5chw4r7z:: the ethos of downtown Cincinnati

Ocho Cinco's corvette

Ok, not really, but the first thought I had when seeing this car is that only someone who dyes their Mohawk gold could drive something this tacky and not be embarrassed.

Oh yeah, chaaampionship! WHO DEY!

Movie Night and the Macy's Music Fest

I was just a little surprised by the crowd at movie night, almost every chair was filled and people had blankets spread out and were sitting around on them. The concession stand had a line all night, it almost had a drive-in feel to it. If the drive-in had a 45' tall fountain that is.

On one of the wide entrances to PBS people had gathered in camp chairs and blankets sitting around watching the big screen and listening to the music. I was surprised more people weren't doing it. We just saved $170.

Man you can't make stuff like this up.

A device left on a railroad bridge over the Maumee River in Toledo caused authorities to evacuate a five-block area. The device which had wires and battery was safely blown up by a bomb squad.
Leudtke Engineering of Frankfort, Mich said it will cost about $11,000 to replace the instrument that monitors the depth of the river. A spokesman said “From now on, we’re going to put our name, number and stuff on the outside,”
OOPS!!

Why downtown?

Walkscore is an interesting google map wiki. Type in your address and it gives you a walkability score from 1 to 100 with 100 being the most desirable. They say 90 to 100 is a walkers paradise. I scored a 97 downtown, which I already knew from the fact that I can go weeks without seeing my car.
Walkscore runs down the whole list of reasons you should walk instead of drive, but they miss the most important reason of all as far as I'm concerned, socialbility. Do you drive past people you recognize and wave? I walk by and stop and talk, its hard to go more than a block or two downtown and aviod this from happening.

BenGals Mini Camp

Looks like all the recruits showed up for the early mandatory workouts. Too bad the practice field is so big, I don't have one of those giant lenses for the good shots.

Petit Le Mans @Mid-Ohio

Initially I wasn't going to post anything on this but the pictures came out pretty good so what the hay. The weather was perfect for watching a race, mid 80's and low humidity. It doesn't hold a candle to the circus that is F1 but we still had a good time. Penske Racing with their Porsche Spyder won, if you're keeping score at home.

Pool Party II..Jackies B-day

Daft punk is playing at my house, my house
I bought fifteen cases for my house, my house
All the furniture is in the garage
Well everybody’s lined up in my house, my house
And Jacki’s girlfriend is working the door
‘Cause daft punk is playing at my house, my house
And never, never let them go
No never, never, never let them go
Let them go Downtown

LCD Soundsystem Daft Punk is Playin at my House

Parker Flats Friday

Haven't done one of these in a while but i was excited to see the progress they've made.
The first picture of the construction at Parker Flats is from the Central Ave side and the next two are my second floor balconies from McFarland. Man these are going to be incredible.
I can kind of see the width of the '08s from where the hole is for the stairs but it doesn't translate to a picture at all.

Tags:Parker Flats Cincinnati Ohio

Sez and his crew

These guys have a free wall they paint up once a month or so.

ACTION ALERT FOR ALL CIGAR ENTHUSIASTS!

Currently before the United States Senate is a proposal to fund health insurance on the backs of tobacco products to the tune of $35 billion (that's Billion with a B). Most egregious is the proposed tax rate on cigars of 53.1%, including a breathtaking 20,400% increase in the cap. This would make handmade cigars - a true mom-and-pop industry, a product enjoyed by choice an average 3 times per week - the single largest excise taxed item in the entire Internal Revenue Code....by a long shot.

This piece of legislation is called SCHIP (State Childrens Health Insurance Plan). Tonight this bill is being marked up in the Senate Finance Committee and is expected to come to the Senate floor for a vote as early as end of week.

Double Damn! My cheap pool cigars won't be cheap any more.
bastids.
If you live in Ohio call these two guys and call them a bunch of names.

Sen. George V. Voinovich 202-224-3353
Sen. Sherrod Brown 202-224-2315

580 building and Oceanaire

For some reason it has escaped me until this past weekend that the facade of the 580 Building has been finished. I really like how it turned out. Regular readers of Cinplify already know this but seafood restaurant Oceanaire will open there. I really hope they include outdoor seating and if they do, then between them, Cadillac Ranch and soon to open Nada, 6^th and Walnut will be a real hoppin corner.

New seafood spot - The Oceanaire Seafood Room has signed a lease downtown for the street level space of the 580 Building at seventh and Walnut (former space of Havana Martini Club). It will be the anchor for the newly renovated retail area. Oceanaire is an upscale chain with locations in 12 cities, including Indianapolis.

Shell Oil is catching a ton of flack over this ad. Ok I'll admit they are probably doing it for selfish reasons to distract everyone from their environmental record, and record profits. But hey don't all businesses run ads in their own self interest?
I'm just glad they are trying to raise awareness over legitimate concerns.

Hudepohl Square

We were biking around Saturday morning when I saw the smokestack for Hudepohl sticking up, I know, for long time residents this isn't anything but I had never known where this was, always figured it was hidden in OTR somewhere. Anyhow as I'm taking pictures and staring wide eyed like some hayseed from the country, a guy walks up and asks what I'm up to, so I tell him how I'm just into picture taking. Turns out he's Weal Safi, one of the developers of Hudepohl Square. He gives us an oral tour of the place pointing out features they want to keep and eliminate and what they are expecting to build. The ceilings inside are 35' and they are planning multi-level condos with glass facades. Should make for some dramatic spaces. They are also planning on saving the 17 story smokestack for the historical significance and also just as a trademark.

Javier's..tengo gusto!

One of the many cool things about a vacation day is getting to visit a downtown eatery that usually doesn’t stay open past lunch. One of these is Javier's, the very first place Ms. 5chw4r7z and I ate in Cincinnati. He has a new location at 8th and Walnut that is about ten times larger than the old Court Street location. I remember the food being good but, I got a Burrito con Pollo and it was even better than I remember. It was made with pulled chicken (that’s Spanish for shredded) and it was tender. A burrito and a drink and I got change back from a $7.
Maybe its better that it closes before I get home from work otherwise I'd be there a couple times a week.
City Beat called it Mexican Fusion, I just call it good.

Cincinnati Supper Club gathering

This months Cincinnati Supper Club gathering was held at Joe's apartment overlooking the scenic Washington Park in OTR. Keeping with tradition the food, company and conversation were delicious.

Cadillac Ranch

For the All Star Game we walked down and finally got in the new Cadillac Ranch. There have been some huge crowds there but I think being a Tuesday it wasn't hard to find a nice seat at the bar. We didn't eat anything but the menu prices seemed to run about a dollar more than Rock Bottom. All in all I'd say it was a really cool place to hang out for the game, it wasn't the overwhelming country scene I thought it was going to be, more of a Tex-Mex with lots of cactus pictures and western themes.