Distracted Mind

It’s been a jumbled up sort of day. Maybe I’ll actually write about it… once I scoop my brains back into my skull I just might. For now, a stupid kitchen trick for a hopelessy smelly Friday.

To take some of that onion smell out of your hands after chopping and slicing, rub your hands on something steel under some running water. If you’ve got a stainless steel sink, give it a friendly rub. The steel actually takes the smell away. If you _don’t_ have a stainless steel sink, you can always get a bar of stainless steel soap. It sounds strange, but these bars actually look kind of cool.

I don’t know all of the science behind this, but [someone else has an idea of how this trick works](http://chemistry.allinfoabout.com/features/steelodor.html). It won’t remove _all_ of the most heinous odors, but it will help with onion or garlic stenches when you’re doing some scratch cooking.

I’m sitting in my living room, watching my daughter suck down another sippy cup of my very special PediaLite and Ginger Ale cocktail, praying that she keeps it all down. She’s sick, still, and this is one of those wonderful moments in parenting that weren’t really advertised in the brochure. Not that I’m complaining… how could I complain about orange-flavoured puke on my laptop keyboard, the endless diapers (not to mention the leaky ones that lead to multiple bleach moppings. Oh the humanity!). It’s Friday.

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From [I wasn't always like this...](http://my10kidfamily.blogspot.com/2005/09/it-all-worked.html):

WE HAVE HIM!

Early this morning, Nancy turned herself in to authorities!

Jordan is safe, and she is in jail.

He’s safe and with his family.

Related Entries: [A Cleveland Area Family Needs Your Help](http://www.distractedmind.com/2005/a-cleveland-area-family-needs-your-help/)

[Jay Yoo](http://koyono.com/) responded over at [Brewed Fresh Daily](http://www.brewedfreshdaily.com/2005/09/29/cleveland-we-need-a-better-slogan-√¢Ç«®Çƒ?-distracted-mind/#comment-5427), saying that Cleveland doesn’t need another slogan. At the risk of putting my own contest down, I agree with Jay completely.

That’s kind of the point of the contest. We don’t need to _pay_ people to come up with yet another slogan. I think that’s part of our problem. We ignore the things that make Cleveland really great and try and tart it up with some insincere and schmaltzy phrase about how “we’re getting better, really!!!”. We’ve tricked ourselves into believing that we’re inferior.

We may not have the huge visual art scene of New York City or Los Angeles, but we’ve got a vibrant art culture that just needs some direction and time to grow. We’re got performing arts that have something that New York doesn’t have: a Cleveland sensibility. We’ve got innovative small businesses and entrepreneurs that are brave enough to try new things. If you want an example, just take a look at [Jay's site.](http://koyono.com/).

We have some major problems that need to be solved by city planners and government. Education, poverty, and crime come to mind. These are the problems that we _should_ be throwing money at. Our problem isn’t the lack of a good slogan. That said, the slogan contest is supposed to be fun. It’s a chance to say something funny, original, sincere, whatever you want. Condense your love for this city into a single phrase, if you can. Just show that we aren’t conned into that inferiority complex. Even with its problems, there’s still plenty to love about this city.

This is so very important. A Cleveland area blogger’s family member has been abducted. You can read the details [here](http://my10kidfamily.blogspot.com/2005/09/god-help-us.html). The child’s name is Jordan, he’s a 6 year old with brown hair and dark eyes, and was abducted by his biological mother. He was last seen in Lakewood.

Please visit [this site](http://my10kidfamily.blogspot.com/2005/09/god-help-us.html) and take a look at this boy and his biological mother. Memorize them and keep an eye out for them.

I have one [wordpress.com](http://www.wordpress.com) invite available, free to any NEO blogger (or reader who wants to start a blog) who can come up with a better Cleveland slogan than “Believe in Cleveland.” The winner will get the wordpress.com website and if they like, their slogan will be made into a t-shirt on [zazzle.com](http://www.zazzle.com/link.asp?associate_id=238971226395502929&redirect=home). I’m in the process of making “Cleveland — It’s not what you think” right now.

