G.A.B.B.

Launch of terra, not terror

2007-07-17T17:57:00.000-07:00

I have left The Chief Source to start my own blog - terra, not terror.

terra, not terror will discuss environmental progress going on around the world. I like to keep up on efforts to create a sustainable, less expensive, safe, energy-efficient place to live. And I love doing whatever I can to save money, energy, and resources, so I'll show you my ideas, too.

What?
This will be a positive space for us to share what we're doing to reduce our footprint. I hope you enjoy reading about efforts to help our planet.

When?
I plan to write something at least once a week. -that's a lot of progress!- I imagine this page will evolve over time, and I hope you check back once in a while to see what fun things are going on in the "green" world.

The name?
When Bush talks about the "war on terror," it usually sounds like "war on terra," which I jokingly take offense to. (Terra is Latin for Earth, and is also my name) Whether a war on the planet is actually his strategy is open for debate. We should focus on living in harmony with the earth, not living in fear.

Kerry Clawson Back Online

2007-06-27T14:47:00.000-07:00

And so am I for that matter. After a bit of travel-inspired non-GABBing, I'm back into this.

Meanwhile, ABJ theatre critic Kerry Clawson's blog has been silent for a long time. Like no posts in May long. She's back with a long post that includes a rundown of the tech rehearsal of Unbeatable, a play about breast cancer. Also, she gives news about a A Narrow Bridge, a play in the works by a Cleveland-based playwrite.

On Life Support: Dodie's

2007-06-01T11:03:00.000-07:00

Just went down to Dodie's for what I thought would be my last meal there (and the last time I waited forever for food there). But apparently they were given an extension, until perhaps the 22nd of June.

In that time frame, Two Amigos may cease to be an issue if it goes into foreclosure.

Next time on As Highland Square Turns...
The laze-abouts outside Angel Falls taunt a girl-jeans wearing hipster into a brutal game of hackey sack.

More on Akron's Dirty Book Business

2007-05-30T19:01:00.000-07:00

Scene Magazine runs a portrait of Elora's Cave founder Tina Engler. Apparently she doesn't just publish "romantica," she invented the subgenre and started self-publishing online when her first dirty book was rejected by every traditional romance publisher.

I first covered Elora's Cave on GABB here.

Red Light Galleries

2007-05-27T12:49:00.000-07:00

In Akron is the place to be ‘till June 17. Don’t miss the chance to view and purchase some of the (woefully underpriced) work of Boring Daughter #2!!

Extra Special Garbage Week!

2007-05-21T18:56:00.000-07:00

So this is Akron Garbage Amnesty Week, whereupon you can set out just about anything and the boys, and occasional lady, in fluorescent yellow pennies will toss it in their truck.

This act of amnesty, though, apparently taxed our sanitary warriors because when I came home today my city-approved-must-be-facing-the-right-direction-or-we-won't-touch-it trash can was in not in front of my house. Nope, it was visiting the neighbor's.

Brilliant.

New Stuff

2007-05-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

I've added some folks to the blogroll. I still run across Akron from time to time and for the most part they go up automatically. Some have been up for a while, one I just found. So here's the rundown.

Am Fem is the domain of Angela, young woman with some apparent web design chops who runs a mostly personal blog. It's compelling, especially as she has some pretty trying life circumstances.

Angela set up a blog for her fiance Chris called Crovin. He seems not to have the fire in the belly -- he hasn't posted since April 29. We'll keep an eye on that one.

Derek offers A Subset of Derek. As he puts it, "An incomplete account of my life, thoughts and feelings."

Andrew Shears runs the boards at Radio Free Ohio. He's a Ph.D. student in Geography at the U.

Check them out and enjoy.

B&N on SOBCon

2007-05-19T19:04:00.000-07:00

Chris Brown of Branding & Marketing attended SOBCon, the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Conference. From her writeups, the conference aimed at business-oriented bloggers. One speaker apparently advised against bloggers calling themselves "bloggers:"

Lots of times blog posts are all about me, me, me me. What my cat had for lunch, all the boring, self-centric stuff. She wants to make one thing clear: When I tell people I have 160 articles of leadership on the web they get very impressed. When i tell people I’m a blogger they think I’m weird”About which I will simply say it's different for bloggers on different topics. Writing about politics and policy and calling it a blog has never been a problem for me.

Back to Chris's conference experience, her posts are all worth reading, here, here and here.

Pink Shoe Envy Almost Killed Me.

2007-05-15T20:48:00.000-07:00

My envy of Marcia at Pink Shoe deepens with her review of The Hold Steady show in Cleveland. Hold Steady is my favorite band working today. Though it sounds like I damn them with faint praise, in fact I like them a lot. Throw Bruce Springsteen, hip-hop phrasing, crunching guitars, beat poetry readings and Larry Clark's Kids into a mixer and the resultant concoction is The Hold Steady.

Life circumstances aren't letting me get anywhere near a rock show these days. If you are as domesticated as I am, check out this video of "Chillout Tent" made as an entry for the band's video contest.

It's the best I've seen of the sumissions, though the embedded Quicktime player keeps crashing so I haven't seen many.

The Pink Shoe: Nature Scenes

2007-05-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

Marcia at The Pink Shoes posted one of the more incredible pictures I've seen on a blog. She and her husband were hiking in the MetroParks and ran across a snake eating a toad. You have to click through to see this. Marcia was freaked out, but the science geek in me is terribly envious.

UPDATE: Redhorse was the first to notice that I had embedded the wrong link. It's fixed now.

United Way Blog Is Off to a Good Start

2007-05-10T20:12:00.000-07:00

When the blog of United Way of Summit County popped up in my Technorati watchlist last week, I was skeptical it would go anywhere. So far, they've done a good job. The blog includes posts about UWSC events, needs in the community, services offered by UW agencies and of course, things readers can do to help the organization.

Two recent posts of note include one spotlighting the UW's involvement in an early childhood education advocacy project called BornLearning and another promoting a cause-linked online shopping site called Giveline.com.

As of yet, there is little indication that anyone else is reading -- hey, it's kind of like GABB! But of course there must be content before there will be readers.

Paula Neal Mooney: What Bloggers Earn

2007-05-09T10:24:00.000-07:00

Writer and blogger Paula Neal Mooney took a cue from Parade Magazine's annual "What People Earn" feature and compiled a list of blogger earnings. Paula reports that the post has grown legs, and indeed pulls up a number on hits on Google blogsearch and Technorati.

And me?

$0. Thanks for asking.

Akron Bloggers Issue 17 Roundup

2007-05-09T05:32:00.000-07:00

Alphabetically:

Dane Bramage (note that I disagree with his figures.)

Pho's

Psychobilly, with takes on other local issues thrown in.

Village Green who explains why she's an angry voter.

The Miller Way . . .Amish Edition

2007-05-08T21:14:00.000-07:00

Delilah Miller has a unique perspective on the Amish enclaves in our area:

I have mentioned many times before that Jake's father grew up Amish. He left the Amish when he was 16. He had not yet joined the Church so he was not excommunicated and still gets to spend time with some of his family that is still Amish. Linda was never Amish but her parents were. So...when you think about it, Jake is a pure bread Amish by blood. Like many people, I am so fascinated by the Amish and their way of life. Jake is soooo over it.Her post runs through five "myths" about the Amish, with her close-but-still-outside point of view.

