Saturday, May 31, 2008

OTR5K a Success!



Where else in the city can you sit in your bay window and blog about a running race while watching the finishing immediate below your window? This year's event is a brilliant success with a great crowd, fun atmosphere, hard working organizers and volunteers and beer booth! It isn't Cincinnati without a Christian Moerlein at 10:30 AM!

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Fringe is On!

Opening Night at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival was a smash! Tonight starts the Performances. We'll be reviewing shows over at www.theconveyor.com, so see the show, read the review give your take.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Mt. Adams, Also Known As Roke Island

I'm quite certain that on an approximately monthly basis, the good people of Mt. Adams rotate all the names of their streets, and quite possibly the permissible direction of travel on those streets.

Or maybe I'm just a big dummy who gets lost every time he's up there for no apparent reason.

Some Random, Tasty Thoughts

Despite being holed up in the office much of the weekend, I was able to get to the Taste yesterday and enjoy much (maybe too much) scrumptious food. Here's a few random thoughts.

1. My brief feelings of nostalgia for when Taste was on Central Parkway ended as I walked the block of the festivities between Sycamore and Broadway. Like Central Parkway, that area is wide open--and almost completely shade-free. The shade of the tall buildings that surround Taste between Race and Sycamore really does help to keep the temperature comfortable.

2. Julie led a discussion here (and at her solo blog) a little while ago about national chain restaurants winning "Best of Taste" awards. I agreed with her that it seems a little off-putting for those restaurants to win awards in a "Taste of Cincinnati" competition. But maybe I'm being hypocritical. Is it really chains that we don't want to see win, or was it the type of chain that won this year that's upsetting? Carrabba's is just so corporate suburban. Red Lobster may as well have a booth. But I don't remember any opprobrium when Hamburger Mary's was winning for best dessert. It, too, is a national chain, but maybe not so off-putting because it's not so cookie-cutter.

3. I wish there were a little more participation from downtown restaurants. I'm also always intrigued by the placement of the booths. For instance, who decided to put Taz next to Andy's? I kept hoping some sort of shish kabob street brawl would break out.

4. Finally, is it just me, or are strollers becoming the size of SUV's? And why do mothers seem to need to use them as battering rams to cut a path through the crowd? Maybe that's just the selfish, single guy in me speaking, but there's a special place in Hell for women who bruise your shin with their fortified stroller.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Taste of Fringe


Two volunteers braved the throng of suburbanites at the Taste of Cincinnati yesterday to help promote the 2008 Cincinnati Fringe, which starts Tuesday night. They are even sporting this year's spiffy volunteer T-shirt. If you want to volunteer, it is not to late. Click here for more!

For full Fringe coverage, please head over to
The Conveyor where we'll be blogging from the bowels of the Fringe festival headquarters on a daily basis.

500 Miles to Modern Music

WOXY's 19th Annual Modern Rock 500 is at full speed, have a listen. Today is one of those days I wish I had an HD radio. The days of wishing may be behind me.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

6 Years Is a Long Time

Today marks the 6th anniversary of my first post to this blog. Six freaking years! It is Memorial Day Weekend, so I find it fitting to remember my first month of posts. On my first day I managed to mention Greg Flannery, Peter Bronson, Darryl Parks, Sensible Don, and the Taste of Cincinnati. Time just goes by quickly.

This blog isn't ending. I don't want to scare anyone that I'm going to quit, though some may want that! I've been posting less lately, and that I don't think that will change. Adding new writers I think has really made this blog a much better place to come for opinion. I'd even consider adding someone else new if there are any other takers out there, email me!

I think much has changed in 6 years, in the city and in the world in terms of attitudes. I think my attitude has changed a lot. I don't know that I've changed my ways much, but looking back on what I was writing about the first day, I think perspective and a little more age has moved me along. I care more now, than I did then, but I care enough not to say as much now. So, we'll see how things change over the next 6 years. In the mean time, check out the www.theconveyor.com for some non-political writing with the second year coverage of the Cincinnati Fringe Festival, kicking off on Tuesday.

Taste 2008

It's time for the Taste of Cincinnati and preparations where underway this morning in earnest.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Way To Bury The Lede, Kimball....

