I ate a wonderful meal yesterday [8-12-2022] at Ranchero Kitchen, a Salvadorian restaurant at 984 Morse Rd. [just east of I-71]. That restaurant had been recommended to me several years ago by a friend; however, I am so rarely in that part of town that it had taken me quite a while to be able to actually eat there. One of the many organizations with which I am active had scheduled a "social event" 2½ miles east of Ranchero Kitchen so I decided to take Uber to Ranchero Kitchen, to eat there, and then to walk from there -- for about forty minutes -- to my "social event."

Ranchero Kitchen evidently used to have a website but now does not have a website [in spite of the fact that Google Maps says that they have a website]. There is a Facebook page that reportedly includes "menu, prices, and restaurant reviews" but I had not been able to find any of those things on their Facebook page. Someone, thankfully, has taken photographs of the extensive menu that is available at Ranchero Kitchen and has posted those photographs to Google Maps. I always like to be able to study a menu in advance of a visit to a restaurant.

Only in Columbus, Ohio, can “ideas [be] considered for Downtown plan” without confronting the physical reality or the history of downtown. That, of course, is the Columbus Way. Historical and physical reality, including concrete, cannot interfere with fantasy or selling and buying.

If I didn’t know better, I would be surprised. But after all, this is Columbus, Ohio, with no identity and no history, no democratic governance, leadership, or urban expertise.  I wrote in December 2021 that “Columbus searches for its Downtown with historical, urbanist, and developers’ blinders,” and in January 2022 that “Columbus, Ohio, searches to be a city: The myth of the Columbus Way.”

Columbus, Ohio is also geographically challenged. This is the city that can’t tell the difference between the Short North and Greenwich Village or Near North Side of Chicago, the Convention Center and Times Square; the Scioto Riverfront and Boston Harbor, Lake Michigan, or San Francisco Bay.

"Nope" is the third film from writer/director/producer Jordan Peele. "Get Out" and "Us" are exceptionally well-crafted films catered toward the horror/psychological thriller genre. "Nope" was inspired by Steven Spielberg's "ET," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," and M Night Shyamalan's "Signs." Some of  Hollywood’s most famous directors have taken flying saucers and mixed science fiction to create cinematic magic UFO stories. Peele's third feature is right on par with his predecessors. "Nope" does have a horror vibe, but this time around, Peele taps heavily into Sci-Fi.

The Haywood family name dates back to the very first "assembly of photographs to create a motion picture," currently, the Hayword Ranch is known for training horses for film and television productions. After the mysterious death of their father, estranged siblings Emerald Haywood (KeKe Palmer) and OJ (Daniel Kaluha) inherit the Haywood ranch. OJ is trying to keep the business afloat and maintain his father's legacy, while Em would rather find fame and fortune in Hollywood.

Friday Night Free Press Salon

On August 12. 2022, The Columbus Free Press is hosting an in person social . Please come to join CICJ Board President Pete Johnson at his home to re - kindle a live progressive presence in Columbus, Ohio.

Join us at Pete Johnson’s house:
2228 Balmoral Rd, Columbus, 43229
Beginning at 6 PM until 11 PM.

The event will be outdoor and will be modeled after Saturday Night Salon's that have been held pre-Covid at Bob and Suzanne's home on E Broad St.

Anyone wishing to bring a dish or dessert is welcome to do that. We will provide food as well. BOB with respect to alcoholic drinks. Please bring a lawn chair.

I last saw Councilmember Shayla D. Favor on Tuesday, August 2nd. She and I had arrived at our mutual polling location at the Blackburn Community Center to cast our ballots in the Democratic primary election. As luck would have it, we’re registered in the same district, District 1. 

Our exchanges over the previous two months had been contentious if cordial, negotiable if slightly adversarial. As Chair of Housing and Health and Human Services, her office had the keenest interest in Camp Shameless, a houseless camp for which I advocate as a member of a local nonprofit called FIRST Collective, a group of activists making art, creating social infrastructure and fostering community through mutual aid.

My position as an executive committee member with the Columbus Coalition for Rent Control has put us in a place of needed negotiation given Councilmember Favor’s position as well.