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As I have previously mentioned, Mrs. Peaves works with underprivileged children. That has led her to befriend some of their parents. A few years ago she learned that most of them were being ripped off yearly by unscrupulous tax preparers. She asked me to help them by preparing their taxes for them. What I learned was shocking, but more on that later. Over the weekend, Mrs. Peaves talked me into (read: browbeat me into) doing her own taxes. When I was finished I learned something that did not make her happy. I learned that the IRS will not begin processing returns until January 31. After researching the delay, I learned it was a result of the government shutdown back in October. The IRS made the announcement soon after the shutdown was over, but I did not see the news at the time. It was probably in the business news, which I routinely ignore. Since learning of the delay Mrs. Peaves has been in a snit, and not because her own return won't be processed until the end of the month. Her concern is the poorest members of the community who are typically eager to get their hands on some quick cash.

David versus Goliath: me and my High Street record store against the Ohio State University.

Who shall win? First, what's the problem, mate? Ahem, ah yes, the problem--as stated by OSU is, ready tailgaters?--the level of volume my lone, beat-up, pathetic six-inch sidewalk speaker puts out during store hours. You're thinking, aren't you? How could some dinky record store (our motto: small and getting smaller) and it's dinky speaker get phone calls and visits from the Columbus Police? At the behest of America's biggest university? How? Well, I'm not kidding. And it's been happening for some years. Backstory, please, right? Here it comes. I've been putting some sort of speaker out on the sidewalk every morning since Moses wore short pants. I give it a little volume so passersby get a little groove on for the few seconds they're walking by. Not hugely loud, not usually.

On January 14, the Federal Appeals Court for the District of Columbia struck down a Communications Commission rule that guaranteed what is called “net neutrality.” The rule prohibited internet providers from blocking internet traffic to consumers based on content or bandwidth or charging consumers a greater fee to access content. The split decision by the court in favor of Verizon and MetroPCS had additional support in the form of briefs from right­wing lobbying groups and the conservative former Attorney General of Virginia, Ken Cuccinelli. Cuccinelli had filed friends of the court briefs to assist the appellants in their case. The court leaned heavily on a similar decision in 2010 in favor of ComCast, that prompted renewed rules prohibiting the blocking of internet traffic based on content. Verizon brought the new lawsuit that asks to charge both the internet subscriber for access and the content providers for access to the subscribers.

What do you do if a grassroots citizens' coalition is gaining traction to enact good government reforms? If you're in charge at Columbus City Hall, you challenge the reforms to keep them off the ballot based on procedural and technical issues and you recruit your own “grassroots” organizer to carry water for you. The Columbus Coalition for Responsive Government filed enough signatures on petitions to place two initiatives on the May 2014 ballot -- a citywide campaign finance reform issue and a call for a vote to repeal the publicly funded Nationwide Arena bailout. The Franklin County Board of Elections has indicated that the legal system has typically supported allowing initiatives on the ballot, indicating that any legal or technical issues should later sorted out in court. One of the challenges to the initiatives points out that one warning sentence was not printed in red ink at the top of each petition. It was instead printed in black. Printing the sentence in red is not required by the city charter, only at the state level.

“Forward Ever” is a new Third Thursday monthly reggae night at Café Bourbon Street that sets off Thursday, January 23. Flipp-A, Jah Shaolin, Timothy Blender, Ashley, DJ Johnny Bananas and host Mario Rankin are the driving forces behind “Forward Ever.” Jah Shaolin said the goal of “Forward Ever” is to “spotlight the broad spectrum of Jamaican music for both reggae fans and novices alike.” Jah added, “I will focus on the 70s and 90s for this night. Tim & Flip have the 80s covered, Johnny loves early reggae (60s-70s), and Ashley loves roots reggae in general.” Ashley is a 20 year-old man from Zimbabwe who connected with the other guys at the Israel Vibration Show at Al Rosa Villa on March 07, 2013 and by shopping at Roots. Eventually, they all bonded performing at Chef Orlando’s Bistro on Shrock Road. When asked how he got into reggae, Ashley responded matter-of-factly, “I grew up on it.” Ashley got into deejaying because artists he likes such as Dennis Brown, Hugh Mundell and Junior Clark 's music was primarily available on vinyl when he moved to Columbus, saying, “Vinyl was limited. It was the way to check it out.

Organizers are gearing up for a march that will go from Los Angeles to Washington DC to call attention to the need for serious, immediate action to stave off a looming, deadly climate change catastrophe. The Great March for Climate Action is the brainchild of former progressive Iowa state legislator turned talk show host Ed Fallon, who identified the climate crisis as the most serious challenge facing humanity. Eight organizers have been hired to oversee the March and its logistics. Called the Climate March for short, it starts, appropriately, on March 1, 2014. Marchers will undergo eight months of heat, cold, wind, sun, rain, mountainous terrain, blisters and insects—all for an incredibly rewarding, life-changing adventure meeting and educating people and policymakers along the way. Marchers will walk around 15 miles per day and tent camp at night. The distance is very doable in comparison with a 20 or more mile per day walk. The March will go through Phoenix, Albuquerque, Taos, Denver, Omaha, Des Moines and Chicago. The route will go through Northwest Ohio to Toledo and along Lake Erie to Cleveland and then to Youngstown.

Last week’s passing of Phil Everly serves as a reminder that almost nobody is left from the great Rock 'n Roll era, the first post-big band suburban teen explosion – Little Richard, Elvis, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran to name some. Many died young, a few are still hanging on, but this time is about to pass completely. Reconstructions of that period from this point out will likely be forensic, as is this essay. But them’s the breaks with history. "Rock ‘n Roll,” that most thoroughly useless of musical definitions, purportedly encompassing everything from Bill Haley to Slayer. Ha ha. I have a vague recollection of a music genre chart which showed plainly enough that "rock 'n roll" is just a mixed drink, straight 50/50 combination of Blues and Country (or perhaps Western Swing – it was a long time ago). Beyond that I can't pretend to guess. Wherever it came from, at some point some genius tacked high school lyrics onto the primal, syncopated rhythm called back-beat, and record companies started making astonishing amounts of money.

The title of Shadowbox Live’s latest sex-and-relationship show—Foreplay—reminds me of a comment I made about one of its predecessors. In a long-ago review, I said watching it was like experiencing really bad foreplay that miraculously led to really good sex. You can’t make a comment like that these days, as Shadowbox no longer puts on theme shows that ricochet between really bad and really good. True, they may have segments that are kind of weak or bland, but the directors, writers and performers have honed their ability to keep the audience interested until the good stuff starts. The upshot is that at the end of Foreplay, I felt like I’d seen a basically decent show. But I also realized that only a few of the skits had really stood out—far fewer than in the last two versions of Shadowbox’s annual sex-and-relationship show. Coincidentally or not, two of this year’s top skits feature veteran performers Tom Cardinal and Stacie Boord.

I need a new hobby. Not that I am tired of my old ones, it's just I watch too much television. Mind you, I don't watch that much. There's not that much that interests me. I watch “Jeopardy” because I like facts. I like old things, so I watch “Antiques Roadshow” and “American Pickers.” Other than those programs, I do not watch much of anything on a regular basis with one exception, “The Big Bang Theory,” which, in my opinion is the greatest sit-com of all time. I like science too. I like old movies, so I often tune to Turner Classic Movies. But the other night none of my favorite shows were airing and there was nothing to meet my fancy on TCM so I started hopping around the program guide looking for something, anything to occupy my time. I found something that I thought might do the trick.

Next Tuesday, January 21 is the fourth anniversary of the United States Supreme Court Citizens United vs. FEC decision, a key decision in the expansion of personhood rights for corporations. Coordinated by Move to Amend of Central Ohio, a number of local groups will hold a gathering to rally public support in opposition to this decision. The rally is scheduled from 11am until 2pm. The activities will start at the ProgressOhio offices at 172 E. State St. near N. 4th St. at 11:00am in downtown Columbus with socializing and networking followed by a feed to hear national MTA spokesperson, David Cobb at 11:30. After the online conversation with Cobb, at around noon, attendees will march to the West side of the Ohio Statehouse on High Street near the McKinley statue to be addressed by local speakers supporting the opposition to Citizens United. Prominent among the speakers are Pat Marida of Sierra Club addressing environmental effects of corporate personhood and Jon Beard of the Columbus Coalition for Responsive Government.