SUMMER VIOLENCE • THE ART OF BEING • CLIMATE CHANGE
News, Views News Views, Arts & Entertainment • July 16 - 22 22, 2009 • Volume 66, Issue 29 • www www.chattanoogapulse.com chattanoogapulse com • pulse news 95.3 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 LY 1 6 , 2 0 0 9 • V O L U M E 6 , I S S U E 2 9
COVER STORY
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NEWS & VIEWS 6 BEYOND THE HEADLINES
21 ON THE BEAT
The newsy, notable & notorious.
It's all about priorities.
9 SHRINK RAP
22 SHADES OF GREEN
Thoughts about being.
Why climate change is divisive.
19 LIFE IN THE NOOG
27 ASK A MEXICAN
Taking a Stand!
What's Mexican for "Oreo"?
ARTS & FEATURES 16 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT By Stephanie Smith “Bluegrass music has been played in this region of the country for a long time. Bluegrass festivals are always family-friendly, and not only focus on the music but also the camaraderie of the festival goers."
19 FILM FEATURE
By Damien Power This is the final week until Phillip Johnston comes back from lands afar, so I thought I’d eschew Harry Potter and welcome him back with a film that was on his Summer Movie picks, and one that I was actually interested in seeing.
21 THEATRE PREVIEW By Helene Houses After ending the season with a big kooky splash in Psycho Beach Party, the Chattanooga Theatre Centre is already changing costumes for the 2009-2010 season in the Circle. 24 MUSIC FEATURE
By Hellcat David Lowry, the lead singer of Cracker, might be one of the cockiest people I have interviewed in the last four years.
Cover photograph by Damien Power
SAVING OUR KIDS FROM GANG VIOLENCE By Janis Hashe Gangs in Chattanooga are like a cancer, and we are at a critical treatment point. Continue to act as though they are “not really a problem”, slap simplistic platitudes on the situation, such as “parents need to take responsibility,” and in five or 10 years, the city might well find itself realizing the disease is out of control.
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EDITOON LETTERS TO THE EDITOR PULSE BEATS THE LIST CITY COUNCILSCOPE POLICE BLOTTER
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A&E CALENDAR NEW IN THEATERS 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 Advertising Sales Rick Leavell rleavell@chattanoogapulse.com Leif Sawyer leif@brewermediagroup.com Contributing Writers Gustavo Arellano Rob Brezsny Elizabeth Crenshaw Chuck Crowder Michael Crumb Rebecca Cruz Helen Houses Hellcat Phillip Johnston Matt Jones Jeremy Lawrence Louis Lee Kelly Lockhart Ernie Paik Rick Pimental-Habib, Ph.D. Damien Power Stephanie Smith Alex Teach
Letters to the Editor
Editorial Cartoonist Rick Baldwin Staff Photographer Damien Power Art Department Sharon Chambers Kathryn Dunn Kelly Lockhart Damien Power Art Intern Megan Humble 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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1305 Carter Street Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402 phone (423) 648-7857 fax (423) 648-7860 Letters to the editor must include name, address and daytime phone number for verification. The Pulse reserves the right to edit letters for space and clarity. Please keep letters within 500 words in length. The Pulse covers a broad range of topics concentrating on culture, the arts, entertainment and local news.
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Even More Music Venues Very well done, Hellcat [“The Good, The Bad and The Sound”]. I would like to add a few more venues to your list, like T-Bones, Buds, The Tin Can and Spectators, to name a few that offer live music on a consistent basis. David Rick Chattanooga Parents Need To Parent Parents need to stop worrying about who they’re dating and what reality show to watch and be PARENTS to
their kids [“Is This Chattanooga Or Dodge City?”]. Shucks, I might be wrong but that certainly couldn’t hurt. Dana Fly Chattanooga
Alex Teach’s “On The Beat” column last week, where he detailed one of his stranger dreams, attracted a lot of online commentary on our web site at www.chattanoogapulse.com
Losing The War on Drugs In a purely economic sense the war on drugs fails us [“Inside The Front Lines Of A New Cultural War”, 6/18]. Our current approach simply costs too much while providing a boon to a criminal underclass. In The Godfather II a gangster said, “We won’t make the same mistake with drugs that we did with liquor,” meaning that drugs will be kept illegal, some drugs anyway. Prohibition should have taught us that making a substance illegal only creates an economic engine that pumps out dollars for criminal organizations on a truly massive scale. That’s the reality, face it. Tough talk on illegal drugs only scores cheap political points for politicians and makes traffickers smile. Drug abuse should be treated as a medical problem not a criminal one. Believe me, criminals the world over are hoping we continue to keep our heads in the sand. David Durham Chattanooga
I have similar dreams, though mine are not usually as graphic, and I just chalk it up to my subconscious keeping my conscious in check. It is it’s way of processing and showing me the possible results of my decisions and it prepares me for the hell to follows should I have to make the hard decision. —“Brian from TN” What Mr. Teach is experiencing sounds an awful lot like posttraumatic stress disorder. Having worked for the attorney general in my state I got to see some pretty awful stuff. But nothing near what the cop on the street sees. We developed a gallows humor about it. And we drank like fish. —“Kilodelta” Definitely not a laughing matter, though not a cop I am a vet who 15 years after action still have vivid dreams and even remember some, even though not as many as before. I wish you the best and can empathize with you. —“Ben Kinney”
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...
“With the help of citizens of our community in taking a proactive approach in dealing with crime and addressing issues that fuel deviant behavior and violent crime, we can decrease the number of incidences of violence.” — Sergeant Jerri Weary, Public Information Officer, Chattanooga Police.
The Violent Summer Of 2009 By Gary Poole gpoole@chattanoogapulse.com
The news media is often accused of focusing solely on “bad news”. At the same time, we are often accused on not covering the “real stories”. It often feels like a no-win situation, as the “real stories” in the city of late have revolved around some very bad news: an apparent dramatic increase in violence. Over the past week, there was a failed home invasion, two more shootings, a machete attack and a drive-by shooting in a house. Not to mention a shooting in a Signal Mountain chiropractic clinic involving the doctor and his ex-wife. Last Thursday, a 68-year-old man on Westside Drive foiled an attempted home invasion by defending his home from three intruders dressed in red by firing at them with a rifle when they came into his house. Police were able to capture and arrest four suspects, Gabriel Williams, 24, Cornitna Benn, 22, Justin Sexton, 21, and Darrius Simmons, 20. Simmons attempted to flee after having his vehicle stopped by police and was captured after he fell down a steep hill. Williams had been released from jail two days earlier. On Friday, Tina Loher showed up at the Signal Mountain Chiropractic Clin-
ic and, according to police reports, got into a struggle with her ex-husband, Dr. Terry Loher, in the process shooting him the leg. At press time, Dr. Loher remains at Erlanger Hospital in critical condition. Early Sunday morning in the parking lot behind Club Deep Blue on Brainerd Road, Jeffrey Parrish was shot in the hip by Alex Freeman III, who was arrested and charged with attempted murder along with several other charges. Later that morning on Hargraves Avenue, Orlando Warren and Tracy Calloway were returning to Calloway’s residence when several vehicles pulled
Battle Academy Math Teacher Wins Presidential Excellence Award Becky Holden, a first-grade teacher at Battle Academy, has been recognized by the President of the United States for her role as a math teacher. She has been selected as a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. The award is given out each year to the best pre-college-level science and math teachers across the country Holden will receive $10,000 from the National Science Foundation, as well as an expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. this fall for a White House awards ceremony and several days of educational and celebratory events, including visits with members of Congress and science agency leaders. Holden earned the recognition for her work in teaching elementary mathematics. “There is no higher calling than furthering the educational advancement of our nation’s young people and encouraging and inspiring our next generation of leaders,” President Obama said. “These awards represent a heartfelt salute of appreciation to a remarkable group of individuals who have devoted their lives and careers to helping others and in doing so have helped us all.”
