#Move in cleaning in downtown Cleveland

[specklesscleaners]

Elevate Your New Beginning: Move In Cleaning in Downtown Cleveland with SPECKLESS CLEANERS

https://medium.com/@specklesscleaners.com/elevate-your-new-beginning-move-in-cleaning-in-downtown-cleveland-with-speckless-cleaners-15c386e398f4 The move-in process can be overwhelming, and having a clean and organized home contributes significantly to your well-being. SPECKLESS CLEANERS' move in cleaning service in downtown Cleveland goes beyond aesthetics;

[texasobserver]

”200,000 Steps on the Lone Star Hiking Trail” by Sergio Chapa, from the May/June 2023 issue of Texas Observer magazine:

I grew up in northwest Austin at the edge of the Texas Hill Country, where hiking through the woods and playing in creeks were daily activities. So, I’ve always been an “outdoors person.” After moving to Houston for a journalism job, I quickly began running and biking along the city’s mostly concrete-lined bayous. Then an environmental activist told me something intriguing: Just an hour north of the traffic and skyscrapers of downtown Houston is the 96-mile Lone Star Hiking Trail, the longest footpath in Texas.

During April 2020, I began a quest to hike the full trail along with a friend in my “COVID bubble.” It was a sunny and unseasonably hot day as we embarked from mile marker zero inside the 163,000-acre Sam Houston National Forest. So early in the pandemic, we hiked without seeing another person, hearing a car on the road, or spotting an airplane in the sky. The only sounds were chirping birds, squirrels and lizards scurrying, and the wind blowing through the leaves.

It was a Coronavirus-safe activity and I was hooked. 

On maps, the national forest is depicted as a massive patch of public land. But on the ground, hundreds of U.S. Forest Service tracts are broken up by private timberlands, farms and ranches, and a growing number of rural homes and subdivisions. Mostly flat to rolling terrain, the forest is laced with creeks as well as the east and west forks of the San Jacinto River and the not-so-scenic lanes of Interstate 45.

Starting near Richards and ending near Cleveland, the Lone Star Hiking Trail proper is 96 miles through the forest with five optional loops adding another 32 miles. Depending on one’s height and weight, that’s roughly 200,000 steps. Given a pace of about three miles per hour, it would take roughly 32 hours to hike the entire trail nonstop. Hiking about eight hours per day means less than a week of hiking and camping. 

But that’s not the path I chose. 

It took me sixteen trips with various friends over two years to hike the entire trail. Confession: We weren’t disciplined about it; sometimes weeks or months lapsed between forays. Most often, I’d park my car at one of the 15 trailheads and we’d hike for five or six miles and then head back. On every visit, the trail provided valuable relief with its clean air, social distancing, and an escape from the four-wall confinement of lockdown and stress. Our slower approach allowed us to experience the forest in all four seasons.

Spring is marked by fresh light green leaves, wildflowers and white color pops of dogwood and magnolia blossoms. The summer can be brutally hot, but it’s the best time to enjoy Lake Conroe or Double Lake. The fall brings orange, red, and yellow hues as purple beautyberries and red yaupon holly berries ripen in the understory. Pine trees and oaks stay green during winter while colonies of colorful mushrooms and fungus sprout on the forest floor. 

I shared our hikes on Twitter and Instagram, and the Lone Star Hiking Trail became a hit with my social media followers too.

It’s much easier to hike the trail virtually. To do it in person, you need plenty of water, snacks, insect repellent, spare socks, powder, paper towels and wipes, and willingness to rough it, since there are no bathrooms or vending machines aside from spartan amenities at the Stubblefield and Double Lake campgrounds. Good walking shoes and long pants with high socks reduce risks of scratches, bug bites and ticks. Snakes on this trail mostly flee from people. However, mosquitoes and spiders are fearless. 

Early morning hikes meant the person in the lead breaks overnight cobwebs. Scat with fur signaled coyotes and bobcats, but the most worrisome signs were the wallows and rooting of feral pigs. My worst fear was encountering hogs, which can attack when frightened or startled. Luckily, we never saw any.

Sam Houston is one of the state’s four national forests created by Congress during the Great Depression. The timber industry previously clear-cut large swaths of the Piney Woods. State lawmakers bought hundreds of barren tracts in 1933, with the intent of adding them to the national forest system. President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Angelina, Davy Crockett, Sabine, and Sam Houston national forests in October 1936. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps planted millions of trees. The U.S. Forest Service gave the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club permission to build the trail in 1967. The trail and all its loops were complete by 1978. 

It’s big enough that you can easily get lost. I’m an experienced outdoorsman, but we’ve gotten lost on the Lone Star Hiking Trail, marked by small reflective markers nailed into the trunks of trees. It’s easy to lose track of the markers after leaving U.S. Forest Service land and walking down a rural road to the next section. Cell-phone service can be spotty, so it’s best to download Lone Star Hiking Trail Club maps in advance. 

But not all of this wilderness is protected. Legally distinct from national parks and refuges, national forests can be used for hunting, fishing, timber, grazing, mining, oil, and natural gas. By law, the U.S. Forest Service must manage Sam Houston with no single resource emphasized over others. To that point, the 163,000 acres also include trails for ATVs, mountain bikes, and horses. Lakes are stocked with bluegill, largemouth bass, and catfish. Oil wells and easements for pipelines and power lines are common.

Historically, wildfires kept the forest from getting too dense and unhealthy. Today, the U.S. Forest Service uses controlled burns and sustainable timber harvesting in efforts to control a pest known as the southern pine beetle and improve habitat for the red-cockaded woodpecker, an endangered species that favors open “pine savannas” and nests from April to June. Over the decades, environmentalists and forest managers have sparred in court over forestry practices related to the beetle and woodpecker.

I looked for those woodpeckers, but only heard their distinctive high-pitched chirps and tap tap-tapping hidden in the canopy. 

Sprawl and suburbanization are the biggest threat to the forest and to this trail. I-45, the busy thoroughfare connecting Houston and Dallas, divides it in two, creating a formidable barrier for wildlife and people. The Texas Department of Transportation spent millions improving a 15-mile stretch of highway between Huntsville and New Waverly but spent little on allowing hikers or wildlife to cross safely under the roadway where cars speed past a white 67-foot statue of Texas founding father Sam Houston.

I wish the Texas legislature would use some of its $32.7 billion budget surplus to create a buffer for this trail—and improve the crossings that either don’t exist or have been damaged and make a through-hike so challenging. Unfortunately, this year has seen news in the opposite direction: The state recently lost a lovely park further north on the I-45 corridor that offered its own woodland paths.

In theory, animals can use the narrow corridor where Big Chinquapin Creek goes under the highway, but hikers must trudge four miles along three rural roadways and the I-45 frontage road in order to reach the next trail section. 

Country-club communities such as Elkins Lake and the Texas Grand Ranch subdivision with its two- to five-acre lots allow people to live at the edge of the forest. As an unintended result, nonnative ornamental plants are escaping into the wild and becoming invasive species. The average person may not notice, but I kept spotting exotic plants like nandina, wax-leaf ligustrum, Chinese tallow, chinaberry, bamboo, and hardy orange all along the trail. 

Volunteers with the Lone Star Hiking Club and the Houston area Sierra Club maintain the trail and try to clear out invaders. I’d love to give back and join them one day.

But it’s a big job—and progress is often slow.

A vehicle bridge to the Stubblefield Campground washed out during Hurricane Harvey in August 2017 but was not rebuilt until 2022. A footbridge over scenic and shaded bluffs of the east fork of the San Jacinto River in the Magnolia section of the trail was destroyed more than eight years ago and never replaced. 

Hikers are forced to take a complex detour, though I opted to park my car at the next trailhead and walk to the opposite bank. 

Even as the pandemic fades, I’m still going back for more, particularly to hike the loops outside the main trail. To me, this escape seems even more valuable with Houston growing at a pace that will see it overtake Chicago as the third-largest U.S. city. Even as the metropolitan area expands in all directions, the forest still offers respite.

[ultraheydudemestuff]

Old Stone Church (First Presbyterian Church)

91 Public Sq.

Cleveland, OH

The Old Stone Church is a historic Presbyterian church located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, and is the oldest building on Public Square. It is also the second church built within the city limits. In June 1819, the Union Sunday School began meeting on the site of the current church, and on September 19, 1820, fifteen Clevelanders, some ten percent of the then-village's population, signed a charter officially establishing the congregation. It was formally incorporated in 1827 as The First Presbyterian Society, and in 1834 the first church was built out of gray sandstone. The interior featured a gallery suspended by iron rods, reportedly a first in a Cleveland public building, as well as the city's first pipe organ. Because of its building materials, First Presbyterian was called "the Stone Church," and as other stone churches were erected in the area, it became known as the "Old Stone Church."

By 1853, the congregation had outgrown the original building, so the church was razed, and a larger replacement was built on the same spot. The Romanesque Revival church, dedicated on August 12, 1855, was also made of local sandstone, and was designed by architects Charles Heard and Simeon Porter. Nineteen months later, on March 7, 1857, fire struck the church. Water from the hand-pumped fire engines was unable to reach the 250-foot steeple, which came crashing down onto Ontario Street. Despite this, the building remained mostly intact, and reconstruction began almost immediately. The church was rededicated on January 17, 1858.

The second fire occurred on January 5, 1884, spreading to the church from the adjoining Wick Building's Park Theater. Despite the sturdy construction of the building, the interior was gutted. Afterward, the congregation considered a move to E. 55th Street and Euclid Avenue, but it was eventually decided to keep the original location, after pressure from influential members including John Hay. Architect Charles Schweinfurth was hired to head the reconstruction of the church, which was dedicated on October 19, 1884. Subsequent additions to the church include three Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass windows, a John La Farge triple window overlooking Public Square, and a Holtkamp Organ Company organ.

The Old Stone Church has stood virtually unchanged to this day, and is the last remaining church designed by the Heard and Porter architectural firm. The Old Stone Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 23, 1973. The only major modification was the 1999 addition of a steeple that replicated the original, part of a $2.4 million renovation project, which also included cleaning the Berea sandstone (which had turned black from air pollution) and conservation of the La Farge window.

[poipoipoi-2016]

In complete seriousness, the Cleveland Metro is having a great little time cleaning up juuuuust enough near downtown (The new Wendy Island bridge) and having suburbs that it's absolutely a great place to move when you give up and haven't made $10 Million, but still want to have kids.

With global warming... look, I think 6 months of 40s and clouds is in many ways more brutal than when we used to get 5 feet of snow every winter, but certainly it's improving. Not Miami summer, doesnt snow as much in winter...

I love those billboards in high-COL areas trying to lure people into cheaper states. Seattle has a bunch of these for Ohio, of all places, and there’s one on the 101 outside San Jose trying to get people to move to New Jersey.