I was shocked at the apparent harshness of a sentence when I read the following opening line of this story in the Enquirer:

Johairo Munoz was sent to prison today for seven years after he admitted to placing a 3-year-old boy in a cold shower as punishment after the child soiled himself.

Seven years? For exposing a kid to a little cold water? Maybe not approved by the Parenting 101 textbook, but still, that seems tough. Seems like a cold shower might even be preferable to a swat on the behind. But, well, whoops, it turns out there's more:

Munoz became outraged with the child soiled himself, prosecutors said. He beat the child with his hands and belt and then held the child under a cold shower for up to 30 minutes. When the child was taken to the hospital, his body temperature was 92 degrees, six degrees below normal.


Umm, he wasn't sent away for seven years for giving the kid "a cold shower." He was sent for beating the crap out of the child, and then leaving him in a shower that was way too cold for far too much time. Sounds like the boy could have suffered hypothermia. Seven years might even be a lenient sentence.

I generally like Kimball Perry's courthouse reporting, but this time his opening line might have been a little too succinct.

What Am I Missing Here?

WEST END - In a passionate defense of herself and her staff, the interim principal of Hays-Porter Elementary School blamed parents Wednesday for the extreme disciplinary problems that have plagued the new school since it opened in August.

Adonica Jones-Parks, addressing the school's "chaos" publicly for the first time, said teachers, staff and outside agencies are trying hard to curtail student violence and other misbehavior. But parents too often don't follow through on discipline, she said.

Let's see, elementary school kids are what --- first grade through, maybe, sixth or eighth grades? So ages 6 to 14 or so, right? Presumably Hays-Porter Elementary School is run by adults and the parents of these children brought them into the world, so have assumed the responsibilities of adults even if they themselves are children. Yet, "chaos" apparently reigns? How can that be? Why should "chaos" be tolerated by adults charged with supervising children? Why should an elementary school simply be allowed to become a training ground for the penal system?

Is education critically important for the lives of these children? Do their parents believe that? Do we believe that? If we all, including the parents of these children, can agree that education is critical to the future of these children, then how can we tolerate "chaos"? How can we as a society not intervene into an environment that allows such "chaos" to occur? What would that intervention look like?

I think about how my late mother handled those moments of "chaos" involving me and my brother and our friends. More often than not it was simply THE LOOK that instilled fear and calmed the chaos, in that we had learned from experience that THE LOOK was to be respected. Embodied in THE LOOK were years of learning boundaries and discipline and respect for those who had authority in the world by virtue of their status --- Now, it seems that such respect has all but disappeared in much of our culture. How do we teach respect in a world where respect is not valued?

Are we to simply write this situation off to poverty or racism? Is that a legitimate response in the face of the world in which these children will become adults --- a world where a black man with a foreign sounding name, raised by a single white mother, is poised to become President of the United States. Are we to simply say to another generation of children in our cities, "we don't know what to do with you, don't really care much about you because your own communities seemingly care little for you, and therefore, we will do nothing about the chaos you create and live in --- other than partition it"? This is not enough. As Senator Obama has said:

"A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one's family contributed to the erosion of black families — a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods — parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pickup, building code enforcement — all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continues to haunt us.

* * * * *

For all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn't make it — those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations — those young men and, increasingly, young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future."

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

On The Docket: (Multi) Million Dollar Verdict

The Enquirer reports here on a multi-million dollar verdict by a Hamilton County jury in favor of a mother and child who were injured by their doctor's malpractice during delivery. The jury awarded the plaintiffs $22,646,023. Assuming the accuracy of the Enquirer's report, the injuries suffered by the child were life-altering, to say the least. And even though Hamilton County juries aren't exactly regarded as overly-generous in their verdicts, the jurors compensated the plaintiffs accordingly.

Folks, this is why the civil justice system exists. As much as "tort reformers" like to vent about the infamous McDonald's suit (which itself was meritorious when one considers all of the facts, not just those commonly cited), far more often plaintiffs who win following a jury trial are like the poor Grows in this case--traumatically injured because of someone else's tortious conduct. Such people deserve to be compensated for their injuries.

The plaintiffs were represented by Patrick Beirne of the Lawrence Firm, a boutique shop best known for its work in medical malpractice cases.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Down By the River


The river's running pretty high right now. Parts of Yeatman's Cove are underwater. What now looks like a real cove, normally is a large concrete platform.

