Saturday Concert Musings: Bob Dylan and Jimmy Vaughn at PD Pavillion

Last night was another one of those perfect evenings; there could not be a better place for a concert (outdoors anyway) than the PD Pavilion. The River's water was glassy, the sky deep blue, the air crystal clear. The passing of an ore boat while Jimmy Vaughn opened the evening was surreal and astoundingly beautiful.

Those of you who are/were avid Stevie Ray Vaughn fans know that Jimmy Vaughn is no slouch in the guitar department either. We were treated to a long riff done behind his neck..sounding better than 99 % of all guitarists playing at their belly buttons. It was so much fun watching people dance and groove to the music. I would pay money to see Jimmy Vaughn all by himself.

Oh yes right; it was a Bob Dylan concert. I should start off by saying he is at the top of my musical icon lists, no question. So I feel I can say without rancor that last night we had Mumbling Bob. To paraphrase Ringo from a past Rolling Stone article: sometimes you get the Bob we all know and love, and sometimes you get Mumbling Bob. lol. No question not everyone agreed with me because there were many standing ovations and could you blame them, he is The Man, mumbling or not. If you go to Dylan concerts more than once you know to be prepared for 'I Was So Much Older Then, I'm Younger Than That Now' to sound more like ummmm, any other song lol.

Can't say enough about the Pavilion. It seats over 4000 people and the concert was sold out.

George at Brewed Fresh Daily pointed out a good review in Skorasauras' Blog about the Kenny Chesney concert's lack of toilet facilities at Brown's Stadium. Hmmm, not good and isn't football season starting soon? Peace out-3C

CNN, Youtube Are Kicking it Up A Notch: An Interactive Presidential Candidates Debate

The Ethernet has truly arrived. CNN and Youtube are getting together to sponsor live and interactive coverage of the upcoming South Carolina Presidential Debate.

CNN's Political Ticker blog reports that people will be able to submit questions via YouTube video. So it's history in the making. I'm visualizing an overloaded system but that may be wishful thinking since I want everyone to be involved in our political processes.

The Democratic debate will be on July 23rd. The Republican debate held in Florida will be on August 17th. We have the possibility of exciting more interest in participation, especially among young people. What do you think of the Youtube web page announcing this? They are clearly trying to create some excitement. They call it 'broadcasting yourself.' I like that sound byte. Hopefully along with the prerequisite fifteen minutes of fame will be some insightful questions! The guidelines for submission of questions can be found there as well.

The deadline for your video questions for the Democratic Debate is July 22nd.

Youtube also has a site called Citizen Tube. This is where we go to watch the debate live and then lend our comments afterwards. Watch this video, they are sounding really grassroots, asking people to be in 'video camera will travel' mode and go to people who do not have access to the Internet and get their questions recorded; then come back and do the submission for them! This is truly wild.

Cleveland Economic News: Automobile Sales Up in 2007

Crains had some positive Cleveland economic news for the auto industry; sales were up 5.5% in our area in 2007. There were 3,269 more cars sold (April,May, June) in 2007 compared to 2006.

Of course I wanted to know more. What kind of car? I went to the Greater Cleveland Automobile Association (GCAA) website to investigate. First, the Toyota Prius sales are up 93.7% this year - more cars sold than in all of 2006. When queried, Prius owners said they wanted to make a statement. This is not new is it? We've always had a need to show our personalities through our cars. The article on the GCAA site said as opposed to a few years ago, Prius owners seem to want to take the lead: I have a hybrid and I'm proud.

But I digress..you know how easy that is on the web. What about NE Ohio sales? I found the article referenced in Crains. It lists the top auto companies that posted increases in 2007 but alas, not the individual models. They DID say the gas guzzlers, especially crossover vehicles, are keeping sales of larger models higher. Crossovers look like SUVs but are built on supposedly more economical 'car' chassis.

So let me get this straight. There is a movement in the U.S. to announce to the world that you own a Prius because you want everyone to start supporting hybrids and lower fuel usage. And there is a NE Ohio need to pretend you still have a 'real' SUV but it's a SUV look alike car? Maybe someone can tell me why this is important. I can dream can't I, that someday we'll all be prouder to wear badges that say 'I leave my car at home and take the train.'

Anyway, here are the auto companies that posted NE Ohio gains in April, May and June:

• Toyota/Scion - 14.1 %
• Honda - 11.2%
• Jeep - 6.9%
• Nissan - 8.1%

Update and a potential new trend in manufacturing of sorts: Just found this article on the WKYC site about Ford utilizing soybeans in their Mustang car cushions....this will be in 2008 Mustangs and is expected to save mucho barrels of oil. Interesting and maybe worth a trip in 2008 to the showroom to feel the seats :-) They say if it works out they might add them to other models.

