Home Work
My first introduction to the business world was in insurance. I used to marvel at the blasé casualness of homeowners and Realtors® in particular when it came to insurance. The ritual was always the same, beginning the moment the intercom buzzed and the words "Ineedit Now from Should-Have-Called-a-Week-Ago-Realty is on line 1." Immediately the clarions…
News: Out of Our Bedrooms
Doug Trapp Violence and harassment targeting people for being gay ordisabled would become distinct offenses under a proposal by Cincinnati City Councilmen John Cranley (left) and David Crowley. Covington might soon be able to promote itself as the tolerance capital of the Tristate. The largest city in Northern Kentucky is about to hold public…
Brunch becomes a breath of fresh air
Sunday brunch is one of the week's more pleasant meals, given its leisurely pace. How about enhancing your pleasure with a beautiful natural setting? The Hamilton County Park District offers two choices for BRUNCH IN THE PARK: Mill Race Banquet Center (through March 9) at Winton Woods in Springfield Township or Sweetwine Banquet Center (through…
How Do You Measure Up?
Over the years, we've seen many people begin a fitness program with enthusiasm, only to be discouraged when they step on the scales to notice they've either gained weight or remained the same. The discouragement most often results in the individuals giving up on their goals because they believe there's no use in trying. If…
Diner: Sticker Shock
I'm generally very empathic when visiting a restaurant during its infancy. Having opened a couple myself, I know it takes a few weeks for most to work out the knots and find their rhythm. On the other hand, if a restaurant opens with a high-end menu (most entrées priced above the market median) and a…
I Read the News Today, Oh Boy
Do you remember a few years ago when The Enquirer and The Post announced they were reducing the size of their printed pages and pitched it as a "better fit" for readers because the new size would be "handier?" Sure, they saved a lot of money on newsprint, but, you know, it was all for…
Legislators Let Corporations Dodge State Taxes
Ohio's primary business tax has shriveled significantly over the past three decades. Accounting for 16.45 percent of the general revenue fund in 1972, the corporate franchise tax comprised only 7.27 percent of that fund in 1999, a year in which corporate profits were near historic highs. Relative increases in other taxes accounted for some of…
News: Profilers R Us
White people must speak out against racial discrimination, according to Scott Seidewitz. Most of the neighbors in East Walnut Hills liked Smitty, the teen entrepreneur who washed cars in his mentor's driveway to make cash. Some neighbors were uncomfortable, according to Scott Seidewitz, Smitty's mentor. The neighbors, like Seidewitz, were mostly white; Smitty is…
Whirlygig: 63: Out on the Town
Run, Run, Run, Run, Runaways Thank goodness we've gotten to February. That means January is behind us. I don't have any hard feelings toward January other than the weather was less than forgiving and the holiday expenditures have a way of landing in the mailbox. The unfortunate news is that the real estate tax bill…
Cover Story: The New Queens of Noise
The Donnas When The Donnas signed to Atlantic Records, singer Brett Anderson remembers telling the label her band had no qualms about trying to break through to a larger mainstream audience. "(We were like) 'OK, well, that's what we want to do,' " Anderson says. "We want to be on (MTV's teen-friendly countdown) TRL…
Music: The Death (and Rebirth) of Hip Hop
Anna Kipervaser "Me and my girls … were listening to the radio and we were talking about the state of black music today or should I say the non-existent state of black music today." Ursula Rucker, "What???" (Supa Sista, 2001) Seems like lately, everyone wants to know where you were when Hip Hop…
Hymn to Him
Heroes are at home. Randy is my aesthetic yardstick, my operative, deputized spy and intellectual paramour. Peerless in his frustration, anger, rage and truth-telling with the chocolatey center, he's the O.G. Negro Tour Guide. Hear me? Do you believe in magic? When we were kids I did, because he did. I even climbed onto his…
News: Blogarithms
Jymi Bolden Blogging allows self-described "news junkie" Brian Griffin a public forum for his views on current events, the state of journalism — and other blogs. If you have pent-up aggression or a political peeve, a pet bunny that's really cute — or a fetish for dressing like one — you can now write…
Listings
Art Opportunities 97X COMMUNITY GALLERY AND ARTISAN GROUP — A virtual art gallery of digital art, photography, sculpture, poetry, food and art has opened its doors on the pages of cathy@fittoncenter.org THE GREENWICH — Looking for artists to submit original works in their exhibition space, "Upstairs at the Greenwich." Ideal for two-dimensional works, it features…
Locals Only: : Workshop ‘Til You Drop
Katherine Sontag Andrew Geonetta (left)and Tristen Shields Until last year, Allyn's Café in Columbia Tusculum on a Tuesday night was a sort of Bohemian musical workshop. Bustling with creative songwriters and musicians (and the music fans who loved them), local songwriters Brian Lovely and, later, Eric Diedrichs hosted a loose, yet nicely structured outlet…
Hello Again
For the past nine Januarys, I've left Cincinnati for 10 days to cover the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, the annual showcase for independent movies that's become the country's leading film festival. I like leaving Cincinnati at the beginning of the year. It clears my mind of the grief, cynicism and overall bad…
