Saturday, July 31, 2010

Doesn't That Stink

WCPO's John Matarese exposes big music industry practices that deny fans good seats.
Back in the general admission (festival seating) days, fans would camp out at the concert site to get a front row seat. Of course they were all taken already by folks who got tickets from friends of the bands, promoters, radio stations & contest winners & such. Nothing new there. The later release of good tickets that Matarese mentions is pretty weird, tho.
Back in the 70s, big music industry practices that treated the fn like poo led to a surly backlash called punk, a raucus grassroots uprising that hit the big music industry like a jail on wheels. It was hard back then because there were few venues for local bands to play. The legacy of the original punk scene, of course, is a lot of venues for local music.
I can only really address rock music but Cincinnati is blessed with a decent local rock scene in both musicians & venues. Would you rather sit in a damp field out in the middle of nowhere on a hot muggy night listening to a band playing oldies (that you would prefer to hear on records) policed by capricious goons and infested by mosquitoes or go to a lively neighborhood with numerous activities & hear a guy play theremin or hear a jazz band at a club where the bandleader's wife is cooking dinner?
To hell with corporate music and it's goofy practices. I'm sorry the jonas Brothers had to cancel but if you want to hear somebody play an SG, go see Wussy.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

What the Hell Happened to WCPO.com ?

Or to be more specific, what the hell happened to their online weather forecasting? To be, like, laser specific, what happened to their hour by hour forecast?
If you don't have a rolling steel and glass raincoat, knowing the weather on an hour by hour or, at least, an every 2 - 4 hour forecast is important when planning when & how to go traveling. Weather.com has comprehensive forecasting. Their hour by hour forecast leans heavily towards rain & snow. It stops hour by hour predictions about 16 hours out. WCPO used to go off into infinity but now only goes out 12 hours. WCPO's hourly forecast used to be amazingly accurate. I would use weather.com for a general view & then use WCPO to pinpoint potential rain. Now it's not even the opposite as WCPO's hour by hour forecast is so horribly inaccurate, it's rendered useless.
Doppler Schizophrenia.
Yesterday, by WCPO's hour by hour, it was raining all afternoon & evening. Of course their up to the minute, stick-your-head-out-the -window section was right. So you had a sunny picture sitting next to a cloudy picture with a lightning bolt sitting there next to each other. It did not rain the entire time. It wasn't even cloudy most of the time.
How in the hell does a new layout destroy the quality of reporting? Why have we not heard reports of Larry Handley beating the crap out of some programmer in the WCPO parking lot? It's the reputation of the meteorologists that suffers here. And the peace of mind of people who now must assume they need a raincoat & umbrella 24/7....

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

WHA ??
People lying around on the grass in a park in the middle of the summer?
AMAZING !!
I remember, a long time ago in a park far far away, a cop driving across freshly seeded grass to tell me & my mates we were too close to the freshly seeded grass & to move our asses on. We stood there on the old grass looking at this guy with his 2 tons of steel parked on the new grass & said, "ummm, ok ossifer...".
He only slipped a little as he pulled away.
dumbass
Got a Dumb Rail Plan ?

Send it to Cincinnati.com's Opinionati.
So far they have re-suggested for about the millionth time running temporary buses to see how much permanent development it spurs and a new route that truly is a train to nowhere as it ignores the northern end of the basin & the Uptown area altogether.
My idea? Locomotives to the stars, maaaannnnnnn.....
You'll find me in the dining car to Saturn, dude. For about the next 1,500 years I might add.
Granted, landing might be a bit tricky but in 1,500 years we should have it figured out.

Monday, July 26, 2010


2009 Queen Katie Stevens crowns Amanda Haddix for 2010

Amanda Haddix crowned Clark County Fair Queen 2010. The Ohio State student's background includes FFA, Teen Leadership Council, Junior Fair Board, Girl Scouts and 4-H.



