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The Wrong Right–12 ingredients to creating a divided and numbed down nation!

They certainly are not your Grandfather’s Republican party! They’re so far off the deep end…so far right they’re WRONG in an extremely ugly way! A little tongue-in-cheek humor helps lighten the mood through the madness. I hope their “followers” or sheep, someday stop drinking that Jim Jones cool aid!

I have listed below, what in recent years, I have observed to be the typical right extreme formula for dividing the nation, hiding truth, and creating an ever growing dumb and numb populace: (Disclaimer: By “right extreme”, I mean the wack jobs like Sarah Palin who have hijacked the Republican party and operate in its name like abortion clinic bombers pose as “Christians!”…throw in Newt too…who maybe should stick to something which can be far more respectful and patriotic in life like posing as an aging Bob’s Big Boy in an Americana Icon Museum…instead of supporting policies that lead to obliterating all life on the planet!)

I find it to be the best definition of immoral unethical, and downright deceptive there ever was. Oh, and I am sure I left out an important ingredient or two to create the recipe for the most gullible and numbed down populace on the planet—And, I am sure many of you can come up with many more ingredients so please share…. but the following are just some that come off the top of the mind.

  1. First and foremost, convince yourself that world history begins with YOU…9-11 and within the confines of America!

    2. Be more interested in “BEING right”, than actually doing what is right and make sure you reserve time for worship—each day of the week for the Gods of Truth: O’Riley, Limbaugh, Beck, Palin, and Hannity!

    3. Buy all the media sources and then get the flock to believe that there is a “liberal media bias.”

    4. Get rural and religious America on your side by striking the same rhetorical chords over and over again that appeal to their heartland rooted spirituality by telling them how much you love baseball, the NRA, hotdogs, apple pie, family values, Chevrolet, the Bible, and the flag…tell them you will solve their problems, BUT NEVER tell them at WHAT cost, because they might just figure out that your political and economic policies actually do NOTHING for the better moral and economic interests of heartland America!
    5. Get the masses addicted to fast food, the boob tube and sports as all that is meaningful in their lives.

    6. Yell louder than the other guy and keep repeating lies until people start believing them, including yourself!

    7. Alter the facts to fit dogmatic opinions, rather than alter the opinions to fit the facts…and included in this rule is to also deny any accusation no matter how guilty as hell you may be…and then convince people that George Bush had a justified reason to throw their Mother into a pot of boiling water, so the numbed down masses can go on supporting such a person.

    8. Have no regard for the environment upon which we and the economy depends—because when it is gone, no one will know the difference, OR… why our very bodies, minds and spirits depended upon it anyway, right? We’ll simply make a drug for treating all the woeful as a result and make even more money!

    9. When asked direct questions and you cannot answer them, stray the conversation off topic until you can blame “Those evil Liberals”…OR, if you live in Cleveland, make sure you blame Dennis Kucinich for all the reasons life in America has gone wrong, and even for your ED problem! (Disclaimer: Be sure to forget about the fact that America and the liberation from the British Empire was in no way a “conservative” movement!).

    10. If rule number 9 fails, resort again, to going off topic…and divisive name calling, labeling, or catch phrases approved by Rush himself, such as “Those evil Liberals are a cancer to America!”

    I guess you can throw “TREE HUGGERS” in the mix too, because you will need to understand how much a healthy clean environment will pose a threat to us all.. (Shhhhh…don’t tell anyone that “ALL” means our socially unaccountable mega-corporate polluters!)

    11. “Starve the Social Beast” (Disclaimer: But be totally oblivious to the fact that when you do such, you will very likely often breed the need for that same beast you say you hate in the first place!)

    12. If none of the above works, simply holler…Heee Hawwww.. This is America…if you don’t like it.. LEAVE”… as the ideology and wisdom of “love it or CHANGE it” is not an option.

    Yep, all the above and more is what we get when we become so duped into thinking the mega multi-national corporate figures like Monsanto, McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, or Donald Trump is our benefactor… and that we cannot possibly live without them, OR any other way, for that matter. The resulting recipe is a time when when what is probably more truth and reality has been twisted to sound more like the B.S. …while which is likely more the B.S. is spun around to sound more like the truth!

