contributing editors Mike Breen, Music; Dale Doerman, Onstage; Rick Pender, Onstage; Steve Ramos, Film
contributing writers Karen Amelia Arnett, Brian Baker, Elizabeth Carey, Jane Durrell, Gary Gaffney, Jeff Hillard, Jon Hughes, John James, Billie Jeyes, Josh Katz, Jonathan Kamholtz, Michelle Kennedy, Brad King, Kim Krause, Craig Lovelace, Perin Mahler, Lori McClung, Susan Nuxoll, David Pescovitz, Jeremy Schlosberg, Peggy Schmidt, Althea Thompson, Fran Watson, Kathy Y. Wilson, John 0. Young.
photo editor Jymi Bolden
photographers Jon Hughes, Staff;
listings
editorial
CiCySeaf
News&V/eivs
UtterfCrosfr
Index to calendar listings 12
DailyEred
Music Ex-Raisin Tom Toth, he of multiple performing personalities, is interviewed by Brian Baker 15 Film Steve Ramos wraps up his
Festival coverage 18
Lines 19
Onstage Violinist Alyssa Parks reports back from her European tour with the Cincinnati Symphony 22
Environment Price Hill’s IMAGO organization helps spread “ecounderstanding” 10 Spirituality The moral absolutes of a local abortion protester 10
Onstage Rick Pender previews the Ballet’s production of Giselle 24
Art Art Academy photography show reflects on Appalachia 25
Food & Drink Twist and sprout over the iatest retro food fad 29
Suburban Torture 30
Division Within Resentment among officers has been a year, set off Council involvement, rotating shifts hiring and promotion police officers still trust each other? risk? Find out in our look at the divided house. Cover story, 5.
Wilde Thing:
In A Man ofNo Importance, Albert Finney plays a Dublin bus driver looking for a small pleasure in his otherwise ordinary life to produce a play by Oscar Wilde (right). The results produce a passionate, refreshing story. Film, 17.
Drums For Poetry:
Cincinnatian the country following the footsteps Arlington Robinson, whose epic ClassifiecLAcfs
From Galway to Clifton: Pulitzer Prize-winning poet
How to submit an ad 31 Galway Kinnell, reading next week at UC’s Elliston Classified Ads Help wanted, for Reading Series, tells CityBeat's, Billie Jeyes that he write sale, for rent, music, services 31
Back Beat - Mswer CityBeafs ,uesto teU the truth of experience” and to “touch the hearts tion of the week 32 of other people. Literary, 27.
The Straight Dope
BY CECIL ADAMS
decade ago, I read all kinds of stories about the dreadful things my PC might be responsiblefor: brain tumors, breast cancer, miscarriages. Now I hear nothing. Were the stories nuts, or are we?
K, Chicago
The stories were maybe a little exaggerated, although this is one area where you can’t make any definite pronouncements for fear some new scientific study will make you look like a chump two weeks later. The last flurry of computer (actually videomonitor)
scare stories came in 1990, many inspired by an article titled “The Magnetic-Field Menace” by muckraker Paul Brodeur in the computer magazine MacWorld.
Brodeur made two points: (1) exposure to the extremely low-frequency (ELF) magnetic fields generated by electrie power lines had been linked to cancer, miscarriages and other problems by several studies, and (2) ELF magnetic fields of similar strength (greater than 2 to 3 milligauss) were emitted b a surprisingly large number of commonly available computer monitors. A 1988 study of 1,600 California women found that clerical workers using VDTs more than 20 hours a week had a 2.4 times greater risk of miscarriagqThan other women.
Conclusion: Computers kill, or at least put you or your unborn child at significant risk.
Brodeur was being a bit of an alarmist, but his point was that computer makers were entirely too casual about the possible health risks of their products, especially in view of the fact that those risks were easily minimized. His article had the desired effect. Many manufacturers, including IBM and NEC, announced the introduction of monitors meeting “Swedish (government) standards,” which set a 2.5-milligauss limit on ELF emissions. As a practical matter you can greatly reduce your exposure by making sure you sit at least an arm’s length away from the screen emission strength drops off rapidly with distance. Also make sure there’s at least a 4-foot distance between you and any nearby computers since many monitors leak radiation out the top, sides and back. But these are all just precautions. Is there any real danger? The question is
still controversial, but the worst fears don’t seem to have been borne out. Only a few months after Brodeur’s article appeared, a Danish study of 6,20 women found no increase in miscarriages or birth defects due to VDT use. Several subsequent studies have reported similar results, and I’d venture to say the scientific consensus today is that VDT use in itself does not present any special danger to pregnant women.
The link between computers and cancer has always been more speculative. I
Lounger
Unfinished
Versatile - trifold frame
Multiple position
Sofa, Lounger & Bed
Twin 39”W x 75”L
Full 54”W x 75”L
Queen 60”Wx80”L
Box Frame
Unfinished
Versatile - bifold frame
Sofa - Bed
Full Size
Sofa 39”W x 75”L
Bed 54”W x 74”L
haven’t been able to find any study showing a relationship between VDT use and cancer, but frankly there’s been little specific research. Scientists remain concerned about the possible ill effects of exposure to electromagnetic radiation from whatever source, but the research picture overall is so confusing that no firm conclusions can be drawn. In any event, you can reduce your exposure by following the simple precautions mentioned above.
Computer use does present some clear health risks, mostly due to eye and muscle strain. Reports of repetitivestress injuries, including carpal tunnel syndrome, a painful wrist ailment, rose sharply during the ’80s, no doubt in part due to people staring fixedly at computer screens while sitting in uncomfortable positions for hours on end. Luckily the warning signs are usually pretty obvious. If you work at a computer a lot and your back, wrists, eves, neck, head, etc., are starting to bother you, it’s time to address the situation firmly. Bug the
ILLUSTRATION: SLUG SIGNORINO
Care Clarified
I am impressed by the efforts of CityBeat to present a balanced view of the continuum of mental health services to persons with serious and persistent mental illness in Hamilton County. As one of the care providers featured in the series, however, I would like to offer two clarifications:
I did not “spearhead” the writing of the Robert Wood Johnson Grant in 1987. That impressive task was undertaken by the leadership who were employed by the Mental Health Board at that time. My role was a much more limited one, that of coordinator for the final two years of the fiveyear project.
West by Northwest does not place all its outpatient clients in group homes. In actuality, only a very small percentage of case-management clients need supervised living. The greatest majority can live on their own with varying degrees or supportive service from the case manager and others. The goal of case-, management service is to assist the client to live as independently as possible within the limits imposed by the mental illness.
I will appreciate your immediate clarification of these points.
Kathleen Walzer, Director ofCommunity Support Services, West by Northwest Inc.
Thanks For Telling
Thank you for publishing the recent series on the mental health system in Cincinnati. Jeff Hillard did an excellent job of telling a complex story in a pair of informative, wonderfully written articles.
We appreciated the inclusion of Talbert House in this series. With our diversity of programming, we often receive media coverage that does not accurately reflect the scope of the agency. Mr. Hillard’s thorough research and comprehensive description of our services was a wel-
come exception. Thank you again for your publication’s professionalism and willingness to tell this story.
Laura Graff
Note: Laura Graff is a public relations specialist for Talbert House.
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 it take for Cincinnati to become the next Seattle, Minneapolis or Austin?”
BRUCE MILLER: We need to get new young blood in City Hall so we can be the next Seattle.
CLAUDIA HARROD: A one-way ticket to Seattle, Minneapolis or Austin for Si Leis and Phil Burress.
BOB WAIT: To become the next Seattle, Cincinnati would need an expresso bar in every gas station and we would have to relocate Mount Ranier to Cynthiana, Ky.
DAMIAN DOTTERWEICH: Seattle: more rain; Minneapolis: more snow; Austin: more singers/songwriters. Or maybe just less Buffett freaks and more local music supporters.
HENRY MCHENRY: A distinctive Porkopolis sound that exemplifies our glorious Midwestern surroundings, more unified, creative happenings, and a little help from Satan.
Correction
A story on the Jazz Loft Society (Jan. 26-Feb. 1 issue) incorrectly identified the Last Boppers as the Last Hoppers. It was an editing error.
Letters policy
CINCINNATI CITYBEAT accepts letters for publication.
mail to: Letters, Cincinnati CityBeat 23 E. Seventh St., Suite 617 Cincinnati, OH 45202 fax to: 513/665-4369
Please include the letter writer’s name, address and daytime phone number. Writers may request their names be withheld from publication. Letters may be edited for length. Please type letters if possible.
MUIIH WORLD
THERE
A Symbolic Struggle
The debate overfunding ofpublic broadcasting is about much more than just money
BY JOHN FOX
Two years ago Bill Clinton promised to introduce a number of important bills in his first 100 days in office, including health-care reform, motorvoter registration and crime legislation. During the process he got sidetracked by a struggle over gays in the military.
Although he’s accomplished much of what he set out to do, many people feel that Clinton never recovered from this mostly symbolic stand for gay rights.
Now Republicans have proposed their Contract With America and promised to introduce legislation on all 10 points within their first 100 days in office. Despite some debate about the balanced budget amendment, most of their attention has been focused on small-dollar concerns: funding for public broadcasting and the arts.
It’s obvious the Republicans are engaged in a symbolic struggle of their own. What remains to be seen is if they, too, lose momentum on a more important agenda.
Don’t be fooled. The current hearings on federal funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) have nothing to do with cutting the deficit. The CPB’s annual taxpayer subsidy is a proverbial drop in the bucket compared to other huge federal subsidies for the nation’s banks, farms and manufacturers.
The argument is a basic philosophical discussion over access to information, power and money. Republicans are angry at National Public Radio, one of CPB’s most influential news outlets and most liberal, the claim goes and they’re out to do it in while they can.
The federal government has a history of regulating information and communication in the name of guaranteeing “essential” services. It mandates that telephone companies still set aside part of your monthly phone bill to subsidize the cost of carrying service to remote areas. Communication has been deemed essential.
No one is claiming television and radio are essential, but information is. Knowledge is power. Using tax dollars to provide a little free over-the-air TV and radio was, at one time, deemed essential. Is it not anymore?
Many say the kind of programming found on public television is available on cable. Yet in Warner Cable’s territory in Hamilton, Butler, Clermont and Warren counties, 50 percent of the households are wired for cable TV. In the city of Cincinnati, it’s only 38 percent of the households. Too many people don’t have access to or can’t afford cable to “let them eat cake.” Are we looking to add another level to our society’s de-evolution into haves and have-nots?
by TOM TOMORROW
BEING CELEBRATED EVERYWHERE IN POPULAR CULTURE, FROM MOVIES To MTV.,. NOT TO MENTION TALK RADIO...
In the Cincinnati market, public radio provides the only real local and national news coverage outside the WLW/Jacor conglomerate. The three stations WNKU, WVXU and WGUC provide a tremendously diverse range of programming from across the country and around the world. They regularly offer live coverage of congressional hearings. Doesn’t this sort of programming offer valuable information and promote an informed electorate? Doesn’t diversity add to our individual life experiences? Maybe Republicans don’t want that.
Apparently The Enquirer doesn’t want it, either. Its Jan. 22 editorial against continuing federal support of public broadcasting was the type of Republican Party boosterism that only The Enquirer can pull off with a straight face. Here is an organization that, due directly to government intervention, is legally allowed to fix prices and pool profits with its main competitor. It’s called a Joint Operating Agreement, and for the last 18 years it has allowed The Enquirer and The Post our battling daily newspapers to conduct all business operations jointly.
Now a federal regulation isn’t the same thing as a federal subsidy, but you’d think The Enquirer editorial board wouldn’t be so shortsighted as to dismiss government support of a free flow of information. Instead, the editorial mused that “maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if Cincinnati had one strong public station instead of three struggling ones it can hardly support.”
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if Cincinnati had one strong daily newspaper instead of two mediocre ones, but unfortunately we don’t get to vote on that one. Another proposal floated by Repubicans in Congress is to sell off CPB to a private media company or split it among several companies. There may even be guarantees made that all “quality” programming currently offered Morning Edition, Sesame Street, MacNeilLehrer, World Cafe; etc. would be kept, no matter how low the ratings. Hey, no one is holding back WLW or “The Fox” or Channel 19 from broadcasting kids’ educational shows or Celtic music or opera. WEBN used to offer classical music on Sunday mornings but killed that years ago. Nielsens, play lists and formats dominate. The “numbers” talk in commercial radio and TV; quality niche programs walk.
I will agree with The Enquirer's editorial on one point: Our local public broadcasting outlets are struggling. They depend on individual and corporate financial support. Somewhere around 20 percent of their operating expenses are covered by CPB money, some of which must be spent on purchasing national programming. WGUC has weaned itself off funding support from the University of Cincinnati. WVXU is developing a network of stations in Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan. They’re working on finding new funds themselve^
ANY overly-abundant COMMODITY beCOMES DEVALUED--AND APPARENTLY INFORMATION IS NO EXCEPTION... CONSIDER THAT IN THE 18SOs, AUDIENCES ATTENDED DEBATES BETWEEN ABRAHAM LINCOLN 4 STEPHEN DOUGLAS WHICH LASTED UP TO SEVEN HO URS... AS NEIL POSTMAN ASKS-WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE WERE THESE?
TODAY, SUCH DEBATES MI6HT HOLD THE PUBLIC'S ATTENTION For an hour-and ONLY THEN IF HIGHLY ENTERTAINING QUESTIONS WERE ASKED... RrEsIdeJ^TliNTON - po YOU REALLY FEEL THAT JOCKEY BRIEFS ARE AN I APPROPRIATE CHOICE OF UNDERWEaRI for A WORLD LEADER?
Editorial View
INRUN QUESTIONS
BY BRAD KING AND STEVE RAMOS
Real Confusion, Cont.
Despite new ownership of Real Movies, debts owed to distributors and a buyer who said he had an agreement with the business owners have not been resolved.
Mick and Jamie Telkamp, owners of Telkamp Theaters, have leased the Real Movies business from Randy Sandler and Louis Buschle. Under their contract, the
News&Views
An Alternative Look at How and Why It Happened
A House Divided Resentment
Brothers Jamie (left) and Mick Telkamp plan to reopen the Real Movies (at 719 Race St., Downtown) on Feb. 10 with Red.
Telkamps will not be responsible for paying any debts incurred under the management of Jeff Reed, who previously leased the business.
That leaves Group One, the distributor of Erotique, out in the cold. Having not seen the $4,000 owed to it, the Los Angeles-based distributor is seeking legal action to recoup some of its losses. Because Reed is reported to have left the country and the new owners are not responsible for previous debt, finding somebody to pay is a problem, said Chris Wood, executive vice president of Group One.
Compounding confusion, Cincinnati businessman
Myles Kapson said he had an agreement to run the business before Telkamp came into the picture, which Buschle denied. Nonetheless, Kapson managed the theater for four days over New Year's Day weekend, started cleaning up and considering renovations before learning that Sandler and Buschle were going with another investor.
Sandler told Kapson he would be compensated for his tenure, Buschle said. But Kapson said the amount he was billing-them was beyond reimbursement for the cleaning. He said he wanted compensation for four workers he hired who then lost their jobs, as well as compensation for his loss.
So why are the distributors who had agreements with Real Movies not being paid while Kapson, who did not have a formal agreement, is being paid?
“It’s not confusing to me,” Buschle said. "If Myles did work after the first of the year and (Sandler)agreed to pay him, how is that confusing?”
Buschle and Sandler have said they hold Reed responsible for any debts owed to film distributors.
BURNING
reaches the boiling point; lines of division among Cincinnati police become clear
BY JOHN FOX, LORI MCCLUNG AND BRAD KING
The Cincinnati Police Division is a house divided against itself. Its very foundation absolute trust in fellow officers could be in danger of crumbling.
Years of lawsuits, consent decrees and internal investigations have resulted in a departmental affirmative action policy that is leaving many officers black, white, female, male, veterans and rookies resentful of each other. Those in leadership roles for the City of Cincinnati, the Police Division and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) are divided over the severity of the force’s morale problem. And Cincinnati City Council members can’t agree on whether they should intervene in the situation even though it could affect public safety.
“There are individuals in our organization who are feeding and spreading this hatred,” Police Chief Michael Snowden wrote in a January newsletter to his officers. “These individuals are male, they are female, they are black, they are white. They are a small part of the division.”
But sources inside and outside the division say the resentment, which has been simmering for more than 10 months, is widespread and has reached the boiling point.
Signs that tempers were beginning to flare came in April 1994. A promotion plan had been voted down by the FOP, the union representing Cincinnati police officers, and the list of eligible officers was about to expire. The promotion of a black officer to the rank of captain
Retired black officer feelings of reverse because the city has its efforts to comply ing the hiring and promoting
No matter which faction Cincinnati police officers council, actions of police Police Division practices parity is pitting officer threatening public safety. The result? Officers other up during traffic accusing the police administration are accusing the administration
PHOTO: JYMI BOLDEN
POLICE: FROM PAGE
meet requirements of a 1981 consent decree governing minority hiring the city is jeopardizing the safety of citizens and officers by lowering hiring standards.
Affirmative action under decree
Resentment over lower hiring standards and feelings of reverse discrimination are justified, retired police specialist Bill Lewis told CityBeat.
“If I was a male white and scored 100 on the (recruiting) test but a black male was hired and scored 75,1 would be highly ticked off,” said Lewis, who is black.
He had administered polygraph tests as part of the recruit testing process. He said his complaints about the division lowering its hiring standards led to his being transferred out of the job, which he held for 12 years. He retired in 1992 after 25 years on the force.
Lewis said he joined the Cincinnati Police Division before affirmative action and the issuance of consent decrees but that officers were not treated differently based on race when he was a rookie.
“Everybody competed,” he said. “If you scored high enough, you were promoted.”
But now, he said, “they (Police Division) act as if they are just looking for bodies and recruiting people off the street. If they recruited the same caliber of persons they did 25 years ago, they wouldn’t have these problems.”
The Cincinnati Police Division has a total of 963 officers. As the result of lawsuits by the Sentinels and the federal government, consent decrees were filed in both 1981 and 1987. The decrees set standards for the hiring and promotion of blacks and women.
Under current hiring procedures, eligible recruits are separated into three
In an internal memo dated July 25, 1994, Police Chief Michael Snowden projected the number of minority and female officers per shift when increasing the Police Division’s use of rotating shifts last August. The reason for the change was to increase diversity.
lists: white males, blacks (male and female) and females (black and white).
The 1981 decree stipulated that each recruit class must have 34 percent black representation and 23 percent female representation, according to the January issue of The Pulse of the City, the police administration newsletter.
In the end, recruits selected for hiring from the black and female lists might have lower test scores than white males
Employment of Black Police Officers
who are selected and white males who are not selected, explained police sources whom CityBeat agreed not to name because they feared it would affect their current job assignments within the division.
A police source said that in addition to hiring recruits with lower scores, the division sometimes ignores results of background checks done during the testing process for certain candidates.
With its current recruiting process, Lewis said, the division is telling minorities that they are naturally less intelligent. “It’s insulting and absolutely stupid,” he said.
Discrimination vs. preferential hiring
Cincinnati has made great strides in increasing minority representation on its police force, said Samuel Walker, professor of criminal justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. But at 19 percent in 1992 and 23 percent as of Jan. 8, he said, the number of black officers still lags behind the percentage of blacks 38 percent in Cincinnati’s general population.
Walker, who tracks affirmative action efforts in police departments across the country, explained that the practice of “preferential hiring” has been accepted as a viable method to make up for past wrongdoings in cities where consent decrees are issued. But in making up for racial disparity, he said, cities should not lower hiring standards but instead actively recruit qualified candidates.
If Cincinnati officials are trying to hasten minority hiring by lowering hiring standards, “then they are making a terrible mistake,” Walker said. “That department is asking for trouble.”
Sentinels’ President Lt. Clarence Williams disagreed. “Any person that is on an eligible list is eligible for the job,” he said.
Williams, who is under investigation for possibly hindering the investigation of attempted bribery charges against two other officers, appeared last week before City Council. With him were other members of the Sentinels and the Sentinels’ lawyer, Alphonse Gerhardstein. They charged the division with racism, unfair discipline of black officers and discrimi
nation that allowed white officers to beat each other up or shoot at each other without being disciplined. They refused to give CityBeat specific examples for verification.
Countering the Sentinels’ claims are officers who tell stories of “qualified” officers who get into fights with “unqualilied” officers because the “unqualified” officers fail to provide proper back-up, fail to properly handle citizen complaints and are incapable of routine tasks such as completing written reports.
As with the Sentinels’ charges, these stories are equally difficult to document. Many of the incidents, such as one that CityBeat inquired about, are not public record even though they have been investigated and settled, Cincinnati Police Lt. Dan Steers said.
“We do have officers not covering each other,” said Sgt. Paul Hilmer, FOP president.
The Sentinels also have charged the division with promotion practices that are biased against blacks. As an example, Williams points to a disparity in promotions that means blacks account for only 1 of 17 police captains, 8 of 42 lieutenants and 10 of 130 sergeants. The goals of the 1987 consent decree have not been met, he said.
“We’ve never had an AfricanAmerican chief, assistant chief or safety director,” he said. “Where is the diversity, the other point of view in administering the safety in the city?”
Hilmer said, “He’s blowing smoke.”
In a Jan. 27 notice to FOP members, Hilmer wrote that the Sentinels’ “indictment” of the division did not represent the viewpoint of all black members of the division. Instead, he wrote, the Sentinels’ visit to City Council was “strategically timed in an apparent effort to delay an on-going internal investigation relating to Williams.”
Williams refused to comment on the investigation.
But the issue of promotions is frustrating the FOP as well as members of the Women in Policing Committee, which was formed at the police chiefs request to gather input from female officers.
On April 26, resentment began simmering after City Council overruled an FOP vote and hurriedly promoted two
Female Officers Strive for Higher Ranks
The state and federal consent decrees that govern how Cincinnati police officers are hired and promoted may be headed back to court.
At its Feb. 28 meeting, the Cincinnati chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) will discuss whether to file a lawsuit aimed at abolishing a 1987 decree that governs promotions.
Sgt. Paul Hilmer, FOP president, said the decree was the source of much resentment in the department, separating the division by race and gender. Because the decree allows minority officers to be promoted above white male officers, he said, dissension is widespread.
“I think it really hurts us,” Hilmer said. “It’s divided us. If we want to be one police department, everybody should be treated the same.”
The situation becomes “this guy is making more money for his family than me but I scored higher than him,” Hilmer said. “Then there’s resentment. Whoever scores the highest should be promoted. This has caused more hatred within the division.”
The 1987 state consent decree governs the division’s promotions to lieutenant, police captain and assistant police chief. The goal of the decree is to promote to higher ranks a proportional number of qualified blacks and females “in the Cincinnati Police Division equal to the proportion of qualified blacks and females in the labor force of the City of Cincinnati.”
The 1981 federal consent decree sets guidelines for recruiting and promoting only to the ranks of specialist and sergeant.
The city was eligible to ask for an end to the federal decree in August 1986. The state decree does not set a specific expiration date for the decree. An attempt to modify the state consent decree was made in April 1994, but the proposal was defeated by the FOP’s general membership.
A key suggestion of the proposal was to stop considering a certain group for promotions once that group met a pre-agreed upon number of representatives. If at any time the number of officers at that level dropped below the stated goal, they would be in the running for promotions again.
POLICE: FROM PAGE 6
officers to the rank of captain about 90 minutes before the promotion eligibility list expired. Because City Council could not be assured that the next list would position a black for promotion, council promoted Ronald Twitty to the rank of captain before the list expired.
