Opinion

Let’s face it. Columbus needs to be more like Austin.

Both are state capitals and have massive urban public universities. Both are left-leaning oases. Both began to explode in growth during the 1990s, and for the most part remain landlocked boomtowns.

But one is where many want to visit and live, where the other is maligned for not much to do and a lack of culture. Worse, too much disparity between rich and poor.

Guess which one is Columbus y’all?

Austin is not the slacker hippie, Willie Nelson-loving live music paradise it once was in the 70s, 80s and even 90s. But its public access to oh-so close outdoor adventure remains unparalleled.

Take Barton Springs, called “the soul” of Austin. The natural spring or pool is open year-round, with acres of parks and trails branching out in all directions. It’s icy clear waters drawing people from around the world, its surrounding banks filled with locals and tourists taking a serious chill as someone plays an acid-sounding guitar.

Yesterday something that has become tiresomely routine happened; I spoke to a college class about the most obvious climate solution, and neither the students nor the professor had ever heard of it. The 325 organizations (and climbing) listed at the bottom of this article are promoting it, and have joined 17,717 individuals (thus far) in signing a petition for it at http://cop26.info

Many of us have been screaming about it at the tops of our lungs for years and years, writing about it, making videos about it, organizing conferences on it. Yet it is ineluctably unknowable.

Here are the words of the petition:

To: Participants in COP26 UN Climate Change Conference, Glasgow, Scotland, November 1-12, 2021

After more than a year offstage due to the you-know-what, LA Opera is back as Giuseppe Verdi’s 1853 Il Trovatore launches the 2021/22 Season for long-suffering Angeleno opera aficionados. But what a “cheerful” choice!

As the lead sentence of Naomi Andre’s article in LA Opera’s Performances Magazine puts it: “There is something kind of odd about Il Trovatore.” “Kind of?” Verdi’s turgid tragedy, with a nightmarish libretto mostly by Salvatore Cammarano, adapted Antonio Garcia Gutierrez’s play featuring witchcraft, burning at the stake, civil war, duels, mistaken or confused identities, thwarted love, “gypsies,” grim reapers straight out of Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, imprisonment and other cheery plot points and bagatelles.

Recently I have become aware of the homeless community in Columbus. The first thing I have observed is the ecological impact. The pictures are of a homeless encampment under I-70 East bound on Central Avenue. Much of the embankment of I-70 East bound (North of Mound street) across from the old stadium has been cleared to keep the homeless out. Zumstein Drive near the Continent Shopping center is experiencing another large contingent of homelessness.

Housing issues I have seen include:

Slum lords refusing vouchers for fear of the dreaded "inspection." Meager by any standards the Section 8 or voucher inspections are so feared landlords refuse the vouchers. Attached is a copy of code complaint where it is suspected the rental agent feared a Section 8 inspection more than code enforcement. One must ask why a cash applicant is willing to accept such substandard housing. More so why isn't code enforcement bringing housing up to livable standards.

The Serpent Mound Star Knowledge Fall Equinox Peace Summit will honor the life of Chief Golden Light Eagle who was a great teacher, wisdom keeper and peace keeper. The outdoor event will offer the chance for visitors to enhance their cosmic connection to their deepest divine self and the universe as they are encouraged to pray for peace and enjoy music, workshops, vendors and presentations.  Members of Chief’s family will be at the event which will also include chanting, drumming, light language transmissions, peace activists and peace ceremonies including an international peace flag ceremony, performance art, presentations by Native American elders and others. The outdoor event will take place on Friday, September 24 from 10AM-midnight, Saturday September 25 from 9:30 AM-midnight and Sunday September 26 from 9AM-6:30PM at Woodland Altars, 33200 SR 41, Peebles, Ohio.  The site is located a short drive from the Serpent Mound. 

Suddenly there’s major concern across the country — from the mainstream media to every last rock-ribbed Republican — for the rights of Afghan women and girls to be able to work, to go to school.

Oh my God, we’ve given Afghanistan back to the Taliban! Even George W. Bush found his way back into the news cycle: “I think the consequences are going to be unbelievably bad and sad.”

America, America, the global do-gooder, bringer of civilized values to the Middle East. This is why we’ve hemorrhaged trillions of dollars over the past two decades engaging evil itself. This is why hundreds of thousands of people had to die, millions had to be displaced. We were defending the rights of . . . people we could care less about.

The twentieth anniversary of 9/11 has motivated some critics of the standard narrative to explore alternative explanations for what took place on that fatal day. To be sure, there has been considerable focus through the years on exactly what happened, analyzing the technical aspects of what made the twin towers and nearby Building 7, which is where the CIA Station was located, fall while also speculating over what actually occurred at the Pentagon and at Shanksville Pennsylvania.

​You don’t have to be a horror fan to enjoy Thomas Hamilton’s documentary Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster (I’m not and I did). The 90-minute nonfiction biopic has all of the conventional hallmarks of a well-made movie history doc. Of course, there are copious clips ranging from Karloff’s classics, including in the role the British actor was best known for, as Frankenstein’s monster in various versions of the film franchise adapting the character from Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s chilling 1818 novel, starting in 1931. There are scenes from Karloff’s other famous films, including 1932’s The Mummy, The Old Dark House and The Mask of Fu Manchu, plus glimpses from more obscure flicks, including from his silent screen days. His subsequent many TV outings – wherein he often good-naturedly mocked his monstrous persona – are also covered.

This summer the Fountain Theatre has been presenting – as it has annually done since 2003 – Forever Flamenco on its Outdoor Stage. In July, August and ending Sept. 24-26, the three-night weekend events have offered lucky Angelenos a rare taste of this unique Andalusian art form. The dance, music and singing are derived from its 18th century “originators, the gypsies… [who] sang songs of oppression, lament, and bitter romance, a kind of blues that by the 19th century began to catch on among all the other downtrodden inhabitants of Andalucia,” according to Cadogan Guides’ Southern Spain, Andalucia & Gibraltar by Dana Facaros and Michael Pauls. (NOTE: The term “gypsy” is now regarded as pejorative and the word “Roma” is considered to be culturally sensitive.)

The guidebook authors add that “the half-tonal notes and lyrics of futility of the cante jondo, or deep song, the purest flamenco seem to go straight back to the Arab troubadours [not to be confused with those other Troubies currently rocking that other open-air theater at Malibu in Lizastrata at the Getty Villa] of al-Andalus.”

Back in August, I had the honor of emceeing the Libertarian Party of Ohio’s annual State Conference, held in a hotel banquet hall just north of 270. Unlike previous years, it wasn’t quite a “convention” anymore, because the Libertarians are no longer a recognized minor political party in the state. This is due to the restrictive ballot access laws created by SB 193 that were passed by former Governor John Kasich and his Republican cronies in 2013. Of course, I’m not bitter about that at all and I won’t bring it up again! But it’s important to understand that the ballot access struggles the Libertarians (and Ohio Green Party) were faced with eight years ago were indicative, especially considering the most recent Ohio Redistricting Commission process, where the Republicans disregarded fairness once more.