Wearing a Santa Suit Out of Season and Talking to Little Kids Will Draw Attention
Wearing a Santa suit out in public is an acceptable fashion choice approximately one month plus one day of the year (Thanksgiving through Christmas, and then once again for Christmas in July.) Don the big red outfit and hat any other day of the year and you’re bound to get some strange looks. Don the…
Ohio Fair Sells Beer, Makes Money… Shocking
Breaking news today of national… nay… international import: People like beer. And this additional breaking news is also coming through hot and heavy on the wires: Corral people in a location for a handful of hours, and they will pay surprisingly high prices for a glass of beer. The AP reports today that the Richland…
First Energy Comes Up Short Again, PUCO Doesn’t Care… Again
For the second year in a row, First Energy has failed to derive enough of its power from solar energy produced within the state. Also for a second straight year: The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio is cool with First Energy blowing off its demands. The regulator recently announced it won’t seek the fine First…
Cleveland’s Gay Games Settlement Averts Awkward Testimony, But Not Publication of Embarrassing Emails
“She put a smiley face on it so”, A pact struck late last month abruptly ended Cleveland’s Gay Games controversy, but it may also have short-circuited some wonderful municipal comedy in the courtroom. The problems started a couple years back when news broke that Cleveland was in the running to host the 2014 Gay Games,…
Concert Review: Atmosphere at House of Blues
Many years ago, one of the kitchen guys that I worked with had the song “Hair” crackling out of a pair of old speakers. I immediately fell in love with Atmosphere. Fast-forward a few years and Slug, DJ Ant, and the various rotating pieces and parts that make up the indie rap group sound better…
Cleveland Murders, By the Numbers
More gunfights and fewer cops. The rise of flash mobs and riots at McDonald’s. No, it’s not season 6 of The Wire — it’s a quick scan of this summer’s headlines. But does the street-level reality match the nightly newscasts? Not by a long shot, based on the city’s own scorecard. According to figures supplied…
The Quality of Cleveland Life Report
Your guide to thriving in fabulous Cleveland.Drop the Guns, Take the Cannoli: Cops confirm no flash mobs marred last weekend’s Feast of the Assumption, add that if any groups of young black people descended on Little Italy, they’re pretty sure they would have noticed.A Matter of Priorities: Study: Clevelanders among best in America at paying…
Pic of the Day: Cleveland in the New York Post
Avengers filming in Cleveland got the full-page treatment in the New York Post today capturing a fireball-laden image from yesterday’s action on E. 9th. (Via @19ActionNews)
Clevelanders Pay Their Bills On Time
Conventional wisdom says that Cleveland is broke. But that doesn’t mean we’re not responsible with our debts, at least not according to today’s specious internet rankings. Via Crain’s Cleveland, Experian PLC crunched the data on credit cards and mortgage payments for 30 cities across the nation, and in each category, Cleveland was ranked as one…
Video: Avengers Filming Brings Running Crowds, Exploding Stuff
When folks said that E. 9th street would look like a real movie while The Avengers was being filmed, they weren’t kidding. Here’s video from the Plain Dealer of a bunch of extras sprinting around crazily as cop cars pull through the intersection, smoke billows, and explosions sound in the distance. Well, we think they’re…
Rick Vaughn Injures Arm During Filming for Major League 4
We told you before that Major League 4 was in the pipeline. On one hand, yeah, annoying Hollywood sequel to a sequel with aging stars angling for a paycheck. On the other hand, Major League! Anyway, Chuckie Sheen is on board to reprise his role as Rick Vaughn, but apparently the right-handed fireballer has already…
Drunk Babysitter Accused of Hitting Autistic Child, Being Drunk
Maybe there’s a reason Cleveland was recently ranked one of the easiest (read: cheapest) cities in which to find a babysitter. A couple of dollars and cents isn’t going to buy you much responsibility. For that kind of money, your kid’s basically promised a cold bowl of Kraft mac-and-cheese and seven hours alone on the…
Jani Lane, Akron-Born Warrant Lead Singer, Found Dead in LA (Updated)
RIP Update: Two important followups: 1) The autopsy for Jani Lane was inconclusive. An official cause of death could be two months out. 2) Lane was born John Kennedy Oswald. We did not know that. (Fox 8) *** This sad news is heating up the airwaves this morning: In Los Angeles, authorities have confirmed the…