I went on a stroll early this morning and took a few pictures. The weekend mornings downtown and especially along the river are so beautiful on days like today. There are a few metal benches that line the upper plaza along Yeatman's Cove and I sat there for a while this morning with my IPod and coffee and was amazed by both the calmness and fury of the river. It would have been a sight to see this area when the river was the driver of Cincinnati economy. I only saw parked boats this morning. I didn't wouldn't have expected to see many out at 8:30 on a Sunday morning. I think the high waters makes it more of a concern for boaters, so it doesn't surprise me the waters were sans vessels. I really enjoy walking on weekend mornings and going down to the Cove will likely be a regular destination for me this spring and summer. Greenspace and a waterway make a great front lawn for the city.

Cutting It Close

Speaking of Taste next weekend, I have to admit to a little bit of concern: with at least one day of rain forecast this week, will the resurfacing of Fifth Street be completed by Friday night, when vendors begin to set up?

While I understand that the work had to be completed, I was somewhat surprised when it was scheduled for the two weeks immediately prior to the Taste. Why not do it either a) two weeks earlier, to make sure it's done before the Taste begins, or b) two weeks later, after the Taste?

Hopefully the asphalt will be completely sealed by Saturday, and Taste-goers won't have to relive the sticky-street debacle of 2005.

On To The Finals

The Cyclones beat the South Carolina Stingrays last night, winnning their best-of-seven series in five games. Now, it's off to the finals against the Las Vegas Wranglers.

The seven-games series follows the "2-3-2" format. Games 1 and 2 will be in Cincinnati next Saturday and Sunday, respectively, at 7:30. Games 3, 4, and 5 are in Vegas. Games 6 and 7, if necessary, will be back at US Bank Arena on Thursday, June 5, and Saturday, June 7, also at 7:30.

It appears that tickets are now on sale for Games 1 and 2, at the wallet-friendly prices of $10.00 and $22.50 for seats. Next weekend should be a great weekend: folks can come downtown for Taste of Cincinnati, and then stick around for either the May Festival or the 'Clones game.

Thursday, May 15, 2008


Wedding Bells In California --- Where Will The Democratic Nominee Hide?

OK, full disclosure, I am a gay man and an attorney, so I am still pouring over the 172 pages of opinions that came from the California Supreme Court today, declaring "that permitting opposite-sex couples to marry while affording same-sex couples access only to the novel and less-recognized status of domestic partnership improperly infringes a same-sex couple's constitutional rights to marry and to the equal protection of the laws as guaranteed by the California Constitution." In short, the Court, made up of 6 Republicans and 1 Democrat, held in a 4-3 decision that attempts to preserve the "marriage" nomenclature for opposite-sex couples, while bestowing all of the rights, privileges, benefits, and obligations of marriage on same-sex couples under the guise of "domestic partnerships" or "civil unions" was to place same-sex couples in a second class category in violation of the equal protection clause of the California Constitution (the case was decided completely under the California Constitution, so is not reviewable by the U.S. Supreme Court). A very similar issue is currently pending before the Connecticut Supreme Court as well.

This is a major victory for those of us who believe that marriage is a fundamental individual right protected by our constitutions, and that implicit in that fundamental individual right is the right to choose who one will marry. It pays to remember that there was a time not so very long ago when the government told whites and blacks that they could not, as a matter of law, marry across their racial lines.

Reactionary religious forces were quick to react. Matt Barber, the Policy Director for Cultural Issues for Concerned Women for America (stands to reason that their Policy Director would be male) said:

"So-called 'same-sex marriage' is a ridiculous and oxymoronic notion that has been forced into popular lexicon by homosexual activists and their extremist left-wing allies. If people who engage in homosexual behavior want to dress up and play house, that's their prerogative, but we shouldn't destroy the institutions of legitimate marriage and family in order to help facilitate a counterfeit."

There will no doubt be efforts made to put this issue on the ballot in California in the fall with an effort to amend the California Constitution.