    Well, as Edward would say, Good Night and Good Luck!

Posted by Angry Man In The Basement at 11:12 AM No comments:

Green When Green Wasn’t Cool?

It is rare I share forwarded emails, but the one I am about to post, whom I do not know authored, struck many moral chords deep within, in that for so long, I have thought each and every line!

In a time when “going green” has become a household catch slogan—and unfortunately, a bandwagon PR and marketing tool for big companies to utilize in the hope of polishing their questionable images—the true concept and mission of lightening our footprints on the fragile biosphere by living a life where less can be discovered to be more—has been lost.

Let’s take a look back in time to discover that while certain threats to the world’s environments certainly existed, others, that we have recently introduced, did not! Just think if we could implement more of the ways of the old lady referenced below.

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that plastic
bags weren’t good for the environment.

The woman apologized to her and explained, We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.

That’s right, they didn’t have the green thing in her day.
Back then, they returned their milk bottles, Coke bottles and beer bottles to the store.

The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and
refilled, using the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.

But they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn’t have an escalator
in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and
didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two
blocks.

But she’s right. They didn’t have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they washed the babies diapers because they didn’t have the
throw-away kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling
machine burning up 220 volts wind and solar power really did dry the
clothes.

Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters,
not always brand-new clothing.

But that old lady is right, they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house not a TV in every
room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a pizza dish, not a
screen the size of the state of Montana.

In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn’t have electric machines to do everything for you.

When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used wadded
up newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, they didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut
the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power.

They exercised by working so they didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she’s right, they didn’t have the green thing back then.

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty, instead of using a cup
or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water.

They refilled pens with ink, instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But they didn’t have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar and kids rode their bikes to school
or rode the school bus, instead of turning their mom’s into a 24-hour taxi service.

They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of
sockets to power a dozen appliances.

And they didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But that old lady is right. They didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

Posted by Angry Man In The Basement at 1:53 PM No comments:

Cigarette Butts And Litter On Edgewater Beach–The WRONG kind of BUTTS!

Many including myself, whether as individuals, or as frequent group effort, have taken time to clean up our local beaches of litter. Collectively, many contribute to creating the litter problem, and collectively, many can contribute to solving the problem. While clean-ups very frequently are a necessity, another component is EDUCATION. Educating the public as to why litter is a problem–how it negatively affects our communities environmentally, economically, and socially.

The short film you are about to see on the link below, focuses on the cigarette butt component of litter on beaches, and how it is a much larger problem than people are aware. Edgewater Beach in Cleveland, being a cove-like geographical structure, tends to receive a more ample amount of litter–aside from the fact that it is the most highly visited lakefront state park in Ohio. Add to this, it is situated in the northern middle of a metro area enveloping over 2 million people.

Needless to say, cigarette butts are indeed, a large part of the litter stream. I hope this film can be shared locally to help initiate some needed change. Currently there are a few small environmentally active and conscious groups doing their best to be stewards of this natural gem in the heart of a city, but it takes a lot more than the few dedicated. It really does start with each an every one of us. Without further delay, here is the film…..

http://apps.facebook.com/good-film/entries/74?fb=1

Posted by Angry Man In The Basement at 9:51 AM No comments:

NO MORE PARKING LOTS IN DOWNTOWN CLEVELAND!

When I learned of a local parking lot czar’s acquisition of nearly an entire block of buildings in downtown Cleveland near the site of the future casino, I developed immediate concerns that downtown Cleveland would be losing more of its density and interesting historic urban fabric. The reason?….to create more surface parking lots! Recent news regarding this issue seems to verify the concerns. The last thing downtown Cleveland needs is more surface parking lots. There are simply too many existing such spaces, or available spaces to justify another one.

Cleveland is a city that local boosters are working toward becoming more environmentally sustainable—and part of this effort includes creating a downtown environment that is walkable. “Walkable”, meaning that the layout of the city is built primarily around the needs of two walking legs; and not the needs of four wheels and consumption of oil.