Robbery Victim: “Dude, Not the Cigarettes”
Some things are sacred. Take a scenario when you’re law-abiding nose is squared up with the butt of a pistol and some miscreant is not-so-kindly asking for your wallet, keys, cash, etc. Maybe in that case the wedding ring is off limits. “Come on man, not my wedding ring.” Some things are worth risking bodily…
Concert Review: Janet Jackson at Jacobs Pavilion
For a global pop star with nearly a quarter century of Top 40 hits, Janet Jackson’s Up Close and Personal career retrospective concert Friday night left a lot to be desired. Playing in front of a sold-out Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica, Jackson raced through her 100-minute set, stringing together hit after hit in medley form.…
After Anthony Sowell Trial, Assistant Prosecutor Wants Jason Smith
Jason Smith. Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Rick Bombik won what he called the “Super Bowl” in the trial of Anthony Sowell, the convicted serial killer who was sentenced to death just last Friday. As the PD’s Michael McIntyre points out in a brief article, Bombik was planning on retiring before the Sowell case came to…
Local Fox 8 Reporter Scares Kids in Playground, Tweets About It
We love everything about the tweets local television reporters send out to tease their stories on the evening news. “Something at your desk is killing you right now. Details at 11.” “There’s a tornado somewhere in Cleveland. Tune in at 5 to find out where.” You get the point. Fox 8’s Mark Zinni upped the…
As the World Tweets: the Anthony Sowell Edition
As we reported earlier this afternoon, convicted serial killer Anthony Sowell has been sentenced to death for the brutal murders of 11 women at his Imperial Avenue home. Hopefully, the victims’ families can draw some comfort from the way the wheels of justice have turned on this one. No question about it, the case was…
FL Judge Says Casey Anthony Must Leave Newbury (or Wherever)
We’re going to make this picture small, because so many of you don’t like to look at her. But we’re not really sure if the Amish are ready and willing to give her up. We smell an extradition fight. From the Associated Press (via NewsChannel 5): ORLANDO, Fla. – Casey Anthony must return to Orlando…
Central Ohio Politico Busted for Porn on Office Computer
‘Wait, what does NSFW mean again?’ Come on, man. Seriously, you couldn’t wait until you got home? And on the taxpayer’s dime, no less. This story, courtesy of our pals down at the Columbus Dispatch, really makes the office-bound among us peer suspiciously over the cubicle wall at co-workers — never know what’s going on…
Bouncer Zapped with Stun Gun After Denying Fake ID
Is the moral of this story that we should feel better because underage kids are packing stun guns now instead of real bullet-spitting gats? Reader, you decide. This is coming from the Cleveland Heights Patch, and it’s just a sneeze-length write-up in the police blotter, but still a worthy entry in the annals of suburban…
Judge Sentences Anthony Sowell to Death
From 19ActionNews’ Twitter. In the predictable but much-needed final act of this long, drawn out trial, Judge Dick Ambrose held up the jury’s recommendation that Anthony Sowell receive the death penalty. The convicted serial killer reportedly had his eyes closed throughout the whole sentencing and wouldn’t acknowledge anyone even when directly addressed. Weird. Check back…
Supreme Court Shoots Down Challenge to Heath Care Law Challenge
Heath care is going to take away jobs. It looks like the Tea Partying opponents of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul will get the opportunity to take their beef to the Ohio ballot next November. This morning the state Supreme Court shot down a legal challenge to the ballot challenge . . . er…
Avengers Shoot Heading to Parma, Will Blow Stuff Up
Parma Heights, aren’t you jealous? Cleveland isn’t hogging all of the Avengers. According to 19ActionNews, Parma will get in on the big-budget Hollywood action upsetting everyone’s commute as well. But no, we’re not talking about boring street shots or talk talk talk blah blah blah. In Parma, they’re going to be blowing stuff up. The…
You Can Stop Believin’ Now
Glee fans rejoice! Your 3D concert experience has arrived! Everyone else can carry on with their lives, since there’s not much to see here. Glee: The 3D Concert Movie is put together in a highly polished package with some “behind-the-scenes” footage (with all actors still in character) and about how Glee makes life better for…
Vote on Akron Aeros’ New Name
