Holiday Theremin Disaster

Mad Todd

Ed Fitzgerald, a Cuyahoga boy, knew he had no statewide name recognition when he decided to run for governor, so he started last summer. Todd Portune, a Hamilton County boy just kinda pulled his candidacy outta his ass at the last minute. Name recognition schlame recognition…
Portune, when queried on the issue, cited the filing deadline was what was important. A perfect technocrat response.
Fitzgerald's claim to fame is as a good government guy having rooted out corruption in Chicago & Clevo. After 4 years of Kasich, there's probably plenty of work to be done in that department in Columbus these days.
Todd Portune has a thing about railroad park & rides. The 2 major parties have allegedly rigged brokered elections to keep him (& others) in office. I seriously used to like the guy but he's just appearing kinda worn out & just coasting.
So, why the challenge? Might there be conspiracy afoot? BiC certaily hopes so.
Could be the Green TWP GOP is putting Portune up to this. Could be the state Dems are putting Portune up to this, thinking the debate would improve Fitzgerald's name recognition and the run would put another line in Portune's Wikipedia page.
Or is it Portune's ploy to get on as Fitzgerld's Lt Governor?
Whatever, Kasich's bombasticness is most likely to win in 2014.

Audacity of the Echo Hippie

The dewy eyed Millennial liberal, buoyed by his doting parents' praise & admiration has brought forth an obnoxious group of wet behind the ears saviours - The Echo Hippies.
Silly twits who actually believed their parents when they heaped praise upon them for wiping their own asses, are coming out of the woodwork to solve all the world's problems.
Marx spewing babes - unaware of real problems & their roots and unaware of people already working on the issue, some longer than the Echo Hippie started to draw breath are driving me up a wall.
They seem to disavow anybody over 30, anybody in a uniform, including clerical collars. OK, granted, that sounds familiar, but as I have aged, I have seen the merits of fogeys and I have come to respect the brightness of the yunguns.
When you storm in demanding stuff and don't even know its already there & already in place - that is what bugs me. Then, when they are challenged, they scream & cry foul.
It's so easy to just ask first, but these fucking, liberal little impertinent, screaming maggots are really starting to piss me off.
and, furthermore - get offa my lawn !!

∃ ∀ ∈ ⊕

Year End Warp Up

The 2013 Sidebar GirlsAs the year winds to a close, it's time to take stock of ye olde blogge. The smashing success of the sidebar girls just can't be measured. Surfeit it to say, a slideshow with a moshed up GarageBand loop mess was merited.
Readership was down 3 years in a row - I didn't think that was even possible…
Google has made tracking keyword searches nigh impossible but I found top searches were:

• Grace Slick
• Amazing Hair Raising Monsters
• John Cranley
• Alyce & Rhae Andrece
• Ashley Bulgari
• bridge design
• Janice Rule
• brothel menu
• Gruss vom Krampus
• Britney Skye, zombie

Top countries are USA, Germany, Canada, Russia, & England. Top towns are Cincinnati, Ashburn, Palo Alto, Dayton & San Diego.
14.1% of readers stay longer than an hour, so I guess I, at least, have some kind of somnambulistical effect on some folks.
Top pages were

• The Cincinnati Streetcar Controversy
• Is John Cranley Even Lying to Himself?
• Death of a Star Wars artist
• Films of Cincinnati 1934
• The Fugs - CIA Man

My hottest merchandise appears to be the Seal of Mercury Mousepad. Sold 2 in the last 3 months. One in Wales & one in Australia. Ain't sold a thing from my Cincinnati Collection. sigh.
My Slummin' in the Sketchbook series is attracting a lot of attention. I'm kinda thinking a coffee table edition for Xmas 2014.
People are sharing links via FB more
Chrome is the most popular browser, with Firefox & IE slugging it out for second & Mac OSX coming in at about 15% & Linux at about 5% for operating systems.
So what's in store for 2014? Recipes? Showtunes? NASCAR?
Stay tuned!

Here They Come! Is Cincinnati Ready?

While the goons over at UrbanCincy are carrying on about whether the city is ready for echo-boomers, we, here at Blogging isn't Cool & our pals at the Bilderberg Group, are more concerned with whether the city is ready for the billions in European investment in the USA or not. These guys have already decided to invest in the country, but do they even know what Cincinnati is? Where Cincinnati is? What it's strengths & weaknesses are?
Our last mayor might have had the right idea by representing the city abroad but how well he did it & how good his aim was, I don't know. Did he go to Romania? One third of the Romanian companies, mainly from manufacturing, technology and consumer goods industries, are considering international expansion in the coming year, according to a study conducted by Citibank. The most popular areas for expansion are the Middle East, Europe and the U.S.
We have Globili - that's a start, but most of the international businesses that are interested in coming to the US already have English speakers. We have a website but so does everybody else.
What we need are people out scouting for businesses abroad that are a good fit with Cincinnati, it's location, people, skills, assets etc.
As the PIC @ UrbanCincy points out

As Cincinnati’s new leadership settles into their self-empowered roles of merely paving roads and keeping streetlights on, how does that position the city and region in an ever-changing economic landscape…

And it's not just foreign investment, American businesses are re-shoring, too.
A greater portion of the United States population is expected to move to urban areas in the coming years. The fastest growing segment of the population is immigrants as US birth rates have slowed.
Is Cincinnati prepared to reap anything from these trends? Or is Cincinnati, like a child, just going to stare out the window while chewing on the lead paint on the sill?

Psyche Rock

Pierre Henry's Psyche Rock. I only really know him from his work with Spooky Tooth that always comes up around Christmas.

Slummin' in the Sketchbook

Too Drunk to Fuck

Who knew Evan Johns did a cover of this DK classic?

Still There'll be More

Santa...

dear God - please make it stop.
HT to The Cincinnati Monocle

It's Christmastime In The City

Valeria Meets Barbie

As a fan of the barbie animated movies, I have to say Valeria Lukyanova is intriguing. I'm also a zombie fan , but Zombie Boy is just plain weird. Lukyanova takes it s step further, tho, with Space Barbie (below).
So here's what I want to see, Lukyanova in a Barbie animation. Creepy? Sure, but kids' entertainment tends to fit in there somewhere between creepy & horrifying so what the heck?
I wonder if this chick worries about somebody cutting her head off?

Slummin' in the Sketchbook

So be good for goodness' sake
I can't believe how legible my handwriting used to be. Anyway, time to get into the Christmas spirit & what better way than with a Santa hauling around a blood dripping axe.
Oh Ho Fucking Ho indeed...

Is the First City Wide Benefit of the Streetcar Greater Civic Engagement ?

