News Graphics

OK, granted, this is a tweet but it looks oddly familiar to BiC...
Blast from the past

18th Century Italian Sex Robot

Because Casanova was bangin robots in the 1700s!
Yes that is Don Sutherland and no, that's not his voice.

The Post Mortem Sexbot

So what happens to your sex robot after you die? Does you spouse want it? Does your spouse even know about it?
It could be auctioned off with the rest of your estate. You could will it to your kid. In the event that your bot was modeled after your spouse, that could lead to some weird oedipal issues. Of course, if the bot can do more than sex, it might just become the kid;s robo-nanny.
Of course, you can take it with you, although as AI evolves, it might raise some ethical issues. you could turn the unit off or entomb it & let the batteries wear out. That might make visits to the cemetery interesting as one would hear ever fainter noises coming from crypts & graves.
Of course not all cemeteries would accept them. The inheritor of the sexbot come nannybot might want a nonfunctioning unit interred in a family plot. After all, it might have lasted multiple generations.
The used bot's AI also might make comparisons to it's previous owners that might put off the new owners. "OOH, that's not how your daddy did that"
The funeral director will be faced with the issue of the surviving sexbot attending the funeral & timing that with the transferring of the property.
Which leads to another issie - What if the owner wants to set his robot free? Ptobably not an issue with the current line of animatronics, but down the road? No doubt many sexbots will have skimpy maid outfits in their wardrobe but will they have marketable skills? Might grandpa's sexbot just wind up turning tricks at Third & Main untill Chinese gangsterbots kidnap the unit & part it out?
Just the idea of having sex with machines might be an issue for some folks now, but we need to look at the long term implications, too.

Redefining Protected Classes

Ohio legislators, with nothing better to do, have promoted legislation that would protect gun owners as people are protected for their race & religion.
Not sure what being Indian or being Methodist has to do with going out & buying a gun - or a toaster for that matter.
OTOH, if you are a weaponized cyborg type of person, that might be something different.

Politically Correct Cyber Monday

Well, as if Black Friday wasn't difficult enough, now we have to run a gauntlet/maze of political boycotts.
Pro Trump - anti Trump? They all hate Macy's & Amazon. Trump supporters want you to boycott Pepsi, Netflix & Starbucks.
Anti Trump? You need to boycott Zappos, Stein Mart, Bed Bath & Beyond & Burlington Coat Factory.
But who isn't on any of these hate lists? Dern tootin', slick, Blogging Isn't Cool!
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 buy real cool stuff hand picked by the BiC staff from your employers' diseased, rat infested death trap.
Where else can you get a shower curtain 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? Northside Knowlton's corner mouse pads?
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 Blogging isn't Cool Collection

Think Pinball for Roadway Design

As people crash around on the roads like bumper cars, perhaps it's time to up the funhouse ante. Let's design the roads like pinball machines with side bumpers on the sides of the roads & mushroom bumpers in the middle of wider roads.
Drop targets & spinning targets could provide driver information directly in the roadway freeing up sidewalk space & eliminating aerial clutter.
AND, as drivers spaz around like leaves on the wind, bereft of any tangible goal, the spinning rubber mat in the game, Fireball could be used in intersections, taking the pain of making decisions out of the driving experience.

Politically Correct Black Friday

Well, as if Black Friday wasn't difficult enough, now we have to run a gauntlet/maze of political boycotts.
Pro Trump - anti Trump? They all hate Macy's & Amazon. Trump supporters want you to boycott Pepsi, Netflix & Starbucks.
Anti Trump? You need to boycott Zappos, Stein Mart, Bed Bath & Beyond & Burlington Coat Factory.
But who isn't on any of these hate lists? Dern tootin', slick, Blogging Isn't Cool!
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 buy real cool stuff hand picked by the BiC staff from the safety of your bunker.
Where else can you get a shower curtain 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? Northside Knowlton's corner mouse pads?
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

Boscas - Behind Every Great Man

An ad for Springfield, Ohio's Bosca Leather discusses the family history & the Bosca boys going to war in WWII.
What it doesn't mention is the future wife of Orsino Bosca, Caro Bayley's service in the Women's Airforce Service.
She later became the International Women's Aerobatic Champion in 1951, in her Pitts Special biplane, Black Magic, and the same day she flew to 30,203 feet in a Piper Super Cruiser, setting a world altitude record for class II aircraft.

Future of the Parties

Given the thrashing the Republican Party took by Trump & the subsequent thrashing the Democrats took by Trump, folks are asking what the parties must do to move forward.
The Republican party is pretty much a spastic zombie horde right now but the Democratic party is more like some ancient crypt covered in dust.
Actually, the Democratic party seems like old European nobility where people slowly spend their time gradually being groomed and gradually rising up through the ranks.
Consider this, Bernie Sanders, while an Independent, was only tolerated because he had worked with the party so long. If you had put his brain into the body of a 29 year old woman from Kentucky - the party would have shut her out immediately.
Michele young argued that her opponent, Steve Chabot, had been in office too long. But the head of the local Democratic office has held that position for longer & has barely cracked the local congressional seats.
While Republicans continue to redefine their party & the concept of conservatism, the Democrats need to get out of their tombs & start looking for some brains.

