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One month ago, I moved from my beloved Arcadia Avenue to the suburban paradise of Upper Arlington. I had my reasons, and I don’t regret the decision. But I do miss the noise and life of the city. There has also been something of a learning curve – dumping metal debris in my front yard for scrappers to pick up is not OK. I also had to buy a snow shovel.

As my consolation for the move, I decided that I was going to take advantage of my nearly doubled square footage and indulge myself with a real music room. A good chance to consolidate the drums, pianos, ten or so guitars, pennywhistles and other miscellany that was formerly stashed in every corner of my old house. And a place to put that duct taped together couch.

I hope so much that I will stay musically active and, unlike a lot of basement bars and man-caves, the room will be more of a functional space than a shrine to a past life. But hanging guitars on the wall got me excited, and the next thing you know I’m installing vintage style sconce lights and buying lava lamps. One thing led to another, culminating in a whiskey fueled online poster shopping spree at 1:00 AM.

Wednesday, Feb 6, 7pm
Grammercy Books, 2424 E. Main St.
A Black History Month special event not to be missed! Join veteran, teacher, historian and author Sandra Bolzenius as she discusses her book, Glory in Their Spirit, and learn about how four black women risked their careers and freedom to defy the United States Army over segregation during World War II.

City leaders have said trying to find parking in the Short North, even during peak hours, is a First World problem.

“I do agree that this is a First World problem, but parking is emotional because it affects you every day. It is a quality of life issue,” says Robert Ferrin the city’s assistant director for Parking Services. “There are people who are absolutely unhappy with this. Everyone looks at success differently.”

But tell that to long-time Short North and surrounding neighborhood homeowners who are planning to live in their home a lifetime.

Short North homeowners, feeling the squeeze of gentrification, say our city government, which has long been sold-out to high-end developers, made a bad parking problem even worse by not pushing back against a decade of overdevelopment.

“The community isn’t being listened too,” says Kevin Truitt, who’s owned his home on 3rd Avenue since 2011. “Instead, the city is thinking, ‘How can we develop the Short North? How can we benefit the developers?’ The parking problem is one element of this and the residents who have actually lived in the neighborhood for years are being tossed aside.”

When beloved Acorn Books on W. 5th Ave. began their three-month long-goodbye going-out-of-business sale a year ago, books were half-price. Nice.

Sad, but nice. I scored a few. Mostly World War II histories.

Then, after a few more price drops, they hit a dollar apiece. Time to plunder – without the guilt. I bought nearly 200, including a fat handful on our tortured history of race. Here's my recommended list you should read at any price:

At the end of January, the investigation into Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and their potential ties to Russia seemed to focus around one person – Roger Stone. This developed into a weekend news cycle around Stone that prompted some people to ask, “who is Roger Stone?”

Indeed, for normal folks who don’t have an obsession with politics or 2016, Roger Stone is not a name they would know unless they saw the Netflix documentary Get Me Roger Stone. Despite Stone’s reputation of being a dirty trickster and controversial provocateur who can build or destroy political careers on a local or national level, most of the country didn’t know any of that until January 25.

Chop5 Salad Kitchen is a new “create a chopped salad” concept sprouting up in the Polaris area. It makes getting your daily requirements for leafy greens, vegetables, legumes, fruits, and seeds fun and easy!

When 97% of the American population is deficient in fiber consumption, this is a much-needed service to society. While they have many combinations of salad you can choose from, you are also encouraged to create your own masterpiece that the staff then chops and adds dressings to present an energizing, fiber-rich and refreshing delight.

They seek to avoid cross-contaminating plants with animal ingredients on the chopping surface by only adding any animal products to the salad AFTER they chop the greens, beans, fruits and nuts/seeds on the board and place the salad on the plate. While vegans are definitely concerned with animal product cross-contamination, for those with allergies to nuts, dairy or meats (allergies to meats was news to me), this seems like it could be high-risk depending on the attention to detail and protocol compliance of the staff.

Tuesday, February 5, 2019, 8:30 – 11:00 PM
Join Fair Fight for a watch party as our Founder and Chair Stacey Abrams delivers the official response to the State of the Union next Tuesday! #AbramsAddress.  Location:  Lincoln Café, 740 E Long St., Columbus, OH 43203.  Facebook.  

Someone once observed that when a film borrows a few elements from earlier works, it’s considered unoriginal, but one that borrows every element is considered “well-researched.” In that sense, What Men Want is very well-researched indeed.

Though star Taraji P. Henson is a fresh and funny talent who easily holds our attention as sports agent Ali Davis, the film around her can’t escape the narrow path laid down by previous romcoms. In particular, it seems to borrow heavily from Amy Schumer’s 2015 starring vehicle, Trainwreck.

Is it just a coincidence that the heroines of both films have fathers who taught them to be tough and independent to the extent that they avoid committed relationships? That both relax their non-commitment rules after meeting nice guys? That both eventually screw up those relationships, causing them to re-evaluate themselves? Or, finally, that both stories revolve around basketball and feature appearances by real-life players?

Norman Mailer wrote there are two types of brave men. Those who are brave by the grace of nature “the naturally brave” and those who become brave by “an act of will.”

Boxing gyms are filled with the former. The “naturally brave” announce their presence loudly. They substitute courage for training. They boast. They brag. They climb into the ring unprepared. They lose and disappear as quickly as they arrived.

Those who become brave by an “act of will” follow a different path. These young women and men come to the ring humble and aware of what they don’t know. They watch, listen and learn. They understand that any defeat is temporary and each time they rise from the canvas they do so stronger than when they fell.

Day-by-day, round-by-round, their skills grow. Unsteady swipes transform into artful combinations of jab, cross and hook. Agile foot work complements increasing quick hands. Fear is overcome. The fear of being hit. The fear of hitting. The fear of answering that opening bell and standing toe-to-toe with your opponent for ageless minutes.

The Offense Book of Books Release event at Ace of Cups allowed me to think about music writing within context. The book is a compilation of The Offense post punk zine published from 1980 to 1982 curated by Tim Anseatt.

 I first came across The Offense Zine in 2009. I was impressed by the layout, the writing. I was impressed by the people writing for the zine. The writing was succinct. The Offense writing was funny. If the writing wasn't succinct the text was pre-familiar.

Book of Books is the correct name because the zines were compact and neatly designed. The writers themselves were the list of what defined Columbus, Ohio's national music image within rock music for the past 30 years: Ron House From Great Plains and Mike Repp were the names that kept me turning the pages of the Offense zine because I was listening to their music.