Christmas with the Bozinis — 2011.2 CSC/Opera Edition

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The second of two annual Bozini Christmas parties was held Saturday night, hosted by Nancy, Bob and Charles, with their usual uncommon flair. As usual, Her majesty Queen Victoria was especially pleased to welcome the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (who arrived shortly after performing Love’s Labour’s Lost on their Main Stage downtown), along with several members of the area Opera community.

A most enjoyable evening was had by all. And I'm especially looking forward to attending the CSC's Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!) on New Year's Eve! :-)

Santa Claus visits Waycross

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Waycross Community Media had its annual visit from Santa Claus this past Monday, where children from the Waycross area were able to call in and talk to the Jolly Old Guy himself. More pictures, as usual by clicking here or on the image. Merry Christmas to all!! :-)

Christmas with the Bozinis — 2011.1

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The annual two-part Bozini Christmas Party got underway this year, with Part 1 being held last night at Casa Bozini. As is traditional, an appearance was made by HRH Queen Victoria, who was looking quite her usual regal self this year, followed by a rousing round of caroling. Also, much food was eaten, and a festive time was had by all. :-)

A big Thank You from, and Congratulations to Gwen McFarlin

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Gwen McFarlin, recently re-elected to the position of Springfield Township Board of Trustees, held a Thank You party for her supporters at her Springfield Township home on Saturday. Excellent food was eaten, petitions were signed, and plans made for the big Kwanza party to be held at the end of December. Congratulations, Gwen!

Dressing Up Politics

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The Springfield Township Democratic Club held their Dressing Up Politics fundraiser this past weekend, which featured a Fashion Show with many Democratic elected officials from Cincinnati and Hamilton County suburbs  serving as models. I was there to shoot video, but I did manage to get some still shots as well. Enjoy!

UPDATE 11/30/11: I've added a couple of dozen shots to the collection. Enjoy!

Another Batch of Bozini Birthdays

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Another round of Bozini birthdays was celebrated this weekend, for Bozini's with Autumn Birthdays. So Happy Birthday to Charles, Virgina and Dick! :)

To honor the occasion, a delightful dinner was held at the Ruby Tuesday restaurant in Kenwood. A most enjoyable evening catching up with all of the Bozini family. :)

And the regular season comes to a close

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It was the final week of the season for High School football, and Waycross closed out the regular season by covering Winton Woods in their game against Glen Este. It was Senior Night for Winton Woods, with recognition given to seniors on football team and the Marching Band. This included recognition for WWHS Senior, Marching Band Field Commander and long-time Waycross Volunteer Jason Dudley. Congratulations, Jason!

Unfortunately, Winton Woods and Glen Este had disappointing seasons, both being mathematically eliminated from the playoffs going into this week's action. Winton Woods managed to win for the home crowd, 35-21.

Next week, the football playoffs will start, and Waycross will be looking to cover St. Xavier and/or Colerain, both of whom figure to host games in the first round. Permissions have to be obtained for broadcast rights, so we'll have to see what happens.

Finneytown vs. Wyoming

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It's late October, and once again time for the annual Finneytown vs. Wyoming game. As I said in my previous post, this game has historically been a blowout in favor of Wyoming, but this year proved to be a bit different. Finneytown jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first half. only to give up that lead. But it did all come down to a 21-16 lead for Wyoming with 1:00 left in the game and Finneytown had the ball 4th and goal on the 2-yard line. A two yard run would win it, but Finneytown unfortunately fumbled, and Wyoming picked the ball up and ran for a game sealing touchdown. So final score: Wyoming 28-16 over Finneytown, which is very close the the 28-17 win for Wyoming win that I predicted before the game.

I did manage to get some pictures of the Finneytown band, who were dressed up for Halloween. :)

The second game of a double weekend

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Just a little over 12 hours after leaving Colerain High School, Waycross and volunteers were at St. Xavier High School for their game against the defending State Champions, the St. Edward Eagles. Before the game, I overheard a St. Edward's player asked if they were going to win, and he said yes, it was "in the bag." Well, I've been helping cover St. Xavier Bombers football for about 20 years now, and I learned one thing about 19 years ago: Never bet real money against St. X. The Bombers won, 17-10.