Two runner ups will be given free [WordPress](http://www.wordpress.org) weblogs on distractedmind.com, as subdomains. Believe me, these aren’t as cool as wordpress.com, but it’s still a free weblog with whatever template you like, or you can design your own.

Why am I doing this? Because I see a lot of people mocking the whole “Believe in Cleveland” slogan. Personally, I think that the NEO blogosphere can come up with something to beat the pants off of that slogan, and we don’t need huge marketing salaries to do it. It takes more than a slogan to achieve greatness and I think we can show people in this city that their money needs to be spent on solving more important problems than what we’ll put on the next t-shirt.

I’m also doing this because I’ve read a lot of comments saying, essentially, “Put your money where your mouth is” when it comes to much of the snark about Cleveland’s follies. We can talk a good game, let’s actually play it.

_Updated: I forgot to include a deadline. Let’s say two weeks from tomorrow, October 14 at 11:59 P.M._
_Updated again: leave ideas in the comments section, unless you’re not comfortable with that–in that case, email me through my [contact page](http://www.distractedmind.com/contact/). Yes, I’m scatterbrained. I know this._

It seems that the mainstream media is picking up on this. Today’s [cleveland.com](http://www.cleveland.com), includes an [Associated Press blurb](http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1127904998326980.xml&coll=2) about the photos. The [New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com) actually has one of their own reporters [covering the story](http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/28/international/middleeast/28site.html), but that’s the Times for you. So what are they saying? The short(er) version from the military: “We’re looking into it.”

So the military is looking into it. They’re checking to see if this violates the Geneva convention or if the soldiers that posted these photos are in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which defines conduct unbecoming of an officer or otherwise enlisted soldier. I’m going to take a wild guess and say… “YES.” If there is _any_ way to figure out who has been posting these photos, if any of these soldiers were brain-dead enough to use their real email addresses or reveal anything about their identities, I say we slap them with whatever the harshest punishment possible. Don’t just serve them up the [Lynndie England special](http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/iraq/bal-te.england28sep28,1,4507340.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines); make them realize that what they’ve done is _wrong._

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Way back when I lived in good old Bowling Green, Ohio, the citizens came together to vote on a smoking ban. It passed, forcing smokers to corral themselves to bars and sidewalks, smoking next to doorways and shivering in the winter outside the Corner Grill. It was a “Nanny Law,” to be sure, and several businesses circumvented it with their liquor sales and zonings, but it was still there. It kept the smokers away from the non-smokers in many places and kept the air inside certain establishments a little cleaner. My only problem with it was that it forced the hands of business owners. _It was too much,_ even if it was for our own good.

Now, in Brook Park, there’s a new law keeping sex offenders out of all city parks. You can view the Cleveland Plain Dealer article [here](http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1127899801163700.xml&coll=2). Basically, any registered sex offender is banned from the city’s parks and recreation centers. _Any_ registered sex offender. This goes for your college buddy, whose sweet little girlfriend _swore_ she was eighteen, as well as slimeball child sex offenders and rapists. _Any_ registered sex offender.
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I just found out that my hosting company, [Dreamhost](http://www.dreamhost.com/rewards.cgi?tinabel) has decided to provide _unlimited_ domain and subdomains on every account. Even the cheap-o $7.95 account. If you pay for hosting, or are looking for hosting, I highly recommend these guys (and gals). They’ve certainly done right by me, and I am an _extremely_ picky customer. Extremely.

<whoring> If you sign up with Dreamhost using one of their links from Distracted Mind, you can even waive the set-up fee — that’s fifty dollars that you won’t have to pay. I love this company. </whoring>

[This](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/27/18648/3633) was pointed out to me from [DailyKos.](http://www.dailykos.com) The post links to an article at East Bay Express, titled [War Pornography: US soldiers trade grisly photos of dead and mutilated Iraqis for access to amateur porn. The press is strangely silent.](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/27/18648/3633), by Chris Thompson. This is absolutely sick and it’s real.
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