Where Sex Happens Here
The Imagine Foundation came together three years ago when Clevelander Jesse Bach stepped up to help Nepalese children being sold into slavery. The 15 girls rescued as a result of his efforts came to be known as “The Cleveland 15.” Now Imagine is turning its attention to human trafficking in Northeast Ohio. Its newly released…
Kid Theater On the Way in Cleveland
Cleveland actress and director Alison Garrigan is known for taking on, shall we say, adventurous projects. She excels at roles that push the sexual envelope in productions like Hedwig & the Angry Inch and The Rocky Horror Show. Now she’s headed in the opposite direction: launching Talespinner Children’s Theatre. The idea had been floating through…
The ‘Factory of Sadness’ T-Shirt
From the inevitable news department: GV Artwork has made a “Factory of Sadness” t-shirt. You can buy it here. Great for the holidays. And the kids.
‘Foster the People’ Was a Jeopardy Answer and No One Got It Right
“Pumped Up Kicks,” the ubiquitous breakout indie song from Cleveland-native Mark Foster’s band, was a clue on Jeopardy last week. Unfortunately, or thankfully depending on how you look at it, there are at least three people in this world who don’t know it’s sung by Foster the People. Those three people happened to be Jeopardy…
Concert Review: Mister Heavenly at the Grog Shop
Last night at the Grog Shop, Mister Heavenly headlined a mister-heavy lineup, which also included punk upstarts Mr. Dream and Cleveland DJ Mister Bradley P. Mister Heavenly is fronted by Nick Thorburn of Islands and Ryan Kattner (aka Honus Honus) of Man Man, with Joe Plummer of Modest Mouse. Early concerts added actor Michael Cera…
Mom Arrested for DUI With Kid in Car, Again (Updated)
Update: A judge sentence Tomeka Stockwell, she of the improbably back-to-back DUIs with her child in the car fame, to one year in prison. She pleaded no contest and will also have to attend alcohol treatment and parenting classes. (Cleveland.com) *** Hang around the halls of Scene & Heard long enough and you’ll see a…
Reginald Brooks Flicked Off Room During Execution
Reginald Brooks was executed today by the state of Ohio for killing his three sons in 1982 while they slept. He went out in exactly the manner you would expect an asshole to go. Via the PD: Reginald Brooks was pronounced dead at 2:04 p.m. He extended the middle figure of his left hand throughout…
Plain Dealer Obituary of Former Plain Dealer Writer Fails to Mention the Plain Dealer Laid Him Off
First, RIP Terry Oblander. Tremendous reporter, Pulitzer, winner, longtime Northeast Ohio scribe, respected writer, and weekly source of fun with Public Squares. Oblander, 64, passed away this weekend at the Cleveland Clinic. Second, the PD’s obituary for Oblander, complete though it may seem, fails to mention one key detail about his life: he was laid…
Barroco Grill to Open Second Location in Warehouse District
It was only a matter of time until Barroco Grill expanded beyond its Lakewood borders. The wonderful Latin-themed eatery specializing in arepas has been growing steadily in popularity since it opened last spring. Now, owners say they will open a second outpost in the Warehouse District. Slated to open in approximately two months, Barroco Grill…
Graphic: Tower City to Hopkins Airport on the RTA
An out-of-towner took the RTA red line from Tower City to Hopkins Airport and detailed the scenery in this handy graphic. Our favorite entry: Urban bliggity blight, y’all.
Lorain Knows It Stinks
Via the Chronicle-Telegram, a note from Lorain authorities on the pervasive stench covering the city recently: “It’s an unknown odor that is being held close to the ground due to the fog and lack of wind,” [Lt. Ben] Weber said. “Whatever the stink is, we can’t find it.” There you go.
