Surprise 35th!

3/7/2015 - I try to keep my blog posts centered in and around our adventures in the Cleveland area but I'm going to go a bit rogue this week. I mean I have to! Even though it happened in good old Stark county, there's no way I can't highlight this one. It was just too good.

Let's start with good old Gina... girl loves a many thing but on the top of that list and in no particular order are:

• Birthdays/Birth Dates
• Party Planning
• Buying Decorative Trinkets
• Making the People She Loves Happy
• Fancy Planned Dinner Nights Out
• Family

Now by looking at this list I know you're saying to yourself "You had to have seen this coming right?". To that I say no and for good reason >>> She lied!... A lot. She was helping Gina with Bob's birthday and needed ideas for themes and decoration. I was there when she bought stuff for my surprise party! She was working late... again, a lot! Her job schedule sucks AND it changes daily so it's easy after a while to just let all of the changes go in one ear and out the other. I went to bed earlier, did some crafty projects, and caught up on shows. She was pushing me to reconnect with old friends and plan nights out. If I showed the slightest interest, that name went on the invite list. That would explain why no one could make any plans this weekend. She apologized for us not having anything crazy go on for our birthdays. I was OK with that...actually I was relieved to some level. We do a lot of stuff. Our whole life is 1 big birthday party after another so a calm and cool birthday weekend is fine by me.

The plans as I understood them were that we were supposed to meet my parents and her sister and brother-in-law at Main Street Grille in North Canton. We were jointly celebrating my Mom's (3/2), my (3/5), Gina's (3/7), and her bro-in-law Jim's (3/6) birthdays. The plan as it stood went right along with enough of Gina's traits to be very believable. So was her constant questioning of whether or not my parents were excited to go out and if I thought they'd get along with Tracy and Jim and if the restaurant would be OK and if we should bring gifts and what are we getting everyone and on and on... She gets very nervous planning things for family and since it was nothing but family...let's just say she sweat through more than 1 set of sheets awake at night thinking about all of it -- and she blamed my snoring! Anyways, only now do I know that it was because of WAY more than just the 6 of us hitting it off as a group...

As we pulled up to Main Street Grille she was visibly and audibly nervous...and cranky. I didn't think anything of it because she gets like this before family visits and holidays. It's funny because I notice the nervous ticks since we live together. Her sister and my parents get to see the nervous at all times, dressed to impress, and the every base covered version of Gina. I wonder what they'd think if they saw her with full lion's mane bed hair, in only a flannel PJ top, laying on the couch watching Mob Wives, eating cake with her hands and no plate at 11:30 am, while the cat licks milk out of an old bowl of cereal on the coffee table... you know, like I see her. She was also buried in her cell phone which again is not out of the ordinary but this time instead of letting the world know how close she is to being cast in the Golden Girls reboot by taking a picture of some felt trinket, she was scheming and making sure everyone was ready.

SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you! HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you!...

The party was a complete success! Everything about it was catered to me. Scotch and beer and booze, cigars with cutters and special matches, goat cheese dip, scotch eggs, ...everything and all my favorites! I mean look at this little collection of goodies in the picture to the left... Holy shit right?!?! I now have a special stash for very special occasions like I freakin' helped found Playboy magazine or something. I mean I got lots of booze which is cool with me. I also received gift card and a entertainment booklet filled with coupons. You people know me so well. I also got the McCoy birthday special which involves a non-birthday card (this time it was 1st communion) and a collection of non traditional birthday gifts (sanitary products). I've tried this in the past but could never commit like he can. Classic misdirection! The best gift was however was that my family, her family, and our friends old and new were there. Well not everyone but we are old and dealing with sick kids or finding a babysitter, no matter how much time you get, is difficult. No worries though. Even though you may be dead to Gina now, I'm cool with it. J/K

Instead of me getting into great detail, here are some pics from the party. Thanks to Jim, Kerry, and everyone else who took pictures. If you want to see more, go to my Facebook page, become my friend on Facebook, or ask me about them the next time you see me. Click the pics to see larger versions:

Oh Hi... all my friends...	Oh... and hi all my and Gina's family	Decorations! Mustaches on balloons	Awesome cakes for everyone!
Awwwww... BARF! ;)	Friends and Riley side	Vozar and Paul side	Desserts!

We're all laughing at Gina...because...well...she's a nerd!

I want to thank everyone for showing up and in the case of the Avdul's meeting us out after! I also want to thank the people who decorated and planned and baked. You are all very special people in my life and I am glad you made the time to come out and celebrate with us. It was so wonderful to see everyone and I truly felt loved by all on this special day.  A big thanks to Main Street Grille in North Canton for all of the great food and atmosphere. Their cooks made things special just for us. They let pretty much have the run of the place. Everyone there was helpful and polite all night... Plus they put up with Gina the Task Master! That deserves a standing O right there.

Happy Birthday to my mom, Jim, the love of my life Gina, and her dad Ward. There's definitely something to be said about March birthday's... the energy is like the first tulip to pop up through the ground and snow drifts. Just as you forget how awesome Christmas was because it's been so damn cold, March comes along to give you hope for spring... and cake and presents!... and booze! I certainly can't think of a better way I could have spent my birthday. Love you all!

Don't threaten us with a good time! P-i-m-p-s!

---

Leave me your thoughts
on any of this
in the Comments Section below.

Get my blog posts sent right to you!

Put your e-mail address under

FOLLOW BY EMAIL

on the right menu and click Submit.

