Supernatural Botanicals

We are so excited here in Cincinnati to host Bill Maher on October 23rd at the Aronoff, and you have a chance to win tickets right here!

If you’ve never experienced Bill Maher before, you are in for an incredible night.  He’s extremely outspoken, ridiculously smart, and downright hilarious.

Come spend the night with us here in Cincy and witness the amazingness that is Bill Maher.

To snag your chance at a couple free tickets, leave a comment below.  We will be picking two winners a few days before the show on October 23rd.

Good luck, and see you there!

UPDATE:  Congrats to Massie L and Tom F…you won!  Look for email followup.

Outspoken, hilarious, brilliant, and easy on the eyes, you can catch our favorite politically incorrect poster child, Bill Maher, in Cincinnati on October 23rd at the Aronoff  Center.  He’s bound to have lots of opinions on our super-conservative city!  Simon Leis…I’m talking to you!  You can come as my personal guest…call me.

Whether you are a conservative or a liberal, politically or religiously inclined, or just a big thinker and a fan of intelligent comedy, Bill Maher will keep you in stitches all night.   He’s super-smart and quick on his feet.

There is still time to get great tickets for Bill’s show.  Click the picture below for tickets.

Today is the last day to sign up for free tickets to see Tony Bourdain in Cincinnati on June 27th.  For your chance to win, ENTER HERE!  Good luck!

Cincinnati had the pleasure of hosting Helen Hunt to close out the Smart Talk series for 2010. What an amazing season this was! The season started out with Valerie Bertinelli, who was a bubbly ray of light, Ann Compton, whom I think was my favorite because she was so personable and friendly behind the scenes, Patricia Heaton, who was as funny in person as she is on TV, Lee Woodruff, one of the strongest super-women you could have the pleasure of knowing, and Helen Hunt, who was excellent at public speaking, but was far more shy that I could have ever imagined.

I suppose that you don’t expect shyness from a celebrity who is ultra-exposed. However, shy she was. When Helen spoke of her gorgeous little red-headed daughter, she bubbled over with pride. Helen seems to gravitate towards roles now that are about motherhood, or the angst of not being able to conceive.

One trait of Helen’s that I now want to adopt in my own life is the ability to ignore gossip. Helen says “When someone says to me…I really shouldn’t be telling you this”, Helen replies with “Then don’t.”  Or when someone says “Don’t say you’ve heard this from me, but…”, and Helen replies with “Don’t tell me, I don’t want to hear it!” I found that to stick with me, and again, I want to adopt that way of thinking for myself.

Helen says that she has been working as an actor since she was a child. Fortunately, that has helped her to take periodic breaks from acting in order to do the things she wants…like conceive a child, be an everyday mommy, and write screenplays. The money she had made as a younger person helps fuel her happiness as a more mature person, or, as Helen’s fertility doctor once called her “less young.”

Of all the Smart Talk speakers this season, Helen was the most surprising to me. Painfully shy and extremely introverted, to the point she barely murmured a word backstage. But Helen shined onstage. Her speech was intriguing, funny and engaging.

Have serious love for Tony Bourdain?  …of course you do, we all do!  He’s the epitome of cool, yet hot!  You know this boy has some stories to tell..and I want to hear them. 

So, I promised you a chance to win tickets, and here’s your chance.  Just leave a comment (see comment section below) and let me know what you love about Tony.   A commenter will be chosen at random to win two tickets to An Evening with Tony Bourdain in Cincinnati, June 27th at the Aronoff.  Good luck!

UPDATE:  Congratulations to Loki of Cincy Voices.  You won! 

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No Reservations: An Evening with Anthony Bourdain
Aronoff Center • Sunday, June 27th • 7:30pm
- Bourdain’s new book Medium Raw to be released June 8th -
Anthony Bourdain, the internationally acclaimed chef, author, and host of Travel Channel’s “No Reservations,” has been dubbed “the bad boy of cuisine” for his rock star looks and blunt observations about the world of restaurants, chefs, and cooking. He will be appearing at the Aronoff Center’s Procter & Gamble Hall on Sunday, June 27th at 7:30pm. Tickets are $36.50 and $46.50 and can be purchased at the Aronoff Center Ticket Office, by phone at (513) 621-ARTS or online at CincinnatiArts.org.  A limited
number of VIP tickets have sold-out. Tickets are on-sale now.  Bourdain, the executive chef at New York’s famed bistro Les Halles, is the author of the bestselling Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, a candid, hysterical and sometimes shocking portrait of his life in restaurant kitchens that has been translated into over 28 languages. His new book, Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook, will be released on June 8th. Medium Raw pulls back the curtain on all of the big-time personalities of the modern gastronomical revolution – as only Bourdain can. A contributing authority for Food Arts magazine, his work as appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times and Gourmet. He has shared his insights about team building and crisis management with the Harvard Business Review. “No Reservations,” nominated for an Emmy Award and widely popular all over the world, is currently in its fifth season, Bourdain continues to travel to the farthest reaches of the globe, exploring destinations from rural Laos to New Orleans.

For photos, interviews, & additional information, contact Justin at 518.884.2960 or justin@millsentertainment.com.

Helen Hunt

Award-winning Actress, Director and Writer

Few actresses have been praised as highly by critics and the public as Helen Hunt. From her earliest work in Community Theater, to Broadway, PrimeTime and Hollywood film roles, she has been continuously recognized for her outstanding performances.  So, what does this award-winning actor, director, writer and mother do for an encore?  Come share her conversation in her SmartTalk exclusive appearance.  Believe us – it’s as good as it gets. 

Tickets are still available for the Cincinnati show on Wednesday, May 26 at the Aronoff.  Click here for more info. 

