contributing editors Mike Breen, Music; Dale Doerman, On Stage; Riek Pender, On Stage; Steve Ramos, Film
contributing writers Karen Amelia Arnett, Brian Baker, Maureen Bloomfield, Terry Brown, Elizabeth Carey, Jane Durrell, Jon Hughes, John James, Billie Jeyes, Josh Katz, Jonathan Kamholtz, Michelle Kennedy, Brad King, Kim Krause, Craig Lovelace, Perin Mahler, Susan Nuxoll, David Pescovitz, Jeremy Schlosberg, Althea Thompson, Fran Watson, Kathy Y. Wilson.
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News&Views
Burning Questions Can Cincinnati
City Manager John Shirey appease Reds
CEO Marge Schott by Jan. 4? Where did $7 million for Fountain Square West’s planned high-tech theater come from?
Can the infrastructure keep up with development in Warren County? 5
News Activist explains how racism is manipulated by the Right 6
Cover Story Holiday hi-jinx 7
Putting It
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deadlines: Calendar listings information, noon Thursday before publication; classified advertising, 5 p.m. Friday before publication; display advertising, noon Monday before publication. Next issue will be published Dec. 22,1994.
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER WITH SOY-BASED INKS
ON THE COVER:
Illustration by Jim Browning
Design by Paul Neff
XJtkerKiosk
Index to calendar listings 14 "V
Film What can CityBeat’s own Steve Ramos say? Except that Speechless isn’t funny and wastes talent 17
Music CityBeat’s Mike Breen interviews Matt O’Brien of Detroit’s Big Chief 19
Art Artists showing at Mason Fine Arts Gallery have more than figure studies on their minds 23
Onstage John Body Players sort of explore good vs. evil in Jesus-Man and Devil-Guy 26 Literary Prozac Nation meets caffeine rush 27
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How to submit an ad 31
Classified Ads Help wanted, for sale, for rent, music, services 31
Back Beat Answer CityBeat’s question of the week 32
News ethics: When the fines “real” journalism become blurred with coverage of the O.J. Simpson pers beef up codes of ethics. But run counter to First Amendment
Staging the holidays: It’s almost Don’t let Christmas pass without formance. If you like the traditional, Carol and The Nutcracker. If consider Laser Nutcracker or Making toast of the competition: Good champagnes or sparkling wines, if you must don’t necessarily
The Straight Dope
BY CECIL ADAMS
Ihope you can help me with this one most of my friends think I’m crazy. I am convinced my physical presence has the ability to make streetlights bum out. On an average night walking through a parking lot, at least one or two streetlights will go out pvhen I approach, then regain their luminous state after I have passed. Could there be some sort of electrochemical imbalance in my body that causes this to happen? Am I surrounded by some strange magneticfield? This happens only with streetlights, not with lights in my home or public buildings. Is there a scientific explanation, am I loony, or do Ijust pay too much attention to streetlights?
Matthew Davis, San Jose, Calif.; similarlyfrom Neal Duncan, Washington, D.C.
Nothing personal, Matthew, but our default explanation for things like this is that you are loony. However, on investigation (we had little Ed bring it up on talk radio), we are starting to think there’s more to this than meets the eye. When the sodium-vapor bulbs commonly used in streetlights start to-go bad, they “cycle” go on and off repeatedly.
Cecil is having a hard time getting the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board to agree on what happens, but apparently the bulb overheats, goes out, cools down, then relights. If you’re walking past when this happens and you’re the neurotic type, you think it’s your fault. This surely accounts for most of the reports we’ve gotten about this over the years.
But maybe not all. While making one of his periodic reports to the nation on the Mara Tapp show on WBEZ, little Ed mentioned your letter, figuring he might get a few calls from, as he indelicately put it, “the loony-tune quadrant of the listening audience.” As usual he got no help from Tapp, who thought he was making the whole thing up. Also as usual, though, the lines lit up with listeners saying the same thing had happened to them. One caller, saying there was a 12-step program for streetlight snuffers, pointedly told Tapp it was common for people to be in denial about this. So there. And then there was a call from Joe. Joe claimed that when he and a friend
walked down a street in Chicago once,, eight or nine of the dozen or so streetlights they passed went out as they approached, then relighted after they’d gone by. While subsequent forays into the city have not been so unenlightening, Joe says he will sometimes put out
ILLUSTRATION: SLUG SIGNORINO
two or three lights in the course of a stroll. Though he can’t do so at will. Hmm, said little Ed.
We are not about to say we believe in bodily emanations. No doubt it is all just coincidence. Or maybe Joe is lying, crazy or under the influence. (He sounded OK, but on the phone you can’t tell if your source’s eyes are dilated.)
But we never rule anything out, espedally if we can get a column out of it. We checked with several electrical-engineering types, who professed bafflement. Deficient hypotheses include:
Joe is somehow triggering the photocell that causes street lamps to switch on and off. But Chicago street lamps don’t have individual photocells. The photocell is in a master electrical box that controls 25 or 30 lights.
Joe is causing the bulb to vibrate loose. Supposedly if you hit the pole in the right spot, the luminaire (the part with the bulb) will whip back and forth so sharply that the bulb loses contact.
But Joe says he doesn’t hit the poles, periodically drop a box of anvils or anything like that.
Seeing as how we’re not making much progress, we’re faced with several choices: (1) Give up in frustration. We’d sooner die. (2) Conduct six weeks of indepth investigation. Right. Like we get paid by the hour for this. (3) Fob the job off on the Teeming Millions. The very thing. We invite reports from persons who believe they douse more streetlights than can be explained by mere happenstance. We are particularly interested in hearing from people who can do this at will, without the aid of wire cutters, slingshots, etc. Include phone number or e-mail Ed at ezotti@merle.acns.nwu.edu.
Perhaps nothing will come of this. But you never know.
Is there something you need to get straight? CECIL ADAMS can deliver the Straight Dope. Write Adams at CityBeat, 23 E. Seventh Street, Suite 617, Cincinnati, OH 45202
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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.
Talking Back
Each week, Cincinnati CityBeat poses a question on its back page. Our staff selects the best responses to print the following week, with published responses meriting a CityBeat T-shirt. Here are some of the responses to last week’s question: “What would you name a female-oriented counterpart to Hooters restaurant?”:
SUZANNE FISHER: Protruders, Hot Doggies.
COLE: International House of Sausage (I.H.O.S.), Meatpuppets, Long John Silver’s (may already be taken).
JAY SPRINGER: Weiners.
ANDY HOWE: Dangles, Mr. Bojangles, Brad Pitts’ Joint.
GREG OTTING: Woody’s Thick and Juicy Steaks.
CHRIS HIRSCHMAN: Boners (provided the costumes were similar; Speedos would be appropriate).
PAMELA POLLEY: Pecker’s (with a woodpecker as a mascot).
ALAN ULLMAN: Rocky’s.
KIMBERLY ROGERS: Gonads (motto: “We keep you coming”).
PATRICIA KESSLER: Scooters (or, for a gay clientele, perhaps Fruiters).
JENNY WILSON: Tasty Testees, Ballmeat Junction, Deez Nuts, Tom’s Harry D., Chokin’ Chicken Shack, Jackstoolate.
Journeys That Matter
It’s
the time of yearforpantless Santas, letters home, the straight dope and thoughts of travel
BY JOHN FOX
Welcome to our jaunty holiday issue, which we’ve dubbed “The Underbelly of Christmas.” It’s a brief, selective guide to the truly off-beat, weird and wonderful of this special season.
We’ve pulled together suggestions from our staff writers on Christmas food, drink and gift ideas. We investigate recipes for marinated reindeer steak and non-microwaveable chestnuts. We find out where the Fountain Square tree came from and where it’s going after the city is done with it. We muse on just how politically correct Santa might be getting in his old age.
Speaking of Santa, we feature two unusuallyjolly fellows in this week’s pages. Our cover Claus, hairy belly and all, comes courtesy of Cincinnati graphic designer Jim Browning, who’s obviously been watching a little too much “Ren & Stimpy.” That’s more of Santa than any man, woman or child wants to see.
Or perhaps that honor goes to our interior Saint Nick, the pantless wonder. Looks like he’s on his way to a North Pole poetry slam in his beatnik garb. Just call him Beat-Nick. There are 10 bonus points (and perhaps a CityBeat T-shirt) in it for the first reader to correctly identify our pantless Santa.
If you’ve made it this far in Issue 5, you’ve passed the newest CityBeat feature (unless, of course, you read from the back page forward). On Page 3 is “The Straight Dope,” straight from the venerable Chicago Reader, where it’s been entertaining folks since 1973. A few years ago the Reader began syndicating
THIS MSIIIM WtILB
THE BEINGS APPEAR TO HAVE SUBMERGED THElR INDIVIDUAL IDENTITIES INTO A COLLECTIVE HIVE CONSCIOUSNESS CAPTAIN...
Cecil Adams’ column, and 22 alternative newspapers now carry it on a weekly basis. We’re excited to be able to bring “The Dope” to Cincinnati. We hope that, from now on, all your most puzzling and perplexing questions will finally be answered by someone who really cares: That’s the theory, anyway.
Send all queries to Adams via CityBeat, and we’ll forward them to wherever he hangs his hat.
* * This issue also contains the second installment in a series we’re calling “Letters Home.” Two weeks ago, we printed correspondence from Northern Kentucky artist Susan Nuxoll from her missionary enclave in Bosnia. This week, we hear from former Taft Museum Director Ruth Meyer, who earlier this year left town (and the country) to establish a new department of comparative culture at a Japanese college.
Editorial View
Meyer’s letter describes her struggle to overcome a language barrier and differences in teaching philosophy experiences that all who know Ruth (as well as those who don’t) will be interested to follow. Both Nuxoll and Meyer plan to write every other month or so.
Our thinking behind running letters from expatriate Cincinnatians is to keep track of our friends and neighbors who leave for adventure, missions or “the big city.” We all know people who have left the area for work or pleasure, and we thought we’d try to track a few selected individuals as they make their way in the world.
Our thinking behind running letters from expatriate Cincinnatians is to keep track of our friends and neighbors who leave for adventure, missions or “the big city.” We all know people who have left the area for work or pleasure, and we thought we’d try to track a few selected individuals as they make their way in the world. Look for some new names and postmarks to pop up in coming issues.
Along similar lines, we will soon begin running short pieces from Cincinnatians who have returned from far-flung (or near-flung) adventures with a story to tell. Jane Durrell,
by TOM TOMORROW
they SEEM TO INHABIT A SELF-CONTAINED BUBBLE OF ALTERNATE REALITY. COMPLETELY UNAFFECTED BY THE LAWS OF OUR UNIVERSE... r\r-\ r nuh PntiaajAi iTv aOC
they ARE LINKED TO ONE ANOTHER 8Y AUDIO TRANSMISSIONS WHICH RELAY the incessant babbling of an OTHERWISE UNEXCEPTIONAL MEMBER|i OF Their SPEClES"WH0 is, in RETURN, FED AND PAMPERED LIKE THE BLOATED QUEEN OF A TERMITE COLONY...
Gob MY MEAN YoU
YES CAP TA
Our very own Beat-Nick.
one of our contributing art writers, will debut the feature with an intriguing description of an afternoon spent several months ago at a Turkish bath in Budapest.
We plan to open the section to reader submissions, with the hope that Cincinnatians are concerned with more than just what’s inside the 1-275 beltway. We think about regional, national and international events, people and places; we visit other cities and come back; sometimes we leave and never come back.
As they say, it’s not the destination but the journey itself that matters.
they are DittoHEADS. RESISTANCE r is Futile. I dittos. YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED. DITTOS.
PHOTO: SEAN HUGHES
MINING QUESTIONS
Please Marge
Some members of Cincinnati City Council have backed down on their plan to mend fences with Marge Schott, Reds president and CEO, by offering her $2 million.
The $2 million would have come from the city’s share of revenue generated by the stadium and probably was owed to Schott, said City Council Member Todd Portune. It was hoped that the money would start to mend the rift that was created about a year ago, when the city gave $2 million to the Bengals for improvements at Spinney Reid, Portune said.
But Portune and other council members who initially supported the peace-offering plan changed their minds and gave City Manager John Shirey until Jan. 4 to make significant progress in negotiations with Schott.
When attempts at doing this have been unsuccessful during the past year, why does Shirey think he can solve anything in the next three weeks?
Shirey has no comment on the question, said Fannie Nicholes, an assistant of Shirey’s who agreed to try to get an answer after Shirey did not return CityBeat's telephone call.
NANCY FIROR
An Easy $7 Million
Plans for an IMAX 3-D theater, a Discovery Simulator and a planetarium on Fountain Square West materialized seemingly out of thin air about two weeks ago.
Cincinnati City Council members endorsed the Museum Center Board plan as the perfect replacement for the once-planned conservatory a plan that was killed in August when Council Member Charles Winburn changed his vote on the issue.
The conservatory’s replacement the high-tech theater complex to sit atop the new Lazarus appealed to council members as the surprise, almost magical, answer.
But how is it that the plan came with $7 million in attached state funding without local elected officials knowing about it?
State officials who previously had designated $7 million for the conservatory on Fountain Square West simply were kept informed about the emerging theater plan, said Buck Niehoff, chairman of the Museum Center Development Committee. An additional $10 million in private donations will be raised for the project.
As far as the state is concerned, "The IMAX theater is just another Fountain Square West project," Niehoff said.
NANCY FIROR
Outpacing the Infrastructure
Development continues to flourish in Warren County. One of the most recent examples is a 211-acre development by the Great Traditions Land and Development Co. of Cincinnati currently under construction north of Fields Ertel Road, east of Interstate 71.
Simultaneously, Warren County has struggled to provide water service to its current population.
In 1988 and 1991, the county issued a complete ban on sprinklers because of water shortages. The Warren County Water and Sewer Department also has added a limited water ban into its operating policy, said Ray Nelson, operations superintendent for the department.
In response to this recurring water shortage, the county plans to add a new, 3-million-gallon well field in South Lebanon, and the county will be doubling the size of its water plant.
Will that guarantee that the county will be able to supply water to new and existing residences?
Yes, Nelson said.
“Our intention is to be able to supply another 3 million gallons by May of 1995,” he said. "We will then go ahead with the next expansion shortly to keep up with the growing area."
BRAD KING
BURNING QUESTIONS is weekly attempt to afflict the comfortable.
News&Views
An Alternative Look at How and Why It Happened
The No’s for News
Local, national media disagree on how to enforce
BY NANCY FIROR AND JOHN FOX
Surveys indicate that the American public distrusts members- of the media more than politicians and on par with lawyers. Office-seekers have learned to bypass traditional news outlets in favor of “soft news” talk shows. The O.J. Simpson murder trial threatens to forever blur the distinction between “real” and “tabloid” news.
Intent upon holding the publie’s trust, media organizations seem to agree on a course of action:Establish credibility. There is little consensus, however, on how to assure readers and viewers that the media follow ethical standards and report the news fairly, accurately and objectively.
Many editors at major U.S. dailies including The Cincinnati Enquirer have proposed more detailed ethic^s policies for their reporters, restricting involvement with community organizations which could “bias” news coverage. Others recommend reporters become more involved in their communities and seek out opportunities to interact with “regular” people. And still others suggest that editors forget about detailed ethics policies and let reporters simply do their jobs.
Benjamin Bradlee
Enquirer Editor Lawrence Beaupre is among those who believe that adherance to written, ethical standards guides fair news coverage that gains public trust. One of his tools is a proposed, 19-page Enquirer Professional Standards policy for news employees, which he says will help them avoid even an appearance of partiality.
Besides providing rules for accurate reporting, the proposed Enquirer policy includes a number of detailed restrictions for reporters, such as not placing political bumper stickers on vehicles used for news coverage, not participating in political demonstrations, not making monetary contributions to political candidates, not belonging to or writing for groups that might generate news and exercising caution in developing social friendships with newsmakers.
“Generally speaking, don’t get involved in profession.
Like anyone, a journalist believe in an appropriate Benjamin Bradlee, vice-president Washington Post. And board ethical rules in behavior can vary from “Buzz” Merritt, editor Eagle is a proponent that journalists have the news.
“It’s trying to help explaining that his news find out and report what about and what they
So, while the journalist “fair-minded participant eating causes, ethical situations arise, he says.
For example, Merritt for a sports reporter in the neighborhood though, might be more reporter is covering the in a leadership role are considered, he says.
Using Race to Divide
Lesbian-rights activist warns ofreligious right's efforts to drive wedge between African-Americans and gays
BY BRAD KING
Gay community leaders have created an obstacle for themselves by portraying the gay community as affluent, white and male, says Stephanie Smith, the Lesbians of Color project coordinator for the National Center for Lesbian' Rights (NCLR).
The religious right, she claims, has used that portrayal to convince conservative, African-American clergy that gays affluent and not oppressed do not need protection and are actually a threat to the African-American civil rights movement. The result has created a wedge between the African-American movement and the gay and lesbian civil rights movement, Smith says.
“(The right’s) argument goes that there is a finite pool of rights and one group can’t get rights without another group losing them,” says Smith, 29, NCLR’s project coordinator since the 1993 Gay and Lesbian March on Washington, D.C.
Smith, who will discuss these issues Saturday in Cincinnati, says her work in the African-American community intensifled after the Washington march prompted a group of conservative Cleveland African-American clergy calling themselves “The True Leaders of th,e Black Church” to mobilize against the city’s gays and lesbians.
The Christian Coalition which had been promoting its own traditional family values campaign found an opportunity to create a coalition with “The True Leaders,” she explains, and forged inroads into the African-American community.
(Similar concerns arose in Cincinnati in 1993 when billboards featuring a black minister in support of Issue 3 appeared around the city. Issue 3 repealed the portion of a city ordinance that gave fair housing and other protections to gays and lesbians.)
Smith believes that leadership within the gay community, while attempting to gain greater access to society, inadvertently has created an environment where this black-vs.-gay rights argument seemed plausible.
“They are fighting for a small piece of the pie instead of saying ‘we should bake a bigger pie,’ Smith says in a telephone interview from San Francisco.
Making matters worse, she says, the national media has played on the stereotype of a deeply homophobic African-American Community.
Yet the Congressional Black Caucus has voted in favor of gay and lesbian civil rights 98 percent of the time, she explains. And the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Jesse Jackson and Coretta Scott King supported the 1993 Washington march.
“The black community hasn’t fallen hook, line and sinker for that (scarcity of rights) line of bullshit,” Smith says.
The biggest hurdle facing gays and lesbians in the African-American community, she says, is opening the lines of communication with conservative clergy.
“The leadership needs to come from black gays and lesbians. I think one of the approaches that works is to have individual black gays and lesbians sit down with their clergy and talk about the pain caused from this external pressure of hatred preached from the pulpit.”
ETHICS: FROM PAGE 5
across-the-board restrictions suspend a journalist’s First Amendment rights and promote passivity.
“The reality is that if you don’t believe in, anything, you’re passive...” Solomon says. “It may be reflected in reporting that accepts the status quo that in itself is a bias.” Ultimately, he says, passivity promotes news coverage in which reporters simply rely upon official sources for information and wind up “serving as stenographers for the powerful.”
Beaupre argues for his proposed standards policy in The Enquirer newsroom, saying journalists have to be told the rules if they’re going to be expected to follow them. While attention by journalism organizations to ethics has recently heightened, he says, his proposed policy is not in response to public concerns.
For Beaupre, who became Enquirer editor about two years ago, such policies are standard procedure.
“If you have a standard, why hesitate to put it in writing?” he says. “A newsroom has to have a standard.”
“To warrant the public’s trust, a newspaper must be free of governmental control and official coercion, outside influence and conflicts of interests....,” reads the introduction to the draft policy, which applies to fulltime news employees, including Beaupre and editors under his supervision. “Because a newpaper and its staff are subject to close public scrutiny, newsroom employees must avoid any situation that gives even the appearance of impropriety or partiality.”
The standards are not meant to cover every situation and do leave room for discussion, Beaupre says, but are needed to answer questions in ethical areas where, historically, answers have been unclear.
But Howard Wilkinson, Enquirer political reporter, says such detailed, across-the-board standards shouldnot have to be put in writing.
“Yes, there are standards that should apply to all people...,” says Wilkinson, who also is president of The Enquirer’s unit of the Cincinnati Newspaper Guild. “But there should be an assumption that everyone here is a professional and has some sense of right and wrong, and until that person gives you a reason there should be no (written) standards.”
Community involvement is encouraged under Beaupre’s policy, but only to the extent that involvement can occur without becoming a participant in the news or advocating causes. On not advocating causes, Bradlee also agrees.
inding a place for the baby Jesus to be bom might be as difficult today as it was in the days of Caesar Augustus.