From a political standpoint, this creates a real problem for the Democratic presidential candidates, particularly Senator Obama, the presumptive nominee. Democrats have been fundamentally dishonest on the issue of same-sex marriage for some time now, trying to hold the center by favoring some form of "domestic partnerships" or "civil unions" for same-sex couples, while preserving the religiously infused and normative category of "marriage" for opposite-sex couples. GLBT persons have let them get away with this because of some bizarre belief that these politicians really didn't believe what they were saying about marriage and that, in the dark of night, they really, really, really were on our side (President Clinton's deplorable and disgraceful signing of the federal Defense of Marriage Act apparently notwithstanding). Now Senator Obama will have to tell us whether he believes the California Supreme Court is correct when it holds that anything less than full marriage rights, including the nomenclature, relegates same-sex couples to some second class status that should not be tolerated in Senator Obama's new paradigm for American politics.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger responded to the decision in this manner, "I respect the Court’s decision and as Governor, I will uphold its ruling. Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling."

Let's see who the Straight Talkers (pun very much intended) are now . . . . . .

As for me, I am grabbing my man, picking out a gown, and heading for San Francisco.

Another "Cheerleader"? Welcome to the Bandwagon.

Bet you can't guess who penned the following:

It was one of those everyday scenes that remind us why we love the city [Cincinnati]. Such as:

From the Kentucky side of the river, the skyline rises in white stone, steel and glass. The river sparkles blue and green. Colorful bridges, dusty blue, purple and yellow, frame the view of towering buildings that are almost mythical in the sunshine.

And it's all just a short walk from the Ohio side. Newport on the Levee is right across the Purple People Bridge, which is crowded by office workers jogging or walking to lunch. Where else can you have lunch in another state and be back by 1 p.m.?

On a Saturday night, the new restaurants on Fountain Square are packed. Crowds mill about enjoying the light show that covers an entire building on the north side of the square.

A balcony at the new Via Vite restaurant overlooks the fountain as it catches lights and colors and splashes like a waterfall in captivity. A man at a keyboard plays soft jazz. The water dances. Conversations ebb and flow.

Who knew there were such islands of serenity downtown? Who knew the stuffy old Queen City goes out on Saturday nights?


So who is this new lover of downtown Cincinnati? Peter Bronson.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Big News Day

What had looked like a slow news day all of a sudden seems quite busy.

First, Marc Dann (finally!) resigned.

And CNN (along with several other media outlets) reports that John Edwards is about to endorse Barack Obama.

Two nails in two separate coffins, all in the span of about two hours.

CONCERT:NOVA at Twist


Start your week with a hot latin-inspired concert!

Join innovative chamber ensemble CONCERT:NOVA and visual artist Anya Gerasimchuk for an evening of music, art and Monday night bites at Twist! A collaboration featuring hot tango and flamenco influences, concert:nova throws traditional performance practice out the window and ushers in an eclectic selection of modern and classical work for you to dance your way into the work week at Jean-Robert de Cavel's hot new downtown lounge. Afterward, please hang out and listen to DJ Ben spin some more saucy sounds.



Admission: $10 at the door/$8 students and ETA members
Venue: Twist Lounge at Pigall's
Twist is located at 127 W. Fourth St. 45202 in downtown Cincinnati, 513.721.1345 by phone. Full bar and delicious Petit Bites Menu. Click here for a description. Street and garage parking available.Valet parking available for Pigall's dinner guests.

Please forward this event to your friends!

Find out more about the program at www.concertnova.com and Anya's work at www.AnyaGerasimchuk.com.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

New Stage In The City


New Stage Collective has announced their 2008-2009 season and to celebrate they are having a party only Mr. Big could love: New Stage in the City/Sex and the City Party
Season Subscription Kickoff Party
Friday, May 16 8-11pm at Below Zero Lounge

Celebrate NSC’s new season with a swanky party worthy of Carrie Bradshaw! Below Zero Lounge (12th & Walnut St., downtown) hosts the celebration on Friday, May 16 from 8-11pm, featuring a raffle of New Stage in the City subscriptions, Sex and the City Movie swag, Sarah Jessica Parker fragrance gifts, and much more!

Also on tap is an incredible evening of music with Terry LaBolt at the piano, and featuring a slew of special guests, including performances by Richard Oberacker, Amy Warner, Charlie Clark, Taylore Mahogany Scott, Sherman Fracher, Steven Milloy, Alan Patrick Kenny, Sherry McCamley, cast members of NSC’s upcoming Jerry Springer: The Opera, and more. Hosted by Cincinnati legend Penny Tration!"