The Holidays on Ludlow
12/19/08 celebrate the holidays on Ludlow Avenue in Clifton with

• Free carriage rides
• Strolling carolers
• Prizes
• The Fairview German Choir
• Crafts workshop
• Santa Claus

Parking in the merchan's lot will be free after 5 PM.
And afterwards, (you knew this was coming) head on down to Northside for even more shopping, fine food and entertainment !

Art Damage Lodge
4120 Hamilton Ave.

Banner and Ross Gallery
3841 Spring Grove Ave.
513-861-4333
hrs: 8:30 AM - 8:00 PM Mon-Thurs, 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM Fri

The Blue Jay
4154 Hamilton Ave.
513-541-0847
hrs: 8:00 AM - 3:30 PM Mon-Sat

Blue Rock Tavern
4221 Hamilton Ave.
hrs: 5:00 PM - 2:30 AM Mon-Fri, 6:00 PM - 2:30 AM Sat

Bonomi
1677 Blue Rock Ave.
513-541-7501

Boswell Alley
1686 Blue Rock Ave.
513-681-8100
hrs: 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM Mon-Thurs, 11:00 AM - 11:00 PM Fri-Sat, Bar til 2:30 AM Mon-Sat

Bug House Video
4170 Hamilton Avenue
513-541-3700
hrs: 4:00 PM - 10:00 PM Mon-Thurs, 4 - 11:00 PM Fri, noon - 11:00 PM Sat, noon - 9:00 PM Sun

Bullfishes
4023 Hamilton Ave.
513-79-4999

The C & D Cafe
1714 Hanfield Ave
513-541-9881

Club Bronz
4029 Hamilton Ave.
513-591-2100

The Comet
4579 Hamilton Ave.
513-541-8900
hrs: 4:00 PM - 2:30 AM Sun-Sat

Gajah Wong West
3937 Spring Grove Ave.
513-591-3935
hrs: 5:30 PM - 10:00 PM, bar open late

Ginger's Bar
1701 Blue Rock Ave.
hrs: til 2:30 AM

The Gypsy Hut
4231 Spring Grove Ave.
513-541-0999
hrs: 8:00 PM - 2:30 AM

The Hideaway
44163 Hamilton Ave.
513-542-2444
hrs: 5:00 PM - 9:30 PM Tues-Thurs, 5:00 - 11:00 Fri-Sat, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM Sun

Honey
4034 Hamilton Ave.
513-541-4300
hrs: 11:30 AM - 9:00 PM Tues-Thurs, 11:30 AM - 10:PM Fri-Sat, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM Sun

Junker's tavern
4156 Langland Ave.
513-541-5470

Marshiella's
Hamilton Ave.
11:30 AM - 2:00 PM Tues-Fri

Melt
4165 Hamilton Ave.
513-681-MELT
hrs: 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM Mon-Thurs, 11:00 AM - 10 PM Fri-Sat

NYPD Pizza
1566 Chase Ave.
513-681-NYPD
http://www.nypdpizza.com
hrs: 11:00 AM - 11:00 PM Mon-Thurs, 11:00 AM midnight Fri-Sat

Northside Bar
Hamilton Ave.

Northside Tavern
4163 Hamilton Ave.
513-541-3603
hrs: 5:00v PM - 2:30 AM Mon-Fri, 8:30 PM - 2:30 AM Sat-Sun

NVISION
4577 Hamilton Avenue
513-542-4577
hrs: 2:00 PM - 9:00 PM Wed-Sat

Park Chili
4160 Hamilton Ave.
513-541-9902
hrs: 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM mon-Fri, 7:00 AM - 2:00 PM Sat, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM Sun

Portofino's
1609 Chase Ave.
513-542-5808
hrs: 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM Mon-Sat

The Serpent
4042 Hamilton Ave.
513-681-6969
hrs: 9:00 PM - 2:30 AM

Sidewainder Coffee & Tea
4181 Hamilton Ave.
513-542-8321
hrs: 7:00 AM - 9:00 PM Mon-Fri, 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM Sat-Sun

Slim's
4046 Hamilton Ave.
513-681-6500
hrs: 5:30 PM - til he food's gone, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM Sun

Taco Bell/KFC
4147 Hamilton Ave.
513-541-7861

Take the Cake
4137 Hamilton Ave.
513-241-2772

White Castle
3940 Ludlow Ave.
513-542-7291
hrs: 24/7

SCIENCE !

ok, actually, uh, model making ?