Coming up next week is Finneytown vs. Wyoming. This has historically been a blowout, with Wyoming usually stomping Finneytown. But Finneytown beat Indian Hill last week (a major upset) and both they and Wyoming are now 5-3 on the season. So there is some hope that the game will actually be an exciting game for a change.

First for a double weekend

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Waycross is covering two football games this weekend, Colerain vs. Lakota East, and St. Xavier vs. St. Edwards.

First up: tonight was the Colerain game. A very pleasant night, though there was a thunderstorm skirting to the north of the stadium. Didn't look like it was going to affect our game (indeed, there was a beautiful sunset in the west), and fortunately, if there was any lightning, the refs didn't see it.

Finally got a chance to leave the production truck during the game so that I could get a few pics of the game itself. And it did include a Colerain touchdown! Oh, and Colerain won, 28-7. :)

Next up: Tomorrow afternoon at St. Xavier

King of the Road

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Friday night and time for some more high school football. This week is was St. Xavier hosting LaSalle in the annual King of the Road game, in which the two schools, located on opposite ends of North Bend Road, battle it out for the right to say "We Own The Road." St. Xavier won that battle this year, 45-21. As usual, I was working in the Waycross TV truck (I ran replay this week), so I didn't get any pics of the game itself, but I did get quite a few of St. X and LaSalle's Marching Bands.

Band Night and a Barn Burner of a game

This week Waycross covered Walnut Hills vs. Winton Woods in high school football. Unlike the other football games we've covered this year, which were blowouts, this game actually was exciting right up to the final minute with the lead changing a few times in the 4th quarter. In the end, Walnut Hills held on to win, 31-28, which unfortunately leaves Winton Woods' postseason prospects highly doubtful.

In addition it was Band Night at Winton Woods High School, in which the High School Marching Band was joined by the 7th and 8th grade bands, in a halftime show that featured a tribute to the Beatles. Click here or on the images for a bunch of pics of the band, with longtime Waycross volunteer and WWHS Marching Band Field Commander Jason Dudley dressed in Sgt. Pepper garb.

A Midsummer Night's Dream for an autumn evening

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A lovely September night for a Shakespeare in the Park performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Burnet Woods in Clifton, near the UC campus. The rain fortunately held off until well after the show ended, so the show went off without a hitch. Afterwards, it was off to the Clifton Skyline Chili at Ludlow and Clifton with friends Nancy, Charles and Dick, as well as Luigina and Rob.

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And a great show it was. Burnet Woods, in my opinion, provides the perfect setting for a play set largely in a forest, the cast was energetic (not to mention hilarious; you really get an idea of where Monty Python was getting a fair chunk of their material), and the costuming added the crowning touch. If the CSC ever puts on a production of Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, Cary Davenport, pictured here playing the part of Francis Flute (who is in turn playing the part of Thisbe), has to play the part of the Red Queen. A tip of the hat to Heidi Jo Scheimer, the CSC's Resident Costume Designer, for inspired work on all the costumes (though in Cary's case, it's the beard that really completes the look, not to mention his facial expressions).

Alas, this was the final performance of MSND for the 2011 SitP season. There is a final performance of Julius Caesar next weekend, but I  don't think I'll be able to make that.

I just wish this company had been around in the early 70s when Mrs. McCann, my ninth-grade English teacher, was trying to make me read Julius Caesar. Apparently she, along with my dad, a college English professor at UC, were of the opinion that Shakespeare was writing for them (i.e., English teachers) and that these plays were meant to be read, rather than seen. I strongly disagree. Reading these plays just doesn't do it for me. To truly appreciate Shakespeare, you should see the plays performed, by a company as talented and enthusiastic as the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company.

Week 4

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Week 4 of the High School football season, this week was Finneytown vs. Taylor. As usual, I wasn't able to take pictures during the game (I'm generally pretty busy wrestling with an approx. Year 2000 Windows computer, using Excel 97 (97!), to keep the score, down & distance, etc. up-to-date.). But it was a beautiful night (partly cloudy, temps in the 50s), and I did manage to get some pictures of the Marching Band as they marched past the production truck.

