Uncategorized – Quality Chatter

Site Undergoing Restoration

Hello Quality Followers, it has been quite a while since I posted anything. I just want you to know that word for word, section for section, this site is a disaster that is going to be undergoing a restore. I will link this to Facebook as well as offer an online “talk radio” program. Gadgets and everything else will either be removed or restored. Please give it time and I thank you for your patience.

N.E. Ohioans please stay tuned because what we will discuss here, you will not find on WTAM A.K.A. W-e T-alk A-sinine M-entality! Where you have to be desperate to want to get on the air to work for such a station….One which claims “50 states and HALF of Canad” Well folks, I do not believe “half of Canada” would be stupid enough to tune in to that station!

Eliminating Boom Car Noise Paul Kersey Style?

Noise, excessive or totally unnecessary, loud or not loud is still unwanted sound, by definition–and a major attack on quality of life in neighborhoods across the country and around the world.

To date, and what we will talk about today is “boom car noise” from those loud car audio systems. It is a kind of noise that is especially irritating, as low frequency, high decibel and vibration are combined to make you feel there is NO escaping it. This is but one form of noise that has become a virulent plague in neighborhoods everywhere, robbing people’s right to reasonable peace, quiet, and safety in their own homes. Some seem to think their “right” to behave anti-socially like this supersedes a constitutional right to domestic peace and tranquility!

This form of noise, I heard it described “as something that reaches through the walls of your home, grabs you by the neck and will not let go.” It is obnoxious and all courtesy of some selfish attention starved individual who has some perverted idea of the definition of “freedom”–who thinks he/she can do whatever they wish, no matter who it harms!

Contained in the link included below, I would like to share a story I found at random about a noisy neighbor’s incessant audio assault on the whole neighborhood—AND, how one neighbor who could not tolerate it any longer after a year, decided to protect himself by taking maters in his own hands. While I do not condone correcting wrong with a wrong, I do understand what could drive someone to feeling the way this person did in the story.

At the end of the story, it is dismissed as “junk” but I know such a device IS possible and perhaps the author was protecting his tail by making that disclaimer—and leaves it up to us to read between the lines. It is a shame that because of irresponsible and/or de-regulated corporations making these products–despite KNOWING the problems it will cost communities–that we have to see people become vigilant to protect themselves. (Just get off the corporation’s back and they’ll do right by us, eh Rush, Sarah? Oh well, just remember… there would be no need for regulation had the river not caught fire in Cleveland!)

Furthermore, the cost it levies on councils everywhere to have to make new laws and ordinances to deal with this form of audio assault is a sobering thought. Some places law enforcement is not an option, such as Warren, Ohio. In places like Warren, neither the city council or law enforcement body wants anything to do with dealing with this issue correctly–that is, until it results in a worse case scenario–when someone gets shot, beaten or stabbed because the noisemaker felt he was entitled to do whatever he wishes, and attacks someone for asking him to please turn it down……

OR the other way around: The person being assaulted by the audio terrorist, pulls a Popeye on him and proclaims…. “That’s all I can stand and I can’t stands NO MORE!” and perhaps resorts to a violent way of dealing with it.It is either a flight or fight response, in other words.

Typically, according to what anti-noise activists know who are associated with organizations like Lower the Boom Dot Org or Noise Off Dhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifot Org, it is the noise maker that is not only assaulting someone’s senses to the point of insanity with audio terrorism–but resorts to further assaulting someone with physical violence who may have respectfully pleaded with them to simply turn it down!

But isn’t our hearing part of our physical being? Yes it is… So, wouldn’t torturing that sense be a form of physical assault? You would think so, but due to a very under-informed legal and judicial system as to this subject, we may just have to deal with it for now, unless you are this guy… read the story in the link below!

http://hubpages.com/hub/To-Kill-An-Atomic-Subwoofer-or-How-I-Blew-Up-My-Noisy-Neighbors-Car-Stereo

Also take some time to listen to the Pod Cast included on the right hand side of this blog page, titled “BOOM CAR NOISE POLLUTION DISCUSSION!” There are so many aspects as to why this noise is dangerous and why it should stop, and many are covered in this very educational podcast.Let’s find out who will pay to take care of the plague of ensuing deafness in this country’s future? Hmmmm… Listen and share your ideas!

Posted by Angry Man In The Basement at 2:42 PM No comments:

Can a Global Market Contribute To Depression in People AND The Economy?

