Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 13

Pittsburgh J)ost-Taicltc 3 SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1989 13 CITY SCEME5PASS THE FASHION PLATE STARWATCHSILENCE PAGESWRITER'S SOLUTION with the Jones Brewing Smithton, will be among four beers to be made at the North Side brewery. Soprano Kathleen Battle, who will give a recital on the Benedum Headliners series March 11, has become one of the most elusive stars in today's opera world. Presently in rehearsals at the Metropolitan Opera, she keeps very much to herself. So far, she has failed to appear for scheduled interviews with the Post-Gazette and the Pittsburgh Press, and even her agent a representative from the Herbert Breslin Office says he is unable to get in touch with her. You can hear her next week, however, via recordings on WQED-FM, which has designated itself "the official Battle station," and sources say it's pretty certain she will show up in person on the 11th.

Ly -V 4 The Fashion Group of Pittsburgh has named its Fashion Plate awardees for 1989. For contributions' in the field of art, Henry Koerner, beauty, Victor Manno; entertainment, Jo Negri; food Jane Citron; home, Louie J. Talotta; media, Bill Burne; photography, Cosimo Zaccaria; retailing-department store, Robert A. O'Connell; retailing-independent store, Janice Friedman; and volunteerism, Peggy Mulvihill. The awards will be presented May 20 at the Rivers Club.

Pianist Christopher O'Riley gets a nice splash in the March issue of Vogue magazine where he is pictured in formal attire and described as a maverick and a wit. The publication also says he is "one of the brightest of the younger generation of American pianists" and that his musical ideas are thoughtful and convincing. The 32-year-old former Pittsburgher and Allderdice grad, who now lives in New York, is the son of Ceci Sommera, station manager of WQED-FM. Sommers said her son was precocious and started taking piano lessons at age 5. He learned to read on record jackets.

She said O'Riley doesn't get his talent from her. "I manage a classical radio station and don't even read a note," Sommers said. The first new license to brew beer commercially in Pittsburgh since Prohibition is finally in the hands of Tom Paatoriua, owner of the Pennsylvania Brewing Co. Pastorius' company in the renovated Eberhardt and Ober brewery on the North Side, will be making its German-style beers next month and plans to have its restaurant and tavern operation going by May, Pastorius said. He has dispatched his 24-year-old brewmaster, Alex Demi, to Germany to obtain a traditional German yeast.

Penn Pilsner, currently made under contract In mysteries, as in evolution, what comes first the crime or the solution? For children's writer Donald Sobol, it's the solution. That technique has been the road to success for the author of the "Encyclopedia Brown" mystery series. Sobol's first, "Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective" appeared in 1963. His 17th, "Encyclopedia Brown and The Case of the Treasure Hunt," published by Bantam, is the latest, and an 18th is due soon. A pretty good track record for an author whose first manuscript was rejected by 26 publishers until one accepted it.

"I'm constantly reading. At one time, I had 35 different publications coming into the house each month," said Sobol from his Miami home. "I look for facts and put them on an index card. When it's time to write, I rummage through the card file looking for solutions that are within the framework of a child's knowledge. Then I come up with the story." Today Sobol will be at the Pinocchio Bookstore, in Shadyside Village, 826 S.

Aiken from noon to 1 p.m. to sign autographs. Novelist John Champagne, a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh, will read from his new novel, "The Blue Lady's Hands" just published by Lyle Stuart, tonight at the Carson Street Gallery, 1102 E. Carson South Side, at 8. Called by the American Library Association's Booklist "the first gay novel that is truly post-AIDS in consciousness," "The Blue Lady's Hands" is the story of a gay man's struggles with his relationships.

The reading is free and open to the public. The Taproot Literary Review, a local publication, has named the winners of its literary contest: Sue Elkind, Pittsburgh, first prize for poetry; Lisa Sopka, Gibsonia, second prize for poetry; Judith Casey, Pittsburgh, first prize for fiction; and Rex Downey Beaver Falls, second prize for fiction. Thomas E. Cox The Allegheny Brewery, which houses Pastorius' company, is one of several recent major economic projects launched in part by the North Side Civic Development Council. Tonight, the council's director for 10 years, Thomas E.

Cox, will be honored at a farewell party at the Brewery. Cox is leaving for Cleveland to head a new community-business coalition recently started to push redevelopment efforts there. Nancy Schaefer, an organizer of the party, said about 350 business, civic and political leaders have been invited. "The response from Downtown has been surprisingly silent," she said, adding that only state Rep. Tom Murphy, D-North Side, and city Councilman Ben Wood have indicated they'll attend.

