Ever since having a delicious dinner with a knowlegeable friend at Restaurant Hama at Columbus' Easton Town Center, I've been kind of craving sushi. Rolls, nigiri, sashimi - it's all good. (Particularly nigiri.)

Particularly illuminating - my friend's comment when I mentioned I didn't think there was much sushi in Cincinnati: "Oh, there is. You'd be surprised at how many little places there are." (This is a person who's been to Cincinnati maybe five times, maybe fewer. He wasn't saying it about Cincinnati so much as he was saying it about sushi places, if you get my meaning.)

The thing is, he's right. The second I started paying attention, I noticed half a dozen sushi places I'd never heard of before.

I tried Bistro 1020 and their sushi dishes are serviceable, but more "fusion" than I was prepared for. (I ordered a roll topped with eel, and the eel was cooked. If this doesn't sound like a big deal to you, imagine ordering a steak medium-rare and having it served to you cold and bloody. Would you be a little weirded out?) At this point in my sushi schooling, I'm kinda looking for traditional cuisine.

I'm ashamed to say that I live about a block from one of the "famous" sushi establishments in the city (Beluga) and have never eaten there. So that's on my list. I must also try:

- Sake Bomb (thanks to Mark Mascolino for such an extensive review; you'll be happy to know you're the first hit on a Google search for "sake bomb" ohio, and that Ravings of an Intermittent Fool has joined my list of bookmarked blogs.)
- Sushi Ray (Mount Lookout Square; supposedly fabulous)
- this other sushi place on Mount Lookout Square whose name I can't recall at the time; perhaps a kind reader will enlighten me
- AOI (pronounced "ow-ee") at Newport on the Levee
- Kyoto Japanese in Montgomery

Anyone know of any other must-try sushi places? (Heck, if you suggest a real gem, it might show up in an article we're planning on sushi bars around Cincinnati. No guarantees, though.)

UPDATE. Thanks to commenter Brendan for pointing out that most eel sushi (unagi) is, in fact, cooked. (So let me get this straight: Salmon - raw. Octupus - raw. But eel - oh, heavens! we must cook that!)

In case you're going to Meijer tonight and need a fuzzy little pal, Hamsters are on sale for $4.99. Regularly $6.99.

In no way does anyone on the CiN Weekly staff endorse the post below.

Hello Internet populace of Cincinnati (and beyond),

Over the next few days, you will likely see a lot of "2004 Year-in-Review"-style shows talking about the top stories of the year, recapping a lot of things you got tired of hearing about or never even heard about in the first place. But if you're looking for an entertaining year in review, all you need to do is look towards Skillz.

Assuming you've never heard of him, Skillz, is a Virginia-based hip-hop artist and top industry ghostwriter who always does a year-in-review rap song available on several popular sites throughout the Internet. Always entertaining and insightful, I had the opportunity to meet Skillz this summer at Club Clau (insert your own positive/negative comment here) and, as a tribute to Skillz, decided to create my own 2004 wrap-up.

Thus, without any further ado, I present to you my "2004 (W)rap Up:"

2004, man, this year was out of control,
Janet Jackson whipped out a breast at the Super Bowl,
Her brother Michael, I don't know what he was thinking,
Anna Nicole lost weight at TrimSpa, only to go the AMAs and start drinking,
The election was the hot topic of the year right out of the gates,
But in the end, all we talked about was "red" and "blue" states,
Bush and Kerry came out the box trading barbs,
Everyone seemed to be more concerned about watching their carbs,
Michael Moore tried to come out buck the system,
Martha Stewart actually went to prison,
We kept praying for the troops as the war in Iraq continues to go on,
Gay marriage became the hottest topic for states to vote on,
"Friends" left NBC and "Sex & the City" went bye-bye,
Apple had people everywhere buying iPods and trying to go wi-fi,
Ronald Reagan and Yasser Arafat both passed away,
"Lost" had people glued to the TV watching a bunch of castaways,
Throwback jerseys and trucker hats went out of fashion,
Mel Gibson had people everywhere talking about The Passion,
Scott Peterson's trial ended with a guilty verdict,
Robert Downey, Jr. released an album and nobody heard it,

