Ohiosphere Tale Of the Day (VII): You Say Tomato, I Say Tomahtoe, Down South They Say 'Maters

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Terra Not Terror is musing about foods and diet. She thinks it is not wise to eat something whose name one cannot pronounce. Scientists call the plants with big, round, red and orange pulpy fruits ripening on vines behind my patio Lycopersicon esculentum, which is the 25-cent description for a widely cultivated and extremely tasty species of vegetable. Try to imagine a world without tomatoes -- no pizza sauce, no scene of the Godfather dying, no garden salads, nothing to throw at lousy standup comedians.

Still, Terra is on to something. Particularly her caution about unnatural chemicals that are added to food as preservatives.

"Do you even know what's in those things without looking them up? Were you aware that cochineal is a red coloring that's made from insects. Did you know that mono and diglycerides can be made from animal products? There are so many preservatives and chemicals in today's food, it's no wonder we have the health problems we do (foreign food is excluded from The Pronounceable Diet)."

Terra's advice: Try to eat fresh food. Not a thing wrong with that. Now I'm off to harvest a few Lycopersicon for a salad at suppertime.

Ohiosphere Tale Of The Day (VI): No Cakewalks Without Wheels

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Kevin LeMaster is usually thinking about Building Cincinnati. Now he's put some serious shoe leather into taking a look at what life is like in the city for people without cars, or who don't drive. He's found an online tool that calculates a score for urban neighborhoods based on how easy, or difficult, its is to accomplish things by moving on foot.

Not surprisingly, life can be hard for those without ignition keys to our auto-obsessed culture. Thanks to Kevin I learned that the three Cincinnati neighborhoods I have inhabited -- Oakley, Hyde Park and Pleasant Ridge -- rate pretty high on the walkability score. His chart reflects what drew me to all three in the first place -- I could take a stroll to the beer joint or barbershop. I have, and still do.

Ohiosphere Tale Of The Day (V): Cincy Beacon Says Cincy Enquirer Blew Off Ohio Vote Fraud Story

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The Cincinnati Beacon slapped the Cincinnati Enquirer over slipshod journalism and has given the much larger corporate media outlet a black eye. Read the Beacon's account linked above.

I will say this about 2004 vote fraud in Ohio. There was great reluctance in many newsrooms around the state to take the story seriously. I was a reporter at the time, covered the story, and know what a lot of journalism higher ups thought around the state -- not just The Plain Dealer. Was the election stolen? I don't think it was. The Kerry campaign's top lawyer, who worked in Cincinnati and spoke to me several times, had lots of questions and suspicions of irregularities. But he didn't believe there was enough to challenge the outcome. Journalists pretty much stopped right there because -- I think -- their bosses didn't see much point of digging further. There was another reason probably -- digging would only anger Republicans, who were on top in 2005 and looked to be locked into power.

Things have changed since then.

Ohiosphere Tale Of The Day III: Lingerie Aisles At The Home Depot

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Jeff Hess of HaveCoffeeWillWrite found a poem by an unknown author that says women should know their way around a hardware store. But not be hard as nails. They can still practice the arts of black lace, too. These would be women who are equipped to juggle apparent opposites.

Lord, wouldn't it be a sight if they started stocking Victoria Secret next to the paint, plumbing supplies and furnace filters.

Sharon McKern, a southern writer, says she knows of women who excel at pulling stumps out of lakes. "They never put much stock in theoretical solutions. They're far less romantic, for all their canopied beds and moonlit verandas . . . This may have to do with their long familiarity with age-old burdens like washing diapers, administering enemas, and laying out the dead."

Ohiosphere Tale Of The Day II: German Philosophy In The Funnypages

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Toledo's HistoryMike has captured thoroughly mindbending images by serving up Nietzsche In The Family Circus. He's found a place straight from the zany margins, where words from the German philosopher are matched to panels from the American comic strip. A complete mix of high and low culture. No scholarly cobwebs. Just brightly illuminating and hilarious at the same time.

As Friedrich Nietzsche himself might say, the Ohiosphere's Michael Brooks has discovered "a drug of the worst sort, especially dangerous to a nation given to hard drinking and one that vaults intellectual ferment for its power both to intoxicate the mind and befog it."

