Pic of the Day: Train Derailment in Sheffield
Over 20 cars were derailed in a train accident this morning in Sheffield. The results are pretty gnarly. Thankfully, no one was hurt. (Via 19 Action News)
Four Loko Could Be Banned by FDA by Next Week
Party could be ending soon, Four Loko fanatics. It looks like the FDA is going to step in and ban Four Loko nationally. Via Gawker: The FDA ruling, which could come as soon as this week, “should be the nail in the coffin of these dangerous and toxic drinks,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who has…
Students Stuffed in Trunk, Run Over
There’s Kids Behaving Like Kids, and then there’s reckless behavior that goes above and beyond and into danger territory. Cleveland police say two seniors at Whitney M. Young School stuffed a freshman and an eighth-grader into the trunk of a car and drove around the school parking lot on Monday. The hazing ploy, like something…
Miami Fans Need Pointers, LeBron Not Getting Love
Wait, why aren’t you guys at the Heat game? This isn’t going to come as any surprise to your ice-bound Midwestern heart, but Miami sports fans suck. The worldwide basketball fandom has eyeballs on South Beach and the Miami Tepid can barely fill American Airlines Arena this early into the season. Must be something about…
Akron’s Bad Christmas Tree Luck
This has proved elusive for Akron. It’s a simple process, right? Find tree, chop down tree, install tree, decorate tree. Bingo, you have yourself the centerpiece of your Christmas. That process isn’t going so swimmingly in Akron this year, however, as it tries to corral a tree. The Rubber City has tried twice to complete…
New Bowling Show for Clevelanders
If a televised-bowling game show can score anywhere, it can score in Cleveland. And so it shall be: Star Frame Bowling Challenge is set to debut on WUAB-TV Channel 43 on Saturday, December 4. First frame is at 4:30 p.m. The show marks a return of sorts for displaced broadcasters Paul Rado and Marty “Big…
Kim Crow’s New Boutique: Evie Lou
You might already know the name Kim Crow from the fashion pages of The Plain Dealer. Now her fashions are jumping off the page too. “I was turning 40 and starting to freak out about what I was going to be for the rest of my life,” says Crow, who stepped down from the full-time…
Willoughby-Eastlake Schools Opt Not to Protect Homosexual Students
They care, except if you’re gay. Few school districts have fielded the kind of PR shitstorm that got dumped in Willoughby-Eastlake’s lap this fall. When Willoughby South faced off against Eastlake North on the gridiron last month, the district rivals’ fans traded chants featuring festive gay slurs. A video went viral, and action news reporters…
Concert Review: Josh Ritter at Beachland Ballroom
It’s hard not to notice Josh Ritter when he sings. And by notice, I mean stare with awe and jealousy and wonder and joy. He plays the role of awe-shucks singer-songwriter well, like he picked up a guitar one day and tripped backwards into breathtaking ballads and amazes even himself at what’s coming out of…
Man Reports Amazon.com Delivery as Suspicious Package
This very clearly says Amazon on the box, which I guess can be suspicious, unless you ordered something from Amazon. There are simply no words for this magnificent police blotter item from Hudson, OH. You simply must read this tale for yourself. The scene: a man sees what he thinks is a suspicious package at…
You Can Blame Girl Talk For Your Unproductive Monday
The reason you did nothing yesterday According to an informal study conducted at the Scene office, productivity was down a whopping 87 percent yesterday because everyone was trying to download the new Girl Talk album. Those who succeeded spent the day playing “Spot the Sample” with coworkers. And apparently we weren’t the only ones doing…
Cloud Nothings Provide Soundtrack to Your Morningwood
We love us some Lea Michele, especially when she’s taking off her clothes for a magazine that makes us look stylish when we read it. We especially love the Glee star when she’s bouncing around half-naked to a song by one of Cleveland’s best bands. That’s Cloud Nothing’s “Another Man” you hear as Michele straddles…
Fat Cleveland Kids to Be Studied
Childhood obesity is a widening problem all over the country, but Cleveland seems to be on the front edge of creating at kids. 33% of kids nationwide are considered obese; that number is 40% in Cleveland. As the problem expands so too have efforts to understand the causes and deal with the effects. One of…
Pic of the Day: Tribe Snow Days Almost Here
