Going out

        Grandin fest: The chamber music festival at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music kicks into gear with a freebie from soprano Audrey Luna and violinist Harvey Thurmer taking on Kurtag's Kafka Arrangements, 8 p.m. today, Robert J. Werner Recital Hall, UC. 556-4183.

        Book signing: Renowned sports psychologist Robert Weinberg is here to sign and discuss his new Tennis: Winning the Mental Game, 7 p.m. today,Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Rookwood Pavilion, Norwood. 396-8960.

        Beads workshop: Here's one that teaches children and adults how to make beaded jewelry, just in time for the fall social season. 6:30-8:30 p.m. today, Leming House, Community Park, 5951 Buckwheat Road, Miami Township, $10-$13. 248-3725.

        Free film: There's a free showing of the 1968 Disney classic Blackbeard's Ghost outdoors on the big screen. Dusk today,Farbach-Werner Nature Preserve, Colerain Avenue and Poole Road, Colerain Township. 521-7275.

Staying In

        TV picks: This rerun is a special that included magician David Blaine emerging from three days in a block of ice. It also adds new footage of his magic tricks. David Blaine: Frozen in Time: Blaine's Cut, 8 p.m., Channel 9.

        • Here's a chance to see the show's first celebrity episode with Kelly Preston, Donny Osmond and Coolio, among others. Brooke Burns' appearance led to her current gig as host of Dog Eat Dog. Fear Factor, 8 p.m., Channel 5.

Web site of the day

        Halls of power: The online version of the print publication Government Executive is loaded with news and all kinds of background info from Washington. The Web site also has a standing section on homeland security that keeps tabs on the Beltway players. And don't miss the Counterterrorism Bureaucracy chart. It chills the blood. www.govexec.com/homeland.

Planning Ahead

        24 hours out: The Cincinnati Metropolitan Orchestralaunches into a freebie full of patriotic, movie and big band tunes. 7 p.m. Tuesday, President's Park, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Edgewood. 941-8956.

        48 hours out: Abby Schwartz of the Taft Museum of Art shares thoughts on 19th-century French and Dutch painters in a gallery talk called “The Barbizon and Hague School Painters: Masters of Atmosphere and Light.” 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Cincinnati Art Museum, Eden Park, free with admission (reservation required). 721-2787.

        72 hours 'til Thursday: The “World's Longest Yard Sale,” stretching down U.S. 127 all the way from MainStrasse Village to Gadsden, Ala., opens four days of shopping mania. 7 a.m.-6 p.m., centralized at Sixth and Main streets, Covington. (859) 491-0458.

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