Arkansas Times by Arkansas Times

NEWS + POLITICS + ENTERTAINMENT / FEBRUARY 8, 2012 / ARKTIMES.COM

THE PROPHET How a video game designer from Arkansas (who you’ve probably never heard of) changed the way we play forever.

BY DAVID KOON PAGE 14

Something new – the state’s largest The state’s largest cardiovascular network network cardiovascular

Something new – the development of the state’s largest cardiovascular network

Announcing the partnership of Heart Clinic Arkansas, Drs. Watkins, Bauer, and Meadors, and St. Vincent Health System Cardiologists: C. Douglas Borg, M.D., F.A.C.C. Mangaraju (Raj) Chakka, M.D., F.A.C.C. Charles W. Clogston, M.D., F.A.C.C. John A. Colleran, D.O., F.A.C.C. Debasis Das, M.D., F.A.C.C. J. Lynn Davis, M.D., F.A.C.C. Van H. De Bruyn, M.D., F.A.C.C. David M. Evans, M.D., F.A.C.C. Forrest D. Glover, M.D., F.A.C.C. David D. Griffin, M.D., F.A.C.C. David C. Hicks, M.D., F.A.C.C. Randy A. Jordan, M.D., F.A.C.C. Morris E. Kelley, M.D., F.A.C.C. Eleanor E. Kennedy, M.D., F.A.C.C. Valerie McNee, M.D., F.A.C.C. Donald F. Meacham, M.D., F.A.C.C. Tena E. Murphy, M.D., F.A.C.C. Eric J. Robinson, M.D., F.A.C.C. Scott W. Rypkema, M.D., F.A.C.C. Mark A. St. Pierre, M.D., F.A.C.C. Thomas W. Wallace, M.D. Not pictured: Marvin W. Ashford, M.D., F.A.C.C. Leon Roby Blue, M.D., F.A.C.C. Bradley R. Hughes, M.D., F.A.C.C. Andrew G. Kumpuris, M.D., F.A.C.C. Aravind (Rao) Nemarkommula, M.D., F.A.C.C. Rod Parkhurst, M.D., F.A.C.C. Jim E. Shuffield, M.D., F.A.C.C. Sayyadul (Sid) Siddiqui, M.D., F.A.C.C. Cardiovascular surgeons: F. Michael Bauer, M.D. Frederick A. Meadors, M.D. Charles J. Watkins, M.D. Leadership: Peter D. Banko, FACHE St. Vincent President & CEO Jonathan P. Timmis St. Vincent Senior Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer Marcia L. Atkinson, MHSA St. Vincent Vice President/Administrator of the Jack Stephens Heart Institute

SVC 0112 023 HCA AT_10X12.5.indd 1

What this means for heart patients today: • The state’s largest cardiology group • The state’s most experienced heart surgeons • The most advanced diagnostic technology and treatment options available We’re improving heart care for you and for all Arkansans for years to come by: • Investing $36 million in state-of-the-art cardiology facilities at St. Vincent Infirmary and St. Vincent North • Building 7 all-new cardiac cath labs and 4 new operating suites • Creating the state’s first hybrid cardiac cath lab/operating room You’ll still be able to see your trusted physician at the hospital or emergency room of your choice. Plus, you can visit our clinic locations throughout Arkansas. Learn more about this exciting development at StVincentHealth.com.

ST. VINCENT HEART CLINIC ARKANSAS CLINIC LOCATIONS: St. Vincent Heart Clinic Arkansas – Kanis 10100 Kanis Road, Little Rock 501-255-6000

St. Vincent Heart Clinic Arkansas – NLR 4000 Richards Road, Suite A 501-758-5133

St. Vincent Heart Clinic Arkansas – University 415 N. University Ave., Little Rock 501-664-6841

St. Vincent Heart Clinic Arkansas – Searcy 711 Santa Fe Drive 501-279-9393

In an emergency, dial 911.

ST. VINCENT CARDIOVASCULAR SURGEONS 5 St. Vincent Circle, Suite 501, Little Rock 501-666-2894 HOSPITALS AND EMERGENCY ROOMS St. Vincent Infirmary Two St. Vincent Circle, Little Rock 501-552-3000 • 501-552-2680 ER St. Vincent North 2215 Wildwood Avenue, Sherwood 501-552-7100 • 501-552-7190 ER St. Vincent Morrilton 4 Hospital Drive, Morrilton 501-977-2300 • 501-977-2442 ER

1/18/12 1/18/123:14 PM

ARKANSAS’S SOURCE FOR NEWS, POLITICS & ENTERTAINMENT 201 East Markham Street 200 Heritage Center West P.O. Box 34010, Little Rock, Arkansas 72203 www.arktimes.com arktimes@arktimes.com @ArkTimes www.facebook.com/arkansastimes PUBLISHER Alan Leveritt EDITOR Lindsey Millar SENIOR EDITOR Max Brantley MANAGING EDITOR Leslie Newell Peacock CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Mara Leveritt ASSOCIATE EDITORS Cheree Franco, David Koon, Bob Lancaster, Doug Smith ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Robert Bell EDITORIAL ART DIRECTOR Kai Caddy

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VOLUME 38, NUMBER 23 ARKANSAS TIMES (ISSN 0164-6273) is published each week by Arkansas Times Limited Partnership, 201 East Markham Street, 200 Heritage Center West, P.O. Box 34010, Little Rock, Arkansas, 72203, phone (501) 375-2985. Periodical postage paid at Little Rock, Arkansas, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ARKANSAS TIMES, P.O. Box 34010, Little Rock, AR, 72203. 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.

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FEBRUARY 8, 2012

COMMENT

Why oppose veterans? I rarely find my politics aligned with his on national matters, but I’m finding myself following Max Brantley’s columns much more closely when it comes to local matters. I recently decided to begin writing various organizations and representatives both local and federal in order to determine why the veteran center is opposed. As a veteran and a proud Little Rock native/resident, I cannot fathom why this center is meeting resistance beyond the residents of the neighborhood. I am currently working overseas and have kept up with this issue through your publication since there have been few articles from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and even then it was beyond the pay wall. I appreciate your future coverage of this matter and any updates, and hopefully I’ll receive more than a form letter back from the mayor and Congressman Griffin. Brandon Mazander Little Rock

Wants in on bet This morning I was catching up on my reading while getting old newspapers ready for recycling, and I came across Judge Billy Roy Wilson’s letter in the Jan. 18 issue about the Democrat-Gazette’s repeated misstatement that in 1957 Judge Ronald Davies ordered Gov. Faubus to remove the National Guard from Central High. Faubus removed the troops, leaving the students unprotected, but as Judge Wilson correctly states, Judge Davies did not order the troops removed but simply and correctly ordered Faubus to quit using the troops to block the entrance of the black students. During the commemoration of the events of 1957 and after, I became so frustrated with that repeated inaccuracy that I obtained a copy of the order — not a transcription of the order but the order itself. I wrote a letter to the editor of the Democrat-Gazette in which I pointed out the inaccuracy. A woman on the op-ed staff was very helpful in getting the letter published. In fact, she offered suggestions for me to make some minor changes in the letter to make what I said unexceptionable. I’m not offering to eat any hay — alfalfa or any other type — but I will take a drink of the Scotch (it sounds like good stuff) if the judge collects on his proposed bet. Patrick J. Goss Little Rock

Applauds Internet program After serving for almost 24 years as a member of the board of directors of the Little Rock School District, I recently retired. During those years, I witnessed and supported many changes that took 4

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

place in our schools. Many of them were progressive changes that had a positive impact on our students. I read your column regarding Comcast’s Internet Essentials (Media, Feb. 1), a program to provide Internet accessibility to many families (especially children from low-income families) in our community who could benefit from the service. Prior to this program, the Little Rock School District developed a program called “Computers for Kids.” Computers are available to students who attend our schools and their families. These computers are collected from schools that were getting replace-

ments and from other sources in our community. The businesses and citizens in the community paid a small price for the computers for the students. Additionally, the students in the Computer Repair and Maintenance Class at Metropolitan Vocational and Technical School (in the Little Rock School District) repaired the computers before students received them. However, the students did not have access to the Internet for research and other academic activities. Parents did not have access to the Internet to go on Edline to maintain consistent communication with their students’ teachers. Using Edline,

FEBRUARY 1 FEBRUARY 1 FEBRUARY 6 Noon - 1:00 p.m.

Distinctive Discussion: Know Your History, Predict Your Future

6:00 p.m.

Film: To Kill a Mockingbird

Noon - 1:00 p.m.

Distinctive Discussion: I’m Gettin’ Paper: A Reality Perspective of Your Future Life

FEBRUARY 15 FEBRUARY 22 FEBRUARY 23 7:00 p.m.

6:00 p.m.

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Film: Do the Right Thing

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Noon - 1:00 p.m.

Distinctive Discussion: “The Color Variable”

All events held in the UALR Donaghey Student Center Ledbetter Hall

Black History Month keynote speaker

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You are invited to hear actor, and author Hill Harper discuss Black History within today’s society. Mr. Harper is an alumnus of Harvard Law School, and is best known for his portrayal of Dr. Sheldon Hawkes on the hit CBS television series CSI: NY. Seating is Limited. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

they can review their children’s records to determine their grades, assignments they did not submit, their performance on tests, their class attendance and behavior, and any other questions or concerns they may have. They can also make appointments for parent-teacher conferences. Therefore, when I heard about the Internet Essentials Program sponsored by Comcast, I was excited because it solved a problem the school district was unable to address. I was attending a CUBE (Council of Urban Boards of Education) when I first learned of its sponsorship. When I arrived back home, I checked it out. It is working well in our school district because we give the students the computers, and the parents only have to pay $9.99 per month for the Internet service. There is an effort to make it more public, but many families in our district are aware of the service. I feel it is a small investment for parents to receive such a beneficial service. I plan to appear before the board during citizens’ comments and request that our school district make sure parents are informed about Internet Essentials. It is certainly an answer to the problem. Katherine Phillips Mitchell Little Rock

From the web In response to the Feb. 1 article “The history of the sit-in movement in Little Rock”: Takes me back. From 1957 to 1961 my husband ran a five and dime in Poplar Bluff. It was the farthest South we had ever been, and on our initial visit with the pastor, Bill asked about racial relations. “It’s nothing,” Monsignor said. “They live on their side of town, we live on ours.” Bill did not know how to respond and did not. Eventually sit-ins came. The newspaper called the office and asked if Newberry’s would serve “negros.” The head cashier answered, “No.” The next day’s headline shouted, “Woolworth’s will. Newberry’s won’t.” Later, half the stools at the counter were filled by blacks. They were served. But the staff was not as accepting as the manager. They filed the unwashed dishes in the trash. For us it was a major embarrassment, and a knock on Bill’s management skills that cost us personally — his contract was based on profits. We were in our mid-20s and had four kids going on five. Our gross income was $6,000 a year. Verla Sweere

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.

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FEBRUARY 8, 2012

EDITORIAL

Facing up

t’s hard to criticize Sen. John Boozman for supporting congressional term limits, when he is himself walking proof that some people don’t belong in public office. But having criticized the senator when it was easy, which is most of the time, we won’t shrink from the more difficult task. The solution for senators like Boozman is, ideally, for the people not to elect them in the first place, and, if they somehow slip in, for the people to remove them at the next election. The solution is not to restrict the people’s right to choose their own leaders and to keep them as long as they want. The people are supposed to rule here; that’s pretty much what the country is about. Boozman voted for a congressional term-limits proposal before the Senate last week. It was defeated, with the help of Mark Pryor, Arkansas’s senior and more thoughtful senator. Corporations like term limits, and Teabaggers like term limits, and for the same reason. They know their agents will have a better chance to be elected when the more competent candidates, the choice of the majority, are declared ineligible. The corporations do not follow the term-limit concept internally. They hang on to the diligent and productive employees, and get rid of the others. Voters deserve the freedom to do likewise.

Stop the carnage

otor vehicles are useful tools when they’re delivering smallpox serum to isolated rural hospitals, or rushing careless bridegrooms to the church before the ceremony is canceled. They are less beneficial when they’re crashing into pedestrians and bicyclists. A Metroplan study of traffic accidents involving walkers and pedalers in Central Arkansas has identified the most dangerous intersections and roadways. Many of these are in downtown Little Rock, which means they’re near the Arkansas Times offices. Times staffers have grown familiar with the sounds of squealing brakes, violent impacts, sirens, groans, and bitter commentary from downtowners who’ve seen it all before. “Why don’t they put cameras at these intersections?” a witness will cry. “They do that in other cities, and the cameras discourage the red-light runners who cause accidents!” “Little Rock city officials considered cameras,” an informed citizen will respond, “but a state law was passed prohibiting cameras! It was sponsored by Sen. Jimmy Jeffress, who’s from a South Arkansas town so small it doesn’t even have stoplights! The anti-cyclist, anti-pedestrian lobby owns the Arkansas legislature!” (“In partnership with the National Rifle Association!”) Overwrought? Perhaps so, with all those exclamation points. But a change of heart by the legislature is surely needed. Concerned citizens should contact their legislators, and advise them that even the lives of people who don’t drive expensive, legislator-like vehicles are worth saving. Make sure they understand.

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

PAUL BARROWS

EYE ON ARKANSAS

BERRY BUFFET: A flock of waxwings enjoys berries in a Little Rock yard. Paul Barrows submitted this photo to the Times’ Eye On Arkansas Flickr webpage.

Hope and change

ast week brought some hopeful developments on the political front in a state that Gallup says has risen to be the sixth most-conservative in the country. Young, progressive, good-government minded people told me about plans to take action to prevent Arkansas from turning into another Mississippi, Alabama or South Carolina. Some details:

REGNANT POPULUS 2012: This is a new ballot question committee that hopes to use social media to build a grassroots network to gather sufficient signatures at the May primary election to put an ethics initiative on the November ballot. Paul Spencer, a high school teacher, is among the core founders of the group, some of whom spent time with Occupy Little Rock but ached to do something specific and concrete. What better than to battle the poisonous influence of money and corporate influence peddling on the local level. The proposed initiative is in draft form. The major thrusts: 1) A so-called “Walmart rule.” As with a rule governing the Arkansas retailer’s employees, elected officials in Arkansas would be prohibited from accepting gifts of any value — drinks, steaks, trips, gewgaws — from people attempting to influence government action. Free swill buys votes. Time to stop it. 2) There’d be a five-year, rather than one-year, cooling off period before a legislator could become a lobbyist. No golden parachutes could be easily arranged while still representing the public. 3) Arkansas campaign finance law would be reshaped to conform to federal campaign finance law. This would end corporate contributions to political candidates. 4) The initiative would be styled as a non-binding vote of opposition to the Citizens United ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has already unleashed a flood of mostly anonymous corporate spending in the election process. If Regnat Populus can get this measure on the ballot, it’s hard to see how it could be beaten. Talking points

will be hard for the Chamber of Commerce to come by, except the bogus complaint that money is speech and those whose wallets are fatter should have more. This would end no one’s speech. It would simply end the ability of some to buy more access than others. Care to pitch in? Write regnatpopuluscfr@gmail.com NATURALLY BLUE PAC: A news conference is scheduled the day after we go to press by MAX a group of young Democrats BRANTLEY maxbrantley@arktimes.com who’ve decided not to sit idly and watch Arkansas turn red. They’ve formed a new PAC that also will focus on a grassroots network of people with similar political outlooks. Participants include people who worked in the Obama social media war rooms and others who simply have grown up with computer networking part of their intuitive understanding. They hope to raise a modest amount of cash for legislative races this year and between that and networking make a difference, particularly in Northwest Arkansas. Taking a page from Karl Rove — who always believed in attacking Democratic strengths head-on — they say the Democratic Party has made a mistake in writing off the heavily Republican Northwest corner of the state. The population, even when it goes Republican, can produce a big Democratic vote for statewide candidates. With stronger local candidates, enough enthusiasm might be mustered to give statewide candidates the margin they need to win overall. Newcomers, a rising percentage of young people and the growing Latino population also figure into the Naturally Blue game plan for Northwest Arkansas. Republicans will scoff at this modest beginning. Let’s hope their overconfidence contributes to Naturally Blue’s success. Check them at wearenaturallyblue.com.

OPINION

No Gingrich, no scorched earth

t is beginning to look like we will not have in 2012 one of those rare presidential races where the icons of the great tectonic movements in politics face off at Armageddon. That would be a race between President Obama and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the architect of national paralysis. William Jennings Bryan and William Howard Taft gave the country such a race in 1896, and Barry Goldwater and Lyndon B. Johnson another but lesser one in 1964. It is time for another although it is not clear whether for the country it would be a blessing or a curse. The record is mixed. Bryan, the great Christian commoner, cast out the bourbons who had led the Democratic Party since before the Civil War and led workers, dirt farmers and the downtrodden against the elites of business, agriculture, the professions and the goldbugs of finance, represented by McKinley. The Republicans would control the White House and Congress for all but eight of the next 36 years, and after Bryan’s defeats politics would always thereafter be waged

inside the confines of capitalist ardor, even during the era of Roosevelt and Truman. Goldwater ERNEST and Johnson repDUMAS resented polar extremes, pure laissez-faire conservatism and government activism. Johnson’s lopsided victory produced the greatest advances in the liberal democratic tradition since Roosevelt’s first term. Gingrich, like Obama, casts himself as a transformational figure — Gingrich with better cause. He really did recast American politics in the half-dozen years leading up to his four years as the boss of a Republican House before his party exiled him in 1998. Gingrich brought the scorched-earth strategy to Washington politics, and the changes he wrought in how Republicans conducted campaigns spread across the country and down to courthouse and ward elections. He said if the Republicans were going to take over they had to be ruthless. Democrats were not to be treated

Arkansas’s great failures

rkansas has long been a nucleus for both industry and innovators. Despite our modest population, we have produced some of the most renowned businesses, brands, and entrepreneurs the world now knows. But history is written by the victors. Few people talk about the ideas and inventors that never quite took hold in (or outside) the Natural State. What follows is a complete list. (Thanks to Will Churchill, Kelsie Craig, Beau Wilcox and Matt Baker for their revisions and additions.) “Pits Deodorant.” A Russellville inventor bankrupted himself and his family by creating this delightful peach-scented roll-on by fatefully marketing it entirely around the “pit.” “Beyond Crab Rangoon.” This South Asian restaurant was universally reviewed as impeccable, but, like so many things, suffered the fate of being in Cabot. “That-Burping-Up-Sausage-Taste-InA-Biscuit.” A hapless side effect of a late ’70s artificial flavors craze at a Paragould baked goods company. “Olive Garden’s ‘Never Ending Side of Sour Cream.’ ” Under pretense of supposed value, local franchise attempts

“endless supply” ploy of cheap, unpopular condiment. “Polio.” In blind taste tests, this GRAHAM lemon-flavored GORDY soda was chosen 4-to-1 over both Sprite and 7-Up, yet only sold one six-pack to a man in Bixby, Okla. (No record exists for why they chose the name and calls were not returned.) “Chicken Soup for the Stomach.” Floundering attempt to piggyback on early ’90s self-help trend with repackaged cans of Campbell’s just too literal for targeted consumers. “Just For Pubes Shampoo (AKA Shampube).” This White County product is self-explanatory, as is its failure. “Jeff Leppard.” Little Rock drummer Jeff Bagwell started first-ever Def Leppard tribute band, but distressed prospective fans when he cut off his own left arm for authenticity. “Tweaker.” Social media platform devised by Madison County man known simply as Roy Dog. The idea was to express rapid and powerful thoughts in 140,000 characters or less.

as political adversaries but as enemies of the United States and of “normal people.” Video and audio tapes and campaign booklets went out to Republican candidates everywhere about how to wage campaigns. “Language matters,” Gingrich’s tapes said. Candidates should learn to “speak like Newt.” There were words, tested by focus groups, that they should use against Democratic opponents, whoever they were, because the words always aroused strong emotions, the principal one being hatred. They were to memorize and use words like traitor, corrupt, radical, socialist, failure, destructive, decay, incompetent, disgraceful, criminal, cheat, steal, shame, bosses, abuse of power and pathetic. Gingrich had used such words in the House and brought down the Democratic speaker, Texan Jim Wright. And they proved increasingly effective as acolytes used them and the other Gopac strategies to get elected. The big one was the campaign of 1994, when Gingrich led the Republicans to a takeover of the U.S. House, which then installed him as speaker. Washington changed dramatically in that decade and it has never looked back. Civility and cooperation, the latter rarely in great supply, disappeared. The new toxic climate drove a few men — Arkansas

Sens. David Pryor and Dale Bumpers, for example — to retire from office. Bob Michel, the gallant Republican leader of the 1980s, was forced out by Gingrich. Michel, now 88, recalled the other day that he had advised Gingrich he should not treat Democrats as enemies but as political adversaries only with different and worse ideas. The war mentality will turn around to bite you someday, he told Gingrich. Sure enough, Democrats launched ethics charges against him in abundance, which ended with the House, in a bipartisan vote, fining and rebuking him, the only time in history a House speaker has been reprimanded. Mickey Edwards, the former Republican congressman from Oklahoma who enjoyed a leadership role with Gingrich, explained Gingrich’s legacy last month. “Government is dysfunctional because the presidency and Congress no longer have the ability to compromise, and I put Newt at the heart of that,” Edwards said. Part of that is Gingrich’s policy, now that of his party, of calling Democrats unpatriotic, people who are out to do in the United States. It might be cleansing to have a presidential election fought out on the terms of the Gingrich/Republican philosophy. I think it would turn out all right, but it’s better that we don’t find out.

