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VOLUME 40, NUMBER 11 ARKANSAS TIMES (ISSN 0164-6273) is published each week by Arkansas Times Limited Partnership, 201 East Markham Street, Suite 200, Little Rock, Arkansas, 72201, phone (501) 375-2985. Periodical postage paid at Little Rock, Arkansas, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ARKANSAS TIMES, EAST MARKHAM STREET, SUITE 200, Little Rock, AR, 72201. Subscription prices are $42 for one year, $78 for two years. Subscriptions outside Arkansas are $49 for one year, $88 for two years. Foreign (including Canadian) subscriptions are $168 a year. For subscriber service call (501) 375-2985. Current single-copy price is 75¢, free in Pulaski County. Single issues are available by mail at $2.50 each, postage paid. Payment must accompany all single-copy orders. Reproduction or use in whole or in part of the contents without the written consent of the publishers is prohibited. Manuscripts and artwork will not be returned or acknowledged unless sufficient return postage and a self-addressed stamped envelope are included. All materials are handled with due care; however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for care and safe return of unsolicited materials. All letters sent to ARKANSAS TIMES will be treated as intended for publication and are subject to ARKANSAS TIMES’ unrestricted right to edit or to comment editorially.

See it before it closes December 1, 2013 This seminal fashion exhibition celebrates the world-renowned work and inspiring life of designer Oscar de la Renta. The exhibit will feature more than 30 of his iconic creations worn by leading arbiters of style, from First Ladies to Hollywood’s brightest stars. In the 1960s, Dominican-born Oscar de la Renta moved to the United States, where he launched his signature ready-to-wear label and quickly became known as a leading figure in international fashion design. Oscar de la Renta’s award-winning career spans five decades and he continues to produce an exceptional body of work – a testament to his enduring creative vision.

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COMMENT

He who is without sin There was a very public scene in the Bible where Christ is asked to approve the stoning of an adulteress. He averts the punishment by saying, “let him who is without sin, cast the first stone.” In a similar position, Msgr. Francis Malone was presented Tippi McCullough, who offended the scribes and priests by getting married to a partner of 14 years. Malone approved hurling the stone of job loss at her. Someone is watching out for Tippi because the stone did almost no damage. In fact, although suffering a hit, she is now better off than she was before. The Catholic hierarchy and priests know how to keep deviant, illegal sexual activity private until forced into the open. Tippi did not cover up her relationship because it is legal, and it is love. Jesus had this to say about judging others: “First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your sister’s eye.” Pope Francis famously said, “Who am I to judge?” Perhaps the Rev. Malone and other church members need some help removing logs, so they can see the minor problem Tippi presented. Richard Emmel Little Rock

share my story. Evelyn Fort Stewart Mountain Home

Redevelop downtown Enjoyed your blog [“An open line: And a plug for dense urban core development”] regarding the property tax per acre comparisons. Redeveloping and investing in a community’s core regardless of the size of that community will reap not only more financial reward back to the community on a tax per acre basis but it will also reduce

cost to that municipal government as it relates to services that it provides. A double win. Greg Nabholz North Little Rock

From the web In response to the Arkansas Blog post “It’s unanimous: Arkansas congressmen unhappy about new habitat protection for mussels”: Well, of course. Any protection for wildlife in Arkansas has the potential of taking money out of a rich Republican’s

Look for signs of abuse I am 86 years old and lived through 32 years of domestic abuse. Things have changed over the years; some changes are good, some not so good. We have nearly overdosed our young people with sex education, but we have failed to train them to ask the hard questions. Marriage and living together isn’t just about sex, it is about everyday life. I need the parents’ attention for just a moment. Have you taught your child to look for the signs of an abuser and trained them to ask themselves the hard question, “Am I committing myself to a potential abuser?” It only takes but a few minutes to walk into a nightmare but it can take years to get free, if you get out alive. I have made my nightmare an open book. I’m a storyteller, so we quickly become friends as you read about my journey of abuse in my book, “Behind Closed Doors,” which is available on amazon.com. It is my desire to be able to put one of my books in every safe-house in America. Please don’t turn your back on someone that is in trouble. Listen to your neighbors and friends with your heart. They may need your help. If you can’t find the right words, feel free to 4

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

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or rich Democrat’s pocket somewhere down the road. The only reason we’re alive is to make money. To hell with anything that doesn’t make somebody some money. These six tools represent people ... wait, it should read these six tools represent rich people and that doesn’t include you or me. We don’t count, wildlife doesn’t count, natural vegetation be damned, a nice quality of life is only meant for those rich enough to jet away to the pretty places where no American is allowed to savage the ground just to make a profit. (Pssst, it’s why they’re still pretty.) We can’t win, the deck is too stacked against us and all other living things. The only thing we can do, the only power we have is to VOTE THESE BASTIDS OUT! But first we have to dig up some people worth voting for and except for James Lee Witt, ain’t no one worth a damn running in 2014 so we’ll have to wait until 2016 for a chance to vote for good people. Damn shame. DeathbyInches Protecting the mussels is kinda like protecting the blind cave fish in the cave at Cave Springs. Because every potential development has to have an environmental study, it has limited development in that area a great deal. I want to know who gives a damn about blind cave fish? Should they be allowed to retard human development? Plainjim

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About time environmental justice came to the Natural State. Let the lawsuits begin, thankfully. Bye bye, CAFO hog and chicken farms. Dachsman In response to the Arkansas Blog post, “Pryor signs on to bill to address health insurance plan cancellations”: I’m a supporter of President Obama and a supporter of Obamacare. I’m also a supporter of politicians keeping their word, especially when there’s deliberate and unequivocal a promise as this. People who like their current plans — even if those plans are bad or drive-up premiums for the rest of us — need to be allowed to keep them. HeightsObserver

Submit letters to the Editor, Arkansas Times, P.O. Box 34010, Little Rock, AR 72203. We also accept letters via e-mail. The address is arktimes@arktimes.com. Please include name and hometown.

WORD S

Attorney seems nicer The old Arkansas Gazette observed a distinction between lawyer and attorney, and if you worked there, you were expected to remember it. I did and still do, but I think that it’s largely ignored in general usage today. The old rule was that an attorney was someone who was designated to transact business for another. An attorney might or might not be a lawyer. A lawyer is someone who practices law. But he or she is not a lawyer just in the courtroom. The designation goes with you whatever else you may be doing: “Lawyer files for City Council.” “Lawyer flees with bank funds, banker’s wife.” Garner’s Modern American Usage says that nowadays, lawyer and attorney are not generally distinguished, even by members of the legal profession. With one exception — lawyer is often viewed as having negative connotations. Attorney sounds respectable, even if the person is on the lam. “One frequently hears about lawyerbashing, but only the tone-deaf write attorney-bashing,” Garner says. “But using the technology would require getting judges, prosecutors and defense councils on board, and there could be unanticipated legal problems, he said.”

The Gazette also maintained, and so should you, still, that council and counsel are not the same DOUG thing. A council is SMITH a meeting for disdougsmith@arktimes.com cussion, or a permanent committee or assembly. Counsel is the process of discussion or consultation; formal advice resulting from discussion; or any kind of advice. “In legal usage a lawyer or group of lawyers giving advice and representing a client in litigation can be called counsel (plural as well as singular).” He can also be called counselor. I and millions of others first became familiar with this term in the old “Perry Mason” TV show, the original version from the ’50s. Perry was frequently addressed as “counselor” in the courtroom, shortly before he revealed the true identity of the murderer, who happened to be the prosecution’s chief witness. I wonder how many lawyers Raymond Burr is responsible for. A bunch, I know, and I might have been one of them had I not been called into a real courtroom at an impressionable age. No Perry Masons in there.

WEEK THAT WAS

It was a good week for ...

JEFF LONG. The University of Arkansas Athletic Director was apparently a candidate for an opening at the University of Texas. In response, the UA moved his $900,000 salary to $1.1 million (plus $250,000 in potential incentives) and to gave him a $100,000 bonus, to boot. A TAX CUT PROPOSAL THE STATE CAN’T AFFORD. Asa Hutchinson, Republican candidate for governor, unveiled a state income tax cut proposal that would cut the top tax rate from 7 percent to 6 percent for those making between $34,000 and $75,000 and cut from 6 percent to 5 percent the top rate for those making $20,400 to $33,999. The average tax cut for someone with $50,000 taxable income would be $300, he said. The state does not have the surplus and sufficient current growth to pay for the proposal. TOMMY MOLL. The Republican candidate for 4th District Congress got an endorsement from Erick Erickson of the popular conservative website Red State. It probably won’t move the needle much in the rural 4th, but it’s funny. The endorsement isn’t so much a plug for Moll as it is a jab at Moll’s primary opponent, Rep. Bruce Westerman. Red State says that Westerman led the fight for adoption of the expansion of Medicaid

in Arkansas. That’ll come as news to the Republicans who did lead the fight and who were famously accused by Westerman of taking “30 pieces of silver” to do so. But Erickson has it all figured out, quoting none other than Lt. Gov. Mark Darr, currently under double investigation for spending improprieties. Darr, who was going to run for this seat until he got caught with his hand in the state cookie jar, says that the Obamacare expansion wouldn’t have happened without Westerman’s early support, no matter what happened later.

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EXXON. The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration notified the ExxonMobil Pipeline Company that it had found nine probable violations of pipeline safety regulations and proposed $2.6 million in civil penalties. THE NORTHWOODS SUBDIVISION. Speaking of Exxon, the company demolished a house it recently purchased in the neighborhood where its Pegasus pipeline ruptured March 29. The home was one of three in the subdivision that Exxon and government officials never cleared for re-entry following the spill because of oil under their foundations.

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NOVEMBER 14, 2013

EDITORIAL

EYE ON ARKANSAS

Snookered again

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

BRIAN CHILSON

t’s a rare Arkansas legislature that can’t be lured into a new tax giveaway in the name of job creation. The 2013 legislature created something called the New Markets Job Act that has even the Arkansas Economic Development Commission alarmed. Based on experience in other states, it’s a scheme that enriches investors more than the states that provide the money. In Arkansas, the legislature agreed to allow investors to tap into $96 million from taxes insurance companies pay on premiums. The money, instead of going to support education and other state agencies, will be loaned to community economic development corporations to invest in business ventures in lowincome areas. The pitch is that new jobs will generate taxes sufficient to repay the lost money and then some. It hasn’t worked out that way in other states. In Wisconsin, a Milwaukee newspaper found the state had spent $247,000 each to create 202 jobs. The same thing happened in Missouri, which decided not to renew the program. Articles in other states and The City Wire in Northwest Arkansas suggest that, typically, no more than a third of the state money provided actually reaches a business enterprise. The rest is paid in interest to the insurance company that loans the money or otherwise evaporates, presumably into investor pockets somewhere. States don’t get principal back or interest. Critics say, too, that the free state money often goes to projects that were going to happen anyway. AEDC Director Grant Tennille, who wants as many development tools as possible, is critical of the lack of state control. Tennille said the state “administers” the program about as much as the TV weatherman “administers” the weather. “They have to submit the project, along with an economic impact analysis, which they provide and we’re not allowed to question. If their analysis says that the project will have a net positive financial impact to the state, we issue the tax credits.There are no claw backs for non-performance, because the state’s money isn’t really going to the company, it’s going to an insurance company through a middle-man who’s going to take a big cut.” It is, Tennille said, “Completely inefficient and designed to make money for investment bankers, not start businesses.” Tennille would like the legislature to impose stricter rules. Other states have required repayment of money advanced. Arkansas should have thought of that on the front end. It’s not too late to limit the state’s exposure.

PLAY BEFORE DEMOLITION: Two young boys play in the street in front of the home at 44 N. Starlite in Mayflower. An ExxonMobil spokesman said oil remained beneath the home’s foundation after a March 29 pipeline rupture. The house was demolished Tuesday.

UA gang can’t shoot straight

University of Arkansas employee put it simply: “Why can’t they tell the truth?” He referred to the growing evidence of a UA corporate culture that prefers secrecy to disclosure, just as the fired John Diamond, the university’s former chief spokesman, has alleged. A prosecutor in Fayetteville is reviewing the discrepancy between accounts by Diamond and Chancellor David Gearhart on handling of documents related to the red-ink drenched Advancement Division. Diamond says relevant documents were shredded. Gearhart denies this. Circumstantial evidence supports Diamond. Records were shredded. Records of payment authorizations that the UA Advancement Division should possess are gone. Shredding began after financial problems in the division surfaced. Shredding stopped for a time in November — perhaps on the sound advice of an administrator now departed — and then resumed. The prosecutor presumably has talked with people who can say which documents were shredded. The UA is falling back, in part, on the excuse that the University of Arkansas Foundation has parallel records. It’s a poor excuse. The UA Foundation claims it’s not open to the public. Legislative auditors have indicated they didn’t find all they needed there. Arkansas law on record retention is sufficiently porous that no law may have been broken even if potentially insightful or embarrassing records were destroyed. But remember the Lou Holtz Do Right Rule? It applies in university administration as well as football. The UA has taken a beating in public appearances (save from an outlier excuse-maker in the press who’s chummy with Gearhart) and could be in for more. Secrecy is a pattern at UA. When I asked the UA weeks ago about a tip that the FBI had been questioning UA officials about the Advancement Division mess, I originally got a categorical denial. Later, I got a callback explaining, in a roundabout way, that an FBI agent might

indeed be at work, but under the auspices of the local prosecutor. Why not get it right the first time? Then there was the recent news that Athletic Director Jeff Long was a candidate for a job MAX at the University of Texas. Long BRANTLEY issued a misleading statement maxbrantley@arktimes.com on a Sunday evening, via Twitter, that he was not in contact with Texas. The next day, an FOI request by the Arkansas Times revealed the whole truth. Six days earlier, Chancellor Gearhart had given Long a $100,000 bonus and a $200,000 pay raise in return for his spurning any overtures from Texas. If, indeed, the overtures ever existed. Would the public have known about the pay raise without FOI requests? Why didn’t the UA volunteer news of the contractual upgrade (the second in two years for Long after a putative overture from Stanford a year ago) before it hit the newspapers? Shredding documents during a financial audit is a bad thing, even if undertaken innocently as housekeeping at the outset. A resumption of shredding amid controversy looks worse. It will be worse still if the record shows — as several insist it will — that financial records were among those shredded. An incomplete answer about my law enforcement question wasn’t encouraging. Evading the truth about the athletic director was not just disingenuous but dumb, given that the record had to eventually come out. Football tickets, skybox access, chancellor’s party invites and the huge clout of key tycoons — not to mention the simple charm of abundant old school ties — have always paid big dividends for the UA in legislative halls. But new powers in the term-limited, Republican majority legislature don’t seem so easily impressed. Combine that new skepticism with dishonesty and you have a formula for long-term fallout for the UA well beyond whatever the prosecutor concludes.

OPINION

To govern or not

he emerging story line of the 2014 Arkansas elections is a high-minded debate over whether government, even effective government, is a good thing. Democrats are lining up candidates for high office who claim to have made government work for people. They will rally under the banner of Governor Mike Beebe, who has made it clear that while he will not be on the ballot he will lend his aura to the candidates. His poll numbers reflect a public belief that he is an unusually efficient chief executive. Alas, the worth of effective government will not be the issue of the campaigns, unless you count as the sole measure of it the Affordable Care Act. It will be the burning issue of most big campaigns, regardless of when the Obama administration fixes the Internet portal where people buy their insurance. It has been the issue since 2010 and will not subside as the issue until 2016, when it will be at close to full implementation. But effective government is the Democrats’ best argument for regaining the momentum, if they can make the case for it. The national prints have lionized Beebe

for six years because Arkansas avoided the collapse that the recession of 2007-09 inflicted on other states, he got a ERNEST Republican legislaDUMAS ture to implement the most important part of Obamacare and he retains the trust of most of the electorate after 11 years in statewide office. So Beebe seeks to pass on that trust to the Democratic candidate for governor, former congressman Mike Ross, his acolyte as a state senator, who says he will govern exactly like Beebe. But is he a chip off the old block? No one ever took office who had Beebe’s grasp of political forces and legislative dynamics. He has never attempted a meaningful initiative that he was not quite sure he could achieve, so he has no record of failure and no legacy of dashed hopes. Mike Ross has been similarly cautious, rarely casting a vote that carried much risk in a conservative rural district, either in the legislature or Congress. While Ross championed universal health insurance in Con-

CBS blows it on Beghazi

he comic figure of the braggart soldier first appears in Plautus’s play “Miles Gloriosus” in roughly 200 BC, although the Roman dramatist acknowledged a now-lost Greek model. So it’s surprising that somebody who’s spent as much time in war zones as “60 Minutes’ ” Lara Logan failed to recognize the type: a swaggering, self-anointed hero describing military feats nobody witnessed but him. Bars near military bases around the world harbor fakers like Dylan Davies, aka “Morgan Jones,” as “60 Minutes” called him, although they do have to be careful who they lie to. It’s mainly a tactic for fooling gullible women. I used to know a fellow whose girlfriend forgave his drunken blackouts because of his terrible experiences in Vietnam — a war that ended when he was nine. That said, Lara Logan’s apparent naivete is far from the most objectionable thing about CBS’s ill-fated attempt to pander to the far-right’s odd obsession with the Benghazi tragedy. See, “60 Minutes” Oct. 27 episode supposedly falsifying Obama administration’s version of what happened that terrible night in Libya wasn’t so much TV journalism as an infomercial for a book in which CBS had a financial stake — a manifest conflict of interest “60 Minutes” neglected to mention until MediaMatters.

org called its hand. Exactly how generous an advance Simon & Schuster’s “Threshold Editions” bestowed GENE upon Davies for his LYONS heroic tale about single-handedly fighting his way into the besieged U.S. compound where Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three fellow Americans were killed by a terrorist mob hasn’t been revealed. Presumably enough, however, to give the one-time British mercenary ample reason to concoct a narrative pleasing to its readers’ expectations. Having previously published books by such innovators in the art of storytelling as Glenn Beck, Mark Levin and Jerome Corsi, Threshold editors would appear to be less than rigorous about fact-checking. So excuse me for saying so, but that makes Davies virtually a paid source, and “60 Minutes” a practitioner of checkbook journalism that could ruin its well-deserved reputation. Nothing about the way CBS handled the ensuing controversy gave confidence. After boasting that its report raising “lingering questions” about Benghazi was the result of a year’s reporting and over 100 interviews, the network stonewalled as obvious flaws

gress he voted against the two versions of the Affordable Care Act that went before the House in 2009 and 2010, including the one that became law, explaining that this was what his constituents wanted him to do. He will be hammered for a procedural vote that allowed the majority of the House that favored the health bill to actually vote on it. Sen. Mark Pryor’s case for re-election is that, nearly alone in the U.S. Senate, he tried to bridge the gulf between the parties and make Congress work. He is blessed by the perfect opponent, Tom Cotton. While saying occasionally he didn’t want a government shutdown or debt default, Cotton worked hard to achieve them. Cotton’s team will be photoshopping Barack Obama’s arm around Pryor, not his friend Mike Beebe’s. Pryor voted for Obamacare and he has not been Obama’s permanent enemy, which may be all that counts in Arkansas. For the debate on good government, Democrats have the perfect candidate in the Fourth District, James Lee Witt, who became the poster boy for able government when he headed the Federal Emergency Management Agency for President Clinton. Under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, FEMA had been a shelter for inept

men who were owed political favors, and every natural disaster exposed it. Praised by Republicans and state officials for FEMA’s quick response to hurricanes, tornadoes and Midwestern floods, Witt was the Clinton administration’s star. But Witt will be crucified for, of all things, making a lot of money as a businessman when he was called upon as a consultant to take over the management of the Katrina hurricane devastation from the FEMA of President George W. Bush, who had put a rodeo promoter in charge and emptied it of disaster-relief professionals. In the Second District, the Democrats offer Patrick Henry Hays, “Arkansas’s mayor,” who has a better claim on such an epithet than Rudy Giuliani. Hays turned North Little Rock from a moribund, scruffy suburb into a city with more reliable municipal services than its big brother across the river. You would think those are better credentials than 15 years as a trickster in your party’s political boiler rooms, which is what the current congressman brought to the job. But that is if Democrats get that highminded debate about all that is good or bad about government. It happens in civics classes, not in realpolitik warfare, where it is only Obama and Obamacare around the clock.

