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.

It's always interesting to find out what captures Ohioans' interests, particularly when they are Ohio transplants and originally hailed from elsewhere. When I gave Rachel Shaw, a writer's group friend of mine, the Ohio 5 questions, she described the scenery from the window of the 100 year-old farmhouse between Dublin and Plain City that she shares with her husband. "Every sunrise, every sunset was a new masterpiece that my suburban eyes were unused to. I have lots of pictures of the same scene – right between the barns – of a different more beautiful sky dotted with purple and blue and pink clouds."

The scene became her muse for her poetry . When it comes to fantasy fiction aimed for teens, she writes like a fiend. One book, The Necromancer's Scroll has been published under her pen name Sierra Torrin. Besides writing, (check out her blog) , Rachel gets around. If you're ever wondering what to do in Ohio here are her suggestions:

If it's August: "The Miami Valley Steam and Thresher Show at Pasttime Park, admission $10 (I think). The sounds of steam tractors clicking and grinding away like tiny old locomotives. . . You can find anything here. Antiques are as plentiful as old tools and crafts and Happy Meal toys. Popcorn, fried bologna, homemade ice cream in fresh waffle cones, and sausage fried up by the VFW boys are some of the smells that tempt you."

Place to Eat: "I drive my visitors to the Dutch Kitchen. Owned by the same proprieters as the Der Dutchman, it is a smaller establishment, and there is more to enjoy in a less hectic atmosphere. Here, one can enjoy the hospitality of the Amish, a large portion of the Plain City population, and enjoy the food and crafts.

Favorite Event and Place: Ohio Renaissance Fesitval and Ravenwood Castle, "a bed and breakfast just south of Hocking Hills on the edge of Vinton County. This wonderful place has been designed to look like a castle with small keeps surrounding it. Our honeymoon was spent in the King Arthur Suite, a splendid three-room apartment with a Jacuzzi bath, a sitting room upstairs, and a balcony.

And where she sees Ohio's wonder the most: "I've found pockets of beauty by the Scioto River and in its tributaries. I've discovered southeastern Ohio, the foothills of the Appalachians and the limestone caves."

While there are several changes that came about with the governor shift in Ohio, one thing hasn't. The Heritage Garden that was Hope Taft's brainchild still remains. Before the Tafts moved into the governor's residence, the garden was the traditional English version. Mrs. Taft envisioned a place that reflected the diversity of Ohio's native plant life found in its five physiographic regions from Lake Erie to the Appalachians to the what once once a whole lot of prairie in between.

Hope Taft took four years to get this garden in place and the Stricklands aren't changing it. I don't think they can. If it hasn't already happened, Ohio's government is protecting the garden by law so some other governor years down the road, or his wife, or her husband, can't say, "Gee, wouldn't an English garden be nice?" Or if they do say it, they're just going to have to enjoy the yellow lady slipper orchids, the white and red trilliums, the purple coneflowers, and whatever else is native to Ohio.

Because the Governor's Residence and Heritage Garden are part of our heritage, we get to see it. You don't need any proof that you are an Ohioan either. Someone from, say, Kentucky can go. What you do need to do is call ahead for a tour reservation. Tours are on Tuesdays. If you can't make it to the garden in person, the website has an interactive map where you can click on each area to see what it planted there.

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.

Buying chocolate, flowers, or those little message heart candies are fine if there's no time to plan ahead for Valentine's Day, but consider some other options. If you use your senses to lead the way, you might come up with some interesting ways to celebrate love. Or a deep like. Or an "I kind of like you." Here are some starting places:

Sense of smell- With Ohio's botanical gardens' conservatories creating a haven against the freshly arrived winter's chill, head to one of them. Breathe in the fragrances of the jungles, orchid gardens and mountainous regions of the world. So, what if you can't go to a tropical island with your honey this year? At Krohn Conservatory, Franklin Park Conservatory, and Cleveland Botanical Garden you can pretend.

