Pride Week!

I know this is totally and completely nerdy...

And I know I've been kind of critic of the whole process...

And I know Cincinnati's isn't the coolest in the region...

And I kind know what I'm going to expect in terms of stuff happening...

And my siblings will probably be here and staying with me...

...but I have to say, I'm kind of excited Pride is here :-).

In fact, I'm really excited Pride is here.

I mean, aren't you?

Check out the CityBeat article featuring me and Jamie from Stuff Queer People Need to Know and Cameron from IMPACTCincinnati and... etc. etc. etc. And don't forget Wolfie from Back2Stonewall.com's article -- Reason to Rally.

Leviticus: Faggot

Oh how the world goes round.

I fell in love with Kathy Y. Wilson, aka "Your Negro Tour Guide," when she published a column in 2003 entitled Leviticus: Faggot, after the song by Me'Shell Ndege Ocello by the same name. Wilson wrote the piece in response to the New Years Eve murder of Gregory Beauchamp.

Beauchamp's murder has yet been unsolved. Until, apparently, today, when inmate Jerry Jones was indicted for his murder. 

Reposted here is the entirety of Kathy Y. Wilson's column, via the CityBeat Website:

"Hey faggot, better run, run, run 'cause Daddy's home/ Daddy's sweet little boy just a little too sweet/ and every night the man showed the faggot what a real man should be."
-- "Leviticus: Faggot," Meshell NdegeOcello

It was as though the soon-to-be murder suspects in the dark blue Cadillac said, "Oh no you don't!" Discontent to let the year subside without doing their part, they eked out the city's 65th homicide for 2002 with a few hours to spare.

Gregory Beauchamp, 21, stood on the corner of Vine and West Liberty streets on New Year's Eve with at least three friends, the caller told me. The dark Cadillac pulled to the light.

Beauchamp and his group stood there, perhaps reveling and maybe a little tipsy already. Maybe they flamed like flamboyant gay men do: Arms flailing, hips thrust forward, heads cocked back -- gay, proud, outrageous and excited about the night ahead.

Two in the group were transvestites -- "he-shes," the caller said -- and they were on their way to the Venus Club, 1314 Vine St., to bring in the New Year. They were noticeable; gay men who interpret themselves this way are conspicuous.

But on a corner in a neighborhood where black men sport the "uniform" -- jeans two sizes too big sagging nearly to their knees, hoodies, Timbos and bubble coats making them identical and profileable -- a gay man hanging with two transvestites sticks out like me at a Klan rally.

And the butch black male ego recoils at, then reviles against and finally eradicates such outlandish behavior because gay men are antithetical to his outlandish butch posturing. There's no room in the 'hood for faggots.

But ask the faggots under assault, and they'll tell you many of the homies vomiting gay-bashing hate speech at them are the same ones -- Tupac-bumpin', Courvoisier sippin' brothas -- now populating a subculture of B-Boys trolling gay clubs for head. But that doesn't make them faggots.

They receive. That makes them men.

While under the cover of darkness and with some anonymity they enjoy the game of sexual subjugation, these "men" despise what, in broad daylight, they might become. Then a cycle of violent self-loathing ensues that absolutely must be transferred onto the lowest on the food chain -- the faggot.

For a black man dwelling in the ghetto of his myopic mind, a faggot is the worst possible thing he can become. Faggot is the worst word he could ever call his enemy.

To banish a faggot with words and bullets is the ultimate form of rebellion against the powers that have conspired against him. It says this: If I'm nothing according to them, the faggot is even less according to me.

Back to life and death. The four or five young black men in the dark Cadillac yelled epithets at the group on the corner. "Fuckin' faggot-ass bitches!" I can just imagine it.

Surely Beauchamp, an affable and openly gay man to his friends, was accustomed to verbal assaults. This is Cincinnati, after all.

The caller said the car circled the block, returning with still more passengers. More vitriol was vomited from the car.

Then came the only thing left to do for a 'hood rat who's trying to impress his colleagues and secure his membership in this distorted brotherhood: Beauchamp was shot once in the chest. He died on that corner.

A burned-out metal skeleton matching the dark Cadillac was found later on New Year's Day, and the alleged perpetrators have scattered like roaches.

