RiverViewer

My Pennsylvanian relatives call us "Oheesians," which I really dig...

^That's a great question. I don't know whose decision that was, but it was funky - red tops and white pants for the Reds, maroon tops and light gray pants for the Astro's - definitely wack decision. I've gotta say, I really dug the Houston uniforms - loved the script "Houston", the font, the colors - but it was the wrong day for them...

horosho - I'm sorry - didn't mean to sound unappreciative of the info - definitely, thanks for the heads up...I'm going to see if I can go with my Northside friends...

Wow! Chris, I gotta say, I think the Cincinnati shots are the best series I've seen from you - except for the aerials, of course! But honestly, these are simply tremendous...

A-goddamn-men...I'm glad he's not mayor, but I'd LOVE to see him on the county commission...

Question for PigBoy: Is there such a thing as a non-aerial map?

^Do you have a link for that story?

I couldn't disagree more. Let them meet in private, hash out the compromises, and then present solved problems to the commissioners and council. Then the commissioners and council can meet in public, hash through the plans line by line if they want, and they'll decide how to spend the money and dispose of valued property, all in public, all above board. But good lord, it doesn't matter what group of people you pick, if they have to work out compromises in public, it's gonna be just as stalled as ever. Mr. Enquirer Dude, I know a continuing mudhole will be a better drum to beat in your paper over the next ten years than a successful project, especially since it's Cincinnati development, which we all know is inferior to Northern Kentucky development - but please, don't shoot your silver bullet and kill the best hope we have - there are still some of us who actually love this city and actually want to see this frickin' succeed already...aargh...

That gives me the red x, but playing around with the URL, this one worked for me:

I know it's gonna be expensive and cheesy and everything, but I am so there...

If Dude can deliver both the best record in baseball and a city/county partnership that actually gets The Banks done, I think deification and the sacrifice of a few vestal virgins will be in order.

Rt. 303 has 13 names, not counting "State Route 303" - from east to west, Wakeman to Windham, about 75 miles: Townsend Street > Wakeman LaGrange Richfield Rd > W Main > E Main > (zag for a railroad crossing at the junction with 83, but it's pretty obviously still the same road) Medina Elyria Road > Center Road > W Streetsboro Road > E Streetsboro Road > Streetsboro Road > Richfield Hudson Road > W Center Street > E Center Street > Hudson Braceville Road

Bureaucracy in action looks just so appalling...I completely understand the hesitancy - I mean, they can't get anything agreed on, and now promising sites to folks, no matter how much they and their constituents might want it done, is a complication nobody needs right now - but Jesus, does it look bad. It's amazing politicians are ever re-elected...

I thought one of the Twain's or Captain's or Boatswain's Landings or Crossings or Sinkings was supposed to have some more moderate units, like the low $100K's...anyone remember?

Hackberry's a great street. In the last ten years it's seen a boatload of rehabs south of Madison...though north of Madison, no so much...but that place has needed a rehab for a long, long time. I think what held it up was the asking price - I think it was listed for a while, but always in the mid-to-upper $100K range. Looks like the current owner picked it up for $70K off a foreclosure - that makes it make sense... Thanks for the update - good lord, it must take you a lot of time to put together!

So my wife and I decided to walk down to the Reds game this afternoon...so here's some shots from the walk down, from the game, and from the walking around in the rain after the game... Along Gilbert - I dig this place: We should have already been at the stadium by this time! Broadway Commons, I weep for what might have been...oh, and for the dragon which is still hanging on...(see this shot by OTRFan in his Cincinnati Color thread to see it when the painting-over-it was just beginning...) A little courthouse for you'ins: ...and a Jesuit church as well, St. Xavier: Left to right, it's the Hamilton County flag, the US flag, and the State of Ohio flag, with the POW/MIA flag underneath (I'm pretty sure on the Hamilton County flag...can anyone correct or confirm?): First pitch, which I caught in mid-air - yay me! Called strike one - yay Ramirez! This isn't something I expected to see at any point this year - Cincinnati on top of the Central division... So it's the bottom of the 9th, two out, down by one, and Kearns rips a single to center...I was playing around with the multi-picture option on my camera, and was able to get the ball on its way back at the pitcher: Here's a three-shot sequence of Kearns stealing 2nd: Phillips walked, and Valentin struck out swinging. Here's the last pitch: Speaking of disappointment, here's The Banks: By this time it was raining nicely...but even wet, even with a Reds loss, the Roebling is just beautiful: We got our signals crossed - I'd thought my wife wanted to go to Covington for a drink and maybe some food, but neither of us were hungry, and she'd thought I meant Newport for a movie...so instead we got a nice pleasant walk in the rain, to Newport via Covington...oh, well. Here's a multi-flag place in Covington - anyone know the story behind it? This was the first time I ever walked across Veteran's Memorial bridge...here's the Licking River entering the Ohio River, with the Taylor-Southgate Bridge and Mt. Adams in distance: Veteran's Memorial/4th Street Bridge: I never knew there was this cool riverwalk along the top of the levee, nor did I know about this cool park in the Licking River valley (Taylor Park, I come to learn): ...nor did I know about these project-looking places, mostly boarded up...anyone know the story on these? A little skyline action: Oh, and nor did I know about this kick-ass little overlook on the bluffs overlooking the Licking and Ohio confluence...I bet the fireworks look amazing from here! Always love seeing these flood walls: And finally, I'm guessing the orange lifts and the little U-shaped things sticking off just the last two spans of the bridge are for the Walk On The Bridge thingy?

