Thursday, July 31, 2008

Does Ohio need to outlaw necrophilia ?
I think not. This is one of those issues where I side with the hate group, Citizens for Community Values in that I don't think specific sexual preferences should be legislated. Further, how your body is handled after your death is up to you. You decide if you want to be buried or cremated. You decide if you want your cousin to boff your corpse. I am sure there are people out there somewhere who want to engage in consensual necrophilia. I only hope I never meet them.
the crime is Gross Abuse of a Corpse.
From LaWriter:
2927.01 Abuse of a corpse.
(A) No person, except as authorized by law, shall treat a human corpse in a way that the person knows would outrage reasonable family sensibilities.
(B) No person, except as authorized by law, shall treat a human corpse in a way that would outrage reasonable community sensibilities.
(C) Whoever violates division (A) of this section is guilty of abuse of a corpse, a misdemeanor of the second degree. Whoever violates division (B) of this section is guilty of gross abuse of a corpse, a felony of the fifth degree.
Effective Date: 07-01-1996

This seems kinda vague and would probably unjustly outlaw consensual necrophilia.
In the case of Thomas Condon, it was really more about procedural errors that Condon had no excuse for committing. Any professional photographer should know to get the permission to photograph specific people for a for profit project.
In the case of Kenneth Douglas, he was clearly violating the young woman he was entrusted to care for who had just been viciously murdered. This was a particularly heinous and atrocious act that I don't think current laws have a severe enough punishment for.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Comic Book movies piss me off.
This article in a local blog got me going on this. First of all, Elbowroom's assessment of the Cinti comic book scene seems pretty good. There were the sleazy old stores here 20 - 30 years ago with gross clerks and the ancient porno in the back room, but they are all gone now (I think).
I have not been reading comics much for almost 10 years now, since my eyesight started to tank, and a lot can happen in the comic book industry in 10 years.....
In my prime, I was reading about 10 - 15 titles a week and (mostly) keeping track of the plotlines in all of them. Very few were one book stories, most were monthly, and that is what comic books are about.
Comic Books Are A Serialized Story Format.
So the big blockbuster movies are just wrong. While a title like The Watchmen might lend itself to a movie format because it is a closed ended story, the greatness of the characters like Batman, Spiderman and The X-Men is that they are living, open ended characters. they grow and change over time and relationships and situations blossom, mature and end over time.
The X-Men movies are particularly jarring to a person who has been reading the story for 30 some years when all the characters are there but they are all the wrong ages. The relationships and dynamics of the story are thrown out the window so Hollywood can grab a few moments, rearrange them and glob out a movie they can make a quick buck on. Granted, Stan Lee has a vested interest in making his money quick.
Of course, the only reason the movies are worth a pooh, nowadays, is because the tech finally exists to pull 'em off. It takes a major studio budget to pay for all the effects and that is why we are not seeing the stories being told where they should be, on television. Still, the original Babylon V did quite well with a low budget and FX are better and cheaper now than they were then.
Television, of course has a reputation for being cheap and not being as serious or mature as the movies but, hey, comics have the same bad rap, so, what the hell ?
Ultimately, comics also lend themselves to animation much more than "real" "live" mediums and other cultures (Asian, particularly) are cool with this but Americans are too jaded and require "realism" that puts impossible characters like the Batman in stupid body armour instead of the silky thin costume he is supposed to wear.
I always thought the style of Peter Chung (Aeon Flux, Phantom 2040) would translate well to 3D super hero animation. Japanese Anime has embraced creative, non-realistic animation for a long time. Mainframe's War Planet series is a good example of what can be done and on the low budget and tight schedule that television requires.
Libertarians have got to stop latching onto entertainers and has been politicians for the sake of name recognition and publicity purposes.
Picking clowns like Howard Stern or losers like Bob Barr just wind up making the party look silly. Badnarik sounded pretty good at first, and I remember hearing that he would ultimately be an embarrassment, and that side did eventually come out. He could have been handled more by the party leaders, however, when you get the inflated egos of the aforementioned embarrassments it is much harder to reign them in.
The choice of Landham for a senate run in KY was a disaster just waiting to happen. Maybe the party will get some cred for dumping the dumbass.
Doubt it.