Here’s Slider taking a turn down the hill today. Advanced sale tickets are now available at indians.com. (Via @indians)
Meth Lab Explodes in Akron
Meth labs can be cluttered, and dangerous. If two shady looking gents to a hospital with burns and conflicting stories about how they got those burns, a meth lab accident is probably a good guess as to the origins of the injuries. That’s exactly what happened recently when a pair of guys, who are now…
Maxwell Returns to Airwaves, Shakes Up WNCX Formula
Former WMMS 100.7 personality Ben “Maxwell” Bornstein has returned to FM airwaves after a year off, and his curious new home at 98.5 WNCX is receiving mixed feedback about the morning drive host — but the early numbers look good. In recent memory, the classic rock station’s morning show has hovered around no. 7 in…
Cary Lewis Arrested for Driving Drunk With Kids, Joins Trend
It looks like Northeast Ohio is facing a crime wave of mommy DUIs. A rash of locals have been busted jumping behind the wheel with the kids rolling around in the backseat, liquor flowing through their veins. This morning we get reports of another one, this time in Mentor. Via 19ActionNews, we learn of 25-year-old…
LeBron James Movie is No More
For years now, a movie about a group of men attending a LeBron James fantasy basketball camp has been in the works. It was to be King James’ big step onto the big screen, a Hollywood venture with a big budget to follow More Than a Game, the indie doc on the St. Vincent St.…
LeBron James Movie is No More
For years now, a movie about a group of men attending a LeBron James fantasy basketball camp has been in the works. It was to be King James’ big step onto the big screen, a Hollywood venture with a big budget to follow More Than a Game, the indie doc on the St. Vincent St.…
Ohio Not Banning Four Loko… Yet
Everyone’s favorite dirt-cheap, alcohol and caffeine-packed beverage is taking heat around the nation. Four Loko, which gained infamy after a handful of college kids in Washington downed too many Lokos and went loco (and got sick), is being banned by universities and states around the country. New York is the latest to step up and…
Monday Just Got Better — New Girl Talk Album Is Available for Free
We’re not really looking forward to the holidays. Tons of shopping, cramming in too much work, and traveling across the state to visit relatives we really don’t like isn’t our idea of a good time. But right after the holidays — like, right around the time our New Year’s Eve hangover will finally start to…
Concert Review: American Music Masters
Fats Domino couldn’t make it to the Rock Hall bash, but he was there in spirit. For its 15th American Music Masters series, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Case Western Reserve University paid tribute to New Orleans legends Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew. A week of events honoring the two’s careers culminated…
Cleveland’s LED Lighting Deal Continues to be Problematic
This is the lighting scheme Jackson wanted for his office. Interesting read this weekend in the Plain Dealer updating the LED lighting kerfuffle that shook the Jackson administration early this summer. The recap: In March Jackson announced a big juicy valentine of a deal with Sunpu-Opto Semiconductors, a Chinese LED manufacturer. The fine print gave…
Video: Woman Dragged By Truck in Wal-Mart Parking Lot
From the friendly confines of a Wal-Mart parking lot near Columbus comes this disturbing video. An SUV stops and the driver asks a woman for directions. Of course, that’s not what he wants; he wants her purse. He grabs it but the victim is tangled up in the strap as he drives away, dragging her…
Cloud Nothings Number 3 on Hype Machine
Everyone seems to be on the Cloud Nothings bandwagon these days. 19-year-old Dylan Baldi is making sweet, addictive power-pop that has caught the ears of influential bloggers, Sirius XM favorites, and folks who pay attention to these sorts of things. “Hey Cool Kid” was the breakout but it seems Cloud Nothings is poised for bigger…
Whoopie Cushion Greeting Cards Coming From American Greetings
In today’s installment of Shit That Really Didn’t Need to Be Created: American Greetings today launched a line of greeting cards that double as whoopie cushions. Why anyone would sit on a card after receiving it or why anyone would feel good reading a card that was just under their ass is anyone’s guess, but…
Akron-Canton #1 Least Busy Airport