up alongside them and the people inside began firing at them. Warren was shot in the shoulder while Calloway was run over by one of the vehicles as she attempted to flee the gunfire. Then on Sunday night, a man showed up at East Ridge Hospital suffering wounds he said he received after being attacked by a man wielding a machete. Also in the past week, a woman on Fall Creek Road called police after she heard a noise outside her house at 3 a.m. that turned out to have been caused by someone shooting out the plate glass window in the front of her residence. This may sound like a typical week in any large metropolitan city, but is not even remotely common for Chattanooga. This is a city known for friendly citizens and safe neighborhoods. And yet, in spite of the perception of increased violent crime—for the month of June, there were nine reported shooting incidents worked by the Chattanooga Police Department Major Crimes Division—in comparing the number of shootings from this year to last year, the number is the same: 38. Violent crime from 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 has declined. Even in spite of a rash of high-profile incidents, the city is currently down 8 percent from last year in violent crime. And while the statistics tell us that violent crime is down overall, one can only look around at what has happened last week, the past month and the past three months and wonder if we are in the midst of a new summer of violence or if this is, once again, a situation where perception does not equal reality. 95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 7.16.09 The Pulse
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Beyond The Headlines
Some Are Still Willing to Serve By Louis Lee louis@brewermediagroup.com
Random Thoughts On Summer 1. “Every man, wherever he goes, is encompassed by a cloud of comforting convictions, which move with him like flies on a summer day.” — Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), Skeptical Essays (1928), “Dreams and Facts” 2. “Summer afternoon. Summer afternoon...the two most beautiful words in the English language.” — Henry James (1843-1916) 3. “In summer, the song sings itself.” — William Carlos Williams (1883-963) 4. “The summer night is like a perfection of thought.” — Wallace Stevens (1879-1955) 5. “This bud of love, by summer’s ripening breath, May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet.” — William Shakespeare (1564 1616), “Romeo and Juliet”, Act II, scene 2 6. “It’s a sure sign of summer if the chair gets up when you do.” — Walter Winchell (1897-1972) As summer lays its warm grip upon Chattanooga, it’s a time for short things: short pants, short skirts, short sleeves. It’s also a time for slowing down a bit, both because of the omnipresent heat of the afternoon, but also to enjoy the long luxurious evenings. It’s a time for picnics and parties, vacations and celebrations, and the glorious days of no school for the younger generation. Even for adults, nearly everything relaxes a bit during the summer, which is entirely the way it should be. Enjoy the summer and get outside. There will be plenty of time to spend indoors come autumn and winter.
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n 1965, I wanted to be a soldier,” says Mike Miller. And he got his wish. But part of that wish went unfulfilled. He decided, as a junior in high school, that he wanted to make the military a career. He joined in 1965, and left for Vietnam in 1966 after completing airborne school. Miller liked jumping off roofs as a child—he thought jumping out of an airplane would be even more fun. “Did two tours in Vietnam,” he recollects, “’66-’67, re-upped again for a third tour without even coming home, and caught one in the leg.” While on patrol in the jungles of Southeast Asia, Miller was shot. “That put me out of the game.” The wound was serious enough to send him home. An Airborne Ranger was of little use with a leg injury. Miller lived, reluctantly, as a civilian for the next three decades; out of the game, but never far from the sidelines. Then the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, demanded attention. “I was mad…REAL mad. Tried to get back in active duty. Said I was too old. That made me even madder,” he says indignantly. Then he saw a sign at the local post office, a recruiting poster for the Tennessee State Guard, the all-volunteer branch of the Tennessee Military Department. The TSG is a brother organization of the Tennessee National Guard. The only differences are: There’s no pay, enlistment is open to veterans up to the age of 70 and you never have to be deployed outside the Volunteer State. He enlisted that day. “State Guard got me back in uniform,” Miller said, “Made me feel like I was helping fight the war on terror.” In Vietnam, Miller was an NCO (non-commissioned officer). When he got out, he went to college and earned his bachelor’s degree. That meant when he enlisted in the Tennessee State Guard, he was offered an officer’s commission. Starting out at second lieutenant, he is now a major, and commanding the 1st Battalion of the 4th Regiment, located at Holtzclaw National Guard Armory.
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The Tennessee State Guard, as a volunteer force, can trace its lineage back to the Revolutionary War and the Battle of King’s Mountain in North Carolina. Some 400 volunteers crossed the mountain to fight the British. The volunteer force was so effective and wreaked such havoc on the British troops that Colonel Patrick Ferguson, under Cornwallis, made the threat that if the Tennesseans did not desist in their opposition to the king, he would “march his army over the mountains, hang their leaders, and lay their country waste with fire and sword!” This threat was met with an additional 1,000 volunteers, who turned the tide at King’s Mountain and sent Cornwallis back to the Chesapeake. In just over one hour, the volunteers, without benefit of orders, formal military training, uniforms, provisions or even promise of pay, totally decimated the highly skilled British troops. Every last red coat was either dead or captured. The dead included Col. Ferguson. This spirit of volunteerism is alive and well in the State Guard of today. Hal Shaw tried to get into the military when he was young. At the time, he was the last male in his family, all others having served and some having perished in defense of the United States. So, he was told he could not join. For years, he lived his life wondering “what if.” But 22 years ago the commander of the 4th Brigade, as it was then known, was looking for a firearms instructor. Hal Shaw eventually rose to the rank of command sergeant major,
the highest rank in the State Guard. After serving in that position for a few years, he was offered an officer’s commission. Now, he has risen to the rank of major and is executive officer of the 4th Regiment. He has enjoyed a fellowship in this organization he’d been looking for all his life. “You’d have to go a long way to find better camaraderie and fellowship in any organization,” boasts Shaw. “Because all of us realize we’re all in the same boat, so to speak.” Shaw is proud of the sacrifices the troops under his command make in order to serve the state. “We’re all volunteers,” he reiterates, “we take away from our family, work time, and donate our time to the state.” Family time doesn’t always have to suffer. There are several husbandwife and father-son teams in the State Guard. Brenda Yancey’s husband was in the State Guard. She wasn’t content to sit at home while he attended drills, so she tagged along. After she continued to help out with clerical duties, the general finally told her, “If you’re going to do the work, you need to enlist.” And she did. “My husband had a massive heart attack and died the same year I joined the State Guard,” Yancey reveals. “They asked me what I wanted to do and I told them I wanted to continue on.” Now, many years later, Yancey is the first female sergeant major in the State Guard, traveling 120 miles one weekend a month to attend drill in Chattanooga. For more information, visit www. tnsg.us or the local unit’s web site, www.4thTennessee.com.
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.
• A Gadd Road resident was walking back to his apartment when he heard the door to his apartment close and saw a man walk quickly away. He caught up with the man, who was mumbling to himself, and confronted him. When asked what he was doing inside the apartment, the man told him there was a bobcat in the adjacent apartment. Police were unable to locate any wild animals, and although there was a chair knocked over and a sliding-glass door ajar in the man’s apartment, it appeared nothing had been stolen. • There is nothing wrong with having a cold beer or two on a hot summer day. However, it is not advisable to do your drinking near a school, even if there aren’t any children around. It is especially inadvisable to do so to the point of drunkenness. And following the baseball axiom of “three strikes and you’re out”, being drunk at a school with carrying a knife well over the maximum legal length is going to get you in a good bit of trouble. So unless you want to end up like the man who was arrested at Battle Academy on Main and Market for public intoxication and possession of an unlawful weapon, we advise leaving your weapons at home and drinking away from schoolyards.
• Having someone take your wallet is usually a very good reason to call police. Having a prostitute take your wallet after you disagree over a fee for her services, however, is not something officers often hear about. But that is exactly what happened when a Rossville man told police he had picked up a woman on 10th Avenue, who then backed out of their agreed-upon transaction, at which point she grabbed his wallet in order to make him stop the car and let her out. The officer advised the man to return to Rossville and not come back to Chattanooga without a legitimate reason, while counseling the woman to stay off the streets. • No matter how much you dislike your teenage children becoming interested in the opposite sex, it happens to just about every teen throughout history. And it is also very common for a teenage boy to sneak into a teenage girl’s bedroom by climbing in through her window. So it really shouldn’t have been that surprising to some parents on Old Ringgold Road to find the daughter’s beau in her bed early one morning. The parents said they were planning to have their daughter checked out by a doctor to see if there had been any illicit activity between the two.
Here is one of the more interesting agenda items set to be discussed at the July 21 meeting of the Chattanooga City Council.
5. Ordinances - Final Reading: a) An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, Section 38-228, by deleting subsections (2), (3), and (4) and renumbering the remaining subsections. Last week’s City Councilscope covered the first reading of this ordinance, which at first glance appeared to be removing the minimum space requirements for new residential construction in the city. The relevant parts of the city code that would be removed if the ordinance passes cover the minimum width of side yards (10 feet) and back yards (25 feet).
However, after further conversation with city officials, it turns out that the language covering minimum space requirements ended up being duplicated in another section of the city code. So what this ordinance is doing is simply cleaning up the duplication, all part of the city’s attempt to keep the law governing the city as clear as possible. We apologize for any confusion our explanation of the ordinance may have caused, while at the same time we urge both the city and the planning department to strive to be a bit clearer about the intents and purposes of future ordinances. It is reassuring to know that future residential development will still have to be built with adequate size yards.