Fishwrap story here.

Thursday, July 24, 2008


Springfield's Westcott House will be hosting a glass art exhibition featuring the works of Michael Scott Rozell from 7/25/08 to 10/5/08.
On Friday July 25th there will be a "Meet the Artist" reception from 7:00 to 10:00 PM.
"Beauty, form, balance, and abstraction are the qualities present throughout the work of a contemporary glass artist Michael Scott Rozell. His art combines the admiration for traditional Italian and Swedish glass techniques with a modern American design sensibility. Designers such as Frank Lloyd Wright, George Nelson, Harry Bertoia, and Charles Eames, provide a source of inspiration for Rozell’s beautiful pieces recognizable for their clean lines, soothing yet vibrant colors, and simplicity of form."
Details here.
Due in October of '08
Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" Barbie

Details here.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

More on the Clark County Fair

Hannah Shouvlin guides her alpaca, Portobella and Swiss, over toys as part of the public relations course on Monday, July 21, at the 2008 Clark County Fair.


Emily Donaldson is crowned the 2008 Clark County Fair Queen by last year's queen, Chelsea Stridsberg, Sunday at the conclussion of the contest.


Winners in the "Best Cookie in the County" contest.


James Davenport competes in the Junior Fair Tractor Driving Contest at the Clark County Fair Saturday, June 19, 2008.


Beth McCrite (left) helps Alex Davis and Olivia Evans wash chickens.

more pics here.
Former presidential candidates Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich join in pursuing the
impeachment of George Bush.

Nine Republicans Vote for Impeachment Hearings, Ten Abstain
by Ralph Lopez
Global Research, July 20, 2008
In a stunning development which fell with the silence of a feather yesterday, 9 Republicans broke with their iron-fisted party to put country first, and voted to send Rep. Dennis Kucinich's article of impeachment HR 1345 to the Judiciary, where Chairman John Conyers will hold hearings on abuses of power by the Bush administration, according to the Congressional Quarterly's CQToday.
Ten Republicans abstained in this critical moment, while only 5 Dems did.
Those Republicans are:
Congressman Kevin Brady (TX)
Congressman Wayne Gilchrest (MD)
Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC)
Representative Don Manzullo (IL)
U.S. Congressman Tim Murphy(PA)
Congressman Ron Paul (TX)
Congressman Dave Reichert (WA)
Congressman Christopher Shays (CT)
Representative Mike Turner (OH)

Story here.

Monday, July 21, 2008

The FCC blows it again.
Four flippin' years after Justin Timberlake accidentally exposed Janet Jackson's boobie for about half a second during the entertainment section of a nationally televised sports show, the U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that the FCC fine against CBS was applied in an arbitrary and capricious manner not in keeping with prior policy.
Let's face it - the FCC, like many unconstitutional government agencies frequently acts in arbitrary and capricious ways that, all too often, seem to be more likely career moves for the individuals on the commission than genuine acts of rational policy.

Story here.

Sunday, July 20, 2008


Woeber Mustard Expands

One of Ohio's culinary gems is Woeber's condiments in Springfield, Ohio. They have been serving up mustards and other sauce/spread type stuff for over a hundred years and are now expanding into a new facility on the site of the old New Moon drive in theater. The New Moon as a theater has long been closed. The site served as a flea market for some time.
The new site will operate as a distribution facility, leaving the old facility on Commerce Dr. with room to expand production. Woeber's expects to create 15 new jobs.
While Woeber's has had good business domestically, their international business has increased dramatically, notably in Israel, Korea and in England where they are the number 1 private label yellow mustard packager.

Noose Son story here.

Friday, July 18, 2008

FAIR !