Peace Out - 3C

Lakewood Housing News:Carlyle Condo News

The Gold Coast's Carlyle Condos have always been a destination of choice. One main reason: ameneties. Second reason, the management company does a decent job for residents. My first year as a Realtor® they reduced the monthly maintenance fees for the next year...how often does that happen? One aspect of condo living to keep in mind: monthly maintenance fees don't always cover every improvement and there could be assessments made to each resident to cover a project. In the case of the Carlyle, one improvement might cut the sting from an assessment: an overhaul to their heating system designed to save every money and be more energy efficient. For a full list of the redevelopment plans you can go to Lakewood Alive.

Also received an email about a program called First Leaf:


Please forward this message to fellow Lakewoodites who may be interested in our report. Thanks!

F
First LEAF Community Night at the Library this Thursday!

"LakewoodAlive apologizes for the late notice of this event. Make plans to attend the first Lakewood Earth and Food (LEAF) Community Night at the Lakewood Public Library Main Branch this Thursday, July 12 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.Each and every Thursday evening from July 12 through October 25 the LEAF Community is bringing local produce, bulk foods, arts and culture to the intellectual heart of Lakewood . The evening will include children's games and activities, art and live music. " Peace Out - 3C

Cuyahoga County Housing Trends: A Lakewood Update

We have almost six months of statistics available so we can begin to examine housing trends for 2007 in Lakewood. Here are the stats from January 1st to the present:

Sold Since January:
186 Single Family Homes
48 Condos
44 Multi Family Homes

On The Market Now:
391 Single Family Homes
144 Condos
216 Multi Family Homes

What about prices and amenities on these homes for sale? Example: You can buy a 4 BR colonial on Parkwood with one full bath and two half baths, central a/c, a garage, an updated kitchen and a finished basement rec/play room for $148,900. How about a 4 BR 1 1/2 bath colonial with almost 1500 square feet of finished space, an updated kitchen, landscaped yard, formal dining room, a finished basement and third floor for $124,000 on Lauderdale. Yes you can now find homes in move in condition in Lakewood for less than $130k.

Lakewood has always been a destination of choice because of the vibrant business district, parks, City services, First Time Home Buyers Program and quick access to Downtown Cleveland.

On the Lakewood News Front: Architect Robert Stern's work on the Main Branch of the Lakewood Public Library is now complete and it is now once again open to the public. You can see photos of it on the WKYC news site here. It was a 38,000 square foot expansion. They doubled the parking spaces although that is still not a huge amount of parking. But it's certainly on the bus line, and I have always been impressed with their stats on the huge numbers of people who walk there every day. Reading, luckily, is not a thing of the past.

Btw, one thing that made me smile on the Library website? You can now send cool postcard ecards from the website. Peace Out- 3C

Renewable Energy & Sustainability:Ohio Lawmakers Will Be Asked to Think Outside the Box

There was a comment in today's PD article on Ohio's plan to restructure energy costs as well as trying to prevent spikes in charges and provide incentives for renewable energy sources. The comment was made by State Rep. Jim McGregor: "...our only choices in Ohio are to lead in energy or experience a second rust belt period where we become an economic backwater because we missed the opportunity."

The 'missed opportunities' seem to take two roads. One, missing out on a chance to be the state that brings in renewable energy companies. Secondly, missing the chance to require our existing utilities to provide a certain percentage of their energy in renewable form. Of course I like the idea but I need to ferret out people with experience to tell me what is possible here in Ohio. The article quotes people who say Ohio is not the Rocky Mountains so wind energy is not super feasible and Ohio is not.....well you can fill in the blanks and let's just say some people do not agree. I don't know whether they are correct...it seems to me we do have wind in Ohio but that is just me. And we already have a Cleveland Department of Sustainability. So I'm going to call them today. Should be interesting no? Peace Out - 3C

The First Monthly Technology Free Day is August 4th Are You Game?

Blogger Dima has an intriguing idea; have a technology free day once a month. His post here talks about using one day a month to be reflective on our lives and do things that are 'outside the box' of the activities we all do daily on those other days.

I like this idea, relating it to being well rounded and having time to be reflective; and in my case, if I don't take time off from doing all the things I normally do, it's hard for me to keep fresh ideas coming creatively for my life and for my work.

I'm pretty sure I could not permanently eliminate one Saturday a month from technology since those are usually really busy work days for Realtors® like myself. But I like the idea and I'm game, I' m in for the Fourth of August kick off. Wonder if this idea includes TV and radio? I'll have to ask. Or, you can go in and comment and find out for yourself. What say you about this idea?

Peace Out - 3C