Music Ain’t the Answer
C. Matthew Hamby "We need some unity, to bring together you and me…" — Colonel Abrams On May 3, 2006, I was miserably late to work. But this time, I had an excuse — one nearly too far-fetched to explain. By now, we've all heard the accounts of the deadly shootout between Atlanta rapper…
Cover Story: Water, Water Everywhere
Eric Chapman East Fork's Lake Harsha offers unlimited horsepower boating on 2,160 acres of water. On a blistering dog day, there's no substitute for a dip in a lake, stream or river. Immersing yourself in a natural waterway draws the heat off you body, washes the sweat from your brow and leaves you with…
News: Worth Saving
CityBeat Archive Often called "dangerous," Over-the-Rhine is now officially "endangered." Historical preservationists worry about the future of its architectural gems. A group of people sitting around a 50-foot high ball of twine in the middle of a table can't see what's on the other side; each person has to rely on descriptions by others…
Pilarczyk Himself Is the Biggest Scandal
Daniel Pilarczyk has served the Roman Catholic Church all his adult life. Now, at age 72, it's time for him to render the greatest service of which he is still capable: Go away. Resign. Retire to a life of penance. Archbishop of Cincinnati since 1982, Pilarczyk's reign has been so pockmarked by scandal that his…
News: Friends of Phil
Matt Borgerding County Commissioner Phil Heimlich says he didn't seek campaign contributions from people associated with the developer recommended for The Banks. A county advisory panel's recommendation that a development team led by Western-Southern Financial Group build The Banks is stirring allegations of backroom deal making. The recommendation, which still must be voted upon…
Locals On the Airwaves
· Local commercial radio has nobly begun sniffing around local music's butt the last couple of years, with local-centric shows popping up on 97.3 FM ("Homegrown," Sundays at 9 p.m.) and WEBN ("Native Noise," Sundays at 11 p.m.). But no one has been turning over the airwaves to locals longer than WAIF's "Kindred Sanction." Starting…
Cover Story: Connecting Cincinnati
Matt Borgerding Mike Halloran says ZipScene is all about connecting people. Need something to do this summer? I know a place where you can find something to do nearly every night. It's ZipScene, a free online Web site where you can not only check out what's going on around Cincinnati and Nothern Kentucky but…
Cover Story: The Big Pictures
Jeff Fuerzeig The Devil and Daniel Johnston: Guess which is which? June THE BREAK-UP Lowdown: A story about, uh, a break-up. Oh, but it's a comedy, because after Brooke (Jennifer Aniston) calls it quits with her boyfriend Gary (Vince Vaughn) neither is willing to move out of their pad. Hot factor: Vaughn is still…
Cover Story: Critics’ Summer Picks
James McKenna Hot Block Party: Rockin' on Walnut CAM's 125th Birthday The 16th annual "A Taste of Duveneck" on June 8 kicks off a summer-long celebration of the Cincinnati Art Museum's 125th birthday. Special events spread from June to September — fun events like the "Celebrity Tours," whose celebrity might be questionable (Don Mueller…
The Time is Right
Notes: As a teacher, one of the most difficult parts of my job comes every June when I have to say goodbye to a group of seniors. In our school, I get to work with the same students for three out of their four years; needless to say, I grow extremely attached to them as…
NBA, NHL Playoffs Remain Wide Open
Jerry Dowling Playoff season isn't very full of surprises this spring, except for the surprises we usually expect. At this point in the proceedings, one still hopes the NBA playoffs elaborate the story of professional basketball so as to throw the league wide open. Right now, that could mean nearly anything. And one wants…
Cover Story: Cincinnati in Three Dimensions
Courtsey Willie Cole Willie Cole's "Dirty Little Soles II" is on view at Carl Solway Gallery. Although only restaurants and taxi drivers take notice of most conference gatherings, Crossroads Cincinnati 2006 is already making waves. The International Sculpture Center (ISC) conference June 21-24 will be apparent soon in art galleries all over town. Despite…
Diner: Irish Redux
Irish pubs are known for their hospitality, witty patrons and damn fine beer. The Irish themselves — and their pubs, for that matter — don't have a particularly strong reputation for food. Being an island in the cold waters of the northern Atlantic, traditional fare typically includes fish, lamb, cabbage and the ubiquitous potato. Nothing…
Film: Fever Dreams
Courtesy Buena Vista Forget Captain Jack Sparrow. How about Johnny Depp as Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melnibone? Reality television has given us idols and inventors, dancers and models. Wives are swapped and race can be altered. But there seems to be little real impact with any of these scenarios. Why not place people in…
Film: The Big Green One
Coutesy Rialto Pictures Step aside, modern-day, big-budget extravaganzas — the original, lo-fi Godzilla is back. The ballyhoo surrounding Rialto's release of the 1954 film that started the entire kaiju (or giant monster) film genre has been nearly as loud as Godzilla's unmistakable roar. And why not? It's taken a half-century for Toho Studios and…
Cover Story: Heavy Petting
230 Publicity Happy to be hot: (L-R) Jamin Orrall, Jemina Pearl, Jonas Stein and Nathan Vasquez There is absolutely nothing typical about Be Your Own Pet. The quartet hails from Nashville, not exactly a hotbed for their brand of hyper-caffeinated Punk. They're impossibly young — drummer Jamin Orrall just turned 18, bassist Nathan Vasquez…
Beyond Ballet
Jeff Corcoran Cincinnati Ballet's Dawn Kelly moves for a good cause. The dance season winds down just as summer heats up, but based on performance opportunities this weekend dance is not exiting quietly! See great dancing and support an important cause at the same time! Proceeds from the Cincinnati Ballet's second annual Beyond Ballet…
