The Post

Farewell to the Cincinnati Post, the city's afternoon newspaper which today prints its final edition.

My grandfather, Eddie Halloran, worked his entire career for the paper, starting as a streetcorner newspaper boy for the Times-Star (he often stood at Plum and Fifth, I believe, back in the days when there literally were boys running around saying 'extra extra!'). The paper was later purchased by the Post, and Grandpa Eddie became the legendary assistant city editor of the Post, where he remained for many, many years before retiring in 1977. He died in 1987.

From what I understand, Eddie was the heart and soul of the city desk, and he was as brutal on rookie reporters, constantly forcing them to defend their reports and clean up their writing.

I'm sure some of that made me whom I am today, too, if maybe only indirectly.

Although sad, I suppose the Post's demise was inevitable in this era of the Internet, instant messaging, cable TV, etc.

- 30 -

Politics

Q: Why no political topics on this blog?
A: Because I believe politics are a personal thing. And anyway, does the world really need yet another ranting blog like that? While it could drive more traffic, I don't feel the need.

On a side note, I know I'm often evasive about my specific views. Although I am very passionate about politics, I prefer to talk one-on-one and subject-by-subject. My views don't neatly fit into any one party or another (I'm a strategist's worst nightmare!).

Christmastime is here

Christmastime is here.

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas. Merry Christmas!

One of the most magical times of year, of course. And we're doing so much this season that, for the first time, I'm going to enter into a 'free association' ramble:

First snow of the season last week (1 inch) kids excited but not enough to close schools or anything . . . we went last Saturday to a Christmas Tree farm to cut our own tree, kids of course excited about having a tree in the house . . . sad that my sister won't be in town for Christmas this year, but excited by the news that she is pregnant with her first child! She is due in June . . . Gifts: Of course I can't devulge what gifts I got everyone on a public forum like this, but I think my biggest 'find' this year so far is the gift I got for my brother-in-law, Matt (no hints yet, man! Wait for Xmas morning!) . . . am clueless so far as to what to get my wife (any hints out there?) . . . as for me anything having to do with the Cincinnati Reds is great . . . speaking of Reds, I went to Reds Fest this past weekend and had a blast. Met past stars such as George Foster (shook his hand), current players like Todd Coffey (hope he doesn't suck next year), and even got myself a personalized official Reds jersey, complete with "Halloran" across the back and my number (7, of course), am WAY excited about it . . . work is going great, love my job, making good money, and of course making a difference in people's lives . . . speaking of making a difference, that's the best part about Christmas: Giving!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Thanks Giving

Thanks.

As I age, and as my family grows and the years pass, this season of Thanks becomes increasingly relevant and meaningful to me.

First, I am thankful for my health. I am thankful that, despite needing to loose a few pounds and take my bad cholesterol down, that I am able to wake up and enjoy life each and every day.

I am thankful for my wife, Sarah, and her love and support and companionship. I am thankful that she is smokin' hot! And I am thankful that she is a fantastic mother and intelligent individual, too.

I am thankful for my children, Fiona and Jack, and how much joy they bring to my life. I am thankful that having children also reminds me on a daily basis how hard life is, and how we all persevere and thrive despite challenges and being stretched umpteen different ways.

I am thankful to have meaningful work that pays well and uses most of my talents, in a company that is continually growing and geared for career advancement into the future.

I am thankful to live in America, truly a land of opportunity. Where anyone can achieve greatness, even though there's no guarantees as such. It's up to the individual.

I am thankful to be in Cincinnati. With all its great things and imperfections too, it is my hometown, and forever my home.

I am thankful for extended family, friends, neighbors, and everyone I know who help make this world an exciting place to wake up to each and every day.

For these and many other reasons I feel blessed, and give thanks this week.

Matt Clancy 1970-2007

Farewell, dear friend.

Sad news: I learned that one of my closest college buddies, Matt Clancy, died quite suddenly, and of course unexpetedly, over the past week from a heart problem. He leaves behind a wife and two children in Vermont.

I knew Matt from my first year of college, and he was one of my housemates the last two years at the U of Dayton.

Anytime I think of jazz saxaphone players, or Vermont, I'll think of him.

Dusty Baker

The Reds hired Dusty Baker as their new skipper yesterday. I have to admit that I was one of the many holding out hopes for either LaRussa or Torre. However, looking at it more deeply, Dusty Baker makes sense: GM Krivsky is in the last year of his contract, Reds fans have run out of patience with owner Castellini, and Baker needs to redeem himself and prove that the 2006 Cubs season wasn't a fluke. It all combines for an atmosphere where the Reds MUST reach the playoffs in 2008 if Krivsky wants to keep his job, Castellini wants to keep the fans happy, and Baker ever wants to manage again anywhere else. I hear that Baker, as a 'player's manager' might be able to woo top players that other managers might not. On to 2008!

Odd first quarter in football

UC is a Top 20 team. Go figure. If they win against Rutgers this weekend, it could get even better.
OSU isn't quite what they were last year, but with their loyal following and the umpteen million bowl games out there, they'll make one.
Elder probably needs to win out for the rest of the season to make the playoffs. But they could possibly do it.
The Bengals probably need to win out for the rest of the season to make the playoffs, but probably won't do it. Their defense is bad; much worse than even anyone originally thought. Yikes.

Most deflating loss ever

It might not have been the franchise's most significant loss ever, but it might have been the most disturbing.

In a year where Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis probably needs to go deep into the playoffs to preserve his job, and in a year that might be the last best chance the Bengals will have to make the playoffs for some years to come, the Bengals lost Sunday, 51-45.

To the Browns.

New regular feature: Monthly opinion poll!

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Kings Island

Went to Kings Island over the weekend with Sarah, the kids, and some friends.

Wonderful weather, kids had TONS of fun in Nickelodeon Universe (all the kiddie rides) and as it turns out Fiona loves rollercoasters almost more than Mom! As for Dad (me) I rode the best rollercoaster in all the world (The Beast) and had tons of fun myself. Ate LaRosa's Pizza along International Street. Shared Graeter's with the kids. A fun time, as they say, was had by all, and the kids have been talking about it all week.

Family

Two life-changing family events within the past week.

On a very sad note:
My grandmother, Ruth Dahlenburg, matriarch of the family, passed away over the weekend. She had been ill (heart) for some time. Services 9/5/07 at St. Agnes in Ft. Wright. She led a full and productive life, having 12 children (including my mom), serving on numerous boards and leading many volunteer activities. I remember her as the strong leader of her family, opinionated, and always pushing people to be their best.

On a lighter note:
On the other side of the family, my cousin Johnny got married Saturday night. Yes, it was a milestone weekend for sure. The whole Halloran side of the family was there, with the mass at St. Peter in Chains and the reception at the Newport Syndicate. One of the largest wedding receptions I've been to in a long, long time, if not ever. They pulled out all the stops, and it was very well done. Congratulations, Johnny!

A Proud Daddy Moment ...

Our firstborn starts Kindergarten within the next week. Oh my goodness am I a proud Daddy! I'm just puddy this week about the whole thing. I probably won't sleep the night before. I might be even more excited than our soon-to-be Kindergartener is!

Reds season over, looking forward to football

Okay, folks, even a super-Reds fan like me is throwing in the towel on this season. It's over. Kaput. Dunn! No need to dwell on the awfulness this season has become. Trade deadline passed yesterday and it looks like the Reds are more sellers than buyers at this point. That's the sign of a team in decline.

Looking forward to football! Bengals started training camp this past week. Not long now before college football and high school football season starts, too.

Go Bengals!
Go Bucks!
Go Bearcats!
Go Panthers!

The Cincinnati Post 2007

Some thoughts on The Cincinnati Post, whose final edition will be December 31, 2007. (My grandfater, Eddie Halloran, was a former Post editor, and legend).

Basically Scripps (the company that owns the Post) and Gannett (the company that owns the Enquirer) signed a joint-operating revenue sharing agreement between the two papers back in 1977. Even then, the afternoon Post was struggling financially (as were most afternoon dailies at the time, many which have already gone out of business elsewhere). The JOA was a way to keep the Post alive, and for the Enquire some greater reach.

