gender issues part 2

well, this has been quite the weekend for me. as some of you know, i am the merch boy for my band look afraid. and then as some of you might know, we had a show in middletown last night. i thought it was going to be okay, nothing great, but not terrible as well. well, let me tell you something. it was FUCKING HORRIBLE. not only is our venue on the fourth floor, the entire building itself was ready to fall apart. in fact, we were told not to incite extraneous movement for fear of the structural integrity of the floor. ghastly. the people there weren't of top caliber either. basically, i was sitting there at the merch table doing my homework AKA checking various email accounts and coming up with new merch ideas. i'd say a total of about 6 different people come up to the table to peruse our wares. they each give me the once over. there i was sitting in my red volcom hoodie from UO, a von dutch shirt from YRB of NYC, my express X2's, and the bright green chucks that have "I *heart* Tea" on them. on not to mention various other features like the nail polish and bracelets (handmade of course). so they thought what they thought and it was all the same thing, "fag." but that wasn't even the worse of it. i noticed that this one girl came up to the merch table about 4 times through out the night. first time was with a guy, i'm assuming her boyfriend because she was trying to get him to buy her a shirt. he just wanted to buy my hoodie off my back (of which i declined to). so then she comes back once more and didn't say anything. the third time she said she was going to get money from her uncle. the last time she offered me a hand job for a shirt. i said no. she then offered a blow job. i said no. then she was like "5 minutes in a locked room." i said no and said cash only. she walked away in a rush. then more people came up to the table. this girl and her mother spent 5 minutes trying to read what's on the back of my computer (words aren't enough, a photo is. look around you.) the girl goes off giggling somewhere. for a lack of sheer horror, i spent 15 minutes dealing with the head of security because he was trying to get a shirt off of me for free. dude had a barb wire tattoo around his neck. then another man tried the same and when i said no, he said that we probably didn't have shirts large enough for him before storming away. by that time, the show was almost over so i packed up. this was already a horrible show to begin with. the sound sucked, the power went off during the middle of a song, mosey broke a snare, and we didn't make any money. regardless, i wanted out of there. once i get to ground floor, i immediately get harassed by the security outside. leers and laughs. i then noticed the girl who was looking at my laptop from earlier standing in the corner laughing. i decide to take no action and walk to the van to help pack it up. on my second trip, the girl working security said "I'll suck your dick for 5 dollars." final straw. i light up a cig and just walked away. the first thing going through my head was "I don't think your vagina accepts credit cards." but that was it. i fucking have had it with middletown. it was a shit hole. from the douchebag waiter at our restaurant to the bitches in the front of the venue asking jeff if he was "the gay asian." of which i'm pretty sure they're referring to me. so yeah. we were at what is supposed to be a "metal" venue. you would think they would at least be open to alternative lifestyles seeing as they were living an alternative lifestyle. but how does declining sexual favors equate into me being gay? no, i don't want to have sex with a 16 year old for a t-shirt. no i don't want a 5 dollar blowjob. yeah, i wear nail polish, so what? i'm not gay. i love women too much. the fact that people always typecast me as a homosexual is getting rather old and boring. i'm used to it, but still, it wears on me as it would anyone after time.

Phil Hansen

click here
you won't be sorry
this guys art is awe inspiring. i feel like less of a person now.
make sure you check out the archives for his "goodbye art" series. and check the live feed from his studio and see if anything is happening.

oh, and johnny, you're not just some faggy girl, you've got soul power.

Poe has reached far into my brain

I learned somehting yesterday in my American Literature class that really made me think and appreciate Poe in a new light. In middle school and high school teachers expect you to read him and look at the figurative language and what not. My professor is like a genius or something because of what he said about the story we were reading. We had to read "The Pit and the Pendulum." I thought okay. When I read it, it was this thing where the guy was just waiting for his death, and then saved all of a sudden. I was like, what a shitty ending. What a dumb horror story.

Well, LeClair (my professor) said well yeah, it's a horror story. But it is the horror of being born. I was kind of blown away by that statement, but when he explained it, it made sense...I dont know if that is a good thing, or just that he is able to convince me of anything.

The story begins with the parents having sex, which is where all the normal people are reading the narrator's judgment. Sperm is being described when Poe describes the "white slender angels" with "heads of flame." Gizz anyone? Continuing on...the space of the cell is discussed in great detail as well as the pit itself. The pit is something that is unkown and the narrator is scared shitless. The space within the cell are constantly changing and blah blah blah.

Okay, the cool part (to me at least).