Doubts About 'Ohio' Blog Affiliated With Akron Newspaper: Is It Really In Ohio?

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- So as not to be complicit or supportive of either trademark theft or intentional sowing of confusion, no identity of the suspected guilty party will be mentioned or linked. Why help create traffic?

[UPDATE: 6:34 PM -- At the end of a long post about Akron area bloggers, Pho'sNorkaPages has fresh and deserved unflattering things to say about the new MSM-supported blog appearing on a newspaper Website in that city. Pho has created a word that begins with the diminutive for Richard and ends with "ishness." A perfect, descriptive and pointed use of English by Pho, who adds that he will be like The Bellwether and no longer mention the knave who has demonstrated a baseness of nature and intention.]

But there is now a defensive move by the mystery blogger who operates Oz-like behind a Christian clerical title (probably fictitious). This undoubtedly ersatz clergyperson is the author of a site that recently appeared in the Ohiosphere with a nameplate exceedingly similar to Matt Hurley's Weapons of Mass Discussion, which originates in Cincinnati's suburbs. The non-Matt now is contending there should be no confusion at all because the nameplates are completely dissimilar. Why? Because only dopes or the deranged could suspect otherwise .

He says mass destruction just cannot be mistaken for "mass discussion" -- but omits noting that Matt's nameplate is a clever play on words derived from the common phrase "weapons of mass destruction." Here's some of the defense:

"The word 'Destruction' compared to the word "Discussion.' Extremely sharp readers will be able to see that both these words start with a 'D' but so do the two words Dumb and Dumbbell, but they aren't the same words now are they? The reaction by a handful of Ohio blog writers to these two dissimilar blog names would be similar to storming about ABC ripping off PBS because they both contain the letter "B'? Just illustrating . . . please no panty bunching.

"Now I realize with 71 million blogsites out there that I should have, somehow, been aware of this one specific site in Ohio whose blog name is dissimilar from mine but alas, there it is, I wasn't."

That looks to be an admission, a damaging admission. First, the blogger affiliated with a newspaper Website that has the word "Ohio" in its name appears to be saying that he doesn't know much about the Ohiosphere, Ohio politics, and the people who debate, discuss and shape the state's public policy in forums online and offline. Matt Hurley's blog has been active, respected and widely known as an aggressive voice for the right. He's a repository and distributor of information from the state's Republican elected officials, who serve in Ohio and national offices.

But the blogger affiliated with the newspaper whose Website has "Ohio" in its name was totally in the dark, which is a strong indication that he's also in the dark about many other Ohio-centric matters. One possibility: The blogger may not even be located in the state, he is an outsourced information source.

In other words -- he could be in India, or Oz for that matter, and playing to an audience in Ohio.

He also says:

"If one types into his address bar weaponsofmassdestruction.com, there are no sites found. Upon further investigation the actual blogsite name allegedly being 'ripped off' is officially addressed, massdiscussion.blogspot.com."

There you have it: He didn't know. It is Google's fault, or the address bar's fault. Do you think he knows more about blogs in India? Or the Emerald City?

An Ohiosphere Mystery: Why Did Link To 'Weapons of Mass Discussion' Lead Elsewhere?

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- A two-day old post that challenged the appearance of an MSM blog affiliated with the formerly respectable news-gathering operation on Akron's Exchange Street had to be revised by The Bellwether today.

A link originally created to steer readers toward Matt Hurley's reliably Ohio-centric and always interesting Weapons of Mass Discussion was mysteriously directing them to a verbal cesspool.

The Bellwether expresses regrets to any who got effluent on their shoes. The Bellwether is also at a loss to explain what happened. Originally, the link was placed in the post to send traffic to Matt.

Perhaps a glitch somewhere. Or a mistake. It would be hard to say an unseen hand. Or something sinister like a hack. Anyhow, the antennae are now up. Truly, this was a strange thing. Any other reports of odd happenings in the 'sphere along these lines?

