Cincinnati Thanks!

It’s livable, mostly affordable, and a combination of Northern Tough and Southern Charm

     It’s that time of year to show our gratitude, especially in the great region of Cincinnati and northern Kentucky.  We hate hearing people knock Porkopolis and its environs because

American Hustle

Fasten your seat belts – 
it’s a wild, bumpy ride

The Cast of American Hustle

     American Hustle has been highly praised for its electrifying spin through the desperate, polyester, disco days of the late ‘70s and its simultaneous mythic/historic explication of the ABSCAM sting operation, which probably did less good than it

The Christmas Candy Cane

An amazing journey 

from Cologne, Germany to Wooster, Ohio

Cologne Cathedral Christmas Market

      I never thought of the candy cane as having a Christian origin–no more than Rudolph or Frosty.  But, the truth may be that it all came about at the Cologne Cathedral as early as 1670.  That's when the choirmaster became frustrated with all

The History of Us by Leah Stewart

Leah Stewart: Cincinnati:: Anne Tyler: Baltimore

Leah Stewart*

     I met Leah Stewart at October’s Books on the Banks celebration and The History of Us matches her modest, intelligent, and humorous attitude.  She teaches at the University of Cincinnati and she focuses on Cincinnati in a manner similar to Anne Tyler with Baltimore.  The History of Us starts compellingly in 1993 with a newly hired

Antique Christmas at the Taft

A few of my favorite things

The Drawing Room Tree

      Bringing out the Christmas decorations is a little bit different at the Taft house than at many others we know.  There it consists of some of the finest antique trees and

Kill Your Darlings

A sleeper that captures the shock behind a conforming era

     We saw Kill Your Darlings two weeks ago at The Esquire and it’s already gone, but I didn’t want it to be forgotten.  For fans of the Beat Writers (Ginsberg, Burroughs, Kerouac), it’s highly recommended as a look at their student years at

The Rookwood Bar & Restaurant

Fun, historic location with good service and mediocre food

Entrance to The Rookwood Bar & Restaurant

Bar Area and Kiln

     After a charming event at the Cincinnati Art Museum, we decided to eat at The Rookwood Bar & Restaurant partly because it was close by on Mount Adams and because we haven’t eaten at the various restaurants that have occupied the space.  As Katherine said, it’s a place that she’s dropped by for drinks and appetizers.  It’s a historic interior because it surrounds the giant kilns

CIncinnati Art Museum Commencement

The how of who's behind those special gallery tours

Undergrowth with Two Figures by Vincent Van Gogh

      Every few years, there are between 25 and 30 volunteers that give up every Tuesday night for a year (and several more hours per week of their personal time) to a cause they find very fulfilling.  We have a friend among that group this past year and we went to her graduation last evening to join the

Philomena

Real people facing a profound betrayal with wit and heart

     Philomena sounded like a nice, middlebrow movie about a nice Irish woman looking for the son that was taken from her and put up for adoption.  The previews and TV ads have made it look like she’s sweet and dotty with a deadpan, comical gent, who goes along for the ride.  Judi Dench and Steve Coogan play the main parts so I thought it would be well acted