BiC Year in Review

Readership has declined, interest in posting has declined. There has been a mass exodus of staff after the incident at the Xmas party in the Muncie Holiday Inn...
Regardless the remaining crew at the relatively empty offices here will continue to bring you the hardest hitting blogulations on the intertubes.
We might have to move out of our offices in Shagrila, but that's no biggie. We are getting offers from the underground space aliens and we think that merging the high tech blogger platform with the alien mind control rays could really turn out to be something big.

Happy Birthday Patti Smith

Autonomous Cars & Class

What will the effect of autonomous cars on the socio-economic strata be?
The tech in the average car has fairly eliminated the shade tree mechanic already. The driverless car will just hammer that home even more.
But for some people, graduating from high school & buying a car is a big deal. More educated & affluent people just take those accomplishments as being mundane. The less affluent will likely be less able to afford a high tech driverless car.
But what will ownership look like? Without the 'driving experience', who will buy a car, people will probably opt out & rent. Perhaps people will rent a la carte or subscribe to businesses offering fleets with specific amenities. Whatever, the underclass will lose one of their revered rites of passage and could result in social tensions. The poor would likely hang on to their traditional cars & bitch about wealthier people and their 'toys'.
Add to that, the autonomous cars will be less prone to fender benders than traditional cars & their wetware which will cause tensions.
This issue will only be exacerbated when cash strapped county governments adopt artificial intelligence systems to replace costly judges & their personnel in the court houses.
Eventually, traditional cars will be banned from the roads much like people & beasts of burden have been today. The difference then will likely be more along the lines of people using autonomous vehicles versus people traveling through tubes. Of course interaction at that point will be relegated to making faces & obscene gestures through the plexiglass & the Socio-economic stratification will only be more acute.

Target - Too Many Dimensions

I'm not sure what the idea is behind the 3D animation in this season's Target Xmas ads is but, OK.
I generally like Target ads with the flat white & red graphics. They are usually mixed with live actors & that weird dog. The problem with the 3D animated ads is that even the logo has now gone 3D
I'm not so sure I like this. If they keep it up, I might have to stop shopping at Tarfet.
oh wait, I already don't...

Daniel Drake - Zombie Hunter

Ok, Hollywood, here's another idea. In the vein of the Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, Noah & some other faux history crap, Daniel Drake - Zombie Hunter.
Drake lived from the late 1700s to the mid 1800s. He lived primarily in the Ohio River Valley. He was a frontier physician, being one of the first diplomaed doctors west of The Alleghenies.
He dabbled in many sciences, social reforms, started medical schools, an insane asylum, worked in epidemiology (cholera) and he even went to a school called Transylvania!
He documented the effects of the New Madrid earthquakes on 1911/12.
So, epidemics (zombiee virus), lunacy, disasters in the lush 19th century midwest...
A perfect setting for a zombie apocalypse if I ever saw one.
Add that he was a decent looking guy and I think you've got one kick ass hero. heck, you could even work in a Van Helsing character with the Transylvania U . angle.
So, go for it, Hollywood!
you are welcome

National Cat Herders Day

Let's hear it for those plucky guys out there keeping all the cats in line.

War on Xmas

Best Buy's "Win Xmas" by buying the coolest gizmos is seriously callous - and I don't really celebrate Xmas....

Hamilton County & The Kitchen Sink

Hamilton County is being asked for improvements to their football stadium. Hamilton County has an abysmal crime lab. Hamilton County commissioner Hartmann said, 60 days ago, he'd have a solution to the crime lab in 30 days. Hamilton County can't afford it's Sheriff's department.
These are the clowns who want to run the water & sewers?

Fuck Sycamore Township

fuck Sycamore Township in Hamilton County, Ohio, USA for shutting down The Zombie Nativity.
Township officials claim his creche has an accessory structure on it, but it is not. It is a temporary prop.
Fuck Sycamore Township and their war on Xmas.

BUY MY SHIT

See, you can avoid this fuckery & get more badass shit at the same time if you BUY MY SHIT
BUY NOW !

BUY MY SHIT!

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 put on you jammies & 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
• Halloween Witch Shop
• The Loa Simbi collection
• The Sigil of Saturn collection
• The Seal of Mercury collection
• The Kabbalistic Hexagram collection
• The 'You Gotta Ride' collection

Happy Thanksgiving

The Doughnut Nazi

The owner of Schuler's Bakery in The Champion City, Springfield, OH has decided to put his paranoia on the front page.
He has decided to put signs up in his store windows saying

Notice: This store is politically incorrect, We say Merry Christmas, God Bless America, We Salute our Flag and give thanks to our Troops, Police Officers and Fire Fighters. If this offends you, you are welcome to leave. In God We Trust, Schuler’s Bakery, Trent A. Schuler, CEO/Owner.

This goes beyond "Black Owned". Dunno if he thinks this will keep radicalized Islamic terrorists out but he has obviously been severely persecuted and feels he has to lash out at his oppressors.
Schuler's Bakery is an institution in Springfield, being family owned for multiple generations. The city has lost population & wealth and various stores have left town over the years. Macy's, Penney's, Target B Dalton, Walden Books have all left and the Upper Valley Mall was just sold at auction for $2.65M.
Over the years, Schuler's has had to streamline their product line but now they are fed up & have decided that if you don't like saying "Merry Christmas" well, then, fuck you, asshole, we don't need your fuckin' business.
My dad was a business owner, was active civically, politically & religiously but he kept his business neutral - said it was more professional. He was also fairly secure in his beliefs & felt no need to crow about it.
The thing is, people demanding "Merry Christmas" over "Happy Holidays" are not being politically incorrect, they are just fanatics who want to impose their own political correctness on everybody else. Kinda like ISIS?
Well, here's hoping Mr Schuler doesn't start beheading infidels in his shop on Sunday mornings (the day of rest).

Hamilton County GOP Scrambles to find a Replacement for Greg Hartmann

HamCo County commissioner Greg Hartmann has decided not to run for re-election.
Who should replace him?
I think the local GOP should think out of the box on this one.
Perhaps a doll that says random phrases when you pull the string on the doll's back. The RNC could come up with some of their stock catch phrases & answers. If it works, they can use the dolls for all sorts of elected offices.
The problem with this is that the dolls wouldn't be so good at fund raising. So maybe sexbots would be a better way to go. They can ~ahem~ provide favors for ~ahem~ donations.
Then, of course they could go supernatural. Perhaps Charlie Winburn could channel a dead goat. Charlie might not care for playing second fiddle to a rotting carcass, but with some cash, I think he'd be fine.
Another option would be shape shifting insectoid reptillian space aliens. So far this has been spectacular for Cincinnati with it's first shape shifting insectoid reptillian space alien mayor.
All in all, this could provide the GOP with a real shot in the arm and be a pivotal point in their race to the bottom.

Northside !

Wind & buses, aside, sunny Northside, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, Earth, Milky Way 45223
Video by Half Moon Productions for Comey Shepherd

Cutting the Cable

As folks move away from the one size fits all cable TV model, the networks are delivering their content through their websites. That's great. They have different ways of doing it. Some make you wait a week to view online. Some let you view immediately but take down older shows. Some sites work OK with one browser but not with another. Fine, it's weird but I get it - we're still figuring it out. There's still advertising but, that's ok, the sponsors are the ones paying the bills.
BUTWhile most networks stream their content ok - Fox is about the worst, some of the advertisers are streaming from Mac IIs through a modem.
Witness the snippet of an ad that takes about 5 minutes to play - if it doesn't crash your browser of completely lose the connection. Watching a 1 hour show (that's less than an hour) can take up to an hour & forty five minutes with an ad like this playing at every commercial break. Ironically, it's the tech companies that are the worst. The candy companies ads are fine.
Fox gives you the option of watching one ad or just watch with regular ads throughout the show. Except that doesn't work - you still get the ads...
The ads on Fox & The CW (you can tell what we watch in the BiC breakroom) are the worst.
Thing is, this ruins the user experience and I'm guessing most people don't realize it's different companies streaming ads & shows. Unless they are doing this on purpose for the cable companies, they really need to set some standards on their advertisers.

