wonderful weekend in progress

So, after a long and intellectually challenging week, I have had a really awesome weekend (even including the early AM interview stuff - see previous post below).

It started Friday morning, when I woke up, got a bunch of work done in a really efficient sort of way, then had a fun couple hours with a gal I met at the Beachland last week. We didn't do anything special, just hung out at the Lee Road Phoenix and then checked out this nature area, but it was nice in a casual and conversational way.

After that, I headed home, did some phone meetings, then headed out to Waterloo Road for a 6 hour vacation in Collinwood. I picked up a glow-in-the-dark Muny for Shoparooni's upcoming competition, bought the new Beach House album at Music Saves (sadly, the new Del the Funkee Homosapien album was pushed back to a week from this Tuesday), and then headed down the block to the gallery area.

First up was Arts Collinwood. Let me tell you, dear readers, this is yet another small gallery gem in Cleveland. This might be my favorite Clevo space outside Tremont. They always have interesting local work and, this last time, the greatest snack table ever. PBR Light? Yes. Super-thin homemade chocolate chip cookies? Yes. Fudgey cake? Yes. Bite-size cheesecake? Yes. In terms of the art, the current exhibit of Ian Petroni and Hannah Ries is really good. Ian's metal/found wood/paper lamps are brilliant, beautiful, and really affordable, and Hannah's stuff is cool too, very diverse. (Plus, she's the super sweet girl that checks in Smelly when I have to drop her at The Mutt Hutt.) I almost dropped $350 on this unbelievable broken ladder/gourd-like paper lamp piece, but then realized I didn't technically have $350, and when I did get it on pay day, folks at Time Warner/AT&T/Geico/Dominion Gas/Cleveland Utilities and, of course, my landlord, wouldn't be supportive of the latest art acquisition.

After about 45 minutes, I booked across the street to another gallery (though I can't remember the name). It was pretty unimpressive, especially the snack table (though, really, how could anything compare with the previous one?). I did a super quick loop, then crossed back over and entered Cafe Marika.

Cafe Marika has a great vibe, lots of interesting looking folks lounging and noshing, a little jazz act with a terrific singer, and bar service. I ordered an Abita Restoration Ale (giving a fiscal shout out to the Crescent City), and a plate of chicken schnitzel and veggie rice. It was tasty, nothing fancy, though it wasn't supposed to be. I'm a big fan of the philosophy of only judging something for what it was intended to be. You can't fault a hot dog stand, for example, for not being posh because it wasn't trying to be. Similarly, Cafe Marika strikes me as a casual effort to provide a bo-homey service to the community, and for that I appreciate it. I probably won't ever make a special trip over to Collinwood to seek it out, but if I'm doing another vacation in Collinwood, I wouldn't think twice about it.

Digression, Digression, Digression.

After dinner and a quick thank you to my sweet bartendress, I headed down to the Beachland. My favorite local act, Unsparing Sea, was playing second in a three-act show. NEO musicians, Talons, opened up. They were interesting, though the singer seemed to be really impressed by how unprepared and drunk he was (I think I got over thinking how cool it was to see a musician drunk, well, the first time), and they really stumbled through their 40 minutes or so. I think there is a lot of talent there, though, in the singer/writer and also some of the more hidden members of the band. After them, Unsparing Sea went on, played their unique blend of antique rock, and then it was time for Baby Dee.

Baby Dee is an interesting phenomenon. A transgendered harpist and Clevelander, she plays some really interesting music, rich and lush and funny and stirring. She also seems to be a warm person. I didn't know what she looked like, but soon realized I was sitting next to her at the bar. I realized this because people kept coming over and introducing themselves to her. One of these people was a certain spouse (famous in her own right now) of a famous Cleveland arts icon. She was interested in brokering a conversation between Baby Dee and another friend of hers, one I'm guessing was also transgendered or at least the victim of some orientation-based discrimination. Baby Dee was kind and thoughtful, and though we never shared a word (I am, if nothing else, a top-notch eavesdropper), as she walked away with Famous Spouse and friend, I felt really warm things for her.

After the show, I headed straight home and hit the hay, as I had to be up by 530 to head to Alliance, OH, to give a talk at a symposium on our current president. It was interesting, and my talk went well, thanks primarily to an off-the-cuff decision to warn the audience that things might be interesting since (a) I broke my glasses that morning and (b) the gas station I had bought coffee at apparently made it with crack. In all honesty, I broke my glasses weeks ago, but my eyes were really bothering me, and I hadn't even had any coffee yet, but that edgy funny shit really breaks academics up. They are an easy crowd, though. A little audacity (a very little amount) goes far.

Later, I had the change to chat at length with Robert Draper, the author of the recently released biography of Bush. His book, Dead Certain, is excellent, the best one out in the sense of its objectivity and access. Most folks reading it for interest get pissed, thinking it is either too nice or too critical, depending on the previous ideological/political committments they come into the book with, but from a methodological perspective, Draper's work is excellent and historically unusual. He had several lengthy interviews with the president, along with many other important members of the administration, but then went and wrote a very fair-minded book. Usually that sort of access buys a puff piece, but Draper seems to not have been overwhelmed by the power and pageantry of the White House. I was impressed when I read it, and he's a really cool, savvy guy in person.

I got back from Alliance mid-evening, came home to do some work and laundry, and passed out in my desk chair. Honestly, though, given the long week, the long night previous, and the long day, it was the best Saturday night I could hope for.

And now I'm putting the finishing touches on a burned CD (the millenial equivalent of the mix tape, I guess), for Friday's day date -- we agreed to exchange them as our musical interests overlap a lot, though there is some divergence into weird and funny areas. Right now, I have the disc starting off with The Besnard Lakes ("Disaster"), followed by tracks by Teddy Pendergrass, local awesome act Unsparing Sea, sugary pop from The Little Ones, and drama drama drama rock from Calla. There are a few Cleveland Bachelor staples, like tracks from The Polyphonic Spree, The Jesus & Mary Chain, and The Flaming Lips, and some funny idiosyncracies from artists like Prince, Daniel Johnston, Serge Gainsbourg, Self, and The Lucky Sperms, all before closing with a pair of choice indie cuts by Sam Roberts and Spoon, respectively. We shall see.

I like the lineup so much, though, I'm gonna burn one for my car, too. Anyway, I'm off to meet my new friend in a couple of hours, which means I need to start the multi-hour process required for me shower/dress/walk&feed&water Smelly/etc. I think we are gonna see if we can get cheap tix to this afternoon's Cavs-Bulls game, though I just got a text message suggesting we drive down to the Parmatown Mall and make out in the food court. Apparently, that is a rite-of-passage for Parmans? I think it was a suburban slur, but it made me laugh.

And right now I actually have that Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg track, "Je T'aime ... Moi Non Plus" playing, so a little Parma-style PDA doesn't seem like that bad of an idea...

(Here's a video for those of you that don't know the sexiness and beauty of this tune.)