Trade plants, seeds, bulbs!

For Akron-area folks, this sounds like a great way to avoid the high prices at your local nurseries this spring. I'd be there, but I have another weekend in Cincinnati ahead of me.

Obtained via Akron Freecycle:

What: Free Plant & Flower Swap
Where: Kiwanis, 725 Portage Lakes Drive by State Mill
When: THIS SATURDAY, May 3, 9:00am-11:00 am
Why: To exchange your extra plants for FREE new ones!

As many as you bring, you'll get to bring home.

Bring plants in pots or bags, labeled with the name, what type of sun,
a/o soil (sandy? etc.) & if anything special should be known. (Can
also label perennial, but I assume most will be perennial.)

Can also bring seeds & bulbs(labeled) in bags.

Try to get there early, 8:45 or 9:00am, to have your plants put into
the sharing area, and to get your tickets for the exchange. They will
allow 10 or so people at one time every 15 min or so to choose plants.
So the early birds get the best choice.

Presidential Primary - Act III

The only way I can look at the Democratic party's primary season is as a full three act modern-ancient drama.

The set is a simple semi circle, bordered by white marble columns -- at once both an ancient Greek theatre and Washington, DC. In between each column, digital screen hang with ever-changing images pulled from broadcast and cable news, Huff Post, Daily Kos, Pho's Akron Pages and so on. The actors all wear masks and walk on high platform shoes.

In Act I, we met a lot of characters who spouted lots of monologues, pleaded for donations and periodically met up on a platform to out wit, out play and out last each other. By the end of the first act, we were down to three players and everybody knew John Edwards was the odd person out.

Act II became the battle of the two remaining titans. Senator Clinton seemed a sure bet until the primary season got under way. A new character appeared on the scene -- the Voters, a kind of Greek chorus that was split into two equal and opposing forces. Senator Obama's rise in status grew as he won caucus after caucus and surprised the complacent Clinton campaign with the appeal of the "fresh message of hope." As Senator Clinton's fortunes diminished, the two choruses harangued each other with taunts and threats. Various characters appealed to the gods above, the so-called Super Delegates to come down from the heavens and bring an end to the story.

Act III is now upon us. Senator Obama's message of hope isn't so fresh now, nor is Senator Clinton's husband, who should really be given a role in the satyr plays that go on in between acts rather than be allowed to continually and badly upstage his wife's message.

The Voters have been polled, sliced and diced and divided into categories that are supposed to fall in line on one side or the other. Bitter white older women vs young educated men along with racial and economic divisions. Therefore, the chorus members have changed masks, donning new ones that represent the various voter demographics for this final act. Emotions run high, as each chorus threatens to leave the stage and not participate in the democratic voting process should the opposing candidate win.

I can't predict the outcome of this final act. I have an ending in mind but whether the actors in this drama will choose it is not at all clear. I'm still rooting for a resolution that doesn't lead to tragedy in the fall. For remember, Greek plays most often were presented in trilogy format. (You can bet those ancient play-goers took along something soft to place on the hard stone seats at the amphitheatre.) So after the Primary play, we will be faced with the General Election play, to be followed by The First Four Years of a new regime.

Save our river -- from ourselves!

In the PBS documentary The Return of the Cuyahoga, we see a lot of positive actions all along the river, as citizens work to restore it to health. The film takes on the old "mistake by the lake" designation along with the metaphor of the burning river to show the progress that has been made on restoring the Cuyahoga river to health.

From vacuuming the surface of the shipping lanes to banning factories from dumping waste to restoring the headlands and the tributaries, the documentary is full of determined NE Ohioans working to bring a river back from the dead.

There are still some unsolved problems, including the Gorge dam in the Falls, still the object of conflict between an energy company and environmentalists. And the river, downstream of Akron, still receives human and industrial waste when rain and run-off water overwhelm the Akron combined sewers.

Note that this is the same sewer system that our mayor wants to sell to a private company to run. Buyer beware! As for Akronites, do we really want to continue sending everything we flush into the Cuyahoga? Or are we going to continue to pretend once it leaves the bowl it's not our problem?

If you missed the documentary, go here to order the DVD from PBS and visit the documentary's web site. Meanwhile, here's a clip:

Glorious spring!

