preparing the carpets

Las Alfombras de Semana Santa, a cartouche is drawn on plastic, and then colored sawdust and/or sand are applied until complete.

This is one of the annual events i enjoy to see each year. I am saddened more people do not see this art and devotion. An earlier pastor, Fr. Reidy, brought this Meso-American cultural celebration to La Sagrada Familia. He is now at a parish in Brook Park, and they did one here.

Click previous years: 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022

Some are made by an individual. This one a Guatemalan family did.

The Virgin of Guadalupe is a favorite subject. Here she comforts Pope Francis.

John and Karma came last year with Cassius.

There are five rows this year. Not shown is a partitioned area for the repose of the Sacrament on Holy Thursday.

In the sanctuary the vesting for Sorrowful Mother for to-morrow Black Friday.

Richmond Greyhounds

Well, there is a teevee show on cable that is now celebrated, Ted Lasso. Recently some of the actors were invited by our President to the White House in recognition for discussing mental health. So, i just finished watching the first two seasons (22 episodes); and then the first three episodes of season 3. A recurring theme is the psychic damage a problematic father does to a child.

Now, the locale is an English soccer team, Richmond Greyhounds. At the beginning of the second season, the mascot Earl Greyhound is killed by a penalty kick. In the last episode of the season, there is a new mascot, Macy Greyhound. She has a helmet.

Now, humour is spliced in with history. Edmund Tudor was made Earl of Richmond in 1452. His posthumous son was Henry, who later became King Henry VII. His mother was Margaret Beaufort, whose family's badge was a white greyhound.

John from Warren County Ohio, a participant of jousting teams, was wearing this tunic of Henry Tudor, in Cleveland last summer.

There is a lot of dialogue in the show, many references to music and film. Some the Anglais understand, and some not. Corn in the Field of Dreams was not in their ken. Football (soccer) does not have the magnitude in the US as it has in most of the world. Also, the Britisher lexicon is not the American. So the American in London is comically misplaced. So i read in the Los Angeles Times, and the Athletic that the programme is not popular in Britain. To be honest some terms used in the one country, are known to be used in the other (but in different frequency). I know their are Anglais who object to Americanisms. Some Briticisms are good, but not all. The mandatory use of 'nil', and 'pitch' are not necessary. There are a certain group of East London, Essex, and Estuary English that abuse my ears. Cleveland had a college basketball coach from Boston, he was painful to hear. I do not go back and watch episodes again, but Sudeikis' accent was a little grating. I was surprised, he was from Kansas City. And i never want to hear anyone say "ya'll". The British cast is uniformly excellent, another reason i was surprised of the meager reception in Britain. Waddingham and Goldstein deserve their Emmy statuettes.

It is stated in the series, that it is to be on for three seasons. The team is delegated, the team is promoted, the team wins the championship. Reading the episode summaries, the show reads like a soap opera. 

But noticing, how many times a character is forgiven, hints are offered for further resolutions. There is a lego set, and Henry Lasso asks why is Nate separated from the other characters. Immediately, Ted puts toy Nate next to toy Ted. Nate has gone to the dark side. He is manager of another club, whose owner is the former owner (Rupert Mannion) of the Greyhounds, and former husband to the new owner of the Greyhounds. Nate betrayed Ted, and his team's owners office is like the emperor's in Star Wars. Nate has gone to the dark side, they both wear black. Rupert and Nate enjoy being evil by delighting in causing pain. This is not a religious show, but prodigals (Jamie) have been forgiven.

There is a lot of crying in the show, i'm ok with that, but there is too much soap opera. Rebecca (Waddingham) hires Ted, and sets him up for failure. Slowly she is won over by Ted. They come to care for each other, both are betrayed by their former spouses; although Ted has forgiven his wife a year and an half before he finds out. Will they live happily ever after? About hints again, Rebecca is told by a psychic that she will be a mother.

Getting back to the bad fathers: Jamie, Rebecca, Nate, Phoebe (niece of Roy Kent, who may very well have had a bad father) had bad fathers. Ted had a good father, but we find out his father killed himself when Ted was sixteen, and that was not forgivable. So Ted has mental problems of anxiety, panic, loneliness, and abandonment. Roy is a father to Phoebe. Jamie and Roy hate each other, and then Roy sees Jamie's father, and Roy becomes Jamie's father. I can only remember that Sam the Nigerian ball player having a good relationship with his father.

________________

postscriptum 7 April 2023: watched the 4th episode of the third season. Nate showed a glimmer of recognition that he was way, way rude to Ted. He did not notice he refused to shake his hand.  Also, checked imdb, only Ted is in all 34 episodes according to imdb. A character named Disco is listed for the final episode, he is Nate's assistant.