Suppose a young, unmarried couple named Mary and Joseph arrived in Cincinnati close to Christmas Eve not knowing a soul, and suppose the woman were pregnant. Where would they go? What would they do?
Assuming they were destitute, Mary and Joseph would be eligible for certain governmental assistance
programs, says Mindy Good, director of communications for the Hamilton County Department of Human Services.
Because the couple is not married, Mary could qualify for $203-a-month in Aid to Families With Dependent Children (ADC) and a pregnancy allowance. In addition, the couple would be eligible for $212-a-month in food stamps, which could be approved in as little as 24. hours'. Joseph also could be eligible for $100-a-month in general assistance.
Somewhat more difficult, Good says, would be find-
CONTINUES ON PAGE 8
ROOM FROM PAGE 7
ing a place for them to stay. Her agency would try to refer them to the Chabad House in Roselawn or the Welcome House in Covington.
“It’s not easy” to find places for unmarried, expecting couples, Good says. “Some places would just take Dad, some would just take Mom.”
And the minute Jesus Christ was born, Mary’s ADC benefits would be in g ; $&g jeopardy.
“Mom would no longer be eligible for ADC unless Dad splits,” which Joseph did not do back in Bethlehem, Good says. “That’s why welfare to be reformed.”
For the couple to get benefits in the first place, however, Joseph arid Maty.. might also have to act out of character by hiding some crucial facts along with their presents from the three kings.
Since Joseph is a carpenter, a truthful application for government HHH assistance would have to include the fact that he has a job. Then, Good ,'S& points out, the couple likely has assets back in Nazareth. After all, they’re only in a temporary jam because of a decree Ammcfne th»r
all the world must be enrolled, which forced Mary was expecting.
In other words, even in 1994, Mary and Joseph might wind up right back at the stable.
NANCY FIROR
We set out to sample Cincinnati’s amazing array of gift items for this holiday season from the highest of top end to the bottom of budget conscious. Here’s what CityBeat found. (Let us know which one helped the most.)
$25,508.95 Gift List: Crystal bowl, Saks Fifth Avenue: $120. 1 oz. Colony perfume by Jean Patou, Saks Fifth Avenue: $625.
Lacy black bra, Victoria’s Secret: $38. “Borghese” Superior Lipstick, Parisian: $20. Celestron binoculars, Eastern Hills Camera & Video: $429.
2 oz. assorted French chocolates, Galerie Au Chocolat: $70. 18K Baignoire watch on Casque D’Or bracelet, Saks Fifth Avenue: $16,300. Glass sculpture by
Concetta Mason, Vertu Gallery: $7,500.
Windsor Newton Series
7 No. 12 Kolinsky brush, Suders Art Store: $377.
“Chateau de Versailles” Jigsaw Puzzle, St. Nicholas Toys: $29.95.
$17.99 Gift List:
Crystal bowl, It’s Really
$ 1 00 $ 1
“A Million Stars” cologne, Dollar General Store: $3.
Lacy black bra, Family Dollar: $3.
Roxy Lipsticks eightpack collection, Dollar General Store: $3.
Super View binoculars with vinyl straps, It’s Really
20 assorted artist brushes, It’s Really $1.00: $ 1
“Moses in the Bullrushes” jigsaw puzzle, It’s Really $1.00: $1.
BILLIE JEYES
Grilled Loin of Rudolph
1 boneless reindeer strip loin (4 pounds)
1 cup of dry red wine
2 tablespoons of olive oil
6 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon of black pepper
Cherry tomatoes
Cut the reindeer meat in half; place it on a big platter. Mix the wine, olive oil, garlic and pepper in a bowl and pour it over the meat. Marinate two hours at room temperature. Light the grill. Sear the reindeer 3 minutes on each side. Baste with marinade and cook 7 more minutes.
cover the grill and cook 7 more minutes. Take the reindeer off the grill and let sit 3.5 minutes. Carve and serve. in tribute to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, top each slice with one cherry tomato. Goes great with a Finot Noir.
MIKE BREEN
WHm
PHOTOS BY SEAN HUGHES
ILLUSTRATIONS BY JIM BROWNING
Yeah Yeah Yeah, It’s Christmas
Don’t get yer jingle bells in a bunch, nibble-nuts. I’m here to take ya on a holiday spin of off-the-wall and unusual new Christmas music. Let’s put some of this on, crank it up to full volume and beat back the neighbor’s horrid strains of “Gramma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” for the zillionth time. The Whirling Dervishes do a take of the Dr. Seuss cartoon classic “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” on their Grinch four-track CD5” and maxi-cassette single on Continuum Records. The fine folks at Sympathy For the Record Industry wish you a “brown Christmas” from south of the border and out of this world. It’s El Vez, the Mexican king of roll & roll and great hair with his holiday offering, Mex-Mas with nine seasonal songs in a variety of styles. New material from Graham Parker comes from the Dakota Aits label with Christmas Cracker, & six-track CD single featuring both the studio and demo versions of three original songs: “Christmas Is for Mugs” (“mugs” is British slang for “suckers”), “New Year’s Revolution” and a duet with Nona Hendryx on “Soul Christmas.” The excellent syndicated public radio show Live at Mountain Stage is releasing a best-of compilation simply called Christmas at Mountain Stage, with original and traditional arrangements from The Roches, Kathy Mattea, Michael Martin Murphey and more. Texas troubadour Jerry Jeff Walker lays his Western Swing sound to 12 holiday classics on Christmas Gonzo Style from the Rykodisc label. Two other cool compilations to look for: Yuletunes from Black Vinyl Records features Matthew Sweet, Marti Jones, Material Issue, The Shoes and more; and It’s Finally Christmas from Tim Kerr Records has Dead Moon, Pond, Oblivion Seekers and, dig this, Poison Idea doing “Santa Claus Is Back in Town.” The kids at Kid Rhino Records dish up gleeful melody with their release of Have Yourself a Looney Tunes Christmas, with delightful character cuts like Daffy Duck spitting out “All I Want for Christmas Is More, More, More;” Pepe Le Pew’s ode to “Christmas in Paree;” Elmer Fudd’s “Christmas Chopsticks;” and Foghorn Leghorn’s version of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” And check out the loads of cool 7” singles for that old turntable many on holiday red or green wax. Like the New Duncan Imperials’ “Santa Claus Is a Lie” on Pravda Records; the Blues Magoos’ independently released “Jingle Bells”; the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Deck the Halls” on Capitol Records; The Alan Milman Sect from 1977 on Bag of Hammers Records with “Punk Rock Christmas;” and, my personal favorite, the Butthole Surfers’ lovely picture disc 7-inch from Trance Syndicate Records containing their version of “Good King Wenceslaus.” —john m james
Adult toys put the X back into X-mas
What’s more fun than giving yourself to your lover for Christmas?
There are a few holidaythemed sexual gifts you can give that can add a little spice to your cold and cuddly Christmas nights.
A Little Christmas Tail (pun intended, trust me) is a Christmas porno movie that features a midget in the lead role one of Santa’s elves, of course. It’s available for $24.95 from Affordable
Sprucing up the Square
Christmas on Fountain Square 1994 is not complete without knowing the story of the tree that William Fitzpatric of Evendale did not want to kill. He did want to get rid of it, however.
The 38-foot-tall Spruce now decorated for all to see on Fountain Square downtown had overgrown its space in Fitzpatrick’s yard in a subdivision built in 1966.
“It kept getting bigger and bigger and started blocking the driveway,” Fitzpatric says. 1 But the thought of chopping it down was painful, recalls Fitzpatric, who had read about how trees produce oxygen and wanted to do his part for the environment. His dilemma was solved, he says, with a telephone call to the Cincinnati Downtown Council, which just happened to be looking for someone to donate a big Christmas tree.
Despite the tree’s size, the organization sent workers to dig it up and haul it out of Fitzpatric’s yard so it could be replanted after Christmas.
When the city’s Fountain Square festivities are finished, the tree will be donated to the Cincinnati Park Board, which will select a city park to plant it in, says Michele Smith, special events manager for the Downtown Council.
She would not say what all the digging and moving cost.
NANCY FIROR
Video and Software
(Box 13219, Jersey City, N.J. 07303; free catalog available).
Then there’s a red, frilly Santa teddy available from Adam and Eve (Box 200, Dept. RO301, Carrboro, N.C. 27510; free catalog available).
This flimsy piece of seethrough lingerie with fluffy white trim, called the Holiday Babydoll,. goes for a mere $29.95. It looks like Christmas and it’s completely tacky, but it’s a cute gift for your boyfriend,- girlfriend, hus-
Christmas in a can
These festive days pull a lot of us into the kitchen.
It’s kinda scary.
CityBeat knows that a fair number of our readers have enough problems using the microwave, let alone some really complicated appliances like a stove. Sure, it looks cool to have a fridge that is empty save for a bottle of champagne and box of chocolates, but what will you serve at that hip holiday dinner party? Pop Tarts won’t do.
Technology saves the day. Now, any workaholic with designer taste buds and few cooking abilities can provide an elaborate, full-course spread. We’re not talking caterers here.
With a little
microwave zapping, water boiling and oven reheating, anyone can have a fancy feast.
Fariba Zahedi of The Gourmet Bazaar (7823 Cooper Road, Montgomery) explains that non-cooks can come out looking like kitchen champions. “We have prepackaged stuffed grape leaves, humus and stuffed baby eggplants for appetizers. There are beanvegetable curries, couscous and rice-pilafs for side-dishes.”
Sure, there are plenty of smoked meats and glazed hams just waiting to be plopped out of a can. Think of these as Spam’s high-classcousins. Now, the non-cook can purchase a beef stew, drop the plastic sack in some boiling water and enjoy.
Of course, there has to be a dynamite dessert. Dewars makes a number of bundt
From the bookshelf
band or wife.
And for the completely adventurous, lonely and somewhat whacked, there’s an old holiday standard: the inflatable lamb. The perfect_start to your full inflatable nativity scene. Try the adult toy mecca, the Lion’s Den in Washington Court House (614-948-2446), if you’re looking for one, you sicko.
There’s probably a few inflatable Marys and Josephs there as well.
MIKE BREEN
cakes that are soaked in a variety of different liquors in a can, no less.
Looking for a more European slant? Try a Ferrarra Italian Pannetonne bread that comes inside its own hip, pyramid-shaped box.
There have to be after-dinner drinks, so there have to be cookies. Choose from the original Amaretto cookies or Walker’s shortbread.
CityBeat’s final tips are for the sole purpose of deceit. Make sure that all the boxes, bags and packages are thrown far away. Wear an apron. Throw some water on your face before guests arrive. Make them think you have slaved for them. The joy about our Christmas meal in a can is that you really, did make it, sort of.
STEVE R AM 0 S
Books we’d like to see under the tree but won’t:
Santa Like Me by John Howard Griffin The true account of a man who disguises himself as Santa and travels around the United States.
Naked Grinch by William S. Burroughs A disturbing account of the Grinch’s heroin addiction. Caused quite a stir when it came out and was the subject of lengthy trial.
The Vampire Kringle by Anne Rice The fourth book in this series focuses on Kris Kringle, a charismatic but tragic figure whose lust for blood forces him to climb down chimneys and suck the life out of excited children.
Go Down, Santa by William Faulkner Faulkner uses several perspectives to explore Santa’s fear of going down Yoknapatawpha chimneys.
A Clockwork Silver and Gold by Anthony Burgess An audio book narrated by Burl Ives.
Santa Cemetery by Stephen King A horrifying tale about a graveyard that brings Santas back to life. But the resurrected Santas are not too happy about their reincarnation and begin to terrorize the neighborhood.
BILLIE JEYES
PAGE 10
Ah, nuts!
Add this to your employee handbook: Company microwaves are not for chestnut roasting.
To wit: A big stink was raised two Christmases ago when Mark Mendell tried to nuke chestnuts at the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) offices on Ridge Avenue in Columbia Township.
Mendell, who did not own a microwave at the time but who “had this vague idea of how a microwave worked,” says he poked holes in four chestnuts and put them in the microwave. He says he set the timer for five minutes and returned to his desk.
Now you don’t have to be an epidemiologist like Mendell to figure out it wasn’t too long before those littie gems were smokin’.
“It was a bad kind of smoke” that filled the whole basement and forced the evacuation of NIOSH, says Mendell, who, by the way, studies the health effects of indoor air.
The 43-year-old returned to face “little black chunks of charcoal,” an “interview” by NIOSH administrators and months of ribbing and caroling. (“Chestnuts roasting in the microwave....”)
Mendell purchased a microwave about a month ago and says he’ll probably try to roast chestnuts at home.
Guess it’s in the interest of science.
ALISON TRANBARGER
No home for the holidays
As the holiday season approaches, many prepare for the onset of visiting families and relatives. But beneath this current of happiness is a stream of youth who will be spending the holiday away from their families.
They’re teenage runaways.
One local agency working with runaways and wishing to remain unnamed estimates that approximately 3,000 teen-agers in Hamilton County may be without a home and family this season, although that number varies daily as the transient population moves on to places outside of government agencies.
Amy Allemann, 23, of Oxford is in college now after being dropped off on the road when she was 15 and spending three years on the streets. A student at Miami University, she says younger runaways don’t miss the holidays much because they’re fighting to survive.
But as she grows older, her feelings about Christmas change.
“All of us older ones pretend (Christmas) doesn’t exist,” says Allemann. “But I know now what I was missing. I miss the concept of Christmas.”
Our pagan past
The modern Western Christmas celebration evolved through a series of political and religious decisions, explains Brennan Hill, professor of theology at Xavier University.
In the Fourth Century, Roman Emperor Constantine converted from paganism to Christianity. Attempting to bring together the pagans and Christians within his empire, he moved the celebration of the birth of the Son of God to Dec. 25. Until that point, pagans enjoyed a celebration honoring the sun god, Sol, on Jan. 6. The fests were combined into Christmas.
As the Christians gained power in Constantine’s empire, the Celebration of Christmas turned from a
Vern Fiend, a youthful looking 27, is a member of Cincinnati’s transient population. Fiend, who lives in Clifton, hasn’t had contact with his family for several years. For him, Christmas is just another day. His only holiday wish involves leaving Cincinnati forever.
“But, inevitably, it looks like I’m not going to be able to,” Fiend says, referring to his lack of travel funds.
Dan Phillips isn’t transient but will also be spending Christmas away from his family.
Phillips,19, of Clifton is living with his girlfriend after his father kicked him out of the house. He recalls the large family gatherings and traditional celebrations that took place at his house, and this will be his first Christmas away from his family.
He says he will try to create a new tradition of holiday celebration with his girlfriend but is facing the economic realities of Cincinnati’s minimum-wage work force.
“At $4.25-an-hour, we can’t afford a tree and lights,” Phillips says.
BRAD KING
large pagan-style festival into a small religious feast.
Looking to expand the Roman Empire in the Sixth Century, Emperor Gregory I instructed his religious missionaries to incorporate elements of the pagan solstice to convert tribal cultures to Christianity.
In the Ninth Century, as tribes such as the Huns were converted, the celebration of Christmas changed again. Pagan festival rituals such as large feasts, trees and gift exchanges replaced the small, religious event that marked the birth of Jesus Christ.
Those rituals combined with the Germanic symbol of Santa Claus make up much of the detail of our modern Christmas celebration.
BRAD KING
ORCHESTRA
CINCINNATI
JESUS LOPEZ-COBOS-MUSIC DIRECTOR
Celebrating 100 Years of Sensational Music
Enjoy A Magical Evening Of Celebration.
> njoy Jesus Lopez-Cobos conducting tke Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in a concert including...
Bernstein: Overture to Candide
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
Copland: Appalachian Spring
Johann Strauss, Jr.: Overture to Die Fledermaus, Care Free Polka, On the Beautiful Blue Danube Waltz an d oth ers
Guest artists include pianist Michael Chertock and members of the Cincinnati Ballet, Peter Anastos, Artistic Director
er the concert, if you wish, you can be whisked away to the ballroom for dinner and dancing in a setting which unites the past and the future. Usher in the New Year and celebrate the Orchestra’s 100th Anniversary with a champagne toast.
*
Saturday, December 31, 1994, 7:30 p.m.
You may purchase tickets for the concert and the ball, or the concert only.
Sponsored by Mercantile Stores Company, Inc. and the Frieda Schwenkmeyer Charitable Trust
The P.C. Christmas
Santa on the run from high cholesterol, environmentalists, MADD, elves, reindeer and Ms. Rodham Claus
ESSAY BY DANIEL BROWN
Santa Claus is pissed off. It’s the eve of Christmas and his clothes don’t fit; his beard needs a trim; he’s tired of wearing red. Since last Christmas he’s been forced by his doctors to remain on a low-fat diet. His cholesterol was too high, his blood sugar off the charts. He and Mrs. Claus who now prefers to be called Ms. Claus have been arguing all year. She wants a first name, after joining a women’s consciousness movement, the North Pole Nannies. Unnamed sources quote her telling Santa: “I’m sick of monitoring your diet, you old grouch. Who are you to determine who’s ‘naughty’ or ‘nice’?”
“Naughty implies sexism, male chauvinism,” Ms. Claus continued, alleging sexual harassment from Santa’s elves, who are all male. “I cook and bake and put up with all these men, and you get all the recognition. I’m on strike in the kitchen. No more cookies. I’m getting a job, and I won’t sign a non-compete clause.”
Several weeks ago Ms. Claus discovered that Santa was renegotiating his union contract with the workroom elves, who want more regular hours and are asking for double overtime pay from Nov. 1 to Jan. 1. They’re also suing Santa for breach of child-labor laws.
“Men are always suing,” Ms. Claus remarked. “If you’d let me supervise the elves’ workroom, I’d humanize the place. I’ll take my workshop to Mexico. Remember NAFTA, you old fat fool!”
Santa now sleeps on the sofa.
The reindeer were approached by an animal rights group in tire spring of 1994 and are now on strike against animal abuse. (Ms. Claus notes they’re all male, anyway.) The cow lobby has asked to split the Christmas Eve sleigh ride half reindeer, half cows. Environmentalists began snooping around in the North Pole to go after Santa. “Your sleigh is energy-inefficient,' you’re abusing your reindeer and the sleigh needs driver’s side airbags,” noted their representative, who called in OSHA to investigate. A subsequent report, leaked to the media, cited Santa for several infractions: “The heat from your workshop and your energy-inefficient sleigh are enhancing the greenhouse effect at the North Pole. You give coal to ‘naughty’ children, and coal is ruining the environment.”
The source of the leaked report turned out to be the reindeer Blitzen, known for his legendary drinking bouts (he’s always blitzed). Santa was shocked to discover that booze was the cause of Rudolph’s red nose. Blitzen and Rudolph maintain they
Putting It Together
drink because the North Pole is so cold and that they are frequently bored due to their seasonal workload. Ms. Claus later caught them drunk and watching a XXX-rated video. (“You won’t believe what they do with those antlers, it’s disgusting,” she supposedly said.) She alleges Rudolph and Blitzen are lovers.
Mothers Against Drunk-Drivers (MADD) petitioned Santa regarding Rudolph’s drunk sleigh-driving. “He’s a poor role model for our children, and so are you, Santa,” the mothers’ spokesperson said. “You eat too much, you don’t exercise, you’re a sexist, and you abuse children (referring to the elves). How do we know your gifts aren’t filled with razor blades, Ex-Lax and crack?”
Santa’s currently on Prozac.
Santa finally consulted the worldrenowned family therapist and psychiatrist Dr. Moo Moo von Cow for a variety of necessary interventions. (The price of gifts will apparently increase this year as Santa passes on the shrink’s fees.) Santa also decided to begin taking Visa and Mastercard a bill collector is still after thousands of people from last Christmas. “I can’t rim a business this way,” Santa fumed.
Dr. von Cow now serves as Santa’s shrink as well as doing marriage counseling for the Clauses. Seeing a financial opportunity to bilk the whole group, he additionally supervises group therapy with reindeer and elves. The reindeer maintain Dr. von Cow has a conflict of interest, as the cow lobby is fighting the reindeers’; Dr. von Cow differs, thinking of the mortgage on his condo on St. Martin Island. He advises all of the above to keep drinking and administers drug therapy from the pharmacy he owns. He also has established criteria, based on psychological profiles, for which children can officially be labeled “naughty” or “nice.”