Arguing that council’s maneuvering was in violation of a 1987 consent decree governing promotions, the FOP sued the city. The lawsuit is pending in the 1st U.S. District Court of Appeals. But now, because it is spurring hatred among officers, the FOP wants to abolish the agreement, Hilmer said.
“Does any person deserve an unfair advantage based on either their race or sex?” Hilmer asked. “I don’t think so.”
Chief Snowden did not return three telephone calls from CityBeat to comment on the alleged unfair standards or explain what the Police Division was doing to recruit qualified candidates. When CityBeat went to his office Feb. 1, he refused through a secretary to comment, saying he did not have time.
Rotating shifts
When officers and their families protested the administration’s plans to increase the use of rotating shifts, Snowden and city Safety Director William Gustavson told City Council’s Law and Public Safety Committee that the new policy would increase diversity by placing more minorities on different shifts.
Hilmer said a primary reason the changes were voted down was because the FOP wants to abolish the entire decree, not just change it.
The city’s Women in Policing Committee played a key role in defining the proposed changes many of which would have benefited women, whose representation in the higher ranks is minimal, said Lt. Cindy Johns, organization president.
“When the consent decree was originally negotiated, there were no women involved,” Johns said. “Women were not always taken into consideration when decisions were made. That’s why we felt this (renegotiation) was important.”
Women in Policing was started at the request of Police Chief Michael Snowden to gather input from female officers, said Capt. Phyllis Caskey, a member of the group and commander of District 5. As a result, female police officers now have gun belts that are curved for hips, shirts,with smaller necks and bullet-proof vests to allow for bossoms, she said.
Caskey, who became a Cincinnati police officer 27 years ago, was named district chief in June 1994.
“This was my goal,” she said. “Anything I get now is icing on the cake.”
Caskey will have the opportunity to top that on Feb. 28 when she takes the test for assistant police chief.
But the city has considered not fill
ing that vacancy, an issue of much debate. In a letter to Cincinnati City Council members and other city officials, Johns argues that lessening the opportunity to promote a woman or minority to assistant chief causes problems at lower ranks.
“By not promoting a captain and ereating a vacancy at this rank, the opportunity for women and other minorities to be promoted to each successively vacated lower rank is lost,” Johns said. Being the first female promoted to assistant chief wouldn’t be the only groundbreaking Caskey has done. She was the first female police cadet in 1968; she took the first promotionathfest available to women in 1981 to become a sergeant; and in 1994 she was the first female Cincinnati officer sent to the FBI Academy.
“I’ve never had to sue the city,” she said. “I’ve been able to find opportunity.”
She has been subsequently promoted several times, becoming a lieutenant in 1985 and captain in 1991.
Despite her success, Caskey said women still are not represented well statistically in the division’s higher ranks.
“I think they (the city) need to look at the consent decree to see if the goals are reached, and if not, what they can do to rectify it,” Caskey said.
LORI MCCLUNG
Though he does not have the support of a council majority, Councilman Todd Portune, the committee’s chairman, said he intended to keep pushing for an evaluation of the negative effects of rotating shifts under which about 50 percent of the division changes work schedules every eight weeks.
Rotating shifts for police officers increase the risk of accidents, use of sick time and operational costs for police departments, according to a 1991 study by the Chicago Police Lieutenants Association published by the Police Executive Research Forum in Washington, D.C.
In a July 25, 1994, memo to Lt. Col. Bruce Knox, Snowden wrote, “One of the major goals of this change was to insure racial, gender and seniority mix on all three shifts.” The memo goes on to give a breakdown by race, sex and gender of the officers who would be rotating and those who would remain on fixed shifts.
But independent calculations based on the division’s numbers obtained by those protesting rotating shifts showed that increases of minorities on each shift would be minimal.
“I haven’t seen any result of an effect on diversity,” Portune said. “The policy has had a negligible effect at best.”
Gustavson, however, said increasing the division’s use of rotating shifts had an immediate, positive impact on diversi-
CONTINUES ON PAGE 8
POLICE: FROM PAGE 7
ty. In addition, he said, since the policy change had gone into effect it had not been a source of complaints or resentment among officers.
FOP President Hilmer said, “Where has (Gustavson) been? Out to lunch? Obviously he hasn’t kept in touch with the rank-and-file officer.”
Those officers, he said, resent the increase in rotating shifts because they are being forced to endure the added physical stress that accompanies spending weeks to adjust to a shift only to change to another.
Before the policy went into effect, Gustavson told Portune’s committee that rotating backward from third to second to first shift as officers do now was safest way to rotate. But according to the Chicago study, this rotation poses the most risk.
Gustavson said he had research that indicated otherwise. “You can make research say anything you want it to,” he said when presented with the Chicago study’s findings.
Council division
During last summer’s debate on rotating shifts, Gustavson told council’s Law and Public Safety Committee that any interference on its part would be improper because the final decision was one for the administration. Portune, chairman of the committee, disagreed.
Council’s decision to intervene last April in promotions and its decision last week to investigate the Sentinels’ charges demonstrate an obvious lack of consistency about which city administration issues City Council chooses to get involved in, Portune said.
“In a broader sense, the issue of whether we’re intruding into the administration’s role in government gets paraded out according to whoever’s ox is being gored,” he said. “We’re not potted plants. (City Council) should get involved when we think it’s important.”
Councilman Phil Heimlich said the city was not to blame for inconsistent actions. Despite potential dangers and widespread dissension from the increased use of rotating shifts, Heimlich said rotating shifts simply were an issue of work schedules that council should not get involved in.
“A lot of the dissension within the police department is over promotion and recruitment issues,” he said. “That is an overall issue that council needs to address.”
Portune said, “We can’t tolerate disparity in hiring practices or tolerate any discrimination at all. Police officers are our city’s most visible ambassadors and, with their weapons, have extraordinary powers. Any issue that effects their morale and their interaction with the public should be our concern.”
Gustavson said the Police Division’s practices were not discriminatory. Nor did he think racial tension was posing a threat to public safety.
Afterfirst campaign is derailed, Cincinnati organizations gear up for new fight against prejudice
BY BRAD KING
Backers of a local diversity campaign aimed at countering bias against homosexuals and other cultural prejudices are moving cautiously after a similar campaign was derailed last year.
Stonewall Cincinnati, the Human Relations Commission and various area religious organizations are taking new steps to create a strong network of businesses and organizations while developing a diversity campaign blueprint. Their first attempt was derailed last year after an early draft plan that did not have the support of all who worked on it came to the attention of some in the Cincinnati business community who then pulled their support, said Arzel Nelson, executive director of the Human Relations Commission.
“What people do in the privacy of their bedroom should not be a part of public policy.”
PHIL BURRESS, CHAIRMAN OF EQUAL RIGHTS NOT SPECIAL RIGHTS
of the- population will help diffuse the emotional responses people have with difference, she said.
“We’ve got to stop allowing this group of people to play on division,” she said.
An added bonus for the diversity campaign is the Log Cabin Federation’s announcement that it will hold its 1995 national convention in Cincinnati. The federation, comprised of gays and lesbians who are affiliated with the Republican Party, chose to host the convention in Cincinnati to create an environment of education despite the apparent local hostility toward homosexuals after the Issue 3 campaign in 1993.
Issue 3 repealed part of a city ordinance that gave fair housing and other protection to gays and lesbians.
Jcontemporary folk art gallery
Representing over 30 artists with paintings, carvings and objects of art. The primative works range from raw & unpolished to others of exceptional skill & craft.
New inventory of works by nationally known folk artists.
Works on display by Linvel Barker, Howard Finster, Shirley Lambdin, R.A. Miller, Lonnie & TWyla Money and Mose T.
1315 main street over-the-rhine 241-6672 tues-sat 11am-5pm final fridayof each month: 6pm-1 Opm
The new campaign also could meet opposition.
“It would be premature to talk about (the specifics) because we are still getting some key people in the city,” said Cindy Abel, executive director of Stonewall Cincinnati, an organization dedicated to promoting human rights for all people, particularly gays, lesbians and bi-sexuals. “We have to be patient to get things solid before we go to the next step.”
The campaign, she said, will celebrate tolerance and appreciation for different cultures and lifestyles. While still in its early stages, the blueprint is tentatively broken into three stages:
Diversity training for businesses.
“Buycotts” to celebrate and promote businesses that have positive human relations records.
A cultural festival where Cincinnati’s diverse populations can come together.
While the current step-by-step process is slower than last year’s project development, this plan is more inclusive and allows participating organizations a chance to add input, Abel said. The plan should be ready in about three months.
But this year’s project still might face opposition from Equal Rights Not Special Rights, an organization that claims to promote a safer, better community. The organization’s chairman, Phil BUrress, said he would welcome the opportunity to be a part of a true diversity campaign. But homosexual organizations throughout the country that have promoted diversity campaigns want to promote homosexual lifestyles, he said, which is entirely different from promoting cultural diversity.
“What people do in the privacy of their bedroom should not be a part of public policy,” Burress said.
While he did not say his organization would oppose the campaign, he did say he would question the motives for including homosexuality in a diversity program.
“Diversity is everyone tolerating other people’s culture, but (sexual orientation) says you have to accept it,” Burress said.
Instead of running from criticism, Abel said she wanted to deal with the issues Burress raised. An education campaign designed to put the faces of real people over the stereotypes people have of particular sections
In a written statement, Log Cabin Federation President Abner Mason said, “We believe that discrimination stems from a lack of understanding, and by removing ourselves from those who would discriminate, true information can never be known. Education is the only means of combating attitudes and behaviors based upon ignorance.”
Even with the announcement of the national convention and the steady development of the current diversity plan, participating organizations are wary of last year’s problems surrounding the campaign.
The diversity campaign moved too quickly last year in its development, Nelson said, causing several of the participating organizations to misunderstand the common agenda being promoted by the campaign. Groups found out they were operating on separate agendas when one of the plan’s early drafts was shown to some local business leaders. The groups became polarized, he said, and that was the end of the campaign.
“When people are vying for power and influence, much of (the problem) is going to be the result of peopie discovering their own uniqueness and the power and influence they have,” Nelson said.
Cindy Abel,
But, he said, the problems weren’t maliciously motivated. They simply were part of the process of finding a common ground between different people and organizations. He said he hoped the groups had taken a lesson from last year’s debacle.
The 20th century is unique in recorded world history. The pace and speed of social and political change has been unmatched, bringing hopeful changes as well as unmitigated horrors. One hundred years have offered revolutions in physics, psychology, science, technology and witnessed heroic struggles for individual and human autonomy. The forces of bureaucracy, nationalism, wars and planetary pollution unleashed the “modern era” in a firestorm of change.
He borrowed ferociously from the art of the past and eventually from Iberian and African cultures and his genius lies in his ability to recognize and interpret a world in massive downward spiral. Picasso’s art attempts to restructure reality itself, just as Ludwig Wittgenstein, Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud did in language, physics and psychology nearly concurrently.
Putting It Together
These changes and forces are reflected in the great visual and performing arts of this century. Modem art is as difficult to comprehend as the revolutions our great artists have attempted to interpret and analyze. Their images reflect an era of confusion and constant change.
All art attempts to create order and structure out of chaos; the very act of creating itself became heroic in the modern era. The early optimism of this century was replaced by existential despair; the struggle for autonomy and individuation unlocks the keys to understanding all of 20th century Western art. If the individual artist felt mocked by the Fates, great artists such as Pablo Picasso were determined to fight back.
The art and careers of Picasso mirror the revolutionary forces throughout the century. He is modern art’s version of the ancient Hindu goddess Kali, the goddess of both creation and destruction. In order to create, Picasso destroyed. All the dualities in Western civilization mind/body, masculine/feminine, create/destroy, intellect/intuition remain divided in his art.
Ferociously talented and massively ambitious, Picasso’s line symbolizes the political and psychological anguish and agitation of the human race. The very speed and volume of his work paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures manifest an urgency, a violence, a need to complete.
Picasso left Spain at 18 and went to Paris, the symbolic'heart of European art and culture. His art parallels the paradoxes and problematic dualities of European history and of the individual Caucasian male within it. Shattering the illusionism maintained in painting since the Renaissance, Picasso rejected onepoint perspective representation itself in favor of a fractured surface, multipie perspectives and realities on a single pictorial plane. With a stroke of the brush, he altered modern consciousness itself;
Easing in with the melancholy, even tender, paintings of his early Blue and Rose periods, the great changes of the century truly began with Picasso and Georges Braques’ invention of Cubism. Pieces of guitars, vases, newspapers represent the fragmented world Picasso saw and made into art; he thrust these pictorial elements directly forward onto the picture plane, daring the world to deny the creative/destructive realities he presciently confronted. He visualized a new fractured, fragmented and alienated world.
Picasso used and abused women throughout his life, as tools for his ego as well as his art. The man and the work reduce women to the same horror-filled distortions he associated with any object. They were used for his personal and aesthetic projects, thrust aside, discarded, made grotesque. The great “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” (1907) shocked the world with its depiction of woman as monster, the nearly evil agent/destroyer of masculine potency.
These elements of creation-asdestruction were transformed into Picasso’s uniquely great masterpiece, “Guernica” (1937), made in protest to the German bombing of that Spanish city during the Spanish Civil War. “Guernica” reflects the horror of all war, all human and animal suffering through radical distortion of form.
Picasso ran out of ideas, but not the need to create images. He eventually fixated upon his own ego and sexuality. His glorious linear abilities never flagged, and later he shows himself as a bull, flagging or potent, in the great “Minotaur Series” begun during the 1930s.
Picasso lived throughout most of the 20th century and worked until the end of his life. As with Freud’s life and theories, Picasso’s pessimism wins out. He remains a tragically flawed, modern European version of Kali, whose message remains: To create is to destroy; to destroy is to create. Thus the universe rejuvenates itself.
What remains from Picasso is a warning from the gods.
This is the first of a five-part series investigating the careers of great artists of the 20th century. Next week: Henri Matisse.
Lynx Bites Keeper
Latest attack at the Cincinnati Zoo involves a small, non-dangerous* animal
BY NANCY FIROR
ACincinnati Zoo keeper was attacked Jan. 28 by a 46-pound Siberian lynx, triggering new questions about keeper safety.
Zoo keeper Michael Maciariello said he was cleaning the cage outside the Cat House when the lynx, which also was in the cage, attacked him.
Maciariello said the cat bit into his thigh and would not let go. Three to five minutes passed while Maciariello held the cat’s head to prevent it from puncturing an artery or chewing up his knee. After another keeper appeared, then ran for help, Maciariello said he managed to pry himself free.
“I had the pooper-scooper,” he said. “That was my weapon.... I pried his mouth open and his teeth out of my leg.”
Maciariello said he ran out of the cage, closing the door behind him. Zoo workers called 911, and Maciariello was taken to University Hospital where he was treated and released. With 10 puncture wounds in his leg, he said his doctor estimated he would be out of work for at least two weeks.
While the incident does not compare in severity to the 1990 polar bear attack
in which keeper Laurie Stober lost her right forearm, Maciariello said he planned to discuss the incident with the zoo’s safety committee.
Mona Morrow, a zoo public relations officer, said it was standard procedure for keepers to clean and maintain the cages of the small cats while the cats were in the cages. The zoo’s small cats include bobcats, Amur Cats and the Siberian lynx.
Morrow said the zoo does not consider these animals to be the dangerous type that have to be transferred to other cages before a keeper enters.
While Maciarello agreed it was standard procedure to enter the cages of small cats, he said problems with the particular cat that attacked him had been reported to zoo managers.
The cat, he said, scratched a keeper in December and had behaved aggressively, sometimes blocking the entrance to its cage and stopping keepers from entering.
The issue of a woman’s right to obtain a legal abortion is divisive. In politics, it has become a "hot-button” issue, deciding who gets elected. On the playground of the talkshow circuit, legalized abortion has been turned upsidedown, drawn and quartered, spun around and regurgitated with no resolution.
The issue regained national attention after two clinic workers were shot to death and five other people injured at two Massachusetts clinics Dec. 30. Locally, Jonathan Brockhoeft is set to be released Feb. 18 after serving his sentence for firebombing two Mount Auburn clinics in 1985.
At the heart of the cultural quandary are the people who protest abortion. They protest outside clinics where abortions are performed and outside the homes of people connected with the clinic. The protesters claim a spiritual basis for their activities. They say they act for God, specifically, Jesus Christ.
The following interview took place on the sidewalk outside the Campbell Center, Planned Parenthood’s facility in Mount Auburn. The intent of this “Spirituality" column is not to solve the abortion debate, but to narrate the basis for one protester’s activities.
It is a chilly Tuesday afternoon, but outside the Planned Parenthood clinic, three people are standing on the sidewalk. approach and explain the reason for the spontaneous interview.
One man takes over the conversation. He is around 6 feet tall. The self-described family-man is in his 40s. During the interview, he is imposing and businesslike. His name is Chris Chambers, executive director of Project Nehemiah.
“Project Nehemiah is sponsored by Act for Life,” he says. “Maybe you have seen the chains?” He is referring to the practice of lining sidewalks with individuals who carry anti-abortion/pro-life signs.
Language and phraseology quickly become important. “Don’t call us anti-abortionists; we are pro-life,” Chambers says. The sensitivity to semantics also is the case with the sidewalk activity. “We call it sidewalk counseling because we are providing information to those who enter here,” he says, indicating the clinic’s entrance.
Though Chambers is a Roman Catholic, he says Project Nehemiah is ecumenical. Locally, sidewalk counselors are recruited from the approximately 20 area churches participating in Act for Life. To qualify for sidewalk counseling, people must have a relationship with Jesus Christ, he says.
What does that mean? “They must profess belief in salvation from sin through Jesus Christ," Chambers replies.
Once chosen, the sidewalk counselors stand outside clinics and pass out pamphlets to those entering the clinic. (Of the three pamphlets was given, two were for women and one was for men. None contained spiritual advice, citings from the Bible or spiritual counseling.) Chambers emphasizes that sidewalk counselors don’t use signs with pictures of aborted fetuses. He admits they did at first, but now are more “low-key in our counseling. There are still a few free-lancers who are more aggressive in their activities.”
Project Nehemiah is named after the biblical prophet Nehemiah. “Nehemiah was a prayerful man,” Chambers says. "The book he wrote (in the Bible) begins with a prayer. After that, Nehemiah then recruits people to help him rebuild the wall around Jerusalem to protect it from its enemies. We are building a wall of prayer around unborn babies to protect them.”
When asked what other example he draws his beliefs from,.Chambers paraphrases Matthew Chapter 25. “‘When judgment day comes, the Lord Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats. People will say to the Lord, ‘When did we see you in prison and naked and hungry?' And the Lord will say to them, ‘To the extent you did it to the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me.’ Unborn babies
CONTINUES ON PAGE 11
Issues Bom of Everyday Living /
Re-visioning Our Relationship to Earth
Members ofPrice Hill-based IMAGO are changing immediate neighborhood in hopes of spreading eco-understanding
BY KAREN AMELIA ARNETT
If you close your eyes, visualize a place you love and would like to go back to, what place do you choose?
According to Jim Schenk, co-founder of IMAGO, a grassroots ecological group in Cincinnati, almost everyone who does this exercise picks a natural setting. “No one picks their car; almost no one picks their house,” Schenk says. He sets a challenge: “Let’s live in that imagined place.” Living out the dream; such is the perspective at the core of this active group called IMAGO. The rather esoteric name comes from a Latin verb of imaging, or envisioning.
In order to live a sustainable future, we must “re-vision” our relationship with the earth, in the urban setting. The dream informs the reality and reminds us of possibilities forgotten. IMAGO was founded 17 years ago by gentle visionaries to build community centered around “living in harmony with the planet Earth and all her people.”
Planet love
Now 500 members strong, the group is a veritable cauldron of talented and conscientious individuals whose common bond is their love of the Earth. For city dwellers, the Earth often becomes an abstract concept, and our connection with her trivialized to an aesthetic appreciation of a sunset in a photograph or seen from a car window. “Falling in love with the Earth” a phrase used by Schenk is that process of reconnecting with what’s right outside our door, with the intimate details of the terrain, seasonal change, the other species that are our neighbors.
Ecological living is about starting where you live, but it’s also about interdependence and community. Says member Elizabeth Moussas, a clinical psychologist and
Environment
six-year Price Hill resident, “It is important to me to feel connected to a larger group, to do more than I can do in my own house.”
IMAGO members strengthen community in a monthly potluck and discussion; topics range from redefining community to herbs to home energy efficiency. There are gatherings to celebrate the seasonal landmarks, such as the harvest, the solstices, the moons.
Members of IMAGO recently rehabbed a home on Enright Avenue in Price Hill to make it a super-insulated, energy-efficient dwelling, with alternative landscaping. Co-founder Jim Schenk stands before that home.
Each month brings an eclectic variety of educational programs and activities. For those of a practical bent, there are workshops on organic gardening, urban landscaping, solar hot water heaters; there are opportunities to help prepare the Earth Lab, an 8-acre outdoor classroom, or to help teach schoolchildren who visit there about such topics as meadow or pond ecology.
For exploring one’s dream of Earth-relatedness, there are such workshops as envisioning an “Eco-village,” celebrating and healing with the Earth, deep ecology. There’s an exploration of ecological or Earth-centered therapy, with IMAGO member Bill Cahalan, a licensed and practicing psychologist. The programs are limited only by the talent and imagination of the group’s members.
IMAGO operates with a strong sense of identity as an urban organization. This is not about flight to the suburbs or to more rural pastures, but about commitment to a livable “green” community, even in the city. Two years ago, IMAGO put on a workshop with urban designer Sim Van der Ryn, known for his innovative designs. The objective was to redesign a more sustainable Price Hill,
IMAGO: FROM PAGE 10
Delhi and Liberty Hill. A visionary exercise, mind you, but some of the ideas such as more pedestrian areas, shopping within walking distance of residences, narrower streets and enlarged green spaces may well have some shaping influence in coming years.
Members of one IMAGO subgroup have a vision which they want to share.
“We want Price Hill to be the ecological neighborhood of Cincinnati,” says Schenk.
What does this mean?
It includes making the homes as energy-efficient as possible. Yards would be transformed from grass to alternative landscaping; butterfly gardens and edible gardens would attract wildlife and nourish residents.
Non-mowable groundcover would cut back on the use of highly polluting mowers and lawn chemicals. A maximum of green space would be preserved and would be made accessible by a network of walking and bike trails.
Car traffic would be reduced, and public transit encouraged. One stepping stone to the revitalizing of community would be a “no-car day,” to draw people together in a street-market setting.
Model community
Price Hill could become a model for other communities, in Cincinnati and across the country. The group is mapping the results of a survey, completed last year, of Price Hill houses and yards.
Members plan to resurvey in five years and use the data to measure change. A telephone survey also was made to assess the needs of residents with respect to services and education.
The assets of Price Hill were a pleasant discovery: Members estimate that 40 percent of the land is greenspace. The housing, though aging, is about 90 percent in good shape, so retrofitting for energy-efficiency appears feasible. And Price Hill has, according to Moussas, “the most incredible views of the (Ohio)
river and of the city.” The group is preparing a slide show to help bring its vision to civic groups.
IMAGO has had plenty of success already in bringing about change on Price Hill’s Enright Avenue, home to the IMAGO office and to a handful of the core members. Although in the minority on the street, the IMAGO folks set a goal of reducing energy consumption on the street by 30 percent. There was door-todoor educating about insulating and winterizing; they also invited CG&E consultants for energy audits on the energyguzzling homes. Although they can’t back it up with statistics, Schenk feels pretty confident that the goal was met. A more recent accomplishment was the rehabbing of a home on Enright, now a super-insulated, energy-efficient dwelling, with alternative landscaping.