The Phoenix Cafe, at 641 Walnut St, had the reputation of being the only bar to be open in Cincinnati continuously since the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. Their policy of enforcing ladylike behavior by not allowing women to sit at the bar drew the ire of the feminist movement in the 60s. It was a place where the working poor could get a longneck for a buck. It was a place a guy could squander his welfare check. It was a dive. The Cincinnati Business district used to be a welcoming place to the poor. White Castle, The Phoenix cafe, The Belmont Cafe & The Milner hotel and lounge all catered to the lower economic classes and were happy to serve the wealthy as well.
They are all gone now as the area has gradually become an exclusive playground for the affluent. The business district always had it's havens for the affluent like The Palm Court and The Maisonette. But the yuppies have decided to set the cultural tone and those places were too stuffy for them and the low class dives were not only beneath them but an affront to their sensibilities.
After finally shutting the Phoenix Cafe down after 70 plus years in business, it will be replaced with the Righteous Room, another in a chain of bars owned by a group of investors known for their yuppie frou frou establishments. I would guess that 70 years in business on the same location would merit the designation of institution. Will the Righteous Room become an institution ?
Doubt it. Probably last a few years as a trendy meatrack & then change hands, names and do it all over again and again in an endless cycle. It won't be a cycle of failure, of course, because nobody expects the places to last.
I realize that money talks, but sometimes it just steamrolls. I fear the era of institutions is coming to an end.

Springfield Stones the Crows
Springfield, has become, apparently, the Bodega of the midwest. With an increasing number of crows roosting in the city, crews have set to dealing with the growing murder problem with bangers and screamers.
I wish 'em luck. Might as well try building a "rabbit fence".
Still, crows, like all birds, are pretty much just flying shit machines, so I understand the annoyance. Watching them and listening to them usually isn't a problem and be quite entertaining, tho.
Cats might disagree.

Noose Son story here.

bye

Looking at the budget woes of Cincinnati, Hamilton County and the regional school systems, I am frequently amazed at how much money they seem to be throwing away using Windows and standardizing on other Microsoft products. Hamilton County seems particularly dependent on the buggy, bloated overpriced OS and office suite. With OS prices ranging from approx $180 - $300 and Office ranging from $300 to $400 per seat, it seems like supplying 6000 employees with computer access would be a lot cheaper paying $0 for the OS and $0 for the office software (yeah, I know they get bulk discounts). Add to that the licensing for Windows Server and Exchange Server and the customer support needed, solutions like Red Hat Enterprise probably start looking pretty good. But, still we have the slow buggy websites the various county departments post. The County Auditor's being a prime example.
In looking for web hosts, the price for Windows service usually entails a premium charge. I assume the costs of mintaining a server internally would reflect the same cost difference.
From my experience with Linux (Fedora and Yellow Dog) and Open Office as well as using Mac and Windows, the big difference between the commercial systems and the open source systems is that the commercial systems support more proprietary media and gizmos like iPods and Zunes and frequently demand newer more powerful hardware.
For some years, governments, worldwide, have pushed for and even legislated the use of open source software.
In SW Ohio we just hemorrhage more money to Washington, tho.......

Krampusnacht

December 6th is Krampusnacht. It is a Bavarian celebration commemorating St Nick's demon dude, Krampus, who gave the bad kids a good thrashing, leaving St Nick to be the good guy and leave presents and treats.
Today it is pretty much a chance for modern day folks to get weird and have a party.
Anyway, it's good enough for Cincinnati's sister city, Munich, so I say we oughtta go for it here. We have missed it this year but now is probably the time to start planning for next year.
C'mon folks, let's take some Christ out of Christmas !
I am sure the local bars and breweries wouldn't argue.

