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Ralph Walters was once a normal guy.  But then something bizarre happened. A retired elementary school Spanish teacher bit him on the arm, giving him the simple power of speaking really bad introductory Spanish. He also gained a new name: “El Derango.”   

  Walters is actually the manager of the Artist’s Wrestling League (AWL). It is a painting match taking place this month at the Vanderelli Room in Franklinton, during Columbus’ June Arts Festival. He is also a wrestler in the match. The wrestlers do not really wrestle; they are local painters who publicly paint against one another.

  Each wrestler has a pseudonym, complete with a self-created back story, such as “Machete Page.” She is a lush and the bastard granddaughter of Betty Page. “KatTaztrophy” is a drummer, who thinks she is a cat and only paints with her paw prints. “Jimmy ‘Wildman’ Folk” paints with an axe, and “Sister Sangre” is a nun, who only paints Jesus.

  “Most of the wrestlers are really into their characters,” Walters said. “We have a lot of fun together.”

  And that is why the whole thing started – just for fun.

Collage of photos of pastors plane, car, big house, request for money

Recently a major mega preacher, Creflo Dollar, asked his congregation, and then Facebook fans to donate $65 million dollars towards his major quest.  What’s the quest? To own a private Gulfstream G650 jet so that he, his pastors and staff of World Changers Church International can fly around the world and preach the Word.
  Most Christians know the story of the poor widow who gave her last two coins, all that she had to live on, in the offering box and how Jesus said she had put in more than the rich because they gave out of their abundance while she gave out of her poverty. This story has been taught in Bible School, during church sermons and used to encourage the poor to not only give their 10 percent tithes, but also give an offering. There are some churches that also want them to contribute to the church anniversary, Pastor’s anniversary, the First Lady Appreciation day and, well, you get the picture.

   Photo 1: David Cullison and his partner Bret Richards (a.k.a. Hellin Bedd), of Columbus, have been engaged for 1-1/2 years.

At a recent gathering some homosexual men were discussing the salary one spends on an engagement ring. “Someone told me four months, but I think it’s only two. Yeah, but she wants a ring from Tiffany’s.”

  Sound familiar? Gays discuss the same things about marriage as heterosexuals, but in Ohio without the hope of actually getting married. Bret Richards (a.k.a. Hellin Bedd) and her partner David Cullison, both of Columbus, have been dating for 16 years and engaged for a year and a half. Richards said they might get married if it is ever legal, but it is not critical.
  “For us, it’s not the desperation to get married,” Richards said. “A segment of the gay population romanticizes it. We have friends in their second and third marriages and we see a lot of couples break up young. I could care less if we get married or not – our relationship won’t change. The main thing is having the ability like everyone else.”

  “We could stand up, have a have a party and profess our love for each other, but we do that every night,” Cullison said.

Plaque wth history of Franklinton

Step by step the revitalization of Franklinton is gaining traction. And because this is the city’s oldest neighborhood and practically in the shadows of downtown, how Franklinton actually emerges will be historic even if the revival takes two decades, the time planners have suggested is needed to make their vision a reality.
  But questions and rumors are swirling amongst residents, some of whom are families with generations invested in Franklinton. Some are worried they will be displaced and wonder if they are even wanted in their own community. Franklinton was founded in 1797, but unmercifully split over a century-and-a-half later by State Route 315 into East Franklinton, home to many industrial buildings, and West Franklinton, where most residents live.

Elder Michael Reeves, Pastor of Corinthian Baptist Church, led off a January mayoral candidates debate co-sponsored by the Coalition of Concerned Black Citizens and elder stateswoman Ann B. Walker by saying “we did this forum because we have not seen a political agenda for Black Columbus, and wanted all the candidates to know that we expect them to address issues of interest to the Columbus black community.” The most surprising thing about this statement coming as the city’s first Black Mayor is preparing to retire, is that it was not a controversial statement whatsoever to the audience.

Attend the Day of Action opposing the FirstEnergy bailout

Monday, June 15 at 11 am in front of PUCO offices, 180 East Broad Street in Columbus

Following the rally, the Sierra Club will host a lunch

with overview and opportunities to contact the PUCO and Governor John Kasich.


    Since December of 2010, FirstEnergy has been attempting to get a 20-year license extension for its Davis-Besse nuclear reactor (power plant) located on Lake Erie in Oak Harbor, OH, 20 miles east of Toledo.

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has stacked the deck in numerous ways to shut out citizen organizations seeking to prevent relicensing of the nation’s fleet of aging, embrittled reactors.  

BANGKOK, Thailand -- The American Embassy welcomed the arrest of a
Thai army general on charges "related to migrant smuggling, abuses,
trafficking" and other crimes after President Obama and the U.S. State
Department voiced support for Myanmar's victimized Muslim Rohingyas.

When heavy-set Lt. Gen. Manas Kongpan, 58, turned himself in on June
3, police charged him with human trafficking, illegal detention, and
assisting foreigners to illegally enter Thailand.

"After eight hours interrogation at a police station in Songkhla
province last night, police decided to charge him with nine more
offenses, including concealment of dead bodies, physical assault, and
conspiring in a transnational crime, police say," Khaosod's English
news site reported on June 4.

Lt. Gen. Manas, detained without bail on June 4, is the highest
official to be arrested and linked to deadly Asian trafficking
syndicates, sparking optimism that Bangkok's coup-installed military
regime is cracking down on the gangs.

Geeks are taking over the Greater Columbus Convention Center once again this weekend for the 2015 Origins Game Fair. Origins is one of the biggest gaming conventions in the country, and it has a long history right here in Columbus. Run by the non-profit Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA), the convention highlights independent and small-press tabletop games, miniatures wargames, card games, and role-playing games alongside offerings from big names like Wizards of the Coast (publishers of Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering) and WizKids (makers of HeroClix).

Though the exhibitor hall doesn’t open until Thursday and the big events don’t get started until Friday, the convention itself officially starts on Wednesday, June 3rd, and scheduled events run well into the night every day from then until the convention’s end on Sunday, June 7th. The official book of scheduled events is nearly 250 black-and-white, text-only pages. There’s never a question of whether there’s anything to do at any given moment at Origins, there’s only the matter of choosing what out of all the abundance of options sounds best — and how to fit eating and sleeping into that schedule.


BANGKOK, Thailand -- Thailand's expensive international tourism effort
to downplay its reputation as a sexual playground suffered a rude
setback after three British soccer players appeared in a published
video laughing and shouting racist and vulgar abuse during their
Bangkok orgy with three Thai women.

The government's costly Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)
promotional organization earlier said it was "very proud" to work with
England's Leicester City team and club, before three of its players
appeared romping in a hotel bed with the trio of unidentified Thais.

Uncensored clips online display the young men merrily shouting insults
at the obedient women while ordering them to perform orally and as
lesbians while the naked group of six cavort.

"Licky, licky, you slit eye," one of the men says, convincing a young
woman to approach another female who is sprawled on the bed.

"Leicester City budding stars, including boss Nigel Pearson's son,
were filmed taking part in a vile orgy in which a local girl was

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