Some of the work was done as handson education for members. Another project was the purchase of a 7.5-acre plot of land at the street’s end, to preserve greenspace. That is now a peaceful green place with hiking trails known as “the meadow.”
IMAGO residents got their neighbors involved, a year before the city began its recycling program, in a weekly recyclable roundup. The local kids were steady helpers on that, and the proceeds from their efforts funded field trips.
The members of IMAGO hope to see this process of revitalizing neighborhoods spread to the whole of Price Hill. Schenk foresees a “magnificent, beautiful, efficient community.” This will happen through education: challenging peopie to think of how they would live “if they truly believed the Earth and her people were the most important thing in life.”
Says Moussas, “It’s amazing to me how change happens: When you have a vision, it’s really very powerful. You start to see change happening step by step.”
IMAGO members are making a difference.
For more information about IMAGO, call 921-5124.
PROTESTER: FROM PAGE 10
are the least of these that we can do good for.”
Chambers continues: “We are not projecting our beliefs on anyone, we.are only providing
"How can anyone drive by
(the clinic) and not be bothered by what goes on in there? One preacher, while giving a sermon, condemned us! How could he call himself a Christian and do that? Isn't he bothered when he drives by here and sees us protesting? He should be here with us.”
As the interview is concluding, ask, “Is it necessary to fight for moral absolutes? What does that mean?”
He answers by saying, "We have to be aggressive in our protest activities. Abortion violates the law ‘Thou shall not kill.’ We are fighting against Satan himself. would welcome public debate of what we have to say. Those who work in the clinic are serving Satan by their actions. They have fallen victim to the teachings of Satanism, paganism and humanism. But the women are the ultimate victim.”
With that, the interview ends. In his monthly column, JOHN
SamplerWeekend
Oive us a calL
’die
Recommendations
To be included
Submit information for CityBeat calendar listings in writing by noon Thursday, seven days before publication. Mail to: Billie Jeyes, Listings Editor, Cincinnati CityBeat, 23 E. Seventh St., Suite 617, Cincinnati, OH 45202. Fax: 665^369.
Please include a contact name and daytime phone number.
A misdirected golf ball at 200 mph can cause flashes of PANIC and tardy cries of “fore!” So oil up the joints and cut down on your MENACING slices by attending a free golf clinic with a P.G.A professional. (See Sports listings.) If'you’re interested in intrigue and MAYHEM, in story form, of course, check out the mystery book group at the Little Professor Book Center. (See Literary.) The mere thought of a naked human image in Cincinnati is enough to make a certain sheriff’s neck hairs stand on end and send two-way radios a cracklin’. Good thing 60 years of unobstructed nudity and still-life photography, as produced by pioneer photographer Ruth Bernhard, can be seen at Julia’s Gallery of Photography in Lexington. (See Art.) Was Hamlet guilty in the first-degree? The Cincinnati Bar Association will dissect the BRUTAL facts surrounding Hamlet’s case in question at the Omni Netherland Plaza (See Onstage.) Some say thinking too much will induce CEREBRAL MELTDOWN. Attend a free lecture by Dr. Donald G. Saari who will speak on “The Surprising Complexity of the Social and Decision Sciences,” and judge for yourself. (See ETC.)
Lounge at the Regal Hotel, 150 W. Fifth St., Downtown. 352-2160.
MOVIN’ MERVYN AND GUESTS
Trinidadian Folk. 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. Zarabanda World Cafe, 3213 Linwood Ave., Mount Lookout. 321-1347.
RICHARD GOERING Classical Guitar. 8 p.m. Friday. Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Rookwood Pavilion, Madison and Edwards roads, Norwood, 396-8960.
BRIAN EWING Alternative Folk. 8 p.m. Saturday. Blue Mountain Coffee Co., 3181 Linwood Ave., Mount Lookout. 871-8626.
THE CINCINNATI BRASSWORKS
Classical. 8 p.m. Saturday. Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Rookwood Pavilion, Madison and Edwards roads, Norwood, 396-8960.
Miami University. Hamilton campus. $14. 863-8833 or 721-1000.
GLEEM Rock. Courtyard Cafe. Cover.
GOSHORN BROS. Classic Rock. Tommy’s. Cover. THE GRAVEBLANKETS AND THOMAS For a good-time, spontaneous Blues/Folk/Rock-type jam, come hang out with psychodots and ’dots’ alumni Thomas. Top Cat's. Cover.
THE CINCINNATI KLEZMER PROJECT Jewish Folk. 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Marx’s Hot Bagels, 9701 Kenwood Road, Blue Ash. 891-5542.
COMMON GROUND AND FRED
★ DINK This Cleveland-based
Music
BATCH Alternative. Logo’s. Cover.
BLUE LOU AND THE ACCUSATIONS Blues. Mansion Hill Tavern. Cover.
BOB CUSHING Acoustic. Village Tavern. Free.
BRIAN LOVELY AND THE SECRET Rock. Club One. Free.
DURANGO Rock. Jim and Jack’s. Cover.
GOSHORN BROS. Classic Rock. Tommy’s. Cover.
THE HATTERS WITH THE LEMMINGS Groove Rock. Ripleys. Cover.
JIM GILLUM Acoustic. Blind Lemon. Free.
THE MODULATORS Eclectic. Mt. Adams Pavilion. Cover.
NEW BEDLAM Modern Rock. Shady O’Grady’s. Cover.
NEW BOMB TURKS WITH MONSTER TRUCK 5 AND MOODY JACKSON Punk. Stache's. Cover.
NIGHTLIFE Rock. Ms. Kitty's. Cover.
THE OHIO VALLEY ROUNDERS Bluegrass. Arnold’s. Free.
THE PODS AND BLANCO NOMBRE Eclectic Rock. Top Cat’s. Cover.
SNEAKY PETE Blues. Stow’s. Cover.
SONNY MOORMAN AND THE DOGS Blues. Burbank’s Forest Fair. Free.
SPIDERFOOT Alternative Rock. Sudsy Malone’s. Cover.
TZ5 Oldies. Chatterbox. $2.
THE WHY STORE Rock. First Run. $2/$4 under 21.
SATURDAY FEB. 4
CLUB ONE 6923 Plainfield Road, Silverton. 793-3360.
Clubs Directory
COCO’S 322 Greenup St, Covington. 491-1369.
MUSIC
COURTYARD CAFE 1211 Main St, Over-the-Rhine. 723-1119.
ALLYN’S CAFE 3538 Columbia Parkway, Columbia-Tusculum. 871-5779.
COYOTE’S 400 Buttermilk Pike, Oldenberg Complex, Fort MitchelL 341-5150.
JIM & JACK'S RIVERSIDE SPORTS BAR 3456 River Road, Riverside.
SUNDAY FEB. 5
CANAL STREET TAVERN
308 E. First St., Dayton, Ohio. 513-461-9343.
4 A.M. Rock. McGuffy’s. Cover. BLUE BIRDS Blues. Allyn’s. Cover.
BOB CUSHING Acoustic. The Straushaus. Free.
CHATTERBOX 3428 Warsaw Ave, Price Hill. 921-2057.
Cover. SNAGGLETOOTH AND SHOOT THE GIFT WITH CANDY ASS Alternative. Top Cat’s. Cover. SONNY MOORMAN AND THE DOGS Blues. Burbank's Forest Fair. Free. TOM MARTIN Rock. Mt. Adams Pavilion. Cover.
4 A.M. Rock. McGuffy’s. Cover.
Acoustic. Blind Lemon. Free. NEW BEDLAM Rock. Club One. Free. NIGHTLIFE Rock. Ms. Kitty’s. Cover. POETS OF HERESY Alternative. Stache’s. Cover.
PSYCHODOTS A recent
251-7977.
KALDI'S COFFEE HOUSE & BOOKSTORE 1204 Main St, Over-the-Rhine. 241-3070.
WILLIE RAY AND THE MIDNIGHTERS Blues. Mansion Hill Tavern. Cover.
WONDERLAND Dance Rock. Stow’s. Cover.
Local Return Of 3
Top Cats
THURSDAY FEB. 9th
First Local Show Since The Car Crash That Disabled Former Singer Spyder Kokopelli Acumen’s 1st album on Holographic Records "Think" is available at Streetside Records, Wizards, Everybody’s Records Borders, Media Play, CD World, and Phils Records
★ JOHN KOGGE AND THE LONESOME STRANGERS A spontaneous, Folky kind of jamboree that features a slew of area musicians doing everything from Bob Dylan to Superchunk. The Stadium. Cover.
JOHNNY SCHOTT WITH THE EC FOUR, CRYSTAL AXXE AND THE NEMATONES Open mike. Tommy’s. Free.
MILHAUS Rock favorites. Blue Note Cafe. Cover.
PET UFO AND YOUR MAJESTY Punk. Stache’s. Cover.
PIGMEAT JARRETT Blues. Stow’s. Cover.
STACY THE BLUES DOCTOR WITH BLUES U CAN USE
DAYTON JAZZ ORCHESTRA Big Band. Gilly’s. $4.
FRED GARY AND DOTTIE WARNER Eclectic. Arnold’s. Free. HAPPY WHALE Rock. Stache’s. Cover..
JOANNA PARSONS WITH BINGO BONGO Acoustic originals. Kaldi’s. Free.
MARC MICHAELSON Rock Mt. Adams Pavilion. Cover. ★ PAT KELLY AND THE PSYCHOACOUSTIC ORCHESTRA Mr. Kelly and his 13-piece band have been compared to Sun Ra, Count Basie, Coltrane, Mingus and Zappa. ’Nuff
Music
BOB CUSHING Acoustic. Arlin’s. Free.
BRIAN LOVELY AND THE SECRET Alternative Rock. Shady O’Grady’s. Free.
BUMBLEFLEA Rock. Stache's. Cover.
CELTIC JAM Celtic. Hap’s Irish Pub. Free.
FOREHEAD Alternative favorites. Murray’s Pub. Cover.
GIZZAE Reggae. Ripleys. Cover. GREENWICH TAVERN JAZZ
ENSEMBLE Jazz. Greenwich Tavern. Cover.
JEFF GOITHER Acoustic. Blind Lemon. Free. THE MENUS Rock favorites. Katmandu Cafe. Cover.
★ MISTER BLACK Playing both Alternative originals and faves, Mr. B promises a great live show. Pick up a copy of their new CD while you’re there. Blue Note. Cover.
NOAH HUNT Acoustic Open Jam. Local 1207. Cover.
OVERDUE AND THE MENUS Rock favorites. Blue Note Cafe. Cover.
PIGMEAT JARRETT Blues. Allyn’s. Cover.
SHINDIG Rock favorites. Murray’s. Cover.
SONNY MOORMAN AND THE DOGS Blues. Fat Frank’s. Cover.
TRILOGY Classic Rock. Mt. Adams Pavilion. Cover. THE WEBSTERS Alternative favorites. Salamone’s. Cover.
SUMMARIES AND CAPSULE REVIEWS BY STEVE RAMOS
Opening
THE BIRDS The New Neon Movies begins its three-month-long retrospective of films by the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, with his 1963 chiller about an isolated California coastal town that suffers under the vicious attack from a mass of birds. Sure, the film uses the horror as a metaphor for adultery, but leave the analysis to the film buffs. Enjoy what may be of frightening films of the 20th century. The Birds combines chills and an extraordinary production into one of the few films in the horror genre that may be described work of art. With Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedren. (Unrated; opens Friday at the New Neon Movies, Dayton, Ohio.)
CltyBeat grade: A. BOYS ON THE SIDE Director Herbert Ross tells a woman’s tale that deals with trust, friendship and hope for the future. Now that doesn’t sound like just a woman’s movie anymore. Maybe Whoopi Goldberg, Drew Barrymore and Mary-Louise Parker have some
REVIEWS BY MIKE
BREEN
Short Takes
BOUNCING SOULS The Good, the Bad and the Argyle (BYO, Box 67A64, Los Angeles, CA 90067).
Punk rock has become a “buzz word” and “marketmg strategy” in the past year, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some incredible bands doing it themselves and being true to the original ideas. Honestly kids, Bouncing Souls is about a hundred times better than Green Day (and a million times better than the Offspring). The music here has the flavor of the West Coast hard-core explosion (even though the Souls are from Jersey) of the ’80s, and the mark of Punk’s groundbreakers (7 Seconds, Minor Threat) runs throughout. There also is an impeccable sense of humor prevalent evidenced in songs like “These Are the Quotes From Our Favorite 80’s Movies,” a self-explanatory ode with references to flicks like Say Anything and Better OffDead; and a tongue-incheek cover of the New Wave gem “I Know What Boys Like.” Despite what Rolling Stone magazine tells you, this is the best Punk album released in ’94. CltyBeat grade: A.
DOG FACED HERMANS Those Deep Buds (Alternative Tentacles, Box 419092, San Francisco, CA 94141-9092).
If you like your music in cohesive chunks, stay away from this. If you’re interested in listening to a band attempting to plow over established musical forms to find something new, do anything to get a hold of Those Deep Buds. The CD is an endearing, fumbling frolic that freely flows from part to part by any means necessary breaking all musical rules. The group’s arty Jazz Rock contains dissonant trumpet and vocal shrieks and spontaneous bursts from
the rhythm section. The entire piece seethes like a maddening and poetic surrealistic painting. If there’s ever a movie version of Arthur Rimbaud’s Season In Hell, this would have to be the soundtrack.
CityBeat grade: B.
SWEATY NIPPLES Bug Harvest (Megaforce).
With elements of Metallica, Butthole Surfers, Meat Puppets, Mr. Bungle and Anthrax, this band would appear on paper to be very interesting. But with a very standard Metal singer and a lot of quirkiness for quirk’s sake, the band comes off pretty stale on record. A band “attempting” to be weird can fall completely flat if it’s done badly, and Sweaty Nips is proof of that. Most of the songs sound like cheesy Top 40 Metal with an inane strain to be insane. This is the kind of band the guys in Poison would praise as being “genius.”
CltyBeat grade: D.
GROOVE SPOON Psychic Gyration (Freakboy, 61 E. Eighth St., No. 103, New York, NY 10003).
These funky mofos owe as much to modern Funk innovators (such as Primus) as they do to the masters Sly Stone and George Clinton. Vocals and general vibe are pure P-Funk, while the bass has a Les Claypool, wacky, jazzy feel. Overall, the band pulls off the groove well, creating that good-time fun Funk that will have you shaking your booty. The only down side is that the record has 22 tracks that’s about 12 too many, given that every song has a similar musical theme. But disciples of the Funk should dig the righteous flavor.
CltyBeat grade: B.
UtterKiosk
Its story of a Dublin bus conductor, Alfie Byrne (Albert Finney), who finds personal happiness elusive, is a joy to behold. Funny and touching, A Man ofNo Importance unfolds with the lyrical bounce of great literature. Still, the film’s greatest pleasure is in watching Finney tackle a role that is so different from our persona of him. His performance alone makes A Man ofNo Importance a definite must-see movie. With Brenda Fricker and Tara Fitzgerald. (Rated R; opens Friday at the Esquire Theatre.)
CityBeat
Thomas, Terrific
t’s a balmy Thursday in Corryville, and jean jackets in January seem slightly askew. UC is pounding Marquette like a snotty little brother. The game flickers silently from the TV screen at Top Cat’s as one of Scott Joplin’s pre-insanity ragtime gems pours out of the club’s sound system.
The evening’s main attraction is the Graveblankets Chris Arduser and Bob Nyswonger’s working vacation from their main band, psychodots. Their jitterbug pop-abilly will eventually draw a fairly good crowd, and before the night is through, many bodies will be jolted onto the dance floor.
Before the talented members of the Graveblankets take their places on Top Cat’s stage, however, opening act Thomas has something he wants to get off his chest. It might be an observation on pop television cultural (“On Star Trek, they transport matter, and trav el at the speed of light. Why can’t they cure baldness?”), pop movie culture (“I just saw Cannonball Run II, and I’m trying to figure out the whole (Burt) Reynolds subtext, with Dom DeLuise as Christ figure.) or pop Thomas culture (“Here’s a song I left off the new CD because it was bad.”).
But Thomas’ most incisive observations are found in a set full of incredible songs, a swirling mash of crystalline pop, brooding folk and intelligent wordplay, all simmered over the slow-burning influence of the Delta blues.
It is no booking coincidence that Thomas has secured a spot opening for (and, in the evening’s final set, playing with) the Graveblankets. He is an old friend in this circle of musicians. Once upon a time, Thomas was Tom Toth. And Tom Toth was a Raisin. Haul out a copy of WEBN’s third album project, and there he is on keyboards. “Your Song Is Mine” is partially his. That was in 1978. In the interim, the Raisins gave way to the Adrian Belew-fronted Bears, which birthed psychodots, which metamorphoses on the ’dots’ off nights into the Graveblankets (before that, it was Farm Report). In that time, Thomas has had his share of the limelight as well.
After his departure, he and Arduser started a punkinfluenced band called the Best. .“The Best was a force to be reckoned with, one of the best live bands I’ve ever heard,” remembers Toth. “Very intense, very committed.”
While gigging with the Best, Toth (a film minor at Bowling Green) created a crude 16mm documentary project with his roommate, Brett Leonard (who went on to direct the cyber-thriller Lawnmower Man).
A teen-age acolyte of Brian Wilson with an exuberance for rock ’n’ roll, Toth thought that some measure of
that level of success would come quickly. It didn’t.
“Did you ever see The Natural? I liken my story to that,” Toth says with a laugh. “I just sort of lost my way. I became intoxicated with life, which, depending on your theology, is either a good or a bad thing. ...”
After moves to California and New York, Toth found himself unfulfilled and accepted an offer by Arduser to return to Ohio for yet another band. Shortly after finishing college, Toth lost Arduser to Belew, who tapped him for the Bears.
By 1987, Toth’s fairly credible resume came to the attention of the dreaded major labels. His ostensible big break came with his solo album (under the name Tom Caufield), Long Distance Calling on Paradox, an imprint of Polygram. The album was a pastiche of American Pop flavored with the British Invasion, sort of Bruce Springsteen fronting the Raspberries. And with little support, it sank like a stone.
“I think the album still stands up well as a good Pop record,” Toth says. “The timing was poor. Plus the producer (Howard Benson) and I didn’t see eye-to-eye. I wanted something a little more jangly, and he heard something more mainstream.”
Even with airplay in more than 200 markets and sporadic video rotation on MTV, Long Distance Calling went unanswered.
With a slightly bitter aftertaste from his label experience, Toth retreated to his makeshift home studio to hone his already sharp songwriting skills and made the decision to be his own label. His two self-released works (the Pop Blues cassette Frequency and the newest disc, the heavily Delta-influenced Nothing Is Real') are credited only to Thomas, which he considered to be the purest appellation he could hang on himself. (It was not, as I suggested, his childhood “trouble” name as in “Thomas, you get in this house NOW!”)
But, upon reflection, Thomas has given way professionally to Tom Toth. In all likelihood, the tunes he is currently recording (with Arduser, Nyswonger and multi-banded guitarist George Cunningham), a blend of his last two releases, will appear under his full name. Or maybe not. The enigmatic ex-Raisin a.k.a. Tom Caufield a.k.a. the artist-formerly-known-as Thomas is a changeling. What seems right today could well bring a different reaction tomorrow. Doing the unexpected is the one thing you can expect from Tom Toth.
TOM TOTH opens for the Graveblankets at Top Cat's (2822 Vine St., Corryville. 281-2005) at 10 p.m. Thursday. Stay for the final set when Toth and the Graveblankets pool talents and tear up the joint with some twisted blues.
which he says is “intended for the musically starved and liberty-deprived people of Cuba.”
Short-wave listeners can find the show at 10 p.m. Saturdays on frequency 15675.
Local Scene SPILL IT
BY MIKE BREEN
Relief for Roqueros
Despite earlier reports to the contrary, the seminal Cincinnati-based hardcore band the Edge will not be reforming. But founder Victor Garcia-Rivera is entertaining the thought of forming a new band, “capturing the raw energy of early Edge stuff.”
Garcia-Rivera, a native Cuban, says he’s also interested in having the new band be bilingual with lyrics in Spanish and English.
Etc
Throneberry will be featured on this weekend’s In Concert on the ABC network. The footage is taken from when the band performed at House of Blues in Los Angeles as part of a concert featuring the group’s that appeared on the recent Tom Petty tribute album. (The band does “Here Comes My Girl" on the record.) Also watch for 97X deejay Jae Forman, who was flown out to introduce the group, as she waxes philosophical in regards to the Cincy scene. The show airs late Saturday at 2:30 a.m. on Channel 12, and at 3:30 a.m. the same night on Dayton's Channel 2. ...The Ass
BY JOHN M. JAMES
Sampling Anarchists Throw Down
He says it has been a longtime ambition of his to record his songs in Spanish, but he has run into some resistance. “I’ve tried before to record material in Spanish but have been impeded by close-rqinded band members who think the world begins and ends in Cincinnati,” Garcia-Rivera says.
Ponys are "blowing up," as the kids say. The major-label Cincy quartet, which is in the midst of a two-month nationwide tour, reached No. 1 on Gavin’s college-radio charts and No. 2 on College Music Journal's charts with the smash single “Little Bastard.” Watch for the Ponys on the tube in the near future on NBC’s Late Night (check local listings) and a possible slot on David Letterman's show in the spring. A new fanzine called Screed is soliciting music from musicians. The deadline for possible inclusion in the premiere issue is Saturday, and the first issue is slated for Feb. 14. Screed will cover exclusively area music and will be available at all the spots where you get free stuff. Send tapes, vinyl or CDs to Screed c/o Terry Burke, 3100 Markbrelt Ave., No. 2, Cincinnati, OH 45209-1706. Send all music-related materials to MIKE BREEN, Cincinnati CityBeat, 23 E. Seventh St., Suite 617, Cincinnati, OH 45202.
reads “Copyright Infringment is Your Best Entertainment Value.” Right on, brothers! Power to the razor blade ’n’ reel to reels and DAT machines! In 1991, Negativeland released the infamous (and now super-rare) Single "U2”on SST Records, a collage of sampled riffs from U2’s “Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” under a bed of Casey Kasem out-takes as he lambasts the innocuous crap he's forced to read in his syndicated “American Top 40” radio program. Island Records put the big squeeze on 'em, for some petty and silly reasons legal rationale that Negativeland documented for the recording world to see in a 96-page magazine, the Letter U and the Numeral 2, the following year. (Those pages are included in the new book/CD set.) SST Records didn't like being exposed as being spineless in its support as a label and joined the legal vulture swoop, suing the pants of its own artist. Ah, the struggle of creativity vs. technology vs. lawyers Shakespeare was right about what to do first. The chronological printing of the letters, legal papers and events surrounding this controvery of “criminal music" makes for a blood-boiling read. The enclosed CD contains a 45-minute audio piece “Dead Dog Records" on the subject of creative appropriation of sound.
Fresh From the Mint
The Ass Ponys (from left) Chuck Cleaver, Dave Morrison, John Erhardt, Randy Cheek gather accolades on the college-music charts.
Indie label Minty Fresh Records, which struck gold with the debut alburq by Veruca Salt this past year, is releasing a 10-inch from the band on colored vinyl. Due Tuesday, the single "Number One Blind” contains four tracks two of which were newly recorded in Chicago (including a cover of the Sex Pistols’ “Bodies”) and two from a recent British BBC session. Also on Tuesday from Minty Fresh is the 7-inch single “MJ Amsterdam” from Minneapolis band the Legendary Jim Ruiz Group.
Although it may be unheard of in the apathetic microcosm we call the Queen City, Spanish-language Punk isn’t a new concept to the rest of the world. Scanning underground radio stations in bigger, multi-cultural cities such as Chicago, reveals that the art form is alive and very well.