The one caveat I would off in all this is that several different sects of Amish live in the area, each with different beliefs. The accuracy of Delilah's mythbusting may vary depending on which sect is under discussion.

Akron's Dirty Book Industry

2007-05-08T20:55:00.000-07:00

Here in Akron we hear a lot about the forward-looking emergent high-tech industries that hopefully are replacing our old industrial base. Oddly, I'm also hearing about publishing. I've heard of a couple of high lit and specialty imprints in the area and plan on running the information down.

In the meantime, I found Ellora's Cave, an Akron publisher of "Romantica" or "Erotic romance." Or bodice-rippers with a Penthouse Forum level of frankness.

Here's how Ellora's Cave describes their product:

In a piece of Ellora’s Cave Romantica® literature, sexual language is typically expressed in frank adult terms, rather than couched in flowery phrases. In other words, rather than describing lust in a woman's body as "a whirlwind of electricity that jolted through her love valley" as is generally found in mainstream romance novels, an author of Romantica™ might say, "intense desire coursed through her body, making her wet with arousal." (E-rated and above titles typically use much more graphic language than that.)I discovered this perusing my Technorati watchlist for Akron, Ohio. I discovered the blog of Ellora's Cave author and native Ohioan Tawny Taylor. She was here in Akron last weekend, for a visit with EC headquarters and a signing at the Chapel Hill Borders.

Final note. Fans of Romantica will no doubt object to the title of the post. Fans of the old Spy Magazine may recognize the homage.

Boring on Issue 17

2007-05-07T06:07:00.000-07:00

He breaks down the numbers:

Check it out.

Keeler on Stewart's Erection.

2007-05-07T05:52:00.000-07:00

Ben Keeler on the controversial proposal to erect a cell tower in Bath Township:

I'll be clear - I hope it doesn't go in. It would look stupid there and would be a total eyesore and would hurt the rural character of Bath somewhat (although minimally). But Stewart owns the property, and he can do what he wants with it. He knows that his business won't suffer - people come from all over to eat at his massively overpriced restaurant, and that won't stop, and even if a handful people boycott his place, it wouldn't hurt him in the pocketbook. He is a businessman and is trying to make money. Like it or not, he has the right to put in his 130 foot tower.By the way, if you are wondering why Bath Township can't regulate cell towers, it's my fault.

Local Bloggers Tagged with Specialty Memes

2007-05-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

A couple of Akron area bloggers with specialized interests have been tagged by memes floarting around in their communities. The blogosphere is made up of many interlocking, overlapping communities. One advantage of looking at a geographical slice of blogs is we see a small cross-section of some communities we might not otherwise run across much less visit with any frequency. The memes going around give a special opportunity to learn more about these other blogworlds.

Poetry Recommendations at The Word Cage.

Local poet Penultimatina got tagged with a meme asking what living poets she would recommend to those of less poetic bent. She names 13.
Branding and Marketing on Why She's Obsessed.

Chris Brown's responds to a meme asking for five reasons why she blogs about marketing. By the way, any blog about branding should have a cool logo and Chris now has one:

The Pink Booties

2007-05-03T19:26:00.000-07:00

If the Akron area blogosphere is a very extended family, it just got a little bigger. Congrats to Marcia at The Pink Shoe who just became an aunt for the first time as her sister (who blogs from another city) just had her first child.

2007-05-03T18:59:00.000-07:00

Jimmy’s Café
2028 Chestnut Blvd
Cuyahoga Falls OH 44223
330-923-3660

There’s a secret to having a good, small restaurant. I’m going to give it away:

Take a page out of the Jimmy’s Café playbook, and limit the menu.

1. Pick a style. One you like. One that you can actually prepare well. In Jimmy’s case, it’s Louisiana.
2. With only one Chef, stick to things that can be prepared in bulk ahead of time: gumbo, jambalaya, red beans & rice, soups. Fill out the menu with a lot of varieties of po’ boy sandwiches – you can train somebody to prepare those - and serve up a mean iced coffee and Italian sodas.
3. Round out the experience with good service and quirky décor.
4. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Honestly, I’ve been to some restaurants with menus so extensive, you knew that they had some kid microwaving entrees from Sam’s Club.

We went to Jimmy’s to celebrate Boring Daughter #2’s 18th birthday on Wednesday. An eye opener. Mrs. Boring & I will be headed back, assuming we can figure out how to manage the chauffeuring and get there before the kitchen closes.

Most entrees, in the $9.00 range (the po’ boys, with a side). Most of the Boring Gang had the sweet potato casserole as a side, and raved about it. The Cole Slaw is also very good, kinda quirky.

This is the sort of place that should become an Akron area institution.

I didn’t make note of the hours, but as I recall, the kitchen closes at 7.30 M-T, but they are open to 10.00 on Friday and Saturday.

Cross posted: TBMD

Single Move Placates Two Major Local Employers

2007-05-03T07:17:00.000-07:00

The Beacon this morning reports on a move that helps keep two major employers in Akron happy and here.

Sterling will purchase the FirstEnergy building located on property adjacent to their Ghent Road campus. FirstEnergy states it had not intended to sell the property, but it seems to make sense given their expansion on White Pond Drive. The two companies employ about 4700 people in Summit County, a majority of them in Akron proper.

The city is putting up about $5.5m in funds for the White Pond facility, but the story seems to confuse the TIF contribution.

Regardless, the price tag of $5.5m is more than half what Issue 17, if passed, is expected to generate for economic development projects, leading me to suspect those funds would be used more for land banking and not infrastructure projects.

Time Warner Digital Service Scrambled

2007-05-03T07:12:00.000-07:00

About 7:30 this morning, the kids reported their morning cartoon schedule was blocked out. Assuming a not infrequent set top issue, I unplugged the machine and reset it.

That worked, although we lost our recorded programs. Turns out about 450k digital customers had the same problem this morning due to a software upgrade. Gotta love technology.

Akron Relaxing Trash Rules for Spring Cleaning

2007-05-02T08:43:00.000-07:00

From a city press release:

This should again make Eric Mansfield say "Hmmm." Meanwhile, if you excuse me, I have some work to do.

Akron Bloggers on Issue 17

2007-05-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

The only real item of interest in the upcoming May primary election here in Akron is Issue 17, a proposed increase in the city income tax of .33 percent.

I pointed out earlier this week that the campaign has been essentially sub rosa. Village Green gives one indication of the potential problem with a quiet, turnout-centered campaign: She would be a likely yes vote if persuaded about the necessity of the tax, but isn't sure the case has been made. She is wrestling with the near-universal misgiving -- putting $9 million in a "jobs" (i.e. subsidies to corporations" fund. It's an idea guaranteed to bring out the gag reflex on both sides of the aisle.

On the other side of the spectrum, Boring Made Dull surprised no one coming out against it some time ago. Meanwhile, Redhorse and I each had thoughts about the Bob Dyer column making fun of a boiler room caller working on behalf of the campaign.

UA Leads the State in Commercializing Research

2007-05-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

According to the Buchtelite, Akron leads all colleges in the state -- public and private -- in developing technology and transferring it to private-sector applications:

It's a good news story. I hope the Beacon picks it up.

Farewell Gucci Buddist?

2007-05-01T19:17:00.000-07:00

Mia at Gucci Buddist posted yesterday that, "This blog will no longer be updated..."

