I have memories of going to the Air Show in Cleveland as a kid and still enjoy watching the jets fly over my place in Cleveland every Labor Day weekend.  I’ve often heard banter of an accident years back where a US Air Force Thunderbirds jet crashed into Lake Erie, but never knew much until I found the video below.  Very interesting, classic footage.  When’s the last time you saw the local news do a close up on an EMS squad doing CPR?

Thunderbirds Commander / Leader, Lieutenant Colonel David Lawrence Smith killed on the shores of Lake Erie as seagulls caused his T-38 to lose power.

From source:

Tragedy struck the Thunderbirds in Cleveland on September 8, 1981. The team was leaving to return to Nellis Air Force Base when Thunderbird #1 ingested numerous seagulls on take-off. The aircraft immediately lost power, caught fire and crashed into Lake Erie. Aboard the T-38 were Thunderbirds Commander / Leader, Lieutenant Colonel David Lawrence Smith and his Crew Chief, Staff Sergeant Dwight Roberts. Both men ejected with Sergeant Roberts suffering minor arm and knee injuries. Lieutenant Colonel Smith, 40 years old from Rossville, Georgia, perished when his parachute failed at low altitude. This page is dedicated to the memory of Lieutenant Colonel Smith.

Lastly, here’s a video I shot from the roof of the building I used to work in.  Get’s real at about :30:

Les Claypool is the greatest at what he does.  Here’s my video from last night:

A great event in Cleveland!  Here’s a video I shot from Friday’s ride.  Head to http://clevelandcriticalmass.com/ for more details!

Tony Rizzo explains the LeBron situation during the intro of The Really Big show, the Friday morning after Lebron’s primetime national spotlight.

Breaks it down perfectly (turns epic towards the end):  LISTEN HERE.

“Stay hungry, stay humble.”

You’ve probably already seen this, but here is the footage of me being interviewed by Cleveland Channel 5 ABC affiliate (WEWS).

Please be sure to also check out http://www.ClevelandCriticalMass.com

There’s an awesome mobile restaurant  popping up all over in Cleveland.  The Dim And Den Sum Truck was created by two chefs (one from NY’s Spotted Pig and one from Doug Katz’s Fire Food and Drink) as a way to bring healthy, locally sourced, gourmet food to anywhere in town.

I was able to grab their PBLT last weekend for $6 – a scrumptious sandwich layered with roasted pork shoulder, bacon, greens, and spicy sriracha mayo.

The truck features artwork from Tremont’s The Sign Guy. I spoke with one of the chefs last week and he said business is great and many new things are to come including a taco truck, noodle truck, cookbook, supper club and much more.

Follow Dim and Den Sum on Twitter to see their next stops.

The truck was also featured in this week’s Scene Magazine.

The following video was shot today at Jakprints – a great local printing company (I used them to print the Cleveland Critical Mass Flyers!)

TwitPic from last weekend:

At the mouth of the Cuyahoga river stands what used to be a bustling US Coast Guard Station serving a popular Lake Erie waterfront. It opened in 1940 and is obvious by the deco-style shapes to the building. The CG left in 1976, the land was sold and tossed around a few times before serving as a night club for a brief stint in the early 90′s (which is hilarious, I think.) In classic Cleveland fashion, the city has let it deteriorate and fall apart, leaving only the building’s skeleton to act as the first building one see’s as they enter the city by way of the Cuyahoga. We biked to the location, but you can park at Edgewater or Whiskey Island and walk, if preferred. You can easily gain access to every part of the property, including inside the structure.

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Rear view, from the pier.

From Abandoned Cleveland Coast Guard Station

Front Entrance

From Abandoned Cleveland Coast Guard Station

Driveway View

From Abandoned Cleveland Coast Guard Station

Great view of Cleveland from the path to the station.

From Abandoned Cleveland Coast Guard Station

From Scene Magazine, 2010-05-19:

U.S. Coast Guard Station

WHERE YOU’LL FIND IT: At the end of the West Bank pier in the Flats, at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River (accessible via Wendy Park if you follow the service road from Edgewater Park past the scenic water treatment plant).

HISTORY: Designed by J. Milton Dyer — the guy who drew up Cleveland City Hall — it opened as a U.S. Coast Guard station in 1940 and closed when the Guard moved near East Ninth Street in 1976. The place was never a lighthouse, but its white observation tower makes it look like one. The station, with its spectacular views of the downtown skyline, was sold to developers in 1985 and operated briefly as a nightclub in the early ’90s, when the local entertainment scene centered around vomiting in the Flats. Accessible only by ferry, the club became somewhat less popular when the Lake froze each winter.

VALUE: $431,800, according to the county auditor.

STATE OF DECAY: About how you would look if you sat naked, facing the elements for 70 uninterrupted years. The roof, window, and door frames — and anything else not made of rock or concrete — have fallen apart, and the list of building code violations runs so long that the place didn’t feel very gift-like by the time it was “gifted” to Cleveland in 2002. On the plus side, the concrete walls that give the place its art deco style are in good shape, and the mayor’s office claims that bids are being collected to repair the roof, thus ensuring that the structure can safely sit dormant for another 20 years or so.

WHAT IT’S GOOD FOR: “It appears difficult if not impossible to create a self-sustaining investment,” says Volpe. “The thing is, it’s worth saving. Fortunately, an enlightened group is working with the city to envision ideas that require subsidy, but make sense. I am most excited about something truly connected to the water, with an emphasis on the environment. Some Cleveland icons are just too important to let go of.”

