Easy Rider, The Ride Back

The prequel to 1969's Easy Rider, Easy Rider, The Ride Back, should be in theaters by the end of the year. The movie is partially filmed in Springfield, the hometown of the film's maker and lead actor, Phil Pitzer.
Pitzer promises a killer soundtrack and, as the movie covers 3 decades from the 40s through the 60s, he certainly has some good material to choose from.
Over the weekend he was promoting the movie in Springfield where he was showing off the recreation of the American flag decorated Harley used in the original movie.

Noose Son story here.
Interview with Two Wheeled Thunder TV:

The Plot Thickens
Cincinnati's NAACP has voted to address the Ohio Ethics Commission about Cincinnati City Councilmember Chris Bortz' alleged conflict of interest regarding the streetcar proposal. They are claiming his employer, Towne Properties stands to make out like a rat if the streetcar is installed.
I think this is the first time I have heard them say the streetcar will be effective aa an economic stimulator. The local NAACP president has stated he thinks a better investment for the city would be speed bumps & handouts to particular developers who can't finish their projects.
On the NAACP website they list the properties they claim will make Bortz fabulously wealthy.

Suspect Properties in Red
yeah, another one of my BistroMaps...
People have stated that the development spurred by the streetcar will have an effect out to 3 blocks from the track. I think that's pretty optimistic. I would guess it would trail off at two.
On the map you can see the suspect properties are not all directly on the route and a few are actually in the third block range. You could probably argue that the route almost avoids the Garfield Place properties.
Now, these properties aren't all owned by Towne. Some are only managed by Towne.

A Property Manager
I don't know how much Towne will get out of this deal. It would depend on how their contracts are set up. If they only receive flat fees, it won't do them any good at all.
The advantage of the streetcar initiative over the funding of the sports stadia is that, while the sports facilities depended on the goodwill of the 2 sports franchise owners, the streetcar relies on a large number of more diverse, middle class entrepreneurs. Directly on the route there are about 500 properties owned by about 400 entities. Expanding out a block and adding cross streets you can probably add close to 1,000 more properties. Expand further & get even more.
The NAACP president has complained that the stadia & the current Banks project have shut out black developers and contractors because bids were for large projects that required large contractors with plenty of credit. He argued that by breaking the projects down into smaller projects the poorer black contractors would have a better chance to compete. Of course poorer white, latino & female contractors would also have a better chance, too.
The Development along the streetcar route will be driven by these exact same middle class contractors & developers.
The NAACP should be concentrating efforts on seminars and workshops educating and training it's constituency on how to form businesses, get loans, learn about real estate development, etc., so they can catch the wave and be a part of the revitalization of the core of our community. Instead they continue in a long march of bombastics, obstructionism & demanding hand outs.

Yes 1977
Not a clue.

thanks

In a previous post I postulated about bike lanes designed by hop head surveyors on acid or, worse, east side cyclists. All has been made clear now as about a half dozen fire hydrants have now been installed on a stretch of road that runs between a nature preserve and a cemetery.
Why ?
Could the city be planning on tearing down more greenspace to build more cookie cutter LEED certified housing ?
Is the city worried that a forest fire in Parker's Woods might cream Northside ?
Will the hydrants carry holy water to be used in the event of a zombie outbreak in Spring Grove Cemetery ?
My guess is that they were put in due to the intense lobbying of the Cincinnati Dog Walkers Union.

Passport to Springfield
yep. Finally happened. The Champion City has seceded from the US of A ! You will be required to show your papers at it's iron gates.
no, not really. It's a community / Wittenberg event arranged by a kid involved with Wittenberg’s Center for Civic and Urban Engagement to bring students together with Springfield organizations and businesses. It is meant to bridge the gap between students and the community and, maybe, to retain some of the students as future citizens.
In the past, students introduction to the city was frequently the neon sign on a prominently located church that blinked back and forth, "Jesus Saves / Sin Kills" in red and white, complete with crucifixes & lightning bolts. After that it was chance encounters in the cemetery or students picking fights with bikers at area bars. Things seem to have taken on a more genteel tone, here in the 21st century.

