From the Desk of…
“Ohio House lawmakers come back to ban transgender care and then leave.” Really tells you all you need to know about their priorities, doesn’t it? No time for anything to help anyone, but we’ve got to cut our break short and harm some people. Meanwhile, boards of election throughout the state are disqualifying trans candidates on arcane technicalities that even I, who is relatively in the weeds on this stuff, wasn’t aware of.
In the Time Is A Flat Circle file, this week’s MLK Breakfast was again met with protests, as a group of pro-Palestinian organizers from JUST and its PLM-JUST arm with colleagues from Central Ohio Freedom Fund and Ohio Youth for Climate Justice came out during a speech from Sen. Sherrod Brown to demand he declare a ceasefire. For insights on recent MLK Breakfast actions, I can think of no one better than Scott Woods, whose pieces “Would MLK protest his own breakfast?” and “When Your Martin Luther King Event is a King Nightmare” say more than I ever could, and they say it better too.
Brittany Watts, who was being investigated by a grand jury for for miscarrying at home, apparently a felony in the state of Ohio these days, will not be charged after all. While I’m gladdened at this outcome, that there was an investigation at all demonstrates the amount of work that remains in Ohio to enshrine reproductive justice as fundamental to our common rights. It didn’t end with Issue One in November!
In the Small Government newsbin, a bipartisan coalition is forming to—you guessed it—require Ohioans to provide IDs and personal info in order to watch porn on God’s green internet. You can do your part and sign up for the Junior Anti-Sex League today.
Sic semper con artists! The Ohio Supreme Court, which managed a unanimous decision because of how obvious and awful this all is, ruled that Sam Randazzo (remember him?) can have all his assets frozen on account of the massive amounts of illicit funds and corruption investigation he’s undergoing. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, do a flip!
The Brain Dump
bro it should be illegal for my credit card to have a Wrapped function why are you telling me how much i spent at taco bell last year oh my god i'm gonna be sick
it's bs that it's cold in january smh
they should give me toys and prizes with meals more
guy who thought Maine was a made-up state for Stephen King stories to take place
bad time to announce it but i am ohio state's next athletic director
What in God’s name is that beeping?
At the Movies
Some weird moods took me. Probably something about being trapped in the house.
3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain (1998), dir. Sean McNamara ⭐⭐ ❤️
Loni Anderson Die Hards an amusement park with lead henchman Jim Varney, not realizing Hulk Hogan and some children with ninja training from Victor Wong are inside. It's not a good movie, but boy have I watched it.
Alice in Wonderland (1999), dir. Nick Willing ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I've always liked this one. I think having a lot of the characters be people resembling animals (and those Tenniel-inspired designs!) make the intent much clearer. What a cast! Gene Wilder does a whole song about how good soup is! Robbie Coltrane and George Wendt as the Tweedles! Martin Short as the most book-accurate Mad Hatter possible! No, I won't do any self-reflection on my repeated exposure to "funny animals as political satire" at all!
Storm of the Century (1999), dir. Craig R. Baxley ⭐⭐⭐⭐
One of the GOATed King TV minis. It's his winning formula: monsters invade Peyton Place. Pacing and effects are a bit off, but good performances pull it together. Banger of an opening too.
I should see, like, a new movie soon.
One Picture
Remember this?
In closing,
Hey, just FYI, winter is here. Be ready for travel disruptions and more. I’m always pro-winter storm, but that’s mostly because I’m prepared to weather it. Makes me feel justified about my worrying and anxiety. Don’t get caught out with snow on the horizon.
Until next time, make sure you’ve got the bread and milk.