The Competition


Noose Son story here

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Lois Smith

I have not read the True Blood books by Charlaine Harris but I have been watching the TV series on DVD. I alternate between Route 66, True Blood & dumb action horror movies.
While it's clear Sookie Stackhouse has inherited her telepathic powers it is not clear what is going on with her ancestry. Imagine my surprise when I spotted granma Adele in a 1962 Route 66 episode, "Only by Cunning Glimpses", as a second generation psychic named Brycie.
All is clear now.
Congratulations to Lois Smith on a 5 decade acting career. Hope there's more to come & given the nature of True Blood, she might even show up there again. Who knows?
yeah, the people who have read the books.....

Only by Cunning Glimpses is on Route 66 Season 3 Disk 3
and it's in CLEVELAND !

Saturday, July 24, 2010

The Motor City is Burning

43 years ago Detroit broke out in riots. Flaring up July 23, it boiled over on the 24th & gradually flamed out over the next couple days. It brought out not only the Detroit Police but the Michigan State Troopers, Michigan National Guard and the U.S. Army as well.
This video, set to the tune of The MC5's cover of John Lee Hooker's "The Motor City's Burning" incorporates news footage & footage from some low budget / made for TV / black exploitation movie to great dramatic effect. It would have been better without the dramatization....
Even without the riots Detroit would have eventually lost it's manufacturing base but the riots spurred massive "white flight" as the notion of emotional, violent negroes was reinforced in their minds. In the end of the vid there is a quote from Mao on revolution. A riot, of course, is not a revolution, it is an unorganized outburst.
As Jello Biafra pegged it, "RIOT - The Unbeatable High".
This video, made by "Dukowski" is on YouTube here but it's all distorted. I have tried to rectify that.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Interested in Showing at the Hamilton County Fair ?

Most entries need to be in by August 7 - 9.
Categories include:
  • Antiques
  • Art & Photography
  • Beef Cattle
  • Dairy Cattle
  • Food Exhibits
  • Fruits, Berries, Nuts
  • Garden Competition
  • Go Green
  • Goats
  • Grain
  • Hobbies and Crafts
  • Horticultural (Artistic Arrangements)
  • Horticultural (Flowers)
  • Needleworkv
  • Pie Contests
  • Pigeons
  • Poultry
  • Rabbits
  • Sheep
  • Vegetables
  • Waterfowl
  • Wine

As usual, there are sub-categories based on age & such.
The Fair is 8/10-14/2010.
Get your info here.
Dealing With the Devil

Will Ohio's recent deal with animal rights activists give Ohio peace?
Not likely.
Look at California again & we see
the Governor has signed a new bill holding out-of-state producers to the same standards California producers are held to under the misrepresented Proposition 2. Will this be the next deal Strickland makes with the animal rights extremists? Will Ohio's Faustian Bargains affect Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana and Michigan, too?
HSUS is not an animal welfare organization. They are not concerned with the well being of animals & they object to pet ownership as well. For these extremists a dog kennel = a puppy mill.
While Strickland's Neville Chamberlain style strategy of appeasement is ill advised, he still stands head & shoulders over Republican Schwarzenegger morally.
Be sure to see The Expendables!
Anybody remember this promise? I guess everything is ok now that the chickens are happy.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Northside Tells the West End How It's Done
Need Work? - Open a Body Shop

In a country with about 10% unemployment & cities & states trying desperately to make do with aging infrastructures, people are wondering where the money is. The Federal Government is racking up record deficits for years and we know about the bailouts for the wealthy. We know about our military bases around the world that could probably be eliminated in a day's worth of nuclear strikes. But waht about our shadow war?
The Washington Post follows the money.
Surprise. Since 9/12/01 gushers of money have been flowing into the intelligence arm of the "military - industrial complex". Only, more and more, our military is relying on outside services. That is, the people dedicating their lives to serving their country for a pittance are being backed up more and more by folks who are just trying to make as much money as possible as quickly as possible.
It's not pretty and the prospect of these businesses, that are increasingly following us domestically, selling themselves to foreign nationals is downright scary.
What's a House ?

