- Issue Archive for
- Jul 20-26, 2006
- Vol. 1, No. 908
Art
New Directions
Pinkney Herbert and Chuck Johnson create some of the best art of their careers.
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.
Q&A: Deni Hirsh,
Memphis City Schools District 2 board commissioner
Driving, Italian Style
Yet another thing we could learn from the Italians.
The Next Elvis?
A young Memphian named Austin Carroll is one of the 11 contenders on a new American Idol copycat show that premiered this week on ABC. Called The One: Making of a Music Star, the show follows the various contestants as they prepare for auditions, get lessons from coaches, and then perform before a panel of judges whose qualifications are even more vague than Randy Jackson’s. The difference between this show and others like it? All the contestants live together, so we get to see them squabble.
Wednesday night, Carroll, a chubby sort of fellow who likes to brush his blondish hair straight down into his eyes ...
Home Safe
Residents unite to make downtown less dangerous.
Justin's Been a Bad Boy ...
Justin Timberlake admitted to having done “way too many drugs already” in a recent interview with the UK Guardian’s Observer Music Monthly.
That was his response after the interviewer inquired as to whether he’d ever aspired to run for president of the United States.
Said Timberlake: “I’ve already inhaled and I’ve already … who knows. I’m just like everyone else. I get completely plastered. I’ve done my fair share of drugs and I’ve been caught places with my pants down; it’s just I make sure there are no cameras around. ...”
A Fast One
Now making the rounds again is an email hoax with the heading “Memphis' 30-day speeding ticket frenzy,” detailing a 30-day ticket-writing operation by Tennessee State troopers, starting July 31st. The missive goes on to state that exceeding the speed limit 5 miles per hour will be grounds for a ticket and that troopers have been directed to issue a ticket every 10 minutes.
According to Snopes.com, this email hoax started in New Jersey in May 2005.
Strike! No Chance for a Spare
The oldest and fanciest bowling alley in Memphis is scheduled to be demolished and replaced with a strip shopping center.
Imperial Lanes opened in 1958 at 4700 Summer. Along with its sister center, Cherokee Lanes on Lamar, it offered bowlers considerably more upscale surroundings – and with 50 lanes, more bowling — than any other place around town.
According to the Web site of the Memphis Area United States Bowling Congress, at one time, Imperial had “one of the finest sit-down restaurants in the entire city, complete with chefs, waitresses, and menu ordering. ...
Racking Up
City plans to add 16 bicycle racks downtown.
Hungry For Art?
Time’s running out on your chance to see the provocative performance art of C.S. Dailey at Montyshane Gallery. “Starve” is a show that deals explicitly with, among other things, male sexual assault and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Dailey’s hunger strike, which began on July 13th and will end July 25th, is but one component of the show, which also features an art installation by Dailey and Jeremy Hebert. Most affecting of all: “Starve” is taking place exactly one year after Dailey was sexually assaulted.
“Starve” is open nightly” from 7-11 p.m. at the Montyshane Gallery at 2160 Young Avenue. The performance art aspect runs through July 25th, and the installation will remain on exhibit until July 29th. Admission is free.
The Powerful Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Strikes Again
The AP is reporting that a federal judge in Arkansas has halted a $320 million irrigation project for fear it could disturb the habitat of the ivory-billed woodpecker — that may or may not be extinct.
The last confirmed sighting of the bird in North America was in 1944, and scientists had thought the species was extinct until 2004, when a kayaker claimed to have spotted one in the area. ...
Call for Entries
If you’ve got a short story on hand, you’re interested in possibly winning $1,000 for it, and you’d like to see it published in the pages of Memphis magazine, go to Memphismagazine.com. for details on the magazine's annual fiction contest. But make it snappy. You’ve got until August 1st to enter.
Authors must live within 150 miles of Memphis, but stories do not have to have a Memphis or Southern theme.
Ginnifer Goes DVD With Big Love
HBO has announced that the first season of Big Love — starring Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny, and Memphis native Ginnifer Goodwin as a polygamist family — will come out on DVD October 17th. The five-disc set is slated to include all 12 episodes, three audio commentary tracks, "Big Love: A Balancing Act on Ice" featurette, and ... three pairs of magical Mormon underwear.
Just kidding about the underwear.
