contributing editors Mike Breen, Music; Dale Doerman, Onstage; Billie Jeyes, Literary; Rick Pender, Onstage; Steve Ramos, Film; Fran Watson, Art.
contributing writers Anne Arenstein, Karen Amelia Arnett, Lisa Baggerman, Brian Baker, Polly Campbell, Elizabeth Carey, Jane Durrell, Jeff Hillard, Jon Hughes, John James, Josh Katz, Jonathan Kamholtz, Michelle Kennedy, Kim Krause, Craig Lovelace, David Pescovitz, Jeremy Schlosberg, Peggy Schmidt, Kathy Y. Wilson, John 0. Young.
photo editor Jymi Bolden
photographers Jon Hughes, Staff; Bonnie Greer, Sean Hughes, Doug Motto, Marty Sosnowski.
listings editor Billie Jeyes
editorial intern Charlotte McPherson
cartoonists Gary Gaffney, Julie Larson, Tom Tomorrow.
ART DIRECTOR Paul Neff
production Mark Dodge, Mark Shepherd.
display advertising Michael Finney, Bill Kellerman, Mimi Thomas.
classified advertising Jenifer Marcinkoski
distribution Media Distribution Services
published by Lightbome Publishing Inc.
Thomas R. Schiff, ChiefExecutive Officer
OtyBaaf
23 E. Seventh St., Suite 617
Fresh Approaches:
deadlines:
PRINTED ON RECYCLED
really in charge of Cincinnati’s yard-waste recycling program? 5
News Business owners around the Aronoff Center for the Arts are nervous about possible forced relocation 5 News Local media try to racially balance their newsroom ranks, with mixed results 7
DailyEred
Food consumers and growers are forging new alliances in the hope of growing healthier fruits and vegetables. Karen Amelia Arnett (right) gets down and dirty to examine Community Supported Agriculture, now taking root in three Tristate locations. Cover Story, 8.
Technology Let your fingers do the moaning in sex-chat rooms 12 Spirituality Ken Deigh discusses his avant-garde New Age magazine 12
UtterKiosk
Index to calendar listings 13
ClassifiedAcfs
How to submit an ad 31
Music Grant Lee Phillips talks about his band and his famous friends 15
Classified Ads Help wanted, for sale, for rent, music, services 31
Back Beat Answer CityBeat’s question of the week 32
Film Marky Mark, the underwear king, gets serious about acting; Cincinnati Loews/Sony theaters are bought out by Showcase 19, 20
Art Laughter and death in Rona Pondick’s CAM exhibit 23
2 APRIL 27-MAY 3, 1995
Onstage Cincinnati’s arts community bands together to raise AIDS aware-
Sticking Their Neck Out: Dracula
Professor Van Helsing (James Cincinnati Playhouse’s new production 1927 script of Dracula. Onstage,
The Naked Truth: The Topaz Man, Steve Sandalis, waxes poetic about his chest, his fans and being “one with the earth.” Whatever. Literary, 29.
The Straight Dope
BY CECIL ADAMS
What happened to the astronauts after the Challenger explosion?
Everyone assumes they were blown to pieces, but about six months after the dccident, I saw an article saying the emergency oxygen systemsfor the astronauts had been manually activated, meaning some or all of them had survived the explosion. I also remember the tanks had three tofive minutes of usage, meaning they were breathingfor at least as long as it took tofall. I recall something about government interference with the autopsy results and (this is ILLUSTRATION: SLUG SIGNORINO
the X-Files-type detailJ warnings to fishermen to stay awayfrom some mysterious green vials that might be floating in the wreckage. Is there more to the story?
Fox M., Oakland, Calif.
More facts? No. More weirdness? You betcha. Recently what purports to be a radio transcript of the Challenger crew’s last minutes has been showing up on computer bulletin boards. Here are some of the more melodramatic lines with M or F indicating the sex of the speaker: M: What happened? What happened? Oh God, no-no!
M: I told them, 1 told them. Dammit! Resnik don’t..., F: Don’t let me die like this. Not now. Not here.
F: I’m passing out.
M: If you ever wanted (unintelligible) me a miracle (unintelligible). (Screams.)
M: Can’t breathe
M: God. The water we’re dead! (Screams.)
F: Goodbye (sobs) I love you, I love you.
M: Our Father (unintelligible) hallowed be thy name (unintelligible). This is said to have originated in the supermarket tabloid Weekly World News. NASA says it’s a hoax, but the agency’s credibility in this regard is about zero. After insisting for months that the astronauts never knew what hit them, NASA conceded that they not only survived the explosion but tried to save themselves and may even have been
alive when the cabin smashed into the sea at 200 mph. A 1988 expose by the Miami Herald also revealed that NASA pre-empted local officials’ efforts to do an autopsy, no doubt to avoid having gory pictures (or at least embarrassing quotes) splashed in the newspapers at a time when the agency’s prestige was already in the toilet. But the “green vial” stuff seems to be the product of an overactive imagination. Boaters were merely warned to avoid debris lest they mess up evidence or be messed up themselves by fuel or other dangerous chemicals.
Contrary to common belief? the Challenger did not explode into a million pieces in midair. What we all saw on TV was the external tank breaking open and its contents erupting in a fireball that enveloped the shuttle. Pilot Michael Smith said “uh-oh!” and a fraction of a second later, the shuttle broke into several large pieces. “Separate sections that can be identified on film include the main engine/tail section with the engines still burning, one wing of the orbiter, and the forward fuselage [including sealed crew cabin] trailing a mass of umbilical lines pulled loose from the payload bay,” the official report on the disaster said.
“The forces on the orbiter at breakup were probably too low to cause death or serious injury,” NASA medical honcho Joseph Kerwin wrote in a separate report. “The erew possibly, but not certainly, lost consciousness in the seconds following orbiter breakup.” Some of the astronauts managed to get their emergency air packs switched on; of the four units later recovered, three had been manually activated. The fact that the fourth was not may indicate it was only a short time before everybody blacked out, but nobody knows for sure.
If the cabin depressurized immediately, crew members would have survived six to 15 secondspif not, they might have lived two and a half minutes as their ruined vessel arced through the upper atmosphere, reaching a height of 65,000 feet before falling to earth. If the astronauts were still alive when they struck the water, they weren’t afterward. The impact pulverized both cabin and crew, and that plus long immersion in saltwater made it impossible to tell what really happened.
Millions of eyes and billions of dollars in technology were trained on them, yet nobody was watching when they died.
PC ‘Priest’ View
ed to spreading the “Good News” of Jesus Christ.
Instead, we have to read of homosexual and child molesting priests in our daily and weekly news editions.
The actor who plays Father Greg [Linus Roache] says, “It doesn’t make any difference if he’s gay or straight.” If that is the case, then why isn’t he straight. Because there wouldn’t be an article in this paper about this movie and the shock value that comes with this subject matter would not exist. As usual, this movie is written this way to bring in money and nothing more.
I am writing in response to your article “Has a Sin Been Committed” by Steve Ramos in the April 13-19 edition of your paper. The only sin committed is that this article was published. But since the world we live in today says what’s wrong is right and what’s right is wrong, you’re politically correct at least.
All Christians should make a conscious decision to refrain from supporting this movie at the box-office.
These are our brothersVsisters in Christ and we should not glory in their pain. Will your Church be next?
Steven R. Creutzinger, Cincinnati
Like It Is in Cuba
Also, the Episcopalian Church would be the politically correct Church to go to for approval. This is a Church that long ago sold out the Word of God for the “World of Man.” They already ordain women and homosexuals as priests in the United States and are on the cutting edge of political correctness towards sanetioning homosexual (sic) marriages.
Unfortunately, the Catholic Church has done itself more harm than good by adhering to their doctrine of celibacy. The Bible doesn’t mandate this practice and the church has excluded many men who are dedicat
Many thanks for your cover story on Cuba [April 6-12, 1995], which avoids parroting the pro-Castro propaganda that many U.S. (and local) journalists propagate. Recently, Bill Hemmer of Channel 9 did a feature on Cuba as part of that station’s 11 p.m. news, which reflected his naivete and ignorance of the subject. Hemmer echoed the Castro regime’s blame of Cuba’s sorry economic state on the U.S. embargo, when in fact its economy has been crippled by Castro’s mismanagement and the loss of his Soviet sugar daddy (who was giving him $5 billion a year). The most ironic thing about the current situation is Fidel’s reliance on the Cuban exile and Cuban-American community. After sugar and tourism, we are Cuba’s largest source of income, which we provide through remittances to relatives on the island and trips to visit them. It wasn’t that long ago that Castro called us “worms” and the “scum of society,” but now we are referred to as “the communi
ty” because the Maximum Leader needs our dollars.
You certainly captured the most important characteristic of discontent in Cuba the disillusion of young Cubans. Those bom after the revolution, who constitute well over half of the population, by and large detest Castro and his hypocrisy. They have come to the realization that the revolution is about one thing only Castro keeping total power. A serious generation gap exists between the young and their elders, who suecumb to the dictator’s charisma, just as the subjects of Franco and Mussolini did decades ago. Like Francisco Franco, Fidel wants to hold on to the reins of power until his death and even after it no-matter how irrelevant he may be.
1 produce and broadcast a music program for young Cubans, Radio Roquero, which Radio Miami International broadcasts from Honduras. My show is the only one which broadcasts underground music to the island. Radio Marti, the U.S. government-funded radio station that is on the air 24 hours a day, only plays mainstream exile artists, such as Gloria Estefan and Jon Secada, and their token Rock program makes WEBN look radical. It’s a shame that the U.S. government spends millions of dollars to try and reach the Cuban people, yet ignores the vast majority who are under 40. Other exile broadcasts also ignore this audience.
When Cuba recovers from the bout of “Castroenteritis” (I borrow the term from Guillermo Cabrera Infante’s Mea Cuba), it will be the young Cubans, both on the island and in exile, who will help rebuild it. I commend you for shedding light on the subject. As a Cuban exile, one of the most frustrating things I find about living in Cincinnati is the natives’ ignorance about my homeland. Thanks for making it a bit easier.
Victor Garcia-Rivera, Fairfield,
Bored Reviewer?
I’d hate to think that CityBeat would be so desperate for movie reviews, that they’d let Steve Ramos ramble on so shamelessly. His [April 20-26] review of Jefferson in Paris was indeed shameful.
Historians may be bent out of shape, but only because this film points out what a vile human being Thomas Jefferson truly was. I’m sure that they acknowledge that Thomas Jefferson had affairs, but it’s the fact that one of those affairs was with a black Slave girl only 15 years of age. It’s that fact alone that’s turning their stomachs and making them cry “foul.”
There are a lot of things that happened in the past that the public just aren’t aware of.
As far as Steve Ramos’ shoddy review goes, did he really spend time analyzing when and if two characters might kiss? No wonder he didn’t get the point of this beautiful, well-acted drama.
[Ismail] Merchant and [James] Ivory are masters at their craft, and there’s much more to their films than just elaborate costumes and breathtaking sets. I think this fine film bored Steve Ramos because he only has a firm grasp of obvious.
A. Ray, Cincinnati
Talking Back
Some of the responses to last week’s BackBeat question: “Match three of your favorite (or least favorite) odors with their sources distinctive to Cincinnati, the city of many smells!”:
JERRY: Gag me with a spoon. Raw sewage smell on Sixth Street via Metropolitan Sewer District. Noxious eyeburning, nose-burning fumes on Eighth Street via Queen City Barrel. Dual sewage and chemical smell emits from drain at Seventh and Main.
DAVE HOLMES: Oktoberfest: Nothing like it! Taste of Cincinnati: Can smell it already. White Castle: When you open the steaming bag.
Give It
Up
Volunteer opportunities out therefor those who want to buck the trend
BY JOHN FOX
Arecent Gallup Survey on giving and volunteering suggests that overall U.S. volunteerism is declining: 54 percent of Americans volunteered in 1989, compared to 51 percent in 1991 and 48 percent in 1993. During the same period overall household charitable giving fell 11 percent.
Now is as good a time as any to consider these trends, since we’re in the midst of National Volunteer Week (April 23-29). Americans take pride in our commitment to each other and our willingness to help those in need. From the Peace Corps to the Red Cross, ordinary people have always reached out to aid friends and strangers alike especially in times of crisis.
And the downward trend statistics obscure important facts in the Gallup report: More than 89 million Americans volunteered their time in 1993, donating an average of 4.2 hours per week; those donated hours were the equivalent of almost 9 million full-time employees; the estimated market value of this donated time was $182 billion.
Yet the study trend shows declining participation in charitable activities and volunteering. Experts debate the reasons, from a fragmentation of the family unit and society as a whole to more selfish baby-boomer lifestyles. Has increasing crime made us less interested in aiding strangers? Have hard economic times caused us to be tighter with our money? Is organized religion and its teachings on selfless charity still relevant?
Perhaps Americans have been desensitized by the lack of moral leadership from our national political figures and the public disgrace of many national religious figures. Maybe we just don’t have much free time anymore.
Grapevine a national newsletter on volunteerism that published the Gallup findings, suggested steps to help turn around falling interest in volunteering and giving:
Asking people to volunteer; the Gallup study indicates they are four times more likely to volunteer if asked.
Increasing membership in religious, civic, service, alumni, political and professional organizations; such groups are associated with higher levels of volunteering.
Increasing payroll deduction plans for contributions.
Getting young people involved in volunteering; adults who volunteered as teen-agers are among those most active in volunteering and giving.
Making it easier for people to deduct charitable contributions from their taxes.
CINCINNATI CITYBEAT accepts letters for publication.
THIS M«IUHWf|kl by TQM
TOMORROW
political parties often coordinate a preDETERMINED ‘LINE OF TVlE DAY’-FAXING OUT 'TALKING POINTS' TO 8E REITERATED DURING NEWS INTERVIEWS 4 PUBLIC APPEARANCES, RUSH UMSAOGW HAS SEEN EXPLAINING THIS FACT OF POLITICAL LIFE To HIS TV VIEWERS lATELY-ST SHOWING CUPS OF VARIOUS DEMOCRATS WHO ARE OBVIOUSLY READING FROM THE SAME SCRIPT—
mail to: Letters, Cincinnati CityBeat
23 E. Seventh St., Suite 617 Cincinnati, OH 45202
fax TO! 513/665-4369
ADDRESS E-MAIL TO: 71633.1l@compuserve.com
COMPUSERVE: 71633,11
Please include the letter
writer’s name, address and daytime phone number.
Writers may request their names be withheld from publication. Letters may be edited for length. Please type letters if possible.
wt DO not know IF HIS AUDIENCE’S APPREC1ATivE SNICKERS ARE A MEASURE OF THEiR I6H0RANCE OR THEIR HYPOCRISY, GIVEN IttAT THE REPUBLICANS HAVE ELEVATED THE USE OF TALKING POINTS H> AN ART FORM SINCE LAST NOVEMBERDEMOCRATS ARE EVIL INCARNATE.' Sr IN FACT, AS FAR AS WE CAN TELL. THE ABILITY TO MINDLE55LY RECITE THE PASTY LINE IS 1HE ONLY SKILL REQUIRED OF REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVES THESE DAYS...
minim amnion
Heimlich: Dramatic Reasons - for Stadium Changes
Dramatic changes call for dramatic changes, Cincinnati City Councilman Phil Heimlich said.
Heimlich’s recent announcement that he will lead the Charge for a new Bengals stadium could be called a dramatic change. It came in response to Bengals General Manager Mike Brown’s threat to relocate the team, possibly to Baltimore.
In a Cincinnati Post pre-election questionnaire pubfished Oct. 18, 1993, Heimlich said he did not support a new stadium for the Bengals.
Why do the Bengals deserve a new stadium now?
“The situation on the Bengals has changed dramatically...,” Heimlich said. “Everything comes down to competition. If it weren’t for other cities vying for the Bengals, we wouldn't be in the position of having to build a new stadium."
At the time of the questionnaire, the Bengals did not have that interest from other cities, Heimlich said.
NANCY FIROB
Yard Waste’s Broken Rules
Cincinnati City Council has been debating what to do about the pick-up and disposal of yard waste. A proposal to repeal the city requirement that residents separate yard waste from other waste has been among the possible solutions.
That requirement was in response to House Bill 592, which regulates disposal of solid waste in landfills.
The bill recommended that yard waste be banned from landfills by Dec. 1, 1993. It was left to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) to come up with the regulations that would govern the ban, but the agency did not meet its deadline in drafting regulations.
The state handed the plan’s regulation to the OEPA without giving the OEPA the authority to regulate the sources of the problem, said Carol Porter, assistant chief of the OEPA's public interest center in Columbus.
“The OEPA does not have the authority to regulate either yard waste generators (those who produce yard waste) or transporters,” Porter said. “The only area for the EPA to regulate was the landfills themselves.”
As of Feb. 1, 1995, the OEPA made it illegal to dispose of source-separated waste yard waste separated from garbage at the site it came from in landfills, if a composting center was available within the same county. Cincinnati regulations make it illegal to mix yard waste with other garbage, forcing yard waste producers into composting their yard waste.
Cincinnati residents can either pay Rumpke a fee to have their yard waste picked up or voluntarily dispose of their yard waste at drop-off sites where the yard waste is taken to composting centers run by private companies. But state law is not enforced and in some instances does not make sense, said Karl Graham, director of the Cincinnati Office of Environmental Management.
For example, “if a landfill has a policy that restricts it from accepting yard waste it can accept yard waste,” Graham said. “If a landfill doesn’t have a policy that restricts it from accepting yard waste, it can’t accept yard waste. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
What is the OEPA doing to make the law more enforceable?
Nothing, Porter said.
What will happen to city residents who don't separate their yard waste from other waste?
Probably nothing, Graham said. Though they can be cited for a minor misdemeanor for a first offense, it is more likely the haulers simply will refuse to collect the mixed waste assuming they are able to detect it.
ELIZABETH CAREY
BURNING QUESTIONS is our weekly attempt to afflict the comfortable.
News&Views
An Alternative Look at How and Why It Happened
Wary on Walnut
Some business owners fear beingforced out by who want to open shop near Aronoff Center
BY NANCY FIROR
Some Walnut Street business owners are on edge over negotiations between building owners and those who want to move into the entertainment district around the Aronoff Center for the Arts.
The negotiations a result of Downtown Cincinnati Inc.’s (DCI) effort to recruit an appropriate mix of businesses to surround the under-construction arts center have some business owners fearing they will be harmed by terms their landlords agree to.
“We really have no say,” said Quintino Aracri, owner of Roma Pizza at 609 Walnut St., who rents space from a company in Columbus.
“The powers that be have all the cards.... I realize they want national titles, but they’ve got to give us local guys a chance, too.... We’ve been suffering here for the last three years. The foot traffic has been cut in half. I’ve been hanging on, hoping that (the center) brings business back.”
DCI officials say the negotiations between building owners, developers, retailers and restaurants are not about forcing anyone out. But, they say, as a result of negotiations, some business owners might eventually leave their current locations.
“The powers that be have all the cards. I realize they want national titles, but they’ve got to give us local guys a chance, too.... We’ve been suffering here for the last three years.”
QUINTINO ARACRI, OWNER OF ROMA PIZZA
DCI, a private, non-profit organization formed to spur downtown revitalization, is committed to helping any business that ends up
DCI officials would tions except to say But Adele Gutterman, & Sweets at 637 Walnut building already had ness was staying, though details. Gutterman, too, instead of Aronoff Center relocation of the Hamilton Human Services from Parkway.
WALNUT: FROM PAGE 5
Aronoff Center),” he said.
Still under construction, the Aronoff Center is scheduled to open in October.
The planned entertainment district spans Sixth and Seventh streets from Main Street to Ruth Lyons Alley, between Vine and Walnut streets.
Greiwe said efforts were aimed at achieving, in each case, one of the following outcomes:
A property owner would assume risk by borrowing money and renovating his property.
A property owner would lease his building to a company that would develop the property, assuming the risk on improvements; bring in a new business; or negotiate an agreement in which a current tenant remains but possibly takes a new format.
A property owner and a company become equity partners and both assume development risk.
A property owner sells the property to the existing tenant business.
DCI, Greiwe said, has kept building and business owners updated on development plans by inviting them to special meetings. John Shilleh, owner of Gold Star Chili at 629 Walnut St., said he attended two of those meetings but came away without knowing what development in the area would mean for his business.
“All they do is talk about how great the area is going to be,” said Shilleh, who has owned the business since 1978. “(The problem) is not only that we don’t
know what’s happening but also that they made the area a dead retail area.”
Uncertainty lingers
Because of arts center construction, Shilleh said his business had been cut in half for the past nine months to a year. And because the building’s owner, A1 Schavel, had not told Shilleh what his specific plans were, Shilleh said he was left to deal with uncertainty.
Schavel told CityBeat that he was negotiating with a company, introduced to him by DCI, that was interested in buying his building, but that nothing had been decided.
Shilleh, who estimates it will cost $100,000 to relocate his business, has two or three years left on his lease, Schavel said.
“I would be glad to move if they gave me the money,” Shilleh said.
Moving also is not an affordable answer for Carlos Otero, owner of Penn Station Steak & Sub at 633 Walnut St.
Though Otero said his lease was in effect until 2004, the building’s owner could cancel the lease for $50,000 an amount that depreciates every year and likely would not cover relocation costs, which Otero estimates at $50,000 to $70,000.
In addition, Otero said he still owed a significant debt on his business and would like the opportunity to benefit from new customers the Aronoff Center would bring.
But some say African-Americans are not getting positions ofpower in newsrooms
BY ELIZABETH CAREY
Minorities are gaining representation in the ranks of local media, but some say that their visibility far outweighs their power in the newsroom.
The most notable improvements can be seen nightly on Cincinnati television news. Recent anchor switches have put Courtis Fuller, Clyde Gray, Dave Burchell and Dayna Eubanks, all AfricanAmericans, in primetime news anchor slots. But some of those involved disagree on whether efforts to racially balance local news ranks have been substantial enough.
Courtis Fuller, co-anchor of the 5:30 p.m. newscast on WLWT, Channel 5, sees the issue as part of a continuing trend to have African-American anchors in proportion to the station’s viewing audience.
“I would hope that television stations are hiring because of (reporters’ and anchors’) quality of work,” Fuller says. “But, I imagine that some are hired to target specific audience members.”
Andrews’ maternity leave, the three local network stations have at least one allwhite anchor team at either 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m. or 6 p.m. Each station also has at least one mixed-race anchor team at those same time slots.
hold market the statistic most quoted in ratings wars. Channel 12 General
Manager William Moll says the station always is looking to increase viewers, but that it is not courting any specific audience segment.