State Trooper Known for ‘KKK Prank’ Cited for DUI (Updated)
Update: Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper Eric Wlodarsky is now former Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper Eric Wlodarsky; he submitted his letter of resignation on Friday, which was immediately accepted. He had been on desk duty since the alcohol-related accident detailed below. (Sandusky Register) *** Back in 2008, the day before Martin Luther King Jr.…
Afternoon Brew: Young Dennis!, Digital-First Local Papers, A Blimp Pilot, and Kenny Chesney
Good afternoon, Cleveland. Here’s some stuff to read while you daringly pilot your Fiesta home in the rain. — What it was like to pilot early blimps in the dangerous days before Air Snoopy I. (Ohio.com) — Archive video from when Dennis! Kucinich lost his re-election bid for mayor. More importantly, footage of him eating…
Med Mart Releases List of “Top-Tier Targets”
The Med Mart — which may sell hospital supplies, or offer continuing education, or become a big coffee shop where single doctors do speed dating — released its list of “top-tier targets” recently. These are the big name, big money companies that, if the Med Mart landed them, would lend an instant air of credibility…
Man Breaks Into Home, Decorates for Christmas
Is it not enough for department stores, radio stations, and retailers to bombard us with Christmas music, decorations, and candy cane madness before the Thanksgiving turkey even hits the table, now home intruders are unleashing premature Christmas-ness on the public, too. Seriously. WHIO reports that a Vandalia, Ohio family came home to find a complete…
Man Makes Up Robbery to Get Ride Home From Cops
Stuck at the mall, cold, alone, with no ride and no money, and you need to get home? What oh what to do? One thing you don’t do: Dial 911, tell cops you were robbed at gunpoint, and hope they take you home. Via Mentor Patch: However, when an officer arrived at the mall to…
Browns Offensive Strategy Now Includes Handing Off to a Third-String Tight End
Of all the bungling bungles in yesterday’s loss to the Rams, the most confounding confoundment was the decision in the fourth quarter, when the Browns were in the red zone and threatening to score to pull ahead of St. Louis: handing the ball off to backup tight end Alex Smith. Yes, not only one in…
Another Amish Beard Attack Happened
“What the hell is going on?” You remember the Amish beard attack story from last month, right? Of course you do. Everyone in the world was fascinated with the Mullet family and their follicle clipping antics against other Amish folks in Ohio that had shunned them. The breakaway group chopped beards and hair in a…
Plain Dealer’s Latest Circulation Numbers Released
It’s all in the numbers. There’s no reason to hide the fact that its rough going for most print media outlets out there. You remember print media, right? The dead-tree edition of your favorite Web site? Okay, great. Now that we’re on the same page . . . In our business, there’s actually a…
Josh Cribbs Was Just Joking About That Surprise Gameplan
“Crap, I shouldn’t have said that.” The Browns have negative-14 options on offense these days. Hillis is hurt, as is Massaquoi, and Hardesty. One playmaker that has been consistent each week has been Josh Cribbs. Earlier this week, the media scrum huddled around Cribbs asking if No. 16 would get different looks in the offense…
And Now, Mark Price Singing
Mark Price is not only a former basketball player, free-throw machine, current assistant coach, all-around good guy, family man, and Christian gentleman, he’s also a pretty good singer. We hadn’t seen or heard No. 25’s pipes before this morning, but this video of Price singing with his group, Lifeline, strutted through our Twitter timeline this…
Double Feature Gallery Opens in Gordon Square
A new gallery is joining the Gordon Square Arts District this weekend. Double Feature Gallery opens this Friday at 1392 West 65th Street. Specializing in works from emerging national artists, the gallery is a project of local artists and arts collaborators Rachel Hunt, Jared Frankel, Mike Marine, and Mickey Munroe. The dual space contains a…
Report: Ohio Ranked Second for Mercury Emissions from Power Plants
The string of positive rankings for the Buckeye state ended around these parts today when a release from Environment Ohio landed in our inbox. Subject line: “New Data Shows Ohio Power Plants Emit 2nd Most Mercury Pollution Nationally.” Boo, Ohio. The data was culled from the EPA, and the 2010 numbers are not pretty. Ohio…
