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[
"Becky Bartkowski"
] | 2016-08-26T12:53:23 | null | 2016-08-25T09:00:00 | Phoenix New Times' 100 creatives series of 2016 continues with writer and poet Kelsey Pinckney of Four Chambers Press and Read Better Be Better. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Farts%2Fkelsey-pinckney-of-four-chambers-on-why-phoenicians-need-to-listen-to-each-others-stories-8568695.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8586182/kelsey-pinckney-100-phoenix-creatives.jpg | en | null | 100 Phoenix Creatives 2016: Kelsey Pinckney of Four Chambers Press | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | EXPAND Courtesy of Kelsey Pinckney
Every other year, New Times puts the spotlight on Phoenix's creative forces — painters, dancers, designers, and actors. Leading up to the release of Best of Phoenix, we're taking a closer look at 100 more. Welcome to the 2016 edition of 100 Creatives. Up today is 28. Kelsey Pinckney.
Kelsey Pinckney learns by listening.
The 24-year-old writer grew up in California, where she says she spent her adolescence "not really being aware that there were people in the world who had different lives than the one I was familiar with. I'm not super proud of that."
But in leaving her hometown, Pinckney found a new world, full of people with their own distinct stories. She describes it as surreal. "I think it's really important to listen to each other in any part of life, but especially in the act of creating art," she says. "I get really excited when I think about the fact that we are humans, we all come from each other, we are shaped by the world around us (seen and unseen), and we affect each other in ways we don't even realize."
These stories are what inspire Pinckney. She began her practice by writing traditional short stories. Now, though, she's departed from that strict structure in favor of flash fiction and prose poetry. "I think most of it is kind of frustrating to read, actually, but I always hope that a reader will let go of their inhibitions while they read, and let the piece take them on a ride," she says. "It's a ride through my scary, scary mind. "
Her days are devoted to engaging in art and literacy through both her work as program coordinator for Read Better Be Better, a nonprofit that runs after-school literacy programs for kids, and as managing editor at Four Chambers Press, where she works with artists to lay out books, plan events, and edit or develop works.
Which leaves evenings for her own writing, if she feels a creative flow coming on — in between studying for her bachelor's in social work at Arizona State University and spending time with her cat.
It was for the Four Chambers and Eye Lounge project "In Sight: An Ekphrastic Collaboration" that Pinckney achieved one of her greatest personal accomplishments. The collaboration involved pairing visual and literary artists for an exhibition featuring written pieces inspired by visual art. She worked with Ashley Czajkowski, spending time in the artist's studio to connect with both Czajkowski and her work.
The result was a short story that explored Pinckney's thoughts on childbirth, domesticity, and "the animalistic pieces of humanity that are often quieted by societal norms." Pinckney says it helped her to realize she could use art as an avenue to express something — a sort of primal connection that's challenging to illuminate — she wouldn't have written otherwise.
Lately, she's been finishing a body of work she'll present on Friday, August 26, at {9} The Gallery as part of the Phoenix Poetry Series. Also on the bill is her partner Jake Friedman, founder and editor of Four Chambers. "So needless to say, I'm terrified," she says.
But the writer has other projects in the works, too, including a piece about Thomas, the disciple of Jesus, coming into the modern world, befriending Pinckney, and making her realize all her doubts and fears. She's considering whether this might be the beginning of a new body of work centered on biblical characters entering her life and devastating her. Pinckney says she's also been writing a lot about her body, and her stages of acceptance and rejection from society and herself.
"There is so much to say, think, and feel, and one person only contributes to a tiny fraction of that," she says. "There are so many voices out there that differ from my own. I want to hear them all."
An excerpt from Pinckney's story for "In Sight." Courtesy of Kelsey Pinckney
I came to Phoenix with no plans and an open heart.
I make art because it's the only way to make sense of all the things in my heart and brain. And even then, I don't know if any of it makes much sense.
I'm most productive late at night, usually after I've attended a show or reading, or engaged in a really great conversation with someone.
My inspiration wall is full of words and images from the hearts and minds of others. Poems that make me cry, or open my eyes to a different perspective or way of thinking. Images that shed light on cultural, social, or political issues or experiences that are either different from or relatable to my own. Shout out to local artists: Charles Brownson, Ashley Macias, and Ashley Czajkowski — you're all there!
I've learned most from growing up. Which I'm still doing, but the changes that have come between the ages of 18 and 24 have been tremendous. I've lived in three different states, met tons of people with different backgrounds and experiences, and learned how to interact with and participate in the world around me. I'm learning to be my authentic self, which is really important to me but also very, very hard.
Good work should always start a conversation. Or stop one. Or be its own conversation. Either way, I think good work comes in all shapes and sizes, but whatever it is, I think it should be very present. Very much a part of its own authentic environment and culture.
The Phoenix creative scene could use more listening and collaboration. There are tons of amazing minds in Phoenix doing incredible work, and we're all going through huge changes together — development is happening everywhere, businesses are opening and closing, our little "small-town city" is turning into a large, vibrant city, and I think it's prime time to create together to preserve all our unique voices.
The 2016 Creatives so far:
100. Nicole Olson
99. Andrew Pielage
98. Jessica Rowe
97. Danny Neumann
96. Beth Cato
95. Jessie Balli
94. Ron May
93. Leonor Aispuro
92. Sarah Waite
91. Christina "Xappa" Franco
90. Christian Adame
89. Tara Sharpe
88. Patricia Sannit
87. Brian Klein
86. Dennita Sewell
85. Garth Johnson
84. Charissa Lucille
83. Ryan Downey
82. Samantha Thompson
81. Cherie Buck-Hutchison
80. Freddie Paull
79. Jennifer Campbell
78. Dwayne Hartford
77. Shaliyah Ben
76. Kym Ventola
75. Matthew Watkins
74. Tom Budzak
73. Rachel Egboro
72. Rosemary Close
71. Ally Haynes-Hamblen
70. Alex Ozers
69. Fawn DeViney
68. Laura Dragon
67. Stephanie Neiheisel
66. Michael Lanier
65. Jessica Rajko
64. Velma Kee Craig
63. Oliver Hibert
62. Joya Scott
61. Raji Ganesan
60. Ashlee Molina
59. Myrlin Hepworth
58. Amy Ettinger
57. Sheila Grinell
56. Forrest Solis
55. Mary Meyer
54. Robert Hoekman Jr.
53. Joan Waters
52. Gabriela Muñoz
51. ColorOrgy
50. Liz Magura
49. Anita and Sam Means
48. Liz Ann Hewett
47. Tiffany Fairall
46. Vanessa Davidson
45. Michelle Dock
44. Nia Witherspoon
43. Monique Sandoval
42. Nayon Iovino
41. Daniel Davisson
40. Andrew King
39. Michelle Moyer
38. Jimmy Nguyen
37. Tiffany Lopez
36. Kristin Bauer
35. Donna Isaac
34. Douglas Miles
33. Sierra Joy
32. Francisco Flores
31. Amy Robinson
30. Julio Cesar Morales
29. Duane Daniels | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts/kelsey-pinckney-of-four-chambers-on-why-phoenicians-need-to-listen-to-each-others-stories-8568695 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/ec376edfbb1a60dca03cdf2efaf513e3a42195e3018fc2412b99774f8ac4e4a0.json |
[
"Lauren Saria"
] | 2016-08-26T13:02:41 | null | 2016-08-25T06:00:00 | Ahipoki Bowl is expected to begin build-out this fall with a tentative opening date of March 1, 2017. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Frestaurants%2Fahipoki-bowl-fast-casual-poke-restaurant-to-open-in-tempe-early-next-year-8583082.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8583083/pokibowl.jpg | en | null | Ahipoki Bowl: Fast-Casual Poke Restaurant to Open in Tempe Early Next Year | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | Courtesy of Ahipoki Bowl
It's official: Ahipoke Bowl is slowing taking over the Valley, bringing build-your-own poke bowls to diners in Scottsdale, Chandler, and by early next year, Tempe.
The California-based chain announced plans for a third metro Phoenix location earlier this week, less than a year after opening its first Valley restaurant just south of Old Town Scottsdale. A second Ahipoki Bowl opened earlier this summer at 820 North 54th Street in Chandler.
The Tempe restaurant will be located at 1015 South Rural Road in Tempe, just north of the intersection of Rural and Apache roads. The building formerly was home to The College Store but is being turned into The Wedge, a "newly redesigned structure," according to a press release.
Ahipoki Bowl is expected to begin build out this fall with a tentative opening date of March 1, 2017.
As at the other restaurants, diners can expect a Chipotle-style dining experience, meaning customers build their own bowls starting with a base of rice, then adding raw fish, sauces, and other toppings. Fish options include sushi-grade ahi tuna, salmon, shrimp, and yellowtail garnished with vegetables and toppings such as daikon sprouts, seaweed salad, and masago.
For more information or to view the complete menu, check the Ahipoki Bowl website. | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/restaurants/ahipoki-bowl-fast-casual-poke-restaurant-to-open-in-tempe-early-next-year-8583082 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/b6ae71cd817b413dd3166fcc380d12b543aeffd3782b079c3cbf12d7725b8001.json |
[
"Lauren Cusimano"
] | 2016-08-26T14:48:48 | null | 2016-08-26T06:00:00 | Phoenix New times' guide to things to do Labor Day Weekend, including pool parties, theater events, bike crawls, and Sun Devil Football. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Farts%2F9-things-to-do-labor-day-weekend-2016-in-metro-phoenix-8531642.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8531743/10155981.0.jpg | en | null | 9 Things to Do Labor Day Weekend 2016 in Metro Phoenix | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | EXPAND Join patrons of Maya Day and Nightclub during Labor Day weekend 2016. Benjamin Leatherman
It’s the end of summer. It’s best not to fight it, but it may be a good idea to rage on those final days of freedom: Labor Day weekend. From pool parties with private cabanas to art exhibitions and a raucous anime convention, the long weekend is flooded with options.
Here are nine ways to celebrate Labor Day weekend in the Valley.
Beer and bikes during the 2016 SanTan Brewing's Old Town Labor Day Bathing Suit Brews Cruise. Meg Herbert – SanTan Brewing Company
Old Town Labor Day Bathing Suit Brews Cruise
If you’re more of a beer and bikes type of partier, try adding a swimsuit to the mix for the 2016 SanTan Brewing's Old Town Labor Day Bathing Suit Brews Cruise. The ride meets at Grimaldi's in Old Town Scottsdale, 4000 North Scottsdale Road, at 1 p.m. on Sunday, September 4, for pizza and beer aplenty from SanTan Brewing Company. Then the group goes on to Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers, Social Tap, and finishes at Boondocks Patio & Grill – officially concluding the ride at 5 p.m. Speedos and snorkeling gear are highly encouraged, as are essentials like water and sunscreen. Tickets are $25 before the ride, and $30 the day of.
EXPAND Brad Bond and Judy Rollings in iTheatre Collaborative's Velocity of Autumn. Mark Gluckman
The Velocity of Autumn
If tales of elderly women holed up in Brooklyn brownstones with Molotov cocktails – followed by some family healing, we’re sure – entice you, then spend some time at Herberger Theater Center, 222 East Monroe Street, during Labor Day Weekend. The Velocity of Autumn (ahem, seasonally appropriate) opens on the Kax Stage on Friday, September 2. The show is produced by iTheatre Collaborative, and starts its first season as an official resident company of Herberger Theater. Tickets are $22, with a pay-what-you-can price tag of at least $5 for Thursday performances, through September 17.
EXPAND Join the 100th Day of Summer: Labor Day Weekend Pool Party at the Hotel Palomar. Benjamin Leatherman
100th Day of Summer: Labor Day Weekend Pool Party
Either you’ve spent all summer at the rooftop bar and pool at Hotel Palomar, Two East Jefferson Street, or you’re freaking out that there are only a few weekends left to enjoy them. Lustre Rooftop Bar has been hosting 100 Days of Summer since April, and it’s finally time to wrap things up with the 100th Day of Summer: Labor Day Weekend Pool Party from Friday, September 2, through Monday, September 5. Expect an array of live entertainment and DJs throughout the weekend. The pool opens daily at 11 a.m. with a $15 entrance fee for non-hotel guests.
EXPAND Try that cabana lifestyle at Hotel Valley Ho during Labor Day weekend. Courtesy of Hotel Valley Ho
Labor Day Weekend at Hotel Valley Ho
This is one of those quintessential pool parties needed to end the summer right. Labor Day Weekend at Hotel Valley Ho, 6850 East Main Street in Scottsdale, means poolside DJs like Mr. P-Body and DJ Adrian Michaels, plus ZuZu's brunch starting at 6 a.m. Saturday and Sunday – complete with a build-your-own Bloody Mary and mimosa bar from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. If you’re trying to take ‘er easy, lounge around the more serene OHasis Pool (where you'll find a Sunday morning yoga class), or check out the specials at VH Spa for Vitality + Health. Private cabanas start at $349. The Stay2Play summer package is still in effect, complete with a $50 daily resort credit, two welcome drinks, upgraded internet, a gift, and rooms starting at $149. You can reserve one by calling 855-289-8065.
EXPAND Join patrons of Maya Day and Nightclub during Labor Day weekend 2016. Benjamin Leatherman
Odesza
Triyar Entertainment Group, Disco Donnie Presents, and Steve LeVine Entertainment are at it again, as they’re presenting Odesza – a pool party for Labor Day weekenders at the Maya Day & Nightclub, 7333 East Indian Plaza in Scottsdale. The party commences at noon on Saturday, September 3, and tickets start at $70 for general admission. VIP admission is $125. And you better have your best swimming attire already laid out, as no sweats, jeans, basketball shorts, or sports jerseys are allowed. Cabana and daybed reservations can be made by e-mailing VIP@MayaClubAZ.com and Clarence@MayaClubAZ.com, or by asking for Clarence at 602-810-0167.
EXPAND Lord Raiden from Mortal Kombat in attendance at Saboten Con, happening downtown over Labor Day Weekend. Benjamin Leatherman
Saboten Con 2016
Pool parties come and go, but Saboten Con – the anime convention hosted in downtown Phoenix that's the largest of its kind in Arizona – only comes but once a year. Put on by Monkey Paw Entertainment, the four-day convention (running Friday, September 2, through Monday, September 5) promises costumed attendees, cosplay stars, live music, contests, shopping, and dance parties at the Sheraton Downtown Phoenix, 340 North Third Street. Presale weekend membership is $15 a day, weekend membership is $25, full event membership is $50, and that OtakuPass will cost you $350.
See the Sun Devils take on the NAU Lumberjacks on Saturday, September 3, at Sun Devil Stadium for your Labor Day weekend. Benjamin Leatherman
Sun Devils vs. Lumberjacks
Nothing announces the arrival of autumn quite like an early morning of tailgating followed by a college football game in Tempe. And while it’s not yet time to don your maroon and gold scarves, you can still cheer on the Arizona State University Sun Devils as they take on the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks on Saturday, September 3, at Sun Devil Stadium, 500 East Veterans Way in Tempe, kicking off the 2016 Sun Devils NCAA football season. The game starts at 7:45 p.m., and tickets start at $20.
EXPAND Join the On the Boardwalk Carnival at The Phoenician on Saturday, September 3, from 6 to 9 p.m. on the East Lawn. Courtesy of The Phoenician Resort
On the Boardwalk Carnival
If it’s been way too long since you’ve walked around with a balloon sculpture, then consider attending the On the Boardwalk Carnival at The Phoenician, 6000 East Camelback Road in Scottsdale, from 6 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, September 3. The East Lawn will feature photo-booth cutouts, walking illusionists, body art by Salon Mila, crafts, and face-painting. This event is for resort guests only; however, special summer rates are still available for that weekend. Other Labor Day weekend activities at The Phoenician include the Cactus Garden Tour, Swim Like a Mermaid lessons with the AquaMermaid School at the Oasis Pool, and Cocktail Mixology in the Thirsty Camel Lounge.
EXPAND Head for the iHeart Summer Pool Series during Labor Day weekend 2016 at W Scottsdale Hotel. Benjamin Leatherman
iHeart Summer Pool Series
Sunday pool parties are fine this weekend, as Monday morning will not require setting an alarm. With that, Infiniti on Camelback has presented the iHeart Summer Pool Series on the WET Pool Deck at the W Scottsdale all summer, and Labor Day weekend is no exception. Slip on that bikini/those trunks for Sunday, September 4, from noon to 6 p.m. at 7277 East Camelback Road in Scottsdale. Hit the chilled pool, enjoy music, and try to snag a prize – including a trip to the 2017 iHeart Summer Pool Party. VIP cabanas and daybeds can be reserved at 602-405-0099 or VIP@triyarent.com. | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts/9-things-to-do-labor-day-weekend-2016-in-metro-phoenix-8531642 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/cf6a58ddef5ad678d3d971d46e996ec0befe4d34e5d5f5e1f40bcde0173934ea.json |
[
"Benjamin Leatherman"
] | 2016-08-26T13:01:20 | null | 2016-08-24T10:00:00 | Downtown Phoenix Inc. and the Arizona Hemophilia Association are teaming up to present Zombie Walk 8 in the Phoenix warehouse district on October 29. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Farts%2Fphoenixs-zombie-walk-is-coming-back-from-the-dead-8564304.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8580580/phoenix-zombie-walk-2016-revived-downtown-warehouse-district.jpg | en | null | Phoenix's Zombie Walk Is Back October 29 | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | You'll be seeing zombies like these stumbling around Phoenix's downtown warehouse district in late October. Ben Garcia
It turns out that Phoenix’s Zombie Walk isn’t dead after all. In fact, just like the brain-eating hordes that inspire the annual event, it's about to rise from the grave.
Three months after announcing its cancellation, Zombie Walk organizers have told New Times that they are reviving the popular Halloween season event, albeit with plenty of changes. It will take place on Saturday, October 29, at its new home in downtown Phoenix’s warehouse district, and will also feature new sponsors and an entirely new route for the walk.
Better start putting together your zombie costume now.
It's certainly good news for the thousands of Zombie Walk fans and participants that were mourning the loss of the event after its cancellation was announced in late May.
At the time, officials from Downtown Phoenix Inc., the nonprofit community development organization that’s put on the walk since 2009, stated they were killing off the Zombie Walk due to it having grown so big, including attracting more than 20,000 people each year, that they were unable to shoulder the financial and logistical burden.
RJ Price, a spokesperson for Downtown Phoenix Inc., says that while organizers regretted the decision, they felt the walk had become too large for only one organization to handle.
“It was this thing that organically grew over the last seven years, and we sort of just had to roll with it. And it got bigger and bigger and more and more expensive [with] more moving parts. And we were outside of what our budget should have been for the event,” he says. “It was extremely taxing on us as an organization both financially and from our personnel standpoint,” he says. “We weren't built to really put on large-scale events like that, and it’s not really within our strategic mission.”
The crowd at the Zombie Walk in 2014. Benjamin Leatherman
And despite the finality of the Zombie Walk’s cancellation announcement in May, Price says there was a chance it could be brought back from the dead if they could find another organization to co-produce the event.
“I thought we had really good reasons for why we decided to [cancel] the event. I maybe regret some of the ways I phrased why we were doing it. I think I could've been more strategic in that,” Price says. “But all along, we as an organization were always open to [partnering] with someone else who had more capacity and allow us to be more of a support mechanism.”
That’s exactly what happened earlier this summer when the Arizona Hemophilia Association reached out to co-produce the event. Price says that the nonprofit organization has previous experience with producing large events (including the popular My Nana's Salsa Festival), a charitable bent, and is headquartered in downtown Phoenix.
Plus, the fact the AHA is blood-related and dovetails with the playfully macabre theme of zombies was also a bonus.
“That wasn't a high priority, but the marketing [opportunity] is pretty great,” Price says.
Having new blood behind the scenes of the Zombie Walk isn’t the only change afoot. The event will take place in a new location along Jackson Street in the downtown Phoenix warehouse district and will only last four hours, from 4 until 8 p.m., as opposed to the block party-style extravaganza at the larger Heritage Square Park that unfolded each year. It will still be free to attend, albeit with a $5 suggested donation to the Arizona Hemophilia Association.
“[We’ve] wanted to do an event in the warehouse district for a long time but didn’t necessarily have the operational capacity to do that. So this is a way to [accentuate] an up-and-coming part of downtown,” Price says. “And they're really enthusiastic about it and that's made the process even easier for us.”
The walk itself will now run through the area south of downtown and will go along Jackson Street before heading down First Avenue to either Lincoln or Grant streets before winding up back in the warehouse district.
“While the walk isn't happening in the middle of downtown, our hope is that a lot of the people that are at the event will migrate from that site into the core of downtown,” Price says.
A post-walk pub crawl for the 21-and-over crowd is also planned and will include stops at several downtown bars and drinkeries. (A commemorative wristband will be available for $20 and will benefit the AHA.)
Even with all the changes, the M.O. of the Zombie Walk remains the same. According to Price, the event will still feature many of its hallmarks, like a costume contest, prizes, makeup and hair booths, and the chance to donate non-perishable food items to St. Mary's Food Bank.
Price says all of the changes are aimed at streamlining the walk and making it both easier to manage and more cost-effective while still maintaining its low-cost nature.
“Obviously the community loves the event, and it's not really our business to take away something that everyone loves,” Price says. “So since there was a way to find a solution where the event could be re-imagined to be a little more cost-effective and we could find a new stakeholder or charitable partner or even an events promoter who'd like to step in and take it over and relieve some of the financial burden, we wanted to make it happen.”
In other words, you can never keep a good zombie down. | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts/phoenixs-zombie-walk-is-coming-back-from-the-dead-8564304 | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/7b746d294ce76ac1cb4200b8e94a997f049d55b6e5e8e71fba33e1d0063b06b0.json |
[
"Becky Bartkowski"
] | 2016-08-29T16:50:16 | null | 2016-08-29T09:00:00 | Phoenix New Times' 2016 edition of 100 Creatives continues with artist and Contemporary Forum winner Rembrandt Quiballo. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Farts%2Frembrandt-quiballo-on-why-phoenix-needs-to-prioritize-art-8590409.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8595367/rembrandt-quiballo-photo-grant-vetter.jpg | en | null | 100 Phoenix Creatives 2016: Artist Rembrandt Quiballo | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | EXPAND Meet Rembrandt Quiballo. Grant Vetter
Every other year, New Times puts the spotlight on Phoenix's creative forces — painters, dancers, designers, and actors. Leading up to the release of Best of Phoenix, we're taking a closer look at 100 more. Welcome to the 2016 edition of 100 Creatives. Up today is 26. Rembrandt Quiballo.
"What inspires me is the pursuit of knowledge," artist Rembrandt Quiballo says.
And the 38-year-old's interests are far reaching. "Whether it’s taking a college class, browsing the internet, learning a new skill, binge-watching season one of Mr. Robot, eating at a new restaurant, or traveling to places I’ve never been," he says, "it’s all an accumulation of our experiences, and the more information you acquire, the more the world and life makes more sense. And if it still doesn’t make sense, make art about it until it does.""
This need to explore is crucial to his art-making, which looks at how the mass media's moving images affect both society and politics — often to absurd ends. "My art practice varies from compositing screen captures of cinematic films to create a conventional still photograph to collecting video uploads from YouTube in order to create a more complete visual representation of a media spectacle," he says. "I mainly utilize existing footage found in film, television, and the internet."
That means, of course, that the artist is perpetually consuming such media. The results vary from printed objects to videos or that depth of understanding the world Quiballo hunts.
Perhaps Quiballo's quest for understanding is rooted in his personal history. Born in the Philippines, his family left the country after a chain of events, including the assassination of Ninoy Aquino leading to the People Power Revolution, led to social and political unrest. After living in Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands, they settled in Tucson, Arizona, where Quiballo grew up.
EXPAND Quiballo's Pop Immaculate. Courtesy of Rembrandt Quiballo
Through his college years studying philosophy, painting, and photography at University of Arizona and Arizona State, and through his present-day career, the need to understand and to create have been paramount.
His recent installation at Phoenix Art Museum, the result of his winning a Contemporary Forum grant last year, brought together hundreds of Polaroids taken from a television screen to convey the "overwhelming effect of visual images we are bombarded with on a daily basis."
His latest photographic work examines how mass media has succeeded religion as the principal influence on societal beliefs and values. It's yet another turn in the creative's career, which has been marked by not only a nod from Contemporary Forum, but also his inclusion in the past two Arizona Biennials.
Now, he's finishing a new body of work called "New Myths" for a solo show opening during September's First Friday at MonOrchid's Bokeh Galley. Quiballo created the pieces using an image-transfer technique, and he has another show tentatively slated to open at Fine Art Complex 1101 in Tempe, "as the presidential election comes to a climax, interesting times indeed."
For Quiballo, the process of creating art is both cathartic and therapeutic. "It’s given me a purpose and a lens through which to experience life," he says. "Being an artist means you are aligning yourself to certain values and ideals that are sometimes antithetical to the broader culture. I feel art can expand the possibility of our humanness, and making art is an essential part of that."
EXPAND Quiballo's Flower Soldier. Courtesy of Rembrandt Quiballo
I came to Phoenix with considerable excitement to start grad school.
I make art because it’s the best way for me to communicate my thoughts on the human condition. It keeps me sane, and gives me purpose to an otherwise mundane existence.
I’m most productive when there’s a perfect storm of an approaching deadline in accord with some kind of breakthrough in my work that I want to see all the way through. I guess it’s like being in a zone or a high, when basic human needs become secondary to creating art.
My inspiration wall is the internet.
I’ve learned most from mass media, academia, altered states, travel, family, and friends.
Good work should always be innovative. I don’t mean that it has to use virtual reality or motion sensors, although I’m very much into emerging technology, but good work is always pushing boundaries aesthetically and conceptually. I get real excited when someone creates something fresh and new with a pencil and paper.
The Phoenix creative scene could use more ways for artists to thrive, not just survive. I was helping run a gallery downtown when the last Super Bowl was held here. There were literally tens of thousands of people at a Super Bowl supplementary event a mile away, and the gallery had like five visitors that day. I’m not trying to hate on the sports, I actually quite enjoy it, but that definitely crystallized what we’re up against in my mind.
The 2016 Creatives so far:
100. Nicole Olson
99. Andrew Pielage
98. Jessica Rowe
97. Danny Neumann
96. Beth Cato
95. Jessie Balli
94. Ron May
93. Leonor Aispuro
92. Sarah Waite
91. Christina "Xappa" Franco
90. Christian Adame
89. Tara Sharpe
88. Patricia Sannit
87. Brian Klein
86. Dennita Sewell
85. Garth Johnson
84. Charissa Lucille
83. Ryan Downey
82. Samantha Thompson
81. Cherie Buck-Hutchison
80. Freddie Paull
79. Jennifer Campbell
78. Dwayne Hartford
77. Shaliyah Ben
76. Kym Ventola
75. Matthew Watkins
74. Tom Budzak
73. Rachel Egboro
72. Rosemary Close
71. Ally Haynes-Hamblen
70. Alex Ozers
69. Fawn DeViney
68. Laura Dragon
67. Stephanie Neiheisel
66. Michael Lanier
65. Jessica Rajko
64. Velma Kee Craig
63. Oliver Hibert
62. Joya Scott
61. Raji Ganesan
60. Ashlee Molina
59. Myrlin Hepworth
58. Amy Ettinger
57. Sheila Grinell
56. Forrest Solis
55. Mary Meyer
54. Robert Hoekman Jr.
53. Joan Waters
52. Gabriela Muñoz
51. ColorOrgy
50. Liz Magura
49. Anita and Sam Means
48. Liz Ann Hewett
47. Tiffany Fairall
46. Vanessa Davidson
45. Michelle Dock
44. Nia Witherspoon
43. Monique Sandoval
42. Nayon Iovino
41. Daniel Davisson
40. Andrew King
39. Michelle Moyer
38. Jimmy Nguyen
37. Tiffany Lopez
36. Kristin Bauer
35. Donna Isaac
34. Douglas Miles
33. Sierra Joy
32. Francisco Flores
31. Amy Robinson
30. Julio Cesar Morales
29. Duane Daniels
28. Kelsey Pinckney
27. Ben Smith | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts/rembrandt-quiballo-on-why-phoenix-needs-to-prioritize-art-8590409 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/a744ac169fb8738d038494c5a706b05582aa45c40a4d1f2a49a2aff27cfd10b3.json |
[
"Lily Altavena"
] | 2016-08-30T14:49:48 | null | 2016-08-30T07:00:00 | The first Halal Guys location in Arizona is scheduled to open in Tempe in January of next year on Rural Road. The chain started out as a street cart in... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Frestaurants%2Fthe-halal-guys-announces-location-of-first-arizona-restaurant-8597932.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8597933/unnamed.jpg | en | null | The Halal Guys Announces Location of First Arizona Restaurant | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | The chicken and rice platter is officially headed to Tempe in January of 2017. Courtesy: The Halal Guys
The first Halal Guys location in Arizona is scheduled to open in Tempe in January of next year, according to a spokesperson from the chain.
The restaurant will be located at 1015 South Rural Road, previously home to The College Store near Arizona State University's campus. Ahipoki Bowl, a quickly-expanding chain of fast-casual poke restaurants, is expected to open a location there as well next year.
Have no idea what all the fuss is about? The Halal Guys is a chain that started from a food cart in New York City. They serve sandwiches, but are most famous for the "chicken and rice" platter, which features juicy chicken on a bed of orange rice with lettuce, pita, and tomato. Aficionados know to douse their platters with sauce, whether it's the popular "white sauce," a spicy red sauce, or even barbecue. | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/restaurants/the-halal-guys-announces-location-of-first-arizona-restaurant-8597932 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/a611811244fc3b18499cb978b20874115f4dab44ee53b9c22b70634758bff887.json |
[
"Lauren Cusimano"
] | 2016-08-26T16:48:26 | null | 2016-08-26T09:00:00 | The 2016 Miss Native American USA pageant will take place August 27 at Tempe Center for the Arts. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Farts%2Fthe-2016-miss-native-american-usa-will-be-crowned-august-27-8582678.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8584962/kristina-hyatt-az.jpg | en | null | The 2016 Miss Native American USA Will be Crowned August 27 | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | Kristina Hyatt will be ending her reign as the current Miss Native American USA on August 27. Jeremy Wilson
Reigning Miss Native American USA Kristina Hyatt will pass on her crown and sash at the fifth annual Miss Native American USA Pageant – also a scholarship pageant starting with the 2016-17 event – taking place on Saturday, August 27, at the Tempe Center for the Arts.
The annual pageant recognizes and supports Native American women in the United States by helping them to "develop leadership skills alongside giving back to their Native communities through volunteering."
Community involvement is key to the program. Hyatt, who won last year's pageant, is a dental hygienist of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and works for Cherokee, North Carolina's Indian Health Services. She spent her reign promoting oral health on reservations and in other Native communities across the country.
The 2016 pageant will be hosted by 2013 crown winner Sarah Ortegon, an artist and actress of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes, and professional athlete Sean Carlton of the Navajo Nation. There will also be entertainment from musician Sage Bond of the Navajo and Apache Tribes from Tonalea, Arizona.
Pageant events include personal interviews, traditional regalia and evening gown competitions, and presentations like hoop and traditional dance, storytelling, singing, and a showcase of tribal culture. When crowned, the winner becomes a representative of the organization and an ambassador for her tribe and Native America. She'll also work to highlight a specific, charitable platform. Competitors must be unmarried United States citizens (and must remain in the U.S. if crowned), between 18 and 27 years of age, and at least one-quarter Native American based on a Certificate of Indian Blood.
The majority of the eight contestants who've made it this far in the competition are from Arizona, including Whiteriver's Ashley Susan (White Mountain Apache, Walker River Paiute), Fort Apache Indian Reservation's Danya Sancia Carroll (White Mountain Apache, Navajo), Coal Mine Canyon's Lyla Hatathlie (Navajo), and Flagstaff's Taylor Adriana Harvey (Navajo).
Other contestants include Towaoc, Colorado's Tawnie Snow Knight (Ute Mountain Ute); Acoma, New Mexico's Ashley Nichole Sarah Pino (Acoma Pueblo, Santo Domingo, Northern Cheyenne); Waterflow, New Mexico's Kansas Begaye (Navajo); and Whitetail, New Mexico's Karrie Raquel Lester (Mescalero Apache).
Tickets to the 2016 Miss Native American USA Pageant are $15 for general admission. They're available by calling Tempe Center for the Arts' box office at 480-350-2822 or through the Tempe Center for the Arts website. Doors open at 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 27, and the pageant begins at 6. For more information, visit the Miss Native American USA Pageant Facebook page. | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts/the-2016-miss-native-american-usa-will-be-crowned-august-27-8582678 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/27de8f22bf3eed1ecd3a4391b81fad8feecb8962ce781284653b7c817856478d.json |
[
"Josh Chesler"
] | 2016-08-29T14:50:17 | null | 2016-08-29T06:00:00 | Now that we're almost through summer, a look at the hottest sex scenes of 2016 so far — from Orange Is the New Black, Game of Thrones, and Daredevil. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Farts%2Fthe-10-best-movie-and-tv-sex-scenes-of-2016-so-far-nsfw-8562928.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8562945/sc-indignation-review-20160801.jpg | en | null | The 10 Best Movie and TV Sex Scenes of 2016 So Far (NSFW) | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | Sometimes three is better than two. Netflix
So far, 2016 has been a pretty good year for, ahem, bad things. The addition of Netflix as a viable source for original television means that sex isn't relegated to the premium movie channels and theaters. Now that we're nearing the (alleged) end of summer, it's time for a look back at some of the steamiest scenes from the calendar year.
Note: This post contains spoilers.
Superman's sexy splashdown. Warner Bros
Sexy Soaking with Superman
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was pretty bad. It was actually so bad that it made the abomination of Suicide Squad seem passable by comparison. But what was arguably the best moment of BVS? That's easy. Lois Lane is taking a bath when Superman gets home from his day job (using the best disguise in history as Clark Kent), and Supes decides to join her. Any super-sex seems like it'd be pretty destructive (just ask Jessica Jones), but this one made those of us concerned about adult things like water damage cringe a little extra.
so this is what everyone been talking about today in regards to 50Cent ... pic.twitter.com/w3GqAudEsK — size kween. (@KillForMotha) August 8, 2016
50 Cent's Power Move
Is 50 Cent actually upset that his wiener showed up in an episode of Power? Probably not. Did his possibly fake outrage/Instagram rant successfully get the show in headlines around the internet? Absolutely. If you ever wondered what 50 was packing, just check out the video (or watch the show on Starz, as he really wants you to do).
She's still got it. Netflix
Three's Company in Prison
You kind of have to love Judy King in Orange is the New Black. Even if she's a little bit racist, that accent and level of sass is undeniable. Given all of the sex in OITNB, it's not really a surprise to see King get involved with someone. But then she takes it to another level by getting high and ending up with Yoga Jones and Luschek, and she doesn't regret a single moment of it.
Tarzan and Jane Go Primal
From her role as Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad to that ridiculous and creepy Vanity Fair interview, Margot Robbie has gone from a supporting player in The Wolf of Wall Street to become the breakout star of 2016. Of course, not every movie Robbie did was a success. The Legend of Tarzan didn't exactly change the cinema world. There's not a whole lot of nudity (it's still a family movie, after all), but the taping of the scenes was apparently so wild that Robbie allegedly beat up Alexander Skarsgård while filming them.
GOT's LGBT Hero
Game of Thrones has cooled off a bit with the gratuitous nudity and sex scenes, but season six brought about a new star (technically two, but one is far too young to be having sex on-screen) in Yara Greyjoy. Aside from taking her shot at Khaleesi, Yara seems pretty content to get it on with some whores while her castrated brother mopes for the umpteenth time. Given Loras Tyrell's unceremonious death (spoiler alert, if you're months behind), Yara is already far more of the hero the LGBT community of the Seven Kingdoms deserves than the whiny Tyrell sibling ever was. | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts/the-10-best-movie-and-tv-sex-scenes-of-2016-so-far-nsfw-8562928 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/0886e58076887418a240d56a483174a603be4e76891d8abd8f141c1e21dc878c.json |
[
"Lauren Saria"
] | 2016-08-29T14:50:22 | null | 2016-08-29T07:00:00 | According to the restaurant's website, diners can expect a menu of poke and sushi bowls at Ocean Poke Company. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Frestaurants%2Focean-poke-co-to-open-at-gaslight-square-shopping-center-in-arcadia-8594990.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8595785/ocean-poke-company-saria.jpg | en | null | Ocean Poke Co. to Open at Gaslight Square Shopping Center in Arcadia | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | EXPAND Lauren Saria
Arcadia residents may have noticed some new signage at the Gaslight Square shopping center on the south side of Indian School Road just east of 36th Street. The big, white letters announce the coming of Ocean Poke Company, a fast-casual poke restaurant set to open at 3619 East Indian School Road.
According to the restaurant's website, diners can expect a menu of poke and sushi bowls. Guests will be able to choose from bases such as white or brown rice, quinoa, mixed greens, or rice noodles, all of which can be topped with seafood including tuna, yellowtail, salmon, scallops, shrimp, spicy tuna, and tofu.
Other topping options include everything from mango, carrots, and edamame to kimchi, daikon sprouts, and crab salad. The restaurant will also offer a selection of sauces such as wasabi cream, citrus ponzu, and spicy cream, as well as the option to go for pre-selected entrees such as the Go Hawaiian bowl, made with mixed greens, cucumber, edamame, green onion, sesame seeds, and OPC sauce.
The restaurant's concept is similar to Ahipoki Bowl, another fast-casual poke restaurant with locations in Scottsdale, Chandler, and California. That mini-chain of restaurants announced plans for a third location in Tempe last week. The restaurant, which will be located across the street from the Arizona State University campus, is expected to open in early 2017.
For more information about Ocean Poke Company, check the Ocean Poke Company website or Facebook. | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/restaurants/ocean-poke-co-to-open-at-gaslight-square-shopping-center-in-arcadia-8594990 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/95818aeb3903b2e6acf1dc4439cd56f581888506a9b5689e6a4028b250413455.json |
[
"Elizabeth Stuart"
] | 2016-08-26T14:48:28 | null | 2016-08-26T07:02:00 | A nonprofit called Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities has angered the Arizona business community over the past several months by filing more... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fparking-lot-trolls-lawsuit-happy-ada-defenders-are-officially-enemies-of-the-state-8586200.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8589164/disabled_parking_space.jpg | en | null | Parking Lot Trolls: ADA Defenders or Enemies of the State? | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | The parking lot for Deanna France's indoor batting cages in Mesa has 10 handicap-accessible spaces marked with a clearly painted wheelchair symbol — four more than are required under the Americans with Disabilities Act. So she was confused, in June, when she was served with a $10,000 lawsuit for not providing adequate access for people with disabilities.
Her offense? Two of the "reserved parking" signs she had posted at the head of each space were a few inches too short.
"I was like, 'What?'" she said. "I mean, seriously?"
The lawsuit is one of more than 2,120 filed this summer by the nonprofit Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities.
Representatives for the group state a noble goal: to make it easier for people with disabilities to eat, play, and work in Arizona by improving compliance with the ADA.
But its tactics have earned the ire of Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and raised eyebrows in the business community, including the Mesa Chamber of Commerce, which has organized a series of meetings for business owners outlining legal and legislative strategies to fight the group.
"This has been devastating for a lot of small-business owners," said Sally Harrison, president of the Mesa Chamber of Commerce. "It's not right."
Founded this past January with backing from an anonymous millionaire, AID hires scouts to buzz around the Phoenix metro area with cameras and measuring tapes, checking parking lots for compliance with ADA regulations, including number of accessible parking spaces and their proximity to the business entrance. Parking spaces must be a minimum of eight feet wide, to ensure that someone in a wheelchair can easily lower a ramp and roll out of the car, and signs must be a minimum of five feet tall, to make them easy for law-enforcement officials and those with disabilities to spot.
If the parking lot isn't up to snuff, AID sues, offering to settle the case out of court for between $3,500 and $10,000.
Peter Strojnik, lead attorney behind the lawsuit blitz, said he chose to focus on parking lots because it was simpler to police and less invasive than conducting a full ADA compliance check, which would require going inside businesses to survey counter heights and bathroom facilities.
Related Stories Medical Marijuana Not Protected by Americans With Disabilities Act, Ninth Circuit Court Rules
"If there is a problem with something like the height of the sign — something that can be fixed with a wrench in 10 minutes — that's probably a sign of more symptomatic problems," he said. "We're not being harsh. We're just asking people to follow the law."
In a court filing last week, however, the Arizona Attorney General's Office alleged that the group uses "trolling litigation tactics" to make money off businesses that people with disabilities can visit with ease. The office requested that more than 1,000 lawsuits AID has filed be consolidated and dismissed, arguing that the group's "systemic abuse" of the judicial system "imperils the public interest."
Lindsay Leavitt, a Phoenix-based attorney defending more than 100 local businesses that have been sued by AID, said in 95 percent of cases, such as France's, the only ADA violation is a technical issue with signage.
At the Mesa Chamber of Commerce meeting, he argued that AID doesn't have the right to sue, because no one with a disability has suffered — or even alleged — injury.
These types of serial lawsuits over ADA compliance have become common in recent years. But historically, the plaintiff has been a disabled person who, at least in theory, could be prevented from using a facility, such as Theresa Brooke, a wheelchair-bound woman who, in 2015, filed more than 100 lawsuits against Arizona hotel owners for failing to provide wheelchair pool lifts. AID is the first advocacy group to sue under its own name without naming a plaintiff with a disability.
"It's unreasonable," said Steve Fisher, owner of a small Volkswagen repair shop in Mesa called Doug's Buggs & Bunnies. "Nobody's civil rights were violated because my sign wasn't the exact right number of inches. Nobody was turned away from my business."
Fisher was sued in June because one of the two handicap-accessible parking spaces in his lot was marked with a parody sign that read "Not handicapped? Move your @*$%&* car." Although the wheelchair symbol was painted clearly on the asphalt of the other, it had no sign.
Fisher, like other business owners New Times interviewed, expressed frustration with his experience attempting to work out a legal agreement with AID.
Fisher fixed the issues within three days of being served. Not only did he install the proper signage, but he also paid $600 to have the whole parking lot repainted so he could add a third handicap-accessible spot — even though the ADA only requires a lot the size of his to have one.
Still, he said, AID demanded $7,500 to settle the suit.
Leavitt called high settlement demands like this "red flags." Under the ADA, plaintiffs are only allowed to recoup attorney's fees — not collect punitive damages.
"A lot of defendants feel like they are being extorted," he said.
Jennifer Rogers, AID's executive director of foundation giving, told New Times last week that the settlement money is used to pay overhead costs, such as court-filing fees, salaries for the group's 30 employees, computers, and office space. Strojnik helps with the project on a pro bono basis.
Any excess, she said, goes into AID's charitable fund.
So far, AID has given $45,487.55 in goods and services to people with disabilities, according to internal records. Gifts range from electric scooters to service dogs to hearing aids.
AID foundation employees have started receiving death threats.
"We're nervous and it's scary, but we're not going to stop," Rogers tearfully told New Times. "This is an important cause."
A few days later, however, she announced that she was resigning from her position, stating in an e-mail to New Times that her "personal goals are not in alignment with the organization."
She declined to answer further questions.
Stojnik isn't backing down.
"We know what we do is controversial," he said. "But, to be frank, we're very proud of the fact that word is getting out about ADA compliance." | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/parking-lot-trolls-lawsuit-happy-ada-defenders-are-officially-enemies-of-the-state-8586200 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/061a73e7daa5d45f93dd8450a4dc4f10b4ec1c1cc8fbb50495606736d8729d0f.json |
[
"Amy Young",
"Janessa Hilliard",
"Katrina Montgomery",
"Julie Peterson",
"Lynn Trimble",
"Lauren Cusimano"
] | 2016-08-26T12:53:50 | null | 2016-08-25T06:00:00 | Phoenix New Times picks the best things to do from August 26 to 28, including El Che at Phoenix Center for the Arts, Chris Gall at Changing Hands, and... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Farts%2F10-best-things-to-do-in-metro-phoenix-this-weekend-8578710.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8582699/inspiracion-flamenca-julia-chacon-photo-by-mary-nelle-brown.jpg | en | null | 10 Best Things to Do in Metro Phoenix This Weekend | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | EXPAND The lamé and padding reach critical mass in Pageant. Urban Promise/Flickr Creative Commons
New Times picks the best events in metro Phoenix from Friday, August 26, through Sunday, August 28. For more things to do, see our curated online calendar.
Pageant
As society approaches a normal attitude about gay people, female impersonation, and drag (which don’t require homosexuality but definitely brunch with it) continue as genres all their own. And beauty pageants, troublesome for ciswomen and everyone else, are nevertheless a natural for preternaturally dolled-up men.
The lamé and padding reach critical mass in Pageant, a show about several gals — played by guys — contending for the Miss Glamouresse title. No need to keep the layers of artifice straight (so to speak); just enjoy yourself at Arizona Broadway Theatre through Sunday, September 18. Created by Tony-nominated choreographer Robert Longbottom, Pageant’s a parody of musicals, which nowadays describes every other musical, which is okay by us.
Pick your favorites at 7:30 p.m. Friday, August 26, at 7701 West Paradise Lane in Peoria. Prices vary with demand, starting at $71 for dinner and show, or $46.50 for show only, at 623-776-8400 or www.azbroadway.org. Julie Peterson
EXPAND Julia Chacón’s Inspiración Flamenca showcases dance and music rooted in southern Spain. Mary Nelle Brown
Inspiración Flamenca
It’s all in the wrists — and the feet, and the rhythm. Get a taste for the local flamenco dance scene at 8 p.m. on Friday, August 26, as Julia Chacón’s Inspiración Flamenca showcases dance and music rooted in southern Spain at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 East Second Street. Tickets are $12 to $15.
The performance features five dancers, three guitarists, and two vocalists alongside musicians playing piano, flute, and percussion. Expect a mix of traditional and theatrical flamenco designed to stir diverse emotions.
Chacón, who has lived and danced in several cities including Madrid and Seville, says flamenco has been part of the Phoenix dance scene since the 1950s. For her, flamenco reflects the Valley’s own history and diversity. Visit www.scottsdaleperformingarts.org. Lynn Trimble
EXPAND Shop your way through made. in Mesa. Courtesy of made.
made. a local market
It goes without saying shopping local is a good thing, and the people at made. a local market have made it easy for you. Browse through handmade items from more than 100 local businesses at the Mesa Convention Center, 263 North Center Street in Mesa, from noon to 8 p.m. on Friday, August 26, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, August 27. Admission and parking are free, while early 10 a.m. admission on Friday is $5 at the door.
You can also join classes like the DIY Home Sign Workshop with Lolly Jane on Friday. On Saturday, there’s a Flower Crown Workshop with Heritage Flowers and Beehive Dance Studio’s Free Dance Workshop. For more information, call 480-390-5493 or visit www.madelocalmarkets.com. See the complete lineup at www.facebook.com/events/1539975226332877. Lauren Cusimano
EXPAND Don't miss the one-weekend production of El Che. Painting by Kary Franco
El Che
Alberto Korda’s 1960 photo of Marxist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara became not just the iconic T-shirt of generalized rebellion, but the most reproduced photograph ever. The man behind the inspiring yet grumpy face would live another seven years, becoming increasingly famous as a leader of the newly communist Cuba. Meanwhile, if you’re pissed off by the powers that be, rather than making a fashion statement, your Che-wear probably honors his spirit.
Guevara was also a physician, author, husband (twice), and father (five times). To round out those underplayed aspects, Marcelino Quiñonez has written and stars in a new play, El Che, directed by Matthew Wiener (artistic director of the sadly defunct Actors Theatre). Check out opening night (if you can get in) at 8 p.m. at Phoenix Center for the Arts, 1202 North Third Street. Performances continue through Sunday, August 28. Tickets are $10 to $30 at 602-254-3100 or www.elchephoenix.com. Julie Peterson
Alwun House goes cirque. Rick Meinecke/Lightsviewphoto.com
GasLight Circus
There’s no need for prancing elephants or tigers that jump through flaming hoops when the GasLight Circus rolls into Alwun House, 1204 East Roosevelt. Catch their family-friendly Pandorum show starting at 9 p.m. on Saturday, August 27. It’s a familiar tradition for those who frequent the art space renowned for its eclectic offerings.
Pandorum is filled with magic, juggling, acrobatics, song, and dance – featuring a sorcerer with an agenda and a stray cat. It’s all spearheaded by head clown Jero the Jester, who welcomes two new performers that night – including aerialist Cynder Monarch and Shawn Cook.
Doors open at 8 p.m., and tickets are $12 at the door and $10 online in advance. The festivities, which continue until 1 a.m., also include an art auction featuring works created with tarp, canvas, and clay by three local artists – Devon Mogel, Harley Schollenberger, and Dustin Bongiovanni. Visit www.alwunhouse.org. Lynn Trimble | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts/10-best-things-to-do-in-metro-phoenix-this-weekend-8578710 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/8f67bc4da286f6050f302be56c02e5b8b73198cd41d9f5db850107b9e80fed42.json |
[
"Lauren Saria"
] | 2016-08-30T22:49:52 | null | 2016-08-30T14:05:00 | Later this year, one of the most famous Italian chefs in the country and one of the most famous Italian chefs in the Valley will come together to open... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Frestaurants%2Fcelebrity-chef-scott-conant-to-open-phoenix-restaurant-later-this-year-8599820.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8599878/ngp_5825.jpg | en | null | Celebrity Chef Scott Conant to Open Phoenix Restaurant Later This Year | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | EXPAND Conant operates restaurants in New York, Las Vegas, and Miami and is a regular judge on Food Network's Chopped. Courtesy of Awe Collective
Later this year, one of the most famous Italian chefs in the country and one of the most famous Italian chefs in the Valley will come together to open Mora Italian, a modern osteria in central Phoenix. The restaurant comes from chef Scott Conant of Impero Caffè in New York and Scarpetta in Miami and Las Vegas and Pomo Pizzeria owner/chef Stefano Fabbri.
Phoenix diners are probably familiar with Fabbri's Pomo Pizzeria restaurants, which has locations in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Gilbert, and Glendale, but food lovers all over the country will recognize Conant — if not for his handful of successful restaurants and cookbooks, then for his frequent appearances on shows such as Food Network's Chopped.
The duo's project will be located at 5651 North Seventh Street, just south of Montebello and across the street from Fox Restaurant Concept's Culinary Dropout at The Yard. The restaurant will be all new construction with the project being led by LGE Designs Build — the same firm behind restaurants including Stock and Stable at The Colony, Pomo Pizzeria in Gilbert, Barrio Queen in Gilbert, and Steak 44 in Phoenix. Aiming to create a neighborhood vibe, the restaurant will offer a modern design with urban street art and live music on weekends.
As far as the food, a spokesperson for the restaurant says Pomo Pizzeria's signature Neapolitan-style pies will have a place on the menu along with other wood-fire fare. The restaurant's website promises "a strong line up of sharable plates, handmade pastas and dynamic craft cocktails."
Of course, Valley diners may be wary of yet another celebrity chef-driven restaurants since past attempts to bring big-name talent — like Top Chef Brian Malarkey — have failed. For example, Malarkey's Searsucker restaurant, which opened in Scottsdale in late 2012, shuttered after just over a year. Conant, however, isn't just flying in to open a restaurant and leave. The chef has purchased a house in the Valley and will be relocating his family here to focus on Mora Italian.
Mora Italian is expected to open in Decemeber. For more information, visit the Mora Italian website. | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/restaurants/celebrity-chef-scott-conant-to-open-phoenix-restaurant-later-this-year-8599820 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/02ebc97815f4826a777b3b3e3f8f376b93d9a93ccebc1db8e2f1c47eef2fd041.json |
[
"Lauren Saria"
] | 2016-08-26T16:48:41 | null | 2016-08-26T08:00:00 | "I was a home baker, now I’m a home baker that works in a restaurant," Bublitz says. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Frestaurants%2Fbaker-mandy-bublitz-on-her-pastry-spirit-animal-and-three-baking-idols-8587195.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8587202/mandy-bublitz.jpg | en | null | Baker Mandy Bublitz on Her Pastry Spirit Animal and Three Baking Idols | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | Courtesy of Mandy Bublitz
From now until we publish the 2016 edition of Best of Phoenix, New Times is naming 100 Tastemakers — members of our local culinary community who help shape the way we eat, drink, and think about food in Phoenix. Some you'll know, and for others, it'll be a first introduction, but each person on our list deserves a nod for helping make our city so delicious. Oh, and while you're here, be sure to check out our list of 100 Creatives.
33. Baker Mandy Bublitz
It's been seven years since Mandy Bublitz moved to Phoenix from Michigan, but it was bread that made her fall in love with this city. For her first five years in the Valley, Bublitz worked at a retail chain and hated her job. Then she started baking — and everything began to change.
Through social media, Bublitz began to connect with bakers not only in Phoenix, but all over the country and world. Then, she met some of her baker friends in person, and began to get connected with other baking and food enthusiasts. Eventually, she landed a job as head baker for a popular central Phoenix restaurant and today, you can find her baking at Pane Bianco.
Related Stories Summer Guide: Mandy Bublitz on Starting a Baking Career from Scratch
"It all came full-circle," Bubtliz says. "I started baking because I wanted to know about sourdough. I'd buy flour at Pane Bianco when Hayden was milling in the back room. Now, I work where the mill used to stand. It's a good spot in so many ways."
Today, Bubtliz dishes on her baking ideas and go-to place for croissants and coffee.
My go-to place for croissants and coffee in Phoenix is American Way Market Cafe. I love the pain au chocolat, and they serve Pexioto coffee.
The best-kept secret in Phoenix is the secret Goodwill. It has all the best stuff.
I think my pastry spirit animal is a wood-fired pretzel becuase smoky, salty, twisty.
My three baking idols are ... if I have to name three — Don Guerra [of Barrio Bread], Ian Lowe, and Marc Bianco [of Pane Bianco]. Really, all the crazy bread bakers on Instagram. They’re the best.
The 2016 Tastemakers so far:
100. Aaron Chamberlin of St. Francis and Phoenix Public Market Cafe
99. Ross Simon of Bitter & Twisted Cocktail Parlour
98. Debby Wolvos of DW Photography
97. Anibal and Salem Beyene of Café Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant
96. Bo Mostow of Uptown Farmers Market
95. Julian Wright of Pedal Haus Brewery
94. Stephen Jones of The Larder + The Delta
93. Eric Glomski of Page Spring Cellars
92. Richard Bock of Giuseppe's on 28th
91. Walter Sterling of Ocotillo
90. Daniel Sevilla of Angry Crab Shack
89. Doug Robson of Gallo Blanco and Otro Cafe
88. LaDawn Driscoll of Liberty Market
87. Jason Calhoon of The Shop Beer Co. and Side Kick Cold Brew
86. Tim and Kim Cobb of United Lunchadores Street Gourmet
85. Micah Olson of Bar Crudo and Okra Cookhouse and Cocktails
84. Paola Embry of Christopher's + Crush and The Wrigley Mansion
83. Jared Porter of The Clever Koi
82. Diane Corieri of Evening Entertainment Group
81. Erich Schultz of Steadfast Farm
80. Jeff and Leah Huss of Huss Brewing Company
79. Aaron Pool of Gadzooks Enchiladas and Soup
78. Diana Santospago of The Maine Lobster Lady food truck
77. Gio Osso of Virtu Honest Craft and Nico Heirloom Kitchen
76. Lauren Bailey of Upward Projects
75. Rodney Hu of Arizona Distilling Company and Yucca Tap Room
74. Jacob Cutino of Homeboy's Hot Sauce
73. Country and Sergio Velador of Super Chunk Sweets and Treats
72. Dean Thomas of Cornish Pasty Co.
71. Jennifer Caraway of The Joy Bus
70. Scott Holmes of Little Miss BBQ
69. Jared Allen of Proof Artisan Breads
68. Steve McFate of McFate Brewing Company
67. Mel Mecinas of Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North
66. Jessa and Dan Koppenhofer of Gilbert Farmers Market
65. Todd and Kelly Bostock of Dos Cabezas WineWorks
64. Ryan Probst of Odelay Bagel Co.
63. Diana Brandt of AZFoodie
62. Benjamin Butler of Hayden Flour Mills
61. Jim and Maureen Elitzak of Zak's Chocolate
60. Michael Babcock of Welcome Diner and Welcome Chicken + Donuts
59. Nick Ambeliotis of Mediterra Bakehouse
58. Peter Kasperski of Cowboy Ciao and Kazimierz World Wine Bar
57. Kimber Stonehouse of LGO Hospitality
56. David Tyda of EATERAZ and Arizona Taco Festival
55. Pavle Milic of FnB
54. Pat Christofolo of Santa Barbara Catering Company and The Farm at South Mountain
53. Brandon Casey of The Ostrich
52. Jonathan Buford of Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co.
51. Sasha Raj of 24 Carrots
50. Rob Fullmer of Arizona Craft Brewers Guild
49. Bill and Lillian Buitenhuys of AZ Bitters Lab
48. Ramona Button of Ramona Farms
47. Justin Piazza of La Piazza Al Forno and La Piazza PHX
46. Andrew Gooi of Food Talkies
45. Jason Raducha of Noble Bread and Noble Eatery
44. Ty Largo of Awe Collective
43. Christopher Gross of Christopher's and Crush Lounge
42. Heidi Lee of Into The Soup
41. ET Rivera of Tres Leches Cafe
40. Monika Woolsey of Hip Veggies
39. Bobby Kramer of The Brickyard
38. Jenna Reeves of Press Coffee Roasters
37. Sarah Chisholm of Phoenix Public Market Cafe
36. Bill Kennedy of Futuro
35. Jan Bracamonte of J. Lauren PR & Marketing
34. Erin Romanoff of the uprooted kitchen | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/restaurants/baker-mandy-bublitz-on-her-pastry-spirit-animal-and-three-baking-idols-8587195 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/cf3efe688d22ac31fb61a0177ffea13c5e7f86370681e954aa761f7d2572cf78.json |
[
"David Accomazzo"
] | 2016-08-26T12:55:53 | null | 2016-08-24T12:37:00 | Rest in peace, 1997 Camry. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Fmusic%2Fcoldplays-concert-was-full-of-heart-british-charm-and-confetti-8582294.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8582715/phx-mus-20160823-coldplay-jimlouvau-28.jpg | en | null | Review: Coldplay at Gila River Arena | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | EXPAND Oasis' Liam Gallagher once said that Coldplay's Chris Martin looked like a "geography teacher." Jim Louvau
What Coldplay is these days is increasingly rare: A young-ish rock band that inspires a monoculture and plays to adoring crowds in arenas nationwide.
To illustrate: Coldplay headlined the Super Bowl halftime show last year, a show where only the least offensive, most broadly popular artists get to perform. It was the first time the headliner was a rock band with a lead singer under the age of 40. This isn't a dig on Beyonce and Bruno Mars, two younger pop stars that have lit up the stage at the big game. But it's just pointing out that in these days of fractured fanship and infinite, internet-enabled genre splintering, rock bands simply don't rise to that level of universal likability anymore. Coldplay is the rare exception, as reflected in ticket prices for last night's show: The cost of four floor tickets could buy you a stoic but functional 1997 Toyota Camry with a great engine and a lot of miles on it.
That's why when Coldplay played Gila River Arena in Glendale last night, one of the most striking things was simply that the band's mellow, perfectly pleasant anthems of love and wonder could inspire such a gathering of people as was assembled in Glendale.
The band delivered a performance full of heart, soaring melodies, touching, authentic-seeming moments, and more confetti than I'd ever seen used at a concert. The band distributed glowing LED wristbands to every member in the audience as they entered the arena, and when the band began playing they lit up like a field of multi-colored fireflies, providing a secondary light show to complement the main attraction. (This is something only megastars can afford, but when they do, it's pretty spectacular. Last time I saw it was at the Taylor Swift concert.)
EXPAND Jim Louvau
The entire show went off without a hitch, with singer Chris Martin seizing and relishing the spotlight early on as his three bandmates played steadily and reliably in the background, like a fleet of 1997 Toyota Camrys driving behind a flashy muscle car. Martin's bandmates were functional despite minimal style. (Looking at you, bassist Guy Berryman, who was wearing a black T-shirt hideously bedazzled on one shoulder.) At times I wondered if Coldplay has a "no smiling" rule that applies to everyone but Martin. They weren't pretty, but they got the job done — in true 1997 Toyota Camry fashion.
The band kicked off the show with "A Head Full Of Dreams," the title track from the band's 2015 album, and then went into their 2000 mega-hit "Yellow," following that with "Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall," from the band's 2011 album Mylo Xyloto. The band made good use of its confetti supplies, sending chutes of streaming paper into the air twice in during the band's first three songs. And why not? Confetti is probably the most interesting visual a band can use in an arena show, and Coldplay milked it at least two more times during the show. At one point the stage — which had a protrusion that jutted outward from the center of the stage about 60 feet or so before ending in a secondary, smaller stage — became covered with the stuff, and Chris Martin laid down it it, like Mena Suvari on rose petals in American Beauty, and sang "Viva La Vida" into a camera positioned directly above him.
(On the following song, "Adventure of a Lifetime," Martin messed up the words a couple times and stopped the performance. He resumed his lying-down position and the band started the song again, and Martin stood up once more.)
Martin was nothing but charming the entire show, bouncing effortlessly between guitar, piano, and microphone. At one point, the band left and Martin took a seat at a piano at the tip of the stage. He saw a young child named Oscar holding a sign proclaiming it to be his birthday and invited the kid on stage. When Oscar began to shy away from the audience of thousands beaming at him, Martin said reassuringly, "If you feel like going, you can go," before launching into "Everglow." During the encore, Martin was telling a story and a swear word slipped into his speech — "Sorry, Oscar," he said with a coy smile and without missing a beat. Martin was grateful to the crowd for enduring the heat and the crowd on a Tuesday night, and when he saw a British flag, he cracked it was "useless" and made a Brexit joke.
Jim Louvau
"Britain wants to float away on its own into the galaxy," he said.
During the band's encore, the band set up a stage in the furthest reaches of the arena and began playing a set from the cheap seats. It was a nice gesture to the fans, showing that the band valued those fans whose seat selection probably revealed an affinity for nice, reliable cars, like 1997 Toyota Camrys with peeling paint but rock-solid engines. The screen displayed a pretty girl requesting the song "Shiver," and the band launched into it, noting that they hadn't played the song in ages. The band wound its way back to the main stage and ended with "Amazing Day," "A Sky Full of Stars," and "Up&Up."
EXPAND Jim Louvau
Critic's Notebook:
Last Night: Coldplay at Gila River Arena in Glendale.
Overheard:
"You a Coldplay fan?"
"I wouldn't say I'm a huge fan."
You could replace the windshield on a 1997 Toyota Camry for the combined cost of the tickets those two guys were sitting in.
Personal Bias: I hate how I know that Coldplay's singer is named Chris Martin without having to look it up.
Celebrity Sighting: About two songs into the concert a very tall man and his wife came and sat next to me. I'm 5'10", and I don't often find myself standing next to someone who's literally more than a foot taller than me. Turned out it was Phoenix Suns big man Tyson Chandler. Let me tell you, his tall-guy concert etiquette was on point. He sat down for most of the show, graciously remaining seated for more of the show so as not to block the view for three rows of people behind him.
Random Notebook Dump: "Coldplay is the daytime television of arena bands."
Random Notebook Dump 2: "Listening to Coldplay is like eating saltwater taffy. All sugar, no nutrition, delicious in small doses but sickening if over-consumed."
Random Notebook Dump 3: "This 'audience request' from Instagram that they're showing on the screen is made by a suspiciously pretty woman in a suspiciously well-lit room. I'm calling bullshit. Am I a Coldplay Instagram request truther?"
Pour One Out: Someone totaled my beloved 1997 Toyota Camry in the parking lot while I was at the concert, and I didn't leave Glendale until 1:30 a.m. Rest in peace, good buddy.
Set List (From setlist.fm)
A Head Full of Dreams
(extended intro with Charlie Chaplin speech)
Yellow
Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall
The Scientist
Birds
(extended intro with "Oceans" excerpt)
Paradise
(Tiesto remix outro)
B-Stage:
Always in My Head
Magic
Everglow
Clocks
(with 'Army Of One' excerpt in intro)
Midnight
(partial)
Charlie Brown
Hymn for the Weekend
Fix You
(with 'Midnight' excerpt in intro)
"Heroes"
(David Bowie cover)
Viva la Vida
Adventure of a Lifetime
Kaleidoscope
Shiver
Don't Panic
Til Kingdom Come
A-Stage:
Amazing Day
A Sky Full of Stars
Up&Up
Correction: This article originally misspelled Guy Berryman's name. | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/coldplays-concert-was-full-of-heart-british-charm-and-confetti-8582294 | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/38a77d294b314d049963464ae6e35c27c6182d583ec011f332352f342d8aa03e.json |
[
"Becky Bartkowski"
] | 2016-08-26T12:56:20 | null | 2016-08-24T09:00:00 | New Times' Becky Bartkowski recaps season two episode eight of Julie Klausner and Billy Eichner's Difficult People, Hashtag Cats. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Farts%2Fdifficult-people-recap-week-of-yes-8578700.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8580626/difficult-people-method-man-episode-8.jpg | en | null | Difficult People Recap: Week of Yes | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | EXPAND Billy and Julie get scammed. Hulu
We're recapping Difficult People, episode by episode. Welcome to Shondaland!
Inspiration comes in many forms. For some, it’s derived from the success story of Shonda Rhimes. For others, it’s the stories she wrote about in her Year of Yes memoir. And for Billy, it’s in the Amazon review of the book Shonda wrote to inspire other women with a lifestyle motto that laughs in the face of Nancy Reagan. He got the gist, and he's running with it. “Yes” is the only answer Billy’s offering up this week. A year would be overboard, after all.
So far, it’s landed he and Julie a midnight comedy show that went well. Great even!
As luck would have it, the show went so well that comedy connoisseur Method Man low-key geeks out on them, explaining that he finds their work and that of Bonnie Hunt funny. (Hey, same!) Meth suggests they hang out and passes them his e-mail, revealing another of his pop culture proclivities, an unbridled love of the Debra Messing show Mysteries of Laura. RIP.
There they have him: their first famous friend. Apparently, celebs can be pretty nice when you aren’t screaming at them to put their hand in a toilet. What a wonder.
At the cafe, Julie is celebrating her counteractive year of no, by one Nonda Rhimes. She canceled a lunch with her mom and just found tickets to Hashtag Cats on Craigslist. The show is a reboot of actual Cats and stars both Sasha Grey and Grumpy Cat. This Craigslist James ticket seller is even offering Julie a friends discount. But obviously they are not friends. In other words, red flag. Billy is sad he can't go see Hashtag Cats because he has a session with his trainer, Felix, who exercises Billy in-home and may or may not be named after the trickster cartoon cat. In other words, not quite a red flag, but vaguely suspicious.
Marilyn is filling the gap in her schedule with a last-minute hair appointment and wishing she had a gay best friend. Her hairdresser, an impossibly crude man named Chad, volunteers. Together, she resolves, they'll stand up to Julie.
Meanwhile, Method Man is hanging out with Billy and Julie, talking about what kind of projects they're looking for. Billy suggests a sketch show, and just like that Meth agrees to set some meetings. Yay famous friends!
At Felix’s apartment, Billy is doing one squat as part of the trainer’s “micro-intervals,” which require that you confuse your body with a food plan he offers that also confuses your mind. But Felix is Joel McHale and ripped, a potent combo that’s tough to counter with logic.
Julie mets up with Craigslist James and hugs him even though this beanie-wearing douche is shady AF.
Naturally, we come to find out the tickets are fraudulent when Julie is on her way into the show, the tickets don't register on the scanner, and an embodiment of white privilege tells her as if they're on a prank show, “Bitch, you’ve been scammed.”
Incensed, she calls Craigslist James and resolves to never stop badgering him. (How Was Your Week? listeners are getting a lot of very enjoyable callbacks to the real-life Julie's podcast in this one. Because yeah, she did torment a ticket scammer for a span of time.) “I’m never leaving him alone until he pays me back, kills himself, or both,” she tells Arthur.
Julie updates Billy on her scammer as they’re waiting to take a meeting at NBC, where show posters are hung on the waiting room wall and then removed and replaced every few seconds. In the meeting, 700 blonde women play musical chairs and one squidgy man with curly hair greets Method Man.
Julie dives in, proposing a sketch show starring she and Billy.
“I know what you’re thinking: NBC already has Saturday Night Live," she says. "But does it?”
The show would be like Key and Peele, but obviously Billy and Julie are not black. They joke about the irony of their being "pure" in terms of their heritage, and this leads to an inevitable Hitler joke. The exec, clearly not actually listening, takes issue. Does Hitler have to be a character?
Yes, Billy, Julie, and Meth agree — because #weekofyes.
Exec says he loves it! And then he quickly explains that he's taking a hard pass because NBC is currently "rethinking its commitment to comedy in the way you decide to take a break from an ex who has already dumped you."
Fuck NBC, Billy says back at the cafe. Still charging ahead with his Shondavision, he resolves to sell the show somewhere else.
Billy also shares with Julie that Felix is providing all his meals. To Julie, all this sounds like Felix wants to bone. Billy is pretty sure that Felix is straight but interested in being friends — and wouldn't it be kinda neat for Billy to have two? But the episode's impending lesson looms: As we learned from the relationship of TomKat and also earlier this episode with the ticket scalper James, people you are paying are never really your friends. Remember? Do you remember that this is the point? But do you??
Marilyn and the crude dude arrive, she in a lovely camel trench and he in an outfit that, let's see, only a graduate of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy would put together and deem a success. Oh, what Carson Kressley hath wrought. Marilyn has come here to throw her new best friendship (with a man Billy describes as “the real life Matt Damon from Behind the Candelabra”) in Julie’s face because of course she did.
At his training sesh, Felix is introducing a method called interval eating. He shoves a cheeseburger into Billy's mouth as he runs on an elliptical. What's this guy's game, anyway? At this point, it's hard to parse. But Felix tells Billy that he appreciates his trust. “I was just thinking we should be friends," he says, inviting him over tomorrow night. Julie can come, too. It's a date... or something.
"Are you named after the cartoon cat and his bag of tricks?" Billy asks, mouth overflowing with potatoey bits and repeating himself, yelling through the carbs. Felix's response? Yes.
Now at the NYPD, Julie is furious that the police aren’t working to resolve her fake ticketing case. But a detective explains to her that there's a series of gruesome murders they have to investigate and Robert Durst already being in custody is not helping.
Taking justice further into her own hands, Julie calls Craigslist James and leaves a voicemail detailing how she was taking her sister (not real) to see Hashtag Cats (real) in a white limo (not real) and with a band of instrumentalists (also not real) because her sister (again, no not real) named S. Epatha (ha ha ha) is dying of cancer (nope). Arthur is borderline disgusted that Julie would pull this card.
"You thought the cancer card was at the bottom of the deck?" she asks. "Honey, we haven’t hit the middle."
So now we're at Felix's dinner and besides Billy, Julie, and Arthur, the party consists of a bunch of scary, humorless, buff dudes who are apparently also trainers. But they seem more like... assassins? Even so, Julie says it seems like Felix really likes Billy. Though this food he's serving from a high-end kitchen equipped with gadgets for Arthur to lust after does not seem like the kind of thing you'd feed someone who's trying to lose weight. Troubling? Not exactly. Not yet, anyway.
All right, day two of pitches and Meth is coaching Julie and Billy. They'll have to tailor their ideas to each of the networks. Ready? Okay!
At FX, the NBC exec from the other day is now the water-getter for people waiting in the lobby.
At Comedy Central, Billy and Julie say the show is gonna punch you and, while you're unconscious, draw a picture of a dick on your face. Julie’s a girl, yeah. But does she have a dirty mouth? Ask her asshole.
At E!, their show is cunty, bitchy, gossipy fun.
At Adult Swim, it’s genre animation and weird and random. Y’all wanna vape or what?
At (pan out to reveal) Al Jazeera, they’re greenlit for a pilot on the rebranded Al Jazeera X. Billy and Julie will be the new face of it. "Gangsta," Meth says by way of congratulations.
Celebrating with Method Man later, the Wu-Tang patron of the comedic arts shares that he got them Hashtag Cats tickets and they can bring anyone they want. Julie can’t want to rub it in the face of her scammer. But Meth has some advice, since he’s had his share of beef over the years.
See Shonda Rhimes helped him realize a couple things. One, there are limits to what even Viola Davis can make seem plausible. And two, the best way to say yes to yourself is to forgive your enemies.
It’s good advice. So Julie texts Craigslist James that she forgives him and that she’s gonna see the show tonight.
"You see, dressing on the side, everything worked out,” Arthur says as they enter the theater. Just then, Julie sees Craigslist James outside. He has a pair of violinists and a white limo, just like S. Epatha would’ve wanted. Julie cannot have Marilyn see this because it will turn the tables on who looks worst this round. And while we think doing worse than Chad would be pretty damn impossible, we get it.
“Forgiveness is such a rookie mistake,” Billy says, and then explains to Marilyn that it's a crazed fan.
Outside, Craigslist James apologizes, and Julie tells him that it’s too late because her sister is dead. This is, naturally, just as Method Man comes outside too. He offers his sympathies. S. Epatha wouldn’t have wanted them to be sad, Julie says. So let’s go enjoy Hashtag Cats in her honor.
They take their seats. Chad keeps trying to make out with Marilyn and says he refuses to participate in this musical affair if he has no chance of getting any. Twist! He's actually bi. Which half-explains the poorly implemented fashions. Method Man scolds him for this behavior. Because, dude, Marilyn’s daughter just died of cancer. Chad storms off.
EXPAND The perfect dress for getting scammed. (Also, for not getting scammed.) Hulu
But of course, Marilyn is all EXCUSE ME. And here is where Julie’s superhuman spitefulness comes to light.
“Don’t lie to me little white lady,” Method Man says, eyeing his friend/business associate/soon-to-be half of a discontinued relationship.
She takes responsibility. Yeah, she lied to the scammer about having a sister who died of cancer.
Meth is repulsed. He doesn’t work with liars. So he leaves, calling off their Al Jazeera show.
“Oh my God," Marilyn says, overhearing that last bit. "Have you been radicalized?”
Having made a noticable commotion, the group is on its way out. But a team of detectives meet them in the lobby. Guns drawn, they're told to freeze. But Felix, trickster that he is, tries to make a break for it. See, turns out those murders from before? they were felix’s doing. he’s a cannibal.
Felix is a cannibal! Part of a ring in sunset park. “Don’t keep me from my veal!” he yells, bemoaning all the time he's spent grooming Billy, who is a perfect combination of both tall and fat, to be eaten with carrots and potatoes.
“I’m fat?” Billy says, devastated. Felix is arrested.
Totally deflated and with their lesson about not being friends with people you pay learned, Arthur, Marilyn, Julie, and Billy go to dinner.
Marilyn can’t grasp what’s offended her more: cannibalism, bisexuality, or Al Jazeera.
Their server is water man and former NBC exec Kevin, who is excited to see his pals again. Marilyn has just one question: How’s the veal? | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts/difficult-people-recap-week-of-yes-8578700 | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/e6b6e46b050054b004f71aef932451697ebd64b28a5b6ffcebf6a5040c04feac.json |
[
"Phoenix New Times"
] | 2016-08-29T12:49:51 | null | 2016-08-29T04:00:00 | Metalheads rejoice! Several of your favorite bands will invade the Valley this week, including Deftones, Pinkish Black, Shroud Eater, and Uncle Acid... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Fmusic%2Fthe-six-best-concerts-in-phoenix-this-week-8592740.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8593468/pinkish-black-september-1-last-exit-live-best-concerts-phoenix.jpg | en | null | 6 Best Concerts in Phoenix This Week | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | EXPAND The Deftones are scheduled to perform on Wednesday, August 31, at Mesa Amphitheatre. Frank Maddocks
The Valley is going to be hesher heaven this week.
Thanks to the fact that the annual Psycho Fest took place in Las Vegas this past weekend, a number of participating metal and rock bands (including many of the experimental, psychedelic, stoner, and death variety) are passing through Phoenix in the coming days.
And if that weren’t enough to make you want to fly some hook 'em morns in anticipation, the Deftones are also set to invade Mesa on Wednesday. It’s the first time that Chino Moreno and company have hit the Valley in a few years and (despite what you may have head) they aren’t breaking up anytime soon.
Local metalheads who’d also like to put on a show as much as attend one will also have an opportunity to do this week, courtesy of the Phoenix’s annual Air Guitar Competition at Crescent Ballroom.
All of these events are included in our rundown of the best music events happening in Metro Phoenix this week. Rock on, read on, and check out our online concert calendar for even more gigs around the Valley.
EXPAND Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats Ester Segarra
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats – Monday, August 29 – Crescent Ballroom
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats is a ’70s throwback band from across the pond that brings to mind genre progenitors like Pentagram and stoner-rock-era Black Sabbath. It doesn’t offer any trailblazing new sounds, but rather makes a point of mining the best out of late-’60s and early-’70s hard rock, an era when bands were in a never-ending battle to one-up each other’s heaviness. Uncle Acid is able to pluck the best of these experiments and toss them in a cauldron, thickening up their potion until what remains is a sludgy, fuzzy delight. Phoenix experiences an uptick in great live music before and after nearby festivals, like South By Southwest and Coachella. DAVID ACCOMAZZO
Shroud Eater’s Davin Sosa, Janette Valentine, and Jean Saiz. Janette Valentine
Shroud Eater – Monday, August 29 – Yucca Tap Room
You don't forget about Shroud Eater after you've seen them live. Lead by two badass women, Jean Saiz (guitar/vocals) and Janette Valentine (bass/vocals), the loud and distorted riffs become even more dramatic when Davin Sosa’s drums are added to the mix. Entering a room where Shroud Eater is playing is a surreal experience. The lights glow red, and the atmosphere becomes dense and viscous. The power trio's live performances and the quality of its songs earned the group the privilege of opening for bands like Kylesa, High on Fire, and Iron Reagan, among others. Shroud Eater's latest release, the two-song EP Face the Master, was covered nationwide in publications such as Noisey and CVLT Nation. FLOR FRANCES
EXPAND Shredding it at last year's Phoenix's Air Guitar Championship. Melissa Fossum
Phoenix's Air Guitar Championship — Tuesday, August 30 — Crescent Ballroom
Air guitar seems easy enough, especially since everyone’s done it at least once, but would you be able to rock out for 60 seconds in front of a crowd of people? Such is the challenge of Phoenix's annual Air Guitar Championship, which returns this week for its second year of mock rock and madcap moves from competitors. Air guitar is a craft that takes skill (not to mention some pretty sweet dance moves) to master and those who’s mojo is strong and antics are ridiculous enough will prevail. Participants will have exactly one minute to show off their stuff and impress the judges during the opening round. Anything goes. The five best air guitarists will then move on to the championship round where they’ll have an entire song, which will be chosen by the judges, to do their thing and outshine the competition. DJ Sean Watson will spin up the songs and local comedian Brooks Werner will host. MELISSA FOSSUM
EXPAND Despite what you may have heard, The Deftones aren't breaking up anytime soon. Frank Maddocks
Deftones – Wednesday August 31 – Mesa Amphitheatre
Despite years of rumored conflict and infighting, Sacramento’s Deftones have not only continued to create groundbreaking music, they've persevered within the eye of the storm of their own success — and tragedy. Deftones is the screaming croon of frontman Chino Moreno, the blistering riffs of guitarist Stephen Carpenter, and the tight rhythm section of bassist Sergio Vega and drummer Abe Cunningham. Having escaped the nu-metal stereotype, the band has continued to push the envelope album after album, infusing numerous musical styles and making each album its own unique experience.
Cunningham explains the process of the group's new album, Gore: “It took longer because we took longer to make it, especially the writing part of it. In the past, we always had our allotted time to be creative. This time around, we had the opportunity to break up the writing process, and it was a different approach," he says. "We still make records that, hopefully, people still listen to from start to finish, but it’s going to take a few listens and patience. But that is something that people who listen to us have always been — patient. And even on Adrenaline, there were things that we wanted to try, and it wasn’t until Around the Fur and White Pony, in my opinion, where we actually achieved our goal of mixing all of our musical ideas.” MATTHEW STEWART
Daron Beck (left) and Jon Teague of Pinkish Black. Naomi Vaughan
Pinkish Black – Thursday, September 1 – Last Exit Live
Pinkish Black is as much a tribute to a fallen friend as it is a unique brand of rock. While only being an active project for only five years, Pinkish Black's rise to prominence has been a tour de force. The experimental metal/drone rock band, which hails from Fort Worth, Texas, and consists of Daron Beck and Jon Teague, formed from the remains of their previous act the Great Tyrant. When Tommy Atkins, the Great Tyrant's bass player, committed suicide in 2010, the remaining members decided to soldier on and continue under the new moniker Pinkish Black.
Since then, they have done well to take their musical pursuits to the next level while honoring Tommy's memory, including inking deals with an increasingly bigger series of respected metal labels, most recently Relapse Records. The band has maintained the high level of excellence and innovation that we had come to know from the likes of Teague and Beck over the years. Pinkish Black's style is so eclectic that it is not fair to classify them to simply one genre. If you like doom metal, you will like Pinkish Black. If you like drone, you will like Pinkish Black. If you like goth metal, you will like Pinkish Black. JAMES KHUBIAR
EXPAND All aboard Wayne "The Train" Hancock's Americana express. Courtesy of Bloodshot Records
Wayne “The Train” Hancock – Thursday, September 1 – Yucca Tap Room
Wayne "The Train" Hancock is not your typical country music singer, nor is he a backwoods, to-backy-chewin' redneck. His style of music is unique. It's a quality ode to an era when musicianship, tradition, and stories of old-time America ruled all the jukeboxes in every single country joint. His music transcends cultures and the bullshit of politics, inviting everyone to throw down a hillbilly boogie. His disposition is often reminiscent of a grown-up Dennis the Menace, wearing classic Chuck Taylors with greaser cuffed jeans. This Dennis, though, has an affinity for tattoos, Pabst Blue Ribbon, and probably an occasional shot of whatever whiskey you've got handy.
Hancock is a mad scientist of Texan swing, an alchemist mixing honky-tonk, traditional country, and rockabilly swag. He's worked on his musical amalgam since the early 1990s. You can compare him to Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, and Jimmie Rodgers, but Hancock is always original and never a rip-off. This sonic sorcerer's powerful potion will be in full effect this week when he rolls into the Yucca Tap Room in Tempe. And all the cool cats are likely to come out to party on his High Rollin' Train. LIZZIE RAE | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/the-six-best-concerts-in-phoenix-this-week-8592740 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/8dbb2ec38e04cf7ff8b9d8274601d3f8115b492776440136ec347712cb5647cf.json |
[
"Cristen Pennington"
] | 2016-08-29T14:49:36 | null | 2016-08-29T07:00:00 | Phoenix New Times goes inside illustrator Kelsey Dake's remodeled Tudor Revival in the F.Q. Story neighborhood of Phoenix. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Farts%2Finside-kelsey-dake-s-tudor-revival-in-phoenixs-fq-story-neighborhood-8585358.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8588341/img_3094.jpg | en | null | Home Tour: Kelsey Dake's Tudor Revival in Phoenix | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | EXPAND Kelsey Dake's Tudor Revival home in the FQ Story neighborhood. Cristen Pennington
Walking up to Kelsey Dake’s home in F.Q. Story, guests are greeted by Roger, a 500-pound pink aluminum pig.
“My neighbors have brought hats for him, and he was mentioned on NextDoor,” Dake says with pride.
Stepping inside the front door, it’s obvious Dake, a freelance illustrator, has an eye for the unique and eclectic. A 1970s Rosewood Eames lounge sits next to the original brick fireplace. On the mantel in a glass case is a perfectly preserved stuffed duck believed to be more than 100 years old. Dake purchased the waterfowl at an antique shop in New Mexico, and he serves as a reminder of an important turning point in her life.
EXPAND The antique duck that set Dake on a new course. Cristen Pennington
Built in 1931, the 1,449-square-foot Tudor Revival has three bedrooms and one bathroom. Dake got the keys to the house on Valentine's Day of 2015 and started remodeling in March of this year.
So far, she has repainted the interior, refinished the kitchen floors, retiled the kitchen walls, and replaced the antique oven with a Wolf range. Her most recent project has been gutting the bathroom.
“I tore layer after layer of wallpaper down in this house!” she recalls. “The kitchen walls had pictures of different types of pasta.” Most of the work Dake has completed herself, with her mother’s help.
EXPAND Dake loves to cook, so the remodel began in the kitchen. Cristen Pennington
Dake says she's worked to restore the house as best she could, being mindful to choose fixtures that were period-appropriate. In the living room hangs a light fixture she found in the attic.
Prior to buying the house in F.Q. Story, Dake and her parents purchased and remodeled a Ralph Haver home. Dake’s parents still own the home, located in one of Phoenix’s famous “Haver Hoods,” Janet Manor.
Most of the unique pieces in the home have been cultivated and collected from various antique stores, while others were purchased on Ebay. While living in Seattle, Dake spent her free time hunting for treasures of all kinds.
A Seattle treasure that found a home in the desert.
“It’s easier to come by vintage items in Washington,” Dake explains, “because there are so many old homes and salvage stores.”
The back bedroom of the house is Dake's studio, which is adorned with vintage signage she’s collected along with her own original artwork.
When asked what attracted her to this particular home, Dake is quick to respond, "the neighborhood."
“I knew that people knew each other and talked to one another, and there was a home tour and a steering committee – that drew me to this house.”
She notes that sense of community can have its drawbacks.
“I know way too much about my neighbors,” she says laughing.
Dake says she enjoys having friends her age with whom she can hang out, go to church, and enjoy downtown living. Having a sense of community is particularly important for a freelancer, she says.
"It can get a little lonely," she admits. "But now Chris and I can go out and make friends together!"
EXPAND Where the magic happens; Dake's home studio. Cristen Pennington
Dake is a Phoenix native and her fiancé, Chris Rushing, hails from Georgia. The couple met on Twitter when Rushing was living in New York and Dake was in Seattle preparing to move back to the desert. Fellow designers, they had been following each other on social media for some time. Then one January day in 2015, Dake tweeted something that resonated with Rushing.
“I had no agenda,” he says, “I just messaged her because what she said really spoke to me.”
“We met on January 20 – we actually have a screenshot of our first conversation – and we haven’t stopped talking since that first message,” Rushing says, smiling at Dake.
When they met, Dake had already planned to fly out to New York in March to meet with clients. She asked Rushing, having never met him in person, if she could stay with him.
EXPAND Chris Rushing, Kelsey Dake, and Truman. Cristen Pennington
“I could have showed up and found he was a serial killer!” she laughs. But her leap of faith paid off, and they’ve been together ever since.
“We went to Toronto the first weekend I was out there,” Dake says. They agree the whole thing was pretty magical.
The relationship continued long-distance for the first year, with each of them visiting the opposite coast every few weeks. Rushing moved to Arizona from New York this past spring.
EXPAND The living and dining rooms. Cristen Pennington
“We were both freelancers at the time," Rushing says, "so we had a lot of flexibility.”
Rushing now manages the brand team for BuzzFeed, which allows him to work on both coasts.
“BuzzFeed has offices worldwide, so we’re on video chats most of the day anyway, no matter where we are,” he adds.
Dake and Rushing are getting married in Sedona in October, so the current task is to make space in the house for their respective collections.
“We’re both creatives,” Rushing says, “so we both own a lot of weird antique stuff and old vintage signage. Fortunately, our styles mesh pretty well.”
EXPAND A display of graphic ephemera at Dake's home. Cristen Pennington
EXPAND Dake's collection of Blakely glasses. Cristen Pennington
EXPAND 1970s Rosewood Eames lounge. Cristen Pennington | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts/inside-kelsey-dake-s-tudor-revival-in-phoenixs-fq-story-neighborhood-8585358 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/cc48c62611ed86e3eaa8d606a01c5c6a752a525dbcb4e1923a74d471f2df69c2.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T14:49:48 | null | 2016-08-29T06:00:00 | Tiki drink are more popular than ever — here are 10 of our favorites from around the Valley. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Frestaurants%2F10-favorite-tiki-cocktails-in-metro-phoenix-8569951.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8569952/bitterandtwisted_summermenu16_junglebird_shelby_moore-3.jpg | en | null | 10 Favorite Tiki Drinks in Metro Phoenix | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | EXPAND The Almost Always Bad News is a revamped version of the classic tiki drink, the Zombie Shelby Moore
Whether you're a connoisseur or just beginning to dip your toe in the world of tiki drinks, we've got good news for fans of pina coladas, painkillers, and more. If you know where to look, you’ll be thrilled by the sheer volume of options for creative, rum-filled tiki-style drinks in metro Phoenix — including at the recently opened Under Tow, the Valley's first dedicated tiki bar.
To prove our point, here are 10 drinks from 10 bars where bartenders are shaking up modern mai tais, taming jungle birds, and reviving zombies. Batten down the hatches. We’re going sailing.
Almost Always Bad News at The Clever Koi
Polynesian flair and flavor are crammed into every nook and cranny of the Almost Always Bad News, Clever Koi owner and barman Joshua James’s resurrection of the zombie cocktail, a tiki stalwart. If Don the Beachcomber created the zombie, then James gave it back its soul. His personalized zombie mix get swirled with molasses-tinted Skipper Demerara and fiery 151 Hamilton rums. And he gives it some style, too, in the form of a tall tiki mug full of crumbly ice and decadent decoration. You may even find a tiny plastic mermaid has found a slice of lime to call home.
EXPAND The Jungle Bird at Bitter & Twisted is deliciously bitter and devastatingly beautiful. Shelby Moore
Jungle Bird at Bitter & Twisted Cocktail Parlour
We can't be sure, but there’s a pretty good chance your bartender's favorite tiki drink has, at some point, been the jungle bird. It’s frustratingly simple and relies heavily on Campari, best known for its role in the negroni. Some consider it the "Coca-Cola of amaro" due to its heavy-handed marketing, signature red color, and pervasive nature on bar shelves. However, in the jungle bird it does the two things Campari does best: adds orange-rind bitterness and colors the drink crimson. And a bitter note is exactly what's needed to counteract the pineapple juice, lime juice, simple syrup, and rum in this drink.
EXPAND Left: Head bartender Noah Momyer shaking up the Caribbean Spirit. Right: The Caribbean Spirit is a rare tiki drink served up. Shelby Moore
Caribbean Spirit at Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails
The hottest cocktail ingredient to hit the Phoenix market since Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur is Plantation Pineapple Rum Stiggin’s Fancy, a pineapple-flavored spirit that does wonders in whichever drink it lands. At Blue Hound Kitchen, bartenders combine the spirit with grapefruit liqueur, a ginger and almond liqueur called falernum, and lemon juice. Though head bartender Noah Momyer says that some “tiki purists may not approve,” it's really too bad for them, because we’re all aboard.
EXPAND A Tahitian Rum Punch basks in the high sun gleaming down on the Sanctuary Resort grounds, tucked into Camelback Mountain. Shelby Moore
Tahitian Rum Punch at Jade Bar
The Tahitian Rum Punch has 10 ingredients, and every single one of them matters when you’re honoring the Don the Beachcomber, the legendary Prohibition-era smuggler-turned-restaurateur who invented some of the world’s first tiki drinks. Among them was the Tahitian Rum Punch, which combines several fruit juices, rums, and fruit liqueurs so well that even a century later, guys like Jade Bar’s Eddie Garcia — a devoted fan of tiki — take great pride in doing the classic well. Served in a proper tiki mug, the big drink has spiciness, funkiness, fruitiness, booziness, and more.
EXPAND The Voice Among Trees at Market Street Kitchen in North Scottsdale, where the drink menu revolves around a Treasure Island theme. Shelby Moore
Voice Among Trees at Market Street Kitchen
It looks like a julep in its frosty metal cup, buried under ice, garnished with a fistful of aromatic mint. But it isn’t a julep — not even close. And it doesn’t contain rum, either, which might surprise anyone who assumes the sugarcane spirit is required in the tiki genre. Well, Market Street Kitchen is getting experimental, swizzling up a take on Smuggler’s Cove's Chartreuse Swizzle, which pushes the boundaries of tiki drinks. It relies on boozy and wildly herbaceous green chartreuse, mixing in mint, pineapple, falernum, and fresh lime juice. Dashed with spicy, red angostura bitters, you’ll find tiki has fewer boundaries than you thought.
EXPAND Okra's summer menu has a few tiki gems, including the Hurricane, a delicious cocktail starring passion fruit juice. Shelby Moore
Hurricane at Okra
Hurricanes can wreak havoc on the unassuming drinker. And as one of the tiki drinks you’re most likely to find at a chain restaurant, they are anything but consistent. However, the excellent bartenders at Okra in uptown Phoenix shake up a Hurricane that makes it easy to see how this drink became a classic. Owner Micah Olson found the perfect passion fruit juice to swim in synchronized fashion with his rum blend. The result is bright orange and beautiful.
EXPAND Left To Right: A piña colada is assembled left to right at Rum Bar, starting with their house-made coconut liqueur. Shelby Moore
Piña Colada at Rum Bar
The piña colada needs no introduction, except that you’ll need to start considering some don’t get poured out of a blender. Not that blended piña coladas aren’t delicious, but one of the best in town resides at the blender-less Rum Bar (for a great blended version, see Bitter & Twisted up the road). And it is far from too sweet. It's controlled and complex in comparison to most versions, since the bartenders here go to the lengths to create their own coconut liqueur in-house. It's creamy, pure in flavor, and rich like butterscotch — making it perfect with fresh pineapple juice and Rum Bar’s painstakingly picked rum.
EXPAND How cool is this ceramic tiki mug? Shelby Moore
Painkiller at Hula’s Modern Tiki
A painkiller by any other name would be as delicious, but the bottom line is it ain’t a proper painkiller unless it has Pusser’s-brand rum. The spirit company trademarked the name and has a history of taking legal action against bars that don’t abide. Many places work around it by using a similar style of rum and, of course, another name. At Hula’s, real-deal painkillers flow liberally into coconut-shaped mugs — and an additional shot of rum, floated over the top, comes highly recommended. Being the cousin of the piña colada, the drink has a coconut cream base that works nicely with the bitter tang of orange juice and plenty of rum. A healthy sprinkle of spice over the rim makes each painkiller exactly what the doctor ordered.
EXPAND The Tiki Ali is one of the Parlor's only bona fide tiki drinks — and it's delicious, tasting like a spiked, frozen strawberry lemonade. Can't beat that. Shelby Moore
Tiki Ali at The Parlor Pizzeria
For inspiration, bartenders love to reach back to their childhoods. All over the Valley, bartenders have been doing it with spiked root beer drinks and boozy, frozen orange Juliuses. The Parlor is an Italian restaurant and bar, but Riley Jones dipped his toe into tiki with the Tiki Ali, inspired by sun-bleached summers and family vacations. “It’s like that strawberry lemonade drink you’d order at resorts as a kid,” Jones says. Of course, yours better not have had booze in it — let alone the boatload Jones has a knack for hiding deftly in his.
EXPAND The mai tai is a building block for the tiki genre, and The Ostrich serves them any night of the week, though the atmosphere is more fitting on Tiki Tuesdays. Shelby Moore
Mai Tai at The Ostrich
Mai tais get a bad rap. As the poster child of tiki drinks, it's been simplified, reduced, and substituted since the very beginning. It’s frustrating to know that the rum originally used, 17-year Wray & Nephew, isn't available anymore, but Tiki Tuesday-host The Ostrich in downtown Chandler still gives the classic cocktail its very best shot — tangy, nutty, and a touch sweet, all the ingredients work in harmony to show off a good hit of rum. | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/restaurants/10-favorite-tiki-cocktails-in-metro-phoenix-8569951 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/c5fa8a9b56e860fe142a4813ec027a227a9a7b06625dec1a1319cd9ad36c438e.json |
[
"Lauren Saria"
] | 2016-08-26T14:49:57 | null | 2016-08-26T07:00:00 | The restaurant, which was formerly known as D'Lish Drive Thru, will be located near the intersection of Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Frestaurants%2Fdlite-healthy-on-the-go-to-open-third-location-in-scottsdale-8586212.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8586469/d_lish-facebook.jpg | en | null | D'Lite Healthy On The Go to Open Third Location in Scottsdale | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | Scottsdale residents on the hunt for heathy and convenient dining options will be happy to hear D'lite Heathy On The Go will open a third location in their neighborhood next month.
The restaurant, which was formerly known as D'Lish Drive Thru, will be located near the intersection of Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard. According to owner Ajay Amin, the restaurant's name change came about a year ago as the result of a copyright issue.
As at the other locations in Tempe and south Scottsdale, the new D'lite Healthy On The Go will serve a menu of breakfast options, salads, wraps, sandwiches, soups, bowls, and burgers. The fast-casual restaurant also offers a full menu of coffee and espresso drinks, in addition to smoothies, protein shakes, iced tea, and kombucha.
The restaurant's design will be "modern and sleek," featuring design touches including 150-year-old reclaimed wood and art from a local graffiti artist.
D'lite Heathy On The Go will open at 7337 East Shea Boulevard in mid-September. For more information, check the D'lite Healthy On The Go website. | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/restaurants/dlite-healthy-on-the-go-to-open-third-location-in-scottsdale-8586212 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/eeae96b6b14e6f0167a32e9118c024e05aedef27c61f02cb7ddace10633ec7d1.json |
[
"Lynn Trimble"
] | 2016-08-31T14:50:43 | null | 2016-08-31T06:00:00 | Phoenix New Times' guide to the best free art shows to see in Phoenix on First Friday, September 2, at Grant Street Studios, {9} the Gallery, and Grand... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Farts%2F13-free-art-shows-you-should-see-in-metro-phoenix-this-week-8597939.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8598388/jr-ffsept2016-sanctuary-skyblack.jpg | en | null | 13 Free Art Shows You Should See in Metro Phoenix This Week | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | See work by Sky Black at {9} The Gallery. Sky Black
There's a lot of art to see in Phoenix this week, at all sorts of venues. So get an early start on First Friday, September 2, and wear your serious walking shoes. With so many choices, you'll have to hustle to get it all in.
"Our Other Selves"
You'll have to head to Flagstaff to see Sky Black's work on a 4,500-square foot Sound of Flight mural filling an entire exterior wall at the Orpheum Theater, but you can explore an intriguing assortment of his other works at {9} The Gallery, where First Friday hours are 6 to 10 p.m. Find more information on the {9} The Gallery website.
See works by Kenosha Drucker at Burton Barr Central Library. Kenosha Drucker
"Her Little Machines"
See what happens when artist Kenosha Drucker creates her own little world, inspired by everything from microscopic worlds to an imagined parallel universe, for an exhibition at Burton Barr Central Library. First Friday offerings, which include live music, happen from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Find more information on the Phoenix Public Library website.
EXPAND See works by Paige Reesor at Treeo. Paige Reesor
"Pop Culture Politics"
Artist Paige Reesor creates colorful portraits exploring the juxtaposition between presidential politics on a national scale and her own volunteerism in the local political scene. See her works in this new exhibition at Treeo. First Friday hours are 6 to 10 p.m. Find more information on the event Facebook page.
EXPAND See work by Ariana Enriquez at New City. Ariana Enriquez
"The Nature of Things"
New City Studio presents works by artists Ariana Enriquez, who explores the ties between figure and nature, and Chris Vena, who addresses contemporary political unrest. First Friday festivities, which include live music, run from 7 to 10 p.m. Find more information on the New City Studio website.
EXPAND See work by Carlos Rausch at Olney Gallery. Carlos Rausch
"From the Abstract to the Absurd"
Carlos Rausch creates non-representational paintings. Cindy Schnackel uses colored pencils and acrylic paint to create abstracted creatures. See works by both artists side by side at Olney Gallery, whose First Friday hours are from 6 to 9 p.m. Find more information on the Olney Gallery Facebook page.
See Emily Ritter's You Are What You Eat at Step Gallery. Emily Ritter
"Systemic"
Another academic year is underway, which means the return of exhibitions presented by the ASU School of Art at Grant Street Studios. This exhibition features works by Molly Koehn, Emily Ritter, and Priya Thoresen. Each has a different take on the ways various systems have an impact on human behavior. First Friday hours are 6 to 9 p.m. Find more information on the Grant Street Studios Facebook page.
EXPAND See work by Tato Caraveo at Grand ArtHaus. Tato Caraveo/Photo by Lynn Trimble
"Lalo and Tato"
Proving their prowess in both street art and the studio, Lalo Cota and Tato Caraveo are showing about 20 works during the grand opening of Grand ArtHaus, where visitors can also see new works created by resident artists including Mata Ruda and Lauren Lee. First Friday hours are 7 to 10 p.m. Find more information on the event Facebook page. | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts/13-free-art-shows-you-should-see-in-metro-phoenix-this-week-8597939 | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/3671ab59d9291744f1a28a4017c8025f99151db6adacd11fc92cdff1bd1d128d.json |
[
"Glenn Burnsilver"
] | 2016-08-31T12:50:00 | null | 2016-08-31T03:53:00 | Nikki Hill isn't your average soul singer. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Fmusic%2Fnikki-hill-gives-soul-music-a-heavy-metal-kick-in-the-ass-8600041.json | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/theme/phx/apple-touch-icon.png | en | null | Nikki Hill SharesWhy Soul Music Needs a Kick in the Ass | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | Nikki Hill’s secret recipe: Take equal parts revved-up rockabilly punk, AC/DC metal stomp, and scorching modern electric blues, and add overflowing spoonfuls of raw, edgy jump blues, R&B, and soul. Blend on 11. What pours from the speakers is one fiery, passionate soul shouter with plenty of attitude and the grooves to back it up.
Yet, this North Carolina native makes it clear she’s not just someone content with resurrecting the past.
“Being an artist with a lot of vintage references is cool, but at the same time, you don’t want to be perceived as a complete throwback. It’s not everything that I am,” Hill says. “I mean, I am not reinventing the wheel by any means, but … [I] make things fresh.”
Hill grew up listening to oldies and singing gospel. She studied the classic soul singers — LaVern Baker, Otis Redding, Little Richard, Tina Turner, and Barbara Lynn, among others — and incorporated a little of each definitive style into her vocal delivery.
“I think my voice and my style is an automatic thing,” she says. “It’s what I remember and recall, and it’s what I base my vocals on. It has a lot to do with being able to use those different styles and phrasing and apply them to what I’m doing now.”
Despite the soul music of her upbringing, Hill, like many teens, went through a rebellious stage. A musical detour found her fronting a punk band. The journey allowed Hill to shape her identity, while also cementing her ability and confidence on stage.
“You want to be different than your parents. You want to figure out what you’re into,” she states. “I didn’t have a career — it was just what I was doing at the time. It was this energetic music. It didn’t have a message, just a lot of shitty players. But it was teaching [me] to be myself and not be afraid of it.
“I guess that’s what I took from being a punk rocker at that time,” she adds, commenting on the gritty edge and occasional shouts that inhabit her mostly soulful ways. “I don’t really let go of that now. I credit that time with giving me a lot how I am now.”
Her soulful roots burst forth again when husband/blues guitarist Matt Hill rescued her from a dual life as personal trainer by day, bartender by night. He frequently brought other musicians home for jam sessions, and Hill would lend her voice to the proceedings.
“He would always say he liked my voice. I thought he was bullshitting me just because we were married,” she says with a laugh. “He didn’t have to say that. It was just fun for me.”
Yet, it was a starting point and, at the urging of friends, the pair hit the road together — mostly performing blues and R&B classics. And the offers kept coming in.
“I’m not going to lie; it was something I wanted to do pretty instantly,” she says. “I just kind of knew that being able to do something musical was exciting, but it was also a way to make a little extra cash.”
Eventually, it was obvious a full band was needed, and with it came a more diversified set list showcasing Hill’s varied vocal styles and backgrounds. A steady following led to a rousing — and well-received — debut album, Heavy Hearts, Hard Fists.
“There’s just something about the music that makes me feel good, that makes people feel good,” she exclaims. “That’s why I’m doing it!”
Nikki Hill is scheduled to perform Wednesday, September 7, at the Rhythm Room. | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/nikki-hill-gives-soul-music-a-heavy-metal-kick-in-the-ass-8600041 | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/95d0c36e05f5b120fd7fa0cdb44a4d15322d50f35f254c982cd8c09ff0d8ee55.json |
[
"April Wolfe"
] | 2016-08-31T14:51:32 | null | 2016-08-31T07:00:00 | Derek Cianfrance’s foreboding melodrama The Light Between Oceans is catastrophically sad. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Ffilm%2Fpowered-by-strong-performances-the-light-between-oceans-could-fill-a-sea-with-tears-8589970.json | http://images1.laweekly.com/imager/u/original/7304849/the-light-between-oceans-2-credit-davi_russo.jpg | en | null | Powered by Strong Performances, The Light Between Oceans Could Fill a Sea With Tears | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | EXPAND Courtesy of Dreamworks
Tension and release is the driving principle of a tearjerker, where every good fortune is countered by something worse. And as dismissive as critics often are of the genre, it’s actually quite difficult for a director to make people cry en masse and genuinely feel things. Derek Cianfrance’s foreboding melodrama The Light Between Oceans follows a quiet lighthouse keeper whose family crest seems emblazoned with misery after the end of the first World War, until he meets a woman who will marry and join him on his own private island. Then, of course, the results of this isolationism are also catastrophically sad. But for all the tragedy descending upon the characters of this film, it’s difficult to muster adequate tears — not because the acting is lackluster (it’s incredible, actually), but because the onslaught of melancholia is so relentless that it’s near impossible to refill the tear reserves.
Cianfrance may be the best actors’ director working in the business today. His heartbreaking relationship drama Blue Valentine (2010) is unrivaled in its realism, complexity, and compassion, achieved through intense development with his two leads, Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams — they lived in a house together for months to create their characters and dialogue. In this film, the trifecta of Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, and Rachel Weisz could themselves sweep the acting categories at the Oscars.
Fassbender is Tom Sherbourne, a quiet man who saw so much death in the war that he’s convinced he can never be allowed in the same room with happiness. He does surrender to joy, however, in the form of a young woman, Isabel Graysmark (Vikander). The two become married and retreat to the lighthouse on Janus Island, where Tom is the keeper. They frolic in the breeze-blown grasses until they must stake not one but two gravesites for babies who didn’t make it to term. Isabel’s grief resonates as she heaves, sobs and gasps while sitting at her piano, realizing her body’s betrayal; we watch her confused emotions as stray, unsure smiles ripple over her face for a full minute in this scene. The couple’s loss is compounded by their circumstances — with so many dead after the war, they feel it's imperative that they procreate — and their remoteness. So when a baby washes ashore in a rowboat, the event seems almost a blessing, but the baby’s accompanied by a dead body, and Tom knows an albatross when he sees one.
The context and the substance of this story are heart-wrenching, but Cianfrance sometimes relies too heavily on our “mirror” neurons — watching people cry continually for two hours becomes more numbing (or grating) than moving. And the characters become frustrating, despite the performances. Playing into this is the economic film language Cianfrance employs to swiftly carry the story along (it’s based on a novel, so there’s much ground to cover). He uses pre-lapping dialogue, an artful montage technique in which words spoken in a new scene are heard before the film has cut from the preceding one.
This allows Cianfrance to convey the characters' thoughts while making room for more quick, soundless moments to add texture to the story. For the first two acts of The Light Between Oceans, the technique is seamless and mastered (his longtime editors Jim Helton and Ron Patane deserve much credit for their work). But toward the end, I found myself begging for a break, for just one lengthy scene where no women had wet eyes to round it all out.
As with any brazenly romantic and tearful film, there are clichés: Women are carried and prostrate more often than they are walking, and men are always hugging their pregnant women from behind while the female is washing dishes or cooking. But the sense of authenticity that marks The Light Between Oceans at its best has everything to do with the acting — and if all Cianfrance ever gives us is that, it’s worth the price of his lagging third act. | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/film/powered-by-strong-performances-the-light-between-oceans-could-fill-a-sea-with-tears-8589970 | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/458d86608d3c8ee78f55194a2ab5709d801f349762122f63d88aa111fc75b54e.json |
[
"Alan Scherstuhl"
] | 2016-08-31T14:50:27 | null | 2016-08-31T07:00:00 | Howards End remains an enticing, elegant pleasure, alive with light and talk. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Ffilm%2Fdont-miss-a-visit-to-howards-end-a-film-that-remains-the-best-of-its-kind-8588774.json | http://images1.laweekly.com/imager/u/original/7279380/howards-ends-1-credit-cohen_media_group.jpg | en | null | Don't Miss a Visit to Howards End, a Film That Remains the Best of Its Kind | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | EXPAND Courtesy of Cohen Media Group
Like the rambling fixer-upper at its heart, Merchant Ivory's Howards End has aged quite well, and not just because of the brightened-up 4K restoration from Cohen Media Group. It's brisk and funny, prim but open-minded, testy about pomposity even as it exemplifies what once was the most pompous of all movie genres. (Who would have thought that superhero films, now so groaningly self-important, would in this regard surpass Brit-lit adaptations?) This unabashedly middlebrow costume drama might stand now as a more impressive achievement than when it first racked up raves and awards in '92. That's partly due to the way the studios have decayed in the years since. When is the last time that Hollywood assembled a cast this strong to act out a story this adult and this thoughtful, then staged and shot it with such urgent confidence? And good lord, behold all those sumptuous early ‘90s curls!
For all its class-studies seriousness and third-act melodramatics, the film — the third E.M. Forster adaptation from director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant — is first of all a charmer. The sublime epigrammatic chatter of its heroines (“One wouldn't want to keep bumping into Wilcoxes!”) is an unpoisoned precedent for Love & Friendship's Lady Susan, and somehow, back at the dawn of the first Clinton era, the thought of two progressive sisters being the center of a top-shelf awards-season prestige picture didn't seem like a brave step forward, as it might today. Neither did the moment when Helena Bonham Carter's Helen, a brilliantly unreasonable young woman who comes to take each of the world's injustices personally, shuts down Anthony Hopkins' stuffed-shirt patriarch just as his mansplaining starts. “Word of advice,” his Henry Wilcox says, more toward her than to her, but Helen is already snapping back: “I need no word of advice!” The way her extravagant brows knit up, you'd hush, too, even if she weren’t already hauling herself out of earshot. In '92 it was possible, I guess, to expect that such stories and such moments would not continue to be Hollywood's exceptions.
Ivory only occasionally indulges in the production-value pageantry that’s so often characteristic of the genre. An early scene set in a garage has Bonham Carter and Joseph Bennett calling off their characters' love affair while posing about a gleaming antique roadster, as if some exec vowed, "If we're not giving American men nudity, we must at least give them cars." But there's little leaden or parade-like, here.
The superior first half is given over to lively incident rather than plot, with Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's script — adapted from Forster’s 1910 novel — reeling through gently comic episodes and never quite making clear just who its protagonist is until the second act. First, in the country, a middle-class young woman (Bonham Carter) falls for the scion of the Wilcoxes, a haughty, somewhat constipated land-owning family, the sort of swells who always look as if they smell a stink people poorer than them can't. Then, a little embarrassed, Bonham Carter's Helen just calls the whole thing off. Months later, in London, she accidentally makes off with a broke clerk's umbrella, which results in much amusing to-do, and the clerk — Leonard Bast (Samuel West) — demurs an invitation to tea after being “swamped by screaming women.”
These are the Schlegels, played by Emma Thompson — the elder sister, and the one who wryly speaks that swamped line — and Bonham Carter. Thompson's Margaret stars in the next vignette, a tender idyll: When the Wilcoxes move into London for the season, occupying a flat just across the way, Margaret strikes up a surprising friendship with Ruth (Vanessa Redgrave), the family's ailing grand dame and the wife of Hopkins' Henry, representing in Forster's scheme an idea of how women used to be before the minor liberations of the Edwardian age. Margaret slows her talk down when alone with Ruth, but she never tempers herself — and she's much too nice to object when Ruth admits, at a lively luncheon, “I am only too thankful not to have the vote myself.”
Redgrave's performance is a slow heartbreaker — Ruth yearns for simpler times, but only finds true kinship with someone unrelated to and unlike her. Thompson beams at Redgrave, her Margaret touched and troubled but also stirred. All Ruth's talk of domesticity — of the empty, unfashionable family home Howards End — awakens a longing in Margaret, a subtly revealed certainty that Helen's life of London lectures and discussion societies isn't all that she wants. (Thompson won an Oscar for her role.)
EXPAND Courtesy of Cohen Media Group
If you've not seen the film or read the novel, you might be jolted, several scenes after Ruth's death, at widower Henry Wilcox's awkward, out-of-nowhere marriage proposal to Margaret — and at her stunned acceptance. Rather than say yes, she tells him to write to her and backs slowly down the staircase away from him. Then, when he's gotten the wrong idea, she lets him approach and mushes her face to his for one of cinema's most strained smooches. The question of whether she loves him is never quite answered in the film, although the cautious warmth in later scenes between Thompson and Hopkins suggests that Margaret is getting more from the arrangement than wealth and stability.
Thompson is brilliant in some third-act confrontations with Hopkins, showing us how Margaret struggles to be the Schlegel she was and the Wilcox she's becoming — and how she has learned to anticipate and manage his moods and upper-class prejudices. She reveals, with the faintest hint of desperation, what Margaret has lost, but also that she hasn't sacrificed her strength, conviction, or even her independence.
Helen, meanwhile, evolves offscreen, mostly, and we're not privy to her moment-to-moment thinking the way we are to Margaret's. Helen grows ever more rash and angry, lashing out at Henry in ways viewers might find satisfying. But she's stuck with the mother of all do-gooding naïf storylines, first advising that poor clerk to quit his job based on a tip from Henry, and then, when that advice proves terrible, dragging the clerk (and the older woman, played by Nicola Duffett, whom he charitably passes off as his wife) around England with her as she demands that Henry, soon to be her brother-in-law, make some kind of amends.
Just like real-life poor folks, Bast and his lady friend are not doing better than they were in '92. An early scene between them is straight-up terrible: She's the kind of fallen woman who, 30 years before Forster was writing, Victorian novelists would have packed off to Australia. In her first appearance, she tries to entice Leonard to bed with her, but the romantic young man — smitten with Helen, whom he just met via the umbrella imbroglio — insists on reading instead, as he's committed to improving herself. Eventually she prevails, but Ivory plays this capitulation as somehow tragic. One of the story’s most moving aspects is Margaret's ahead-of-her-time understanding that a sexual history doesn't damn a person. The most dated — and disappointing — failing of this Howards End is that every coupling it depicts or alludes to seems to strike the filmmakers as evidence of weakness rather than passion.
Still, though: The film remains an enticing, elegant pleasure, alive with light and talk. A recurring image throughout it is that of a lonely person gazing through a window, inside or out, at people on the other side enjoying fellowship and warmth — that's what watching this often feels like, especially in those rich, loose early episodes. | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/film/dont-miss-a-visit-to-howards-end-a-film-that-remains-the-best-of-its-kind-8588774 | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/e9f62fd8585d075500da643f8a054638e8fb5b98c1ee7e23869bab327dff6e07.json |
[
"Melissa Fossum"
] | 2016-08-29T12:49:57 | null | 2016-08-29T04:45:00 | They're the best, OK? The very best, high-energy songs about a high-energy drug. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Fmusic%2Fthe-10-best-songs-about-cocaine-6607659.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8595986/cocaine.jpg | en | null | The 10 Best Songs About Cocaine | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | Disclaimer: I've never actually snorted cocaine, so I'm going to assume that Chuck Klosterman's description of it in Killing Yourself to Live is accurate: "It makes you feel like you're walking down the street—minding your own business—and the smartest, most attractive person you've ever met suddenly jumps out from behind a bush and gives you a compliment."
On the flipside: "Cocaine culture contains the worst of everything: the worst conversations, the worst friendships, and the worst kind of unspeakable joy." I could quote some more, but you really should just buy the book and read it yourself.
So, without further adieu, here are 10 songs about cocaine.
Eric Clapton- Cocaine
Admit it, when you saw that we were posting a list about cocaine, this chorus immediately popped into your head. I'll give credit where credit is due and point out that the song was originally written by JJ Cale, and believe it or not, it's an anti-cocaine song.
If you wanna get down, down on the ground, cocaine.
The Rolling Stones- Can't You Hear Me Knockin'
Most of Sticky Fingers is about drug use and it's arguably some of The Stones' greatest work. Coincidence? I think not.
Yeah, you got satin shoes Yeah, you got plastic boots Yall got cocaine eyes Yeah, you got speed-freak jive
Guns 'n Roses- My Michelle
Appetite for Destruction has a similar story to Sticky Fingers. "My Michelle" was written about a friend of the band who has since cleaned up her act, but had quite the, umm...interesting life in the '80s.
So you stay out late at night And you do your coke for free Drivin' your friends crazy With your life's insanity
Buckcherry- Lit Up
Drinking game: take a shot every time Josh Todd says "cocaine" in this video. On second thought, please don't. We don't want to encourage black-outs.
And yes I'm all, lit up again, flying I love the cocaine, I love the cocaine
Black Sabbath- Snowblind
Just look at Ozzy in this video.
Feeling happy in my vein Icicles are in my brain (cocaine)
Johnny Cash- Cocaine Blues
Here's The Man in Black singing about cocaine in Folsom freakin' Prison. Does it get any cooler than that? I didn't think so.
Got up next mornin' and I grabbed that gun Took a shot of cocaine and away I run Made a good run but I run too slow They overtook me down in Juarez Mexico.
Reverend Horton Heat- Bales of Cocaine
This song gives farmers hope that a low flying plane will dump some blow on their property.
So I loaded up them bales in my pick-em-up truck, Headed west for Dallas, where I would try my luck I didn't have a notion if I could sell 'em there, But, thirty minutes later, I was a millionaire...
Interpol- Rest My Chemistry
Klosterman calls Interpol a "semi-shitty" Brooklyn band, but they do have some experiences with coke, including some pretty awful withdrawals.
I haven't slept for two days I've bathed in nothing but sweat And I've made hallways scenes for things to regret.
Grandmaster Flash- White Lines
Apparently cocaine is super addictive, so if you're considering doing a line, take some advice from Melle Mel (and maybe dance instead).
My white lines go a long way Either up your nose or through your vein / With nothin' to gain except killin' your brain
Choking Victim- Crack Rock Steady
There are plenty of songs about cocaine, but what about crack? Apparently being high on crack makes people want to kill cops.
Crack Rock Steady! Are you ready to stop the rotten blue menace? Let's go kill us a cop.
Editor's Note: This story originally published on August 3, 2012, and was updated for publication on August 20, 2016. | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/the-10-best-songs-about-cocaine-6607659 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/5df83f8d13d80b907587c155be203240bfaf1b1406847dd15e69d2a6ebfad291.json |
[
"Lauren Saria"
] | 2016-08-26T14:49:32 | null | 2016-08-26T06:00:00 | By mid-October, owners Chris and Laura Hove hope to open a third Valley location of Perfect Pear Bistro, a concept the couple first launched in 2013 in... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoenixnewtimes.com%2Frestaurants%2Fperfect-pear-bistro-to-open-third-location-in-tempe-8586196.json | http://images1.phoenixnewtimes.com/imager/u/original/8586198/perfect-pear-hummusnachos-ecarpenter.jpg | en | null | Perfect Pear Bistro to Open Third Location in Tempe | null | null | www.phoenixnewtimes.com | Just don't knock the hummus nachos at Perfect Pear Bistro until you've tried them. Evie Carpenter
It's been months since The Revival closed its doors at 603 West University Drive in Tempe after a dramatic but short-lived stint that involved a whirlwind remodel, a menu overhaul, and eventually, the departure of the restaurant's chef. The building, which formerly housed the well-loved Mexican restaurant Mucho Gusto, has since sat empty on the south side of University Drive just west of Mill Avenue.
Soon, however, husband-and-wife team Chris and Laura Hove will bring a new restaurant to the space. By mid-October, they to open a third Valley location of Perfect Pear Bistro, a concept the couple first launched in 2013 in Ahwatukee.
In addition to the original location at Desert Foothills Parkway and Chandler Boulevard in Ahwatukee, the couple also opened a second location in Tempe at 9845 South Priest Drive, on the northeast corner of Priest and Ray Road.
The restaurant "puts a modern American twist on comfort" with a menu that includes quesadillas, salads, wraps, sandwiches, tacos, and pasta. Diners can also expect a rotating list of craft beers, wines, and specialty cocktails at the restaurant, which will serve breakfast, lunch, dinner, and happy hour.
Perfect Pear Bistro is currently hiring servers, hostesses, cooks, and dishwashers. Applicants can apply in person at either of the restaurant's locations.
For more information, check the Perfect Pear Bistro website. | http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/restaurants/perfect-pear-bistro-to-open-third-location-in-tempe-8586196 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.phoenixnewtimes.com/9bf9a463537ebd209f040188dbffffb56390863c04d9cbf65dbc899283ae3041.json |
[
"Bianca Phillips",
"Aug.",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Louis Goggans",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:00:05 | null | 2016-08-24T16:46:00 | Each week, the Flyer will feature adoptable dogs and cats from Memphis Animal Services. All photos are credited to Memphis Pets Alive. More pictures can... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FNewsBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2Fpets-of-the-week.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4867447/screen_shot_2016-08-24_at_4.40.00_pm.png | en | null | Pets of the Week | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge
Each week, thewill feature adoptable dogs and cats from Memphis Animal Services. All photos are credited to Memphis Pets Alive. More pictures can be found on the Memphis Pets Alive Facebook page.
[slideshow-1] | http://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2016/08/24/pets-of-the-week | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/1b30197491eed1977dbc6f0e1325c4bd2b2427ab61839966bf620d5336776278.json |
[
"Jackson Baker",
"Aug.",
"Jul.",
"John Branston",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-30T06:50:57 | null | 2015-08-14T11:59:00 | Fifth wheel in Monday night’s TV debate concedes she’s not a “Great Debater” but says her record is better than it seems and hints at “inevitable” victory. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FJacksonBaker%2Farchives%2F2015%2F08%2F14%2Fmayoral-candidate-sharon-webbs-trump-card-divine-intervention%2F.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4096712/sharon_webb_3.jpg | en | null | Mayoral Candidate Sharon Webb’s Trump Card: “Divine Intervention” | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | l
Mayoral candidate Sharon Webb
I AM Sharon A. Webb, Candidate for the Office of Mayor. The qualifications for Mayor are as follows: at least 30 years of age, is citizen of United States and of good moral character, a resident of Memphis for at least five years preceding his or her election, at the time of his election and qualification does not hold any other office under the City of Memphis, County of Shelby, or State of Tennessee, is not indirectly interested in any contract with the City and is current on his or her taxes. It does not say you have to have experience in the Political Arena even though I do. While employed by the United States Postal Service, I excelled in every position I held.
I received numerous accolades, awards and recognition, even to being elected the first female President of the Nation Association of Postal Supervisors for two terms; Building Christ the Rock Christian Academy from a small Church School to Accreditation through Oral Roberts University, from 70 student to over 250 students with a waiting list in each grade level, budget increased from $100,000 to over $1,000,000 a year. Those children excelled in education and are excelling today. I also established Campbell's Learning Academy for pre-school children. While, on the School Board, I received Ambassador of the Year Award from TSBA. That means I did more work, attended more meeting and activities than any other School Board Member in the state of Tennessee.
It appeared that I did or said nothing. When in actuality, there was a meeting before the regular scheduled Board meetings where questions were asked, information requested and the likes to ensure the regular meeting could move expeditiously. Many Board members did not attend those meetings. When the regular meeting was held they had questions and concerns that could have been addressed in the first meeting that they missed, but it appeared to the public that they were so involved and concerned. It was politics.
I AM not the Great Debater nor Am I the Great Pretender. However, I do have a track record that proves I get the job done. It takes GREAT courage to stand and run for such an office.
I AM the people's candidate. I Am for the people. I AM ready to EMPOWER YOU to help.
It is Divine Intervention that will turn Memphis around. Nothing or no one will hinder or thwart what is the inevitable.
We are not making any of this up: Undismayed by generally negative reviews of her performance in last Monday night’s mayoral debate, televised on WMC-TV, Action News 5, former School Board member Sharon Webb — who, insofar as she was reviewed at all, was portrayed as an out-of-her-element fifth wheel in the five-way debate — played her campaign’s trump card in a statement released Friday.“It is Divine Intervention that will turn Memphis around,” Webb (who is a pastor and always identifies herself as one) said. Further: “Nothing or no one will hinder or thwart what is the inevitable.”Webb’s statement, reproduced in full below, acknowledges that she is “not the Great Debater.” But she contends that, despite having drawn blank after blank in responding to panelists’ questions in the TV debate, “I do have a track record that proves I get the job done.”She makes the point that what many people might say or remember about her record in her one elective office as a Memphis School Board member could be misleading:“It appeared that I did or said nothing. When in actuality, there was a meeting before the regular scheduled Board meetings where questions were asked, information requested and the likes to ensure the regular meeting could move expeditiously. Many Board members did not attend those meetings. When the regular meeting was held they had questions and concerns that could have been addressed in the first meeting that they missed, but it appeared to the public that they were so involved and concerned. It was politics.”Here’s Webb’s entire statement, which was sent out in tandem with new campaign photograph (seen above): | http://www.memphisflyer.com/JacksonBaker/archives/2015/08/14/mayoral-candidate-sharon-webbs-trump-card-divine-intervention/ | en | 2015-08-14T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/cc81976f33e20938380dca5f1e6a5250021b4d3f4526ef07145e0c2c1c760314.json |
[
"Bianca Phillips",
"Aug.",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-30T18:49:09 | null | 2016-08-30T12:33:00 | The Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center (MGLCC) has changed its name to OUTMemphis in an effort to be more inclusive of the entire gay,... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FMemphisGaydar%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2Foutmemphis-is-new-name-for-mglcc.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4881473/unnamed.jpg | en | null | OUTMemphis is New Name for MGLCC | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge
We have known for a while that our name did not reflect our full identity — as individuals, as an agency, or as a community. So we set about to change it. No combination of letters describing our individual identities could do full justice to our diversity; no acronym would encompass every way in which we define and describe ourselves. So rather than focus primarily on our individual identities, we chose a name that would express our vision, our mission, our hopes, and our dreams of a living in a world that respects all LGBTQ people. Thus we have become OUTMemphis: The LGBTQ Center for the Mid-South.
Regardless of how we identify as individuals, we all seek a world where we can live openly, honestly and authentically. We desire a community that celebrates and respects us fully as parts of the whole. A community that respects US, and not a caricature or incomplete identity we put on simply to live in peace. We each deserve to live as openly as WE choose to be. We expect the freedom to be open about who we are and about whom we love. We deserve to be OUT, as OUT as we choose to be. Working to make that vision a reality is what we do every day at — in dozens of ways, in hundreds of settings, and for thousands of clients and allies each year.
Just as our new name highlights our vision of a better world, our new image reflects our mission. The rainbow illustrates the diversity, passion, and POWER of our people, interlocked and CONNECTED through a central hub, working to EDUCATE ourselves and others about the LGBTQ experience, and turning that knowledge into ADVOCACY that demands equality and safety for all of us wherever we are. We do not imagine ourselves the only place where this happens. However, as the only center like us for several hundred miles in every direction, we have a special responsibility to serve as many people as we can, as best as we can, and in as many ways as we can.
Our movement — the LGBTQ struggle for full equality and inclusion — has made too many advances to accept retreat. We understand that not every person can be out and fully honest. We know that right now we live in a world where the costs of being out can be too high to bear for some people. As an agency and as a movement, even with that understanding, we can no longer accept being silent, being hidden, or being in the closet. Someday in the future, there may be no need for coming out, because there is no "in." Until that day, we will continue to fight, to educate, to support, and to stand proud. Open, authentic, and OUT.
The Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center (MGLCC) has changed its name to OUTMemphis in an effort to be more inclusive of the entire gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer community.OUTMemphis was established as the MGLCC more than 27 years ago, and although the center has served the entire community through its programs, the original name didn't include a mention of the bi, trans, and queer communities that may not identify as gay or lesbian. The center began considering a name change eight years ago as it began adding paid staff and expanding its services."Changing our name reflects our efforts to be more responsive to and inclusive of all LGBTQ people in Memphis and the surrounding areas," says Will Batts, OUTMemphis Executive Director, in a press release. "Our new name mirrors the change this organization began eight years ago. It honors the diversity of our board, our staff, our volunteers, our visitors, and our services."OUTMemphis' programs range from support networks, social activities (like potlucks), HIV testing, and workshops to educate the wider public about LGBTQ issues. OUTMemphis is also working to launch a project that will house homeless LGBTQ teens.Here's a statement from OUTMemphis' press release on the name change: | http://www.memphisflyer.com/MemphisGaydar/archives/2016/08/30/outmemphis-is-new-name-for-mglcc | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/94179f0e58b6d1fd0ae567c87338e5e6cfe26b4fd2baa0c8c3aa32b5c96fc25c.json |
[
"Chris Mccoy",
"Aug.",
"Chris Davis",
"Cynthia Joyce",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-29T18:48:57 | null | 2016-08-29T12:28:00 | Today's Music Video Monday is pretty heavy. Memphis polymath Lawrence Matthews' work spans many media. He's a visual artist who works in paint, print, and... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FFilmTVEtcBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Fmusic-video-monday-don-lifted.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4878959/donlifted1.png | en | null | Music Video Monday: Don Lifted | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge
Today's Music Video Monday is pretty heavy.Memphis polymath Lawrence Matthews' work spans many media. He's a visual artist who works in paint, print, and installations, and, as Don Lifted , he's also one of Memphis most formidable hip hop talents. Today is the world premiere of his new music video for the song "Harbor Hall", the first single from his upcoming albumWith tense, compelling cinematography by Justin Thompson, the video tells a chilling story of a man facing his life's hardest decision.If you would like to see your video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com | http://www.memphisflyer.com/FilmTVEtcBlog/archives/2016/08/29/music-video-monday-don-lifted | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/c8c5423dd1e0200c4e875e6390550d04b9afdfb6323a03a6d8cbce6d7f895ff2.json |
[
"Bruce Vanwyngarden",
"Aug.",
"Jul.",
"Chris Mccoy",
"Chris Davis",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Warren Hines",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:01:37 | null | 2016-08-25T04:02:00 | Unlike Bill Clinton, I've inhaled. So have 49 percent of all Americans, according to a recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Marijuana (medical or otherwise) has been decriminalized or legalized in 23 states, and measures are on the ballot to legalize it in five more states this November, including Arizona, Nevada, Massachusetts, Maine, and California (where medical pot is already legal). A recent Gallup poll found that 53 percent of Americans think pot should be legalized and regulated like alcohol ... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Fcommon-sense-pot-policy%2FContent%3Foid%3D4864166.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4864165/toc_dreamstime_xxl_18924085-teaser.jpg | en | null | Common Sense Pot Policy | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | Unlike Bill Clinton, I've inhaled. So have 49 percent of all Americans, according to a recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Marijuana (medical or otherwise) has been decriminalized or legalized in 23 states, and measures are on the ballot to legalize it in five more states this November, including Arizona, Nevada, Massachusetts, Maine, and California (where medical pot is already legal). A recent Gallup poll found that 53 percent of Americans think pot should be legalized and regulated like alcohol.
There's a legal doobie in your state's future, dude. It's a matter of when, not if.
City Councilman Berlin Boyd proposed an ordinance in council committee Tuesday that would allow Memphis police officers to charge people found in possession of less than a half-ounce (14.2 grams) of weed with a civil penalty of $50 and the possibility of performing community service. The Nashville Metro Council is also considering such a measure.
This is a good idea. Drug arrests for small amounts of marijuana clog our judicial system, tie up public defenders and police officers, and result in criminal records and jail time for what is essentially a victimless crime. A disproportionate number of those charged with this crime are young and black.
Boyd's proposal isn't exactly cutting-edge thinking. In Mississippi, for example, possession of 30 grams of pot or less has been a misdemeanor since 1978. The Magnolia State has also legalized medical marijuana on a limited basis. Let that sink in: Mississippi has a more enlightened marijuana policy than we do.
It shouldn't be surprising that public opinion has swung in this direction. Pot use has become normalized since the 1960s, when it first became widespread among the youth culture. In fact, nearly three-fourths of Americans, according to a 2014 CNN/ORC survey, are now of the opinion that pot is less harmful than alcohol and cigarettes. Increasingly, states are realizing that there is money to be made in regulating the sale of marijuana, much as they do alcohol and tobacco, and policy follows the money.
Boyd's ordinance makes a lot of sense for numerous reasons, not the least of which is that it recognizes the reality of public opinion and the resultant change that's sweeping our country's pot laws.
In Tuesday's committee hearing, the proposed ordinance was opposed by Memphis Police Director Mike Rallings, a representative of the Memphis Fire Department, and several city council members. Some of these opponents conflated marijuana use with harder drugs, and cited pot as a gateway drug, a theory that has been thoroughly debunked. The council committee ultimately voted to send Boyd's ordinance to the full council for consideration. I hope they will pass it, but even if they do, the issue sorely needs to be taken up at the state level. Tennessee's pot laws need to be modified to reflect the current reality: Legalized marijuana is going to happen at some point.
Many years ago, I sat through a parent drug-education class at one of my children's high schools where a counselor gravely warned us that most heroin users had smoked marijuana. I suspect most of the baby-boomer parents in that room had smoked pot in their youth and were probably thinking the same thing I was: Yes, and those heroin users had probably drunk alcohol and smoked cigarettes, too. And almost certainly they had eaten cheeseburgers. All were potential gateway substances in this reductive-reasoning scenario.
Half of the American population has smoked pot. If that habit really led to heroin addiction, we'd be in serious trouble — and states wouldn't be legalizing weed, one after the other.
It's well past time for Memphis — and the state of Tennessee — to get real about pot. It's time to catch up to Mississippi. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/common-sense-pot-policy/Content?oid=4864166 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/e1685a032a66ab8aa735e4e8d59b3b091b66c1e1c04816bad4df85fe4ea2fe7c.json |
[
"Aug.",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-31T12:51:28 | null | 2016-08-30T09:54:00 | Tennessee tourism shattered records in 2015 with visitors here spending more than $18 billion, up 3.7 percent over 2014. State government officials announced the record... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FNewsBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2Fstate-tourism-breaks-spending-record%2F.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4881120/beale-street-today.jpg | en | null | State Tourism Breaks Spending Record | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | Beale Street is Tennessee's top tourist destination.
Tennessee tourism shattered records in 2015 with visitors here spending more than $18 billion, up 3.7 percent over 2014.State government officials announced the record in a news conference Tuesday morning at the Sevier County Courthouse near the iconic Dolly Parton statue.Tourism has topped $1 billion in state and local sales taxes for the last 10 years, officials said. Revenue last year was $1.6 billion, up $1.6 billion. Tourism jobs increased 2.9 percent for a total of 157,400. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2016/08/30/state-tourism-breaks-spending-record/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/db30e43c4d5696e9c1b76347e27d804a975c451ab5b73f9829ec398d98122a06.json |
[
"Bianca Phillips",
"Aug.",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-27T22:50:23 | null | 2014-11-17T13:37:00 | John Smid, the former director of Memphis-based ex-gay ministry Love In Action, has announced his marriage to partner Larry McQueen. The two married in Oklahoma... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FMemphisGaydar%2Farchives%2F2014%2F11%2F17%2Fformer-ex-gay-leader-marries-his-same-sex-partner%2F.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/former-love-in-action-leader-marries-his-s/u/slideshow/3781951/1416252998-screen_shot_2014-11-17_at_1.36.09_pm.png | en | null | Former Love In Action Leader Marries His Same-Sex Partner | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | John Smid, the former director of Memphis-based ex-gay ministry Love In Action, has announced his marriage to partner Larry McQueen. The two married in Oklahoma on Sunday, November 16th.
Smid has been living as an out gay man for several years now, and he's been in a relationship with McQueen for one year. Gay marriage just became legal in Oklahoma last month. The couple live in Paris, Texas, where Smid moved from his Memphis home in the summer of 2013.
Smid's journey from ex-gay leader to happily out gay man has been a long one. He was promoted to the role of executive director of Love in Action in September 1990, and in 1994, the organization moved its ministry to Memphis. Love in Action operated here quietly until 2005, when protests over a youth "straight" camp called Refuge sparked a national media firestorm.
In early June 2005, Zach Stark, a White Station High School student, posted these words on his MySpace page: "Today, my mother, father, and I had a very long 'talk' in my room, where they let me know I am to apply for a fundamentalist Christian program for gays."
That fundamentalist program, described by Stark in a later post as a "boot camp," was Refuge, a two-week day camp where gay kids were taught how to become straight kids. After Stark's MySpace post, local LGBT equality advocates held a week of protests outside Love In Action, and the Memphis ministry made national headlines, including a story in The New York Times.
Love In Action eventually discontinued the Refuge program and moved to an adults-only conversion therapy model. All the while, Smid was struggling with his own beliefs. During the week of protests in 2005, Smid met Memphis filmmaker Morgan Jon Fox, who was working on a documentary about Love In Action. Smid told the Flyer in a previous interview that it was Fox's influence that helped open his eyes to the fact that conversion therapy was doing more harm than good.
"As we got together, we were willing to lay aside our agenda and get to know one another as people," Smid said of Fox. "That was very instrumental in my processing where I am today."
Smid eventually resigned as director of Love In Action in 2008, and he founded Grace Rivers, a monthly fellowship for gay Christians. At the time, he remained married to his wife. But they eventually divorced in 2011. Earlier this year, Smid told The Lone Star Q, a Texas LGBT news organization, that he couldn't continue living the rest of his life in a marriage that didn't feel right.
"I’ve believed in faith that something was going to happen, and it never did, and so at my age, right now in my life, I don’t have that many good years left in me, and I can’t live like this for the rest of my life, so I said no I’m not willing to keep pushing after something that’s not going to happen," Smid told The Lone Star Q, regarding his divorce.
Smid met McQueen three years ago, but they were just "acquaintances with common friends," wrote Smid in his Facebook announcement of their marriage Sunday.
"I gradually got to know him over time until we reached a place in our lives that we saw we wanted to get to know one another through a dating relationship. As we dated we shared our vision for life, our personal philosophies, and our faith values. We found a compatibility that was comfortable and exciting," Smid said.
He went on to say, "I realized this week that my relationship with Larry is a mirror I see in every day. For most of my life, the mirror I saw reflected my mistakes, shortcomings, and failures. The reflection I see today with Larry shows me the positive things in my life, my strengths, gifts, and talents. I see how I can succeed at a mutual intimate and loving relationship. For this, I am truly grateful." | http://www.memphisflyer.com/MemphisGaydar/archives/2014/11/17/former-ex-gay-leader-marries-his-same-sex-partner/ | en | 2014-11-17T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/7771d1166dd5374b83589871df556bc9481a068e5bed53ff8cc4ba6831cec6aa.json |
[
"Aug.",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-31T10:51:21 | null | 2016-07-22T11:45:00 | A Memphis attorney under investigation by the Veteran's Adminstration (VA) for mishandling veterans' finances has been disbarred, though the record of the event has been... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FNewsBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F07%2F22%2Fmemphis-attorney-disbarred-for-mishandling-veterans-money%2F.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4787509/homeslide2.jpeg | en | null | Memphis Attorney Disbarred for Mishandling Veterans' Money | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge
"Mr. Dobbs consented to disbarment because he could not successfully defend himself on charges made against him with the Board of Professional Responsibility alleging that he violated Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct," reads a statement from the Supreme Court's board.
However, a court rule "requires that Mr. Dobbs' consent to disbarment be
maintained
under seal."
A Memphis attorney under investigation by the Veteran's Adminstration (VA) for mishandling veterans' finances has been disbarred, though the record of the event has been sealed.Keith Lamonte Hobbs was the financial guardian to several veterans in the area. He came under investigation by the VA for allegedly bilking money from those veterans.The Tennessee Supreme Court's Office of Professional Responsibility suspended Hobbs' license in February. The office announced Friday it had disbarred Dobbs on Thursday. Hobbs must pay the board's costs, expenses, and court costs for his hearing within 90 days. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2016/07/22/memphis-attorney-disbarred-for-mishandling-veterans-money/ | en | 2016-07-22T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/67ca9e58af913d9f779d2dfa71121b56e446255f323ed496a6e347098f61ede9.json |
[
"Aug.",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Michael Finger",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:02:57 | null | 2016-08-24T14:35:00 | An bike and pedestrian trail will soon be paved and finished to more easily connect the Shelby Farms Greenline with the Agricenter Farmer’s Market thanks... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FNewsBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2Fnew-trail-to-connect-greenline-agricenter-farmers-market.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4867030/bollards2.jpg | en | null | New Trail to Connect Greenline, Agricenter Farmer's Market | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | An bike and pedestrian trail will soon be paved and finished to more easily connect the Shelby Farms Greenline with the Agricenter Farmer’s Market thanks some new funds from the Shelby County Commission.
click to enlarge
click to enlarge | http://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2016/08/24/new-trail-to-connect-greenline-agricenter-farmers-market | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/0cee48b3cc5a84faf93fe6a00283dac7953263e299fe7cd236e5da842ccf84f6.json |
[
"Jackson Baker",
"Richard Alley",
"Chris Mccoy",
"Memphis Flyer Staff",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Flyer Staff",
"Chris Davis",
"Joshua Cannon"
] | 2016-08-27T22:50:21 | null | 2015-06-18T04:02:00 | My obituary was going to read something like this: "Village idiot Toby Sells died today in a totally unnecessary paddling trip down the Mississippi River. Sells... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Fembracing-the-big-muddy%2FContent%3Foid%3D3963218%26show%3Dcomments.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/3964892/coverstory-teaser.jpg | en | null | Embracing the Big Muddy | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | null | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/embracing-the-big-muddy/Content?oid=3963218&show=comments | en | 2015-06-18T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/ff3c1952d1168ea22b1b04a69467e86d155f5411446ebb4c1f1cd198f9ae7c74.json |
[
"Aug.",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Flyer Staff",
"Michael Finger"
] | 2016-08-26T18:49:58 | null | 2016-08-26T13:42:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FNewsBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2Finfographic-hand-gun-permits-in-shelby-county.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4872883/screen_shot_2016-08-26_at_1.43.00_pm.png | en | null | Infographic: Hand Gun Permits in Shelby County | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | null | http://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2016/08/26/infographic-hand-gun-permits-in-shelby-county | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/7b4ffb81a2a05db7f57bb53c7ffa4c38e41437f82b25221a9fd51f8302b38226.json |
[
"Bianca Phillips",
"Aug.",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-30T00:50:54 | null | 2016-07-21T08:25:00 | A federal civil rights investigation into Shelby County Schools' (SCS) treatment of immigrant children has been launched by the U.S. Department of Education's Office for... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FNewsBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F07%2F21%2Fshelby-county-schools-under-federal-civil-rights-investigation%2F.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4784711/screen_shot_2016-07-21_at_8.24.25_am.png | en | null | Shelby County Schools Under Federal Civil Rights Investigation | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge
A federal civil rights investigation into Shelby County Schools' (SCS) treatment of immigrant children has been launched by the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.The alleged bias is related to how SCS placed migrant children from Central America. A complaint filed in February by the Exchange Club Family Center alleged that those children were blocked from attending traditional Memphis high schools and were instead placed into an English language program at the now-defunct Messick Adult Center.The Exchange Club's complaint expressed concern about the limited hours of that English program, as well as its lack of structure. The complaint also said that many of those children would prefer to attend a traditional high school.In May, an Associated Press investigation found that Shelby County Schools was one of at least 35 districts in 14 states where unaccompanied minors from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras had been placed into alternative language programs rather than traditional high schools.When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for SCS simply replied, "It is our practice not to comment on the existence/nonexistence of any inquiry from the Office of Civil Rights." | http://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2016/07/21/shelby-county-schools-under-federal-civil-rights-investigation/ | en | 2016-07-21T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/387805817e9a3be4026c8966586e9e3c022cebc591d01ee9ea4d7344ecd99af3.json |
[
"Flyer Staff",
"Aug.",
"Jul.",
"Chris Shaw",
"Chris Mccoy",
"Chris Davis",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Warren Hines",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Martha Park"
] | 2016-08-26T12:50:38 | null | 2016-08-25T04:00:00 | The world we live in today is kind of a bummer. There's a terrorist attack somewhere around the globe nearly every day. Racism, classism, sexism,... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Fbad-behavior%2FContent%3Foid%3D4864177.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4864173/cover_memphisflyervic_devilkanyna_p3a4634-teaser.jpg | en | null | Bad Behavior | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | The world we live in today is kind of a bummer. There's a terrorist attack somewhere around the globe nearly every day. Racism, classism, sexism, and homophobia run rampant, and Donald Trump is actually running for president. Our Facebook feeds have become a bitter war zone and a hub for narcissism and low self-esteem.
We could probably all use an escape. And how better to toss your cares aside and forget the wicked ways of the world for a few hours than with a little sex, drugs, and booze? And heck, while you're at it, you might as well blow stuff up with guns, too.
The Flyer editorial team spent an evening getting into all sorts of trouble as we wiped our cares away. Editor Bruce VanWyngarden escaped into the river bottoms to shoot guns at all sorts of inanimate objects. Music editor Chris Shaw drank at local bars until the sun came up (or, at least, he thinks he did). Associate editor Bianca Phillips visited a strip club, and intern Joshua Cannon caught a flick at the Paris Adult Entertainment Center. An anonymous writer, identified here as Mr. X, spent an afternoon getting blitzed with his pot dealer.
After it was all over, Facebook was still at war, and the world still sucked. But at least we had fun. — Bianca Phillips
Guns 'n' Stuff
This cover story is about "bad behavior," and, on the surface, there's nothing intrinsically "bad" about shooting guns, unless it involves criminal activity of some sort. But there is no denying that something visceral is unleashed — something that sparks a surge of dopamine — when you fire a gun and watch the load hit an inanimate object, say a 64-ounce plastic Mountain Dew bottle.
Woody Allen was once asked if sex was dirty. "It is if you're doing it right," he replied. Same with guns. It goes back to my childhood. I grew up in a small country town. Plunking stuff with a gun out in the boonies is in my DNA. Now and then, I get the urge to relive my youth, and I've found a perfect spot to do it.
I won't tell you where it is, exactly, but I can tell you it's at the end of a dirt road in the Loosahatchie River bottoms.
There's something a little dangerous — or at least, creepy — about being there, at least in my mind. The nearby water is slough-like, green and murky — a slow backwater bend that's home to catfish and snapping turtles. Alligator gar cruise just beneath the surface like freshwater sharks, looking for something to eat. In the distance, you can hear the occasional whir of a car on the main road, but otherwise it's got the feel of a swamp, quiet and filled with mystery.
You get the feeling people come here to do secret things, bad things.
Like dumping their trash.
Yes, sadly, this quiet, dead-end back road is one of those places that locals have decided is a good spot to leave their leftover building materials, bottles and cans, tires, and old furniture, etc. There are piles of junk everywhere. It's disgusting and a crime against nature, the kind of thing that makes you ask: What the hell is wrong with people?
But, once you get past that, you begin to see it for what it is: a target-rich environment, and a great place to conduct Mythbusters-type experiments, such as: What happens when you fire a load of birdshot into drywall from 50 feet? How does a radial tire react when struck by a .22 pistol bullet? Will buckshot go through a metal garbage can lid? (Yes!) Is that old, black, pleather sofa bullet-proof? (Nope.)
It's, you know, science.
So here's my recipe for some mischief that feels good and hurts no one: Take a friend, a six-pack, a few boxes of shells, a couple of guns, and find some junk to shoot at. You're good for an hour of noisy fun. And as bad behavior goes, you could do worse, much worse. — Bruce VanWyngarden
click to enlarge
A Trip to Paris
The first rule of porn theaters: Don't address fellow patrons. But when a faceless man walked into a dark room at the Paris Adult Entertainment Center — illuminated by one flickering corner light and a crooked flatscreen television that displayed three male prisoners and one female guard mid-foursome — I broke etiquette with a square "Hi, how are you?" No response.
The size of a modest bedroom — or a windowless chamber from the mid-2000s horror film Hostel — the room smelled like stale cigarettes and was decorated with scattered folding chairs and a broken couch. The faceless man sat near the front. When he reached into his pocket, my engineered Southern hospitality led me to extend him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was checking his phone.
Despite living in a time where access to porn is at our fingertips and more or less free, and online shopping provides discreet convenience, the Paris somehow stays in business. There are two "theaters" (a generous description) and private viewing booths. A single ticket for the theater is $7, but you can see both films for $12. A private viewing booth is $6.
The building that houses the Paris Adult Entertainment Center has a storied history. Michael Cianciolo built the theater in 1939 and named it the Luciann, an ode to his daughters, Lucy and Ann. A bowling alley moved into the building in the early 1960s and remained until 1966, when it became a nightclub complete with one of the city's first lighted dance floors. Paris Adult Group purchased the building in the 1970s. Above a yellow marquee that reads "XXX," the theater's original art deco exterior still towers over Summer Avenue. Cianciolo's daughters' names, cemented with pure intentions, still remain.
Romantix — America's one-stop shop for sex toys — manages the theater. There are DVDs to please all tastes, even a bargain bin (!), sweet and sour sensual body treats for you and yours, and vibrating nipple belts. While studying objects intended for my bodily orifices, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's recent animated film Sausage Party, in which supermarket food items take on life, came to mind. How would that toy, if sentient, feel while serving its purpose? Not well, I imagine.
Perhaps exhibitionists, as well as those who keep the latest releases on their radar, still have access to exclusive content. After ducking out of the film, Marc Dorcel's Hot Nights in Prison, I googled the title to see if it could be found online for free. No luck. I went home and showered, stale cigarette smoke lingering in my nose. — Joshua Cannon
click to enlarge
Party All Night
Most of the time, when I find myself awake at 5 a.m. after a night of heavy drinking, I'll ask the familiar question, "How did I get here?" Intentionally partying all night takes some self-convincing, so when I was asked by my co-worker to go out drinking with the notion that I was going to stay out until the sun came up, I felt a little weird about it. One might even call that fleeting feeling responsibility.
That notion quickly went away after a beer and a shot in the old Le Chardonnay side of the Bayou Bar & Grill — the watering hole in Overton Square that the salmon-shorts-and-daddy's-credit-card sect haven't discovered yet. It was 9:30 p.m. Game on.
Then I went back to a friend's house so she could drop off her car, which is probably the last good decision that was made. I had another beer and another shot of tequila at her house, and then we headed to Lafayette's to see Chickasaw Mound play a free show.
I was starting to feel good, so I decided to have another shot and another beer. I was pretty sure that Lafayette's closed early (they do), so I wanted to make sure I got my money's worth. Plus, you can't really watch a band like Chickasaw Mound while you're sober.
After the show, we headed to the Blue Monkey on Madison. Things got a little weird from there.
I remember talking to a member of Lucero about Doug Easley being cool. I remember drinking a few Wiseacre Anandas and seeing my tattoo artist and his longtime girlfriend. I don't really remember much else, but at some point, I apparently decided to stroll down Madison and go to the Lamplighter. By that time, it was 2:04 in the morning. I had a beer at the Lamplighter, walked over to Zinnie's for a shot, and then there is this weird time gap where I have no idea what happened.
At 4:30 a.m. I was at Alex's Tavern putting on all of the worst music their jukebox has to offer. Y'all like the album Aja by Steely Dan? I hope so, 'cause here it comes.
I remember being really angry that an ATM wouldn't work. What kind of shit is that? At about 5 a.m. a girl sat down at the bar next to me and started talking about the bartender's cat and how he's going to give it away.
This caused me great pain. Why, I had no earthly idea. I didn't even know this cat. It could totally be an asshole. Why should I care what happens to it? A better question would probably have been, "Why am I still awake?"
I remember I suggested moving the cat to a rural area, perhaps somewhere with a barn. Everyone agreed that this was a good decision.
The sun was now coming up, and, as I rode home, I realized that my work wasn't actually paying me to get drunk as much as it was paying me to contract a blistering hangover. I had been duped. Touché. — Chris Shaw
A Night at a Strip Club
It's just past midnight on a Saturday as my boyfriend and I pull into the parking lot of the Purple Diamond — a relatively new "gentleman's club" at Sycamore View and Macon, conveniently located in the Bass Pro Shops parking lot (get your guns and girls, bruh).
"Do we have to do this?" Paul whines.
"Yes, it's for work. Now, get out of the car, and let's go see some tits," I reluctantly reply, realizing just how lame we've become in our mid-30s. We'd both rather be at home, sipping wine in our PJs and watching Stranger Things on Netflix. But work is work.
We pay $25 at the door — for both of us — and the doorman hands us four drink tickets. Each one is good for one beer, which seems like a pretty good deal, since we were only planning to have a couple beers each anyway. The night is already starting to look up.
We enter the dark bar, grab some beers, and sit in black velvet chairs close enough to the stage to see but far enough away to not have to engage with the dancers. There was a time when I'd prefer to be all up in a stripper's crotch, but those wild days are behind me. Honestly, I'm ready for my AARP card, but that's another story.
A bikini-clad woman on the mirrored stage takes the mic to introduce Sierra and says it's the woman's first time on stage. Sierra slinks out in a surprisingly tasteful halter top, thong bikini bottoms, and tall glitter heels. She works the pole with sultry skill as a woman from the audience works her way to a seat in front of the stage. The woman pulls out a bill and waves it at Sierra, who works her way down to the floor and shimmies her breasts in the woman's face as she takes the bill away.
And that's about as raunchy as it gets. Thanks to Shelby County's adoption of the Tennessee Adult-Oriented Establishment Regulation Act back in 2012, adult dancers in the county are no longer allowed to get naked. According to that law, the following is banned: "The showing of the human male or female genitals or pubic area with less than a fully opaque covering, the showing of the female breast with less than a fully opaque covering of any part of the nipple, or the showing of the covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state."
Bummer. Also, did that just say "discernibly turgid state"? Ha!
Back when I was much younger and way more fun, I occasionally found myself at the infamous (and long-shuttered) Platinum Plus, where it wasn't uncommon to see two totally nekkid ladies on stage, um, enjoying a little Egg McMuff (if you catch my drift).
What we witnessed on Saturday night is more of a glorified Hooters minus the hot wings — although the DJ was really pushing the club's 14-ounce ribeye.
Somehow, the no-nudity law hasn't kept the patrons away, though. On Saturday night, the crowd seemed unphased by the lack of nipple-age. An older man, who spent most of the evening sitting very near the stage with his mouth agape and a wide grin on his face, was clearly having a great time.
"It's like watching the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition live," Paul remarks, as a woman in an orange bikini worked the pole to Calvin Harris' "How Deep Is Your Love."
And indeed it was. While watching the dancers parade around in bikinis is nice, I must admit that I miss the old Platinum days. But seeing as how that's coming from someone who'd rather be watching Netflix, take that with a grain of salt. — Bianca Phillips
click to enlarge
The Weed Guy
The Midtown apartment's air is thick with smoke as the Weed Guy packs another bowl for the green glass bong. In Junkie, William Burroughs noted that, of all the different flavors of drug dealers, the weed guy is the only one you're expected to hang out with. Sixty-three years later, this is still true.
Burroughs thought this was annoying, but I've always liked it. It's the reason why being a stoner can feel like you're part of a secret society. And besides, says "Bob," a long-haired 20-something, who looks like he just arrived from 1973, selling to strangers can get you arrested, and you don't want a dealer who seems reckless.
Memphis has always been a good town for weed. The geographical advantages that made us America's Distribution Center work the same for the black market. Legend has it that the 1967 Country Blues Festival at the Overton Park Shell was financed by — and presumably enhanced by — the sale of a giant block of hashish.
The Weed Guy notes that, despite billions spent on the War on Drugs, weed prices in Memphis have been more or less stable for 20 years. Stoners still hang out, have loopy, but oh-so-meaningful conversations, listen to music, and munch on snack food, but now there are bongs and blunts, vapes and dabs, and the video games are so much better.
Conversation turns, as it often does these days, to the prospects of decriminalization. The mood is hopeful. The full legalization experiments in Colorado, Washington, and Oregon have been unqualified successes, raising tens of millions of tax dollars for the states, improving access and safety for the heads, and pioneering a weed culture that looks something like wine culture, with dozens of varietals of varied tastes and effects available at boutique stores.
The Weed Guy says people now understand the anti-pot rhetoric of the drug war has always been bogus. There's no question weed has therapeutic value in this crowd. "Gayle" says a doctor prescribed Xanax for her anxiety disorder, but it transformed her into a zombie. Cannabis better relieves her anxiety with few negative side effects, helping her to be a productive person.
And who can deny the contributions the lambsbread has made to music, film, and art? Louis Armstrong, Paul McCartney, Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, Rihanna — so many of our greatest musicians have been dedicated tokers. The Weed Guy abstains from alcohol, a drug he considers extremely harmful. To him, beer ads running on television, while marijuana is classified alongside heroin as a Schedule I drug, are the ultimate signs of cultural hypocrisy.
But as marijuana goes mainstream, something is being lost. Pot is no longer the countercultural signifier it used to be. The real action is in Molly, but the Weed Guy doesn't like to deal with fluff-heads. When weed is legal, we'll just go to the store. The long afternoons playing Grand Theft Auto at at the Weed Guy's house will be over.
