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3
COMMENT
Incarceration, child welfare entwined Once again, your articles on mass incarceration and the efforts within our child welfare system have gained the attention of many, including people outside of Arkansas. I have just returned from the Soros Foundation’s Senior Justice Fellowship conference in Baltimore, and Arkansas’s prison plight was topical at the event. Thank you for the two pieces that highlight the most difficult problems facing our citizens in Arkansas: the overincarceration of adults and the increasing number of children in foster care without adequate oversight or enough placements. I wish we could cross-pollinate these two issues as they are entangled in so many ways. With 20 percent of our children in the state’s custody due to parental incarceration, the connection with mass incarceration is obvious, but few want to talk about the intersection, much less seek a solution that might transcend conventional thinking. I teach a course on this intersection at the University of California Davis and am witness to the many incarcerated parents and children who are caught in the web of these two systems. Dee Ann Newell Little Rock
to represent the Little Rock. The Little Rock side of the river (winding blue strip) could be green and North Little Rock side left white. Kurt Sims In response to “Root Out Hate,” a guest column by Acadia Roher about standing up to hate groups: The Southern Poverty Law Center’s numbers are dubious, at best. It was their director of intelligence, Mark Potok, who predicted “explosive growth in hate groups” in 2008, due to “the tanking
economy and a Black man in the White House.” This was the “reliable source” for the Department of Homeland Security report. In 2009, the first full year of the Obama administration and the worst year of the great recession, Potok counted exactly six new “groups” for an explosive increase of less than half of 1 percent. Since then, according to Potok’s own “Hate Map,” the number of “hate groups” has dropped 27 percent. Potok’s “explosive growth” turned out to be a damp squib. Last March, Mark Pitcavage of the
S AV E WAT E R A N D MON E Y.
From the Arkansas Blog, in response to a picture of The Eagles performing at Verizon Arena:
Write more on Bernie The Arkansas Times isn’t paying enough attention to Bernie Sanders, the only true progressive in the field of presidential candidates. I’ve heard contributors to this publication refer to it as a “lefty rag.” If that’s true, and this is a leftist paper, then why do your journalists have their heads so far up Hillary Clinton’s ass? She is about as close to a progressive as any contender in the current Republican field. You guys are the closest thing we have to a liberal publication in this state. If you truly want to own this moniker, then give your support to a real progressive. Richard Hutson Rose Bud
From the web
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In response to “Rally round, designers for a new Little Rock flag” (July 23): I think that Pinnacle Mountain actually looks like a pile of dog poop. Must instead refer to the Big Dam Bridge. TuckerMax Create a wide blue winding strip to represent the river, then have six curved strips going over that to represent the six bridges. A little dot could be added 4
JULY 30, 2015
ARKANSAS TIMES
Anti-Defamation League told reporters from the South Jersey Times that Potok’s numbers are inherently inaccurate: “The Southern Poverty Law Center’s list is wildly inflated,” Pitcavage said. “They list skinhead groups in places where there are no organized groups, but instead it’s just a couple of individuals.” Potok is a public relations man. He creates his annual hate group lists as part of the SPLC’s decades-long fear campaign. Last year, Potok’s map brought in more than $40 million in donations, and that does not include the $21 million in tax-free interest generated by the SPLC’s $302 million endowment fund. Sadly, there is much genuine hate in the world, but citing the SPLC’s fundraising materials is a poor way to document it. Richard Keefe
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Don Henley grew up in east Texas. He founded a group called the Caddo Lake Institute, which works to improve the ecological health of Caddo Lake — the only natural lake in Texas, although now highly altered and degraded. Arkansas needs a conservationist philanthropist like him. It’s shocking to me that there’s no one, at least none that I know of, who has put real money into protecting and restoring the threatened gems of Arkansas. The Rockefellers come closer than any but Winthrop never rose to the level of Laurence or David in landscape preservation efforts. I guess people figured they’d done all they needed to do in “saving” the Buffalo River, in name if not in fact. To be fair, in those days if you stopped a dam you saved a river. That was before the industrial livestock holocaust came into being. By the way, one of Arkansas’s only natural lakes, Grassy Lake, was protected by a group of wealthy businessmen only to be trashed in the last few years by SWEPCO’s massive Turk Power Plant. Sadly appropriate that it is right down the road from a place called Hope. Fitting, I suppose, that that is where Huckler or Huckstick or whatever his name is started his campaign. Oh well. I’d better take it easy, and try not to let the sound of my own wheels drive me any crazier than I am already ... . Thanks, Eagles! Come back and play again sometime while you’re still ablebodied. Welcome to the Hotel D’Arkansas. There’s plenty of room. Armed Bears Against Hypocrisy
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JULY 30, 2015
5
EYE ON ARKANSAS
WEEK THAT WAS
“This president’s foreign policy is the most feckless in American history. It is so naive that he would trust the Iranians. By doing so, he will take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven.” — Mike Huckabee on the nuclear arms agreement struck between the U.S., Iran and other world powers earlier this month. At a press conference, President Obama responded, saying such remarks from Republican candidates were part of a pattern of rhetoric “that would be considered ridiculous if it weren’t so sad.”
Quote of the Week 2: “[W]e might be able to live with a contained Iran. … We have substantive issues to discuss with Tehran. Recent direct negotiations about Iraq have not been productive because they have not explored the full range of issues. We have valuable incentives to offer Iran: trade and economic assistance, full diplomatic relations, and security guarantees.” — Mike Huckabee, in a 2008 essay for Foreign Affairs in which he advocated cautiously extending a conditional olive branch to Iran — much as Obama has just done. But then, in 2008, Huckabee found media attention easier to come by. This time around, he’s staring at a four-way tie for fifth-place in the GOP primary. Time to Trump it up.
Tragedy in Hot Springs An 18-month-old Garland County child was found dead on Friday after being left in a car on a day when the temperature neared 100 degrees. In a horrifying irony, the boy was the son of Circuit Judge Wade Naramore, who handles juvenile cases in the county. Naramore himself made the initial call 6
JULY 30, 2015
ARKANSAS TIMES
BRIAN CHILSON
Quote of the Week 1:
EAGLES LAND AT VERIZON: Country rock band The Eagles played to another full house in Central Arkansas, drawing more than 15,000 on Monday at Verizon Arena.
to 911. Garland County Prosecutor Terri Harris, who formerly hired Naramore as a deputy attorney in her office, asked for a special prosecutor to step in, and other circuit judges in the county have recused from hearing any motion related to the case. Scott Ellington of Jonesboro, the prosecuting attorney for the 2nd Judicial District, was named to investigate.
From Princeton to Bentonville
The Walton Family Foundation announced in a news release that it would fund — with an as-yet-undisclosed sum of money — the creation of an “independent school” in Bentonville, presumably meaning a private institution. To get the school off the ground, the foundation is hiring Clayton Marsh, currently a deputy dean at Princeton University. He’ll start work in January. The foundation offered few other details about plans for the school other than to say it will “offer a challenging curriculum, small classes, a diverse student body and distinctive architecture.”
Bring your own chairs
Come here often?
Last weekend, the Ku Klux Klan rallied near Monticello. Sort of: Monticello Live, an online news source in the Southeast Arkansas town, reported “a group of 8 to 12 men in full cover robes” convened at 10 p.m. Saturday and ritually burned a cross, then disbursed by midnight. A KKK website announcing the event beforehand laid down the law. “No weapons, attitudes or media are allowed. … WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE ADMITTANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” it impotently shrilled. Also: “Food is provided but bring your own chairs.”
Name that baby
The Little Rock Zoo announced a boy chimpanzee was born July 18 to
Mahale, her second child. The zoo (littlerockzoo.com) is conducting an online poll until Aug. 3 to name the baby. Options are: “Jumoke,” which is Swahili for “everyone loves the child”; “Kibale,” after Kibale National Park in Uganda, or “Kgosi,” a Setswana term for “king” or “chief.”
Greenberg hangs it up
Paul Greenberg, 78, the longtime editor of the Arkansas DemocratGazette’s editorial page, said he’d be stepping down Aug. 1 after 23 years at the job. He’ll be succeeded by editorial writer David Barham. Greenberg will continue to write editorials and columns for the paper.
OPINION
Supremely discredited
A
rkansas Supreme Court Justice Rhonda Wood and her allies continue to discredit the state’s highest court. I’ve written before of new Justice Wood’s alliance with Justices Courtney Goodson, Karen Baker and Jo Hart in taking control of hiring, firing and other administrative matters once considered the province of the chief justice, currently Jim Hannah. Recently, they overrode Hannah and Justice Paul Danielson to engineer double-digit raises for their favored employees while other state employees got a 1 percent pay raise. The money came in part from the firing of Stephanie Harris as court communications counsel. The plan also counts on future beneficence from the Arkansas legislature. Wood also recently sought out an interview with Democrat-Gazette columnist John Brummett. Upset by leaks of internal court matters to the Arkansas Times, she decided the proper response was to LEAK INTERNAL COURT INFORMATION. She offered up, first, a straw man. She’d compiled records to show the Four Horsewomen of the Judicial Apocalypse did not vote in lockstep on the law. I’m not
aware anyone has alleged that. I do allege that they’ve formed an alliance on administrative matters. And they MAX DID join in comBRANTLEY maxbrantley@arktimes.com mon purpose on one very significant legal case — the undecided, “expedited” appeal of the lawsuit challenging the ban on same-sex marriage. Wood told Brummett and later the Associated Press that the second half of the same-sex marriage case included a decision by the court only on the issue of whether the Arkansas Constitution’s declaration of equal rights had been overridden by the 2004 voter initiative to ban same-sex marriage. She termed this an administrative matter. It is anything but. And though Wood claims she kept confidence by not revealing how the court voted on that question, she effectively buttressed the record. Here’s how it went down. Last November, the court conferenced on the completed marriage case and voted 6-1 to uphold Judge Chris Piazza on U.S. Constitutional grounds. Justice Courtney
Consultants provide cover
A
rkansas is laying out a few million taxpayer dollars for corporate consultants to tell legislators and the governor how to handle some political hot potatoes, principally a moribund lottery and the expansion of Medicaid to poor adults, which is the biggest feature (in Arkansas) of the still unpopular Obamacare. Should the potential waste of your dollars on a bunch of whiz kids with inflated resumes bother you? You can’t know for at least a year and probably much longer, when you might be able to fathom whether the consultants gave Republican lawmakers and the governor any constructive advice and whether they took it. Three or four million dollars, after all, is measly change
in a $5 billion state budget and well worth it if the consultants show the puzzled government ERNEST leaders how to DUMAS provide medical assistance to the poor more efficiently than does Arkansas’s currently approved version of Obamacare and how to live with a government-run lottery that taxes the poor and gives their spawn little help in getting an education. But it is hard to escape the conclusion that the consultants are being paid millions for political cover. Taxpayers would be justified in their anguish over such waste, but if you’re in politics it’s
Goodson wrote the opinion that was circulated. It was to be joined by Justices Hannah, Danielson, Donald Corbin, Karen Baker and Special Justice Robert McCorkindale. Justice Jo Hart dissented. Baker would not have joined the opinion had it included upholding Piazza on the state as well as federal constitution and Goodson professed to want to wait for a Hart dissent before perfecting her majority opinion on that point. Hart’s foot-dragging prevented a decision before the end of the year, when Corbin retired and was replaced by Robin Wynne and Wood joined the court in the seat in which McCorkindale had been appointed special justice. Wood badly wanted to get in on the decision. She’s a hyper-partisan Republican and she got her way, with help from Republican Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, a former law clerk of Hart’s, and Republican special justices appointed by Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson. This scheme to make a second case of who should vote was decried by Justices Hannah and Danielson in recusals as a delaying tactic. The delays continued long after jurisdiction was settled. But an opinion finally was reached. Again with Goodson writing the circulated opinion, a majority including Baker, Hart and Wood said the state Constitution’s declaration of rights section didn’t stand in the way of legalized discrimination against gay people. The opinion wasn’t released. That the opinion was only on the state point and unreleased tells you all you need to know about what
it said. It was written for an eventuality that didn’t happen: the U.S. Supreme Court overturning multiple lower court rulings in favor of same-sex marriage. Had that happened, the Arkansas court would have completed the job on legal discrimination against gays at the state level. The Arkansas Supreme Court majority otherwise planned to go in the tank should the U.S. Supreme Court rule for equality. That’s what happened. The Arkansas court dismissed the Piazza appeal as moot, leaving them with no fingerprints on legal same-sex marriage in Arkansas. The court’s hyper political nature is the real concern — that they’ll kowtow to the Republican legislature. A Republican senator with ties to Justice Baker, Bart Hester, already has made moves to meddle in court finance and administrative leadership. Wood has campaigned throughout her career with Republican insiders. Her race for Supreme Court was propelled by a bag of cash stuffed by former Republican senator and legislative fixer Gilbert Baker with $46,000 from nursing home magnate Michael Morton. The Baker-Morton-Wood alliance was part of the same work Baker did between Morton and Wood’s old friend and campaign event driver, Mike Maggio. Maggio is soon to go to prison for bribery. You might guess that Rhonda Wood, who professes to like to discuss “process” and “transparency” with at least one columnist, isn’t likely to be on my phone anytime soon.
money well spent to be able to say, “Look, these guys are paid big bucks to advise giant corporations on managing their businesses, so you know they’re good. If they say this is what we have to or need to do, how can you quarrel with them?” You know the background of the consultant hiring. Soon after the state began the scholarship lottery in 2009, people were spending $470 million a year on lottery tickets and some $95 million of it actually reached college kids. (The state could have funded those scholarships and more from its general revenues every year without a lottery or new taxes.) As in virtually every state that ever started a lottery, after three years many people quit buying tickets when they didn’t hit the jackpot, and lottery receipts and scholarship aid plummeted. So the state is choosing among politically connected consultants to advise the lottery and the legislature for a couple of years on how to get more people addicted and the numbers back up.
Other states have tried to do it with slick promotions like billboards in poor neighborhoods that show people getting rich or else starting new and more addictive games. You could try to squeeze a little money out of the haul that goes to the big international gambling vendors, Scientific Games and Intralot, but who wants to do that? But it is the Obamacare dilemma that requires political cover for legislators and Gov. Hutchinson. Arkansas is one of the few states run by Republican lawmakers that elected to give poor working adults health coverage through Medicaid after the U. S. Supreme Court said that states could opt out of that part of Obamacare. The Republican legislators who came up with the “private option” — moving most of the new Medicaid enrollees into Obamacare’s private insurance market — were considered traitors and some were beaten at the ballot box. Saddled with a bigger Republican majority with enough votes to kill the Medicaid program, Hutchinson in January said let’s keep it CONTINUED ON PAGE 60 www.arktimes.com
JULY 30, 2015
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Battling Boozman: worth the fight?
W
hether it’s at the local, state or federal level, those considering a first run for public office have to weigh the very real benefits of running — the opportunity to serve the public, to know the nuances of one’s community, and to grow personally — with the equally real costs. Those include the total loss of control over one’s personal schedule, the probability of one’s life being discussed and exposed in an uncomfortable manner, and the possibility of an ego blow produced by a defeat. While individuals calculate those pluses and minuses differently, the context in which the election takes place also has an unquestionable impact on the ultimate decision about running. Word emerged last week that Conner Eldridge, the federal prosecutor for the state’s Western District, is in the midst of such a decision as he considers making his first run for office against U.S. Sen. John Boozman in 2016. It seems clear that the Democratic nomination is Eldridge’s for the taking. The question: Is it a nomination worth having? Boozman shows some real hints of vulnerability. First, nearly four in 10 Arkansas voters have no clear opinion on the performance of their senior senator as his term nears an end, according to a June Talk Business & Politics-Hendrix College survey. Second, with just under $875,000 in the bank, according to Federal Election Commission reports released last week, Boozman’s fundraising to date is tepid for an incumbent U.S. senator. Moreover, while Boozman appears fully recovered from heart surgery last year, any statewide campaign is physically grueling. Each inkling of Boozman’s vulnerability is wholly or partly undermined, however. While still a relative unknown, Boozman has exceedingly low negatives and is an officeholder with whom all sides of an increasingly factionalized state Republican Party are at peace (in short, both business conservatives and social conservatives see him as one of them). If Boozman were facing viable opposition, a national fundraising operation could immediately be activated on his behalf and his coffers would quickly fill. Finally, the demise of personalism in Arkansas politics shown by the 2014 election dynamics means that it is simply not incumbent on political candi-
dates to show up at every summer festival if they can present a compelling vision in television ads. The JAY genuine niceness BARTH of the mild-mannered Boozman is well suited to 30-second television ads, as he showed in his easy 2010 victory over incumbent Blanche Lincoln. Most undeniably, the decided partisan shift in the state in the Obama era, particularly the movement of most who describe themselves as “independents” into the ranks of being de facto Republicans, means the race is a long shot for any Democrat not named “Mike Beebe” (the poll mentioned earlier showed Beebe leading Boozman 45 percent to 37 percent in a very hypothetical matchup). It remains difficult to see how any Democrat could quickly build bonds with Arkansas voters sufficient to overtake this generic Republican advantage in the state. And, Boozman’s lowkey demeanor means that he is, indeed, a “generic Republican,” making it difficult for the race to become a referendum on Boozman’s own performance in office. The contrast between the state’s polarizing junior senator, Tom Cotton, and Boozman in this respect is a striking one (as shown in their differing stances on the reopening of Cuban and U.S. embassies last week, with Boozman arguing for continued normalization in relations between the two countries because of its probable benefit to Arkansas’s farmers — and his own re-election — and Cotton taking a stance much more appropriate for one with national ambitions.) That said, the current Arkansas partisan reality also makes it a race in which expectations are very low for any Democratic challenger, especially one making an initial run for statewide office. With his personal connections to different regions of the state, his comfort on his feet created by his time in the courtroom and on the public stage in his role as prosecutor, his relative youth and his access to a foundation of personal financing for the race, Eldridge looks like a candidate who could easily create a race decidedly more competitive than most assume Boozman’s re-election to be. In that scenario, win or lose, Eldridge
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CONTINUED ON PAGE 60 www.arktimes.com
JULY 30, 2015
9
PEARLS ABOUT SWINE
Bad time to be rebuilding This program went from bull market to disarray in record time, and at the worst possible time, too.
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ARKANSAS TIMES
et’s run the Betamax all the way back into mid-March. Arkansas loses a fevered matchup against North Carolina, ending its winningest basketball season in two decades in the NCAA Tournament. The consensus at that time was that even if Bobby Portis did take the expected plunge into the NBA, the program’s renaissance was secured. Michael Qualls would come back to be that rare breed of a do-it-all senior, combine with Anton Beard in the backcourt and let new blood in the form of Jimmy Whitt and Ted Kapita basically ensure that the progression marched onward. Four months later, Portis is a Chicago Bull, and he’s pretty much the only one flashing that familiar childlike grin. Qualls ended up getting suspect counsel, departing for the draft himself, and his visage was one of excruciating pain after he blew out his knee in Phoenix as he tried desperately to prove himself better than a secondround talent. Kapita failed to hit the academic marks and is now on his way to prep school, presumably never to land back in Fayetteville. As for Beard, along with fellow returnee Jacorey Williams and Colorado transfer Dustin Thomas? They ended up getting snagged for some sort of thoroughly unsophisticated (read: idiotic) currency forgery ring, and it’s utterly likely that the touted North Little Rock point guard, the mercurial Williams, and the athletic but untested Thomas never see the court again. Certainly didn’t take long for any scant traces of optimism to drain swiftly out of the tank, did it? Mike Anderson’s 2014-15 turning point now looks more like the anomaly, or the peak, and there are going to be understandable questions about why a scholarship was invested in Kapita when his credentials were dubious. Arkansas does return Moses Kingsley, who is good for one sustained burst of offense per season, and Trey Thompson, who may actually have more innate physical gifts than Kingsley
but hasn’t been afforded the same court time yet. The post likely will be manned by two guys who BEAU may do well to WILCOX average doubledigit points together. Your incoming backcourt is Whitt, senior Anthlon Bell, transfer Dusty Hannahs and senior Jabril Durham. Whitt is believed to be dynamic, and he’ll have to be. Bell’s streakiness is a known quality. Durham was hardly allowed to do much last year, and Hannahs’ body of work is one middling season for a horrid Texas Tech team. And yet, taking all that into account, the backcourt is the relative strength. If Anderson thought the temperature beneath his seat rose to uncomfortable levels last year when a promising bunch lost a batch of close conference games, he’s going to practically want to relive that by the time, oh, December rolls around. This portends as the worst bunch since Stan Heath arrived in 2002 to collect all the parts of the USS Richardson’s floating debris, and perhaps it won’t even rise to that level. The SEC still isn’t the most daunting league on a week-to-week basis, but Arkansas now resembles an average mid-major anyhow. This is not how anyone envisioned things, and it’s accordingly amplified the pressure surrounding the coach who may have invested unwisely in a risky project like Kapita. The Malik Monk pipe dreams may have summarily died, too. This program went from bull market to disarray in record time, and at the worst possible time, too. Band-Aids in late July simply don’t exist, and if they do, they usually are of the off-brand variety. Anderson now finds himself in territory that, to be frank, he never had to suffer at any of his prior stops, and how he can possibly reconstruct this will be an oddly compelling little storyline this fall.
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THE OBSERVER NOTES ON THE PASSING SCENE
Button down
D
ue to an assignment that took us to a swanky clothing store (read all about it in this issue, Dear Reader) Yours Truly has been forced to think about clothes. The Observer must have been 12, maybe 13 years old when first informed that rolling up one’s pants legs was bad form. This was at an academic summer camp — yeah, shut up — on the campus of a North Carolina university, and a couple of girls about my age flatly told me I looked ridiculous. They stopped me cold on the sidewalk cutting through the quad to deliver their verdict out of the blue, then threw their heads back to laugh and laugh, their perfect teeth glinting in the golden afternoon sunlight. They were about 6-foot-6 and glowing with unearthly beauty. A trapdoor opened up in the nearby grass, and I fled down a subterranean tunnel, right into social oblivion. At least that’s how I remember it. This was the first time I was made to understand that clothes serve a purpose aside from simply making you not naked. That, for whatever reason, it’s not considered OK to wad up your oversized Walmart jeans in clumpy fistfuls around the midsection of your calves. That other people have the uncanny ability to eat fried foods without reflexively wiping their greasy hands over every available square inch of fabric on their body. That dress is governed by some unspoken Code of Hammurabi, disobedience to which causes attractive strangers to laugh at you. Eighteen years later, this is still how I think of fashion: as criminal law, a litany of frequently arbitrary prohibitions enforced by the whip of ridicule. Knowledge has accrued slowly, each tidbit a shocking revelation. In high school: What, people give a shit about shoes? In college: Women’s shirts button down on the opposite side? Oh yeah? Then why do half the shirts I own button down in that direction, smart guy? Post-college: Evidently, there are pleated pants and nonpleated pants, and if one buys all of one’s clothes from a thrift store, one is much more likely to get the former variety, which also means one is much more likely to be told one
day by a girlfriend that one sort of looks like a clown. I’ve been forced to acknowledge, over time, that appearance matters. It shapes perception. Slowly, grudgingly, I’ve given up on giving up on how I look. I try to look decent. But secretly, The Observer still dreams of the glorious day when every citizen is distributed an all-purpose single-piece Star Trek uniform: self-cleaning and buttonless, one-size-fits-all, with even the heaviest grease stains rendered invisible and benign. *** And, speaking of the dream of being allowed to go naked: The older The Observer gets, the harder summer in this state is on us. We fantasize about becoming a reverse snowbird, lighting out for someplace where it never really gets hotter than light shawl weather and February shrieks down from the north like the blue, zombified meanies on the other side of The Wall in “Game of Thrones.” International Falls, Minn., maybe. Sweden. Upper Alaska. The meat locker where they store all of Donald Trump’s yak fur hairpieces. That’s the ticket. There is an art to enduring August in Arkansas, and The Observer fears we have lost our flair for it — for iced fruity booze drinks and getting every part of one’s self submerged in a kiddie pool from Walmart. Once you’ve lost that talent, the only option is to start wishing for a cataclysmic ice age. So, we’ll complain about it. We’ll wear our Dad shorts, even though the sight of our fishbelly-white pins is contributing to the overall feeling of hopelessness. We’ll stare at the air conditioner by the back stoop, thinking: “Just hang on until September, big fella. I believe in you,” while Entergy sucks money out of our bank account like a Shop Vac. We’ll look at the weather in Portland, Maine, and seethe with impotent rage. We’ll go to the bars and start some ignernt mess in the hopes somebody will throw a drink in our face. We’ll go to church and stake claim as a benighted sinner, just so we can get our hands on the keys to the baptismal tub. We’ll hold on. We’ll say: In a month and a half, we’ll be getting the jacket out of the back of the closet. In a month and a half, we’ll be golden.
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Arkansas Reporter
THE
IN S IDE R
Six Arkansas senators and five state representatives were on junkets to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) convention last week in San Diego. They did not go hungry and not only because taxpayers (or ALEC) paid for their plane tickets, hotel and meals. Arkansas lobbyists were on hand for some value-added drinks and dining. How can that be, you ask? Didn’t voters in 2014 toughen the ethics law? For the umpteenth time: not really. The amendment approved by voters, offered by Rep. Warwick Sabin (D-Little Rock), but saved from certain death with cagey amendments by Sen. Jon Woods (R-Springdale), provided the means for looser term limits, a huge pay increase and all kinds of work-arounds on nominal restrictions on lobbyist wining and dining of legislators. We saw it in the last legislature, when breakfast, lunch, cocktails and dinner were supplied on a near-daily basis by lobbyists operating under a “planned event” loophole engineered by and for Woods. We saw it again when legislative potentates of the House and Senate found a way to launder money raised by the Mullenix lobbying firm — long a leader in hog slopping — through the Republican Party to an invitation-only soiree worthy of Louis XIV. The public was not invited, though all meetings of the legislature are constitutionally supposed to be open. And then there was this, added to “clarify” the law in the 2015 legislature, sponsored of course by Woods. It was a little ol’ legal addition to specifically provide that payments to attend conferences by national organizations — think ALEC, the Kochbacked conservative lobby that plants special interest legislation in the hands of willing legislators — are not considered prohibited gifts. And it goes on to say the exemptions to the wine-and-dine prohibition include “food and drink at events coordinated through the regional or national conference and provided to persons registered to attend the regional or national conference.” In other words: Legislator goes to San Diego to get indoctrinated by the Kochs. It’s all free, whether taxpayers or ALEC pays. But, what’s more, lobbyists can attach themselves to the legislators like lampreys with credit cards and wine and dine them in high style, just as long as they get listed on the group’s convention schedule. See the ALEC meeting last week, specifically an officially sanctioned session Friday night in San Diego’s historic Gaslamp Quarter. Hosts? There’s the Mullenix gang, with their well-used credit card. There’s lobbyist Robbie Wills, a former House speaker,
BRIAN CHILSON
Another loophole
BUCKNER: More jail space won’t cut crime.