Travel clearing house site Orbitz has ranked the Akron-Canton airport as the least busy US airport on Thanksgiving Day. Even if you’re in Cleveland, the little airport that can is totally worth a 45-minute drive. Long-term parking’s cheap, too. And, as a recent episode proved, security is tight. — D.X. Ferris
Traffic Cameras Coming to East Cleveland
Be prepared to see more of these. East Clevelanders, get your wallets out, or slow down. In an effort to put a dent in rising debts, East Cleveland will install 15 traffic cameras to catch speeding motorists and rake in fines. Specifically, be on the lookout for them on Euclid Avenue, where East Cleveland will…
Justin Bieber Injured During Cleveland Concert!! OMG
In the most important news you’ll read all day, Justin Bieber sustained an injury last night during his concert performance in Cleveland. Now, before you hyperventilate, you should know it was a minor sprain to his knee, his hair is fine (Thank heavens!), and he soldiered on courageously through the show. Not that he really…
Braylon Edwards Can’t Spell
The landing page this morning on BraylonEdwards.com:
Not So Good Morning
The intermittently funny Morning Glory admirably subverts convention by focusing on a woman’s romance – not with a man, but with her career. Workaholic producer Becky (Rachel McAdams) loses her job in New Jersey and talks her way into a high-stress gig producing a failing New York morning show. She persuades irritable TV-news veteran Mike…
Train in Pain
Watching Tony Scott’s Unstoppable makes you empathize with the 1896 audience that supposedly fled their seats after seeing a train barreling down the screen at them. There’s something profoundly terrifying about the image of a speeding train, especially one, like in Unstoppable, that’s unmanned and carrying combustible chemicals. Scott has been down this path before:…
Shawn Easton Arrested for Rape of 4-Year-Old Girl
The father of a 4-year-old girl walked in on 19-year-old Shawn Easton messing around with his daughter. Easton was arrested by police at his home, and according to the report, told cops he “had done a bad thing” and touched the girl “in an inappropriate manner.” From the Lorain Morning Journal: Lorain police Detective Steve…
Peyton Hillis’ New Nickname on Wikipedia
It’s gone now, but screenshot comes from here. Fun with Wikipedia.
Pic of the Day: Cavs LEGO Necklace
LEGO + Cavs + Jewelry = Awesome. Someone out there — in Findlay, OH, we think — dared to dream. The results are a series of NBA-themed LEGO necklaces. Lots of specific players are represented, others are just generic team designs. Here’s the Cavs one, should you want to open your pocketbook and fetch out…
West Third Street Bridge Reopens
The West Third Street lift bridge, which has been closed since April, opens today now that it’s very expensive paint job has been finished. If you don’t know the full story of false starts and screw ups that have riddled the bridge, read the background here. Otherwise, just be thankful navigating that area between Tremont…
Braylon Edwards Photo Story is a Must See/Read
Braylon Edwards has not been shy about sharing his disdain for Cleveland since the Browns traded him to the Jets. On his conference call this week with media, he said he couldn’t wait to get out of Berea once he was informed of the trade. He also tweeted that Cleveland fans should get their popcorn…
Fail: Smokestack Demolition Goes Wrong (With Video)
A 300-foot smokestack at unused power plant in Spingfield, OH, was all set for demolition this week. Plans had been made, experts who specialize in demolition had worked, measuring and analyzing data to make sure all went well. And then, with video cameras rolling, the demolition began with bursts of explosions, which is when things…
Neil Armstrong’s Letter to the Team That Made His Spacesuit
When Neil Armstrong stepped out onto the moon on July 20, 1969, all that was standing between him and the vacuum of space that would kill him immediately was his spacesuit. The A7L, as Letters of Note notes, had to “provide, amongst other things, the following: a safe internal pressure; breathable oxygen; a regulated temperature;…
Skateboarder Dies After Public Square Accident
Olando Coleman, 19, was hit by a car yesterday on Public Square and has died from his injuries. Details are few at this moment, but according to 19 Action News, the driver is cooperating with the cops. They also have a quote from a witness to the accident. Natalie Miller tells them, “A black car…
“Naked Grandma” on Family Feud
What better way to start your day than with a naked grandma reference on Family Feud, hosted by Cleveland’s own Steve Harvey.