“We court all viewers in the market,” Moll says. “We try to put on a really good newscast and hope that people like it.”
He says all voices are encouraged to propose story ideas at meetings. If an employee argues his or her point well enough, Burchell says the story will be heard, regardless of his or her cultural background.
“Here at Channel 12, merely being in the story meetings and being strong enough with a good story is enough to get the story on the air,” Burchell says. “We have more AfricanAmerican talent on the air than any other station in the area, I think. Whether there has been improvement as a whole, I don’t know. But by sheer numbers, (African-Americans) have a bigger voice here.”
“You see three or four AfricanAmericans on the air at each station, but there’s no representation of them in management. There’s no diversity at the top. That’s what affects what filters down as news. There definitely needs to be more diversity at the top.”
COURTIS FULLER, WLWT CO-ANCHOR
While there has been an increase in the visibility of African-Americans as anchors, these positions are not the positions of power that are necessary to affect the diversity of news presented each day, he says.
“You see three or four AfricanAmericans on the air at each station, but there’s no representation of them in management,” Fuller says. “There’s no diversity at the top. That’s what affects what filters down as news. There delinitely needs to be more diversity at the top.”
Clyde Gray, co-anchor of WCPO, Channel 9 news at 5:30 p.m., agrees. The power within the media still lies in the hands of a “uniformly monolith whitemale establishment,” he says.
“Those who hold the power are not willing to relinquish it to others,” Gray says. “The only solution 1 see is for peopie of color to buy their own television stations, magazines, newspapers and radio stations. He who controls the purse strings controls the future.”
But Dave Burchell, a WKRC, Channel 12 news anchor, says that isn’t true at his station.
In November 1994, Channel 5 switched from an African-American for its 6 a.m. news anchor, Barbara Cain, to an all-white team of Terry Daniels and Lisa Cooney. Channel 5’s weekend broadcast, once the starting point for AfricanAmerican anchors at the station, now is dominated by white anchors
Fuller would not comment on what type of trend this showed for the station, saying that any judgment should be leveled at the media as a whole.
“Judging industrywide is better judgment than looking at one apple,...” he says. “All of us, whether at Channel 5 or in Cincinnati, we can do better.”
“Here at Channel 12, merely being in the story meetings and being strong enough with a good story is enough to get the story on the air.”
Fuller says he thinks diversity likely has helped the station’s ratings.
“The fact that I’m on Channel 5 brings more people to the table,” Fuller says. “Not just African-Americans, but other nationalities and cultures who just happen to like my focus.”
Lawrence Beaupre, editor of The Cincinnati Enquirer, says that minority hiring is “more than just hiring bodies.”
By recruiting at minority job fairs and other minority-rich corporate atmospheres, Beaupre says that The Enquirer looks for quality people over skin colors.
“Our goal is to reflect our readership,” Beaupre says.
“Our survey shows that the minority population of (Greater Cincinnati) is about 13 percent. We have an editorial staff that is roughly 15 percent minority, including our editors and managerial staff.”
Beaupre points to Everett J. Mitchell, the newspaper’s assistant managing editor for local news, as a minority in a position of power. Mitchell’s duties include determining what stories are of interest to local readers, which ultimately leaves him in control of what local news readers see, Beaupre says.
He says minority hiring and affirmative action should be voluntary instead of forced, even though, under Gannett policy, success in minority hiring is one of the performance markers that determine the salaries of managers such as Beaupre.
Some say developments on local television news, however, are not as progressive.
While Eubanks and Burchell, the first African-American news anchor team in Cincinnati, anchored the 5:30 p.m. broadcast on Channel 12 during Kit
In the most recent ratings poll of area newscasts, Channel 12 won the house
Moll agrees with Fuller that the industry can do better. While Channel 12 actively pursues women and AfricanAmericans, station managers would like to do better in putting more minorities in positions throughout the newsroom, including those of producers and directors, he says. Moll points out that there is just one African-American director in Channel 12% newsroom: Frank Stewart, director of the weekday 5 p.m. news. Moll says that the station’s quarterly reports to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must detail their minority staff and that the FCC provides guidelines to assist in hiring minorities. These guidelines require that minority hiring be equal to at least half of the percentage of minorities within a community-
Every Tuesday afternoon, from mid-May through mid-October, a grocery bag full of vegetables arrives at John Schmidt’s office in downtown Cincinnati. A bouquet of brightly colored flowers waves out from the bag, prompting co-workers to stop and admire.
On a porch across town, Dave Kennedy searches through an assortment of grocery bags for one with his name on it. He then selects a handful of flowers from a bucket.
Schmidt and Kennedy are members of a communitysupported garden at Grailville, and for the entire harvest season they will receive a weekly selection of organic vegetables picked fresh on the same day they’re delivered. They also are part of a growing movement known as Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), which aims at reconnecting food consumers with food growers.
In a time of wonder technolo-gies that produce square tomatoes whose shape has been engineered to pack better into boxes, increasing numbers of people are searching in their own communities for fresh, more healthful food.
Three local CSAs
Community Supported Agriculture was introduced to the United States in 1985, its seeds planted by two energetic proponents: Trauger Groh, who moved from Germany to New Hampshire and helped form the Temple Wilton Community Farm, and Jan Van der Tuin, who experienced community farming in Switzerland. CSAs, as the individual farms are commonly called, are popular not only in Europe but also in Japan, where one large CSA links 1,300 families with 32 farmers. Since the mid-1980s, CSAs have sprouted and taken root around this country, and now roughly 400 CSAs are in operation nationwide.
Cincinnati is finally getting into the act. The Grailville CSA in Loveland is in its second year of operation, and two more Echo Ridge CSA, which will deliver to
Cincinnati customers from a farm in Bracken County, Ky., and Turner Farm CSA in Indian Hill are just getting started with the 1995 growing season.
The community-supported garden or farm consists of a group of consumers who contract with a grower to receive the fruits of the harvest. By connecting directly with the grower of their food, consumers can receive fresher produce and
gain a richer appreciation of what’s involved in farming. In many cases, people stay with the same farmer from year to year and are able to develop a sense of ownership in “their” farm. The farmer completes the marketing effort in winter, before the growing season, thus leaving time to concentrate on growing quality food.
Variously called sharers, subscribers or members, the customers who participate in CSAs pay in advance for an entire growing season. Share prices range from $250 to $550 depending upon the length of the season, usually for enough produce to feed two to four people. This averages out to $10-$ 15 per week comparable perhaps to a supermarket budget and is well below health-food store costs for organic produce. Some CSAs offer partial shares for individuals.
Sharers receive what amount to discounted produce rates in exchange for cash up-front, making funds available to the farmqr just when expenses are highest. CSA growers then can pay for seed, labor, greenhouse operations and supplies without going into debt. And the farmer does not have to wait until well into the growing season to be paid for his or her hard work.
Subscribers also share with the grower the risks inherent in farming. Each year brings the possibility of drought or damaging rains and cold or hot spells, and typically the farmer shoulders the entire risk. Farmers also tend to grow large amounts of a single crop, called mono-cropping, but a single crop is especially vulnerable to adverse weather and disease an all-or-nothing gamble. CSA growers usually minimize the risk of loss by planting a wide variety of crops, whose contrasting temperature and moisture needs balance out through each turn of the weather. And rather than grow varieties that are genetically engineered for uniformity and for the toughness needed to withstand mechanical harvesting and long transport, CSA growers instead can choose varieties for flavor and nutritional content.
Pressures from financial risk and constant debt have caused a steady decline in the numbers of people who
grow food, and farms have consolidated into mega-farms increasingly under the control of large corporations. Agriculture is now agribusiness, and giant factory farms have rendered the family farmer almost extinct. Census figures showed that 40 percent of the U.S. population in 1900 lived on farms; by 1990, that number was 1.9 percent.
By making it possible for small growers to actually make a living, CSA members are opposing the factoryfarming trend. But educating consumers to take on some of the farmer’s financial risk takes time, says Kennedy, who with his wife, Laura, are second-year subscribers in the Grailville CSA. Last year they discussed the risk issue with Wendy Carpenter, Grailville’s main gardener, who assured them that any losses would be made up by
CONTINUES ON PAGE 10
Learn About CSAs
For more information on Community Supported Agriculture, contact these organizations: CSA of North America Inc.: 818 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20006. Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association: Box 02234, Columbus, OH 43202. 614-294-FOOD. The Southwestern Ohio regional representative is Bob Henson, Wilmington. 513-987-2165. The Farm Tours contact is Madonna Brock, Box 14, Goshen, OH 45122. 513-732-9134. The Farm Link contact is Holly Harmon Fackler, 419-687-4761. Echo Ridge CSA: Clark Goslee, 681-8851. Goslee will make a presentation on permaculture and CSAs as part of Winton Place Days. The event will begin at 7 p.m. May 11 in New Jerusalem Community Center, 745 Derby Ave., Winton Place. 541-4748. Grailville CSA: Maiy Lu Lageman, 683-2341. Turner Farm CSA: Bonnie Mitsui, 561-8482. An excellent source of information on CSAs is Farms ofTomorrow, a book on community supported farms by Trauger Groh (Bio-Dynamic Literature, 1990; Bio-Dynamic Farming and Gardening Association Inc., P.O. Box 550, Kimberton, PA 19442).
Amy Orr sows a row
Amy Orr (left) and Wendy Carpenter examine small onion shoots to be planted at Grailville in Loveland.
SaraLynne TTioresen weeds at Turner Farm CSA in Indian Hill.
CSA: FROM PAGE 9
extending the harvest season in the greenhouse or by partial refund.
As it turned out, the only crop “failure” was sweet com which was eaten by a corn-loving Grailville intern.
Knowing who’s eating the food
Grailville gardeners have for years been finding markets for the produce that comes from the rich soil there. They’ve gained a reputation locally for garlic, which, along with other surplus crops and fresh herbs, has been sold to area healthfood stores as well as the Loveland Kroger’s. Their burgeoning produce stand also has become a regular shopping stop for area residents.
The CSA concept has been known to staff there for several years. Mary Lu Lageman, who heads Grailville’s farm and garden operations, remembers thinking “at the time that it would take a lot of work. We would have to be able to follow through on a commitment to consumers.”
For two or three years, Grailville staff prepared the soil, so to speak, by documenting garden yields. They tested the CSA concept two years ago by offering a mixed weekly bag of produce for $10. The CSA started with 12 subscribers and has been increased this year to 25.
“From the grower’s perspective, I like knowing at the beginning of the season how much we need to be growing,” Carpenter says. “But what I like the most is knowing who’s eating our food and having a direct relationship with the customers.”
Last year, Carpenter included with the produce a weekly newsletter to keep subscribers in touch with garden happenings and to include recipes for using less familiar vegetables. Grailville offers a wide vanety of produce more than 40 types of fresh vegetables and herbs, from carrots and potatoes to arugula and radicchio.
“I liked the seasonal aspect of the harvest, getting just what was coming out of the garden,” subscriber Dave Kennedy says. “I never did like chard much, but the CSA reintroduced it to us, and I’ve learned to like it.”
Learning to eat what’s locally available
and in season motivates many to try Community Supported Agriculture.
A sustainable living
A Day on the Farm
Fat red earthworms lie sluggish with the cold in the soil turned up by my garden fork. I’m preparing a garden bed for carrots, working sand, compost and lime into the Ohio clay. It’s a typical spring garden day at Turner Farm CSA, where I’m one of a team of three part-time gardeners who’ll be tending vegetables for seven families.
It being our first year in this project, we’ve decided to start small. We just met with our subscribers today, and they are excited about getting their vegetables from practically in their own neighborhood. They also want their children to see where vegetables come from, and to work a bit in tending their food. I feel thrilled that they’re willing to entrust me with growing their food, and I’m hoping the weather will give us good harvests.
“Shipping food from California to prime farm country like Indiana and Ohio is pretty strange if you think about it,” says Clark Goslee, an aspiring CSA grower from Northside. Even in rural areas, he says, people are relying on transported food rather than growing their own. Goslee scouted around markets in Bracken County, where he will be growing vegetables this year at Echo Ridge CSA, and “was surprised to see how there was all this heavily packaged, highly processed food in an area full of farms.”
U.S. food production makes available a vast supply of cheaply priced vegetables but is energy intensive. Petroleum is used to run large farm machinery for plowing, cultivating and harvesting. Petroleum also is used in fertilizers and pesticides. Food is trucked across the country. Then there’s the refrigeration cost at the markets.
That Americans can find virtually any vegetable in any month of the year such as broccoli in January is a bizarre luxury when one becomes accustomed to eating in season. Concerned with the unsustainability of this system, many consumers are turning to local sources for their food.
“It makes so much sense,” says Steve Smith, a third-generation farmer who lives near Louisville, of Community Supported Agriculture.
Jean-Pierre Schwartz, a spokesman for Community Supported Agriculture through the organization CSA of North America and himself a sharer on the 100-member Chesapeake CSA near Washington, D.C., foresees a dramatic shift in food economics “when some major catastrophe happens in California.”
As a conventional farmer in earlier years, Smith says his only way to financial success was by “mono-cropping lots of tobacco.” He also tried conventional vegetable crops for about five years, but as a small-scale farmer marketing his crops in competition with mass-produced vegetables from big growers, he was working hard and making little. Marketing presented a double bind: In a good year, vegetables were too abundant and brought low prices.
“I look at CSA as an insurance against the time when we no longer have California produce,” he says, citing the recent flooding there as a glimpse of the possibilities.
Paying off his farm mortgage was a dim prospect, Smith says, and he began looking for other ways to sell his produce. He says his turning point came when an acre of ripe tomatoes rotted in his field because market prices had bottomed out. He learned of the CSA idea and decided to give it a try.
The garden waits to be tended. I’ve got to water the beds where carrots, onions, parsley and parsnips seem to be taking forever to germinate. Check on the tomato seedlings in the warm greenhouse. Thin and transplant baby lettuces. Admire the peas, which are all standing several inches tall. Thin the turnips. Weed the spinach.
Now in his sixth year as a communitysupported farmer, Smith supplies all of the vegetable needs for 92 families on three acres of certified organic land. He farms with draft horses, but few of his customers actually see this process; he brings the fruits of the harvest weekly to a church close to town, where his customers arrive to fill a half-bushel basket with their share of each crop.
As I work, a constant chorus and chatter of birdsong fills my ears. In a month, our subscribers will be receiving the first harvests. This food will, I hope, be nourishing to body and soul. They will have walked the garden and have seen the plants sprout from the soil; they will know that it is free of synthetic chemicals and can’t be any fresher. Providing the basics for good health and a connection with the earth; what work could be more rewarding?
There are other hidden costs in our apparently cheap and plentiful vegetables: medical treatment for farm laborers made ill by toxic chemicals; farm subsidies; and environmental degradation, including the loss of topsoil and contamination of water supplies. Bonnie Mitsui, owner of Turner Farm, which is launching a modest CSA in Indian Hill with seven subscribers, says that “living in California sensitized me to the issues of organic agriculture.”
“I know.aU too well that conventional farming as a small grower doesn’t make any money,” Smith says. “I get my premium from having a sustainable way of life, seeing my land improve from year to year, and from knowing the folks who eat my vegetables.”
CSAs vary widely in arrangements for member involvement in the farm work. Some offer “working shares” in which sharers pay for their produce by helping tend, harvest and distribute crops. Some subscriber groups don’t see the garden at all, content to receive their produce by delivery. Some farmers want members to think of the farm as their own and encourage them to visit often.
KAREN AMELIA ARNETT
“We like to encourage (consumers) to get out and see where the food’s coming from,” says Grailville’s Lageman. Turner Farm CSA is requiring one work-day per season from its subscribers, several of whom have already asked about bringing their kids out for a family gardening expe-
An artist and designer by profession, Mitsui considers herself on a “mission” to support local farms and farmers and to promote organic agriculture. She and co-gardeners will require their subscribers to pick up their weekly vegetable share at the farm so that the customers actually see their food in the process of growing.
rience. Turner’s Mitsui says she sees the CSA “as a way of involving the community in this farm. It’ll help me to feel supported as a grower and maybe will be a way to convince a few people of the importance of organic methods.”
Goslee, a city-dweller who has been edueating himself in the art of growing vegetables and who is launching a CSA this year, says that “it’s strange for people not to know where their food comes from. Food is a most intimate part of our lives, a relationship.”
He hopes to tend this relationship, along with his garden rows, on a farm about 45 miles from Cincinnati. Even with the lack of farming experience, he says a number of people have expressed interest and a willingness to support his effort. “I don’t have a long resume. This is very much of an adventure, an experiment, for me.”
SaraLynne Thoresen, one of three co-gardeners at Turner Farm, has been interested in Community Supported Agriculture ever since learning of it at Grailville four years ago. “It’s such a flexible idea,” she says. “It can be big or small. It’s something I felt 1 could do even in my own backyard. The CSA can be as small as an empty urban lot or can encompass over 100 members.”
The common denominator is the direct link between consumers and producers. Sclunidt says that “in the long run, I’d like to see everybody who buys food know somebody who grows food.”
A 'warm’ endeavor
As evidence of growing consumer and farmer support for Community Supported Agriculture, the Ohio
CoverStory
Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA), the statewide forum for organic and sustainable agriculture, has selected “community marketing” as its theme for 1995. Its annual summer farm tour will visit CSAs around Ohio.
Madonna Brock, OEFFA vice president, says the organization can provide resources to help those who would like to start a CSA. Would-be subscribers can contact the OEFFA office in Columbus, the southwest Ohio office in Wilmington or the farm tour’s committee representative. There’s also a new program, Farm Link, which will facilitate linking aspiring farmers with land-owning retiring farmers.
In addition, Brock suggests CSA proponents call the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s county extension agent and the local Soil and Water Conservation agent, both of whom are in regular contact with area farmers.
When harvest day rolls around, Smith says he and co-workers meet their sharers with a bountiful harvest of 10 to 15 types of vegetables and herbs, all freshly picked. He writes in this year’s letter to subscribers that “our weekly rendezvous has become almost a tradition.... It is a gathering of people, the provisioning of homes, giving thanks to the earth, and of course a no vote to factory farming.”
“The community thing is the most impressive aspect of it all when folks gather here,” Smith says by telephone. He pauses, fishing for the right words. “It’s real warm.”
Afew weeks ago, there was a book drive in my neighborhood.
Organized by some skinheads, they called it, simply, “Give Us Your F***king Books.” When they came to my door, they explained that since they eschew (my word) reading, they were short on books. To bum, that is.
Always one to help dangerous people in pursuits that have the potential to catch them on fire, I decided to donate a few volumes.
Besides, they’d encircled the family cat on the porch and one kid mentioned owning a Popiel dehydrator/jerky maker.
I went to my library and took an old sociology textbook from one of the shelves. A good choice, I thought, since its proximity to the toilet tended to interfere with the flush handle. But just to make sure this was a book I could part with, I decided to give it a last flipthrough. The sound of Doc Martens & Manx told me to shift into Evelyn Wood.
The book transported me back to my college days. The mere sight of a winestained page sent my liver spinning into a “Boone’s Farm” flashback. Steadying myself, I concentrated on the words beneath the stain. It was a list, one that rank-ordered the prestige value of more than 90 professions. Hmmm, now where would I find “Boone’s Farmer?”
Not at the top of the list. That slot was taken by “Supreme Court Justice.” I chuckled at the simplicity of the times. B.C. Before Clarence. In the days of the pre-pubic Coke. Back when a justice’s reference to the penal system probably didn’t refer to the plumbing of a person named “Long Dong.”
Of course, “President” sat pretty high on the prestige list, too. Then.
The sociologists couldn’t have predieted the six chief executives to come.
Let’s see there was Satan (resigned), the Bumbler, the Incompetent, the Napper, the Wimp and the Adulterer. Prestige? Must come with the limo. I skipped to the bottom of the list. Garbage collector. No surprise, I thought. A filthy, smelly, disgusting job, no wonder it doesn’t rate any respect. Then it hit me: This book was written before Ricky Lake was born; they must mean the guys in the truck.
Something else hit me: the cat. (Thrown all the way from the front door, kitty’s aerodynamics had been enhanced by shaving.) Time to stop lollygagging. I gathered up the sociology book plus a couple of other non-essentials (the coffeetable book Meals I’ve Purged by Kate Moss and Fire: The Amish Microwave) and delivered them to the boys.
Later that afternoon, while removing the spray-painted swastikas from the front of my house, used-car salesmen and insurance agents visited me. Not for real! Figuratively. In my thoughts. Thank God. For decades, those two professions had been enough for us. They had held the duopoly as the public’s punchlines. Our punching bags. The assiduously dissed. Now it’s everyone. Doctors. (“Hi, I’ll be playing God with your life today. You do have ‘playing God’ coverage, don’t you?”) Writers. (Alcoholics.) Salespeople. (Lie, lie, overpromise, exaggerate, lie, tell a half truth, get a check, walk away.) Athletes. (The only millionaires who make spelling errors when endorsing paychecks.) Lawyers. (Your joke here.) Home contractors. (The only thing more important to them than your phone call is not returning it.)
Is there one profession not yet excoriated? Accountant? If yours isn’t boring, check his math. Police Officer? “I saw a black man get pulled over for speeding the other night... and a hockey game broke out.” Priest? Don’t drop your Psalter in the seminary.
I swear there’s nobody left. Respect by virtue of profession and for profession is dead. We can kiss the old prestige list and all it meant good-bye. And you know what that means. Some egghead somewhere is writing another sociology book. ROBERT
Bonnie Mitsui, owner of Turner Farm in Indian Hill.
Close To Home
SP1III1IALITV
BY JOHN YOUNG
Sparks of Light and Life
During the late 1980s major news publications began reporting stories about the “new age’’ of spirituality.
Admittedly, when I first heard of the New Age and its earth-centric paganism, believed it only to be a fad.
It was not. While many of my personal beliefs run parallel to paganism, could not believe in a natural return of many to the Paganus, the peasant beliefs. After this interview with Ken Deigh, the editor of Cincinnati-based Mezlim magazine, I have hopes that this renewed interest in common spirituality is permanent.
Deigh is an intelligent man with a very calm demeanor. Aside from editing he also functions as the magazine's art director and circulation manager. “I'm the one who basically makes it happen with the feedback from my associates,” he says. His friends Keter Elan and Donna Stanford-Blake are the associate editor and editorial .assistant, respectively.
