GOING OUT
               Encore Linton: Four world-class musicians, operating as Opus Oneteam up to create one of the hottest classical music tickets of the week: They'll take on Beethoven, Faure and the Cincinnati premiere of Jennifer Higdon's Celestial Hymns for Clarinet, Piano and Strings. All this, and it's in a room known for excellent acoustics. 7:30 p.m. today, Congregation Ohav Shalom, 8100 Cornell Road, Montgomery. $27.50. 381-6868.

        Book signing: Admit it now: all you know about Johnny Appleseed is that he scattered a bunch of seeds around, right? Find out more — maybe even about his Cincinnati visits — when author William Jones gets up close with him while discussing and signing Johnny Appleseed: A Voice in the Wilderness. 7 p.m. today, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Rookwood Pavilion, Norwood. 396-8960.

        Beach Holiday Fest: Such a Christmas trip the Beach is throwing. You got your ice skating, trains, food, petting zoo, a zillion lights lining the slides that tugged at the leg of your Speedo last summer, and one mighty funny, and short, improvised Christmas Carol. Open 6-10 p.m. daily through Dec. 31, Beach Waterpark, I-71 at Kings Mill exit, Mason. $8.95, $4.50 seniors and children. 398-7946.

TV picks
               Get warmed up for Ken Burns' Jazz miniseries next month with a taped Live from Lincoln Center salute to Louis Armstrong by Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (10 p.m., Channel 48).

        • TV Critic John Kiesewetter says Gwyneth Paltrow's Emma airs on Lifetime (9 p.m.).

What's in stores today
               Pucker, please: Oooooh, from 'NSYNC's lips to yours. That would be Famous Fixins' new pocket size "NSYNC Lip Balm. Liprageous, it says here. Available in five flavors — blue raspberry for Lance Bass, watermelon for JC Chasez, strawberry for Chris Kirkpatrick, green apple for Joey Fatone and vanilla for Justin Timberlake — each tube is equipped with a picture of the heartthrob du jour. It should be everywhere by February. For now, a pack of five is $4.99 at www.famousfixins.com.

Planning Ahead
               24 hours out: The Sugar Plums are ready, the Mouse King's sharpening his sword, Mother Ginger's adjusting her skirts. All for Cincinnati Ballet's Nutcracker, the ever so beloved holiday extravaganza. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Music Hall, $10-$39. Matinee and evening performances continue through Dec. 26 (except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day). 241-7469.

        Also 24 hours out: Showcase Cinemas Springdale presents open-caption screenings of the Kevin Spacey drama Pay It Forward, about a boy (Haley Joel Osment) who invents a new way to make the world better. Because someone has to. Tuesday and Wednesday, I-275 and Ohio 4. 671-6884.

        72 hours 'til Thursday: Glittering costumes, new holiday music and a kick line stretching forever. It could only be the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, making its Cincinnati premiere this week. 7:30 p.m., Procter & Gamble Hall, Aronoff Center for the Arts. Performances, as many as four per day, through Dec. 31. $20-$49.50. 241-7469.

        Get To It appears daily. Send items to Nancy Berlier, Deputy Tempo Editor, at nberlier@enquirer.com

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