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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Shrink Rap
Some Thoughts About Being By Rick Pimental-Habib, Ph.D www.DrRPH.com
D
ear Dr. Rick, I very much enjoyed your “Who Sits At Your Table” cover story in The Pulse recently, especially the honesty and openness with which both you and Pastor Mark share your experiences and offer guidance. As someone who strives (sometimes successfully, sometimes not) to improve myself, my life, and the lives of those around me, I wonder what I can do (or do more of) to bring about positive change. I’m a big believer in the power of thoughts, prayers, and words. Any suggestions? Sincerely, Working On It In Chattanooga (aka Rob) Dear Rob, I was having a conversation with a friend about the different ways to effect change in our lives and in the world, and the conversation turned to thinking about our Loving Creator/ Divine Spirit/ Higher Power/ God (use whatever term you like), and all the ways that our Creator works through us to express to the world that which is good, kind, and loving. And further, that whenever our highest self is engaged in an expression to the world, this is our Creator working through us. We become a vessel, a conduit. And
change occurs. We talked about, for instance, my Spirit connecting with your Spirit in all the small, everyday moments of life, verbally and non-verbally. We connect with each other all the time, whether we’re aware of it or not, through thought, prayer, meditation, word, and action. But how conscious are we of being able to effect positive change in our lives and the lives of others simply by understanding this? Think about it: How many times have you felt a powerful connection with another person— maybe over a creative project for school, or during a candlelight dinner, or just doing yoga together or biking along a wooded trail? And you smile; feel that little jolt of electricity in your stomach, and wonder, “Hmm…what’s going on here?” It might be sexual, but it doesn’t have to be sexual at all; it’s a soul-to-soul connection that feels really good. One person’s exciting, generous, loving Spirit connecting with another’s, and the delicious anticipation of the infinite possibilities this offers. Shortly after this conversation, I re-discovered this quotation in my notes, from the Kripalu Yoga Center in Massachusetts: “How do we help awaken the best of the human spirit: the ability to love, to connect, to integrate, to heal, and to bring forth new life in all dimensions of human activity? How do we actually make a difference in people’s consciousness? And once touched, how do we inspire others to actively make a difference in the
world, and in the way we live?” (Don’t you love it when the universe brings just what you need, just when you need it— more of the good stuff you’re already engaged in?) So, I believe that doing is only part of the picture. I think a much more potent force for everything from interpersonal wonderfulness to positive global change comes from being. For in being who you wish to be, who you wish to share with the world, you are consciously involved in the awesome act of creating yourself to be that vessel, that conduit that reaches out and touches others. You are modeling to those around you something brilliant: Your Higher Power working through you. I’ll close with a meditation that was sent to me by my good friend, Candy: “May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.”
“In being who you wish to be, who you wish to share with the world, you are consciously involved in the awesome act of creating yourself to be that vessel, that conduit that reaches out and touches others.”
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 web site at www.DrRPH.com where you can email your questions and comments.
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Cover Story
By Janis Hashe Photography by Damien Power
Think of it as a cancer. Treat it before it spreads too far—and you have a chance to eradicate it. Ignore it, pretend it doesn’t exist—and it will poison your system. Gangs in Chattanooga are like a cancer, and we are at a critical treatment point. Continue to act as though they are “not really a problem”, slap simplistic
platitudes on the situation, such as “parents need to take responsibility,” and in five or 10 years, the city might well find itself realizing the disease is out of control. Or, as Michael Cranford, president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chattanooga puts it, “We may be thinking of these as the good old days.” 95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 7.16.09 The Pulse
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Cover Story
Saving Our Kids from Gang Violence By Janis Hashe jhashe@chattanoogapulse.com
Where we are—and why For years, Chattanooga simply denied gangs existed here. Bloods, Crips, Vice Lords—they were in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago—but not here. However, it is now openly acknowledged that at least 30 gang-affiliated groups operate in the city, although, as Sgt. Todd Royval of the police department’s Crime Suppression Unit points out, some of these groups consist of “three to four people” and might more accurately be described as “gang wannabees”. Some, however, are much larger, organized, and have ties to both regional and national gang networks. It was these ties that led to state and federal involvement in the June 9 indictments of 47 people, all with known or suspected gang affiliations. Yet despite these arrests, and possibly partly because of them, nine shootings have occurred since then, almost undoubtedly gang-related, several involving young teens, including the shooting death of 15-year-old Alonzo O’Kelley Jr. by a CHA officer, currently being investigated by the NAACP. Sgt. Royval notes that Chattanooga police officers now have a 10-point scale for identifying gang members, including associating with known gang members, wearing gang insignia (including colors), tattoos, etc. “We go to place where we get complaints, where there is a lot of graffiti, people hanging out,” he says. But as other cities’ police forces have discovered, neighbors are reluctant to come forward, fearing retaliation, he says. So as soon as the police car rounds the corner, gang members reclaim their turf. “Ha! Let them keep killing each other. Nothing but a waste of space,” posted one local on a news site’s coverage of the violence. National gang experts, however, point out that the root causes of gang formation—poverty, racism, drugs, unemployment, high drop-out rates—the same factors that have led to the highest incarceration rate of African American males in U.S. history— cannot be solved with police busts, no matter how efficient. According to 2007 Bureau of Justice statistics: “Based on the current rate of first incarceration, an estimated 32 percent of black males will enter either State or Federal prison during their lifetime.” Dr. Alejandro del Carmen is a professor and chair of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Texas at Arlington and author of Racial Profiling in America (2008). He conducted a study of 200 active gang members in Fort Worth, Texas, and describes many young people’s involvement with gangs as “an evolution. The journey to and from school becomes a main source of contact.” In his study, conducted in conjunction with the Fort Worth Boys & Girls Clubs, “both parents were not at home. The father may be gone permanently, and the single mother is working multiple jobs.” If there is a history
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of gang involvement in the family, odds increase exponentially that the young person will become involved. In Dr. del Carmen’s research, kids as young as 9—or younger—were already at risk. Chattanooga Boys & Girls Clubs’ Michael Cranford agrees. “Ninety percent of the at-risk kids we see come from single-female heads of household families. Kids join gangs because there is safety in numbers, because it is part of something they belong to.” Despite the negative implications, [gang membership] gives them a feeling of competence, a sense of power, and a sense of influence over others, he says—the same qualities the Boys & Girls Clubs strive to provide in a positive sense. What’s being done In 2005, Mayor Ron Littlefield created the position of director of faith-based and community partnerships, operating within the mayor’s office, and designed, according to current director Al Chapman, to improve relationships with religious organizations and nonprofits working to improve the community. As part of this program, the city provides grants to organizations such as Girls, Inc., Reach One Youth Outreach, Stop the Madness, and a number of neighborhood-based projects that are working to reach at-risk kids, including programs at churches such as Olivet Baptist and Church of the First Born. In a recent development, Chapman notes, Signal Centers of Chattanooga secured $320,000 in federal stimulus funds that will be used to fund projects such as its Young Adult Enrichment Program. At the end of June, he adds, Hamilton Country Commissioner Greg Beck secured $55,000 in county funding that will be used to help fund the partners. “Our effort is focused on kids who are in
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the middle, who haven’t decided to join gangs,” he says. He praises “local heroes”, such as 70-yearold grandmother Charlotte Battle of Greenwood Terrace, who started her own program to help kids in her high-crime, low-income neighborhood, Jessica Lawrence in East Lake, Ronnie Hill on the Westside, and Tasha Walton in Cromwell, all of whom are receiving grants. But looking at the budget figures obtained by The Pulse, prior to the one-time amounts listed above being added, a total of only $66,580.62 had been approved by the city for the 19 religious and nonprofit organizations listed. Deduct the listed projected administrative costs, and the total becomes $59,080.62. Chapman points out that other city departments, such as Parks & Recreation and Public Works also provide youth programs, and in some cases, internships. The Arts, Education & Culture department’s programs include Unity in the Community, Unbroken, and Remember the Dream. Yet even with these programs, in Chattanooga at this time, the burden of intervention and prevention falls primarily on the shoulders of private institutions. And these institutions struggle with finding the funding needed merely to sustain, never mind expand, their efforts. Richard Bennett is executive director of A Better Tomorrow, headquartered on Highway 58, which received $1,000 of city money this year. Bennett is a soft-spoken, burly man, a former drug dealer who spent time in prison. Now a minister, he created A Better Tomorrow to help kids who are where he once was. “My father left my life early and did not pay child support,” he says. “I couldn’t read a lick when I graduated from high school. I did not know who I was.” The lure of selling crack cocaine, of
