Star Trek and Number One

The rumors are swirling about the new Star Trek movie. Today's Cleveland Plain Dealer featured a short article outlining the film's casting. Trek Today reports that Captain Christopher Pike will play a major role in the upcoming film. Although there is no posted information yet, if this film does focus on the Enterprise under Pike I hope they expand on the role Majel Barrett played in the original pilot, Number One. Her role was small, but just seeing the character in action, and from the small amount of interplay between Spock, herself and Pike, I could tell that she held promise and could well have become a fan favorite.

Good Downtown Akron Development?

The Mayor and developer Martin Mehall yesterday announced Plusquellic's apparent return to sweetheart deals for fellow democrats. Mehall will get a deal on the land at Exchange and Main. Kevin Davis will make out by either selling his property or being included in the development. Mehall will build a 450 bed series of townhouse apartments and retail, with the apartments available exclusively to University of Akron students. The deal brings expensive housing downtown, but only for students with limited disposable income. Plus the kids will be closer to bars which under our current law they shouldn't be frequenting.

It's also interesting that the Mayor makes this announcement on the same day the University of Akron announces it's plans for a new, 470 bed dorm east of campus, and a hike from downtown. If I didn't know better I'd say there was a tug-of-war going on for the students' dollars between UA and the city. Wait...I don't know better.

And all of this begs the question of just how many students are available to live either on or close to campus, and whether any of this housing meets their needs. Mehall may think his project is "very, very viable", but so did Tony Troppe of his Hickory Street project. After seeing the developments in Portland and even Cleveland, I think the city needs to think very carefully about where it's pushing new development. Students can live in decent housing near the university, or at reasonable prices in areas like Highland Square or Firestone Park, and still be minutes from downtown. The city hasn't come up with plans for any decent, easy to use public transporation like the light rail of Portland, and doesn't provide bike paths or other alternatives to get around, so if you have to have a car what's the incentive to live in expensive, downtown student housing. And is it even legal to say you will only rent to students?

Max

I haven't felt the desire to write about Max since we had to put him to sleep on Sept. 17th. I know everyone always feels they have the best pet, but he was something special.

My neighbors, Pam and Jim, actually found the little guy wandering down West Exchange street and brought him home. They had three dogs at the time, and said they could not handle a fourth. My loss of my dog since college, Jiggers, was recent enough that I was still using the line that I "would never get another dog", but I could tell Molly, my other Mutt, was feeling lonely without a buddy around. Here was this shaggy dust mop (his hair was the length of a Llaso Apso) running around, tongue out, and my heart gave in. After his first haircut I never let his hair get back to that length again. My vet thought he was about a year old, so his puppy hood was about through, except Max never realized he had stopped being a puppy. He was excited about everything, or extremely bored. No gray middle for him.

I need to stop here before the tears come on. But I'm sure there is more to come about my best bud Max.

Dog days of October

What a weekend! The Browns looked decent against New England, there were no major injuries, and now the Indians move on after beating Lebron's favs to face Boston. Cleveland sports have been looking good!

Sunday we made progess with the bulletin board at the dog park. Jeremy and Mike were both instrumental in getting the plexiglass replaced. They stuggled valiently as dogs large and small came over to check out what the humans were trying to accomplish.

I would still like to know who thinks it's worthwhile to bust the glass and steal the supply box from a dog park. Even if it was just kids, I'd like to give them a piece of my mind. Of course petty crime seems to be up all over Akron, which just reflects the times in this small, rust-belt city.

Another meeting

Well, another day, another meeting. Last night was the HSNA. Lisa did a nice job running through all the topics, and there's a chance of getting some momentum going. There were several new, and potentially active, voices present, including next-door-neighbor Chuck.

As an organization, the membership really needs to decide on whether their focus is advocacy or the neighborhood. Maybe there's no way to separate the two. If the Highland goes down or the street somehow gets widened, there goes the walkable neighborhood.

I was thinking last night about how, in an area with so many elderly and singles mixed, the neighborhood becomes either a second family, or the main family. There are evenings on Jefferson where I half expect to hear "Good night, John-Boy" echoing down the street. Whether we like it or not we come to know what's going on in each other's lives, form opinions about the folks who don't come out on their porches, and judge the people exerting control over the neighborhod from downtown. More than once I've thought it would be cool to be our own little village within the city. Secession anyone?

Day at the dog park

So the water is off at the dog park and I have no idea how soon it will be on. We have a meeting tomorrow to try to move forward, and I am actually excited about the new people who may come on board, and the involvement of the city.

Last night talking to patrons at the park really reminded me of what a valuable place this has become in the last four years. A lot has been accomplished. I wonder if any marriages have come out of the park? Certainly some romance has. Certainly there are some wackos there too.

I need to remember the couple that moved to Akron with the specific requirement that their new home be within a mile of a park. Without the Akron Park they would have moved to Stow, or somewhere close to Cleveland. Examples like theirs should be enough to push us to want to keep the park goin!

Hero Tomorrow

I finally had the chance to see Hero Tomorrow yesterday at CIFF (The Cleveland International Film Festival). There was northeast Ohio in all it's glory up on the big screen. Rainy fall weather and Cuyahoga Falls make cameo appearances in this tale of a frustrated, wannabe comic creator and his fashion designer, comic shop clerk girlfriend. The film has screened at the San Diego Comic Con, and I hope it receives wider distribution. Low budget, the film has more in common with indie flicks about ambition and connection than with the super-hero special effects laden extravaganzas coming out of Hollywood.

