weed, weed, weed on Public Square in Cleveland, Ohio

Today, around mid-day, I made a quick bus run to public square and happened to see this sad little parade following three police bikes. The people had three banners with all sorts of green colors on them and seemed to be chanting “Weed!”

I went in to the Terminal Tower to get some coffee at the Caribou and when I emerged, the parade had vaporized, almost as though they were swallowed up by the Cleveland Convention & Visitors Bureau at 100 Public Square.

Was there any coverage of this event anywhere? I’ve googled “Weed Walk” and “Pot Parade” and “On the Move with Marijuana” along with “Cleveland OH” and come up empty. Maybe they were here promoting the commissioners’ latest regional revitalization scheme, a MedicalMarijuanaMart. Far out. Outta state. Right arm.

Beats casinos. Probably easier to legalize and tax than prostitution. Go for it. Try something new for a change. Innovate.

the Brewed Fresh Doily finds a home

At Last, a $20,000 Cup of Coffee - New York Times -- I understand that our friend George is sending the owner of this high-end coffee brewer a gross of Brewed Fresh Doilies to put under his high-end cups and saucers.

Lots of coffee buzzwords here: noble, delicate, sweeter, juicier, moussey, majestic, titillating, floral, sexy, kaleidoscopic, and jammy. To the extent the effete-yet-wired coffee-snob parlance borrows freely from other sensate experiences, it seems akin to the extravagances we studied among the early enthusiasts of wine and cheese, the gentle hedonists. Enjoy; I found the article sort of hilarious, with sort of a nutty bouquet. I love the bit about “If you just want equipment you’re not ready.” I'm sure we'll see the line surface on SNL some day soon. I would have written it for Mango.

grand opening at Steelyard

Cleveland's Steelyard Commons -- Our friends over at CoolCleveland.com have noted the following festive event:

Steelyard Grand Opening Families are invited to enjoy activities, giveaways and parade marking long-anticipated grand opening of Cleveland's largest retail center, Steelyard Commons, on Thu 9/6 from 4 – 8:30PM. Live entertainment, games, raffles and more (a parade of performances featuring local community talent begins at 7PM). Steelyard Commons, 3584 Jennings Rd. (From downtown, take I-71 South to Jennings Freeway, exit at Steelyard Dr.

One thing I find extremely heartening is that the IHOP is open 24 hours. Also, the Chipotle serves fairly healthy food, and there's lots of open space for rallies and other massed-up community events. In retrospect, we should have thought to use it for the PutItOnTheBallot.com campaign, but the convoluted access from the freeways might have been a drawback. Getting into Steelyard Commons seems to be an acquired skill, for many. Perhaps for a few days this month we could call all seniors to register for the Homestead Exemption (a $400 value, give or take) before October 1st. This would give our little Mitchell the exposure he so badly needs for the Steelyard project, perform a needed public service, and test the accessibility quotient of the site, and its centrality in the context of the county.

One thing that makes no sense at all to me is that I hear there is a Starbucks coffee shop buried over there somewhere, but it has no street presence.

The Seattle Times: selling good karma

The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: A Kirkland cafe with no prices Interesting concept from that other coast.

The name Terra Bite (www.terrabite.org) is a play on the tech term "terabyte," a trillion bytes, as well as a reference to earth and food.

More than coffee, sandwiches or even convenience, Peretz is selling good karma.

"People want something different. They want simplicity" of payment, he said. "They want to be taken to a new place, and they want to contribute to something."

Just how much they want to contribute is another matter.

While charities like the Boomtown Cafe in downtown Seattle charge $2 for Saturday brunch or let people exchange work for meals, Terra Bite is a for-profit business, and Peretz refuses to suggest prices. Each day he records how much was sold and how much was paid.

So far, Terra Bite has served up to 80 customers per day, averaging about $3 per transaction, he said. When the shop brings in a steady flow of 100 customers a day, Peretz figures, he will more than break even.

But will new customers pay, let alone pay it forward?

Even without posted prices, "social monitoring" — the feeling that others are watching what you do — can enforce payment, said Erica Okada, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Washington Business School.

With its anonymous drop box, Terra Bite has minimized, if not eliminated, that effect. Under these circumstances, Okada said, the economic model predicts that Terra Bite customers won't pay anything.

But they do.

Gypsy Beans lives the life, walks the walk, talks the talk

Gypsy Beans & Bakery in the Gordon Square Arts District in the Detroit Shoreway Neighborhood (Cleveland, Ohio)--I just clicked through the MTB ad network to this new website and was heartened to note, on their home page, that they're advocates of what Uncle Norm has tagged as "local production for local consumption."

Please note they also offer free wifi, but you have to ask them for access first. Only after that can you do what the suburban commuters do in Tremont: Go park in the lot, use the free wifi, and not buy anything from the merchant. We first ran into this freeloader, freerider phenomenon over at Scoops last year.

There's no mention of wifi on the Gypsy Beans site right now, but I'm sure that will be forthcoming.

and tomorrow, we all have coffee and congeniality

Here's some more info I got from Betsey Merkel. I think the Midtown Morning/Brews blog/website at the link needs updating, so my data below should be considered more current information.

Midtown Mornings (Info here) Share an awesome view of The Lake at a very cool Midtown loft office space. Sip early morning coffee and bagels, make new connections and work on transformative initiatives.

Date: Friday, January 12
Time: 7:30 A.M. - 8:30 A.M.
Place: Nead Brand Partners
3631 Perkins Rd, Suite 6A Cleveland, OH 44114
P: 216-431-9301 ext.12

Coming up...Friday, January 19, Andreas Boardwalk Cafe

Read the I-Open White Paper here.

Learn about economic development in a networked global world. Read the EDPro Weblog here. Ed Morrison, Editor.

Coffee at The Ugly

Effective Thursday, April 27th, The Ugly Broad at 39th and Denison added Phoenix Coffee to its offerings. We can now go there and drink good coffee (Brazilian Santos regular, or Columbian decaf) as well as the other, more traditional stuff. We now have another "great, good place" or "third place" where we can all get together and begin to bond as a community.

Once again, Sherry Perry has come through for the Archwood-Denison neighborhood. Please support the coffee-talk initiative.

Next on the agenda: Archwood-Denison guerilla wi-fi.

(Remember, too, that Steak Night is Thursday and Taco Night is Wednesday, and there are now hamburgers & chicken tenders & french fries available at a moment's notice, as well.)

Gloria's also blogged this at http://www.gloriaferris.net/2006/04/have-a-cuppa-joe-at-the-ugly/