Don't believe me? You think that the hippies that live in Northside can't conjure up a resurrection? Come on, this is NORTHSIDE we are talking about!
UPDATE: More on the return:
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Touchdown Jesus 'Reborn' in Northside
If you happened to be at the Northside Fourth of July parade (which was on the Third of July this year), you may have witnessed a religious experience. No, I'm not talk about the really cute hipster girls in their short dresses and tall boots. Instead I'm referring to the return (of sorts) of Touchdown Jesus, aka Big Butter Jesus.
Don't believe me? You think that the hippies that live in Northside can't conjure up a resurrection? Come on, this is NORTHSIDE we are talking about!
Yes, those are scorch marks. I can't effective interpret how those work narratively, but there is likely a religious opinion on it, and I'm not qualified to render one, so I won't.
UPDATE: More on the return:
Don't believe me? You think that the hippies that live in Northside can't conjure up a resurrection? Come on, this is NORTHSIDE we are talking about!
UPDATE: More on the return:
Friday, July 02, 2010
WLWT Is Living In A Blue Oyster World
In a post yesterday, I remarked that the comically-intended yet nonetheless stereotypical portray of a gay bar in a 1980's movie just wouldn't fly today.
It turns out, such stereotypes are just fine for WLWT, so long as they're meant seriously.
I'm not sure why I watch that station for news anymore. (OK, I do know: a friend of mine is a reporter and I wanted to see her story.) But last night I turned on the 11:00 news. The "Number One" story was about "opposition" to the decision to move the Gay Pride parade and festival downtown this year.
WLWT decided to feature everyone's favorite "community values" activist, Phil Burress. He should be a punchline by now. But instead, there's WLWT, treating him as if he's a serious person. And on camera--unchallenged and uncontradicted by WLWT--he warned that people would be "naked" and "having sex on the street" this weekend.
Part of me wishes he were right; it'd be interesting to watch. But he's wrong. It's bad enough that Burress says such things. It's worse--it's appalling, it's indefensible, it's pick-your-adjective-and-superlative-bad--that WLWT published his views to anyone who left Channel Five on for a few minutes after prime time ended.
WLWT owes an apology to the gay community, as well as to downtown residents and businesses.
It turns out, such stereotypes are just fine for WLWT, so long as they're meant seriously.
I'm not sure why I watch that station for news anymore. (OK, I do know: a friend of mine is a reporter and I wanted to see her story.) But last night I turned on the 11:00 news. The "Number One" story was about "opposition" to the decision to move the Gay Pride parade and festival downtown this year.
WLWT decided to feature everyone's favorite "community values" activist, Phil Burress. He should be a punchline by now. But instead, there's WLWT, treating him as if he's a serious person. And on camera--unchallenged and uncontradicted by WLWT--he warned that people would be "naked" and "having sex on the street" this weekend.
Part of me wishes he were right; it'd be interesting to watch. But he's wrong. It's bad enough that Burress says such things. It's worse--it's appalling, it's indefensible, it's pick-your-adjective-and-superlative-bad--that WLWT published his views to anyone who left Channel Five on for a few minutes after prime time ended.
WLWT owes an apology to the gay community, as well as to downtown residents and businesses.
Thursday, July 01, 2010
A Good Time To Remember The Roots Of The Gay Rights Movement
Today's Enquirer carried an excellent article by Lauren Bishop on the decision to move Cincinnati's annual Gay Pride festival from Northside to Downtown this year. The article mentions in passing the Stonewall riots. It made me realize that while I've always been supportive of--and at times, an active advocate of--GLBT equality, I know very little about the history of the movement. In fact, until yesterday, I didn't even know why some gay rights groups organized under the name "Stonewall."
A brief summary, for those of you who don't know. (And a link to more information, for those who are interested.) In 1969, New York police raided a a gay bar. The reason for the raid? Well, it was a gay bar. That night, the bar's patrons, tired of being hassled by the police, responded with violent protest. The name of the bar: the Stonewall Inn. The event is largely credited as being the birth of the modern gay rights movement.
It can be easy to forget that not so long ago, police could harass with impunity an establishment simply because it catered to the GLBT community. I was born in 1974, and even in my lifetime, gay rights have come a long ways. Think about the stereotypical portrayal of a gay bar in Police Academy, made in 1984. I don't think a mainstream movie would get away with such a scene today. In fact, fast forward about twelve years to The Birdcage (a movie with some pretty bad ethnic stereotyping), where gay culture is presented as normal and Gene Hackman plays a Republican who is presented as out-of-touch because he is disapproving of his son-in-law-to-be's gay fathers. And this year, there are gay pride banners hanging from lamp posts on Fifth Street.
A schedule of events for this year's gay pride events--called the Equinox Festival--is available here.
A brief summary, for those of you who don't know. (And a link to more information, for those who are interested.) In 1969, New York police raided a a gay bar. The reason for the raid? Well, it was a gay bar. That night, the bar's patrons, tired of being hassled by the police, responded with violent protest. The name of the bar: the Stonewall Inn. The event is largely credited as being the birth of the modern gay rights movement.