The Akron Aeros launched a “rebranding” movement that solicited new names for the Double A Tribe affiliate. Why “Aeros” was not longer suitable, who knows. Now, the finalists are in, and these, Northeast Ohio, are your horrible, horrible choices, all of which pay homage in some way to Akron, but all of which sound awful…
Metro Acknowledges PR Problems, Wants to Remind You They Do Good Stuff Too
Metro CEO Mark Moran stopped by the PD to talk to editors and reporters on Wednesday, as noted in the PD’s editorial on Metro’s employee exit-strategies here. It happens every once in awhile; a subject calls up or stops over to the paper’s headquarters after they’ve been the target a series of articles that don’t…
Pic of the Day: Smokeshack at Cuyahoga County Adminstration Building Torn Down
Cleveland and Cuyahoga County’s continued mission to take the fun out of life and make you live that fun-less life longer continues. Here’s a pic via WTAM of the famed smokeshack at the Cuyahoga County Administration Building being torn down. County workers will now have to abscond off to less savory and more dangerous locations…
Cookout Shootings Were Gang Related Just Shootings (Updated)
Update: Per Fox 8, cops say they’ve arrested James M. Jackson, 22, for the cookout shootings the other day. Also, authorities now say it was not gang related at all. OK, then. *** The gunshots that rang out at a cookout on Bayliss Avenue last night stemmed from gangs, according to police and 19 Action…
Vintage Video: Warren Zevon at The Odeon
There have been something like 22 deaths in and around Cleveland over the last five days from car accidents, murders, and more. Depressing times, depressing things to write about. Let’s take a break for a minute and watch something cool instead: Video of Warren Zevon’s acoustic show at the Odeon back in 2000. One song…
Columbus Dispatch’s Shady SB5 Reporting
This November, Ohio voters will decide whether Senate Bill 5 lives or dies. Early polling has Ohio leaning toward repealing the controversial collective bargaining bill, and while that very well come to fruition, each side continues to battle for the hearts and minds of voters, and newspapers continue to weigh in with opinions. The Columbus…
Destination Nowhere
Not much changes in Final Destination 5, a shallow spectacle of needless gore chasing cheap thrills. Like other outings in the franchise, the plot in this one is a mere vehicle to usher in the most bizarre and ridiculous set of coincidences leading to some brutally gruesome deaths. A group of young adults manage to…
Thursday Morning Music Swag Giveaway
Nashville’s best We’re so excited for Jeff the Brotherhood’s show at Peabody’s next Friday that we’re giving away two copies of their new album, We Are the Champions. But these aren’t just boring ol’ copies of the album you can pick up at the Record Exchange. They’re on vinyl. White vinyl. And they’re signed by…
Lorain SWAT Team Seems Busy
SWAT teams stand ready but aren’t really put into action that often. They’re there, however, training, preparing, practicing, and keeping sharp in the meantime. Out in Lorain, this apparently includes setting up a bike-stealing sting to nab a homeless fella who had a habit of lifting bicycles that didn’t belong to him. Seriously.The Chronicle Telegram…
Volunteer Fired from Ohio State Fair for Making Fun of Rob Portman’s Hair
Smoky, in the wood. Day in and day out politicos line up before a firing squad of criticism and complaint. For such a flak-filled profession, you’d think they’d have developed the skin of the larger pachyderm set. But it seems someone deemed a low blow aimed at Rob Portman — delivered in the voice of…
We’re Giving Away a Guitar Signed by Kid Rock
Bawitdaba, bitches Yep, you read that right. To celebrate Kid Rock’s concert at Blossom Music Center on Tuesday, we’re giving away an awesome Jim Beam Silvertone Electric Guitar autographed by the man himself. You can read our interview with Kid Rock here. You can also hear some exclusive songs from the Kid Rock Live Music…
Man’s Girlfriend Steals His Car, Phone, Cash
Well, his soon to be ex-girlfriend, we suppose. In the future, his questions on a first date will probably include, “Would you like dessert?”, “Where did you grow up?”, and “Are you going to steal all my shit?” Via the Rocky River Sun News police blotters: GRAND THEFT AUTO, ADDINGTON BOULEVARD: A man may be…
Whole Country Talking About Cleveland’s Urban Farming Efforts and Vacant Lots
Urban farming efforts in Cleveland are not exactly breaking news in town anymore. You know about it, you’ve read about it, you’ve driven by the farm off W. 25th, you’ve eaten vegetables grown right here in Cleveland and served up in dishes from Jonathan Sawyer and Michael Symon and others. But those outside of Cleveland…