in its reporting began to appear. classic con man’s bluff, Davies also told The Within three days of the “60 Minutes” Daily Beast that he’d told State Department broadcast, the Washington Post’s Karen and FBI investigators exactly what he’d told DeYoung learned that Davies had submitted “60 Minutes.” a written incident report to Blue Mountain, Meanwhile, mum remained the word his British-owned employers — a version in at CBS. They stood by their story. Period. which nothing he told Lara Logan he’d seen Mystifyingly, Logan assured the New York and done at the U.S. compound that night Times that “If you read the book, you would could possibly be true, because he’d never know he never had two stories. He only actually gone there. had one story.” “Immediately,” wrote Jay Rosen at PressSo the incident report is a forgery? Wow, think.org, “the CBS report is in deep trouble. that would be news. Who wrote it, Michelle Obama? And anyone with a clear mind can see that. Then on Nov. 7, the hammer dropped: Except the people at CBS. When your key source tells two different stories, something The New York Times produced the FBI is seriously amiss.” report: “Dylan Davies, a security officer Instead, a CBS spokesman announced, hired to help protect the United States “We stand firmly by the story we broadcast Special Mission in Benghazi, Libya, gave last Sunday.” the FBI an account of the night that terrorTranslation: “We’re “60 Minutes,” and ists attacked the mission on Sept. 11, 2012 you’re not.” that contradicts a version of events he proTwo days later, Davies gave The Daily vided in a recently published book and in Beast an interview claiming he’d neither an interview with the CBS News program written nor seen the incident report with “60 Minutes.” his name on it, although he admitted lying So last Sunday, they sent Logan out to to his bosses because “he did not want his apologize: “The most important thing to supervisor to know he had disobeyed his every person at ‘60 minutes’ is the truth,” orders to stay at his villa” that night. she said, “and the truth is we made a misSo CBS’s source now says he’s told two take.” different stories. Did Logan and her producSorry, but that simply won’t do. Lara ers know that? If so, shouldn’t “60 Minutes” Logan’s a formidable figure and “60 Minhave explained to begin with? If not, exactly utes” has long defined TV journalism. But what did a year’s reporting consist of? if CBS wants its reputation back, they’ve got Well, you can see where this is going. In a a lot more explaining to do. www.arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

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Hogs fight for first SEC win

e’ve reached that dreaded stage of the college football season where Arkansas fans can actually, officially and conclusively write off postseason aspirations with 120 minutes of tangible game action left to play. And thanks to another defeat where just enough glimmers of hope were evident to engender frustration when the team faltered, Arkansas now stands right on the brink of its first-ever winless SEC campaign. Damning as it all is, the Hogs weren’t completely vanquished by Ole Miss on a sunny Saturday in Oxford until Zach Hocker whiffed wide on a 58-yard field goal in the final minute. A conversion would have given Arkansas merely a pulse and a prayer that an onside kick would also occur, that its shackled passing game would somehow flourish in a fit of desperation, and that the miracle of all miracles would transpire: the Hogs taking an opportunity by the proverbial horns and not frittering it away with self-inflicted damage. Alas, none of it even materialized, and the Hogs ended up on the short end of a 34-24 game that was once again too quirky to be categorized. This wasn’t like the Auburn loss a week before: the Hogs weren’t on the wrong end of the turnover disparity for a change, Brandon Allen actually had some sharp tosses and the running game was less about flash and more about force. On balance, it may have been the team’s best offensive showing since the season opener against Lafayette. But then, there was the defense. Or more precisely, a gross paucity of it. Bo Wallace ate Arkansas alive last year with quick receiver screens and not much else. This time, he employed the same tactic, a staple of Hugh Freeze’s engine, and when Arkansas started biting at the Rebel heels in the third quarter Wallace just dispensed with the safe stuff and went over the top. The Hogs only trailed 20-17 when Wallace fired the true kill shot, a 75-yard strike to Ja-Mes Logan late in the third period that woke up a lethargic crowd and left the defense wobbly for the next possession. Wallace capitalized on that with a short curl to Donte Moncrief, who shook a feeble tackle attempt and raced off for another score. Look, mincing words has never been

the path chosen by Pearls, so we’ll say it point-blank: Arkansas is so depleted on that side of the ball BEAU that it’s almost WILCOX befuddling how Wallace managed to complete only 80 percent of his dinks and dunks for a modest 407 yards. The defensive backfield is just as poorly positioned from play to play as it has been for, well, at least a decade or so. The loss of Will Hines to injury weeks ago was just cruel: it deprived the unit of its most promising talent, and meant that even average quarterbacks could salivate at the traditional, puzzling cushion that the Razorback DBs routinely afford their opposition. No-good, terrible, awful, very bad tackling has also resurfaced. Teams like Ole Miss, which are most robust at the skill positions, take full advantage. The Rebs have stockpiled angular and shifty receivers — you know, the kind that the Razorbacks simply do not have — and those guys are ideal for the Freeze system and pure hell on the squad that Chris Ash is forced to deploy this fall. It’s not fair, but it’s the inherited misfortune that we’ve addressed ad nauseam here. The Hogs’ last realistic shot at avoiding the win column goose egg is against rather woeful Mississippi State at War Memorial this weekend, and Brandon Allen at least has something to build on, a two-TD performance where he shook off some of his longstanding accuracy woes and reinvested some confidence in Julian Horton, who was impressive in the summer and up until the trip to Oxford, a vacuum since September. The Bulldogs’ defense falls far short of imposing, and the Dak Prescott-Tyler Russell QB tandem is error-prone. This team’s sole SEC win came at Kentucky’s expense, and they’ve been roughed up by LSU and Texas A&M for a combined 110 points. It’s not where anyone wanted to be, but if the Hogs can muster one bid for pride in the old concrete wasteland this weekend, it’s something worth treasuring. Expect nothing, and perhaps be rewarded for your pessimism for once.

THE OBSERVER

Celebrating the life and times of

NOTES ON THE PASSING SCENE

$61 THE OBSERVER STROLLED down to the River Market the other day with the Cuban band CruzWay, a great bunch of folks who — under the guidance of their pater familias, Dr. Anibal Cruz II — made a daring, musical, slow-motion evacuation from that Communist island nation, staying over in Mexico for a few years before winding up shipwrecked here in Arkansas with the rest of us yokels. You can read all about them in a story in this issue, written by longsuffering Arkansas Times reporter David Koon, who is, pound for pound, one of the most handsome young men The Observer has ever met — voice like a bluebird, constitution of solid iron, and a hollow leg in which to pour his beer and whiskey. But enough about The Observer’s mancrush. We’d walked down to the River Market last week with the six members of CruzWay for a photo, Times photographer Brian Chilson and art director Kai Caddy running the show. We were standing at the corner heading into the River Market when the drummer for CruzWay, a very nice and talented young man named Alex Cruz, found a perfectly good dollar bill on the sidewalk. This was a wholly unexpected development. The River Market might be the most trod stretch of real-estate in Little Rock if not the state, tromped at all times both by those who need a buck and those who don’t but will take it if somebody is dumb enough to give it away. That’s likely a big part of the reason that The Observer, who has been in the River Market daily for 12 years, hasn’t found doodley blue-black squat there in the way of anything valuable unless you count assorted buttons, a belt from a very nice raincoat, a waterlogged copy of “Catcher in the Rye” and a bedazzled brassier with a broken shoulder strap. Here, though, was this whippersnapper finding OUR DOLLAR. Hhhmph! The urge to wrassle it away from him staunched, the Washington pocketed and the walk sign lit, The Observer, Brian, Kai and La Familia Cruz crossed the street in a pack, Brian and Kai making little picture frames with their fingers, looking for a suitable place for a family portrait. They settled on a bench in the River Market, and as CruzWay arranged themselves, what was found in the leaves there next to the curb but ANOTHER wad of money — this one a

waterlogged fold of $20 bills, $60 in all. And the drummer got that one too! The Observer proceeded to tell him that he should run, not walk, to buy a lottery ticket, because it was clearly his lucky day. In closing: A belated welcome to Little Rock, Cruz family. A shoddy ambassador are we, but The Observer means well, and we know where to find the cheap booze. Thanks for the music (CruzWay is really, really good, by the way. Get out and see them sometime), for your commitment to keeping your family together, and for your already-generous contributions to this city that we love. May your instruments always be in tune, your voices never hoarse, and the streets of Little Rock always paved with 20 dollar bills. That said: Brother, can you spare a dime? THE OBSERVER doesn’t know about you, Dear Reader, but we don’t understand why the daily newspaper replaces perfectly fine comic strips with lousy ones. The latest example: “Get Fuzzy” was shoved aside to make room for “Wumo.” “Get Fuzzy,” about a sweet dog and an evil cat (sorry to be redundant), could be tiresome with its word-play, but when the cat recently strapped on dead bat wings and tried to fly, it wasn’t bad. “Wumo,” on the other hand, finds humor in bathroom jokes. Last week, the joke was that a Tyrannosaurus Rex, with its little front legs, couldn’t reach the toilet paper. The Observer doesn’t understand why people think references to the use of the toilet are de facto funny. Arkansas once had a governor with the same sense of humor, and it made The Observer’s skin crawl. It’s the latest outrage. First, the daily got rid of “Apartment 3G.” Offended by women in bras, we suppose. Then “Mary Worth” got the heave-ho. Though they’ve been gone for lo these many years now, The Observer is still hot about it. None of the women in “3G” nor “Mary Worth” was ever shown on the pot. Maybe that’s what the funnies editor at the daily found missing. Meanwhile, the newspaper replaced Sunday’s “Doonesbury” cartoon with an old one, ostensibly because a character in the Sunday strip used the word “puke,” and that violated the “breakfast rule.” The rejected strip, by the way, made fun of critics of the president by likening them to Southerners in 1861. You’d think the mention of puke, normally done in a bathroom, would have tickled the editor’s funny bone no end.

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Arkansas Reporter

THE

IN S IDE R

A reliable source indicates the Mount St. Mary Academy hierarchy is not happy about a Times report on a recent staff meeting at which Msgr. Francis I. Malone explained the thinking on the forced resignation of a St. Mary English teacher, Tippi McCullough, after she married Pulaski County Deputy Prosecutor Barbara Mariani. The Times was told of another school staff meeting last week. Principal Diane Wolfe and school president Karen Flake reportedly said if a staff member stepped forward to admit providing information for our report, he or she would receive 30 days severance pay. Otherwise, if an ensuing investigation identifies a person responsible, firing would come without severance. We can’t help with the investigation. But we can recommend Matthew 18 and its counsel on forgiveness. You’d think it was time to put this to rest.

McCullough finds work Speaking of McCullough, there are school administrators happy to employ her. Her wife, Barbara Mariani, tells the Times that Jerry Guess, superintendent in the Pulaski County Special School District, has employed her to teach English as a second language classes as a bridge to a permanent job. That job has developed: Nancy Rousseau, principal at Central High School, has hired McCullough to begin teaching pre-AP English to ninth graders Jan. 6. There’s a certain resonance in an open door at Central High School for someone who faced discrimination.

Doonesbury fails D-G’s breakfast test

A reader complained that the Sunday, Nov. 10, comics in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette included a “flashback” Doonesbury, a strip that ran several years ago. Cartoonist Gary Trudeau’s website displayed the cartoon meant for Sunday. It takes a bit of a whack at Dixie and its view of the president of the United States. The kicker comes in the final panel. It turns out an unhappy father urging his son off to war with the despot in the White House is set in 1861. Asked about the substitution, Democrat-Gazette deputy editor Frank Fellone said, “We sometimes sub out a comic for language we believe does not pass the breakfast test. Example: ‘puke.’ We have recently subbed out two Sunday comics for objectionable language. One was CONTINUED ON PAGE 11 10

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

BRIAN CHILSON

Leak investigation

BALL

A different Catholicism San Damiano offers an alternative for those troubled by Rome’s inflexibility on social issues. BY DAVID KOON

f you’re one of those people of faith much of the same experience, along with who believes in reproductive rights, what the pastor of San Damiano calls “an contraception, gay and lesbian rights emphasis on care for creation, care for the and more, it can sometimes be a little hard poor, and peace and justice issues.” to square all that with traditional Roman The story of Father Fred Ball, the Catholicism. Though Pope Francis has bubbly, graying priest who started San repeatedly signaled a desire to be more Damiano in early 2006 with his wife (yes, flexible about a host of social bugaboos, his wife — that’s another big difference the Roman Catholic Church is a mighty between Roman Catholicism and ecumenbig boat, and it will take decades to turn ical Catholicism), is a pretty good nutshell it away from entrenched attitudes about representation of the kind of person the social and “bedroom” issues — issues that church attracts. “This is where it gets crazy,” Ball said. have led many liberal-minded Catholics to “I grew up as a Southern Baptist here in abandon ship in recent years. For those who want the ritual, liturgy Arkansas, and spent 20 years in Southern and community of Catholicism without Baptist ministry, leading congregations.” Though he was at ground zero of the the baggage, however, there is an alternative, and it’s open to more than just Catho- Baptist faith every Sunday morning, Ball lics. San Damiano Ecumenical Catholic said he’d always felt an attraction to the ritChurch is Little Rock’s ecumenical Catho- ual and teachings of the Catholic Church, lic congregation. Started in 2006 around which offered “power, drama and depth” the idea of offering Catholic Communion to faith. After graduating from the Baptist and Mass to all people, regardless of gen- seminary, he joined a Franciscan order. der, sexual orientation or marital status, When he signed on to lead Baptist congrethe church is small but growing. While not gations, he constantly folded elements of officially connected to the Roman Catho- Catholic worship into the Protestant mix. lic Church, ecumenical Catholicism offers “I was always bringing liturgical

insights and the liturgical calendar and liturgical worship pieces into my Baptist congregations, which was sometimes a stretch,” he said with a smile. “I had a little open-country Baptist church in southern Indiana doing the Stations of the Cross during Lent.” After leaving the Baptist church in 1999, Ball spent six years as an Episcopalian, but something was missing. He was still drawn to Catholicism and the ministry, but knew that it didn’t jibe with the reality of his own beliefs or his situation, given that he was married. He heard about the possibility of being an ecumenical Catholic priest from a Franciscan brother, and decided to form a congregation as a small group in his home. Since January 2007, San Damiano has held Mass every Saturday and Wednesday night at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church at 12415 Cantrell Road. While the congregation is still small — around 40 people total, though not everyone shows up to every Mass — it’s growing. Parishioners are all ages, from an infant (born to parishioners that Ball married, their first “natural born citizen” he said with a laugh) to 70-plus, and come from every background. “You’d tend to think that the natural base for us would be Catholics, because we share a lot of history and theology with the Roman Catholic Church,” he said. “We’re very similar in a lot of ways. But probably half of our members have no Catholic background at all. They come from either Protestant churches or no church experience.” The appeal of ecumenical Catholicism, Ball said, is different for everyone. There are some gays and lesbians in the church, Ball said. Others are former Roman Catholics who can’t reconcile their social beliefs with those of the Vatican. Some come from no faith background at all. The church is also very active in effecting hands-on change, including homeless outreach and environmental programs, which Ball said are an additional appeal. “For a small congregation, we’ve been heavily involved with things like the Arkansas Homeless Coalition,” Ball said. “We have an exciting thing starting up right now that’s called Franciscan Earth Corps. It’s kind of my latest, greatest project. It’s geared at reaching young adults, 18- to 35-ish, and centering around the issues of equal justice, spirituality and community.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

LISTEN UP

THE

BIG PICTURE

ARKANSAS POLITICIANS’ MUSICAL TASTE

For this week’s music issue, we surveyed candidates and presumptive candidates for U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, Arkansas governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general on a few basic music-related questions. Not everyone responded to our poll, and some of those who did didn’t answer all the questions. Key takeaways: There are enough pols who play some type of horn that we could work up a nice, bipartisan brass band. Tom Cotton’s favorite song is “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” “Classical Gas” is a really good song that we’d forgotten about.

U.S. SENATOR MARK PRYOR Favorite artist: Johnny Cash Favorite song: The Band’s “The Weight” Favorite Concert: Ray Charles Favorite song that makes reference to Arkansas: Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say” Any musical talent? It depends on your definition of “musical talent.” U.S. REP. TOM COTTON 4th District U.S. Congress Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Favorite artist: Johnny Cash Favorite song: “Battle Hymn of the Republic” Favorite concert experience: Kid Rock Favorite song that makes reference to Arkansas: Collin Raye’s “Little Rock” Any musical talent? None whatsoever. U.S. REP. STEVE WOMACK 1st District U.S. Congress Republican Favorite song: Paul Anka’s “My Way” Favorite song that makes reference to Arkansas: The Gavins’ “Back in Arkansas” Any musical talent? Played the trombone through junior year in high school. REP. ANN CLEMMER Candidate for 2nd District U.S. Congress Republican Favorite songs: The Beatles’ “In My Life,” The Eagles “Wasted Time,” Elton John “Funeral for a Friend” and Billy Joel “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.” Favorite concert experience: Sixth row Billy Joel in Memphis circa 1993. He is a great showman and I could watch his fingers pound the keys. Favorite song that makes reference to Arkansas: Buddy Jewell’s “Sweet Southern Comfort.” Any musical talent? No PAT HAYS Candidate for 2nd District U.S. Congress Democrat Favorite artist/band AND concert: A tie. Jimmy Buffett. His keyboardist Mike Utley was a fraternity brother. ... I asked them to come to Verizon. Five years later, the band came and halfway through people asked me if I heard my name in one of the songs. Two weeks later I heard from Utley and he said, Did you hear Jimmy mention your name? Buffett worked my name into “Margaritaville.” And The Rolling Stones. I saw them on my first date with my wife, Linda, at the Cotton Bowl ... and again on our silver anniversary at Verizon. Favorite song that makes reference to Arkansas: “Arkansas (You Run Deep In Me).”

COL. CONRAD REYNOLDS Candidate for 2nd District U.S. Congress Republican Favorite artist: Bon Jovi Favorite song: Toby Keith’s “American Soldier” Favorite concert experience: Aerosmith in Pine Bluff 1978. Favorite song that makes reference to Arkansas: Collin Raye’s “Little Rock.” It’s a song about personal choices and the effects that they have on others, not just yourself. REP. BRUCE WESTERMAN Candidate for 4th District U.S. Congress Republican Favorite artist/band: I listen to lots of different music and have some favorite artists in different areas, including Toby Mac, Journey and Don Williams. Favorite concert experience: Tie between Don Williams at the Arkansas State Fair and Alabama, late ’80s, in Fayetteville. Favorite song that makes reference to Arkansas: “Tennessee Stud.” Any musical talent? No musical talent. I tried guitar and piano lessons in elementary school, but I’m musically challenged. I like to sing in church when everyone else is singing. CURTIS COLEMAN Candidate for governor Republican Favorite artist/band: Gaither Vocal Band Favorite song: The hymn “Because He Lives” Favorite concert experience: Attending the Gaither Homecoming at Verizon Arena, which I try to attend every year. Favorite song that makes reference to Arkansas: Johnny Cash’s “I’ve Been Everywhere” Any musical talent? Recorded three gospel solo albums a lifetime ago. Sing and play the piano. ASA HUTCHINSON Candidate for governor Republican Favorite artist/band: Johnny Cash Favorite song: “I’ll Fly Away” Favorite concert experience: MC Hammer at Barton Coliseum. I went with my daughter Sarah. Favorite song that makes reference to Arkansas: Stevie Wonder’s “I Was Made To Love Her” Any musical talent? Play the trumpet. CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

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INSIDER, CONT. Baby Blues; the other was Doonesbury. We sub rather than change the language because of copyright considerations.” The line from the missing Doonesbury was “The founding framers would puke, son!”

