It Starts Tonight

The Women of the World Poetry Slam takes place in Columbus this year. Seventy two female poets from around the world will be competing in a poetry slam.

You can see the full schedule of events here.

It starts tonight at Callahan's with Writers Block open mic and the Last Chance Slam. Preliminary rounds will be at Kickstart, Urban Spirit Coffee House, Zanzibar, La Fogata and Callahan's Thursday and Friday night.

The finals will be on Saturday at the Lincoln Theater.

This is going to be a major event for the city. Show up and prepare to be blown away.

Breakthrough?

My son has a lot of texture issues with food and does not eat solids. Earlier he put a small piece of chocolate in his mouth, and came back for more.



At school he has put a potato chip in his mouth, but immediately spit it out. He used to watch me eat chips and salsa and giggle incessantly. He will put food in another person's mouth.

Just Don't Call it Bubblegum

First generation immigrants from India fall in love with Catholics and Americans in Sujatha Hampton's debut novel As it was Written. It's a book of a curse about dying for love, and trying to survive it. Hampton possesses a gift of touching your core with the line, "He leapt up and stood in front of her and when he pointed the camera she was looking at him with so much love he had to lower it to check if it was real, but when he raised it back to his eye, it was still there." It was a bit tough for me to follow the lengthy Indian names, but I managed to muddle through the cultural divisions and have my heart broken, a little, at its end.



While I'm not a huge fan of Tommy James' music, you cannot dispute his popularity. He's written a book about his rise in the music business and his connections with organized crime. The character Hesh Rabkin on the Sopranos is based on Morris Levy, who signed James on to his record label, Roulette Records. Me, the Mob, and the Music, is a fast paced and entertaining look at the music industry by someone who started out as a wide eyed eighteen year old from Michigan who became a rock star, and saw things that few have seen.

Spring Swaps Snow for Leaves

Mumford and Sons is a London quartet who released their first record, Sigh No More in the UK last year. It received its US release last month. It's really good stuff.



They're coming to the Wexner Center on May 22nd. I'm stoked. These guys are going to be huge.

A Lot of Face

Went to an art opening last night at the Kiaca Gallery. The show is called: Through the Lens - a Portrait of 12 Artists. Great large format photographs of local artists from a diverse community. Writers' Block's own Scott Woods is one of them. Check it out at 937 North High. You can see Scott staring at you, like Chairman Mao, from the street!

Here's where there should be a picture, but life is busy.

Very happy to reveal that my Scottish Wife starts work on Monday at a local institute of higher education that is not where I work.

Had dinner at Z Pizza last night before the opening, it's about three doors from the gallery. We were the only ones in the place and there was a new employee taking our order very slowly as he was unfamiliar with the register. When our order arrived my wife's was fine but they sent me a large pizza instead of a small. It seemed we also paid for a large pizza, no one (including us) seemed to be paying attention. Management offered to refund us the difference or give us a coupon for a free pizza. We took the refund. That's how you take care of a customer. Well done Z Pizza.

Things are looking up.

Those Open Mics, They'll Change You

Four years ago, my life took a new turn. Maybe that was the first step towards, something. Maybe I was presented different options? New ways of looking at life? For better or worse, when I walked out of the Columbus Music Hall that night I was not the same person who went in there.

You probably know some of the twists and turns that have happened since that March night. If you do not, it's been a roller coaster - at times an unpleasant one. Who knows what would have happened if Id gone a week earlier? A week later? I do know this: If I had not entered, no one would be reading this.

Three Losses in a Day

Yesterday consisted of loss. Sports loss. Nothing I have not written about here before. It was a frustrating morning finding links to the Old Firm game. Once I had, it was time to find another link to the Everton/Tottenham match. All happening with a shouty child and a pounding headache.

Everton went down 2-0 in the first half. It was time to find the Celtic/Rangers match. Maybe something was happening there. Nothing happened until Maurice Edu scored with seconds left in added time for Rangers, and one loss was in the column.

By now Yakubu had managed to score for Everton, but the tying goal was not to be.

Two teams defeated and it was not even 10AM yet.

After the match my wife announced that there was no water. So I went to the basement with great trepidation, expecting a massive leak and saw no signs of damage.

I went outside and saw a sign blocking out road and some construction being done a block away, looked like there was a problem with the water main. Went over to the neighbors to see if they had water, like us, they did not.

Problem solved, and I did not have to get a wrench out.

The water came back on in about half an hour.

Later, the whiny boy and his whiny father took a nap before the hockey game.

I woke up about halfway through the first period.

The game was fantastic. End to end action, skill and suspense. Too bad my son slept through it. I was not yelling at the television, but let out a good squee when Parise tied it late.

It was disappointing to see the U.S. team lose in overtime, but few expected them to get into a medal round, let alone the gold medal round. Goalie Ryan Miller got the MVP, I’m sure he’d exchange that for a gold medal. He’s going home with hardware though, which is something few people can say.

It was not a sad day, just unproductive – which is what happens when you attach yourself to a computer or screen, watching instead of creating.

What I saw of the Olympic closing cermonies was amusing. Neil Young doing his thing, weird opera singers, SHATNER!, Catherine O'Hara sadly bombing, a well loved Michael J. Fox, mountie statues that looked like they came from Easter Island, Michael Buble lip synching very badly, mountie go-go dancers, inflatable moose and beaver. Go Canada!

Today is frustration, waiting for phone calls. Dealing with the medical/insurance complex, I crawl on.