I saw one guy with a pretty professional looking camera around his neck, choosing some interesting pictures - a shot of my friend's bongo drum sitting by the lake, that sort of stuff. I assumed he was media of some sort, but maybe he was just a voyeur like me. If I were the social type, I'd have said hello, but I wasn't born inviting and gregarious! Other than that, a couple other folks with smaller cameras, but that's it. I emailed the link to my photo gallery to the folks who ran the gig, so if I hear back from them I'll ask if it got any other press... I'm more likely to ask myself, "Whose mind are you trying to change?" Like the woman at work with a bumper sticker that said, "Too smart to vote Republican." Uh, miss? Did you think you were making it more likely or less likely that you might convince people of the wisdom of your political viewpoint with that bumper sticker? Think that's gonna change some votes?

What does the heart sticker refer to? The text is, "better a bleeding heart than none at all." Liberals are sometimes called "bleeding heart liberals" - meaning one whose heart bleeds in sympathy for folks, only here it's implied that they just go around getting worked up about everything. Here's a definition. The implication of the sticker is that it's better to be a bleeding heart liberal than to be a conservative, who presumable has no heart. Is the object of meditation similar to prayer? I always thought about meditation as for inner-peace, but I don't know a thing about it. My first reaction is how great it would be if these people were out working for peace. I imagine it's something like prayer, only without the concept of intercession. It's sending positive energy into an area or towards people, and the thought that this collective positive energy can influence others positively. I probably wouldn't make the assumption that these folks aren't actually working for peace as well - a lot of these folks are probably active in their neighborhoods and communities, making a positive impact in ways large and small. I agree that actually doing things (like we commend Michael Redmond and others for) is probably more impactful than dancing and stretching, but if these guys want to dance and stretch in the park on a Saturday morning, I say more power to 'em...

Interfering with a ball in play. Nobody could have caught it, but it may or may not have been a home run. I think you're right, that it would have hit the pole, but it shouldn't be a question. But that's just my opinion...but indeed, go Reds! This is just an amazing run, and a whole lot of fun!

Having read this post from Grasscat, I decided to go down to Mirror Lake this morning to get some pictures of the Meditate for Peace rally thingy at Mirror Lake in Eden Park. I was expecting a dozen or two dozen people to show up, but while I'm no good at estimating crowds, I know it was more than 30 and fewer than 3,000 - but still, a surprising number of folks, I thought. The first surprise was that folks were parking all the way up Fulton: The bumper stickers on the cars, though? Not too surprising: The main group of meditators: Stragglers were still arriving, while the main dude repeated, "Peace in Cincinnati...Peace in America...Peace in the World..." and someone led them in arm stuff and bowing and stretching and whatnot: Then I ran into someone I knew - Dishaun (not sure on the spelling) is the guy dancing with the rattle thing here...he's such a sweet, kind person, very into spirituality and such, vegan, and so welcoming and nice. You might see him playing on Ludlow sometimes, or in a coffee shop - he played at UC for the earth day stuff, mostly drumming. We chatted for a bit, then he played with the band, who did a sort of reggae-feel audience participation groove type thing: Then the guitarist (John, I believe) Raised His Arms for Peace... And the folks who weren't in a small-group meditation also Raised Their Arms for Peace: I didn't see Rick Smith, but I did see his sign (Politicking for Peace, I'm guessing): There were a bunch of Small Groups like this around: ...and occasionally a Very Small Group: It was really very pleasant, fun - beautiful morning, beautiful setting, and lots of happy folks, hanging around simply being happy: More tunes, and others began a super-slow walk around the lake. Like, take a step, Meditate for Peace, pause, take another step, Meditate for Peace, pause...I'm guessing it was supposed to be an hour's exercise or so. A belly dancer, Chatting for Peace with someone: And Painting for Peace: I still hadn't had any coffee, so here's where I took off, to Eat a Giminetti Breakfast Sandwich for Peace... All in all, very fun. I hope they make this a regular thing and it gets really big - it really was a nice time.

From the crappy replays I saw, it looked like it was going to hit the pole, which means it would have been a home run. Regardless, I hope the fan was kicked out of the game and banned from returning this season. Maybe even a hefty fine for good measure.

A nervous night (thanks to the Hooters), but the Reds own the best record in baseball! And the Cards are losing to the Nats, so we may hold the best record overnight, not just for a couple hours!

What a great game so far...it's 2-1 Reds right now, and the Reds have manufactured both their runs. Very fun game to watch - great pitching, great fundamental ball (except for Dunn in left, of course)...definitely great fun so far. Go Reds!

Dude - you frickin' rock...be careful if you go to the meet, because if you end up drinking one with everyone who wants to buy you a drink, you'll be too blasted to walk...and I'll be first in line! Your threads are amazing...