HVAC Turn-On

Before I arrived on the scene I spied an attractive young woman whispering sexy somethings to this duct. I guess it worked:

The Porcelain God

I don't know what this is but I saw it in the East End:

The Creative Industrial Class

Originally I was going to post a pic of some free-range turkeys on a local farm but the pic isn't good because the turkeys, which were near me at first, got spooked and walked away. I was probably wearing my orange fleece jacket which I've noticed has that effect on wildlife.

I'm making the mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving so I did a test run of a recipe which includes celery root. I've never had celery root before, probably because it's really fucking expensive ($5/lb for a damn root vegetable). Anyway, the taste panel approved it and I can go ahead with the scaled-up the operation. I have to make something else, too, but I haven't decided what.

On an entirely unrelated note, here is a whimsical painting job on an unlikely building in an unlikely place, a factory building in the Queensgate industrial area:

Some Truth in all Things?

I was talking with a friend one day back in college and he mentioned that he recently made one of his regular visits to a fortune teller acquaintance. I laughed because he was a fellow philosophy major and seeking easy answers is basically a code violation.

"There's truth in all things." he said.
"Truth in all things?" I chuckled.
"Some truth in all things," he clarified.

Years later a friend and I went to the Bonbonerie tea room for breakfast one morning (note to men: this is a good spot for ladies in touch with their Martha Stewart side and men who want dessert but want to call it "breakfast").

A palm reader had set up at one of the tables. I was easily convinced to get a reading. She didn't say anything that blew my mind but she did impress us with a few insightful comments about my interests and abilities. I impressed her by saying that I once read it is proper procedure to read the right hand for men and the left hand for women.

I don't believe the palm reader is there anymore but those seeking just a little bit of truth and certainly not much more than "some" can go across the street from Vinyl to Aquarius Star where you can pay $20 for what I am predicting would be the least satisfying quickie ever.

From Their Lips to Your Ears

Seen in Northern Kentucky:



Convinced? There are certainly worse people to emulate.

This Week in Strange Signage

I think we have two violations here. First is unnecessary quotation marks, which, now that I think about it, seem to be quite the vogue mode in amateur signage these days. Second is the statement about boiled frogs which makes no sense to me. Then again, this sign wasn't meant for me so who knows?

Blessed Are the Rifle-makers

If you're a patriotic American you not only want firearms, you want: (1) American-made firearms that (2) acknowledge our Christian savior.

So I was pleased to see this ad in today's Enquirer:





Comment challenge: make your own "J. Peterman" version of this ad.

A Question for Joe the Plumber

Like most people, one of the things I do when I go to someone's home is lift off the lid to their toilet tank. If I'm going to get to know people I need to know what kind of people they are. Are they traditional balloon-ballcock people or modern, progressive floating-ballcock people? What am I dealing with? Knowing this can prevent awkward moments later.

But I have to admit, when I saw this, I was flummoxed. What is this?

Now it Actually Feels Like a New Millennium

Three moments stood out for me last night.

The first was when I saw Driehaus leading Chabot. Within the hour he would be projected the winner and by the time I shut my eyes he was my new representative. This change is long overdue. Chabot is a textbook example of what happens to the weak-minded after years of willing participation in partisan politics. He is completely detached from reality and lives in the simpleminded world of talking points. Congratulations to Steve Driehaus and thank you for sticking a fork in Steve Chabot. He's done.

The second moment was when Obama took PA. Then FL. Then OH. Then VA. Holy fucking shit, I thought to myself... what the hell is going on here? Being a part of history is one thing, but taking a moment and slam-dunking it into the history books is a whole notha level. Sorry, John McCain, but you got your ass smoked by a one-term Ivy League brainiac who ran a well-planned, thoughtfully strategized and well executed campaign. I guess there really IS something more valuable than experience, eh?

The third moment was when Obama took the stage at Grant Park. I'll be honest, I haven't been a passenger on the Obama love train. The way I see it, the U.S. will have a black President at some point. And someday, a woman. Someday a black woman. Someday an asian, a paraplegic, an ugly person, etc. If this country lasts long enough, these things will happen.

The only issue is whether they will happen in my lifetime. But just because they happen doesn't make them great moments. They are historical milestones, yes, but not necessarily great ones. I cite Nancy Pelosi as an example. When she became the first female Speaker, we put a check mark next to that historical milestone. But will history record her as a great Speaker, someone worthy of being "the first?" No.

Contrast that with Jackie Robinson. If he was an ordinary player he would be a historical footnote, someone whose name pops up in trivia games. But his name is famous because he was not only "the first," he was also great. His achievements HAD to be recognized, respected, admired, and ultimately, honored.

It remains to be seen how Obama will fill those shoes which, though never worn, are immense with the burden of hope and expectation. But as I listened to his speech, I found myself reviewing the past 18 months and realizing-- or at least believing-- that we really are in the presence of greatness.

I'll be damned, I actually have hope.

Exotic Dancing at Findlay Market

This was a nice Sunday afternoon surprise. A small group of dancers and drummers put on a show. It was lucky that the weather cooperated; by this coming weekend the cold temperatures might be here to stay.

I don't know the genre of dance because I missed the beginning. But the theme of the dance in this picture is something about nails. If you look closely (click on it to get the BIG JPEG) you can see the long fingernails.

Boo!

What did you do on Halloween? Scare little kiddies?

Pshaw. I frightened a WHOLE BUILDING: