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Despite all the awards it’s won, Sunday in the Park With George received both praise and brickbats when it opened on Broadway in 1984. One complaint was that the second act was an inferior and unnecessary addition to its predecessor. After seeing the Stephen Sondheim work for the second time, I’ve come to the opposite conclusion: I find the musical a satisfying experience precisely because Act 2 completes the emotional and artistic journey that began with the sometimes cold and unfocused Act 1. “The art of making art,” as Sondheim declares in one of the show’s best-known songs, “is putting it together.” With a book by James Lapine, who directed the Broadway premiere, the musical is a fictionalized account of French painter Georges Seurat’s creation of A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte in 1884. In Act 1, Georges (Matt Clemens) is so intent on finishing his pointillistic masterpiece that he neglects his lover and model, Dot (Laura Griffith). Around them, various characters observe Georges and are sometimes observed by him as he sketches figures he plans to incorporate into the painting.

Monday was Columbus Day all across the nation. Perhaps this is a good time to reflect on the real legacy of that conquistador. As James Baldwin once put it, “What passes for identity in America is a series of myths about one’s heroic ancestors.” One of the best ways to reconsider Columbus is to read the diaries of Columbus and Bartoleme de Las Casas. Las Casas’ extensive writings, including his most famous – “A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies” – gives us insight into the namesake of our city. Here’s the good Friar Las Casas' summary of Christopher Columbus’ activities in America: “What we committed in the Indies stands out among the most unpardonable offenses ever committed against God and mankind and this trade [in Indian slaves] as one of the most unjust, evil, and cruel among them.” I know what you’re thinking. Just because Columbus was the creator of the slave trade in America, doesn’t mean he wasn’t a pretty good darn navigator.

Although I am an adoptee rights activist I seldom read adoption books outside of topics I have a specific interest in. I almost always avoid memoirs. To be honest, most are awful. It may be good therapy to write your adoption story, but please leave it in your desk drawer! Michael Allen Potter's The Last Invisible Continent: Essays on Adoption and Identity is quite a different story. I've been familiar with Mike's work for several years. I knew this book (currently on Kindle) would be important. Unlike the typical weepy adoption memoir this one is hard and gritty. It's of the street, but also of the heart. Mike doesn't pull any punches about his mother's mental illness, his battle with alcohol, or his rotten adoption, which he discusses almost in passing, though it it obviously the core of his essays. He calls his work "brutal yet equatable.” In "The Re-education of Michael Potter," he recounts his rescue of his mentality ill birth mother from the crack house she's been tossed into when rockhead neighbors decide to forcibly switch their dump for her government funded apartment—and charge her exorbitant rent for their dump to boot.

Sadly I report that Mrs. Peaves has sprouted a bunion. The result of which is, yours truly has lingering Dyspepsia. I realize that will require some explaining. If you don't know, bunions can be quite painful. In Mrs. Peaves' case, the pain is “excruciating” ( her words). The bunion has put her off her game, so to speak. She cannot spend time on her feet and that has kept her out of the kitchen. Because she is not cooking our meals, I am left to fend for myself, which means I have been eating an overabundance of, oh dear me, fast food. Ordinarily I do not consume such rubbish. But with Mrs. Peaves on the bench, I have been forced to turn to clowns, pig-tailed little girls, chihuahuas and other such creatures for sustenance. It pains me. And I mean that. Specifically it pains me in the gastrointestinal area.

We are bringing you the top ten censored stories in this week’s Free Press, listed democratically in order of importance, according to the Project’s judges. These stories announced on October 1st are from the 2012-2013 news cycle. The Censored 2014 edition is co-edited by Mickey Huff and Andy Lee Roth and the project is based at Sonoma State University. This year’s volume of censored stories is entitled “Fearless Speech in Fateful Times.” The Free Press agrees.

While I have never encountered any staff there in an angry state, I have definitely discovered delicious, healthy and satiating vegan breakfast, lunch and even, sweet, baked options. I’m positively impressed with their rich and decadent chocolate brownie with a blueberry base (replacing eggs) a great cholesterol lowering maneuver without any compromise in taste. The Angry Baker does a delectable job of making vegan options available for those who want to refrain from consuming more than their fair share of earth’s precious resources and desire to make a serious attempt at loving all of our fellow earthlings, even in their food choices (they occasionally offer some gluten-free options if you call ahead, they will work with you). They cover several concerns of the socially just diner, such as; vegan options and attaining locally produced foods, but not all. Although they make everything from scratch, presently they use conventional ingredients, which means they could be GMO, are not necessarily organic, and operations are that of conventional business models. The Angry Baker is located in Old Town East at 891 Oak St. Columbus, OH 43205.

If last year’s film version didn’t convince you that Les Miserables belongs on the stage, maybe Otterbein will. Sure, the film was beautiful, and yes, Anne Hathaway was magnificent as Fantine. But after she took her leave, the rest seemed anti-climactic. On the Otterbein stage, though, director Dennis Romer and his cast rediscover the heart that’s needed to make the Alain Boublil/Claude-Michel Schonberg musical touch us all over again. Meanwhile, the music soars thanks to a slew of good singers and a full-sized orchestra performing under Lori Kay Harvey’s sensitive baton. Set before and during France’s June Rebellion of 1832, Les Miz begins just as Jean Valjean (Jordan Donica) is being released after serving 19 years on a chain gang for stealing a loaf of bread. But he’s not completely free, as he soon discovers his status as an ex-con prevents him from finding work. Valjean retaliates by stealing from a bishop (John Henry Carter) who shows him kindness.

Connections are set to release their second album “Body Language” on storied Columbus imprint Anyway Records. The formality of writing about Connections calls to mind that band members Kevin Elliott and Andy Hampel were in 84 Nash. Kevin’s brother Adam is in Times New Viking. Dave Capaldi was in El Jesus De Magico. Philip Kim is the slightly younger member who connects them to a different generation of Columbus indie rock people. Because of the band's line-ups legacy in Ohio music, the second formality is to mention they are influenced by Guided By Voices (GVB). As I sat listening to garage pop tales of ordinary Ohioans on “Aimless,” “Jeni & Johnny,” and “Girl’s Night Out.” It dawned on me three members grew up in Congressional District 8 (John Boehner’s district) before moving to Columbus. Because of Boehner's part in causing our current government shutdown, I facebooked Kevin Elliott, and here is where this review turns into an an interview: WF: Hey, Kevin. Reviewing the record. I know the album isn’t political but just remembered you grew up in John Boehner’s district.

Columbus’ own rapper/singer Chris Dickerson won the 2013 Most Improved Artist award at this year’s Ohio Hip Hop Awards Show (OHHA). Dickerson used to be known as Distinct 1 when he was a rapper, but people started calling him D1 and it stuck. The 29-year-old won the award “…for most improved all around - music, image, marketing, live performances, etc. The nomination process is partially chosen by fans and the Ohio Hip Hop Award panel, but the actual voting process is all done by the fans,” D1 told the Free Press.

Wednesday set off a pretty vibrant week in Columbus. I started off my evening catching the tale end of the Acid Reign Screening presentation of films for the aforementioned NYC Public Access program at downtown art space Skylab. The presentation supplemented itself with Columbus made videos. Two of the films were a flip on normal advertising methods. One shot workers at womyn-run Alternative Auto Care fixing a car presented with an arty realism. The other was almost an adbuster style anti-commercial for a cruise line that had dialog about the survival-of-the-fittest indifference of the ocean to the living beings in it. This could either be read for a parable about capitalism with the idea of someone wealthy taking a luxurious cruise while others suffer or it could be a parody of a dark humored overly serious indie film. After watching Acid Reign, I headed over to see Har Mar Superstar at Double Happiness. Har Mar Superstar is a left-field R & B singer from New York via Minnesota that looks like The Critic’s Jon Lovitz portraying porn-star Ron Jeremy.