Youngstown

A little shout-out to Youngstown for getting mentioned in the New York Times yesterday. Local entrepreneurs are trying to capitalize on various cities images, however tarnished that image may be. And they're doing it by creating and designing t-shirts that poke fun at their native city. Rusty Waters Apparel sells shirts extolling the virtues of Cleveland, Youngstown and Pittsburgh. I especially like the article mentioning in particular, the shirt featuring the Home Savings & Loan building and what the design represents. But my favorite is their MySpace quote, "Don't mess with the underdog. Rustbelt Warriors!"

July 4th in Northside

I've been wanting to go to the Northside 4th of July parade for the past few years but it's always been too hot & humid to pry me away from the pool. Since it was much cooler this time, 5chw4r7z and I grabbed our umbrellas and headed to Hamilton Ave. All the businesses were open, the first of which, Take the Cake was selling a wide array of delectable goodies. Alas, no pictures of any of our adventures. 5chw4r7z's camera died on the first picture. He was really kicking himself for not charging the batteries when I took him in to Shake It Records. I didn't realize he'd never been in there before. I don't get there often enough, but I smile every time I walk in there.

The parade and people watching were great. The rain didn't seem to dampen anyone's enthusiasm. Several people we knew participated in the parade, including Nigel from Below 0, who was walking along side and ice cream truck & ran back to give me a free treat!

We headed to the Northside Tavern after the parade. Apparently, everyone else had the same idea because it took us forever to get served. If you haven't been there recently, it's worth checking out. They have a huge new room in the back with hardwood floors, a new bar and an actual stage. It looks like bands won't have to play in the front window anymore. We picked up a menu from the Hideaway next door which I plan to hit the next time 5chw4r7z makes pizza- Cuban sandwhich, here I come.

The Only Good Cicada is a DEAD Cicada

Those beady-eyed little monsters have shown up again & what a racket they're making! All in search of sex. I think cicadas are the equilavent of drunk, horny frat boys. Flying around bumping into and onto everything in their path they wouldn't be so bad if they could be flung off; instead, you have to physically brush them off. There's so many in the Kenwood/Blue Ash/Madiera area no one wants to step outside, especially in the afternoon.

Taste of Cincinnati

How many times did you hit Taste? I think my record is now four times. I went with 5chw4r7z and friends on Sat and had what turned out to be my favorite dishes of the weekend: vegetable pad thai and chicken curry with rice from Arioi Dee. The pad thai was good, but I really enjoyed the spiciness in the chicken curry; too hot for some of my companions but it was just right for me.

Sunday 5chw4r7z accompanied me on my quest for chocolate mousse from Behle Street Cafe. Alas, we were too late and they had closed up for the night. We went on to the Courtyard Cafe stand where I had raspberry cloud pie instead. I liked it and the people at the stand were great, but the pie wasn't as good as I remember it from last year.

On Monday, since I was still on a quest for chocolate mousse, I decided to go down early in the afternoon, starting off at Market Street Grille, where I tried the jambalaya. Spicy happiness for me until I realized they didn't pull the tails off the shrimp! On to the Friday's booth where I had samples of two mojitos and won a hat. I also ran into someone I know, got a few samples (the Ghiardelli samples were the best!) and finally has my chocolate mousse, which was worth the wait, before heading home to beat the rain. Not bad for an hour's work! We went back down in the evening to check out Leroy Ellington and his band and made one last stop at Arioi Dee for the Thai vegetable spring roll. Over the course of the weekend, I tried everything from that place except for the California Roll.
Next on the schedule: Cincy Fringe!

Happy Mother's Day

Week in Review

Tuesday: 5chwartz and I braved the rain to attend the sold out preview performance of The Great American Trailer Park Musical, a raucous homage to all things white trash. With a cast full of CCM grads, it centers on an agorophobic housewife, her philandering husband and his stripper girlfriend. The performances were spot on, the set was amazing & the cast recieved a standing ovation at the end of the night. This is likely going to be one of the most talked about shows in Cincinnati this year. Get your tickets while you can; the original run is sold out. ETC has extended the run for two weeks after Fringe Fest.

Thursday: I now understand how guys feel trying to shop at Victoria's Secret. Shopping for a gift for Jennifer's baby shower, I felt completely out of place in Babies R Us. Even though I was armed with a registry and a map, I still had no idea where or what anything was. For those of you who know me well, this little shopping excursion should give you some idea of just how much she means to me.

Saturday: Went with a group of friends to the Funny Bone at Newport on the Levee courtesy of Zipscene.

Goodbye Matt

Although I've never been a supporter of the war, I do support all the brave men and women in the armed forces, particularly those serving in Iraq. With that in mind, I went down to Great American Ball Park yesterday for the Celebration Service for Staff Sergeant Matt Maupin, who was captured just a few months before we moved down here. After nearly four years of searching, his remains were found late last month and he returned home on Sat. I was out on Rt 32 on Friday and yellow ribbons were everywhere in Newtown along the route from Lunken Airport to the viewing site. At the service I thought I wouldn't cry since I didn't know him personally- that went out the window when they started showing pictures of him on the scoreboard and I could make out his parents in the front row.