“Guitars and Cadillacs.” This Dwight Yoakam-themed Hot Springs restaurant failed for myriad reasons, not the least of which was that the wait staff was comprised of thin, balding, middle-aged men in blood-pressure-cuff-tight Wranglers with bulging goobers. “Fish N Hips.” The seamless synergy of catfish buffet and exotic dance club went wrong when hot grease met acrylic heels. Batesville residents left wanting. “Taipai Personality.” Despite delicious Taiwanese dishes, this all-hours Fort Smith restaurant closed within a month due to its overbearing and controlling staff. “Meat Coaster.” A Dardanelle man received three years probation when Kirkland’s employees contracted hepatitis from contact with these kitschy drink caddies (which were later determined to be nothing more than fossilized Petit Jean-brand bologna). “Larry’s Tijuana Hunan.” This doublebarreled Chinese/Mexican Texarkana buffet received the Arkansas Health Department’s first-ever “Death Penalty” when their inflatable jump castle became an unintended vomitorium. “DeSoto Adventures.” Dotcom millionaire and amateur historian Noel Buffton offered eco-tours to “capture the spirit of the conquistadors.” Under Buff-

ton’s lead, tourists trekked through the lowland swamps of St. Francis, Lee and Phillips counties with several hundred pigs and cattle in tow searching for “El Dorado.” Just when it looked like Buffton’s project might prevail, he was sued by the real city of El Dorado, came down with a severe fever, became delirious and jumped into Lake Chicot wearing heavy leather garments and his morion. “Murray Lock and DAMN! Water Park” Joint venture between foreign investors and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to turn a piece of our aging infrastructure into a profit generator. Over fears of turning swimmers into catfish chum, project managers became so focused on safety measures that they neglected to make it fun. As one parkgoer said before its close: “Slide don’t work.” “Graham Gordy.” As an author, his first book, entitled “101 Winning Ways at Blackjack,” sold over 100,000 copies before being banned for explicit language and unnecessary pornographic content. His next book, entitled “My First Book,” was a financial and critical failure which spurred him to write his next book, “No, This Is Really My First Book.” Again a financial and critical failure, it was reissued under the title, “My Last Book.” www.arktimes.com

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

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ARKANSAS TIMES

nother week by, another week closer to what may be one of the great statistical oddities of modern Razorback basketball. Or at least it rivals Rickey Scott hitting three of his first 34 long-range attempts this year, then making six of 10 in a span of six days. Arkansas is now 16-0 inside Bud Walton Arena after putting together a perfectly tuned 82-74 win over a strong Vanderbilt team on January 31. The Hogs are now 0-7 when they dare breach the outer rim of that Fortress of Solitude, having been victimized by 12 blocked shots and 19 team turnovers in a loss at Baton Rouge on Saturday. The Jekyll-Hyde duality is common on the lips of broadcasters who chronicle the action when this team plays. Even a rube like Joe Dean Jr., who gratingly and frequently described the backboard as the “banking board” during the latest road lapse against LSU, ceased his pernicious treatment of color commentary long enough to acknowledge the strange dichotomy. It’s not entirely accurate, however, to pin the convenient “road woes” tag on this team. Do they play poorly away from home? Sure. But the Hogs have also not been unassailable in Fayetteville, and have in fact shown that they are capable of better results on the road. The Razorbacks put up a competent effort in Tuscaloosa on January 28, but Alabama scored 18 of the game’s final 28 points to win by six. The Hogs got 30 points from starting sophomore guards Scott and Mardracus Wade, and freshman BJ Young had an 11-point, sixrebound, four-steal showing in relief. They hit six three-pointers, made 71 percent of their free throws and had a modest +1 turnover margin. By no means was it a commanding effort, but it didn’t reach Good-God-Almighty-flip-it-overto-“American Pickers” level, either. That distinction would go to the Razorbacks’ performance of three days prior, in which they clanged 23 of 27 total shots in the first half and ended up with a garish field goal percentage of 35.2 for the game. Not a single Razorback made half of his shots from the floor. How’d they fare on the boards, you ask? Well, they were -13 in that category in spite of all the wayward shots. The Hogs defeated Auburn, 56-53. Go figure, huh? It oversimplifies matters to reduce this to a common thesis about home ver-

sus road. Arkansas has certainly demonstrated a degree of comfort at playing on campus, as should be BEAU expected from a WILCOX young team. This was a priority entry on Anderson’s rather copious to-do list, and what the first-year coach has done to effect this sea change is nothing short of remarkable given that utter lack of personnel and experience. Keep in mind, during John Pelphrey’s ill-fated final two years here, the Hogs lost a whopping 12 games in Bud Walton, to say nothing of the team’s customarily paltry effort on the road. Home feels like home again, even when the Razorbacks’ edge is missing during a mid-week game against a lower-tier conference foe like Auburn, and that’s why Arkansas can win games on the strength of defense and transition offense alone when nothing else is clicking. Of course, when Jeff Long met with Anderson, I am sure the conversation went like this: “Mike, we want you to come back home because we need you to capture that mystique that Bud Walton used to have. Also, while you are at it, we play pretty terrible ball on the road, so could you fix that as well? If you can just do those two things, clean up all the disciplinary stuff and go find four-star talent, we should be good. Yeah. That’s really all we’re looking for.” So while one wound is healing fast, a slew remain. In the Hogs’ defense, and it does merit repeating, there’s a bit of a credibility problem with the winless road record, namely the fact that Marshawn Powell’s presence may have well spelled the difference in three or four of these defeats. In the losses at Alabama, Ole Miss and LSU (and earlier in the season, against Connecticut), Arkansas sorely needed an injection of offense at critical junctures. That is Powell’s forte. It’s my hope this column is rendered moot by the time you read it. Arkansas gets another shot to shed the goose egg Wednesday at Georgia, which again finds itself trying to dig out of the rubble at 1-7 in league play. The Hogs have had a hellish recent history even against Georgia’s worst teams. If they are able to cast aside psychological hurdles for a night, the schedule ahead is favorable enough for Anderson’s first year to be regarded an unqualified success.

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“Mitt Romney Glittered at Minnesota Rally” When I saw the headline, I thought the candidate must have been at the top of his game in Minnesota, showing off the charm and wit that have caused The Onion to declare “Mittomania is sweeping the nation.” But no. It turned out someone at the rally had thrown glittery confetti on him, and not in a friendly fashion. I’d never seen glitter used this way. Neither has the online Merriam-Webster, which says the verb glitter means “to shine by reflection with many small flashes of brilliant light”; “to shine with strong emotion,” and “to be brilliantly attractive, lavish or spectacular.” However, M-W does list for the noun glitter, “small glittering objects used for ornamentation.” Nouns sometimes get verbed, like it or not. A recent newspaper item mentioned a man who was arrested at the airport after he forced his way through “an alarmed door.” If the door was spooked, what were the passengers like? In this case, the door was not itself frightened, it was equipped with an alarm. “Equally he resisted a movement inspired by the Evangelicals to enforce

the suppression of the slave trade more rigorously. ‘It is impossible,’ he remarked, ‘not to feel and to DOUG expect that reliSMITH dougsmith@arktimes.com gion, morality, law, eloquence, cruisers, will all be ineffectual when opposed to a profit of a cent per cent and more.’ ” A cent per cent is another usage new to me, and to most Americans, I suspect. But it’s found in British English, where it means “100 percent.” The passage I quoted was from a book by a British author, published in 1940. Modest research suggests that cent per cent is uncommon even in Britain today, but is still used in India and Pakistan, once under British rule. An on-line commentator explains: “The meaning of ‘per cent’ is ‘per 100,’ the ‘cent’ part meaning ‘100.’ Thus, a direct but incorrect translation of ‘100 per 100’ would be ‘cent per cent,’ but native speakers of American English never use ‘cent’ to mean ‘100.’ In the USA, ‘cent’ is used most commonly and almost exclusively to mean ‘penny,’ the smallest denomination of coinage, meaning 1/100th of a dollar.”

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PUBLIC HYPOCRISY. Sen. Bruce “Fireball” Holland (R-Greenwood), who once led a Perry County deputy in a highspeed chase across two counties, served as the guest of honor at Mansfield High School in Fort Smith for a ceremony awarding a grant for safe driving. CRUSHED HOPES RIDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF A TEEN-AGER. The latest phenom on whom the Hog faithful had invested dreams of pigskin paradise — Dorial Green-Beckham of Springfield, Mo. — announced he’ll take his football receiving talents to his home state’s University of Missouri.

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A NEW LOW. The Democrat-Gazette editorial page hit a new low Tuesday in its opposition to an expanded veterans service center on Main Street. It compared the Department of Veterans Affairs with an authoritarian Germany and parroted Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola’s characterization of the move as an “idiotic idea,” considering it would be across the street from a liquor store and on Main Street just as it’s “getting its groove back.” Take a visit to the deplorable location on Confederate Boulevard that Stodola and the D-G seem to think is just a fine place to dump the veterans and remember them and U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin when they trot out the tear-stained tributes to troops on Memorial Day.

It was a bad week for… REP. JOHN BURRIS. Already on record supporting a statement Mitt Romney has repudiated — about lack of concern for the very poor because of their “safety net” — the Republican minority leader doubled down, telling Talk Business, “We’ve got to change the way we do business in Arkansas. The real problem, the real solution to get people off Medicaid rolls is to give them a job, make them able to self-sustain themselves without government assistance.” Never mind that most Medicaid recipients are nursing home residents, the disabled and children. REP. JUSTIN HARRIS. The West Fork state representative and owner of the Growing God’s Kingdom preschool, which receives hundreds of thousands of dollars from the state through the Arkansas Better Chance program, said he wants his colleagues in the legislature to block a proposed Department of Human Services rule that disallows religious activity during the day at organizations that receive ABC funds. GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY IN ARKANSAS. Governing magazine, in reporting that federal stimulus programs have generally resulted in improved access to government spending data, includes a nationwide rating on online access to state spending that gives Arkansas and six other states a big fat F. Arkansas passed an “online checkbook” law in 2011. It is scheduled to go online July 1.

THE OBSERVER NOTES ON THE PASSING SCENE

Iguana blood THE OBSERVER HAD the bright idea

recently to take our beloved to a popular local eatery for a “let someone else cook” night out. After a longer than usual wait, we were seated at a table in clear view of a large, attractive fish tank filled with colorful tropical fish. We ordered, then waited, and waited, and waited. Eventually, our young and enthusiastic waiter came back to the table, apparently even embarrassed himself at the length of our time in Slow Kitchen Purgatory, and began to make small talk. In an attempt to help the lengthy wait for our food pass quickly, our dutiful waiter offered, jokingly, to fry up the fish of our choice from the tank for an appetizer, to our squeamish partner’s polite refusal. It’s important to note here that The Observer’s lovely bride can be grossed out to the point of not being able to eat by a steak that’s a little pink. The offer of a tropical fish fry turned down, our waiter — a native of coastal Mexico — soon launched into reminiscence about one of the delicacies of his homeland: the black iguana. He was not talking about the green ones that people make pets out of, mind you. No, sir! He made great pains to help us understand that. No, he was referring to the BLACK iguana, which apparently makes a lovely soup. First, though, you have to cut the head off the beast and hold the body over a glass to catch the blood, which must be immediately drunk while still warm. It’s good for your eyesight, you know. It’s funny that he mentioned eyesight, because staring across the table at our steadily-more-green bride was like watching a terrible and bloody accident unfold before our eyes. Eventually, thank God, our food came. Do we have to explain why the filled to-go containers are still in the fridge? THE OBSERVER WAS SITTING in the

back room of our little house on Maple Street the other day, the sunny room where we keep the computer, when we heard a tapping. It was raining outside, one of the damp-wool-overcoat days

we seem to have had a lot of recently, in lieu of an actual winter. Because we’d do nothing but look out the window all day if the computer faced the backyard, it’s instead situated to face a blank wall. Tap, tap, tap. We paused for a second, decided we’d imagined it, then continued on with our own tapping at the keyboard. Tap, tap, tap. We turned, and looked for the source of the tapping, this rapping at our chamber window. Only then did we see the little brown bird on the sill outside. He had a bit of green in his beak, and seemed to be staring at us intently — or with, at least, as much intent as his tiny bird brain could muster. As we watched, he cocked his head and pecked at the glass again: Tap, tap, tap. We rose from our chair and then stood there staring at him. Having suitably caught our attention, he fluttered away. The Observer is not one to believe in omens — we’ve tried to leave behind the superstitions of our hillbilly and flatland forebears as much as we dare. Still, all those candlelit, pre-penicillin fears came flooding back and manifested as a weight in the pit of our stomach: a bird, trying to get in the house. Where we’re from, that ain’t good. It ain’t the worst, but it’s close. No believer in hoodoo is we, but we must admit that we texted Spouse then, inquiring after her, imploring her to be careful in the rain. After she had given us proof of life with a response, we sat there with the phone in hand, smiling and ashamed at our stupid dread. We are all slaves to the soup of fears poured into our heads from birth — all of us waiting for the other shoe to drop, all of us looking for the omen that will let us know when the world is going to turn upside down. Eventually, it’s bound to, but The Observer learned a long time ago that you can’t live with one ear always cocked to the wind. Birds do as birds will, and there’s not a damn thing you can do to change that. Best not to dwell on it, and hope for the best.

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FEBRUARY 8, 2012

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Bobby Roberts, director of the Central Arkansas Library System, promised openness about the details of the campaign for a library propertytax proposal on the ballot March 13. The library proposes to reduce a one mill tax to .9-mill, but extend it for five years to refinance bonds at a lower interest rate and raise $19 million for more materials and construction projects including branch libraries and archive space. We asked about transparency because of Times’ columnist Max Brantley’s crusade for detailed reporting of expenses on issue campaigns. The state Ethics Commission ruled recently that, while it wasn’t happy with the circumstances, state law didn’t require the city of Little Rock sales tax campaigners to disclose more than the checks it had written to the Markham Group, a political consulting firm. How the Markham Group spent that money could be kept secret. The Ethics Commission will seek a law clarification. In the meanwhile, we’re asking groups seeking tax increases to voluntarily commit to reveal how campaign money is spent. Said Roberts, who’ll be using Mary Dillard as a political consultant, as he has before: “I agree with you about the reporting and we will itemize how the money is spent in the report. In our case the Coalition does not pay very much through Mary. That is we pay directly to the vendor supplying the services so almost all of the coalition’s expenditures will show in the report. Most goes for printing and mailing.” Pulaski Tech, which is planning a summer property tax election, is going to discuss hiring a political consultant this week. The Times has called on Tech to promise full disclosure in its campaign. The Markham Group, which told the Ethics Commission such transparency would require it to disclose proprietary information (though none was identified), was among those Tech planned to talk with.

Legislator gets new job State Rep. Kathy Webb of Little Rock, who’ll be term limited at the end of 2012, has a new job to keep her busy when legislating is done. She was hired this week as executive director of the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, essentially a trade association for a group of agencies and food banks that work to alleviate hunger. She won’t take the job until March 15, by which time the fiscal session of the legislature will be over. CONTINUED ON PAGE 13 12

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

Nightmare on 21st Street

is constructed of steel and tightly fitted, utility costs aren’t expected to top $100 a month. The DLRCDC’s Grummer said the agency intentionally builds higherend houses — those over $100,000 — to lift the neighborhood. Abrams has prayed over the house. Her teen-aged daughter and the niece she’s Bank denies loan for container house. raising have been eager to move into the house. She started packing her apartment BY LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK at the first of January. On Jan. 18, just as she thought everything was taken care of, she alarie Abrams appeared on got an e-mail from NACA: the cover of the Arkansas “Good Afternoon! After receipt Times last March, standof the third appraisal on this proping on the empty lot on 21st Street where her new home was to be erty, Bank of America has declined built, a big smile on her face. The the loan due to the property being article was about the rise of the unusual, therefore being unacceptPettaway neighborhood east of able. Bank of America would be Main Street, which had suffered happy to finance another home for blows from gangs in the 1980s and you, but it has to be on the accepta tornado in the ’90s, thanks to efable property list. Please advise forts of the Downtown Little Rock how I can assist you in moving forward.” It was signed by the Community Development Corp. Abrams was in line to get her first NACA agent assigned to Abrams. house, which would also be Little “I am devastated,” Abrams, 52, said Rock’s first home constructed from on Feb. 1. The NACA arrangement with steel cargo containers, a green idea trending in new construction. Bank of America would have She’d signed a contract with the allowed Abrams to use a federal DLRCDC to buy the house a year HOME grant administered by the ONE YEAR LATER: Abrams holds Times issue about previously and was anxious to see city to buy down the interest on the the house. the house go up. $120,000 home, reducing it to an gages on other new homes in Pettaway, But a couple of weeks ago, Bank of affordable .125 percent. including two that would also be considAmerica decided not to loan Abrams the The Bank of the Ozarks has offered to ered unusual — modern one-story homes money she needs to buy the $120,000 work with the LRCDC to offer Abrams a designed by the University of Arkansas house. It’s not because she can’t afford it conventional loan, and would allow her to School of Architecture’s Design Build — she’s qualified through the Neighborbuy down the principal, but her monthly house payment would increase by about program, the first at 1519 Commerce St., hood Assistance Corp. of America, which $100. “I can’t afford that, and it’s not fair,” an 1,100-square-foot home that sold for works with Bank of America. It’s because, $109,000, and the second at 1805 Comthe bank has informed NACA, the home she said. Though the bank seemed to think is too “unusual” to accurately appraise. merce. she could handle the higher monthly payAbrams, 52, an administrative assisAccording to a spokesman in the Little ment — about $680 — Abrams laughed tant at General Mechanical Contractors, Rock office of NACA, it’s the first time and said, “That’s the devil’s number.” signed a contract with the DLRCDC for Abrams hasn’t given up entirely. The Bank of America has declined to finance a the 1,250-square-foot house April 30, 2010. home in the NACA program in Little Rock, DLRCDC’s Grummer has written NACA She has jumped through every financial which began six years ago here. that he doesn’t agree with Bank of Amerhoop NACA has required, including takica’s stand, and said that FHA loans, for Not only could Abrams lose out, but ing a course in home ownership and havexample, do not treat modular homes — redevelopment in Pettaway, where a ing her bank statements scrutinized every dozen homes have been built or remodwhich the container house is — differently month. The three-bedroom, two-bath eled over the past few years, could be from stick-built. The home “falls in line with everything else we have done, from home has been fitted with a gleaming stalled. “When something like this happens, it throws a wrench in the process,” kitchen from IKEA — including a side-bystick-built, to insulated concrete form, to said Scott Grummer, DLRCDC director. side refrigerator — and bamboo flooring. structural insulated panel to stick-built Abrams chose the light fixtures and the The DLRCDC needs to sell the house modular and now modular container … all built for Abrams, at 421 E. 21st St., and the Revlon red paint on the living area wall. At having been financed by Bank of America her request, the wall was painted with a mirror-image container house next door, through NACA.” NACA has forwarded design that matches the blown-dandelion at 417 E. 21st, to fund its ongoing redevelmore information to the bank in the hope opment of the neighborhood. IKEA light fixture in the kitchen; the room that it will reverse its decision, Abrams is also lit by cable lights. Because the home Bank of America has financed mortsaid.

BRIAN CHILSON

Library promises openness

LISTEN UP

THE FUTURE BROADWAY BRIDGE?

THE

BIG PICTURE

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department has released preliminary design ideas for a replacement for the Broadway Bridge. Among other details, the Highway Department said its initial commitment of $45 million for the bridge will be increased to $58 million, based on preliminary engineering studies. Twin-tied arch and cable-stayed designs (the latter of which won favor in an unofficial bridge design contest that Metroplan sponsored) were also considered, but deemed more expensive or more time-consuming to build than the designs below. The existing bridge is safe and could be repaired, but highway officials have decided a wider span with better accommodations for pedestrians and bicyclists is preferable to continuing repair. The closure could last 18 months or more. See more images and find a link to make comment on the designs at arktimes.com/bridgeplans.

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INSIDER, CONT. As an advocate for hunger issues, it seems reasonable to expect to see Webb at the Capitol from time to time in the future. The 2011 legislature imposed a one-year waiting period on legislators before they could go to work as lobbyists, but the law exempted those currently serving if they did not run for re-election this year. Webb has volunteered for a number of hunger agencies in the past. She’s had a long career in the restaurant business, most recently as a co-owner of Lilly’s Dim Sum Then Some. She no longer is involved in that business.

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Scott Reed, the developer of K Lofts on 315 Main St., is still interested in purchasing buildings along Main Street — the Boyle Building, the M.M. Cohn Building, the Arkansas Building and an annex — for redevelopment as artists spaces and residences, he told the Times Tuesday. Reed was the subject of an online article Feb. 7 in Arkansas Business that reported that thousands of dollars in liens have been filed against his company for the K Lofts project and residential construction in downtown Little Rock. “We’ve spent a couple million of our own dollars [on renovations downtown] and then I get a front-page story on $70,000 in invoices we’re disputing. It’s shocking to me that that’s the story,” Reed said. The story also reported that Reed, who was both developer and contractor for the K Lofts project, is seeking to evict Porter’s Jazz Cafe, the sole tenant at 315 Main, for failure to pay rent. Owners of the jazz club did not return calls to the Times. Reed and family have returned to Portland, where Reed Realty has an office, but Reed said he is still working in Little Rock. Reed once offered to match a $150,000 Our Town grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts to the city last summer for a proposed “cultural corridor” between Third and Seventh streets along Main. He withdrew that support, he said, because he had a different vision for development. The grant was reduced to $75,000, with the city providing an in-kind match. The University of Arkansas’s Community Development Center and architect Marlon Blackwell are drawing up schematics for the “cultural corridor,” where the city hopes investors will restore historic buildings to offer space for performing and visual artists and affordable housing for artists. Tower Investments owns the buildings that Reed says he is interested in buying. www.arktimes.com

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

1-Up

Pioneering video game designer

Dani Bunten made innovations that still

echo through the multi-billion dollar gaming industry. The enduring legacy of one of Arkansas’s least-known geniuses. BY DAVID KOON

ORIGINS: Bunten, with three early games.

f you’ve never heard the names Dan Bunten or Dani Bunten Berry (the name Dan Bunten took following gender-reassignment surgery in November 1992, after which she added her mother’s maiden name), you can be forgiven. Though Dani Bunten is one of the most celebrated pioneers of the multi-billiondollar video game industry — a Little Rock designer whose theories about the social appeal and cultural promise of gaming have been proven correct again and again since her death in 1998 at just 49 years old — the American memory is particularly short when it comes to the medium of video games. While old films like “Casablanca” and “North by Northwest” will probably screen as long as mankind has access to electricity and a white wall to project them on, gamers’ respect for individual video games tends

to bloom and fade as quickly as young love. Other than a few beloved titles like the original Super Mario Brothers and Pac Man, video games usually fascinate the public imagination exactly as long as it takes for the next flashy system or groundbreaking title to come along. After that, most games quickly retreat to the bargain bin before disappearing down the memory hole, and usually take the names of their creators down the hole with them. It is a measure of Dani Bunten’s genius and enduring legacy, then, that Bunten is still considered something of a rock star among game designers and those interested in the history of games. For Bunten, an engineer who grew up loving family board games like Risk and Monopoly, the social aspect of gaming was the thing, as was the belief that a human opponent was always going to

“No one ever said on their deathbed, ‘Gee, I wish I had spent more time alone with my computer.’ ” — Dani Bunten

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

present more challenge and fun than even the best computer brain. That fueled Bunten’s passion for multiplayer games at a time when the technology for making multi-play happen was so primitive that almost no one else in the field saw a future in it. With the continued rise of the Internet and online gaming since Bunten’s death, however, that message looks more and more prophetic as the years go by, leading her to be more revered than ever in certain circles. Though 14 years (and several quantum leaps in graphics and gameplay) have passed since Bunten died, hundreds visit “The World of M.U.L.E.” webpage at worldofmule. net every week to discuss and reminisce about the most influential game created by Bunten’s Little Rock design house, Ozark Softscape. Vintage copies of Ozark Softscape games, even those for long-defunct systems, routinely sell for many times their original price on eBay. Celebrity game designer Will Wright dedicated “The Sims” — still the best selling PC game of all time — to Bunten. When PC World Magazine named the 10 greatest PC games ever in 2009, Ozark Softscape’s “M.U.L.E.” — which they called a “strategic masterpiece” — landed at number five. EA Games, the gaming goliath that Ozark

■■■

Softscape helped get off the ground with its groundbreaking outer-space-mining title “M.U.L.E.,” raked in $3.8 billion dollars last year, and today, Bunten is enshrined in almost every Hall of Fame and museum created so far to celebrate video game design, and won a 1998 Lifetime Achievement Award by The Computer Game Developers Association. She was posthumously inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts

and Sciences Hall of Fame 2007, and a permanent archive of her personal papers at the International Center for the History of Video Games resides at the Strong Museum in Rochester, N.Y. While selecting pronouns is difficult in any recounting of Dani Bunten’s story, Bunten throws a long shadow in the gaming world, and it’s getting longer every time a kid picks up a controller for the first time.

he list of video game firsts or nearfirsts that Dani Bunten managed to fit into one tragically abbreviated lifetime would still be impressive even if that life had been twice as long. Bunten’s first game, 1978’s “Wheeler Dealers,” was the first personal computer game that was packaged in a printed box, and one of the first — if not the first — computer games that allowed for more than two players (the game shipped with four custom-built controllers made from red wooden macrame beads with a single button glued into one end, which players used to make stockmarket-like trades while competing against one another). In a game development memoir on Bunten’s now-offline personal website, the designer said that a word processor program written to create the instruction manual for “Wheeler Dealers” came “within a hair’s breadth” of being chosen to be the “Apple Writer” software shipped with some of the first Apple computers (“Being rich was never my goal,” Bunten wrote of the near miss, “but it would have been nice <grin>.”) “Seven Cities of Gold,” an Ozark Softscape title produced for EA in 1984 that eventually became the best-selling CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

www.arktimes.com

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

game of Bunten’s career, was one of the first video games to take a stab at an “open world” concept, allowing players to explore a virtual continent and set their own path rather than follow a regimented series of events. That makes it one of the granddaddies of all modern free-roam games, including “World of Warcraft” and the “Grand Theft Auto” series. Based on the Spanish conquest of the New World, “Seven Cities of Gold” was also one of the first games based on historical events instead of a fantasy or science-fiction plot, which makes it a direct ancestor to every history-based game that has come since. As if that wasn’t plenty for one career, “Modem Wars,” released in 1988, at a time when modems were still exceedingly rare and data transfer painfully slow, is recognized as the first commercially-available video game that could be played by two players connected via phone lines and modems — making it the bedrock on which all online gaming is built. Jon-Paul Dyson is the director of the International Center for the History of Video Games at the Strong Museum. Dyson calls Bunten a pioneer, who realized the social potential of multiplayer gaming before almost anyone else in the

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

DIGITAL ART: Concept drawings for an Ozark Softscape title.

industry. “He really saw the computer as a means of bringing people together rather than isolating them,” Dyson said. “That very humanistic vision of what a computer game could be is what really sets him apart from his peers.” Like a lot of American visionaries, Dani Bunten’s legacy sprang from hum-

ble beginnings. Daniel Paul Bunten was born to a family of modest means in St. Louis in 1949, the eldest of six children. As a boy, Dan got a job as a local drugstore to help make his family’s ends meet, and worked as a part-time Scout master. Bunten would later tell James Hague, an interviewer for the book “The Hal-

cyon Days: Interviews with Classic Computer and Video Game Programmers,” that some of the happiest memories of his childhood were of playing board games around the family dinner table, a bright spot which sparked Bunten’s passion for multiplayer video games. “When I was a kid, the only times my family spent together that weren’t totally dysfunctional were when we were playing games,” he said. “Consequently, I believe games are a wonderful way to socialize.” Bunten’s family moved to Little Rock in 1965. After graduating from Catholic High, he went on to the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Always an outdoorsy type who loved hiking and biking, he opened a bicycle shop near campus called Highroller Cyclerie while pursuing a degree in Industrial Engineering. In college in the early 1970s, he became intensely interested in the burgeoning field of computers, and computer games in particular. After graduation, with the organized computer game industry still out on the horizon, he spent a few years doing mathematical modeling for the National Science Foundation before diving headfirst into life as a “lone wolf” game designer. CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

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His first game, “Wheeler Dealers,” a stock market simulation for four players produced by Canada’s Speakeasy Software, was introduced for the Apple II PC in 1978. While revolutionary both in packaging and gameplay, the complex controllers required meant the game sold for $35 at a time when most games went for $15, which is probably why it moved only 50 total copies. Three more games followed, all of them multiplayer and progressively more complicated, before Bunten was approached in 1982 by Trip Hawkins, who had recently founded a game publishing company called Electronic Arts. At the time, Hawkins was crisscrossing the country, seeking hotshot game design companies to help get EA off the ground, while pushing the idea of game developers as auteurs on the level of film directors or musicians. Susan Lee-Merrow was a producer at EA in the first years of the company. She said that in the beginning, the company promoted the first group of game designers hired as rock stars, creating packaging and ads that looked like album covers. A famous publicity shot of the Ozark Softscape team created for EA shows programmers Bill Bunten, Jim Rushing, Alan Watson and Dan Bunten lounging picturesquely on a bench with a dog while a hot blonde sips a drink nearby, the four looking decidedly more like Lynyrd Skynyrd than a bunch of game geeks. Lee-Merrow remembers Dani Bunten as a “good talker,” who was intensely interested in how people communicate and interact. She compares Bunten to the film director Steven Spielberg, in that both were about to create art that spans multiple genres. “Dani went across all genres,” Lee-Merrow said. “I think that was the real contribution. You never knew what you were going to get next, but it was all spectacular.” EA’s Trip Hawkins wanted to acquire the rights to an earlier Bunten game called “Cartels and Cutthroats,” but the publisher of that game, SSI, wouldn’t sell. Bunten — who by then had formed Ozark Softscape, headquartered in a rented house near Little Rock’s Broadmoor Lake — told Hawkins that it didn’t matter. He could make a better game, and could deliver it in less than a year. Called “Planet Pioneers” during development, that game would eventually become the classic cooperative/competitive multiplayer game “M.U.L.E.” The plot of the game is based on a scene in the classic science fiction novel “Time Enough for Love” by author

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

tion” game series, Meier met Bunten at a game developer conference in the 1980s, and they remained friends until Bunten’s death. Meier said that many in the industry thought Dan Bunten was crazy when he started talking about computer games that could be a social event for a family. “That was something kind of visionary of his: that he kind of saw the day when games wouldn’t just be for hardcore gamers,” Meier said. “People would play more casual games — people playing together, people playing on networks, people cooperating instead of being competitive. He kind of saw this evolution of gaming that was still pretty far off in the future.” When Meier spoke to the Arkansas Times about Bunten in January, he was doing research to prepare for a panel discussion at the annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco on the games that had most influenced Meier and other star designers. Meier said he would be speaking about Ozark Softscape’s “Seven Cities of Gold,” which he called “groundbreaking.” “His games had style,” Meier said. “There’s always the question of: Are computer games art, or are they technology? Are they team efforts, or do they represent one person’s vision? He kind of made the case that there was some art involved and a lot of creativity — that a game could reflect one person’s vision and ideas and personality.” Bunten and Ozark Softscape would go on to create three more games for EA, the last of which was 1988’s “Modem Wars,” followed by two modem games for publisher Microprose. However, Bunten never again found the sales success of “Seven Cities.”

BEFORE THE GAME: Bunten (above) in college, and (right) as a boy growing up in St. Louis.

Robert A. Heinlein, in which space prospectors employ cyborg mules as pack animals. The concept of “M.U.L.E.” is a kind of outer-space gold rush, set on the distant planet of Irata (Atari, spelled backwards). Players can bid on land at auction, gamble at a pub, hunt an elusive beast known as the Wampus, form alliances with or against other players, or harvest elements that can be used or sold (shades of “Minecraft” and “Farmville”) with the help of a cyborg M.U.L.E. — Multiple Use Labor Element (EA reportedly wanted to change the title to “Moguls from Mars,” but Bunten liked the title, the Ozark Softscape team stuck to their guns, and the game was eventually published with the acronym intact). While “M.U.L.E.” sold fairly well at around 30,000 copies (well enough, anyway, that when Arkansas Times reporter Mel White visited the Ozark Softscape offices for a cover story on the company in 1984, there was a gold disc on the wall signifying that the various versions of “M.U.L.E.” had made over $1 million in sales), it was Ozark Softscape’s next title, “Seven Cities of Gold” that pushed the company into the big leagues, selling five times that. Set in the 15th century, the game allows the player to explore the New World as a conquistador from Spain, trading with or raiding native villages, looking for treasure and lost cities, and generally being allowed to roam and explore what, for its day, was a fabulously rich and interactive world. In his interview for “The

■■■

Halcyon Days,” Bunten said that he’d long wanted to do a historically-based game, but the project only kicked into gear after he got lost while backpacking alone in the Ozarks. “In Arkansas, you’re never more than a day’s walk from a major road,” Bunten said. “However, it was still a very viscerally intense feeling — being lost in the woods. I wanted to capture that aspect of exploring.” “Seven Cities” has since gone on to be a favorite of many programmers, including celebrity designer Sid Meier. The creator of the long-running “Civiliza-

elanie Bunten Stark is Dan Bunten’s eldest child. Along with her two brothers, Daniel and Nicholas, she formed a company called MELDANNIC, LLC doing business as Ozark Softscape, which manages their father’s intellectual property and digital legacy. Bunten Stark remembers her father as a consummate geek and “free spirit,” who often went hiking in the woods with a walking stick in hand and a red bandana around his forehead — a man who “kind of lived on Dr. Pepper,” and often worked through the night on games so he’d have more time to share with his family during the day. “He was a family man, and then he

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was a game developer and they didn’t cross,” she said. “When he was Dad, he was Dad. The gaming didn’t come into it once that office door was shut.” Bunten Stark said her dad was one of the most unpretentious people she’s ever met, and never cared about keeping up appearances. She vividly recalls her continual embarrassment at being picked up at school by her father, who drove an old orange Volkswagen until it literally fell apart, then dashed the family’s high hopes for a more presentable car by replacing the wreck with a new Yugo. Though Bunten Stark said her father had ample opportunities to cash in during the early days of computers and game development, he never did. “He would never sell out,” she said. “Money was nowhere on the map ... it wasn’t about that for him. That, to me, is what people must see and respect about him.” After three divorces and several years considering his gender, Dan Bunten opted to have sex-reassignment surgery in 1992, a choice that seems to have put game development on the back burner during the final years of her life while she adjusted to a new existence as a

woman. A planned sequel to “M.U.L.E.,” called “Son of M.U.L.E.” fell through (over, Bunten said in an online game design memoir, EA’s insistence that the game include shooting and bombs), and Ozark Softscape and EA parted ways. A plan to transfer the original “M.U.L.E.” to the Sega Genesis console was scuttled, and Ozark Softscape closed soon after. Bunten worked for a year at Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s think tank, Interval Research, before beginning to develop games for online publisher MPath. Mpath would publish Bunten’s final game, “Warsport” in 1997. “I’m a little more than three years into my new life role as Ms. Danielle Berry,” she told James Hague for “The Halcyon Days,” “and her career looks to be somewhat different from old Mr. Dan Bunten’s. For one thing, I’m not as good a programmer as he was. I’m also not willing to sit for hours in front of a computer to make something that other people can use to socialize. I tend to need to socialize far more often than he did.” Emily Sneddon met Dani Bunten Berry after the gender-reassignment surgery, and they soon became fast CONTINUED ON PAGE 21

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friends. Sneddon recalls Dani Bunten as very intelligent, very lively, well read, and constantly working on several projects related to games. Sneddon said that several times while she was at Bunten’s home, the phone would ring, and it would be an admirer of one of the Ozark Softscape titles who had somehow tracked down Dani’s number. Dani, Sneddon said, never failed to have a friendly chat with those who called. “They were basically fans, calling her, saying ‘We’ve been playing your old version of ‘M.U.L.E.’ These were people who’d kept their old machines so they could still play her games,” Sneddon said. “She was always very gracious.” Dani Bunten was diagnosed with lung cancer around the time “Warsport” was published, likely due to years of heavy smoking. On Jan. 3, 1998, two months after being awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Computer Game Developers Association, largely estranged from her family over the decision to go through with gender-reassignment surgery, Dani Bunten died in a Little Rock hospice. Former EA producer Susan Lee-Merrow read a eulogy at Dani’s funeral, and said she was shocked by how many of those in attendance knew almost nothing at all about Dani’s life as a pioneering game designer. Dani Bunten’s obituary in the next day’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette was small, less than half a column, with no photo. While that short obit might have been it for most of us, the Internet has a funny way of awarding brilliant people an extra life. Dani Bunten has surely found the gamer’s coveted 1-up online. A Google search for “Dan Bunten” returns over 26,000 results, and another 9,000 pages reference “Dani Bunten Berry.” Planet M.U.L.E., a PC version of the game (available for download online at planetmule.com) developed and funded completely by an international admirer of the game, allows “M.U.L.E.” fans all over the globe to team up and compete. The site has over 24,000 registered members, and offers an official M.U.L.E. T-shirt for sale. People have posted loving video walk-throughs of “M.U.L.E.” and “Seven Cities of Gold” on YouTube, and there are tributes, memorials and fan pages set up to Dani Bunten and the games of Ozark Softscape all over the Internet, hosted in countries from Australia to Argentina. Melanie Bunten Stark handled her father’s estate after his death, and has

been instrumental in helping preserve Dan Bunten’s legacy in recent years, including working with the Strong Museum to create the archive of her father’s papers. Deeply conflicted about her dad’s decision to become Dani, she said she didn’t do any online searches for her father’s name for more than a decade after his death. When she did, she was shocked to learn the depth of feeling there was online for Bunten, Ozark Softscape and the games they created. “Pioneer is the word people use. It’s unbelievable,” she said. “My husband had to explain it to me. He was like, ‘Melanie, you don’t understand. Where four people get on a Wii or an Xbox and play? Your dad did that waaaaay before [anyone else]’ ... That’s kind of when I realized and the light bulb went on. That makes me want to protect and really preserve and build up what he’s done. That was kind of a turning point, when I realized what had happened, and how quiet he was about it.” Never a fan of any of her dad’s games (she said she’s tried to play “M.U.L.E.” in the past few years, but finds it boring and tedious), Bunten Stark has since corresponded with hundreds of her father’s admirers from around the world, including the creators of “The World of M.U.L.E.” and “Planet M.U.L.E.” sites. “It’s a labor of love,” Bunten Stark said. “I can’t believe they’d use their own money to keep this thing going.” While searching through a box of her dad’s papers in her attic, Bunten Stark said she found what she calls “her best kept secret”: a never-before-seen sequel to “M.U.L.E.” She said she’s waiting for the right time and the right publisher to come along before letting the public get a peek at it. Until then, she and her brothers are also working with a game company to bring both the original “M.U.L.E.” and an updated version of the game to the iPhone. Though she has come to appreciate her father’s legacy in recent years, the respect others have for her dad and his games makes Bunten Stark sometimes wish she could turn back time. When she was younger, Dan Bunten was just her Dad — sometimes embarrassing, often complicated, but just Dad. Only later did she learn how her father helped change the world, and how much joy he helped usher into it. “I wish I could have known what I know now,” she said. “I wish I could have just said: ‘I respect what you do, and think it’s cool that you share your intellect for their enjoyment.’ But I didn’t know.”

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The collection, which started with two works in 2008, has grown to over fifty pieces following the 2012 additions. “The original vision for this collection was to receive national recognition as a substantial collection, and we are still working towards that vision,” says Quantia Fletcher, assistant director of the Cultural Center. “Each year we discover more and more talented African American artists in Arkansas. This makes us extremely excited for the continued growth of the collection.” Creativity Arkansas is funded by a grant from the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council and came to life through a partnership with Garbo Hearne, African American art scholar and owner of Hearne Fine Art in Little Rock. “Though the

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staff at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center enjoys art, we are by no means art scholars,” says Fletcher. “We need Garbo’s expertise to help make this collection possible, and it is through her work that Creativity Arkansas has grown to what it is today.” The collection, which reveals the new additions each year during the Kwanzaa celebration, takes its name from the 6th day of Kwanzaa (Dec.31st) known as Kuumba or Creativity. “Part of the purpose is to collect, preserve, and document Arkansas history through visuals arts,” says Hearne, “and it was decided that the best time to unveil the works would be during the Kwanzaa celebration.”

The newly acquired pieces which were unveiled in December 2011 include two mixed media pieces entitled Homeless Hero and I’ve Got a Robe by Melverue Abraham, acrylic pieces Old Log House and Still Life with Relief by Lee Anthony, Legacy by Danny Broadway, sculpture work Iridescence by Chukes, The Old House Series #6 by John Howard, Lottie Shackelford by Albert Smith, Cotton Girl V and Value of Her Education II by Sondra Strong, My Grandmother’s Cousin Catherine and Sam and Dave by Lee Nora Parlor, Jacob’s Ladder, Heart of

Strange Cargo by George Frederick Nash

Faith by Kevin Cole, mixed medium sculpture Two Souls in One by Bryan Massey, Duafe I, II, and III by Latoya Hobbs, and oil portrait titled Remembering Jackie by Dewitt W. Jordan, Jr. Of his works Old Log House and Still Life with Relief, Lee Anthony explains that many of his paintings “are from studies of old objects and old houses. Perhaps this is because of the influences from my early childhood of growing up on a farm. My love for old things as subjects

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causes me to sometimes make several studies of the same subject. Color, value, and texture are the three elements that I use most to express my feelings and emotions when painting. I hope that when the viewer observes my work, he or she will see something that they can relate to, feel, or visually enjoy.” Much like Anthony, Danny Broadway’s Legacy, has very personal connections; “(This work) is inspired by the story of my great grandfather, who farmed in Warren, Arkansas and later migrated to Little Rock. He was a tall, thin guy who always dressed well. The title speaks to my connection to him and I can picture myself enjoying an afternoon in front of a little house after a long hard day of work. I feel that I am much like he was” says Broadway. “In selecting works, we strive for breadth and depth in artists and subject matter” says Fletcher, “as

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you will see in this year’s collections, we do look for historical significance as well.” Two such works that bring an added historical value to the collection are the oil portraits Lottie Shackelford by Albert Smith and Remembering Jackie by Dewitt Jordan, Jr. According to Smith, the influences of Michelangelo, Rembrandt, and Van Gogh led him to focus on portraiture. Shackelford became the first woman elected mayor of Little Rock. Six years later, President Bill Clinton appointed her to the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation making her the first African American woman to serve in that capacity. Jordan’s Remembering Jackie not only signifies the success of the subject, baseball great Jackie Robinson, but also the work of Jordan himself. A native of Nashville, Tenn., Jordan grew up in Helena, Ark., where he completed his first painting at the age of 8. He became one of the most notable African American artists in Memphis and his work appears in the Tennessee state capitol building. Following his death in 1977 the fame of his work began to spread beyond Memphis and the Delta. As art evolves in the digital age, so does Creativity Arkansas with its first digitally produced works by artist and author George Frederick Nash. Nash, whose works in the collection include Evolution, Strange Cargo, Piano Leaves and Family Tree, has also published a book of poetry entitled The Gathering of My Leaves which features original poetry and art. The book which explores the influences of leg-

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UAPB Celebrates Black History Month Join UAPB for discussions this February.

Feb 14th - African Heritage Roundtable Discussion, 11 am L.A. Davis, Sr. Student Union Feb 16th - Yard Talk: Does Racism Still Exist Today?, 7 pm L.A. Davis, Sr. Student Union lounge UAPB is located at 1200 N. University Drive in Pine Bluff. Find more activities online at www.uapb.edu LEFT TO RIGHT: Remembering Jackie by Dewitt W. Jordan, I’ve Got a Robe by Melverue Abraham, Cotton Girl V by Sondra Strong, Old Log House by Lee Anthony

acy, ancestry, and heritage, expresses his love of God and passion for art. “An important element to this collection is also the spirit and feeling the pieces evoke,” says Garbo Hearne. “We try to select pieces that will move the viewer emotionally or drive some recall in their memory.” Whether it is the beauty of Chukes’ Iridescence, the familiarity of I’ve Got a Robe by Melverue Abraham, or the comfort felt from Sondra Strong’s Cotton Girl V, each piece evokes a feeling or thought from the viewer. As the collection moves forward, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is not slowing down on its mission for Creativity Arkansas. “We are extremely proud of this collection,” says Fletcher. “Our hope is that everyone across the state will have the opportunity to view and appreciate it. We also understand the value this collection holds for the artists. From those who are formally trained to those self-taught and maybe even early in their works. This collection gives them the opportunity to see their work become a part of history, and for any artist, that is priceless.” The Creativity Arkansas collection is on display throughout the museum. New pieces added to the collection for 2012 will be on display during the February 2nd Friday Art Night.

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Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, a museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, is located at 501 W. Ninth St., and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to the museum is free. For more information visit www.mosaictemplarscenter.com or call (501) 683-3593.

Programs and benefits are subject to change.

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2/2/12 3:23 PM

Arts Entertainment AND

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DON’T STOP PLEASE

SHOWCASE ROLLS ON

Don’t Stop Please takes round two.

BY ROBERT BELL AND LINDSEY MILLAR

ow to describe Conway’s Don’t Stop Please, the winner of round two of the Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase? “Cosmic folk” occurred to us early on in the band’s winning set, when the sixpiece did a shuffling Southern ditty built on two guitars, a stand-up bass, keys, a saxophone and drums that occasionally drifted off into weird directions. But then just about everyone switched instruments and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Anna Horton sang a smoky,

Latin-tinged lounge number. While playing a ukulele. Later, after everyone had switched instruments a couple times, and we’d seen a trombone, banjo and harmonica make appearances, DSP did the whitest proto-rap funk song perhaps ever performed. The hook was “My booty is so luxurious.” And at one point, Horton asked, “Where my lazy sluts at?” Sure, it was unfocused. But perhaps not surprisingly for a group called Don’t Stop Please, the band isn’t used to playing 30-minute sets, singer/guitarist Joel Ludford told me after the set. So maybe they felt like they needed to move across the wide spectrum of their abilities quickly. It certainly showcased their crisp musicianship and charisma. And it worked with the judges. As is customary, the other acts were no slouches either. Pop-rock trio The Hidden Rex opened the night. A more amiable band would be hard to find. Likewise a more self-deprecating one. “Mindblowingly mediocre!” singer/guitarist Derek Damron quipped after a song mid-set as a suggestion for something for the judges to write down. Most did, but they also said things like, “Charmingly self-deprecating, nerdy pop at its finest” (guest judge Isaac Alexander) and “They sound like a 7-inch from 1991” (Sammy Williams). We thought Hidden Rex sounded like Jonathan Richman as backed by the Meat Puppets and that it got better as its set progressed. The group’s last song, “My Best Friend’s Sister,” was a pop gem. Several of the judges singled it out. Holy Angell represented several firsts for the Showcase as best as we can figure. It was the first time we’ve had anything that could be described as a CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

THE JUDGES’ TAKE ON ROUND 2 WINNER DON’T STOP PLEASE:

Isaac Alexander: “Genuinely surprised by this band. Great musicianship. And fun to watch and listen to. Each song was a new thought/movement. Looked like a lot of fun. I’d like to be in this band for a while.”

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

Epiphany: “Screaming in time, head banging on a stand-up bass, pinwheels, plus a megaphone. Good times.”

Clay Fitzpatrick: “Great hair! They are extremely confident. Talented kids.”

Cheyenne Matthews: “ ‘Where my lazy sluts at?!’ ” Well, it’s cool they aren’t biased.”

Sammy Williams: “Cover multiple genres, all extremely well.”