LRSD Website outdated That new Little Rock School District page listing FOI requests? It’s not up to date. It doesn’t include a voluminous request from the Little Rock Education Association, submitted last week. It’s a broad request ranging from administrative payroll and bonuses to land and equipment purchases to Superintendent Dexter Suggs’ expenses to costs of some ambitious school construction and restructuring plans, particularly to create academic magnets of a sort at Geyer Springs and Forest Heights schools. One interesting specific request is for: “Any and all documents that have been ‘borrowed,’ including those from which items have been adapted, from other school districts for use in the Little Rock School District by Dr. Dexter Suggs in the 2013-14 school year, including the right to use such items (copyright waivers, permission for use, etc.) from appropriate person or the district(s) from which they have been ‘borrowed.’ “ The request is related to growing unhappiness among some at the union with Suggs over ongoing contract talks. The union was scheduled to vote as we went to press on a district pay raise of 1.5 percent for teachers, not enough to cover health insurance cost increases on the most popular coverage plan. Talk was already circulating of a “no-confidence” vote in Suggs, on the job for just a few months.

People in need, big ideas The Times needs your help with two upcoming issues. For our annual philanthropy issue, we’re planning on profiling a series of people who’re especially in need around the holidays in hopes of our readers providing them some relief. If you know of anyone who deserves mention, please write to lindseymillar@arktimes.com with the headline “People in need.” We’re also working on our annual Big Ideas issue. As usual, we’re looking for ideas to make Arkansas a better place. They don’t have to be practical. But be as specific and detailed in your proposal as possible. Send your ideas to lindseymillar@arktimes.com with the header “Big Ideas.” www.arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

I S S U E

BRIAN CHILSON

MU S I C

THEIR WAY: CruzWay on stage.

THE CRUZ FAMILY WAY CUBAN BAND’S BEST TUNE MIGHT BE THEIR SHARED STORY OF FAMILIAL LOVE. BY DAVID KOON

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ARKANSAS TIMES

MU S I C

I S S U E

SING OUT: Anibal Cruz II (top) and Liset Mercantete (below).

BRIAN CHILSON

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

BRIAN CHILSON

t’s a long way from Havana to the covered deck of a Mexican restaurant on JFK Boulevard in Sherwood, but on a recent Saturday night when the temperatures would dip below 40 before morning, the Cuban band CruzWay was there and bringing the Latin heat. Bathed in a Home Depot spotlight before a crowd of 25, lead singer Anibal Cruz II — blessed with a golden voice, perfect pitch, an easy smile and the good looks of a businessman in a Spanish soap opera — was right where he wanted to be: onstage, and surrounded by family: pianist Anibal Cruz III, bass player (and Anibal III’s fiancee) Irisley Luis, drummer Alex Cruz, keyboardist (and Alex’s fiancee) Liset Mercantete, and singer and guitarist (and Irisley’s brother) Jorge Luis. As they sang, working their way through Cuban favorites and peppy, salsa-flavored, odduntil-you-hear-them covers of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World,” Sinatra’s “My Way,” and the Bee Gees’ “How Deep is Your Love?” their voices were a rolling-R dream of harmony, the sub-tropical beats tending to catch in a listener’s shoulders and hips and start them twitching. Nine members and three generations of the Cruz family — the band, plus Anibal II’s wife, Enely, and his parents, Martina and Anibal Cruz Sr. — live in a three-bedroom house in Sherwood. They admit that, living in such close quarters, egos get bruised. But up there before the crowd, all that falls away and they seem to float in a bubble of pure, familial joy, moving together, speaking the unspoken language of a band — nods, smiles, glances, speed up, slow down, louder, softer — alongside the dervish language of Latin music, which needs no translation. In his native Cuba, Anibal Cruz II was trained as a physician and worked for 14 years as a gynecologist, a profession shared by his wife. As strange as it might sound to American ears, Cruz and his wife couldn’t survive on the salaries they earned as doctors in Cuba. Each made the equivalent of $19 U.S. dollars a month, an income that left them so poor they couldn’t afford a refrigerator or television set. “I’ve loved music since I was a little child, but I preferred to be a doctor,” Anibal II said. “After 14 years practicing as a gynecologist, I stopped, because of the Cuban economic situation. I started to sing.” In 2003, Anibal II, who had grown up in a musical family, made the decision to abandon medicine and turn full time to his second and more lucrative love. Singing in a tourist resort in Cuba, Anibal II was soon making $300 a month in tips alone, a relative fortune. Things got better still for Cruz after he signed a contract to perform at a hotel in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, in August 2006, playing four shows a week backed by the Cuban band Oasis.

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Though he was able to send money home, it would be a year and a half before Cruz himself would be able to return to Cuba, an agony for a family that had always been close-knit. “It was really hard,” Anibal Cruz III said. “Even in Cuba, we were in different parts of the island. My brother was in one province, my grandfather was in another, I was living in Havana, and my father was in Mexico. We were broken apart.” In 2009, after overcoming a mountain of red tape, Anibal Cruz II was able to bring his wife, Enely, to Mexico to be with him. Over the next three years, the nine members of the Cruz family were brought out of Cuba. The process was something of a bureaucratic nightmare. “Officially, you can’t just decide to go from Cuba to Mexico,” Anibal Cruz III said, “You need a strong reason, and a permit from both the Mexican government and the Cuban government.” A year of playing in Puerto Vallarta as a family band followed. Eventually, however, the Cruz family decided to come to America. “We had a lot of reasons,” Anibal Cruz II said. “We came here looking for a better future, especially for my children, my future grandchildren.” In April of last year, a few days after

Jorge Luis was finally able to join them from where he had been staying in Colombia, the family loaded up and went to the Mexican border town of Nuevo Laredo. Once there, they crossed into Laredo, Texas, where they declared that they were Cuban nationals seeking asylum in the bosom of the United States. Fellow Cuban Mary Koch and her husband, Little Rock attorney Reggie Koch, met the family at the border and soon ferried them to Little Rock. Once in Arkansas, with the help of the Little Rock arm of the non-profit League of United Latin American Citizens, the Kochs helped them get set up. As CruzWay, they’ve been doing gigs at restaurants and festivals pretty much ever since, their bookings snowballing to the point that they sometimes perform at three venues or more in a single weekend. Living and working together, especially with such close confines at home, has been hard. Anibal Cruz III said that in the beginning, living with his parents and grandparents was something of a “generation clash.” Still, his father, Anibal Cruz II, sees even the tough times as a blessing. “It’s a blessed opportunity to be together,” he said. “Today, I am feeling like a very privileged person. I have my

father with me, and I have my sons with me, I have the rest of the family with me. It’s a very blessed time for me.” America, Anibal Cruz III said, is a place where a person can speak his mind and choose his own path, an option that just wasn’t available in Cuba. Cruz III, a classically trained pianist, will be following his path to Boston next year, with a jazz piano scholarship at the Berklee College of Music, secured with the help of a former keyboardist for Carlos Santana. Though the family said they may return to Cuba someday as visitors if the political situation there improves, they plan on staying long term in Arkansas, where the audiences and friends have shown CruzWay and their music so much love. “A lot of people are curious. They feel an attraction about the music,” Anibal Cruz III said. “We were really surprised to find the Hispanic community so large here. We didn’t know that, so we found the warm heart of the Latin culture, and we found the interest and the curiosity of people who have never experienced our kind of music, our culture, our way of living. ... It’s really a privilege to be a musician — to entertain and make peoples’ lives better. You can change peoples’ lives.”

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Arkansas Times 11-13-13.indd 1

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AL BELL CAN’T QUIT MUSIC STAX LEGEND WILL TAKE NEW TALENT THERE, THE FUTURE.

M COURTESY STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL MUSIC

BY SAM EIFLING

SOUL TRIO: Bell (right) with Jesse Jackson (left) and Isaac Hayes.

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aybe before Al Bell could properly mount his comeback — if indeed the legendary impresario and songwriter ever quite left — he needed a reminder of what was holding him back. Now living in North Little Rock, Bell earlier this year was back in Memphis, a town where he ran and later owned Stax Records in the late ’60s and early ’70s. Like its great rival Motown, much of the Stax catalogue still defines American popular culture of its day, and today, when you recall Sam and Dave or Isaac Hayes or Booker T. and the MGs, you have Bell partially to thank. But the label melted down in spectacular, traumatic fashion, and Bell, who had previously marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr., felt in the breakdown the same enmity that ultimately saw King killed. He was persecuted (successfully) and prosecuted (unsuccessfully, on bank fraud charges) and was laid low. Time has been kind enough to the man who wrote “I’ll Take You There.” He went independent as Bellmark Records and released a pair of songs in the ’90s that are about to get stuck in your head: Tag Team’s “Whoomp! (There It Is)” and Prince’s “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.” In 2009, the BBC and the New York Times chronicled his return to the Memphis music scene as chairman of the Memphis Music Foundation.

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NOVEMBER 14, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

Stax’s legacy in Memphis now includes a museum and a music academy, with kids performing the songs that may have assisted in their very conceptions. So it was that Bell was back in the River City to take in one of these concerts, and was, he says now, stunned at the talent. Kids tackling Hayes’ “Shaft” and Eddie Floyd’s “Knock on Wood.” When a teenager stood up to sing “So I Can Love You,” by the Emotions, Bell had time to think, “Oh, she’s not gonna do that, now — that’s too much for her” before she floored him with her rendition. “She brought me up out of my seat,” Bell said. A day earlier, he’d told a reporter that Stax would live on forever. Now, here was the proof before him. “It brought tears to my eyes,” Bell said. “It was that powerful. To me, it was a healing moment. I didn’t realize after almost 40 years that all that had happened to me in the ‘70s, that I had compartmentalized and moving past it in my life and not even given it any thought. “I thought about the motion picture ‘Waiting to Exhale.’ I got a chance to exhale. I feel great. I’m just excited. I’m ready now, really, because I hadn’t thought about a legacy. Now my focus is on making sure the things I’ve been gifted to be able to realize and understand and achieve, that I can pass it on. You can’t get it at Harvard or at Howard. I’m obsessed with not taking it to my grave with me.” This is Al Bell at 73, then. The former record executive who got his start as a Little Rock DJ is back in Arkansas to try and find the next thing, or the next maybe very big thing, or at least to groom artists in such a way that they’re not gnashed into pulp by the music industry that, in Bell’s estimation, has all but imploded under the tide of digital delivery. Here’s the landscape he sees now. Recorded music sales constitute a historical anomaly: Artists have always performed live, and it was only with the advent of vinyl that companies could turn a buck on a recorded performance.

I S S U E

COURTESY STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL MUSIC

MU S I C

THE MEN OF STAX: Bell with Stax founder Jim Stewart.

The dominant companies now are scrambling to sell to tweens, hooking kids on merchandise to recover part of what they’ve lost in CD sales. “They forgot all about the other people out here who have an appreciation for music,” Bell says. “People are hearing all kinds of music through Rhapsody and Spotify and other platforms, but our industry hasn’t been servicing them well.” Creativity shriveled. Meanwhile, delivering music to people has never been easier. Bell aims to develop artists in a post-CD era. No longer are recordings tangible goods. So it’s back to the fundamentals. Find singers and rappers and musicians who put on

a real show and can draw a crowd. “All that recorded music becomes in that paradigm,” he says, “is a marketing component you use to create asset value and name recognition.” If that sounds less than romantic, consider that it can also be freeing (as in no more glutting a 15-song CD with six decent tracks and nine pieces of filler just to justify your $18) and Bell is buoyed by the prospect of blowing up an industry model that buckled under its own cynical bloat. “By now if I had devoted as many hours to working in and studying all of the dynamics in the music industry for the past 40 CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

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NOVEMBER 14, 2013

MU S I C

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I S S U E

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HE TOOK US THERE: Al Bell.

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ARKANSAS TIMES

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years, I would be so sick and tired of it I wouldn’t want to hear the word music,” said Deanie Parker, a former do-it-all at Stax, now a board member for the Soulsville Foundation in Memphis. “But this man, it is bread and butter and vegetables and a side of his favorite dessert. It’s his sustenance. If there were no music then he would have no breath.” Parker and Bell go way back, almost 50 years. She was just out of high school when she started hosting an hourlong afternoon block on WLOK-FM in Memphis; he was a DJ at the station, and noticed her struggling. “He decided 10:51 AM he was going to teach me the tricks of the trade,” she said, and his tutoring stuck. She figured it was going to be more of the same until the day she went into the control room and Bell wasn’t around. “I just knew he was going to be there, right,” she said, “but he left a note that said, ‘You’re on your own, kid. Go for it.’ And I thought, ‘Oh, my lord!’ ”

She was at Stax a few years later during the tear that Bell, then a vice president there, took the company on to build a back catalogue. “It was such a natural high that there is no way to describe it,” she says now. This is what you get when you’re cranking out a half-dozen albums a week and Booker T. and the MGs are your house band. Motown, said Parker, “had a formula. We didn’t. We had a feel.” And Bell set the tone for that. “If things are difficult for him,” she said, “if he is spending 26 hours working a day, it is in large part because he’s swimming upstream. Because he knows there’s a right way to do it.” Bell claims to work only 20 to 22 hours a day, but in any case, he’s following his own formula: courting artists, teaching and, in his words, “working your buttocks off.” You may see him nodding his head at a venue around Little Rock these days, a hard-driving man at peace.

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Arts Entertainment AND

ON HIS WAY Answering casting call for ‘Mud’ was a lark for Briggsville teen Jacob Lofland, but now he sees a career. BY JEREMY GLOVER

JEREMY GLOVER

rowing up on the Fourche River in the rural community of Briggsville (Yell County), surrounded by national forests and rolling mountains, Jacob Lofland knew a life of hard work, hunting and fishing, and social activities that revolved around church. Then one day his mother, Debra Lofland, happened across a casting call online for a film set in Arkansas with a role that seemed to describe her son. She decided to make the application process an assignment for Jacob, whom she homeschools. “I filled out the application, and we did it kind of halfway as a joke,” Jacob, 17, recently recounted to the Times. “Even when I was a kid it was never something I thought about. It’s not something from our area you ever hear about.” That homeschool exercise done on a lark has paid off. It led Jacob to a starring role in fellow Arkansan Jeff Nichols’ sleeper hit “Mud,” which in turn scored him a prominent part in the feature “Little Accidents” out early next year and a multi-episode arc on the critically acclaimed television series “Justified.” “You just don’t expect someone that’s grown up on the Fourche River to be going to France, Los Angeles, Miami and everywhere else,” Jacob’s mother said. “The opportunity that Jeff gave to him by choosing him for ‘Mud’ has opened up the world to him.” Nichols, in an interview with the Times, said there was a massive search underway for the character of Neckbone, the last major role to be cast for “Mud.” “I remember scrolling through the list of videos, which allowed you to see a photo of each kid,” he said. “I immediately stopped on Jacob’s because he looked exactly like the mental picture I had of Neckbone. I said, ‘Please be good,’ and hit play. Then his mouth opened, those teeth showed, and that accent came out. I was sold.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 26 NOVEMBER 14, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

ROCK CANDY Check out the Times’ A&E blog arktimes.com

A&E NEWS HERE WE ARE in early November. Around these parts, that means we’re in the gearing-up stage of the annual Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase. We wanna hear what you’ve got, bands of Arkansas. If you’re based in the Natural State and you’ve got at least 20 minutes of original material, you are eligible to enter the competition. Twenty bands will be selected for the showcase, which will start in late January. Once a week for five weeks, four bands will square off for a panel of judges at Stickyz. The winner of each semi-final round will advance to the finals, which will be at Revolution. Find a link to entry at arktimes.com/ showcase14. If you’ve got any questions or concerns, email lindseymillar@ arktimes.com.

BILL CARTER, a former Secret Service agent and native of Rector, Ark., will present an account of his experience in the wake of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22, at the Oxford American Annex in Little Rock. The date is the 50th anniversary of the assassination. There will be a question and answer session after Carter’s presentation. Admission is free with refreshments available from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Seating will be first-come, first-served.

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START TAKING YOUR LANCEARMSTRONG-APPROVED facial hair supplements now, kids! It’s almost time for that annual test of caveman virility: the 2nd annual Arkansas Times/Root Cafe Beard Growing Competition! Contestants will be subject to a “Shave In” — where judges will certify that a competitor’s whiskers have been whisked away — on Saturday, Dec. 7, between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. at The Root Cafe, 1500 Main St., in Little Rock. Entry in the contest is free. The judging of who has managed to cultivate the most prodigious facebush will be held on Saturday, March 1, at Bernice Garden, the same day as the SoMa Mardi Gras parade. This year, the categories are: Fullest Beard (a combination of last year’s Longest and Thickest categories), Most Original Beard, and Best Sideburns and Mustache Combo. We’ll also hand out a Lifetime Achievement Award for loveliest beard by someone not competing in the grow-off. Prizes (to be announced) will be awarded in all categories. Last year’s beard growing competition attracted more than 50 participants and an audience of 150 people for the judging event. For more information, call the Root Cafe at 414-0423, or email theroot@therootcafe.com.

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NOVEMBER 14, 2013

THE TO-DO

LIST

BY ROBERT BELL

THURSDAY 11/14

BRYANT HUDDLESTON

7 p.m. Philander Smith College. Free.

Arkansas Times readers will likely recall that back in May, there was an ugly incident in Imboden when native Bryant Huddleston (class of 1990), who had been scheduled to speak at graduation, was disinvited because some knuckledraggers in the community are homophobic (Huddleston is gay). What a shame that

SATURDAY 11/16 the kids of Sloan-Hendrix High School were prohibited from hearing a message of encouragement from one of their own (one who’s been quite successful with his media career) because of bigotry. Philander Smith College is stepping in to provide Huddleston with a platform to share his experiences with his fellow Arkansans. Huddleston speaks as part of the college’s Bless the Mic series.

PETER CASE, KEVIN KERBY

9 p.m. White Water Tavern. $15.

Case was in L.A. legends The Nerves, a trio that only released one four-song EP (but what an EP!) featuring, among others, a ditty that Blondie made pretty popular (“Hanging on the Telephone”) and one by Case (“When You Find Out”) that is a nugget of pure power-pop bliss. Case went on to found The Plimsouls and then eventually to a fruitful solo career exploring various facets of American music. He’s a big fan of Mississippi John

Hurt (whose 1928 sessions are some of the greatest sides ever recorded, maybe the greatest American music ever, IMO), producing “Avalon Blues,” an incredible, star-packed, Grammy-nominated tribute to the blues legend. Check out Case’s “Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John,” which is a damn-near perfect album that easily draws from his influences without ever sounding like an imitation or lifeless homage. Kevin Kerby is as natural a fit for this show as you could possibly ask for. This will be a really good one, folks.

SHAKE EM ON DOWN: Baauer performs at Juanita’s Thursday.

