CincyVoices would like to congratulate all the teams who screened videos in last nights Best of Cincinnati for The 48 Hour Film Project.

For your viewing pleasure here is the Best of Cincinnati Winner:

The Grind – A Musical About Porn

-Loki, Founder and Publisher

I was 8 when I saw my first opera on PBS  in our tiny living room.  I don’t remember the name but I do remember the finery of the costumes, the majesty of the set and those soaring voices in a language I didn’t understand.  I asked my mom if we would ever see it live.  She laughed, “Honey, opera is for rich people.”

Flash forward 12 years later and I sat in the back of a classroom at Morehead State looking at the score to Mozart’s The Magic Flute my mother’s words echoing in my mind.  My peers were engaged in a lively discussion regarding the piece and I sat frantically trying to write down every word feeling like a spy in a dark alley peering into a lighted window.

This past April I walked into the Fine Art’s Fund BOARDway Bound program these thoughts again flittered just behind my pupils; I was once more crashing the party.  Earlier that month, I had written in my journal all the reasons why I shouldn’t apply for the program: I wasn’t traveled enough, networked enough, rich enough, connected enough, skilled enough…simply not enough.  Who did I think I was doing something like this-me? On an art board?  I put down my pen, wrote a Letter of Intent, updated my resume, filled out the application and dashed off an email.  My justification: I simply wanted to learn something new.

The program consisted of 3 meetings with 8-12 hours of online work between each meeting.  We covered Board Member Responsibilities, Financial Management and Staff Responsibilities, and Fundraising and an Overview of Engagement.  The meetings were informative and focused on application of what we learned on the website.  We heard from various Directors from Clifton Cultural Arts Center, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, and The Carnegie. The idea behind this program is to put together a Board Bank or a collection of individuals who are interested in participating on an art board within the smaller arts organizations in Cincinnati and the surrounding communities.  The Fine Arts Fund appears to be taking more of a community development direction with this program and The Arts Ripple Effect - billed as a “Research-Based Strategy to Build Shared Responsibility for the Arts.”

I learned much from this program; how an art board functions, the mission of an art organization and the how that mission effects financial decision-making.  However, the best was a new defintion of art and how art fits into my own life.

What makes a person rich? seeing a mural on a wall; teaching a child the art of clowning; painting a street; hearing original, independent music on Fountain Square; or seeing an original, contemporary play.  That which makes an individual rich is what makes a community rich.

Last weekend I saw my first Cincinnati opera, La Boheme courtesy of tickets from Enjoy the Arts. 

Hey mom, I’m one of the rich people now.

BOARDway Bound Video

*All photos courtesy of Fine Arts Fund

Wednesday, July 14 was the local premiere of 4192: The Crowning of the Hit King at AMC Newport on the Levee.  The documentary focused solely on Rose’s on-field accomplishments and left his off-field antics off the screen.  Rose narrated nearly all of the film giving some very in-depth information and stories behind his now mythical statistics.

The movie is gratuitous and fairly sappy;  however the scenic views of Riverfront and the beautiful Crosely Field are outstanding.  This turns out to be not a documentary about a controversial ball player as much a commentary on Cincinnati history.  The Anderson Ferry shot in the beginning of the film is a lovely historical moment and Rose’s narrative is surprisingly witty, poignant and, at times, just fascinating.  When Rose talks of playing with Stan Musial during his last game, the brawl with Harrelson or his respect for Bob Gibson; it’s like listening to a cool grandpa revealing interesting stories while on a tour.  He reminds one of the many small psychological tidbits that make Baseball a study of human interaction. 

The audience at the film was just outstanding: I have never seen so many vintage tee shirts  covered by autographs and I would wager most had not been worn in 20+ years.  Folks were jovial, talking with complete strangers in line and bonding over unique Cincinnati history.

Seeing the film also brings out amusing anecdotes of “where were you” and sure enough, on our way home, Not-A-Hubs told his story of peddling his bike up Purcell Ave. as fast as he could.  His neighbor had called and was making the claim that you could hear the Riverfront crowd from the top of Purcell Ave.  Turns out he was right.  4192 reminded me of playing Knothole softball for 13 years in Trenton.  I played all outfields, third, and catcher (my favorite).  I was not a strong hitter but I could field hard and sprint.  My jersey was #14.   It also reminded me why Rose is such an everyman and gives life to the longing appeal that we do have control of our destinies despite whatever humbling beginnings from which we hail.  The same reason I wore #14 is the same reason I read all of Kurt Vonnegut’s writings.  Pete Rose was truly Fanfare for the Common Man.

If you are a Baseball, Reds, or Cincinnati fan then the up-coming DVD is an essential snapshot of Cincinnati history.  The footage, stories, stats and legacy are all worth the price of admission.  You can keep track of when the DVD is released on Facebook and Twitter.

“I was the 13th player to collect my 3000 and got my hit on 9-11. I’m a weird dude.” (Pete Rose)

While the film was worth the $20 per ticket price, the AMC was not.  No signs told us to check our ticket in on the first floor before treading up to the third where there was once again no signs telling patrons the two theatre numbers.  If you hadn’t bothered to look at your ticket you would not have known which one to go to because you surrendered your ticket downstairs.  We did get the right theatre only to find it labeled with a different movie title.  Rose made an appearance and said a few words that no one understood because the microphone was crackling and for the first 5 minutes of the film the lights were left on.

