My MPMF





This is a little late, but I still had a blast on Friday Night at the Mid Point Music Festival.




kk

it's a one eyed, one hatted puffy orange music lover... 


  
 Tracy Walker at Coffee Emporium



obviously these listeners are very impressed.


 
shake your grove thang, dancin' man. (at Segway)


 
the crowd is enthralled with Wake the Bear


 
croonin' (Wake the Bear)



 
Wake the Bear's shoes and beer.








 
the Sundresses! (kinda...)

It was awesome to celebrate great music in all the cool spots downtown.
(ya know, except for Cadillac Ranch...)

recycleDbin at Urban Cincy!

Hey everyone! I wanted to let you know of a new venture I am embarking on. I am now a contributing writer for one of Cincinnati's more well known blogs,  UrbanCincy . Not that I'm abandoning recycleDbin any time soon. This gives me a chance to meet new people and help cover all the exciting things happening in and around Cincinnati. So... yay!


Diary of a DAAP kid: home sweet home?





A couple weeks ago, I left home to do some traveling. Guess where I ended up? Home. Confused yet? Let me explain. As a college student, I feel like I have two places I call Home.



Back Home again, in Indiana... 

The first of these is the area where I grew up (for me, this is small town Indiana.) I still have a bedroom there, full to the brim with memories from childhood and high school. When I go back to spend a weekend or a holiday, my mom cooks me dinner, and we go on bike rides and talk about how much Franklin is changing and growing as a city.  Franklin-home is a comfortable haven, full of memories from friends and times past, reminiscing, and spending time with family and old friends.

However, it's been four years since I've spent any significant amount of time living in Franklin. It seems like every time I go back, there's something that's been built (or worse, torn down) that has changed the familiar landscape of my past into something new and unknown. My roots are in Indiana (and I will always swear my allegiance to Indiana tomatoes and corn over Ohio's!) but I don't know if my heart is there anymore.


old roomies and I outside our humble abode in Clifton.

 Home #2, is obviously Cincinnati. I didn't grow up here, but I've done a lot of exploring and experiencing in this city over the last four years. People are usually surprised to find that I didn't actually grow up here. I feel really lucky that Cincy has so much to offer, and that I've been able to burst the Clifton bubble and get into the rest of the city. I feel connected here in a way that I didn't back in Indiana. Maybe it's the history, the architecture, the events, or even the people... but this city has a tangible hold on my heart.

Even so, it's not like I grew up here. So in a way, it's kind of strange to have two places that I feel quasi-connected to. Two Homes. I am certain that I am not alone in this feeling. I know when I graduate that I will want to get out of town and explore the rest of the country in a way that I haven't yet had the opportunity to. But will I ultimately end up in Cincinnati?

For now, the answer appears to be "yes."


Being green in Boston

  

I had a fantastic time in Boston over Labor Day weekend. Great food, great friends... it was a wonderful all around experience. There was a lot to take in, and our hosts showed us around many of the different neighborhoods of good old Beantown.

Seeing as how Boston is such a progressive and well-established area, I was interested to see what sort of strides the city has taken to become more sustainable. Obviously the first huge thing was the public transportation. The MBTA is a really great system of rail, subway, bus... and boat! Yep. They have boats that take passengers from one side of the bay to the other. It's pretty awesome.

 
view from the ferry
They are also installing solar trash receptacles around the city center. We saw them over by Fenway park.  They look kind of like green mailboxes, but they have icons of people throwing stuff away on them, so there wasn't too much confusion. They hold up to 150 gallons of trash, and the solar panels run a compactor. Hopefully they can also do this with recycling - cans, maybe?
 
too bad it's not a recycling bin!
My friends and I ended up spending an afternoon at Harvard, and I noticed that the campus has been making efforts to "green" their facilities. They had signs around the grounds inviting people to "sit down, it's organic!" The sign didn't elaborate on how the groundskeeping was organic, exactly. I didn't see any goats mowing the lawn, so I assume that they are no longer using chemicals to treat the grass.
 
cool public art installation on the very "green" grass
The good folks at Harvard have also "greened up" their bathrooms. While using their facilities at the Harvard Museum of Natural History (I highly recommend visiting, and not just for the bathrooms!), I noticed that they had installed low-flow toilets and solar powered, motion sensored faucets! Not only that, but even their foamy soap was eco-friendly.
 