Upcoming Concerts with Gatsby’s American Dream, The Aquabats and More…
Courtesy Longshot Music Rosie Flores Gatsby's American Dream with Horse the Band, Portugal the Man and Foxy Shazam! Thursday · The Mad Hatter There have been plenty of odd pairings in the history of music. Willie Nelson and Placido Domingo. David Bowie and Bing Crosby. Sonny and Cher. Voting-by-phone and Pop stardom. But there…
Artists Should Make Their Own Way
Unlike Stacey Recht Czar ("Supporting Individual Artists," issue of May 24-30), I have not grown tired of apologizing for anything to do with the sensational events connected with the 1990 CAC exhibit of Mapplethorpe's photographs simply because I was never in a position to be connected with any responsibility for them. Why associate with any…
Cover Story: On the Edge
Woodrow J. Hinton Hot Issue 2006 It's time for Cincinnati to return to life on the Fringe — that would be the 2006 Fringe Festival, the third annual celebration of Cincinnati's underground, revolutionary arts. Starting Thursday, you can take in shows at seven venues: downtown at the Contemporary Arts Center and the Aronoff's Fifth…
Cover Story: Building Desdemona
Graham Lienhart Hoops 'n' dreams: Nick Spencer surveys the future home of his Desdemona Music Festival. It's mid-week after lunch, and Sawyer Point — the broad, spacious park along downtown's riverfront — is all but empty, save a couple of families and workers tending to some landscaping. Two 3-year-olds take turns running across the…
Drawing a Blank
Reflections on a Schulzless Universe by Charlie Brown I lost my faith about six years ago, in a weird kind of convergent way. I woke up one morning and there, already in my head, loomed this preformed, unignorable thought: There is no Schulz. Weird. And I can tell you, it rattled me. Because I'd believed…
Wrong Addresses Baffle Police
Matt Borgerding Allistar McIntosh of Sasaki Associates discusses plans for the Cincinnati Riverfront Park. Don't buy the line the Cincinnati Police Department is peddling about the high number of Drop Inn Center clients being arrested. What appears to be happening is suspects are lying about their addresses, and the cops are falling for it.…
Cover Story: Lying Down on the Job
Megan Nadolski Chuck Lamb has become a live wire in the film business. Here lies Chuck Lamb. It was in a small, unassuming motel room at the Budget Host on Central Parkway where Lamb met his bloody fate, taking two to the chest at close range. The corpse lays motionless and bloody. Except he…
Cover Story: Hot Topics
Matt Borgerding Ted Strickland has the backing of Ohio's big city mayors, including Mark Mallory, as he attempts to become governor. You might not be the kind of person who tells other people what to do. But if you don't take action, there are plenty of people lining up to tell you what to…
Cover Story: Just Go With the Even Flow
Keith Klenowski Eddie Vedder still connects with fans at a May 20 show in Cleveland. A fan's retrospective of The year 1990 went like this: I got laid, got pierced, smoked, drank, skipped, protested term papers and fell to my knees, having a nervous breakdown in the high school hall. Another girl was pregnant;…
Living Out Loud: : Jennifer Too
I live in Clifton — Gaslight District — and usually get my groceries at Keller's IGA. It's a little bit more expensive than other grocery stories but I've come to know all the people who work there, and it's convenient. I pay for that. One afternoon while walking up Ludlow Avenue to my apartment building,…
Locals Only: : Our Kelly
Laurie Lehrter-Burham Kelly Thomas Kelly Thomas would be pissed at me if I started rambling on about feminism and her victories over the stereotypical "woman's place" in music. Well, OK, not pissed exactly. She'd probably roll her eyes and shriek, Scarlet O'Hara-style, "Ohhhh, ah tayle yah, lahff is soooo hahrrrd on us laydeeees!" And…
Ringtone
HOT They Might Be Ringtones They've conquered the fringy, underground, comical Alternative Pop/College Rock world and have done some damage in the rough-and-tumble children's music market, but now They Might Be Giants have their sights set on … your phone. The endlessly clever duo recently posted three downloadable ring tones at theymightbegiants.com. The first…
Music: The Seeker
C. Taylor Crothers Pop troubadour Ben Lee likens his spiritual awakening to seeing Nirvana (the band) for the first time. If Ben Lee had his way, Pop music might just be the soundtrack of life. Hell, the way he talks about it, you almost imagine God breathing existence into man while the Bee Gees…
News to Use
Help Struggling Siblings In April, Brayden Dunn was diagnosed with Down syndrome at the age of 7 months. This isn't the first struggle his family has encountered. His older sister, Hailey, who is 2, was diagnosed a few months after birth with craniosynostosis. She endured weeks of testing as well as painful surgery to remove…
Cover Story: Opera, With Mud
Graham Lienhart Danny Thomas is ready for a World Cup influx at Hap's Irish Pub. "Someone said, 'Football is more important than life and death to you,' and I said, 'Listen, it's more important than that.' " — Huddersfield Football Club manager and Scotland international soccer player Bill Shankly The best place to watch…
Lubricants Are a Blessing, Not a Crime
Doctors — oncologists, gynecologists and even sex therapists — have a hard time talking about sex with their patients. They know the mechanics, but they're used to focusing on a disease or a problem and a cure. Trying to reconnect with a partner and having fun in the bedroom don't fall within the guidelines of…
Acclaims
Danny Nader Paul Shortt, a CEA Hall of Famer from 2001, was recognized at The Enquirer's recent copycat theater awards program. On May 22, The Cincinnati Enquirer's "me-too" theater awards (aka the "Acclaims") were presented at Covington's Carnegie Center. You might ask, "Does Cincinnati really need a second theater awards program?" Well, apparently Jackie…
