Here's a local connection to Oprah Winfrey that's worth a blog. Not because it's Oprah, but because of the story. Sufiy Davis has been using the movie The Pursuit of Happyness to promote happiness. Actually, the real intention, I think, is to promote hope, possibility and drive in people who are homeless. Sufiy's been taking homeless men and women from Faith Mission operated by Lutheran Social Services in Columbus to the Drexel Theatre. And not just a couple of people, as many as she can afford to take. The Drexel has also helped offset the cost.

Sufiy let The Oprah Winfrey Show folks know what she was up to as a "Pay it Forward Challenge." Being that Oprah's show knows a photo op when they see one, Sufiy was hooked up as a guest. Her TV time on Oprah was on Friday, January 26. From what I heard, the crew went to the movies with Sufiy and the gang . Plus, interviews with residents and Sheila Gaston, the shelter manager were included in the broadcast. Here is the link to The Oprah Winfrey Show broadcast that highlights Sufiy's story with text and pictures.

I like this story for a couple of reasons. It's such a simple concept to take folks to the movies. One person had this idea, followed through with it, and it actually was recognized as being marvelous. There are folks all over Ohio who are making a difference. I can think of a couple of school classrooms for one. It's neat, though, that at least one Ohioan got a trip to see Oprah. To the rest of you out there, keep doing good. You know who you are.

Every day there is something new to write about. The list is long. Here is one item that's been on my list for awhile.

Art for a Child's Safe American Foundation (ArtSafe) located in Columbus is one of those organizations every state needs, particularly if one listens to the nightly local news. The organization's founder, artist Stephen Canneto, was moved more than ten years ago to do something to stem the violence he saw affecting our nation's youth. In his mind, the way to make the world safer is by helping those young people who could make it even more dangerous if they don't get intervention.

ArtSafe uses art, writing and drama to help young people find an alternative voice. Instead of being left to beat the same drum of violence, despair and disenfranchisement, the participants of ArtSafe are given the opportunity to experience life through a different lens-one where anger is put on hold.

Although ArtSafe programs taught by professional artists, writers and theatre folk also happen in other venues besides prisons, it's the prison art programs I've seen at work. I've observed the workshop sessions, celebrated the end of projects and have interviewed some of the youth offenders myself. What I can say is true is it is wonderful to see hope at work and to listen to young men and women say that they feel heard and valued. It's also true that ArtSafe is one of those organizations that ought to make Ohioans feel proud. For more information about ArtSafe, head to the website. What I've given is just a snippet. There are examples of participants' writing and art as well. The link Memorial to Our Lost Children provides insight into the heart of the organization.

Perhaps you too are a native Clevelander, and perhaps you too have frequently driven by the Cleveland Public Power building on Marginal Road, right in between the Shoreway and Lake Erie. If you have, you are guaranteed to have seen it: the Wall of Whales. Or, more colloquially, the whale building.

Well, it wasn't until this very evening (coincidentally enough) that I found out that the whale building was the work of a specific artist, Wyland, who specializes in environmentally conscious, marine life artwork. The Wall of Whales on the side of the Cleveland Public Power building features swimming whales, dolphins and scuba divers in an incredibly blue ocean. He's also done manatees, turtles, fish, rays, people (in the water) and lots of different kinds of whales.

Now, we could be cynical, and point out that there is just no way that you're going to get whales in Lake Erie (sigh), but what I find more odd is why Wyland paints whales! And other maritime fishes and mammals, of course. Well, for starters, it's Whale Wall #75 - Wyland is currently painting his 95th mural of whales. These murals are for one major purpose: to raise environmental awareness about the undersea world, through the work of the Wyland Foundation. (In fact, the 95th mural is in Key Largo, Florida, and will be dedicated on Feb. 12.) All of Wyland's murals are painted in life-size dimensions, and in a wide range of sizes and locations. Power generating stations, museums, boats, department stores and piers - nothing is too weird to show us what's under the sea. I think this is beautiful, and I'm proud that Cleveland and Ohio are part of a larger, environmentally loving tradition.

Award winning architect Frank Gehry is known for his work all over the world. Among his designs in Ohio is the University of Toledo's Center for Visual Arts.

The Toledo Museum of Art, in keeping with its reputation as one of the top ten museums in the USA, has a widely varied collection. Most periods and parts of the world are represented. If the art of ancient civilizations strikes your fancy, the museum has a lot to offer.

Egyptian work is well represented. My favorites are a small chalice of faience. It's only about six inches high, but it's covered with an intricate relief of animals. I'm also partial to a stone hawk, symbol of the god Horus. He's from the Ptolemaic Period but he's so stylized that he could fit right in on a twentieth century building. There's also plenty of sculpture, a papyrus scroll, a model boat, and one of the "mummy portraits", a highly realistic portrait on wood that was placed over the subject's face when mummified.

The selection of Greek and Roman art is superb. There are dozens of Greek vases, including one by one of the great masters of the art, Exekias. If you're interested in military history, you'll like the very rare Corinthian bronze helmet. There are several Roman portraits, including one of the Emperor Domitian. The guards like to point out that he wrote a treatise on hair care, but he's wearing a wig. Be sure to notice the mosaic floor from North Africa, as well.

You'll find work from Babylon and Persia, Sumeria and Petra. There's a fine display of Etruscan art. You can see some of it in the picture. The terra cotta bust is their sun god Apulu. There's so much to see and enjoy in the Classical Hall that you could spend a whole day just in this one room.

Oh, yes. One other thing. At the back of the room is a little alcove leading to a door. If you look through it, you'll see the Peristyle, the museum's auditorium. Putting the Classical Hall next to it was an appropriate move. It's a beautiful room in the purest Classical Greek style. But that's another story.

Sadly, I could not give you the Ohio 5 interview that we all wanted, because Ms. Mooney foolishly decided to have a baby instead, which ate up all of her time. But that's not going to stop me from talking about her, because she is so funny, and more importantly, she's a transplanted Buckeye.

That's right, Megan Mooney is from Ohio! Don't you get that special little glow when you learn that someone you like/appreciate/think is brilliant is from your area? I always do. And mwa-ha-ha - just to put the cap on it, she's from Cleveland! She even went to John Carroll. Love it. I like to picture her originally thinking that the Improv was the pinnacle of comic existence, and now that she's a professional comic living in Los Angeles, she occasionally thinks back and says, "Are you kidding me?"

Let's see, Megan's done college tours, she's done Comedy Central specials, she's done the US Comedy Arts Festival, and in September 2007, she'll be performing on a cruise! (Is it just me, or do all celebrities now occasionally go on cruises to do whatever they do? It's probably just me.) And supposedly her website promises that she'll come to your college if you ask her. By the way, a tip: if you click on the contact button, an email will pop up addressed to her with a subject that already says "You're Hot, Megan!"

Megan, if you're reading this, I'm sorry we could never do the interview! But I wanted to brag about you anyway. Go, Mooney!

My mother-in-law is wild about quilting and, luckily for us, she shares what she makes. When she emails me about a neat quilt store she's found, I know it's great. Here is her tip for anyone looking for a place that will give you some inspiration and goods if you're in the mood to buy. She also really likes the owner. Since Thymbles is located in Smithville at the edge of Amish country, this would be a fun jaunt for a day trip.

Thymble's website is still being added to but there are class offerings and special events. Last weekend, for example, there was a quilting retreat. If you're looking for what else there is to do in Smithville and the surrounding area, it's in Wayne County with plenty of places to poke around. Be sure to eat at The Barn Restaurant in Smithville. This was one of the restaurants that a lot of Ohio Magazine readers wrote in about as one of the best destination restaurants. It's no wonder. There's an electric train that goes around the lobby (you can hear it on the website). You can also feed ducks, smash a penny, play checkers and more. On the restaurant's website you can also hear bees and the tractor that kids can pretend to ride.

The quilt in the photo was made by Jane Hardy Miller and was used as the design for the quilt retreat. The pattern in called French Braid.

Seriously, I have made tonight's viewing of Miss America into an event! I made dip (so that way even if the girls on tv can't eat something good, I can), I am wearing comfortable pants with a brand-new top (so I look good too), and I have prepared to be entertained inadvertently.

Honestly, I am all for these girls, because, let's face it, I don't have the energy to have a talent and perform it! On stage, live and in person, in front of judges! My only talent is baking, and that's not really a talent - I can read a recipe and buy groceries, and somehow put the two together. But I certainly can't do it onstage!

Plus, I can't do anything with Mario Lopez staring at me.

But come on! Miss Ohio is on, and she's looking pretty! (She's a Cleveland girl, buddy. We can win stuff.)

FINAL RECAP: Well, Miss Ohio didn't even place! I am wildly disappointed. And there wasn't even a Midwestern representation after Miss Pennsylvania got booted out. Miss Georgia won the night, I am sorry to say - her interview answer was terrible, and I think the judges should be slapped for it.