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contingent of Gossip fans: Beth Ditto has signed on with MAC Cosmetics to “create a limited edition collaboration with products expected to hit counters in June,” according to Women’s Wear Daily and Harper’s Bazaar, which expects the limited-edition makeup line to be “anything but dull.” THE FINE FOLKS OVER AT VALLEY OF THE VAPORS in Hot Springs have an-

nounced most of this year’s lineup, and hot-diggity, it is exciting. Some names jumped out at us, among them: Psychic Ills, Cloud Nothings, Japanther, Black Belles, Jeffery Lewis, R. Ring (featuring Kelley Deal), Girl in a Coma, Maps and Atlases and Wooden Wand. But there’s still like 30 or so other bands playing. What to do? Check out the festival’s YouTube channel, VOV TV (shortcut: arktimes.com/VOV), which has videos from all the bands playing this year’s festivities. You’ll most likely discover something awesome you’d never heard before. The festival runs from March 18-24, and the schedule so far is available at www.valleyofthevaopors.com. JOHNNY DEPP, ONE OF THE MOST VOCAL celebrity supporters of the West

Memphis Three, has optioned Damien Echols’ forthcoming prison memoir for possible development into a feature film. Depp and his Hollywood partner Christi Dembrowski bought the rights for their Infinitum Nihil production company. Echols’ book is scheduled to be published this September by Blue Rider Press, an imprint of Penguin. It’s the latest in a star-studded series of film projects surrounding the release of the WM3 last August, including HBO Films’ “Paradise Lost 3” (nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature), the Peter Jacksonproduced doc “West of Memphis,” and an indevelopment adaptation of Mara Leveritt’s “Devil’s Knot” starring 2011 Best Actor Oscar winner Colin Firth and 2010 Best Actress Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon. Speaking of Echols, he’s on tour promoting “West of Memphis” with his wife, Lorri Davis, and director Amy Berg. He recently gave Democracy Now! perhaps the most revealing interview so far on what life was like in jail, and what it’s been like

since he got out of prison, including details on that forthcoming memoir: “DEMOCRACY NOW: What has surprised you most about being free? And do you feel free? ECHOLS: I do. I do feel free. But there are still a lot of things that are really overwhelming to me and things that I’m just having to slowly learn, you know, a lot of things about technology. You know, whenever I went in, there was no such thing as the internet, as far as I knew. I had never seen it. The last time I had seen a computer was 1986, and it was basically a giant glorified typewriter for really rich people. You know, that’s basically all it was good for. There were cell phones, but once again, they were things that only really wealthy people had, and they were these giant contraptions that you didn’t see out on the street anywhere, that was mostly something you saw in movies. So, you know, it really is stepping into a complete new world for me.”

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FEBRUARY 8, 2012

THE TO-DO

LIST

BY ROBERT BELL

WEDNESDAY 2/8

ANVIL

9 p.m. Juanita’s. $15 adv., $19 d.o.s.

One of the great should-have-beens of the early ’80s metal scene, Toronto’s Anvil never saw the level of renown enjoyed by contemporaneous acts such as Slayer, Metallica, Exodus and others. Nonetheless, the band forged ahead in the ensuing decades, releasing albums on small indie labels and playing club shows while holding down decidedly non-metal day-jobs. Anvil achieved probably its greatest level of fame via the 2009 documentary “Anvil: The Story of Anvil,” which was made by a former roadie turned screenwriter. The film was a huge hit (Anvil was last in Little Rock performing after a screening at Market Street Cinema) largely due to the compelling friendship between unrelentingly positive vocalist/guitarist Steve “Lips” Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner (no, not that one, though there is an undeniable air of “Spinal Tap”-esque ridiculousness to the documentary). For being about a thrash metal band, it’s an amazingly touching film. And even though there will probably be quite a few folks at the show purely for rubbernecking, Anvil’s music is ragin’ and stands on its own merits. Opening acts are Little Rock wildmen The Wicked Good and veteran metal acts Vore and Scorned, both of Fayetteville.

METAL ON METAL ON METAL: Legendary Canadian metal act Anvil comes to Juanita’s Wednesday night, with The Wicked Good, Vore and Scorned opening.

WEDNESDAY 2/8 8:30 p.m. Revolution. $16 adv., $20 d.o.s.

It’s been a few years since we heard from Dallas symphonic-pop outfit The Polyphonic Spree. Just in case you weren’t paying attention to music at all between 2003 and 2007 or so, here’s the Cliff’s Notes version: Tripping Daisy frontman Tim DeLaughter was profoundly bummed by the death of that band’s guitarist, Wes Berggren, in 1999. Partly as a reaction to his friend’s death (according to an NPR story), DeLaughter began writing joyous-sounding pop

songs and assembled this gigantic band, which has as many as two dozen members at any given time, all singing and playing a variety of stringed instruments and sometimes wearing robes. If you dig lush, gorgeously arranged pop music in the vein of later Mercury Rev or “Soft Bulletin”/“Yoshimi”-era Flaming Lips (but are somehow unfamiliar with The Polyphonic Spree), well, this should be a no-brainer. Even if you’re not way into that kind of stuff, this show will be entertaining and stands a very good chance of being one of those forever-talked-about concerts that you’ll kick yourself for not going to, should you skip it.

FRIDAY 2/10

CEDRIC BURNSIDE PROJECT

10 p.m. White Water Tavern. $10.

If you’ve ever had the privilege of seeing the Juke Joint Duo, you’re probably aware that in addition to being a stone-badass drummer, Cedric Burnside is also a helluva guitar player and singer. When I saw the band a couple years back at White Water, Burnside stepped out from behind the kit and played a few songs on a resonator or 28

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

dobro or something. Whatever it was, his songs were, perhaps unsurprisingly, amazing hill country blues, cut from the same entrancing, deep blue cloth as those of his grandfather, the late, great R.L. Burnside. Burnside is in town with his newest band, The Cedric Burnside Project, which last year released its first album, “The Way I Am.” Expect this show to be packed; get there early.

‘FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF’ 7:30 p.m. The Weekend Theater. $12-$16.

In the wake of Tyler Perry’s abysmal film adaptation “For Colored Girls,” it might be easy for some to forget that the source material — this 1975 play by Ntozake Shange — still contains some powerful, emotionally rich stories of the challenges black women face every day. Composed of 20 “choreopoems” told by seven different women, the experimental play started out Off Broadway, but a year later was enormously successful and went on to win prestigious theatre awards, including a Best Featured Actress Tony for Trazana Beverley. The play’s harrowing themes — love, heartbreak, rape, abortion — are timeless, despite Perry’s critically reviled cinematic mishap. The production runs Fridays and Saturdays through Feb. 25.

LYZ CLARK

THE POLYPHONIC SPREE

FRIDAY 2/10

TIMELESS WORK: The Weekend Theater’s production of “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf” opens Friday night and stars Sinovia Mayfield, Kelani Campbell, Cecily Long, Jahquis Bailey, Ganelle Grimm, Chauncey Holloman and Pamela Reed.

LYZ CLARK

IN BRIEF

THURSDAY 2/9

SATURDAY 2/11

ASO: ‘VALENTINES IN NEW YORK’

8 p.m. Robinson Center Music Hall. $20-$65.

So let’s say you messed up powerful bad and didn’t do anything all that romantic for your significant

other for Valentine’s Day last year, like you came home with Funyuns and Corona and a Blu-Ray of “Robocop.” How to make up for it this year? Here’s a good place to start. Soprano Melissa Errico (“the voice of enchantment” according to the New York Times) and baritone Ryan

Silverman (“It’s Complicated,” “Sex and the City 2”) join the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra for an evening of romantic Broadway hits. You’ll hear “Luck be a Lady,” “I Got Rhythm,” “All I Care About is Love,” “Be Our Guest” and more. The show also runs Sunday at 3 p.m.

The Conway Symphony Orchestra’s small ensemble program presents “CSO on the Go!” Faulkner County Library, 7 p.m., free, includes refreshments. Country singer Josh Turner comes to Clear Channel Metroplex, with up-and-comers Lauren Alaina and Kip Moore, 7:30 p.m., $15. The Smittle Band brings its breezy, jazz-inflected pop to Laman Library, 7 p.m., free. “Shades of Blue: An Evening of Contemporary Jazz” features a performance from renowned vocalist and pianist Amina Claudine Myers. The event is hosted by the Clinton Foundation and the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, Clinton Presidential Center, 6 p.m. Myers will also perform and give a lecture at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center at 10 a.m. Melodic hardcore from New York is what’s in store at Downtown Music Hall, with Such Gold, 6:30 p.m., $10. Steve McGrew brings the yucks to The Loony Bin, 8 p.m. He’ll be there through Saturday, $7-$10. Lunafest features short films highlighting women filmmakers. It includes a silent auction, with proceeds benefiting the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas and the Breast Cancer Fund, Riverdale 10 Cinema, 7 p.m., $25-$40.

FRIDAY 2/10

SENSIBLE FLATTS: Country-pop megastars Rascal Flatts play Verizon Arena Saturday night with Sara Evans and Hunter Hayes opening.

SATURDAY 2/11

RASCAL FLATTS

8 p.m. Verizon Arena. $26-$60.

Even if you don’t like Rascal Flatts’ music — and, I do not, at all — it is impossible to dislike the band. I tried really hard and failed utterly. The group’s chart-demolishing pop-country songs and heavenly harmonizing are so overwhelmingly pleasant and innocuous and all-American that I had no choice but to submit to the band’s multi-award-winning excellence. In their songs, you’ll find none of the drinkers and brawlers and cheaters that populate other country songs. Rascal Flatts is like that really

handsome, popular, athletic kid in high school who was so universally friendly and guileless that no one — not even the hoodlums with their worn-out Led Zeppelin T-shirts and their cigarettes and their chips on their shoulders — could so much as utter an unkind word about him. Speaking of that kid, he’s got a super amazing girlfriend, and her name is Sara Evans. You might remember her from her recent appearances at Magic Springs or that ill-fated thing at War Memorial Park with Toby Keith. But let’s forget about that. Right now, it’s Rascal and Sara. Together, they’re

that power couple that you look at and just think, “Dang, they are gonna be so successful and prosperous.” Hunter Hayes opens the show. I don’t know that much about him. He’s like the new kid who doesn’t say anything on his first day but turns out to be really good at PE. On Thursday, Rascal Flatts are playing the 2012 Starlight Gala at John Q. Hammons Convention Center in Rogers. It’s $200, but it’s a benefit for Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter. See what I mean? They’re such nice dudes that there is no way you can’t like them.

MONDAY 2/13

AFENI SHAKUR-DAVIS

7:30 p.m. University of Central Arkansas. Free.

Afeni Shakur-Davis is not as well known as her son, the late Tupac Shakur. But ever since the rap superstar’s murder in 1996, the activist and

former Black Panther member has guided his legacy, establishing a record label that has released eight posthumous albums, as well as reissuing the five released during his lifetime. In 1997, Shakur-Davis established the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation to provide arts training to young people via day

camps and classes at the TASF Center for the Arts in Stone Mountain, Ga. Her lecture is titled, “Road to Peace and Empowerment.” It’s free, but tickets are required and can be picked up at the Reynolds Performance Hall box office between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The Second Annual Krewe of Hogs Mardi Gras Masquerade Ball includes beer, king cake and music from The Rip Van Shizzle Band. Ticket sales benefit the Community Theatre of Little Rock and Tulane Empowers, Vino’s, 7 p.m., $10 adv., $15 door. For the Love of Art is a concert paying tribute to the late Little Rock jazz musician Art Porter, featuring an array of musicians, 7 p.m., free (donations accepted). If you’re looking to get your dance on, DJs Raydar and Shaolin play an 18-and-older show at Revolution, along with DJs Durden, Sleepy and Streta, 9 p.m., $10. Is a dose of brutal, surgically precise death metal more your speed? Turbid North plays Downtown Music Hall, with A Darkened Era and Severe Head Wound, 8 p.m., $7. If you’re gonna be up late, why not spend some time with Tyrannosaurus Chicken? The duo plays Midtown, 12:30 a.m., $5.

SATURDAY 2/11 It’s Crunk Fest 2 over at Cornerstone Pub & Grill, with Haystak, J Bo Cracker Swagger and Yard Call, 8 p.m. Red dirt veteran Reckless Kelly plays and 18-and-older show at Revolution, with opening act Humming House, 9 p.m., $12 adv., $15 d.o.s. TwinSpirit, Tim Anthony and Budafli bring an evening of eclectic, unplugged music to Porter’s Jazz Cafe, 9 p.m., $15. The Salty Dogs take over Vino’s, with Jonathan Jeter and The Revelators, 9 p.m., $10.

www.arktimes.com

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

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 date, time, location, price and contact information, to calendar@arktimes.com.

p.m.; Feb. 11, 7, 9 and 11 p.m., $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www. loonybincomedy.com.

EVENTS

Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Distinguished Laureate Series: Amina Myers. Lecture and musical performance from the jazz pianist, singer and songwriter. Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, 10 a.m. 501 W. 9th St. 501-376-4602. www.mosaictemplarscenter.com. Arkansas Chamber Singers Event: A Valentine Soiree. Featuring singer Beau Humble. Governor’s Mansion, 6:30 p.m., $65. 1800 Center St. 501-377-1121.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 8

MUSIC

Acoustic Open Mic. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www. afterthoughtbar.com. Alternative Wednesdays. Features alternative bands from Central Arkansas and the surrounding areas. Mediums Art Lounge, 6:30 p.m., $5. 521 Center St. 501-374-4495. Anvil, The Wicked Good, Vore, Scorned. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $15 adv., $19 d.o.s. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com. Brian & Nick. Cajun’s Wharf, 5 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www. cajunswharf.com. Burn Halo, Evacuate the City. Downtown Music Hall, 8 p.m., $8. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownshows.homestead.com. Gil Franklin & Friends. Holiday Inn, North Little Rock, first Tuesday, Wednesday of every month. 120 W. Pershing Blvd., NLR. Grim Muzik presents Way Back Wednesdays. Cornerstone Pub & Grill, 8:30 p.m. 314 Main St., NLR. 501-374-1782. cstonepub.com. The Jealous Sound. 18-and-older show. Stickyz Rock ’n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 8 p.m., $10. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyfingerz.com. Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. The Polyphonic Spree, New Fumes. All-ages show. Revolution, 8:30 p.m., $16 adv., $20 d.o.s. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com. Ricky David Tripp. Ferneau, 5:30 p.m. 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-603-9208. www.ferneaurestaurant.com. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 5 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG.

COMEDY

Steve McGrew, Mark Matusof. The Loony Bin, 8 p.m.; Feb. 10, 10:30 p.m.; Feb. 11, 7, 9 and 11 p.m., $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

LECTURES

Brown Bag Lunch Lecture: “The Life of a Woodruff County Girl.” Old State House Museum, 12 p.m., free. 500 Clinton Ave. 501324-9685. www.oldstatehouse.com.

POETRY

Rock Town Slam. Arkansas Arts Center, 7:30 p.m., $5 admission, $10 poet entry fee. 501 E. 9th St. 501-372-4000. www.arkarts.com.

THURSDAY, FEB. 9

MUSIC

2012 Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase. Round 3, featuring Wes Patterson, Tsar Bomba, War Chief and Se7en Sharp. Stickyz Rock ’n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $5 21 and older, $8 18-20. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www. stickyfingerz.com.

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

FILM ‘MARTIN AND LANGSTON’: Danny Glover and Felix Justice bring the words and writings of Langston Hughes and Martin Luther King Jr. to life on stage. The pair will host a Q&A after the performance, which begins at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Reynolds Performance Hall on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas.

Alize. Denton’s Trotline, 8 p.m., free. 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501-315-1717. Conway Symphony Orchestra presents CSO on the Go!. Performance from the CSO’s small ensemble program, includes refreshments. Faulkner County Library, 7 p.m., free. 1900 Tyler St., Conway. 501-327-7482. www.fcl.org. Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors, Brother of Pearl. 18-and-older show. Revolution, 8:30 p.m., $10. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-8230090. revroom.com. Giovanni. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.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. Jason Greenlaw. Thirst n’ Howl, 8 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirstn-howl.com. Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. Jocko Deal (acoustic). Shooter’s Sports Bar & Grill, 9 p.m. 9500 I-30. 501-565-4003. www. shooterslittlerock.com. Josh Turner, Kip Moore, Lauren Alaina. Clear Channel Metroplex, 7:30 p.m., $15. 10800 Colonel Glenn Road. Live at Laman: The Smittle Band. Laman Library, 7 p.m., free. 2801 Orange St., NLR. 501-758-

1720. www.lamanlibrary.org. Memphis Soul Review (headliners), Chris DeClerk (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com. NeverTrain open mic night. Cornerstone Pub & Grill, 8:30 p.m. 314 Main St., NLR. 501-3741782. cstonepub.com. Paul Sammons. Maxine’s, 8 p.m., free. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxinespub.com. Port Arthur Band. Parrot Beach Cafe, 9 p.m. 9611 MacArthur Drive, NLR. 771-2994. “Shades of Blue: An Evening of Contemporary Jazz.” Hosted by the Clinton Foundation and the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame. Featuring vocalist and pianist Amina Claudine Myers. Clinton Presidential Center, 6 p.m. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-748-0419. www. clintonpresidentialcenter.org. Such Gold. Downtown Music Hall, 6:30 p.m., $10. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownshows. homestead.com. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 5 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG. Verse Simmonds. Juanita’s, 9 p.m. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com.

COMEDY

Steve McGrew, Mark Matusof. The Loony Bin, through Feb. 10, 8 p.m.; Feb. 10, 10:30

Lunafest. Includes film and silent auction, with proceeds benefiting the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas and the Breast Cancer Fund. Riverdale 10 Cinema, 7 p.m., $25-$40. 2600 Cantrell Road. 888-335-4041.

LECTURES

Noreen Renier. Renier will discuss her book, “The Practical Psychic.” Clinton School of Public Service, 6 p.m., free. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-683-5239. www.clintonschool.uasys.edu. Ron Richard. Lecture from the president and CEO of the Cleveland Foundation, the world’s oldest and second-largest community foundation with assets of $1.9 billion and 2010 grants of nearly $87 million. Clinton School of Public Service, 12 p.m., free. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-6835239. www.clintonschool.uasys.edu.

BENEFITS

2012 Starlight Gala. Benefit for Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter includes food and drinks, live and silent auctions and concert from Rascal Flatts. John Q. Hammons Convention Center, 6 p.m., $200. 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy., Rogers. 479-795-2417.

BOOKS

Lucretia Little. The author will be available to sign copies of her juvenile fiction books, “I Rode A Bumblebee” and “Slip.” Hot Springs Convention Center, 10 a.m. 134 Convention Blvd., Hot Springs. 501-321-2027. www. hotsprings.org. ShopTalk: Emily Danforth and Dave Madden. The authors and co-editors of quarterly journal The Cupboard will read from their works. Hendrix College, 2:45 p.m. 1600 Washington Ave., Conway. www.hendrix.edu.

CLASSES

Arkansas Craft School Session II. “Pottery” with David Dahlstedt, for all skill levels, 6:309:30 p.m., $225, Arkansas Craft School; “Jewelry Making” with Dona Sawyer, basics, 6:30-9:30 p.m., $225, Arkansas Craft School; “Web Designs for Artisans” with Shawn Hoefer, website creation, 5-8 p.m., Ozarka College, Mountain View, $225. Arkansas Craft School, Continues through March 2. 110 E. Main St., Mountain View. 870-269-8397. www.arkansascraftschool.org.

FRIDAY, FEB. 10

MUSIC

2nd Annual Krewe of Hogs Mardi Gras Masquerade Ball. Includes free beer, king cake and music from The Rip Van Shizzle Band. Ticket

UPCOMING EVENTS

sales benefit the Community Theatre of Little Rock and Tulane Empowers. Vino’s, 7 p.m., $10 adv., $15 door. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. www. vinosbrewpub.com. Alize. Shooter’s Sports Bar & Grill, 9:30 p.m., $5. 9500 I-30. 501-565-4003. www.shooterslittlerock. com. Benjamin del Shreve. 18-and-older show. Stickyz Rock ’n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $7. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyfingerz.com. Cedric Burnside Project. White Water Tavern, 10 p.m. 2500 W. 7th. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. DJ Silky Slim. Top 40 and dance music. Sway, 9 p.m., $5. 412 Louisiana. 501-907-2582. Donna Massey & Blue-Eyed Soul. The Tavern Sports Grill, 9 p.m., free. 17815 Chenal Parkway. 501-830-2100. www.thetavernsportsgrill.com. “The Flow Fridays.” Twelve Modern Lounge, 8 p.m. 1900 W. Third St. For the Love of Art. Concert paying tribute to the late Art Porter, featuring family tributes and music from David Ashley, Brian Brown, Joe Cripps, David Higginbotham, Milton Jackson, Gerald Johnson, Sheldon Joshua, Jack Pritchett, Kenneth Reed, I.J. Routen, Lorenzo Smith, Ryk St. Vincent and Ivan Yarbrough. Cajun’s Wharf, 7 p.m., free, donations encouraged. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com. Keith Brown. Porter’s Jazz Cafe, 9 p.m. 315 Main St. 501-324-1900. www.portersjazzcafe.com. The Only Sons, Mandy McBryde & The Unholy Ghost, Montgomery Trucking. Maxine’s, 8 p.m., $5 adv., $7 door. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxinespub.com. OTR. Flying DD, 9 p.m. 4601 S. University. 501773-9990. flyingdd.com. PG-13 (headliner), Richie Johnson (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com. Raydar & Shaolin, Durden, Sleepy, Streta. 18-and-older show. Revolution, 9 p.m., $10. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com. Ronald Radford. River Valley Arts Center, 7:30 p.m., $5-$10. 1001 E. B St., Russellville. 479-9682452. www.arvartscenter.org. School Boy Humor, Rookie of the Year. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $8-$10. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501372-1228. www.juanitas.com. Se7en Sharp. West End Smokehouse and Tavern, Feb. 10-11, 10 p.m., $5. 215 N. Shackleford. 501-224-7665. www.westendsmokehouse.net. Sean Austin. Flying Saucer, 9 p.m., $3. 323 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-7468. www. beerknurd.com/stores/littlerock. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 9 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG. Thomas East. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, Feb. 10-11, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. Tim Anthony & Co.. The Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www. afterthoughtbar.com. Tragikly White. Denton’s Trotline, 9:30 p.m. 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501-315-1717. Turbid North, A Darkend Era, Severe Head Wound. Downtown Music Hall, 8 p.m., $7. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownshows. homestead.com. Twilight Jones. Cornerstone Pub & Grill, 9 p.m. 314 Main St., NLR. 501-374-1782. cstonepub. com.

Tyrannosaurus Chicken. Midtown Billiards, 12:30 a.m., $5. 1316 Main St. 501-372-9990. midtownar. com. White Chocolate. Thirst n’ Howl, 9 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirstn-howl.com.

COMEDY

Steve McGrew, Mark Matusof. The Loony Bin, through Feb. 10, 8 p.m.; Feb. 10, 10:30 p.m.; Feb. 11, 7, 9 and 11 p.m., $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www. loonybincomedy.com.

EVENTS

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.

LECTURES

Kevin Padian. The president of the National Center for Science Education presents “Evolution, Education and ‘Intelligent Design.’” Clinton School of Public Service, 6 p.m., free. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-683-5239. www. clintonschool.uasys.edu. Page To Stage Lunch Panel: “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Panel discussion about The Rep’s production of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Main Library, 12 p.m. 100 S. Rock St. www.cals. lib.ar.us.

POETRY

Foreign Tongues Poetry Group presents Abyss. Also includes A.P.O.L.L.O, Ron Mc, TruPoet, Scorpio, Osyrus Bolly and Coffy. Holiday Inn Presidential, 9 p.m., $10. 600 I-30. 501-375-2100.

BENEFITS

A Taste of the WildLife Benefit. Includes a meal of wild game, live music from Big John Miller, a duck-calling contest, silent auctions and more. Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, 7 p.m., $40 single, $75 couple. 701 Main St., Pine Bluff. 870-536-3375. www.artssciencecenter.org.

BOOKS

Carl Weber and Eric Pete. Appearance from the authors of “The Family Business.” Pyramid Art Books and Custom Framing, 6 p.m. 1001 Wright Ave. 501-372-6822. hearnefineart.com.