I am frequently asked, "What's going on in Northside this Saturday ?"
ok, not really, more often than not, if I'm not being asked for money and/or cigarettes, I'm being asked to leave.
This Saturday, Northside Arts hosts another Winter Art Fair featuring locally made arts and crafts just in time for your holiday shopping. Some of the folks who will be there are Mary Faith Colon, Rachel Jones, Rose K. Brenner-Schwartz, Michael Isaacs, Andrea Vetter, Anna Collins, Carol Ann Newsome, Gillian Thompson, Heather Jerolaman, Jessica Ring, Amanda Carlisle, Karen Boyhen, Bill Williams, Mary Faith Colon, Ted Jeckering, Mike Smith and Mike Newman.
Also, this Saturday, we got:

• 9AM-noon Northside to Findlay Market bike ride
• 10A Decorate (presumably) Hoffner Park for the holidays
• 11A-5P Northside Arts Winter Art Fair
• 1P-4P Local Fair Trade Holiday Boutique at the Cincinnati Family Enrichment Center
• 8P The NVISION Fashion Show

And, as usual, lotsa fine food, drink and entertainment at Honey, Take the Cake, Bonomi, Ginger's, Boswell Alley, The Northside Tavern, The Gypsy Hut, Park Chili, The Blue Jay, The Hideaway, Melt, Portofino's, The Comet, Gajah Wong West, NYPD, Sidewinder, Bronz, Bullfishes and more.

I always hate agreeing with the inmates over at the Beacon. Never know if my iron grip on reality is slipping out of it's velvet glove or if they are just good examples of the broken clock theory. I have learned to take their numbers with a grain of salt but regardless of any exact number, the Cincinnati mayoral primary is a stupid idea. Primaries make some sense, especially with the 2 party presidential races in the US. You are dealing with people and communities and industries and even cultures that can be very different from Rhode Island to Hawaii or from Alaska to Missouri. Many people in the US will never see or know anything about vast regions of the country.
In a city the geographic size of Cincinnati and with it's population of less that 400,000 and with the non-partisan nature of the mayoracy, the primary is pointless and wasteful both in time and money.
I doubt the cost of campaigning is much different.
I guess there might be something to say for the mayor's getting a larger number of votes through a 2 way race, thus giving the elected mayor a little more legitimacy, but it is just not necessary.

All I want for Christmas...

Is an Elizabeth Bathory Action Figure !
This way cool toy was released in 2004 and went under my radar til I found I shared my birthday with the forward thinking countess. I can't believe the folks at Mattel haven't come up with a Barbie Bathory playset. Lord knows a household with kids is a household with headless dolls.
McFarlane Toys
Elizabeth Bathory

Springfield Navistar Hopeful
Folks at Springfield's Navistar facilities are hopeful that production and sales will improve in what is, currently, a pretty bleak market for trucks.
The are pinning their hopes on military sales to the US & the UK and the hybrid trucks that are produced exclusively in Springfield.

Noose Son article, here.

Angert's RIP
This sucks. I bought a stove and refrigerator from Angert's Appliance Store almost exactly a year ago. Their prices compared to the big chain stores and their service was superior.
They had just advertised a big warehouse sale - nothing uncommon - dunno if that's where this guy in the WLWT video made his purchases or not.
Anyway, it sucks losing another local business that had to compete with big national chains and it is another blow to the College Hill business district that just recently lost the Visconti pharmacy only a couple doors down from the appliance store.
WLWT story here.

Social Studies Champion City Style


How would you teach kids about ancient Egypt in a town that hosts a leading mortuary supply company like Champion ?
duh
You'd mummify some Cornish hens of course !
Emmanuel Christian Academy social studies teacher, Alicia Kidder did exactly that with her class of sixth graders and some help from high school honors students.

When King Cluck, Queen Winney and Cleopatra ZuZu are properly mummified, they hope to bury the hens and then disinter them at the end of the school year to see how good a job they did.
Noose Son story here.
Check out The Modern Embalmer.

Some Remaining Talibanders on the Loose

Click on the image for a larger picture.
Report to 888-352-3040 or 513-352-3040.

Quimbob's Crush de Jour


Julie McNiven in Supernatural
What can I say ? I'm just a sucker for spooky red headed fallen angel types.....

