Walking and Thinking: Technology and the New Navigation of Everyday Space
You know how when you read two books at the same time, they often kind of meld together in your head, like in that novel where Gatsby takes the raft down the Mississippi?
Hardboiled Coffee: Why Neighborhoods Need Mom & Pop Shops
Hardboiled Coffee Co. opened on a cold February day in 2013. I stopped by a few days before and found the doors locked and no one inside. I was so eager for a real coffee shop in Beverly, I didn't check to make sure of the grand-opening date.
Going Off To College? Will It Still Be There?
Financially, a college is considered to have perpetual life. Auditors evaluate it as a going concern, trustees are not allowed to spend the amount originally contributed to the endowment, and money managers assume an infinite time ...
Ballad of a Pencil Junkie
In the old days at The New Yorker, when your pencil point got dull, you just tossed it aside and picked up a new one. There was an office boy who came around in the morning with a tray of freshly sharpened wooden pencils.
Rust Belt Refugees – April 2015
These profiles tell the story of “Rust Belt Refugees” – former residents of the Rust Belt who have for one reason or another moved on to different parts of the country. The Rust Belt Refugees series is here: https://beltmag.com/tag/refugees/
Harvey & Me: Uninteresting Phone Call
Harvey & Me, a comic series appearing in Belt about Harvey Pekar, written by Anne Elizabeth Moore and Illustrated by Melissa Mendes. This installment, "Uninteresting Phone Call"
What Is A Detroit Hipster, Anyway?
I am 30 years old, a fan of top-shelf cocktails and Chuck Taylors, and a Detroit resident. I like live music, and I tend to know about new art galleries before the rest of my friends. Could I be a hipster? Maybe. I’m not quite sure.
Silence of the City: Why Isn’t Cleveland Speaking Out About Police Violence?
Hardly anyone noticed this last one. There were a few articles in the Plain Dealer and the national press jumped in a bit, and some of his friends and relatives did put some foil balloons and prayer candles on a telephone pole ...
A Tale of Two Cities: Why Chuy Garcia Won’t Turn Chicago Into Detroit
In 1983, shortly after Harold Washington was elected mayor of Chicago, Richard Mell, a white alderman, approached the African-American mayor with this plea: “Don’t make this city suffer for 300 years of injustice against your people.
God, Baseball, and the Mystery of the Disappearing Novel: Nancy Willard’s “Things Invisible to See”
In the 1989 film Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner plays Ray Kinsella, an Iowa farmer who plows down a section of his cornfield to build a baseball field that’s soon populated by the ghosts of players past.
Cleveland: City of Tomorrow
At Tech Central in the main branch of the Cleveland Public Library, you can experiment with three-dimensional printing. These days it is mostly a curiosity for kids to experiment with.
Requiem For A Slaw Dog
A few days ago, I watched as Steve’s Lunch smoldered and crumbled while firemen hosed out a blaze that had completely destroyed the place.