Arts
One of my favorite sections of an afternoon. I'm eating lunch in my living room while reading a new book: Fearless Vampire Killers….Bad Brains Photographs by Akashic Books———> By Glen E. Friedman.
I now am using a Flex Capacitor. Now, I'm at A7 in the 1980’s New York looking at Bad Brains perform is a space the size of either Skylab or the Legion of Doom. I'm looking at PMA inspiring cultural evolution in the context of rejection of our fascist government.
In Fearless Vampire Killers, Friedman follows Bad Brains from A7 into the L.A. Sunset Strip. A7 is a small NY punk venue. L.A. is where Bad Brains sneak Black Flag on stage because Black Flag was banned because of punk riots. Fearless Vampire Killers is Glen E. Friedman in a moment working for skateboard media while participating in hardcore punk. Punk, and Hip Hop unleashed Bad Brains, Dead Kennedys, Public Enemy, BDP, Beastie Boys etc. Friedman took iconic flicks of all of these icons.
Punk and Hip Hop REJECTED 80s fascism until Hip Hop and grunge changed all of society. Friedman is legendary for documenting our culture’s icons – Dischord, Def Jam, and of course BAD BRAINS.
New York City political and literary imprint Seven Stories Press acquired Columbus, Ohio’s 2 Dollar Radio.
I looked at Seven Stories Press’ list. I saw Huey Newton, Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky, Ralph Nader, Angela Davis, Amnesty International, Phil Jackson, Kalle Lasn, Lydia Lunch, Karl Marx, Fidel Castro, Free Press’ contributor Greg Palast, Upton Sinclair, Kurt Vonnegut, Gary Webb, The Zapatista’s, Slavoj Zizek, Pacifica Radio’s Sonali Kolhalkar and The Weathermen.
I determined that Upton Sinclair and The Weathermen wouldn’t ruin the vegan food at Two Dollar Radio’s German Village location.
IF you like radio – Rising Up With Sonali airs from 92.7/ 98.3 wcrsfm.org weekdays 9-10am.
Seven Stories publishes Weather Underground’s Sing A Battle Song 1970-1974.
Weather Underground were a political community which used writings, speeches, and various explosions as opposition of oppressions of Black people, the Vietnam War, and the CIA’s dismantling of Democratic governments in Latin America which were empirical colonialist experiences of our government killing people.
When you’re living in a foreign land, human connections can be as precious as they are rare. Maybe that’s the message of Constance Tsang’s debut feature film, Blue Sun Palace.
Then again, maybe it’s not. Writer/director Tsang doesn’t force an interpretation on you, any more than she tells you what to think of her characters, all Chinese or Taiwanese immigrants eking out a living in Queens, New York. She merely invites you to sit back and watch their stories unfold.
In the case of one of them, their story doesn’t unfold nearly long enough.
We first meet a young woman named Didi (Haipeng Xu) when she’s sharing a restaurant meal with Cheung (Kang-sheng Lee), a somewhat older man who seems to be a good friend and maybe a future boyfriend. The two clearly enjoy each other’s company, and Didi even invites Cheung to spend the night after he misses the last bus home.
The next morning, however, the couple’s relationship seems less certain. When Cheung begins talking about possibly sharing a home someday, Didi jokingly shuts him down, saying her ultimate plan is to move to Baltimore and open a restaurant with her friend Amy (Ke-Xi Wu).
What’s it like to be the wife of a leader who forces you to live in his shadow and ignores your political advice? The President’s Wife answers that question with its feminism-informed biography of former French first lady Bernadette Chirac.
But don’t expect a sober-minded piece of historical revisionism. The film, directed and co-written by Lea Domenach, refuses to take itself too seriously, and it’s clear from the first scene that we shouldn’t, either.
As Bernadette (the legendary Catherine Deneuve) makes her way to a confessional booth for a heart-to-heart with her priest, the church choir informs us that what we’re about to see is based only loosely on reality. In fact, the singers warn us, it’s a “work of fiction.”
Still, it’s hard not to hope that what follows is least partly true, because it’s a delicious story of self-reinvention and political comeuppance.