About a hundred years ago an automobile manufacturer name of Burton Westcott commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to build him a house on Springfield, Ohio's prominent High Street. Subsequent owners let the building fall apart & it became a bit of an "ruin". It was rescued & restored by the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy and The Westcott House Foundation but nobody lives there. They have meetings and receptions there & that pays the bills, but....
Wright designed homes for families. He wanted the house to positively effect the adults and the children who lived there.
For the second summer The Westcott Foundation hosts Design Studio with The Now Device to give kids the opportunity to learn audio / video & graphic design stuff.
If Burt were around today, well he wouldn't be making cars, but his kids would probably have all the audio / video gizmos money could buy today. Great to see the place used as more of a home than a hall.

The Westcott House

Noose Son story here.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Clang, Clang, Clang Goes The Trolley !

Fishwrap editors, channeling Charlie Winburn, have asked, should we try a temporary route with cute buses to see how many people invest in real estate along the route? Should we see how many people commit to a route the city is up front not committing to?
Have the Fishwrap staff painted racing stripes on their cars to make them go faster? Howabout playing cards affixed to their bike frames with clothespins?
Reminds me of an old joke.
There were two inmates in a lunatic asylum and one night they decided they're going to escape. So they get up on to the roof, and there, just across the gap, they see the rooftops of the town, stretching away in moon light, stretching away to freedom.
Unfortunately it was too far to jump from the asylum rooftop to the next. The one guy says "Hey! I have my flash light with me. I will shine it across the gap between the buildings. You can walk across the beam". But the other guy just shakes his head. He says "What, you think I'm crazy? How do I know you won't turn it off when I am only half way across!"

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Sliding Noodles ?

White Castle has registered the name "Laughing Noodle" & has closed & commenced to remodeling their Springfield, OH store.
thelaughingnoodle.com/ is chock full of info.
hmmmm
Noose Son story here.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Top 10 Robo-Cyborg-Android Chicks

Because chicks that whir, click, buzz, beep & clank are just HOT!
If I really thought about it I would probably re-order these listings. If I was a Forbes editor I would throw darts in the dark.
#10

Tekla

Tekla from the Mainframe animated series Shadow Raiders Played a main role in the first episode & spent most of the rest of the series lying around circling the drain.



#9

Jocasta

Jocasta was created by Ultron who was created by Hank Pym (Goliath / Ant Man) using Janet van Dyne's (The Wasp & Hank Pym's wife) brain waves to be used to attack Pym. Pym re-programmed her & brought her back to life & she joined The Avengers only to turn on them when Ultron triggered her old programming with a remote control and and and
She was a Marvel character, what can I say?
I love the riveted garter!



#8

The Bionic Woman

The original - Lindsay Wagner. With her bionic legs & arm she could easily lift a small car. So why didn't her non bionic spine snap like a twig? Praise Wolverton.



#7

Motoko Kusanagi

From Ghost in the Shell 1 & 2, Motoko has to wrestle with her mechanical & personal sides while running around shooting bad guys and jumping off skyscrapers in teeming Japanese metropolises. YAY!



#6

The Mudd Twins

Harcourt Fenton Mudd lands on a planet full of androids & creates Alices 1-250 & 250 - 500 played by twins Alyce anh Rhae Andrece.



#5

Aphrodite IX

Aphrodite IX is an android hit woman who isn't too keen on her job & wrestles with her mechanical & personal sides while running around killing people & jumping through windows & such.



#4

7 of 9

The Borg chick who gets adopted by The Voyager crew & gradually becomes a regular Jane. While the Borg mantra was, "Resistance is futile", 7's was "I will not comply".



#3

The Machine Girl

The Machine Girl gets beaten and mutilated after her brother is killed by a gang & garage mechanics fit her up with a prosthetic gatling gun for her amputated forearm. Talk about lemonade outta lemons.



#2

Parody

The mother of all hot robot chicks, Rotwang globbed the features of Maria on her & messed her all up. Trivia tid - the actress who played Maria also played the robot.



#1

The Borg Queen

OK, I'll admit it, the whole cyborg / zombie thing just really works for me. Add in the interchangeable parts & it's like George Romero meets Eli Whitney.
And of course I have to tip my hat to all of H.R. Giger's crazy ass alien zombie robo mamas and Sorayama's scrawny chrome gynoids, too.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Gimme a Drive In & a Big Bucket of Popcorn !

and a corn dog or two...
It would sure be nice to see Eliza Dushku start getting some of these Jessica Alba type roles.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Thursday, July 08, 2010

Changing Plans for America's Cemeteries

For years, probably over a century, Crawford Avenue has been separated from Spring Grove Cemetery by a stately brick wall. Over the years, due in part to water runoff & ponding, the wall has become less & less stable. Portions have been torn down & been replaced with beautiful black cyclone fence.



This guy has been sitting dormant for awhile. It's Cincinnati - people leave stuff.....



Anyway, last night I spotted this & put 2+2 together.



This morning. At this time I don't know if they are planning on just finishing the rest off or not.
In the fall you could hear the residents sitting on the wall chatting & joking. Dunno if the fence will be as conducive to conversation.

UPDATE

After an extensive interview with one of the dmolition specialists, I have found that the entire north end of the wall extending from about Bercliff up to the gate will be demolished. I am guessing the southern section near the Sam Hannaford designed garage is ok. Should I be a complete geek & get one of the bricks?
Unedited Animal Rights Propoganda Fails to Indict

Animal Rights group, Mercy for Animals' shock ad showing worst case animal care activities tugged at our heart strings & was probably a key element in the state caving to animal rights groups on livestock care legislation. However the unedited version led a grand jury to not indict the farm owner.
Kinda sound like the O'Keefe Acorn video scam?
Through clever editing the guy made an incriminating video that played a part in Acorn losing it's federal funding. In the unedited tapes, however, it was made clear that the final cut was misleading.
The fired farm worker in the MFA ad is yet to see a grand jury.
The Animal rights folks have taken their ballot measure off the table but they are still collecting signatures like it is. Seems illegal to me, at least unethical & deceitful. Kinda like giving your rights organization a name that sounds like it is affiliated with local welfare organizations.

Fishwrap story here.

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Brawndo - The Thirst Mutilator

Soda from movies...
Now I need some True Blood.

Halstead kitchen circa 1985

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Teenage Doodle Land

Back when I thought i was going to be a super cool comic book artist & be the idol of Bart Simpsons & Comic Book Guys throughout the midwest.....
Bad Luck Wind Been Blowing On My Back

I like Samuel L. Jackson but, somehow, I just don't think he's really right. Still - beats the hell out of pretty boy David Hasselhoff.
Anyway, this 2 page spread was fairly typical of Jim Steranko's breakthrough work around 1967.
In this scene a group of politicians, military brass & other representatives of military industrial complex gather to see a LMD (Life Model Decoy) go through the paces in a S.H.I.E.L.D. equivalent of a "Danger Room" but, of course, the LMD is actually Colonel Nick Fury who has had his vocal cords paralyzed so he can impersonate an LMD whose purpose is to impersonate people and.....

Monday, July 05, 2010

Baking Day Has Become An Iridescent Dream

I clean the house every 5-10 years wether it needs it or not. I am finding so much weird shit.....
This sucker never got put away since MDCCCXCVII. It cost a daggone dime & it's basically an ad. It has all sorts of "things to do" for the housewife who will have so much free time on her hands with her new, I think, wood oven. And it claims to make food taste just as good as grandma's brick oven!
I have absolutely no clue where this thing came from. Or why baking day - nevermind, that's just weird.

Excerpts from a couple articles about rail transit in the latest edition of The American Conservative.
It's too bad we have such polarized opinions on this issue in Cincinnati. It would be great to see if costs could be cut. Personally, I think the size of the streetcars being proposed is way big.

Rail Against the Machine by William Lind -
Conservatives do not like public transportation — or so libertarians and Republican officeholders tell us. If that means we must spend hours stuck in congested traffic, so be it. Under no circumstances would conservatives ever ride public transit.
Except that we are riding it, in growing numbers. Studies of passengers on rail-lransit systems across the country indicate many conservatives are on board. Chicago's excellent METRA commuter trains offer one example. A recent survey revealed that in the six- county area METRA serves, 11 percent of commuters with incomes of $75,000 or more commuted by train. In Lake County, fhe mean earnings of rail com- mnifr-r.s were more than $76,000. (The figure for bus riders was less than $14.000.) Not surprisingly, the area METRA serves regularly sends Republicans to Congress.
So why are conservatives using the public transportation we are told they oppose? Because being stuck in traffic isn't fun. even if yon are driving a BMW. On a commuter train or Light Rail line, you whiz past all those cars going nowhere at 50 or 60 miles per hour — reading, working on your laptop, or relaxing, instead of staring at some other guy's bumper.
Still, libertarians shriek, "Subsidies!" — ignoring the fact that highways only cover 58 percent of their costs from user fees, including the gas tax. To understand how conservatives might appriiac'h transportation issues more thoughtfully, we need to differentiate.
All public transit is not created equal. You will find few people with alterna- tives sitting on buses crawling slowly down city streets. Most bus passengers are "transit dependents" — people who have no other way to get around. But most conservatives have cars; they are "riders from choice," people who will only take transit that offers better conditions than driving. They demand high-quality transit, which usually means rail: commuter trains, subways, Light Rail, and streetcars.
Here wo see one of the absurdities of the Republican position on transit. During the recent Bush administration, it was virtually impossible to get fed- eral funding for rail-transit projects; buses were offered instead. But most Republicans' constituents are served by rail transit.
The perception that conservatives do not use public transportation is only one of the mistaken notions that has warped the Right's position on trans- portation policy. Another is that the dominance of automobiles and high- ways is a free-market outcome. Noth- ing could be further from the truth. Were we to drop back 100 years, we would find that Americans were highly mobile. Their mobility was based on a dense, nationwide network of rail transportation: intercity trains, street- cars, and interurbans ((lie latter two electrically powered). Almost all of these rail systems were privately owned, paid taxes, and were expected to make a profit. But they were wiped out by massive government subsidies.....

Tracking the Cost by Glen Bottoms -
Rail transit's great enemy isn't public support or political will but its enormous price tag. The expense of heavy-rail subway systems has limited recent growth to extensions of existing lines. The last heavy- rail construction completed in the U.S. was a 3.2 mile extension of Washington Metro's blue line to largo Town Center, completed in 2004 at a cost of $695 million ($217 million/mile). Phase I of the Metro's 11.6 mile exten- sion to Dulies Airport is estimated at a staggering $2.65 billion ($242,1 million/mile). The bite for New York City subway extensions is in another reality-
At first, light Rail seemed to offer a solution, but its cost is steadily rising.
Now that streetcars have caught on in many U.S. cities—over 60 are currently planning streetcar projects— many fear that the cost-escalation virus could infect this mode as well. The price tag on Tucson's streetcar project, now under construction, has grown by 20 percent. Costs for proposed streetcar projects across the country range from a reasonable $ 10 million to an eye-popping $60 million per mile.
What accounts for mis dramatic escalation? Three key factors: 1) overdesign, 2) lack of technical expertise at the overseeing transit agency, and 3) external factors like polit- ical interference and rising material costs. Consultants retained to design these systems regularly use plans that they already possess without regard to applicability or functionality, selecting higher-speed overhead wire in rail yards and city streets or specifying cer- tain types of rail without regard for cheaper alternatives. Supervisors often cite rising prices of construction com- ponents worldwide as the reason for transit projects' blown budgets.
America's rail infrastructure won't be resurrected overnight. But history shows that we can build rail econom- ically and on time. After all, we have been constructing sys- tems of all sizes and complexities in this country for well over a hundred years. Recalling those past experiences today will give us the tools we need to build the trains of tomorrow.