THURSDAY 11/14

BAAUER, ARAABMUZIK

9 p.m. Juanita’s. $20. Sometimes, for reasons that are unknown even to their creators, certain songs will just explode in popularity. One minute, a song is just a song, another in a long line of millions, and the next, it’s suddenly that song, that ubiquitousbordering-on-inescapable nugget that’s all anybody’s talking about. Brooklyn DJ Baauer probably never could’ve imagined the response he’d get from “Har-

lem Shake,” a little “electro-trap” ditty he released back in 2012 via Diplo’s Mad Decent label. Yeah, you and anybody else who got on the web or turned on a TV in the last year knows about that one, in which one person is dancing in a mask while the others are oblivious, then when the bass drops they suddenly all go crazy. Or something. It was definitely a “Today” show-level meme. Also performing: dexterous Rhode Island producer AraabMuzik.

FRIDAY 11/15

‘TRUTH’ TOUR: Pink comes to Verizon Arena Sunday night.

THE HOT SARDINES

8 p.m. Wildwood Park. $20-$75.

So Hot Jazz is what all the kids are into these days. Forget about your bebop and your cool jazz and your hard bop and your paint-peeling free jazz and your jazz fusion and what-have-you. The thing now with the young people is to dig the pre-swing sounds of such figures as Jelly Roll Morton and Kid Ory. One of these acclaimed young groups of up-and-comers is The Hot Sardines. According to press materials, the Sardines mix it up at the intersection 22

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

of New Orleans and Paris. They’ve got a stride-style piano player and a tap dancer. Band co-founder and pianist Evan Palazzo has Little Rock ties (his mother lives here). The group has played a grip of soldout shows up in New York City, where they’re based. Vanity Fair noted recently that “of all the Hot Jazz groups, the Sardines have probably come the furthest. They’ve been together almost five years, during which time they’ve assembled a unique repertoire, and a sound and a style that are distinctly their own.”

SUNDAY 11/17

PINK

7:30 p.m. Verizon Arena. $52-$118.

Pink is one of the handful of remaining bona fide pop megastars, the last of a batch, minted along with Britney and Xtina. Sure, GaGa is huge, but let’s face it: There just aren’t as many over-thetop pop divas as there used to be. Out of all of them though, Pink seems to have handled the transition from teeny-bopper

to grown-ass woman with the most class and least amount of ridiculous tabloid kerfuffles. Her most recent album, “The Truth About Love,” has gotten positive reviews, dealing as it does with grownass woman topics while still being fun to listen to. Her stage show for this tour is apparently super involved, with Pink getting hoisted all over the place with a bunch of pulleys and belts and whatnot. Should be good times.

IN BRIEF

THURSDAY 11/14

SUNDAY 11/17

STEVE VAI

8 p.m. Juanita’s. $25 adv., $30 day of.

Guitar geeks rejoice: Steve Vai is coming to town to melt your faces with his insane guitar virtuosity. Vai has to have appeared on more “Greatest Guitarists of All Time” lists than anyone not named Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton or Jimmy

Page. He’s up there with all of your Eddie Van Halens and Joe Satrianis and Yngwie Malmsteens, regarded as one of the most wickedly brilliant rock guitarists ever. He’s also had one of the most interesting careers of any of his few peers, having started playing “stunt guitar” for Frank Zappa, and going on to join the likes of

Whitesnake and David Lee Roth (remember “Just Like Living in Paradise,” with those icy, brilliantly sharp guitar lines? That was Vai), and recording albums with artists as diverse as Alice Cooper, Public Image Ltd. and Joe Jackson, along with releasing a bevy of solo albums that get guitar nerds all in a tizzy.

MONDAY 11/18

FRIDAY 11/15

B.B. KING

At the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, check out “Champions of Justice — Celebrating the Life and Work of Bayard Rustin.” The event includes keynote speakers Mandy Carter, cofounder of National Black Justice Coalition, and Ernest Green, a member of the Little Rock Nine. Cocktail attire preferred, 7 p.m., free. Rouxster plays at The Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7. Arkansas’s finest psychedelic backwoods metal maniacs, Rwake, play White Water Tavern, 10 p.m. Ben Franks and The Bible Belt Boys play an album-release show with Amanda Avery at Maxine’s. Canopy Climbers, Young International and Knox Hamilton play an 18-andolder show at Stickyz, 9 p.m., $5.

7:30 p.m. The Auditorium, Eureka Springs. $95-$135.

What do you say about one of the giants of modern popular music? B.B. King is the King of the Blues, the Chairman of the Board. He’s had a career that’s spanned eight decades. Eight decades. He’s one of the last of his era of bluesmen, a living connection to a long-gone era, and still an incredibly lively performer. Some of his formative professional experiences happened in Arkansas. He performed on Sonny Boy Williamson’s KWEM radio program in West Memphis. He named his famous guitar Lucille after a raucous incident at a concert in Twist (he also paid tribute to Louis Jordan on 1999’s “Let the Good Times Roll: The Music of Louis Jordan”). So what do you say about such an artist? How about just: go see this show.

SATURDAY 11/16

THE KING: B.B. King plays Monday night at The Auditorium in Eureka Springs.

WEDNESDAY 11/20

BUILT TO SPILL

Buzz-happy Nashville up-and-comers Moon Taxi play at Revolution, fresh off of a Monday night performance on The Late Show with David Letterman, 18-and-older, 9 p.m., $12. One-man wrecking crew Scott H. Biram plays at Stickyz, 18-and-older, 9 p.m., $10. Journalist David Horovitz presents “Israel’s Place in the New, Unstable Middle East,” part of the Crain-Maling Center of Jewish Culture Fall Semester programs. Hendrix College, 7 p.m. Live at Laman continues with The Shannon Boshears Band, Laman Library, 7 p.m. The Junior League’s Holiday House is kicking off at the Statehouse Convention Center, if that’s something you’re into, noon, $8.

8 p.m. Revolution. $17 adv., $20 day of. There have certainly been precedents for the marriage of indie rock to classic rock (Exhibit A: Dinosaur Jr., Pavement on occasion). But I’d venture that few if any have bridged that gap as consistently and effortlessly as Built to Spill. Over the course of a couple of decades, band leader Doug Martsch and crew have crafted

eight albums of guitar-centric pop-rock sublimity, the peak, in my opinion, being the untouchably brilliant stretch from “Perfect From Now On,” “Keep it Like a Secret,” “Live” and “Ancient Melodies of the Future.” That said, I think “You In Reverse” (2006) is a great, underrated album (“Conventional Wisdom” is a classic!). I saw them in Fayetteville on that tour and they were incredible. One particularly enthusiastic member

of the crowd summed up what we were all thinking, screaming over and over, “We love you Doug!” It was true, we all did. “Thanks,” he replied. Then the band closed out with an epic, dubbed-out version of “Mess with Time,” and it was freaking incredible, thus cementing my longstanding personal rule: If Built to Spill is playing, you will go see Built to Spill. Also performing at this all-ages show: Slam Dunk and Genders.

Club diva Ce Ce Peniston is at Discovery Nightclub, with Dominique Sanchez & The Disco Dolls, DJs and more, 9 p.m.-5 a.m. Blues fans, Wes Jeans, Steve Hester & Deja VooDoo and Low Society play Juanita’s, 10 p.m., $10 adv., $12 day of. Later on, Low Society will soundtrack your latenight escapades at Midtown Billiards, 12:30 a.m., $5. Singer/songwriter faves Paul Thorn and Will Hoge play an all-ages show at Revolution, 8 p.m., $20. Continuing with the celebration of Bayard Rustin’s life and work, Philander Smith hosts “Brunch, Art and the Film ‘Brother Outsider: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin’,” 11 a.m., free. Food and travel writer Kat Robinson will sign copies of her book, “Classic Eateries of the Ozarks and Arkansas River Valley,” WordsWorth Books & Co., 1 p.m.

MONDAY 11/18

Halloween might be over, but you can get a spooky fix with “The Addams Family Musical,” featuring the classic characters of the TV show with an original story and score, Reynolds Performance Hall, UCA, 7:30 p.m., $30-$40. www.arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

AFTER DARK All events are in the Greater Little Rock area unless otherwise noted. To place an event in the Arkansas Times calendar, please e-mail the listing and all pertinent information, including date, time, location, price and contact information, to calendar@arktimes.com.

THURSDAY, NOV. 14

MUSIC

Baauer, AraabMuzik, S-Type. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $20. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com. “Inferno.” DJs play pop, electro, house and more, plus drink specials and $1 cover before 11 p.m. Sway, 9 p.m. 412 Louisiana. 501-907-2582. Irish Traditional Music Sessions. Dugan’s Pub, 7-9 p.m. 401 E. 3rd St. 501-244-0542. www. duganspublr.com. Karaoke with Kevin & Cara. MacDaddy’s Bar and Grill, 9 p.m., free. 314 N. Maple St., NLR. Krush Thursdays with DJ Kavaleer. Club Climax, free before 11 p.m. 824 W. Capitol. 501-554-3437. Little Rock Irish Song Session. Dugan’s Pub, second Thursday of every month, 7 p.m., free. 401 E. 3rd St. 501-920-8534. www.celladawnmusic.com. Live at Laman: Shannon Boshears Band. Laman Library, 7 p.m. 2801 Orange St., NLR. 501-7581720. www.lamanlibrary.org. Mayday by Midnight (headliner), Steve Bates (happy your). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-3755351. www.cajunswharf.com. Michael Eubanks. Newk’s Express Cafe, 6:30 p.m. 4317 Warden Road, NLR. 501-753-8826. newks.com. Moon Taxi. 18-and-older. Revolution, 9 p.m., $10 adv., $12 day of. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501823-0090. revroom.com. Mya’s Madams. Maxine’s. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. www.maxinespub.com. Open jam with The Port Arthur Band. Parrot Beach Cafe, 9 p.m. 9611 MacArthur Drive, NLR. 771-2994. Quiet Hollers, Brother Andy & His Big Damn Mouth. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m., $5. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. “RAIN: A Tribute to The Beatles.” Walton Arts Center, 7 p.m., $26-$54. 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-443-5600. Revocation, Slamphetamine, A Traitor’s Funeral, Severe Headwound. Downtown Music Hall, 8 p.m., $7 adv., 10 day of. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownmusichall.com. RockUsaurus. Senor Tequila, 7-9 p.m. 10300 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-224-5505. www. senor-tequila.com. Scott H. Biram. 18-and-older. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $8 adv., $10 day of. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyz.com. Steven Curtis Chapman. Woodland Heights Baptist Church, 7:30 p.m., $26-$36. 4215 Prince St., Conway. Sweet Mother. The Joint, 9 p.m., $7. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 7:30 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG. That Arkansas Weather. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., $5. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com. Trey Johnson. Russo’s, 6 p.m., free. 2490 Sanders Road, Conway. 501-205-8369. 24

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

LIGHTS ON: Swaggering Texas classic rockers Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights play Friday at Revolution with Taddy Porter and Dead End Drive, 18-and-older, 9 p.m., $10 adv., $12 day of. University of Central Arkansas Concert Choir. University of Central Arkansas, Snow Fine Arts Center Recital Hall, 7:30 p.m., free. 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway.

COMEDY

Robert Hawkins. The Loony Bin, 7:30 p.m., $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

DANCE

Art of Motion: Tango. Arkansas Arts Center, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., $10 for non-members. 501 E. 9th St. 501-372-4000. www.arkarts.com.

EVENTS

Gatson Bates Drive. David Horovitz. Horovitz presents “Israel’s Place in the New, Unstable Middle East.” Part of the Crain-Maling Center of Jewish Culture Fall Semester programs. Hendrix College, 7 p.m. 1600 Washington Ave., Conway. www. hendrix.edu. Holiday House 2013. Statehouse Convention Center, 12 p.m.; Nov. 16, 9 a.m.; Nov. 17, 9 a.m., $8. 7 Statehouse Plaza.

FILM

“Lincoln.” Market Street Cinema, 6:45 p.m. 1521 Merrill Drive. 501-312-8900. www.marketstreetcinema.net. “Makers: Women Who Make America.” Film screening at the Arkansas Union Theatre. University of Arkansas, 7 p.m., free. University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

BOOKS

Tim Ernst. With discussion and slides from Ernst’s latest book. Faulkner County Library, 7 p.m.,

free. 1900 Tyler St., Conway. 501-327-7482. www. fcl.org.

FRIDAY, NOV. 15

MUSIC

2x4, Reformers, Conflicts, Forty Fathoms. Downtown Music Hall, 7 p.m., $12. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownmusichall.com. Ben Franks and The Bible Belt Boys (album release), Amanda Avery. Maxine’s. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. www.maxinespub.com. Canopy Climbers, Young International, Knox Hamilton. 18-and-older. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $5. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyz.com. Club Nights at 1620 Savoy. Dance night, with DJs, drink specials and bar menu, until 2 a.m. 1620 Savoy, 10 p.m. 1620 Market St. 501-2211620. www.1620savoy.com. Ed Bowman. Midtown Billiards, 12:30 a.m., $5. 1316 Main St. 501-372-9990. midtownar.com. Friday night at Sway. Sway, 9 p.m. 412 Louisiana. 501-907-2582. The Hot Sardines. Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts, 8 p.m., $20-$75. 20919 Denny Road. Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights, Taddy Porter, Dead End Drive. 18-and-older. Revolution, 9 p.m., $10 adv., $12 day of. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom. com. Katmandu. Thirst n’ Howl, 8:30 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirst-n-howl. com. Rouxster. The Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com. Rwake. White Water Tavern, 10 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. Shannon Boshears (headliner), Richie Johnson (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-3755351. www.cajunswharf.com.

PARTY AT OUR PLACE!

Steve Bates. Cregeen’s Irish Pub, 8 p.m. 301 Main St., NLR. 501-376-7468. www.cregeens.com. Taylor Made. West End Smokehouse and Tavern, 10 p.m., $5. 215 N. Shackleford. 501-224-7665. www.westendsmokehouse.net. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 9 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG. “YOLO.” Featuring four DJs and beach volleyball, 18-and-older. Flying DD, $5. 4601 S. University. 501-773-9990. flyingdd.com. YTOG. Reno’s Argenta Cafe, 10 p.m., $5. 312 N. Main St., NLR. 501-376-2900. www.renosargentacafe.com.

COMEDY

The Main Thing: “Little Rock and a Hard Place.” The Joint, 8 p.m., $20. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com. Robert Hawkins. The Loony Bin, 7:30 and 10 p.m., $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

DANCE

Salsa Night. Begins with a one-hour salsa lesson. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $8. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.littlerocksalsa.com.

EVENTS

“18 Million Cracks: The Legacy of 2nd Wave Feminism in American Politics.” Multi-day symposium, see website for more information. University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. blaircenter. uark.edu. “Champions of Justice — Celebrating the Life and Work of Bayard Rustin.” Includes keynote speakers Mandy Carter, co-founder of National Black Justice Coalition, and Ernest Green, a member of the Little Rock Nine. Cocktail attire preferred. Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, 7 p.m., free. 501 W. 9th St. 501-376-4602. www. mosaictemplarscenter.com. “Dancing into Dreamland.” With dance competition, dinner and drinks, silent auction and more. Benefits the Friends of Dreamland Ballroom Dreamland Ballroom, 7-10 p.m., $65. 800 W. 9th St. 501-255-5700. LGBTQ/SGL Youth and Young Adult Group. Diverse Youth for Social Change is a group for LGBTQ/SGL and straight ally youth and young adults age 14 to 23. For more information, call 244-9690 or search “DYSC” on Facebook. 800 Scott St., 6:30 p.m. 800 Scott St. Main Street Food Truck Fridays. Capitol and Main, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Main Street. The Locals launch party. Fundraising event for social entrepreneurial coffee shop. The Locals coffee shop, 6 p.m. 1024 Van Ronkle Street, Conway. thelocals.be.

BOOKS

Poet Diana Reaves and fiction writerWilliam Pittman. MFA candidates will give readings. Pulaski Technical College, 10 a.m. 3000 W. Scenic Drive, NLR.

SATURDAY, NOV. 16

MUSIC

The B-Flats. The Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com. Ce Ce Peniston. Plus Dominique Sanchez & The Disco Dolls, DJs and more. Discovery Nightclub, 9 p.m.-5 a.m. 1021 Jessie Road. 501-664-4784.

www.latenightdisco.com. Club Nights at 1620 Savoy. See Nov. 15. The Dirty River Boys. 18-and-older. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9:30 p.m., $5. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyz.com. Girl in a Coma, Zach McCoy. Maxine’s. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. www.maxinespub. com. JD. Cregeen’s Irish Pub, 8 p.m. 301 Main St., NLR. 501-376-7468. www.cregeens.com. Karaoke at Khalil’s. Khalil’s Pub, 7 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com. Karaoke. Casa Mexicana, 7 p.m. 6929 JFK Blvd., NLR. 501-835-7876. Karaoke with Kevin & Cara. All-ages, on the restaurant side. Revolution, 9 p.m.-12:45 a.m., free. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com. K.I.S.S. Saturdays. Featuring DJ Silky Slim. Dress code enforced. Sway, 10 p.m. 412 Louisiana. 501-492-9802. Lefty Williams. Thirst n’ Howl, 8:30 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirstn-howl.com. Low Society. Midtown Billiards, 12:30 a.m., $5. 1316 Main St. 501-372-9990. midtownar.com. Paul Thorn, Will Hoge. All-ages. Revolution, 8 p.m., $20. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-8230090. revroom.com. Peter Case, Kevin Kerby. White Water Tavern, 9 p.m., $15. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www. whitewatertavern.com. Pickin’ Porch. Bring your instrument. All ages welcome. Faulkner County Library, 9:30 a.m. 1900 Tyler St., Conway. 501-327-7482. www.fcl.org. Randy Rogers Band. George’s Majestic Lounge, 9 p.m., $20. 519 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-442-4226. Seth Freeman. West End Smokehouse and Tavern, 10 p.m., $5. 215 N. Shackleford. 501-2247665. www.westendsmokehouse.net. Singer/Songwriters Showcase. Parrot Beach Cafe, 2-7 p.m., free. 9611 MacArthur Drive, NLR. 771-2994. Symphony of Northwest Arkansas Masterworks Concert. Performing Barber’s Adagio, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 and Schubert’s Symphony No. 9. Walton Arts Center, 7:30 p.m., $28-$48. 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-443-5600. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 9 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG. Third Degree (headliner), Gregg Madden (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-3755351. www.cajunswharf.com. Wes Jeans, Steve Hester & Deja VooDoo, Low Society. Juanita’s, 10 p.m., $10 adv., $12 day of. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www. juanitas.com. Young International. Bear’s Den Pizza, 8:30 p.m. 235 Farris Road, Conway. 501-328-5556. www. bearsdenpizza.com.

