Town and Country

Driving along West 25th, there are numerous buildings with murals that show the goings on of each neighborhood.

Displayed along a surface lot on W 25th Street and Church Ave, near Detroit Ave, reflects Ohio City's cycling and sidewalk cafe scene.

Town

A few blocks away, across from West Side Market, is the typically bustling Market Square Park of shoppers and foodies. Having taken this early Sunday morning, only a couple of people were roaming about.

Country

Red brick is a lovely canvas, regardless of whether the fabric is worn or well kept.

- Cassaendra

Along West 25th Street
Ohio City
Cleveland, OH

Salt

I paid a photographic visit to this door nearly a year ago. In the interim, both doors were plastered with posters of the Morton Salt girl.

Day 355/365

Over the span of time, the posters have been torn off or fallen victim to the weather, and other posters have taken their place.

Day 355/365

I have set my calendar to remind me one year from now to take another photograph of these doors.

- Cassaendra

Goofy

Day 266/365

"Seasonal art" reminds me of head tattoos. The graffiti will disappear once spring arrives and the leaves obscure the face.

- Cassaendra

Mermaids

While I dislike this sort of aberrant weather in March -- temperatures in the 80s (°F), humid, sunny -- I appreciate the result.  Blossoms shower the city with renewed life and bathe it with the feeling of hope and dreams.

Day 264/365

Wade Lagoon is located at the Cleveland Museum of Art, near Case Western Reserve University, in University Circle. Between the lagoon and the museum are several sculptures and a water fountain. We were the only people with a dog in tow. For a while, I thought dogs weren't allowed, but we never came across a sign that growled, "NO DOGS ALLOWED."

The walk around the pond reminded me of a miniature Tidal Basin (Washington, DC) with its flowering trees and neoclassical marble architecture. There were several people with very large camera lenses and lighting umbrellas taking pictures of the flowers and couples.

My appreciation is balanced by my concern with the farmers and their budding trees, as the inevitable return to normal overnight temperatures in the 30s will create havoc.

- Cassaendra

Retro Rooter

I'm not sure what this style of art is called (1950s retro?), but I love it! It is partly the reason why I adore Hands off My Dinosaur's designs.

Day 241/365

I hope someone got their plumbing issue rectified...

- Cassaendra

Sticky Situation

I think I may be just a tad food-obsessed. 

Day 234/365

What immediately came to mind:
slow-cooked
hero sandwich
jelly beans -- licorice, of course

- Cassaendra

Octavofest

Today, I made a card on a manual portable self-inking printing press like the ones from the 19th century.

Day 133/365

As part of the month-long Octavofest celebration, representatives from the Morgan Conservatory (Bruce, exhibition coordinator) and Zygote Press (Liz, co-founder) held a program at the Brooklyn library discussing paper and printmaking at their respective studios.

We learned about various printmaking techniques -- relief (woodcuts), intaglio (acid etching), lithography, screenprinting, monotype, and monoprint -- able to see and feel examples of each, as well as handle some of the specialized tools used.

For many years, I have been interested in papermaking, bookbinding, and printmaking. Aside from binding a notebook over 15 years ago to take notes for a class, I have never seriously pursued those interests. I still have my bookbinding supplies and a reference book, Nonadhesive Binding by Keith Smith. Perhaps I should pick them up and give it a go?

- Cassaendra

Ukraine

Day 094/365

I am going to make it a point to visit the museum in the near future -- probably not this weekend since there appears to be an event taking place.

I would like to learn more about the beautiful glazed scenes embedded in their granite sign. My favorite image is the snowy scene located on the upper left.

- Cassaendra

Ukrainian Museum-Archives
1202 Kenilworth Ave
Cleveland, OH 44113
Tel: (216) 781-4329

Cough

Day 087/365

While stuck in traffic along West 25th Street in Ohio City, this scribble drew my attention. I scratched my head, shrugged, then took the picture. Perhaps s/he is coughing from all the exhaust caused by the parade of cars.

- Cassaendra

Negative Space

I found an advertisement postcard for Asian Town Center in my belongings yesterday and looked the place up online to discover there is an Asian grocery store, Korean restaurant, Vietnamese restaurant, art gallery and studio, and other small shops within the complex.

We have passed by this structure numerous times but did not think to explore it until today.

Day 080/365 - Negative Space

The vast two-story space is a converted warehouse with an almost nifty vibe. A lot has been done to make the place look chic, but it's not quite there yet. I love the high ceilings and the freight elevators, but lighting needs to be improved to give the place a sharper appearance.

We stopped by Asia Food Company, the grocery store, to pick up ginger and found some deals on gobo (burdock root), fresh-baked sesame balls with lotus, mung and coconut, and azuki fillings, and oodles of noodles ranging from Mama tom yum noodle soup to Myojo chukazanmai.

Miega, a Korean restaurant, and Negative Space Gallery and Studio are upstairs past a wide spiral staircase that feels out of place. I can't wait to check out the scorpion bike up close at the gallery and try a bowl of soon dubu jjiggae or kalbi bi bim bap. And then there is Pho 99 downstairs...the choices!

