Living Out Loud

That Was the Blog That Was: Saying Goodbye

When you go to the CityBeat blogs tomorrow, I don't know what you'll find. Someone else may be managing this blog, it may be replaced with something else ... I just don't know.

What I do know is that this will be my last post and my last day managing the blog. The good folks at CityBeat know I need to stop.

I want to make one thing very clear: This was totally my decision.

We’ve been doing this since August 12, 2006 – over 22 months. While our comments have been down lately (I never liked the verifying code thing either), our stats have never been higher. May I blow our own horn by saying this is CityBeat’s most successful blog? Well, it is.

We have become a habit for a lot of you, so I feel like I need to explain my decision to leave. I guess I’ll call this guilt. No, it’s just the reality.

I have a lot on my plate, and that’s good for me. I’m working on two books, will still write and/or edit the Living Out Loud column and I’m working on additional projects for other publications.

Something has to give; something has to go to get this additional work completed. It needs to be, it has to be this blog.

The second reason is that after 22 months I’ve run completely out of gas. I know many of you have complained that often times we’re childish, stupid and just not that interesting anymore. You’re right.

Coming up with two or three posts a day during the work week and at least a couple on the weekends, believe it or not, can be taxing work. It has become harder and harder to “think up” posts and in turn it’s become draining.

I know, stop complaining.

To Teri Archer, Carol Walters, Tom Anus, Candy Apple, Judy Darling and Brandy Edwards and to the other contributors past and present: Thank you for your help. I’m taking you to Madonna’s very soon to get you all good and drunk.

To John Fox and Dan Bockrath: Thank you for looking the other way and letting me do what I want. Well, at least most of the time.

To Rick Hines at The Cincinnati Nation: When we first started up, you took an interest in us when others didn’t. Your support made a big difference to us and I’ll always be grateful.

And to our readers: Thank you. So many of you have been with us from the very beginning. It has always been appreciated.

So is blogging out of my blood? I may show up at the other CityBeat blogs from time to time, but I don’t know for sure.

What I do know for sure is that LOL Girl is in her car waiting for me – pretty sure she’s not wearing any underwear. She says she has a big old surprise waiting and it involves a plane ticket and a hotel room.

I may be an old fart but I’m not stupid. I’m outta here!

I’ll be visiting you in the Living Out Loud column and, again thanks for reading. Have a great Fourth of July.

- Larry Gross

(Photo from CityBeat)

Perhaps Food in Prison Camps Is Better Than You Think

I remember Paris Hilton being on Letterman after she got out of jail and complaining about the jail food ... but perhaps food in prison or even in prison camps is better than you think.

The clip down below helps prove my point ... but maybe this is just a joke.

And when was the last time you saw Carol Channing?

- Candy Apple

(Photo from www.history.sandiego.edu)

Eyeballing the Cincinnati Rich & Famous

I saw former local talk show host Bob Braun coming out of the channel 12 studios in Liberty Hill yesterday afternoon. 

Man, I'll tell you something: For a guy who has to be in his late 70's, he looks remarkably good.

Editor: Candy, Bob Braun died in January of 2001.

Oh? Sorry. Then I don’t know who it was. Maybe it was Rob?

- Candy Apple

(Photo of Bob Braun from www.findagrave.com)

Chemistry Much?

I have long been a fan of Holly Hunter. Her television series – "Saving Grace" - returns this month to TNT.

And Craig Ferguson and his late night talk show are starting to grow on me.

Put Hunter and Ferguson together and what do you get? Chemistry much?

This is from last week and it's Hunter’s second appearance on Ferguson’s show. The clip down below is the best seven minutes.

- Larry Gross

(Photo from View Images)

Sue Me

George Carlin's memorial service was last Sunday and I'm still feeling sad over his death - so in order to make myself feel a little better, I'm putting up another video clip down below.

If you don't like it, sue me.

Sorry. Perhaps I'm feeling sad and grumpy.

About the Kim Taylor post on Saturday: Yes, changes are coming here. I’ve received more than a few e-mails wanting to know what’s up. Truly – I’m not trying to put anybody off. When I know something for sure as to what the plan is, I’ll pass it along.

Over and out.

- Larry Gross

(Photo from USA Today)

Waiting for the Repair Man

The dryer where I live went out late last week. The thing would heat up, but the clothes wouldn't roll around. It was being a bad dryer.

