Kate's Queen City Notes

February 23, 2015
by allthenamesaretakensothisisreallyreallylong 2 Comments

Snowfilled Vistas

I saw ice in the river for the first time this winter. Of course, I had to shoot it.

The river looked incredible with the large chunks of ice floating buy.

This is inside one of my favorite places to eat in the city. Pho Lang Thang.

There were a few brave souls that managed to leave the house.

Don’t worry everyone. The city couldn’t manage to get the major interstate plowed, but Paul Brown Stadium is perfectly cleared. So, that will be a big help when the Bengals play next August.

Evidence of other people braving the weather.

The Findlay Market snow removal team had their work cut out for them.

A building on 4th Street during renovation.

The building two doors down is under renovation. That means there’s lots of decay to ruminate on.

The Ohio River facing west off the Roebling Bridge.

Watching the ice float by made me enter a meditative state. It was accidentally a practice in being present.

Bell’s beer tasting was delightful as was the CSO’s performance of The Planets.

February 23, 2015
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Low Cut Connie Blew Up MOTR with Old Style and Jean Jackets

This was my third time seeing Low Cut Connie. They tore through MOTR pub on Friday the 21st in a style that Jerry Lee Lewis would appreciate. They’ve revived a retro rock and roll sound with all the stage energy to deliver it in a brain sizzling wallop. The best way for me to convey the energy of this show would be to describe one of the audience members behavior there. A middle aged man took a shot, mysteriously lost his coat, equally mysteriously gained a Domo toque, and then held the toque aloft as though enticing the audience to engage in battle on behalf of Domo. Here’s a few shots.

The piano was really well tuned. I don’t know how your roll a piano over the Midwest’s pothole riddled highways and keep a piano in tune.

Low Cut Connie’s drink of choice seemed to be Old Style tall boys.

His very shiny jacket said nads on the back.

This piano seems to be equipped for rough treatment.

That’s probably not ergonomically correct.

The only problem with Low Cut Connie’s show was that it was a little short. More! More indie rock!

February 19, 2015
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100 books by 40: GOOD OMENS

Book: Good Omens
Authors: Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Published: 1990

The writers of Supernatural, the TV show, seemed to borrow many of their idea from this book. The similarities are so close that I looked to see if one of the authors also write for the show. When I came up dry there, I checked to see if the show credits Gaiman or Pratchett. My less-than-exhaustive research came up dry.

What I did find is that rumors of Good Omens becoming a movie have been swirling for some time. These rumors have been persistent enough that the actor that plays Crowley in Supernatural was asked if he has been approached to play Crowley in the Good Omens movie. The actor denied this.

I wonder what’s up with the intellectual property here? Perhaps the authors or the publishing company lack the motivation to file suit. Maybe the publishing company and authors see the fan fiction that has sprouted merging the two story lines and sense that this is good for all involved. Or maybe the similarities relegated to side characters, aren’t significant enough for a claim.

In the book, an angel and demon join forces to postpone the apocalypse. The unique picture of good and evil that this book paints is reason enough for me to recommend reading this book. The book’s take on the banality of evil is communicated effortlessly; a feat that isn’t lost on me due to my past experience with numerous psychological texts that struggle to convey the same.

The shimmering, dry British humor, also reason enough to recommend the book, is a welcome diversion from the weighty premise of the book. That being said. This book is great for divergent interests; moralists and humorists can unite. If a book can be described as a romp, this would be the book. Read it.

February 18, 2015
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100 books by 40: ULYSSES

Book: Ulysses
Author: James Joyce
Published: 1920

I was warned about this book. The warnings were justified. Aside from the more obvious difficulty around a lack of quotations, the lack of prose tires my eyes in unanticipated ways.

And then there is my honed scholarly habit of rereading sentances that I failed to comprehend. I find myself doubling back numerous times on the same page. This habit served me well in my studies in organic chemistry and geology. In this context, my habit isn’t useful.

I have to enter a semi-meditative state and let the words flow over me. The book is less a dissection of form and plot and more about learning new reading habits. Allowing my mind to let go of what I don’t understand is liberating.

Will I understand critical plot points? Probably not. I struggled to identify when Leo Bloom was taking a crap, a bit of ammunition used to classify this work as obscene. There are references to Ireland’s relationship to Great Britain for which I am missing critical context. Let it all wash away or commit to reading this book for the better part of 2015.

I know this book is supposed to take place over the course of one day. I also know that there are two main characters who’s lives careen together through the course of that day. I know that the chapters seem to be written from different people’s perspectives, and in significantly different writing styles. I also know that primary themes are the meaning of life and the part that religion plays in our lives.

I enjoyed the experience of reading this book, but I find my feelings for it difficult to grasp as I do many of the details of my dreams. There’s subjective experiences that the book captures better than any writing I’ve seen. The cacophony of a full bar, and the happenstance of new friendships that crop up there are perfectly translated to letters. The flighty nature of consciousness is flawlessly captured. It’s this precise capture that puts this book in my repeat read list. I didn’t understand a lot of it, but the bits I did were beautiful.

February 17, 2015
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Swan Song For Day Camp

Chuck Cleaver is a compelling person to watch on stage. So, when I saw that he was opening for my friends’ band at The Drinkery it felt like ice cream on pie. Pie is super, and there’s little than can improve upon it aside from ice cream.

This was Day Camp’s last show, so if you missed them you’re officially screwed. But I snagged some photo evidence. They sounded great, so here’s to going out on a high note. Pun intended.

Chuck Cleaver, of Wussy. Also, Grammy detractor, but he’s got a point.

Chuck played Grand Champion Steer, which basically made my night.

The Ready Stance at The Drinkery

Day Camp with guitars at the ready… stance. I’m sorry, I had to.

Um, in another blog I am going to take a picture of the Day Camp cassette that I purchased. It has a cat on it. That’s all you need to know to understand the full awesomeness of this purchase.

The Drinkery is a really cool venue. I keep forgetting about how much I like the lighted window as a back drop for the band. Plus, the band sort of advertises for themselves in the window. I like it when two problems get solved at once.

Day Camp was great. They coupled dissonant guitars with melodic bass lines.

February 12, 2015
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100 Books by 40: BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY

Book: Bridget Jones’s Diary Author: Helen Fielding Published: 1996 Ambivalent is a good word to describe my feelings about this book. It was an easy humorous read, but it made the feminist in me rage. I saw the movie years ago. I recall feeling mild amusement.

The book is set-up as a diary, and Bridget is obsessed with her weight and finding a boyfriend. As though women are incapable of having any interests outside the man in their lives, or getting a man in their lives. Not only is this notion offensive, it’s destructive.

Shame on you Helen Fielding for confirming all the worst things that culture tells us to believe about ourselves. Anyone that hangs all of their happiness, hopes, and dreams on their significant other is promised one thing. Disappointment. You’ve just put all the weight of your life on this relationship and your future partner. No human being can, nor should, live up to this sort of pressure. Bridget Jones is delusional. Relationships at their best are a mixed bag of wonderful and difficult. You will have beautiful moments; you will have terrible moments. That’s what it means to build a life with another person.

I wish I could say the snarky British humor trumps the GOD AWFUL MESSAGES TO WOMEN in this book. It doesn’t. I don’t need Helen Fielding telling me to obsess about my weight and finding a man (or woman in my case), as those messages are constant in our culture. I want to bitch-slap Bridget Jones. And Helen Fielding.

February 11, 2015
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Bellvue Street Walker

We took advantage of the warm weather on Saturday to explore Bellvue by bike. We had lunch at The Elusive Cow, and had a walk about the neighborhood. I took some shots.

The Marianne Theater is adorable. I want someone to show old movies there.

We stopped in at an antique shop. Oddities abounded.

Was this movie out the last time this theater was in operation?

Juxtaposition.

I bet this toy would really disappoint today, given that most kids are playing games on iPads.

February 10, 2015
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100 books by 40: BLEAK HOUSE

Book: Bleak House
Author: Charles Dickens
Published: 1853

Bleak is an accurate description of how I felt when I started this book. The gray Cincinnati winter seems the most suitable companion for slogging through this enormous book. I was cheered by the fact that this is the last Charles Dickens book in my list. All of my earlier struggles with The Bronte Sisters and Jane Austen have paid out in how quickly I jumped back into Dickens.

Of the many things to object to with this book, the obsession with 1800’s British legal system was most irritating. Long passages are devoted to the courts. I skimmed over those passages without guilt.

Fortune has put this book toward the end of my list. There are twenty books standing between me and my goal of finishing The BBC’s 100 Best Books list. The momentum of eighty books down and twenty to go carried me to the end of this book.

The sheer number of side characters in this book is overwhelming. I can’t say that the subplots add that much to the book. Actually, scratch that. I can’t say anything about the book added that much to my life. Great Expectations and David Copperfield deserved to be on this list. Bleak House, not so much. If you want to get into Dickens, steer clear of this one.

February 9, 2015
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Who Needs Clothes? Automagik Doesn’t

I checked out Automagik on Saturday night at MOTR. I didn’t know much about the band, so I didn’t have expectations. They have a bombastic sound and stage presence. Their high energy reminded me a bit of Cincinnati’s own Foxy Shazam. The vocalist enjoyed the show so much that he stripped down to his boxers for the last half of the show. Everyone deserves some privacy, so I decided to keep the pictures of that to myself. One could argue that all the fans with cell phones have already posted pictures. I’m sure they have. But that’s on them.

Automagik working out out.

Grand pronouncements!

February 5, 2015
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Brussels Sprouts: Some Recipes That Look Bad Are Bad

I love Brussels sprouts. I almost always order them out, when they are on the menu. I decided it was time to perfect my own preparation of them. I made two recipes. The first was a great success; the second was not.

At my first attempt, I chose this recipe from Martha Stewart. I have made many of her recipes, so she gets my implicit trust. Plus, I didn’t have a lot of fancy ingredients on hand, so the simplicity was appealing.

The sprouts turned out great. I stood at the fridge eating the sprouts out of the bowl cold when I was looking for a snack. This early success might have lulled me into what happened next.

I was looking for a Brussels sprout recipe with balsamic vinegar. I have a delicious aged bottle of balsamic that would be lovely in this context. After perusing several recipes, I settled on this one at Food.com. I was suspicious of the sugar immediately. But I put away my doubt after a quick look at the reviews. Plus, recipes surprise me sometimes. Admittedly, they surprise me infrequently. I gave this a go in spite of my misgivings.

Those little alarm bells that jangled in my mind when I looked at the sugar content in that recipe were spot on. Let’s just say caramel dipped Brussels sprouts isn’t a thing for a very good reason. My mind was saying I was eating a vegetable, but my mouth was saying it was a rum soaked raisin.

What have I learned? I won’t trust reviews on Food.com from this point forward. I don’t know how that recipe got 5 stars. The only explanation I can come up with is that said reviewers will like anything that tastes like candy.