Julian Stanczak - "Continuous Line + Black" 2005 - Acrylic on board, 28 panels, 16x16 inches each

Happy 81st Birthday, Julian Stanczak... born November 5, 1928. Julian is an originator and continuing master of Op Art - one of the most important and renowned artists ever - and his work is stronger now than ever.

All that is seen without doubt in 116 remarkable paintings exhibited as compositions in Julian's amazing body of expansive, precise, cohesive "Recent Work", now showing at MoCA. Grouped as three colorful masterpieces, and a series of 10 individual black and white expressions, all these paintings stand together as one conclusive, vibrant statement, that life is an amazing experience, as only Julian may know.

Real NEO's favorite librarian, Laura McShane, recently posted on REALNEO "we can agree that aerosol art can be a thing of beauty", which made me think of the graffiti above, which inspired the first novel by Tony Vigorito, Just A Couple Of Days. 

From Wikipedia, "The title Just a Couple of Days comes from a piece of graffiti which appeared on both sides of an overpass just outside of Athens, Ohio on U.S. Route 33 and remained there for over two years. The open-ended tone of the declaration is related to the plot of the book, and the way the words can mean different things to each person who sees them."

We have had discussions on REALNEO about the antitrust of Microsoft, and the harm that has caused the world, but few people remember back to 1999, when the antitrust case United States vs. Microsoft determined Microsoft's dominance of the Intel-based personal computer operating systems market constituted a monopoly, and that Microsoft had taken actions to crush threats to that monopoly, including Apple, Java, Netscape, Lotus Notes, Real Networks, Linux, and others. The court's conclusion was Microsoft must be broken into two separate units, one to produce the operating system, and one to produce other software components... a decision weakened on appeal (see below).

A decade later, we have the opportunity to explore related antitrust in the computer industry further, and put Microsoft antitrust in new perspective, as the November 4, 2009, New York Times reports "Cuomo Files Intel Antitrust Suit" - "Following the lead of foreign regulators, New York's attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, filed a federal antitrust lawsuit Wednesday against Intel, the world's largest chip maker."

It is an amazing feeling heating your home with wood. You are able to survive in the harshest of weather, with nothing but mother nature on your side, and no gas bills... and, you may cook and heat water while you heat your environment.

Quite clever, really... invented by cavewomen, I believe.

I was just observing a graphic of Issue 6 voting results, on Issue 6 sponsor site Cleveland.com, and noticed how lily-white the voting for this issue clearly was.

In 98.4% white Hunting Valley, 248 people voted for Issue 6, and 18 against... 93% for Issue 6

Where Issue 6 first festered - Mayor Bruce Akers' 89% white Pepper Pike - 83% for Issue 6.

In Issue 6 Grand Mother Rawson's 30% black Shaker Heights... 74% of voters were for Issue 6...

By Teresa Albano

CLEVELAND - Volunteers are going house to house in this hard-hit city's West Side, getting out the vote for a candidate who they believe will "shake things up" and bring change to a neighborhood pockmarked with abandoned houses and torn up streets.
It is one of the most intriguing of several hot races around the country that will be decided on Tuesday.

I previously reported, in "unReal NEO Illegal Campaigning Signs Of The Day: Issue 6, in the Heights, and by RTA", dozens of Anti-Issue5/Pro-Issue-6 signs are strategically and illegally displayed at major RTA Green Line Rapid Transit stops in Shaker Heights. Last night, I confirmed there are dozens more Pro-Issue-6 signs displayed at many RTA Rapid stops in Cleveland, as well. Most telling are the signs displayed at the disgusting, near-abandoned, soon to be relocated to gentryland Red Line cum Health Line Station at Euclid and E.120th, above and below. This is the only Issue 6 promotion in this part of town, to be certain... and it is certainly being allowed, if not arranged, exclusively by RTA.

Everyone says so...Rick Nagin is best for Ward 14

http://www.naginforcouncil.com/index.html

Thursday, November 5th--2009

See http://www.arthouseinc.org for more information and http://www.brooklyncentre.org for more reasons to live well in Brooklyn Centre.

Driving through downtown Cleveland, today, I observed a large number of illegal Issue 6 campaign signs on public property in areas with very heavy commuter traffic - especially in the Quadrangle district photographed here, around the massive freeway intersection of Carnegie, E-14, and !-90, 77 snd 71. Issue 6 campaign planners clearly know these signs give 10,000s of commuter impressions a day, and they are exploiting that fact. They are also exploiting an apparent get-out-of-jail-free card for littering and illegal campaigning, in Cleveland, that suggests we don't need to pass Issue 3 to have complete lawlessness in town.

Thanks to Roldo, and the Internet, the people of Northeast Ohio are finally starting to see a clearer picture of Dan Gilbert, the man betting $10s millions that more than 50% of Ohioans will risk the state's social and economic future and $ billions on him and casinos. Roldo first awoke real NEO to the "TRUTH ABOUT DAN GILBERT'S GAMBLING CHARGES", on October 19, and today Roldo brings forward first hand testimony that "STATE COP'S ARREST STORY DIFFERS FROM GILBERT'S VERSION", opening "A former Michigan state trooper tells a different story of Dan Gilbert’s arrest on operation of gambling business than the Cavs owner has been peddling to the news media." See video above for Officer Fielder's video statement.

Driving from Cleveland up into the eastern Heights, today, I noticed how different the political signs are in the most affluent part of the Cuyahoga County, compared to in my lowly 'hood... and how illegal. While there are quite a few pro-Issue 6 signs on front lawns of fancy houses, in the lofty Heights, where the pro-Issue 6 signs are most prominent is on public property, from Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights east.

Does it make sense for a school district to abandon buildings, defer maintenance on all,  demolish and rebuild some buildings at enormous cost, when the district is strapped for operational funding? 

Well, that is what CMSD continues to do.  Is that Sustainable Cleveland?

It's not all gloom and doom--here are some uplifting images from a grey day in Cleveland.

Election Day is Nov. 3. Vote Nagin for City Council

Today (Monday Oct. 26, 2009) the Plain Dealer ran my letter concerning the blundering approach to development along the new Health Bus Rapid Transit Line on Euclid Avenue being taken by Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson.

I have posted here that Lincoln West is one of the schools in the City of Cleveland, which provides critical after hour community recreation and classes.  The program is called School as Neighborhood Resources. 

Where is this $180,000 sculpture, who is the artist, why is it located here, how was it selected, who  paid for it, who will maintain it, what does it say, is it successful, does it represent serious problems in unreal NEO, and how may you get it to speak for you, in the future?

With timing that could not be better for political candidates who actually care about the environment and real sustainability for NEO and the world... the greatest demonstration of the unsustainable harm of our current leadership of Mayor Jackson and all or most Cleveland City Council members (did any oppose), and of our other Powers That Be, will be showcased here, tomorrow, as the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports "AMP Inc. on Monday holds its annual membership meeting in Cleveland". AMP is planning a poorly conceived $3+ billion coal burning powerplant in Southern Ohio, at astounding ecological expense, that is largely the fault of Cleveland politicians committing to buy the unsustainable, dirty power to be generated there, for 50 years!