- Issue Archive for
- Jul 13-19, 2006
- Vol. 1, No. 907
News
Spin Cycle
The City Council parks committee discussed Tuesday where the Grand Carousel — once a mainstay of the now-defunct Libertyland — should be located. The Riverfront Development Corporation wouldn’t mind seeing it on Mud Island. Other people have suggested moving it to the zoo, but the zoo already has a carousel. City attorney Sara Hall told council members the city is still trying to find a site where it would add value and interest.
Which got us thinking: Where would be the perfect place for the carousel? Near Winchester and the Statue of Liberation? On the Main Street Mall? Right where it is?
Let us know — email the Flyer — and we’ll run the best ideas in the paper.
The Jungle Room Will Never Be the Same
WMC Channel 5 is reporting that Sports Illustrated is considering shooting its annual swimsuit issue in Memphis. Beaches? We don't need no stinkin' beaches. SI says they're considering using Graceland and Sun Studio and other Memphis iconic spots as locations.
We can see it now: Babes with ducks in The Peabody lobby. Or maybe, something like ... this photo! (Which we've been waiting for an excuse to post.)
Spin Cycle
The City Council parks committee discussed Tuesday where the Grand Carousel — once a mainstay of the now-defunct Libertyland — should be located. The Riverfront Development Corporation wouldn’t mind seeing it on Mud Island. Other people have suggested moving it to the zoo, but the zoo already has a carousel. City attorney Sara Hall told council members the city is still trying to find a site where it would add value and interest.
Which got us thinking: Where would be the perfect place for the carousel? Near Winchester and the Statue of Liberation? On the Main Street Mall? Right where it is?
Let us know — email the Flyer — and we’ll run the best ideas in the paper.
Graven Image
It seems everyone has an opinion about the 72-foot-tall “Lady of Liberation” statue on Winchester. Some call it unpatriotic, because the Lady’s iconic torch has been traded for a shiny gold cross. Others call it a tacky embarrassment to our city. (Apparently the members of World Overcomers Church think it’s downright lovely.)
But the local Commission on Religion and Racism (CORR) is calling it “a graven image.” The coalition of local religious reform organizations is organizing weekly protests at the church demanding Rev. Alton Williams remove the statue immediately. ...
Blogstorm
Former Memphian Gina Cooper, organizer of the YearlyKos bloggers’ convention in Las Vegas, will be the guest of honor at the weekly progressive chatting/beer-guzzling session, Drinking Liberally, this Thursday at Dish in Cooper-Young.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for local bloggers and political wonks to come brainstorm with a homegrown expert on the growth and future of the local political blogosphere,” says Sarah Rutledge, founder of the local Drinking Liberally chapter.
Spin Cycle
The City Council parks committee discussed Tuesday where the Grand Carousel — once a mainstay of the now-defunct Libertyland — should be located. The Riverfront Development Corporation wouldn’t mind seeing it on Mud Island. Other people have suggested moving it to the zoo, but the zoo already has a carousel. City attorney Sara Hall told council members the city is still trying to find a site where it would add value and interest.
Which got us thinking: Where would be the perfect place for the carousel? Near Winchester and the Statue of Liberation? On the Main Street Mall? Right where it is?
Let us know — email the Flyer — and we’ll run the best ideas in the paper.
On the Road Again
"Bad luck did develop between Deeson and Alligator just after you have passed through Round Lake as this pig came across the road in front of you, but your left front wheel hit him as he continued to run squealing and you were able to keep your car going straight. You did stop and everyone got out and luck was with you, no one was hurt. It did bend your fender a little bit and that was all.
"The pig was nowhere to be seen, so we all got back in the car to continue the trip. ...
Murder Is the Case They Gave Them
Homicide numbers in Memphis are 36 percent higher than last year.
Knight Program's Winchester Revival Charrette
Starting this week, Winchester Park (otherwise known as “Intown”) will be the focus of a charrette by the 2006 Knight Program in Community Building, which is based out of the University of Miami school of architecture. A charrette is a collaborative undertaking that calls upon ordinary members from a community to work alongside professional designers to brainstorm, share, debate, and at last create a workable plan for further public observation and revision. It’s being held July 17-22 at St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral downtown.
Senate 2006: It's Crunch Time!
Democrat Ford, nomination in hand, awaits his opponent. Is Corker pulling away from rivals Bryant and Hilleary?