Barking Fish Entertainment = A

AMC Newport on the Levee = F

Film Premiered in LA

Best Documentary in All Sports Los Angeles Film Festival

I’m a geek, pure and simple. I work online, I love science fiction, I’m a huge fan of technology and I watch Dr. Who.

Purely by chance this afternoon I stumbled across this extremely silly video and felt the undeniable urge to share it with all of my fellow geeks here in Cincinnati. The Doctor Who Chicken Dance.  It works on another level as well: the Doctor has a fine tradition of broadcast and fans here in the Queen City. Just check out this archived article from Cincinnati Magazine back in 1987- The Magnetic Dr.Who.

I know it ends with Happy Easter, oh well. It’s still a hugely amusing piece of work. So, without further ado, The Doctor Who Chicken Dance

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC56XQ-8bx4

This one goes out to Yottaquest Fantasy Gaming, The Southwestern Ohio Gathering of Gamers, CincyCon, Sci-Fi City, The Sci-FiCincinnati Book Club, and all of my other fellow geeks in the Queen City!

-Loki, Founder and Publisher

Local, it’s what CincyVoices is supposed to be about. Those who know my work in New Orleans before coming up here know that I’m a huge believer in supporting the local creative and business ecosystems.  As a result I’ll be popping up here and there with “Hey, look at this!” sort of post. Today is one of those days.

Early in January, right after  we launched this blog, I wrote about a local filmmaker named E.E. Charlton-Trujillo that I had met at a garage sale in Northside a few months before. I did a quick bit about her efforts with Fallen and later did an audiocast interview with her about that same project. Well, she has a new one out there and its pretty high profile. A music video for Moby.

Now comes the part where I ask you for something. A moment of your time and a vote for a local creator. Why is your vote so important? I’ll allow the creator in question to answer that for herself. Here is a  video they just posted to YouTube on that exact subject:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpzkRNOIeNc

So go check out the video [link below] and vote. Even better, vote and then tell a few friends. Don’t you like the idea of the world seeing  the Queen City whenever this Moby Video plays?

So don’t wait go to The Moby WAIT FOR ME video.

• Then click VOTE.
• You can option out of creating an account and simply list your email.
• An email confirmation will be sent to you.
• You must click the confirmation for it to count.

No, we are not affiliated. I just like to support local creators. Yes, this is a graet thing to do and only takes a moment.

So what are you waiting for?

-Loki, CincyVoices Founder and Curator
Image via MyJon on Flickr / CC 2.0

We had the opportunity to sit down with Tyler Middendorf and E.E. Charlton-Trujillo, producers of the local film project Fallen which we wrote about last week. It seemed the perfect place to test drive our first audio cast for CincyVoices.

Thanks for listening, let us know what you think of this format for our audiocasts!

-Loki, CincyVoices Founder

Nestled away in Northside is a modest home, one you would not spare a second glance at normally, in which the story of a fallen angel is being played out. This is the world E.E. Charlton-Trujillo, film maker and award winning novelist, and it’s being brought to life right here in Cincy.

Other reviews frequently draw comparisons to Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Joan of Arcadia, although I agree with Elizabeth Crowe at the Examiner in seeing a lot of Heroes influences as well.

In Fallen Jamie Watson is the protagonist who discovers she is the last reincarnation of a warrior from Heaven. Her destiny is to save the world or perish with it. Add in the brother character trying to keep her from this knowledge and a group that call themselves The Seekers trying to reveal it and the potential is obvious.

Unlike Buffy the character of Jamie Watson is utterly devoid of superpowers. A deep, complex and troubling history but other than that her primary strength is that she is just an ordinary girl.

Charlton-Trujillo has engaged a wide array of local talent in realizing her vision, a vision filmed in and around the Northside neighborhood. So it is that fallen angels have come to Cincinnati.

As Ms. Crowe pointed out in her Examiner review last September, one of the great things about the project is that it is a purely Cincinnati production. Just take a look at her assessment of the cast:

Even better is the fact that this movie brings much-needed attention to Cincinnati’s film scene.  Most of the actors are from the Greater Cincinnati Area.  Michele Fink, a local high school and CCM student plays Jamie; Tyler Middendorf, a Kentucky native and previously seen in “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” plays Gabriel; Ron Burrage, a Playhouse regular, is Devon;  Andrew Jenkins, or Dante Jordan in the show, was born and raised in Cincinnati and now attends The Ohio State University; Matthew Gallagher (Fly Park) is a local movie maker; Sydney Clark (Sage) is from Cincinnati and is managed by local talent agency P.C. Goenner; and Natalia Sezer (Quinn) is a middle school student at Cincinnati’s Summit CDS.

Another interesting thing, especially to me since this is my field, she’s been bringing it to the Internet. There are currently five webisodes online, a series of teasers that are getting a lot of attention lately. While not a complete series, they are well worth checking out. She is trying to generate enough online buzz to help with a TV pitch. If that’s successful then we’ll get to see the fully realized version.

Check out the new extended version of the trailer.

If that seems to your taste then you should take a look at the webisodes, there are currently five online and two more that I know of planned for the near future. (BTW,  I advise that you read some of the background info first as these are not meant to be a complete series, more a showcase of the characters and major plot threads.)

We’re working on getting our schedules together to do an audio cast with E.E. Charlton-Trujillo, hopefully within the next week or two. If you have any questions you’d like us to ask just leave them in the comments.

In the meantime you can support the local arts by stopping by the websites below.

Fallen The Series | Charlton-Trujillo’s Website

Until next time,

Loki, CincyVoices Founder