Jazz Studies at CCM Preparatory
Jazz Bass
Mark Umess & Tod Leavitt
Jazz Clarinet/Sax
Jim Burbick & Jim Bunte
Jazz Guitar
Phil Willis
Jazz Trumpet
John Zappa
Percussion
Scott Lang
Jazz Piano
Phil Burkhead & Bill Zappia
Jazz Improvisation Theory
CLASS Phil Burkhead
Combos
Many Performance Opportunities
Winter Quarter Begins January 3
Contact CCM Prep at 556-2595 ‘one
Negotiations continue daily between Santa and the environmentalists regarding the condition of chimneys through which he must more easily, with less
SILICON INJECTIONS
BY DAVID PESCOVITZ
Back-To-Nature Computing
A computer-science professor at the University of Southern California has created a “molecular computer" out of DNA that solves a difficult mathematical problem faster than any supercomputer.
The problem, Leonard Adleman has explained, is “you’re given a collection of cities and you’re told that there are certain non-stop flights between those cities. Your goal might be to leave the start city and reach the end city, for exampie, San Francisco and New York,' and pass through each of the other cities of interest exactly once.”
With a computer, you would first encode the cities and the flights between them with a string of zeros and ones, a computer’s binary language. The machine would then try every combination until it came to the single correct answer, if there is one. Nothing a good traveling salesperson armed with a fast PC couldn’t accomplish. But increase the number of destinations to 1,000, and there currently isn't a computer around that could touch the problem.
Molecular computers, however, can perform more than a trillion operations per second, a thousand times faster than the fastest supercomputers.
For the more natural method Adleman reported in the Nov. 11 issue of Science, he assigned DNA molecules corresponding to each of the seven cities and the permissible flights between each location. Fie then made trillions of copies of each molecule and mixed them together in l/50th of a teaspoon of water. Almost instantaneously, each DNA-represented flight paired with the DNA for its two cities. Eventually all of the possible paths between the seven cities were linked. Through standard biomedical techniques, he was able to filter out the molecule that represented the single correct path.
“For me, the main point is not that DNA can compute so well, it’s that it can compute at all,” Adleman said in an interview. “(With this method) we have a chance to look at a system of computation that’s evolved for millions of years.”
Data Dumping
Residents of Petersburg, Alaska, (population 750), who are charged for trash pickup based on an approximation of their garbage’s weight, will have high-tech garbage cans come July putting an end to the guesswork.
Computer chips inside each $55 can weigh the garbage. Then $20,000 computer systems aboard the city’s two garbage trucks scan each can’s chip and record the weight when the trash is picked up.
Eli Lucas, superintendent of the city’s Public Works Department, said the new technology will make trash collection more efficient.
All we need now is a device that takes out the trash.
Gutenberg Galaxy
The Millennium Whole Earth Catalog. Access to Tools and Ideas for the Twenty-First Century, edited by Floward Rheingold (Harper San Francisco, $30.00). In 1968, former Merry Prankster Stewart Brand wrote “we are as gods and might as well get good at it” and presented the first Whole Earth Catalog, a somewhat utopian dietionary of self-education. Like its predecessors, The Millennium Whole Earth Catalog is chock-full of fascinating information on everything from biodiversity to women’s health to politics. It overflows with encapsulated reviews of tools, books, software and organizations that empower the individual. Evolving from the original catalogs, these pages also harbor guides to new technologies that will transform the millennium, including desktop video production and the Internet. The Millennium Whole Earth Catalog is an encyclopedia of the future and as Rheingold says about the next millennium, “what it is, is up to US.”
DAVID PESCOVITZ (pesco@well.com) is WIRED magazine's “Reality Check’ columnist. He resides in San Francisco.
Are Fat,
Wine Good for Researchers tout vino's anti-oxidant properties; fat subgroupfights lbad' cholesterol
COMPI LED BY DOUG RENNIE OF WILLAMETTE WEEK
Aroundup of health and fitness news and research
Not counting midnight snacks: Night Eating Syndrome (NES) is the latest chowingdown complication. More than mere midnight snacking, NES applies to the approximately 5 percent of obese people who eat heavily from the time 'they get home until they hit the sack and then awaken in the wee hours to nosh some more.
University ofPennsylvania psychiatry professor Albert Stunkard the guy who first identified binge eating back in the 1950s served up the details at a recent meeting of the International Congress on Obesity in Toronto.
The disorder may explain why some obese people report and believe that they don’t eat a lot, thinking that food “eaten after dark doesn’t count,” Stunkard says.
At least you’re not hungry in the morning.
Improving performance: Impotent men who slathered their penises with minoxidil that’s right, the same goop that allegedly puts hair on balding heads produced erections and became performers once again. It’s true, it’s true, says a University of Toronto study published in the Journal of Urology.
diet for two days, red wine which of catechin. What
Weight problems could stem from belief food eaten after dark doesn’t count.
ters, gooey dark covered caramel-and-marshmallow have far too much
Seems that the stuff relaxes the smooth muscle in the penile arteries, thus increasing blood flow. Whatever, it worked. But only in the lab. When the 21 impotent subjects applied the same 2 percent minoxidil
a six-year study
Opening New Worlds
Former Cincinnati museum director learns while she teaches in Japan
BY RUTH K. MEYER
My time has been consumed with the process of settling in to a new home and a new job and much more that goes along with doing it in a foreign country.
Settling into the apartment has been easy, and even learning my way around Miyazaki on the buses was eventually achieved. The real challenge has come in the classroom and in the college environment, and that calls for a bit of an explanation.
During the month of August most of the faculty went away from the college for vacations that were badly needed. Shortly after I had arrived in Jyly, I realized that the mood of the faculty was pretty tense and that they had all been through a painful adjustment to the reality of just what their new academic lives were going to be like. The college had been dreamed of and planned for over a number of years, but many of the planners did not sign on as faculty members.
It was the dreamers who had to make it happen. Chief among them is our president, Dr. Otsubo, heir to the Miyazaki Educational Institution (MEI) founded by his father and about to celebrate a 55th anniversary. The people who came out in January to start the college managed to maintain something of the intended admission standards for the students’ English abilities. But many borderline cases were accepted.
Then when everyone got in the classroom, the problems of the students’ college preparedness became all too evident. They weren’t. Add to this the fact that once Japanese students make it into a college, any college we are told, they relax and plan to enjoy the last four years of freedom they will know in their lives. Add lack of motivation to lack of preparation and stir with the attempt to teach in a foreign language.
Different approaches
The faculty also arrived with two distinct philosophies about education that had to be merged because a team approach is mandated for the first two years of a student’s career.
The English faculty came prepared to teach English to Japanese students using interactive methods, and many of them knew the deficiencies of Japanese high school language studies. Too much rote memorization, not enough conversational practice and other kinds of peer pressured conforming all of which inhibits learning. Those who teach humanities and social science prepared to teach those subjects in much the same way as they had done for college freshmen at home. The concept of team teaching was new to most of these faculty members, and they were skeptical. But in a short
time many had to learn how to accommodate the goals of the English teachers, because without their linguistic skills, nothing could happen in the classroom.
Textbooks were discarded, and the typical syllabus was eliminated. Everybody floundered and made it up as they went along just trying to get the kids to speak and/or write an English sentence. Many still cannot.
With all this swirling around I went into the classroom in September in a state of nervous anxiety. Our textbooks had not arrived (they finally showed up one month into the term), and I had planned units on Asian Art only to find there were no Asian art slides and I’d have to make them all myself. But the premise of our curriculum is “Comparative Cultures,” so I figured I’d better help them find out what they already knew about Asia before we headed off to Europe.
Like my colleagues, I ran headlong into the problem of the students’ preparation. Buddha, who’s that? Shinto, never heard of it! Scroll paintings, screens, temples, the Japanese print... huh?
Only a few students have ever been off the island of Kyushu, so they don’t know Kyoto unless they took a class trip there and then they probably didn’t see the temples.
It took me about a week to admit, with the gentle consolations of my teaching partners, that the kids hadn’t been understanding a word I was saying.
So I scrapped everything I’d planned to do and, with the help of my partners, have started over. Currently in both classes we are studying Greek art, and I’m trying to teach mythology so that we can go on to compare Apollo to Buddha to Christ. We’ve got great ideas for pubfishing textbooks to teach art history in English. All kinds of publications are being born.
So now, after a month and a half, I have tested both of my classes and conferenced with the students and education is happening for all of us.
Motivating students
Outside of the classroom the students are just kids who want to have a good time, like any others. Everyone observes that Japanese family fife is much more stable, warm and loving than in the United States, and the kids respond better to a little stern maternalism as a means to motivate them to work a little harder.
There have been some fun moments, and I have met a lot of interesting people as well as made a few friends. Mitsuyoshi Guejima, formerly a director of Art-Life, the Tokyo exhibition company that brought me to Japan in 1989 and ‘91, returned to Miyazaki a few years ago to take care of his mother.. He knows the local art museum crowd and is still work
ing with Art-Life as a consult,aril,, so we have a lot to talk about. He also has a daughter enrolled at our sister institution, the MIC junior college.
Takako Harakoshi rescued me the first week when I was trying to get back to Kiyotake on the bus one day and couldn’t read the signs. She is my age, married to a teacher and learning English from educational television. We have visited a number of local .cultural spots and have plans for many more excursions. She has been an invaluable aid for shopping.
The assistant dean of students, Theresa Gallup, is from Iowa and has worked in student affairs at other colleges. She organized a trip for faculty and students to Nagasaki over a three-day weekend at the end of September. We stopped at Kumamoto to see the castle there on the way to the first day’s final stop at the Nagasaki Peace Park. This was a deeply moving and emotionally difficult place for many of us to visit. Comfort could only be found in being there in friendship with young Japanese students. The museum exhibitions produced nightmares for many of us, but we agreed it had been important to go.
With that behind us, we spent Saturday on our own touring Nagasaki. I concentrated on Chinese art and ternpies, leaving others to find the more touristical versions of the old Dutch settlement. On Sunday we left Nagasaki to visit Huis Ten Bosch, the most amazing histoiy/amusement/shopping park. Near
Sasebo, a Japanese investor has built an entire full-scale model of a Dutch village. The intent is to create a safe tourist environment for the Japanese to “visit Europe” without actually having to go there. This is Disney without the dwarfs very serious, “educational” and expensive. On your way out you are channeled through a full-scale model of the duty-free shop at Schipohl (Amsterdam) airport. It was too much.
The fall in Japan is full of holidays, part of the government’s new emphasis on getting the people to relax. Other events on the calendar include a concert by the Birmingham (England, not Alabama) Symphony with Simon Rattle at our impressive concert hall. It is adjacent to the new Miyazaki Art Museum which is under construction. George Sugarman, the sculptor of “Cincinnati Spirit” in front of the Chiquita building, has a commission for a sculpture for the museum and came here last month to check on the site. I managed to get him up to campus to speak to the students in my Art and the Environment course. It was a huge success. George had fun and the kids really loved him. I return to Cincinnati on 21 December and will stay until 5 March. Plans include a conference in Texas and some recreation. I look forward to seeing or at least talking to everyone and catching up.
RUTH K. MEYER is the former director of the Taft Museum. She moved to Japan earlier this year to found the Comparative Culture Department at Miyazaki International College.
Review Ratings
Recommendations
To be included
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Having a BITCH of a week trying to squeeze some holiday shopping into your already busy work and home schedules? Well, quit complaining. Get out and enjoy yourself; you deserve it. Here are a few suggestions. Wind down by winding up a little at some of the city’s finest live music clubs. On the menu are such bands as SNOWSHOE CRABS, THE GOATS, THE ROTTWEILERS, BILLY GOAT and THE DOGS. See our extensive Music listings for dates and locations. Ignore the smell. How about some music to soothe the savage BEASTS? This week’s Onstage listings are filled with holiday sing-alongs, children’s concerts and special events at the Mercantile Library, the Sorg Opera Company and the Vocal Arts Ensemble, among others. Bundle up and get outdoors to visit area parks that offer BIRD-watching, WILDLIFE hikes and SQUIRREL roasts (just kidding about the last one). Check out the Sports listings for details. While you’re in Sports, note that UC and Xavier each host a nationally televised college hoop contest: The Muskies play Ohio U.’s highly rated BOBCATS Saturday, while the BEARCATS take on the Cal BEARS Wednesday. Malton Gallery continues its holiday show of 10 U.S. artists’ work with whimsical ANIMAL themes, including “Dream of the Straw WOLF” by Michael Stano (pictured above). See Art listings for more info.
BY STEVE RAMOS
Nanni Moretti in Caro Diario.
Keenan Ivory Wayans in the lead, A Low Down Dirty Shame could turn out to be a Shaft with a sense of humor. Surrounded by all those kiddie flicks, A Low Down Dirty Shame may,be your only adult choice at the multiplex. With Jada Pinkett, Charles S. Dutton and Sally Richardson. (Rated R; at area Showcase Cinemas.)
★ BULLETS OVER BROADWAY With this film, Woody Allen remains one of American film’s more consistent creators of comedy. Let’s hopfe that he never tries to be Ingmar Bergman again. Allen the man may be something of an enigma, but the filmmaker is.simply brilliant. In this story, a young playwright (John Cusack) receives tips from an unlikely source. Allen’s trademark elements of witty dialogue, quality production and a stellar ensemble cast are in place. Thankfully, his work pace is prolific. One can never see enough of such smart, funny films. With Diane Wiest, Chazz Palminteri and Jennifer Tilly. (Rated R; at Loews Kenwood Towne Centre and the Esquire Theatre.)
CAMP NOWHERE Now, today’s kids have their own version of Meatballs. Based on its box-office results,
CityBeat grade: B’s to both.
who seeks out twisters for personal reasons. The Coriolis Effect received a lot of positive feedback at this year’s New Directors/New Films series in New York. Here, Venosta makes the leap successfully from Hollywood screenwriter (Bird on a Wire, The Last Dragon) to independent filmmaker. His is a fresh talent that reaffirms all that is good about specialty movies. With Jennifer Rubin and the voice of Quentin Tarantino. (Unrated; opens Friday at Real Movies.)
Speechless proves itself to be another example of talent vs. a bad screenplay. As it does again here, bad screenplays often win out. Keaton and Davis come off as awful in Speechless, they are maimed and made dumb by the script.
Snow Owl Ball in Dumb and Dumber.
Speechless takes two seemingly intelligent adults and forces them to say stupid things and act in foolish ways. Hollywood can make Arnold Schwarzenegger pregnant, but they cannot consistently create. intelligent dialogue. Special effects
SPEECHLESS Director Ron Underwood’s Speechless tackles the most basic of stories, two adults falling in love. Two political speech writers, Kevin Vallick (Michael Keaton) and Julia Mann (Geena Davis) meet incognito in the middle of a tense campaign for a New Mexico congressional seat. The film should have appropriated All’s Fair the book that chronicles the romance between President Clinton’s campaign manager James Carville and head of the George Bush campaign, Mary Matalin. Carville’s and Matalin’s real-life story contains more laughs than anything that Speechless screenwriter Robert King dreamt up.
★
★
come easy, thoughtful screen writing is far more difficult. Hollywood is an expert on technology. When it comes to matters of the human heart, they often stumble. With Ray Baker and Mitchell Ryan. (Rated PG-13; opens Friday at area Showcase Cinemas.)
CityBeat grade: D.
Continuing
A LOW DOWN DIRTY SHAME
NEESON
Here’s something we normally don’t see at Christmas time, an adult, African-American actioncomedy. It looks like Low Down Dirty Shame is high on car chases and shoot-outs. With funny man
PHOTO: MARK FELLMAN / NEW LINE
Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey, left) and Harry Dunn (Jeff Daniels) are dressed to
JODIE FOSTER LIAM
Film
images are amazing. Move over Star Trek Generations here’s a real out-of-space adventure. (Unrated; at Robert D. Lindner Family Omnimax Theater.)
★ DISCLOSURE Sex Power. Betrayal.
Disclosure, director Barry Levinson’s film of the best-selling novel by Michael Crichton, rightfully sidesteps any controversy and sticks to pure entertainment. Set in the offices of DigiCom, a hightech computer firm, Disclosure turns sexual harassment upside down. Few topics are as timely and volatile as sexual harassment. Still, Hollywood is not in the business to develop polemics. Hollywood makes movies that simply entertain. Those who go to Disclosure expecting an intelligent treatment of a controversial issue are forcing their brains where they do not belong. All of which makes Disclosure great entertainment. With Michael Douglas and Demi Moore. (Rated R; at area Loews Theatres.)-
DROP ZONE Putting scenes of people jumping out of planes into a plot about terrorists stealing secrets from the Drug Enforcement Agency should guarantee an exciting time. Wrongo. Director John Badham (War Games Blue Thunder) wastes the talents of Gary Busey and Wesley Snipes. Drop Zone also throws away a strong female performance by Yancy Butler (Hard Target). Action movies seldom are blessed with a great female action role. Butler is fantastic. What is really frustrating about Drop Zone is that the skydiving sequences do not even look believable. In this era of state-of-the art special effects, Drop Zone comes off like some flick from the ’50s. In a holiday season with few adult action movies to choose from, Drop Zone arrives like coal'in a Christmas stocking. No one is so bad that they deserve this turkey. With Corin Nemic. (Rated R; at area Showcase Cinemas.)
★ EROTIQUE Three female filmmakers come together to explore issues of sexuality, but with an emphasis on the woman. For the male-dominated movie industry, their project is legitimately unique. Erotique tells three separate stories: “Let’s Talk about Sex,” directed by Lizzie Borden; “Taboo Parlor,” by the German director Monika Treut; and “Wonton Soup,” by Hong Kong director Clara Law. To be honest, don’t bother lookmg for grand political statements in Erotique. Its pleasures are not that cerebral. They’re basically carnal. The sex scenes in Erotique are not any more graphic than the countless soft-pom titles that line the shelves at Blockbuster. The difference is that with Erotique women are not the victims but the victors. For that one quality alone, the film reaches above the level of base excitement. Sure, we’re not talking Last Tango in Paris, but Erotique offers women a chance to address some topical issues with intelligence. Consider the fact that there are also gratuitous thrills as icing on the cake. With Kamala Lopez-Dawson, Priscilla Barnes and Hayley Man, (Unrated; at Real Movies.)
★ FORREST GUMP The phenomenon continues. America never tires of Forrest Gump. Tom Hanks combines the right amount of syrupy pathos with humor. Those people who complain about the movie’s glorification of the retarded are forcing politics where it does not belong. Let’s hope that the Christian Coalition does not use Gump as some kind of twisted poster boy. With Gary Sinese, Robin Wright and Sally Field.
(Rated PG-13; at area Loews Theatres.)
★ GRIEF Director Richard Glatzer’s Grief is a hip, urbane, slightly gay look at a bunch of TV
LOEWS KENWOOD TOWNE CENTRE THEATRES 7875 Montgomery Road, Kenwood Towne Centre, Kenwood. 791-2248.
SHOWCASE CINCINNATI 1701 Showcase Drive, Norwood
writers in Hollywood whose desires soon intermingle among themselves. Creators of the wacky daytime soap opera The Love Judge, their show is full of circus lesbians and schizoid opera singers who appear in court before an ornery old judge. The staff that creates the show is just as over the top as the characters they create. If you think of Grief as a hip underground version of Soap Dish with a bit of flesh, you may be on the money. Don’t expect Grief to make it to your local Blockbuster Video. Think of it as just another one of those offbeat, never-hear-of films that our Downtown cinema prides itself on. With Alexis Arquette and Craig Chester. (Unrated; closes Thursday at Real Movies.)
★ INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE It still puzzles why Anne Rice took a full-page ad out in Variety (later reprinted by producer David Geffen in the New York Times) to praise Neil Jordan’s adaptation of her novel. Her grandiose, self-congratulatory stance outshines the movie which is just good, not great. Interview possesses a few scary moments, some horrific, blood-drenched sequences and one truly creepy scene. Unfortunately, these scenes unfold between long, dull stretches. In places where the novel speaks of loss, futility and longing, the film becomes tongue-tied. Tom Cruise is fine as Lestat, as is Brad Pitt as Louis. Young Kirsten Dunst steals the show as a child-vampire with truly adult hungers. Thankfully, Interview ends on a wild scene that is both terrifying and hilarious. Too bad that tone was not held throughout the entire film. With Antonio Banderas, Stephen Rea and Christian Slater.
(Rated R; at Showcase Cinemas.)
IN THE ARMY NOW Whatever may be Pauly Shore’s appeal, let’s hope that it is fading fast. Shore makes Jim Carrey seem like a comic genius. This latest stab at slapstick is easily his worst. The weasel should stay out of films and stick to MTV. With Lori Petty.
(Rated PG; at Norwood, Forest Fair, Turfway and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
★ IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE Today, stories about encounters with angels would end up on TV’s Unsolved Mysteries. In 1946, director Frank Capra thought this tale of a man brought back from suicide would make a good Christmas movie. Time has proven him right. Try not to cry at this bittersweet, sentimental classic. With James Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore. (Unrated; closes Sunday at New Neon Movies,
WESTWOOD CINEMAS 1&2 3118 Harrison Ave., Westwood. 481-3900.