Like, Share, Star, and +1 the blog on Social Media by clicking either the Buttons below after Posted by or the Icons below the comments at the bottom of the screen.

---

Fleetwood Mac at the Q

First... go back and read my last 2 posts. 17 and 26 views is pathetic and they deserved to be read. I promise they're funny and insightful...

• New Browns Logo Huh?
• Monster Jam and The Capitol Theater

2/18/2015 - Dinner at the 1890 Restaurant and Fleetwood Mac at the Q

My Aunt Paula and Uncle Brad were staying at the Hyatt Regency at the Arcade and were also going to see Fleetwood Mac so of course we decided to have some dinner with them at the 1890 Restaurant which is also in the Arcade. Well not so much dinner but appetizers since they only server breakfast and lunch. Turns out the appetizers were cheap and plentiful so it wasn't as big of a let down as it was initially thought to be. The food was good but the 1 poor waitress was overwhelmed since... and I quote... "we usually only have one or two couples come in for food after lunch is over." It must be tough locked away inside the arcade with East 4th right there. It's be nice if the owners could move some more businesses in there to increase foot traffic. Anyways, if you are hungry but not hungry, they're a cheap good meal for dinner and you more than likely won't have to wait.

For Gina's birthday, I bought her, Kerry, and myself tickets to see Fleetwood Mac at the Q. They were super... SUPER excited to go and loved every second of the show. Before the show, I knew that Fleetwood Mac existed but didn't really know who they were, any of their crazy rock and roll stories, or a lot of their catalog. It's not that I didn't like them, I just wasn't exposed to them a lot. Even if I was, I wasn't really even sure it was them? After the concert was over, I realized that this point of view was easier than it looks for a guy in my situation, especially with my upbringing.

1) Being from Louisville, where the late 60's and early 70's were and are still the most popular time frames of life, many of us after high school... oh let's call us hipsters but it's really like being a dwarf among midgets since we're not much better (me included)... embraced 90's grunge and whatever came after that... Bare Naked Ladies and the death nail of rock I guess... and tried not to look back. It was that or continue to live in the Led Zeppelin, Matthew McConaughey from Dazed and Confused, Varsity Blues, Uncle Rico world that was constantly pulling us into it's black hole until we would eventually wake up the next day in our AC/DC concert t-shirt and black cut-off jean shorts like we fell asleep next to a pod in Invasion of the Body Snatchers... for douche bags. Anyways, Fleetwood Mac fell into that Eagles, Chicago, Steve Miller Band group...they weren't hard enough to rock to and unless you're parents were into them, you kinda missed that pop/middle of the road listening boat. Remember, radio and MTV told us what to listen to back then before Spotify/XM/Pandora/iTunes. That's why my generation knows about Savage Garden and not the New York Dolls. For the record I know neither... I wanna stand with you on a mountain... aw damnitt!

2) Everyone from the band sings and some even had solo careers. Axl Rose sings the songs for Guns and Roses. Kurt Cobain sang the songs for Nirvana. James Hetfield sings the songs for Metallica. A song by any of these bands comes on the radio and you know who it is. This is not the case for Fleetwood Mac. Not only does everyone sing but they each have sang classic songs in the band's catalog. Oh and some of them have had successful solo careers so it could be Stevie Nicks without the rest of the band. Confusing, if you're not familiar with what the heck's going on like me. I was shocked with the amount of songs I knew... I actually recognized about 75% of their set. Of those I related about 3 songs to the band. The rest existed in trips to Belden Village in mom's car before I was allowed to change the channel to 107.9, commercials, and movie soundtracks. Most of the mall trip songs were sung by Christine McVie surprisingly... I mean that I recognized from their set. Of all the songs I ever heard on those trips it was a tie between Fine Young Cannibals and Elton John.

3) The Beatles and Led Zeppelin... I know little about most old bands because I know so God Damn much about the Beatles and Led Zeppelin. Enough already. We can all agree they were great and should never mention it again. We don't wake up every morning and say "Holy shit look how green the grass is!"... well also because we live in Ohio... which is why I couldn't in all good faith use "blue the sky is". Oh I got it! We don't all wake up every morning and say "Holy shit look how grey the sky is!" Right?!? With that being said, we can all now move on to bands that they have influenced over the years... for instance... all of the bands that came after them.

All-in-all the concert was great! They sounded like they used to, all the band members were present, and I had a great time singing along to songs I knew but didn't know were from them. Plus I always love it when Gina looks over at me every 5 minutes and says how awesome something is! Usually the awesome thing is over before 5 minutes so I finally get to hear her sing my praises! Happy Birthday honey. I love you even though you're 10 years older than my preferred age range for lovers :) Just kidding of course... it's more like 15 years and I love you to the moon and back!

---

Go eat at a church fish fry this lent even if you aren't in a religion that believes in the holiness of not eating meat/eating fish on Friday's for a span of 40 days in the winter/early spring. It gives you that weird old world experience that your grandparents told to you about before there was McDonald's and their 2 filet of fish for $2 deal. Get back to your roots America! You can also get this experience at fun old establishments like we did at Prosperity Social Club. Don't do it without reservations though! In these old ethnic neighborhood this kinda stuff is still as popular as ever especially when the food is as good as it is here. I promise I won't tell your God or Goddess of choice that you went.

