CSO heightened its image around the world
During 2003 the CINCINNATI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (CSO) expand its positive image with well-reviewed concerts at New York City's Carnegie Hall in late March and additional East Coast cities in early April. In November the CSO toured seven cities in Japan. Music Director Paavo Järvi is cranking up the volume significantly for the 108-year-old symphony, drawing…
Events: Spiritual Appreciation
Geoff Raker The powerful crucifixion of St. Peter leaves a dramatic imprint. It's unsettling to hear Monsignor Roberto Zagnoli referred to as "Sugar Bob." It's a touch disrespectful, even for the non-religious like me. But Stacy F. King, president and chief executive officer of Clear Channel Exhibitions, has no qualms calling the monsignor "Sugar Bob"…
Writer’s Block
Jymi Bolden Illustrator Loren Long had a big year, including creating images for a children's book by Madonna. Behold the literary goodness that was 2003. Lots of note took place on the Tristate scene, too much to mention in a column with a finite word count. But, heck, I'll do my subjective best. In February,…
Turning out the blight
The year 2003 saw progress in dealing with the problem of abandoned buildings in the city of Cincinnati. The creation of a housing docket in Hamilton County Municipal Court gave city officials a new tool for making property owners comply with orders to keep unoccupied or dilapidated buildings safe. Of 20 buildings featured in "Blight…
Letters: Guided by Voices
As a new transplant in Cincinnati, I'm becoming enamored with the city. It wasn't love at first sight, but steadfastly the city, with all its historical quaintness, its multifarious identities, its growing espousal of arts and even its prosaic politeness, has won my appreciation. I choose to dream a little, knowing that the combination of…
Can We Spare Three Minutes for Peace?
With jobs and families consuming most of our time, what can an average citizen do to improve human relations? We can start by forgetting what our parents and teachers taught and talk to strangers Jan. 5. That's what Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken and a host of business, civic and religious leaders want. Luken has issued…
Film: Top of the Charts
The kids are not alright. Alex Frost stars in Elephant, Gus Van Sant's drama based on the Columbia massacre. The annual debate arguing if human stories take precedence over epic fantasies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King returns with the ranking of 2003 films by CityBeat film critics Rodger Pille,…
News: Fairer Sex
Jymi Bolden The Rev. Steven Van Kuiken lost his job for marrying gays and lesbians, but Cincinnati otherwise saw forward momentum in the struggle for equal rights. Like the zit that just never heals, Cincinnati still has Article 12, the charter amendment prohibiting anti-discrimination legislation based on sexual orientation. This makes Cincinnati the only city…
News: Creative Class Growing Pains
Jymi Bolden Brian Garry warns that the wooing of the creative class masks a desire to gentrify low-income neighborhoods. After Richard Florida's 2002 release of The Rise of the Creative Class, talk of luring people, not businesses, dominated conversations about cities' economic vitality nationwide. But there's disagreement about exactly which people are important and why.…
Bats for Departing Contestants
If Cincinnati were a TV game show (an image that syncs perfectly with the aching-to-be-liked spirit of the city), then a Bats Incredible! sculpture would be handed to everyone leaving town as a consolation prize. A quality game show host, played with razzle-dazzle enthusiasm by Cinergy Foundation honcho Joe Hale, knows that all exiting folks…
Leftover Chitterlings: Let’s thank God and do better
This waning year tasted like a medley of good fortune, hard work and opportunity wrapped in a floured tortilla shell of confusion, tragedy and war. I've never felt more adult than in 2003. I learned to strike and hold the delicate balance between self-criticism and self-loathing. I've tried mightily to follow the twin handwritten mantras…
The Carnegie Visual & Performing Arts Center
The Carnegie Visual & Performing Arts Center Hands down, one of the best spaces around to house art, THE CARNEGIE VISUAL + PERFORMING ARTS CENTER is architecturally elegant and a fantastic backdrop for any exhibit. Once a library, the building dates back a century and feels just as you'd expect a place that's forever containedliterature…
Puttin’ Out the Bone
Merry damn Christmas. I'm sorry, but the holiday season is a stresser for me. I never have enough time to make the perfect gift picks for the significant people in my life. Then right behind that comes the new year, and I feel pressured to straighten out my life with meaningful resolutions. Sure, I'm going…
Can Yoga Help My Back?
Dear Diane, My physical therapist said if I'd been doing yoga two years ago I wouldn't be in his office today to rehab my injured back. I didn't have the time for a yoga class back then, but now I have to go to physical therapy sessions twice a week. And, oddly enough, these exercises…
Ringing in the new year Savage style
Asked to share their favorite, fondest and most cherished (sex-related) holiday experiences, my readers sent in so many uplifting, deeply moving, Chicken-Soup-for-the-Pervert's-Soul stories that I couldn't possibly ft them all into one column. Last week's column was devoted to Christmas and Hanukkah stories; this week I'm giving over the column to my readers' favorite, fondest…