Spring has sprung in my garden. Today the lilacs opened up with their intoxicating perfume, and next to it the pink dogwood went from tiny little nubs to full out bloom in the matter of a mere two days.

Ferns are popping up all over the shade garden, along with hosta leaves, columbine, and a bleeding heart just going into bloom. The tulips are almost past their peak, and the white and blue violets are artfully carpeting the stone borders of the beds.

I bought some pansies at Giant Eagle. noting how much more expensive they are this season. I expect that will be the way of it in every garden store this growing season. This might be a good year to divide some overgrown perennials and trade with other gardeners.

I did my first mowing today. I prefer shrubs, flower and vegetable space more than great vast expanses of lawn, so I don't need anything more than a push mower and an electric weed whacker.

The compost bin was ready for some attention today. I raked up some leaves that had been sheltering various plants over the winter and layered them over all the food scraps and coffee grounds. Which reminds me, someone asked me to plug their compost bin web site. I haven't had any need to look for a new compost bin since the Rubbermaid model I've been using for over ten years is holding up very nicely. However, I did visit the compost bin site and marveled at the wide array of types and sizes. The latest models on display here include some that can supposedly handle pet waste. I'd want to check into them a little more thoroughly before buying one, as I didn't think one could safely turn dog and cat waste into usable compost.

And finally, for something completely different in the way of growing your own produce, check out the Science Barge now docking in Manhattan. Can't you picture some of these going up and down the Ohio Canal each summer?

Friday Night Kick Back: London Song

A lovely collage of sights and scenes of Kinkdom in "London Song," an affectionate haunting view of the "dark passages and alleyways of London" by Ray Davies, first recorded on The Storyteller album.

This fan-created video nicely illustrates the places and characters that populate the song, including William Blake, Max Wall and the Kray Twins (very dangerous people, the Kray Twins!) With some views of the Clissold Arms too! Enjoy...

Behind the scenes at the Hannah this Saturday

SNOOP! Around Town

go behind the scenes at the Hanna Theatre

Join us for our next captivating SNOOP! this Saturday, April 26, when CRS members will sneak behind the scenes for a hard hat tour of the Hanna Theatre renovation project. The theatre, now more than 80 years old, was built in 1921 by Daniel Rhodes Hanna in memory of his father, U.S. Senator Marcus Alonzo Hanna. The first show was a performance of Mark Twain's 'The Prince and The Pauper,' staring William Faversham. In more recent years, the Hanna has been home to musicals, comedy acts and cabarets and will open again following the renovation as the new home of the Great Lakes Theater Festival. Meet us under the marquee at 11:00 a.m. for the tour and learn what's in store for the historic Hanna.

Please note - this event has been changed to include the theatre tour only. Guests are invited to arrange any additional activities independently following the SNOOP!

As always, this SNOOP! is free for Cleveland Restoration Society members. RSVP to Erin Dorsey. Not a member? Take advantage of a special $15 introductory membership rate to join the Cleveland Restoration Society and then you, too, can SNOOP!

Photo by Hugh Fisher

The Cleveland Restoration Society gratefully acknowledges the citizens of Cuyahoga County for their support through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.

Cleveland Restoration Society

In the waning moments of Earth Day...

...we are more mindful of lights that actually need to be on and those that don't.

There were two "official" hours for turning off your lights today. From 8 to 9 AM, schools and businesses were encouraging their employees to work in half the usual light for one hour. I turned off all the classroom lights and invited my first period class to go outside to pick up litter. We netted four bags full in little over 30 minutes. Sadly, we covered only the north end of the school property. There are many more bags of trash left to collect, I"m sure.

The students began to notice just what ends up as litter, as they came upon many familiar wrappers that contain lunch or snack items. We all noted the ubiquity of plastic bags and how they wrap themselves around branches, weeds, and fences.

We talked about what was recyclable and what would end up in a landfill. Many of the students were already aware of the Lights Out Akron campaign and talked about continuing the effort during the evening time slot between 8 - 9 PM.

I actually began Lights Out much earlier, falling asleep during the non-stop blab fest prior to the Pennsylvania primary returns. Unfortunately, I therefore wasn't awake to turn the TV off at 8 PM. But at least I conscious effort to participate, unlike First Energy.