Cleveland is also a city that wants to beacon itself to world tourism and wants to attract new residents. Those who travel the world looking for unique destinations to visit with individual personality, are not going to spend their vacation dollars to see clone zone America. By this, I mean the typical suburban sprawling sea-of-pavement parking lot scene that can be found around the fringe of any city in the country.
Why then would we want to tear down more our historic core which offers our own unique architectural heritage, and replace it with a scene that is cut out of the former? If Cleveland wants to attract world class visitors, then it needs to present a world class downtown. Parking lots does not offer the kind of world class I am talking about. Visit many thriving cities and you will not see, or rarely see, surface parking lots in the core of the city.

Instead, you will see an urban fabric that is dense and interwoven between the buildings, streets and people. There is interaction between the buildings and people who utilize them. On attracting new residents, the same logic as above applies. Here again, Cleveland needs to offer what is truly unique about it. Our historic downtown core IS what separates us from sprawl-burg America and offers hat uniqueness.

City boosters also claim to want to create a community with pedestrian oriented links. Parking lots do not link anything to pedestrians and do not encourage more foot traffic. In fact, they isolate by creating vast people less, lifeless, emptiness. They create remote dead zones in the city that are void of shops, galleries, residences, offices, restaurants and other such establishment that create a fully functional non-auto-dependent neighborhood. A neighborhood that is attractive to potential new residents and visitors alike.

There is a growing number of younger people who look for cities where you can live life car light. Ripping away our urban fabric and replacing it with surface parking lots is simply repeating all the bad mistakes of the late 50’s through mid 70’s, when such demolitions were at a peak. The idea of removing an entire city block of what is NOW a walkable infrastructure—for scenes that promote more oil dependence and driving—such as surface parking—is an abomination—and evidence of the mentality that has grown up on the suburban model only. That model is NOT how Cleveland was built from the start, or how world class cities around the world are built to date.

Historically, Cleveland was built as any urban environment should be built, and that is to serve the needs of pedestrians, and not solely the use of cars, as it became increasingly as people forgot how to walk! In the day and age of becoming more environmentally responsible, and less dependent on oil…and to avoid the high costs of oil in the future, parking lot scenes in the urban core are NOT the model we should be platting.

A decision to allow more surface parking would be a travesty, a disregard and slap in the face of the city’s architectural heritage—And effort to become a walkable, functioning downtown community of connections. Connections are established through density and the buildings—and by people who will utilize them.

More parking lots would appeal to only those who come, park, party, and leave—and will offer nothing to stakeholders in the community. Parking lot scenes will not be what will make Cleveland a great city in which to live or attract the talented minds we have seen trickle away from here for years and who locate in places that DO offer the non-auto-dependent urban scenes they seek.

We cannot allow old and archaic mentalities dictate this city’s future by bullying it around to build more parking lots. I appeal to all: Planners, activists, residents, preservationists, environmentalists, council people, Mayor, city planners, zoning board, etc, please realize that you must do all you can to cease this idea in the bud. The city core needs to be fully developed and not ruined by anti-urban interests. Establish a “NO DEMOLITION ZONE” and re-purpose these buildings, period.

Thank You!

Posted by Angry Man In The Basement at 7:31 AM No comments:

WHY DOWNTOWN CLEVELAND IS A PERFECT PLACE FOR A VEGAN FOOD CAFE!

Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, when you search deeply enough, has many restaurants that offer vegetarian or sometimes even vegan choices, but not nearly enough to keep up with the slow but growing desire for such food. As Vegetarians or Vegans, some of us grow tired of the places that offer so called “options” because of the rather narrow and bland representation of this wonderful cuisine—And, perhaps with the frustration when mentioning the word “vegan” for example, to restaurant servers and being looked at as though we just fell out of a tree! Yes, some of us understand the true diversity of the vegan diet and it opening up a whole new array and cornucopia of food choices and flavors—well beyond the common perception of such food as having only lettuce and tomatoes from which to chose!

Having said the above, when I first yearned for a genuine and exclusive vegan cafe to be located in Cleveland, contrary to popular opinion, I thought downtown would be the perfect place to begin representing this great food! Why? Well, that is what this essay is all about……

At first mention of a vegan cafe and a good location, the usual opinions I have heard from the supporting crowd of such food are the typical arty eclectic enclaves that exist in Cleveland such as Tremont, Ohio City, Detroit Shoreway, Coventry, Lakewood, and so on. While these locations would all probably foster well a new vegan cafe, I thought that just perhaps a more visionary, daring and much less obvious choice would be to locate one in the epicenter of Northeast Ohio in the heart of downtown Cleveland.

First off by locating here, we can bring the tasty world of vegan food to a much more diverse audience “beyond the choir” so to speak. We can demonstrate that this food can integrate with many other foods and be a success—which would blow down the myth that such a cafe is limited to the kinds of places I mentioned above!

Tasting is believing, and we can introduce and perhaps make more vegan believers out of those who would have never otherwise considered trying what is simply good food. Add to this, a sad testament to the status of fresh food availability these days in America, unlike our grandparents, many inner city people do not have as much access to healthier food choices, and having a vegan cafe right on downtown Cleveland’s public transportation HEALTHLINE is a great way to send the message of better eating. Thousands of downtown office workers and visitors alike, will also have the option of better and more delicious eating other than the heart attacks in the box.

Secondly, Cleveland’s Public Square, especially the S.E. Quadrant, offers an historic, charming and somewhat romantic ambiance backdrop for the vegan experience. Looking outside the window of The Flaming Ice Cube in downtown Cleveland is worth the visit alone. You can even stroll over to the Soldiers and Sailors Monument afterward and view this gorgeous monument and museum from the inside. Its FREE!

Another reason downtown is really a good selection is because it is central to all Greater Cleveland locations and convenient to nearby adjacent neighborhoods—all served by public transportation and even a free circulating trolley bus service that runs every 12 minutes or so…and can drop patrons off virtually in front of the cafe. The downtown location also re-connects more people with their downtown and offers them a chance to utilize it and discover its actual conveniences, contrary to some opinions of those who have not ventured into town for a long time. There is plenty of nearby parking for reasonable rates. All parking facilities are within a 3 to 12 minute stroll to the cube if you are taking your own transportation…and offer a great opportunity to “walk up” an appetite before your meal, or afterward, walk off your meal! While you’re at it, take in all the great downtown architecture on the historic avenue.

Lastly, but not the least of reasons, or the end of reasons for that matter, I think downtown is a great location, is that being here offers a chance to support the core of the region, which essentially keeps business and vibrancy in the urban hub. By making this choice there is a benefit to animals—and most vegans, by nature, tend to be animal lovers. What is the benefit? As mentioned, supporting the core contributes to its success, and its success then contributes to keeping urban activity in the urban hub—and thus takes on a benefit of reducing natural habitat consuming urban sprawl.

You can help Ohio’s natural heritage and paradise will not be paved to put up a parking lot if we all just ventured into town and supported more local and independent owned businesses. You just may find the experience unique and rewarding. So, I hope I shed some light on why this location is actually a good one. Come down to learn downtown the way your grandparents knew how to utilize it and you will see that it is a lot more convenient than you might think!

Finally, visit the Flaming Ice Cube website to learn about all the convenient delivery offerings and more….the downtown Cleveland location offers! The Flaming Ice Cube is in the street level of the historic Park Building—directly across from the Soldiers and Sailors Monument—and a 3 minute walk west of the E.4th Street entertainment district–on Public Square! Just remember…”the cube on the square”

Posted by Angry Man In The Basement at 8:25 PM 1 comment:

My “Train” Of Thought This Morning!

I looked out the window this morning at the arrival of glorious winter and just shook my head and thought.. “Wow….we sooooo need to expand rail options in this state as there are so many reasons WHY it needs to happen”

Indeed, this is the kind of day I would definitely choose to leave a car at home and hop on a train and not have to worry about all the expenses associated with car ownership, as well as the dangers of driving in this kind of weather….all because of the dogmatic auto-driven ideology of a few people…with the charge of this local yocal agenda now running our state! So many people, so few transportation alternatives makes Ohio look like a joke!

