- $5 movie mondays at the Shaker Sq theatres (one block away), or at Cedar Lee (indie theatre)
- farmers markets - shaker square, west side market, miles
- Cleveland metroparks and nature centers. My favorite isn't "the best", nor do I have a "my favorite spot" yet, but the shaker lakes metropark comes close.
- RTA - rapids (train) one block away that goes to tower city, the airport, and other places
- restaurants - delicious little hole in the wall places, and some of the more "upscale" mod ones
- hometown feel - the people who stay really stay. elderly slovaks at my church, you know.
- koko bakery - bubble tea, shaved ice, and asian baked goods. yum.
- lake erie - it's now the cleanest of the 5 great lakes?
- cleveland hipsters. like my brother, I am now feeling a little neutral about hipsters, but there is something special about the cleveland hipster though... i think it's because they're living the 'poor life' and are actually poor. haha.
- fairly easy grid system downtown -- it gets a little complicated on the west side, but it's still good.
- culture - art, music at university circle, euclid corridor (soon to be finished) and future development of "uptown"
- community development corporations and urban ministry galore - 2100 men's ministry, the city mission, faith baptist (free clinic), et al.
- it's the coolest uncool city in the states. it's got the gritty, underground feeling. this is not to romanticize it though - it certainly has its needs, economic resurrection, etc.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Reasons to say yes! to Cleveland
Good things about the cleve:
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Unfinished, unfiltered thoughts on public/private life
This morning, I was reading a NYT article about Barack Obama and his virtuosity and self-discipline not only in politics, but his emotional and personal life. This is amazing to me because it seems almost impossible to do while in the public eye, having grown up in a generation of where most politicians are expected to deal with public skepticism and endless opportunities for scrutiny. I'm also amazed because self-discipline and self-control takes years to build, and he did this even before entering the public sphere of politics. He is known as a tempered, serious man with the ability to inspire.
Of what we know about him, what gets me about him, politics aside, is that his public life and private life essentially line up. Such a characteristic is completely different from the type of person we are used to seeing - someone who has completely dichotomized their private sphere from their public one. We are used to showmanship in the public arena. Someone like Obama is what our generation of skeptics and cynics have been waiting for... someone who is authentic, genuine, and driven by vision.
Of what we know about him, what gets me about him, politics aside, is that his public life and private life essentially line up. Such a characteristic is completely different from the type of person we are used to seeing - someone who has completely dichotomized their private sphere from their public one. We are used to showmanship in the public arena. Someone like Obama is what our generation of skeptics and cynics have been waiting for... someone who is authentic, genuine, and driven by vision.