If eating is a way to your loved one's heart, head to a cooking school where you can spend time together--plus taste your efforts. Dorothy Lane Market Cooking School in Dayton has wonderful options. Many restaurants, like Handkes in Columbus also have classes. Here is a Shaw Guides website with links to several of them.

If the sense of sound is your fancy, head to a symphony concert. You can engage your sense of sight as well since many of Ohio's symphonies perform in the most beautiful buildings in the state. In February, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the Akron Symphony , The Youngstown Symphony and the Toledo Symphony have concerts.

For the soothing sense of touch, get a couple's massage. The Marengo Institute, a mind body spa that originated in California but now has Cleveland and Columbus locations, has a Couples Delight Package.

Another option for the sense of sight is an art museum. Here is the botanical garden and art museums page of Ohio Travelers.com to find one you may not have thought of before.

Pity the poor schmuck (me) who usually waits until the last minute to make Valentine's Day reservations at a nice restaurant. Are you aware that they don't accept reservations at Waffle House? It's true.

If you really want to score some major points this year, take your honey to an upscale place. I'm talking cloth napkins, waiters who don't wear aprons, call you 'Sugar', or sit down at the table with you. I've put together a list of ten great places in Columbus for wonderful meals. So don't put it off!

Scali's Restaurant -- The best Italian food in town in an unpretentious but elegant room. I recommend the penne ariabiata.

The European Taverna Opa -- Greek cuisine in an old S. High mansion, a great place for quiet conversation.
Closed. Too bad.

Spain Barcelona-- Wonderful Spanish food in German Village. We truly are multi-ethnic.

The Refectory -- the Columbus standard for simple luxury, the converted church has been serving fine French dishes for over 25 years. Great wine cellar, low markup.

My Big Fat Greek Cuisina -- terrible name, wonderful food. Of this list, probably the lowest-cost option. The appetizer is to die for.

Rigsby's Cuisine Volatile -- in the Short North. Italian influences balanced with other ethnic foods to create exciting new tastes.

M -- the most upscale of the local Cameron Mitchell restaurants overlooks downtown Columbus. They serve American food with a world cuisine flare.

Hunan Lion -- a modestly priced north side restaurant that serves consistently delicious Chinese and Thai food in a comfortable setting with great service, and all at market prices. One of my personal favorites.

Handke's Cuisine -- in the Brewery District, the home of local celebrity chef Hartmut Handke. His mouth-watering V.D. menu is already posted on the web site, $58.50 per person.

L'antibes -- a tiny place in the French style, known for elegant creative food.

Don't be a Dick Tom. Call today.

My friend, Ann has mentioned to me several times, "Let's go to a karaoke bar," and then talks about the fun we had several years ago when we did hit one. My husband belted out a fine rendition of "Danny Boy" that night. Me? I'm partial to "Proud Mary." I seem to manage to stay on tune with that song, sort of. Once, years ago, my husband pretended it was my birthday and got the people in the karaoke bar that we happened upon, to sing to me. My birthday was months away. I gamely smiled while I watched the ball bounce across the words.

Now, my friend is in a real band, Magic City. I wonder if one day someone will be singing one of her band's songs? If this happens, I wonder what the background video scenes will be? Will there be some obscure unrelated scenes like people rolling around in ocean waves?

I do hope Ann's not too busy with her band that she doesn't have time to karaoke anymore. I found a couple bars that look promising. Jilly's Saloon in Reynoldsburg, for example, has a secret song contest and Largest Little Bar In T has over 20,000 song options. I wonder if it has "Proud Mary?" If so, I'm there.

To find a karaoke bar near you, Ohiokaraoke.com has an extensive listing. Click on the map of Ohio where you live for names, addresses and details. For a clever look at karaoke bars and the people who go there, check out the documentary Karaoke Dreams by Robert Davidian. A fun clip is on You Tube.

In one of my favorite Simpson's episodes, Homer coats his mouth with candle wax so that he can tolerate eating the world's hottest pepper. I don't suggest this tactic, but you might start thinking about your strategy in preparing for the upcoming Fiery Food Festival in Columbus.