The city seems to agree: “As we get the building in better repair, there are other groups that would find the setting and architecture as major plusses and would regard the relative inaccessibility as more a plus than a minus,” says mayoral spokesman Ken Silliman. He sees it as a venue for special events like weddings. It already hosted last year’s Burning River Fest, with plans to return there this year. Fun fact: The city got 10 more days of use out of Cleveland Browns Stadium than it did from the abandoned station in 2009, but with way more expensive beer.

Click below to see a high resolution panoramic of Edgewater Park I shot this afternoon.  Find the tiny Cleveland skyline and rainbow.

Pano quality could be a lot better, but it was shot with a point-and-shoot in the rain.

I wanted to put all these videos in once place.  Spend a little bit of time and watch all six:

THE DECLINE OF A ONCE-GREAT CITY: EPISODE 1

FIX THE SCHOOLS: EPISODE 2

PRIVATIZE IT: EPISODE 3

TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS: EPISODE 4

ENCOURAGE BOTTOM-UP REDEVELOPMENT: EPISODE 5

BRING BACK THE PEOPLE: EPISODE 6

We spent the past weekend in D.C., a terrific city.  I have been there a number of times (biking, protests, marches, inaugurations) but this was a low key trip done in part to get out of Cleveland for a bit, eat some great food, ride bikes, and see Hot Chip and The xx in concert at the 9:30 Club.

FRIDAY

I won’t go into too much detail, but seeing a city by bike is the ultimate way to go.  I’ve rode D.C. before, and much like Chicago, biking allows you and your travelling accomplices to get around fast, free and without strenuous/slow paced walking (dodging everybody else.)  Courtney and I departed Cleveland Thursday night (in typical fashion) spending the night somewhere near Breezewood; everyone’s favorite truck stop community.  Awoke early Friday to finish the last 2 hours of the drive and check into the brand new Marriott Hotel on Capitol Hill (great hotel and great rates!, perfect part of town, close to the Green Line.)  They let us check our stuff in – we aired up our tires and hit the road.

Biked 17 miles on Friday, stopping to see all the sites (Courtney’s first time!) and walking both the Natural History Smithsonian and the newly renovated American History Smithsonian.  We had lunch at the (recommended) Good Stuff Eatery, on Capitol Hill.  I had the Obama Burger.

FRIDAY NIGHT

We relaxed a bit before taking the Red Line to Dupont Circle for a late dinner at Nora’s.  I can’t say enough good things about this place; its the country’s first organic restaurant, great food and wine with a lovely setting in an old carriage house.  A bit pricey, the crowd was light but interesting, talking political work and of their boss, Tucker Carlson (hilarious, I know.)  Court and I had the 2007 Bourgogne Passetoutgrain pinot and a full 3-course, delicious.  We hung out at Kramerbooks in Dupont on the way home, the nation’s second coolest bookstore – being open 24hrs is an added bonus.

SATURDAY

Woke up and had a relaxing day shopping around Georgetown, hitting up a bunch of shops (liked Patagonia, Levi’s, Chingching Cha Tea, and Georgetown Tobacco.)  Had a great Italian brunch at Filomena Ristorante.  Headed back to The Mall to hit two more Smithsonians, Aviation and American Indian.

SATURDAY NIGHT

We headed to the Howard University campus for the show, stopping at a ghetto-ass store to scarf down some steak sandwiches (we somehow forgot to eat dinner.)  Food was cheap, but made better by a homeless guy talking about Funkadelic.  The concert was incredible.  Broadcast live on NPR national for the Saturday concert, The xx played a short and spot-on set.  Hot Chip came out and sounded great, played a good set with a lot of energy.

The 9:30 is a great place to watch a show – however it was (I feel) the loudest show I have ever been to.  Honestly, parts of it were painful – either I’m getting old, or things (decibels) are louder in our Nation’s Capitol.  The club is perfect beyond that; good beer selection, wasn’t too packed – they even tweeted the exact time each band was to go on – made planning easy.  Chatted with some great people, all gov’t professionals; The Red Cross, FTC, Wind Energy Cos.

CONCLUSION

People who know me know I love Cleveland dearly.  I’ve traveled these Midwestern-escape destinations (DC, CHI, NYC, Vegas) repeatedly, well into the double digits, only to find a humble return to my beloved Cleveland, tired, and immediately finding comfort in the dreary, desolate, brick-faced city I live and work in.

I love it here.  But the constant vibe in Cleveland is everyone is supposed to work to make it better – an uphill battle, something we’re always fighting for, a hope for the better, all soon-to-come, changes happening, casinos, clean technology hubs, transportation corridors, rock and roll hall of fames and their ceremonies held elsewhere.  It make’s it fun, I guess, knowing that we’re always down and out and it’s up to us to make it better (how?).  I like the grittiness of that, but I find it to be wearing out.

None of this is a shot at Cleveland, it’s just more and more I ask myself what it’s like in other places where people just live, love where they live, feel safe, and have to invest minimal, if any, effort to make their city a real city.  I’m not giving up.   I’m ready to do what it takes to make CLE better, but I know I’m not the first to have that idea.  This endless and blind hope has been in motion for  along time.  Let’s see what tomorrow brings.

FULL PHOTO GALLERY OF THIS TRIP.