Going out

        Open house: Clifton Branch Library swings open its hushed doors for a holiday open house full of activities and seasonal cheer for young and old. 6:30-8:30 p.m. today, 351 Ludlow Ave. 369-4447.

        Midday music: Angels are heard on high when Trinity Episcopal Church throws a lunch hour Christmas Carol Sing. 12:15 p.m. today, 326 Madison Ave., Covington, free, optional lunch is $5. (859) 431-1786.

        Live Nativity: Campbell County's Noah's Ark Farm and Petting Zoo checks in with a series of live Christmas scenes. 6-9 p.m. nightly through Dec. 30 (except Dec. 24-25), on Kolher Road off Ky. 10 near California, Ky., free. (859) 635-0803.

        Jazz: The Blue Wisp Big Band, bless their swinging hearts, plays 9:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. every Wednesday at the Blue Wisp Jazz Club, 19 Garfield Place, downtown. 721-9801.

Staying in

        TV picks: It's Hammer time! VH1 dramatizes the life of Stanley Kirk Burrell, the former Oakland A's batboy who became M.C. Hammer in Too Legit: The M.C. Hammer Story (9 p.m., VH1). Romany Malco (Home Alone II) stars as the rapper.

        • TV Critic John Kiesewetter also saysDrew Carey finds Elvis Presley's lost Jewish folk song recordings on The Drew Carey Show (9 p.m., Channels 9, 2).

The Goods

        CD picks: It's a hip-hop holiday, as rap dominates the week's CD releases with the all-star Ruff Ryders are back with Ryde or Die Vol. 3 (Interscope; $19.98 CD, $12.98 cassette) featuring Eve.

        • You provide the Fanta, Insane Clown Posse supplies the beats and rhymes on Forgotten Freshness Vol. 3 (Psychopathic; $17.98 CD only).

        • Mystikal is back with Tarantula (Jive; $18.98 CD, $12.98 cassette).

        • Nas returns with Stillmatic (Columbia; $18.98 CD, $12.98 cassette).

        • Mini-rapper Lil Bow Wow is packing some fresh leftovers in his Doggy Bag (Columbia; $18.98 CD, $12.98 cassette).

        • New Orleans rap kingpin Master P puts on his Game Face (No Limit; $18.98 CD, $12.98 cassette).

Planning Ahead

        24 hours out: The industrial/metal masters Pigface invade Newport armed with a couple of hundred decibels. 9 p.m. Thursday, Southgate House, 24 E. Third St., Newport, $14. (859) 431-2201.

        48 hours out: A “Tree I.D.” program at Sharon Woods teaches people to identify trees, even without their leaves. 3 p.m. Friday, Sharon Centre. 521-7275.

        72 hours 'til Saturday: Joseph-Beth Booksellers does the ho-ho bit at Breakfast with Santa, complete with the jolly old elf reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. 11 a.m., Rookwood Pavilion, Norwood. 396-8960.

        Contact Jim Knippenberg by phone: 768-8513; fax: 768-8330; e-mail: jknippenberg@enquirer.com.

       

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