In its fourth year, the festival will again bring together chili devotees and other capsicum fans to the North Market near downtown Columbus on February 17th for a day of feasts and firey farts. On the schedule is a salsa (the food) competition, a chili cook-off, a Chef Chili Challenge and the old standby chili pepper eating contest.

Also on tap is music (accordion, Latino and Caribbean) and entertainment for the kids.

A fee is charged for sampling the chili entries.

Dublin, Ohio company Aquaice is attempting to build a business offering the millions of devoted bottled-water consumers the same purifed product in ice cube form.

Aquaice's product is the epitome of convenience. The water comes in trays individually wrapped into cubes. The customer need merely chill and serve. (Seems like the perfect use for an anti-microwave that would cool food quickly. Remember that you read this concept here first.)

The company is marketing this ice to restaurants, and recently got an infusion of venture capital to allow it to expand their marketing to retail. Aquaice can also be purchased online, $8.99 for 100 cubes.

The company is not without competitors, however. Icerocks, a similar product using spring water, is sold by the Water Bank of America (what an odd name!).

If you would rather spend a buck or two for bottled water than drink from the tap, you might want to check out Aquaice, because you know what ice cubes made with tap water convert to when exposed to heat?

Tap water.

It's not just the fact that a glass of wine costs $1.50 that gets me to Larry's Bar on a Monday night a few times a year-although, that's not a bad reason. I go to Larry's because of the poetry and because hearing people read their poetry makes me think of word choices. There's a mysterious quality that I enjoy. The question, "How do people see the world and how does this translate into words that have a certain sound and meaning-a sense of weight?" Or weightlessness if the poem is meant for whimsy and nothing more.

At Larry's Bar (voted one of the best "dive bars in Columbus, 2006) at 2040 High Street, in the fall, winter and spring, Poetry Forum at Larry's offers some of the best poetry anywhere. The poets who are the featured readers are contest winners and published in some prestigious publications. Some even have their own books, and not ones they Xeroxed off themselves, but ones a publishing company actually said yes to. These poets are the type that people like me sometimes envy if one is given over to envy. I'm not. But if one did envy published poets, you might envy them because they stuck with their craft and have publications to prove it. The Poetry Forum gives them a chance to actually get their poems out there and into the air where poems are meant to be. Poems shouldn't be trapped unread on a page in a book-forgotten or unclaimed in a book that no one bought.

The Ohio Arts Council even recognizes the importance of the Poetry Forum and has funded it since 1985. If you go, once the featured poet is finished, you can read your own poetry during open mike, or just listen like I do. Steve Abbott, the person who is the ringleader of sorts, is a hospitable emcee. You'll feel welcome. It's a great way to find out what is going on in people's minds. There are so many ways to look at the world and so many versions of a life worth having.

Here is the schedule through March 3. Don't hold me to this though since this may have shifted thanks to the OSU football game. The forum was postponed or canceled for that day, so that may have shifted things.

Jan 24 Helyn Dell
Jan 31 Mikel Romine
Feb 07 TBA
Feb 14 Jeanne Desy
Feb 21 Erica DeWeese
Feb 28 Jeff Jarosch
Mar 01 TBA

Every Ohio politician makes job creation part of his platform, so he might be tempted to celebrate the Timken Company's plans to invest $60 milllion to expand their Canton steel plant.

Until they read that it will create 30 jobs.

in the 1980's, Timken, long the lifeblood of Stark County, built a state-of-the-art facility to make specialty steel. At the time, they were one of the largest employers of members of the United Steelworkers of America.

The new mill mechanized many jobs so that it could operate with a vastly reduced work force. Timken has apparently fine-tuned that process now to a proportion of one job for every $2 million.

This is great for shareholders, who not only make more money from the increased sales, but also own the capital, the robots making the steel. But it does little for the unemployed in Stark County. At one time, tens of thousands of Ohioans worked for Timken in Canton, Columbus and elsewhere. The number now is a small fraction of that.