And Garcia-Rivera has done a lot for the cause by playing a lot of music from groups like the Chilean band Los Prisoneros along with American underground Rock, on his short-wave radio show Radio Roquero. (Roquero is a term used to describe young fans of the music.)
The signal is broadcast through Radio Miami International and reaches Cuba, Latin America, the Caribbean, the states and beyond. Garcia-Rivera, a Fairfield resident, produces the weekly, half-hour radio broadcast,
New Upcoming Releases
And like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change.
For Tuesday: Extreme Waiting For the Punchline (A&M); Bob Dylan Unplugged (Columbia); Simple Minds Good News From the Next World (Virgin): Cake Motorcade of Generousity (Capricorn); L.A. Guns Vicious Circles (A&M); u-Zig u-Zig vs. the Auteurs (Caroline). For Feb. 14: Slash’s Snakepit It's Five O’clock Somewhere (Geffen); Siouxsie & the Banshees The Rapture (Geffen), CD and cassette release; various artists Stairway to Heaven (Atlantic), yup, all covers of "Stairway to Heaven”; the Who Live at Leeds (MCA); The Tragically Hip Day For Night (Atlantic); Guided By Voices Box Set (Scat), six-LP or five-CD box set; Roky Erikson All That May Do My Rhyme (Trance); Belly King (Warner Bros.); the Jayhawks Tomorrow the Green Grass (Warner Bros.); Poster Children Junior Citizen (Warner Bros.); Timbuk 3 A Hundred Lovers (High Street); Hazel Are You Going To Eat That (SubPop); Sebadoh “Rebound” (SubPop). JOHN JAMES can be found behind the counter at Wizard Records in Corryville.
PHOTO: THOMAS CONDON
Continuing
A LOW DOWN DIRTY SHAME
It looks like A Low Down Dirty Shame is high on car chases and shoot-outs. With funny man 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; closes Thursday at area Showcase Cinemas; opens Friday at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
selling novel by Michael Crichton, rightfully sidesteps any controversy and sticks to pure entertainment. Set in the offices of DigiCom, a high-tech 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.)
DUMB AND DUMBER Before movie audiences get to see Jim Carrey vamp it up as the Riddler in Batman Forever, he returns just in time for some tomfoolery. This time, he teams with Jeff Daniels to play bumblers who the try to return some stolen loot to its rightful owner. Carrey has emerged as Hollywood’s man with the Midas touch for ’94. Rumors are that in France, people have thrown out their posters of Jerry Lewis and replaced them with ones of Carrey. A new slapstick god is bom. With Teri Garr and exMTV veejay Karen Duffy. (Rated PG-13; at area Showcase Cinemas.)
★ BEFORE SUNRISE A hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Before Sunrise tells a story about two young adults (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) who turn a chance encounter on an European train into a night of romance while wandering the streets of Vienna.
FAR FROM HOME THE ADVENTURES OF YELLOWDOQ After seeing Lion King for the umpteenth time, children may be sick of animated fare. Sure, there’s the new version of Jungle Book, but how about an adventure that takes place a bit closer to home? 20th Century Fox comes to the rescue with this tale of young boy who becomes lost at sea. His trusted doggie leads him home. Too bad theater owners won’t let pets inside. This one is for the pooches. Woof. With Jesse Bradford, Mimi Rogers and a certain yellow dog. (Rated PG; at area Showcase Cinemas.)
Radically different from director Richard Linklater’s previous films (Slacker, Dazed and Confused), this romantic comedy strikes a believable note through its lead actors’ wonderful performances. Now, where most young adults are lining up to see Pulp Fiction for the 10th time, let’s hope that they give this great love story a chance. Hey, there’s more to life than brains splattered against a car windshield. (Rated R; at area Loews Theatres.)
★ CLEAR AND PRESENT DANQER Some critics refer to Harrison Ford as the thinking man’s Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ford deserves better kudos than that. Clear and Present Danger brings some unexpected substance to a normally flimsy genre. Canadian actor Henry Czerny excels in his role as Jack Ryan’s nemesis. This movie is for those who like a little brain with their brawn. (Rated PG-13; at Norwood.)
★ DEATH AND THE MAIDEN
In comparison to his last film Bitter Moon, director Roman Polanski’s movie adaptation of the Ariel Dorfman play Death and the Maiden seems relatively ordinary. For Polanski, a standard thriller is a refreshing change of pace from his recent attempt at pushing the barriers of good taste.
★ HEAVENLY CREATURES It may be the most famous criminal case in New Zealand’s history. Two young girls, Pauline Parker (Melanie Lynskey) and Juliet Hulme (Kate Winslet), look to escape their homes in 1952. Their friendship has garnered concern from their parents. Will you kill for love? This is the question that Pauline and Juliet must ask themselves. Everything they cherish may be taken away by adults who just don’t understand. For love, murder becomes a means for happiness. Leave it to New Zealand director Peter Jackson to make a movie that is one part love story and one part horror movie. His zombie flick Dead Alive is a favorite for gore freaks worldwide. All those things that make a splatter movie go splat, Jackson brings to Heavenly Creatures. In a moment’s notice, Jackson will turn up the volume to a screeching pitch. His camera swoops down upon the actors. Heavenly Creatures unfolds like a feverish dream. At moments it’s too loud, and sometimes the action speeds up with an over-the-top intensity. All of which makes Heavenly Creatures the wildest ride to be had at the movies. With Clive Merrison and Sarah Peirse.
(Rated R; at the Esquire Theatre.)
HIGHER LEARNING No one can fault filmmaker John Singleton for filling his latest movie with broad generalizations, stereotypes and cliches. Any two-hour movie that attempts to address all the issues and problems surrounding today’s college campuses has to portray its characters in broad strokes. There’s not enough time to closely look at both racism and date rape. Singleton’s movie has to be didactic. That doesn’t mean it also has to fall victim to the onesidedness and biased storytelling that it supposedly wants to overturn. Every cop on the campus of Christopher Columbus University
A woman, Paulina Escobar (Sigourney Weaver) seeks justice from a man, Dr. Miranda (Ben Kingsley) whom she believes was responsible for torturing her some 15 years ago. Co-written by Dorfman and Rafael Yglesias, the screenplay remains true to the play’s original themes of the blurred lines between justice and wrongful revenge. Under Polanski’s artistry, the story becomes charged with the quick pace and an ever-increasing tempo of a great movie thriller. Its shocks are more psychological than physical. Of course when a world-class filmmaker like Polanski teams up with phenomenal talent such as Weaver
MORE, PAGE 20
In A Man of No Importance, bus
ing he finally has met the
Whispers of 'Importance’
Once-loud Albert Finney eloquently portrays a man who dares not live his life
REVIEW BY STEVE RAMOS
People want more for their money when they go to the movies. Filmgoers want sound that explodes and images projected upon towering screens that wrap around the auditorium. Hey, while we’re at it, let’s make everything 3-D. With current technology, theaters can jolt one’s senses.
It’s not exactly the sort of place to tell a poem. Surround-sound seems a bit wasted on a whisper. Does quiet have a place in today’s movie theater? A soft-spoken movie such as director Suri Krishnamma’s A Man OfNo Importance becomes more important than ever. Movies need not be noisy to make an emotional impact. Quiet, restraint, reserve and softness find their place in film when accompanied by a strong story and a talented cast. A Man OfNo Importance unfolds with the lyrical bounce of a short story. At a time when moviegoers rush back to see Pulp Fiction for the 10th time, a cinematic poem feels very refreshing. Of course it helps when exceptional talent like Albert Finney takes part in the storytelling.
Considered by its screenwriter Barry Devlin as a tribute to the famed author Oscar Wilde, A Man OfNo Importance tells the story of Alfie Byrne (Finney), a bus conductor in ’60s Dublin who idolizes Wilde. Alfie lives with his sister Lily (Brenda Flicker) above the butcher shop of his friend Ivor Carney (Michael Gambon) and whiles away his time dreaming of directing his next play.
Alfie dreams a lot. It’s how he gets by. Matters of the heart and his happiness, he must keep inside, hidden from those around him. Like his literary idol, Alfie understands about a love that dares not speak its name. So when a young woman, Adele Rice (Tara Fitzgerald), arrives on the bus, Alfie becomes overjoyed. He knows he has met the person perfect to play Princess Salome in his production of Oscar Wilde’s Salome.
A man plods on through tiresome days just for the
few simple pleasures of life. For Alfie, his pleasure is putting on the play. Along the way, he will discover some important things about himself and the people around him. He discovers that sometimes the price for happiness is sorrow and shame.
Finney has reached a new level in his career where he is just as believable speaking softly as he once was screaming at the top of his lungs. Quiet suits him well. Still, it is a shock to watch him portray a man like Alfie who lives life with the utmost reserve. It is hard not to think of Finney as the food-guzzling, wine-swilling, woman-chasing scoundrel of Tom Jones. Finney is the type of actor who dominates every scene. In A Man Of No Importance, he recedes into the shadows and allows other people to take charge.
His passion is internal, but not blind to the audience. Look into his eyes and sense the sorrow of a man who dare not live his life to the fullest. For one time, Alfie tackles his desires head-on. The consequences hurt him. Through Finney’s grand performance, his pain is evident and felt.
Krishnamma’s latest production, O Mary, This England, is scheduled to hit America later this year. His talent is evident in A Man of No Importance. For a new director, Krishnamma creates a balance in mood and tempo that achieves a delicate potency. Any Hollywood hack can churn out some attempt at an action-adventure. Telling the movie equivalent of a poem, now that takes artistry.
Finney proved his skill a long time ago. Still, it is a joy to see him tackle a new a different persona with such bravura. Krishnamma’s directorial talent is a new discovery for American audiences. For those reasons, A Man OfNo Importance becomes a double joy. No recent film can say the same.
CltyBeat grade: A.
driver Alfie (Albert Finney) is overjoyed to find Adele (Tara Fitzgerald), know-
person perfect to play Princess Salome in his production of Oscar Wilde’s Salome.
Where a Nobody Still Has a Chance
Sundance Film Festival welcomes both the big Hollywood studios and first-timefilmmakers
BY STEVE RAMOS
Somebody once referred to the Sundance Film Festival as the independent filmmaker’s last stop before Hollywood. The assumption is that if filmmakers make a big enough splash in Park City, Utah, their next movies will be made with studio money behind them.
Robert Redford, founder of the Sundance Institute and festival director, would not agree with such a view. He sees Sundance not as the last stop before Hollywood, but more like a bridge between studio and independent cinema. Today, directors do not have to choose between artistic integrity and a large budget; now they can have both.
Director Richard Linklater whose latest film, Before Sunrise, opened this year’s festival, Jan. 19-29 stands as a testament to this idea of a marriage between art and commerce. He is the symbol of the new independent filmmaker who seeks financing from traditional Hollywood sources. For Linklater, making the movie that he wants always depends on the personnel. “It comes down to people,” he says. “Whether they’re the head of a multi-national corporation or whether it’s your uncle financing your film, you have to deal with that person. If that person is in touch with what you are doing and supportative, that’s great; and if that person has another agenda, you can be in trouble.”
Jerry Lewis, right, was on hand to promote Disney’s Funnybones.
Some wonder whether Sundance has lost its focus now that it has the attention of big studios.
Before Sunrise arrived at the festival courtesy of Castle Rock, a major production company that will produce 12 rriovies this year alone. Linklater had been to Park City, before. In 1991, his low-budget Slacker grabbed audiences’ attention and subsequently a distribution deal. His second film, Dazed and Confused, was shown at a summer producers’ conference at the Sundance Institute. If not for the festival and the positive buzz that it created for his first film, Linklater may not be where he is today.
In many ways, Richard Linklater embodies Sundance 1995 he remains independent while at the same time having the financial backing to complete his projects.
maybe because the budgets were low.”
Redford himself has signed a deal with Showtime Networks Inc. to create the Sundance Film Channel. With the financial backing of Viacom Inc., whose operations include Blockbuster Video, Paramount Pictures and MTV, the Sundance Channel will offer 24-hour programming dedicated to independent feature films, documentaries, animation and experiemental film.
Big money has arrived in Sundance in a big way. Even with all the high-intensity wheeling and dealing going on in the ex-mining town, an unknown film can catch fire and suddenly become the belle of the Sundance ball.
Other successes
His idea for Before Sunrise about a young man and woman who discover their love for each other by chance on a European train and spend a night exploring Vienna stood waiting for financing a long time. No one in the independent segment of the industry was interested.
Finally, Linklater was in a meeting with the people at Castle Rock just casually discussing possible projects. When he mentioned his story idea for Before Sunrise, Castle Rock agreed to make it.
What did one of America’s premier independent filmmakers give' up?
Nothing. “Besides from a -few economical constraints in the making of the film, I was given incredible freedom,” Linklater says. “I never got questioned. I never had to fight for anything on this film. It felt great. I didn’t have the film taken away from me, reshot, reedited or anything like that. I didn’t have a bad studio
In content, Before Sunrise is independent cinema. The story revolves on two characters who spend most of the movie simply talking to each other. This is not the typical type of story that Hollywood makes movies about. “It seems like a big risk at the time, whether we could pull it off,” Linklater says. “I think that this film is different. It’s sort of a European-American hybrid.”
Financially, with Castle Rock’s money behind the film, Linklater has become part of the studio game. Still, he feels he has never left his independent spirit behind. “It depends on the way you define independent film,” he says. Before Sunrise is definetly independent in spirit. I think an independent film can come from anywhere. You have to take the money from somebody. It’s a state of mind.”
Films gain backing
With that state of mind, Linklater brought Slacker to the festival in 1991. There, he was discovered and a new career was formed. Now, Hollywood studios such as Disney bring their movies to Park City to generate attention. (This year, Disney unveiled Miami Rhapsody and Funnybones, which stars Jerry Lewis.)
Filmmaker Mina Shum nervously awaited audience reaction to her debut film, Double Happiness. She already had made a big impact on the distributers. Double Happiness came to Park City with a signed distribution deal with Fine Line Features. Of the 100 films at this year’s festival, 25 already have distribution deals.
The Brothers McMullen is this year’s surprise hit of the festival. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for best dramatic film, The Brothers McMullen won audiences over with its touching tale of three IrishCatholic brothers, each coping with women and careers while trying to come to terms with their religious upbringing. Three weeks ago, 27-year-old director Edward Burns was still driving a van, working as a production assistant for the TV’s Entertainment Tonight. Now, his film has been picked up for distribution by Searchlight Pictures, the new specialty-film division of 20th Century Fox, and agents follow him wherever he goes. Burns was not the only success story at this year’s festival. Picture Bride, by Hawaiian-born, Japanese-American filmmaker Kayo Hatta, tells the story of an 18-year-old woman who leaves her native Japan to begin a new life as a picture bride for an arranged marriage to a man in 1915 Hawaii.
San Francisco-based filmmaker Terry Zwigoff spent nine years completing Crumb, his documentary on cartoonist CONTINUES ON PAGE 19
Of the 100 films at Sundance,
Double Happiness was one of 25 that already had a signed distribution deal before the festival started.
Mina Shum’s
CityBoat
SUNDANCE: FROM PAGE 18
Robert Crumb, which won the prize for Best Documentary.
Audience Awards for best documentary went to two films: Ballot Measure 9, director Heather MacDonald’s look at Oregon’s 1992 referendum that would have allowed for discrimination against gays and lesbians; and Unzipped, director Douglas Keeve’s film about fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi.
Special Jury prizes went to directors James Mangold for his film Heavy, about an overweight pizza cook and his overbearing mother, and Mathew Harrison for Rhythm Thief, about a group of young men living on the Lower East Side in Manhattan.
Director Michael Negroponte received a Special Jury Prize for his documentary about a homeless woman in Central Park, Jupiter’s Wife. Tom DiCillo won a screenwriting prize for his story about an independent film in production, Living in Oblivion.
Filmmakers attending the festival gave awards to Rebecca Miller for Angela, a story about two children struggling to help their manic-depressive mother, and posthumously to Marlon T. Briggs for his documentary about black identity in America, Black is Black Ain’t.
Filmmaker David E. Simpson and Billy Golfus, an advocate for the mentally disabled, received the Freedom of Expression Award for When Billy Broke
His Head and Other Tales of Wonder, a 60-minute chronicle about Golfus’ involvement in assisting the disabled after he suffered a brain injury.
Still offering hope
Sundance 1995 offered hope that Hollywood’s increased presence will not shut out those undiscovered talents that come to Park City looking for their break. Burns came with The Brothers McMullen, a movie that no one had heard of and left with the beginnings of a career in filmmaking. Linklater knows that feeling. Like Burns, he once came to Sundance hoping for that one break.
“I came here four years ago with Slacker my first film,” Linklater says. “It was the process of that film being discovered. It played here in January ’91 and was released that summer. Returning to Sundance with Before Sunrise is a huge honor. I think it’s the biggest honor that I’ve ever had as a filmmaker.”
Invites you and a guest to attend an advance screening of
February 7 - 7:30pm
like Singleton, it is the worst kind of failure. With Omar Epps and Laurence Fishbume. (Rated R; at area Showcase Cinemas.)
HIGHLANDER 3 Christopher Lambert returns the Scottish clan leader who finds that being immortal can be a real pain. No surprise. This time around, Mario Van Peebles turns up as an evil sorcerer. Sooner later, body always loses his head in these Highlander movies. Maybe for Lambert, the third time is the charm. (Rated R; at area Showcase Cinemas.)
★ HOOP DREAMS Another critically acclaimed film comes
HOUSEGUEST Kevin Franklin (Sinbad) is a con artist on the run from loan sharks. During a desperate escape attempt at the airport, he spots the key to his safety. Gary Young (Phil Hartman) is waiting for a long-lost friend whom he has not seen in more than 25 years. Before long, Kevin has convinced the absent-minded Gary that he is that friend. It looks like worlds and cultures collide in this family comedy of mistaken identities. Makes one wonder what Disney has in mind for the street-sawy Sinbad. Director Randall Miller had success working with Kid'n’Play in Class Act. Let’s see if such street humor can survive in an antiseptic Disney environment. Comedy sometimes requires subtleties. It need not be so blatantly black and white. With Jeffrey Jones and Kin Greist. (Rated PG; at area Loews Theatres.)
IMMORTAL BELOVED Director Bernard Rose takes liberties with the life of Ludwig van Beethoven in this rather ordinary mystery that searches for the composer’s
immortal beloved. The ordinary story offers balance to a film that is so lush and extravagant in its production that this film crosses class barriers and epitomizes junk culx ture. Gary Oldman finally finds a role that is deserving of his intensity. Of course, the musical score is fantastic. This is high culture served at its low-brow best. With Jeroen Krabbe and Isabella Rossellini. (Rated R; at Showcase Cincinnati.)
★ INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE It still puzzles why author 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. 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; opens Friday at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair, Biggs Place Eastgate and Westwood.)
IN THE ARMY NOW Whatever may be Pauly Shore’s appeal, let’s hope 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 Turfway.)
★ I.Q. With the new year here, someone may toss around phrases like best romantic comedy of 1994 with credibility. Catherine (Meg Ryan) emphasizes her head over her heart. As the niece to renowned physicist Albert Einstein (Walter Matthau), her priorities come as no surprise. Still, life has a way of tossing a wrench into things just when one least expects it. Ed (Tim Robbins) reads sci-fi magazines when he is not busy fixing cars at the local gas station. Upon seeing Catherine, Ed knows that she is the woman he loves. Ed is just an Average Joe with Average Joe-like noodle. Catherine only has eyes for whiz-kids like herself. Here, her Uncle Albert and his group of loopy colleagues come to Ed’s Director Fred Schepisi (Roxanne Six Degrees of Separation) has taken a screenplay from two seasoned TV writers, Andy Breckman and Michael Leeson, and fashioned the most enjoyable romantic comedy of the year. In a time when Hollywood believes laughs only occur in broad n slapstick, I. Q. reminds us that believable characters with humorous dialogue create the finest comedy. Failures such as Speechless remind us how special films such as I. Q. are. This is the type of movie that inspires one to return and watch it again. With Charles Duming and Gene Saks. (Rated PG; at Loews 275 East; closes Thursday at Loews Florence and Northgate.)
JASON’S LYRIC In a beautiful woman named Lyric (Jada Linkett), young Jason (Allen Payne) seeks respite from all the hurt that surrounds him in Houston’s inner city. Much of the sex has been removed from firsttime director Doug Henry’s effort, but the violence remains intact. Unfortunately, the Motion Picture Association of America has trouble with young African-American adults making love; although, African-Americans shooting each other is just fine. Even after the MPAA’s fooling around, Henry’s film retains its true-to-life poignancy. With Forest Whitaker. (Rated R; at Forest Fair.)
THE JUNGLE BOOK Because it’s just too hard to get children to watch National Geographic videos, here’s a new adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling classic that combines great photography of the Indian landscape and wildlife with a timeless story. Children love animals and the idea of a wild jungle boy like Mowgli (Jason Scott Lee).
Sounds like Disney has put together a fun way for young people to learn something new about their world. With Sam Niell, Cary Elwes and Lena Headey. (Rated PG; at area Showcase Cinemas.)
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 Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
★ THE LAST SEDUCTION
Director John Dahl knows that good stories eventually find their way to the big screen. Earlier, his film noir thriller Red Rock West traveled from cable TV to video and finally to a successful theatrical release. Now, with The Last Seduction Dahl runs through that vicious cycle again. Bridget Gregory (Linda Fiorentino) persuades her husband, Clay (Bill Pullman), to pull off a drug deal and then turns on him. In the process of her get-rich schemes, she cons a small-town boy (Peter Berg) to do her bidding on some deadly deeds. No one escapes the traps set by this beautiful and dangerous woman.
Fiorentino grasps what might have been another cliche-ridden femme fatale character and pulls her kicking and screaming to new heights. Watching her chew up the scenery is wildly wonderful joy ride. For her performance, Fiorentino has earned Best Actress awards from both Los Angeles and New York film critics. She gives The Last Seduction a fresh jolt of originality. More than a homage to a past genre, The Last Seduction steps forth on the strength of Dahl’s excellent screenwriting and work. Here is a director who is not only good with setting up objects, but more importantly, he is good with people. At every level, The Last Seduction is a superior thriller. Think of Fiorentino's performance as the icing on a delicious cake. Dahl’s next project will be for MGM. He’s ready for Hollywood. One wonders if Hollywood is ready for the dark visions of John Dahl. With J.T. Walsh and Bill Nunn. (Unrated; at the Esquire Theatre.)
★ LEGENDS OF THE FALL As the owner of a large Montana ranch, Col. William Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins) and his three sons Allred (Aidan Quinn),
Tristan (Brad Pitt) and Samuel (Henry Thomas) share an isolated existence. The colonel’s wife left some years ago, and he chose to raise the boys alone. Something happens to men who have lacked the company of women for a long time. The Ludlow men learn all of this with a furor. The youngest Ludlow, Samuel brings his fiancee, Susannah (Julia Ormond), back to meet his family. Subsequent actions will break the Ludlows apart. From the cruelties of World War I trench warfare to the hardships of a changing frontier, the Ludlows suffer great pain through long and eventful lives. Just when matters appear most bleak, a bond of family brotherhood emerges to offer hope. Legends of the Fall is the best kind of soap opera one that is larger than life. Every action occurs with a high intensity. Emotions this overwrought need sweeping score and cinemascopelike visuals. The tale of the Ludlow family unfolds with all the fury of a Greek tragedy. Melodrama finally receives the Tiffany treatment that this genre rightfully deserves. With Karina Lombard and Gordon Tootoosis. (Rated R; at area Loews Theatres.) ★ THE LION KING
PHOTO: FRANCOIS DUHAMEL
Pauline Escobar (Sigourney Weaver) and Dr. Roberto Miranda (Ben Kingsley) star in Death And The Maiden, directed by Roman Polanski.