The joint operating agreement basically meant that the Post and the Enquirer would share advertising staff, printing costs, etc., but the Post and the Enquirer would maintain seperate editorial staffs. The JOA was set as a 30-year deal, meaning 2007, and the agreement was never extended.

While it will be sad to see the Post go, even the editorial staff itself realizes that this was inevitable. The Post is simply a good news organization stuck in a business model that disappeared a long time ago.

Others born on July 17

The Hoff! Donald Sutherland!, James Cagney!, Vince Guaraldi!
All share a birthday with yours truly

July 17, 1971 Soundarya, Actress
July 17, 1970 Mandy Smith, "I Just Can't Wait," wife of Bill Wyman
July 17, 1965 Alex Winter, actor, "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure"
July 17, 1963 Denise Miller, actress, Billie-Archie Bunker's Place
July 17, 1958 Belinda Carlisle, rock vocalist, The Go-Go's
July 17, 1957 Bruce Crump, rock drummer, Molly Hatchet
July 17, 1952 Chet McCracken, rocker, Doobie Brothers
July 17, 1952 David Hasselhoff, actor, "Night Rider," "Baywatch"
July 17, 1951 Lucie Arnaz, actress
July 17, 1949 Geezer Butler, rocker, Black Sabbath
July 17, 1949 Terry "Geezer" Butler, rock bassist, Black Sabbath
July 17, 1947 Camilla Parker-Bowles, Prince Charles' lover
July 17, 1934 Donald Sutherland, actor
July 17, 1932 Vince Guaraldi, jazz pianist, Charlie Brown TV specials
July 17, 1921 Mildred Davenport, actress, played "Jane" in Tarzan movies
July 17, 1917 Phyllis Diller, born in Lima, Ohio, comedienne
July 17, 1900 James Cagney, actor
July 17, 1889 Erle Stanley Gardner, U.S. detective writer, Perry Mason
July 17, 1487 Esma'il I, shah who converted Iran from Sunni to Shi'ah

Narron fired (surprise)

Not surprisingly, the Reds fired manager Jerry Narron yesterday. The Reds had the worst record in baseball for the first half of this season, and the manager is usually the first person to go under such circumstances.

However, in this case, most people agree that team's record is more the fault of the awful bullpen (by far the worst bullpen in baseball), and that Narron could only play the players he was dealt, no matter their ability. Most - including me - would say that the blame rests more with GM Wayne Krivsky's inability to find a decent lineup of relief pitchers from which Narron could choose.

Nevertheless, advance scout Pete Mackanin is now the Reds acting skipper. My greatest reservation about this whole deal is that this essentially tells the team -- and fans -- that the rest of this season has already been given up. I hope Krivsky and owner Bob Castellini have a little something more up thier sleeve for the rest of this season than just letting Narron go, because if that's the case you can expect attendence to plummet for the rest of the year, to depths not seen since the pre-Pete early 1980's, when the only reason to go to a game was Mario Soto.

About the Family Crest

I've had a few friends -- okay, just one -- ask me about the 'shield' at the top of this page. It's the O'Halloran family crest.

The name 'Halloran' in original Gaelic means something close to "stranger from afar", or sometimes more darkly, "pirate." It could hint that the first 'Halloran' in Irish history was someone from another country (Spain, perhaps?) who emigrated to Ireland, and the Gaelic locals called him "stranger." And the Gaelic name stuck. Thus, the O'Halloran family crest prominently features a horse on it (denoting a traveler) sometimes saddled, sometimes not. Plus three blue doves are featured on it (I've also sometimes seen it as three blue stars). The color red on the crest is derived from the host clan into which the Hallorans assimilated (Feargaill).

I have never been able to find a reliable online source to any of the above information, as most of the 'family crest' websites out there are designed primarily to sell keychains and coffee mugs, rather than being historically accurate. But if anyone knows a good reliable source, I'm all ears!

Pictures on 513

I'm playing around with the best way to post pictures on this blog.