The magazine is published every three and a half months, on the "cross-quarters" of the year. The cross quarters are determined by the ancient Celtic “wheel of the year”: Samhain (Halloween), Imbolc (Feb. 2), Beltane (May Day) and Lughnasdh (late summer).
The cover art on each issue is an attention grabber; different artists contribute their work. "People respond to their senses," Deigh says, explaining why Mezlim goes to the expense of a four-color cover.
The inside cover page says the word “mezlim" derives "from the Aramaic version of the Hebrew word MazeI (as in Mazel Tov). It means, literally, ‘the influence of the divine,’ or ‘the sparks emanating from Kether,’ the Crown of the Tree of Life.”
These sparks of creation, Deigh hopes, are captured and explained by the articles in each issue. While most of the content is pagan, the writers who submit articles are from a variety of spiritual pathways, including Christian. “We like to bring together writers who are earth-centered in their spirituality and who are looking to expand the envelope of their spirituality. We look for peopie who are magically oriented, people who believe we can interact more directly with the cosmos and the Divine rather than putting it on the other side of a priesthood.
“The promotions for Mezlim we put in other publications say, ‘Have you ever felt like dancing all night in the full moon to the sound of drums and ancient chants? If so you may be the type of person who would like to read Mezlim,' he says.
The editorial policy extracts growth-oriented, life-affirming, non-sexist and constructive material for publication.
Only 20 percent of the submissions are from Greater Cincinnati. Even though the magazine is printed locally, it is mainly distributed on the East and West coasts. Each issue has 2,500 copies, 15 of which are sent as far away as the Atlantis bookshop in London.
Though it has a limited amount of copies, “The magazine gets around,” Deigh says with a laugh.
The general response to the magazine is “very favorable, although sometimes we receive the obligatory Christian tracts," he says. “It’s interesting that some Christians have such tunnel vision that everything’s their way or it’s satanic. This same mentality permeates the ranks of the fundamentalists. It never occurs to them that there was anything that predated Christianity.
“With Mezlim we try to reveal options that are available.”
As the cover page states, “So in our own way we are attempting to bring a few ‘sparks of the divine’ into the world through our magickal [sic] labor of love: Mezlim.”
For information, write to Mezlim, c/o N’Chi, P.0. Box 19566, Cincinnati, OH 45219.
In his monthly column, JOHN YOUNG explores the diversity of spirituality in the Tristate.
Looking for Mr. Goodbyte
Proponents say sex on-line frees and inhibitions
BY ELIZABETH CAREY
Some of the more popular aspects of commercial software packaging are the chat rooms of America Online (AOL). While many users view the chat rooms as places to meet people from around the country, if not the world, others use them as a place to fulfill their wildest sexual desires or to indulge in that quintessential fantasy sex with a stranger.
Available to all users of America OnLine, as well as on some other on-line services chat rooms run the gamut from areas devoted to Star Trek, “Star Trek Academy”; to meet-and-greet places like the “New Member Lounge” and “The Flirts’ Nook”; to areas devoted to the continuation of stories, such as the “Red Dragon Inn.”
Here one can not only meet other users, but one also can get to know people through conversations and IMs (instant messages).
Within these areas, users are asked to abide by the laws set by AOL. No ethnic slurs, no overt sexual references (i.e. no explicit description of genitalia) and no vulgar language. AOL has complete control over the system by retaining the right to delete a member’s account for breaking the rules and by giving parents control over what their kids see.
themfrom physical realities Technology
being with someone in 3-D. There’s less distraction. You don’t have to worry about... a pimple on your nose.”
Yore also says that there’s an intensity that comes from the amount of work that goes into an on-line conversation. “You’re speaking totally and directly to them; you’re engaging and engaged,” Yore says. “Because you’re reading, you’re focused. You have to write, and that focuses you more.”
Another aspect of private rooms is that anything goes. Frequently, men pursue their fantasies by posing as women in the lesbian forums and other areas.
“On-line you’re getting raw thoughts. Plus it’s a medium that allows you to transcend the bullshit of being with someone in 3-D. There’s less distraction. You don’t have to worry about... a pimple on your nose.”
LOCAL USER
WHO GOES BY THE NAME OF TASHA YORE
Indeed, public chat rooms are closely monitored. Due to the sexual nature of the interests of their participants, supervisors recognize their chat rooms are more heavily scrutinized than areas that focus on other lifestyles, such as bowling.
Supervisors monitor discussions within chat rooms and act when necessary. (For instance, AOL recently shut down Courtney Love/Hole’s forum for vulgar language, drug dealing and sexually explicit discussion.)
The lure stems from the ability for users to create chat rooms based on their desires. In these member-created rooms, individual sexual tastes tend to permeate. Member rooms run the gamut from “Massive Bodybuilders” to “bif 4 bif to “Model 4 me in SF area.”
From these rooms, users can create their own private rooms, where consenting adults can discuss whatever they want to with other consenting adults. After meeting people in these areas, members sometimes couple off and enter private rooms to engage in cyber-sex. During cybersex, the room’s participants write their thoughts, actions and emotions to the other room participant(s) with the ultimate goal being sexual climax.
Tasha Yore, the on-line name of a local user, says the relationships are more intense than those off-line. “On-line you’re getting raw thoughts,” she says. “Plus it’s a medium that allows you to transcend the bullshit of
DeFantom, a male AOL user, says men pose as women “quite a lot. My old girlfriend and I swapped IDs one night. I got hit on all night by guys who thought I was really a woman.”
Yore, a member of a lesbian-of-color forum, says that many times the relationships become so intense that the men will go so far as to meet the women with whom they’ve been having on-line lesbian relationships. “Lots of times they will say, ‘It was so incredibly intense, I just thought she wouldn’t mind (being pursued by a man), she’d love me anyway.’
Apparently, the women do mind. Within the Gay and Lesbian forum there is a specific folder on the lesbian message board dedicated to cyber-predators, such as men pretending to be women on-line.
On some levels, cyber-sex seems to be the safest sex of all no disease or pregnancy. “It’s an emotional, not physical, sexual experience,” Yore says. “Lots of people masturbate. If you come, what’s the difference?”
But all is not roses though in the cyber-world. Despite information pertaining to each user on AOL, given by the users in their own personal profiles, the information is controlled and can be altered by those same users. In Timothy Leary’s words, “you can be anyone this time around.” Therein lies the problem. Users really cannot be sure with whom or what they are talking.
Unfortunately, many women, the definite minority on-line, fill out their user profiles with their real names and real cities of residence. This can leave these women vulnerable to real-life attacks. “There are sickos in the real world, ditto on the computer,” Yore says.
Proponents say on-line sex offers a way for users to experiment safely and reduce their inhibitions.
“I don’t see a big difference in my cyber-self and my 3-D persona,” Yore says. “I’m fairly obnoxious in both mediums. But, I think (being on-line) helped me in 3-D.
Not Just an Entertainment Calendar... A State of Mind
This Week’s Theme: Scary Stuff
There’s this URBAN MYTH about a young man, a friend of a friend, who got really drunk, passed out and woke up the next day with a STRANGE SCAR across his stomach. He goes to a doctor and finds out that one of his kidneys has mysteriously disappeared. The Association of Donor Recruitment Professionals is in town this week. So if you see one of them in a bar, go easy on the tequila. (See Events) The American Academy of Dermatologists has declared Monday to be Melanoma Monday. There will be free skin-cancer screenings, so take time from your busy schedule to have that strange brown spot on your body examined. (See Events.) VAMPIRES, not the Tom Cruise variety, have always been pretty scary. If you’re looking for a BLOODSUCKING good time, check out the original stage version of Dracula, at the Playhouse in the Park. (See Theater.) Director John Carpenter has remade Village of the Damned. Remember those creepy blond-haired, blue-eyed young
Birk
Utter Failure
children who killed, killed and killed? Knowledge” is on display at Semantics Gallery. This time it’s in color, so you can appreciate THE GORE. (See Film.) This is your last chance to catch David Birkey and Janalyn Glascock’s show at Semantics Gallery. (See Art.)
★ CityBeat staffs stamp of approval
STRIKE BACK: For those interested in not spending their hard-earned entertainment dollars on the “strike? what strike?” Cincinnati Reds home games, CityBeat recommends these alternatives: 12:35 p.m. Thursday, River Downs racing; 7:35 p.m. Tuesday, “Authenticity-in-Motion” classes with teacher Fanchon Shur; and 7:35 p.m. Wednesday, catch Martina McBride at Coyote's or the Sons of Elvis at Bogart's. Details follow in the listings.
To be included
SHAG WITH ROUNDHEAD AND STIR Funk/Alternative. 8:30 p.m. Friday. Bogart’s. 2621 Vine St., Corryville. $5.50/$6.50 day of show. 749-4949. BACK DOORS WITH BROTHERSN-ARMS Doors favorites. 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Bogart’s, 2621 Vine St., Corryville. $8.75/$10 day of show. 749-4949.
Submit information for CityBeat calendar listings in writing by noon Thursday, seven days before publication. Mail to: Billie Jeyes, Listings Editor, Cincinnati CityBeat, 23 E. Seventh St., Suite 617, Cincinnati, OH 45202. Fax: 665-4369.
★ CHARLIE HADEN’S QUARTET WEST Haden is one of Jazz music’s most talented and innovative bassists, and his Quartet West plays smoky, sleeky, “film noir”-inspired sounds. 8 p.m. Sunday. Renaissance Auditorium, Forest and Riverview avenues, Dayton, Ohio. $15. 513-223-3655.
Please include a contact name and daytime phone number.
★ GRANT LEE BUFFALO WITH THRONEBERRY Led by the powerful songwriting of front person Grant Lee Phillips, GLB hits Cincy in support of the folky. Alternative Mighty Joe Moon. 8 p.m. Sunday. Bogart’s, 2621 Vine St., Corryville. $7/$8 day of show. 749-4949.
★ STEVE MORSE BAND See
Saturday. Zarabanda World Cafe. 3213 Linwood Ave., Mount Lookout. 321-1347.
BOBBY SHARP TRIO Jazz. 8 p.m. Thursday and Sunday. Awakenings, 2734 Erie Ave., Hyde Park. 321-2525.
OLD TIME JAM SESSION Acoustic. 7 p.m. Thursday. Fitton Center for Creative Arts, 101 South Monument Ave., Hamilton. 863-8873.
THE EARL WALDMAN TRIO Jazz. 7:30 p.m. Friday. Barcelonas, 4858 Cooper Road, Blue Ash. 791-9191. THE METROPOLITAN BLUES ALL-STARS Blues. 6 p.m. Friday. Only Artists gallery, 1315 Main St., Downtown. 241-6672.
OPEN JAM WITH SONNY MOORMAN AND THE DOGS Eclectic open mic. 7 p.m. Sunday. Southgate House, 24 E. Third St., Newport. 929-2077.
OPEN MIC WITH NANCY LEE AND SYLVESTER, AND EUROPA Folk. 7 p.m. Sunday; open mic sign-up at 6:45 p.m. Leo Coffeehouse in the University YMCA, 270 Calhoun, Clifton. 321-8375. SQUAWK BOX World Folk. 4 p.m. Sunday. Books & Co., 350 E. Stroop Road, Dayton, Ohio. 513-297-6365.
WOODY EVANS TRIO Jazz. 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Taft Museum Music Room, 316 Pike St., Downtown. 241-0343.
BASSES ON TOP Jazz bass
David
ey’s “The Prince of
MUSIC
ALLYN’S CAFE
3538 Columbia Parkway, Columbia-Tusculum. 871-5779.
KNOTTY PINE BAR 6847 Cheviot Road, White Oak. 741-3900.
LOCAL 1207 1207 Main St., Downtown. 651-1207. LOGO'S 8954 Blue Ash Road, Blue Ash. 791-7700.
Structural Damage
Structural Damage is Morse’s slammin’ debut on High Street Records and features his road-tested trio, including bassist Dave LaRue and drummer Van Romaine.
It’s an adventurous romp that delivers the goods Morse is famous for - furious progressive rock, bluegrass-inspired electric hoe-downs, and hypnotic, classically-based acoustic guitar.
Best overallguitaristfive years in a row.
-Guitar Player Reader’s Poll
LONGWORTH'S 1108 St. Gregory St., Mount Adams. 579-0900.
MAIN STREET BREWERY 1203 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 665-4677.
MANSION HILL TAVERN 502 Washington St., Newport. 431-3538.
PLEASANT HOUR CAFE 6083 Montgomery Road, Pleasant Ridge. 731-7474. THE PROMONTORY 1111 St. Gregory, Mount Adams. 651-4777. QUIGGLEY’S DOWN UNDER 433 Johnson St., Covington. 431-3303. RIPLEYS 2507 W. Clifton Ave., Clifton. 861-6506. RIVERTOWN TAVERN 801 Sixth St., Dayton, Ky. 291-8719. SALAMONE’S 5800 Colerain Ave., Mount Airy. 385-8662.
SKIPPER’S LOUNGE 1752 Seymour Ave., Roselawn. 631-3212. SONNY’S CAFE AND LOUNGE 1227 California Ave., Bond Hill. 242-4579. SOUTHGATE HOUSE 24 E. Third St., Newport. 431-2201. STACHE’S 2404 N. High St., Columbus. 614-263-5318. THE STADIUM 16 S. Poplar St., Oxford, 513-523-4661. Come to the Cincinnati Record & CD Collectors Show Sunday, April 30th Holiday Inn-North 1-75, Exit 15 Sharon Rd. 10am-5pm
Quarter Million Compact Discs, Albums, 45s and Tapes. Lots of hard to find. Lots of deals. Cheap CDs. Imports. Thousands of albums for only $1 each.
Music from the 50’s through the 90’s. Rock, r Country, Jazz, Blues, Big Band, Soul, Rap, j Easy Listening, Metal, & Grunge!
SAVE-A-BUCK 1 General Admission $3 j ADM. Only $2 with Ad. [^(Discount good for 2 Admissions) Kids FreeJ
Catie Curtis
Buffalo Soldiers
Grant Lee Buffalo’s
‘Mighty Joe almost unanimous praisefrom and (increasingly) fans
INTERVIEW BY MIKE BREEN
Grant Lee Phillips, singer/guitarist/songwriter for L.A.-based Grant Lee Buffalo, says he can’t even remember a time when he'didn’t write music.
“When I was 13,1 picked up the guitar,” Phillips says, via phone from Tampa, Fla., two weeks into a tour with MTV darlings the Cranberries. “The day I learned two chords is the day that I started writing songs.”
The Phillips household also helped to plant musical seeds that inspired the curious, young, blossoming songwriter. “I picked up the guitar probably because I wanted to play along with Merle Haggard or Johnny Cash or one of the country stars whose records my parents had,” explains Phillips, stressing that the early influences are only a small part of his musical palette today.
“Those were just the records that were laying around the house. My parents’ records outnumbered my own. It was all these fellas singing about prisons and barrooms, and I found that kind of intriguing. Then I saw a television special about Lightning Hopkins, and that was mesmerizing. That sorta clinched for me that I had to play guitar.”
Since Phillips’ initial adolescent strums, he and bandmates Paul Kimble (bass) and Joey Peters (drums) have learned a few more chords and developed Phillips’ song sketches (he writes all the songs acoustically) into folky, organic and resplendent sonic paintings. The moods of
Moon’ gamers peers, critics
Music
(From left) Joey Peters, Paul Kimble and Grant Lee Phillips are Grant Lee Buffalo.
the songs from the group’s latest effort, Mighty Joe Moon, range from fragile and intimate (like the beautiful first single (“Mockingbirds”) to more physical and expansive rockers (“Lone Star”). But Phillips’ innately strong songwriting is what has garnered praise from critics, peers and (increasingly) the masses.
But, Phillips contends, there is a reason the word “buffalo” takes the place of his own last name in the band’s moniker it is a band, ’ya know.
Premiering The Billy Larkin Trio & Cincinnati’s Hottest Jazz Performers Eugene Goss, Sylvan Acher, Ann Chamberlain, Steve Schmidt AND OTHERS.
“It’s very much a collaboration,” he says, explaining why he has steered clear of being a solo artist. “Both Joe and Paul contribute parts to the songs. I never have to tell them what to play. In addition to playing the bass and drum, Paul might play piano and organ on a track, or Joe might put some on the hill
marimba down or some other percussion. You’d have to be there in the studio to understand how it works. It’s a mysterious thing. If it was that simple to explain how it’s done, we’d have it figured out and have a lot more records out than we do.”
So far, Mighty Joe is the second record from the group; Fuzzy, its debut, was released in 1993. The two powerful albums have helped to gamer the attention of famous fellow musicians who have asked the group to accompany them on tour. Bob Mould, members of Pearl Jam and Paul Westerberg have all lauded Grant Lee Buffalo’s unpretentious sound.
Most recently, the group was asked to tour Australia, Europe and Asia with REM. Phillips, who says he’s thrilled by the accolades and learns a lot from the veterans, believes the REM connection goes beyond name-dropping and inevitably assisted record sales.
“I’m happy to say that the best thing we got out of that relationship is a great friend,” he says, referring to the friendship he struck up with singer Michael Stipe. “That’s much more meaningful to me than any units sold. One of these days, I may throw my guitar away and be an astronaut. But at that point 1 would still hope to be friends with Michael.”
GRANT LEE BUFFALO takes brief break from the Cranberries tour for a stop at Bogart’s on Sunday. Opening is Cincy’s Throneberry.
FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY,
BOGART'S
IN THE UNIVERSITY VILLAGE
CALL THE 24-HR EVENTLINE: 281-8400
TICKETS: BOGART’S & TICKETMASTER
SHOWS BROUGHT TO YOU BY SUNSHINE PROMOTIONS ADAM ANT w/DWELLERS FRIDAY, MAY 5
KMFDM & DINK SATURDAY, JUNE 3
SHAG w / ROUNDHEAD & STIR FRIDAY, APRIL 28
BACK DOORS w/ BROTHERS-N-ARMS
SATURDAY, APRIL 29
SONS OF ELVIS w/ HOWLIN’ MAGGIE & GREAT UNCLE SHORT FUSE
WEDNESDAY, MAY 3
SPYRO GYRA w/ JOHN McCELLAN
SATURDAY, MAY 6
GRAHAM PARKER FRIDAY, MAY 19
DEL AMITRI w/ MELISSA FERRICK SATURDAY, MAY 20
JULIANA HATFIELD w/ JEFF BUCKLEY & COLD WATER FLAT
WEDNESDAY, MAY 24
LETTERS TO CLEO w/ MOIST
THURSDAY, MAY 25
MORPHINE
SUNDAY, MAY 28 THE BAND
(RESCHEDULED) SUNDAY, MAY 7 FSK featuring DAVID LOWERY OF CRACKER
SATURDAY, MAY 13
ALL W/ TOADIES & SEASON TO RISK
THURSDAY, MAY 18
BRUCE COCKBURN
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21
TUCK & PATTI FRIDAY, JUNE 23
Music
BRIAN EWING Acoustic Alternative. Empire. Free.
FOREHEAD Alternative favorites. Blue Note Cafe. Cover.
FRANK POWERS TRIO Eclectic. Arnold’s. Free.
GOSHORN BROS. Classic Rock. Tommy’s. Cover.
THE GRAVEBLANKETS WITH THOMAS Folk Pop. Top Cat's. Cover.
IVORY’S OPEN HOUSE Jazz. Ivory’s. Free.
JOELLYN DAVIDOFF, PAUL
JOLLY, AND SCHOTT AND MORRIS Acoustic. Courtyard Cafe. Free.
JOHN ZAPPA QUARTET Jazz. Ogden’s Place. Free.
KATIE LAUR QUARTET Bluegrass. Blue Wisp. Cover.
KEN COWDEN AND CHRIS GOINS Acoustic Rock. Shady O’Grady's. Free.
KEVIN TOHLE Classic Rock. Zipper’s. Free.
KRIS BROWN Acoustic. Blind Lemon. Cover.
THE LEMMINGS Funk. Ripleys. Cover.
LYNN CALLAHAN Acoustic. Local 1207. Cover.
THE MENUS AND FOREHEAD Rock favorites. Blue Note. Cover.
MILLIE WILSON Blues. Coco’s. Cover.
MODULATORS Eclectic. Mt. Adams Pavilion. Cover.
POSITIVE REACTION Reggae. Ozzie’s. Cover.
SNOWSHOE CRABS Alternative Rock favorites. Salamone’s. Cover.
SONNY MOORMAN AND THE DOGS Blues. Burbank’s Eastgate. Free.
STACY MITCHART AND BLUES U CAN USE Blues. Mt. Lookout Tavern. Cover.
UPTOWN RHYTHM AND BLUES Rhythm and Blues. Stow’s. Cover. THE ZIONITES Reggae. Main Street Brewery. Cover.
FRIDAY APRIL 28
ALICE’S JAM GARDEN Rock favorites. Annie’s. Cover.
THE AKOUSTIKATS Eclectic. Arnold’s. Free.
THE HIGH STREET RHYTHM ROCKERS Blues. Allyn's Cafe. Cover.
ANN CHAMBERLAIN JAZZ TRIO Jazz. Coco's. Cover. THE AVENUES Rock favorites. Chatterbox. Cover.
BAD HABIT AND THE ANVIL SLUGS Rock favorites. Blue Note. Cover.
BLANCO NOMBRE WITH THE POPS Rock. Top Cat's. Cover. THE BLUEBIRDS Blues. Ivory's. Cover.
BOB CUSHING Acoustic. Village Tavern. Free.
DEEP WATER JUNCTION Rock. York Street International Cafe. Free.
DOUBLESHOT WITH ANNIE
LOUIS JORDAN BAND Shady O’Grady’s. Cover.
THE MENUS Rock Katmandu’s. Cover. METRO CITY BAND Logo's. Cover. MIKE LEE Jazz. Cover.
RICHIE AND THE STUDENTS Rock favorites. Jim and SCRUFFS Rock. Brewery. Cover. SONNY MOORMAN DOGS Blues. Burbank’s Sharonville. Free. STONEBYRD Rock. Shanohan’s. Cover. SWEET ALICE HOSKINS Blues. Coco’s. Cover. UNCLE SIX WITH MEN Rock. Ripleys. THE WEBSTERS, THE PECKERS AND MORE favorites. Caddy’s Complex. WONDERLAND Longworth’s. Cover.
SATURDAY APRIL
THE AKOUSTIKATS Acoustic. Mt. Lookout
ALICE’S JAM GARDEN favorites. Annie’s. Cover. THE AVENUES Chatterbox. Cover. BAD HABIT AND BRIAN Alternative. Blue Note. BATCH Alternative. THE BILLY LARKIN The Promontory. Free. THE BLUEBIRDS Cover. BOB CUSHING Million’s Cafe. Free.