Caesar on the River

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Went to another production of Julius Caesar, put on by the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, this time at Bellevue Beach Park. The park is right on the Ohio River, approximately across the river from Eden Park. A rousing performance as far as it went. Unfortunately, a drenching shower started shortly after intermission, forcing the players to cancel the remainder of the performance. All the players were scheduled to perform in A Man for All Seasons at CSC in downtown Cincinnati later in the evening, and hence couldn't wait out the shower. Naturally, the sun came back out shortly after that decision was made, but then again, the rain returned while we we walking back to our cars. So it was a good call, after all.

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Afterwards, we went to York St. Cafe in Newport for light dinner and dessert. A wonderful outdoor dining experience, with wonderful company, and desserts to die for!

On the Road To Morrow...

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Today, we at Waycross were on the road to Morrow. All our teams were on the road (except St. X at Colerain, which we couldn't cover because ONN preempted us), so we packed up and went to Little Miami High School in Morrow, OH (near Lebanon) for a game between Northwest and Little Miami. Northwest won by a lopsided score of 42-7, despite getting penalties what seemed like every other play. But a very fun shoot, and a very solid crew, even if the game itself was a bit boring.

...and the start of Fall

And with Fall, comes the start of the High School football season. Actually, the season started last weekend, but I missed that due to Context 24.

Last night, Waycross covered Colerain vs. Ryle at Colerain High School's Cardinal Stadium. And a very hot night for  September, as the area was under a heat advisory. On the way over, my car's overhead indicator said it was 100°F outside (actual temp — not a "feels like" index!)

As usual, I was in the truck updating the Deko graphics computer with the score, down & distance, etc. during the game, so I was ony able to get pictures before the game. Oh, and the final score: Colerain 37, Ryle 0. Pretty much a blowout from the start, plus the fact that Ryle's quarterback suffered a knee injury in the first quarter.

The end of summer...

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The end of summer brings with it the end of another fantastic season of Greenhills Concert on the Commons. As usual, the American Legion Post #530 Concert Band provided a most enjoyable evening of patriotic marches, show tunes, and other standards. And the Concert on the Commons has had great luck with the weather this year -- another beautiful evening for an outdoor concert, the last of the summer to be covered by Waycross. :)

Context 24

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Went to Context 24 in Columbus last weekend; great fun,  as usual. The surprise Special Guest was John Scalzi, who graciously agreed to appear and do several panels, readings, signings, etc on Saturday afternoon. He was the last-minute substitute for the scheduled Guest of Honor, L.E. Modesitt, who unfortunately had to cancel when his wife became seriously ill the previous week. But Scalzi was available, for Saturday afternoon anyway, so it was all good. All in all, a very enjoyable weekend!!

Earthquake

Was napping early this afternoon, and when I got up, the Internet was abuzz with news of a 5.9 earthquake centered in Virginia, between DC and Richmond, and apparently felt by many here in Cincinnati, though not by me.

Apparently, the ground around my house must have some shock-absorbing sponginess about it, because this quake did not, as you can see, even knock the Charmin off the edge, even though it was perched precariously on the edge of the table. Nor was my collection of bobbleheads disturbed. Everything in the pictures is in exactly the same position it was in last night. Also, Pixel, my cat, who was inside at the time, did not seem to notice anything amiss.

Reading others' description of the quake made me feel a little like Monty Python's Ralph Melish (link to YouTube is audio only):
"June the 4th, 1973, was much like any other summer's day in Peterborough, and Ralph Melish, a file clerk at an insurance company, was on his way to work as usual when... (da dum!) Nothing happened! (dum dum da dum)"

I'm certainly not complaining about missing this event, mind you. After some flood damage to carpets in my house earlier this year, I could certainly do without an earthquake. ;-)

Bacchanal Steel Band at Colerain Park

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School has started in many districts in the Cincinnati area, but summer isn't quite over yet. Friday night featured another great concert thanks to the great folks of Colerain Township, this time featuring the Bacchanal Steel Band. Wonderful summer music for a beautiful summer night!