John Glenn’s Hometown Allows Alcohol Sales, Finally
That making did not include drinks at the local bar. If you’ve ever dipped into Tom Wolfe’s epic 1979 account of the early astronauts, The Right Stuff, you’ll remember the writer’s somewhat unflattering portrayal of John Glenn. While all the other early ‘nauts were out boozing and chasing stewardess under the stars in Cocoa Beach…
Sherwin-Williams Logo Now Gone From Penn State Press Conference Banner
The Sherwin-Williams logo used to be on the press conference backdrop for Penn State, right there with the Nittany Lion logo. One of those sponsor/branding opportunities any number of companies enter into with any number of colleges, the Cleveland-based Fortune 500 company could not have foreseen what was coming in State College. As of this…
Polite Intruder Makes Tea for Homeowners, Eats Their Food
A resident told police he was awakened when Parker sat a tea cup and kettle on his bedroom nightstand. The resident, 57, and his mother, 84, told police they had never before seen Parker. Well, there are certainly worse ways to be awoken by a home intruder. A pot of tea sounds nice, except for…
19 Action News Recorded Jimmy Dimora Doing Yard Work
19 Action News did a public service and parked their action news station wagon on the street in front of Jimmy Dimora’s house and recorded. They struck gold, but probably not in the way they were expecting over at the newsplex — they caught Jimmy doing yard work! In a sleeveless shirt and shorts! That’s…
Afternoon Brew: Ignatius Dad Punches Ed’s Coach, Orange Closed Again, No Smokers at Toledo Casino, and Turn Ahead the Clock Uniforms
Good afternoon, Cleveland. Here’s some stuff to read while you kiss that sweet casino gig away because you’ve been to flavor country recently. — The Toledo casino will not employee smokers. That just doesn’t seem right. (AP) — Orange high school was closed for the third straight day because of bomb threats. Surprised the cops…
Voter Says Poll Worker Bit Him on the Nose (Updated)
Update: Reports from all over are coming in that the alleged nose-biter has turned himself in to police. Also, a detail we missed yesterday: Williams allegedly headbutted the voter between the eyes first before going after his honker. (NewsNet5) *** We were pretty bummed. Most of the day had gone by without any local election…
CMHA Posters, Cooler Than You Think
Ever think that posters made by Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority would be dug up from archives at the Library of Congress and recognized as… cool? The Atlantic Cities has a small gallery of CMHA posters from what looks like the mid-20th century. Here’s what they had to say: Former City Councilman Ernest Bohn spearheaded the…
Woman Charged for Stealing Grady Sizemore Nude Photos (Updated)
Grady Sizmore, shown with clothes on. Update: Almost a year to the day that Leah Ayers was charged with hacking into an email account and lifting those nudie photos of soon-to-be-former Indian Grady Sizemore, she was sentenced for the cyber snooping. The 20-year-old got two years on probation and six days on a work crew.…
The Quality of Cleveland Life Report
Your guide to living in fabulous Cleveland. Party Like It’s September: Sparx City Hop, scheduled for September but canceled at the last minute by the Downtown Cleveland Alliance because of rain that never rained, is back on for Saturday. Unless their horoscope that morning says “Enjoy a quiet day alone.” Then maybe not. Feast for…
Medical Marijuana Might Not Be on Ohio Ballot Until 2014
Ohio’s leisurely trot toward legalized pot may not come as soon as some have wished. The Ohio Attorney General’s office gave the OK last month for backers of the Ohio Alternative Treatment Amendment — who want to legalize pot for medicinal uses — to begin collecting the signatures needed to put it on the ballot.…
Pet Rescue Program Shuts Up Shop
Since 2003, victims of abuse who flee their homes have had a friend in Safety for Animals and Families in Emergencies. SAFE was founded by past victims of domestic abuse, who tended to notice how morons who beat people are way more likely to beat Barkley too. The concept was simple: When abuse victims would…
Home Movies
Blue Velvet: 25th Anniversary Edition (Twentieth Century Fox) One of the 1980s’ best and most fucked-up movies finally comes to Blu-ray. David Lynch’s super-twisted look at suburban hell through the eyes of a college kid who comes home after his dad ends up in the hospital starts with a severed ear and leads to a…
Stay In!
