Tag Archives: Cleveland

April 29, 2026 Ray Ivey 2 Comments

Cleveland

Puff Piece

On Day 7 I was pretty mean to poor Cleveland. Today I’ll be a little bit nicer.

Of course there are many terrific things about Cleveland.

Cleveland has one of the better local newspapers in the country, the Plain Dealer. The paper’s current headquarters is one of my favorite new-ish buildings in the country, at 1801 Superior Avenue East. [PHOTO] It has lots of other appealing architecture as well.

My photo doesn't do justice to this beautiful building.

It also has a fantastic film festival, which was not only happening while I was in town, it happened five blocks from my hotel! It’s the 35^th year of the festival, and they screened movies from all over the world. I was able to see four of them: Undertow, Insidious, Rubber, and Connected (hey, all one-word titles … it’s a theme!).

I’ll say this about the 35^th Annual Cleveland International Film Festival: It was the best run such event I have ever attended. I’m used to film festivals being run by a bunch of arrogant know-nothing volunteers with screenings that are oversold and wildly off schedule. They run a very tight ship at the CIFF. I hope I get to attend it in the future.

Of course, Cleveland is heaven if you’re a sport fan. Like baseball? You can see the Indians at Progressive Field and cheer on the way cute porno-named Grady Sizemore. How about basketball? There’s the Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Football? The Browns at Browns stadium. Not to mention arena football heroes the Cleveland Gladiators, also at Quicken Loans. The busy QL Arena is also home to Cleveland’s hockey team, the Lake Erie Monsters. That’s not even mentioning the pile of local college teams.

Cleveland is, of course, also home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It’s situated in downtown right on Lake Erie.

If you’re more the artsy type (you know the type of person I mean), you won’t want to miss Playhouse Square, the largest performing arts center outside of New York. It has seven theaters and over 1000 events per year.

I like this snappy apartment building in Cleveland.

Of course Cleveland also has the majestic Lake Erie!

Majestic Lake Erie behind the boring Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Not to mention it’s the home of my very favorite client.

Places That Are Less Appealing Than Cleveland

Rockford, Illinois
Waco, Texas
Barstow, California
Binghampton, New York
Lake Charles, Louisiana
The Entire State of Indiana

Average Rating: 4.7 out of 5 based on 238 user reviews.

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April 29, 2026 Ray Ivey 5 Comments

Cleveland

Got that Switched-On Cleveland Feeling

Everyone knows I love to travel for work. I love almost everything about it: the change of pace, the change of scenery, meeting new people. I love cities and I love having the chance to explore different ones.

Whenever I’m in a city for work, I usually spend most of my time downtown, because that’s generally where the office of the client is and where my hotel is. This can be a good or a bad thing, depending on the city. Some places have downtowns that are fun and vibrant.

You can feel the excitement in the air even as you pull into the parking lot of the Severance Town Center.

Some don’t.

Which brings me to Cleveland.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining. I’m sure there are nice parts of Cleveland. But downtown ain’t one of them. It’s pretty much desolation city.

Today I took an excursion out to Cleveland Heights to see two movies that weren’t playing at the creepy downtown cinema that’s the only one within walking distance of my hotel.

I am confident that I am the Caucasionist person who has ever attempted to use public transportation in Central Cleveland. Didn’t bother me of course, but I did notice it. Between waiting for the train and the bus it took me an hour and a half to get to my destination, but it was worth it. The movies were fun.

The bustle of the mall inside gets you into the festive mood!

The areas I went through to get to the multiplex weren’t terribly encouraging, though. It does look like Cleveland is having a hard time.

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The first movie I saw today was The Lincoln Lawyer. I was apprehensive about this film for two reasons. First, the only other adaptation of a Michael Connelly novel that I have seen – Clint Eastwood’s Blood Work – was awful. It looked like a bad episode of “Mannix, ” and it needlessly changed the ending to accommodate the “To Famous To Just Be Playing the Nice Neighbor” Rule. Second, I just didn’t see Matthew McConaughey as slick defense attorney Micky Haller.

But I have to say the movie made a believer out of me. It reminded me of why Connelly is my favorite crime writer: He has a talent for telling stories that feel like they matter. And for whatever reason, McConaughey has decided to remember that he used to be considered an actual actor. He’s quite fine in the role, and the complex story crackles with energy just as the book did. Ryan Phillipe is also quite good as his rich boy client. The movie is lean and unpretentious. It also reminded me of the 1970s – but unlike Blood Work, it did so in a good way.

Remember to stay sharp as you drive around the hectic streets of Cleveland on a Saturday!

The second movie was the preposterous but irresistible Limitless, starring handsome naughty boy of the moment Bradley Cooper. Cooper starts off the movie playing against type – a scruffy, unattractive loser. Quite a stretch for someone as ridiculously attractive as Cooper. But as the crazy plot unfolds he quickly gets a chance to have his appearance polished to a mirror-bright shine. He does seem the perfect person to play a character who discovers a seemingly easy way to turn, overnight, into the perfect version of himself. This is good casting, because I’m sure there are many moviegoers who look at Brad and consider him the “perfect” version of themselves.