Sorry, but it pisses me off that so many of us are forced to be a part of something (driving) we’d like to greatly reduce. And Kasich wants to bring jobs and keep people in Ohio? The dude needs to get a clue as to how and why rail can help achieve just that!

More statewide fight seems to be invested for getting casinos going that are arguably party to contributing to social dysfunction…. than all of the OBVIOUS socially, environmentally, and economically redeeming fruits that can blossom from rail!

Absolutely, pathetically, and utterly ridiculous!

Off I go into the white blue yonder. Thanks a lot Kasich and any others who are too blind, arrogant, vindictive, or self righteous to see the light! If anything, you may at least be interested in the fact that business traveling people can be more productive in a train where they can use laptops, phones, and other devices to perform business—that sort which cannot be performed—or at least SHOULD NOT be performed while driving! Just think!!! It may result in MORE profit for business–And, I know you cannot say NO to that!

P.S. I love winter, but just not driving when it gets severe and I don’t think a transportation mono-culture should cease the day because of it.

Posted by Angry Man In The Basement at 7:14 AM No comments:

 

 

Kasich–Do Not De-Rail Rail, or Joke is On Ohio!

Dear Governor Elect,

I am writing to urge you to re-consider your opposition to passenger rail in Ohio. (3C Corridor project) The following personal feelings are why we must not bypass this great opportunity. I am sure many others will touch on so many issues I have left out, as one letter cannot explain it all, but it is with the strongest plea I ask you to not jump to conclusions about 3C that will ultimately kill a great opportunity for Ohio.

Ohio has for too long had its transportation infrastructure built around the needs of the automobile, rather than the pedestrian. And, part of this has been abandoning a once intricate network of rail lines across the state. Because of the decade after decade steering of transportation funds towards all that is car, we as citizens of this state have been denied the freedom of choice and alternative. To have a freedom of choice, I would think, would be a philosophy you and your party can respect and appreciate….and better yet, help to foster by making the transportation choice a reality.

While I understand that it may be difficult to expect those to fathom any other mode of transportation other than the auto-dependent sprawl model by which they were raised, I want you to understand the importance of a viable transportation alternative from people who DO understand the many benefits and conveniences.

By not supporting this project, we embarrassingly will lag behind other states that will move forward reaping the economic benefits such as job creation and linking our major cities as well as linking markets in our cities with others in the country.

By not supporting it you are driving away the young professional population that will chase and achieve their dreams in other states and cities where rail is an option. Those professionals in my age group 25 to 45 would overwhelmingly support the system.

In your own campaign, you stated that you did not want to see young people leave Ohio and achieve dreams and creating a home someplace else. How then by not supporting this project, do you not see that the results will be exactly what you said you did not want to see?

By not supporting this project, we are faced with an increased cumbersome burden to deal with over crowded highways and a never ending maintenance and construction spending nightmare. The last thing Ohio needs is to make itself more of a slave to road building and/or maintenance. This scene is just making us more co-dependent on oil in a time we need to be reducing it! Few benefit from that. In addition, the added air pollution and other environmental degradation that will have its own set of consequences by being yet another component to fostering an unhealthy populace that will be less productive in our economy. Who can even begin to put a price on that sort of aspect that is never even considered?

On a personal note touching on environmental and personal health—by designing all our transportation infrastructure around the car, you are forcing me to have no choice but to be subjected to the vile emission fumes spewing out of vehicles that are either illegally modified in the exhaust mechanisms, systems that are malfunctioning, or even systems that use a Diesel fuel mix–which to me–is unbearable as it gets sucked right into my vehicle chocking me! And, since your party quite often shuns social responsibility and accountability by wanting less watch dogging on corporate America, I doubt the industries responsible for being party to this this will do the right thing to satisfy those who have not the resources to fight them in court.