TOP PICK – BOOK 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die (Universe) There are several guides like this available, but only this 1,000-page monster dips into the mid-1800s for historical perspective. And unlike many of those other, more snobby books, this one makes room for more mainstream comics like Garfield (yes, the lasagne-loving cat)…
CD Review: Florence + the Machine
When Florence Welch unleashed her debut album, Lungs, a couple of years ago, there was some but not a lot of indication that she might be on to something with her witchy-woman howls and indie-torch-goth mashups. There were fewer suggestions, however, that she would make an album as tremendous as Ceremonials. Florence + the Machine…
Salvadoran Surprise
After a decade of covering food in this town, it’s refreshing to learn there are still some surprises left to uncover. Take this one: For years, two Salvadoran eateries have operated on Cleveland’s West Side while barely being noticed by those outside the Latin community. Less than a mile apart, Pupuseria La Bendicion and La…
Film Capsules
The Skin I Live In (R) Vera (Elena Anaya) is, in one sense, Madeleine Elster, and The Skin I Live In is Pedro Almodovar’s Vertigo: a grand and discomfiting portrait of obsession and doomed love. It’s easy to assume that Vera is married to Robert (Antonio Banderas), but it turns out that his wife died…
All Dressed Up
It’s no secret these days that J. Edgar Hoover was a real bastard. But back in the day he was a paragon of U.S. idealism and fortitude. As director of the FBI from 1935 to 1972, he built and ran the organization as the premier protector, champion, and defender of America’s old-fashioned values. He served…
Local Band in Focus
Meet the Band: Lee Boyle (vocals, keyboard, guitar), Jack Boyle (drums, bass), and Pepe Parish (bass, drums). A Rough Start: Originally formed as a rap duo in 1996, Lee and Parish let Lee’s little brother Jack join “on the condition that he didn’t try to hang out with us all the time.” Their musical tastes…
Living in Our Limelight
Rush have released six live DVDs during their 40-year career. Their seventh, Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland, was filmed at Quicken Loans Arena on April 15. Due out this week, it’s the band’s first concert DVD recorded in the U.S. — and the choice of Cleveland was a no-brainer, according to guitarist Alex Lifeson.…
CD Review: Vigatron
(vigatron.com) When a rapper references Fight Club, he’s trying to get attention. When he does it well, he deserves that attention. Vigatron opens the Tactical Bastard EP with a quote from the 1999 movie, but it’s the second track that serves as the MC’s formal introduction: “My name’s Vigatron, the abomination of Cleveland.” Actually, he’s…
There’s the Rub
What’s the greatest revelation among visitors to Sacred Hour? It’s not the wonderfully tranquil setting of the Rocky River massage spa, or even the accommodating staff on hand to attend to each guest’s needs. It’s the gender equality of it all: About half of Sacred Hour’s clientele are men and half are women, according to…
A Well-Respected Man
There’s resignation, defiance, and practicality in the way Ray Davies assesses his career these days. Of course the onetime leader of the Kinks would rather be writing, recording, and playing new music than revisiting songs he wrote 40 years ago. Of course he’d rather focus his time on albums like Other People’s Lives and Working…
We Get Mail
A Word From an Occupier I was going to be one of those arrested until Occupy Cleveland told me that it would be a danger to my health, as I have a chronic neurological condition [“Adventures in Occupation: Protester arrests were orchestrated; sleeping now forbidden,” October 26, 2011]. At an earlier meeting, we got into…
County vs. PD!
