You are here

Home » News

Columnists

Icon music review: Top 7 songs about the Buckeye State

How many can you name without reading this column?
Posted by Fred Steiner on Friday, March 12, 2021

Reviewed by Craig Hoffman 
Ohio is famous for the first man on the moon, the Wright Brothers, and great musicians. Of course, this is a music column, so here are the best songs about the Buckeye State! Have you heard them all? 

“Beautiful Ohio”- Ballard MacDonald
No list of songs about Ohio would be completed without the official state song. This song was originally a waltz. The Ohio State Fair Band starts every performance with this tune. It was also part of Jo Stafford’s Do I hear a Waltz? in 1966.

»

Icon book review: The Great Influenza Of 1918

This book is about the heroes who worked tirelessly in labs and in the field to try to find a cure, or even better, a vaccine
Posted by Fred Steiner on Sunday, March 7, 2021

Review by Robert McCool
This is a big book on a big topic. 745 pages plus 181 pages (large print) of references and bibliography covering two years of research and attempts for a cure to the worst pandemic we've ever had.

“The Great Influenza of 1918” (Random House, ISBN 978-0-593-34646-4) from author John M. Barry is extensively researched and well written enough to keep you reading all those pages. I can say I liked it, mostly because of the similarity to today's pandemic. And our response to it, which is so much like the response in 1918. We grew to fear, just like in 1918.

»

What is anxiety disorder?

Someone with anxiety has intense feelings of fear and distress preventing them from being able to do everyday tasks
Posted by Fred Steiner on Thursday, March 4, 2021

By Amelia Alexander
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness. You have probably heard of anxiety or know somebody that has anxiety. Everyone feels anxious, especially during stressful situations, but what is the distinction between having anxiety and not having anxiety?  

Somebody with anxiety has intense feelings of fear and distress preventing them from being able to do everyday tasks. People without anxiety only feel this way when they are in a particularly stressful situation.  

»

Icon book review: Nomadland

Where positive thinking is an all-American coping mechanism
Posted by Fred Steiner on Sunday, February 28, 2021

Reviewed by Robert McCool
Nomadland (W.W.North, ISBN978-0-393-24931-6) has all that a non-fiction book should have: the what, the who, the when, and most importantly, the why. It is a handbook on “Surviving America In The Twenty-First Century” as it states in its sub-title.

First off, it's a book about a growing subculture here in America, one that carries its home around on its back around the country and settles in no place for long. They refer to themselves as “rubber tramps” because they live on the open road with far-flung destinations.

»

Icon music review: Medicine At Midnight - Foo Fighters

Does it get any better than Foo Fighters? Hit after hit, these songs distract from life’s problems
Posted by Fred Steiner on Thursday, February 18, 2021

Reviewed by Craig Hoffman 
Medicine at Midnight is the tenth studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters. Scheduled for 2020, the album was delayed to February 5, 2021 due to the pandemic. Three singles were released ahead of the album: “Shame Shame,” “No Son of Mine,” and "Waiting on a War.”

Dave Grohl called Medicine at Midnight the Foo Fighters’ “Saturday night party album.” It functions as an acknowledgment that the band is often not “fun.” Foo Fighters address that by jumping into disco and dance, the syncopations and polyrhythms. Big riffs battle with the kind of nagging singalong choruses the band has avoided over the years. And it works well.

»

On civil discourse

It is important to humbly remember that our opinions are not universal truth
Posted by Fred Steiner on Monday, February 15, 2021

By Amelia Alexander
This morning I went downstairs and made my breakfast smoothie like I do every day. I sit down and eat breakfast with my parents on the weekends because we do not usually have anywhere to rush off to.

We talk about our plans for the day, or whatever is on our hearts. Sometimes, we immerse ourselves in some of the most high-minded conversations of my life. We talk about religion, philosophy, politics, celebrities, etc. There aren’t really any limits when it comes to our discourse.  

»

Pages