G Miles and the Hitmen at Greenhills CotC

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Greenhills Concert on the Commons' winning streak with the weather continues -- another gorgeous night! This concert featured a great blues band, G. Miles & the Hitmen.

And for Tony and I, a blast from the past; a surprise visit from Dick Hagerman, a Waycross volunteer from way back. I don't think either Tony or I had seen Dick since Bill Clinton was President.

Dick Hagerman sighting

I was going to take a whole bunch of pictures, but I was almost to the Commons tonight when I realized I had left my Canon at home, and there wasn't time to go home and get it. Oh well. I made do with the camera on my smartphone, which seems to suffice, though it requires work in Photoshop Lightroom to get them to look halfway decent. So if some of these pictures are a little fuzzy, or the color is off, or there are noise bands, that's why. ;-)

Cry Havoc!! And Let Slip the Dogs of War!!

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Shakespeare in the Park came Sunday evening with a traditional staging of Julius Caesar (though some of the traditionally male roles were played by women, this was not the gender-reversed version of the play that the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company staged back in April). Just as the show was about to start on the lawn of the Harry Whiting Brown Community Center, a rainstorm came through sending players and audience scurrying into the nearby Scouthouse, where the play was ultimately staged. Of course, by the time the players were finished setting up inside, the storm had passed, and the skies were clearing. But the show went on inside, where, in my opinion, the audience was better able to hear the actors, without being drowned out occasionally by passing trains. :-)

All in all, a most enjoyable evening of Shakespearean theater.

A Taste of Colerain with a concert by Naked Karate Girls

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The Naked Karate Girls rocked the Colerain Twp. Admin. Complex again for an appreciative crowd at A Taste of Colerain (an encore or sorts of their concert on the Fourth of July). Again, absolutely beautiful weather (which alas, won't last -- it's supposed to rain and storm Saturday and Sunday). Not to mention the great food available; I forget the name of the restaurant whose booth I got it from, but a delicious chicken tenderlion sandwich w/lettuce and tomato. :-)

Magnolia Mountain

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Gorgeous weather for the Greenhills Concert on the Commons. This week featured Magnolia Mountain, a band that describes itself as "Americana" and seems to be a mix of rock, country, bluegrass and folk, or what Tony called simply "Mountain Music." A sample of the concert is here. Really, they were quite good, and the concert was graced with one of the most gorgeous sunsets I've ever seen at a Concert on the Commons.

Next Concert on the Commons: next Wednesday, featuring blues band G.Miles & the Hitmen.

Connie Pillich on Columbus Report

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Ohio Representative Connie Pillich (D, District 28) came by Waycross Community Media Studio's Columbus Report Monday night for a chat on various subjects of interest to Ohioans, including the state's budget, election laws, redistricting and other sundry subjects. She also mentioned that she will not be running for reelection to her seat in the state legislature; instead, she will be running for U.S. Congress, likely in the 1st District, a seat now held by Republican Steve Chabot. I say likely -- nobody really knows what the district maps are going to look like, what with Ohio losing two seats in Congress. We'll see...

Smooth Jazz in the Park Festival 2011

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The 10th Annual Smooth Jazz in the Park was held on a hot Saturday night in August. The weather people were warning that there may be thundershowers and such in the area, but they fortunately never materialized. So an excellent Jazz concert was held featuring an excellent group from Columbus, by the name of fo/mo/deep. Unfortunately, I didn't catch their explanation of the group's name. But it was great music, whatever they call themselves.

VRN 2011

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The 2011 VRN (Volunteer Recognition Night) for Waycross Community Media volunteers took place tonight at the Forest Park Senior Center. A lot of wonderful awards given out, including Jason's fifth straight Volunteer of the Year, and a national Hometown Video Award (pictured at right) given to Waycross volunteers for our coverage of last year's Smooth Jazz in the Park (congratulations, everybody!). In addition, I was recognized with a "longevity" award, in recognition of my volunteering for 20 years now. This award came with a Skyline Chili gift card and two tickets to a Reds game. Not a bad haul. Now if the Reds would just get in gear...