Cleveland Ranked Second Best City to Find Babysitter
As we continue scouring the web for the hastily assembled city rankings that a) Allow you delay doing that thing you really should be doing for five more minutes and b) More accurately assess your self-worth as a person and a citizen of Cleveland, some numbers are more eye-opening than others. Especially on a hungover…
Concert Review: Neko Case at Beachland Ballroom
Neko hitches a ride A good concert is all about atmosphere: the crowd, the band, the sound, and the way those elements fit together. Good concerts are rare. But the best concerts live in the realm of surprise. They simultaneously sound familiar and entirely new, and they create moments that will carry on in your…
Dancing Girl at Tribe Game Drives Viewers Nuts
The dugout suites at baseball parks are prime location for the ever-annoying “talking on cell phone and waving at the camera” move. Hey, I’m on TV, you can see me, I’m talking to you, hey, I can see me on TV too, hey man, isn’t this just magic, how did they do that, omggg, hiiiii.…
Local Band in Focus
Meet the Band: It’s actually one guy — one kid: 15-year-old rapper Jesse “Jmo” Morris from Canton. Basement Tapes: Jmo had no idea he could rap until an impromptu basement freestyle with friends. Since then he’s released three mixtapes and is working on a fourth. He promises that 4 Eyes on the Prize will include…
Stay In!
TOP PICK – DVD Amélie (Lionsgate) One of the best movies of the past 10 years looks even more splendid on Blu-ray, enveloping itself in the visual flair of Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s sweet fantasy-romance. Audrey Tautou is perfect as the pixie-like title character, who makes both the French and bangs tolerable. But it’s Jeunet’s candy-coated brushstrokes…
CD Review: The Big Sweet
(myspace.com/thebigsweet) From the very first sounds on their second album — an electronic drone shattered by jangly pop — there’s no denying that the Big Sweet are one of the most polished bands on the scene. While it’s worth mentioning that they’re still in high school, the truth is age doesn’t even scratch the surface…
Two’s Company
Two-artist shows are often collaborations or studies in contrast. But in the case of Two Man Show, the new exhibition at Kenneth Paul Lesko Gallery, curator Ross Lesko chooses to emphasize the key traits shared by the radically different featured artists: quirkiness and wry humor. Of course, each creator has his own goals and aesthetic.…
Lacing Up
Machine Gun Kelly has been tearing up Cleveland clubs and mixtapes for the past couple of years. All that hard work has finally paid off in a big-time record deal with Interscope. The 21-year-old rapper was signed to Intescope’s Bad Boy imprint last week and will release his debut album, Lace Up, in early 2012.…
On View This Week
Sankofa Fine Art Expo: Reaching Higher Sankofa Fine Art Plus, a nonprofit arts community that develops and advocates for ethnic artists, hosts its massive annual Fine Art Expo this weekend, with the theme of “Reaching Higher (Inspire & Innovate).” Featured artist and author Kadir Nelson will display 35 of his original paintings and illustrations from…
End Around
You have to connect the dots to know the town. That thought came to mind with the recent news that Mayor Frank Jackson has named Diane Downing to the board of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority. Most recently a regional exec for Huntington Bank, Downing is part of a coterie of people who fade in…
Rare Baseball Films Stop in Cleveland
Rare Films From the Baseball Hall of Fame This two-hour program celebrates the boys of summer with a bunch of vintage movies borrowed from the HOF’s collection. These clips are always a treat, and this year host Dave Filipi (a film and baseball geek — yes, ladies, there is such a monster) presents a stellar…
The Pimp Cowboy
Kid Rock’s cowboy persona has taken many forms over his 20-plus-year career. On his 1990 debut, Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast, he played a 19-year-old white kid from Detroit, a gunslinger in gold chains writing old-school rap songs like he was in Kool Moe Dee’s wild wild west. He recalibrated that sound by 1998’s breakthrough Devil…
Trucker Party
Unless you’ve been living under a walk-in cooler, you are likely aware that Chris Hodgson, peripatetic chef and owner of Dim and Den Sum, participated in Season 2 of the Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race. Hosted by Tyler Florence, the series features eight top food trucks competing for a $100,000 grand prize. Over the…
CD Review: O.A.R.
