Worst Week Ever!: Jan 2-8
WEDNESDAY JAN. 2 In an Andy Rooney-esque indictment of hanging out with your friends on the Internet, Bloomberg News columnist Caroline Baum today opined that, “Twitter makes us lazy, Facebook makes us fat.” While admitting that tweeting was kind of fun, Baum wonders if new technologies are productivity-enhancing or just a waste of time. She…
Small Daily Stunned by Years of Fakery
Another small New England daily made news at the end of the year. First it was the Newtown Bee with its professional, compassionate response to the slaughter at Sandy Hook Elementary School. More recently, the Cape Cod Times revealed how it stumbled in a way that had many journalists mumbling, “There but for the grace of…
The White N-Word (The Case for Quentin Tarantino)
It’s 2013 already. The rate at which calendar pages blow past means there’s not enough time to school you on the ever titillating suffixal differences — which are also cultural and racial — between the -er and the -a. White folks want to say the word soooo badly it’s funny. During the holidays, visiting friends…
Girls Run The Globes
Step aside, Ricky Gervais. There’s a new pair of Globe hosts in town as comedy queens Tina Fey and Amy Poehler take the reins during this year’s Golden Globes (8 p.m. Sunday, NBC). While the Golden Globes started in 1944, they didn’t actually have an official host until 2010, when Gervais took on the role.…
Two Driven Women Lead Audiences Through ‘Zero Dark Thirty’
Zero Dark Thirty begins in darkness, not the pitch of night or space; rather simply, it starts with the black frame and voices. Instantly, we recognize the voices as those belonging to desperate callers on Sept. 11, 2001. People phoning dispatchers with questions, seeking to alert first responders to the emerging situation, making frantic calls…
Collective Security
O n any given winter weekday morning, John Dixon and the other Losantiville members can be found around their downtown shop, hunched over computer screens at tables scattered with art supplies. They bundle in hats and hoodies in order to withstand the lack of heat. Wires, wood and boxes clutter the general area. A few…
Curmudgeon Notes 1.09.2013
• Here’s a story for local health/medicine reporters: why is Christ Hospital reducing service at its outpatient cardiac rehab center? Recently, patients received this bizarre letter: “In order to continue the highest level of care for our growing patient volume, we have adjusted our office hours. Effective January 2nd, 2013, (sic) hours of operation for…
Music: Math the Band with You, You’re Awesome
The seeds of Rhode Island’s “Electro Spazz Punk” duo Math the Band were planted and tended to by a 12-year-old Kevin Steinhauser, who turned his interest in vintage synths and video game systems into music he created on his bedroom computer. Justine Mainville completed Math the Band in 2007 when both were still in their…
Event: Rye Whiskey Tasting
When one begins to drink alcohol for the first time in one’s life, there are some common tendencies in which we tend to engage. Perfectly acceptable beer means a 24-pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon paid with quarters and singles, and one’s idea of “drinking whisky” means mixing something akin to an overly generous pour of…
Event: David Bowie Birthday Bash
It’s time to celebrate David Bowie’s ch-ch-change from 65 to 66, meaning The Drinkery is honoring his legacy with its annual full-fledged Bowie blowout. Things are wont to get extra-weird this year, as his Jan. 8 birthday also marked the release of a new single, “Where Are We Now” and a forthcoming album, The Next…
Event: Cincinnati Wedding Showase
Ah, spring. It’s the season of daffodils and tanning booths, polka-dotted rainboots and dieting. And, of course, it’s wedding season! Brides-to-be looking to get a head start on matrimonial to-dos are welcome to peruse the Cincinnati Wedding Showcase, the mammoth annual gathering in which more than 100 of the wedding industry’s top professionals gather to…
Event: 2013 Cavalcade of Customs
Cars aren’t just a means of transportation, and at the Cavalcade of Customs, cars meet lifestyle. You’ll find yourself in the middle of all sorts of automobile fanatics with enough vintage cars, motorcycles and trucks to burn up the ozone layer, including muscle cars, racecars and bat cars. Yes, BAT CARS. Well, Batmobiles to be…
Onstage: Richard II
England’s first King Richard, “the Lionhearted,” spent much of his 12th-century reign away from home on Crusades. The third of that name is famous as the murderous, 15th-century hunchbacked villain of Shakespeare’s Richard III. But Shakespeare also wrote a play about King Richard II, the 14th-century king known more for his vanity and ineptitude than…
Event: Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! with Biz Markie