Invest in Neighborhoods hopes so.
From their latest newsletter:

Let's Continue the Drive
The past couple of weeks have seen an exercise of citizen engagement unlike anything Cincinnati has experienced in recent memory. Historically at the neighborhood level, we tend to see a significant increase in participation when issues that touch self interest are being debated.
To be sure, the streetcar debate did for some involve self interest, but for many, many more (on both sides of the issue), it was a matter of what they felt was best for the future of our city. Many of those had not ever before spoken or acted publicly on an issue of such importance.
It's apparent to us there's a whole lot of passion about Cincinnati throughout the city. This passion, if pointed in the right directions, can benefit every neighborhood in the city.

Talk about swords to ploughshares…
Cincinnati can really benefit from friendly neighborhood rivalry but it can also result in bitter Balkanization. Our new mayor deftly used division to his favour in the last election.
Besides the outpouring of activism on both sides of the issue, the scrutiny applied to the streetcar project has also been pretty educating as to the processes of government, public infrastructure projects, government accounting, and such.
Taking this experience, we should be able to move forward promoting our communities & the city at large more efficiently & effectively.
Or we can waste it and just fall apart & squabble & threaten secession & bask in victimhood I guess...

Frank Zappa

12/21/1940

Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth

ya know?

Can You Spot the Difference ?

Torture 101

Torture is primarily a psychological thing. Beating the crap out of somebody is less effective (& a lot more work) than slugging somebody a couple times and threatening to beat the torturee to a pulp. Ultimately the torturee needs to think he can gain freedom by cooperation. If he believes he is doomed he might lie, clam up or try something heroic. You don't even need to use violence on the torturee. You can tell him he is about to be released and, at the last minute, tell him things didn't work out - can you offer this one bit of info, please?
In the end, the torturer has to expect to free his prisoner and must decide what message he wants to send. Does the prisoner go free looking healthy and unharmed or does the torturer want to send a message to other would be opponents and release the prisoner crippled with a noticeable injury, a limp, a missing eye or finger.
We can expect to see how John Cranley will handle that last part in the coming weeks & months.

Cornered Rats Don't Run

If you are a streetcar supporter heading down to the Cincinnati City Council meting Wednesday, 12/18 @ 1:30 PM, watch your back.
Streetcar foes, like the union thug presidents might get hauled out screaming & cursing or senile old politicians might stage a sit in. People might make throat slashing gestures or certain councilmen might lunge at his opponents. Or maybe a CO   er might think someone is standing too close and freak out on him.
We will see which city employees are dedicated to the city & it's peoples and which are bowing to their union bosses.
These are an irrational, angry, unpredictable lot with violent tendencies and Cranley is pleading with that thuggish horde to show up in force. Believing the fix to be in, they have not shown up at council meetings since the latest junta.
Cranley certainly doesn't have a good reputation for keeping control of his meetings and now that there are "no rules", who knows what bedlam might occur.
Remember, this isn't about money - it's about class warfare, nativism & political control. These people are beyond reason. Due to recent events they will be like cornered rats.
Watch your backs.

.

This swim club I belonged to as a kid - not a country club, more of a workingman's - WHITE workingman's recreation club, had a goldfish pond and a fish food dispenser thingie that you could plop a nickel into, like a gum machine, and get a small handful of fish food pellets.
When you'd throw the pellets, one by one into the water, the goldfish would be all over each other to catch a pellet or two.
It was kinda mean.
My buddy took the meanness & cheapness up or maybe down a notch. He didn't bother paying a nickel, he just threw pebbles into the water & let the fish fight over nothing. He would laugh and laugh and laugh.
He also got off on feeling up my dog's tits when she was pregnant.
Anyway, I am seeing Larry's mindset in John Cranley as he routinely plays streetcar supporters - tossing them pebbles.
Fuckin' with fish ain't the same as fuckin' with people.

The Boy Just Can't Help It

The Green TWP GOP

The gift that keeps on giving
The never ending font of corruption, nepotism, incompetence & right wing douchebaggery of the Green Township GOP, the latest gem is the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts, tasked with maintaining court records, couldn't keep the office's domain name registered. If Tracy Winkler's name sounds familiar, it should, the Winkler family makes up about half the local judiciary. You might recall the judges were cited for lavish spending in their courtrooms & for going off on costly seminars & conventions at posh resorts while Hamilton county was facing deficits and making draconian cuts to the budget and laying off employees.
This is also the township the Terhars call home. A husband & wife wrecking crew, Mr terhar was virtually handed a seat on the Ohio General assembly while Mrs Terhar, after winning a seat on the Ohio school board, was virtually handed the presidency of that board by powerful GOPers like John Kasich. Qualifications be damned. She was recently caught making ridiculous statements regarding the President being akin to Hitler even though the actions attributed to Hitler were false and any Ohio high school graduate should have known that. Meanwhile Mr Terhar has been merrily working to restrict voting, restrict womens' health options, promote gerrymandering & opaqueness (in the name of transparency) in politics, etc.
How did Terhar, a man with virtually no political experience get the gig? His wife turned it down when the GOP had to replace another Green TWP resident Robert Mecklenborg, who got busted driving drunk, pumped full of Viagra on an expired drivers license in Indiana in he company of a stripper about 1/3 his age. "old family friend"? hell, even his wife called BS on that one.
Green Township trustees demanded SORTA keep their damned buses off their turf because they didn't want "those people" coming into their beautiful little Utopia.
But that's not the only threat they have faced. One of Green Township's best managed to get on as president of Hamilton County's CMHA where he slammed Cincinnati's Hyde Park neighborhood with Section 8 housing and blocked any Section 8 in his home township. This all fell apart, however when HUD found out & demanded Green Township take on their fair share. Residents howled about their victimization (Hyde Park's didn't matter) and Steve Chabot, R Westwood, ran to their side & then walked away.
Back to that board of trustees. After advertising for a secretary - stating necessary qualifications & posting a deadline for applications - hired a woman sorely lacking in qualifications and who submitted her application past the deadline. It turned out she was the ex-wife of a prominent GOPer.
Back in August, 2013, folks in Green Township, drunk with their self importance, called in a grocery bag as an obvious terrorist bomb threat - because terrorists really give a fuck about Green Township. And while the residents see fit to complain about Morticia Addams' attire, bonfires of Democrat yard signs are AOK.
I thought Tremont City in Ohio's Clark County was the drama capitol of the world, but Green Township…

Very Interesting

Borrowing $20 MILLION for a highway interchange is AOK without independent audits and promises from the private sector for maintenance costs over the next 25 years.
Support was largely based on ROI predictions made by some of the same people who made the highly suspect predictions for the Cincinnati streetcar.
How much will this $20 MILLION cost us? About $2Million a year for a total of about $43 MILLION.
What will maintenance cost over the next 25 years? Who knows? Who cares? It's FREE!
Did anybody consider just using highway type signage on existing roads?


Read not much more at the Fishwarp.

Growing Cities

Slummin' in the Sketchbook

Do you dream in cartoon? I frequently do & the fact that it doesn't totally freak me out kinaa freaks me out. While this looks nothing like the Loa, Legba, it was. Had to draw it next AM which kinda verified that it was. I guess…

Snubbed Again

ok, I'm used to it. I'm a big boy. This time around the CEAs don't even have a category for Best Slapped Together Soundtrack for a Dumbass Blog Video!
ugh the state of multimedia in Cincinnati is pitiful…
I will have my revenge.

Read more about this rigged for elitists awards mess here

It Wasn't Obamageddon?

The Fishwarp reports the 10 most discussed topics on American FaceBook were;

• 1 Super Bowl
• 2 Government shutdown
• 3 Boston Marathon
• 4 Syria Crisis
• 5 Harlem Shake
• 6 Pope Francis
• 7 George Zimmerman
• 8 Royal Baby
• 9 Nelson Mandela
• 10 Presidential Inauguration

On my feed #1 would have to be some form of Obama, Obamacare, Impeach Obama, Obama Traitor, The End of The World, The Sky is Falling or something. Maybe I just have the wrong friends...

Read more on the hottest topic of the day here

More of Cranley's Empty Promises

Another community asset dashed by Mad King Cranley is local access television. While he pledged to keep it alive during his campaign he has now opted out. Media Bridges thought they could count on the long on rhetoric/short on facts guy but are now definitely closing down. They will be having an auction for non-members 12/17 from 10AM to 4PM.
You can see some of the inventory here

Cincinnati 1934

Thanks to Digging Cincinnati History for finding this UTube of old film clips of Cincinnati's Mohawk & Camp Washington neighborhoods from 1934. (this is worth going full screen)
While there has been improvements in Northside & the southern part of OTR/Northern Downtown, the area in between is in pretty bad shape & pretty vacant. Unfortunately this area is not part of the current Cincinnati regime's agenda. The problem with their plan is that anywhere that borders on these blighted neighborhoods is in danger. Watching these clips, one can see the areas were once very vibrant. They can be again.

Marx !

Figures it would be a damn commie who would be behind putting the God of Thunder on a stupid pink scooter…

Is John Cranley Even Lying to Himself ?

Bad to BizarreAs Cincinnati's mad mayor had to get even with councilmemebers who called out his gangland style leadership during his first week in power, he as one might expect, lied through his teeth.

And we opened up government. People could be heard. Speakers were not limited as in the past and I listened carefully to everyone. Council members could freely express themselves, and actually introduce motions that will get a full hearing.

Seriously? Every public speaker was limited to 2 minutes & council members, if agreeable, had 6. Of course if you didn't agree with the mad king…Cranley's description stands in stark contrast to how other people there saw it.

Cranley’s first week lacked structure, included attempts to purposefully silence the voters of Cincinnati and elected members of council

Is Cranley capable of telling the truth? Is he even lying to himself?

Cranley's Fractured Fairy Tales

Bad to Bizarre
Interesting that John Cranley doesn't like / trust any of the info that's come out of city hall in the last 8 years except one memo that's 'just right'.
Interesting how he spins his communication with the Feds as if they are acquiescing to him

At our request, they have decided to hold off of on canceling the streetcar project until midnight on December 19th in order to allow the City to make a final decision. I appreciate their patience and collaboration on this important policy decision

When it actually sounds a bit more like a smackdown

[the city has breached the city and SORTA's grant agreement in] an unprecedented action to suspend a federally funded transit project while it is currently under construction. Unless this action is reversed and I receive not later than midnight on Dec. 19, 2013 unequivocal assurances that the city will proceed with the project to completion on the current FTA-approved schedule, FTA will immediately terminate all of its grant obligations for the project and initiate a debt collection action to recover money owed

If this guy was Pinocchio, he'd need a brace of some kind to hold his head up.

More at the Biz Currier

Happy Krampusnacht!

On the eve of the feast of St Nicholas, Nick's pal, Krampus, comes to visit all the little children & all the young ladies.
And if some of 'em wind up in the river? well...

yeah, this is how holidays oughtta be celebrated!

Cincinnati is NOT Open for Business

In less than 3 days Cincinnati's John Cranley & his Gang of Five has established Cincinnati as possibly the worst city in the midwest to do business with. Their actions have been worse than David Crowley's Environmental Justice legislation. Toss in John Kasich's corrupt economic development scheme & I don't know why anybody would come anywhere near the Buckeye state let alone the Queen City to invest.
While the obsession with killing the Cincinnati streetcar may be aimed at killing Mark Mallory's legacy, this recent move is also going to demolish any of his efforts to lure foreign investment to the city. Why would anyone from China, Germany or Spain ever want to invest in such an unstable political climate? While making the city a horrible place for investors has been a long term goal of CO    and the NA CP, their chaos is now institutionalized.
The U.S. is expected to benefit from tens of billions of dollars in foreign investment in the next ten years. Cincinnati has killed any prospect of reaping any benefit from that for at least four.
The next generation of Cincinnatians will have a bleak future for sure.

Mind Reading Robots ?

oh, great. Just fucking great. What could go wrong?

WC3PO article here

Remembering David Mann

When I was a yung'n, just getting to know Cincinnati, I lived on Halstead Street. In my time there I only ever saw 2 politicians. Quite a difference from Northside where they routinely pay to walk down Hamilton Avenue in sweltering heat & rain every year.
One of these politicians was Steve Chabot who was running for Cincinnati city council. He vowed to walk down every street in the city. Even if the guy's a complete asshole, I thought, he has to pick up something from this stunt. I had just got off working 3rd shift & had gone out on the front porch with an ice cold Stroh's, a bag of Mike Sells' and my latest haul from the comic shop. I had fashioned a speaker cabinet with a couple old car speakers I mounted in a cardboard box stuffed full of old newspapers. I had set that out on the porch & I distinctly remember it playing Black Flag's My War when Chabot ran up to me & breathlessly told me, "I'm Steve Chabot and I'm running for city council". He then darted off down the street. My Black Sabbath T-shirt, comic books, beer & chips at 8AM on a Saturday morning might have put him off, but both of us being Republicans, I was sad we didn't get a chance to discuss issues.
The only other politician I ever saw down there was David Mann. On steamy hot windless summer afternoon, I was on my bike outside the bar at the corner of Eliza & McMicken (I cannot remember it's name). Like most of the other guys hanging out, trying to stay cool, I was skinny, shirtless & unshaven with unkempt hair. We were all poor & trying to make the best of miserable summer day in the Ohio River valley. We were all a little surprised to see a large gray town car come rolling up the street - doors locked, windows up AC blasting - keeping the carload of suits inside nice & frosty. And there was David Mann, in the back seat, smecking & gavoreeting with his fellow suited droogies as they glided thru the slums of Cincinnati.
And that's about it.

Why Should I Care ?