Man, I tell you, a lot happened this year,
Catwoman nearly killed Halle Berry's career,
Dave Chappelle became a comedy icon,
Toyota had 20-somethings everywhere buying those ugly SUV Scions,
J-Lo got married to Marc Anthony after getting dumped by Ben,
Britney Spears got married, divorced and then married again,
And now Lindsey Lohan's (supposedly) got beef with Tara Reid and Hillary Duff,
And Paris Hilton's still a celebrity - can someone explain this stuff?
Kanye West became a household name,
Vin Diesel's career went just as soon as it came,
The Black Eyed Peas had the whole world singing "Let's Get Retarded,"
R. Kelly & Jay-Z and released Unfinished Business and then cancelled the tour before it really got started,
Back to sports, there was no hockey in the fall thanks to the NHL player lockout,
Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal gave Detroit NBA fans a knockout,
Latrell Sprewell's "feed my family" comment was just as wack,
And don't even get me started on Kobe and Shaq,
The Red Sox finally reversed the curse of the Bambino,
The World Series of Poker had everyone running to the casino,
Miami-Oxford's own Big Ben got drafted by the Steelers and was a hit from the get-go,
Marion Jones, Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds had everyone talking about BALCO,

But Cincinnati had own share of events to remember,
Like when the Bengals put the whoopin' on the Broncos in November,
Sports-wise, some things didn't turn out for the better,
Bob Huggins had the whole city re-learning their letters,
No disrespect, though,
We're glad he's back on his feet, winning games,
The Bengals had so many injuries,
It got hard to learn all the players' names,
But the Monday Night Football game was a lot of fun,
The Florence Freedom nearly lost their home and the Cincinnati Blaze never had one,
Pete Rose finally admitted his crime in his "prison without bars,"
And fans everyone mourned when we lost Marge,
Thad Matta left Xavier for "The" O. State just before Maurice Clarett tried to make the school pay the piper,
And can you believe that dude in Columbus shot your boy from Pantera and another became the new sniper?

Back in Cincinnati, cicadas had people citywide buggin',
Mike Allen made people wonder whether he and Bill Clinton are cousins,
Club Clau announced it was closing its doors,
The Freedom Center opened up for business complete with tours,
Joe Nuxhall retired and said goodbye for "good"
The Cheesecake Factory had people rushing up in Kenwood,
Playhouse in the Park won a regional Tony,
Nick Lachey watched Jessica Simpson sell records for Sony,
The Midpoint Music Festival rocked the town,
Queen City Barrel burned down to the ground,
We were all shocked when the Stephen Hill case's got revealed,
And just as surprised Article XII actually got repealed,

All in all, it was quite an eventful year,
Even though we lost a lot of people we wish were still here,
R.I.P. O.D.B., Marlon Brando, Ray Charles, Christopher Reeve, Rodney Dangerfield, Reggie White and Rick James,
With so many others to remember, these are just a few of the names,
No matter how your year went, just be glad you're still alive,
I'll see y'all still digging out the "white death" in 2005

At the risk of turning into this blog's semi-official sports department, I noticed this morning that the Associated Press has told the Bowl Championship Series to stop using the football rankings voted on by its media members in its calculations of which teams get into college football's biggest games.

This comes on the heels of a second straight year of controversy that stems from some very simple math: three really good teams can't fit into a game with only two participants. Apparently, some college presidents are ready to junk the whole system. AP may have just done it for them.

Of course, based on the stuff at the bottom of Ivan Maisel's column on ESPN.com, AP's got some work to do cleaning its own house. Voters who obviously help the home-state team should be taken out of the rotation.

