Fleetski

 

  new signage

Robin VanLear is the artistic director of Community Arts at Cleveland Art Museum. To-day she had people marching in the Polish Constitution Parade. The final unit of the parade was five walking orange traffic barrels. I can bet Gus Chan has a foto in the daily paper's picture spread on line. Fleet is now finally completed, it was completely ripped up, and prior to that in bad, bad shape. Now, the City of Cleveland has declared it the first green street, and to-day to show it off for Polish Constitution Day [May 3rd] it had the return of the parade.

I have vegangelical relatives, one had a birthday party yesterday with vegan doughnuts, and vegan wieners. This is a good foto from to-day's parade of lady butchers, who have opened a new shoppe in a building that long held a butcher shop. Much of Fleet's business has left over the last few years.

Of Cleveland's several parades and festivals, there are groups that are fun units to see. This group of alpacas have joined the queue. Others include the Chinese Dragon troupe, andsometimes Cleveland Art Museum.

I could not get the words out, but i asked Robin VanLear what was the cultural antecedent of these masks. Time was short, and i did not get all the details; but bush cow masks from Bantu West Africa through a poet from Bahama?/Barbados?

I jokingly asked are these for May Day, International Labor Day? People did not know what i was talking about.

colorful Easter at St.Stanislaus

 

Baron Trumphausen

In high school, we translated chapters from The Tales of Baron Münchhausen, a fictionalised account of the ridiculous stories of an 18th century German nobleman who was an officer in the Russian army. Here is a cartoon from Croatia by Nik Titanik:

Reporting Aliens

Hey Jefferson B. S., there is a group of teenagers from Rigel 5 running amuck at the end of the street.

southern white electorate

In 1874 a paramilitary group, Crescent City White League, battled the New Orleans police. In 1891 an obelisk went up to celebrate the conflict. For many years the inscription:

"McEnery and Penn having been elected governor and lieutenant-governor by the white people were duly installed by this overthrow of carpetbag government, ousting the usurpers, Governor Kellogg (white) and Lieutenant-Governor Antoine (colored). United States troops took over the state government and reinstated the usurpers but the national election of November 1876 recognized white supremacy in the South and gave us our state."

was visible.

This monument has been removed from public view this week, in the dark hours of the day, with workers dressed in police armour. The foto shows part of the wording. This is the attitude of the great majority of the southern white electorate and their supporters. This is American conservatism. This is the tea party, these are the trumpsters.

golf

The golf links lie so near the mill
That almost every day
The laboring children can look out
And see the men at play.
—Sarah Norcliffe Cleghorn

I grew poor in the urban working class. My attraction to golf was negative. I was surprised there was a golf team in high school. In my thirties and forties, i worked construction. On at least one job, Harvey Penick's Little Red Book on golf was commented on, and borrowed.

diocesan gall

Y'no, here, recently, repeatedly, permission for parish improvements had to be begged for. The parish had to beg the bishop's office to spend its own money. Artwork on the domes, and other internal surfaces of churches suffered water damage, which attacked paint, plaster, masonry. Churches with artwork were demolished. To-day, i see this in a local church bulletin:

Clericalism has no respect for the masses.

Cleveland Marches for Science

just past 11am, Science Defiant begin their advance through Cleveland

Throughout the world people marched for the cause of reason and science. The catalyst of this presentation was the power and ignorance of Donald Trump, who by absurdity is the president of the most powerful country in the world. He is a charlatan that promotes greed, and particularly the greed of those that bankroll the Republican Party. The local daily, Cleveland Plain Dealer, had their editorial roundtable voice their opinions beforehand. Ted Diadun, who now gets extra space to fill the asinine gap made by the retirement of Kevin O'Brien, wrote that this is just an anti-Trump thing, so as to dismiss its relevancy. Even if, that was so, it would still be relevant, because pro-Trump demonstrations are noted; but it is just a smear. Some people (not just those who make a living from science related activities) care, respect, and value science. In German, the word is „Wissenschaft”, which literally is closer to “knowledge craft”. To degrade science is to be aggressively ignorant, or confidently stupid.