Hundreds of Supporters Rally for Finishing Streetcar

image by NerdyParkerOn Dec 1, 2013, hundreds of Cincinnati Streetcar supporters lined the partially built streetcar line to show their support for finishing the thing and to protest the ego & politically riven efforts to stop it.

image by J. MecklenborgConstruction of the track is coming along nicely & appears to be of good quality. The gauge will also accommodate longer range light rail cars, making the line more extensible, and the boarding platforms will line up with the streetcar floor eliminating the need for slow & costly electronic ramps for wheeled stuff entering / exiting the cars. All in all, a smart, well designed system to be proud of for generations.
Meanwhile, councilman Smitherman still claims to not knowing his brother was involved with the project for the last 4 years, vice mayor Mann claims he needs 'good numbers' while touting the $50k/day construction costs the Fishwarp reported & City Bleat clearly debunked and John Cranley still assumes he can just walk away from the whole deal with no consequences even though CAF & the FTA have been clear to the contrary.
More from Sunday

Why is Chris Smitherman Lying ?

Because it's just what he does? As the late Dean of Cincinnati used to say, he just makes stuff up. Or maybe it's because he's a sociopath & the boy just can't help himself.
The Business Courier reported that Smitherman was surprised to know his brother, Al, thru Jostin Concrete was engaged in building the Cincinnati Streetcar line but to avoid any conflicts of interest, asked his brother to withdraw from working on the project. Offering no evidence, I guess we should just take his word for it.
But Jostin's involvement goes back to 2009 as reported at UrbanCincy. And the Cincinnati Blog dug up this gem on the NA CP websiteChris Smitherman shouldn't have been re-elected - he should have been impeached.

Who Needs a Bridge ?

Flying cars, hovercraft, amphibious cars, rocket packs, winged back packs, ultralight aircraft, ferries…
The reason to build a $300 BILLION 14 lane bridge that will blight Covington, KY just keeps getting weaker. Now Amazon announces it is looking into delivery by drone. Packages can be flown up from Hebron to your Cincinnati doorstep - no bridge necessary!
Stop the madness - forget the bridge - it's the past - we should move forward.

Cyber Monday Bonanza

You can camp out at Target, beat the shit out of your neighbors at WalMart, get murdered by C.H.U.D. downtown like all the other lemmings ~OR~ you can crawl in to work & get real cool stuff online.
Where else can you get a cocktail shaker emblazoned with the crest of Erzsebet Bathory? To Serve Man BBQ aprons? Seal of Mercury keepsake boxes? Simbi ornaments? Ault Park shopping bags? Music Hall & Union Terminal clocks?
WHERE ?
I'll tell you where - NOWHERE
From 80s midwestern punk rock to obscure 70s San Francisco acid rock - from futuristic man eating aliens to 16th century serial killers - from John Dee to Marie LeVeau - BLOGGING ISN'T COOL HAS WHAT YOU NEED !!
That's right folks, from the sandy beaches of Lake Erie to the white cliffs of Dover, all your holiday shopping needs are at your fingertips RIGHT NOW ! If you can't decide what you want - just get one of everything. While nothing is guaranteed, your satisfaction is imminent.
Your next mouseclick could be the most important twitch in your life.

• The Bathory Crest collection
• To Serve Man collection
• The Jockey Club collection
• The Ault Park collection
• The Knowlton's Corner collection
• The Music Hall collection
• The Union Terminal Clock collection
• The Union Terminal Queen collection
• Caduceus Corner
• The Tree of Life collection
• The Jack Therion Deluxe collection
• The Loa Simbi collection
• The Sigil of Saturn collection
• The Seal of Mercury collection
• The Kabbalistic Hexagram collection
• The 'You Gotta Ride' collection

The Fishwarp's Editorial Board

Sounds like the Cincinnati Enquirer nowadays...

RIP Brian Griffin

Blogging isn't Cool mourns the loss of Brian Griffin - recently killed in a traffic accident.
More info here

Simpson Spells It Out

The Biz Courier's take

John Cranley - The Mad King

As evidence mounts that John Cranley's obsession with the Cincinnati Streetcar could trigger some disastrous results for the city, the man digs in, like a rabid cornered rat. His lashing out at everybody opposing him as incompetent liars shows a degree of paranoia & vindiveness seen in the likes of Chavez, Stalin, Jim Jones, Hitler, Jong-il, Koresh…
Is Cranley the next name to put on the list?

Moyers Takes On Zombies

yeah, you knew it was coming.

Pants

Who knew that starlet & top model Joanna Angel was also an accomplished dancer & classically trained musician?
Seriously. Who knew?

The Cincinnati Streetcar Controversy

This afternoon John Deatrick, project manager of the Cincinnati streetcar project will lay out the cost of halting the project in it's tracks (sorry).
The problem is, economics isn't the issue. Streetcar opponents haven't had a valid argument in years. This is a political game and a last gasp of an old guard to hang onto power. This is primarily the old 60s Democrats vs. the younger Democrats. Do the old Democrats care if they waste money? Do the establishment Republicans who backed Cranley & some council candidates with fairly clear mental problems?
nope - it's not their money
This is all about power. What did the streetcar supporters argue the streetcar would produce?

• bring new people to Cincinnati
• retain young people in Cincinnati
• re-populate the inner city
• offer opportunity to entrepreneurs
• revitalize the inner city

And what's wrong with that? Shouldn't we be forward looking? Shouldn't we "think about the children"?
Not if you're trying to hang onto power. This kind of talk scares the shit out of some people. These things would all change the political dynamic - the social demographic of the city. These young people and outsiders have no fealty to people like Tim Burke, David Mann or the Luken & Reece dynasties. These 60s Democrats want their welfare state, their minority set asides, affirmative action - Their Great Society. They want their handouts so they can curry favor with voters. They don't want to offer opportunity.
The split in endorsements in factions of the local Democratic party were telling. Party stalwarts, Thomas & Mann were omitted by the Hamilton County Young Democrats in favor of the more progressive Moroski. The younger Democrats don't give a crap about these old guys and the old guys know it. It's easier for them to cater to obstructionist Republicans than to accept the evolution of their own party.
Killing the streetcar isn't about economics or the future of the city - it's about local power and ego.

Cost to stop the streetcar

Can You See Me ?

The Fishwarp asks, Are police visible enough?. The new Cincinnati police chief has decided that officers should wear their hats in crowds & drive their patrol cars with more lights on. If you really want to make these giys more visible, tho, I'm thinking something more like the outfit the lead character in The Electric Horseman wore. We could use LEDs, now, of course, instead of the high voltage mess Redford wore. But getting some height would be a good idea, too. Since horses have been deemed too expensive (although this shouldn't be a problem for Cranley), I'm thinking...
MONSTER TRUCKS
Camels would be cool, too, but to be practical, you pretty much need the power of a monster truck.
But the plain white cap could be done better, too and in keeping with the monster truck theme, I'm thinking full head helmets with skull faces & embedded gas jets so the officers could go for the whole flaming skull thing.
And make no mistake, that helmet could be loaded with all sorts of futuristic Iron Man type crime fighting crap.
I'm also thinking motion sensor triggered laser sighting devices mounted on the monster trucks. Anybody who doesn't freeze in their tracks when a cop drove by would instantly see the dreaded red dot on their body scaring porktowners into being model citizens.
Police visibility is important and Cincinnati can lead the world in this endeavour. It might cost a fortune and be hokey as hell and maybe a little bit mad, but that's what Cincinnati is all about nowadays.