The Columbus International Film & Animation Festival (CIF+AF), the longest continuously running film festival in North America, proudly announces its 73rd annual event, set for Saturday, April 26, 2025, from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM EDT at Phoenix Theatres Lennox Town Center 24, located at 777 Kinnear Road, Columbus, Ohio.
Established in 1952, CIF+AF has a storied history of showcasing exceptional independent films and animations from around the world. The festival has honored works from esteemed entities such as National Geographic, HBO, The National Film Board of Canada, Disney, and PBS, and has been a platform for films that have gone on to receive Oscars, Emmy Awards, and other international accolades.
This year's festival will feature a curated selection of films, offering attendees a diverse cinematic experience. Tickets are available for purchase through Eventbrite.
For more information about the festival, including its history and upcoming events, please visit the official website at columbusfilm.org.
The Teacher takes on one of the most divisive issues in the world today: the struggle between Israel and the Palestinians. And it does it in a way that is thoughtful, provocative and dramatic.
The title character is Basem El-Saleh (Saleh Bakri), who teaches in a poor community in the West Bank. Anyone who’s seen the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land—or the final episodes of the Netflix series Mo—won’t be surprised to learn that Basem’s students have more to worry about than passing tests.
Two of them, brothers Yacoub and Adam (Mahmoud Bakri and Muhammad Abed Elrahman), return from school one day just in time to see their home torn down by Israeli forces. “It was just their turn,” Basem explains to British social worker Lisa (Imogen Poots), noting that most houses in the village have been marked for demolition.
Adding to the residents’ worries are the Israeli settlers whose red-roofed homes can be seen multiplying in the distance. Though the settlers have moved to the occupied territory illegally, the residents know the government is likely to take the newcomers’ side if any dispute arises.
Janis Ian was only 14 when she wrote one of the most influential—and controversial—songs of a generation. The story behind the anthem is told in Varda Bar-Kar’s new biographical documentary, Janis Ian: Breaking Silence.
A Jewish girl growing up in a mostly Black New Jersey neighborhood, the then-Janis Fink was inspired after seeing a young interracial couple cuddling on a bus despite the disapproving glares of those around them. The result was “Society’s Child,” about a White girl whose romance with a Black boy sets her up for harassment and demands to “stick to your own kind.”
Recorded in 1965, the song touched on such a raw nerve that it almost didn’t get released. Ian’s producer, Shadow Morton, had anticipated the problem and suggested that she play it safe by changing its first line: “Pick me up from school, baby, face is clean and shining black as night.” When Ian refused, Morton was forced to pitch the song to more than 20 record labels before finding one that was willing to take a chance on it.
We need your help! Green Columbus is facing a funding challenge due to delayed grant reimbursements (Dispatch & NPR have covered the story), making community support more important than ever. One way you can make a direct impact is by volunteering with us at Crew Concessions—where every volunteer shift earns Green Columbus a donation, plus tips!
How You Can Help
We need volunteers to work concessions at Columbus Crew home games and concerts. Each shift provides critical funding for our mission to grow and sustain Columbus’s tree canopy.
On Saturday, March 22 from 6-9pm at the Ohio Union [Performance Hall], 1739 N. High St., the Unchained OSU Fashion Show will tell the story of an overcomer of human trafficking through three stages: innocence (stars), violence (moon), and restoration (sun).
The story is told using garments, music, facts, and poetic narration. We partner with students and community members to put on the show with students as models and volunteers. The goal of the fashion show is to increase awareness of human trafficking both locally and globally. We hope to empower models, volunteers, and attendees with the necessary education, training, and tools to identify and report the crime and to join the abolitionist movement. Through this, attendees will learn what human trafficking is (awareness), what red flags and factors that lead to trafficking are (accountability), and what can be done to stop trafficking and help overcomers (action).
The Lincoln Theatre will present standout local performers and engaging discussion in three of the theatre’s ongoing series -- Backstage at the Lincoln, Club Lincoln, and Community Conversations.
All programs will be held at the Lincoln Theatre (769 E. Long St.). Tickets can be purchased at www.LincolnTheatreColumbus.com or by phone at (614) 469-0939.
Community Conversations
The Lincoln’s Community Conversations series is designed to generate local and global discussion on a variety of interesting questions surrounding the arts. Admission is free.
The next Community Conversations features: