What's Familiar May Not Be Common

Growing up in Buffalo, I knew that some things were particular to that city.  Everyone knew that Buffalo wings were invented in Buffalo (and weren't really available outside western New York twenty years ago), and that beef on weck was something you could get only in Buffalo.  (If you're ever in Buffalo, by the way, try a kummelweck roll; decades after leaving the city, I still crave the delicacy.)

But there were some things I thought were universal that, it turns out, were only regional favorites.  Until I moved away, I'd assumed you could find sponge candy or loganberry (a fruit drink actually bottled by Pepsi in Buffalo) anywhere.  I'd grown up with them; it just seemed natural that everyone else did, too.  I think just about every city has things like that:  items or events that locals take for granted, but about which the rest of the world is clueless.

Cincinnatians know goetta and a chili-like concoction on top of spaghetti are uniquely Cincinnati, of course.  But as my ninth Opening Day in Cincinnati arrives, I wonder whether native Cincinnatians know how  unique our version of Opening Day is.  Do people who grew up here realize that if they were to drive tomorrow to Pittsburgh or Cleveland or even Chicago, Opening Day would be greeted just as any other Monday?  Do you realize that people in other major league towns haven't been paying attention to spring training games?  And that most cities won't have a parade that closes most of their downtown (unless, perhaps, their team won the World Series last year)?

Since I've become a Cincinnatian, Opening Day has become one of my favorite events.  I don't have tickets to the game this year, but I intentionally refrained from scheduling any work events.  So I'll watch the parade from somewhere near Fountain Square, watch the game on TV, and hoist a few beers (unless one of our beloved readers has an extra GABP ticket they'd like to share).  And I'm not the only lawyer who treats the day as an unofficial holiday:  it will be remarkably quiet in the Hamilton County Courthouse Monday afternoon, save for the sound of fireworks emanating about ten blocks south.

So have fun tomorrow, and do so remembering you're probably having much more fun that folks in other major league cities.

Feel free to use the thread to talk about either Opening Day, or to write about the things you'd miss most about Cincinnati if you moved elsewhere.

It is Still a Joke

Jane Prendergast of the Enquirer is reporting she has confirmed Jason Haap (AKA the Dean of Cincinnati) is not joking when he posted on April Fool's day that he is running for Mayor.

It is still a joke, a waste of time, and a mockery of those who are credible candidates out to do good, instead of to gain attention.

April Fool's Day Is Not The 2nd

Someone needs to tell the Dean that his Joke was a day late. Yeah, if it is not a joke, than it is just sad and a mockery of our political system.

UPDATE: It appears the Enquirer''s political blog is slow on the take and doesn't read the date on blog posts.

I'm Such A Geek

Like City Beat's Stephen Carter-Novotni, I've been excitedly anticipating the May 8 arrival of the new Star Trek movie. (For those keeping track, this is the eleventh Star Trek movie. But since the release of the first movie in 1979, we are currently in the longest gap between Star Trek movie releases; the last movie was Nemesis, released in late 2002. This is also the first summer release since The Final Frontier, which premiered in 1989.)

So how about today's news that Star Trek will be be in AMC at Newport on the Levee's new IMAX theatre? (Way to bury the lede, Enquirer!)

I'm positively giddy.

Let the hurling of ridicules in my general direction begin.

UPDATE: If anyone at AMC, Star Trek, Paramount Pictures, or anyone else is interested, I'd happily blog about the movie here in exchange for preview or premiere tickets....

Are You Happy?

Here's an open thread for anyone who wants to tell me how much fun the Cincinnati Imports Happy Hour was tonight.

Because it's 9:00 and I'm still at the freakin' office.

Fool's Day Parade Starts At 11 AM

Be sure to make it Downtown today for the Annual Fool's Day Parade. Floats, bands, and dancing girls! The fun starts at 11 AM. This year Cher is the grand marshal.

Find your place along the route early, space will fill up fast. The Cost is free, but if you want to participate in the parade you can just add your float to the end.

Hope to see everyone there!