A Q&A with LRPD Chief Kenton Buckner Little Rock’s top cop on Baltimore, body cams, mass incarceration and more. BY DAVID KOON
A
fter Kenton Buckner was sworn in as the new chief of the Little Rock Police Department in June 2014, we sat down with him to see where he wanted to take the department. Buckner contacted us again in June to ask if we’d be interested in doing a one-year followup interview, and we were happy to oblige.
It’s been a sometimes tumultuous year for Buckner, from his controversial, post-Baltimore request to outfit over 500 LRPD officers with riot gear, to the encryption of the departmental signal so the general public can no longer monitor live police radio traffic, to the early-June admission that he’d lost his department-issued backup sidearm during a move, for
which he was issued a written reprimand by City Manager Bruce Moore. At the same time, Buckner has clearly been trying to move the ball forward, including appointing the first female assistant chief in LRPD history and ordering the field-testing of compact body cameras that could someday be an unblinking observer to every interaction between LRPD officers and the public. The following are highlights from a long interview with Buckner, conducted in early July. For an expanded version of this interview, including Buckner’s thoughts on his request for riot gear, the encryption of the LRPD radio signal, overcrowding at the Pulaski County Regional Detention Center and more, go to arktimes. com/buckner. You’re shaping up to be kind of a technology chief. Let’s talk about body cams. The department has been testing those this year. CONTINUED ON PAGE 69
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THE
BIG PICTURE
Inconsequential News Quiz: Huckstering in the Middle East Play at home!
1) A Facebook post by a Little Rock man went viral in late June after he wrote on the Facebook page of Little Rock NBC affiliate KARK, Channel 4, to complain. What was the man complaining about? A) The pending reboot of “Coach,” which wasn’t nearly as good as you remember it. B) The shocking lack of testicle-injury-related humor on TV since NBC canceled “RIGHT IN THE ‘NADS!” C) His mistaken belief that KARK had changed its logo to “the colors of the gays” in celebration of the Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality, not realizing, of course, that the NBC logo has been a rainbow-feathered peacock since 1956. D) NBC’s refusal to allow him to reshoot the “Seinfeld” ending so that George and The Soup Nazi get married. 2) Recently, police said, a Jonesboro woman stabbed her boyfriend with a pair of scissors during an argument. What, according to police, was the couple arguing about? A) Running with scissors. B) Coupons. C) Whether or not the victim could make a grilled cheese sandwich. D) Economist Tyler Beck Goodspeed’s 2012 book “Rethinking the Keynesian Revolution: Keynes, Hayek and the Wicksell Connection.” 3) At the Springdale Municipal Airport in July, a man was arrested on charges of public intoxication. What do police say he was doing when he was arrested? A) Crawling from the wreckage of a crashed Cessna. B) Attempting to build a replica of the Eiffel Tower with tiny liquor bottles. C) Passed out shirtless in the control tower, where he was serving as the on-duty air traffic controller. D) Mourning the cancellation of the Duggars’ TLC show by trying to drink 19 cocktails and counting. 4) Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee recently gave his opinion on what might keep America from becoming mired in another decade-long Middle East conflict like Iraq or Afghanistan. What was Huckabee’s suggestion? A) “Free Birdseed!” sign beside a mile-wide cardboard box with a giant stick holding up one side. B) “Don’t start no shit, won’t be no shit.” C) Make America’s $598 billion-per-year military more “fierce” and showing that “we plan to push back and destroy that threat to us. And we won’t take 10 years doing it, we hopefully won’t even take 10 months. It will be like a 10-day exercise, because the fierceness of our forces would mean that we can absolutely guarantee the outcome.” D) Airdrop copies of Huckabee’s book “God, Guns, Grits and Gravy” on enemy strongholds, scoop up insurgents after the sad state of American political discourse makes them so depressed they no longer have the will to fight. 5) Last week in Little Rock, near the busy corner of Valentine and Markham streets, a rather odd creature was found dead, apparently the victim of a passing car. What was it? A) ‘Squatch on his way to Pizza D’s. B) The Gay Fairy, which can turn straight dudes homosexual (Republicans only). C) A four-foot long ball python. D) Human centipede.
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INSIDER, CONT. with his. Wanna bet gambling was on his mind given his lottery clients? There’s cable TV man Len Pitcock. And there — THERE — was Gilbert Baker, a former Republican senator enmeshed in a bribery scandal that will send his old pal, former Judge Mike Maggio, to prison. Baker remains under investigation for funneling money from nursing home magnate Michael Morton and others to Maggio, Supreme Court Justice Rhonda Wood and a number of other judicial candidates, not to mention other favored politicians such as Sen. Jason Rapert. You’d think legislators might not like to see themselves on a tab picked up by Baker. You might think there might even be a lobbyist or two with higher standards. But you might confuse them with people of integrity. What happened at ALEC stayed at ALEC. At least until it hits the statute books. The House said these were approved to attend from the House: Reps. Karilyn Brown (R-Sherwood), Richard Womack (RArkadelphia) and Mark D. McElroy (D-Tillar). Approved by the Legislative Council from the House: Nate Bell (I-Mena) and Bob Ballinger (R-Hindsville). This does not mean these legislators ate with lobbyists Friday, but all were eligible. The Senate list was not available at press time.
Name change The Arkansas Democratic Party is considering following other state Democratic Party organizations and finding a new name for the annual Jefferson-Jackson Day fundraising dinner at which Hillary Clinton recently spoke. The name honors two former presidents: Thomas Jefferson, who was a slave owner, and Andrew Jackson, a proponent of Indian removal. What do you bet that Republicans who’ve criticized the Democratic Party for continuing to use the name for the dinner will criticize Democrats for political correctness when the change is made? Change the name by all means. But what will we do about the memorial in Washington? In Arkansas, the Republican Party annual dinner honors Ronald Reagan, a former union leader who avoided overseas service in World War II (he made movies) and whose support of several tax increases finally righted a difficult U.S. financial situation, and a governor, Winthrop Rockefeller, who opposed the death penalty and passed out vast sums of street money to encourage black votes. Rockefeller money also powered Planned Parenthood for many years. They ought to add Strom Thurmond, too, a Democrat who saw where the new Republican Party was heading and got on board. www.arktimes.com
JULY 30, 2015
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Answers: C, C, C, C, C
BEST OF ARKANSAS | 2015
THE BEST OF
ARKANSAS
2015
T
o prove that Arkansas’s variety of exemplary places, people and things is inexhaustible, the Arkansas Times once again presents the Best of Arkansas. This year’s issue includes, as ever, a list of our readers’ choices in categories ranging from lingerie to liquor stores, a longer look at some of the winners and our own Editors’ Picks. David Koon takes a seat at Breckenridge Village — one of those huge, luxe recliners with cup holders, so comfortable you’ll watch the credits
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ARKANSAS TIMES
until the very end. Will Stephenson interviews poet Bryan Borland about his publishing house, the award-winning Sibling Rivalry Press, whose output has won a space in the Library of Congress. Lindsey Millar delves into Hall High and headbands in a Q&A with former Razorback basketball player Bobby Portis. Leslie Newell Peacock, weary of fixing things with a bent coat hanger, visits Fuller and Son hardware for that peace that surpasses all our misunderstandings of plumbing and
the like. Benjamin Hardy, wondering if it’s possible for a reporter to be dapper, checks out men’s clothing winner The Independent. Also find a list of Natural State superlatives contributed by correspondents willing to share their personal bests. To add a bit of fun, we’ve put a particular object — a symbol of the best weekly newspaper in Arkansas — in our photographs. To use a bit of news parlance, we hope you’ll be hooked to read on.
Best of 2015
GOODS AND SERVICES Shopping center The Promenade at Chenal Runners-up: The Mall at Turtle Creek (Jonesboro), Midtowne, Park Plaza Mall, Pleasant Ridge Town Center.
Grocery store Kroger Local winner: Terry’s Finer Foods Runners-up: Edwards Food Giant, The Fresh Market, Whole Foods Market
Women’s clothing Box Turtle
BRIAN CHILSON
Runners-up: Barbara Jean Ltd., Beyond Cotton, Dillard’s, E. Leigh’s
FIRST CLASS SEATS: Movie-goers enjoy comfy recliners with foot rests and cup holders at Breckenridge.
The best of the rest Arkansas Times editors make their picks with a little help from some friends. Best seat(s) in the house
Even though I’m an absolute freak on all things related to cinema, once movie tickets started routinely topping $10 a person a few years back, I had to ask myself if seeing things on the big screen was really worth it. Sure, there were the “event movies” that must be watched billboard-sized. And there was the occasional trailer that dazzled enough to lure me out to the theaters if my billfold was payday fat. But for regular week-to-week movie-going, my trips to the temple of cinema had been severely curtailed. Recently, though, I’ve been wooed back to the theater a bit more often by the comfy chairs at Little Rock’s Breckenridge Village Stadium 12, near Interstate 430 and Rodney Parham Road. Part of the Regal Entertainment Group chain, Breckenridge has gone upscale in recent years, replacing every seat in the joint with a big ol’ smushy recliner, sort of like what you might find in a high-end home theater. All feature a flip-out footrest, a back and seat that will get close to horizontal, and wide, padded arms. For couples, they offer pairs o’ chairs
with a center armrest that flips up, making a love seat (don’t get any ideas, you crazy kids). Though the move to First Class seating reduces the total number of seats in the theater, it doesn’t seem to have increased the price of the tickets too much, and it ups the comfort level considerably. Best of all, it goes a long way toward restoring the “special” of going to the movies. In a world where movie theaters are in constant competition for the entertainment dollar, can keister comfort and making every ticket holder feel like a popcorn potentate really make a difference? Time will tell, but it’s definitely working on me. — David Koon
Best animal spirit matchmakers
Want a pet? Of course you do. Worried you might not have enough constancy in your life to successfully parent a barrel cactus, let alone a fellow mammal? Try fostering. Central Arkansas Rescue Effort (CARE) for Animals pairs rescued dogs and cats with volunteer families while CARE searches for a permanent adoptive home. And, of course, a foster family can
choose to adopt the pet, which is how I found my dog, Blanche, last summer. (I did vacillate for 10 months until I decided to make it permanent, but that’s just me.) Foster an animal. It’s the perfect way to test the waters to see if you’ve got room for a pet in your life, while also keeping a creature away from confinement and death. — Benjamin Hardy
Best new beer garden
Stone’s Throw Brewing has made our year with its game-changing new beer garden, the ideal complement to its rotating lineup of food trucks (e.g. Southern Gourmasian, Katmandu, Southern Salt) that together make it the most satisfying, shape-shifting casual dinner spot in town. I’m not a beer expert — probably couldn’t tell an Amadeus from a Common Sense in a blind taste test — but Stone’s Throw’s craft brews are as delicious as they are inscrutably named. Also I once left without paying (one too many Bernoulli’s, or whatever) and they weren’t even mad when I turned up the next day. — Will Stephenson
Men’s clothing The Independent
Runners-up: Barakat Bespoke, Baumans, Dillard’s, Greenhaw’s Fine Men’s Wear
Hip clothing Box Turtle
Runners-up: Culture Clothing Co., E. Leigh’s, Fringe Clothing, Scarlet
Children’s clothing The Toggery
Runners-up: Carter’s, The Children’s Place (Conway), Dillard’s, Target
Vintage clothing Goodwill Local winner: Galaxy Furniture
Runners-up: Cheap Thrills (Fayetteville), Mid-Towne Antique Mall, Savers
Lingerie Victoria’s Secret Local winner: Cupids
Runners-up: Adam and Eve, Barbara Jean, Dillard’s
Shoes Dillard’s Local winner: Warren’s Shoes
Runners-up: DSW, Shoe Carnival, Shoe Connection
Antiques Mid-Towne Antique Mall CONTINUED ON PAGE 17 w w w.arktimes.com
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BEST OF ARKANSAS | 2015 Best oldies radio show
In recent weeks you may have found yourself aimlessly scanning the radio dial and stumbling across what seem like lost artifacts from a bygone Little Rock radio age: an ad for John Wayne’s new film “The Cowboys,” a clip from Spiro Agnew’s stump speech in Hot Springs, a promo for Black Oak Arkansas’s gig opening for Chuck Berry at Barton Coliseum. If so, you’ve wandered into Barry McCorkindale’s show “Tin Can Alley” on KAAY-AM 1090 (1 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays), which features
rarities and odd discoveries from the station’s forgotten tape archives that McCorkindale has been digitizing and sprinkling into his set-lists, which otherwise feature ’60s and ’70s hits and B-sides and obscurities (a.k.a. “the hits, the not so big hits, and sometimes nothing resembling hits”). — Will Stephenson
Best Little Debbie, lamb vindaloo pairing
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later my friend’s nail gun was ready to be picked up. “You shouldn’t go alone,” I told him. “Not for something like that.” — Will Stephenson
Best avant-garde cassette
lunch at a Phillips 66 called the Kountry Xpress. There, amid the racks of Sno Balls and Rockstar energy drinks, you’ll find a full Indian menu: Tandoori oven, naan and samosas, the whole nine yards. Of course, they’ve also got racks of potato logs and chicken tenders gently dehydrating beneath a two-tier heat lamp, as required by state law. I’ve only eaten there once, but I can say without qualification that it’s the best Indian food to be found anywhere between Fort Smith and Little Rock. I grew up near Mulberry (pop. 1,629), and for years the only decent eatery in town was the Dairy Dip, which is a rock-solid burger-and-shake-andcinder-block institution. Long live the Arkansas dairy bar, but a little Asian crosspollination is a welcome sight, too. Few things make me feel a twinge of genuine patriotism like the thought that an Indian restaurant in a Mulberry truck stop might be able to gain a toehold and survive. That remains to be seen, though, so get some Kountry Xpress while you still can. — Benjamin Hardy
Best impossible barbecue sandwich
A few weeks ago I found myself in Mabelvale for the same reason anyone ever does — a friend needed to fix his nail gun. Afterward we stopped at the barbecue restaurant Three Sams. Like many such places, the aesthetic is pure backwoods country-shack disarray, like a cabin you might see in Splash Mountain right before your log goes over the waterfall. There was even a mangy kitten on the porch that just about broke my heart. But once inside we were confronted with the scent of absolute authenticity, and the food only confirmed this impression. The menu was long and visually confusing — “Pig Plate,” “Crow Dinner” “Little Sam’s Favorite,” “Last Squeal Rib Dinner” — but if you just ask for a barbecue sandwich they’ll help you out. Mine was implausibly thick and messy, with a volcanic splay of coleslaw and pork spilling out onto the plate around it so as to obscure the lower bun. It was unstable, decadent, a little precarious. I won’t tell you it was easy — I won’t patronize you that way — but it was worth it. A couple of weeks
McCloud Zicmuse, the artist formerly known as Jason McCloud (a veteran of the Little Rock DIY/punk scene of the ’90s), is a musician and letterpress printer who has also been known to perform children’s songs (in French) and invent instruments — most recently the Iaeniaen, which he built out of a repurposed sardine can. His 2015 limited edition cassette release “The Well-Tuned Iaeniaen,” is full of bold, quiet, near-esoteric experimental music in the tradition of Harry Partch (or Harry Smith), pure, visionary termite art of the highest order. — Will Stephenson
Best opportunity to rule a private island kingdom for a weekend
If you’ve got weekend access to a boat, one of the best summer camping opportunities in the state is among the islets of Lake Ouachita. A couple of friends of mine who’ve since left Arkansas used to have a two-day birthday party there every August; each time would be at a different island, since they’re all up for grabs on a first-come basis. According to lakeouachita.org, there are over 200 islands dotting Arkansas’s largest lake, any one of which can be claimed for a day or a weekend merely by setting foot there. (Or even longer, perhaps, if one were so inclined. It wouldn’t be a bad place to wait out the apocalypse, if you’ve got a big enough cooler.) I can’t vouch for the exact number of islands, but I can affirm that the place is a paradise, speckled with tiny, forested pinpricks of rocky land in a vast expanse of miraculously clear water. Laying claim to an island touches some deep, dumb childhood desire — and in certain places you can easily swim from one to another, which makes you feel dangerously like a hero of Greek myth. Since my friends moved away, I unfortunately haven’t been back to Lake Ouachita, due to a lack of both ambition and boats. Get in touch with me if you’ve got either one. — Benjamin Hardy
Best art-house Netflix deep cut
Little Rock filmmaker Mark Thiedeman made his feature film debut in 2013 with the great, moody “Last Summer,”
Runners-up: Blue Suede Shoes, Fabulous Finds, Sweet Home/ Clement, Morris Antiques
You can’t talk about Little Rock music in 2015 without reckoning with Lo Thraxx’s “Sharkansas,” one of the strongest, most compelling and consistently good local albums of the year (stream it for free at lothraxx.com). From the blaxploitation throwback funk of “Royale Wit Cheese” to the cavernous horror show of “Bodies,” it’s a stark, singular statement from one of Little Rock’s best rappers. — Will Stephenson
They’ve got that by the squat ton. Need a matching, flamingo pink toilet and sink from the 1950s? They had those on hand the other day at the Little Rock location, along with a porcelain rainbow of other colors. Dozens of sofas, chairs, dressers and bed frames. Pallets of bricks. A giant, plywood bin full of leather scraps from the upholstery shops at Dassault Falcon Jet. Bolts of fabric. Another big bin of vintage stair railing spindles. Area rugs, books, dishes, salvaged hinges, file cabinets and piles of kitchen cabinets. They don’t have everything, but they’re clearly getting there. If you’re working on a home project and are tired of The Home Depot sticker shock, you might want to try there first. While ReStore’s selection is catch-as-catch-can like any cheaporium, the inventory is broad, so you might find just what you’re after, or what you never knew you needed. Either way, it’s a cinch you’ll get it for a song. — David Koon
Best thrift
Best local radio show
Eyewear LensCrafters Success Vision Local winners: Burrow’s and Mr. Frank’s Optical
which was hailed as a “masterpiece” by Filmmaker Magazine, a “sweet surprise” by Indiewire and one of the top 10 undistributed films of 2013 by the Village Voice. The film finally got a DVD release in December and as of this year you can find it on Netflix, presumably in the Hazy Impressionistic Tone Poems by Arkansas Filmmakers category. — Will Stephenson
Best overlooked rap mixtape
For those who want to go cheap in Greater Little Rock, there are plenty of flea markets, thrift stores and junk stores to choose from. These days, however, I’m finding a lot of my thrifty bliss at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore — primarily the one at 6700 S. University Ave. in Little Rock, though there’s another location at 2657 Pike Ave. in North Little Rock. Unlike a lot of local thriftaterias that sell only clothes, furniture and housewares, the Habitat ReStore is kind of a throwback to the thrift stores of old in that it additionally sells all kinds of less-common things, including architectural antiques, old doors and windows, ceiling fans and mis-mixed paint. Most of it goes for a little bit of nothing, and the proceeds go to the cause of helping our neighbors own a home. I’d call that a double win. Looking for ceramic tile?
BantuNauts Raydio is a radio program on KABF-FM, 88.3, airing Saturday’s from 10 p.m. until midnight, created and hosted by Charles “DJ Prophet,” DJ Kax and Bibi Mwamba Ray. They recently celebrated their first anniversary on June 7 and continue to play the hottest music from all over the world associated with young black culture, including international rap and hip hop, house music, Afro-Caribbean soul, soul Brasileiro, jazz and more. According to the show’s Facebook page, BantuNauts, “BantuNauts=Bantu(people)+ Nauts(sailors),” are travelers who explore the world through music, arts and traditions.” All of their radio shows are archived on their blog and include conversations throughout the mix covering a wide range of topics from local events, international news and opinion
Furniture I.O. Metro
Runners-up: Ashley Furniture, Galaxy Furniture, Hank’s Fine Furniture, Nichols Furniture
BOSWELL MOUROT FINE ART We are pleased to represent these fine artists exhibiting in the 57th Annual Delta Exhibition at the Arkansas Arts Center.
Garden store or nursery The Good Earth Garden Center
Runners-up: Botanica Gardens, Cantrell Gardens, Green Tree Nursery, Hocott’s Garden Center
Hardware/home improvement Fuller and Son
Cynthia Kresse
Runners-up: Cantrell Hardware, Home Depot, Kraftco Hardware and Building Supply, Lowe’s Home Improvement
Runners-up: James Eye Care, Kavanaugh Eye Care
Fresh vegetables Little Rock Farmers’ Market Runners-up: Argenta Farmers Market, Bernice Garden Farmer’s Market, Hillcrest Farmers Market
Jason McCann
Outdoor store Ozark Outdoor Supply
Runners-up: Academy Sports and Outdoors, Bass Pro Shops, Gander Mountain, Gene Lockwood’s
Bicycle shop Chainwheel
Louis Watts
Runners-up: Angry Dave’s Bicycles, The Community Bicyclist, The Highroller Cyclery (Fayetteville), Spokes
Gun store Fort Thompson Sporting Goods
Runners-up: Arkansas Armory, Bass Pro Shops, Don’s Weaponry Inc., Gander Mountain
Commercial art gallery Gallery 26
Runners-up: Boswell Mourot Fine Art, Cantrell Gallery, Hearne Fine Art, M2 Gallery HABITAT RESTORE: Find things all humanity needs here.
Dennis McCann 5815 KAVANAUGH BLVD LITTLE ROCK, AR 72207 (501) 664-0030 boswellmourot.com
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BEST OF ARKANSAS | 2015 polls. If you like listening to great music, exploring other cultures, and connecting with people from all over the world, you should be sure to tune in Saturday nights at 10 p.m. or check the archive. — Artist Ariston Jacks, with Kaya Herron
Best art nonprofit
Chris James is the founder and executive director of The Root Art Connection, T.R.A.C., a nonprofit whose mission is to “advocate the integration of arts in education and community to support the transformation and development of underserved communities.” James is a national spoken-word poet, member of the award-winning poetry slam team Foreign Tongues, a teaching artist listed on the Arkansas Art Council’s roster and an Arkansas A+ fellow. James believes that poetry is not only a literary art but also a therapeutic exercise, and through T.R.A.C.’s Poetry Saves Lives program he created a platform for youth to express themselves creatively through writing and performance. T.R.A.C.’s other programs and projects, The Mural Project and Starve No More, aim to support social justice, alleviate poverty and hunger, and uproot oppression. “James works with the youth, he’s involved in community engagement, he’s an all-around talented individual, and an inspirational young brother,” Little Rock painter and printmaker Ariston Jacks said in an interview. “T.R.A.C.’s House of Art is a great place for up-andcoming artists to showcase their work.” The House of Art located on 108 E. Fourth St. It displays a collection of artwork from young local artists and hosts events for T.R.A.C., including workshops, poetry slams and more. — Kaya Herron
GUEST EDITORS’ PICKS
It’s too bad the word cyberstalker implies malicious intent because honestly it’s a cool sounding word, like it could be something with a laser arm that Schwarzenegger might have fought in the late ’80s. Sometimes, though, in the course of events, certain people need to know certain things about other certain people for certain nonmalicious purposes, if you get my drift. Few know that there’s a wealth of tools available for free online in Arkansas that can help you run your own amateur investigations. We aren’t stalking here necessarily, because that’s bad, but we are going to snoop, like Encyclopedia Brown, or a crime noir protagonist, but not like one from a James Ellroy novel because that probably is stalking. The Administrative Office of the Courts CourtConnect Website is a searchable database of court cases in the state. It isn’t comprehensive, but if you want to put a shovel into some dirt, it’s a good place to start. Discover your inner Rust Cohle. Search your friends for amusement! Who owns that creepy house down the road? The one where all the windows are blacked out and the sound of power tools can be heard intermittently from within through the night? The Pulaski County Geographic Information System might be able to tell you. It’s a vast online mapping project initially created in 1988 by the City of Little Rock Public Works Department, the Municipal Water Works, and Wastewater Utility. It includes the highly entertaining Land Ownership Application, which allows you to see exactly who owns a particular parcel of land. Say it turns out the sketchy house is owned by some sort of shadowy LLC but you want names. The Secretary of State’s company search can help you discover the registered agent and sometimes the officers of the company. Take that info and run it through the first search. It’s like an ourobouros of discovery! — Jeremy Brasher, inept outdoorsman, occasional musician and stereo repairman at Boulevard Bread Co.
Best potential overdue return
Best underutilized local online public services
The claims go back to the 1890s. The White River. An aquatic behemoth. Short on specifics, long on legend. But in Newport, in the summer of 1937, four people signed affidavits swearing they had seen a gigantic unidentified creature in the White River.