Talkin' Trash for Earth Week

What's the trashiest place you've seen in Akron?

In addition to Summit Lake, I also nominate Russell Ave., the stretch that runs from Dart to Manchester Rd along the expressway. Looking at all the plastic bags, fast food detritus, and other assorted garbage makes me think of New Jersey. Yes, the so-called Garden State, which I happened to be in over spring break. There I saw the worst litter I've seen in decades, going back to before Lady Bird's Highway beautification movement.

The pictures above is of a stretch of road just off the highway in an industrial area close to Newark International Airport. The trash was so thick if you walked through it you'd need wading boots. Tires, rubble, plastic, paper -- you name it, it was there. Below, note the white spirals clinging to the chain link fence. They are formed from plastic bags that the wind wrapped around wire that is stuck in the fence. Not my idea of modern art. I wouldn't call it post-modern -- I'd call it an ugly display of a world drowning in plastic.

Instead of waiting for some group to gather to pick up trash this week, why not go out and tackle an ugly spot on your own or with a couple friends. Keep Akron Beautiful!

Orchid updates

Last summer, I purchased some orchids via Ebay and wrote about them here. My Lady Macbeth paphiopedilum made it through the winter and sent up two enormous blooms at once. I must be doing something right!

She has enough dark red spots on both blooms to make even Teller happy!

Here's a photo showing the entire plant. To the right and rear of the paph is a phalaenopsis that continues to hang in there but hasn't bloomed in four years.

At Donzell's yesterday, I walked into the orchid area intending just to gawk. Prices there can be more than I care to spend. But they were having an orchid clearance and I walked out of there with a ten dollar orchid in full bloom! It is a D. Makariki Blue. But the flower is more lavender than blue as you can see in the following picture. I'm not complaining -- the plant itself looks healthy and gives me hope for the dendobrium I bought last summer that still hasn't bloomed yet.

I came across a really neat orchid blog called The Orchid Chronicles. Rafael grows his orchids in Canada and his latest post asks the question, should one put orchids outside for the summer? Find out the answer here.

How to start your own theatre

In one easy workshop, this weekend with a guy who has started a very successful one here in Akron -- Sean McConaha of The Bang and the Clatter Theatre, soon to debut its Cleveland franchise (see below). Here are the details lifted directly from NEOhioPAL:


How to Start a Theatre

Instructor: Sean McConaha
One Session
Saturday, April 19, 2008, 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Fee: $25

Have you ever wondered how The Bang and the Clatter Theatre Company went from a small Akron upstart to a creative force in the theatre community of Northeast Ohio. Spend a couple of hours with Co-Managing/Artistic Director Sean McConaha and hear the whole story of how they started and what brought them to Downtown Cleveland's 4th Street.

This workshop brought to you by:

Fairmount Center for the Arts, School of Theatre
Fred Sternfeld, director

Fairmount's School of Theatre, under the direction of Fred Sternfeld, offers workshops for theatre students of all ages in a wide range of exciting theatre programming.

All workshops will be held in our garden-level workshops and in the theatre at our Cuyahoga Central Campus in the Mayfield Village Performing Arts Center right off of I-271

6622 Wilson Mills Rd. at the corner of Wilson Mills and SOM Center Rd. (Ohio Rt. 91)

To register, call the Fairmount Center at 440-338-3171 or register online

______________________________________The Bang and the Clatter - Sometimes in the Silence... Theatre Company inaugurates their new downtown Cleveland theatre space with Neil Labute's THIS IS HOW IT GOES. Directed by Fred Sternfeld, starring Douglas Kusak, Michael May, Leighann Niles DeLorenzo and Rachel Zake. April 18 - May 10, 2008. 330-606-5317.

______________________________________
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Mental Detox Week approaches

Originally Turn Off Your Television Week, Mental Detox Week bids us let go of all the electronic gadgetry including cell phones, Blackberries, iPods, not to mention all computer related activities.

7 Days without blogging? And how can one exist without email or cell phones? Who is up for that? I like the idea, but I don't think I have what it takes to turn off and tune out for 7 days.