COMEDY

The Main Thing: “Little Rock and a Hard Place.” The Joint, 8 p.m., $20. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com. Rickey Smiley and Friends. Robinson Center Music Hall, 8 p.m., $46-$56. Markham and Broadway. www.littlerockmeetings.com/convcenters/robinson. CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

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ON HIS WAY, CONT. Jacob was then flown down to Ausencouraging atmosphere was what Jacob tin to meet with Nichols, producers and experienced this summer when he was fellow cast member Tye Sheridan, who shooting “Little Accidents” for six weeks would play his best friend, Ellis, in the in West Virginia. The film, which examfilm. He returned home and a day later, ines the aftermath of a tragedy in a minwhile taking apart a bulldozer with his ing community, was written and directed father, he received the news he had by Sara Colangelo and stars Elizabeth landed the part. Jacob said he identified Banks, Boyd Holbrook and Josh Lucas. so much with the character of Neckbone “That’s the most fun I’ve had on a set,” that all he had to do was talk, there was he said. “We spent all the time together. no acting involved. All the actors were real close and we felt In “Mud,” Neckbone and Ellis ride like a family.” While shooting the film, he was able a motorcycle around their Delta town, travel across the Mississippi River in an to go whitewater rafting for the first aluminum boat and help the titular chartime. This continued a series of firsts acter, played by Matthew McConaughey, he has experienced through acting, repair a fishing boat stranded in the trees including eating sushi for the first time of an island on the Mississippi. in Miami and traveling abroad to attend “I’ve had a motorcycle since I was five, the Cannes Film Festival in the south and the Fourche River is right behind our of France. house, so I was pretty comfortable with “Oh, wow, it was like a dream,” he said. those things,” Jacob said. “We went out there, and it’s like you don’t “The character wasn’t hard. I already wake up until you get home and you’re like, ‘Did that just happen?’ ” had the accent; they just put me in the clothes. It was that The red carpets simple.” of Cannes and bright While acting was lights of a Hollywood “Jacob has the something Jacob sound stage are far very rare gift of said he didn’t have removed from the being natural in slow pace of Briggsto put much thought front of a camera. ville. Yet, it’s the or preparation into, Lots of people can Nichols was immecountless hours spent understand this diately impressed in hauling hay, mowing concept, but very rehearsals with how yards and working at few can enact it. You he understood the suba sawmill his father don’t see a change text of the script and owned when he was in him between knew exactly what the younger that have given Jacob a percharacter was thinkaction and cut. It’s a ing in each scene. In spective on where he natural gift.” is in life. particular, Nichols explained how the “Now that I’ve tried character Neckbone it, I love it and I want uses an expletive sevto make a career out eral times in the first few minutes of the of it,” Jacob said. “It’s fun and it’s easy. film and each time Jacob delivered it a Everybody is like, ‘How hard is it learndifferent way. ing your lines?’ Well, it’s not as hard as “Jacob has the very rare gift of being working 12-hour days.” natural in front of a camera,” Nichols said. Nichols is proud of Jacob’s work “Lots of people can understand this conand excited for the opportunities that cept, but very few can enact it. You don’t lie ahead, but at the same time a little see a change in him between action and nervous. cut. It’s a natural gift.” “I just think Jacob is a great young A seemingly uninhabited island on man,” he said. “I think he’s smart and I a dirty, winding river — a setting right think he carries real empathy for people. out of a Mark Twain novel — was an I don’t want to see that changed in what idyllic place for a teenage boy to make is a very tough industry. That said, if anyhis first foray into acting. His “Mud” coone can manage it, I believe Jacob can.” star McConaughey gave the young actors While Jacob’s days are now often some acting tips, yet it was his sense filled with reading scripts, meeting with of adventure and easygoing nature that producers and directors, and traveling stuck with Jacob. to film sets and festivals, he’s not look“Really he’s just like us, having fun ing too far into the future, approaching each new project the same way he did with it,” Jacob said. “He was having a when he applied for his first acting job. blast. He told us it was like being on vacation. He had his family there, and they “I haven’t planned anything so far,” he were camping on the river every night.” said. “I’m just going to let it go and see what happens.” That same camaraderie and warm, 26

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

AFTER DARK, CONT. Robert Hawkins. The Loony Bin, 7:30 and 10 p.m., $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

DANCE

Little Rock West Coast Dance Club. Dance lessons. Singles welcome. Ernie Biggs, 7 p.m., $2. 307 Clinton Ave. 501-247-5240. www. arstreetswing.com.

EVENTS

Argenta Farmers Market. Argenta, 7 a.m.-12 p.m. Main Street, NLR. Falun Gong meditation. Allsopp Park, 9 a.m., free. Cantrell & Cedar Hill Roads. Hillcrest Farmers Market. Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. 2200 Kavanaugh Blvd. Hillcrest Holiday Open House. Hillcrest, Nov. 16, 10 a.m.; Nov. 17, 12 p.m. P.O.Box 251522. 501-666-3600. www.hillcrestmerchants.com. Holiday House 2013. Statehouse Convention Center, Nov. 16, 9 a.m.; Nov. 17, 9 a.m., $8. 7 Statehouse Plaza. Rock N Roll Derby Bout. Central Arkansas Roller Derby’s Team Disco vs. Team Punk. Skate World, 7 p.m., $5 and two canned goods or $10. 6512 Mabelvale Cut Off.

FILM

“Brunch, Art and the Film ‘Brother Outsider: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin’.” Philander Smith College, 11 a.m., free. 900 W. Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive. “Pillow” and “One Please.” Q&A to follow screenings. Market Street Cinema, 12 p.m., free. 1521 Merrill Drive. 501-312-8900. www. marketstreetcinema.net.

POETRY

“Verses & Flow.” Laman Library, Argenta branch, 3 p.m. 506 Main St., NLR. 501-687-1061. www. lamanlibrary.org.

BENEFITS

NWA Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis. Benefits the Arthritis Foundation, www.arkansasjinglebellrun.org for registration. University of Arkansas, 9 a.m. University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

BOOKS

Arkansas Author Connection: Clementine Holmes Bass. Featuring the author of “Aunt Dollie’s Remedies and Tips: 175 Years of Home Remedies.” Pyramid Art Books and Custom Framing, 1:30 p.m. 1001 Wright Ave. 501-3726822. hearnefineart.com. Baobab Story Time with CC. Pyramid Art Books and Custom Framing, 10:30 a.m. 1001 Wright Ave. 501-372-6822. hearnefineart.com. Kat Robinson. Signing from the author of “Classic Eateries of the Ozarks and Arkansas River Valley.” WordsWorth Books & Co., 1 p.m. 5920 R St. 501-663-9198. www.wordsworthbooks.org.

SUNDAY, NOV. 17

MUSIC

Irish Traditional Music Session. Hibernia Irish Tavern, first and third Sunday of every month, 2:30 p.m.; Dec. 29, 2:30 p.m. 9700 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-246-4340. www.hiberniairishtavern.com. Karaoke with DJ Sara. Hardrider Bar & Grill, 7 p.m., free. 6613 John Harden Drive, Cabot. 501-982-1939 . Michael Eubanks. Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon, 7 p.m. 10901 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-227-8898. www.lonestarsteakhouse.com. Pink. The Truth About Love Tour. Verizon Arena,

7:30 p.m., $52-$118. 1 Alltel Arena Way, NLR. 501-975-9001. verizonarena.com. Reggae Sundays with First Impressions. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 7:30 p.m., $5. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyz.com. Shun T, PatSmack, Pas, Noodles, Amaz. Downtown Music Hall, $8-$13. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownmusichall.com. Steve Vai. Juanita’s, 8 p.m., $25 adv., $30 day of. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www. juanitas.com.

EVENTS

Bernice Garden Farmers Market. The Bernice Garden, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. 1401 S. Main St. www. thebernicegarden.org. Hillcrest Holiday Open House. Hillcrest, 12 p.m. P.O.Box 251522. 501-666-3600. www.hillcrestmerchants.com. Holiday House 2013. Statehouse Convention Center, 9 a.m., $8. 7 Statehouse Plaza. “Live from the Back Room.” Spoken word event. Vino’s, 7 p.m. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. www. vinosbrewpub.com.

MONDAY, NOV. 18

MUSIC

B.B. King. The Auditorium, 7:30 p.m., $95-$135. 36 Main St., Eureka Springs. Neil Rutman. University of Central Arkansas, Snow Fine Arts Center Recital Hall, 7:30 p.m., free. 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. Steve Struthers. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com. Wolvhammer, Sumokem, Enchiridion. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com.

EVENTS

“Mingling Minds on Mondays.” IV Corners, 5 p.m., Free for members, $5 non-members. 824 W. Capitol Ave. “Sign up for Affordable Health Care.” Representatives from The Living Affected Corp. will be available. Faulkner County Library, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., free. 1900 Tyler St., Conway. 501327-7482. www.fcl.org.

SPORTS

Little Rock Touchdown Club: Richard Davenport and Chris Hays. Embassy Suites, 11 a.m., $20 members, $30 non-members. 11301 Financial Centre. 501-312-9000.

TUESDAY, NOV. 19

MUSIC

The Giving Tree Band, The Cons of Formant, Harlo Maxwell. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $8 adv., $10 day of. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com. James & The Ultrasounds. White Water Tavern, 10 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www. whitewatertavern.com. Karaoke Night. Cornerstone Pub & Grill, 8 p.m. 314 Main St., NLR. 501-374-1782. cstonepub. com. Karaoke Tuesday. Prost, 8 p.m., free. 322 President Clinton Blvd. 501-244-9550. Lucious Spiller Band. Copeland’s Restaurant of Little Rock, 6-9 p.m. 2602 S. Shackleford Road. 501-312-1616. www.copelandsrestaurantlittlerock.com. Music Jam hosted by Elliott Griffen. The Joint, 8-11 p.m., free. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com. Ricky David Tripp. Rocket Twenty One, 5:30 p.m. 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-603-9208. www.

AFTER DARK, CONT. ferneaurestaurant.com. Thirst ‘n Howl Blues Jam. Thirst n’ Howl, 7:30 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirst-n-howl.com. Tuesday Jam Session with Carl Mouton. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com. University of Central Arkansas University Chorus. University of Central Arkansas, Snow Fine Arts Center Recital Hall, 7:30 p.m., free for members, $5 non-members. 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway.

DANCE

“Latin Night.” Revolution, 7:30 p.m., $5 regular, $7 under 21. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501823-0090. www.littlerocksalsa.com.

EVENTS

“Sign up for Affordable Health Care.” Representatives from The Living Affected Corp. will be available. Faulkner County Library, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., free. 1900 Tyler St., Conway. 501327-7482. www.fcl.org. Tales from the South. Authors tell true stories; schedule available on website. Dinner served 5-6:30 p.m., show at 7 p.m. Call for reservations. Starving Artist Cafe, 5 p.m. 411 N. Main St., NLR. 501-372-7976. www.starvingartistcafe.net. Trivia Bowl. Flying Saucer, 8:30 p.m. 323 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-8032. www.beerknurd. com/stores/littlerock. U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Little Rock Whistlestop. Bass Pro Shops, 6 p.m. 1 Bass Pro Drive. 501-954-4500.

FILM

“Chasing Ice.” Market Street Cinema, 7 p.m., free. 1521 Merrill Drive. 501-312-8900. www. marketstreetcinema.net. Vino’s Picture Show: “Bottlerocket.” Vino’s, 7:30 p.m., free. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub.com.

BOOKS

Marc Spitzer. Spitzer will read from his two latest books. Faulkner County Library, 7 p.m., free. 1900 Tyler St., Conway. 501-327-7482. www.fcl.org.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 20

MUSIC

Acoustic Open Mic. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www. afterthoughtbar.com. Brian and Nick. Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com. Built to Spill, Slam Dunk, Genders. All-ages. Revolution, 8 p.m., $17 adv., $20 day of. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom. com. Karaoke at Khalil’s. Khalil’s Pub, 7 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com. Open Mic Nite with Deuce. Thirst n’ Howl, 7:30 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirst-n-howl.com. Ricky David Tripp. Rocket Twenty One, 5:30 p.m. 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-603-9208. www. ferneaurestaurant.com. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 7:30 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG. Unseen Eye with Chicken Dorris. South on Main, 7:30 p.m. 1304 Main St. 501-244-9660. https:// www.facebook.com/SouthonMainLR.

COMEDY

The Joint Venture. Improv comedy group. The

Joint, 8 p.m., $5. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com. Standup Open Mic Night. Hosted by local comedians of the comedy collective Comedi ans of NWA. UARK Bowl, 9 p.m., free. 644 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-301-2030. uarkbowl.com.

DANCE

Little Rock Bop Club. Beginning dance lessons for ages 10 and older. Singles welcome. Bess Chisum Stephens Community Center, 7 p.m., $4 for members, $7 for guests. 12th & Cleveland streets. 501-350-4712. www.littlerockbopclub.

EVENTS

Peter Hatch. The gardener and historian presents “A Rich Spot of Earth: Thomas Jefferson’s Revolutionary Garden at Monticello.” Clinton School of Public Service, 12 p.m., free. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-683-5239. www.clintonschool.uasys.edu.

POETRY

Wednesday Night Poetry. 21-and-older show. Maxine’s, 7 p.m., free. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-321-0909. maxineslive.com/shows. html.

THIS WEEK IN THEATER

“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” A musical comedy based on the comic strip “Peanuts,” directed by assistant professor of theater Lisa Bohn. The Fowler Center, through Nov. 20: Mon.-Wed., Sat., 7:30 p.m., $8 adv., $10 day of. 201 Olympic Drive, Jonesboro. 870-972-3471. www.yourfowlercenter.com. “The Addams Family Musical.” Classic characters of the TV show with an original story and score. Reynolds Performance Hall, UCA, Mon., Nov. 18, 7:30 p.m., $30-$40. 350 S. Donaghey, Conway. Auditions for “Clybourne Park.” Rehearsals begin Dec. 31, production runs Jan. 24-Feb. 10. Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Mon., Nov. 18, 6 p.m. 601 Main St. 501-378-0405. www.therep.org. “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” The Public Theatre, Nov. 15-16, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 17, 2 p.m.; Nov. 22-23, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 24, 2 p.m. 616 Center St. 501-374-7529. www.thepublictheatre.com. “The Caucasian Chalk Circle.” The Brecht classic, produced by UCA Theatre. University of Central Arkansas, Snow Fine Arts Center Recital Hall, through Nov. 15, 7:30 p.m., $10, free for UCA students. 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. “A Clockwork Orange.” Based on the Anthony Burgess novel and the 1971 Kubrick film version. The Weekend Theater, through Nov. 16: Fri., Sat., 7:30 p.m., $12-$16. 1001 W. 7th St. 501-374-3761. www.weekendtheater.org. Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas.” New musical based on the classic holiday movie. Walton Arts Center, Nov. 19-21, 7 p.m.; Nov. 22-23, 8 p.m.; Nov. 23-24, 2 p.m. 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. $35-$69. “Run For Your Wife.” Cab driver John Smith is mugged one day and is taken home by a helpful policeman, who takes him to the wrong home. It seems Smith has two homes and two wives, and according to his carefully laid out schedule he is supposed to be with wife No. 2. Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, through Dec. 29: Tue.-Sat., 6 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., $15-$35. 6323 Col. Glenn Road. 501-562-3131. murrysdinnerplayhouse.com. “Still. Going Forward Backward.” Hendrix College, through Nov. 15, 7:30 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 16, 2 p.m., free. 1600 Washington Ave., Conway. www.hendrix.edu. CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

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Nov. 20th • 7:30pm • Robinson Center Music Hall 501.244.8800 • 800.982.ARTS (2787) • Ticketmaster.com Groups of 10 or more receive a discount! Call 501.492.3311

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NOVEMBER 14, 2013

AFTER DARK, CONT.

GALLERIES, MUSEUMS

NEW EXHIBITIONS, EVENTS

New events, exhibits in bold-faced type. ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER: Friends of Contemporary Craft “Conversation” with woodcarver Hunt Clark, 5 p.m. Nov. 17, $5 FOCC members, $10 nonmembers. 372-4000. GREG THOMPSON FINE ART, 429 Main St., NLR: “Monkey Business and Other Strange Sights — An Exhibition of Works by Donald Roller Wilson,” through November, open 5-8 p.m. Nov. 15, Third Friday Argenta Artwalk. 664-2787. M2 GALLERY, Pleasant Ridge Town Center: Mother-daughter exhibit of found-art sculpture by Anita Davis and works on paper honoring Ghana artist El Anatsui by Betsy Davis, opening reception 6-9 p.m. Nov. 15, show through December. 225-6257 or 944-7155. MOSAIC TEMPLARS CULTURAL CENTER, 501 W. Ninth St.: “Celebrating the Life and Times of Bayard Rustin,” 7 p.m. Nov. 15, with “Social Justice” art exhibit by Sabrina Zarco, sponsored by the museum, the Central High School National Historic site, Philander Smith College and the Center for Artistic Revolution; “Shades of Greatness,” exhibit on the Negro Baseball Leagues, closing reception 5:30-7 p.m. Nov. 21; permanent exhibits on African American business district and entrepreneurs. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 683-3593. PAINT BOX GALLERY, 705 Main St., NLR: Jewelry by Damon Chatterton, tree sculptures by P.J. Bryant, fused glass by Ali Stinespring, open 5-8 p.m. Nov. 15, Third Friday Argenta ArtWalk. 374-2848. THEA FOUNDATION, 401 Main St., NLR: “The Picture Never Changes,” works by Dustyn Bork and Carly Dahl, first of Thea’s “The Art Department” series of young professional exhibitions, through Nov. 22, Argenta ArtWalk reception 5-8 p.m. Nov. 15, Third Friday Argenta ArtWalk. 379-9512. UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK, 2801 S. University: “Knock Down,” talk about combat drawings, 12:15 Nov. 14, and “Inspire,” talk on collaboration, 6 p.m. Nov. 14, both by Scott Betz of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and both in room 161 of the Fine Arts Building; “Nocturne,” silverpoint drawings by Marjorie Williams-Smith, Gallery II, through Nov. 24, reception with musical performance by Dr. Robert Boury, 5-7 p.m. Nov. 16; “FuN HoUSe,” work by Zina Al-Shukri, Chuck and George, Dustin Farnsworth, Heidi Schwegler, Gallery I, through Dec. 10, reception 5-7 p.m. Nov. 16,; Lavon Amerson, Jonathan Helms, Jessica Miles, Zachary Waymire, student exhibitions, through Nov. 20. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.Fri., 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sat., 2-5 p.m. Sun. 569-3182. CONWAY UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS: “BA/ BFA Senior Exhibition,” Baum Gallery, through Dec. 5. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Thu., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 501-450-5793. RUSSELLVILLE RIVER VALLEY ARTS CENTER, 1001 E. B St.: “Holiday Jubilee,” fund-raiser auction of art and other items, 7-10 p.m. Nov. 16, $50; “Local Artist Showcase.” 479-968-2452.