 
My only disappointment was, even with all the fancy new equipment... the only means available to dry one's hands after washing up was with paper towels. Seriously? All this new fangled equipment and you couldn't install an air dryer? 
So Harvard's Eco-Score Card gets a B from me. Good effort, but it doesn't make sense to have equipment that's been around for years (i.e. air dryers) in your bathrooms.

Overall, I had an amazing time. I highly recommend visiting. The whole time I was there, I couldn't help but wonder if someday Cincinnati could aspire to be as awesome as Boston. I think we are on our way!

Diary of a DAAP kid: another vacation??



That's right, kiddies. I'm heading out of town to Boston over Labor Day weekend. Hopefully I will find some sweet recycled stuff... maybe even ride the local public transportation!

At any rate, may your Labor Days be filled with sunshine and not too much styrofoam. Cuz that stuff sucks.

Recycling in Cincinnati




It is a bit of an understatement to say that recycling is important to me. I mean... you DID read the title of my blog, didn't you? It's an integral part of my life that was ingrained at an early age. There was never a question as to "hmm, should we recycle this plastic bottle, or just throw it away?" I thank my mom for this fantastic habit, and now filling up my green bin is as normal as brushing my teeth or washing my hands.

I know that recycling is slowly becoming more and more mainstream. Just last week I convinced the boys who run the tuxedo shop in front of my house (yep, Mr. Tuxedo's) that they could, in fact, RECYCLE the 3-5 bottles of soda they drink a day. Same with all the cardboard boxes that they toss. They were a bit skeptical until they realized it was just like throwing things away, except for in a different box. Instant converts.

Cincinnati has a recycling program, which is better than cities that don't. There is a proposal that has been developed by some of the members of Cincinnati City Council that will improve the efficiency of recycling in Cincy, as well as turn a profit for the city and create jobs.

Councilwoman Roxanne Qualls sent me an email earlier today, and she puts it like this:

"Back in May 2008, council asked the administration to review the recycling program and recommend how we could increase the rate of recycling, share to a greater extent in any revenue from sale of recyclables, and increase the amount of money the city saves by avoiding landfill tipping fees. The original motion was extensive, and also directed that workers receive a living wage for sorting recyclables."

Basically the city has to pay to dump all the trash that we, the citizens, produce. It's expensive (not to mention really gross)



at $27.25 per tonne of garbage, and over 88,437 tonnes of garbage estimated to be dumped... that's a lot of money to spend.

However, recycling waste ends up paying the city back money... about $28.30 per tonne (at the end of 2008)

The enhanced system will include a Recycle Bank program that records how much individual households recycle, and then rewards them for it. (uh, that's awesome.) They also want to replace the dinky green bins for 64 gallon recycling carts.


Yes, the carts and the new system is going to cost money. But, as we've seen above... it's going to MAKE money. As well as create new jobs.

Qualls says that "the plan, if it were approved and implemented this year, would actually save $20,000 in 2009 and $240,000 in 2010. It would increase the amount recycled by 300% and create 20 new jobs at sorting facilities and 36 new jobs at recycling manufacturing facilities. It also would decrease greenhouse gas emissions.he plan, if it were approved and implemented this year, would actually save $20,000 in 2009 and $240,000 in 2010. It would increase the amount recycled by 300% and create 20 new jobs at sorting facilities and 36 new jobs at recycling manufacturing facilities. It also would decrease greenhouse gas emissions."


These recycling initiatives would be a really great opportunity for Cincinnati, but it is being threatened to be cut off in order to save police jobs.

If you care about the possibility of great recycling in Cincinnati, please follow the link to the Park+Vine blog post about this topic, where you can copy a letter to send to our City Council, specifically Ghiz, Bortz, Berding, Monzel and Harris.

check out Roxanne Quall's website for more info on the proposed recycling plan.

Tell Mayor Mark Mallory and City Council that you care about recycling in Cincinnati!!

Plastic Bag Love: PLAG

It's Friday. Time for some Plastic Bag Love!!

I used to work with an awesome chick named Nikki who is really into plastic bags. She was integral in helping me get up the courage to start recycleDbin, and she's probably one of my biggest fans. And I can't help but be one of hers, because she was the one who got me hooked on plastic bags in the first place!!



Nikki makes PLAGs. If you think that sounds like Plastic Bags... you're totally right. She is an avid knitter, and one day decided to make yarn out of plastic bags instead of the usual stuff. Here's the lowdown from her Etsy site:

"I heart the Earth. I want to keep living here. I want my great-great-grandkids to live here. And I try to do my part to leave a smaller "footprint." I use cloth bags when going to the store, but there are times I stop unexpectedly and inevitably I get a plastic bag. I don't want to put this plastic into the landfill because it NEVER breaks down. Not completely.

I saw this idea to cut up the plastic bags and use it as yarn to create a market bag. Great idea I thought. Practical, not so much. The plastic has a decent amount of give and can stretch out of place quickly with heavy groceries. I use mine more of tote bag. To carry the umbrella and lunch bag to the office. It's also perfect as a beach bag.

Each Plag is made using previously used plastic bags - approximately 50 of them. I change the pattern each time based on the materials. Pictured here is a striped version. I also have solid and pattern bags in process that can be held if you are interested."

so this is what the yarn looks like:



and here's another shot of the PLAG in all its handmade glory:



(all of the images come from her Etsy site, just FYI)

It's a really neat concept that is doing its part to keep plastic bags out of landfills. And that's what we love.

PS - check out the rest of Nikki's Etsy site for really adorable knitted items like this RoboBear. Shop Local!

Diary of A DAAP Kid: Parties

When one thinks of college parties, beer pong, flip cup, kegs and flipped up collars may come to mind. Today I am here to distinguis the difference between the aformentioned college parties (aka Frat Parties) and the types of soirees us classy kids at DAAP like to throw.

In my four years at DAAP I've been to a number of shindigs ranging in scale from a few friends gathered for dinner and wine, to house-party madness a hundred costumed people strong.

The most important thing about DAAP parties is that there must be a theme. How else will you find the most ironic and creative outfit to wear?Yes, there's the usual themse, like Black and White, but how about Robots, Famous Couples, or Anything But Pants? Giving us crazy art students a chance to get creative AND drunk... now that's a match made in heaven.

Alas, many of my architect pals have graduated, and the number of parties has slowed to a trickle. This past Saturday night, however, I got a chance to attend the mother of all DAAP parties... ironically, not thrown by DAAP-ers, but by a group called Dance MF (you can fill in the abbreviation for yourself)

Dance MF traditionally hosts dance parties at the Northside Tavern on the first Saturday of every month. This month marked their one year anniversary (and the birthday of one of the creators)... so they threw themselves a big MF'n birthday party...

on a boat. ON A BOAT.


(image from It Probably Sucks)

I've been obsessed with this Lonely Island song (as have many other hipsters) since the first time someone else showed it to me on youtube. . Actually, I know all the words.

So when I heard the DANCE MF was going to be ON A BOAT, I was pretty darn excited. The tickets sold out quickly, but I managed to snag one via Craigslist about 5 hours before the ship set sail. I went with my friends Marco and Carrie and we had a blast.

The beer and wine and cake flowed, the DJ mixed some crazy beats, The Seedy Seeds totally rocked our faces, and I got to dance my tush off.

I would describe the mix and fashion of the people who attended, but I think pictures (none of them mine, all taken from MetroMix Cincy here:) will suffice. I'm pretty sure they were all DAAP graduates (or wannabes!)


check it out:


I'm on a boat and


it's going fast and


I got my nautical-themed pashmina afghan (Seedy Seeds!!)


Me, Marco and Carrie!

