Entine to Speak at Dem Club
A best-selling author and Emmy Award-winning TV producer will discuss humanity’s common origins at an upcoming political meeting. Jon Entine, author of Abraham’s Children: Race, Identity and the DNA of the Chosen People, will speak Jan. 17 at the Blue Ash Northeast Democratic Club. The topic of his speech will be “Our DNA – Why…
The Bitter Beginning
W hat happens when you cross a Folk duo with the architects and founders of the MidPoint Music Festival? You get a righteously pissed Folk duo. “If one more person describes us as a Folk duo, I’m going to kill,” Messerly & Ewing guitarist/vocalist Mark Messerly (also a member of Cincinnati band Wussy) says over…
The Audacity of Inexperience and Obfuscation
P resident Obama’s actions on New Year’s Eve finally dispenses any shred of doubt about him being a fraud and a huckster. In a reversal of his previous position, Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act. The wide-ranging bill provides funding for U.S. troops in Afghanistan and imposes penalties against anyone doing business…
Power to the Personhood
O hio voters at the polls next fall might get to decide if a fertilized egg should be considered a person from the moment of conception. Just before 2011 ended, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine certified a controversial petition that calls for a proposed constitutional amendment submitted by Personhood Ohio, an anti-abortion group. The proposed…
Dec. 28-Jan. 3: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY DEC. 28 According to police, approximately 215 hunters registered in Indian Hill have killed 209 deer so far this deer-hunting season. Hunters registered in the village must pass a background check and complete a hunter safety course in order to be allowed to shoot deer in the village. A reporter who sat in on…
Literary: Mercantile First Wednesday Book Group
Someone once told me that if one were to read just the titles of all the books that are published in a day it would take 20 years. I go through stages when I don’t sleep, not because I can’t sleep but because I am overwhelmed thinking about all the books out there and…
Sarah Jones and Fifth Third Bank
[???] SARAH JONES : Ben-Gals cheerleader and Edgewood school teacher Sarah Jones won $11 million in a default judgment in summer 2010 arising from a libel lawsuit she filed against Thedirty.com , a gossip website. An online post had claimed Jones was promiscuous, had two venereal diseases and was having sex in her high school…
Nature at the Tipping Point
T oward the end of the year, in anticipation of the climate summit in Durban, South Africa, a disturbing wave of stories emerged that made our planetary predicament chillingly — and boiling-ly — clear. This was, as even climate change deniers must acknowledge, the Year of Extreme Weather, as chaotic storms and wildfires and whatnot…
A New Kind of Wisp
The Southgate House wasn’t the only storied and beloved local music venue to shut down after its New Year’s Eve 2011 show. Last Saturday also marked the end of local Jazz institution the Blue Wisp Jazz Club … at least at its home on Eighth Street between Broadway and Sycamore. Unlike the Southgate, fans of…
Life After Death
I r etired this column a couple of months ago, but I really didn’t retire it on the proper note, so allow me this addendum. It is now 4 a.m. and I just woke up from a dream. In my dream, it was eight years ago and I was walking through Cincinnati with my old…
Sting, Clarkson and New Years
[HOT] 24 Hour Party Pooper Another great Rock & Roll legend has been shattered. Sting’s wife Trudie Styler recently told U.K. paper The Daily Telegraph that longstanding rumors about the singer regularly having “tantric sex” for up to 24 hours were false, the result of a drunken interview and some off-the-cuff joking with a journalist…
Character Actor
You may not recognize my name, but you would my face. Look closely, you will see I am almost everywhere, somewhere in the background: chewing on the scenery, nailing my lines, a blank canvas with little or no context to draw upon — just a face in the crowd, an asterisk in the credits.…
I Want My MTV by Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum
Began as one of the boldest and most audacious experiments and inventions in the history of entertainment, MTV has been a dominant force in popular culture since its launch in 1981. Now, as the cable television network turns 30 (“Never trust anyone over 30,” was the old credo), comes I Want My MTV: The Uncensored…
Woolgathering by Patti Smith
At her home in Michigan on the occasion of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and former Punk rocker Patti Smith’s 45th birthday, the multitalented Smith crafted together a modest collection of memories from her childhood, vignettes, poems and tributes to other writers and performers like Sam Shepard. This limited edition, numbered collection, called Woolgathering, was published and…
2011 Resolution Resources
COMMUNITY FOR HEALTHY LIFESTYLES Cincinnati Locavore — The Locavore blog helps you eat locally grown food year-round. Frequently updated, you’ll find posts on community-supported agriculture, foraged foods, family farms and a comprehensive list of links to local food outlets. cincinnatilocavore.blogspot.com. Civic Garden Center — This nonprofit garden offers education, outreach and networking for greener lives.…
Organized Living
L ittle girls can frequently be found playing with Barbie dolls (if you were like me, you’d frequently be found giving them Crayola marker makeovers and cutting their hair off), but Jennifer Young of Chaos Contained, a Cincinnati-based organizing and design service, didn’t play with her Barbies — she organized them. “Organization is something I’ve…