Noose Son story here.

Why Downtown & OTR Needs Streetcars

Over the Rhine was developed before we had cars. People weren't as spread out in their lifestyles back then. Christian Moerlein had a house with an office next door and a plant across the street. No 2 hour commutes for that boy. The guys who worked in his brewery & bottling plants all lived nearby and walked or took streetcars to and from work. The area was a mix of residential, retail, services, manufacturing & whatnot. Residents were a mix of workers & merchants, owners and renters.
Over time, for one reason or another, people left the area. As people began to buy cars and use them as a primary form of transportation, areas like OTR became lees and less attractive.
Today, people are getting into the idea of the old walkable neighborhoods. Well, without the stinky factories and with air conditioning, private bathrooms and laundry facilities. Younger people are not as interested in cars as my generation was.
To make the area viable again, we need to make it work the way it was designed to. A downtown Cincinnati without a streetcar is like a three legged race horse.
To make the OTR area work in a car-centric way would ruin it's appeal since you would need to tear down about half the buildings to build parking lots and parking garages. It would no longer be a walking neighborhood. The people who would revitalize the area would lose interest.
Will people still be interested in an area like OTR in the future ? In 50 - 100 years ? Dunno. Ray Bradbury wrote a story where everybody teleported everywhere. But people are interested now & we should ride the wave.

Selling a Streetcar System

Let's face it. Selling a streetcar system to voters is a PITA. How do you explain to the common Joe, in a soundbyte, economic development, perceived permanence, crime reduction through occupancy, complete streets, capital budgets v operating budgets ?
Do nothing opponents, whose arguments are shortsighted at best and bizarre to evil at the worst, have a lot easier job. They only have to lie, misdirect, ridicule, obfuscate - things that can always be done easily and in moments.
It is time to fight fire with fire. November is coming like a jail on wheels, folks, & I say it's time to use what's been the ultimate marketing tool since the dawn of man. damn straight - Pretty Girls ! And who should be a model for our streetcars ? Well since the cars are made in the Czech Republic, howzbout Czech model, Nella Miartusova ?

next ?
A jingle !

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts 1983
Joan Jett was a novelty in The Runaways, she was kinda cute & had an ok hit with I Love Rock-n-Roll. On a lark, I went to see her at Bogart's. I could not get anybody to go with me. I was laughed at and insulted. A co-worker told me he had met Jett once backstage at Bogart's. "She had absolutely no personality. She was like a fucking guy." he told me. Whatever, I went alone.
What I got was no novelty, no gimmicky, straight ahead, no nonsense, no bullshit, straight from the heart rock-n-roll. After that show, I vowed to evangelize her & see her every chance I could.
She's playing The Corn Palace on Friday. Anybody want to go ? It should freak out the squirrels for sure.

Zombie Outbreak in Fairborn !!

Brittney Skye in Grub Girl
Quick ! Somebody call the Bennet sisters !

Noose Son story here.

The Northside Post Office
Storefront, a large back workroom and an office are available for rent beginning September 1, 2009
call 542-0088