CRAWDADDY Alternative favorites. Longworth's. DOUBLESHOT WITH ELLIS Pop. Briarwood. FILTHY McNASTY BY GARY
WhoCares?
A Guide to
Volunteer Opportunities Throughout Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Spring 1995
Volunteer Resource Center Needs You
The United Way Volunteer Resource Center is designed to match individuals and groups in the community with those agencies and organizations in need of their services. The Volunteer Resource Center operates both a clearinghouse for direct service volunteering and a volunteer leadership program which trains and places individuals on committees and boards of non-profit agencies.
The Volunteer Resource Center has more than 1,700 different volunteer requests from 350 agencies each year. These agencies represent not only the homeless, the abused, the elderly, children and people with disabilities, but also museums, city and county government, nature centers and arts organizations. People and programs all over Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky need you to make a difference.
How much time is involved? Your involvement with volunteering can vary from a one-time project on a Saturday to a regular weekly or monthly commitment. The needs of the agency and your personal schedule will determine the time you commit.
The Volunteer Resource Center is available to assist you in finding the right volunteer job to meet your needs. Call us to discuss volunteer options that match your interests. Send in an interest form and we’ll suggest various volunteer jobs to meet your needs and skills. Or come in for an interview, browse through our volunteer directory and discuss your options with staff.
Our “Who Cares?” supplement is designed to highlight certain volunteer opportunities (specifically, one-time and group programs) as well as seasonal events. Many more opportunities exist than we are able to feature in this publication. For more information, call the United Way Volunteer Resource Center at 762-7171.
Lucy Crane, Manager, United Way Volunteer Resource Center
The United Way Volunteer Resource Center offers thousands of opportunities for people to help others, including mentoring high school students (right).
Produced by United Way Volunteer Resource Center and Cincinnati CityBeat. Presenting sponsor: Procter & Gamble
Ongoing Needs
HAMILTON
People all across the country are reaching out to help others in order to strengthen their communities. The United Way Volunteer Resource Center can help find just the right place to utilize your skills, talents and time.
The following list of agencies is a small sampling of the many opportunities available to you. For the purposes of this listing, we have focused on opportunities that can be done in the EVENING, on WEEKENDS or as a GROUP. Under each organization is listed a brief description of its mission, telephone number, whether the opportunity is available in one or multiple locations and specific volunteer duties available.
If any of the listings sound interesting, caO the agency for details and be sure to tell them you heard about their opportunities in CityBeat. If you would like to explore additional options, please call the United Way Volunteer Resource Center.
COUNTY JUVENILE COURT/HILLCREST SCHOOL
Residential treatment facility for youths ages 12-18. Springdale area. 5521200
Provides year-round youth development programs and activities for schoolage children. Several locations. 421-8909. Duties available: tutoring/homework assistance; story-telling; sports coaching; hosting special events; arts/crafts; special interests; individualized volunteer placements.
CINCINNATI
YOUTH COLLABORATIVE
Volunteer project provides adult role models to Cincinnati Public School students. Various locations. 369-4959.
Provides emergency housing and general assistance to homeless women and children. Also targets at-risk families to prevent homelessness. 431-8717.
Duties available: receptionist; friendly visiting; public speaking; drivers; using your truck for delivery/pickup; indoor/outdoor maintenance; painting; general group opportunities.
ST. JOHN SOCIAL SERVICE CENTER
Provides emergency assistance and self-sufficiency programs for families,
teens, adults and seniors in Over-theRhine and Winton Hills. 651-6474.
Duties available: cook for seniors; tutoring high school students; providing enrichment programs for homeless children; maintenance projects; clerical assistance; monthly produce pick-ups; special events.
YWCA/ALICE PAUL HOUSE
Provides immediate protective shelter for battered women and children as well as advocacy services and referrals leading to self-sufficiency. 241-7090.
Duties available: crisis line counselors; advocates for survivors; accepting donations; landscaping; repairs and painting.
TENDER MERCIES
Provides transitional and permanent housing for homeless mentally ill persons in Over-the-Rhine. 721-8666.
Duties available: cooking for residents; group projects; assisting with outings.
BE CONCERNED
Provides discount food, clothing and housewares to low-income families in Northern Kentucky. 291-6789.
Duties available: sorting donations; stocking shelves; special projects; painting; special personal care items/food drives; holiday projects; repair bicycles; fundraising; doll dress making.
HEALTH
AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION
Supports funding for diabetes research and provides education to peopie with diabetes, their families and the general public. 281-0002.
Duties available: marketing; photographer; special events; community education.
AIDS VOLUNTEERS OF CINCINNATI (AVOC)
Provides services to persons living with AIDS as well as community education. Various locations. 421-2437.
Duties available: assisting with mailings; visiting clients in hospitals; special events; staff information hot-line; being a buddy; assisting with client pet care.
CARACOLE, INC.
Provides housing for people living with AIDS. Various locations. 761-8636.
Duties available: house sitting; painting; yard work; decorating/remodeling; spring cleaning; general maintenance.
UNITED HOME CARE HOSPICE
Serves the needs of terminally ill patients and their families. Various locations. 345-8091.
Serves as an advocate and catalyst to improve quality of life for people with mental illness; promotes overall mental wellness. Various locations. 721-2910.
Duties available: one-on-one companionship; visiting with pets; public speaking; community education; telephone friends; recreational/leisure activities volunteer.
PROTECTION/ABUSE
WOMEN HELPING WOMEN, INC.
Advocates for survivors of domestic violence, rape and incest. Downtown. 381-6003.
Duties available: weekend court advocates; crisis line advocates.
PROKIDS
Provides legal advocacy for abused, neglected and dependent children. Various locations. 421-4080.
Duties available: juvenile case monitors; resource research; fundraising; special events.
COUNCIL ON CHILD ABUSE
Provides child-abuse prevention services and education to parents in the Greater Cincinnati area. 351-8005.
Duties available: child care; special events; charitable bingo; parents anonymous hot-line; support group facilitator.
PRO SENIORS, INC.
Legal advocacy organization for peopie over 60 years of age or those on disability and receiving social security benefits; serves five counties. Various locations. 345-4160.
Duties available: monitoring of senior services and rights.
DISABILITIES
RADIO READING SERVICES
Provides assistance to those who are uhable to read conventional print material because of a disability. Various locations. 621-4545.
Duties available: personal readers; charitable bingo; radio equipment repair.
CINCINNATI RIDING FOR THE HANDICAPPED
Provides opportunities for therapeutic horseback riding for those with disabilities. Milford. 831-7050.
Duties available: side walkers.
SHORT/LONG-TERM RESIDENTIAL CARE
Provides services for adults with developmental disabilities. Various locations in Northern Kentucky. 261-0909.
STEPPING STONES CENTER FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
Provides therapeutic recreation, education and camping opportunities for physically, mentally and emotionally disabled individuals ages 6 months and older. Various locations. 831-4660.
Duties available: one-on-one assistance; special projects; weekend camping.
LITERACY
The Greater Cincinnati area has many agencies that assist the community in wiping out illiteracy. Many programs offer training for tutors and match them with those in need.
YWCA/Let Every Adult Learn Now (Various locations): 241-7090.
Northern Kentucky Adult Reading Program (Various locations): 581-7323.
Great Oaks Literacy (Springdale): 771-8925.
East End Community Learning Center (Linwood): 321-6744.
Grassroots ecumenical Christian housing ministry building homes in partnership with low-income families. Cincinnati, 621-4147; Northern Kentucky, 292-2564; MiUcreek Valley, 772-8434.
Duties available: construction work; planning committee opportunities; group/skill options available.
COMMUNITY LAND COOPERATIVE
Rehabs existing property and making it available to low-income families. Various locations. 721-2522.
Duties available: skilled labor; building prep assistance; painting/cleaning.
CINCINNATI HOUSING PARTNERS
Builds and rehabs homes for sale to low-income working families. Various
locations. 662-9729.
Duties available: hands-on help; skilled and non-skilled work; leadership options.
OTHER
CINCINNATI ZOO & BOTANICAL GARDENS
Committed to education, preservation and conservation of wildlife through naturalistic exhibits of animals and plants. Avondale. 559-7736.
Duties available: gift shop assistance; zoo ambassadors; gardening.
RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE
Provides housing for families of children being treated at Children’s Medical Center. Avondale. 221-7777.
Duties available: assisting house manager in daily operations; greeting families and offering assistance; general maintenance; preparing home-cooked meals; spring cleaning.
GREENACRES FOUNDATION
Newly formed organization offering environmental and agricultural programs for the community. 891-4227.
Duties available: gardening; working with children; nest box monitors; trail maintenance; trail construction/development; constructing wildlife shelters.
NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF CHRISTIAN AND JEWS
Human relations organization dedicated to fighting bigotry, bias and racism through advocacy, conflict resolution and education. Various locations. 381-4660.
Duties available: diversity trainers; educational programs for K-12; facilitating forums; human relations issue discussions; special events.
Steps to Volunteering
Before calling an agency, you may want to ask yourself some questions so the agency can match you with the best available opportunity.
What do I enjoy doing in my spare time?
Why do I want to volunteer?
What do I want to get out this experience?
How much time do I have?
How far am I willing to travel?
Do I want a regular volunteer schedule or do I need a more flexible schedule?
Do I want to work directly or indirectly with people and/or clients?
Do I have any skills I can offer a non-profit organization?
Also, beginning in August 1995, the United Way Volunteer Resource Center will begin offering: YOU the opportunity to deposit your skills in a “bank” that an agency can tap into for a particular skill to complete a short time project; and AGENCIES an opportunity to quickly find a volunteer willing to offer a specialized skill.
Watch for the next edition of “Who Cares?” in CityBeat to find out how you can be an inaugural member of the “Skillsbank,” or call 762-7171.
Calendar of Events
CINCINNATI CONTRACTORS 5K
Presenting sponsor, Procter & Gamble Volunteer Support Program. Next issue: Summer 1995.
WALK & ROLL FOR FAMILIES
Saturday, May 6
Family Nurturing Center of Kentucky, 3319555.
Duties available: participants; assisting with registration; race activities.
Duties available: assisting with registration; crowd control; fore caddies; refreshments.
8TH ANNUAL SWING WITH THE LEGENDS
Friday, June 23
American Lung Association, 985-3990.
Duties available: fore caddies; putting green assistance; registration/hospitality.
A DAY IN EDEN
Summer festival held to raise money for Cincinnati neighborhoods.
Saturday-Sunday, June 24-25
Cincinnati Parks, 352-6144.
Duties available: information booth; food/beverage booths; traffic control, entertainment aide, children’s entertainment.
“Who Cares?” is produced quarterly by the United Way Volunteer Resource Center and Cincinnati CityBeat.
Babies’
Big
MAKING
Catholic Social Sen/ices of Northern Kentucky*
Catholic Social Service of Southwest Ohio+
Center for Chemical Addictions Treatment (CCAT)
Central Clinic (formerly Central Psychiatric Clinic)
Cerebral Palsy Services Center/UCP of Cincinnati, Inc.
Children, Inc.*
The Children’s Home of Cincinnati, Ohio
The Children’s Protective Sen/ice
Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation
Cincinnati Speech and Hearing Center+
Cincinnati Union Bethel
Clermont Counseling Center+
Clermont Recovery Center, lnc.+
Clermont Senior Services, !nc.+
Coalition of Neighborhoods
Community Services West
Comprehensive Care Centers of Northern Kentucky, Inc.*
Comprehensive Community Child Care*
Council on Child Abuse of Southern Ohio, Inc.
Covington Community Center*
Diocesan Catholic Children’s Home*
Emanuel Community Center
Epilepsy Council of Greater Cincinnati +
Fairmount Day Care Center
Family Nurturing Center of Kentucky*
Family Service of the Cincinnati Area*+
FreeStore/FoodBank+
Friars Club
Great Rivers Girl Scout Council+
Greater Cincinnati Oral Health Council
Holly Hill Children’s Home, Inc.*
Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME)
Agencies Receiving Funds 1995
Human Involvement Project, Inc. (HIP)
Hyde Park Multi-Sen/ice Center for Older Adults, Inc.
Jewish Community Center
Jewish Family Service
Jewish Federation of Cincinnati
Jewish Vocational Sen/ice
Joy Outdoor Education Center
Kidney Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, Inc.
Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati+
Licking Valley Girl Scout Council*
Lighthouse Youth Sen/ices, Inc. (formerly New Life Youth Services, Inc.)
Madisonville Day Care Center
Man-to-ManAVoman-to-Woman of Cincinnati, Inc.
Memorial Community Center
Mental Health Association of the Cincinnati Area, Inc.
Mental Health Association of Northern Kentucky*
The William A. Mitchell Center
New Perceptions, Inc.*
Northern Kentucky Community Center*
Northern Kentucky Legal Aid Society, Inc.*
Northside Day Care Center
Norwood Service League, Inc.
Nutrition Council
Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries Rehabilitation Center, Inc.
People Working Cooperatively*
ProKids
Pro Seniors, lnc.+
Redwood School and Rehabilitation Center*
Roark Learning Center, Inc.
St. John Social Service Center
St. Joseph Orphanage
St. Rita School for the Deaf
The Salvation Army of Greater Cincinnati*+
Santa Maria Community Services, Inc.
Senior Services of Northern Kentucky, Inc.*
Services United for Mothers & Adolescents, Inc. (SUMA)+
Seven Hills Neighborhood Houses, Inc.
Short/Long Term Residential Care*
Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Greater Cincinnati, Inc.
Social Health Education, Inc.
Starfire Council of Greater Cincinnati, lnc.+
Stepping Stones Center for Persons with Disabilities+
Sycamore Senior Adult Multi-Sen/ice Center
Talbert House
Teen Challenge, lnc.+
Tender Mercies, Inc.
Travelers Aid International of Greater Cincinnati
United Home Care, The Visiting Nurse Association*+
Urban Appalachian Council
Urban League of Greater Cincinnati
Victory Neighborhood Services Agency, Inc.
Welcome House*
Wesley Child Care/Infant Toddler Center
Women Helping Women, Inc.
Women’s Crisis Center
YMCA of Greater Cincinnati
YWCA+
Developmental
Brown
Brown County Life
Brown County Office
Clermont County
Clermont County
Dominican Community
Georgetown
Boosters'
Greater Cincinnati
Kennedy Heights
The Literacy Council
Montessori Learning
National Council
New Beginnings
Northern Kentucky St. Paul’s Child Care
S.T.A.Y. (Services Southern Hills Joint
Special Treatment
United Service Organizations Based in
branch(es) + Based in Clermont branch(es) there, o Affiliate agencies
The United Way Chest and American
New Tunes
POSITIVEIV YEAH YEAH YEAH
BY JOHN M. JAMES
They Speak, We Listen
Two recordings due in early May feature rock musicians out of their usual environment as they step up to the spoken-word microphone.
A partnership of the Mammoth and Atlantic record labels serves up Vowel Movement, from Johnnette Napolitano (of Concrete Blonde) and Holly Vincent. (Remember Holly & the Italians and her duet with Joey Ramone covering Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe”?) The women report that "We’re like the Barbra Streisands of the Alternative music scene and this video will be our Yentl.”
And on the Tim Kerr record label, downtown New Yorkers Richard Hell and Robert Quine (ex-Voidoids) will release the CD EP and 10-inch vinyl picture disc of “Go Now,” a spoken-work excerpt from Hell’s novel of the same name.
Biff! Pow! Back Off Creep!
Who says Rock can’t be educational? While the subject may be serious, an interactive self-defense project for women put together by Jody Bleyle (of Hazel and Team Dresch) is a compelling package. The CD, or double LP, comes with a 75-page booklet that combines music and spoken-word dialogues with comics, stories and self-defense instruction, like “How to Make a Good Fist.”
A Very Slick Package
Columbia Records has announced Pink Floyd’s new double CD, Pulse, will be available June 6 in a pretty ambitious package a perpetual blinking Dark Side of the Moon heartbeat light, built into the CD case. Pulse is a live recording from last year’s tour, complete with an unabridged performance of the Dark Side of the Moon album.
Down to Earth Package
Guitarist and noise experimenter extraordinaire Eugene Chadborne is handling the packaging of his new compilation on the Overtone label, Electric Rake Cake, at home, one at a time. Each of the double-CD sets comes housed in a cake box, stuffed with memorabilia and a deluxe booklet. The album’s title comes from one of Chadbourne’s most deliciously creative instruments a spring-action lawn ’n’ leaf rake electrically wired to an amplifier.
Releases Coming Tuesday
And like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change. Allman Brothers An Evening With: Second Set (Epic); The Blue Up Spool, Forka, Dish (Columbia); Sheila Chandra Roots and Wings (Realworld/Caroline); Bob Dylan Unplugged (Columbia), CD and cassette release; Grifters The Eureka E.P. (Shangri-La), also available on 10-inch wax; Jamiroquai Return of the Space Cowboy (WORK); Chris Knox Songs For You & Me (Caroline); Naughty By Nature Poverty's Paradise (Tommy Boy), vinyl release; Ted Nugent Spirit of the Wild (Atlantic); John Prine Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessings (Oh Boy!); Jonathan Richman You Must Ask the Heart (Rounder); Slaughter Fear No Evil (CMC Records); Steel Pole Bathtub Scars From Falling Down (Slash/London); Yo La Tengo Electr-o-pura (Matador).
JOHN JAMES be found behind the counter at Wizard Records in Corryville.
MARC MICHAELSON Rock. Mt. Adams Pavilion. Cover.
SCOTT KARNER Acoustic. Blind Lemon. Cover.
TUESDAY
MAY 2
BRIAN LOVELY AND THE SECRET Alternative Rock. Tommy’s. Cover.
CRAWDADDY Acoustic Alternative favorites. Scooter's. Free.
BOB CUSHING Acoustic. Foley’s Western Hills. Free. THE DIXIE CRUISERS Dixieland Jazz. Arnold’s. Free.
JIM CONWAY Acoustic. Blind Lemon. Cover.
LAURIE TRAVELINE, CHRIS ALLEN AND MILES LORETTA Acoustic. The Friendly Stop. Free. OPEN MIC Folk. Canal Street Tavern. Cover. THE PHIL DEGREG TRIO Jazz. Blue Wisp. Cover.
SYLVAIN ACHER Jazz. The Promontory. Free.
WEDNESDAY
MAY 3
ANN CHAMBERLAIN AND SHIRLEY JESTER Jazz. The Promontory. Free.
ARNOLD’S WEDNESDAY NIGHT GUYS Eclectic. Arnold’s. Free.
BLUE BIRDS Blues. Tommy’s. Cover.
BLUE WISP BIG BAND Jazz. Blue Wisp. Cover.
BRIAN LOVELY AND THE SECRET Alternative Rock. Shady
O’Grady’s. Free.
CELTIC JAM Celtic. Hap’s Irish Pub. Free.
CURTIS CHARLES Classic Rock. Zipper's. Free.
FOREHEAD Alternative favorites. Murray’s Pub. Cover.
GREENWICH TAVERN JAZZ
ENSEMBLE Jazz. Greenwich Tavern. Cover.
GULLIBANQUE Reggae. Ripleys. Cover.
THE JAZZ QUARTET Jazz. York Street International Cafe. Free.
JEFF GOITHER Acoustic. Blind Lemon. Cover.
THE MENUS Rock favorites. Katmandu Cafe. Cover.
NOAH HUNT AND JASON DENNIE Acoustic. Local 1207. Cover.
OPEN MIC WITH SHANNYN COOK Open mic. Empire. Cover.
OVERDUE AND THE MENUS Rock favorites. Blue Note Cafe. Cover.
PIGMEAT JARRETT Blues.
Allyn’s Cafe. Cover. SHINDIG Rock favorites. Murray’s Pub. Cover.
TRILOGY Classic Rock. Mt. Adams Pavilion. Cover. THE WEBSTERS Alternative favorites. Salamone's. Cover.
Upcoming
LARRY STEWART Cut to the Chase. Thursday, May 4. $8/$10 day of show. 721-1000.
SPONGE WITH EVERCLEAR Bogart’s. Thursday, May 4. $7.50/$9 day of show. 749-4949.
ADAM ANT Bogart's. Friday, May 5. $11/$13 day of show. 749-4949.
KENTUCKY HEADHUNNTERS Cut to the Chase. Wednesday, May 10. $10/$12 day of show. 721-1000.
AQUARIUM RESCUE UNIT Ripleys. Saturday, May 13. Cover. 861-6506.
VERUCA SALT WITH THE MUFFS Bogart’s. Wednesday, May 17. $12/$13.50 day of show. 749-4949.
ALL WITH THE TOADIES Bogart’s. Thursday, May 18.
$6.50/$8 day of show. 749-4949.
JULIANA HATFIELD WITH JEFF BUCKLEY AND COLD WATER
FLAT Bogart’s. Wednesday, May 24. $10/$12 day of show. 749-4949. MORE, PAGE 18
Short Takes
BREEN
REVIEWS BY MIKE
STEVE MORSE BAND Structural Damage (High Street, 75 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025).
Guitarist Steve.Morse, founding member of Dixie Dregs, has mastered the craft of guitar playing. He’s so good, in fact, that Guitar Player magazine had to retire him from eligibility from its poll after he claimed honors for Best Overall Guitarist five years in a row. Morse’s latest is a diverse representation of the player’s ability. The tracks alternate between driving Rock instrumentals and more eclectic, visual soundscapes, all the while showcasing Morse’s (and his excellent trio’s) skills. The Steve Morse Band plays at Cut to the Chase on Monday. CityBeat grade: B.
HELIUM The Dirt of Luck (Matador).
This Boston-based trio has been called the “best new band in America” by Alternative Press and, while that may be a bit overzealous, the group is certainly up there. Expansive sounds float and stab beneath singer/guitarist Mary Timony’s lilting, lazy vocals. The music jumps from bumblebee buzzing to sheets of guitar layers that wash the songs along with a vast narcotic push and shove. Timony’s lyrics are poetic and empowering, making others’ sound like Dr. Seuss. The Dirt ofLuck is a fantastic start to a potentially gigantic future.
Helium plays Friday at Sudsy Malone’s. CityBeat grade: A.
