Is News Toxic?
Junk mail isn't always junk. Sometimes even an advertisement for a product or service that doesn't interest us can prompt useful questions. I recently received an e-mail from Andy Feld, a motivational speaker operating under the alluring name Simple Happy LLC. Addressed to "mortgage and business friends," the ad is headlined, "Any News Junkies Out…
Onstage: Review: Around the World in 80 Days
Sandy Underwood Evan Zes (left) and Daniel Stewart star in Around the World in 80 Days. French author Jules Verne didn't set out to create a laugh-riot when he wrote Around the World in 80 Days, but his 1873 novel has been used as a comic vehicle for years, both as films and stage productions.…
Film: Review: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Photo: Courtesy of Disney Ben Barnes swings his thing. As a bit of a corrective, this follow-up to 2005's The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe certainly packs more filmmaking savvy than the other, more recent talking-animal allegory The Golden Compass. And Prince Caspian rises above its kid-friendly Lord of the Rings first installment, thanks…
Music: Brothers in Arms (and Legs)
Crackerfarm The Avett Brothers The Avett Brothers are pathologically busy. The trio — banjoist/vocalist Scott, his guitarist/vocalist brother Seth and stand-up bassist Bob Crawford — has enjoyed its most rewarding period since the band officially began seven years ago. In 2007, the Avetts sold more albums, logged more road time and scored more industry…
Onstage: The Voices of May
Gary Murphy Maestro James Conlon is back for his 29th year as the Cincinnati May Festival's music director. There is an almost unfathomable sense of history surrounding the Cincinnati May Festival, the nation's longest continuous choral festival. To put it in perspective, when the festival was founded in 1873 the Civil War had been…
New art at KZF and Leapin Lizard, La Boheme at CCM, Storycorps at the Museum Center, Josh Sneed at Go Bananas and much more
Horses gallop at Leapin Lizard Gallery Jon Fisch Ann Driscoll John Christopher Adams (left) and Danielle Walker in La Boheme WEDNESDAY 5/14 ART: KZF DESIGN Robert Flischel's handsome photographs look splendid in his books but even better in the large-format prints on display through June at KZF Design in Establishing: Normal: Detail. That's photography…
Film: Review: Starting Out in the Evening
Roadside Attractions Lauren Ambrose (left) and Frank Langella in Starting Out in the Evening. The movies love lonely middle-aged (and older) professors, as well as struggling, aging literary and academic writers. In the 1930 classic Blue Angel from Josef von Sternberg, an old professor (Emil Jannings) follows his students to an illicit nightclub where…
God Save the Queen
Civilwar.vt.edu I'm one of those crazy people who thinks government and politicians can do the right thing when they want to. Like when innocent people and floating historical landmarks get caught up in a labor dispute, I imagine that one or two persons of consequence would step up and do something about it. This…
A Broken Heart Can Kill You
Life can be challenging, even overwhelming. A debilitating illness weighs us down. We unexpectedly lose someone we hold dear. Life has a way of stressing us to the limit of our ability to cope. The National Institute of Health recently reported that more than 60 million Americans seek treatment for anxiety and depression as a…
Getting the Facts Right
Occasionally it can be counter-productive for a person to complain about something that ticks him off, as is the case with a recent history lesson involving the Cincinnati Police Department. A Porkopolis column April 23 about Police Chief Thomas Streicher Jr. being forced to reimburse the city for using the department's Honor Guard at his…
MidPoint Submission Deadline Looms
If they haven't already, musicians wishing to be considered for a showcase at the MidPoint Music Festival (now being operated by CityBeat) need to act swiftly. The final deadline for getting submissions in is this Thursday. For directions on how to sign up, head over to mpmf.com. Hundreds of unsigned artists from around the world…
Film: A Marvelous Summer
Paramount Pictures Iron Man's strong box-office and critical responses have opened the way for a bevy of upcoming Marvel Comics film projects. Back in the day, I avidly read comic books. I was the kid who earned an allowance primarily so that I could rush the cigar store and newsstand every Friday to pick…
News: Striving to Improve Children’s Lives
Joe Lamb UC President Nancy Zimpher says the university provides community service through projects like Strive, which is trying to help area children from birth through age 16. An urban university doesn't exist in a vacuum, because part of the institution's mission is public service. At least that's the way Nancy Zimpher sees it.…
Another seven days of cop dancing, bike riding and economy stimulating
Bad dancer, good man WEDNESDAY MAY 7 Certain San Diego State University students were a little too nonchalant in their illegal drug selling practices last semester, and federal authorities took 'em down for distributing the likes of pot, cocaine, Ecstasy and methamphetamine on and around campus. Federal agents, used to dealing with crafty and…
Film: Review: Girls Rock!
(Photo: Nicole Weingart) Stand back: Palace gets righteous. Opening to the urgent sounds of Bikini Kill's "Rebel Girl," Girls Rock! wants to be an incisive call for action against a culture that seems to value surface over substance. Or at least that's what Girls Rock, a Portland, Ore.-based Rock & Roll camp for girls ages…
Motorcycles the Way to Travel
I definitely appreciate more chatter about going car-free, and I thought Joe Wessel's column "Good Luck Going Car-Free" (issue of April 23) touched on many good points. Personally, I feel a very forward-thinking approach to solving the parking space issue is to allow scooters and motorcycles unlimited free parking in core areas like Clifton and…
Art: Review: Walking Is Still Honest
Will Hutchinson's "An Object Without Aspiration" With Walking Is Still Honest at Phyllis Weston-Annie Bolling Gallery in O'Bryonville, Will Hutchinson has created an exhibition that encourages abstract thought through the use of theoretical diagrams and minimalist symbology. The artist seems to have cracked the codes of his own art-making systems and offers viewers a…
Cover Story: Spreading the Word
Raven Bull InkTank's Board President Tyrone Williams InkTank is still kicking. Following months of speculation and internal wrangling, the nonprofit literacy center announced in late April that it was moving from a small staff of paid employees to an all-volunteer organization and that it will relocate from its 1311 Main St. location to the…
The Cincinnati Observatory Center
Emily Maxwell Dedicated in 1843, the Cincinnati Observatory Center is our nation's first public observatory and was the first institution to standardize time for the entire country. In addition, Cleveland Abbe, founder of the National Weather Service, was the first American to predict the weather, which he did from the Cincinnati Observatory during his…
Getting Squeezed Over O.J.
Like most "feel good" sports stories about athletes succeeding against long odds, the O.J. Mayo legend ends up too good to be true. Or should I call it the O.J. Mayo "brand?" Reaction is coming hard and fast to ESPN's investigative report about Mayo's relationship with two shady characters who allegedly provided him with clothes,…
A Hot Potato
When I saw Doug walking around at Findlay Market last Wednesday, a sly smile came to my face. There was no doubt in my mind I'd approach him. Our friendship started more than 18 years ago. We worked for the same company and sometimes would have a drink together after work. We'd do lunch, even…
Review: Bellevue Bistro
Raven Bull Bellevue Bistro The day I decide to have lunch at Bellevue Bistro (313 Fairfield Ave., 859-581-5600), I have about 90 things to do and 1,001 on my mind. Sitting in the small Kentucky coffee house with about a dozen tables, writing my to-do list and anticipating the arrival of the coffee I…
Scott Donaldson
Scott Donaldson Scott Donaldson's recent paintings depict three generations of cultural icons. Inspired by the pop culture that has engaged Donaldson's imagination from his childhood through today, the exhibition Tune In, Turn On and Hook Up is on view at the ArtWorks Gallery (811 Race St., Downtown) through May 23. Here, the artist shares…
Music: Europe Gets Ill
Dale M. Johnson Ill Poetic Editor's Note: Late last year, local MC/producer Ill Poetic followed up a Midwest tour with a three-and-a-half-week jaunt in Europe. The tour (also featuring artists like Pharoahe Monch, Necro and OC) took the local Hip Hop artist to Germany, Romania, Switzerland and other countries. Below are excerpts from his…
Reds Broadcasters Among the Best in the Business
Jerry Dowling The local baseball play-by-play man used to distinguish his city, especially back when one might hear the ball game on a half dozen radios as he wandered about town. They used to call him "The Voice," but in a good baseball town he was more like "The Air." Some teams reached well…
News: That’s the Ticket
Mayor Michael Coleman Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman plans to fund his city's streetcar project with surcharge fees. Like Cincinnati, Columbus is considering a proposal to build an electric-powered streetcar system through part of its downtown, the first segment in what's envisioned as a more comprehensive system that eventually would help move people around its…
This Week in Wellness
Learn about bicycle commuting at Findlay Market. Safety tips, bikes for sale and more. 8 a.m.-1 p.m. every Saturday in May. Free. Findlay Market, Over-the-Rhine. Bike to Work Day is May 16. Start off your day on two wheels with breakfast on the Purple People Bridge, presented by Bike Newport. Free. 6-9 a.m. Metro or…
The Host (Profile)
The Host The Host The Host's debut EP, Receive, might have hit the streets just two years ago, but the band's roots stretch back nearly a decade and a half. Beginning in 1994, vocalist Chris Charlton, bassist Steve Streit and drummer Marc Sherlock were three-fourths of Levelnine, the locally acclaimed experimental Industrial/Noise outfit, while…
Sounding Off
One e-mail from an angry theater fan declared, "I am done going to the Aronoff." Another wrote, "The worst theater for sound, by the way, is Gallagher Hall at Xavier. It's impossible, and I have vowed never to go back to that hall." I was surprised at the vehement reactions I received after my April…
Pomodori’s (Review)
Joe Lamb Pomodori's I visited an old friend the other day: Pomodori's Pizza. Still snugly tucked between Shirley's Laundromat and the Stop and Go, this little spot brings back fond memories of my early college days when they would deliver piping hot pies and a belly-buster of a sandwich called the Grinder (to people…
