Opinion

Snarls will play at Ace of Cups on March 6 to celebrate the release of their album Burst. The Columbus band is attracting attention from the blog circuit while preparing to tour.

Snarls’ sound is somewhere between the better riffs of 90's rock with a shoegaze verse chorus combination that gives a strong backing to songs about relationships.

Snarls fits in with bands like Soccer Mommy and Best Coast.

Snarls ages are 18-22. Their age groups indicates Arctic Monkeys instead of Veruca Salt.

Should I call Snarls college rock?

I interviewed Snarls singer/guitarist Chlo White.

The last time Snarls entered a press cycle there was discussion regarding the uncertainty of graduating high school. Do you feel better?

Definitely. Lol.

Do you have advice for teenagers still in high school regarding their next few years?

1. Those who are working, SAVE YOUR MONEY! Why? Just do it.

Human Interest Story, playwright/director Stephen Sachs’ remake updating Frank Capra’s 1941 classic movie Met John Doe, has probably the most extensive multi-media stagecraft I’ve ever seen in an intimate theater production. Matthew G. Hill’s bravura video design conjures up the brave new virtual world of cable television, social media and beyond on the diminutive Fountain Theatre’s set, which Hill likewise wrought. One FX is a first: While an actor types on his keyboard the letters appear on an onstage screen.

James Brown has been on my mind lately, not sure why.

Wasn't the first time and definitely won't be the last he just pops in and we stare at each other.

My first JB experience was like seeing a being from another planet. And it all started when I....

Got mesmerized by his shoes so shiny they could be seen from outer space as he danced on TV's Shindig in September of 1965, singing Papa's Got A Brand New Bag.

I was ten. And transfixed. His dance moves – mainly from the ankle down – were...incredible. Never had I ever seen any man move like that – certainly not Fred Astaire. I still marvel at his grace and muscular control. I think Mick Jagger copied a couple of his moves. Sad.

But the transfixed part is the key.

That was a long time ago. And I'm still mesmerized by the man in toto.

Something about his music is so, I don't know – primal, yes, but more than that, African, I suppose. But what does that mean?

Valentine’s Day is long gone, but a couple of non-mainstream movies are hoping to bring romance back to Columbus screens. And they’ll go about it in very different ways.

France’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire is the kind of elegant period piece that relies on atmosphere, long pauses and meaningful glances. And, oh yes, it also throws in choice moments of nudity and explicit sexuality – just so you’ll know you’re not watching a French adaptation of Jane Austen. 

The tale begins in the late 18th century as an artist named Marianne (Noemie Merlant) travels to an island estate to paint a bride’s wedding portrait. Once there, she learns that the assignment is not as straightforward as it seems.

Her subject, Heloise (Adele Haenel), has been forcibly snatched from a convent to replace her deceased sister at the altar. Not only is she an unwilling bride but an unwilling model, having rejected a previous artist’s attempt to capture her image on canvas.

Village Taco reopened their newest location last month on Parsons Avenue (formerly Hal & Al's and TatoHeads) with yet another 100 percent plant-based vegan menu to the greater Columbus metropolitan restaurant market. Sitting within a block of Two Dollar Radio and new vegan bar Daddy’s, this neighborhood is fast becoming nicknamed “Vegandale of Columbus” (following the vegan neighborhood in Toronto, Canada).

Their menu boasts much more than tacos, too. They definitely do the typical TexMex favorites one expects from a taco joint: fat burritos, chimichangas, enchiladas and holy Toledo – fried vegan ice-cream. They can even wow patrons with loaded double decker burgers, popcorn chickun and have a kid’s menu, too.

Toxic masculinity can be defined as a set of behaviors that are generally perceived to be “manly,” but can be harmful to either the person exhibiting them or those who surround that person. An obvious example of toxic masculinity is a man who picks fights when he sees people looking at his girlfriend. A less obvious example is a father criticizing his son for crying.

Even though most of us male nerds are not hyper-manly, Nerd Culture is certainly not immune to toxic masculinity. Nerdy subcultures may actually have greater problems with toxic masculinity than other parts of society. However, nerd toxic masculinity does not take physical form. It tends to be more intellectual (but equally gross). 

Many of us nerds are often obsessed with being “correct,” and that correctness is often racist and sexist. We often see this in statements such as: “Stormtroopers can’t be black.” and “Dr. Who can’t be a woman.”

The Democratic Party calls itself the "party of the people" and labels the Republican Party the "party of money."

Republican Mitt Romney's candidacy for president in 2012 against Barack Obama was skillfully derailed by Democrats attacking his enormous wealth and lack of sensitivity toward common people.

Democrats are not immune to rich standard-bearers. President John F. Kennedy was and is a hero of mine, but without daddy Joseph P. Kennedy's millions he probably would not have made it to the White House.

Howard Metzenbaum was and is a hero of mine, but his millions gave him a leg up on becoming a U.S. Senator from Ohio.

Enter Michael Bloomberg, worth $60 billion. He is vying for the Democratic nomination for president and has been attacked by fellow Democrats for trying to buy the nomination.

The former New York City mayor had dropped $500 million on television and social media ads by late February, vaulting him into or near the lead in public opinion polls in the 12 Super Tuesday (March 3) states and earning him a spot on the debate stage February 19.

Calling on Sherrod Brown

There was an organized commotion outside Senator Sherrod Brown’s office on High Street on January 29 to call attention to National Sanctuary Action Day. A few dozen people from the support group of Miriam Vargas, who is currently in Sanctuary in a Columbus church, joined together to amplify the voices of people living in Sanctuary around the country and to urge the Senator to meet with them.

The protestors held a banner that said “Keep All Families Together,” and gave speeches calling for the local legislators to take action in support of undocumented people. Miriam has questions she wants answered by Senator Brown: What is the senator doing in Congress to push for immigration reform? How can they build a path forward toward legal residence for all people currently in Sanctuary?

Indies, Inclusivity, Equality

While addressing the press after winning the Best Supporting Male accolade for The Lighthouse Willem Dafoe epitomized the philosophy of the Film Independent Spirit Awards vis-à-vis big budget Hollywood studio productions. In the ceremony’s media tent, when a British reporter seized on the opportunity to ask the quirky actor about superhero flicks - because Lighthouse co-star Robert Pattinson is playing The Batman in the 2021 epic and Dafoe had portrayed the Green Goblin in 2007’s Spider-Man 3 and Vulko in 2018’s Aquaman - the thespian shut the brash Brit down.

What I loved about playwright Willard Manus’ Show Me a Hero is that it introduced me to Greek freedom fighter Alexandros Panagoulis, a significant historical figure I’d never heard of, and brought back to life the legendary journalist Oriana Fallaci, whom I was somewhat familiar with. The UK’s Independent dubbed her “arguably the most extraordinary journalist Italy has ever produced.” The fabled Fallaci (here called Luisa and played with feisty fire by Lisa Robins) joined the Italian anti-Mussolini resistance when she was only 14.

Presumably due to her early participation in the anti-fascist movement when the college dropout became a journalist Fallaci specialized in interviews with controversial political leaders, often revolutionaries like Vietnam’s Giap, Palestine’s Arafat, Libya’s Qaddafi and Cuba’s Fidel. She also interviewed reactionaries, such as mass murderer Henry Kissinger, who later rued their interaction. (Like Jared Kushner and Stephen Miller, Kissinger’s existential angst is that he wanted to be a Nazi - but was born a Jew.)