SATURDAY, FEB. 11

MUSIC

Arkansas Symphony Orchestra: “Valentines in New York.” Featuring vocalists Ryan Silverman and Melissa Errico. Robinson Center Music Hall, Feb. 11, 8 p.m.; Feb. 12, 3 p.m., $20-$65. Markham and Broadway. www.littlerockmeetings.com/conv-centers/robinson. Catfish Jackson. Midtown Billiards, 12:30 a.m., $5. 1316 Main St. 501-372-9990. midtownar.com. Crunk Fest 2 with Haystak, J Bo Cracker Swagger and Yard Call. Cornerstone Pub & Grill, 8 p.m. 314 Main St., NLR. 501-374-1782. cstonepub.com. Dave Williams II Quintet. Maxine’s, 5:30 p.m., $5. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxinespub.com. Doug Kramer, JMZ Dean. Includes performers

Feb. 19 – Yelawolf, Revolution, $20. Feb. 22 – Freddie Gibbs, Hendrix, free. Feb. 26 – Malcolm Holcombe, White Water Tavern, $7. March 1 – Jimmy Buffett, Verizon Arena, sold out. March 9 – Jeff Dunham, Verizon Arena, $44. March 9 – Bobby Bare Jr., Juanita’s, $12-$15. March 10 – Corrosion of Conformity, Torche, Downtown Music Hall, $15-$18. March 10 – Zac Brown Band, Verizon Arena, $34-$65. March 11 – Neon Indian, Revolution, $12$15. March 17 – First Ever 9th Annual World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Hot Springs, free.

Dominique and Whitney. Discovery Nightclub, 9 p.m., $10. 1021 Jessie Road. 501-664-4784. www.latenightdisco.com. Greg Madden. Cajun’s Wharf, 5 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-3755351. www.cajunswharf.com. Katmandu. Thirst n’ Howl, 9 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirst-nhowl.com. “KISS Saturdays” with DJs Deja Blu, Greyhound and Silky Slim. Sway, 10 p.m. 412 Louisiana. 501-907-2582. Little Ruckus, The Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt, Sound of the Mountain, Mainland Divide. Maxine’s, 8 p.m., $5 adv., $7 door. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxinespub.com. The Mighty Groove Kings. Shooter’s Sports Bar & Grill, 9 p.m., $5. 9500 I-30. 501-565-4003. www.shooterslittlerock.com. Monkhouse. The Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com. The Only Sons. White Water Tavern, 10 p.m. 2500 W. 7th. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. Rachel Platten, Matt Nathanson. Juanita’s, 10 p.m. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com. Rascal Flatts, Sarah Evans, Hunter Hayes. Verizon Arena, 8 p.m., $26-$60. 1 Alltel Arena Way, NLR. 501-975-9001. verizonarena.com. Reckless Kelly, Humming House. 18-and-older show. Revolution, 9 p.m., $12 adv., $15 d.o.s. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com. The Remedy. Cregeen’s Irish Pub, 8 p.m. 301 Main St., NLR. 501-376-7468. www.cregeens. com. The Salty Dogs, Jonathan Jeter and The Revelators. Vino’s, 9 p.m., $10. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub.com. Se7en Sharp. West End Smokehouse and Tavern, 10 p.m., $5. 215 N. Shackleford. 501224-7665. www.westendsmokehouse.net. Shannon Boshears. Dugan’s Pub, 9 p.m., free. 403 E. 3rd St. 501-244-0542. www.duganspublr. com. Shannon McClung. Flying Saucer, 9 p.m., $3. 323 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-7468. www. beerknurd.com/stores/littlerock. Still on the Hill, 3 Penny Acre. 1929 Lyric Theater, 8 p.m., $12 single, $20 couple. 113 W. Rush Ave., Harrison. 870-391-3504. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 9 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www. capitalhotel.com/CBG. Thomas East. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. TwinSpirit, Tim Anthony and Budafli. Porter’s Jazz Cafe, 8 p.m., $15. 315 Main St. 501-324CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

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FEBRUARY 8, 2012

SHOWCASE, CONT.

AFTER DARK, CONT. 1900. www.portersjazzcafe.com. Willie Stradlin. Denton’s Trotline, 9 p.m. 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501-315-1717. Zac Dunlop. Flying DD, 9 p.m. 4601 S. University. 501-773-9990. flyingdd.com.

HOLY ANGELL

COMEDY

Steve McGrew, Mark Matusof. The Loony Bin, 7, 9 and 11 p.m., $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

BRIAN CHILSON

EVENTS

black metal band. And it’s the first time when a vocalist exclusively screamed. And it was awesome. And a good number of folks stuck around past midnight to see it. They got to see lead screamer Philip Schaaf contort himself theatrically as he seemed to be pushing out the soul yawps from down deep. Judge Epiphany wondered if Schaaf practices his screams, which he thought were in key. And Williams offered the ultimate black metal endorsement, “I have no clue how those screams came from a human.” Country pop upstarts The Lindsey Kate Band were a no-show. “They were pretty tough to see and hear,” said Williams. This week, Round 3, featuring: Wes Patterson’s website advertises funk and smooth jazz tunes with “No filler or B-sides!” and that is exactly what he delivers. The Cincinnati native retired from the Air Force in 2003 and started Willora Records, which has released several CDs of instrumentals and incredibly tight synth-funk that is all smooth — no rough edges at all. Imagine early ’80s-era Bootsy Collins or The Gap Band filtered through the effortlessly sleek, airtight sound of Kraftwerk and you’ll get pretty close to Patterson’s “Stop Wishin’ Start Doin.’ ” Tsar Bomba might be named after the Soviet Union’s most devastating hydrogen bomb, but the band’s vibe is closer to a string of ladyfingers tossed 32

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

into the back of a mall cop’s patrol cart than thermonuclear annihilation. Tsar Bomba channels the jingle jangle spirit of San Francisco circa now. Think The Mantles, Thee Oh Sees, The Fresh and Onlys and the like. With their falsettos and clean guitar tones, some of the band’s songs remind me of “Turtle Soup,” the excellent, Ray Davies-produced final Turtles album from 1969. War Chief’s soaring, roots-inspired anthems recently won the band a spot playing this year’s Wakarusa Camping and Music Festival. Listening to the group’s recent EP, it’s easy to hear why. War Chief has as broad an appeal as any other rock act in Central Arkansas. Classic rock diehards will dig the Allman-esque guitar heroics on “Welcome to the Real World,” while the rollicking “Stand Watie” could stand shoulder-toshoulder with The Drive-By Truckers at their most solemnly intense. Se7en Sharp takes the classic crunch of ZZ Top, the riff efficiency of AC/ DC and post-grunge influences and weds all of it to decidedly Southern rock swagger, creating a hybrid that is epitomized on “Get in Line,” from the band’s recent EP. But Se7en Sharp knows how to slow it down too, on the power ballad “Kami” and the earnest, country-tinged number “Give Me a Chance.” I’m not sure what’s playing on The Edge right this second, but I’m pretty confident that Se7en Sharp is as good as or better than whatever that is.

Arkansas Darwin Day 2012 Conference. Includes UALR lab tours, family activities, keynote speaker Dr. Kevin Padian as well as other speakers and a dinner and reception at 7 p.m. at Copper Grill. Check website for more details. UALR, 9 a.m. 2801 S. University Ave. 501-5698977. www.arkansasdarwinday.org. Chocolate Festival. Best Western Inn of the Ozarks, 9 a.m. p.m. 207 W. Van Buren, Eureka Springs. 479-253-9768. www.innoftheozarks.com. Cupid’s Retreat. Includes concerts at Blanchard Springs and White Oak Stadium, a meal at Skillet Restaurant, one night in a cabin and breakfast the next morning. Ozark Folk Center State Park, 12:30 p.m., $200. 1032 Park Ave., Mountain View. Falun Gong meditation. Allsopp Park, 9 a.m., free. Cantrell & Cedar Hill Roads. Family Fun Saturday — Tommy Terrific Magic Show. Families will learn about the Tuskegee Airmen through magic tricks featuring things that fly. Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, 1:30 p.m., free. 501 W. 9th St. 501-376-4602. www. mosaictemplarscenter.com. Taste of N’Orleans. Featuring beignets and coffee and a view of the Mardi Gras Parade, which starts at 6 p.m. The Rowdy Beaver Restaurant & Tavern, 4:30 p.m. 417 W. Van Buren, Eureka Springs. 479-253-8544. www.rowdybeaver.com. Valentine’s Day Cruise. Includes dinner, glass of champagne and cruise. Arkansas Queen, 6:30 p.m., $60. 100 Riverfront Park Drive, NLR. 501372-5777. www.arkansasqueen.com.

SPORTS

Freakin’ Eurekan foot race. 15K race includes door prizes. Food will be available. Lake Leatherwood City Park, 10 a.m., $35-$40. 1303 CR 204, Eureka Springs. 479-571-8786. Valentine’s Day Massacre IV. MMA fighting, main event, David Lindsay vs. Thomas Gifford. Clear Channel Metroplex, 6:30 p.m., $25 and up. 10800 Colonel Glenn Road.

BENEFITS

3rd Annual Tea & Tiaras. Includes crafts, prizes, brunch and more, benefiting The Waner Children’s Vascular Anomaly Foundation. Country Club of Little Rock, 10:30 a.m. p.m., $25, free for 17 and younger. 4200 Country Club Blvd. 501-664-1531. www.cclr1902.org/. Arkansas Hospice’s 8th Annual Sweetheart Saturday. Local food vendors, bakeries and restaurants sell sweet and savory treats. Hughes Community Center, 1 p.m., $8. 1000 E. Parkway Drive, Russellville. 479-968-1272.

2813. www.tumclr.org. Lemme Smang’ It Valentine with Turquoise Jeep Records. Including 607, Dirtbag, Da Saw Squad, Lilo Eskimo, Flynt Fossy, Yung Humma, Whatchyamacallit, Pretty Raheem. Stickyz Rock ’n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 7 p.m., $8 adv., $12/$15 door. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www. stickyfingerz.com. Porter’s Sunday Jazz Brunch. Porter’s Jazz Cafe, 10 a.m. 315 Main St. 501-324-1900. www.portersjazzcafe.com. Sunday Jazz Brunch with Ted Ludwig and Joe Cripps. Vieux Carre, 11 a.m. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.vieuxcarrecafe.com.

COMEDY

Claude Stuart. UARK Bowl, 7 p.m., $5-$7. 644 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-301-2030. www. uarkballroom.com.

EVENTS

Captured Live from The Met: Wagner’s “Götterdämmerung.” Reynolds Performance Hall, UCA, 2 p.m., $5 students, $15 non-students. 350 S. Donaghey, Conway.

MONDAY, FEB. 13

MUSIC

Chris Parker Quartet. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www. afterthoughtbar.com. Martin Sexton, Chris Trapper. All-ages show. Revolution, 8 p.m., $20. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com. Touch, Grateful Dead Tribute. Stickyz Rock ’n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 8 p.m., $5. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyfingerz.com. Traditional Irish Music Session. Khalil’s Pub, Fourth and second Monday of every month, 7 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com. UCA Dixieland Band. University of Central Arkansas, Snow Fine Arts Center Recital Hall, 7:30 p.m., free. 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway.

DANCE

Chamber Orchestra Waltz Night. Includes waltz and polka dancing lessons. Hendrix College, 7:30 p.m. 1600 Washington Ave., Conway. 501450-1249. www.hendrix.edu.

FILM

“Wizard of Oz.” Includes presentation from “The Wiz” Costume Designer and Rep Production Manager Rafael Castanera. Laman Library, 6 p.m., free. 2801 Orange St., NLR. 501-758-1720. www.lamanlibrary.org.

LECTURES

Afeni Shakur-Davis. Presentation from the author, former Black Panther and mother of Tupac Shakur. Reynolds Performance Hall, UCA, 7:30 p.m., free. 350 S. Donaghey, Conway.

SPORTS

SUNDAY, FEB. 12

Downtown Tip Off Club presents Dave Van Horn. Wyndham Riverfront Hotel, 11:15 a.m., $15-$20. 2 Riverfront Place, NLR. 501-371-9000. www.wyndham.com.

MUSIC

CLASSES

Annual Concerto and Aria Competition. Hendrix College, 3 p.m. 1600 Washington Ave., Conway. 501-450-1249. www.hendrix.edu. Arkansas Symphony Orchestra: “Valentines in New York.” Featuring vocalists Ryan Silverman and Melissa Errico. Robinson Center Music Hall, 3 p.m., $20-$65. Markham and Broadway. www. littlerockmeetings.com/conv-centers/robinson. Ken Medema. Trinity United Methodist Church, 6 p.m., free. 1101 North Mississippi St. 501-666-

Finding Family Facts. Rhonda Stewart teaches this genealogy research class for beginners. Arkansas Studies Institute, second Monday of every month, 3:30 p.m. 401 President Clinton Ave. 501-320-5700 . www.butlercenter.org.

TUESDAY, FEB. 14

MUSIC

The Black Lillies, Audrey Dean Kelley. Juanita’s,

AFTER DARK, CONT.

DANCE

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

EVENTS

Champagne and chocolate tasting. The Afterthought, 5:30 p.m., $10. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com. 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. 411 N. Main St., NLR. 501372-7976. www.starvingartistcafe.net.

FILM

“Patton.” Market Street Cinema, 7 p.m., $5. 1521 Merrill Drive. 501-312-8900. www.marketstreetcinema.net.

BOOKS

Anti-Valentine’s Day Party. Rip up romance novels and tell scary stories while celebrating the opposite of Valentine’s day. Dee Brown Library, 4:30 p.m. 6325 Baseline Road. 501-568-7494. L.A. Weatherly. The Arkansas native and author of the “Angel Burn” series will be at the store That Bookstore in Blytheville, 7 p.m. 316 W. Main St.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 15

MUSIC

An architectural Dreamworks StudioMain opens Friday. BY LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK

If it sounds like the use of StudioMain is open-ended, it is. Meyer, who has worked the past three months getting lighting and furniture and materials donated to the space, said, “We’ll finish the space and then figure out what the heck it is we’re actually doing.” FYI: The Green Corner Store next door will be offering free tastings of Kent Walker Artisan Cheese and Loblolly Creamery ice cream.

magine planning a neighborhood for trails and parks, engineers and more STUDIOMAIN IS NOT THE ONLY NEW together to forge workable design ideas or commercial area that considers VENUE on this month’s 2nd Friday art has been plotted for four years. Herron building design, materials and conevent, one that is particularly packed and others, including architect Joe Stanstruction; economics; the environment; with things to do. The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center at Ninth and Broadway aesthetics; social interaction; safety, landley, developer Page Wilson and young scaping and transportation, all incorpoprofessionals like James Meyer, want will exhibit new additions to its Creativity rated in a way the people who will live StudioMain to be a resource to urban Arkansas collection of work by Africanor work there want — and all before the planners and a creative outlet for archiAmerican artists. Canvas Community first swing of a hammer. Then Gallery, 1111 W. 7th St., rejoins imagine StudioMain. 2nd Friday with the exhibition “The Art of Science and the SciStudioMain, at 1423 S. Main St., created by a collective to ence of Art,” part of the Darbring designers together to win Day 2012 events sponsored share ideas, present talks and by the University of Arkansas exhibit architectural designs, at Little Rock. University of will hold its grand opening from California at Berkeley profes5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 10, as part of sor Dr. Kevin Padian, who will speak at the Clinton School for the 2nd Friday Art Night event Public Service at 6 p.m. Friday downtown. On exhibit will be plans and a model for Pettaway and UALR at 1:15 p.m. Saturday, Park, a pocket neighborhood will join the Canvas Commuproposal for land owned by the nity reception. Christ Episcopal Downtown Little Rock ComChurch, 509 Scott St., returns to munity Development Corp. on the fold with “The Cross,” interRock Street between 17th and pretations of the cross in a vari19th streets. Funded by a grant ety of media by Wes McHan, from the National Endowment Melverue Abraham, Sister for the Arts and a city grant, 5th Maria Liebeck, Betsy Woodyard, year architecture students and Susan Peterson, Janet Copeland, faculty of the University of Lynn Frost, Jai Ross and Mark Aldefer. Arkansas Community Design Center in Fayetteville have At the Butler Center Galleries in the Arkansas Studdrawn up plans and created a model for the neighborhood, a ies Institute at 401 President development of houses facing a Clinton Ave., an exhibit of art shared central park. Architects, quilts, “Connecting Threads,” AT STUDIOMAIN: Architect Jennifer Herron talks about the Pettaway residents and memopens. The Historic Arkansas design incubator, which opens Friday. bers of the DLRCDC worked Museum raises that with two together on the plan, tweaking it new exhibits and music by Bonto suit neighborhood desires for porches, tects outside the workplace, a place nie Montgomery and her band Montfor example, and various floorplans that where problems are worked out ahead gomery Trucking; the new shows feature would allow construction of nine homes of construction and where community sculpture by Bryan Massey, paintings at a cost of $100,000 a unit. input is welcomed. StudioMain should be by Tom Richard and cabinets by woodworker Doug Stowe. Pettaway Park may never be built — useful to the city of Little Rock, which has at least not in this economy — but the no urban planning department of its own. And there’s more: Hearne Fine Art plans for it will serve as a starting point Future exhibits will include plans has opened a new show, “Southern for conversation about how the neighborfor the Southside Main Street Project Spirit,” folk art by Melverue Abraham, hoods of the future could develop. That (SOMA) that UA Community Design William Clarke, Alonzo Ford, Sylvester is one of the goals of StudioMain — to be McKissick, Ms. Otis and W.E. Robinson. Center students are working on, ideas an incubator of good design. for the Creative Corridor north on Main Painter Matt Coburn will demonstrate at “Emerging professionals” — the archiaround the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, the Courtyard Marriott, 521 President tects’ term for young colleagues who are and a third home designed for the PetClinton, where The Maumelle Art Group just out of school or just licensed — put taway neighborhood by the UA’s other shows its work. in “sweat equity” to get the storefront student design studio, Design Build. A rubber-wheeled trolley will proready for Friday’s opening, architect JenMeyer envisions lectures on topics as varvide transportation to 2nd Friday venues, nifer Herron said. But the idea to bring ied as public art, needed changes in city but you might need a personal jet pack codes, bike paths and furniture design. to make it to all of them. Good luck. architects, builders, suppliers, advocates BRIAN CHILSON

9 p.m., $8. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-3721228. www.juanitas.com. Brian Martin. Maxine’s, 8 p.m., free. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxinespub.com. Byrd and Street. Faulkner County Library, 7 p.m., free. 1900 Tyler St., Conway. 501-3277482. www.fcl.org. Grand Serenade, The Evelyns, Rhett Brinkley. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. 2500 W. 7th. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. Jeff Long. Khalil’s Pub, 6 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com. Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. Lucious Spiller Band. Copeland’s, 6-9 p.m. 2602 S. Shackleford Road. 501-312-1616. www. copelandsofneworleans.com. Mandy McBryde & The Unholy Ghost, Matt Stell, Michael Leonard Witham. 18-and-older show. Stickyz Rock ’n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $7 single, $10 couple. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyfingerz.com. Paul Sammons. Maxine’s, 8 p.m., free. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxinespub.com. Ricky David Tripp. Ferneau, 5:30 p.m. 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-603-9208. www.ferneaurestaurant.com/. Tuesday Jam Session with Carl Mouton. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com.

ART NOTES

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FEBRUARY 8, 2012

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Valentine’s Day February 14th

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ARKANSAS TIMES

REMEMBER THIS STUPID F*****G THING?: You thought you’d gotten away from this guy, didn’t you? Well, he’s back. Even if you never saw “Star Wars Episode 1” you knew about him. But you thought you were safe. You didn’t count on George Lucas’ utter inability to refrain from making everyone in the world hate him. Market Street Cinema times at or after 9 p.m. are for Friday and Saturday only. Rave times are valid for Friday only. Breckenridge, Lakewood 8 and Riverdale showings were not available as of press deadline. Find up-to-date listings at arktimes.com. NEW MOVIES Journey 2: (PG) – When you were watching “Land of the Lost,” did you find yourself wishing they’d cast The Rock instead of Will Farrell? Well here you go. Rave: 10:45 a.m., 1:40, 4:20, 7:00 (2D), noon, 2:45, 5:15, 7:45, 10:25 (3D). Oscar Short Films 2012 (NR) – Screening of the short films nominated for 2012 Academy Awards. Market Street: 1:45, 4:00 (animated), 7:00, 9:00 (live action). Safe House (R) – Aka, “Doesn’t Denzel Washington Make a Scary Bad Guy?” Chenal 9: 10:10 a.m., 1:10, 4:10, 7:10, 10:10. Rave: 11:00 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 1:45, 3:00, 4:30, 5:50, 7:15, 8:40, 10:00, 11:30. Star Wars: Episode 1 (PG) – Again? Really? Sigh. Rave: 5:00 p.m. (2D), 10:00 a.m., 1:00, 4:15, 7:30, 8:25, 10:45, 11:40 (3D). The Vow (PG-13) – Something sad and beautiful and sadly beautiful happens to the sad, beautiful Rachel McAdams and the former male stripper Channing Tatum. Chenal 9: 10:25 a.m., 1:25, 4:25, 7:25, 10:25. Rave: 10:15 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 1:05, 2:00, 3:45, 4:45, 6:30, 7:25, 9:10, 10:15, 11:45. RETURNING THIS WEEK The Artist (PG-13) – This meta-homage to the black-and-white silent films of yore concerns a silent film star whose career is jeopardized by the advent of talkies. With Jean Dujardin. Market Street: 2:00, 4:20, 6:45, 9:00. Beauty and the Beast (G) – It’s Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” in 3D. Rave: 11:35 a.m., 2:25. Big Miracle (PG) – Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski rescue a family of noble gray whales from the encroaching Arctic ice. Chenal 9: 10:05 a.m., 1:05, 4:05, 7:05, 10:05. Rave: 10:30 a.m., 1:15, 3:55, 6:45, 9:25. Chronicle (PG-13) – A trio of teenagers gain mysterious superpowers from a meteorite, but will they use their newfound abilities wisely? Chenal 9: 10:20 a.m., 1:20, 4:20, 7:20, 10:20. Rave: 11:40 a.m., 2:10, 4:50, 7:10, 9:30, 11:45. Contraband (R) – Marky Mark has to return to his life of drug-running to save his boneheaded brother-in-law from gangsters. Rave: 11:25

a.m., 2:15, 5:10, 8:00, 10:55. A Dangerous Method (R) – Cronenberg’s latest is about Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Sabina Spielrein, former patient who had a romantic relationship with Jung. Market Street: 2:15, 4:25, 6:45, 9:00. The Descendants (R) – Clooney inches ever closer to making his “About Schmidt” in this tale of furrowed-browed, middle-aged soulsearching set in scenic Hawaii. Rave: 10:25 a.m., 1:25, 4:10, 7:05, 9:50. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (PG-13) – A young boy tries to unravel a secret message from his dad, who died in 9/11. With Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock. Rave: 11:10 a.m., 5:40. The Grey (R) – Liam Neeson and a band of oil-rig roughnecks fight for survival in Alaska after their plane crashes. Chenal 9: 10:15 a.m., 1:15, 4:15, 7:15, 10:15. Rave: 10:35 a.m., 1:35, 4:35, 7:35, 10:35. Happy Feet Two (PG) – In which computer-animated penguins with famous voices sing and dance and carry on in glorious, wholly necessary 3D. Movies 10: noon, 2:25, 4:45, 7:20, 9:55. Hugo (PG) – Martin Scorsese’s latest is a familyfriendly 3D epic based on the best-selling “The Invention of Hugo Cabret.” Market Street: 1:45, 6:45. In the Land of Blood and Honey (R) – Producer/ director Angelina Jolie’s Bosnian War film. Market Street: 4:15, 9:15. Jack & Jill (R) – Dear sweet Lord, is there any way for us to all just pay Adam Sandler to not make movies? Movies 10: 12:25, 2:50, 5:00, 7:25, 9:35. Joyful Noise (PG-13) – It’s Queen Latifah vs. Dolly Parton in a no-holds-barred sass-off that won’t end until the movie is over. Rave: 5:30, 8:20, 11:15. Machine Gun Preacher (R) – An ass-kicking exbiker goes to East Africa and fights the Lord’s Resistance Army so he can build an orphanage. Movies 10: 12:45, 4:00, 7:05, 9:50. Man on a Ledge (PG-13) – Elizabeth Banks is an NYPD negotiator who tries to talk a potential suicide off the ledge, but perhaps all is not as it seems with the jumper? Rave: 10:05 p.m. The Muppets (PG) – This Muppets reboot starring Jason Segel and Amy Adams has gotten nothing but glowing reviews. Movies 10: 12:10, 11:25, 2:40, 3:55, 5:10, 6:25, 7:40, 8:55, 10:10. My Week with Marilyn (R) – Starring Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe circa 1956. Market