CONTINUING EXHIBITS

ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, MacArthur Park: “Mark Rothko in the 1940s: The Decisive Decade,” Winthrop Rockefeller Gallery, through Feb. 9; “Face to Face: Artists’ Self-Portraits from 28

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF EL ANATSUI: This work on paper by Little Rock artist Betsy Davis is part of a series honoring a Ghana artist. These works and found-art sculpture by Davis’ mother, Anita Davis (founder of the Bernice Garden and Esse Museum), go on exhibit Friday at M2 Gallery in the Pleasant Ridge Town Center. There will be a reception for the artists from 6-9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15. The show will continue through the end of the year. the Collection of Jackye and Curtis Finch Jr.,” Townsend Wolfe Gallery, through Feb. 9; “Portraiture Now: Drawing on the Edge,” Jeannette Rockefeller Gallery, through Feb. 9; “50 Works / 50 Weeks / 50 Years,” Alice Pratt Brown Atrium, through December; “Ryan Sniegocki: Museum School Ceramic Artist in Residence,” pottery; “Interwoven,” works on paper and crafts from the permanent collection, through Nov. 17. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. 372-4000. ART GROUP GALLERY, Pleasant Ridge Town Center: “Holiday Art Sale,” work by Ron Almond, Matt Coburn, Louise Harris, Ned Perme, Ann Presley, Vickie Hendrix-Siebenmorgen and Holly Tilley. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-6 p.m. Sun. 690-2193. BUTLER CENTER GALLERIES, Arkansas Studies Institute, 401 President Clinton Ave.: “Reflections in Pastel,” through Feb. 22, main gallery; “Native Arkansas,” early Arkansas through the writings of early explorers and Native American artifacts, including Mississippian period, Caddoan and Carden Bottoms objects, Concordia Hall, through Feb. 22; “Abstract AR(t),” work by Dustyn Bork, Megan Chapman, Donnie Copeland, Don Lee, Jill Storthz and Steven Wise, atrium, through Nov. 23; the photography of Barney Sellers, Loft Gallery, through Dec. 28. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 320-5700. CANTRELL GALLERY, 8206 Cantrell Road: “Bill Lewis Retrospective, 1932-2012,” watercolors and oil paintings, through Dec. 31. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 224-1335. CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 509 Scott St.:

Paintings from the Arkansas League of Artists and Local Colour. CHROMA GALLERY, 5707 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Work by Robert Reep and other Arkansas artists. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat. 664-0880. COX CREATIVE CENTER, 120 River Market Ave.: “Equinox,” works by artists published in UALR’s journal of literature and art. 918-3093. THE EDGE, 301B President Clinton Ave.: Paintings by Avila (Fernando Gomez), Eric Freeman, James Hayes, Jerry Colburn, St. Joseph Thomason and Stephen Drive. 992-1099. ELLEN GOLDEN ANTIQUES, 5701 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Paintings by Barry Thomas and Arden Boyce. 664-7746. GALLERY 221 & ART STUDIOS 221, Pyramid Place: Paintings by EMILE, Kathi Crouch and others. 801-0211. GALLERY 26, 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd.: 19th annual “Holiday Show and Sale,” work by more than 50 artists in all media, through Jan. 11. 664-8996. GINO HOLLANDER GALLERY, 2nd and Center: Paintings and works on paper by Gino Hollander. 801-0211. GOOD WEATHER GALLERY, 4400 Edgemere, NLR: “Plaza,” installation by Lauren Cherry and Max Springer. www.goodweathergallery.com HEARNE FINE ART, 1001 Wright Ave.: “Visions of 7 Self-Taught Artists,” works by Melverue Abraham, Clementine Hunter, Sylvester McKissick, W. Earl Robinson Clemente Flores, Alonzo Ford, and Kennith Humphrey, through Nov. 19. 372-6822. LAMAN LIBRARY, 2801 Orange St.: “Recovery:

The World Trade Center Recovery Operation,” 65 photographs and 56 recovered artifacts from the 911 attack, from the New York State Museum, through Dec. 1. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. 758-1720. L&L BECK ART GALLERY, 5705 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “Still Life,” paintings by Louis Beck, through November; giclee giveaway 7 p.m. Nov. 21. 660-4006. ARKADELPHIA HENDERSON STATE UNIVERSITY: “2013 Small Works on Paper,” Russell Fine Arts Center, through Nov. 29. 870-230-5036. BENTON DIANNE ROBERTS ART STUDIO AND GALLERY, 110 N. Market St.: Work by Chad Oppenhuizen, Dan McRaven, Gretchen Hendricks, Rachel Carroccio, Kenny Roberts, Taylor Bellott, Jim Cooper and Sue Moore. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. 8607467. BENTONVILLE CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, One Museum Way: “The Artists’ Eye,” Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz collection, including works by O’Keeffe, Stieglitz, Arthur Dove, John Marin and others, shared collection with Fisk University, through Feb. 3; “This Land: Picturing a Changing America in the 1930s and 1940s,” 44 paintings, prints and photographs with digital audio tour featuring musical CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

MOVIE REVIEW

naomi watts

matt dillon “ ,

Soulful HumaniStic and autHentic... matt dillon and naomi Watts deliver absorbing and impressive performances.” – Rodrigo Perez, indieWiRe’S tHe PlayliSt

SUNLIGHT JR.

‘THOR: THE DARK WORLD’: Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth star.

‘Thor’ swings, misses Dullsville.

sunlightjr.com

STARTS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15

4.5" x 2.625" THUR 11/14 LITTLE ROCK ARKANSAS TIMES

BY SAM EIFLING

hy do we have a Thor? In the Marvel pantheon — now Disney’s plaything, natch — we find no more dullsville lunk among the top-tier characters. He’s back in a second disposable movie, “Thor: The Dark World,” in which Chris Hemsworth’s shaggy locks almost distract you from his faux Victorian delivery and the fact that, aside from a magical hammer and a jawline to match it, this plodding interdimensional Viking space prince doesn’t have much to recommend him. Iron Man cracks wise and enjoys eye-popping special effects. The Hulk wrecks cities as easily as squishing sand between his toes. Even Captain America shows us more verve during an extended trailer before this “Thor” installment (a fellow member of the Avengers, ol’ Cap is slated for his own sequel next spring). Thor can fly, and favors capes, and has a thing for Natalie Portman. His fans look at themselves and say, hey, two out of three. At least in “The Avengers,” the thirdhighest-grossing movie ever, he was squaring off against an entertaining villain: Loki, played again here by actual actor Tom Hiddleston. Loki is Thor’s brother by adoption, making them both princes and giving them quarrel over who will succeed Odin (Anthony Hopkins, in Santa beard) as king of Asgard. With Loki now passing time in the palace’s four-star dungeon, Thor needs another bad guy to almost beat him, so we get a ruthless dark elf named Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) with all the personality of an amputated leg. He has an evil magic weapon that will destroy the nine realms once they come into alignment and [interlude of mumbly comic-book glop] with Stonehenge and gravitational anomalies. So of course Thor and friends caper in and try and rescue everything everywhere. The overall non-enjoyability of Thor

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jives with a truism about superheroes: namely, that they can’t be too super. His nominal mortality and his soft spot for human ladies goes only so far in making Thor your quasi-god next door. Early on in “The Dark World,” Thor descends onto some war-torn planet to conk heads. He and his magical space-Viking pals crack wise as they fight, until everyone shuts up and steps aside for a stone Goliath to trudge onto the battlefield and stare Thor down. Our hero chuckles and offers to accept the monster’s surrender. The monster of course isn’t interested, so Thor rubbleizes him with one swing of the hammer. He does this surely to highlight how improbably tough Malekith is when the two fight later. But it’s yawn-inducing to watch the casual razing of a creature that would’ve taken up five solid minutes of awesome fighting in a “Lord of the Rings” sequel. Thor might suffer by the comparison, but it’s evident Marvel/Disney is hoping to grab some of that fantasy/sci-fi audience that doesn’t know where to spend its entertainment cash between installments of “The Hobbit,” uh, trilogy. Overseeing the first “Thor” were two solid Hollywood hands: Kenneth Branagh and Joss Whedon. With those fellows onto other things, Disney hired the less-famous Alan Taylor for the sequel. What has Alan Taylor been up to lately? Oh, just directing six episodes of “Game of Thrones,” the far darker, sexier, scarier, funnier, more nuanced HBO fantasy series. “The Dark World” suffers in that comparison as well, but you can see where Disney’s aiming: “Game of Thrones” for 10-year-olds. It’s just too bad they can’t give their hero a dose of humanity and infuse its villains with more than a vague mission of “do evil.” Not even the intentional comic relief can rescue “The Dark World” from this unintentional silliness.

Artist: Heather Emmett

Staci

Steve

PResents

AE: (circle one:) Angela Maria Josh

(circle one:)

Tim

Philip

Jane

ART APPROVED AE APPROVED CLIENT APPROVED

“Pilates at the Pavilion” Deadline:

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CALICO ROCK CALICO ROCK ARTISTS COOPERATIVE, Hwy. 5 at White River Bridge: Paintings, photographs, jewelry, fiber art, wood, ceramics and other crafts. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Thu., 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri.-Sat., noon-4 p.m. Sun. calicorocket.org/artists. FAYETTEVILLE BOTTLE ROCKET GALLERY, 1495 Finger Road: “Makeshift Theatre,” photographs by Logan Rollins. 479-466-7406. THE DEPOT, 548 W. Dickson St.: “Beneath the Surface,” photographs by John Rankine, through Nov. 30. 501-951-4151. HARRISON ARTISTS OF THE OZARKS, 124 ½ N. Willow St.: Work by Amelia Renkel, Ann Graffy, Christy Dillard, Helen McAllister, Sandy Williams and D. Savannah George. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Thu.-Sat., noon-4 p.m. Sun. 870-429-1683.

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selections by Fayetteville Roots Festival director Bryan Hembree, through Jan. 6; permanent collection of American masterworks spanning four centuries. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon., Thu., Sat.-Sun.; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wed.-Fri. 479-418-5700.

Drop by and see our new pieces PotteRy during Friday gaLLeRy/ night art walk, studio or sign up for a class. 417 maiN aRgeNta 501-374-3515

HOT SPRINGS BLUE MOON GALLERY, 718 Central Ave.: “A la France et de retour,” photographs by David Rackley. 501-318-2787. FINE ARTS CENTER OF HOT SPRINGS, 626 Central Ave.: Artwork inspired by Kenji Muyazama’s poem “Be Not Defeated by the Rain” by artists from Hanamaki, Japan, through Dec. 14. 501-624-0489. JUSTUS FINE ART, 827 Central Ave.: Work by Rene Hein, Dolores Justus, Emily Wood and others. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat. 501-321-2335. PERRYVILLE SUDS GALLERY, Courthouse Square: Paintings by Dottie Morrissey, Alma Gipson, Al Garrett Jr., Phyllis Loftin, Alene Otts, Mauretta Frantz, Raylene Finkbeiner, Kathy Williams and Evelyn Garrett. Noon-6 p.m. Wed.-Fri, noon-4 p.m. Sat. 501-766-7584. YELLVILLE PALETTE ART GALLERY, 300 Hwy. 62W: “Quilt and Artisan Bazaar,” 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays in November. 870-656-2057.

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ARKANSAS TIMES

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ARKANSAS INLAND MARITIME MUSEUM, North Little Rock: 371-8320. ARKANSAS SPORTS HALL OF FAME MUSEUM, Verizon Arena, NLR: 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 663-4328. CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSEUM VISITOR CENTER, Bates and Park: Exhibits on the 1957 desegregation of Central and the civil rights movement. 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily. 374-1957. CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER, 1200 President Clinton Ave.: “And Freedom for All: the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom,” photographs by Stanley Tretick of the 1963 march, through Nov. 17; “Oscar de la Renta: American Icon,” designs worn by Laura Bush, Jessica Chastain, Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton and others, and other couture pieces, through Dec. 1. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $7 adults; $5 college students, seniors, retired military; $3 ages 6-17. 370-8000. ESSE, 1510 S. Main St.: “What’s Inside: A Century of Women and Handbags (1900-1999),” purses from the collection of Anita Davis, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Sun., $10-$8. 916-9022. HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM, 200 E. Third

St.: “Figurations: works by Stephen Cefalo and Sandra Sell,” through Dec. 8; “Heeding the Call: The Firefighter Collection of Johnny Reep,” through Jan. 5; “Jason A. Smith: Stills”; “Arkansas Made,” ongoing. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9351. MacARTHUR MUSEUM OF ARKANSAS M I L I TA R Y H I S T O R Y , M a c A r t h u r Park: “American Posters of World War I”; permanent exhibits. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-4 p.m. Sun. 376-4602. MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY, 500 President Clinton Ave.: “Robots and Us,” interactive exhibit on robotics, through Jan. 26; “Wiggle Worms,” science program for pre-K children 10 a.m.-10:30 a.m. every Tue., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun., $10 ages 13 and older, $8 ages 1-12, free to members and children under 1. 396-7050. OLD STATE HOUSE MUSEUM, 300 W. Markham: “Lights! Camera! Arkansas!”, the state’s ties to Hollywood, including costumes, scripts, film footage, photographs and more, through March 1, 2015; “Things You Need to Hear: Memories of Growing up in Arkansas from 1890 to 1980,” oral histories about community, family, work, school and leisure, through March 2014. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9685. WITT STEPHENS JR. CENTRAL ARKANSAS NATURE CENTER, Riverfront Park: Exhibits on wildlife and the state Game and Fish Commission. ENGLAND TOLTEC MOUNDS STATE PARK, State Hwy. 165: Major prehistoric Indian site with visitors’ center and museum. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun., closed Mon. $3 for adults, $2 for ages 6-12. 961-9442. FORT SMITH REGIONAL ART MUSEUM, 1601 Rogers Ave.: “Winslow Homer and the American Pictorial Press,” 50 engravings for newspapers, through Jan. 5. 479-434-5955. JACKSONVILLE JACKSONVILLE MUSEUM OF MILITARY HISTORY, 100 Veterans Circle: Exhibits on D-Day; F-105, Vietnam era plane (“The Thud”); the Civil War Battle of Reed’s Bridge, Arkansas Ordnance Plant (AOP) and other military history. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $3 adults; $2 seniors, military; $1 students. 501-241-1943. JONESBORO ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM, 320 University Loop West Circle: “Shaping Our World,” science exhibit developed by Arkansas Discovery Network, through Feb. 16, 2014. 870972-2074. MORRILTON MUSEUM OF AUTOMOBILES, Petit Jean Mountain: Permanent exhibit of more than 50 cars from 1904-1967 depicting the evolution of the automobile. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 7 days. 501-727-5427. SCOTT PLANTATION AGRICULTURE MUSEUM, U.S. 165 S and Hwy. 161: Artifacts and interactive exhibits on farming in the Arkansas Delta. $3 adults, $2 ages 6-12. Open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 501-961-1409. SCOTT PLANTATION SETTLEMENT: 1840s log cabin, one-room school house, tenant houses, smokehouse and artifacts on plantation life. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thu.-Sat. 351-0300. www.scottconnections.org.

Thanks for another wildly successful Craft Beer Festival. presented by

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THE BIG PICTURE, CONT. MIKE ROSS Candidate for governor Democrat Favorite artist: Justin Moore Favorite song: Justin Moore’s “Small Town USA” Favorite concert experience: It’s a tie between being backstage with Collin Raye in De Queen (he went to high school with my wife, Holly) and backstage with Glen Campbell in Nashville, Ark. Favorite song that makes reference to Arkansas: Waylan Holyfield’s “Arkansas (You Run Deep In Me).” Any any musical talent? I used to played tuba in the Hope High School Super Band and used to play piano — emphasis on “used to.” JOHN BURKHALTER Candidate for lieutenant governor Republican Favorite artist/band: Fleetwood Mac, but I do have to admit that there is an Adele CD in my car right now. Favorite song: Mason Williams’ “Classical Gas.” Favorite concert experience: Seeing the Commodores at the Pine Bluff Convention Center in 1978. Favorite song that makes reference to Arkansas: It’s probably cliche, but I really do love the state song, “Arkansas (You Run Deep In Me).” Any musical talent? I started playing the saxophone and the drums in 7th grade. I have a Pearl concert drum kit at my house and I still show off for my wife every now and then. I do still have the sax, but I don’t pull it out as much as I should.

REP. CHARLIE COLLINS Candidate for lieutenant governor Republican Favorite songs: Chris Tomlin’s “God of this City” and David Frizzell’s and Shelly West’s “You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma.” Favorite concert experience: I’ve only been to like one concert in my life. Well, I’ve seen the Go-Go’s and Barry Manilow. My wife dragged me to one of those. Favorite song that mentions Arkansas: The Guess Who’s “We’re an American Band.” I’ve always liked that song but I didn’t know until the last couple years about Sweet Connie. REP. ANDY MAYBERRY Candidate for lieutenant governor Republican Favorite artist: Elvis Presley Favorite band: Journey Favorite song: Merle Haggard’s “Walking on the Fightin’ Side of Me” Favorite concert experience: Billy Joel and Elton John at War Memorial Favorite song that makes reference to Arkansas: Terry Rose’s “Oh, Arkansas” Any musical talent? I sing in the shower and marvel at those who can play any instrument. LESLIE RUTLEDGE Candidate for attorney general Republican Favorite artist: Loretta Lynn. I love the fact that she taught herself to play, sang her own songs and she and Doolittle just got in that car and made their own success. She wasn’t “found”; she sacrificed and worked hard for that success. Favorite song: Dottie West’s “Country Sunshine”

Presidential Center

The Two Jewish Guys Chanukah Special Music, stories and schtick featuring the Two Jewish Guys, Phil Kaplan and Leslie Singer in their final holiday performance

ReCePTion: 6:30 p.m. Show: 7 p.m. • AdMiSSion: For you, only $19.95 – that’s still wholesale! Pre-paid reservations required www.kuar.org or (501) 569-8485 With thanks to our Chanukah Special sponsors: The Clinton Foundation and The Clinton Museum Store

Photo credit: Brian Chilson

LESLIE SINGER

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

JAMES LEE WITT Candidate for 4th District Congress Democrat Favorite artist: Vince Gill Favorite song: Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel” Favorite concert experience: My wife, Lea Ellen, and I were walking down the street in Toronto and noticed that Neil Diamond was playing. We walked up and got the last two tickets available. They were in the nose bleed section, but we had a great time. Favorite song that makes reference to Arkansas: Wayland Holyfield’s “Arkansas (You Run Deep in Me)”

From page 10

"The Last Candle"

PHIL KAPLAN

REP. NATE STEEL Candidate for attorney general Democrat Favorite artist: Levon Helm. Favorite song: Robert Earl Keen “Feeling Good Again” Favorite concert experience: I don’t know. I saw Zac Brown band a few years ago and that was a great experience. Favorite Arkansas song: I have an entire playlist of these. I’d have to say “Arkansas, You Run Deep In Me” by Wayland Holyfield. “Good Lord Lorrie” by Turnpike Troubadors is a close second. It references Sevier County a couple of times. Any musical talent? I play guitar, harmonica, and I’ve tried my hand at the fiddle but couldn’t get anywhere with it.

A DIFFERENT CATHOLICISM, CONT.

NOv. 25th at the Clinton presents

Favorite concert experience: Alabama at Barnhill Arena Favorite song that makes reference to Arkansas: Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Achy Breaky Heart” Any musical talent? Not if you ask my junior high band director! I attempted for years to play the trombone.

Still, Ball said, San Damiano isn’t right for everyone. If a person is happy in his or her own church, Ball said, that’s where they should remain. “I always try to be careful with how I present who we are, because if somebody is content in the church where they’ve been — whether they’re Roman Catholics or Methodist or whatever — we want them to stay there,” he said. “One of the things I tell people when they come is that they’re welcome to walk with us for as long or as short a time as they need to, and that our desire is for them to be in the right place spiritually.” Lisa Kuykendall has been a parishioner at San Damiano for five years. Standing in a slow drizzle at a church-sponsored “blessing of the animals” event at Murray Park in Little Rock, she said that she had been a lifelong Roman Catholic before coming to San Damiano. It was her husband, she said, who got her interested. “He saw it in the newspaper and wanted to go and wanted to go,” she said, “and I’d say, ‘No! It’s not Roman Catholic, we’re not going!’ Finally, I gave in. I’ve been here ever since.”

While Kuykendall has been encouraged by some of the statements of Pope Francis regarding the Church’s involvement in social justice issues, and calls him a blessing to the whole world, she said it was the inclusiveness that brought her to ecumenical Catholicism. “[Roman Catholicism is] a little more closed than I wanted,” she said. “In the Roman Catholic church, in order to receive Communion, you must be a Roman Catholic. In our church, anybody who has been baptized can receive Communion. I think that’s very important. Communion to me is such a closeness to God. It really gets you through the week.” Ball said San Damiano just tries to be welcoming to all while offering a “Franciscan-flavored” faith that emphasizes community involvement. That sense of involvement is attractive to people who may have found that praying for change is not enough. “There have been times when we’ve had more people out on a Saturday morning doing a homeless outreach event than we had at Mass on Saturday night,” Ball said. “That’s fine with me. That’s where the action is. That’s making a real connection between spirituality and community engagement.”

2014 ARKANSAS TIMES

MUSICIANS SHOWC A SE C A S H PRI Z E TO W I N N I N G BA N D! Deadline for Entry

The search is on.

DECEMBER 20 2014 PRIZE PACKAGE

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the return of the annual Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase with performers competing for an array of prizes. All acts that have at least four songs of original material are encouraged to enter. All styles are welcome.

CASH PRIZE CELEBRATION PARTY AT STICKYZ DRINK NAMED AFTER THE WINNER PLUS MUCH, MUCH MORE!