PHOTO: GABRIELA BRANDENSTEIN
a chance encounter, true love sparks a spontaneous expedition of Vienna in Before Sunrise, starting Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy.
MILK
MIXED
UtterKiosk
his bloody action story around an unlikely protagonist, a young girl. Just as cinema violence begins to seem blase, Besson shakes things up by throwing child in the mix. Did we also mention that she’s sexy? The Professional thrills like few recent films. With Jean Reno and Natalie Portman. (Rated R; at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
★ PULP FICTION After only two films, director Quentin Tarantino has shifted from cult favorite to mass-media darling. With wild frenzy, Tarantino mixes gun play, drug abuse and racial epithets into series of interrelated crime tales. Certain to send teen-age boys into wet-dream heaven. Adults may rather emphasize Tarantino’s skill at fast and funny dialogue. IfPulp Fiction did not reveal strong growth in Tarantino’s technique, his personal hype might have overshadowed this fantastic film. An accurate reflection of what really makes America go round, violence, drugs and racism. With John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman. (Rated R; at Showcase Cincinnati.)
competition. A classic. With Bruce Willis and Melanie Griffith. (Rated R; at area Loews Theatres.)
Embeth Davidtz.
(Rated R; at area Loews Theatres.)
In The Mouth Of Madness has John Trent (Sam Neill), a private investigator, entering the surreal world of mer,
★ NELL With her own production company (Egg Pictures), Jodie Foster has emerged as the industry’s most powerful woman. So what does Hollywood’s superpick her latest project? Based on the stage play Idioglossia, Nell tells a story about a young woman who lives in a cabin deep in the woods. Nell communicates in a series of sounds that are uniquely her own. Discovered by Dr. Jerome Lovell (Liam Neeson), a local physician, Nell gains the attention of some university psychologists, including Dr. Paula Olsen (Nastasha Richardson). Lovell believes Nell should be left to live on her own. The university psychologists feel that Nell should be placed in hospital under their care. Questions concerning Nell’s rights arise. For these doctors, her secret language holds the mystery to her life and her capabilities.
On
left)
horror novelist Sutter Cane.
Foster must see the character as some great challenge. With a dirtsmudged face and tattered clothes, Nell possesses a hip style that is certainly her own. Call it deepwoods cool. Well, it’s no wonder Foster leapt at this chance to play a backwoods Solomon. Nell is the antithesis of a Hollywood star. Nell's strengths have little to do with beauty or personality. In Nell, Foster proves she can tackle a role that is far removed from how audiences perceive her (very smart, articulate and attractive) and makes it work. Foster pulls off a master-stroke. It is an exercise worth watching. With Jeremy Davies. (Rated R; at area Loews Theatres.)
THE PAGEMASTER The older Macaulay Culkin gets, the less kids like him. At least, that’s what Hollywood fears. Well, the folks at 20th Century Fox have found a way to keep Mac just the way kids want him turn the child-star into a cartoon. A young boy, who is afraid of just about everything, is transported into a cartoon land, where he must battle with famous figures from classic novels. The Pagemaster teaches kids some great lessons about bravery, friendship and more importantly good reading skills. Unfortunately, this cool world is not that cool after all. His wacky new friends are more boring than wacky. What did the kiddies think? Well, this reviewer The Pagemaster with a couple hundred children one Saturday morning, and they cheered more during the trailer for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers The Movie than the feature movie. The children have spoken. With the voices of Patrick Stewart and Whoopi Goldberg. (Rated G; at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
★ THE PROFESSIONAL Filmmaker Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, Subway) revolves
★ NOBODY’S FOOL An American acting treasure returns to the silver screen with a melancholy tale of an older man Sully (Paul Newman), who faces up to abandoning his family in a small New England town. Magazines may declare that Newman is the sexiest 70-year-old alive, and that may be true. More importantly, he is an extraordinary talent that lights up a movie with his presence. Based on the novel by Richard Russo, Nobody’s Fool offers Newman fantastic dialogue, touching scenes and a character worthy to his abilities. Here is a movie that stands heads and shoulders above the
READY TO WEAR Just because Miramax changed the title from Pret-a-Porter to Ready To Wear doesn’t mean this grandiose blunder by director Robert Altman suddenly turns into a decent film. Hey, when you have a career as long as this filmmaker, there will always be ups and downs. Ready To Wear offers further evidence that Altman does not write as well as he directs. This story that he co-wrote with Barbara Shulgasser brings together an inane plot about a possible murder into the high-tension world of the Parisian fashion shows. Too many characters, little story development, no definite conclusions to any of these varying subplots and very few laughs result in a mess that may remind filmgoof Quartet. Ready to Wear is one high-production waste of time. The only pieces of footage that excite are the straight, documentary ones of the fashion shows. Worst of all, Altman ends this movie with a tired version of the old emperor-without-clothes joke. If you enjoy high-fashion, stay home and watch Elsa Klensch on TV. There’s too much waste to sift through to make Ready To Wear’s few redeeming qualities worth searching for. With Marcello Mastroianni, Julia Roberts and a cast of seemingly thousands. (Rated R; closes Thursday at the Esquire Theatre.)
★ RICHIE RICH A little rich boy in real life, Macaulay Culkin has finally found the role that he has been groomed to play. Based on the popular children’s comic book, Richie Rich weaves a rather simple message about the importance of friendship with lighthearted romp about kidnapped parents and a search for hidden loot.
PHOTO: SHANE HARVEY
Boys
The Side stars (from
Whoopi Goldberg, MaryLouise Parker and Drew Barrymore.
PHOTO:SUZANNE HANOVER
up with. When the children get bored with their toys, this may be the movie they want to see. With Kylie Minogue and Wes Studi. (Rated PG-13; closes Thursday at area Loews Theatres; opens Friday at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRE-
SENTS DEMON KNIGHT That giggling ghoul the Crypt Keeper has developed a huge following from its TV airings of Tales of the Crypt. Now, this unique mix of black comedy and pulp horror makes its way to the big screen. One wonders if these adaptations of the old EC Comic can be any more gross and disgusting. Director Ernest Dickerson (Juice) does his best to keep the horror and gross-out fiends happy. With Billy Zane and Jada Pinkett. (Rated R; at area Showcase Cinemas.)
TRUE LIES Big Arnold does not save the day here. A better editor would have. Director James Cameron has made a movie so big that it needs two plots. The part that focuses on Arnold’s home life bores. To no surprise, the action sequences excel. See if the theater manager will let you sneak in for the last 30 minutes; that’s the only portion worth seeing. With Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold and Tia Carrere. (Rated R; at Norwood.)
WES CRAVEN'S NEW NIGHTMARE Forget Frankenstein and those hip vampires, Freddy outscares them all. Director Wes Craven takes the monster that made him famous and puts him in twisted movie-within-a-movie plot. With Heather Langenkamp and Robert Englund. (Rated R; at Turfway and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
Repertory
THE AFRICAN STORY VINE
The Main Library has put together this series of short films about African characters including Hot Hippo, Tiger and the Big Wind and The Magic Tree. (Rated G; 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Main Library, Downtown. 369-6922.)
BECAUSE OF THAT WAR Part of the Melton Center Matinees
series that addresses the role of music in the Jewish experience. Because of That War explores the effects of the Holocaust on the second generation in Israel and on two well-known Israeli rock stars, Yehuda Poliker and Yaakov Gilad.
(Unrated; 2 p.m. Sunday at the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus. 614-292-2354.)
CHRIS MARKER: FOUR FILMS
In conjunction with the exhibition Silent Movie, this series highlights the French filmmaker’s noted works. Letterfrom Siberia uses documentary style to address the issue of truth. La Jetee,through still-photographs and a voice-over, follows the fate of post-World War II man.
(Unrated; 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus. 614-292-2354.)
★ DAZED AND CONFUSED
The longest, continuous run of filmmaker Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused takes place just up Interstate 75. If one movie warrants a road trip, this is it.
After his cult classic Slacker, Linklater proves himself to be an up-and-comer with this thoughtful story about a group of teen-agers set in a Texas high school, circa 1976. Just another example of inspired programming from the brothers at the Westwood Cinemas. (Rated R; midnight Friday and Saturday at the Page Manor Cinema, Dayton, Ohio. 513-258-2800.)
FILMS FOR BLACK HISTORY
MONTH For the children, the Main Library offers a selection of short-films that spotlight Black History. This week’s selection includes Just an Overnight Guest, Almos’ a Man and J. T. More than entertainment, this is a wonderful educational service.
(Rated G; 2 p.m. Saturday at the Main Library, Downtown. 369-6922.)
GENDER AND TECHNOLOGIES OF INFORMATION Three films raise questions concerning technology’s impact on gender issues. The Invisible Hand looks at the routine of a phone-sex worker.Spectral Bodies offers insights into the relationship between stimulation and subjectivity in virtual reality. And Remembrance of Things Fast is fast-paced story about dominatrixes and transgender aristocrats. (Unrated; 7:30 p.iruThursday at the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus. 614-292-2354.)
GREEK CINEMA: MODERN MASTERWORKS A series that offers insights into the little-known national cinema of Greece. The Ogre ofAthens showcases director Nikos Koundouros through his 1956 film about an obscure clerk who is mistaken for a notorious criminal. (Unrated 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus. 614-292-2354.)
ROBERT FRANK: FILM AND VIDEO In conjunction with the exhibition Robert Frank: The Americans, three films fortify his standing as a filmmaker. Hunter deals with a man troubled over his destiny, and Cest vrai takes a look at New York’s Lower East Side. (Unrated; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus. 614-292-2354.)
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW With the Real Movies currently dark, local lovers of the time warp may want to travel up Interstate 75 for the opportunity to throw toast and toilet paper. Hey, how far will you go for a sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania? (Rated R; midnight Saturday at the New Neon Movies, Dayton, Ohio.)
ZOO WINTER MOVIE SERIES
The zoo has great idea: Come out and watch the animals play in the snow, and then stick around and enjoy a movie in the Coors Pavilion Lodge. This week, Pinocchio will play. No word yet if the animals are invited. (Unrated; 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens. 281- 4701.)
Soloing in Europe
Twentysomething Alyssa Park takes the grand in a different sort of way
INTERVIEW BY PEGGY SCHMIDT
When the century-old Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra returns home this weekend from its European tour, it will have treated continental audiences to the excellence of one of America’s oldest orchestras. It will also have introduced them to the marvelous playing of one of Cincinnati’s youngest musical talents.
Violinist Alyssa Park, 21, is the soloist in 11 of the orchestra’s 20 European concerts. The reviews of her performances have been consistent with the accolades she has received in the past. Nearly all expressed amazement at her youth and then proceeded to proclaim her as “exceptional,” “a big surprise,” “a discovery,” “really delightful," “a sensation” and “full of strength and vigor, with passion, giving soul to eveiy note.” They praised her technique, as well as her “very good intonation,” “clear musicality,” “delicate sound,” “perfect collaboration with the orchestra” and “expression (which) seduced the audience from the very beginning.”
When I first interviewed Park six or seven years ago, she was still living with her parents in Lexington and commuting regularly to the CollegeConservatory of Music, where she studied with Kurt Sassmannshaus. (His Starling Chamber Orchestra, made up of string players as young as 6-years-old, is an incredible reservoir of talent. Sassmannshaus may single-handedly stock the next generation of orchestras and soloist platforms with his
Personality and Instrument). But she is not along with the ered 10 years of sense
stressful” than
Violinist Alyssa Park
Spraul will defend the accused. Rumor has it Hamlet will plead “innocent by reason of insanity”. He will be prosecuted by Louis Sirkin who will call in Dr. John Hall to testify. The evening begins with champagne at 6:30 p.m. and court convenes at 7 p.m. At 8:15 p.m. The courtroom will adjourn for a Danish buffet. The verdict and sentence will be announced at 9:30 p.m. Jury members will be chosen from patrons. $75 per person, $150 per patron. Omni Netherland Plaza, Fifth and Race, Downtown. 421-3555.
Theater
MARIEMONT PLAYERS My Emperor's New Clothes is the musical version of the Hans Christian Andersen classic. 8 p.m. Friday, 1 and 3:30 p.m. weekends. Through Feb. 5. $5. Walton Creek Theatre, 4101 Walton Creek Road, Mariemont. 684-1236.
MIAMI VALLEY DINNER THEATRE Presents Driving Miss Daisy. Through Feb. 12. $26.95$34.95. Route 73, Springboro. 513-746^554.
★ CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK Presents The Caretaker, the play that catapulted Harold Pinter to international fame. Opens Tuesday and runs through March 5. Thompson Shelterhouse. 8 p.m. TuesdayFriday, 5 and 9 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. $22-$29....
Jar The Floor, Cheryl L. West’s hit play about the bittersweet nature of family love, continues through Feb. 10. 8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 9 p.m. Wednesday, 5 and 9 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Through Feb. 9. Not recommended for children. Robert S. Marx Theatre. $19431 adults. Meet the Artists takes place after the Thursday show and allows audience members to interact with the cast and the production staff. The program is free and attendance at that performance is not required. Tickets to all shows are halfprice when purchased noon-2 p.m. the day of the show. Eden Park. 421-3888.
NATURAL WOMON VIBRATIONS Victoria Nash, Nzingha Dalila and Wahru Barbara Cleveland perform exciting music on African drums and tell folktales. 2 p.m. Sunday. $6 adults; $3 children under 12. Rowe Interpretive Building, Cincinnati Nature Center, 4949 Tealtown Road, Milford. 831-1711.
VILLAGE PUPPET THEATRE Charles Killian, the original founder of the theatre, presents The Dream ofPrince Shiraz, an original work written and directed by Salil Singh with music by Ewar. The play is based on tales from Indian folklore and mythology, and uses both marionettes and shadow puppets. Through May 28. $5.25. 4:30 and 7 p.m. Friday, 12:30, 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. Saturday and 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Special showings and prices available for groups of 15 or more. 606 Main St., Covington. 291-5566.
Classical Music
★ DENNIS BANKS— Dennis Banks, co-founder of the American Indian Movement (AIM) and director of the Sacred Run, returns to the Carnegie Theater for a single concert of Native American Drums and Songs with the Sacred Drum Drummers. 8 p.m. Saturday. $6.50 adults; $5 seniors and students; $3 children under 12. The four-day drum-making workshop is sold out. 1028 Scott Blvd., Covington. 221-8777, Ext. 1.
★ CCM BIG BAND COMPOSERS CONCERT The Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Lab Band play new compositions by CCM students and other noted composers. Along with these cutting-edge compositions will be new arrangements of classic swing-era standards. 4 p.m. Sunday. Corbett Auditorium, UC Campus, Clifton. 556^1183.
CINCINATI CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Love Makes the World Go ’Round is an annual event designed to help raise much-needed funds for the Chamber Orchestra. The event will begin at Closson’s downtown art gallery with a 6 p.m. cocktail hour and silent auction. Dinner, provided by the Hyatt, will follow at Sak’s Fifth Avenue. The evening will continue with an exclusive showing of The Pretty, the Powerful and the Polished the St. John 1995 cruise collection. Thursday. $50. 723-1182.
★ THE MAN WHO DIED TWICE Bob Hansen’s adaptation of the Edwin Arlington Robinson epic poem features the characters of composer Fernando Nash (John Sokalski), The Reader (Hansen) and Heartbeat (Charles Miller, playing a variety of percussion instruments). Kathryne Gardette directs this experimental adaptation. 8 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. $6. Gabriel’s Corner, 1425 Sycamore St., Over-the-Rhine. 221-2222.
THE RIVER CITY BRASS BAND Denis Colwell conducts Star Spangled Memories: Music ofthe World War Two Era. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. 381-3300.
ENSEMBLE THEATRE OF CINCINNATI Presents a fast-paced adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Opens Wednesday. 1127 Vine St., Overthe-Rhine.... Sunday is “Solo Night”. Light refreshments will be served at 6 p.m. followed by a 7 p.m. show. After the show, attendees are encouraged to mingle again. There will also be an opportunity to meet the cast. $10.... Call ETC’s box office at 421-3555 or Select-A-Seat at 721-1000 for regular show prices.
XAVIER UNIVERSITY PIANO & GUITAR SERIES English pianist Graham Scott, winner of the 1991 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, will perform music from Beethoven, Debussy, Liszt, Chopin and Rachmaninoff. 2:30 p.m. Sunday. $14 and $16. University Center Theatre, Xavier, 3800 Victory Pkwy. 745-3161
★ DAYTON CONTEMPORARY DANCE THEATER Presents their Winter Spectacular. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday. Victoria Theatre, 138 N. Main St., Dayton, Ohio. 513-228-DCDC
BY ANNE ZARA
★ KHAMISI DRUM AND DANCE ENSEMBLE In celebration of Black History Month, presents Jolidon an exhilarating West African music, dance and performance concert. 7 p.m. Saturday. $14 general admission, $16 box seats, $10 children under 12. Emory Theatre, Central Parkway and Walnut. 281-DRUM.
Gabriel’s Corner in Over-the-Rhine will host a new kind of experimental theater Saturday and Sunday: Bob Hansen’s adaptation of Edwin Arlington Robinson’s epic poem, “The Man Who Died Twice.” It is the culmination of Hansen’s 20-year struggle to come to terms with the poem, first published in the mid-1920s.
WEXNER CENTER FOR THE ARTS American choreographer Meg Stuart’s reputation has skyrocketed since her move to Belgium last year where she completed No Longer Readymade which she performs with her international ensemble, Damaged Goods. 8 p.m. Through Feb. 4. Performance Space, $12. Performance Space, North High St. at 15th. Ave., Columbus. 614-292-2354.
Comedy
The story of The Man Who Died Twice takes place at a book signing. The Reader (performed by Hansen) has written a book about Fernando Nash (John Sokalski), a troubled composer. The strong narrative and dialogue presents Nash’s struggle to harness his creativity.
GO BANANAS Club 19’s Michael Flannery and David Michaels. Through Sunday. Spike Davis and Dave Markwell. Wednesday. 8:30 and 10:45 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. 8410 Market Place, Montgomery. 984-9288.
The poem’s essence has tugged at Hansen for almost two decades. He even followed Robinson’s footsteps, moving to New York and later to Los Angeles to study the poet’s career. Hansen returned to Cincinnati in 1992 and, with the help of friends, has finally adapted the poem as a live performance.
“I always wanted to be a poet,” Hansen explains. “But I got caught up in working and playing, and that took up all my time.”
Kathryne Gardette and Charles Miller, partners in the local musical group Drums For Peace, assisted Hansen in his adaptation of the story from poem to play. Gardette is producing and directing the project, while Miller is playing a third character created for the play the Heartbeat. Assim Shadee serves as stage manager.
Openings
Like the drums that Robinson continually refers to in his poem the drums of life, the drums of death Hansen started listening to his own heartbeat six years ago. Living in Los Angeles, he began writing out the basic concepts and format of a theatrical adaptation of “The Man Who Died Twice.”
★ ARTS CONSORTIUM OF CINCINNATI, UNION TERMINAL The Neo Ancestralist Resident Artist Exhibit, retrospective in nature, explores the various styles and mediums while focusing on major issues, both social and cultural. Opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Friday. Through Feb. 28. 1-5 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. weekends. Union Terminal, 1301 Western Ave., Queensgate. 241-7408.
BABA BUDAN’S ESPRESSO BAR Oil paintings by Laura Herman. Opening reception 8 p.m. Friday. Through Feb. 28. 7 a.m.11 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.1 a.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-l a.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-l 1 p.m. Sunday. 243 Calhoun St., Clifton. 221-1911.
After a brief move to Boston, Hansen returned to his native Cincinnati two and a half years ago. He got to know Gardette through his work, at Maverick Captioning Services in Walnut Hills, and, because of her involvement in Drums For Peace and the role of drums in the poem/play, approached her with his production concept. They worked on it off and on for six months and then applied for a grant from the Arts Allocation Community for financial support.
Six months later, the grant was approved, but then it took awhile before Hansen and Gardette could coordinate their schedules to complete the play. Hansen spent a good deal of time creating the Heartbeat character to serve as the thread that connects the story’s physical and spiritual elements.
“Charles (Miller) has created a drum voice for each character to accentuate them,” Gardette explains. Using the djun-djun, bata drums, chimes, bongos and other percussion instruments, Miller has composed a drum symphony to complement the grand symphony Nash hears as he dies twice, finally achieving contentment and peace.
“Poetry needs to be performed,” Gardette says. “Westerners have gotten away from this.”
Says Hansen in agreement, “There is a need for experimental works. They are an in-depth examination of life.
“This project is really important to me. At times, I have felt that I didn’t make the most appropriate decisions for my life. Sometimes I would feel my life just dissipating. As Nash says in the story, ‘He didn’t wait for the coming of inspiration, he was too busy.’”
THE MAN WHO DIED TWICE will be performed Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m. at Gabriel’s Corner, 1425 Sycamore St.. Over-the-Rhine. $6. 221-2222.
★ FIFTH THIRD VOICES OF HARMONY A seven-week festival celebrating ethnic and cultural
CIVIC GARDEN CENTER OF GREATER CINCINNATI Works by Carole Parrish. Opening recep-
Working to produce (seated in front, from Gardette, John Sokalski left) Bob Hansen, Charles
Art
★ THE TAFT MUSEUM —Artists
Reaching Classrooms Student Art Exhibition displays 84 works in a variety of media reflecting the interaction of high school students and professional artists in the classroom and the studio as well as the students experiences in the galleries of the Taft Museum. Fine Arts Fund partner is Cincinnati Bell Inc. Opens Friday. Through Feb. 19.10 a.m.-5 p.m. MondaySaturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. $3 adults; $1 seniors and students; children 12 and under free. 316 Pike St., Downtown. 241-0343.
sculpture by San Fransisco multimedia electronic artist, Paul DeMarinis, will be on view. DeMarinis’ recent series of installation works, “The Edison Effect” uses optics and computers to make new sounds by scanning phonograph records with lasers. Through March 31.... Painter Julian Stanczak, who was bom in Poland and studied under Joseph Albers, displays his paintings that create intense perceptual effects by working in a systematic way; often referred to as “Op Art.”
Through 9 a.m.-5 p.m. MondayFriday, Saturday by appointment. 424 Findlay St., West End. 621-0069.
★ CHIDLAW GALLERY, ART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI Process ofTime includes the works of photographers Shelby Lee Adams, Charles Atkins and Oren Slor. Through Feb. 10. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Art Academy of Cincinnati, Eden Park. 562-8777.
Galleries & Exhibits
CINCINNATI ART CLUB Winter Exhibition features works by members. The gallery is open 1-5 p.m. Friday-Sunday. 1021 Parkside Place, Mount Adams. 241-4591.
ADAMS LANDING ART CENTER
CINCINNATI ART GALLERIES 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. 635 Main St., Downtown. 381-2128.
11 a.m.-3 p.m. WednesdaySaturday or by appointment. 900 Adams Crossing, Downtown. 723-0737.
ARTERNATIVE GALLERY
CLERMONT COLLEGE ART GALLERY A Kaleidoscope: Appalachian Art ofSouthern Ohio. Through Feb. 24. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. 4200 Clermont College Drive, Batavia. 732-5224.
10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Wednesday and Friday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday. 2034 Madison Road, O’Bryonville. 871-2218.
★ ARTS CONSORTIUM OF CINCINNATI, UNION TERMINAL
Being Round Natti Town, a permanent exhibition, highlights the first 150 years in Cincinnati.