This is te cell at the beginning right here:

Then pendulum swinging represents the time within the womb. The space getting smaller and smaller shows how the baby gets bigger. This is also seen with the walls creeping in the narrator.

Then the dude gets saved at the end. He's saved by General LaSalle. LaSalle is French for la salle, which means room. La salle is also slang for hospital. So the guy that pulls the narrator out is the hospital and henceforth, The Pit and the Pendulum is an allegory for the horror of being born.

gender issues

for a lack of clarity and the fear of being called a "fag" for the umpteenth time today, i want to know you, the readers of this delightful blog, and your opinions. is it weird for a guy to paint his nails? what about a guy wearing girl's clothing? how about vice versa? girls wearing guys clothing. and what about girls that cut their hair short? things like that. i'm not typecasting myself here. i'm not the emo artsy guy that wears nail polish and a girl's scarf. i do what i feel like. and i pretty sure everyone else does too. is being an artist all about the image or is it about the body of work? we want it to be the body of work, but sometimes it is about the image. i am an artist and i look like an artist. but where does gender come into play? i'll wear and do what i want. simple enough. analyze and discuss kids.

welcome to our first discussion post.

↓side↑

Here goes nothing/the story of my life

My name is Kelly, I’m the girl who looks annoyed in all of Sean’s pictures.
I’m a 21 yr old studio major here at Miami, with absolutely no clue as to what I’ll major in. I haven’t quite found my niche yet, I’m starting to doubt whether I ever will. Whoever said being an art major is an easy way out is dead wrong.
I decided to be an art major in 9th grade. Actually, I suppose Mrs. Doerpers decided it for me. All the encouragement, all the “you’re so good”s… how come there is no one is holding my hand now?
I followed through on this decision by working my way to AP studio at Lakota West. I made some amazing shit that year, some of which is way better than I have ever done here. Why is that?? I don’t have any time, my priorities are way fucked up. Plus, I’m scared as hell to try to make a living out of being an artist.
I work far too many hours at Michael’s Arts & Crafts store in West Chester. Ironic that I stand there all night selling art supplies to untalented housewives while my own art supplies grow dusty in my studio.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my job. If I didn’t there would be no way I’d keep at it. I started working there in 2004 because I was teaching a class called Kids Club with my best friend, which was basically us chilling out with some kids every Saturday morning and gluing popsicle sticks together. She soon left, and I came into my own during this time, and realized that I didn’t have to be the shy, quiet girl in the corner but I was actually someone to be looked up to, and loved. Somehow I worked my way from that to being a Front End Supervisor, which basically means I’m responsible for babysitting the cashiers. Hey, at least I get to make the closing announcements. Most of my best friends in life are my coworkers. This is a dangerous practice, because no one is going to spend their whole life working retail (except maybe down and out art majors who can’t seem to make a living at it…). It seems I’m always getting my heart broken this way.
Another monopoly on my time and energy is the fact that I commute from Liberty Township, which is a good 30 minutes away from Hiestand. It used to suck because I had no one to share my college experience with, I didn’t live in the dorms and no one really knew what I was going through. That’s when I met Sean. Now I’ve got the exact opposite, someone to sit my passenger seat and giggle with every morning. We met at some lame Freshman Commuter meeting, and as of September we have been together a year and a half.
I lied. We actually met at Adena Elementary, in the same Kindergarten class. His first kiss was with my best friend’s older sister. My first kiss was him. Isn’t fate ridiculous?
When I’m not making art, or working, or being in love… actually there’s not a whole lot besides that..
I’m a complete optimist (at least on the outside). I always try to keep my head up and in the clouds. Every once in a while I fall flat on my face but no one ever notices because I’ve always got a smile on my face. When I used to teach, I actually had kids ask me why I’m always smiling or laughing. Sandy (a coworker) doesn’t even call me by my name, instead I’m Ms. Smiley.
Get over it, this is life, make the most out of it. There’s not enough time here for tears and sour faces. Hell, there’s hardly enough time for art.
I love turtles, my favorite color is green, I’ve never had the chicken pox, my lucky number is 8. Oh, and once I got stitches.
That’s me in a nutshell, I suppose. I’ll get around to posting something face-melting here sometime sooner or later. Until then, welcome to Midgetville.

fire, fire, fire! shots fired!

well, seeing as we have two new contributing authors on here, i thought to myself, have the rest of us actually made proper introductions? sure, sean and i are were here from the start, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't introduce ourselves. so i'll take a step forward and introduce myself at this time. hopefully the others will follow en suit.