The same holds true for employers such as Honda of America. Increased mechanization reduces costs, but as the requirement for manpower decreases, where shall Ohioans turn to earn the money to buy the products? Fast food restaurants?

Full disclosure: Both my father and I worked for Timken. Neither of us do now, and neither of us wishes we did.

Some things I don't want to know too much about, including (in Twain's words) the making of law and sausages. However, if you are curious about the sanitation in your favorite dining establishment, the Columbus Board of Health inspection reports can give you the down and dirty.

The department is about start a new program in which restaurants will be required to color-coded signs indicating the findings of the most recent inspection. Green will indicate a clean slate, yellow for corrections needed, white for probation and red for restaurants shut down for violations. A blue sign indicates a place that has had no problems for at least a year.

I checked a few local restaurants at random, to get a sense of what the inspectors look for and how strictly they inspect. I was impressed by the detail of their work, and pleased with the results of their inspections.

For an example, I looked at a few recent inspections, (and understand these are not worse-cases; they are simply random choices, and all of the have satisfied these Health Department's concerns). Their reports:

The Cheesecake Factory: mid-priced casual dining at Easton Mall.
Soda guns soiled with mold inside. Cook used bare hands to put cheese on pasta. Garlic and oil at 65F, should be 41F or below.

Waffle House, Dublin-Granville Road: You know Waffle House!
Cook changed gloves without washing hands. Raw beef stored above sliced ham and cream in fridge. Can opener and prep sink dirty.

Pizza House, E. Lincoln Ave. Both carryout and in-house dining.
Raw eggs stored above soda in fridge, cheese stored too warm, lack of date-marking of sliced ham, food surfaces dirty, employees drinking from unlidded containers in kitchen, cook did not know proper way to cool foods, raw chicken and beef stored above bread, food prep with bare hands, salad stored in garbage can, dirty can opener, ice machine drainage improperly air gapped.

M- Perhaps the most upscale restaurant in town.
Partially eaten apple on cold prep table. Chef assembled mini-burger with bare hands. Mashed potatoes held for hours were not time-dated. Waiter didn't properly warn patron of the danger of under-cooked meat. Ice machine was soiled.

I am reassured both by the detailed inspection and the fairly mundane violations found.

Has anyone else read this story? I'm frankly pretty appalled. According to a few different newspapers now, Tashina Byrd (of Springfield, OH) and her boyfriend Brian O'Neill (of Columbus, OH) went to a Wal-Mart with a pharmacy in Columbus and asked at the pharmacy for the Plan B pill. According to Byrd, the attendant said that the store did stock the pill, but nobody would give it to them. Byrd has written Governor Ted Strickland, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and Wal-Mart Watch. The pharmacist claims that he was right in refusing to fill the prescription. As of right now, Wal-Mart is investigating the incident, as are the other operations.

Without opening the door to a lot of arguing about birth control and abortions, etc., let's just acknowledge this fact. If the morning after pill (or Plan B pill) is now legally available, which it has been decreed as by the Food and Drug Administration, then it must be legally available. That is the only part of the story that I'm horrified about.

With the holidays, traveling and one thing leading to another there are still three things I want to see in Columbus before it's too late.

Degas Landscapes at the Columbus Museum of Art. This exhibit features more than 20 works that Degas painted of the seaside resort of Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme on the northern French coast. I have until January 21 for this one. Since Impressionism is my favorite style of painting, I'd hate to miss this just because I haven't taken the time.

Picturing What Matters: An Offering of Photographs from the George Eastman House Collection and The Armory Wall: A Tribute to September 11 Photographs by John Taylor and Dianne Dubler at The Ohio Historical Center. This is a collection of 123 photographs that represent aspects of American life. I'm always interested to see what images others chose as tributes to how we live and what's important. This one is open until January 28.

Ride Around the World: The Amazing Global Journey of the Cowboy at COSI. This is the IMAX movie about cowboy life around the world over the last 1,000 years. This film takes viewers to various countries from Spain to Canada to Argentina and Morocco. I have some time for this one, since it will be around until March 11, but still with the way time flies. . .