My head feels a little spinny as the Weed Guy pulls the last tube. He clinks out the bong's bowl in an ancient, heaping ashtray. "You want me to pack another one?"
Of course we do. — Mr. X | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/bad-behavior/Content?oid=4864177 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/fbf1c2463de7da4a68d465cdea28d8d8ef123e4f9c3e287025a76a18759e558b.json |
[
"Jackson Baker",
"Aug.",
"Jul.",
"John Branston",
"Aaron James",
"Trace Sharp",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-29T22:48:59 | null | 2016-08-29T16:45:00 | Luttrell offers mild protest to measure, which will be imbedded in a referendum, presumably on the November ballot. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FJacksonBaker%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Fcounty-commission-takes-first-step-toward-power-sharing-on-hiring-and-firing-of-county-attorney.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4879500/image.jpeg | en | null | County Commission Takes First Step Toward Power-Sharing on Hiring and Firing of County Attorney | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge JB
Mayor Luttrell during debate not the power-sharing measure
For some time, various members of the Shelby County Commission have been trying to wrest a share of control over various local governmental prerogatives that have hitherto been the exclusive province of the County Mayor. Most of their efforts have concerned expanded fiscal oversight of this kind or that. But one of them falls directly into Mayor Mark Luttrell's prerogatives of appointment.This was an ordinance, sponsored by outgoing chairman Terry Roland, amending the Shelby County charter to "require the hiring appointment and dismissal process for the County Attorney to consist of a recommendation from the County Mayor with the concurrence of a resolution of the Board of County Commissioners."It would fall short of allowing the Commission to hire its own lawyer, a continuing and so far thwarted desire, but it would give the body a share of the process, one which, Roland said during debate, would tend to make the process "independent" and pave the way for further expansion of Commission wherewithal in the future.In the end, the ordinance, during its third and final reading on Monday, would gain the required 9 votes from the 13-member body, the number needed in order to qualify as a ballot referendum, presumably in November.In a brief debate on the matter, Mayor Luttrell had said he would give the ordinance "serious consideration,and did not object to submitting the matter tthe people for a vote, but made it clear he preferred that it not pass. He compared the appointment of a County Attorney to the appointment by the President of the United States of an Attorney General and said he thought the processes should be similar.Both Reaves, who wondered about the efficacy of submitting the matter to the people via a referendum, asked, "Does this really matter to Joe Blow?", and Chism, who thought the ordinance fell short of actually giving the Commission any power and was therefore somewhat pointless, voted no, as would Steve Basar who merely said he would "agree to disagree" with advocates for the measure.Commissioner Heidi Shafer, along with Roland a prime supporter of expanding the Commission's piece of the action, made it clear that the ordinance was a direct result of the long-standing quarrel over the Commission's wish to have its own attorney. "If we had our own staff, this would not need to be implemented," she said. And she added, November would be "a good time to be engaged."Luttrell reacted, somewhat obliquely, to what Shafer said (and others had implied in previous debates) by saying,"Some comments have been made regarding the Mayor's influence on relations between the County Attorney and the Mayor." He denied siding with the County Attorney's office against the Commission and said he hadtaken pains" to avoid that circumstance. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/JacksonBaker/archives/2016/08/29/county-commission-takes-first-step-toward-power-sharing-on-hiring-and-firing-of-county-attorney | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/55452ab3ce24fd6deddbde432c6c7388d28cc9e5f40e9e3899f5abb1ee282532.json |
[
"Chris Shaw",
"Jul.",
"Aug.",
"Warren Hines",
"Chris Davis",
"Joe Boone",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-27T18:48:24 | null | 2016-08-27T12:08:00 | Good afternoon and welcome to a condensed version of my Weekend Roundup. Here is everywhere you need to be this weekend. Saturday, August 27th. Heath... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FMusicBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F27%2Fweekend-roundup-77-sweatfest-ii-billy-bob-thornton-cryptic-hymn.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4874920/the_subtractions.jpg | en | null | Weekend Roundup 77: Sweatfest II, Billy Bob Thornton, Cryptic Hymn | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge The Subtractions play Sweatfest II this afternoon.
Good afternoon and welcome to a condensed version of my Weekend Roundup. Here is everywhere you need to be this weekend.Heath and Company, 6:30 p.m. at Lafayette's Music Room.Sweatfest II, 12 p.m. at Shangri-La Records.Billy Bob Thornton & The Boxmasters, 8 p.m. at the Bartlett Center for performing arts, prices vary.Mighty Souls Brass Band, 8 p.m. at Loflin Yard.Toy Trucks and the Manateees, 9 p.m. at the Buccaneer, $5.The Dolly Llamas w/ Ego Slip, Shame Finger, Conspiracy Theory, 9 p.m. at Murphy's,$5.Indeed We Digress (album release), Banned Anthem, 9 p.m. at the Hi-Tone, $5.Jack Oblivian, 10:30 p.m. at Bar DKDC, $7.The Buccanites, 9 p.m. at the Buccaneer. $5.Cryptic Hymn, 9 p.m. at Murphy's, $5.Old Table, Sweet Baby Jesus, Puppy-O, & Allen Waymar, 9 p.m. at the Hi-Tone, $10. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/MusicBlog/archives/2016/08/27/weekend-roundup-77-sweatfest-ii-billy-bob-thornton-cryptic-hymn | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/e31c971d62d257d480c3ff266bc7bca8e151ccfb2afb8dc626a3cf4ddb36a1dd.json |
[
"Joshua Cannon",
"Aug.",
"Chris Mccoy",
"Jul.",
"Chris Davis",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Warren Hines",
"Ben Siler",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T12:55:06 | null | 2016-08-25T04:00:00 | "Bush opened the floodgates in Iraq," Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) tells his junior-high best friend turned gun-running associate David Packouz (Miles Teller) over breakfast in... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Fwar-dogs%2FContent%3Foid%3D4862230.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4864540/film1-teaser.jpg | en | null | War Dogs | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | "Bush opened the floodgates in Iraq," Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) tells his junior-high best friend turned gun-running associate David Packouz (Miles Teller) over breakfast in a Miami, Florida, diner. "It's a fucking gold rush."
War Dogs, Todd Phillips' first film following The Hangover trilogy, is a true story about the Bush administration's brutalized American dream. As it became apparent that corporations supplied munitions to the United States military through sole source contracts, biddings opened to small businesses — allowing them to rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars running guns for Uncle Sam.
Enter Packouz and Diveroli, two aimless and ambitious 20-something stoners reminiscing on their glory days ("I miss not taking shit from anyone," Packouz says). Packouz is a part-time masseur who empties his savings on a business selling bedsheets to senior citizen homes, and Diveroli, a spray-tanned, sociopathic bro who discovers Pentagon contracts that let the little guy in on the military industrial complex's "crumbs." Diveroli and Packouz reconnect at a funeral, to Packouz's fortune, and partner under Diveroli's business moniker AEY — a name that stands for nothing, as Diveroli's life stands for nothing, as the long-drawn out Iraq war came to stand for nothing.
Packouz and his pregnant girlfriend Iz (Ana de Armas) are anti-war, but he can't really support her selling bedsheets. As Diveroli tells him, "The war is happening. This is pro money." Packouz lies to Iz. Money rolls in, but trouble mounts at AEY. The two-man business is forced to travel overseas to right a deal trafficking Beretta pistols gone awry. "God Bless Dick Cheney's America," Diveroli says during a chase scene through Fallujah, Iraq, as a squad of U.S. soldiers save them from machine-gun slinging rebels while Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son" plays overhead. A taste of success carries Diveroli and Packouz to their demise when they meet global gun dealer Henry Girard (Bradley Cooper) at an arms convention in Las Vegas. Girard helps AEY land their biggest deal yet, a $300 million contract selling 100 million rounds of AK-47 ammo to the Afghan military.
Teller and Hill lack the chemistry to create a believable duo. During the nearly two hours spent with Packouz and Diveroli, the surface is scratched, but their relationship never digs deeper than a shallow good-guy-bad-guy rapport. Independently, they shine. Teller's best when his moral compass points north, and Hill's performance as an over-the-top cerebral calculator with a Tony Montana admiration lands at the top of his resume. In Packouz and Diveroli's web of deception and more — themes that drive the film — Armas shines with a grounded portrayal of Packouz' girlfriend. While Packouz' humility corrodes, she remains unmoved. Cooper's charisma is fine-tuned, but don't get it wrong, this is Hill's show: a coked-out, conniving looney tune who makes deals with a blade ready for the back.
Those looking for the hijinks and one-liners that characterized The Hangover will be disappointed. With shots from clubby Miami Beach to desolate Albania, cinematographer Lawrence Sher (The Hangover trilogy) keeps Phillips' vision consistent. Phillips pulls pages from Martin Scorsese's playbook — all while peppering War Dogs with the gags that have branded his adolescent comedy since 2000's Road Trip. His latest effort asks to be taken seriously, though, and falls short. War Dogs, a worthy attempt, spends too much time redeeming Packouz and Diveroli. In Scorsese's hands, a more gripping film might have been made. It's an important step for Phillips, though, one that shows he should improve with time. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/war-dogs/Content?oid=4862230 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/a086018490f6c2cf25a9fd94abb6cde1250a494850c52680348014ba8de590f6.json |
[
"Andria Lisle",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Aug.",
"Lesley Young",
"Richard Murff",
"Susan Ellis",
"Chris Mccoy",
"Chris Davis",
"Warren Hines",
"Joshua Cannon"
] | 2016-08-26T12:56:31 | null | 2016-08-25T04:00:00 | Phil Prichard, the Memphis-born master distiller at Prichard's Distillery, Inc., the rum and whiskey manufacturer located some 280 miles due east of us, has a... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Fprichards-double-barreled-bourbon-sold-out%2FContent%3Foid%3D4862233.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4862232/spirits.jpg | en | null | Prichard’s Double Barreled Bourbon: Sold Out | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | Phil Prichard, the Memphis-born master distiller at Prichard's Distillery, Inc., the rum and whiskey manufacturer located some 280 miles due east of us, has a supply-and-demand issue many distillers only dream about: His hand-crafted Double Barreled Bourbon, which typically retails for $50-60 on liquor store shelves, has been unavailable for over a year.
In 2015, supplier sales of Tennessee whiskey rose by 7.4 percent, significantly higher than the already robust 5.2 percent growth in American whiskies overall.
Yet even within the Tennessee whiskey category, Prichard's product is unique: In a part of the state known for whiskies, ranging from Nashville-based micro-distiller Corsair to the behemoth Jack Daniel's, which is located 17 miles north of Kelso in Lynchburg, Prichard's facility is the only one not required by Tennessee law to filter its bourbon through maple charcoal. It's also the only distillery to use Prichard's exclusive Double Barreled process, which spurns over-dilution during the proof-cutting process.
The term Double Barreled, registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, is currently under legal challenge from Louisiana-based liquor giant the Sazerac Company, which owns a multitude of distilleries including Southern Comfort and Buffalo Trace, the parent company of Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve.
"The biggest problem we have now is this little company wants to infringe on our trade name," Prichard says. "It's a silly lawsuit. A trademark is a trademark. Their modus operandi is to outspend us, but fortunately we've got good lawyers."
While he's currently bottling his award-winning rums and gearing up for brandy production at a distillery in Nashville, it can take Prichard up to a decade to create a bottle-ready batch of Double Barreled Bourbon.
"Somewhere between eight and 10 years, the two elements in those barrels — the caramelized sugars created when the barrel is burned, which make it sweet, and the oak tannins, which make it bitter — will give it that optimal balance between bitterness and sweetness," Prichard explains.
click to enlarge
"We are temporarily out of stock. The whiskey demand has stripped all of our aged product. We've laid down more barrels and we'll have some available in a year or so," he says.
Last winter, long after his warehouse was empty, Prichard was surprised to discover several bottles of his coveted bourbon at a shop in Winder, Georgia. "I was down there visiting with my distributor, and I decided to drop into Turtle Creek Wine and Spirits and say hello, and lo and behold, I'd be dipped if they didn't have a whole shelf of it."
"I bought a bottle or two," he continues, "and a day or two after that, some guy called me, and he went up and bought everything they had. He thoroughly wiped us out of any residual stock. I've got 20 barrels we'll probably release this time next year."
That's good news for music producer and Bo-Keys bandleader Scott Bomar, who describes Prichard's Double Barreled Bourbon as "the best I've ever had in my life."
The musician whose newest album, "Heartache By the Numbers," was inspired by Memphis' onetime late night bar scene — "places like Hernando's Hideaway, beer joints and juke joints that don't exist anymore" — discovered the bourbon when Prichard signed on as a sponsor of Staxtacular, the annual benefit the Memphis Grizzlies stage for the Stax Music Academy.
Bomar says that he drinks the bourbon "neat, or with an ice cube or two, in extreme moderation."
For now, Bomar has switched to craft beer made by Cooper-Young's Memphis Made Brewing Co. "There's one I love in particular — the Soulful Ginger," he says. "It's a great summer beer. Sometimes flavors just overpower the taste of a craft beer, but this has such a subtle ginger flavor, which makes the beer really crisp."
Most Memphis Made beers and other fine local craft beers are available at Madison Growler, Hammer & Ale, and on tap at bars and restaurants around town. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/prichards-double-barreled-bourbon-sold-out/Content?oid=4862233 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/c6551d7a23b6bcb4b7b20c97ec1f6dae45dc683c9879bcd291063c78d5331c46.json |
[
"John Branston",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-27T18:50:06 | null | 2007-04-26T04:00:00 | On Monday, Carolina Crossroads, the company that bought Libertyland's Zippin' Pippin, the second-oldest wooden roller coaster in the world, for $2,000, donated the coaster to Save Libertyland — which was incorporated as a nonprofit organization last week. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FTheDailyBuzz%2Farchives%2F2007%2F04%2F26%2Fthe-zippin-pippin--elvis-favorite-ride--is-donated-to-save-libertyland%2F.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/it-was-elvis-favorite-ride/u/slideshow/1331220/f8f64720ea5461e8c992a00d6e5867f9.jpg | en | null | The Zippin Pippin -- Elvis' Favorite Ride -- Is Donated to Save Libertyland | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | On Monday, Carolina Crossroads, the company that bought Libertyland's Zippin' Pippin, the second-oldest wooden roller coaster in the world, for $2,000, donated the coaster to Save Libertyland which was incorporated as a nonprofit organization last week.
Steven Mulroy, lawyer and County Commissioner, burned the midnight oil last week to get Save Libertyland incorporated as a nonprofit. The city's deadline for a decision on what was to be done with the classic coaster was Tuesday, April 24th.
Carolina Crossroads had originally planned to take the cars from the coaster and build a replica of it at their retro rock-and-roll themed amusement park, Roanoke Rapids. Though they have maintained one of the coaster's cars and are still planning to build a replica, they've given the rest of the coaster to Save Libertyland.
Today, at the gates of Libertyland, Mulroy said that Save Libertyland plans to donate the 100-year-old coaster back to the city of Memphis, with the condition that the city preserve it.
"Through the generosity of Carolina Crossroads, we hope to open a park around the Zippin Pippin rollercoaster and the historic Grand Carousel, which have both been a part of the city's history for nearly a century," Mulroy said.
Save Libertyland would like to turn all 20 acres of the former amusement park into a city park, using Coney Islands redevelopment plan as a model. The organization would be willing to work with the Salvation Army, which plans to buy all 170 acres of the Mid-South fairgrounds in August in order to build a community center.
Libertyland, like its famous coaster, has had its ups and downs over the years. It was opened on July 4th, 1976, to coincide with the nations bicentennial. The Pippin, which was Elvis favorite roller coaster, continues to attract people from all over the world as a part of their Elvis experience.
The organization has been in contact with Elvis Presley Enterprises. Save Libertyland would like to work with the EPE to possibly include the Zippin' Pippin in tours of Elvis' Memphis, a plan that Save Libertyland's Denise Parkinson maintained could help the roller coaster pay for itself.
Save Libertyland also plans to get the coaster on the National Historic Registry, which would bar federal funds from being used to move or destroy the coaster. It would be the second ride in Libertyland to be on the registry, along with the Grand Carousel, which has a history of its own.
The Grand Carousel has long had a reputation for being haunted. On August 2nd, 1976, not two months after the park opened, a 17-year-old boy named Mike Crockett was operating the carousel as his first summer job. When a child in the park lost his balloon in the ride's inner workings, Crockett climbed into its roof to retrieve the prize. While he was inside, the carousel somehow started up and the gears crushed him to death.
"No one even knew his name until today," Parkinson said. "I want to re-envision this place as the Mike Crockett Memorial Park."
-Cherie Heiberg | http://www.memphisflyer.com/TheDailyBuzz/archives/2007/04/26/the-zippin-pippin--elvis-favorite-ride--is-donated-to-save-libertyland/ | en | 2007-04-26T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/a0c15cce092abae1af3e3df5c4a4cc898e435ef96e37a95e1fd488ebf2418a60.json |
[
"Jackson Baker",
"Aug.",
"Chris Davis",
"Jul.",
"John Branston",
"Aaron James",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T18:50:30 | null | 2016-08-26T11:28:00 | Governor says bill raising blood-alcohol levels for young motorists must be amended, or state could lose $60 million in federal funds; Haslam also "no fan" of decriminalizing marijuana. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FJacksonBaker%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2Fhaslam-in-memphis-suggests-calling-special-session%2F.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4872838/governor_haslam.jpg | en | null | Haslam, in Memphis, Suggests Calling Special Session | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge Governor Haslam
Governor Bill Haslam, in Memphis on Thursday to visit Winridge Elementary School to klick off a statewide tour of K-12 public schools, said he would call a special session of the legislature to look into amending a DUI law passed in the last session that raised permissible alcohol levels for 18- to 20-year old motorists.The National Highway Safety Administration has announced that the state is liable to lose 8 percent of its federal highway funding annually, or $60 million, as a result of raising the alcohol blood level from .02 per cent to .08 for the affected youthful motorists. The higher amount is in violation of the federal government’s zero tolerance policy for the 18-to-20 year-old group.“$60 million is too much money to give up,” Haslam told reporters. Noting that members of the state’s congressional delegation are negotiating with the federal government for some sort of compromise on the funding matter, the Governor said the legislature would have to act if those efforts failed.As of now, the change in funding is scheduled to begin in October.• The Governor also said, “I’m not a fan” of efforts to decriminalize recreational marijuana use, when asked about a pending ordinance before the Memphis City Council to allow police to give misdemeanor tickets rather than to make felony arrests for possession of small amounts of marijuana. Haslam said, “I do think there are people spending more time in jail than they need to,” but he said outright decriminalization would not be a “helpful signal” in a state where drug abuse remains a problem. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/JacksonBaker/archives/2016/08/26/haslam-in-memphis-suggests-calling-special-session/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/365682571d6742dca166d235b0ff64eec1505d8ab325848ce498df5c19a64577.json |
[
"Bianca Phillips",
"Aug.",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Louis Goggans",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T18:49:24 | null | 2016-08-26T12:20:00 | A year ago this month, former President Jimmy Carter announced that he had a form of skin cancer that had spread to his brain. Just... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FNewsBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2Fpresident-jimmy-carter-discusses-his-work-with-habitat.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4872856/14040207_10153846929032844_4972963762877911726_n.jpg | en | null | President Jimmy Carter Discusses His Work with Habitat | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click image Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis
Jimmy Carter
A year ago this month, former President Jimmy Carter announced that he had a form of skin cancer that had spread to his brain. Just a year later, 91-year-old Carter and his wife Rosalynn are out in the Memphis heat building houses for the 33rd Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project for Habitat for Humanity."A year ago in August, I thought I had two or three weeks to live. It'd already moved to part of my liver, and I've had four different cancers in my brain," said Carter in an exclusive interview with theduring a break from installing siding on a Habitat house near Uptown. "I was prescribed some new medicine, and it worked on me, thank goodness."The Carters announced that they'd be working on this project to build 19 new homes in Bearwater Park, just north of Uptown, last November. Their planned 32nd Habitat project in Nepal last year was canceled due to civil unrest in that country, so the presidential pair came to Memphis instead. They built one home then and made the announcement that the 33rd project would come to Memphis in 2016. But he had cancer then, and he said he wasn't sure he'd make it back."I told the news reporters I'd be back [this] year. But I didn't know if I was going to come back or not," Carter said.Now cancer-free, Carter is back to work — working from about 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily this week alongside his wife (she's 89) and country stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, who are also in Memphis helping with the Habitat project. The four are working on a house together, one of 18 new homes along a residential street called Unity Lane. The Carters started their annual Habitat project in 1984, and each year, they travel to a different location around the world."We've been to 14 foreign countries, some of them several times. The largest we had was 14,000 volunteers, and we built 293 houses in five days. That was in the Philippines," Carter said.In Memphis, 1,500 volunteers are working on the project, and they've traveled from all over. The recipients for the 19 homes have already been selected by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis, and most have been out working on their own homes on the site.Damonic Davis has been working on her home all week. She and her two young kids have been living with her mom and sharing one room since Davis divorced a couple years ago. She and the others must put in 350 to 500 hours of sweat equity to qualify for the program."I've been divorced for about two years, and Habitat is helping me and my family get our very first house. It's giving me the ability to provide stability, financially and shelter-wise, for my children," Davis said.Carter said, earlier in the week, he met another Memphis Habitat house recipient who had been homeless and addicted to drugs just a few years back."He told me that seven years ago, he was living under a bridge. He was addicted to drugs, and he decided to turn his life around," Carter said. "He got a job at a fast food place, and now he's in charge of Chick-fil-A's kitchen. He told me about all the different sandwiches Chick-fil-A makes."The Carter project is helping Memphis Habitat complete their five-year commitment to build 50 homes and do 100 critical repairs in Uptown."We've already done 32, so this will put us over 50," said Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis President and CEO Dwayne Spencer.In addition to building 19 new homes, the Carter project is also working on 10 neighborhood beautification projects, like planting shrubs and grass and doing touch-up painting."We did a windshield survey of the community and identified houses that we thought needed some love and care. We knocked on doors and asked if they'd be receiving of it," Spencer said.They're also doing six "aging in place" projects, which means building ramps for seniors. That work is funded through the Plough Foundation.When asked why they chose Memphis this year, Carter took a moment to praise the Memphis Habitat organization."They offer a wide range of services that other Habitats don't provide. For example, if you're over 75 years old, and you have a broken window or a door that won't shut, [they'll fix it]. For instance, last year [when we were in Memphis], we worked on a house where one side of the living room was six inches lower than the other side because the foundation had rotted out." | http://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2016/08/26/president-jimmy-carter-discusses-his-work-with-habitat | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/1d2a4481d34fa0bbb518aec4b09319d4f5ca927f75f25ea0d464108b647442de.json |
[
"Jackson Baker",
"Aug.",
"Chris Davis",
"Jul.",
"John Branston",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T16:47:46 | null | 2016-08-26T11:28:00 | Governor says bill raising blood-alcohol levels for young motorists must be amended, or state could lose $60 million in federal funds; Haslam also "no fan" of decriminalizing marijuana. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FJacksonBaker%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2Fhaslam-in-memphis-suggests-calling-special-session.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4872838/governor_haslam.jpg | en | null | Haslam, in Memphis, Suggests Calling Special Session | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge Governor Haslam
Governor Bill Haslam, in Memphis on Thursday to visit Winridge Elementary School to klick off a statewide tour of K-12 public schools, said he would call a special session of the legislature to look into amending a DUI law passed in the last session that raised permissible alcohol levels for 18- to 20-year old motorists.The National Highway Safety Administration has announced that the state is liable to lose 8 percent of its federal highway funding annually, or $60 million, as a result of raising the alcohol blood level from .02 per cent to .08 for the affected youthful motorists. The higher amount is in violation of the federal government’s zero tolerance policy for the 18-to-20 year-old group.“$60 million is too much money to give up,” Haslam told reporters. Noting that members of the state’s congressional delegation are negotiating with the federal government for some sort of compromise on the funding matter, the Governor said the legislature would have to act if those efforts failed.As of now, the change in funding is scheduled to begin in October.• The Governor also said, “I’m not a fan” of efforts to decriminalize recreational marijuana use, when asked about a pending ordinance before the Memphis City Council to allow police to give misdemeanor tickets rather than to make felony arrests for possession of small amounts of marijuana. Haslam said, “I do think there are people spending more time in jail than they need to,” but he said outright decriminalization would not be a “helpful signal” in a state where drug abuse remains a problem. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/JacksonBaker/archives/2016/08/26/haslam-in-memphis-suggests-calling-special-session | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/31210be8a1164440fb4c181b35f1526134ade3ca33f464b3a85302261992abe2.json |
[
"Bianca Phillips",
"Aug.",
"Chris Davis",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Jul.",
"Chris Mccoy",
"Warren Hines",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T12:56:04 | null | 2016-08-25T04:00:00 | In Detroit, more than 1,500 cyclists turn up every week for Slow Roll, a group bicycle ride that explores neighborhoods throughout the city. The laidback... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Ffreewheel-bicycle-ride-highlights-medical-district-and-downtown%2FContent%3Foid%3D4864171.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4864170/flyby_slowride.jpg | en | null | Freewheel Bicycle Ride Highlights Medical District and Downtown | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | In Detroit, more than 1,500 cyclists turn up every week for Slow Roll, a group bicycle ride that explores neighborhoods throughout the city. The laidback ride became so popular that it eventually expanded to Chicago, and now a Slow Roll-inspired ride is coming to Memphis.
The Memphis Medical District Collaborative (MMDC) and the Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC) have partnered to launch Freewheel, a bi-weekly, free, slow ride through neighborhoods in their districts.
"Slow rides have become pretty popular in the past few years as really intentional, very slow, group rides, like eight miles per hour. They're used to connect neighborhoods and people," said Sara Studdard, project manager for Explore Bike Share at Doug Carpenter and Associates. "We're using that model to really highlight all of the great things happening downtown and to show how close downtown is to the Medical District."
Each ride will have a different theme. Some will be destination-based, which Studdard said might involve the group riding to a park for a picnic or to a bar for a few beers. Other rides will be exploration-based, meaning the ride will have a tour guide and can be a learning experience.
"For one, we'll ride to Victorian Village and get a historical tour and talk about what may happen in that area in the future," Studdard said.
The first ride will be a tour of the Medical District with a talk on the past, present, and future of that area led by MMDC President Tommy Pacello. It's scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, September 7th.
click to enlarge Freewheel has 30 rehabbed, vintage bikes.
Future themes will include a music history ride, an exploration of downtown and the Pinch District (with a stop at Loflin Yard), and a tour focusing neighborhood connections with downtown and the Medical District. Ride dates are set for September 21st, October 5th and 19th, and November 2nd. A new Freewheel season will begin again in March of next year.
"Memphis has this really exciting and interesting bike culture," said Abby Miller, director of programs and data for the Medical District Collaborative. "We want to encourage more people to understand the great bike routes we have and how safe and exciting the area is. We're not just one neighborhood, but we're a collection of neighborhoods, like the Edge, Victorian Village, and Peabody/Vance."
Cyclists will meet at 600 Monroe in the Edge neighborhood, next door to High Cotton Brewing Co. Riders can bring their own bikes, but there will be 30 rehabbed, vintage bikes available for use on a first-come, first-served basis at no cost. The bikes were donated to the MMDC and salvaged and repaired by the Carpenter Street Bike Shop in Binghampton, which trains young people in marketable skills.
"If you work downtown and don't want to schlup your bike downtown or don't have access to a bike, you'll be able to reserve, as part of your registration, one of these bikes. They'll be maintained and have air in the tires, and there are a variety of sizes and comfort levels," Studdard said.
The rides are designed to be safe and welcoming for cyclists of all skill levels, and Studdard said each ride will include support volunteers who can assist those who aren't comfortable riding in the street. Plus, there's safety in numbers, said Doug Carpenter, who is helping to promote the rides.
"You're riding in a group, so you basically take over the road. It's a big mass, like a giant snail moving down the road," he said.
Leslie Gower, director of marketing with the DMC, said the slow group rides may have the added benefit of helping people become more comfortable riding in the street.
"Memphis is growing into this amazing bicycle-oriented city, but a lot of people have a bit of anxiety about riding their bicycles in urban settings," Gower said. "Freewheel is a great way to make people feel more at ease navigating on city streets and to help create better connections between the Edge neighborhood and the downtown core." | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/freewheel-bicycle-ride-highlights-medical-district-and-downtown/Content?oid=4864171 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/470d201950082a8bb95dc162d7bbfbc376c08de41493bf6763730a95b504589b.json |
[
"Aug.",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T16:47:55 | null | 2016-08-26T10:19:00 | Most car accidents in Shelby County happen on Thursday between 3 p.m.-6 p.m. Drivers between 16-25 get in more accidents here. Alcohol related crashes continue... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FNewsBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2Freport-alcohol-crashes-down-distracted-driving-accidents-up.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4872477/screen_shot_2016-08-26_at_10.14.39_am.png | en | null | Report: Alcohol Crashes Down, Distracted Driving Accidents Up | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge Gatti, Kellner, Beinvenu & Montesi
Most car accidents in Shelby County happen on Thursday between 3 p.m.-6 p.m. Drivers between 16-25 get in more accidents here.Alcohol related crashes continue to decrease, a trend beginning around 2012. Though, distracted driving crashes are going steadily up.These are just some of the findings from new research by Memphis law firm Gatti, Keltner, Bienvenu & Montesi.Check out a huge infographic from the firm below. Read its findings here Brought to you by Gatti, Keltner, Bienvenu & Montesi | http://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2016/08/26/report-alcohol-crashes-down-distracted-driving-accidents-up | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/4469d8de6402124bcff1b15b1b90483d801246084fe65d349da7b1ba9b4a75ef.json |
[
"Jackson Baker",
"Aug.",
"Jul.",
"Chris Mccoy",
"Chris Davis",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Warren Hines",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Kenneth Neill",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T12:51:09 | null | 2016-08-25T04:00:00 | For what it's worth — and that is a very open question — the Shelby County Democratic Party has ceased to exist, having been formally... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Frip-for-the-shelby-county-democratic-party%2FContent%3Foid%3D4864562.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4864558/politics_youngdemocrats-teaser.jpg | en | null | RIP for the Shelby County Democratic Party | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | For what it's worth — and that is a very open question — the Shelby County Democratic Party has ceased to exist, having been formally decertified last Friday by state Democratic Party chair Mary Mancini of Nashville.
Mancini's letter of decertification, dispatched to the latest person to chair the SCDP, Sheriff's Department Lieutenant Michael Pope, cited as the basis for her action "Article III Section 2(f) and Article VII Section 1(a)(3) of the Tennessee Democratic Party Bylaws," which, she said, made it "the responsibility of the Tennessee Democratic Party Executive Committee to establish 'the procedures and rules for organizing and functioning of County Democratic Executive Committees and maintaining close relationships with such committees' and to develop and monitor a minimum set of requirements that must be observed by a state sanctioned certified County Democratic Party."
That description left unaddressed two important components of the matter: 1) whether and to what extent the state committee took part in her decision; and 2) specific reasons for her action.
Those are arguably related issues, in that one of the known factors in forcing Mancini's hand, and likely the precipitating one, has been the Shelby County party's months-long impasse over what to do about the case of former local party chair Bryan Carson, who resigned last year after an audit turned up evidence of unexplained shortages in the party treasury.
Ever since, through the brief tenure of one successor to Carson as chair, Randa Spears, who also resigned, pleading a need to give full attention to her administrative job at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, and into the election of Pope as her successor, the local party organization has been riven into two factions.
One faction was willing to accept a compromise proposal, letting Carson effect partial repayment of the unaccounted-for funds at the level of $6,000, through monthly installment payments of $100. The other, contending that a second audit showed Carson's liability to be at $25,000 or higher, sought prosecution of some sort and prevailed in a vote of the committee at its June meeting.
Nothing came of that vote, however. Meanwhile Mancini, expressing displeasure that the imbroglio was getting in the way of the party's ability to focus on electing the party's candidates this year, prevailed upon Pope to execute an agreement with Carson on behalf of the $6,000 compromise.
That led to a vote at the SCDP committee's July meeting at which a tie vote failed to ratify the agreement, and to a vote at the committee's August meeting, two weeks ago, renouncing Carson's bona fides as a Democrat.
Carson continues to be a member of the state Democratic executive committee, however, a fact that his critics, and Mancini's as well, find questionable under the circumstances.
In any case, Mancini could with some justice cite as additional reasons for her decertification what she termed (in something of an understatement) the SCDP's "many years of dysfunction," typified by nonstop personal feuds, many of them involving self-appointed party gadfly Del Gill, and the fact that, in both Carson's tenure and Spears', the SCDP failed to meet deadlines for financial disclosures to the state Election Registry, thereby incurring fines rivaling in size the amounts alleged to have gone missing under Carson.
In the meantime, Alvin Crook, president of the Shelby County Young Democrats, and London Lamar, president of the state YD organization, held a press conference on Monday, at which the YD officers promised, in Lamar's words, to continue to "represent the views of the Democratic Party," as the only remaining "chartered Democratic organization in this county." | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/rip-for-the-shelby-county-democratic-party/Content?oid=4864562 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/5c4d8fe3e1f3381be84607bc6393c58ff6afb4fbd1ceb5e8ca0deb454aede898.json |
[
"Bianca Phillips",
"Louis Goggans",
"Chris Davis",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-29T20:50:54 | null | 2012-06-21T04:00:00 | In an age when employers research new hires on Facebook, people tend to be choosy about which photos they post to the social media site.... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Ffound-on-facebook%2FContent%3Foid%3D3210466%26show%3Dcomments.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/found-on-facebook/u/slideshow/3210467/flyby_3.jpg | en | null | Found on Facebook | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | null | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/found-on-facebook/Content?oid=3210466&show=comments | en | 2012-06-21T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/ae23e57969b040a35769896be0ff2b939b35c8c5607e17e37e726ae9c38243f2.json |
[
"Joshua Cannon",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Aug.",
"Chris Davis",
"Jul.",
"Chris Mccoy",
"Warren Hines",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T12:57:59 | null | 2016-08-25T04:00:00 | Cardiology nurse Lisa Dawson wanted to combine her children's desire to create with their daily use of technology — all while getting them outdoors. So... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Fgroup-paints-hides-rocks-around-memphis%2FContent%3Foid%3D4862246.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4862244/flyby_rock3.jpg | en | null | Group Paints, Hides Rocks Around Memphis | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | Cardiology nurse Lisa Dawson wanted to combine her children's desire to create with their daily use of technology — all while getting them outdoors. So she gave them rocks and paint. Her daughter's excitement led Dawson to the idea of creating a group to paint rocks, place them around Memphis, and post the photos online.
Dawson pitched the plan on Nextdoor.com to see if it would spark interest. It caught the attention of Amy McSpadden, an elementary school art teacher. Dawson and McSpadden created 901 Rocks!, a Facebook group that's garnered more than 6,700 members since July. Members paint rocks and hide them around town, posting clues on the 901 Rocks! page. When someone finds a rock, they often photograph themselves with it and post it on Facebook as well. Some keep the rocks they find, while others re-hide them for others to discover.
click to enlarge
click to enlarge 901 Rocks!
Zoie Dawson shows off a 901 Rocks! creation.
The Flyer spoke with Dawson and McSpadden about the group's beginnings and an event planned to bring more members aboard. — Joshua Cannon
Flyer: Tell me about the first rocks you hid.
McSpadden: I was determined to make this experience for Lisa's children rewarding, so I purposely planted my 901 Rocks in places that they would see them while on a family walk in the neighborhood. Her daughter, Zoie, found the first rock. It was a red and gold owl I placed in the knot of a tree at Peabody Elementary. Once I had hidden a few in Cooper-Young, the bug bit me. I found myself driving to local hot spots in Midtown and leaving treasures for others to find.
You've used the term "creactivity" to describe the project. What does that mean?
Dawson: When I began writing the description for the 901 Rocks! page, I started by saying I wanted to encourage creativity and activity in our community. I combined the two words into one: creactivity. I live in Midtown, and I feel art and being community-minded are our most defining characteristics. I have always had a desire to be part of something, and I wanted to include my children so we could make a difference and learn lessons as a family.
How did you grow to nearly 7,000 members on Facebook?
McSpadden: As an artist and elementary art teacher, I knew many local artists who I believed would embrace this opportunity to participate in a community art project. Next, I reached out to fellow educators. Many responded positively about the opportunity to share with their students and ways they would work it into their teaching. They, in return, invited other educators, friends, and family members.
How can people participate? Can they use any rock?
Dawson: Any rock can be transformed, although we found river rocks make the perfect canvas due to their smooth surface and larger size. Allow the shape of the rock to inspire your design. One may resemble a dinosaur head, a heart, or even a fruit wedge. Start with a clean rock. Paint on your design using acrylics, paint pens, or even Sharpies. Tag the back of the rock with #901Rocks, "Post a pic," and "Keep or Hide." We recommend sealing the rocks with a clear coat. One member shared she was using nail polishes to paint and clear nail polish to seal her rocks.
Do you have any events planned?
Dawson: The Rock-it Launch is scheduled for September 1st — that's 9/01. To participate, all we ask is you paint 10 rocks (9+01), and plant them around the city or wherever you travel. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/group-paints-hides-rocks-around-memphis/Content?oid=4862246 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/9b40f43239e8f10f1ade8b6ddcfdb985183bc51927dd75b3301cd217319e463e.json |
[
"Bryce W. Ashand Michael J. Larosa",
"Aug.",
"Richard Cohen",
"James L. Netters",
"Chris Mccoy",
"Chris Davis",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Warren Hines",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Mary Norman"
] | 2016-08-26T12:51:41 | null | 2016-08-25T04:00:00 | A seismic demographic shift in the United States has forced some to consider what actually "makes America great." This debate has been fully displayed within... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Fthe-seismic-shift-in-voting-demographics%2FContent%3Foid%3D4862181.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4862180/viewpoint.jpg | en | null | The Seismic Shift in Voting Demographics | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | A seismic demographic shift in the United States has forced some to consider what actually "makes America great." This debate has been fully displayed within the Republican Party, referred to — somewhat ironically given the recent rhetoric — as the Party of Lincoln.
Beginning in 2008, a vocal base of the Republican Party — whiter, older, and less formally educated — rebelled against the "otherness" of President Barack H. Obama. They challenged his veracity, religion, and citizenship. In that campaign, Senator John McCain had the decency to push back against the know-nothings in his own party.
Now the same party has nominated for president a man who has exploited this relentless wave of ignorance, once claiming that he sent investigators to Hawaii to uncover the secrets of President Obama's birth certificate. Such overt racism has infected the party at all levels. Who can forget the revealing 2010 rant of State Representative Curry Todd (R-Collierville) against the 14th Amendment's birthright citizenship clause when he suggested that Latinos would multiply like "rats"? He was reelected two more times by the people of his district.
Though the GOP has been handed over to racists and xenophobes, there are signs that the American public has had enough of hateful speech and fearmongering. Representative Todd's political implosion and Trump's tumbling poll numbers may be omens of what's to come.
Demographics are the harbingers of the inevitable failure of this movement. Latinos number 27.3 million eligible voters, and their participation in November will prove critical in many states. In New Mexico, 40.4 percent of the electorate is Latino; their voice, their history, and their concerns will greatly impact that state's vote.
To ignore or offend the Latino community in swing states makes little sense. For the past several years, education, jobs/economy, and health care have been the top three issues rated for registered Latino voters. But, immigration will be at the heart of the Latino vote for the foreseeable future because it directly affects nearly every Latino family.
click to enlarge
For many Latinos in the United States, Obama will leave behind a nebulous legacy and an opportunity for Republicans. While signing executive orders (DACA, for example) which established a temporary status for young, undocumented immigrants, his administration also pursued deportations at an unprecedented level, earning him the nickname of "Deporter-in-Chief" from some activists.
The Republican response nominated a man whose rhetoric toward the Latino community is unidimensional and built on vilification, and who has plans for deportation and national isolation via construction of a wall.
The vast majority of Americans are rejecting this posturing. They are not fooled by a disingenuous campaign that focuses on a few bad Latino apples and completely dismisses the hardworking, tax-paying, social security-contributing people who are part of the basic fabric of our communities.
America's greatness does not come from harkening back to a mythical past, but from the sueño Americano — the American Dream — built on dynamism created by constant influxes of new immigrants who are hungry to earn their place, contribute to their communities, and raise their kids. The energy, vitality, and optimism that still influences and guides this nation are not to be found in every nation, but here, it still endures.
Shifting demographics create challenges, opportunities, and, for some, fear. We shouldn't ignore that. There are serious problems with our immigration system, but hateful speech and reactionary policies can never lead to a better way. Only a reasonable, bipartisan, comprehensive immigration package set by Congress, that offers a pathway to citizenship for millions of hardworking people who have been contributing to our nation for decades, can address immigration misunderstandings.
America is not the unhinged mob that Trump hopes to lead. Trump's downward spiral shows us that any person in America who aspires to public office has to live in a world defined by the demographic data upon which we're anchored.
Trying to alter that data, through mass deportation, is not the America to which we aspire. We hope that Todd and Trump represent the last gasp of a movement that's completely contrary to that which makes this nation unique and great.
Bryce W. Ashby is a Memphis-based attorney and board member at Latino Memphis; Michael J. LaRosa is an associate professor of history at Rhodes College. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/the-seismic-shift-in-voting-demographics/Content?oid=4862181 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/99453bad045bdc24727b7faa163eeaedc3dd6244f888cb42b80140586a87ddbe.json |
[
"Bianca Phillips",
"Alexandra Pusateri",
"Chris Davis",
"Flyer Staff",
"Joshua Cannon"
] | 2016-08-27T22:50:31 | null | 2015-01-08T04:00:00 | It could be the perfect set for a horror film. A rustic old lodge cabin is situated along a steep bluff deep in the woods.... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Fhistoric-cabins-in-shelby-forest-falling-into-disrepair%2FContent%3Foid%3D3803606%26show%3Dcomments.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/above-people-using-the-group-camp-in-its/u/slideshow/3803607/flyby_groupcamp_old.jpg | en | null | Historic Cabins In Shelby Forest Falling Into Disrepair | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | null | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/historic-cabins-in-shelby-forest-falling-into-disrepair/Content?oid=3803606&show=comments | en | 2015-01-08T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/08cbe1e1ba51287c888829b05c1846e5d320c3fcbfc2ac28e52abc9332f5a2f7.json |
[
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"Susan Ellis",
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"Joshua Cannon",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T12:53:42 | null | 2016-08-25T04:00:00 | "I'll walk alone and be blown thinner and thinner. And thinner and thinner and thinner and thinner and thinner — Till finally I won't have... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Fbeer-flight-theatre-night-at-the-evergreen-theatre%2FContent%3Foid%3D4862243.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4862242/werec_beer3penny.jpg | en | null | Beer Flight Theatre Night at the Evergreen Theatre | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | "I'll walk alone and be blown thinner and thinner. And thinner and thinner and thinner and thinner and thinner — Till finally I won't have any body at all, and the wind picks me up in its cool white arms forever, and takes me away!" — Tennessee Williams, Talk to Me Like the Rain and Let Me Listen
Threepenny Theatre Company — the ambitions independant troupe with classical sensibilities and a "pay what you can ethos — has never shied away from the difficult side of canon. They've produced Shakespeare on a shoestring, adapted Moliere, and plunged headfirst into Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night. Even the company's Beer Flight Theatre Night finds the troupe sharing a slate of seldom seen one act plays paired with craft beers selected by Andy Ashby, a co-founder of Memphis Made Brewing Company.
click to enlarge
The best-known play on the menu is Edward Albee's The Zoo Story, where Memphis actors Michael Khanlarian and Corey Parker as Peter and Jerry, a transient and a family man and publishing executive, struggle over a park bench, and much more. Talk to Me Like The Rain and Let Me Listen may not be set in the South, but it's Tennessee Williams-distilled. With image-laden dialogue that aims to match the rhythm of a steady rainfall, Williams tries to capture the essence of lower Manhattan: an unnamed man (Michael Ewing) who drinks too much and an unnamed woman Jaclyn Suffel who's growing thinner and thinner and might just disappear. The New World Order is one of British playwright Harold Pinter's most bluntly political plays. In this production, Steven Brown, David Galloway, and Andrew Glenn get right down to the essence of torture. For 10 wrenching minutes, a lone figure sits bound and gagged while two men discuss in vague, Pinteresque terms what they plan to do with him.
Did I mention beer? | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/beer-flight-theatre-night-at-the-evergreen-theatre/Content?oid=4862243 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/c897adc3f0fba7136bd7cb62606517ce1780cacb58346df689dc9ae40712bb00.json |
[
"Tim Sampson",
"Aug.",
"Randy Haspel",
"Jen Clarke",
"Susan Wilson",
"Jul.",
"Chris Mccoy",
"Chris Davis",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Warren Hines"
] | 2016-08-26T12:54:10 | null | 2016-08-25T04:00:00 | Some sample questions for Trump's immigrant "vetting" test. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Foffering-a-little-help-with-trumps-test%2FContent%3Foid%3D4862185.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4862184/rant_dreamstime_xxl_59313270.jpg | en | null | Offering a little help with Trump’s test. | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | I want desperately to help Donald Trump. I think I can be of great service to him, his image, his campaign, and his fight against the immigrants he thinks are trying to get into the United States to blow us up. I was elated when he made his "foreign policy" speech the other day and announced that, if elected president, he would put in place a new ideology "test" that immigrants would have to take before they were allowed into the country — to make sure we don't let in, for heaven's sake, any bigots. I levitated. My head spun. My eyes bulged. My heart raced. Actually, my skin crawled, but I ignored that because I really want to help. First, however, I have a few questions for Mr. Trump.
click to enlarge Dwong19 | Dreamstime.com
Donald and Melania Trump
1) Is this test going to consist of questions that have to be answered true or false, or will it be multiple choice? And will there be an essay component to it?
2) I assume it will be the same test for immigrants from all countries, but I don't want to make an ass out of you and me, so can you jot me a quick email to let me know if you need a set of questions for, say, people traveling from Syria that's different than a set for, say, people traveling from Luxembourg? You just never know these days whom not to trust.
3) Are the questions going to be opinion-based or fact-based? Like, "What do you think about baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie?" as opposed to "Who is buried in Grant's tomb?"
4) Will you ask them what they think about Trump Tower? This could get really iffy with the stuck-up French and those smartass, superior Germans, who like that woman president of theirs.
5) Will your wife Melania's family members from Slovenia have to take the test when they come to visit, or can we just skip over them and let 'em on in to save time? I say, make them take the test just to be sure.
6) The trend now in all communications is to keep things brief. Can we keep the test brief for everyone, or is it going to "be huge"?
7) Does the size of male immigrants' hands need to be addressed? Is it okay if theirs are bigger than yours? I'm a little doubtful you'll give them much leeway on this one, given the way things have been going.
8) And speaking of size and hands and such, how are the two of us going to address these giant, naked Donald Trump statues that some damn crazy artists placed in various cities the other day? They may have been immigrants. Probably from Finland or some other punk-ass Scandinavian country. The Washington Post described the likenesses of you by writing, "The eyes scowl, the mouth pouts, and the veiny, almost reptilian skin looks like it was torn off a human-size frog and dipped in bronzer." You know that's not what you look like. And whatever terrorist made the statues put a little, tiny, barely visible ... well, I'm sure you saw the photos and the headlines and the stories and the YouTube videos showing the statues to billions of people around the world. We need to put some questions in the quiz about this. Something to the effect of, "If we allow you to enter the United States of America, do you have plans to create naked statues of me, President Donald J. Trump, with a tiny penis, and place them in public for the world to see? Please answer true, false, or I'm not really sure at this time." If they fill in the last option, keep them out of the country. It's as easy as that.
9) The other big thing to worry about is keeping out people who might decide they like the Clintons. You don't want to run the risk of that, do you? As you have pointed out, Hillary and Barack Obama founded ISIS, so you can bet plenty of the terrorists they trained are going to try to get in one way or another. You better put a question on the test about that. Something to the effect of, "When Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama came to the Middle East and founded ISIS, did you get any special training from them about how to blow up Americans or any other good, Christian people? Did Hillary show you how to make a bomb and bring it to the United States? Answer just true or false on this one."
10) And finally, there's this question about what is in the immigrant terrorists' hearts when they try to come into the United States. What is their real ideology? Why do they hate the West so much? I think the best way to address that is the way you described it the other day during your town hall with Sean Hannity, when you, I think, talked about getting them off the internet. You said, "Sean, when you look at what's going on with the internet and how ISIS is using the internet and what they're doing and what they're doing to us and then you have people in our country that say oh, you can't do that, that's doing something so bad to us, here we are, people — they want to blow us up. We have to be very careful." I think you are 100 percent right. I would just put that exact quote on the test, and if they can figure out the answer, don't dare EVER let them in. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/offering-a-little-help-with-trumps-test/Content?oid=4862185 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/ee78d42d20aade1a4246086baf6cdec3979db208f0b4d4608fb3b93e4dcea87c.json |
[
"Bianca Phillips",
"Aug.",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-27T22:50:30 | null | 2015-07-28T11:28:00 | In September, the first issue of Focus Magazine, a new publication for the LGBT community, will hit stands. Focus will be published by Ray Rico... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FMemphisGaydar%2Farchives%2F2015%2F07%2F28%2Fnew-lgbt-magazine-launches-in-memphis-this-fall%2F.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4058391/screen_shot_2015-07-28_at_11.28.19_am.png | en | null | New LGBT Magazine Launches in Memphis This Fall | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge Ray Rico
In September, the first issue ofMagazine, a new publication for the LGBT community, will hit stands.will be published by Ray Rico Freelance, a Cooper-Young-based design agency. The magazine will be available in print and online and will feature news, arts, entertainment, community, lifestyle, and other trending topics.“The LGBT population in Memphis and regionally is being overlooked when it comes to news that is just for LGBT persons. There are many organizations that serve the needs of this audience, but nothing that is published regularly with aggregated content that is completely LGBT-centric,” said Rico, owner of Ray Rico Freelance. “We want to fill that void.”Memphis hasn't had an LGBT print publication in several years., a newspaper published by the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center, ceased publication in 2009., a Memphis-based LGBT magazine, stopped publication about a decade ago.The first issue ofwill by titled "The Coming Out Issue." The publication will be free and available at area businesses, or readers can subscribe for a mailed copy for $1 per issue.“We want everyone to have access to this important publication, so we are offeringMagazine for free online and in print,” Rico said. “The printed version will be published every other month while the online version will be uploaded frequently with new and engaging content.” | http://www.memphisflyer.com/MemphisGaydar/archives/2015/07/28/new-lgbt-magazine-launches-in-memphis-this-fall/ | en | 2015-07-28T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/6b2f4339af4414fd28db5fed380105e5976cb53d968c3382ebd2f16ab0551bde.json |
[
"Frank Chin",
"Susan Ellis",
"Aug.",
"Michelle Lewis",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-29T18:48:58 | null | 2016-08-29T13:37:00 | The 5th Annual Best Memphis Burger Fest took place on Sunday, Aug 28. Over 40 teams competed in Bloody Marys and various burger categories, and... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FHungryMemphis%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Fanother-best-memphis-burger-fest-in-the-books.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4879091/img_1108_2_.jpg | en | null | Another Best Memphis Burger Fest in the Books | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge
The 5th Annual Best Memphis Burger Fest took place on Sunday, Aug 28. Over 40 teams competed in Bloody Marys and various burger categories, and also provided samples to the general public. The event was a fundraiser for Memphis Paws, a local non-profit dedicated to generating support for animal care and rescue organizations around Memphis. In addition to cooking burgers, the event also included a Kids Zone, a pickle eating contest, a slider eating contest, live music, food trucks, and a corn hole tournament.The winners were:BLOODY MARY1 - SMOKEMASTERS2 - GAME OF BONES3 - COWBOYARDEEVEGGIE BURGER1 - MEAT IN THE MIDDLE2 - SUNS OUT BUNS OUT3 - GAME OF BONESSPECIALTY BURGER1 - COWBOYARDEE2 - PAT HARRISON'S HAMBURGER KING3 - PIRATES OF THE GRILLIBBEANBEST MEMPHIS BURGER - CLASSIC CHEESEBURGER1 – LBOE (Last Burger on Earth)2 - MEAT IN THE MIDDLE3 - SLIDER INNGRAND CHAMPION – LBOE | http://www.memphisflyer.com/HungryMemphis/archives/2016/08/29/another-best-memphis-burger-fest-in-the-books | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/e1414ef8f93ad6b50fd95c5fdce46dea174e708c9c3da2365313aa698d23a877.json |
[
"Bruce Vanwyngarden",
"Chris Davis",
"Bryce W. Ashand Michael J. Larosa",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:03:46 | null | 2016-08-25T04:02:00 | Unlike Bill Clinton, I've inhaled. So have 49 percent of all Americans, according to a recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Marijuana (medical or otherwise) has been decriminalized or legalized in 23 states, and measures are on the ballot to legalize it in five more states this November, including Arizona, Nevada, Massachusetts, Maine, and California (where medical pot is already legal). A recent Gallup poll found that 53 percent of Americans think pot should be legalized and regulated like alcohol ... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Fcommon-sense-pot-policy%2FContent%3Foid%3D4864166%26show%3Dcomments.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4864165/toc_dreamstime_xxl_18924085-teaser.jpg | en | null | Common Sense Pot Policy | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | null | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/common-sense-pot-policy/Content?oid=4864166&show=comments | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/043ca1b87659a73fec16cee4caaa2b233e108b66bde7f461abde8bccbde7f19c.json |
[
"Bianca Phillips",
"Alexandra Pusateri",
"Leonard Gill",
"Flyer Readers",
"Flyer Staff",
"Chris Davis"
] | 2016-08-27T20:50:33 | null | 2013-03-14T04:00:00 | Forty years ago, Memphis' most iconic Irishman opened the first incarnation of his now-famous Beale Street bar, Silky O' Sullivan's, home of the beer-drinking goats... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Fq-and-a-with-thomas-silky-sullivan%2FContent%3Foid%3D3365426%26show%3Dcomments.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/q-and-a-with-thomas-silky-sullivan/u/slideshow/3365427/flyby_qa_silkysullivan.jpg | en | null | Q & A with Thomas "Silky' Sullivan, | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | null | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/q-and-a-with-thomas-silky-sullivan/Content?oid=3365426&show=comments | en | 2013-03-14T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/89d669954f7106eb491c29b71dfb8326bb613e7c3a879ecae297170dc27b97fb.json |
[
"Stacey Greenberg",
"Lesley Young",
"John Klyce Minervini",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Michael Hughes",
"Hannah Sayle",
"Susan Ellis",
"Andria Lisle",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T16:48:13 | null | 2010-03-18T04:00:00 | Christopher McRae opened his mobile hot dog cart business, Hound Dogs, on the corner of Union and Main in June 2009. Many people know him... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Fupsetting-the-food-cart%2FContent%3Foid%3D1992114%26show%3Dcomments.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/christopher-mcrae/u/slideshow/2027796/food_feature1-mag.jpg | en | null | Upsetting the Food Cart | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | null | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/upsetting-the-food-cart/Content?oid=1992114&show=comments | en | 2010-03-18T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/de387f97541dda6dbb9ec6bbab65891ca1a52c61a96395c0134793f09bca5da8.json |
[
"Chris Mccoy",
"Aug.",
"Chris Davis",
"Jul.",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T12:59:16 | null | 2016-08-25T17:04:00 | If you want to open a can of philosophical worms, watch Olympia. I originally decided to add Olympia to my Politics and the Movies series... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FFilmTVEtcBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F25%2Fpolitics-and-the-movies-3-olympia.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4870920/olympia1.jpg | en | null | Politics and the Movies 3: Olympia | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge Leni Riefenstahl filming the famous diving sequences for Olympia in 1936,
The iconic long shot of the Nuremburg rally in Triumph Of The Will. George Lucas would later reference this image for the closing scene of the original Star Wars.
Riefenstahl's images of nude athletes were inspired by classical Greek statues.
click to enlarge The torch lighting sequence from Olympia.
click to enlarge Jesse Owens in Olympia
click to enlarge Jesse Owens prepares to set a world record at the Berlin Olympics.
Adolf Hitler and Leni Riefenstahl.
If you want to open a can of philosophical worms, watchI originally decided to addto my Politics and the Movies series while watching the Olympics. I thought it would be a good way to talk about propaganda, a subject that is more important than ever as we try to sustain democracy in the information age. What better way to approach the subject than tackling the work of Hitler’s favorite filmmaker, Leni Riefenstahl?Her filmwas presented as a documentary of the 1934 Nazi Party Congress at Nuremberg, Germany. But, seeing as it was commissioned and paid for by the Hitler regime that had, at that point, only been in power for a year. I don’t know if I can really recommend watching(I had to watch it in a film class a long time ago), but you’ve seen echoes of the imagery Riefenstahl created to glorify the Third Reich. The final scene of, where the heroes are given medals, is a direct lift from. In its opening scenes, Hitler arrives at Nuremberg in an airplane, greeted by a hoard of adoring followers. This has been Donald Trump’s MO through much of his campaign. As quoted in the Wikipedia article about, Riefenstahl said her instructions from Hitler were, in retrospect, chillingly simple: “He wanted a film which would move, appeal to, impress an audience which was not necessarily interested in politics.”Just as today, Hitler was interested in quickly impressing the “low-information voter”. There’s no question that all of Riefenstahl’s work, including, is visually beautiful. She had an unerring eye for composition and a strong experimental streak she inherited from the German Expressionist filmmakers with whom she worked as an actress in the 1920s.is fascism putting its best foot forward. The appeal of fascism is the natural human urge to belong to a tribe, and for that tribe to be strong. To belong to a tribe means you will be protected, and that difficult questions such as “What is my place in the world?” and “What will I do when I grow up?” have easy answers. Fascism promises to ease the psychic pain of being an individual in a chaotic world.Hitler and his propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels were so impressed withthat they commissioned Riefenstahl to create a documentary about the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. The modern games had been going on for 40 years at that point, but no one had ever made a serious attempt at filming them before. Riefenstahl set about the task with typical forethought and attention to detail. One of the many innovations the Nazis brought to the Olympics was the torch relay, anduses it as a powerful opening sequence to connect the world of classical Greece to the present of 1936.Here’s the thing about: It looks like pretty much every Olympics you’ve seen on television. Or rather, all of the ways you have seen The Olympics on television were invented by Leni Riefenstahl as part of a Nazi propaganda film. She uses slow motion, extreme close ups of the athlete’s faces and bodies, candid footage of competitors warming up and chatting before events, and shots of the crowd cheering for their countries favorites. (The "USA! USA!" chant was already familiar to the crowd, but the one laugh out loud moment for me was a chant by English track and field fans: “We want you to win!”) There’s plenty of rooting for the home team, too. Different cuts of the movie were released in English and French. The cut ofavailable on YouTube is the original German, and the Nazi athletes are referred to as “our men.” But it’s ultimately much less biased than NBC’s primetime coverage of the gymnastics competitions, where it sometimes looked like the Americans were the only ones competing. Propaganda works because people like it.Butfails at its mission of being pure Nazi propaganda. Hitler wanted the 1936 games to prove his theories of Aryan racial superiority, but he didn’t count on Jesse Owens, one of the greatest athletes who ever lived, and who just happened to be both American and black. In, Owens doesn’t just win his races, he demolishes the competition in a way not seen again until Usain Bolt took to the track. Riefenstahl doesn’t sugar coat it, even for German audiences. People who have never done any film or video editing don’t realize how much power the editor has. Riefenstahl was working with hundreds of hours of candid footage shot by a small army of cameramen. It would have been easy to pick images of Owens when he was badly lit, or grimacing, or, like NBC did with the non-American gymnasts, just edit him out entirely. Riefenstahl does none of that. It’s clear fromthat Owens was the most physically fit person on the field, and he had kind, intelligent eyes and a magnetic smile to boot. Riefenstahl’s camera loves him. And it’s not just Owens. American distance runner John Woodruff won a dramatic 800 meter race with a combination of daring strategy and sheer speed. He was also black. The Japanese won gold and bronze in the marathon. Indians, Africans, South Americans are all represented among the athletic excellence Riefenstahl filmed. The humanist message of the games shines through the layers of attempted propaganda, givinga remarkable, and perhaps unique, tension.The examples of beautiful art created by loathsome individuals lie thick on the ground all around us. Pablo Picasso was perhaps the 20th century’s greatest visual genius, but you wouldn’t want your sister to date him. Ezra Pound, who not only wrote incredible poetry of his own but also edited T.S. Eliot, was much more clearly a true Fascist believer than Riefenstahl. Must we throw out “The Wasteland”? In film, there’s Roman Polanski, whoseis on the shortlist of the greatest films ever made, but who has been on the run from a statutory rape conviction since 1977. Woody Allen is widely admired as a filmmaker, but he had an affair with and ultimately married his adoptive stepdaughter. Does that makeany less of a film? Right now, the most anticipated film of the fall is, a drama about the Nat Turner slave rebellion that sold at Sundance for the largest amount ever paid for an indie film. When it came to light that director Nate Parker was accused of rape in 2001, and his accuser committed suicide in 2012, the American Film Institute cancelled a scheduled screening. I haven’t seen the film, but if Parker, who was acquitted in a trial, really was guilty, does that automatically mean the film is bad and should not be viewed? Are the Olympics tainted because the techniques and images that made the games an icon of modernity came from a Nazi propagandist? Democracies use propaganda, too, and advertising has perfected the techniques Riefenstahl pioneered. The tools are neutral, it is the purpose to which they are put that matters.Since I believe that authorial intent is secondary to audience reaction in the creation of meaning, I tend to advocate separating the artist from the art. So what to make of Riefenstahl? If you’ve ever tried to raise money to make a film—or raise capital to start any kind of business, for that matter—you might have found yourself in a situation where you had to decide whether or not to take money from an unsavory character. Filmmakers in the Hollywood system constantly find themselves in a position where they must compromise their visions in favor of their financiers political whims. When I wrote a paper on Riefenstahl in college, I came away with the impression of a woman whose primary motivation was making beautiful images, and who was willing to let the ideological chips fall where they may. But that doesn’t excuse. Some bridges are just too far to cross. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/FilmTVEtcBlog/archives/2016/08/25/politics-and-the-movies-3-olympia | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/26630dcabde160509c67bc457b03c86380b8c00342dd6e5f04ab7bf7f0a30808.json |
[
"Chris Mccoy",
"Aug.",
"Chris Davis",
"Jul.",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T18:48:19 | null | 2016-08-26T13:12:00 | Downtown's Cossitt Library is one of the city's most overlooked and underused assets. This Saturday, Aug. 27, the film tag team of Craig Brewer and... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FFilmTVEtcBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2Fmovies-and-video-games-meet-at-the-cossitt-library.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4872853/wreck_it_ralph_john_c_reilly_still_h_2016.jpg | en | null | Movies and Video Games Meet at the Cossitt Library | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge
click to enlarge Wreck-It Ralph
click to enlarge Tron
Downtown's Cossitt Library is one of the city's most overlooked and underused assets. This Saturday, Aug. 27, the film tag team of Craig Brewer and Black Lodge Video will try to start changing that.A new interactive film series called Pandemonium Cinema Showcase will debut with the Video Game Movie Meltdown. The all-night, mini film festival will include films inspired by video games, including the 2012 smash hitthe smash hit Walt Disney animated film that stars John C. Riley as a video game big boss who's tired of battling players and just wants to be loved. The second film is a 1989 curiosity called The Wizard, a Fred Savage vehicle that extolls the virtues of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).Then, a Disney classic that could fairly be called the birth of the video game movie genre,. In 2016, the plot of the 1982 film, which involves super hacker Flynn (Jeff Bridges) being sucked into a computer and forced to fight in a life-or-death video game arena, is now eye rolling, but the images remain as fresh as ever. Released just three weeks after, the two sci fi films couldn't be more different in tone or subject matter, but together they defined a new cyberpunk aesthetic that now permeates popular culture.The only documentary on the program isIt's one of the must-see documentaries of the last decade, tracing the epic battle of two ordinary men obsessed with owning the high score of the most difficult classic arcade game, Donkey Kong. And finally, the evening will close with the infamous 1989 trainwreck. Starring Bob Hoskins as Mario and Dennis Hopper as King Koopa, it's the leading cautionary tale of why plots that work to motivate action in video games usually don't translate to the big screen.But there will be plenty of action on the little screen at the Library, too. The film screenings will accompany a play-a-thon of vintage and contemporary video games, ranging from Atari 2600s to Xboxes, with literally hundreds of games to choose from. There will also be a cosplay contest with prizes for the best video game themed costumes.Games and movies begin at 4:30 PM on Saturday, August 27 at the Cossitt Library Downtown. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/FilmTVEtcBlog/archives/2016/08/26/movies-and-video-games-meet-at-the-cossitt-library | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/4d08e30599b50f6797e6cedc9e72208c5992520516671766c91fac9253e0f5dc.json |
[
"Aug.",
"Jul.",
"Chris Mccoy",
"Chris Davis",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Warren Hines",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Flyer Staff",
"Randy Haspel"
] | 2016-08-26T12:48:40 | null | 2016-08-25T04:00:00 | So it's come to this: There is, as pointed out this week by state Young Democrat president London Lamar, only one "chartered Democratic organization in... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Ftwo-political-milestones-in-shelby-county%2FContent%3Foid%3D4864638.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4866683/mary-mancini-facebook.jpg | en | null | Two Political Milestones in Shelby County | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | So it's come to this: There is, as pointed out this week by state Young Democrat president London Lamar, only one "chartered Democratic organization in this county," and it isn't the Shelby County Democratic Party, a body which was officially "decertified" last Friday by state Democratic chair Mary Mancini. It is, in fact, the Shelby County Young Democrats, led by Lamar's colleague Alvin Crook.
Surprisingly, given the fact that the SCDP was a hotbed of internal dispute, there was very little remorse at its passing. It would seem that Mancini's action was widely regarded by all sides as something of a mercy killing.
click to enlarge
Meanwhile, Lamar and Crook promise that the Shelby County YDs will pursue "initiatives" and, in effect, act in the stead of the now defunct "state SCDP," pending its reconstitution.
That reconstitution will take some doing, in that the party organization, as such, has been so locked into pointless disputation for some time as to have been of little consequence in influencing political results in Shelby County — at least to any positive end.
In elections for local countywide office, only two Democrats — Assessor Cheyenne Johnson and General Sessions Clerk Ed Stanton Jr. — have been able to gain office and be re-elected in recent years. To rescue an often-abused phrase, their cases are the proverbial exceptions that prove the rule. Both Johnson and Stanton are county-government veterans with demonstrable records of competence and with support across partisan lines. Their success at the polls would seem to clearly debunk the claim made by losing Democratic nominees in every county election in this century that the defeats of party candidates must be due to some infamy or illegality perpetrated by the county's Republican Party or by the admittedly error-prone Election Commission, with its current preponderance of three Republican members to two Democratic ones.
For whatever reason, in a county which, by the usual demographic and economic measures, should possess an overwhelming majority prone to voting Democratic, Republicans rule the roost instead. It is high time that local Democrats cease looking for the blame elsewhere and begin a long overdue reexamination of their own premises.
Under the circumstances, the plucky resolve of the county's Young Democrats is a welcome first step.
Ann Morris
Speaking of pluck, the huge turnout this week at the visitation and funeral rites for Ann Ward Norton Morris, across various kinds of lines, political and otherwise, was in large part a testament to that quality in her life — as well as to the virtues of courage and perseverance, which Morris continued to demonstrate, even after a severely disabling stroke suffered in 1997 deprived her of most of the faculties which the rest of us take for granted. Remarkable also was the heroic care-giving service rendered unstintingly over that nearly 20-year period by her husband, former Sheriff and County Mayor Bill Morris, who regards that service, and not any office he gained, as the summit of his own life's work. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/two-political-milestones-in-shelby-county/Content?oid=4864638 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/e07cf5d0ecc0959cb8d27072bf9964a172bc73e069c58f1dd97a653822a66e8e.json |
[
"Susan Ellis",
"Aug.",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-29T16:48:52 | null | 2016-08-29T10:27:00 | Oh my goodness ... The first person to correctly ID the dish and where I'm eating wins a fabulous prize. To enter, submit your answer... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FHungryMemphis%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Fguess-where-im-eating-contest-110.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4878628/img_2342.jpg | en | null | Guess Where I'm Eating Contest 110 | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge
Oh my goodness ...The first person to correctly ID the dish and where I'm eating wins a fabulous prize.To enter, submit your answer to me via email at ellis@memphisflyer.com | http://www.memphisflyer.com/HungryMemphis/archives/2016/08/29/guess-where-im-eating-contest-110 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/8ae3fba457a1416fe6ec5ed1a0ce0a5b805f552732ef33b565856cfe76e963f4.json |
[
"Chris Mccoy",
"Aug.",
"Chris Davis",
"Jul.",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T18:50:25 | null | 2016-08-25T17:04:00 | If you want to open a can of philosophical worms, watch Olympia. I originally decided to add Olympia to my Politics and the Movies series... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FFilmTVEtcBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F25%2Fpolitics-and-the-movies-3-olympia%2F.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4870920/olympia1.jpg | en | null | Politics and the Movies 3: Olympia | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge Leni Riefenstahl filming the famous diving sequences for Olympia in 1936,
The iconic long shot of the Nuremberg rally in Triumph Of The Will. George Lucas would later reference this image for the closing scene of the original Star Wars.
Riefenstahl's images of nude athletes were inspired by classical Greek statues.
click to enlarge The torch lighting sequence from Olympia.
click to enlarge Jesse Owens in Olympia
click to enlarge Jesse Owens prepares to set a world record at the Berlin Olympics.
Adolf Hitler and Leni Riefenstahl.
If you want to open a can of philosophical worms, watchI originally decided to addto my Politics and the Movies series while watching the Olympics. I thought it would be a good way to talk about propaganda, a subject that is more important than ever as we try to sustain democracy in the information age. What better way to approach the subject than tackling the work of Hitler’s favorite filmmaker, Leni Riefenstahl?Her filmwas presented as a documentary of the 1934 Nazi Party Congress at Nuremberg, Germany. But, seeing as it was commissioned and paid for by the Hitler regime that had, at that point, only been in power for a year, it's the textbook example of state propoganda. I don’t know if I can really recommend watching(I had to watch it in a film class a long time ago), but you’ve seen echoes of the imagery Riefenstahl created to glorify the Third Reich. The final scene of, where the heroes are given medals, is a direct lift from. In its opening scenes, Hitler arrives at Nuremberg in an airplane, greeted by a hoard of adoring followers. This has been Donald Trump’s MO through much of his campaign. As quoted in the Wikipedia article about, Riefenstahl said her instructions from Hitler were, in retrospect, chillingly simple: “He wanted a film which would move, appeal to, impress an audience which was not necessarily interested in politics.”Just as today, Hitler was interested in quickly impressing the “low-information voter”. There’s no question that all of Riefenstahl’s work, including, is visually beautiful. She had an unerring eye for composition and a strong experimental streak she inherited from the German Expressionist filmmakers with whom she worked as an actress in the 1920s.is fascism putting its best foot forward. The appeal of fascism is the natural human urge to belong to a tribe, and for that tribe to be strong. To belong to a tribe means you will be protected, and that difficult questions such as “What is my place in the world?” and “What will I do when I grow up?” have easy answers. Fascism promises to ease the psychic pain of being an individual in a chaotic world.Hitler and his propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels were so impressed withthat they commissioned Riefenstahl to create a documentary about the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. The modern games had been going on for 40 years at that point, but no one had ever made a serious attempt at filming them before. Riefenstahl set about the task with typical forethought and attention to detail. One of the many innovations the Nazis brought to the Olympics was the torch relay, anduses it as a powerful opening sequence to connect the world of classical Greece to the present of 1936.Here’s the thing about: It looks like pretty much every Olympics you’ve seen on television. Or rather, all of the ways you have seen The Olympics on television were invented by Leni Riefenstahl as part of a Nazi propaganda film. She uses slow motion, extreme close ups of the athlete’s faces and bodies, candid footage of competitors warming up and chatting before events, and shots of the crowd cheering for their countries favorites. (The "USA! USA!" chant was already familiar to the crowd, but the one laugh out loud moment for me was a chant by English track and field fans: “We want you to win!”) There’s plenty of rooting for the home team, too. Different cuts of the movie were released in English and French. The cut ofavailable on YouTube is the original German, and the Nazi athletes are referred to as “our men.” But it’s ultimately much less biased than NBC’s primetime coverage of the gymnastics competitions, where it sometimes looked like the Americans were the only ones competing. Propaganda works because people like it.Butfails at its mission of being pure Nazi propaganda. Hitler wanted the 1936 games to prove his theories of Aryan racial superiority, but he didn’t count on Jesse Owens, one of the greatest athletes who ever lived, and who just happened to be both American and black. In, Owens doesn’t just win his races, he demolishes the competition in a way not seen again until Usain Bolt took to the track. Riefenstahl doesn’t sugar coat it, even for German audiences. People who have never done any film or video editing don’t realize how much power the editor has. Riefenstahl was working with hundreds of hours of candid footage shot by a small army of cameramen. It would have been easy to pick images of Owens when he was badly lit, or grimacing, or, like NBC did with the non-American gymnasts, just edit him out entirely. Riefenstahl does none of that. It’s clear fromthat Owens was the most physically fit person on the field, and he had kind, intelligent eyes and a magnetic smile to boot. Riefenstahl’s camera loves him. And it’s not just Owens. American distance runner John Woodruff won a dramatic 800 meter race with a combination of daring strategy and sheer speed. He was also black. The Japanese won gold and bronze in the marathon. Indians, Africans, South Americans are all represented among the athletic excellence Riefenstahl filmed. The humanist message of the games shines through the layers of attempted propaganda, givinga remarkable, and perhaps unique, tension.The examples of beautiful art created by loathsome individuals lie thick on the ground all around us. Pablo Picasso was perhaps the 20th century’s greatest visual genius, but you wouldn’t want your sister to date him. Ezra Pound, who not only wrote incredible poetry of his own but also edited T.S. Eliot, was much more clearly a true Fascist believer than Riefenstahl. Must we throw out “The Wasteland”? In film, there’s Roman Polanski, whoseis on the shortlist of the greatest films ever made, but who has been on the run from a statutory rape conviction since 1977. Woody Allen is widely admired as a filmmaker, but he had an affair with and ultimately married his adoptive stepdaughter. Does that makeany less of a film? Right now, the most anticipated film of the fall is, a drama about the Nat Turner slave rebellion that sold at Sundance for the largest amount ever paid for an indie film. When it came to light that director Nate Parker was accused of rape in 2001, and his accuser committed suicide in 2012, the American Film Institute cancelled a scheduled screening. I haven’t seen the film, but if Parker, who was acquitted in a trial, really was guilty, does that automatically mean the film is bad and should not be viewed? Are the Olympics tainted because the techniques and images that made the games an icon of modernity came from a Nazi propagandist? Democracies use propaganda, too, and advertising has perfected the techniques Riefenstahl pioneered. The tools are neutral, it is the purpose to which they are put that matters.Since I believe that authorial intent is secondary to audience reaction in the creation of meaning, I tend to advocate separating the artist from the art. So what to make of Riefenstahl? If you’ve ever tried to raise money to make a film—or raise capital to start any kind of business, for that matter—you might have found yourself in a situation where you had to decide whether or not to take money from an unsavory character. Filmmakers in the Hollywood system constantly find themselves in a position where they must compromise their visions in favor of their financiers political whims. When I wrote a paper on Riefenstahl in college, I came away with the impression of a woman whose primary motivation was making beautiful images, and who was willing to let the ideological chips fall where they may. But that doesn’t excuse. Some bridges are just too far to cross. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/FilmTVEtcBlog/archives/2016/08/25/politics-and-the-movies-3-olympia/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/016964ca220b2ba03c3b6aa072f9bd45e47179e5d72b6d4a2f1294eaeef6d536.json |
[
"Bianca Phillips",
"Aug.",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T20:49:47 | null | 2016-08-26T13:44:00 | The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) security guard responsible for pushing a passenger, which resulted in that passenger's death, has been placed on diversion for... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FNewsBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2Fmata-security-guard-placed-on-diversion-in-passenger-death%2F.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4872882/1408549890-screen_shot_2014-08-20_at_10.51.08_am.png | en | null | MATA Security Guard Placed on Diversion in Passenger Death | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | Adicus Mitchell
The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) security guard responsible for pushing a passenger, which resulted in that passenger's death, has been placed on diversion for three years.On May 6th of last year, a bus driver at the North Main terminal alerted Mitchell that he had an unruly passenger on board, and Mitchell responded by forcefully pushing the passenger off the bus. The passenger, 69-year-old Robert Gray, landed face-first and lay motionless on the concrete.He was hospitalized in critical condition and later transferred to a long-term care facility. He died there from complications from his fall on August 3rd, 2014. Gray had been allegedly been making obscene remarks to a female passenger when the driver alerted Mitchell.Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Lee Coffee granted Mitchell's request for diversion, a type of probation that will erase the conviction from his record after three years of good behavior. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2016/08/26/mata-security-guard-placed-on-diversion-in-passenger-death/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/619aad232cfdfb5273638fb4b77a7c45f0968b3024f513ea9baa3442d32677d3.json |
[
"Chris Mccoy",
"Aug.",
"Chris Davis",
"Jul.",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:02:32 | null | 2016-08-24T13:39:00 | Kubo And The Two Strings starts out with a moment of quiet bravado: “If you must blink, do it now.” The voice, we will soon... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FFilmTVEtcBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2Fkubo-and-the-two-strings.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4867009/kubo1.jpg | en | null | Kubo and the Two Strings | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge
click to enlarge
starts out with a moment of quiet bravado: “If you must blink, do it now.”The voice, we will soon learn, belongs to our hero Kubo (Art Parkinson, aka the youngest Stark on), and “If you must blink…” is the beginning of his carny pitch. But it also doubles as a manifesto for one of the most visually sumptuous films of the year.11 years before, the infant Kubo washed up on a beach with his mother; now, he earns money to support her as a street performer. With his magic(a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument), he can bring origami figures to life and use them to bring tales of derring-do to life for the curious villagers. The star of his stories is a paper samurai named Hanzo, modeled after the boy’s missing father.Already it’s easy to see the mythic resonances in Kubo’s story: Perseus also survived abandonment at sea, and later learned he was demigod, son of Zeus and the mortal Danae. Kubo’s father Hanzo was mortal, but his mother was the most powerful of three daughters of Raiden the Moon King (voiced by Ralph Fienes).
You might think this curious, because Perseus was Greek, and the world where Kubo lives is undoubtedly a stylized version of feudal Japan. The mixing of East and West continues through the story, a largely by-the-book Hero’s Journey sprinkled liberally with concepts from Shinto and Japanese folklore. It’s the mark of a team of young filmmakers, led by Travis Knight, who have clearly grown up steeped in manga, anime, and Studio Ghibli.
Instead of hailing from Tokyo, Knight’s animation studio Laika is based in Portland, Oregon, and Knight’s father Philip is the co-founder of Nike. Laika is the studio behind great-looking stop motion films such as Coraline, but this is CEO Travis’ first credit as director, which might lead the more cynical among us to dismiss Kubo as a rich guy’s vanity project—or a shot across the bow of the Disney battleship.
click to enlarge
Kubo’s questing companions include the wise Monkey, voiced with incredible precision by Charlize Theron, and the rather thick Beetle, a perfectly cast Matthew McConaughey.
Kubo is thrust into adventure when he inadvertently exposes his whereabouts to his evil aunties, a pair of black-clad twins chillingly voiced by Rooney Mara. Kubo’s grandfather stole one of his eyes when he was an infant, and now the Moon King wants the other one.
The real star of the show is the seamless blend of advanced stop motion animation and CGI, which Laika use to create stunning, hyperreal images, such as an underwater garden of malign, staring eyes, and a boat made of orange fall leaves.
When he leaves the familiar environs of his village, Kubo awakens in a featureless, snowy landscape. There’s no shortage of eye-popping set pieces in the film, but this little moment of visual restraint stuck out as proof that Laika’s head is in the right place. A lesser film would have been afraid to bore its audience by going blank, but Knight and company let the landscape’s lack of landmarks reflect their hero’s psychic dislocation. Kubo’s visuals are not just knockout gorgeous, they’re always in service of character and story.
click to enlarge
How has Laika succeeded where so many other have failed this year? There are four credited writers, none of whom are the director, which means it was not the vision of a single auteur, but the product of a healthy collaborative process.
This is the model of contemporary corporate filmmaking that has recently seen so many specularly expensive failures. A plucky little studio, both geographically and spiritually removed from the Hollywood sausage factory, has beat the majors at their own game, and they’ve done it for a fraction of the cost.
The dog days of August is when Hollywood traditionally dumps the losers from their summer line ups, but with Kubo and the Two Strings, they’ve saved the best for last. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/FilmTVEtcBlog/archives/2016/08/24/kubo-and-the-two-strings | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/c6c145c28fd25664e74969725c587982ed05be174420d2a3fb8e3ffaaffffcbf.json |
[
"Jackson Baker",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:04:12 | null | 2016-08-25T04:00:00 | For what it's worth — and that is a very open question — the Shelby County Democratic Party has ceased to exist, having been formally... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Frip-for-the-shelby-county-democratic-party%2FContent%3Foid%3D4864562%26show%3Dcomments.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4864558/politics_youngdemocrats-teaser.jpg | en | null | RIP for the Shelby County Democratic Party | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | null | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/rip-for-the-shelby-county-democratic-party/Content?oid=4864562&show=comments | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/57f444deccb271faf4de0790a3b8c3e8d4516d20f257dc2f9f2b2a2b5253a62b.json |
[
"Aug.",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-30T18:49:13 | null | 2016-08-30T09:54:00 | Tennessee tourism shattered records in 2015 with visitors here spending more than $18 billion, up 3.7 percent over 2014. State government officials announced the record... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FNewsBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2Fstate-tourism-breaks-spending-record.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4881120/beale-street-today.jpg | en | null | State Tourism Breaks Spending Record | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | Beale Street is Tennessee's top tourist destination.
Tennessee tourism shattered records in 2015 with visitors here spending more than $18 billion, up 3.7 percent over 2014.State government officials announced the record in a news conference Tuesday morning at the Sevier County Courthouse near the iconic Dolly Parton statue.Tourism has topped $1 billion in state and local sales taxes for the last 10 years, officials said. Revenue last year was $1.6 billion, up $1.6 billion. Tourism jobs increased 2.9 percent for a total of 157,400. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2016/08/30/state-tourism-breaks-spending-record | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/ba0262207b97530e333aae0cd1d20b4c05900516e79834c480b9f99c1c7eef2d.json |
[
"Bianca Phillips",
"Aug.",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-27T22:50:29 | null | 2016-08-15T22:38:00 | The Coalition of Concerned Citizens' protest outside the Elvis Week candlelight vigil Monday night remained peaceful. The demonstration, which was organized to protest the nationwide... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FNewsBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F15%2Fprotest-at-graceland-remains-peaceful%2F.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4845853/img_3763.jpg | en | null | Protest at Graceland Remains Peaceful | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge
The Coalition of Concerned Citizens' protest outside the Elvis Week candlelight vigil Monday night remained peaceful. The demonstration, which was organized to protest the nationwide killings of unarmed black citizens by police officers, also remained rather small, attracting only a couple hundred protesters. That was quite a difference from the group's massive initial protest in August that shut down the Hernando-DeSoto Bridge.Chants of "This is what democracy looks like!" and "No justice, no peace!" filled the air, and at one point, protesters locked arms and walked in a straight line down a side street that police had already blocked off. But the crowd eventually turned around and headed back to the main protest area, just outside police barricades on the south side of Graceland along Elvis Presley.Despite the small crowd, the Memphis Police Department had a heavy presence. Police weren't letting protesters through the barricades to access their cars, many of which were located in the free Graceland parking lot. The only way back to that lot involved about a three-mile walk through a dark neighborhood with no sidewalks. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2016/08/15/protest-at-graceland-remains-peaceful/ | en | 2016-08-15T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/0982853dba751a178f2ae3894aa08e6fe537970c824059b31517936c994b7791.json |
[
"Bianca Phillips",
"Aug.",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Louis Goggans",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-30T10:51:21 | null | 2016-04-18T21:26:00 | A Memphis Police officer, whose name has not been released, has been relieved of duty and is being investigated for a possible sexual assault committed... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FNewsBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F04%2F18%2Fmemphis-police-officer-accused-of-sexual-assault-relieved-of-duty%2F.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4602069/m-memphispdbadge.jpg | en | null | Memphis Police Officer Accused of Sexual Assault, Relieved of Duty | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge
A Memphis Police officer, whose name has not been released, has been relieved of duty and is being investigated for a possible sexual assault committed while the officer was on duty.On Saturday, April 16th, at 11:15 a.m., Memphis Police officers were called to the 100 block of G.E. Patterson, where a 26-year-old woman reported that she was sexually assaulted by an on-duty Memphis Police officer earlier in the morning. She said she'd been leaving the Purple Haze nightclub on Lt. George W.E. Lee Avenue when she encountered the officer.She said "inappropriate sexual contact [was] made by the officer," according to a statement released Monday afternoon by the Memphis Police Department. The officer has been relieved of duty pending the outcome of the investigation, but no arrest has been made and no charges have been filed. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2016/04/18/memphis-police-officer-accused-of-sexual-assault-relieved-of-duty/ | en | 2016-04-18T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/9cab434f256121b2a2c55ea222eeaeda17db2ef8f8689a87b49929e4ec9df3d2.json |
[
"Joshua Cannon",
"Aug.",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:02:10 | null | 2016-08-24T12:00:00 | Pathways etched into a field of corn have transformed Grizzlies' own Mike Conley from "conductor" to "corn-ductor." The sprawling ten-acre Mid-South Maze will celebrate the... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FNewsBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2Fgrizz-conductor-mike-conley-celebrated-as-mid-south-maze-corn-ductor.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4866958/unnamed.jpg | en | null | Grizz 'Conductor' Mike Conley Celebrated as Mid-South Maze 'Corn-ductor' | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge
Pathways etched into a field of corn have transformed Grizzlies' own Mike Conley from "conductor" to "corn-ductor." The sprawling ten-acre Mid-South Maze will celebrate the point guard's return to the team.The Maze, located at Agricenter International, will operate September 15 through October 31. It will open in September on Thursday and Friday from 4-10 p.m., Saturday from noon to 10 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. The Mid-South Maze will become haunted on Friday and Saturday nights in October. Wednesday nights in October will be family night.This year's Maze not only boasts a new design but also live music and a local beer garden hosted by TapBox. Free hayrides and bonfire's will be provided on Family Nights with the purchase of admission. Children ages 13 and older pay $7 for admission, those ages 6-12 pay $5, and The Maze is free for those under the age of 5. Adults pay $12 for admission. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2016/08/24/grizz-conductor-mike-conley-celebrated-as-mid-south-maze-corn-ductor | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/50b1aac02c0720d9adb6586053cbab61ea5ba697db5cf91d22d6a8c904a4dd4e.json |
[
"Aug.",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:06:00 | null | 2016-08-24T15:40:00 | Both plaintiffs in the now-dismissed lawsuit against the Memphis City Council regarding the Greensward said Wednesday that they did not tell council member Berlin Boyd... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FNewsBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2Fgreensward-plaintiffs-boyds-statements-not-true-completely-false%2F.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4867369/berlinboyd_lg2.jpg | en | null | Greensward Plaintiffs: Boyd's Statement 'Not True,' 'Completely False' | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge Boyd
Both plaintiffs in the now-dismissed lawsuit against the Memphis City Council regarding the Greensward said Wednesday that they did not tell council member Berlin Boyd that the Overton Park Conservancy (OPC) played any role in their filing of the suit as he claimed Tuesday.Residents Dr. Susan Lacy and Stephen Humbert filed a suit against the city council earlier this year claiming the council broke state open meetings laws ahead of the March 1 vote that gave the Memphis Zoo a majority control of the 12-acre Greensward for overflow parking.The suit was recently dismissed after the council approved a plan to improve parking in Overton Park and end he zoo’s use of the Greensward for overflow parking.However, Boyd threatened to pull OPC’s current-year city funding if the plaintiffs in the case did not close a legal loop that might allow them to bring the case back to court. A resolution Boyd presented before the council’s Parks Committee read that “one of the plaintiffs” in the suit “has admitted to council members” that OPC provided them with the language and information for their lawsuit.Lacy and Humbert say that “is not true” and was a “completely false statement.”“I came to this as a private citizen who is concerned about the process and the way that that March 1 resolution was passed,” Lacy said Wednesday. “I had no conversation with anyone with the Overton Park Conservancy (about the suit) and have not had any conversations with the Overton Park Conservancy.”Humbert said, “From where I stand, it was a completely false statement that Berlin Boyd made. It does upset me that that was printed as being a fact that he knew and, indeed, it was not a fact.”“I can speak for myself and I’ve talked with Dr. Lacy and I can tell you that I did not speak of that — say that — to any person, human being because it’s not true.”Boyd ultimately dropped his resolution at the request of other council members.Boyd did not immediately respond to a call for comment. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2016/08/24/greensward-plaintiffs-boyds-statements-not-true-completely-false/ | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/f0ab781ffc21922978a47eca358abc33c317c4ac3e30c075b4b5a7d8a5298934.json |
[
"Chris Shaw",
"Aug.",
"Andrew Earles",
"J.D. Reager",
"Jul.",
"Chris Mccoy",
"Chris Davis",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Warren Hines",
"Joshua Cannon"
] | 2016-08-26T12:54:39 | null | 2016-08-25T04:00:00 | Hartle Road — Maxx (Jenny Records) Hartle Road have been gigging around Memphis and Oxford, Mississippi, for a while now but have only just recently... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Flate-summer-record-reviews%2FContent%3Foid%3D4864573.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4864571/music_hartleroad_byalechawkins-teaser.jpg | en | null | Late Summer Record Reviews | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | Hartle Road — Maxx (Jenny Records)
Hartle Road have been gigging around Memphis and Oxford, Mississippi, for a while now but have only just recently picked up traction at dive bars around Midtown. The band hails from Columbus, Mississippi, so it makes sense that they'd make the drive to Memphis to draw a fan base, which now includes a lot of musicians loosely or directly associated with Goner Records. On Maxx, the band's debut LP, Hartle Road flirt with garage rock, Krautrock, and '60s psychedelia. Album opener "New!" is most certainly a nod to German band Neu!, and the song is aiming at the same target that bands like Neu! and La Düsseldorf hit back in the '70s.
The other nine tracks on Maxx stay within the groundwork laid out by "New!," with a few detours into post-punk thrown in for good measure. While things start to get weird on "To the Maxx," there aren't a whole lot of wrong turns on Maxx. The 10-track album is a concise and fully realized piece of work, and it serves as an interesting first look into the outsider world that the members of Hartle Road must find themselves living in given their home base.
It's a safe bet that this is the most interesting band from Columbus, Mississippi. Hell, they might even be one of the most interesting bands currently on the Murphy's/Lamplighter/Hi-Tone dirt circuit. Maxx was recorded in Mississippi by Myles Jordan and Max Hartleroad (hence the album name) and is available on vinyl and on cassette through Jenny Records. If you like Krautrock, off-center psych rock, or identify yourself as any kind of weirdo, Maxx is definitely recommended.
Favorite track: tied between "Garbage Wizard" and "Lemmy"
Various Artists — The 123s of Kid Soul (Numero Group)
Much like the record label Light in the Attic, Numero Group is responsible for digging up some of the best "forgotten music" out there, from stoner rock to forgotten soul. The 123s of Kid Soul is a collection of kid/teenage singers and bands who were seeking the same fame that the Jackson 5 found with their kid-centric songs. The album features 19 tracks, and while some might be a little, umm, childish, this isn't a kids-only affair, especially "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" cover by the Brothers Rap. If you were a fan of the Home Schooled compilation that came out on Numero a decade ago, The 123s of Kid Soul should definitely be in your collection.
Favorite Track: The Dynamics — "I'm Free, No Dope for Me"
NOTS — Cosmetic (Goner Records)NOTS opted to record their follow-up album to We Are NOTS with Keith Cooper instead of Doug Easley, making for a less polished, more "garage" sound.
Album opener "Blank Reflection" starts with a snare-centric beat before the synth rolls in and Natalie Hoffmann's familiar scream takes command of the song. The following eight songs don't exactly reinvent the sound that NOTS has been creating for the past four years, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Punk music — or synth punk, if you insist on calling it that — doesn't need to reinvent itself to remain relevant or interesting, and the members of NOTS know that. So do their fans.
Keeping that in mind, Cosmetic serves as an excellent second helping of NOTS. The songs are mostly short and sweet, and the dissonant synth parts have been brought to the front of the mix, which was probably a product of the Keith Cooper treatment. His studio might be getting a few more phone calls from local musicians once this album drops.
Favorite Track: "Cosmetic." | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/late-summer-record-reviews/Content?oid=4864573 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/98894cde3b9abf4783d640dc987f67664ab8827db1333ad517fa50be0b13543a.json |
[
"Frank Murtaugh",
"Aug.",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-30T04:50:55 | null | 2016-08-29T13:19:00 | The 2016 Memphis Redbirds concluded their home schedule with Sunday’s loss to the Nashville Sounds. They have eight road games to play (four in Oklahoma... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FFromMySeat%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Fa-slightly-premature-redbirds-season-wrapup%2F.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4879030/autozone-park-memphis.jpg | en | null | A (Slightly Premature) Redbirds Season Wrapup | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge
The 2016 Memphis Redbirds concluded their home schedule with Sunday’s loss to the Nashville Sounds. They have eight road games to play (four in Oklahoma City, four at Round Rock), but won’t reach the Pacific Coast League playoffs for a second year in a row. A few thoughts as we near the end of the Redbirds’ 19th season in Memphis.
• It would be hard to script a better feel-good weekend to conclude the season at AutoZone Park. On Friday — the day after a walk-off victory — the Redbirds greeted the 10 millionth fan to enter the gates at Third (now B.B. King) and Union. (The prizes presented this lucky family would fill a small warehouse.) Better yet, former president Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, visited the ballpark as part of a promotion for Habitat for Humanity. Then Saturday, the stadium drew its largest crowd of the season with announced attendance of 11,041.
• The Redbirds have suited up 56 players this season, matching a record set in 2002. But it isn’t so much the men who have played at AutoZone Park this summer who have written the season’s story. It’s more a tale of those who did not. Last March, the Redbirds’ middle-infield appeared to be Aledmys Diaz (shortstop) and Greg Garcia (second base). But when St. Louis Cardinal shortstop Jhonny Peralta broke his left thumb late in spring training, Diaz found himself with a promotion and proceeded to hit .312 for the Cards until he had his own digit damaged by an inside pitch in late July. When incumbent second-baseman Kolten Wong struggled in St. Louis, Garcia was called to help spur the offense and has since become an integral — and versatile — member of the Cardinal bench. Outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker would have been a middle-of-the-order presence in the Memphis lineup, but Tommy Pham went down with an injury on Opening Day. Since making his big-league debut, Hazelbaker has drilled 11 home runs for St. Louis, including four as a pinch-hitter.
Then there’s the pitching. The Cardinals’ top prospect, Alex Reyes, sat out the season’s first seven weeks, having been suspended for testing positive for marijuana. He made only 14 starts for the Redbirds before being called up to help the Cardinal bullpen. The system’s second-ranked starting pitcher, Luke Weaver, made a solitary start for Memphis (August 8th) before being promoted to St. Louis after Michael Wacha went to the disabled list with a shoulder injury. It’s a form of fantasy baseball, but imagine this Redbirds team with Reyes and Weaver making 40 percent of the starts. It’s highly unlikely they’d be 11 games under .500 and in the cellar of their division had such a scenario met with reality.
• The Redbirds are again near the bottom of the PCL in attendance, having sold 324,581 tickets for the season, an average of 4,704 per game (ahead of only Colorado Springs). The numbers don’t jibe with a stadium annually ranked among the finest in minor-league baseball, and in a city that has shown a passion for sports, from the high school level to the NBA. What are the factors that weigh on the AZP turnstile count?
This season’s schedule was odd. From April 15th to July 3rd, Memphis had but one home stand longer than four games. That’s a lot of starting and stopping when it comes to stadium operations, sales efforts, and building any momentum when it comes to engaging fans with the product on the field. As mentioned above, the team’s top stars this season were two pitchers who started a total of 15 games, only seven of them at home. And concession prices remain steep, as much as $8 for a beer or hamburger. Fireworks on Saturday night continue to attract larger crowds. Theme nights — from Star Wars to Christmas in July — add some color to the concourse. And the right promotion will draw crowds: More than 9,000 attended a pair of games where Yadier Molina jerseys and Adam Wainwright bobbleheads were distributed. But Tuesday night in May? Wednesday night in August? These are the white whales of minor-league baseball.
The Redbirds hit the 9,000 mark seven times this season after never hosting such a crowd in 2015, and total attendance was up more than 15 percent this season. So growth is evident. Can it be sustained?
• Next year will bring the 20th season of Redbirds baseball in Memphis. The anniversary would be a nice occasion for the club to start celebrating its history, and in a manner that would remind local baseball fans — for posterity’s sake — how glorious the team’s history has been at times. The Pujols Seat stands regally on the rightfield bluff, where Albert’s championship-winning home run landed way back in September 2000. Beyond that, there is nothing visual that would tell a casual fan that baseball was played at AutoZone Park the day before he or she walked through the gates.
Up in St. Louis, the parent Cardinals fly 11 flags representing each of the franchise’s World Series championships. The 11 years are painted as pennants above the home team’s dugout. Here in Memphis, you can find acknowledgment of the Redbirds’ two PCL championships (2000 and 2009) on a wall next to the batting cage, below the main concourse, and only with a credential for access.
The franchise’s lone retired number — Stubby Clapp’s 10 — was unceremoniously erased from the bullpen wall when the Cardinals retired the same number to honor Hall of Fame manager Tony LaRussa. Five former Redbirds have been honored as MVP of a League Championship Series: Adam Kennedy, Pujols, Placido Polanco, David Freese, and Michael Wacha. There’s no indication any of these stars once played in a Redbirds uniform. Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina have started more games as the Cardinal battery than any two men in the storied franchise’s history. They also played together in Memphis in 2004, as thousands who lined up for those promotional items well know. It’s time casual baseball fans are reminded about two decades of Redbirds history. Who knows? They might become more than casual fans. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/FromMySeat/archives/2016/08/29/a-slightly-premature-redbirds-season-wrapup/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/fcf7d75c9a78f1e4073d47d624573d356045124af1df160f5e9ebfbdd3e872e3.json |
[
"Chris Davis",
"Aug.",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T12:56:59 | null | 2016-08-25T13:17:00 | Did you miss Krapp's Last Tape at Theatre South last season? If the answer is yes — and given trends and logistics it probably is... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FTheaterBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F25%2Fsmall-and-essential-new-quark-theatre-company-offers-alternatives.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4870514/screen_shot_2016-08-25_at_12.30.38_pm.png | en | null | "Small and Essential," New Quark Theatre Company Offers Alternatives | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge Isbell, Koeppel, Remsen
click to enlarge
Did you missat Theatre South last season? If the answer is yes — and given trends and logistics it probably is — then you missed a genuine event. All the right pieces were in play: Veteran actor Tony Isbell starring in a dream role; Beckett's bleak bite-sized memory play; A production focusing on bare essentials, not because anybody had to (even if they did), but because that was a priority. For true blue fans of great scripts and masterful acting this was a "Get it while it's hot moment," because, even in a city with a growing, thriving theater scene, this collision of actor and ethos was as rare as the production was fine and fuss-free.Turns out there's more where that came from. Isbell and his partner in Adam Remsen, and Remsen's partner in life Louisa Koeppel have partnered to create Quark Theatre , named for the elementary building block of matter. Nerdy. Cool.It makes for a nice logo too. Also essential. Build that brand, kids! (Also on Facebook, of course, friend them ).Quark was inspired by's modest success, and aims to produce similarly modest work with a focus on performance and quality material that hasn't, and might not otherwise be produced in Memphis. Season One launches in Spring 2017 with a production of David Harrower's acclaimed, a British drama about a young woman meeting the middle aged man who sexually abused her when she was 12. It's an Olivier winner, with two notable New York runs.is followed by Alan Barton'sin September, and Jennifer Haley'sin March 2018. The former chronicles a coffee house meeting between two old friends where savage nostalgia ensues meriting comparisons to David Mamet and Brett Easton Ellis. The latter's virtual future noir of shifting avatars and changeable realities.That sounds like a tight schedule ; ambitious but manageably so for a company stressing essentials.Memphis loves big musicals, and big musicals love Memphis. Nothing wrong with that. Even so, and accounting for existing indies, we remain underserved on other fronts. Every jot helps.Welcome, Quark. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/TheaterBlog/archives/2016/08/25/small-and-essential-new-quark-theatre-company-offers-alternatives | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/316cb042050d4ece5accf4e0a7850ebd425f908965b069c967ddf0d90443f8bb.json |
[
"Chris Shaw",
"Aug.",
"Jul.",
"J.D. Reager",
"Andrew Earles",
"Chris Mccoy",
"Chris Davis",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Warren Hines",
"Joshua Cannon"
] | 2016-08-26T12:58:23 | null | 2016-08-25T04:00:00 | This Saturday afternoon Shangri-La Records will host their second annual Sweatfest in the store's front parking lot. Much like Sweatfest I, Sweatfest II is a... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Fsweatfest-ii-at-shangri-la%2FContent%3Foid%3D4862241.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4862240/afterdarkbox_codydickinson.jpg | en | null | Sweatfest II at Shangri-La | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | This Saturday afternoon Shangri-La Records will host their second annual Sweatfest in the store's front parking lot. Much like Sweatfest I, Sweatfest II is a gathering of local rock-and-roll bands playing in the middle of the day in what is normally the hottest month of summer. There will also be discounts on all music memorabilia, including budget CDs, LPs, 45s, cassette tapes, and everything else that Shangri-La decides to slap a sale sticker on. The fest is "bring your own whatever," but cooling tents and water will be available for those who can't take the heat.
click to enlarge Cody Dickinson
The music starts at 2 p.m., and, while the set times haven't been announced yet, the lineup is finely curated and features some of the best local rockers in town. Cody Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars is the biggest name on the bill, and it's a safe bet his performance will be closer to the end of the evening. Another highlight is the Subtractions (featuring the great Jeremy Scott), who just got done performing at the first annual Monkee-Mania show at Lafayette's Music Room. Ben Baker will perform with friends, Graham Winchester and the Ammunition, plus, his other band, the Sheiks, will be on hand, in addition to James and the Ultrasounds. SVU and Ten High are also set to play.
Shangri-La has had a busy month, first hosting the listening party for the Johnnie Frierson reissue Have You Been Good to Yourself, and then having the first two Grifters albums reissued by Fat Possum Records out of Oxford. Viva la Vinyl! | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/sweatfest-ii-at-shangri-la/Content?oid=4862241 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/71ebdc008d3f3efd691bb8f2405e2f1124c52011ab85e5408a2188d2f236d869.json |
[
"Aug.",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:05:21 | null | 2016-08-23T10:19:00 | Memphis City Council member Martavius Jones formally added his voice Tuesday to the chorus of Memphians who don’t want the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FNewsBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F23%2Fjones-opposes-tva-wells-with-resolution-tuesday%2F.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4864182/screen_shot_2016-08-23_at_10.17.10_am.png | en | null | Jones Opposes TVA Wells with Resolution Tuesday | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge
Memphis City Council member Martavius Jones formally added his voice Tuesday to the chorus of Memphians who don’t want the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to dig wells into the Memphis Sand aquifer.The TVA has floated an idea to pull 3.5 million gallons of water per day from the Memphis Sand aquifer to cool its new, under-construction gas plant on President’s Island. Jones introduced a resolution Tuesday urging TVA boards members to consider using waste water or buying water from Memphis Light Gas & Water for that purpose.The resolution passed the council’s MLGW committee Tuesday morning and will get a vote from the full council Tuesday afternoon, during its regular meeting. Also, Jones requested the item get same night minutes, which means it could not be re-examined and changed at a later council meeting.The timing, he said Tuesday, was important as TVA board members hold their next quarterly meeting Thursday in Knoxville. He said he hopes the resolution from the full council will reach the TVA board before they make any decision on the matter.However, allowing the new wells could be a decision for the Shelby County Health Department. MLGW president Jerry Collins told council member Worth Morgan that that agency alone has the authority to grant new wells, just like the ones TVA has proposed.WHEREAS, the City of Memphis is grateful that the Tennessee Valley Authority has chosen to replace the coal burning Allen Fossil Plant, the number one source of air pollution in Shelby County, with a much cleaner and far more efficient combined-cycle natural gas plant; andWHEREAS, the Memphis Sand Aquifer, and the pristine water that comes from it, is one of the greatest assets of the Memphis metropolitan area; andWHEREAS, sustainable planning is critical in ensuring Memphis continues to have an adequate supply of drinking water for its residents and properly monitors all withdrawals from the Memphis Sand Aquifer; andWHEREAS, the Tennessee Valley Authority indicated in initial publicly available planning documents it would use waste water from the adjacent Maxson Sewage Treatment Plant to replace cooling water lost through evaporation during operation of its new plant; andWHEREAS, the Tennessee Valley Authority recently decided to switch to use water from the Memphis Sand Aquifer water, and didn't publish their new planning documents; andWHEREAS, the Tennessee Valley Authority is already drilling on-site groundwater wells to access the Memphis Sand Aquifer; andWHEREAS, the University of Memphis' Center for Applied Earth Science and Engineering Research has recommended that the Tennessee Valley Authority should carefully consider using the Mississippi Alluvial Aquifer rather than our precious Memphis Sand Aquifer; andWHEREAS, the Tennessee Valley Authority mission of service, as stated on their website, "includes being stewards of the regions’ natural resources"; andWHEREAS, Memphis Light, Gas and Water is also recognized as a responsible steward of our precious groundwater, including the Memphis Sand Aquifer; andWHEREAS, Memphis Light, Gas and Water is the largest distributor of the Tennessee Valley Authority and represents 11% of its total electric load; andWHEREAS, Memphis Light, Gas and Water pays the Tennessee Valley Authority $1.0 billion per year for energy consumed in their service area; andWHEREAS, the approximately $1.2 million per year that it would cost the Tennessee Valley Authority to acquire the necessary cooling water from Memphis Light, Gas and Water would help defray water costs for the rest of the community; andWHEREAS, the Tennessee Valley Authority has not entered into any contracts for purchase of replacement cooling water from Memphis Light, Gas and Water;NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Memphis City Council believes that it is in the best interest of the citizens of Memphis and Shelby County that the Tennessee Valley Authority should carefully consider using the Mississippi Alluvial Aquifer rather than our precious Memphis Sand Aquifer; and,BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Tennessee Valley Authority, if they determine by careful study that using the Mississippi Alluvial Aquifer is not a good alternative, the Tennessee Valley Authority should then purchase the required cooling water for their new plant on Frank Pidgeon Industrial Park from Memphis Light, Gas and Water; and,BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Tennessee Valley Authority should publicly publish its analysis and updated plans as a further Supplemental Environmental Assessment, providing opportunity for public review and comment;BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Tennessee Valley Authority should report quarterly to Memphis Light, Gas and Water and to the City of Memphis, how much water it is using each month at the Allen Fossil Fuel Plant, for what purpose and from what source; such reporting should begin no later than July 1, 2017, or when the facility is operational, whichever is later; and,BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution is delivered in the most expeditious manner, in advance of the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors meeting scheduled for August 25, 2016, to members of the Board of Directors of TVA, Mr. Bill Johnson, CEO and President, TVA. Additional copies should be sent to Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, and U.S. House of Representatives members Rep. Steve Cohen and Stephen Fincher. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2016/08/23/jones-opposes-tva-wells-with-resolution-tuesday/ | en | 2016-08-23T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/67fe903b63d8c2109ec752a41529e408a553ec30754158dd6ef2e1ea27856e2e.json |
[
"Flyer Staff",
"Chris Mccoy",
"Richard Alley",
"Tosells",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Jackson Baker",
"Chris Davis"
] | 2016-08-26T13:04:57 | null | 2016-08-25T04:00:00 | The world we live in today is kind of a bummer. There's a terrorist attack somewhere around the globe nearly every day. Racism, classism, sexism,... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Fbad-behavior%2FContent%3Foid%3D4864177%26show%3Dcomments.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4864173/cover_memphisflyervic_devilkanyna_p3a4634-teaser.jpg | en | null | Bad Behavior | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | null | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/bad-behavior/Content?oid=4864177&show=comments | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/2b145da5c84273d40be082d461f3b1788d278adac41bd589d53e8edc2ca511d9.json |
[
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:05:40 | null | 2022-01-01T00:00:00 | Brings to life the timeless story of a selfish and hot tempered prince who is turned into a hideous monster and must win the affection of a beautiful, young girl in order to regain his humanity. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Fbeauty-and-the-beast%2FEvent%3Foid%3D4864644%26show%3Dcomments.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4870116/bandb.jpg | en | null | Beauty and the Beast | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | null | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/beauty-and-the-beast/Event?oid=4864644&show=comments | en | 2022-01-01T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/25a75173797009c2b5435ef77a2fa2151570c9e641811381dccd50e9d869f884.json |
[
"Chris Davis",
"Aug.",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T12:52:42 | null | 2016-08-24T17:16:00 | So a muslim, a white liberal, a black, and a jew walk into a theater... And no, that's not the beginning of a joke that... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FTheaterBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2Fdisgraced-sets-a-course-for-conflict.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4867455/14045986_10153889659207643_524330177924805251_n.jpg | en | null | Disgraced Sets A Course for Conflict | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge To be, or not to be... framed?
So a muslim, a white liberal, a black, and a jew walk into a theater... And no, that's not the beginning of a joke that got someone shamed off Twitter. There's no regrettable punchline here unless, of course, you mean the punch in the gut delivered by Ayad Akhtar's Pulitzer Prize winning one-act play, which is available for local consumption at Circuit Playhouse through September4.And who doesn't love a good punch in the gut now and then?is a play you need to see if you're a fan of fine acting and/or argumentative, politically-charged drama. Irene Crist, who directed Circuit's vividly-realized production, has done her part to give the acclaimed show the life and wit it deserves. Still, I've got mixed feelings, no matter how much tough truth it spills in 90 overly-familiar, coincidence-packed minutes.The show is often described as being about cross-cultural identity and the obstacles facing Muslim-Americans post 9-11. But since the proscenium's frame turns the mundane into myth, so it also functions — less fortunately — as a domesticated metaphor for globalism, radicalization, and terrorism, with the latter part expressed as a shocking moment of rage-fueled violence.The story: Amir (Gregory Szatkkowski), is a hotshot Pakistani-American lawyer with a shot at becoming a partner at the prestigious Jewish law firm where he works harder than anybody. He's derailed when his artist wife Emily (Natalie Jones) talks him into helping an Imam who's been accused of raising money for extremists. It's not paranoia when people really are conspiring against you and after his name's associated with a suspected Islamic radical, the knives come out for Amir. He becomes increasingly (and understandably) agitated by snubs, and other signs that he's falling from favor professionally.Emily's an artist gunning for a show at the Whitney. She's also -in an unguarded moment- bedded Isaac, the Jewish man (Gabe Buetel-Gunn) who can make that show happen and who just happens to be married to the African American attorney (Jessica "Jai" Johnson) who, unbeknownst to Amir, has been given the partnership he was expecting. The hard-drinking dinner party that brings all these characters together to nibble on fennel and anchovy salad, plays out like a deconstruction ofas imagined byplaywright Yasmina Reza using snippets of a real life newspaper comment section argument for dialogue. Noteworthy too, in a trivia-conscious play about American identities, everybody eats pork.There are things you can be sure of. Like when somebody produces a gun on stage you can bet it will fire before the show's over. While there are no firearms in this play, there are linguistic equivalents, and they strongly telegraph certain outcomes. Similarly, it's common enough for certain kinds of plays to climax with seemingly openminded characters revealing their prejudices by shouting racially-charged epithets in a moment of rage. Those familiar with the trope may find themselves anticipating this ugly inevitability. Akhtar might be appropriating these things ironically and aiming for ritual, but the effect is a little closer to deja vous.Amir describes himself as an apostate and the Quran as hate mail to humanity stating, "There’s a result to believing that a book written about life in a specific society fifteen hundred years ago is the word of God: You start wanting to recreate that society... That’s why you have people like the Taliban. They’re trying to re-create the world in the image of the one that’s in the Quran." Events that follow result in a similar simulacrum, and Amir gives in to his scriptural destiny.There's a frustrating air of fatalism to, as atavistic pride bends toward violent predisposition. But never mind the complaints. Terrific casting and scenic design evocative of Manhattan privilege help make up for predictability, and naked provocation.picked up its Pulitzer in 2012 — a presidential election year, but not like this one. The newly-minted Tea Party, emboldened by it's reactionary, anti-Obama midterm success, was just starting to stir a white nationalistic pot of extreme conservatism that bubbled over into Donald J. Trump's 2016 campaign for the White House. Today's cast of characters represent a microcosm of that candidate's clearly defined enemies. There are brown people, black people, immigrants, "East Coast Intellectuals," and liberals "with blood coming out of their whatever," all gathered together in one place to rehearse — as it is written — their parts for the end of the world. And so a play that aims for hard questions and complexity begins to feel a bit like propaganda. Nevertheless, its clearer and cloudier moments will both leave audiences with questions of their own, and that may very well be the point. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/TheaterBlog/archives/2016/08/24/disgraced-sets-a-course-for-conflict | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/aab5d533f3d0d25981f15661b6a6a456e9bc22b8d090f860631d914b4bcf0025.json |
[
"Chris Davis",
"Aug.",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:06:36 | null | 2016-08-24T17:16:00 | So a muslim, a white liberal, a black, and a jew walk into a theater... And no, that's not the beginning of a joke that... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FTheaterBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2Fdisgraced-sets-a-course-for-conflict%2F.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4867455/14045986_10153889659207643_524330177924805251_n.jpg | en | null | Disgraced Sets A Course for Conflict | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge To be, or not to be... framed?