Call to Bloggers: Transit

As a very small part of the amazing blogging community in Cincinnati, I've had ample time to read tons of great posts about the most important issue going on in our fair city: The Anti-Rail Transportation Charter Amendment. I'm not even going to say the "s" word. This issue far surpasses the current rail options being looked into for the city center.

If this ballot initiative passes, it will be very difficult for Cincinnati as a city to compete with others around the country who are being proactive in updating their city centers so that people WANT to live, work and play there.

I've lived in Cincinnati for the last four years of my life, and I know its workings better than many of my friends who grew up here. This IS my home, and I have an obnoxious amount of optimism when it comes to the Queen City's future.

That being said, I have grown tired of running around in circles when it comes to the COAST v. Cincinnatians for Progress issue. I am reading the same blogs, tweeting the same tweets, and talking to the same people who agree with me in thinking that this amendment CANNOT pass. It's great that there is so much enthusiasm and recently, so much press coverage about this amendment.

Honestly, guys... I don't think the Anti Rail Amendment will be voted down if we continue on the way we are now. I know that it is still early in the game to be thinking this way. According to one of the Cincinnatians for Progress representatives who spoke at the Downtown Residents Council this evening (I consider myself a part-time DT resident ;) ) "Information is the key" He insinuated that there will be many measures unrolled between now and Election Day. He also called for interested parties to sign up and volunteer their time, monies, and/or talent at

www.Cincinnatiansforprogress.com



I've heard some people mention that all this issue needs is "a really great PR team." Helloooo.. this community of bloggers and tweeters is a fantastic PR team. We've got a lot of man power and creativity right here. For free.

If voting down the Anti-Rail Amendment is something you feel passionate about, then you should try and do what you can to reach out to the people (in Price Hill, Westwood, Madisonville, Mt. Washington and all the other city voting neighborhoods ) who don't know, don't care, or are misinformed about what this potentially means for Cincinnati. We can talk about it together all we want, but in the end it isn't worth beans when the majority rules. I know maybe for some of you


(thanks Dan/P+V!)

but some of these Cincinnati blogs are read by people outside the city core. Blogs about food, being cheap, being a mom

ya'all reach a lot of people, every day. I don't know what the solution is. Maybe it's YouTube videos, door-to-door canvassing, or talking to radio personalities on their Morning Shows (hey there Married With Microphones!). Maybe CFP and Mayor Mallory have something amazing up their sleeves and I am totally in the dark.

But I do know that we have to reach outside of our comfort zones and start talking to whoever we know, who isn't IN the know.

Because we love Cincinnati, and think it's got a fantastic freakin' future.

Night, ya'll.

Charlotte, North Carolina




The streetcar debate is weighing heavily on my mind, and I think there's some things to be said...

that will wait til the next post.

Whilst on vacation, I got the opportunity to use the public transportation system in Charlotte, North Carolina. BF, friend and I stopped in Charlotte to get some lunch and see the sights. They basically totally humored me in riding the local light rail...

or else they got really sick of me talking about it.

Charlotte currently has a (free!) trolley system (NOT A STREETCAR) as well as a light rail system that runs out to the suburbs, but connects the stadium and the convention center (again, not a streetcar.) Apparently they have plans to install a streetcar at some point.


this is not a streetcar. it's a painted bus. btw.


Anyway, we walked around the city. I noticed they had bike lanes in the downtown area. There were several green/public spaces we walked by, and they were fairly full of the typical business-lunch crowd.



We each shelled out the $1.25 and hopped on the light rail and rode it a grand total of 2 stops - we didn't have time to ride the whole way. It was pretty sweet!


m@ figures out the money thang.


neato frito waiting area.


HERE IT COMES!!!! YAAAY!!!!


A clean, quiet ride and a diverse crowd. Lovin' it.

Charlotte and Cincinnati seem to be fairly similar. Charlotte is probably a little bigger than Cincy (sorry, too tired to look up facts) All in all it was a great little side trip, and I got my transit fix. SCORE.

Diary of a DAAP Kid: vacation

Sorry I haven't been around for a couple weeks, friends. I went on a small vacation to Charleston, South Carolina with some friends. It was a really great break from real life, and I managed to miss a week full of rain back home in Cincinnati.