And while we're at it, is anybody really going to watch Pittsburgh against Utah? Or Virginia Tech get crushed by Auburn? (The Hokies could do the system a huge favor though, which is probably why some power-that-is didn't want the Utes to have a chance to knock off the Tigers.) That's right, give me back my Rose Bowl and add a game at the end of the season to pit 1 vs. 2 after playing all these other games.
(And why is there a Tire Bowl but not a Glass Bowl?)

O.k., I'm done ranting about college football. Back to your regularly scheduled snow storm.

The 'White Death' is here! Yeah! Freak out time!!!!

In the hopes of getting everyone to lighten up (it's SNOW, not asteroids), I thought I'd reminisce about my top 5 "favorite" snow memories. Feel free to chime in.

1. 1977 and 1978. So I don't really remember these years that were filled with blizzards but I have some way cool photos of me in a Dad-built igloo wearing a pink snowsuit. Thanks, Dad, for making me those igloos!

2. 1980s. Building snowmen (and women) as a child. My favorite time was when the snowperson had beer cans for eyes. I just thought that was hilarious.

3. 1992. I actually took my driving test on a snow day from school. Maybe not the wisest move. Trying to maneuver through a maneuverability course that had snow piles around it was not so fun. I didn't pass.

4. 1994. Yes, we ARE the class that the legislature had to pass a special law for so we could graduate. It seemed we had WEEKS of snow and ice days that year. I have pictures of my sister and me ice skating on the driveway and "walking/skating the dog."

5. 1995. Columbia, Mo., had 19 inches of snow in one day and Mizzou cancelled classes for the 1st time since 1978. I was a freshman and joined my fellow dormmates in sledding down the vet school's hill. Some fun times. Even my parents were amazed because the pictures of our snowstorm made the Middletown Journal.

Sure, there are more, but those are the first that come to mind. Everyone stay safe out there!

Back to the world of editing!

I am about to quote a Republican county commissioner. Please do not be alarmed.

"But once the pie has been set, let's go get our slice."

In a story about local U.S. Rep. John Boehner's "no pork" pledge, some Butler County commissioners say they, and by extension those who live in Butler County, aren't getting their fair share of the helpings that Washington dishes out. Where pie is concerned, I've always been interested in having a slice. At least try some. Especially when it's money that is supposed to be used on projects that benefit the public good.

I honestly don't remember that much about the campaign, but this would seem to be a good thing to get voters to talk about in 21 months when election time rolls around again. Assuming anyone remembers by then.

Wes has his own take, urging more help with roads. Well, he just says "well-planned and well-maintained infrastructure," so maybe he's talking about revamping the bus system.

Reds sign vetern lefty Mercker: "The 36-year-old left-hander is coming off one of his best seasons. Mercker was 3-1 with a 2.55 ERA in a career-high 71 appearances for the Chicago Cubs. He held opponents to a .205 batting average. Left-handers hit .237 off him, while right-handers batted .172."

The Enquirer has a report, but the batting averages are reversed, to suggest that he's very tough against left-handed hitters.

MLB's stat page for him suggests he faced right and left-handers almost equally last year and allowed fewer hits to right-handers. I'm sure by morning someone will have figured this out.

And if you haven't read John Fay's piece from Sunday's paper, he takes a look at the pitching moves in the context of a two-year plan and likes what he sees.

The CiN Weekly holiday party was last night, and I'm pleased to report the Ouzo bottle is empty. In what is now a CiN Weekly tradition (we did it last year, so it's official) we toasted the year with a shot of the anise-flavored liqueur. Yeah, I know, it's a Greek thing. Other highlights:
- The poster created and produced by Corrie. What a great gift for everyone.
- Kari's broken boot heel and the unfortunate Gorrilla Glue incident.
- The Apple Scorcher, a new martini created by David.
- Mini Pong in the vacant loft next door (thanks for leaving the door unlocked, Barry).
- Julie's decision to take the day off work and help Wendy get ready. THANKS!
- Guest appearance by AVS.
- Sheri's perfume. (Easy, Paul.)
- All the great host and hostess gifts.
- The dueling digital cameras and picture phones.
- The fact that only six lonely beers remain. You guys are pros.
- That random guy Julie and Mike brought. Who the hell was he?
- Royer's arrival on bike and attempt to enter the loft that ISN'T unoccupied.
- The Vodka we snuck into Tabari's Code Red. (Just kidding.)
- Gina's cosmo consumption.
- Our new Adidas flip-flops. Word.
That's all I can remember. Anyone who remembers more, please add your comments.