Sometimes Horror Doesn't Sell

Sammy Davis Jr, Christophr Lee, Adam West, Jack Klugman in a TV show about a bungling demon's crazy antics. How could it go wrong?
Unfortunately Poor Devil never made it past a pilot in 1973.

Cranley's Theme

.

Ohio River Bridge Alternative #237

Cincinnati ~ Elm Street, 1938Do we really need to spend $300 BILLION on a bridge that goes all the way across the Ohio River? I think not. We can save BILLIONS if we just build two aligning ramps and let modern cars - fast and light as they are nowadays - just leap the rest of the way.
There's no need for the government to employ any expensive space age tech, not that bridges are particularly modern or anything, simple ramps will work fine. We can leave the high tech to the automobile industry & rely on the skills of the American driver to take care of the rest.
If you believe in America, anything is possible.

Tally Ho !

Should The Cincinnati Enquirer change it's name to Tally Ho? Or maybe just The Village Enquirer? Tally Ho was, of course, the name of the paper in the TV show, The Prisoner where Patrick MacGoohan found himself trapped in The Village, a mysterious place where nothing was what it seemed and information was not particularly forthcoming & what was, was never too reliable.
They might as well use the Tally Ho trademark - the trademark on pretty much everything in the Village. it's not like they print anything, anymore, anyway…heck, The Village even kinda looks like Cincinnati…

Cincinnati Needs to Keep an Eye on Columbus

Cincinnati needs to be very concerned about the next Ohio gubernatorial administration because, if we can make it that long, that governor will be picking the commission that oversees Cincinnati in a state of fiscal emergency. There is no doubt that Cranley's shortsightedness and recklessness will lead the Queen City into the abyss and councilmembers like Smitherman, Winburn Mann & Murray will not be the ones to put him in check due to either lack of mental faculties or will. This is going to be a one way ride.

Mary & Jack

London - 1888Warning - gruesomeness ahead
Jack the Ripper held Whitechapel, in London, in terror in 1888. He left a series of brutal murders of prostitutes, not only killed but mutilated with body parts missing. The murderer, who was never found, also taunted the police, writing letters to them & the press and sending body parts as credentials.

From hell
Mr Lusk
Sor
I send you half the Kidne I took from one women prasarved it for you tother piece
I fried and ate it was very nise. I may send you the bloody knif that took it out if you only wate a whil longer.
signed
Catch me when you Can Mishter Lusk.

While London was no stranger to murder at the time, the brutality of his crimes and his insane rants on paper and scrawled on walls were incredibly shocking to the citizenry.
Naturally, the press milked it for all it was worth.
Bear in mind that women didn't have the career opportunities then that they have now. Prostitution wasn't that uncommon. Being shut out of most jobs, a woman's best career move was pretty much finding a man who would marry her & provide for her in exchange for sex, maid service & baby creation - not a huge leap from prostitution.
While all the murders attributed to Jack were on the street, the last one attributed to him was in a woman's apartment and the madman, unhurried, took his time…
November 9, 1888 Jack the Ripper murdered & mutilated Mary Kelly.Crime scene photography was also new at the time. All of the fiend's victims were photographed.
Police reports described Kelly's loins as being "flayed to the bone". A number of details that can probably be easily explained caught the public's attention & spread rumours of the supernatural & deviltry. The door of the victim was locked from within & a teapot hanging in the fireplace was partially melted - indicating an unnaturally hot fire.
Serial killers have been around forever. In the United States, today, it's estimated there are 35-50 at any given time. This particular maniac caught the public's eye due to his original use of media, however, and ushered in the kind of "modern age" of an ancient horrible tradition.

False Promise

Back in Old Testament days, if a guy reneged on a promise, he had to pay the promisee some fraction of what the promise was deemed worth. In New Testament land, the welsher was required to admit to his failing and beg forgiveness.
Seems like the old way would be a lot easier & more expedient.
Anyway, whichever route Paul Booth takes, I hope his soul finds peace.

Suck It, Guido

While November 5 tends to take us back to the Catholic terrorist, Guy Fawkes' failed attempt at mass murder 400 some years ago, this set of monuments in Roermont, The Netherlands shows love can trump religious intolerance.
Colenol JWC of Gorkum Was buried in the protestant section of a religiously segregated cemetery. Brick walls separated the Catholic, Protestant & Jewish sections. He was, however, married to a Catholic woman, JCPH of Aefferden. When she died, she had her burial in the Catholic section, on the other side of the wall from her deceased husband and then connected the two monuments with the clasping hands over the wall.
But bonfires are still fun...

We Can't Afford John Cranley

John Cranley intends to take on massive debt & increase spending dramatically but has not explained where the money is coming from.
Borrowing $100 Million to put into the pension fund with no return on the investment and identifying no revenue stream to pay it back (with interest) is reckless. Increasing police spending by $20 Million a year without a source is reckless and will lead to the city cutting services, laying off workers including police and ultimately, to fiscal emergency.
Cranley's disdain for planning and zoning will lead to haphazard development that will make the city & it's neighborhoods unattractive places to live for current residents as well as potential new residents.
Roxanne Qualls has promoted spending on projects that will generate revenue for the city and make it an appealing place to live for generations. The parking lease she has promoted will take the responsibility off the city of expensive maintenance costs and parking rates will be contractually controlled. John Cranley has pledged to raise parking rates but nothing is in place to stop him from raising them through the roof.
Roxanne Qualls work on utility aggregation & buying from renewable sources & her work on recycling will conserve our resources & save money in both the short and long term for not only the city and it's residents but the entire region.
Many people have cited the progress Cincinnati has made & the momentum we have built. We need to keep that going with a pragmatic leader with vision like Roxanne Qualls. John Cranley wants to put the brakes on and, in the case of the streetcar, throw away $70 to $90 Million dollars and, at the same time, embroil the city in expensive litigation that would last for years.
The simple fact is - we can't afford John Cranley as mayor of Cincinnati.

The Blogging isn't Cool Endorsements

It's pretty hard getting worked up over the city council candidates. The mayor's race is easy - Roxane Qualls is great & John Cranley is a dick. If BiC were the Fishwarp this would lead our board to endorse Cranley, of course, but, nevermind. There are some real tunas running for council but nobody who really lights our fire. So this year the BiC board is going with:

• Shawn Butler
• Michelle Dillingham
• Greg Landsman
• Mike Moroski
• Laure Quinlivan
• Chris Seelbach
• Yvette Simpson
• Wendel Young

And if we could make negative votes, they'd go to Chris Smitherman, Michelle Wegman & Charlie Winburn.

