Local
We welcome the news that a ceasefire agreement has apparently been reached between Israel and Palestine in the Gaza Strip. However, we approach this news with caution for a variety of reasons.
This article first appeared on Reel Time with Richard Ades.
This is the time of year when critics get a chance to catch up on recent flicks they might have missed, courtesy of studios in search of buzz and, hopefully, award nominations. While I don’t claim to be clairvoyant when it comes to the latter, I can confidently say this: If the Oscars and other competitions gave out prizes for bravery, these three films and their creators would win hands down.
One filmmaker displays creative courage by breaking the mold in a familiar genre, while the others put their liberty and even their lives at risk in order to bring their truths to the screen.
Let’s look at them one by one.
Biopic with a difference
By now, we all know the drill when it comes to film biopics: The would-be celeb claws his or her way to the top, but success comes at a steep cost. Friends are abandoned, spouses are cheated on, and alcohol and/or drugs are abused.
The new Congress took office this past week, both houses now with an anti-environment majority. Tomorrow Trump will return to the White House. We’re facing an unprecedented attack on our environmental protections.
The new administration and its Big Oil allies have detailed plans to roll back clean energy protections and tear down the critical safeguards that defend our planet.
Tell the new Congress to oppose attempts to undo climate protections!
Several times during his confirmation hearings this week, Pete Hegseth invoked his “lord and savior, Jesus.” Yet he employed the reference more as a shield or lifeline than an indication of Christian humility or kindness. A big part of what made Hegseth so objectionable was his utter lack of humility; throughout, he exhibited the bravado and smug self-satisfaction of a schoolyard bully. His target was anything that could be described as “left-wing woke.” The irony is that if Jesus were alive today, He would be “woke.”
What exactly are Republicans afraid of? What are they critical of when they smear someone (or something) as “woke”?
January 18, 2025, 2pm jazz sax player from Cleveland, 3pm - conversation
Old First Presbyterian, 1101 Bryden Road. 43205
“Third Space” project, join the conversation and hear great music. Plans for 2025 organizing.
Saturday, January 18, 2025, 12:00 – 3:00 PM
Goodale Park, 120 W. Goodale St., Columbus - march to the Ohio Statehouse at 1pm
This is our time. Our time to make it clear: we will not be pushed aside, ignored, or silenced. On January 18, we march together—as women, as LGBTQIA+ individuals, as BIPOC communities, as immigrants, as allies. We stand united to demand a world where equality is not a threat, but a reality.
Dr. Bob Fitrakis and Dan-o Dougan spin songs recorded by all-girl groups from the 1940s, such as the Carter Sisters and Andrews Sisters, through the 50s, 60s and 70s with the Ronettes and Supremes, up to the 80s with Sister Sledge and lots more!
Listen live at 11pm January 17 and 24 streaming at wgrn.org or on the radio at 91.9FM
and
Mondays at 2pm streaming January 20 and 27 at wcrsfm.org or on the radio at 92.7 or 98.3FM
Archived on Mixcloud here
Dad called them pillow parties.
I was 16 or 17 when he brought it up, once, over dinner. Mom, Dad, my little brother, and I were watching TV. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was a thing then, and 60 Minutes was asking and telling plenty. It made me uncomfortable. I wasn’t out to my family. I was barely out to myself.
Dad, an ex-Marine, wasn’t helping. He hated the thought of a gay man serving in the military. When the segment ended, he muted the TV to make sure we could hear him clearly.
“You know what we used to do with ‘em?” It was rhetorical. He continued before we could answer. “We’d throw pillow parties for ‘em.”
He explained: pillowcases, heavy rocks, a group of Marines, and an unsuspecting, suspected gay man asleep in the barracks. A bruised bedtime story. A sadistic Semper Fi sleepover. A pillow party. And if you want to see such hate in action, watch Stanley Kubrick’s Vietnam War movie “Full Metal Jacket.”
Great family dinner conversation, Dad. Pass the potatoes.
Thursday, January 16 at 6PM
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/O2nqudYtTz-0L4EJKTpoDA
This global event, held simultaneously in cities across the world, seeks justice, accountability, and systemic reform in response to the ongoing failures of law enforcement and the lack of accountability for police misconduct.
The Columbus Dispatch reported (City finances purchase of Idea Foundry and Gravity Experience Park in Franklinton January 13, 2025) that the City of Columbus has purchased The Idea Foundry and Gravity Experience Park for $7.5 million. The purchase was made with taxpayer grant agreements made out to Columbus Next Generation which is the City’s non-profit development arm. Next Generation Executive Director Boyce Safford, who is a former City of Columbus Development Director has served in his role since 2013 and is paid $168,062 annually. Some may recall that Director Safford told a group of minority business contractors at an April 2009 meeting that “they need to contribute to Columbus officials’ political campaigns if they expect to win contracts from City Hall” (Columbus Dispatch City officials advice upsets contractors, April 11, 2009.)