Cover Story big money—“At one time, I had $180,000 in the house”— proved irresistible. Now, having turned his own life around, he works with kids in schools such as Washington Alternative School, Howard High and Brainerd High. Bennett recruits mentors to work with the kids, teaching them life, decisionand goal-setting skills. Graduates of the eightweek “Destiny/Life Choices” program receive a certificate stating they have “made the decision to be responsible for his/her choices, made the decision to be an individual, unique and special, made the decision to believe all things are possible.” Each graduate lists on the certificate three shortterm and five long-term goals. Credibility looms large with at-risk kids, Bennett emphasizes. “Children can sense insincerity in a second.” He admits that some of those who volunteer for his program, when confronted with the scope of the problem, walk back out the door and never return. “But my passion is for those kids that people don’t want. The collateral damage,” he says. Somewhat wistfully, he adds that A Better Tomorrow could help many more kids if additional funds were available. A restored Victorian on Lindsay Street houses the headquarters of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chattanooga. Sitting down with President Michael Cranford and Executive Vice President Debra Gray, we learn that the four club locations are serving as many as 250-275 kids each per day this summer, a large increase over last year. Summer membership is only $10. For that, kids have access to group activities, a leadership program, a summer jobs program. During the school year, the membership fee drops to $3, and kids can access computers at all the centers, find mentoring help, and aid in filling out college applications. Older kids in the leadership program mentor and tutor the younger ones. The goals of the “Youth Development Strategy” are listed as: “A sense of competence…the feeling there is something they can do well. A sense of usefulness..the opportunity to do something of value for other people. A sense of belonging…a setting where the individual knows he has a place where he fits and is accepted. A sense of power or influence…a chance to be heard and to influence decisions.” Between school year and summer programs, “We’re reaching about 3,000 kids, ages 6 to 18,” says Cranford. But, he estimates, there are at least 9,000 kids living at or below the poverty line in Chattanooga and the clubs cannot reach them all. What must be done Dr. Tod Burke, a former police officer and a criminal justice professor at Radford University in Virginia, has written a number of papers on gang-related issues. He notes that a three-pronged approach is essential for communities serious about tackling gang proliferation:
prevention, intervention and enforcement. “There need to be community-awareness programs, not designed to panic people, but to acknowledge that there is a gang problem. There need to be gang-resistance programs for pre-teens, and education presenting the justice system in a positive light. Afterschool, in-school, and counseling programs are also essential,” he says. All sources interviewed pointed to stemming the dropout rate and improving educational opportunities as key. “Fifty percent of African American males do not graduate from high school in this county,” says Cranford. “How many kids are going to pay the price for that?” asks Debra Gray. “Improving educational opportunity is the classic way to increase mobility. A society with a weak education system will, by definition, be one in which the advantages of class or family background loom large. We need to ensure that children from less advantaged backgrounds have the same educational opportunities as those whose parents can afford to enroll them in nursery school at an early age, live in a high-priced neighborhood with good schools, and send their children to college.” —“The Future of Children: Opportunity in America”, a Brookings Institute policy brief After-school and evening activities for kids with working parents are also vital, giving them a supervised place to go, and role models to look up to. “The Police Athletic League sponsors midnight basketball in a number of cities,” Burke notes. Jobs, even temporary ones, and internships, provided in both public and private sectors help give kids both a sense of self-esteem and some income. In the “enforcement” sector, Burke points to successes in community-based policing, and “gang.net”, a software program that helps track gang members. Chattanooga’s Sgt. Royval mentions the G.R.E.A.T. program, similar to D.A.R.E. Its initials stand for “Gang Resistance Education and Training”, and it targets 5th through 8th-grade students. “A city needs to develop a strategy,” says Burke, noting that cities such as Durham, NC, have in fact made progress in keeping kids out of gangs. Michael Cranford urges that more private/public partnerships be formed, citing the success of the Boys & Girls Clubs arrangement with the city’s Alton Park recreation center. “The city had just built this beautiful facility, and we had the kids,” he says. Chattanooga prides itself on the re-making of the city from the old, dirty days. Do we have the will to turn that spirit to the saving of at-risk kids? Can someone more privileged learn to see the cute, chubby little boy waving at them from a cart in the supermarket as the same child who might be dying in the street 12 years later? It’s our challenge, Chattanooga. How will we answer it?
Realizing the Dream Devon Johnson (not his real name) is a slender 16-year-old with long eyelashes. He speaks with quiet confidence, his responses to questions peppered with “yes, ma’am” and “no, ma’am.” Devon, by his own account, has friends who have been drawn into the gang life. “They didn’t have enough positive things around them,” he says. He credits his 10-year involvement with the Boys Club as a major factor in his choosing to take a different path. He became aware of gangs at around age 10, he says, but has focused on finishing school and going to college. He knows exactly what he’d like to become, which, to protect his identity, we will not reveal. After our conversation, he leaves us a track of music, recorded in his house. “I’ll be the first in my family to go to college,” he sings. The name of the track is “The Dream.”
Resources for involvement If you own a company, run a program, or are a private individual who would like to help the organizations mentioned, can offer jobs or internships, mentor, or offer other services, contact: • Al Chapman Director of faith-based and community partnerships, City of Chattanooga: (423) 425-7816. www.chattanooga.gov • Debra Gray, Executive vice president, Boys & Girls Clubs of Chattanooga. (423) 266-6131. www.bgccha.org • Richard Bennett, Executive director, A Better Tomorrow: (423) 227-2849. www.abettertomorrowinc.org
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Life In The Noog
Taking A Stand For The Noog! By Chuck Crowder www.thenoog.com
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riving over to the Finley Stadium area for the soccer game on the Fourth and again to the Chattanooga Market on the 5th, the eyesore better known as “Parkway Towers” struck me as an issue that someone needs to deal with, and pronto. Fix it up or tear it down—one or the other. As loose facts and rumor have it, the owner was approached when Finley was being built and the Pavilion refurbished to sell the abandoned building for a nominal price (mainly the value of the land underneath, I would suspect). And, apparently he/she/it was a little prouder of the building than the powers that be were willing to pay, so the deal fell through. Since then, the brown-and-tan behemoth has represented nothing more than visual pollution, just steps away from a stadium and pavilion that add so much to our city’s potential for additional tourism revenue. And what’s worse, an unfortunate incident there left an alleged trespasser paralyzed when he fell from its unstable heights. Shouldn’t that have been enough to bulldoze the beast? Personally, I couldn’t sleep at night knowing that I owned THE ugliest monument adorning the intersection of two major freeways smack dab at the doorstep of downtown Chattanooga. But that’s just me. I’m no “businessman.” Regardless, my outrage at some random local issue like that was the last straw to get me to finally go online and fill out a STAND survey on chattanoogastand.com. This four-question survey seeks to gauge respondents’ feelings for Chattanooga, and what we can do to make it a better place to live. STAND was launched back in May by a diverse group of concerned citizens who wanted to see a community-wide vision established for the next 25 years. And I guess since the metro/county population is somewhere around 250,000, the STAND campaign decided that a good goal might be to aim for 10
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percent responding, or 25,000. The way I understand it, if they achieve this goal, Chattanooga will have accomplished the world’s largest visioning process to date. And I believe we can do it. I mean, we had more than 3,000 fans at the last Chattanooga FC game when the average NPSL League attendance is 150-200. Chattanoogans really seem to care about what’s going on here. The answers collected will be given to the Ochs Center for processing and will then be available to the public for use as a tool, directing and demanding that the future of this city meet the needs of all of the people who live here. Now, I doubt if the results of this survey will be enough to fire up a wrecking ball toward the aforementioned monolith of abandoned glory, or even force opinionated columnists to watch what they print, but results do have the power to make a difference that’s based on public desire—not just political prowess. And that’s pretty cool. I mean, it doesn’t take Boss Hogg to figure out that if you choose your path from one already laid out by the constituency, then bingo: re-election.
The Pulse 7.16.09 www.chattanoogapulse.com 95.3 Pulse News
Even Littlefield is smart enough to see these wall-writings. And that may make the next three years or so a little more tolerable. And guess what? No more “Power Structure.” Local radio talk-show conspiracy theorists and Chattanoogan.com opinion respondents alike will have no one left to blame but the STAND survey respondents for any great ideas (like two-way streets) they deem unpopular just because of where they came from. But you can’t win if you don’t play. So next time you see one of the STAND volunteers in a schoolbus-yellow T-shirt at Nightfall, Chattanooga Market, Family Movie Night or some other event, stop and give them your two cents. Or, visit chattanoogastand.com and fill out the survey online. So far, 9,501 Chattanoogans have taken a STAND. Why don’t you increase that number by one? 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
“The answers collected will be given to the Ochs Center for processing and will then be available to the public for use as a tool, directing and demanding that the future of this city meet the needs of all of the people who live here.”