Believe it or not, co-ops do not get paid vacation. and since I'm supposed to work a determined amount of days/weeks. So, if I take off any days, I have to make it up before the end of the co-op session. Needless to say, I worked a LOT of overtime before I left.

I traveled with my architect boyfriend to Charleston, South Carolina, where we stayed with architecture friends and saw (not surprisingly) a lot of great architecture. The trip culminated in a detour up to Virginia, to see Thomas Jefferson's piece de resistance, University of Virginia. Check it out!


sweet bridge in Charleston


we took the Blue Ridge Parkway for a good ways through Virginia.


I'm a self professed city girl, but I got my roots in the country... and part of me would not mind ending up out here...



we snuck onto the campus at night and took pictures. Fantastico!

Streetcar Film (short version)



modern streetcar via ProTransit.com


If you didn't make it out to the Carnegie Arts Center in Covington to see the screening of "Taken For a Ride", the film about how GM killed America's streetcars... don't worry.

You can catch it on Youtube, in two parts.





Obviously the people who need convincing about the need for streetcars and light rail were not in attendance, but plenty of like minded people like myself were present. We all hooted and hollered, and laughed at some of the blatant propaganda showcased in the film (A mother stands up in her town hall meeting and states, "highways are the best thing for our children and their future!" The other mothers started weeping)

I didn't know that streetcars were America's mode of transportation for so many years. Many, many people were not happy when they were gone. As in, riots. Protests. Visits to congress. But they took out the light rail and put in the diesel bus, advertising "the wave of the future" and "the modern way". The modern way that clogged up traffic and was slow and inefficient. The effect? Buy a new (GM) car, of course!

Now... we can't even fathom life without a car.



the LA street car circa 1912



LA as we know it today

Cincinnati's Public Spaces Seriously Rock

I've been a little quiet lately, but, I've been keeping up with other blogs. It seems that everyone has been hating on the City of Cincinnati recently. Granted, from the Black Wednesday debacle to this anti-rail amendment business (don't even get me started) there's a lot to be negative about.

Honestly, I'm an optimist at heart, especially when it comes to our fair Queen City. So in lieu of the negativity, I bring you what is possibly my favorite thing about Cincinnati:

Its parks and public spaces!!



According to the City's parks website, Cincinnati is home to 5 regional parks, 70 neighborhood parks, and 34 nature preserves. That's not even mentioning the 3 nature preserves, an abortoreum, and Krohn Conservatory, which is one of the best conservatories in the country.

In downtown Cincinnati alone there are beautiful, places to hang out, play, see and be seen. One of my favorites is Lytle Park, a little gem of a green space that is tucked away on the East side of downtown next to the Taft Museum. There's a really interesting memorial that describes the history of the Lytle area - home of the first Krogers!

When i was in Denmark studying architecture last summer, the very first lecture the dean of the school gave my class revolved around this point:

People love to be around people.

This is not just applicable to the park system, but the other public spaces in Cincinnati. Fountain Square, The fountain near Ludlow Ave and Clifton Ave, Hyde Park Square... it is obvious that Cincinnatians love to be out and about.

So, despite all the crummy things going on lately, don't forget to look on the bright side, and go visit a park!

A new bin!!!

So I finally got my butt in gear and finished the second bin for Michelle... and I wanted you to see it.

Someone at Park + Vine gave me all these cool organic bread bags. They're really colorful, and I think the combination of clear plastic with the color is pretty sweet.

So...

check it out!

Diary of a DAAP kid: co-op (part 3)

Wouldn't it be great if the people you bought supplies from at work came to your work and fed you delicious food and gave you things in exchange for you listening to them talk about their supplies for a half hour?

Maybe you should think about working at an architecture firm.

These strange and wonderful lunchtime occurances are called "Lunch and Learns." Representatives from companies that sell building supplies and interior finishes (fabric, carpet, furniture, flooring, windows, brick, etc) do circuits of firms around town to show off their new products and make friends with the designers that will (hopefully) specify their product in whatever building they happen to be designing at the moment.

So the sign up sheet goes around, and sometimes you get to pick which Panera boxed lunch you'll receive that day. Or maybe they'll bring in a gigundous Servatii's pretzel sandwich (which is awesome!!)


panera = lunch and learn

For me, it means free lunch, and sometimes little goodies. The firms will hand out pens, sticky notes.. heck, I've gotten everything from cloth lunch bags to little tins of organic wheat grass to grow at my desk. They're cheap, plastered with logos, and a little slice of awesome for an intern like me.

At the last place I worked they had two Lunch and Learns a week (one for architectural products, one for interiors) lined up almost the entire time I was there - it was a new place with lots of work, and the reps really wanted to get their business!


Maybe this is a very common thing that everyone has heard of, but I just wanted to profess my undying love of the Lunch and Learn.

Diary of a DAAP kid: co-op (part 2)

I am officially started in the first week of work at my new co-op job in downtown Cincinnati. Let me tell you what... it is SO much better than school!

Yeah, I'm working the 8-5. But after 5 pm (or overtime, if it's needed), you can stick a fork in me, cuz I'm DONE.

No projects.

No homework.

No papers.

No studying.


Just sweet, sweet free time in the weekends and the evenings where I can do whatever I please... like making more bins!!

Yep, I'm almost finished with the bin that Michelle requested well... a while ago. Stay tuned for finished pictures!!

Plastic Bag Love!




Happy Tuesday, everyone!! It’s always fun to learn about all the cool things people are doing with plastic bags.

So, in honor of all the neat things that are happening out there, every so often I’ll be giving the scoop on plastic bag goodness!

Now, I'm not encouraging you to go out and get more plastic bags (my grandma hasn't gotten the memo - Love you, grandma!) Use reusable bags!! Trust me, there are WAY too many out plastic bags out there as is!

SO. To initiate the Plastic Bag Love, I bring you the one creature who loves plastic bags more than anything in the whole world:

My sister’s rabbit, Tislow.




Tislow is an adorable floppy eared bunny that lives in my mom’s basement. One day someone left a plastic bag on the floor, and he discovered how amazing and crinkly they are!

DISCLAIMER (ahem, Maureen Jacob, I am looking at you): Bun does not eat the plastic bags. He likes to play with them and carries them around in his mouth… think Linus and his blankie.




So, here’s some freakin’ cute pictures of a freakin’ cute rabbit and his love of plastic bags:






And even more plastic bag love: Thanks to Cincinnati Women Bloggers for making little ‘ole me Blogger of the Week!! I’m super honored and way excited. Thanks, ladies!!

Sweet 16th!

So when I signed up for Cincinnati Innovates I wasn't really expecting much of out of it. After 2 months, it turns out my entry has moved up to #16 on the list!

It doesn't sound like much, but there's over 80 entries on the website. So that's a huge YAY for this silly little project.

So, sorry about the shameless plug, but this could actually turn into something. Who knew?

Vote for RecycleDbin on Cincinnati Innovates!!



Diary of a DAAP kid: homecoming

Sorry today's post is a little late, readers. I just got back to Cincinnati after a three day hiatus in my hometown of Franklin, IN. It's a small city outside of Indianapolis, and it's always nice to go back home to visit.

Because UC is currently on the quarter system, my school year starts and ends later than other colleges who are on semesters. Add that I go to school during the summer and the winter, and that I was studying in Europe last summer... and it's not hard to understand why none of my friends and family outside of Cincy know where I am or what I'm doing at any given time. I can hardly keep track of it myself!

When I do get the chance to go home, I always try and catch up with whichever old friends happen to be around (as well as hang out with my FABULOUS mother and sister)

This time, I got Ritter's ice cream with two of my oldest friends EVER, Shannon and Liz.




Hi Shannon! (friends since 7th grade!)



Hi Liz! (friends since 5th grade!)


It's just nice to know that even though we all go our separate ways there are always some people that I can have good times with, no matter how long it's been since we've seen each other last.