The Who Tragedy in Cincinnati

Tonight marked the 30th anniversary of The Who concert tragedy in Cincinnati, Ohio. On December 3, 1979, eleven concert-goers were trampled to death in a crowd that rushed the entrance to the Riverfront Coliseum (now called US Bank Arena) building to get into The Who concert. Many of the details of the evening are still disputed, but this tragedy was a culmination of several unfortunate events with lethal results. WKRP, a popular television show at the time, even had a special and somber episode that paid tribute to the incident. Many safety practices and procedures guiding the operation of concerts to this day are a result of the breaches that occurred that deadly night in Cincinnati.

A glaring injustice is that thirty years after the fact, no memorial, plaque or other destination exists on the site of this great concert tragedy. It truly is a shame as the eleven people who lost their lives that evening were mainly just kids trying to see one of their favorite bands in concert. Here's to hoping that City Council and Hamilton County are able to work together to create some recognition for those who died unnecessarily that fateful night.

Sarah Palin Book Signing

On November 20, 2009 Governor Sarah Palin made an appearance at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati, Ohio, the fourth stop on her on-going book tour for "Going Rogue". In the week leading up to the event, the book store was pre-selling copies of the book, which included a line number for the book signing. All available pre-sale copies sold briskly and were sold out by the evening of November 16 - more than three days before the event! Luckily, I had a friend who had an extra line number so even though I missed out on the pre-sale, I still had a line number for the event. Each line number entitled the bearer to get two books signed.

As I arrived at the event, just before noon, I spotted the Sarah Palin tour bus in front of me, also arriving at the event. The bus pulled behind the store and Governor Palin was already inside the store by the time I parked and got around to take pictures. Contrary to prior statements that the store would be closed for business, I entered Joseph-Beth Booksellers to find it bursting with people and barely enough room to navigate my way to the autograph line even though I was holding a VIP ticket. Weaving my way through the crowds, I eventually took my advance place in line and awaited my time to meet Governor Palin. The book signing was held in the area at the top of the steps on the second level of the store. The area was surrounded with flowing, blue curtains and Sarah Palin was not even visible until I was at the top of the steps. A table was set up there where any bags or packages were to be checked. We also were reminded constantly that no cameras were allowed and photographs were prohibited once entering the area where Sarah Palin was signing. However, we were informed that a professional photographer would be taking photographs as we met Governor Palin, which would be available for us to access on the internet, afterwards. Two different store staff members made sure that each person had the book turned to the tile page for signing and yet another staff member took each person's book upon approaching the table. As I approached governor Palin, she smiled, looking right at me, extending her hand and asked, "Hello. What's your name?" As we shook hands, I answered and Sarah queried, "What do you do?" I replied, "Small business owner...Here in Cincinnati and in Los Angeles." She asked me, "How are things right now?" "Good, but they would be better with you in office," I responded. Smiling even bigger, Sarah said, "Thank you, that is very sweet of you." Palin signed both of my books with a big, bold signature with the black Sharpie she was wielding. In a moment the moment was over and upon exiting, a staff member handed me a business card with a website that stated that photographs from the event would be available in 5 days. I can say that even today, closing in on two weeks after the fact, the photos have still not been posted to the website: http://www.shealahcraighead.com/. With the book signing scheduled from noon-3:00 pm, Palin's bus pulled up to the backdoor exit of the bookstore a little after 3:00. She came out, got on the bus quickly and it took off for the next stop, a signing that evening in Columbus, Ohio. With well over 1,000 people in attendance, it was amazing to see Governor Palin handle the overwhelming crowds so well and take the time to engage in conversation with attendees. Sarah shook each person's hand before she signing their book and truly seemed to be enjoying the event. It was an honor to meet Governor Palin and I look for her to run for President of the United States in 2012.