They should be proud, though. They had a hand in ensuring our city would top its previous murder record.

They added Beauchamp to the age bracket (18- to 30-year-olds) most affected by the murder rate. Plus they increased to 56 the number of men murdered in 2002.

And they killed a faggot. But there's no statistic for that.

I think she speaks about issues far more eloquently than I ever could. It's also nice to know that Beauchamp's murder may, finally, be laid to rest.

Wilson will be speaking at UC on the 16th at 6pm for those who are interested.

IMPACTCincinnati at City Council with NAACP

I don't have anything official for you guys yet -- pictures, quotes, etc. -- but I have received several phone calls today that IMPACTCincinnati's presence at the City Council meeting, along with the NAACP and the African-American community, is the beginning of something beautiful.

Word on the street was that local fabulosity, Jill Benavides, more or less rocked out her speech to Council, and the collected community was hugely receptive to the dialogue they have proposed. Word is that even Smitherman was receptive to beginning the change that needs to happen between the LGBT and African-American communities, addressing each's concerns about the other (both racism in the LGBT community and homophobia/heterosexism in communities of color).

Honestly, I wasn't sure this morning, and I had received a lot of negative responses to IMPACT's proposal, from people I love and respect. I think, however, from everything I'm hearing, it was the right thing to do at the right time.

Word on the steret is that both the Cincinnati Beacon and CityBeat were there. Keep an eye out for their responses.

Update: This also got posted on both the Beacon and Back2Stonewall.com, an interview with Cameron and Jill:

Christopher Smitherman: Warns us Queers

From Christopher Smitherman's show this weekend:

Cincinnati NAACP president warns GLBT community about criticizing appointment of anti-gay rights activist Chris Finney, 3/28/09 from Funky Broadway on Vimeo.
The information also appears in the latest CityBeat blog post:

“I think you should be very, very cautious LGBT community,” Smitherman said. “I think you should be very cautious moving forward. I don't think this is a tree you want to bark up. But if you want to go there, if this is what you want to do, we can go there.

“But the bottom line is your community as it deals with racism in the African-American community, you’re not there,” he continued. “You're absent. And then when it's convenient for you, you start evoking (sic) Dr. Martin Luther King. Proposition 8 lost in California because the (gay) community isn't properly engaging the African-American community. And you're showin' up at the last minute trying to build bridges and have relationships, and it doesn't work that way.”

I do like his point: "It's not enough to just talk about Martin Luther King."

Meanwhile, he makes an interesting point: "How can you be racist and be gay? It's an oxymoron to me." In the end, I think, racist pervades regardless of other minority indicators. But, then again, so does homophobia and heterosexism.

More Updates: the Enquirer picked it up, as did GoMagazine and the Democratic Underground.

Update: I just cut a lot out of this blog post. I'll let you guys do the talking. Tell me what you think. Also, if you decide to repost, just give us a heads up so we can track it across the world-wide-weirdness known as teh interweb. Like this post from the Lavender Newswire, which is about to be blogrolled here at QueerCincinnati.com, and the ever angry :-) Wolfie at Back2Stonewall.com,, and don't forget the Cincinnati Black Blog's reaction, as well as Cincinnati blog.

Click here for the whole series on the Chris Finney debacle on QueerCincinnati.com.

Chris Finney -- Part Three

Update: This blog was linked on Towleroad.com -- Thanks, Andy! -- and I wanted to welcome all the Towleroad readers over here to QueerCincinnati.com! To follow up with this story, there are lots of links in the follow posting, and you can check out my two other responses (Part 1, and Part 2). To sum up, for your benefit: Chris Smitherman, Cincinnati politician and President of the local NAACP and a historical supporter of LGBT rights here in the 'Nati, brought Chris Finney, arch-conservative firebrand and historical anti-gay activist, as the Chair of Legal Redress for the local organization. This details the further fallout of that decision...

I don't think we've ever gotten to a "Part Three" on any topic here at QueerCincinnati.com. Interesting. Those pictures are awful of both of them, btw.