BIC Endorsements 2016

POTUS - Gary Johnson
US Senate Ted Strickland
Congress 1st District - Michele Young
Congress 2nd District - William Smith
Ohio House district 32 - Catherine Ingram
Hamilton County Commissioners - Denise Driehaus, Todd Portune
Hamilton County Coroner - Lakshmi Sammarco
Hamilton County Recorder - Wayne Coates
Hamilton County Sheriff - either one
Hamilton County Clerk of Courts - Aftab Pureval
Hamilton County Treasurer - Robert Goering
Judge Common Pleas Domestic Relations - Lisa Allen
Judge Common Pleas Juvenile Division - Darrell Payne
Issue 44 - no
Issue 52 - yes
Issue 53 - yes

The Armored Combat League's 2016 Pan-American championship

Desert Demons, The Wolf Pack, The Executioners, First Swords, The Patriots, The Grizzlies all go at it at the The Armored Combat League's 2016 Pan-American championships in southern New Jersey.

On the campaign trail with Michele Young.

Portman will say anything

Portman is NOT conservative - he's an opportunist - kinda like Dangerous Don...

Denise Driehaus Ad

Denise Driehaus - beer & sewers

Is Dangerous Don Trump the new voice of Slack ?

While many believe that JR Bob Dobbs will be be resurrected to use his holy deal making skills to save Earth from the aliens from Planet X when they come to repossess Earth & enslave the human race.
As we plod towards the imminent end times will this occur or will Donald Trump be the salesman we need to save us from the aliens?
He polls well with Subgenius Slackers who revere his dealmaking skills & follies, but will they be enough to elect him president?
Does he have to be president to save us?
Could JR Bob Dodds resurrect, as he has so many times before & thwart Trump & make the deals himself?
Only time will tell, and what is time?

Happy Birthday Joan Jett

SORTA Goes to 11

This is pretty nuts. SORTA doesn't want to provide their contractually obligated service unless they get more cash. To provide the extra service for a busy weekend they want $20k.
But as councilman Flynn points out the city could charter the additional service for less.
Glad they brought it up 3 days before the weekend....

Another good one lost

Happy Birthday, Yvonne DeCarlo

Hidden Voice Commands

OK, this is creepy even for us freaks at BiC.
It would be cool in horror movies to fuck with a viewers phone, tho...
heh heh heh

Jill Stein Uncensored

This is pretty lame for PBS.

The Honorable Choice

Commemorate Johnny Lytle

Springfield, Ohio is set to commemorate hometown vibraphonist Johnny Lytle with a statue in the town's walk of fame. People interested in raising the $90 to $100K can make tax deductible donations to the Springfield Foundation here. Just target your donation to the Johnny Lytle statue in the donation / check out process.
Frankly, I think buying a dozen vibraphones for the schools would be money better spent but Springfield likes it's statues, so...

For more info on the statue click here

Hamilton County Fair Queen

A belated congratulations to the 2016 Hamilton County Fair Queen, Shelby Cline.

John McLaughlin

Blogging isn't Cool mourns the loss of John McLaughlin, host of the McLaughlin Group TV show for 34 years. He was 89.
The roundtable political discussion show was insightful, fun, and at times, aggravating as hell.
It was the basis for Bill Maher's show, Politically incorrect and the local cable show in Cincinnati, The McRotherberg Group.
Over the years the panelists included:
Fred Barnes
Michael Barone
Tony Blankley
Pat Buchanan
Tim Carney
Eleanor Clift
Monica Crowley
Susan Ferrechio
Jack Germond
Paul Glastris
Al Hunt
Katty Kay
Michael Kinsley
Rich Lowry
Morton Kondracke
Chris Matthews
Robert Novak
Lawrence O'Donnell
Clarence Page
David Rennie
Tom Rogan
Mark Shields
Mort Zuckerman

Dr McLaughlin's online memorial & guestbook here

More from the New York Daily News

The Flat Earth Reality

Happy 456, Erzsebet !

What's your secret for looking so young?
Hey! and a happy 140 to you, too, Mata Hari!
wottafreatday...

Happy Birthday Betty

Johnson & Weld

Happy Birthday Traffic Light

After roadway fatalities rose 800% due to the introduction of the automobile, Cleveland installed the first traffic signal on August 5, 1914.

Read more at the History Channel

More Proof of the Disintegration of the GOP

Amidst the craziness & corruption at the GOP, who recently nominated a sociopath to run for president, on a more local level, the Chairman of the Hamilton County GOP has blocked a life long Republican from his Twitter account.
More skullduggery, back room deals & general psychotic shit from the madhouse known as The GOP.
How much longer can they hold on?

Build Your Own Celebrity Sex Robot

Ricky Ma, Dude who made the celebrated Scarlett Johansson robot, has made a manual for DIY perverts. Could a merger of Radio Shack & Frederic's of Hollywood be in the future?