MIKE WATT, FOO FIGHTERS AND HOVERCRAFT
Seen live at Bogart's on April 19. This show almost sneaked by, but the week-old tour’s news that well-known guests would be on board was leaked via MTV and the Internet. Hovercraft which featured Eddie Vedder on drums and his wife, Beth, on bass opened with an artsy ambient guitar presentation that recalled the Sub Pop band Earth. The sloppy music and the enthusiastic response from the sold-out crowd proved that anything Vedder does (a record of flatulating, perhaps?) is going to be an overblown success. Foo Fighters is a great band featuring Dave Grohl (ex-Nirvana drummer) on guitar and vocals, Pat Smear (ex-Germs and ex-Nirvana) on guitar, and the rhythm section from the Seattle band Sunny Day Real Estate. The group sounding like (surprise!) a cross between Nirvana and Sunny Day Real Estate was highlighted by Grohl’s intriguing songwriting and the band’s solid playing. The performance, however, was hindered by a typically bad Bogart’s house mix. After about a third of the audience left, Mike Watt, the hands-down star, performed with Foo Fighters’ rhythm section, Vedder on guitar and backing vocals, and Grohl on drums and guitar. Watt played much of his new solo album and threw in a slew of songs from his old band, fIREHOSE. The grounded Watt closed the show with a muscular, amazing solo bass piece.
CityBeat grade: A.
Music
MERLE HAGGARD AND THE STRANGERS Coyote’s. Wednesday, May 24. $12. 721-1000.
WHITE ZOMBIE WITH REV. HORTON HEAT AND THE MELVINS Hara Arena, Dayton, Ohio. Wednesday, May 24. $20/$22 day of show. 749-4949.
LETTERS TO CLEO Bogart's. Thursday, May 25. $5. 749-4949.
JIMMY BUFFETT Riverbend. Friday, Saturday and Tuesday; May 27, 28 and 30. SOLD OUT.
MORPHINE Bogart’s. Sunday, May 28. $15. 749-4949.
SIMPLE MINDS Bogart’s. Monday, May 29. CANCELED. (Refunds at point of purchase.)
SHENANDOAH Cut to the Chase. Friday, June 2. $12/$14 day of show. 721-1000.
KMFDM WITH DINK Bogart s. Saturday. June 3. $12.50/$14 day of show. 749-4949.
MELISSA ETHERIDGE Riverbend. Tuesday, June 6. $24.25, $34.75, $47.25. 749^1949. (Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday.)
OTIS RUSH WITH WILLIAM CLARKE Coney Island Moonlite
Gardens. Friday, June 9. $12.50/$15 day of show. 749-4949.
MUDHONEY WITH CLAWHAMMER Bogart’s. Monday, June 12. $10/$12 day of show. 740-4949.
LUTHER VANDROSS Riverbend. Tuesday, June 20. Prices TBA. 749-4949.
HAL KETCHUM Cut to the Chase. Thursday, June 22. $12/$14 day of show. 721-1000.
TUCK AND PATTI Bogart s. Friday, June 23. $15. 749-4949.
THE TEMPTATIONS, THE FOUR TOPS, JUNIOR WALKER AND MARY WILSON Riverbend. Wednesday, June 28. Prices TBA. 749-4949.
VINCE GILL AND PATTI LOVELESS Riverbend. Sunday, July 2.
$19.75, $27.25, $39.75. 749-4949. (Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday.)
OVER THE RHINE WITH PLOW ON BOY Coney Island’s Moonlite Gardens. Friday, July 14. 232-8230.
MARY-CHAPIN CARPENTER WITH THE MAVERICKS Riverbend. Wednesday, Aug. 9. Prices TBA. 749-4949.
JEAN LUC PONTY, AL DEMEOLA AND STANLEY CLARKE Riverbend. Friday, Aug. 18. Prices TBA. 749-4949.
Local Scene
been receiving. The group’s splendid new album, Magnificent Propaganda Opportunity, is an eclectic mingling of effective spoken parts, electronic mayhem and a dead-on knack for melodies. The group’s diversified approach and poetic sheets of sound matte for an edgy, seat-of-your-pants listen. The album never bores and is often down-right entrancing. This is the first full-length release from Dayton's Simple Solution Records (1025 Brown St., Dayton, OH 45409).
Burn, Baby, Burn
BY MIKE BREEN
28 & 29
(4520 w. 8th St.) MAY 5 & 6
Rd.)
You may have noticed an up-and-coming band called The Sleestacks playing around town lately. Named after the infamous evil lizard people from the old TV show Land of the Lost, the group Is a seven piece, energetic crew that plays a frolicking mix of Ska, Funk and Disco.
The Brainy Bunch
Their sound is self-described as a mix of P-Funk (a la SHAG) and Johnny Socko-like Ska. The band’s five-song demo shows a talented band of musicians hell-bent on you having a fun musical experience. After solidifying recently after several line-up jumbles, the group seems poised to be the next groove-monster to swallow Cincy whole. Check out The Sleestacks live at Salamone’s on Friday and Saturday.
Brainiac, the experimental art-Punk band from Dayton, performs at Sudsy Malone’s (2630 Vine St., Corryville) on Thursday. The group has been touring with notable Alternative bands such as Shudder to Think and Unwound and recently embarked on a working trip through the clubs of Europe.
Lolla Lineup Leaked
The touring has been in support of the group's most recent disc, Bonsai Superstar (Grass, 81 N. Forest Ave., Rockvillecenter, NY 11570), a blissfully tweaky venture into noise-drenched, Post-Punk ecstasy. The band has veered from the more linear sound of its debut, Smack Bunny Baby, and has gleefully taken on a driving, more abstract sound that deconstructs standard song structure and drips with odd sound effects and mind-altering sonic experiments.
Perry Farrell went on record in the Los Angeles Times with the lineup for this summer’s Lollapalooza main stage lineup, after months of rumors that speculated that everyone from White Zombie to Beverly Hills, 90210 heart-throb Jamie Walters would be performing.
“I think it’s important to set up the widest field of different sounds and ideas,” explains bassist Juan Monasterio.
“Because if you keep working on the same thing, then people will only except those things from you.”
Farrell said the festival will be headlined by seminal New York noise puppies Sonic Youth with Hole, Cypress Hill, Pavement, Sinead O'Connor, Jesus Lizard and Beck rounding out one of the festival’s most unconventional lineups ever. Farrell said the Boston Ska-Punk band The Mighty, Mighty Bosstones will headline the usually more interesting second stage. Though dates have not been confirmed, the show is expected to once again make a stop in Cincinnati at Riverbend in July or August. Stay tuned.
Singer Tim Taylor says that by varying the elements of the music, the band is letting off some creative steam. “Right now we have the opportunity to do whatever we want, and later on it might not be that way,” he says.
While Brainiac's latest isn’t exactly setting any sales records “It’s hard to ‘sell out’ when you only sell 2,000 records,” Taylorjokes the group’s integrity has made Brainiac an underground sensation that has found members lauded worldwide. Don’t miss the group’s energetic live show.
Rage in the Cage
Another Dayton band, Cage, seems poised to inherit the recognition city-mates Brainiac and Guided By Voices have
SUMMARIES AND CAPSULE REVIEWS
BY STEVE RAMOS
Opening
DESTINY TURNS ON THE RADIO
team? Martin Lawrence, Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. Now, if only Hollywood would lose its bias. With John Witherspoon and Nia Long. (Rated R; at area Showcase Cinemas and Loews Northgate.)
Being Hollywood’s hottest director is not enough for Quentin Tarantino. Invigorated by his current stardom, Tarantino wants to be an actor. Go figure.
Julian Goddard (Dylan McDermott), an escaped convict, hitches a ride to Las Vegas in a 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner with a mysterious driver named Destiny (Tarantino). Goddard wants to reclaim his stolen fortune and the love of his life, Lucille (Nancy Travis). Tarantino didn’t write Destiny Turns on the Radio. He didn’t produce it. He’s just playing with other parts of his creative juices. Fans may dig it. The rest may want to hold out for the director’s cut of Reservoir Dogs this summer. With James Belushi and Bobcat Goldthwait. (Rated R; opens Friday at Loews Kenwood Towne Centre, Florence, Tri County, 275 East and Showcase Cinemas Cincinnati.) No screening.
CltyBeat grade: B. TOP DOG A tough cop (Chuck Norris) teams up with a smart new partner. The partner’s also four-legged and hairy. Continuing Hollywood's fascination with the dumb-cop, smartpooch genre (K-9, Turner and Hooch), think of Top Dog as Walker Texas Ranger meets Benji. (Rated PG-13; opens Friday at Loews Northgate, Covedale, Tri County, 275-East, Florence and Showcase Cinemas Cincinnati.) No screening.
VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED 1960’s horror-classic Village of the Damned returns under the hand of director John Carpenter. Originally condemned by the Catholic Church for its
FRIDAY Laughter often crosses race, gender and class lines without bias. So, should Friday be referred to as an African-American comedy? Its characters are all African-Americans. Craig Jones (Ice Cube), faces one long and crazy Friday. Recently unemployed, Jones finds himself in the middie of girlfriend trouble and a shady
depiction of a virgin birth, Carpenter retains this image and adds a few new touches like an insensitive female scientist (Kirstie Alley) and a religious zealot (Mark Hamill). Its monsters remain the same. Nine children, all conceived when a strange force envelopes the small coastal village of Midwich, Calif. Blond hair. Blue eyes. Really cute. Too bad they’re ruthless killers with telepathic powers. Oh yeah, their eyes glow, too. (Rated R; opens Friday at area Showcase Cinemas.) No screening.
Leaving his Marky Mark Wahlberg looks to pursue serious acting roles
INTERVIEW BY STEVE RAMOS persona behind, Film
SContinuing
BAD BOYS In Bad Boy's opening sequence, Miami police officer Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) tells a car-jacker that he’s no Wesley Snipes. No kidding. Possessing strong physical presence, a sassy personality and great comic timing, Lawrence beats out Snipes in the action-lead game hands-down. Too bad he’s paired up with a wet noodle like Will Smith in a blas6 MTV montage of “seen that before" stunts and explosions. Lawrence deserves better. (Rated R; at area Loews Theatres and Showcase Cinemas Cincinnati.)
ay hello to the man with two names. To millions of music fans around the world, he’s Marky Mark. Following in his brother Donnie (New Kids on the Block) Wahlberg’s footsteps, fame came fast for the 24-year-old Boston native.
BARAKA Back to help celebrate Earth Day’s 25th anniversary, director Mark Magidson’s Baraka zips through 24 countries in a mind-bending look at our world. Making the experience even wilder, the folks at the New Neon Movies acquired a 70mm print. (Unrated; at the New Neon Movies, Dayton.)
★ THE BASKETBALL DIARIES
His debut Rap album, Musicfor the People went platinum and resulted in two top 10 gold singles. Strutting in Calvin Klein underwear alongside waif-model Kate Moss, his likeness covered billboards across America. Along the way, Marky Mark’s image became intact. Tough. Rowdy. A street-smart punk. The kind of guy that young men would like to have as their friend and young women would like to have as a lover.
Stuck in production limbo for years, poet/musician Jim Carroll’s The Basketball Diaries finally makes it to the silver screen. With an incredible lead performance by actor Leonardo DiCaprio, it was worth the wait. The Basketball Diaries is an emotionally wrenching and-powerful movie experience. For those not familiar with his autobiographical chronicle, Carroll’s teen-age years on the streets of New York were filled with drug addiction, street hustling and petty thefts. Carroll (DiCaprio) and friends
Playing Mickey alongside Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance of author/musician Jim Carroll in The Basketball Diaries, Marky Mark is nowhere to be found.
It’s Mark Wahlberg the actor, who has come to talk to the press at a New York hotel. There’s a difference. Articulate. Soft-spoken. Thoughtful. Wahlberg knows that The Basketball Diaries is the kind of quality project that can give him the credibility he wants.
MORE, PAGE 20
“To do a movie like this was important to me,” says Wahlberg, who also worked with Danny DeVito in last summer’s Renaissance Man. “It’s either go do a karate movie and become an action star or just try to do meaningful movies that they don’t make that often.”
Based on Carroll’s autobiography, The Basketball Diaries shows Carroll (DiCaprio) and his best friend (Wahlberg) fall from being hot New York high school basketball players to street addicts whose lives are ruled by their need for heroin. No one will accuse The Basketball Diaries of glamorizing drugs. It’s hard-hitting, brutal and in-your-face ugly in its portrayal of these characters’ physical degradation. That’s why Wahlberg’s proud of the film.
“It’s a must-see movie for kids who have experienced any type of drugs or have thought of experiencing any type of drugs,” he says. “This is the-closest you can get to experiencing the drug itself without taking it.”
Wahlberg knows the film’s power
first-hand. He never used heroin, but experiences feelings of heroin withdrawal when watching the movie.
“I didn’t feel that the movie would have a big impact on me because I was there the whole time in the making of it,” he says. “Then when I saw it, I felt high during its high scenes. I felt withdrawn. It’s the closest you can get to really experiencing heroin without poking a needie in your arm.”
Right away, Wahlberg found out that making movies is nothing like making records. Ready for a new record? Wahlberg just goes into the recording studio with his brother. Want to act in a movie? Wahlberg has to prove himself to a lot of different people. That’s when he leaves Marky Mark at home, letting the casting people see him for who he is and not as some Rap star.
“I go to auditions as Mark Wahlberg. It takes them (film producers) a couple of minutes to connect the face with the name. By that time, I already auditioned and made a certain impact.”
Sometimes, Wahlberg’s Marky Mark image catches up with him.
“I remember one time where I was with this director in a meeting for an hour and a half. He said to me, ‘What else have you done?’ I said well, I only have done one movie. Then he asked the casting assistant who said, ‘You don’t know who that is? That’s Marky Mark.’
Two hours after a strong audition, Wahlberg was turned down for the role. He knows why: The director only saw Marky Mark.
Never looking down on his pop stardom, Wahlberg has other regrets.
“I wish I had not left school.” says Wahlberg, who left high school after his freshman year. “I wish I had stuck it out. But I don’t think I’d be the person that I am today. I have accomplished more than I had set out to do. Everything else is icing on the cake.”
Wahlberg remembers the first movie role offered to him. “It was a roller-skating movie. I played the tough guy who would save the day, beat somebody up and then get beaten up in the end.”
On April 21 the day after National Amusements Inc., operator of Showcase Cinemas, purchased rival Loews/Sony Theatres’ seven Cincinnati locations cross-programming began.
What does that mean for moviegoers? A smaller assortment of movies, says one local theater owner. That Friday, Bad Boys, America’s No. 1 movie for the past two weeks, that had been playing on nine previously Loews screens, opened on an additional screen at Showcase Cincinnati in Norwood.
“If they run Bad Boys on their Loews screens and their National Amusements screens, what movies aren’t we going to see,” wonders Mick Telkamp, co-owner of The Movies.
1995 and TV’s favorite pre-<iisco family is still hanging around. The twist is that the world around them has moved on, but that wacky Brady Bunch is trapped in the ’70s. Keeping true to her TV roots, actress Shelley Long (Diane of TV’s Cheers) takes a spin at portraying pulp icon Carol Brady. With Gary Cole and Michael McKean. (Rated PG-13; closes Thursday at Loews Northgate and 275 East.)
(Rated PG-13; closes Thursday at Loews Florence.)
★ BYE BYE, LOVE In the family comedy Bye Bye, Love, three best friends Donny (Paul Reiser), Vic (Randy Quaid) and Dave (Matthew Modine), all recently divorced complete their weekly ritual of picking up their kids for the weekend at a neighborhood McDonald’s. Setting out with the simple goal of making people laugh, Bye Bye, Love hits the target more than it misses. With Amy Brenneman and Lindsay Crouse.
CIRCLE OF FRIENDS Love and laughter in 1957 Ireland. Considering herself fat and ugly, young Benny (Minnie Driver) falls in love with Jack (Chris O’Donnell), the cutest boy in her freshman university class. Director Pat O’Connor brings Maeve Binchy's well-known novel to the screen. With Colin Firth and Saffron Burrows. (Rated PG; at Loews Kenwood Towne Centre, Florence and Northgate.)
★ CLERKS Before Miramax tests the ratings board’s patience with Kids later this summer, why not rewatch film-school dropout Kevin Smith’s movie about convenience-store clerks?
Clerks is sometimes crude, often rude, but always hilarious. (Rated R; opens Friday at the Movies.)
THE CURE Only Hollywood can take a touching and significant subject like a child inflicted with HIV and turn it into a pile of hokey mush. One wishes hard for The Cure to be a good film. But wishing doesn’t make it so. Called “AIDS boy" by the local hooligans, 11-year-old Dexter (Joseph Mazzello) develops a friendship with Eric (Brad Renfro), his next-door neighbor. Together they share laughs and adventure while pursuing a dream of finding a cure for Dexter’s illness. Overladen with touchy-feely sentiment, it comes as no surprise that this film was directed by Thirtysomething regular Peter Horton. Every character is drawn in bland, broad strokes. “AIDS boy” is articulate, mature and wise; he lives with his “good” mom (Annabella Sciorra), who laughs and makes ice cream sundaes for dessert. Eric has a “bad” mom (Diana Scarwid), who chainsmokes, swills wine and serves microwave dinners. The Cure proves that complex and emotional issues such as children inflicted with the HIV virus do not transfer well to an antiseptic Hollywood treatment. With Bruce Davison. (Rated PG-13; at area Loews Theatres.)
★ DESTINY IN SPACE This time, IMAX follow the space shuttle as it repairs the Hubble, and the images are amazing. Move over Sta'r Trek Generations, here’s a real out-of-space adventure. (Unrated; at Robert D. Lindner Family Omnimax Theater.)
★ DISCLOSURE Set in the offices of Digicom, high-tech puter firm, Disclosure turns sexual harassment upside-down. Director Barry Levinson’s film of the best-selling novel by Michael Crichton rightfully sidesteps any controversy and sticks to pure entertainment. With Michael Douglas and Demi Moore. (Rated R; closes Thursday at Norwood, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
★ DOLORES CLAIBORNE Listen to mother’s advice: “Sometimes being a bitch is all a woman has to hold onto." It’s what Dolores Claiborne (Kathy Bates) shares with her estranged daughter, Selena St. George (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Claiborne is a suspect irrthe murder of her employer, elderly Vera Donovan (Judy Parfitt). Twenty years earlier, Claiborne’s husband Joe (David Strathairn) was found in the bottom of an abandoned well. Local detective John Mackey (Christopher Plummer) believes Claiborne to be guilty of both crimes. Beautifully shot, well-acted, taut and surprisingly tense, director Taylor Hackford's (An Officer and A Gentleman, La Bamba)
Without competition, a theater chain could choose to book only the top money-making films and ignore specialty films. Sources, however, for both Loews/Sony and National Amusements Inc. refused to comment on that prospect.
Cincinnati is now the largest market in the United States served by a monopoly exhibiting first-run commercial movies. Before this merger took place, major studio movies have bypassed Cincinnati. This spring Miami Rhapsody, Funny Bones, Stuart Saves His Family, New Jersey Drive, Swimming with Sharks and The Sum of Us played other markets proportional to Cincinnati. This trend of bringing only sure-fire, box-office bets continues Friday when the adult comedy A Pyromaniac’s Love Story, starring William Baldwin and House ofBuggin’s John Leguizamo, opens nationwide but not in Cincinnati.
The irony of this trend? Sarah Jessica Parker, a Cincinnati native, received great reviews for her starring role in the comedy Miami Rhapsody, but the film hasn’t come to the same city where Parker began acting and members of her family still live.
Sarah Jessica
played here despite good reviews elsewhere. The movie also stars Antonio Banderas.
PHOTO: NICOLA GOODE
Ice Cube, left, and Chris Tucker hang out in Friday, which pokes fun at a day in the life of South Central L.A. homeboy.
Cincy’s
Parker’s Miami Rhapsody hasn’t
With
ning
Durning. (Rated PG; at closes Thursday at Norwood and Turfway.)
THE JUNGLE BOOK Disney s new adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling classic combines great photography of the Indian landscape and wildlife with a timeless story about a wild jungle boy named Mowgli (Jason Scott Lee). With Sam Neill. (Rated PG; at Turfway, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
JUST CAUSE Answering a cry for justice from a convict on Florida’s Death Row, Paul Armstrong (Sean Connery), a Harvard Law professor investigates the details of an 8-yearold case in small southern Florida town. He encounters resistance from
JEFFERSON IN PARIS No one’s happy with Jefferson in Paris. Taking liberties with Thomas Jefferson’s (Nick Nolte) factual life for dramatic reasons, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala’s screenplay is being panned by historians. Titillating audiences with subplots regarding an affair with a slave, Sally Hemings (Thandie Newton), producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory then step back as if embarrassed. Caught in limbo, Jefferson in Paris will bore any and all interested parties. (Rated PG-13; at the Esquire Theatre and Loews Kenwood Towne Centre.)
arresting officer Det. Tanny Brown (Larry Fishburne) and the residents. Director Arne Glimcher leaves behind the romance of his debut effort, The Mambo Kings, and tackles author John Katzenbach’s best-selling thriller head-on. With Ed Harris and Kate Capshaw. (Rated R; opens Friday at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
JURY DUTY Inspired by the O.J. trial, Hollywood finds another vehicle for its favorite low-budget comedy star, Pauly Shore. This time around, Shore plays Tommy Collins, an unemployed young man who finds his juryduty gig to be the answer to his financial worries. As long as ticket buyers
MORE, PAGE 22
Film
keep flocking to see Shore’s movies, Hollywood will keep making them. Scary. With Tia Carrere. (Rated PG-13; at area Showcase Cinemas.)
★ KISS OF DEATH Actor David Caruso received a lot of flak for leaving the critically acclaimed TV drama NYPD Blue. With a tough, edgy performance that equals those from the best Hollywood tough-guys (Lancaster, Cagney, Robinson), Kiss of Death will shut up Caruso’s skeptics.
Loosely based on the 1947 film of the same name, Kiss of Death follows Jimmy Kilmartin (Caruso) as he crosses paths with the law and the underworld to bring down a car-theft ring headed by gangster Little Junior (Nicolas Cage). With a screenplay by author Richard Price (Clockers), director Barbet Schroeder (Reversal of Fortune, Single White Female) delivers a gratuitous crowd-pleaser. Schroeder pokes and teases the audience with scenes of relentless tension, then pulls away to another sequence. It’s frustrating, but also great fun. With strong lead performances, great use of color and a scene-stealing turn by Stanley Tucci as a corrupt district attorney, Kiss of Death is the hands-down best studio release so far this year. With Samuel L. Jackson and Helen Hunt. (Rated R; at area Showcase Cinemas.)
her portrayal of the tomboy Jo in this wonderful adaptation of the literary classic by director Gillian Armstrong (My Brilliant Career). Bringing this classic story alive with such visual flourish and care for her actresses, Armstrong’s film takes its place as a classic in its true right. Sure, you know how the story ends, but the tears will fall anyway. With Susan Sarandon. (Rated PG; at Norwood and Turfway.)
★ THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE Director Nicholas Hytner’s The Madness of King George peeks at the royal family’s back-stabbing, circa 1789. No longer in possession of his senses, his royal highness King George III (Nigel Hawthorne) faces a plot from d.isgruntled members of Pariiament
★ LEGENDS OF THE FALL Sharing an isolated existence on a large Montana ranch, Col. William Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins) and his three sons Alfred (Aidan Quinn), Tristan (Brad Pitt) and Samuel (Henry Thomas) experience some conflict when Samuel returns with his fiancee, Susannah (Julia Ormond). In Legends of the Fall, melodrama finally receives the Tiffany treatment that this genre rightfully deserves. With Karina Lombard and Gordon Tootoosis. (Rated R; closes Thursday at Loews Florence and opens Friday at Norwood, TurfWay, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
★ LITTLE WOMEN Leaving behind her persona as some Slackergeneration role model, Winona Ryder earned a Best Actress nomination for
and his son, the Prince of Wales (Rupert Everett). A renowned stage director (Miss Saigon, Carousel), Hytner uses the broader spaces of cinema to unfold playwright Alan Bennett’s story across magnificent locations. Chuck the Masterpiece Theatre perception out the window. This movie has spunk. With Ian Holm. (Unrated; at the Esquire Theatre.)
MAN OF THE HOUSE Eleven year-old Ben Archer (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) plots to prevent Jack Sturges (Chevy Chase) from marrying his mom, Sandy (Farrah’ Fawcett), by making Jack look really dumb at the YMCA Indian Guides camp father/son games. If Tim Allen can make the jump from TV to silver screen with huge success, Home Improvement co-star Thomas figures to give it a
whirl as well. (Rated PG; closes Thursday at Showcase Cinemas Cincinnati, Springdale and Erlanger.)
MAJOR PAYNE Finding his military career cut short, Maj. Bensen Winifred Payne (Damon Wayans) accepts an assignment at Madison Academy for Boys to turn bunch of young, ill-behaved Junior ROTC cadets into a top-notch outfit. Wayans (In Living Color) and director Nick Castle (Dennis the Menace) do their best to make the movie’s gags a lot funnier than its title’s play on words. With Karyn Parsons and William Hickey. (Rated PG-13; closes Thursday at Showcase Cinemas Cincinnati, Springdale and Erlanger.)
MIAMI RHAPSODY Firsttime director David Frankel pays homage to Woody Allen in this comedy about a young woman (Sarah Jessica Parker) who’s about to get married. Witnessing her family’s infidelities, she questions the reality of commitment in today’s world. Love and neurosis, all set in the Jewish community of Miami. With Antonio Banderas and Mia Farrow. (Rated PG-13; closes Thursday at the Little Art Theatre, Yellow Springs.)
★ MURIEL'S WEDDING Muriel’s Wedding's first-time filmmaker P.J. Hogan puts a unique spin on this ugly-duckling tale. Life’s pretty bad in Muriel’s (Toni Collette) tacky hometown of Porpoise Spit, Australia. She dreams of walking down the aisle, dressed in wedding finery. Upon moving to Sydney with friend Rhonda (Rachel Griffiths), Muriel plots a scheme that will change everyone’s perception of her. Funny, fresh and touchingly poignant, Hogan’s movie makes a star out of newcomer Collette. Granted, its ABBA soundtrack sticks in one’s mind for an uncomfortably long time. Still, it’s the laughter that you’ll remember most. With Bill Hunter. (Rated R; closes Thursday at Showcase Cinemas Cincinnati.)
★ NOBODY’S FOOL An American acting treasure returns to the silver screen with a melancholy tale of an older man named Sully (Paul Newman), who faces up to abandoning his family in a small New England town. Based on the novel by Richard Russo, Nobody's Fool offers Newman fantastic dialogue, touching scenes and a character worthy to his abilities. With Bruce Willis and Melanie Griffith. (Rated R; closes Thursday at Loews Northgate.)
OUTBREAK Inspired by recent best-selling books such as The Hot Zone and The Coming Plague, arrives director Wolfgang Peterson’s (In the Line of Fire) Outbreak. Col. Sam Daniels, M.D. (Dustin Hoffman), officer from the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases, investigates a “hot" virus that finds its way from an African village into America. Here, real-life drama becomes ruined by a blas6, Hollywood action-chase ending. With Morgan Freeman and Donald Sutherland. (Rated R; at Showcase Cinemas Cincinnati, Springdale and Erlanger; closes Thursday at Showcase Eastgate.)
THE PEBBLE AND THE PENGUIN Kids, are you in for a treat. Not only does MGM’s The Pebble and the Penguin offer colorful animation, a story about love and friendship and an upbeat musical score, it also teaches a thing or two about the mating ritual of Adeli penguins. Parents, you may cringe at the idea of Barry Manilow writing the songs, but children don’t have any anti-Manilow sentiment. Not yet.
Best Cinematography, Academy voters may persuade Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieslowski to forestall his previously announced retirement. Valentine (Irene Jacob), a young Swiss model and student, steps into the life of a retired judge (Jean-Louis Trintgnant) who has become bitter with life. In Red, dialogue takes a back seat to the director’s photography. In his stories, emotions are represented visually through objects like telephones and short-wave radios. It’s a style that sometimes leaves audiences questioning. Here’s the rule for enjoying a Kieslowski film: Don’t think; just feel. (Rated R; opens Friday at the Little Art Theatre, Yellow Springs.)
★ RICHIE RICH A little rich boy in real life, Macaulay Culkin has finally found his perfect role. Plus, Warner Bros, unveils its first Roadrunner cartoon, a short titled Chariots of Fur, in more than 30 years. With Jonathan Hyde and Edward Herrman. (Rated PG; closes Thursday at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
★ ROB ROY Director Michael Caton-Jones
PHOTO: JIM SHELDON
Julian Goddard (Dylan McDermott), right, finds salvation in Vegas gambler Johnny Destiny (Quentin Tarantino) in Destiny Turns on the Radio.
Occasionally, an arti§t will come along and give the viewer a unique, perhaps strange interpretation of the aesthetic experience. Rona Pondick is such an artist. Through July 16, the Cincinnati Art Museum is showing the exhibition, New Art 4 : Rona Pondick.
The exhibition consists primarily of sculpture, but also includes several of Pondick’s “Mouth” drawings. The sculpture especially reveals many layers of interpretation. At the same time, however, the works make no definitive statements. “I don’t want to make a passive interpretation,” Pondick says. “I’m more interested in the idea of ambiguity and raising questions, rather than making statements.” Although one may find socio-political and/or psychoanalytic meanings in her work, Pondick seems to skillfully avoid dictating a way in which her work should be seen. In fact, the imagery itself, according to Pondick, “evokes more than one reading. It flips.” That is, a work can possess a funereal quality and simultaneously contain humor. An exampie of this can be found in “Mound” (1990).
The sculpture consists of numerous headlike images covered in newspaper. In the middie of each “head” there is a set of novelty teeth. The heads are then assembled to create a single mass. The result is a sculpture that possesses humorous as well as nightmarish qualities.
By using the novelty storebought chattering teeth, Pondick provides “Mound” with a tongue-in-cheek undercurrent. This is accentuated further by newspaper clippings containing phrases such as “is like a fart,” while an acceptable uneasiness exists within the same work.
By having the headlike forms in a mound, the sculpture conjures up scenes of death. But Pondick denies having her work being a representation of the catacombs or the Holocaust. “It’s more of a reference to death in general,” Pondick explains. Noting that different environments will put her work in different contexts, Pondick says, “There is death in the work, but it’s cyclical.”
Pondick continues this theme in “Red Platter” (1994).
“Red Platter” consists of a platter filled with red applelike objects. Like “Mound,” there is a set of teeth in the middle of each object. This time, however, they are not evoking humorous images. On the contrary, the work suggests a kind of terror at the same time. This is the essence of the exhibition; Pondick prefers the work to be layered.
On one level, “Red Platter’s” “apples” convey a kind of biblical quality. That is, the objects look as if they are the forbidden fruit that have become tortured beings after the fall of Eden. This image is complemented further by suggesting a pile of discarded body parts. But the body parts are not gender-specific. “I want to have them cross genders,” Pondick notes, “so they are ambiguous in regard to the sex.”
The mouth is an important believes “the mouth “It is a place where well as different forms
Essentially, Pondick image because it enables relate to many interpretations. sole part of the body tion.
Unlike “Mound” arid gender-specific work. breast-shaped forms breasts are capped with
Rona Pondick’s “Milk’’ is one of the few gender-specific
Again, Pondick conveys interpretations. Although ity as well as maternal er the feeling of looking parts. Thus, Pondick the exhibition by giving ings.
Even though Pondick’s of interpretations within istic, per se. “Although work,” Pondick says, for me.”
Part of what makes
PHOTO: JAMES BRIDGES Nicolas Cage, left, and David Caruso star in Kiss of Death.
1
BABA
Openings
CAFE
mixed media painting by Patrick Donnelly of Louisville, Ky.; and a video installation by Marya Roland of Normal, III. Opening reception, 6-9 p.m. Friday. Through May 20. Noon-8 p.m. Friday, noon-6 p.m. Saturday, noon-4 p.m. Sunday. 1416 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 381-2437.
★ CLOSSON'S GALLERY KENWOOD Invites you to meet artist Velma Morris to preview her exhibition of Kentucky Derby racing. 1-5 p.m. Saturday. Through May 30. 10 a.m.8 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 7866 Montgomery Road, Kenwood. 891-5531.
COLERAIN ARTISTS ART SHOW
Landscapes, nature scenes, seascapes, abstracts and portraits are on display. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Farbach-Werner Nature Preserve, Poole Road, Colerain Township. 521-PARK.
DAYTON MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY The Wildlife Art of Robert Bateman, spotlighting more than 25 lithographs by the Canadian artist, opens Wednesday. Through Sept. 30. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. TuesdayThursday and Saturday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday. $3 adults; $1.50 ages 3-17; free to children 2 and under. 2699 DeWeese Parkway, Dayton, Ohio. 513-275-7431.
MARTA HEWETT GALLERY Presents works by Robin Kraft. Opening reception: 6-10 p.m. Friday. Through May 27. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. Saturday. 1209 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 421-7883.
MACHINE SHOP GALLERY -
Contract with Art: The First 270 Days is a group show featuring photography, drawings, paintings and installatioQS by first-year fine art graduate students from the University of Cincinnati. Opening reception: 6-9 p.m. Friday. Through May 26.11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 100 E. Central Parkway, Over-the-Rhine. 556-1928.
★ GRETA PETERSON GALERIE
Show of Mediterranean seascapes and landscapes by noted Spanish artist, Evaristo Alguacil, opens Monday. Through May 31. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 7696 Camargo Road, Madeira. 561-6785.
★ ONLY ARTISTS The folk art galllery spotlights paintings and constructions by self-taught artist Rodney Hatfield, a.k.a. Art Snake. Opening reception: 6-10 p.m. Friday. Through June 23. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. TuesdaySaturday. 1315 Main St., Over-theRhine. 241-6672.
TANGEMAN FINE ARTS GALLERY A group exhibition by graduate fine arts students from the University of Cincinnati opens Monday.
Through June 9. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. Tangeman University Center, UC, Clifton. 556-2962.
WENTWORTH GALLERY Landscapes, featuring the works of Diane Anderson, Parsons and McCannl, opens Tuesday. Through May 8. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. MondaySaturday, noon-7 p.m. Sunday. Kenwood Towne Centre, 7875 Montgomery Road, Kenwood. 791-5023.
WOODBOURNE GALLERY Continues its “Cincinnati Artist of the Month” series with Fabric and Fiber, a showing of floral paintings by Sharon Kesterson Bollen, collages and landcapes by Renee Harris, and pins and earrings by Susan Naylor. Opening reception: noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Through May 24. Also features the watercolors of Nancy Nordloh Neville. Through April 30. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday-Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday. 9885 Montgomery Road, Montgomery. 793-1888.
Galleries & Exhibits
★ ART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI Open invitational for students to use 8-inch circular wood panels to interpret the word “Fusion.” Opening reception: 5-8
Friday, noon-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Next to Cincinnati Art Museum, Eden Park. 562-8777. ARTERNATIVE GALLERY Features pottery by Animalia, painted silk scarves by Vera Stastny and Kymberly Henson, and new jewelry by various artists. Through April 30. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Wednesday and Friday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday. 2034 Madison Road, O’Bryonville. 871-2218.
ARTISTREE STUDIOS Offers an array of artwork in a variety of media from artists around the Tristate. ArtisTree also offers classes, work
shops and lectures. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Sunday. 6818 State Route 128, Miamitown. 353-2100.
ARTS CONSORTIUM OF CINCINNATI, UNION TERMINAL Art for City Walls is a yearlong exhibit focusing on local artists. Bein' Round Natti Town, a permanent exhibition, highlights the first 150 years of African-American presence in Cincinnati. 1-5 p.m. WednesdayFriday, noon-5 p.m. weekends. Union Terminal, 1301 Western Ave., Queensgate. 241-7408.
ARTS CONSORTIUM OF CINCINNATI, LINN STREETAfrican-American Framed Reflections #1 features the work of local artist, Thomas Phelps. Through May 31. Art for City Walls is a yearlong exhibit focusing on local artists. 1-8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends. 1515 Linn St., West End. 381-0645.
ATTIC GALLERY Paintings, drawings, sculpture, photographs and mixed media by members on display. Through April 28. 8 p.m.-midnight Thursday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, or by appointment. Above the York Street International Cafe, Eighth and York streets, Newport. 261-9675.
★ BABA BUDAN’S ESPRESSO BAR Works by Aaron Butler. Through April 30. 7:30 a.m.-ll p.m. Monday-Thursday, 7:30 a.m.-l a.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-l a.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-ll p.m. Sunday. 243 Calhoun St., Clifton. 221-1911.
★ BEAR GRAPHICS AND ILLUSTRATION GALLERY The Art of the Car features original illustrated automotive art by Bob Woolf, David Skrzelowski, Steve Petrosky, Tom Osborne, Mike Brann, Russ Brandenburg and David Lord. Through May 31. noon-5 p.m. TuesdaySaturday. 105 E. Main St., Mason. 398-2788.
CAFE ESPRESSO Works by Thomas Greene Jr. Through April 30. 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday. Borders Books and Music, 11711 Princeton Road, Springdale. 671-5852.
★ CAFE Z A series of lithographs by April Foster are on display. Twentyfive percent of the proceeds go to AVOC (AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati). Through May 31. 227 W. Ninth St., Downtown. 651-3287. C.A.G.E. Presents Erkel's Salon, an
UtterfCrosk
Awareness Through Song
ularly hard-hit,” says pianist Michael » *8 Chertock. “In a situation like this, I think everyone needs to rally around the flag. This event is a really great way to bring attention to the issue.”
The event Chertock refers to is Awareness ’95 Artists for AIDS Awareness, a benefit sponsored by AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati (AVOC). And many in the Cincinnati arts community are indeed rallying their talents in the effort, scheduled for Sunday at Music Hall.
Picture this, all on one stage in the course of one evening: singers Cleo Laine and Pam Myers, pianist Chertock, conductor Keith Lockhart, and members of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Opera, Ballet, Men’s Chorus as well as voxhumana, Drums For Peace, May Festival Chorus, MUSE and Vocal Arts Ensemble.
Emceeing the event will be Jerry Springer and Robin Wood. Mayor Roxanne Qualls will open the evening by proclaiming April 30-June 10 as “Artists for AIDS Awareness Time.”
A first for Cincinnati
Similar benefits have taken place in cities across the country, but this is a first for Cincinnati. Broadway performer Myers, who will sing several songs, including one she recently performed with the Cincinnati Pops, has not only volunteered with AVOC but was involved long before her return to Cincinnati six years ago.
“When I lived in Los Angeles, it was when we first became aware of AIDS,” she says. “One of the first people died there in 1981. It’s just a common occurrence to be involved with it in the entertainment community. Ten years ago, we had a benefit for AIDS Project LA. And every year since we’ve done a show. I just know so many people who have AIDS, and I want to help any way I can.”
Performing will be Michael Chertock.
Some, like Myers, believe Sunday’s event is long overdue in Cincinnati. Others, though, might ask why AIDS Awareness? Who today could possibly be unaware of the disease? AVOC was founded in 1983 in response to the to the first AIDS-related death in Cincinnati.
Funds raised by AVOC are used to improve the lives of those suffering from AIDS and HIV (the virus that causes AIDS), and their families and loved ones. Housing, transportation and home health care are provided as needed, along with support groups, financial counseling, hospital
visits, meals on wheels and many other services. While AVOC does not fund AIDS research, its professional staff and 400 volunteers work to ease the daily lives of those afflicted, until prevention or a cure can be found.
AVOC’s other major effort is education. In order to dispel myths and reduce the risk of contracting HIV, free group presentations are available about AIDS and a variety of related issues, as well as teaching material and a newsletter.
As the number of those affected by HiV/AiDS increases, so does the need for the services AVOC provides. There are now an estimated 4,000 people in Greater Cincinnati infected with HIV; 477 people have died in Hamilton County since 1981, and 52 cases of AIDS were reported in 1994.
it affects all of us’
Tom Bankston, of the Cincinnati Opera, is coordinating the production of Sunday’s concert in Music Hall. The logistics of organizing hundreds of people in what must be the first time so many local performing groups have been involved in a single event have to be a nightmare. But most egos will likely be subdued, considering the reason everyone is participating. For instance, Laine has agreed to extend her stay in town following her weekend performances with the CSO, Lockhart is returning from his new duties in Boston for the event, and Myers comes straight from a national touring stint.
Chertock, the CSO’s principal keyboardist, will play music from the movie Schindler’s List and other selections from his recent Telarc recording, Cinematic Piano.
“Although the music from Schindler’s List has been identifled primarily with the Holocaust tragedy,” he says, “it has an epic quality to it. And it seems to me that AIDS is becoming an epic
PHOTOS: BARBARA J. COTTLING tr3.^6Cly ill OUT tlITl6. Some time ago, Chertock recPamela Myers and ognized the need to increase his own awareness of AIDS.
“I played for a Cincinnati church choir, and one of the members died of AIDS, but I didn’t know that until several years later. I felt regretful that I didn’t see it happening, and I felt ignorant about the disease. So I think everyone, not just those in high-risk categories, needs to have solidarity in this issue. Because if it affects some of us, it affects all of us.” AWARENESS ’95 ARTISTS FOR AIDS AWARENESS takes place 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Music Hall, 1241 Elm St.. Over-the-Rhine. Tickets $8-$25; patron tickets at $65 and $95 include preferred seating and pre-concert reception. 721-8222 or 749-4949.
Over-the-Rhine. 651-4613.
INNER SPACE DESIGN
Second St., Dayton, Ohio. 513-278-2710.
★ MIDDLETOWN FINE ARTS
CENTER Ramblings Through a Forest Wonderland spotlights landscapes by Alex McKibbin. Through April 27. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. MondayTuesday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. WednesdayThursday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.noon Saturday. 30 N. Verity Parkway, Middletown. 513-424-2416.
MILLER GALLERY The first major show of landscapes and genre scenes in the classic French Impressionist manner by Sotiris-Corzo. Through April 29. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 2715 Erie Ave., Hyde Park. 871-4420.
Currently showing works by James Brown, Robert Motherwell, Roy Lichtenstein, Ellsworth Kelley, Robert Rauschenberg, Louis Bourgeois, Donald Judd, Elizabeth Murray, Robert Indiana, Tom Nakashima and Louise Nevelson. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. MondaySaturday. 2128 Madison Road, O’Bryonville. 533-0300.
JAMAR GALLERY It will be located temporarily at 79 Locust Hill Road, Anderson Township. By appointment only. 752-1344.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY Bom Again. Born Again. Again., a collection of photographs by Terrie Gabis, is on display in the Third Floor Gallery. ...Harmonious Discord, featuring paintings by Fred North, Lori Kyle and Kelly Jo Asbury, is on view in the Main Gallery. Through April 28. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 1-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Fine Arts Center, NKU, Highland Heights. 572-5148.
★ KZF GALLERY Between Abstraction and Realism: Where to Draw the Line highlights sculpture, paintings and works on paper by three Cincinnati-area artists: Karen Heyl, Sheila E. Yeagle and Heather Young. Through July 28. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. 655 Eden Park Drive, seventh floor, Walnut Hills. 621-6211/
OLMES GALLERY Works by April Foster and Karen J. Schunk. Through May 27. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. TuesdayWednesday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Saturday. 3515 Roundbottom Road, Newtown. 271-4004.
★ ONE SHOT GALLERYPresents new works by Cincinnati artist Mils, with vintage political cartoons by fellow Cincinnatian Claude Shafer. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays, weekends by appointment. 658 Main St., Downtown. 721-1193.
LEFTHANDED MOON On display are sterling silver works by Joseph Antonio, and black and white photos by Robert Colgan and quiltmaker and artist David Walker’s one-man show. Through April 30. 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 48 E. Court St., Downtown. 784-1166.
OVER-THE-RHINE A continuing exhibition of original work from more than 40 Over-the-Rhine artists. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Carew Tower Arcade, Downtown. 421-1110.
★ MALTON GALLERY Presents
LAURA PAUL GALLERY Fresh Paint features original works on canvas by Carol Griffith and Enrico Embroli, functional forms by Lynn Sweet and paint on paper by A. Hall. Through April 30. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, or by appointment. Dixie Terminal Arcade, 49 E. Fourth St., Downtown. 651-5885.
The Art of Printmaking, an exhibition that explores the various disciplines of printmaking with works by Barb Young, Art Werger, Wayne Kimball, Gordon Mortensen, Norman Laliberte and Fernando Bellver. Through May 1. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 2709 Observatory Ave., Hyde Park. 321-8614.
PENDLETON ART CENTERThe artists will open their studios for visitors. 6-10 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. Some studios are open during the day, but call before stopping by. 1310 Pendleton St., Over-the-Rhine. 721-6311.
MARITAIN GALLERY Paintings by William Schickel and prints by Georges Rouault. Through April 30. 1-5 p.m. Sunday-Friday. 127 W. Loveland Ave., Loveland. 683-1152.
GRETA PETERSON GALERIE New selections in the Tomar Collection. Through April 22. 11 a.m.4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 7696 Camargo Road, Madeira. 561-6785.