I've been given the heads up by my "hacker" -- the mysterious person sending me links via my own account -- about two CityBeat bits that have come out about the Smitherman-Finney relationship. First, CityBeat (in its most recent issue) gives us a great lay out of Finney's history of anti-gay work here in town, including the first indication from Smitherman on his position: 

“Chris Finney has done a fabulous job for the NAACP over the last two years,” Smitherman says, referring to successful ballot issues that blocked a sales tax increase to build a new jail and repealed City Council’s decision to install red-light cameras at intersections. “He has earned our confidence in him with our legal work. I cannot be concerned with the interests of any other constituency group. I must look out for the interests of our membership.”

Hm. OK. Meanwhile, a blog post at CityBeat goes a little further into Smitherman's position:

Finney has belonged to the NAACP’s local chapter for about three years, Smitherman added. With his recent appointment as “chair of legal redress,” Finney becomes one of two white members on the chapter’s executive committee.

“You have to practice what you preach,” Smitherman said.

Also, Smitherman isn’t overly concerned if Finney’s appointment upsets Cincinnati’s gay community.

“As if I would care what they think about that. They don’t have a relationship with the Cincinnati NAACP,” Smitherman said. “(Finney’s) been working and communicating with us. The question is, where are these other communities?”

In fact, Smitherman dismisses much of the criticism about the appointment as instigated by the Hamilton County Democratic Party. Noting that the local party has opposed the NAACP chapter’s last three efforts — blocking a sales tax hike to build a new jail, overturning City Council’s approval of red-light cameras and trying to revive Proportional Representation — he said thoughtful residents should be more angered at the party.

“There’s no issue that we’ve put on (the ballot) that the Democratic Party has supported,” Smitherman said. “People call Chris Finney radical, but it’s the positions of the local Democratic Party that are radical.”

OK. Strange. George Ellis, President of Equality Cincinnati, in the former article, states that he would like to speak specifically to Smitherman about this appointment before any position is made. Ellis and I disagree on a lot, and I'll be interested to know the outcome of that meeting -- seriously, I would.

Smitherman has made, in the past, some excellent points about racism within the gay community. And I'm not going to say its unfair for him to go a step farther and ask where were these groups when the NAACP needed them? I think that's kind of the point of a progressive movment, isn't it? To build a movement, and to work together. So I'm not going to say Smitherman is completely off-balance by saying any of that. I think they are valid and interesting points to bring to the table when discussing LGBT-African American relations, especially in a city like Cincinnati. 

With no snarkiness, and absolutely no backstabbing or bitchiness, I'll say that I'm curious to know the outcome of a potential Equality Cincinnati-NAACP meeting over this very issue.

Meanwhile, friend Texas Liberal, a former Cincinnati resident, makes a fascinating connection: "Writing about this issue and seeing that Chris Finney is still causing trouble after I’ve been away from Cincinnati for 11 years reminds me of the Jean Sartre play No Exit. The same people year after year after year afflicting each other by dredging up bad memories and the inability to leave the room even though they may in fact have the option to go elsewhere."

And the Cincinnati Black Blog is up in an uproar over the -- ahem -- uproar: "The Beacon Boys are, quite predictably, mad about the appointment. They object to Finney because of his history of opposing special rights for white male homosexuals who want affirmative action and preferential treatment because of who they sleep with, even though there is no history of homosexuals, as a group, being denied jobs and contracts based on their sexual orientation." To which I have one response: why does anyone read the Cincinnati Black Blog? Why do I? I think it's just to get angry in the morning.

Finally, our friend Wolfie at Back2Stonewall.com is making waves trying to get in touch with the National NAACP over the appointment. He received this response: "As you know the NAACP’s national position does not condone any discrimination or denial of civil and human rights and that includes towards the LGBT community." He's waiting on further response.

As for me... well... 

...this is my first foray into politics, so I'm sitting back and listening, wondering, and reading. Except to say: maybe black folk aren't wrong. Maybe it's time we stood up for them at some point, too, instead of expecting them to stand up for us.

I'm just sayin'.

Other links: original Beacon story, Cincinnati blog response. 

Oh, and I just got another heads up from my hacker that Christopher Smitherman hosts a show every Saturday from 5:00pm-6:30pm on 1230am/WDBZ. It's a call-in program, apparently. I don't know. Again, I'm just sayin'

Update: I don't know if you are following the comments, but the story is starting to take off just a bit. Check out the run on Box Turtle Bulletin, 365Gay.com, and Lavender Newswire.

Maybe last day to vote?

I thought the last day to vote was yesterday, but the vote is still up...

So, make sure you vote in CityBeat's Best of the City 2009, and choose QueerCincinnati for "Best Blog" and "Best Website!"

You'll find both categories under the above graphic at the very end of the list before "JOCKS."

On being nominated...

If you haven't heard, and you probably have because I've been talking about it for the last 12 hours non-stop, I've been nominated for two Best of awards as part of City Beat's annual Best of the City. So I think you should go and vote for me right now. (Oh, and vote for Cameron Tolle as local activist.)

I know, I know, I know. There was not some secretive panel of CityBeat staffers who got together one day and said "you know, that QueerCincinnati.com website is awfully nifty, why don't we throw a nom his way?" I'm fully aware.

What makes being nominated more special to me is that someone out there in cyberspace liked QueerCincinnati.com so much that they looked at the list and thought, "You know what's missing? Let's nominate." Enough so that two different people did it, as I've also now been nominated in the blog and the website categories.

That's amazing to me. I try to post to keep you guys entertained and interested. I know I do it a lot -- it's a great combination of factors that lets me do this, and, more importantly my 90-100wpm typing speed helps out a bunch, as does my tendency to just write what's in my head as it comes out. Very little editing. I'm sure you can tell. So I post a lot. Partially so people will check in a bunch, partially so I pop up on people's blogrolls a lot, but mostly so that I know there will be something for you to read. I know there are people that check me every day; for the most part, I believe them. Like the websites I like, I want to make sure there is something fresh there if you decide to check in twice today.

And, since I work thirds, I like to have something fresh for you in the morning.

So, thank you. I appreciate the people that nominated QueerCincinnati.com. Thank you for taking the moment and remembering me.

I've been asked whether I want people to vote in the Best Blog category for me (much better and more widely known people as my competition) or Best Local Website category (many more competitors, but fewer well known ones... and I would be one of the few blogs on the list). I don't care. Please do vote for me (and tell me that you did!), but, I think, I'm just so happy that you remembered ... and that so many people have all ready voted for me, honestly believing that the vote was a good one ... well, that's kinda nice. Although it would be nice to be able to put the graphic up on the side bar... "Best of the City, 2009."

I've always been skeptical of people who say "It's just an honor to be nominated." You know what's funny? It kind of is.

It's also nice because it means, between Cameron and I and a few others, that the only thing you can vote on when it comes to gay stuff is not just the bars. Kind of refreshing, yea?

CityBeat's Best of the City, 2009

I don't have time to do a separate post right now, yet, but I will. I just wanted everyone to please note that QueerCincinnati.com was nominated for Best Local Website. Please vote for me :-). Kthxbye!

While I'm cooking (I know -- gasp, it happens occasionally -- how long do you cook chicken for, btw?), I thought I might write up, at least, the LGBT nominees on CityBeat's "Best of the Cincinnati 2009" competition (this link is correct... the one originally posted did not work).

So here is your official homosexual voting guide:

Eats
Overall Restaurant: There are three that I'll suggest. Palomino's because of the tres gay staff they tend to have; Honey because they are auspiciously located across the street from BronZ and Bullfishes, and I always see lesbians in there on dates; Melt because it's in Northside... and that's about it :-). My recommendation: Palomino's.

First Date Restaurant: Honey, hands down. Though I have never been on a date there, I see people in there on their first dates all the time. And then they wander over to BronZ where they proceed to destroy any chance of a relationship by getting drunk and going home together. Cheers to all of you for providing me with entertainment.

Restaurant with a view: Palomino's (see above).

Restaurant with live music: Blue Rock Tavern. Again, a Northside choice. But, more importantly, they are really gay friendly. When we were promoting the November 15th protest, Blue Rock Tavern's crowd was more friendly that the gay bars we went into.

Breakfast: Anchor Grill. Located down the street from Yadda Club, and one of the few greasy spoons open 24 hours, it turns into a gay bar once the bars close. Their goetta is awesome.