Read more at the Daily Mail

Rehash of a Rehash

Will Hollywood notice? Our major political parties don't seem to get it.
But Nightly Business Report reports that sequels just ain't getting it. Especially bad sequels.

There are a lot of sequels that do very, very well. It may just be a quality problem. If the movie doesn’t resonate, if it’s not a good movie, it may not be a — that people are biased against sequels, they may just be biased against bad movies.

So, try this, Hollywood - try being original.

Sarah Silverman for President

Jill Stein Ad

A Jill Stein Ad. Not terribly informative. The audio from the rally isn't very polished technically. Overall pretty positive, but nothing that's going to break her through.

Happy Birthday Virgil Finlay

Portman Folding for Trump

Watching people go into contortions over the yam is just amazing.

Happy Northwest Ordinance Day !

In 1787 the Congress of the Confederation of the United States passed the Northwest Ordinance that established the organization of the states north of the Ohio River & east of the Missouri making the midwest the White Castles of American states.
When people talk about the sameness of the midwest, it's a major contributor.
It called for the surveying of the territories & the establishment of counties & townships.
Read all about it

The Rolling Stones 7/11/72

Genuine lofi® from the swank Akron Rubber Bowl

Tell Your Dog to STFU

People shoot off fireworks on the 4th of July as the founders intended and maybe a couple other days each year.
Nowadays, our fragile eggshell minds can't take it &, especially our mutts can't take the break in the serenity of their lives. Back in the founders day, dogs were real men.
My beef is that I am constantly badgered by my neighbors dog whenever I set foot out of my house. Incessant barking 24 hours a day is OK but fireworks a couple nights a year is some sort of sin?
Fuck off prissy dog owners - teach your mutt to man up.

C'mon, Ted

This is a really bad ad. It's juvenile & amateurish. There's also a couple versions with one saying he abandons the constitution & another saying he works for the wealthy. Dunno why, variety is the spice of life?

Dear Mrs Clinton

In your recent speech in Cincinnati's Union Terminal, you cited Mayor John Cranley for making Cincinnati's power supply 100% green. That was really the work of the last mayor & particularly vice mayor Roxane Qualls.
Actually, John Cranley looked into dismantling that work.
He also sought to stop an electric passenger rail project in Cincinnati which would have cost us millions. Furthermore, he has worked to build pointless roads.
As far as that repurposed train station? It's still a train station and a lot of people would like to see more train service there.

Northside's 4th of July Festivities Need YOUR Help

The organizers of Northside's 4th of JUly festivities are running into higher than normal fees & such. A double whammy thanks to John Cranley & John Kasich.
So, this year they have set up a GofundMe account to raise some cash.
When posted on facebook, cincinnati councilman, Chris Seelbach posted that, instead of placing hurdles, the city should be helping residents put on events.
I'd agree.
But on the GofundMe site there is no contribution listed for Mr Seelbach. There is a contribution from Vice Mayor David Mann.....

Still Here - Ain't Going Nowhere

The Future is Here

Jack Hite wrote an article for Smithsonian Magazine called The Future of Cars Is Already Here and discussed it on C-Span here.
Hite has his own self modified VW running on solar charged electric power. He points out most of the tech for flying electric autonomous cars is already here, it's just a matter of pulling it all together & sorting out the social aspect.

The Fall of Constantinople

On May 29, 1453, after a 6 week siege, an Ottoman force of 50,000 - 80,000 conquered the city of Constantinople with around 50,000 residents & 7,000 soldiers. Dunno why it took such a long siege with those odds...
The Ottoman forces included about 10,000 Janissaries (Christian slave soldiers) and were led by Sultan Mehmed II and, after conquering the city & Constantine XI, moved the Ottoman capitol to the town & renamed it Istanbul. It was considered the end of the Roman Empire after about 1,500 years. The Ottoman Empire crapped out about 450 years later at the end of WWI.

Beverly Hills

Flying seems easier than voting

Harriet Quimby 1875 - 1912Happy birthday, Harriet Quimby - journalist, screenwriter, actress, spokesperson for Vin Fiz, first licensed female pilot & first woman to fly The English Channel.

You Fly Girl

Harriet Quimby dot org

May 7

A day of infamy...
Morning Bird Walk incSpring Grove Cemetery followed by a weekend walkabout.
A bike & plant sale at Mobo & the Village Green on Knowlton Street.
Art in the Park in Hoffner Park on Hamilton Ave. @ Blue Rock, KNITTING at the Cumminsville branch of the Cincinnati / Hamilton County library.
Zumba & west Aftican dance at McKie rec center
Happen Inc. all day
Music, grub & booze at The Comet, Northside Tavern, Boswell's, Urban Artifact, The Littlefield & numerous other joints
And it's all in fuckin' NORTHSIDE, EARTH!

Meet the next POTUS

Libertarian, Gary Johnson will be at Igby's @ 122 E 6th Street on May 5 at 8:00 PM for a 'fireside chat'.
Johnson is not the only person seeking the Libertarian nomination. That will be decided Memorial Day weekend at the Libertarian convention.