I would like to share an article today that someone shared with me. Somehow, it reaffirms an idea I always felt that when society becomes overly-dependent on the mega multi-national corporate and global economy scene, it contributes to crippling communities and their ability to be self-sustaining.

As I see it, the reliance also contributes to alienating us from local community connections that we, as communal and tribal beings we are by nature, need to stimulate our sense of purpose and function in our lives. In western influenced cultures, technologically we have advanced far more rapidly than our spirits, which still are in need of community and connection to each other. Without such, we are left unhappy searching for that sense of belonging in life; the sense of purpose. We mindlessly consume thinking that we can fill the void with “stuff” that can never replace what nature intended. As a result, the disconnection from nature, our roots and sustenance, in a world otherwise disguised in concrete and plastic leave us lost.

It is sad to notice in largely western influenced cultures, that its citizens can hardly fathom any other way to live, any other economic system, other than the model of reality they know–which is someone else’s idea so many of us have bought into. By relying on this economic scene that has “big corporation” housing, clothing, feeding, and employing us all…we cripple ourselves in the long run when we lack the knowledge and skills that create a true community where everyone has something to contribute for the betterment of the people, rather than the bottom line profit of the corporation.

When we build all life and economy around a few golden goose eggs that are a few corporate entities, we destroy the economic diversity (in what I refer to as an “economic ecosystem”) that breeds economic stability. As in nature, the more diverse the ecology is, the more stable. So it is evident in the economy as well. When these few entities that we have grown to rely on fall, all that is connected and reliant upon them fall as well. On the other hand, when the economy is diverse and dependent upon many…when one or two fall, we have several others to pick up the slack. Ultimately, I feel that reliance on a few for all we need or want, when they fall or fail, breeds the need for a social welfare system that corporate captains, supporters, and far right leaning politicians customarily loathe!

Take some time to read the article below. After reading it, you may question the global economic world in which you live, and how you see it, if you thought it was the panacea example of how to live.

The happiness fix
By Caitlin Howlett
G Magazine

A wider network = greater opportunity = a happier life, right? In fact, the more globalized our lives become, the sadder we are as a society. It’s time to embrace the notion of localized community living again to get that smile back on our dials.

CUT OIL SUBSIDIES/INVEST IN A NEW ENERGY ECONOMY

In the video posted in the link at the end of this banter, it is commendable that President Obama has addressed the issue of oil company subsidy and record profits while so many people struggle to make ends meet–and as vital programs get scrapped in the name of “saving tax payers money”–but sad that he still has to coddle the oil industry by making the comment about being rewarded for their success….

Sad, only because somehow, someway, pro-oil, pro-polluter, and tea party-like ideologies will twist what he is saying in the video, into some rhetorical bull crap that hints at the tones of “He is ANTI-BUSINESS/AMERICA” And, in turn, such rhetoric is fixated in many minds only because we have been so dependent upon oil for so long, that it has become their GOD, with the company their benefactor, and so many cannot fathom ANY OTHER lifestyle that somehow can depend upon it much less. It is a typical smear tactic these days by hijackers of the Republican and Democratic Parties in The Corporate States Of America.

YOU TUBE COMMENTS: As usual, You Tube is a run way train wreck of short sighted and/or ignorant comments posted below the video by those who actually think they are being wise. They are missing the point that we need to trim the corporate welfare to huge oil companies and re-invest this money into renewable, cleaner energies. Someone will gain the fruits and bask in the glow of the benefits this economy will create. Will it be us? Or are we too stupid as a nation to see this? China will not be, so I guess they’re smarter than us.

The oil industry had its time to get all the subsidy it needed. Maybe its time they get off the stage. Now we need to invest in cleaner and renewable sources for a more sustainable future–and, so we are not at the mercy of oil companies. I want to add–that in light of many thinking we can solve this issue with domestic drilling–that drilling domestically will not drill our way out of a crisis.

We simply use and waste too much fuel too fast to risk putting our dirty footprint on the planet’s last great frontiers that are essential in supporting a healthy globe–to support healthy life. The Gulf spill is virtually a non-issue in the mainstream news right now, yet the damages it has done to the eco-system and economies that depend upon its health are suffering.

We have depended upon basically once source of fuel for so long, and as we phase out this burgeoning industry with newer, smaller, more progressive and diverse ones, promoting renewable energies, we will see affordable prices again.Oil should not have a monopoly on the worlds energy.