I was the one elected to stay around and wait for the repair man to show up. Someone needed to be here between three and six in the afternoon.

This interfered with my happy hour at Madonna's downtown, but what ya gonna do?

Of course, you know how it goes. At six o’clock the guy still wasn’t here. Hell, I could have gone to Madonna’s after all.

To his credit, the guy did call a little after six saying he was running a bit late. When he did arrive, he was a young guy, really nice and apologized - so my “mad act” quickly disappeared.

It took Roger (that was his name) about five minutes to find and fix the problem: a busted belt.

I asked Roger how long belts last on dryers. He said the busted one on this dryer lasted about 18 years.

The fee was fairly modest (at least for a repair man) and he borrowed my Bic pen to write out the receipt and actually returned it when he was done. I like that in a repair man.

He told me “have a nice day” as he was leaving. I felt like telling him the damn day was over but didn’t. I figured Roger didn’t really need to hear that.

The crisis is over. The dryer is fixed.

Now, will someone please come over and wash and dry my clothes today? I need to make up for lost time at Madonna’s.

- Larry Gross

(Photo from USA Today)

From the Old Blogroll . . .

We go to The New York Times and Maureen Dowl.

Maureen says there are plenty of ambiguity, duality and ferocity in Unity. Click here to read her essay.

- Teri Archer

(Photo from MSNBC)

The Pouring of the Wine

I recently read with much amusement an essay Christopher Hitchens wrote for Slate about being out at a restaurant with friends, having a grand time talking and having the flow of their conversation interrupted by a waiter who picked up the bottle of wine located in the middle of their table and poured the wine into everyone’s glass.

Probably, this has happened to all of us. I remember back in the spring being out with a friend at a rather nice restaurant in Newport. We were having a good time catching up with each other – enjoying our dinner and also that bottle of wine in the middle of our table.

Just like with Hitchens and friends, the waiter kept refilling our glasses with wine. With all this pouring, it led, of course, to us ordering another bottle.

When it was time for us to go, that bottle on the table was still half full. What should we have done? Since we were clearly going to have to pay for it, maybe we should have asked to take the bottle with us.

Hitchens points out in his essay that this constant pouring of the wine simple leads to the padding of the bill.

Question: Has this ever happened to you? Here’s a follow-up question: Why do we put up with it?

- Larry Gross

(Photo from www.ladv.org)

That Was The Week That Was - In Blogs

Questions are on my mind this Sunday morning. Turning to the Internet for answers sometimes works - but most of the time, it just raises more questions.

Example: Why do we continue to pay high prices for gas? Are we prepared to pay $7 a gallon by 2010? Why can’t we get off the oil? I was counting on Andrew Sullivan at The Daily Dish to provide answers but I didn’t really get any.

Americans, apparently, deeply care about Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s saggy boobs. Why? Why is The Huffington Post making such a big deal of it?

The first thing on my mind this morning was why do muskrats hate America? Wonkette really did provide me an answer.

The Cincinnati Nation reported last week that the Democrats have committed more money to the war. Why are they so spineless?

Who paid to build Via Vite? It cost around $2.5 million dollars to build this restaurant around Fountain Square – but who flipped the bill? The Cincinnati Beacon has been trying to get answers, but since it involves City Council, we may never know.

How come viewing the latest video at The Midwest Teen Sex Show won’t make your penis bigger? Beats me, but the video is worth watching.

Why did George Carlin have to die last Sunday? God is not answering me on this one – neither is the Internet. Sadly, No! put up a classic Carlin clip last Tuesday.

What’s black and white and wet all over? We found the answer at Jezebel!

Why does John McCain think telling a joke about beating his wife is funny? Crooks and Liars is asking the question. Here’s another question: Wouldn’t it be scary to have this guy in the White House?

And of course there’s no answer to this one: Why do conservatives in Cincinnati think they know what’s good for the rest of us? The A & E Blog reports on the opening of Jerry Springer: the Opera which is making a few people a bit uptight in Cincinnati. How shocking.

No, not really. Not really at all.

- Larry Gross

(Photo from www.kennardconsulting.com)

I Can't Leave You

Changes will be happening here next week (I'll be explaining at some point) and more than likely; this will be my last Kim Taylor video that I'll be posting. It's down below.

Kim, I can't leave you and I never really will - really.

- Larry Gross

(Photo of Kim Taylor from www.bp2.blogger.com)