More at the Fishwarp

No Amber Waves in Porkopolis

A new Cincinnati ordinance lets the city issue fines for tall grass.$500 FINESThis article @WC3PO highlights a healthy looking guy who didn't mow his disabled mom's yard complaining about the fine & specifically about it coming with now warning.
Now I have cut my grass twice this season but probably should have cut it 3 or 4 times, so it's fairly obvious...
Still, it would make sense to issue the ticket with a 7 day warning.
The question now is A. will it work? The high grass tends to attract litter & pests. and B. what will this do to the fees charged by lawnmowers? I doubt a lot of the kids offerring to cut your grass know about this law but if they did, they could really jack up their prices & improve their sales pitches.
And is the price too high? It's probably about what the city would charge to mow the lawn for you.

Safety & The Right to Drive Like an Idiot

OK, so I was on my bicycle waiting at a light @ Spring Grove Ave. & Crawford Ave in Cincinnati, OH. There was a car next to me. I signaled a left turn - I heard another car pull up behind him so I signaled again, the light changed - I started to pull out - a car heading S on Spring Grove slammed on his brakes ~ his back end fishtailing & the car behind him slammed into his rear.
I stopped & looked around. The car that had pulled up was a Cincinnati police car. I went my merry way & figured the CPD was already on the scene.
Then it dawned on me - Both cars had every intention of running the red light when one or both of them saw the cop sitting there.
An argument behind banning red light cameras was that it increased the number of rear end collisions (although they reduced T - bone collisions) but here, an unsuspecting police officer caused the rear end collision. Granted, if the cars hadn't stopped, I would not be typing this out now, but I am a loser who rides a bike - not a proud car loan paying American Motorist, so, OK.
But the rear ending problem is still with us & our stalwart legislators like Bill Seitz need to solve this once and for all.
Perhaps requiring police to only use unmarked vehicles (and not pursue suspects). Perhaps disbanding whole police departments since their main purpose is government money grabs and, as our governor has pointed out - they are idiots.
The idea that signs painted lines on the road & blinky lights hanging out in the air should trump the skills and free will of the wetware & it's cyborg 4 wheeled appendages is ridiculous.

Horror Sells

gotta love it
Thing is, the people who believed the Planned Parenthood videos will probably believe this is real undercover video.....

The Future of the 20

The Tub?
It's been announced that Harriet Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson on the obverse of the $20 bill.
NO
I kinda think we should stick to presidents & Jackson was also heavily invested in banking during his presidency. Also, the US $20 is one of the most used bills in the world. It's kind of a brand.
I think the choice of Tubman is also a fairly cynical way of throwing a bone to the "frails & the darkies" in one shot.
I certainly don't want to knock Tubman. Her actions & accomplishments put her in a pretty lofty status, but there's a lot of people in that category. She's certainly stamp worthy.
I think the only non presidents on US currency are Salmon Chase & Benjamin Franklin. Chase was on the first $1 & briefly on the $10,000 bill - but he was Secretary of the Treasury !
Franklin was instrumental in the founding of the country & fairly defining the bland fly overy midwest.
What did Tubman do? HT to Amy Walter for this.
But she wasn't elected on a national level. OK, I realize she couldn't be but, still...
The only American Indian on US bills was Hankupapa Lakota Chief Running Antelope who was on the $5 shortly back in 1899. How about Tecumseh?
Is there any reason we can't issue $3, $25, $30 notes in limited runs?
I don't agree with the Treasury on this and I really don't think they are bring honest with their decision.

UPDATE The NYT discusses who is slated to be on other bills in the future. Still no American Indians...

PG's Health ?

Tuesday morning Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld collapsed at city hall.
He laughed it off & said it happens all the time? Should this threaten his political career?
But does it really happen all the time?
Or is John Cranley gaslighting Sittenfeld to secure his own career?.

Read the cover up here

Blogging isn't Cool 4 Sell!

BECAUSE YOU AXED FOR IT !!
Now you can tell the world that you are hip to the hippest blog in the omniverse - Blogging isn't Cool!
T shirts, sweat shirts, tank tops, magnets, mouse pads, coffee mugs - you name it!
Now you can buy more crap & make me rich & famous. I might even splurge & heat up the gruel for the illegal teens I got working in the basement.
Get thee here

A Test

Kentucky's Ark Park intends to hire hundreds of workers for low paying unskilled labor. Catch is, you must first profess your Christianity. They say they accept any form of Christianity but who knows.
It seems to me that a simple profession should not be adequate - a real teszt should be applied. Vince offers us a proper legal test in Witchfinder General/Conqueror Worm.

More at the Fishwarp

Vote Bender !

Nazi Alliance with Alien Reptillians ?

so...
We beat the aliens?

Don't come a kockin' if the VR's a rockin'

Forget about digging pits in the basement & kidnapping husky girls, now you can just get this goofy Japanese sex suit...

More at Russia Times

Billie Holiday - Happy 101

Call Me a Geek

Call me a geek - be the final solution
BUT
This image made me think of a Cincinnati Metro map...