Bramlett Bateman, a nearby plantation owner who had witnessed the creature firsthand, described it as having “the skin of an elephant, four or five feet wide by twelve feet long, with the face of a catfish ... lolling on the surface of the water.” Bramlett decided it was a threat to his crops somehow and did what any reasonable farmer would do: He hatched a plan to blow the monster to smithereens with TNT. However, the cooler heads of the local authorities prevailed, deciding that was maybe a bad idea. As word of the creature got out, speculation began to mount and curious individuals poured into the town. Some brought cameras, some brought explosives, one brought a machine gun, basically all the same things people bring to public events today. A professor of zoology at the University of Arkansas claimed it was likely a sturgeon. A local fisherman posited that it was the hull of a submerged boat bobbing on the water. The Newport town council mustered a search party that ultimately proved inconclusive. In Newport in mid-June 1971, 40 years after the last rash of sightings, an anonymous witness described a serpentlike creature “six feet across, as long as three pickup trucks” that was wrinkled all over with peeling skin. Singer Jimmy Driftwood, who lived in Timbo in the late ’50s, had his own theory that the creature migrated up from the Sargasso Sea every 40 years to lay an egg. Sightings continued through the year. In 1973 state Sen. Robert Harvey of Swifton introduced a bill designating a section of the White River as an official White River Monster Refuge. The bill made it “unlawful to kill, molest, trample or harm the White River Monster while in its native refuge.” The bill was adopted by voice vote. Taking into account the 40-year cycle of the White River Monster, its return seems to be a bit late. Perhaps its schedule was impacted by industrial and commercial contamination on the river. Maybe it’s shy. Maybe it moved on to greener, or less green, waters as the case may be. Maybe this will be the year. — Jeremy Brasher
Best worst social media
Nexstar Broadcasting, which owns KARK, Channel 4 News and KLRT, Fox 16, has an aggressive position when it comes to social media: Post everything online, and ask viewers
to share their opinions. While complaining about the showcase of worst impulses that is Internet commenting is nothing new, the KARK and KLRT slush is a special kind of cesspool, where you can see your friends, family and neighbors offering their hot takes and acting a fool. Big news stories get comments from screeching moralists, would-be vigilantes and vicious name-callers. Trivial news stories get comments from screeching moralists, would-be vigilantes and vicious name-callers. This isn’t just the viewer, either. In January of this year, TV host Drew Carey tweeted at the stations “@KARK4News @ FOX16News @GregDeeWeather Quit Photoshopping fake tweets from me to promote yourselves, motherfuckers,” in response to the station using Photoshopped fake tweets from Carey to promote themselves, motherfuckers. It’s not all completely miserable, however. In June of this year, a viewer left a message on KARK’s Facebook page, criticizing NBC’s nearly 60-year-old logo. “Your changing your station logo with the colors of the gays is a disgrace,” wrote a viewer named Don. “Just stay out of it... Your integrity is ruined ... ABC KATV is my choice in the future for all Little Rock station viewing ... Shame on you!” This story is a good chuckle, but also a reminder that all of this social media interaction ends the same way — making all of us look bad. — Matthew Rowe
Best view of the Arkansas River from a boat
The view of the Arkansas upriver to the palisades from the Arkansas Boathouse Club docks is magic from a scull. At sunset, it’s even better. — Louise Palermo, curator of education at the Arkansas Arts Center
Best courthouse
The Calhoun County Courthouse is a magnificent building, and given that it’s in what has historically been one of the least populous places in Arkansas, a remarkable expression of civic pride. — Mark Christ, author and Department of Arkansas Heritage community outreach director
Best garden you can visit with a dog
Garvan Gardens in Hot Springs allows visitors to bring their dogs — there is even a charming pet founCONTINUED ON PAGE 21
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ARKANSAS TIMES
A Taste of Brazilian Cuisine 2701 KAVANAUGH BLVD • HILLCREST
501.614.6682
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BARLOUIEAMERICA.COM
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!
BEST OF ARKANSAS | 2015
THANKS FOR VOTING US BEST PAWNSHOP, AGAIN WE ARE LITERALLY MOVED
Not only are we emotionally moved by the repeating honor, we are physically moved as well. We are pleased to announce that Braswell & Son is moving to a bigger and better location for our West Little Rock customers. On August 3rd, we will open our new location in Markham Square, at the corner of Markham and John Barrow Road, just west of our present Markham location.
9101 W. Markham, Little Rock 8203 Baseline, Little Rock Oak & Harkrider, Conway braswellandson.com
BIGGER BUILDING. BETTER SPACE. SAME AWARD-WINNING PAWNSHOP
BLUSH. YOU'VE MADE US
It’s nice to be singled out by the people we serve. It’s even nicer to be awarded through the years by Arkansas Times readers as your favorite wine, beer and spirits destination. Thanks for letting us help you CELEBRATE MORE.
WIN ES
SPI RITS
11200 W. Markham | 501.223.3120 | www.colonialwineshop.com | facebook.com/colonialwines
Sound has never looked so good!
5914 R Street Little Rock, Ar 72207 | CarnesAudio.com | 501-658-0932 20
JULY 30, 2015
ARKANSAS TIMES
tain. I’ve walked a rustic nature trail there with my dog that took over an hour and a half. The garden also has different exhibits: Right now, for example, there is an exhibit of giant topiary creatures — Big Foot, a sea serpent, a Fairy Gourdmother playhouse, marching mushrooms, a flaming phoenix. There is a coy pond and potted Ming trees in a small outdoor space. There is a wildflower field, waterfalls in strategic places, a “singing brook” that goes down a rocky path to another area of the garden and a large, rocky construction with stone bridges and caves called “The Children’s Garden.” There is also a terrific gift shop. I find it to be a restful and beautiful place, and I am always amazed by the people I know who have not been there yet. (Admission is $15 for adults, $5 for children 6-12 and $5 for dogs.) — Andrea Herrmann, professor, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Best place to eat surrounded by history
One of my favorite things is lunch at the Williams Tavern Restaurant at Historic Washington State Park. Down-home cooking with wonderful vegetables, rolls and cornbread and cobblers, in an 1832 tavern relocated to the park. Yum! A great place to eat whether during a day visit to the evermore interesting state park, where the Bowie knife was first forged, or as a stop for lunch on a road trip down Interstate 30 from Little Rock to Louisiana or Texas. — Delia Prather
Best place to find history not found anywhere else
Having grown up in a small town in Arkansas, I was shocked to learn as an adult visiting the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center for the first time about the massacre of hundreds of blacks in Elaine, Arkansas, in 1919, not mentioned in my early Arkansas history lessons. MTCC is a museum of Arkansas’s African American history and culture in downtown Little Rock. A favorite exhibit is “A City within a City,” where storefronts depict the once-flourishing West Ninth Street business district in downtown Little Rock that was home to barbershops, restaurants, hotels, undertakers and jewelers, venues where jazz greats like Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis performed, until urban renewal and I-630 disrupted the
neighborhoods. Thanks to that history, Create Little Rock and StudioMAIN have selected historic Ninth Street for a Pop Up in the Rock West Ninth, coming up Oct. 24. —Becky Falkowski, director of public relations, Downtown Little Rock Partnership
Best place to listen to the quiet
Tucked away on a back wooded lot behind St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in West Little Rock is a space designed solely for quiet contemplation. The Arkansas House of Prayer was created to be available to anyone, from all faiths, seeking solace, prayer or a brief respite from the pressures of the day. Whether it’s simply sitting in a chair or staring out at the trees, sitting in a rocking chair in the courtyard listening to running water, or reading in the small book alcove inside, it’s worth the drive. Sign up for a fob and have access to the building anytime you feel the call to recharge. There’s only one rule … no talking allowed. — Becky Falkowski
Mobile phone AT&T
Runners-up: Cricket Wireless, Sprint, Verizon
Internet service provider AT&T
Runners-up: Aristotle, Centurylink, Comcast, Conway Corp., Cox Communications
Real estate agency Crye-Leike
Local winner: The Janet Jones Co.
Runners-up: The Charlotte John Co., Clark Partners Realty Group, Keller Williams Realty
Auto service Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. Local winner: Jett’s Gas and Service Runners-up: Austin Brothers Tire and
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BEST MARINA
Best place to fly fish
Between the tail waters of the Norfork Dam and the White River in northern Arkansas. — Dr. Sam Cook, Batesville
Best voice for water quality in North Arkansas
While the Friends of the North Fork and White Rivers are working hard, too, the Buffalo Watershed Alliance is dealing with a single issue that is acute. They are effectively changing people’s awareness of the watershed. — Dr. Sam Cook
RESTAURANT • CABINS & ROOMS SKI BOATS & PARTY BARGE RENTALS FULL SERVICE MARINA & SHIPS STORE DIVING • JET SKI RENTALS
Best fish and stream artist
Native Arkansan Duane Hada shows his artwork at his gallery, Hada Gallery, in Mountain Home on the square. He is also a fly-fishing guide for the White, Buffalo and Crooked Creek. — Dr. Sam Cook
Best supper
The Gillett Coon Supper. No finer example of Americana on display than 1,000 people gathering in an old school gymnasium to support the local school system, steeped in some 70 years of tradition. — Gabe Holmstrom, director of the Downtown Little Rock Partnership
4120 Brady Mtn. Rd. • Royal, AR 71968 501-767-3422 www.bradymountainmarina.com w w w.arktimes.com
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BEST OF ARKANSAS | 2015
Savor the specials.
Only in August. BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE LITTLE ROCK CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU 1620 SAVOY
Beef wontons with homemade pickled carrots and a cilantro green chilli sauce $6. (D) 1620 Market St. 221-1620 1620Savoy.com
4 SQUARE CAFE & GIFTS
Free one scoop of ice cream with sandwich purchase. (LD) 405 Pres. Clinton Ave. 244-2622 4SquareGifts.com
AFTERTHOUGHT BISTRO & BAR ALL ABOARD RESTAURANT & GRILL AMERICAN PIE PIZZA Three course meal $25. Soup or salad, an entrée, any dessert. Dining room only. (D) 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 663-1196 AfterthoughtBistroAndBar.com
Half price “lil” engineer meals. Donating 1% of Restaurant Month sales to Potluck and Easter Seals Arkansas charities. (LD) 6813 Cantrell Rd. 975-7401 All-AboardRestaurant.com
Free slice of cheesecake with purchase of 14” pizza. (LD) 10912 Colonel Glenn Rd.
225-1900 AmericanPiePizza.net
ANOTHER ROUND PUB
ARKANSAS BURGER CO.
@ THE CORNER
A.W. LIN’S
BAR LOUIE
BIG ORANGE
BIG WHISKEY’S
BLACK ANGUS
BOBBY’S COUNTRY COOKIN’
BOOKENDS CAFE
BOSTON’S RESTAURANT & SPORTS BAR
BOULEVARD BREAD CO.
THE BUTCHER SHOP
CACHE RESTAURANT & LOUNGE
CAFÉ 201 (CROWNE PLAZA)
CAFÉ BOSSA NOVA
CAFÉ @ HEIFER
CAJUN’S WHARF
CANTINA CINCO DE MAYO
CANTINA LAREDO
CAPITOL SMOKEHOUSE & GRILL
CIAO BACI
COMMUNITY BAKERY
COPELAND’S
10% off any plate lunch. (L) 915 W. Capitol Ave. 372-4227 CapitolSmokehouseAndGrill.com
Early Bird Special: Three course dinner for $25 from 5-7pm – will change weekly. (D) 605 N. Beechwood St. 603-0238 CiaoBaci.org
COPPER GRILL
CORKY’S RIBS & BBQ
COTIJA’S MEXICAN GRILL
CRAZEE’S CAFÉ
DAMGOODE PIES
DAVE’S PLACE
DEMPSEY BAKERY
DIANE’S GOURMET
DOE’S EAT PLACE
DOUBLETREE PLAZA BAR & GRILLE
$7.95 ultimate two person nachos. $11.95 salsa, cheese dip and guac with chips. $6.95 black bean burger sliders (no meat). Daily drink specials are offered. (LD) 12111 West Markham 313-2612 AnotherRoundPub.com Bar Snack Time, Mon-Wed 3-5:30pm - $2 off all apps during happy hour. Must say “Savor the City” to redeem your offer. Limit one per day, one offer per guest. (LD) 17809 Chenal Pkwy, Ste. G-101, 821-1515 207 N. University Ave., Ste. 100, 379-8715 BigOrangeBurger.com
$2 off any platter. (LD) 7410 Cantrell Rd. 663-0600 ArkansasBurgerCompany.com
Half-off appetizer with purchase of any entrée. (LD) 225 E. Markham St. 324-2449 Facebook.com/BigWhiskeysLittleRock Free frites or pimento cheese appetizer with purchase of dinner entree. Dinner Only. (D)
Free appetizer with any entree purchase. Dine in only. $10 max value. Not valid with any other discount. (LD) 1920 N. Grant St. 3201 Bankhead Dr. 663-5951 235-2000 BoulevardBread.com Bostons.com Get a free appetizer with the purchase of any 2 daily specials or dinner entrées. (LD) 2701 Kavanaugh Blvd. 614-6682 CafeBossaNova.com
CAPERS
$30 Prix Fixe 3-course restaurant month menu. (LD) 14502 Cantrell Rd. 868-7600 CapersRestaurant.com
$15 Prix Fixe 2-course restaurant month lunch menu. (L) $30 Prix Fixe 3-course restaurant month dinner menu. (D) 300 E. 3rd St. # 101 375-3333 CopperGrillLR.com Turkey apple and bacon on Woodstock bread with sriracha Mayo $7. (L) 210 Center St. 372-3283 DavesPlaceRestaurant.com 22
LittleRock.com
JULY 30, 2015
ARKANSAS TIMES
15% off any salad from our menu.
(L)
1 World Ave. (Heifer Village) 907-8801 Heifer.org
$1 off Cajun shrimp dinner. (LD) 12005 Westhaven Dr. 954-7427(RIBS) CorkysBBQ.com/location/littlerock
Free sugar cookie with lunch purchase. (L) 323 S. Cross St. 375-2257 DempseyBakery.com
Buy a burger with fries and upgrade your fries to poutine fries for $2.50. (L) 201 E. Markham St. 400-8458 thecornerlr.com Two Hamburger Steak Dinners $13. Includes hamburger steak, baked potato or fries, salad and bread. $1 off #7 Mexican Burger Combo. (D) 10907 N. Rodney Parham Rd. 228-7800 BlackAngusCafe.com Half price drinks and appetizers 5-7pm Mon-Fri, bar area only. (D) 10825 Hermitage Rd. 312-2748 TheButchershop.com/LittleRock
$33 Prix Fixe 3-course restaurant month menu. (LD) 2400 Cantrell Rd. 375-5351 CajunsWharf.com
Free small cheese dip with the purchase of an entrée. (L) 406 S. Louisiana St. 371-0733 Find us on Facebook
Buy three casseroles and get one free, same size and price. (L) 11121 N. Rodney Parham Rd. 224-2639 Dianes-Gourmet.com
Buy one sushi special, get second one of equal or lesser value for half price. (LD) 17717 Chenal Pkwy., Ste. 101 821-5398 AWLins.com $1 off dinner and a drink. Mon and Fri only. (L) 301 N. Shackleford Rd., Ste. E-1 224-9500 BobbysCountryCookin.com
Free dessert with entrée purchase and a special bar snack with drink purchase during happy hour 4-6pm. (D) 425 Pres. Clinton Ave. 850-0265 CacheLittleRock.com One free cheese dip or guacamole with entrée purchase. Buy two dinners and two drinks, get $5 off. Mariachi band every other Sunday! (LD) 25 Rahling Circle 821-2740 CantinaCincoDeMayoLR.com Free cookie with your choice of any purchase. (BLD) Downtown: 1200 Main St. 375-7105 WLR: 270 S. Shackleford Rd. 224-1656 CommunityBakery.com Free small salsa with any food order. (D) 7626 Cantrell Rd. 221-9696 CrazeesCafe.net
One free dessert with steak purchase. Limited to one per table. (LD) 1023 W. Markham St. 376-1195 DoesEatPlace.net
HALF price Bruschetta Pomodoro: tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil, parmesan crostinis. Not valid with other offers. (LD) Pleasant Ridge Town Center 11525 Cantrell Rd., 228-0444 BarLouieAmerica.com (MAIN LIBRARY CAMPUS) Curried chicken salad sandwich, side of fruit and canned soda $7.75. (L) 120 River Market Blvd. 918-3091 CALS.org/about/locations/cox.aspx
Buy one entrée, get one free. Equal or lesser value. (LD) 201 S. Shackelford Rd. 223-3000 CrownePlazaLittleRock.com
Special Restaurant Month menu - three courses for $17.99 per person. 207 N. University Ave., Suite 130 280-0407 CantinaLaredo.com
Half-off artichoke and spinach dip or onion mum with entrée purchase. (LD) 2602 S. Shackleford Rd. 312-1616 copelandsrestaurantlittlerock.com $5 of any 18” pie. (LD) 6706 Cantrell Rd. 2701 Kavanaugh Blvd. 500 Pres. Clinton Ave. 10720 N. Rodney Parham Rd. 664-2239 DGPies.com Crab Cake Sandwich. Seared jumbo lump crab meat and our Cajun spiced rémoulade on a brioche bun $10. (L) 1023 W. Markham St., 372-4371 Doubletree3.Hilton.com
FREE DELIVERY with coupon code
“RestMonth” in the amount of $4.95 chefshuttle.com
One coupon per customer. Expires 8/31/15
CHECK THESE LISTINGS THROUGHOUT AUGUST OR VISIT DINELR.COM FOR WEEKLY SPECIALS B = BREAKFAST • L = LUNCH D = DINNER • AD = ALL DAY
GREEN LEAF GRILL
Greek food week at the salad bar. Free super fruit fresca with purchase. (L) 601 S. Gaines St. 818-0166
JACKIE’S MOBILE CAFÉ
FLYING FISH
Hot boiled shrimp 1 lb. $16.99. (LD) 511 Pres. Clinton Ave. 375-3474 FlyingFishInThe.net
HEIGHTS TACO & TAMALE CO.
One order of three tamales free with your purchase of an order of six tamales. (LD) 5805 Kavanaugh Blvd. 313-4848
KILWINS
THE FOLD
Free queso with purchase of three taco plate. (LD) 3501 Old Cantrell Rd. 916-9706 TheFoldLR.com
HILLCREST ARTISAN MEATS
10% off purchase of house-made sausages. (BLD) 2807 Kavanaugh Blvd., Ste. B 671-6328 Facebook.com/HillcrestArtisanMeats
FRANKE’S CAFETERIA
Purchase one entrée, receive a small salad or one vegetable for free. (L) Market Place Shopping Center 11121 N. Rodney Parham, 225-4487 Regions Center Building 400 Broadway • 372-1919 FrankesCafeteria.com
IRIANA’S PIZZA
15% off any whole pizza (LD). 201 E. Markham St. 374-3656 IrianasPizza.com
LARRY’S PIZZA DOWNTOWN LAS PALMAS III
GARDEN SMOOTHIE
Half-off fresh fruit smoothie with the purchase of sandwich or wrap. (L) 400 Pres. Clinton Ave. River Market Ottenheimer Hall
244-9964
J. GUMBO’S
$1 off appetizer with entrée purchase. (LD) 12911 Cantrell Rd. 916-9635 JGumbos.com
LAYLA’S GYROS AND PIZZERIA
Buy one specialty caramel apple, get a plain caramel apple free. (LD) 415 Pres. Clinton Ave. 379-9865 Kilwins.com
50¢ oven-roasted wings. Offered in Naked, Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo, Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ, Sweet Red Chili or Teriyaki. Choice of ranch or blue cheese dressing. Dine-in or carry-out. Six wings minimum order, no maximum limit. (LD) 1122 S. Center St., 372-6004 LarrysPizzaOfArkansas.com
Buy one combo #1-15 and get one of equal or lesser value at 25% off. (LD) 10402 Stagecoach Rd. 455-8500 LasPalmasArkansas.com
THE LOBLOLLY CREAMERY
LOCAL LIME
LOST FORTY BREWING
MEXICO CHIQUITO
MIDTOWN BILLIARDS
OLD MILL BREAD
THE OYSTER BAR
THE PANTRY & PANTRY CREST
PAXTON’S PIZZA
PONCHITOS MEXICAN GRILL
POTBELLY SANDWICH SHOP
THE PURPLE COW
RADUNO BRICK OVEN & BARROOM
RED MANGO SMOOTHIE & JUICE BAR
THE ROOT CAFÉ
$1 off yougurt and smoothies. (BLD) 5621 Kavanaugh Blvd. 663-2500 RedMangoUSA.com
Weekday Breakfast Special: 20% off your breakfast entree. AvailableTues-Fri, 7-11 am. (B) 1500 S Main St. 414-0423 TheRootCafe.com
SKY MODERN JAPANESE
SLICK’S SANDWICH SHOP
SO RESTAURANT – BAR
SUSHI CAFÉ
TAZIKI’S MEDITERRANEAN CAFÉ
WASABI BAR & GRILL
ZAZA
15% off any fish dinner. Excludes one piece fish. (LD) 838-6167 facebook.com/JackiesMobileCafe
INSIDE THE GREEN CORNER STORE & SODA FOUNTAIN Purchase our summer combo: one small waffle cone + any handcrafted soda, limeade or lemonade and get 50¢ off. (AD) 1423 S. Main St., 374-1111 LoblollyCreamery.com Buy a lunch, get a free slice of our sweet, healthy, fruit and nut granola bread for dessert. (LD) 12111 W. Markham, Ste. 366 228-4677 OldMillBread.com Free cookie with sandwich purchase. (LD) 314 S. University Ave., Ste 160 660-4441 PotBelly.com
ROSALIA’S FAMILY BAKERY
Get a free Sonho with any $10 purchase (before tax). Limit one per purchase. (BLD) 2701 Kavanaugh Blvd. 719-7035 CafeBossaNova.com/Rosalias-Bakery
SONNY WILLIAMS STEAK ROOM
Lunch Pronto, Mon-Thurs - Free cheese dip with Pronto Plate purchase. Must say “ Savor the City” to redeem your offer. (L) 17815 Chenal Pkwy. 448-2226 LocalLimeTaco.com $2 off one lb. shrimp. $1 off half lb. shrimp. (LD) 3003 W. Markham St. 666-7100 LROysterBar.com
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BEST OF ARKANSAS | 2015
Steal this book Little Rock’s Sibling Rivalry Press is a crucial outlet for new and neglected voices. BY WILL STEPHENSON
O
ne of the country’s premier independent presses devoted to LGBT poetry is operated from the living room of a modest yellow house in Little Rock’s Stifft Station. This is where Bryan Borland, the founder and publisher of Sibling Rivalry Press, lives with his husband, Seth Pennington, and their three cats. Borland, who started the press in 2010 to publish his own work, now finds himself overseeing an award-winning enterprise that includes three literary journals and an impressive catalog of books by writers who have gone on to publish in outlets like the New Yorker and the New York Times Magazine. Pennington, who was away at his day job when I stopped by the house on a recent Thursday afternoon, is Sibling Rivalry’s co-publisher and is also the art director responsible for the press’ distinctive covers. “He used to be an intern,” Borland laughed, as he showed me to the cluttered bookshelf in the corner that constitutes their life’s work. “But then I fired him and married him.” It’s been an important year for the small company, which, in addition to breaking even financially for the first time in its five years of existence, also relocated to Little Rock from its previous home base in the nearby small town of Alexander (“right next to the Bass Pro Shop,” Borland said). There was also their recent presentation at the Library of Congress, which as of this summer keeps copies of the press’ entire oeuvre in its Rare Book and Special Collections room. That was big, too. “I almost didn’t open the email” from the library inviting the press to be included, Borland said, shivering at the thought. “It looked like spam.” The press’ most important achievement, however, is that it continues to exist at all, despite the significant economic, cultural and even logical obstacles to its business model. “I’m a bad businessman,” Borland shrugged. “Imagine what I could do with a real budget and a staff.” Borland started the press to solve a simple problem: He had a book and 24
JULY 30, 2015
ARKANSAS TIMES
GETTING ACCOLADES: Bryan Borland (left) and Seth Pennington’s Sibling Rivalry Press publications have found a place in the Rare Book and Special Collections room at the Library of Congress.
no place to publish it. A Monticello native, Borland had worked for law firms in his hometown and Little Rock since graduating from Hendrix College in 2001. Though he enjoyed his job, he had been writing poetry seriously since he was 13 — the year his older brother, Glenn, died, an event that he now sees as artistically formative. He became a regular at local poetry readings, like the Arkansas Literary Festival’s annual Pub Or Perish
(he considers its host, Times associate editor David Koon, an important early mentor), and had begun corresponding with an editor named John Stahle, who ran the New York-based LGBT literary journal Ganymede. Stahle published some of Borland’s earliest writings in the journal, alongside work by better-known writers like David Sedaris and Edmund White, and it was Stahle who convinced Borland that, while “self-publishing came with a stigma,” it also offered a valuable form of freedom. Borland agreed, and so the publishing imprint was born. He named it Sibling Rivalry as a tribute to his brother — “sort of to compete with his ghost,” Borland told me. From the very beginning, the project was marked by tragedy. Ten days after Borland borrowed a small sum
of money from his father to help finance the first book, his father died in a car accident. After the book was published, Borland went to New York to speak at a book fair and tried getting in touch with Stahle, who had stopped returning his calls. He soon learned that Stahle, too, had died, suffering a sudden heart attack alone in his apartment. Never accepted by his family because of his sexuality, Stahle’s belongings were left out on the street, abandoned. As a memorial to Stahle, Borland collected the proofs from Ganymede’s never-published final issue and released it as a one-off tribute book called “Ganymede Unfinished.” The powerful response to its publication, as well as what Borland saw as the cultural void created by the original journal’s loss, led to the found-
ing of Assaracus, which would become Sibling Rivalry’s flagship journal. “In Greek mythology, Ganymede was the cup-bearer for Zeus,” Borland explained, “and Assaracus was the brother he left behind.” He was also inspired by the 1970s queer poetry zine Mouth of the Dragon, which published work by Frank O’Hara and Dennis Cooper. The community appealed to him — the way it sug-
gested a vivid, cohesive subculture — as did the zine’s subversive sense of humor. When Borland passed me a copy of Assaracus, he held his hand over all but the first three letters of the name and admitted he’d changed the pronunciation to put the emphasis on the first syllable. “I just thought it was funny,” he said. Over the years, Borland has been proud to watch Sibling Rivalry authors go on to publish with bigger presses and higher-circulation magazines. Like Ocean Vuong, who won a Pushcart Prize and had a poem published in the New Yorker in May. Or Saeed Jones, who is now the literary editor of Buzzfeed and was a finalist for a 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award. Or Bushra Rehman, a Pakistani-American writer who recently published an essay in the New York Times Magazine and is under contract with a mainstream press. “I will give our authors everything I’ve got, but our resources are limited,” Borland said. “I don’t feel abandoned when they move on. That’s graduation — I feel proud.” Of course, there are also writers who opt not to graduate. The poet Michael Klein, for instance, turned down offers from bigger presses to release his new book, “When I Was a Twin,” with Sibling Rivalry. (The cover features a blurb from “The Hours” author Michael Cunning-
ham calling Klein “a living treasure.”) Borland’s goal, he said, is to publish vibrant new voices, but also voices that wouldn’t be accepted elsewhere. “If you are considered a gatekeeper or have the potential to share a stage with others,” he said, “you have a responsibility to make sure they don’t all look like you or sound like you or share your story.” Assaracus originally limited its submissions to LGBT-identified writers, and the book press has usually operated similarly, but these are not ironclad constraints, and it isn’t something Borland and Pennington police. “If somebody thinks they belong or that their work belongs,” Borland said, “that’s good enough for us.” Over the years, Sibling Rivalry has been featured 15 times on the American Library Association’s LGBT recommended reading list, and has won Lambda Literary Awards for both Gay Poetry and Lesbian Poetry. The acclaim was topped this summer by the Library of Congress’ invitation, which Borland called “humbling and surreal and insane.” He was delighted when a Christian news outlet, CNS News, covered his presentation in D.C. as some sort of scandal, evidence that the government was explicitly endorsing what they deemed “literature focused on the homosexual lifestyle.” As to why they’re still based in Little Rock when a place like Brooklyn would seem to offer a more accepting creative community and commercial advantages, Borland said that he sees their Southern, red-state isolation as an important part of their identity. They have a role to play in Arkansas. “When you have young people here who have never seen anyone out, you can see the recognition on their faces,” he said. “It’s a big deal. If I can do something to balance out all the people in this state who call us monsters, that’s worth staying.” In this sense, his ideal reader is his younger self, the closeted teenager in Monticello who used to steal gay authors’ works from the library because he was too embarrassed to be seen checking them out. “I don’t endorse theft as a concept, but I endorse doing whatever you can to get the knowledge you need for survival,” he said. “Honestly, I want our books to be the ones people steal.”