There's been no word from Mayor Masloff. 4 4s Ay- H1 4 DOSSIERSINGER Richard Pryor Comedian Richard Pryor has been ordered to pay $3,500 a month more in child support for a 22-month-old son fathered with a showgirl extra who said she lives in a roach-infested apartment in Houston. Celebrity attorney Marvin Mitchelson represented Geraldine Mason in her bid to have payments from Pryor, 48, increased to $4,500 a month Soul singer Isaac L. Hayee Jr. was cited for contempt of court and jailed in Atlanta for being $346,300 behind in child-support and alimony payments.

A judge told the "Shaft" star he can get out of jail only by coming up with $22,000, including $1,000 for his daughter Heather's college education and $1,000 in fees for his former wife's attorney In Rome, meanwhile, a tax court has acquitted director Franco Zeffirelli of tax evasion. Zeffirelli was accused of failing to report in 1982 and 1983 nearly 1 billion lire, now worth about $740,000. The director claimed he was a resident of Tunisia during that period and not subject to Italian income tax. "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" host Robin Leach will turn his TV image on its head in a series of public-service television spots designed to call attention to the problems of the homeless. The spots are scheduled to begin airing next week, he said this week while visiting Pittsburgh.

"You hear that screaming voice that you associate with absolute luxury drawing your attention to something that's a tragic part of American life today. It's devastating," he said. "The commercial offers no solution. We wanted to say, 'This is a problem that must be fit svv-is i I I Centerpiece of this weekend's truck FTT 1 pull exhibition at the Civic Arena is a 200- i mph car that turns into a robot, much like rf --NJ those popular Transformer toys. Walt I Jl Disney indirectly provided the inspiration r- xr 1 for this $500,000 show car, the car's a5Tt; "V' I I I creator, Larry Nagel, said yesterday.

"I I J. I nad a congenital heart condition when I 1 III1 "'J 11 was very young," the Cleveland native 1 1 'i i 1 said, "and I was visited in the hospital by Vs. Walt Disney. He told me to find a dream 1 4 and follow it." After a career as a drag if racer and car restoration expert, Nagel I took Disney's advice and started work on J. I a dream car.

L' 1 li The result was Vorian, a three-year lZ 1 wmnTmfmllim 1 project that forced Nagel and his wife, I f3S Jill, to sell their possessions and even I 5 1 -trsrSnrJ I 1 Persuac'e a relative to remortgage her Ifi' 'I house to fund the car's construction. I If Powered by a military wi I jet engine (which cannot be used inside I 1 I il'l the arena), the car uses seven computers i LS 1 1 1 1 4 and performs 465 separate functions, 'J I5" I -FT3- Nagelsaid. i ilf' I 1 I illlf The U.S. Hot Rod Association Truck I Pull Championships run today at 8 p.m. 1 r- irJ: if i and tomorrow at 2 p.m.

1 i 'fi i 'i I i 7X. FANFARECOMING IN Name: Mark Lewandowski. Occupation: Special education teacher, singer for the Spuds. Bom: St. Francis Hospital, June 25, 1958.

Accomplishment you're proudest of: I haven't done it yet. First job: Cleaning the mess at Three Rivers Stadium after Pirates games. Secret vice: Cream crullers from Guentert's. What three words describe you best: Round, humorous, concerned. Dream vacation: Living in England for a year.

What you'd like to get around to doing one of theee days: Discovering my right livelihood. Things you can do without: Arrogance, insincerity. Person you'd most like to have dinner with: Pope John Paul II. Movie you could see any time: "Marty." Three things that can always be found in your refrigerator Leftovers, old ice cream, near-beer. Pittsburgh's best-kept secret: Affordable housing in Lawrenceville.

Your pet peeve about Pittsburgh: Suburbanites' unrealistic fears about the city. People may be surprised to know that: I don't wear pajamas when I sleep. Celebrities headed to town during the next week include: Betty Shabbaz, widow of Malcolm at the final performance of the Kuntu Repertory Theater's play "The Meeting," tonight at Stephen Foster Memorial. Angela Davis, speaking on racial equality and women's rights, 11 a.m., today, Smithfield United Church, Downtown. Kronoa quartet, concert, 8 p.m.

Monday, Rodef Shalom, Oakland. Tyrell Biggs, 1984 Olympic gold medalist in boxing and reformed drug-user, Monday at 8 p.m. in the William Pitt Union. Ron Luciano, former American League umpire turned author, will be in town Feb. 28 promoting his new book, "Rememberance of Swings Past." Jay Johnson, Wednesday-Saturday, Funny Bone, Station Square.

