A Studio 35 plug

This just in ...

Any Bellydancing fans in the audience?
Monday, May 9th we are presenting the film AMERICAN BELLYDANCER. Before the movie, we have live bellydancing performed by the dancers from Habeeba's. Doors open at 5:30. The live bellydancing is at 6:00 and the film starts at 7:00. Admission to the event is $7. THIS FILM PLAYS ONE NIGHT ONLY! Here's a synopsis of the movie.

This might just be worth begging someone to babysit. Columbus is a cool city. Just gotta know where to look.

Government operatives, they're everywhere

The other day I was at the optometrist and they asked if I wanted my retinas scanned. It wasn't covered by insurance and it cost $50. Hmmm. I said they could do it if they gave me a copy of the photo. It's pretty cool I think. So, here it is, my retinas. They're just fine thanks.

Local Cultural Consumption

The Drowsy Lads, an Irish folk band, opened for Joe, Adam and Frank in Conor McPherson's This Lime Tree Bower performed by The Foolish Bison Players at Kafe Kerouac tonight.

I don't know much about Irish storytelling or reviewing theater; all I can say is, I need a pint. About 12 years ago I had the good fortune to travel to the UK (Maidstone, hour south of London) to work for a about a month. It was long enough to get to know a few folks and get to know a bit about their daily grind. I went to the pub every night I was there. Every night. And, it wasn't to get pissed.

The pubs in the U.K. are a place for people to escape their jobs, reconnect and engage in a bit of storytelling. Joe, the frequent wanker, Adam, the vivacious academic with a penchant for ale and his more voluptuous students and Frank who, in Adam's words, is "the weirdest bastard he'd ever met" did just that. They spoke to us in two acts. They convinced us the point of a story isn't to make a point, but to enjoy the ride. They accomplished this marvelously. As I sit here typing this, I'm quaffing an ale and wishing I could see the performance again - with my ale in hand. Thanks for rekindling some fine memories guys.

This Lime Tree Bower is playing at 2250 N. High at Kafe Kerouac April 23, 24, 29 and 30. $7, $5 with BuckID. Highly recommended.

The good domain names are going fast

Here come the hyphenated names. DavesBeer.com just turned two and I don't have intentions of giving it up anytime soon. Especially with the tv commercial and all, I'm practically famous. Might even have to get a bodyguard. Mike Tyson busy?

Anyway, I've noticed a lot of the good domain names are taken and there seems to be a wave of hyphenated ones. For instance, The-sky-is-falling.com is for a movie coming out in about 196 days; a Disney production of Chicken Little. On the other hand, the entrepreneurial site, theskyisfalling.com, is some site selling little nuggets of dogshit garbage and telling you it's a piece of a Mars meteorite.

One thing is good about this. It means the behemoth Disney is not capable of ripping the domain away from the little guy (no matter how dubious the site) with brute legal force. You can lock your domain now and, as far as I can tell, it's yours.

movies, pizza, beer

I think my favorite thing in all of Columbus to do is go to Studio 35. No rushing to eat then to the movies; it's all right there. Usually the movies have been out for a while but they have a pretty good selection. If you haven't been there, catch it. Their website was just redesigned.

This Lime Tree Bower

Kafe Kerouac (2250 N. High) is finding its niche in the Columbus café scene. On occasion, they host small scale theatrical productions. The intimacy of a production with only 30-50 spectators is a special experience that happens to be one of my favorite forms of entertainment.

April 22-24 and 29-30, 8 pm Foolish Bison will be performing Conor McPherson's This Lime Tree Bower at Kerouac; $7 admission. Here's an excerpt from a preview from CurtainUp.com:

"Suffice it to say, no actor will ever lose weight performing in any of these plays. McPherson's plays are not about action; they are about words: words woven together into stories. This Lime Tree Bower is, more than anything else, a study in the great art of storytelling, Irish-style.

Put three young American men together for an afternoon. They'll find a basketball and take turns putting their best spin on it, aiming to prove they're the best shot. But give three similarly-situated Irishmen an afternoon off, and they'll sit around spinning yarns. Or so it seems."

I'll remind you as the day approaches, but make a note to catch it. I'm sure it won't disappoint. I'll be trying to catch opening night and will give you my opinion of it here.

Don't even think it

This is what weekends were meant to be. Suze, lounging around in the sun getting ready to poop or get her next treat.

Drew

The free weekly, Columbus Alive, has a good piece on a local artist, Drew.

"I just started drawing pictures and I didn't have anywhere to put them, anything to do with them or really anyone to show them to. I really enjoyed it and it was really satisfying. I just kept doing it through college, got done with college and kept drawing, moved to Columbus and kept drawing, Drew says. I started Toothpaste for Dinner in May of 2002 and it just snowballed. I get 200,000 visitors a month and my mailing list has 15,000 people."

Nice piece and Good job Drew, I look forward to regular visits.

The new Popular Science

Make. It's a new publication by O'Reily and it has its own blog. I heard the recent Science Friday piece (mentioned in the blog) where they talked about a $14 dollar gadget you can make to read the magnetic strip on a Starbucks Coffee gift card. I can't wait to get my issue.

What he said indeed.

Snow?

This is ridiculous. Taxes are due in two weeks and it's snowing.