- Issue Archive for
- Sep 28 - Oct 4, 2006
- Vol. 1, No. 918
Art
That's Life
Four exhibits, four explorations.
News
Here, Kitty Kitty
"The Bambino is a Hybrid Mutation breed, developed through the deliberate outcross breeding of the Munchkin & Sphynx, both Championship breeds in TICA. The Bambino is short statured like the Munchkin and hairless like the Sphynx. They have an enchanting purrsonality with their playful, affectionate ways." See the Bambino cat at Saturday's Memphis International Cat Enthusiast's cat show at the Arena of Southaven. For more information, go here.
Future of the South
October 6th is the deadline to register for "The Future of the South" conference, presented by the University of Mississippi Center for the Study of Southern Culture.
The conference, being held November 1-3 at the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, will focus in part on the role cultural centers and museums in defining communities within the lower Mississippi Delta.
For more information, go here.
Mike Curb, Cha-Ching!
Producer Mike Curb has had a long, impressive career, working with everyone from Sammy Davis Jr. to LeAnn Rimes. He is the chairman of Curb Records of Nashville and also served as lieutenant governor of California and has been a multi-million dollar benefactor to universities in Tennessee and California.
Curb also managed to snag Elvis' Audubon house even after spoon-bending psychic Uri Geller won it from an eBay auction. (Geller is suing).
On Thursday, Curb will be at the Arts Leadership Conference at Rhodes College, where college president William Troutt will announce Curb's latest venture, which a press release issued by Rhodes says is a "sizable donation to bring together educators, students, archivists, and artists as well as business and communities leaders to promote Southern musical traditions."
Jarvis Is No. 1
WMC's Jarvis Greer was voted "Best Sportscaster" in the Memphis Flyer's Readers Poll for the millionth year in a row.
To see how everybody and everything else ranked, check out our Best of Memphis issue here.
.The Daily, Um, Grind
Robin Grindstaff Costa, president of the Maddox Foundation, formerly of Nashville and now headquartered in Hernando, Mississippi, is at the center of litigation seeking to oust her as head of that philanthropic organization and to move it back to the Nashville area. Costa achieved some notoriety two weeks ago when a deposition in the case alleged a sexual relationship between herself and former Mississippi governor Ronnie Musgrove.
As a weekend article in The Nashville Post makes clear, that ain’t all. In one of her own depositions, Grindstaff … er, Costa, acknowledges having had sexual relations with three employees of the Memphis RiverKings hockey team during the period of its ownership by the foundation. ... (click headline for more)
Free To Be He
On October 13th, Hope Church in Cordova is holding its annual Beast Feast. It's a night just for the guys, featuring a barbecue contest and a vehicle "show-off." Not a word on the press release about belching.
For more information, go here.
Taxi!
Memphis is not exactly the place where you can step out on the street and hail a cab, so it's a tad surprising that Yellow Cab is celebrating 150 years of business in Memphis on Thursday.
According to a press release: "Yellow Cab got its start in Memphis in 1856, when Patterson Transfer & Storage Company started business here, transporting passengers by stagecoach. In 1926, the company purchased the Yellow Cab Company, which consisted of a fleet of 50 cabs, 26 Drive UR-Self cars and four trucks. The company later split into two different companies, Patterson Storage and Yellow Cab, both of which are still going strong today."
Complex Family Values
Last month, Bert Gamboa, owner of the Edge District club The Complex, was arrested for his alleged role in a cocaine trafficking ring. (Gamboa was secretly videotaped taking a large payoff at the club.) Police say the Gamboa drug organization, as it’s been called, has been under investigation for five years. The ring, which included two of Gamboa’s cousins, supposedly brought millions of dollars worth of cocaine into Memphis. Yesterday, Gamboa’s parents released a statement asking people not to judge until their son has been judged in a court of law. (Click headline to read the statement in full.)
A Fair To Remember
The Mid-South Fair marks its 150th anniversary as fair attendance lags across the country.
Payment Plan
Parents who are behind on child support payments will have to pay up or risk losing their driver’s license. The State Department of Human Services is sending out letters this week to more than 15,000 parents across the state. If you owe more than $500 and haven’t made payment in more than 90 days, your number’s up. To learn more, go to here.
Herenton Asks for 650 More Cops and a Tax Increase
Mayor Willie Herenton says the city needs 650 more police officers and a 50-cent increase in the property tax to pay for them.
Herenton met with reporters Thursday to respond to an increase in violent crime in the Memphis area that he called “unacceptable.” He said it will take at least two years to hire and train the new officers, and he urged members of the Memphis City Council to support his request for a tax increase even though 2007 is an election year.