The Plain Dealer’s raging murder boner for Cuyahoga County Council President C. Ellen Connally got a Viagra boost last week when the paper discovered that — gasp — Connally had e-mailed her fellow councilmembers in an informal poll to determine whether they supported moving the twice-monthly meeting times from 6 p.m. to 3 p.m. Transparency…
Excerpt: The Whore of Akron
When I began work on The Whore of Akron in June 2009, it wasn’t going to be called that. The book I set out to write would’ve had a title like Bearing Witness, and it would’ve told the story of the Cavs’ first NBA crown — and the city’s first championship since the Browns won…
Savage Love
Dear Dan: I’m an evangelical Christian. My husband and I have been married five years. We have great sex several times a week despite having two kids under age 2. We get along so well that even a couple of my atheist friends have admitted they want what we have. What most of them don’t…
On View This Week
Cleveland Artists Foundation: Members Only Opening this Friday at the Cleveland Artists Foundation, Cleveland Creates: An Exhibition of Work Created by Member Artists showcases the works of some 60 local creatives. In the process, it demonstrates the healthy diversity of Cleveland’s artistic culture. Among the many highlights, Lithuanian-born Audra Skuodas, winner of a recent Cleveland…
Mama Don’t Preach
If you believe the message of the M*A*S*H theme song, suicide is painless. But don’t tell that to a four-year-old girl whose mother has just chugged drain cleaner. That shocking event is the driving force behind the autobiographical one-woman show Ya Mama!, now at Cleveland Public Theatre. Directed by Cathy Hartenstein, this 65-minute solo piece…
At the Arthouse This Week
Amigo Director John Sayles’ latest movie is another political allegory, this time building a story around the Philippine-American War that happened at the turn of the 20th century. Chris Cooper stars as an American soldier who settles in a Filipino village with his troops as they try to convince locals that their occupation is a…
On Stage This Week
Shades of Zanesville: Tigers Be Still Misfortune is always on the prowl in Tigers Be Still: ripping into the hearts of the characters and clawing its way through their various entanglements. Take Sherry (Rachel Gehlert, pictured far left), the until-recently unemployed art therapist, and her older sister Grace (Kristy Cruz), who took up with Jack…
CD Review: Atlas Sound
All the noise Bradford Cox makes with Deerhunter must be getting to him. On his third solo album as Atlas Sound, Cox mellows out a bit, letting waves of dreamlike sounds rush over him as he sinks into his digital cavern. Acoustic guitars nudge against moaning synths, gently galloping percussion glides over muffled feedback, and…
CD Review: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
“Tryin’ to walk a mile in my shoes, but they don’t belong to you,” sings former Oasis mastermind Noel Gallagher only minutes into his solo debut. Trust us, Noel — nobody wants to strap on those retro boots of yours. It’s hard not to lapse into gossipy “Gallagher vs. Gallagher” tactics here, especially with brother…
One Swank Span
With the opening of Viaduct Lounge, restaurateurs Linda Syrek, Randy Kelly, and Alan Glazen have moved one step closer to fine dining. It’s a progression that, despite their protestations to the contrary, has been under way since the team opened Ohio City’s ABC Tavern in late 2009. The stepping stone between ABC and Viaduct, of…
Concert Calendar
Todd Rundgren’s Utopia Todd Rundgren certainly has been prolific throughout his four-decade career. It’s a key reason why his fans are so ferociously devoted. Many of his vital melodic phases have been roundly ignored; others, like his TR-i years, should have been. But one of Runt’s most prized musical turns — the mid-’70s prog-rock era,…
Cheap Date
“My initial idea was for a bakery, not food service,” says John Emerman, who was surely thinking the same thing 18 years ago when he and wife Tatyana Rehn founded the Stone Oven, the Lee Road bakery that has long served its fervid following with much more than just bread. Now it’s happening all over…
Get Out!
Thursday | 10 Comic Erik Rivera Get Him While He’s Cheap Someday — probably soon — comedian Erik Rivera is going to make it big. That’s why you should see him this weekend at the Improv. “Tickets are only $15!” says the native New Yorker. “Why wait till I’m at the Q and tickets cost…
Afternoon Brew: Aquarium Targets January Opening, Tribe’s a Groundball Machine, and Star Plaza Gets Props
Good afternoon, Cleveland. Here’s some stuff to read while you put aside your cynicism for a second and reflect on how cool the aquarium might be. — The aquarium at the old Powerhouse is slated to open in late January/early February 2012. There will be a 150-foot walk-through sea tunnel in the shark exhibit. Sharks…
