Mothers’ Day in the USA began when Julia Ward Howe instigated a post-civil war movement for peace.  It wasn’t about thanking mothers for bearing and rearing children and keeping house.  Mothers’ day originated as a political movement with the very sane and rationale objective of  keeping every mother’s child – mainly sons - alive by keeping them from the battlefield .

From: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2007/may/10/1?picture=329825171

STONE LAB SUMMER CLASSES STILL OPEN

Space available for all 30+ science and education courses offered at Stone Lab this summer.

Research Facilities (from: http://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/stonelab/facilities/)

US National Archives & Records Administration Facility,
Waltham, MA. Photo courtesy of Sika Sarnafil Roofing Systems, Inc.

CLEVELAND “BIKE TO WORK WEEK, MAY 14-18 -- PART OF NATIONAL BIKE TO WORK WEEK; LANCE ARMSTRONG FOUNDATION “LIVESTRONG” DAY, WEDNESDAY MAY 16; AND SPECIAL EVENTS FOR THE SUMMER!

How many times in the last 10 -15 years I have gotten off the highway at the East 72nd Street exit of the Shoreway and winced at how depressing this mostly post industrial, impoverished landscape looks.

Two sisters who recently returned from Portland, Oregon and Brooklyn, New York, have begun an asphalt garden in a lot on Stanard, one block south of St. Clair Avenue behind the Goodrich Gannet Center. Map Here’s their plan:

Sometimes, you have to break the rules to see the vast green potential of our region.  Get on a bike and explore.  Can't say where I went, but there are so many great hidden picnic spots in northeast Ohio.  And today was unbelievable.

Toronto in spring is a romantic place. I discovered this when I spent the afternoon of Sunday April 22 on Queen Street West. I know there are many interesting districts in Toronto, for museums, dining, theater, and shopping, but I had been to Queen Street West before and I already knew that if pressed for time this street had more than enough to offer in the way of dining, arts and culture, and shopping. This was the first time I had experienced spring in Toronto. The last time I was on Queen Street it was mid November and beginning to snow. The sky was grey, it was a damp cold depressing day and outside at least, it wasn't much better than being in Cleveland. Mid-April is a totally different story though; the day was warm and sunny, almost like summer. Thousands of people were out, biking, walking, walking their dogs and children, and patios were open for dining. I started out with several objectives – get some good coffee and chocolate, find some birthday gifts for friends (children and adults), and take in some world class art and fashion.

To spare myself from the ever present, I find refuge in the vicarious adventures of other birders.  One of my favorites--Jen Brumfield.  Check out her art work.

And does anyone say, where is the spokesperson for the white community?  What a ridiculous thing to say, as if there is a spokesperson for the black community or the white community.  It is OUR community.  It is not an urban or suburban problem.  It is OUR problem.  We are all living with fear and anger.  How do we teach our children to react?  How do we define ourselves as adults? 

Just thought I'd share a bit of celebration, as I've certainly felt I've faced a somewhat

Crucifying gauntlet of verbal, physical, financial and emotional assails these past weeks...

But no worries, its all Good!

When I was in High School I changed the marquee weekly at 3 of our local theaters.   The ladders I climbed and the gravity exposure I had 40 feet up over the public concrete sidewalk makes me wince now when I think about it.  But one of the job perks was that I got to see Tom Jones 14 times from the projection room. 

A Case student has created a new front-end for RTA's Scheduling interface.  I, for one, think it is a vast improvement over RTA's site.  While I am most impressed by this user-friendly application of technology, I am also intrigued by the Django technology used to create this web app.

 
The women of Ohio, U.S.A., call upon the women of the world, from day- old babies to our most senior elders, to stand with us on May 13,  2007, to save the world. Our project is based on Sharon Mehdi's book The Great Silent Grandmother Gathering.

I went down to photograph the Breuer and the Rotunda Sunday evening, as I have this feeling the Breuer is the best building down there - better than the Rotunda.

While Post was a good American architect, this is actually a relatively minor example of his buildings. It is quite old and inefficient - maintenance and renovation costs will be high - it doesn't seem well suited to the intended use.At 100 years old, the Post is well depreciated, although most raw materials and artistic elements of the building can be reused.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Ms. Daryl Davis, event coordinator
216-631-0557 (day) or daryl [dot] davis [at] sbcglobal [dot] net

Friday night I attended a reception and lecture at SPACES Gallery for select Cleveland organizations with interest in urban planning and sustainability. The current exhibition at Spaces, Shrinking Cities, explores strategies for post-industrial urban areas and should be of great interest to anyone interested in urban planning and sustainability. Terry Schwarz, Senior Planner at the Urban Design Center of Northeast Ohio, was to give a tour of the exhibition. My affiliation? I am an energy ambassador at Case. I am also an art historian, and although there are some witty, beautiful and innovative works represented in the exhibition the theme and the messages of the show truly over power the aesthetics. One could easily forget they are in an art exhibition.

The beautifully engineered Fulton Road bridge was scheduled to be demolished today...like so many other beautiful and neglected structures it was "condemned" for being built too well.  It is fitting that it will not come down without a fight.  Built too well...an epitaph that could be applied to so many abandonned and condemned properties in Cleveland.  But politicians and contractors need to make money, so everyone (main stream media especially) shyed away from this story--a story that includes human and environmental elements--families that filed a lawsuit to try and prevent the taking of their property and the destruction of an historic WPA-era stone wall and graceful elm trees.  Can anyone name a recent civic structure built to compare to the solid grace and beauty of the Fulton Rd. bridge?  See Hunter Morrison's thoughts on bridges.

$millions spent - outside advertising firm brought in - focus groups of kneeling cheerleaders and deer in headlights conducted - press conference in airplane - check, check, check and check. "NEO" leadership did it again. Another Case of mistaken identities, being those who hired those using outdated formulas to decide how to market our city to us and the world. Every identity mistaken, as plusers ask us to believe in them, and Case re-begets CWRU.

Today is a dreary day and it helps to remember brighter days do come around.  I know I feel discouraged by gun violence, decay and the creeping ugliness around me.  I cling to some hope when I remember others have persevered.  One person at a time.  Restore Cleveland's Hope.

Wednesday night's lecture at the Cleveland Clinic with Peter B. Lewis and Frank Gehry was everything I had expected and more. I doubt an audience member left without a new appreciation for the  positive,  transformative power of architecture, friendship and collaboration. It was inspiring just to be in the same room with two people who had made such great contributions to architecture. It was also inspiring to see two people, two friends, who worked so well together as client and architect. A testament to Gehry's fame, the lecture had very few visuals – only a few slides of his most famous buildings such as the Disney Concert Hall in LA, The Experience Museum Project in Seattle, the Guggenheim Bilboa and the unbuilt Peter B. Lewis residence were shown.  Peter Lewis and Frank Gehry each spent 15 minutes discussing some of the highlights of their lives and careers and then they took questions from the audience.