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BEST OF ARKANSAS | 2015
NUTS! BOLTS! SCREWS! OH MY!: Fuller and Son also has free popcorn and an ice cream case at its hardware stores and it matches lowest prices in town.
It’s Fuller and Son For those wrenching problems. BY LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK
I
don’t know about you, but it just makes me happy to walk into a hardware store. I feel like I can find the solution to any and all my problems (known and unknown) somewhere among the riches you’ll find there. Lawn sprinklers, chain saws, cesspool cleaner, bins of blackeyed peas and lentils and mustard seed, rakes and hammers and pots and pans and nuts and bolts. It’s especially good when you can ask the person there, “Do you sell those thingies that go into wood and then you can put a screw in them? … Do you have whatever it’s called that I can nail into sheetrock to hold up a picture? … I need a tiny screw, no, I don’t know what size, but it’s probably the tiniest screw made ... ,” and, in return, get service with a smile and not a smirk that says you really, really need to know what size screw you’re looking for, lady, including whether
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ARKANSAS TIMES
it was manufactured in millimeters or inches. Perhaps the folks who voted Fuller and Son the best hardware store (again; it’s a repeat winner) weren’t the helpless types who find comfort, but people who know what they are doing and know they’ll find what they need there. And that when they do, Fuller will match the lowest price they would pay anywhere else in town, including the price of things sold by “the orange guys,” as Jeff Fuller refers to The Home Depot. “Pop” Fuller (his name was Walter, but he was called “Pop”) opened the first Fuller store at 28th and Arch streets in 1921. It was mostly a farm supply store, with plow parts and feed. The Fuller family’s biggest store, at 7311 Baseline Road, opened in 1964, and besides hardware and seed and free popcorn and an ice cream
case, it’s got a lumber yard and a machine shop. Fuller and Son opened a store at 900 Main St. in downtown Little Rock 11 years ago, and customer Troy Barker, the maintenance supervisor for Flake & Kelly commercial realtors, calls it the “jewel in downtown.” “I like the customer service and the way they make you feel at home,” Barker said. By way of example, he turned to the woman at the counter and asked her if she knew his name. She did, and he knew hers. Between them on the counter sat a fake orange tree that another regular brought in ages ago, a customer the woman at the counter — Angie Sharp — said was her favorite. It gets decorated at Christmas. Fuller gives discounts to military, police officers, firefighters and oops. The oops category covers folks who are not asked within seconds if they can be helped: Those folks get a 5 percent discount. Which is why when I went into the downtown Fuller store, Sharp practically tackled me to ask me what I was looking for. No anonymous browsing here. Fuller’s is now run by Bobby Fuller, grandson of “Pop”; he bought the business from his father “and I’m unloading
it on these guys,” he said, pointing to sons J.R. and Jeff. Jeff also writes the store’s Addy-winning commercials starring the Fullers, which are clever enough you might want to go look them up on YouTube (the Landers boys can’t hold a candle to the Fullers). Both Jeff and J.R. said they’re proud of being able to help folks out. For example: “This guy came in and said every time he flushed his toilet his computer would power off,” Jeff Fuller said. That was a head-scratcher for a minute, but then the light came on: “You on a well?” they asked the customer. He was. The pump was using so much power to get water to the toilet, it was breaking the connection in the room with the computer. Problem solved. The Fullers had advice for someone looking for a part they can’t quite name or describe: Take a picture of it and bring it in. They say they’ll tell you what you need, even if it means they don’t make a sale. “We want you to come back,” Bobby Fuller said. Other Fuller stores are at 14710 Cantrell Road, 9815 W. Markham St. and 5915 R St.
‘Never the bottom button’
I had to look up what a peaked lapel is when I got back to the office, and I’m still confused about what makes anything double-breasted. “And get a good haircut. Where do you get your hair cut?” Wherever costs less than $20, I told him, which is true. The last time, I think, was several months ago at a place called Sports Clips, which happened to be next to the pet store in a
The Independent offers an Arkansas Times reporter basic men’s fashion tips. BY BENJAMIN HARDY
a jacket he’d selected for me, and BEFORE AFTER I began to shrug it on. No, Stone chided, not one arm at a time, put Shirt by it on like this. “Both arms at once?” I asked. Goodwill “But why?” “That’s just how we rock ’n’ roll, man, in the sartorial world.” He fitted me with pants and shoes and loaned me his belt for the photo shoot. He nodded. “Yes, this will show off your little petite figure very well,” he said. Our photographer suppressed a snicker. I glared at him. Afterward, dressed again in my everyday, shapeless, thrift store officewear, I asked Stone if he had a short list of definite things not to Pants by do when it comes to dress. Merona “It’s very individual,” he said. “For you, I wouldn’t wear blousy, Shirt by pleated pants that have a huge, wide Mastai bottom on the bottom, because it’s Ferretti Jacket by Shoes by Reebok going to add years to you and add a Eidos lot of weight.” “Shirts” — he glanced at my DilPants by Eidos bert-esque short sleeve button up, straight from Goodwill — “I always prefer a long-sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up.” “The rule of thumb is this: Less Shoes by Gravati is best. The more simple and basic the better … . A peaked lapel doublebreasted jacket for you would be A REPORTER IN SUITABLE DRESS: The writer gets spruced up at The Independent. just too much.” I nodded, though BRIAN CHILSON
I
went to Jon Stone of the Independent with a simple question. How do I learn the basic rules of not looking stupid? He paused. He smiled. “Well, you don’t look stupid,” he said. I didn’t believe him and still don’t, but it was an awfully nice thing to say. Stone, along with his business partners, has run the menswear retailer for three years now, with one outlet in Little Rock and two in Northwest Arkansas. Knowing nothing about fashion aside from a vague list of prohibitions I’ve accumulated over the years — for some reason, you can’t wear socks with sandals? — I’d asked Stone if he’d be willing to dress me to the best of his abilities. And here we were one sweltering July afternoon, him efficiently tape-measuring my dimensions while I lobbed out the sort of why-is-the-sky-blue questions a toddler asks his dad. “OK. So what’s that rule with buttoning jackets?” I asked. “If it’s a soft, three-button jacket, it’s the middle button. If it’s a two-button jacket, it’s the top button,” he said. “Never the bottom button?” “Never the bottom button,” he said. “Never.” “Then why is it there?” I demanded. “Um — decorative issues?” he replied, diplomatically, patiently. In the dressing room, he held out
strip mall. I was buying dog food. I needed a haircut. I got a haircut. Jon, I said, you’ve got to understand: I’ve made huge gains. Until two years ago or so, I cut my hair myself or had a friend do it. Buying pants outside of a thrift store was unheard of. I buy a $20 pair of Target khakis and I feel like I’ve accomplished something amazing. “Well,” he said. “Thank God you’ve met me.”
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BEST OF ARKANSAS | 2015 Service, Discount Tire & Brake Inc., Helmich Auto Service
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CONTROLLING THE COURT: Little Rock Hall product Bobby Portis hopes his wide-open style of play suits his new team, the Chicago Bulls.
Bobby Portis takes the headband off The former Razorback considers his future. BY LINDSEY MILLAR
I
t’s been a big year for Bobby Portis. He turned 20, became the first Arkansas Razorback basketball
player to win SEC Player of the Year since Corliss Williamson in 1995 and was selected, with the 22nd pick of
the NBA draft, by the Chicago Bulls. Not surprisingly, the readers of the Arkansas Times named him Best Athlete in Arkansas. I caught up with him for a phone interview a week after he had finished NBA summer league play — where he outplayed No. 1 draft pick KarlAnthony Towns in one game and generally drew positive reviews for his play — to talk about hard work, Twitter, emojis and the future of his signature headband. Our talk has been edited for length and clarity. What’s the difference between Razorback red and Chicago Bull red? CONTINUED ON PAGE 30
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ARKANSAS TIMES
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BEST OF ARKANSAS | 2015 Razorback red is different. I grew up here. It’s something that’s in my skin. It’s something in my body. It’s something that I really take pride in because I was a guy who was from Arkansas and wanted to make my team great. Since I’m a Chicago Bull now, that will be ingrained in me forever, too.
four years of high school were good. It was productive in the classroom and in the court. All through high school I had a 3.2 [grade point average] and up. It’s basically on the kids to want to be there and want to learn. It’s not about who teaches you. It can’t be on the teachers every time.
Hall High School, where you graduated, has gotten a lot of recent negative attention for poor academic performance. What was your experience there like? I had a great experience at Hall. My
You’ve kind of got some oldschool philosophies. I noticed last year you tweeted, “I’m thankful my childhood was filled with imagination & bruises from playing outside instead of apps and how many CONTINUED ON PAGE 32
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Runners-up: Tom Chandler, Garry Mertins, Marilynn Porter, Larry West
Music equipment Guitar Center Local winner: Blue Moon Music
Runners-up: Best Buy, Jacksonville Guitar, Saied Music Co.
Bookstore Barnes & Noble Local winner: WordsWorth Books & Co.
damn likes u get on a pic.” Some people want to live life so they can be famous and have all the assets. I want to work for everything that I do. It’s not about having things around me. It’s about me working as hard as I can to provide for generations to come.
Pawn shop Braswell and Sons Pawnbrokers
You hear stories all the time about athletes struggling to make it in college. Do you think college athletes should be paid? It was crazy in college. Being home was different because your mom was right there to provide for what you needed. In college, you were on your own. College kids should get paid. It should be a stipend that they get every month. It should vary from city to city. The cost of living is higher in some places.
Runners-up: Dickson Street Bookshop (Fayetteville), Nightbird Books (Fayetteville), River Market Books and Gifts
BEST BRUNCH BEST VEGETARIAN
BEST SALAD
BUILDING COMMUNITY THROUGH LOCAL FOOD 1500 S. Main St. • Little Rock · 501.414.0423 · therootcafe.com
Runners-up: A-1 Gun and Pawn Inc., iPawn, USA Loans, National Pawn Shop
Funeral home Roller-Chenal Funeral Home
Runners-up: Ruebel Funeral Home, Olmstead Funeral Home, North Little Rock Funeral Home, Smith Funeral Home
Thanks For Voting Us
ONE OF THE BEST! BEST APARTMENT COMPLEX
One & Two Bedrooms With All New Interiors
Contemporary Kitchens • Walk-In Closets • Private Patios/Balconies Two Sparkling Swimming Pools • Poolside Wi-Fi • Tennis Courts Pets Welcome & Much More • Award Winning Staff 11800 Pleasant Ridge Rd • Little Rock • 501-223-2050 • pleasantwoods.com 32
JULY 30, 2015
ARKANSAS TIMES
NO HEADBAND: Portis’ UA trademark goes; Chicago team rules.
Retirement community Parkway Village
Runners-up: Butterfield Trail Village, College Square Conway, Good Shepherd Community, Woodland Heights
Place to take a yoga class Barefoot Studio
Runners-up: Arkansas Yoga Collective, Blue Yoga Nyla, Clubhaus, CONTINUED ON PAGE 36
Obviously you earned a tremendous amount of money for the university. I would come to the games, and I’d see everybody in headbands. I was like, “Where are they getting these headbands from?” They’re making money, but we aren’t. Over time, the NCAA will do something to help students get money. Is the headband integral to
KENA KRUTSINGER/CHICAGO BULLS
your game? Not necessarily. That’s something I did to change my image as a kid. Growing up, in eighth and ninth grade, I was getting a lot of fouls and technical fouls, and I felt like it just changed my whole demeanor. Now I can’t wear a headband, that’s Bulls’ rules. Speaking of fashion, the NBA has become really fashion-focused in the last decade or so. You wore a sharp, fitted Razorback-red suit on draft night. Do you care about fashion? I like fashion a lot. That’s just a part of who you are. I like [Oklahoma City’s] Russell Westbrook’s attitude and his swagger off the court. He has a lot of different styles. He primarily wears anything to look good.
talking about it. It’s a life lesson, how stuff can get twisted around. Hopefully, Pau and Derrick can accept my apology. One of the biggest stories this NBA offseason had to do with emojis. How is your emoji game? I love emojis. Me and some of my friends, we don’t text, we just have emoji wars. What’s your go-to emoji? The little smirk face.
Is that how you react to people in real life? Kind of. I’m not a guy who really talks a lot. I think I’m a guy who talks more on the court than off that court. You talk a lot of trash? That’s just who I am as a player. I try not to target anyone. But if I’m trying to make you have a bad game, I’m going to make you try to do too much. Who was the best trash talker in the SEC?
Besides me? Honestly, no one really talked trash to me. Have you thought about what you might want to do after you finish your career? I want to get in something like communications. Maybe motivational speeches. I feel like everyone needs that person to talk to and motivate them. Besides that, I want to get in something with business. Maybe something in the front office.
He gets clowned a lot, though. Have you ever gotten made fun of for something you wore trying to be fashionable? Nah, not at all. In college, I only wore sweats. People don’t really dress up in college to go to class. Do you think you’ll go back to school? That’s one of my big goals. If I have kids, I want my kids to see their dad not just to say, “Oh yeah, he played in the NBA, but he still came back and got his degree.” I’m 45 hours away. I would have graduated this year if I had come back. You got a little bit of heat after you were drafted for a tweet you sent a long time ago talking negatively about your new teammates Pau Gasol and Derrick Rose. Those tweets were in 2011 when I was 16 years old. I can’t take it back, but I can apologize for it. You really get to see how people can really blow up something that’s so old. I’m glad I went through it. Twenty minutes after I got drafted, my phone is blowing up. I’m thinking it’s messages, but it’s Twitter. I got 15,000 retweets about that tweet. I got on TV the next day and everyone is
Thank you for voting Rejuvenation Clinic Day Spa Arkansas’ Best Spa www.rejuvenationclinic.com 501.228.4545 Rejuvenation Clinic Day Spa
11123 Arcade Dr. Ste G Little Rock, AR 72212 @RejuvenationLR
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BEST OF ARKANSAS | 2015
Retirement living at its liveliest. Parkway Village redefines retirement with care-free amenities, active social life, a pet-friendly environment and 24-hour resident support staff. Ask about our multiple payment plans, including our NO ENTRANCE FEE option.
For a tour, call Mark Hamby at 501.202.1626 or visit online at ParkwayVillageAR.com.
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ARKANSAS TIMES
BEST RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
Everything we do is made fresh from scratch.
13 S A N YEA R G D C O U N T I N BEST CHEESE DIP 13924 Cantrell Rd. (Hwy 10) Little Rock 4511 Camp Robinson Rd N. Little Rock
Celebrating 80 years locally owned and operated mexicochiquito.net
11406 W. Markham St. Little Rock 1135 Skyline Dr. Conway w w w.arktimes.com
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BEST OF ARKANSAS | 2015
Investing
ReCreation Studios
Chiropractor Beverly Foster
is about more than money... Most people invest hoping to achieve something important for themselves or their family. That could come in the form of financial independence, a comfortable retirement, paying for college or protecting your family. Have you had a face-to-face conversation with your financial advisor about your goals?
In my practice, we stop to ask you the question: “What’s important to you?” Without that insight and a real understanding of your goals, investing holds little meaning. We take the time to build a relationship with our clients so that we can help them work toward the things that really are important.
Runners-up: Scott Diffee (The Parlor), Katie McGowan (Black Cobra), Rick Medina (Tried & True Tattoo), Matt O’Baugh (Black Cobra)
Runners-up: Kirk Bradshaw, Barry Burch (Crews), Heath Harper (Morgan Stanley), Mike Jared (Edward Jones)
KELLY R. JOURNEY,
AAMS®, ADPA®, CRPC®, CRPS® Financial Advisor
Your support means we’ve outgrown our old location. Come see us at our new WLR location starting in late August!
Tattoo parlor Jud Ferguson (7th Street Tattoo & Piercing)
Investment advisor Kelly Ross (Edward Jones)
Thank you for your confidence in us after all these years.
BEST INVESTMENT ADVISOR
Runners-up: Brady DeClerk, John Vincent, Elite Chiropractic, Rebecca Slayton
10800 Financial Centre Parkway, Suite 270 Little Rock, AR 72211 501-455-5786 Kelly.Journey@edwardjones.com EdwardJonesKellyRossJourney
Company to work for Arkansas Children’s Hospital
Runners-up: Central Arkansas Library System, The Janet Jones Co., state of Arkansas, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
RECREATION Place to swim Greers Ferry Lake
Runners-up: Jim Daily Fitness Center, Little Rock Racquet Club, Magic Springs (Hot Springs), Wild River Country
Park Pinnacle Mountain State Park Runners-up: Burns Park, Two Rivers Park, MacArthur Park, Murray Park
13 Years of Service in the Community.
Thank You.
Cheap date Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (Bentonville)
Runners-up: Arkansas Arts Center, Arkansas Travelers, Big Dam Bridge, Movies in the Park
Weekend getaway Eureka Springs
Runners-up: Calico Rock, Hot Springs, Mount Magazine, Bentonville
Resort The Lodge at Mount (L to R) Dannielle Geoghegan, Boa; Kelly R. Journey, Financial Advisor and Michelle Lambert, Sr. Boa
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ARKANSAS TIMES
CONTINUED ON PAGE 38 MEMBER SIPC
©2015 SFNTC (3)
VISIT NASCIGS.COM OR CALL 1-800-435-5515 PROMO CODE 96387
CIGARETTES
*Plus applicable sales tax Offer for two “1 for $2” Gift Certificates good for any Natural American Spirit cigarette product (excludes RYO pouches and 150g tins). Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer. Offer and website restricted to U.S. smokers 21 years of age and older. Limit one offer per person per 12 month period. Offer void in MA and where prohibited. Other restrictions may apply. Offer expires 06/30/16. w w w.arktimes.com
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BEST OF ARKANSAS | 2015
BRIAN CHILSON
BEST CAR
CHAINWHEEL BESTS: Its bikes are perfect for best bike trail, the River Trail.
Magazine
Runners-up: DeGray Lake Resort, Mountain Harbor, Red Apple Inn, Gaston’s White River Resort
Purchase or lease any new (previously untitled) Subaru and receive a complimentary factory scheduled maintenance plan for 2 years or 24,000 miles (whichever comes first.) See Subaru Added Security Maintenance Plan for intervals, coverages and limitations. Customer must take delivery before 12-312015 and reside within the promotional area. At participating dealers only. See dealer for program details and eligibility.
Golf course Rebsamen Park Golf Course
Runners-up: Pleasant Valley Country Club, Chenal Country Club, Red Apple Inn, War Memorial Golf Course
Athletic club Little Rock Athletic Club
Runners-up: Clubhaus, Little Rock Racquet Club, LA Fitness, 10 Fitness
Hiking trail Petit Jean Mountain
Runners-up: Pinnacle Mountain State Park, Allsopp Park, Two Rivers Park, Razorback Regional Greenway (Fayetteville to Bella Vista)
Place to mountain bike River Trail
Runners-up: Burns Park, Pinnacle Mountain, Allsopp Park, Razorback Regional Greenway (Fayetteville to Bella Vista)
Marina Heber Springs Marina (Greers Ferry Lake)
JULY 30, 2015
ARKANSAS TIMES
Musician or Band Tragikly White
Runners-up: Amasa Hines, SeanFresh, The Whole Famn Damily, Rodney Block and the Real Music Lovers
DJ Mike Poe
Runners-up: Gforce, Seth Baldy, Robe Flax, Kara Bibb
Comedian Amy Pannell
Runners-up: Adam Hogg, Angry Patrick, Michael Brown, Steve Farrell
Place for live music White Water Tavern
Runners-up: South on Main, Stickyz Rock ’n’ Roll Chicken Shack, Revolution Music Room, Afterthought
Place to dance Cajun’s Wharf
Runners-up: Club Level, Discovery, Sway, Ernie Biggs
Runners-up: Mountain Harbor (Lake Ouachita), Jolly Roger’s Marina (Lake Maumelle), Brady Mountain Marina (Lake Ouachita), Prairie Creek Marina (Beaver Lake)
Live music festival Riverfest
ENTERTAINMENT
Neighborhood festival Hillcrest HarvestFest
Local charity event Race for the Cure (Komen Foundation)
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Runners-up: Eggshibition (Youth Home), Tabriz (Arkansas Arts Center), Opus Ball (Arkansas Symphony Orchestra), Hope Ball (20th Century Club Lodge)
Runners-up: Wakarusa (Mulberry Mountain), Legends of Arkansas, King Biscuit Blues Festival (Helena/West Helena), Jazzlights in the Park
Runners-up: Cornbread Festival, Chili Fights in the Heights, Block Street Block Party (Fayetteville)
HILLCREST MERCHANTS ARE CONSISTENTLY VOTED AMONG THE BEST! Thank you for supporting your local artists!
VOTED BEST NEIGHBORHOOD FESTIVAL Mark your calendar for this year’s event!
BEST COMMERCIAL ART GALLERY
2601 Kavanaugh, Suite 1 501-664-8996 www.gallery26.com Fine Art • Custom Framing • Handmade Jewelry • Glass
We would like to congratulate: Katherine Strause John Kushmaul V.L. Cox Kevin Kresse Stephen Cefalo James Hayes Stacey Bowers For also being recognized in this year’s Best of Arkansas. Stop in to Gallery 26 to see their work!
OCTOBER 17, 2015
MUSIC · FOOD · FAMILY · FRIENDS · FREE ADMISSION
RHEA DRUGlocal local natural meats
lacol natural meats staem larutan
Charcuterie
Charcuterie eirMEATS etucrahC LOCAL NATURAL
soups & Sandwiches
RVCA | NIXON | HIPPYTREE | VOLCOM | ZANEROBE AG | IRON&RESIN | WESC | DIESEL | SCOTCH&SODA
2807 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501.671.6328 mon-fri 10-6 • sat 10-5
CHARCUTERIE SOUPS & SANDWICHES
2807 Kavanaugh Blvd. .dvlB hguanavaK 7082 501.671.6328 8236.176.105 mon-fri 10-6 • sat 10-5 5-01 tas • 6-01 irf2807 -nom KAVANAUGH BLVD. • 501.671.6328
soups & Sandwiches sehciwdnaS & spuos
2801 KAVANAUGH LITTLE ROCK 663-4131
MON-FRI 10-6 • SAT 10-5
HIP CLOTHING
VISIT THESE AND THE OTHER HILLCREST BUSINESSES RECOGNIZED IN THE 2015 BEST OF ARKANSAS POLL
PROVISIONS FOR THE CULTURED GENTLEMAN 11220 N Rodney Parham Rd. Suite 3 501.246.5466 shopcultureclothing.com w w w.arktimes.com
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BEST OF ARKANSAS | 2015 Late night spot Midtown Billiards
Runners-up: Discovery, Ciao Baci, Ernie Biggs, Bar Louie, White Water Tavern
3 f lo o r s . 3 s t o res . 1 l o c a t io n BEST HIP CLOTHING BEST WOMEN’S CLOTHING BEST TOYS
Gay bar Discovery BEST GIFT SHOP
2616 KAVANAUGH BLVD. • LITTLE ROCK • 501.661.1167 • WWW.SHOPBOXTURTLE.COM
WOW TASTE RELAX DINE ENJOY WOW
Runners-up: Chaps, 610 Center, Sway, Triniti
Sports bar Dugan’s Pub
Runners-up: Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and Bar, The Tavern Sports Grill, Twin Peaks, Gusano’s
Movie theater UA Breckenridge 12 Local winner: Riverdale 10
Runners-up: Colonel Glenn 18, B&B Theatres Chenal 9, Ron Robinson Theater
Museum Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (Bentonville)
P lay closer to home TASTE RELAX DINE ENJOY CELEBRATE
ARKANSAS’ FAVORITE PLACE TO PLAY AND ONLY MINUTES AWAY
Runners-up: ReCreation Studios, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Arkansas, Red Octopus
Runners-up: Tunica, Southland Park, Choctaw Casino (Oklahoma), Cherokee Casino (Oklahoma)
WHEEL OF FORTUNE • PENNY GAMES • VIDEO POKER • BLACKJACK • MORE!
For Hot Springs lodging, dining, and shopping information, visit HotSprings.org.
Performing arts group Arkansas Repertory Theatre
Place to gamble Oaklawn
GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL - - -
For more games and more fun, PLAY closer to home at the award-winning Oaklawn Gaming. Come enjoy all your favorite games at the Arkansas Times Readers’ Poll Best Place to Gamble. And don’t miss the chart-topping stars coming to the Finish Line Theater! Friday, August 28th will be an unforge able night of rock ’n’ roll when Oaklawn presents the Happy Together Tour — classic hits from The Turtles, The Association, The Grass Roots, The Buckinghams, and more. Tickets go on sale August 17th at OAKLAWN.com. The possibilities are endless, so make a weekend of it in Hot Springs National Park.
Runners-up: Museum of Discovery, Arkansas Arts Center, Clinton Presidential Center, Historic Arkansas Museum
GOOD FOR NEW MEMBERS ONLY ON INITIAL SIGN-UP VALID I D REQUIRED MUST BE EXPIRES / / AT
Place to see someone famous Capital Hotel
Runners-up: River Market district, Clinton Presidential Center, South on Main, Doe’s Eat Place
FOOD AND DRINK OAKLAWN COM
Food and festival Greek Food Festival
Runners-up: Jewish Food Festival, IndiaFest, Main Street Food Truck Festival, Cornbread Festival
French fries Big Orange
Runners-up: The Faded Rose, CONTINUED ON PAGE 42 40
JULY 30, 2015
ARKANSAS TIMES
BRIAN CHILSON
REJUVENATORS: RN Sara Molsbee (from left), owner Mahvash Kamran, Haleigh Clark and Elinor Abbott await your visit.