Bond, James Bond

When I looked at an article about The Evolution of the Bond Girl, I realized I didn't recognize the majority of them and I pondered how long had it been since I saw a Bond movie.
For me, Sean Connery was James Bond.
But I don't think new Bonds was the turn off. No, I think the issue was that James Bond never evolved - pretty much the same thing with the Bond Girl...
While Jim might have dealt with some kinda Voodoo mumbo jumbo, he never dealt with a zombie apocalypse, he never dealt with killer robots like Ultron, he never dealt with subterranean insectoid space aliens, demon channeling occult masters, sexbots...
How can the character be sustained with such a stunted plot?

Fare Thee Well

Dia De los Muertos

BiC Endorsements

Issue  1 - yes
Issue  2 - no
Issue  3 - meh
Issue 22 - no
Issue 23 - yes
Issue 24 - meh
School Board - meh

Swingfield

Horses

There's currently a plot to get rid of horse drawn carriages in Cincinnati. A group calling itself Unbridled Freedom wants to ship these horses off to the slaughterhouse & their owners to the unemployment line. On their Change.org profile page they offer no information about their organization. Why so clandestine? Are they animal rights activists or just pet food manufacturers? A serious red flag.
Over on Charnel 12's Facebook page commenters say the horses look great, the horses look terrible, the horses are happy, the horses are sad, the horses are crazy, the horses slow down traffic, the horses breathe polluted air, the horses should run free in the wild, the horses should sit around on farms...
Charnel 12 article states that the horses & their living conditions are routinely inspected & have had no citations.
Here's the deal, these horses would likely die if they were turned loose on the plains. They would get dirty, have no health care and they would starve.
They would also get bored.
Horses are social animals. They like to interact with other mammals and they like having something to do. Furthermore the notion that the automobile should be a one size fits all transportation solution has led to more problems than it has solved.
We have used horses for millennia. We have bred them for greater size & strength. For the thousands of years we used horses & oxen on the roads, pretty much nobody died on the roads. With the introduction of the automobile, between 1900 & 1920 road fatalities in the US went from 50 to 11,000. Nowadaays we hover around 33,000 per year. There's also the lives lost drilling & fighting for oil.
You can also figure in thee costs of the roads, signage, policing, and healthcare costs due to breathing auto emissions. yup, humans breathe that stuff, too.
So, rather than ban the horses, I say let's expand their use. Both pulling carriages & single horseback riding. We could expand routes up Spring Grove Avenue to Northside & out on Eastern Avenue to Mt Lookout. Cars can use Central Parkway, I-75 & Columbia Parkway. Wee could have loops connecting the business districts of Hyde Park & Oakley.
FWIW, there are bridle paths in Mt Airy Forest.
The city should be a place to live - not a place to dodge wannabe race car drivers. We should add horses, camels, Segways, skateboards, rickshaws, bikes, buses & street rail to the mix. Cleaner air, a quieter town, healthier, safer people, lotsa fertilizer...
Don't support this recondite initiative - make horses part of the solution.

Potential Pumpkin Perturbation ?

Could last year's melee in Keene happen at the Circleville Pumpkin Festival ?
People have said the agitators in Keene were from out of town. Could it be a rival fall festival group? Should the Circleville Heat be on the lookout for angry Waynesvillians reeking of pickled cabbage ?
I'm steering clear...

101015

Every so often the stars align and, in one linear mile, everything collides for a dayfull of fun.
October 10th brings us the biennial Northside Porch Tour!. Meet at Jergens Park @ Hamilton & Bruce Avenues from 6 - 9. There will be food, music, a gazillion luminaries marking the path. You can walk it, bike it or shell out some cash to take a horse drawn carriage complete with a docent to explain what the heck you're looking at. Home owners along the route will be hanging out front so you can meet some of the fine Northside folks.
Saturday, October 10th is, of course also Northside Second Saturday. Shop, eat, drink, dance, sing, jump up & down... The possibilities are endless and, who knows? You might fall in love.
This edition of Northside Second Saturdays, walk the neighborhood and visit another new business, check out some art exhibits, find a Halloween costume, take advantage of some deals, listen to live music, have dinner with your pals, and whet your whistle! Please read the full event description to learn about participating business offerings:

- Arcade Legacy : Bar Edition - Check out Northside's newest bar and first arcade, featuring pinball, vintage consoles, and hot dogs too, 5pm-2:30am, 3929 Spring Grove Ave, 513.429.3180

- BERTKE ELECTRIC WAREHOUSE - PETOBERFEST, celebrating Adopt a Shelter Pet Month, featuring 100s of dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens available for adoption from local shelters and rescue groups. PET-oberfest is a cooperative effort where shelters and rescue groups come together in a free, fun, festival-like atmosphere to find homes for hundreds of animals during one exciting day, 10am-5pm, 1645 Blue Rock Street

- Bistro Grace - Enjoy one of the Chef Specials on the back patio, 4pm-11pm, 4034 Hamilton Avenue, 513.541.9600

- Blue Hell Studio - Blacksmithing classes happening all day! Folks are more than welcome to come by and watch, take a gander at the shop and the studio spaces available, or buy hand forged steel objects, 11am-12am, 1700 Blue Rock Street, 513.490.3723

- C & D Northside - Art exhibit featuring work by Luke Geddes, with an artist Meet n Greet 7pm-9pm; plus the weirdest karaoke in the city at 10pm with Weven Stalls; 1714 Hanfield Street, 513.541.9881

- Casablanca Vintage - Halloween shopping party, refreshments provided, 12pm-8pm, 3944 Spring Grove, 513.541.6999

- Chameleon - Art opening featuring work by Brandin Canida, 7pm, and Vinyl Night with Margaret Darling from The Seedy Seeds, 9pm-2am, 4114 Hamilton Avenue, 513.541.2073

- THE COMET - Now open for lunch at 2pm, plus Apple Street Market Meet N Greet at 5:30pm, plus Reggae Night with Queen City Imperial Soundsystem in the Comet basement, plus ALONE AT 3AM, DEATH & MEMPHIS, and A CITY ON FIRE on the main stage, 10pm; 4579 Hamilton Avenue, 513.541.8900

- Django Western Taco - Enjoy lunch or dinner with featured drinks & desserts, 11am-12am, 4046 Hamilton Avenue, 513.542.3664

- Future Life Now - Art opening for IMMERSION: a photography exhibit by Tina Gutierrez, celebrating the fluid ways we interact, dance, live, love and heal with water. Inspiration and photos from Global Water Dances; 6:30pm to 9pm with refreshments, 4138 Hamilton Avenue, 513.541.5720

- The Galaxie Skateshop - Galaxie of Ghouls art show, 6pm to 10pm, 4202 Hamilton Avenue, 513.542.3400

- Golden Tajine - Grab lunch, dinner or late night eats featuring Moroccan & Mediterranean fare, 11am-1:30am, 3938 Spring Grove Avenue, 513.546.1403

- Happen, Inc. - Open Studio for parents & children, 10am-5pm, 4201 Hamilton Avenue, 513.751.2345

- The Hoop & Needle - 25% OFF all Sublime Stitching accessories, ready to stitch pillows, totes and the entire line of embroidery transfers and floss, 12pm-6pm, 4019 Hamilton Avenue, 330.715.6064

- Joseph Clark Gallery/Arts of Africa - Featuring exceptional and unique art/artifacts from Africa, 2pm-8pm, 4038 Hamilton Avenue, 513.351.8111

- The Listing Loon - Wine tasting featuring 5 wines for $12, 6pm-9pm, then Mohenjo Daro 20th Anniversary CD Release Party 9pm, 4124 Hamilton Avenue, 513.542.5666

- The Littlefield - Featured drink special called "Don't Be A Ghoul (Follow The Golden Rule)" that benefits the GLSEN Greater Cincinnati; 2pm-2am, 3934 Spring Grove Avenue, 513.386.7570

- Northside Tavern - Open at 4pm with Happy Hour 5pm-9pm; Musician in the Spotlight with Soul Street, in the front room at 7pm; 4163 Hamilton Avenue, 513.542.3603

- Northside Yacht Club - Live music from TWIN PEAKS (Chicago) and WHITE REAPER (Louisville), 9pm, 4227 Spring Grove Avenue, 513.541.0528

- NVISION - 20% OFF all coats & jackets, plus be sure to check out the current art exhibit, Inhabitants of Lore, featuring limited edition original poster designs and felted wool sculpture by Joe Castrucci, Noon-9pm, 4577 Hamilton Avenue, 513.542.4577

- Ruth's Parkside Cafe - Stop in to see the current art exhibit by Jo Ann Berger & Merle Rosen, and mention Second Saturday and get one of their special cocktails for $5, 5pm-10pm, 1550 Blue Rock Street, 513.542.7884

- Sidewinder Coffee - Art Reception for the current exhibit, Paintings by Holly Price, with wine & snacks, 2pm-5pm, 4181 Hamilton Avenue, 513.542.8321

- SPUN Bicycles - 10% OFF accessories with the purchase of a new bike, 10% OFF all race jerseys, and 10% OFF lights, 10am-5pm, 4122 Hamilton Avenue, 513.541.7786

- Tickle Pickle Northside - Check out Northside's newest restaurant, now serving from the walk-up window in the back of the building (while the dining room is under construction) and order from their menu featuring organic burgers, vegan burgers, handmade milkshakes and more, 11am-12am, 4176 Hamilton Avenue, 513.954.4003

- Tillies Lounge - Live music from Jess Lamb, 9pm, and Happy Hour drink prices 4pm-8pm, 4042 Hamilton Avenue, 513.541.1414

- Urban Artifact - Stein Beer Brew Day all afternoon in the courtyard (brewing a beer using hot rocks from the campfire), including a DJ outside, pumpkin decorating, snacks, etc, starting at 1pm; live music in the evening from Charles Walker Band GHETTO PROPHET starting at 9pm, 1660 Blue Rock, 513.978.1956

- VISIONARIES & VOICES - Gallery Talk to compliment the current exhibition, Stories + Beauty in The Grove featuring work inspired by the art, architecture, history and landscape of Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum. Artists teamed with Phil Nuxhall, Spring Grove Historian to learn about the grounds, visiting a number of times to work from observation. This research culminates in an unprecedented presentation of media, including large and small-scale video. The gallery talk will be an informal discussion between Exhibitions Director Krista Gregory, and Spring Grove historian Phil Nuxhall, as well as participating artists, 6:30pm, 3841 Spring Grove Avenue, 513.861.4333

- WORDPLAY CINCY - Know a teen who can use a positive, upbeat community to explore poetry, creative self-expression, and performance? Check out the Scribes workshop, open to all teenagers ages 13+, led by WordPlay's artist-in-residence, Desirae Hosley, who is a seasoned spoken word artist and poet, working magic with kids who want to dive into the beautiful world of rhyme and rhythm. Students do not have to perform in this workshop, they can hone their creative skills in this safe, supportive environment of peer writers and poets, Noon-2pm, 4041 Hamilton Avenue, 513.541.0930

But, hey! You don't have to wait till 6...
There is a Pumpkin Patch Fall Festival at the College Hill Town Hall from 10 - 2.
There will be a hands on fencing demonstration at College Hill Presbo. For a measly $5 you can hang with Olympic fencing masters from noon to 2.
It doesn't get any better than that!
I'm assuming your horse knows the way.

Happy Birthday, Frank

October 6, 1555 Ferenc Nadasdy was born.
Who?
Dude was from one of the wealthiest families in Hungary & he married Erzsebet Bathory at 16. He fought the Ottomans and the Black Knight of Hungary Hungarian was made military commander in 1578. As part of his military strategy he borrowed a trick from Vlad Tepes & took to impaling his Turkish prisoners.
In WWI the Hungarian calvalry was still called The Nadasdy Hussars.

Cincinnati Parks

More circuses from John Cranley who shows off his alien insectoid reptilian athletic prowess in this new ad promoting the denuding & paving of the Cincinnati park system.
What's interesting is the sell off of a ball field named after a heroic police officer to make way for a parking lot.
There's no doubt that, if given the opportunity, Cranley would gladly sell off more park property to his cronies.

Happy 25, Germany

Today, October 3rd marks the 25th anniversary of German reunification.
After over 40 years of commies screwing over East Germany & Ronald Reagan single handedly tearing down the Berlin Wall, Germany was reunited and is now a leader in Europe.

Northside - A Different Direction

Be sure to visit Northside on October 10th for Second Saturday & the biennial neighborhood porch tour.

A Revolution Without General Copulation ?

The manufacturers of this emobot, Pepper (shouldn't it be Salt? Sugar?) have stipulated that owners absolutely cannot have sex with it. First of all, can it have sex? and second, why would you want to have sex with the goofy looking thing?
Granted the lady in the picture snuggling with this gizmo & has avoided the lure of tobacco, so OK, great, but the excitement of the techno revolution just seems to fizzle...
Can we, at least, watch the robots have sex with each other?

Parks & Recreation

Maybe this will make it to Newsmakers

Campaign Against Sex Robots

So some group in merry olde is campaigning against sex robots.
Here's why:

"I propose that extending relations of prostitution into machines is neither ethical, nor is it safe,” the paper read. “If anything the development of sex robots will further reinforce relations of power that do not recognise both parties as human subjects."

It's because they are human?
People are strange...

Why

A pet peeve of mine is people doing things for the wrong reason. Think A Clockwork Orange.
A number of organizations have spoken their opposition to Issue 3 - the bill that would legalize marijuana in Ohio.
Children's Hospital in Cincinnati is opposed because they fear people doping unsuspecting children with pot laced candy. Even at Halloween, tainted candy is almost non existent.
The Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Commercial Builders & the FOP complain of people coming into work stoned. They whine about drug testing.
DO THEY HAVE THE SAME ISSUES WITH ALCOHOL?
Give it a break. If a worker isn't doing his job, is incapable of doing his job, deal with him. Get a drug test to see if he is impaired. heck, he might just be having a stroke.
There are legitimate reasons to oppose Issue 3 and BiC does oppose the issue but the reasons these control freaks have are not the right ones.

Read all about it
here
here
here
here

The Thangs - Skull Motel Party

30 years ago today - goofiness with Cincinnati's own, The Thangs.

Offended People

Being an offensive racist old white man, I was buoyed by a couple broadcasts. What could put Alex Jones, Paul Joseph Watson, John McLaughlin, Bill Maher, Jerry Seinfeld, Clarence Page, Susan Ferrechio, Eleanor Clift, Chris Rock & Larry the Cable Guy on the same page in regards to youth culture in America today?
MTV Telling caucasians they are racist by their mere birth and college campuses that restrict 'free speech' to zones on the campus? What will this do to our youth? Will they be raised in guilt laden echo chambers?
Paul Joseph Watson with an InfoWars rant about MTV
And the McLaughlin Group (starts at about 9:30 (Issue 2))
What will this stillness in American society lead us to? Some sort of secular ISIS kind of state?

Nick

We're all winners!

Horror Sells

8/24/2015 Special Session of Cincinnati Council

Parks, Executive Session, Pocket Veto & more
This was a long & contentious meeting discussing 4 items. Tempers flared, accusations were flung. Problem is, the news media will only cover maybe 1% of what went down and thefre were a LOT of details to hear. The mayor's government is clearly starting to unravel with his only die hard support being two brain dead Republicans.

The Future Looks Annoying

Besides being really creepy, a future with augmented reality looks really obnoxious & annoying.
And this guy can't chop to save his soul. He'd starve to death if he had to cook his own food.

Here ya go...

End of the World, 9/24/2015

Everybody ready?
here ya go !

Hollywood Fucking Up Comics

This 8/13 episode of Robot Overlordz gets into how Hollywood fucks up comic book characters when they discuss the documentary, The Death of Superman Lives, the Tim Burton / Nicholas Cage production. A big thing is respect and, no Hollywood does not respect the comic book industry. Maybe because it is so New York centric?
But, hey, nobody else respects comics - comics are for kids - movies are for adults.
This article in the Daily Mail discusses the remains of a woman buried with weaponry who archaeologists dubbed Red Sonja. The Mail cites actress Bridget Nielsen who played her in a horrible movie but gave no credit to author Robert E Howard nor comic book creators Roy Thomas & Barry Windsor-Smith.
oh well, people seem to like these crappy comic book movies, so...