i am the johnny kou. call me john, jon, jonathon, and i'll slice you. which leads me into one of two places. 1) i collect swords and are fairly proficient at using them, my specialties are the asiatic sword family. these include your katanas, wazukashis, nodachi, tai-chi swords, ect. but that doesn't mean i can't appreciate a good two handed claymore or zweihander. and 2) i have many, many nicknames. johnny-five, j5, and five are the more recent and popular ones. but others have called me jkou, jk, or kou. ask dave fife, he seems to come up with a new nickname for me every time he sees me. the term johnny-five and all its derivatives was originally coined by my professor, kelly severtson. i always wear a black hoodie with the trademark explodingdog red robot on the back. and being a fan of the movie short circuit, the name stuck and i like it.

my life's passions are art (specifically photography, metals, ceramics, and printmaking), movies and television shows, anime and manga, literature, my electronics, and cooking. i fucking love to cook. i fucking love to swear as well. i'm a guy that keeps the joys in life simple. give me a camera, some robots, a good book, and a good meal and i'll be happy. i also love stuffed animals. call me weird, a freak, or whatnot. this freak will hunt you down and make sure you don't wake up the next moring.

as you can probably tell, i'm a bit cynical and a lot sarcastic. i tend to wear my heart on my sleeve, but i'm slowly putting it back in my chest. i can't help it if i'm a romantic, don't hate the player, hate the game. i'm generally a good person, just let me get my sleep. if i don't sleep, i can be moody, but who isn't? and i do love to sleep. i have a 1600 dollar bed. serta deep comfort mattress with the memory foam top. mahogany headboard and frame by west elm. at least 300 thread count on the sheets. one down pillow, one memory foam pillow, one fur pillow, and one of those squishy stretchy pillows i can't recall what they're named right now. one very giant, overly stuff, plush robot accompanied by several animals. and finally, one very luxurious down comforter. its a nice set up, but i don't actually sleep the normal hours a person does. if i had my way, i'd sleep at 4AM and wake up at 1PM and then nap around 5PM. lovely.

my life revolves around my electronics. i have an iBook g4 that runs like a macbook. i have 3 iPods, a psp, a ds, a will, n64, and a gc. i am one of the few people i know that uses both an external mouse and keyboard with his laptop. i'm also pretty good at dealing with computer problems and all things related to macs in general. i've also noted a trend. all of my electronics that i carry are sharing a similar template. they're small, they're black, and they can all potentially fit into one of my jean pockets. well, with the exception of my laptop of course. at any given moment, i carry my phone, iPod, and some sort of gaming system with me, either the psp or ds. and the laptop of course.

the more i think about myself, the weirder i seem to get. i have an affinity for fashion that rivals many top house designers. i have a fetish for designer hoodies and t-shirts. i mostly wear either express men's x2 jeans or older jeans i've modified into something new. i also have a great love of sun glasses. i can usually be seen wearing my ralph laurens, the kenneth coles, or more recently the dolce & gabana pair. but i have about 8 more pairs of sunglasses. the only thing that rivals my sunglasses are the sandals. i wear them all time. i only wear reefs, only. i buy a new pair about every 4-6 months. i also have a great love of oddly colored chucks. i currently have a lime green (my favorite) and tan pair. and of course, the innumerable hoodies and track jackets which i will not delve into right now.

let me state this now, i have no love for this state, nor this country. i've been around the world 3 times, going on 4. home is where the heart is of course, but i'd rather be in nyc doing what i do. eventually i hope to get across the pond to the UK, specifically london. that's where my soul is. there's no town like london town. as you may garner, i love to travel. always, any where.

i value my family and then my friends over all else. if any one messes with my family, they have me to deal with. the same goes with my close friends. if i count you as a close friend, then i count you as one for life. i'll be there always for any one that needs a helping hand. but if you do anything to ere my wrath, then make sure you can deal with the consequences. loyalty is a strong point with me. stab me and i'll most likely shoot you, never bring a knife to a gun fight.

also, don't take what's not yours by force. i will give you anything if you ask for it, within reason of course. i don't stand by people who take my things without asking. i'm spoilt, but i've learned how to share and be polite. oh yeah, be polite around me, manners are what makes us better then most animals. penguins are the exception, they're too cute.

i'm an artist, i'm a lover, i'm a dreamer, i'm me. that pretty sums me up in a wild rambling fit. being that is almost 4AM i'm running low on gas and the fumes are fucking with the head, so i'll call it a night and hope the other unintroduced authors make their introductory posts, well, post haste. if not, there will be hell to pay.

remember, sean is the only one immune to my electronic wrath on this website. and i am sitting on some very nasty viruses. so go ahead, talk. its what we're here for.