Hot rocks Rejuvenation Clinic Day Spa warms its way into writer’s heart. BY KAYA HERRON
I
walked into the spa in the Shackleford Plaza Shopping Center on Arcade Drive with my mind made up, even though I hadn’t eaten and a headache was forming right between my eyes, that I was going to relax and enjoy my massage (especially for $85 an hour) no matter what. The Hot Stone Therapy Massage was advertised as a luxurious massage that incorporates deep heat therapy, using “smooth, polished and heated basalt lava stones ... to loosen tight muscles while relieving
stress and easing tension.” Everything I needed and more. I checked in at the front desk and was led back to the locker room to change. Neatly rolled hand towels, potted plants, an assortment of containers, glasses and a pitcher of water lined the marble countertop. I changed into my robe and slippers, and headed to the waiting area to fill out some paperwork before my massage therapist came to get me. Michelle walked in and introduced herself with a bright smile and
kind voice. As we walked to the massage area she asked about the pressure I liked and any areas that needed special attention, the same way a doctor does at the beginning of a check-up. I asked her to pay extra attention to my lower back and hips, hoping she could relieve some of the pain I’d been experiencing lately. The room was small and very comfortable, soft lighting illuminated the massage table and the adjacent mirror while a glowing pillar in the corner of the room added ambiance and soothing noise. Michelle returned after I undressed and instructed me to relax as she placed a moist hot towel on my back. She pressed and kneaded into the towel, instantly relaxing my muscles and eliciting the first sigh of many. Her touch was gentle, careful and precise. She applied pressure to different points
in my upper back and shoulders, some bordering on excruciating pain and others unbelievable relief; all sending a tingling sensation down my arms and through my chest. Her hands traveled further down my back, applying pressure in a circular motion, moisturizing my skin with warm oil and then hot lava stones. The heat was shocking at first, then soothing, relieving aches I didn’t even know I had. The first stone was guided down the center of my back, heating the oil it came in contact with and penetrating my muscles as if they were made of butter. Michelle placed a stone in each of my palms, warming my hands and giving me something to hold on to, as she continued down my back before moving to my legs. She massaged my entire leg and down over the sole of my foot with a hot stone, CONTINUED ON PAGE 42
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BRIAN CHILSON
BEST OF ARKANSAS | 2015
YARD ART IN PARK: Best nursery winner Good Earth turns truck into planter.
McDonald’s, Buffalo Grill, David’s Burgers
Onion rings Cotham’s WAITING FOR A DEEP MASSAGE: Writer is hooked on Rejuvenation.
leaving a trail of warmth and relaxation. She worked on the muscle in my buttocks and hip, applying pressure to stretch my lower back and pelvic bones, eliciting a short-lived pang washed out by a cresting wave of relief. I ultimately succumbed to the soothing touch of my therapist and the ambiance of the spa. The sounds of cascading water pulled me deeper and deeper into relaxation and further from the surface of my subconscious. I woke with a smile, to the warmth of her hands on my shoulders, letting me know it was time to turn over. I rolled over onto my back and Michelle placed a pad underneath my knees and moved to the head of the table. She used the stones to relax the muscles in my arms and chest, bringing them up to my neck as they began to cool and abandoning them as she massaged my scalp with her fingertips. I drifted back to sleep and enjoyed the last minutes of my massage in a comfortable slumber. I awoke and was disappointed that our time was up, but thoroughly satisfied with the time that had been spent. I returned to the locker room and got dressed to leave. As I pulled up my jeans, I broke a nail and had to have something done about it. I went to the reception area, paid for my massage and asked the receptionist if someone could just clip
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the broken part of the nail. I was led into the other side of the spa where women were chattering and the atmosphere was lively, a marked contrast to the calm and tranquil environment I had just left. A short woman with black hair greeted me with a smile and quickly clipped and filed the nail, free of charge. I thanked her, returned to the reception area and said my goodbyes, leaving the spa relaxed and in a much better mood than I had coming in. The only thing on my mind now was what I was going to eat for lunch, but I was almost too relaxed to care: My massage was wonderful, my therapist was professional and attentive, and the spa itself was an experience I would pay for time and time again. The Rejuvenation Clinic Day Spa is owned by Jim and Mahvash Kamran, who opened it in 1992. Mahvash was the first aesthetician in Arkansas. The spa has not just hot stone therapy and other massage offerings, but also offers a variety of day packages and traditional spa services, including manicures and pedicures, lash extensions, waxing and facials, as well as a medical spa, opened in 2007. The medical spa is headed by Sarah Molsbee, a registered nurse, and offers laser treatments, Botox, chemical peels and skin rejuvenation services.
Runners-up: Sonic, Cheddars, Purple Cow, Buffalo Grill
Liquor
Sushi Sushi Cafe
Runners-up: Kemuri, Hanaroo, Tokyo House, Ocean’s at Arthur’s
Cheese Dip Mexico Chiquito
Salad ZAZA Fine Salad and WoodOven Pizza Co.
Ribs Whole Hog Cafe
Business lunch Capital Bar & Grill
Runners-up: El Porton, Local Lime, Dizzy’s Gypsy Bistro, Stoby’s Restaurant
Runners-up: Sims Bar-B-Que, Corky’s Ribs and BBQ, McClard’s Bar-B-Q (Hot Springs), Black Hound Bar B Q (Jacksonville)
Wine list Crush Wine Bar
Runners-up: Cache Restaurant, One Eleven, Ciao Baci, Zin Urban Wine and Beer Bar
Arkansas-brewed beer Lost Forty
Runners-up: Diamond Bear, Ozark Brewing Co., Stone’s Throw, Vino’s Brewpub
Happy hour Bar Louie
Runners-up: Big Orange, Boulevard Bistro, Reno’s Argenta Cafe, The Fountain
Liquor store Colonial Wines and Spirits
Runners-up: Sullivant’s Liquor Store, 107 Liquor (Sherwood), Heights Fine Wines and Spirits, Liquor World (Fayetteville), O’Looney’s Wine and
Runners-up: U.S. Pizza Co., South on Main, Trio’s Restaurant, The Root Cafe
Runners-up: Trio’s Restaurant, Brave New Restaurant, South on Main, The Fold
Brunch The Root Cafe
Runners-up: South on Main, Cafe Bossa Nova, YaYa’s Euro Bistro, Red Door Restaurant
Cocktail Capital Bar & Grill
Runners-up: Heights Taco & Tamale Co., 109 & Co., South on Main, Cache Restaurant
Milkshake Purple Cow
Runners-up: Big Orange, Loblolly Creamery, Sonic, Shake’s Frozen Custard
Vegetarian The Root Cafe
Runners-up: Big Orange, Greenhouse Grille (Fayetteville), The Veg LLC, Whole Foods Market CONTINUED ON PAGE 44
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BEST OF ARKANSAS | 2015 ROOT, ROOT, ROOT: Best brunch, best vegetarian, runner-up in best salad.
Bread Boulevard Bread Co.
KAT ROBINSON
Runners-up: Arkansas Fresh, Old Mill Bread and Flour Co., Community Bakery, Mylo Coffee Co.
Caterer Two Sisters Catering
Runners-up: Simply the Best, Catering to You, Dinner’s Ready, Trio’s Restaurant
Outdoor dining Cajun’s Wharf
Runners-up: U.S. Pizza Hillcrest, Acadia Restaurant, Pizza Cafe, Damgoode Pies River Market
PEOPLE AND POLITICS Artist V.L. Cox
Runners-up: John Kushmaul, Kevin CONTINUED ON PAGE 49
Central High School
Jefferson Elementary
It’s Time to “Check In” for the 2015-2016 School Year!
Check-in: August 3-4 from 10am - 7pm for all LRSD schools.
First day of school: August 17
Dads Take Your Child to School Day: August 17 Enter the Facebook Photo Contest for a chance to win great prizes!
Here’s how it works: 1. Dads and father figures take your child (Pre-K -12th) to 2.
3.
4.
school on the first day of school, August 17. Snap a photo with your cell phone or camera of you with your child at school (photo must be taken on school grounds). Upload your photo to LRSD’s Facebook photo contest page by midnight August 17. Invite your Facebook friends to vote for your photo before the contest closes on Wed., Aug. 26.
New and Improved Open Enrollment for 2016!
The District’s new open enrollment dates were designed with You in mind. If you are applying for magnet or specialty schools like Forest Heights or Geyer Springs, you should do so during the assigned Open Enrollment period in order to be included in the first computerized scramble for seats. We encourage parents to use the following designated Open Enrollment dates. For more information visit the Student Registration Department’s web page on www.lrsd.org. Early Childhood P3/P4
October 19-30, 2015
Forest Heights STEM Academy Magnet/Specialty Schools K-12/Address Changes P3-12th Grade Assignment Mail Out
November 9-13, 2015 November 16-20, 2015 December 7-18, 2015 March 4, 2016
6th Grade Orientation: August 13 at 9:30am for all middle schools. 9th Grade Orientations
August 5-7 1-4 pm J.A. Fair August 5 9 am - 1 pm Hall (Last names A-L) August 5 and 7 9 am - 12 noon Parkview Patriot Academy August 7 9 am - 1 pm Hall (Last names M-Z) August 13 3:30-5:30 pm Central and McClellan
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Little Rock School District
lrsd.org OW NCE FOR TOMORR
PERFORMANCE WORKPLAN
CREATING EXCELLE
grow Grow LOCAL ARKANSAS TIMES
BRIAN CHILSON
Rocks!
DEEP THOUGHTS: State Sen. Jason Rapert ponders the next unconstitutional piece of legislation he will introduce.
Best worst Jason Rapert’s crusades are AT readers’ pick for best misuse of taxpayer funds. BY DAVID KOON
Y
ou know, if you tied us to a chair and beat us with a rubber hose, we’d have to admit eventually that we kind of admire Sen. Jason Rapert (R-Conway). Not for his troglodyte views, or his constant status as Team Baptistaliban MVP. Not for his persistent martyr complex or talent for fire-and-brimstone hyperbole. No, it’s really more the way a researcher in some triple-hermetically-sealed lab at the Centers for Disease Control might admire the Ebola virus: as a life form
that seemingly exists solely to extend the depth of human confusion and misery, and is pretty damn good at it. When readers voted Rapert their pick for Best Misuse of Taxpayer Funds, they weren’t just being facetious. He really is costing all of us money. Take the Rapert-championed ban that forbids abortion after 12 weeks of gestation. With the recent award of court costs to plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging the ban — $27,060 in attorney fees and $1,375 in costs — and federal Judge
Susan Webber Wright’s earlier order that the state pay $69,000 in fees and costs for predictably losing the case in district court, Rapert is getting close to costing the taxpayers of Arkansas $100,000 on that boondoggle alone. That’s enough to hire a couple of teachers, which appear to be sorely needed in Rapert’s district. Will Rapert (abetted by Attorney General Leslie Rutledge) insist the fight for the 12-week ban go on, along with his unwavering support for the Ten Commandments “monument” on the state Capitol lawn, and his bugling for the state’s county clerks to resist LGBT marriage to the bitter end? Does a bear shit in the woods? When God is purportedly telling a guy like Rapert that he’s right, winning is worth any amount of worldly treasure — especially if it comes from somebody else’s pocket.
BEST SUSHI SINCE 2008
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BEST OF ARKANSAS | 2015
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BENTON 501-315-3000
CABOT 501-628-0090
HOT SPRINGS 501-321-0800
MAUMELLE 501-851-2000
BRYANT 501-653-8000
CONWAY 501-932-0499
KANIS RD.-LITTLE ROCK
NORTH LITTLE ROCK 501-975-2100
www.CRYE-LEIKE.com
501-954-9100
#1 in Arkansas • #6 in the Nation w w w.arktimes.com
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BEST OF ARKANSAS | 2015 8
NK
THA U O Y UPPORT S R U O Y FOR SEE YOU
SEPT
at
WINNER FOR THE PAST
18WE’REYEARS PROUD TO
BE YOUR LOCAL, NEIGHBORHOOD BAR!
THANK YOU ARKANSAS TIMES READERS FOR VOTING FOR US!
BEST AUTO STEREO
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ARKANSAS TIMES
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Celebrity Bill Clinton
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Photographer Tim Ernst
Runners-up: Brian Chilson, Rhys Harper, Rita Henry, Rett Peek
Politician Mike Beebe
Runners-up: Warwick Sabin, Clarke Tucker, Asa Hutchinson
Athlete Bobby Portis
Runners-up: Alex Collins, Cliff Lee, Hunter Henry, Joe Johnson
Liberal Kathy Webb
Runners-up: Warwick Sabin, Matt Campbell, Greg Leding, Max Brantley
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Runners-up: Bill Vickery, John Thurston, Davy Carter, Nate Bell
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Runners-up: Jason Rapert, Justin Harris, Mike Huckabee, Josh Duggar
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Runners-up: Arkansas Foodbank, Our House, The Van, Arkansas Hunger Alliance
NO ORDINARY
PAWN SHOP
Misuse of taxpayer funds Legislation introduced by Jason Rapert
Runners-up: Department of Human Services, Bill Walker’s grants to family, legislative pay raises, Mark Martin’s salary
MEDIA Radio station CONTINUED ON PAGE 52
BEST PAWN SHOP
THANKS FOR THE VOTES!
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BEST OF ARKANSAS | 2015
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for being champions for children, making them better today and healthier tomorrow.
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Best Tattoo Artist 2015 It only takes a minute with Jud Ferguson to understand why he is selected as the best tattoo artist by Arkansas Times’ readers. Unassuming, soft-spoken and professional, Ferguson pursued art throughout his life, but it took a circuitous route to 7th Street Tattoo. “I wanted a tattoo from the time I was a kid growing up in Dewitt, Arkansas in the 1980s,” he said. “Then, if you had a tattoo, you were rebellious, and it made you look tough, and I wanted to be that. When I turned 18, I got my first and never looked back.” His tattooing career would be on hold for a while, however, as he pursued a skateboarding career in southern California. When he moved back to Arkansas in the 2003, Ferguson began getting tattoos at 7th Street Tattoo where he became friends with the artists and again picked up the love of art.
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“Rob Berry, the owner of 7th Street, asked if I would be interested in becoming a tattooer, and I apprenticed here for about a year,” Ferguson said. “I’ve worked here ever since, and that was 12 years ago.” Ferguson said he drew every day at 7th Street before he ever worked on his first tattoo. He learned to boil down a design’s elements to its most basic parts so the tattoo will be timeless. “Less is more in tattooing,” Ferguson said. “Just because a tattoo is bright and colorful doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a good tattoo. There is more to tattooing than application. A good tattoo is drawn properly, fits the proportions of the body and ages well. Every person’s skin is different, and art on skin is not like art on paper or canvass. The minute a tattoo is applied to skin, it begins to degrade because skin is a living surface. If you want to have a tattoo that will look good from now on, you have to focus on a good design.”
Photo courtesy of NRHA
Ferguson has a lot of respect for other tattooers throughout Arkansas and the region, and he notes that reviewing an artist’s portfolio will tell someone everything he or she needs to know about the artist’s capabilities. “A tattoo is about the experience,” he said. “All of us at 7th Street want people to feel at ease when they walk in and know they are working with professionals. Our customer service is what makes our clients keep coming back.” Ferguson tattoos at 7th Street, in Fayetteville and Texas. The best way to contact him is to call 7th Street at 501-372-6722 for a consultation or come into the shop.
“7th Street is a street shop, and people can come in anytime we’re open,” he said. “We have seven tattooers, and we are open every day but Sunday from 1-10 p.m.”
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TV news person Craig O’Neill
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Blog Forbidden Hillcrest
Buy one. Get one free. When you buy a home in Chenal Valley, you’ll be amazed at what comes with it. For starters, you’ll be just a stone’s throw from The Promenade, voted Arkansas’ #1 Shopping & Dining Destination for the last three years. From fashion to home décor, cozy lunches to a movie and popcorn, a home in Chenal Valley puts you right in the heart of it all. In fact, the neighborhoods of Chenal Valley bring to life everything you could dream of in a community. To begin your search for a new lot, or home go to Chenal.com and see how life happens here.
Runners-up: Eat Arkansas, Arkansas Blog, Blue Hog Report, Rex Nelson’s Southern Fried
Website arktimes.com
Runners-up: Arkansasonline. com, forbiddenhillcrest.com, fayettevilleflyer.com, bluehogreport. com
Twitter feed @forbiddenh
Runners-up: @amybhole, @johnbrummett, @arkansasblog, @ KATV_Weather
Author John Grisham
Runners-up: Charles Portis, Suzi Parker, Kevin Brockmeier, Kat Robinson Life happens here.
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Thanks For Voting Us The Best! � � Naughty or Nice?
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Jacksonville 6111 John Harden Drive Jacksonville, AR 72076 (501) 241-2777 Open 24 Hours
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Arts Entertainment AND
AT KALEIDOSCOPE: Scenes from “Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party” (left) and “S&M Sally.”
LGBT CINEMA COMES TO LITTLE ROCK With the Kaleidoscope film festival. BY KAYA HERRON
W
hat do an urban porn star aspiring to be a chef, a trans mixed-martial-arts fighter advocating for civil rights and a comedy about a lesbian couple exploring bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadism and masochism (BDSM) have in common? They are all featured in the lineup for Kaleidoscope, a new LGBT film festival organized by the Little Rock Film Society. The festival runs Thursday, July 30, through Sunday, Aug. 2, at the 54
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Studio Theater, 320 W. Seventh St. The goal of Kaleidoscope is to showcase works rarely seen in Arkansas, said Tony Taylor, executive director of the Little Rock Film Society. “There are so many great LGBT films and documentaries that never make it to Arkansas,” Taylor said. “Little Rock is the perfect location for an event like this and has a great LGBT community and allies.” Even though this is the festival’s first year, Taylor has grand visions for it.
He believes it could eventually become one of the largest festivals of its kind in the South. Taylor and several friends started the Little Rock Film Society in January. They came together over a shared belief that, even with the Little Rock Film Festival, the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival and screenings at the Ron Robinson Theater, Riverdale 10 and elsewhere, there were still many great independent films that weren’t making it here. The Film Society also puts on a monthly shorts program and has hosted Fantastic Cinema, a genre film festival. Taylor was inspired two years ago to
put on Kaleidoscope after reading an article about the upcoming films at Outfest in Los Angeles. It heralded a new wave of films that were high in quality and diverse in subject matter. Last fall, Taylor began to plan the festival and select films to screen. Among the highlights at Kaleidoscope: “Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party,” the latest from Stephen Cone, whose past films have won Outfest and received positive attention in the New York Times and from the late Rogert Ebert. “Henry Gamble” tracks a 17-year-old preacher’s kid over 24 hours, from a
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sleepover to the boy’s birthday pool party. The film opens on an extremely charged moment shared by the preacher’s son, Henry, and his best friend, Gabe, as they lie under the covers discussing crushes during the sleepover the night before the party. The next day, as Henry’s friends from school and church come over, emotions run high and it becomes clear that Henry isn’t the only one hiding something. “Peter de Rome: The Grandfather of Gay Pornography” is a documentary detailing the life story of a French-born American who made a career of making gay pornographic films. Released just before de Rome died at age 89, the documentary offers a window into the life of the staunchly independent filmmaker operating on the fringes of film society, following de Rome as he travels around the world, visiting the cities in which he shot his infamous material, and tracing his past through his filmography. Much of his work was created during periods where it was illegal to engage in homosexual activity and possess or manufacture films portraying homosexual acts. Portions of his pornographic films are intercut into the documentary, so those with delicate sensibilities, be warned. “S&M Sally” is a provocative comedy about a lesbian couple, Jamie and Jill, and their exploration in the underground world of BDSM. Jamie is used to being the butch one in the relationship and assumes she’ll be the dominant partner, but Jill has another idea. Their friends David and Lola, who are dating a bisexual polyamorous man named Sebastian, are contemplating a threesome, but neither is willing to admit they aren’t 100 percent committed to the act. There are three types of tickets for the event: $8 individual tickets for each screening; a $30 film pass, which provides access to all of the films, and a $100 VIP pass, which provides access to all of the films, the filmmakers lounge and complimentary food and drink. Note: The theater can seat only 100 people.
KALEIDOSCOPE LGBT FILM FESTIVAL SCHEDULE: THURSDAY 7/30 7 p.m.: “Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party
FRIDAY 7/31 5 p.m.: “Those People” 6 p.m.: “Peter de Rome: The Grandfather of Gay Pornography” 7 p.m.: “Game Face”
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SATURDAY 8/1
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12:30 p.m.: “Naz and Malik” and “Altered Realities: Narrative Shorts 1”
THIRTY
2:15 p.m.: “Love/Lust: Narrative Shorts 4”
OF KING
3:15 p.m.: “Adventurous Natures: Narrative Shorts 2” 3:30 p.m.: “The Tome of a Southern LGBT Filmmaker: A Conversation with Director Mark Thiedeman”
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5:30 p.m.: “Club King” and “Reel in the Closet (feature) + The DAMN Deal (short)” 6 p.m.: “Not Safe To Be Me” 8 p.m.: “Reel Journeys: Documentary Shorts” and “Chasing Pavements”
YEARS
BEST LIVE MUSIC FESTIVAL
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SUNDAY 8/2 12:15 p.m.: “Androids Dream (Suenan los Androides) 1:30 p.m.: “Time Change: Narrative Shorts 3” and “Driving Not Knowing” 3:45 p.m.: “Center for Artistic Revolution/Final Draft Student Short Film Prize” 6 p.m.: “S&M Sally” (feature) + “Bad at Dancing” (short)
OCTOBER 7-10, 2015 / HELENA, AR
KingBiscuitFestival.com 870.572.5223 www.arktimes.com
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THE TO-DO
LIST
BY DAVID KOON & WILL STEPHENSON
FRIDAY 7/31
VILE PACK
8 p.m. Vino’s. $5.
Fans of anime and malt liquor and early Odd Future are encouraged to check out Little Rock rap collective Vile Pack, whose music is unfriendly and unforgiving and often very good, even if they’d rather offend you than impress you. Last year’s mixtape “Cocaine Demon” was memorable mostly for the aural contrast of rappers Hector $lash and Wolfy Mane (who boasts one of the city’s best and most distinctive voices), over beats by Warren Gesu$ and Young Gods of America’s Fresco Grey. There was also the neon-lit video for “$$$/ Pockets,” which found them boosting instant ramen and pondering Pokemon. Friday night they’ll headline a showcase that also features a set by their friends in Young Gods of America, Memphis’ Spookyli, and local punk bands Oh Cathy and Bad Boyfriends. WS
FRIDAY 7/31
GHOST BONES 9 p.m. Stickyz.
BE AS YOU ARE: Kenny Chesney is at the Walmart AMP at 7 p.m. Thursday with Jake Owen and Chase Rice (sold out).
THURSDAY 7/30
KENNY CHESNEY
7 p.m. Walmart AMP, Rogers. Sold out.
“Blues? What blues?” Kenny Chesney sang on the mellow wish-fulfillment anthem “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems,” but he wasn’t fooling anyone, and he knew it. Simply put: Chesney is and has always been the saddest frat guy in the world. Even his up-tempo crowd-pleasers bespeak a world of icy darkness at the center of his being. Remember that his first great song was an homage to the 56
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Tin Man from “The Wizard of Oz,” to whom Chesney dreamed of giving his heart, so that “I wouldn’t have to feel it breaking all apart, and this emptiness inside would suit me fine.” This emptiness inside. This from a man who had recently graduated from college with a degree in advertising. He must have been a real hit at the Lambda Chi house. All of his songs are like this, oozing nostalgia and despondency, broken potential and ruined relationships. Like The Cure frontman Robert Smith, Chesney anthropomorphizes his
depression, uses it as an instrument. “Pieces of our past slowly slip away,” he whines on “When I See This Bar,” a perfectly engineered vibe-killer. Or take the absurdly downbeat opening lines for his latest single “Save It for a Rainy Day”: “It’s no secret that lately there ain’t no escape,” he sings, practically sobbing, “and that I’ve been waking up alone.” Longtime listeners will be unhappily reminded of 2012’s “Come Over” — “I don’t think that I can take this bed getting any colder,” he sang back then. I guess he was wrong. WS
Ghost Bones, the Hot Springs postpunk trio of Ashley Hill, Bobby Missile and Ryan Jolly, will headline Friday night at Stickyz, where they were last seen winning the Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase earlier this year. As part of their victory package, they were promised their own cocktail, and we (apparently) weren’t kidding: Friday night marks the unveiling of the new drink, named the “Ghost Bones” in their honor. The group is currently recording its debut album with producer Bryan Frazier (of KABF and The Alpha Ray); check their progress at hearghostbones. bandcamp.com. The best description of the group I’ve read came from Times showcase judge Mitchell Crisp, who wrote, “This band is for throwing TVs out of three-story windows, sleeping under dirty sheets in a room lit by Christmas lights, drunk on cheap wine with a boy you just met but have seen around for a long time.” Exactly. In addition to the mysterious (and probably dubious) mixed drink, the show will also mark the reunion of defunct Little Rock dance-punk band Androids of Ex-Lovers, plus an appearance by singer-songwriter John Willis. WS
IN BRIEF
THURSDAY 7/30
SATURDAY 8/1
GREAT ARKANSAS BEER FESTIVAL
6 p.m. Statehouse Convention Center.