What if a little clear pill could make you smart and accomplished overnight? What would you do?

So . . what should we do first? The Segway tour? The historical walking tour? How about a drink at one of the local hotspots? Hey, is that Lady Gaga?

More importantly, what would you do when the bill eventually comes due, as it always does in stories like this.

I enjoyed the movie. It was fun to see Robert De Niro also playing against type (a ruthless but well-mannered finance tycoon).

All in all, it was a good outing for my first Saturday on the road.

Movies I’ve Seen Matthew McConaughey or Brad Cooper in

The Lincoln Lawyer

Tropic Thunder

Sahara

The energy is infectious in the bustle of the Arcade.

Reign of Fire

Frailty

U-571

Amistad

Contact

A Time to Kill

Lone Star

Dazed and Confused

Limitless

The Hangover

He’s Just Not That Into You

You never know WHO you might run into at the Arcade's fun, frenetic and festive food court!

Wet Hot American Summer

Average Rating: 4.6 out of 5 based on 239 user reviews.

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Spring Forward, Travel

April 29, 2026 Ray Ivey 4 Comments

March 13, 2011

Los Angeles – Chicago – Cleveland

Distance traveled today: 2075

Total distance traveled: 2075

Today I leave home for an eleven week work trip. This is the longest I have ever been away from home base in the twenty-plus years I have lived in Los Angeles. It surpasses the last such record which was made last year, when I was on the road for seven weeks for this same client.

Spent a very short night sort-of-sleeping before getting up at 3:00 a.m. to catch a 6:00 flight to Cleveland. The night was made even shorter by the fact that, as luck would have it, this was the weekend we lost an hour of sleep as we resume Daylight Savings Time. I didn’t care, though, for three interrelated reasons:

I have a rule that I only get up this early to Go on a Trip or to Star in a Major Motion Picture. (The fact that this rule has been heretofore employed excusively in service of the first circumstance minimizes its legitimacy not one bit.)
I’m particularly excited about this unusual trip. More on that later.
Finally, when you’re flying East for work, it’s always worth the extra trouble of taking as early a flight as possible. You get to your destination hotel earlier and have plenty of time to relax, unwind and prepare for Entry into the new office bright and early Monday morning.

After hauling my five bags into the cab at 3:30 a.m. I immediately noticed that the cabbie had a thick Russian accent. I told him the last stop of my trip was Moscow. He grunted and said nothing more. Not particularly encouraging, I thought, considering I was at least as nervous about visiting this notorious city as I was excited at the opportunity. Perhaps I should have asked his advice for Best Practices When Kidnapped.

I don’t love flying even though I love to travel. However, I used to really enjoy The Travel Day. Choosing what book and what video game to spend time with, splurging on overpriced tacky airport food, the friendly flight attendants, the excitement of going somewhere.

It’s much more difficult now. Since 2001 almost every aspect of The Travel Day has gotten worse. Actually, it began to happen several years before 2001. Everyone blames 9/11 for how awful flying is now, but many people have forgotten that much of the unpleasant routine we have grudgingly gotten used to was in place well before that awful day in September.

Today was even more challenging than usual, as I had made the perhaps foolish decision to bring all of my fancy photo equipment with me. What this meant was that this would be the first time I have traveled with three things that I must take on the plane with me: photo bag, laptop and C-PAP[1]. There was a tense moment when the We Don’t Care, We Don’t Have To gate attendant growled at me that if I didn’t check one of my three bags, and if I got inside the plane and couldn’t find a place for one of the bags, it would be my tough luck. I “wouldn’t be able to check the bag at that point.” Her unspoken threat hung in the air. Yeah. I imagined the tantrum I would throw if they tried to “dispose” of one of my three bags at the last minute, and realized that, while I can throw a pretty good tantrum, these days the airlines always win. I saw myself getting thrown off the plane. Great start to the trip. I imagined the awkward call to the Client.

Luck was with me, though, and I sprinted down the aisle and found space for everything.

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It has occurred to me that I should not enter into such an impressively long trip without giving it some thought. Without having a goal or two. I should have something to show for the trip when I’m done beyond money and some snapshots.

Goals For My Eleven Week Globetrotting Work Trip

Endeavor to not merely look, but to See.
Write as much as possible.
Take as many good photographs as possible.
Try to find Mexican food in every city I’m in.
Try to go to the movies in every city I’m in.
Try to return from the trip thinner than when I left.

: Do you look anything like this? Then the correct answer when I approach you and tell you I want to photograph you for a magazine is “Yes.”

On the short hop from Chicago to Cleveland, there was a pretty impressive hunk sitting right in front of me who I managed to catch up with after the flight and give him my “I’m a photographer for Exercise For Men mag” spiel. If I believed in omens I’d take it as a good omen. It’s a good start, anyway.

He probably will not call me, which is a shame, because he’s perfect for the magazine. Screw him; his loss.

[1] Continuous Positive Air Pressure machine. It treats my sleep apnea.

Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 based on 276 user reviews.

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