Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Why He Can't Quit Cleveland

Cleveland writer Chris McVetta wrote a wonderful, haunting little
riff earlier this year on his blog, The Id and I. It was headlined, 'Cleveland, Why Can't I Quit You?' Listen to this:
I'm not sure what I want out of Cleveland - or myself - for this new year. I would still like Cleveland to build a Pop Culture museum on the shores of Lake Erie with a giant Superman statue guarding the entrance. If nothing else, to honor Superman creators, Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, who both grew up in Cleveland - and created The Man of Steel HERE in high school - during The Great Depression.

Shouldn't we immortalize native Clevelanders who actually went on to create something that has stuck in the collective mindset throughout the years -instead of some lame "knuckleheads in the news" over and over again-? (Or are we too busy fawning over Mrs. Dennis Kucinich like the lame inbred hillbillies the outside world perceives us to be...? Quit coming up with sappy greeting card slogans for Cleveland - that would make Daffy Dan cringe in horror - and let's do something with this town!)

I mean, unless The Ten-Thousand Volt Ghost from "Scooby-Doo" is chasing people away from the semi-abandoned Aviation Airport or something, it's about TIME to do something with the lakefront. What better way to pay tribute to two native Clevelanders - while bringing added attention, excitement and interest to Cleveland - then to build a Pop Culture museum here on the shores of Lake Erie - with Superman as the main attraction...Hey, you can even throw in Halle Berry's Bond bikini and Drew Carey's glasses, too, for good measure!

4 Comments:

At 1:13 AM, Blogger Chris McVetta said...

Thanks, John, and just remember one thing - "The Daily Planet" needs a Perry White to be the cohesive cosmic glue that holds all the collective Super-Egos together and keep them in check...

I'll try not to disappoint you ...Chief!

 
At 9:49 AM, Blogger John Ettorre said...

No possibility of that, Chris. You'd only disappoint me if you were to stop writing.
Best regards

 
At 11:19 PM, Blogger Chris McVetta said...

Thanks, John! I really enjoy your insights into writing - and writers, as well.

I'm really not sucking up - you are a good read.

I realize that this might not be the most politically correct thing to say coming from a fellow blogger, but it's the truth.

I read how you and George Nemeth and Tim Russo go round and round about certain issues, but I think ALL you guys are fabulous writers - with a lot of important things to say.

The BEST English teachers I had in college were not afraid to sock me in the face when they thought I was doing something wrong, and I appreciate them for that - it made me a better person ...as well as a better writer.

I'm curious: Did you happen to see the film "Capote" yet-? I thought it was an absolutely fabulous and insightful film for all writers. I was just curious on your thoughts about this movie, good or bad...

 
At 6:35 AM, Blogger John Ettorre said...

Chris,
First of all, I hope to hell I never sock anyone in the face, even metaphorically, though I of course understand that's what it might occasionally look like when Russo and I face off about this subject or that. As for the movie Capote, I did indeed see it, and enjoyed it completely. In short, I think (this is not remotely original, of course) that Philip Seymour Hoffman did an amazing job in capturing the guy's mannerisms and making him the kind of central character whose complexity could carry a movie. And the script did an equally good job of capturing the moral ambiguities of his actions in writing the book and using the murderers as 'characters.' There's been much talk about James Frey lately (which I'll write about soon) and how he took liberties with literal truth in his "memoir," and in certain ways that's all just an outgrowth of the slippery slope that Capote was among the first to test with his novelistic non-fictional journalism, one big mess of genres thrown into one kitchen sink. As always, Chris, thanks for visiting and adding to the conversation.

 

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