(Meal update -- the olive oil-garlic-rosemary chicken concoction I'm coming up with is smelling fabulous. Still waiting to start the au gratin potatoes; they're in a box, shut up.)

Chili (Non-Chain): Camp Washington Chili, hands down. Why is it gay? Because Pizza Delivery "boy" Joe loves it. Anything he does makes it immediately gayer.

Coffeehouse: Sitwell's, where IMPACT Cincinnati meets and local personality, Locke, works. Too bad their service sucks most days... too few people working there, too many people not ordering anything. I would have said Kaldi's because they have always treated us well and the crowd is always awesome, as is the staff, but they closed.

Waitstaff: "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." I don't know most of the restaurants, and the ones I do know don't deserve to be on this list. Go with Anchor Grill.

Wine Selection: Should I know this? HA!

Public Eye
Local Activist: Cameron Tolle. Do you need me to say anymore??? I mean, really, the kids amazing. And he's single, ladies.

Elected Official: Mayor Mark Mallory, for reasons we all know but no one talks about.

Scandal: Can I just say that someone adding Marcus Fiesel on this was sick? And wasn't that two years ago?

Journalist: There are two. Sister Kevin Osborne of CityBeat, who put me on the cover of the magazine. And The Dean of Cincinnati (Jason Haap is listed there, too, I thought they were one and the same) of Cincinnati Beacon. He's on our side and doing more than I am right now for important gay stuff in the city.

(Meal update: the chicken is officially unfrozen. Was I supposed to do that first? Oh, and I think I should have buttered the pan.)

Print Columnist: I should be saying Joe Wessels be ause of his work with the Driehaus campaign, but I'm salty bitch. But, he's still mostly on our side. Joe Wessels, for his work on the Driehaus campaign and making a strong attempt at connecting this blog to our Congressperson to get some questions answered.

Radio Station: WAIF -- Alternating Currents, the gay and lesbian public affairs radio show has been broadcasting out of their Walnut Hills location for years. Thank you, Cheryl Eagleson, for keeping it going.

Radio Personality: Jeff & Jen ... for their drag performance. I still watch that video and laugh.

TV Station: WCPO or WKRC. For their amazing coverage of the November 15th protest.

(Meal update -- looking juicy! Should I start the potatoes now?)

Website: I swear I didn't do this -- I GOT NOMINATED!!! Vote for Queer Cincinnati ... duh. I'll do a separate post.

Blog: I'm not officially endorsing any of them, as most of them are really good friends of this blog. I mean, amazing friends. Wine Me, Dine Me and Cincinnati blog were hugely supportive of the November 15th protest; Locavore is amazing, is a White Knot site, and the oldest friend of this blog; I'm not linked on 5chw4r7z, but he's a good guy. I may "endorse" Montgomery Maxton but only because he's the only openly gay blogger on the list, but everyone on there is amazing.

Jocks
Ha. Sports. Yea, right. I'll let Edro Edro handle that one Oh... but...

Team (Amateur): Cincinnati Rollergirls. Hardcore women fighting to the bruise in a Mad Max-esque game? Yea. I think we'll go with that. And I've known some of the players... a few helped out with the Citizens to Restore Fairness campaign in 2006.

Goods and Services

(Meal update. The inside of the chicken is no longer pink!!! Is this actually happening.. an edible, delicious meal at QC's house? No way.)

Place to Buy Lingerie: Somehow, the Pink Pyramid is on the list... that's not lingerie, guys.

Liquor Store: Where else? Jungle Jim's. It's not gay, but I gotta shout out to it.

Place to Buy Sex Toys: I should be saying Pink Pyramid, but I'm going with Elyse's because she's a fabulous woman who took on Simon Leis and won, and runs her little empire from behind an antique desk. Which describes most of the porn in the store... antigue.

Out and About
Arts Organization: Know Theatre, because they are a member of the Coalition and actively outreach to LGBT groups, people, and causes. (Even though New Stage Collective -- not nominated -- does more gay themed plays.)

Overall Bar/Nightclub: This a big passing... I know longer consider Club BronZ the best. Though I love the staff and the bar itself, the crowd is young and annoying most nights. So I'm going with... gasp... Below Zero. If you want a cool place, that's where you need to go. If you want a crazy night, you go to Club BronZ. Sorry, Brad and John :-(. I know, I wasn't BZ's biggest fan for a while, either.