Tunica Just Keeps Growing
A home in Tunica? We’d have hooted at such a thought back in the misty past, before the little farm town became the gambling mecca of the Mid-South. Now developers Cody Harrell and Matthew Dunn plan to build some 700 homes, 600 apartments and condos, and retail and office space near Tunica National Golf and Tennis Club. Harrell says they expect the development to appeal to empty nesters and casino employees. Single-family homes would range from 2,500 to 6,000 square feet and start at around $300,000. For more, go to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger story.
Sympathy For Keef ...
Keith Richards, the hard-rocking, harder-living guitarist for the Rolling Stones is getting a clean slate in our neighboring state of Arkansas, thanks to Governor Mike Huckabee. Thirty-one years ago, Richards was arrested for reckless driving as he, bandmate Ron Wood, a security guard, and a "fan" drove from Memphis to Dallas. Huckabee, himself something of a musician — he's in a band called Capitol Offense that played the Republican National Convention — worried that Richards’ impression of the Natural State may have been “marred by a misdemeanor traffic stop.” Pardoning Keef was a nice gesture, but asking if Capitol Offense could open for Stones took it one step too far, we think. Read more here.
Shuffle Steps
The iPod may be universally recognized as elegant, but it is not universally recognized as being easy. Or so says Memphis-based Dittos, a company that is releasing an instructional DVD on iPod entitled Sneaky Little iPod Secrets. No word on whether the Shuffle, the Nano, or the Mini is the sneakiest, but we’ve always thought the Shuffle looked a little shifty. If you want to read more, click here.
Black, White, and Dead
Most of the murders in Memphis are cases of "black-on-black" crime.
Takin' It to the Streets
With Mayor Frank Melton around, there's never a dull moment in Jackson, Mississippi.
Freedom Awards
In a press conference yesterday, National Civil Rights Museum Executive Director Beverly Robertson announced this year's Freedom Award winners. Music legend Stevie Wonder, Southern Christian Leadership Conference co-founder Dr. Joseph Lowery, and Doctors Without Borders founder Dr. Bernard Kouchner will all be in Memphis to accept their awards October 17th. Go here for more information about the event.
What do Memphis, Seattle, and Virginia Beach Have in Common?
All three cities are tied for the number-35 spot in a national survey that ranks the natural disaster risk of U.S. cities. A group called SustainLane.com examined the potential for communities to suffer earthquakes, floods, something called “super tornadoes,” and other natural disasters, and ranked them accordingly. The higher the number on the list, the less safe you are. The lower, the better.
And the safest city? A tie between Mesa, Arizona, and Milwaukee. The only danger in those places, we suspect, is terminal boredom.
To see how Memphis compares with others, go here.
We Recommend
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We Recommend
July 20 - 26, 2006
Music
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A Very Timberlake Tuesday
The long, long wait for sexy is finally over. At 4:30 today, the "SexyBack" video from hometown hottie Justin Timberlake debuts on MTV's Making the Video. We're sure your boss will understand if you knock off a little early for this monumental and sexy event. Can't wait until 4:30? Then go to JT's Myspace page to see pics from the Barcelona shoot. As of this posting, JT had 52,390 friends — go ahead, make it 52,391. You know you want to.
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Alone Again, Or ...
Snowglobe founder Brad Postlethwaite unveils a "solo" album under his band's name.
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Lily Afshar Tonight on NPR
Classical guitarist and Memphis resident Lily Afshar will be interviewed tonight by host Robert Siegel on NPR's "All Things Considered," discussing her newest album release, "Hemispheres."
To hear sample tracks from the album, go here. For the Flyer's coverage of "Hemispheres," check this out.
Listening Log
July 20 - 26, 2006
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Jessie Mae Hemphill, RIP
Jessie Mae Hemphill, the blues artist known as "She Wolf," has died in a Memphis hospital after a week's stay. You can read the AP account of her life and times, or if you really want to learn what Jessie Mae was all about, go here.
Politics
Somebody Arrest This Guy ... Again!
"Larry West is the winner of the Shelby County Recidivism Sweepstakes, as far as I can tell. He has been arrested 153 times since January 29, 1983 in the General Sessions Courts and had two more cases in Criminal Court for Armed Robbery and felony theft. He probably has more charges that aren't on the computer, not to mention his juvenile record. I attended Kingsbury High School where he also sometimes showed up, so I know more about him than I would normally. Good old Kingsbury, we're leading the way once more!"