(I also hope people can take a joke)

The Jail Situation: Raw Numbers

Commissioner David Pepper and Councilmember Leslie Ghiz are reportedly collaborating on a plan through which Cincinnati would pay to incarcerate individuals sentenced for misdemeanor offenses in Campbell County, Kentucky. I supported the public safety tax when it appeared on the ballot. But I keep hearing from people (largely on the margins) that Hamilton County's correctional system should be large enough as is. So I set out to find out how we compare to other cities.

Here's what the Internets has taught me:

Cincinnati has a population of about 332,458. Hamilton County's population is about 842,369. Its jail capacity (now that Queensgate is closed) is 1,448. That's about one bed per 581 county residents. (If Queensgate were open, total capacity would be 2,270 for a ratio of 1:371.)

Columbus has a population of about 747,755. Franklin County's population is about 1,118,107. Its jail capacity is 2,331, for a ratio of 1:479.

Cleveland has a population of 444, 313, with Cuyahoga County at 1,295,958. County jail capacity is 1,749. But Cuyahoga County is unique; in 2004, local municipalities operated jails with an additional (cumulative) 700 beds. That leaves a combined ratio of one bed per 529 residents.

Pittsburgh has a population of 312,819; a total of 1,219,210 live in Allegheny County. It has 2,700 jail beds, for a ratio of 1:451.

So what do we know? Of the three most populated counties in Ohio, Hamilton County has the highest number of residents per jail bed. I threw in Pittsburgh, because it is of similar size and nearby. It, too, has a lower ratio of population to jail beds than Cincinnati.

This is based on my quick tour of Google. I leave open the possibility that I have overlooked something critical to this analysis. But if it is correct, then it is maybe not so surprising that the jail is severely overcrowded.

Reminder: Be Happy

Cincinnati Imports has organized another happy hour, this one set tomorrow at Northside Tavern beginning at 5:30.

Just so there's no confusion (or excuses): this is not a blogger meet-up or twitterer tweet-up or anything like that. So while a few of us will make the trek to Northside from our behind-the-keyboard location in the basement of our mothers' houses, that's not true of the vast majority who showed up at the last, very well-attended happy hour put on by Liz, Lauren, and Avani.

Hope to see you there!

Digging a Hole

Chris Smitherman is digging himself a hole he will not get out of, unless he is looking for the GOP to drop him a rope.

Vigils and Tax Relief @ Hugo

The Know Theatre's next show opens on April 11th. Here's a little taste:


Also, if you are looking for a way to spend your tax refund, look no further than Hugo for the Know's Post Tax Relief Fun! on April 16th from 6 to 9 PM.

Coverage of the Widmer Trial

It's wrapped up for the day, but WLWT is liveblogging the Ryan Widmer trial in Warren County. The software being used actually permits readers to pose questions to the blogger in real time. It's an interesting way of covering a live event and one that is, in this instance, quite effective.

Final Weekend For Bent

This weekend is the last chance to see Newstage Collective's production of Bent. The importance of this show is captured in the video preview:


Tickets are $20 and available on-line at www.newstagecollective.com or at the door. The final performances are April 2-4 at 8 PM and April 5 at 3 PM. Don't miss this show.

NAACPCOAST

Kevin Osborne uncovers the unseemliness of the Chris Smitherman and Chris Finney relationship.

He has another blog post adding to the print article.

Yeah, I really don't see how anyone can see the Finney-Smitherman union as anything other than a "Fuck You" to the GLBT community.

Is Smitherman tilting the local NAACP to the right on some issues to appease Finney? This article puts that thought in my mind. That aside, I think the Enquirer needs to stop reacting to every press release from Smitherman.

Miami Makes Frozen Four!

Love and honor to Miami,
Our college old and grand,
Proudly we shall ever hail thee,
Over all the land.

Alma mater now we praise thee,
Sing joyfully this lay,
Love and honor to Miami,
Forever and a day.

Read all about Miami's first ever trip to the College Hockey final four.

Cincinnati Has a Buzz

We still have a ways to go but a 4% increase in YPs is a sign that things are looking good.

I Just Want To Bang On The Drum All Day

One of the real joys of living in Cincinnati is the opportunity to hear the Cincinnati Symphony.  It's become a  bit cliche to say this, but it's true:  we are shockingly fortunate to have a symphony orchestra this good in a city the size of Cincinnati.