---

By the time this posts, I'll be 35... ::sigh:: I'm now at the upper bound of that age range that is currently changing the world. As Millennials move to urban cores and downtown's across America, leave their cars behind for bikes and the joy of a good walk, and demand a unique experience that you can't fulfill with a brand name... I can now only say that I have one more good year to do something memorable before I fall into the group who's future becomes entrenched in the suburban life of kids and dogs, green yards and good schools, and Applebee's date nights once a month. I certainly can see myself doing some of that and enjoying it at the same time but I see it all on my own terms. My terms are a hard sell though and my selfish nature demands that if I have to fit a mold, I'm going to bend it a bit to fit me. I can't say that this past year living in Tremont has been good for my outlook on life outside of this city. It actually makes me want to live where the pin on Google Maps lands when you search for Cleveland, Ohio. I want that to be where I am. So close that when you look it up on a map, my face shows up on the little man you drop in to get to street view... but I'm 35 now. That leaves me 1 more year to "grow up" and leave the revolution of the young behind. I unfortunately don't have anyone to pass the torch to or a monument erected in memory to my small piece of the fight. I only know that after I leave this city, one second of the number of years it continues to progress in it's current direction before falling again is thanks to me and the time I lived here. My blog, purchases, taxes, patronage, and constant cheer leading is the equivalent to 1 second of time that this city thrives without me. I made that happen.

Although my life will be for sure filled with happiness and joy, I am a man who found his passion too late in life to be able to properly enjoy it... and for that I will remain a drop emptier and forever regretful. Sleep on that Clevelanders as time slowly tics away... love ya!

---

Leave me your thoughts
on any of this
in the Comments Section below.

Get my blog posts sent right to you!

Put your e-mail address under

FOLLOW BY EMAIL

on the right menu and click Submit.

Like, Share, Star, and +1 the blog on Social Media by clicking either the Buttons below after Posted by or the Icons below the comments at the bottom of the screen.

---

New Browns Logo huh?

The Browns decided to unveil a new logo this week. We all waited to see what the front office that was daring enough to draft Johnny Football and Justin Gil...Gilcrest...Gilbert... corner back Gilbert Gottfried in last year's draft could do for our logo. Would we finally choose something other than a helmet? Would we embrace the "Dawg Pound" nickname and make it a mean snarling dog? Would we go with the evil "Brownie the Elf"? Anything was possible... anything... I guess even nothing.

Since we changed the logo to a helmet our city's population has never gone up. Coincidence?

Well just like with our 2 1st round draft picks last year, we were disappointed and just like our 2 1st round draft picks last year, were driven insane or to drink by the Browns front office. Here are 3 missed opportunities with the "new " orang-ier logo:

1. With a new logo, you can make us forget about these past 2 off-seasons and to give us hope for the future. 

How do you build upon a 7-9 record which was the best you've done in years? Well...

1. Don't jump at resigning your starting QB
2. Let you're star WR run around unsupervised because you think he "learned his lesson"
3. Chase your O-coordinator out of town by micromanaging and meddling in personnel
4. Hire a new O-coordinator who's never been one before
5. Watch your savior QB enter rehab
6. Have your GM get caught sending texting to the sidelines which will eventually lead to us loosing draft picks
7. After much hope and anticipation, come out with a logo that looks exactly like the old logo... seriously! Just like the old one. Which one is which?

The font's kinda different... the left one is orang-ier... are the face masks on the actual helmets going to be brown? If we're going to be sticklers about chin strap buttons, shouldn't we add one to the top corner of the face mask? Wait!... Did we eliminate the color grey to save on printing!?!

2. With a new logo, you can now sell all new apparel to fans with the new logo on it and make millions!

Go on a journey with me for a second... You're in the muni lot. It's 6 am on game day. You open up a cooler to see a glorious site. 12 Great Lakes beers, a flask of Cleveland Whiskey, and a Kool-Aid concoction that has Port Side Rum in it with cherries and pineapples. Pretty typical for tailgating. Now for the next 6 hours drink all of it... plus a few shots from the shot girl because you thought she was hot. OK maybe you lost a beer or 2 along the way because you have a skeevy friend who only brings 1/2 a 6er to tailgate with. When it comes time for you to head to the game you have 39 gallons of liquor/beer and 2 brawts in you, a contact high because... you walked through the muni lot, and you have to pee. You walk past the team shop on the way to your seat and say to yourself "Hey hey... hey. I need a new t-shirt because the Brownssssssssss gots'em new logo... and I got BBQ sauce and piss on dis one I havehereonmerightNOW." You look down at the old logo on your shirt and then look up at the new logo on a shirt in the team shop window...

"Hmmm... I guess they have'n put the new thing out on... it... yet. F*ck it! I gotta piss."

I still wear my Tim Couch jersey to games. Wanna know why? Because jersey's are expensive and since the NFL doesn't take into consideration where they are selling their stuff, people who live in New York city have to pay the same amount for jersey's as people in... oh let's say Beirut. There's a difference in the income of the 2 areas. Know what would have made me buy something new??? Any of these:

I love this one! Snarling dog, keeps the colors, isn't a helmet...	Keeps with tradition, keeps the colors, looks mean, isn't a helmet...
OK kinda reminds me of a generic Madden logo but still incorporates everything about the team. Oh and isn't a helmet...	I'd totally buy a shirt with an orange barrel as a logo! At least the orange barrels don't get our hopes up every year...

His name is "Cleveland Brown" and he is proud to be...
a different logo than... what it used to be...