By not supporting passenger rail you are denying thousands who do not wish to drive or place themselves on highways and roads—or those who cannot drive—the choice they deserve. By not supporting passenger rail transportation alternatives in Ohio you are essentially forcing many who simply do not wish to drive, to take on all the expenses associated with car ownership and driving. By not supporting the passenger rail you are denying Ohio tourist dollars by those who may be visiting our state wanting to travel it via rail, relax, take their time and take in our state’s interesting natural beauty, art, history and culture. By not supporting passenger rail you are forcing many, who cannot afford it, to be a slave to the gas pump.

These funds Ohio was awarded for development of passenger rail cannot be spent for anything else and it would also be embarrassing if another state seized this money gladly at out of expense economically as well as the expense of our integrity and character.By not supporting this project, you may even impair any future federal funding for transportation grants in Ohio.

Do you really want Ohio to be the backwoods laughing stock that closed the door on a major opportunity? Degraded images do nothing at all to attract people to want to remain living here—or to attract new progressive long term investments in Ohio.

All the bad image scene will attract however are those who see Ohio as desperate to take anything…and will simply abuse our state economically, socially, and environmentally—and when they have reaped from us all they can, will move on. Is this the kind of fly by night investment in our state that you really want to see? That which is run by those living someplace else while raping Ohio?

In this wonderful land of choice, you are giving us little to no choice by not supporting passenger rail. And, I, like the thousands of others I know who would open heatedly and overwhelmingly support this service, will likely leave Ohio to seek places where their leadership has far more of a progressive vision as to the countless benefits that can result from this project.

It is for all the above and so much more I urge you to take a far closer look at what you’re doing…Look at the undeniable facts about this project so someday you do not look back and say to yourself.. “What was I thinking?….” while other places reap the benefits that will bypass Ohio and leave us in the dust.

One person such as yourself should not have the power to impose your will on a whole state. So, I urge you to not turn this into an “Us versus Them” political ego power and control game. Please do what is right for many instead of satisfying those who simply want to “be right” In a state of 11 plus million, we need a choice. And the only choice should not be to get in your car a drive, period. That in itself is a joke on Ohio.

Regards,
Robert Carillio
Ohio Voter

Posted by Angry Man In The Basement at 2:37 PM No comments:

Gardens Under Glass Re-Source Center: Ideas and Gifts Promoting Sustainable Lifestyles!

The Gardens Under Glass Re-source and Education Center is now open at the magnificent Galleria mixed-use complex in downtown Cleveland! The Re-Source Center is the “branch” of the main tree and cornerstone project at Gardens Under Glass–which is the year-round development of urban agriculture.

In this newly transformed space created with over 95% recycled materials and/or donations of re-used items, you will find a myriad of ideas, displays, and unique gift products which promote sustainable lifestyles. Looking for a really unique gift idea for a loved one? You have got to check out this place! Additionally, everything the center carries helps to sustain local and or independent merchants–which in turn, helps to promote a more economically self sustaining city.

The room features a focus on three components of the biosphere, air, land, and water—and promotes products and/or ideas that when implemented by the consumer, can result in the cleaner and healthier of those three components upon which we depend for our own existence. Whats more, the patron gains an enlightened knowledge of how purchases as a consumer can either have a heavier or much lesser impact on our world–and a more positive one on our local economy.

At the Gardens Under Glass Re-Source Center, there will also be featured events and workshops open to the public that may focus on cooking with seasonal and local produce, self healing through herbs and better diet, hydroponics and aquaponics, and an introductory entertaining presentation about local river and stream habitats, their lesser known fishes….and their conservation through more thoughtful agriculture.

Be sure to visit Gardens Under Glass www.gardensunderglass.net

 

Gardens Under Glass–A Whole Lot More Than Gardens!

Its not easy being green, but the Gardens Under Glass project at the magnificent Galleria structure in downtown Cleveland hopes to make going green easy to achieve! The ultimate vision for the initiative is to provide a neighborhood functional retail and business “eco-village” of learning, local food, environmental sustainability, and green product technology that will provide the core city and region with many green products and services to promote lifestyles that are rewarding and leave a much lighter footprint on the earth!