Besides, blogging is not mentally toxic. At least, not for me it isn't. Blogging is a mental stimulant as well as a form of self-discipline. It doesn't deplete, rather it enriches. I like it too much to give it up for 7 days. Television, however, might be much easier to give up. Especially since the DVR recording option can hold onto anything I might want to see. Is that cheating? I'm not sure. But 7 days away from the tube might be a good thing to try. I'll let you know how it goes.

What bloody magician is this?

In Washington, D.C. for spring break, we were astounded by an unforgettable performance of Macbeth at the Folger Theatre. This production is now officially over, so I can write about the magic without ruining anything for anybody. Co-directed Aaron Posner and Teller (the small silent half of Penn and Teller, stage magicians and hosts of the Showtime series, Bullshit), this Macbeth made full authentic use of Teller's craft as magician without ever giving the audience the sense of "oh this is all gimmick" without substance.

At the top of the show, the house manager appeared to read a statement on the use of special effects in this production. As she read from her paper, two actors casually approached from each side and once upon her, stabbed her through the back so that the sword came right through her paper, gushing spurts of blood and then -- blackout! Let the violence and bloodshed begin!

An enormous loud and physical battle ensued with thrilling stage combat lead us into the opening speech, "What bloody man is this...?" Upstage, a percussionist provided an underscore of "sound and fury" as needed. The setting was spare and prison-like. The costumes were evocative but not replicas of medieval thanes and Scottish soldiers, not quite so obviously adapted from modern clothing.

I can't count all the times I've seen Macbeth, I've directed a kid version and played First Witch back in college days. The acting and the directing in this production were revelatory. I heard lines and understood scenes in ways I had never considered. There were times that the words startled me so that I wanted to reach for the script to marvel at the interpretation I'd just witnessed.

And then there was Teller's magic. In press releases and interviews, he has discussed the legacy he received from his grandfather, a complete works of Shakespeare that immediately fascinated him, especially the play Macbeth. He has thought about this production for decades -- an admirable approach to creating a work of theatrical art! The magic emerged with the story and the words in ways I'm sure Shakespeare would have delighted in as would his audiences at the Globe.

The play is full of opportunities for mis-direction, levitation, and astonishing appearances. At one point, a witch is grabbed as she tries to exit, and is stabbed through the clothing. The clothing falls to the floor -- the body within vanished! The dagger Macbeth sees, levitates inside a mirror, twisting,turning and luring Macbeth on to his bloody deed. Banquo's apparition appears so convincingly and suddenly, we think we are wise to how it happened, but when he reappears again, we are completely fooled again.

Teller's blog gives details from behind the scenes, of rehearsals and the process. You can find it here. Evidently the composition of the blood was not easy to formulate. They wanted something that was not realistic yet startling in its redness. Certainly I have never seen a bloodier nightgown than in this version's sleep walking scene.

Merrill Peakes and Kate Eastwood Norris gave strong and believable not to mention earthy performances as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The witches were played by men, which was my only real quibble. There are so few women's roles in most Shakespeare plays I hate to see them cut out of the wonderfully weird three sisters parts. I'll give the the male actors their due -- they were riveting. They chose to chant the "double double toil and trouble" speeches in a very dynamic rapid rhythm which was very effective. An image of these witches is shown above, borrowed from the Folger's web page. If you love Shakespeare, the Folger Library is THE place for scholarly research not only in this country but around the world.

The Folger theatre is an intimate 250 seat space built to resemble an Elizabethan Inn courtyard where outdoor performances were played on platforms at one end of the courtyard, with balconies and surrounding ground space used for the audience. Richly timbered with oak, the Folger is an evocative yet adaptive playing field for Shakespeare, Sheridan and other classic playwrights. Next season it will feature two Shakespeare plays plus Tom Stoppard's Arcadia. If Macbeth is representative of what the Folger gives to its audiences, it would be well worth it to buy a season ticket and make plans to take some train rides down for the shows.

Ray Davies at the Beacon Theatre Part 2

(For Part 1, go here.) Finally got round to looking at the rather lame phone-captured pics from the NYC Ray Davies' concert. As you can almost see -- at the Beacon it was:

Ray Davies
Tonight Soldout

Nothing I took inside was any good. I didn't bring my digital camera because I thought security would be tight, but instead it was a do-what-you-like kind of night inside that theatre. Great pics can be found on Flikr and elsewhere. Another blogger (a professor of taxation!) was there and posts commentary and a pic.

