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The first "Insidious" was released back in 2011 with James Wan as the director, and it's still undoubtedly the best in the series. Good horror films depend on characters, atmosphere, subtle occurrences, and mounting dread. "Insidious: The Red Door," the fifth and supposedly "final" installment in the franchise, only ticks a few of these boxes.

I wanted to love "Insidious 5," especially with it being Patrick Wilson's directorial debut––having established himself as a bona fide scream king between "The Conjuring" and the first two "Insidious" movies. Plus, with Blumhouse's reputation for producing some of the most acclaimed horror films to date, including "Get Out" (2017) and Paranormal Activity (2007), my expectations were high. However, the "final" installment of the "Insidious" franchise was a mixed bag for me.

Issue 1, to be voted on August 8th, wants to raise the number of votes required for citizen-initiated Ohio Constitutional amendments (the ones people bother you about in the Kroger parking lot) to pass from a simple majority (50% + 1) to 60%.

Pushed by right-wing government officials scared of being held accountable for their actions, this is a direct attack against democracy in Ohio. It will give even more power to an increasingly authoritarian and out-of-touch Statehouse. Proponents claim Issue 1 will end outside special interest influence on Ohio’s Constitution, yet Illinois billionaire and 2020 election denier Richard Uihlein has donated $1 million to pass Issue 1. If Issue 1 were to pass, democracy in Ohio would be dead.

We need Route Drivers

We are looking for a few long term route drivers.

Send resumes to: compostit@thecompostexchange.com

We also need Booth Managers

Know someone who is 21 and older who is sustainably minded and wants to make some extra income working Saturday mornings or Sunday afternoons?

Send resumes to: compostit@thecompostexchange.com

A mere 55 years after his death, the U.S. government has restored J. Robert Oppenheimer’s security clearance, which the Atomic Energy Commission had taken away from him in 1954, declaring him to be not simply a communist but, in all likelihood, a Soviet spy.

Oppenheimer, of course, is the father of the atomic bomb. He led the Manhattan Project during World War II, which birthed Little Boy and Fat Man, the bombs we dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, killing several hundred thousand people and ending the war. What happened next, however, was the Cold War, and suddenly commies – our former allies – were the personification of evil, and they were everywhere. The American government, in its infinite wisdom, knew it had no choice but to continue its nuclear weapons program and, for the sake of peace, put the world on the brink of Armageddon.

Hello, H-bomb!

War, the building block of the world’s governmental entities for uncounted millennia, had evolved to the brink of human extinction. Official government policy amounted to this: So what?

Part One

It should surprise no one that in 21st  century United States, young children’s learning to read is a landmine within academic capitalism where sales profits trump diverse children’s basic learning and equitable, humane bases for their futures. Unknowledgeable governors and politicians weigh in, confusing the public and offending teachers. Recent articles and essays in national and local media overflow with this, as the References show.

Today, with more force than usual across states and cities, the episodic “reading wars” erupt with passion and ignorance, and large financial stakes. At their oversimplified base, the “reading wars” pit one of a number of different forms of “phonics” against various forms of “phonetics.”

It is rarely noted that the issues are at least two hundred years, not two decades old, and that they have to do with much more than different ways of teaching children to read—and less often mentioned, write, spell, and do arithmetic.

With a handgun strapped to his belt, the owner of what was once a Far West Side farm points a chubby finger to a nearby retention pond in a small and mostly forgotten City of Columbus park. “There was once an old stone church there. Presbyterian,” says the mustached man from under his ball cap. 

The church was demolished for the pond when a large apartment complex went up next door in 2001. The City turned the church’s former property into Clover Park, and near the pond’s banks is a cemetery where some of the dead perished in the Civil War fighting for the Union. They had to be Presbyterian.

“At least the City kept the bodies,” says “Brett” who wished to remain anonymous. His property, with a 100-year-old farmhouse and barn intact, is close to Clover Park.

Wednesday, July 12, 2023, 7:00 – 8:00 PM
Hear from several active Move to Amend Ohio leaders.  Ask questions. Get pumped to Take Action.

What is State Issue 1?  Why would make it harder to challenge corporate rule?  What you can do to Take Action to help others to Vote NO on August 8 (early registration begins July 11). 

More information and registration here. 

I entered Souls of Mischief’s 30th Anniversary of “93 Til Infinity” tour Saturday night at the A + R Bar. I took the 1 from On Tap at Bethel Center into the A+R Bar’s Downtown walking vicinity.

While pregaming off Bethel Road, I recommended Billy Woods’ new album while at the On Tap bar which was added into a friend’s phone upon recommendation. I said, “Billy Woods is Def Jux meets Earl Sweatshirt.”

After On tap, I ate Fresco Taco Bell off Kenny Rd. A food eater turns veggie items vegan at Taco Bell with their Fresco button. Fresco replaces many non-vegan ingredients with tomatoes.

I bumped Alchemist ft. Earl Sweatshirt, and Billy Woods with my Beats while looking at our city from a bus. Alchemist’s “RIP Tracy” song ain’t on the Billy Woods album. You can bump various songs from a cellphone.

At the door, I set my Futura lanyard, Beats, Iphone, and wallet in a tray. I didn’t have anything which set the alarm off.

The room was filled with people who like rap songs.

When Andy Ginther’s office was asked by WSYX TV on July 3 to respond to the deplorable conditions of the new Greyhound bus terminal on North Wilson Road, his office stated, “Greyhound is private property and that issues should be brought to the Greyhound company.”

That statement couldn’t be further from the truth. Officials of Ginther’s Development Department signed off on a Zoning Clearance and allowed this facility to open and operate without plumbing, one trash receptacle, improper maneuverability for buses, no lockers for passengers’ baggage, vending machines and no on-site security.  

Amazon Prime Day is Tuesday, July 11th (TODAY!) & Wednesday, July 12th. Why not use this opportunity to help homeless and marginally housed men, women and children we serve?