natininja

Okay, wow. After looking at this block on Google Maps, I agree with you 1000%. Yes, that's one-thousand. CAC, Aronoff, and all those bars and clubs...total "no-brainer".

Yeah, I was thinking west-siders, but primarily for suburbanites. As well as tourists. Maybe it is not the best time to do this, but honestly it is a distraction from the real villains of fiscal restraint. Especially since this has some potential for ROI. Admittedly not a lot of potential, but it is a nice gesture of good will, to boot. Not that good will is the best goal in the middle of a budget crisis. I like the idea of it, but I am receptive to the idea that this is poorly timed. For what it's worth, I've lived as a foreigner in a non-English speaking country. This kind of stuff really makes a difference. It helps you keep your sanity, as your world feels as though it's turned upside-down at times. It must be even worse in a place where most people can't even speak or understand your language. (We English speakers have it easiest, wherever we go.)

Huh, I didn't know it ever ceased being a hotel.

Lots of good news in this department, recently.

Why is it always the programs that most people claiming to be fiscal conservatives refuse to have cut that are the most expensive? It truly blows my freaking mind.

Ah, ok, thanks. That is a bit disappointing. I think it would be an acceptable move, if the prices were appropriate (if there's not enough market for the other style, there's not much you can do but switch -- assuming that was their motivation).

Edit: Nevermind.

It really bugs me that "political suicide" is considered to be such a third rail. You have to do what you're elected to do. Do it! If politicians took more risks, the political culture might become more friendly towards making bold, principled moves. Politicians playing it safe, trying to be everything to everyone, is what's gotten our country into such a sh!thole. You can't have all kinds of toys (medicare, medicaid, social security, never-ending wars, pensions, segways) without paying for them (taxes). I wish council would do something like this: look at how far in the red we are. Make any easy, obvious tweaks to make things more cost-effective. Then make up for the rest, half in spending cuts and half in taxes. Cut every program, every salary, etc., across the board, by whatever percentage it takes to make up for half the shortfall. Then raise all taxes so that an equal amount is raised from each different type (sales, property, etc.) to make up for the other half of the shortfall. I know it probably can't work so simply, but use that as a base and make it doable. Then make your case to the public as strongly and as frequently as you can: "Yes, it hurts. But in times of crisis, we all need to do our part in bearing the burden. I believe this is as objective and fair a way as possible to do it." I know it won't happen, but one can dream. It will be interesting to see how it does happen, though. Unfortunately, I think this selling-off-property deal to make up for pension budget shortfall is a sample of the "solutions" that will be arrived at. While I can get behind doing this for a fraction of the burden, using this as the sole, or majority, solution is absurd. It just offsets the problems for another day.

I think these people wholeheartedly believe that Americans, and/or (especially) Ohioans, nearly unanimously want/prefer cars. It also seems that the suburbanites totally discount that there is a significant number of people of means (enough to to travel for personal reasons, or need to for a job) that live in the city centers. They seem to think the cities have too few inhabitants that have any money and/or desire to move about. "Those people" (urbanites) exist on the coasts, but not in Ohio. Of course, there are also racial issues at play.

I think it's important to have a police force reflecting the communities served. Otherwise, even absent any discrimination, there can be an appearance of such -- both in hiring policies and enforcement. I think Cincinnati is a good example of this, given the still-recent riots. Has there ever even been a black police chief in Cincy? If not, isn't that kind of weird?

It may not be easy to get, but Long Trail Ale from Vermont is a nice beer. It deserves a wider sphere of exposure. Great Lakes is, of course, another classic Ohio pick.

Why do you say that? I haven't had a chance to eat there yet, so that sounds quite disappointing. What are the differences?

Once the construction starts, discussion will probably move towards how the service will work. What will be the hours? Will there be special service on game days? How many cars will be linked? How many bikes will be able to go in each car? Will there be bike racks? Vertical or horizontal? What will the ticketing system be like? Will it be a flat rate, or will you pay more to go further? This may all get old fast and slow the thread down, but there will be some stuff to talk about.

You're right! The Central Trust's nipple peaks right over the top of the Carew's flagpole. Perhaps what QCS's tiara needs is a nipple?