So a muslim, a white liberal, a black, and a jew walk into a theater... And no, that's not the beginning of a joke that got someone shamed off Twitter. There's no regrettable punchline here unless, of course, you mean the punch in the gut delivered by Ayad Akhtar's Pulitzer Prize winning one-act play, which is available for local consumption at Circuit Playhouse through September4.And who doesn't love a good punch in the gut now and then?is a play you need to see if you're a fan of fine acting and/or argumentative, politically-charged drama. Irene Crist, who directed Circuit's vividly-realized production, has done her part to give the acclaimed show the life and wit it deserves. Still, I've got mixed feelings, no matter how much tough truth it spills in 90 overly-familiar, coincidence-packed minutes.The show is often described as being about cross-cultural identity and the obstacles facing Muslim-Americans post 9-11. But since the proscenium's frame turns the mundane into myth, so it also functions — less fortunately — as a domesticated metaphor for globalism, radicalization, and terrorism, with the latter part expressed as a shocking moment of rage-fueled violence.The story: Amir (Gregory Szatkkowski), is a hotshot Pakistani-American lawyer with a shot at becoming a partner at the prestigious Jewish law firm where he works harder than anybody. He's derailed when his artist wife Emily (Natalie Jones) talks him into helping an Imam who's been accused of raising money for extremists. It's not paranoia when people really are conspiring against you and after his name's associated with a suspected Islamic radical, the knives come out for Amir. He becomes increasingly (and understandably) agitated by snubs, and other signs that he's falling from favor professionally.Emily's an artist gunning for a show at the Whitney. She's also -in an unguarded moment- bedded Isaac, the Jewish man (Gabe Buetel-Gunn) who can make that show happen and who just happens to be married to the African American attorney (Jessica "Jai" Johnson) who, unbeknownst to Amir, has been given the partnership he was expecting. The hard-drinking dinner party that brings all these characters together to nibble on fennel and anchovy salad, plays out like a deconstruction ofas imagined byplaywright Yasmina Reza using snippets of a real life newspaper comment section argument for dialogue. Noteworthy too, in a trivia-conscious play about American identities, everybody eats pork.There are things you can be sure of. Like when somebody produces a gun on stage you can bet it will fire before the show's over. While there are no firearms in this play, there are linguistic equivalents, and they strongly telegraph certain outcomes. Similarly, it's common enough for certain kinds of plays to climax with seemingly openminded characters revealing their prejudices by shouting racially-charged epithets in a moment of rage. Those familiar with the trope may find themselves anticipating this ugly inevitability. Akhtar might be appropriating these things ironically and aiming for ritual, but the effect is a little closer to deja vous.Amir describes himself as an apostate and the Quran as hate mail to humanity stating, "There’s a result to believing that a book written about life in a specific society fifteen hundred years ago is the word of God: You start wanting to recreate that society... That’s why you have people like the Taliban. They’re trying to re-create the world in the image of the one that’s in the Quran." Events that follow result in a similar simulacrum, and Amir gives in to his scriptural destiny.There's a frustrating air of fatalism to, as atavistic pride bends toward violent predisposition. But never mind the complaints. Terrific casting and scenic design evocative of Manhattan privilege help make up for predictability, and naked provocation.picked up its Pulitzer in 2012 — a presidential election year, but not like this one. The newly-minted Tea Party, emboldened by it's reactionary, anti-Obama midterm success, was just starting to stir a white nationalistic pot of extreme conservatism that bubbled over into Donald J. Trump's 2016 campaign for the White House. Today's cast of characters represent a microcosm of that candidate's clearly defined enemies. There are brown people, black people, immigrants, "East Coast Intellectuals," and liberals "with blood coming out of their whatever," all gathered together in one place to rehearse — as it is written — their parts for the end of the world. And so a play that aims for hard questions and complexity begins to feel a bit like propaganda. Nevertheless, its clearer and cloudier moments will both leave audiences with questions of their own, and that may very well be the point. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/TheaterBlog/archives/2016/08/24/disgraced-sets-a-course-for-conflict/ | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/2b30ed1122ac752a96e9ff5617865c0868379dccbd1e9ed7d250e1c9cdb5baad.json |
[
"Susan Ellis",
"Aug.",
"Frank Chin",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-29T20:51:01 | null | 2016-08-29T10:27:00 | Oh my goodness ... The first person to correctly ID the dish and where I'm eating wins a fabulous prize. To enter, submit your answer... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FHungryMemphis%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Fguess-where-im-eating-contest-110%2F.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4878628/img_2342.jpg | en | null | Guess Where I'm Eating Contest 110 | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge
Oh my goodness ...The first person to correctly ID the dish and where I'm eating wins a fabulous prize.To enter, submit your answer to me via email at ellis@memphisflyer.com | http://www.memphisflyer.com/HungryMemphis/archives/2016/08/29/guess-where-im-eating-contest-110/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/57f860e465634ba4f795d8d78fda4f8786e98e4435becd552c736fd2fb889d3f.json |
[
"Bianca Phillips",
"Aug.",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Alexandra Pusateri",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T18:49:05 | null | 2016-08-26T13:44:00 | The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) security guard responsible for pushing a passenger, which resulted in that passenger's death, has been placed on diversion for... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FNewsBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2Fmata-security-guard-placed-on-diversion-in-passenger-death.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4872882/1408549890-screen_shot_2014-08-20_at_10.51.08_am.png | en | null | MATA Security Guard Placed on Diversion in Passenger Death | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | Adicus Mitchell
The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) security guard responsible for pushing a passenger, which resulted in that passenger's death, has been placed on diversion for three years.On May 6th of last year, a bus driver at the North Main terminal alerted Mitchell that he had an unruly passenger on board, and Mitchell responded by forcefully pushing the passenger off the bus. The passenger, 69-year-old Robert Gray, landed face-first and lay motionless on the concrete.He was hospitalized in critical condition and later transferred to a long-term care facility. He died there from complications from his fall on August 3rd, 2014. Gray had been allegedly been making obscene remarks to a female passenger when the driver alerted Mitchell.Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Lee Coffee granted Mitchell's request for diversion, a type of probation that will erase the conviction from his record after three years of good behavior. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2016/08/26/mata-security-guard-placed-on-diversion-in-passenger-death | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/80675cfa305db0dac09214b104554b6637b1af409d372b90095f12d2a677424b.json |
[
"Chris Shaw",
"Aug.",
"Warren Hines",
"Chris Davis",
"Louis Goggans",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-30T20:49:10 | null | 2016-08-30T14:11:00 | Tomorrow night Young Dolph will perform at the New Daisy Theater as part of his "Royalty Tour." Young Dolph- Real name Adolph Thornton Jr.- released... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FMusicBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2Fyoung-dolph-at-the-new-daisy.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4881493/young_dolph1.jpg | en | null | Young Dolph at the New Daisy | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge
Tomorrow night Young Dolph will perform at the New Daisy Theater as part of his "Royalty Tour." Young Dolph- Real name Adolph Thornton Jr.- released his debut albumthis February, and the rapper has been making waves since then, most notably appearing on the O.T. Genasis track "Cut it."Check out the video for "Cut It" below and get to the New Daisy by 8 p.m. tomorrow. Tickets are $20-$30 dollars and advance tickets are available. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/MusicBlog/archives/2016/08/30/young-dolph-at-the-new-daisy | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/c8a5bbf78bfe48395157ee43f980ef0b99ee95464fb3d30fd5c05cb81065bc31.json |
[
"Aug.",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Chris Davis",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T12:53:12 | null | 2016-08-24T15:40:00 | Both plaintiffs in the now-dismissed lawsuit against the Memphis City Council regarding the Greensward said Wednesday that they did not tell council member Berlin Boyd... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FNewsBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2Fgreensward-plaintiffs-boyds-statements-not-true-completely-false.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4867369/berlinboyd_lg2.jpg | en | null | Greensward Plaintiffs: Boyd's Statement 'Not True,' 'Completely False' | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge Boyd
Both plaintiffs in the now-dismissed lawsuit against the Memphis City Council regarding the Greensward said Wednesday that they did not tell council member Berlin Boyd that the Overton Park Conservancy (OPC) played any role in their filing of the suit as he claimed Tuesday.Residents Dr. Susan Lacy and Stephen Humbert filed a suit against the city council earlier this year claiming the council broke state open meetings laws ahead of the March 1 vote that gave the Memphis Zoo a majority control of the 12-acre Greensward for overflow parking.The suit was recently dismissed after the council approved a plan to improve parking in Overton Park and end he zoo’s use of the Greensward for overflow parking.However, Boyd threatened to pull OPC’s current-year city funding if the plaintiffs in the case did not close a legal loop that might allow them to bring the case back to court. A resolution Boyd presented before the council’s Parks Committee read that “one of the plaintiffs” in the suit “has admitted to council members” that OPC provided them with the language and information for their lawsuit.Lacy and Humbert say that “is not true” and was a “completely false statement.”“I came to this as a private citizen who is concerned about the process and the way that that March 1 resolution was passed,” Lacy said Wednesday. “I had no conversation with anyone with the Overton Park Conservancy (about the suit) and have not had any conversations with the Overton Park Conservancy.”Humbert said, “From where I stand, it was a completely false statement that Berlin Boyd made. It does upset me that that was printed as being a fact that he knew and, indeed, it was not a fact.”“I can speak for myself and I’ve talked with Dr. Lacy and I can tell you that I did not speak of that — say that — to any person, human being because it’s not true.”Boyd ultimately dropped his resolution at the request of other council members.Boyd did not immediately respond to a call for comment. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2016/08/24/greensward-plaintiffs-boyds-statements-not-true-completely-false | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/4133495aace94c957bfff649ae7035a6246cda662d8bccc8a37a9df81a447c65.json |
[
"Warren Hines",
"Aug.",
"Chris Shaw",
"Jul.",
"Chris Davis",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:03:27 | null | 2016-08-24T13:31:00 | “This album is really my love letter to the road,” Cody Dickinson said on stage at the Mississippi Grammy Museum. He was seated in a... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FMusicBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2Flive-review-cody-dickinson-at-the-grammy-museum.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4867012/cody.jpeg | en | null | Live Review: Cody Dickinson at the Grammy Museum | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge Cody Dickinson.
“This album is really my love letter to the road,” Cody Dickinson said on stage at the Mississippi Grammy Museum. He was seated in a comfortable armchair in the intimate performance theater next to past Grammy nominee, Shannon McNally, who was there to talk to him about his debut solo album,Cody has been the drummer for the North Mississippi All-Stars for about twenty years. His father Jim Dickinson, played keys on the original studio recording of “Wild Horses” when the Rolling Stones took a few days’ break in a Muscle Shoals studio during their 1969 American Tour. His older brother, Luther Dickinson, front man of the All-Stars, has released four solo albums as of this year, having brought his bluesy folk-rock singing and guitar style to collaborations with greats such as the Black Crowes and Shawn Lane.At forty years old, the Dickinson family has cast a long shadow over Cody, the younger of the two Dickinson brothers. Cody explained that he had to start learning some new instruments and reinvent himself to push his career in a new direction. After a short, five song set, it became obvious that his songwriting ability has what it takes to keep pace with his family’s legacy.The All-Stars drummer can hold his own weight down, having toured with Robert Plant. He’s just come off of tour playing drums for the Latin band, Los Lobos.“We were at Red Rocks this summer, and it was the last song… and the band went into playing ‘La Bamba.’ It was just incredible to be playing this song that all these people knew. It was so visceral,” Cody explained to Shannon and the audience.“It was sort of intimidating to be the drummer,” he continued, “the backbone of this incredible Latin band. I admit I dropped the ball a couple of times during the tour…”“But you probably learned from those mistakes. The next night’s audience benefited from your mistake. I know that’s how it works for me,” Shannon chimed in.As he brandished his shiny electric guitar to begin his set, Cody admitted that this was the first time he had ever performed the first track of his album, “Equinox Blues.” On this track and several others, he played percussion with his feet and guitar with his hands all while singing.“I’m loving this one-man-band scenario. If I slow down or if I want to speed up… it’s alright.”He went on to play several heartfelt songs on the keyboard, alternating between the one-man-band setup. “Stranger” is one of his originals co-written with C. Neville that starts out with a “Riders of the Storm” sort of rainy-day psychedelic sound. Cody cited the floods of New Orleans and our low-lying part of the South as inspiration.“You’ve got nowhere to go [in a flood] like Indiana Jones in the tomb.”The title track, “Leeway for the Freeway,” offers an easy listening, major chord melody on the pop side of blues-rock. It sounds a lot like the All-Stars debut album. He originally wrote it for Greg Allman, but since Greg never recorded it, he decided to put it on the album. It sounds like a highway song. Like something that would bring your American dream to life at some interstate Waffle House at 4:00am. He even got the audience to chime in as back-up vocals for the song.After the show, the audience meandered out around the gift shop where we had a chance to buy our copy of album with its unmistakable Mississippi photography as artwork. I have been lucky to hear the All-Stars play a handful of times, but this was the first time I had met a member of the band.A couple of years ago, on Christmas Eve, I had a ring in my pocket as I drove up to the levee to take my dogs for a run. On the way back, the original recording of “Wild Horses” came on the radio. This was the song I listened to before I asked my wife to marry me. I had to tell Cody this story.“Well, did she say yes?” He laughed.“She’s right over there. She said ‘no,’ but she still goes around with me,” I joked.They say that there’s only about two degrees of separation in Mississippi. I may never get a chance to meet Mick Jagger or Keith Richards, but it was pretty special to hear Jim Dickinson’s son Cody play keys on a Saturday night in the Delta. Check out his new album,. With songs by John Hiatt, T Model Ford, Ry Cooder, Jim Dickinson, Chuck Berry and several Cody Dickinson originals, it’s a modern American classic. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/MusicBlog/archives/2016/08/24/live-review-cody-dickinson-at-the-grammy-museum | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/e273d4df4a0e99dcfd1de0607ec39c1309ac446291065665d26aa3dffe784dcb.json |
[
"Aug.",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Michael Finger",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-29T00:50:34 | null | 2016-08-26T13:42:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FNewsBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2Finfographic-hand-gun-permits-in-shelby-county%2F.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4872883/screen_shot_2016-08-26_at_1.43.00_pm.png | en | null | Top Guns: Shelby Tops Tennessee in Handgun Permits | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | null | http://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2016/08/26/infographic-hand-gun-permits-in-shelby-county/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/4643e43a671795b45a68b17b5f0400cf94c2edf1a668d1e64bad40d5840e29e5.json |
[
"Chris Mccoy",
"Aug.",
"Jul.",
"Chris Davis",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:06:18 | null | 2016-08-24T13:39:00 | Kubo And The Two Strings starts out with a moment of quiet bravado: “If you must blink, do it now.” The voice, we will soon... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FFilmTVEtcBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2Fkubo-and-the-two-strings%2F.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4867009/kubo1.jpg | en | null | Kubo and the Two Strings | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge
click to enlarge
starts out with a moment of quiet bravado: “If you must blink, do it now.”The voice, we will soon learn, belongs to our hero Kubo (Art Parkinson, aka the youngest Stark on), and “If you must blink…” is the beginning of his carny pitch. But it also doubles as a manifesto for one of the most visually sumptuous films of the year.11 years before, the infant Kubo washed up on a beach with his mother; now, he earns money to support her as a street performer. With his magic(a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument), he can bring origami figures to life and use them to bring tales of derring-do to life for the curious villagers. The star of his stories is a paper samurai named Hanzo, modeled after the boy’s missing father.Already it’s easy to see the mythic resonances in Kubo’s story: Perseus also survived abandonment at sea, and later learned he was demigod, son of Zeus and the mortal Danae. Kubo’s father Hanzo was mortal, but his mother was the most powerful of three daughters of Raiden the Moon King (voiced by Ralph Fienes).
You might think this curious, because Perseus was Greek, and the world where Kubo lives is undoubtedly a stylized version of feudal Japan. The mixing of East and West continues through the story, a largely by-the-book Hero’s Journey sprinkled liberally with concepts from Shinto and Japanese folklore. It’s the mark of a team of young filmmakers, led by Travis Knight, who have clearly grown up steeped in manga, anime, and Studio Ghibli.
Instead of hailing from Tokyo, Knight’s animation studio Laika is based in Portland, Oregon, and Knight’s father Philip is the co-founder of Nike. Laika is the studio behind great-looking stop motion films such as Coraline, but this is CEO Travis’ first credit as director, which might lead the more cynical among us to dismiss Kubo as a rich guy’s vanity project—or a shot across the bow of the Disney battleship.
click to enlarge
Kubo’s questing companions include the wise Monkey, voiced with incredible precision by Charlize Theron, and the rather thick Beetle, a perfectly cast Matthew McConaughey.
Kubo is thrust into adventure when he inadvertently exposes his whereabouts to his evil aunties, a pair of black-clad twins chillingly voiced by Rooney Mara. Kubo’s grandfather stole one of his eyes when he was an infant, and now the Moon King wants the other one.
The real star of the show is the seamless blend of advanced stop motion animation and CGI, which Laika use to create stunning, hyperreal images, such as an underwater garden of malign, staring eyes, and a boat made of orange fall leaves.
When he leaves the familiar environs of his village, Kubo awakens in a featureless, snowy landscape. There’s no shortage of eye-popping set pieces in the film, but this little moment of visual restraint stuck out as proof that Laika’s head is in the right place. A lesser film would have been afraid to bore its audience by going blank, but Knight and company let the landscape’s lack of landmarks reflect their hero’s psychic dislocation. Kubo’s visuals are not just knockout gorgeous, they’re always in service of character and story.
click to enlarge
How has Laika succeeded where so many other have failed this year? There are four credited writers, none of whom are the director, which means it was not the vision of a single auteur, but the product of a healthy collaborative process.
This is the model of contemporary corporate filmmaking that has recently seen so many specularly expensive failures. A plucky little studio, both geographically and spiritually removed from the Hollywood sausage factory, has beat the majors at their own game, and they’ve done it for a fraction of the cost.
The dog days of August is when Hollywood traditionally dumps the losers from their summer line ups, but with Kubo and the Two Strings, they’ve saved the best for last. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/FilmTVEtcBlog/archives/2016/08/24/kubo-and-the-two-strings/ | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/1ce0359112babaf5aa4aed5f00ce1f8251a01b4ff26661ddff56a7f0b9f68007.json |
[
"Chris Davis",
"Aug.",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Jul.",
"Susan Ellis",
"Chris Mccoy",
"Warren Hines",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Leonard Gill",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T12:48:12 | null | 2016-08-25T04:00:00 | The World Series of Drag Racing has been an Illinois staple for more than half a century. This year, the event docks at the Memphis... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Fthe-world-series-of-drag-racing-at-memphis-international-raceway%2FContent%3Foid%3D4864163.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4864162/werec_millican.jpg | en | null | The World Series of Drag Racing at Memphis International Raceway | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | The World Series of Drag Racing has been an Illinois staple for more than half a century. This year, the event docks at the Memphis International Raceway in Millington. To get some sense for the scope of this two-day event, the Flyer talked to Memphis International's President and GM Pam Kendrick.
Memphis Flyer: The World Series of Drag Racing sounds like a big deal.
Pam Kendrick: It's a really big deal and the kind of thing Memphis hasn't seen since 2009. So it's going to be a big splash.
And it's not just top fuel and funny cars.
We'll run a variety of classes: top fuel, nitro funny car, pro-stock, nostalgia pro stock.We'll run a sportsman class as well as the Dixie Doorslammers. We'll have the Car Chix, an all ladies race — as much racing variety as you will see at any given show.
click to enlarge World Series of Drag Racing
What are your recommendations for hardcore fans and novices?
If you're a diehard racer, you're going to come early in the day and watch all the sportsman classes run. If you're a traditional race fan, one who goes to national caliber events, you'll want to focus on the top fuel, the nitro funny cars, and the pro-stocks we're going to be running. And we've got folks like Larry Dixon and Shirley Muldowney, who aren't running but are legends in the sport. And Big Daddy Don Garlits who's the father of drag racing. Folks who are just being introduced will probably tune in on the Dixie Doorslammers. And we'll have a kids zone with inflatables. There will also be a drag strip where kids can race against another child. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/the-world-series-of-drag-racing-at-memphis-international-raceway/Content?oid=4864163 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/ade8e2a9b355a38cbe51e290affeec7d3c2f266fc6ab2d445cb5515979c90153.json |
[
"Aug.",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T16:48:26 | null | 2016-08-26T10:19:00 | Most car accidents in Shelby County happen on Thursday between 3 p.m.-6 p.m. Drivers between 16-25 get in more accidents here. Alcohol related crashes continue... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FNewsBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2Freport-alcohol-crashes-down-distracted-driving-accidents-up%2F.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4872477/screen_shot_2016-08-26_at_10.14.39_am.png | en | null | Report: Alcohol Crashes Down, Distracted Driving Accidents Up | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge Gatti, Kellner, Beinvenu & Montesi
Most car accidents in Shelby County happen on Thursday between 3 p.m.-6 p.m. Drivers between 16-25 get in more accidents here.Alcohol related crashes continue to decrease, a trend beginning around 2012. Though, distracted driving crashes are going steadily up.These are just some of the findings from new research by Memphis law firm Gatti, Keltner, Bienvenu & Montesi.Check out a huge infographic from the firm below. Read its findings here Brought to you by Gatti, Keltner, Bienvenu & Montesi | http://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2016/08/26/report-alcohol-crashes-down-distracted-driving-accidents-up/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/5def6f98915632e68ce39bcae2063965967c09b602b0110cf15f1c22f0f9336e.json |
[
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-30T10:51:10 | null | 2012-10-04T04:00:00 | As you've most likely noted, the visual theme for the Best of Memphis 2012 issue is a nod to this year's elections. With this in... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Fbest-of-memphis%2FContent%3Foid%3D3274561%26show%3Dcomments.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/best-of-memphis/u/slideshow/3274585/bestofmemphis.jpg | en | null | Best of Memphis | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | null | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/best-of-memphis/Content?oid=3274561&show=comments | en | 2012-10-04T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/fc3a99d0913b9235ef1982f52e81f7ad0359a3b78e477b623dd0fdb081074bf8.json |
[
"Chris Davis",
"Bianca Phillips",
"Aug.",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Jul.",
"Chris Mccoy",
"Warren Hines",
"Alexandra Pusateri",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:01:10 | null | 2016-08-25T04:00:00 | CHOAS 901 Remember Elvis Week 2016? Gosh, it seems like it was only last week when fans of the King assembled in front of Graceland... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Ffly-on-the-wall-1435%2FContent%3Foid%3D4864169.json | http://media2.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4864168/flyonwall_choas.jpg | en | null | Fly on the Wall 1435 | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | CHOAS 901
Remember Elvis Week 2016? Gosh, it seems like it was only last week when fans of the King assembled in front of Graceland to light a candle and stream up the hill and through the mansion's Meditation Garden. And all the Black Lives Matters demonstrators showed up to engage in a bit of modestly disruptive protest, so police showed up in numbers sufficient to ensure there wasn't any fan base mingling at the party. And it rained like hell. Those were the days, my friend. Or as WMC-TV put it in an alarming all-caps headline: "Elvis Week CHOAS." As in "Get CHOAS a proofreader" maybe?
click to enlarge
What does CHOAS even mean? Is it a run-of-the-mill typo or a new word for something worse than ordinary CHAOS because it's chaos inside of CHAOS? Is it local TV's Superman Dam Fool moment? Is it a startling vision of Memphis' future? Is CHOAS inevitable? Stay tuned.
Verbatim
"We're devastating people's lives, and I can't be part of that." — Michael Rallings announcing his opposition to loosening marijuana laws during a forum on heroin use because REEFER MADNESS! It's hard to know whose lives the new police director thinks will be destroyed by loosening current pot laws, since, according to data compiled by the ACLU, 88 percent of the 8.2 million marijuana arrests in the U.S. between 2001 and 2010 were for simple weed-only possession, and blacks were 3.73 times more likely to be arrested in spite of relative equal usage rates. Blue Crush service techs, maybe? | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/fly-on-the-wall-1435/Content?oid=4864169 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/be1e1f682523fa1b7f3fd14595f45646ea1e12e8f666816292442f6f7334c806.json |
[
"Chris Davis",
"Aug.",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-30T16:49:08 | null | 2016-08-30T10:33:00 | Rhodes College English Professor Scott Newstok has presented his first lesson to the incoming class of 2020, and is a Deusey: "How to think like... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FTheaterBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2Fwant-to-think-like-shakespeare.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4881134/screen_shot_2016-08-30_at_10.24.45_am.png | en | null | Want to Think Like Shakespeare? | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click to enlarge Shakespeare and Newstok
But to me, the most momentous event in your intellectual formation was the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, which ushered in our disastrous fixation on testing. Your generation is the first to have gone through primary and secondary school knowing no alternative to a national regimen of assessment. And your professors are only now beginning to realize how this unrelenting assessment has stunted your imaginations....You’ve been cheated of your birthright: a complete education.
Building a bridge to the 16th century must seem like a perverse prescription for today’s ills. I’m the first to admit that English Renaissance pedagogy was rigid and rightly mocked for its domineering pedants. Few of you would be eager to wake up before 6 a.m. to say mandatory prayers, or to be lashed for tardiness, much less translate Latin for hours on end every day of the week. Could there be a system more antithetical to our own contemporary ideals of student-centered, present-focused, and career-oriented education?
Yet this system somehow managed to nurture world-shifting thinkers, including those who launched the Scientific Revolution. This education fostered some of the very habits of mind endorsed by both the National Education Association and the Partnership for 21st Century Learning: critical thinking; clear communication; collaboration; and creativity. (To these "4Cs," I would add "curiosity.") Given that your own education has fallen far short of those laudable goals, I urge you to reconsider Shakespeare’s intellectual formation: that is, not what he purportedly thought — about law or love or leadership — but how he thought. An apparently rigid educational system could, paradoxically, induce liberated thinking.
Rhodes College English Professor Scott Newstok has presented his first lesson to the incoming class of 2020, and is a Deusey: "How to think like Shakespeare." It's a witty critique of modern education practices that begins with a rather incendiary notion stated in clear, unmistakable terms.In his address Newstok takes on several misconceptions about education, brushing away the waxy film of political ideology to reveal truths about the relationship between traditional models and meaningful progress. He does so using Shakespeare — the only named author in contemporary "common core" curriculum — and the kind of educational models he'd have encountered as a student.I've only quoted the set up. The good stuff's all in the body of the address, which was published in the Chronicle of Higher Education , and which I heartily encourage you to read. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/TheaterBlog/archives/2016/08/30/want-to-think-like-shakespeare | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/681fa9b7e2367c90ff8f7d17ba76655b24a738de8ff9541286bdd3107cea7c41.json |
[
"Bianca Phillips",
"Aug.",
"Joshua Cannon",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T22:49:48 | null | 2016-08-26T12:20:00 | A year ago this month, former President Jimmy Carter announced that he had a form of skin cancer that had spread to his brain. Just... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2FNewsBlog%2Farchives%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2Fpresident-jimmy-carter-discusses-his-work-with-habitat%2F.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4872856/14040207_10153846929032844_4972963762877911726_n.jpg | en | null | President Jimmy Carter Discusses His Work with Habitat | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | click image Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis
Jimmy Carter
A year ago this month, former President Jimmy Carter announced that he had a form of skin cancer that had spread to his brain. Just a year later, 91-year-old Carter and his wife Rosalynn are out in the Memphis heat building houses for the 33rd Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project for Habitat for Humanity."A year ago in August, I thought I had two or three weeks to live. It'd already moved to part of my liver, and I've had four different cancers in my brain," said Carter in an exclusive interview with theduring a break from installing siding on a Habitat house near Uptown. "I was prescribed some new medicine, and it worked on me, thank goodness."The Carters announced that they'd be working on this project to build 19 new homes in Bearwater Park, just north of Uptown, last November. Their planned 32nd Habitat project in Nepal last year was canceled due to civil unrest in that country, so the presidential pair came to Memphis instead. They built one home then and made the announcement that the 33rd project would come to Memphis in 2016. But he had cancer then, and he said he wasn't sure he'd make it back."I told the news reporters I'd be back [this] year. But I didn't know if I was going to come back or not," Carter said.Now cancer-free, Carter is back to work — working from about 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily this week alongside his wife (she's 89) and country stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, who are also in Memphis helping with the Habitat project. The four are working on a house together, one of 18 new homes along a residential street called Unity Lane. The Carters started their annual Habitat project in 1984, and each year, they travel to a different location around the world."We've been to 14 foreign countries, some of them several times. The largest we had was 14,000 volunteers, and we built 293 houses in five days. That was in the Philippines," Carter said.In Memphis, 1,500 volunteers are working on the project, and they've traveled from all over. The recipients for the 19 homes have already been selected by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis, and most have been out working on their own homes on the site.Damonic Davis has been working on her home all week. She and her two young kids have been living with her mom and sharing one room since Davis divorced a couple years ago. She and the others must put in 350 to 500 hours of sweat equity to qualify for the program."I've been divorced for about two years, and Habitat is helping me and my family get our very first house. It's giving me the ability to provide stability, financially and shelter-wise, for my children," Davis said.Carter said, earlier in the week, he met another Memphis Habitat house recipient who had been homeless and addicted to drugs just a few years back."He told me that seven years ago, he was living under a bridge. He was addicted to drugs, and he decided to turn his life around," Carter said. "He got a job at a fast food place, and now he's in charge of Chick-fil-A's kitchen. He told me about all the different sandwiches Chick-fil-A makes."The Carter project is helping Memphis Habitat complete their five-year commitment to build 50 homes and do 100 critical repairs in Uptown."We've already done 32, so this will put us over 50," said Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis President and CEO Dwayne Spencer.In addition to building 19 new homes, the Carter project is also working on 10 neighborhood beautification projects, like planting shrubs and grass and doing touch-up painting."We did a windshield survey of the community and identified houses that we thought needed some love and care. We knocked on doors and asked if they'd be receiving of it," Spencer said.They're also doing six "aging in place" projects, which means building ramps for seniors. That work is funded through the Plough Foundation.When asked why they chose Memphis this year, Carter took a moment to praise the Memphis Habitat organization."They offer a wide range of services that other Habitats don't provide. For example, if you're over 75 years old, and you have a broken window or a door that won't shut, [they'll fix it]. For instance, last year [when we were in Memphis], we worked on a house where one side of the living room was six inches lower than the other side because the foundation had rotted out." | http://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2016/08/26/president-jimmy-carter-discusses-his-work-with-habitat/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/835a0bf430615b3c0c2f75faa616e90357b43e0d19eb888505302238cf0b9bb2.json |
[
"Bianca Phillips",
"Aug.",
"Andria Lisle",
"Lesley Young",
"Richard Murff",
"Susan Ellis",
"Chris Mccoy",
"Chris Davis",
"Warren Hines",
"Joshua Cannon"
] | 2016-08-26T12:52:11 | null | 2016-08-25T04:00:00 | In 2010, as local restaurateur Aldo Dean was planning for Bardog's second anniversary alley party, one of his former employees tossed out another idea. "She... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Fbardog-celebrates-eight-years-with-5k-and-street-fest%2FContent%3Foid%3D4862239.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4862237/barreport_race.jpg | en | null | Bardog celebrates eight years with 5K and street fest. | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | In 2010, as local restaurateur Aldo Dean was planning for Bardog's second anniversary alley party, one of his former employees tossed out another idea.
"She wanted to hold a 5K for our Salty Dogs running club, and she wanted to do it for charity. One of our bar patrons, Kevin Washburn, had a son who was being treated for leukemia at St. Jude, so I said, why don't we donate the money to [Kevin's] family? But Kevin said St. Jude pays for everything, so why don't we donate the proceeds to St. Jude?" says Dean, who also owns Slider Inn and Aldo's Pizza Pies.
That former employee, Jen Barker, also worked at Breakaway Running, so the locally owned running store got involved in organizing the event.
"I don't know anything about running a race, so that's why we got Breakaway involved," Dean says.
Thus, the Breakaway Bardog 5K was born. The 3.1-mile race has coincided with Bardog's outdoor anniversary party ever since. The race and party — now dubbed the Monroe Avenue Street Festival — is scheduled for Sunday, August 28th.
That first year, the race attracted a little more than 200 runners, many of whom were associated with Bardog's Monday night running club, the Salty Dogs. But last year, Dean said the race involved 1,500 runners and raised $32,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
click to enlarge Bardog
The Breakaway Bardog 5K draws an impressive crowd.
click to enlarge
Runners form fund-raising teams, and the team that raises the most for St. Jude will win a $2,000 bar tab at Bardog. The group with the second highest fund-raising total will get 10 pairs of running shoes from Breakaway.
The race starts at 9 a.m. at Bardog and makes a loop around downtown. Beer bottle-opener medals featuring the Bardog logo will be awarded to the fastest runners in each age group. Afterward, there's a post-race party, and runners get access to free beer and food until 11:30 a.m.
"The race and the post-race party kicks into the Monroe Avenue Street Festival, so most of the runners stick around and party all day," says Bryan Roberson, owner and manager of Breakaway. Roberson and his girlfriend, Jessica Grammer, codirect the Breakaway Bardog 5K.
At 11:30 a.m., the Monroe Avenue Street Festival opens to the public. Although it's the seventh year for the 5K, the festival is in its eighth year. Dean held the first Bardog anniversary alley party in 2009, and the event has now grown so large that he's had to move the party from the next-door alley to an entire downtown block. Monroe Avenue from Front to Main will be closed to traffic, and the party takes place in the street.
"It's a fun event, just a big community party. And it's one of the few local street festivals put on by a business," Dean says.
The party is free, but some vendors will be accepting donations for St. Jude. Food will include dishes from Dean's restaurants — Bardog, Slider Inn, and Aldo's Pizza Pies — as well as food from Felicia Suzanne's, McEwen's on Monroe, and other downtown restaurants. MemPops will be on-site with their popsicle food truck. There's a VIP beer tent with more than 25 craft beers.
"If you're going to drink more than two beers, it's worth paying for the beer tent," Roberson says.
At 4:30 p.m., the eighth annual I Busted Grandma's Balls contest will pit amateur competitive eaters against one another in a meatball-eating tournament. There's a dunk tank and a prize raffle benefiting St. Jude.
Bands will play all day, and a few featured include Dead Soldiers, Michael Brothers, the Mighty Souls Brass Band, and the Sheiks.
The event is family-friendly and will include face-painting and cotton candy for the kids. | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/bardog-celebrates-eight-years-with-5k-and-street-fest/Content?oid=4862239 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/9df8efd31a0604b637d169352c298828fd716c7891509bbd2a3fbf4a4025a07c.json |
[
"Bryce W. Ashand Michael J. Larosa",
"Mary Norman",
"Bruce S. Newman",
"Eric Gottlieb",
"Richard Cohen",
"Bruce Vanwyngarden",
"Flyer Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T16:48:23 | null | 2016-08-25T04:00:00 | A seismic demographic shift in the United States has forced some to consider what actually "makes America great." This debate has been fully displayed within... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.memphisflyer.com%2Fmemphis%2Fthe-seismic-shift-in-voting-demographics%2FContent%3Foid%3D4862181%26show%3Dcomments.json | http://media1.fdncms.com/memphisflyer/imager/u/slideshow/4862180/viewpoint.jpg | en | null | The Seismic Shift in Voting Demographics | null | null | www.memphisflyer.com | null | http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/the-seismic-shift-in-voting-demographics/Content?oid=4862181&show=comments | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.memphisflyer.com/3b90c03fd4ae432c4238fd156841210c2ebd2cbf440ca751559be4a1bdafbdff.json |
[
"Brandon Griggs Cnn",
"Brandon Griggs"
] | 2016-08-26T14:04:29 | null | null | From a remote valley in Northern California, Jill Tarter is listening to the universe. | http%3A%2F%2Fedition.cnn.com%2F2008%2FTECH%2Fspace%2F11%2F26%2Faliens.tarter%2Findex.html%3Feref%3Dedition_space%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Brss%252Fedition_space%2B%2528RSS%253A%2BCNNi%2B-%2BScience%2B%2526%2BSpace%2529.json | http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/2.0/content/ads/advertisement.gif | en | null | Probing the cosmos: Is anybody out there? | null | null | edition.cnn.com | (CNN) -- From a remote valley in Northern California, Jill Tarter is listening to the universe.
Jill Tarter at the Allen Telescope Array in California, which monitors radio signals for signs of alien life.
Her ears are 42 large and sophisticated radio telescopes, spread across several acres, that scan the cosmos for signals of extraterrestrial origin. If intelligent life forms do exist on other planets, and they try to contact us, Tarter will be among the first to know.
Are we citizens of Earth alone in the universe? It's a question that has long fascinated astronomers, sci-fi authors, kids with backyard telescopes and Hollywood executives who churn out spectacles about alien encounters. Polls have found that most Americans believe that some form of life exists beyond our planet.
"It's a fundamental question," said Tarter, the real-life inspiration for Jodie Foster's character in the 1997 movie "Contact." "And it's a question that the person on the street can understand. It's not like a ... super-collider or some search for neutrinos buried in the ice. It's, 'Are we alone? How might we find out? What does that tell us about ourselves and our place in the universe?'
"We're trying to figure out how the universe began, how galaxies and large-scale structures formed, and where did the origins of life as we know it take place?" Tarter said.
"These are all valid questions to ask of the universe. And an equally valid question is whether the same thing that happened here [on Earth] has happened elsewhere." Watch a preview of CNN's "In Search of Aliens" series »
Thanks to advancements in technology, scientists hope to get an answer sooner rather than later. Rovers have snapped photographs of the surface of Mars that show fossil-like shapes. NASA hopes to launch within a decade a Terrestrial Planet Finder, an orbiting observatory that would detect planets around nearby stars and determine whether they could support life.
"In Search of Aliens" Watch Miles O'Brien's five-part series on aliens and UFOs, every day this week on CNN's "American Morning"
6 to 9 a.m. ET see full schedule »
Such developments are catnip to scientists like Geoffrey Marcy, a professor of astronomy at the University of California-Berkeley who has discovered more extrasolar planets than anyone else.
"It wasn't more than 13 years ago that we hadn't found any planets around the stars, and most people thought that we never would. So here we are not only having found planets, we are looking for habitable planets, signs of biology on those planets," Marcy told CNN. "It's an extraordinary explosion of a field of science that didn't even exist just a few years ago."
Then there's Tarter, whose quest for signs of extraterrestrial life kept her on the fringes of mainstream science for decades. While pursuing her doctorate at UC-Berkeley, Tarter came across an engineering report that floated the idea of using radio telescopes to listen for broadcasts by alien beings.
It became her life's work. In 1984 Tarter founded the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute (SETI) in California. Using telescopes in Australia, West Virginia and Puerto Rico, she conducted a decade-long scouring of about 750 nearby star systems for extraterrestrial radio signals.
None was found, although Tarter had some false alarms. In 1998, she intercepted a mysterious signal that lasted for hours. Tarter got so excited she misread her own computer results: The signal was coming from a NASA observatory spacecraft orbiting the sun.
Today, Tarter listens to the heavens with the Allen Telescope Array, a collection of 20-foot-wide telescopes some 300 miles north of San Francisco. The dish-like scopes are a joint effort of SETI and UC-Berkeley's Radio Astronomy Lab and have been funded largely by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who donated more than $25 million to the project.
Unlike previously existing radio telescopes, which scan the sky for limited periods of time, the Allen Telescope Array probes the universe round the clock.
Each of the 42 scopes is aimed at a different area of the sky, collecting reams of data that are continually studied by computers for unusual patterns. Then the listeners must filter out noise from airplanes and satellites.
"We're listening for something that we don't think can be produced by Mother Nature," Tarter said. "We're using the radio frequency, other people are using optical telescopes ... and in both cases we're looking for an artificial nature to a signal.
"In the case of radio, we're looking for a lot of power being squished into just one channel on the radio dial. In the optical, they're looking for very bright flashes that last a nanosecond ... or less, not slow pulsing kinds of things. To date we've never found a natural source that can do that."
Signals that any extraterrestrials might be transmitting for their own use would be difficult to detect, Tarter said. Astronomers are more likely to discover a radio transmission broadcast intentionally at the Earth, she said.
Astronomers at SETI, however, are not sending a signal into space in an attempt to communicate with aliens.
University of California professor Marcy is skeptical about the existence of intelligent alien life and believes our galaxy's vast distances would make communication between Earth and beings on other planets almost impossible.
"The nearest neighbor might be halfway across our galaxy, 50,000 light-years away. Communicating with them will take a hundred thousand years for a round-trip signal," he said.
Still, Tarter remains undaunted. The Allen Telescope Array already does in 10 minutes what once took her scientists 10 days. When the project is completed, it will have 350 telescopes that, combined, can survey tens of thousands of star systems.
"We can look in more places and more frequencies faster than we ever could. And that will just get better with time. We're doing something now we couldn't do when we started, we couldn't do five years ago," she said.
"Think of it as a cosmic haystack. There's a needle in there somewhere. If you pull out a few straws, are you going to get disappointed because you haven't found the needle yet? No. We haven't really begun to explore."
CNN correspondent Miles O'Brien contributed to this story.
All About Astronomy • UFOs and Alien Abductions • SETI Institute | http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/11/26/aliens.tarter/index.html?eref=edition_space&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fedition_space+%28RSS%3A+CNNi+-+Science+%26+Space%29 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | edition.cnn.com/6c826b6c78b7c547866b5bdea22d4b9eda2b4b0097b466018e117541a268a142.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T15:23:12 | null | 2014-11-20T13:32:37 | The biggest names in the game have turned to legend coaches in 2014 to advance their games. Christina Macfarlane reports. | http%3A%2F%2Fedition.cnn.com%2Fvideos%2Fbestoftv%2F2014%2F11%2F20%2Fspc-open-court-elite-8-to-fab-4.cnn.json | http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/141120132547-spc-open-court-elite-8-to-fab-4-00000815-t3-entertainment.jpg | en | null | Elite Eight to Fab Four | null | null | edition.cnn.com | Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. | http://edition.cnn.com/videos/bestoftv/2014/11/20/spc-open-court-elite-8-to-fab-4.cnn | en | 2014-11-20T00:00:00 | edition.cnn.com/afefe61ac03fb26972b9fd6b5fa645ab634a1ec5170451b635c1a6a6234a842e.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T15:15:40 | null | 2015-08-21T13:24:58 | As Serena Williams gears up for the 2015 U.S. Open, we break down her career by the numbers. | http%3A%2F%2Fedition.cnn.com%2Fvideos%2Fsports%2F2015%2F08%2F21%2Fspc-open-court-serena-williams-numbers.cnn.json | http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/150821142321-spc-open-court-serena-williams-numbers-00000229-large-tease.jpg | en | null | Serena Williams' impressive stats | null | null | edition.cnn.com | As Serena Williams gears up for the 2015 U.S. Open, we break down her career by the numbers. | http://edition.cnn.com/videos/sports/2015/08/21/spc-open-court-serena-williams-numbers.cnn | en | 2015-08-21T00:00:00 | edition.cnn.com/9fe526fdd9862d243bddb164f84628b980b2ce9a606853f0909d553e0f9bea35.json |
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