★ CLOSSON’S GALLERY DOWNTOWN Permanent collection features some of the best art by Cincinnati’s earlier artists including Frank Duveneck, John Henry Twachtman, Herman and Bessie Wessel, Charles Meurer, William Louis Sonntag, John Weis, Charles Salis Kaelin and Henry Mosler. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday. 401 Race St., Downtown. 762-5510.
1-5 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, noon5 p.m. weekends. Union Terminal, 1301 Western Ave., Queensgate. 241-7408.
ARTS CONSORTIUM OF CINCINNATI, LINN STREET —Artfor City Walls is a yearlong exhibit focusing on local artists. 1-8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends. 1515 Linn St., West End. 381-0645.
BASE ART— Noon-4 p.m. Saturdays and by appointment. 1311 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 491-3865.
★ COLLECTOR BOOK AND PRINT GALLERY The politically motivated lithographs of Gabriel Glikman, Russian Jewish artist and sculptor, on display. Through March 31. 3-6 p.m. WednesdaySaturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. 1801 Chase Ave., Northside. 542-6600. SHARON COOK GALLERY 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 1118 Pendleton, Over-the-Rhine. 579-8111.
BEAR GRAPHICS AND ILLUSTRATION GALLERY Chris Payne’s illustrations and Jan Knoop’s paintings, prints and sculptures. Through February. Noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 105 E. Main St., Mason. 398-2788.
★ FITTON CENTER FOR CREATIVE ARTS Highlights the works of Cincinnatian Kay Muir. 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, ; wkiwummummmmumkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
BLEGEN LIBRARY Taft in Caricature, an exhibit of historical political cartoons, can be found in the University Archives on the eighth floor. Through Feb. 28. Noon-10 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, 1-10 p.m. Sunday. UC, Clifton. 556-1959.
We’ve just returned from Phoenix & Seatde with lots of new jewelry and merchandise. Stop by and see our latest finds! iiiiiiiiiiliiiiii
CAFE ELITE Photographs by Donald Elliot feature modem sculpture and the human form, as well as studies of natural flora. 11 a.m.-lO p.m. daily. 364 Ludlow Ave., Clifton. 281-9922.
GALLERY 48—9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. 1223 Central Parkway, Over-the-Rhine. 381^4033.
GALLERY 99 Twenty artists from this co-operative gallery have contributed to put together their show, Faces. Through February. Noon-6 p.m Thursday-Sunday, noon-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. 1101 St. Gregory St., Mount Adams. 651-1441.
★ GALLERY AT WELLAGE & BUXTON Ballard Borich. noted poet, displays his abstract paintings on paper in A Larger Group ofSmaller Paintings. Through March. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. 1431 Main St., Over-theRhine. 241-9127.
GLASS CRAFTERS STAINED
GLASS STUDIO Features hand-crafted stained and beveled glass miniatures, windows, lamps, mirrors and more. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. 11119 Reading Road, Sharonville. 554-0900.
HARROGATE Works exhibited are mostly of maritime themes including 19th and 20th century paintings, ship models and artifacts. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. MondaySaturday. 3075 Madison Road, Oakley. 321-6020.
★ HEBREW UNION COLLEGE SKIRBALL MUSEUM —Aishet
Hayil: Woman of Valor features paintings, textiles and sculptures. Through March. In conjunction with this exhibition, seven local women artists will be present on Sunday from 1-5 p.m. to discuss their work on display. Included are: Lois Cohen, Reabelle Emdin, Dana Flores, Vivian Kline, Estelle Laibson, Rita Wasserman and Ann Zeff. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. MondayThursday, 2-5 p.m. Sunday. 3101 Clifton Ave., Clifton. 221-1875.
HEIKE PICKETT GALLERY
10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. 522 W. Short St., Lexington, Ky. 606-233-1263.
HILLEL JEWISH STUDENT CEN-
TER Michal Koren, Jonah Tobias, Nate Waspe and Pam Zelman, students from UC’s school of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning display their work. Through March. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday. 2615 Clifton Ave., Clifton. 221-6728,
★ IN SITU Gregory B.
Saunders’ The Kentucky Series: A Personal Archeological Dig is a collection of large scale drawings based on the Kentucky landscape. Saunders, bom and raised in Newport and now living in Florida, combines remnants and artifacts of his past unearthed recently during a visit to his now tom-down former residence with these pow-. dered graphite drawings. Through March 18. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. TuesdaySaturday. 1435 Main St., Over-theRhine. 651^613.
INNER SPACE DESIGN Presents one-of-a-kind necklaces by New York jewelry designer' Nancie Taphom. Through Feb. 28. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 2128 Madison Road, O’Bryonville. 533-0300.
JAMAR GALLERY Ghani
Ghupor, dean of the Art Department of Xinjiang Art College in Urumqi, China, will be the artist-in-residence during January and will accept appointments to paint portraits. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. 135 W. Fourth St., Downtown. 333-0022.
★ JULIA'S GALLERY OF PHOTOGRAPHY —Sixty Years of Photography, a retrospective of the work of Ruth Bernhard, a pioneer of American photography, focuses primarily on the nude figure and still life. Through Feb. 15.
'Giselle’: A Pirouette Spanning
Centuries
Cincinnati Ballet returns to choreography style of late 19th century Russia
BY RICK PENDER
Alink with the past and a bridge to the future is how Artistic Director Peter Anastos describes,the Cincinnati Ballet’s upcoming production, Giselle, staged at Music Hall on Feb. 10 and 11. Frederic Franklin, who is staging and directing Giselle, has links to the ballet’s earliest staging in this century. A bit of history is in order.
When first performed in Paris in 1841, Giselle was a star vehicle for Italian dancer Carlotta Grisi. She rose to fame in 1836 at the age of 17, promoted by poet Theophile Gautier, also a ballet critic. Gautier regularly praised her in his writing, and he undertook to create a ballet that could launch her career at the Paris Opera. He recruited several .other noted artistic figures to help him in his effort, including composer Adolphe Adam and Grisi’s choreographer, Jules Perrot. Extremely popular for several years, Giselle was not performed in Cincinnati Ballet. Western Europe after 1860, probably for lack of suitable dancers. Perrot fell out of favor with the Paris Opera and went to Russia. Among other productions, he staged Giselle, with new choreography by the French dancer Lucine Petipa, who created many more difficult steps for the dancers. Petipa is frequently credited as the man who launched the disciplined tradition of Russian ballet.
Some 50 years later, in 1910, the great Russian choreographer Sergei Diaghilev brought Giselle back to Western audiences with such famed dancers as Nijinsky and choreography inspired by Petipa and Perrot. According to Anastos, “Diaghilev taught Western Europe what it had forgotten about its own ballet traditions.”
Frederic Franklin is playing a similar role for this production of Giselle. After several Cincinnati Ballet Giselles in recent years that used new choreography, Franklin has returned to Diaghilev’s choreography. Franklin danced in the 1930s with several dancers including Alicia Markova who performed for the
Choreographer Frederic Franklin works with dancers of the
Civic Center Shops, 410 West Vine St., Lexington, Ky. 606-225-8260.
KALDI’S COFFEE HOUSE & BOOKSTORE Photographs by Robert Derr.... Exquisite Drawings by 6-year-old LexanRosser. Through Feb. 15. 7 a.m.-l
Saturday. 1209 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 421-7883 MACHINE SHOP GALLERY Chairs is an exhibition by University of Cincinnati industrial design students. Through Feb. 10. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 100 E. Central Parkway, Over-theRhine. 566-1928.
★ MILLER GALLERY Gifts from the Garden focuses on floral paintings in oil, acrylic and watercolor by ten nationally recognized artists. Opening reception, 6-9 p.m. Friday. Through Feb. 25.10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 2715 Erie Ave., Hyde Park. 871-4420:
MULLANE’S PARKSIDE CAFE
The paintings and drawings of John Moylan will be on display through March 4. Opens Saturday. 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.
★ NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY Metals Form in Chaos will be on display with John Moylan’s exhibition of paintings and drawings, Fragments, and the international exhibition Paper: USA/Finland Contrasts and Connections. Through Friday. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. weekdays, 1-5 p.m. weekends. Fine Arts Building, NKU, Highland Heights. 572-5148.
OLMES GALLERY Works of Cindy Olmes 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.
ONE SHOT GALLERY Presents new works by Cincinnati artist Mils, with vintage political cartoons by fellow Cincinnatian Claude Shafer. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays, weekends by appointment. 658 Main St., Downtown. 721-1193.
★ ONLY ARTISTS Presently on display is a new inventory of works by Linvale Barker, Howard Finster, Shirley Lambdin, R.A. Miller, Lonnie and Twyla Money, Mose T. and G.C. DePrie. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 1315 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 241-6672.
PARISIAN GALLERY Features works by the members of the Hilltop Artists. Through March 6. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. Forest Fair Mall, 300 Forest Fair Drive. 522-0117.
LAURA PAUL GALLERY 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, or by appointment. Dixie Terminal Arcade, 49 E. Fourth St., Downtown. 651-5885. PENDLETON ART CENTER 1310 Pendleton St., Over-theRhine. 721-6311.
GRETA PETERSON GALERIE Selected artwork by curator Tom Bryant is display. Through March. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. TuesdaySaturday. 7696 Camargo Road, Madeira. 561-6785.
★ PUBLIC LIBRARY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY
A photographic display recognizing the exceptional achievements by African-Americans in Greater Cincinnati through Feb. 28.... 86th Anniversary of the NAACP highlights selections of extensive resource materials in the Library’s collection related to the history of the NAACP. Through March 3. Both exhibits are on view on the first floor of the library. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m.-
RAYMOND GALLERY Several Cincinnati artists are represented. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, ThursdaySaturday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday and Wednesday. 2700 Erie Ave., Hyde Park. 871-7373.
★ THE RIFFE GALLERY More than 80 works of art from West Africa are on display. Included are carved wooden stools, masks, figures, staves, jewelry and hats that have religious, philosophical and historic and aesthetic functions.
11 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday; 11a.m.7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Vem Riffe Center for the Government and the Arts, State and High streets, Columbus. 614-644-9624.
★ ROSEWOOD ARTS CENTRE GALLERY Yung Ja Lee presents new paintings in her show, Shape ofHer Words. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. 2655 Olson Drive, Kettering. 513-296-0294.
★ SCHOOL FOR CREATIVE AND PERFORMING ARTS Several art exhibits will open throughout a seven-week festival celebrating ethnic and cultural diversity in the arts. The Voices of Harmony festival is supported by Fifth Third Bank and opens with My Journey’s Voice: The Art ofNarration Surrounding Voices: The Sounds and Sight ofSociety is the second installment in this series of four. 9 a.m.-4 p.m Friday. SCPA Theatre. 1310 Sycamore St., Over-the-Rhine. 632-5936. SEMANTICS GALLERY 14 p.m. weekdays, noon-5 p.m. weekends. 1125 Walnut St., Overthe-Rhine. 684-0102.
★ STUDIO 701 —Art From the Heart showcases large and small works on canvas and paper by M. Katherine Hurley, winner of a recent Artist’s magazine award. A good look at conservative landscape work. Studio 701 of the Pendleton Art Center, 1310 Pendleton St., Over-the-Rhine. 241-4123.
★ TANGEMAN FINE ARTS GALLERY The annual Faculty Exhibition for UC’s College of D.A.A.P. includes the works of faculty members John Stewart, Roy Cartwright, Denise Burge, Jane Alden Stevens and Nicholas Chaparos, to name a few. Through Feb. 17. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. Tangeman Student Center, UC, Clifton. 556-2962.
THOMAS MORE GALLERY Akron-area artist Jack McWhorter will be showing his new work, Iconic Images, from Friday through Feb. 17. 8 a.m.-9:45 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Friday, noon-4 p.m. Saturday, 4-8 p.m. Sunday. Thomas More College Library. 333 Thomas More Parkway, Crestview Hills. 606-344-3309.
MORE, PAGE 26
Beyond Ordinary People
In three-man show Shelby Adams' photos ofAppalachia allow viewer to maintain a comfortable distance
REVIEW BY JONATHAN Z. KAMHOLTZ
Artists just aren’t making photographs like the pictures from Shelby Lee Adams’ Appalachian Portraits series much these days pictures with the silvery light and f.64 technical perfection undertaken with the immediacy and compassion of the W.P.A. photographers who first inspired him.
Adams has practiced what he calls “subjective documentary portraiture” for two decades in the communities of Eastern Kentucky where he grew up. In his prefatory statement, he argues that he takes pictures of people who are “totally open to this photographer, subjects that do not have preconceived ideas about photography” and suggests that these people “are subjects with their own desires of communication” interesting ways to formulate how a photograph’s subject can influence a picture.
Adams’ photos are contained in the Process and Time: Three Photographers show at Chidlaw Gallery. His photos present a wealth of culturally significant detail from the things sitting strewn on a porch to the pores and wrinkles of bearded faces. (I’m not sure there’s any portion of my life I’d care to have exposed to such a relentlessly high f-stop.) But Adams’ work shows us made pictures, notfound ones. “Christmas Day, Johnson’s Fork” (1976) is being observed in a round bedroom mirror where an older man in a white shirt sits next to a grinning young man who is barely visible in a cascade of light. We might be in a police station waiting room or at a seance. Some of his pictures are confrontational, like “Sherman with Hog’s Head” or the cartoonishly spooky “Harlan and Cathy with Water Pump.” I don’t think Adams minds it that we would rather have him go down these dark hollers without us. If this is the world he’s bringing home, sometimes I would rather be a voyeur.
But most of these pictures are remarkable for the amount of privacy his subjects retain. “Mary Napier” (1989) leans against a wall studded with tails and traps. With one hand behind her back, she’s smiling at us through her cigarette for no particular reason. “The Jacobs Girls, Isom” (1987) are of indeterminate age. Their expressions are sexually charged and fiercely blank at the same time. Behind them are hills and streams of light; above them is a line with laundiy, perhaps children’s. It gets hard to push the story further. Pictures may be worth a thousand words, but whose? Quietness of affect itself a form of dignity tends to add a spiritual dimension to many. We need to see the commercial slogans on the T-shirts of the “Children at Topmost” (1991) to be sure these are normal American kids.
Where Adams’ work is tumultuously filled with foregrounded objects, Chuck Atkins’ work illustrates the
efforts of imagination and technique required to bring a thing to the fore. Things are pampered like Hollywood stars. Backgrounds are manipulated to expand the narrow space in which objects are assembled and staged. Color is everything. Reds and golds pulse and glow in “Almighty Dollar,” a miniature, sardonic version of the golden calf. In “Hyacinth,” the delicate purple of a flowering bulb is supported by the pale plumes of its roots, swirling in contrails beneath it in a clear glass on a rocky ledge. In “Digital Vision,” color becomes the sign of how a woman is transformed from the generic facelessness of black and white to the individuality of human identity through color. Ritual is hinted at in “Untitled #1,” where a white spidery shell sits on a used work glove resting on short lengths of twisted, rusted metal near some carefully placed bottle caps, but the ceremony is never revealed.
Oren Slor’s work, while easily the least technically sure of itself at this time, suggests a middle ground where material things of the world are valued and studied for what they can be made to turn into. Slor’s rocks sometimes seem on the verge floating off. His multipanel installations of heavily manipulated prints of rocks, are, as he notes, “painting with light and chemicals.” The distinction between black and white the pillar of his medium is stretched as the two find new ways to switch places, or approximate each other. By stretching black and white photochemistry in both conventional and unconventional ways, he achieves a range of color to show how a circle of rocks seems an ancient ceremonial site, a pot of molten lava, a flower, a mushroom cloud.
There is at best an echo of the sacredness of these spaces; Slor’s true passion here seems to be for the interchangeability of rock and gauze, dullness and sparkle, heavy chunk of stone vs. a torrent of liquid black. In Adams’ pictures, by contrast, there are shrines everywhere, but we’d best keep some distance.
PROCESS AND TIME: THREE PHOTOGRAPHERS continues at the Chidlaw Gallery at the Art Academy of Cincinnati through Feb. 10. 562-8777
Shelby Adams’ “Scotty with Banjo and Tom,” Barwick,
Art
★ TONI BIRCKHEAD GALLERY
Group show focusing on abstract painting highlights the works of Tarrence Corbin, Alan Crockett, Stuart Fink, Peter Gooch, Frank Herrmann, Tom Levine and Thom Shaw. Through Feb. 24. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays, Saturday by appointment. 342 W. Fourth St., Downtown. 241-0212.
TOON ART GALLERIES
Disney Dimensions highlights limited-edition and one-of-a-kind 3-D pieces from raku pottery to collector plates and jewelry.
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. By appointment Monday. 21 E. Fifth St., Westin Hotel, Downtown. 651-3500.
★ UC CLERMONT COLLEGE ART
GALLERY Clermont Art Gallery hosts A Kaleidoscope:
Appalachian Art ofSouthern Ohio. Area Appalachian artists combine their talent for an eclectic show with works ranging from pine-needle baskets to artwork on hard-shelled gourds. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays. 4200 Clermont College' Drive, UC Clermont College, Batavia. 732-5224.
★ UC HEALTH SCIENCE
LIBRARY Jeff Casto and Melissa Steinman’s show, Lost and Found, combines mixed media and found objects. Through March 3. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. 231 Bethesda Ave., Clifton. 558-5627.
PATRICIA WEINER GALLERY
11 a.m.-5 p.m. WednesdaySaturday. 9352 Main St., Montgomery. 791-7717.
Spanning the Ohio: Photographs of Cincinnati's Bridges by local photographer J. Miles Wolf and Innervisions: Largeformat Black and White Photographs by Florida artist Woody Walters will be on display through March 15. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. 708 Walnut St., Downtown. 381-3222.
WOODBOURNE GALLERY
Renewing their Cincinnati Artist of the Month series, the Woodboume Gallery presents the Tuscany Hill hand-wroughtjewelry of Stuart C. Nedelman. 24K gold, sterling, beadwork and semi-precious stones are crafted into earrings, ping necklaces and pendants. Opening reception, noon5 p.m. Sunday. Through Feb. 28. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday. 9885 Montgomery Rd. 793-1888.
WOMEN’S ART CLUB OF CINCINNATI The members of the Women’s Art Club present their work in the Pendleton Art Center 6-10 p.m. Friday in conjunction with the center’s Final Friday show. 1310 Pendleton St., Overthe-Rhine. 5220117.
Museums
★ CINCINNATI ART MUSEUM
Manet to Toulouse- Lautrec: French Impressionists to PostImpressionist Prints and Drawings presented by PNC Bank; through March 5. Edward Potthast 1857-1927 features eight paintings by the native Cincinnatian; through March 5. Richard Bitting: Nine Summer
Haiku is a suite of nine color lithographs with music and text transformed 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. $5 adults; $4 students and seniors; children free. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Eden Park. 721-5204.
ongoing photographic “travelogue” with conceptual underpinnings. Chris Marker’s Silent Movie is a new installation by this internationally respected French filmmaker. The installation, a personal response to the 100th anniversary of cinema, includes five video monitors, as well as a series of enlarged black-and-white video stills and computer-designed sketches of movie posters.... Dennis and Dee Gregory’s traditional oak baskets which are collected both in the U.S. and in several foreign countries will be on display through Feb. 28. Liber Studiorum, Turner Prints features works from the 13-year span the artist devoted to printmaking. Through Sunday.... 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; noon-5 p.m. Sunday. $4 adults; $3 students and seniors; children 12 and under free. On the first Friday of the month, there is a party with a cash bar. 5:30-8 p.m. $4 members, $7 non-members. 1200 W. 38th St., Indianapolis. 317-923-1331.
COLUMBUS MUSEUM OF ART
★ J.B. SPEED ART MUSEUM Old Master Prints and Drawings from the Permanent Collection features, among others, prints by Albrecht Diirer and Giovanni Domenico Tiepoloas, as well as a chalk drawing attributed to Giorgio Vasari. Through April 16. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday. 2035 S. Third St., Louisville, Ky. 502-636-2893.
Landscape As Metaphor is a special exhibit highlighting multimedia works by 13 living American artists. Through March 5.... The museum has two important collections: the Sirak Collection of French Impressionist and German Expressionists that includes Degas, Renoir, Monet, Ensor, Picasso and Klee; and the Howald Collection of American painters that includes O’Keefe, Homer, Bellows and Cassatt. The museum collection is free. Special exhibits $3 adults, $2 children. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. TuesdayFriday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. 480 E. Broad St., Columbus. 614-221-6801.
★ CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER In Memory Spaces, Pittsburgh artist Paul Glabicki using state-of-the-art computer programs while working simultaneously with paintings, drawings, photographic sequences and installation plans creates a continuous architectural landscape for the viewer to experience when projected three-dimensionally and viewed through polarized glasses. Through April 5. Carrie May Weems examines the status of AfricanAmericans in today’s society through narrative photographic images. Through April 2. A 10year retrospective of the paintings and computer generated/manipulated autobiographical images concerning male identity and family relationships by David Humphrey is also on display. Cincinnati sculptor Patricia Renick explores the loss and violation of identity and the metaphoric voyage of the spirit through her installation of female figures atop boat forms in 2068. Sponsored by Reece Cambell Inc./Chronis Inc. Fine Arts Fund Corporate Partner: The Kroger Co. 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.
★ MIAMI UNIVERSITY ART MUSEUM —Distinctfrom Shellfish, a collaborative effort by Diana Duncan Holmes and Timothy Riordan, combines books, poetry, photographs and mixed-media pieces. Husband-and-wife Cincinnatians team up again with superior poetry and photographs. Continuing exhibits include Stitched, Woven and Plaited: Contemporary Craft Traditions ofAfrica, through June 11, and The Belle Epoque in Caricature, drawings and lithographs from tum-of-the-centuiy France, through Feb. 19. ...Forever Flowers continues through October. Also showing is a joint exhibition by the faculty of the Miami University Department of Art & Architecture and the University of Cincinnati Department of Art. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Free. Patterson Ave., Oxford. 513-529-2232.
★ NATIONAL AFRO-AMERICAN MUSEUM AND CULTURAL CENTER Dream, Myth, and Reality: Contemporary Artfrom Senegal is comprised of 70 works by 50 Senegalese artists working in oils, acrylics, fibers, collage and glass. Through March 5.... 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 Road, Wilberforce. 513-376^944.
SOUTHERN OHIO MUSEUM Permanent collection of works by Portsmouth native Clarence Carter. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday. 825 Gallia St., Portsmouth. 614-354-5629.
DAYTON ART INSTITUTE
★ THE TAFT MUSEUM A special display of four works by Grandma Moses continues through March 19. To commemorate the Chinese Year of the Pig, children are invited to search for plant and animal images on the Taft Museum’s collection of Chinese ceramics. All children who participate will receive a gift in the Museum Store, and any child who finds a pig anywhere in the collection will be entered in a raffle to win a $25 Museum Store gift certificate. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. MondaySaturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. 316 Pike St., Downtown. $3 adults; $1 seniors and students; children 12 and under free. 241-0343.
9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Sunday; 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday. 456 Belmonte Park North, Dayton, Ohio. 513-223-5277.
DAYTON VISUAL ARTS CENTER
Readings, Signings & Events
BORDERS OPEN MIC NIGHT
Poets are invited to read their works. 7 p.m. Monday. 11711 Princeton Road, Springdale. 671-5852.
CELEBRATION OF THE POET
Local poets are invited to read their work 9-11 p.m. on the last Tuesday of every month. Mt. Adams Bookstore and Cafe, 1101 St. Gregory Place, Mt. Adams. 241-9009.
★ GEORGE DAWES GREEN The author of The Juror, which has been sold to Columbia Pictures in one of the largest book/movie deals in history, will be signing, reading and speaking. 7-8:30 p.m. Thursday. Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Rookwood Pavilion, Madison and Edwards Roads, Norwood. 396-8960.