She's been going through some difficult times, but this came as a surprise. A distressing surprise. I hope when things look up for her she reconsiders. For now I'm leaving her on the roll.

An Akron Blog Hits a Milestone

2007-05-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

The Chief Source, one of the oldest blogs in town (and run by a team whose bloggers are among the youngest) hosted its 400,000th visit this week. I was #400,145, if anyone's counting. Psychobilly alerted us to the milestone as it approached. Congrats to the Team Chief Source.

So What Am I Doing with GABB?

2007-05-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

Cross-posted on Pho's Akron Pages.

Some of you may have notice that I’ve been posting a lot on the Greater Akron Bloggers Blog (GABB). Not many of you have. Probably the rest have noticed that posting on Pho's has been a little thin. Yes, I’ve been working through some ideas about GABB and, yes, let things go a little to seed on my home blog. I’ve done enough on GABB to feel there is a viable mission for the blog.

A Brief History of Akron Blogging.

Redhorse and I started GABB a year ago. At that time, the idea was building the community of Akron area bloggers by offering a forum for people to blog about Akron-oriented stuff that would be a little off-topic on their home blogs. People contributed some good content for a while, but things gradually petered out.

The original model for GABB didn’t work for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it’s hard enough to keep one blog up to date. Adding unique content to a separate blog was too much for the participants. Also, many of the bloggers who got involved – most notably Redhorse and I – expanded somewhat the subject matter for our blogs. Red and I are not so much all politics all the time; we now do a little more of what the folks at Placeblogger call place blogging.

Still, there was GABB and some good came out of it. We did one meet-up last summer. Red and I had gotten to know the Chief Source folks and Mr. Boring, but none of us had met PeppermintLisa before then. We kicked around some ideas for building the blogger community, but then everyone got terribly busy and a second didn’t happen. GABB was one vehicle for keeping in touch while it lasted.

Whither GABB?

When thinking about what to do with this thing that started but suffered from a flawed format, I thought about my story. I started the Pages for me, with no thought of building an audience. Then I discovered Brewed Fresh Daily and George discovered me. He linked to me, blogrolled me, others did the same and, without really planning it, I had a blog.

We have a great blogging community here in the Akron area, most of whom don’t know each other. Or rather, we have a bunch of different communities, with thin tendrils connecting them occasionally. I’m interested in helping build the communities that arise around blogs and trying to forge connections I’m trying to revive GABB with something like the BFD model. Since we are all regional these days, think of it as BFD+ if you’d like.

Over the past few days I’ve been highlighting post on Akron-based blogs that are about Akron. Lots of the blogs around town are personal journals, and a number cover politics or business or some other passion, vocation or avocation. But all occasionally talk about something happening here in Akron and that seemed to be the best way to winnow down the wealth of posts.

Not to say I won’t occasionally also feature a post that isn’t about Akron qua Akron. It’s happened already and will happen again when something particularly tickles me or really illuminates the soul of a local blogger.

In addition to that, I will highlight news stories about the area germane to topics under discussion (the Highland Theatre, for instance) in local media. If something pops up in either the national media or blogs from elsewhere, I’ll post about that as well, especially if it seems to be flying under the local radar. And occasionally a story will appear that is so local, so lacking in deeper import, that I'll toss a post up with a quick take.

In addition to all that, I’m planning two regular features of original content. One is photos from around town. This will be just what strikes my fancy and what my crappy pocket digital camera captures reasonably well. First example is directly below.

Second, I plan to feature a Website of the Week – something Akron-based and cool. Or perhaps something Akron-based and deserving mockery. The first of these went up last week

Invitation to the Community

The original members of the blog are still on and still free to contribute any way they want. If someone wants to post a photo or highlight something particularly cool from their home blog feel free. I’ve put my imprint here mostly by default. I’m absolutely ready to let a broader community of bloggers overrun the place and make it over.

Finally, I encourage people who are interested in blogging but don’t have the time for the care and feeding of a blog to sthink about getting involved. I do want to know someone before opening it up, and want to let other people with posting privileges have some input on all that. For now, I invite 54Cermak and J.D. Amer -- bloggers who found their lives too busy to keep up blogs full time. If you guys are interested, drop me a line. In the future, invites may go out, for instance, to people who frequently post good comments.

There are other issues to consider which can wait for a later date. For example, I want to expand the sidebar to include link lists for Akron websites, but I also want to do something about this butt-ugly template and have learned not to invest a lot into the sidebar before a template change. Also, if a community grows around GABB, I want that community to have input into the look of the place.

So with that, let us declare GABB 2.o officially launched. Enjoy.

Seen Around Akron

2007-05-01T09:26:00.000-07:00

Aladdin's parking lot, April 28, 2007

United Way of Summit County Opens a Blog

2007-04-30T07:39:00.000-07:00

Just found this on a Technorati search. So far they have one post -- standard recitation of the organization's mission. No indication what they aim to do with the blog.

Time will tell, but blogging as part of an organization's overall communications strategy is more difficult than it looks. Anyone who has tried it will affirm that the care and feeding of a blog is a significant investment in time. Yesterday Village Green yesterday discussed running across the Akron Public Schools blog. Mostly APS used the Blogger platform as a turnkey community bulletin board, which is a clever use of a freely available tool. Even so, they haven't posted a new open thread since the beginning of March. And if you aim at posting content and moderating comments, look out.

So, time will tell. But UW is an important element in the civic life of the city, so it will be interesting to see what they have to say.

Eric Mansfield: Albrect Won't Buy the Highland

2007-04-30T05:41:00.000-07:00

From Eric's blog:

I do have one new nugget of news -- at least for some of you. I spoke with Joe Albrecht of the Acme family Friday to discuss rumors that Acme plans to buy the Highland Theater. The grocery store chain has an interest in the theater's future since it's opening a new store as part of the West Akron renovation project. Albrecht told me that as a rule, the company does not comment on future business or rumors, but that in this case he wanted me to know that Acme is NOT putting together a plan to buy the theater.
Since the blog is still technically crappy, I have to tell you that it's the Saturday, April 28 post about Bernie Kosar's jersey.

The Highland Theatre Folks Hold a Fundraiser

2007-04-30T05:03:00.000-07:00

Redhorse picked up the story on ANN reviewing the turnout. And of course he has some thoughts of his own. I had noticed an ANN interview with Highland Square Theatre Corp. ED Lisa Bostwick in Saturday's preview story. Given that the event was at the American Legion hall, it's a safe bet that PeppermintLisa was there.

To clarify my reiterate what I said to Lisa and in my comments to the previous post, I would be very happy if HSTC makes a go of it. What they are talking about would be an asset to the neighborhood. I am skeptical it will work, but I'd love to be proven wrong. What I don't love is the insistence that saving the theatre is crucial to maintaining the character of the neighborhood. It does good to neither the effort to preserve the neighborhood nor the effort to save the theatre to exagerate the Highland's importance.

But they continue to make the rhetorical link. When, for example, did it become the Highland Square Theatre?

Happy News at GWOT

2007-04-30T04:55:00.000-07:00

Sergeant White is coming home. It is a happy day for White, his friends and family, and those of us who have been following his service.

Here's hoping he will continue to blog. His is a formidable voice.

One Good Thing about Cleveland+

2007-04-28T08:07:00.000-07:00

I'm trying hard to find things about the Cleveland+ branding campaign for the Northeast Ohio region, er, make that the Cleveland region. More on my thoughts later on the Pages.

