This year marks the second anniversary of Cincinnati’s Crafty Supermarket Holiday Show, a gathering of more than 50 local crafters, artists and designers making it easy to find those special gifts for all your holiday shopping.  

We don’t need to spend a lot of time explaining to you, dear CityBeat reader, that John Kasich is not cool. You’re obviously a smart, cool and very attractive person if you’re reading our Cool Issue fall preview, while Kasich is a stuffy Republican who thinks it’s cool to sell bridges to private companies. “Look everybody! A toll booth! Cool!”  

In 1999, a young Ohio State alum named John Kasich was featured in a newspaper article about his potential run for President of the United States. Nothing out of the ordinary there. But what was a bit strange, in hindsight, was the way the paper (the San Francisco Chronicle, no less) described this young buck looking to become the most powerful man on the planet.   

I’m pretty sure that Gov. John Kasich has more important things to think about than his favorite restaurant. But it is clear that Kasich thinks that Bob Evans is pretty damned cool. During his campaign last year, it was reported that Kasich staffers had to set all Bob Evans locations into the GPS devices in campaign cars, although one staffer noted that it really wasn’t necessary since Kasich knew where they all were located anyway.    

College football season is already upon us, but what many sports fans often fail to realize is that college basketball is just around the corner. With 10 more weeks of University of Cincinnati football scheduled to overlap the school’s November basketball exhibition games, it’s safe to say that this fall is going to involve watching many, many athletic competitions.  

Smarmy, round-shouldered and sporting a haircut that makes his head look just a little asymmetrical, Ohio Gov. John Kasich cuts a striking pose in his weekly video addresses. Checking these out gets you close to the Governor’s mansion in that way that Facebook gets you close to your friends — that is to say, very and not at all.   

There’s a lot to be celebrated about Cincinnati’s varied theater scene, but one of the coolest aspects might not be immediately obvious: Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s stock in trade is shows that were written four centuries ago. So how is that cool? Well, let me count the ways. Let’s consider actors, plays and outreach.