SHARON DRAPER The author ofZiggy and The Black Dinosaurs and Tears of a Tiger will be signing copies of her books. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. 11711 Princeton Road, Springdale. 671-5852.
CRYSTAL FAULKNER The author of 95 Ways You Can Save Taxes in '95 signs copies of her book. 2-3 p.m. Saturday. Barnes & Noble, 3802 Paxton Ave., Hyde Park.871-4300
ROWENA FORD The staff member will give a presentation on The Fine Art ofQuilting. 1-2 p.m. Saturday Barnes & Noble, 3802 Paxton Ave., Hyde Park. 871-4300
★ ELIZABETH KENNEDY The author will discuss and sign copies ofBoots ofLeather, Slippers of Qold: The Oral History of Working-Class Lesbians in Buffalo. 3 p.m. Saturday. The Crazy Ladies Book Store, 4041 Hamilton Ave., Northside. 541-4198.
★ ANTHONY LISSKA The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s Baccalaureate Professor of the year speaks about Edward Fenwick, the first Catholic Bishop of Cincinnati. Lunch begins at 11:30 p.m. $6.50 members, $9 nonmembers. Feb. 7. Reservations required by noon Feb. 6. Mercantile Library, 414 Walnut St., Downtown: 621-0717.
800 Vine St., Downtown. Other branches offer children’s storytimes activities. Call your local details.
★ GALWAY KINNELL Elliston Foundation Pulitzer Prize winner. won numerous awards, the National Book Award, American Book Award National Book Critics He will be reading from ly published collection Imperfect Thirst. 7:30 Wednesday. Rm. 525, Chemistry, UC Campus, 556-1570.
★ TIMOTHY RIORDAN local poet reads from 7-8:30 p.m. Monday. Noble, 7663 Mall Road, 647-6400
POLAR BEAR, POLAR WHAT DO YOU HEAR of Bill Martin’s and Eric much-loved picture paying Joseph-Beth 11:30 a.m.^-12:30 p.m. Joseph-Beth Booksellers, 396-8960.
KAREN ROBARDS of WalkingAfterMidnight signing her book. She speak on getting started writer. 2-3:30 p.m. Sunday. Joseph-Beth Booksellers, 396-8960.
JIM SCHWAB Deeper ofGreen: The Rise and Minority Environmentalism in America profiles lar communities that against environmental The author, an environmentalist and urban planner, will cussing and signing 2-3:30 p.m. Saturday. Booksellers. 396-8960.
RON SPRIGGS The Amazing Management be on hand to discuss copies of his book. 3:30-5 Saturday. Joseph-Beth Norwood. 396-8960.
★ LINDA VILLAROSA senior editor of Essence who specializes in medical health topics, will speak “Coming Out.” “Coming ing out and just being one’s community is one important weapons gays bians can use in combating spread of homophobia,” 8 p.m. Feb. 8. The Great Tangeman University Campus, Clifton. 556-1449. 7TH
WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY ART GALLERIES 10 a m 4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, noon-5 p.m.
Mixed Media Constructions of Craig Lloyd explores the interac-
MERCANTILE LIBRARY 1995 NIEHOFF SERIES Jonathan Kamholtz, associate professor of
11
JOSEPH-BETH
adults; free children 12 and under. 327 N. Second St., German Village, Hamilton. 513-893-7111.
CINCINNATI CHILDREN’S MUSEUM Newly opened interactive museum. Discover the rich traditions of Apppalachia through stories and song with Robin Roland, one of Cincinnati’s finest storytellers. 1 and 3 p.m. Sunday Pre-registration is required for the six-week computer workshop for children, FUTUREKIDS. 10-10:45 a.m. Tuesday for ages 4-5 and 4-4:45 p.m. for ages 6-7. General admission, noon-5 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. $6 general admission; children under 5 pay their age in dollars. Longworth HaU, 700 W. Pete Rose Way, Downtown. 421-5437.
CINCINNATI FIRE MUSEUM Featuring permanent exhibit, The Early Volunteer Fire Fighters of Cincinnati, which covers the period from 1853 to the present. 10 a.m.^4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, noon4 p.m. weekends. $2.50 adults; $1.50 children 2-12.... Annual family membership is $25. 315 W. Court St., Downtown. 621-5553.
CINCINNATI HISTORICAL
★
SOCIETY MUSEUM Leam about Cincinnati’s role in the “war of the states" when the Museum’s costumed first-person interpreters bring a Civil War encampment to life. Through Feb. 26.... The curator of the Afro-American Collection at Temple University Charles L. Blockson presents The Underground Railroad: Stories of Bravery, the first of four lectures on the courageous efforts of African-Americans and sympathetic white Americans to secure freedom for fleeing slaves before and during the Civil War. 7 p.m. Thursday.... Northwestern University professor Henry Binford presents The Invention of the Slum in America, 1840-1900. Cocktails begin at 5:45 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the presentation at 7:30 p.m. with a reception immediately following. Wednesday.... Permanent exhibits include Cincinnati: Settlement to 1860, re-creation of the city’s origins from a Western frontier outpost to a booming manufacturing center, Cincinnati Goes to War, a portrait of the homefront during WWII and The Cincinnati History Quilt, which was designed by school children in grades 1-6 and took 15 Guild members five months to complete.... Museum hours: 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 Step back 19,000 years to the Ice Age Ohio Valley for the museum’s permanent exhibit, Cincinnati’s Ice Age: Clues Frozen in Time. Find out about the variety of caves in our region then take a tour of the museum’s Cavern exhibit. MORE, PAGE 28
Thank Goddess for... LeftHanded Moon] Where nothing is ordinary...
* Drape thyselfin beautiful material... ^ Adome thyself with exquisitejewelry...
9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. $2 adults; $1 children 5-12; free to children under 5. 441 Vine St., Downtown. 579-9735.
48 East Court Street 784.1166
Galway Kinnell’s Poop on Poetry
Pulitzer Prize winner to read at UC for the Elliston Reading Series
INTER VI EW BY BILLIE JEYES
When I found out Galway Kinnell was coming to town, I got pretty excited. Then, after I set up an interview with him, I could barely contain myself.
“Guess who I’m going to interview,” I told people. And without giving them a chance to reply, I told them.
The responses disheartened me considerably.
“Galway who?”
“The flute player?”
“Guadalcanal?”
Unfortunately, the public has relegated poetry to the side streets of literature. And, although there has been a resurgence of poetry-breeding coffeehouses in the last few years, the audience has remained small.
You’d think poems would be perfect for this age of the sound bite. They are shorter than your average newspaper article, and the good ones contain a lot more truth. But perhaps the overabundance of celebrity poetry from the likes of Suzanne Sommers and Leonard Nimoy coupled with the overanalytical approach to the form by certain academics have done their damage. Which is a pity.
Because there are some wonderful poets out there. And Galway Kinnell, who has won his fair share of prizes including the Pulitzer and the National Book Award, is one of them.
“The Deconstruction of Emily Dickinson,” one of the poems from Kinnell’s new collection, Imperfect Thirst (Houghton Mifflin, $19.95), captures a professor in the throes of deconstructing the word “auction” and, by doing so, completely misses Dickinson’s meaning when she writes:
Publication is the Auction Of the Mind, ofMan
(In the poem, the narrator imagines exactly what he wants to tell the professor.)
Forget etymology, this is history. In Amherst in 1860 ‘Auction’ meant the slave auction, you dope!
Says Kinnell, “In the past, people did a kind of autopsy on the poem. But I think it’s much worse right now because of the phenomenon of deconstruction. They don’t care about poetry. They care about ideology.”
Stuff of life
Kinnell is no namby-pamby poet. He deals with the stuff of life. “Holy Shit,” one of my personal favorites in this collection, begins with a number of quotes about shit from the most unlikely of sources. Plato, Saint Bernard, Chaucer, Martin Luther, Walt Whitman and Jung are among those quoted.
When I told Kinnell that I especially liked that poem,
Writers’ notebook
Fountain News changing its look: Fountain News, which carries some 90 domestic newspapers as well as publications from Croatia, Spain, Lebanon and Columbia, to name a few, is moving up in the world. First, it added a coffee bar when it moved to the corner of Fifth and Walnut streets, downtown. Now, the coffee bar will assume its own name, Cafe News.
Both stores, separately owned by members of the same family, will take the opportunity to do some remodeling. The work should be complete by the middle of February.
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s the OJ book! The new OJ Simpson book, I Want To Tell You: My Response To Your
he seemed pleased.
If you’re at the lecture, he says, “You’ll have to shout out from the audience, ‘Remember Holy Shit!’
Kinnell’s poems can be poignant, too. “Neverland,” about his sister’s death, moved me to tears. (OK, so I cry easily, but not THAT easily.)
“I’m not writing poems for myself, I’m not really writing them for a public. I’m just writing them to tell the truth of experience, and if it proves to be of interest, that’s good.
“The destiny of this thing I’m writing is to touch the hearts of other people. But I don’t think of other people when I’m writing it. I’d really rather concentrate on the thing I’m writing about.”
The whys of writing
Kinnell teaches creative writing at New York University. He admits it is a tough job.
“If it’s done right, it’s good. If it’s not, it can be quite harmful. I just try to do it right. And by doing it right I think it entails not trying to get people to write the way you write but trying to see what they’re trying to do and trying to help them a little bit.
“I guess the best way to help a person is to provide a very supportive atmosphere so that they won’t be able to feel the hostility or competitiveness.
“If people are doing very well, it’s inspiring to all the others to go beyond what they’ve done before. I think if it’s done right, the people who entered it can be expressing more of their sense of life by the end than at the beginning.”
“The reason for writing poetry is not to become a great poet,” he continues. “The reason to write is because you love writing and you get satisfaction from knowing what you’re going through.
“When a cow moos out in the pasture, it’s telling something, not to us because we can’t hear it properly. Likewise, we tell something in our artistic expression. And poetry is like the singing of a thrush or a raven, it’s just telling what it is to be here.”
Letters. Your Messages, Your Questions (Little, Brown; $17.95) hit (pun intended) Joseph-Beth Booksellers the same week his double-murder trial began amid a veil of secrecy.
The publisher was so “afraid” shipments would be seized by the prosecution that it labeled the boxes with phony invoices. For those of you who cannot subsist without your daily OJ fix, you can purchase it with only a modicum of guilt at the aforementioned Joseph-Beth Booksellers which will be donating a portion of the proceeds to Women Helping Women, which helps victims of domestic abuse, rape and incest. Crazy Ladies Bookstore in Northside, on the other hand, will not be carrying the book at all.
BILLIE JEYES
Galway Kinnell
Attractions
Water Chemical Magic and Chemistry Detectives are part of a series of hands-on science programs designed for elementary school-aged children. 1-3 p.m. Saturday. Kitchen Chemistry, also part of the series, takes place 1-3 p.m. Sunday. $42, $46 non-members.... When Birds Lose Their Feathers teaches 4-8 year olds about their survival and how to make treats for them. 1-2:30 p.m. Saturday. $16, $19 non-members.
...Find out what’s been uncovered in excavations in dowtown Cincinnati and Covington in The Archaeology of US. 2-3 p.m. Sunday. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. MondaySaturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday.
$4.95 adults; $2.95 children; members free. Museum Center at Union Terminal, 1301 Western Ave., Queensgate. 287-7020.
CINCINNATI PLANETARIUM
Learn how to use commonly available resources, books, pamphlets and computer programs to explore the heavens above. 7-9 p.m. Wednesday. $20 members, $25 non-members. Sting narrates Prokofiev’s family classic, Peter and the Wolf:
adults, $4.50 children 2-12, $5.26 seniors; $4.50 parking. Annual membership: $54 for families, $46 for single parent families, $35 for individuals and $22 for students. 3400 Vine St., Avondale. 281-1700.
DAYTON MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY Vision Quest: Men, Women and Sacred Sites of the Siouoc Nation is the collaborative project of photographer Don Doll who has photographed the Sioux for 30 years. All My Relatives: 'Indian Life on the Plains provides a fine collection of Plains Indians artifacts including three war shirts, an eagle feather war bonnet, a buffalo wearing robe, beaded dresses and moccasins, cradleboards and decorated leather bags. Through March 26. A 7-month-old red fox that was too tame to be reintroduced into the wild can be seen at Wild Ohio, a zoo containing animals native to Ohio. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. TuesdayThursday and Saturday; 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday. $3 adults; $1.50 ages 3-17; free to children 2 and under. 2699 DeWeese Parkway, Dayton, Ohio. 513-275-7431.
DELHI HISTORICAL SOCIETY
The restored 1880 farmhouse has re-opened with Jack Doll’s famous George Remus display. The parlor and kitchen features a thenand-now exhibit of tools for the house and farm. 468 Anderson Ferry, Delhi Township. 451-4313.
DINSMORE HOMESTEAD The historic farmstead built in 1841-42 was home to the Dinsmore family who never threw anything away, leaving a fascinating collection of letters, diaries and receipts. 1-5 p.m. Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. $3 adults; $2 seniors; $1.50 children under 12. 5654 Burlington Pike, Burlington, Ky. 586-6117.
FOUNTAIN SQUARE ICE RINK Open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. MondayThursday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday; closed Sunday. The ice-skating rink will be open 4-8 p.m. Thursday; 4-9 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday and 6 p.m. Sunday. Through Feb. 20, weather permitting. $1 to skate, $1 skate rental. You can skate for free by presenting a receipt for Sudafed. Downtown. 684-4945.
GREATER LOVELAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY The winter exhibit, Antique Valentines, opened last Friday. Highlights include a turn-of-the-century kitchen and the Nisbet Library. Through Feb. 26. 201 Riverside Dr., Loveland. 683-5692.
HARDING MUSEUM OF THE FRANKLIN AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY Open 1-5 p.m. Sunday and by appointment. 302 Park Ave., Franklin. 513-746-8295.
JOHN HAUCK HOUSE MUSEUM
The Victorian house and garden re-opens Thursday. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays. $2 adults; $1 seniors; 50t children. 812 Dayton St., West End. 721-3570.
KROHN CONSERVATORY
Cincinnati’s flower house continues its Pre-Spring Floral Show Friday. Florists will create the aura of New Orleans with lampposts, fountains, mirrors and thousands of brilliant blooming early spring bulbs. Through March 5,10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Free for Cincinnati residents, children 5 and under and school groups; $2 adults; $1 children, seniors and groups of 25 or more. 1501 Eden Park Drive, Eden Park. 421-1086.
LITTLE RED SCHOOLHOUSE
Built in 1873, the brick house served as a school for 63 years. Restored by the Indian Hill Historical Society, it is now a museum. By appointment only. Free. 8100 Given Road, Indian Hill. 891-1873.
★ MIMOSA MANSION Built in 1853-55 as a Tuscan Villa featuring 1850s laminated Rococo Revival furniture and an exceptional collection of early lighting devices. The house also features two player grand pianos: a Mason and Hamlin and a Chickering. 1-6 p.m. weekends. Group tours available by appointment. $4. 412 E. Second St., Covington. 261-9000.
PROMONT Completed in 1867, this Italianate villa belonged to former Ohio Gov. John M. Pattison. All rooms are furnished with period antiques. 1:30-4:30 p.m. Friday and Sunday. $2 adults; $1 children; group tours can be arranged. 906 Main St., Milford. 831^4704.
SHARON WOODS VILLAGE
Guided tours of eight restored and furnished 19th century homes. 1-5 p.m. weekends. $5 adults; $3 seniors; $2 children 6-12; free to children 6 and under. Sharon Woods Park, Route 42, Sharonville. 563-9484.
STAR OF CINCINNATI
Featuring lunch, dinner, weekend and brunch cruises which depart from Star Landing at 15 Mehring Way, Downtown. 723-0100.
WARREN COUNTY HISTORICAL
Classes & Exhibits
AFRICAN AMERICAN GENEOLOGY PROGRAM Patricia Van Skaik, head of the Public Library’s History department, will demonstrate the various methods African-Americans can use to trace their family trees. “We can show you how to make your search easier by using our resources, which include Ante-Bellum Plantation Records, the Freedman’s Bureau Records and the Census Records,” says Van Skaik. The free program will be held in the Atrium, on the first floor. 7 p.m. Thursday. Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, 800 Vine St., Downtown. 369-6905.
AFRIKAN AMERICAN DRUM AND DANCE ENSEMBLE Offers classes 12:30-2 p.m. every Saturday. $5 adults; $2.50 children 12-16; $1 children under 12. West End YMCA, 821 Ezzard Charles Drive, West End. 281-7909 or 241-9622.
ART ACADEMY Offers Saturday art classes for children, ages 5-14. Drawingfrom Life and Printmaking and Drawing run through March 4, and Junior High Drawing and Painting runs through April 22. 1125 St. Gregory St., Mt. Adams. 562-8748.
ARTS CONSORTIUM OF CINCINNATI Offers an array of photography, art, dance, martial arts, music and theatre classes. 1515 Linn St., West End. 381-0645.
C.I.C. PERCUSSIONS Offers adult drum classes in Djembe and Conga, 3:30-6 p.m. Saturdays; children’s class in Nigerian Drum and Dance, 10 a.m.-noon Saturdays. Classes run through March 25. The Miller Gardette Loft, 2401 Concord, Walnut Hills. 221-2222.
CINCINNATI BALLET Offers
classes for both adults and children. Adult Ballet Class Session II takes place 7:15-8:45 p.m. Monday and Tuesday. $10 per class. 100 E. Central Parkway, Over-the-Rhine. 621-5219.
CINCINNATI MARLIN MASTERS
Coached swim workouts for all abilities. Monday and Thursday evenings and Sundays at noon. Keating Natatorium, St. Xavier High School, 600 Northbend Rd., Finneytown. Call Chris Gilligan at 232-0382.
CITIZENSHIP CLASSES
on Ragtime, Foxtrot and Dancing. 1-4 p.m. Saturday. non-members. University 270 Calhoun, Clifton. 733-3077.
GLASS CRAFTERS STUDIOS Offers classes in the art glass. 11119 Reading Sharonville. 554-0900.
GOSPEL STUDY Willing presents and discusses Gospel for the coming 12:05-12:55 p.m. every in the Undercroft. Cathedral Peter in Chains, 325 W. Downtown. 421-5354.
PRODUCING A SLIDE WORKSHOP The Nature Center will teach to put together a dynamic fessional slide show for pleasure. 9 a.m.-noon $7, $15 non-members. Interpretive Building, Tealtown Rd., Milford.
ST. FRANCIS CENTER SERIES Father Nick will be presenting the six-part lecture series Monday. $10 per lecture. Mill Road, New Burlington, 825-9300.
SCRIPPS HOWARD PROGRAMS Intensive, layered, first-hand experience original works of art students in grades 1-12. Scheduling is arranged teacher's needs. $5 per the year covers gallery teacher manuals and Contemporary Arts Center, Fifth St., Downtown.
SUNWATCH ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK Children ages learn three Native American dances, plus craft objects rattles or fans that are dances. Ages 4-6, 2:30-4 Tuesday; ages 7-12, Wednesday. SunWatch Village, 2301 W. River Ohio. 513-268-8199.
THRIVING OVER 60 Golden, a licensed independent social worker, who specializes counseling older adults six-week seminar presented Family Services, continues 2:30—4:30 p.m. Wednesday. price. 2727 Madison Park. 345-8554.
TREASURE ISLAND Offers classes on
VITAL
SOCIETY MUSEUM Features artifacts from 1790 to the present, including Shaker and Victorian furniture and an extensive collection of paleontological and archaeological artifacts. 9 a.m.-4
Travelers Aid International continues its citizenship classes. The non-profit group also offers English for the foreign bom, immigration
COUNCIL
GAY AND LESBIAN SWITCH-. BOARD Open 6-11 p.m. daily. 651-0070.
LAVENDER
MIDWEST
NAAMEN’S
To donate food or become a volunteer, call 281-FOOD.. UNITED WAY HELPLINE Provides counseling, supportgroup information, crisis intervention and assistance 24 hours a day. 721-7900.
YWCA PROTECTION FROM ABUSE PROGRAMS
140734-NL, Cinti, OH 45250-0734.
INDIAN HILL FLAG DESIGN CONTEST In celebration of the bicentennial year, Indian Hill residents are invited to enter the Village Flag contest. Entries should be in color, on paper no smaller than 8 1/2x11”. One entry per person. Mail entries before March 31 to Indian Hill Historical Society, 8100 Given Road, Cincinnati, OH 45243.
INDIVIDUAL ARTIST GRANT PROGRAM Applications are available for the City of Cincinnati’s 1995-96 Individual Artist Grant Program at Room 158, City Hall. Application deadline is Feb. 15. 352-1595.
MASTERWORKS 53 A juried exhibit for artists or sculptors 53 years of age older. Up to five works may be submitted by eligible artists, but no more than two will be accepted for show. Don’t forget to label your work with the name, title, dimensions, medium and price. First prize wins $600, second prize $350, third prize $250, honorable mention $50. Deliver each work to the Cincinnati Art Club, 1021 Parkside Place, Mount Adams between 3 and 7 p.m. Wednesday. For further information, call Bonnie Myers at 721-4330.
OHIO ARTS COUNCIL Provides matching money grants to artists, arts programs and major institutions. Call for applications. Summer fellowships for teachers of the arts are available. Contact Christy Farnbauch.... Ohio artists and organizations that receive grants from the NEA International Program will be supported by the Ohio Arts Council’s International Program which will provide much as $5,000 to eligible Ohio arts organizations and as much as $2,000 to Ohio artists and performers. Interested artists should complete the application form provided by the NEA International Program. Deadlines are Feb. 15 for projects beginning June 30 and May 15 for projects beginning Nov. 1. For collaborative projects residencies should call Silvio Lim at 202-682-5422, artists and performing artists should contact Pennie Ojeda at 202-682-5422.... Nominations for the Ohio Arts Council’s 1995 Governor’s Awards for the Arts are being accepted. Contact Bill Nordquist, Ohio Arts Council, 727 E. Main St., Columbus, OH 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.
SMALL ARTS ORGANIZATION GRANT PROGRAM Applications for grants must be in by March 15. Organizations must be non-profit and must be based in the City of Cincinnati. The applications are available at Room 158, City Hall. 352-1595.
WOMEN'S SPORTS ASSOCIATION AWARD APPLICATION The Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Women’s Sports Association is distributing applications for its second annual awards banquet. Anyone can nominate the players, coaches and businesses. This year the association will present the Tina Siegel Scholarship to outstanding high school basketball player. Call Diane Tomasick at 482-7109 for more information.
7TH ANNUAL CINCINNATI MAGAZINE AND MERCANTILE LIBRARY SHORT STORY CONTEST This year's judges are Jonathan Valin, author of the Harry Stoner novels, author and director of the UC writing program Jon. C. Hughes and novelist MORE, PAGE 30
From the Darkness Spring Sprouts
Revisit ’ 70s wonderfoodfor good taste and at-home gardeningfun
BY POLLY CAMPBELL
Imoved recently and in the process uncovered quite a few artifacts of neglected good intentions. You know, things like the yoga mat in the back of the closet. Among these was a set of three wire-screen lids of varying mesh that I’ve been packing up and moving since about 1974. These are meant to screw on a jar and facilitate the growing of that most wonderful of the doit-yourself early ’70s wonder foods sprouts.
Like so many of the relics of that earnest time, sprouts have been mainstreamed and marketed you can buy alfalfa sprouts about anywhere now. But the lids reminded me of the variety of sprouts I tried growing back then, and I thought I’d give sprouts another go. If bellbottoms can be retooled for the ’90s, so can sprouts.
