and marinas.

2. Transition from high-speed freeway to Sunday drive Shoreway: as the plan says "a reclaimed highway, transformed into a slower-moving, tree-lined, pedestrian scaled lakefront boulevard".

This, in turn, promotes an inclusion of nearby neighborhoods, whether it be West Blvd., Detroit Shoreway or Ohio City through creation of interchanges at West 73rd, 65th, 54th, 45th and 28th Streets.

3. By creating an opening to the lake, rather than a barrier from it, these neighborhoods will benefit both through access, facilities, capital improvements and new development; both commercially and residentially. For proof, see the suspiciously clean and sunny scene illustrated from the plan below:



In any case, the formation of an agreed upon plan with concrete ideas for the productive and aesthetic benefit of Cleveland and Clevelanders is a step in the right direction. So with the image of marinas, sandy beach front and terraced gardens still fresh in your mind, tell a friend and spread the word... We really don't resemble the industrial tar pit we're made out to be!

Explosions In The Sky

We were back to the Beachland for a show last night by Explosions In The Sky. The all instrumental quartet plays what is revoltingly called 'post-rock'. What the hell they do that transcends 'present rock', besides not sing, is beyond me. In my mind, they're like an indie jam band comparable to Sigur Ros in style, but jacked up a few notches in intensity.


Having skipped the opening act in favor of a few glasses of wine at home, we circled the blocks around luxurious East 158th, hoping for a spot on a well lit street. We eventually found a spot on a cul-de-sac abutting I-90 and made our way through the drizzle and into throngs. Truly, it was busier than I've ever seen a Beachland show before. Katie and I agreed in our surprise when tickets sold out a month before, wrongly assuming that ambient, instrumental rock music wouldn't have quite the draw it would in say, D.C. or Austin.

So we were doubly surprised when the lights went down, the guitars roared up from a lovely sparse opening into a body vibrating crescendo and every soul in the place was completely enraptured. This is the part where I have to admit that I'm not a huge EITS fan, though I do enjoy and appreciate their work. But these people were locked in- and though this sounds abominably ignorant - even though one song could pass for any other to the untrained (read: my) ear, they all knew what was coming. I'm not sure which, the crowd or the band, impressed me more...

Anyway, quite a show, and now we're geared up for Josh Ritter next Thursday at Oberlin in the beautiful Finney Chapel. No band in tow this time around, but an interesting pairing with Hilary Hahn should make it a memorable show.