It's hot. Crops are coming in but it's not harvest crunch time. Must be time for a fair.
As county fairs go, Springfield's Clark County Fair has long had a great reputation. No doubt, being the birthplace of the 4H Club and corporate sponsorship from the International Harvester company helped (even tho the local division IH was not involved in the agricultural side of the business). Dunno what role in sponsorship Navistar plays.
2007 brought 91,000 visitors to the Clark County Fair which is generally ranked as the second largest fair (behind the Ohio State fair) in the state.
The fair is easily accessible from the highway at 4401 S. Charleston Pike.
Dunno if they still run the (un-air-conditioned) buses from downtown and I am sure the hole in the fence over by the horse barns has been fixed, so I can't recommend that avenue for sneaking in anymore. The trek across the fields in the dark was fraught with surprises, anyway. :-)

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Can you say, "Over the Top" ?

ok, I have seen some of the insane emails floating around about Obama and this is clearly a take off / satire of those nutcase ramblings. The New Yorker is not WLW. The crazy accusations people are making against this guy can only work to his advantage, however, as his opponents find themselves in the uncomfortable position of defending the guy and distancing themselves from the psychopaths who circulate the misinformation.
That is - such talk promotes division amongst the very people who don't want Obama elected.
That is the joke at the New Yorker.
60-pound beaver on display at court building
Giant beaver, the 'largest critter of its kind' found around here, on display.

From the Noose Son:

Don't be alarmed by the 60-pound beaver on the fifth floor of the Clark County Offices and Municipal Court Building.
It's just the new unofficial county mascot — even though it's dead, County Commissioner John Detrick said.
Aptly named — you guessed it — "Clarkie," the beaver is on display because it was the largest critter of its kind that had been caught around here, the commissioner said.
Clarkie's story begins in 2003 when it met with an untimely end after being hit by a car on U.S Route 68 just south of the Ohio Masonic Home, Detrick said.
Harold Blackwood, former game warden, took the oversized beaver to Anderson Taxidermy because "it was unique and offered a historical and educational value for the county," Blackwood recalled.
Clarkie is now on a sort of a tour, having spent nearly a year at the Clark County Heritage Center before its debut at the municipal building, 50 E. Columbia St.
Detrick, who personally paid for Clarkie to be mounted, said it's not only interesting to see a beaver of that size, but it's also a glimpse into the past.
"The beaver played a role in the settlement of the area in the 1700s because trappers would collect their pelts," Detrick said. "It's a very good teaching tool."
It may comfort some to know that Clarkie's ill-fated crossing of the highway was not in vain.

Story here.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Springfield's NextEdge Park lands The National Environmental Technology Incubator of Central State University.

From the Noose Son:

Environmental technology incubator coming to Nextedge

Springfield, Ohio — Nextedge Technology and Applied Research Park revealed plans to welcome an environmental technology resource organization to 'Silicorn Valley,' Springfield's technology center in a corn field, at the grand opening of the Mills-Morgan building Friday, July 11.
The National Environmental Technology Incubator of Central State University intends to lease 5,000 square feet of the Mills-Morgan building's first floor by December. Another part of the incubator will move to the Brinkman building downtown.
Technology incubators help entrepreneurial companies by providing technical and financial advice, Nextedge President Ray Hagerman said.
The Central State incubator also will provide job training to college students and encourage them to stay in the Springfield area, Hagerman said.
Bill Pardue, chief executive officer for Qbase and chairman of Future Jobs — a group that promotes science, technology, engineering and math jobs — helped to negotiate the incubator's move.
Environmental technology is important because businesses need to look for alternative fuel sources and ways to save energy, Hagerman said.
The 55,000 square-foot Mills-Morgan building cost about $8 million to complete, said Tom Franzen, economic development administrator for the city of Springfield. Current tenants in the 205-acre park, which cost about $20 million include Qbase, SAIC and Newport Spectra-Physics. It was created to draw technologically based industry to Springfield, Franzen said.
About 60 to 70 percent of the park was funded by state and federal grants, Franzen said.
U.S. Rep. David Hobson of Springfield was instrumental in creating and funding the park, Pardue said.
"We would not be here today... if it weren't for the power of one and his desire to create jobs," Pardue said.

Story here.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Ohio Taxes
An interesting piece from the Noose Son

Cut the lies; Ohio taxes not out of sight

Last weekend former Ohioan Chester Finn Jr. went off on a rant about our state in The Wall Street Journal. Important truths were hyperbolically mixed in with patent untruths.
Mr. Finn, who, like The Journal, is no fan of Gov. Ted Strickland, is correct that the state has serious economic problems. But he — with other conservatives — should stop saying Ohio is among the highest-taxed states in the country. He is wrong.
That contention originates with the Tax Foundation, a think tank that gets a lot of mileage from celebrating Tax Freedom Day. It and Mr. Finn say that, in 2007, Ohio had the fifth-highest state and local tax burden.
The Tax Foundation's calculation is complex, and it includes subjective assumptions that experts across the country, not just in Ohio, argue are dubious.
A more straightforward — and the most universally accepted — way of looking at a state's tax burden is noting the amount of state and local taxes people pay per capita, or the percentage of personal income they pay in taxes. On these scores, Ohio has been in the middle of a tight pack.
According to 2006 Census data, Ohioans' state and local tax burden, as a percentage of their personal income, ranked 18th. Note that Kentucky scores seven places higher, but just three-tenths of 1 percent separates Ohio and its neighbor.
On a per capita basis, Ohio did better, coming in at 24th.
In this case, the difference between Kentucky and Ohio is $548. Again, though, many states are bunched together. Kentucky has a much-better sounding — and enviable — 40th-place ranking.
By these measures, there's just no case that Ohio's taxes are widely out of the mainstream.
More important, these 2006 numbers — the latest that are available from the Census Bureau — do not take into account Ohio's well-publicized and major tax cuts. In 2005, individual Ohioans saw the first installment of a 21 percent income tax cut that will be phased in over five years. The last of the annual 4.2 cuts will take effect next year.
Meanwhile, the equivalent tax for businesses — the corporate franchise tax — is being eliminated, disappearing next year. And the tangible personal property tax has been done away with.
These business taxes were replaced by a broadly based commercial activity tax that will result in lower taxes for most Ohio companies. All the projections are that the new CAT tax is a net major tax break for businesses.
These cuts were passed under former Republican Gov. Bob Taft and a Republican legislature, but mostly are taking effect under Gov. Strickland, a Democrat. In other words, it's this administration that's having to hold down spending to pay for the tax cuts. Guess which work is harder?
If, as Mr. Finn suggests, many of Ohio's problems are rooted in its tax rates, it's hard to see how the state is "making all the wrong moves" to reverse its decline. Or maybe Mr. Finn has been gone from his home so long he doesn't know about the tax cuts.
If there's anything Ohio should be rabidly criticized for, it's that political leaders have been slow to invest in higher education — refusing to see the connection between affordable and quality colleges and creating a knowledgeable work force.
Making that commitment, of course, is not free, and Gov. Strickland, as Mr. Finn notes, is backing those investments even as he's having to make budget cuts.
Ohio and its politicians should have to account for the state's shortcomings. But nobody should have to spend precious energy rebutting diatribes that rely on partisan and ideologically-motivated fiction.

Story here.

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Anyone familiar with the Clevo music scene of the 70s (Devo, Pere Ubu, The Dead Boys) should know the name of Peter Laughner. Smog Veil Records has been working nearly 3 years on a Peter Laughner retrospective. They are looking at a 2009 release.
Here is a recording of Heroin by Cinderella Backstreet featuring Peter Laughner and Scott Krauss circa 1973.

Been animating it out last week or so. Watched 2 3D movies, Appleseed Ex Machina ans Barbie in The Princess and The Pauper and a mangafied Batman called Batman Gotham Knights.
Gotham Knights is the Batman Franchise attempt at the Matrix franchise's Animatrix. It comes up lacking. 2 of the six stories were ok. The art resembled the Spawn cartoons from some years ago. It was nothing too impressive. Probably had a crap budget.
I always liked the Barbie movies made by Mainframe. They are fairly low budget. The Barbie character lends itself to crappy 3D because she is a crappy doll. This particular movie, unlike the others, was a musical.
Appleseed Ex Machina had a fairly dumb storyline and the typical manga angst-ridden characters and all, but, man, there was some really purdy rendering in that sucker.
I would recommend any of 'em for anyone who is interested in that kind of crap.
How's that for going out on a limb ?

YouTube trailers:

Barbie in The Princess and the Pauper

Appleseed Ex Machina

Gotham Knight

Monday, July 07, 2008

King's Island - a cheap holiday in other people's misery.
What is wrong with the people in Warren County and King's Island ?
This story from WCPO details the way they trick and abuse young foreign workers similarly to the way prostitution gangs work.
Cincinnati and Hamilton County have to come up with plans like Everybody Rides Metro to give them workers because they are too cheap to pay for their local unskilled labor and then they pull this on foreign kids ?
They could have at least had the kids stay in Cincinnati & use the "Everybody Rides Metro" plan for transportation so the kids wouldn't have been stranded out in the friggin' autozone.
Pat Dewine, Hamilton County's pugilistic commissioner and author of the G.A.S.P. boondoggle has made news again in his run for Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge.
While Dewine was considering a run for re-election to the commissioner seat, he raised about $80,000. When he switched his aim to the Judge's seat, however, he was faced with a dilemma as one cannot use non-judicial campaign funds for a judicial campaign.
The solution was pretty simple, of course, he only needed to give the money to people who would turn around and give it back.
When questioned about this, Dewine repeatedly claims that what he did was legal.
Of course legal and ethical aren't exactly the same thing and his actions clearly violate the spirit of the law.
Is this the caliber of character we want on the bench ?

Read WKRC's story here.

Saturday, July 05, 2008

A new Taco Bell in Springfield !
Well, ok, a replacement one.
Taco Bell has had a presence in Springfield for almost 40 years starting with their E Main St location.
It seems like just yesterday that Ray's mom was whisking Ray & Jeff & me off from the Roosevelt campus on Limestone to the new and exotic fast food joint that served strange and wonderful things called tacos and burritos.

From the Noose Son:
A new Taco Bell restaurant is being built at 2149 S. Limestone St. to replace the previous South side location at 1931 S. Limestone St. that was destroyed by fire in August 2007. The new location will be a stand-alone Taco Bell with no other brands represented; the store is scheduled to open at the end of August.
The store will support approximately 30 to 35 employees, with some old employees returning. The remaining positions will be filled with a number of new hires, said spokesperson Monica Hawkes.

Story here.

Friday, July 04, 2008

OK, this is kinda freaking me out.
This tree across the street is looking like the leering skull of Genghis Khan.
ugh
I hate to say it, but, I hate it when that happens.
I think I need to quit pussyfooting and get down to some serious July 4thing.....

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Celebrate the 3rd, 4th AND 5th of July in scenic Northside in Cincinnati !



Hoffner Park is on Hamilton Avenue at Blue Rock right across the street from the Art Damage Lodge.
Here are some pics from last year's event.
(NOTE:the page doesn't display correctly in Innernet Exploder)

The Schedule:
Main Stage
Stardevils 6:00-6:45
Los Honchos 7:05 – 8:00
Wolverton Bros 8:20-9:00
Ghostfinger 9:20-9:55
The Sundresses 10:20-10:55
Wussy 10:55 – 11:25
Black Diamond Heavies 12:25-1AM

Front of Park
Incendium Fire Arts 9:30

Side Stage hosted by Cloven Hoof Theater
Pickled Bros 9:55 – 10:20
Panty Raid 9:55 – 10:20
Sideshow Bennie 10:55 – 11:25
Barnyard Burlesque 12:10-12:25

July 4
Main Stage
Eclipse 2:45-3:30
Baoku 4:00-5:00
Tropicoso 5:30-7:00
Tracy Walker 7:20-8:00
Cash Flagg 8:20-9:00
FG’s 9:20-10:00
Me Or The Moon 10:20-11:00
BPA 11:20-12:00
Caterpillar Tracks 12:25-1AM

Side Stage hosted by Dantes Gypsy Circus
Performances at
9:00 – 9:20
9:55 – 10:20
12:00-12:20

July 5
Main Stage
Daughters & Sons 6:00-7:00
Libertines 7:20-7:55
Purple #9 (members of Pernicious Kniffs) 8:15-8:50
Peter Adams 9:10-9:50
Eat Sugar 10:10-10:50
Angels Of Meth 11:10-12:00