Anyway, scrying Technorati for Akron posts, I found "Selling to Small Business," one of those blogs titles that doesn't need further description. The proprietor of StSB lives in the area. She notes that the Cleveland+ website is full of useful small-business-oriented market research.'

So we've got that going for us. Which is nice.

BFD on ABJ on Cleveland+

2007-04-28T07:57:00.000-07:00

A quick hit from Doug at Brewed Fresh Daily taking the Beacon's Paula Scheis to task for her breathlessly uncritical coverage of the Cleveland+ brand rollout.

For the record, I don't think the Beacon is trolling for ad money. They've been unremittingly boosterish about the the Voices and Choices process since it began, mostly in a apparent hope it will help.

Branding and Marketing Obsession

2007-04-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

Chris Brown at Branding and Marketing got tagged for a meme asking what she is passionate and obsessive about. Well, duh:

I'd have to say marketing. (What a cop-out, you're whispering to yourself!) But no, really. I love marketing. It's like a giant puzzle to me, trying to figure out the niche/positioning. It's like trying to see what is missing, what isn't there.Check it out.

Website of the Week: Akron Global Polymer Academy

2007-04-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

This is a new feature for GABB. Every week I hope to have at least one post spotlighting an Akron-based website. I'll save until later the broader discussion for how this plays into a broader vision for GABB. For now, the website.

I learned about the Akron Global Polymer Academy site at the Nanotechnology Summit this past week. The University of Akron is not only a global leader in polymer research, they aggressively promote polymer education in the broader community. The Global Polymer Academy is a project of the Akron Polymer Training Center, a division within Polymer Sciences at Akron. The Training Center is about workplace training. The Global Academy posts basic information about polymers and resources for K-12 education about the field, plus other general information. They also have a Resources page which appears to be more specialized, and appears to be a work in progress.

If you check out the slide shows, the narrator is Dr. Carin Helfer who does outreach to K-12 teachers and into schools. She tries to use polymer science to get kids excited about studying science in general.

As Akronites we hear about polymers constantly. If you want to know what it all means. the Global Polymer Academy has the multimedia presentations offering basic information. Even if you know as much as you need about polymers, the website gives you a good window into how seriously the University generally and Polymer Sciences in particular takes its mission to educate beyond the bounds of the campus.

Next Week is Akron Law Week

2007-04-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

Events all week to educate normal people about the legal system, the highlight of which will surely be the "Jammin' for Justice" battle of lawyer-populated band at The Barley House.

Schedule on the Leader website. More detail on the Akron Bar calendar.

Eric Mansfield on New City Trash Cans

2007-04-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

He asks a Darn Good Question:

Now, let me get this straight. Weren't we all scolded last year for not putting our new jumbo trash cans out on the devil strip facing the right direction? Didn't city hall warn us within an inch of our recycles that we had to position the Pac-man containers within a certain number of inches from the street? Wasn't it all so the new high-tech trucks could pick up the cans and dump them without city workers having to risk injury lifting them? I thought that the plan also included one-man trucks where the driver used a robotic arm and wouldn't have to even get out of the vehicle. So how come every trash day I see 2-3 guys in the trucks who physically grab my cans (after turning them around first to grab the handle), roll them out into the street, and then physically hook them on the truck? I thought we were going to save on manpower? I thought that the position of my cans was paramount to make trash-a-thon a success? For the love of blue bags I don't understand it.
I've been wondering the same thing. Fortunately Eric is more likely to get his Darn Good Questions answered, so keep an eye out.

By the way, the Time Warner people haven't done anything to make his blog more bloglike, so the link is always the same. If you are reading this many months hence, happy scrolling.

CAK Blogport: Cheap Flights to Vegas

2007-04-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

I don't share the enthusiasm for the destination, but some might find it good news:

I am so excited! AirTran Airways will start nonstop service to Las Vegas on August 15 from CAK. And how about $99 each way?? Now that’s a price just about anyone can afford.

To Summit County CSB: Advice from TBMD

2007-04-26T10:34:00.000-07:00

That's a sample. Click through to the post for the rest.

Arrest in the Mount Peace Case

2007-04-26T10:26:00.000-07:00

Police have arrested a registered sex offender for rape and aggravated murder. Details.

Village Green on the Closing of Grandmother Video

2007-04-26T10:23:00.000-07:00

I wasnt' aware of the business, but VG offers a good rundown:

Click through to her post -- she has some links to some Dave's work online.

Highland Theatre -- Two Views [Updated]

2007-04-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

Though they haven't specifically gone at each other, two of my favorite people in the Akron sphere are approaching the discussion about what should happen to the Highland Theatre from decidedly different angles.

First, Village Green posts the email a lot of us got from the Save the Highland folks, without further further discussion. After a discussion of logistical moves, we get to the guts of the email:

While VG stops at Submitted for Your Approval, Redhorse shares his reservations:

Meanwhile, PeppermintLisa hasn't updated her post expressing ambivalence. I share that ambivalence. The first problem with the Highland is expressed by Redhorse and can be seen in the photo above -- over 1000 seats. And by the way, no parking.

The second problem is the Highland just isn't that nice a building. It has a storefront facade with promise, but past that, it's a big brick blob that glowers over the other storefronts on the south side of market.

But most importantly, a community center Highland would compete with a similarly modest-sized venue -- the auditorium in Main Library. The Highland needs renovations that will easily run into seven figures just to be a pleasant venue. Main Library's auditorium right now is a spanking new, clean space with a better rake, state-of-the-art acoustics and presentation electronics and ample parking. And it's more convenient to Akron generally as opposed to just the few neighborhoods around Highland Square.

All other things being equal, I wouldn't begrudge people their quixotic mission to save a building I don't care that much about. But in a world with finite money and volunteer energy, I wish people would leave the Highland to its fate and concentrate on rescuing the Civic -- truly an Akron jewel -- from its apparent difficulties.

UPDATES: For a blog that gets -- this is true -- an average of three hits a day, this post is already well travelled. I just got of the phone with Lisa Bostwick who is leading the effort. First off, a clarification of sorts. I posted the photo from the opening of the Highland with the big "1700 seats" sign. Apparently some seats have since been eliminated so now the theatre is down to around 1000.

Lisa and I talked at great length about the the issues I raised about the viability of the theatre. I'm not convinced, but understand that the Save the Highland folks have considered those issues and feel they have resolved them. If you are interested, read up on their website.

Akron Has a Law and Order Moment

2007-04-24T05:10:00.000-07:00

If you've never seen the show, the first three minutes almost invariably involve someone finding a body. After more than a decade of the show, the bit seems increasingly contrived, but sometimes these things do happen:

A jogger, whose identity was not released by police, was running through the sprawling Mount Peace Cemetery on Aqueduct Street at around 6:15 a.m. when she found the body and called authorities.I got hip to this because we saw a Channel 5 news truck parked at Mount Peace cemetary yesterday, for a reporter stand-up. I've also found out that a relative knows the jogger (who is a he, not a she, by the way.) He is fairly shaken by the incident. Mount Peace is in a fairly safe area of the city, and Akron is not New York and in any event, life isn't supposed to be a TV crime show.

Meanwhile, this case already looks bizarre, even by the standards of Akron's increasinly gothic murders:

There is no way for this to end well. In fact, it seems unlikely the back story will be anything less than high-end creepy. Thoughts and prayers for the (still) anonymous victim and her family.