Articles here.

Sunday, July 04, 2010

Letters From the Front

Charlotte Chambers, the daughter of General Benjamin Chambers, married Colonel Israel Ludlow, who had served under the general and moved to Cincinnati to survey SW Ohio (the Symmes Purchase) & later started an estate in what is now the neighborhood of Northside north of the Mill Creek & east of Hamilton Avenue. One of her grandsons collected her letters and published them in the mid 1800s. The book, "The Memoirs of Charlotte Chambers" is available at the Hamilton County Public Library in the general and rare books departments. It is also online here. Besides Miss Chambers being a drama queen & hypochondriac, she speaks conversationally about life in Cincinnati at the turn of the century & social engagements with the founders of the Queen City. But the book also contains correspondences from her uncle fighting in the American Revolutionary War. Here is a sampling.

"CAMP AT CAMBRIDGE, AUG. 29, 1775.
"MY DEAR KITTY:
"On the evening of the 26th inst., Saturday, I was ordered to draw fifty men out of each of the Cumberland companies, and be ready to march at sunset. Accordingly I did so, and marched without beat of drum to Prospect Hill, and thence proceeded with the riflemen stationed there-in all about four hundred;-to Ploughed Hill and then down the hill within three or four hundred yards of the enemy's strongest works, to cover a party of about two thousand musketmen, who were at the same time to entrench on Ploughed Hill. They labored very hard all night, and at daybreak had the redoubt nearly completed. When the English discovered our defences so near, they began a heavy cannonading which continued all day. They killed with their cannon balls one adjutant and one soldier, and wounded three others with musket balls. These were close to the floating batteries and their field works. Mr. William Simpson of Paxton, a volunteer, was struck by a shot and his foot carried away.
On Monday we were with about fifteen thousand men on Ploughed Hill, as the enemy made every appearance of coming out to storm our works, but thought it not good for their health, and so returned to Boston. They fired several cannon from Bunker Hill, and killed one man on Ploughed Hill. This last point is about six hundred yards from Bunker's, where is their strongest force. Your son Benjamin sends his love to you. He was with me in all this affair."

~~~~~~

SEPTEMBER 3, 1776.
" MY DEAR KITTY: I should have written to you sooner, but the hurry and confusion we have been in for some time past, has hindered me. I will now give you a short account of transactions in this quarter. On the morning of the 22nd August there were nine thousand British troops on New Utrecht plains. The guard alarmed our small camp, and we assembled at the flagstaff. We marched our forces, about two hundred in number, to New Utrecht to watch the movements of the enemy. When we came on the hill, we discovered a party of them advancing toward us. We prepared to give them a warm reception, when an imprudent fellow fired, and they immediately halted and turned toward Flatbush. The main body also, moved along the great road toward the same place. We proceeded alongside of them in the edge of the woods as far as the turn of the lane, where the cherry-trees were, if you remember. We then found it impracticable for so small a force to attack them on the plain, and sent Captain Hamilton with twenty men, before them to burn all the grain; which he did very cleverly, and killed a great many cattle. It was then thought most proper to return to camp and secure our baggage, which we did, and left it in Fort Brown. Near 12 o'clock the same day we returned down the great road to Flatbush with only our small regiment, and one New England regiment sent to support us, though at a mile's