The Death of Superman Lives Trailer:

Body Cameras

If we can get body camera footage like this - I'm in.

SSDY

Yes, friends, The Fishwarp is staying true to form and boycotting The Hamilton County Fair.
Actually a quick search indicates a local media blackout on the 160 year old event.
classy
This year, the Fishwarp's entertainment Facebook page is even boycotting the fair.
In all fairness today is going to be a rain out so maybe the 'Warp can pile on some doom & gloom...
The Hamilton County Fair runs through August 9th in historic Carthage & will have performances by Galaxy Girl, The Naked Karate Girls, The Millennium Robots, various crafting seminars & other cool poo.

Casting The Ramones

Rolling Stone reports Martin Scorsese is 'attached' to directing a movie about The Ramones.
So who should play the boys? Off the top of my noggin:
Brad Pitt as Johnny
Jon Hamm as Joey
Will Smith as Dee Dee
What are your ideas? (don't overload the server, now)

Rolling Stone article here

Vegan Lasagna Recipe

The lemon sounds interesting. Readmore in Springfield had a lemony sauce on their pizzas & subs. I obviously have all the wrong kitchen accessories.

Isn't It a Pity

After ominous statements by John Cranley, Harry Black and Jeffery Blackwell - after fear mongering, fang bearing & chest beating from the Cincinnati Enquirer - After fear mongering & crying fire in the theatering from the broadcast media - After shutting down The University of Cincinnati & area businessesCincinnati is not in flamesIt must be crushing for these guys.
It also looks like I might not open an R&T store in Mt Auburn.

Wanna Get Rich ?

OK, here's your chance to get in on the ground floor of a great new retail franchise concept. Given the current public state of hysteria in multiple media today, I am looking for investors to start up a chain of torch & pitchforks stores.
Other items might be stakes, ropes, chains, broken glass, whips...
I think this is a winner, folks!

Clark County Fair Queen 2015

Lauren Nichols, 18, a Tecumseh High Graduate was named Clark County Fair Queen for the 2015 fair.

Noose Son story here

Remake Advice

OK, Hollywood TV scum, here's my million dollar idea that I give to you free.
You love your rehashing old characters, well, here - remake Have Gun Will Travel but set it in a zombie apocalypse. It can't lose.
Paladin could deal with tyrant warmies abusing both fellow warmies AND the zed all the time spouting moralistic crap & touting classic philosophy.

The Dance of Lifey Death

Some thoughts on death that seem more like rationalization than any kind of philosophy. It kinda flies in the face of the transhumanist movement.
Anyway, it sounds nice & has pretty pictures, so...

Happy Birthday Virgil Finlay

Invigorate the Boneyard

Connecting Directors has an article, 8 Ways Cemeteries Can Enliven Their Communities

• Historical tours
• Veteran Remembrance Ceremonies
• Stargazing
• Theater in the Cemetery
• Graveside Movies
• Dine with the Departed
• Yoga in the Cemetery
• Cocktails in the Catacombs

Spring Grove Cemetery has a pretty active calendar.
But maybe these ideas could be used by the city with Wesleyan Cemetery.
We have hyper programming in several parks, The Banks & Fountain Square. Why not Wesleyan? It's a large park like area with a good sized area with no interments. I don't know about electricity and the roads are narrow and there's no parking lot per se but most of these issues aren't unsolvable.
Maybe 3CDC would be interested. It's not like they don't have precedent with digging up stiffs & burying parking garages...

Disaster

The Central Parkway 'Protected' bike lanes are making the news. I guess Rob Braun is the 'Reasonable Man'.
I have never supported this plan that's referred to as a 'Disaster' 3 times in about as mny minutes in this WKRC hitpiece but again the useless excuse for a mayor promotes his recreational bike trails over usable public roadways.
As far as motorists careening into parked cars - ya need to pay attention while operating a fast rolling 1 ton death cage. If you don't want to pay attention - walk.
kudos to the union boss for being relatively civil for once.

Witch Hunts Through the Ages

It's really starting to feel like the 17th century again nowadays. Or maybe the mid 20th century, I dunno.
Where accusations of witchery came with no way out of a condemnation eagerly enjoyed by the bloodthirsty rabble and accusations of communism consumed the citizens in the modern media - now the accusation is racism. An accusation that comes again with a rabid crowd who only need the accusation and care little for the veracity of the truth.
It's mainly just a ploy, usually used by liberals & Blacks, to ostracize & silence people they disagree with. It might as well be picking pizza toppings - you want mushrooms? racist
This clip by (the racists) at Infowars shows the centuries old no win mentality is still alive & well.
I am a racist. I know this as illuminates like Jim Albers, Laura Parker & Sean Hoefler have enlightened me as to who I am. I meet with my group of other racists & we plot to screw with black people. I have personally shattered the lives of dozens of black families.
Seriously, all the buffoonery prompted me to actually buy a Confederate flag. But that wasn't as easy as you might think. My first search was thwarted by the enlightened Stalinists at Google.
Fortunately, the racists at Yahoo hooked me up with a company where I also picked up a Haitian & German flag. yeah, I know I should hate the Krauts for waging war against the U.S. twice & they treat the racist freeloading Greeks like crap and my cabal of racist pals probably hate Haiti, but whatcha gonna do?

Happy Birthday Jello Biafra

Cool Jerk

Actually my jerk rub recipe trends to the warm side, but here ya go.
Great on pork chops & chicken on the grill.

Time to Take Another Look at the Cincinnati Transit Center

There has been talk of centralizing private bus operation like Greyhound & MegaBus into the Cincinnati Transit center. The big stumbling block has been costs to operate the thing by Metro.
Given the cost disparities in operating the streetcar in house or through a turnkey operation, maybe it's time to think about an audit on Transit Center operations & see if we really need to pay so much to use the facility. Maybe we could get somewhere with a private operator there.

Safety & the All Star Game

Are you coming to Cincinnati for the 2015 MLB All Star Game?
Know this - NOBODY SURVIVES DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI
For your safety stay in your bed bug infested hotel room (with special anti human trafficking soap) and only venture out to the stadium (that will likely be blown up by terrorists) or take the #17 bus to bucolic Northside where you can eat, drink, listen to live music, engage in PC conversations with hipsters & hang out in cool cemeteries.
With talk of reinstating mounted police units in Cincinnati, Blogging isn't Cool believes that we should look at taking a step forward & investigate investing in enhanced horses.
Hooves of steel, drone implants for flying capabilities, retractable spikes in their shoulders & hips, clear aluminum shielding around their chests, embedded iPads, amplified voices, red glowing eyes, and maybe some kind of flame thrower in their noses...
By investing in these cyborg ponies now, we could save money upgrading in the future.
For safety's sake, and bog knows we are rubbing shoulders with armageddon, this is a critical investment we need to make NOW"
Downtown Cincinnati is not a risk - IT IS A DEATH TRAP !!!

Trans Equine Law Enforcement ?

With talk of reinstating mounted police units in Cincinnati, Blogging isn't Cool believes that we should look at taking a step forward & investigate investing in enhanced horses.
Hooves of steel, drone implants for flying capabilities, retractable spikes in their shoulders & hips, clear aluminum shielding around their chests, embedded iPads, amplified voices, red glowing eyes, and maybe some kind of flame thrower in their noses...
By investing in these cyborg ponies now, we could save money upgrading in the future.
For safety's sake, and bog knows we are rubbing shoulders with armageddon, this is a critical investment we need to make NOW.

Is The Liberty Center a Future FEMA Concentration Camp ?

This article suggests that malls being built today all seem to resemble FEMA concentration camps. Could the suburban Liberty Center, a so called 'mixed use' facility be part of this plot?
As malls are dying like bees, a new one, especially such a huge one, could easily be suspected of being potential prison. The thrice failed Forest Fair / Cincinnati Mills / Cincinnati Mall, even looks like a prison. It's new name, Forest Fair Village sounds more like a place to live than a shopping facility. Could it's latest owner be a FEMA front?
A prison called 'Liberty' sounds like typical 1984 style double-speak and would fit right in with the FEMA agenda of mass enslavement.

Let's make the Cincinnati Subway a park !