Anybody But Smitherman

Some pretty good advice. Heck, the crazy ass HamCoGOP isn't even endorsing the loon. His only real support is some devotees & CO    .

John Cranley's Bad Week - Cincinnati's Bad generation ?

Unpaid loans, ethics conflicts resulting in the loss of hundreds of Cincinnati jobs, the rising costs of canceling the streetcar, civil rights abuse allegations…
The more we learn about Cranley's behavior, the more likely it seems that he would merrily drag the city down with him into myriad legal entanglements that would cost the taxpayers tens of millions of dollars and stymie any forward movement the city might be making.
But does anybody care? From the Biz Courier:

"Since TV news has all but ignored the mayoral race in favor of its usual, steady diet of out-of-context murder, mayhem and teachers having sex with students, it seems to me Qualls will have to buy TV ads pointing out these stories for voter awareness to reach critical mass."

Add to that, the Republican Enquirer's not wanting to rock Cranley's boat and you have a fairly perfect storm brewing in Cincinnati's shadows.

Yvette Simpson Takes to the Tubes

ok, terrible video but ok sound & a good solid message & delivery. Really wish they had taken the time to light the thing properly since the rest is ok.

Time for a Change of Fetish ?

Springfield Northwestern Schools have recently moved their new digs next door to some old digs. In fact some of the oldest digs in Clark County, Flick Cemetery.
In this era of overly political correct douchery, maybe now would be a good time to dump the old Warriors mascot & adopt a new one like, The Undertakers. Nosferatu, Zombies, Grave Diggers, Ghouls, Deviants, Crypt Kickers would all be fine, too.
Anyway, the Warriors are from Coney.

Noose Son story here

A Clear Choice

There's a clear choice for mayor of Cincinnati on November 5. Roxanne Qualls or John Cranley. The Porktown Fishwrap, in endorsing Cranley correctly points to the great prorgess Cincinnati has made & notes we need to keep it going. Now is not the time to coast, however. The goal is in sight but we need to hammer down & keep pushing. The last mile is always the hardest. Roxanne Qualls is dedicated to pushing forward. John Cranley has made a point to pursuing a very laissez faire approach and just letting Cincinnati work.
That is not acceptable.
Roxanne Qualls is pledged to work with neighborhoods to help them chart their own destinies. She has pledged to infuse our aging police force with fresh blood. In the past she has put walking patrols onto the streets of Cincinnati. She has taken steps & promises to take more to close the city pension fund deficit without taking on debt. Her efforts with the streetcar aim to eliminate blight and create economic opportunity for small local entrepreneurs & small businesses. Her work on modernizing waste disposal has saved millions, improved worker safety & increased the lifespan of our landfill likely saving even more money in the long run.
John Cranley has promised to incur massive debt and embroil the city in expensive no win lawsuits from day one. He has suggested taking on debt to pay down a portion of the pension fund deficit - basically using a credit card to make a house payment. He has promised racial quotas in government contracts. He has promised money for neighborhoods without quantifying their needs. People like free stuff. John Cranley seems to think that everything will just work out in the end.
John Cranley might make a good shepherd but Roxanne Qualls is a leader. Cincinnati needs a strong leader with vision and character - not an ambitious self serving career politician like Cranley. We need Roxanne Qualls for Mayor of Cincinnati in 2013.

Dillingham Hits the Tubes

Michelle Dillingham's TV ad is kinda odd. No pretty pictures of the city, just poor unattractive people in a darkened room. I like Dillingham but I don't know about this strategy. Everybody wants to help the folks who need help (ok, besides Westwood Concern), but how do you pay for it? This is an issue I have with Mike Moroski, too. Seems to me if you make the world nice for the wealthy & middle class folks, the social services tend to fall into place. At least Dillingham HAS brought this up in other places but it seems like something to put into the ad. oh well, these folks only got 30 seconds

Cranley & "Free Stuff"

Bad to BizarreJohn Cranley certainly has the gift of gab. Problem is, he's frequently just making stuff up as he goes. He loves offering free stuff, however. While the city's on street parking is in disarray to say the least, Cranley gushes over free parking at shopping centers & malls.
While he was all for law enforcement in the past - even if the costs could bankrupt the city, now he worries about strict enforcement creating an unfriendly environment.

"It goes up and up and up," Cranley said. "Do we think people aren't going to notice that?"

Apparently, in Cranley's populist utopia, prices never change. It was his obstruction to bus fare increases that hampered Metro's ability to do maintenance & provide raises to Metro workers whose wages hadn't kept up with inflation. Did he think nobody would notice?

Cincinnati Business Courier article here

Who Will John Cranley Represent ?

The Biznz Courier reports that John Cranley is doing ok raising cash from wealthy self interested benefactors like Phillips Edison, Buddy LaRosa, Neil Bortz, Otto Budig, Jeff Wyler, John Pepper, Bob Bedinghaus, George Vincent and Jeff Ruby.
Auto dealer Jeff Wyler is interesting given Cranley's support for rail transit. While he says he supports rail transit, in a recent interview, Rob Richardson couldn't find one example that Cranley actually did support. Typical...
The Fishwrap reports this could be the most expensive mayoral race in Cincinnati history.
The question is, with the big money behind Cranley, who will he represent? His wealthy patrons? Or the people of Cincinnati, many of whom are too poor to afford their products/services?

Quinlivan - Getting Things Done

Cincinnati City Councilwoman Laure Quinlivan claims having a hand in creating 500 jobs in Cincinnati. 500 more than the doofus chairing the jobs creation committee can claim.

Melissa Wegman Needs a Proofreader

Cincinnati City Council candidate, Melissa Wegman (R), is, apparently, opposed to investments meant to stimulate the economy & promote job growth in favor of money sucking socialist playgrounds.

Manufacturing Scandal

Interesting article at WC3PO about the "whisper campaign' by Cincinnati mayoral supporters. While it seemed to be more about a scandal about Roxanne Qualls, it also seemed to be a shot at online commenters & bloggers. A subsequent radio appearance by the author on WLW Clown Radio had the Cunning Ham blathering about journalistic integrity. It was mildly bizarre coming from an integrity challenged controversialist.
The Fishwarp and City Bleat pretty much dispelled the contention that mayoral candidate Roxanne Qualls had done anything unethical. Regardless, mayoral candidate, John Cranley, still took the opportunity to fan the flames of FUD while Qualls dismissed the claims made against Cranley for buying black support, showing a definite difference in character between the two.
The Cincinnati Bizniz Courier did a well rounded article on the whole matter in a non sensationalistic manner.
I kinda wonder if the WCPO author was trying to discredit social media more than any political party. He might be sore over the turn of his career as a journalist more than anything. His last "scandal" involved a blogger, Randy Simes. Both articles appeared to be leaked by Republican shock troops, CO    and both came up invalid. The original WC3PO article noted FaceBook, blogposts & Twitter comments by Jim Kiefer, Mary Kuhl, Derek Bauman, Craig hochsheid and Brian Griffin. Indeed, an online post can take on dimensions a spoken word will not. People's understanding of comments like Joe Shmoe "sold property" may not be interpreted as "Joe was the agent for…", so an online smear campaign can be pretty effective. But what can you say about media outlets and politicians that seek to profit from such rumour mongering?
not much...