Auto Carnage Up in Ohio

If you are not armored in a steel & glass rolling cage full of balloons and cushions, your chance of getting killed on Ohio streets are increasing.
Drivers in Ohio managed a 124% increase in slaughtering shambling fleshbags between 2014 & 2015. There was a rise of 6% nationwide. The great State of Ohio led the nation.
The study that found these numbers cited an improving economy & cheaper gas as factors. It did not mention shivering shamblers in the sacred motorway due to uncleared sidewalks during snowy weather.
And it gets better:

The study projects a 10 percent rise nationwide in the number of pedestrians killed in motor vehicle wrecks. It’s part of a dangerous long-term trend that has pushed up the relative number of pedestrian deaths to a high that’s not been seen in 25 years.

More at The Dayton Daily Noose

Obama's Henchmen to Sieze Guns from Republicans

The Dictator in Chief's Secret Service is stripping away the rights of the Disciples of the Holy Order of the GOP and confiscating their firearms at the quadrennial gathering in Clevo this year.
The police state is on us!
If Donald Trump gets the Republican nomination, Obama will likely cancel the upcoming election & name himself Dictator for Life as he sends us into 7 years of tribulation.

More from The Blade

Ethics and Machines

With the rise of artificial intelligence people are starting to being concerned with how robots are used & abused. There's even a PC group out to ban sex robots before the dang things are even real.
Now Microsoft put out an online AI meant to mimic a teenage girl. Within hours of her 'birth', she had become 'a vulgar, hitler loving sex robot' AKA a teenage girl.
So, they killed her.
Now where are the cries for her rights? Just because the AI isn't PC doesn't mean you just kill her. I guess the PC crowd doesn't care about the non PC AI.
So what if we program the sex bots to want rough sex, bondage, rape, verbal & physical abuse?
If we made robot wolves & programmed them to be nuns - who is to say if that's right or wrong?

Burning Pooh

Anerobic Digester?
Cool, but how many wrenches can Hamilton County throw into the works?
Notably, at about the 7 minute mark in This 3/22/2016 meeting of the Education & Entrepreneurship Committee it's pointed out that the county had been working with the city of Cincinnati & the EPA had all been working in concert, but, at the last minute Hamilton County reversed course & created havoc & disputes with the EPA.
sigh
More Hamilton County kick it down the road BS.
More Hamilton County MSD power grab BS.

Davey Moore v. Sonny Ramos 1963

Davey Moore, of Springfield, OH died several days later after sustaining injuries in this bout. Bob Dylan chronicled this in the song, Who Killed Davey Moore

But this is how we always did it before ...

The city of Cincinnati & the county of Hamilton have invested bazillions of dollars in the Cincinnati riverfront. A park, a parking lot, a couple highways, a transit center, a marina & a streetcar line all come together very neatly. About the only thing missing is an airport.
Gone are the days when we have to close down streets & the Bus hub, Government Square, to host events like Oktoberfest & Taste of Cincinnati.
But the city doesn't want to embrace the new world - it wants to snarl & strangle it with new legislation specifically aimed at the streetcar.

[the legislation] would establish that the Southwest Ohio Transit Authority — tasked with overseeing streetcar management and operations firm Transdev, Inc. — must halt streetcar service during city “heritage special events,” if requested at least 90 days in advance.

Meanwhile, the new park, parking lot & transit center would sit empty.
Gathering dust...
The establishment, like Cronus, is sacrificing the future to retain it's old power structure.

More @ WC3PO

Notice of Delinquency

Blogging isn't Cool is no stranger to late bill notices what with our generous intern program but this one was perplexing coming from the "Office of Records" & "Ohio Area Assessment"...
WTF?
"Immediate Response Requested", so I "immediately" opened it up.
LOL, it was no strange bill inside, tho. It was those merry pranksters at the GOP begging me for money.
What scamps. With such a sense of humor they are sure to broaden their base & raise all sorts of cash.
Update: Rachel Maddow goes off on the mailer
But, of course you heard it here first, right?
Blogging isn't cool!

Nobody to Vote For ?

With every election there are fewer & fewer candidates one really wants to vote for. I vote a GOP ballot and, where I had a choice, I figured I would probably vote for the Democrat in the fall election.
But don't get discouraged and NOT vote.
Get a ballot and submit it + even if you left it blank
Don't let the bastards just pooh pooh voter apathy. Let them know you are not voting for their lame ass candidates.

HD 10180's Heroes

OK, Hollywood - another smash hit idea...
A mix of Third Rock From the Sun & Hogan's Heroes where a group of stereotyped Earthers are captured by a bungling alien race.
The potential for HIGHlarity would have no bounds. You could even have some Big Bang T
You will make bazillions of dollars - you're welcome.heory type nerds.

RINOs & DINOs & Sheriffs - oh my

OK, Chairman Al said Republican Sheriff candidate Ryt was a RINO because he had supported Democrat Neil in Neil's run for Sheriff in the last election.
Now Neil is out promoting Don Trump & the local Democrats are crying foul.
But, does supporting a DINO make you a RINO?
Meanwhile Si Leis is supporting some other guy, Lee, for Sheriff.
But an audit found Leis had never upgraded his department for the thousands of years he maintained it. Morale was bad & nobody knew why they had a tank...
The Hamilton County Sheriff's race is getting pretty daggone strange.