EAST
SUPER SAVER CINEMAS BIGGS PLACE EASTGATE
Dayton, Ohio.)
JUNIOR Director Ivan Reitman (Kindergarten Cop, Twins), more than any other filmmaker, should know how to make Arnold Schwarzenegger funny. In Junior, he has the best sight gag, a pregnant Schwarzenegger. Reitman blows this golden, comic opportunity by miscasting Danny DeVito as a straight man and Emma Thompson as some slapstick clown. Junior could have been hilarious instead ofjust being cute. With Pamela Reed and Frank Langella. (Rated PG-13; at area Showcase Cinemas.)
★ THE LION KING Hey, the kids were clamoring for it. So, the nice folks at Disney brought this animated blockbuster back for the holidays. Right, let’s get one thing straight. Disney doesn’t have a new animated movie for Christmas, and this is a great opportunity to squeeze more money out of this popular tale. It’s also a good time to promote their summer flick, Pochantas You’ve heard of the circle of life? Think of this as the circle of cash. With the voices of Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons and Whoopi Goldberg. (Rated G; at area Showcase Cinemas.)
LITTLE GIANTS Two brothers, a former football hero (Ed O’Neil) and a nerd (Rick Moranis), coach separate football teams for the right to represent their small town. As high concept comedy for kiddies, Little Giants works well enough. There may even be a-valuable lesson learned. (Rated PG; opens Friday at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair, Biggs Place Eastgate and Westwood; closes Thursday at Northgate.)
LITTLE RASCALS Fresh from The Beverly Hillbillies, director Penelope Spheeris moves further back in time with this rehash. Kids do not even know who Hal Roach and Our Gang were. Spheeris once made intelligent, avant-garde films. Now after going Hollywood, she chums out crap. With Travis Tedford and Bug Hall. (Rated PG; at Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate; closes Thursday at Norwood and Turfway.)
Route 32 and Interstate 275, Summerside. 753-6588.
LOEWS 275 EAST Highway 28 and Montclair Boulevard, Mulberry. 831-8900.
SHOWCASE CINEMAS ERLANGER Route 236 West off Interstate 75, Erlanger. 342-8866.
TURFWAY PARK 10 7650 Turfway Road, Erlanger. 647-2828.
WORTH THE TRIP
LITTLE ART THEATRE 247 Xenia Ave., Yellow Springs. 1-767-7671. THE NEW NEON MOVIES 130 E. Fifth St., Dayton, Ohio. 1-222-SHOW.
(Rated PG-13; at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate; closes Thursday at Westwood.)
★ MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET Sure, have seen this tale of a department-store Santa Claus who insists he is the real thing before, but this version really shines. Give credit to the wonderful performances from its leads, Richard Attenborough and young Mara Wilson. It’s not often that young girls experience strong role models such as Wilson at the movies. Of all the family-movie fare out there,
★ THE MASK In this special-effects-laden comedy, Jim Carrey’s performance resembles a Tex Avery cartoon. Still, his manic contortions remain true to the spirit of the film. Of all the fluff from this past summer, The Mask possessed the most originality. With this hit, Carrey became a million dollar baby. With Dumb and Dumber coming out this Christmas, the pundits are waiting to see if he strikes gold again. With Peter Riegert and Cameron Diaz.
this new take on the 1947 original really hits pay dirt. With Elizabeth PerkinS, Dylan McDermott and Frasier's Jane Leeves. (Rated PG; opens Friday at area Loews Theatres; closes Thursday at area Showcase Cinemas.)
★ NATURAL BORN KILLERS Director Oliver Stone (Platoon, Wall Street) pushes his cinematic skills to new heights. As result, Natural Bom Killers may be the most daring studio release of the year. Stone’s script is based on a original story by Hollywood hot man Quentin Tarantino. What the film lacks in substance,
than the feature movie. The children have spoken. With the voices of Patrick Stewart and Whoopi Goldberg. (Rated G; at area Loews Theatres.)
★ THE PROFESSIONAL
French filmmaker Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, Subway) revolves his bloody action story around an unlikely protagonist, a young girl.
Just
Did
(Rated
★
Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman. (Rated R; at Showcase Cincinnati.)
★ THE PUPPET MASTERS Now that the Cold War is over, Robert Heinlein’s story may have lost its ideological punch. Simply as a creepy sci-fi thriller, The Puppet Masters hits the mark. Gooey aliens arid the always unnerving Donald Sutherland come together for a fun and frighterring ride. With Eric Thai, Julie Warner and Will Patton. (Rated R; at Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate; closes Thursday at Norwood and Turfway.)
★ QUIZ SHOW Finally, a film whose qualities are proportional to its critical acclaim. Taking from attorney Richard N. Goodwin’s book Remembering America: A Voice From the Sixties, director Robert Redford has crafted his best movie to date. Today, many people may regard the scandals regarding TV game show Twenty-One as trite. Through phenomenal performances from Ralph Fiennes as star contestant Charles Van Doren, Rob Morrow as Goodwin and John Turturro as discontent Herb Stempel, Quiz Show both entertains and educates. Sure, it’s not historically accurate, but that makes Quiz Show more pleasurable. With Mira Sorvino, David Paymer and Paul Scofield. (Rated R; at Northgate and Florence.)
★ THE RIVER WILD Meryl Streep takes a successful leap as an action heroine in the latest effort from director Curtis Hanson (The Hand that Rocks the Cradle). Streep’s character leads her husband and son on a white-water rafting trip, only to face terror from two criminal goons. What the story lacks in substance and character development, it makes up with frantic action and breathtaking photography. For her fans, Streep’s role may seem like slumming. Hey, the girl just wants to have fun. With Kevin Bacon and David Straithairn. (Rated PG-13; closes Thursday at area Loews Theatres and Little Art Theatre in Yellow Springs; opens Friday at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair, Biggs Place Eastgate and Westwood.)
★ THE ROAD TO WELLVILLE Nutty Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (Anthony Hopkins), breakfast cereal kingpin and health maven finds a kindred spirit in director Alan Parker (The Commitments, Mississippi Burning). Based on T. Coraghessan Boyle’s novel, Parker’s film re-creates all the mayhem of his 1907 Battle Creek (Mich.) sanitarium. Hopkins as the good doctor leads a march of lunatics through an enjoyable
romp. Parker’s tendency for going overboard seems appropriate to the material this time. With Mathew Broderick, Bridget Fonda and Dana Carvey. (Rated PG-13; closes Thursday at Norwood and Turfway.)
THE SANTA CLAUSE Tim Allen makes the leap from TV stardom to the big screen. His sense of ease for kiddie comedy is wasted on this unimaginative story. Hopefully, Disney has Allen in mind for another Son ofFlubber. Kids may eat up the story about a grouchy dad who becomes Kris Kringle: Do they know what “tool time” even means? In film, quality and box-office draw do not always match. Moviegoers have made this turkey a huge hit. Maybe next year, Tim Burton will make his Santa Claus movie. Now that will be funky. With Judge Reinhold and Peter Boyle. (Rated PG; at area Showcase Cinemas.)
★ THE SCENT OF GREEN PAPAYA Filmmaker Tran Anh Hung left Vietnam with his family in the early ’70s and moved to Paris. In spirit, he returns home with The Scent of Green Papaya to tell the story of Vietnamese family’s household in ’50s Saigon. Filmed entirely on French sound stages, The Scent ofGreen Papaya was Vietnam’s first submission for the Best Foreign Language Oscar. The Scent of Green Papaya possesses the intoxicating powers of a drug. Its beauty occurs in the smaller details. The film’s dramas are also subtle. They unfold like an unforgettable dream. Many films only show beauty at the level of spectacle ( Little Buddha), The Scent of Green Papaya reminds us that cinematic beauty can be subtle. With Truong Thi Loc and Tran Ngoc Trung. (Unrated; closes Thursday at Little Arts Theatre, Yellow Springs, Ohio.)
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION Based on the Stephen King short story Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, director Frank Darabont (screenwriter of Kenneth Branagh’s Frankenstein ) inspires more than frightens with his tale of friendship behind bars. What King’s tale lacks in depth, Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman make up with their performances. With William Sadler and Clancy Brown. (Rated R; at Loews Kenwood Towne Centre and Florence; opens Friday at Little Arts Theatre, Yellow Springs, Ohio.)
SQUANTO A WARRIOR’S TALE
This movie is so bad that Native Americans may cry defamation. Poor Squanto (Adam Beach), this could have been his big break at making a huge impact on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers crowd. Instead, he comes off as a boring chump at the hands of the white man’s movie camera. With Mandy Patinkin and Michael Gambon. (Rated PG; opens Friday at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
STARGATE Cutting-edge special effects wrap around a rather old-fashioned science-fiction epic. Unlike recent action films, Stargate takes nothing seriously. Its childlike innocence is refreshing. Consider Stargate as a hip Forbidden Planet. In true ’90s fashion, The Crying Game's Jaye Davidson steals the show instead of Robby the Robot. With Kurt Russell and James Spader. (Rated PG-13; at area Loews Theaters; closes Thursday at the Esquire Theatre.)
STAR TREK GENERATIONS There is a changing of the guard in the Star Trek movie universe. TV’s Next Generation has pushed James T. Kirk .and company off the silver screen. Who would have thought that a seemingly momentous occasion would result in such a dull affair? Generations’ flimsy story about an evil scientist who harnesses a rift in time is high on technology and MORE, PAGE 18
Smart People Say Stupid Things
Bad dialogue in ‘Speechless’ leaves Keaton Davis and others withoutfunny lines in tale of love
Under a stariy sky, a man and a woman cavort in a fountain. They talk, laugh and simply do what lovers do. Well, of course, they must be in love. In your entire life, has anyone ever come across two adults frolicking in such a way, who were not lovers? Life has a way of showing human nature in a clear fashion.
Confusion. Now, that’s Hollywood’s job. Director Ron Underwood’s
Speechless tackles the most basic of stories, two adults falling in love. It happens all the time. There are infinite ways to describe romance. One may place a love story in any number of situations. Speechless picks a pretty interesting context. Two political speech writers, Kevin Vallick (Michael Keaton) and Julia Mann (Geena Davis) meet incognito in the middle of a tense campaign for a New Mexico congressional seat. Sparks confirm a mutual attraction. Just when matters seem so easy, these two potential partners discover that they work for the opposing candidates. Questions regarding professional conduct arise. Tempers flare. The important things in life never come easy. Love is one of those things.
Speechless could have been based on All’s Fair, the book that chronicles the romance between President Clinton’s campaign manager, James Carville, and head of the George Bush campaign, Mary Matalin. The film should have appropriated their story. Carville and Matalin’s real-life story contains more laughs than anything that screenwriter Robert King dreamt up. A good premise is lost in his thoughtless application. One phrase sums up Speechless : a waste of good resources.
Keaton stands out as one of those actors who exude a charming and likable personality. He doesn’t appear to be acting. Whenever he appears in these nice-guy, smart-aleck roles ( Night Shift, The Paper, Gung Ho'), Keaton seems to be playing himself. He is the antithesis of the Hollywood star.
Nothing is larger than life about this average Joe from Pittsburgh. That’s his charm. Anyone can relate to Keaton. Here’s a guy who doesn’t look any better than the rest of us, doesn’t seem stronger than the rest of us, doesn’t act any smarter than any of us. (Don’t say the average male moviegoer relates well to Arnold Schwarzenegger.)
When Keaton gets the girl or beats the villain, it shows that these victories are possible for every ordinary guy. That’s why it was such a disappointment to see Keaton strap on that rubber Batman mask and act so serious. His type of man shouldn’t appear too often in roles against type.
So what happens here? Speechless proves itself to be
Michael Keaton and Geena Davis star as opposites
another example does again here, bad logue acts as a muzzle saying anything funny. cles that tie a talented doing anything entertaining. off as awful in Speechless; dumb by the script. Davis suffers the well with Keaton the same plank. Speechless gent adults and forces in foolish ways. It’s Speechless unfolds ups on the expressway.
Actors who are normally alive by Speechless Wheel, Die Hard
Christopher Reeve
Smart ) as Davis’ Hudson and Charles Hollywood can
All Dressed Up and Nowhere To Go
Eric
Stoltz
finishes year offilming period movies without plans
INTERVIEW BY STEVE RAMOS.
Half a world away in Scotland, Eric Stoltz is talking on the phone about the joys of costume dramas. He knows the subject well. Stoltz currently spends his days in a kilt filming the big budget movie Rob Roy with Liam Neeson. For Christmas, moviegoers can see him in historical garb for director Gillian Armstrong’s adaptation of Little Women, opening Dec. 23.“I play the token male standing around with a lot of facial hair,” he says.
Stoltz leaps at the chance to portray someone from another time and place. “It is fun being in another world. It’s not virtual reality; it’s reality. You’re in a log cabin with a fire going.” For Stoltz, part of the fun is watching his co-workers in costume. “Women in corsets are really sexy. The clothes from other eras, I find more erotic than the obvious clothes that most people wear now.”
Through a number of screen and stage roles, Stoltz developed a reputation of the-nice-boy-next-door variety. But the 33-year-old has not been that freckled-faced kid for some time. His relationship with girlfriend Bridget Fonda has reached four years. Stoltz has outgrown teen films like Some Kind of Wonderful and moved on to films like Little Women.
“I think that when I was in my 20s, I did a lot of teen fables. Now I feel more drawn to moral ambivalence and should I get married. All those questions come into play when you are in your 30s.”
Working with friends
Stoltz jumps at the chances to make movies with friends. He forged personal relationships with Michael Steinberg and Neal Jimenez through his work on The Waterdance. Stoltz worked with Steinberg again on Bodies, Rest and Motion, where he also met Roger Hedden and Joe Castleberg. All of these friends joined together to make the film Sleep with Me. He sees a different kind of hierarchy surrounding these smaller films made with friends, describing this type of movie-making process as more “shoot from the hip.”
“With Sleep with Me, all of us were in charge. We were on the set all the time. We could say, ‘Hey let’s put the camera there,’ and make up a scene without having to send out memos.”
Stoltz also enjoys the opportunity of working with first-time directors. Most of his recent films such as Naked in New York and Killing Zoe were filmed by people new to directing. For Stoltz, the results are both good and bad.
“It is both exhilarating and exhausting. It is energizing because first-time directors are so wound up. On the other hand, it is exhausting because they have so much energy. They have worked their whole lives to get to this point, so that they tend to overwork you.”
First love was stage
Movies are not Stoltz’s first love. That special place in his heart belongs to theater. He received kudos for his performance as a serial killer in the play Down the Road and earned a Tony nomination for his portrayal of George Gibbs in the Broadway revival of Our Town. “If we got the financial rewards for theater that we did for film, no one would be making films,” he says. “It is excit
ing. You think something could happen. That creates an energy between the audience and the actors. You don’t get that with a movie camera.”
Still, Stoltz has spent the past year consistently in front of cameras. Some of his roles may shatter any public persona that Stoltz only plays nice guys. He was down right nasty in both Killing Zoe and Pulp Fiction, playing the type of characters that he relishes.
“After I did Our Town, that was pretty much it for my family. I was the boy next door. Ultimately, those kind of roles are not that challenging. If anyone thinks of me as some role model, then they should see Pulp Fiction or Killing Zoe. I would be the most amoral role model that I could think of.”
For Eric Stoltz, the here and now takes priority. He does not reflect on past decisions. That type of “amusing pop quiz” carries more value for journalists. He has not thought about future work. Those decisions will come in due course.
low on drama. Too bad, deserve better and non-fans get any of the inside jokes. mediocre movie doesn’t stop moviegoers from crowding the multiplexes. Then again,Star Trek Generations was the family-adventure movie holiday. That doesn’t mean of us have to follow the masses, especially when they’re wrong. With Patrick Stewart and Frakes. (Rated PG; at area Showcase Cinemas.)
★ THE SWAN PRINCESS
Rather than seeing King for the umpteenth the kids to this new take legend that inspired Swan Director Richard Rich’s (The and the Hound) 14 years Disney are evident from Princess' high-quality animation. In this version, a prince’s more than an evil sorcerer’s becomes an obstacle to young love. How very modern. you may have some explaining do. With the voices of John Sandy Duncan and Steven (Rated G; at area Loews Theatres.)
TERMINAL VELOCITY ex-KGB agents come to for fun, excitement and Hey, mayhem is Charlie middle name. It’s perfect that he plays a sky-diver caught up in all the chaos. art-house
Eric Stoltz
Repertory
stars of director Jon Avnet’s drama, Elijah Wood and Lexi Randall, shine. Its seasoned performers, Kevin Costner and Mare 'Aiiuiii.6ham, languish. The disappointing result is a mixed film, which should have been great. With Christc Dher Fennell and Donald Sellei.-. (Rated PG-13; at Norwood; clo. ?s Thursday at Westwood.)
Allen showboat in a Santa suit, when they can see a true fa'nily classic like Meet Me in St. Louis' If directors like Vincente Minnelli (Gigi, An American in Paris were still around, then perhaps the movie musical would still be alive. (8 p.m. Saturday. Murphy Theater, Wilmington, Ohio. 1-382-3643.)
PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE Poor Paul Reubens, things were just dandy before he was caught spanking the monkey at a Florida adult cinema. Meanwhile, director Tim Burton (Batman, Ed Wood) has moved up to the Hollywood power list. People forget that Burton’s first box-office success was a big screen rendition of Reuben’s hit stage show. Pee Wee’s Big Adventure functions as a funky, live-action cartoon that amuses more often than not. A great slice of lunacy that is distinctly American. With Phil Hartman, James Brolin and Morgan Fairchild. (Rated PG-13; midnight Friday and Saturday at Westwood.)
FAUST Hailed at this year’s Toronto Film festival, Faust solidifies Czech animator Jan Svankmajer as one of the world’s important filmmakers. Using puppets, dolls and marionettes, Svankmajer mixes together his lifesize constructions with live action to retell the Faust myth in a highly original fashion. Set in Prague, Faust possesses a foreboding sense of darkness. Prague’s more famous son, Franz Kafka would be proud. (Unrated; 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus. 614-292-2354.)
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW Kids just love to do the time warp again and again and again. Sure, it gets a little old throwing toilet paper and toast around every weekend. Still, The Rocky Horror Picture Show offers the guilty pleasure of seeing Susan Sarandon at her worst. With Barry Bostwick and Nell Campbell. (Rated R; midnight Saturday, New Neon Movies, Dayton, Ohio.)
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CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS
Until they install Nintendo, these films may be the best way to entice children into the Public Library. Appropriately, this selection has a holiday theme. Hey, this is great synergy for the kids. Watch a movie, read a book, watch another movie and read another book. Mom and Dad, this may be your,best chance at creating a good reading habit in the young ones. Now, if the Public Library would only serve cocoa. (Rated G; 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Main Library, Downtown. 369-6922.)
1993 Representing 17 countries, these 108 entries bring together sex, humor and high-tech visual effects for the wildest commercials anywhere in the world. Some of the pitchmen include Godzilla, Jason Priestley and Pope John Paul II. I wonder what the Pope is trying to sell? That is, other than his book. (Unrated; 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus. 614-292-2354.)
MORE, PAGE 20
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MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS For those who happen to be enjoying the holiday scenery in Wilmington this weekend, the Murphy Theater continues to offer movie blockbusters from the past. Clang, clang, clang goes the, well you remember how that song goes. Why take the family to watch Tim
Circle CD's & Records
5975 Glenway
Big Chief Keeps on Rollin’
Groovy, heavy and witty Detroit hand makes
Cincinnati appearance
ombining heavy, groove-oriented guitar riffs with swooping, thick bass lines and almost Hip-Hop beats, the Detroit-based band Big Chief lets off a powerful, booming sound. The band, which plays Hurricanes on Friday, maintains a danceable groove yet remains a “rock” band, avoiding the novelty of “white funk.”
With influences as diverse as Curtis Mayfield and Black Sabbath, the band is one of the most soulful Rock acts in music.
Forming in Ann Arbor, Mich, in 1989, and then moving to -Detroit immediately after, the band’s sound owes a more than a casual nod to the legendaiy Detroit sound that spawned such performers as MC5 and Iggy and the Stooges.
“I grew up in Ann Arbor near a local band house,” explains bassist Matt O’Brien. “So growing up I used to hang Out with them, and I think I definitely got a lot from the Detroit sound.”
Big Chief O’Brien, guitarists Phil Durr and Mark Dancey, singer Bariy Henssler and drummer Mike Danner got its start by jaunting over to Europe for tours in 1990 and 1991. Although they had toured the United States off and on including a stop in ’89 at the old underground music staple of Cincinnati, Shorty’s they found European audiences more receptive. And they had ulterior motives.
