Thursday, October 12, 2000

» Corporate punishment
RTMark is the name of a loosely organized band of heavy-duty pranksters whose goal is to embarrass, annoy, or otherwise gum up the works of big business -- any big business. And it's fronted by a noted New Orleans poet.

» The Real Unemployment Line
FastBand, the high-tech, high cost and highly ambitious Internet live radio feed that opened on Bourbon Street last fall with much ado, has closed its operations.

» Broadway bound?
Harry Connick Jr. and choreographer Susan Stroman prep a new New Orleans musical

» Net's a good place to mean business
When it comes to business, the old adage "location, location, location," definitely applies. And nowadays, one of the best locations for businesses, old and new, is the Internet.

» THURDAY'S Calendar
Wine Tastings & Events Martin Wine Cellar, 3827 Baronne St. "Whose Wine Is It Anyway?" with a panel of wine consultants, 6:30. Fee is $28. Reservations required. Call 899-7411.

» SCOOP DU JOUR
The 1997 vintage was magnificent in Tuscany, Italy, and that means some extraordinary values in the middle price ranges. This full, rich, intensely flavored red wine has the class of a fine Chianti Classico at half the price. There's tremendous structure, excellent black cherry and herbal flavors and an unusually long finish for a wine in its price class. It would be a great companion to grilled red meat or poultry.

Wednesday, October 11, 2000

» First-rate second bananas
Divas Bette and Baranski will have stellar support when their back-to-back sitcoms premiere tonight

» CANDID CLINTON
The meeting with the Dalai Lama, the Monica Lewinsky ‘pizza night,' a campaign strategy session in a public restroom -- Robert McNeely saw it all in six years as official White House photographer. He's compiled his favorite pictures in a book that has its official premiere Thursday in New Orleans.

» Weird Al, prince of parody, can really rock
The fans were hardcore, waving arms above their heads, swaying to the music and shouting out the words to favorite songs. The light show and could have been right out of the "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," zillions of intense spots veering out in all directions. And the excellent sound system had the Saenger Theatre rocking.

» Wednesday's Calendar
Moonlight Canoe Tour Jean Lafitte National Historical Park, Barataria Preserve. Moonlight canoe tour, 6:30. Reservations required; must provide your own canoe. Call 589-2330, ext. 10.

» Look at vision surgery from all angles
After Tiger Woods had Lasik eye surgery, he won PGA tournaments left and right. Of course, he was winning them before he had the operation.

Tuesday, October 10, 2000

» Bazzle dazzle
Gregarious golf instructor Glennon Bazzle inspires his students, who range in age from 7 to 70, to ‘Swing Out With Clout' -- and with a smile

» WILLIAM PETER BLATTY
William Peter Blatty, son of Lebanese immigrants, wrote funny films in his younger days, including the first Pink Panther movie, "A Shot in the Dark," and "What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?" He also wrote at least 10 other films and close to 10 novels, and various non-fiction texts.

» PARENTS & CHILDREN Calendar
Charles Shaughnessy and Caroline Rhea star in the Disney Channel's "Mom's Got A Date With A Vampire."

» Tuesday's Calendar
Cooking Demonstrations & Events Crescent City Farmers Tuesday Market, 200 Broadway. Chef Pedar Tillung of Zoe Bistro, noon. Call 861-5898.

» 90 seconds clinches first impression
First impressions are powerful tools that can influence one's success in the business and social worlds. They also can be misleading.

Monday, October 09, 2000

» Now I know my ATMs
A new Children's Museum exhibit teaches kids that money doesn't grow in machines.

» How to raise money-smart kids
-- Communicate your values concerning money -- how to save it, make it grow and spend it wisely.

» Eager to please
Geena Davis lights up her new show, which falls well short of her outsized personality

» Thanks for the memoirs
'Angela's Ashes' author Frank McCourt has perfected the art of writing about self

» KID STUFF
Rivertown Repertory Theatre's Imagine Theatre for Children opens its 2000-2001 season with "Mysterio!" a new comedy written and directed by Gary Rucker. The show stars local comic actors Jamie Montelepre, Kalon Thibodeaux, Greg Stratton and Chip Stelz.

» PARENTS & CHILDREN Calendar
Charles Shaughnessy and Caroline Rhea star in the Disney Channel's "Mom's Got A Date With A Vampire."