Beer, in case you didn’t know, happens to be one of the few perfect fluids mankind has ever created, along with WD-40, whiskey, Chanel No. 5, Tabasco sauce and whatever it is they’re smearing on Meryl Streep to make her into some kind of non-aging vampire. Is there anything that beer doesn’t make bet-
ter? Nope. I almost said “… except for long-haul trucking.” Then I remembered that the plot of “Smokey and the Bandit” revolves around — that’s right — beer. Sure, it’s Coors. But be glad. That choice of subpar suds was the only thing keeping the volatile combination of Jerry Reed, hot-era Sally Field, vintage Trans Am and 1970s Burt Reynolds from going up like a Brut-scented supernova and roasting your face off, sons and daughters. Recognize. There will be no need to go
“East Bound and Down” with the law in hot pursuit this weekend, because Little Rock’s Statehouse Convention Center will be hosting the Great Arkansas Beer Festival. Featuring more than 350 different craft beers from over 100 breweries across the nation, it’s a long sip of beer lover’s heaven. For more information or to buy tickets, visit the festival website at garbf.com. You can also find it on Facebook at facebook.com/GreatArkansasBeerFestival. DK
The Harry Potter Marathon continues at the Ron Robinson Theater, with screenings of the last few films in the series every night through Saturday, Aug. 1, $7-$40. The Arkansas Travelers play the Tulsa Drillers at Dickey-Stephens Park, 7:10 p.m. Thursday and Friday (and 5:30 p.m. Saturday and 6:10 p.m. Sunday), $6-$12. Comedian Rick Gutierrez is at the Loony Bin at 7:30 p.m., $7 (and at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, $10). The Kaleidscope, an LGBT film festival, features films, panel discussions and more at the Studio Theater through Sunday, Aug. 2, $30-$100. I Prevail is at Juanita’s with Dangerkids, Fit For Rivals, Dayseeker and The Animal in Me, 7:30 p.m., $15. Calabrese is at Vino’s with Josh the Devil and the Sinners and The Muddle Studs, 8 p.m. Locals The Frontier Circus play at the Afterthought with Marvin Berry, 9 p.m., $7. Oxford, Miss., indie rock band Water Liars returns to the White Water Tavern, 9 p.m.
FRIDAY 7/31
FOLLOW THE LEADER: Rakim performs at Discovery at 9 p.m. Saturday. Admission is $10 in advance, $15 day of show.
SATURDAY 8/1
RAKIM
9 p.m. Discovery. $10 adv., $15 day of.
There’s something vaguely embarrassing about trying to account for Rakim’s greatness. For proof of this, note his entry in Yale University’s “Anthology of Rap,” which makes him sound more like someone you’d encounter in a freshman seminar course packet than someone who makes — or made —compelling, innovative, vibrant music. Music that
made you want to dance, or throw a brick through a window, or get paid. But this has always been Rakim’s problem: He’s been appreciated to death. It’s true that he raised the stakes for a whole genre, introducing internal rhymes and flexing his alliteration, assonance and selfconscious technique. He made other rappers feel awful about themselves, made Public Enemy reconsider its artistic direction. But mostly he just made great rap records and looked awesome while he did it. He wore Kangols and
gold chains and called himself a “microphonist.” He said things like “Beware, it’s the re-animator” and “I bless the child, the Earth, the gods, and bomb the rest.” Rap is notoriously unkind to its elder statesmen: “I always say a rapper is like a halfback in the NFL,” as Rakim himself once told The Source. “You got about seven years, then it’s a wrap.” But Rakim, if anyone does, deserves your attention and your money, and Saturday night is your chance to give him both. WS
SUNDAY 8/2
KURT BRAUNOHLER 8 p.m. Juanita’s. $12.
Many of us first encountered Kurt Braunohler as the host of the shortlived absurdist game show “Bunk” on IFC, which found contestants competing in surreal, inadvisable activities like shaming puppies and torturing interns and complimenting Nazis. (One of Braunohler’s personal favorites
was “Break the News to a 5-Year-Old,” in which contestants had to explain a soul-crushing life truth — like “everyone you currently love will die before you” — to an actual kid.) Surprisingly, it was canceled. Since then, Braunohler has hosted the podcast “The K Ohle,” in which he blindfolds guests and drives them to unfamiliar places, or just talks about boats. He has also contributed to “This American Life,” “Bob’s Burgers,”
countless Internet sketch comedy bits, and once raised $4,000 on Kickstarter to have a professional pilot skywrite “How Do I Land?” above downtown L.A. He’s very busy and very successful and very funny, in other words, and his appearance in Little Rock is a coup. Think of the turnout for this show as a referendum on whether the city deserves to be a tour spot for good stand-ups. WS
The Art Porter Players perform at the Afterthought as part of A Work Of Art Jazz Festival, free. Cincinnati acid-rock band Electric Citizen plays at Revolution with Enchiridion, Apothecary and Mortalus, 9 p.m., $8 adv., $10 day of. Blues guitarist and songwriter Lightnin’ Malcolm plays at White Water with The Dirty Streets, 9:30 p.m., $7.
SATURDAY 8/1 Stone’s Throw Brewing presents Block on Rock, a block party with food trucks and live music by The Big Dam Horns and Cindy Woolf and Mark Bilyeu, 3 p.m., $3 adv., $5 day of. Ex-Poison frontman and reality TV star Bret Michaels plays at Magic Springs’ Timberwood Amphitheater, 7 p.m., $54.99. Award-winning saxophonist Gerald Albright, who has toured with Quincy Jones, Whitney Houston and Phil Collins (and performed at Bill Clinton’s inauguration), closes out this year’s A Work of Art Jazz Festival with a performance at Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts, 8 p.m., $45-$60. Bentonville country rock group Backroad Anthem plays at Revolution, 9 p.m., $10. Nashville’s The Railers play at Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $10. Grateful Dead cover band The Stolen Faces are at Stickyz, 9 p.m., $7. Bobby Bare Jr. plays at White Water, 9:30 p.m., $10.
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AFTER DARK Lightnin’ Malcolm, The Dirty Streets. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m., $7. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501372-4782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Route 66. Agora Conference and Special Event Center, 6:30 p.m., $5. 705 E. Siebenmorgan, Conway. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 9 p.m., free. 111 W. Markham St. 501-370-7013. www. capitalbarandgrill.com. Upscale Friday. IV Corners, 7 p.m. 824 W. Capitol Ave. Vile Pack, Oh Cathy, Bad Boyfriends, YGOA. Vino’s, 8 p.m., $5. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub.com. A Work of Art: Jazz Festival. Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts, through Aug. 1. 20919 Denny Road. www.facebook.com/ ArtPorterMusic.
All events are in the Greater Little Rock area unless otherwise noted. To place an event in the Arkansas Times calendar, please email the listing and all pertinent information, including date, time, location, price and contact information, to calendar@arktimes.com.
THURSDAY, JULY 30
MUSIC
Arkansas River Blues Society Thursday Jam. Revolution, 7 p.m., free. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. www.rumbarevolution. com/new. Calabrese, Josh the Devil and the Sinners, The Muddle Studs. Vino’s, 8 p.m. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub.com. Chris Long. Kent Walker Artisan Cheese, 6 p.m. 1515 E. 4th St. 501-301-4963. www.kentwalkercheese.com. Corey Smith, Luke Combs. Revolution, 8:30 p.m., $20. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-8230090. www.rumbarevolution.com/new. Even Odds (headliner), Smokey (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com. The Frontier Circus, Marvin Berry. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 9 p.m., $7. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbistroandbar.com. I Prevail, Dangerkids, Fit For Rivals, Dayseeker, The Animal In Me. Juanita’s, 7:30 p.m., $15. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www. juanitas.com. “Inferno.” DJs play pop, electro, house and more, plus drink specials and $1 cover before 11 p.m. Sway, 9 p.m. 412 Louisiana. 501-907-2582. Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. Karaoke. The Joint, 9 p.m. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com. Zack’s Place, 8 p.m., free. 1400 S. University Ave. 501-664-6444. Kenny Chesney, Jake Owen, Chase Rice. Walmart AMP, 7 p.m., sold out. 5079 W. Northgate Road, Rogers. 479-443-5600. www. arkansasmusicpavilion.com. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501372-4782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Open Jam. Thirst n’ Howl, 8 p.m. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirst-n-howl.com. Open jam with The Port Arthur Band. Parrot Beach Cafe, 9 p.m. 9611 MacArthur Drive, NLR. 771-2994. RockUsaurus. Senor Tequila, 7-9 p.m. 10300 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-224-5505. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 7:30 p.m., free. 111 W. Markham St. 501-370-7013. www. capitalbarandgrill.com. Water Liars. White Water Tavern, 9 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. A Work of Art: Jazz Festival. Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts, through Aug. 1. 20919 Denny Road. https://www.facebook.com/ ArtPorterMusic.
COMEDY
Rick Gutierrez. The Loony Bin, 7:30 p.m., $7. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.
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GRATUITOUS SAX: Award-winning saxophonist Gerald Albright, who has toured with Quincy Jones, Whitney Houston and Phil Collins (and performed at Bill Clinton’s inauguration), closes out this year’s A Work of Art Jazz Festival with a performance at Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts, 8 p.m. Saturday, $45-$60.
FILM
Harry Potter Marathon. All eight “Harry Potter” movies screened over seven days. Ron Robinson Theater, through Aug. 1, $7-$40. 1 Pulaski Way. 501-320-5703. www.cals.lib.ar.us/ ron-robinson-theater.aspx. Kaleidoscope LGBT Film Festival. Studio Theatre, $30-$100. 320 W. 7th St.
SPORTS
Arkansas Travelers vs. Tulsa. Dickey-Stephens Park, 7:10 p.m., $6-$12. 400 W. Broadway, NLR. 501-664-1555. www.travs.com.
FRIDAY, JULY 31
MUSIC
All In Fridays. Club Elevations. 7200 Colonel
Glenn Road. 501-562-3317. The Art Porter Players. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 8 p.m. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbistroandbar.com. Canvas (headliner), Steve Boyster (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf. com. Efron G and the Earthtones. Kent Walker Artisan Cheese, 7 p.m. 1515 E. 4th St. 501-3014963. www.kentwalkercheese.com. Electric Citizen, Enchiridion, Apothecary, Mortalus. Revolution, 9 p.m., $8 adv., $10 day of. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. www.rumbarevolution.com/new. Ghost Bones, Androids of Ex Lovers, John Willis. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m. 107 River Market Ave. 501-372-7707. www. stickyz.com.
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COMEDY
“HOGNADO!” An original production by The Main Thing. The Joint, 8 p.m., $22. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com. Rick Gutierrez. The Loony Bin, 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., $10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.
DANCE
Contra Dance. Park Hill Presbyterian Church, 7:30 p.m., $5. 3520 JFK Blvd., NLR. arkansascountrydance.org. “Salsa Night.” Begins with a one-hour salsa lesson. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $8. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.littlerocksalsa.com.
EVENTS
Fantastic Friday. Literary and music event, refreshments included. For reservations, call 479-968-2452 or email artscenter@centurytel.net. River Valley Arts Center, Every third Friday, 7 p.m., $10 suggested donation. 1001 E. B St., Russellville. 479-968-2452. www.arvartscenter.org. LGBTQ/SGL weekly meeting. 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 501-2449690 or search “DYSC” on Facebook. LGBTQ/ SGL Youth and Young Adult Group, 6:30 p.m. 800 Scott St.
FILM
Harry Potter Marathon. All eight “Harry Potter” movies screened over seven days. Ron Robinson Theater, through Aug. 1, $7-$40. 1 Pulaski Way. 501-320-5703. www.cals.lib.ar.us/ ron-robinson-theater.aspx. Kaleidoscope LGBT Film Festival. Studio Theatre, through Aug. 2, $30-$100. 320 W. 7th St.
SPORTS
Arkansas Travelers vs. Tulsa. Dickey-Stephens Park, 7:10 p.m., $6-$12. 400 W. Broadway, NLR. 501-664-1555. www.travs.com.
SATURDAY, AUG. 1
MUSIC
Backroad Anthem. Revolution, 9 p.m., $10. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. www.
rumbarevolution.com/new. Bobby Bare Jr. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m., $10. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. Bret Michaels. Magic Springs’ Timberwood Amphitheater, 7 p.m., $54.99. 1701 E. Grand Ave., Hot Springs. Crisis (headliner), Ben Byers (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com. Karaoke at Khalil’s. Khalil’s Pub, 7 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com. Karaoke. Casa Mexicana, 7 p.m. 7111 JFK Blvd., NLR. 501-835-7876. Zack’s Place, 8 p.m., free. 1400 S. University Ave. 501-664-6444. Karaoke with Kevin & Cara. All ages, on the restaurant side. Revolution, 9 p.m.-12:45 a.m., free. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. www.rumbarevolution.com/new. K.I.S.S. Saturdays. Featuring DJ Silky Slim. Dress code enforced. Sway, 10 p.m. 412 Louisiana. 501-492-9802. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501372-4782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Pickin’ Porch. Bring your instrument. All ages welcome. Faulkner County Library, 9:30 a.m. 1900 Tyler St., Conway. 501-327-7482. www. fcl.org. The Railers. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $10. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com. Rakim. Discovery Nightclub, 9 p.m., $10 adv., $15 day of. 1021 Jessie Road. 501-664-4784. www.latenightdisco.com. The Stolen Faces. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $7. 107 River Market Ave. 501372-7707. www.stickyz.com. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 9 p.m., free. 111 W. Markham St. 501-370-7013. www. capitalbarandgrill.com. A Work of Art: Jazz Festival, with saxophonist Gerald Albright. Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts. 20919 Denny Road, 8 p.m. $45-$60. www.facebook.com/ArtPorterMusic.
COMEDY
“HOGNADO!” An original production by The Main Thing. The Joint, 8 p.m., $22. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com. Rick Gutierrez. The Loony Bin, 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., $10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.
EVENTS
Block on Rock. A block party with food trucks and live music by The Big Dam Horns, and Cindy Woolf and Mark Bilyeu. Stone’s Throw Brewing, 3 p.m., $3 adv., $5 day of. 402 E. 9th St. 501-244-9154. Falun Gong meditation. Allsopp Park, 9 a.m., free. Cantrell and Cedar Hill roads. The Great Arkansas Beer Festival. Statehouse Convention Center, 6 p.m., $30. 7 Statehouse Plaza. Hillcrest Farmers Market. Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. 2200 Kavanaugh Blvd. Historic Neighborhoods Tour. Bike tour of historic neighborhoods includes bike, guide, helmets and maps. Bobby’s Bike Hike, 9 a.m., $8-$28. 400 President Clinton Ave. 501-6137001. Little Rock Farmers’ Market. River Market
pavilions, 7 a.m. 400 President Clinton Ave. 375-2552. www.rivermarket.info. Pork & Bourbon Tour. Bike tour includes bicycle, guide, helmets and maps. Bobby’s Bike Hike, 11:30 a.m., $35-$45. 400 President Clinton Ave. 501-613-7001.
FILM
Harry Potter Marathon. All eight “Harry Potter” movies screened over seven days. Ron Robinson Theater, $7-$40. 1 Pulaski Way. 501-320-5703. www.cals.lib.ar.us/ron-robinsontheater.aspx. Kaleidoscope LGBT Film Festival. Studio Theatre, through Aug. 2, $30-$100. 320 W. 7th St.
All American Food & Great Place to Party On The Patio!
SPORTS
Arkansas Travelers vs. Tulsa. Dickey-Stephens Park, 5:30 p.m., $6-$12. 400 W. Broadway, NLR. 501-664-1555. www.travs.com.
SUNDAY, AUG. 2
MUSIC
Al White. Kent Walker Artisan Cheese, 4 p.m. 1515 E. 4th St. 501-301-4963. www.kentwalkercheese.com. Drummerboyinfinity Presents: 2nd Annual Bass Players’ Ball. Revolution, 8 p.m., $10-$15. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. www. rumbarevolution.com/new. Irish Traditional Music Session. Hibernia Irish Tavern, 2:30 p.m. 9700 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-246-4340. www.hiberniairishtavern.com. Karaoke. Shorty Small’s, 6-9 p.m. 1475 Hogan Lane, Conway. 501-764-0604. www.shortysmalls.com. Karaoke with DJ Sara. Hardrider Bar & Grill, 7 p.m., free. 6613 John Harden Drive, Cabot. 501-982-1939. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501372-4782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com.
BEST LATE NIGHT SPOT BEST PLACE TO DANCE
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COMEDY
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EVENTS
The Janet Jones Company
Kurt Braunohler. Juanita’s, 8 p.m., $12. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www. juanitas.com.
Artist for Recovery. A secular recovery group for people with addictions. Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church, 10 a.m. 1601 S. Louisiana.
FILM
Kaleidoscope LGBT Film Festival. Studio Theatre, $30-$100. 320 W. 7th St.
SPORTS
Arkansas Travelers vs. Tulsa. Dickey-Stephens Park, 6:10 p.m., $6-$12. 400 W. Broadway, NLR. 501-664-1555. www.travs.com.
MONDAY, AUG. 3
MUSIC
Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501372-4782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Monday Night Jazz. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 8 p.m., $5. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbistroandbar.com. Open Mic. The Lobby Bar. Studio Theatre, 8
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AFTER DARK, CONT. p.m. 320 W. 7th St. Richie Johnson. Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf. com. Roses. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. Thy Art Is Murder. Juanita’s, 8 p.m., $10. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www. juanitas.com.
TUESDAY, AUG. 4
MUSIC
Choctaw Wildfire. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www. whitewatertavern.com. Gil Franklin & Friends. Holiday Inn, North Little Rock, first Tuesday, Wednesday of every month. 120 W. Pershing Blvd., NLR. Jef f Ling. 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. 501-3242999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. Karaoke Tuesday. Prost, 8 p.m., free. 322 President Clinton Blvd. 501-244-9550. willydspianobar.com/prost-2. Karaoke Tuesdays. On the patio. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 7:30 p.m., free. 107 River Market Ave. 501-372-7707. www. stickyz.com. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-4782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Music Jam. Hosted by Elliott Griffen and Joseph Fuller. The Joint, 8-11 p.m., free. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com. Tuesday Jam Session with Carl Mouton. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbistroandbar.com.
COMEDY
Stand-Up Tuesday. Hosted by Adam Hogg. The Joint, 8 p.m., $5. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com.
DANCE
“Latin Night.” Juanita’s, 7:30 p.m., $7. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www. littlerocksalsa.com.
EVENTS
Trivia Bowl. Flying Saucer, 8:30 p.m. 323 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-8032. www. beerknurd.com/stores/littlerock.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 5
MUSIC
Acoustic Open Mic. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbistroandbar.com. Brian and Nick. Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www. cajunswharf.com. Drageoke with Chi Chi Valdez. Sway. 412 Louisiana. 501-907-2582. Gil Franklin & Friends. Holiday Inn, North Little Rock, first Tuesday, Wednesday of every month. 120 W. Pershing Blvd., NLR. Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-3242999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. Karaoke at Khalil’s. Khalil’s Pub, 7 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www. khalilspub.com. 60
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Karaoke. MUSE Ultra Lounge, 8:30 p.m., free. 2611 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-6398. Katmandu. South on Main, 7:30 p.m., free. 1304 Main St. 501-244-9660. southonmain. com. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-4782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Open Mic Nite with Deuce. Thirst n’ Howl, 7:30 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501379-8189. www.thirst-n-howl.com. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 7:30 p.m., free. 111 W. Markham St. 501-370-7013. www.capitalbarandgrill.com.
COMEDY
The Joint Venture. Improv comedy group. The Joint, 8 p.m., $7. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com.
DANCE
Little Rock Bop Club. Beginning dance lessons for ages 10 and older. Singles welcome. Bess Chisum Stephens Community Center, 7 p.m., $4 for members, $7 for guests. 12th and Cleveland streets. 501-350-4712. www. littlerockbopclub.
EVENTS
Maschera: Deception, Mystery and the Unknown. 109 & Co., 8:30 p.m., $10 adv., $13 day of. 109 Main St. 501-374-3710. https:// www.facebook.com/109Co.
POETRY
Wednesday Night Poetry. 21-and-older show. Maxine’s, 7 p.m., free. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-321-0909. maxineslive.com/shows.html.
ARTS
THEATER
“American Idiot.” The Weekend Theater, through Aug. 9: Fri., Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 p.m., $20. 1001 W. 7th St. 501-374-3761. www.weekendtheater.org. “Hairspray.” Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, through Aug. 29: Sun., 11 a.m.; Tue.-Sun., 6 p.m., $34-$36. 6323 Col. Glenn Road. 501562-3131. murrysdinnerplayhouse.com. “Mrs. Miniver.” Argenta Community Theater, through Aug. 1. 405 Main St., NLR. 501-3531443. argentacommunitytheater.org.
NEW GALLERY EXHIBITS, EVENTS
New shows in bold-faced type
L&L BECK ART GALLERY, 5705 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “Impersonating the Impressionists,” through August, free giclee drawing 7 p.m. Aug. 20. 660-4006. STUDIOMAIN, 1423 S. Main St.: “Wood Etc.,” contemporary handmade furniture and objects by Thomas Campbell, Randy Rhea, Mia Hall and Julia Napolitano, reception 6-8 p.m. July 31, exhibit through Aug. 2. BENTONVILLE CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, One Museum Way: Illustrated lecture on the Voyager spacecraft by filmmaker Sam Green with live music by Dave Cerf, at the Buckyball, 9-10:30 p.m. July 31; “Poetry Lift Off Finale,” Houston Hughes vaudeville and poetry show, 8-9 p.m. Aug. 5; “Jamie Wyeth,” retrospec-
BARTH, CONT. would likely take the reins as a leader of the next generation of Democratic candidates. For the Democratic Party of Arkansas to begin its comeback, it’s essential that Eldridge and many others like him step up and run for office. For, as we saw for decades with the state Republican Party, even after Arkansas voters
became comfortable with the notion of voting Republican, the absence of highquality candidates created an inevitability of GOP defeats in state politics. It is the possibility of not offering voters (the customers of politics) products with a Democratic brand stamped on it that presents the longest-term threat to the Democratic Party in the state.
DUMAS, CONT. this year while we see if there is another way to continue medical care for those 260,000 people, keep community hospitals afloat and keep the extra $100 million-plus a year from Obamacare flowing into the state treasury. It is an immense problem but an altogether political one. The state will have to start spending some of its own tax monies on the adult Medicaid program in 2017, although that spending will be offset by the receipts the program brings into the treasury and it will pale beside the $1.5 billion the state already spends matching federal dollars for older Medicaid programs that neither the governor nor any legislator wants to drop because they aren’t associated with Barack Obama. Hutchinson and the legislature have a giant advisory committee comprising some of the wisest people in the country on health care and insurance to advise them on the problem, but some of them are suspected of harboring secret admiration for the Affordable Care Act. So the legislature took bids from several big firms of consultants to analyze the private option and advise legislators how to get out of the private option or seem to get out of it without doing much harm. The Stephen Group of Manchester, N.H., landed the job. It must produce lots of charts and algorithms.
The governor needed to cover himself and last week he hired Lanhee Chen, a Harvard-educated Republican consultant at Stanford University’s conservative think tank to tell him what to do when the legislature’s corporate whiz kids tell it what to do about the private option. Chen, whom the state will pay $100,000, has been hired by some of the best for his advice on hot political issues. In 2012, Mitt Romney hired Chen as his health and tax policy adviser and he proved to be Romney’s meanest attack dog against Obama. Chen came up with the factually erroneous charge that Obamacare was “the biggest tax increase in American history.” (Ronald Reagan’s 1982 tax hike was the largest of recent times.) Chen’s uniform advice on health care has been to repeal Obamacare and, barring that, scrap as much of it as you can under Section 1332 of Obamacare, which allows any state to set up its own insurance plan after 2017 as long as it covers as many people and just as comprehensively as Obamacare and it does not increase the federal deficit. In other words, do the same thing but don’t call it Obamacare. If the consultants can pull that off, you can decide if Hutchinson and your lawmakers spent your money well.
tive of the artist’s career over 60 years from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, through Oct. 5; “Warhol’s Nature,” from the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, through Oct. 5, $4; “American Encounters: The Simple Pleasures of Still Life,” 10 still-life paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries from the High Museum, the Terra Foundation, the Louvre and the Crystal Bridges collection, through Sept. 14; “Fish Stories: Early Images of American Game Fish,” 20 color plates based on the original watercolors by sporting artist Samuel Kilbourne, through Sept. 21; American masterworks spanning four centuries. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon., Thu.; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wed., Fri.; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat.Sun., closed Tue. 479-418-5700.
tion,” 38 works selected by juror Stanton Thomas, through July 30. 870-862-5474.
EL DORADO SOUTH ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, 110 E. 5th St.: 2015 “Juried Art Competi-
HOT SPRINGS GARVAN GARDENS, 550 Arkridge Road: “Three Rivers Art Guild,” works in all media, Aug. 1-31. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. daily, $15 adults, $5 children 6-12, dogs $5. 501262-9300.
CALL FOR ENTRIES The Arkansas Arts Council is accepting nominations for the 2016 Governor’s Arts Awards recognizing Arkansas artists, arts patrons, educators and corporations for their contributions to the arts. Deadline for nominations is Aug. 7. Nomination forms are available online at www.arkansasarts.org or by contacting Cheri Leffew at 324-9767 or cheri@arkansasheritage. org.
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AFTER DARK, CONT.
CONTINUING GALLERY EXHIBITS ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, MacArthur Park: 57th annual “Delta Exhibition,” 88 works by 84 artists from Arkansas and surrounding states, through Sept. 20. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. 372-4000. ARKANSAS CAPITAL CORP. GROUP, 200 River Market Ave.: “Different Landscapes,” paintings by Greg Lahti, photographs by Brennan Plunkett, drawings by Robert Bean, woodwork by Steve Plunkett. ART GROUP GALLERY, Pleasant Ridge Town Center, 11525 Cantrell Road: Work by Diana Shearon and other gallery members. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-6 p.m. Sun. 690-2193. BOSWELL MOUROT FINE ART, 5815 Kavanaugh Blvd.: New works by Louis Watts, through Aug. 8. 664-0030. BUTLER CENTER GALLERIES, Arkansas Studies Institute, 401 President Clinton Ave.: “Weaving Stories and Hope: Textile Arts from the Japanese Internment Camp at Rohwer, Arkansas”; “State Youth Art Show 2015: An Exhibition by Arkansas Art Educators,” Underground Gallery, through Aug. 29. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 320-5790. CANTRELL GALLERY, 8206 Cantrell Road: “A Range of Options,” collages by Eric Spann, through Sept. 4. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 224-1335. CHROMA GALLERY, 5707 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Work by Robert Reep and other Arkansas artists. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat. 664-0880. COX CREATIVE CENTER, 100 River Market Ave.: “Hotel Pines: Light through the Pines,” photographs by a dozen art photographers of abandoned Hotel Pines in Pine Bluff, through August. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 918-3093. GALLERY 221, 221 W. 2nd St.: Works by gallery members. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.Fri., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 801-0211. GALLERY 26, 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Recent works by Julie Holt, John Kushmal and James Hayes, through Sept. 12.10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 664-8996. GREG THOMPSON FINE ART, 429 Main St., NLR: “Southern Abstraction,” work by Dusti Bongé, Ida Kohlmeyer, Andrew Bucci, Wolf Kahn, Sammy Peters, Robyn Horn, James Hendricks, Pinkney Herbert and Gay Bechtelheimer, through Sept. 12. 664-2787.