“We basically wanted to go to Europe for no other reason than that we wanted to travel there,” O’Brien says. “Our first couple of records, Drive It Off and Face, were on a European label, and we just decided to conquer Europe first. We did really well there, and every time we go over, it gets better.”
The band then had Face released inl992 on Sub Pop, the Seattle label that spawned the careers of Nirvana, Soundgarden and Cincinnati’s own Afghan Whigs. This was around the time of the mass market consumption of “Grunge,” the sound for which Sub Pop became famous/infamous.
For their next album, band members decided to go against the expected and released the veiy soulful and funky Mack Avenue Skullgame, the soundtrack to a low-budget exploitation flick.
“With Mack Avenue we definitely had our minds set to do that as a kind of reaction against the popularity and attention Sub Pop was gaining,” O’Brien says. “People were calling us a Grunge band in the press and stuff, and we just didn’t see it.”
From the start, Big Chief has become aggressively more groovy without losing its abrasive edge. On the current release, Platinum Jive: Greatest Hits 19691999 (Capitol), band members have manifested their
love of Hip-Hop onto Fide,” a collaboration
“Schooly D had the Butcher Brothers up with him,” O’Brien
says he doesn’t envy careers seems so short span of that audience,” Hop and current stuff, the name of a lot of ago because they come With Big Chiefs soulful sound, it doesn’t suffer that sort of quick debut on a major label, necessary to keep making wanted to.
“Sub Pop was the didn’t really have any “The best thing about restrictions. So it’s dio and only have a
Fair. No cover.
Clubs Directory
MUSIC
ALLYN’S CAFE
MOLLOY’S ON THE GREEN 10 Enfield Place, Greenhills. 851-5434.
MS. KITTY’S SALOON 218 W. Third St., Downtown. 721-9520.
MT. ADAMS PAVILION 949 Pavilion St., Mount Adams. 721-7272.
MURRAY’S PUB 2169 Queen City Ave., Fairmount. 661-6215.
3538 Columbia Parkway, Columbia-Tusculum. 871-5779.
ANNIE’S
NEW NINETIES NIGHT CLUB 3613 Harrison Ave., Cheviot. 481-9013.
4343 Kellogg Ave., Columbia-Tusculum. 321-0220.
ARLIN’S
307 Ludlow Ave., Clifton. 751-6566.
ONE HUNDRED WEST
100 W. Sixth St., Downtown. 431-ROCK.
OZZIE’S PUB & EATERY 116 E. High St., Oxford. 1-523-3134.
ARNOLD’S BAR & GRILL
210 E. Eighth St., Downtown. 421-6234.
PALACE CLUB 2346 Grange Hall Road, Dayton, Ohio; 1-426-9305.
BLIND LEMON: 936 Hatch St., Mount Adams. 241-3885.
RIPLEYS
2507 W. Clifton Ave., Clifton. 861-6506.
BLUE NOTE CAFE
4520 W. Eighth St., Price Hill. 921-8898.
BLUE WISP JAZZ CLUB
SALAMONE’S 5800 Colerain Ave., Mount Airy. 385-8662.
FOREHEAD Alternative favorites. Blue Note Cafe. Cover.
FRANK POWERS TRIO Eclectic. Arnold’s. Free.
GOSHORN BROS. Classic Rock. Tommy’s. Cover.
CityBeat's music listings are free of charge and are for all concerts as well as clubs which feature live music on a regular basis. For information, call MIKE BREEN at 665-4700 or FAX at 6654369. AU listings are subject to change. The following listings are for Dec. 15-21.
Concerts
CRYSTAL GAYLE AND THE DAYTON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Dayton Convention Center, Dayton. $38-$ 16. 1-224-9000.
★ OVER THE RHINE Fresh off a support tour for the group's second IRS records release, Eve, Cincyiaves Over The Rhine bring their airy dream-pop to the atmospheric Emery Theatre. 7 p.m. Friday. Emery Theatre, 1112 Walnut, Over-the-Rhine. $10/$12 day of the show. 749-4949.
MANHATTAN TRANSFER 8 p.m. Monday. Taft Theatre, Fifth and Sycamore streets, Downtown. $29440.50. 749-4949.
Varied Venues
LIBRARY STAFF CHORALE
Seasonal. Noon Thursday, Friday and Monday. Public Library, 800 Vine St., Downtown. Free. 369-6960.
HORN TRIO Jazz. 8 p.m. Friday. Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Rookwood Pavilion, Madison and Edwards roads, Norwood. Free. 396-8960.
WINTON JAZZ ENSEMBLE
Jazz standards. 8 p.m. Friday. Borders Books and Music, 11711 Princeton Pike, Springdale. Free. 671-5852.
★ KENNY SMITH This is a Gospel performance that is being recorded live. If you’ve never experienced live Gospel, it’s beautiful experience of sound. 8 p.m. Sunday. Zion Baptist Church, 630 Glenwood Ave., Avondale. $10. Reservations required; call 651-3697.
HALE AND WALKER Classical. 3 p.m. Sunday. Mercantile Library, 414 Walnut St., Downtown. $5. Reservations recommended; call 621-0717.
SHIRLEY JESTER AND ANN CHAMBERLAIN Jazz. Midnight Tuesday. Public Library, 800 Vine St., Downtown. Free. 369-6960.
BRITTANY BAY Celtic. 8 p.m. Tuesday. Borders Books and Music, 11711 Princeton Pike, Sprindale. Free. 671-5853.
Clubs
THURSDAY
THE GENERICS Rock. Local 1207. Cover.
GOSHORN BROS. Classic Rock. Tommy’s. Cover.
H-BOMB FERGUSON Blues. Burbank’s Forest Fair. No cover.
THE GRAVEBLANKETS Folk. Top Cat’s. Cover.
GREENROOM AND SPEAKBOY Alternative. Sudsy Malone’s. Cover.
IDENTITY Reggae. One Hundred West. Cover.
JOHNNY SCHOTT WITH BANJO AND REBECCA VIE Open mike. Courtyard Cafe. No cover.
LARI WHITE Country. Coyote’s. $5 or a new unwrapped toy.
LEN CALLAHAN Acoustic. Local 1207. Cover.
PLOW ON BOY AND PAPERTOWN Folk Rock. Ripleys, Cover.
SNOWSHOE CRABS Alternative Rock favorites. Salamone’s. Cover.
STUFF Rock. Allyn’s Cafe. Cover.
TRILOGY Classic Rock.
Mt.Adams Pavilion. Cover.
UPTOWN RHYTHM AND BLUES Rhythm and Blues. Stow’s. Cover.
WILLIE RAY Blues. Burbank’s Sharonville. No cover.
FRIDAY
ANN CHAMBERLAIN JAZZ TRIO Jazz. Coco’s. Cover.
★' BIG CHIEF AND THE GOATS WITH DANDELION Detroit’s Big Chief play heavy, groove-oriented Rock while the Goats remain one of Hip-Hop’s most unique groups. Hurricanes. $5/ $6 day of the show.
BILLY GOAT WITH THE ROTTWEILERS Funky Alternative. Sudsy Malone’s. Cover. THE BLUEGRASS ALL-STARS Bluegrass. Arnold’s..No cover.
BLUE LOU AND THE ACCUSATIONS Blues. Mansion Hill Tavern. Cover.
BLUES ALL STARS Blues. Burbank’s Sharonville. No cover.
BORDERLINE Rock. Jim and Jack’s. Cover.
BRIAN LOVELY AND THE SECRET WITH CLYDE BROWN Alternative Rock. Shady O’Grady’s. Cover.
CAGE WITH REAL LULU AND HAUNTING SOULS Underground Alternative. Palace Club. Cover. THE DOGS Blues. Burbank’s Eastgate. No cover.
FOREHEAD Alternative favorites. Murray’s Pub. Cover.
IVORY’S JAZZ CABARET
THE WATERFRONT 14 Pete Rose Pier, Covington. 8:30 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday-Saturday. 581-1414.
2469 W. McMicken, Over-the-Rhine. 684-0300.
JIM & JACK’S RIVERSIDE
SPORTS BAR
3456 River Road, Riverside. 251-7977.
THE BLUE BIRDS Blues. Shady O’Grady’s Pub. Cover.
BLUE LOU AND THE ACCUSATIONS Blues. Burbank’s Forest
New Tunes
POSITIVELY YEAH YEAH VEAI
BY JOHN M. JAMES
Remastered B sides
Fans of Marc Bolan and T. Rex are in for a triple treat via three new CD releases from Edsel Records as British imports all at pretty a reasonable price as overseas stuff goes. The collection Great Hits: 1972-1977 The BSides is just that 25 tracks nicked from all the flips of their single releases. Messing With the Mystic is a compilation of 24 rare tracks, generally unavailable before. But the real treat is Rabbit Fighter an “unplugged’’ 15-track acoustic version of the fantastic Slider album. All three are remastered from the original tapes!
Rocking in the comics
Marvel Comics is getting deeper into the rock’n’roll vein, after its special one-shot Woodstock special and the three-part accompaniment to Alice Cooper’s The Last Temptation earlier this year, with the upcoming six-part comic book series on Elvis Presley, and single issues on House of Pain, Miles Davis, Snoop Doggy Dog and the Roiling Stones.
Just released is Iron, the first part of three issues on the life of Bob Marley, with an introduction by U2’s Bono. Can ganga and the Comics Code Seal of Approval live in peace and harmony?
Guitars ablazing
Looking for something new and inspiring for the guitar slinger on your Christmas list? Check out the new Rio Records release from the three-headed beast known as the Hellecasters, titled Escape From Hollywood. (Their last album, Return of the Hellecasters, was selected as the best overall and the best country album by Guitar Player Magazine in 1993.)
Overflowing with shimmering harmonics, skydive whammy bar antics and a sheer sense of devilish fun, this instrumental frolic by three blazing guitars and a “Ventures a la Texas roadhouse" rhythm section is six-string splendor. You gotta hear the inventive fretboard romp of their take on the theme to the cartoon “Inspector Gadget.”
Shed a few tears, guitar freaks, it’s back to the woodshed to practice after you lift yer jaw back off the floor...
Releases Coming Tuesday
And like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change
Not much new due to the holiday week, but the first set of excellent reissues from the Henry Rollins/Rick Rubin imprint label Infinity Zero hits the street Dec. 20 with a stocking full of long out-of-print hand-picked masterpieces such as the stunning debut from the Gang of Four, bluntly titled Entertainment the original pimpdaddy, author and poet Iceberg Slim’s beatnik Reflections from 1976; Northeast Ohio’s spud boys of noise, Devo, with the group’s second album from 1979, Duty Now For the Future; Television founder Tom Verlaine - Dreamtime; Suicide founder Alan Vega - New Raceion; the Matthew Shipp Trio Circular Temple; and ex-Teenage Jesus & the Jerks' punk saxophonist James Chance’s early ’80s release, Buy the Contortions. Many of these reissues will contaip bonus and/or live tracks, and all the gloss of loving hands resurrecting these forgotten jewels into the CD age. Highly, highly recommended
JOHN JAMES be found behind the counter at Wizard Records in Corryville.
BRIAN LOVELY AND THE SECRET Alternative Rock. Tommy’s On Main. Cover.
TOM MARTIN Rock. Mt. Adams Pavilion. Cover.
JOHNNY SCHOTT WITH WOODEN NICKEL AND PLOW ON BOY
UNCLE SIX Rock. Ripleys. Cover.
Open mike. Zipper’s. No cover.
THE TURNPIKE CRUISERS Big Band. Arnold’s. No cover.
WILLIE RAY AND THE MIDNIGHTERS Blues. Mansion Hill Tavern. Cover.
MARK COOPER AND KEVIN FOX Rock. Club One. No
OVERDUE Rock favorites. Salamone’s. Cover.
PHIL BLANK BLUES BAND Blues. Burbank’s Sharonville. No cover.
SUNDAY
BLUE BIRDS Blues. Allyn’s. Cover.
SHINDIG Rock favorites. Blue Note Cafe. Cover.
BLUES JAM Open Blues. Mansion Hill Tavern. Cover.
VINCE NEIL Metal. Annie's. $10
WEDNESDAY
ARNOLD’S WEDNESDAY NIGHT GUYS Eclectic. Arnold’s. Cover.
JOHN KOGGE AND THE LONESOME STRANGERS Folk. The Stadium. Cover.
BLUE BIRDS Blues. Tommy’s On Main. Cover.
BLUE WISP BIG BAND Jazz. Blue Wisp. Cover.
JOHNNY SCHOTT WITH FRED STEFFEN, BANJO AND MYSTERY WAGON Open mike. Tommy’s On Main. No cover.
BRIAN LOVELY AND THE SECRET Alternative Rock. Shady 0’Grady’s. Cover. FLOWERFIST AND FILAMENT Alternative. Top Cat’s. No cover for women or elves. FOREHEAD Alternative favorites. Murray’s Pub. Cover. GREENWICH
MILHAUS Rock favorites. Blue Note. Cover.
PIGMEAT JARRETT Blues. Stow’s. Cover. PLOW ON BOY Folk. Sudsy Malone’s. Cover.
STACY THE BLUES DOCTOR WITH BLUES U CAN USE Blues. Local 1207. Cover.
MONDAY
BEEL JAK WITH PSYCHOMANCY, TED BUNDY’S VOLKSWAGEN AND SLEDGE Sludge Rock. Sudsy Malone’s. Cover.
HURRICANES
FRED GARY AND DOTTIE WARNER Eclectic. Arnold’s. No cover.
MARC MICHAELSON Rock. Mt. Adams Pavilion. Cover.
fUX ALL SHOWS $5 IN ADV./$6 DOOR TICKETS AT SELECT-A-SEAT 721-1000, PHIL’S RECORDS, EVERYBODY’S RECORDS, CD WAREHOUSE, MOLES & SCENTIMENTS
PHIL BLANK BLUES BAND Blues. Burbank’s Sharonville. No cover.
TUESDAY
PIGMEAT JARRETT Blues. Allyn’s. Cover. SHINDIG Rock favorites. Murray’s Pub. Cover. SNOWSHOE CRABS Alternative Rock favorites. Hundred West. Cover. TRILOGY Classic Rock. Adams Pavilion. Cover. UPRISING Reggae. Ripleys. Cover.
THE WEBSTERS Alternative favorites. Salamone’s. Cover.
Spectator
TURFWAY PARK Live racing with post-time 7 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and 1:30 weekends. Simulcasts from Churchill Downs, Hollywood Bay Meadows, Fairgrounds Aqueduct. Parking $2, valet ing $3; grandstand admission $3.50, clubhouse $2.50. 7500 Turfway Road; Florence. 371-0200.
UC BEARCATS Men’s basketball vs. Cal State-Northridge 8:05 Monday. UC vs. California p.m. Wednesday. $12 adults; one get, one free for UC students. Shoemaker Center, Stadium University of Cincinnati, Clifton. 556-CATS. UK WILDCATS Kentucky basketball vs. Texas Tech 8
Nightclub in a Box
A new
Acid
Jazz album compiles the best and worst of the new genre
REVIEW
pet line. Everything goes downhill by the middle of the disc, however, as a few groups sound like they are trying too hard to be too cool.
Local Scene
SPILL IT
BY MIKE BREEN
Home For Christmas
BY KATHY Y. WILSON
I won’t pretend to know much about this latest musical form. I do know it when-1 hearit, and I appreciate it when it’s done well.
Acid Jazz compilations abound, and on After Hours (Instinct, 26 W. 17th St., New York, NY 10011) the best and worse of Acid Jazz is represented.
ah, Acid Jazz. Yet another genre within a genre, adding to the already jam-packed list of adjectives distinguishing one form of the music from another. As in free, avant garde, straight ahead
AMeant to be one of those discs you play after a long night of club-crawling, its 11 cuts are all instrumentals with some indistinguishable, sampled vocals mixed in. The songs are all just mellow enough to make your head bob, with phat bass lines throughout perhaps reminding you of the club you just helped close.
The disc starts out strong enough. “Desert in Your Eyes,” “Blacker,” “Take the L Train” and “Take 9” all mix just the right amount of samples and live instrumentalion to keep things interesting. Particularly “Take the L Train” by the Brooklyn Funk Essentials. It is reminiscent of the Art of Noise’s “Moments in Love,” replacing those synthesizer-induced vocals with a fluttering trum-
Coco, Steel and Lovebomb drop the ball on “Harlem” by not utilizing Quincy Jones’ bass line from the Quiet Storm hit “If I Ever Lose This Heaven” to its potential. Stevie Wonder illustrated urban life much better complete with bus noises, horns and hustlers in “Living for the City.”
After three more maybes and as many misses, the disc almost redeems itself with the closing track, “The Dawn” by Hedfunk. This nearly New Age cut has the feel of Jean-Luc Ponty during his French-African phase.
With emerging musical forms, as well as with compilations, listeners must be prepared to take the good with the bad and the ugly.
Do not run from Acid Jazz; 4th and Broadway’s series, The Rebirth of Cool, and Dorado’s two compilations come highly recommended.
After Hours, however, is .probably best kept for latenight listening. That way, you won’t be able to tell just how mediocre some of these cuts are you’ll be too tired from all that club-hopping.
CityBeat grade: C.
Short Takes
REVIEWS BY MIKE BREEN
CATHERINE Sorry (TVT).
Catherine thankfully had the good sense of not having Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins produce this one. If Corgan, who has co-piloted most of the band’s previous work, would have gotten his hands on it, Sorry would have sounded like the lost Pumpkins’ album. This band has an ethereal Rock quality that endears it to comparisons with co-Clucagoans. But the production isn’t as overblown and is more in the league of My Bloody Valentine due to the directed sense of noise-use. “Waterfall” is a lush noise-ballad that sounds like its name liquid melodies and a gushing, bittersweet flow of sounds permeate the brain and are downright entrancing. “2AM” is another ballad-type piece with an emotionally moving melody that makes it sound like the climax song from a John Hughes movie. Elsewhere, the band alternates from heavy, distorted guitar grooves to airy wisps Of lushness. CityBeat grade: A.
PEARL JAM Vitalogy (Epic).
For all their grumbling and pouting about how screwed up the industry is, you’d think these guys would at least make a good album. Vitalogy is chock-full of incohesive filler, topped off by the senseless outre “Stupid Mop,” which is an overlong noise fiasco that ends the record. Pearl Jam’s debut, Ten, whether you liked it or not, was a solid show of strength. The next record, Vs., was a hodgepodge of sounds that seemed to strive for diversity but ended up sounding plain confused. Vitalogy sounds like outakes from Vs. and doesn’t really even have a leg to stand on. It’s hollow for the most part, although the band occa-
sionally hits a stride and rides it hard. Rumor has it this may be one of the last albums from Pearl Jam. Boo hoo.CityBeat grade: D.
Absolutely killer stuff. Raw and untainted, Kicking Giant is driven by Toe Won Yu’s explosive Rickenbacker guitar work and vocals that are both abrasive and sadly soulful. “Dreamland Burns” is an incredible neo-psychedelic tune with slicing guitar lines and swirling vocals. The band works with noise, quiet and loud dynamics and much experimentation, but its identity is strong and focused. Perhaps most amazing is the fact that the band consists only of Yu and Rachel Cams’ stand-up drum style that has improved drastically from the band’s previous efforts. Fans of the Punk stylings of Brainiac and Fugazi and the minimal sounds of other K Records’ bands will dig this a lot, but everyone should check it out, especially for its diversity. This is easily one of ’94’s Top 5. CityBeat grade: A.
WIG Deliverance (Island).
With a sound that is simultaneously stabbing and ethereal, Deliverance has an oceanlike atmosphere that engulfs you lovingly while screaming in your face. Wig is reminiscent of Jane’s Addiction in principle, not in sound but in an expansive, mind-blowing edge that recalls that initial rush felt the first time you heard Nothing’s Shocking. Highlights include the hammering “10 Seconds” with its penetrating mantra “Ten seconds and the feeling’s gone again,” and the adrenalized and abrasive scorcher “Rant.” CityBeat grade: a.
IRS recording artists Over The Rhine are home for the holidays and will perform Friday at the Emery Theatre (1112 Walnut St., Over-the-Rhine).
This will be the band’s first appearance in Cincinnati since the show four months ago at Eden Park. Band members have been touring the South and Midwest in support of their third record, Eve.
Organizers expect the show to sell out, so get tickets early. Tickets ($10, or $12 on the day of the show) are available through TicketMaster, 749-4949. Organizers encourage concertgoers to bring a non-perishable food item to be donated to the FreeStore/FoodBank. In other OTR news, the band will perform at 9 p.m. Thursday live
High Street In-store Show
Nog, Folks and Fun
Through Dec. 31. 12-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 105 E. Main St., Mason. 398-2788.