RAN GALLERY Permanent collection includes works by Potthast, Farny and Meakins. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, noon-7 p.m. TuesdaySaturday. 3668 Erie Ave., Hyde Park. 871-5604.
MASTERPIECE GALLERY AND FRAMING A Breath of Spring spotlights watercolors by Joan Hull Simons. Through May 19. 10 a.m.8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. 2944 Markbreit Ave., Oakley. 531-8280.
RAYMOND GALLERY Paintings by Ohio native Rebecca Barker.
MARTA HEWETT GALLERY
Exhibits contemporary fine art and crafts, including glass, ceramics and furniture, by regional and national artists. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. Saturday. 1209 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 421-7883.
★ METAMORPHOSIS
Representations of the Ideal Man, a 3-D art exhibit by honor students from St. Ursula’s British literature classes, features sculptures inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Through April 28. noon-7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 2-5 p.m. Sunday. 1313 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 621-1313.
MIAMI VALLEY COOPERATIVE
GALLERY Works by Judith Bogumill-Thaxton. Through June 30. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Eriday. 19 E.
Through May 15. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday-Saturday, 10 a.m.8 p.m. Monday and Wednesday. 2700 Erie Ave., Hyde Park. 871-7373.
ROSEWOOD ARTS CENTRE
GALLERY Holding Stones, features sculptural objects by Palli
Davene Davis of Oberlin, Ohio. Through May 19.11 a.m.6 p.m.
★ STUDIO SAN GIUSEPPE AT THE COLLEGE OF MOUNT ST. JOSEPH Student art exhibition, represents every aspect of the Mount’s distinguished art program. Through May 7.10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, 1:30-4:30 p.m. weekends. College of Mount St. Joseph, 5701 Delhi Road, Delhi Township. 244-4314.
STUDIO 701 Art from the Heart showcases works on canvas and paper by M. Katherine Hurley, winner of a recent Artist's magazine award. A good look at conservative landscape work. Studio 701 of the Pendleton Art Center, 1310 Pendleton St., Over-theRhine. 241-4123. THE SUN’S EYE An exhibition of art jewelry in sterling silver and gemstones by V.L. Punkari and J. Gustafson. Through April 30. 11 a.m.5:30 p.m. weekdays. 923 Vine St., Downtown. 241-2066.
TANGEMAN FINE ARTS GALLERY Enlightening the Classics: 18th Century Etchings of Ancient Roman Architecture. Symposium: 3-5 p.m. April 27. Through April 27. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. Tangeman Student Center, UC, Clifton. 556-2962.
TOON ART GALLERIES Disney Dimensions highlights 3-D pieces from raku pottery to collector plates and jewelry. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. TuesdaySaturday. By appointment Monday. 21 E. Fifth St., Westin Hotel, Downtown. 651-3500.
★ TONI BIRCKHEAD GALLERY Ron Isaacs, Painted Trompe L’Oeil Constructions combines painting and relief sculpture. Through June 2. 10 a.m.4 p.m. weekdays, Saturday by appointment. 342 W. Fourth St., Downtown. 241-0212.
UC CLERMONT COLLEGE ART GALLERY Photography by Mary Nemeth. Through May 5. 8 a.m.6 p.m. weekdays. 4200 Clermont College Drive, UC Clermont College, Batavia. 732-5224.
★ UC HEALTH SCIENCE LIBRARY Selected Prints from Paul Wozencraft features artwork collected by the late professor emeritus of pathology at UC's College of Medicine and includes prints by Matisse, Miro, Picasso and Roualt. Through June 30. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. 231 Bethesda Ave., Clifton. 558-5627.
PATRICIA WEINER GALLERYFeatures 19th and 20th century museum-quality paintings with special interest in Cincinnati artists. 11 a.m.5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, or by appointment 9352 Main St.,
Montgomery. 791-7717.
‘Dracula’ Chills and Thrills
REVIEW BY RICK PENDER
WENTWORTH GALLERY McKnight’s World highlights works by Thomas McKnight. Through May 1. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon-7 p.m. Sunday. Kenwood Towne Centre, 7875 Montgomery Road, Kenwood. 791-5023.
T★ WOMAN’S ART CLUB OF CINCINNATI WAC holds its 102nd Annual Juried Exhibition. Through April 29. noon-3 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 5-10 p.m. April 28, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. April 29. Pendleton Art Center, Room 501, 1310 Pendleton St., Over-the-Rhine. 522-0117.
he decision by the Cincinnati Playhouse to produce the classic horror tale Dracula (and to do it in April, not October) may seem a bit strange. Who doesn’t know the tale of the Transylvanian Count who preys on women? We’ve all seen Bela Lugosi... or suffered through his many imitators. Today, when the movies draw audiences with more and more spectacular special effects, how can a stage production possibly compete?
★ WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY ART GALLERIES Women: Elites of Passage runs through May 14. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, noon5 p.m. weekends. Creative Art Center at Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio. 513-873-2978.
Stop in at the Marx Theatre during the next few weeks and be reminded of the power of the theater.
To be sure, this is a creaky 1927 script that staggers under quaint overstatements, stilted characters and a first act that delivers more explanation about vampires and the occult than anyone would ever need to hear.
XAVIER UNIVERSITY GALLERY Paintings by Amy Backert. Through April 28. noon-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. 3800 Victory Parkway, Evanston. 745-3811.
Indeed, we all know the story. But there is something delicious in that knowing: It creates a sense of anticipation and dread. We think we know what to expect, but we’re never quite sure when a new twist might startle us.
Museums
★ CINCINNATI ART MUSEUM
The Playhouse production hits the deck running. It opens in a darkened Gothic chamber with a scratchy record playing, punctuated by bolts of lightning and crashes of thunder. A woman enters, dreamily walks through the tall glass doors to the balcony and begins to remove her dressing gown. Another thunder clap, and total darkness. It’s a sensational way to light the fuse.
Director Stephen Hollis has created a series of such moments in this production, with the able aid of some technical wizardry conjured up by David Crank (set designer) and Matthew Brian Taylor (magic effects). With a dramatic lighting design by Kirk Bookman and music and sound by David B. Smith, Dracula clicks right along with many startling moments that add up to a satisfying production.
The vampire’s comings and goings without giving away any details are varied and spectacular. Just when you settle down and think that you’ve got a handie on how something will happen, a new trick is played. Especially in the play’s final scene, this creates a series of startling effects that will leave the most jaded theatergoers’ hearts thumping.
The special effects, of course, wouldn’t be worth much without a cast of able actors. Ray Dooley’s Dracula is commanding and charismatic. We sense both his charm and his menace. His deliberate timing works very well. All the other characters are frenzied, while Dooley’s Dracula has centuries to accomplish his nefarious goals.
Air in Motion, Heart in Motion includes 14 prints by Shinoda Toko, trained in calligraphy but best known for her paintings; through May 14. Singing The Clay: Pueblo Pottery of the Southwest, Yesterday and Today features 111 examples of pottery from 12 pueblos; through June 4. Rona Pondick, whose sculptures are composed of body parts or furniture associated with the body, has 11 of her sculptures and eight of her drawings featured in New Art 4; through July 16. The Dawn of Engraving: Masterpieces from the 15th Century features many fine examples of late Gothic and early Renaissance engraving, including works by Mantegna and Durer; through July 23. Barnett and Chidlaw: The Art Academy of Cincinnati and Modernism features four paintings by Barnett and a recently acquired work by Chidlaw; through Sept. 4. All The World Arrayed, a salute to the 50th anniversary of the United Nations, showcases the museurn’s finest examples of ethnic dress and dolls; through Oct. 1. Romas
While one might expect some more overt sexuality from Dracula’s victim Lucy, actress Christine Dye brings to the role a tortured beauty that works effectively. As her father, Dr. Seward, Playhouse regular Donald Christopher is extremely effective as an exhausted man of science who can’t quite believe that this horror is happening to his daughter.
Viesulas: Notes on Sound, a series of 12 inkless reliefs by the late Romas Viesulas; through Oct. 8. $5 adults; $4 students and seniors; children free. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. TuesdaySaturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Eden Park. 721-5204.
Dracula is given comic relief by Keith McDermott as the madman Renfield and Duffy Hudson as his guard, Butterworth. The patient’s wild red hair and thick glasses not to mention his proclivity for eating flies make him memorable. Hudson’s exasperation with keeping track of the quirky patient is genuinely humorous. Some of the roles are plain silly, to be sure. But for those who think an old story can’t conjure up the chills that come from ghost stories around the campfire or staying up late to watch a horror movie, Dracula is the antidote. In fact, this production might make a few true believers in and the power and magic of live theater.
CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER
Horizons features the work of Diane Samuels, in particular, the formation of personal alphabets, including a Hebrew prayer/poem that she “translated’’ into various languages; through May 28. David Humphrey: Paintings and Drawings, 1987-1994 Is a seven-year survey of the artist’s work; through June 18. In Bill Viola: Selected Works 1976-1989, the video artist presents a selection of videotapes exploring primal fears; through June 18. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday-Saturday. $2 adults; $1 students and seniors; children 12 and under free; free to CAC members; free to all on Mondays. 115 E. Fifth St., Downtown. 345-8400.
Proto and John Chenault’s Ghost in the Machine, with Paul Winfield narrating and Cleo Lane performing the female roles. The program also includes Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 13 and Hoffman's Centennial Fanfare. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. $10-$40. Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. 381-3300.
★ THE ECHTERNACH FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA OF LUXEMBOURG
The orchestra composed of music faculty and students from Miami University, the Luxembourg Conservatory of Music, musicians from the Radio-Television Luxembourg Symphony Orchestra and the Cincinnati Boychoir performs Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem.
8 p.m. Friday. $10 adults; $5 students and seniors. Millet Hall, Miami University, Oxford. 513-529-7592.
FITTON CENTER FOR CREATIVE
ARTS Sebronette Barnes returns to the center after a six-month European tour of Porgy and Bess.
Choral groups Peace and Serenity and Bobby King and the Combined Voices of Truth perform to raise money for the Tom Geiger Guest House, which houses homeless women and children. 3:30 p.m. Sunday. $6. Church of the Assumption, 2624 Gilbert Avenue, Walnut Hills. 961-4666.
★ LINTON MUSIC SERIES The final concert of the 1994-95 season features Wu Aan on piano, Benny Kim on cello, Eric Kim and the Amernet String Quartet. 4 p.m. Sunday. $12.50. First Unitarian Church, Reading Road and Linton Street, Avondale. 381-6868.
MUSICA SACRA CONCERT
The 70-voice ecumenical chorus performs under the direction of Helmut J. Roehrig. 4 p.m. Sunday. Free. Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 7701 Kenwood Road. Kenwood. 563-8834.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY The NKU Choral Department concludes the school year with an evening of sacred music. 8 p.m. Thursday. Faculty member Todd Leavitt and friends present an innovative recital involving music and narration. 7:30 p.m. Sunday. The NKU Opera Workshop offers two one-act operas: Carlo Menotti’s The Telephone and Mozart’s The Impresario. 8 p.m. Monday. All concerts are free and take place in Greaves Concert Hall, NKU, Highland Heights. 572-5433.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY COMMUNITY CHORUS The 85-member chorus, under the direction of John Westlund, presents Mendelssohn’s oratorio, Elijah. 3 p.m. Sunday. $5. Greaves Concert Hall, NKU, Highland Heights. 572-5433.
Dance
* SHAWN WOMACK DANCE PROJECTS Premieres four new works: Shawn Womack’s Don't and Weaving Voices; Shelly and Kelly Gotessman’s Break; and Judith Mikita’s Enabling Presence. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday. $12, $8 seniors and students. The Dance Hall, Vine and East Daniels, Corryville. 751-2800.
Amateur rugby vs. Fort Wayne, 1 p.m. Saturday. Woodlawn Elementary. Information: 684-1166.
RIVER DOWNS Post time for horse racing: 1 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday. $1.50. 6301 Kellogg Ave., Anderson Township. 232-8000.
TURFWAY PARK Simulcasts from Keeneland, Aquaduct, Sportsmans Park, Garden State Park, Penn National, Retama Park and Oaklawn. 1 p.m. Wednesday-Monday. Free. 7500 Turfway Road, Florence. 371-0200.
UC BEARCATS Great Midwest Conference Baseball vs. Morehead State, 7 p.m. Thursday. Free. Johnny Bench Field, UC campus, Clifton. 556-CATS.
College rugby: XU Rugby Club vs. UC Rugby Club, 7 p.m. Saturday. Xavier campus, Evanston. 531-1007.
Recreational
AMERICAN WALKERS ASSOCIA-
TION The Cincinnati chapter has hikes each weekend. Flying Pigs Sculpture, Sawyer Point, Downtown, 9:30 a.m. Sunday; Ault Park, Principio Avenue, Mount Lookout, 2:30 p.m. Sunday. 561-3799.
CINCINNATI MARLIN MASTERS
Coached swim workouts for all abilities. Keating Natatorium, St. Xavier High School, 600 North Bend Road, Finneytown. Chris Gilligan, 232-0382.
CLUB-FITTING SESSIONS Golf professionals conduct free club-fitting sessions 2-4 p.m. Sunday throughout the golf season. Meadow Links & Golf Academy, West Sharon and Mill roads, Forest Park. 825-3701.
EAST FORK BACK PACK TRAIL
RUN The 4.4-mile run begins 9 a.m. Sunday. Register by 8:15 a.m. $12. East Fork State Park, Ohio Pike, East Fork. 734^»323.
FIGURE SKATING CLUB OF CINCINNATI Meets 6:10-8 p.m. every Wednesday. Northland Ice Center, 10400 Reading Road, Evendale. $6.50 guest fee.
FRIDAY NIGHT HIKE 7 p.m. Friday. The Oval, Mount Airy Forest, Mount Airy. 829-9739.
★ MAX’S SAND VOLLEYBALL
6:30-9:30 p.m. Monday. People interested in signing up for sixes, quads, triples and doubles leagues should call. 2135 Stapleton Court, Forest Park. 576-1381.
MIAMI GROUP OF THE SIERRA CLUB The Ohio Chapter of the Sierra Club outings canoeing, kayaking, hiking and backpacking are open to the public. 841-0111.
ORIENTEERING CINCINNATI
All events have free instructions for beginners. Bring a compass. 11 a.m.I p.m. Saturday. $3, $4 non-members. East Fork State Park, Route 125, Amelia. 523-9279.
Plainfield roads. Sycamore Township. 474-1399.
★ TOUR DE WEDNESDAY Tour de Wednesday is a joint Sierra Club/Cincinnati Cyclery Club activity for intermediate bicyclists. 9:30 a.m. every Wednesday. All riders must wear ANSI-approved helmets. 752-9639.
ALBERT B. SABIN CONVENTION CENTER Region II for Respiratory Care’s annual meeting runs through Friday. Attendance: 1,000. The American Ceramic Society’s annual meeting begins Sunday; through May 4. Attendance: 5,500. 525 Elm St., Downtown. 352-3750.
ANNUAL GREATER CINCINNATI CONFERENCE ON WORLD AFFAIRS The daylong conference focuses on China. 1-9 p.m. Friday. $95; $125 non-members; free to students and faculty. Omni Netherland Plaza, Fifth and Race streets, Downtown. 621-2320.
ANNUAL RACE RELATIONS DAY Features a program of diverse musical and ethnic groups. 3:30-5 p.m. Sunday. Union Baptist Church, 405 W. Seventh St., Downtown. 381-3858.
ANNUAL SPRING DECORATIVE ARTS LECTURE The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America presents Michael C. Quinn, deputy director for programs, who will speak on “Mt. Vernon: Reflections of George Washington." 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. Cincinnati Art Museum, Eden Park. 721-5204.
ASSOCIATION OF DONOR RECRUITMENT PROFESSIONALS Holds its annual meeting through Friday. Estimated attendance: 300. Omni Netherland Plaza, Fifth and Race streets, Downtown.
★ AIDS VOLUNTEERS OF CINCINNATI (AVOC) BENEFIT Presents “Slow Dancing Six Feet Apart.” 10 p.m. Sunday. The Dock, 603 Pete Rose Way, Downtown. Information: 241-5623.
★ AWARENESS '95 Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati Men’s Chorus, MUSE and more, present a benefit concert. 7 p.m. Sunday. $8—$25; $125 for “Meet the Artist” preferred seating; $45 “A Feast for the Palette.” Proceeds will go to AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati (AVOC.) Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. 749-4949.
BETTS-LONGWORTH HISTORIC DISTRICT TOUR Cincinnati
Heritage Program docents will conduct a walking tour of one of downtown Cincinnati's oldest neighborhoods. 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. $18; $22 non-members. 287-7056.
BREAKFAST AT SNIFFANY’S
★ OVER-THE-LINE SOFTBALL
LEAGUES Also known as ThreeOn-Three Softball, teams consist of three players and one optional hitter; the field is triangular in shape and approximately one-third the width and
A CHARISMATIC WEEKEND RETREAT Evangelist Ann Shields will lead the retreat, which begins 7:30 p.m. Friday, and ends around noon Sunday. $60. Advance registration required. St. Francis Center for Peace and Renewal, 10290 Mill Road, New Burlington. 471-LITE.
E. LEONARD ARNOFF MEMORIAL LECTURE Russell L. Ackoff the Institute for Interactive Management discusses “Systems Thinking: An Intellectual and Managerial Revolution." 7 p.m. Tuesday. Free. Lindner Hall, University of Cincinnati Campus, Clifton. 556-7143.
★ FINAL FRIDAY The galleries of Main Street, Pendleton Art Center and its environs celebrate the end the month by staying open 6-10 p.m. Friday. It’s a wonderful way to check out this part of town which has been undergoing a renaissance of sorts.
FLESH & SPIRIT: SACRED PLAY The retreat, designed for gay and bisexual men, provides an opportunity for personal exploration. Registration: 2-5 p.m. Friday. The retreat concludes at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. $215. 221-2299.
GENEALOGY
Enjoy the Arts/START and the Taft Museum are hosting a breakfast and tour of the Chinese Snuff Bottle exhibit currently showing at the museum. 10 a.m. Saturday. $5.50. Reservations must be made by Friday. Taft Museum, 316 Pike St., Downtown. 751-2700.
GENDER AND NATIONAL IDENTITY The free conference on nationhood and gender meets 2-6:15 p.m. Friday. Dining Room, Tangeman University Center, UC Campus, Clifton. 556-6776.
Readings, Signings & Events
Cheviot, 3711 Robb Ave. All events are free, but tickets should be picked up in advance. 369-6960
★ LOUISE BORDEN The local children’s author discusses her five books at area branch libraries. 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Price Hill, 3215 Warsaw Ave.; 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Deer Park, 3932 E. Galbraith Road; 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Mariemont, 3810 Pocahontas Ave.; and 7 p.m. Wednesday, Anderson, 7450 State Road. 369-6960.
★ ROSELLEN BROWN The author of Tender Mercies and Civil Wars hosts Lanzit Fiction Reading. 8 p.m. Thursday. Room 112, Lindner Hall, UC campus, Clifton. She also will give an Elliston Poetry Reading. 1 p.m. Friday. Elliston Room, Langsam Library, UC campus, Clifton. 556-1570.
BARBARA D’AMATO, SUSAN DUNLAP AND HUGH HOLTON The three mystery authors sign their books. 7 p.m. Wednesday. Borders Books and Music, 11711 Princeton Road, Springdale. 671-5852.
CONNIE GLASER The nationally recognized communications consultant and specialist on women in the workplace discusses the book she co-authored with Barbara Steinberg Smalley, Swim With the Dolphins: How Women Can Succeed in Corporate America on Their Own Terms. 5:30-6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Books & Co., 350 E. Stroop Road, Dayton, Ohio. 1-800-777-4881.
RICHARD HAGUE The chairman of the English Department at Purcell Marion High School reads from his book of poems, A Red Shadow of Steel Mills. 7 p.m. Thursday. Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Rookwood Pavilion, Madison and Edwards roads, Norwood. 396-8960.
★ BOBBIE ANN MASON The author of Feather Crowns gives a presentation of her works at a special preview of the W. Frank Steely Library expansion. 7 p.m. Thursday. $15
includes a tour of the facility, hors d’oeuvres and dessert. NKU, Highland Heights. 572-5636.
BARBARA MILO ORBACH The author of Simply Flowers signs and discusses her book. 7-9 p.m. Wednesday. Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Rookwood Pavilion, Madison and Edwards roads, Norwood. 396-8960.
KEN PAGE The illustrator of Angela Johnson’s children’s book, Shoes Like Miss Alice's, visits the Fort Thomas Blue Marble. 4-5:30 p.m. Thursday. 1356 Fort Thomas Ave., Fort Thomas. 781-0602.
SHARON KAY PENMAN The author of Here Be Dragons will sign her new book, When Christ and His Saints Slept. 7-8 p.m. Thursday. Books & Co., 350 E. Stroop Road, Dayton, Ohio. 1-800-777-4881. She will read and sign books. 7-8:30 p.m. Monday. Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Rookwood Pavilion, Madison and Edwards roads, Norwood. 396-8960.
★ MINNIE BRUCE PRATT The author of S/HE visits the Crazy Ladies Book Store. 2:30 p.m. Sunday. 4041 Hamilton Ave., Northside. 541-4198.
SHARON ROSBERG
Demonstrates how to create and plant an herb garden. 7 p.m. Friday. Barnes & Noble, Sycamore Plaza, 7800 Montgomery Road, Kenwood. 794-9440.
KATHERING ROUNDTREE The children’s author and illustrator discusses her work. 10 a.m. Thursday. Walnut Hills Branch Library, 2533 Kemper Lane. 369-6053.
★ CLIFFORD STOLL The author of The Cuckoo's Egg discusses and signs his new book, Silicon Snake Oil. 7:30-8:30 p.m. Friday. Books & Co., 350 E. Stroop Road, Dayton, Ohio. 1-800-777-4881.
★ STEVEN C. TRACY The author of Going to Cincinnati: A History of the Blues in the Queen City signs his book. 7 p.m. Friday. Barnes & Noble, 7663 Mall Road, Florence. 647-6400.
Groups
CINCINNATI PLAYWRIGHTS
Critique group for playwrights meets at 7 p.m. every Monday at the Carnegie Arts Center, Robbins and Scott streets, Covington. 556-3914.
CINCINNATI WRITERS PROJECT
FICTION CRITIQUE GROUP
Meets at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Arnold’s Bar & Grill, 210 E. Eighth St., Downtown. 441-5573.
