Perhaps you too are a native Clevelander, and perhaps you too have frequently driven by the Cleveland Public Power building on Marginal Road, right in between the Shoreway and Lake Erie. If you have, you are guaranteed to have seen it: the Wall of Whales. Or, more colloquially, the whale building.

Well, it wasn't until this very evening (coincidentally enough) that I found out that the whale building was the work of a specific artist, Wyland, who specializes in environmentally conscious, marine life artwork. The Wall of Whales on the side of the Cleveland Public Power building features swimming whales, dolphins and scuba divers in an incredibly blue ocean. He's also done manatees, turtles, fish, rays, people (in the water) and lots of different kinds of whales.

Now, we could be cynical, and point out that there is just no way that you're going to get whales in Lake Erie (sigh), but what I find more odd is why Wyland paints whales! And other maritime fishes and mammals, of course. Well, for starters, it's Whale Wall #75 - Wyland is currently painting his 95th mural of whales. These murals are for one major purpose: to raise environmental awareness about the undersea world, through the work of the Wyland Foundation. (In fact, the 95th mural is in Key Largo, Florida, and will be dedicated on Feb. 12.) All of Wyland's murals are painted in life-size dimensions, and in a wide range of sizes and locations. Power generating stations, museums, boats, department stores and piers - nothing is too weird to show us what's under the sea. I think this is beautiful, and I'm proud that Cleveland and Ohio are part of a larger, environmentally loving tradition.

Sadly, I could not give you the Ohio 5 interview that we all wanted, because Ms. Mooney foolishly decided to have a baby instead, which ate up all of her time. But that's not going to stop me from talking about her, because she is so funny, and more importantly, she's a transplanted Buckeye.

That's right, Megan Mooney is from Ohio! Don't you get that special little glow when you learn that someone you like/appreciate/think is brilliant is from your area? I always do. And mwa-ha-ha - just to put the cap on it, she's from Cleveland! She even went to John Carroll. Love it. I like to picture her originally thinking that the Improv was the pinnacle of comic existence, and now that she's a professional comic living in Los Angeles, she occasionally thinks back and says, "Are you kidding me?"

Let's see, Megan's done college tours, she's done Comedy Central specials, she's done the US Comedy Arts Festival, and in September 2007, she'll be performing on a cruise! (Is it just me, or do all celebrities now occasionally go on cruises to do whatever they do? It's probably just me.) And supposedly her website promises that she'll come to your college if you ask her. By the way, a tip: if you click on the contact button, an email will pop up addressed to her with a subject that already says "You're Hot, Megan!"

Megan, if you're reading this, I'm sorry we could never do the interview! But I wanted to brag about you anyway. Go, Mooney!

Seriously, I have made tonight's viewing of Miss America into an event! I made dip (so that way even if the girls on tv can't eat something good, I can), I am wearing comfortable pants with a brand-new top (so I look good too), and I have prepared to be entertained inadvertently.

Honestly, I am all for these girls, because, let's face it, I don't have the energy to have a talent and perform it! On stage, live and in person, in front of judges! My only talent is baking, and that's not really a talent - I can read a recipe and buy groceries, and somehow put the two together. But I certainly can't do it onstage!

Plus, I can't do anything with Mario Lopez staring at me.

But come on! Miss Ohio is on, and she's looking pretty! (She's a Cleveland girl, buddy. We can win stuff.)

FINAL RECAP: Well, Miss Ohio didn't even place! I am wildly disappointed. And there wasn't even a Midwestern representation after Miss Pennsylvania got booted out. Miss Georgia won the night, I am sorry to say - her interview answer was terrible, and I think the judges should be slapped for it.

I honestly really like winter. I like snow, I don't mind being cold, and if it wasn't for how dirty my car gets, I wouldn't mind if it was winter for a lot longer! The only problem with winter is what to do! It's so cold, so why go outside unless you have to? Sometimes you've made a New Year's resolution for yourself (bad idea), and then you feel even more like you need to get out of the house! "I said I was going to take a cooking class/go to Pilates/learn how to identify flowers, how can I do that in the house?" That's one of the many reasons I don't make New Year resolutions.

So! Let's think of some things to do. How about that Pilates class? If you're in Cleveland, you can hit up a couple of different places, and I'm going to be attempting a class at Studio 11 in Tremont. How about some other kind of class? I've been recently thinking about getting into web design (nothing like working for a blog to make you frustrated when you look at how other websites are designed!), and so I gave a quick glance over the Cleveland State University and Cuyahoga Community College open class schedules. Never underestimate community classes! They're not any more expensive than anything else, and you learn something! And the favorite winter pasttime of all twenty-somethings, going to a bar. I've recently taken a shine to a restaurant/bar near my house called Melt - their food specialty is grilled cheese sandwiches. I kid you not. But their mojitos are pretty good too!

And all of that gets you out of the house. What do you do to get out of the house?

Because we've grown so close over the years, I have no problem in admitting to you, Blogging Ohio, that this will be the first time in almost nine years that I've been single on Valentine's Day. Quite honestly, I'm a-ok with it. I think I'm going to buy myself a plant, maybe one of those tiny rose bushes, and buy myself a burrito. Maybe I'll make some guacamole - anyway, it'll be a decent time, without all the trappings and over-expense of the couple's version of Valentine's Day.

But! If you are a hopeless romantic, or you happen to be dating someone, and you want to go out, now is the time to start planning! It's only a little more than two weeks, and this is something that you really need to be on time with. I remember one time, my significant other and I had completely not prepared for Valentine's Day, so we went out to a hole in the wall Mexican restaurant, and strawberry daiquiris in honor of the day. But, really, you should plan better than I do. So I will be giving you several suggestions for three kinds of Valentine's Day restaurants in Cleveland.

The traditional, fancy route: If you would ask me what defines a fancy meal for me, it usually involves Italian food. So, I will first suggest Maggiano's Little Italy in Beachwood, OH. Very tasty, very classy. Also, there's a high quotient of delicious food that doesn't necessarily involve pasta, which means you won't feel too heavy! So, for a new review, let's talk about Parker's New American Bistro, in Ohio City. Their menu varies from season to season, as well as what's available from various local farmers and growers - that just sounds so tasty to me. Their menu does seem slightly vaguely French, with American touches, so very classy. Perfect for impressing a young lady with your taste.

The non-traditional, quirky route: Who wants to go someplace normal? Not me. I'd like to pretend that a young man could impress me far more by taking me someplace out of the ordinary with great good. Like Max's Deli and Johnny Mango! Holy cow, I love both of those restaurants, especially Max's Deli, and especially the dessert menu. They have crazy good cheesecake. And their corned beef! Something different, baby, just like Johnny Mango. Johnny Mango's worldly, international-themed menu is so tasty! Jamaican jerk chicken, burritos, mojitos and sangria! Mmmm. The food is so good, and the restaurant is different - you'll seem so bohemian and different!

The oh-damn-we-forget-hurry-take-me-somewhere-vaguely-decent route: I have done this several Valentine's Day, as well as on many other special occasions. The evening starts like this: "Oh! Shoot! We have to go someplace nice! Um, quick, let's go here!" For those occasions in Cleveland, may I suggest Sullivan's Irish Pub or Great Lakes Brewing Company. Both are so tasty! Sullivan's has such awesome Irish-inspired food - anything with Irish cheddar is phenomenal. And the Great Lakes Brewing Company is such classic restaurant food - steaks, hamburgers, good beer, salmon. In fact, Great Lakes is a great Valentine's Day dinner for a guy! There you go, ladies!

Just after I apparently revealed my massive ignorance by not knowing that Columbus already had a soccer team, I luckily found it that it doesn't matter. As much as I do love soccer, which I do, I love another rough-and-tumble sport more. Hockey!

Not just hockey, but hockey being played in Cleveland! A hockey team called the Lake Erie Monsters! Yes! The Lake Erie Monsters are part of the American Hockey League franchise, and will be playing the 2007-2008 season at Quicken Loans Arena. The Monsters are actually owned by some of the same people that own the Cleveland Cavaliers, so we're keeping all Cleveland teams close together. The team will be playing as the affiliate team for the Colorado Avalanche, and they just don't know how lucky they're going to be.

Apparently, a ton of market research was done to decide upon the name the Lake Erie Monsters, a name chosen for its fun, its aggressiveness, and its obvious ties to the region. The logo is a very spiky M with a glaring eye monster eye - ha ha ha, for an actual monster! Like we have in Lake Erie! Team colors will be wine, yellow, blue and black, which to my mind is an odd combination of colors, but maybe I'll be surprised. I'm just happy they didn't try to tie in orange and brown for the Browns. Who cares, though, because hockey is back, and it'll be here this October! Yay!

Buying chocolate, flowers, or those little message heart candies are fine if there's no time to plan ahead for Valentine's Day, but consider some other options. If you use your senses to lead the way, you might come up with some interesting ways to celebrate love. Or a deep like. Or an "I kind of like you." Here are some starting places:

Sense of smell- With Ohio's botanical gardens' conservatories creating a haven against the freshly arrived winter's chill, head to one of them. Breathe in the fragrances of the jungles, orchid gardens and mountainous regions of the world. So, what if you can't go to a tropical island with your honey this year? At Krohn Conservatory, Franklin Park Conservatory, and Cleveland Botanical Garden you can pretend.

If eating is a way to your loved one's heart, head to a cooking school where you can spend time together--plus taste your efforts. Dorothy Lane Market Cooking School in Dayton has wonderful options. Many restaurants, like Handkes in Columbus also have classes. Here is a Shaw Guides website with links to several of them.

If the sense of sound is your fancy, head to a symphony concert. You can engage your sense of sight as well since many of Ohio's symphonies perform in the most beautiful buildings in the state. In February, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the Akron Symphony , The Youngstown Symphony and the Toledo Symphony have concerts.

For the soothing sense of touch, get a couple's massage. The Marengo Institute, a mind body spa that originated in California but now has Cleveland and Columbus locations, has a Couples Delight Package.

Another option for the sense of sight is an art museum. Here is the botanical garden and art museums page of Ohio Travelers.com to find one you may not have thought of before.

With new Governor Ted Strickland in office, Ohians have begun to raise their voices for various causes. One cause has been in opposition to the death penalty in Ohio. According to the Youngstown Vindicator, protestors gathered outside the Ohio State Penitentiary to let our new governor know that many of Ohio's citizens do not approve of this particular measure of justice.

The protest was organized by Cleveland residents but included Youngstown area residents as well, and was staged on Martin Luther King Day weekend. At this point there are five men on death row in the state penitentiary who the protestors claim are innocent of the crime that put them there. Known as the Lucasville Five, the men were part of a prison uprising in Lucasville in 1993 in which prison guards were killed. The men on death row, say the protestors, were not part of the deaths of the guards.

I myself don't believe that the death penalty is an effective measure for curtailing crime. If it were, the number of crimes in which the death penalty is a possible outcome would drop, but this isn't so. Historically the death penalty hasn't worked to curtail crime. Even in the days of public executions, it didn't stop people from commiting crimes. Some sociological studies have found that it may even promote the idea of social justice being equated with death, creating a society more inclined to kill.

I do think the death penalty serves a purpose, mostly to make family and friends of victims feel that justice has been served. It doesn't aid the betterment of society itself, though, especially when so many people have died on death row who were later found to be innocent. A measure of justice shouldn't have so much collateral damage, as some would call it, as this one does. I do, however, sympathize with the victims of crime and their families and friends, who desire some form of justice in the face of their tragedies, and I won't pretend to have a better plan for justice. I do hope, however, that more measures can be taken to ensure that a form of punishment so severe as the death penalty will be carried out with more caution in the future. Perhaps protests such as the one carried out on Martin Luther King Day weekend will be a call for more consideration of how we, as a society, proceed with a process so fraught as the death penalty is in the new century.

InterAct Cleveland is an organization that I've never heard of, but is one that I'm so interested in that I'm thinking of joining! It's a coalition of more than sixty five Baha'i, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, Sikh and Unitarian Universalist congregations, other faith communities, campus groups and community organizations. Technically, InterAct stands for InterReligious Partners in Action of Greater Cleveland. What a lovely long name for a interreligious community of people working together for social justice!

InterAct has a two-fold mission of equipping individuals to act on their faith tradition to help those living in poverty, and of working together to help those in poverty. And coming up in mid-February is the Homeless Stand Down! The Homeless Stand Down is a winter festival of resupply, reconnection and respite! It also provides hospitality, entertainment, clothes, toiletries, haircuts, medical consultations, massages and other sundries.

The Stand Down is going on from February 10 (at Pilgrim Congregational Church), February 16 (Cleveland Convention Center), February 18 (Trinity Cathedral) and February 19 (First Church Cleveland UMC). As with any volunteer event, they need more! Donated items and volunteers! Check out InterAct's website, or email sommers@interactcleveland.org.

I really liked this statue that is just sitting in a random garden in the Gordon Square Cultural Arts District, in the Detroit Shoreway area. I have got to tell you, I have no idea who made it, or what it's of, but I was on my way to Gypsy Beans & Baking (because I go there. A lot), and I saw and thought it was fabulous!

photo credit: katherine galo

My very dear friend decided to join the Brown Aveda Institute, and I was more than happy to be the beneficiary of it. I don't know if you've ever been to either of the two Brown Aveda Institutes in Ohio (Rocky River and Mentor), but if you haven't and you can, you should go! But let me give you some advice:

1) Don't forget that these are students! Now these students are brilliant (I've been twice now and I've never seen anyone walk away with a bad hair cut or style), but here's something about students - they're nervous. When people are nervous, they tend to work more slowly. I love my stylist friend, but it took her four hours to cut my hair and three hours to dye it. Bless her heart, it looks phenomenal, but these kids aren't fast. Don't forget that! But the time is worth it. Plus, they'll bring you water, tea, coffee, magazines, and all sorts of other goodies.

2) Because the kids are students, and they don't know what kind of salon they will end up with, you will get treated to a lot of great services. Hair cut, style, shampoo, conditioner, hand and arm massages, facials, make up (if you're a woman, and I guess if you ask, for a guy) and purifying skin treatments. That's all if you go for a hair cut. JUST a hair cut! I mean, good land! When I went for a hair dye, I got all that too, plus a scalp massage! And all of these are by the book. So your makeup isn't just whatever you or your stylist think looks good - oh, no. They calculate your skin tone, eye color, what you're planning on doing, your hair color and what kind of skin you even have that day. Now, granted, you have to listen to your stylist tell you about what kind of products they've put on your head.

3) Brown Aveda does not accept tips. They just don't. I asked my friend and her explanation (which she was repeating from her classes, but since they're all Brown Aveda, I'm going with it) was that it changes the valuation of the stylist's work. Which makes sense, when you think about it - what if one week you have $10, so you tip $10. But next week, you only have a $20, and you feel too embarrassed to ask for change, so you don't tip at all. It's a nice point, and one which I think is true. Who would want to go having their value changed every time they do their job?

Now I know you want to see a picture of my fabulous new hair, but that's just not really going to happen. Ok. Fine. But because I'm putting up a photo of my new hair, I think you should go to the Brown Aveda people. They're quite lovely. You'll be lovely too.

As a native Clevelander, I really like how immediately recognizable our landmarks are. Just like Chicagoans have the weird Picasso statue that could be anything and San Franciscans have the Golden Gate bridge, Clevelanders have the giant FREE Stamp that's just down the street from City Hall and up the street from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the middle of downtown.

The FREE stamp was originally commissioned in 1982 by Standard Oil of Ohio (now part of BP America), who hired the artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Oldenburg and van Bruggen have made lots of other similar giant commonplace objects, and so for the piece in the middle of Cleveland's city center, they chose a self-inking stamp, as if from a post office. Van Bruggen suggested the word "free" to represent liberty and independence, and to have a giant positive statement in the middle of the city. The stamp, which was originally sited in Public Square, now lays on its side in Willard Park, and after quite a few city departmental squabbles, was dedicated in 1991. It is now a giant really cool piece of pop art, and clearly recognizable to any Clevelander.

photo credit: katherine galo

I am so sorry, Blogging Ohio, but I have been involved with just a whirlwind of activity lately! This is what happens when you're a demi-wedding planner-assistant.

This past weekend, I accompanied my aunt on yet another bridal journey, this time, to Pat Catan's. Or, should I say, to Catan Fashions, the bridal gown, prom dress, special occasion dress, and mother of the bride outfit store that used to be part of Pat Catan's! Since we live near the Strongsville location, that's the one we went to, and it is enormous. The store used to be the entire Pat Catan's craft store, and now it is nothing but dresses. It is a sight to be seen! And we saw it all.

And I'm sad to say, this is the first time that I will deliver a slightly-less-than-glowing review. I have to got to say, the organization at Catan Fashions is not all it could be. Now, it was a Saturday, so we expected some busyness, but this was crazy. My aunt, my mom and I waited for almost an hour before a very pleasant young lady managed to help us. But because my aunt, my mom and I are ingenious individuals, we went about this a different way. Instead of waiting for the little bridal dress person to help us - we helped ourselves. We grabbed whatever dresses looked good to us, and tried them on! Quite a few wedding gowns, as well as some white prom dresses. Now, I don't want to diss Catan's too much, because they were quite helpful, and they had a huge selection. But, I've got to say, we were less than thrilled with the wait, and also less than thrilled with finding out that for an April wedding, we could get almost no dresses! Did you know that? Most wedding dresses take well over three months to be ordered. Terrible. But we muddled through, and Catan Fashions was a help.

I just had no idea! I was literally just at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, and I even visited the polar bears (what, it was really cold out, and I especially like to visit the polar bears on those kind of days, because then it's like I'm seeing them in their natural habitat).

Little One, the only male polar bear in residence in Cleveland, is being loaned to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden for at least two years. And why? Breeding! Yes! We are desperate for more young polar bears in Cleveland, apparently, and we certainly couldn't mate Little One to his sisters here in Cleveland. It's actually even bigger than that, because polar bears are being considered for the threatened species list. I shouldn't mock too much - I would be really saddened to see the polar bears go. But I am seriously surprised - I feel like I should run back over to the zoo and figure out if there's anything else there that I missed. Are they shipping out the tigers? The rhino? Anything?

I have to admit that "severe weather" warnings seem to be getting more common, along with warnings of "don't go out if you don't have to." I don't think it's because we have more bad weather than ever before. It's just because we hear about it a lot more in this day of instant information. If you'd like to see just how bad Ohio weather can get, and you don't scare easily, there's a good website Ohio History called Severe Weather in Ohio. It might make you a little less ready to run for the basement, thinking the latest storm isn't all that big a deal, or it might make you take the next plane out in terror. i wouldn't recommend that course, though. You can't run from Mother Nature.

The site was developed with information from a book called Thunder in the Heartland: A Chronicle of Outstanding Weather Events in Ohio, by Dr. Thomas Schmidlin and Jeanne Appelhaus Schmidlin. Brief accounts of twenty-five events are presented, with photographs and, in some cases, videos. Whoever designed the site did an excellent job. There's a weather glossary and a good page of links. If you go to Weather for You, you'll find out that, on any given day, there was a time when the weather was a lot worse. Maybe it will make shoveling the snow a little easier. Want a forecast? Just go to the National Weather Service. It's a lot faster than waiting for the news.

The site deals with tornadoes, floods, heat waves, and some mysterious eight-foot waves that hit Cleveland. Toledoans remember the day in, 1992, when twenty-eight tornadoes passed through Northwest Ohio, a record that I'm glad I missed. There is an event on the list that I remember well, even though I survived it in the next state over. January of 1977 is a month I'll never forget. The blisters on my hands from shoveling snow ten times a day for a whole month lasted till spring. I never want to see twenty-five below on a thermometer again! After that shock, it takes a lot to impress me.

And when you think about it, isn't that one of the biggest ones? We don't have a lot of mountains, we have no enormous canyons, we have no volcanoes - I'm thinking that we do however have quite a few really amazing bodies of water, like Lake Erie!

According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (and frankly, they're great for giving good information), Lake Erie is a fairly recent phenomenon, less than 4,000 years old. It was formed by glacial deposits (which is one of the reasons it's one of the smallest Great Lakes; by the time the glaciers got this far south, they were pretty thin and didn't have a lot of gouging power). Various natural and geological aspects of northern Ohio caused by Lake Erie include the Black Swamp region (up by Toledo), beach ridges (the dunes!), a score of other lakes and rivers, and a lot of the soil makeup of northern Ohio. It's also part of the Great Lakes, and a part of the Erie Canal and larger waterways that allowed trading to go from the Midwest to the East and Canada! You might also want to check the Lake Erie Coastal Ohio organization, which gives a lot of good information about the lake.

Although there's lots of man-made efforts currently going to keep Lake Erie contained, it was one of the first natural-made wonders of Ohio, and was the cause of a lot of others!

photo credit: katherine galo

For as much time as I end up spending in coffee shops, I really feel that I ought to drink coffee. But that's ok, since the hot chocolate and on-the-spot-made bakery at Gypsy Beans & Baking Company more than compensates for my not knowing how their coffee tastes (according to Sidekick Girl, it's awesome).

Today the coffee shop, restaurant and bakery will have been opened for exactly two weeks, and it's been a packed two weeks! As owner Niki Gillota says, "I didn't expect the place to be packed every day!" And it has been - I've been in twice during these two weeks, and there have always been people in there. And they are wildly flattering. In a quick survey of the larger room this past Saturday, I received these quotes about Gypsy Beans:

• "I was here the other day and the whole neighborhood came through here!"
• "I love it here."
• "This is the second time this week that I've been here."
• "Better than the commercialized coffee shop - it's your own little place."
• "Loving it - I'll never go to Starbucks again."
• "The neighborhood needs something like this - there's no other little cafe here."
• "Yeah, I'm pretty much just going to live here."

The theme that I have really noticed is how well Gypsy Beans fits in to the whole context and feeling in the Detroit-Shore way - Gordon Square Arts district (the coffee shop is located on W. 65 and Detroit). Niki specifically chose the area as the community that she wanted to service, and says, "My expectations have been blown far far far away." Thus far, I have not run into a single person who doesn't like the big open room, cozy meeting room, WI-fie Internet, and the incredibly cool menu.

As her store's slogan says, Niki brings "flavors found wandering the world" into the coffee blends, bakery and bistro menu! For example: honey-nut praline cheesecake, Scottish-style shortbread and chocolate-chip scones, and really, really good-looking sandwiches and soups. Sidekick Girl had a chocolate-chip scone, and loved it, while I had a bagel (I'm boring) and some home-made red pepper cream cheese spread, which was awesome. I was also quite tempted by cream of spinach vegan soup. Niki and her staff are really hard workers, and I was way impressed.

Overall, it is a fantastically good coffee shop. It's staffed by charming and enterprising people, and run by a lovely brilliant businesswoman who is mean shakes at baking. If you live in Cleveland, by all means, go to Gypsy Beans!