Some examples aim to promote greener ways leading by example, such as incorporating more recycling and reduction of waste within the facility, more efficient use of existing energy supply…..and even composting! Local food and produce production is the project’s anchor focus. But, Gardens Under Glass does not stop at producing local and healthy produce year round through aquaponics and conventional growing methods. For example, local and independent merchants who are already promoting sustainable philosophies, green products and/or technologies, have the opportunity of being consolidated along one indoor street and under one roof—to increase their competitiveness amidst a highly chain and/or franchised business and retail scene these days.

Customers who want to support local and or independent businesses offering something unique rarely found elsewhere, can come here to find many things without wasting fuel driving all over the area. Such stores like galleries promoting local art and handcrafted products, many made from recycled materials. Thrift and clothing stores with garage sale prices—selling not only unique vintage items, but lightly used and like new items all displayed professionally as in a traditional retail store. Need a blender? Looking to decorate your home with an original theme?…..How about a unique furniture item, article of clothing….or even tools? How about an original gift item? You may find something fantastic here for under $5.00! All this within a charming, clean and attractive high end facade in the facility itself. Best of all you will know that your purchase has helped to promote recycling, less oil dependency, preservation of forest and farm around our city’s buffers—and thus maintaining a vibrant urban core!

In addition to the above, Gardens Under Glass is currently developing an educational center which focuses on air, water, and soil pollution—and will also promote products, that if used instead of current ones in the home, will result in cleaner air, water, and soil in the outdoor environment. The learning center will entertain and inform groups wishing to implement more green practices in their daily lives, as well as school children who will ultimately inherit this planet. They will learn how to become wiser and greener consumers and stewards of the world by discovering how choices they make in their daily lives can either have negative or positive impacts locally and globally.

Gardening aspects of the project will promote less energy dependent yard care and those which attract hummingbirds and butterflies by using native plantings. You can even discover how to make the most of even the smallest bit of soil in the urban environment whether you plan to grow, or attract backyard friendly wildlife on your rooftop garden!

As you can see, Gardens Under Glass is no cookie cutter idea for any kind of mixed use retail and business center. Its vision is so much broader than growing produce under glass. In the bigger picture, it can serve as a national example for progressive adaptive and functional reuse of a building. The project is ultimately about encouraging and fostering a community of walkable neighborhoods, local foods, products and business—to in turn—help promote self sustaining neighborhoods. Gardens Under Glass can demonstrate that their is an economy and jobs to be created in a healthier environment—and can serve as the regional centerpiece and powerful voice for green initiatives and innovation that can be implemented locally and nationally.

Lastly, if you are an entrepreneur or existing business that believes in the objectives and vision of this project, and would like to join forces by locating here, please contact us to discuss the economic advantages you can gain in positioning your business or nurturing your idea here. Together, we can help “grow” your green idea or business! You can contact Gardens Under Glass at the website below.

www.gardensunderglass.net

Posted by Angry Man In The Basement at 9:18 PM No comments:

The Flaming Ice Cube Cafe–Cleveland!

When you’re in or near downtown Cleveland and want to experience a fresh, healthy and delectable food alternative, be sure to walk down to the Flaming Ice Cube Café… Located at the street level of The Park Building directly across from the soldiers and sailors monument on historic public square! The view of the square is charming and makes for the perfect cafe atmosphere! Whether its breakfast, lunch or dinner the Flaming Ice Cube is an earth friendly eclectic vegan café offering selections that appeal to everyone!

Freshly made from scratch soups, sandwiches, and gourmet salads for starters! For quick energy on the go, try one of the many smoothies or freshly made juices. The Flaming Ice Cube also prepares a fine array of home made baked goods, breads, cakes, muffins, and healthy decadent deserts are available.

Top off your meal with a hot cup of one of the Cube’s freshly brewed specialty coffees or teas. So come downtown to the Flaming Ice Cube today. They’re open weekdays from 7:00am to 8:00pm. Just remember “The Cube on the square” right in the heart of downtown Cleveland – The Flaming Ice Cube Café!

Flaming Ice Cube Website: www.flamingicecube.com

Posted by Angry Man In The Basement at 8:04 PM No comments: