Pat Speaks
Pat Buchanan talks & takes calls about the primary & his controversial book that got him canned at M$NBC.
This is as close as I get to talk radio.

Dear Newt,
Ron Paul defeated you in 5 out of 11 races tonight. You only squeaked by him in Colorado & Nevada. He essentially won in Missouri because you didn't even try there. You beat everybody in psycho fucking South Carolina but is that anything that convinces you that you could beat Obama?
Dude, stick to philandering….

Yesterday's Gone

This article over at The Urbanophile about Kodak & Detroit inspired me to write this about the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Now that the Fishwarp has decided to charge for reading their stuff online, the website has ceased being a perk & has become a product. While their investment in the site has always been a business operation, this really changes things. Just putting the paper paper online is pointless. If they don't embrace the new media format it would be like going into television & panning a camera up & down the pages or going into radio & just reading the articles like a service for the blind.
While the newspaper prints "all the news that fits", it's constraint is available pages. In broadcast media, what fits is constrained by time. A good example of using the web to transcend those constraints is WLWT's posting the entire streetcar dedication ceremony online - something they could never do on live TV. The Fishwarp has added cheesy "galleries" of photos but they are usually pretty lame. They have a commenting system that's flawed but their attitude towards it is still stuck in the ancient newspaper mindset. The intertubes facilitate dialogue but the Fiswarpers just toss stuff out like bird seed. In the article where Ms Washburn "explains" the electronic subscription model, she generated over 100 comments. Some of them justly asked for clarification but in old newspaper mode, the Fishwarp published & then washed their hands & went home.
The Fishwarp needs to forget about posting charts, maps & other graphics in low resolution gifs & jpgs & start using a vector format like svg that is more legible & can afford interaction for even more clarity.
Again, the site is not a newspaper, they need to ~shudder gasp~ use audio & video. They need to use links more effectively - they can keep the reader on their site by opening links in a frame if they want.
It's a new product - it's not business as usual.

I hate my family.....

Carl Q Christol 1913 - 2012

And just did how such a program ended up funded by residents’ sewer bills?
The Fishwarp asks the hard questions….
The racist HamCo 4H apparently receives about $2,750 per member from the Metropolitan Sewer District. What political wisdom went into that is beyond me but with federal mandates & lack of revenue, the county is looking to cut that subsidy.
Last year, the 4H pulled out of the Hamilton County Fair & held their own. While the county fair attendance nearly doubled, the 4H fair had pretty miserable attendance. They pulled out of the county fair because they believed it was too dangerous and (& county commissioner Hartman agreed) it was not a proper place for families.
When A.B.Graham started his farming club in 1902, I doubt he intended it to become a cult of welfare queens. Still, the funding was moved from one pot to another so Kid Monzel's ideological posturing rings more hollow than usual.

Fishwarp story here

TriCycle Hearse

Grrovy Green
yup - your dead arse can be carted off in a pedal powered hearse at Sunset Hills Cemetery in cloudy Eugene Oregon.

My Oscar Predictions
I have no clue, I have never heard of these movies. Well, Harry Potter which I despise. I know about Ides of March because it was partially filmed down the street. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo sounds like something I might like but probably won't. Looking at my SchlockBluster history, the only eligible movies I even know from 2011 are Red State, Thor & Captain America. There oughtta be a category for best adaptation of a comic book since the visual element of the comic book puts a demand on the film maker that does not exist with a prose adaptation.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Of course Hollywood doesn't give a rip about true adaptations & the pencil neck momma's boys who dominate the Academy Awards piss their pants over SciFi, Action Adventure & Comic Book crap so there's no point. Since Red State actually kinda touched on real faith & morals - that's out.
Oh well, it keeps Billy Crystal off welfare, I guess…..

Media Bridges on the Move!
While a secret mobile unit would be cool, naw, Cincinnati's local access TV station & low power radio station will be moving up the Parkway to WCET at 1223 Central Parkway.
Read more

Child of the Moon

The B-side to Jumpin Jack Flash - I never knew this video existed. It kinda looks like it uses clips from a movie - can't tell. The young woman is identified on You Tube as either Leslie Gore, Linda Thorson or Eileen Atkins. She definitely looks familiar, pretty sure it's not Gore. The clip was made in 68 & IMDB has Thorson's career starting in 69 as Diana Riggs replacement on The Avengers but she doesn't seem old enough.
Anyway, it's fun.

Truth in Advertising

In this segment of last week's Billy Moyers Show, Kathleen Hall Jamieson points out TV/radio stations do not have to air 3rd party (SuperPAC) political ads & actually have an obligation to factcheck them. In the full show she cites the pro Issue 2 TV ad that used an anti Issue 2 spokeswoman's commentary and twisted it to promote their own view. Stations across Ohio yanked the ad.
If you see a political ad you think is untruthful (yeah, it's hard typing this through the laughter) her organization has a page with a collection of email addresses for Ohio TV station general managers so you can alert them to such ads. here

Fish Fries !

Forcing people to behave contrary to their common behaviour is a staple of religious domination. But having fun with it is just so fun. Springtime Catholic fish fries on Fridays are one of those bizarre religious traditions of fucking with people's heads that, if you aren't tied to it, are just fun nonsense.
St Boniface Church, on Chase Avenue in fertile Northside (currently not part of east Westwood), has a pretty good Friday fish fry through Lent, whenever that is. Folks are nice and beverage service by teenage girls in white shirts, plaid skirts & crew socks is too fun even for this heathen.

For more info,Click

this is just sooooo weird....

COA T Co-Founder, Tom Brinkman, is running for the 27th House District in the March 6th primary. Brinkman spent eight years representing the 34th District of Ohio. He apparently is unable to wean himself off the public teat.
Brinkman has sought a seat in congress twice only to have his ass handed to him by eerily hot Jean Schmidt. In his time in the Ohio house he has garnered a reputation for being hard to deal with. He has wasted taxpayers time and money pushing legislation he admitted would not pass. He used state money to buy grills for his neighborhood's park. At one point Columbus Monthly rated Brinkman "the single worst legislator in the 132-member General Assembly".

"Those surveyed ranked him as least knowledgeable, least hardworking, least likable, least compassionate, and least savvy."

When not trying to control your sister's uterus, Brinkman has been adamant about denying civil rights to homosexuals. That landed him in some hot water when his petition circulators falsified documents. The judge in the case, Ruehlman, a Republican, had this to say:

"I still think the real culprit is Rep. Brinkman.
I know politics, somehow (Brinkman) falls between the cracks and is not prosecuted - the guy in power is the one who should have been indicted."

Brinkman's shady politicking goes beyond sex, tho. His moral crusade led him to another ballot scheme funded by out of state entities & his teaming up with ministers who proclaimed,

a tax hike would be preferable to slots

And, Brinkman's efforts to stop slots in Ohio did indeed result in higher taxes for Ohioans. Mysteriously Brinkman & his cronies didn't try to stop a Republican governor from putting slots in race tracks. In fact one of those cronies is actually serving in Kasich's administration.
Lately Brinkman has railed against libraries having media other than books on their shelves.
Despite Brinkman's efforts to outlaw abortion in Ohio, Ohio Right to Life has not given him their endorsement in this latest election cycle.
The Cincinnati Enquirer (R) had this to say about Brinkman:

"The issue here is Brinkman's lack of effectiveness.
Few lawmakers are as honest, principled and consistent as Brinkman. But he exhibits those qualities to a fault, coming off as stubborn, ideologically rigid and unwilling to compromise. He's made many enemies in Columbus by refusing to see anyone else's side of things. This has limited his ability to work with others and get things done."

Obviously, Enquirer editors have a different view of ethics than Judge Ruehlman.
Brinkman, with his convenient morals, his inability to work with others, his shady dealings & unethical politicking, is clearly NOT a good choice for Ohio.

More here

Little Wing

by Andy Boller

It isn’t Kasich’s fault
It’s Kasich’s fault
It’s public workers’ fault
It’s the legislature’s fault
It’s everybody’s fault
It’s the Republicans’ fault

The headlines for a slew of Letters to the Editor at The Fishwarp 2/21/12
pretty good…..

Springfield Then & Now

A slideshow of then & now photo mash ups with an annoying narration & some dubious history.

What to do With a Dead Golf Course ?
How about filling it with dead golfers?
Well, it needn't be golfers but how about a body farm? The city is wondering what to do with the Dunham Golf Course in West Price Hill. 14 acres of green space would be great for a body farm for Criminal Justice students to use for forensic studies and the cost to establish it seems pretty nominal. Currently, locals have to travel 100s of miles to visit one of these facilities. Between the various schools with criminal justice programs in the area, the College of Mortuary Science, The Champion company up the street in Springfield & the FBI in the swank NE suburbs, it seems we could have plenty of demand for such a facility here. Add the economic impact of these guests on chili parlors, hotels & entertainment to the fees they would pay to use the farm & we could make out like rats.

Fishwarp story here

Britain's Wicca Man

Britain's Wicca Man - Matchlight from Matchlight on Vimeo.

Being wrapped in mystery & mythology seems to help legitimize religions. The more we know about the origins of religious groups, the less compelling they are. While advances in printing helped the Reformation, they kinda put the kibosh on any potential new movements. Al Crowley said it's best not to discuss your beliefs because you tend to wind up looking foolish as George Carlin demonstrated in his "Invisible Man in the Sky (who needs money) routine. Crowley's much publicized antics certainly didn't do him much good.
About a year ago the BBC commissioned a documentary on Wicca's founder Gerry Gardener that was scheduled to be aired around now. Patheos suggested 2/20/2012, but searching BBC.co.uk finds nothing. Even if it was scheduled, dunno when it might be available in the US.
Dunno if this documentation is better or worse. The ominous tone of the trailer seems to reinforce the whole scary/Satanic image of Wicca which is pretty corny & not really representative. The film showcases the work of historian Ronald Hutton who claims to have studied Wicca for 20 years which should be pretty thorough for a movement that's only about 70.
Anyway, looks like it might be interesting. Who knows if it will ever see the light of day.

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Duke's Claims Questioned
I recently bit he bullet & subscribed to the Cincinnati Business Courier. I have long held that business leads our society & not government, furthermore while the Fishwarp is adequate, it tends to dwell on sensationalism. The TV coverage of our community is nothing but alarmist soundbites and emergency run coverage - cherry picked emergency run coverage ~ Follow the Gun.
While the Friday edition of the Fishwarp announces the groundbreaking of the Cincinnati streetcar project amongst, Stuff video a YouTube hit, Pickup dangles off railroad bridge after riding on tracks, Blake Shelton delivers love songs with an edge, Teen testifies against stepfather in rape trial & Gunman prompts SWAT standoff - the Business Courier actually did some investigation into Duke Energy's inflated utility line movement costs in relation to the streetcar installation."Many communities have utilities located much closer to their streetcar rails – with no problems."

Tim Borchers, owner of Tampa-based City Rail Solutions LLC, said utilities often see streetcar projects as a way to get their aging infrastructure replaced at no charge.
"If you went to Europe and talked about the utility thing, they would laugh"

To find out more, pick up a copy of the Cincinnati Business Courier wherever they are sold or subscribe to get the whole article and many more informative articles about what is really going on the the greater Cincinnati region (besides murder, rape & YouTube news) every Friday. (Actually, one quibble with the rag is that they use the Greater Cincinnati region & simply Cincinnati interchangeably, but most people around here do the same thing anyway, so…..)

Well, not exactly…

Westwood, not the most welcoming community, has posted welcome signs in Northside. The real border is about 500 feet up the road, unfortunately.
Westwood Civic Association had asked Northside to cede the land in 2011 but the Northside Community Council opted to retain it. Westwood Civic was told explicitly to not place the welcome sign in Northside but with a typically arrogant and cavalier attitude, they have.
WCA has been given til the end of February to remove the sign and place it in the proper place.
Cincinnati neighborhood map

Ron Paul in Ohio

While the Ron Paul campaign has yet to have an official presence in Ohio, the Fishwarp reports area Tease are setting up support for the candidate.
This is a surprising move since Paul tends not to support their liberty crushing social & domestic security agendas nor their militaristic foreign policy views. Further, they have made a point of supporting mainstream business-as-usual Republicans in most other races - well, in SW Ohio.

In West Chester you can find the Ron Paul Tease at 5430 West Chester Road.
email chris.littleton@ohiolibertycouncil.org for more information

More Ohio supporters here

Who Does Council Member Smitherman Represent ?
Cincinnati City Council Members Smitherman & Winburn called for a special council meeting to showboat discuss the streetcar project. There, Smitherman peppered City Manager Dohoney about all sorts of minutiae. Dohoney has been upfront & transparent about this project from day one. What is strange is Duke Energy's assertions of specifications & costs which appear to be a money grab. But Smitherman took their numbers as gospel while even questioning Mr Dohoney when he stated the overall cost would be 110. If Smitherman were really representing the citizens of Cincinnati it seems he would want to direct his questioning at Duke. Instead, his behavior at the meeting indicated he might be representing Duke or residents in Hamilton County outside the city. It's been suggested his roles in the local NAACP might be conflicting with his role as a member of city council. What else is he involved in? He certainly doesn't seem too interested in preventing the citizens of Cincinnati from getting fleeced.

Lounge Power

In the late 1800s the East Street Shops industrial complex in Springfield, Ohio was the largest manufacturing facility under one roof in the entire world.
On the morning of Feb. 10, 1902, a wind-whipped fire, the most destructive fire in the history of Springfield, ignited by a chemical explosion, leveled the East Street Shops industrial complex and threatened the city's downtown.
Inadequate water pressure and antiquated fire apparatus contributed to the staggering loss to the city and its economy. Twelve manufacturing plants were in total ruin. The loos came to $406,682 or more than $10,000,000 today.
The businesses hit hardest were the Owen Machine Tool Co., Champion Chemical Co., Springfield Foundry Co., Progress Stove and Furnace Co., Indianapolis Frog and Switch Co., Miller Gas Engine Co., Green Manufacturing Co. and the Krell French Piano Company.

Full story Springfield Fire Journal and Gen Disasters

Bonus info on the Detroit Southern railroad line Michigan Railroads

8 Feet ?






More from The Monocle

Economic Indicators
In this day and age I have no idea why housing starts are any indicator of the economy. Heck, it's wild home buying promotions that got us in the pickle we're in today. I understand why housing starts got their clout after WWII but the population growth is sputtering out & a lot of those houses built in the second half of the 20th century were built to last. New housing for some time now should be growing at a pace rivaling M$oft's OS glacial pace of growth. That is - the market is saturated
ScienceFiction.com reports comic book sales had their best January since 2008. Dunno if this should be any kind of economic bellwether - it might just be some kind of ouroboric film / comic book entertainment cycle. Seems as good as using housing to gauge the economy, tho. I mean, what's a house but a place to keep your comic books?

The Perils of Extremism

How do Conservatives and Liberals See the World? from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.

long video

Councilman's Frivolous Actions Leads To New Rules
In a letter to the editor a Cincinnati councilman complains of new rules that would keep him from wasting city resources with frivolous requests and demands.
This is what happened last time he was in office.

"The memos to the city manager's office come at the rate of about one a day, and sometimes as many as three or four."
"The requests for information are usually no longer than two or three sentences. The answers sometimes take days of staff time to complete."

Fishwarp story here

Ohio Caverns Expands

Ohio Caverns will offer up tours of areas previously unavailable to visitors this year. They will also be offering limited handicap access.

Noose Son story here

Driehaus Dominates

Luke Brockmeier, Denise Driehaus and Terry Tranter appeared on Dan Hurley Show on Feb 5 to discuss their bids for Ohio's 31st district.
Brockmeier, with a particularly annoying voice, seems to want to be the perfect Liberal©. Tranter, a Berding DINO who has already tried using the courts to secure his nomination, came off as over medicated. Driehaus totally dominated the room with clear thinking & well articulated ideas & philosophy. One can easily see why Republican gerrymanderers tried to get her out of the picture.

Glad I'm Not Alone

Glad I'm not the only one to have had a problem reading Atlas Shrugged. Individualism? As Ma Quim pointed out - that must be why there are no children in Rand's books. Just - as I pointed out - a bunch of really unhappy people.
So, I know I'm late but I doubt the sentiment would do any good, Happy B-Day Aynnye.

Don't Count Your Boobies Until They're Hatched

Damn, I miss Thurber.....

More Proof - Horror Sells