At 8 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday; Friday, 8 and 10:30 p.m.; Saturday, 7:15, 9:30 and 11:30 p.m. Dr. Rollo May, psychoanalyst, Wednesday, noon, Community College of Allegheny County. David S.

Broder, national political correspondent and syndicated columnist for the Washington Post, Thursday, 8:30 p.m., University of Pittsburgh. Written by Jane Crawford, Robert Croan, Bob Hoover, Sally Kalson, Barbara Vancheri and Ron Weiskind. Bill Levis Post-Gazette Larry Nagel drives his dream car, Vorian. ALICE KAHMFUTURE SHOCK: AN EXERCISE IN FUTILITY? You want to train inefficiently, overexercise sporadically. Forget it.

The late-20th century American dream of gain without pain eludes us. can dream of gain without pain still eludes us. I read through the literature Steve showed me, articles ranging from "Passive Exercise: Never Lift a Thigh" to "Effects of Short-Term Electrical Stimulation on the infrastructure of Rat Skeletal Muscles." These suggest E-stim may supplement but cannot replace conventional training methods. You can't stim a silk thigh out of a sow's hambone. After our "workout" that's what Steve and Linda call 45 minutes dangling from the electrodes my husband's neck felt a little bit better.

I felt what Linda described as "nice soreness like soreness without soreness." I thanked Steve and Linda for sharing. We threw our electrodes on the floor and put on our clothes. My husband picked up his Japanese economics book, and I put away my New Yorker essays. We closed the cubicle doors and went for a walk in the old-fashioned rain. TTie writer is a syndicated columnist based in San Francisco.

fered me free treatments. Imagine my husband's face when he came home from work and I said: "Guess where we're going next Wednesday night, honey? We're going to a tastefully decorated cubicle where we will lie on pink sheets in our underwear while a strange woman straps 20 electrodes to each of us and zaps our major muscle groups. All expenses paid!" Did he looked thrilled or what? Was he thanking his lucky stars he was married to a newspaper But he came along for the jolt. In his phone call, Steve had mentioned E-stim was particularly good for back pain and shoulder and neck tension. "Was there something in my column that read like it was written by a woman with a pain in the neck?" I asked.

No, Steve said, but most people suffer from this. My husband is one, although I occasionally have thought he married into it. I didn't need it for pain, so I decided to try the treatment I have heard described as "passive exercise." Linda explains as I lie there twitching like a patient un-etherized upon a table using E-stim is rTelcome to the 21st century. Iff II your hosts, Steve and Linda I A Kay mJ mJ I am lying in my underwear in a tastefully decorated cubicle, interviewing Linda while she turns up the juice to the 20 electrodes strapped to my body. Am I a mouse caught in Dr.

Cali-gari's animal research lab? Am I a man sentenced to die? Am I Olivia de Havil-land in some '40s snake pit movie? No, I am a woman trying to stay in shape. The Kays operate a mom-and-pop electric muscle stimulation parlor called Back In Motion. One man's cheap shock is another woman's chic stim. Steve, a former engineer, says they first came to the technology they affectionately call "E-stim" several years ago, when Linda, a former piano tuner, developed low back pain. Because they feel it is the best physical-therapy and athletic-training method available, Steve says, "We wanted to share." The reason I am lying there getting jolted with volts is because I mentioned E-stim in a recent column on "in" trends.

Although I normally refuse all non-food offers, I said OK when Steve called and of pain, E-stim is good for people who can't exercise after surgery or who want to speed healing after liposuction. She says the Russians use it to train athletes, although she points out it has no effect on the cardiovascular system. Much of the research on electro-muscle stimulation was done by NASA scientists attempting to find a way to keep astronauts in shape. So what's your fantasy? You say you want to pig out for a few years, then go get suctioned and stimulated? You want to watch TV and drink Tang and be a zero-gravity pouch potato? You want to smoke and drink and have a heart attack but still look buffed up with those electrically toned muscles? You want to train inefficiently, overexercise sporadically and then come to this New Age Lourdes for the cure? Forget it. The late-20th century Ameri particularly popular in Los Angeles for muscle toning.

She says Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles are the hotbeds of E-stim. "In Los Angeles, it's used for vanity, while in San Francisco people tend to use it for therapy." One man's cure is another woman's lure. The way it works is that the electrodes zap the muscle, causing it to contract. So while Linda and I chatted, I watched my quads quiver and my belly bounce, and felt invisible juicers goose my glutes. Linda claimed I was getting the equivalent of a thousand sit-ups sans perspiration.

It wasn't quite like the sweet pain of jogging or the strain of working out with Nautilus machines. It was like doing isometrics wittiout telling yourself to start. You stim, me contract. Linda says in addition to neck and back.