3. With a new logo, you give us something good to talk about this off-season...

Seriously, good or bad, a drastic logo change gives us something to focus on this off-season. Callers could talk about it for weeks on sports radio. Instead, while our team is making the Raiders look like a well put together franchise all you can do to distract us with a shiny new toy is to make the face mask brown and the orange even orang-ier? My God! We're now an even bigger laughing stock... if you can believe it?!? Millions of dollars in marketing and this is what you came up with?

I'm telling you Clevelanders, focus on all of the nice buildings going up downtown. Focus on all of the renovations. Focus on the Cavs! Focus on people and jobs and the RNC and anything else... except this group of jokers. Gladiators season is right around the corner. They made it to the championship last year! You can get tickets for $5.

Good night fans of CLE! Sweet dreams of more orang-ier things in the future. LLAP-RIP...

---

Leave me your thoughts
on any of this
in the Comments Section below.

Get my blog posts sent right to you!

Put your e-mail address under

FOLLOW BY EMAIL

on the right menu and click Submit.
(See what I did here?)

Like, Share, Star, and +1 the blog on Social Media by clicking either the Buttons below after Posted by or the Icons below the comments at the bottom of the screen.

---

Monster Jam & the Capitol Theater

Monster Jam

2/15/2015 - When we were kids I'm sure there were some of you out there that liked monster trucks. I liked Bigfoot and Grave Digger myself... which I guess is like cheering for both Ohio State and Michigan. I need to pick a side! Anyways, since this spectacle of loud, large, action packed, automobile action is the kid crack equivalent to the potency of the stuff they did in Wolf of Wall Street... my sister, Gina, and I took my nephew Jeremy to Monster Jam.

Now since I don't have kids I tend to look at things as if they only effect me... and to a lesser extent, Gina. I MEAN to an equal extent. That's my rite as a single man in his mid 30's. Freedom!... vs whatever perk you married people get... I think it has something to do with taxes or something boring like that. With that being said, I wasn't really amped about going although I do love new experiences so I wasn't going to fake sick to get out of it or anything. It would be a fun afternoon in Cleveland with family... that's where my brain stopped making emotions and started thinking of lunch.

Speaking of lunch, we stopped into the Flat Iron Cafe for delicious wings and other food. It was right when they opened so we were the only people there. The food, as always, was delicious and we needed boxes to take some home because the portions are crazy there. After an hour of dodging the "What's the Hustler Club?" questions from Jeremy, we rushed him into the car like he was Lindsay Lohan coming out of a crack den surrounded by paparazzi... and were off to the Q!

I have to admit that Monster Jam really hit that man chord in me. Big trucks. Big Tires. Loud internal combustion engines. Smashing cars. Competition. It was all there! It also struck the "kid at heart" string I have in there. My dad equates it to 1980's professional wrestling. Bigger than life, muscle bound athletes wearing bright colors smashing into each other. I used to love that! This takes the best of those 2 worlds, smashes them together, adds 2 hot chick drivers, and delivers a hell of a good time! 

This was the kicker though... kids, who are normally... let's be honest... wiggling balls of annoyance and questions who need constant attention when you boil them (not literally) down to their core, wore earphones, sat quietly, and paid attention! Past the obvious comparison of my mentality vs a child's, I understood why for a few hours a couple times a year parents will bring their kids to see this while paying $$$ for the tickets... it's the best way to fulfill your parental obligation! It's like getting paid to baby sit a sleeping child in a house that has HBO and a stocked liquor cabinet. It's a win/win! I'll take Jeremy next year if he wants to go back. I'll take my kid when/if I have/steal one. I really like it. They'll love it. Zone out. Enjoy!

The Capitol Theater

2/13/2015 - Because I'm a good boyfriend, I recommended that we go see "50 Shades of Grey" opening night which is also the night before Valentine's day. Because I'm selfish, I recommended that we go see it at the Capitol Theater in the Gordon Square area of Cleveland since, as I said earlier, I love new experiences and have never been. I'm a horny genius bastard because I recommended we see a film that would give the women the weird female rush that bondage mixed with 2 shots of difficult man to change brings while I enjoyed, given the rules of movies,  tons of naked boob and butt shots with... and this is most important... no dong shots! Again for me >>>> Win/MutherF'ingWIN!

I'm going to run through a few short paragraphs that aren't too descriptive and don't do the places justice but kinda tell a quick fun story about how Gina and I roll... ready... and go:

We ate at Happy Dog which goes to show that no matter what the event, I can always get Gina to go to a place that serves hot dogs. For all of the "I miss my yard" I have to hear daily, this piece of her white trashy DNA makes up for all of it. If you've never been to Happy Dog, go already!

We went to Sweet Moses which is down the street for some old school dessert! I had Pecan Pie a la mode. They have something called phosphate sodas which makes me think of 1955 Hill Valley. If you've never been to Sweet Moses, go after eating at Happy Dog. You won't be sorry... well until you get on the scale the next morning.

We had time to kill... so we fell asleep in the car for 45 minutes before the movie. Yup, grandma and grandpa fell asleep in the car before a 10:30 pm movie on a Friday night. I won't lie... it was probably more satisfying then successfully trolling for a 3some on a Friday night at 10:30 pm while being the perfect amount of drunk. God we're old.

Refreshed from our nap but still groggy we walking into the theater and I broke the cardinal rule of men's intuition... blindly listen to a woman. We walked into the wrong theater and started to watch the wrong movie... previews and all. I've never been to the Capitol so I wasn't sure what to expect. We literally walked into a 2nd floor man cave with theater seating and I thought... "Nothing wrong with this." I believe there are 2 smaller upstairs theaters.