It’s amusing for two reasons: one, because only the Valley is so housingfucked that the NYC metropolitan area is cheap by comparison, and two, because the sign says NJ is “the next home of AI”, which is great. If I was founding an AI startup in New Jersey I’d call it WisegAI.

[ledenews]

‘The Players Club’ Ready to Rock for ‘Party on the Plaza’

Wear comfortable shows. That is the advice offered by the band leader of “The Players Club,” the headlining band for this summer’s “Party on the Plaza,” for all those planning to attend the fundraising event by the local tent of the Circus Saints & Sinners. Jeff Strainer, one of four members of the Cleveland-based band, said the group was formed more than 10 years ago with the intention of keeping the audience on their feet. “The mission of the band from the beginning in 2012 is to be a super-energy dance band that keeps people on their feet and moving,” he explained. “We play music that’s high-energy and quick-tempoed, and we’re going to play in Wheeling without any breaks. It’s going to be one set that’s more than two hours long so people are going to moving, that’s for sure. “We are from Cleveland and we play anywhere within 150 miles or so,” Strainer said. “We play gigs in Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and West Virginia. As far as Wheeling, we have played at the casino a couple of times, but never at another venue in Wheeling.” The “Party on the Plaza” kicks off at 5 p.m. at Market Plaza in downtown Wheeling. Several food trucks will be available, and the band “Jukebox” will begin performing at 5:30 p.m. “The Players Club” then will take the stage at 8:30 p.m. "Jukebox" is a band that has played the Wheeling area several times in the past five years. The Saints & Sinners, an all-male non-profit group based in Wheeling, has for years raised funds for local charitable organizations. The Saints & Sinners, led by long-time member Paul Smith, partnered with Panhandle Cleaning & Restoration and the Contraguerro family to raise $150,000 for the new WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital during a five year timeframe. Smith first approached Robert Contraguerro Jr., vice president of Panhandle Cleaning, in 2019 but because of the coronavirus pandemic, the fundraising efforts were forced to wait. This Saturday’s event will be the third and there remains thousands of dollars to raise. “We are really looking forward to playing the ‘Party on the Plaza’ because there’s going to be a lot of people there, and those people want to have a great time. It’s a good thing that’s what we’re all about,” Strainer insisted. “The people with ‘Party on the Plaza’ want a high-energy show and that’s exactly what they’re going to get.  “As long as the weather cooperates, it’s going to be a great time,” he said. “The best part is, as a band, we know if we’re giving the crowd a great show based on the crowd’s reaction to us. Granted, some people like to sit and watch, and there’s nothing we can do about that, but there’ll be a lot of folks getting into the music, that I can promise you.” According to Strainer, the band’s repertoire includes hundreds of songs, including some tunes that sound as if there are more than 10 players on stage. Instead, there will be just four. “Because of today’ s technology, we will sound like there’s 20 of us on the stage,” Strainer said. “It’s all digital and it really lets us expand what we can play during our shows now. That’s why we can play music now that used to need three horns and the people in the crowd just love it. “It’s just the way things work now and we take full advantage of it so we can bring the best show to our audiences,” he said. “And we are really looking forward to meeting the people of Wheeling keeping them on their feet for as long as possible.” Tickets can be purchased at https://partyontheplaza.org/tickets/ and will be checked electronically at the gate.  Read the full article

[idhrenniel]

BLINDED BY THE GLOW.

➴ Summary: feelings last, even when the hollywood sign blinds you.

➴ Pairing: JP Cappelletty (Rook) / fem!reader (3rd POV).

➴ Warnings: Angst, 18+: sex.

➴ Wordcount: 1.8K

➴ Tagged: Homie as usual @angelaiswriting​

➴ Author Note: Hi! I’ve opened up a Ko-Fi page. If you like my content and would like to support me, you will find the link to it in my bio. You can also search my name (renmartell) up on the Ko-Fi page. Thank you!

(Y/N) doesn’t know where she is. In some loud club in downtown LA that is giving her a headache. She can see Joan somewhere in the crowd, dancing with strangers… Martha is long gone. She sits in the bar and waits for the night to be over so she can return to the hotel and sleep what’s left of the trip.

It’s not that she’s ungrateful, she’s just… tired. When Joan told her she had planned a weekend in LA before the wedding, (Y/N) had thought it meant sunbathing and shopping at rich people’s stores, not a tour through all of the clubs this shithole of a town has to offer. It’s been a long time since (Y/N) gave up this kind of life for a more tranquil, domestic one, and not once has she regretted her decision. Not as much as Joan has in her behalf, at least.

A weekend isn’t much: that’s what she tells herself as she turns around to order a drink. She can do it. If she lets go a little bit, she might even like it. What’s the worst that can happen, right?

“(Y/N)?” An old, forgotten voice calls from behind her.

Oh, the voice in her mind exclaims right before it starts to panic. (Y/N) freezes on her spot, drink on mid-air as she blinks in confusion. “What’s the worst that can happen?” she repeats, mocking herself and cursing whatever is up there that has chosen her to be tonight’s Sims game.

“(Y/N)!” He calls again, closer to her ear this time. Close enough that she can smells him.

She turns around, feigning confusion. As if she has not recognised his voice… which, after so long she shouldn’t have (but that’s not something she’s going to think about tonight). She gives it a couple of seconds, one good look at him and then…

… the act begins. “JP? JP Cappelletty?” She exclaims, laughing as she tries to ignore how the side of his mouth curves downwards for a split of second at her words. Not what he had expected, for sure, but all she has to offer after so many years and a lot more than what he deserves.

He’s quick to recover, laughing and opening his arms. “That’s me!” He engulfs her.

She wants to die. She wants her life to end in this exact moment. Because then, she won’t have to let go of him again.

As he pulls back she finds herself missing the contact. She almost grabs him to pull him back against her… but when she lifts her hand the ring glows under the club’s lights and he is quick to catch on it.

JP smiles through a tornado of emotions. “Congratulations.” All happiness is gone from his voice. She nods, lowering her hand and accommodating it in her back pocket.

“Thanks.”

There’s nothing that can make this conversation return to normal (or as normal as it was), but sure as hell he’s going to put through the discomfort and keep it going. “Who is he? Do I know him?”

“No. How could you?”

Her words were innocent… right? Yes! No… she isn’t sure. It’s the truth: she met him in college and the last time she and JP saw each other was in high school. So, how did the truth sound so mean?

JP sighs, dropping his facade and sitting in the stool next to hers. “Ouch…” he laughs. “I guess I did deserve that one, huh?” She nods again. “I waited for a call… it never came.”

“Oh, was I the one supposed to call? I thought being the one still in school and with a decent schedule I was supposed to wait until the rockstar was free to be worth of some words. My bad, I guess.”

(Y/N) shrugs her shoulders and takes a sip from the now watered-down drink she forgot she had. If he is going to drop his facade and talk the real talk she’s going to do the same, and he ain’t gonna like it.

Not one bit. “And since we’re at it. I did call, but I never got a response. I even went to a concert back in Cleveland.”

He frowns, his pose becomes more rigid and he grabs the stool until his knuckles turn white. “What?”

“Yes,” she turns her head back to the crowd, looking for Joan to get her out of here. “Saw a couple of girls headed towards the bus and one of them threw herself at you. You said: “I’ve been waiting for you baby.” And got into the bus with her.”

(Y/N) lets the drink in the bar, sighing. She has turned herself towards him and is now looking right into his eyes. She had forgotten how pretty they were (and she curses herself for thinking so and for the way her cheeks redden at the sight). She rises a brow, waiting for a response. Coming from him, it wouldn’t be a surprise if she never got one.

JP swallows, looking regretful. He tries to speak a couple of times, but when nothing comes out he gives up and orders two new drinks. “I was young and stupid.” It’s his excuse.

Young and stupid doesn’t mean heartless or cruel, no matter what people might think. He was old enough to go around touring with a famous rapper… he was old enough to cut things and not let her hanging from a string of hope like an idiot.

“I was seventeen and pregnant, Johnny.” And you left me alone throughout the process, she wants to add, biting her tongue to avoid doing so. No point in remembering a painful past when she has a future waiting for her at home. Right?

“We decided on not having it.”

“We also decided on not leaving me alone at the abortion clinic.”

Their drinks arrive. JP empties his in less than a second. (Y/N) takes her a small sip of hers and puts it down, not losing sight of it. You never know… people aren’t good. She has to be cautious.

With each passing second, JP becomes more and more nervous.

Whatever he’s holding inside him is asking─no, begging─to be let out. It also looks as if he wants to throw up (which she can’t blame him for, giving how much and how fast he’s drinking).

(Y/N) tries to change the conversation to a lighter one. It doesn’t work. He keeps going back to their past and his mistakes and her fiance. She’s not sure she wants to know what’s going on in his mind.

At last, he rubs his face and then faces her. “I fucked up. But not a second has gone by that I haven’t thought about you and the life we could have together. And believe it or not, I still want that (Y/N).”

In all seriousness, this is the most serious she’s ever seen him. Even when he drums he likes to fuck around and not give it importance… but now, now the truth is out there and he’s laid his cards.

Hers? You want the truth? Well, here it goes: the truth is that she wants to beat him up as much as she wants him to take her to the bathroom and fuck her until she forgets her own name.

He’s a lot stronger than she is… so she scratches the first option and grabs his hand, leading him away from the bar and into the back of the club. She opens the door to the bathroom, making sure no one is in there, then closes it and pushes him against the door.

His lips feel familiar and their bodies move in flow. As if nothing had changed. Just the two of them rushing to become one. JP turns them around so that now she’s the one against the door. He unclasps his belt and then presses himself against her. Her dress going up by the second.

“Wait─I don’t have a condom with me.”

“You clean?” He nods. “Me too. Now shut up.”

He doesn’t need to be told twice.

(Y/N)’s hands find the hem of his trousers and the pushes them down alongside his boxers. His, at the same time, are pushing her dress up to her waist and discarding her panties somewhere in the floor. Not that she’s going to need them (or retrieve them, to be honest. Her dress is long enough to cover). JP grabs her waist with one hand while the other grabs her face and he forces her to look at him as he enters her. (Y/N) tries to bite down her moans but it’s impossible, as her walls stretch to accommodate him, she pleas and curses and wraps her legs around his waist so he can reach deeper inside her. She can’t feel but pleasure, the guilt that tried to make her reason is now gone, not even buried, just gone. Right now it’s him and how he’s moving to pleasure her. How he feels as if he belongs where he is. She moves her hips in sync, kissing his lips as he murmurs words she can’t or wants to understand. Faster, harder, deeper, the sounds emanating from her throat echo in the bad-lighted bathroom. Johnny lets himself grunt, sometimes a moan escapes his lips as well and she clenches at the sweet sound. He trembles, her legs lose strength. It’s not long until he finishes inside her, making her back arch as she herself lets go and feels the wave of pleasure take over her, cumming all over his cock.