David Gest Likes the Ladies
In response to the harrassment lawsuit filed earlier this summer by a former assistant to local music impresario David Gest, his bodyguard has got some stories for you. One involves how his boss likes to use whipped cream and cherries on his ladyfriends. Read all about it in The New York Post.
Mahmoud Mawaad Sentenced
Mahmoud Mawaad, the University of Memphis student whose unusual interest in pilot gear attracted the attention of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, was sentenced Friday to 13 months in prison on fraud charges.
Mawaad was indicted on federal charges on September 29, 2005 and plead guilty on June 5, 2006. He used a fraudulent social security number to open a checking account and enter school. He also had an expired immigration visa.
Federal prosecutors took a special interest in Mawaad because he ordered several items from Sportys USA, a pilot equipment and training material distributor. Mawaad was not a licensed pilot, but ordered information on “how to talk like a pilot” and the layout of Memphis International Airport.
Read previous coverage of the case in the Flyer.Horse of a Different Color
The Walter Anderson Museum of Art in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, which is dedicated to preserving the memory, and the legacy of the troubled watercolorist and sculptor Walter Anderson recently acquired a large collection of the artist’s work from the estate of a Memphis art collector. ...
We’re Doomed
On Wednesday, there will be a screening of The Damnedest, Finest Ruins, a documentary about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. The screening will be followed by a discussion by the filmmaker James Dalessandro and experts on the New Madrid fault line. They’ll talk about the threat of earthquake and how to be prepared. The event will be in the City Council chamber in City Hall, starting at 6:30 p.m.
Spin Cycle
The City Council parks committee discussed Tuesday where the Grand Carousel — once a mainstay of the now-defunct Libertyland — should be located. The Riverfront Development Corporation wouldn’t mind seeing it on Mud Island. Other people have suggested moving it to the zoo, but the zoo already has a carousel. City attorney Sara Hall told council members the city is still trying to find a site where it would add value and interest.
Which got us thinking: Where would be the perfect place for the carousel? Near Winchester and the Statue of Liberation? On the Main Street Mall? Right where it is?
Let us know — email the Flyer — and we’ll run the best ideas in the paper.
Rested Bleat
The late Maynard the Magnificent brought luck to the luckless.
Exhibit on Gun Violence
It’s been a violent summer in the Bluff City. More than 70 people have been murdered and many more wounded by gun fire, left to live with the constant physical reminders of their encounter with a gun. After enduring violence in their own Chicago neighborhood, writer Stephanie Arena and photographer Robert Drea decided to chronicle the stories of shooting survivors. Their work, “Wounded in America,” will be on display at the National Civil Rights Museum August 4th. To see the stories they’ve collected, go to WoundedinAmerica.org.
Q&A: Helen Morrow
Acting Health Officer for the Memphis and Shelby County Health Department
We Recommend
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We Recommend
June 13-19 2006
Music
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Whole Wide World Away
Thirty years later, English punk icon Wreckless Eric makes his Memphis debut.
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Hold On! We’re Coming
MTV reports that American Idol judge Randy Jackson wants to go all Carlos Santana with Stax’s Sam Moore.
Santana’s 1999 Supernatural LP, on which he collaborated with more contemporary artists such as Rob Thomas and Lauryn Hill, was the biggest hit of his career and won eight Grammy Awards. For the upcoming Moore album, Jackson has recruited Mariah Carey, Fantasia Barrino, Sting, and Jon Bon Jovi to collaborate.
“The phone has been ringing off the hook from artists wanting to get involved with this project,” Jackson is quoted as saying. “Everyone wants to sing with Sam.”
To read the full story, go to MTV.com.
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Jimi Jamison No Survivor
Last week, Memphian Jimi Jamison announced that he has left the band Survivor (“High on You”) over creative and business differences. Jamison joined the band in 1984, but for the past decade and a half, the relationship has been complicated. Robin McAuley, of the McAuley Schenker Group, will replace him.
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The NYT Breaks Down JT’s Lyrics
In today’s New York Times, music critic Kelefa Sanneh presents a curious overview of the current male pop musician, complete with an in-depth and slightly sardonic critique of Justin Timberlake’s new track, “SexyBack.”