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Arts & Entertainment
Bluegrass Brings Families Together By Stephanie Smith
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luegrass music has been played in this region of the country for a long time. Bluegrass festivals are always family-friendly, and not only focus on the music but also the camaraderie of the festival goers.” Jordia Waller and the White Oak Mountain Bluegrass Festival committee had to put their heads together to come up with a festival headliner that would uphold the family-friendly credo the festival is known for. “Each year we try and bring in the best act possible,” says Waller. “Cherryholmes continued to pop up when we were going through our decision-making process. The band won the 2005 IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) for Entertainer of the Year. They have also been nominated for four Grammy Awards over the last few years. They have a unique sound and have not played our festival in the past, so they seemed like the best choice [to headline this year’s festival].” Cherryholmes is a family act that started back in 1999 as a homeschool project. The name of the band, Cherryholmes, is the family’s last name. Mother and mandolin player Sandy tells their story. “Our oldest daughter passed away early in 1999. As a family, we went to see Jim and Jessie and the Virginia Boys at a local [bluegrass] festival. That experience inspired us to create the band so we could spend more time together as a family. We first started playing together with the kids in church in Los Angeles in April 1999. Our oldest daughter, Cia, played guitar already. We started the band as a homeschool music class. We chose instruments that we needed and put it all together,” she explains. The members of the band, the “kids,” are Cia (25, banjo), B.J. (21, fiddle), Skip (19, guitar), and Molly (16, fiddle). Along with Sandy on mandolin and their father Jere on bass, these talented young people produce some of the most innovative bluegrass out there. “We started out very traditional, but as the kids
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got older everyone started to write. Molly is more classical, B.J. is more eclectic jazz, and the other two [Cia and Skip] prefer a more bluegrass/ acoustic style. “We don’t pattern ourselves after bluegrass musicians,” insists Sandy, “and yet we try to keep the different sound— everything from traditional bluegrass to country fused together with rock—within the parameters of bluegrass.” As for their performance style? Sandy did a lot of drama and theatre when she was younger, and that, she says, is where she got the great stage ideas. Other than that, the band just “watches what big artists do and tries to make the music exciting.” They use remote microphones to move around onstage and engage the audience, and then they come back to one central mike. “Traditionally, bluegrass artists just stood there,” Sandy says. “We’re breaking new ground, this new generation—we’re excited about the music so we want to do it in a way that makes other people excited. This gives each show more of a rock appearance.” So far this year, Cherryholmes has been rocking stages everywhere from Scotland, England and Switzerland to the Caribbean and Canada. This fall, they embark on a major West Coast tour to promote their sixth CD—their third under the Skaggs Family label— entitled Don’t Believe. Being signed by the Skaggs Family is perfect for the family-oriented Cherryholmes. “Ricky is wonderful,” Sandy says. “He lets us create, he’s a friend, and he helps us keep the kids on a certain path. We’re very honored he’s signed us on.” Being a part of a label that values the bluegrass tradition is also important to Cherryholmes,
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especially since they weren’t raised in the Southeast. “I think [bluegrass] is some of America’s most important music,” Sandy explains. “It represents a time, way back to Bill Monroe, when bluegrass was something that families and communities did together. We need to get families picking; it’s a social music and it really is one of the few social activities that we can encourage people [of different backgrounds] to participate in at the same time. “We’ve had to make choices to find out what it was like [to live back then]. So, we sold our house and rough-camped on this property in Arizona for six years. We did it because we wanted to experience what it was like to grow up during those times. And, once you get out and around and experience life, the soul of the music can express itself no matter where you are.”
9th Annual White Oak Mountain Bluegrass Festival $20 9 a.m. to dark Saturday, July 18 Tri-State Exhibition Center, One-half mile west of I-75 at Exit 20, Cleveland, TN. www.whiteoakbluegrass.com
A&E Calendar
Send your calendar events to us at calendar@chattanoogapulse.com
Friday
Thursday Jazz on the Terrace with the Ben Friberg Quartet 6 p.m. Hunter Museum, 10 Bluff View. (423) 266-0944.
An Evening with Shel Silverstein 7 p.m. Hamilton Community Theatre, 7997 Shallowford Rd. (423) 304-7157. hamiltoncommunitytheatre.com
Six Book Signings by Six Authors 7 p.m. Rock Point Books, 401 Broad St. (423) 756-2855.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Two-actor version of the classic tale. $9 7:30 p.m. Ripple Theater, 3264 Brainerd Road. (423) 475-5006. www.rippletheater.com
Bye Bye Birdie 7:30 p.m St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 3210 Social Circle. (423) 877-6447. “Oh, Lady, Be Good: A Tribute to the Great Ladies of Song” 8:30 p.m. Delta Queen, Coolidge Park. (423) 468-4500. Dale Jones 8 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233.
Psycho Beach Party Last weekend to catch Charles Busch’s cross-dressing take on our fave ’60s movie genre. Crazy, man! Pre-show luau. $15 8 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, Circle Stage. 400 River Street (423) 267-8534. www.theatrecentre.com
Saturday
Mosaic Market 11 a.m. 412 Market St. (corner of 4th/Market) (423) 624-3915.
Local poets read, and the coffee’s not bad, either. Free. 6 p.m. Pasha, 9314 St. Elmo Avenue. (423) 475-5482.
Monday “Speak Easy” spoken word and poetry 8 p.m. Mudpie Restaurant, 12 Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9040. www.mudpierestaurant.com “Jellies: Living Art” Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View. (423) 266-0944. Fine Handmade Jewelry by Mary Helen Robert In-Town Gallery, 26A Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9214. “Human Nature” River Gallery, 400 E. Second St. (423) 265-5033. www.rivergallery.com Works by Stephen Scott Young Shuptrine Fine Art and Framing, 2646 Broad St. (423) 266-4453.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 7:30 p.m. Ripple Theater, 3264 Brainerd Road, (423) 475-5006. www.rippletheater.com
Bye Bye Birdie 7:30 p.m St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 3210 Social Circle. (423) 877-6447. www.stlukeumc.info
Delta Queen: A Musical Journey (dinner & a show) 8 p.m. Delta Queen, Coolidge Park. (423) 468-4500. www.deltaqueenhotel.com
Dale Jones 7:30 p.m. & 10 p.m. The Comedy Catch & Giggles Grille, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233. www.thecomedycatch.com
Delta Queen: Showboat Serenade 8:30 p.m. Delta Queen, Coolidge Park. (423) 468-4500. www.deltaqueenhotel.com
Poetry Open Mic Night 7:30 p.m. Barnes & Noble, 2100 Hamilton Place Blvd. (423) 893-0186.
Sunday Gary McKechnie signs his National Geographic book, USA 101: A Guide to America’s Iconic Places, Events, and Festivals 9 – 11 a.m. Rock City Gardens Starbucks. (706) 820-2531.
New Voices Poetry Event
A Midsummer’s Night Dream 7:30 p.m. Chattanooga State Humanities Auditorium, 4501 Amnicola Hwy. (423) 697-4404. www.chattanoogastate.edu
Folk music with Rusty Lowery and Nathan Brooks 1 p.m. Hunter Museum, 10 Bluff View. (423) 266-0944. www.huntermuseum.org
Evening with Shel Silverstein 7 p.m. Hamilton Community Theatre, 7997 Shallowford Rd. (423) 304-7157.
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A Midsummer’s Night Dream 7:30 p.m. Chattanooga State Humanities Auditorium, 4501 Amnicola Hwy. (423) 697-4404. Bye Bye Birdie 7:30 p.m St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 3210 Social Circle. (423) 877-6447.
Bye Bye Birdie 2:30 p.m. St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 3210 Social Circle. (423) 877-6447. www.stlukeumc.info The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 3 p.m. Ripple Theater, 3264 Brainerd Road, (423) 475-5006. www.rippletheater.com
Guys and Dolls 8 p.m. Signal Mountain Playhouse, 3500 Taft Hwy. (423) 886-5243.
Amazons, fairies, lovers under a spell and an ass’s head. Need we say more?
An Evening with Shel Silverstein 3 p.m. Hamilton Community Theatre, 7997 Shallowford Rd. (423) 304-7157. hamiltoncommunitytheatre.com
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 3 p.m. Ripple Theater, 3264 Brainerd Road, (423) 475-5006. www.rippletheater.com
Psycho Beach Party 8 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, Circle Stage, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534.
$10 2:30 p.m. Chattanooga State Humanities Auditorium, 4501 Amnicola Highway. (423) 697-4404.
“A Barage of Butterflies” Houston Museum of Art, 201 High St. (423) 267-7176. www.thehoustonmuseum.com
Tuesday
Wednesday
“The Other Race in Chattanooga: Native Americans” Noon. Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View. (423) 266-0944. www.thehoustonmuseum.com “ArtsChatt” 5 p.m. Easy Bistro, 203 Broad St. (423) 266-1121. www.easybistro.com “Tying the Knot: Jewish Wedding Traditions” Jewish Cultural Center, 5461 North Terrace. (423) 493-0270. “Coal Miners Health in Appalachia” Photo Exhibit Downtown Public Library, 1001 Broad St. (423) 757-1310. www.lib.chattanooga.gov
“Windows on the West: Views From the American Frontier” Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View. (423) 266-0944. Fine Handmade Jewelry by Mary Helen Robert In-Town Gallery, 26A Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9214. “Cultural Fragments” Lookout Mountain Gallery, 3914 St. Elmo Ave. (423) 394-1071. “Accessing the Artist’s Brain: Drawing as Metaphor” Association for Visual Arts, 30 Frazier Ave. (423) 265-4282. “A Barage of Butterflies” Houston Museum of Arts, 201 High St. (423) 267-7176. www.thehoustonmuseum.com
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Editor’s Pick: Featured Event Of The Week Peach Festival at the Chattanooga Market In case you have not yet noticed, this is an especially good peach year, and the Market this week is your chance to glory in all things peachy. Sunday, July 19 Chattanooga Market Free 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. First Tennessee Pavilion, 1826 Carter Street. (423) 648-2496. chattanoogamarket.com
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New in Theaters Harry Potter and the HalfBlood Prince Young wizards Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are facing new challenges and dangers in the wake of Lord Voldemort's return. Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort's defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well-connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry finds himself more and more drawn to Ginny, but so is Dean Thomas. And Lavender Brown has decided that Ron is the one for her, only she hadn't counted on Romilda Vane's chocolates! And then there's Hermione, simmering with jealousy
but determined not to show her feelings. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again. Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Jim Broadbent, Helena Bonham Carter Director: David Yates. Rating: PG
Also in Theaters Bruno Sacha Baron Cohen is a flamboyant Austrian fashionista who takes his show to the U.S., wreaking havoc on unsuspecting Americans. I Love You, Beth Cooper A geeky high school valedictorian uses his graduation speech to declare his love for Hayden Panettiere, setting a off a night he’ll never forget. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf return to join with the Autobots’ battle against the evil Decepticons. Public Enemies Johnny Depp stars as notorious Depression-era gangster John Dillinger, whose charismatic crime spree made him a folk hero to the masses. The Proposal Sandra Bullock is a high-
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powered exec who fakes an engagement with her assistant to avoid deportation to her native Canada. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Manny, Sid, Diego and the rest of the computeranimated critter crew are back for their third prehistoric adventure— this time in 3D! The Hangover Four friends go to Vegas for a blowout bachelor party, only to wake up the next morning with a baby, a tiger, no groom, and no clue. Up In Pixar’s latest, a twist of fate—and a persistent Junior Wilderness Explorer—send a 78-yearold man on an adventure beyond his wildest dreams. My Sister’s Keeper A young girl, conceived to provide a donor match
for her leukemia-stricken older sister, seeks to earn medical emancipation from her parents. The Taking of Pelham 1 23 Denzel Washington is a civil servant who must outwit John Travolta, a criminal mastermind who hijacks a subway train. Year One Jack Black and Michael Cera are a pair of village idiots on the first road trip ever, wandering through early civilization in biblical times. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Ben Stiller returns as the bewildered night watchman who witnesses exhibits coming alive. Star Trek Kirk, Spock, Bones and the rest of the Enterprise crew boldly go where no one has gone before in J.J. Abrams re-imagining of the final frontier.
