Today's political news is huge, as the PD is reporting on all sorts of developments with the FBI investigations of corruption in Northeast Ohio. This is getting amazing...

I'll let the PD tell you the story, which brings in lots of new high level people, like the Mayor of Parma and clearly the top people at K&D, among a cast of 1,000s.

Jeptha Wade Memorial at Lakeview Cemetery, which he helped organize, in 1869

Few Clevelanders realize Cleveland has been one of the world's greatest digital cities since the mid-1800s, but most Clevelanders enjoy the benefits, including much about University Circle, Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Museum of Art and so much else core to our identity and value, all thanks to Jeptha Wade and digital telecommunications. So, being one of the world's greatest digital cities in the 21st Century, and transforming our community through that, is as simple as empowering more people to go Wading.

It is well documented, but little referenced and intentionally overlooked by modern newspaper editors and their PR-stitutes... the origin of the use of the word spam, beyond for Hormel Foods Corporation's "spiced meat" (now officially known as "SPAM luncheon meat") is documented as: "Correspondant Bob White claims the modern use of the term predates Monty Python by at least ten years. He cites an editor for the Dallas Times Herald describing Public Relations as "throwing a can of spam into an electric fan just to see if any of it would stick to the unwary passersby."

I was glad to see printed in the Sunday May 24, 2009, Cleveland Plain Dealer "Cuyahoga County staffing, services unfairly characterized in Plain Dealer series", by James McCafferty, Cuyahoga County's administrator. There he challenges several PD analyses of Cuyahoga County government performance, writing "The Plain Dealer's use of selective benchmarking results in misleading conclusions", which he claims are "disingenuous and intellectually dishonest".

It takes a world renowned visionary and creative genius like Richard Fleischman to take the complexities of saving and transforming our regional economy, landscape and society and express that in one clear, elegant statement.

The Vision for Cuyahoga County is clear - The world's first "Digital City" and the "Greenest Place On Earth".

Norm Roulet - November 5, 2001, Opinion Editorial in the Cleveland Plain Dealer

Joe Frolik's Oct. 21 (2001) column, "The high-tech route to City Hall," finally starts focusing attention on the Cleveland area's only hope for economic and social renewal: information technology.

Independent studies prove Cleveland is deficient in its use of information technology in government and in supporting the needs and interests of citizens. As a result, the community and the local economy have suffered.

Cleveland must move to the forefront of the information technology revolution by doing two things quickly and effectively:

Achieve universal access for our people.

Develop an optimal virtual community.

ICEarth - Information Community Earth - Conceptual Framework - normALST 02/07/01

The Emergence of “Info Mediated Enterprise”

One of today’s most critical global imperatives is "universal access." In our world’s now thoroughly computerized, internetworked economic, social and cultural environment, all people must have access to like information technology (IT) tools, resources and capabilities. As access becomes increasingly universal, exciting interpersonal dynamics become possible; like distant learning, telemedicine, virtual community, and 'infomediation,' a core interest of this document that enables the other dynamics listed before and many still to be seen on our virtual horizons.

Yesterday was a special day for me - a beautiful day in the region - so I ended it with my good friend Ed Hauser, as I often do. Alone on his own island, he is always easy to find. I was photographing the sunset right by where Ed's boats belong. They are gone... he is now walking on water.

Because of Ed, my heart lives on Whiskey Island too, and I have photographed there scores of times.

I was thrilled to see all sorts of green sprouts and now colors appearing in our yard this week - and the header of the day features some of the first daffodils on Daffidil Hill, in Lakeview Cemetery - a few blocks from my house in East Cleveland.

I'll let you know when and where are the best flowers in my part of town - you let us know what's popping up around you - let's have a REALNEO virtual garden tour!

I tend to find it true what people say - people choose dogs that resemble themselves, in some ways - so seeing these two dogs together in the 2009 St. Patrick's Day parade made me think of two local political leaders who very likely would gravitate toward such best friends, and who love a good parade, and who in fact look shocking like these lovely creatures here (assuming they are boys)...

I was surprised to see a letter to the editor printed and on-line in the Sunday, March 22, 2009, Cleveland Plain Dealer - "A flag of peace is found out of order at the St. Patrick's Day parade", by Lou Pumphrey. It starts: "Being half-Irish (on me mudder's side), off work on St. Patrick's Day and knowing the day would be sunny and warm, I vaguely considered donning my 41-year-old U.S. Army dress uniform and joining the St. Paddy's Day parade downtown, carrying my flag." But there was no accompanying picture of Lou or the Flag of Peace.

In the print edition, there was a file photo of a parade, but it was hardly relevant.

Brian Eno - more prophecy from the 1970s - Dead Finks Don't Talk, From Here Come The Warm Jets

Oh cheeky cheeky
Oh naughty sneaky
You're so perceptive
And I wonder how you knew.

It is obvious, by any definition, the process of redistricting the City Council wards of Cleveland is gerrymandering. The question is what to do about it. As stated in the title of this posting, "In gerrymandered election districts, the voters don't choose their politicians - the politicians choose their voters!" If that doesn't sufficiently define for you what Cleveland City Council President Sweeney has done, then how about the following...

I can't help but think what the world would be like today if all the people listening had paid attention to David Bowie's prophetic song, Five Years, back in 1972... had really believed it... taken it to heart... changed their lives like we only had five years left to save the world. What a beautiful world this could be.

What if David Bowie was right, and we only had five years, as of 1972... "that's all we got", and now we are just living out the end. That is how it seems to me. Could we be beyond the point of no return? Was Bowie right, back then?

Irish Eyes were smiling across downtown Cleveland for a beautiful St. Patrick's Day parade 2009... 67 in the shade! Please enjoy my favorite photos below, and from the annual St. Patrick's Day St. Baldrick's head shaving here...

You can't hang out at A.J. Rocco's Cafe before St. Patrick's Day without feeling an incling to shave your head. I stopped by, today. I'm shaving my head tomorrow.

A buddy of mine – I'll call him DC - just had a rough couple of weeks. One of DC's friends had his house invaded by gunmen... another friend went ballistic and killed five family members, and himself... and DC was denied a job because he is “colored”. This last problem is the most serious, because it causes the first two, a million times over each year in America, and seems all too commonplace here in real NEO.

"78% of the homicides in the City of Cleveland are African American Males murdering each another!" was the small print I first noticed on the flier stuck between the bars on Snag's Glenville door, when I stopped by the other day. 

This is Toronto

This is Toronto on Smog
 

This is Seattle:

This is Seattle on S2:

This was your NEO

This is your NEO on FFOEF

Ed was as furious as I can ever remember seeing him, as he shouted "the process is broken".

Ed was so right.