West Hill Library

2007-03-24T22:01:00.000-07:00

For those of you missing your West Hill library, or just tired of driving downtown, the new facility has been framed. Yes, after months of wondering if they're ever going to get the foundation right, apparently the crews have and they've moved on to putting up the walls.

The branch closed last July and is slated to re-open in June. Given the pace of construction these days, that's attainable.

Unless the new space is mind blowing and full of what I want, I'm still inclined to go downtown. Downtown is the system's main branch and a beautiful facility full of what I need. The old West Hill branch was a nice "run to" but not a replacement for the main branch. Perhaps I'll get my requests sent there, though.

Several local readings

2007-03-19T06:31:00.000-07:00

Folks, I have several upcoming poetry readings and book signings in the area, with details here on my blog. It would be great to see you there, and please spread the word. Prairie Fever is now available at Amazon and elsewhere. Thanks for supporting a local poet!

Attempted Revival

2007-03-04T04:07:00.000-08:00

Finally I have things pretty much humming on my home blog, so I'm now turning my attention GABBward. We started a pretty good thing here last Summer, but it got kind of lost with vacations, then the crush of the campaign season.

I've spent a fair amount of my online time lately updating the Akron blogroll. First off, I've deleted a number of blogs because they haven't posted in forever:

Centerline
Peanut Butter Knife
Crosscurrent
De’s Shop
Walk Back
Vin Vini Vino

Daily Depression has disappeared completely. How . . . sad.

The Green report has as well. Green had switched out of blogspot some time ago and I hadn't updated. But now his archive has also disappeared, as has his new blog. No word on whether he got a job in Marc Dann's office.

How I got the idea that Dave Dempsey was from Summit Co. is now a mystery. Maybe he was when I added him, but now he clearly is not, so he’s dropped. His blog about environment issues in the Great Lakes is plenty interesting, though. He has made the switch to typepad – http://daviddempsey.typepad.com/ -- which I’ve added to my reader.

I also dropped Bloggin’ Ryan because he moved to Atlanta. I still have you on my Reader tho. S’all good, s’all good.

A couple of blogs from the list still remain in slightly different configurations. Lord Akron is now Blackstar Cadaver at the same address. Socioeconomics is now Radical Disbelief At a new URL.

In the course of doing all this, I also searched for new area blogs. I found Cotswold Corner Diary because the writer had found me. She showed up in a Technorati search for my home blog, having just rolled me. As I read through, it appears she's in Medina County.

I also found Branding and Marketing, a blog about -- well you can probably figure it out. The blogger is from Hudson.

A couple weeks ago I added Paula Mooney, a freelance writer here in Akron and a friend of my friend Jill at Writes Like She Talks.

So now we have an up to date blogroll. All we need is some content. And a mission. And some readers would be nice . . .

Not Ready to Let This Die

2006-12-10T19:11:00.000-08:00

I've been gradually returning back to the blogging biz after periods off for work on a campaign, then illness. I've gotten my home blog more or less back up to speed. Now to this thing. We alternately hummed and lurched through the summer, but I fear that the combination election season and school getting back in session quieted our most active members. I for one still hope to make this a going concern and plan to post here at least a couple times a week until we leave on break.

In the meantime, I'm also switching GABB to the "new" Blogger. We'll see what happens with that.

Dustin Grella at Square Records

2006-10-18T08:05:00.000-07:00

Come check out the art of amazing

Dustin Grella at Square Records Saturday night.

From the artist:

I have a show coming up on Saturday 10/21 from 7-9
at Square Records in Highland Square.
I'll be showing about ten of the animations
and hang four of the slates.
The work will remain up until November 10.

Here is a link to preview some of the work.
http://www.dustingrella.com/squarerecords.html

I also have show at summitart space
that opens on January 26.
i'll have a schlew of new animation
as well as some new artwork.
please mark you calendars now.

thanks,
dusty

Congratulations To

2006-10-14T19:20:00.000-07:00

The Firestone High School Lady Falcons Volleyball team.

City Champs.

12-0 in the city, and toyed with Ellet in the Championship Game.

Note to Coach Wallis of Ellet: Unlike what you might have read in the Beacon Journal article linked above, 12-0 teams are expected to win against 8-4 teams. Claiming that your team “played poorly” is only to insult to your team, which had a good season. Firestone was 3-0 against your team this year, and was 12-0 in the City.

You can either give credit where credit is due (‘they played great all year, and, while we made a game of it, they beat us, and we’ll get’em next year’), or blame your team (‘we played poorly’ ).

‘We played poorly’.

Translation: my team choked. We wuz robbed. We should have own, but my girls folded like a cheap accordion – just like they did in the first two matches.”.

That’s what “we played poorly” after going 0-3 against another team says.

SmackDown!

2006-09-13T17:24:00.000-07:00

Terry Pluto beats N.C. State football coach Chuck Amato about the head and shoulders with a large, blunt dose of reality.

Congratulations to the Zips on their big win over NC State.

Fear the Roo, baby.

Art in the Square POSTPONED until Saturday, Aug. 26

2006-08-19T06:25:00.000-07:00

Due to crappy weather, we decided to postpone the art festival in Highland Square until Saturday, Aug. 26.

Pardon Our Dust

2006-08-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

In the previous post, Redhorse promised to take some pics of the demolition in Highland Square at Art in the Square this weekend. As it happens, I found myself in the Square with the digital yesterday and took some pics which I will now share.

This is what's left of Starkle Markle, taken from the sidewalk along West Market. Soon after I took this, a waste oil salvage truck pulled up to empty that big steel tank.
For Summit County Kerry campaign veterans, here's the last of the HQ. For some reason, the labyrinthine steps down to the basement restroom have always stuck in my mind, so it's fitting I now have a photographic memento.

This pile of re-bar is the last of West Hill Library. When I told Prof. W about the demolition, she said that she had been at Angel Falls yesterday morning and the library was still standing. Fast work. Not Trecaso-tears-down-Rivlins fast, but still fast.

Part of the plan is closing the end of Highland Avenue. Here's what that looks like now. The New Urbanists who decry the plan are particularly worried about this part of it. They say it will isolate the business part of the Square from the residential neighborhood, so this is particularly worth watching. I've driven around the Square a few times and the only problem has been me remembering that the damn thing is closed so I head up Casterton instead.

Just a reminder why I love the Square so. Someone has found a cause. A good one, as it happens, but still, only in Highland Square would anyone bother. I wonder if anyone has literally hugged that oak yet.

Proof Things Are Being Built in Akron

2006-08-15T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well, at least the art museum addition, anyway. Photo was snapped this morning, looking west down Market Street from near the intersection of Summit & Market. All in all, progress continues to look steady and interesting.

The portion of the new construction that rests upon the old building, viewed here jutted out from the right side of the roof, clearly covers the right lane of eastbound traffic on Market.

Also, Highland Square is missing a few buildings. In the past few weeks, both the old library and the Sparkle Market building have been razed. Ooohhh, pictures of that destruction this weekend when the family and I attend the "Art in the Square" shindig. Speaking of, hope to see all of you there (corner of Portage and W. Market...probably around noonish?).

Do you have a favorite short story?

2006-08-07T10:42:00.000-07:00

If so, stop by and vote for your fave at the wordcage, o dear Akron folks!