(Meal update: Yup, I need cooking classes.)

New Bar/Nightclub: Please don't vote for Black Finn. I have been to gay bars, bathhouses, and sex parties. None of the above have ever asked me to remove as much clothing as Black Finn did the first night I went in there. Their crowd is also tres homophobic.

Hole in the Wall Bar: Crazy Fox. Never been there, but it's the only gay bar on the list. I would actually prefer the Comet. So, read what you will out of that.

Comedy Club: Funny Bone... they host(ed) the annual comedy fundraiser for Pride for years.

Comedian/Troupe: Barnyard Burlesque, though I wouldn't call them comedy, has some local queer personalities in it. And they're getting really good.

Dance Club: Seriously? Adonis. I love the Dock, but their music leaves something to be desired. And there's very little space. Um.... sorry. I definitely have started growing up when Below Zero and Adonis are my "preferred" locales.

Furniture Store: IKEA. Queens love their Swedish furniture.

Gay/Lesbian Bar: How about we tackle this separately? Seriously. Otherwise I'll get hit in a driveby.

Happy Hour: Why is the longest happy hour in town -- Subway -- not on this list? Oh right, because it's kinda lame. LOL Go with Palomino's

Home Accessories Store: Metronation, owned and operated by the indomitable George. They are amazing, and have some nifty things in there.

Martini: Below Zero. It's actually the only place I've ever had a martini. I hear Twist's are good too.

(Meal update: potatoes look like they came out of box. Damn. Chicken is almost done!!!!)

Singles Bar: BronZ. I will give it that. If you're single, you can find a boyfriend, a date, a quickie, or an STD there. God knows I have all of the above.

Karaoke: Boswell Alley. Wade is amazing, and Whitney (owner's partner/bar manager) will treat you like a queen, even if you aren't. More importantly, it's the most engaged karaoke night I've ever seen. I've never seen the crowd so into it. It was disturbing.

Live Theatre: New Stage Collective. Have you been? Hello, the staff is FABULOUS. And they are doing shows like Bent and have done already this year History Boys. Very gay. HA!

Movie Theatre: Esquire, for the promotion of Milk.

Place to Play Darts: Crazy Fox makes another appearance, but, again, I've never been.

(Meal Update: Voila! Edible food! Is it any good?)




Urban Life
Apartment Complex: The Forum. I'm not joking. It seems like that's the place to be for young somewhat queers and families on welfare.

Church: There are two -- the New Spirit MCC because it's an amazing church (and it's a queer denomination), but I've long since lost contact with them. Mt. Auburn Presbyterian, for it's extraordinary openness and hosting like every gay group in the city -- from CYG to Queen City AA.

College/University: You'd think Miami would be a shoe-in, wouldn't you, coming from me? Maybe. In fact, I'll say yes. Xavier is a close second because of their support of the November 15th protest, and their non-action on Cameron being out there and a Xavier junior on all of our material. LOL. UC, btw, has had some secret and quiet issues with LGBT people, but I've been asked to not say anything about it. I know, I'm respecting their decision.

Festival: Gay Pride is not on the list. Hrm. Squealin With Pride, sure. Meanwhile, Northside's 4th of July Parade is, which is a fun and excellent adventure for anyone ... and may be more exciting and better attended than Pride, anyways.

Neighborhood: OTR. It's the new gay district, actually. We move in, we make it fabulous, then we move on. We tried with Northside to little success :-).

Park: Burnet Woods. HA. You know I couldn't resist.

Place to take a visitor: Seriously, "Touchdown Jesus on 75" was nominated. Vote for it. I want to see it get award as the Touchdown Jesus.

(Meal update: Oh my god, the food is GOOD!!)

Romantic Hideaway: "My House." I think it should win out of creativity. But I wouldn't call it exactly romantic here. Unless the smell of kitty litter turns you on...

Use of Public Funds: I don't think it's fair to put the streetcar on there. It isn't even approved yet. How about the Banks?

That took a long time, but I was cooking and eating too. And now I have a mess:
But it's not that bad.