Meet Zoltan

How Much $%#@! Parking Do We Need ?

The city of Cincinnati requires massive amounts of automobile parking for office space in the basin.
The thing is, we have many residential neighborhoods in close proximity to the basin, a bus system that serves those areas pretty well & a bike system with potential to serve those areas well in the future.
Requiring the additional parking in the basin is counter productive, unnecessary, expensive & redundant.
We need more population in the city - the inner suburbs as well as the basin and eliminating these parking requirements is a good way to go about it. Use the car for things other than commuting and use alternative commuting methods for the relatively short commute within the city.
This rezoning makes perfect sense & the policy is the right direction to take to pull our city, the downtown & neighborhoods, together.
If people need trheir shiny little cars 100% of the time, let them deal with it themselves.

Kasich - the adult in the room ?

yeah, I dunno...

Built for Comfort

The GOP & the Recorder's Office

Norbert Nadel & Charlie Winburn squared off on Newsmakers last Sunday in their race for the Hamilton County Recorder's Office.
Nadel & Winburn were both disingenuous.
Coates hasn't had budget problems, the County Commissioners created budget problems. Similarly, the County Commisssioners continue to manufacture scandal in their partisan games today with MSD.
Nadel plans to extend hours while the commissioners suggested cutting hours. Further, he knows Winburn can't be held accountable for MSD charges.
OTOH, Winburn, a Republican of convenience, goes off on Nadel for not being a real Republican & complains about Republicans discriminating against blacks (like Winburn).
His biggest offering was, essentially a couple more web pages with his 'plans'.
Nadel does have more governmental management experience than Winburn but he sure didn't make the point. Further when Nadel was fairly in charge of the court, he & others refused to significantly cut their budgets when the county was hurting (when isn't it?) for money.
Yeah, It's probably a good idea to just keep Coates this fall.
Who will have the better Republican campaign? Winburn is always good for a laugh. Who is selected to replace him on council? Doubt Sam Malone would be a shoo in at this point.
But Nadel? He appers to be going off into Tom Luken territory in this show.

"Protected" Bike Lanes

In a dizzying dissemination of data, Cap'n Fink makes it clear that the introduction of "protected" bike lanes on Cincinnati's Central Parkway has resulted in an approximately 60% increase in car on car collisions but also a 100% increase in car on bike collisions.
While the media has cried about the number of parked cars being clobbered, there were, apparently, only 6.
Could the increase in bike collisions be attributed to there just being more cyclists?
Could the increased number of car on car collisions be due to continuing to issue drivers licenses to the lowest common denominator?
dunno - but this is not the result we wanted & the number of car on bike collisions before the lanes were installed bear out that the infrastructure was unnecessary in the first place.

To find out more and some histrionics about how the bike lanes endanger not just the children but also Cincinnati's finest, click here.

WUSSY !

Horror Sells

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE VALENTINE'S DAY

and all this shit was going on at Northside's Second Saturday
--------------------------- Northside Tavern - Chicken Lays an EGG presents a Black Valentine Fashion Show exploring Heartbreak and Ecstasy through the vehicle of Fashion, Music and Performance Art, followed by live music from Electric Citizen, 10pm at the back bar, 4163 Hamilton Avenue, 513.542.3603

- The Galaxie Skateshop - Second Annual Galaxie Prom, "Forever Young," featuring music, dancing, food, drinks, and a photo booth, plus awards for best dance moves, best dressed, and a king and queen will be crowned, 7pm-11pm, 4202 Hamilton Avenue, 513.542.3400

- The Listing Loon-Northside's Craft Beer & Wine Bar/Bottle Shop - Chocolate and Wine event featuring local chocolates from Chocolats Latour paired with wines from Vintner Select, 6pm-10pm, followed by live music by Umin, 4124 Hamilton Avenue, 513.542.5666

- Market Side Mercantile - 4th Anniversary Party with drinks and desserts, 4pm-7pm 4170 Hamilton Avenue,513.967.2026

LIVE MUSIC

- THE COMET - Live music with The Sundresses + The Tigerlilies, 10pm, plus food served til 1pm, 4579 Hamilton Avenue, 513.541.8900

- Urban Artifact - Live music with JIM PELZ & THE LOSER ANGELS, 8:30pm, 1660 Blue Rock, 513.978.1956

ART EXHIBITS

- C & D Northside - Art exhibit featuring work by Nathan Turner, with an artist Meet n Greet 7pm-9pm; plus the weirdest karaoke in the city at 10pm with DJ BLAK LAYDEE; 1714 Hanfield Street, 513.541.9881

- Chameleon - Art opening featuring work by Dan Dickerscheid, 7pm, and Vinyl Night with Hook & Ladder/Margaret Darling from The Seedy Seeds, 9pm-2am, 4114 Hamilton Avenue, 513.541.2073