Finally after all of that we walked into the right theater. I have to say... all of the great things I read about all of the work that went into it and how it is the cornerstone of the neighborhood... they're all true. It's a beautiful theater. It has all of the old school decorations and charm that you'd expect in a theater from that era. The screen was wide, the seats were comfortable, and the sound was Dolby digital whatever. It was great!... and it's within walking distance to great food & dessert options, small business shopping, beautiful streetscapes, the lake, $400,000 town homes, performing arts, and other pieces that make it a destination! The people who lead the project to bring the Capitol back and build up the neighborhood around it should be given the urban metal of honor. I'm going to see as many movies as I can here and if you live in the area, I recommend you do the same! Hell make a night out of it. It's a beautiful theater and a wonderful area.

As for the movie... I liked it. Yes, it had an almost always nude woman in it which doesn't hurt a film but I liked the story. It was different and I tend to like different. I'm always a fan of introducing awkwardness to soccer moms and hands-in-the-air Christians although this movie did use the "Spoon full of Sugar" approach to do it. People of all kinds ultimately walked out of a Skin-a-max movie after it was over that they left the house to watch and now have to live with they're feelings on it... that makes me feel good about the world. No, I still won't read the book because:

"The movie had a mechanical shark and the book has... pages." - John Caparulo on Jaws

I am so Smart! I am so Smart! SMRT... I mean SMART!

In this weeks edition of I'm a Genius, we look to the orchestra playing on the deck of the Suburban Titanic known as Sun news. This week they try to put a band aid on a severed head by reporting on then trying to smooth over The Death of the American Mall. Oh and since it's the technology age they want you to share your photos... good lord grandma! Quit trying to be cool! Like a group of 60 year old townies sitting in a shitty small town bar, they just reminisce about their glory days until it's time to go back to their miserable home lives. Yes, 4 Uncle Rico's talking about how gaggles of teens ran up and down the hallowed halls of American unoriginal cookie cutter cult of personality at it's finest. Was it weird for you to find out that all 48 malls in your county also had a GAP?!? I though we were special...

All malls were were a sanctuary from the poor, scary, and ethnic. I mean they couldn't have been any more medieval castle if you put a moat around them with a drawbridge. Today's person is more connected and doesn't need a loitering spot that isn't online. Movies can be streamed and pirated online. Clothes can be orders online. Oh and if you haven't noticed this internet thing is here to stay.

What you need to do is give people a destination. A place with all sorts of things to do, see, and interact with. I go over the whole dying mall epidemic in my post about saving a supernova mall. Here's a summary for those who have read it already... there are too many malls, they are in the most boring places on the planet, and they're dying... all of them. You want retail? Move it downtown. Gambling, sporting events, theater, arts, culture, 4-star cuisine, museums... compare that to North Olmsted where you can either shop or try to dig your brain out of your ear with a spork.

Thanks for reading! Check out some of my other posts using the menu to the right. Most are just as fun and witty as this one. Please click on the advertisements so I can get literally fractions of cents. I love me some Cle-burger and fries! Nighty night folks and stay warm...

---

Leave me your thoughts
on any of this
in the Comments Section below.

Get my blog posts sent right to you!

Put your e-mail address under

FOLLOW BY EMAIL

on the right menu and click Submit.

Like, Share, Star, and +1 the blog on Social Media by clicking either the Buttons below after Posted by or the Icons below the comments at the bottom of the screen.

---

We Don't Stop...EVER.

I thought I told you that we don't stop

Eh eh, eh eh

-Puff Daddy

Yes, I quoted Puff Daddy... When there's so much in Cleveland to experience whilst I spread the good word about how awesome it is up here to others... how could I stop? There's always something to do and Gina and I just try to keep up. I do love that we have so many visitors to show around. It's like the city is new as I get to see it through their eyes. Here's a good 2 week stretch that doesn't even include me losing money at the casino or driving to Louisville twice.

---

A Basketball First!

1/21/15 - We took Gina's nephew Sunny and his girlfriend Megan to their first NBA basketball game! When I see youngens like these 2 who have never been to a game, I jump at the opportunity to corrupt them by bringing them to the big city to show them a fun (wholesome) good time. In all my enthusiasm I do stop and think about how self sustaining the suburbs have become. You don't really ever need to leave and when you do, you go to the major places to sight see or vacation. You never really hit the middle of the road cities like Cleveland even when it's in your own back yard. It makes me remember my own childhood when I think I only saw 1 Cavs game until I moved up here at 22. With that being said, It's great when we can have family up and it's even better when we can do firsts and give them a fun, positive experience to remember. These 2 are great kids!

Watch out kids! He can unhinge his jaw and swallow you both whole!

---

Another Basketball First!

1-30-15 - We went with Gina's Aunt Julie and Uncle Jeff to their kid's, Grace and Aiden's, 1st NBA game. That was a lot of ,,, and ''' and who knows if I did it right? Anyways, we got dinner at the Flat Iron Cafe before hand in the Flats. This Irish pub has a great looking menu and the portions are enormous! Seriously, starve yourself for 2 days before eating here because it's good hearty food and lots of it. You won't break the bank either. The kicker to the experience is that they have a shuttle to the game so you don't have to pay to park... which you know is one of my pet peeves almost to a fault... or so I've been told. Even if there isn't a game going on it's strip club adjacent so you can always do that... sinner... 