Street: 2:00, 4:15, 7:15, 9:15. New Year’s Eve (PG-13) – What could possibly go wrong with a holiday-themed rom-com starring Ashton Kutcher, Jon Bon Jovi, Ludacris, Ryan Seacrest, Zac Efron and everyone else in the world? Movies 10: 9:30 p.m. One for the Money (PG-13) – Starring Katherine Heigl as an unlikely bounty hunter. Rave: 2:40, 8:50, 11:35. Puss in Boots (PG) – A Shrek spin-off following the adventures of Puss in Boots, voiced by Antonio Banderas. Movies 10: 12:05, 2:30, 4:50, 7:30, 9:45. Red Tails (PG-13) – The story of the AfricanAmerican WWII pilots of the Tuskegee training program. With Cuba Gooding Jr. Chenal 9: 10:30 a.m., 1:30, 4:30, 7:30, 10:30. Rave: 10:20 a.m., 1:20, 4:25, 7:40, 10:50. Tower Heist (PG-13) – A Bernie Madoff type steals millions from his clients as well as the retirement funds of the staffers at his luxury condo. Movies 10: 12:15, 2:45, 5:15, 7:45, 10:15. Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (PG13) – Vampires and werewolves and young actresses and supernatural battles and sexual tension and dramatic things and other stuff all are factors in this movie. Movies 10: 12:20, 1:40, 3:00, 4:20, 5:40, 7:00, 8:20, 9:40. Underworld: Awakening (R) – Ass-kicking vampire girl action flick from directors Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein. With Kate Beckinsale. Rave: 10:40 a.m. (2D), 1:10, 3:35, 6:35, 9:00, 11:25 (3D). Woman in Black (R) – Man, now they’ve got that Harry Potter dude starring in horror movies about creepy old castles haunted by old-lady ghosts. Chenal 9: 10:20 a.m., 1:20, 4:20, 7:20, 10:20. Rave: 10:05 a.m., 12:35, 3:10, 5:45, 8:10, 11:00. Riverdale: Chenal 9 IMAX Theatre: 17825 Chenal Parkway, 821-2616, www.dtmovies.com. Cinemark Movies 10: 4188 E. McCain Blvd., 945-7400, www.cinemark.com. Cinematown Riverdale 10: Riverdale Shopping Center, 296-9955, www.riverdale10.com. Lakewood 8: 2939 Lakewood Village Drive, 758-5354, www.fandango.com. Market Street Cinema: 1521 Merrill Drive, 312-8900, www.marketstreetcinema.net. Rave Colonel Glenn 18: 18 Colonel Glenn Plaza, 687-0499, www.ravemotionpictures.com. Regal Breckenridge Village 12: 1-430 and Rodney Parham, 224-0990, www.fandango. com.

MUSIC REVIEW

‘CHRONICLE’: Alex Russell, Michael B.Jordan and Dane DeHaan star.

‘Chronicle’ surprises With superteens who don’t suck. BY SAM EIFLING

n “Chronicle,” the aquarium-eyed Dane DeHaan plays a high-school outcast named Andrew, whose life sucks even by high-school standards. His mother’s dying of something slow and terrible, his father is a violent drunk, girls rightly think he’s weird and bullies like to yank on his head. His life reads as a prelude to a school shooting until his cheerfully philosophical cousin Matt (Alex Russell) and a chipper BMOC named Steve (Michael B. Jordan) coax him away from a party to a strange sinkhole in the Washington woods. The three boys follow some odd noises, spelunk into the crevasse and find a glowing crystalline mass that gives them nosebleeds. Next thing you know, the boys are able to control small objects with their minds — baseballs, Legos — and work their way up to veritable black-belts in telekinesis, and Andrew’s life goes from bad to fun to something else entirely. With every chance to make a teenhero flick, Josh Trank, directing his first feature and sharing the writing credits with Max Landis, also in his first feature, comes up with a moody, memorable film that takes chances without cutting corners — rarities both inside these genres. It’s not often that an action movie can coexist with a teen drama without one (or both) getting stiffed. “Chronicle” announces very early that its stakes are going to be high, and to its credit, it follows through, applying the kind of effects usually reserved for superhero movies to a story without any defined heroes. The result respects teen-agers by showing us just how twisted their lives really can be. Even in its cinematography “Chronicle” skirts pitfalls. From the

opening scene, shot from a camera that stares into a mirror on Andrew’s bedroom door, “Chronicle” is ostensibly shot from either a handheld camera, or a news camera, or a security camera, or a cell phone camera — the sort of firstperson perspective best used, like chili flakes, in pinches. Andrew’s strange enough for the trope to seem at least somewhat natural early. Once he takes to holding the camera telekinetically, “Chronicle” goes places none of its Steadicam ancestors could reach. As with everything in high school, the boys’ astonishing powers could come neither at a better nor a worse time. The boys find kinship in the shared secret, and claim a bit of social advantage (read: impressing girls) when the chance arises. But at the same time Andrew is acquainting himself with his new gifts — his grasp of the new ability is both the strongest and the most graceful — he’s fighting through the anger that bullies and his father and his mother’s illness have packed into him over the years. We’ve seen these themes explored before in the likes of the “X-Men” franchise — the disaffection and tempestuousness that come with being young and stricken with an unexplained power. “Chronicle” takes them further by ditching comicbook cliches and instead treating the story with a degree of realism and care uncommon among movies made for teen-agers. Nearly every scene is tinged (if not altogether soaked) with a stormy sensibility. For all the exploration the boys do, we never hear them utter the words “hero.” They have no interest in living out that story, and bless ’em, neither do Trank and Landis. Darkness rarely feels this refreshing.

www.arktimes.com

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

THE TELEVISIONIST

When doomsday comes Plus, Kevin Smith in ‘Comic Book Men.’ BY DAVID KOON

NEW SERIES: DOOMSDAY PREPPERS

8 p.m. Tuesdays The National Geographic Channel

There’s a lot of wisdom to the old Boy Scout motto of “Always Be Prepared.” You never know when the bad days are coming, after all, and scattered in amongst them are bound to be some REALLY bad days: car wrecks, hospital visits, house fires and sudden deaths. Still, that’s not what the folks on the new National Geographic Channel show “Doomsday Preppers” concern themselves with. They’re worried about the days that make the regular ol’ poo hitting the fan smell like a cool breeze off the ocean: New-Madridlevel superquakes, nuclear war, societal collapse and giant coronal sun-storms that could flash-fry every electric circuit on the planet. Yes, any of those things might happen, at which point the guy

with 10,000 pounds of dried beets stockpiled and guarded with booby traps in his basement is gonna look pretty smart. For now, though, while the lights and the cable are still on, watching the folks on “Doomsday Preppers” actually do stuff like retrofit old school buses as armedto-the-teeth “bug out” vehicles, stockpile heavy weaponry and ammo, learn a rare Pacific Rim language so they can communicate secretly in case of home invasion (I wish I was making that one up) and eat tilapia raised in a converted backyard pool three meals a day while seriously talking about the end of the world does tend to strike one as a little nuts. Sure, I might be able to see one crazy Vietnam vet building himself a barbwire-strung compound in the middle of the desert and hunkering down there in anticipation of the zombie apocalypse, but where does a guy like that find a wife? Some of

these folks have whole clans of folks there with them. That’s a lot of paranoia in one place, and a lot of time to sit around waiting for someone to say: “Wait a sec. You know crapping in a bucket and living off C-rations on the trillion-to-one-chance that society will collapse is completely insane, right?” Still, like I said, anything might happen. The question “Doomsday Preppers” asks, though, is: At what point do those walls you’ve built to protect yourself become a prison?

NEW SERIES: COMIC BOOK MEN

Debuts 9 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12 AMC

It takes a certain kind of person to be a fan of the sometimes disgusting, usually vulgar, often hilarious films of screenwriter and director Kevin Smith. As for me, I’m in bro-love with the guy. Ever since I got hooked on Smith’s wry and knowing comedy in “Clerks,” I’ve watched and read pretty much everything he’s ever done, including his podcasts, his efforts at blogging, and his non-standup standup specials, in which he kvetches about everything from his films, to wheel-

ing and dealing in Hollywood, to sex with his wife to coming late to the game of being a pothead. Anybody who has ever watched or read anything by Smith knows that calling him a comic book geek is an insult. He’s THE comic book geek, the guy who can tell you every origin story and complicated history of every character going. For years now, Smith has owned a comic book store called “Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash” in his home town of Red Bank, N.J. In this new six-part reality series from AMC, Smith and the cast of characters, jokers and hangerson who work at and otherwise populate the Secret Stash let you in on the Mountain Dew-flavored world of the Comic Book SuperGeeks. Only the trailers are up for the show at AMC.com at this point, but they’re enough to give you the rough framework: Smith and company cracking on one another, appearances by comic book royalty, collectors looking to part with their priceless treasures, and an overall fathoms-deep passion for all those comic books your mom threw away when she cleaned out the attic a few years back. Looks like a heck of a good time, especially for fans of rare funny books, Kevin Smith and his work.

AFTER DARK, CONT. Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. New Music Test: Toneadoes, The Delta Breed. Revolution, 8:30 p.m., $5 21 and older, $10 20 and younger. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501823-0090. revroom.com. Ricky David Tripp. Ferneau, 5:30 p.m. 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-603-9208. www.ferneaurestaurant.com/. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 5 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG. University of Central Arkansas Symphonic Band. Reynolds Performance Hall, UCA, 7:30 p.m., free. 350 S. Donaghey, Conway.

EVENTS

27th Annual North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce Banquet. Verizon Arena, 5 p.m., $60. 1 Alltel Arena Way, NLR. 501-975-9001. verizonarena.com.

SPORTS

UALR Women’s Trojans vs. FIU. Jack Stephens Center, UALR, 7 p.m., $4-$35. 2801 S. University Ave.

THIS WEEK IN THEATER

“An Afternoon With Playwright Kim Rosenstock.” Ozarks at Large host Kyle Kellams visits with the playwright, whose “Tigers Be Still” is being produced at TheatreSquared. Fayetteville Public Library, Sat., Feb. 11, 4:30 p.m. 401 W. Mountain St., Fayetteville. “Bring It On: The Musical.” Musical comedy about high school rivalries. Walton Arts Center, Wed., Feb. 8, 7 p.m.; Thu., Feb. 9, 7 p.m.; Fri., Feb. 10, 8 p.m.; Sat., Feb. 11, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sun., Feb. 12, 2 p.m., $49-$73. 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-443-5600. Danny Glover and Felix Justice in “An 36

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

Evening with Martin & Langston.” Reynolds Performance Hall, UCA, Thu., Feb. 9, 7:30 p.m., $23-$40. 350 S. Donaghey, Conway. “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf.” Ntozake Shange’s Tony Award-winning experimental work is composed of a series of 20 poems that concern the challenges facing African-American women. The Weekend Theater, through Feb. 25: Fri., Sat., 7:30 p.m., $12-$16. 1001 W. 7th St. 501374-3761. www.weekendtheater.org. ImprovLittleRock. Improv comedy troupe, appropriate for ages 13 and older. Arkansas State University at Beebe, Sat., Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m., $5-$10. 1000 W. Iowa St., Beebe. 800-632-9985. www.asub.edu/. “The Odd Couple.” An updated, female version of Neil Simon’s classic. All times are for dinner. Curtain is later. Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, through Feb. 22: Tue.-Sun., 6 p.m.; Wed., 11 a.m.; Sun., Feb. 12, 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. 6323 Col. Glenn Road. 501-562-3131. murrysdinnerplayhouse.com. “Our Town.” Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prizewinning classic about the meaning of life viewed through the lens of the people of tiny Grover’s Corners, N.H. University of Central Arkansas, Feb. 9-10, 7:30 p.m.; Feb. 15-17, 7:30 p.m., $10. 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. www.uca.edu. “Romantic Fools: An Evening of One-Act Plays.” Includes seven romance-themed one-act plays. Pocket Community Theater, through Feb. 19: Fri., Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 p.m., $5-$10. 170 Ravine St., Hot Springs. “Tigers Be Still.” An unemployed recent grad returns to her hometown and tries to get a job as a substitute art teacher while an escaped tiger roams the area. Walton Arts Center’s Nadine Baum Studios, through March 4: Thu., Fri., 7:30 p.m.; Sat., 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Sun., 2 and 7 p.m., $10-$28. 505 W. Spring St., Fayetteville. 479-4435600. theatre2.org.

“To Kill a Mockingbird.” The play based on Harper Lee’s classic, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Arkansas Repertory Theatre, through Feb. 12: Wed., Thu., 7 p.m.; Fri., Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 and 7 p.m., $25-$30. 601 Main St. 501-378-0405. www. therep.org.

GALLERIES, MUSEUMS

NEW EXHIBITIONS, EVENTS

BUTLER CENTER GALLERIES, Arkansas Studies Institute: “Connecting Threads,” 16 quilts by the Studio Art Quilt Associates, main gallery; “Arkansas Masters: Prints from the CALS Collection,” mezzanine gallery; National Museum of Women in the Arts’ “Women to Watch,” atrium gallery, through April 28; “Ark in the Dark: An Exhibition of Vintage Movie Posters about Arkansas,” Concordia Hall, through Feb. 25. Reception 5-8 p.m. Feb. 10, 2nd Friday Art Night. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 320-5790. CANVAS COMMUNITY GALLERY, 1111 W. 7th St.: “The Art of Science, the Science of Art,” Darwin Day exhibit and event honoring biologist Dr. Kevin Padian, 5-8:30 p.m. Feb. 10 (award ceremony at 7:30 p.m.), 2nd Friday Art Night. CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 509 Scott St.: “The Cross,” interpretations in sculpture, painting, photography and stained glass by Wes McHan, Melverue Abraham, Janet Copeland, Susan Peterson, Lynn Frost, Betsy Woodyard, Jai Ross and Mark Aldefer, reception 5-8 p.m. Feb. 10, 2nd Friday Art Night. 375-2342. COURTYARD MARRIOTT, 521 President Clinton Ave.: Work by the Maumelle Art Group and demonstration by Matt Coburn, 5-8 p.m. Feb. 10, 2nd Friday Art Night. 975-9800. HEARNE FINE ART, 1001 Wright Ave.: “Southern Spirit,” Southern folk art by Melverue Abraham, William Clarke, Alonzo Ford, Sylvester McKissick, Ms. Otis and W.E. Robinson, through March 3, open 5-8 p.m. Feb. 10, 2nd

Friday Art Night. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri., 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. 372-6822. HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM, 200 E. Third St.: “Bryan Massey and Tom Richard: Utilizing Experiences and Myth,” Feb. 10-May 6; “Doug Stowe: The Making of My Small Cabinets,” Feb. 10-July 8; “Found-Fired-Formed: Sarah May Leflar, Donna Uptigrove and Amber Uptigrove,” extended through April 8; “Reel to Real: ‘Gone with the Wind’ and the Civil War in Arkansas,” artifacts from the Shaw-Tumblin collection, through April 30. Reception 5-8 p.m. Feb. 10, 2nd Friday Art Night, with music by Bonnie Montgomery Trucking. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9351. MOSAIC TEMPLARS CULTURAL CENTER, Ninth and Broadway: “Creativity Arkansas Collection,” works by black Arkansas artists; permanent exhibits on African-American entrepreneurial history in Arkansas, reception 5-8 p.m. Feb. 10, 2nd Friday Art Night. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 683—3593. STUDIOMAIN, 1423 S. Main St.: Grand opening of new collaboration space and exhibit of Pettaway Park conceptual drawings, 5-8 p.m. Feb. 10, 2nd Friday Art Night. THEA CENTER, 401 Main St., NLR: Janet Donnangelo, pottery, Feb. 8-March 2; Thea Visual Art Competition Winners, through Feb. 23. Reception 5:30-8 p.m. Feb. 17. 9 a.m.-noon, 1-5 p.m. Wed.-Thu. 379-9512. HOT SPRINGS MID-AMERICA SCIENCE MUSEUM, 500 MidAmerica Blvd.: “Odyssey’s Shipwreck! Pirates and Treasure,” artifacts recovered from several wrecks, Feb. 14-Sept. 14. 501-767-3461. RUSSELLVILLE ARKANSAS TECH UNIVERSITY: “Heifer International Exhibition,” through Feb. 27, Norman Hall Gallery of Art. 479-964-3237.

Dining

BELLY UP Check out the Times’ food blog, Eat Arkansas arktimes.com

WHAT’S COOKIN’

New look, same Mama’s

and at work on a book called “So You Think You Can Own a Restaurant” (we don’t at all, but are ready to pre-order on the promise of Stockton chronicling his path from hippie vegetarian to soul food king). Meanwhile, his wife, Barbara Stockton, long the public face of the restaurant as cashier, continues on Still serving ‘Good Food’ at Your Mama’s. with no immediate plans to leave. midst the constellation Long time grill man and fryer of of home cooking joints in chicken and such Brian Davis Central Arkansas, Your remains on staff as well. The new owners, brother-inMama’s Good Food has long been laws John Gray and Steve Maxour North Star. We drift away from time to time, but always well, don’t appear to be candireturn to the 30-year-old downdates for running the business town purveyor of fried goodness, into the ground. Gray, the managvegetables made with love (or a ing partner, is a 25-year food serlot of butter) and rolls as big as vice vet, who’s bounced around bocce balls. from New Orleans to Destin. His vision for the new Your Mama’s So it was with some trepidation that we received the news largely has to do with broadenthat Fleming and Barbara Stocking the restaurant’s reach. He’s ton had sold the restaurant they’d in the early stages of the applicarun for nearly 21 years. The deal, tion process for a license to serve which was announced last fall, beer and wine. With the restaualso left us comfort food-less for rant’s proximity to Markham Street and River Market area three months, while the business moved from the Tower Building hotels, he thinks there could be to a larger space a few blocks away some opportunities for business a in the Pyramid Place Building. couple nights a week. More nearThe verdict after two months term, Gray plans to start packand some change in the new locaaging Your Mama’s containers FAMILIAR FARE: Your Mama’s catfish, squash, green beans and a roll. tion under new ownership? The for take-and-bake evening meals. food is as straightforward and “The home-meal replacement delicious as we remember it. In half stuck to your clothes — was any resmarket,” Gray calls it. Comfort food in a dozen visits, we’ve sampled all the taurant cozier? The new space is sigthe comfort of your own home? Sounds standbys: crispy fried chicken; fried nificantly bigger — 3,600 square feet in like something we could get behind. pork chops covered in rich, brown total, with a much larger kitchen and gravy that we suspect could improve seating for around 130 or 140, almost just about any meal; slow-cooked beef twice as much as the last location could Your Mama’s tips over egg noddles (more gravy); and accommodate. It’s not un-cozy, but cerGood Food deep-fried chicken fried steak (still tainly feels voluminous. There’s a large 215 Center St. more gravy). Ditto for familiar sides entryway and two sections of seating Little Rock 372-1811 being as good as we recalled. No one has areas, divided by an exposed brick wall better mashed potatoes in town. Fried with a spiffy neon Your Mama’s sign on QUICK BITE okra, black-eyed peas, turnip greens, the street side. Off to another side is a New owner John Gray has suspended breakfast and is unlikely to revive it. private room that’s used for overflow thick-sliced cooked carrots (in lots of The margins aren’t there, he said. butter) and smothered cabbage were seating during lunch and is available But he has expanded the hours you predictably good as well. When sepafor rental. The ceilings are high, and can get grilled items. We’ve never rated, one roll we ordered had a layer there’s probably 50 feet for the food departed from the standard meat-andtwo lunch option, but Mama’s Meatof flour on it; otherwise, those massive line to snake before doubling back. Near loaf Sandwich ($4.50 with fries), which creations remain peerless. The underone private room is a large antique safe comes served on a sliced and griddlerated sweet cornbread deserves con(“where we keep our secret recipes,” a toasted roll, might change that. man busing tables joked recently). sideration as well. HOURS Is it an easy transition otherwise? Despite the changes, there’s been 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (lunch service), No, though perhaps unreasonably. We much constancy. For most of the time 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (grill) Monday through Friday. miss small things about the old Your since the restaurant reopened, Fleming Mama’s. The hexagonal tile, the green Stockton has worked in the kitchen, OTHER INFO vinyl-covered wooden chairs, the smells in a consultant’s role, supervising the Credit cars accepted. No alcohol. from the adjacent kitchen that always kitchen transition. He’s now retired BRIAN CHILSON

LITTLE ROCK CAN NO LONGER say

we have no Newk’s. Sean Sylvester and partners in Mkuze Ventures are remodeling the building that held Shorty Small’s off Warden Road in North Little Rock for a Newk’s Express Cafe, set for a mid-May opening. Newk’s will serve soups, salads, sandwiches, California-style (thin crust) pizza and beer and wine. Sylvester said the food will be fresh — “no microwave, no grease” — and the atmosphere “upscale bistro.” Service will be fast, and only one item on the menu will be over $10. After the remodeling is done, Newk’s will seat 160 inside and another 44 outside on a patio to be added. Sylvester’s group also owns the Newk’s franchise in Hot Springs; Sylvester was formerly the director of operations for Applebee’s restaurants in Arkansas and Oklahoma. THE RIVERDALE 10 MOVIE HOUSE

on Cantrell Road is giving new meaning to the phrase “dinner and a movie”: It’s now serving meals, both for take-out or eat-in right there in the theater. A reader and foodie asked us to find out what the “Hot Food Fast” sign at Riverdale referred to. Assistant manager Anthony McKinney clued us in. The theater — for the past two months, we blush to acknowledge — is selling fried catfish, fried shrimp, chicken strips, chicken fries, tater tots, corn dogs, cheese fries and, yes, fried okra to moviegoers. The food comes in a styrofoam container. Here’s the kicker: It’s cheaper to eat three pieces of catfish with french fries, hushpuppies and a drink ($7.75) than it is to order a small popcorn and a small soda ($8). Fried chicken combos are even cheaper, and chicken sandwiches cheaper still. So, we asked, doesn’t this mean the theater will need a super clean-up after each showing? That not only will popcorn and Coke stick to your shoes as you exit, but you might squish a catfish fillet dropped by the guy down the row from you? “That’s why we have to be on top on cleaning,” McKinney said. He said the theater has a “great crew.” The idea came from manager Stacy Ford, who saw something similar at a movie house in Dallas. So far, it’s been a success at night, McKinney said. And how long does it take to get your food? “It’s fast, like the sign says,” McKinney said, cooked to order in the Riverdale kitchen that, until now, wasn’t living up to its potential. www.arktimes.com

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

CROSSWORD

DINING CAPSULES, CONT.

EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ Across 1 Baby docs 4 Replay view, often 9 Plays, as records 14 Org. whose logo features the letter pi with an arrow through it 15 Like wickerwork 16 Comic Cheech 17 Pipe joint 18 Start of a quip by 44-Across 20 1980s Salvadoran president 22 Parliament, e.g., in brief 23 “That’s all ___ wrote” 24 Courtier who invites Hamlet to duel with Laertes 25 Key in the middle of the top row 27 “Oh, c’mon!” 28 Quip, part 2 30 Overly assertive

31 Nietzsche’s “never” 32 Wood used in making some dartboards 33 $$$ for later years 34 Quip, part 3 39 “___ This, Not That! The NoDiet Weight Loss Solution!” 40 “Breaking Bad” network 41 Bagel accompaniment 44 Writer Brendan 47 Quip, part 4 50 ___-retentive 51 London jazz duo? 52 Greenskeeper’s tool 53 Rejections 54 Campaign freebie 55 One of the Beverly Hillbillies 56 End of the quip 60 Awards ceremony rental

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE C O H A P R A D L A M E L S E W A E L I R E S O A C C T J E B U N R I I C O N C O N T E R T E S E E R

B A D A N S W E R

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H A C K E R

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R O M A R A P R E S S M O A U N A D S I A N H A P P O R M O S I D T H L R O Y T A L D O I R N C O

A G E N T S

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61 Watches like a wolf 62 Holder for a toilet paper roll 63 Pittsburgh-toBaltimore dir. 64 Word with cookie or rap 65 Flip over 66 Chemin ___ Dames (W.W. I battle locale) Down 1 You are here 2 Only person to have the #1 movie, #1 album and #1-rated late-night TV show all in the same week 3 On the payroll 4 Feature of Dr. Frankenstein’s lab 5 Come up short 6 Fertility clinic stock 7 Cry over spilled milk, perhaps? 8 Tripping 9 Urban woe 10 Bit of butter 11 Van Gogh masterpiece 12 Recesses 13 Bashful companion 19 Invalidate 21 Detroit rapper ___-A-Che 25 Peter who played Columbo 26 Data holder on a cellphone 27 “The Ghost of Tom ___” (1995 Bruce Springsteen album) 29 Shipped

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

38 41

Puzzle by Brendan Emmett Quigley

30 It’s held up with a hook 33 Resident of the ancient city Choquequirao 35 True 36 Actor McKellen 37 ___ Kitchen (organic frozen food company) 38 Came down 42 Make a cliché

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

39 45

43 Some duplicates 44 Relatives of ukuleles 45 “All right already!” 46 Give a hard time 47 “Gracias” reply 48 Thing watched while driving through a speed trap

49 Subj. of the 1948 Nobel in Physiology or Medicine 51 Small blemish, in slang 54 “Hey!” 55 Razz 57 Pipe joint 58 62-Across, e.g. 59 Duo

For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-814-5554. Annual subscriptions are available for the best of Sunday crosswords from the last 50 years: 1-888-7-ACROSS. AT&T users: Text NYTX to 386 to download puzzles, or visit nytimes.com/mobilexword for more information. Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 2,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year). Share tips: nytimes.com/wordplay. Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/learning/xwords.

THIS MODERN WORLD

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.

AMERICAN

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. $-$$. 501-374-4265. LD Tue.-Sat. ALL AMERICAN WINGS Wings, catfish and soul food sides. 215 W. Capitol Ave. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-376-4000. LD Mon.-Fri (LD on Sat. beginning after Jan 2012). ALLEY OOPS The restaurant at Creekwood Plaza (near the KanisBowman 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. $-$$. 501-221-9400. LD Mon.-Sat. ATHLETIC CLUB What could be mundane fare gets delightful twists and embellishments here. 11301 Financial Centre Parkway. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-312-9000. LD daily. B-SIDE The little breakfast place in the former party room of Lilly’s DimSum Then Some turns tradition on its ear, offering French toast wrapped in bacon on a stick, a must-have dish called “biscuit mountain” and beignets with lemon curd. Top notch cheese grits, too. 11121 Rodney Parham Road. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-716-2700. BL Wed.-Sun. BAR LOUIE This chain’s first Arkansas outlet features a somethingfor-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. 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, boneless wings, whiskey on tap. Plus, the usual burgers, steaks, soups and salads. 225 E. Markham. 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. $$. 501-812-0019. D daily. BUFFALO GRILL A great crispy-off-the-griddle cheeseburger and hand-cut fries star at this family-friendly stop. 1611 Rebsamen Park Road. Full bar, CC. $$. 501-296-9535. LD daily. 400 N. Bowman Road. Full bar, Beer, All CC. $$. 501-224-0012. LD daily. CAFE 201 The hotel restaurant in the Crowne Plaza serves up a nice lunch buffet. 201 S. Shackleford Road. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-2233000. LD daily. 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. $-$$. 501-663-7224. LD Tue.-Sat. CHEERS IN THE HEIGHTS Good burgers and sandwiches, vegetarian offerings and salads at lunch and fish specials, and good steaks in the evening. 2010 N. Van Buren. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-663-5937. LD Mon.-Sat. 1901 Club Manor Drive. Maumelle. Full bar, All CC. 501-8516200. LD daily, BR Sun. CORNERSTONE PUB & GRILL A sandwich, pizza and beer joint in the heart of North Little Rock’s Argenta district. 314 Main St. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-374-1782. LD Mon.-Sat. CRACKER BARREL Chain-style home-cooking with plenty of variety, consistency and portions. Multiple locations statewide. 3101 Springhill Drive. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. 501-945-9373. BLD. 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. DOGTOWN COFFEE AND COOKERY Although the down-home name might suggest to some a down-home, meat-and-three kind of place, this is actually an up-to-date sandwich, salad and fancy coffee kind of place, well worth a visit. 6725 John F. Kennedy Blvd. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-833-3850. BL Mon.-Sun., BLD Fri.-Sat.,. E’S BISTRO Despite the name, think tearoom rather than bistro -- there’s

DINING CAPSULES, CONT. 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. $$. 501-771-6900. FLIGHT DECK A not-your-typical daily lunch special highlights this spot, which also features inventive sandwiches, salads and a popular burger. Central Flying Service at Adams Field. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-375-3245. BL Mon.-Sat. GREEN CUISINE Daily specials and a small, solid menu of vegetarian fare. Try the crunchy quinoa salad. 985 West Sixth St. No alcohol, CC. $-$$. Serving. HILLCREST ARITSAN MEATS A fancy charcuterie and butcher shop with excellent daily soup and sandwich specials. Limited seating is available. 2807 Kavanaugh Blvd. No alcohol, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-671-6328. L Mon.-Sat. JASON’S DELI A huge selection of sandwiches (wraps, subs, po’ boys and pitas), salads and spuds, as well as red beans and rice and chicken pot pie. Plus a large selection of heart healthy and light dishes. 301 N. Shackleford Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-954-8700. BLD daily. JIMMY JOHN’S GOURMET SANDWICHES Illinois-based sandwich chain that doesn’t skimp on what’s between the buns. 4120 E. McCain Blvd. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-945-9500. LD daily. 700 South Broadway St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-372-1600. LD daily. 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. $-$$. 501-666-3500. BLD Mon.-Sat., LD Sun. LETTI’S CAKES Soups, sandwiches and salads available at this cake, pie and cupcake bakery. 3700 JFK Blvd. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-708-7203. LD (closes at 6 p.m.) Mon.-Fri. L 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 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. $$-$$$. 501-6604040. LD Tue.-Sat. MIMI’S CAFE Breakfast is our meal of choice here at this upscale West Coast chain. Portions are plenty to last you through the afternoon, especially if you get a muffin on the side. Middle-America comfort-style entrees make-up other meals, from pot roast to pasta dishes. 11725 Chenal Parkway. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-221-3883. BLD daily. MORNINGSIDE BAGELS Tasty New Yorkstyle boiled bagels, made daily. 10848 Maumelle Blvd. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-753-6960. BL daily. ORANGE LEAF YOGURT Upscale self-serve national yogurt chain. 11525 Cantrell Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-227-4522. LD daily. 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.

RED MANGO National yogurt and smoothie chain whose appeal lies in adjectives like “all-natural,” “non-fat,” “gluten-free” and “probiotic.” 5621 Kavanaugh Blvd. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-663-2500. LD daily. RESTAURANT 1620 Steaks, chops, a broad choice of fresh seafood and meal-sized salads are just a few of the choices on a broad menu at this popular and upscale West Little Rock bistro. It’s a romantic, candlelit room, elegant without being fussy or overly formal. 1620 Market St. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-221-1620. L Mon.-Fri., D Mon.-Sat., BR Sun. SADDLE CREEK WOODFIRED GRILL Upscale chain dining in Lakewood, with a menu full of appetizers, burgers, chicken, fish and other fare. It’s the smoke-kissed steaks, however, that make it a winner -- even in Little Rock’s beef-heavy restaurant market. 2703 Lakewood Village. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-812-0883. SAY MCINTOSH RESTAURANT Longtime political activist and restaurateur Robert “Say” McIntosh serves up big plates of soul food, plus burgers, barbecue and his famous sweet potato pie. 2801 W. 7th Street. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-664-6656. LD Mon.-Sat. L Sun. SIMPLY NAJIYYAH’S FISHBOAT AND MORE Good catfish and corn fritters. 2900 S. University Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-562-3474. Serving:. SLICK’S SANDWICH SHOP & DELI Meatand-two plate lunches in state office building. 101 E. Capitol Ave. 501-375-3420. L Mon.-Fri. SPECTATORS GRILL AND PUB Burgers, soups, salads and other beer food, plus live music on weekends. 1012 W. 34th St. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-791-0990. LD Mon.-Sat. SPORTS PAGE Perhaps the largest, juiciest, most flavorful burger in town. Grilled turkey and hot cheese on sourdough gets praise, too. Now with lunch specials. 414 Louisiana St. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-372-9316. L Mon.-Fri. STARVING ARTIST CAFE All kinds of crepes, served as entrees or as dessert, in this cozy multidimensional eatery with art-packed walls and live demonstrations by artists during meals. The Black Forest ham sandwich is a perennial favorite with the lunch crowd. Dinner menu changes daily, good wine list. “Tales from the South” dinner and readings at on Tuesdays; live music precedes the show. 411 N. Main St. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-372-7976. L Tue.-Sat., D Tue., Fri.-Sat. SUFFICIENT GROUNDS Great coffee, good bagels and pastries, and a limited lunch menu. 122 W. Capitol. No alcohol, CC. $. 501-372-1009. BL Mon.-Fri. T.G.I. FRIDAY’S This national chain was on the verge of stale before a redo not long ago, and the update has done wonders for the food as well as the surroundings. The lunch combos are a great deal, and the steaks aren’t bad. It’s designed for the whole family, and succeeds. Appetizers and desserts are always good. 2820 Lakewood Village Drive,. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-758-2277. LD daily. THE TAVERN SPORTS GRILL Burgers, barbecue and more. 17815 Chenal Parkway. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-830-2100. LD daily. TROPICAL SMOOTHIE CAFE Besides the 30 different fruit smoothies on the menu, the cafe also serves wraps and sandwiches (many of them spicy) and salads. 10221 N. Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-224-2233. BLD daily.

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.

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’S 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. $$-$$$. 501-8218000. 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. 11600 Pleasant Ridge Drive. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-219-9399. LD daily. FU LIN Quality in the made-to-order entrees is high, as is the quantity. 200 N. Bowman Road. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-225-8989. LD daily. HUNAN BALCONY The owner of New Fun Ree has combined forces with the Dragon China folks to create a formidable offering with buffet or menu items. 418 W. 7th. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-666-8889. LD. IGIBON JAPANESE FOOD HOUSE It’s a complex place, where the food is almost always good and the ambiance and service never fail to please. The Bento box with tempura shrimp and California rolls and other delights stand out. 11121 N. Rodney Parham Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-217-8888. LD Mon.-Sat. 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. P.F. CHANG’S Nuevo Chinese from the Brinker chain. 317 S. Shackleford. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-225-4424. LD daily. 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. $-$$. 501-224-8100. LD daily. PEI WEI Sort of a miniature P.F. Chang’s, but a lot of fun and plenty good with all the Chang favorites we like, such as the crisp honey shrimp, dan dan noodles and pad thai. 205 N. University Ave. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-280-9423. LD daily. SUPER KING BUFFET Large buffet with sushi and a Mongolian grill. 4000 Springhill Plaza Court. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-945-4802. LD daily. VAN LANG CUISINE Terrific Vietnamese cuisine, particularly the way the pork dishes and the assortment of rolls are presented. Great prices, too. Massive menu, but it’s userfriendly for locals with full English descriptions and numbers for easy ordering. 3600 S. University Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-570-7700. LD daily.

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FEBRUARY 8, 2012

Natives Guide Dining out on Valentine’s Day

ooking to take your Valentine out to dinner on Feb. 14? Take a look at our survey of what some of Little Rock’s finest restaurants plan to serve.

Ashley’s On Monday, only two reservations were still available for regular hours. If you didn’t act quickly enough, drool over this sampling of the dishes from this $95 price-fixed, six-course meal: butternut squash soup with Granny Smith apples, pabo and cinnamon cream; prime beef tenderloin (or the veggie option, roasted cauliflower steak) and a chocolate and hazelnut cream tart. Wine pairings are available. Late seatings may still be available. 111 W. Markham St. 374-7474. Boulevard On the menu: a special fourcourse surf and turf dinner. A take-out option is available as well. Reservations not required but seating is limited. 1920 N. Grant St. 663-5951. Brave New Restaurant This perennial favorite won’t announce Valentine’s specials until Feb. 13. Reservations recommended. 2300 Cottondale Lane. 663-2677. Bravo! Cucina Italiana Reservations are highly recommended for this upscale Italian chain in West Little Rock. In fact, a restaurant employee told us reservations typically fill up the weekend before. No special menu for Feb. 14. 17815 Chenal Pkwy. 821-2485. Cafe Bossa Nova When we spoke with this Brazilian eatery located in the heart of Hillcrest early in the week, they were still considering throwing in a Valentine’s Day special or two to accompany their regular menu. Reservations are 40

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

BRIAN CHILSON

Acadia This Hillcrest fine-dining favorite offers several options in a threecourse meal, price fixed at $50.75. Among the options: spinach artichoke bisque, smoked gouda mac and cheese, roast beef tenderloin and housemade bread pudding or cobbler. 3000 Kavanaugh Blvd. 603-9630.

SBiP’s

required for parties of five or more. 5510 Kavanaugh Blvd. 614-6682. Cafe Prego Preparations are still underway for this popular Italian restaurant on Kavanaugh, but you can expect festive variations on some of its regular items like orange roughy with a cherry cream sauce. Although Prego will accept walk-ins, reservations are strongly encouraged. 5510 Kavanaugh Blvd. 663-5355.

with coconut shrimp and mango salsa with cranberry and apricot basmati rice, and a bacon-wrapped filet mignon with bacon-wrapped shrimp finished with a crawfish and cream sauce and goat cheese. For dessert, a heart-shaped cake topped with warm chocolate sauce and two chocolate-dipped strawberries is made for sharing. Capers plans seatings at 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 7 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. The 7 p.m. seating is full. 4502 Cantrell Road. 868-7600

Cajun’s Wharf Look for a few specials, including at least one lamb entree, along with the regular menu here. In the bar, find special Valentine’s Day drinks and an acoustic trio. Reservations required for parties of eight or more. 2400 Cantrell Road. 375-5351.

Capriccio Grill On the menu of this upscale Italian restaurant inside The Peabody: an option of multiple appetizers including hand-fried scallops with roasted corn, tomato and banana puree or a wintergreen salad with arugula, walnut brittle, hearts of palm, goat cheese and a black truffle vinaigrette. For the main course choose from a pistachio-crusted Chilean sea bass or prime filet with lobster tail. A glass of champagne accompanies the meal and there’s something called the “Chocolate Sweetheart Bar” filled with cakes and fondue for the taking. The band Wine and Roses will perform in the lobby and free valet parking is available for

Capers This West Little Rock favorite plans to offer a number of specials. For an appetizer, it will have hot crab au gratin with Kalmata olive bread, roasted red bell pepper soup with toasted corn and salad. Main course options include pan seared snapper with roasted yellow pepper grits and fried crawfish tails, a macadamia-crusted grouper

restaurant guests. Reservations recommended. 3 Statehouse Plaza. 399-8000. Ciao Typically closed on Tuesday evenings, this Italian cafe will be open for Valentine’s. It will offer a variety of specials, including prime beef tenderloin, scallops and duck breast with Fuji apples. The menu is available this weekend as well. Reservations required. 405 W. Seventh St. 372-0238. Ciao Baci With the kitchen open until 1 a.m., this might be a good pick for night owls. Valentine’s Day specials were still in the works earlier this week. Expect a number of champagne specials and festive drinks. Reservations are recommended. 605 N. Beechwood St. 6030238. Copper Grill Numerous a la carte options will be on a special menu, including the cream of wild mushroom soup, bacon-wrapped grilled shrimp and chocolate-dipped long-stem strawberries with hibiscus meringues. Specials begin on Friday and continue until Tuesday. Reservations a few days in advance recommended. 300 E. Third

pecans, chocolate peanuts, praline pecans, dark-chocolate-covered espresso beans — this little shop in McCain Mall sells all sorts of nutbased confections. And they ship, too. Drop by their kiosk or place an order online at www.ozarknuts.com.

Ferneau Choose between several three-course options at this Hillcrest mainstay. The lobster tails with 4-ounce tenderloin is the chef’s favorite; it’s served with garlic mashed potatoes and Hollandaise sauce. A chocolate gnocche cake is among the dessert options. Prices range from 45.00 to 85.oo per person. Reservations are expected to fill up by Thursday. 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd. 603-9208. Lulav Chef/owner J. Matt Lile III and company offer a special Valentine’s menu this week through Valentine’s Day. Choose between red snapper with fresh spinach leaves, tomatoes, Kalamata olives with basil butter sauce and handmade potato gnocchi or filet mignon with pinot noir sauce and potatoes au gratin with Asiago cheese. A strawberry velvet cake with strawberry butter cream frosting is for dessert. Each night leading up to Valentine’s Day includes special desserts, drinks and entertainment, including a private table serenade by jazz musician Michael Eubanks on Thursday, Feb. 9. More details at lulaveatery.com. Reservations required. 220 A W. 6th St. 374-5100. The Pantry The special three-course menu starts with roasted fennel toast and choice of soup or salad, followed by choice of the pepper steak with potato croquets or domestic rainbow trout stuffed with mushrooms and spinach. A house-made lemon strawCONTINUED ON PAGE 42

GRAV WELDON

St. 375-3333.

Arkansas sweets chocolate, brittle, barks, truffles and old- fashioned candies, this Van Buren mainstay has earned a loyal following and now has a second location in Fort Smith. This is the home of the Ozarkie confection, vanilla cream rolled in pecans and covered with either milk or dark chocolate. Go by the original store at 6300 Van Buren Highway, call 479-474-6077 or order yours online at www.kopperkettlecandies.com.

Each year, there’s a press for gathering sweet things and presenting them to the one you love. This year, we’re providing this guide to Arkansas sweetmakers, so you can impress your sweetheart with locally made sweets. Sweet, right? J&M Foods. Janis and Melanie are best known for their cheese straws, but the Little Rock manufacturer also makes some of the most decadent cookies available in this market. Traditional cookies such as chocolate chip pecan and triple chocolate chip are reminiscent of Brent & Sam’s, once made here in Arkansas; the tea cookies are even better, with flavors such as key lime, raspberry and chocolate orange. Available in cartons and tins at many Arkansas stores. To have your cookies delivered, order online at www.jm-foods.com.

Lambrecht Gourmet. One of the younger candy enterprises in Arkansas, this Heber Springs start-up is determined to provide high quality bark-like toffees. Their Hoity-Toity is a hard toffee embedded with macadamia nuts and covered in white chocolate; the Hazelnut Dark Chocolate is butter toffee laced with hazelnuts and milk chocolate. To order, call 501-362-7514 or order online at www. lambrechtgourmet.com.

Juanita’s Candy Kitchen. The remaining brittle maker in Arkadelphia (Andrews Candy Co. is packing up and leaving for Colorado) still makes delicately thin but powerfully good peanut, cashew and pecan brittle and nothing else, the same way it’s been done since 1974. Visit the shop behind the Walmart Supercenter in Arkadelphia Monday through Saturday, call Gary or Shauna at 870246-8542 or order online at www. juanitascandykitchen.com.

Martin Greer’s Candies. The good Dr. Greer makes every handcrafted candy, chocolate and brittle piece from scratch and sells nothing he doesn’t make. If you want to really impress your Valentine, this is where you can find an eight-pound heart-shaped box of chocolates. The pecan bark is highly recommended. Visit the store along state Hwy. 62 in little Gateway, call 479-656-1440 or order online at www.martingreerscandies.com.

Kopper Kettle Candies. Purveyors of

Ozark Candy & Nuts. Chocolate

Open SundayS TOO!

Stonebrook Fudge Factory. Cream and butter fudge made fresh daily by a sweet fellow named Earnest, this is a great place to stop in and savor one (or several) of the 23 varieties of fudge. Or a fried pie. They ship almost anywhere. 116 W. Main in Mountain View. Call 870-269-5955 or head to www.candybouquetofmountainview.com to order. Sweet. Handmade confections, brownies, candy corn and a host of old fashioned and new-fangled sweets. This is a great place to find novelty suckers, vintage junk food and gum. Plus owner Tim Anthony likes to dress up as Willy Wonka. Call 501-834-1986, visit 800 Hwy. 107 in Sherwood or go to www.facebook. com/ARSweet8. Sweet Temptations. Here you’ll find the fudge that comes with its own spoon. The Greenbrier candymaker is well represented at a number of Arkansas retailers with its signature plastic packaged fudge that comes in more than a dozen flavors — and which is usually packaged with a tiny fudge spoon for covert dining. Sweet Temptations also offers chocolate-dipped pretzel sticks, Turtles and other chocolate items. Call 877-473-4845 or check out the website at www.sweettemptationscandies.com. Two Dumb Dames. Eureka Springs’ longtime favorite place for anything with sugar in it, this old time candy store run by three generations of the same family covers a range of items from turtles and saltwater taffy to jawbreakers as big as a baseball. The fudge is popular with out-of-state visitors who want a piece of Arkansas by mail. Drop by the store at 33 S. Main in Eureka Springs, call 800237-7268 or order online at www. twodumbdames.com.

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berry cheesecake will satisfy your sweet tooth. Reservations are recommended, but walk-ins will be accepted. 11401 Rodney Parham Road. 353-1875.