distance. When in sight of Flatbush, we discovered the enemy, but not the main body; on perceiving us, they retreated down the road perhaps a mile. A party of our people commanded by Captain Miller followed them close with a design to decoy a portion of them to follow him, whilst the rest kept in the edge of the woods alongside of Captain M. But they thought better of the matter, and would not come after him though he went within two hundred yards. There they stood for a long time, and then Captain Miller turned off to us and we proceeded along their flank. Some of our men fired upon and killed several Hessians, as we ascertained two days afterwards. Strong guards were maintained all day on the flanks of the enemy, and our regiment and the Hessian yagers kept up a severe firing, with a loss of but two wounded on our side. WVe laid a few Hessians low, and made them retreat out of Flatbush. Our people went into the town, and brought the goods out of the burning houses. The enemy liked to have lost their field-pieces. Captain Steel, of your vicinity, acted bravely. We would certainly have had the cannon had it not been for some foolish person calling retreat. The main body of the foe returned to the town; and when our lads came back, they told of their exploits. This was doubted by some, which enraged our men so much that a few of them ran and brought away several Hessians on their backs. This kind of firing by our riflemen and theirs continued until ten (two?) o'clock in the morning of the 26th, when our regiment was relieved by a portion of the Flying Camp; and we started for Fort Greene to get refreshment, not having lain down the whole of this time, and almost dead with fatigue. WVe had just got to the fort, and I had only laid down, when the alarm guns were fired. We were compelled to turn out to the lines, and as soon as it was light saw our men and theirs engaged with field-pieces. At last, the enemy found means to surround our men there upon guard, and then a heavy firing continued for several hours. The main body that surrounded our men marched up within thirty yards of Forts Brown and Greene; but when we fired, they retreated with loss. From all I can learn, we numbered about twenty-five hundred, and the attacking party not less than twenty-five thousand, as they had been landing for days before. Our men behaved as bravely as ever men did; but it is surprising that, with the superiority of numbers, they were not cut to pieces. They behaved gallantly, and there are but five or six hundred missing.
General Lord Stirling fought like a wolf, and is taken prisoner. Colonels Miles and Atlee, Major Bird, Captain Peoples, Lieutenant Watt, and a great number of our other officers also prisoners; Colonel Piper missing. From deserters, we learn that the enemy lost Major-General Grant and two Brigadiers, and many others, and five hundred1 killed. Our loss is chiefly in prisoners. It was thought advisable to retreat off Long Island; and on the night of the 30th, it was done with great secrecy. Very few of the officers knew it until they were on the boats, supposing that an attack was intended. A discovery of our intention to the enemy would have been fatal to us. The Pennsylvania troops were done great honor by being chosen the corps de reserve to cover the retreat. The regiments of Colonels Hand,2 Hagan, Shea, and Hazlett were detailed for that purpose. We kept up fires, with outposts stationed, until all the rest were over. We left the lines after it was fair day, and then came off:
Never was a greater feat of generalship shown than in this retreat; to bring off an army of twelve thousand men within sight of a strong enemy, possessed of as strong a fleet as ever floated on our seas, without any loss, and saving all the baggage.
General Washington saw the last over himself."