EDIT!
i kinda forgot some important things. i like scarves. i love to eat apples. i'm bad with money. i wear glasses and are kinda blind without them. i am currently one of two people i've allowed to wear a black ball in their lip piercing. and i will get a new piercing soon enough. all beaded pieces of jewelry i wear were made by my hand or my master's hand for i am my dad's apprentice and therefore still learning. i live for smoke breaks. and lastly, i like the feeling of being in love, it makes me sappy and therefore happy. that is all. time for bed.

introduction to me?

okay, so I was supposed to introduce myself before I started talking. I move fast like that, sorry. I know Johnny, and that's how I got into this thing. Um...I feel like I have to be sweet and cute-sie because someone called me wonderful. That would make me blush if my skin could turn red.

I don't like people, but love to serve them. I guess that's why I want to be a teacher--that's where those two collide. I am hard pressed on changing the world...don't know why, maybe it's because mine was so crappy? I want to make life good for someone, even if it is just by smiling at them. I don't get myself in the sense that I say that I don't like people...maybe I do and am in denial about it

I love women..the way they are shaped, the way they smell, the way that they play mind games. (I don't go attacking every straight girl though, I've been in the same relationship for 4 years) That's all on that.

yeah, about that. I' m single now (as of 10/25/07).

Okay, now I'll be sweet. I love love love my family. My family are my friends. That makes me have a large family. I take these people more seriously than my blood relations. I tend to like the boys in my family a little more than the girls. I love spitty (is that a word?) mini marshmallows now because of my little brother...Anyways, my point is, if you become friends with me, you're my family, and I will love you no matter what.

I 'm a little ray of sunshine. I smile a lot, and big...I don't know if that is a good thing or not. I'm always down for a good joke, clean or dirty. I hope that's enough to know about me. I'm always open for a conversation about anything...

Umm...That's it?

Pondering on today

I am in a dizzy kind of spell today. I feel like those friends of mine who don't know what to do yet about his death. I pictured him being there at our 10 year reunion. I guess he had other plans. It's hard to laugh when the media says how he went, and that he may have done it on his own accord. I have a failure to believe what they say. I see Joey as one of those people who is full of life and had so much to live for. I don't ever remember him not smiling. I remember him in my English class always making us laugh...I know the laughter is still there. He is still laughing and smiling, but we just can't see it. The part that makes it a dizzy spell for me is that I wonder if I should feel as bad as I do. I wasn't his best friend or anything, but we were friends. We knew each other's names. We shared laughter and smiles...Joey Eger is one of those guys that I was really happy to have known, and very happy to have memories about.

hello

i've been told to say "hi." or "something."

hi. welcometomidgetville now has a female voice, which sadly has nothing mind blowing to say right now.

Band of Brothers type shit.

its already been a long week for me, and i'd never realize i would i ever had to do a post like this. it sucks that i have to, but someone does and someone also needs to remember.

A few hours ago, I was informed that one of my best friends from high school was killed late last night/early this morning. This came as a huge shock to me because I just talked to him not too long ago. It always weird when one has to think or mortality, especially when that mortality is that of some one so close to the heart. Although I do mourn, I can't say that I am especially sad. Its not what my friend would have wanted. No, not him and not from us. He was always a bright spot and for him to see us like this, it isn't what he would've wanted. If he could, he'd probably crack a joke right about now, always the worst possible moment for that maximum impact. I don't know how the others around me feel, but this is how I feel. I knew him well enough, ever since before we knew where we were going. There is no need for tears. Just smiles and laughs. It what he would've wanted.

I don't know what the others around me feel at this time. And if my frankness offends any one, I'm sorry. I can't help it. Every time I get sad and think of him, I see some hilarious memory. Its true that whenever some one so close to us passes. It hurts. But life goes on and I'm sure he's watching over us. And probably mooning us. Its just the type of guy he is.