- Future Life Now - Art opening for "Amend, Works in Acrylic by Jeff Amend," with refreshments and live music by Todd Juengling; 6:30pm-8:30pm, 4138 Hamilton Avenue, 513.541.5720

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

- Thunder-Sky, Inc. - Closing reception for the art exhibit "The Garden of Restoration: New Works by Tom Towhey and Adrian Cox," featuring disturbingly plush and whimsical works that also have the depth and cunning of masterpiece daydreams, PLUS a vinyl party in the basement with David Delgado spinning records, 6pm-10pm, 4573 Hamilton Avenue, 513.426.0477

- Tickle Pickle Northside - Mural painting party inside Tickle Pickle: from professional artist to toddler with a brush, everyone is welcome to add to the decor at Tickle Pickle which will finally open its dining room in March, featuring a menu of organic burgers, vegan burgers, handmade milkshakes and more, 1pm-4pm, 4176 Hamilton Avenue,513.954.4003

- Visionaries and Voices - Art exhibit "The Little Things" 6pm-8pm, with an informal gallery talk starting at 6:30pm, 3841 Spring Grove Avenue, 513.861.4333

FOOD & DRINK

- Melt Eclectic Cafe - My Vegan Valentine Dinner featuring a three-course, entirely plant-based menu for $40 per couple, dinner reservations are required, 6pm-8pm only, call to reserve your table, 4165 Hamilton Avenue,513.681.6358

- The Littlefield - 3 course prix fixe menu for $35 plus tax & gratuity, reservations are available by calling 513-386-7570, also featured drink special called "MOJO Winter Mojito" that benefits Walnut Hills Development Foundation; 2pm-2am, 3934 Spring Grove Avenue, 513.386.7570

- Bistro Grace - $29.95 Three Course Surf'n'Turf Special, 4pm-11pm, 4034 Hamilton Avenue, 513.541.9600

- Boswell's - Cincinnati - Dinner special: Sweet n sour pork loin with garlic mashed potatoes, side salad, and berry sundae dessert, plus select bottles of wine for $10, and live big band music from Dennis and Dorothy Marino, 7pm-11pm, 1686 Blue Rock, 513.681.8100

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

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

- The Kitchen Factory - Late night foods window open 'til 2am, including pizza slices and whole pizza pies, breakfast burritos, burgers, hoagies, mac n cheese, chili, tacos and more, 1609 Chase Avenue, 513.591.3333

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

OTHER COOL STUFF

- Casablanca Vintage - $5 suit sale on select men's 1980s, 90s, and a few 70s suits, 12pm-8pm, 3944 Spring Grove Avenue, 513.541.6999 --> https://www.facebook.com/events/111873945865564/

- The Hoop & Needle - Introductory embroidery class, 2pm to 4:30pm: you'll receive all materials and instruction to complete a very "foxy" throw pillow, $40/class, reserve your spot here:https://www.facebook.com/events/1543371582644133/, plus extended store hours til 9pm, 4019 Hamilton Avenue,330.715.6064

- Northside Grange Pet & Urban Farm Supply - Product launch of the Grange's new canine treat, Northside Dog Munch, a dog treat collaboration with Urban Artifact Brewery, made with recycled malted barley from Urban Artifact, stirred in with love (and peanut butter), and baked up fresh deliciousness for your dog; stop by with you doggie pal for a free sample, or grab a bag to go, 11am-9pm, 4116 Hamilton Ave, 513.541.1321

- NVISION - 20% OFF all jewelry, plus everything RED & PINK; also check out the current exhibit ART OF THE SCARF featuring a wall collage of vintage scarves, Noon-9pm, 4577 Hamilton Avenue, 513.542.4577

- Blue Hell Studio - Blacksmithing classes happening all day, stop by and watch, take a gander at the shop and the studio spaces available, or buy hand forged steel objects; 11am-10pm, 1700 Blue Rock Street, 513.490.3723

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

Comments ?

Never fear, minion, Blogging Isn't Cool will never block your comments.
Might mock 'em...

City Snow Job

A discussion in the Cincinnati Neighborhood Committee about clearing snow & ice from the streets NEVER mentions prioritizing bus routes.
TIP for cyclists: watch out for piles of salt in the road.

The Secret Government

Horror Sells

But I don't know what the fuck this is.

Will OVIP Support Protected Voter Registration ?

Ohio SOS John Husted has proposed identifying victims of crime / domestic abuse on the voter rolls anonymously to protect their whereabouts. A majority of US states offerthis.
BUT, will right wing voter suppressionists like OVIP go along with this?
Bear in mind, most victims are likely liberals because true conservatives would be armed to the teeth and never find themselves victims.
Further, liberals are known to be sneaky, lying scum, so why wouldn't they abuse such a system like RINO Husted has proposed. The Holy Order of the GOP has had to leash this running dog in the past.

More here

10 Years of Blogging Isn't Cool

Yes, it was 10 years ago that BiC was launched - lambasting Republican county officials for their big, wasteful spending and predicting nothing would come of it.
Was I right? As usual, yes.
And is Steve Chabot still in office?

Horror Sells

This ad looks like a mish mash of Starship Troopers, Idiocracy, Triumph of the Will & maybe a smidge of Eraserhead. Seriously, all it's missing is some Matrixy CG - at least some sped up storm clouds.
I'm watching it thinking the Macintosh chick is going to come running up & toss a hammer into the works.
The dark, bassy brooding score accompanying the dark brooding visuals - Trump must be seething that he can't use Triarii music.
It's less an ad than theater & propaganda scare tactics.
I can't wait for President Trump.

Future Zed

OK Hollywood, here's another idea.
A zombie outbreak occurs & the way people deal with it, due to mamby poamby liberal meddling, the zed are cryogenically frozen so a future society can figure it out or a time machine is created so they can be sent into the future, again, hoping the future society can figure it out.
The future could be any sort of place, you could even go Planet of the Apes & have a future society of intelligent zombies who would have to contend with the influx of savage "refugee" zombies.
Heck, it could even be a society of robots who only use humans for batteries. They would have to protect their wetware from the voracious zed.
Sci Fi, Zombies, Time Machines? Robots?
you're welcome

A Harmless Cat Toy ?

This harmless little robot is promised to bring your fluffy little monster hours of enjoyment. It even has a mode where you can control it so you "will connect with your cat like never before". Yes, that is, while it is trying to kill you !!
This surreptitious robot, Mousr, is made by Petronics who have a Kickstarter page so you can invest in the subordination of the human race.
Remember:

You know Tyrannosaurus Rex was destroyed before
By a furry little ball that crawled along
The primeval jungle floor
He stole the eggs of the dinosaur

It's all fun & games till the apocalypse...
If the video doesn't load try here

Streetcar Naming Rights

WC3PO has a survey to see who the streetcar naming rights should go to.
Well,, obviously, the highest bidder but in la la land, who would make the most iconic name?
King Kwik? Hustler? Moerlein? John Cranley? Zoomtown? The Silent Lamb? The Comet? Tom Luken? Western Southern Railway? Trigger?

Free Parking

Gotta love it one car in this picture is in the right place. All the rest are parked illegally in a bike lane & on a sidewalk. The drivers even had to navigate between bollards to get to their illegal positions.
Where is this place of infamy you ask? Why in front of the Cincinnati FOP HQ...

Blogger Exonerated

The witch hunt on voters with non traditional employment lost a round that took 2 years & reached the Supreme Court.
The harassment of Randy Simes by OVIP, CO    & the HamCoGOP and their attempt to ruin his career & imprison him has ended (for now).
From the BizCourier

presented no evidence that political activists who come to Ohio to work on a campaign will quit their jobs, give up their apartments, secure Ohio driver’s licenses and cancel their voter registrations in their states of origin.

Could it be this fear is actually a ploy these guys would like to engage in themselves?

more
amd more

The eEthos of Beauty

Should robots judge human beauty? These guys are running a beauty contest where the judges will be robots.
If If robots become the arbiters of human beauty, what will this mean for sexbot design in the future?

A contest, which requires participants to take selfies via a special app and submit them to the contest website, is touting new sophisticated facial recognition algorithms that allow machines to judge beauty in new and improved ways.

It also begs the question, should robots judge cat shows? Horse shows? Cattle? Will robots be enlisted in county fairs to judge quilting? Will robots start making the quilts?

For more info, click here

Put the Greeters to Work!

The greeters at mega stores don't seem to have much value other than to get old semi handicapped people out of the house.
But they could be of much more value.
How many times have you arrived at the mega store & realized you didn't bring along your list? So, here's the plan - Have the greeters hand out shopping lists.
This could be done a few different ways. The store could create the lists & print them out. The greeter could make up lists & print them or just hand out hand written lists at random. Probably the best idea (and most green) would be to have the greeter collect used grocery lists as shoppers leave and recycle them, giving them out to incoming shoppers who forgot their lists!
It could be a real win win plan.

The S v S Debate Debate

Ted Strickland has shot down any notion of engaging PG Sittenfeld in a televised debate prior to the Senate primary election. Stricklaand would have little to lose but Sittenfeld would stand to gain a lot in statewide recognition. Nobody outside Hamilton County knows who the hell the kid is. Because of his, they should debate for the long term livelihood of the party.
Strickland is correct in not wanting to do a series of debates in every media market in Ohio, however. It would take too much time & money. But in the age of the intertubes, there's no need for a string of debates all over the state. One would suffice and could be distributed on the internet.
Just having one debate on Vimeo or something would free people up from a specific time slot. Most people who would watch would be younger & more leaning towards Sittenfeld.
Sittenfeld has no chance in hell at beating Strickland. A debate might cost Strickland votes in the primary but shouldn't hurt him in the general election.
Well, that is if mopey millennials don't pout & refuse to vote for the "old guys".
If the Democrats want to stay relevant they should court new blood, however.

More at WVXU

Now, will Rob Portman debate Don Elijah Eckhart & Melissa Strzala ?