~~~~~~~

MY DEAR
On the morning of the 11th Sept., 1777, we were apprised that the enemy was advancing; and soon after heard the engagement between our light troops and their advanced parties. Whilst their main design was in front to our right, the cannon ceased firing except now and then; and small detachments of our troops were constantly skirmishing with them. But in a short while, we found that they had crossed the Brandywine near the forks, and were coming in flank of our right wing. The cannonade commenced about three o'clock, but soon gave way to small arms, which continued like an incessant clap of thunder till within an hour of sunset, when our people filed off. Then the attack began with us on the left. But I must observe to you that while the right was engaged, the troops that were on the right of our brigade on the hill were drawn off and left our right flank quite uncovered. The enemy kept an unremitted fire from their artillery (and ours too, played with great fury) until advancing under the thick smoke they took possession of the redoubt in front of our park. As there were no troops to cover the artillery in the redoubt-the enemy was within thirty yards before being discovered-our men were forced to fly and to leave three pieces behind. Our brigade was drawn into line, with the park of artillery two hundred yards in the rear of the redoubt. Our park was ordered off then, and my right exposed. The enemy advanced on the hill where our park was, and came within fifty yards of the hill above me. I then ordered my men to fire. Two or three rounds made the lads clear the ground.
The General sent orders for our artillery to retreatit was on my right-and ordered me to cover it with — of my regiment. It was done, but to my surprise the artillerymen had run and left the howitzer behind. The two field pieces went up the road protected by about sixty of my men, who had very warm work, but brought them safe. I then ordered another party to fly to the howitzer and bring it off. Captain Buchanan, Lieutenant Stimson, and Lieutenant Douglass went immediately to the gun, and the men followed their example, and I covered them with the few I had remaining. But before this could be done, the main body of the foe came within thirty yards, and kept up the most terrible fire I suppose ever heard in America; though with very little loss on our side. I brought all the brigade artillery safely off, and I hope to see them again fired at the scoundrels. Yet we retreated to the next height in good order, in the midst of a very heavy fire of cannon and small arms. Not thirty yards distant, we formed to receive them, but they did not choose to follow.
I lost Lieutenants HIalliday and Wise killed; Captain Grier was badly wounded, Captain Craig and myself slightly wounded. I have, I suppose, lost six or seven killed, and about the same number wounded. We lost several fine officers out of the brigade.

~~~~~

CAMP AT NEW BRIDGE, HACKENSACK, Sept. 5, 1780.
MY DEAR KITTY:
About the 20th July, General Wayne formed a design of attacking a block house built by the British on the bank of North River, on the point that runs down to Bergen, six or seven miles above that town; and had orders from the Commander in Chief to bring off the cattle. The general marched the Pennsylvania division down in the night to within a few miles of the place of action, and then in the morning ordered the 2d brigade to take post near Fort Lee, to prevent the enemy crossing from Fort Washington, and falling on the rear of the troops destined for the attack. After making the disposition necessary, my regiment was ordered to advance and commence the attack, and to cover the artillery, which was done with unparalleled bravery. Advancing to the abattis, which was within twenty yards of the house, several crept through, and there continued under an incessant fire till ordered away. They retreatedwith reluctance. The foe kept close under shelter, firing through loop holes. Our men and artillery kept up a galling fire on the house, but at last were obliged to fall back, as our pieces were too light to penetrate. There were twelve killed of the 1st regiment, and four of them within the abattis; in all, forty were killed, wounded and missing; three of these in Ben's platoon. You may depend your son is a good soldier. All the officers and men say he behaved exceedingly well. I had not the pleasure of seeing it, as I lay very sick at the time. Ben can tell you plenty of news about fighting.
J. C."

Thursday, July 01, 2010

Hey, Baby, It's The Third of July !


What the hell am I going to do this Independence Day weekend? Be part of the Tea Party photo-op at Ault Park? Register voters with the OCA?
nnnggg....
The Northside Rock'n Roll Carnival starts Friday at 6 & careens on til 1 AM in Northside Cincinnati's majestic Hoffner Park.
Up the hill an opening for ABSTRACT & REPRESENTATIONAL PAINTINGS BY
EMILY BUDDENDECK at NVISION (what is it about NVISION & it's hatred of the lower case?) running from 6 - 10 PM
Sidewinder will be open July 3rd & 4th with $1 off coupons for hot dogs at Mayday !
On Saturday start off nursing Friday's hangover with breakfast at North Presbo Church with their Red, White and Blueberry Pancake Breakfast from 9 to noon @ 4222 Hamilton Avenue - right smack dab on the PARADE route.
Once bloated on sticky gooey pancakes, step out into the blistering hot sun & watch The Northside 4th of July parade s l o w l y pass by starting at noon.
After the parade the encore of the Rock'n Roll Carnival begins.
Happen Inc. will be at the park from 1:30 to 4:30 with kid's art activities.
At 2 PM, The Northside branch of the Hamilton County Public Library will host Knot Only Knitting! KNITTING!!
The Carnival turns you loose at 1AM.
OR, stay at home & listen to the whole mess on WVQC the new low power radio station hosted by the fine folks at Media Bridges !.
On Sunday The Comet will serve brunch from 11A - 2P.
Did I mention the carnival will have gallons & gallons of Christian Moerlein beer ?
GAAAAAHH - the mind boggles!