Friday, January 26, 2007

Antony Bourdain on Cleveland's Roots

A quote from celebrity chef and way cool dude Anthony Bourdain, in today's PD:

"Fine dining by all accounts has definitely improved. It's that middle range [of restaurants] that I'm worried about. The guys that need to hang on are not the hot new place, but the ones who have been here all along -- the old-style Polish, German, Ukrainian, African-American places."


This comment hit home with me. While the city desperately needs to free itself from elements of its past, Cleveland's rust belt history and blue collar roots are what make it unique. Cities of the future will be become increasingly identical in their technical infrastructure and related amenities. Let's not turn our backs on the cultural roots that will distinguish this city.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Lev Gonick on Cleveland 2.0

Even in a world dominated by off-shoring to China, out-sourcing to India, supply-chain management phenoms like Wal-Mart, new in-sourcing operational logistics by players like UPS, not to mention the game changing role of the internet, the most important starting point for the Cleveland 2.0 project is to stop looking in the rear view mirror.


This message should be flashling 24/7 on every electronic billboard and DiamondVision screen in the county.