RECYCLING RIGHT? • ANIME AT THE LIBRARY • GUNS & ALCOHOL
Farming & Sustainability The future of agriculture by Tara Williams
News, Views, Arts & Entertainment • June 11 - 17, 2009 • Volume 6, Issue 24 • www.chattanoogapulse.com • pulse news 95.3 WPLZ
CONTENTS T H E P U L S E • C H AT TA N O O G A , T E N N E S S E E • J U N E 1 1 , 2 0 0 9 • V O L U M E 6 , I S S U E 2 4
COVER STORY
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NEWS & VIEWS 5 PULSE BEATS
21 LIFE IN THE ‘NOOG
The newsy, notable and notorious.
Kids these days.
14 SHRINK RAP
22 SHADES OF GREEN
The story of Louis, part 2.
Nashville's climate change denial.
19 ON THE BEAT
29 ASK A MEXICAN
Church, state & interstate.
From misogyny to McDonald's.
ARTS & FEATURES 6 NEWS FEATURE
By Louis Lee Environmentalists claimed a victory, though not a total one, over the mayor’s office earlier this month when Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield announced that he was re-instituting curbside recycling…but only every other week.
16 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT By Michael Crumb Anime continues to gain recognition as an important medium, lately witnessed by the spring exhibition of anime-based paintings at New York City’s Japan Cultural Center.
20 FILM FEATURE
By Damien Power Pulse film reviewer Phillip Johnston and I don’t always see eye-to-eye on which movies to see each week (and if the web site comments are to believed, neither do a lot of our readers).
24 MUSIC FEATURE
By Hellcat Reverend Horton Heat will be heating up Rhythm & Brews next Week. The Pulse’s Hellcat interviewed frontman Jim Heath about their upcoming appearance.
Cover layout by Kelly Lockhart
KEEPING THE FARMER IN THE DELL By Tara Williams For years there has been talk of an emerging “Chattlanta.” Our city’s urban sprawl is predicted by some to spread through North Georgia and melt into Atlanta’s ever-expanding borders; creating a sort of “super metropolis,” with neighborhoods and commercial development gobbling up acres of pastureland and small farms in between.
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EDITOON LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CITY COUNCILSCOPE THE LIST POLICE BLOTTER CHATTANOOGA STREET SCENES
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A&E CALENDAR MUSIC CALENDAR NEW MUSIC REVIEWS FREE WILL ASTROLOGY JONESIN’ CROSSWORD
The entire contents of this publication are copyrighted and property of Brewer Media Group. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publishers. The Pulse utilizes freelance writers and the views expressed within this publication are not necessarily the views of the publishers or editors. The Pulse takes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, artwork or other materials.
The
Editoon
by Rick Baldwin
Publisher Zachary Cooper zcooper@chattanoogapulse.com Contributing Editor Janis Hashe jhashe@chattanoogapulse.com News Editor/Art Director Gary Poole gpoole@chattanoogapulse.com Calendar Editor Stephanie Smith ssmith@chattanoogapulse.com Advertising Sales Rick Leavell rleavell@chattanoogapulse.com Editorial Intern Erica Tuggle etuggle@chattanoogapulse.com Contributing Writers Gustavo Arellano, Blythe Bailey Misty Brandon, Rob Brezsny Aaron Collier, Elizabeth Crenshaw Chuck Crowder, Michael Crumb Rebecca Cruz, Hellcat Phillip Johnston, Matt Jones Rachael Kraemer, Jeremy Lawrence Louis Lee, Ernie Paik Rick Pimental-Habib, Ph.D. Damien Power, Stephanie Smith Alex Teach, Tara Williams Art Department Sharon Chambers Kathryn Dunn Kelly Lockhart Damien Power
Letters to the Editor
Editorial Cartoonist Rick Baldwin Staff Photographer Damien Power Contributing Photographers Bob Edens Joshua Lang Ray Soldano Contact Info: Phone (423) 648-7857 Fax (423) 648-7860 E-mail info@chattanoogapulse.com Advertising advertising@chattanoogapulse.com Calendar Listings calendar@chattanoogapulse.com The Pulse is published weekly and is distributed throughout the city of Chattanooga and surrounding communities. The Pulse is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. No person without written permission from the publishers may take more than one copy per weekly issue. The Pulse may be distributed only by authorized distributors.
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No War In Uganda? I want to raise a concern with the series on the students walking for Uganda. As an advocate for and someone who has lived and am currently living in Uganda, I want to make a correction that I feel is imperative. I have many Ugandan friends living in northern Uganda, and it needs to be made clear that there is no war in Uganda. Hostilities ended in Uganda in 2006 and night commuting ceased around the same time. Uganda is currently in a time of peace. This needs to be realized if we are to effectively advocate for the Ugandan
people and those elsewhere still being affected by the war. To inaccurately depict northern Uganda as being in the middle of war is dangerous to the recovery process. People in northern Uganda are still living in internally displaced persons camps. Northern Uganda has the highest percentage of depression and PTSD in the world, according to London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Gulu University. If we are to address this problem and others, it is necessary that we accurately depict the situation in the country. Furthermore, the LRA is continuing to wreak havoc over other countries in the region. If we continue to inaccurately portray the war as being in Uganda, these people in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan are forgotten. Intelligent advocacy is necessary. Anything else is harmful. I respect and thank these students for their passion and care, but we must be aware of an accurate truth if any change is to be achieved. Dustyn Winder Northern Uganda WPLZ News Director Louis Lee, who authored the Uganda article, responds: “While your fear of projecting Uganda in a poor light is understandable, it may
be a bit unrealistic. The fact is, children are still in fear of abduction and are at risk like no others in the world. These students are trying to bring attention to their plight. It is not the responsibility of these students to protect the fragile tourism industry of a country that has little respect for its future generation.” Riverbend Ranting Your contributing writer Chuck Crowder’s two-week-old rant in connection with artist talent and music selection for Riverbend Festival 2009, followed by Mr. Crowder’s 6/4/09 (page 21) flacid, pseudo-apologetic, back peddling retraction of his previous insults all collectively affirm that Crowder’s journalistic abilities and music critiquing skills are the weakest that Chattanooga has to offer. Michael Mallen Chattanooga, TN Editor’s response: While Mr. Mallen is fully entitled to his opinion, we respectfully disagree. Chuck Crowder’s column, as he points out in his bio printed each week at its end, is his opinion, which in this case is based on many years of involvement with and contributions to the Chattanooga music scene. “Life in the Noog” continues to be one of our most popular columns.
Send all letters to the editor and questions to info@chattanoogapulse.com We reserve the right to edit letters for content and space. Please include your full name, city and contact information.
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Pulse Beats
Quote Of The Week: A rundown of the newsy, the notable, and the notorious...
“The sheriff doesn’t own that building. He has to get the permission of the commission through a resolution to make any changes.” — County Commissioner Greg Beck, in response the Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond’s decision to rename the jail in honor of former Sheriff H.Q. Evatt.
Welcome To The Rootinest, Tootinest Saloons East Of The Pecos The image of popular cartoon character Yosemite Sam, six guns blazing over his head, has come to the mind of a many a Tennessee resident after the state legislature's successful override of Governor Phil Bredesen’s veto of a bill that will allow, among other things, people with concealed weapons permits to carry their guns into establishments where alcohol is served. “Governor Bredesen said last week when he vetoed this bill that he expected an override. He’s disappointed with this action but that doesn’t change his belief that we can exercise our second amendment rights and common sense at the same time,” a spokesman for the Governor said after the override was completed with the House voting 69-27 and the Senate voting 21-9. Bredesen spoke to reporters a day after the override was completed, pointing out that he himself was a gun owner and hunter, yet still believes the law is misguided. “I still think I’m right. I still think that guns in bars is a very bad idea. It’s an invitation to a disaster.” The main sponsor of the bill, Sen. Doug Jackson, a Democrat, said state Safety Department records show handgun permit holders in Tennessee are responsible. He noted that of the roughly 218,000 handgun permit holders in Tennessee, only 278 had their permits revoked last year. The legislation, which has made national headlines along with a good amount of public ridicule from television and radio talk-show hosts, takes effect July 14. However, there are a few provisions in the new law that many have either overlooked or weren’t even aware of, including the retention of an existing ban on consuming alcohol while carrying a handgun. The legislation also allows restaurant owners
to opt to ban weapons from their establishments, but makes it clear that the decision is for the owners themselves and not local governments, which are prohibited from passing local ordinances that would seek to circumvent the new law. What’s next for local bar and restaurant owners is to decide whether or not they are going to open the doors of their establishments to gun-toting patrons. And the root of the decision comes down to money. A number of owners have expressed concerns about having their insurance rates skyrocket if they allow those carrying weapons into their businesses, as well as concerns about liability and the possibility of being sued if someone gets shot in an altercation.
Typhoid Fever, Intelligent Highways, Security Scams • Hamilton County Health officials said that there have been two confirmed cases of typhoid fever in the area, with another probable case being monitored. Which is a bit of a surprise, since the disease is most often seen in developing countries that have unsanitary conditions where food and water sources have become contaminated with raw sewage. Margaret Zylstra with the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department says that none of the children who are recovering from the typhoid fever have recently traveled out of the state. Health officials are still investigating the source of the infections, symptoms of which are high fever, headache, abdominal pain and rash. • If you’ve been wondering about those large reels of multi-colored conduit that have been sprouting up along the side of I-75, it’s not some secret government project to track your whereabouts. It’s just phase two of the Intelligent Transportation System,
which is being developed to carry information to a series of intelligent message boards mounted over the highway. These boards will keep drivers informed of traffic ahead and even suggest re-routes if needed. The $21 million program is scheduled for completion by the end of 2011 and will hopefully make navigation the heavily travelled highway a bit easier. • Bradley County Mayor Gary Davis is warning senior citizens to be wary of a door-to-door “security salesman” who claims to be working with the county. Several citizens have called in to report a man telling them that the county had purchased a number of systems to be given away, and all the homeowner would need to do is pay installation costs. He is also using scare tactics about high crime in order to convince the elderly to give him their money. Davis says the county is not involved in selling security systems, and that if anyone is contacted about this scam, to call police immediately.