If you'd like to own a 293-seat restaurant that makes 10 varieties of beer - and sells them to two large stadiums, the Taft Theater and 60 regional restaurants and hotels - hosts live music and will have the Art Academy above it come June, bids start at $100,000. Says co-owner Mike Cromer:

"One party is excited about it for the bottling opportunities. Another party has expressed an interest in using the BarrelHouse brand as a restaurant concept for multiple locations around the city. Others like exactly what we do here."

Picking up on the lament of my bus pal and Bobcat booster Dave, I'd like to point you to the finest coverage of Ohio U sports this week - the Omaha World-Herald.

In one of my previous professional incarnations, I spent part of the 2001 football season making audio clips of Frank Solich's weekly press conferences. Seems he's now set to move to Athens to revive a football program in the state where he grew up.

The P-D has a fine little wire story, which is something I can't find on the Enquirer's site (not to knock the folks upstairs). The Athens Messenger put together four paragraphs. The OU Post has a fine story about the search committee.

But the fine folks at Omaha.com have this as their top story at the moment. The Lincoln Journal Star also has a long staff-written story. Yes, that's how important college football is to people in Nebraska. And possibly a sign of how under the radar the Bobcats are to everybody else.

I realize we're not supposed to care -- with Athens being so far away from Cincinnati and Ohio University not the traditional athletic powerhouse that Ohio State, Kentucky and Indiana are -- but the Bobcats are getting ready to name Frank Solich as their new head football coach (news that's all over the fronts of SI.com and ESPN.com, etc. ... but not in this morning's sports section) at a press conference this afternoon. This is obviously exciting news for Bobcat football fans, and I can see why Solich would want this job, aside from the fact that he's a Cleveland native returning to the Buckeye State.

1) I'm pretty sure Ohio won't fire him for going 9-3 like Nebraska did.

2) The Bobcats have successfully run the triple option (until Brian Knorr strayed from it) in years past, which is very familiar to Solich from his long stint with the Cornhuskers.

3) He can right the ship at Ohio and use it as a stepping stone back to a program that gets more national recognition -- if that interests him. Jim Grobe, Urban Meyer, Gary Pinkel and Randy Walker are just a few who were coaching in the MAC not too long ago, and now they're all in BCS conferences.

Anyway, I'm a little surprised OU can afford Solich, but apparently they've found a way. Look out for the Bobcats under Solich. They did alright last time they had a great head coach: In the 10 seasons before Jim Grobe came to OU, the Bobcats won 17 games; in six years under Grobe, they won 33.

Historic Diner getting new life, wireless: Owner Alex Patel tells the Enquirer the new incarnation of the landmark Over-the-Rhine restaurant will have a diverse menu, be open 24 hours and offer its customers free wireless Internet access.

FCC to allow wireless access on planes: "Domestic air travelers could be surfing the Web by 2006 with government-approved technology that allows people access to high-speed Internet connections while they fly. ... The FCC also voted to solicit public comment about ending the ban on in-flight use of cell phones."

CiN's take: Seriously, you're not going to be able to go anywhere without an internet connection. Of course, why would you want to.

In case you didn't know, our very own Ask Rocco has his own, very opinionated, blog. Check it out at: www.fatpeoplearestupid.com. And while you are at it, get wake-up calls from Rocco.