Cuy. Falls Going Wireless

2006-07-27T08:35:00.000-07:00

Eventually, anyway. The ABJ reported earlier this week of a joint effort b/n the CF school district and the city itself to purchase and install 15 miles of fiber optic cable with the intent of deploying a citywide wireless network.

Akron announced a pilot plan last December to begin in Ellet and East Akron. The plan calls for eventually covering all 62 square miles of the city.

Akron also plans to dismantle part of the Innerbelt (finally!) and build a biomedical research corridor linking Akron General and Akron City hospitals. It's a long term plan (yea, governmental foresight!), but probably worth the investment.

At the risk of sounding hokey, such planning makes me glad to live where I do, and given the success of the downtown revitalization, I'm willing to give nearly any development idea this administration has the benefit of the doubt. And this idea, if it bears fruit, will have a long lasting impact in terms of local jobs and economic development.

Restaurant Review: Arnie’s Steakhouse, Ravenna OH

2006-07-16T15:16:00.000-07:00

Arnie’s, as the photo attests, is one of those little roadside places that nine times out of ten, you just zip past without even thinking about. And, in this case, that’s precisely where you would be making your bloomer.

It’s a pretty small place – small bar, and limited seating. Décor can only be described as outdated to past the point of cheesiness. Due to the small size, too many tables have been crammed into the joint. The menu is focused on mostly steak & grilled seafood items, but there’s more variety on the menu that you would expect. Price points range from $10 to a high of around $25 per entrée. I’d guess that the average is in the $16-$18 range.

The food, on the other hand, was very, very good, with minor exceptions noted below. Mrs. Boring had the French Onion soup, which she described as excellent, with a spicy twist that made it stand out from the run-of-the-mill onion soup that’s so common. I started with a salad, which well exceeded the wedge of turning brown iceberg lettuce that seems to be standard in most restaurants. Good stuff, and the made on premises blu cheese dressing was good.

Unfortunately, at this point, Mrs. Boring & I made the reviewer’s faux paux. Both of us ordered the prime rib. That’s a mistake, because a) prime rib is easy, and b) we should have picked different entrees in order to provide a wider test of the menu. However, the beef was very good. Mrs. Boring ordered the side of sliced sweet potatoes, which as good.

Our dining companions for the evening, who I’ll call ‘Chuck’ and ‘Donna’, even though that’s their real names, had the NY Strip, and Broiled Scrod, respectively. The strip came out closer to well done than the ordered medium, so I’d be careful about this when we go back. The scrod was reported as very good.

Both ‘Chuck’ & I had sides of home fries, which were a trifle on the salty side. All were too stuffed for dessert (again, a poor reviewer’s strategy).

Service was very good.

Verdict: I’d definitely go again. We arrived early, so there was no wait, but by the time we left, there was a significant line forming.

On Ohio Rt 14 south of Ravenna, close to West Branch. If you are going on I-76, take the Rt 14 exit north.

Cross posted on The Boring Made Dull

Join Us in *HUDSON for Ted Strickland

2006-07-12T11:49:00.000-07:00

Please note this event has changed!!!

What: Rally for the next Governor of the State of Ohio Ted Strickland
When: Sunday July 16 @ 1:15 - event starts at 2:00
Where: Hudson Springs Park - 7095 Stow Road, Hudson Ohio - Directions
Why: Because you love politics
Who: Bob, Terra, and Kyle from The Chief Source will be there eating ice cream and cheering. Also in attendance will be Candidate for Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher, Congressman Tim Ryan, and Candidate for Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.

Join us!!!

PROMOTION: Post featured on Buckeye State Blog

Reminder: Bloggapalooza

2006-07-05T12:24:00.001-07:00

Today is July 5th, and on my calendar it says: Bloggapalooza reminders.

So I'll knock GABB's reminder now:

Bloggapalooza info page at BFD

Since I first posted on this topic, the band lineup has been solidified. Ten bands will perform, some outside and others inside the Town Fryer, from 2-10 pm. The card runs the gamut from Americana to hip-hop to plain old-fashion stadium rock. Akron's favorite collection of musical PhD's, The House Popes, takes the outdoor stage 3.30.

By all accounts, the food at the Town Fryer is silly good.

Beyond the music and food, come along to meet other bloggers, blog readers, and the most unknown of commodities, the commenter. Among the previous interviewees, at least one statewide candidate responded to the first invites with a soft yes and others have promised to bring it up at scheduling meetings. So that's a nifty flair too. (When I receive permission, I'll publish that name.)

As before, if you have questions, please use the address on this page to contact me.

Art Crisis.

2006-06-25T11:33:00.000-07:00

Every year the fam checks out the Boston Mills ArtFest. The ArtFest is one of those Akron cultural treasures not everyone knows about but everyone should. For two weekends each summer, the ski resort at Boston Mills opens up a juried art show featuring artists from all over -- mostly the United States, but they generally pick up a couple of Europeans and South Americans who do the American art show scene. Go to out-of-state shows and mentioned being from Akron and you learn that Boston Mills is a big deal -- everyone has heard of it.

If you haven't heard of the art show scene, it's quite the subculture. If you hang out long enough, you hear artists renew acquaintences or talk about what shows they are going to next. A number of artists don't sell in galleries or a studio space. Instead, they spend the winter building up inventory, then take to the road all summer.

This year we went and learned of a bona fide disaster which so far the press hasn't really picked up on. Thursday night's storms triggered a flood through the North Tent of the show. The photos showed waist-deep water running off the ski slopes and rushing through the tents on the way to the river. When we were there Saturday, the North Tent remained gutted.

Though other tents are still full of artists.

From talking to some of the artists, everyone lost inventory, and some -- estimates running at 6-8 -- lost everything. One of the potters on our short list this year was gone by Saturday.

I guess the damage in Stark County and elsewhere in the state was sufficiently compelling that this story didn't cross the media radar screen. At first blush, it seems somewhat effemeral. But imagine if a flood had wiped out 6-8 small businesses for a year. These artists are in fact small business people and lost their entire year's business.

Meanwhile, we wonder about the hit the show itself took. While the show doesn't open to the general public until Friday, Thursday is Preview Night -- the rich folks pony up for wine tasting and first dibs on the really pricy stuff. Needless to say, that didn't happen. Indeed, the show didn't open until Saturday.

Not all the news was bad. We bought an amazing blown glass piece. This is "Arches" (center), getting friendly with the new neighbors in our pottery collection. Yes, that's really glass.

The ArtFest runs two weekends -- the second go-round is this weekend with a new slate of artists. Its worth checking out, and worth supporting an Akron institution that is hurting right now.

Movie Outing

2006-06-14T20:26:00.000-07:00

Join Terra, Kyle, and friends of The Chief Source for:

An Inconvenient Truth
(Al Gore's new movie)
Sunday June 18 @

The Cedar Lee Theater in Cleveland Heights

Our itinerary is as follows:

12:30 - Meet in the courtyard next to the Cedar Lee Theater
12:45 - Buy tickets for the movie because it will likely sell out
1:00 - Lunch at a near by sandwich shop
1:45 - Walk back to the theater
2:00 - The movie starts

Here is the movie schedule if you want to go at another time over the weekend, but we'd like you to join us!

Bloggapalooza: Music, Food, Friends

2006-06-12T22:24:00.000-07:00

What more do you need on a summer evening?

Bloggapalooza

Preview: Meet the Bloggers birthday celebration, both PBD house bands are playing, fried comfort foods, George's iPod.

