Help Us Help Cincinnati!

If you are a resident of the Greater Cincinnati region, then this message is for you. A team of researchers from Northern Kentucky University is currently working on a study to better understand diversity in our city. Our goal is to better understand issues of race, religion, sexuality, class, and gender. We want to hear as many local voices as possible so I’m asking you to share your opinions and experiences with us by taking a brief, anonymous survey. In thanks, you’ll have the opportunity to enter for a chance to win one of four $50 gift cards to a local merchant. Thank you for your help!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/cincinnatidiversity

Stephanie Klatzke
Assistant Professor
Dept of Communication
NKU

Greetings to my fellow Cincinnatians!

Ginny Tonic here from The Charlie Tonic Hour, Cincinnati’s latest and greatest alternative podcast. My co-host Charlie and I do a weekly show where we explore the best things in our lives here in Cincinnati. Although we talk about lots of different topics, we are firmly grounded in the counter-culture. From alternative music to popular culture, from classic literature to our favorite drinks, we look at topics both serious and frivolous, with a playful attitude and plenty of innuendo.

Charlie and I are thrilled to be partnering with Make Cincinnati Weird, a blog we have long admired from afar. Like MCW, we are committed to finding and celebrating all the cool, creative, and quirky people and things here in Cincinnati. In addition to finding the weird things, we are also committed to trying to make that culture happen. Charlie and I are producers with Pandora Promotions, along with our partner, and sometimes co-host, Aloysius Fox. We put on Steampunk, Cabaret, and Sci-Fi themed events in and around Cincinnati. At the Voodoo Carnival on February 17th at The Redmoor, we are bringing together sword swallowers, can-can dancers, magicians, and the local bands Chakras and The Marmalade Brigade for a Mardi Gras themed masquerade.

When I’m not cabareting or podcasting, I can also occasionally be found go-go dancing with the utterly fabulous Doctor Bombay and the Atomic Bachelor Pad. The Doctor is bringing surf rock, go-go, and a twisting gorilla to a stage near you! You can check them out live at The Avenue Lounge in Covington on February 25th, or hear them every week on our podcast because they are the official house band of The Charlie Tonic Hour.

On our next show, we are interviewing Aloysius Fox about Ohayocon, reviewing a drink-mixing app, and I will give my defense of romance novels when we review Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase. Every show so far as been well-received and we expect this one to continue that trend. We’ve already gotten an unexpectedly high number of downloads on our first four episodes and have been featured in iTunes’ “New & Notable” section. Give us a listen and see if you agree.

So that’s who we are. Stop by www.charlietonic.com to read up on our latest activities, come to an event and say hi, or if you have an idea for something you would like to see us cover on the podcast, email us at podcast@charlietonic.com. We are always looking for a good bar to check out, a Cincinnati brewer to feature, or an local luminary to interview.

Written by Ginny Tonic

(Look for the Charlie Tonic Hour RSS feed at the right side of the blog!)

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We caught each others’ eye and smiled. In that moment, I complimented her hat, of which she said thank you and quickly asked me how to spell ‘courtesy’. I spelled out ‘courteous’ (way to go, Tree.). As I thought about what I had spelled, I realized I had a really ridiculous moment. I then went to my phone and typed the word in a text message and showed her. We both laughed as we both had the wrong spelling, and she got off the bus in that moment.

When she got off, she said something to the driver, but I didn’t make it out. But when I saw her go in front of the bus, I realized she was grabbing her bike from the bike rack. How awesome and unexpected was that?! She had this nice bag, dressed well, and was riding a bike! It was a cute blue bike with a rack on the back.

It’s beautiful weird moments like this that make me appreciate public transit.

By Latria

(PS — She mentioned needing an English tutor. I think we both do, haha! Any graduated English majors out there willing to give me free tutoring? There is always room for improvement, right?)

Have you noticed these directional signs in downtown Cincinnati? I’ve been seeing them for the last few months. At first, I thought this was some sort of prank: the signs are almost too official-looking with their Modern pedestrian icons, arrows and distances. So, basically these are instructions for how to use the sidewalk, right?

I couldn’t tell if the sign signified that the walking route lasts for 3 miles or begins in 3 miles. So strange… Then I saw this pair of signs at the corner of 8th and Race:

What the what? Which way do I go?

Next to Fountain Square, I finally found an answer of sorts, in the form of a larger map showing three walking routes:

So, let me get this straight. People should be getting more exercise, and walking is an easy way to do it. I certainly can’t argue with that. But three distinct walking routes? Through a small downtown business district? Which features a straightforward grid and East and West numbered streets? Is this for real?

As a graphic designer, I love to think about how important, pervasive and persuasive my field is, but this scheme is basically a Rube Goldberg machine rendered in gratuitous signage. Am I wrong?

What kind of urban environment encourages walking? For starters, you need maintained sidewalks, appropriate lighting, interesting architecture, storefront businesses, places to stop [sidewalk benches and parks] and places to get out of the elements [arcades and awnings]. You need things to walk to and also things to walk past. You also need a perception of safety, and seeing other pedestrians helps in that regard. Understanding your physical surroundings is an issue but, as I mentioned, downtown Cincinnati is easy to understand.

