Thursday, June 29, 2000
Qualls off to grad school, says city still her home
Hmmmm. She's leaving, but she's not. She's going to grad school, but not as a student. She'll graduate but not with a diploma. Dang, Miss Roxanne Qualls, this is confusing.
Turns out the former mayor has been officially notified that she has won a Loeb Fellowship in Harvard University's Graduate School of Design, the oldest architecture and planning school in the country.
“I'm one of 11 Loeb fellows. It means I'll study at any school at Harvard and do a project.”
Like homework?
“Exactly. I'm thinking about looking at the politics of urbanism to answer the question of why some cities design projects that work, while others design ones that never work. Is it leadership? The citizens?”
Hmmm. Wanna relate that to stuff here?
“It's about how to make cities something other than warehouses for people, building new communities and restoring old ones and making it work. Cincinnati has a lot that do it well — Westwood, Hyde Park, Mount Lookout.
“Cincinnati is still home, so no, I'm not moving. I'll be back a lot. This is just an opportunity to study with 10 other people at mid-career, from different backgrounds, and learn a lot.
“Plus, I get a certificate suitable for framing. But no diploma.”
CyberBlondie: Well for goodness sakes, look who's selling Blondie stuff in cyberspace. It's Cincinnati's Go Forward.
It has a pile of stuff from lead singer Debbie Harry, says Go Forward spokeswoman April Kincaid.
GF is a therapeutic riding center for children and adults with disabilities. The Colerain Township facility is not for profit and gets no public funds, so it needs money.
“I work on Debbie's Web site,” Kincaid says, “so I sent her a letter explaining the program and asking for an autographed item. Three days later, a huge box of stuff arrived.”
First item, a script from Blondie's 1981 gig on Saturday Night Live, went for $200. Second, a handmade doll with Harry's face — used in a '70s vintage video — brought $600.
To come: Another doll; a life-size standup of the band; signed copy of No Exit, the '98 reunion CD; a tour jacket.
Goal is to raise $5,600 to buy a disabled-accessible carriage. The auction's on ebay.
CyberSneed: Elsewhere in cyberspace, Cincinnati comedian Josh Sneed is looking good.
Sneed, a computer techie at P&G and emcee at Go Bananas comedy club, is in an online talent search run by Ed McMahon for singers, dancers, comedians, models. It's a Star Search deal where hopefuls submit performance tapes, then people who visit www.nextbigstar.com vote for their favorites.
It's week 11 and Sneed is still standing, hoping to advance to the semifinals. Hoping really hard, on account of the prize is $10,000 and a ton of bookings.
Go to his Web site — www.joshsneed.com — and link to Star. That gets you in his e-mail address book for updates and reminders to vote.
Knip's Eye View appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Have an item to report? Call Jim Knippenberg at (513) 768-8513; fax: 768-8330.