MU Steel Band returns to Concert on the Commons

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The Miami University Steel Band returned to Greenhills Concert on the Commons for another great concert. And the weather, for once, wasn't near as hot, and besides the A/C in the Waycross production truck worked! (knock wood...)

A party for Tony's birthday

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A fun time was had at Casa hugh57, celebrating Tony's birthday. Steaks (with hot dogs for the kids) were grilled, followed by pumpkin and/or apple pie with ice cream.

Didn't get too many pictures (somewhat busy on the grill cooking steaks), but what I did get, here they are. :-)

A hot one to close out July

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A hot night for a concert (esp. considering that the A/C in the Waycross production truck wasn't working). But it was OK in the shade, which is where most people stayed while listening to Tex Schramm and the Radio King Cowboys at Greenhills Concert on the Commons.

Google+

[I posted this on Facebook (where at least for now, I have a wider audience) as a Note, it occurred to me I might want to post it here, too.]

Fiddling around with Google+ -- not a whole lot there yet. For one thing, rather few of my friends are early adopters of this sort of thing, so few people that I know, aside from James Allen (thanks for the invitation, James!), a few science fiction writers, and 1 or 2 other local friends, not many people that I know personally are there yet. Unless and until that happens, it's hard to get a feel for how well this compares to FB.

I haven't yet seen a way to sort the Stream (equiv. to News Feed) from Most Recent. The "Circles" are an interesting idea, but until more people come on board, I'm not sure how, or how well, it will work. Likewise for integrating Google+ with other Google services, such as Gmail. There are no games (yet, anyway) like Farmville or Mafia, which I consider a feature, not a bug. ;-)

So anyway, it looks promising, but it still needs work. If anyone wants an invitation, either FB message me (include your email address), or send me an email. :-)

ETA: One of the great features of Google+ is that you can edit your post (or "status" as FB calls it), rather than having to add a correction as a comment or new status. I never understood why FB couldn't include such a simple function.

Eight Days a Week/Tom Enderle Car Show at the Concert on the Commons

Another summer Wednesday, another Concert on the Commons; this time, a Beatles tribute band called Eight Days a Week, coupled with the annual Tom Enderle Car Show.

One nice thing about doing graphics for a Beatles cover band -- I need to bring the song title up at the very beginning of the song, but I often have to wait a couple of bars to confirm that the song they're playing matches the graphic I bring up (many bands skip around on their set list without telling me). With the Beatles, I can "name that tune" in one chord! And these guys stuck to their set list, which always helps. :-)

An Evening of birthdays with the Bozinis

A most enjoyable evening spent with friends celebrating birthdays occurring in the spring and summer. Originally scheduled for Joe's Diner downtown, it was moved to the IHOP on Ridge when it was discovered that the AC at Joe's had broken down. Pictures here.

A couple of concerts to post...

Last week, I took some pics at Greenhills Concert on the Commons featuring the UC Community Concert Band. A gorgeous night for my first CotC this year (It's their third -- I wasn't able to make the previous two in June).




And then yesterday, on the Fourth of July, I helped Waycross cover the Colerain Twp. 4th of July Spectacular at the Colerain Township Administration Complex. Another gorgeous night and a great concert by a band called Naked Karate Girls. Followed by a spectacular fireworks display put on by volunteers from Colerain Township. A great time!

Hometown Wildlife

Came home from the store yesterday and found my neighbors all gathered around my mailbox.

Turned out they were looking up the tree behind my mailbox, at this little guy who was trying to make it back to his nest, after apparently being knocked out of it by the recent storms.

Fuzzy Nation Tour

John Scalzi's new book, Fuzzy Nation, was released today. It was also his 42nd birthday, which he celebrated with a signing in Dayton, (Beavercreek, actually, at Books & Co. on the Greene). Scalzi read from Untitled 2012 novel, the working title and basic description of which we were all sworn to secrecy. We are allowed to say, however, that it is awesome.



Pics are here.

Harmony Kara Jeffries arrives

Harmony Kara, AJ and Sarah's new daughter, arrived tonight (May 4, 2011 at 10:06pm). Pictures are here. :)