The street names - First Avenue and Jefferson Avenue - bothered me more than anything. Don't they know what a googlemap is?
The one thing I did appreciate was Dwight quoting a Johnny Cash song in conversation, without them having to call attention to it. In response to the chief? captain? asking about his ex-wife he responds, "We got married in a fever."
I didn't mind that there is no actual recent beauty-pageant history here. All of a sudden it seems like there should be.
The inaccuracy that I appreciate is the interaction of people of different races and socio-economic backgrounds, the likes of which we usually only see at the zoo, Redbirds games, and at the better barbecue joints.
It would take a word as awesome as "awesome." This Swap & Shop, btw, was awesome, and I'm sure the next one will be awesome as well.
I had a fantastic and fruitful time at the Swap & Shop! Hope you do it again when I get tired of the clothes I got last night!
Re: “Calling All Artists! Decorate Our Newsstands!”
(The submission link doesn't work.)
I commend you for paying for the artists' materials for this project. However, the artists selected to decorate the boxes will not be compensated for their time. The most they can expect to receive is $500 for being voted "Best in Show." Some artists might like to do this for fun, and to get an opportunity to work in different materials or to see something that they made out in a public space. But other artists think their time is worth something, and aren't going to spend time working on a piece for someone else that will take time away from their own work, without consideration of their time.
Projects that enhance the public realm are good and are welcome, but adding to the misconception that artists need only work for exposure, and that the time that artists put into their work does not have the same value as the time that others put into their work, harms the arts community in Memphis.
How about in 2012 we as a city start showing artists that they matter for more than just decoration.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Alley, Artist