Wednesday, August 9 2017

Hello Wednesday. It's James.

Seeing huge, national acts in arena tours is great, and Columbus is lucky to have both Schottenstein Arena and Nationwide Arena to attract musicians, but there's something to be said for cozier venues.The names usually aren't as big (although sometimes you'll find surprises), but the intimacy of the experience makes up for it. And if you happen to have one of your favorite artists or bands come through town and play one of these smaller venues, you'll basically be in heaven.Navigator full story: The 10 Dopest Venues In Columbus For Intimate Shows And Cozy Concerts

The Rundown:Weather: 83. Sunny.To do: If you've ever thought of checking out some bar trivia (and if you have, check out our guide) tonight is a good night with a variety of options. There's Harry Potter trivia at Park Street Tavern, trivia night at the Claddagh, Spacebar trivia at Spacebar, and trivia night at JT's Pizza and Pub. Get out there and win some prizes.

Navigator Originals:Federal Law Has Created A Conflict For Testing Pot In OhioIt's a bit of a conundrum: law requires marijuana testing, but law also says marijuana testing is illegal. Eventually an Ohio State college or university is going to have to bite the bullet, but the process looks thorny.12 Fabulous Felines From Columbus, In Honor Of International Cat DayYesterday was International Cat Day, and we've got 12 hilarious (I mean ... very dignified) Columbus based cats for your Wednesday perusal.The Greatest, Most Interesting Moments In Ohio State Fair HistoryWe've said goodbye to the Fair for another year, and Nora has taken a look at some of the Fair's biggest moments over the years.Morgan Spurlock Pranks All Of Columbus In New Fast Food DocumentaryMorgan Spurlock put up a fake fast food restaurant, apparently to show what dupes people are if they are faced with healthy marketing. The only problem is a lot of people, and media, saw through it at the time. Will that make it into his documentary?Chris Bradley Announces His Remission, People Of Columbus Share Love And SupportSome good news, which we probably all need right now: 10tv's Chris Bradley has announced that his cancer is in remission.

The Wednesday Conversation:You may be worrying about a potential nuclear conflagration after our president's Tweets yesterday, but here's your daily reminder that terrible things are happening under the radar: the United States government has switched sides in a Supreme Court case and now sides with Ohio's decision to purge thousands of voters from voter rolls.  The move is somewhat shocking as most voter suppression is done at the state level - for the most part the Justice Department has defended voter's rights in recent decades. That seems to be over, for now.  [Dispatch/Wehrman]It's starting to feel like a daily event that a national news organization sends a video crew to Ohio to document the opiate crisis. Today, it's Yahoo News looking at addicts and the crisis in Middletown. [Yahoo - Video]Did you know Portsmouth, Ohio was an NFL city? The Detroit Lions were once the franchise in Portsmouth (then known as the Spartans.) The beautiful stadium is still there (hit the link below for an exterior shot - it's something), but it's in pretty bad shape. A group in the town wants to renovate, and help give the town an alternative to the opioid epidemic at the same time. [100 Days in Appalachia/Shuler]

Longread for your lunch break:“Seeing a partial eclipse bears the same relation to seeing a total eclipse as kissing a man does to marrying him.”Very timely - here is Annie Dillard's classic 1982 essay on viewing a total eclipse.The Atlantic: Annie Dillard's Classic Essay: 'Total Eclipse'

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