Polluting The Streets With Propaganda

Even if they have the answers I'm looking for, Scientology's way of telling me that already annoyed me enough to the point where I don't care about their message - I'm too busy throwing their post cards in the trash.

When a City Dared to Dream: How the 2012 Summer Olympics Could've Been in Cincinnati

- A London 2012 Olympic pin lies in the foreground while the skyline of Cincinnati, Ohio shines in the background. Had things panned out differently, maybe the Queen City's skyline would've been on that pin instead of London's.

Tomorrow the Games of the XXX Olympiad will officially open in London, Englad. This will be the UK capital's third time hosting the modern Olympic Games. Athletes, media and spectators from all across the globe will converge on the historic city, but many don't know that all of this could've happened in Cincinnati.

[Views of Cincinnati] Summer Storm

A mid-summer thunderstorm erupting over downtown as seen from Bellevue Park in Clifton.

[Views of Cincinnati] #56 - 58 Ballpark Views

Three frames made at Great American Ballpark.

[Views of Cincinnati] "Landmarks & Long Skies" + A Walk in the West End

On the city's west side, weeds and grass frame the skyline ahead, remnants of a vacant lot surrounded by the neighborhood. The lot has yet to be developed and is a stark contrast of urban wilderness amongst the dense Italianate row houses. The nearby laughter of children, voices of residents and sound of firecrackers saved from the Fourth of July echoe the activity of a neighborhood once decimated by a highway - rising again.

[Views of Cincinnati] Summer on Memorial Parkway

The view I see and appreciate everyday.

The Ohio State Reformatory

"Andy came to Shawshank Prison in early 1947 for murdering his wife and the fella she was bangin'." That quote is one of many from the 1994 film "The Shawshank Redemption," a film that helped keep the former Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio from being completely demolished. Opened in 1896, the Romanesque architecture was an imposing site in the field that housed the intermediate state penitentiary. It remained in operation until 1990 and today is open to the public for tours, one of which I attended that provided access to areas usually off limits. While featured in many films and other media, the prison was also no stranger to violence and death. You might even recognize some of the people who did time here.

Mansfield, Ohio

Recently passed through Mansfield, Ohio while up in the area to photograph the former Ohio State Reformatory.

Escape From Mount Adams

Mt. Adams is gorgeous. A trip up the hillside affords beautiful views of the city and the river. The narrow streets are lined with unique and pretty homes reminiscent of an old world European village. Eden Park, a wonderful art museum, the Playhouse, Krohn Conservatory and Mirror Lake all add to the neighborhood's charm. On Friday and Saturday nights though, the mountaintop becomes invaded and overrun - like a college town bar strip with just the assholes and no college.

[Views of Cincinnati] Crown of the Queen City

The story goes that Gyo Obata, the architect behind the Great American Tower (the city's tallest building), was inspired to model the building's spire after the tiara of the late Princess Diana. Here it is seen from the top of the Carew Tower.

July 4, 2012

It started with a trip to Stricker's Grove then we wound up blowing up watermelons at someone's family reunion before we found our way to The Anchor.

OTR Love Story

Andy had called me up the day before and told me his plan. In the heart of the historic city neighborhood, on the eve of the renovated Washington Park's opening, he would get down on one knee and propose to his girlfriend Janice.

Camp Ross Trails

It would seem like the perfect stand in for "Camp Crystal Lake" in a Friday the 13th sequel, and the Cold War nuclear scares that shut it down could make for the plot of a horror movie, but this abandoned Girl Scout camp is no more.

Went to Jail...

Went to jail over the weekend. Click here to check out QC/D on Facebook and get the FULL STORY.