When I’m asked if I’m having as much fun as it looks like I’m having at the Smart Talk events in Cincinnati…the answer is an astounding, yes!  Last night Smart Talk brought the brilliant and hilarious Patricia Heaton to Cincinnati for their Smart Talk Connected Conversations series.   

Patricia was bubbly and so interesting.  She’s definitely a girl’s girl.  She feels like one of your girlfriends.  Best of all, she’s from Ohio!  (No wonder she’s so sweet!) 

She’s not a fussy diva actress.  In fact, she was forthright about the “work” she’s had done to her body, some of which are, collagen fillers, Botox, veneers on her teeth, tummy tuck, breast lift, fake nails, fake eyelashes, amongst many other treatments.  Hey, she is in Hollywood after all.  Of course she feels the pressure to be beautiful.  She even jokingly talks of the new hairs that are growing on her face now that she’s hit menopause.  …see, I told you she was open to sharing everything! 

She’s been married …to the same man, gasp…for almost 20 years!  She has four sons that seem to make her world go around.  After an incredible successful run as the wife/mother on Everybody Loves Raymond, she’s now on The Middle, which is also enjoying it’s share of newfound success. 

She shared with us the trials and tribulations of Hollywood and Motherhood.  For instance, at a casting call, a director pulled her aside and said, “look, honey, I want to be honest with you, we are looking for an extremely attractive actress.”   Ouch!  It takes some thick skin to endure that type of torture.  She also speaks about Hollywood’s beautiful people “starving themselves.”   She said when she was broke and had no money, her refrigerator only had yogurt and Grape Nuts.  Now that she’s a successful actress…her refrigerator only has yogurt and Grape Nuts.  Actresses have to starve themselves to remain viable in Hollywood.  Hunger would definitely be a downside of fame. 

One of the most endearing things I love about Patricia was that she’s deeply spiritual.  She “gets” the mind/body/soul connection.  She attends church regularly.  She has gone on missions to help those less fortunate.  

Our girl, Patty, has it all, and she’s worked hard to get it.  Congratulations to yet another fearless female leader of our time.  For more, read her book Motherhood and Hollywood, How to Get A Job Like Mine. 

Smart Talk does it again!  They always manage to bring the biggest and brightest personalities to their Connected Conversations series.  Next week Cincinnati welcomes Patricia Heaton to the Aronoff on March 15, 2010.  Patricia will be speaking on Motherhood and Hollywood …and I’m sure she’ll share a little background dirt on her wildly successful run as the wife/mother on Everybody Loves Raymond.

The Smart Talk Connected Conversations series is an incredible experience.  The energy is alive.  The conversation is brilliant.  The company is phenomenal!  Tickets are still available …click here for more information.

Seriously, how much fun can you have in one night?  Smart Talk Connected Conversations brought Ann Compton to town last night and she nailed it!  Literally, from the opening paragraph into her speech, I was captivated…we were all captivated.  Ann has so many interesting stories, you could just talk to her for hours.  And you can see by the pictures, she’s completely down to earth and sincere. 

Ann has covered seven presidents for ABC News in a career that has taken her to the White House and Capital Hill.  She is the national correspondent for ABC News Radio, based in Washington, D.C.

It’s overtly obvious that she’s an excellent speaker.  She’s dynamic and she captures the audience instantly.  Below are some notes I took during her speech.  Everything she said was so interesting, I could barely take notes fast enough. 

*  She was the only broadcast reporter allowed to remain on board Air Force One during the dramatic hours when President Bush was unable to return to Washington. 

*  The Dalai Lama told President Obama that we needed for female leaders!  (ed. note:  Team Dalai Lama!) 

*  President Bush emailed her yesterday.  He’s working on a book. 

*  Thanks to Google Map, she learned Bill Ayres …yes, this  Bill Ayres, lives in her childhood home in Chicago.

*  On Air Force One, everything, everything, has the Presidential Seal, from the seat belts,  the drinking glasses to the razors in the bathroom.

*  On 09/11, Air Force One landed in Louisiana …because they were out of gas, and only for that reason.

*  The infamous potatoe/potato blunder made by Dan Quayle was, in part, not his fault.  It was an error made by a teacher on a flash card that he was reading.

*  The biggest news source right now…it’s YouTube, believe it or not. 

*  Ann’s only lukewarm on the notion of social media.  She thinks it’s the dumbing-down of news, and at times, grossly inaccurate. 

*  On August 6, 1990, president George H. W. Bush sent her an apology note (on presidential stationary) saying he was sorry for being too snippy with her in an interview.  He signed it with a smiley face!

*  “Social media is fraught with error and bad judgement.” 

*  One of her favorite websites is the DrudgeReport.com. 

*  Ann still sees the good in on the spot reporting, however.  For instance, reporters were not allowed to view Saddam Hussein being put to death.  The reason we saw those images thereafter was due to camera phones of those who witnessed it. 

*  Ronald Regan threw great cocktail parties for the press.

*  Ronald Regan called Ann in the hospital the day her daughter was born to send warm wishes.  (Wow!)

*  The speech writer for Obama is (surprisingly) only 27 years old. 

*  Ann goes directly to the White House every day for work, not ABC offices. 

*  Ann was offered a job her senior year of college.  She says she has never applied for a job in her life. 

*  Jimmy Carter once referred to Ann as “the reporter with the large diamond ring.” 

*  Ann is married to Dr. William Hughes, and has four kids.

*  Her children are the following:  A doctor, a lawyer, a software designer, and a budding media exec. 

*  She was with president bush at the elementary school when 09/11 went down. 

*  She first sat down and cried about 09/11 when she got back and checked her email.  The first email was from her son, stating his fraternity brother was on the 93rd floor of the World Trade Center.

Ann is truly an inspiration to all career girls, and women in general.  She’s a fearless female leader who has earned her place at the top.