Doris Day: A Great Cincinnati Native in Relation to Some Other ‘50s Icons

     This is the 50th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s death.  Audrey Young, Billy Wilder’s wife, always thought that she accidentally overdosed on pills because many stars were taking such medications at that time.  I think she was right.  All of the conspiracy theories are artfully reasoned ‘docudrama.’  Monroe was an extraordinary screen presence – her skin really does shimmer when she’s onscreen and even in a third rate James M. Cain knockoff like Niagara, she’s the only element worth watching.  So, let’s take a moment to remember MM, but now I’d like to focus on the biggest star of that era, who also replaced MM in the film that eventually became Move Over, Darling.  

     Doris Day’s With a Smile and a Song is a recently released two-disc compilation that she selected, produced by TCM, and released by Sony.  As she states in the notes, “I am so thrilled

A Day (of Eating) in Pompeii

A Pompeiian Meal in 79 A.D.

A Garum
(Fish Sauce) Jug
with Petrified
Oyster Shells
and Peach Seed

       One thing that struck me most during my visit to A Day in Pompeii at the Cincinnati Museum Center was the similarities between our two cultures—2,000 years apart.  That was most readily seen when viewing the Food and Dining gallery in the exhibit.  One thinks of this culture as being ancient, yet they were almost as civilized as today with their culinary offerings.  They had three meals a day with breakfast and lunch mostly eaten on the run (sound familiar?) stopping en route to

It's the Sign of the Times for Camp Washington

Gold Leaf and Glass Techniques

      Essex Studio was home to the American Sign Museum from its beginning in 2005.  Now they're in a former women's clothing and parachute factory in Camp Washington, best known for its chili parlor.  We were at their sneak preview party and excited to see the signs displayed in a museum setting rather than the stacked and leaning against the wall approach used at their former home.

Entrance to the American Sign Museum

Two New Award-Winning Mystery Writers, One of Whom is Breathtaking

     Lori Roy won the Edgar for Best First Novel this year for Bent Road.  Gillian Flynn won a number of awards for her first novel, was nominated for her second, and has what should probably be a bestseller with her third (and I say this without

"Beasts of the Southern Wild": Inimitable

     Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild is a one-of-a-kind surreal experience from a child’s point of view that both imagines and presents an apocalypse based on climate change.  However, this might be a metaphor for a child coming to terms with her place in the universe and in understanding her relationship with her difficult parents.  Neil didn’t believe that the movie presented the narrative in chronological order and he’s right.  In thinking through exactly what happened to the little girl Hush Puppy and her father Wink, some of it had to be in her imagination.

Quevenzhané Wallis and Dwight Henry

     Quevenzhané Wallis as Hush Puppy and Dwight Henry as Wink are remarkable.  The other performers that inhabit the delta area south of New Orleans that they’ve named ‘the Bathtub’ have the faces and attitudes of people caught

Enzo’s: Good Food and Coffee in OTR's Hottest Area

      Enzo’s opened in Highland Heights nine years ago and quickly established itself as the lunch spot for many people working at NKU.  This took owners Al and Al jr. Enzo by surprise because they wanted to focus on being a coffee/latté shop.  The food was good (the soups came from the same supplier that works with Panera) and the coffee drinks were excellent.  In 2006, Enzo’s moved to downtown Cincinnati as part of the City Council’s and 3CDC’s move to revitalize the central core with local, independent businesses.  It was a sad day for northern Kentucky, but it made sense for Enzo’s.

Contemporary Italian Interior

     Jump forward to 2012 and Enzo’s is still downtown and across the street from the School for the Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) and the newly renovated Washington Park.  There’s edgy artwork by the SCPA students on the

Washington Park: Finally a Place for All

The Entrance Featuring Rookwood Tiles

      I first heard about a renovation of Washington Park in Over-the-Rhine while paying a visit to the Schickel Design Company in 2007 that faces the then dilapidated city park.  When the plans were released in 2010, I was excited about what the area was to become.  On Friday, July 6, 2012 the vision came to life with the opening of the city's latest reconstruction of Washington Park.

Hand-Painted Silk Flags
for the Park Opening

      The opening coincided with the city's hosting of the World Choir Games.  Hand-painted silk flags helped draw attention to the central feature, a historic American bandstand completely restored and modernized.  The banners displayed the works of local artists telling the story of a person or organization associated with the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood.  The flags remain in the park until September 2012.  

"Moonrise Kingdom": This was a Literate, Middle-Class Childhood During Camelot

     Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom looked quirky, peculiar, and downright funny in its preview.  When we finally saw it, I turned to Neil after about thirty seconds and said, “Is this supposed to be set in 1962?”  A moment later, a postmarked letter showed that it was 1965.  That’s when quirky and peculiar were replaced by ‘oh, this is a period movie’ and it’s for families.  Actually, its target audience is the

Gateway Quarter Lab Takes Flight

Dexter Explores the Gateway Quarter

     Our trip to 1215 Wine Bar and Coffee Lab was for one purpose—dessert and coffee.  We had dined at Bakersfield OTR next door with Ann and Woody and since they don't have any sweets on the menu, our Bakersfield server suggested the lab.  On an earlier walk by one Saturday night the mood

Gone Girl: Believe The Hype – This is an Instant Classic

     Gillian Flynn’s latest novel Gone Girl is the number one bestseller.  It places Flynn in the front ranks of American novelists, regardless of genre, gender, or anything else.  Like other reviewers, I don’t want to give away too much because part of the very adult fun of this work is that the narrative clips along like a kaleidoscope (Flynn's earlier Dark Places was