As someone who walks through downtown all the time, I can attest to the fact that it’s walkable regardless of this signage. It can be unpleasant, though, and these signs don’t fix that. It’s pretty obvious that Cincinnati is not a pedestrian-friendly town, even downtown. NYC is famous for its aggressive drivers, but Cincinnati’s drivers are aggressive and clueless.

I’m reminded of the “love tap” I received from an SUV backing out of a parking lot at full speed, and also of the gentleman who called me a “fucking whore” because he almost hit me while running a red light. I’ve seen drivers go half a block in the wrong direction on a one-way street as a shortcut to a parking lot. It seems like everybody runs red lights — not just regular schmucks, but school buses, cop cars, mail trucks, and Metro buses.

If I were in charge of an initiative to encourage walking, I would just send all the drivers in for a refresher course, to unlearn that a yellow light means “speed up” and a red light means “gun it.”

Written by Maya Drozdz / VisuaLingual

Re-posted from:  VisuaLingual.wordpress.com: “Walking Routes in Downtown Cincinnati”

Me, I’m an avid bar-goer. I think of it more like visiting the local public house (which, by the way, is where the term “pub” came from). That’s why I love to stop by the Northside Tavern, for example, which is only a block from where I live. I’m bound to see some people I know, and it’s great to share a beer and sit out by the fire pit, discussing politics, the new album I’m listening to, or the latest episode of Breaking Bad. Even if I have every intention of drinking until I’m squarely inebriated, busy bar nights annoy me to no end. I don’t want to be around a bunch of yelling, screaming, drunk people, unless they are my friends. I want to actually be able to have conversations with people, away from the distractions of home and work, whilst enjoying some tasty brews.

So, New Year’s Eve rolls around. I’m trying to think of what I want to do, and the images forming in my mind are pretty disappointing. Crowds of people I don’t know, waiting for 25 minutes to get a drink because some n00b is buying 20 washington apples, getting my beer spilled all over me when some bro comes stumbling through the room… no thanks.

Fortunately, a couple of days before my New Year’s Eve plans were settled, I received a magical bit of news: The Rake’s End would be open for the last night of 2011.

The Rake’s End is a new bar (actually, let’s say “pub’) located in historic Brighton. Brighton has become more popular recently for being home to gallery hops along Central Ave, the now-closed event venue inside the old Mockbee, or the community-driven living opportunities. I’ve recently been dating someone who lives in Brighton, so I am down there a lot. The idea of ringing in the new year at a new bar, especially one in an up-and-coming neighborhood, was very appealing to me; especially since I knew we could just walk back to her place afterward and hang out, rather than waiting an hour in the cold for a cab.

It turned out to be a great night. We took the Cincinnati Metro downtown to have a couple of fancy drinks at Japp’s, and big surprise, one of my favorite bands, The Dukes are Dead, were playing there. We stayed for a while, but made it a point to catch the metro back to Brighton, where we could ring in the new year at The Rake’s End.

Riding the bus to Brighton

Here’s what I knew going in: I’d see a lot of familiar faces. I also suspected that it would be busy, but not packed-to-the-wall-with-amateurs busy. I also knew that the guy running the place, Jerome, doesn’t do anything halfway. The bar would be fully stocked, there would probably be a credit card machine (though I brought cash, just in case), and there would be a place out back to smoke. I also expected that there would be champagne.

I was correct.

I saw many of my favorite people. The place was cozy, comfortable, clean and spacious. There was enough room to host a band or a DJ in the future. There were a couple of bartenders and your drinks came quickly. There was a TouchTunes Jukebox on the wall, and everyone was feeding it Washington’s to make the vibe their own. There were no televisions (thank goodness… much as I like watching the over-commercialized three-ring broadcasts on New Year’s Eve). You could step out back with your beverage of choice to enjoy a cancer stick if that’s your thing, or just to get some fresh air and hang out with the smokers. They also had this spicy snack mix. My friend Heather described it as “delectable”.

I got to ring in the new year with my loud voice counting down the seconds off the atomic clock that is my iPhone. It was the perfect way to celebrate the good and bad of 2011, and welcome 2012 with open arms.

Readers, you should all make it a point to check out The Rake’s End. Now, it won’t be open every night, at least not for now. Brighton is very much a do-it-yourself kind of neighborhood. As far as I’m aware, there aren’t many (if any) city, state or federal monies being used to revitalize or sustain it. There aren’t any big investment or development companies going in to clean the place up and gentrify it. So, you’ll need to know when it’s open if you want to stop by. Here’s a hint: It will be open this weekend to celebrate my friend Brittany’s birthday, who by the way took these great photos from New Year’s Eve.

          
Photos courtesy of Brittany Skelton

The Rake’s End is located at 2141 Central Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45212. The doors will be open around 9:00pm this Saturday. Come check it out.

Written by Matthew Risher.