Does your city make the list?

If you're reading this, you probably reside in one of "the absolutely worst places to live in America."

Indeed, Cincinnati has earned the dubious honor of being named one of the 50 worst cities by author David Gilmartin. In his book "The Absolutely Worst Places to Live in America," Gilmartin also relegates Seattle to the list. So, supposedly I went from one craphole to another. Well, not actually, because I don't live in Seattle. But, close enough.

Other honorees include Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C. , and Detroit. Whaaat?

Reports The Baltimore Sun, "(Gilmartin) said he doesn't have to go to Detroit to know that it stinks. 'I think enough evidence exists," he said in an interview." OK, clearly this guy hasn't been to Detroit. Otherwise, he would know that the new Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit makes the city a *supercool* place to live.

According to the article in The Baltimore Sun, "David Gilmartin" is a "pseudonym being used by a 30-year-old New York advertising copywriter — raised in South Jersey, schooled at a Boston-area (but not Harvard) university — who admits to never setting foot in many of the cities and towns included in the book."

What? An arrogant East Coast whippersnapper who fancies himself a clever satirist? I can't believe it! No, I haven't been infected with a West Coast disdain for East Coasters. (In fact, I even laughed at a few of the book excerpts in spite of myself.) I'm just all bent out of shape about this guy's methodology.

To select the 50 cities, he apparently posted messages on Craigslist and other online public forums, where he threw out the question, “What’s the worst town in your state?” If we are to believe The Sun, Gilmartin took the results, including comments, and used them to craft (at least some of) the book's contents. So, his writings don't even reflect first-hand knowledge of the cities' alleged crappiness. Come on!

That's all you need to do to "write" a book?! Sheesh, sign me up.