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NewsFeature by Louis Lee
Curbside Recycling Makes Comeback E
Here is one of the more interesting agenda items set to be discussed at the June 16 meeting of the Chattanooga City Council.
nvironmentalists claimed a victory, though not a total one, over the mayor’s office earlier this month when Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield announced that he was re-instituting curbside recycling…but only every other week. The creator of the petition to recall the mayor over his stance on recycling, Frank DePinto, tells Pulse News that, “We will still need to keep up the recall pressure and signatures, because the mayor has rescinded these good intentions before,” adding, “We will not let him get away with it again.” DePinto went on to congratulate the mayor on his decision, but even in his congratulations, holds a virtual sword to the mayor’s neck, saying “We, the ‘Citizens to Recall Mayor Littlefield,’ feel this is a very ‘giant-step-forward,’ and again our congratulations to him.” Note the continued use of the organization’s name. DePinto has been on the forefront of the recycling saga from the early days prior to 1994 when the city first instituted the service. He was also one of the first to fight back when, in 2006, the curbside program was nearly eliminated. Mayor Littlefield is still concerned about the low percentage of Chattanoogans who actually take advantage of this service. According to his statistics, only 13 percent of city residents put recyclable materials out to the curb for pickup. The percentage of materials recycled increased when the frequency of pickups was reduced, according to the city, but more residents will have to participate to make the program viable in the long run. The mayor believed that instead of having trucks run all over the city, producing greenhouse gases themselves, that people who really wanted to participate in the program would be willing to bring their recyclables to collections centers. To that end, he supported the building of four more collection centers. The centers are operated by clients of the Orange Grove Center. These developmentally disabled individuals do the sorting work once recyclable materials are dropped off. There are still many questions about the specific relationship between the city and the center which have not been answered. According to data provided by DePinto, Orange Grove receives $300,000 a year to operate the collection centers. The city is requiring residents to register for the free curbside recyclable pick-
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5. Ordinances - Final Reading: a) An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, Sections 38-2, 38-185, and 38-527, relative to the regulation of nightclubs.
“There are still many questions about the specific relationship between the city and the [Orange Grove] center which have not been answered.” up. The Department of Public Works is taking the registrations and will build a list of residents wishing to participate. That way, they will be able to create efficient truck routes to service every citizen wanting to participate without creating more of a problem with the trucks’ carbon footprint. The city is also attempting to increase program participation through education. But even this has been contentious. A measure allowing the city to continue hiring prestigious public relations firm Waterhouse, creators of “Rocky the Recycling Raccoon”, was nearly defeated by fiscally conservative city council members, led by Deborah Scott. They protested the city’s spending more than $100,000 to teach the public about a program which has already been in existence for 15 years. Regardless of efforts put into making drop-off centers accessible and conveniently located, providing trucks for curbside pick-up, educating the public on the availability of both and making it all fiscally responsible, high-percentage public participation remains the holy grail of Chattanooga politics. DePinto points to the great Northwest for proof that it can work. He sent Pulse News a report documenting that Portland, Oregon, has passed the halfway mark. That is, they actually recycle more tons of garbage than those going into their landfill. In fact, a call to the Portland Metro Government confirmed that 56 percent of their garbage is recycled. However, other answers were harder to come by, such as how much it costs
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the government, does the government recoup any of their expenditure from the sale of the recycled material, and what’s the overall carbon footprint of the recycling effort, trucks and cars included. The person with those answers will have to get back to us. Those answers are a little more available locally. Increasing costs of running the truck fleet continues to erode the fiscal viability of the program. And one must question whether the residents of Portland have the same limitations on the recycling. In Chattanooga, there is literally a laundry list of things that cannot be curbside recycled. For example, glass is not being picked up, which means that one of the most readily-recycled materials must be brought to the collection centers. This negates much of the advantage of curbside recycling. Many residents say it’s just too complicated and labor-intensive to recycle here, which is why they don’t participate. Another look at Portland shows that the city picks up metal, paper, plastic AND glass at curbside. Residents rarely have to go to a collection center to participate. And when they do there are two large ones. Portland residents can also collect a rebate if they separate and sort their recyclables themselves. There’s no way to avoid the pink elephant in the room. Residents say if you make recycling easy and maybe even profitable for them, they will participate, and in greater numbers. Does the current plan offer that? No. But it’s a start. Every pound of material in a recycling center is one that didn’t make it to a landfill.
Here we go again. As of press time, the newly rewritten and hopefully much more acceptable nightclub-regulation ordinance will be coming before the council for a final reading vote. Then again, as has been our luck over the past several months, every single time we’ve written about this particular ordinance in this column, it has been tabled or postponed for one reason or another. The last big tabling was to send it back to the Legal & Legislative committee to review the entire ordinance from the ground up, looking especially at the controversial 1,000-foot buffer between nightclubs and residential neighborhoods as well as ways to make the ordinance less restrictive and more business friendly. At the last meeting where the old ordiance was addressed, a number of citizens and business owners expressed their opinion that the ordinance needed a lot more work to make it a workable solution to a growing problem with seemingly uncontrollable nightclubs. The main problem that citizens seem to have with the ordinance overall is that they feel it is the right idea but addresses the wrong problem—they want the council to do something about the problem nightclubs that exist now in the Brainerd area. It will be interesting to see if and when the council will address that specific issue and how it will be approached.
The Chattanooga City Council meets each Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the City Council Building at 1000 Lindsay St. For more information on the agendas, visit www.Chattanooga.gov/City_ Council/110_Agenda.asp
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A weekly roundup of the newsworthy, notable and often head-scratching stories gleaned from police reports from the Chattanooga Police Department, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Department and the Dalton Police Department.
$10,000 worth of clothing and other merchandise in just the past three months. • On television and in the movies, police SWAT teams have been glorified for their daring raids to end a tense situation. The reality is often not far from what we’ve seen on the screen, both big and small. After a 63-yearold woman barricaded herself in her Fifth Avenue residence with a small arsenal of weapons, a hostage negotiator patiently spent more than three hours trying to talk the woman out of the house. Finally, SWAT team members deployed tear gas into the house and were able to take the woman into custody peacefully and without anyone getting hurt. The woman was charged with “discharging a weapon”. • Someone really likes the clothes sold at a popular clothing retailer at Northgate Mall. Since May of last year, the same man—who has been dubbed “The Clothes Bandit”—has been making regular “snatch and run” raids on the store, the most recent heist involving ten women’s dresses. Store security officials say the man walks into the store, grabs a rack of clothes, then sprints out the nearest exit. It is estimated that he has purloined more than
• We’ve written before about knowing when a relationship is over and moving on. And yet, some lovelorn individuals just don’t seem to understand that no matter what they do, they are not going to convince the object of their desire to change their mind. In fact, urging makes it far more unlikely. Which is why leaving a fishing pole on the front porch of a former boyfriend—who ended the relationship more than 17 months ago— resulted not in him wanting to get back together but instead in him calling the police. However, attaching a home address to the end of the pole did help officers in tracking down the ex-girlfriend, who hopefully will finally come to the understanding that her romantic future involves someone new. • Ask any detective and they’ll tell you that criminals are not always the brightest bulb in the box. Example: the man who had stolen three pairs of
Chattanooga Street Scenes
The Top 10 Current Most Popular Music Videos 1. “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” — Beyoncé 2. “Love Story” — Taylor Swift 3. “Circus” — Britney Spears socks, some batteries and two pairs of sunglasses from a Market Street discount store. Instead of being happy with the successful haul, he then decided to continue his one-man crime spree by heading to a nearby grocery store to see what he could add to his growing collection of stolen merchandise. However, as police were already in the area in response to the first theft, he was quickly taken into custody after attempting to shoplift two pieces of barbecue. The thought process behind stealing socks, batteries, sunglasses and barbecue was bit easier to understand when it was discovered that the man had identification from a mental-health facility in Washington, D.C. Photo by Staff Photographer Damien Power
Artistic expression on the Walnut Street Bridge.
4. “Live Your Life” — T.I. 5. “Heartless” — Kanye West 6. “Hot N Cold” — Katy Perry 7. “Just Dance” — Lady GaGa 8. “Dead And Gone” — T.I. & Justin Timberlake 9. “Poker Face” — Lady GaGa 10. “Rehab” — Rihanna If you’ve ever wondered what bands are still making an impact with music videos, the above list should give you an idea of who’s hot in the music world this week. Granted, the days when MTV played videos around the clock are long gone, but today more people watch music videos online than on television. In fact, the advent of sites such as Yahoo! Music and the ubiquitous YouTube have sparked a second Golden Age of music video, the first having been in the early ’80s when MTV first launched and changed the entire way we experienced music. Source: Yahoo! Music
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Cover Story
What Price Suburbia?
by Tara Williams
For years there has been talk of an emerging “Chattlanta.” Our city’s urban sprawl is predicted by some to spread through North Georgia and melt into Atlanta’s ever-expanding borders; creating a sort of “super metropolis,” with neighborhoods and commercial development gobbling up acres of pastureland and small farms in between. Amid a sea of bumper stickers and marketing campaigns urging us to save everything from historical buildings to song birds, one could argue that there is no sentiment more important than “save our farms”…or more precisely, “save our food.” 95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 6.11.09 The Pulse
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Cover Story by Tara Williams
Keeping the Farmer in the Dell Editor’s note: This is the third in our ongoing series on sustainability, connected to the Sustainability Design Assessment Team (SDAT) report. The report’s final version will be released in July.
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or years there has been talk of an emerging “Chattlanta.” Our city’s urban sprawl is predicted by some to spread through North Georgia and melt into Atlanta’s ever-expanding borders; creating a sort of “super metropolis,” with neighborhoods and commercial development gobbling up acres of pastureland and small farms in between. Amid a sea of bumper stickers and marketing campaigns urging us to save everything from historical buildings to song birds, one could argue that there is no sentiment more important than “save our farms”…or more precisely, “save our food.” Our region is not unique. No area of the country is immune to development. Even on a drive through a section of northern Illinois’ fertile farmland, one can see an abundant new crop of cookie-cutter houses, in perfect rows, right in the middle of dwindling cornfields. Next to the garish announcements for new neighborhoods, massive commercial sale signs line the road. According to Sequatchie Cove Farm owner Bill Keener, it is not only difficult to make a living farming, it’s not an easy business to start. “Farming is an expensive business to get into,” says Keener, who has been farming full-time for the past ten years, “You need infrastructure and access to land. Young people usually don’t have that kind of capital.” To Keener, protecting farmland is important— but preserving the integrity of the land is vital. Keener, his family and those that assist him at the farm consider themselves “agro-ecologists”, farming in a way that enhances the eco-system. They make decisions based on this environmental awareness and use a method called “sustainable grass farming”, an international movement that involves working closely with the soil, grass and animals by using rotational grazing. “As humans we are embedded in our environment. If our environment goes down, we go down with it,” says Keener. Keener’s goal is to make farming a viable career path for upcoming generations. “It’s not an easy thing to make a farm really sustainable. It’s good to intern on an existing farm, learn what to do and then slowly grow into it,” says Keener, “We also need to figure out how to stimulate and
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“I find it amazing that many people think that all land is the same, and that you can build on highquality agricultural lands while expecting farmers to move to lands marginal for farming.” assist in creating rural non-industrial agriculture based enterprises. We have been working to begin our cheese production and the state regulations have made it very difficult for us to get started. These types of enterprises need to be made easier so that farms can survive.” “Responsibly run, well-maintained farms should be part of an area’s robust ecology,” says Joel Kimmons, whose doctorate is in nutrition. “Food and our relationship to our food is something we all share. There are so many reasons that we need a safe, secure, fair and healthy food supply.” Kimmons points out that the existence of farmers is just as important as the existence of the land. “We are losing this human resource at a faster rate than we are losing the land,” he says. “We need to preserve our farmland—but we also need farmers to farm it and they are going broke because they can’t make a living in the current food system.” “This mentality of turning everything into pavement and strip malls is just silly,” adds Kimmons, “Land has been in my family for several generations and as a landowner, I know
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we need to take care of our land.” The Kimmons family is dedicated to preserving land and educating the public. The family homestead in the Cumberland Plateau has evolved into the Sequatchie Valley Institute (SVI), a learning center and model for sustainable living. Trish King recently spoke at SVI’s Food for Life event on the importance of preserving our area’s farmland. “I feel we need to maximize our area’s food production capability, especially when you consider things like food security and food transport. When you think about how far the majority of our food has to travel, it is just a waste of resources,” says King. Through her work with the Tennessee Land Trust, King helps landowners ensure that, among other things, their family homesteads will not be subdivided and sold to developers. The TN Land trust carefully considers each preservation request to determine the property’s conservation value. Some determining factors include working farms, prime agriculture land, presence of wildlife and historical significance. Nancy L.C. Steele, D.Env., points out that it is important to consider functionality of land when
Cover Story planning development. As the Executive Director of the Los Angeles & San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council, Steele has studied the changes brought on by urban sprawl. “Los Angeles County used to be one of the highest producing agricultural regions in California and our Silicon Valley was once renowned as the best region for stone-fruit orchards. Those high-quality soils are under concrete and asphalt now,” says Steele, “I find it amazing that many people think that all land is the same, and that you can build on high-quality agricultural lands while expecting farmers to move to lands marginal for farming.” Steele had a chance to visit Chattanooga as part of the Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) and will present her findings in the team’s report this summer. “In general, America’s farms provide Americans with greater food security and safety,” says Steele, “When we can buy our food direct, which can only happen if the farms are close to our cities, we can chose riper, fresher food and talk to the farmer about their practices.” The environmental ramifications of replacing our farms with neighborhoods and commercial business go beyond the additional pollution due to excessive food transportation. “Working farmland, like all vegetation, not only emits oxygen, but also filters out the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and other pollutants,” says Chattanooga’s Air Pollution Control Bureau Director Bob Colby. “In addition, as people move farther into the country, population density increases resulting in more cars on the road. These cars have to travel longer distances, which causes even greater amounts of pollution to enter our atmosphere. All of this negatively affects our air quality and the environment.” Colby adds, “In my parents’ day, they simply ate whatever fruit or vegetable was in season at the time. I think the availability of quick transport and the global economy has been both good and bad. Yes, we can go to the store and get a cantaloupe in the middle of winter—but at what expense?” So what do we do? As individuals and as a community, how can we ensure the survival of our local farms? Along with those previously mentioned, many of our other neighbors are taking steps to change our local food culture and preserve our small farms. Among them are several members of the Leadership Chattanooga class of 2009, who took on the task of assisting Crabtree Farms and a senior design class from UTC to produce and launch Chattanooga’s first local food guide, TasteBuds, this past spring. For group member Jaime Melton, the food guide project was the catalyst needed to begin changing her own household’s food habits. “After learning about the importance of the local food economy, my family is participating in a CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) for the first time,” says Melton, “Considering the freshness of our food has changed the way I shop and prepare meals.” Classmate Tara Poole was surprised to learn about the effect of food on the local economy. She says, “The Ochs Center conducted a study of the Chattanooga foodshed in 2008. It states that if we
were to increase our spending on local foods to 5 percent of our overall consumption, it could mean as much as an additional $100 million for the regional economy.” She adds, “While we celebrate the coming of VW and other industry, we need to remember that individuals also have the power to boost the local economy.” Rachel Fee-Prince, who works as an herbalist and food educator, buys all of her family’s milk, meat and eggs from local farmers and supplements her homegrown produce with their fresh fruits and vegetables. “I like to take my kids to the farms and talk about where our food comes from,” says FeePrince, “Plus, I prefer to give my money to a human being, not a far-off corporation. I like the human interaction, no chemicals, no preservatives, no shipping.” To Fee-Prince, the farmland development dilemma has a simple solution. “As a community, we need to stop thinking that our produce and other food just come from a grocery store. If we start buying from farms, our local farmers can make a living and won’t need to sell their land to developers,” she says. Local artisan and Bratsacks owner Jessi Harris also depends on several local farmers to supply her family with fresh milk, meat, eggs and produce. “We are members of Crabtree Farms. We support their plant sales for our garden, their food stand and by a membership donation. We shop at the Chattanooga Market and get our milk directly from a local dairy farm. We also shop at a co-op that has local raw cheese, butter, chicken and beef, along with hens and eggs and we purchase a quarter cow from Sequatchie Cove or another local farm,” says Harris. The growing demand for and dependence on locally produced food stretches into the commercial market as well. Terminal Brewhouse co-owners Ryan Chilcoat and Matt Lewis firmly believe in using local products whenever possible. In addition to serving bison from Eagles Rest Ranch in Flintstone, the Terminal team has also been taking advantage of the Main Street Farmer’s Market for seasonal side items. “Not only does the local food taste better,” says Chilcoat, “It also helps to build a sense of community which is important to us. I believe that we need to embrace our local farms now because the time will come when we need them. Events over the past couple of years have shown us that the current food system is not sustainable forever.” Our diminishing farmland is not just a local problem. It is an issue nationwide. It is a dilemma that we need to solve; not only to rescue our current food culture and preserve one of our greatest resources but also to care for our upcoming generations. It is a challenging predicament, but is it an unsolvable problem? Some say yes, that it is too late to stop the progression of development; that overpopulation and over-availability have made this wave unstoppable. Yet there are a growing number of people saying no, that this wave can be and needs to be controlled and the momentum of development slowed down. For this to happen will take careful planning, foresight and a genuine concern for the well being of future generations. Simply put, it will require all of us to be aware and care.
Chattanooga’s New Food Economy Week A week of events presented by Main Street Farmers Market focused on local food and its impact on our culture, community, ecology and economy. • Thursday, June 18: Movies on Main, 9 p.m. Main Street Farmers Market will present a series of short films about Southern culture projected on the side of a building under the stars on Main Street. • Friday, June 19: Chattanooga’s New Food Economy public discussion at green|spaces, 6 - 8 p.m. Partner restaurants will offer special local farm menu items. 212 Market Lupi’s Pizza: Downtown, Hixson, and East Brainerd St. John’s Restaurant/St. John’s Meeting Place Tienda Jalisco More info at green|spaces, (423) 6480963 or greenspaceschattanooga.com • Saturday, June 20: Local farm breakfast specials at Niedlov’s and Greenlife. Greenlife will be offering a farm tour to Sequatchie Cove Farm. The tour will include a cheese-tasting workshop followed by a sneak peek at the new Sequatchie Cove Creamery. A special lunch, prepared by chef Charlie Loomis, will be served at the farm. Contact Greenlife for more info at (423) 2671960 or www.greenlifegrocery.com • Sunday, June 21: Visit the Chattanooga Market to celebrate Fathers Day and the summer solstice. More info at (423) 648-2496 or www.chattanoogamarket.com • Tuesday, June 23: Farm tour and potluck dinner at Crabtree Farms, 5-7:30 p.m. Contact Crabtree Farms for more info at (423) 493-9155 or www.crabtreefarms.org • Wednesday, June 24: Main Street Farmers Market celebration with music, food, and farms. More info at www.chattanoogafarmy.com
95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 6.11.09 The Pulse
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ShrinkRap by Dr. Rick
The Story of Louis, Part Two L
ast week we began the story of “Louis,” a successful thirty-something gay man who was making the commitment to come out to his family. We’ll get back to his story in a minute. But first, you’ll remember I mentioned that June is traditionally the time of year when GLBT celebrations and events occur throughout the country, and indeed the world. But I realize that I didn’t explain why. My good friend, Robin, sent me a copy of the Presidential Proclamation from the White House Press Office, which was released Monday, June 1, 2009, declaring June National GLBT Month. I believe it’s important that not only the GLBT community read this, but also anyone who counts a gay person among their loved ones, and, perhaps most importantly, anyone struggling with trying to understand the need for a gay movement in the first place. The following is an excerpt from President Obama’s Proclamation. “Forty years ago, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police harassment that had become all too common for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Out of this resistance, the LGBT rights movement in America was born. During LGBT Pride Month, we commemorate the events of June 1969 and commit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT Americans. “LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that strengthen the fabric of American society. Due in no small part to the determination and dedication of the LGBT rights movement, more LGBT Americans are living their lives openly today than ever before. But there is more work to be done. LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect. “These issues affect not only the LGBT community, but also our entire Nation. As long as the promise of equality for all remains unfulfilled,
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all Americans are affected. During LGBT Pride Month, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity [and] to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists.” I have heard a lot of coming-out stories over the years, and in my experience they are as unique as the individual, yet they all have something in common: Each tells of a gay person who was motivated to live honestly, to be accepted unconditionally, and to break out of hiding. No more lying. You know, some people take these goals for granted; gay people cannot. It’s important to remember that a significant influence in the education of the mainstream regarding homosexuality is due to the very act of coming out. Over and over I’ve heard straight people say that once a gay friend or family member came out to them, they had to challenge and discard many previously held beliefs about gays. So it’s not only those in the limelight who can make a difference. Gays and lesbians leading honest, self-accepting lives everywhere contribute to the changing climate of understanding and support. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it happens, one person at a time. Which brings me back to the story of Louis. You’ll remember his coming out went well with his siblings, but then he ran into difficulties with his parents, aunts and uncles. The more progressive thinkers in his family understood that it is not a “choice,” nor a “preference” to be gay any more than it is to be non-gay. But “the staunch, old-school, conservative members of my family were convinced it’s a choice, and not one they could support” he told me. This was heart-breaking for Louis. “They just couldn’t wrap their minds around ‘the gay thing’,” and so every get-together with them had a big, white elephant sitting in the middle of the room that no one would discuss.” Louis decided to keep a journal about his experiences, which was extremely helpful in re-confirming his own feelings and beliefs about himself, and keeping his self-esteem
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intact. He also committed to being “an open door of information” for any family member who, at any time and for any reason, wanted to ask him questions or re-open the discussion. And he made them aware of PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), which is a worldwide support and educational organization with chapters in virtually every American city (including Chattanooga). Louis then came to an important realization: He accepted his limitations. He can open the door, but he can’t make someone walk in. His own acceptance of being gay was hard-won. And so of course it may be hard for others—his own loved ones included—to accept it as well. Perhaps in time. Louis’s story is one of countless such stories. Sometimes the family all support one another, regardless of sexual orientation. Sometimes no one in the family does, and a young person is ostracized and kicked out, left to fend on his own with psychic scars that will last a lifetime. More often, homophobia is subtle, as in “you can attend the family gathering, but you can’t bring your partner,” even though the partners of the heterosexual siblings are welcome. These are tough, painful waters to navigate, both practically and emotionally. But there’s always hope. Even if the hope is to simply find peace with the pain, the less-than-ideal situation. Whether you’re the gay person, or the loved one trying to understand, my suggestion is to talk—to each other whenever possible, or find someone you trust who can be impartial and unbiased, and talk with him/her. Don’t leave a big, white elephant in the middle of the room, and don’t leave scars unhealed, your own especially. You have this lifetime to learn and to love. The “gay thing” gives you an opportunity for both. Until next time: “Life is passion and action and each man must take part in the passion and action of his times at peril of being judged not to have lived.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes Dr. Rick Pimental-Habib, Ph.D., is a psychotherapist, minister, and educator, in private practice in Chattanooga, and is the author of “Empowering the Tribe” and “The Power of a Partner.” Visit his website at www.DrRPH.com where you can email your questions and comments.
“I have heard a lot of coming-out stories over the years, and in my experience they are as unique as the individual, yet they all have something in common: Each tells of a gay person who was motivated to live honestly, to be accepted unconditionally, and to break out of hiding.”
95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 6.11.09 The Pulse
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Arts&Entertainment by Michael Crumb
In the Spirit Realm “A
nime at the Library” will present the first “bleach” film, Memories of Nobody, to open their summer season. Anime continues to gain recognition as an important medium, lately witnessed by the spring exhibition of anime-based paintings at New York City’s Japan Cultural Center. Ali Banks of the library’s fine arts department has been moderating “Anime at the Library” with the help of sponsors “Morning Glory” and Zippy’s “Tokyo Tower” radio show to be heard on WAWL on the web. The “Bleach” series has generated a good deal of music production, including a liveaction rock musical. To get some added perspective on this anime phenomenon, I sought the opinions of my younger children Mirel and Quin Crumb who are artists and manga fans at ages 13 and 10 respectively. Mirel remarks, “Anime movies are so fan service!” an appropriate observation, considering that most anime films originate as manga, a printed medium in which artists’ passion first emerges. Popular manga often became television serials in Japan, and some of these have been distributed in the US, showing up on Turner’s Cartoon Network. Then come the films, so it is often the case that an anime film appears stages away from its original source. Yes, the fans want to see films of those subjects, but these films reach wider audiences, sometimes gaining international acclaim. It’s very important to note that not all anime films are appropriate for children. Anime runs an aesthetic spectrum that includes extreme themes and content. A live-action film of the “Old Boy” manga won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. This manga included erotic material. More recently, Paprika, which showed for one week at the Bijou Theater in Chattanooga, had garnered international acclaim at the Venice and New York Film Festivals. Now a sought-after DVD, the erotic material is less an issue than intense madness/reality cinematic play realized in this film with consummate artistic styles. Paprika
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originated as a serialized novel by science-fiction author Yasujaka Tsutsui who appreciated director Satoshi Kon. Kon has made an important anime film, Perfect Blue (1998). The famous Akira and Ghost in the Shell both originated in manga form. These films are not for kids. Miyazaki Hayao’s Princess Mononoke (1997) is exemplary both for adults and kids. Many anime films treat this combined audience well. This film out-grossed all Japanese films as an original product. Here it is worth noting anime’s connection not only to Japanese and Chinese film, but also to Western sources, literary and filmic. With regard to “Bleach,” I am reminded of Kurasawa’s witch’s trance sequence, memorable in the inimitable Rashomon. George MacDonald’s nineteenth-century fantasy novel Lillith (a source for C.S.Lewis’s “Narnia” books and for other major writers) elaborates a vast realm of the dead. Jean Cocteau’s Orpheus developed a bureaucracy in death’s realm, possibly connected to Kafka’s novel The Trial. Cocteau’s presentation of character facing harsh punishment by this “death organization” resonates intensely in “Bleach.” Memories of Nobody has a good reputation as anime, but Quin cautions purists. “If you like movies that go with the series, don’t watch it.” The “Bleach” phenomenon contains variations. Quin says the series is like the manga, but “filleristic” (containing “filler” material, a common aspect of long-running series). Some manga, such as the intensely surreal “Mushishi,” (an earlier library presentation) are quite respectfully brought from manga to series, and a notable live-action film adaptation has also been produced. “Fan service” films can bring risks to fans’ expectations. Personally, I try to keep an open mind about anime
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film because these filmmakers will often astonish you with their commitment to film art. That said, I also know that not much compares to the impact of the opening sequences of Full Metal Alchemist or Hellsing.
Anime @ The Library June 13 Memories of Nobody July 11 Flag August 8 The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya September 5 Gurren Lagann Free 2:30 p.m. Central Library Auditorium 1001 Broad Street (423) 757-5310. www.lib.chattanooga.gov
A&ECalendar
Send your calendar events to us at calendar@chattanoogapulse.com
Friday
Thursday “Windows on the West: Views From the American Frontier” Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View. (423) 266-0944. www.huntermuseum.org
Poetry Open Mic Night 7:30 p.m. Barnes & Noble, 2100 Hamilton Place Blvd. (423) 893-0186. Tresha 8 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233.
“Rotation” Tanner Hill Gallery, 3069 S. Broad St., Suite 3. (423) 280-7182.
Southern Connections Local playwright’s tale of a businesswoman who returns to the South after a long absence. $15 7 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, Circle Stage, 400 River Street (423) 467-8534. www.theatrecentre.com
“Tying the Knot: Jewish Wedding Traditions” Jewish Cultural Center, 5461 North Terrace. (423) 493-0270. Rhyme N Chatt 7 p.m. Aretha Frankensteins, 518 Tremont St. (423) 544-1597. www.arethas.com “Celebrate!” Hanover Gallery, 111 Frazier Ave. (423) 648-0533.
Short Attention Span Theatre Ten Minute Play Festival Five playwrights from Chattanooga, Chicago, Cincinnati, and New York City are represented in festival of eight short plays. $8 7:30 p.m. St. Andrews Center, 1918 Union Avenue. (423) 987-5141. ensembletheatreofchattanooga.com
Saturday
Riverbend Eat & Greet Pop-folk group Paleface stops by the Tavern for some music and nosh. No additional cover 1 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market Street. (423) 634-0260. myspace.com/marketstreettavern
Monday
Southern Connections 8 p.m. Circle Theatre, Chattanooga Theatre Centre, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534. “Fine Art Bird Photography” by Dan Williams Bill Shores Frames & Gallery, 307 Manufacturers Rd., Suite 117. (423) 756-6746. Bruno Zapan Gallery 1401, 1401 Williams St. (423) 265-0015.
Art by Terry West Studio 2/Gallery 2, 27 W. Main St. (423) 266-2222. “A Barage of Butterflies” Houston Museum, 201 High St. (423) 267-7176. “Jellies: Living Art” Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View. (423) 266-0944. “A Modern Twist” River Gallery, 400 E. Second St. (423) 265-5033. “Spring into Summer” In-Town Gallery, 26A Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9214. Bob Dombrowski’s sculpture Linda Woodall Fine Arts, 7836 Ooltewah-Georgetown Rd.
Sunday Mosaic Market (indoor artist market open every Saturday from 11 - 5) 11 a.m. 412 Market St. (corner of 4th/Market) (423) 624-3915.
Tresha 7:30 & 10 p.m. The Comedy Catch & Giggles Grille, 3224 Brainerd Road. (423) 629-2233. www.thecomedycatch.com
Anime @ the Library 2:30 p.m. Downtown Public Library, 1001 Broad St. (423) 757-1310. www.lib.chattanooga.gov
Southern Connections 8 p.m. Circle Theatre, Chattanooga Theatre Centre, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534. www.theatrecentre.com
Father’s Day Booksigning 3 p.m. Barnes & Noble, Hamilton Place, 2100 Hamilton Place Blvd. (423) 893-0186.
ETC’s Short Attention Span Theatre: 10-Minute Play Festival 3 p.m St. Andrews Center Theatre, 1918 Union Ave. (423) 987-5141.
“Mark Twain and the Rivers” with river historian Bill Wiemuth 2:30 p.m. Delta Queen, Coolidge Park. (423) 468-4500. www.deltaqueenhotel.com
“The Untold Story of the Great Black Jockeys” Chattanooga African-American Museum, 200 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-8658.
Tuesday
Wednesday
Auditions for Silverstein Sketches 7 p.m. Hamilton Community Theatre, 7997 Shallowford Rd. (423) 488-7755.
Mystery Book Club discusses Chasing Darkness 7 p.m. Barnes & Noble, Hamilton Place, 2100 Hamilton Place Blvd. (423) 893-0186.
Auditions for Noises Off 7:30 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534. www.theatrecentre.com
Classic Lit Book Club reviews Death Comes for the Archbishop 7 p.m. Rock Point Books, 401 Broad St. (423) 756-2855.
Works by Stephen Scott Young and Brett Weaver Shuptrine Fine Art & Framing, 2646 Broad St. (423) 266-4453. www.alanshuptrine.com
“Sweet Dreams” - a onewoman show by Kimberly Dawn Clayton WinderBinder Gallery of Folk Art, 40 Frazier Ave. (423) 413-8999.
“New Work by Lorraine Christie and “The Salty Side of Sweet: Works by Kirsten Stingle” AVA Gallery, 30 Frazier Ave. (423) 265-4282.
“Zero Sum: Experiments in Game Theory” CreateHere, 33 E. Main St., Suite 105. (423) 648-2195. www.createhere.org
Southern Connections 2:30 p.m. Circle Theatre, Chattanooga Theatre Centre, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534. ETC’s Short Attention Span Theatre: 10-Minute Play Festival 3 p.m. St. Andrews Center Theatre, 1918 Union Ave. (423) 987-5141.
Chattanooga Market: Rock Creek Outdoors The Market will be Rocking with some great outdoors doings. Free 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Chattanooga Market, First Tennessee Pavilion, 1829 Carter Street. chattanoogamarket.com
Auditions for Silverstein Sketches 7 p.m. Hamilton Community Theatre, 7997 Shallowford Rd. (423) 488-7755. Auditions for Noises Off 7:30 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534. www.theatrecentre.com
Editor’s Pick: Featured Event Of The Week
Poetry Night 7 p.m. CreateHere, 33 E. Main St., Suite 105. (423) 648-2195. www.createhere.org
Front Porch Fireworks and Ice Cream Social at the CTC
“Coal Miner Health in Appalachia” photo exhibit Downtown Public Library, 1001 Broad St. (423) 757-1310.
The best place in town to celebrate the final night of Riverbend while enjoying catered food (and ice cream) is well known to be the lawn at the CTC. Take your lawn chairs and head for the North Shore.
Southeast Veterans Museum Chattanooga Ducks building, 201 W. 5th St. (423) 756-3825. “Fine Art Bird Photography” by Dan Williams Bill Shores Frames & Gallery, 307 Manufacturers Rd., Suite 117. (423) 756-6746. “Jellies: Living Art” Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View. (423) 266-0944.
Saturday, June 13 $40 for two, includes parking pass. Each additional person, $15. Ages 11 and under, $8 6 p.m. catered cookout begins (423) 267-8534. www.theatrecentre.com
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The Pulse 6.11.09 www.chattanoogapulse.com 95.3 Pulse News
OnTheBeat by Alex Teach
Church, State & Interstate J
esus had hit him several times about his head and face until he fell to the ground. The man curled into a tight ball to protect himself, but to no avail; after hitting the ground his assailant transitioned to kicking him with great abandon until finally he couldn’t remember anything more. I nodded in sympathy. My thoughts drifted towards my first marriage, but I quickly regained focus on the job at hand. The victim said that Jesus had been drinking heavily in his apartment that day, and there had been an issue between the two regarding his having sold him a car that had broken down days after the transaction. They had been conversing politely in the veranda when his friend suddenly became filled with rage and began raining the aforementioned blows upon him. In a dramatic epilogue, my victim went on to tell me that when he regained consciousness, he awoke to find Jesus in his hospital room advising him he would pay his medical bills if he did not report the incident. The victim declined and Jesus left the building. The remaining investigation now pending concerned the location and interview of Jesus Mojado Caballero. I left the victim with his injuries in the relative safety of the hospital in which we’d met. As it turns out, Mr. Caballero lived in a quaint section of town referred to as “Little Guatemala”, if by “quaint” you mean “shitty run-down little houses for which slumlords charge not by the room, but by the head, and demand cash only”. The beating had transpired the night before, but I had good information, ironically, by way of the bill of sale the suspect had filled out, replete with the address to which the title was to be sent. I went there, and he wasn’t home, but learning he didn’t own a car, I prowled the neighborhood half-heartedly on the off chance he was around. (Don’t get me wrong; I wanted to catch this guy, but like honesty in politics, I simply had little faith in the notion.) I was beginning to pay far more
attention to my $11 wristwatch than the streets, when, after a shorter time than expected, I spotted a man matching his build and clothing description walking four blocks south of his listed address. I stopped the car and sure as hell…I’d found Jesus. Mr. Caballero staggered to a stop, paused, then without a word he simply walked up and placed his scuffed hands against my car, where I took him into custody. He refused questioning, so after a positive identification, I took Jesus straight to jail. Case closed. I left the Quiet Room in time to quit for the day on the right side of shift change, but the drive home was bogged down in traffic and I was left to my own thoughts for far longer than I normally prefer. I had just arrested Jesus and it seemed like I should write it down or something, but the thought (like so many others) faded away while my attention slid from the seemingly profound to the passively enraged as the interstate slowly turned into a parking lot. I edged my car over towards the inside shoulder to see what the holdup was, and in the distance I could see a set of solitary blue lights trying to re-direct traffic around something, so I opted to join him rather than sit and be part of the problem. I made my way forward slowly and arrived to find that the crash involved a single motorcycle. A huge, dark brown Goldwing lay on its side against the concrete divider wall, and people passing by were looking on in unmasked horror at something I could not yet see just below the cycle’s bulk. Before even speaking to the other officer, I took a cursory glance around and learned that while cruising
at interstate speeds, the rider had apparently let his right ankle rest comfortably against the front of his foot peg, and for reasons we will never know, his toe made contact with the ground, which without hesitation or mercy gripped it with the fury of a scorned woman and pulled his foot back against the huge bike’s steel-foot peg. The foot peg proved much stronger than the bone and sinew of his calf, and the leg snapped clean just a few inches above the top of his shoes. I was certain of this because the rider was lying on his back holding his calf aloft towards me with both hands while screaming in agony, and rather than register horror, I thought for just a fleeting moment that I could nearly count the rings of the perfectly clean break of his calf like a tree stump. I shook the thought off and went in to render aid, and while I tried to think of words of comfort, only one word, in fact, came out: “Jesus.” What a weird day.
“I wanted to catch this guy, but like honesty in politics, I simply had little faith in the notion.”
Alexander D. Teach is an occasional student of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a graduate of Central High. In his spare time he enjoys carpentry, auto mechanic work, boating, and working for the Boehm Birth Defects Center.
95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 6.11.09 The Pulse
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Film Feature by Damien Power
Revenge of the Mainstream P
ulse film reviewer Phillip Johnston and I don’t always see eye-to-eye on which movies to see each week (and if the site comments are to believed, neither do a lot of our readers), but I’ll gladly keep pretending I have a huge fanbase of readers that are too shy to comment on ChattanoogaPulse.com. Therefore, these are the picks for you, my adoring fans, although I will say that Phillip’s picks last week looked pretty good to me. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Or, as I usually refer to it, Transformers: The Continued Pillaging of My Childhood. I felt that I needed to pick something in the month of June, so we’ll have to make do with Michael Bay. Let’s be honest: This is not going to be a good movie, but it’s going to be thoroughly fun to watch. There’s a little bit of something for everyone. For example, the fellas in the audience get the tasty Megan Fox, while the ladies get… um, Shia LaBeouf. OK, so, maybe not something for everyone. But hey, talking robots! Opens June 24. Public Enemies This is my real first pick of the summer. We finally get the return of the Christian Bale we all know and love. You know, the one that doesn’t grumble every line through clenched teeth. Additionally, we get Johnny Depp trying his hand as pirate-of-theland John Dillinger, one of America’s most notorious bank robbers. Much like The Untouchables before it, this is a story that has been begging for a decent screenplay. Directed by Michael Mann of Heat and Collateral, we have a great screenplay in the hands of a skilled director acted by a powerhouse cast. Public Enemies is my dark-horse pick for best movie of 2009. Opens July 1. G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra Hey look—it’s another pillaging of my childhood! At least this one has some decent actors in it: Dr. Who’s Christopher Eccleston, Enemy Mine’s Dennis Quaid, and The Mummy’s Arnold Vosloo are all on hand to counterbalance the horrible acting
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we’ll get from Scary Movie’s Marlon Wayans and Step Up’s Channing Tatum. The real ace-in-the-hole for this movie will be Ray Park, playing the silent ninja Snake Eyes. You might remember him as the only reason to see Star Wars: The Phantom Menace: Darth Maul. The funny part is that this movie’s villains are going to steal the show. We’re going to sit through some heavy-handed patriotism on behalf of our Joes, but the villains are going to be deliciously over-the-top. Opens August 7. Ponyo Ha! I can pick an indie flick too! Ponyo is the latest by legendary anime filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, and his phenomenal Studio Ghibli. The sad fact is that Disney dropped the ball years ago with their hand-drawn animated features, and the world was blessed that Miyazaki-san picked it up and ran with it. Now distributed by Disney, Studio Ghibli’s works are coming stateside and are voiced by fantastic talents. Listen up for Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Liam Neeson and even Betty White, who all provide spirited performances thanks to an astonishing script. I say astonishing, because Miyazaki-san is the master of imagination, and Ponyo will be no exception. Centered on a 5-year-old boy and his relationship
with a goldfish princess who longs to be human, Ponyo will be much more than a retelling of The Little Mermaid. Opens August 14. Inglorious Basterds Ah, Quentin. His first stab at a World War II film, and he’s going to make sure he gets everything just right. It received a lukewarm reception at Cannes, and immediately went back to the cutting board. After Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna, I imagine that Mr. Tarantino started itching to get his movie out. Centered around a team of Jewish-American soldiers who are hand-picked to conduct a guerilla war behind enemy lines, Inglorious Basterds stars Brad Pitt in his element (snarky and brutal), along with a compliment of unknown but well-cast actors (the Tarantino Method of casting). Oh, and don’t worry, Samuel L. Jackson is in the credits. Yay Chattanooga. Opens August 21. All right, so maybe only three of these were really “summer picks” (the other two were more like “summer suggestions”), and that’s because for whatever reason, 2009 stacked a lot of great movies in the spring. Still, 2009 has been a great year for movies, and the fall is really shaping up to be stellar (Where the Wild Things Are! Mark your calendars for October 16!)
