Cover Story: A Higher and Higher Education
Jupiterimages/ Ron Chapple A Higher (And Higher) Education Four Dater High School seniors are talking to each other and a reporter, estimating how much debt they might have when they finish college. They have thousands of dollars in scholarships, some even covering the entire cost of tuition. They'd like to graduate debt-free, but no…
In The Blood
Sandy Underwood The Cincinnati Playhouse is auditioning kids to play Tiny Tim and other roles in December's A Christmas Carol. In a recent letter to CityBeat (issue of May 10-16), John Heideman asked, "Who is Rick Pender anyway?" Having attended the same preview performance of the Know Theatre Tribe's production of In the Blood,…
News: Hogging the Info Superhighway
Doug McDonald Free speech and the future of the Internet are at stake in the growing political battle over "net neutrality," according to the Save the Internet Coalition. The telecom giants, including Time Warner and Verizon, say they're concerned that a glut of high-bandwidth digital traffic will soon clog the Information Superhighway. Their answer…
At Long Last, a Secret Ballot for All
My friend Bill Kincaid is an eightysomething — with wit and energy surpassing most fortysomethings I could name — and he's worked the polls with his wife, Mildred, for decades of Cincinnati elections. Originally from Kentucky, he reminisced the other day about his earliest opportunities to cast a secret ballot. At the polling place in…
Jose, Can’t You See?
Jose, Can?t You See' Notes: One of the most difficult aspects of writing a weekly song is committing to a song's direction. There's no time to get halfway through the lyrics and decide to scrap them (like I do with my non-deadline songwriting). The concept for this week's song could've ventured down so many avenues,…
Thrill Is Gone at WAIF
Your recent foray into the realm of WAIF radio ("Naughty Stepchild," issue of May 3-9) seems to have raised a few officious hackles. Not surprising. Within the organization it has long been common knowledge that, when it comes to the board of trustees, somebody questioning any action, thought or lack thereof is deemed an enemy,…
Diner: Charted Waters
I ate at a Chart House in St. Thomas years ago and didn't realize it was a chain. It just seemed like any other upscale restaurant on the island: touristy. But even at the newly reopened location in Newport, the ambiance is suggestive of cruise ships and resorts. Spanning New England-, Caribbean- and Southern-influenced seafood…
URGE?
HOT Uncontrollable Urge? Apple Computer Inc. beat The Beatles in court in their dispute over the tech giant's entry into the music biz. The Fab Four's legal team said the computer company violated an agreement that Apple would stay out of music in order to avoid market confusion with The Beatles' Apple label/corporation. The case…
Television and Radio: News Anger-man
Comedy Central Lewis Black has plenty to complain about these days, which is good news for audiences. Comedian Lewis Black has a very easy job these days. "Where do you want to start? I don't even have to write anything anymore," he says incredulously. "All you have to do is print the headlines. It's…
Upcoming Concert Reviews of The Codetalkers, Aloha and More…
Rick Stern The Codetalkers The Codetalkers Thursday · The Mad Frog If anyone needs proof that The Codetalkers is not a Col. Bruce Hampton side project, they'll get it on this leg of the band's tour when the trio appears without their famed utility guitarist/spiritual mentor. "Bruce just had an angioplasty," reports Codetalkers guitarist/vocalist/songwriter…
Music: Twilight’s Last Dreaming
Press Here Publicity Greg Dulli and The Twilight Singers' latest album, Powder Burns, was recorded primarily in New Orleans, before and after last year's catastrophic hurricane. There is an almost unearthly calm as Greg Dulli speaks. It's reminiscent of the deathly silence that comes moments before a tornado heedlessly levels everything in its erratic…
Locals Only: : Band of Muthas
Banderas Banderas Everybody knows at least one shitty dude. That guy with the startling disregard for his own safety, well-being and reputation who always gets invited to the party even though he is guaranteed to offend. Banderas is comprised of 100 percent shitty dudes. It's a lifestyle that extends beyond the band and permeates…
Living Out Loud: : Attracting Weirdness
On my birthday, friend Sara and I went over to Arlin's in Clifton, went outside on their deck and had a few drinks. We were having a good old time, but it didn't take long for it to get interrupted. "Excuse me; I saw the two of you come in. Are you two soulmates?" She…