Apparently “The Sillies” are not only a Detroit Punk Rock band formed in the ’70s that no one knows about. It seems that “The Sillies” are also little creatures that live inside of us and need to be shaken out through laughter. If finding out that there are happy, silly creatures inside of you that…
Comedy: Eddie Ifft
Eddie Ifft is one of America’s most popular comedy exports. Perhaps that has something to with the political science degree he earned from the University of Pittsburgh. “I didn’t really consider what I did in college,” he explains. “I don’t remember much of it. I did manage to squeeze a major in there.” While a…
Morning News and Stuff
Former Ohio governor Ted Strickland will not run for governor in 2014. In a statement released today, the Democrat who previously served four years as governor did not give a reason for why he won’t run. But he did promise his wife and him will “continue to be politically active private citizens.” Strickland also touted…
Kim Taylor Heads to Sundance
Later this month, successful Cincinnati singer/songwriter Kim Taylor will be headed to Park City, Utah, but not as part of any kind of concert tour. Taylor will be attending the annual Sundance Film Festival, one of the world's most prestigious film events, along with the other actors and participants from the new movie, I Used…
Jason & the Punknecks
There have been quite a few musicians throwing down Honky Tonk and Bluegrass music with a Punk edge of late, from the Blackgrass of Uncle Fucker to the Celtic Stringband Punk of the Prairie Belt Boys to the Emo-Punk-Cana of the Avett Brothers. Jason and the Punknecks, however, have been rowdier than hell for over…
Langhorne Slim & the Law
At age 14, Sean Scolnick started writing his first songs, penning Nirvana-inspired missives about authority, school and, as he said in an OC Weekly interview, “stuff that a lot of 14-year-old kids probably write about.” Now in his early 30s, Scolnick doesn't employ those subjects as inspiration anymore. Listening to his story-heavy goulash of Folk…
Denney and the Jets
Apparently, Chris Denney has only been writing songs for the past four years, but he’s clearly channeling a lifetime of pent up creative energy in the tunes he’s unleashing with his Nashville quintet, Denney & the Jets. Denney’s most bankable characteristic is his amazing songwriting range; he deftly and quickly gearshifts through a musical hybrid…
Fever Fever and Clemency
The modern Classic Rock band U2 has had innumerable accomplishments, but one thing it is generally not is a good source of another band’s name-dropping. A group publicly counting U2 as an influence — not necessarily 1983 U2 or 2009 U2, just plain ol' U2 — is a move so broad and colorless that it…
Swear and Shake
In an odd coincidence, this week sees the return of two groups that kicked up a metric ton of whoop-ass at last fall’s MidPoint Music Festival in Cincinnati — Denney and the Jets (see below) and Swear and Shake. Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Swear and Shake coalesced just a couple of years ago, but from the sound…
Weekend Music: Granny 4 Barrel, Mondo Generator and More
• Bluegrass ensemble Hayseed Dixie began racking up fans upon its formation at the dawn of the 21st century thanks to its energized and entertaining live show and the contents of the band’s initial setlists and albums. Though all talented and experienced players, it was Hayseed Dixie’s novelty that initial drove attention its way. The…
Your Weekend To Do List: 1/4-1/6
If your New Year’s resolution is to go out more and explore the city in 2013, get started this weekend by checking out some of these events. Thunder-Sky Inc. hosts an opening reception for New Magic and Costume Shoppe Friday 6-10 p.m. The Northside gallery, which highlights “outsider art” and supports creatives with disabilities, will…
Northern Kentucky Congressman Wants Guns In School Zones
U.S. Rep. Tom Massie, the congressman who represents the Kentucky side of the Cincinnati metropolitan area, used his first day in Congress to file a bill that would erase a 23-year-old federal ban that makes it a crime to carry guns near schools. At the moment, Massie does not have any co-sponsors signed up. Details…
RIP Gangnam Style, New Grohl
There is a God Is the song that all of us will one day use to talk about how dumb people were in the 2010s actually being retired? In what may just be 2012’s greatest Christmas miracle, Korean rapper and dance sensation Psy told MTV that his stupidly popular hit “Gangnam Style” would be “ending”…
Everlasting Love
It ’s entirely possible that the members of Cincinnati’s The Kiss Me Everlasting are as skillful at acrobatics as they are at music, given the juggling and wirewalking required to fit the band into their hectic schedules. Former Ruby Vileos vocalist/guitarist Ali Edwards divides her time between work, school, her son and KME, while former…
Sacred Harp Sessions: A Passion Project