I do not often to go to Akron, even though I do have family that lives near there - thankfully, it's not like they're on campus! And I have to say, I remembered Saturday night why I don't go to Akron more often: it takes forever to get there. Seriously! It's something like 45 minutes to an hour away from Cleveland, but let me tell you, it felt much longer.

But I had a big plan! Sidekick Girl had gotten hired to do a gig at Max McQ's bar, billiards, poker and apparently stand-up comedy club, and as a valiant friend, I wanted to support her. So I also dragged along another friend Kathleen, and we all sucked it up and bundled up and headed out to Akron. Max McQ's, I found out, is in a quaint area of Akron called the Valley, and I'm not going to lie - I still don't really know what that means. What does it mean? How much of a valley are we talking about here? I think it's because it's part of the larger Cuyahoga valley region, but I can't find this out for sure. Any Akron residents reading, please enlighten me. But surprisingly, Max McQ's had great martinis (and the drinks were so big, they were called maxtinis on the menu), and the comics worked hard against the poker game in one part of the room, basketball games on tv, and the lure of the pool tables next door. Rough.

So after a rousing hour or so of comedy at Max McQ's, we were still alert and looking for fun. So we did what all twenty-somethings in Akron do: we went downtown, towards the University, and hit the street of bars! We ended up at Thursday's Lounge, which had dancing. And while it took a really long time to fill up (what else was going on on a Friday night in Akron?! I kid!), the DJ had great choices and it was nice to kind of just get and shake it up while not wearing a giant winter coat.

Akron, I apologize. I assumed that with an hour's drive, there was nothing fun there! I was so wrong.

There was a time when wealthy Americans could buy historic buildings in Europe, ship them across the Atlantic, and reassemble them. These days, few could afford it, even without Europe's strong antiquities preservation laws. That's probably a good thing. Still, I can't complain about Toledo's share of the spoils.

As part of the increased interest in Medieval art in the first few decades of the twentieth century, the Toledo Museum of Art was able to buy small parts of three monasteries in the south of France. Each was an arcaded wall from a cloister, a covered walkway around a courtyard. The three arcades were reassembled, in 1932, to form Toledo's own cloister. Since the museum was only able to buy three side, the fourth was made by builders here in Toledo. To avoid confusion and distinguish it from the authentic parts, the fourth arcade is just plain wood. I wish I could say I haven't seen tourists oohing and aahing over that one, but I'd be lying through my teeth.

The oldest arcade came from the monastery of Espira de l'Agly. It's in the Romanesque style and was built sometime between 1134 and 1146. The next, the one you see in the picture, was from St. Pons de Thomieres, and dates to the late 12th or early 13th centuries. It's also Romanesque. Last is the Gothic arcade from Notre Dame de Pontaut. It's from the late 14th or early 15th century. All of the arcades are magnificent pieces of stonework. Each of the columns has a capital, the top part, carved with scenes from the Bible, the life of St. Pons, animals, or foliage. In the middle, you'll notice a square object. That's a marble wellhead from Venice. It was made in 1467. Like the capitals, its sides are carved. Each side has a pair of mythical or symbolic creatures.

So, why does the lighting look a it odd? That's one of the little surprises the Toledo Museum of Art is so good at providing. The Cloister can be lighted to simulate both day and night. The ceiling can look just like the night sky. It's a wonderful effect.

But wait. That's not all. In the Cloister, you'll find part of the Museum's collection of Medieval art. There are paintings, of course, and sculpture. Stained glass and ivory carvings. Embroidered textiles and Limoges enamels. It's a dazzling display worthy of a world-class museum. That's exactly what the Toledo Museum of Art is.

Chair is Art. According to Renee Kropat, head of Gallery 202 in Westerville, almost anything can become art--maybe everything. Last year for Passages V, a conceptual art experience that culminated into an art show of women' expressions of some aspect of life, mailboxes were turned into art. The brilliance of the Passages series is in the collective expression. Each person for the last Passages, for example, was given the same prompt, the same type of mailbox, and told to convey the idea of how do we stay connected. No one mailbox turned out the same. Some mailboxes didn't even look like mailboxes anymore which was fine by Renee. Only a piece of the original mailbox had to be used. This year's Passage's theme has not been decided. When it is, I'm in.

