Great Cincinnati-themed shirts!

I was going back through old comments, and I found a link to these guys. They do great Cincinnati-themed shirts. I wish the comment wasn't anon, because I would love to thank the person for turning me on to the shirts.

Glad to see folks taking pride in and poking fun at the Nati at the same time. I've even seen the West Chester one out and about. I posted a few of my favorites after the break. Enjoy!




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Ikea Zapatistas!

Rise up Cincinnati! Don't go like sheep through the automatic sliding doors of the Ikea retail slaughterhouse. Think different! Try something... wait for it... USED!

I challenge you to post your favorite local places to buy furniture - used furniture stores, consignment shops, thrift stores, antique malls, even flea markets! And if you know of a good local shop that makes their own furniture or sells locally-made, regionally-made, or at least American-made furniture, let us know about them too! Recycle, reuse, or at least buy local.

I'll start with the first suggestion...
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AHA: Ikea fans

She's back with a bang - second post back and I'm already throwing an AssHat Award at someone. In fact, I'm giving out a bunch of 'em to a bunch of people!

This apparently is the MOST IMPORTANT news of the day in Cincinnati, because it was the main headline on Cincinnati.com this afternoon: "Line forms early for Ikea." You've got to f**king kidding me...

(Details and pic after the jump.)

To quote Cincinnati.com's caption for this photo:

Some very eager (and tired) shoppers are camping out today to be among the first inside Ikea's new West Chester Township store, which opens at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Here's everything you'll need to know about the grand opening.

* Video: Putting your purchase together
* A shopping primer | Store map
* How to shop at Ikea | Photos

Apparently the economy's not in the sh*tter enough if people still have the time and disposable income to take two days and nights out of productive society to spend it sitting on their asses in front of a place where they're planning on spending lots of money on crappy particle-board furniture.

Now, I'm not advocating that anyone should do a drive-by on these wastes-of-flesh or anything, but I'm sure few would miss them in the gene pool.

So AssHat Awards all around!
- To Cincinnati.com and whatever associated media that thought this was actually news - you should be ashamed.
- To everyone who's gonna cram their fat asses through the sliding doors on opening day looking like a rabid trailer-trash grandma looking for the last Cabbage Patch Kid - you're probably the same jackasses that line-up for an opening of the local chapter of the Golden Corral (or Golden Trough, as I like to call it).
- To everyone sitting there in line two days before the opening - I hope your flat-pack Crappka or Hurll chair breaks under the wait of your fat ass.

BONUS ROUND: Anyone know the reference in the last picture of the post?
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I'm baaaaack...

Sorry kiddies. Long time no see. Long story.

Simple version: the uptights at work found out about my blurg because of an AssHat co-worker, HR got involved, job was on the line, I dropped out of sight (and site) until things blew over or I could move to another company, I got a great new job (same industry), with a much better company, and now have a new boss that knows about the blog and doesn't care at all as long as I don't bring up anything related to work or my clients. A great new boss and a great new job. Sometimes things just work out the way they're supposed to, I guess.

Sorry again about my absence - but I had to keep the lights on, ya know? I've missed you all and have been keeping up with your blogs. I didn't comment under my own name because said AssHat was out to get me, and I couldn't take a chance that she was googling for my moniker to come up on other sites and thus expose me as not really being offline as promised. I did drop some anon comments for a while, but that got depressing, so much of this winter I've ignored the fray. But I'm back in it to win it, bitches.

So there it is, my first and last official post about work and the nastiness of the past six months. Oh yeah, one more thing - hey Cindy, go outside and play "Hide & Go F**k Yourself".
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BLOG DEATH MATCH!

So I noticed something the other day... two blogs have the same name, sort of. We all know Cincinnati Blog - but there's another blog using that name! The Nati (at least that was what I thought it was called) has the title: CINCINNATI BLOG on it's web page. It's not at the top of the page - yet - but just in the title bar (done via HTML). What's up with that?

Now, this could be poor coding or a simple mistake, but I'd like to think this is the beginning of a hostile takeover by Joe Hansbauer. Subtle innuendo at first, then targeted attacks combined with a carefully planned PR campaign to win the hearts and minds. Eventually the history books will be rewritten to include no mention of the former Cincinnati Blog or even Brian Griffin. And we've always been at war with Eastasia.

But I've blown the lid off your devious little plan, Mr. Hansbauer. I've shined the light under your rock. Shall you scurry away to hatch another plot - perhaps the assimilation of Cincinnati Black Blog? Or will you come out fighting? That's what I'd like to see.

So here are my terms for the battle royale: Brian and Joe must square off on Fountain Square, IN the fountain, three rounds, no holds barred, wearing only loincloths covering their nethers. And we'll broadcast it on the big screen as well as a live feed to the web via Lily Pad!