Bolt of Melancholic Blue
J onathan Demme gave audiences Rachel Getting Married, with its melodramaitc depiction of the pre-wedding battle royale between two sisters and complex relationship matrix that weaves among the larger clan and nearly derails the celebration. There would be blood drawn, but there would also be absolution and an inevitable resolution for all parties. Dogmatic director…
Good Things Ahead In 2012
If you feel like we’re heading into the New Year in survival mode, you’re not alone. These are wicked times, dear readers, and it’s hard to keep yourself from worrying about whether you ought to stockpile canned goods or raise chickens in the backyard. I’ve thought about both. The chicken idea got nixed when I…
Chung Ching (Review)
M ost people I know fully support “buy local/eat local” values. But as we start the new year, let’s take a minute to give respect to the bedrock of that idea: “mom and pop” businesses. True mom and pop restaurants are like rotary phones — you may remember what they are but can’t remember the…
Twelve Intriguing Productions for ’12
Have I got a show for you? Well, actually, I have a dozen that you should consider calling Cincinnati theater box offices right now so when the season is over you can smugly say, “Yeah, I caught that one — best thing all year!” I can’t tell you which one that will be, but I’ll…
Meaningful Connection
W omen of the world: It’s time to reconnect. Being a woman holds different meaning from culture to culture, but women everywhere can agree that growing up female is no breeze. Between trying to meet society’s conflicting standards for our appearance, personalities, professional lives and relationships, it’s a wonder young women can catch a breath,…
Art For Everyone’s Sake
M iami University’s New Year’s resolution came in August, when it declared the 2011-2012 term the “Year of the Arts.” That’s good news for the rest of us making resolutions in January. Part II of Out of the Shadows: The Rise of Women in Art, opening Tuesday at the Miami University Art Museum, is an…
Music, Movies and the Not So Mundane
Kanzi the bonobo knows how to say around 500 words via a keyboard, start a fire with matches and make his own food. He has a leg up on the modern 12-year-old. A family from Canada recently welcomed their 100th grandchild to the family. It is alleged that the children each receive a $1 gift…
Tweeting Update
I'm not the only one reporting on the advent of — and consternation surrounding — the phenomenon of tweeting (that is, sending 140-character e-messages) during performing arts events including theater. A CityBeat reader said "Amen and amen" to my Dec. 28 Curtain Call column in which I expressed concern that this would both distract other…
Blue Wisp’s Final Show (on 8th Street)
The Southgate House isn't the only storied and beloved local music venue shutting down after its New Year's Eve show. Saturday also marks the end of local Jazz institution the Blue Wisp Jazz Club … at least in its current home on Eight Street. Unlike the Southgate — where the future is up in the…
COAST’s Latest Apology?
A series of contradictory tweets and blog comments posted by members of an anti-transit group has observers wondering of there is dissension in its ranks — or whether one member simply has anger management issues. Ever since an initiative put on the Nov. 8 ballot by the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST)…
The Personal Sting of Southgate/Mad Hatter Closings
There’s something about the written word that adds finality to a subject. Contracts are finished with a signature, newspapers are often considered bastions of truth and obituaries often put a person’s death in perspective for their loved ones. Perhaps this is why I put off writing this story for so long; I didn’t want to…
Squeeze the Day for 12/30
Music Tonight: Northern Kentucky's Switchblade Syndicate presents an album release party in honor of its strong debut, As Long As There's Whiskey, tonight at Downtown's Mainstay Rock Bar with special guests Mad Anthony. Showtime is 9 p.m. and the show is free. While influenced by classic Country, Rockabilly and Punk, from the sample tracks I’ve heard,…
No More Tears: An Alternate Southgate House View
This might seem somewhat blasphemous, but I hold no real alliance with the Southgate House. I moved back here from Florida to go to college. The greatest benefit to moving here was that I was no longer in the South Florida concert rut. Cincinnati is right in the path between a lot of much larger…
Squeeze the Day for 12/29
Music Tonight: Comedian Eddie Griffin and Neo Soul goddess Erykah Badu bring their “Laugh & Love Tour” to Music Hall tonight for an 8 p.m. performance. Tickets are $62.50. Badu live shows can be hit and miss — a review from The Baltimore Sun of a show earlier this month said Badu “tortured” the audience,…
Council Members to Attend Forum
At least three of Cincinnati City Council’s four new members will appear at a meet-and-greet event next week in Price Hill to answer questions. Chris Seelbach, Yvette Simpson and P.G. Sittenfeld are scheduled to attend the Jan. 5 forum, which will be held at Elder Hill School’s Schaeper Center. It’s uncertain at this time whether…
Squeeze the Day for 12/28
Music Tonight: The countdown of final shows at the Southgate House continues tonight (only four more left!) with local Folk heroes The Tillers performing in the Ballroom with special guests the Blue Rock Boys. The show is being recorded for future release by the Tiller fellas. Like with a lot of local bands, the Southgate…
Worst Week Ever!: City Council 2011