2023 Miscellany #5

at Upper Edgewater one of the snapshot script Cleveland signs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

eared grebes compared to Canadian geese

song sparrow

mourning dove on fence

Do  you remember the secret agent, Secret Squirrel (voiced by Mel Blanc) mid 1960s?

the waters of Amos, and the ditches of Dante

 “But judgment shall be revealed as water, and justice as a mighty torrent.” — Amos v. 24. DR

Cleveland Jewish Center in 1920, now Cory Methodist Church 

Amos (fl. 8ᵗʰC. BC) was one of the Twelve Minor Prophets, his day on the Roman Calendar is the 31ˢᵗ of March.  His book is remembered for beauty of language.  Justice, and behaving justly was a major theme.  This image of Justice as flowing water makes for an excellent inscription for fountains.  One such fountain is in Montgomery Alabama from 1989.  Civil Rights Memorial at Southern Poverty Law Center had Maya Lin as the architect.  She is remembered for the Vietnam War Monument in the District of Columbia.  Martin Luther King Jr. knew, and used this verse.  He alluded to it in the “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. Water is necessary for life, justice is necessary.

“But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.” — Amos v. 24. KJV 

Sometimes justice can be viewed in the manner some look at change.  First, by little drabs and drips, then all at once. 

Of course, i bring this up in regards to Orange Caligula. It is so beyond amazing that Cadet Bonespurs has skated away on everything. Donnie the name caller-in-chief is a conman, a grifter, and though very successful at it, Spanky Combover is not adept, nor a smooth bag of fumes and odors. Agolf Twitler is extremely, obnoxiously, loud, and naked in his performance. Trumple-thin-skin is an horrible creature, psychiatrists diagnose him a malignant narcissist. Treason Covefe's chief talent is finding compliant, and evil minions. Comrade Clown's greatest ability in business is to fail, and to cheat everyone, and to live to do so continuously. Circus Peanut Mussolini has had three teachers: his evil father Fred; the political propagandist, anti-Catholic bigot, claptrap gibberish of “positive thinking” preacher Norman Vincent Peale; and the diabolic, vicious, shyster lawyer Roy Cohn. Here is the most astounding thing, Dolt 45 is stupid, and hjuuuudjlly ignorant. What is his secret? The only thing i can fathom is Cheato Merdalordo is under special protection of the Devil.

Beginning with the XVIIIᵗʰ canto of Dante's “Inferno” is the eighth circle of Hell——Malebolge, the evil ditches. It is the circle of fraud, and it continues to canto XXX. “Inferno” has XXXIV cantos. There is much punishment for fraud in Hell. There are ten ditches there, the second part of the first one is for flatterers. Line 116 in XVIII, “vidi un col capo sì di merda lordo, (i saw a head so filthy with shit,)”, and i discern _____.

 

Giovanni Stradano [Jan van der Straet]. “The Flatterers”. 1587.

some introspection

Well, a goodly percentage of the posts of this journal in the first few years concerned the fight to keep parishes open. I had a part, not an important part, but i did chronicle it. I have no regret in what i did within the movement. The actions were right, but if i had a choice now to go back in time, i would not have involved myself. I gave up time and opportunities, overall i was hurt by my involvement. A few people i journeyed with are now dead, it has not been a long time. Now after the parishes were re-established, like in other battles, some of those now there had no part in the fight. What sickens me is the large amount of people, who are in the churches now (including some of those i journeyed with) have abhorrent views, and are fundamentally, ethically, extremely compromised—no one can be a Christian, and believe as a trumpster does.

I am glad, i went to see stuff that are/were yearly events. They are both internally repetitive, and serial. Opportunity allows time to experience both initially and again, while the missing of any particular occurrence is not unknowing of the experience. Over time the event may lessen or disappear, so having seen it before is better than this or the next time. 

I took fotos of buildings, that since have been demolished and levelled over. From ancient civilisations we have extant buildings. They built for permanence. America builds for the moment, and that moment is for cash now. The United States has become the most disposable culture. Here locally, school district after school district wants to raze down buildings, and raise up other ones. They and others, including tenants of stadiums, whine about the useful life of the structures has passed. They want new monuments for themselves, paid by others. So get out your cameras early for about everything, because it could be gone soon. That is also true of public art. Weather erodes art, especially when cheap materials are used. Then there is the fickleness of ownership. "Well, that did not last long", can often be said.

About the choice of focus on this journal: i have gone down several avenues. I thought, and still do, that i have a voice worth hearing. Largely, i have not been successful. America seems to prefer particularists, rather than generalists. If i chose one field, such as hockey, and wrote well on it, i might have had a greater audience. Many people are narrowly focused, and unforgiving of remarks they disapprove of, and do not want other topics discussed.

wild, wild hair

New hair parlor in Lakewood painted an outside wall, comic book style of a California beach girl. Reminds me of Roy Lichtenstein, but without the dots. It's simple and bold. It looks young, and free. Long flowing hair advertises a hair parlor well. The length would not be due to the beautician, but the various painted streaks would. Put on the Beach Boys album, "Endless Summer". Then of course, "Hair": 

Give me head with hair, long beautiful hair
Shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen
Give me down to there hair, shoulder length or longer...