Film Feature
I Love Summer By Damien Power
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his is the final week until Phillip Johnston comes back from lands afar, so I thought I’d eschew Harry Potter and welcome him back with a film that was on his Summer Movie picks, and one that I was actually interested in seeing (if I can get a date…ladies?). 500 Days of Summer stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tom Hanson. You might remember him as the young guy from Third Rock from the Sun, or from the upcoming G.I. Joe. Apparently, he’s following the Brad Pitt method of one money movie per art movie, and I find that commendable. Tom Hanson is a man who believes in love, and holds it in such high esteem that he feels empty without it. One day, he’s on an elevator with Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe), who observes how much she likes the music he’s listening to on his headphones. She sings a little bit of the song that’s playing, bats her impossibly beautiful eyes, and Tom (and I) are instantly in love.
Like many a great Office Space homage, Hanson hates his job, obsesses on opportunities lost, and wishes for something more. He turns out syrupy schlock for a greeting card company, and yearns for passion in his life. Enter Summer, who takes a job at his company, loves The Smiths just as much as he does, and is basically a walking checklist of everything Hanson wants in a woman. The snag: Summer doesn’t believe in love, or more to the point, she doesn’t want to be held down by a relationship. This hits home particularly hard, because this exact situation has happened to me twice recently. Despite all the romantic comedies flooding theaters every month, it seems that love has gone the way of the dodo. So, here’s a movie for Eleanor Rigby, beautifully shot by Marc Webb, and brilliantly written by Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber. It’s no wonder Sundance ate up the perfect chemistry between Deschanel and Levitt. Webb’s history as a music video director is also on showcase here, and he does feature a couple of musical performances. Don’t let this turn you off, as 500 Days of Summer has more in common with
“Here’s a movie for Eleanor Rigby, beautifully shot by Marc Webb, and brilliantly written by Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber.”
Garden State than Mamma Mia. Plus, we all loved Deschanel’s bathroom duet with Will Ferrell in Elf. Probably the thing I love most about this movie is that it’s a good antidote to the overproduced big-budget blockbusters, right in the heart of the summer. I need a little break from the massive explosions, I need to care a lot more about the characters, and I need to feel like my intelligence is respected. 500 Days of Summer is the prescription to cure all that ails. Additionally, it’s the perfect prescription for your friend that won’t quit whining about “the one that got away.” Over the course of the 500 days in 500 Days of Summer, Tom learns about relationships, reconciliations, Love (with a capital L), Loss (again), and—most crucially—the importance of moving forward.
The supporting cast needs a mention here. Clark Gregg does a great job as Tom’s lame boss, Geoffrey Arend fills the shoes of comedic sidekick nicely, and Ian Reed Kesler personifies douchebaggery. On a side note, special recognition goes out to hometowngirl-made-good Rachel Boston. She’s from Signal Mountain, and you might remember her from NBC’s American Dreams, or recognize her from a couple dozen bit parts she’s played over the years. She’s making Chattanooga redheads proud, so go support the home team!
500 Days of Summer Directed by Marc Webb Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel Rated PG-13 Running time: 95 minutes
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On The Beat
It's About Priorities... And The Rules By Alex Teach
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love the NAACP. No, really. If I didn’t find stupid shit fascinating, I would have quit being a cop at least a decade ago. I had a handful of witty tales to tell this week, but between the local news coverage of the East Lake Courts shooting and the national coverage of the devastating loss of the King of Accused Pedophiles, I can’t seem to get away from those five magical letters…and historically if I can’t get away from a thing, I tend to try to eat it or aggravate it. (In this case I choose the latter, but only due to time constraints.) By the “East Lake Courts Shooting”, I am of course referring to the second shooting, not the first shooting. The NAACP has no interest in the young black male shooting at a car and its occupants along the roadside and into the purely residential area that served as his bullets’ back drop; heck, they aren’t even interested in why he had a gun in the first place before he shot it, which prompted the lawful interaction afterwards that ultimately led to his death. That’s why the NAACP is a failure as an organization in my opinion; they have no interest in the causation of a thing, only a reaction to it. NAACP: “No Actual Accountability Can Persist.” They want an independent investigation, though the investigation is already being conducted by an independent agency. They want all the reports though they are not yet complete, and background records of every Housing Authority cop employed there though only one was involved…but not a single request for reports or background information on parents that would let their child get tattooed up, be a documented and selfproclaimed gang leader, and walk
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around a neighborhood packing a loaded gun and shoot at folk. No request for the criminal record of the “child” himself despite his burgeoning violent criminal career in the Juvenile Court System. No request for a picture of him within the last five years, or at 5’11” and 200 pounds, they would see he was larger than me when I went through the Police Academy. They’re not even asking where the gun the “child” was shooting that night had come from or who supplied him with it, so they could be charged with contributing to his death. No. By their own statement, the NAACP is only interested in the cop on foot who was paid and trained to react to the young man’s shots being fired up the street, who on tape and by witness ordered him to stop and drop the gun, and who felt he was forced to shoot when the “child” insisted instead on pointing the gun at him as he ran, which was also witnessed. (I am aware of the fact he was shot in the back; I am also aware I can kick your ass even when I am handcuffed. And I am aware I can shoot at you while running away, and I don’t have to run backwards to do it. People have been raising their arms behind them for years it turns out, just ask the people who saw the “child” doing it that night.) That cop is the one guy present who had any accountability in his life, and he’s the one they are demanding detailed information about because…well, “No Actual Accountability Can Persist.” I almost admire their business model for comedic purposes, because why work to prevent problems when you can “blame someone” instead? Yes…fun times. That’s a lot of ranting, but I feel particularly experienced with accountability as a cop. I’m not just talking about getting sued or threatened or fired, I’m talking about explaining yourself and your actions in general to the world for even the most mundane events.
“Policing is one of the only professions in the world in which you can come home to your wife from work and have a perfectly reasonable explanation for having a hooker’s vomit on your pants.” Think about it: Policing is one of the only professions in the world in which you can come home to your wife from work and have a perfectly reasonable explanation for having a hooker’s vomit on your pants. It’s because of this higher expectation that a lack of accountability in others pisses me off, but never more so than when someone makes a living at it. I mean, that’s just plain rude. In a civilized society…there are Rules. And preferring prevention over reaction is pretty close to the top of the list. In MY organization, anyway. When officer Alexander D. Teach is not patrolling our fair city hot on the heels of the criminal element, he is an occasional student of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and in his spare time enjoys carpentry, auto mechanic work, boating, and working for the Boehm Birth Defects Center.
Theatre Preview
Circle the Theatre Wagons for Next Season By Helene Houses
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fter ending the season with a big kooky splash in Psycho Beach Party, the Chattanooga Theatre Centre is already changing costumes for the 2009-2010 season in the Circle. As always, the plays in the Circle are the edgier, contemporary fare. If you like theatre, a season subscription to the Circle is a real bargain—and no place else in Chattanooga does work like this. November 6 - 21, 2009: Regrets Only. Paul Rudnick tells a comic Manhattan tale, exploring marriage, friendships and squandered riches. The setting: a Park Avenue penthouse. The players: a powerhouse attorney, his socialite wife and their closest friend, one of the world’s most successful fashion designers. Sounds to us as though this one might be right on the money.
does all she can to keep Mitchell away from the cute rent boy who’s caught his eye and the rent boy’s girlfriend. Wait, the rent boy has a girlfriend? We can’t wait. May 28 - June 12, 2010: Pig Farm. On a struggling pig farm somewhere in America, Tom and Tina (with the help of Tim, their hired hand) fight to hold onto their herd of 15,000 restless pigs. Dumping sludge into the river drives Tom to drink, and Tim seems to have caught Tina’s eye. Then Teddy, a gun-toting officer of the EPA, arrives to inspect the operation and life on the farm gets really swinish. By Greg Kotis.