"Chair is Art," another Kropat brainchild, is not just for women--or for adults. This show is open to anyone. I participated two years ago and got two friends of mine to also participate. All you do is pay a $10 entry fee if, you are an adult, or $5 if you're a kid, and bring your artistic expression of a chair to Gallery 202 by the due date, March 7, 2007. You can downnload the entry form from the Gallery 202 website. Either turn a chair into an art piece, or make a chair (for example, a school art class made paper mache chairs) or photograph a chair. This year you can even make a wall hanging, but somehow, a chair has to be represented. The Gallery 202 website also has the past Chair is Art chairs posted to give an overview of what is possible.

Besides the forays in to community art that includes murals in downtown Westerville, Gallery 202 also features local artist's work, has art supplies for sale and is a venue for at classes. Gallery 202 is a terrific resource and art world gem that pulls me to Westerville several times a year. It sure is fun to be an artist once in a while-even if I'm not all that good, Renee makes me feel like I'm an artistic genius-or something.

I was surprised to learn that the Library of Congress has been storing some of the great treasures of American cinema in vaults at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton. And now they're leaving, moving to a new facility in Culpepper, Virginia.

The films include the original negatives of The Maltese Falcon and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (ironic, that). The 25,000+ films on about 125,000 reels have been stored in a temperature and humidity-controlled vault at the base. The oldest movies were made pre-1900.

The vaults were originally built to house military records, including film. Old movie film, made from nitrate, is extremely flammable and subject to decay, so special care was put into the vault design. In 1969, the storage facilities were turned over to the Library of Congress for storing the nation's film archives.

Now they will reside in a former Federal Reserve building underground near Washington, renovated into the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center.

Goodbye, Mr. Smith. I hope Washington treats you better this time.

I honestly really like winter. I like snow, I don't mind being cold, and if it wasn't for how dirty my car gets, I wouldn't mind if it was winter for a lot longer! The only problem with winter is what to do! It's so cold, so why go outside unless you have to? Sometimes you've made a New Year's resolution for yourself (bad idea), and then you feel even more like you need to get out of the house! "I said I was going to take a cooking class/go to Pilates/learn how to identify flowers, how can I do that in the house?" That's one of the many reasons I don't make New Year resolutions.

So! Let's think of some things to do. How about that Pilates class? If you're in Cleveland, you can hit up a couple of different places, and I'm going to be attempting a class at Studio 11 in Tremont. How about some other kind of class? I've been recently thinking about getting into web design (nothing like working for a blog to make you frustrated when you look at how other websites are designed!), and so I gave a quick glance over the Cleveland State University and Cuyahoga Community College open class schedules. Never underestimate community classes! They're not any more expensive than anything else, and you learn something! And the favorite winter pasttime of all twenty-somethings, going to a bar. I've recently taken a shine to a restaurant/bar near my house called Melt - their food specialty is grilled cheese sandwiches. I kid you not. But their mojitos are pretty good too!

And all of that gets you out of the house. What do you do to get out of the house?

Here is the actual cartoon of James Thurber's story, Unicorn in the Garden. This was released by Columbia Pictures UPA in 1953. Humorist James Thurber, a Columbus native, who also gained fame as a writer and cartoonist for The New Yorker in the 1920s and 1930s, still influences Ohio's literary scene. His boyhood home, The Thurber House, is now a writing establishment that sponsors author series talks, workshops, a writer-in-residence program and a contest that is dear to my heart, The Thurber Treat Humor Writing contest. I was one of last year's winners.

Writing can be soul work. There is no where I've found in Ohio where this is truer than at Women Writing for (a) Change. This is an organization, a writing center of sorts, in Cincinnati. I met its founder, Mary Pierce Brosmer a few years ago upon the recommendation of a friend. Since then, I attended last year's spring writing retreat for women across the Ohio River in northern Kentucky. I'm signing up for this year's too. It's terrific to have time to develop my craft while nurturing my spirit and connecting to others.

Women Writing for (a )Change was initially started with the idea that, through writing and sharing their work, women might make systemic changes in their lives, and thus, the world. Over the past 15 plus years, it's grown beyond that. There are writing workshops for families and men as well. In the summer, there are writing camps for girls. The biggest focus remains women.

My only beef is that this terrific place is in Cincinnati. That's no one's fault. That's life. I'd love to sign up for a semester class or two. In the meantime, I'll keep telling people about it and look forward to that retreat weekend.

By the way, you don't have to see yourself as a writer to go to classes or on a retreat. The point is that you are interested in writing. A love of words is a bonus. If you don't have this love now, afterwards, you will. You will most certainly find yourself enjoying how you are in the company of women.

Women Writing for a Changes's motto says it best:

Bringing women to words and the words of women to the world.