His name was Joey Eger. He was great guy and a great friend. His name was Joey Eger.

stop gap

i feel like i haven't been around in forever. and i probably haven't. things have been busy as of late and i find myself not being able to post as often as i'd like. it sucks, but its just the way things are. well, exciting things are coming up soon, for and from me at least. as soon as i get a stable internet connection (i'm kinda stuck on stolen wireless from my neighbors in cincinnati), i'll post something more substantial then these words. here are some things that'll be coming up soon:

1 - the yellow springs photo shoot from last week
2 - documentation for my latest drawing project (camping out on school grounds?!)

so until i get back to oxford, do some thing creative.

copy right: your life

so i was going to post my artist presentation for my photo class here, but as i was going to the old photobucket account to upload my images, i found that the host didn't allow me to. my artist was gustave dore, best know for his engraving work in many texts and literature (divine comedy, paradise lost, rime of the ancient mariner, ect). now i've been a victim of PB's harsh rules and codes, my last two accounts there were deleted. so i made a specific folder saying "copyright - gustave dore" and had all my filenames changed to the title of the work with dore's name. no problem right? wrong. i tried three times to upload only to be given an error message when trying to access the files. now i think that's pretty stupid. i gave credit to the artist and i don't really think dore has actual copyrights (i am probably wrong on this). but honestly, i wasn't trying to claim his work as my own. all the pieces have his signature on them. my intents and purposes were to educate by posting about an artist i like on here, an art blog. but you know what? i'm tired of searching for websites with the images i need. i'm tired of scanning in images and not being able to host them. i gave credit where due and i'm still bound by copyrights. infuriating. so much for public domains and free access. fuck it, you know? i had a nice entry planned out only to be cut short by the man. copyrights, they're a double-edged sword. particularly the one of conservatives. or is that censorship?

photo lab wonders

so who wants to know where all the magic happens? and i assure, its not my bedroom. hah. here we are with photos of the photo lab where sean and i make our photos and have our photo classes. photo, cool huh?








































































as you can probably garner, its a pretty easy going place. just a bunch to tightly knit art kids doing what they love. that is, until deadlines come. then all hell breaks loose and it every person for themselves.

all. out. war.


me myself i pimp out my skills for late night rides home. yeah. hey, walking 30 minutes at 1AM with a 1200 camera and a 1500 laptop strapped to your back isn't really safe any more if it was ever. other then the threat of approaching deadlines, there isn't much incident in the photo lab. although couch space is at a premium and sean insists on new music (aka no more matt & kim and other same old same old indie bands). me? i prefer it if people stayed out my fucking way when i'm working. yeah, i'll help if you ask. just fucking ask and don't stand there. manners people, manners. they are what makes us different from other teeming masses of dna on this planet. don't make sean destroy your ipod and don't make me slap a bitch.

pictures of food.

the title explains all. people wonder what a guy like me eats. hey, it happens. they see the asian guy and think "rice and ramen." nope, i eat many more foods then that. so here's a little example of the types of food i buy.

first four pictures: fancy chocolate from belgium, haribo fruity pasta and strawberries and cream, brach's mellowcreme pumpkins, and honeycrisp apples














next four: honeycrisp sticker, pom tea pomegranate peach passion white tea, edy's pumpkin ice cream, garlic and herb brie














next four: sanshoku red bean cakes (mochi), another type of red bean cake, my famous recipe fried rice (as made by my dad), and beef flavored ramen (prefer the hot pork and beef rib flavors better)














last four: fried gluten and mixed vegetables in sauce (vegan), instant milk tea (not to be confused with bubble tea), fancy italian pasta, and super fancy japanese rice














i like to fancy myself as a gourmet, an enthusiast of gastronomy. i like to eat well and i'd much rather have a good meal over anything else. the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

stars across our empty skies.

i hate cute girls who make ugly faces.

don't stick out your tongue.
don't scrunch up your face.
don't suck in your cheeks.
don't go cross eyed.
don't stick your fingers up your nose.
don't give me bug/evil eyes.
don't frown.
don't scowl.
don't scream.

if you're a pretty girl, why make yourself unattractive? i have a camera. smile and be loved. unconditionally, by the masses. we artists know what beauty equates to. trust me, i'm an artist.

falling stars leave a trace.

so, its been... a short while since i last posted. and now i'm feeling quixotic. in the perfect world, i would have no deadlines. no supplies to be bought. no people to hassle my vision. in the perfect world, i could do what ever the fuck i want. but i'm no don quixote, life isn't perfect like that. every day i have to face the gloom of deadlines, budgets, and critics. i'm not lauded as some master artist, nor do i want to be. i'm still very green. i may have been doing this for the last 8 years or so, but i'm no weegee. i hope that i eventually get to a point where my name will be remembered. that's all i can really ask, a legacy. with 6.7 billion people on this planet and probably over some 10 billion dead, i want to be one that is remembered. until i am remembered, i'll glady accept all the shit that comes with the territory. hey, its art. eye of the beholder and all that profound shit.