2013 Winner The Sound of the Mountain

ARK ANSA S TIMES MUSICIANS SHOWC A SE ENTRY FORM

Semifinalists will compete throughout January and February at Stickyz.

NAME OF BAND

Weekly winners will then face off in the finals at the Rev Room in March.

HOMETOWN

SEND THIS ENTRY AND DEMO CD TO:

DATE BAND WAS FORMED AGE RANGE OF MEMBERS (ALL AGES WELCOME)

CONTACT PERSON

Enter online and upload your music files at showcase.arktimes.com

ADDRESS CITY, STATE, ZIP PHONE

Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase PO BOX 34010, Little Rock, AR 72203

E-MAIL

For more info e-mail tiffanyholland@arktimes.com

Dining WHAT’S COOKIN’ THE SOUTHERN FOOD AND BEVERAGE MUSEUM in New Orleans is a nonprofit organization that helps celebrate the history and culture of food and drink from all over the South. The organization hopes to place a 1,500-square-foot space honoring the culinary culture of the Natural State in the museum. A fundraiser for the Arkansas exhibit is set for 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, at the Capital Hotel. The event will feature food and wine stations pairing Arkansas food with Presqu’ile wines. Tickets are $125 per person. For information and an invitation to the event email morris.leslie@ sbcglobal.net. THE HISTORY PRESS will release a new book from former Eat Arkansas contributor Kat Robinson and photographer Grav Weldon on Nov. 16. “Classic Eateries of the Ozarks and Arkansas River Valley” is a travelogue and restaurant guide. Robinson will sign books at WordsWorth on Saturday, Nov. 16, from 1 p.m. until 2:30 p.m.

DINING CAPSULES

LITTLE ROCK/ N. LITTLE ROCK

AMERICAN

1620 SAVOY The revamping of this enduring West Little Rock landmark restaurant has breathed considerable new life into 1620 Savoy. It’s a very different look and feel than the original, and the food is still high-quality and painstakingly prepared — a wide-ranging dinner menu that’s sure to please almost everyone. 1620 Market St. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-2211620. D Mon.-Sat., BR Sun. ADAMS CATFISH & CATERING Catering company with carry-out restaurant in Little Rock and carry-out trailers in Russellville and Perryville. 215 N. Cross St. All CC. $-$$. 501-3744265. L Tue.-Sat. ALL ABOARD RESTAURANT & GRILL Burgers, catfish, chicken tenders and such in this trainthemed restaurant, where an elaborately engineered mini-locomotive delivers patrons meals. 6813 Cantrell Road. No alcohol. 501-975-7401. LD daily. ALLEY OOPS The restaurant at Creekwood Plaza (near the Kanis-Bowman intersection) is a neighborhood feedbag for major medical institutions with the likes of plate lunches, burgers and homemade desserts. Remarkable chess pie. 11900 Kanis Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-221-9400. LD Mon.-Sat. BR Sun. B-SIDE The little breakfast place in the former party room of Lilly’s DimSum Then Some turns tradition on its ear, offering French toast wrapped in bacon on a stick, a must-have 34

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

The Blind Pig

6015 Chenonceau Boulevard 868-8194 theblindpiglr.com QUICK BITE The Blind Pig’s speakeasy theme wouldn’t be complete without some moonshine, although unlike during Prohibition, this liquor is all legal — and a lot of it is local, with an entire page of cocktails made exclusively with Rock Town Distillery products. HOURS 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 4 p.m. until midnight Friday; 11 a.m. until midnight Saturday; 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Sunday OTHER INFO All major CC, full bar.

LACKING CRUNCH: Fried mushrooms from the Blind Pig.

Blind Pig dishes out good bar food Speakeasy-style eatery trucks in tasty hot dogs from New York.

he Blind Pig patterns its decor and aesthetic off of the speakeasies of the 1920s, and while we didn’t have to know a secret password or handshake to get in, the place was still nice and hidden, tucked away behind NYPD Pizza far enough out on Highway 10 that we felt closer to Pinnacle Mountain than downtown. The attractive new bar and restaurant is decorated with pictures of old-time gangsters, and while we found the Prohibition-era fedoras and ties that made up our servers attire to be pushing things just a little bit, everyone was so friendly that we felt right at home in no time. The gangster theme extends to the menu, and so instead of an appetizers menu, we were pointed to “The Stick Up.” Our personal stick up consisted of a bowl of “To DIE For Cheese Dip” ($8 large, $5 small) and an order of fried mushrooms ($6). We wouldn’t

go quite so far as to lose our lives over the melted cheese, but we were impressed with the mixture of white cheese, cooked greens, and andouille sausage, served with crisp, fresh tortilla chips. The dip was mildly spicy and the chunks of sausage were an unexpected pleasure. The mushrooms were slices of white button mushrooms that had been battered and fried, and while the breading and flavor was on point, they could have benefitted from a longer stay in the fryer to make for a crispier bite. We followed up our apps with a “Bonnie,” the Blind Pig’s name for a pork hot dog ($5 with ketchup and mustard; $8 for the works), and were immediately enamored with the Zweigle’s brand that the restaurant is trucking in from New York to add some authenticity to their “wise guy” image. Of course, where there’s a “Bonnie,” there’s going to be a “Clyde,” and we look forward to

returning for all-beef red dog version. These are the sort of dogs that we like best: large, juicy, and with a real skin on them that snaps just a little at every bite, and unless Green Cart Deli ever decides to relocate from Conway, they’ll be our pick for best dog in the city. After our hot dog interlude we moved on a couple of “Public Enemies,” which is a selection of bar sandwiches. The Don and The Capone (both $10) were served on soft bread that were almost dripping with melted provolone (always a plus). The Don added sliced steak, onion straws, lettuce, tomato, and the Blind Pig’s “Shotgun Sauce” to the mix, while the Capone featured a fried boneless pork chop and onions. The steak sandwich was only fair, because while the meat was tender and moist, it lacked any real presence to match the gooey cheese. The pork chop fared better, with a nice flavor in both meat and bread. Our side orders of French fries and baked beans were both also good — we had a particular fondness for the smoky beans. At the end of the meal, we were pleased with how everything turned out, especially given the relatively low number on our bill. The bar is offering live music and karaoke weekly, and they’ve certainly got a menu to suit both of those things. The Blind Pig will never be anybody’s idea of fine dining, but it does well with what it sets out to accomplish: ample portions of fresh, tasty bar food served in an atmosphere that’s comfortable and friendly.

B Breakfast L Lunch D Dinner $ Inexpensive (under $8/person) $$ Moderate ($8-$20/person) $$$ Expensive (over $20/person) CC Accepts credit cards

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$16.39 dish called “biscuit mountain” and beignets with lemon curd. Top notch cheese grits, too. 11121 Rodney Parham Road. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-716-2700. BL Wed.-Sun. BAR LOUIE This chain’s first Arkansas outlet features a something-for-everybody menu so broad and varied to be almost schizophrenic. 11525 Cantrell Road, Suite 924. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-228-0444. LD daily. 11525 Cantrell Road. 501-228-0444. BIG WHISKEY’S AMERICAN BAR AND GRILL A modern grill pub in the River Market with all the bells and whistles — 30 flat screen TVs, whiskey on tap, plus boneless wings, burgers, steaks, soups and salads. 225 E. Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-324-2449. LD daily. BOBBY’S COUNTRY COOKIN’ One of the better plate lunch spots in the area, with some of the best fried chicken and pot roast around, a changing daily casserole and wonderful homemade pies. 301 N. Shackleford Road, Suite E1. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-224-9500. L Mon.-Fri. BOGIE’S BAR AND GRILL The former Bennigan’s retains a similar theme: a menu filled with burgers, salads and giant desserts, plus a few steak, fish and chicken main courses. There are big screen TVs for sports fans and lots to drink, more reason to return than the food. 120 W. Pershing Blvd. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-812-0019. D daily. BOOKENDS CAFE A great spot to enjoy lunch with friends or a casual cup of coffee and a favorite book. Serving coffee and pastries early and sandwiches, soups and salads available after 11 a.m. Cox Creative Center. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501- 918-3091. BL Mon.-Sat. THE BOX Cheeseburgers and french fries are greasy and wonderful and not like their fastfood cousins. 1023 W. Seventh St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-372-8735. L Mon.-Fri. BUFFALO GRILL A great crispy-off-the-griddle cheeseburger and hand-cut fries star at this family-friendly stop. 1611 Rebsamen Park Road. Full bar, CC. $$. 501-296-9535. LD daily. CAFE 201 The hotel restaurant in the Crowne Plaza serves up a nice lunch buffet. 201 S. Shackleford Road. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-2233000. BLD Mon.-Sat., BR Sun. CATFISH CITY AND BBQ GRILL Basic fried fish and sides, including green tomato pickles, and now with tasty ribs and sandwiches in beef, pork and sausage. 1817 S. University Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-663-7224. LD Tue.-Sat. CHEERS Good burgers and sandwiches, vegetarian offerings and salads at lunch and fish specials, and good steaks in the evening. 2010 N. Van Buren. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-6635937. LD Mon.-Sat. 1901 Club Manor Drive. Maumelle. Full bar, All CC. 501-851-6200. LD daily, BR Sun. CHICKEN KING Arguably Central Arkansas’s best wings. 5213 W 65th St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-562-5573. LD Mon.-Sat. CHICKEN WANG CAFE Regular, barbecue, spicy, lemon, garlic pepper, honey mustard and Buffalo wings. Open late. 8320 Colonel Glenn Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-562-1303. LD Mon.-Sat. CORNERSTONE PUB & GRILL A sandwich,

pizza and beer joint in the heart of North Little Rock’s Argenta district. 314 Main St. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-374-1782. LD Mon.-Sat. CRACKER BARREL OLD COUNTRY STORE Chain-style home-cooking with plenty of variety, consistency and portions. Multiple locations statewide. 3101 Springhill Dr. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. (501) 945-9373. BLD daily. DAVE AND RAY’S DOWNTOWN DINER Breakfast buffet daily featuring biscuits and gravy, home fries, sausage and made-to-order omelets. Lunch buffet with four choices of meats and eight veggies. 824 W. Capitol Ave. No alcohol. $. 501-372-8816. BL Mon.-Fri. DAVID’S BUTCHER BOY BURGERS Serious hamburgers, steak salads, homemade custard. 101 S. Bowman Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-227-8333. LD Mon.-Sat. 4000 McCain Blvd. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-353-0387. LD Mon.-Sat. E’S BISTRO Despite the name, think tearoom rather than bistro — there’s no wine, for one thing, and there is tea. But there’s nothing tearoomy about the portions here. Try the heaping grilled salmon BLT on a buttery croissant. 3812 JFK Boulevard. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-771-6900. FLIGHT DECK A not-your-typical daily lunch special highlights this spot, which also features inventive sandwiches, salads and a popular burger. Central Flying Service at Adams Field. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-975-9315. BL Mon.-Sat. HILLCREST ARTISAN MEATS A fancy charcuterie and butcher shop with excellent daily soup and sandwich specials. Limited seating is available. 2807 Kavanaugh Blvd. Suite B. No alcohol, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-671-6328. L Mon.-Sat. THE HOP DINER The downtown incarnation of the old dairy bar, with excellent burgers, onion rings, shakes, daily specials and breakfast. 201 E. Markham. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-2440975. KITCHEN EXPRESS Delicious “meat and three” restaurant offering big servings of homemade soul food. Maybe Little Rock’s best fried chicken. 4600 Asher Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-666-3500. BLD Mon.-Sat., LD Sun. LASSIS INN One of the state’s oldest restaurants still in the same location and one of the best for catfish and buffalo fish. 518 E 27th St. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-372-8714. LD Tue.-Sat. LYNN’S CHICAGO FOODS Outpost for Chicago specialties like Vienna hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches. Plus, other familiar fare — burgers and fried catfish, chicken nuggets and wings. 6501 Geyer Springs. No alcohol, All CC. $. 501-568-2646. LD Mon.-Sat. MADDIE’S PLACE If you like your catfish breaded Cajun-style, your grits rich with garlic and cream and your oysters fried up in perfect puffs, this Cajun eatery on Rebsamen Park Road is the place for you. 1615 Rebsamen Park Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-660-4040. LD Tue.-Sat. MARIE’S MILFORD TRACK II Healthy and tasty are the key words at this deli/grill, featuring hot entrees, soups, sandwiches, salads and killer CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

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Information in our restaurant capsules reflects the opinions of the newspaper staff and its reviewers. The newspaper accepts no advertising or other considerations in exchange for reviews, which are conducted anonymously. We invite the opinions of readers who think we are in error.

FREE VALET PARKING • PIANO BAR TUES-SAT • 335 WINE SELECTIONS HAPPY HOUR M-F 5-6:30PM FINE INTERNATIONAL SPIRITS • PRIVATE CORPORATE LUNCHES 500 PRESIDENT CLINTON AVENUE (IN THE RIVER MARKET DISTRICT)

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NOVEMBER 14, 2013

DINING CAPSULES, CONT. ADVERTISEMENT

hearsay ➥ BOX TURTLE will host a Uno De 50 Jewelry trunk show and salsa party from 6-8 p.m. Nov. 14. There will be eats, drinks, discounts and giveaways, plus the chance to learn to salsa with Leah Patterson. ➥ The JUNIOR LEAGUE OF

LITTLE ROCK’S annual HOLIDAY HOUSE event is scheduled for Nov. 13-16 at the Statehouse Convention Center. This is the event’s 23rd year, and more than 150 merchants will be on hand to sell their wares. Times are noon to 9 p.m. Nov. 14, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Nov. 15 and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 16. General admission is $8. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.jllr.org. ➥ Pick up great deals at the GOOD

EARTH GARDEN CENTER on Halloween items, which are now 75 percent off. Pumpkins are 50 percent off. If you’re ready to look ahead, Christmas décor items have arrived at Good Earth. Also, mark your calendars: Good Earth’s holiday open house is scheduled for 1-4 p.m. Dec. 7. ➥ Arkansas-made Arrowhead Farms products from Bronson Van Wyck are available exclusively at

ABOUT VASE. These amazing cocktail mixes and salad dressings have been seen in Food & Wine and Vanity Fair magazines, and they make great gifts. ➥ BARBARA/JEAN will host a Dana & Paul Accessories trunk show Nov. 19-20. ➥ KREBS BROTHERS is celebrating its 80th anniversary with a sale. The store originally opened in 1933 in downtown Little Rock. The sale is Nov. 20-21. Shoppers can expect lots of in-store promotions. Customers can register to win a $150 gift card, a fryer or work table. Paring knives will be available as low as $2.99. There will also be special promos on Emile Henry items. 36

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

desserts. 9813 W Markham St. No alcohol, CC. $-$$. 501-225-4500. BL Mon.-Sat. MASON’S DELI AND GRILL Heaven for those who believe everything is better with sauerkraut on top. The Bavarian Reuben, a traditional Reuben made with Boar’s Head corned beef, spicy mustard, sauerkraut, Muenster cheese and marble rye, is among the best we’ve had in town. 400 Clinton Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-376-3354. LD Mon.-Sat. NEWK’S EXPRESS CAFE Gourmet sandwiches, salads and pizzas. 4317 Warden Road. NLR. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-753-8826. LD daily. PACKET HOUSE GRILL Owner/chef Wes Ellis delivers the goods with an up-to-date take on sophisticated Southern cuisine served up in a stunning environment that dresses up the historic house with a modern, comfortable feel. 1406 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-372-1578. D Tues.-Sat. PHIL’S HAM AND TURKEY PLACE Fine hams, turkeys and other specialty meats served whole, by the pound or in sandwich form. 11121 N. Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-225-2136. LD Mon.-Fri. L Sat. SIMPLY NAJIYYAH’S FISHBOAT & MORE Good catfish and corn fritters. 1717 Wright Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-562-3474. LD Tue.-Sat. SLICK’S SANDWICH SHOP & DELI Meatand-two plate lunches in state office building. 101 E. Capitol Ave. No alcohol. 501-375-3420. BL Mon.-Fri. SPECTATORS GRILL AND PUB Burgers, soups, salads and other beer food, plus live music on weekends. 1012 W. 34th St. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-791-0990. LD Mon.-Sat. SPORTS PAGE One of the largest, juiciest, most flavorful burgers in town. Grilled turkey and hot cheese on sourdough gets praise, too. Now with lunch specials. 414 Louisiana St. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-372-9316. LD Mon.-Fri. STARVING ARTIST CAFE All kinds of crepes, served as entrees or as dessert, in this cozy multidimensional eatery with art-packed walls and live demonstrations by artists during meals. The Black Forest ham sandwich is a perennial favorite with the lunch crowd. Dinner menu changes daily, good wine list. “Tales from the South” dinner and readings at on Tuesdays; live music precedes the show. 411 N. Main St. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-372-7976. L Tue.-Sat., D Tue., Fri.-Sat. SUFFICIENT GROUNDS Great coffee, good bagels and pastries, and a limited lunch menu. 124 W. Capitol. No alcohol, CC. $. 501-372-1009. BL Mon.-Fri. SUGIE’S Catfish and all the trimmings. 4729 Baseline Road. No alcohol, All CC. $. 501-5700414. LD daily. THE TAVERN SPORTS GRILL Burgers, barbecue and more. 17815 Chenal Parkway. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-830-2100. LD daily. TROPICAL SMOOTHIE CAFE Smoothies, sandwiches and salads. 10221 N. Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-2242233. BLD daily; 400 President Clinton Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-786-6555. LD Mon.-Fri., BLD Sat.; 524 Broadway St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 246-3145. BLD Mon.-Fri. (closes at 6 p.m.) 10221 N. Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-224-2233. BLD daily 12911 Cantrell Road. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-376-2233. BLD daily 400 President Clinton Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-7866555. LD Mon.-Fri., BLD Sat. VICTORIAN GARDEN We’ve found the fare quite tasty and somewhat daring and different with its healthy, balanced entrees and crepes. 4801 North Hills Blvd. NLR. $-$$. 501-758-4299.

L Tue.-Sat. WAYNE’S FISH & BURGERS TO GO Offers generously portioned soulfood plate lunches and dinners — meat, two sides, corn bread - for $6. 2221 South Cedar St. 501-663-9901. WHITE WATER TAVERN Excellent, locallysourced bar food. 2500 W. 7th St. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-375-8400. D Tue.-Fri., L Fri.

ASIAN

BENIHANA JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE Enjoy the cooking show, make sure you get a little filet with your meal, and do plenty of dunking in that fabulous ginger sauce. 2 Riverfront Place. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-374-8081. BLD Sun.-Sat. CHI DIMSUM & BISTRO A huge menu spans the Chinese provinces and offers a few twists on the usual local offerings, plus there’s authentic Hong Kong dim sum available. 6 Shackleford Drive. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-221-7737. LD daily. 17200 Chenal Parkway. No alcohol, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-821-8000. LD Mon.-Sat., D Sun. FAR EAST ASIAN CUISINE Old favorites such as orange beef or chicken and Hunan green beans are still prepared with care at what used to be Hunan out west. 11610 Pleasant Ridge Road. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-219-9399. LD daily. FORBIDDEN GARDEN Classic, American-ized Chinese food in a modern setting. Try the Basil Chicken. 14810 Cantrell Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-868-8149. LD daily. FU LIN Quality in the made-to-order entrees is high, as is the quantity. 200 N. Bowman Road. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-225-8989. LD daily, BR Sun. IGIBON JAPANESE RESTAURANT It’s a complex place, where the food is almost always good and the ambiance and service never fail to please. The Bento box with tempura shrimp and California rolls and other delights stand out. 11121 N. Rodney Parham Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-217-8888. LD Mon.-Sat. KIYEN’S SEAFOOD STEAK AND SUSHI Sushi, steak and other Japanese fare. 17200 Chenal Pkwy, Suite 100. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-821-7272. LD daily. KOBE JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE & SUSHI Though answering the need for more hibachis in Little Rock, Kobe stands taller in its sushi offerings than at the grill. 11401 Financial Centre Parkway. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-225-5999. L Mon.-Sat. D daily. NEW FUN REE Reliable staples, plenty of hot and spicy options and dependable delivery. 418 W 7th St. No alcohol, All CC. $. 501-664-6657. LD Mon.-Sat. PANDA GARDEN Large buffet including Chinese favorites, a full on-demand sushi bar, a cold seafood bar, pie case, salad bar and dessert bar. 2604 S. Shackleford Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-224-8100. LD daily. STAR OF INDIA The best Indian restaurant in the region, with a unique buffet at lunch and some fabulous dishes at night (spicy curried dishes, tandoori chicken, lamb and veal, vegetarian). 301 N. Shackleford. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-227-9900. LD daily. SUPER KING BUFFET Large buffet with sushi and a Mongolian grill. 4000 Springhill Plaza Court. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-9454802. LD daily. VAN LANG CUISINE Terrific Vietnamese cuisine, particularly the way the pork dishes and the assortment of rolls are presented. Great prices, too. Massive menu, but it’s user-friendly for locals with full English descriptions and numbers for easy ordering. 3600 S. University Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-570-7700. LD daily.