The Restaurant at Terry’s Finer Foods Here you’ll find starters such as tartine of foie gras with herb salad, blinis au saumon fume with caviar and

Vesuvio There are several options to choose from on the restaurant’s $40 price-fixed Valentine’s menu. Appetizers include Putrocala salad, a combination of mixed greens with shrimp, fresh mozzarella and tomatoes tossed with homemade orange vinaigrette. Entree options include a lobster lasagna with bechamel cream sauce; the saltimbocca alla Romana, a scaloppini veal topped with prosciutto and sage with a white wine and butter sauce, or the swordfish Palermitana, a filet breaded in panko and grilled. Select dolces include Nutella cream puffs, gelato with wild berries in a homemade crepe and chocolate-covered strawberries. View the full Valentine’s menu at vesuviobistro.com. Reservations required. 1501 Merrill Drive. 225-0500. BRIAN CHILSON

SBiP’s You’ll find light jazz and a fivecourse meal at this newish restaurant in the Quapaw Tower. The fixed menu includes a citrus salad with blood orange vinaigrette, a chicken consomme and lemon sorbet. For an entree choose between the six-lobster-stuffed filet with bacon-wrapped au gratin potatoes or an andouille and apple-stuffed chicken breast with applejack sauce. A special desert menu is still in the works. Reservations are required; the restaurant is expected to fill up by the end of the week. 700 E. Ninth St. 372-7247. So Restaurant A prix-fixe three-course menu is planned (pricing is still in the works). On the menu: soup or salad, lobster-stuffed steak and raspberry chocolate ganache. Reservations are required. 3610 Kavanaugh Blvd. 663-1464. Sonny Williams Chef Clay Sipes is featuring a handful of Valentine’s Day options, including tomato bisque soup with basil oil and Parmesan crostini, an appetizer of boudin fritters and crawfish tails with remoulade and hot chili honey, and an entree of stout braised lamb shank with Gorgonzola and bacon polenta. Dessert will be a dark chocolate Frangelico cheesecake. Jim Dickerson performs at the piano bar and seating is by reservation only. 500 President Clinton Ave. 324-2999.

puree and sauteed spinach. For desserts, there’s a frozen Belgian chocolate souffle, profiteroles with rose cream and fresh berries, or baba au rhum. Reservations required and going quickly. 5018 Kavanaugh Blvd. 663-4152. Trio’s No entree specials, but look for a dessert menu (still in the works) with, we’re told, “chocolate, lots and lots of chocolate.” Reservations are required and typically fill up the weekend before. 8201 Cantrell Road. 221-3330.

SONNY WILLIAMS

creme fraiche, or asparagus, artichoke and fava bean salad with ricotta dressing. Entree offerings include lobster with white truffle risotto, morels and

chives, a lamb noisette with rosemary and Picholine olives, pommes saute and asparagus or onglet of beef with shallot and Balsamic reduction, pomme

Ya Ya’s Euro Bistro In addition to its regular menu Ya Ya’s will have several special a la carte items, including an appetizer called Oysters Two Ways, which is two oysters on the half shell and two lightly battered oysters with Champagne Minuet, frisee and horseradish mousse. Reservations are required. 17711 Chenal Parkway. 8211144.

DINING CAPSULES, CONT. choice of sauces. The crusty but tender backribs star. Side dishes are top quality. 915 W. Capitol Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-372-4227. BL Mon.-Fri. CROSS EYED PIG BBQ COMPANY Traditional barbecue favorites smoked well such as pork ribs, beef brisket and smoked chicken. Miss Mary’s famous potato salad is full of bacon and other goodness. Smoked items such as ham and turkeys available seasonally. 1701 Rebsamen Park Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 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. LD Mon.-Fri. HB’S BAR B.Q. Great slabs of meat with fiery barbecue sauce, but ribs are served on 42

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

Tuesday only. Other days, try the tasty pork sandwich on an onion roll. 6010 Lancaster. No alcohol, No CC. $-$$. 501-565-1930. L Mon.-Fri. MICK’S BBQ, CATFISH AND GRILL Good burgers, picnic-worthy deviled eggs and heaping barbecue sandwiches topped with sweet sauce. 3609 MacArthur Dr. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 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. $-$$. 501-372-6868. LD Mon.-Sat. 1307 John Barrow Road. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-224-2057. LD Mon.-Sat. 7601 Geyer Springs Road. Beer, All CC. $$. 501-562-8844. LD Mon.-Sat.

EUROPEAN / ETHNIC

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. $$. 501-224-0224. LD daily. BR Sun. THE PANTRY Owner and self-proclaimed “food evangelist” Tomas Bohm does things the right way -- buying local, making almost everything from scratch and focusing on simple preparations of classic dishes. The menu stays relatively true to his Czechoslovakian roots, but there’s plenty of choices to suit all tastes. There’s also a nice happy-hour vibe. 11401 Rodney Parham Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-353-1875. LD Mon.-Fri., D Sat. STAR OF INDIA The best Indian restaurant in the region, with a unique buffet at lunch and some fabulous dishes at night (spicy curried dishes, tandoori chicken, lamb and veal, vegetarian). 301 N. Shackleford. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-227-9900. LD daily. TASTE OF ASIA Delicious Indian food in a pleasant atmosphere. Perhaps the best samosas in town. Buffet at lunch. 2629 Lakewood Village Dr. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-812-4665. LD daily.

TAZIKI’S The first Arkansas location of the chain offers gyros, grilled meats and veggies, hummus and pimento cheese. 8200 Cantrell Rd. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-227-8291. LD daily 12800 Chenal Parkway. Beer, Wine, All CC. 501-225-1829. LD daily.

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. $$-$$$. 479-4447437. LD daily. GUSANO’S They make the tomatoey Chicago-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

DINING CAPSULES, CONT. 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. $-$$. 501-2248804. LD daily. 12911 Cantrell Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 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 Boulevard, Suite 1. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-868-3911. LD daily. PALIO’S Not quite artisan-grade, but far better than the monster chains and at a similar price point. With an appealingly thin, crunchy crust. 3 Rahling Circle. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-821-0055. LD daily. VESUVIO Arguably Little Rock’s best Italian restaurant is in one of the most unlikely places – tucked inside the Best Western Governor’s Inn within a nondescript section of west Little Rock. 1501 Merrill Drive. Full bar, All CC. $$$. 501-225-0500. D daily. VILLA ITALIAN RESTAURANT Hearty, inexpensive, classic southern Italian dishes. 12111 W. Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-219-2244. LD Mon.-Sat.

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. 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. $. 501-5654246. BLD 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. SAN JOSE GROCERY STORE AND BAKERY This mercado-plus-restaurant smells and

tastes like Mexico, and for good reason: the fresh flour tortillas, overstuffed burritos, sopes (moist corncakes made with masa harina), chili poblano are the real things. 7411 Geyer Springs Road. Beer, CC. $-$$. 501-565-4246. BLD daily. SUPER 7 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. LD and buffet 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 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.

MEXICAN

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. $-$$. 501-280-9888. BLD daily 18321 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-868-8822. BLD daily 400 President Clinton Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. L Mon.-Sat. CASA MEXICANA Familiar Tex-Mex style items all shine, in ample portions, and the steak-centered dishes are uniformly excellent. 6929 JFK Blvd. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-835-7876. LD daily. COZYMEL’S A trendy Dallas-chain cantina with flaming cheese dip, cilantro pesto, mole, lamb and more. 10 Shackleford Drive. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-954-7100. LD daily. EL CHICO Hearty, standard Mex served in huge portions. 1315 Breckenridge Drive. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-224-2550. LD daily. EL PORTON (LR) 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. 5507 Ranch Drive. Full bar, All CC. $$. LD daily. LA HACIENDA Creative, fresh-tasting entrees and traditional favorites, all painstakingly prepared in a festive atmosphere. Great taco salad, nachos, and maybe the best fajitas around. 3024 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 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.

See amazing sculptures out of LEGO® bricks.

SEPT. 24, 2011 - FEb. 12, 2012 PRESENTED bY

1200 President Clinton Avenue • Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 • 501-374-4242 • clintonpresidentialcenter.org www.arktimes.com

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

Verdier starburst locket, $88 from BOX TURTLE.

Vintage framed valentines from $12 at OLIVER’S ANTIQUES. FEBRUARY 8, 2012

gifts for your beloved that won’t break the bank

ow do I love thee? Let me count the ways (while I count my cash). It’s not that you don’t want the moon and the stars for your

sweetie, but in these tough economic times, many gift buyers need to stay within a budget. Here we offer you affordable yet adorable gift options for your Valentine.

Not your average bra. Red lace bra by b.tempted $38, and matching panties $19; Commando thongs only $20—absolutely no lines! from BARBARA GRAVES INTIMATE FASHIONS. Love and heart bud vases from DOUBLE R. FLORIST & GIFT SHOPPE, $9.95 each.

Shoes from SOLEMATES only $79. Dress from PINKY PUNKY only $219.

Valentine’s Day Starts Here Largest Selection of

Lingerie in Central Arkansas

nOW AVAiLABLe! shopcupids.com Little Rock West, Little Rock South*, North Little Rock, Cabot*, and Conway *open 24 hours! 44

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO ARKANSAS TIMES

hearsay ➥ The downlow on DL. DL1961 jeans are now available at B. BARNETT. They’re made with Xfit Lyrca Denim so they fit great and stay true to your shape. ➥A fresh face debuts at The Promenade. Fashion retailer FRANCESCA’S COLLECTIONS, which has a shop at Midtowne Little Rock, has added a second location at The Promenade at Chenal. The 1,260-square-foot space, on the southeast corner of the The Promenade Main Street roundabout, is between the Apple Store and J. Crew. Francesca’s specializes in affordable, fashion-forward styles in women’s clothing, accessories, and gifts. The Promenade at Chenal reports that they are expecting 90% to complete occupancy by fourth quarter 2012. ➥ Snuggle up. Check out VESTA’S bedding sale, 25% off in-store merchandise and 20% off special orders. Included is bedding by Bella Notte, Peacock Alley, SDH and Traditions by Pamela Kline. ➥ Save some green at Greenhaw’s. Through February, you can save up to 75% on winter wear and more at GREENHAW’S MENSWEAR. Deals include: 75% off leather coats (regularly $345, now $86.25), 85% off cashmere scarves (regularly $98.50, now $14.80), 75% off sport shirts (regularly $125, now $31.25), 75% off shoes (regularly $195, now $48.75) and more. ➥ Sweet! There’s a new sweet spot in town (just in time for Valentine’s Day no less!)—SWEET LOVE bakery owned by Kelli Marks. Located at 8210 Cantrell Road in the Cantrell Heights shopping center, they serve tasty treats Tuesday through Saturday. We hear the salted caramels and mini blueberry pies are to die for.

Give your Valentine kisses, candles or a romantic little note in a lovely handmade ceramic holders. $39 from the CLINTON MUSEUM STORE.

Gardners and nongardners love natural Caren soaps and lotions $4.99 to $9.99 from GOOD EARTH.

Heart umbrella $26.50 from J. Crew at THE PROMENADE AT CHENAL.

Leopard thigh-highs ($14), sequined panties ($29) and red accordion cami ($39) from CUPID’S on Rodney Parham.

We have the perfect valentine’s gifts for you!

Down-filled linen pillow with heartfelt sentiment, $132 from BOX TURTLE. Cocopotamus dark chocolate fudge, $9.50/ box of 5 truffles from BOX TURTLE.

2616 Kavanaugh Blvd. • Little Rock 501.661.1167 www.shopboxturtle.com

Red beaded pin from Guatemala and other creative valentine surprises.

Clinton Museum Store 610 President Clinton Ave. | Little Rock | 501-748-0400

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO ARKANSAS TIMES

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

Where we rank

rkansas has obsessed on national rankings — and not just in football — since Gov. Charles Brough traveled the country making his “Wonders of Arkansas” chautauqua speech nearly 100 years ago. His list of Arkansas wonders, compiled by the rah-rah Arkansas Advancement Assn., had Arkansas at No. 3 among the states in the production of cow peanuts, and No. 1 at turning out #2-grade knotty yellow pine planks. This was supposed to make us all proud. It was supposed to cure us of the enduring trauma from the hillbilly jokes, the barefoot jokes, and the old slanders in “On a Slow Train Through Arkansaw.” The Arkansas attention to national rankings in high-falutin categories — No 2 in punching out garment buttons from fresh-water mussel shells! — continued right up to the election of Bill Clinton as president in 1992. Once you get a president from your state, unless it turns out to be a Harding, a Carter, or a George W. Bush, your boosteristic worries are over. So we haven’t been the Inferiority Complex State for a good while now. But just out of nostalgia I’ve been going through some of the most recent of the national-rankings lists and thought I’d pass along a few up-to-date wondrous Arkie

accomplishments. Arkansas ranks No. 24 in young people who don’t have any sense. Arkansas ranks BOB No. 21 in toilet LANCASTER paper in public bathrooms that’s unusable for one disgusting reason or another. Arkansas ranks No. 4 in the incidence of dog-peter gnats. (It isn’t known where we rank in deadly tsetse flies masquerading as harmless dog-peter gnats, so be careful.) Arkansas ranks No. 12 in counterfeit archeological artifacts sold to collectors as the real McCoy. Arkansas ranks No. 1 in needle-nose gar suicides from depression over their lower front teeth having been ruined by addiction to meth. Arkansas ranks No. 3 in crappie and bream fishermen who bang around on their boats sufficiently to run off fish that might’ve otherwise been inclined to bite. Arkansas ranks No. 49 in wags. Arkansas ranks No. 10 in kooks. Arkansas ranks No. 32 in inhabitants so fat they’re obliged to eat out of troughs. Arkansas ranks No. 15 in getting all dressed up like a lightning-rod salesman. Arkansas ranks first in bonehead ex-

governors who turn hardened criminals loose to commit even more heinous felonies. (Mississippi is closing the gap here, however.) Arkansas ranks No. 9 in the purpleness of the adjectives used by its tourism officials to describe the state’s natural beauty to zombie potential retirees who spent 35 years or more driving ugly haz-mat trucks across drab Midwestern landscapes. Arkansas ranks 14th in beauty-pageant contestants who are barely old enough to walk. Arkansas ranks No. 3 in trailer parks with occupants who were once propositioned by a future president of the United States. Arkansas ranks No. 1 in state legislators who own and operate public-funded schools that teach the three R’s and a blatantly unconstitutional semi-retarded version of Christianity. Arkansas ranks No. 10 in production of red, cellophane-skinned, mushy, tasteless tomatoes whose only virtue is a long shelf-life. Arkansas ranks No. 6 in rock-crystal therapy. Arkansas ranks No. 4 in sock-monkeys made at home by grandma. Arkansas ranks No. 9 in shade-tree mechanics. Arkansas ranks No. 1 in giant concrete mountaintop Jesuses who have the physiognomy and bearing of 20th Century Ger-

man field marshals. Arkansas ranks No. 16 in per-capita fracking. Arkansas ranks No. 5 in shooting the rapids. With shotguns. Arkansas ranks No. 2 in rodeo-themed weddings — everybody on horseback and after troths are plighted the preacher says, “You may now bulldog the bride.” Arkansas has a congressional delegation that is ranked fourth dumbest overall. (Georgia, Texas, and Oklahoma trail, though that seems impossible.) Arkansas is only No. 20 in old baldheaded sanctimonious white men who think it ought to be their business what comes out of all the state’s human vaginas and when. Arkansas is only No. 40 in bedbugs but is an impressive No. 4 in redbugs, or chiggers. Arkansas is No. 1 in having five towns named Smackover, Standard-Umpstead, Barling, Oil Trough, and Judsonia. Arkansas ranks No. 12 in those who think you can cure the catarrh with moonstones. Arkansas ranks No. 12 in letters-to-theeditor writers who think they’re being clever when they conclude their missives with “’Nuff said.” Arkansas ranks No. 6 in funerals with altar calls. Arkansas ranks No. 9 in the number of children per average household, and vaults ahead to No. 3 if you count Duggars.

ARKANSAS TIMES CLASSIFIEDS Education

Employment Field Workers-18 temporary positions; approx 10 months; Duties: to operate tractors during the preparation and maintenance of the sugar cane crop before, during and after the harvesting season. $9.30 per hour; Job to begin on 3/15/12 through 1/15/13. 3 months experience in job offered required. All work tools provided. Housing and transportation provided to workers who can not reasonably return to their permanent residence at the end of the work day; _ guaranteed of contract. Employment offered by Alma Plantation, L.L.C. located in Lakeland, LA Qualified applicants may call employer for interview at (225) 6276666 or may apply for this position at their nearest State Workforce Agency using job order # 405269. For more info regarding your nearest SWA you may call (501) 682-7719 Field Workers-22 temporary positions; approx 10 months; Duties: to operate farm equipment; planting of sugarcane by hand, farm, field and shed sanitation duties; operation and performing minor repairs and maintenance of farm vehicles and equipment. Able to work in hot, humid weather, bending or stooping to reach ground level crops and able to stand on feet for long periods of time. Once hired, workers may be required to take a random drug test at no cost to the worker. Testing positive or failure to comply may result in immediate termination. $9.30per hour; Job to begin on 3/8/12 through 1/1/13. 3 months experience required in job offered. All work tools provided. Housing and transportation provided to workers who can not reasonably return to their permanent residence at the end of the work day; _ guaranteed of contract. Employment offered by Welcome Plantation located in St. James, LA. Qualified applicants may call employer for interview (225) 207-0505 or may apply for this position at their nearest State Workforce Agency using job order # 405257. For more info regarding your nearest SWA you may call (501) 682-7719.

Field Workers - 5 temporary positions; approx 9 _ months; Duties: propagation of plant material including planting, maintenance and harvesting of plant material in preparation for wetland use. $9.30 per hour; Job to begin on 4/1/12 through 1/31/13. 2 month experience required in job offered. All work tools provided. Housing and transportation provided to workers who can not reasonably return to their permanent residence at the end of the work day; _ guaranteed of contract. Employment offered by Dauterive Contractors, Inc. dba: Wetlands Restoration located in New Iberia, LA. Qualified applicants may call employer for interview at (337) 364-9613 or may apply for this position at their nearest State Workforce Agency using job order # 406585. For more info regarding your nearest SWA you may call (501) 682-7719

Field Workers 10 temporary positions; approx 10 months; Duties: to operate tractors during the preparation and maintenance of the sugar cane crop fields before, during and after the harvesting season. $9.30 per hour; Job to begin on 3/20/12 through 1/20/13. 3 months experience required in job offered. All work tools provided. Housing and transportation provided to workers who can not reasonably return to their permanent residence at the end of the work day; _ guaranteed of contract. Employment offered by Joe Beaud, III Farms, L.L.C. located in New Roads, LA. Worksite located in Morganza, LA. Qualified applicants may call employer for interview (225) 718-3131 or may apply for this position at their nearest State Workforce Agency using job order # 405938. For more info regarding your nearest SWA you may call (501) 682-7719

8, 2012 ARKANSAS TIMES 46 February 46 FEBRUARY 8, 2012 ARKANSAS TIMES

Field Workers- 5 temporary positions; approx 10 months; Duties: to operate tractors during the preparation and maintenance of the sugar cane crop before, during and after the harvesting season. $9.30 per hour; Job to begin on 03/20/2012 through1/15/2013. 3 months experience require in job offered. All work tools provided. Housing and transportation provided to workers who can not reasonably return to their permanent residence at the end of the work day; _ guaranteed of contract. Employment offered by Harang Sugars, Inc. located in Donaldsonville, LA. Qualified applicants may call employer for interview (225) 473-3339 or may apply for this position at their nearest State Workforce Agency using job order # 405857. For more info regarding your nearest SWA you may call (501) 682-7719

Field Workers-10 temporary positions; approx 10 months; Duties: to operate tractors during the preparation and maintenance of thesugar cane crop before, during and after the harvesting season. $9.30 per hour; Job to begin on 4/1/12 through 2/1/13. 1 months experienced required in job offered. All work tools provided. Housing and transportation provided to workers who can not reasonably return to their permanent residence at the end of the work day; _ guaranteed of contract. Employment offered by A & M Farms, Inc. located in New Iberia, LA. Qualified applicants may call employer for interview (337) 364-8903 or may apply for this position at their nearest State Workforce Agency using job order # 406604. For more info regarding your nearest SWA you may call (501) 682-7719

Field Workers-15 temporary positions; approx 10 months; Duties: to operate tractors in the fields during the preparations, planting and maintenance of the crop before, during and after the harvesting season. 3 months experience in job offered required. $9.30 per hour; Job to begin on 3/10/12 through 1/10/13. All work tools provided. Housing and transportation provided to workers who can not reasonably return to their permanent residence at the end of the work day; _ guaranteed of contract. Employment offered by Rodrique Planting Company located in Vacherie, LA. Qualified applicantsmay call employer for an interview at (225) 265-4282 or may apply for this position at their nearest State Workforce Agency using job order # 405274. For more info regarding your nearest SWA you may call (501)682-7719

Field Workers-5 temporary positions; approx 9 months; Duties: to operate tractors in the fields during the preparation, planting and maintenance of the crop before, during and after the harvesting. $9.30 per hour; Job to begin on 4/1/12 through 1/15/13. Must have 3 months experience in job offered. All work tools provided. Housing and transportation provided to workers who can not reasonably return to their permanent residence at the end of the work day; _ guaranteed of contract. Employment offered by Mistretta Farms located in Gonzales, LA. Worksite located in White Castle, LA . Qualified applicants may call employer for interview (225) 7460220 or may apply for this position at their nearest State Workforce Agency using job order # 406537. For more info regarding your nearest SWA you may call (501) 682-7719.

Field Workers-5 temporary positions; approx 9 _ months; Duties: to operate tractors during the preparation and maintenance of the rice fields before, during and after the harvesting season. 3 months experience required in job offered. $9.30 per hour; Job to begin on 3/15/2012 through 12/31/2012. All work tools provided. Housing and transportation provided to workers who can not reasonably return to their permanent residence at the end of the work day; _ guaranteed of contract. Housing and worksite located in Lake Arthur, LA. Employment offered by The Lacassne Company located in Lake Charles, LA. Qualified applicants should fax resumes to employer at (337) 436-9401 or may apply for this position at their nearest State Workforce Agency using job order # 406527. Formore info regarding your nearest SWA you may call (501) 682-7719 Paid In Advance! Make $1,000 a Week mailing brochures from home! Guaranteed Income! FREE Supplies! No experience required. Start Immediately! www.homemailerprogram.net (AAN CAN) QA Analyst: Analyze, dsgn, dvlp, test & implmt s/w using QTP 9.0, Quality Center 8.2, Win runner, Load runner, Mercury TestDirector, XML, SQL*Plus, MS Project, Windows XP, Windows 2000, J2EE, Java, JavaScript, IE 5.5/6.0, XML, IIS, Oracle 9i, Microsoft SQL server, Citrix server, Active directory Environment, Microsoft VB.net, Data warehouse. Frequent travel reqd. Reqs BS Comp Sci, Engg or rel w/5 yrs exp. Mail resumes to Redysoft Inc., 9 Pinnacle View Ct, Little Rock, AR 72223

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Newfoundland

He is a lost Black Newfoundland found a wk ago in N. Pulaski and was taken to the vet. The vet said he is around 4, weighed 85lbs and has been well taken care of. Loves other dogs and kids. Very playful and affectionate! Needs a great loving home.

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Call Kaytee at 501-607-3100

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Beautiful Smiles make Happy People!

Rodan+Fields Dermatologists is seeking 3 to 5 entrepreneurs/team builders/leaders to join our team as Independent Consultants in Arkansas. R+F is the new ground level, direct selling company by the creators of ProActiv and offers anti-age and other skin care solutions.

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Prima Outlet Sale

Saturday, February 11 8am-2pm • Wall Décor • Pottery • Table and Floor Vases 501.244.2195

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