This Kickstrter (looking for a new kick) wants to turn an abandoned section of the New Your Subway into an underground park.
Sounds kind of cool & unworldly. Kinda sounds like the underground city in the movie, A Boy and his Dog.
If this works in NY, maybe it's something we could replicate in some of the northern tunnels of the abandoned Cincinnati Subway, maybe under the "protected" bike path.
It would be a good use of utilizing space. Normally people build up but we could take advantage of the tunnels and build down.

Planet X

End of the Internet

On June 30th, the internet will fail & the Rapture will be delayed as we move back in time and the Earth's rotation slowly grinds to a halt.
Well, that's one way to thwart the robots.
and zombies
and reptilian insectoid shape shifters
and John Cranley

Predator - The Dark Ages

A fun fan fiction short pitting Templar knights against the Predator.
I really hoped...
Well, that would be a spoiler.
Why can't Follywood pull off cool shit like this? oh yeah, accountants.

Marie Laveau on The New $10

The treasury is redesigning the $10 bill and they have decided to put a woman on it.
I believe they should use Marie Laveau, the 19th century Vodou priestess who nursed the sick & ministered the criminals in jail and at the gallows.
She also had a good deal of influence on the rich & powerful for whom she worked as a hairdresser.
Back me up on this my minions!

Find out more at #TheNew10

Using the Village

After the Cincinnati city manager told the chief of police to come up with a 90 day plan to reduce street violence and after the Cincinnati city manager stated no 90 day plan would ever work some changes have been made to the plan.
Specifically, drop off centers for curfew violators were originally going to be a couple churches in Walnut Hills & South Cumminsville but that has changed to city recreation centers in Avondale & Northside (Northside also has a needle exchange center).
The clergy is still supposed to be involved but somebody thought bland government rec centers would avoid sending a wrong message that a place of spiritual growth might send.
As churches continue to lose population & close, we are losing what has traditionally been an asset to the community. Here we had an opportunity to use the assets, both human & real estate, the way they were intended. Hopefully we can still use the human part but the combo of the ministry & house would be more powerful than ministry & government facility.
ALSO - Wouldn't the Crossroads shelter in the West End have been a better spot? It's already a 24 hour facility. It was a PITA just to get McKie open on a Sunday afternoon for a community event. Now it's going to be open 24/7?

Northside Second Saturday

This Second Saturday will introduce several ne businesses to the Northside Business district, notably, Tillie's Lounge, Hero Gym, Northside Sound Factory, and Tickle Pickle Organic Burger Bar.
Boswell's is firing up the grill. Barrio Tequileria is discounting Wine. The Listing Loon is doing wine tastings. Northside Hardware is having a sidewalk sale. NVISION is discounting clothing 20%. ParProjects is having a grill out dance party. Spun Bicycle is having a 10% sale on accessories.
Add to that the annual Haight-Addingham-Donaldson block party and the OVI Civil War Camp at Spring Grove Cemetery and there's really nowhere else to be this Saturday.

Here

Hey, Cincinnati City Council
Take the lower bid for streetcar operations.
Give Clifton Market the $550,000 loan.
Forget about the Cincinnati State driveway scheme.

you're welcome

Praise Abort

This cracked me up. Wonder if the dancers knew what they were getting into when they auditioned.
PS: this video is more than likely NSFW

Poverty

A WKRC documentary from 1964 narrated by a guy who hosted a children's show.
Gloomy, melodramatic - shot in what looks like late winter with a lot of barren trees & mud. A lot of the places shown are gone, many as the narrator said, destroyed by highway construction.
While it appears that the old living conditions have improved since the War on Poverty began, dunno about food or job creation & spending seems to have gone up over the years.

Birth of the Drive In

On June 6, 1933, the first drive in opened in Camden NJ. It held 40 cars. The sound blared from the side of the screen which I am sure the neighbors loved.
Today there are less than 400 drive ins.
Now we got this:

Stereotype Much ?

This cracked me up. The news media shows us ancient stereotypes of various cultures and if we don't like a country - BAM - get out the black & white pics.
But our knee jerk reactionary disaster relief usually comes late & mostly benefits first world producers. A more long term supportive policy of 3rd world nations can help with things like enforcing building codes, building better infrastructure & such can lessen the impct of disasters, saving lives & money in the long run.
Of course seedy, opportunistic 3rd world governments give all of them a bad reputation sowe can't do that...

Drone Lifeguards

The City of Cincinnati, as usual, is short on lifeguards for the city pools.
At a recent Committee meeting, the shortages were noted over a number of years as pools have been closed (although the closing of pools wasn't mentioned). They did mention that kids would rather work in the burbs even though the city pays more.
But here's the deal drones are faster & better than the flailing fleshbag humans.
So, let's get on the ball, Cincinnati recreation, let's commence droning!

Can the police stop violent crime?

The mayor & city manager of Cincinnati have demanded the city police chief come up with a plan to stop street violence in the next 4 days. This comes after they discussed the chief's resignation.
But what can the police do to prevent crime? They are a reactive entity that arrests & investigates. After that it goes to the County courts & jails, etc.
If they fail to prosecute and rehabilitate, then the police just re-arrest & e-arrest.
People not cooperating with police for fear of reprisal need protections but, again, I think that falls into the realm of the county - maybe the prosecutor's office.
In a recent murder, the victim had been arrested at least once a year on not horrendous charges and in most cases the County courts dismissed charges, dropped charges and acquitted the guy. What lesson did he learn? There is no law.
WKRC & city councilman Chris Smitherman report that a man was telling people at the crime scene, after the man was gunned down, to not cooperate with the police. No idea if Smitherman photographed the man or identified him to the police.
WKRC also reported that a lot of the violence is in a particular area & suggest turf wars.
Maybe if the county kept up it's end the violence might diminish, meanwhile Cincinnati's administration will just use the mayhem as a backdrop for it's political theater

More from WKRC

Supporting the Government

To help fund the Los Angeles Coroner's office they started a gift shop. Theoretically, the only coroner's gift shop in the USA, it is also online. They sell "ZOMBIE ZONE" crime tape!
Unfortunately, according to this article, it hasn't made a profit and, instead of subsidizing the office, the office subsidizes the store.
In New Orleans the police station in the French Quarter offers souvenirs like T-Shirts sold from a vending machine & other stuff.
Could Hamilton County agencies, the Cincinnati Fire & Police departments do this to supplement their costs? I'm sure Hamilton County Auditor, with his experience in radio could come up with some promotion to promote the Auditor's office. Cincinnati is supposed to be a hot marketing town. Could Cincinnati do better than Los Angeles?

Texas

Triple whammy in the Lone Star State. Jade Helm 15, government weaponized weather control experiments and now FEMA. Could it be an O'Bama plot to weaken Texas so Mexico can tack it back?

Is John Cranley a Robot ?

As posited before, is John Cranley human? He could be a shape shifting reptilian insectoid space alien or he could be a shape shifting reptilian insectoid space alien controlled robot.
It is imperative that the citizens should know.
BiC recommends that a team of doctors & engineers meet with the mayor on Fountain Square and peel his face off so we can see what is underneath.
If he has nothing to hide, he will surely comply but if he refuses, he is obviously admitting his inhumanity

AVMA Responds to HSUS

With friends like these...

The city of Cincinnati has handed out loans, tax abatements, TIFs etc., hand over fist to private enterprises for years. They are reviewing those policies now & that's good.
HOWEVER
Denying a group of citizens a loan as they are trying to organize themselves for the betterment of their community and to create jobs in the community is just rude.
Cincinnati city manager Harry Black decided to deny a loan request from Clifton Market.
The Clifton Market fills a grocery void, a food desert, it fills a void as the anchor store for the Clifton business district, it fills a jobs void, and it will fill a tax revenue void for the city.
How do the representatives of Clfton respond?
"Get in your car and go to Kroger!"
yay

The Ultron Effect of the Automobile

This cartoon was referenced in a Wired magazine article that discusses the psychological transformation when a normal pleasant person inserts himself into a machine.
They don't stress the isolation factor so much but does recommend the use of passengers.

The Future of Malls

Should state or the national park system take over dead malls?
They are historical places. They are large & could provide space for camping. Lotsa room for gift centers. They could let the Sears stores fall into disrepair and use them for more difficult hiking & climbing. The fountains could be expanded for swimming or fishing. Bike lanes could be installed.
While the malls might no longer be profitable but as a subsidized entertainment center, perhaps they coulld have a new life.

Cincinnati Preparedness Expo

The Cincinnati Preparedness Expo will be at the Sharonville Convention Center May 30-31. Oliver North will be the keynote speaker.
Preppers are an interesting lot. I know of them from the zombie nuts but watching the video I actually would like to learn about some of this stuff.
One thing I found amusing on the site, however, was that under Explore Cincy, there was absolutely nothing listed in Sharonville. They send you off to Kings Island, downtown Cincinnati, Newport, Union Terminal, the Cincinnati Zoo...
Surprisingly they don't send you off to OTR with your AR-15 & body armour.
Anyway, everybody is going to be at the Wesleyan Cemetery Memorial service Monday morning.

Love Droid

Amateur Funeral Pyres for Pets

A neighbor decided to dispose of his dead dog via open air cremation. Instead of doing his research, he used an accelerant and burned up most of his back yard and melted the siding off his garage. The pup's corpse was fairly intact when the fire department arrived.
The guy was drunk & stoned so, of course, he attacked the fire fighters. Flames were reported 20-30 feet high & threatening trees.
This is probably illegal in your town in the first place, but if you insist on doing this, do your homework. You need a hot fire not a big fire & you will need to attend the fire for about a day doing some stirring as you go.

Let the Fat Lady Sing !

There's pretty much no place more associated with finality than a cemetery, so an opera performance in Bucharest’s Bellu Cemetery makes perfect sense.
This would be really cool in Cincinnati's Spring Grove Cemetery.
In the past, their Lantern Lighting event focussed on international music. This year they will have The Pete Wagner Orchestra which plays old pop tunes. The Drive In event plays recorded pop/rock music.
I think opera, real opera, not the operetta that will be performed in Bucharest, would fill the hills & trees very nicely.
A Lumenosity thing would be kinda cool in the cemetery, too but the added logistics might be a bit much. And, again, that's pop music. I think the old cemetery with it's sacred roots deserves older music.
And it would be even better if I-75 could be shut down for the event.

Read more about the Bellu event here.

The Man? The Garbage Man

Cincinnati sanitation workers will start issuing tickets & fines in June.
I'm not sure I understand. Seems like they could just not pick up the trash if it's wrong (they flat out don't pick up pianos). In all the publicity I have seen no mention of how to pay the fine & how to challenge the fine.
Why would I want to challenge a fine?
Well, these aren't the smartest cats out there and think about the sanitation worker who claimed then councilman Chris Bortz of threatening to shoot him. That guy is going to be issuing tickets? These guys aren't trained like police and their task is hardly as simple as a meter maid's. Red light cameras would be preferable to this scheme. They are geared towards safety & have trained officers monitoring them. This is pretty clearly a money grab by the city going after the low hanging fruit of home owners.
Now, can I ticket the sanitation workers who leave my cart out in the street?

Trash Guidelines

Recycling FAQ

The Humorless Among Us

Does it really have to be this way? Do bloggers have to show no humour to be taken seriously? The above Tweet (should tweet be capitalised? My style book was written in the 30s) illustrates the predicament when Cincyopolis thinks fans of UrbanCincy are all super serious Utopia designers.
Granted, some of their ideas are hilarious but even seriously you can still have a sense of humour.
Of course my pointing out this obvious fact is pointless because everybody thinks I'm not serious about anything, including the Zombie Apocalypse, the Rise of the Robots and World Dominion by Trans-alien Insectoids. When I call for testing Mayor John Cranley to see if he's really human, nobody pays any attention but his is just the first baby step (sorry, had to) towards the demise of human society.
I try to help. I want to help. I have seen & read so much science fiction & horror that I feel I really know how to move the world towards a free libertarian post apocalyptic place where hot sweaty chicks with torn clothing carry around assault rifles and shoot mutant / zombie like creatures. A world where Gothic architecture has come back into fashion & pterodactyls snatch howling children off the streets. A cloud locked world like in The Road.
oh well....

Battling Taylor

OK, Hollywood, I have another blockbuster idea for you.
An Andy Taylor prequel where we visit his military career in WWII. Wikipedia states that some of the years listed by the writers don't exactly line up with the actual war but that there are references to him being stationed in France and in N Africa as a first sergeant.
What I'm thinking is N Africa where Andy finds himself battling zombie mummies in caves.
Maybe he could meet his wife, a rough & tumble archaeologist who belly dances. That would explain her having no family in Mayberry.
This will work, Hollywood. I will wait.

Art in the Park !

Art in the Park kicks of The May edition of Northside Second Saturday.
Just one block north of the mattress war zone!

Is it Time for a Transhumanist President ?

Zoltan Istvan has declared his candidacy for president of the United States via The Transhumanist Party.
Dunno if the dude is being manipulated by aliens or if he is a homo superior already. Obviously his philosophy will begin the end of the human race as we know it, but is this just the next step in human evolution? Will we need to be transhuman cyborg obscenities just to defeat the imminent Zombie Apocalypse in the future?
It's good to get the dialogue going and the presidential debates should get real lively with his participation.

Gizmodo article here

This is where I live

Northside - never a dull moment in the taco/mattress/tax return corridor...

Two Headed Chupacabra

would that be scary?

This is Sports

This past weekend I watched the IMCF in Poland.
Honestly, I don't get the huge popularity of baseball & football when you have seriously cool sports like this, rollerderby, and hockey.
and pro wrestling

The Proof of God's Existence

so, some chick in beefy Omaha has decided to file a lawsuit against all homosexuals. She claims to be the Ambassador of God.
I don't know how they are going to subpoena the invisible man in the sky who needs money but I'm sure they will find a way. When they do, and prividing God has suitable state issued photo ID, we might finally find out if God really exists.
And if he really does hate fags.

Omaha Journal Star article here

Racist Facts

This seriously white dude who works with Alex Jones speaks up about racial issues that have been seriously skewed by blacks, white liberals & the sensationalist media.
He goes on about the 'white liberal media' but I think it's more about incendiary & sensationalist fear mongering.
But make no mistake, right wing white racists thrive on this crap.
If the American police is really all about black genocide, they're doing a piss poor job of doing it. Black folks are doing a way better job of black genocide.
But as the announcer says, saying this kind of shit just gets you labelled a racist. Problem with that is - since the allegation is so freely bandied about, it's meaning les & less as time marches on.
Meanwhile black parents have "the talk" with their children telling them white America is out to get them which cannot have any other effect that paranoia & hatred in the kids' fragile eggshell minds...
We really need to sit down & talk about this shit without the crazy preconceptions.
And just to take some of the pressure off the situation?
My life doesn't matter.

4 Dead

Toxic Reasons
Kent State Massacre

Porktown Armageddon

holy cats - 9/19/15 downtown Cincinnati - we got Cincinnati Comic Expo, a zombie walk / dance & Oktoberfest
This town's gonna blow

Free Comic Book Day

dorks
Happy Free Comic Book Day, geeks

Happy Zombie Awareness Month

warm soft ground made moist by the spring rains - perfect for clawing your way out of a cold dark grave
nom nom.....

Does the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce Hate Transit ?

A couple times a year The Cincinnati USA Chamber of Commerce shuts down the main bus transit hub in Cincinnati, Government Square for Taste of Cincinnati and Oktoberfest. With the addition of the Streetcar to the basin, their festivals will now cut into streetcar service.
Why?
"That's what we've always done"
Looking at the Chamber's board members, they seem to be less interested in promoting business than maintaining their old school power base and A. they don't use transit and B. their businesses are around Fountain Square.
Thing is, there's this new park & non essential road down by the river that would be perfect for festivals of this nature. It also offers better transit options with the streetcar & buses at the Transit Center. But, yeah, transit doesn't matter.
The small businesses around the events suffer during these events as booths are set up curbside and the sidewalks in front of the businesses are used for storing trash.
The boys at UrbanCincy think moving events to the riverfront makes sense, but, of course they don't own multi million companies with offices around Fountain Square.
Moerlein has a tent set up to celebrate Oktoberfest and there's no reason not to tap the keg on Fountain Square & maintain a beer garden there & at Findlay Market for people wh don't have much tolerance for crowds. And all those locations can be tied to mass transit. crap - I keep forgetting....
It just seems short sighted, petty & vain.