I made a trip to Twin Pines Natural Foods and to Cincinnati Natural Foods and picked up very small amounts of 15 things to try: alfalfa, clover, radish, buckwheat, quinoa, flax, black-eyed peas, wheat berries, popcorn, peanuts, Triple treat (a mix of clover, alfalfa and cabbage), and mung, black, adzuki and garbanzo beans. That was just a random selection; anything that’s the seed of a plant can be sprouted.
Low-tech science
Food & Drink
tein, calcium, phosphorus and iron. Because you grow the sprouts yourself and eat them fresh, you know they haven’t lost their vitamins, and they are a cheap way to get all that good stuff.
After soaking, the instructions said to leave the jars in cupboard and rinse them well at least twice a day. I neglected this step a few times and learned an important lesson wet beans rot. And rotten beans smell terrible. I composted the soybeans, black-eyed peas and my first crop of garbanzos.
In her Good Food Book, Jane Brody says the salad sprouts such as alfalfa and clover are rich in vitamins C and K and minerals. Grain sprouts have a lot of vitamin E and protein. And the beans, like garbanzos, have A, B complex, C and E, protein, calcium, phosphorus and iron. Because you grow the sprouts yourself and eat them fresh, you know they haven’t lost their vitamins, and they are a cheap way to get all that good stuff.
The test
Some sprouts were ready to eat in three days; others took a week. The popcorn and peanuts are still sitting in the cupboard, refusing to fulfill their biological destiny.
I liked best the little seeds that sprout into alfalfa-type greenery. They are quick, they didn’t rot and their uses are obvious to be eaten in a salad, an a sandwich, in an omelet. When these are sprouted and a good size, take them out of the cupboard and put them in a window to develop the chlorophyll in the little leaves. My favorite of this type was a mix called Triple treat, .which includes clover, alfalfa and cabbage.
I used a low-tech technique for my experiments.
Following the instructions in Jane Brody’s Good Food Book, I soaked the seeds overnight in warm water in quart-size mason jars. On the jars I didn’t have mesh lids for, I cut cheesecloth in squares, stretched it over the top, and put the mason ring back on.
Call it the twist and sprout method.
Brody says it’s important to start with beans or seeds that were originally intended for eating not for planting, since those might be treated with fungicides.
After the seeds had soaked, I drained off all the water and put the jars on their sides in the farming section of my kitchen a dark cupboard.
Given moisture and a little warmth, each seed did its job by starting to turn into a plant. In this process, the seed uses up some of its carbohydrates and fat, manufactures vitamins and minerals, and maintains its protein. The result is a little sprout full of nutrients and fiber, but low in calories.
Brody says the salad sprouts such as alfalfa and clover are rich in vitamins C and K and minerals. Grain sprouts have a lot of vitamin E and protein. And the beans, like garbanzos, have A, B complex, C and E, pro-
The larger seeds, especially the beans, don’t turn into saladlike sprouts. The beans get soft, but they need to be cooked, just a little, before eating. Of these, my favorite were garbanzos.
They sprouted quickly into nice thick sprouts. Just a minute in the microwave with some water softened them up, and I snacked on a whole nutty-tasting bowl. Adzuki and mung were also good. They never sprouted as long and tender as the ones in the store, but I put my little crop in some fried rice for a minute, which added crunch and substance.
The plastic mesh tops worked a lot better than the cheesecloth tops, which got grody and rusty from the lids. Other methods for sprouting have been devised that aim to keep things well-drained to prevent rotting and cut down the need for rinsing.
Cincinnati Natural Foods sells a couple of sprouting appliances that would be worth checking out if you want to go beyond the mason jar and especially if you want sprouts in quantity. (Lids cost about $4 for three lids; special jars cost about $10, and a three-tray set runs about $25.)
Kay Sloan. They will award extra points for the succesful use of Greater Cincinnati locales. Submit five photocopies of each entry, which must be under 5,000 words, typed and doublespaced.
Submissions, of course, must be unpublished fiction. All manuscripts must be sent to the Mercantile Library, 414 Walnut St., Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. Please enclose a $15 entry fee. Deadline is April 1. Cincinnati Magazine will publish the winning story in their August issue. The winner will also receive $300 and round-trip airfare to the 1994 Santa Barbara Writers’ Conference, courtesy of AAA. The runner-up will receive $250 plus Mercantile membership. Third prize is $150 plus Mercantile membership and an honorable mention will grant you Mercantile membership. Call 621-0717 for more information.
messages from Indians with clues placed by naturalists. 3:30-4:45 p.m. Thursdays, starting Jan. 26. $15. Avon Woods, 4235 Paddock Road, Paddock Hills. 861-3435.... Ongoing classes are taking place 3:45-5 p.m. Tuesdays. $15 (prorated) California Woods Nature Preserve, 5400 Kellogg Ave. FREE GOLF CLINIC Golfers can keep their swings in shape this winter by participating in the Hamilton County Park District’s free golf clinic at the Meadow Links and Golf Academy in Winton Woods. 3 p.m. Sunday. West Sharon and Mill roads, Forest Park. 825-3701.
GUIDED HIKES All ages are invited to bundle up and join the Hamilton County Park District Naturalist for guided hikes along Tallgrass Prairie Trail. 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.Visitor Center, Miami Whitewater Forest, Mt. Hope Road, Crosby, Whitewater and Harrison Townships. 521-PARK.
GREAT GROUNDHOGS!
Visitors can learn about this furry forecaster. 1 p.m. Thursday. Woodland Mound, Old Kellogg, Anderson Township. 521-PARK
MAPLE SYRUP DAYS Visit the Sugar Camp at the Pioneer Village to see how tree sap is collected and cooked down to make a delicious treat. Samples, snacks and recipe books are included in the fee. $1 adults, $.50 children. Caesar Creek State Park, 8570 East State Route 73, Waynesville. 513-897-2437.
NATURALIST TRAINING IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS Cincinnati
Park Naturalists will offer environmental activities, studies in natural history and interpretive walks. Recommended for ages 11-14. 4-5:15 p.m. Tuesdays. Through March 21. $15. Avon Woods, 4235 Paddock Road, Paddock Hills. 861-3435.
NATURE’S CLUES Visitors can use their detective skills to identify native wildlife by the clues they’ve left behind. All ages are welcome. 3 p.m. Sunday. Seasongood Nature Center, Woodland Mound, Old Kellogg, Anderson Township. 521-PARK
PRESCHOOL NATURE CAMP
Spectator
CINCINNATI CYCLONES
IHL hockey vs. San Diego. 6 p.m. Sunday. $6-$12 adults; $4-$10 students. Cincinnati Gardens, 2250 Seymour Ave., Norwood. 531-7825.
TURFWAY PARK Live racing.
7 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 1:30 p.m. weekends. Simulcasts from Churchill Downs, Hollywood Park, Bay Meadows, Fairgrounds and Aqueduct. Parking $2, valet parking $3; grandstand admission
Children ages 4 and 5 explore a winter wonderland, celebrate groundhog day and test maple syrup. A different nature theme will be presented every week. Classes begin this Monday and will take place weekly from 12:30-2:15 p.m. $30. Avon Woods, 4235 Paddock Road, Paddock Hills. 861-3435.... An ongoing class takes place 12:30-2:30 p.m. every Monday through March 13. No class Feb. 20. $30 (pro-rated). California Woods Nature Preserve, 5400 Kellog Ave., California. 231-8678.
SENIOR STROLL Adults age 55 and over will witness Mother Nature’s early signs of spring when they join Hamilton County Park District Naturalist. 10 a.m. Tuesday. Visitor Center, Sharon Woods, US 42, Sharonville. 572-PARK.
UC BEARCATS UC men’s basketball vs. Marquette. 1:30 p.m. Sunday. $12 adults; buy one, get one free for UC students.
TREKKERS HIKE White-tailed deer will be the focus of the hike. 10 a.m. Sunday. Parcours Trail, Triple Creek, Buell Rd., Colerain Township. 572-PARK.
Shoemaker Center, Stadium Drive, University of Cincinnati, Clifton. 556-CATS.... UC women’s basketball vs. Marquette. 7:30 p.m. Friday. UC women’s basketball vs. DePaul. 5 p.m. Sunday. $3 adults; $1 children. Shoemaker Center, Stadium Drive, University of Cincinnati, Clifton. 556-CATS.
WEEKDAY BIRD WALK Participants will look for and learn about Hamilton County’s winter resident birds. 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. Great Oaks Trail, Winton Woods, Winton Road, Springfield Township. 572-PARK.
WINTER FUN FOR PRESCHOOLERS Preschoolers can explore a winter wonderland every Monday. 12:30-2:15 p.m. Through March 20. $30. Avon Woods, 4235 Paddock Road, Paddock Hills. 861-3435.
US HOT ROD GRAND SLAM MONSTER JAM Attention monster truck fans! The show takes place at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. $16 adults; $5 children. Riverfront Coliseum, 100 Broadway, Downtown. 721-1000.
BY JULJE LARSON
Suburban Torture
UouiVm x sWel \o r. ;. -W; N/aterv'V'V\’esT)fXM Spirit wUe* -fteujpK]l*Vs ffrra rtT {seen* ffeoplr Av\a here we. oal wVs-f-. | are. ju.jf ! r cr**h
Music
LIVE Alternative Rock giants with soul make their only area appearance. 8 p.m. March 24. Millet Hall, Miami University, Oxford. $12418. 749-4949.
Onstage
★ CINCINNATI BALLET Presents Giselle the story of impossible love with choreography by Frederic Franklin and music by Adolphe Adam. 8 p.m. Feb. 10, 2 and 8 p.m. Feb. 11. $16-$48. Music Hall, 1241 Elm St„ Over-the-Rhine. 749-4949.
DAYTON PHILHARMONIC CARILLON BRASS QUINTET AND THE PERCUSSION TRIO The Brass Quintet will perform tuba-player Steve Winteregg’s China Crossing. The Percussion Trio will perform Paul Goldstaub’s Six Slick Stix Click Licks and music by native Daytonian Daniel Levitan. 8 p.m. Feb. 11 and 2 p.m. Feb. 12. $10. Dayton Playhouse, DeWeese Parkway and Siebenthaler Avenue. 513-224-9000.
'fate j&umQir
Symphony performance and can be picked up at the Contemporary Arts Center. Call 230-5000 for more information.
LONGHORN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RODEO This year's rodeo salutes the American Indian. Feb. 10-12. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. $10 Friday, $8415 on the weekend. Riverfront Coliseum, 100 Broadway. Downtown. 721-1000.
DRAMA WORKSHOP Presents A. R. Gurney’s The Snowball. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday. Feb 10-12, Feb 17-18. $7. Westwood Town Hall, Montana and Harrison avenues, Westwood. 741-8303.
Opportunities
HISTORIC SOUTHWEST OHIO
FAHRENHEIT THEATRE
Seeks volunteers at its museums, the John Hauck House and historical Sharon Woods Village. Classes start Feb. 25 and will be held for five consecutive weeks. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays. Contact Elaine Krick at 563-9484.
Literary
★ MAYA ANGELOU The poet and author will give a presentation at NKU. 8 p.m. Feb. 27. $15 adults, $8 NKU faculty, $5 NKU students. Regents Hall, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights. 572-5146.
Presents the world premiere of Stacy Jordan’s The Color Wheel, the story of two young women struggling to survive and find love, happiness, and independence in 1990s America. Opens Feb. 16. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. $7.50 adults; $6 students and seniors; $5 groups of 12 or more. Carnegie Theatre, Carnegie Arts Center, 1028 Scott Blvd., Covington. 221-8777, Ext. 1.Gabriel’s Comer, 1425 Sycamore, Over-the-Rhine. 559-0642.
GISELLE: FROM PAGE 24
the Casino de Paris. His illustrious dancing career included stints with the Markova-Dolin Ballet and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, where as the premiere danseur he danced with Alexandra Danilova, Alicia Markova and Mia Slavenska. He and Slavenska formed their own company in 1951, and he also revived the Monte Carlo company with Maria Tallchief. In America, Franklin has been involved with dance companies as diverse as the American Ballet Theatre and the Dance Theatre of Harlem. He was honored by the Cincinnati Ballet in 1992 on the occasion of his 60th year in dance.
Anastos, who has worked with Cincinnati Ballet for many years, but who only recent took on his full-time role with the company, thinks that Giselle will appeal to an audience that may not know much about ballet. “It’s very romantic, an almost painful investigation of the passions and feelings between two people. Before Giselle, many ballets were retellings of myths, not very emotional at all. This was a big change.”
READING, WRITING AND ROMANCE The Ohio Valley’s Romance Writers of America hosts the day-long event. Stella Cameron, Virginia Henley, Jennifer Crusie and Brenda Chin will speak. Feb. 11. $25. Holiday Inn, 3422 Lylebum, Sharonville. 751-1892.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY THEATRE DEPARTMENT
Presents Pippin, one of the most popular musicals of the seventies, it features music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartx, creator of Godspell. Feb. 16-19 and 21-26.
JONATHAN VALIN Acclaimed mystery author discusses his new book, Missing. Noon. Feb 15. The lecture is free but lunch is available at 11:30 p.m. $6.50 members, $9 non-members. Reservations required by noon Feb. 6. Mercantile Library, 414 Walnut St., Downtown. 621-0717.
All performances are at 8 p.m., excepting Sundays, which begin at 3 p.m. $7 adult; $6 NKU faculty; $5 NKU students. Mainstage, NKU Theatre Department, Highland Heights. 572-5464.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY SYMPHONY BENEFIT —Nick Clooney hosts this nostalgic trip through time to the Golden Age of
In Giselle, the prince is a cad who breaks a young girl’s heart. That’s a story not too foreign to contemporary audiences, he maintains. The ballet’s second act moves into a spiritual realm, actually set in the hereafter and portraying what happens to the spirit and how love can survive and continue. “Yes, spiritual and romantic is how I’d characterize it. It’s not about sex, but on a higher plane.”
CURIOUS ABOUT UFO’S?
NerveNet offers free access to Paranet library files focusing on sightings, speculations, history, coverups, etc..UFO photo library. 751-7515. 28.8k
CUSTOM SYSTEMS IN MS
ACCESS
Database design and programming in a personable manner. Professional references available. For specifics call Speier Associates at 481-1828. USED IBM COMPUTERS
Do you want a computer, but don’t want to spend thousands on a brand new system? have used computers that will meet your needs. All are IBM compatible XTs, 8088s, 286s, and 386s. All under $600! also have •faxes, tape back-ups, modems, print-ers, and P.C. mouse. If you have any questions, please call me. Remember, don't buy a computer that's new until you see what mine can do! Call Kevin Birchfield at 598-9703 and leave a message.
am forming a new theater group and need four actresses and three male understudies. Experience helpful, but not necessary. am also seeking experienced production people: Call Phil at 831-0118.
MODELS
Art student looking for female models. No experience is necessary. Figure poses are required. Please call and leave a message, 557-3439.
ADVISOR
Psychic Reading, Spiritual Channeling, Bodywork and Metaphysical Healing. Serving the Midwest and Southeast including Cincinnati. Call Barry Helm at 1-800-239-9796, Extension 517-6061.
ASTROLOGY CLASSES
Professional reader and experienced
astrologer is offering beginner astrology classes. Every Monday starting March 27 through May 1, join in exploring your spiritual meaning and answer questions about personal concerns. Held at 18 Blossom Drive in Cold Spring, Kentucky. Cost is $50. Call Norita Ruehl for information and reservations, 606-441-0908.
DISCOVER YOURSELF
Appreciate your unique strengths. Discover yourself. Established astrologer interprets natal, progressed, transit, and event charts.
SPIRITUAL MINISTER Teacher, lecturer, and counselor offers group parties and individual services. For your personal tarot readings and astrology chart readings, call Deborah Wiliams at 606-371-7044.
THE GIFT OF PEACE Give yourself or your Valentine sixty minutes of peace. Visit Terri or Tori, and get a one hour massage for only $25. Inner Peace Massage, located' at 3907 Harrison Avenue. Stop in, or call for appointment 661-0302.
Business Opportunities
ASSOCIATES - 3 NEEDED Weight management/wellness and athletic performance programs. Earn $500-$5000+ per month, part-time. Complete training, immediate income potential. Moderate investment required. Call Ellie Bentz, 321-6989. ENVIRO-CONCEPTS
We are an environmental company, just starting in Cincinnati, that offers environmentally friendly alternative products. We are looking for people who like people, preferrably dynamic individuals with outgoing personalities. If you are looking for a job where you can't be fired or laid off. we need to talk. Part-time or full-time $500 to $5000+. Call Jerry, 721-8070.
Business
BEADS BEADS BEADS
Your complete jewelry and bead shop. We offer a variety of classes, including wire wrap jewelry and stained glass. Please call for details. Treasure Island Jewelry, 241-7893.
UNLOCKING DREAMS
Discover a creative and healing process by learning the importance of dream interpretation in your life. This workshop will teach how dreams mirror life, how to request dreams in specific areas of your life, and a simpie approach to decode the sumbology of your dreams. Call Duffy Hudson for information & reservations, 321-0446.
For Sale
CARD COLLECTION
Baseball and football card collection for sale. Includes thirty two 1933s, including Babe Ruth. Entire collection for $2500. Approximately 30,000 commons for $500. O.J. Simpson collection includes two O.J. rookie cards. Asking $800 or best offer. Call 271-2172.
KITCHEN APPLIANCE
Sunbeam Mixmaster electric mixer for sale. It comes with attachments, cover, stainless steel bowl, and adjustable speed control. Clean and in great condition! Call and leave a message, 921-3678.
NEW BIKE
Fully loaded GIANT Cadex 980C road bike is for sale. This 52 centimeter carbon fiber frame has Shimano components, a profile aero bar, and time racing pedals. It’s brand new, in excellent condition, and must go. Asking $475. Call Steve at 352-0780.
PRINTS
Six architectural prints for sale. All beautifully matted and framed, 22" x $4200
Help Wanted
CHILDREN’S MUSEUM
The Children’s Museum of Cincinnati is now hiring for part-time positions, including Reception Desk, operating cash registers, answering phones, general information), Front Door Security (assuring safe environment in lobby), Facility Maintenance (routine cleaning and maintenance), and Exhibit Maintenance (monitoring exhibits, general maintenance/repair).
Hours vary according to positionweekend hours available. $6 per hour. EOE. No phone calls please. Please send or fax resume to: Children’s Museum of Cincinnati-SL, 700 Pete Rose Way, Cincinnati, OH 45203-1892. 513-421-6245 (fax).
PERSONAL CARE ASSISTANTS
People with disabilities are seeking assistance to achieve .an independent lifestyle. Need assistance with personal hygiene, housekeeping, driving. Must be dependable and punctual. Transportation and telephone required. Call 241-2600.
Musician’s Exchange
ALTO SAXAPHONE
Bundy alto saxaphone with case, in good condition. Previously used by student who quit lessons. Asking $400 firm. Call and leave message on extension #1 or #2, 731-2887.
AMP STACK
Selling amp stack. Marshall MiniMosfet 100 with two four by ten cabinets. Asking $450. Call 731-0504.
BASS PLAYER & GUITARIST
Bass player (or guitarist who wants to play bass) and drummer to form the hottest, coolest, rockin’ out band in Cincinnati. No glam boys, and experience is not needed! Call Mickey, 553-0962.
DRUMMER Drummer, 31, seeks talented band or individuals playing various music (rock, fusion, alternative, original, etc.) other than country. New equipment and renewed interest after eight years away from the kit. Call Roger and leave message at 489-0463.
DRUMMER SEEKING BAND
Drummer seeks established jazz, fusion, or funk band. am also willing to form new band with other serious musicians. have over seventeen years of experience! Call Rob at 356-5346.
FLEA MARKET
Sunday, February 19, from noon to 5 p.m., join us at the Musicians Flea Market. Located at Bellevue Vets, Interstate 471 and Route 8, next to the Party Source. $3 for admission, $25 for booth space. Enter the door prize for an electric guitar! For more information, call Ron at 606-441-8001.
GIBSON GUITAR Gibson L12 Super 400 for sale. This one-of-a-kind is from 1953 and has been appraised at $15,000. Will sell for $8000 or best offer. Call 271-2172.
GUITAR AMP Ampeg 150 watt, two channel guitar amp for sale. In
SEEKING
BackBeaf
Classifieds 665*4700
CUSTOM GIFT SERVICE
For employees, associates & personal buying needs.
Fabulous custom made gift baskets. Free shipping anywhere in the USA Fragrances, lingerie, chocolates, stuffed animals, something for everyone! CALL 481-7161.
USED IBM COMPUTERS UNDER $500 Kevin 598-9703. Leave Message. See classified ad on inside page!
CAFEZ
Comfort food, homemade daily TRY OUR HOMEMADE MEATLOAF AND DIRTY MASHED POTATOES 227 W. 9th St, 651-3287
CINCINNATI RECREATION
ROWING & FITNESS CENTER
$40 PER QUARTER
Located at Montgomery Inn at The Boathouse. Call 241-BOAT.
ROCK & ROLL PHOTOGRAPHY
Promo photos, studio work, on-location shoots. Call Lisa at Equus, 281-2733.
PROFESSIONAL SOUND STUDIO
24 track digital technology at an affordable rate. Call an experienced sound engineer at BACKSTAGE STUDIOS 292-8863
ONLY ARTISTS
CONTEMPORARY FOLK ART GALLERY presents a new inventory of works by Howard Finster, Michael Finster, R.A Miller, Mose T., and others. Tuesday- Saturday 11 AM.-5 P.M. 1315 Main St, Over-the- Rhine 241-6672
DON’T MISS ACUMEN Thursday, February 9 TOPCATS
Short Vine next to firehouse
AFFORDABLE MASSAGE! Roselawn, male therapist, $25/hr 284-3421
THE VILLAGE INDIAN COLLECTION
Newjewelry & merchandise from Phoenix & Seattle- stop by and see our latest finds! 6921 Miami Ave. Madeira 561-5525
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: What, in your mind, is the biggest
AVALON CLOTHING CO. YOUR PARACHUTE PANTS STORE FOR THE ’90S 230 West McMillan 651-3847
BAD HABIT
LIVE ROCK-N-ROLL, FEB. 3 & 4 CLUB ONE
BELKIN PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS: TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS
SUNDAY, MARCH 12, 7:30 P.M.
CINCINNATI GARDENS
With special guest Pete Droge Tickets on sale now at Garden’s box office, all Ticketmaster location, or by phone at 749-4949
CORPORATE VIDEO EDITING Training videos, product promotions, videotaped meetings. Phone or fax for information, 541-9078. DREAMSAND VIDEO & PRINT
OPEN MIC. NIGHT EVERY WEDNESDAY, 8PM Sing it, dance it, play it, shout it! EMPIRE 8th & State, 921-8008.
CATCH PORTERHOUSE AT SALAMONE’S ON FRIDAY FEBRUARY 10TH WITH THE PSYCHODOTS
JAZZ LIVE! FROM THE HYATT GUITARIST WILBERT LONGMIRE Saturday, February 4, 8 p.m. 151 West 5th Street, 579-1234
INNER PEACE
COFFEE!
FRESH, LOCALLY ROASTED BEANS KAFFEE KLATSCH 120 E. 4th St Mercantile Arcade 721-2233
KATMANDU CAFE Saturday, February 4 RADIO TOKYO 1811 Monmouth In the Newport Shopping Center WHERE NOTHING IS ORDINARY LeftHanded Moon 48 E. Court St, 784-1166
MOONSHINE SCREEN PRINTING
T-shirts, hats, bumper stickers. Full art staff. 1-523-7775
MULLANE’S PARKSIDE CAFE
Lunch & dinner. Great food. Art shows. Vegetarian specialties 723 RACE ST. 381-1331 FREE