You have to hand it to long-shot Shelby County Sheriff candidate John Harvey. He definitely sends out the most interesting e-mails. The one circulating this morning details the truly impressive criminal record of Mr. West.
Harvey goes on to let us in on how find such fascinating info ...
The Other Commission Race
Reinvented Democrat Henri Brooks vies with underdog Novella Smith Arnold of the GOP
A Ford in Our Future?
"He came from Memphis with an entourage that included his driver, aides, a local volunteer coordinator and his own show car."
Elvis? Justin Timberlake? Nope. Harold Ford Jr., who explains in a story about the Tennessee Senate race in the Jackson Sun.
"The father of one of our contributors had a yellow '38 Ford panel truck he let us take around," he said. "It's great for doing the parades. People watch it, but I was walking behind."
For more of the Sun's take on the race, go here. For the Flyer's comprehensive Senate story, go here.
Meet the Candidates
Tonight, MPACT Memphis and the Memphis Urban League Young Professionals are hosting a meet-and-greet with the candidates in the race for the 9th Congressional District seat. The free event is at Central Library from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
For more coverage on the August 3rd races, pick up the Flyer’s special election issue on the stands Wednesday.
Rendering Judgment
The Flyer’s John Branston offers his considered opinion on the various authorities (self-appointed and otherwise) who have attempted to judge the judges in this election year. And retired Circuit Court Judge Robert Lanier examines the implications (and complications) of electing a judiciary at the polls, focusing on the Yes/No verdicts awaiting state Supreme Court justices on the August 3rd ballot. For these and other pre-election notes, go to “Political Beat”.
Sports
CUSA Football Preview
If Conference USA pollsters are correct, University of Memphis safety Wesley Smith will become only the second player in conference history to achieve first-team all-conference honors four straight years. Read more about what to expect on the gridiron in CUSA this fall (is it still only July?!) here.
Grizzlies Update
The Memphis Grizzlies introduced three new players — rookies Rudy Gay, Kyle Lowry, and Alexander Johnson — at a press conference Tuesday morning. Then said goodbye to another young player — second year point guard Anthony Roberson. Waiving Roberson, who struggled playing point guard in the summer league, was a bit of a surprise. There weren’t many surprises at the press conference, but there were a few interesting moments. For a full report, see the Flyer’s Grizzlies blog, Beyond the Arc.
Now Running For Buck ... Stubby!
You may have heard about the stunt at Tuesday night’s Northern League All-Star game, in which 94-year-old Buck O’Neil made a pair of pinch-hit appearances. You may not, however, have heard who pinch-ran for O’Neil and went on to earn the game’s MVP award. A player merely 61 years O’Neil’s junior, it was none other than former Memphis Redbirds fave Stubby Clapp. Read about the game here.
Louisville Has Memphis Envy
"Some places, like Oklahoma City and Memphis (which outhustled Louisville for the Grizzlies), are relatively the same size as Louisville. In fact, Oklahoma City ranked 47th, four spots behind Louisville on the list of largest U.S. metropolitan areas.
"But enough folks in places like Memphis, Salt Lake City and Charlotte, N.C., believe the addition of a pro sports team (and some NCAA March Madness) actually makes the town a more interesting and dynamic place.
"I didn't say a better place. I didn't say a city has to have a pro sports team to improve its self-esteem or consider itself a wonderful place to raise a family."
So writes Louisville Courier-Journal sports columnist Rich Bozich. ...
Rocket Fuel?
Why exactly did the Rockets trade for Shane Battier? That's the gist of one of the questions in Houston Rocket beat writer Damien Pierce’s mailbag this week. If we were answering, we might start with: a dose of dignity, hard-nosed play, versatility on the floor, class in the locker room, a community presence, marketability, articulate interview, not to mention he'll be a PR bonanza for the Rockets if, as he should, he makes the roster of Team USA. But for Pierce’s answer, go here.
Film
Water Logged
M. Night Shyamalan's defensive fairy tale drowns in self-consciousness
Opinion
A Century of Change
Tinkering with city government is not new, and the results are not always the ones that were intended.
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Letter From The Editor
Live audio from the G8 Summit of world leaders: "Yo, Blair, my main man! Whatup, dawg?" "Oh yes, hello, George. Lovely to see you. A word with you in private, if I may ... "
Outsourcing Prosperity
When the middle class is gone, who'll shop at Wal-Mart?
Books
The Music Man
Who was John Hammond? Good question.
Food & Wine
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