- Cassaendra

Negative Space Gallery and Studio
3820 Superior Ave 2nd Floor
Cleveland, OH 44114
Tel: (216) 470-6092

Fill in the

With this photograph of South Side's patio wall, I realized just how little I truly see, listen, taste, and so forth.

Day 076/365 - Breakout

I have never noticed just how much brick is exposed. I don't believe I felt it was a completely contiguous painting, but I did not realize just how much of it had flecked off. Now, all I see are the exposed bricks!

How can we not go through life without making assumptions, presumptions, conjecture, ...?

Even before South Side, when this spot was the High and Dry Inn, I've been meaning to check the food out. In either incarnation, the place is and was busy so the food must be good, right?

- Cassaendra

South Side
2207 W 11th St
Cleveland, OH 44113

Pop

The the pot of gumbo from yesterday is all gone!

Day 073/365 - where you least expect it

More artwork brought to you by the letters T, S, and G. I found out from the Cleveland Kid that this artist is known as "The Sign Guy." His art is found in the least likely places. Thank you, sir, for nestling little surprises in our lives, from provoking thought to smiles. What a great gift.

I forgot just how much I miss having ferrets as pets. When I saw this lurking in the bushes today, it prompted me to search for weasel images online. :(

- Cassaendra

Chum

Day 070/365

The simple but unusual logo and art nouveau typeface on the door of the Tremont Rod and Gun Club remind me of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I suppose the inclusion of Captain Nemo in the story helps.

There is no indication that a random visitor is welcome since the storefront is opaque in the same manner as the door that you see here. One of these days, I'm going to turn the knob and enter. Until that time, I'm left to my own imagination of what goes on behind that door.


In the background is a clearer shot of the television set from a few days ago that I thought would be a snazzy computer monitor.

Day 070/365

The metallic dog in the foreground caught my eye today. Perhaps the next time the store is open, I'll ask the owner, "How much is that doggie in the window?"

- Cassaendra

Rain or Shine

Day 064/365

Rain or shine, birdie flies nowhere fast.

I would love to find out who does this artwork. They are always found where you least expect it, so don't waste your time looking for them. You won't find them.

On second thought, better yet, by that logic, I probably don't want to find out who creates these.

- Cassaendra

1 Up

Day 061/365

When I walked past this, I thought it was just some funky looking gears.

The images are probably obvious to 99.999% of the world's population -- mushrooms in Nintendo's Mario series of games -- but I never really played Nintendo games growing up. We played Atari console games, then transitioned to computer games played initially on an Atari computer then on to PCs.

Bug, who grew up playing games on all consoles available, pointed the image out to me. I slowly recognized the gear-smudges. I must confess that I have a bad tendency to not see [somewhat abstract] objects the way they should be seen or the way everyone else sees them.

My logic chip must be slightly dislodged.

- Cassaendra

Zombie Bird

027/365

Graaaaaiiiiiinnnnns.

- Cassaendra

Ibiza

After our lovely meal at Northstar, we walked along High Street and came across a boarded development.

Hive

When I tried to locate this spot on Google maps, it showed the original boards for the development which included just the tall boards shown above.

Alice

This is the site of the apparently stalled Ibiza condos. I ran across a write-up that mentioned that the spaces will be apartments instead, once built.

Beholder

Bombling

Reading a couple of local Columbus blogs and magazines tell a story of the Short North neighborhood that came about much like Tremont in Cleveland, a shady neighborhood no one felt safe to visit during the day 25 years ago, vitalized to a destination with art galleries, restaurants, and luxury condos.

Uniworm

Kitsune

I'm rooting for the apartments to be built!

- Cassaendra

Ingenuity Festival

The Veterans Memorial Bridge was constructed in the 1910s at a cost of over $5 million. The top (open) deck provided a vehicular and pedestrian connection from Downtown Cleveland (Superior Avenue) to the west side (Detroit Avenue) over the Cuyahoga River, while the lower deck was for streetcar traffic.

Lower deck, Veterans Memorial Bridge

In the 1950s, streetcars no longer operated along the bridge so access to the lower deck was closed off, while the upper deck remained in use.

Benched

Several times per year, the closed off lower level is open for tours and art exhibits, like the Ingenuity Festival: The Bridge Project this weekend.

The end is near...

The beautifully dreary, misty weather served as a perfect prelude to Electric Junkyard Gamelan, a percussive band using pots and other apparatus (similar to Einstürzende Neubauten's music from the early 1980s). The spacious, practically underground auditorium couldn't have been better aesthetically and acoustically.

...or just some people passing by on their bicycle

The footpath along the bridge that crosses over the river consists of wood boards laid over metal grating. If you walk over the dark edges shown in the pictures you are able to see the river ~100 feet (~30 m) below. The Superior end of the bridge turns into dirt.