If I Were a Betting Man…
So I'm sitting at the poker table at a Catholic church festival last Saturday, and a few of us are pounding beers and discussing the moral implications of expanding casino gambling across Ohio. We agree that the state would go to hell in short order if the casino bosses pushing a November ballot issue are…
Before Arming Canadian Border, Bush to Visit
Graham Lienhart Members of ACORN want Sherwin Williams to help remove lead paint. Is there any foreign policy issue that George Bush doesn't respond to with troops? Now we're going to put them along the border with Mexico, a country that has no aggressive intentions toward the United States. But that's only part of…
Hearing Voices
Monday afternoons I teach an afterschool writing class for InkTank to a group of teenage boys. The assignment appealed to me because it was pitched as an experimental format. There was no set curriculum and no need for the rigidity or coded language of academia. I'm more of a "think first, talk about it, then…
Vegetable Gardeners
Ah, the taste of fresh dirt. I brush some clods of earth from a handful of tiny, just-picked French radishes and devour them, nibbling away like a hungry rabbit. The first bounty of the spring season, they're crisp, spicy and delicate. It's a marvel, really, that these little red firecrackers have grown so quickly in…
Bonds Vs. Ruth? We’ll Take Henry Aaron
Jerry Dowling Sometime this week or next, Barry Bonds is likely to pass Babe Ruth on the all-time home run list, which means absolutely nothing except that it's brought the discussion back around to Ruth. Baseball always comes back around to Ruth, the Bambino who built the Yankees, who restored the game's credibility through…
Feel Lucky, Punks
Local music festivals come and go, but the ones with real staying power grow and grow. Along with the MidPoint Music Festival, the Cincy Blues Fest and last week's Jammin' On …, the Cincypunk Fest belongs firmly in the latter category. Starting as a one-night, 10-Punk-band concert in 2002 at Northside's old all-ages venue The…
When Should Propaganda Begin?
How old should kids be before we teach them the virtues of taking up arms to kill people of other countries? The question occurred to Angela Garcia last week when she took her daughter to Fairview German Language School in Clifton Heights. "I was dropping her off in the morning," she says. "I saw an…
The Road to Wellness: Wellness
Sekhem, Seichim and Reiki are three distinct multi-dimensional energies. Until recently, Reiki and Seichem have been stand-alone healing systems. We're now beginning to see the benefits of working with this trinity, including the expansion of our capacity to anchor and hold more light, love and balance within our energy systems. Sekhem/Seichim/Reiki (SSR) creates a unique…
News to Use
Mayor Holds Community Meetings Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory will hold a series of town-hall-style Neighbor-to-Mayor Community Forums, designed to give citizens an opportunity to share their concerns, hopes and ideas on important issues facing the city. Each forum will focus on a different topic and will take place in a different part of the city.…
Film: Art School Rejects
Suzanne Hanover Deep-end dweller: Terry Zwigoff, director of Art School Confidential As in a dream, Jesus brings me a side of scrambled eggs. He wears a big smile and a shiny nametag, every hair in place. Brings me coffee, too. All around us are ancient hardwood, marble and finery, windows looking north onto the…
News: Party Brawl
slim Jim Puvee Local Democrats hope to take advantage of plummeting support for President Bush and Congress and increase their influence at the county and state levels, but a bitter dispute has emerged about the party's leadership and how candidates win endorsements. Tim Burke, the attorney who chairs the Hamilton County Democratic Party, angered…
Music: Shining a Light on Cincy Soul
Shake It Records Thanks to interest from Soul collectors worldwide and a desire to unearth lost gems, locally-based Shake It Records has issued '60s Cincinnati Soul man Kenny Smith's One More Day collection. One of the great unwritten chapters in Cincinnati music history will come to light with the release of One More Day,…
Onstage: Five Days in May
The May Festival The ornate confines of Music Hall host another May Festival the next two weekends. The Cincinnati May Festival might be the oldest continuous choral festival in the Western Hemisphere, but Music Director James Conlon's passion and expertise have kept the Festival's program fresh and inventive for more than a quarter century.…