David, the comic creator, writes and draws a hero called Apama, which he has steeped in a mishmash of demi-Native American lore. From his description of the character's origins, though, he seems to have based it on a old blanket he has hanging in his room more than on any real folklore. David can draw, and he has an active imagination and a basic grasp on storytelling, but can not get the attention of any publishers. He works a job as a landscaper and owes a large credit card bill racked up on comic purchases.

David's girlfriend Robyn works in the local comic shop, and longs to be a serious designer. This feels a little forced in that she's living in NE Ohio. I know we have the Kent State Fashion Museum, but shouldn't she be longing to move to New York or Paris? She makes David a costume based on his Apama creation.

We learn that David has been rejected and kicked out by his parents for "wasting" his life drawing comics, and that Robyn has a problematic relationship with her mother and has been on anti-depressants. Robyn has had some limited success in her career, and she wants more. Conflicts at home cause her to stop taking her medications.

Although the cast is believable, we never get a sense of what has drawn the main characters together. Based on the way they are written, it seems likely that Robyn initiated the relationship with David. David is likable enough, and it's easy to see why he chooses to immerse himself in an imaginary world. He has limited success with a career, we never get a sense of how much training he has versus talent, and he's been rejected by his family and his questionable friends. As he spirals downward, becoming his creation, his use of drugs seems a little out of character. Since this story is set in the "real" world, it should not surprise the audience that David's "heroic" moments as Apama have questionable results.

The director, Ted Sikora, has a very succesfully executed twist that leads into a happy ending. He has also made Ohio seem more vibrant than we are generally perceived by the rest of the country. He has included scenes featuring local rockers and our local parks. I was especially please that he included soy milk and healthy cereal in his final act, since we are generally written about as being inactive and not health conscious in this area.

If you have the opportunity make the time to take in this flick and support Ohio film makers.

Bad poetry

Composed while bored at trade show:

I recollect the laser man
Playing in his sand box
Mad boy in his underground lair
Shooting photons lens to lens
Catch a moment in light and time
A fruit, a face
A mask of Egypt.

And at the same show:

The Zombies dance and sway and swing
Jagged and sporting
Bawdy jewels, carrying trinkets
Through the tent.
They stop and prod the weak eyed vendors
Asking again and again, as Zombies will,
Because they cannot grasp functions of
The trinkets, gizmos or jewels they see.
Some ride electric scooters,
Grabbing whatever loose items free.
Bored. The Zombie husbands wander
from Zombie wives. The wives,
in purple or red, wander
booth to booth.
There walks a Zombie with a Zombie dog.
No. The dog is still alive.
It does not have Zombie eyes.
A Zombie talker appears in front of me.
Does he seek air? Water?
Not fire.
He's a Zombie.
How much for the long gadget, or
does he need the shorter one?
He needs new teeth. And a breath mint.
Maybe a brain.

Happy Flockin' Birthday

So I look for something different for my dad's birthday. I don't want to remind him of his age, don't want to do the tie or gift certificate thing. I place an order with a local company to put a flock of fake flamingoes in his yard, thinking this is safe and humorous.

This morning I drive by on my way to work. Think maybe I'll snap a picture or something and, behold, no flamingoes. Instead I see sign and flamingoes in a pile by the door. Now I don't know whether he was upset and ripped them all out, was awakened during the install, or some other issue. The suspense is killing me, but I don't want to admit to ordering the flock until I find out what the reaction was! But I'll be patient and wait until we see each other and I can hear about whar happened.

NPR Free

One thing about being stuck in the middle of the desert with a rental car: radio sucks. There is no NPR here. The one "talk" radio station has a definite religious bend. Yesterday I heard repeatedly the voices of individuals who identified themselves as democrats declaring that they could never vote for Hillary (or any woman) or for Obama (described as a "Muslim in disguise"). I have some weird idea that I want to hear the president give the "State of the Union" address tonight. No one here has been able to let me know if it will be broadcast live on EST or on delay. The responses I've heard echo the first one I received when I asked: "I don't know when it's on and I really don't care." Maybe if I spoke Spanish I'd be better off, as the two most popular stations are in that language. I keep reminding myself that this too is America, and that it is the diversity of this country which makes it great. I just keep wishing that I could get my NPR when driving out here.

Images of Quartzsite

Quartzsite is the mega-festival of the RV set. It's held in the middle of a dusty limbo between LA and Phoenix. I've been here for several days. This is a view from with in the main vendor tent. Also a shot of one of the traveling companions I noticed hanging out in an RV window. It's walking around taking in sights like Mr. Parrot which make a how like this bearable.

Alive in Blythe

Am I lucky or what? I've been sent to Arizona for a trade show and have found lodgings in the closest "city", Blythe, California. There is no mall, but somehow this small town on the highway between LA and Phoenix manages to keep a Starbuck's coffee. This oasis has been my morning refuge, where I can get a hold of the New York Times and a soy latte. Fine dining includes Pizza Hut. I can recommend Rosita's for Mexican. Best I've had in a while. And the golf course is as close as upscale dining comes in this burg. On the upside I won't be breaking any expense account budgets, and the hotel has a fast internet connection.