Cincinnati

Yahoo Sports: Same youth team produced Strasburg, Leake

Wow!  Stephen Strasburg and Mike Leake played on the same youth baseball team.  They’re two of the best rookie pitchers in Major League Baseball.

Examiner.com: The Contemporary Arts Center’s satanic mural

The mural on the side of the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) contains Satanic symbolism. This mural, perhaps part of an exhibit that long ago left town, is partially funded by your tax dollars.

This guy has mistaken Shepard Fairey’s Andre the Giant image for Satan.  The comments in the story are pretty funny, especially from Satan. 

This sign is just behind a small fence, but facing the highway it looks like a sign that should be warning you about something.  The first time I saw it, I looked over because I wanted to see if there was a traffic issue.  I don’t mind the sentiment, but I think the sign is a real distraction and should not be allowed to face the highway.

It’s on southbound 75 in Lockland before you reach Ronald Reagan Highway.

Finally got out to Silverton to see one of Shepard Fairey’s outdoor installations here in Cincinnati.  The main image in this installation is Israel/Palestine.  I love how the curtains are made of smaller prints that she’s pulling aside to peer out.

Bengals.com: Bengals introduce Family Zone at PBS

The Cincinnati Bengals are excited to announce the introduction of a brand new area to Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals have designated an area on the stadium’s east Canopy Level as a Family Section for the 2010 home schedule.

The Bengals’ new Family Zone, located in Section 347, is a ticketed seating area that encourages a family and kid-friendly environment. This section was created to give families an option to enjoy a Bengals game in an alcohol-free environment. No alcoholic beverages will be permitted, and the area will be strictly monitored for signs of any inappropriate behavior.

You can tell how important families are to the Bengals by the location of the Family Zone in Paul Brown Stadium.

Cincinnati.com: Havana Martini Club closing Saturday

Downtown’s Havana Martini Club ends its 14-year run serving drinks and selling cigars this Saturday.

Construction will begin immediately on The Penguin, a dueling piano bar whose owner operates similar clubs in Lexington and Columbia, Mo. The Penguin will be the region’s third dueling piano bar to open in the last year.

Region’s third dueling piano bar?  Seriously?  It seems like one dueling piano bar would be one too many.

Havana’s dance floor was too small and crowded to really dance salsa well, but it was still the place to go.  The salsa community is going to miss it.

I hope someone doesn’t spend too much time trying to find Cinergy Field.  I guess that there must be some city department that handles this type of thing.

Cincinnati.com: Another Shepard Fairey mural painted over

This is a case of vandalism as the owner was not involved in the painting over.  This is really embarrassing to Cincinnati as it reinforces the perception or the reality that we’re not very accepting of new ideas.

UPDATE: Here’s a picture of what the mural looked like before it was vandalized.

Virgil’s Cafe on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives tonight at 10PM Food Network.

I have a guess about what might be on DDD tonight:
I was at Virgil’s Cafe in Bellevue last Sunday for brunch and tried the DDD Breakfast sausage napoleon.  It was delicious!
I noticed that since the last time I was there, the art on the walls had changed and the creepy clown painting was gone.
It was replaced with some smaller prints that I couldn’t quite make out from where I was sitting.  Not really an improvement on the clown.   
Cincinnati.com: Listings For All 7 Area “Diners” Shows Starting Tonight

Cincinnati.com: Shepard Fairey mural painted over after objections

This is over in Covington, KY, 242 W. Pike St., in the middle of the Covington Arts District.

From this:
to this:
From the article:

Michael A. Claypool, who owns the building and the business, said Thursday about the mural, “We had no clue what they were going to put up. When it went up, we were the first to think it was offensive.”

My reaction:
Know what you’re getting into when you volunteer your building for artwork.  My first reaction was that Shepard Fairey probably should have chosen a more appropriate image if he knew that there was a school nearby.  But, thinking about this more, is the image really offensive?  Isn’t art supposed to provoke some kind of thought or discussion.  Like, why is this Southeast Asian child carrying a gun?  Painting over things won’t make issues in the world go a way.

UPDATE:  Here’s more information about the image, Duality of Humanity 4.