Empty Space: 2

Well I had a special place for the first installment for 'A City Reborn', but the gate was closed and had a lock on it. I guess I'll just have to contact Buzz to get me some exclusive photos. So onto my second place. This empty void filled with overgrown invasive species is located at the alley behind W. 9th Street bars including: Anatomy, Map Room, and the Water Street Grille. It is also near The Pinnacle.

                                                     

                                                  Here is a photo that shows the General location.

Another thing that I have been thinking about is the perception that Cleveland is a scary place. I actually almost believe this. I don't want to, but think about it. I thought about how I would like to ride my bike more.  Imagine the commute from W.6th's Dive Bar to Bar Cento in Ohio City. You don't want to, at least I don't. Both are great places, but the commute between the two, while possible, is full of stereotypes.

So cleaning up this space, along with its connectors is also crucial. Take this picture for instance.

                                                        

                                    This is the alley, or as my girlfriend calls it 'Scary Alley'. 

                                               This is the short cut to W.9th from W.6th. 

    

       

Here are some pictures into the space. It looks like a building was once here, torn down and forgotten.

A City Reborn

After living in the cleveland area for most of my life, I have come to love the city. Ask why? I too am not so sure why. I guess I've always had an eye for hidden potential. 

Growing up in the remote east side, my brother and I used to enjoy going to old abandoned houses and imagining what they used to be.  This is the way I feel about Cleveland. I like to imagine what buildings used to occupy cleveland and what people did in these now vacant spaces. It's not only ideas of what used to be there, but how could the spaces be used now. 

Ideas that provoke me to feel this way stem from landscape architecture installations that I learned about during my schooling at Ohio State. Ken Smith and his "Glowing Topiary Winter Garden", Michael Van Valkenburg "Radcliffe Ice Walls" or Christo and Jeanne-Claude "The Gates". These are just a few; there are many more.

I believe that these are great ways to develop design ideas for the city. These; in comparison, are great ways to exploit and explore areas of the city for future development. They may help define areas for entertainment, art, or culture. 

Cleveland seems to label certain areas as being such without first exploring what they truly are. 

There are several areas that I would like to explore during the next few weeks which include bus stops and spaces between buildings. 

Eating Healthy

Last summer, i challenged myself to eating more healthy and i managed to lose about 15 pounds. It didn't really take too long. I joined weight watchers (ww) and the pounds seemed to just fall off. I joined the core program. I didn't require me to control portions or count points. I began making all or most of my dinners and it really paid off. Unfortunately, for this summer, i have to make this challenge again. I think i've had too much bread and too much beer. Both of which don't fit into the ww plan. So my plan is to cut back on the bread and beer. I think this will really help. I also want to start running again. Two summers ago, i completed my first and last marathon and have hardly ran since. I also want to make eating a little more fun. I want to push the limits and create healthy unique dishes. Not all that unique or healthy, last night i got a salad from Chipotle. I ate the salad and was still hungry. I had some mini pretzels and dipped them in the dressing..yummy. Slightly weird, but oh so delicous.

Get out of the Kitchen!

Well this may be sentiment that most guys get. After many disappointing college cooking experiences and eating boxed dinners, I dared to go back in. I wanted to teach myself how to become a better cook. After many failures and a few surprises, I now consider myself pretty good. Really all it took was an imagination, creativity, and patience. For the past year or so, I've been cooking exclusively for myself. This is good and bad. Bad because I often made enough food for 3 or 4 when it was only me eating, but good because when I failed to produce an edible meal, it was only me that to eat it. So go back in the kitchen and try things out. Cooking is definitely worth the time and patience, you eat three meals a day.. you should enjoy them.

Is Spring Finally Here?