In Cleveland Ohio on Earth Day, the marchers took twenty minutes while packed curb to kerb in close quarters to all pass. I would not be surprised if that was more than 10,000 people and a score of dogs. Practically everyone was a marcher to-day, police were bored, crowds of spectators were absent. No lab coat drill team, sad.

many photographed this girl dressed as Muppet Beaker, and other cities had their Beakers too

There were so many enthusiastic people, with clever signs, enjoying humanity, and being actively optimistic for a positive redress. Many photographs, and very little time to pose or snap them.

and Seuss' Lorax was often quoted

  #ScienceMarchCLE #Ω

not a bookshelf

April 23rd is International Day of the Book. That is Saint George's Day. April 23rd (on different calendars) is the date of Shakespeare's and Cervantes' death in 1616. 

I have mentioned this before, take a foto of one of your bookshelves and send it to people. On the Cleveland Heights side of Larchmere on the outside of a bookstore there is a mural of forty-nine books. Not actual books, notice gas meter above, and electrical condulet cover in the top half of the art deco book.

'deep state'

 

The crazy is strong with this one. Now in my retirement, i try to pass so to see this billboard that faces a public library. It is Earth Day soon, and in some years past a sign went up against it. The sign was beyond loony, and with couple cans of spinach, it is still not too late. And then there is stupid, which causes more damage than evil does. Evil can be dealt with, understood, and bought off; and in America the dollar rules. The mouthfoamers who act as agents provocateurs to millions, when caught in court will say they are performers to excuse their evil political actions; but their obedient, stupid listeners will have done great harm. Recently, Steve Bannon (Trump's political brain?) has pushed 'deep state' conspiracy, which is a new one to the public. Here, in Cleveland, it is painted on a billboard, on a main thoroughfare. O, and then there is hypocrisy, this sign painter is not criticising Sarah Palin, Kellyanne Conway, or any of the bimbos on Faux News.

wear and tear in the graveyards

Storm damage, a large limb broke off and toppled the angel statue. Calvary Cleveland.

Iron will bend when hit by a motor vehicle. St. Joseph Cleveland

shopping cart and war memorial 23º Ohio in the War for the Union, Woodland Cleveland

2017 Miscellany #1

 Annunciation Greek Orthodox and the three tallest buildings in Cleveland

 2 fotos after Palm Sunday Slovene Mass St. Mary Collinwood

 Waterloo Road Cleveland Collinwood outside Slovene Workmen's Home

Holy Triduum St. Stanislaus Cleveland

Easter Monday—Polish American style

 Polka in the Streets

Easter Monday is a holiday in many countries. In Poland, to-day is wet Monday, or Śmigus-dyngus. In the villages, the boys throw/squirt water on the girls on Monday, and the favor is returned on Tuesday. Pussy willows are used to hit each other, and the party goes on.

In Cleveland, this is the seventh year of public celebration. Cleveland has followed Buffalo's lead in this. Here in Cleveland, later in the day there is a Miss Dyngus Day contest, and a parade. The main area is W. 58th and Detroit, where the street is closed for the first time, and some other celebrating in Ohio City and Tremont. A few blocks of Detroit Road are filled with people.

 

Good Friday Procession

 from La Sagrada Familia, and on to St. Stephen, and St. Michael Cleveland

Art created to be beautiful is then used underfoot

 Alfombras de Semana Santa at Parroquia La Sagrada Familia Cleveland 

In the Catholic world there are many customs. In Central America these sidewalk carpets are made of flowers and other material, sort of like the Rose Parade in Pasadena California. The climate of Cleveland prevents this, so here it is colored sawdust, sand, and flour.

On Good Friday, these carpets (alfombras) get trod on. The top two fotos are before noon, people are waiting to step off. This year, the procession starts at La Sagrada Familia, and takes a new route to St. Stephen, and then to St. Michael. The police maintained traffic one way. The procession went down Detroit, and then turned on West 65th [see next post].

The pastor of the parish, Fr. Robert Reidy brought the carpet custom to the neighborhood. It is the fourth year, and participation has increased. The procession has been of long standing.

Two of the alfombras, before and after.