A few minutes after the bus departed, a staff member began walking through the store, offering "signed" bookplates to anyone purchasing copies of Sarah Palin's "Going Rogue". Unlike the signatures that Sarah signed earlier that resembled "S-A-P-A-L-I", these were every letter, spelled-out autographs: "S-A-R-A-H-P-A-L-I-N". I was given four of these bookplates and the fact that these were complete, unrushed autographs made them that much more desirable. My elation over these perfect autographs was short-lived, as upon closer inspection the next day, it became apparent that these "signatures" are autopens. All of the bookplate signatures are signed exactly the same and since no one signs exactly the same every time, it is obvious they are autopens. Autopens also exhibit a bit of a mechanical, shaky appearance which was also evident in the bookplate autographs.

Josh Hutcherson: A Young Actor on the Rise

Tonight I attended the annual lighting of the Christmas tree on Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Appearing at the ceremony was local resident and one of the hottest up and coming actors, 17 year old Josh Hutcherson. Josh first appeared in the Jon Favreau-directed "Zathura: A Space Adventure" and has appeared in a string of films the past five years. Josh is also sure to garner more media attention as he is playing the character "Robert" in the remake of "Red Dawn" that is scheduled to be released in 2010. So, this "Light Up the Square" event was a good opportunity to meet a movie star who has and will continue to receive accolades and national exposure.

As nice as Cincinnati weather can be during the summer, the fall and winter temperatures can be quite cold and today was not an exception. After scouting the staging area and some tents behind it, I went over to the Westin Hotel lobby to warm up for a little while. Fifteen minutes later, around 6:15 pm, I crossed back over and saw that Josh Hutcherson was already backstage. I'm not sure when or how he arrived to the event but there were only two of us collectors waiting there to meet Josh. My friend and fellow collector, Brian, asked one of the staff members if she would let Josh know that we were interested in meeting him and getting an autograph. She walked over to Josh and sure enough, he immediately headed over to us. I said, "I've got a few different photos here...they're all different as you have been in quite a few films". Josh smiled and replied nicely, "I don't mind. Yeah, I've been in a few." He graciously and without hesitation inked my DVD cover to "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and followed it up by signing all 6 of my photos from his films, including "RV", "Bridge to Terabithia" and the previously-mentioned adaptation of the Jules Verne classic, "Journey to the Center of the Earth". Josh seemed to search for just the right place to neatly place his autograph on each item presented to him to sign. After signing all our autographs, Josh posed for a photograph with each of us and then even stayed and chatted for a few more minutes. Josh told us that he had recently been in Detroit, Michigan working on the new "Red Dawn" movie. I asked him whether he was still living in Northern Kentucky or was he living out in Los Angeles. Josh told me that he travels back and forth between Cincinnati and Los Angeles and I said to him that I was doing the same thing. I also mentioned that I lived in Pasadena, with my sister, and Josh said that he liked Pasadena. He stated that he had some friends who lived at the Colorado Paseo, a high-end housing development attached to the retail shopping mall. I mentioned that we live right there in that area as well, just a block or two away. I also said that we go to the movies there at Colorado Paseo and also at the Arclight located on Sunset Blvd. Josh indicated that he knew the Arclight and seemed to enjoy discussing life and living in Los Angeles. From our conversation, it was obvious that Josh realized that I knew what I was talking about. Since Hutcherson seemed so nice, I pulled out my last available item and asked him if he would mind signing my DVD disc of "Journey to the Center of the Earth". Josh didn't care and politely signed the DVD in a silver Sharpie. By this time a line of 3 or 4 young girls had lined up and Josh moved on to deal with them one by one, signing their autograph requests and posing for pictures with them.

I wish Josh Hutcherson the best with his career and I certainly wish that all autograph encounters were as successful as this most recent one. The upcoming "Red Dawn" features an up-and-coming cast and big budget special effects so it's expected to do well at the box office. Josh appreciates his fans and his friendly approach towards fans means that I will not only go see "Red Dawn" at the theater but I also plan on supporting Hutcherson's other future projects.