What'ya say boys?

(Well, a gurl's gotta dream any way.)
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GFS: Cincy Images, others...

If you haven't seen it before, it's new to you! Remember that marketing line? I think it was NBC who used it a few years ago to sell reruns of their shows during the regular season. Well, in this case, I hadn't seen this site before, and I'm letting you all know about it for the first time - or again, in case you have seen it.

Cincy Images (or Cincinnati Images - HTML title is different?) is a blog-style site with tons of photos from the Queen City in its gallery. Jayson, the site founder and primary photographer (?) also sells the images featured there - but you can browse them if you're just lookin'. He has some really great photography and a real passion for our fair city. And he's only been here since 2003!

It's nice to see someone who shares their enthusiasm for the city so openly (I won't fault him for trying to make a buck on his photos either). But I must also tip my hat to Cincinnati, As I See It and 5chw4r7z, two other great blogs that feature wonderful photography, usually daily. I visit these two almost every morning to see what beautiful new perspectives they have on the Nati.

Thanks to all of you for sharing your photos and your lives! :)
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Blurg Ketchup (Lot No. 090907)

Or is it catchup? Definitely not catsup. Thought I'd start a recap feature weekly or bi-weekly - a chance for me to catch up on the posts that I may have started to write, but never got around to finishing. Or sometimes just stuff that I don't have much to say about, so I throwing it in here. This was a good week to start, lots of interesting stuff happened.

Schmidt plagiarizes and was exposed by Bill over at The Daily Bellwether. Props to Sloat for a good catch!

Coulter's appearance raises $26,000 for groups she's opposed to, and her speech was described as pretty tame lame. So, the NeoCons blew their money on a dud and helped raise money for groups they oppose. How lovely.

There's an ongoing controversy about a potential "Wall of Buildings" to be built in the area of the Banks. I don't think that's very likely, but Cincinnati's Planning Commission approved amendments allowing developers to build up to 30 stories. The current downtown building owners aren't too happy about losing their river view, but my question is, how do cities like New York and Chicago deal with this same issue on their shorelines?

Good Sam was named the number one hospital for births, in terms of numbers of babies born, in Ohio.

Did I mention that in the last couple o' weeks I added some new features to the Blurg? See those nifty icons below each post? They're for helping you share the articles you like via some of the more popular social bookmarking networks out there. Oh, yeah, I added Space Invaders to the right column too. Enjoy.

And lastly, it's been 10 years since the first blog was born. Happy Blogiversary!
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Heartless Bastards at Southgate House

Saturday night some friends dragged me to to the Southgate house to see the Heartless Bastards. I say dragged in that I wasn't really up for seeing the Bastards again, but Southgate is such a great venue and I knew I'd see tons of friends at the show. Well, I wasn't disappointed, in that everywhere I turned I saw someone I knew. That was pretty cool. But the show...

It's not that I don't like the Bastards, but I guess I never really got into them. Though I seem to be in the minority, and that's what I don't understand. Everyone I know from Cincy seems to be huge fans, and I think I have some theories, but I'm not sure. My first idea is that guys like them because they think that Erika is hot (she doesn't do it for me), and her ballsy vocals project a strong, confident exterior, which is also a reason I think women like her.

Unfortunately that's exactly the reason I don't care for her singing that much. On the first album (and in every show I've seen) Erica seems to be belting out her lyrics with such force that it seems to narrow her range into almost a monotone sound. Many of my friends not familiar with the Bastards have remarked that they thought it was a guy singing when they first heard the album. I just wish she was more dynamic. It almost sounds like she's already tired from a week of singing shows and is at the end of the night, struggling to push out her parts - even on the album.

For these reasons I never bought the first album - got a rip from a friend. I tried really hard to get into them, since EVERYONE I knew was and I kept being dragged to their shows. So then the second album came out and I thought that her vocal range expanded and that she intoned a great deal more. But she never really brought that articulation to any of their stage shows. This Saturday she was a bit more dynamic, but as soon as she got to songs from the first album (which made up all of the end of the show and encore), she slipped right back into her monotone roar.

And my other bitch is that the show was $15. For someone who has seen them for years for free, it's hard to pay that much. It was a decent show, I saw a ton of friends, but I enjoyed Pearline (who opened for them and I hadn't seen in a while) much, much more.

And there was some other group called White Girls in the first opening slot - notice I didn't say band. They sucked so bad, and even though I like punk - which is what I thought they were trying to go for - I couldn't take them for much more than a few songs. I turned around to say that we should go outside for a bit and my friends had already left (about halfway through the first song) and were sitting on the porch.
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Best Views of the City?