BARBECUE

CAPITOL SMOKEHOUSE AND GRILL Beef, pork and chicken, all smoked to melting tenderness and doused with a choice of sauces. The crusty but tender backribs star. Side dishes are top quality. A plate lunch special is now available. 915 W. Capitol Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-372-4227. L Mon.-Fri. CROSS EYED PIG BBQ COMPANY Traditional barbecue favorites smoked well such as pork ribs, beef brisket and smoked chicken. Miss Mary’s famous potato salad is full of bacon and other goodness. Smoked items such as ham and turkeys available seasonally. 1701 Rebsamen Park Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-265-0000. L Mon.-Sat., D Tue.-Fri. 1701 Rebsamen Park Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-227-7427. LD daily. FATBOY’S KILLER BAR-B-Q This Landmark neighborhood strip center restaurant in the far southern reaches of Pulaski County features tender ribs and pork by a contest pitmaster. Skip the regular sauce and risk the hot variety, it’s far better. 14611 Arch Street. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-888-4998. L Mon.-Wed. and Fri.; L Thu. HB’S BBQ Great slabs of meat with fiery barbecue sauce, but ribs are served on Tuesday only. Other days, try the tasty pork sandwich on an onion roll. 6010 Lancaster. No alcohol, No CC. $-$$. 501-565-1930. LD Mon.-Fri. MICK’S BBQ, CATFISH AND GRILL Good burgers, picnic-worthy deviled eggs and heaping barbecue sandwiches topped with sweet sauce. 3609 MacArthur Dr. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-791-2773. LD Mon.-Sun. SIMS BAR-B-QUE Great spare ribs, sandwiches, beef, half and whole chicken and an addictive vinegar-mustard-brown sugar sauce unique for this part of the country. 2415 Broadway. Beer, CC. $-$$. 501-372-6868. LD Mon.-Sat. 1307 John Barrow Road. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-2242057. LD Mon.-Sat. 7601 Geyer Springs Road. Beer, All CC. $$. 501-562-8844. LD Mon.-Sat.

EUROPEAN / ETHNIC

ALI BABA A Middle Eastern restaurant and grocery. 3400 S University Ave. No alcohol, All CC. 501-570-0577. LD Mon.-Sat. KHALIL’S PUB Widely varied menu with European, Mexican and American influences. Go for the Bierocks, rolls filled with onions and beef. 110 S. Shackleford Road. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-224-0224. LD daily. BR Sun. THE PANTRY Owner and self-proclaimed “food evangelist” Tomas Bohm does things the right way — buying local, making almost everything from scratch and focusing on simple preparations of classic dishes. The menu stays relatively true to his Czechoslovakian roots, but there’s plenty of choices to suit all tastes. There’s also a nice happy-hour vibe. 11401 Rodney Parham Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-353-1875. LD Mon.-Fri., D Sat.

ITALIAN

DAMGOODE PIES A somewhat different Italian/pizza place, largely because of a spicy garlic white sauce that’s offered as an alternative to the traditional red sauce. Good bread, too. 2701 Kavanaugh Blvd. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-664-2239. LD daily. 6706 Cantrell Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-664-2239. LD daily. 10720 Rodney Parham Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-664-2239. LD daily. 37 East Center St. Fayetteville. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 479-444-7437. LD daily. GUSANO’S They make the tomatoey Chicago-

DINING CAPSULES, CONT. style deep-dish pizza the way it’s done in the Windy City. It takes a little longer to come out of the oven, but it’s worth the wait. 313 President Clinton Ave. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-374-1441. LD daily. 2915 Dave Ward Drive. Conway. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-329-1100. LD daily. LARRY’S PIZZA The buffet is the way to go — fresh, hot pizza, fully loaded with ingredients, brought hot to your table, all for a low price. Many Central Arkansas locations. 1122 S. Center. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-224-8804. LD daily. 12911 Cantrell Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-224-8804. LD daily. NYPD PIZZA Plenty of tasty choices in the obvious New York police-like setting, but it’s fun. Only the pizza is cheesy. Even the personal pizzas come in impressive combinations, and baked ziti, salads are more also are available. Cheap slice specials at lunch. 6015 Chenonceau Blvd., Suite 1. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-8683911. LD Mon.-Sat., D Sun. VESUVIO Arguably Little Rock’s best Italian restaurant. 1315 Breckenridge Drive. Full bar, All CC. $$$. 501-246-5422. D daily.

LATINO

CASA MANANA Great guacamole and garlic beans, superlative chips and salsa (red and green) and a broad selection of fresh seafood, plus a deck out back. 6820 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-280-9888. LD daily 18321 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-8688822. LD daily 400 President Clinton Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. BL Mon.-Sat. CASA MEXICANA Familiar Tex-Mex style items all shine, in ample portions, and the steakcentered dishes are uniformly excellent. 6929 JFK Blvd. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-835-7876. LD daily. EL PORTON Good Mex for the price and a wide-ranging menu of dinner plates, some tasty cheese dip, and great service as well. 12111 W. Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-223-8588. LD daily. 5201 Warden Road. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-753-4630. LD daily. ELIELLA You’ll find perhaps the widest variety of street style tacos in Central Arkansas here — everything from cabeza (steamed beef head) to lengua (beef tongue) to suadero (thin-sliced beef brisket). The Torta Cubano is a belly-buster. It’s a sandwich made with chorizo, pastor, grilled hot dogs and a fried egg. The menu is in Spanish, but the waitstaff is accomodating to gringos. 7700 Baseline Road. Beer, All CC. $. 501-539-5355. L Mon.-Sat. THE FOLD BOTANAS BAR Gourmet tacos and botanas, or small plates. Try the cholula pescada taco. 3501 Old Cantrell Road. Full bar, CC. $$-$$$. 501-916-9706. LD daily. LA CASA REAL 11121 N Rodney Parham Road. Full bar, All CC. 501-219-4689. LD Mon.-Sat. LA HACIENDA Creative, fresh-tasting entrees and traditional favorites, all painstakingly prepared in a festive atmosphere. Great taco salad, nachos, and maybe the best fajitas around. 3024 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-661-0600. LD daily. 200 Highway 65 N. Conway. All CC. $$. 501-327-6077. LD daily. LA VAQUERA The tacos at this truck are more expensive than most, but they’re still cheap eats. One of the few trucks where you can order a combination plate that comes with rice, beans and lettuce. 4731 Baseline Road. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-565-3108. LD Mon.-Sat. LAS DELICIAS Levy-area mercado with a taqueria and a handful of booths in the back of the store. 3401 Pike Ave. NLR. Beer, All CC. $. 501-812-4876. LAS PALMAS Mexican chain with a massive menu of choices. 10402 Stagecoach Road. Full

bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-455-8500. LD daily 4154 E. McCain Blvd. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. LD daily. LONCHERIA MEXICANA ALICIA The best taco truck in West Little Rock. Located in the Walmart parking lot on Bowman. 620 S. Bowman. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-612-1883. L Mon.-Sat. MARISCOS EL JAROCHO Try the Camarones a la Diabla (grilled shrimp in a smoky pepper sauce) or the Cocktail de Campechana (shrimp, octopus and oyster in a cilantro and onionlaced tomato sauce). 7319 Baseline Road. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-565-3535. Serving BLD Wed.-Mon. MERCADO SAN JOSE From the outside, it appears to just be another Mexican grocery store. Inside, you’ll find one of Little Rock’s best Mexican bakeries and a restaurant in back serving tortas and tacos for lunch. 7411 Geyer Springs Road. Beer, CC. $. 501-565-4246. BLD daily. MEXICO CHIQUITO Some suggest cheese dip was born at this Central Arkansas staple, where you’ll find hearty platters of boldly spiced, inexpensive food that compete well with those at the “authentic” joints. 102 S. Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-224-8600; 13924 Cantrell Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-217-0700. LD daily.; 4511 Camp Robinson Road. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-771-1604. LD daily. MOE’S SOUTHWEST GRILL A “build-yourown-burrito” place, with several tacos and nachos to choose from as well. Wash it down with a beer from their large selection. 12312 Chenal Pkwy. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-223-3378. LD daily. RIVIERA MAYA Typical Mexican fare for the area, though the portions are on the large side. 801 Fair Park Blvd. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-663-4800. LD daily. ROCK ’N TACOS California-style cuisine that’s noticeably better than others in its class. Fish tacos are treated with the respect they deserve, served fresh and hot. Tamales are a house specialty and are worth sampling as well; both pork and beef warrant attention. Street style tacos are small, but substantial, and always helped by a trip to the salsa mini-bar. Burritos are stuffed full, fat and heavy, and more than a respectably sized meal. 11121 North Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-812-3461. LD Mon.-Sat. SUPER 7 GROCERY STORE This Mexican grocery/video store/taqueria has great a daily buffet featuring a changing assortment of real Mexican cooking. Fresh tortillas pressed by hand and grilled, homemade salsas, beans as good as beans get. Plus soup every day. 1415 Barrow Road. Beer, No CC. $. 501-219-2373. BLD daily. SUPERMERCADO SIN FRONTERAS Shiny, large Mexican grocery with a bakery and restaurant attached. 4918 Baseline Road. Beer, All CC. $$. 501-562-4206. BLD daily. TAQUERIA JALISCO SAN JUAN The taco truck for the not-so-adventurous crowd. They claim to serve “original Mexico City tacos,” but it’s their chicken tamales that make it worth a visit. They also have tortas, quesadillas and fajitas. 11200 Markham St. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-541-5533. LD daily. TAQUERIA LOURDES This Chevy Step Van serves tacos, tortas, quesadillas and nachos. Colonel Glenn and 36th Street. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-612-2120. LD Mon.-Sat. TAQUERIA SAMANTHA On Friday and Saturday nights, this mobile taqueria parks CONTINUED ON PAGE 38

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NOVEMBER 14, 2013

DINING CAPSULES, CONT. outside of Jose’s Club Latino in a parking lot on the corner of Third and Broadway. 300 Broadway Ave. No alcohol, No CC. $. D Fri.-Sat. (sporadic hours beyond that). TAQUERIA Y CARNICERIA GUADALAJARA Cheap, delicious tacos, tamales and more. Always bustling. 3811 Camp Robinson Road. NLR. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-753-9991. BLD daily.

AROUND ARKANSAS

BENTONVILLE

THE HIVE The chef describes the menu as “High South,” with offerings like pimento cheese, “Arkansas Trail Mix” of pecans, soybeans, black walnuts and cheddar straws, grits, etc. You must have the frisee, egg or no. The pork chop is great. 200 N.E. A St. Bentonville. Full bar, All CC. $$$-$$$$. 479-286-6575. BD daily, L Mon.-Fri. PETIT BISTRO Owner Dario Amini and chef Dane Mane serve haute cuisine in a little cobblestone house transformed into chic eatery outside Bentonville. 2702 N. Walton Blvd. Bentonville. Full bar, All CC. 479-464-9278. LD Mon.-Fri, D Sat.

CONWAY

EL ACAPULCO Tex-Mex served in hefty portions in a colorful atmosphere. 201 Highway 65 N. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-3278445. LD Mon.-Sun. EL HUASTECO Reasonably priced Mexican fare. 720 S. Salem Road. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-764-1665. LD Mon.-Sun. EL PARIAN Traditional Mexican and Tex-Mex favorites are offered by this Arkansas restaurant chain. 2585 Donaghey. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-513-1313. LD Mon.-Sun. FABY’S RESTAURANT Nuevo Mexican and

Continental cuisine meet and shake hands at Faby’s. The hand-patted, housemade tortillas are worth the visit alone. 2915 Dave Ward. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-329-5151. LD Mon.-Sun. LA HUERTA MEXICAN RESTAURANT Standard Mexican fare with an emphasis on family favorites. 1052 Harrison Street. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-762-0202. LD Mon.-Fri. MARKETPLACE GRILL Big servings of steak, seafood, chicken, pasta, pizza and other rich comfort-style foods. 600 Skyline Dr. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-336-0011. LD Daily. MIKE’S PLACE Delicious New Orleansinspired steaks and seafood, plus wood-fired pizzas, served in a soaring, beautifully restored building in downtown Conway. 808 Front St. Conway. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-269-6493. LD daily. NEW CHINA Another buffet in the chain. 2104 Harkrider. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-764-1888. LD Mon.-Sun. PATTICAKES BAKERY 2106 Robinson Ave. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. (501) 205-1969. SLIM CHICKENS Chicken in all shapes and sizes with sauces. 550 Salem Road. Conway. All CC. $$-$$$. 501-450-7546. LD Mon.-Sun.

EUREKA SPRINGS

CARIBE RESTAURANT & CANTINA 309 W. Van Buren St. Eureka Springs. Full bar, All CC. 479-253-8102. DEVITO’S You absolutely cannot go wrong with the trout here — whether it’s the decadent Trout Italiano, the smoky Chargrilled Trout or the cornmeal encrusted Trout Fingers. DeVito’s

housemade marinara is also a winner. 5 Center St. Eureka Springs. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 479-253-6807. D. ERMILIO’S Great mix-and-match pasta and sauces, all done with fresh ingredients and creativity. Warm service in a classy atmosphere. 26 White St. Eureka Springs. 479-253-8806. LD. GASKINS’ CABIN Solid American food highlighted by the fish specials and prime rib. Highway 23 North. Eureka Springs. 479-2535466. D. MYRTIE MAE’S Hearty country breakfasts, sandwiches and Arkansas-style dinner plates. May be the second best fried chicken in the state. 207 W. Van Buren. Eureka Springs. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 479-253-9768. BLD.

FAYETTEVILLE

A TASTE OF THAI Terrific Thai food, from the appetizers to the entrees to the desserts. Only the brave should venture into the “rated 5” hot sauce realm. 31 E. Center St. Fayetteville. All CC. $$-$$$. 479-251-1800. LD Mon.-Sat. ARSAGA’S FAYETTEVILLE COFFEE ROASTERS A locally owned and operated chain of Fayetteville-area coffeeshops featuring hot coffee and chai, sweet pastries, sandwiches and live performances by area musicians. 1852 N. Crossover Road. Fayetteville. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. (479) 527-0690. BLD daily. DAMGOODE PIES A somewhat different Italian/pizza place, largely because of a spicy garlic white sauce that’s offered as an alternative to the traditional red sauce. Good bread, too. 37 East Center St. Fayetteville. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 479-444-7437. LD daily. HERMAN’S RIBHOUSE Filets, not ribs, are the big seller at this classic, friendly, dumpy spot. The barbecue chicken is another winner. 2901 N.

College Ave. Fayetteville. 479-442-9671.

HOT SPRINGS

ARLINGTON HOTEL Massive seafood buffet on Friday nights, breakfast buffet daily, served in the splendor of a grand old hotel. 239 Central Ave. Hot Springs. 501-623-7771. BLD. THE BLEU MONKEY GRILL High end, artfully prepared pastas, salads, sandwiches and appetizers are one of the hallmarks of this classy/ casual newcomer to the Hot Springs dining scene. Stay for the interesting dessert menu. 4263 Central Ave. Hot Springs. Full bar, All CC. 501-520-4800. LD daily. CAJUN BOILERS Expertly prepared boiled shrimp, crawfish and such, served in a fun atmosphere. 2806 Albert Pike. Hot Springs. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-767-5695. D Tue.-Sat. HOT SPRINGS BRAU HAUS All the usual schnitzels are available, an inviting bar awaits as you enter, and the brick-walled place has a lot of history and coziness. 801 Central Ave. Hot Springs. 501-624-7866. LD. JASON’S BURGERS AND MORE Locals love it for filets, fried shrimp, ribs, catfish, burgers and the like at good prices. 148 Amity Road. Hot Springs. 501-525-0919. LD. LA HACIENDA Authentic Mexican food; array of entrees. 3836 Central Ave. Hot Springs. 501-525-8203. LD. OHIO CLUB Great atmosphere and a standout burger highlight what claims to be the state’s oldest bar. 336 Central Ave. Hot Springs. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-627-0702. LD daily. ROD’S PIZZA CELLAR Terrific handmade pizzas highlighted by the Godfather, a whopper. Lunch specials are a steal, especially the buffet. 3350 Central Ave. Hot Springs. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-321-2313. LD Tue.-Sun.

ARKANSAS TIMES CLASSIFIEDS It’s happenIng rIght now on ArkAnsAs Blog • arktimes.com

Counseling Associates, Inc. is accepting applications for an Emergency Therapist and a Therapist in Russellville and a Therapist in Clarksville. Qualifications: Licensed mental health professional in the state of AR. Would like for the Emergency Therapist to have experience in emergency screenings. Applicants will be responsible for providing mental health services to clients in an outpatient setting. Excellent fringe benefits and sites are approved for the NHSC Loan Repayment Program with proper licensure. Resumes should be e mailed to: swhitmore@caiinc.org

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HELP WANTED Indoor Construction Repair of Wooden Pallets • Earn higher than an average salary • Need to use nail guns, screw guns and grinders • Be able to lift 60 pounds on a regular basis • Openings on both day and night shift • 6am – 2:30pm and 3:30pm to midnight • Medical plan and vacation available

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TElEPHONE BOOK DElIvERY. PT/ FT, daily work, get paid in 72 hrs. Deliver Phonebooks in Jacksonville/ Maumelle/Gibson. Must be 18 yrs+, have DL, vehicle & insurance. Call 1-800-422-1955 DDA, Inc. EOE. Mon-Fri 7am-4:00 pm

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families is accepting resumes for a part-time (15 to 20 hours a week) Administrative Assistant. requires general office skills and proficiency in microsoft Office programs and database programs. 5+ years of experience required. salary commensurate with experience.

HElP WANTED!! Make up to $1000 a week mailing brochures from home! Helping home workers since 2001! Genuine opportunity! No experience required. Start immediately! www.processbrochures.com (AAN CAN)

Please call Sam 318-348-7947, Jesus 318-334-9074 or Jorge 318-417-6746

Send cover letter, resume, and references to cneal@aradvocates.org or 1400 West Markham St., Ste. 306, Little Rock, AR 72201. AACF is an equal opportunity employer.

Real Estate NORTH lITTlE ROCK, 4929 Longview Dr. 2BR/1BA Single Family. Hardwood Floors. Lease or Cash. $1250 DN, $563/mo. 877-500-9517

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El Latino is Arkansas’s only weekly circulation-audited Spanish language newspaper. Arkansas has the second fastest growing Latino population in the country, and smart business people are targeting this market as they develop business relationships with these new consumers.

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