Roxanne Qualls for Mayor

Happy Birthday Lux Interior

Lux Interior at the Jockey Club - Newport, KY

For Your Weekend Enjoyment

The High Numbers

Queen of Romania Takes U.S. by Storm

Queen Marie of Romania arrives in NYC 10/18/26This kinda baffles me. Apparently, Queen Marie of Romania was kind of a royal celebrity in the early 20th century - maybe like Princess Diana of Wales was in the late 20th century.Born Princess of Edinburgh to Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, she married Prince Ferdinand of Romania and ascended to the throne in 1914 - just in time for WWI.
She adopted the Romanian people & became a bit of a war hero - a Soldier Queen. She oversaw the 4th Rosiori Regiment, worked to devise a defense against the German army, secured a military loan from the U.S. and, after the war, she attended the Paris Peace Conference & expanded Romania's land by 80%, taking back land from Hungary & Russia and uniting the Romanian speaking peoples once again.Marie embraced her new country and with her charm, beauty & leadership she became an international role model for women. One of the first women to appear on the cover of Time magazine, she was the first queen to appear on a cover in 1924. Dubbed the most beautiful queen in Europe, she also endorsed beauty products, further cementing her influence with women of all strata.
So, when she landed in the US, she was an instant hit.The Queen of Romania traveled through the US & Canada for a month at a fairly grueling pace. The entire trip is summarized here. She dedicated museums and made radio broadcasts, visited Indian Reservations & military installations.
It seems pretty weird nowadays that an eastern European royal could cause such a stir in the U.S. but a lot of that is due to the Soviet occupation & subjugation of eastern European nations after WWII. Prior to the war, eastern Europe was not far behind western Europe, but after being a battlefield for Germany & Russia & the consequent decades of Commieism established under the fairly psychotic Stalin, these countries fell behind economically & culturally and fairly disappeared from the western world - hid behind the Iron Curtain.
There's more on this woman's celebrity here

OMG!!

This overly dramatic robo call cracked me up. the fact that it came 2 weeks after their deadline made it all the better.
Oh well, like I always say, Horror Sells

Bettie Page Cookies !

Admit it - you always wanted to eat Bettie Page. Well, now you can (figuratively - not ghoulishly).
Queen City Cookies is making Bettie Page shortbread cookies, available at their bakery, 1662 Blue Rock Street and down the road at The City Flea in The American Can Lofts building at 4101 Spring Grove Avenue, October 19 - both in historic Northside.
They also have special Halloween cookies.

Coffee With Roxanne Qualls

Cincinnati mayoral candidate discusses city partnerships with College Hill. While I may not agree with everything College Hill is doing, Roxanne Qualls works to empower neighborhoods in Cincinnati to follow their own path. Her opponent is only interested in giveaways that curry political favor - not the betterment of the city.

Cranley - AWOL

This guy doesn't care about the city or it's citizens - he's just out for himself...

Voter Harassment

The Ohio Voter Integrity Project has, with a CO    lawyer decided to harass & ultimately imprison a native son. WCPO has been complicit in aiding these crackpots in their character assassination of the guy.
Simes claims

It appears to me that this challenge is motivated by the fact that I publish UrbanCincy, in which I have expressed opinions that disagree with those organizations like the Tea Party and COAST, and Mayoral candidate John Cranley, which whom the challenger and her counsel appear to be associated. An effort or decision to interfere with my right to vote because of my exercise of First Amendment rights would violate my civil rights under the U.S. Constitution.

It should be noted that OVIP doesn't have a great track record (<10% in Hamilton County). Focussing primarily on students, blacks, trailer park residents and anybody in districts that tend to vote Democrat, most of their challenges have been dismissed. County BOEs have found some challenges handy in the case of routing out dead voters. That being said, Cuyahoga, Franklin & Lucas counties tossed out ALL OVIP's challenges.
Performers, people who make a living touring & people who work abroad are all suspects in this insular pack's eyes. ya ain't normal, dammit!
It all comes down to politically motivated harassment & character assassination and as the BOE vote has ruled in Simes' favor with the dissenting vote coming from CO   er Al Triantifilou, there's little doubt otherwise.
UPDATE: Some more details from The Biz Courier

The City is Doing Fine Without Kevin Flynn

In a LTTE, perennial council candidate Kevin Flynn channeled Tom Luken & proclaimed everything is dandy in Cincinnati. Maybe from Flynn's isolated perspective in far off Mt Airy, but from people on the ground, while great strides have been made, there is a lot left to be fixed. Blocks of Over the Rhine are filled with vacant, boarded up properties. The only activity being vice. Blocks of undervalued property waiting to catch fire & hide criminals taxing city safety resources while bringing in little to no revenue. That's AOK with Flynn. He wants to stop the progress we have already made or thinks he can just ride the momentum of others & that everything will hum along fine just fine.
The City is Doing Fine Without Kevin Flynn.

Can Cincinnati Afford Amy Murray ?

CO    ally & TEA Party endorsed candidate, Amy Murray has vowed to stop the Cincinnati sreetcar, a move that could cost more than finishing the project and running it for a number of years. CO   's obstruction & nuisance litigation has cost the city hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars & higher costs thru delays in implementing policies. The Tease have done much the same on the national level, shutting down the government & costing the taxpayers billions.
And like the NKY Tease, she wants the government to pay for everything regardless of the cost.

She said council is "pushing the cost of essential services — like waste collection — onto the backs of hardworking and tax-paying Cincinnati residents and business owners."

. She can't just squander money & promise "free stuff". We can't afford it. We can't afford Amy Murray.

TankHearse

oh, man, too cool

Read all about it at TankLimo

Somebody Likes Kevin Johnson

A not real well editd video of folks eschewing the qualities of Cincinnati City Council Candidate Kevin Johnson.

Horror Sells

Jughead's gonna eat yore mama's brains…
Yes, the Zombie Apocalypse has finally reached bucolic Riverdale in a new release from Archie Comics, called Afterlife With Archie.

CAUTION

A Clear ChoiceWhile a drinking game during tonight's televised mayoral debate, targeting every time Cranky says 'streetcar' or 'parking' might sound fun, it could result in acute alcohol poisoning.
That's right, folks - John Cranley could kill you!

Paranoid Realtors®

The Cincinnat area Board of Realtors® has released it's endorsements for Cincinnati City Council.