He remains inside her for a couple more minutes, until he softens and she’s able to maintain herself on place without falling. His semen now runs down her legs, but she makes no deal out of it.

(Y/N) lowers her dress and brushes her fingers through her hair. She tries to fix her makeup to no avail and then turns around to face Johnny. He’s got his trousers up now and is ready to leave. She had expected him to be gone… but he is waiting for her.

“I’m getting married next Friday.” She walks up to him and gives him a kiss. There’s something in her that’s begging her to not let go. She doesn’t listen to it. “It was nice seeing you. Goodbye, JP.”

As she leaves the bathroom, she notices a pain in her stomach that she can’t ignore. She walks, walks and keeps walking. She doesn’t even stop to tell Joan. If she stops, if she looks back, there’s no way in hell she’s leaving without Johnny. No matter the tears that fall, the weird looks, or the way she can’t hold back her cries, she can’t look back…

… or can she?

[thelittleredheadedmusician]

That October Mood

Rating: G 1,838 words Gen AO3

Courtney wasn’t really in a mood, despite what her mother might say. She was just… antsy. Sure. That’s why she hadn’t been able to sit still all day. Had bounced off the bus, grabbed her gear and headed towards the Brownstone. She’d maybe been a bit surly to her mom and Pat on the way out. Definitely snapped at Mike. But he was her little brother, these things happened.

No, Courtney wasn’t in a mood because how could you be in a mood when you were flying at dazzling speeds across the country. Her curls whipped in the wind and the cosmic staff hummed under her. The weather was clear and clouds fluffy as she made her way to New York. She didn’t even get caught in the passing shower outside Cleveland. So, definitely not in a mood.

Landing on the roof, Courtney headed for the aviary and the elevator. It was a Friday afternoon, even two time zones ahead, so the place was bound to be filling up soon as members of the JSA came for their weekend meetings and trainings. She just had to find someone to talk to because despite the flight Courtney was still in her not mood. Which was getting worse as she waited for the elevator, the birds swooping overhead reminding her of the fact Kendra had left. Moved out and joined the League. And how Courtney missed her.

But it was fine, everything would be fine. She’d just find someone else or – and though she kicked herself for thinking this – there’d be some catastrophe and Courtney could expel this whatever it was with some punches and shooting stars. Except the halls were weirdly quiet. Almost eerily quiet. There was chatter from the lab as she passed and mention of Ted being down in the gym but that didn’t pique her interest. She headed for Jakeem’s room, only to see the door was still closed meaning he wasn’t here. Courtney grumbled and went in search of Maxine and remembered that she was at rehearsal until well after dinner. Pivoting, Courtney headed back for her own room and silently cursed Billy for having quit.

The not mood maybe be boiling into an actual mood. Which sucked.

Courtney threw herself on her bed, letting the staff bounce beside her and her backpack fall to the floor. She wasn’t going to wallow. If Courtney allowed herself to wallow then she really would be in a mood. She sat up and considered her options. There was clearly no point in disturbing the Brownstone’s other occupants but she needed to do something otherwise Courtney might just burst.

A thought struck her and Courtney pulled her phone out of her bag. She could always call Jack. Since giving her the staff he’d wiped his hands of heroing but delighted in hearing her adventures. Though he usually hid it behind liberal amounts sarcasm and lots of “Ohmygod, kid you’re going to kill yourself”s. In her heart, Courtney knew he loved it. Except, calling Jack meant he’d also want to chatter and it’d probably be about his kids, who were adorable, but Courtney dealt with enough smelly diapers from her little sister and she didn’t really want to hear about them from Jack. He was just as likely to go on at her about potty training as about old records anymore. Loathe as she was to admit it, Courtney would much rather hear about the records. She actually liked swing music. A lot. Not that she’d tell anyone. She blamed all the forties holdouts she found herself surrounded by.

That was it. Courtney wasn’t going to lay here and stew or sour further. Nope. She was getting up and going to find something, anything, to do. Hell, she’d even find Ma Hunkle and offer to clean the bathrooms at this point.

Leaving the staff and her phone on her bed, Courtney headed towards the kitchen. There was the distinct possibility that she was just getting hangry. Besides, eating was something to do. A wind sent her hair falling in front of her face and static electricity tingled down her spine. Jay must have just passed her. She kept walking, except Jay now stood before her.

Unlike Courtney, he wasn’t in uniform. Instead, worn jeans and a polo shirt that really sold his grandfatherly vibe. “Just the girl I was looking for,” he grinned. “Obsidian said you were here early; I’m hoping you might be able to help us out.”

Suddenly everything clicked. No wonder she felt out of sorts and no one was around, Courtney was early! Normally she had a football game to cheer at on a Friday night, except the other school’s coach was in the midst of a scandal and their season had been suspended. Meaning Blue Valley had no one to play against this week and so the game was cancelled. Which meant she missed hanging out with Mary at one of their houses or the diner downtown before getting ready. Courtney also missed the challenge that cheering provided: trusting in her squad to catch her instead of the staff, pushing her own strength and reflexes without the help of the belt as she tumbled and jumped. Pat was always on her about how important balance was, especially for superheroes, and she’d come to really rely on the games to just decompress and reset before the weekend. Be Courtney Whitmore, not Stargirl.

No wonder she was in a mood.

With this realization, Courtney felt the jitters and acid words building in the back of her throat begin to drain away. It was a slow process, but it was something.

Courtney grinned back at Jay. She could help, she definitely could help. “What’s up?”

“You are our resident teenager so Alan, Ma, and I were hoping to pick your brain. Some of the other kids are downstairs already too. You can get changed and I’ll meet you in the kitchen,” Jay said with another smile. Then he was gone.

Standing there Courtney couldn’t stop herself from smiling at the empty air. Jay had asked for her help, not Stargirl’s but Courtney’s. She was in fact going to go put on some jeans and a t-shirt before heading to the kitchen. Her mood was slipping away with each step.

In the kitchen, there was a group of people all clustered around the table. Ma Hunkle bringing a platter of snacks over when Courtney walked in. She couldn’t hear what they were talking about but she had a clear view of Grant and he looked like he was seriously considering getting up, walking to Titans Tower, and asking them to take him back. Though that wasn’t necessarily a bad sign since Grant normally looked like that. Especially with Rick and Jesse flirting at each other from either side of him.

Courtney took the empty chair next to Jay. “What’s up?” She glanced around the table and got the weird sense they’d been waiting for her because the side conversations stopped.

“Well,” Alan started, “the Brownstone always participates in trick-or-treat but we were thinking about doing something else for the teenagers and college kids this year too.”

“And I nixed the haunted house idea already,” Ma added as she slid the platter closer to Courtney. “There’s enough things that could go wrong with the stuff in that museum without the addition of jump-scares.”

Giggling around her carrot stick, Courtney shared a look with Jesse across the table.

“So,” Alan picked back up again, “we thought about hosting a movie night. We figured there was enough space and we certainly have large enough screens.” He smirked at a private joke. Courtney looked to Jay for some sort of explanation but he just seemed to shrug back at her.

“Is there a point to this?” Grant sighed. Though he did pick up a piece of pointedly passed celery.

“We hoped you might have ideas for some movies. Our list so far mainly consists of Hitchcock and Ghostbusters,” Jay broke in with a self-deprecating chuckle.

Grant’s eyes seemed to light up. “You mean like horror movies?”

“We’re open to suggestions,” Alan nodded.

“I’ll make a list,” Grant said excitedly. He was already pushing his chair back and heading for the drawer with the pens and notepads.

“Hocus Pocus is a classic,” Courtney offered. She wasn’t into horror like Grant obviously was, but she did like Halloween movies. “Corpse Bride and Coraline and all those other stop animations are fun.”

“There was one I used to watch when I was a kid,” Rick drummed his fingers on the table. “This girl found out she was a witch-”

“Sabrina the Teenaged Witch is a show, not a movie,” Jesse interrupted.

Rick laughed. “No, not what I was thinking of. She found out she was a witch and snuck off with her siblings after their grandma to this other world.”

“Halloweentown!” Courtney yelled excitedly. “Those are great! There’s four of them, though they changed the actress who played Marnie in the last one. The two Twitches movies are other classic DCOMs.”

Grant brought back his list and laid it on the table. “Here. The Goth movies are really great but the fact he turned out to be a literal demon and a supervillain kinda ruins them.”

Courtney screwed her face up at Grant in the same way she did whenever Mike said something incredibly stupid. Which in her opinion was a lot. “What?”

“Uh, the Titans files have it.” He scratched at the back of his head awkwardly as he sat down again.

“We could run an all-day marathon with these alone,” Jay said as he glanced at the list.

“Why not? A sort of come and go as you please?” Jesse suggested.

“Do some of the darker stuff later with the Disney and like Beetlejuice in the afternoon,” Rick nodded.

“Run Rocky Horror at midnight,” Jesse shared a grin with her husband.

“Oh!” Rick seemed positively thrilled by the idea. “And Lost Boys right before. Great bad movie.”

“Lost Boys?” Courtney turned her skeptical look on Rick.

Rick seemed scandalized. “Only the best vampire movie there is.”

Courtney gave him her most skeptical look.

“No no,” Grant shook his finger towards Rick, “he’s got a point about Lost Boys. Cult classic.”

While Courtney didn’t entirely believe this – The Rocky Horror Picture Show on the other hand sounded like a great idea – she did have to admit the guys’ enthusiasm was fun and infections. “I guess we’ll just have to watch it,” she smirked.

“That’s a great idea, Court,” Jay patted her back. “We could watch a bunch and pick our favorites to narrow it down.”

“Advertise it as the JSA’s favorites too. Be great for marketing,” Jesse nodded.

Ma shook her head, “We better get started then, there’s a lot to get through.”

“I’ll rally the troops then,” Jay was already gone.

Courtney took the initiative to make some popcorn. Her mood really had disappeared. Amazing what the prospect of a movie night did.

[judefan819-blog]

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A LunaTic and her Gunn (Part 13)

"Fucking Mr. Baker"

In the bedroom, Luna's head is still buzzing. She pops a Xanax and downs a whole bottle of water. She hands both to Colson, he does the same. "What time's your flight?" She asks. Peeling off her suit.

"8A" He replies, shorts dropping.

She eyeballs his dick. He's hard and its huge. Making Luna salivate. "Fuck. So you'll get there, what 1p? I thought you were getting her in the morning."

"That is my morning, Kitten." He sees her staring at him intently.

"True." She says rubbing her eyes. His dick is still there when she opens them. Trails are still coming hard in random spurts and she can't tell if his dick is growing bigger or if it's just her mind. She doesn't realize how hard she's staring at it until he speaks.

"You wanna do something about it?" He asks.

"What?"

"You're staring at my dick like you have a test on it." He says laughing.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she looks up at him, asking "Wanna see if I can pass, Mr. Baker? While grabbing his thigh and pulling him close to her. With his dick dangling in her face, she puts both hands on his ass cheeks while she soaks his balls and base of his cock.

Colson leans his head back groaning as her mouth glides up his cock to the tip. "You're a bad girl, Luna Smith."

"Mmmmhhmm" she hums as she puts as much of him as she can fit into her mouth. Using one hand to move and twist the parts she can't reach. Her other hand squeezes, digging her nails into his bare ass cheeks as she sucks his dick hard and long.

"Let me fuck you." He requests, breathing heavily.

Releasing him from her mouth. She looks up "Do whatever you want, Bunny."

With that he pushes her back and flips her over, onto the bed. She moans, propping herself up on her elbows while dropping her lower back, wiggling her ass up high for him. She yelps as he slaps it hard. Before entering her, he grabs her by both bare hips and licks her pussy from front to back. Pulling her close and sucking hard.

"MMMMMM... Fucking Peaches." He thinks slurping up her juices."

He feels her body twitching against his face. Letting go off her pussy. He bites the tattoo on her right ass cheek. She giggles and tries to climb away but he pulls her back. "Where do you think you're going?" He taunts her as he slides his dick slowly inside of her. She moans as she shifts, rocking her hips, helping him adjust his girth. Once he's fully in he takes long, deep stokes into her tight pussy. She starts pushing harder into his strokes, breath flittering, as she begins to ride his cock from behind.

"God Damn, there she goes again!" He thinks fully enjoying her enthusiasm.

With that slides his hand around her throat, pulling her ear to his mouth. "You like taking this dick don't you, you little whore." He huskily breathes into her.

"Holy fucking shit balls of hell!!!" Her mind throwing out the most random things whenever he talks her this way.

"OH YES, Mr. Baker!" She exclaims slamming her ass hard against his hips, shoving him deeper inside of her. "Who's whore am I?" She begs.

"Mine. You're fucking MINE. And I'm cuming ALL inside of you!!" He groans as she bucks against him, making him explode inside of her. As his dick throbs, her pussy walls tighten. Riding his dick, she comes hard with his words. Luna opens her thighs wide, slowly using her elbows to slide she body down on to the bed. Colson lays against her naked back. Still inside of her. Both are silent with pleasure.

"I love how she lets me lay inside of her." He thinks contently. She smells like summer he notices as he breathes her in.

After a few moments he kisses the middle of her back before he slides out of her, making her whine. She rolls over on her back and looks up at him. "I fucking love you." She says tiredly.

"I fucking love you." He replies. Offering his hand and a towel. She stands up, pulling his face down towards hers for a sensual kiss before they clean themselves off and climb into bed.

As she lays her head on his chest, she asks if he has an alarm set. He does, he tells her wrappping his arm around her. Their legs tangle together. The Xanax has kicked in. Both being tired and satisfied they easily drift off to sleep.

Luna's worry still lives, whispering to her in the back of her tired mind. "Fuck. I hope she likes me...."

--------------------------------------------------

"FUCK, I hate mornings." Colson thinks shutting his alarm off. "Damn, she's knocked." Looking at Luna, he notices the alarm hadn't bothered her at all. "Let's keep it that way." He kisses her forehead before wiggling out of bed trying not to wake her. It doesn't work.

"Mmmm..." She moans once she feels him moving "Where are you going?" She asks without opening her eyes.

"Gotta get Cas, remember?"

"Mhm. Do you want me to get up with you?" She asks, eyes still closed.

He kisses her head. "No Bunny, sleep. Call me when you wake up." He kisses her again "I love you."

"Mmm. Love you too. Text me when you land, please."

"Of course." He kisses her head again. She burrows into the bed as Colson heads to the bathroom to shower.

In the shower Colson jerks off, recalling all the different ways he's fucked Luna in the last 3 days. He cums quickly and finishes up in the shower. Once out he can feel his hangover lifting.

"Such a good remedy" He laughs to himself.

He makes his way quietly out of the bathroom and gets dressed. He already has a bag packed but is throwing in a couple loose ends when he sees Luna's barely covered naked body out of the corner of his eye. She's peacefully sleeping.

"FUCK, she's gorgeous." He thinks, refraining from kissing her before he walks out of the room, not wanting to disturb her. He makes sure the door is tightly closed behind him.

--------------------------------------------------

In the uber to the hanger, Colson can't stop thinking about Luna. He pulls his phone out while walking to the plane, wanting to Snap her when he realizes they're not friends.

"We'll be fixing THAT." He flips through his gallery before choosing a pic and texting it to her saying 'Miss u. ❤ u 😽.'

--------------------------------------------------

Luna wakes up to an empty bed. Touching where Colson should be, she vaguely remembers a conversation with him this morning. She grabs her phone to check the time and sees she has a text from Colson.

"It's not even noon yet, there's no way he's landed already. She thinks opening his text. It's the first selfie they ever took together, telling her, he misses and loves her. "He's so sweet" she thinks before looking closely at the picture "We look so FUCKED up and serious. Why??? " She asks herself, laughing out loud before calling Colson.

It rings but he doesn't answer. She lays there for a second before getting up and throwing on a pair of black boy shorts and a black tank top. She makes her way downstairs. Only Pete is in the kitchen, at the table. She grabs a cup of coffee before joining him. "Morning" she greets him sitting down.

"Morning." He says, looking worse for wear. Luna begins to roll a joint hoping it will subside her own ailments.

She sparks it, taking in a long smooth drag. It makes her heady. After hitting it a few more times, she passes it to Pete.

"What are you doing today, Loons?" He asks, exhaling.

"Besides a shower, I'm not sure. I may hit HFC, pay some respects. Tool around downtown with my camera." She shrugs. "What about you?" She asks. Taking the joint and hitting it.

"Headed home. Gotta start preparing for next week's show."

"Hm. That sucks. It was nice hanging with you these last couple days tho." She says leaning her head against his shoulder. He leans the side of his face on top of her head. "Be safe."

He lifts it back up. "Yeeeahh....And it was." He says. "When you headed home?"

"I don't know." She says lifting her head too. "I sold the apartment." Hitting the joint again before passing it.

"REALLY?" He turns, looking at her, a little shocked as he takes it.

"Yeah." She sighs, shrugging.

They don't say much more. They've been friends long enough that they don't need to. They pass the joint back and forth, both of their minds drifting to Justin.

As she takes a last hit, she tries not to cough. "When you leaving?"

"My uber should be here in like 20 mins."

"Shit, well gimme a hug because I'm gonna boogie too." She says standing up.

They embrace. A nice, solid, comforting friend hug. She squeezes him. "Love ya, Petey."

He squeezes her back and pecks her on top of the head. "Love ya too, Loons." They let go of each other. As she begins to walk away, he grabs her hand. "Im really happy for you and Kells."

They smile at each other. "Thank you. You know what that means to me." She smiles at her friend "See you soon." She squeezes his hand and he nods. She turns and heads upstairs, ordering her own uber on the way up.

--------------------------------------------------

Once landing in Cleveland, Colson heads directly to Emma and Casie's house.

"DADDY!!!" She exclaims, jumping on him and greeting him with a huge hug. She kisses him right on the cheek.

"How are you, Pumpkin?" He asks her, laughing.

"I'm gooood. What are we gonna do?" She asks excitedly.

Laughing again, he sets her down "I don't know yet, I wanna talk to Mommy real quick. Where is she?"

"In the kitchen."

"Cool, go grab your bag." He tickles her as she runs off giggling.

--------------------------------------------------

Colson walks into the kitchen, finding Emma by the stove. She looks up. "Hey Em." He says pecking her on the cheek before sitting down at the island. "Gotta sec?"

"Sure."

"I met someone."

"I'm glad we've never been the bullshitting type." He thinks cutting right into it.

"Reeeeally?" She looks up from the vegetables she's sauteeing, intrigued. They haven't had this conversation on his behalf before. "Good for you." She smiles at him. "What's she like?"

His face lights up "She's really great. She's a photographer and an artist too. She's really smart, down to earth and sweet. I'm in love with her Em, and I want Cas to meet her."

"Ok." Emma nods in agreeance. "I'd like to meet her first, if you don't mind." Protective over her daughter and aware of Colson's lifestyle.

"Yeah, I'm cool with that. I was gonna stay at my house tonight. If I can get her out here tomorrow, you think your mom'll watch Cas so we can all go to lunch?"

"I don't see why not" She shrugs. "So, around this time? She asks looking at the clock.

"Let me hit her up." He says standing up. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he notices he has a missed call from Luna. He hits call back while walking out of the room.

--------------------------------------------------

Emma goes back to her vegetables, Colson has never brought a girl home before. It has her wondering about this her.

"Crap, I meant to ask him her name." She thinks to herself.

--------------------------------------------------

Luna had gone back to Ashley's, no one was there so she showered quickly and hopped another uber. She's now roaming around the Hollywood Forever Cemetery with her camera in a flowing floral dress, flannel, chunky jewelry and basic docs.

"I love how beautiful it is here." She thinks while taking a few shots as she wanders.

There's a few personal graves she lingers by, having a private chat. Then placing a flower at each one. A singular flower for a handful of hearts. Trading one for the other she has brought with her.

Strolling through, letting her hands graze headstones, her ringing phone breaks her random thoughts.

"Hello."

"Hey, Kitten."

"Hi Bunny, how was your flight?"

"Not bad, sorry I missed your call."

"No worries, what's up? Everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's great.

"But.....?" She asks.

He chuckles appreciating her bluntness. "How do you feel about flying out here to have lunch with Casi's mom, Emma tomorrow. She wants to meet you before Cas does." Luna's silent. "If it's too much..." Colson starts.

"No, no, no..." She interrupts. "I was just thinking I'd rather fly this evening, then try to pull some crazy early shit like you did this morning. I can just stay in a hotel and be fresh instead of airplane jumbled. You know what I mean."

"You don't have to stay in a hotel, you can stay with me."

"Isn't Cas coming home with you?"

"Oh, yeah."

"I love you, but you're an idiot." She laughs.

"So, you'll really come? He asks excitedly.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I? It's important."

"I love you, Luna."

I love you too, you fucking nut ball." She laughs shaking her head. They agree that she'll book her flight but that he can book her room, since he knows Cleveland better than she does. They talk a bit longer.

"Alright." She finishes "I'll hit you up later. Love you too." She says hanging up. She had really went rogue while on the phone, wandering far into the cemetery. She finds a mausoleum and plunks down in its shade to book her flight.

As it hits her, she sighs deeply, trying not to be intimated by the scenario. She's only dated Justin seriously and they had been together since they were kids. "All in, Loons. Either way, he's fucking worth it." She thinks to herself. Knowing so as she smiles, from her racing heart and skin tingling at the simple thought of Colson.

--------------------------------------------------

To be continued.....

[diverolli]

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#THE LUMEN CLEVELAND DRIVERS#

For theater-goers, drop-off and valet will also be available in front of the Connor Palace, but drivers will have to come in from Chester Avenue to East 17 th to Euclid Avenue. Sidewalks on Euclid Avenue and the crosswalk at East 14 th will remain open. It will take a few days for construction crews to disassemble the crane completely, so Euclid Avenue between East 18 th and East 14 th streets is scheduled to be closed through Saturday, but inclement weather could delay that process. Weather permitting, the crane should be completely down by the end of the weekend. “Most of the work from this point on will be completing the apartment units.” “The project is now completely enclosed with glass,” Falco said. The crane towering over the Euclid Avenue construction site of the Lumen building in Playhouse Square comes down this week.ĭismantling the crane means the exterior of the 400-foot tall high-rise apartment is almost complete, said Art Falco, Playhouse Square’s senior advisor for special projects.

[wongdavidson67-blog]

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Cleveland, OH 44114

The Garfield Building is a high-rise building on the corner of Euclid Avenue and E. 6th Street in Cleveland, Ohio. It was the first steel frame skyscraper constructed in the city. The edifice was designed by Henry Ives Cobb and built in 1893 by Harry Augustus Garfield and James Rudolph Garfield, sons of President James A. Garfield. The ten-story structure was the first steel frame office building erected in the city The facade on E. 6th Street was 214 feet long, taking up the entire block between Euclid and Vincent Avenues, but just 70 feet on Euclid Avenue.  Patrons could access the upper floors via a large marble staircase or four elevators. All the upper floors featured Italian marble wainscoting.

     A below-ground level was intended to serve as a bank, and several meeting rooms, banking parlors, and massive steel vaults were erected there during the building's construction at a cost of $100,000.  A customer for this space was not found until 1895, when the Cleveland Trust Company moved in.  The building's major tenant was the local luxury jewelry firm of Cowell and Hubbard, which rented the entire first floor. In 1898, the Cleveland Trust Co. moved a portion of its operations onto the first floor, building "club rooms" for its male depositors to relax in while banking. and a "ladies' parlor" and tea room for its female patrons.

     In 1918, National City Corp. (a bank) purchased the Garfield Building. The structure was renovated at a cost of $500,000, converting the entire first floor into a marble-walled public banking room. The architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White oversaw the renovation. The structure was renamed the National City Bank Building after the renovation was complete in 1921. National City Corp. suffered extremely heavy financial losses on mortgages during the 2007-2009 Great Recession. Despite a $7 billion infusion of capital, the bank was sold at below-market-value in October 2008.  Westcore Properties acquired the building in 2008.

     Having sat vacant since 2009, the Garfield Building was purchased by Millennia Companies in April 2014,with plans to convert it into apartments. The Garfield attracted renewed attention in April 2015 after portions of the parapet fell onto the sidewalk and adjacent parked cars.  The newly renovated apartments opened as the Garfield Apartments in the fall of 2017.  In 2017, the former public banking hall in the Garfield Building was converted into an upscale restaurant, the Marble Room. Ground floor office space adjacent to the hall was converted into a kitchen, and a small mezzanine constructed to provide space for a glass-walled wine cellar. The below-ground bank vaults were converted into banquet and private dining space.

     Today, The Garfield is an apartment community located in Cuyahoga County and the 44114 ZIP Code. This area is served by the Cleveland Metropolitan attendance zone.  Patrons can experience the highest level of downtown living Cleveland has to offer at The Garfield. From the stylish design to the amazing amenities and exceptional resident service, The Garfield delivers a level above the highest expectations. There has never been an apartment home in Northeast Ohio like The Garfield.  The newly renovated Historical Building was redesigned. Luxurious wood inspired flooring, breathtaking baths with tile accents, frame-less glass shower doors, and kitchens featuring custom designed cabinetry with glass doors, high-end quartz counters, and premium stainless appliance packages accentuate the beauty of this historical building.  Residents of The Garfield truly enjoy the conveniences offered from door-to-door dry cleaning, grocery delivery, and professional housekeeping services. all available through partnerships with the best local business. 

[weneverlearn]

"Our kids were conceived to that one.”

Chewing the fat with Marshall Crenshaw about his 1983 classic, just reissued on Intervention Records

It’s not often you get one of your all time favorite albums from your dentist.

So I’m in 9th grade, and making back and forths in the parents’ station wagon to the dental school at Case Western Reserve University because my four top front teeth were all agog. (My mom figured it was because I’d fallen down the basement stairs when I was one and landed on my face.) Numerous visits that included poking, prodding, and endless numbing shots into the inside of the top jaw was no way to enter the high school years. But having a hep craw doc helped. 

Dr. Sasthma (”It’s like asthma, but with an S” -- funny guy) was his name, and between spit suction and implorations to floss more, we fit in fun music discussions. On the last visit right before the big pulling and twisting procedure, Sasthma sits me down and says, “This one today ain’t gonna be easy, but I’ve got a little prize for you afterwards.” And for the next hour and a half, I sat there with my mouth open (some would say that would not be out of the ordinary), while the doc poked around and made chin-scratching/brow-furrowing decisions, all while my jaw muscles started to atrophy.

Finally, when it was done, he reaches behind the giant dentist chair claw machine thing and pulls out Marshall Crenshaw’s debut album (Warner Bros., 1982). After I had regaled him with how much I liked “Someday, Someway” at the previous visit, he said he tracked down the album for me, though the shrink wrap had been peeled. “Well, I had to give it a listen, and yeah, it’s great!”

L-R: Robert Crenshaw, Marshall Crenshaw, Chris Donato - Photographer unknown

Not only did that little act make me much more tolerant of dentist visits going forward, it gave me one of my favorite albums. Crenshaw’s revived Buddy Holly-meets-nervous with opening pickup lines pop classicism was like a fresh, new toothbrush over all the dreary, dusty, classic rock of my Cleveland radio dial depression, until I took a sharp left into college radio that summer where I first heard Crenshaw, and a lot more. (Thanks WCSB, WRUW, and WUJC!) 

It’s hard to imagine today, hearing Crenshaw’s should-couldabeen power pop nuggets, but his clean looks and simple two-minute tunes made him a little too throwback odd for mainstream radio back then. Who knows or cares, as he still piled up an impressive major label canon before furthering into a long-running career of solid albums and consistent touring. The days of figuring out the whys and hows of mainstream radio play now seems about as useful as wondering how to get better reception on your TV.

Crenshaw’s sophomore album, Field Day (Warner Bros., 1983)? Maybe even better, filled with a slightly wider songwriting palette and production to match it. The term “sophomore album” never fit better for me, as it landed right around my sophomore year, and was a perfect companion on my journey into hook-heavy rock’n’roll obsession and mythical, sun-setting summer romance mythology/reality. 

So imagine my excitement when I got a press release about an impending reissue of Field Day. Despite it’s initial hefty, if brief, publicity push, Top 40-sniffing hit single (”Whenever You’re on My Mind”), and big time producer (Steve Lillywhite), the record didn’t (say it with me) “sell as much as hoped for.” And though Crenshaw did not fall into the usual “got dropped” holes (three more major label albums followed), Field Day did lag just a bit behind the CD explosion, having fallen out of print, and was never given a proper CD version for a few years. 

I only point this out because, goddamn it, it’s a perfect guitar pop record and is one of the best of that fleeting, early-80s moment where bright-eyed corners of the record industry hoped the world might once again embrace melancholy-flecked, otherwise blue-sky singalong songs. ‘Twas that “skinny tie” moment where loads of slacks-sporting Midwesterners parlayed punk’s energy into their pre-teen guitar lessons filled with Beatles covers. And in even that, Crenshaw did not exactly fit -- kind of the front tooth along my otherwise straight top row.

Upstart vinyl reissue label, Intervention Records -- who seem to have a knack for snaring ol’ major label titles from oblivion --  recently released a fine, vinyl-only edition of Field Day, including an extra 12″ EP of remix and live stuff, and different artwork.

I caught up with Crenshaw internet-wise to get his take on the new update of his old classic. 

If memory serves, I saw you play "High School" by the MC5 at an outdoor BBQ fest thing in downtown Cleveland in, like, 1985/6. Any memories of that, and did you cover that tune often? 

I remember that event in Cleveland, like a fried-chicken festival, right? I remember that we used "The Greasy Chicken,” by Andre Williams as walk-on music that day (and on other days). The MC5 song would've been "Tonight.” I never played "High School,” except with DKT-MC5 in 2004. I played "Tonight" a lot over the years. I grew up in the Detroit area, was a big MC5 fan. "Tonight" was sort of a local hit single, got played on CKLW. A band that I was in played it at an audition for a dance at our high school, and I can still picture a girl sitting in front of me watching me play and sing that song, really enthralled by what we were doing. That girl was Ione. She and I are still together.

You grew up in Detroit, right? When did you move, and what were some early influences from living in Detroit, music and otherwise?

I lived in the Detroit area from birth (1953) until 1977, grew up with Rock and Roll music all around me, fell in love with the music during childhood. Detroit was a big test market for records. There were lots of regional hits, on national and local labels. Two that immediately come to mind are, "When You Walk In the Room" by Jackie DeShannon, and "Mind Over Matter" by Nolan Strong and The Diablos -- both massive Detroit hits, both part of my musical DNA. As far as influences besides music go, I don't know where to start. That could turn into a book.

Though the only book Crenshaw has done so far was this excellent compendium of rock’n’roll movies; also, his musical knowledge goes deep. If you can do so, track down this amazing hillbilly compilation he put together in 1989.

Field Day, in title and cover art, was a reference to high school, I assume. But I remember some reviews saying that that record was a kind of more mature version of you -- bigger production, some more serious themes, etc. So what was your inspiration for the high school nod?

I had nothing whatsoever to do with creating the packaging for that record. When we finished recording, I went on vacation with Ione and Robert to visit Robert's girlfriend at the time. She was working on location outside Prague on the movie Amadeus (which I've still never seen. I should see it, I saw it being made). And when I got back, the album cover had been put together by my then-manager. His father co-owned a big company that published magazines. My manager had worked for that company for a minute, and thought that the presentation of images was something that he knew something about. I hated the album’s front cover, got talked into approving it. OOPS! I don't think Warners was pleased that instead of using their art department, he'd hired an expensive design firm to create such a dodgy end-product. He came up with the title; I do like the title, didn't think of high school when he suggested it. "Having a field day" is just a figure of speech, doesn't refer to high school, necessarily. It just means "having a great time,” and indeed we really had a great time making the album.

It said the art for this reissue is how you originally intended. 

I wanted to change the front cover for the reissue, was extremely happy that Intervention Records was into the idea. The only thing that made sense was to use some pre-existing artwork from the time period, namely the front of the picture sleeve for the "Whenever You're On My Mind” 7″.

I just loved Field Day when it came out. I am sure you are more than aware of the "debates" over the production -- which to me made total sense for those songs and that point of your career. What is your take on what you asked of Steve Lillywhite, and how you felt it turned out, back then?

I'm really glad that you like it. I know that the album was "controversial" in the day. I think that all the criticism it got back then was completely lame. When I listened to the first playback of the finished mixes, I had my feet up on the edge of the console; I thought, “This is an album that can kick the world's ass.” We all loved working with Steve. He was the only producer that I talked to going in, my first choice. He said yes right away, and that was that.

I'll assume you were involved in this reissue. What were your thoughts on revisiting it?

I heard about the reissue project after it was already underway, and was just delighted about it. I'd even say that I felt a sense of gratitude that somebody wanted to honor the album, which is what Intervention has done. As a career experience, "Field Day" was an instance where the party-train just ran right into the ditch. I loved the album, didn't get why some people were perplexed by it. I got the test pressing from Intervention and was knocked out. It's just a unique and beautiful Rock and Roll record, if you ask me. And the people at Intervention love it as much as I do.

Your’s truly probably bugging Crenshaw about the MC5 again, post-back alley gig, August, 2012, NYC

Any good stories during the recording of Field Day? In-studio disputes, after-session shenanigans, anything like that?

I don't remember any disputes until after the record was done -- then the shit-storm began. We had nothing but fun while doing it, and there was a festive atmosphere at the sessions. They were all at night, and afterwards we'd go out. I remember going one night to the Roxy Roller Rink disco on the West Side with Steve and a couple of the other guys. This was when hip-hop was first starting to come downtown. When we finally got out of there it was broad daylight. "Monday Morning Rock" was partly inspired by that night...

"Whenever You're on My Mind" was a demo for awhile before it appeared on Field Day, right? How come it didn't make it onto the debut?

I wrote that one before I wrote most of the songs on my first album. When I did the first album I wanted to do all the newer ones first. I'm always most excited about whatever the new thing is. But then, going into "Field Day," I was really glad to have "Whenever" in reserve. And I'm glad that it got recorded when it did, under those circumstances.

The instrumental of "Blues is King" from that era is one of my favorite instrumentals, and just has one of those, maybe accidental, gorgeous, simple demo production vibes. Was that originally an instrumental and you decided to add lyrics later, or what?

I did that instrumental version after I'd written the music; the lyrics didn't happen until a few months later. I do like it as just a piece of instrumental music. And those are Mosrite guitars, which I love the sound of.

Field Day standout, "Our Town" -- when you made Field Day, I believe you'd been living in NYC for awhile. Did you pine to get on a train back to Detroit sometimes? What were the bad and good things about trying to get your music career going in NYC in the very early 1980s?

I never pined to get back to Detroit (although I like visiting there now). That song was written about New York. I'd been on the road for most of a year when I wrote it. I did take a train to Detroit once, from NYC. It was during the last days when Michigan Central Station was still being used by Amtrak. I'd never seen the station during it's heyday, but when I got there it looked not that different than what it looks like now, like an absolute wreck. I still remember the look on my mother's face standing there waiting for me. She looked like she felt ashamed, and like, "You had to take the train and make me go through this, right?" Getting my music career going in NYC in the early '80s was a blast. The scene embraced us right away. It was like dying and going to heaven. 

Did you find yourself attracted to the CBGB scene at the time? 

Yes, we played CBGB many times. I think we even held an attendance record there for a minute, or maybe I dreamt that. But our last couple shows there were mob scenes. I really had my ears and mind open in all different directions during those years in New York, and I can't overstate how much I loved the NY scene then, with all it's diversity, innovation, etc. I'm still proud to have been part of it. And I'm including NY radio in this declaration. I had lots of great go-to stations like WBLS and WKTU ("urban"), WLIB (Caribbean music), WFMU (free-form), WKCR (Jazz), WNYU, with "The Afternoon Show,” and the "Wavebreaker" countdown on Fridays, WNEW ('cause they played us). On and on...

There were a ton of "skinny tie" power pop bands around in the very early '80s too, many from the Midwest. Did you play with the Shoes, Knack, Romantics, Plimsouls, etc.? Were there ones that stuck out for you? I feel like you weren't roped into that signing frenzy trend though.

I played with The Plimsouls in NY once. I loved them, became friends with Peter [Case] back then. But one of my fears in those days was that anybody might lump us in with that Anglophile “skinny tie” thing. I hated most of it, not all of it. I didn't like The Knack, didn't identify with what they were doing, didn't want anybody to identify us with what they were doing. I feel bad saying so, but I'm answering your question. Again, we came out of the NY club scene which was really diverse and eclectic. I wanted our stuff to reflect that as best I could. Another one of my fears, since we took off so fast in NY, was that somebody might tag us as the "Next Big Thing,” and unfortunately that did happen. I had a real sense of doom when I read all that stuff about my first album in Rolling Stone.

Oh, also, we were never part of any signing frenzy. We got our record deal by packing out every NY club we played at, getting our stuff on "mainstream" FM rock radio when they never played local bands on indie labels. We earned it the way you did back then.

"What Time Is It?" -- how did you decide on that cover? I assume you were a big doo wop fan. Once you got to NYC, did you get to play with or meet any old doo wop favorites?

I don't think that happened, but now I wish that it had. It would've been great to meet Randy and The Rainbows, for instance. "Denise" is one of those records that gets me every time. Or Eugene Pitt of The Jive Five. It's too bad I never met him, even after I covered their tune (actually a Feldman-Goldstein-Gottehrer tune, but anyway).

Can you tell me about the making of the "Whenever You're on My Mind" video? Were you one of those who was suspicious of videos back then?

Hahahahaha! By the time we did that one I was really enthusiastic about videos, wanted us to get on that bandwagon. It seemed like most of my favorite ones were British, so we went over there and found a British director. I'm laughing thinking about it now. We tried.

Finally, where would you rank Field Day in your catalog? 

I was really on my game just then. It was some kind of a pinnacle, as far as that moment in my life goes. And it seems to be my most beloved album. People tell me all kinds of things about it, like, "Our kids were conceived to that one.”

[glowyjellyfish]

Here’s the problem I’m having with playing a Sims 2 Megahood. Every time I play, I think “oh, this is an interesting story I should share,” but every time I play, I’m just in it for playing and never think to take pictures or do a full write-up afterwards. I want to change that.

I am, somehow, playing a perfectly functional game on Windows 10. Don’t ask me how. I had it installed for a few months last year before it suddenly broke after my software insisted on updating, couldn’t get it working again no matter how hard I tried, had the urge in January and it installed with no problems. Shrug. I… may have switched to using the UC version over the G4W version? And then used the G4W installers to cram in the missing expansion packs? Anyway, my whole intent was to set up different downloads folders so as to lessen my ungodly loading time and make Flavor Games capable of using Defaults and such. I… am not particularly far into this project, but my Modern Downloads folder is looking pretty clean. Might swap it out for Medieval one of these days and try to play MCC again, but not today.

I have a whole host of MATY mods, ACR and Inteen (partially because I collected the mods when all my downloads were in one folder and I was playing historic hoods, and partly because it just bugs me when teens can woohoo without any possible consequences. I don’t usually go for it, but it makes for fun drama if it happens), and recently installed Hat’s Proportional Aging Mod, which I’m still getting used to. I didn’t like that sims would stay in college for WAY TOO LONG and also didn’t like playing 24-hour semesters, but boy howdy is there an adjustment period for this aging mod. I’m just hoping to avoid a Young Adult Desert as the last of the sims who were already teens when the hood began has departed for college, and it will be Entire Rounds before the next batch of teens is ready. I usually have teens leave for college at any point when they are at 5 days or less to Adult, but might bend that rule in a couple rounds to prevent the colleges from going empty.

I’m also trying to use LTW-focused gameplay, as opposed to ignoring the LTWs that don’t fit how I usually play, such as the Business ones and the Pet ones, but at the same time I’m setting up a pyramid-style Career Slots scheme whereby each career level has a limited number of jobs available (10 at level 1, 9 at level 2, etc), to try and encourage diversified gameplay. I’ll use the job stoppinator when a sim cannot advance, and sims in a level with no open slots are required to use chance cards (which I often ignore in regular gameplay). I also have some standard rules for rolling a sim’s Aspiration, turn-ons, and orientation when they become Teens (the orientation is newer, and i don’t have many queer sims yet but I am hopeful), and a little program where broke college graduates can be ‘hired’ by households that are soon to lose their last guardian to housesit and watch the kids until the household family ages to teen or moves back from college; they’re paid in room and board, and a fair share of the household funds when they leave.

I’m using Google Sheets to have a massive spreadsheet for a census and record as I play, as well as record family trees (I figured out a way to simply write in family trees, so excited), and figure out potential pairings based on attraction.

I have a play order that spaces out the Main Three Hoods so I won’t hit a rough patch of too much Unfavorite Hoods or too much College to play before getting back to the good stuff. Currently, I’m in Belladonna Cove at the opening of a new round, and a lot has already happened in the four or five rounds I’ve played so far.

In Belladonna Cove, the Goodies befriended Bella Goth--the poor thing, stumbling around with no memory of her former life, clearly she needed friends! ...when in fact although she did lose her memory in the traumatic event that also resulted in a clone, she’s dimly aware that she has a family (ie she’s on the family tree), and she’s much happier just seducing sims and living her best life. She’s debating whether she’s interested in staying in Belladonna Cove, or would prefer to move Downtown, while Herbert and Faith have just been going hiking and entering cooking contests with their spare time.

Gavin and Ginger Newson managed to care for their siblings until they were ready to go to college. Gabriella and Gallagher are teens now, taking care of Georgia and Garrett, but are concerned they’re going to miss their chance for college before the kids grow up. They might end up hiring a broke college graduate.

Carlos Contender didn’t marry Chastity Gere, but she moved in with him and had twins Patience and Verity (girl and boy) with him before she unexpectedly died of disease. Carlos isn’t too far off from Death’s Door himself, and is looking into hiring some kind of caregiver, or possibly asking his family to take in his kids.

The Patels moved to a modest house and currently have three kids, Jaya, Kavita, and Umar. Jaya just grew up to be a child.

The Clevelands had two more children--a daughter, Melissa, and the result of an abduction, Sylvia--and moved Downtown; Justin’s currently attending Sim State University.

Kimberly Cordial successfully married Armand De Bateau, and moved with him and Tara out of the penthouse to a mansion nearby in the wealthy district--one that needed plenty of remodeling, by the way. Giant awkwardly shaped empty rooms do not a mansion make. Tara has departed for college (SSU, at the moment teens attend the next college that will be played in the order), and Kimberly gave birth to a daughter, Libby. Meanwhile, Samantha Cordial had unexpected chemistry with Luis Aspir, and got married to him. They live together in the Cordial family home, working on renovations, and have a daughter together, Sabrina.

Jessica Peterson had a fair amount of options to consider, but ultimately she moved in with Jason Larson in Bluewater Village, choosing a husband who shared her goals. They have one son so far, Stanley Peterson, and future children will have the Larson name.

Gabriel Green has been quietly working on his career as he waits for his girlfriend Jane Stacks to graduate college; she’s just about to move in. I hope to find a way to remodel Gabriel’s cool industrial building to retain the style but become a little more livable for a family, or else I might move them.

The Gavigans are struggling in a house that’s a little bit too small for them--they were unable to find anything larger in their budget, and BDC is short on homes that are appropriately sized for families anyway. It certainly doesn’t help that they’ve had three more kids--daughter Ruth, and twins James and Judith--and they’re working very hard at earning enough money to slowly remodel their home so they have enough space.

Vivian Cho and Timothy Riley fell in love and got married, as they are wont to do, and have moved to a remodelled Nightlife house that now has an attached garage (I love remodelling that unit!). Sally’s a teen, Etsu’s a child, and they have a toddler son together, Yeong Cho. Timothy’s fast making his way up the Medicine ladder and may become the first chief of staff in the tri-city area (...oct-city? How many hoods are there??)

The Baldwins moved Downtown, and had a third child, Rosa. Not a lot else going on with them, although they might take in Isabel’s uncle’s kids.

Geoff Rutherford has mostly been working on his career and the notches in his bedpost, but he is considering choosing one lady to carry on his family name. This is most likely going to be Nina Caliente, but could also be Bella Goth or DJ Verse. Meanwhile, his housemate Connor Weir has done a little pining over fairly-happily-married Cassandra Goth Lothario (...nope, not weird at all, moving along), but is currently happily involved with Blossom Moonbeam and waiting for her to graduate college. (...this is happening a lot).

Next in the roster is Downtown, which I’ve already described via the few families that have moved there. I’m hoping to make Downtown and BDC the only hoods with apartments, and populate them heavily when sims finally start graduating en masse. And after that comes Desiderata Valley, the bane of my Megahood, full of boring gimmicky families and ugly, ugly houses. I’m working very hard to change that, but we’ll see when I write up the next round.

Part of me wants to either wait until I take pictures to go with this, or come back and add pictures later, but see, that’s the kind of thinking that leads to me never sharing anything. I’ll share it now, dammit, and continue to share updates as I play through each round.

[junker-town]

5 NBA stars who could get traded this season (plus one who probably won’t)

Which NBA star is the most likely to get traded this season?

The NBA’s title picture can swing on a trade. These are the biggest names that could be on the move.

Bradley Beal’s contract extension was a serious bummer for every team that saw him as the missing third star who could push them ahead of every other dynamic duo. Twenty-six-year-old combo guards who are skilled enough to singlehandedly prop up a blah roster’s offense hardly ever come available for a reason.

But Beal’s decision won’t stop those same teams from treating the 2019-20 season as the arms race it’s supposed to be. With the Golden State Warriors depleted and LeBron James about to turn 35, almost a third of the league will puff its chest out and exchange a relatively secure future for a short-term sugar rush. Even those that aren’t close to the top still want to make the playoffs, while bad teams (and those in small markets) want draft picks. Trades will be made.

Here’s a look at six stars who can tip the scales for a contender/pseudo-contender — depending on which team acquires them, these are either ideal third wheels or helpful second fiddles. Actual moves depend on whether their incumbent team plays above or below expectations, but don’t be surprised if any (or all) are dealt this season.

Kevin Love

The Cleveland Cavaliers stand in a deep hole on the first step of a long ladder. Love is their best, highest-paid (by ~$10 million), and oldest player. He’s past his prime, injury-prone, and makes less financial sense where he is — Cleveland’s payroll rivals the Los Angeles Clippers’ — than on a playoff team.

But gauging Love’s value isn’t easy. Some rival front office executives polled for this story are weary about his body, and whether he can stay healthy enough to justify the financial commitment that would be made by trading for him. When he’s right, though, Love is a net positive in almost any environment. Stretch fours who rebound, pass, and are skilled enough to let you run an entire offense through them at multiple spots on the floor are worth the money he makes. Love has gravity. He’s nimble and does wily things few at his position can:

During Cleveland’s four straight title runs he was the Hester Prynne of their defense, condemned for his struggle guarding Golden State’s impossible system in space. In spite of a championship in 2016, the whole experience bruised his reputation. Going forward, that’s a little unfair. Versatility still matters, but Love’s weaknesses on that end never popped until the Finals against a beast that no longer exists; Cleveland’s defense was pretty good in almost every other series for four straight years with him on the floor.

He was younger and moved a little better then, but Houston, Utah, LAC, Portland, and maybe even New Orleans should all have interest. (Also, is it that hard to picture Robert Sarver getting seized by a restless conniption and then instructing James Jones to do whatever it takes to trade for his former teammate?)

But a reasonable asking price is where things get murky. The Jazz sent three positive assets — a protected first-round pick, Grayson Allen, and Jae Crowder’s expiring contract — to the Grizzlies for Mike Conley, who can opt out of his contract this summer. If the Cavs can extract something similar for Love, they should, even if his off-court influence on such a young team is important.

He’s under contract until 2023, when he’ll be 34, but the money isn’t that high when you factor in a rising cap (no guarantee given the NBA’s ongoing feud with China, but still) and the way his deal is structured (it decreases by $2.3 million in the final year). Even if his All-Star appearances are in the rearview mirror, Love is still a difference maker in the right situation. The NBA playoffs will be more interesting if he takes part.

Blake Griffin

The Detroit Pistons are not where you want to be. Their floor is just high enough to compete for a playoff spot, and their ceiling is low enough to keep them from actually winning a series. They acquired Griffin — who’s hurt, again — 18 months ago and the deal already feels sort of stale. By trading him they would solve one problem while diving head first into another: It’s easy to blow up a roster, but building it back up in a market that won’t attract free-agent stars is very much not.

The good news is Andre Drummond can opt into free agency this summer, Reggie Jackson’s contract is about to expire, and the path to a clean cap sheet is uncomplicated. At the same time, cap space in Detroit means very little. Their plan should be to cut costs and build through the draft/collect retainable rookie-scale contracts, and Griffin is the only trade chip on their roster who can help them do it

Blake is still very good. He made third-team All-NBA last year and 22.5 percent of all his shots were pull-up threes that went in 36 percent of the time. That is crazy impressive and useful as he journeys to the other side of 30. The next question is how many teams would even be interested, let alone have enough assets to make this worth Detroit’s while?

Boston needs frontcourt help and can balance its roster by moving Gordon Hayward, Semi Ojeleye, and a couple first-round picks. Portland can dangle Anfernee Simons or Zach Collins with Kent Bazemore and Rodney Hood. Miami seems like a sensible destination. I wonder if Orlando would be willing to move Aaron Gordon, Markelle Fultz, and Mo Bamba for him. (That trade would hinge on whether they think Jonathon Isaac, Blake, and Nikola Vucevic can share the floor — there’s enough shooting, sure, but defensively they may be compromised in the playoffs.)

For Detroit to actually make any of these trades something disastrous would have to happen. Blake’s overall value to them can’t be fully illustrated on his basketball-reference page. He’s marketable. A real star! And any deal wouldn’t bring another one back, which may be what an owner who just opened a new stadium in downtown Detroit wants. If they drafted Donovan Mitchell instead of Luke Kennard, or Justise Winslow over Stanley Johnson, or any warm body over Henry Ellenson, things would be different. But this is what happens when you stumble in the draft as long as Detroit has. Free Blake.

Kyle Lowry

I’m not sure if this is true after what happened last June, but Kyle Lowry still feels like the least appreciated star of my lifetime. At 33, he’s a five-time All-Star, NBA champion, and plus/minus God. History will shine a brighter light on his career than it received at any point while he played, and right now, as his franchise’s all-time franchise player, Lowry is well-positioned to prop up Toronto’s future as a delicious trade chip.

Of everyone mentioned in this entire article, none can upend the season’s entire landscape if moved to the right team like Lowry can. That team is not Minnesota or Miami (maybe it’d make the Heat an Eastern Conference Finalist and apologies ahead of time for casting doubt upon Lowry once again), but what if Denver offers Gary Harris, Will Barton, and Michael Porter Jr.? Or what if the Raptors sent him to Milwaukee in a deal centered around Eric Bledsoe and a lightly-protected first in 2024. (That probably isn’t enough for Toronto, but forwarding Lowry to a place where he can compete for another championship would make that front office look genial in a precarious situation. How teams treat their players has never mattered more than it does right now.)

Elsewhere, if the Sixers trade Tobias Harris for him they probably win the title. But my favorite destination is Dallas, where Lowry would be the absolute best point guard for Luka Doncic over the next two years. Unfortunately, Jalen Brunson isn’t going to get a deal done.

The Raptors just signed Pascal Siakam to a four-year max contract because Lowry’s one-year extension ate the cap space that once justified waiting until next year to get a deal done. If you can avoid frustrating Siakam, you don’t; signing him now is a signal that the Raptors have their eye on the long game. If they blow the doors off every other team they play in the first few months of the season, there will be an obvious incentive to hold the core together as long as they can. But this team isn’t winning it all, and the longer they wait to break it up, the less they’ll get in return.

Chris Paul

A lot of what was just written about Lowry applies here, except Paul is one year older and due $60.7 million more over the next three seasons. Minor details. Even though he just spent the past two years proving how useful he can be off the ball, Paul can’t blend into any ecosystem quite like Lowry can. He’s not as jumpy, fluid, or self-sacrificial. All that makes moving him this season pretty hard, and also I don’t think the Thunder should. (It’d be cool if OKC and the Lakers could find a third team to facilitate something — James really needs another playmaker — but don’t count on it.)

LaMarcus Aldridge

Aldridge is known as a metronomic post presence who dines in that inefficient valley between the arc and paint, but he’s still unguardable when he wants to be. Only three players dropped more than the 56 points he gave Oklahoma City last season: James Harden, Devin Booker, and Kemba Walker. Last season was probably the best of his career, and there aren’t five players who make more stylistic sense as a third wheel beside two All-Stars. Actually getting him there is easier said than done, though. Plop him beside James Harden and Russell Westbrook or Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, sure. But what are those two teams offering that San Antonio actually wants?

A trade back to Portland makes sense and would be a nice story, but to me, the most interesting and realistic destination is Brooklyn. Nets general manager Sean Marks has close ties to San Antonio and their window won’t be open forever. Caris LeVert is a bit too steep of an asking price, but if a package built around Spencer Dinwiddie and Joe Harris is presented, both teams should go for it.

There are caveats, though. San Antonio wants to make the playoffs, values continuity, and doesn’t make a ton of blockbuster trades. They aren’t going to move him just because they’re bad. The right offer must come along. Also, Aldridge led the league in two-point field goals last year, a stat that may be more trivial than telling. Some people think his game isn’t a good fit in a league that’s decided on the perimeter, but those people are wrong. Aldridge might be the NBA’s most underrated defender, and he’s still powerful enough to bend opponents when he goes to work in the mid post. Go ahead, let him destroy his man in single coverage while you hope the math eventually works in your favor. He demands help. On a team that has two other stars, he’s perfect.

BONUS: Khris Middleton

I don’t think Middleton will get traded. (REPEAT: I don’t think Middleton will get traded.) Preseason title contenders don’t usually trade their second-best player, but no team is feeling more pressure to reach the Finals. Like, imagine how Milwaukee would react if they started slow and then got crushed by the Sixers in the regular season? Or Giannis Antetokounmpo publicly voiced frustration with literally anything. On the court, the Bucks are in a position of strength, but their net rating can’t reflect how fragile this situation truly is.

Shipping Middleton out of town a few months right after they signed him to a five-year contract would be politically treacherous for Milwaukee’s front office. And finding anything that actually makes sense is almost impossible. The Bucks don’t do it unless they know they’re receiving a player who’s better than Middleton and complements Antetokounmpo. No star for star swaps make sense, contractually. It’d have to be something wildly disruptive, like Chris Paul and Danilo Gallinari for Middleton, Bledsoe, and another contract. Madness. That’s just about never happening, but anything is possible in today’s NBA.

[ayyfour-blog]

#stlrnation JaggedOff

Hope. That's a word that feels lost in the void after week 5's loss. It's a word that still has some meaning to me, however. Many fans expected a big win vs the Jaguars, however, I tempered by expectations. I saw the Jaguars blow out the Ravens in England. Steeler Nation was riding high after OUR win vs Baltimore. When comparing the two, and seeing the level of a blowout the Jaguars delivered to the Ravens, you'd expect some sort of transitive property to apply here. Myself being the smarty pants that I am, I expected a fight from Jacksonville. I knew how solid their defense was and I knew their ground game could come in and dominate. Looking back, I had a feeling that this was a sleeper or "trap game", I just don't know how I let my hopes get so high. Hopes of a 30+ point offensive showing. Hopes of Mike Mitchell NOT taunting after a big hit on a 30 yard completion into Steelers territory. Hopes of Ben actually looking like Ben. This Sunday, all hope was lost.

Tailgate Scene

To take you back,I've taken 2 gameday trips this year. The first, to Cleveland for Steelers vs Browns. A solid game, great tailgate scene, and warm, dry weather. This weeks trip took me to the promised land for Pittsburgh vs Jags. The trip was a part of a 1 year wedding anniversary gift. The trip brought us some good memories, a Penguins win in an NHL Finals rematch vs Nashville, late night Mario Kart Racing at Dave and Busters, and a few more personal scenes that I don't want to share on the interwebs. Sunday morning started off on an odd note for a weekened getaway. I woke up with an antsy feeling at around 6am. This is the time I normally wake up on weekdays, but on weekends it's usually around 8am I wake up, get a bike ride in, and make breakfast while listening to pregame. I worked out, grabbed some breakfast, and packed up to head downtown for the game. Pre-game show blasting into my ears all morning, I felt a sense of nervousness about the game.

We finally got to our parking spot downtown around 10:30. Tailgating scene? Great as always. Steeler Nation knows how to turn out and put on a great tailgate. We walked through the Gold lots where all the high-end tailgaters put on a show, however, me being the cheapskate I am, I like to park across the river. My pregnant wife and I had walk about a mile across the Clemente bridge, around PNC Park, and to the nearby restaraunts to hit up our cheapskate "tailgate" favorites.The best spots to go? Stage AE, Rivertowne, and Burgatory never seem to disappoint. You can walk around with open containers, wander from bar to bar, and feel free to explore. Personally, I recommend doing this if you don't have a large group meeting up. It's about $8 to park and then you only need to worry about what you want to eat or drink. There's plenty to find between PNC and Heinz and it makes for one of the best easy tailgates in the NFL. Whatever you want can be found between the stadiums. Burgers? Burgatory. Pizza, Sandwiches? Rivertowne, which also serves their own home-brewed beer for about $4 for a pounder. Awesome deal if you ask me. There's also Jerome Bettis Grille 36- a spot that you can find Jerome himself at. My wife and I witnessed police stopping traffic and waving a gentleman across the street. My wife caught my attention by yelling "oh my GOD Joe.. do you see who that is!?" to which I responded "please dont draw any attention to him you'll start a riot". The only problem with getting to the Bettis grille is the line. The wait here will take you way past kickoff if you get in line at 10:30, I've only been able to eat there during away games.

The best spot to go if you don't have tickets? Stage AE. Take it from my podcast cohosts, we found our way to Stage AE during the Steelers vs Cowboys game last year. Get here early enough and you'll find FREE stadium seating upstairs. Complete with clean bathrooms, food vendors, beer, drinks, and everything you could need to watch the game. Expect a rowdy crowd at Stage AE, but friendly. Many taunts back-and-forth between Steelers and Cowboys fans during the game, but in defeat the Steeler fans remained humble and brotherhood of NFL fandom reigned supreme.

So, if you'd like to enjoy some freedom in your tailgate, try roaming around the North Shore of Pittsburgh. It's kind of nice not being confined to your vehicle, tables and chairs, shitty charcoal  grill that won't light, porta-johns, and your friends mistakenly poisoning you with peanut butter cookies instead of chocolate chips. Some days you want the traditional tailgate, but when you can't seem to gather a big crew and resources for a blowout, it's kind of liberating to roam free and feel no obligations to your $60 parking. The game

After the tailgate, it was time to head into Heinz field. Entering the stadium, there was a sense of sleepiness in the air. Normally, you'd expect a few "Here we go" chants going into the atrium, but this wasn't the case on Sunday. I talked to my wife on the way in uninterrupted by any lunatics screaming and waving their towels. Granted that it was free Pink Terrible Towel day. you never really got to see a sea of Yellow waving, a sight to behold when properly done.

Fans waved during the team intro's and the first drive allowed the fans to become more vocal. The Steelers got the ball to start the game. Off the bat Ben looked deep to AB. Business was Booming (Trademark Antonio Brown) as Heinz field exploded with passion and hope.  A long reception to Brown and a few handoffs to Bell showed the Steelers offense was finally primed to impose their will upon the NFL. 35 points in a game? No problem. Then, the Steelers offense went stagnant. Field goal good from the Wiz Chris Boswell and the Steelers are up 3-0.

That feeling of hope was slightly diminshed by 3 on the board instead of 7, however, you didn't expect what was coming for the Steelers. The Jaguars pounded the ball into the Steelers, taking a 7-3 lead in the second quarter by running Fournette down our throats. Basic tackling issues plagued the defense so badly that the Jags attempted only 14 passes the entire game! James Harrison, who was in sweats this past Sunday, will likely be back in a big way to help show the youngins how to tackle this week.

The Steelers mounted a late second quarter drive, leading to another disappointing field goal on a long drive to put it to 7-6 Jaguars at half. 1 Interception thrown by Big Ben, Jalen Ramsey got lucky and we still have Hope.. Second Half starts, Steelers march down the field to score another Field Goal and take the lead 9-7. "Okay, I can live with this" I think to myself as I can imagine this being the final. It's been a defensive struggle and it will end that way, let's just run as much as we can against one of the NFL's worst rushing D's.

Then, it all went awry.  

Remember last weeks article-the talk of the Resean Mathis curse? Where the Jaguars corners somehow have superb games against us? How they'll all look like hall of famers if they played us each week?

Jaguars get the ball, D holds strong and Jax punts, Steelers get the ball and decide its time to put the Jaguars down. We come out with a west-coast based passing attack. Short slants, HB screens, simple completions that essentially work as running plays to chew up clock, gain a few yards and keep the chains moving.

Ben drops back to pass-BOOM Telvin Smith jumps a slant for 28 yard Touchdown Jaguars, 13-9 lead- bad guys. OK- we can still throw it deep, right? Next posession, Ben looks deep middle to AB, Jalen Ramsey comes in huge to deflect the pass- right into the hands of a Jaguars defender. Church goes 51 yards for a pick-6 on back-to-back drives. Ben has now thrown 3 interceptions and it's now 21-9.

Fans begin to Boo Ben and call for Landry Jones.

Next drive, the Steelers fail to move the ball, Jalen Ramsey covers both AB and Bryant like the all-pro he's becoming, and we punt to Jacksonville. Jags move down the field and hit a Field Goal.  Fans are livid, ones such as myself are calling for Todd Haley's job as the offense cannot move the ball, we cannot stop Leonard Fournette on the ground, and  "OK..its the third quarter and its 23-9.

Thats only 11 points.." I tell myself and hope that Ben can pull a miraculous comeback. Ben starts the team marching downfield, hitting a couple quick completions, looks like the Ben of old and we finally find our flow. OK now lets try to go deep to AB or keep the ground game moving. Just don't throw toward Ramsey's side of the field!" I tell myself. Ben looks deep right for JuJu Smith-Schuster- at least not toward Ramsey- intercepted again. That makes 4. Teshaun Gipson comes up with one and Steeler Nation is getting furious with the West Coast offense. 23-9 does not seem to be insurmountable still. The D forces a punt yet again, God Bless Em', so let's give this another shot..

I'm a glutton for pain at this point.

Different drive, still decent ball movement, same results. In Jacksonville territory, Ben throws his career high 5th interception to Myles Jack at the Jacksonville 10. I start for the exits and don't want to stop marching until I hit that parking deck. No looking back, no more thoughts about what had just happened. I still was in shock and disbelief at what had transpired.

On the way to the car, I caught a faint bit of hope when I heard the roar from the crowd when I was in the vecinity of PNC park, then I realized that was the remaining Jaguars fans, for the sea of black and gold had flooded the streets, much like our tears flooding into the confluence. The Jaguars fans roared as their heroes added a finishing touch- a 90 yard Leonard  Fournette run up-the-gut. Steelers fans were gutted, the rookie RB who had taunted Mike Mitchell to come at him earlier in the game came right for the Steelers D and dominated.

Hopefully next week provides a better prepared team. The season is not even close to over, division is still up for grabs and supremacy in the AFC can still be obtained. The only thing standing in the way? The undefeated Chiefs- whose resume includes a win over the defending world champs and another rookie running back who is looking to cement a spot as the leagues premier back. Hopefully the offensive coordinator finds the right balance and feeds our premier back, who has dominated the league himself in the past few years. Run and stop the run, it sounds simple, but for the Steelers, has determined the course of their season thus far.

#herewego