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Barcelona in German Village is one of the best restaurants in Columbus when it comes to ambiance- whether indoors with its palatial colors and draperies or outdoors amidst nature’s beautiful flowers and pond on the patio; I resonate. The team there has even suggested we collaborate on a vegan cooking class in the future; sounds like a plan. This year I celebrated my birthday by dining amidst this delicious Spanish fusion experience; it began with a tasty mushroom gift from the Chef, fresh baked bread and oil/w stewed tomatoes, followed by the Ensalda de Espinacas starter (subbed almonds for cheese), the vegan Paella de Verduras (with caramelized Brussels sprouts, piquillo peppers, roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, peas, sofrito and calasparra rice, and finished with a complimentary, refreshing pomegranate sorbet.

Did you know “The Last of the Red Hot Mamas” was Jewish?

Sophie Tucker (1887-1966) was regarded as a pioneer among female entertainers, performing material that was risqué for her time. Yet she was the product of a particularly strict Jewish upbringing. “She grew up in an Orthodox family,” said Emily Schuss, director of the Columbus Jewish Film Festival. “But obviously she then kind of went off that path a little bit to become an entertainer.”

Tucker’s life and career are celebrated in The Outrageous Sophie Tucker, a documentary featured in the 10th of the series’ less-serious offerings, Schuss said, but certainly not the only one.

For example, there’s It Happened in St. Tropez, which Schuss described as a “really light French comedy.” These and other films should appeal to viewers of all backgrounds, she said. “The films are really diverse this year,” Schuss said. “You know, a lot of people think, ‘Oh, they’re just going to show a bunch of Holocaust movies,’ but we really don’t.”

Not that the most tragic of 20th annual “Doc Sunday,” The Outrageous Sophie Tucker will be followed by Rescue in the Philippines: Refuge From the Holocaust.

Celia C. Peters is an avant-garde director and award-winning screenwriter creating compelling stories of authentically diverse characters. Peters is a member of New York Women in Film and Television and the Writers Guild of America. She was awarded a 2012 residency at Hawthornden International Retreat for Writers in Midlothian, Scotland. Her psychologically inspired, character-driven screenwriting has been both prize-winning [Godspeed, 2011 African American Women in Cinema Film Festival; Roxë15, 2004 SFBFF] and recognized in competition.

Her filmmaker credits include the experimental performance piece, “Poem in Motion (2011),” the short documentary “Rethinking Beauty (2011),” and “Editing Uptown (2010),” a featurette on the nationally distributed DVD of the indie film, “Uptown.” In 2007, Peters produced a half-hour segment, “The State of Hip-Hop” for WHUT/PBS and her short film “Breakthrough (2006),” was broadcast nationally on BET’s The Best Shorts series.

Dear Lady Monster,

I'll start to be FWB with a guy, then I develop feelings for him (usually after we spend the night together). He does not reciprocate, he is not emotionally available. Is it just me? I don't really want a relationship, I want to be casual, but my emotions get in the way. What's wrong with me? Why can't I just keep it simple and have sex and not get emotionally attached?

----Noticing Strings Attached
 

Dear NSA,

Thank you for your question.

I'd like for you to stop blaming yourself, and to quit asking the question, “What's wrong with me?”. Instead, when you and a man begin to reveal your personal interests and want to have a more intimate experience with each other, ask him about his emotional availability. Be honest with him about the connection you want.

Kevin DeBroux of Pink Reason proclaimed something to the affect that ‘We Need Harm Reduction Policies in Ohio’ from the Stage at the Summit towards the end of his bands’ rowdy and pulverizing set at the first annual Blackheart Festival.

The Blackheart Festival was event to celebrate the life of Joey Blackheart who played guitar in the Girls! who died in July due a complication with substance usage.

The Blackheart Festival was raising money for to develop Harm Reduction Programs in our area. Harm Reduction helps manage the negative affects of behaviors like recreational drug use and sexual activity by providing access to things like clean needles, opoid replacement, condoms, and designated drivers.

This was the first Pink Reason show in awhile, and I can say it was also the culmination of one the better nights of music in recent memory.

A planet run by King CONG—Coal, Oil, Nukes & Gas—cannot be sustained.

But to get beyond it, our Solartopian vision must embrace more than just a technological transformation.  It also demands social, political and spiritual transcendence.

From Fukushima to global warming, from fracking to the Gulf disaster(s), it’s clear the fossil/nuclear industry is hard-wired to kill us all. Its only motivating force is profit; our biological survival has no part in the equation.

The Ohio Student Association held a rally on the Statehouse steps on October 18 to demand an end to police killing of unarmed people of color both in Ohio and around the country. The group has been recently active protesting the police murder of John Crawford III in a Walmart in Beavercreek Ohio. Despite video showing Crawford being gunned down by Officer Sean Williams with virtually no warning, while holding a BB gun he intended to purchase, Williams was not indicted for any crime connected with his death.

From October 6 through 9, the group occupied the Beavercreek police station in order to present their demands to the Beavercreek Chief of Police. The Group had three demands including the firing of Williams and the charging of 911 caller Ronald Ritchie for causing the incident by making false claims to the police. The organizers also demanded better training for police to prevent future incidents. All of their demands were firmly rebuffed by the Beavercreek police chief in two separate meetings.

I’ve never had a phobia about clowns, but I have to admit that a jealous clown with a knife gave me a few tense moments during the premiere of Pagliacci.

The “Opera on the Edge” production is staged in Shadowbox Live’s Backstage Bistro. Because much of the action takes place in the midst of the restaurant’s tables, I found myself just inches away from the skirmish that erupts when Canio (Clay Hilley) learns his wife, Nedda (Emily Brand), is having an affair.

Even though I assured myself that the actors were pros and that Canio’s knife was merely a stage prop (at least, I hoped it was), the scene was still a little scary.

But think about it: How often does opera offer such a visceral thrill to casual fans like myself? The experience illustrates the appeal of these co-productions of Shadowbox and Opera Columbus.

Just as they did with earlier productions of La Boheme and The Merry Widow, the troupes have shortened the opera, translated it into English and presented it in an informal setting, thus making it more understandable and accessible.

The Ohio Supreme Court’s recent unanimous decision allowing DUI defendants the right to challenge their breathalyzer test is a victory for adults who responsibly consume alcohol and never get behind the wheel when they have had too much, say local and state defense attorneys.

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled 7-0 affirming a lower court’s decision to deny prosecution a Cincinnati man’s breathalyzer test as evidence because the state of Ohio refused to hand over computer data showing the breathalyzer machine the man tested on – the Intoxilyzer 8000 – maybe unreliable and has accuracy issues.

While the case, City of Cincinnati vs. Daniel Ilg, is about challenging the Intoxilyzer 8000, it is equally about a defendant’s right for discovery of evidence.

Since 1984 a controversial Ohio Supreme Court decision, State vs. Vega, has denied any DUI defendant the right to challenge any state-certified breathalyzer machine they tested on, and the City of Cincinnati cited Vega when it refused to hand over the computer data to Daniel Ilg’s attorney.

Members of the Ohio Students Association were confronted at 5pm today by officers in riot gear from multiple agencies after refusing to leave the Beavercreek police station. Earlier today, October 8, 2014, the students met with the police chief over demands following an officer-involved killing. Officers from Xenia, Greene County Sheriffs, Beavercreek, Fairborn, Yellow Springs and the State Highway Patrol were on hand to remove the protestors conducting a sit-in in front the station. Demonstrators tweeting from the scene noted the presence of at least two police K-9 units. Students had vowed to stay overnight but left when the police station closed after successfully shutting it down for several hours.