Politics
Early Voting Snafus Reported
After the first day of early voting, all was not well here in River City. Various complaints were vented about the venues, about the new machines, about the process, or about all of the above. One candidate's report on the problems begins this way: "Yesterday morning at Miss Blvd (where I was), there were 2 machines down and a line out the door. Heard there were at least 30 machines down across the county. Heard from my field guy that at one poll, folks were being turned away because all the machines were down...." For more, go to "Political Beat".
Judgment Overruled
Shelby County Democrats make changes in a screening committee's judicial endorsements.
POLITICS: That Other Commission Race
Reinvented Democrat Henri Brooks vies with underdog Novella Smith Arnold of the GOP.
Private Interventions
In this election season, virtually all political organizations with any standing (and some without) are taking pains to influence the outcome of judicial races, which are unique in Shelby County in that they are listed on the ballot without regard to partisan affiliation. The Republicans have their slate; the Democrats have theirs (adjusted once or twice); various bar organizations and civic groups have theirs, and so on, and so on. And there are some private individuals who have their two cents’ worth to throw in. The Flyer offers a few of these for your reading pleasure, starting with the red flag chunked onto the field of play by the oft controversial lawyer, Richard Fields. For more go to "Political Beat"
CITY BEAT: A Century of Change
“Reinventing” city government has been marked by false starts, stability, and surprises.
Sacramento Wants a FedExForum, Too...
Clearly taking a blind eye to the current state of affairs (ahem, Garage Gate), the Sacramento Bee drools and fawns over our FedExForum in this article. Our new arena is a state-of-the-art object-of-desire for many NBA cities and especially for Sacramento, a city in the midst of downtown redevelopment (check), a logistical hub (check), and who has NBA team with a less-than-desirable playoff runs the last couple of seasons (definitely check). For Sacramento city officials, some unsolicited advice from your Flyer friends: If the Governator gives you money to build a public transportation hub on the new arena site, don’t screw it up.
The Coalition for a Better Memphis Voter Guide
Civic organization weighs in again for August 3rd election.
Sports
Mr. Impact
SI.com has ranked the top 10 “impact newcomers” in each division of the National Football League. Check out who they have at number 7 in the NFC South.
Boys of Summer
One day after signing with the team, Grizzlies rookie Rudy Gay made his NBA debut with the Grizzlies’ summer league team in Los Angeles yesterday, scoring 21 points in 24 minutes to help the Grizzlies to a 121-117 overtime win over the Dallas Mavericks’ summer squad. For links to how the young Grizzlies have faired this summer and other news, notes, and analysis, see Beyond the Arc, the Flyer’s Grizzlies blog.
Film
Timberlake’s Edison Force on DVD
Out on DVD today is Edison Force, the thriller starring Justin Timberlake as a news reporter. While this was supposed to be Timberlake’s first major splash on the big screen, the film, which also stars Kevin Spacey and Morgan Freeman, was never released to theaters.
Dazed and Drugged
Richard Linklater animates Philip K. Dick's drug-culture fantasy.
Opinion
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Letter from the Editor
Did you see the sample ballot for the August 3rd election in last Sunday's Commercial Appeal?
Flagrant Foul
Here's who dropped the ball in the FedExForum garage "misrepresentation."
A Shifting Stance
More immigrant bashing is headed our way this fall.
Books
Burke's Law
Plus, John Dunning's latest whodunit.
News from Sides
“Facts are the low-hanging fruit,” writer Hampton Sides recently told Jerome Weeks of the Dallas Morning News.
Author of the bestseller Ghost Soldiers, Sides was in his hometown Memphis when Weeks called, but he was about to meet with his fact-checker on his latest book, Blood and Thunder. It’s about Kit Carson, Navajo chief Narbona, and the winning of the American West (for the white man.) Look for the book in October.
In the meantime, if you’re in Grapevine, Texas, this weekend, check out the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Writers Conference of the Southwest. Sides will be there on Friday and addressing the issue of fact versus fiction. Read more about it here.
Does Philip K. Dick’s Brain Dream of Barbecue Sauce?
Sci-fi novelist Philip K. Dick may have died over 20 years ago, but — in a twist that seems ripped from the plot of one of his novels — a robot version of him is still kicking. Well, its brain is still alive. And it calls Memphis home.
Food & Wine
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Look Who's Cooking
Kids in the kitchen at the Young Chefs Academy.
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