Sarah Ruhl
If you need further evidence that Cincinnati is on the leading edge of the theatrical curve, look no further than a recent recipient of a MacArthur Foundation fellowship, playwright SARAH RUHL. The 32-year-old writer was recently named a recipient of one of the so-called "genius grants" ($100,000 a year for five years). I imagine that…
Catch the Wave and Love It
The Wave: Ten years after elliptical machines hit the market, Technogym introduces the world to a new era in cardiovascular training — the Cardio Wave. It uses a unique multi-planar motion, similar to rollerblading or skiing, to tone and strengthen the glutes and core. Cardio Wave's three-dimensional approach increases balance and stability with a variety…
Music: MidPoint From The Inside
Matt Borgerding Sean Rhiney (right, pictured with MidPoint co-founder Bill Donabedian) hits the pavement to make sure the MidPoint Music Festival runs smoothly. Thursday, Sept. 21 Everyone is buzzing at the Contemporary Arts Center (early Thursday), the MidPoint Music Festival's official headquarters for registration and our two-day conference. Volunteers are stuffing goody bags for…
Critics’ Pick: The SandBar
Scene: Just beyond a stretch of junkyards, The SandBar is a small yellow box of a room with a covered wooden deck perched high above a picturesque marina. The real action is out front, though, where legions of young professionals gather at the 12 beach volleyball courts and three cornhole sets to play hard and…
News: County at a Crossroads
Election 2006 In a shift that would have been almost unthinkable just a few years ago, a Democratic majority could emerge from this fall's Hamilton County Commission race for the first time in more than 40 years. The contest between County Commissioner Phil Heimlich, a conservative Republican, and challenger David Pepper, a moderate Democrat,…
Made for Each Other By Michael Schiaparelli
Last night, I made Capra a Ra Vutana by browning chunks of goat meat, then simmering them with onions, diced tomatoes, fresh basil, fennel seeds and hot pepper. Like many traditional Southern Italian dishes, it had a decent kick of spice, and peppery heat clashes with tannic wines, making the heat seem hotter and the…
Cover Story: Do or Die Time
Matt Borgerding What Can Brown Do for You? Keeping up with Congressman Sherrod Brown isn't easy. He walks fast, his torso swaying, his shoulders jolting forward. He talks fast, too, and his raspy baritone voice can give the impression that he just pulled an all-nighter. The 52-year-old seems to have the pent-up energy of…
News to Use
Wallis Addresses Amos Project Jim Wallis, author of God's Politics, is the featured speaker at a public meeting sponsored by the Amos Project. Wallis is the founder of Sojourners, a progressive Christian community in Washington, D.C. Candidates for U.S. House of Representatives, Senate, the Hamilton Country Commission and governor of Ohio have been invited. The…
Music: Daydream Believer
Joseph Arthur Though often a solo act, Joseph Arthur has assembled a full band for his current tour. Never one to waste time between gigs, Joseph Arthur, multi-tasker extraordinaire, speaks to me by cell phone as he walks through Time Square in New York City on a Friday afternoon. "We just finished playing a…
Upcoming Concert Reviews of Catfish Haven, Widespread Panic and More…
Jim Newberry Catfish Haven Catfish Haven at the "Live at the Brothel Music Festival" Friday · East End Café Catfish Haven guitarist George Hunter looks to his life to provide more than a little inspiration for his musical activities. As a child growing up in rural Southern Missouri, Hunter met his future bandmates —…
Cincinnati and MPMF Rock
If any organization or group wants to see how to put on a great music festival, they should apprentice with the folks who put on MidPoint ("Five Alive," issue of Sept. 20). If any club owner wants to learn how to host an event, they should spend MidPoint with Bob and the great crew at…
Locals Only: : Wordless Heart
Michael Visher Kelly Richey Kelly Richey has plenty to say about her new album, which is ironic because she doesn't say a thing on it. Speechless, Richey's first new studio album in five years and the ninth of her acclaimed Blues/Rock career, is her first completely instrumental album. Even without the benefit of her…
A Letter from the Editor
Dear Readers, It's hard to believe but this month's issue of Packrat Today, the very one you now hold in your hands, marks our 20th anniversary. This milestone means that for all the loyal hoarders out there who have been with us since the beginning, you now have 240 back issues of this publication mixed…
20/20
Rene Micheo Cervilio Amador leaps into New Works, Cincinnati Ballet's mixed-repertory season opener If you've been keeping up with your CityBeat reading you're well aware that just as outside temperatures are cooling, the fall arts season is briskly warming up. It's 20/20 time again and there's a plethora of options for dance aficionados in…