It was another great Cavs game experience with family. We really are blessed to be able to have people come up and have fun with us. Warms my heart.

---

We Came, We Saw, We Drank...

We are sitting at a table that was reserved for someone else all night while we stood right next to it... we showed them! I mean we really did. That table will never be "reserved again".

1/31/15 - Old school friends of mine came up to Cleveland for our yearly dinner and drinks at the Great Lakes Brewing Company. No matter what life throws at us, we all find time to get together and enjoy a flight (or 6) and a good meal. This year was a bit different because we actually ventured out onto West 25th to bar hop... btw that's when you know you've made it as a destination is when a bunch of Louisville people decide that walking the mean streets is safe enough to get another drink. So congrats West 25th! We went to Market Garden and SOHO and a few of us even made it late into the night at TownHall. I always look forward to when we all get together since babies and work and lives seem to cut into good old drunken friend time when you get older like us. I can condemn from my mountain top since I'm single not married and childless. YOU PUSSIES!!!

---

Tangled up in Dylan at the Music Box Supper Club

This is evidently the face you make when you hear that Hozier is doing a duet with Annie Lennox...

2-7-15 - Gina got tickets for my parents and us to go see Tangled Up In Dylan at my favorite Cleveland music venue, the Music Box Supper Club. Now if you follow this blog you know that Gina plans a lot of things for my parents to do with us... aaaaand she does each one to try to make up for the one before. Not a great track record including Merwin's Warf even though my parents know how to roll with the good and bad and it really doesn't bother them at all that things may go sideways every now and again. As a family... we've been there and done that. With that being said... this one was an A+!

The seats were great. The food as always was wonderful! The Ryan Humbert band did an amazing job of covering what seemed like 138 Dylan songs while not hamming it up with that bad over exaggerated Dylan... we'll call it an accent. The songs were old favorites mixed in with B and even C sides but with a modern folksy twist. I loved the music so much that I will definitely check out there regular non-Dylan stuff. My parents seemed to have a great time too. They love Dylan so it was a good match in music. They sang. They danced. They applauded! My dad couldn't get over how great the lead guitar player was. Said he was the best he's ever seen live which is quite an achievement in its own right. I highly recommend seeing this show if and when it comes to your neck of the woods. I really couldn't have asked for anything more in an experience with my 'rents. Thank you Gina for setting this all up. Next time, I promise, we'll eat at Sokolowski's!

---

For the second week in a row I bring you my personal favorite blog segment...

I'M A GENIUS!

In this week's I'm A Genius we take a look at an article in the Plain Dealer about the possibility of a Superman statue at the North Coast Harbor end of the new pedestrian bridge... so basically by the Rock hall. If you didn't guess by the title of this section, I wrote about this last September in one of my more funnier posts. Read it by clicking the link below and bask in my superior brain power!: 

http://365daysincle.blogspot.com/2014/09/browns-boondoggles-freshwater-and.html

---

Leave me your thoughts
on any of this
in the Comments Section below.

Get my blog posts sent right to you!

Put your e-mail address under

FOLLOW BY EMAIL

on the right menu and click Submit.

Like, Share, Star, and +1 the blog on Social Media by clicking either the Buttons below after Posted by or the Icons below the comments at the bottom of the screen.

---

Tremont Restaurant Hop

Before I get to the restaurant hop portion of this blog, I have a few random things:

1) I've been working at Key (who does not back, agree/disagree with, or condone anything in this blog) for a year now. The writing was on the wall at Parma when UH took over and I saw it coming. The more I see people who I once worked with let go, the more I know I made the right choice to leave. Being acquired is like losing a war (on a no one actually dies kinda scale)... those who don't lose their jobs right away will soon or will be exiled to Shaker Heights no matter what promises are made or how rosy it may look for you.

2) I've lived in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland now for 9 months. Here's an update. I'm still alive. I haven't been mugged. Gina's car was broken into once and she had her GPS stolen. We captured 3 opossums in our basement. I haven't joined a gang. Homeless people don't ruin our walks by bothering us for change every 5 feet. We have however been to countless bars and restaurants, sporting events, farmer's markets and craft fairs, concerts, festivals, and other fun special events all within a 5 min drive or 20 min walk. We've entertained countless friends and family who all (except for the Merwin's Warf fiasco) had a wonderful time and would love to come back. It can be done people. If you're bored doing the same thing over and over in the suburbs or out in the country, please please read this blog and get the courage from our experiences to live in your nearest downtown or urban area... unless it's Columbus... then don't bother and come to Cleveland. Even if for only a year or two, urban areas will give you stories and experiences that you will hold on to for a lifetime. It's "tell your grand kids about" kinda stuff.

3) I've become the Membership Coordinator for our block club! It's step #2 on my way to becoming a city council person. Joining the block club was #1. Basically that means I make sure everyone signs in at the meetings and that if you attend a certain # of meetings in a rolling year, I designate you as a voting member. It's important... I think... I mean it is! Either/or it's momentum and I'm happy about that.

4) My posts will soon (if they don't already) have ads! Ya, I sold out. So click your little heart out people! Make me some $... but more than likely cents!

OK on to the Tremont Restaurant Hop!

The Bourbon Street Barrel Room is the newest restaurant in Tremont and boy did they go all out! Chandeliers, 2nd floor seating, and 2 bars are just some of the unique features of this renovated space. All of the lighting is unique and intriguing. The view from floor to floor is different and adds a fun dimension to the place. It really is the little details that makes BSBR stand out. I can only say that it reminds me of what movies tell me a restaurant in New Orleans is supposed to look like... minus the topless college girls covered in beads... although Marti Gras is only 2 weeks away so that could change.