Read the whole story by going to "Political Beat".
Calvary & the Arts Time
Fall has fallen, so that means it's time for the weekly lunch-and-concert combo, Calvary & the Arts, beginning at noon Wednesday at Calvary Episcopal Church downtown. On the menu tomorrow is pulled pork and the musical guest will be Sonny Turner of the Platters.
For a full schedule, go here.
Pretty in Pink
Film director Craig Brewer is using his celeb status to promote breast cancer awareness. He’s partnered with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation to kick off its “Passionately Pink for the Cure” Campaign by directing a public service announcement.
The 30-second commercial will feature Shelby County mayor AC Wharton, Grizzly Mike Miller, Beauty Shop chef Brett “Shaggy” Duffee, musician Muck Sticky, and local breast cancer survivors. It will debut on Tuesday, October 3rd, during a broadcast of WREG’s “Live at 9" from Peabody Place. Audience members are encouraged to wear pink. For more, go here.
Body I.D.ed as Memphis rapper
A body found in an overgrown ditch in Olive Branch last week has been identified as Marcus Turner. According to MemphisRap.com, this could be the same Marcus Turner, known as "SS Boy" of Grenade Posse. While the autopsy results have not yet been released, speculation abounds on whether SS Boy was the victim of a homicide. For more details, click here.
Full Docket
The Shelby County Drug Court keeps addicts out of jail.
"Vacate Now"
Many of the paintings in "Vacate Now!" Bobby Spillman's exhibition at L Ross Gallery, roil with energy. Fires flash, lightning bolts, and toy airplanes blast across the surface of his canvases.
"Against the Wind," one of the show's strongest works, is a rush of emotion and energy. The day after several tornadoes roared across the Mid-South and his father had a heart attack, Spillman loaded a brush with white, yellow, and pink oils. In one spontaneous, continuous gesture he swirled the paint diagonally across 72-by-66 inches of canvas and created a multi-hued whirlwind.
Read Flyer critic Carol Knowles' take on this and other current exhibits here.
The Anna Mae He Case
The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in the case of Jack and Casey He, two Chinese immigrants suing another Memphis couple — Jerry and Louise Baker — who adopted their daughter on what was supposed to be a temporary basis.
For the last five years, the Hes have been fighting in court to regain custody of their daughter, Anna Mae He, who the Bakers have raised from infancy. To read more, go here. To read a comprehensive Flyer story on the case, go here.
Duck!
Who knew? Paul Tudor Jones II, the big-shot New York investor and native Memphian, collects waterfowl decoys. And his isn't just any collection: As befitting a man of his reach and means, his set of antique decoys is among the finest in the world. "The Art of Deception: Waterfowl Decoys from the Private Collection of Paul Tudor Jones II" will be at the Brooks Museum through October 29th. As chairman of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and director of the Everglades Foundation, Jones has made natural conservancy one of his prime endeavors. His decoys have never before been publicly displayed.
The exhibit runs in conjunction with the Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest, the entries for which are on display at the Memphis College of Art (MCA) through October 7th, when the winner will be announced. To learn more, go here.
We Recommend
Music
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Goner Fest Starts Tonight
It will be an international affair at this year's Goner Fest 3, kicking off tonight at the Hi-Tone with a performance by King Louie One Man Band.
Read all about it here.
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No MercyMe!
Christian rock group MercyMe has had to cancel tonight's concert at the DeSoto Civic Center due the illness of lead singer Bart Millard.
The show will tentatively be rescheduled for spring '07.
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On the Comeback Trail
Soul singer Bettye LaVette on the path from obscurity to sensation.
Politics
Roadblock
A newly ascendant Jake Ford runs into trouble during the first congressional debate.
Corker Campaign Changes Leadership
Bob Corker, the Republican candidate for the Tennessee Senate seat currently held by Bill Frist, has made drastic changes to his campaign leadership 39 days before the midterm elections. The DSCC is reporting that Corker fired his campaign manager and hired a new media consultant who has previously worked for President Bush and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California.
Drastic change-ups so close to the election usually indicate trouble within a campaign. DC Republicans have expressed their concern over the race and recently reprimanded Corker for running a lackluster campaign. Read more here.
WWH: 'More Taxes for More Cops"
Mayor asks for 50-cent property tax hike to curb "unacceptable" crime rate.
Protests Greet Bush, Including One from GOP Candidate
Congressional candidate Mark White expresses disappointment with president's failure to visit inner city.