The Sacred Harp Sessions is an engaging passion project launched a few months ago by the hard-working, CEA-nominated singer Kelly Thomas . The Sessions (produced, on the video end, by Alex and Tiffany Luscht of Mind Ignition ) are issued each month and follow Thomas recording one of her favorite songs with some of her…
Morning News and Stuff
The Cincinnati Enquirer reports the Cincinnati streetcar is being delayed until 2016 . The streetcar has been delayed time and time again, much to the cheer of opponents. Some opponents have taken the delay as yet another chance to take shots at the streetcar, but the city says a lot of the delays have been…
Stage Door: New Year Edition
There's not much onstage locally yet as our theater companies prepare their first productions of 2013, so here's a tip for this weekend. WVXU's airing of Deborah Zoe Laufer's End Days on L.A. Theatre Works on Saturday evening at 8 p.m. (That's FM 91.7 if you're still using a radio or wvxu.org if you prefer…
My Downtown Covington Normal
I’ve been living in downtown Covington, Ky., since the middle of July 2011. Having lived in Cincinnati for most of my adult life and with a lot of that time working and/or living downtown, Covington has been an adjustment for me. In my view, Downtown Covington isn’t anything like the city across the river. If…
Boehner Re-Elected Speaker of the House
In news that will surprise almost no one, John Boehner was re-elected to the U.S. House of Representative’s top spot today. Boehner, a Republican from West Chester, will now act as U.S. House speaker for the 113th Congress. Just moments after his re-election, Boehner pledged to tackle the U.S. debt and deficit. The line is…
Monty Python’s Flying Circus: Complete and Annotated
The four English and one American gentlemen who came together at the end of the turbulent 1960s to form the comedy troupe known as Monty Python’s Flying Circus were highly intelligent, well-educated, profoundly funny, incredibly creative, incessantly silly, politically satirical, highly neurotic and explosively successful. Over the course of just four seasons, starting in October…
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk
A deadly firefight between U.S. forces and Iraqi insurgents is caught on video by a Fox News crew and before the eight surviving members of Bravo Company can get back to their barracks, the video has gone viral on the Internet. Suddenly, the soldiers are being hailed as American heroes in order to keep the…
Time Warner Pulls Plug on Al Jazeera
Time Warner Cable will not be taking up Al Jazeera’s newly acquired channel. The Associated Press reports Cincinnati’s largest cable provider will no longer carry Current TV after its sale to the Pan-Arab news network. After the buyout, Al Jazeera announced plans to gradually transform Current TV into Al Jazeera America by adding five to…
Changing of the Guard
M ost Cincinnatians have only known two sheriffs during their lifetime, and for a majority — almost 30 years — that sheriff was Simon Leis. Leis’ tenure in office inspires strong feelings from both his supporters and detractors. He’s as well known for his high-profile prosecution of Larry Flynt and bust of the Robert Mapplethorpe…
It’s Really Scary to Be a Writer
Why do I do this to myself? It’s the question I’m asking between every full-bodied cringe when I’m sending off a finished article to my boss, ready to be edited for another issue; it’s what I’m wondering every time I feel my heart inch up a little further in my throat when I pass by…
Worst Week Ever!: Dec. 26-Jan. 1
WEDNESDAY DEC. 26 The Community Recorder today profiled a Florence, Ky., man named Tim Atkins for being an awesome neighbor. People call him “The Mayor of Lloyd Avenue” or “Tim the Tool Man” because of his willingness to help and let people use his tools. Atkins is the kind of person who performs good deeds…
Bengals Head Into the Playoffs Unconcerned About the Past
Orson Charles had no idea that the Bengals hadn’t won a playoff game in his lifetime. Yet, it’s true. The Bengals rookie tight end was born Jan. 27, 1991 — just three weeks after the team’s 10-7 victory over the Houston Oilers on Jan. 6, the franchise’s last playoff victory. “You’re the first person to…
Cincinnati vs. The World 01.02.2013
Two homeless people helped rescue a man brutally attacked in Over-the-Rhine after using an ATM; they warded off his assailant until the police arrived. CINCINNATI +2 In an effort to reduce gun violence, Mexico City is testing out a cash-for-guns program in which locals are encouraged to turn in firearms to local authorities in exchange…
A Proper Sendoff for a Good Friend
Christmas morning Mass this year was a bittersweet affair. Since I wasn’t in town for the final Sunday Masses of 2012, Christmas morning was the last time I was able to attend services with Father Richard Bollman as pastor of Bellarmine Chapel. I’m still a relatively new member of the parish, so I can’t say…