TONI BIRCKHEAD GALLERY Collaborative studio furniture by husband-and-wife team Rob Gartzka and Kathie Johnson, who jointly combine painting and sculpture, functional and sculptural “artiture.” Through Dec. 30. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday; Saturday by appointment. 342 W. Fourth St., Downtown. 241-0212.
BORDER’S CAFE ESPRESSO Illustrations by Cincinnati Po'st cartoonist Jeff Stahler through Dec. 31. 9 a.m.-l 1 p.m. MondayThursday; 9 a.m.-l 1 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday. Borders Books and Music, 11711 Princeton Road, Springdale. 671-5852.
C.A.G.E. The Cincinnati Artist Group Effort’s annual Holiday Bizarre, now in C.A.G.E.’s new headquarters on Main Street, offers works hand-crafted by local artists. Through Dec. 24. 12-8 p.m. Friday; 12-6 p.m. Saturday; 12-4 p.m. Sunday. 1416 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 381-2437.
More on Their Minds Than Figure Studies
Galleries & Exhibits
varied career: paintings by Stewart Goldman, photographs by Thomas Schiff and sculpture by Joel Otterson and Derrick Woodham. Through Dec. 30. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday or by appointment. 900 Adams Crossing, Downtown. 723-0737.
ARTERNATIVE GALLERY Eclectic gallery of contemporary crafts featuring Infinite Melodies, a collection of minimalist paintings by Alan Hoofring. Through Dec. 30. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. MondayWednesday and Friday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday; 12-5 p.m. Sunday. 2034 Madison Road, O’Bryonville. 871-2218.
ARTS CONSORTIUM OF CINCINNATI, UNION TERMINAL Art for City Walls is a year-long exhibit focusing on local artists.
1-5 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 12-5 p.m. weekends. Union Terminal, 1301 Western Ave., Queensgate. 241-7408.
★ ARTS CONSORTIUM OF CINCINNATI, LINN STREET Creating an environment within a space, art within art, Thom Phelps shows Afro-American Framed Reflections #1 through Dec. 31. 1-8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends. 1515 Linn St., West End. 381-0645.
BABA BUDAN'S ESPRESSO BAR Paintings by Jeff Holt through Dec. 31. 7 a.m.-l 1 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 7 a.m.-l a.m. Friday; 11 a.m.-l a.m. Saturday; 11 a.m.-l 1 p.m. Sunday. 243 Calhoun St., Clifton. 22i—1911.
BASE ART Voices highlights works by 18 Cincinnati art therapists. 12-4 p.m. Saturdays and by appointment. 1311 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 491-3865.
BEAR GRAPHICS AND ILLUSTRATION GALLERY Paintings, prints and sculptures by Jan Knoop show constructions using animal bones and images of imaginary creatures. Also exhibited are illustrations by commemorative stamp designer C.F. Payne.
CARNEGIE ARTS CENTER A Primordia and the Continuum: Watercolors by Karen Shunk in Duveneck Gallery. Heaven and Earth features the oils of Kentuckian Frances Hemmer in McCarthy Gallery. Acrylic paintings by Cincinnatian Mary Linn White in Downstairs Gallery. Beautiful Things Remembered As The Art ofHealing Hands highlights mixed-media works by the physicians of St. Elizabeth Hospital in Downstairs Gallery. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 12-4 p.m. Saturday. 1028 Scott Blvd., Covington. 491-2030.
CELIO! Includes paintings by Roger Pelton, Rocky Woods and Lisa Schare. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday. 1341 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 352-0090.
CHIDLAW GALLERY, ART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI The students, faculty and alumni of the Art Academy bring together artwork, crafts and unusual objects in The Showflake Extravaganza for show and sale. Through Dec. 22. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Art Academy of Cincinnati, Eden Park. 562-8777.
CINCINNATI ART CLUB Presents its annual Christmas Bazaar with works by more than 15 artists, ending this weekend; 1-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. 1021 Parkside Place, Mount Adams. 241-4591.... The Club also presents work at The Golden Lamb restaurant in Lebanon, 27 South Broadway, through Dec. 31. 621-8373.
CINCINNATI ART GALLERIES Panorama of Cincinnati IX spotlights more than 70 works by deceased regional artists such as Robert Duncanson, Edward Potthast, Elizabeth Nourse, Joseph Sharp and Henry Mosler, and living Cincinnatians Cole Carothers, Michael Scott, Tom Bacher and Margot Gotoff. Through Dec. 31. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. 635 Main St.; Downtown. 381-2128.
CIRCLE CDS & RECORDS Holiday exhibiton of limited-edition silkscreen prints and Rock concert posters by artists such as Derek Hess, Frank Kozik, Linsey Kuhn, M. Getz, J. Hollans and Uncle Charlie. Opens Friday; through Jan. 16. 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. 5975 Glenway Ave., Western Hills. 451-9824.
CIVIC GARDEN CENTER OF GREATER CINCINNATI Laura Clevenger exhibits new works through Dec. 27. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. 2715 Reading Road, MORE, PAGE 24
While making the case forfigurative art, Mason pairs regional artists with New York representative
REVIEW BY JANE DURRELL
Lovely buns. Yes, those ARE lovely buns,” said a female voice, British inflected, from the vicinity of Ken Landen Buck’s large pastel of a male nude, in a recently opened three-artist exhibition at the Mason Fine Arts Gallery.
I lived in Mason when the commodious space Margaret Singh has fashioned into an art gallery was an IGA grocery store and the B-word was used there only for bread. British inflections were rare in Mason in those days, and in the greater world at that time figurative painters were also pretty uncommon.
Everything changes, sometimes for the better, and now there is nothing unusual in a group show unified by the artists’ unceasing interest in the human form. The exhibition in Mason, all recent work, makes a strong case for the appeal of figurative art. Admit it: We like to look at pictures of people. These artists, though, have more on their minds than simple figure studies.
Buck’s works are the largest format, running up to 39 by 47 inches, and contain their subject matter perfectly. Although handsome buns appear in several works, including the pastel “My Corner of the World” and the watercolor “Dancer in the Artist’s Studio,” Buck’s most frequent subject here is swimmers, at the surface or beneath water, all wondrously at home in a liquid environment. The water itself has the glimmer that comes from well-kept pools but is always agitated, making patterns, reflecting light, altering but not obliterating the shapes of the swimmers. A fishing netlike pattern appears sometimes but poses no danger; the swimmer, we know, will slip away. The artist says his pool scenes represent “another world of sorts,” just below the surface of reality, immersed in a heightened sense of awareness. Water becomes the caressing agent; sound dulls the outside world; inner thoughts magnify, and the sense of self is at its peak.
Buck uses pastels, gouache, watercolor and acrylic individually to good effect but is at his best in the mixed media works in the pool series. He lives in Covington and exhibits regularly in juried exhibitions nationwide.
While Buck’s figures are most often male, Jan Brown Checco’s are almost exclusively female. She tells enigmatic stories in her work, making little metaphorical jumping off points for the viewer’s interpretations.
woman folded into
Evocative objects viduals in Checco’s to be read into “She When to Leave.” The ful of the works on
Cheeco also sails medium that must plaster has dried and demanding and time-consuming. tively small and well-rendered. sents a composition curtain of hair and meticulously carried be a detail from a isn’t, of course, and also studies female on drawing titled “Colette” in the oil pastel “Venus Cincinnati and is a The third of this now only in watercolor out. He paints on repeated reworking usually unforgiving happily unlabored. subject matter (“In
Avondale. 221-0981.
CLOSSON’S GALLERY DOWN-
TOWN Continuing exhibition of maritime paintings and prints by Cincinnati favorite John Stobart. Paintings From Our Past includes oils on canvas by Frank McElwain. Closson’s commemorates artist John Ruthven’s 30-year anniversary with a special print, “Cardinals on the Ohio.” All through Dec. 31. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. weekdays; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday; 12-5 p.m. Sunday. 401 Race St., Downtown. 762-5510.
CLOSSON’S GALLERY KENWOOD Continuing exhibition of maritime paintings and prints by Cincinnati favorite John Stobart through Dec. 31. Wildlife oils and prints by John Ruthven through Dec. 30. ...Reflective Moments spotlights paintings by Adeline Hoagland. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 7866
“Generations,” by John Ruthven, was commissioned by Cincinnati Area Senior Services as a fund-raiser. Signed and numbered prints of the watercoior cost $125, with Nos. 2-10 costing $350. For information, call Bonnie Myers, 721-4330. Art
p.m. Saturday. 1209 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 421-7883.
579-8111.
FITTON CENTER FOR CREATIVE ARTS Sculptures by Alan LeQuire and paintings by Louise LeQuire in the gallery. Painted silk angels by Margaret Agner in the first-floor lobby. Through Dec. 23. 9 a.m.-8 p.m. MondayThursday; 9 a.m.-5 pjn. Friday; 9 a.m.-noon Saturday. 101 S. Monument Ave., Hamilton. 863-8873.
GALLERY AT WELLAGE & BUX-
TON Photographs by Jon Yamashiro through Jan. 5.10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. 1431 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 241-9127.
GALLERY 48 New works by Cindy Matyi investigate images rooted in Celtic heritage and impressionist paintings. Through Jan. 3. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. 1223 Central Parkway, Over-the-Rhine. 381-4033.
GALLERY 99 Features works by 20 gallery members through Dec. 31. 12-6 p.m. Thursday and Sunday; 12-9 p.m. FridaySaturday. 1101 St. Gregory St., Mount Adams. 651-1441.
★ GOLDEN RAM GALLERY Features antique fishing equipment; sounds interesting. Through Dec. 25. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. 6810 Miami Ave., Madeira. 271-8000.
HEBREW UNION COLLEGE SKIRBALL MUSEUM —Aishet Hayil: Woman of Valor features paintings, textiles and sculptures. Through Feb. 25.11 a.m.^1 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 2-5 p.m. Sunday. 3101 Clifton Ave., Clifton. 221-1875.
★ HEIKE PICKETT GALLERY A one-person show by Steve Armstrong featuring carved and painted wooden pieces with wooden gear mechanisms; one of the strongest faux naif carvers, combined with one of the oldest and most prestigious Kentucky folk art groups. Concurrent invitational group show features 27 artists. All through Jan. 15. 10 a.m:-3 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. 522 W. Short St., Lexington, Ky. 606-233-1263.
MARTA HEWETT GALLERY Solo show by Salvatore Ventura featuring large-format architectural watercolors. Through Jan. 15. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 12-5
★ IN SITU Inside/Outside is a group exhibition featuring landscape multiples by national and regional artists Laurie Rousseau, Suzanne Caporael, Joan Nelson, Wade Hoefer, Ellen Phalen, Sterck/Rozo and the X-Art Foundation. Through Jan. 21. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 1435 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 651^631.
INNER SPACE DESIGN Contemporary Works on Paper includes the works of Kelly, Dine, Motherwell, Rauchenberg, Indiana and Lichtenstein. Through Dec. 31. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 2128 Madison Road, O’Bryonville. 533-0300.
JAMAR GALLERY Quietudes features realist paintings by Cincinnatian Blair Beavers through Dec. 23. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays; 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. 135 W. Fourth St., Downtown. 333-0022.
KALDI’S COFFEE HOUSE & BOOKSTORE Sculptures by Brian Huff through Dec. 31. 7 a.m.-l a.m. Monday-Thursday; 7 a.m.-2:30 a.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-2:30 a.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-midnight Sunday. 1202 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 241-3070.
LOUISVILLE VISUAL ART ASSOCIATION Presents Mainz Art: Paperworks through Dec. 31. 3005 Upper River Road, Louisville. 502-896-2146.
★ LEFTHANDED MOON Black and white prints and photographs transferred to stones and tiles by Robert Giesler and landscapes by Susan Naylor. Both run through Dec. 31. 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Tarot readers available 12-3 p.m. every Saturday. 48 E. Court St., Downtown. 784-1166.
MALTON GALLERY —Artistic Park explores diversity in media and process using animal imagery featuring the works of Anne Embree, Kendahl Jan Jubb, Martha Wolf and Bill Reid. Through Dec. 24. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 2709 Observatory Ave., Hyde Park. 321-8614.
★ MASON FINE ART GALLERY Features silverpoints, wateredors and egg tempera paintings by Cincinnatians Ken Landen Buck, Jan Brown Checco and New Yorkers Irwin Greenberg and Kenny Mencher. Through Jan. 15. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 6-9 p.m. Wednesday. 108 W. Main
St., Mason. 398-2625.
MILLER GALLERY Objects of Desire III features eclectic ceramic teapots, decoupage by Cincinnatian Alice Balterman and crystal sculptures by Christopher Rice and Gary Fitzgerald. Native Americans and the West features the works of W. Steve Selzer, Robert DeLeon and Hubert Wackermann. All through Dec. 31. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 2715 Erie Ave., Hyde Park. 871^420.
MULLANE’S PARKSIDE CAFE
First watercoior exhibition from Art Academy star alum Heinz Pradac. Through Dec. 30.11:30 a.m.-lO p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-l 1 p.m. Friday; 5-11 p.m. Saturday. 723 Race St., Downtown. 381-1331.
★ OLMES GALLERY Lynda Riddle’s explosive continues on the mark, and her new works are currently on display. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday; 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. 3515 Roundbottom Road, Newtown. 271-4004.
ONLY ARTISTS For the Holidays... From the Hand and the Heart explores the traditions of folk art with a unique selection of hand-carved ornaments, Santas, angels, Bybee pottery and Joe Deluco furniture. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 1315 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 241-6672.
★ LAURA PAUL GALLERY The Art of Giving... The Giving ofArt includes original works by Enrico Embroli and Bruce Hall, sculpture by Charles Herndon and jewelry by Angela Cummings. Through Jan. 30. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. MondaySaturday. 49 E. Fourth St., Dixie Terminal, Downtown. 65i-5882.
★ RAYMOND GALLERY
First-ever prints by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Jim Borgman of The Cincinnati Enquirer and Cincinnati Post cartoonist Jeff Stahler; a coming art form internationalized by Art Spiegelman. Through Dec. 31.10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday and Wednesday. 2700 Erie Ave., Hyde Park. 871-7373.
SEMANTICS GALLERY Paintings, drawings and sculpture by 22 local artists through Sunday. 12-5 p.m. weekends. 1125 Walnut St., Over-the-Rhine. 684-0102.
CARL SOLWAY GALLERY —Alan Rath: Recent Sculpture highlights new works by the San Francisco-area artist. Through
junction with in situ Gallery. Through Dec. 24. By appointment only. 1412 Main St., Over-theRhine. 651—4613.
TOON ART GALLERIES —Disney Dimensions highlights limitededition and one-of-a-kind three-dimensional 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.
UC CLERMONT COLLEGE ART GALLERY Student exhibit runs through Dec. 31. 4200 Clermont College Drive, Batavia. 732-5224.
★ UC MEDICAL SCIENCE LIBRARY Paper, Scissors, Rock features construction, watercolor, pastel and sculpture by Jerome Olander and Diane Szczepaniak. A thoughtful look at the “new” abstraction and wall sculptures (constructions). Through Jan. 13. 231 Bethesda Ave., Clifton. 558-5627.
PATRICIA WEINER GALLERY
The holiday exhibit features recent acquisitions of paintings by European and American artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. Through Jan. 6.11 a.m.-5 p.jn. Wednesday-Saturday. 9352 Main Street, Montgomery. 791-7717.
WENTWORTH GALLERY
Dec. 31. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday; Saturday by appointment. 424 Findlay St., West End. 621-0069.
STUDIO 701 —AH From the HeaH showcases large and small work canvas and paper by M. Katherine Hurley. Studio 701 of the Pendleton Art Center, 1310 Pendleton St., Over-the-Rhine. 241-4123.
SUB.GRESSIVE Works by Peter Huttinger, Vicki Mansoor and Marion Wilson. Organized in con-
Artists Milnar, Modic, McCann, Hallam and Picot are featured in Boats through Monday. 10 a.m.-l 0 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 12-7 p.m. Sunday. Kenwood Towne Centre, 7875 Montgomery Road, Kenwood. 791-5023.
WOMEN’S ART CLUB OF CINCINNATI Group show by members through Jan. 2. Parisian Gallery, Forest Fair Mall, 1047 Forest Fair Drive, Fairfield. 922-3585.
WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY ART GALLERIES Object/Environment showcases Arts Midwest grant winners Fred Bruney, Barbara Cooper (Chicago) and Judith Yourman (St. Paul, Minn.)
formed into designs; through April
9. ...Air in Motion, Heart in Motion includes 14 prints by Shinoda Toko, trained in calligraphy but best known for her paintings; through May 14. The Questfor Quality highlights
museum acquisitions from the 20-year directorship of recently retired Millard F. Rogers.... 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. $5 adults; $4 students and seniors; children free; free to all on Saturdays. Eden Park. 721-5204.
★ CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER Horizons: The Art of Healing includes paintings from psychologically or physically abused children utilizing art-as-therapy for healing.
Contextualized in a gallery/museum setting, the artwork plays off other “folk” and “outsider" art. Through Jan. 8. Light Into Art features light-as-sculpture, including virtual reality, contextualizing computerized virtual reality with a well-chosen, eclectic group of acclaimed artists working with light as their medium. Curated by former CAC director/curator Elaine King; through'Jan. 13. Also, Columbus midcareer artist Elizabeth Fergus-Jean interacts with area junior and senior high school students in Sacred Space: Dreams Awakening through Jan. 8. Pieter Laurens Mol highlights the artist-as-alchemist who utilizes unusual materials to address the moral and aesthetic contradictions of the Modern Age; through Jan. 15. San Francisco artist Lynn Hershman’s Room of One’s Own is an interactive videodisk computer installation dealing with the ideas of woman as object and voyeurism; through Jan. 29. 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. 721-0390. DAYTON ART INSTITUTE Childe Hassam: Etchings and Lithographs by the turn-of-thecentury American artist; through Jan. 29. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Sunday; 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday. 465 Belmonte Park North, Dayton, Ohio. 1-223-5277.
★ INDIANAPOLIS MUSEUM OF ART Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: An Art in the Making spotlights 150 of the world’s earliest (and still best) animation cels, exhibited with extraordinarily creative adjunct programs. Through Feb. 5. Also, Textiles by West African Nakunte Diarra\ through Dec. 31. Paintings by Indiana native-tumed-superstar Kay Rosen in Back Home in Indiana through Jan. 8. Written on Stone with Garo Antreasian; through Jan. 15. Liber Studiorum, Turner Prints features works from the 13-year span the artist devoted to printmaking; through Feb. 5.... Riley to Tarkington: Images ofIndiana Authors through March 12. 10
a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Thursday; 12-5 p.m. Sunday. $4 adults; $3 students and seniors; children 12 & under free. 1200 W.
38th St., Indianapolis. 317-923-1331.'
MIAMI UNIVERSITY ART MUSEUM Continuing exhibits include Stitched, Woven and Plaited: Contemporary Craft Traditions ofAfrica through Jan. 11 and The Belle Epoque in Caricature through Feb. 19. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Free. Patterson Ave., Oxford. 1-529-2232.
★ NATIONAL AFRO-AMERICAN MUSEUM AND CULTURAL CENTER Mississippi Freedom Summer Remembered: 1964-1994 is a photographic exhibition commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Mississippi Freedom Summer. A must-see for historical and aesthetic purposes; showcases photography’s multiple possibilities. Also,From Victory to Freedom: AfroAmerican Life in the '50s is a permanent exhibition featuring artifacts staged in settings reminiscent of the period. $3.50 adults; $1.50 students. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 1-5 p.m. Sunday. 1350 Brush Row Rd., Wilberforce. 1-376^1944.
SOUTHERN OHIO MUSEUM Stars and Diamonds is a 15th anniversary exhibition of brilliant cut glass from the Harold Micklethwaite Collection; through Dec. 30. Portsmouth Structures II highlights Will Reader’s paintings of local scenery; through Dec. 30. A Neoclassical holiday display of decorations by Cincinnatian Frances Jones Poetker along with a Victorian Christmas tree and a collection of antique toys; through Dec. 31. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday- Friday. 825 Gallia St., Portsmouth. 614-354-5629.
★ THE TAFT MUSEUM The Expatriate American Artist and Other Selections From a Cincinnati Collection features 30 paintings, watercolors and sculptures, including works by five “Duveneck” school artists.-Also includes a Herter Bros, furniture display. Superb Elizabeth Nourse paintings from tum-of-the-century mix with period furniture from original Cincinnati Probasco home as director Phillip Long attempts to make the Taft a living house once again. Through Jan. 15. Also, a special display of four works by Grandma Moses continues through March 19. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 1-5 p.m. Sunday. 316 Pike St., Downtown. $3 adults; $1 seniors and students; children 12 and under free. Free admission to visitors bringing any non-perishable food items or personal care products. 241-0343.
