Game on.

Free monthly craft classes for adults. Because friends who craft together, stay together.

I'll be honest. I thought I was going to cry throughout Isabel Allende's entire lecture in Columbus last night. But I immediately learned that Allende is a "very strong Chilean woman" (as she was introduced) and pulled myself together. Because strong women don't cry at book lectures. That, and I forgot my pack of tissues.

On the second and fourth Saturday of each month, a killer coterie of vendors and artists gathers at 400 West Rich in Franklinton to offer an urban shopping (and lounging) experience unlike any other.

There are lots of different kinds of laughter, from the guffaw and snicker to the cackle and snort. And that one where your face swells up like a doofy peach and you start crying, but the harder you try to control it the worse it gets, and you double over clutching your stomach because you forget to breathe. The latter version happened to me recently at Monday Night Live.

I don’t know much about comics, but I enjoy reading them and am inspired by the local creators who work hard to build a strong scene. When I heard there was a panel called “A Voltron That Has Yet to Assemble: The Columbus Comics Scene Past, Present, and Future” at CCAD’s Mix comics symposium, I had to attend.

They say in order to truly observe something, you must use as many of your senses as possible. When entering the full-size Lustron home inside of the Ohio History Center, I felt like Marty McFly reemerging in the 1955 version of Hill Valley. 

I used to think that magical forests existed only in fairytales. Then I discovered Inniswood Metro Gardens, whose lavish and playful world made me a believer of supernatural nature. 

I didn’t believe it was possible to hold a letter that George Washington wrote in 1788. Or flip through a 15th-century medieval manuscript. I definitely didn’t think I could do so less than a mile from home. The State Library of Ohio rules. 

Covert parking spots. The identity of Vinchen. Jeni’s Salty Caramel recipe. Some Short North secrets are best kept hidden. Dames Bond Marketplace shouldn’t be one of them, even if its name is inspired by a super secret agent. 

After learning about the free Elvis photography exhibit at Capital University’s Schumacher Gallery, I was skeptical. Rhinestone-studded visions of fist pumps and girdled velvet filled my head. Haven’t we seen all of Elvis there is to see? 

With the Kentucky Derby less than two months away, I had bourbon on the brain. It was time to tour Watershed Distillery in Grandview to learn more about the process of microdistilling.

The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum is one of the biggest secrets in Columbus, but big plans are in the works to make it a place you won’t forget.

Five Columbus organizations collaborated to host a silent memorial flash mob in honor of World AIDS Day.

We often hear about programs that benefit the community. Last night at the first annual Short Stop Youth Center Open House, I experienced one that changes it. 

Zombies. Lots of them.

It started somewhere between Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Battlestar Galactica. Yep, my fate has been uncloaked: I have an Inner Nerdesse. 

Races can be so weird. You wake up frighteningly early, pay a registration fee, and pin a bib to your shirt. There are staggered starts, shoe chips, starter guns, and harried clusters of other runners. But what if you just gave everyone a high five?

Before last night, I thought murals were just really cool works of public art. 

Schizophrenia is a heavy word. Sometimes we use it in jest, but the condition after which it’s named is dire. This is why Cincinnati artist and care provider Michael Coppage took action. 

Columbus turns 200 today. There have been several public festivities to honor this occasion, and yet I also wanted to acknowledge it privately. 

Feel the magnitude of a century of art.