But you do at DesignSmith, where owner David Smith has turned half the place over to Easter Seals' Cincinnati Peep Show. It's nine pieces — paintings, sculpture, photography — by such favorite artists as Brad Austin Smith, Tom Weast, Keith Banner and Bill Ross.

        It opened last week (Final Friday) to reviews like this one from gallery hopper Jen Hempel: “I don't know, might as well make art because God knows they're not fit to eat.”

        And this one, overheard in the crowded gallery: “Art that draws ants. What a cool idea.”

        The pieces are, well, kind of odd: Like the 3-D terraced job using Peeps and Fruit Loops. Or the little stage draped with blue chiffon curtains, pink fringe and a Peeps chorus line. Or the samurai sword with a Peeps handle.

        The show is up through April 21 at 1342 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. You can also check it out at www.designsmithgallery.com.

        Ring out: Merciful heavens, but isn't Barbara Gould keeping the monks busy?

        Referring here to the four Buddhist monks headquartered in a new monastery on Howell Street in Clifton.

        Gould, their local mentor, got involved when traditional medicine could do nothing for her back problem. She went to Bloomington, Ind., and discovered Buddhist meditation and empowerment. She's been pain free ever since.

        So anyway, in recent weeks she's had them at Seven Hills, Old St. George, Northern Kentucky University, University of Dayton and an assortment of civic events. Not to mention their regular Thursday night services (7 p.m.).

        Now this: They'll show up this weekend at both Cincinnati Symphony weekend concerts, where three monks will do traditional chants before Classical Conversations, then go to the concert.

        The reason, don't you see, is because guest ensemble is Nexus, a percussion group that plays some plenty odd instruments.

        Like this: Later today, a crew will hang huge chimes from Music Hall's balcony, smack over the audience's head. Loooong, multicolored ribbons attached to each chime will stretch to the stage, over 20 rows of concertgoers, so Nexus can play them.

        They're doing a piece called “From Me Flows What You Call Time” by Toru Takemitsu, a favorite of the monks.

        Taking aim: Here's a scary thought: Cincinnati's Emmy-winning TV producer Jim Friedman (45 Emmys at that) is going to aim a bunch of cameras at his hometown, turn them on for 24 hours and shoot a day in the life of the city.

        “It's going to be a prime-time special on Channel 9 on a date to be determined,” he says. “But this is for sure: We'll shoot in mid-April, 24 hours straight.”

        This is also for sure: Emphasis will be on the city's high-tech side and he would like help with that:

        “I'd like Cincinnati to tell me what to shoot. They can e-mail me (onecincyday@aol.com) or call (533-4340, Ext. 101). Oh, and if anybody wants to work on it, they can tell me that, too.”

       Contact Jim Knippenberg at 768-8513; fax: 768-8330. Read his previous columns at the Enquirer Web site on Cincinnati.Com.

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