GOP Candidate Among Bush Critics
President Bush arrived in Memphis on Wednesday for a luncheon fundraiser on behalf of Republican senatorial candidate Bob Corker and drew protests -- mostly from Democrats. But 9th District Republican candidate Mark White was also critical, noting that he had asked the president to tour Memphis' inner city with him and got no reply. "Why he will not follow me there is beyond me,” said White, whose campaign manager, Howie Morgan, acknowledged that some Republicans might be offended by the statement, which, however, "speaks for itself."
For more, go to "Political Beat".
Sports
Camping with the Griz
Sports Illustrated’s Marty Burns is taking a look at NBA training camps, division by division. Check out Burns’ take on what he feels is the best division in the NBA, the Southwest. And read why a certain “mouse” may be key to the Grizzlies’ fortunes this season.
Carney in Barcelona
No, not a carnival — Rodney Carney! For a few days, at least, Pau Gasol isn’t the only basketball player with ties to both Barcelona and Memphis. Rodney Carney — last winter an All-America at the University of Memphis, now a rookie with the Philadelphia 76ers — is in Spain for the start of his first NBA training camp. And he’s posting a blog on life as an NBA novice. Check it out here.
Orange Crush
UT quarterback Erik Ainge passed for 324 yards and four touchdowns in Tennessee’s 41-7 rout of Memphis at the Liberty Bowl.
"The Vols (4-1) have now won 20 of the 21 games in the series, and this one was never in doubt. Read it and weep here.
Oh, Never Mind ...
Apparently coming to his senses — or being led to them — prospective Memphis Grizzlies owner Brian Davis has changed his tune about putting old college teammate and ownership group partner Christian Laettner in a Grizzlies uniform. Davis issued the following statement through the Grizzlies media relations department this afternoon: “After speaking with Grizzlies management, we have determined that while the sale of the Memphis Grizzlies is pending, Christian Laettner will not play for the team,” said Brian Davis. “Both Christian and I are excited about the future of this franchise, but feel adding him to the roster could be disruptive at this time.”
Alas, Chris, we hardly knew ye.
Meet the New Boss?
In a surprise, the Memphis Grizzlies media day opened not with a statement by Jerry West, but with a joint press conference between current majority owner Michael Heisley and former Duke University basketball player Brian Davis, who leads an investment group that has agreed in principle to purchase Heisley’s 70-percent share of the team. If Davis’ group — which includes former Duke teammate and NBA player Christian Laettner along with other unnamed investors — does buy a majority share of the team, the deal is unlikely to be consummated until early 2007.
To read the rest of the story, click on the headline.
Film
Where's the Cane?
To promote the movie, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, opening today in local theaters, canes were buried in Memphis, Nashville, Norfolk, and Los Angeles. Clues posted on the movie's web site lead to the cane, and those who find it will receive $1,000 each.
We've been unable to get the site to work. You can give it a shot here.
Low-Tech Dreams
Michel Gondry's The Science of Sleep is charmingly tactile and refreshingly old-fashioned.
Now Playing
"Fearless is being billed as Jet Li's final martial-arts epic. If this is true, it's too bad for a couple reasons: One, the performer is abandoning the genre that has seen his best work; two, the martial-arts movie that he'll last be remembered for is such a subpar product. ...
Get Flyer reviewer Greg Akers' take on the new Jet Li flick here. And as long as you're scoping out movies for the weekend, you should read what Chris Herrington has to say about the quirky Science of Sleep.
Where's the Cane? Part II
Last week, we told you about a contest promoting the movie The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Canes were buried in four cities, including Memphis. Those who found the cane using clues provided via the movie's web site and e-mails would receive $1,000.
It appears that the cane in Memphis was found, but not by someone who using the Dr. Jekyll web site. According to a press release issued by the film's company, the unnamed person is not eligible for the prize because "he did not enter the quiz, respond to the clues, nor did he find the buried cane as outlined in the rules of the game.”
The release also says that the person who found the cane has threatened to sue to get the $1,000.
Opinion
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Letter from the Editor
I got another one this week -- a letter informing me that I am "no genius" and that my column is little more than the childish scribbling of a sadly misinformed fool ...
How Did America Come to This?
A debate on torture.
Corrections, Amplifications
As New Orleans reopens the Super Dome, downtown Memphis can take heart.
Food & Wine
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Gentlemen, Start Your Deep Fryers
Time for the Mid-South Fair's Fried Catfish Cook-Off and Hot Wings Contest.
Special Sections
Best of Memphis/The Photographic Evidence
The Flyer's annual Best of Memphis party was held last week at "the warehouse" on G.E. Patterson Boulevard...
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