LifeInTheNoog by Chuck Crowder
Kids These Days M
y daughter graduated from middle school last week. In addition to the exponentially greater feeling of “oldness” this instills in a parent as “young” as me, it also makes me cringe at the thoughts of what’s ahead of “us” in the teenage years. But as I sat there in Baylor Chapel watching her prepare to walk across the stage, thankfully those kinds of thoughts didn’t send me into panic mode. Instead, I tried to focus on how much different things are for her generation. Like the things she has and takes for granted compared to when I was 13. While they may seem “necessary” to my daughter, the little niceties she enjoys—laptop computer, Internet, cell phone, iPod, digital camera—weren’t even options back in 1980. Back then, all I had was a crappy JC Penney stereo, a stack of vinyl records, a set of World Book Encyclopedias and a used Minolta (film) camera about the size of a brick. Home computers were virtually nonexistent and I don’t think laptops had even been invented. There wasn’t such a thing as a compact disc, much less an MP3, and the only cell phones you saw were as big as combatfield radios and only used by movie stars—and only in movies. Back then,
you were much more likely to see someone “breaker-one-nine(ing)” on a CB radio, which is something I’m afraid she’ll never really know about (unless she dates some really cool kid who makes her watch Smokey & the Bandit). In fact, that got me thinking about all of the other once-state-ofthe-art technological wonders from my childhood that she may never experience. She always laughs in amazement of “how things used to be” back when her poor old pappy was her age. But there’s something to be said for knowing what it was like before things were so user-friendly. It builds character. For example, she’ll never know what it’s like to spend a good minute or two dialing a rotary telephone, and then have to stay within whatever distance the phone-cord slack will allow. In fact, unless she’s at grandma’s house, “land lines” don’t exist in her world. And forget about phone booths. Superman always throws her for a loop. “What’s that glass box doing on the sidewalk?” She’ll likely never grasp the concept of pulling a vinyl record out of the sleeve, carefully laying it on a turntable and then lightly placing the needle onto song two, only to end up hearing the end of song one because you can never quite get the needle to drop exactly in that little window of silence between songs one and two. And, her innocent little ears will never have endure the strain of trying to make out the music as it faintly plays through the “hrhhrhrrrrrrrr” sounds made by the dust and static that’s permanently attached to her only copy of Kiss’s Destroyer. Likewise, she’ll never have to place her listening enjoyment on hold as a song slowly fades out and then painfully fades back in when her 8-track tape switches programs. She’ll never know what it’s like to have to get up off the couch to manually change between the mere three snowy television channels there are to choose from. And she’ll never have the joy of waiting a full week to get her vacation photographs back just to find out that the one she really hoped would turn
“Forget about phone booths. Superman always throws her for a loop. ‘What’s that glass box doing on the sidewalk?’” out was either out of focus, or had a finger in the frame. No, thankfully my daughter has it that much better than me, who had it that much better than my parents, who had it that much better than their parents, and so on and so forth throughout the ages. But it hit me as I pondered down memory lane, that there’s one thing from the ’80s that she probably sees a lot. The Members’ Only jacket. For some strange reason pop culture hasn’t forgotten this colorful “sleeves-pushed-up” outerwear that still seems to suspiciously find its way into movies and television despite unrelenting ridicule from everyone outside of Sand Mountain Bubba, who just bought a knock-off at the flea market (because he lost his “original”). I could tell her mine was teal green or burgundy to spice up the story, but to tell the truth, it was black. But her uncle had a leather one. Now THAT’s something she may never see. And along with the pain relief of not having to hear her daddy’s stories about the way things used to be—it’s probably a good thing. Chuck Crowder is a local writer and general man about town. His opinions are just that. Everything expressed is loosely based on fact, and crap he hears people talking about. Take what you just read with a grain of salt, but pepper it in your thoughts. And be sure to check out his wildly popular website www.thenoog.com
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ShadesOfGreen by Elizabeth Crenshaw
Nashville’s Climate Change Denial T
he Tennessee Legislature has been churning out decisions lately, some of which are grabbing more attention than others. The most eye-catching headlines have been about whether or not citizens will be allowed to carry guns inside bars—clearly an issue central to fixing the economic downturn hurting everyday Tennesseans. What hasn’t been getting as much attention is a resolution sponsored by Franklin senator Jack Johnson, declaring that Tennessee will not participate in a federal cap-and-trade program. The resolution passed along party lines. The fact that this bill was introduced is premature at best, and most poignantly, it is a step backward for the entire state. The resolution works on the assumption that climate change is a hoax, and that the “liberal agenda” has spawned the program in hopes of gaining some backdoor tax dollars. The resolution is premature in that a federal cap-and-trade program is still being fleshed out; it’s not even ready for rejection—not that rejection should be an option. Essentially, a carbon cap-and-trade program would regulate Co2 in a freemarket environment. The government would “cap” carbon, and carbonemitting businesses would “trade,” by buying and selling credits. The United States has had an emissions cap and trade program for years. The largely bipartisan Clean Water Amendments of 1990
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created a cap-and-trade system for sulfur dioxide in an effort to reduce acid rain. The program is regarded as successful, in that So2 has been reduced by about 40 percent. There was no wave of American business failures as a result of this progress. Tennessee is doing great things to prepare for an economy in which the environment is given concrete value. The governor and others are doing their part to secure green jobs for the state, beginning with the $62.5 million solar institute in Knoxville. This type of forward thinking, progressive action is what we need not only for the environment—but also for the economy. It is unclear what legal bearing, if any, this decision will have if Congress does move forward with a federal program. However, some think that this rejection could affect Tennessee’s ability to secure recovery funds; funds the state needs to order to compete in the emerging green market. This resolution’s backers claim that any cap-and-trade program will hurt families, while forcing American businesses to relocate to countries without such programs. Johnson and his supporters fail to mention key points, such are that there are progressive lawmakers and economists figuring out provisions for vulnerable businesses as I write this column, like short-term free credits and incentives. And it’s misleading to claim that the program will “hurt” Americans. Naysayers aren’t discussing how all of this money is going to be used. From reading some commentary, you would think that the money is being used to pave
The Pulse 6.11.09 www.chattanoogapulse.com 95.3 Pulse News
Washington D.C.’s streets with gold. The truth is that the money from this program will go toward building a sustainable future for this nation, protecting our national security and pulling us out of a devastating recession. Americans will be getting this money back, in the form of ingenuity, clean power, and better infrastructure overall. Society is already paying the price for carbon in air pollution, stagnant technology, and unsustainable business practices. A federal program could present a solution. It should be noted that cap-andtrade has had some problems. Our progressive European friends have had trouble perfecting the system. Issues range from charging too much for credits at the programs’ start to planning for rising oil prices. American policy makers should pay close attention to these lessons learned when creating a US program. Ultimately, cap-and-trade may not be the complete answer, but we must think it through before we throw away its promise. America and the world must find a way to integrate the true cost of pollution into our financial system sustainably. Cap-andtrade is a compromise and a start. States that embrace an economy in which the environment is valued will overcome this economic downturn; states that ignore this future risk being left behind. We always have a choice. Elizabeth Crenshaw is LEED accredited and works for EPB in Strategic Planning. Originally from South Carolina, Elizabeth moved to Chattanooga after graduating from Warren Wilson College in 2007.
“What hasn’t been getting as much attention is a resolution sponsored by Franklin senator Jack Johnson, declaring that Tennessee will not participate in a federal cap-and-trade program.”
The latest local news and views ... updated daily www.chattanoogapulse.com 95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 6.11.09 The Pulse
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MusicFeature by Hellcat
Return of the Reverend Reverend Horton Heat will be heating up Rhythm & Brews next week. The Pulse’s Hellcat interviewed frontman Jim Heath about their upcoming appearance.
O
ne of the perks of being a music writer is that every so often you get to interview someone who makes you take a deep breath before you place a call. Reverend Horton Heat’s frontman, Jim Heath, is very much one of these people for me. Between the ages of 18 and 21, I went to see him at least twice a year, so that I could bust out some swing dance action and rockabilly bounce to a really great show. I got to meet him briefly each time, but I only managed a squeak or two before ducking back behind my boyfriend. I know, right? Weird. But, hey—some people make me shy. When I got in touch with Jim, he was waiting to drive his 1932 Ford 5-window coupe hotrod for the first time, which I found to be appropriate considering hotrods and rockabilly go hand-in-hand. Hellcat: How do you like playing Chattanooga? Jim Heath: I like it; I seem to remember having a few good times there. HC: How do you define “rockabilly” ? JH: It’s a blending of country, western, rhythm and blues music that started in the early ’50’s. [It’s] a melding of those things with some swing and some gospel thrown in. HC: How do you feel about the term being used to describe a type of person? JH: (laughs) Well, it has become a class distinction, a custom culture. It is definitely a lifestyle; I don’t know quite what I think of being called that, but it’s cool, I have been called worse! I found out who Johnny Cash and Elvis were at about the same time and I was into them. My retro look with grease in my hair confused people and I got called “Elvis” a lot. Not many music writers even knew what rockabilly was, and if they did, it definitely wasn’t embraced. HC: How did you start playing music? JH: I took guitar lessons when I
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was a kid, and then I guess I started hanging out with some bad kids that could play rock-n-roll, blues, and the 9th chord. When I discovered those chords, I forgot all about guitar lessons. I could play those chords and sound like I knew what I was doing! HC: Did you start up a band? JH: My first band was in junior high, and by high school I was in a touring band with gigs and money. We used to get paid to go to outof-town schools to play at their dances. So I guess I’ve been in some form of a band my whole life. HC: When did Reverend Horton Heat start up? JH: In late 1985. I’ve been through nine different drummers, but the bass player, Jimbo, and I have been playing together for the last 20 years. HC: Wow, that’s longer than most marriages. Speaking of which, are all of you married? JH: Yep, sometimes more than once, but all of us are currently married and have kids. HC: Does that ever get in the way of the rock-n-roll? JH: No, actually, I am lucky to have the lifestyle I have. It’s helped support a family and put my kids through school. HC: I didn’t see a new album on your website; what are you touring to support? JH: There is a new album that I just sent off today to get mastered, but even if I hadn’t [sent off the album], this band is about live music. We tour and play music—that’s who we are. To me, live music is more of a valid art form than being a recording artist. Making an album is just like advertising. HC: Where is your favorite place to play? JH: Where there is a crowd that is really into music. It doesn’t matter where to me. People ask us a lot, “Why do you play here and not there?”, and my answer to that is, “Because the phone rang.” Honestly, we have very little to do with that; it’s up to our promoter and what deal they work out. HC: Good answer! All right,
what about overseas—any place you love to play or want to play but haven’t? JH: We get out to Europe about every two years. But we’ve never played Japan. I’d like to eventually; apparently the rockabilly movement is nuts out there. They close down streets and have organized ’50s-style “rumbles” that later turn into a big party. It’s crazy. They also are big into hotrods. HC: You obviously have a hotrod? JH: Yes, I first bought the parts to the 1932 Ford in 1995, and now, 14 years later, I finally get to drive it for the first time. HC: Is that your only one? JH: I’ve given up a few to keep this one up. I had to give up my 1950 Shoebox Ford for this one. The upkeep and storage of a hotrod is pretty intense, and it’s hard to explain keeping a car instead of paying for your kid’s college. (laughs) HC: Considering you’ve waited 14 years to drive that thing, I’m not going to hold you up any longer. Just promise to play a few danceable songs for me [when you come]. JH: All right. It’s a deal!
Reverend Horton Heat with Backyard Tire Fire Wednesday, June 17 $15 10 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market Street (423) 267-4644. www.rhythm-brews.com
MusicCalendar
Send your calendar events to us at calendar@chattanoogapulse.com
Friday
Thursday
Rhythm & Noon: Bill Haymes Noon. Miller Plaza, 850 Market St. (423) 265-0771.
The ‘Bend Unplugged: Angie Aparo 5 p.m. Tennessee Aquarium, 21st Century Waterfront. www.tnaqua.com
Riverbend Eat & Greet: Walt Wilkins 5 p.m. Easy Bistro, 203 Broad St. (423) 266-1121.
Enfold Darkness, Sons of Cynics, Feral Monolith 7 p.m. The Warehouse, 5716 Ringgold Rd., East Ridge. www.myspace.com/warehousetn
The B-52’s C’mon down and shake it at the Love Shack. Admission with Riverbend pin. 9:30 p.m. Riverbend Festival, 21st Century Waterfront. www.riverbendfestival.com
nana grizol, The New Familiars, True Stereo, The Fixins 9 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400. www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia Gaslight Street with Shotgun Lazer Quartet 10 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. (423) 267-4644. www.rhythm-brews.com
Chattanooga Roller Girls Benefit 9 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400. Coke Stage: Montgomery Gentry 9:30 p.m. Riverbend Festival, 21st Century Waterfront.
Matt Turnure Trio 7 p.m. Blue Orleans Creole Restaurant, 3208 Amnicola Hwy. (423) 629-6538.
Adrenaline Drop 10 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878.
Outstanding night with two of our local favorites.
What Lies Beneath, Out of Body, D.S.S. 7:30 p.m. Club Fathom, 412 Market St. (423) 757-0019.
PeeWee Moore & The Awful Dreadful Snakes 10 p.m. T-Bone’s, 1419 Chestnut St. (423) 266-4240.