So City Council commissioned a $75k report on the best views of the city, "intended to help city planners formulate development guidelines within those view corridors." The 229 page plan was put together by Human Nature, a landscape architecture firm and The Hillside Trust, an advocacy and land conservation group. If you visit the first link I have here, you also get a nice Yahoo Maps guide to great views of the city. Some of the photography is so-so, but it gives you some great starting points for a fun day trip to take your own collection.

On one hand, I like that they spent the time to study these views and that there is the intention on using this info in urban planning. But $75k seems pretty steep to me for this report (and yes, I have actually read it). I applaud The Hillside Trust and their efforts over the years. I guess I'm more skeptical of the city actually using it in their planning and future development. I just hope this money wasn't wasted and that the report comes to good use.
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AHA: Thank You Ann Coulter!

No, Ann Coulter is not the latest AssHatAward winner (her head's so far up her ass she can't even smell her own bullsh*t anymore) - but it's because of her that the recipients got noticed: the Xavier University College Republicans.

And thanks to the Xavier University College Republicans and Young America’s Foundation bringing Ass Coulter to speak at Xavier University on September 6th, the GLBT rights group Equality Ohio was able to raise over $25,000 so far to help support students at XU working for justice, diversity, fairness and compassion. I love it. Her ignorant, racist, fascist, conservative rhetoric is actually doing some good - it's mobilizing people against her movement, and inadvertently helping to support organizations she rails against in her speeches. Nice job!

Coulter's speaking fee is over $20,000 - that's about $5 per XU student. I can't believe any organization would give a nickel to that intentionally bulimic c*nt - even the XUCR. Many conservatives don't want anything to do with her because of her continuously vile hate speech. So if you're wondering what kind of AssHat would pay that slut to come to Cincinnati, well look no further than your local Nazi party members. Hey XU kids, if you see these wankers walking around XU, give 'em a punch in the balls from me.

If you'd like to give to Equality Ohio and have them send a thank you note to Ann on your behalf, you can do so for as little as $5! They've exceeded every goal they set yet, and they're working toward $30,000 now.

Fun side note: there are 31 entries in the Urban Dictionary for Ann Coulter. Boy, she really has a lot of fans! One of my favorites includes this entry:

"Ann Coulter is actually a former drag queen from Key West named Pudenda Shenanigans. Ms. Shenanigans was famous for her renditions of 'Dude Looks Like a Lady' 'I will Survive' and 'You Shook Me All Night Long' as well as an extensive Barbra Streisand repertoire. We who used to work with her are concerned for her as well as upset by the vile hatred she has spewed towards her former friends in the gay community. We feel that by bringing the truth to light perhaps Ann will come to grips with her past and change her wicked ways.

As Pudenda Shenanigans, she was well known on the drag circuit in Key West. Whether she actually had a full sex change or not is a matter of debate, although her adam’s apple is still visible in photos, under the appropriate light."

She does look like a post-op tranny, doesn't she? Not that that's a bad thing - unless afterwards you become a huge anti-GLBT pundit like she has. If only she really was post-op - then at least she can't breed and that'd keep her f**ked up DNA out of the gene pool.
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Great theatre - for free!

The University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music has announced its 2007-2008 Studio Series, which are free productions theater and opera. CityBeat's A&E Blog picked up on this the other day, I'm just passing it along.

The theater in which these shows are performed is small and intimate and even though the performers are students these kids are some of the best. And this year they're doing TWO Sondheim shows!
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AHA: Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!

Been a busy week and I meant to blog this earlier. This week's AssHat is a real winner, and now that the week is over officially, I can definitely say that no one was able to top his AssHattery. Not only is he a child predator, but he's about the stupidest one I've ever heard of.

(Details and pic after the jump.)

So this genius decided to stalk someone he didn't know and supposedly met accidentally via a wrong number - even after she said she was an underage girl. I don't want to give any more away - read the article. But I can to tell you, jailarity ensues.

Definitely proof that the gene pool is mighty polluted.

BONUS ROUND: Anyone know the reference in the title of my post?
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Regatta destroys OTR?

The good folks over at Cincinnati Downtown Parents pointed out that this weekend's Rubber Duck Regatta will help raise money that will be funding the demolition of two historic OTR buildings so they can build a parking lot for semi trailers.

(Pics of the buildings after the jump.)

I never go to RiverFest anyway (too crowded), and have never participated in the Regatta. But I wanted to spread the word in case you're thinking of sponsoring one of those cute little ducks this weekend. I'm not saying they're satan's waterfowl, but I just wanted you to know where your money's potentially going. I think this is an important issue and the Freestore needs to be made aware of how you stand on it.
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