robots, yo.

so, if you know me well enough to know me by my nickname (j5, johnny five, five) you'll know that i really REALLY like robots. i guess it started with all the giant robot cartoons i saw as a kid (for those of you in the know, its mecha anime). then, freshmen year i stumbled across explodingdog.com. i was enamored by sam brown's red robots and i guess it kinda stuck. sophomore year of college was first experience at robot building. it was about 18 inches tall and made out clay slabs and metal add ons. with the advent of this year, i've bumped up my robot output. i now have 14 robots with many more to come. enjoy!

first off, we have the Look Afraid robots. in order of appearance, we have cole, mat, lex, alex, and sam.





































next up we have the mike bot, johnny bot, sitting bot, battle scarred bot, flying bot, little heart bot, big heart bot, and lastly we have the two heart bots together for size comparison.





























































finally we have my latest creation, a giant stuffed robot made out of fleece. it is about 4 feet tall and weighs close to 12 pounds. it has shiny yellow cloth for the eyes and various buttons sewn on the chest, right arm, and both legs. mat stands with it for size comparison.










and that's it for my robots. the next one should be one made out silver in a ring form. yeah, the robot ring is next. stay tuned folks!

Glucosamine?

guess what class this is for.

i'm researching elemental body composition, human body comparison and substitutes, the properties of the body, the properties of the elements that make up the body, the naturally occurring compounds of the body, the myths surrounding cloning and homunculus, the origin of elemental compounds (think stars and supernovas) and other things likes that.

i've been reading up on my nanomedicine, molecular biology, bio-chemistry, anatomy and physiology, astrological chemistry, astrological biology, cloning techniques, geology, greek mythology, alchemy, and nutrition.

take a guess, a wild guess.

this image comes into play as well.





the answer is below. highlight for festivus!





art. specifically drawing. yeah, this is for a drawing class.

the call

attention! to all of our readers! sean and i are currently searching for contributors for our blog. all of those interested, please send me (disposable.hearts@gmail.com) an email specifying why you would make a good addition to the site. also list down your specific area of concentration (sean, mat, and i are all photo concentration and mat is also concentrating in painting). we're not just looking for artists, we could use writers, musicians, or even people who have an an appreciation for the arts. also, don't bother if you're not going to post regularly (like once every two weeks or so). let us know if you're interested!

In the shadow of the Mountain, a simpler way of life slowly chokes.

so after an exhausting night of researching and cutting through the layers of bullshit, i finally stumbled upon the truth behind the Handle Bar Ranch aka midgetville. it started in the 1940's when Percy Ritter purchased about 30 acres of land in a then sleepy part of southwestern ohio. through the years, Percy Ritter and his wife Anna Ritter slowly shaped the terrain into a place were the locals shared memories from their childhood. the ritters rented out vintage schwinn bicycles before starting up a hay ride business. it was back then that the rumors of midgetville started. the buildings were handmade by percy himself and anna decorated them with her paintings. fast forward a few years. the Rumpke Brothers started up their business and started to consume and encroach on the surrounding community. they bought up most of the old homes and converted the building into their offices. so far, Handle Bar Ranch has held out. with percy dying in 1990, all that's left of the Ranch is anna's unwillingness to give into the ever suffocating closeness of urban sprawl.

CityBeat cover article featuring Anna Gay Ritter
Cincy Post article detailing a local's perspective on the situation

sean and i have both read these articles and have given much thought to our recent adventures. we feel that while we were initially drawn into the mystique of the so called midgetville we now have gained a respect and a firsthand insight into this matter. while we did "break in" and "trespass" we did not mean any harm. we did not vandalize, nor did we do any harm to the environment. we were merely there as tourists seeking to satiate our curiosity. we went there with the basest of information and left we something much more. i'll admit this, what we did was juvenile and immature. the story of anna ritter and her struggle is a sad one. sean, the other contributors and i are not here to poke fun at anna and her decades of struggle, but we are here to point this out. midgetville only exists in the hearts of the young. it is an idea, a place of wonder. but to the older generations, midgetville exists as the Handle Bar Ranch. we're here to educate. there is no mythos or aura of supernatural surrounding the site. it is simple the old house of anna ritter. we have no idea if she is still there. frankly, we don't care. anna ritter should not have to deal with inquisitive pups like us searching for the reality of midgetille. if i found it, then any one else can. let anna rest, she's lived a hell of a life.