GINO HOLLANDER GALLERY, 2nd and Center: Paintings and works on paper by Gino Hollander. 801-0211. HEARNE FINE ART, 1001 Wright Ave.: “Beautiful Influences,” ceramic sculpture and mixed media paintings by Chukes, through Sept. 3. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. 372-6822. HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM GALLERIES, 200 E. 3rd St.: “Art. Function. Craft: The Life and Work of Arkansas Living Treasures,” works by 14 craftsmen honored by Arkansas Arts Council; “Heather Condren and Miranda Young,” repurposed books by Condren, linocuts and ceramics by Young,” through Aug. 9; “(Everyday) Interpretations: Cindy Arsaga, Joe Morzuch and Adam Posnak,” through Aug. 9; “Suggin Territory: The Marvelous World of Folklorist Josephine Graham,” through Nov. 29. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9351. LAMAN LIBRARY, 2801 Orange St., NLR: “Spirited: Prohibition in America,” through Aug. 7. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Fri.-Sat. 758-1720. LOCAL COLOUR, 5811 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Rotating work by 27 artists in collective. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 265-0422. M2 GALLERY, 11525 Cantrell Road: “Mikesell and EMILE,” new paintings by Michelle Mikesell and Jennifer Freeman; also work by V.L. Cox, Bryan Frazier, Spencer Zahm and others. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 225-6257. MUGS CAFE, 515 Main St., NLR: “Movement and Sound,” paintings by Emily Wood, photographs by John Sykes Jr., through Aug. 19. 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 960-9524. RED DOOR GALLERY, 3715 JFK, NLR: Paula Jones, new paintings; Jim Goshorn, new sculpture; also sculpture by Joe Martin, paintings by Amy Hill-Imler, Theresa Cates and Patrick Cunningham, ornaments by D. Wharton, landscapes by James Ellis, raku by Kelly Edwards and other works. 753-5227. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. ST. JAMES UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, 321 Pleasant Valley Drive: Exhibition by members of Co-Op Art, through Sept. 7. STEPHANO’S FINE ART, 1813 N. Grant St.: New work by Jennifer Wilson, Mike Gaines, Maryam Moeeni, Ken Davis, John Kushmaul and Gene Brack. 563-4218. BATESVILLE BAAC GALLERY ON MAIN, 226 E. Main St.: “White Noise & Black Lines,” work by Holly Laws and David Bailin, through Aug. 1.10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Sat. 870-793-3382. BENTON DIANNE ROBERTS ART STUDIO AND GALLERY, 110 N. Market St.: Work by Dianne Roberts, classes. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. 860-7467. BENTONVILLE 21c MUSEUM HOTEL, 200 NE A St.: “Duke Riley: See You at the Finish Line,” sculpture, and “Blue: Matter, Mood and Melancholy,” photographs and paintings. 479-286-6500. TWO 25 GALLERY, 225 Main St.: “Conversations,” oils by Carole Katchen, through Aug. 1. 479-464-9463. CALICO ROCK CALICO ROCK ARTISAN COOPERATIVE, 105 Main St.: Paintings, photographs, jewelry, fiber art, wood, ceramics and other crafts. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Thu., 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri.-Sat., noon-4 p.m. Sun. calicorocket.org/artists. CONWAY ART ON THE GREEN, Littleton Park, 1100 Bob Courtway: Paintings by Eldridge Bagley, Marty Smith, Sheila Parsons, Don Bingham, Haley Proctor, Patricia Wilkes, Mary Ann Stafford and others. 501-4993177. EL DORADO SOUTH ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, 110 E. 5th St.: 2015 “Juried Art Competition,” 38 works selected by juror Stanton Thomas, through July 30. 870-862-5474. HEBER SPRINGS BOTTLE TREE GALLERY, 514 Main St.: Fine art and jewelry. 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 501-590-8840. HOT SPRINGS ALISON PARSONS GALLERY, 802 Central Ave.: “In Perfect Balance — Art in Motion,” kinetic mobiles by Gerald Lee Delavan. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wed.-Sat. 501625-3001. GALLERY CENTRAL, 800 Central Ave.: Paintings by Trey McCarley, Heike Talburt and Dennis McCann, and Houston Llew “Spiritiles.” 501-318-4278 HOT SPRINGS FINE ARTS CENTER, 626 Central Ave.: “Airwaves,” through Aug. 1. 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., open until 9 p.m. every 1st and 3rd Fri. 501-624-0489. JUSTUS FINE ART, 827 Central Ave.: New paintings by Taimur Cleary, Dolores Justus and Emily Wood. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat. 501-772-3627.
FORT SMITH REGIONAL ART MUSEUM, 1601 Rogers Ave.: “Selections from the Permanent Collection,” through Sept. 6. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 479-7842787. HELENA DELTA CULTURAL CENTER, 141 Cherry St.: “The Arkansas Delta Duo: The Art of Tim Jacob and the Art of Norwood Creech,” paintings, through Aug. 22. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 870-338-4350. HOT SPRINGS HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK CULTURAL CENTER, Ozark Bathhouse: “Arkansas Champion Trees: An Artist’s Journey,” colored pencil drawings by Linda Williams Palmer, through August. Noon-5 p.m. Fri.-Sun. 501-620-6715. JONESBORO ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY, Bradbury Gallery: “Spring 2015 Senior Exhibition,” work by Sylvia M. Clemmons, Noel Miller, Penny Jo Pausch and Shawn Wright. Noon to 5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 2-5 p.m. Sun. 870-972-2567. PERRYVILLE SUDS GALLERY, Courthouse Square: Paintings by Dottie Morrissey, Alma Gipson, Al Garrett Jr., Phyllis Loftin, Alene Otts, Mauretta Frantz, Raylene Finkbeiner, Kathy Williams and Evelyn Garrett. Noon-6 p.m. Wed.-Fri, noon-4 p.m. Sat. 501-766-7584. YELLVILLE P.A.L. FINE ART GALLERY, 300 Hwy. 62: “Celebrate America,” through July. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-noon Sat. 870-656-2057. NEW MUSEUM EVENT ESSE PURSE MUSEUM & STORE, 1510 S. Main St.: “Pinafores, Purses and Pigtails,” vintage girls’ purses, toys, photos and more, through Sept. 20, children’s class, “Self-Portrait Embroidery” with Lilia Hernandez, 1 p.m. Aug. 2, $15, call 9169022 for information; “What’s Inside: A History of Women and Handbags, 19001999,” vintage purses and other women’s accessories. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Sun., $8$10. 916-9022. MacARTHUR MUSEUM OF ARKANSAS MILITARY HISTORY, MacArthur Park: “Researching Military Records,” genealogy workshop, 10 a.m.-noon Aug. 1, free; “Waging Modern Warfare”; “Gen. Wesley
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Clark”; “Vietnam, America’s Conflict”; “Undaunted Courage, Proven Loyalty: Japanese American Soldiers in World War II. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-4 p.m. Sun. 376-4602. MOSAIC TEMPLARS CULTURAL CENTER, 501 W. Ninth St.: “Story Time,” books, dancing and singalongs for children ages 2-4, 10 a.m. July 30. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 683-3593. CONTINUING HISTORY, SCIENCE MUSEUM EXHIBITS ARKANSAS INLAND MARITIME MUSEUM, North Little Rock: The USS Razorback submarine tours. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 371-8320. ARKANSAS NATIONAL GUARD MUSEUM, Camp Robinson: Artifacts on military history, Camp Robinson and its predecessor, Camp Pike, also a gift shop. 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Mon.-Fri., audio tour available at no cost. 212-5215. ARKANSAS SPORTS HALL OF FAME MUSEUM, Verizon Arena, NLR: 10 a.m.4:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 663-4328. CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSEUM VISITOR CENTER, Bates and Park: Exhibits on the 1957 desegregation of Central and the civil rights movement. 9 a.m.4:30 p.m. daily. 374-1957. CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER, 1200 President Clinton Ave.: “Dinosaurs Around the World,” animatronic dinosaurs, free with admission, through Oct. 18; permanent exhibits on the Clinton administration. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $7 adults; $5 college students, seniors, retired military; $3 ages 6-17. 370-8000. HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM, 200 E. 3rd St.: Historic tavern, refurbished 19th century structures from original city, permanent exhibits on the Bowie knife and Arkansas’s Native American tribes (“We Walk in Two Worlds”), also changing exhibits. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9351. MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY, 500 President Clinton Ave.: “Wiggle Worms,” science program for pre-K children 10 -10:30 a.m. every Tue. Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun., $10 ages 13 and older, $8 ages 1-12, free to members and children under 1. 396-7050. NORTH LITTLE ROCK HISTORY COMMISSION, 506 Main St., NLR: “Give Our Regards to Broadway,” photographic history of the bridge, also photos by Greg Davis. 371-0755. OLD STATE HOUSE MUSEUM, 300 W. Markham: “Different Strokes,” the history of bicycling and places cycling in Arkansas, featuring artifacts, historical pictures and video, through February 2016. 9 a.m.5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9685. WITT STEPHENS JR. CENTRAL ARKANSAS NATURE CENTER, Riverfront Park: Exhibits on fishing and hunting and the state Game and Fish Commission. 9070636. CALICO ROCK CALICO ROCK MUSEUM, Main Street: Displays on Native American cultures, steamboats, the railroad and local history. www.calicorockmuseum.com. ENGLAND TOLTEC MOUNDS STATE PARK, U.S. Hwy. 165: Major prehistoric Indian site with visitors’ center and museum. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun., closed Mon. $3 for adults, $2 for ages 6-12. 961-9442.
JACKSONVILLE MUSEUM OF MILITARY HISTORY, 100 Veterans Circle: Exhibits on D-Day; F-105, Vietnam era plane (“The Thud”); the Civil War Battle of Reed’s Bridge, Arkansas Ordnance Plant (AOP) and other military history. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $3 adults; $2 seniors, military; $1 students. 501-241-1943. MORRILTON MUSEUM OF AUTOMOBILES, Petit Jean Mountain: Permanent exhibit of more than 50 cars from 1904-1967 depicting the evolution of the automobile. 10 a.m.5 p.m. 7 days. 501-727-5427. PINE BLUFF ARTS AND SCIENCE CENTER FOR SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS, 701 S. Main
St.: “Exploring the Frontier: Arkansas 1540-1840,” Arkansas Discovery Network hands-on exhibition; “Heritage Detectives: Discovering Arkansas’ Hidden Heritage.” 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 1-4 p.m. Sat. 870-536-3375. POTTSVILLE POTTS INN, 25 E. Ash St.: Preserved 1850s stagecoach station on the Butterfield Overland Mail Route, with period furnishings, log structures, hat museum, doll museum, doctor’s office, antique farm equipment. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wed.-Sat. $5 adults, $2 students, 5 and under free. 479-968-9369. ROGERS ROGERS HISTORICAL MUSEUM, 322 S. 2nd St.: “Fun and Games,” the history
of golf, roller skating, bowling, tennis and swimming in Rogers; “Rebels, Federals and Bushwackers,” through Dec. 6; “IMAGINE: A NEW Rogers Historical Museum,” conceptual designs of new exhibition areas to be built. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon., Wed.-Sun., 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Tue. 479-6210-1154. SCOTT PLANTATION AGRICULTURE MUSEUM, U.S. Hwy. 165 and state Hwy. 161: Exhibits on historic agriculture. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 961-1409. SCOTT PLANTATION SETTLEMENT: 1840s log cabin, one-room school house, tenant houses, smokehouse and artifacts on plantation life. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thu.-Sat. 351-0300. www.scottconnections.org.
ANNOUNCING THE 2015 ARKANSAS TIMES WHOLE HOG ROAST benefiting
Argenta Arts District
WHOLE HOG
SATURDAY, AUGUST 29 Argenta Farmers Market Events Grounds 5 until 9 PM
Arkansas Times and the Argenta Arts District are now accepting both AMATEUR and PROFESSIONAL TEAMS to compete in our 3rd annual Whole Hog Roast
WE ARE STILL ACCEPTING:
AMATEUR TEAMS are considered individuals or businesses not connected to any particular restaurant, food truck or catering companies. Amateur teams will be preparing at least 30 pounds of pork butt. Amateur teams wanting to enter our People’s Choice “Anything but Butt” will need to provide 30 pounds of options such as chicken wings, thighs, ribs, goat, stuffed jalapenos, anything besides pork butt - be creative. This is a separate award for amateurs only. Edwards Food Giant is offering 20% discount on meat purchases. Entry fee: $150
BEER & WINE GARDEN Gated festival area selling beer & wine ($5 each)
PROFESSIONAL TEAMS are considered restaurants, catering companies and food trucks. Professional teams will be preparing a whole hog from Ben E. Keith Company Entry fee: $500 and includes the whole hog, pick up by Aug. 26
ONLINE ALL THE PLEASE VISIT US AT WWW.EDWARDSF
Each team must provide two sides serving at least 50 people each.
• TICKET HOLDERS WILL CAST ALL THE VOTES VIA “TOKENS”
CURRENT ROAST COMPETITORS AMATEUR TEAM: L.A. Smokers (Levy Area Smokers)
• THREE TOKENS WILL BE PROVIDED TO ALL TICKET HOLDERS, ADDITIONAL TOKENS ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE • THREE WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN: PEOPLE’S CHOICE FOR BEST PROFESSIONAL TEAM, BEST AMATEUR TEAM AND THE BEST AMATEUR “ANY THING BUT BUTT” TEAM.
ARKANSAS ALE HOUSE • COUNTRY CLUB OF ARKANSAS MIDTOWN BILLIARDS • SCHLAFLY - ST. LOUIS BREWERY &RESTAURANT SIMPLY THE BEST CATERING • SO RESTAURANT-BAR To enter, contact Drue Patton dpatton@argentadc.org or Phyllis Britton phyllis@arktimes.com
JACKSONVILLE www.arktimes.com
JULY 30, 2015
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Dining WHAT’S COOKIN’ COLD-PRESSED JUICES, CONCOCTIONS of pounds of vegetables and fruits masticated and squeezed in a refrigerated press to keep their nutrients intact, are coming to the Heights in September, at Roots Juices. Brent Rodgers of Dallas, who says he started the business in his parents’ garage in Dallas after leaving his high-pressure Wall Street job and traveling the world, will open Roots Juices at 5501 Kavanaugh Blvd. near Eggshells and Le Pops. The store will sell juices and healthy snacks and will deliver to those engaged in cleanses, limiting their diets to a juice regime. Roots Juices’ juices aren’t very sweet, but, he said, “you feel good after” you drink them. Among the 24 juices listed on Roots Juices’ website: “Just for Kids,” pineapple, oranges, apples and carrots; “Green Goddess,” kale, spinach, apple, romaine, ginger, lemon and celery; and “Everything,” beets, carrots, apple, aloe, ginger, kale, spinach, romaine, jalapeno, turmeric, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, pear and parsley. The juices aren’t cheap: A cleanse, which is eight bottles of juice, is $50 a day and usually run three to five days; a single 16-ounce bottle is $7 to $8. It takes about three to five pounds of vegetables to make a single bottle; hence the price. CINNAMON ROLL LOVERS WHO BUY from The Humble Crumb bakery on Saturdays at the Little Rock Farmers’ Market will be able sometime this fall to get their pastries weekdays. The Humble Crumb is converting a garage in Sherwood to a kitchen and sales counter, where folks will be able to pick up orders of cinnamon rolls, cakes, pies, muffins, scones, bread and other bakery items. Owners Tori Halverson, Betsy Peters and Ruth Peters have also invested in a Scotty camper (found on Craigslist) they’ll use as a mobile bakery fitted with a drive-up window. The kitchen and counter will be at 2902 Kellogg Acres Road in Sherwood, and the owners hope to have it cooking by fall. The camper bakery will come later, possibly by October; no site has been settled on yet. The Humble Crumb will take orders at 766-5584 or through its Facebook page, facebook. com/TheHumbleCrumb, and is building a website. The Facebook page will keep folks up to date on progress on the business and the website.
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CARNE GUISADA: One of the higher-end dishes.
Mi Hacienda should be su Hacienda, too Good cheese dip, great tamales, margaritas and more.
S
ome restaurants have been around so long that they just become part of the scenery, and such is the case with La Hacienda on Cantrell. Located in an old converted Pizza Hut, this family-owned Mexican restaurant may get overshadowed at times by newer and flashier restaurants, but forgetting about the place would be a mistake. Sure, they’re serving up mostly the same food as they were 20 years ago, but when it tastes this good, why would they want to stop? La Hacienda is still owned and operated by the Oseguera family, and they’ve built quite a mini-empire of restaurants from their humble origins in Hot Springs. When we eat at the Central Arkansas locations, we still see folks that served us in Hot Springs decades ago. That sort of commitment to the restaurant business results in service that is always quick, friendly and efficient, as well as food that is always hot and delicious.
The menu at La Hacienda is large, and we’ve often found ourselves at a loss as to what we want, despite the numerous times we’ve eaten at the place. But one thing is always certain: The meal must start off with a luscious bowl of cheese dip ($3.50 small, $6 large). This is queso just like we like it, velvet-smooth and scattered with thin-sliced peppers that provide just the right amount of spice. One of our biggest pet peeves is watery cheese dip, and La Hacienda’s creamy version is just the right sort of chip-coating goodness that we hold as the gold standard of what good queso should be. If we’re feeling really frisky, we’ll upgrade to the Queso Fundido ($5.95 for two/$7.95 for four), which adds chorizo, jalapeno slices and some soft tortillas to the mix. For many years, we stuck to the “combination dinner” section of the menu, with the No. 1 Combo ($7.95)
La Hacienda Mexican Restaurant 3024 Cantrell Road 661-0600 lahaciendacantrell.com
QUICK BITE If there’s one thing that La Hacienda has perfected at its various locations, it’s speed. Sure, the food is delicious, but the ability to have a full meal served up efficiently well within the timeframe of an hour lunch break should not be understated. Lunch special prices in the $6 range don’t hurt, either. HOURS 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. OTHER INFO Bar menu includes margaritas, pina coladas, daiquiris, Bloody Marys, “whiskey drinks,” beer (domestic and imported), wine. Credit cards accepted.
being our go-to order. This plate is a perfect introduction to La Hacienda for people who have never eaten there, consisting of a crispy shredded beef taco, cheese enchilada and tamale, all served with rice and beans. The taco is a delight, with tender, flavorful beef being nestled inside a thin, crispy shell, and the cheese enchilada is, like the queso dip, a gooey, cheesy treat. But it’s the tamale that’s the star of this plate, and indeed a star of the menu as a whole. As we fell further in love with the tamales at La Hacienda, we gravitated toward the No. 7 Combo ($7.95), which serves up three of the moist, pork-packed tamales with Mexican
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.
B Breakfast L Lunch D Dinner $ Inexpensive (under $8/person) $$ Moderate ($8-$20/person) $$$ Expensive (over $20/person) CC Accepts credit cards
BELLY UP Check out the Times’ food blog, Eat Arkansas arktimes.com
DINING CAPSULES
rice and some of the thickest, richest refried beans we’ve ever tasted. For best results, order these masa delights as God intended — drenched in a thick red sauce and topped with fresh pico de gallo. They’ll douse them in queso upon request, but despite our love for melted cheese, the red sauce just makes for better eating. These tamales are also available a la carte for $4.95, so there’s no excuse not to make them part of the meal somehow. For a more Americanized (yet delicious) treat, we are fans of the Chimichanga ($10), alternating between shredded beef and shredded chicken as the filling for this massive, deepfried pleasure. A deep-fried burrito is not health food, but surely all the wonderfully seasoned onions and bell peppers involved in this dish count for something, right? The same ingredients can be had in salad form, too, with the fried-shell La Hacienda Taco Salad ($7.95) — and again, this is not a salad that will show up on anyone’s diet plan, but it’s beyond delicious. Things can get fancier than the basic lunch and dinner combinations at La Hacienda, and sometimes we can’t resist going for some of the higherend dishes. The Camarones a la Diabla ($17) is one of the best shrimp dishes we’ve had in town, showcasing the restaurant’s mastery of spice and grill technique in a dish that pairs sweet prawns with tangy heat. The Carne Guisada ($12) takes this understanding of balanced spice and applies it to beef tips cooked slowly in a rich sauce made from guajillo chiles. The range of prices on the La Hacienda menu means that no matter what there’s something for any taste, from small bites to huge plates. There’s nothing better than kicking back with a house margarita or tall glass of cinnamon-laced horchata and enjoying this lineup of family recipes that have been keeping Arkansawyers coming back to the Little Rock location again and again since 1997. The walls are plastered with various readers’ choice awards and other recognitions, and given the consistency in quality we’ve experienced at every visit, we have no doubt that each was earned and well deserved.
AMERICAN
1515 CAFE This bustling, business-suit filled breakfast and lunch spot, just across from the state Capitol, features old-fashioned, buffetstyle home cookin’ for a song. Inexpensive lunch entrees, too. 1515 W. 7th St. No alcohol. $-$$. 501-376-1434. L Wed.-Fri., D Mon-Sat. CAPITOL BISTRO Serving breakfast and lunch items, including quiche, sandwiches, coffees and the like. 1401 W. Capitol Ave. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-371-9575. BL Mon.-Fri. CATCH BAR AND GRILL Fish, shrimp, chicken and burgers, live music, drinks, flat screens TVs, pool tables and V.I.P room. 1407 John Barrow Road. Full bar. 501-224-1615.
DEMPSEY BAKERY Bakery with seating, serving coffee and specializing in gluten-, nutand soy-free baked goods. 323 Cross St. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-375-2257. Serving BL Tue.-Sat. DOE’S EAT PLACE A skid-row dive turned power brokers’ watering hole with huge steaks, great tamales and broiled shrimp, and killer burgers at lunch. 1023 W. Markham St. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-376-1195. LD Mon.-Fri., D Sat. DOUBLETREE PLAZA BAR & GRILL The lobby restaurant in the Doubletree is elegantly comfortable, but you’ll find no airs put on at heaping breakfast and lunch buffets. 424 West Markham St. Full bar, all CC. $$. 501-372-4371.
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KRUPP BROTHERS STAGECOACH VINEYARD CHARDONNAY 2013 ELSEWHERE $64.99 - SPECIAL $49.99 From hillside fruit on one of Napa’s most important vineyards (Stagecoach Vineyard), our friend Jay Buoncristiani has created a beautiful wine that exhibits aromas of pineapple, guava, ripe pear, jasmine, vanillin, crème brulee and candied apple.Bright fruit, butterscotch, roasted marshmallow and integrated oak lead to flavors of lemon cream pie coupled with minerality and vibrant acidity. Only 285 Cases produced.
BEST LIQUOR STORE Rahling Road @ Chenal Parkway • 501.821.4669 • olooneys@aristotle.net • www.olooneys.com
BLD daily. EJ’S EATS AND DRINKS The friendly neighborhood hoagie shop downtown serves at a handful of tables and by delivery. The sandwiches are generous, the soup homemade and the salads cold. Vegetarians can craft any number of acceptable meals from the flexible menu. The housemade potato chips are da bomb. 523 Center St. Full bar, all CC. $-$$. 501-666-3700. LD Mon.-Fri., BR Sun. IRA’S PARK HILL GRILL Inventive and toothsome fine dining in a casual setting. 3812 JFK Blvd. NLR. Full bar, CC. $$-$$$. 501-771-6900. L Tue.-Fri., Sun.; D Tue.-Sat. IRONHORSE SALOON Bar and grill offering juicy hamburgers and cheeseburgers. 9125 Mann Road. Full bar, all CC. $. 501-562-4464. LD daily. J. GUMBO’S Fast-casual Cajun fare served, primarily, in a bowl. Better than expected. 12911 Cantrell Road. Beer, all CC. $-$$. 501-916-9635. LD daily. JERKY’S SPICY CHICKEN AND MORE Jerk chicken, Southern fried chicken, Southern fried jerk chicken, along with burgers, sandwiches, salads. 2501 Arch St. No alcohol. 501-246-3096. JIMMY’S SERIOUS SANDWICHES Consistently fine sandwiches, side orders and desserts for 30 years. Chicken salad’s among the best in town, and there are fun specialty sandwiches such as Thai One On and The Garden. Get there early for lunch. 5116 W. Markham St. No alcohol, CC. $-$$. 501-666-3354. LD Mon.-Fri., L Sat. JOUBERT’S TAVERN Local beer and wine haunt that serves Polish sausage and other bar foods. 7303 Kanis Road. Full bar, CC. $-$$. 501-6649953. D Mon.-Sat. K. HALL AND SONS Neighborhood grocery store with excellent lunch counter. The cheeseburger is hard to beat. 1900 Wright Ave. No alcohol, CC. $. 501-372-1513. BLD Mon.-Sat. (closes at 6 p.m.), BL Sun. THE ROOT CAFE Homey, local foods-focused cafe. With tasty burgers, homemade bratwurst, banh mi and a number of vegan and veggie options. Breakfast and Sunday brunch, too. 1500 S. Main St. Beer, all CC. $-$$. 501-414-0423. BL Tue.-Sat., BR Sun. SOUTH ON MAIN Fine, innovative takes on Southern fare in a casual, but well-appointed setting. 1304 Main St. Full bar, CC. $-$$. 501-244-9660. L Mon.-Fri., D Tue.-Sat. STAGECOACH GROCERY AND DELI Fine po’ boys and muffalettas — and cheap. 6024 Stagecoach Road. Beer and wine, all CC. $-$$. 501-455-7676. BLD Mon.-Fri., BL Sat.-Sun. TABLE 28 Excellent fine dining with lots of creative flourishes. Branch out and try the Crispy Squid Filet and Quail Bird Lollipops. 1501 Merrill Drive. Full bar, CC. $$$-$$$$. 501-2242828. D Mon.-Sat.
ASIAN
NEW CHINA A burgeoning line of massive buffets, with hibachi grill, sushi, mounds of Chinese food and soft serve ice cream. 4617 John F. Kennedy Blvd. NLR. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-753-8988. LD daily. 2104 Harkrider. Conway. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-7641888. LD Mon.-Sun. OISHI HIBACHI AND THAI CUISINE Tasty www.arktimes.com
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MOVIE REVIEW
DINING CAPSULES, CONT. Thai and hibachi from the Chi family. 5501 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-603-0080. LD daily.