Well after giving it some thought, I may rename my blog. Initially, when I started blogging cooking was all i could think about. Everyone I knew that blogged happened to like cooking and named their blogs accordingly. Before I went to bed last night I thought about it and I don't blog about food very often. I mean seriously, I haven't created any type of menus. Initially, when I thought about the title, I thought of a menu as more than cooking. I thought of it as daily or weekly things I do, more of a list. But i was being creative...menu sounded better. And as for second sun, well technically I am the second son. Even though I am a twin, I was pulled out second. Turns out I created a name for a blog that I am not yet ready to write. The new name that I thought of comes from thoughts on how people view each other. Who are we to judge other people and their actions. What makes us right and them wrong? It is often a series of events in our lives that lead us to believe that we are doing something right or wrong. And when we see someone do one of those things we judge them on how we would have done it. I am guilty of this as well. I've even blogged about it! I hate TMZ and entertainment gossip, yet some of it intrigues me too. Like the octuplet mom. I think in hind sight she would do it all over again, the opposite way. We see her is selfish for wanting to have these kids. But mostly because she can't afford to have them and doesn't have a stable residence or consistent income to support them. We are aware of this from raising our own families and supporting ourselves. Unfortunately, she didn't think about this, all she could think about is having kids. And the thought of giving life, is very generous. So where am I going with this? The new name I am considering is 'Perspectives'. I haven't checked to see if anyone else has it, but I'm not too concerned. I think this name will better fit this blog. It often is the subject of which i typically write about. I also am in the design field and approach things was different points of view. This will also give me a better opportunity to share some of my photography. So where did the title of today's post come from? Well as you all know, today was an absolutely beautiful spring like day. So after work, i came home and went for a run. I only ran for about 15-20 minutes, but it was good to be outside. So anyways, i came home and took a shower. Well right before i got into the shower, a yellow jacket came from somewhere and flew onto the shower floor. I have no idea where it came from (this kind of scares me). I thought that it possibly came from my hair from being outside, but i was definitely unsure. Regardless, a bee is a good sign that spring may be here to stay!

I got a Snuggie!!!

Well tomorrow is my birthday and I already got a present. I got a Snuggie! Don't worry my friends aren't that mean, I got it for myself. This weekend we are having a Snuggie Bar Crawl to celebrate Food 'n' Such, Ruby's, and my birthday. I got it from Bed Bath and Beyond and got a sweet deal. I got three for a little over 30 dollars. And as an added bonus I got that 'robot' like booklight. I guess that while your being lazy you my as well read than watch tv. Anyways, I was all ready to wear it out to a soccer game or to cook marshmallows on the fire....well this was until I put it on. I must not be your standard couch potato because it basically fell right off. Nothing on it fits. I could probably put my legs through the arm holes and it would still be loose. I kind of figured that this would be a problem. So that is why I bought them early. I am going to sew buttons on the back to make it fit better. I will probably wear the Snuggie backwards too. More like a jacket. In form this thing is relatively pointless. I guess if you are laying around all day and have your back pressed against something it makes sense. But a blanket with sleeves and buttons in the front makes more sense. Be sure to keep posted to see pictures of our ridiculous bar crawl.

Just a follow up to Fondant fun

Well after experimenting earlier in the week with fondant and somewhat unhappy with the results, I decided to try a new recipe. This recipe came from the Food Network. The fondant was much easier to roll out, but did crack once it was applied. I would; however, try it again, but I would do a few things differently. First, it recommends that the fondant be placed in an airtight container for about 8 hours. Well, unfortunately I couldn't find one, so i wrapped it in cling wrap and covered it. Also, it said to add more confectioners sugar if it was sticky. Well if you add too much, the fondant will crack ..well at least it did for me. Another thing I would do differently, is add my color when you are supposed to add the flavor. You'll see from my pictures that this would probably be a good idea. The food coloring wears off rather quickly depending on the color. My nails though, still have some blue on them.I also made the mistake of cutting the cake into shape of the fish prior to to placing the fondant. However, afterwards and thinking about it now, I'm not sure which way is better. Then I also forgot to put some frosting on the cake prior to placing the fondant. So would I make a cake with fondant again. Yes, but really I think these cakes are made for show rather than taste (of which I should work on both). This weekend I was looking at a book that Food n' Such had gotten from her sister(s) and those cakes in there looked far more delicious than any fondant cake I've ever seen. Sorry Charm City Cakes. Here is a picture of my cake. Not too bad, but I could definitely use some more practice.