Going out

        "The Countess': It's the best of all worlds — an evening of theater, a helping of art history and a walk on the wild side with a steamy little love triangle. That would be The Countess, Ensemble Theatre's production of the Off-Broadway hitabout the love triangle involving art critic John Ruskin, his wife and Pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais. 8 p.m. todayat ETC, 1127 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine. $25. 421-3555.

        Free lecture: Wondering why a curve ball curves? Or how a stiff wind turns a foul ball into a home run? Ask Yale University prof Robert K. Adair when he steps to the plate to discuss his book The Physics of Baseball. 7 p.m. today at Cincinnati Museum Center. Presented by Cincinnati Yale Club. 321-5501.

        Book signing: Sherri Szeman takes aim on the heart strings today at 7 p.m. when she discusses and signs her book Only With the Heart, a novel about a woman and a family pushed to the brink by Alzheimer's disease. Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Rookwood Pavilion, Norwood. 396-8960.

        Comedic hypnotist: Anthony Cool looks for willing victims to do, oh, all sorts of odd things in his uncensored comic hypnotism act. Embarrassing? Sure. Edgy? You bet. Fun? Quack like a duck and find out. 7 and 9 p.m. today at Argosy Casino and Hotel, Lawrenceburg. Repeats Thursday. $10. (888) 274-6797.

Staying In

        TV picks:

• Grammy-winner Bette Midler scrounges for a Hollywood award so she can thank her husband (Kevin Dunn) publicly for his support on Bette (8 p.m., Channels 12, 7).

        • TV Critic John Kiesewetter says its always fun to watch the Cincinnati scenes of Rain Man, the Dustin Hoffman-Tom Cruise film shot here in 1988 (8 p.m., TNT).

The Goods (What's in stores today)

        Disk picks: The week brings what's predicted to be the biggest CD of the season — Limp Bizkit's Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water (Interscope; $18.98 CD and limited edition CD; $12.98 cassette).

        Fresh from his Supernatural success, former House of Pain rapper Everlast serves up Eat at Whitey's (Tommy Boy; $18.98 CD; $12.98 cassette) which features a guest appearance by Carlos Santana.

        The Man in Black is back this week, as Johnny Cash delivers American III: Solitary Man (Def American; $17.98 CD only) with guest shots by Tom Petty, Merle Haggard and Sheryl Crow.

        The comedy CD release of the year, says the Enquirer's Larry Nager, is the massive nine-CD And It's Deep Too (Rhino; $79.98 CD only), the definitive Richard Pryor collection, featuring eight discs never before on CD, including one of previously unreleased material.

Planning Ahead

        24 hours out: Greater Cincinnati Storytelling Guild members spin a web of scary stories — semi-scary at 7 p.m., scarier and a little more adult at 8 p.m. It's Thursday at Farbach-Werner Nature Preserve's Amphitheater, Colerain Avenue and Poole Road, Colerain Township. 521-7275.

        48 hours out: Slap on those dancing shoes and boogie on over to Newport's Southgate House for Cigar Store Indians and its over-the-top mix of power pop, swing, honky-tonk and rockabilly — kind of like Abba meets Glen Miller meets Hank Williams. 9 p.m. Friday. $10-$12. 779-9462.

        72 hours 'til Saturday: You gotta love this: A chance to go snooping around other people's houses when the Home Builders Association of Northern Kentucky leads free tours of remodeled homes in Fort Thomas, Fort Mitchell and Edgewood. Tours begin at Home Builders office, 209 Grandview Drive, Fort Mitchell. Noon-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. (859) 331-9500.

        Get To It appears daily. Send items to Get To It, Tempo, Cincinnati Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati 45202; fax: 768-8330.

Theater
Theater review
:Quartet, NKU form classical duet
: 'Spin' has a Sheen but misses its Fox
Get to it
Pig Parade/Cheshire Pig