Gateways

Marijuana is not a Gateway Drug. Marijuana Prohibition creates a Gateway Crime.
Caffeine gets you high. That doesn't mean it's a gateway to heroin which also gets you high. But when you buy a joint, you are entering the black market & engaging in the criminal underworld where all sorts of stuff is bought & sold.
Going to the grocery & picking up some Coke does not introduce anybody to the whole criminal underworld thing.

Leave It Alone

As I watch Cincinnati's mayor torture his city, playing cruel games that only he can find twisted sport in, I am reminded of the demented hunchback dwarf, Fritz, in the movie Frankenstein.
John Cranley's latest scheme is to transform Burnett Woods in Clifton. A perfectly fine park that provides some forestry in an otherwise paved & over developed community. But Cranley finds the woods 'scary' & wants to screw with nature some more. The return on such a project would be minimal if not a loss.
heck, Burnett Woods doesn't even get mentioned in The Windbag's $782M squandering manifesto.
A much better plan would to develop Wesleyan Cemetery and actually generate some revenue as outlined here.
Cranley's strategies of borrowing, giveaways & torture for no apparent reason will bankrupt this city & leave it's citizens burning it down in waves of fear & anger.
Torturing the monster didn't end well for old Fritz & didn't help the relationship between Dr Frankenstein & his monster. I urge John Cranley to put down the whip & use the torch to illuminate and lead instead of satisfying some angry craving.

Is Daredevil In The Golden Dawn ?

nonononono not that Golden Dawn, this Golden Dawn.
Sure, he had a hot Greek girlfriend in college, but Matt Murdock is Roman Catholic not Greek Orthodox. You people slay me.
Anyway the shot, above, in the opening credits of the new Daredevil series shows a symbol very similar to the occult group's symbol
DD was no stranger to esoteric mystic poop but he never went the GD route when I read the comic. Maybe he did in later years. Maybe it's a new path for the little screen series.
Maybe it's a coincidence.
MAYBE they could introduce a right wing militant Elektra!

Ethics & Sexbots

The boys over at Robot Overlordz talk to John Danaher about ethics and the use of sex robots and how prostitution might actually grow as people are forced out of the traditional workforce & need to find other ways to make money.

4/25 in Hell Town

Wondering what to do this Saturday?
Here's an idea - get thee to enigmatic Northside where I74 & I75 come together and channel Kentucky bound motorists into the meat grinding death trap of a bridge over the angry swirling waters of the Ohio River.
But why do that when you can spend the day in the lush pleasant valley along the banks of the cool & easy Mill Creek.
What's there to do you ask? Well, you can pull garlic mustard from a nature preserve, pick up trash with the Great American Cleanup, check out the annual record fair at North Presbo, take a carriage ride in Spring Grove Cemetery, check out the liquidation sale at the soon to open Northside Yacht Club, groove to the Queen City Soul Club Dance Party at the Northside Tavern or swoon to the sweet tempos of Kid Stardust at the Comet.
Urban Artifact opened Friday. There's plenty of grub at Golden Tajine, Melt, NYPD, The Kitchen Factory, The Blue Jay, Park Chili, D'Jango Western Taco, Barrio Tequileria (?), Tacocracy, Taco Hell, White Castle, Boswell's, The Littlefield, and more
Don't let the postponement of the cemetery bulb pulling get you down, there's still lotsa fun stuff to do in Section 28!

Happy Birthday, Bettie!

< 1923 - 2008

The Covered Girl Challenge

Teenage Muslim girls wanted to get non Muslim girls to wear a hijab for a day in far off Mason, OH. The school announced it like it was a school event and the xenophobic parents went all jihad on the school for trying to convert their kids to Islam. The principal freaked out and the liberty loving patriots prevented their kids from making the free choice to wear a hijab or not.
Why? Would they object to the head gear or clothes of Christian sects?
Some people compared wearing the head gear to forcing a non Christian to wear a crucifix on a necklace. The crucifix is a completely religious symbol. Anybody can wear a scarf.
People, mainly males, claimed the hijab represented the subjugation of women. These same men wanted to prohibit the girls from wearing the hijabs for a day - pretty much subjugating them for their freedom.
yeah, I don't get it.
Here's the deal, tho. Our society is, if not just getting more secular, it's moving from the sacred to the profane. People aren't dressing up and going to churches dripping in symbolism but going to rehabbed warehouses, hardware stores & movie theaters while wearing their street clothes. They don't listen to sacred music, they listen to crappy rock music.
Maybe wearing a 'sacred' garment, from any religion might get a person to examine his spirituality a bit more.
Meanwhile I'm looking forward to the boys wearing a long beard for a day at school.

Read more at The Fishwarp

Happy 420 Day!

It's looking like legal marijuana finally might have a chance. There are competing measures to legalize marijuana in Ohio. The best one looks like Responsible Ohioans for Cannabis, not to be confused with Responsible Ohio.
Responsible Ohio gives all production rights to 10 lucky farmers, doesn't allow for home growing and appears to address the employer testing nor people incarcerated for simple possession. It does stipulate the distribution of tax revenue & provide for testing/quality control.
Responsible Ohioans for Cannabis addresses the employer testing nor people incarcerated for simple possession, allows for home growing and uses simple licensing for production. Their tax rate is lower & no stipulations are made for tax revenue distribution.
Responsible Ohioans for Cannabis's plan is a lot more free & competitive than Responsible Ohio's, but I don't think home growers should be selling and I like Responsible Ohio's provisions for quality control.
Unfortunately, Responsible Ohio is getting a heap of press and Responsible Ohioans for Cannabis is getting fairly ignored. This seems to indicate BIG $$$$ is behind Responsible Ohio and, as such, a money grab. Using a name so similar to the original's is kinda stinky, too.
Hopefully people ill consider these 2 bills and vote for the one that seems better and not just go off & spastically vote for the first bill to come along.

Hometown Sunset

Happy Birthday Loretta Lynn

The Best Reality Your Tax Dollars Can Buy

That's right, folks, it's time for the annual liquor license renewal challenges.
Some of the poop going down in Cincinnati bars and stores is nothing short of a real treat. People selling stolen property, guns, dope...
People who say they can't speak English when they can. People getting into fights with police and inspectors...
And speaking of police? The way they report crime & force business owners into paying CPD overtime rates for security is like watching old time gangster movies with seedy gang bosses in the protection racket.
I'm always forgetting when to watch. Hopefully it won't be as bad as when Janke presided over the police side but Clown in Charge, Chris Smitherman & committee member Winburn should offer some possibility for antics.
The next meeting will be Monday April 13 @ 10AM
You can watch it here on a Windows computer or plug this into VLC (under File/OpenNetwork) on anything, mms://citicable.cincinnati-oh.gov/citicable.
And, of course it's on Slime Warner cable if you waste money on that crap.

Taco Hell Delivered

What could go wrong ?
Taco Hell has announced it is thinking about delivering their Juadaperras, Tuscomeenos, Grande Supremos and other delicacies to your door but thy are not sure how.
Since crispy corn tortillas tend to dissolve in grease over time, some dishes would only make it out to the sidewalk. Other dishes in flour tortillas lose their heat rapidly and wouldn't be hot pretty much after they made it to the sidewalk. The thing is, they don't serve hot food in the stores.
So, what to do?
Make the food in the delivery vehicle? Like - like a taco truck ?
Yes, roaming taco trucks using the stores as commissaries would work and, given the popularity of the Hell, they could offer subscriptions! A piping hot spudilla at your door every Tuesday at 7PM !
yay
and you are welcome Taco Hell.

