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Opening Day

Let's Go Reds!

First day of Spring Training 2013. PLAY BALL.

Dusty

via It's a long season

"Never trust a man who doesn't root for his home team."

My dad took my brother and I to this game. I remember hearing it. It was just as epic then and in one quick missive, Coach Wyche summed up what it means to be a Cincinnatian... not being a Clevelander. Go Bengals.

Cincinnati Dispatch #09

Back to Cincinnati and the Ohio River for my Old Man's 60th. Lucky to brush up on my boating, baseball and Skyline Chili. Happy Birthday Dad. Keep On, Keeping On.

Cincinnati Dispatch #08

Finally. The Joey Votto, "This Is Sportscenter" commercial I've been waiting for has finally aired. Now, if those Red Legs can just break this skid...

In another odd Cincinnati related note, it turns out that besides being a stand-up guy with a fierce work ethic, Randy Poffo, AKA The Macho Man Randy Savage did a quick stint in the Reds organization. Touching, well written article here in Sports Illustrated.

Life can take you from this...

To this...

To this.

”Ohhh Yeah!” Rest In Peace, Randy.

Sparky Anderson 1934-2010

Hall of Fame MLB Manager George "Sparky" Anderson passed today at the age of 76 of complications resulting from dementia. He managed the 1975 and 1976 Cincinnati Reds to consecutive World Series championships. A quote of his...

“I cannot get rid of the hurt from losing, but after the last out of every loss, I must accept that there will be a tomorrow. In fact, it's more than there'll be a tomorrow, it's that I want there to be a tomorrow. That's the big difference, I want tomorrow to come.”

With Johnny Bench. A class act.

Cincinnati Dispatch #08

Winning. In Motion. I'm really excited for the Post Season. Go Reds!

Cincinnati Dispatch #07

The Cincinnati Reds take the National League Central and head into the post season for the first time since 1995. Give'm hell boys!

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Cincinnati Dispatch #06

Jim Borgman - Cincinnati Enquirer Editorial Cartoonist

When I was a kid, I was obsessed by editorial cartoons. Mostly because I loved to draw and watch the news with my dad. Distinct memories of us sitting on that big cold leather couch watching Dan Rather narrating quick cuts of Sanianista/Contra fire-fights in Nicaragua are crystal clear.

Any nominal skills I have today regarding illustration began from editorial cartoons or illustrations in Time and Newsweek. There was even a time when I could name the artist purely by their styles without looking at their names. And the Cincinnati Enquirer's Jim Borgman was my favorite. In my early teens, instead of smoking pot for the first time or getting girls, I would go see this editorial cartoonist speak at the Cincinnati Art Museum. I fucking loved it in only the way a obsessive nerd could.

Besides his deft touch on politics and family life, I always appreciated his line work. His drawing style is loose but dimensional and heavy at the same time. There's a weight, that might come with years of experience, but also appreciates craftsmanship. A style you can see in older cartoonists work, pre-"Far Side" crudeness that I think opened the doors for a lot of the poor one-panel work we see prevalent today.

Anyway, I was about 14 and had gone off to Boy Scout camp (alright, alright...). When I came back, my mom was really excited to show me this package from Jim Borgman's studio. I didn't know what it was or why it was there, but it was a letter from Jim, encouraging me on my impending high school journey and to keep up the good work drawing. Drawing? It turns out that while I was away, my mom had copied some of my cartoons (lots of George Bush Sr.'s and Dan Quayle caricatures, one-panels, etc.) and sent them to him without me knowing. Jim's letter had authentic misspellings and everything. He even sent me a signed copy of his latest book, "The Great Communicator", a collection of all his Reagan panels) which I still have to this day. He was a great illustrator, Pulitzer Prize winner and good guy. He retired from the Enquirer in 2008.

More about him here.

His last panel September 26th, 2008.

Cincinnati Dispatch #05

I mean come on. How can this not be a hidden internet gem? Chris "Spuds" Sabo of the Cincinnati Reds 1990 Wire to Wire team hawking Lens Crafters 'round twenty years ago. Get. That. Money.

Cincinnati Dispatch #04

The Lights of Cincinnati by Scott Walker, besides me being partial to my hometown, is a beautiful song. Hamiliton, Ohio, natives, The Walker Brothers were groomed in the early sixties to become more of a Fabian-teen heartthrob sensation, not really taking he ended up going solo, and has been living in England since the late sixties. His voice always seemed to me to have a dark, strong tone to it yet reminds me of Nick Drake for some reason.




Trailer for a documentary.

Brothers II

Free beer. Check. Plus 26 odd-years from last "Brothers" post. Check. Shit being different but staying the same? Check.

Brothers

Roger and Alec. 1983? Cincinnati Reds hat. Check. Chocolate covered birthday face. Check. Toxic Citronella candle. Check.

Cincinnati Dispatch #03

Charlie Harper: An Illustrated LIfe (Hardcover)

Charlie Harper's illustrated works of various wildlife and natural environments were a huge influence on me as a kid growing up in Cincinnati. His clean-line illustrations were ubiquitous, from the Krohn Conservatory to Nation Park Service posters. It also seemed like every doctor or dentist office in town had a framed print of his.

Charlie Harper passed away on Sunday, June 10th, 2007. He was 85.