Hello,
This is for Kelly. It's Monday. We miss you. We hope you are having fun in Spain. We also hope Leigh is having fun in Spain.
We have a present for you when you get back. Guess what it is?
For the rest of the world, I had a great shopping-filled weekend. Easton in Columbus is AWESOME. Is that really what Millworks is supposed to be like? Wow, it would be cool to live two blocks from that (except for the traffic). And I had not visited the outlet mall in Jeffersonville for awhile. There's a Pottery Barn there! AND a new Banana Republic and American Eagle (well, new to me). I was good, though, and only bought Christmas presents. OK, well, almost. On the way back, we stopped at Value City on Ridge, and I found some great deals on Missouri fan wear. I couldn't pass it up!

Back to the world of editing!

Wow, this is just sad.

I'm on vacation in Spain, but I still want to check in with my buddies from work. So I check the blog, and ... what? Nothing since Tuesday -- and that post was about my dislocated finger, which I already knew about, thank you very much.

So I guess I have to take matters into my own (crippled) hands.

I'm at the Kabul youth hostel in Barcelona, where the H, G, P and K keys stick, but at least the Internet is free. This is a notorious party hostel. Example: You get a free dinner when you buy a beer -- the economics of which are still a mystery to me. Perhaps it's philanthropic, or simply practical -- one can imagine the management sitting around saying, "Well, they're going to buy beer from us anyway -- at least this way they'll receive something resembling nutrition, too."

This is a European keyboard; I keep typing the umlaut instead of the quotation marks.

I've decided that I far prefer Barcelona to Madrid. There are two reasons for this. One is that I've noticed the main things to do in Madrid are actually away from Madrid -- Toledo, Segovia, etc. The other reason is that I was able to spend more than 12 hours in Barelona without someone trying to pickpocket me. More on that aspect of the trip later, perhaps. In the meantime, I hope everyone's having fun without me and Leigh around. (Probably.)

Hasta el jueves!

UPDATE. OK, so I have been unable to access Gmail or AIM on the hostel's computer because the browser is too old. Blogger seems to be the only thing I can use. So if anyone reads this and then sees my parents, could you tell them I'm fine? That is all.

today at the office i dislocated my finger.

i am fine. i have a chip fracture.

everyone at work was soooooo great. if i hadn't had you guys around, i don't know what i would have done.

thanks especially to leigh for driving me to the emergency room and then retrieving my car for me, sue for riding along and offering to take me to the doctor tomorrow, and beryl for calming me down and wheeling me out to the car in my desk chair.

this could really put a crimp in my vacation.

For those of you still in search (even after last week's story) of boots that are snow-proof and weren't designed by astronauts, I ran across some this weekend while shoe shopping (o.k., waiting while my wife tried on boots). I don't know if Sporto will fit the bill for y'all, but some of them even come waterproof.

Here at the CiN office, we can't stop talking about how cool the kids at Powerhouse Factories are. (Check out our article on Powerhouse's first show to see what I'm talking about.)

The Powerhouse crew is a rarity - a group of creative artists with marketing smarts. Their promotional posters are works of art. (And that's not hyperbole; there's a framed Powerhouse poster hanging in my downstairs hallway.) Even their press releases are awesome - the one Kari got a couple of weeks ago included fun stuff like a Powerhouse pin and a numbered, limited-edition poster suitable for framing.

That's why we're pretty excited about the opening reception for the new Print Mafia show at Powerhouse tonight (it's from 8 to midnight, if you want to stop by). A few of us are going - and maybe checking out some other galleries for First Friday - and then Kari "I Stay Out Longer Than Britney Ruby" Wethington is trying to get us all to "after-party" at '80s night at Jacob's in Northside. (She's outta control!)

Say hi if you see us!

Leave it to the advertising department to corrupt the blog for shameless self promotion. Hey...we're in sales, we check our shame at the door everyday. Anyway.........

Join the CiN staff as we party it up at the Havana Martini Club, Wednesday December 8th starting at 4:30( that's when happy hour starts....like I really needed to say that).
There will be lots of drink specials, food, and some cool stuff to win. Leroy Ellington's "Back in Blue" starts playing at 8pm.

Stop by, say hi, have some beverages, and win some stuff.....

We'll see you there......Havana Martini Club, 580 Walnut St, Downtown Cincinnati.

Was that too much? Too over the top? I'm so ashamed.......not really!

If Microsoft has a tool for it, you know something's catching on. Say hello to Spaces, the new tool for posting thoughts and pictures from our friends in Redmond. No. 2 Steve Ballmer even told the Detroit Free Press that this thing is big:

"Blogging is huge. It brings together the three biggest Internet trends: communicating, sharing and socializing. It started with e-mail and instant messaging and music sharing, and it's getting bigger each day."

The Seattle P-I has a story quoting other executives saying this is for the masses, integrates with Messenger and Hotmail and "is another reason for an end user to have a registered relationship with us."

So, would somebody try this thing out and let us know if it's any good? Thanks.

Walking in to work this morning, the top of USA Today caught my eye with its story about how some old people don't like how some young people dress for work. And there are some horror stories about slinky black dresses and (shudder) exposed tatoos. I'm happy to report that, here at CiN Weekly, we have found a nice confluence of comfortable and professional. Of course, it helps that I typically don't see anyone from the outside world. That said, I'm trying to upgrade my wardrobe.

Also around the web of news today, and on the theory that "if we're talking about it here, they're probably talking about it somewhere else":

• On the heels of a report that Cincinnati police used tasers 505 times in the last nine months, I noticed a Seattle Post-Intelligencer report about a third death after use of the devices in Washington state. They counted 78 peoplein the U.S. and Canada who died after being shocked with a Taser in the last four years.
  
• The Washington Post reports today about Philly's efforts to spread high-speed internet access via Wi-Fi and how that apparently made the big phone company in the area a little upset. Feel free to read more from the Philly Daily News or their Inquirer.
  
• And yes, 'blog' has been named Word of the Year by Merriam-Webster. 'Cicada' finished sixth.

Well, kids, blogging is great and all (I mean, "blog" is the number one word of the year according to Merriam Webster), but let's get down to real life here. Tonight is the monthly karaoke night at the Comet and you're all invited. Burritos, beer, Billy Idol. It doesn't really get better than that.
JUST THE FACTS
WHAT: Karaoke Madness
WHEN: 10 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 1
WHERE: 4579 Hamilton Ave., Northside
PRICE: Free!
PARKING: On street, fools!
CONTACT: call the bar @ 541-8900
MORE INFO: www.karaokefantastic.com, www.cometbar.com

Happy December, faithful readers! (Yes, both of you.)

If you pick up a CiN today, you'll see our cover story is all about local holiday traditions and the people behind them. I love a good "story behind the story." I love Christmas. And I love journalism.

Therefore, I thought it fitting to kick off this festive month with one of America's most beloved pieces of journalism - an editorial which appeared in the New York Sun on Sept. 21, 1897. It was so popular that it is reprinted year after year in newspapers around the country - something I'm sure many columnists wish would happen to their writing.

Its original title was "Is There a Santa Claus?" It is now far better known as "Yes, Virginia." Perhaps you've heard of it.

(Seriously. Take a moment to click that link and refresh your memory of the piece. Perhaps read it aloud. You can't find writing like that anymore.)

But for the story behind the story - and an excellent lesson - we turn to Rick Horowitz, a columnist who celebrated the letter's centennial in 1997 with a rundown of the parties involved in the now-legendary editorial. He places particular significance upon the initial resistance of writer Francis Church to respond to such an "unimportant" query.

He closes with a moral that is intended for writers - but we would all do well to remember it, especially during a season dedicated to bringing cheer to your fellow man:

"You never know which of your efforts is going to touch someone, which of your thrown-together phrases might be headed for immortality."