$10,000 Wedding Ring Lost on Flight
Dear Readers, If a flight attendant on Delta flight 3425 from Detroit to Canton-Akron on Thursday, November 4 handed you a wedding ring worth $10,000, the owner would like it back. Thanks, Underpaid Journalists Who Probably Wouldn’t Return a $10,000 Wedding Ring If Someone Handed It To Us 19 Action News has the story: Roza…
Ohio Paper Writes About John Legend Because They Can
John Legend: Featured on pages A1, A5, B2, C7 If you work at a small-town paper and your small town happened to be the home of a huge superstar, you would probably try to write about him/her with some amount of regularity, mostly because whatever they’re doing is more interesting than the fight over an…
Tamonda Johnson Left Son in Car to Gamble
Tamonda Johnson, a 32-year-old Canton woman, was short on cash and badly in need of some dough to pay rent. She made the only logical choice in such a situation: she made her way to an internet sweepstakes cafe. One problem: Johnson had her young son with her and no cash for a babysitter. Next…
Rex Ryan Dresses as Brother Rob Ryan for Press Conference
Jets head coach Rex Ryan showed up for his press conference today dressed as his twin brother, Browns defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. All it took was a pillow and a wig to complete the outfit.
Man Shoots Himself in Foot… Literally
When idiomatic expressions meet literal events, hilarity ensues. According to the Lorain Morning Journal, a 25-year-old Elyria told police that he found a “big gun” on the ground and accidentally shot himself in the left foot with it. Strange enough, right? Well, his explanation and the lack of corroborating evidence make everything doubly strange. He…
Adam Richman Loves Cleveland
Adam Richman, host of Man v. Food and everyone’s favorite serial gorger, has a new book out: America the Edible. In the course of his publicity rounds he stopped by the Today Show for a chat where his love for the Forest City came up. Seems the man who’s eaten everything and everywhere is quite…
CD Review: Various Artists
This compilation featuring 10 pioneering Northeast Ohio hardcore bands was originally released in 1984. The reissue (available on old-school vinyl with a digital download card) tags on tons of bonus tracks, bringing the final count to 64 songs. Very few of the bands are as good as the hardcore groups that were springing up in…
CD Review: Cee Lo Green
Bitter but supremely infectious, the summer internet hit “Fuck You” — a lewd little pop gem and one of the year’s best songs — anchors Cee Lo Green’s third solo album. You can thank the singer’s ability to turn surreal psychodrama into sensational pop music. Occasionally garish but always entertaining, Cee Lo got his start…
On Stage
Brainpeople — The orphan at the center of Jose Rivera’s play treats her psychic wounds in a bizarre and novel way. And it makes for some exhilarating theater despite some bumps in the road. Rivera is the author of Each Day Dies With Sleep and References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot, both of which…
CD Review: Brian Eno
Brian Eno has spent most of the past 40 years as an art-rock wizard, ambient torchbearer, and prestigious producer. On Small Craft on a Milk Sea, his first solo record in five years, he teams up with longtime collaborators Jon Hopkins and Leo Abrahams for an album that’s more improvisational than his usual studio-as-instrument recordings. The first…
On View This Week
JUXTAPOSITION The last time Christopher Kaspar showed his work at Brandt Gallery, it was a collection of black-and-white photos altered with paint. Kaspar is back to collaborate with painter Justin Brennan for this month’s Tremont Art Walk. Gallery owner Jean Brandt says the two artists are riffing off each other’s work, taking turns modifying photos…
CD Review: N.E.R.D.
On their fourth album, N.E.R.D. replace most of the rock elements found on their earlier records with more cohesive R&B sounds. It gives them a sturdier base for more experimental tracks and helps cover up the trio’s occasional lyrical and vocal weaknesses. But Nothing isn’t a boundary-redefining revolution, just a clever collection of poppy R&B…
Get Out!
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11 BEHIND THE LENS A Rock Photog Shoots and Tells Even if you don’t know Bob Gruen’s name, you probably know his work; in fact, one of his posters may be hanging on your wall. Gruen is the man behind many of rock & roll’s iconic images, photographing an all-star lineup of rock…
CD Review: Various Artists
Producer and DJ Diplo knows his stuff: He’s helped shape many of M.I.A.’s best songs. On this 16-track overview of dubstep — a bass-heavy subset of electronic music — he handpicks cuts by pals, labelmates, and influences. The best of them — Joker & Ginz’s skittering “Re-Up,” Major Lazer’s “Hold the Line” remix with Santigold,…
At the Arthouse
Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields The Magnetic Fields have been wowing brainy indie-rock types for more than 15 years with their cerebral mix of pop-history sweepings. In 1999, they released 69 Love Songs, a sprawling three-disc set that attempts to cover the scope of 20th century music in its 69 songs. And…
Concert Time
JUSTIN BIEBER He’s everywhere, and his audience isn’t sick of him … at least not yet. Teen heartthrob Justin Bieber may send pre-teen girls into a flutter, but his formula is nothing new. And yet something makes him both lovable and entirely forgivable. Maybe it’s the pop singer’s squeaky-clean voice and innocence — that YouTube…
They Were All Witnesses
Suicide drills don’t sting so badly when you can tell the world you’re national champs. So Steve Smutak careens down the basketball court strapped to his wheelchair, ferociously pushing and whooshing from one end to the other. He reaches the basket and glides for a moment, then spins and exuberantly cruises back to the other…
Monday’s Child
If there are any lingering doubts about the direction fine dining is headed, Shawn Monday’s new venture could put them to bed. By abandoning his post as chef-partner at the small, posh, and successful restaurant Downtown 140 to launch Hudson’s One Red Door, a more value-driven and as-yet-unseasoned place of his own, Monday is going…
Bites: Fracas Opening at Centrum Theatre Location
The dictionary defines “fracas” as a noisy, disorderly disturbance or brawl. By mid-December, the word will take on new meaning when Fracas opens in Cleveland Heights. Billed as a gastropub, the eatery will take over the historic Centrum Theater near Coventry Road, which most recently housed Johnny Malloy’s. Chef-owner Phil Romano, formerly of Hyde Park…
We Get Mail
A CLEVELAND WITHOUT KUCINICH? In the 2010 Best of Cleveland poll, readers gave the “Best Politician” award to U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich, saying that, with his “small army of devoted grassroots supporters, he’ll be a congressman as long as he wants” [“Your City, Your World,” October 13, 2010]. Not so fast. Now that the people…
Film Capsules
Alpha and Omega (PG) — Humphrey (voiced by Justin Long) and Kate (Hayden Panettiere) are buddies in their wolf pack until Kate goes off to alpha training to become a future pack leader in this animated movie. Humphrey is an omega; his pack role is merely comic relief. The two classes traditionally never mix, but…
Love Stinks
For anyone who loves romantic comedies, the deterioration of the genre in recent years has been heartbreaking. While they may not be an endangered species just yet, it’s definitely starting to feel that way. In a culture where couples hook up instead of date and CGI- and 3-D-driven comic-book movies make up the bread and…
All Horned Up
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is celebrating the music of New Orleans all this week by glancing backward. But one artist in this mix is looking forward. The latest edition of the Rock Hall’s annual American Music Masters series pays tribute to the birth of N’Awlins-style R&B with a series of programs and…
Stay In!
TOP PICK — VIDEO GAME Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock (Activision) The series’ best outing in years (for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii) comes back hard, with more than 90 tracks for you to fake-shred on. There’s some Alice Cooper (“No More Mr. Nice Guy”), Def Leppard (“Pour Some Sugar on Me”), and…
Closing Time
Chris Allen’s new album, Acetate, doesn’t immediately grab you the way his other records do. The harsher edges and slow build of the opener “Love Not Born” sounds little like the local singer-songwriter’s usual Sprinsgteen-meets-the-Replacements bar stomps. The hook isn’t very immediate either — not even when you get to the chorus. And even though…
Shots in the Dark
When actors put together their résumés, most choose to feature certain high-profile roles they have played, such as Hamlet or Willy Loman, Lady Macbeth or Blanche Dubois. It’s safe to say very few have ever listed Dr. Radio Rooster at the top of their bio, but Nick Koesters certainly should. Koesters is the featured performer…
GAME OF CHANCE
Paradise can be found at the intersection of Snow Rd. and Chevrolet Blvd. in Parma. The Internet Paradise feels like a barebones casino, nestled in a storefront between an Eagles’ lodge and a Mr. Hero. Big letters on the window say you can make copies, send faxes, surf the net, and win cash. But nobody’s…
Home Video
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Universal) Here’s your chance to see one of the year’s best movies, which bombed in theaters. That’s OK — it works just as well at home, where the video-game-themed plot fits perfectly. Michael Cera once again plays a nerdy kid pining for a hot girl. But this time he has…
Easy Street Shuffle
Formed in 1976 as an all-purpose cover band, Easy Street eventually became known for their dead-on renditions of Bruce Springsteen songs. “We always had a saxophonist, and our singer sounds like him,” says bassist Bob Martin. “In fact, Southside Johnny named our singer Westside Steve [Simmons] one night when we were opening for him at…