I know many Akron based bloggers have participated in MTB interviews over the past year, and I hope many more read transcripts or listened to the podcasts. It's a fantastic operation allows you, the blogger, to help create dialogue and commentary about our communities with civic leaders.

Think about coming up for this event and making the Akron delegation look so darn big and strong.

(A similiar version of this entry will be posted on PBD later today.)

Blogging Forecast: Light to None

2006-06-09T20:05:00.000-07:00

As TBMD crew heads out to Corolla, NC. Cross posted on TBMD, since if’in yur gonna gloat, might as well go whole hog.

Original Akron T-Shirts

2006-06-09T07:40:00.000-07:00

Rubber City Clothing Company has a new line of t-shirts out. Terra and I went to the launch of the new line last night at Papa Joes's in the valley. Harvard on the Cuyahoga was my favorite. Look for me sporting this fashionable shirt around town this weekend.

Chief Source post on the event

Rubber City Clothing Company Website

The Start of Summer in Akron

2006-06-04T15:53:00.000-07:00

I've got a fawn in the backyard. 2nd year in a row.

More on the Future of News

2006-06-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

I didn’t make it to yesterday’s Akron Roundtable speech on the future of the newspaper business. Laura Rich Fine – Media Analyst for Merrill Lynch spoke about how media markets are changing and how that affects the future of the news gathering industry. Happily the BJ story includes a link to the podcast page on the Roundtable website which I listened to this morning.

The BJ write up is fine, though it kind of feels like the individual points that made a coherent whole in the speech have been excised and laid out on the table, leaving a deconstruction less illuminating than the original. If you have time, I recommend giving the pod a listen.

Some points I really liked didn’t make it into the BJ piece. Among them:

That the best assets papers have are reporters and editors. This is the antecedent to the point reported in the story that papers can’t cut costs by cutting staff.

Along with the point that “Local content and the ability to deliver professionally edited stories will keep newspapers alive,” she notes that local papers need to let go of world and national coverage – the internet and cable guarantees that people will get that news elsewhere.

That it’s best for newspaper companies to be privately held. She went through the steps Knight-Ridder should have taken to remain independent – including buying back its stock.

That people under 30 expect their information to be free and that is not going to change.

That new media offers challenges and opportunities for the newspaper business, including:
- The possible end of print

incorporating citizen journalists into online papers (though it’s interesting she did not talk about bloggers.

The next speech is June 18 with John Ong, former head of Goodrich. I'll try to make it there. In the meantime, a past speech by Rob Curly, Director of New Media at the Naples Daily News looks intriguing.

New on the Blogroll

2006-06-02T20:04:00.000-07:00

I went hunting again for Akron blogs -- but didn't find any. I did discover that Jamie, a recent acquaintence at my church, runs a blog, and through his comments field discovered Cee Jay, also from my church. I've added both of them.

I also added two blogging spouses of women already on the roll. Frank (whose name isn't Frank) is husband to marybad and Jake of The Launch is husband to Delilah from The Miller Way.

Finally, Kyle reminded me that his friend/rival Ben Keeler of the Keeler Political Report blogs from Akron, so he's on as well.

As always, if you know anyone else, blahblahblah.

Highland Square update

2006-05-31T08:15:00.000-07:00

People frequently ask me what's going on with Highland Square—especially as we await construction. So I thought I'd post what I know.

The Development
I asked Albrecht, Inc. about its progress on development and received the following reply: "Engineering on our buildings and on the parking lots is nearing completion. We expect to begin construction this summer."

The key word here is "expect." As happens with such projects, obstacles arise, impeding progress.

I would imagine some of the obstacles include making sure the city secures parking somewhere on the South side of Market Street—an idea that can come to fruition through the application of the Planning Department's Renewal Plan for Highland Square, which recently passed.

A prevalent concern about the impending development is the type of stores that will go in. There have been rumors of Trader Joe's, but, from what I hear, that's not going to happen. I have heard through a good source that Freshway—which operates a respectable store in the Valley—will be the much-needed grocery in the square.

Albrecht, Inc. replied to my question of what stores might go in the retail area: "We have a good number of interested prospects and are having various discussions regarding leasing space."

And what of the library?
In preparation for the new construction, the West Hill Library will apparently close on August 1. I don't know yet if it will temporarily re-locate and/or where.

Mark your calendars
For Friday, Aug. 18 and Saturday, Aug. 19. It's the third annual Art in the Square. Friday night will kick off the event with a showing of The Grizzled Wizard of Waste-not, Want-not. HS resident Josh Gippin made this documentary about "junk" arist PR Miller. Saturday will feature artists of all stripes, music and more interactive events than previous years. E-mail artinthesquare (at) yahoo.com for more info.

Chief Source Staff Investigates New Development

2006-05-30T07:02:00.000-07:00

Kyle and Terra of The Chief Source staff went to the Hickory Development open house on Sunday. It is at the bottom of the hill on Memorial Parkway.

We wrote a post on it too.

Post MeetUp Post

2006-05-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

We had our first Akron Area Bloggers MeetUp last night at Momus. Most of us had met up before at MTB events. Redhorse, Kyle, Terra, McKee and I are MTB alums. McKee brought Mrs. Boring and we all met PeppermintLisa. An excellent core to be going on with, but we'd like more folks.

Once again I forgot that the facilitator shouldn't also be the notetaker, so the following summary is mostly from memory. Any participants are welcome to pile on in here and tell me what I get wrong.

We discussed a little about blogging and a lot about what a blogging group can bring to Akron. As to the latter, we talked about:

How to use GABB -- do we want to make it a blog about blogging or try to create a community portal? We agreed there is definite need for an interactive community website, especially now that RubberBuzz is no longer being updated. On the other hand, GABB also has potential as a way to communicate within the blogging community. We never really resolved the issue. For now, GABB is what you now see. What we really need to do is work on content here and let it evolve where it will.

Second, we talked about MTB and some MTB-like activities. As people with a platform, we have some pull and may be able to swing access where we otherwise wouldn't. Folks are working on their various connections to set things up. As people schedule things, they will go up here in posts and on the Upcoming badge.

We have some art of the event:

Redhorse, PeppermintLisa, Mrs. Boring

Mr. Boring, Kyle, Terra

All in all a good time. Hope to see more folks out next time.

Akron Bloggers MeetUp

2006-05-23T13:38:00.000-07:00

For the regulars here, its old news, but we've scheduled the first Akron Bloggers meetup this Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at Cafe Momus.

I've started an Akron Area Bloggers group at Upcoming and installed the badge on the sidebar. As more events -- MeetUps, MTBs, whatever, will be up there. Folks can join the group and, well, do stuff. I haven't fully explored the ins and outs of Upcoming.

So, Thursday. This is our first Meetup, so I'll let the group decide where it goes. We could do some interesting stuff together trying to build the community, assemble a group publicity effort, talk about what this blog will be about, come up with some visibility activities, or we can just hang. I'm good either way.

See you there.

About That Ad Thingy

2006-05-19T18:02:00.000-07:00

New on the sidebar you will see the first ad from the MTB ad network. The bloggers in the network have for the most part agreed that for now the proceeds go to Meet the Bloggers to cover the cost of transcripts. The members of GABB have agreed to send proceeds from the ad here to MTB on a more or less a permanent basis. Since this is a community blog, its easier that way.

