Eating and reading amidst all the chaos

Today was one of those days when you just want to come home and get under a blanket with a bottle of whiskey. A traumatic first day of school for a soon to be thirteen year old turned into a double murder live on air. It was hard to focus on anything while having a discussion of local politics with a local party high up which turned into laughter when it was revealed a local community that thrives on authenticity is getting a mall pizza shop in their neighborhood. For once I was happy that the west side was neglected. Quite the social media day considering I culled about fifty people my list earlier this week.

Then one of the baby pandas at the National Zoo died.

At least my wife loves me even when I think my kid does not.

At least I am thankful to have Saga and Martin try to solve murders in Sweden and Denmark for a few more hours.

And the Mets keep winning.

Did manage to find a decent low priced Chinese take out in the area recently. There is a great Thai place in the back of an Asian market that we frequent, but sometimes you just want the sweet and sour chicken or pork strips without all the heat. There is one place that recently changed ownership and is now called Asian Wok, but I'm not feeling the need to be a pioneer. So I did some Yelp research and gave Peking Wok on West Broad a chance.

The Wife and I like it. She says the lo mein is quite good. I can vouch for the sweet and sour chicken and roast pork and snow peas. The only minor miss was the fried dumplings. For plenty of food we paid about fifteen bucks. It's in the Franklinton Center and it's a hole in the wall but they're busy making very tasty things in their kitchen.

Been trying to read more and am almost succeeding. Recently finished a very good crime book from the UK. Here's my Amazon review

From the author of the Eoin Miller trilogy comes Ways To Die In Glasgow, a new crime thriller from Jay Stringer. Sam Ireland is a Glasgow private investigator who gets involved in a case that becomes much more complex, and deadlier than she expected. Stringer also gives us the story from the perspectives of Mackie, a violent young man with a missing gangster Uncle and Lambert, a detective who tries to stretch the system as much as possible to his benefit. It's a fast paced dark and witty romp with a high body count. Men are missing, lawyers and policemen are corrupt and steadfast - just like life. Stringer writes about his now home city with great detail and gritty affection. We're shown the dark, violent pubs and the spotless purity of legal firms, with plenty of one liners and wit that rises above the many blood stains. A good read by an author with a promising future, and that cover of Coney is brilliant.

I've also just cracked the spine of Neurotribes a look at autism from a historical and scientific perspectives. Steve Silberman has done some impressive research with this heavily buzzed about book. Hope to finish it sooner than later.

And to finish, here's a cool new song by the great Darlene Love.

A Coronation is Not an Election

On Tuesday, those who vote in Columbus will be voting in primaries for Mayor and City Council. I will not be voting. Mainly because in order to vote in an Ohio primary, you have to register for the party whose primary you will be voting in. My views belong to neither of these parties.

For most of my voting life though, I have been a registered democrat. No more. They abandoned any form of progressive ideas in favor of banking, insurance company and military support. Great for them when they’re able to swim in donor cash and give them influence. Bad for me who does not have the financial means to purchase my own political candidate. That’s the way it seems now though and I do not foresee a time when that will change. And I’m fed up with voting for the lesser or two evils, even with the supreme court set to change dramatically in the next decade.

Locally, there are three democrats running in the mayoral primary and one republican. All male.

Terry Boyd, the republican, is being sent out by the local GOP as the under funded sacrifice as Columbus’ current political climate will have a democrat as Mayor. This is not a prediction, but as nearly solid fact as you get today, barring major scandal - and I mean major.

Zach Scott is the county sheriff. His plan is essentially hope for the best and continue the status quo, which is a great climate for developers to line their pockets. Not so good for the neglected parts of the city, which includes my area of Briggsdale in West Columbus.

James Ragland’s enthusiasm masks his political inexperience. I have not been impressed with his arrogance on social media and local message boards. He comes off to me as a theocrat, even though he’s backed away from his stance against gay marriage. He may challenge Scott for second in the primary and you may not see the last of him in local politics.

Andrew Ginther is the party endorsed candidate. Mayor Coleman has all but given him the job, especially since Ginther has become Coleman’s shadow. Ginther has developer support on both sides of the political line, a school board scandal in his open closet (as does Boyd) that most do not give a crap about and will be the next Mayor of Columbus. I’m still trying to figure out what exactly the man has done for Columbus besides ride Coleman’s coattails.

Regardless of who the next Mayor is, life in Columbus will continue as we know it. The boners of the developers will point to what they want the Mayor and city council to do next. And they will abide, oh yes they will. Little will be done for the neglected parts of Columbus other than lip service and some asphalt in the occasional pothole. The casino the west side did not want is not bringing in the expected revenue. Sure, we have some interesting ethnic food available but Four String Brewery joining Dirty Franks West and Cream and Sugar is far from enough to make West Columbus the vibrant community other areas of the city that have benefited from tax reduced development and gentrification have become. After living here for twelve years I’m tired of waiting. My patience is done, and my vote is for none of the above.

Edit: I was mistaken about having to declare allegiance to a particular party to vote in this primary. It was an open primary. Also, Ginther won handily, with Scott coming in a very close second to Boyd. So two democrats are going to be running for mayor this year.