The drink menu is colorful, tropical, and includes hurricanes which are always fun... or so I've been told since I can never seem to remember the next day. The menu is packed with traditional creole and southern staples but doesn't skimp on the flavor and heat like you may think a place like this would. They also have hush puppies and I haven't had those for years!... so I had about 15 of them. Yum!

The food is good and the atmosphere is out of this world. It's a wonderful addition to the neighborhood and is a wallet friendly meal which is hard to come by in Tremont. Bring a group and get ready to drink and get spicy. It's certainly a place worth showing off.

Ligali's Bistro is a fairly new joint with front window views of Lincoln Park. It's a joining of 2 spaces so make sure when you go, you go to the door on the left. You'll want to walk into the door that goes right into the bar but it's locked. Me and 3 other old people that night know from experience. There weren't a lot of folks there the night Gina and I went so we got some great personalized service from our waiter. I ordered off the happy hour menu... because I'm cheap. I ordered 2 things because usually happy hour servings are much smaller than the regular entree size. Not only is this not the case here, it's downright crazy how much food we got for $5 a plate. They have 3 happy hour food offerings. The fried-green tomatoes were out of season so they were out of them. The Thai Chili Wings were big (twice as big as a normal wings) and full of flavor... oh and there were like 8 of them! I was expecting 3-4 at most for a $5 happy hour plate in Tremont. I was also expecting the Wild Mushroom Flat Bread to be on something the size of a burger bun since again it was happy hour... this thing was huge. Both servings were so big that with a side of fries I looked like I was the host of a Man vs Food challenge. Not to just harp on the size, they were all delicious as well. Pair one with a $5 happy hour cocktail and you could get a pretty filling meal for $10. I recommend this place for happy hour for sure from 5-7 pm on Tuesday - Friday. I'll have to get an honest-to-god meal there too because their menu looks like a food wish list I would have come up with for my imaginary restaurant. I'd call it "Fat Sam's Disco" and serve nothing but healthy food.

Now for the I'm a genius portion of the blog:

1) In my post Planes, Trains, and Automobiles I talk about the need for a Inter-modal transit hub on the North Coast of Cleveland by where the current Amtrak station is. Well the Plain Dealer is now reporting that the RTA, city, Amtrak, and Greyhound listened to me and it's now on their radar. This is a huge deal in transportation for a city that lost it's airport hub status and a bunch of non-stop flights to big business cities along with it. Bravo everyone!...of course it wasn't originally my idea but I'm sure someone important read my post and was finally persuaded. Kind of a straw that broke the camel's back kinda situation.

2) More dead malls coming to the greater Cleveland area as Macy's and a bunch of other stores close their doors at Richmond mall. I not only predicted more of this type of suburban mall decay in this area but I gave you the blueprint on what to do to keep retail here in greater Cleveland. Reread (or for most of you based on the view count read for the 1st time) my post about How to Save a Supernova Mall and see if you agree. Could this be Macy's positioning themselves for a downtown location???Someone from Macy's has been peaking at my blog I think... OK, maybe not but you don't know!

---

Leave me your thoughts
on any of this
in the Comments Section below.

Get my blog posts sent right to you!

Put your e-mail address under

FOLLOW BY EMAIL

on the right menu and click Submit.

Like, Share, Star, and +1 the blog on Social Media by clicking either the Buttons below after Posted by or the Icons below the comments at the bottom of the screen.

---

Standing In Our Own Way

We all got a chance to watch Ohio State win the National Championship... if you know me, you know I don't care about that BUT what I do care about is what I'm going to write about this week. In 2009 AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas opened. It was touted as having the biggest everything, the most high tech everything else, and was snuggled under a big ole dome to boot. I understand all of the glitz and glamour and huge screens but why a dome? Old Cowboys stadium didn't have one (at least not all the way covered). Sure Texas gets hot and you may enjoy sitting in an air conditioned stadium on Sundays but it seems like it was just put there to support that ego driven "everything's bigger and better in Texas" hype we hear so much about. Plus Jerry Jones is a gagillionaire and wanted to build the 9th wonder of the world so everyone could see how truly big his dick was, right?

Nope.

I took this on my most recent trip to Texas last spring. I literally spent an hour and a half taking pictures of it... and I had already been here. I was at the first regular season game actually. That's how impressive this place really is.

Compare it to First Energy Stadium here in Cleveland. We each play the same number of NFL games here as they do there... well except for the playoffs... and the Superbowl... and the Pro Bowl. I'm sure the few high school games we play here are about the same number as they play there. Then what? We had a soccer game a few years ago. That was something... and Kenny Chesney used to play here, I think. I remember driving Michele to American Idol tryouts there but that was like 10 years ago. So the Stadium that I pay for hosts 10 NFL games (including preseason) and a few HS football games a year... and I think this year's only concert is One Direction... so 1 concert. I'm not sure that really makes any financial sense for me or my city?!? UPDATE: Announced Wednesday, Luke Bryan is going to country rap all of your stupid favorites about winner winner catfish dinner on 9/5. Yuck!

Now go to http://attstadium.com/ and take a look at what's going on there... too much to mention right? That place seems like it's used 52 weeks a year and every event is big ticket. Along with those big ticket events come hotel stays, plane ticket purchases, restaurant meals, taxi rides, merchandise sales, car rentals, after-hour club visits, souvenir sales... you get the drift. It's its own revenue generator and economic driver. It's not only an amazing venue... it's properly marketed, booked, and run.

We in Cleveland get on average 1 days use a week for 4 months from our Stadium. That's 16 days! Add HS football and that's let's say 25 days... OUT OF 365! 7 F*CKING %! Wanna know why? It's simple and all of you he-men are gonna cry "Pussy" but it's true...a dome.

Retractable roof concept from a few years ago. Image from www.thepetitionsite.com

The Browns are currently renovating First Energy field or the Factory of Sadness... whichever you prefer. Flashy new scoreboards, special bar areas for people who paid $400 for their seats, gold toilets, blah blah blah... AND for what? 7% of the year when it's used. Who else thinks this is a stupid investment? If you made $25,000 (a number I'm throwing out there that has no base in fact) on average for every event you held, would you want to increase that let's say by 6% per event: $25,000 X .06 = $1,500 X 10 games = $15,000 Or would you want to increase the number of events so you could make $25,000 X the number of new events you add? Just add one event and you're already doing better. Honestly that number is really based on the type of event you add though. Let's look at some options shall we?

You dome your stadium and let's say book an OSU vs Eastern Michigan college football game. You may be a bit under your average amount due to the differences between college and the pros along with a dip in merch sales. On the other hand, if you dome your stadium, you can now have events like oh let's say... the Superbowl! Yup, I'm gonna throw math out the window and just say that you'd be making a boat load on that and since there are only a few different site where the NFL is willing to play the Superbowl, you'd have it at least once a decade... no matter what happens. You could be Detroit and as long as Ford Field has a dome, there they are again hosting the Superbowl.

Because Cleveland gets really Clevelandy and cold between November and April, we miss out on some of the biggest ticket events of the year. An NCAA football bowl game or national championship game for instance. What about the Final Four and the $100 million it brings to a city? The Big 10 championship game brings in $20 million. They're all nationally televised sellout events with fans who usually have to travel from far out of town. That means plane and train tickets, car rental/RTA, hotel rooms, restaurants for meals, souvenirs, tourist traps, gambling, etc... Same with the Superbowl and the Pro Bowl. That event week alone brings in around $400 million. Not a bad bit of coin. First Energy stadium is the only stadium in football to never to host an NFL playoff game so some kind of post season NFL in Cleveland would be welcome. The problem is they just don't have those events in cold climate, open air stadiums. I'm going to cut you off and say they're New York City. They can do anything at any time. They're the exception. Do you think they'd make that exception for Cleveland? Nope. They couldn't/wouldn't even stop our team from leaving...

The investment that you would make in doming First Energy stadium would be less than $100 million and with all of the new types of events we could bring in with it, the investment would pay for itself in no time. Even if we never saw a full return, less financially lucrative projects have been approved and paid for with tax money in our time. Heck our politicians only stopped stealing from us in the last 5 years or so... well at least the ones we caught. This make sense for everyone involved! I just can't believe we haven't pulled the trigger on it yet... or hell even when it was first built!

Now let me address all of the he-men out there that want football to be about mud and guts and blood and the frozen tundra of Lambeau field... you are indeed the cavemen everyone says you are. If I offered you $250 million to wear a dress with a tampon in your ass for 2 days, you'd do it and sing I Touch Myself in a little girl's voice but when it comes to your football you grab your sack and grunt something about a real man's sport blah blah blah. Look, we know you could care less about Cleveland and its well being minus 10 Sundays a year when you take advantage of it like a sad chubby girl at a West 6th bar but the rest of us want to see this city become something great. We are proud of Cleveland and think it's ready for the big time exposure and events. We see Detroit getting everything under it's dome and wonder why them?!? Why not us?

Look, if we keep the dome open for all Brown's home games and close it for everything else, I'd be OK with that too. All we'd need would be your support for this. It's not about being a man or more of a man... it's about this city continuing to stride towards its potential while it blows past expectations. We're standing in our own way with this mentality of rugged, rust belt, blue collar bullshit. We settled into that way of thinking as a way to deal with our decline since the 50's. We're smarter than that and we should demand more. We wear suffering on our shoulder like a badge of honor but no one feels bad for the guy who got shot once they find out he shot himself in the foot. Leave the long list of rust belt excuses for cities that need it like Buffalo, Canton, and Youngstown. We're on our way and we need to keep paving the road ahead of us in order to continue... oh and tear the rear view mirrors off. If you lived in Northeast Ohio anytime since 1950, what you can see behind you sucked anyways.

You have the whole backseat to fall asleep on Cleveland. Think big and know you are loved and supported. See ya on the flip side!

---

Leave me your thoughts
on any of this
in the Comments Section below.

Get my blog posts sent right to you!

Put your e-mail address under

FOLLOW BY EMAIL

on the right menu and click Submit.

Like, Share, Star, and +1 the blog on Social Media by clicking either the Buttons below after Posted by or the Icons below the comments at the bottom of the screen.

---

Oh and the Rock Hall Induction Ceremony is only held here every 3 years. "Oh we're so happy to be included in your plans"... That mentality needs to change! Whoever let Los Angeles weasel their way into this needs beat with a guitar - Who style!

Also, bring back snow days and outdoor hockey at Progre... Jacobs field. I went one year to watch OSU vs. Michigan and it was an awesome time! Side note: After that game my love affair with Greenhouse Tavern's wings began.
Image from www.discoveringohio.com.