Lastly, I feel it is important to mention that for those in the US, despite oil companies making record profits, that for years we actually have been paying far too low for fuel prices—especially when you consider what the planet sacrifices to bring us that gallon of gasoline that we waste on frivolous things anyway. Many people are actually conditioned to think they “NEED” the amounts of fuel they are using.

I have witnessed time and again how wasteful people can be with existing energy. They mindlessly consume as if it were endless. And, having said this, I feel that in some way, and say with sarcasm, that Mother Earth will conduct an internal energy audit on the USA. She will yield no more finite fuels UNTIL, it has been re-evaluated how we are currently using existing resources.

Just some questions to ponder in the audit: Are you leaving lights on all over the house? Are you mowing your lawn 3 times a week? Are you having it sprayed with petro-based chemicals by trucks that use oil?… Are you using gas powered tools to do the work of what can often and easily be done by hand…such as blowing dust all over the neighborhood with a gas powered blower as you walk along the curb? (I mean REALLY? Since when has this become necessary? ONLY when a machine was invented to do it.) Are you supporting the flooding of domestic markets with cheap plastic crap by shopping at the big box store scene only? Are you driving when walking can easily be an alternative?

If anyone answered yes to the above, Mother Nature says she will yield no more energy. So, perhaps we need to focus on living more sustainably–and understand that such does not mean you will be compromising your lifestyle. In fact, many may discover the joy in less being more.

Now, with that said…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIc83PWSBF4

Posted by Angry Man In The Basement at 9:31 AM No comments:

Encore: Gardens Under Glass and its Re-Source Center: Much More Than Growing Local Foods!

Gardens Under Glass is an urban agriculture/local foods growing project in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, in what was a former high end retail shopping complex. The complex actually resembles a giant greenhouse, so the new theme is a perfect fit and fine example of adaptive re-use of a building that had been economically type-cast by its peers. Growing food inside the building is achieved by aquaponics and hydroponics. These growing systems do not use soil, but instead utilize organically nourished water from added nutrients, or straight from fish waste in accompanying aquarium systems. Conventional methods in soil are also practiced.

The grand vision, beyond local food, hopes for it to become a regional center for independent green businesses and innovation, where such entities can combine forces and increase their competitive edge in what has vastly become a highly franchised market economy in the US. Local and independent merchants who are already promoting sustainable philosophies, green products and/or technologies, have the opportunity to be positioned along one indoor street under one roof!

Such, in turn, helps to promote a daring ideal of a more economically self sustaining city–by setting an example of how a community need not always solely depend on mega corporate investment, upon which to be the center of an economy. An added bonus in promoting smaller enterprise can sustain economic stability through economic diversity.

The Gardens Under Glass Re-source and Education Center opened its doors in September 2010. It is best described as a place offering products and ideas which promote sustainable lifestyles and healthier local economies through adjusting our buying habits and learning through workshops. Some greener examples set by the complex itself, are incorporating more recycling and waste reduction within the facility, more efficient use of existing energy supply, use of food grown on site by cafes inside the complex, rainwater retention, litter prevention, promoting less energy dependent landscaping, and composting of yard and produce waste!

Workshops are open to the public and local schools–and may focus on cooking with seasonal and local produce, healing through herbs and diet, growing food at home utilizing hydroponics and aquaponics, or even a presentation about local river and stream habitats, their importance in our lives…and their conservation through more thoughtful agriculture. One of the best true examples of promoting refuse, reduce, re-use, and recycling the center can offer is in the design of the room itself. It is a place that was created with over 95% recycled materials found on site and/or donations!

The Re-source center also promotes 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 of those three life supporting components. The patron gains an enlightened knowledge of how his/her purchases can either have a heavier or much lesser impact on the environment–and a more positive one on our local economy.

Many examples set at Gardens Under Glass can be a blue print for how cities across the country can gain a new vision of what can create a successful and stable economy when multiplied and put into practice. The project is ultimately a catalyst in creating community connections, walkable neighborhoods, local foods, products and business–AND self sustaining neighborhoods. It can demonstrate that their is an economy and jobs to be created in a healthier environment in contrast to an often prevailing archaic mentality that offers the choice of “us, OR the environment”

Please visit: http://www.gardensunderglass.net

Posted by Angry Man In The Basement at 10:51 AM No comments:

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.

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: