Election season always makes me a little dizzy with all the overblown claims, competing reform plans and countless Russos, O’Malleys and Sweeneys on the ballot.
What’s a conscientious voter to do? By the time Election Day rolls around, I’m usually worn out from all the TV commercials, recorded phone messages and polling data that I just want to punch something (and it’s not a ballot).
So, in order to make your life a little easier this month, here are some random endorsements. Do with them what you will.
Try it. The habit is easier to drop than a pass to Braylon Edwards. (Oh, he’s gone? That’s right, he got fed up and allegedly did punch someone.) Honestly, it’s quite liberating. In just a few weeks, I’ve painted T-shirts with my daughters, attended a CYO football game and scrubbed the scum off the tile in the bathroom. At their worst (I accidentally misspelled “angel” on the T-shirt my daughter spent an hour making, the CYO football team got beat by three touchdowns, and the tile was followed by the toilet), these activities were more enjoyable than a 6-3 victory. If you’re worried about not being a part of the Monday morning football banter, I’ve found a simple, “they stink,” covers it.
Rarely do we encounter deer meat outside the kitchens of our hunter friends, so imagine our surprise to find the Sloppy Doe on the lunch menu at Verve Restaurant, in the space formerly occupied by Juniper Grille (see “Cheap Eats”). Sure the name sounds more like roadkill than a twist on comfort food, but the mix of earthy venison, tangy-sweet barbecue sauce, fried onions and pickle slaw makes this sandwich better than your average Joe.
Major League Baseball needed the Mitchell Report to signal that the game had a performance-enhancing drug problem for more than a decade. The 20-month investigation named 89 players, including all-stars Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Miguel Tejada. Cuyahoga County needed the FBI to signal its government had a performance-inhibiting corruption problem for who knows how long. The FBI’s probe is all the proof I need to vote for change. Rather than engage in one of Northeast Ohio’s other favorite pastimes — studying things to death, as Issue 5 proposes — we need to swing for the fences.
Sure it’s just an exhibition, but the Nov. 9 game should be fun. After Gary Waters led Cleveland State back to the NCAA tournament for the first time in two decades and then upset Wake Forest to advance to the second round, the Vikings are piquing national interest (see “The Waters Way”). CSU also gets two home games later this month in the Cancun Challenge tournament before heading to Mexico to face hoops power Kentucky. Meanwhile Division III John Carroll is ranked in the top 10 in two preseason polls. The Blue Streaks, who sub players faster than the Browns change quarterbacks, return their top 11 scorers from a team that advanced to the final 16 in the 2009 NCAA Division III Championship.
. Forgot there was a mayoral election this year, didn’t you? Sure, the campaign has produced talk of a more sustainable city and funding for an aquarium in the Flats, but otherwise the election has sparked as many fireworks as the Browns offense. Considering what’s happening at the county level, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
If you’re just now discovering the Emmy Award-nominated comedy co-created by Shaker Heights native Carter Bays, check out the first four seasons of Ted Mosby’s life of singledom on DVD. Besides, you’re going to need something to watch now that Sundays are free.