Emerson, Lake and Palmer - 1971
ELP had released their debut album a year earlier to popular success and critical acclaim. They were a progressive supergroup of sorts with Emerson from the jazz rock, Nice and Lake from the heavy prog rock band, King Crimson. They had just released their second album, Tarkus when this show came about.
My friends and I still couldn't drive, so the search was on for a driver. My oldest sister agreed to drive to Dayton's Hara Arena for a free ticket. We had pretty good seats in the first row on the side fairly near the stage but not so close as to have an obstructed view. Edgar Winter opened for the show and he was touring with Johnny Winter sideman and ex-McCoy, Rick Derringer. Derringer & the McCoys recorded Ohio's official rock song, Hang on Sloopy. Derringer also wrote Rock-n-Roll Hoochie Koo. How these guys got paired with Emerson, Lake and Palmer is beyond me.
It was a good show. Derringer was doing laybacks, Emerson was the Pete Townshend of keyboard. Through it all my sister sat & did her knitting like a good babysitter.
Afterwards, we went around back with a portable tape recorder to try to get an interview with ELP. They stopped to say hi to the assembled throng from their cab which they had crammed with as many girls as possible. They sped off to Dayton's finest hotel, I am sure.
While we were waiting for them to come out, however, Derringer spotted us and came over to ask if we wanted an interview. We said sure & he commenced to talk. He was a nice guy. We wondered if he was kinda desperate but then he wasn't much older than we were when he started his career in Ohio. Maybe he just wanted to help out some kids writing for their school paper.
Went home and dreamed about cruising around in a car smooshed with girls.....

Springfield Post Office Restoration Underway
Springfield's post office was built in the 30s and, surprise, was an Art Deco design. In utilitarian government fashion, a lot of the design elements were ignored and, in the 70s beautiful drop ceilings were installed covering up the upper portions of the rooms and hiding murals by Cincinnati artist, Herman Wessel. The Springfield Preservation Alliance knew about the murals depicting scenes of Springfield's industries of agriculture manufacturing and publishing. They considered moving and restoring them but figured it was cheaper ($78k) to just restore the post office including restoring the marble floor.
The Springfield post office is at 150 North Limestone Street (north end of downtown).

Noose Son story here.

MC5 North Baltimore - 1972
We went to see The Doors. Wrong day. Canned Heat & The MC5 were scheduled. Canned Heat had cancelled. Fleetwood Mac was brought in as a replacement. Fleetwood Mac went to Baltimore, Ohio instead of North Baltimore. 3 hour drive. They bailed. The MC5 played twice.
And people wonder how we survived without the internet.....

Neil Young - 1985
This concert was at the Gestapo Training Facility known as Riverbend. I think it might have been the first year they had a whole series of summer shows. You could still park across the street for free - probably the last year for that. I had gone to a company picnic earlier in the day near an AJ Jolly golf course in Kentucky ? The guys were playing football - I went off & caught a buzz with the girls. On Monday the guys were all limping around in agony. choices, choices....
I had made Dirty Rice - what Popeye's calls Cajun Rice. Popeye's made a good marketing decision on that one. Nobody would eat my rice at the picnic. I watched one lady pull all the chicken guts out of her rice before she ate it. maybe she was going to do some divination - I don't know. I left early with my crockpot of rice and headed to Riverbend where I parked in one of the aforementioned unpaved lots across the street.
Riverbend promoted bringing picnics and enjoying music "on the lawn".
bullshit
You couldn't bring drinks in and they searched your food. I don't think you could even take food out onto the lawn concert area. The way speakers were set up and the way the pavilion effectively blocked not only the view but the sound as well, made the lawn a completely useless place to enjoy a concert. So where was I sitting ?
Anyway, after awhile I walked up to the back of the pavilion to see and hear. I had no intention of rushing the pavilion but when one guy did and ABSOLUTELY EVERY SECURITY GOON went after him, about a half dozen of us looked at each other and calmly stepped over the railing and took seats.
That last part of the show was pretty rockin'
Afterwards I returned to my car & decided to wait a bit for traffic to thin out before I left. I commenced to eating handfuls of dirty rice. I was so impressed with my culinary work that I offered it to some of he other folks standing around waiting to leave.
Why in hell would people not stick their hands into a crockpot of some strange guy's rice that had flecks of black shit in it ? Beats me.

Cash for Clunkers ?

The 1965 Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe CSX2601 was sold at auction in Monterey, California for $ 7,250,000. This sets a record for the price paid for an American car. The car was part owned by a Springfield, OH car dealer that specializes in Corvettes and other sports cars. It was sold to a Cincinnati collector. So why didn't they just meet at a Frisch's in Dayton ? I am sure we will be seeing this car in Kroger parking lots (over by the cart corral) real soon.