WEXNER CENTER FOR THE ARTS Burning Beds features paintings, drawings and mattress sculptures by Argentinean artist examining identity and place, memory and loss; through Dec. 31. Between the Frames: The Forum includes eight videos by installation artist Antonio Muntadas with more than 100 interviews from North Americans, Western Europeans and Japanese regarding how contemporary art is presented, created and interpreted among differing cultural institutions; through Dec. 31. 10 a.m.-6 MORE, PAGE 26
Season of Sentiment, Silliness
Holiday productions rangefrom to those over the top
BY RICK PENDER
This time of year when we seek onstage entertainment, it’s as likely as not that it’s going to be traditional. After all, the holidays are a time for memory and nostalgia, for recalling things familiar, warm and loving.
Probably your best bet for such an experience is the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (through Dec. 31). For the fourth consecutive year, Cincinnati’s oldest professional theater is presenting Howard Dallin’s stage adaptation of the bah-humbug tale about Ebeneezer Scrooge’s dark night of the soul. It’s a delightful production, fascinating to watch as the complex sets whirl and twirl from one scene to the next - there are two computer-controlled, 27-foot tall towers - and you never know when a character or a ghostly set piece might rise from beneath the stage or disappear in the fog.
The cast of 27 plays dozens of roles,_wearing more than 100 costumes, singing and dancing to authentic music and dance from the mid-19th century. Best of all is Alan Mixon, the most believable Scrooge you could hope to see. He’s cruel and miserly in the opening scenes; amusing and poignant as he’s exposed to his past, present and future; and totally human and open in his conversion to a man who learns the necessity of mending his ways. His evolution is not at all forced, his conversion totally believable. Director Michael Haney has staged a production that ranges broadly over Dickens’ familiar tale, but the focus never shifts from Mixon’s Scrooge. It’s as satisfying a stage portrayal of a character as you’re likely to see.
It’s also worth noting that, while A Christmas Carol is nostalgic, it’s also a piece of social criticism. We see the importance of caring for our fellow man and of connecting our lives with others. We can go and feel that we’re enjoying a glorious holiday treat. But if we pay attention, we’ll learn some messages that are as timely for us in 1994 as they were when originally penned more than 150 years ago.
Vying for honors as the most traditional and nostalgic is the Cincinnati Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker. Tchaikovsky’s lovely tale of a young girl who dreams on Christmas Eve of heroes, fairies, toy battles and other fantasies is the Tristate’s longest-produced holiday tradition. This production is choreographed by Ben Stevenson, and it’s one that moves along in a glorious way. Musical accompaniment is provided by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra with Carmon DeLeone conducting. The Nutcracker a great way to spend a late December evening at posh Music Hall (productions run Dec. 16-27), dressed up in your holiday finery enjoying an evening of familiar melodies, fine dancing and beautiful stage pictures. This one’s not so thought-provoking as it is pure entertainment.
For a different take on Tchaikovsky, stop by the Cincinnati Planetarium (1720 Gilbert Ave.) for Laser Nutcracker. The show uses the traditional music and choreographs lasers in sprightly patterns to the melodies. Shows are on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The planetarium also presents Holiday Skies, a look at how the stars and planets have played a role in holiday
the traditional
Alan Mixon reprises his performance
Christmas Carol at Playhouse
customs and the sky Saturday and Sunday day show times Dec. Not a holiday show current Omnimax Terminal, will introduce by the men and women aboard space shuttles. the 40-minute film technology that makes sible, but the kind ed with the wonders
Players Muddle Multimedia Message
REVIEW BY DALE DOERMAN
The John Body Players have concocted a thematically mammoth counterculture Christmas theatrical for your holiday entertainment in JesusMan and Devil-Guy.
Written and directed by Brian Griffin, this multimedia event (I hesitate to call it a “play”) deconstructs images from Christianity, feminism, art, Freud and Marx, then reconstructs a vivid counterpoint on the theme of “good vs. evil” that says I don’t even know what. I can’t even pretend to understand, and that’s the biggest problem. I doubt that anyone else will either.
The 18-scene, two-act evening has a reasonable running time of about two hours (with intermission), but the time shifts from scene to scene make a largely symbolic story like this difficult to follow. In spite of the confusion, there were some interesting performances.
Blackmoore, a.k.a. Judas (Michael G. Bath), plays an appealing, if not awkwardly humorous protagonist who alternates between victim and sadist. In one scene he is bound to a cross, where he loses his manhood to Edgar/Edna (Donna J. Rubin) who carries a love/hate torch for Blackmoore. Nathan L. Unger presents a pompous Socrates and a sniveling yes-man called Milky. Stacy Huber is less convincing as Cleopatra, Nails and the Sexpot. R.W. Hessler is cool as Fonzi and totally wigged out as the diabolical Bonaparte. Erin Cowan portrays a Camille with a head for gold instead of a heart of gold, and appears as Blackmoore’s mother that comes from a well-documented Viennese nightmare.
Between the scenes which leap-frog from “the present” to “a month earlier” to “the present” to “years ago” we get a series of black and white slides in rear projection above and behind the scene of everything from Goya’s “Crucifixion” to a waste-filled commode.
“The Inducers” Matt Andersen on bass; Terry Pender on guitar, mandolin and effects; and Tony Franklin with percussion provide some welcome instrumental bridging from scene to scene. Even if you don’t know where you are going, you can enjoy this part of the journey.
While the John Body Players purport to “explore alternative viewpoints in a forum that is ruled by the pursuit of ideas and feelings as experienced by the five senses, and not the avarice of bureaucratic corporation that calls itself the public theatre,” what they don’t do here is communicate clearly in a cohesive manner. Their expression is theatrical, but it is also violent, humorous, sadistic, shocking, self-indulgent and, in this case, mostly muddled.
JESUS-MAN AND DEVIL-GUY continues Saturday through Wednesday at the Dance Hall, Vine Street and East Daniels, Corryville. 684-0774.
CINCINNATI CHILDREN’S MUSEUM Newly opened interactive museum. Showings of The Blue Men by Joy Williams at 1, 2:15 and 3 p.m. Sunday. World Beat Week will be shown at 1:30 and 3 p.m. Sunday. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday; 12-5 p.m. Sunday. $5 admission; children under 5 pay their age in dollars. Longworth Hall, 700 W. Pete Rose Way, Downtown. 421-5437.
Art
p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday; 12-5 p.m. Sunday. Ohio State University, North High Street at 15th Avenue, Columbus. 614-292-3535.
CINCINNATI FIRE MUSEUM Featuring the permanent exhibit, The Early Volunteer Fire Fighters of Cincinnati. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays; 12-4 p.m. weekends. $2.50 adults; $1.50 children 2-12. 315 W. Court St., Downtown. 621-5553.
★ CG&E HOLIDAY TRAINS
The B&O model train first pulled into the CG&E lobby in 1946 and The Trains of Christmas has been an annual event ever since. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday; 12-5 p.m. Sunday. 139 E. Fourth St., Downtown. 287-2639.
Cincinnati Historical Society features paintings by Frank H. Myers, John H. Twachtman and John Weis and etchings by Caroline Williams and E.T. Hurley; through Jan.T5. Model Railroads includes balloon-stack wood burners of the mid-1800s; through Jan. 15. Permanent exhibits include Cincinnati: Settlement to 1860, a re-creation of the city’s origins from a Western frontier outpost to a booming manufacturing center, and Cincinnati Goes to War a portrait of the homefront during WWII. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. $4.95 adults; $2.95 children; members free. Museum Center at Union Terminal, 1301 Western Ave., Queensgate. 287-7030.
CINCINNATI MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY Dinamation’s Carnivore
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF BREWING HISTORY AND ARTS
Houses the largest display of brewing and beef artifacts in the world.
11 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends. $4 adult tour and tasting; $2 under-21 tour and non-alcoholic tasting; $3 adult tour only; $2 beer tasting only. Oldenberg Complex, Interstate 75 at Buttermilk Pike, Fort Mitchell. 341-2802.
CINCINNATI HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM Nancy Denton, professor of sociology from State University of New York at Albany, lectures on American Apartheid 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The Cincinnati Carvers Guild gives a woodworking demonstration 1-4 p.m. Saturday. The Ohio Valley Basketweavers Guild gives a basket-making presentation 1-4 p.m. Sunday.... Philanthropist Frederick Hauck, who will turn 100 on Dec. 28, will be honored at a pre-birthday luncheon at 12 noon Tuesday; $100. Limited to the first 100 reservations: 287-7044. Temporary exhibits include Modernist Visions of Urban Housing features materials introduced at the Wessenhof housing project, organized in the 1920s by Mies van der Rohe; through Jan. 1. Winter Light: Festive Art From the Collection of The
BB RIVERBOATS Lunch, din ner, sightseeing, Nutcracker, Santa and holiday choral cruises with area high school choirs available. 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. Holiday Toy Trains includes characters from Thomas the Train and the Lionel American Flyer. Through Jan. 8. Silent Testimony: The Prehistoric Earthworks of the Central Ohio Valley a photographic show by Cincinnati artist Alice Weston, has been extended through Jan. 8. 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. TuesdaySunday. $1 adults; free children 12 and under. 327 N. Second St., German Village, Hamilton. 893-7111.
BICENTENNIAL COMMONS
More than 300,000 lights are displayed throughout the riverfront park for the Honda Starlight Celebration. The lights are on 5-10 p.m. daily through Jan. 2. Skating hours: 4-9 p.m. Thursday; 5-10 p.m. Friday; 12-10 p.m. Saturday; 12-6 p.m. Sunday. Admission: $2 adults; $1 children 12 and under. $1 skate rental; $2 rollerblade rental. Meet Krista from Star 64’s Kids Club at the Cincinnati Recreation Commission’s skating party 5-7 p.m. Saturday. Free carriage rides, courtesy of Espress-Way Coffee,
Erin Cown and the “Shears of Justice” from John Body Players’ Jesus-Man and Devil-Guy.
UtterKiosk
EXPOSITION COMPANY’S CHRISTMAS TRAIN Children of all ages can board the historic passenger coaches for a 20-minute ride with Santa. With more than four acres of track and switches, this-is the largest Christmas train display in the tri-state. Doors open at 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday with the last train departing at 8:30 p.m. On weekends the doors open at noon with the last train departing at 8:30 p.m. $3 adults; $2 children. Proceeds are used to support the continuing collection, preservation, education and exhibition programs at the Railway Exposition Company. 34th and Roger Sts., Latonia. 491-RAIL.
SHARON WOODS VILLAGE Drive-through display of over 80,000 lights including Santa in Space through Jan. 1. 6-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 6-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. $6 per car Sunday-Thursday; $7 Friday and Saturday. Also, guided tours of eight 19th century homes, restored, furnished and seasonally decorated. 1-5 p.m. weekends. $5 adults; $3 seniors; $2 children 12-6; free to children 6 and under. Sharon Woods Park, Route 42, Sharonville. 563-9484.
STAR OF CINCINNATI Featuring lunch, dinner, weekend brunch, Starlight Party and TGIF cruises. Cruises depart from Star Landing at 15 Mehring Way, Downtown. 723-0100.
WARREN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM Features artifacts from 1790 to the present, including Shaker and Victorian furniture, as well as an extensive collection of paleontological and archaeological artifacts. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 105 S. Broadway, Lebanon. $3 adults, $1 students. 932-1817.
WILDER-SWAIM HOUSE Zig-Zag and Cooper roads, Montgomery. 793-0515.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE Designated by Congress'in 1969, this Greek Revival-style house is the only memorial to the nation’s 27th president and 10th chiefjustice. Picture taking, story telling and visit with Father Christmas will take place 1^4 p.m. Sunday. Each child will receive a free Polaroid picture of a visit with a Victorian Father Christmas. Homemade gingerbread cookies and punch will be served in the garden room. Free. 2038 Auburn Ave., Mount Auburn. 684-3292.
Caffeine Nation
Or how an interview with ‘Prozac Nation ’ into a frenzied race against time
RECOUNTED
BY
BILLIE JEYES
Saturday, I interviewed Elizabeth Wurtzel, who was in town to autograph copies of Prozac Nation an exceedingly well-written account of her lifelong bout with depression.
At first glance, her life would seem ideal. In 1986, while attending Harvard, Wurtzel, now 27, won the Rolling Stone College Journalism Award for an essay on Lou. Reed. After that, she was the popular-music critic for The New Yorker and New York magazines. But, as she points out to me, happiness has nothing to do with the American Dream.
By the time we get together, it is 1:30 p.m. and her plane is scheduled to leave for New York at 3:05 p.m. I offer to give her a lift to the airport to buy a little more time, and she accepts. She does need to eat, though, and so we make for the restaurant. She orders some food, and I stick to coffee. The espresso machine has broken down, and so I am served a giant pot of coffee, which I proceed to finish. I have already drunk one double espresso and am already wired. Why I drink more, I don’t know.
The food comes quickly enough, but Wurtzel hardly touches it. She seems to be in a good mood. She has just sold the paperback rights to her book for $300,000 and is talking to MTV-about doing some book reviews. I suddenly realize I will probably never make that much money in my whole life and begin to feel a little depressed myself.
While she is eating, -she pops some pills in her mouth. For some reason, I don’t ask what they are. I assume she is taking Prozac.
I keep looking at the time. It is now past 2 and I am starting to get edgy. I don’t want her to miss the plane. She seems unconcerned, the plane will probably be delayed because of the weather, she says, and proceeds
Theater
★ CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK Larry Gallagher’s Beehive is a musical tribute to nearly every girl group and female pop artist of the ’60s, with Cincinnati favorite Kathy Wade in the ensemble. Great music, hot singing and check out all the wigs! The run has been extended through Jan. 8. 8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 5 and 9 p.m. Saturday; 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. $24-31. Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre, Eden Park. The Playhouse presents its annual performance of Charles Dickens’ beloved tale, A Christmas Carol through Dec. 31. 7 p.m. Monday-Friday; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. $21-33 adults; $12.50 children 12 and under. Robert S. Marx Theatre, Eden Park. Meet the Artists will MORE, PAGE 28
» Did you ever hear the one about...
Comedian Mort Sahl will be the host of a nationally syndicated radio talk show devoted to books.
Publishers Weekly’s Between the Covers with Mort Sahl will be broadcast via satellite from the ABC Radio Network studios in New York at 9 -11 p.m.
Sundays, starting in January.
So far, no local radio stations have picked it up, but the demo tape, with guest Mary Higgins Clark, was only sent out last week.
‘Moby Dick’ online: A new service catering to the book industry went online this month. Not only can subscribers access book reviews and library catalogs, but they also can download electronic copies of classics such as Moby Dick.
author turns
to ask me all about Cincinnati. She is struck by its beauty and waxes rhapsodic about the architecture. She likes the fact that people here are so much more polite than in New York. She is starting to think about carrying an unloaded gun around to enforce politeness, she tells me. I know she is kidding. Her sense of humor shines through her book.
At 2:25 p.m., I tell her that we have to get going or she is going to miss her plane. Five minutes later, we are on our way. The weather is perfectly dreadful, and I can hardly see for the rain. I miss the turnoff to the airport and end up on a tiny little road. I am in a panic, but she remains perfectly calm. I begin to wonder why caffeine is my drug of choice. If only I could be as mellow as Elizabeth Wurtzel.
Finally, I slam on the brakes and run into a little restaurant. Yes, I missed the turn. I have to go back two miles and turn right at the flashing red light. I rim back into the car and turn it around. I come to a flashing yellow light.
Is this it? I ask. out loud. Yes, this must be it, she replies comfortingly. It is now 3 p.m.
I zoom toward the airport and head for the Delta Airlines terminal. I almost go the wrong way, to arrivals, but my passenger softly points out my mistake. As soon as we get to the right terminal, I drop her off.
The guys checking the luggage tell me that the plane has already left. I am mortified. I rush into the terminal and check with one of the agents, The flight has been delayed a half hour, just as she predicted.
I get back in the car and look at my copy of Prozac Nation. She has autographed it and left a number where I can reach her for a follow up interview.
The service costs $30 a month. Call 302-323-9206 for more information.
Danger in the manger: HarperCollins is recalling all copies of Christmas in the Manger by Nola Buck, illustrated by Felicia Bond. Apparently, the small jewels on one of the pages can fall off, presenting a choking hazard to small children.
Win a trip to Savannah: The 400,000th copy of John Berendt’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil will contain a note by the author telling the lucky reader how.to win a trip for two to Savannah, Ga., where the book is set. The trip includes a personal tour by the author, who will arrange introductions to the book’s colorful cast of characters including the unforgettable drag queen, Lady Chablis.
BILLIE JEYES
Onstage
VILLAGE PUPPET THEATRE Presents The Elves and the Shoemaker 4:30 and 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 2, 4:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 and 4 p.m. Sunday. Through Dec. 23. 606 Main St., Covington. 291-5566.
Classical Music
★ CINCINNATI CHAMBER
follow the Sunday matinee, giving the audience an opportunity to interact with Christmas Carol cast members and other production and design staff. Tickets to all shows are half-price when purchased 12-2 p.m. the day of the show. 421-3888.
CINCINNATI COMMUNITY
★ ENSEMBLE THEATRE OF CINCINNATI Mark Mocahbee and Robert B. Rais have created Snow White: A British Pantomime with original music by David Kisor. For the uninitiated, a pantomime is a great family outing that allows for audience participation. Through Dec. 31. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. $20 adults; $15 students and seniors. You can eat lunch in the enchanted forest and receive a Snow White coloring book and souvenir photo as part of ETC’s Panto Picnic 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. $10 children; $5 adults. 1127 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine. 421-3555.
FOREST VIEW GARDENS Sit down to a three-hour meal brought to you by singers-servers who perform Festival of Carols. Through Dec. 30. 6 p.m. Thursday; p.m. Sunday. Through Dec. 31. $26.95-34.95. Route 73, Springboro. 1-746-4554.
ORCHESTRA The CCO has added a second performance of its Holiday Family Concert. Baritone Jerrold Pope, a Cincinnati native, will join the orchestra to sing traditional holiday favorites and lead the audience in a sing-along. Keith Lockhart, in his third year as music director, conducts. 12 noon Saturday; the 10:30 a.m. show is sold out. $5. Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. 723-1182.
ORCHESTRA Presents its second concert of the 1994-95 season with the music from Tchaikovsky, Khachaturian, Prokofieff and Gershwin. 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Free. Greaves Concert Hall, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights. 732-2561.
GROESBECK UNITED METHODIST CHURCH BELL
CHOIR Closes the Christmas After Dark series 7 p.m. Friday. Refreshments will be served. Farbach-Werner Nature Preserve, Poole Road, Colerain Township. 521-7275.
★ MUSIC AMIDST THE BOOKS
The Mercantile Library presents its first recital in recent memory (some say its first ever). Soprano Blythe Walker and pianist Kelly Hale have assembled a program of songs with music by Delius, Britten, Vaughan Williams and Finzi and words by Tennyson, Hardy, Joyce and Auden. 3 p.m. Sunday. $5. Reservations recommended. 414 Walnut St. (11th floor), Downtown. 621-0717.
FOOTLIGHTERS Present Godspell, the 1960s musical based on the Gospel according to Matthew. Through Saturday. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. $10. Stained Glass Theatre, 8th and York Sts., Newport. 793-1435.
MUSIC LIVE WITH LUNCH The Treble Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, with Jude Mollenhauer on harp, performs Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols. 12:10 p.m. Tuesday. Free; lunch is $3. Christ Church Cathedral, Fourth and Sycamore Sts., Downtown. 621-1817.
PORTSMOUTH COMMUNITY
ORCHESTRA Performs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. $5 adults; $3 children. Wesley United Methodist Church, 1415 Gallia St., Portsmouth. 614-354-5629 or 354-3781.
PUBLIC LIBRARY OF CINCINNATI The Public Library Staff Chorale will perform their annual Christmas concert. 12 noon Thursday, Friday and Monday. Main Branch, 800 Vine St., Downtown. 369-6900.
SORG OPERA COMPANY
Presents Amahl and the Night Visitors. Fourteen-year-old Brian Scott Evans of Mason and 12-year-old Billy Sauerland of New Paris share the title role. 2 and 5 p.m. Sunday. $10 adults; $5 students. Sorg Opera House, 63 S. Main St., Middletown. 1-425-0180.