Hair
Flow it, show it
Long as God can grow it...

end of winter parade

Lisa and Zip of Trumbull County were rained on. Everything was wet, and after the parade began, the rain stopped, and the wind began. Some expected marchers, did not come, and the watchers were reduced too. Still, this is Ohio's biggest parade. In the 1840s, this was a procession for the Irish Catholic parishes of the Flats, and the near west side. Sometime much later, this became a community event that attracted all those interested in Northeast Ohio.

Horses are great. Six horses pulled a wagon for Lake County Metroparks.

The wildcat is a mascot with Mayfield High, the musicians came from St. Vincent - St. Mary Akron to pose with her.

They have prizes. The theme this year was Irish American athletes. This was the best entry; i do not know who won.

Dogs are great. Horses are like tall dogs. They both belong in parades.

Not a bad choice to be inside the ride.

Only picture in this set that actually has people marching in the parade.

At such an event, people you do not know are willing to pose immediately, and with the sweetest smiles. The picture [supra], i snapped as i was walking. It is my favorite foto of the day.

Happy Buckeye Santa, there are a lot of Ohio State people around Cleveland.

I was told, that this BlackJack was the President of St. Adalbert School. They may have have been the final unit of the parade.

Four Al-Koran Krazy Kops, always happy to please the crowd. They are in several parades.

Panda, Dragon, Lion, Tiger are great mascots for the Asian Festival.

On Public Square, Larry Bird in a bunny suit 

Kubra Alhilali

 

September 20th 2021

April 11th 2022

I saw a segment of Applause on WVIZ about an Iraqui born painter.  As soon as i saw her work on television, i knew who it was.  She had painted a mural on Clark & W. 54th.  She painted herself, i recognised the bird on the segment, and Arabic calligraphy.  That painting is "Peace".  Between my viewings, she changed the work.  The second version is busier, i prefer the earlier.

March Fo(u)rth, march do not hop

St. Aloysius Cleveland at the beginning of Lent

 

It is the beginning of March. In many people's minds winter is over, and the corona virus precautions are mostly a memory. The first Saturday morning of March, one of the Protestant porch hoppers came to the front door. It was early, and not warm at all. One good thing about the covid times is that this bothering did not happen. The Rutherfordites (J. Witnesses) wrote letters, and made recorded phone calls. But really, is this a peculiarly American thing? They say something like they want to talk about Scripture, or the Lord. They are not interested in what you might want to talk about. This is being accosted at home. Their First Amendment rights are not valid in another man's home, for a man's home is his castle. Well, if we had left house fifteen minutes earlier, we would not have known this particular attempt of proselytisation.

 

Now, St. Aloysius is a beautiful Catholic church on a main street in Glenville. Now, Glenville is 90+% black. Black people in Cleveland are overwhelming Baptists, Catholics are in the range of 3-5%. Catholics rarely porch hop. If one wants to experience a Catholic religiosity, come to a Mass. They are all public, there is no secret beliefs. 

 

Of course, that little sign [foto supra] is respected in the black community, it should be respected by all. Now, there are many whites that are furious when they see such a sign; and there are white Catholics, who would thoroughly object to that sign being posted in front of a Catholic church. That sign is no longer new.

Also on the east side, there is a new exhibition visiting Cleveland Art Museum.

And it is always a good time to watch a squirrel.

photographs of abandoned places #42

  Miles Park Methodist

OK, my information is sketchy on this building. Sometimes churches change their names, and sometimes different congregations succeed the previous ones. For over a century this was Methodist. The area was once Newburgh Village, and there were two churches on the village square: one a Methodist, and the other a Presbyterian. The Methodist building began in 1872. Congregation may have begun in 1832? as South Park Methodist Episcopal, 1894 Miles Park Methodist Episcopal, 1940 Miles Park Methodist, 1968-1979 Miles Park United Methodist. Then it was Allen Chapel Missionary Baptist. The last occupant was Pentecostal Determine Church of God. Newburgh was an early competitor to Cleveland, it was absorbed. It began with Yankees, and then immigrants from the British Isles, then with Slavonic immigrants who had Catholic, and Byzantine Catholic churches, and one Orthodox church. Then the 1960s had a change in racial demographics. First the Protestant churches became Baptist, and Penecostal. The tendency was slow decay of the former church buildings, and then demolition. This is what happened to St. Joseph Byzantine [click]. Nativity of Mary [click] is collapsing. This pattern has been repeated across the country.

Here it was yesterday, without a roof. The steeple was gone in 1925.

a side door seen through a chain link

This window is above the front entrance. Here it is seen in full sun at noon. The other windows are fine glass too, but without any scenes. Two much smaller windows, at the front of the church, have a harp.

The central three of five lintel bottoms are one scene, Jesus as the Good Shepherd.

Most of the original ceiling is still there, even with the flow of rain waters. A drop ceiling, with insulation is barely there.

The carpet is soaked, some places squishy. The flooring underneath is questionable in integrity.

There is extra furniture all over. There are several other rooms. Some explorer had a sense of humour.

The bishop has random capitalisation, not unlike Orange Caligula.

stereotypical 55 gallon barbecue