Noose Son story here.

Why We Should Finish the Subway
This video is from the movie Kontroll filmed in the Budapest subway. It follows the lives of a team of ticket inspectors that, for some reason, gets into fights with other teams of ticket inspectors. No, it is not a documentary, although some Cincinnatians would probably believe it.

Fair Coverage
Channel 5 WLWT had a short article that was fairly positive. They gave most of the attention to a sign telling people gang colors and foul language would not be tolerated, tho.
Few reader comments. People who hadn't been to the fair hated it. Hated the location in Hell on Earth, Carthage. One person had actually gone and had a great time. Obviously a liberal Kool Aid drinker.
Channel 12 WKRC ran an article. They focused on the fair making making a great comeback & the participation of non-ruralites.
Couldn't find anything on WCPO's site. WXIX had hints but no bites, although I think I saw something on the air one night.
After the fair, the Enquirer ran a story about the attendance being up markedly. They also talked about how lame the turnout was compared to neighboring, more rural counties.
During the fair, the Enquirer's online coverage was a 9 picture slideshow. Woodstock got 10.
As much as I would like to condemn these guys, I'm finding nothing on the fair's website either. They have a search function that doesn't work. They ran the day's list of events on that day & not the day before.
Did the Hamilton County Fair crown a queen ? One of my highest ranking pages is this'n about the queen contestants for this year's Clark County Fair. Seems like the local media outlets would want the traffic on their commercial websites. Seems like the fair would want the interest. The demolition derbies were, apparently a crowd pleaser. How about a list of the winners ? Heck, if I am going to wreck my car for entertainment purposes, I want some recognition, dammit.
I guess, what I am getting at is that with no appreciation there is going to be a lack of participation and with a lack of participation there is going to be a lack of attendance.
To be fair, there was actually a lot of stuff going on all week- Mt Adams Music Festival, Reds games, Tours, Theater, Tennis and then all the usual stuff like King's Island, the Museums.....
yeah, life sucks around here to be sure.
oh well, here's to the Hamilton County Fair continuing to grow and bring people together to celebrate the things we do to live (like demolition derbies). I will shut up about county fairs til next year.

Sunday Past Blaster

This picture of The Phoenix Cafe ran in the Cincinnati Enquirer's Sunday magazine back in the 80s. The Phoenix had the bragging rights to being the only bar continually open since the repeal of Prohibition. They refused to serve women at the bar because it was unladylike. They had news clippings framed on the wall about Women's Rights protesters invading the cafe and crowding the bar in the 60s.
I have fond memories of The Phoenix. Sipping $1.00 longnecks. The little old man who threatened to kill me & dissolved into laughter when I told him, "ok".
I admired the Sex Pistol pink and green neon lights that framed the tinned ceiling and the woodwork that hadn't been touched in gok how many years.
With the opening of the Aranoff and the development of upscale condos in the area and the notion that we need mixed income residents to make an urban core "work", it wasn't surprising to see the low end Phoenix targeted for removal. Dealing with police requests, the Phoenix cut hours and called the police whenever they saw anything going down even if it was across the street and totally unrelated to the bar.
In liquor permit renewal hearings this cooperation & calls for service were cited as reasons to shut the place down. Actions by people in the vicinity of the bar when the bar was closed were cited as reasons to pull the bar's liquor license. This type of railroading was not unique to The Phoenix, in fact, it's pretty common. It left a bad taste in my mouth regarding The Phoenix, tho & I doubt I will ever go to the new Righteous Room that now resides in The Phoenix' corpse.
5chw4r7z visited and had a great time there. He has assured me the tin ceiling is still there. Apparently the Righteous management has no taste for timeless pink and green neon. I will assume they have adopted the crassness of the 21st century and now serve women at the bar. But I don't think they will be serving me. Well, maybe if I'm really drunk. wataminnit! - that's the only way I went to the Phoenix in the first place......