Cincinnati Unchained
Saturday, Nov 22, the biggest local shopping event of the year goes down.
BuyCincy is sponsoring a citywide event to promote "shopping local", featuring deals at 44 Cincinnati stores.
In Northside, Shake It Records, Melt, NVISION and Shoetopia are participating.
Up north in College Hill, American Heritage Flooring, College Hill Coffee, Bacall's Cafe and the ever cool St Theresa's Textile Trove are participating.
Up the other hill to the south, the Mustard Seed Boutique and Duttenhofer's are offering discounts.
For more information and to see wnat other stores and neighborhoods are participating go here:
www.buycincy.com/unchained.html

The Numbers
On Monday, 11/17, the Cincinnati police performed a sweep of a violent criminal gang mostly residing in the Northside community. The police claim the gang had about 100 members.
That night I went to a Northside Community Council meeting to hear Councilwoman Qualls discuss Form Based Zoning Codes and got an earful about the big bust. I also heard the Community Council's Membership Secretary, Melody Smith, report that the number of citizens active in the Northside Community Council topped out at just over 200.
The population of Northside is a little over 9,000 with about 6,600 adults. this means roughly 3% of the population are officially active in the community. Obviously you don't have to be a member to be active and not all the members actually do anything. From what I have seen, probably less than 2 dozen people are actually doing 99% of the work. From what I have heard, Northside is one of the most involved communities in the city.
So, how the hell can our communities improve when the numbers of people who give a pooh are so close to the numbers of people who want to tear the community apart and establish a warlord type rule of fear and violence ?
My level of community involvement works out to about an hour a week (woopteedoo). I am not a member of the NCC but I think I might just go down and plunk down the $5 membership fee. If Northside's 9,000 residents each put in an hour a week toward their community, the neighborhood would put wealthier communities in the area to shame. Just communicating and being aware of what is going on is incredibly important.
I am probably preaching to the choir, but -GET INVOLVED.
Here are links to other neighborhoods websites councils in Cincinnati.

Camp Washington
Clifton
College Hill
Columbia Tusculum
CUF
Downtown
Hyde Park
Kennedy Heights
Madisonville
Mt. Adams
Mt. Lookout
Mt Washington
North Avondale
Oakley
Over the Rhine
Pleasant Ridge
Roselawn
Sayler Park
University Heights
Westwood

Northside Population Quickly Shrinks
41 members of the "Taliband" arrested in gang sweep.
Will they be out in time for dinner ?
Channel 12 story here.

Fido

I really liked this movie. It takes place kinda after Night of the Living Dead and depicts a world where the living just have to deal with the fact that when people die they come right back to life with a hankering for living human flesh.
Actually, if it weren't so ludicrous, the attention to detail would be fine for a serious story.
Early in the movie, children sing during school firearms instruction, "In the brain and not the chest. Head shots are the very best."
Describing a couple of the other facts of life -er- death -er- reanimation.....
"Well, she is over sixty-five, Helen, and old people can't be trusted."
"Get your own funeral. Timmy and I are going zombie !"
Anyway, control collars have been developed that allow for the domestication of zombies but they tend to fail a lot. Mrs Robinson (Carrie-Anne Moss) desperately needs a zombie to "keep up with the Jonses" and brings home the zombie her son, Timmy, names Fido.
The movie has about a zillion period and period media jokes. The Lassie parody is pretty obvious and you realize you just have to wait for it. While the movie could have been a one joke thing it actually has a few.
One of the things that really makes the movie stand out is the soundtrack with music by Kay Starr, Tom Maxwell and the Squirrel Nut Zippers and Ian Whitcomb & His Bungalow Boys.
The movie is big on laughs and not a gore fest at all.

IMDB entry here

Buying An Election Part II
In the 2008 presidential campaign, Obama spent $573,000,000.00 and received 66,495,305 votes. That comes out to $8.62 a vote.
McCain spent $293,000,000 for 58,123,414 votes, coming in at $5.04 per vote.
If these guys had done no campaigning and had just stood outside the polling stations offering the cash directly to the voters, who would you have voted for ?
And if that had been the extent of their campaigning, would the media have even mentioned a presidential race ? Doubt it. That would, of course result in fewer votes overall, meaning the candidates could have offered us even more money per vote.
Campaign finance reform, indeed.