BARBECUE
CHIP’S BARBECUE Tasty, if a little pricey, barbecue piled high on sandwiches generously doused with the original tangy sauce or one of five other sauces. Better known for the incredible family recipe pies and cheesecakes, which come tall and wide. 9801 W. Markham St. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-225-4346. LD Mon.-Sat.
CATFISH
SENIOR SHERLOCK: The detective (Ian McKellan, left, with Hiroyuki Sanada as Mr. Umezaki) suffers an “incomprehensible emptiness.”
Sherlock baffled Ian McKellen ages gracefully in ‘Mr. Holmes.’ BY WILL STEPHENSON
S
herlock Holmes movies are as old as the genre of detective cinema itself. This is literally true, according to the historians who study this sort of thing: The first Sherlock Holmes film was the first detective film, a silent one-reel sketch produced by the Biograph Co. and released in 1900. It was designed to be seen on a Mutoscope (a single-viewer arcade attraction), and was called “Sherlock Holmes Baffled.” Not quite a story, it’s really just a single scene in which Holmes is robbed by a thief who then magically vanishes. It’s inexplicable. And unlike the original stories, it winds up with Holmes more or less admitting defeat. He appears, in the end, “baffled.” If it seems like we’re currently inundated with new takes on Sherlock Holmes, it’s a trick of perspective, because it’s always been that way. But the last few years have certainly felt like a resurgence, if only in audience interest. To name only the highestprofile recent cases, there is the BBC miniseries “Sherlock,” which helped launch Benedict Cumberbatch’s career stateside; the CBS series “Elementary,” starring Jonny Lee Miller (Crash Override from “Hackers”); and the last couple of “Sherlock Holmes” action films, which were marred by Guy Ritchie’s spasmodic direction and Robert Downey Jr.’s indeterminate accent. If these versions have anything in common, it’s their inclination toward hyperkinetic pacing and sup66
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ARKANSAS TIMES
posedly subversive character updates — heightening Holmes’ sympathetic unlikeability, his Asperger’s chic, his martial arts abilities. “Mr. Holmes,” which stars Sir Ian McKellen and is directed by Bill Condon (“Dreamgirls,” “Twilight: Breaking Dawn”), marks a divergent approach in that it rejects these sorts of modernizing impulses altogether. (The Holmes movie it most closely resembles in this respect might be Billy Wilder’s 1970 entry “The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes,” which was similarly subdued and oddly structured.) At once more faithful and more ponderous than the popular Downey and Cumberbatch interpretations, its most important contribution to the canon might be its total lack of interest in encouraging real mystery. Rather than one great puzzle that needs to be solved, it’s a series of minor puzzles that lack urgency. It’s instead about senility, about memory and about what the elderly Holmes identifies as the “incomprehensible emptiness” in himself. The film picks up with Holmes well into retirement, 93 years old and living with a housekeeper (Laura Linney) and her precocious young son (Milo Parker) out in the rural English countryside. Flashbacks offer other storylines: Holmes’ final case, which he struggles to remember by writing it out as a narrative, hoping it might serve as a corrective to Dr. Watson’s embellished portrayals (“I’ve never
had much use for imagination,” he says at one point); and an ambiguous recent trip to Japan to track down a prickly ash plant, the jelly from which he thinks could treat his memory loss and the other symptoms of old age. There are also self-ref lexive gestures meant to distance it from other Holmes adaptations, to distinguish its project as being more serious — he goes to see a Sherlock Holmes film and finds it ridiculous, reads the books and deems them “penny dreadfuls with an elevated prose style.” The critic Edmund Wilson, in his classic 1945 takedown of the genre (titled “Who Cares Who Killed Roger Ackroyd?”) famously dismissed detective fiction as being “a kind of vice that, for silliness and minor harmfulness, ranks somewhere between smoking and crossword puzzles.” He meant that too often these are the barest of stories, thematically empty and not really about anything at all except for the logic of detection itself. “Mr. Holmes” attempts to avoid this trap by using the logic of detection as a metaphor for memory. Holmes isn’t solving a case so much as he’s remembering one he solved a long time ago. Whether or not this works for you as a Sherlock Holmes story will depend on a lot of things: your sentimental attachment to the character, your interest in the emotional drama of aging, your tolerance for early Oscar-season prestige films. There is a sense in which the movie wants to have it both ways — to look down on Sherlock Holmes stories intellectually, while still attracting their audience by co-opting the legend. If you’re looking for a question that can be answered, stick with Benedict Cumberbatch. This film is for anyone who’d rather stay baffled.
SWEET SOUL Southern classics by the proprietors of the late, great Haystack Cafe in Ferndale: Chicken fried steak (just about perfect), catfish, collards, cornbread, blackeyed peas and fried chicken. 400 President Clinton Ave. No alcohol, all CC. 501-3747685. L Mon.-Fri.
EUROPEAN / ETHNIC
ANATOLIA RESTAURANT Middle of the road Mediterranean fare. 315 N. Bowman Road. No alcohol, CC. $-$$. 501-219-9090. LD Mon.-Sat. L E O ’ S G R E E K C A S T L E Wonderful Mediterranean food — gyro sandwiches or platters, falafel and tabouleh — plus dependable hamburgers, ham sandwiches, steak platters and BLTs. Breakfast offerings are expanded with gyro meat, pitas and triple berry pancakes. 2925 Kavanaugh Blvd. No alcohol, CC. $-$$. 501-6667414. BLD Mon.-Sat., BL Sun. (close at 4 p.m.). SILVEK’S EUROPEAN BAKERY Fine pastries, chocolate creations, breads and cakes done in the classical European style. Drop by for a whole cake or a slice or any of the dozens of single serving treats in the big case. 1900 Polk St. No alcohol, all CC. $$. 501-661-9699. BLD daily.
ITALIAN
IRIANA’S PIZZA Unbelievably generous handtossed New York style pizza with unmatched zest. Good salads, too; grinders are great, particularly the Italian sausage. 201 E. Markham St. Beer and wine, all CC. $-$$. 501-374-3656. LD Mon.-Sat. ZAFFINO’S BY NORI A high-quality Italian dining experience. Pastas, entrees (don’t miss the veal marsala) and salads are all outstanding. 2001 E. Kiehl Ave. NLR. Beer and wine, all CC. 501-834-7530. D Tue.-Sat.
LATINO
BAJA GRILL Food truck turned brick-and-mortar taco joint that serves a unique Mexi-Cali style menu full of tacos, burritos and quesadillas. 5923 Kavanaugh Blvd. CC. $-$$. 501-722-8920. LD Mon.-Sat. HEIGHTS TACO & TAMALE CO. Throwback Southern-style tamales, taco plates, enchiladas and more, all doused with a generous helping of cheese and chili. Hits just the right balance between nostalgia and fresh flavors. 5805 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, all CC. $-$$. 501-3134848. LD daily. LA REGIONAL A full-service grocery store catering to SWLR’s Latino community, its small grill in a corner became so popular that the store added a full-service restaurant on the east end of the building. The menu offers a whirlwind trip through Latin America, with delicacies from all across the Spanish-speaking world. Bring your Spanish/English dictionary. 7414 Baseline Road. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-565-4440. BLD daily.
Celebrate American Style Wyeth
ON 9/11
Warhol
with a trip to
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art on the Arkansas Times ART Bus
FRIDAY, SEPT. 11, 2015
for three exhibitions featuring the distinctively American art of Jamie Wyeth, Andy Warhol and Frank Lloyd Wright
“Jamie Wyeth” features work by the third generation of Wyeth artists, paintings of the people of the Brandywine Valley and the coast of Maine the artist made over six decades. “Warhol’s Nature” exhibit features the pop artist’s natural turn, including
119
$
per person
lithographs of poppies and other flora and fauna.The BachmanWilson house, the Frank Lloyd Wright design in his “Usonian” style for everyday Americans, is being reassembled on the grounds after its move from New Jersey.
Price includes: Round-trip Tour Bus Transportation Light pastries & hors d’oeuvres Beer/Wine en route Ticket into both the Jamie Wyeth and Andy Warhol exhibits Dinner at Eleven, the restaurant at Crystal Bridges
ARKANSAS TIMES
RESERVE YOUR SEAT BY CALLING 501.375.2985 OR EMAILING KELLY LYLES AT KELLYLYLES@ARKTIMES.COM
Round-trip bus transportation provided by Arrow Coachlines. Admission into Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is free. www.arktimes.com
JULY 30, 2015
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AUGUST EDITION
It’s summer. It’s hot. It’s Arkansas. What else do we expect? Sales and great buys all over town! And most of all, can we get a rejuvenation treat? Yes! Here’s a rundown on some of the best deals in town for all of us!
Too Cool for
School Good
It’s nearly back to school time and The Southern Fox has all you need to start that first day in style. Can’t think of a fun teacher gift? No problem. The Southern Fox specializes in trendy clothing, jewelry, accessories, repurposed items, bath and body products, homemade jellies and more. It’s your one-stop-shop for all things. Come and see for yourself. THE SOUTHERN FOX 304 Main St., NLR, Inside Galaxy Furniture 375.DESK (3375)
gardens
It’s hot but, that doesn’t mean you have to give up on seasonal garden displays. There’s not a better time to head over to Good Earth Garden Center for their summer sales event. With separate areas devoted to 50% off and 75% off items, 50% off seasonal tropicals plus another section devoted to pots 50% off, you should definitely stop by to see what’s in store. Don’t miss this sale! THE GOOD EARTH GARDEN CENTER 15601 Cantrell Rd., 868.4666 thegoodearthgarden.com
nate!
Re-ju-ve-
Rejuvenation Clinic Day Spa carries an array of product lines to help maintain your spa treatments at home including Pure Fiji. Exclusively available at Rejuvenation Clinic, Pure Fiji products follow century-long traditions of blending pure coconut oil and local nut extract and then infusing it with tropical flowers of Fiji. This line gives you a Fijian experience in the privacy of your own home, without the expense of going there. You’re covered from head to toe with a range of shampoo and conditioners, lotions, scrubs and oils. Be sure to get your little piece of Pure Fiji today! REJUVENATION CLINIC DAY SPA 11125 Arcade Dr., 228.4545 rejuvenationclinic.com
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JULY 31, 2014
ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO ARKANSAS TIMES
Feeling hot, hot
HOT!
Summer’s sticking around so that means there are still plenty of pool and lake days left! Make sure you’re staying cultured this summer and shop the Culture Clothing summer sale. All tanks, swim and flip flops are half off and tons of other great summer clearance items are up to 70% off. Don’t miss the huge blowout sidewalk sale on August 7 but, drop in now for the best selection and deals. CULTURE CLOTHING 11220 N. Rodney Parham Rd., Ste. 3, 246.5466 shopcultureclothing.com
Winning Style… and
On Sale Too!
By now you know that Box Turtle has been named the winner for Best Women’s Clothing and Best Hip Clothing. Now’s your chance to score some great deals on the chicest finds in town by hitting up their summer sale. Check out their sale room for 40-75% off of summer handbags, shoes, clothing and jewelry. Be sure to watch their Facebook and Instagram for an upcoming private sale event. Trust us, you owe it to yourself (and your pocketbook!) to like their social media pages. BOX TURTLE 2616 Kavanaugh Blvd., 661.1167 shopboxturtle.com
A Q&A WITH LRPD CHIEF KENTON BUCKNER, CONT. I’ve never been accused of being a technology chief. I appreciate that. I’m a guy that kind of — I learn enough technology to stay current, but I’m certainly not a “techie.” Body cams, in my opinion, are reflective of best practices. I think when we look at what’s going on around the country, when you see some of the things — good, bad or indifferent — there is some mistrust of the police department. One of the most powerful things that body cams will offer is that it allows you to bring an independent witness to what has taken place. [You have] the police version, the citizen’s version and then you have this camera’s version of what has taken place. We think that’s reflective of best practices. We think that by utilizing them, more often than not we will be shown to be exactly who we say we are, which is: We do the right thing. But in some instances, I think body cams will expose some folks who probably shouldn’t be working here. That needs to be done. In some cases, we believe, the data shows that body cams reduce injuries to officers, reduce force, reduce complaints. If you, as a citizen, are aware that you’re being recorded, you’re less likely to act up. As a police professional, if I know that I’m being recorded, I’m less likely to step outside of our value system. I’m less likely to go against our policies and procedures, because I know someone is recording me. So I think there are a number of positives with body cams. But I would caution the public on one thing: The body cam is a tool. With every tool, there are limitations. In some instances, the camera may not be working or the camera may only capture a limited view of what’s actually happening, and you can’t see the total picture of what the officer was facing or what was going on during that situation. But I think certainly there are a number of more positives than there are negatives. We’re testing that right now. We have a camera that we’re utilizing in our operations by the company called Taser that makes our actual Tasers, then we have a couple of other companies we’re going to test. Hopefully by the end of this fall, we’ll be able to make a recommendation to the city manager, and then he will take that to our city directors and we’ll talk about it collectively as a community as to what we feel is best for our city. Do you worry that a body cam
might hinder an officer by making that officer hesitate in a moment when he or she shouldn’t hesitate? I think that there are some folks who would attempt to argue that. But to this, I would say, if you as a police officer, who was sworn under oath to do the right thing, would have an issue with an independent source recording your actions, then I would question whether you’re the right person for this job. One of the things that have been driving the call for body cams has been the unrest in Ferguson, Mo., and Baltimore over police use of force. What was your reaction to Ferguson, as a law enforcement officer? My initial reaction was, as a citizen, it’s sad. It’s a tragic event to see an American city basically on fire from an event that stemmed from the actions of a community, a police officer and a police agency. As a police chief, I think that the first thing I thought of was, some of the pre-existing conditions that were in Ferguson exist in most urban communities. Little Rock is not an exception. Poverty. Trouble with academic achievement. Single-parent homes. Absentee fathers. Substance abuse. Mental illness. Most urban communities have those pre-existing conditions. When you have that, as a chief, when you’re watching what’s going on in Ferguson, when you’re watching what’s going on in Baltimore, you know that you should stay on top of what the national trends are and look for opportunities for improvement in your agency. Where you may have gaps, you need to close those gaps. One of the things for us is we want to build relationships with the community before you have an incident like that. You can’t call upon stakeholders
and community members if you don’t have a pre-existing relationship. So that’s why it’s very, very important for us to be building those bridges today, before you have something like that happen. I pray that it never happens in Little Rock, but if it does, I want to make sure that our agency is prepared to deal with that. So much of Ferguson and Baltimore was about race and mistrust of the police. How do you build a bridge between a police agency and the African-American community? The first thing that I think we must do as a profession, specifically chiefs, is we need to pull our heads out of the sand. We need to face up [to the fact] that there are some instances when our agencies and our officers are doing things that are unacceptable, or they’re doing things that are counterproductive to what we’re trying to do in building relationships with the community. We also have to recognize that there are some very painful scars in our community. In some instances, they go back decades. It’s frustrating for chiefs to have to deal with something that happened 20 years ago, but I think that we have to recognize that. The other thing is that I think we — both the AfricanAmerican community and the police department — we have to take the time to listen to each other. I think that both sides are busy shouting their message to each other and no one is listening. I think there are opportunities for improvement on both sides of the aisle. I think there are things that, as a police agency, we need to do to be worthy of trust from the African-American community. You can’t continue to say, “I want to build a relationship and I want to strengthen our trust with you,” but continue to do things to erode that trust. It’s my
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Fashion
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responsibility to hold our officers accountable for their actions, how they deliver service and how we treat people. But in that same breath, trust is a two-way street. We want the African-American community to know that we need them to [help] provide public safety in their communities. They can’t turn a blind eye to things that have historically been going on in the community and expect the police to be the sole [agency] responsible for fixing that. This is a marriage that we both have to contribute to. If it’s going to be fruitful, it needs to be productive on both sides of the aisle. I feel we’re working on that. I don’t think we are where we want to be, but I think that the future is promising for us, because I think both sides recognize what we’ve done to get to this point will not work going forward. Anyone who loves Little Rock, regardless of what you think about the police, I don’t think that anyone wants to see our city go through a Ferguson or a Baltimore. If we both agree with that, then let’s start from that point and work toward trying to do everything we can to prevent that. In your opinion, do we need to talk about building more jail space, or do we need to talk about who we’re sending to jail? That’s an excellent question. I do not believe we need to build more jails. I think that we need to do a better job of raising our kids. I think we need to do a better job of supporting the folks in our school system. I think we need to do a better job of being fathers to our kids. I think we need to do a better job of addressing mental illness. I think we need to do a better job of addressing substance abuse. That cocktail of things that you see in problem, crime-infested communities. Those are the issues. No new jail is going to fix that. And until we start addressing the problems, we will continue to have these symptoms where we’re filling up jails because we refuse to, or are unable to, address these severe, chronic problems that we have that we cannot seem to be able to have some kind of long-term success in dealing with. Looking over the horizon, where do you want to go from here? What’s up in the next year? We’ve done some really good things. We’ve hired new neighborhood coordinators for the city. That was very important for us to be CONTINUED ON PAGE 71 www.arktimes.com
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69
Hey, do this!
Savor the great specials from over 80 Little Rock restaurants! Throughout August. Check out the specials for the first week on pages 22 and 23. Brought to you by the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau.
LittleRock.com
AUGUST 2
It’s MILITARY NIGHT for the Arkansas Travelers stand against Tulsa at DickeyStephens Park. Presented by Budweiser, military members and their families can enjoy $1 tickets with military ID. The first 250 military members, 21 and up, will receive free Budweiser gear. Come out and support our troops and cheer on the Travs. Game time is at 6:10 p.m.
AUGUST 21
Head out to Wildwood Park for the Arts for the opening reception of ART IN THE PARK: Developed and Less Finished: Maintaining Life with LK Sukany in the Wildwood Gallery. For more information on Art in the Park and other Wildwood events, visit wildwoodpark.org.
AUGUST
JULY 30 - AUGUST 7
Culture Clothing Co. is having a huge summer clearance sale with all tanks, swim & flip flops half off now through Aug. 7. They also have $10, $20 and $30 racks in store now. Don’t miss the huge blowout sidewalk sale on Aug. 7, but be sure to get by now for the best selection and deals. Stop by the store located at 11220 Rodney Parham Rd. or visit shopcultureclothing.com.
1620 Savoy has rolled out a new summer menu and it is divine. Do not miss Blue Oyster Mondays featuring succulent Blue Point Oysters for $2 each along with drink specials. Wine Down Wednesdays are special where house wine is half off all day with the purchase of an entrée. Drop in for happy hour specials from 5-7 p.m. Mon.-Thurs. at 1620 Market St. or call 221-1620 for more information.
AUGUST 10
Now showing at the UALR Art Gallery is HEIDI HOGDEN: RECOLLECTIONS – UALR Painter in Residence in the Maners/Pappas Gallery through Sept. 27. In Gallery I, view the work of Kate Breakey, Beth Dow, Carol Golemboski and Jamie Johnson through the exhibit, Fieldwork:Alternative Process Photography, beginning Aug. 12 through Sept. 27. Also on August 12, head to Gallery III for Rusty Scruby: Learning to Fish on display through Oct. 2. Gallery hours are Mon.-Fri. from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on the UALR Campus on South University. Following Labor Day, weekend hours begin on Sat. from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and Sun. from 2-5 p.m. The gallery is closed on university holidays. Exhibitions are free and open to the public.
Food, Music, Entertainment and everything else that’s
FUN!
THROUGH AUGUST 29
HAIRSPRAY continues at Murry’s Dinner Playhouse. It’s the ultimate feel-good family show piled bouffant high with laughter and romance. It’s 1962 in Baltimore with teens and sock hops and Tracy is a big girl with big hair, a big heart and a big passion for dance. Winner of eight Tony Awards, the musical features Good Morning Baltimore, It Takes Two, You Can’t Stop the Beat, and the title song, Hairspray. The show runs through August 29. For tickets and show times, visit murrysdp.com
AUGUST 11
Riverdale 10, the only cinema in Arkansas that serves beer and wine, continues its Classic Movie Series with the Sci-Fi Double Feature: FANTASTIC VOYAGE from 1966 & LOGAN’S RUN from 1976. Riverdale 10 is located at 2600 Cantrell Rd. The movie begins at 7 p.m. Admission is only $5.
AUGUST 22
Ballet Arkansas presents its second annual VISIONS CHOREOGRAPHIC COMPETITION that brings five choreographers from across the country to contend for the top prize. Each piece will be performed at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Theatre for Performing Arts. Tickets are $40 for adults and $30 for students. The winner of the competition receives a contract with Ballet Arkansas to expand their choreography to a fully produced performance in the spring mixed repertory show of Ballet Arkansas in May 2016. A Meet the Artist Party will be held on Aug. 20 at Good Food by Ferneau from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Ballet Arkansas company dancers, guest artists and the five Visions choreographers will attend this fundraising event. Tickets are $40 per person. Tickets to the Visions performance and the Meet the Artists Party may be purchased online at balletarkansas.org or by calling 223-5150.
STILL ACCEPTING AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL TEAMS
It’s the THIRD ANNUAL WHOLE HOG ROAST, benefiting the Argenta Arts District and presented by Ben. E. Keith Foods. This year, both amateur and professional (representing central Arkansas restaurants) teams will compete. Enjoy live music and a beer and wine garden featuring Schlafly beer. Grounds open from 5-9 p.m. Early bird tickets are $25 and $30 at the door. All ticket holders will vote for Best Professional Team, Best Amateur Team and Best “Anything but the Butt” Amateur Team. Teams interested in participating can contact dpatton@ argentaadc.org or phyllis@arktimes.com. For more information, contact phyllis@arktimes.com.
NOW-OCTOBER 18
DINOSAURS AROUND THE WORLD continues at the Clinton Presidential Center. Produced by Imagine Exhibitions, this one-of-a-kind adventure will turn guests into globe-trotting explorers alongside 13 life-sized roaring, breathing dinosaurs. Visitors will discover the amazing diversity that existed during this time as they travel from the fierce plains of Africa to the once tropical beaches of Antarctica. The exhibit also features an area that chronicles the accomplishments of presidents who acted to preserve the fossil-rich areas in North America where dinosaurs once roamed. For more information, visit clintonlibrary.gov 70
JULY 30, 2015
ARKANSAS TIMES
Each Wednesday night, the Oxford American presents Local Live at South on Main. The free concert series welcomes top local and regional music to the South on Main stage. All shows start at 7:30 p.m. 8/5 - LOCAL LIVE: KATMANDU 8/12 - LOCAL LIVE: MELLOWDEE GROOVE 8/19 – LOCAL LIVE: GUIDO RITCHIE AND STEVE HUDELSON 8/26 – LOCAL LIVE: MARCELLA & HER LOVERS 8/27 – ARCHETYPES & TROUBADOURS SERIES: POKEY LAFARGE (8:00)
A Q&A WITH LRPD CHIEF KENTON BUCKNER, CONT. able to build bridges in those areas where we have strained relationships. We’re trying to increase our brand as police department to show our positive interaction with the community, to take advantage of those opportunities that we have when we interact with the community where it’s a positive experience for the community and the police. Technology-wise, with the body cameras on the way, [we are] looking at our infrastructure to see how we can improve on that totally inside the agency. I just recently had an audit of our property room, and we’re getting ready to do an audit of our communications center, so we’re looking to improve those very important areas of the police department. We’re in the process of trying to increase our authorized strength. It takes time to do that, but we recognize that we need to do so. But the city manager is working very hard with us to determine how we’re going to go about doing that. Once we’re able to do that, we think we’ll be able to do some of these more proactive initiatives, to where we’ll be able to prevent some of the crime that’s going on in Little Rock. We’ll continue to try to increase the number of neighborhood associations, and neighborhood community involvement, which is very important for us. Training is a huge issue for us. We want to be reflective of best practices as it relates to our training. We have a new commander that’s looking for what’s going on around the country and bringing some of those ideas here. We’re in the process of sending our executive staff around the country to receive executive certifications so that our folks are equipped and tooled with what is considered best practices for our profession. So there are a lot of good things going on in Little Rock. I think that we certainly have some room for improvement. We’re not a perfect police department. But I think we’re a good police department. We will continue to try to be deserving of the trust and respect that I think the vast majority of our citizens give us. But we also recognize that we have some strained relationships with some sections of our community that we need to work on. So, going forward, that will receive a lot of our attention, and we realize that in some instances we were a part of the problem for that.
ARKANSAS TIMES MARKETPLACE ADOPTION:
Adoring couple longs to adopt newborn. Safe, secure, forever love. Rachel & Elliot. 866-936-1105. Exp. pd.
ARKANSAS TIMES
MARKETPLACE TO ADVERTISE IN THIS SECTION, CALL LUIS AT 501.375.2985
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Protech Solutions Inc (Little Rock, AR)
Sr. Systems and Network Administrator (#2560) Sr. Programmer Analyst (#2564) Programmer Analyst (#2565) Apply online w/Job ID above www.protechsolutions.com
sip LOCAL ARKANSAS TIMES
Invitation to Comment on a Proposed Wireless Telecommunications Facility Interested persons are invited to comment on the tower replacement of the wireless telecommunications facility proposed to be constructed at approx.: 3644 Hwy 79, N 34 46’ 35.5”/W 90 49’ 49.941”, Sec. 18-T2N-R3E, Marianna, Lee County, Arkansas, with respect to impacts on historic properties located at or near this facility, if any. The facility will consist of 100’ SST. Comments regarding potential effects to historic properties should be submitted by mail to White Buffalo Environmental, Inc. 8908 S. Yale, Suite 210, Tulsa, OK 74137, or by calling (918)660-0999. Questions about this facility or this notice may also be directed to that address or phone number. This notice is provided in accordance with the regulations of the Federal Communications Commission, 47 C.F.R. Part 1, Subpart I and Appendices B and C.
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BEAUTIFUL make HAPPY PEOPLE!
Children and Adults
We accept: AR-KIDS, Medicaid, Care Credit and all types of insurance.
PAYMENT PLANS AVAILABLE
ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS
Gentle Teeth Cleaning • Tooth Extractions • Ceramic Crowns & Bridges Tooth Colored Fillings • Implants • X-rays • Root Canals • Orthodontic Braces • Sleep Apnea (OSA)
Faith Dental Clinic 7301 Baseline Rd · Little Rock Monday–Saturday
OUR DOC TOR DR. CHRISTOPHER LARSON, D.D.S.
(501) 565-3009 (501) 562-1665
www.faithdentalclinic.com www.arktimes.com
JULY 30, 2015
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JULY 30, 2015
ARKANSAS TIMES