natininja

I know, right? LOL. Oh, and I want to correct myself that Paul is restorationconsultant, not preservationconsultant...I knew something was wrong when I typed it, but I mixed it up anyway. You would think if you were true to "restoration", you'd be all about dense apartments (hell, tenements) in OTR. Imagine how few of the storefronts would be usable if all the buildings were converted into single families.

1) Did you see that all of this money was originally supposed to go to Bond Hill? Doesn't sound like it's being ignored to me. 2) I would instead focus on Walnut Hills and Corryville, initially. As these neighborhoods have more commercial presence, should they become desirable, Avondale can become a focus working off that energy. Then maybe Bond Hill. You have to have a strategy; you can't just throw money around and expect it to work. It would be nice if that were possible, but it's not. (Not with the amounts of money available, anyhow.) You've gotta work with what you have! Thats said, it's definitely a balance in terms of which neighborhoods you put money into. A really poor or really rich neighborhood won't change a lot. But there are other things to consider, too. Does the neighborhood already have a project underway which needs a little boost? (Mt. Lookout would fit here.) Is the neighborhood up-and-coming with some momentum which could be further stimulated or accelerated? (Northside.) Is the neighborhood a tourist attraction which will benefit from brightening the face of the city? (I would say that's the case with Mt. Adams. Maybe Northside, too.)

My big WTF on that list is LA.

Daily service, please.

evd supports government intrusion and official sanctioning of aesthetic taste. You heard it here first.

What you're doing is using the backwards-apostrophe ("open single quote"? What is it supposed to be called?) instead of the normal apostrophe. If you can see it, you're using ` versus '. On a normal keyboard, the one you're using gives you a tilde (~) if you press it with the shift key. The normal apostrophe gives you quotation marks with the shift key ("). shift + ' = " shift + ` = ~ You're using the latter. Get it? Or is that too confusing? LOL.

^^^ The money was supposed to go to Bond Hill, initially. That deal fell through, so it's going to these hoods.

I really hope they nail the architecture. Paul Wilham (preservationconsultant on UO) had a blog entry pointing out how the city really can and should be picky about this project. While I think he is wrong about some things he says, he has some valid points (as he usually does). http://victorianantiquitiesanddesign.blogspot.com/2011/02/downtown-cincinnati-needs-to-raise-its.html I wonder what his picture of an ideal new-construction casino might be, though. He seems to think "new = crap", across the board. I do dislike most contemporary architecture, but I do not think the answer is to only go to past styles!

^ Why do you insist on using the wrong punctuation?

^ and ^^ LOL.

There's a suburban shopping center like that near Cincinnati. It's a big joke. Luckily, all the projects in the city (of which there are many) are going full steam ahead. In fact, we just got a new tallest building. Take that, recession!

^ Are you advocating keeping that parallel? Do you think there would be less political resistance to rail? Would you be more friendly to rail? Or are you just observing?

I don't see those connections happening with a state government hostile to rail. Chicago-Toledo-Cleveland-NEC, yes. Chicago-Indianapolis-Cincinnati, maybe. Anything else, I doubt it.

If Ohio construction starts on this before November 2014, Kasich will have a lot of 'splaining to do, re:3C. Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus will have lost the chance of using the Chicago-Northeast Corridor line. Columbus will be the biggest loser.

X, you have been promoted to XXX. You should change your name, accordingly.

I know it's not useful now, but considering the closing of Keller's, I think Northside has surpassed Clifton in the most-livable-neighborhood category. As a cyclist, this is especially true. You have a flat trip to the Kroger at Clifton & Spring Grove, a flat trip to Findlay Market, a fairly easy trip up Ludlow to Clifton, there's a vegan grocery right in Northside's business district...and on. Plus, bus service is good. I recommend getting a folding bicycle. You don't have to worry about the racks on buses being full, and it will easily fit in the trunk of a friend's car, the convenience of which cannot be overstated. Check out Resor bike shop in Newport; they stock Dahon folders.

I don't see any of that coming to Ohio.

TBideon: So? "Most" doesn't mean anything in this discussion. David: Your views on sexuality are way too reductionist. Just accept that people have attractions you don't understand, and you'll be better off. (Also realize, many times, the people who have them don't "understand" them -- they just have them.) I'd argue more men have confused orientations than women, precisely because women are more willing to experiment, and experiment openly. There doesn't seem to be a major "down-low" scene for women, for example. That, to me, is a sign of confused orientation. Much more so than feeling an urge and just seeing where it takes you. (Movie spoiler alert) You also ignore the part of the movie where the one "lesbian" gets with a dude. The whole plot is based on the fluidity/non-concreteness of sexuality. Maybe that's why so many other renters were left so uncomfortable with it -- it challenged their black & white view of sexuality. Is she really a lesbian? She seems to think so. Who gets to decide what she is? It's not black & white.

I've always thought there should be a streetcar through the Ironbound. Actually, better would be an extension of the subway for a few stops past Penn Station, but I know that's asking too much.

The fundamental point that America has slowed in its ability to adapt seems pretty obvious. And I agree that cutting taxes is not the cure for the problem. We can't keep growing the way we have been -- those returns are diminishing. However, devolving to "simpler times" is not a solution. We need to find different paths of "complexity" to follow. Some of that should involve back-tracking to simpler methodologies, then branching off in a different way. Progress doesn't have to be stifling, but it must be progress in a direction which yields returns. I wonder if that isn't what the author is trying to say. Because the logical conclusion of his thesis seems to be Luddite in nature, though he actively avoids appearing that way. To reconcile his view with the acceptance that going backwards is not the best way to go forwards (which I think he implicitly pushes), he needs to accept that there is a possible path of increased complexity which continues yielding returns. It's just not the one we're on, and cutting taxes won't magically put us on, or get us closer to, the right one.

I don't really know what you mean. I would think a bisexual woman would have a "broader" sexuality than a lesbian who likes watching gay male porn. And most bisexual women seem to get along okay, without "cognitive dissonance". This might be a weird example, but I think it might help illustrate the point: Imagine someone who finds it kind of hot to watch animals go at it on the Discovery Channel, but has no desire whatsoever to get with an animal. Doesn't that sound believable? So while a hypothetical lesbian doesn't want to get with a dude, she might like watching two dudes go at it.

Yeah, it's all NJT...I meant a regular train (or I guess you could take a bus too). Sorry. I believe a connection is planned, but my guess is it's over a decade in the future. Nexis4Jersey could tell you more, I'm sure.

^ I think your reaction to the lesbians watching gay male porn was the point of that scene. You're supposed to wonder about it, then realize that sexuality doesn't have to make sense or follow your idea of how things "should" work. People like what they like because it's what they like. Dig?

^ No. You could make connections via PATH or NJ Transit, though. But the cost and travel times start to get kinda crazy, of course.

^ Or install bike paths.