Cover Story: Risky Business
Final Fantasy For movie executives, taking a chance could be defined as ordering the lunch special at Los Angeles power restaurant, The Ivy. Well, that would be the case in a typical year. Looking back at 2001, it seems as though the heretofore gutless studio execs downed a glass of liquid courage before signing…
Merry Christmas to Me
Dear Santa, Can you please come straight to the ghetto? And on your way, could you please, pretty please, straighten out Soul Brother No. 1 James Brown and tell him never again to accept another invitation to visit from an elected official in Cincinnati? Could you spare some change for our panhandlers so they can…
Community calendar
AvondaleThe Urban League Homework Club seeks volunteers to commit one hour on Wednesday afternoons to tutor and coach students in grades sixth through 12 in math and reading. For more information, call 513-281-9955. Bond HillFuture World Productions presents "Babes In Toyland," starring Keisha Williams, Damien Stanley and David Broadus, at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday…
Vodka, with a Twist
A simple 30-second spot that aired last week during Saturday Night Live might well have changed advertising forever. What? You didn't notice? Coming in pretty far below the public radar, the Smirnoff vodka commercial (pushing the liquor, mind you, not the icy frou-frou drinks you see everywhere) marked the first time ever that an ad…
Diner: Neptunian Dining
The location of Mitchell's Fish Market is paradoxical and disconcerting: 50 feet away you can pay homage to fish from the world over at Newport Aquarium, then sit down at Mitchell's to eat them. Hmmm. Brilliant marketing. My companion and I are trying to quiet that thought as we enter Mitchell's on a weeknight, but…
Whirlygig: 6
Real Faux Pas Bill and I had a late dinner at Palomino on Friday evening, during which I lost another item from the list of "Things Left Before I've Seen It All." In the middle of our salad course, he said, "Ohmygod: Look over at the woman sitting with her back to us." I looked…
Our Own Olympic Scandal
This fall, the unsuccessful campaign to bring the Olympics to Cincinnati ran out of money. After Nick Vehr, president of Cincinnati 2012 Inc. the organization leading the effort, spent $5.5 million of private funds and $250,000 of Kentucky taxpayer money, he asked Ohioans to contribute. In response, Ohio gave $250,000 to Cincinnati 2012 and promised…
News: Peace Talks
Paulette Meier (left) got help from David and Liz Archer in producing a CD that helps kids handle conflict. State proficiency tests do not measure schools' success in one of the most vital skills children need: How to handle conflicts. But for Paulette Meier, conflict resolution is important in any child's curriculum. That's why…
Police Reform
Should Cincinnati City Council Implement the U.S. Justice Department Recommendations? Kimberly Wood, vice president of Hamilton County Young Democrats If we as a city want to make genuine and positive steps toward improving police/community relations, we must implement the Justice Department's recommendations. Of course, improving police/community relations is not the only gift the Justice Department…
News: Going Greek
The 800-pound gorilla known as the University of Cincinnati is at it again — or at least the son of the gorilla is. A year-old community development corporation backed by UC is working on a new $50 million Greek-centered student housing project across the street from campus. But some homeowners are vowing to fight the…
Cover Story: The Women
Shallow Hal In reviewing the films I have enjoyed this year as a woman and the women I have observed in film, I'm happy to discover that writing about "women in film" is as awkward as it should be, and the notion of "celebrating" it is appropriately passé. Instead of chick flicks that happily…
Cover Story: Exposure
Robert Redford in Spy Games Come and play the hot new movie trivia game: Over/Under. It's on the verge of replacing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon in the living rooms of the movie intelligentsia. Over/Under is fast-paced and constantly changing because it's about predicting Hollywood winners and losers. For armchair producers who crave a…
The End: The Beginning
It's time to go. To move on. To hit the road. And for the first time in this column's run, I'll warn you off of looking for a punchline to that. There isn't one. I'm not kidding. At long last. That's right. After nearly seven years as the resident humormonger for CityBeat, I've decided to…
Arts Lessons from April’s Riots
In early April, a violent crowd of protesters, angry about Timothy Thomas' fatal shooting by Cincinnati Police, took their frustrations to the streets of Over-the-Rhine. By April 16, the Cincinnati neighborhood began to settle down, although many buildings were damaged by thrown rocks and bricks. Nine months later, the riots are long over, but many…
Cover Story: The Year in Music: 2001
The Strokes at the Southgate House Last year, for the first time, CityBeat asked a handful of local artists to tell us what they loved best about the year just finished. The experiment was a huge success, so once again we've picked some of the city's best musicians (and a few local-music friendly radio…
Jettingham: Jettingham
Aaahhh, the inevitable classification of rock music that comes the minute the album hits the shelves. Although criticism can be one of the more annoying things about music, it is nevertheless, essential. I'll admit to participating in it quite often, but I guess that's what happens when I spend all my money at record stores.…
Cover Story: Wes’ Head
Director Wes Anderson Wes Anderson is not one to overlook a telling juxtaposition. So it hasn't escaped him that, as his third film, The Royal Tenenbaums, about a family of geniuses, is hitting theaters, Anderson himself is being branded a genius by the entertainment media. How does a still young (32) filmmaker react to…
Should the City Manager Pick Up Litter?
Does Cincinnati City Councilman John Cranley believe the things he says? When, for example, he looks out upon the city, does he honestly believe litter is its biggest problem? That's what he said at a council meeting Dec. 12, when he proposed a $4.3 million litter program to be funded by trimming the city's payroll.…