It can be easy to forget that not so long ago, police could harass with impunity an establishment simply because it catered to the GLBT community. I was born in 1974, and even in my lifetime, gay rights have come a long ways. Think about the stereotypical portrayal of a gay bar in Police Academy, made in 1984. I don't think a mainstream movie would get away with such a scene today. In fact, fast forward about twelve years to The Birdcage (a movie with some pretty bad ethnic stereotyping), where gay culture is presented as normal and Gene Hackman plays a Republican who is presented as out-of-touch because he is disapproving of his son-in-law-to-be's gay fathers. And this year, there are gay pride banners hanging from lamp posts on Fifth Street.
A schedule of events for this year's gay pride events--called the Equinox Festival--is available here.
Passage "Sneak Preview" This Weekend
Passage Lounge, at 6th at Main, will have a "sneak preview" this Friday and Saturday night. I'm not sure what else to say about this. Griff was excited about this back in October.
"Upscale lounges" generally aren't my scene; I'm neither hip enough nor pretty enough for such escapades. But I usually like to wander in once, just to know what all the fuss will be about.
So I think maybe my plan for Friday is to go watch the Pomegranates at Fountain Square, then head over to Passage to check things out.
"Upscale lounges" generally aren't my scene; I'm neither hip enough nor pretty enough for such escapades. But I usually like to wander in once, just to know what all the fuss will be about.
So I think maybe my plan for Friday is to go watch the Pomegranates at Fountain Square, then head over to Passage to check things out.
Good Eats: Main Event
With a couple of friends, I stopped by Main Event for lunch today. (That link will eventually redirect you to the restaurant/bar's Facebook page, as its website is still under construction.) Griff posted about it back in April, before it opened; there's some help additional information in the comments. Main Event is at 835 Main Street--the old Lava Lounge, next to what used to be Bouchard's (and before that, Burrito Joe's).
The lunch menu was simple, but has some good food. The place offers sandwiches, salads, and freshly made pizza. All three of us opted for a sandwich, and all of us agreed that they were made of fresh ingredients and tasty. Their pulled pork and BBQ beef sandwiches both come on pretzel bread buns. I had a "Wellington"--roast beef, a potato cake, Colby cheese, and some sweet-and-sour sauce served on a Kaiser roll. It was probably the only truly original sandwich (most were clubs or straightforward, single ingredient creations) on the menu, and I'm glad I tried it.
Service was fast and friendly. It's definitely a good spot to hit on the way out of the courthouse (or on a lunch break if you're stuck in/work at the courthouse all day). And the prices are right: my sandwich, chips, and a pop cost $7.50.
Main Event is also open late at night. The bar was clearly well-stocked. The venue features a fairly large dance floor with a DJ booth. Our server ran down each night's theme for us, all of which I promptly forgot (one night is 80's music). But it sounded like it might be worth checking out.
The lunch menu was simple, but has some good food. The place offers sandwiches, salads, and freshly made pizza. All three of us opted for a sandwich, and all of us agreed that they were made of fresh ingredients and tasty. Their pulled pork and BBQ beef sandwiches both come on pretzel bread buns. I had a "Wellington"--roast beef, a potato cake, Colby cheese, and some sweet-and-sour sauce served on a Kaiser roll. It was probably the only truly original sandwich (most were clubs or straightforward, single ingredient creations) on the menu, and I'm glad I tried it.
Service was fast and friendly. It's definitely a good spot to hit on the way out of the courthouse (or on a lunch break if you're stuck in/work at the courthouse all day). And the prices are right: my sandwich, chips, and a pop cost $7.50.
Main Event is also open late at night. The bar was clearly well-stocked. The venue features a fairly large dance floor with a DJ booth. Our server ran down each night's theme for us, all of which I promptly forgot (one night is 80's music). But it sounded like it might be worth checking out.
Park + Vine Moving to Main Street
Cincinnati's very popular green store Park + Vine announced yesterday they are moving to new location in Over-the-Rhine.
The store will move to 1202 Main Street and will expand operations to include a vegan grocery store, a food bar, indoor/outdoor seating, as well as a room for meetings.
The new location plans to open in September during the MidPoint Music Festival, (Sept. 23-25). The Vine Street location will remain open until then.
This is really great news for Main Street and OTR. It shows the commitment of Dan Korman to OTR, Cincinnati, and community his store serves.
Read the full press release here.
The store will move to 1202 Main Street and will expand operations to include a vegan grocery store, a food bar, indoor/outdoor seating, as well as a room for meetings.
The new location plans to open in September during the MidPoint Music Festival, (Sept. 23-25). The Vine Street location will remain open until then.
This is really great news for Main Street and OTR. It shows the commitment of Dan Korman to OTR, Cincinnati, and community his store serves.
Read the full press release here.
The Cincinnati Herald in Tax Trouble
The Cincinnati Herald, a weekly newspaper targeted towards African-Americans, owes $73,000 in back taxes to the IRS. The newspaper is owned by Ohio State Senator Eric Kearney. Niche print media is difficult on a national level, but it is a nightmare on a local level. The Herald should consider ways to expand readership by including other target groups. Latinos would be the obvious choice to consider, but being the Urban newspaper, serving the City, would be the only long term model that could avoid these type of financial issues. The only other option would be finding a benefactor to plug the funding gaps. That is something a viable business should not rely on.
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