FRIDAY JAN. 21 Longtime tennis great and 1990’s camera-seller Andre Agassi once said, “Image is everything,” but it’s difficult to trust his judgment due to the fact that his cool hair was a wig and sometimes he smoked crystal meth. The same could be said for whichever new image the city of Cincinnati comes up…
Music, Movies and the Not So Mundane
Adele has single-handedly revived the music industry’s sales with her sophomore effort, 21. The Brit’s soulful album that featured hits such as “Rolling in the Deep” and “Someone Like You” has not only sold more albums than any other album this year, 5.6 million units so far, but more albums than any other studio album…
Worst Week Ever!: John Kasich 2011
SATURDAY JAN. 8 Incoming Ohio Gov. John Kasich has already gone on the record with his thoughts on government transparency: He don’t like it. That’s why it wasn’t surprising to learn today that Kasich won’t say how much money he spent on his four-day inauguration celebration last week. But for those interested in the price…
Dean Gillispie and John Boehner
[WINNER] DEAN GILLISPIE : After serving 20 years for allegedly committing several rapes near Dayton, Gillispie was released from prison Dec. 22 based on the work of City Councilwoman Laure Quinlivan and the Ohio Innocence Project. In 1998, while she was a reporter at WCPO-TV (Channel 9), Quinlivan began producing a series of reports on…
Eating Lucky In 2012
When I was growing up, my dad insisted that on every New Year’s Day we eat sauerkraut and knockwurst. He’d cook a giant roasting pan full of it. Jumbo sausages, bursting with fat, surrounded by kraut, apples and onions and god knows what, and we had to dig in or else. He had this German…
Southgate’s Final Countdown
The Southgate House’s show on New Year’s Eve headlined by local Punk band The Dopamines (see interview, page 23) will be the last ever for the beloved Newport club under its current, longstanding management. The future of the venue under new ownership is uncertain (and the current owners are reportedly looking for a new location),…
Through a Calendar Darkly
N ow that Christmas has come and gone, we enter that strange time of year where many people get reflective and try to make some type of sense and discern meaning from the previous 12-months’ worth of random occurrences. It’s a noble effort. I tend to agree with author George Santayana’s oft-quoted line: “Those who…
In With the New (or Very Superstitious)
M idnight December 31: when our clocks and calendars tip us into the New Year, party hats and all, to start anew. The goal is to end the old year with respect — and a really great soiree — and set our intentions to bring prosperity, love and luck in the new year. Most countries…
The Times They Are A-Changin’
F orget all that hype about 2008 and the presidential election: When local historians gaze back from the future, 2011 in Cincinnati probably will be remembered primarily as the year when true change occurred. As the year comes to a close, several politicians and hotly debated issues find themselves in far different situations than when…
Almost (Accidentally) Famous
C onventional wisdom would tell you that The Dopamines did everything they could to guarantee their descent into oblivion. Tour the country without a big, local following? Check. Create a band with goals that didn’t go past hanging out with friends? You bet. Recording an album simply for the hell of it? Of course. But…
The Year In Your Ear
I t was another ridiculously strong year for recordings by artists in Greater Cincinnati, making for another ridiculously hard-to-whittle-down list of the best releases from the past 365 days. In past years, to prepare for our annual “year in local recordings” round-up, I would create one master list of all new albums (or EPs or…
Is This Real Life?
I t irks me to go into a video store that has separate sections for “dramas,” “comedies,” “action” and then, somewhere way in the back, “documentaries.” (Blockbuster calls them “special interest.”) A good documentary can have every bit the drama, comedy, action, romance, etc., of a fictional film. Often, more. And there is an abundance…
The Screening of Life
I h ave to let you in on a little secret that helps me to define just how special a year in film has been. If a narrative or thematic thread emerges, in particular one that laces through the films that end up earning the top spots on my Top 10, then I have to…
Elements of Surprise
E verybody gives their readers a year-end wrap up list of the best dishes they tried over the past 12 months, so I decided to surprise you. What follows are our Dining Team’s biggest surprises of 2011. I have to say that there were quite a few things that toppled long-held truths for me this…
Questions About CAM ‘Collections’
When I wrote about art for The Denver Post in the 1990s, the Denver Art Museum renovated one of its floors to create a large, sensitively installed open storage area for its pre-Columbian collection. You could walk between cases filled with pottery, stone objects and small statuary to your heart’s content. There was only one…
Excellence Is Its Own Award
I dentifying the year’s best theater productions is a more idiosyncratic task this year because of the disappearance of two long-established awards programs. CityBeat’s Cincinnati Entertainment Awards had their final iteration in August 2010, with the plan to merge them into the Acclaim Awards, launched by The Cincinnati Enquirer in 2005. That program fell victim…
Breathtaking Views
T his past year had its ups and downs for the visual arts. The major museums had good shows, but nothing that captured the public imagination on the order of 2010’s Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand at Contemporary Arts Center or Wedded Perfection at the Cincinnati Art Museum. (Wedded Perfection set an attendance record of…