He owns it, but there are regulations on what he can do with it. It's a mixture of capitalism and socialism, which reflects our government generally. I wouldn't say "he doesn't own it," but you're generally correct. We'd have to do away with the notions of neighborhood and community if we were going to justify getting rid of these regulations. It's interesting to note that "conservatives" often lament the downfall of the neighborhood/community.

cincybiker: I understand your point about "if I own this property, I should be able to do what I want with it," but that's 1) not how things work, and 2) not how (I think) they should work. We have zoning ordinances, aesthetic regulations (signs, etc.), historic/landmark property designations, etc. The reason for this stuff is, when you own a piece of property in an area, you also own a stake in that area, generally. You have a responsibility to maintain your property in accordance with the consensus's expectations and the good of the community. If you're unwilling or unable to conform to these expectations, then you are free to buy property somewhere where what you want to do conforms to the local expectations. Demolishing a house like the Gamble House (particularly when you're in a position to easily save it) is being a bad neighbor. It's not living up to your obligations to the community, or your social contract. Being an absentee landlord is another example of being a bad neighbor. Because what you do with your property has an effect on many outside things (local property values, aesthetic/historic character, density, etc.), it's not just a matter of "this is my property, I can do what I want." If I break a dish I own, it doesn't hurt my neighbors, but if I tear down a house, it easily can. I knew this when I bought the land, so there is no excuse and no right to complain about restrictions on what I can do. Likewise, neighbors have every right to voice their concerns about what I want to do with my property: when I bought the property, I signed on to obligations to the neighborhood/municipality/county/state/country/etc.

City, US reach deal on Riverfront Park http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100225/BIZ01/2260345/City++US+reach+deal+on+Riverfront+Park

Postal Service - Give Up is starting to age (7 years since release...wow), but I think it's pretty much a modern classic. (Does anyone second this? I might be in a vacuum.) The song Such Great Heights seems to always show up in new places. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver (3 years old) is a highly acclaimed album by a god of hipsters (who will likely patronize your bar). I'm not very familiar with a lot of releases from this year, but for something a bit different, you might consider Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here, which just came out this month. Pretty much everyone knows who he is, he covers a unique genre, and it's a brand-new album that critics (mostly) seem to like.

From the comment section: Kind of humorous, really.

That's a great line-up, except for one thing: it completely lacks anything recent. I don't know how important that is, but it might be a shortcoming for a hip image. Something to think about.

Probably the same reason ABC and CBS are cutting jobs while Fox News continues to dominate the ratings: supply and demand. There's a high demand for non-liberal ideas and short supply. Most "conservative" reading is pretty dense and Palin/Beck stuff is easily digestible and heavily promoted by two well known people. Also, Palin's book tour took her to second and third tier cities since that's where her support mostly resides. I think it's also important to note age demographics here. Most people who would buy Palin/Beck's books are older and more likely to exclusively consume printed media. Younger people may not be buying many books, with all the electronic literature out there nowadays. Or perhaps it's because the only people with the intellectual and cultural wherewithal to read sophisticated literature necessarily hold views similar to Beck's and Palin's.

My suggestion of "Afghan Whigs - Unbreakable (A Retrospective)" is a best-of album from a local band. I just realized, though, that I had misspelled "Afghan" as "Arghan" -- oops! Anywho, if you want a best-of album with some local flavor, that's a perfect choice! (The band is far from limited to a local audience, in case you don't know them.) I also like the idea of having Shake-It make the selection. Those guys know their stuff, and they run a local label, so they know their local stuff, too!

QFT. Good shots; I'm glad to see some context in there, rather than zoomed in pictures of the murals themselves. Especially on 1, 2, 19, and 31.

Let's just assume you're absolutely correct. How does that falsify global warming?

Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? Apples in Stereo - #1 Hits Explosion Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea Weezer - Blue Album Weezer - Pinkerton Social Distortion - Social Distortion Screeching Weasel - My Brain Hurts Beck - Odelay Arghan Whigs - Unbreakable (A Retrospective) (some Cincinnati love) John Prine - In Spite of Ourselves Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News Postal Service - Give Up Japandroids - Post-Nothing LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver White Stripes - White Blood Cells Avalanches - Since I Left You Daft Punk - Discovery Hmm, yeah, that's a pretty good list.