Seriously, though, folks, now that I just handed you a list, you have to go vote. I will seriously be upset if you don't. If you have other ideas or want to correct my information, call me an alcoholic jerk, etc. just write below in the comments section. If I missed something, tell me.

Oh, and vote for me. . . or, else, you're off my non-denominational holiday card list.

Best of the City, 2009

Make sure you vote for City Beats Best in the City.

And make sure you check out friends of this blog and vote for them!!!

Best Blog: Wine Me, Dine Me, Cincinnati (hey, she asked first)

Best Website: Cincinnati Beacon

Best Journalist: The Dean of Cincinnati (Cincinnati Beacon)

Overall Bar/Nightclub: Below Zero Lounge

Dance Club: (my opinion is held secret ;-))

LGBT Bar: (my opinion is held secret :-))

Anyways, just thought I'd give you a shout out.

Actually, I'll give my honest opinion a little later. I'm just too tired to write something that doesn't piss the world off -- and not care about it.

OHIO/CINNKY: Cincinnati's Annual Manual

I got an email from CityBeat about a week... week and a half ago asking me to review their Annual Manual on my blog. You know me, I like a little exposure, as do they, and I like to shoot off my mouth about things I know very little about so the situation was perfect for both parties involved.

The CityBeat rep was nice enough to actually drop it off at school -- it was a strange day, getting a lot of deliveries, and the lady at the front desk looked at me when she handed over and said "jeez, you are somebody important."

Duh.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I'll say this: I'm mildly disappointed. I mean, they did not misrepresent at all what the manual was going to be. However, I opened it and was left with a feeling of "blah.... one of these." Another list of things in town, and another thing to go into the pile of items I do nothing with.

It's billed as Local's guide to living in Cincinnati. I seriously doubt that. It seems more like the guide you get when you first move to the city, pick up a few things out of it, and then go from there. Unlike, say, QCCA's "pink pages" (my dad's term, not mine), I don't have much value in using a booklet that simply lists things that have been featured in CityBeat over the past year. I expect, this weekend, the Goober and I will pick through it, maybe pick out a new place to eat, and then that will be the extent of its use in my life.

Later note: the reason I use the "pink pages" is because I like to support gay and gay-supportive businesses. This annual manual, meanwhile, is the epitome of hipster dining and entertainment and its always a shocker when new and hip places to eat/entertain are open for more than a year.

Additionally, if you don't already follow CityBeat, I don't think this will necessarily be the most ideal way in getting involved with their reviews and suggested dining/entertainment/etc. from the last year. Newbies to the news magazine will far more likely find a CityBeat somewhere, and the timeliness of the weekly will inspire in them more interest than a one-stop shopping spot for a whole year. The idea of unification -- especially in paper form -- can be a tad anachronistic, as the joy in most of these places is the journey in finding and discovering them. Not, "oh we saw that in that Annual Manual thing." Part of the joy of searching the city is just that ... searching it out. This presents a dialogue of "start and finish."

Here are some locations, now go. Fly, my monkeys, fly.

However, the booklet is beautifully organized. If you wanted to go out and discover without the hassle of walking around these amazingly walkable areas, then this is perfect for you. It lists off some great neighborhoods and some great places in town -- including neighborhoods I had never thought to explore. I'm pretty familiar with Northside, OTR, Downtown, Newport, Covington, Clifton Gaslight, Hyde Park; but I don't think I ever considered Mariemont, Cheviot, Milford, Pleasant Ridge, Montgomery, or even something as close as O'Bryonville. I will grant them that. I am looking forward, now, to heading out those directions and seeing what they have to offer.

Perhaps a more interesting, and maybe more functional idea, is to focus more on the neighborhoods rather than specific locations. Include more of them, in other words. My mother, every time she comes to the city, is always impressed by the neighborhood focus of Cincinnati, and the wonderful things you can discover in these places. Rather than spending over half of your space just listing off restaurants/etc... limit that and spend more time talking about the neighborhoods, the characters, and some of the features you can find at those places.

I think that's what makes Cincinnati so interesting.