What’s the fascination with Marc Roberge and his jam band besides their stage shows? O.A.R., which came together at Ohio State, made their reputation playing college towns. Their seventh album — with its tropical island vibes, horns, and beer-with-lime philosophy (“You can’t live high if you can’t live low”) — is loaded with frat-house roots-rock…
Concert Calendar
Lucy Woodward After wooing coffeehouse customers during her formative years, Bronx native Lucy Woodward somehow found herself singing empty pop songs, just like dozens of other teen hopefuls. But unlike many of those now-forgotten names, Woodward eventually started making the music she wanted to make. “I stopped listening to what was on the radio and…
CD Review: Scattered Trees
Death has served as a creative muse ever since mankind started dying. Check out those primitive drawings scrawled on cave walls and you’ll see stick figures lying prone as other stick figures mournfully stand above them. Chicago’s Scattered Trees were all but broken up when frontman Nate Eiseland got them back together following the death…
Chasing Casey
A Scene Adventure News Team Exclusive Report Featuring Exclusive Adventure News photos by FRANK J. LANZA and Similarly Exclusive InfoGraphic by AARON SECHRIST The moment the tip landed in the Adventure News Team Inbox, it was time to clear some space on the trophy shelf. After all, Pulitzer-karat gold only comes along several times a…
On Stage This Week
Hairspray at Beck Center: Holding Strong The figures aren’t in yet — but it looks like Hairspray is poised to break Beck Center’s box-office records. “We’re playing to almost-full houses every night,” says marketing director Kathleen Caffrey. “So far, so good. It’s been a wonderful run.” Directed by Scott Spence and starring Kevin Joseph Kelly…
Drink of the Week
The jury’s still out on the real meaning of C2’s moniker: Does the name of the Intercontinental Suites ‘ new restaurant stand for Cleveland Clinic? Citrus 2.0? Or Cultural Cuisine, as officials claim? In any case, the restaurant in the newly rebranded “wellness” hotel on the Clinic’s campus focuses on healthful Mediterranean eats, created by…
Home Movies
Paul (Universal) It’s no surprise that this comedy about a foul-mouthed, pot-smoking alien is loaded with geeky sci-fi jokes: Stars and co-writers Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are card-carrying members of the club. Two British nerds (played by Shaun of the Dead’s Pegg and Frost) on a UFO-hotspot trip across the U.S. help an alien…
Over the Moon
Unless the topic is puppies, I’m not a big fan of cute. But try walking into the freshly minted Luna Bakery and Café without uttering that saccharine descriptor. The petite space, formerly known as Gwynby Antiques in the Cedar-Fairmount District, is as crisp and cosmopolitan as a bespoke suit. Whitewashed brick walls set off gleaming…
30 Minutes or Less, and other movies to see
30 Minutes or Less (R) Dwayne and Travis (Danny McBride and Nick Swardson) are losers without prospects. But Dwayne’s dad is rich, so he figures he can solve his problems by hiring a hit man to kill the old man and collect the inheritance. Still, hit men aren’t cheap, so Dwayne and Travis kidnap pizza-delivery…
Space Oddity
Movies can’t just blow your mind with zooming X-Wings anymore. They need to blow it on a completely different level, with a totally mind-fucking story to go along with all the fancy CGI effects. From The Matrix’s bit-rate reality to Donnie Darko’s time-traveling teenage angst to Inception’s multilevel dreamscapes, it’s just as much about assaulting…
Get Out!
Thursday | 11 Downtown Doings No. 1 Party on Star Plaza! That little piece of Playhouse Square property known as Star Plaza is more than just a patch of concrete: Today, it’s an outdoor party palace, where you can dig some live jams, down a few brewskis, and snatch something sizzling off the grill. Part…
We Get Mail
Flash Mob Flashback I am one of many people insulted by your article in regard to flash mobs [“Beware of Playful Children,” July 20, 2011]. No one is saying that children cannot play and get together for summertime fun, but please do not make us all out to be a bunch of racists with no…
CD Review: The Horrors
Despite their gloomy name, England’s the Horrors aren’t black-sporting goths with Ian Curtis’ mug tattooed on their chests. In fact, they’re probably not even sure what kind of band they are these days. On their third album they switch gears (again), this time heading into ’80s synth-pop territory for a turn at vintage post-punk. Singer…