SING-ALONG AT THE TAFT MUSEUM Band leader Bernyce Golden will lead the singing. 2 p.m. Saturday. Taft Museum, 316 Pike St., Downtown. 241-0343.
★ VOCAL ARTS ENSEMBLE OF CINCINNATI The region's premier professional chorus will perform traditional and innovative choral music under the direction of Earl Rivers in its Christmas Holiday Concert 8 p.m. Saturday. The Athenaeum of Ohio, 6616 Beechmont Ave., Mt. Washington. Also performing at 3 p.m. Sunday. St. Paul United Methodist Church, Miami and Galbraith roads, Madeira. Each concert is $12-16 adults; $9—13 seniors and students. 483-5888.
FLYING CLOUD ACADEMY OF VINTAGE DANCE Offers classes in 19th and 20th century social dance every Wednesday at 8 p.m. $3 members; $5 non-members. University YMCA, 270 Calhoun, Clifton. 351-7462 or 733-3077.
FRENCH IMPRESSIONIST
GALLERY TALKS The Personal Impressionism of Van Gogh, by Kevin Harris, a lecturer at Northern Kentucky University; 2 p.m. Saturday. Cincinnati Art Museum, Eden Park. 721-5204.
LOVELAND ART CENTER Offers classes in watercolors, oils, calligraphy, papermaking, acrylics and pastels for adults and children. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. MondayWednesday and Friday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. $59 per 12-hour course. 118 Taylor St., Loveland. 683-1888.
ARTS COUNCIL
The Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Athenaeum of Ohio in Mount Washington myriad courses from Wordfor Windows 6.0 to Portuguese Fisherman’s Hat. University of Cincinnati, College of Evening and Continuing Education, Clifton. 556-6932.
43205-1796. 614^466-2613.
SAVE OUTDOOR SCULPTURE (SOS) A public/private initiative designed to document and increase public awareness of outdoor sculpture. Workshops are being planned for early 1995 in Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton. People interested in participating should contact Patricia Henahan at the Ohio Arts Council. 727 E. Main St., Columbus, OH 43205-1796. 614-466-2613.
TREASURE ISLAND JEWELRY Offers classes on stained glass, basic, beaded and wire wrapped jewelry, polymar clay and lampwork beads. 34 W. Court St., Downtown. 241-7893.
WINTER WONDERLAND WORKSHOP The Art Academy of Cincinnati’s education department offers its popular workshop for children 5-14. 9:30-11:30 a.m.
PHOTO: SANDY UNDERWOOD RAY COMBS CINCINNATI COMEDY CONNECTION Boasts a new MC, Todd Lynn, who hails from the Queen City and has appeared on DefComedy Jam. Jeff Wayne headlines through Sunday. Headliner Mike Armstrong and featured act Saleem open Wednesday. 8 p.m. Thursday and Sunday; 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. Friday. Over 21. $6.50 weekdays; $8.50 weekends. Carew Tower, 441 Vine St., Downtown. 241-8088.
Classes & Exhibits
AFRIKAN AMERICAN DRUM AND DANCE ENSEMBLE Offers classes every Saturday at 12:30-2 p.m. $5 adults; $2.50 children 12-16; $1 children under 12. West End YMCA, 821 Ezzard Charles Dr., West End. 281-7909 or 241-9622.
COMMUNIVERSITY Offers
form selections. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday. Fountain Square, Downtown.
WETHERINGTON FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS Modeled after Aspen’s famous Aspenglo, Wetherington Golf and Country Club homeowners will set their streets aglow with over 5,000 traditional luminaria at 6 p.m. Sunday for Wetherington Glow. 4000 Executive Park Drive. 563^070.
WINTER LIGHTS CELEBRATION
Take a stroll down Mainstrasse Village this weekend with carolers, decorations and a stunning array of lights. An ice sculpture of Santa and his reindeers will be created, starting at 9 a.m. Sunday. 491-0458.
WORLD'S LARGEST OFFICE PARTY 5-10 p.m. Thursday. $8. Proceeds go to the Cincinnati Center for Developmental Disorders. Hyatt Regency, 151 W. Fifth St., Downtown, 579-1234.
★ 1994 INTERNATIONAL HOLIDAY FESTIVAL Come see arts and crafts from around the world on Friday and Saturday. City Cure plays at 10 a.m., woman’s barbershop quartet Just Do It at 11 a.m., dulcimer player Don Drewry at noon, Kwanzaa celebration with Mother of Christ Church 2-A p.m. Findlay Market, Elder St. between Race and Elm Streets, Over-the-Rhine. 352-0710.
Groups & Programs
AIDS VOLUNTEERS OF CINCINNATI AVOC offers support groups for persons nving with HIV, as well as their families, friends and loved ones. All services are free and confidential. Cookbooks, holiday gift cards and sets available. 2183 Central Parkway, West End. 421-2437.
Bereavement Support Group
For people who have experienced loss related to HIV. Meets at 7 p.m. every other Wednesday. Common Bonds For individuals living with HIV. Meets at 7 p.m. every Tuesday. Family, Friends & Loved Ones
For loved ones of persons living with HIV/AIDS. Meets at7 p.m. every Tuesday.
Room With A View An AA-based group for individuals who are HIV+ and in recovery from chemical and/or alcohol
dependency. Meets at 8 p.m. every Wednesday.
Womancare For women who are living with HIV. Meets at 7 p.m. every other Wednesday.
ENJOY THE ARTS Offers substantial discounts to various arts organizations. Only full-time students are eligible. $24.50 for one year, $39 for two years. 751-2700.
Bubbly, Anyone?
No need to burst your bank account when toasting in the new year
OGAY AND LESBIAN SWITCHBOARD Open from 6-11 p.m. every night. 651-0070.
nce again, the holiday season is upon us giving ample excuses to indulge in that favorite of effervescent beverages champagne! Who can resist the bubbles, the flavor on your tongue, the tickle going down your throat... the true essence of celebration, that’s champagne.
LAVENDER LIGHTS Gays and lesbians helping the hungry and homeless in Cincinnati. To volunteer or get information, call 793-7937.
NAAMEN’S RETREAT
Before you go out to the nearest Kroger and buy that bottle of Cook’s'or Cold Duck (there’s a reason there’s a “uck” in it), let’s talk through some of the basics of champagnes and sparkling wines.
African-American community based support group for HIV-challenged individuals. 559-2933.
To begin with, let’s readjust our views on wine in general.
TRI-STATE HARVEST A volunteer organization whose sole purpose is to transport surplus food to those who need it in the community. To donate food or become a volunteer, call 281-FOOD.
UNITED WAY HELPLINE
Provides counseling, support-group information, crisis intervention and assistance 24 hours a day. 721-7900.
First, wine is not something to be wasted on the snobby. Wine can and should be enjoyed by everyone. It certainly doesn’t take a rocket scientist to taste the difference between good wine and Gallo. Even Dan Quayle could do it. And it certainly doesn’t take a taste-tester from Graeter’s to determine, with a little thought, that certain wines taste fruity, or woody, or even tobacco-ey.
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.
Second, always remember: If it’s advertised on television, it probably isn’t worth your time. There are literally thousands of wines produced each year. Why focus your attention on one aiming to satisfy the masses instead of finding one that satisfies you? Besides, if they’re spending that much time worrying about commercials with lines like “This can’t be champagne, I like it...” they can’t be spending much time on their product.
Finally, it’s not what Robert Parker or Hugh Johnson (both noted wine writers and connoisseurs) say that matters, it’s what you taste and what you like or don’t like that matters. You’re not buying champagne for them to drink; you’re buying it to drink yourself. That means despite, or maybe in spite of, the experts, if you like it, it’s good to you.
Readings, Signings & Events
★ LOUISE BORDEN The children’s author signs copies of her new book Just In Time illustrated by Caldecott Honor Book-winner Ted Lesin. She will also share sampies of candy and show some of the equipment used to make it. 11 a.m. Saturday. Oakley Blue Marble, 3054 Madison Road, Oakley. Register by calling 731-2665.
As far as the basics of champagne, most of you may know that like regular wines it is indeed made from grapes, and that a lot of good ones come from France. Champagne was actually invented in France and comes from the.Champagne region in Burgundy. While there are many sparkling wines from elsewhere in France, only those that come from the Champagne region can be called “champagne,” according to most purists. Spanish sparkling wines are called cava and Italian sparkling wines are called asti. Most sparkling wines from America and Australia, though, are also called champagnes.
While most champagnes are made from blends of grapes such as chardonnay, pinot blanc, chenin blanc and pinot noir, many of the finer tasting ones are made from 100 percent chardonnay grapes. The chardonnay grape is a stronger flavored grape that produces the popular and complexly flavored table wine. This also holds true for champagne. Pinot noir, on the other hand, is a red grape and, like the zinfandel grape, is used to give a fruity, berrylike flavor to the wine as well as a red or pink tint.
ANN BURLEIGH The local freelance writer signs copies of Journey Up the River: A Midwesterner's Spiritual Pilgrimage, a collection of essays on marriage, family, religion and community. 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday. Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Rookwood Pavilion, Madison and Edwards Roads, Norwood. 396-8960.
What should one look for in a sparkling wine?
CHRISTMAS STORIES Will be read by the staff of The Blue
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Suburban Torture
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CHAMPAGNE: FROM PAGE 29
edgeable to indulge in Tott’s and Korbel, there are a number of great sparkling wine buys out there waiting to be snatched up, just in time for the holidays.
A relative newcomer is Brut Dargent, from the Jura region of France. Jura, located in Eastern France near the Beaujolais region, has produced some fine sparkling wines in the past. Made from 100 percent chardonnay grapes, Brut Dargent is a very nice, crisp, clean, dry sparkling wine, with a little more body to it and the complexity of flavor one would expect from the chardonnay grape. Effervescent and vanillin in character, it’s a nice champagne to serve with dinner. It’s a steal at $9.99. Yes $9.99.
Along those same lines is one of my perennial favorites, Due de Valmer, a consistent winner in the French sparkling wine category. From “the best wine regions of France,” this one is a real winner. Light, with a lot of fruit and a touch of oak, it’s crisp, clean and very easy to drink. (It even goes with Cajun food.) At $6.99 a bottie, it’s a wine that will impress friends and loved ones without putting a dent in your pocket.
From America, we have a relative
Marble at 7-8 p.m. Monday. 1356 S. Ft. Thomas Ave., Fort Thomas. -781-0602.
GRADY CLAY The urban affairs editor of the Louisville Courier Journal signs copies ofReal Places: An Unconventional Guide to America’s Generic Landscape. 1-2:30 p.m. Saturday. Joseph-Beth Booksellers. 396-8960.
CURIOUS GEORGE The little monkey himself will be hanging around 2 p.m. Thursday. Little Professor Book Center, 814 Main St., Milford. 248-BOOK.
BARBARA GRAY AND DAVID HUDDLESTON Gray signs Life’s Instruction Bookfor Women and Huddleston signs copies of Life’s Little Spiritual Instructional Book. 1-2:30 p.m. Sunday. Joseph-Beth Booksellers. 396-8960.
THOMAS IDINOPULOS The religion teacher at Miami University signs and reads from his book, Jerusalem: A History of the Holiest City as Seen Through the Struggled ofJews, Christians and Muslims. 7-8:30 p.m. Thursday. Joseph-Beth Booksellers. 396-8960.
MARILYN HARRIS The author of Cooking With Marilyn demonstrates how to prepare and flavor a variety of holiday dishes. 9-11 a.m. Saturday. $10. Register by Friday. Seasongood Nature Center, Woodland Mound, Anderson Township. 521-PARK.
BRIAN KRUEGER AND JACK YORK Fresh from a national talk show tour, these two Cincinnatians will sign copies of their new book, Hard Labor. 2 p.m. Saturday: Borders Books and Music, 11711 Princeton Road, Springdale. 671-5852.
JARED LEE Signs, among other books, Gym Teachers. 2-4 p.m. Saturday. Little Professor Book Center, Brentwood Plaza, 8537 Wmton Road, Finneytown. 931-4433.
newcomer, Domains Saint Vincent, from get this New Mexico. Very green-appley in flavor, it has a great nose (or aroma) to it and a mild finish. Good color and great bubbles, it’s another relative bargain at $9.99 a bottie. It’s even a good champagne to write by. (I love this job!)
To finish, let’s gear toward the higher price category with Van de Kamp’s Midnight Cuvee. Not from the same people who make beanie-weenies, this is a sparkling brut rose made from a blend of chardonnay and pinot noir grapes. The pinot noir adds an incredible strawberry flavor to the wine that is not to be missed. At $17.99, it be a little on the high side of your budget, but it makes a great appearance in a very attractive package, either in the bottle or out.
LOLLIPOP PROGRAM Join Bonnie Seegmueller for a story and take-home craft for your 3-5 year old. 10:30-11:15 a.m. Monday. $1.50. The Children’s Bookery, 1169 Cobblewood Plaza, Forest Park. 742-8822.
CHRISTOPHER AND LYNNE
BORN MYERS The husband and wife team sign their latest children’s book, Turnip Soup. 1-3 p.m. Saturday. The Blue Marble, Ft. Thomas. 781-0602.
STEPHEN OSTRANDER Signs copies of his book, Natural Acts of Ohio, a guide to 100 nature preserves, reservations and metro parks. 1-2 p.m. Sunday. Barnes & Noble, 3802 Paxton Ave., Hyde Park. 871-4300
SHAKESPEARE IMPERSONATOR Will be on hand to sign copies of the Bard’s works. 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Borders Books and Music. 671-5852.
RICK SOWASH Ohio storyteller and author of Ripsnorting Whoppers will tell stories from his book, which will be available for autographing. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. The Blue Marble, Ft. Thomas. 781-0602.
GLORIA THOMAS, MARY BREEDEN, JAMES HINTON III AND MARY LOWELL Sign copies of Revelations a religious tribute to Christ’s second coming written in exquisite calligraphic script. 3-4:30 p.m. Saturday. Joseph Beth Booksellers. 396-8960.
J.K. WOLFE Signs and brings
samples from his Fat Junkfood Cookbook Saturday at Barnes Park. 871-4300. 2-4 p.m. Sunday at Book Center, Finneytown. 931-1433.
Groups
BOOK DISCUSSION Takes place the fourth every month at 7 Sarton Room. Crazy 4039 Hamilton Ave., 541-1198.
BOOKED ON THURSDAY general interest reading discuss the Newberry novel, The Giver, Thursday. Little Professor Center, 814 Main St., 248-BOOK.
CHRISTIAN WRITERS' SHIP— Critique group 7:30 p.m. on the second ofthe month at Vineyard Community Chhrch, Crescentville Road, 521-1913.
CINCINNATI PLAYWRIGHTS Critique group for meets at 7 p.m. every the Carnegie Arts and Scott streets, 556-3914.
CINCINNATI
CINCINNATI
753-5697.
OHIO VALLEY
munity
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DRUMMER WANTED Feeder Needs a Drummer Heavy, Alterna-punk band needs ereative, commited, talented drummer for travels, fun and ambitious pursuits. No flakes. Call 559-9625 or 861-2346.
FLUTE A great student flute. This used hardly one year and is in very good condition only $185.00. Call 244-2629.
FLUTE Artley Symphony flute with silverhead in good condition available for $150.00. Call 281-8208
GUITAR 1974 Gibson Hummingbird, Excellent ++ condition w/original hardshell case, $950 or possible trade. (513) 385-9134.
PRO BASSIST SEEKING WORK Versatile player with vocal capabilities and studio/touring experience. Call 321-0390
SPEAKERS Boston A120 speakers with stands. Excellent condition. Used only one year. $250. Call, leave message, 861-2075.
FREE FIREWOOD Call Monday to Friday 9 AM to 5 PM, 922-3270. MODELS NEEDED. Models needed for art student. No experience necessary.
BackUeaf
Classifieds 665-4700
ATTN: MUSICIANS/BANDS
Record in a pro studio on pro equipment
Get pro results & pay budget studio rates. Call Backstage at 292-TUNE
BUSINESS MEETING ROOM:
BOOK KALDI’S MEETING ROOM
For your next breakfast or lunch meeting. Accommodates up to 12. Call KALDI’S 241-3070
BEST BLACK BEANS AND RICE
ZARABANDA WORLD CAFE 3213 Linwood Ave. 321-1347
HO! HO! HO!
Gifts by nationally known folk artists
Unique hand carved Santas, ornaments, angels & more.
ONLY ARTISTS, 1315 Main Street Over The Rhine Tues-Sat 11-5 241-6672
VIDEO DESIGNER
Do you have a project that needs that special touch? Specializing in documentation of events, arts and commercial projects. Call Bob Leibold 481-3011 Fax 481-1444
THE GOOD DEED EXCHANGE
Send information about skills and services you can contribute. We’ll find a worthy match. Write:
PO Box 9316 Cinti., OH 45209-0316 SEND NO MONEY OPEN YOUR HEARTS PASS THE WORD ANGRY HOUR Fridays, 4pm-9pm DOLLAR NITE
Tuesdays
EMPIRE BAR
Take 8th St. viaduct to State Ave. at the old West End Bank
MOONSHINE SCREEN PRINTING
T-Shirts, sweats, hats, bumper stickers. Full art staff.
FREE PICK-UP & FREE DELIVERY
Give us a call at 523-7775
FILAMENT FLOWERFIST
TOP CATS
WED. DECEMBER 21
“Kid Tested, Mother Approved”
EXPERIENCE THE MUSEUM OF THE FUTURE LIGHT INTO ART
FROM VIDEO TO VIRTUAL REALITY Now through Jan. 14, 1995 THE CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER Call 345-8400 for hours and information
NERVENETINFO SYSTEMS
Largest free library for Techno Phreaks! Hacker *UFO*Magick*Pyro./Kaos*XXX US Robotics V.FC 28.8k*Helpfull SysOp -751-7515*24 HRS-
CHRISTMAS GIFT SERVICE Special custom gift baskets 481-7161
USED IBM COMPUTERS UNDER $600 Kevin 598-9703 Lv Mess
DO-IT-YOURSELF VIDEO EDITING use our new JVC VHS & SVHS Edit Desk. DREAMSAND VIDEO & PRINT 618/HOUR 541-9078 PHONE/FAX
NEZ PEACH
WITH THE MENUS Wednesday, December 21 Blue Note, 4520 W. 8th, 921-8898.
“DEANO” NEW RELEASE CD FROM NEZ PEACH NOW AVAILABLE!
LIVE REGGAE “UPRISING”
Wednesday, Dec. 21 at Ripleys 2507 W. Clifton Ave. 861-6506
FINDLAY MARKET
INTERNATIONAL HOLIDAY FESTIVAL Fri. & Sat. 10-4 through December 31 Arts & Crafts from around the world, Entertainment & Additional Vendors
AN EVENING WITH “OVER THE RHINE” AT THE EMERY THEATER Friday, Dec. 16, 8pm. All ages show. $10 advance tickets through all Ticketmaster outlets. Reserved seats.
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: The couple next door is having a knock-down, drag-outfight that has moved to yourfront yard; what do you do?
Name:
Address: Daytime voice telephone number:
CINCINNATI CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
A concert treat for all ages. Saturday, Dec. 17 at 12:00 noon Memorial Hall, next to Music Hall All seats $5. For tickets, call 723-1182.
GJ’S GASLIGHT
Where you get real mashed potatoes - with lumps. 354 Ludlow, Clifton, 221-2020
WE PAY CASH!
Wizard’s pays top dollar on the spot for your quality CDs, cassettes & LPs 2629 Vine, 961-6196
DID YOU KNOW UMPIRES MADE APPROX. $15 PER HOUR? Call Eggleston Park at 369-8399
BEADS BEADS BEADS FROM AROUND THE WORLD CALL ABOUT CLASSES Treasure Island Jewelry, 34 W. Court, 241-7893
!ZIONITES!
Top Cat’s 2820 Vine St. Friday, December 23rd
AVALON CLOTHING CO.
For all your holiday gift needs: SHOES, BOOTS, HATS, JACKETS, SHIRTS - YOU NAME IT! Comer of Clifton & McMillan M-F 10-8, Sat 11-7, Sun 12-5. 651-3847
WHERE COOL SANTAS SHOP
SCENTIMENTS - ROCK CITY 2614 Vine St. University Village, 281-1667 Open Mon-Sat, 11-8; Sun, 1-6
COMING IN JANUARY Queen’s Roan Records presentsUNCLE SIX
PREMIER RELEASE,“HEARTLAND SOUL*’ and ZIONITES
PREMIER RELEASE, “SOUNDWAVE” For distribution info or for bookings Call Bill at Equus Entertainment, 281-2733.
THE SUGAR KINGS
CHRISTMAS PARTY - DANIEL’S PUB Saturday, Dec. 17, 11pm - No cover.