Bengals Have Finally Learned to Win
Jerry Dowling So they snapped your quarterback's leg in two, knocked you out of the playoffs on your own field and chanted your chant in their locker room after the game. Later, they won the Super Bowl and mocked your chant on their downtown streets. Of all their achievements last year, nothing spoke so…
One Unique Station Rises, One Rolls in the Mud
Congressman Steve Chabot (R-Westwood) receives another visit from peace supporters this week. WOXY, the Cincinnati-based online radio station specializing in the best of cutting edge "Modern Rock," is about to go back into business for the third time. Thanks to some anonymous donors, it enjoyed a second life after the owners sold the on-air…
Diner: Happy Glow
Green Papaya Go: 2942 Wasson Road, Oakley Call: 513-731-0107 Hours: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 5-9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 5-10:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday; and 4-9:30 p.m. Sunday. Prices: Moderate Payment: Major credit cards Red Meat Alternatives: Several Accessibility: Fully accessible Grade: A Stepping inside Green Papaya, I'm immediately tuned in to the knowledge that I'm about to receive…
Jake Speed –
Notes: Lots of folks believe that Cincinnati?s Coney Island stole its name from New York; according to legend, that ain?t right. The old timers in the area all know that the name hails from Pirate Cone, the vicious riverboat bandit who buried her gold somewhere along the banks of the Ohio. Some say the Fountain…
Living Out Loud: : Lost in Over-the-Rhine
I live in Clifton and usually take the 17 bus to Findlay Market, getting off at McMicken Avenue in Over-the-Rhine. On this particular afternoon, I stocked up on bananas, peaches, carrots, green peppers and tomatoes. After my shopping, I walked up to Vine Street to catch the bus back home. The bus never came. I…
Film: Sleep to Dream
Warner Independent A shorthanded Alain Chabat takes on Gael Garcia Bernal in The Science of Sleep. I still remember learning about the science of dreams in my high school Advanced Placement Biology course. My instructor offered an explanation of the near slumbering mind as a canvas on which our synapses create a random impressionistic…
Troublemaker’s Journal
My 18-year old son Traven finally learned how to drive and got his license in his senior year; that was last year, before he went off to college. He hadn't been driving much and he didn't know his way around very well, so one morning, as he was about to take the car from our…
News: Free Labor
Even if Cincinnati police and leaders aren't able to bring crime under control in Over-the-Rhine, at least they have a helping hand with the trash. It's been six weeks since Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis Jr. held a news conference and blasted county judges for imposing sentences that bar inmates from being released early for…
CEA Nominees Announced
On Sept. 22, the 2006 Cincinnati Entertainment Awards' music nominees were announced during CityBeat's "StartingPoint" party at the MidPoint Music Festival. As Heartless Bastards' frontwoman Erika Wennerstrom played a riveting solo acoustic set at J-Hall (the venue formerly known as Jefferson Hall), nominees were projected on the wall as local musicians gathered around to see…
Film: The Survivor
IFC Films Matt Dillon plays a Charles Bukowski-esque writer in Factotum. Matt Dillon gives out a low, vibrating rumble of a chuckle. "I know a little bit about drinking," he says, when asked about the preparation for his role as an alcoholic ne'er-do-well with a literary soul in Factotum. The film is based on…
News: The Art of OTR Possibility
Matt Borgerding Kathy Brookshire (left) and Angie Ratliff of the Cincinnati Development Fund look at a model made by UC in the mid-1980s for Vine Street redevelopment. Enthusiastic applause followed City Manager Milton R. Dohoney Jr.'s remarks Sept. 21 at Memorial Hall after his remarks at the Over-the-Rhine Summit hosted by the University of…
Hurricanes and Hip Hop
C. Matthew Hamby "Them drums say the revolution is near. Are you listening? Are your eardrums open for christening?" — De La Soul's Posdnuos (Plug One) The artwork that accompanied my September 2005 column, "A Nation (Almost) Unified," spoke volumes more than the actual article itself. The cartoon depicted a single hand holding a…
Books: The Write Stuff
Amanda Davidson Man on a mission: InkTank's Jeff Syroney The Writer's Weekend might be InkTank's biggest annual event, but it's far from all they do. The 'Tank's Main Street "World Headquarters" regularly houses an every-other-Thursday writer's salon, monthly open mic nights, a Book Bank featuring works by local writers and an art gallery. Events…