Under discussion is W. P. Kinsella’s Shoeless Joe. 6 p.m. Sunday. Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Rookwood Pavilion, Madison and Edwards roads, Norwood. 396-8960.
MURDER AND MAYHEM The mystery book group meets at 7:30 p.m. on the first Tuesday of every month. Under discussion is Elizabeth George’s Great Deliverance. Little Professor Book Center, 814 Main St., Milford. 248-BOOK.
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF BREWING HISTORY AND ARTS
Houses the largest display of brewing and beer artifacts in the world. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. $4 adult tour and tasting; $3 adult tour only; $2 beer tasting only; under 12 free. Oldenberg Complex, Interstate 75 at Buttermilk Pike, Fort Mitchell. 341-2802.
BB RIVERBOATS Lunch, dinner, sightseeing cruises. Cruises depart from BB Riverboats’ base at Covington Landing. $4.50-$27.95. 261-8500.
BEHRINGER-CRAWFORD MUSEUM Housed within the historic Devou family home, it is the only museum of Northern Kentucky natural and cultural heritage. On display is the Harlan Hubbard Collection, donated by Hubbard in 1985.10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 1-5 p.m. weekends. $2 adults; $1 students and seniors. Devou Park, Covington. 491-4003.
BENNINGHOFFERN HOUSE
This restored Victorian mansion, built in 1861, provides the setting for the Butler County Historical Museum. 1-4 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. $1 adults; free children 12 and under. 327 N. Second St., German Village, Hamilton. 513-893-7111.
BICENTENNIAL COMMONS A picturesque riverfront park. Skating hours: 4-9 p.m. Thursday, 5-10 p.m. Friday, noon-10 p.m. Saturday, noon7 p.m. Sunday. Admission: $2 adults; $1 children 12 and under. $1 skate rental; $2 roller blade rental. Bicentennial Commons at Sawyer Point, Downtown. Call first to confirm times. 352-6316.
CAREW TOWER OBSERVATION
DECK Come to the top of the tallest building in Cincinnati for a view of the city’s seven hills. 9:30 a.m.5:30 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.5:30 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. $2 adults; $1 children 5-12; free to children under 5. 441 Vine
CIVIC GARDEN CENTER OF GREATER CINCINNATI Offers a garden variety of classes. 10 a.m.noon Saturday. 2715 Reading Road, Avondale. 221-0981.
★ CONTEMPORARY DANCE THEATER Offers classes in tap, jazz, ballet, modern dance, African dance, creative movement for children and yoga. The Dance Hall, Vine Street and East Daniels, Corryville. 751-2800.
Classes
CAMP ART ACADEMY Children may enroll for summer art classes. 1125 St. Gregory St., Mount Adams. 562-8748.
FITTON CENTER FOR CREATIVE ARTS Offers a Reverse AppliquG class. 10-11:30 a.m. Saturday. $10: $15 non-members. 101 S. Monument Ave., Hamilton. 863-8873. FLYING CLOUD ACADEMY OF VINTAGE DANCE Offers classes in 19th and 20th century dance. 8 p.m. Wednesdays. $3 members: $5 non-members. University YMCA, 270 Calhoun, Clifton. 351-7462. GROWTH IN MOTION Fanchon Shur is offering a series of five Authenticity-In-Motion classes. 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesdays, through May 30:10-11:30 a.m. Wednesdays, through May 31. $15 per class, $70 for all five sessions. 4019 Red Bud Ave., North Avondale. 221-3222. MORE, PAGE 30
C.I.C. PERCUSSIONS Offers Djembe, Shekere and Conga classes for adults and a Nigerian drum and dance class for children. The Miller Gardette Loft, 2401 Concord, Walnut Hills. 221-2222.
CITIZENSHIP CLASSES
DOWNTOWN 121 E COURT STREET Outside
Travelers Aid International’s citizenship classes continue, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday for the next New Citizens Project Test, June 10/707 Race St., Suite 300, Downtown. 721-7660.
Hie Topaz Man Waxes Philosophical
Fanning theflames offantasy is
the secret to his bare chest
BY BILLIE JEYES
In the beginning there was Fabio. And Penguin saw that he was good and broughtforth much money for another publisher, which was named Avon. So Penguin said, Let there be the Topaz Man.
He is the archetype, the object of fantasy, the hulking muscular figure on the cover of the new romance line at Penguin. He is the Topaz Man.
I know. I know. When you think of Penguin, you think of its back list of classics Dickens, Maughan, Lawrence. But times have changed and Penguin has had to move into the ’90s along with the-rest of us. Everything evolves. Perhaps, eventually, Homo romanticus will emerge from the ooze. Until then, romance fans will have to make do with the likes of the Topaz Man.
Steve Sandalis, 26, is the man behind the Topaz Man. Plucked out of college at an early age, he hopes to become a film actor. His favorite playwright is John Steinbeck. About a year and a half ago, he played Lenny in Of Mice and Men.
“I’m really concerned with my training,” he says. “I want to get parts because of my talent, not my looks.”
A self-avowed Christian, he has a thing for Native Americans. If he could invite six people from history to dinner, his list would include “Crazy Horse, George Washington, Einstein, Lincoln, Jesus definitely and Moses.
“I like nature,” he adds, “being one with the earth, in harmony with animals and people.”
Does he wax his chest?
The Topaz Man won’t tell me. “I can’t give away all my secrets.”
We’re on the phone. After a couple of questions, he begins to get flirtatious, telling me that my English accent is “cute.”
“You know what I look like,” he says playfully. “But I don’t know what you look like.” I tell him one thing for sure: I don’t have a tattoo of him on a body part. He stops doing his schtick.
Last time the Topaz Man visited the Queen City, one ardent fan, accompanied by her husband, showed up with a tattoo of him on her breast.
“I was shocked at first,” he says. “Then, I became friends with her.” The threesome recently appeared on Maury Povich which should air sometime in May.
The Topaz Man and Patricia Rice, author of Texas
Lily (Penguin, $4.99), will visit Joseph-Beth Booksellers (Rookwood Pavilion, Norwood) 7-8:30 p.m., Thursday, May 4 on their way to the Kentucky Derby.
Book Notes
The Return ofHappy The Clown (Caliber Press, $3.50), a 48-page comic book written by Greg Francis and illustrated by Troy Boyle, is now available at your local comic-book store. “It’s about a guy who gets glued into a clown suit and can’t get it off,” Boyle says. “He spends the rest of the book wreaking revenge on the people who made him that way.” The comic-book collaborators both live in Covington.
Gary Walton, a professor of Literature and Language at Northern Kentucky University, has just had his second book of poetry published by Red Dancefloor Press (P.O. Box 4974, Lancaster, CA 93539). Cobwebs and Chimeras is available for $5.
Burning Deck has just released retired University of Cincinnati English professor Dallas Wiebe’s wry collection of sketches, Skyblue’s Essays. It retails for $8.95.
Tom LeClair, a professor of English at UC, has just had his novel accepted by Permanent Press. It is due out sometime next year.
Joseph-Beth Booksellers is getting ready to open its new 35,000-square-foot store in Harper’s Station, Montgomery. It will open sometime in late June and will have a cafe, a travel agency, an orchestral suite and a children’s store.
Just Out
Peter Ackroyd The Trial ofElizabeth Cree: A Novel of the Limehouse. Murders (Doubleday/Talese, $22).
Isabel Allende Paula (Harper Collins, $24).
J.G. Ballard Rushing to Paradise (Picador, $25).
Jacques Derrida The Gift ofDeath (University of Chicago, $18.95).
Umberto Eco How To Travel With Salmon and Other Essays (Harcourt Brace, $18.95).
Martin Gilbert The Day The War Ended: May 8, 1945 (Holt, $25).
The enigma of the Topaz Man: Does he wax or shave his chest?
Mark Leyner tooth imprints on a com dog (Harmony Books, $19).
Larry McMurtry The Late Child (Simon & Schuster, $25).
Oliver Sacks An Anthropologist on Mars (Knopf, $24).
Certified estate planner Dan Spahr conducts the free seminar. 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday. Borders Books and Music, 11711 Princeton Road, Springdale. 671-5852.
MEDIA TRAINING SEMINAR
Learn how to protect your company’s image. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday. PNC Bank Conference Center, Fourth Street, Downtown. 684-1321.
MODELING WORKSHOP Learn how the modeling and talent industry works. 7:30-9 p.m. Tuesday. Reservations required. 2141 Gilbert Ave., Walnut Hills. 281-8030.
UC INTERNATIONAL FOLK DANCERS The group meets 8:15-11 p.m. Saturdays. $2; $4 non-members. University YMCA, 270 Calhoun, Clifton. 631-8830.
Programs
AIDS VOLUNTEERS OF CINCINNATI All services are free and confidential. 2183 Central Parkway, West End. 421-2437.
CAFE MATIN Vous etes invites & nous rejoindre tous les samedis au cafe Baba Budan d partir de 11 heures. Bienvenue aux Studiants, professeurs et connaisseurs de la langue frangaise. Baba Budan’s Espresso Bar, 243 Calhoun, Clifton. 221-8952 or 556-7474.
THE CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING OPTIONS An agency that works with people with disabilities to achieve goals of independence. 23 E. Seventh St., Suite 601, Downtown. 241-2600.
CLIFTON COUNSELING CENTER
Serves the gay, lesbian and bisexual communities with support and therapy groups. “Flesh and Spirit Gatherings" are designed for gay/bisexual men integrating sexuality and spirituality and meet at 7 p.m. on the fourth Sunday of every month. $20. 411 Oak St., Clifton. 221-2299.
County groups and individuals. Deadline is June 30. 863-8873. CALL TO ARTISTS AVOC (AIDS
THE GREATER CINCINNATI LITERACY TASK FORCE Dedicated to providing services for those who cannot read or write, its members promote community awareness of the adult literacy problem. 621-7323.
Volunteers of Cincinnati) is holding an auction June 10 at the Contemporary Arts Center and is looking for help from the visual arts community. Every donating artist will receive recognition through promotional materials and a show catalog. Tara Materials Inc. has donated 100 canvasses, and any artist who wishes to paint on one should contact Jerry, 421-7272.
INTER-ETHNIC COUNCIL OF GREATER CINCINNATI Its mis sion is to provide a forum for ethnic and nationality groups in the area, to meet and educate its members and the public and to promote the values of a multicultural society. 721-7660.
CINCINNATI ART MUSEUM BIG SALE IX Donate your bric-a-brac to CAM’s biennial garage sale, to be held Sept. 9-10 at the Albert B. Sabin Convention Center. Bring your donation to the museum’s loading dock 9 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays. To arrange for pickup of larger items, call 721-5204, Ext. 303.
NATIONAL SPACE SOCIETY If you’re tired of government inaction on manned space development, join the fledgling local chapter, which will hold its first meeting in May. 941-5270.
CINCINNATI CHILDREN’S MUSEUM The new interactive museum needs volunteers. 421-6136, Ext 217. Longworth Hall, 700 W. Pete Rose Way, Downtown.
PARENTS WITH HEARING IMPAIRED CHILDREN SUPPORT GROUP Meets at 6:45 p.m. every third Thursday of the month. Cincinnati Bible College, Room 251, 2700 Glenway Ave., Price Hill. 541-9073.
CINCINNATI PUBLIC SCHOOLS SUZUKI STRINGS PROGRAM This program, now in its 11th year, offers more than 270 children the opportunity to learn to play a stringed instrument. Your donation will be matched by the Corbett Foundation. 929-2419.
QUEEN CITY SWEEPERS
FIFTH THIRD ART ON THE SQUARE Volunteers 16 and over are needed for the May 19-21 event. 744-8820.
Sweepstakes enthusiasts can join the local club and keep up on up-to-date info on local and national sweepstakes as well as discover tips for winning. 3 p.m. Saturday. Free. Perkins restaurant, 9307 Montgomery Road, Montgomery. 1-800-409-1442.
GREATER CINCINNATI FOUNDATION Invites proposals from non-profit organizations for children 3 and under. Deadline for grant submissions is Aug. 10. 241-2880.
UNITED WAY HELPLINE
KENTUCKY SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL Jugglers, fire-eaters, tarot card readers, palmists, acrobats, Renaissance musicians, face painters, storytellers, magicians and street performers should contact Michael Ramach. 512-583-8738.
Provides counseling, support-group information, crisis intervention and assistance 24 hours a day. 721-7900.
OHIO ARTS COUNCIL The Ohio artists who receive National Endowment for the Arts grants will be supported by the Ohio Arts Council’s International Program, which provides as much as $5,000 to eligible Ohio arts organizations and as much as $2,000 to Ohio artists and perform
YWCA PROTECTION FROM ABUSE PROGRAMS Alice Paul House and House of Peace are emergency shelters providing housing, advocacy and support to battered women and their children. 241-2757.
Opportunities
ARTS IN COMMON This collaborative program between Hamilton’s Fitton Center for Creative Arts and the surrounding community offers minigrants for qualifying arts projects, defined as a new or existing program designed to educate, enlighten or involve individuals in the visual or performing arts. Awards of up to $1,500 are available to non-profit Butler
the
ers. The deadline is May 15 for projects beginning Nov. 1. For collaborative projects, residencies should call Silvio Lim at 202-682-5422. Artists and performing artists should contact Pennie Ojeda at 202-682-5422.
PEPSI JAMMIN’ ON MAIN The May 12-13 festival is looking for volunteers 16 and older. 744-8820.
TALL STACKS The Greater Cincinnati Tall Stacks Commission is seeking volunteer supervisors for the Oct. 11-15 event. 397-0555.
VOICES AND VISIONS OF URBAN YOUTH Filmmakers
Spike Lee, Marcus Turner and Hark Bohm will judge the photographers, videographers and filmmakers’ completed work, which should supersede the negative, commercialized and stereotypical images of youth and expand the margins and assumptions constructed around “minority imagery." Artist application deadline is June 1; film and video, Sept. 1; visual art, Sept. 15. The conference will take place Sept. 22-Oct. 1. 721-2777.
1995 APPALACHIAN FESTIVAL
The May 12-14 festival at Coney Island, which celebrates the area’s rich mountain heritage with downhome entertainment, crafts, food and cultural attractions, needs volunteers. Applicants must be at least 18. Call Jerry Sebastian at 441-8464.
1995 COMMUNITY ART EXHIBIT
To qualify, artists must reside in eastern Hamilton, Clermont, or. western Brown counties. Up to three pieces, properly mounted, may be submitted and should be dropped off at Universtiy of Cincinnati, Clermont College 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. May 8-11., 4200 Clermont College Drive, Batavia. 248-2128.
Onstage
NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY SUMMER DINNER THEATRE You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown runs June 22-July 1. Play It Again Sam runs July 7-15. Romance Romance runs July 20-29. Dinner begins at 6:30 p.m., the show at 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. On
CENTER FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY
BY JULIE
OLYMPUS GYM 6 month membership, includes training,
supplements, exercise & nutrition manual, and more. Only $150. Olympus gym, 128 East 6th St., 651-9114. OVER HERE, HELLO?
It's the best —!
It's the first —! It's the finest —! It's the latest —! It's the least —! It's the worst —!
It's the... Hi! Dreadful! Fabulous! OK. NOW YOU KNOW. Olympus Gym, 128 East 6th St. 651-9114.
READINGS Norita Ruehl, spiritual advisor and professional reader, offers private group readings. Receive the answers to specific questions and personal concerns. Hostess Plan is available is available with group often. All information is strictly confidential. Call 606-441-0908.
RELAXING MASSAGE Certified professional offers: Swedish/Oriental, Deep Tissue/Light Touch, Reflexology. Relieve pain, soothe stress. Outcalls available, times flexible. $20/hour. Call 921-1801.
STRESS THERAPIST/ HYPNOTHERAPIST Ron Scanlon, Certified Stress Therapist, Certified Hypnotherapist uses Relaxation, Emotional Clearing, and Muscle Tension Release to balance the body, heart, and spirit. Understand and let go of everyday aches and pains. 1-513-298-4939. THE BODY MALL
Understand yourself and those you love better. Professional astrologer Jeri Boone offers counseling through the art of astrology and numerology. Or join Jeri and Beverly Boone, both licensed massage therapists, they offer therapeutic sage, Swedish massage, cranial sacral, body reflexology, polarity therapy, and accupressure. The Body Mall has a fully trained professional staff, and offers study groups, development workshops, children's classes, and many alternative methods of caring for yourself. 3519 Glenmore Avenue, 662-5121.
THERAPEUTIC BODYWORK
Bodywork is individualized and includes Massage-Swedish, Deep tissue, and Amma; Acupressure-jinshindo: Energy Work- Reiki, Therapeutic Touch; and Integrative Bodywork. Kirk Prine, Ed.D., C.M.T., by appointment only. 431-3112.
Business Opportunities
EARN MONEY Earn money typing in your area. Excellent part-time money. Send $1 and self addressed stamped envelope to M.A. Advertising & Distribution, Dept. CB, 4511 Carroll St., Covington, KY 41015. THE PERFECT BUSINESS No inventory, no deliveries, no collections, customer risk, employees, quotas, no products to purchase, no complicated math or paperwork, no experience necessary. Immediate income: Call 631-8935.
THRILL SEEKERS Championship marketing team, recruiting for money.motivated team players. Excellent $$$$$, fun environment, training provided. Call 721-4577.
Business Services
LADIES NIGHT OUT Intimate Moments, Inc. invites you to evening of Lotions, Lingerie, Novelties, and Adult Toys. Call Laura today to book a party or for your free catalog. 18 years and older. 779-8394. LEGAL SERVICES Tired of paying high prices for simple legal forms? We assist people in preparing the following standard legal forms for filing
KEYBOARDIST/VOCALIST
Sunset Ave., 921-5717
THE DRUMSHINE SHOP carries Cincinnati’s largest selection of all percussion accessories. 8627 Reading Rd., 821-8866
SALSA! SOCA! REGGAE! Come dance in our LITTLE RED RHUMBA ROOM! Every Saturday
ZARABANDA WORLD CAFE & RESTAURANT 3213 Linwood Ave., 321-1347 JAMAICAN NIGHT! Come listen to acoustic reggae and wear rasta colors. Special menu. Every Thursday.
ZARABANDA WORLD CAFE & RESTAURANT 3213 Linwood. Avenue, 321-1347
EXPERIENCE THE ENERGY!
Come visit Northern Kentucky’s premier metaphysical emporium. Featuring new and used books, New Age CDs, jewelry, crystals, and much more! Open daily.
Do you have a project that needs that special touch? Specializing in documentation of events, arts and commercial projects, & non-linear editing. Call Bob Leibold, voice/fax 481-1444
MUSICIANS, PREVENT RINGING IN THE EARS & HEARING LOSS without losing the tonal balance of the music. The Er-15 earplugs are also more comfortable than foam earplugs. For a better way to protect your hearing, call LEWIS HEARING SERVICES, 351-3277
BEADS BEADS BEADS FROM AROUND THE WORLD CALL ABOUT CLASSES Treasure Island Jewelry, 34 W. Court, 241-7893
CINCINNATI’S MOST UNIQUE COLLECTIVE OF GIFTS & HOME ACCESSORIES
IRON-GLASS-FIBER-STONE-ILLUMINATION SHOP ERBAN EARTH 201 E. 8th St, Downtown. 651-5775.
ECHO FURNISHINGS
GREAT MIX OF NEW & USED FURNITURE LOW MILES, LOW PRICES Downtown, 13 Garfield Place, 684-0010 Visit our 2nd location in the Milford Shopping Center! 831-2847.
NEED A TELEPHONE NUMBER? HAVE WE GOT THE ANSWER FOR YOU! ONLY $9.95/MONTH + TAX Confidential, unlimited messages, business or personal, 800 #s available! AMERICAN VOICE MAIL, INC., 244-5696
SINGLES DANCES HUNDREDS ATTEND! CALL 771-6943.
WE’D LIKE TO WELCOME WAYNE & RON TO INNER PEACE MASSAGE
Receive a 1 hour massage for $25 when you mention this ad! Inner Peace Massage 3907 Harrison Avenue, Cheviot Only minutes from Downtown! 661-0302. USED IBM COMPUTERS UNDER $400
KEVIN BIRCHFIELD, 598-9703, LEAVE MSG. See classified ad on inside page!
WE DELIVER! Let us deliver lunch or cater your next business meeting. PAULA’S 525 Vine Street 381-3354
ENERGY BODY CENTER MASSAGE, ACUPRESSURE, & ENERGY WORK Kirk Prine, Ed-D., C.M.T., 431-3112
Welcome to Back Beat, the back page of Cincinnati CityBeat. This last page is your last chance to have the last word.
So talk back to us! Answer our sometimes silly, sometimes cerebral weekly question. Then beat it to the nearest mailbox, fax or modem. If we print your response in our letters section next week, you get a free Cincinnati CityBeat T-shirt. Not a bad deal for the cost of a stamp or fax, eh? This week’s question: AnyRegrets?
Name:
Address:
Daytime voice telephone number:.
MUSCLE MUTINY?
Maybe it’s time for you to check out the Body/Mind/Spirit column in CityBeat Classifieds. You’ll find lots of help for squelching a rebellion - exercise classes, nutrition programs, massage therapists, and more. So before you lose the war, turn to the Classifieds.
FUNNY BOOKS N’ STUFF COMIC BOOK SHOP NEW COMICS EVERY WEDNESDAY. OLD COMICS, LOTS MORE! 5063 GLENWAY, 921-5720
THE PERFECT BUSINESS
No inventory, no deliveries, no collections, no customer risk, no employees, no quotas, no products to purchase, no complicated math or paperwork, no experience necessary. Call 631-8935.
DRACULA!
Now playing Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park 421-3888
YOUR ROOMMATE IS GETTING MARRIED
Now what do you do? You call CityBeat Classifieds and place a free ad to find a new, reliable, won’t-fall-in-love-andleave-you-in-the-lurch roommate! Who responds to CityBeat Classifieds?
Peoplejust like you! Hurry, call before the wedding - 665-4700.
THE BODY MALL
offers counseling through the art of Astrology and Numerology. Also offering Therapeutic Massage, Body Reflexology, Polarity Therapy, & Acupressure. Featuring study groups, develpoment workshops, & children’s classes. AN ALTERNATIVE METHOD OF CARING FOR YOURSELF. 662-5121. 3519 Glenmore Avenue
FOR A GREAT CHEST, PRESS HERE OLYMPUS GYM 128 E. 6th St, 651-9114 JACQUELINE’S ALTERATIONS Professional, affordable alterations of men’s and ladies