Losing Democracy
O ver the past few weeks, the political drama in Washington, D.C., has circulated around the “fiscal cliff,” a series of tax hikes and spending cuts set to kick in for 2013. On Jan. 1, U.S. Congress narrowly avoided the fiscal cliff. But the close call left some wondering: Could it have been more easily…
Literary: Leah Stewart
The opening pages of Leah Stewart’s new novel, The History of Us, features an illustrated map with various Cincinnati landmarks and locations: Northside, the Museum Center, Mount Adams, Music Hall, Cheviot, the Cincinnati Ballet, Over-the-Rhine and more. The map is just the first sign that the Queen City will play prominently in a narrative that…
Onstage: True Cincinnati
For a great way to meet your need for some onstage entertainment in the first week of 2013, I suggest you put a big red circle around Monday, Jan. 7, for True Theatre’s next presentation at Know Theatre. These programs of speakers telling a true story from their lives — organized around a theme —…
Film: Dogs in Space & Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man Screening
The arrival of the New Year marks the return of the Cincinnati Film Society (a non-profit founded in 1979 and devoted, through various incarnations, to encouraging the appreciation of film as an art form), which will host a special double feature of the Punk cult film Dogs in Space and the music documentary Leonard Cohen:…
Event: Southgate House Revival Bazaar and Martketplace
It’s a bazaar! Get lost amongst hidden treasures and gems featuring booths and wares from Cincinnati USA Music Heritage Foundation, Whispering Beard Folk Festival, Antiques and Collectibles by Picker Square, Wisdom Tree, Bethany Rose Pottery, Bang Bang Salon and many more. There will be DJ sets by Devout Wax, featuring two curated, eclectic DJ sets…
Morning News and Stuff
The fiscal cliff was averted, but some Greater Cincinnati politicians didn’t do much to help . U.S. Speaker John Boehner voted for the final fiscal cliff deal, but Republican U.S. Reps. Steve Chabot, Jean Schmidt and Mike Turner voted against the deal. Ohio’s U.S. Sens. Rob Portman, a Republican, and Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, voted…
Art: Manifest Free Public Gallery Talk
One of the most consistent artist-run spaces in town, Manifest Gallery, offers its visitors a unique glimpse into the minds of its organizers this coming Sunday evening, as part of an ongoing free public gallery talk series. Manifest’s associate curator, Tim Parsley, will lead visitors through two important year-end exhibitions: ONE (their annual juried $1,000…
Event: Sushi Rolling and Dining Experience
Bring your own drinks and bring your friends for a night of sushi that you’ve made yourself. Chefs walk you through step-by-step instructions on how to make your own delicious dinner. Before you try your hand at sushi rolling, you’ll get information on ingredients, how to cook the rice and different formulas to make your…
Music: Granny 4 Barrel
Bluegrass ensemble Hayseed Dixie began racking up fans upon its formation at the dawn of the 21st century thanks to its energized and entertaining live show and the contents of the band’s initial setlists and albums. Though all talented and experienced players, it was Hayseed Dixie’s novelty that initially drove attention its way. The group’s…
Art: New Magic & Costume Shoppe
As a champion of outsider art, Thunder-Sky Inc. has been making magic since 2009. There is no hocus-pocus involved — just the inspiration of Raymond Thunder-Sky, the late “construction clown artist” who recognized that every teardown represented an opportunity to build something better. This show’s title was taken from one of his drawings. The exhibit…
Comedy: Jeremy Essig
Not only has Cincinnati produced dozens of homegrown stand-up comics, it has been the adopted hometown of several more. That list includes Greg Warren, Mike Lukas and Jeremy Essig. The latter came to the area to attend grad school at Miami University, but decided to drop out four days before the start of classes. Instead,…
Blackberry Smoke
Like the word “Fusion,” “Southern Rock” is another musical moniker that has been overused throughout the years. It is a category of music that made up a huge part of the sounds of the ’70s and ’80s, yet it is also a phrase that elicits stereotypes and misconceptions. After years of established Southern Rock groups…
Mondo Generator
There were moments over the past few years where it seemed like bassist Nick Oliveri was on the brink of imploding, stuck in that weird, almost dreamlike universe (inhabited by the likes of Courtney Love and Katt Williams) where an entertainer’s fans ultimately just accept that there’s a good chance the performer might die any…
The Duke of Uke & His Novelty Orchestra
