It's the Baseball, Stupid

With the Reds beginning a three-game series against the Cardinals this evening (right now, in fact!), nothing else really matters in Cincinnati this week. Not the streetcar, not the City's budget woes, and certainly not that other team that plays its games on the river (no need to pay attention to them until September 12).

So feel free to talk about the Reds generally, but in particular the following:

1. What do you think about the Dickerson-for-Edmonds trade?

2. What should Dusty do about Cordero? (Remember that he's sitting on 30 saves. And if not him, who would you bring out in the ninth to shut things down in a close game?)

This is the first time since I moved to Cincinnati that baseball has mattered in August. It's awesome!

Oh--is anyone going to Wednesday's game?

Sheriff Rick Jones Needs to Set Priorities

Butler County Sheriff Rick is complaining about budget cuts that laid off deputies:

In the news release, Sheriff Rick Jones, who was forced to lay off about two dozen deputies last month because of a county budget crisis, said, "the effects of the recent budget cuts became painfully clear" in the Beissinger Road incident.

So to be clear, the Enquirer article reports that Jones said only eight deputies (four patrol and four detectives) were available to work this case. This screed comes from the guy who views illegal immigration to be the biggest concern in his county, but is worried about having only eight people to investigate one case. Sounds like someone needs to put his priories straight. Firstly, Mr. Jones, worry about crimes with actual victims: murder, rape, theft, etc. Secondly, Jones might rethink how many people he keeps in the field. Does it actually take more than 8 people to investigate a crime that will involve the help from Hamilton County, likely to include either the CPD or Hamilton County Sheriff's Department?

2010 Midpoint Venue List

2010 will be a big year for the Midpoint Music Festival with 25 venues: 13 in OTR, 11 in Downtown, and 1 in Newport. Not all of the venues are hosting bands every night. Here's the list:

	Venue	Street Address	Neighborhood
	Arnold's Bar & Grill	210 E 8th Street	Downtown
	ArtWorks	20 E. Central Pkwy	Over-the-Rhine
	Below Zero Lounge	1122 Walnut Street	Over-the-Rhine
	Blue Wisp Jazz Club	318 E 8th Street	Downtown
	Cincinnati Club	30 Garfield Place	Downtown
	Contemporary Arts Center	44 East 6th Street	Downtown
	Courtyard Café	1211 Main Street	Over-the-Rhine
	FB’s	126 West 6th Street	Downtown
	Fountain Square	5th and Vine Streets	Downtown
	Grammer’s	1440 Walnut Street	Over-the-Rhine
	Inner Peace Holistic Center	708 Walnut Street	Downtown
	Jack Potts Tavern	1150 Main Street	Over-the-Rhine
	Know Theater	1120 Jackson Street	Over-the-Rhine
	Madonna’s	11 E 7th Street	Downtown
	Main Event	835 Main Street	Downtown
	Mainstay Rock Bar	301 W 5th St	Downtown
	Media Bridges	1100 Race St	Over-the-Rhine
	Mixx Ultra Lounge	1203 Main Street	Over-the-Rhine
	MOTR Pub	1345 Main Street	Over-the-Rhine

	Mr. Pitiful’s	1323 Main Street	Over-the-Rhine
	Neon’s Unplugged	208 East 12th Street	Over-the-Rhine
	Segway of Cincinnati	1150 Vine Street	Over-the-Rhine
	Southgate House	24 E 3rd Street	Newport
	The Original Tax Place	1335 Main Street	Over-the-Rhine
	Washington Platform	1000 Elm Street	Downtown

For the full schedule and all up to the minute Midpoint information, go to www.mpmf.com.

40 Under 40

The Business Courier's 2010 list has been announced.

Blues Fest and Blues, Brews, and BBQ

The Reds are out of town this weekend, but that's OK: it's time for the annual Cincy Blues Fest. With over 40 bands spread over four stages on Saturday and Sunday, there's lots of choices.

Blues Fest is at Sawyer Point and is on Friday from 5:00 to midnight and Saturday from 2:30 to midnight. Admission is $10 on Friday and $15 on Saturday. Kids 13-18 are five bucks each day, and children twelve and under (accompanied by a parent) get in free.

And if you don't get your fill of blues on Friday and Saturday, head on over to Findlay Market on Sunday from 11:00 to 4:00 for the Fifth Annual Blues, Brews, and BBQ. The Christian Moerlein will be flowing in the OTR Biergarten. Mayberry's Josh Campbell and Virgil's Matthew Buschle will be working the grill, and rumor has it that Molly Wellmann will be serving some sort of alcoholic, BBQ-friendly concoction. (She probably won't have the ingredients on-hand for it Sunday, but one of these, days, I've got to try her Manhattan, for which I've heard a great deal of praise).

Just one more weekend of nothing to do in Cincinnati.

Wussy, The Dukes, Yo La Tengo, and Molly Wellmann

I'm not feeling very politically motivated these days, so I thought I'd share a snapshot of my weekend.

Friday, following a late night at the office, I decided to stop at Mainstay on the way home. I'd heard that (a) Cincinnati's favorite mixologist, Molly Wellmann, was tending bar that night, and that (b) there was no cover charge. So I moseyed on up to the bar and, trying to be heard over the band, asked Molly what she was mixing up that night.

I just assumed that anytime Molly's behind a bar, she's working on some awesome craft cocktails. But based on the look she gave me, I'm pretty sure she was just filling in for one of the bar's regular bartenders, and didn't have much up her sleeve. But after a couple seconds' hesitation, Molly went to work, grabbing a bottle here and a bottle there, finally setting something in a martini glass in front of me. She made me a variation on a Martinez, which, as Molly explained (I could listen to her talk about liquor for hours!) was a precursor to the martini. I'd never heard of it before--much less had one--but, as seems to be the case with everything Molly makes, it was delicious.

Now, away from the booze, and on to the musical part of the post. Playing at Mainstay that night was The Dukes. I hadn't heard them before. I'd characterize them as a garage rock band, and from what I heard, they're really good. Good enough, in fact, that I'll look for another opportunity to see them perform.

Saturday night took me across the river to Southgate House. For some time, I had that night marked on my calendar for Yo La Tengo, a group I'd first seen in concert several years ago on the East Coast. It was great to see them again, and the concert was marked by moments of brilliance. Unfortunately, it was also marked by long stretches of self-indulgence: stuff that probably is fun for them to fool around with during a practice session, but frankly, isn't much fun to listen to. Lots of reverb and distortion, coupled with some riffs reminiscent of '70s psychadelic rock. I'm not sure if they were aware that those sections kept sucking the enthusiasm out of the crowd.

Wussy opened for Yo La Tengo, and their set alone was worth the price of admission. I've seen Wussy a couple times and a friend who was there has seen them more, and we agreed it was the best we've heard them.

Finally, Saturday was my first time at a smoke-free Southgate House. It was a tremendously better experience than the smoke-filled version (I was actually able to see the ceiling!). Should northern Kentucky communities choose to enact smoking bans, I don't think they have to worry about it hurting business.

And (really finally this time) what a great weekend downtown! Friday and Saturday night, downtown Cincinnati was wall-to-wall people. (Yes, I grumbled about traffic, although I felt bad about doing so.)

BC Update on Community's Efforts on Casino Planning

Building Cincinnati has a great update on the Community efforts to address issues and concerns about the Casino.