Meanwhile, if you happen to have or know of a business or other concern that might be interested in advertising online, check out MTB Ad Network info page. And as always, the MTB homepage has podcasts, transcripts and info on upcoming events.

A Hint of Sanity

2006-05-19T06:02:00.000-07:00

Ken Blackwell has decided to abandon the TEL amendment under pressure from Republicans who fear his defeat in November. (story here) Blackwell's TEL amendment was so poorly written, and would cause so much damage to the Ohio economy that state Republicans have been trying to get the issue removed from November's ballot. It makes me wonder why they would support a candidate who can't even write a bill.

Certainly, the conditions under which Blackwell agreed to give up the TEL will be dreadful. It has the same basic spending limitation components as TEL, but it's not a Constitutional Amendment, which is good for Ohio. Blackwell is calling the new law a victory. I think not having the TEL on the ballot is a victory for Ohio.

Ted Strickland called Blackwell a "flip-flopper" on the issue. I can't stand that phrase. We have to give people the chance to consider the issues from all sides and change their mind if they are incorrect.

Tired of Politics and Rain in Akron?

2006-05-18T17:52:00.000-07:00

Here’s a link to the top ten movie appearances by studio ‘rasslers. My personal fave, Andre the Giant in The Princess Bride. With all of the DaVinci Code Flapdoodle (Tom Hanks as Grima Wormtounge?), best look into aquiring these titles from the remainder bin at Sam's Club (50 pounds of Action Movie DVDs! only $19.95!)

- TBMD

What We Talk About When We Talk About Blog

2006-05-16T05:31:00.000-07:00

An interesting article on Bloggers Blog about the nature of the thing. It starts out with much triteness and a huge pullquote from Mark Cuban (am I being redundant?) but goes into a discussion of newspaper-based blogs and why the Colbert speech got so much run. Not earthshattering, but a nice digest of what's going on and how blogging differs from traditional journalism.

Talk About the Weather

2006-05-15T15:24:00.000-07:00

Some frustrating pictures from my car on I-77.

I feel like it is never ever going to stop raining in Akron, OH.

The Beacon Journal's Long, Slow Slide

2006-05-15T05:30:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday, a day after a high-rise fire in Akron, the Beacon Journal ran the story on B1, the local section.

Okay, I'll grant an Akron apartment building fire is a local story. But I was curious, what was on top of A1?

Giffels was, writing about...discarded suggestions for the new blimp's name. This wasn't a bad column. In fact, it was humorous, it didn't deserve to be on A1, bumping a legitimate local news story to B1.

On Saturday, the day of the Cavaliers thrid game with Detroit, ABJ readers were treated to the moving chronicle of a fingernail biter named LeBron.

If this story had run in the Sports section, I'd write it off as a hometown newspaper's eccentric coverage of it's greatest sports hero. Yet, this ran in the middle column of...A1, just like bad blimp names.

I'm left without a defense to the question: why do you still subscribe? Honestly, I don't know.

InstaPundit on Blogger Libel

2006-05-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

In our world he is known as InstaPundit – pioneer blogger and hero to many on the Right side of the blogosphere. In my wife’s world, he is known as Glenn Reynolds, Professor of Law at Tennessee (and to give you an idea of the differences, Prof. W. had heard of Glenn Reynolds, but hadn’t heard of InstaPundit.)

Occasionally, he lets the worlds collide, as with a recent law review article on libel in the blogosphere.

Normally posts here on GABB will be more along the blurb/link/let’s discuss! lines, rather than the windy pieces found on the Pages. Unfortunately, downloading the paper is a substantial pain in the tuckus, so I’ll try to summarize. He starts by noting that to date, essentially no significant libel cases involving blogs have been litigated. He notes a number of legal and “cultural” factors that account for this.

He recounts briefly basic libel law to discuss why bloggers are unlikely to run afoul of it. He talks a bit about how blogs are changing and veers into a blog-loving elegy. He then comes back to talk about how technology generally should change how courts approach libel cases. His conclusions:

First, I think that the threshold of harm should be fairly high. Since
defamation law is intended to remedy actual harm to people’s reputations, courts
should take cognizance of the reality that blogs are not generally relied on as
sole sources of information: A statement on a blog that a defendant has failed
multiple polygraph tests is likely to be seen by most readers as a jumping-off
point for further research, while a similar statement in The New York Times is
more likely to be regarded as conclusive. (This matters both as a threshold
question, and, should liability be found, again as to damages.)

Second, because of the nature of blogs and blog readership, a swift correction
should be seen as entirely remedying the problem. Unlike newspapers’
corrections, it will not appear in a separate “edition,” but at the same
URL, and thanks to search engines like Google and Technorati, it will be
readily available to future readers as well.

Third, courts should take into account the ease with which plaintiffs can get their
own story out, via blogs and other electronic media, too. Indeed, a plaintiff who
feels injured can start a blog, publish his/her response, and – via a link
to the offending post – be confident that his or her version will be readily
discoverable via Technorati. This sort of self-help might even be regarded
as necessary mitigation.

Finally, though I won’t go as far as John Perry Barlow’s “Declaration of
Independence” for cyberspace, I think that courts should recognize that the
blogosphere is a place with its own culture, norms, and readership, and that
charges of defamation should be interpreted in context:26 It’s a rough-and-tumble
world, not a place where Marqis of Queensbury rules apply.

That's a taste. The whole thing is worth the effort and quite accessible for the nonlawyer. For anyone interested who is also planning to attend the Akron MeetUp, let me know and I'll bring you a copy.

First non-Pho Post!

2006-05-12T17:46:00.000-07:00

Thanks for having me. I just flew in from Akron, Ohio, and boy, are my arms tired!

But seriously, folks….

It will be interesting to see how this turns out – serious, high minded, political and philosophical discourse, or links to my dog’s website?

TBMD

A Sudden Run of BlogLove

2006-05-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple of days, I've been fielding inquiries about my blog, then comparing notes with other bloggers who have gotten their own requests. We've gotten offers from not one, but two aggragators. If you've heard from these folks, feel free to start a conversation in Comments. Various other backchannel dealings are going on which will break out on home blogs soon.

And finally, I got a request from Team NEO looking for blog feedback on an online poll about Northeast Ohio. It was pretty much the usual -- like it, hate it, what's good, what's bad. Then without warning, it goes all bad metaphor:

If I could have written my own automotive metaphor, I'd call NEO an old pickup with a rebuilt engine, a bed riddled with bondo deposits and an incongruous after-market chrome kit. But that's just me.

UPDATE: You can take the poll here.

Welcome to GABB

2006-05-10T18:13:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Greater Akron Bloggers Blog. A number of us Akron bloggers have been kicking around ideas for building the local community. We have gotten together at MTB events, commented on each other's blogs and communicated by email. We have talked about broader MeetUps of just us outside the MTB structure.

All of which we are working on. GABB is the first step. We envision this as a community blog for the blogging community. This is a place for bloggers of all stripes -- political, personal, technical, artistic, eclectic -- to come together and talk about blogging. Here we will blog links to articles of interest, run carnivals and announce meetups and MTB Akron events.

Anyone with an active Summit County area blog and an account on Blogger is welcome to join. If yours is not a Blogger blog, setting up an account is easy. Once you are ready to go, drop me an email -- pho197[at]hotmail[dot]com and I will add you to the members.

I look forward to a long happy collaboration.