Sometimes, cured pork can speak volumes. In the case of the effervescent Urbana, Ill.-based seven-piece, The Duke of Uke & His Novelty Orchestra, their inclusion of “bacon” as an inspiration on their Facebook page — alongside the more conventional choices of Motown, Funk, Ragtime, Jazz, Rock and “Popssical” — is telling for multiple reasons. Bacon…
Texas Chainsaw 3D
I’m not sure what to make of this latest edition in the annals of Texas Chainsaw lore. There has already been a contemporary reboot of the franchise featuring Jessica Biel, which wasn’t half bad (as these things go), that was then followed by a prequel with Jordana Brewster (the less said, the better) and now…
Promised Land
Fracking, the controversial process to used to release natural gas for collection, drives the narrative of the new Gus Van Sant film, written by co-stars Matt Damon and John Krasinski, but the issue, which widens the already cavernous divide between Democrats and Republicans, never truly takes center stage. Instead, what Van Sant and his affable…
Not Fade Away
David Chase, executive producer of The Sopranos, staves off fading away from the spotlight, serving as writer and director of Not Fade Away, a love letter of sorts to a bygone musical era. This intimate drama, set in New Jersey during the 1960s, follows a group of friends who dream of forming a Rock &…
The Impossible
The story of a family, with Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts as the parents, that ends up separated during a tsunami. Their struggle to survive and reunite gets a thrillingly dramatic treatment in the hands of Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona (The Orphanage). Both heart wrenching elements — the powerful rendering of a natural catastrophe…
Winter TV Preview
As holiday hiatuses come to an end and new seasons/series are picked up, here are a few picks on what to watch in early 2013. Portlandia (10 p.m. Fridays, IFC; Season Three Premiere Jan. 4) – Co-creators, writers and stars Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein return for more riffing of odd niche/too-cool trends that we…
Local Funkmaster Joins Local Bluesmaster’s Band
While not necessarily “weird,” when fans discovered that bad-ass, longtime local Blues artist Kelly Richey had started a side-business as a “life coach,” undoubtedly a few thought they misheard or misread. It’s not really a logical step from stunning Blues guitarist and vocalist to personal life coach for hire. Likewise, when I first got an…
Forging ‘Special Relations’ For the Ages
The “story” of Roger Michell’s new film, Hyde Park on Hudson, derives from the personal letters of Daisy (Laura Linney), the nominal protagonist who happens to have been a distant cousin of President Franklin Roosevelt (Bill Murray). She informs us that she was called in to spend time with FDR, most likely by his mother…
Dissecting Hathaway’s Brilliant Performance in ‘Les Miserables’
Two shots. That’s all it takes for Anne Hathaway to deliver what could arguably be the greatest performance in movie musical history. Of the many miserable characters in Les Miserables — Tom Hooper’s eagerly anticipated big screen adaption of the 1980s blockbuster Broadway musical about a failed French uprising in the early 19th century —…
New Year, New Drink
Drinking is tough to do well. No, I’m not talking about when you let your beer run down your chin. People, that is completely outside my area of expertise. I’m talking about having the confidence it takes to order a good cocktail. Don’t try to give up your Bud Light Lime and go all James…
The Human Side of a King
You might know that Shakespeare’s Richard III focuses on one of his great villains. But among his 38 plays, there’s also Richard II. You probably know almost nothing about this guy — a weak king, deposed in 1399 — who died in captivity in 1400. These events were the catalyst for England’s War of the…
Bicontinental Bites
It’s unusual to find a restaurant in the Cincinnati area that’s a permutation of both Italian and Argentine cuisine, but Alfio’s Buon Cibo (Italian for “Good Food”) aims to the wed the two regions together. Alfio’s namesake is chef Alfio Gulisano, who is of Italian descent and grew up in Buenos Aires. Drawing from his…
Factory Boy
A bove the old Brush Manufacturing Company in Brighton resides the woodshop of Hayes Shanesy: a lanky, soft-spoken guy who is the other half of the independent retail enterprise, the Brush Factory. Shanesy and business partner/longtime romantic partner Rosie Kovacs recently created a separate arm to their growing business endeavor, focused exclusively on Shanesy’s wooden…
Morning News and Stuff
Happy new year! Yes, planet Earth made it through another year. Welcome to an “extra saucy” Morning News and Stuff. U.S. Congress managed to narrowly avert the “fiscal cliff,” a series of tax hikes and spending cuts set to kick in at the beginning of 2013. If the fiscal cliff had not been prevented, economists…