In fact, that would make a great monthly piece in the paper itself, with the Annual Manual, itself, a reprint of those articles along with Readers' Picks (which I was very glad to see as part of this publication... I missed that issue). But then that would not need to be this kind of publication but an add on to one of the regular issues. A pull-out section.

And it would need more pictures. A lot more. I don't think I could recognize these separate downtown areas from the scant pictures they gave for each one. Hyde Park Square, for example, is so well laid out and lovely, but we only get pieces-parts shots of it. I don't want to see a fountain, necessarily, I want to see what I'm looking for/at. In fact, places like Milford and Montgomery -- areas that I would like to see more of, now -- have almost no pictures of the area in question.

Let's bring this all together.

I'm a pragmatist. Functionally, this serves almost no purpose except as a giant advertisement for the city, which is neat in theory, but I think it needs to be teased out a little more if it is to be a definitive local's guide. That byline on the cover is nothing more than an advertising ploy for out-of-towners to make them feel special that they found some sort of "local's gold mine" of information. (Even if that were true, there is absolutely no way for them to easily pick out "a quick place to eat" as there are so many.) I think this could be effective and useful... but, in its current incarnation, it needs a little work. And it does get kind of hard to read, as the line between private advertising and civic yahoo-ing are definitely blurred. How does it make Ambar India, for example, that Esquire gets a huge 1/6 page picture and an advert on the same page and they just got the advert they paid for? It's hard to really focus on what I'm supposed to be reading and when I'm just being sold to.

Congrats to the front cover designer... though baby-shit green is rarely an attractive colour, it works here. The whole feel and design is very mod, very 60s. Love it. Though it is ruined by the pages and pages of white in the back.

Wow, I really am a bitch sometimes. And CityBeat liked me up to now.

Update: A question: how far does the concept of "Cincinnati" go? In which case, they miss things like downtown Hamilton...

OHIO/CINNKY: Living Out Loud -- Cincinnati

Today, I've been reading through my blogroll, and came across this which made me sad over at Living Out Loud...

When you go to the CityBeat blogs tomorrow, I don't know what you'll find. Someone else may be managing this blog, it may be replaced with something else ... I just don't know.

What I do know is that this will be my last post and my last day managing the blog. The good folks at CityBeat know I need to stop.

Larry Gross, who is the author of the column by the same name in CityBeat is pulling out of the blogging business.

It's sad to see you go, Larry. Much love and good luck.

CINCY GAY SCENE: On the Cover of CityBeat!!!

The CityBeat article came out today!!!! :-) Look, ma, I'm on the cover of a magazine! Well, sort of. I think the picture looks like me the most.

And the text from Doug: "Wow this article sure makes me seem sophisticated and smooth. You too." I like sounding like I know what I'm talking about.

I don't, but, you know, it's a party.

(img from the same link)

CINCY GAY SCENE: City Beat Interview

More of the same.

Actually, it was kind of fun. I had not seen Ryan or Marrakah in a while; Chris is always pleasant to see (duh, he's hot) and he's probably the most informed person I have ever met; and Doug is one of my favorite people in the world to talk about gay stuff with. However, the names that arrived are no surprise, even though it was a really balanced group. All five of us have been involved in some way, shape, or form for a while (I think I am the person with the shortest experience in the Cincy gay "community" -- a mere four and a half years!)

I would say that I think more was said than the usual bitch sessions of gay groups, though we were being descriptive and not prescriptive in our conversation. Mild groupthink occurred, but Kevin (the writer) managed the discussion well. I, at one point, complained that I wish people would just show up to stuff outside of a bar; the conversation turned to my apparent lack of desire to be involved, which I don't think is true :-). But that's the way groups work, especially when all of us are so invested, we can be a little defensive, I think. Doug even brought up a hot topic that could -- gasp -- potentially get him in trouble. I love him for it! Maybe he's learning from me; I'm beginning to believe that I need to start learning from him. He's going to be our mastermind, one day. I just want to be Teresa Heinz Kerry -- outspoken -- especially if I get to play the pretty wife of a politician.

It will make a good article -- and it will be on the cover in like a week!!!! And I had to slip the blog site to Kevin. I'm secretly looking for a job there. HA!

Anyways, also my first time in the CityBeat offices. It's not glamourous, I'll say that! But it is charming! :-)