$7 10 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St, (423) 267-4644. www.rhythm-brews.com
Cashman, Husky Burnette, The Jug Huggers, Rusted Skillet 8 p.m. Ziggy’s Hideaway, 607 Cherokee Blvd. (423) 634-1074.
Jescoe 10 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market Street. (423) 634-0260. myspace.com/marketstreettavern
Up With the Joneses with The Bohannons
Saturday
Sunday Paleface Eat & Greet 2 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market Street. (423) 634-0260.
Chattanooga Market: Tia McGraff 11 a.m. First Tennessee Pavillion, 1826 Carter St. www.chattanoogamarket.com
Soul Survivor 9 p.m. The Tin Can, 618 Georgia Ave. (423) 648-4360. www.thetincanchattanooga.com
Channing Wilson 6 p.m. The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd #202. (423) 499-5055.
Coke Stage: Little Richard 9:30 p.m. Riverbend Festival, 21st Century Waterfront.
Go-Girls Mini-Fest 7 p.m. Midtown Music Hall. 818 Georgia Avenue (423) 752-1977. www.midtownmusichall.com
Adrenaline Drop 10 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878. www.budssportsbar.com
Another don’t-miss bill at JJ’s.
Suffercell, Six to Never 8 p.m. Ziggy’s Hideaway, 607 Cherokee Blvd. (423) 634-1074. www.myspace.com/ziggyshideaway
DJ Spicolli Raw Sushi Bar Restaurant & Nightclub, 409 Market Street, (423) 756-1919.
All together now, bang your heads.
Open Mic Gene’s Bar & Grill, 724 Ashland Terrace, (423) 870-0880.
$7 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400. www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia
Open Mic hosted by Shawnessey Cargile 9 p.m. Mudpie Restaurant, 12 Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9043.
DJ GOP The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd #202, (423) 499-5055.
$7 7 p.m. The Warehouse, 5716 Ringgold Rd, East Ridge. www.myspace.com/warehousetn
DJ GOP The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd #202, (423) 499-5055.
Tuesday
Wednesday
Ben Friberg Trio 7 p.m. Table 2, 232 E. 11th St. (423) 756-8253. www.table2restaurant.com
Ben Friberg Jazz Trio 6:30 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market Street, (423) 634-0260. myspace.com/marketstreettavern
Mockingbirds, The Tammys, Tony Wayne & the Payne, Mean Tamborines
Monday The Palms at Hamilton 6925 Shallowford Road, Suite #202, (423) 499-5055. www.thepalmsathamilton.com Fireside Lounge 4021 Hixson Pike, (423) 870-7078.
Abandon Kansas, Farless 7 p.m. The Warehouse, 5716 Ringgold Rd., East Ridge. www.myspace.com/warehousetn
Lucky’s 2536 Cummings Highway, (423) 825-5145.
Cain and Annabelle 8:30 p.m. Mudpie Restaurant, 12 Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9043.
Tremont Tavern 1203 Hixson Pike, (423) 266-1996. www.tremonttavern.com
lollipop factory 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400. www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia
Blue Orleans Creole Restaurant 3208 Amnicola Highway, (423) 629-6538. blueorleanscreolerestaurant.com
Open Mic Tremont Tavern, 1203 Hixson Pike, (423) 266-1996. www.tremonttavern.com
Open Jam w/ Jeff Daniels 4 p.m. Ms. Debbie’s Nightlife Lounge, 4762 Hwy 58. (423) 485-0966. Irish Music 6:30 p.m. Tremont Tavern, 1203 Hixson Pike, (423) 266-1996.
Belson, The Valkyrie
Editor’s Pick: Featured Event Of The Week
Throttle Bottom 8 p.m. The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd #202. (423) 499-5055. www.thepalmsathamilton.com Reverend Horton Heat w/ Backyard Tire Fire 10 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. (423) 267-4644. www.rhythm-brews.com DJ GOP The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd #202, (423) 499-5055. www.thepalmsathamilton.com
Mini-Fest with Eight Go-Girls Bands These girls rock it in all different directions. Porter Blue, Lb Collective, Intrepid Souls, Melinda Kingsley Band, Green Bracelet, Electricsoul, Siberia My Sweet and Lactose Quervo will all be there with bells on. Saturday, June 13, $7, 7 p.m. Midtown Music Hall, 818 Georgia Avenue. (423) 752-1977. www.midtownmusichall.com
95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 6.11.09 The Pulse
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NewMusicReviews John Foxx & Robin Guthrie Mirrorball (Metamatic) You may know John Foxx as the leader of Ultravox in the late ’70s, playing jagged glam rock before Midge Ure took the band’s helm for its more popular new wave years. Or, you may know John Foxx through his ’80s solo work—icy, futuristic synth-pop songs that fit perfectly alongside Kraftwerk and early Human League records. But, most likely, you don’t know John Foxx at all, since he never got the attention that certain contemporaries and even musicians he influenced—Gary Numan, for one—did. Robin Guthrie is best known as the guitarist for Cocteau Twins, who has a distinctive, instantly recognizable sound, not shying away from using effects for his shimmering guitar style. The new collaboration between these two figures, Mirrorball, sounds nothing like Ultravox or Foxx’s ’80s electronic pop. The atmosphere here is most similar to Foxx’s 1995 sonic departure album, Cathedral Oceans, which featured echoing, lush tones and singing that’s more akin to a Catholic mass service than new wave music. Guthrie is right at home with this approach, not straying from his trademark sound with abundant amounts of reverb. One of the album’s most gorgeous numbers is the instrumental “My Life As an Echo,” which takes calm, calculated steps to map out its simple melodic lines, tapped out on a piano. Actually, Mirrorball is sort of like a Bizarro World Cocteau Twins album, with John Foxx handsomely singing in a vaguely Latin-esque improvised language—a sort of alternative to Cocteau Twins singer Elizabeth Fraser’s otherworldly tongue. The music for “Estrellita,” another highlight, could easily pass for a
Sunn O))) Monoliths & Dimensions (Southern Lord)
The concept of ambient metal seems like an oxymoron, but upon hearing it, it makes sense— combine the long, flowing passages of ambient music with the snarl and distorted guitar timbres of metal. Sunn O))), the duo of Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson, is one of the most prominent groups in the field, enjoying a bit of underground crossover success and collaborating with diverse artists such as Julian Cope, Boris, Petra Haden, and Merzbow. Without drums, Sunn O))) creates a sonic environment meant
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The Pulse 6.11.09 www.chattanoogapulse.com 95.3 Pulse News
mid-to-late Cocteau Twins song, down to the gentle, restrained drum machine beats. There’s a uniform ambiance to the album, and one might point out that all of the musical ideas of Mirrorball could distill down to fit on a release that was half as long. Although predictable, the album has a length that is appropriate for sustaining a trance, invoked by Foxx’s ambient leanings and Guthrie’s sparkling guitar work. — Ernie Paik
to completely engulf the listener and make bones vibrate, with heavy, growling guitar drones. Their songs are each often more than ten minutes long, underscoring the fact that pacing is key for their sinister, often devastating approach. The band’s latest album, Monoliths & Dimensions, may inspire a pithy description (here’s one: “Sunn O)))rchestra”) because of its instrumentation, which includes strings, horns, woodwinds, a harp, chimes, and even two choirs: one female and one male. Fortunately, the integration of traditionally classical instruments with metal works well on the album, as composer and string player Eyvind Kang was employed to help with their carefully assembled arrangements. The album opens with “Aghartha,” introducing a thick guitar drone, immediately introducing a huge amount of tension, and each
chord change is like an upheaval. Gradually, other elements are introduced, such as a monotonic recitation from Hungarian vocalist Attila Csihar (known as a member of the infamous Norwegian black metal group Mayhem), squeaky strings that sound like they’re being dragged and tortured, and horns resembling angry insects. The track ends with unsettling whispery sounds and watery sound effects, evoking the setting of some arcane, centuries-old poem. Although Csihar’s menacing delivery is fitting, I find an inherent silliness to it—and much of metal vocals in general, for that matter. It doesn’t distract badly, though, from the album’s intense, unique appeal, best demonstrated on the closing 16-minute instrumental “Alice,” with glorious eruptions of guitar rumbles and dissonance showered with horror soundtrack horns and strings. — Ernie Paik
Solution To Last Week’s Puzzle
Never Worry About Losing A Copy Of The Pulse Keep Up Online at www.chattanoogapulse.com 95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 6.11.09 The Pulse
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Free Will Astrology GEMINI (May 21-June 20): My astrological charts suggest that your immediate future is wide open—so much so that it’s difficult to predict which scenarios are more likely than all the others. This might mean that your free will is especially free right now. But in the interest of giving you something specific to grab on to, I’ll name a few of the myriad possible scenarios. 1) A self-styled anarchist scholar, heir to the fortune of a famed Japanese anime artist, will invite you to a sushi feast at a speakeasy club called “Planet Mars” to discuss the Theory of Everything. 2) A clownish saint with a tattoo of a cobra swallowing the Earth will get you high by sniffing the pimple medication Clearasil, and then tell you a secret about who you were in one of your past lives. 3) A familiar stranger will hand you a Cracker Jack toy and whisper, “Are we never going to see each other again? Or will we get married tomorrow?” CANCER (June 21-July 22): In honor of the karmic clean-up phase of your astrological cycle, I invite you to do the following exercise: Imagine a pit in the middle of a desert that holds everything you’ve ever used up, spoiled, and outgrown. Your old furniture is here, along with stuff like once-favorite clothes, CDs, and empty boxes of your favorite cereal. But this garbage dump also contains subtler trash, like photos that capture cherished dreams you gave up on, mementoes from failed relationships, and symbols of defunct beliefs and self-images you used to cling to. Everything that is dead to you is gathered here. Got that vision in your mind’s eye? Now picture yourself dousing the big heap of stuff with gasoline and setting it on fire. Watch it burn. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): This would be a good time to activate your sleeping potentials by chanting positive declarations about your relationship to what you need. Instead of typical New Age affirmations, however, I think you’ll benefit from something edgier and more poetic. That’s why I’m offering you the statements below. They were originally written by Andrea Carlisle for use by spiders. Say the following several times a day: “I am now receiving many fine fat flies in my web. My web is strong and masterful. My web is irresistible to all the attractive creatures I like to nibble on. I am amazingly clever and extremely popular. Even now, hundreds of juicy tidbits are headed towards my web.” VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): A talent scout who has the power to change your course is drawing closer and closer. Find out why, and capitalize on it. Meanwhile, a chameleon who has always had your number just lost it. Find out the details, and take advantage. If that’s not enough to keep you busy, I’ll clue you in to the fact that a cool fool only recently realized you have something that he or she wants. Find out who and what, and exploit the possibilities. (P.S.: I should also mention that there’s a wild thing out there who would love to lick your hand. Find out why, etc.) LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “The formula ‘two and two make five’ is not without its attractions,” said Dostoevsky. I believe you’ll benefit from embracing that perspective in the coming week, Libra. Transcending logic will be your specialty, especially if you do so with a spiritual gleam in your eye. Being a little crooked could awaken sleeping wisdom within you, as well as boost your life force and enhance your physical attractiveness. So please follow any hunches you have that inspire you to stop making so much sense. Explore the pleasures of using imaginative flair in your search for the truth. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): A lesbian reader who calls herself “Speedy Slow-Hand” wrote to me asking for advice. She explained that she keeps getting obsessed with the half-feral amazons whom her intense Scorpio self lusts after, and this causes her to miss making contact with the warm, nurturing women her softer side craves. Is it better to have someone to run the race with, she asked, or someone to massage her feet after the race? Whether or not you yourself are in the hunt for love, Scorpio, I think her
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By Rob Brezsny
JONESIN’
By Matt Jones
“Enjoy the Silence” –it gets kinda quiet in places.
