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A play party by definition is an orgy – a gathering of several people of varying sexual lifestyles/ preferences for the purpose of sexual activity. Usually the host(s) determines if the party is for a hetero/bisexual, gay/lesbian or BDSM (or all of the above) attendees. Play parties are usually by invitation only. When invitations go out, a set of rules are also sent. Sometimes admission is charged to cover the cost of staff, rent, laundry and supplies. Sometimes males only are charged admission or charged a higher rate of admission than females. Usually there is a reasonable fee for couples or a group that arrives together. The main rule is to have consent. If someone does not wish to engage with others, but to just watch or exhibit masturbation, that is their preference. If you ask someone for a sexual encounter, for permission to touch, kiss or more, be specific about your intentions and be ready to move on after hearing, “No.” A pile of writhing, naked bodies is not necessarily an invitation for anyone to join in. If you have been told “No” by someone and yet you see them in the midst of a pile, don't be confused.

The Columbus Film Council will present a collection of short films with a Valentine’s Day theme—love, sex and romance on Tuesday, Feb. 11. Join fellow cinephiles at Brothers Drake Meadery & Bar, 26 E. 5th Ave. in the Short North, to view the collection. The show is free and open to the public. Screenings begin at 8 p.m. Films to be screened include Love Stalk, A House, A Home, Grotto, and Sphere In Boxland. “We are thrilled to be able to present international short films as part of a community screening program with Brothers Drake Meadery,” said Susan Halpern, Columbus Film Council Executive Director. “The evening will be a dark and humorous look at love, yet with hope and romance as well.” Love Stalk (by Joe Fiorello, 20 minutes) takes place in Hong Kong and, hrough a young woman’s eyes, explores the world’s new digital capability of stalking via the Web. Sharon Ong (played by Angie Palmer, a former Columbus resident) is an executive from Singapore having a hard time finding love in the one-night-stand capital of the world.

Normally if someone invites me to a spoken word event, I bestow the same mistrust I would if that person borrowed a $5 from me and did not pay it back. I might be polite but I would have a distant politeness to that human until they showed me a reason to want to engage with them. So I was a bit leery when I went to the Jan. 28 reading at No Place that featured N.E. Alt-Lit stars Jordan Castro, Mallory Whitten, Richard Wehernberg as well as Columbus “poets” Alex Mussawir, James Payne, Danielle, Cagialno and Ryan Eilbeck. The writers from N.E. Ohio are primed as this era’s voices. So if they were corny, then poetry would be ruined for another 5-12 years depending on what technological advances, atrocities and new drugs created another generation. As far as the people from Columbus, I am not so sure if I wanted to see them naked. Fortunately everyone mixed humor with insight. Some highlights, James Payne started the evening singing an acapella version of “Mercedes Benz” by Janis Joplin, and went on to speak candidly about student debt often having zero correlation with job prospects, and his preferences for interacting with certain types of intellectuals.

EASY is a small independent publishing label and platform for experimentation and collaboration that local artists Samantha Rehark and Elijah Funk have been developing since 2011. “We need an intern.” Samantha Rehark and Elijah Funk joked from time to time during our interview at the No Place Studios located amidst an industrial ruin on the Southside of Columbus. “It’s a weird place to be to be… I don’t know if we even have time to make our own stuff,” says Funk of going from creating his own work to helping others. We were discussing the time-consuming labor of love the two artists have created with EASY. EASY started off organizing silent auctions, artist talks, skill-building events and a lot of informal drawing, bonding events in 2011. “We realized we were making a lot of print material through all of It.” said Rehark of EASY’s development from artist events to a zine publishing resource, which used Kickstarter in October 2013 to raise $2500 dollars to print publications by emerging visual artists, musicians and writers. EASY’s campaign is enabling them to publish Aiden Koch, John Malta, Sam Reiser, Nathan Snell, Heather Benjamin, Dan Rosser (Cult Ritual) and more.