» Monday's Calendar
Arts & Culture Among Alligators Cypress Swamp Tours, Bayou Segnette, 501 Laroussini St., Westwego. The arts festival features paintings and a sculpture garden, along with performances, 9:30 a.m.-5:30. Free. Call 581-4501.

Sunday, October 08, 2000

» An inviting view
Carnival ball invitations of the late 1800s were as extravagant as the galas themselves, and works of art in their own right. So says historian Henri Schindler, who celebrates these ‘Mardi Gras Treasures' in a lavish new book and an exhibit at the Presbytere.

» Isn't it romantic?
People love love stories. And it's hard to write a good one. That's how bestselling author Nicholas Sparks explains his success.

» PICTURES FROM THE PAST
Russell Hebert (in a light suit) and Bonnie Schorr (wearing a corsage) are surrounded by family and friends on Oct. 9, 1950, as they prepare to leave New Orleans for their Destin, Fla., honeymoon in their 1940s model Ford.

» Club dread
Tired of car alarms conducting the same old symphony every other day? Sick of dogs dumping on your lawn? Aggravated because your car's front end always needs re-alignment thanks to New Orleans streets? Ticked off because your rear end is losing the battle to gravity?

» Sunday's Calendar
Arts & Culture Among Alligators Cypress Swamp Tours, Bayou Segnette, 501 Laroussini St., Westwego. The arts festival features paintings, a sculpture garden and music performances, 9:30 a.m.-5:30. Free. Call 581-4501.

Saturday, October 07, 2000

» 'PETER' FLIES AGAIN
Cathy Rigby's new ‘Peter Pan' adaptation for A&E has lots of Disney-like dazzle, but little of that old, Mary Martin magic.

» The real Cathy Rigby
"Peter Pan" is preceded on A&E by a "Biography" episode titled "Cathy Rigby: Finding the Balance," a cheery overview of a life that would seem to have had more than its share of unhappiness.

» In Search of the Expressionist spirit
German Expressionists were a specific group of artists working in a specific place at a specific time. But the term expressionist is much more general.

» Cathy Rigby didn't need flying lessons
"I'd never used an accent before this production," Cathy Rigby said via satellite during the summer TV critics press tour in Hollywood. "It just added that little extra magic, I think."

» Prior ‘Peter Pans'
Maude Adams -- who specialized in J.M. Barrie roles -- brought "Peter Pan" to the American stage in 1905.

» The 60-second interview
There's not much I can tell you about John McCain that you don't already know. He's the son of a son of an admiral, a third-generation Navy man. Shot down over Hanoi in ‘67. Offered early release by his captors, he refused, stayed with his men. Five years as a Vietnam P.O.W.

» Saturday's Calendar
Arts & Culture Among Alligators Cypress Swamp Tours, Bayou Segnette, 501 Laroussini St., Westwego. The arts festival with paintings, a sculpture garden and performances, 9:30 a.m.-5:30. Free. Call 581-4501.

Friday, October 06, 2000

» The secret rose garden
Tucked inauspiciously between a gas station and a quick-lube joint on the West Bank, Beth Smith's little nursery has quietly developed a cult following for its unsurpassed collection of old-garden roses.

» House Notes
What: St. Charles Avenue is the subject of the premiere episode of cable network HGTV's half-hour series featuring homes on famous American streets.

» Lam chops
The premise, you know by heart. An unjustly accused man flees The Man while simultaneously pursuing the man who committed the crime for which he's accused.

» Playing chicken
Everything you ever wanted to know, but were afraid to ask, about a certain dance

» When it's cooler, get growing
Cooler mornings in October make it a joy to get out and work in the vegetable garden. A number of delicious and nutritious vegetables will thrive in the coming cool season. Indeed, some of our favorite vegetables can be grown only from October through March.

» Steps to take when you're facing a stalker
At first it seemed merely like unwanted attention. He wrote notes and continued to call even after you ask him to stop. Then he began following you, spying on your every move. Now you're paranoid, and rightly so.

» Green Thumb
"Water is renewal. Without it, plants and people die. It cleans the body and soothes the soul. And if it would come only when it was wanted, the world would be a green and glorious place. But it doesn't, and from earliest times people have devised ways to regulate it -- dikes to hold back floods and ditches to send river into drought-parched fields.