Ohio's New MSM Blogs: List of Names Leaks Out

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- With the debut of a new Ohio.com blog under its belt, insiders say the MSM is planning several other additions and editions to cover Buckeye State matters. These operations will begin rolling out in the days and weeks ahead. A list of the nameplates likely to be trademarks for the new blogs headed to the Ohiosphere is as follows:

Writes Like A Hawk
RightAngleFog
PschyoBellyDebutante
Thunderplumb
DailyBeltStretcher
Phlo'sNorkaRages
OhioKnave
Kixguy
Ohio Bailey
Crass City Jingle
Creative Mink
Conservative Vulture
Opiners
Cincy Newssnake
Cincinnati Deacon
MuckeyeStateGrog
BluedFishDaily
DizzyBlog
FrogNetOoze
AsOhioSnows
Pro-grassOhio
LargeBellVacates
BearingGiftsOhio
KingsHindSight
Callahan'sClevelandDiatribe
HaveTeaWillSpill
TheNookieLeerOpton
TheCheeseSource
Columfusser

Looks Like MSM Rips Off Ohio Blog's Title: Did Sticky Fingers Appear In Akron?

AKRON (TDB) -- Perhaps the Beacon Journal is controlled by thieves in the Knight these days. And all the good citizens of Akron should watch out. They could be getting news, information and opinion online from brain dead, corrupt, dishonest and vile people who think nothing of filching the ideas of others.

Once upon a time, wasn't even a whiff of plagiarism unacceptable? Now it looks like copying or imitating the language, ideas, and thoughts of another, and passing off the same as one's original work, is just fine and dandy. At least, in Akron.

What has happened is that Ohio.com (Ohionotcom) has started a new political blog, the Blog of Mass Destruction. It leans left. Of course, Ohio already has a blog called Weapons of Mass Discussion by Matt Hurley, who is from Southwest Ohio and happens to lean right. The mirror-effect is absolutely amazing -- so amazing that it looks like the MSM has created a counterfeit blog.

News of this possible scam came from Pho's Norka Pages, who first noticed that the formerly respectable MSM outlet in Akron had tiptoed uncomfortably close to Hurley's blog title. Pho had this to say about the apparent crime in the Ohiosphere:

"As of now each blog reads like a caricature of a blog. The lefty is all anger and out there: the righty brims with smug condescension. On the left we have blog of Mass Destruction (If I were Matt Hurley I'd sue the bastard) written by The Reverend. On the Right is the Political Guru by a blogger going by the same nom de blog."

My plan: I won't read, mention again, or support in any way what looks like a blog-o-crime -- the MSM's mass desmucktion. I am going to click Matt's site at least 10 times a day. I would hope every blogger in Ohio rallies to Matt's side, whether right, left or down the middle. I would hope every blogger in the world rallies to Matt's side. As for The Reverend -- he's a . . . Well, there's an epithet that can be prefixed, and it is not characterized by deep respect or reverence.

Again, here is the link to Matt's site and please visit it often. Another point: If the MSM is resorting to filching blog titles to stay alive, then it is indeed a dying and hopeless industry without a smidgen of creativity or talent, and utterly not deserving of further respect. Outside critics have suspected this for years.

Strike Up The Choir: Ohiosphere's Mark Daniels Is Among 'Top 100' Christian Bloggers

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The Ohiosphere's own notable, remarkable and increasingly respected theological thinker Mark Daniels has turned up on a list of the 100 most important Christian blogs. He is in the top half at No. 28. His impressive ranking caught my eye when I scanned down the list discovered by Jill Zimon at Writes Like She Talks, who deserves a major h/t or perhaps even a doffing of a cleric's biretta.

Evangelical Outpost created the list and described each as essential:

"This is not a list of the 'best Christian blogs' (whatever that might mean) but rather the top 100 blogs that I have found to be the most convincing, enlightening, frustrating, illuminating, maddening, stimulating, right-on and/or wrongheaded by Christians expressing a Christian worldview."

Mark is the pastor of Friendship Lutheran Church in Amelia, a suburb of east of Cincinnati. Information about his church, his denomination and Mark himself is here. If there are any other Ohio blogs on the Top 100 list that Jill found, I did not recognize them.

However, somebody could be there that I don't know (and I apologize if I missed you.)

Congratulations to Mark, a man with an important message who has been doing God's work in the pulpit, and via the Internet.