Last night, CSO performed three pieces, the world premiere of a piece by Jeremy Mumford, a percussion concerto by Jennifer Higdon, and Beethoven's Fifth.  Janelle Gelfand's review of Friday's concert (with the same program) is here.

I'd never heard a percussion concerto before, but it was terrific.  Read Gelfand's review for a more coherent description of the performance, but it was breathtaking.  The audience rewarded it with one of the most robust standing ovations I've seen at Music Hall (and perhaps the most sustained approval of any non-Paavo-conducted performance).  I'd read a review of Colin Currie's (the featured percussionist) performance of the work with another orchestra, so I was expecting an excellent performance from him.  I didn't realize, though, how much work the piece left for the CSO's own percussionists to do (or how brilliantly they'd do it).

I'm going to politely disagree with Gelfand's review of the Mumford piece.  That was the kind of work that gives people bad feelings about modern orchestral music.  (When the conductor feels the need to explain to his audience "how to listen to" the work his orchestra is about to perform, there's a good chance the next fifteen or twenty minutes of your life will be a bit unpleasant.)  And any time you read in a review about "tone clusters," you know that the music is comprised of the discord that pops up in the background of your worst dreams.  (Yes, my dreams are often scored--aren't yours?)

It was a particularly interesting--odd?--choice to place the Mumford on last night's program, with Higdon and Beethoven.  Beethoven's Fifth is one of those pieces that even non-hardcore symphony-goers enjoy.  So, frankly, was the Higdon.  But the Mumford?  After the concert, I couldn't help thinking of Liz's review of JeanRo's "nose to tail" dinner.  Both are artistic forays that people would really like to convince themselves they're sophisticated to enjoy, but at the end of the night, you'd be a lot happier with a classic (like Beethoven's Fifth or a fillet mignon).  So maybe it's my fault--my musical palate just isn't up to Mumford's level.

Luckily, a few weeks from now, all I (or most people, I suspect) will remember from the evening will be Currie's amazing performance of Higdon's awesome concerto.

Local, Local, Local!

I want to see more of this type of article in the Enquirer. A locally written profile of a local musician. Actual local articles about local people is so refreshing!

Yeah, I know this is done at the Enquirer on a regular basis, it is just not done enough.

Bold Fusion 2009

This year's Bold Fusion took place this past Thursday and I again had to work, so I want to open up a post to solicit front line takes on the event.

I will point people to well done first hand take from Redkatblonde.

Other reports and background are
a report from the Enquirer,
a webpage of resources from the event, and
photos of participants.

The Cincinnati Bible War

Because I didn't grow up in Cincinnati, I didn't get the education in local and state history that a lot of you received in grade school.  So I'm always interested in learning more about Cincinnati's history.

Next week, the Ohio Supreme Court will sponsor a seminar on the "Cincinnati Bible War."  Until the 1870's, a school board policy mandated daily reading from the King James Bible in public schools.  When the board acted to repeal that rule, a local group sued in an effort to reinstate the required reading.  The case ultimately made its way to the Ohio Supreme Court, which sided with the school board.  (The court avoided the Establishment Clause issues and instead rested its holding largely on the legal authority of the school board to make such a decision, and the lack of authority for the judiciary to review it.)

The provided link will take you to an interesting (and brief) introduction to the subject, led by Linda Przybyszewski, formerly of the University of Cincinnati (and the author of a really good biography of the first Justice Harlan).  I wish I could be in Columbus Wednesday for the event.  

More Signs Of A Growing Number Of Downtown Residents

One of the ways, perhaps, to gauge the success of those who want Downtown to be a neighborhood (as opposed to merely a retail, dining, and bar district) is to look for services that cater to Downtown residents.

A few days ago, I noticed a sign in a window of a building on Plum Street just north of Fourth indicating that a veterinary clinic will soon be opening.  Building Cincinnati (in all likelihood to be announced as 2009's best blog in CityBeat's Best of Cincinnati edition next week) had this story back in January.

It seems to me that this is the type of business geared towards neighborhood residents; I'd think it unlikely people will drive downtown to have their pets cared for.  So I view this as a positive sign regarding the number of people living downtown.  At some level of population density, there should be some sort of tipping point that will have lots of resident-geared services coming downtown.