I hear recordings are going the rounds already. Here's a link to a site that hosts the Philadelphia Tower Theatre show. Scroll down the left side to find the Ray Davies mp3 concert.

Number One Fan FranK attended the entire tour, handing out goodies to all members of the Kinks Preservation Society. I was glad to get another fresh bumper sticker, as the one on my vehicle has been there since the mid 90s -- and looks it! I'm saving the God Save Ray Davies sticker for whatever vehicle I might purchase next. Preferably some form of transportation that runs on something non-toxic and is made from sustainable materials like this.

Thinking back on the concert, I found myself responding to the music with deep reflection on matters personal, both past and present. Working Man's Cafe will always be linked in my mind to my dad. I wrote about it here and showed my dad. It made him very pleased, although he really didn't care for Ray's vocals. Couldn't catch all the words, and commented that the crooners of old -- you could always understand them. Ah well YouTube does nothing for one's diction. Months later, when dad was in the hospital for what would be his final day, the Morphine Song kept rolling round in my head as I sat staring at the diminishing vitals accompanied by the drip drip of the drug that must be so powerful it can rid one of all pain and fear at the end.

Ray's tribute to his dad was an especially poignant moment for me, and 20th Century Man is one of my all time favorite Kinks songs. Class divisions continue to wrap in and around the lyrics of his recent songs. I was glad to hear The Tourist and Vietnam Cowboys, both odes to the excesses of consumerism and globalization:

Mass production in Saigon
While auto workers laid off in Cleveland
Hot jacuzzi in Taiwan
With empty factories in Birmingham
Now it's baby boomers in Hong Kong
And cowboys in Vietnam
Making their movies ...

Catching up with the Village Reader

We're back from adventuring to the East Coast and somehow need to find a way back into regular blogging habits. After slogging through tons of email and attempting to get through the backlog of blog posts the Google Reader, I've got some highlights to share here:

Aphra Behn has a good long rant about "quacktitioners" proposing a theory that women choose alternative therapies to get that "me time" so lacking in visits to medical doctors.

Good4Girls is organizing donations of reusable cloth menstrual pads for girls in African countries. Perhaps you've seen the ads on TV promoting a certain commercial disposable menstrual product's charity donations to help keep young African girls in school. Great thought, but not exactly environmentally friendly. Good4Girls has the answer and many people are sewing hand-made re-usable pads to donate to the cause. They also have many links to sites that show you how to sew your own reusable pads. This site, for example.

Beth of Fake Plastic Fish has some tips on brewing coffee without involving anything plastic.

Metaefficient has pictures and news about the first ever installed tidal turbine that produces clean energy from beneath the sea.

Thanks to TalkLeft for leading us to this Washington Post story on Obama's major big money backers.

On the other hand, The Playgoer gives us a very good reason to support Obama -- the candidate's words on arts and education are quoted in this post.

Michael Shermer reviews Expelled in Scientific-American online.

And in today's ABJ, news that Countywide landfill has struck a deal with the EPA to cap and cover a portion of its smelly landfill. Environmental reporter Bob Downing reports:

The agency and Republic Services Inc., the Florida firm that owns the Countywide Recycling & Disposal Facility, announced a negotiated agreement to install the cap at the 258-acre landfill in Pike Township.

And I wonder what is the point of an EPA if it has to "negotiate" agreements for actions that affect public health? Downing points out that no clear timetable for installing the cap is included in the agreement.

One More Time with Ray Davies (at the Beacon Theatre in NYC)

On the way to the concert this evening, I took along the latest New Yorker to read on the train from NJ. One man's reflection on mortality and end of life issues put me in a very gloomy frame of mind. The writer, Michael Kinsley, is my age. He writes of baby boomers facing the final elbow, and how no matter how much we work to extend our little lives, the odds are relentless. If you want to check it out, the article is online here.

The marquee at the Beacon Theatre announced: Ray Davies -- Sold Out! Underneath, a large crowd of mostly boomer-types mingled and buzzed. Still under the influence of Kinsley's meditation and the over-powering production of Macbeth I saw this past weekend, I entered the theatre acutely aware of the receding hairlines, the crinkles and crevices of age, and the stiffening spines of my fellow boomers.