• Kevin Flynn
• David Mann
• Amy Murray
• P.G. Sittenfeld
• Christopher Smitherman
• Melissa Wegman
• Charlie Winburn

Dunno what some of these guys have done to promote the real estate market in the area. I don't know what Charlie Winburn has accomplished at ll other than keeping the heating bills down. Hyde Park's biggest worry is maintaining the high property values in what's likely the nicest residential neighborhood in town. To that end, strict zoning enforcement is a top priority for the Parkers. Their favorite daughter, Amy Muuray's big claim to fame, from her short term on city council, was ramming a zoning variation through council. That makes sense. Chris Smitherman floated the idea (while channeling Mr Rogers) that the city should use eminent domain to seize people's personal property & redistribute it for cheap to "responsible" owners. That's bound to improve the local market. Who doesn't want to live in a city that will steal your property to give to someone it likes better. Nevermind the expense & unconstitutionality of the scheme. The Bored claims

With a majority of current councilmembers having already voted to increase property taxes by more than 20 percent, it’s easy to understand why [they would want a bunch of clowns elected to council]

Nice fear tactic but, while mathematically correct, most people would say it was a less than 1% increase in a part of the overall property tax.
Meanwhile the Bored did not endorse the candidates who created tools for neighborhoods to better control development in their communities thus keeping property values and quality of life up & candidates who moved to enable more business expansion in their neighborhoods like Quinlivan, Simpson, Seelbach & Young.
All I can figure is that The Bored spend a lot of time in their cars listening to Fear Channel & then relax at home with Faux News.

Fishwarp on the endorsements here

Biz Courier on the tax increase here>here

Fox 19's take here

Speaking Out on Roxanne Qualls

I don't know who a lot of these people are but Tim Jeckering is one of the hardest working citizens I've ever seen. As a past president & officer in the Northside Community Council, he's spent a lot of time at City Hall intimately dealing with the various elected officials. You can see some of his work Saturday at the Northside Porch Tour and at Ruth's Parkside Cafe in the American Can building.

You Know You're Laced Up Too Tight When...

OK, this illustration on the cover of the resurrected Northsider Monthly bugs me. I know it's not a map but it sorta semi kinda resembles one. Problem is south is up & north is down. OK but up at the top it has east on the right & west on the left. As it should be bu\t since the map is upside down - it shouldn't be. Further, the buildings on the east side of the street are on the left & the buildings on the west, on the right. yeah, that corresponds with the north & south being inverted but not with the east & west markers that coincide with China & Europe! it's maddening…
Further, while Clifton & OTR are to the south, Hyde park should be on the way to Europe & Oxford (seriously? Oxford?) should be to the north!
oh my head hurts...

Vanessa White Takes to the Intertubes

Not a TV ad but that costs $$. This seems to be a pretty good alternative. Positive, no attacks & talks about what she will do & not what she won't do.

Thanks, Adobe

In a mad attempt to control it's software, Adobe has taken to the clouds & forcing users to pay a monthly subscription fee & be connected to the intertubes to use their software. Barely up & running & je software is on Pirate Bay an thousands of user accounts have been compromised. Adobe gets screwed & all their customers get a gang bang.
While Adobe products are expensive for an amateur, they're not terribly expensive for a pro and, while most pros are going to pay, small, one man shops don't always have a steady revenue stream so the subscription plan just isn't a real good fit. Unfortunately, Adobe virtually has a monopoly in the graphic arts field.

CNET story here
AND
From Engadget

Gotta Wonder About Those FOP Endorsements

Why would the police union endorse a guy who beat the crap out of his kid - hospitalized him - and choked his mom? Never mind the traffic stops…
The Cincinnati Blog suggests "familiarity".
Or maybe they just like guys who roll up their sleeves & take to violence like the fella that had to be restrained from attacking a councilwoman at a public meeting. Surprise - he got an FOP endorsement, too.
Maybe these guys are just good for business…

Sums it up, nicely

Ohio GOP is Outta of Step With Ohio

Despite the Ohio GOP efforts to restrict abortion & birth control and sex education, Ohioans, who have been seeking fewer abortions since 1982, have recently decided to seek more. Seeking to restrict access to health care in general hasn't helped either.

"You can’t look at these abortion numbers without looking at access to health care. They are absolutely related.", Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL
14 percent of white Ohioans are uninsured while 21 percent of blacks are uninsured.
Copeland criticized the anti-abortion community for fighting against comprehensive sex education policies and improved access to contraceptives — two essential tools in the fight against unintended pregnancies.

As in Washington, the Ohio GOP is more interested in ideological chest pounding and developing a despotic theocratic state than dealing with helping the society rach it's potential.

Nosse Son story here

Amy's Got Nuthin'

Amy Murray's 1st campaign ad is on a par with John Cranley's pointless ads. We know she is opposed to a couple things, but as she smirks her way through the ad, she offers absolutely nothing. The only thing better about her ad over Cranky's is that she not attacking anybody or using unflattering imagery of opponents.
The look on the little girl's face before she kicks the can to Murray, however is kinda creepy, vampiry, tho and that's AOK.

Other Things Than Horror Can Sell, Too

While BIC generally sees horror as the best answer to most issues, homey humor can work, too. I think city council candidate Greg Landsman hit it out of the park with this one. He hammers home his tagline, humanizes himself and, it's free & viral.
Still, chasing the kids around the house with a bloody hatchet woulda been cool, too.

Bob City Shoe

For some reason I always thought an old lady lived here.

The Cranley Gang

Firing up the wayback machine, let's take a look at one of Cincinnati mayoral candidate John Cranley' paid staffers, Laketa Cole with a posting by none other than the chairman of the Hamilton County GOP.

The recent events involving Ms. Cole demonstrate a pattern of behavior that voters should strongly consider as they go to the ballot box in November. This most recent episode is unacceptable and wrong. Ms. Cole has demonstrated behavior that is unprofessional and unbecoming of a public official. She is not worthy of re-election.

Indeed, do we want Cranley's gangland style government leading Cincinnati?
Read the whole article here

CO Endangers Cincinnati

CO    wants the city to cough up about a half million bucks in legal fees in their fight to bring in their out of town friends for rallies at City Hall. I know that what I am about to say might raise some eyebrows but, I don't think the organization is acting in good faith. Generously, their lawsuit couldn't have taken more than 10 hours of work. Are they really charging $50,000/hr? My best paying job would have taken 12 years to snag $500,000. In that time, I could go back to school, get a law degree (and probably 1 or 2 more) and still have time for a movie & a lawsuit.
So where will the city find the money? $500,000 would be about 10 police or maybe 10 firefighters. Could more fire station brown outs be on the way? Will you lose your home to fire? Will your loved one die due to slow emergency service? Will you meet a crazed and homicidal crack addict in your living room due to reduced police staffing? All so CO    can get a nicer backdrop and easier media attention for their trifling rallies?
Meanwhile, the police and fire unions endorse the organization's staunchest supporters in city government…
Go figure. Enjoy your bloody lawsuit , CO   

More at the Fishwarp