testimony is an apt metaphor for your current dilemma. Should you go with the choice that makes your spirit burn with pungent excitement, or should you opt for what feeds your soul with rich relaxation? I would like to suggest that there’s at least a 30 percent possibility you could have both. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Of the 190 short films the Three Stooges made for Columbia Pictures, only five actually had pie fights. However, those classic scenes sum up all there is to know about the mythic meaning of pie fights, as well as the needs they address and the techniques involved. I urge you to study up on the Stooges’ teachings concerning these matters—and put them to immediate use. Nothing could be more effective in dealing with stalled negotiations, convoluted mind games, superficial exchanges, excessive gravity, and bureaucratic slowdowns than a righteous pie fight. You can find a YouTube clip of a Three Stooges pie fight here: tinyurl.com/yvv8hm. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Some people use sly intelligence rather than mindless rage to escape limitations that have outlived their usefulness. Do you know any? If so, soak up their influence. You could use some inspiration and counsel as you make your own break for freedom. The best way to ensure that your liberation will be permanent, not just a temporary reprieve, is to go about it with humor and subtlety and humility. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Writing in Earthwatch magazine, Anne Marcotty Morris rhapsodized about her trek into Brazil’s rain forest. The jungle is a fecund place, she said: “Several barbed seeds that had attached themselves to me on our walk into the forest had sprouted by the time we walked out.” These fast-growing seeds happen to be an apt metaphor for the state of your psyche, Aquarius. You’re a hotbed of lush fertility. Given that fact, I advise you to be very discriminating about which influences you give your attention to. Whether they’re good or bad, empowering or corrosive, they will grow fast. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): There has rarely been a better time than now to blend your fresh sparkly innocence and your deep ancient wisdom. The childlike aspects of your intelligence are especially available, and so are the visionary elements. Furthermore, the two have a great potential to complement and enhance each other. You might be amazed at how dramatically you could transform long-standing problems by invoking this dynamic tandem of energies. ARIES (March 21-April 19): So you’re trying to tell me that the way out is the way in. Is that right? And that the “wrong” answer just might be the right answer? And that success, if it makes an appearance, will most likely happen by accident? I don’t know, Aries. It’s tricky to get away with this upside-down approach to life unless you have a lot of discipline and yet also don’t take yourself too seriously. You’ve got to be both rigorous and flexible—a stickler for detail and a master of improvisation. I do suspect you’re up for the challenge, but what do you think? TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In an interview, musician Attiss Ngoval told the San Francisco Chronicle that he’d want the superpower of X-ray vision “IF and ONLY IF I could use it to see people naked under their clothes. I don’t want it if all I see is skeletons.” That’s a good standard for you to keep in mind during the coming weeks, Taurus. I definitely think you’ll have an ability to see deeper into the multi-layer levels of reality than you’ve had in quite some time. But your challenge will be to employ that gift to explore sights that are really interesting and useful to you, not just everything and anything that’s usually hidden. Homework: It’s almost time for a mid-year review. What have you accomplished so far in 2009? Testify at www.FreeWillAstrology.com
The Pulse 6.11.09 www.chattanoogapulse.com 95.3 Pulse News
Across 1 Tycho’s friend, in the webcomic “Penny Arcade” 5 Walk nervously 9 Flair 14 Neighbor 15 Takes drugs 16 Thin as ___ 17 Where the siblings from “Beverly Hills, 90210” shop? 19 Sound necessary to get “high”? 20 Cold War Soviet grp. 21 “___ no mountain high enough...” 22 Status if you do or don’t? 23 Kingdom that doesn’t accept credit cards? 25 Rock singer Jackson 28 Kimono sash 29 Vampire-like female 30 Drive-___ 32 Class with Bunsen burners: abbr. 36 Barn-raising and butter-churning all out of whack? 39 “Splish Splash” spot 40 Any female, to a typical Jerry Lewis character 41 Will figures 42 Skosh 43 Pirate 44 Part of being red in the face? 50 Fluffy ducks
51 O.K. Corral figure Wyatt 52 Absurd ending? 55 Giant with a posse 56 Class with a shoeshining lab? 58 First “Blue’s Clues” host 59 Switch out 60 Flair 61 They may go flat outside a flat 62 “We have met the enemy, and he ___” (“Pogo” quote) 63 TV warrior born in Amphipolis Down 1 Stare vacantly 2 “All that and ___ of chips” 3 Three-way, e.g. 4 Tabloid abductors 5 Stone used in pedicures 6 Yoga posture 7 Altoids competitor 8 Ballpark fig. 9 Hidden meat? 10 Step heavily 11 One-named New Age musician 12 Hybrid cat “bred for its skills in magic,” according to Napoleon Dynamite 13 Skip a sound 18 Montana handle 22 Fix a laptop
23 “Yeah, like that’s ever gonna happen to me...” 24 Ready to do it 25 Say too much 26 Arthur C. Clarke’s “Rendezvous With ___” 27 Exclude 30 Overly faithful assistant 31 Became a hermit 32 Prince hit 33 Rock musical with a 2009 Broadway revival 34 Better Than ___ 35 1990s puzzle game set in an island world 37 It may be half full 38 Great Pyramid pharaoh 42 Go Fish request, maybe 43 Goes topless 44 Hemingway’s “A Moveable ___” 45 Like some dryer traps 46 Feature mistakenly added to some male cartoon bovines 47 Tennis match start 48 Cat show noises 49 Tiny island nation that gained independence in 1994 52 ___ of Wight 53 Read bar codes 54 Alec’s “30 Rock” costar 56 Next-to-last Greek letter 57 Curse
©2009 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) For answers to this puzzle, call: 1-900-226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Must be 18+. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800-655-6548. Reference puzzle #0418.
AskAMexican by Gustavo Arellano
From Misogyny to McDonald's Dear Mexican, I was riding the local light rail when two female Mexicans sat down and start talking rapid-fire Spanish nonstop for 45 minutes! It seemed as if neither one stopped to take a breath of air. They were loud and could be heard the length of the train. Question: Is this why Mexican men are notorious for beating their women? If not, where did this notoriety originate? — Stonedeaf Whitebread Dear Gabacho, And are you still beating your wife? Loaded question aside, Mexican men have an infamous tendency for spousal abuse in the gabacho mind partly out of stereotype (the machismo cult, the most misunderstood cultural tendency since the American love of empire-building) but also partly out of truth. Sure, Mexican men beat wives, just like gabacho, negrito, and chinito maridos. But the prevalence may surprise people. The Department of Justice, in its latest National Crime Victimization Survey, found that spousal abuse suffered by “Hispanic” (read: mostly Mexican) women fell between twothirds between 1993 and 2005, and that “on average from 2001 to 2005, rates of intimate partner violence were similar for both Hispanic and non-Hispanic females and males.” In other words, gabachos and wabs beat their mates at similar rates. Of course, the feds only track reported cases, and the 2003 book Family Violence in a Cultural Perspective: Defining, Understanding, and Combating Abuse has a fascinating essay about the disparities among different Latino groups in reporting the crime. We can pin this pathology on mexicanidad, but that facile tactic absolves other groups of the similar sin and disregards legitimate factors (e.g., poverty, following parental examples, alcoholism) as the root of spousal abuse. Besides, I don’t understand the glee people take in attributing societal ills to an ethnic or religious group’s essence; that reasoning is as weak as Chicanos blaming all of Mexico’s missteps on the U.S. theft of the American southwest so long ago.
for when we’re talking about the whites when one’s within earshot. Whitey is far more familiar with us calling them gringos. If they become too familiar with gabacho we’ll have to move to the standby güero, ¿qué no? — Chicano Gordito Dear Chubby Wab, While I like your thinking, I must respectfully disagree. This column provides a public service by explaining and debunking Mexican culture to all interested parties, and what’s more important for gabachos to know than if we’re saying bad things about them in Spanish? Don’t believe the hype, gabachos: we don’t care caca about y’all, and the proof is in our respective slurs for each other. We call you gringo (white foreigner), gabacho (French idiot), güero (lightskinned), bolillo (French roll we love), and yanqui (imperialist), and my friend Cheeser from El Modena came up with anglosangrones (Angloassholes); ustedes deride us as beaners, greasers, pepper bellies (insults toward our diet), wetbacks (a ridicule of the arduous journey many of us took to invade this country), aliens, wife beaters, and so many more. We can’t hold a vela to your linguistic disgust and invective obsession for us! I get a few letters each week from Know Nothings whining I’m a nasty racist for calling them gabachos, but you know what? Ustedes should be grateful I don’t run a contest to
create a new insult for Mexicans to deride white Americans. In the grand Rolodex of Racism, gabacho is as soft a jab as calling someone a scoundrel. Dear Mexican, Why do McDonald's game pieces come in English AND Spanish? I'm not sure if I'm more insulted as a Mexican to be targeted as eating at McDonald's regularly enough to have the text translated for my people—or if I'm more irritated that something so innocuous and American as McDonald's products need a secondlanguage translation. — Mexican Muchacha in Maui Dear Wab, Wow, I didn't know burros swam that far. Kidding aside, you're a pendeja. First off, there is nothing innocuous or American about McDonald's. The chain's longtime owner Ray Kroc was a ruthless master of business who infamously stated, "If my competitor were drowning I'd stick a hose in his mouth and turn on the water." And that's why you have no reason to take offense if McDonald's prints game pieces in Spanish. Chula: McDonald's would paint Grimace in blackface if it could earn them a couple more bucks. Ask the Mexican at themexican@ askamexican.net, myspace.com/ocwab, find him on Facebook, Twitter, or write via snail mail at: Gustavo Arellano, P.O. Box 1433, Anaheim, CA 92815-1433!
“This column provides a public service by explaining and debunking Mexican culture to all interested parties, and what’s more important for gabachos to know than if we’re saying bad things about them in Spanish?"
Dear Mexican, You have to stop calling gabachos gabachos, my man. That’s our word 95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 6.11.09 The Pulse
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