Read more at HuffPo

Clowncil

After discussing trails & sister cities the Transportation Committee of Cincinnati City Council went back to bickering & nit picking over the Cincinnati Streetcar.
Pretty amazing. SORTA sent a guy to address the committee who was unprepared and had nothing to present. Dude couldn't even divulge the number of RFPs received. It was reminiscent of when the old head of SORTA claimed Mayor Luken had likened himself to Jesus. I guess the arrogance & incompetence of the organization ain't changed much.
Seelbach accused Murray of 'picking on' the streetcar but Murray assured him she wants to scrutinize everything. But she failed to make any motions to scrutinize the MLK interchange that supporters claim will create 6,000 jobs nor the driveway to Cincinnati State that will shave a mile off students' commute.
Towards the end, motions that might be pertinent if they had any idea what SORTA was doing got bogged down into arguments over procedure. Ultimately enough hot air to heat the public school system for 6 years. And that's without the Windbag.
Meanwhile I was left wondering why we have no sister cities in Central or South America. Jacmel? Santiago? Buenos Aires?
The Mill Creek folks are working hard on recreational trails they think are transportation.
EDIT:
Lest I get too negative, one of the bright spots of the meeting were 2 speakers - individual young men who had transplanted to Cincinnati in the past 4 - 6 years. In a city struggling with it's population, these are exactly what we should want, young socially active citizens joining this community.

Lon Chaney Sr

1883 - 1930
Happy Birthday, Lon

Scatter Your Ashes ?

Want your ashes scattered? >Mesoloft REALLY scatter your ashes - like - from space!
And they record video, too.

There's a RIOT Goin' On !

March 28, 1884 pissed off Porkopitans commenced rioting & eventually torched the court house & law library. They couldn't be satiated til militias from Bob City & Cow Town came to town & opened up some whup ass on 'em with a gatling gun. In the end, over 50 people lost their lives & many more were injured.
and nothing was solved

Read more in this collection of articles compiled by Pat Olvey.

In the Penal Colony - the Movie

On the liner notes for the Mothers of Invention album, We're Only in it for The Money, Frank sez to read Franz Kafka's story, In the Penal Colony, first. Kinda nuts for a teenager into comic books, but Franz became one of my faves instantly. I actually took a page from The Hunger Artist at my last job but it didn't seem to shame the sales staff...
Anyway, I think this is a pretty good no budget short.
I really think the device would be good for taggers.
YMMV

The Ramones in Columbus 1980

This was mentioned earlier here.

Vril Society

WEED

Some crazy music, maaaaannnnn.....

More Birthdays

I've still got your hatchet & tea towels with owls & calendars on 'em.

Happy birthday Ivy!

Poison Ivy Rorshach - 1953

Central Parkway Protected Bike Path

At about the 1:00;00 mark, the Johnsons, who have run Robin Imaging for over 30 years on Central Parkway & live nearby, point out all the crap I kept pointing out before the thing was implemented.
Putting the fastes stuff in the middle of the road with slower stuff to the curbside is the way we used roads for thousands of years. Parking cars along the curbs goes back to the invention of the auto & even the wagon.
Rearranging the traffic pattern to protect people from a collision that just isn't that common is BULLSHIT
While ridership is up, there's still not a lot. There seems to be some confusion over the number of car accidents. Bicycle / automobile accidents are reported up.
One thing promoters of this silly scheme promised was that the bike lane would be cleared of snow in the winter. There was no clearing and if the snow plow guys had a small plow, they seem to have not received the memo.
Mr Johnson also brings up that debris is not cleared either, resulting blocking cyclists trapped between the curb & parked cars.
About half the bollards have been creamed by zombie motorists (@ $50 apiece) and the Johnsons have lost 1 car. Robin Imaging does photography, art reproductions & framing. That is, people load & unload some valuable stuff on Central Parkway. That being said, they do have a parking lot.
On the bright side, when not careening into parked cars, motorists have not been slowed dowm. Even when slaughtering bollards.

You can see a better version of the WKRC segment here

The Need for Speed

While politicians work to raise speed limits Tesla CEO predicts driving cars will ultimately become illegal because it's too dangerous to leave it up to people.

Speed Governance

Back in 1923 the city of Cincinnati proposed a referendum to put governing devices on motor vehicles to limit their top speed to 25 MPH. It made sense in a way as roadway deaths had escalated from less than 500 a year in 1900 to over 15,000 nationwide in 1923.
But it also made little sense for inter city travel although that could be done at higher speeds & more safely by train. Still, trains didn't get you to Hooterville. Wait - they did...
Anyway, the referendum failed due to intense lobbying by the automobile lobby. Now we have around 35,000 roadway fatalities per year.
But, while it was impractical 92 years ago, with modern technology, would it be practical today?
With wifi & cars being rolling computers, could we have a sort of dynamic broadcast governor today that would change from street to street depending on the speed limit? That could adjust for school hours & road construction zones? That could 'assist' in stopping at stop signs?
It seems feasible. It would cost some money & the automobile lobby would scream bloody murder but it would be much more practical than the draconian "one size fits all" plan suggested in Cincinnati in 1923.

Summer Arts Festival

or Tribute Bandalooza
The Springfield Summer Arts Fesiival schedule is out.
Romeo & Juliet will be the theatrical performance. Festival staple Phil Dirt & the Dozers returns, at least 7 tribute bands, Livingston Taylor, Griffin House, and Jefferson Starship will perform.

Info & full line up here.

Happy Pi Day

π

Northside Second Saturday Pi Day Edition

Barrio Tequileria - 1/2 price wine all night long on glasses & bottles, plus live music by Cliff Adams
Bistro Grace - Stop in and ask for the chef's special
C & D Cafe - Art exhibit featuring work by Sandi Bruns
Casablanca Vintage - See how lucky you are and draw from a Leprechaun’s hat an instant coupon to be applied toward your purchase
Chameleon - a special art opening by Northside resident Daniel Baker plus Vinyl Night with Hook & Ladder featuring Margaret Darling of the Seedy Seeds
Cincinnati Family Enrichment Center - Parents Night Out, leave the kiddos in good hands while you go out on the town
The Comet - Shake your booty at Reggae Night with Queen City Imperial Soundsystem in the Comet basement
Craft Village - Felted Shamrock Brooches or Barrettes Workshop: Come in anytime during shop hours and needle-felt your own shamrock
Django Western Taco - Enjoy lunch or dinner with featured drinks & desserts
Galaxie Skateshop - Art exhibit featuring new work by Doug Korfhagen
Happy Chicks Bakery - Go for vegan-friendly brunch or lunch and get a free drink
The Kitchen Factory - Dine-in dinner menu 5pm-9pm; then late night pizza window open 'til 3am
The Listing Loon - Wine tasting featuring 5 wines for $12, plus a complimentary charcuterie board from Picnic & Pantry
The Littlefield - Celebrate Pi Day (get it, 3.14 ? ) with an all pie menu, plus a featured drink special that benefits ThunderSky Inc.
Market Side Mercantile - Find unique gifts, up-cycled housewares, and handmade items
Northside Grange Pet & Urban Farm Supply - Pick up some dog & cat treats for 20% off
NVISION - Enjoy a special art exhibit of Newspaper Aphorisms, plus 20% off all fashion accessories
Ruth’s Parkside Cafe - Stop in to see the exhibit of new photographs by Brad Smith, and ask for the featured dinner & drink special, or try the bar bites menu
Sidewinder Coffee - Art exhibit featuring the masks of David Earl Johnson, plus Happy Hour drink prices
Spun Bicycles - 2nd anniversary all day party, including pizza, cake and discounts
Tillie's Lounge - Check out Northside's newest bar, in the former Serpent space, with Happy Hour drink prices
Visionaries + Voices - Art opening for CON[TEXT], a word-based art exhibition

Please visit the Northside Second Saturdays Facebook page to learn about these and future events
Check out The Northside Map of Awesomeness

Springfield Gets One Right

Photo by Tim AyersIn all the demolitions in Springfield, OH, this was the one needed for decades. The Crowell Collier printing company closed in the mid 50s and the building sat, like an albatross for over half a century. It was a stark reminder of the thousands of layoffs just before Christmas that year and marked the end of the city's once proud manufacturing heritage.
It was used for a number of things over the years, it's where I first registered to vote, but was just a crumbling warehouse for a guy who was pretty much a pack rat in the past couple decades.
While the city tore down it's Veterans' Memorial concert hall, it's arcade, it's schools, it's bridges, it's train stations and it's entire fucking downtown, this leviathan stood resolute, a decrepit hulk, a rotting stinking corpse.
This should have been the first to go.
Hopefully someone can develop the site. Maybe recreate a downtown now that the mall is pretty much dead.