Good heavens! How old is Ray now and how many years have we all been showing up for his shows? And can we really continue to believe that "you and me last forever -- all day and all of the night!"

Inside finally, and I feel comforted by a glorious old theatre with a carved and gilt covered early 20th century proscenium carefully preserved and now framing speakers, mic stands and guitars all ready for the show. A sudden darkening of the lights and suddenly, there he is, like so many times before. Front and center, music about to begin. My heart goes thump along with the opening chords -- it is one of my favorite anthems -- I'm Not Like Everybody Else. The audience goes wild, the aging boomers are young once again. We shriek and bob and sing along.

The show was more than I every could expect. Ray fed off the audience's energy and vice versa. We all sang every song, even the new ones. This was a dedicated audience. The set list is as follows (as best as I could scribble it down in the dark):

I'm Not Like Everybody Else
Where Have All the Good Times Gone?
Well Respected Man
Til the End of the Day
After the Fall
Dead End Street
The Tourist
20th Century Man (dedicated to his dad, "a socialist far left of Lenin")
Working Man's Cafe

Intermission. Kinky story: the restrooms were down stairs below orchestra level. For the first time in my life, the men's line was ten times longer than the women's! All the women were laughing about it, as we zipped round the long line of men. One said, well there never were very many women at Kinks concerts. Another said, too many older guys drinking too much beer!.

After the interval, Ray started solo with some songs from the new album:

In a Moment
One More Time
Vietnam Cowboys
The Real World (which is about a young woman Harvard grad who found herself tending bar in New Orleans)
Real World
No One Listens

Then he tossed in the rarely performed Fancy, followed by
Sunny Afternoon
Come Dancing
So Tired
Set Me Free
All Day and All of the Night

And then all these as encores:

Low Budget (This made me extraordinarily happy!)
Waterloo Sunset
Lola
Days
Imaginary Man
Victoria

Forgive me if I left anything out. I expect a complete set list will be posted at the Unofficial Kinks Web Site.

I took some pictures and will try to get some up once I'm home from vacation along with more thoughts and reflections.

Needless to say, I left the theatre in a far better mood than the one I had entering it. Ray had the answer for all the reflections upon mortality I had been drawn into. He said, "As long as I'm alive, I'll be writing songs."

As long as I'm alive, I'll be listening. Thanks Ray!

Countywide landfill stinks, residents get no relief

In today's Akron Beacon Journal, Bob Downing has yet another story on the notorious Stark landfill known as Countywide. I've discussed it on more than one occasion over the course of the past year. (Check here and here and here.)

In this latest story, residents continue to complain about the stench from this landfill -- only this time workers were not drilling or shifting garbage around, activities that generally produce additional odors. So what is causing the problem?

The article gives no clear reason, and officials have no answers. However, this passage is ominous:

[EPA Staffer] Princic also reported that the company has installed four special wells to remove excessive liquids from the landfill, although it will take several months to determine if that step will help solve the problems.

The company is having problems getting the pumps to work because of the corrosive nature of the leachate or liquid, he said.

That must be really nasty stuff down there peculating beneath the trash -- so nasty it eats away at the pumping equipment!

But odors may be the least of the problems for persons unlucky enough to be living near this toxic site:

The company has also submitted a proposed plan on dealing with airborne toxic chemicals including dioxins and furans, both cancer-causing pollutants, and the Ohio EPA is reviewing those plans, he said.

The EPA is also continuing to investigate how solid waste and liquid came to be outside the lined area on the landfill's southern slope, he said.

I have to wonder -- is Countywide representative of the typical US landfill? If so, how much longer can the human race survive as it continues to pollute its habitat?

Food Court Musical

Here's your Friday night musical theatre fun:

First crocus and first review

Here's the first bloom in my garden this spring. Inside, two buds on the Lady Macbeth paph orchid are beginning to open. Photos to follow as soon as they are in full display.

If you want to know what I've been up to lately, go here and read Kerry Clawson's blog. We all thank her for the review. She also has Bang and the Clatter news for those who have been wondering how the franchise has been developing now in Cleveland as well as Akron.
Good to have Kerry back looking at theatre and writing about it once more.