Rapid stop

Half way across the bridge, the gaps between the beams and the wood boards along the center walkway become wider so I had to jump to get across. The grating was still under the boards, so a toddler wouldn't plummet between the boards, at least not a chubby one. Someone could lose their cuff links, ring, or keys, however.

Adorable booties

Zocalo (Superior end)

There seemed to be a lot more activity along the Superior Avenue (Downtown Cleveland) end of the bridge, with more artists hanging their artwork and a busier bar.

Bar (Superior end)

The atmosphere was more what I'd imagine the scene in Berlin would have been like 25 years ago with bands playing in abandoned industrial buildings lit only with a couple of stage lights.

Watery grave

The atmosphere is dank in the furthest reaches of the Superior end of the bridge, since there are areas that are submerged like the stairwell. To my disappointment, I was unable to take my camera, which has an excellent motion stabilizer, since my battery was drained and, instead, took Bug's camera.

Street car named Expired

A stage was set up in front of one of the streetcars. Several nooks were utilized as stages for other spoken word performances.

A sliver of the Downtown Cleveland skyline (Detroit end)

The hearse in the picture is awesome.

- Cassaendra

Urbantage

(Still from the video "Wamono" by Hifana)

While rummaging through some email folders, I found a YouTube link (below) that Bug sent me a year ago showing the art crew, Rinpa Eshidan, painting a wall over a span of a week. It is a sequence of time lapse shots with three songs playing in the background. It's pretty nifty!

("1 Week of Artworks," Rinpa Eshidan)

The first song is "Music is Mine" by Nujabes (Jun Seba). The song was reminiscent of Ryuichi Sakamoto's music from the mid-1990s. It must be the piano, synthesizer, beat...I guess almost everything! Nujabes has collaborated with others and created the soundtrack to one of my favorite anime series, Samurai Champloo.

The second song caught my fancy, "Wamono," by Hifana ("southern wind" in Okinawan). Off of their 2nd cd, "Channel H," which was released in 2005, the song mixes hip hop, and Japanese and Okinawan folk music. I don't care much for most hip hop, but the layer of Okinawan music made it pretty catchy.

+cruz from London-based, Love, worked on the majority of the animation on "Channel H," under the W+K Tokyo Lab record label. The video link for "Wamono" (below) from YouTube is low quality. A more watchable version (34 MB) can be downloaded directly from Love.

("Wamono" by Hifana)

From watching a few clips of live performances of Hifana, the two men seem pretty active on stage, even though they are percussionists/mixers. Reading an interview, it mentions that they do not pre-program their music when performing live!

(Still from the video "Wamono" by Hifana)

- Cassaendra

Sig Sig Sputnik

In addition to consuming gobs of time in game -- Hey, it a great way to save a lot of money! We never went out! -- I often spent oodles of time making sigs for my characters in EQ (Cassaendra) and WoW (Vetiver and Lycaena) to display on my guild forum posts.

The sig above is one of my first sigs, created in October 2003. It doesn't seem like I devoted THAT much time to its creation, but each pixel was placed by hand with a single mouse-click, which took me 8-9 straight hours to complete. The base dolls (above and below) were created by Angychan.

Caught meditating, November 2003

This doll probably took 10 hours to complete. Yes, I [still] can't shade.

Contemplating in Tranquility, near the entrance of the Plane of Fire, May 2004

Taeranel Tours, August 2004

Guild Hall, March 2005

This took longer to create than I expected. I finally settled with this screenshot in our guild hall, having cast Protection of Seasons (+72 resistance to fire and cold to the entire group) at least 30 times, taking no less than 75 screenshots, for a passable screen capture of the spell effect being cast.

I also changed my sigs by seasons.

Icicle Glass, August 2004

I was *trying* to cool off in the summertime with an image of a pool. Of course, I used this in the winter also. :)

Greenleaf, August 2004

I used this for a briefly in the summer, but used it in the spring as well since it seemed more appropriate.

Fall Leaves, October 2004

Blue Fir, December 2004

Flake, January 2005

Still Blossoms, May 2005

Sunflower, June 2005

World of Warcraft
WoW was a fun game! I'll probably be back once the finances stablize! :P Vetiver and Lycaena's sigs.

Vetiver plant in the background, February 2006

Bullwinkle, February 2006

The joke with Bullwinkle and the bomb was that my Tier 2 helm, when worn, was a helm with moose antlers attached. I've also "helped" wipe out our raid once in Molten Core and once in Black Wing Lair. I was "the bomb" and didn't move out quickly enough - both times being the first time I stepped foot in those instances. Oopsie! :)

Cow Penguin, March 2007

After I retired from high-end raiding due to severe burn-out, I joined Bulletproof Penguins. Along with Blue Forge Fire, a Cleveland area led guild, I grew to appreciate once more the fun in raiding. The image of the cow-penguin was taken from a static image displayed at a Japanese website, Penguins Mill, and then a GIF was created of the spinning cow -> penguin x 10 rotations with matching background. If you're curious to see the rotation, you may either click the screen refresh button or click on the image. :)

Redscript, July 2006

- Cassaendra