Local

Record Store Day can be viewed many different ways. It can be seen as a method to celebrate and create revenue for places that operate as community hubs. The cynical can mock it as a vehicle for for the music industry to hock limited edition items from a bulk of bands that no one really needs including record stores. Or one could say: every day is record store day.
  Well, since record store day is Saturday(April 18) and this paper is released on Thursday, I went to a few record stores and asked them to show me music from the general vicinity with the intention of reviewing said releases.
  These are not record store day releases.
  The first stop was Magnolia Thunderpussy located at 1155 N. High Street near 5th in the Short North. I ran into Charlotte Kubat whose family owns the store. I used to work at Magnolia so I know Charlotte decently. We made small talk, and then she showed me the “local” section.

Can style be substance? Can synth-pop have a baby in Ohio and let it claim the top of the pops? Is Jack White The Last Man Left In Rock? What the hell am I talking about?
  Let me digress and egress, my little egret, before I progress. It's my job.

Great Jazz Albums
This spring herald's the 50th Anniversary of arguably the greatest Jazz album ever released. I don’t write these words lightly. There are many contenders.
  “Kinda Blue” by Miles Davis (Columbia Records, 1959) hits every short list. Certified as quadruple platinum, it is the best selling Jazz album of all time. “Giant Steps” (Atlantic, 1960) is another challenger. Blistering arpeggios, known as “Sheets of Sound,” rise and fall faster then hummingbirds wings. The title track from “Giant Steps” is the quintessential study piece for Jazz improvisation. Modern enthusiasts claim that the newly discovered “John Coltrane & Thelonious Monk At Carnegie Hall” is equally worthy of consideration. In 1957 a Thanksgiving Jazz benefit was held for the Morningside Community Center in Harlem. Performers included Ray Charles, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk. This live recording lay hidden in the Library of Congress till being discovered, restored and finally released by Blue Note Records in 2005.

This is a good time to be a Marvin Hamlisch fan.

  Not only can you see A Chorus Line, the late composer’s best-known musical, but you can follow it up with a visit to the photo exhibition “Remembering Marvin Hamlisch: The People’s Composer” at the Columbus Museum of Art.

  Though the exhibition may have sentimental appeal, I suspect most Hamlisch devotees will prefer the musical, which has been a popular and critical hit since its 1975 Broadway debut. The winner of no fewer than nine Tony Awards, it’s the appealing story of a ragtag bunch of dancers trying out for an upcoming stage show.

  The show-within-a-show’s director/choreographer, Zach (Nick Lingnofski), runs the dancers through their paces as he tries to determine which ones deserve a spot in the chorus line. The dancers do their best to learn the moves, all the while wondering just how many of those spots are available.

The Free Press honors Earth Day 2015 by saluting a local group with the goal to promote clean, sustainable energy. The Clintonville Energy Cooperative (CEC) currently takes on projects to make people’s homes more energy efficient using solar technology.
  Their mission is to build resilience and sustainability in the Clintonville area “by increasing household energy efficiency and increasing the number of households using affordable, renewable energy options.” Their methods are financially efficient as well, using a “time bank – where people provide their skills and gifts to bank hours of service and draw on these banked hours to receive the services they need.”
  The CEC is committed to “a cooperative environment” that “occurs when the users are the same people who produce the services. This ensures meaningful economic value through more widespread accessibility to resources. Social capital is the binding inner value created within a community, from sharing our resources such as time and effort. We believe that we are optimizing these values.”
  The CEC works toward:

While the ridiculous Ameriflora exhibition took up residence at Franklin Park in downtown Columbus in 1992 – inexplicably there to commemorate the 500th anniversary Columbus “discovering America” – then-President George Herbert Walker Bush paid it a visit. Thankfully, Goblinhood was present to exorcise the spirit of the ex-CIA director from the park and restore it to its natural state that we enjoy today. He did so with stalks of broccoli, knowing that the President would recoil from his most hated vegetable, that had been banned from the White House.
  Goblinhood, his suitcase, and cosmic weevil dolls, were creatures commonly found in the Short North during the 1990s, especially at the Acme Art Company gallery and performance space run by the late Lori McCargish. Wearing a spider-covered face mask, cape and clothes adorned with art, Goblinhood recited poetry at political events, performed on Comfest stages, and could be found giving tarot cards readings at a Free Press Second Saturday salon.

Columbus elector Jonathan C. Beard today filed an elections Complaint seeking to end false campaign statements  being made by Columbus mayoral candidate Andrew Ginther and his surrogates.  My Complaint, filed with the Ohio Elections Commissions, alleges multiple violations of ORC 3517.21, which bars false statements to promote or oppose candidates in elections for public office.  I believe the state of Ohio has a compelling interest in enforcing honest political debate, and have asked for that result.

Acre is an exciting new option for socially just diners on High St. just north of the OSU campus. They have developed their “farm to table to go” platform on locally sourced ingredients, organic grains and more sustainable practices like quality service ware (as opposed to disposable) recycling and composting. Hungry people can be satisfied with an affordable assortment of fresh, delicious and easily veganizable fusion of Asian and Mexican style bowls and wraps and refreshing shrubs. No vegan dessert here yet however; their cookies have dairy. Perhaps they can contract with Nanak, Pattycake or Destination Donuts for a vegan dessert. Vegans may want to verify what has honey or dairy. The peanut and hoisin sauces are vegan and they offer tofu for those who still eat soy. Their staff is informed on vegan needs and they have a comprehensive guide on menu item ingredients for anyone who has specific avoidances for ethics, health, allergies, phobias, prevention etc. The river of denial that still runs through our culture regarding “humane,” “free range,” “grass fed,” “organic,” “meat,” (and animal products including dairy/eggs/goat products etc.) requires a reality check.

I attended the Stonewall Democrats of Central Ohio (SDCO) meeting on April 7th in support of Columbus City Council candidate Will Petrik. I learned that the SDCO had recommended Petrik to be endorsed for Columbus City Council. I was impressed with this bold move. I had only been to one of their meetings before about 10 years ago or so. I remember leaving that meeting on my own as I was definitely one of the few People of Color in the room and there were very few women in attendance. I felt like an outsider. This time, I was excited about attending and anticipated some real progress with this organization.
  This excitement started to fade quickly as I walked into the small pack of mostly white (still) attendees and likely coming from the same social and economic demographic. Most people were friendly but many, including candidates, didn't even say hello. In my culture as I know it, a "saludo" (greeting/hello) is a must regardless of anything. There seemed to be many Andrew Ginther for Mayor supporters in attendance and it felt as though I was at a Ginther rally or meeting. It was obvious they had stacked the room, which is fair play in politics I suppose.