In hindsight I realize it was a mistake. Oh, I had good intentions, but, alas, I have erred. For Christmas I gave Mrs. Peaves a tablet computer. Now she has become one of “those people.” You know the type. Always tinkering away on their smart phones, twiddling their thumbs to the tempo of a quick-paced Samba. God knows what most of those people are up to, perhaps launching a plan to commit some crime, or gossiping about their friends more likely. A year ago Mrs. Peaves was not exactly what you might call tech-savvy. Frankly she was pretty much tech-ignorant. She was afraid of the computer, actually. On the odd occasion when she needed to use one, I had to stand over her shoulder and guide her through the steps. It's tedious work, I can tell you. But then, around nine months ago, she dropped her cell phone in the toilet. That wasn't a good day for anyone, I assure you. The end result was, Mrs. Peaves was forced to get a new phone. Her contract was up anyway, so she received a new one for free, free that is if you don't count all the fees associated with it. What she got was a smart phone.

There’s nothing like a little Full Frontal Nudity to put folks in the mood for Valentine’s Day. That’s the hope, anyway, as MadLab’s resident improv troupe gets ready to open its third annual production of Date Night. The show contains no actual nudity, of course, as the group’s name is a come-on. Instead, FFN’s players plan to engage in off-the-cuff storytelling based on what little they know about couples from the audience. Josh Kessler, an actor who’s been with the show since the beginning, explained how it works. “We try to get two or three couples out of the audience, one couple at a time, and we bring them up onstage,” he said. There, the lovebirds are given a seat on a couch, offered snacks and asked a series of questions about themselves: how they met, what they like about each other, what they do for a living and so forth. “Then,” said Kessler, “we go out and do our rendition of that.” “Rendition,” in this case, means an improvised story that may have little to do with the couple’s actual lives but still contains a kernel of truth about their relationship.

Jim began playing professionally in 1965, and has played with some of central Ohio’s most popular bands. He was a founding member and front man for such bands as: the original Gears, the Diplomats, the Lapse of Tyme, Tristram Shandy, the Alligators, the Dick Mackey Band, the Hipnotics and the Lynch Mob. In 1995 Jim founded the band, the JuJu Bees. As the bandleader, lead guitar player, lead singer — and the only member of the JuJu Bees to have performed at every show from the band’s inception to July 4, 2002 — he named the band for a humorous story in his past. Jim has also been an integral member of such bands as: the Dave Workman Blues Band, Tyler, Spittin’ Image and McGuffey Lane, among others.

The Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT) is the largest charter school in the state of Ohio. The online school is easily the largest charter school in Ohio and would be ranked as the 12th largest school district in the state. ECOT received over $88 million in state funding for the 2012-13 school year and funding is expected to jump to over $92 million this school year. On the latest report cards released by the Ohio Department of Education, ECOT continues to rank below all of the 8 large urban schools that are often-criticized by legislators and in the media for their “sub-par” performance. For graduation rate, a key indicator for the long-term success of a school/district, ECOT’s 4-year graduation rate is a paltry 35.3 percent, while their 5-year graduation rate of 37.8 percent, which is only slightly higher, was still over 25 percentage points worse than the lowest urban school district, Cleveland, which checked in at 63.3 percent.

While attending Sexapalooza 2014 as an entertainer and presenter, I met many people in the sex-positive community of Central Ohio.

I'd like to take this column space to list some of the organizations, groups, people and places and provide a list of resources and information. I enjoy creating community, bringing people together for more knowledge, awareness, respect and love - especially for a more sex-positive society.

Adventures In Sexuality (AIS). Kinky? Curious? Check out Central Ohio's fun, educational, and experiential avenue for Creative Sensual and Sexual Expression. Within the banner of AIS, there are many sub-groups where people can find their niche. We are comprised of diverse members of the Ohio and National Kink Community. We are focused on Education, Outreach, Safer Play, Fun and toward building greater Kink Awareness and Acceptance within the Central Ohio area. www.AdventuresInSexuality.org
Here are some events and offerings within AIS:

I first discovered the ZenCha Tea salon several years back as a participant of a local Philosophy meet-up group. I have been a tea lover for as long as I can remember and this peaceful, elegant sanctuary has a very clean, uncluttered, organized, and zen-like lighting and music atmosphere regardless of which of the three locations you choose. It is a place that is reminiscent of that Karate Kid 2 tea ceremony feeling. I will note that the menu is not the same in all locations, which is why I recently had a new revelation of delight at the Bexley location (I’m more prone to dinning at the High St. or Gay St. locations). I nearly leapt out of the booth with excitement with how delicious the yakisoba dish was with its “tangy yaki” sauce. The staff was very friendly and conscious of vegan requirements and other socially just concerns such as local economy produce (though not with the teas), non- GMO and organic sourcing.