I have hundreds of pictures - mostly of my wife and kids, 'natch - on my Cannon digital camera, and also saved on CD-ROM. However, It seems that the formatting of these pics are incompatible with this Blog. Either that, or the file sizes are too huge for Blogger to handle (I'm having a hard time determining which of these problems it is).

Also, I need to find which Template will work best to post pictures on this Blog: I don't want to have dozens of pictures on the Splash page, affecting loading times, but I also don't want to create yet another web site out there somewhere just to host my pictures. Either way, when I do post pictures, I'd ideally like them to be formatted as thumbnails, where when you click on them they pop up as a larger version to view one-by-one.

Thoughts on this subject are welcome.

Taking in a ballgame

Went to the Reds-Angels baseball game last night at Great American Ballpark.

Someday I'll have season tickets.

The Reds lost 6-3, but at least the weather was great. And anyway, you just can't beat the atmosphere anytime you're at a live sporting event.

Reds CF Josh Hamilton is seeming to emerge as a serious player to contend with. Great arm, great running speed, great power, and the intangible ability to make an impact on the game when it counts most (clutch hitting, key defensive plays, etc). If he turns out to be the kind of player he is emerging as, and if he stays healthy, Hamilton could be a force for years to come.

Meanwhile, rumors have been spreading about a possible trade of LF Adam Dunn. And rightly so: Dunn can't run, can't field, has only an average arm, and takes a 'whatever' attitude about the game. Although he will hit more solo home runs than most, that is his one and only asset. Unfortunately, championships aren't won with solo home runs from guys hitting .260 -- and even then he never seems to be able to hit the big one when we need it most. In fact, he's on track to strike out 200 times this year. Awful.

Is There a Parking Genie?

We take pleasure in answering at once and thus prominently the communication below, expressing our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of Halloran513:

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“DEAR HALLORAN513:

“My name is Fiona and I am 5 years old.

"I have driven with my daddy, Sean Halloran, many times, and seen his remarkable luck with finding a great parking space, even in some of the busiest, most crowded locations in the world. He attributes this ability to the Parking Genie.

“Some of my little friends say there is no Parking Genie. But, I’ve heard that 'If you see it on HALLORAN513, it's so.'

"Please tell me the truth; is there a Parking Genie?

"Fiona,
"Cincinnati, Ohio"

FIONA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what they read in an email, or unless Oprah tells them so.

Yes, Fiona, there is a Parking Genie. He exists as certainly as up-and-downs and alligators exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest level of balance. Alas! how dreary would be the world, and how far away Sean would have to park, if there were not a Parking Genie! It would be as dreary as if there were no Fionas.

Not believe in the Parking Genie? You might as well not believe in the Tooth Fairy! Sure, you might get enough men to watch all the parking spots in the world, but even if they did not see a Parking Genie out there saving a space for Sean, what would that prove?

Nobody sees the Parking Genie, but that is no sign that he isn’t real. The most real things in the world are those that neither women nor men can see. Did you ever see Santa coming down the chimney? Of course not, but that's no proof that he doesn’t exist. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart a VCR and see what makes it play, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, and maybe your teacher could explain the supernatural beauty and glory in this world. Is it all real? Ah, Fiona, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Parking Genie? Thank God he lives, and he lives forever! Ten years from now, Fiona, nay, fifty years from now, the Genie will continue to find premium parking spots for Sean and those with whom he rides.

Another blog is born (yay)

Call me ... a late bloomer.

Launching into the bloggosphere would seem a natural fit for me (those who know me would say I was born to Blog!), as I am a trained professional writer, very opinionated, loves any audience, and I'm even okay with the technical requirements needed to launch a page.

But I have been reluctant until now to launch a blog simply because ... well, what's the point, really? Does the world need yet another unfiltered page of someone's personal musings?

I aim to find out.

I've called this 'Halloran 513' after my name and the telephone area code from which most of my material will likely come from: Cincinnati, my home.

I welcome any and all contributions to this page ... this means you! (Although I reserve the right to publish and/or not publish contributions according to my ever-moving preferences for content.) True to my nature, I aim to keep the formatting of this page to a minimum, focusing on content, rather than showmanship.

Welcome to Halloran 513