“No matter where you have encountered the Sedaris siblings, David and Amy—NPR, live in concert, through one of their books—you’ve learned not to be drinking anything while listening or reading because you will laugh so hard it will squirt out your nose.” January 15 - 30, 2010: The Little Dog Laughed. Playwright Douglas Carter Beane’s Hollywood dish-a-thon follows the adventures of Mitchel Green, a movie star who could hit big if it weren’t for one teensy-weensy problem. H’mmm, what could that be? His agent, Diane, can’t seem to keep him in the closet. Trying to help him navigate Hollywood’s choppy waters, the devilish Diane
July 23 - August 7, 2010. The Book of Liz. No matter where you have encountered the Sedaris siblings, David and Amy—NPR, live in concert, through one of their books—you’ve learned not to be drinking anything while listening or reading because you will laugh so hard it will squirt out your nose. We hope the CTC will keep that in mind at the concessions booth when they stage the Sedarises’ The Book of Liz. Sister Elizabeth Donderstock is Squeamish, has been her whole life. She makes cheese balls that sustain the existence of her entire religious community, Clusterhaven. Feeling unappreciated, she tries her luck in the outside world. Along the way, she meets an immigrant couple who find her a job waiting tables at
Plymouth Crock, a family restaurant run almost entirely by recovering alcoholics. The alcoholics love her. The customers love her. Her Danderfrock fits right in. Things are going great for Liz, until she’s offered a promotion to manager. Liz has a sweating problem, and to get the job, she’ll have to fix it. Back at Clusterhaven, Liz’s compatriots can’t seem to duplicate her cheese ball recipe, and it’s going to cost them their quaint, cloistered lifestyle. Panic-stricken and desperate, they’re sure she sabotaged the recipe. Hilarity, we one-hundredpercent promise, ensues. If that’s not enough theatre for you, the season also includes the winner of the biennial New Play Festival, on stage March 26 through April 10.
Chattanooga Theatre Centre 2009-2010 Circle Stage Season $60 subscription (can be used as a flex pass for any show. Reservations required.) Chattanooga Theatre Centre, 400 River Street (423) 267-8534. www.theatrecentre.com
95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 7.16.09 The Pulse
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Shades Of Green
Why Climate Change is Divisive— and Why It Shouldn’t Be By Elizabeth Crenshaw
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limate change is frequently referred to as a hotbutton issue. It’s a “platform” issue, with political parties taking definite stands on either side. Both parties are guilty of misrepresenting information and not always backing up the research that feeds policies. As much as I admire Al Gore, I have wondered if his championing of the cause has hurt its progress, especially on a grassroots level. An issue that affects the whole globe should have the potential to bring people together. Political figures are polarizing, but the two parties are not the only groups responsible for this division. The media certainly has a role in dividing people. It is no secret that certain networks cater to certain belief systems. However, there comes a point at which this manipulation becomes dangerous. I have been appalled by some of the coverage I have seen in which facts are blatantly disregarded in favor of keeping up ratings. The concept of climate change is unsettling. Many people would rather believe that it’s not happening, or that humans have nothing to do with it, and it is easy to ignore a problem when its worst case scenarios are projected to occur long after we are gone. However, the largest reason for the divide is due to yet another divide: the gap between what scientists believe and what the public believes. A recent study commissioned by the Pew Research group revealed that on many major issues, the majority of the scientific community and the majority of Americans disagree completely about what is fact or fiction. Though many Americans don’t agree with scientists, at least two thirds of the public holds scientists and engineers in “high regard” and more than 80 percent say that science has positively affected the country. If this is true, why don’t we overwhelmingly accept the concepts that the scientific community does?
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According to the survey, two thirds of Americans believe that there is currently “lively debate” among scientists about whether or not climate change exists. There is no such debate taking place in the scientific community. Eighty-four percent of scientists believe that humans are contributing to climate change, while only 49 percent of the public accepts it. Scientists are concerned about this divide, establishing that they do not think that the media does a very good job of educating us about what is fact and what is not. Considering that this is how so many of us get our information, we should care about it too. The latest anti-climate change campaign mixes fact and fiction. Alan Carlin has been thrust into the national spotlight as the rogue EPA scientist who has been silenced about the “truth” about climate change. He is being used to push the idea that climate change does not exist—just as the largest piece of legislation ever devoted to issue is up for a vote in the Senate. It should be noted that while Carlin has been an employee of the EPA’s for more than 30 years, he made his career as an economist. His job is not to make certain the science behind policy is true; his job is to analyze the economic implications of policy once it is written. EPA officials admit that they were confused as to why Carlin even submitted a report of this nature, as he is not qualified to make recommendations in the area. He was not silenced; he was asked to use the time taxpayers were paying him for to work on projects in which he could add value. That’s a big distinction. Carlin believes that there is data that conflicts with data confirming climate change, but what he is really concerned about got less attention. It is painful to watch Carlin on network news shows in which inflammatory lines about polar bears and UN are tossed around. He is visibly uncomfortable as his research is manipulated to prove whatever point the host is trying to make. What Carlin was
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trying to educate Americans about is the fact that EPA has not been consistently given updated research about climate change during the past three years. Our federal government should be double- and triple-checking research with internal employees before making recommendations. But this valid point was not the one the American public heard. We should demand better. We deserve to be a well-informed nation that can discuss issues with a solid background in what created them. Climate change should be an issue that unites, not divides, us. As a nation, we have been presented challenges in the past, and we have always risen to the occasion, working together, helping our neighbors, with every American doing his or her part. Climate change isn’t about whom you voted for or what news station you watch—it’s about the future of this country and this planet. It’s about changing our lifestyles for human beings we will never meet, because it’s the right thing to do. It’s about reaching for new technologies now to provide for our grandchildren later. It’s about embracing the best in ourselves to bring out the best in our country. Elizabeth Crenshaw is LEED accredited and works for EPB in Strategic Planning, but her views are her own. Originally from South Carolina, Elizabeth moved to Chattanooga after graduating from Warren Wilson College in 2007.
“Eighty-four percent of scientists believe that humans are contributing to climate change, while only 49 percent of the public accepts it.”
dale deason mornings 5:30-9
95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 7.16.09 The Pulse
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Music Feature
Cracker and Cheese By Hellcat
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ou know the saying, “I wouldn’t kick her out for eating crackers in bed,”? Well, I would kick you out for playing Cracker in bed. Not because they are a horrible band, and not because they grate on my nerves, but because David Lowry, the lead singer, might be one of the cockiest people I have interviewed in the last four years. When I spoke to him, he brazenly told me his band was the first indie rock band. The inventor of indie, huh? Really? You think so? Well, that’s neat that you think so, because you may be the only one. Granted, he said that he tours about 200 days a year, which might be independent, except for the fact that Cracker just signed with 429 Records, and that is definitely a label. A label started by Kings of Leon, which is pretty cool, but still a label. So, that is not exactly independent or indie… Wait, did you mean the genre and sound of indie rock? I think I am going to need your definition of “indie” and your definition of “first”, sir. If you are using “first” as some sort of new slang that means “definitely not first”, or if I somehow missed the inflection of your sarcasm, then I could possibly look past it.
liberty himself. Well, at least someone thinks highly of you. I think that Pavement, The Stone Roses, or about 30 other bands you could insert here, might disagree. When I Googled “indie band”, the band Cracker didn’t come up on the first 36 pages, and after that I gave up. If you aren’t on the first 36 pages of Google, I definitely don’t think you constitute being classified as the first of anything. Although I didn’t try searching for the term “pompous”. It’s also interesting that the press kit from the publicist describes the music as having a “late 70’s-early 80’s power pop punk aesthetic” and then boasts that the group “introduced brash irreverence and irony into alt-rock”. So, now it would seem that Cracker is the pinnacle of pretty much every genre. No one ever used irony in music before, either. How did they get so awesome? You would think that after 17 years as a band, they would have formed a more concrete identity or at least have chosen a way to describe themselves and their sound that wasn’t all-encompassing. As if this aforementioned comment wasn’t enough, David then proceeded to tell me that he was big in Spain. Wow. He’s big in Spain. Cracker is big in Spain. That is newsworthy, right? Oh, wait, no it isn’t. I mean, people joke about bands that suck or that are just starting out being big in Japan. We also all know that Germany is a bit mental as apparently David Hasselhoff is “big” there, but I haven’t ever heard anything about the big dogs
“I immediately got on the interweb and searched to see if someone in the press, had, in fact, accused them of being the first indie rock band, so as to give David a viable excuse to say such a thing. No such luck.” The brazen nature of this statement made my skin crawl so violently it made me question if it really happened. I immediately got on the interweb and searched to see if someone in the press had, in fact, accused them of being the first indie rock band, so as to give David a viable excuse to say such a thing. No such luck. It seems that David took that
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of Spain. Now we know. It’s the inventor of indie rock, and possibly the Internet, Cracker. I know the song, “Low”, because it’s played all over the radio. I asked David if he was surprised by how successful it became, to which he responded that it, “was an odd hit, because it took so long to catch on, but now it’s definitely considered a classic on most rock stations.” Who needs a publicist when you are cool with dubbing your own works “classics”? Evidently, 429 Records is not located in Spain, since if you go to their web site, you will see that the home page is dedicated to the fact that they just signed our local favorites The Features, (way to go, guys!) and then there is a brief mention that Cracker just released a new album, somewhere in the upper left corner in small print. The new album is called Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey, and I am sure that this album has probably invented a new genre that will change the face of music yet again. They will be playing at Rhythm and Brews on July 21. You should probably go check it out and get your whole life completed.
Cracker $12 9 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market Street (423) 267-4644. www.rhythm-brews.com
Music Calendar
Send your calendar events to us at calendar@chattanoogapulse.com
Friday
Thursday Sons of Cynics, The World We Knew, Endwell, Catelepsy 7 p.m. The Warehouse, 5716 Ringgold Rd, East Ridge.
Morgan Bracy Noon. Miller Plaza, 850 Market St. (423) 265-0771. Too Far Gone South 7 p.m. The Low Down, 306 Cherokee Blvd. (423) 468-3593.
Cain and Annabelle and Rick Rushing 8:30 p.m. Mudpie Restaurant, 12 Frazier Avenue. (423) 267-9043
Advent, Call To Preserve, All In, In Irons, Gideon 7 p.m. The Warehouse, 5716 Ringgold Rd, East Ridge.
Open Mic Night 9 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market Street. (423) 634-0429
Timbre: “If Radiohead and Sigur Rose had a baby and it played a harp…”
Pink Cadillac 9 p.m. The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd #202. (423) 499-5055. www.
Four guys dressed like Dee Snider play ’80s hits. Nuff sed.
Whisper of the Muse, A Prayer For Pestilence, Mushina, Sons Of Cynic 7 p.m. Club Fathom, 412 Market St. (423) 757-0019.
$7. 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400. www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia
The Perpetual Groove 10 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St (423) 267-4644. www.rhythm-brews.com
$7 10 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market Street. (423) 267-4644. www.rhythm-brews.com
Ben Sollee and Ben Friberg Quartet 7 p.m. Nightfall, Miller Plaza, 850 Market St. (423) 265-0771.
Timbre, Chinasaur
The Dee Sniders
Saturday
Dog & Pony Show
World Music Festival featuring Lumbar 5, Ogya World Music 11 a.m. Incline Railway, St. Elmo Ave. (706) 820-2531.
Endelouz 9 p.m. The Low Down, 306 Cherokee Blvd. (423) 468-3593. myspace.com/thelowdownchatt
Chattanooga United Music Fest 4 p.m. Club Fathom, 412 Market St. (423) 757-0019.
Soul Survivor 9 p.m. The Tin Can, 618 Georgia Ave. (423) 648-4360. www.thetincanchattanooga.com
Matt Turnure Trio 5 p.m. Blue Orleans Creole Restaurant, 3208 Amnicola Hwy. 9423) 629-6538.
Paleface, Slim Pickins, Corduroy Road, Big Kitty 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400.
Fallacy, Oh The Blood, Fallstar, Our Proclamation 7 p.m. The Warehouse, 5716 Ringgold Rd, East Ridge.
$5 9 p.m. Clampy’s Chicken, 526 E. MLK Blvd. www.myspace.com/ dogandponyshow6801
A Lower Deep, Whispers Of The Muse, Prayer For Pestilence 8 p.m. Ziggy’s Hideaway, 607 Cherokee Blvd. (423) 634-1074.
Bluegrass Pharaohs 10 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market Street. (423) 634-0429.
Tuesday
Wednesday
Karaoke 9:30 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878. www.budssportsbar.com
Ben Friberg Trio 7 p.m. Table 2, 232 E. 11th St. (423) 756-8253. www.table2restaurant.com
Ben Friberg Trio 6:30 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market Street, (423) 634-0260.
The Palms at Hamilton 6925 Shallowford Road, Suite #202, (423) 499-5055. www.thepalmsathamilton.com
Life On Repeat, Half Price Hero 7 p.m. The Warehouse, 5716 Ringgold Rd, East Ridge. www.myspace.com/warehousetn
David Mayfield of Cadillac Sky 8 p.m. Charles & Myrtle’s, 105 McBrien Road. (423) 892-4960. www.christunity.org
Victor fire the sun, Dr. Azimov, Hermit Thrushes 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400. www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia
Open mic with Matt Bohannon 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400.
Fireside Lounge 4021 Hixson Pike, (423) 870-7078. Lucky’s 2536 Cummings Highway, (423) 825-5145. Tremont Tavern 1203 Hixson Pike, (423) 266-1996. www.tremonttavern.com
Madeline, The Ginger Envelope, Hoots and Hellmouth, and Big Kitty 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400. Bounty Hunter and Booger Holler 10 p.m. Midtown Music Hall, 820 Georgia Ave. (423) 752-1977. Bud Lightning 10 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878. Zan Teddy 10 p.m. T-Bone’s, 1419 Chestnut st. (423) 266-4240.
Sunday
Former Hairpin Trigger and The Unsatisfied members join up for “blues, brews and bird.”
Monday
Did You Mean Australia, Baron Mordo 8 p.m. Ziggy’s Hideaway, 607 Cherokee Blvd. (423) 634-1074.
Open Mic Tremont Tavern, 1203 Hixson Pike, (423) 266-1996. Spoken Word/Poetry Night The Riverhouse, 224 Frazier Avenue, (423) 752-0066.
Rivercity Hustlers and Opposite Box 10 p.m. Midtown Music Hall, 820 Georgia Ave. (423) 752-1977.
DJ GOP The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd #202, (423) 499-5055. Ms. Debbie’s Nightlife Lounge 4762 Highway 58, (423) 485-0966. www.myspace.com/debbieslounge
Summer Music Weekend featuring New Binkley Brothers Noon. Rock City Gardens, Lookout Mtn., GA. (706) 820-2531. seerockcity.com/summermusic Open Mic w/Jeff Daniels 4 p.m. Ms. Debbie’s Nightlife Lounge 4762 Highway 58, (423) 485-0966.
Julie Gribble and Juliana Finch Urban folk and SouthernItalian-Irish. We kid you not. Free 12:30, 2 p.m. Chattanooga Market, First Tennessee Pavilion 1826 Carter St. (423) 648-2496. www.chattanoogamarket.com
Irish Music 6:30 p.m. Tremont Tavern, 1203 Hixson Pike, (423) 266-1996. Open Mic Gene’s Bar & Grill, 724 Ashland Terrace, (423) 870-0880. DJ GOP The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd #202, (423) 499-5055.
Editor’s Pick: Featured Event Of The Week David Mayfield of Cadillac Sky Playing guitar, banjo, mandolin, and singing high-harmony vocals, David joined the progressive acoustic group Cadillac Sky from Benbrook, TX, who were nominated as Emerging Artist of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association. Wednesday, July 22 $10 donation 8 p.m. Charles & Myrtle’s Coffeehouse, Christ Unity Church, 105 McBrien Road. (423) 892-4960. www.christunity.org
95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 7.16.09 The Pulse
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New Music Reviews Cluster Qua (Nepenthe)
“What’s immediately striking is the clean sound throughout the album; sounds occupy their own defined spaces, and there isn’t a viscous, cloudy mix like on certain early-’70s recordings.” The Corduroy Road Love Is a War (Mule Train Records)
Athensbased musicians The Corduroy Road have just released their first LP, entitled Love Is a War, produced by legendary record producer John Keane (Widespread Panic, REM, and Indigo Girls) on the Mule Train Records’ label. The folksy Americana sound created by band members Drew Carman (banjo), Dylan Solise (guitar), John Cable (drums) and Tim Helms (bass) evokes in the
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The German duo Cluster often gets lumped under the “Krautrock” label, but Cluster’s music has an approach that’s far removed from what often immediately comes to mind when Krautrock is mentioned—there’s no rock aspect, nor driving beat. The “Kosmische Musik” categorization is much more appropriate, conveying the outfit’s spacey, often abstract sound sculptures that rely on heavy electronics and processing. The band emerged from the trio Kluster and was redubbed Cluster after the departure of Conrad Schnitzler, and throughout the ’70s, built up an impressive catalog of work. Their sound went from compelling, thick concoctions with drones and pulsating tones to the more accessible, melodic, and rhythmic tracks on 1974’s Zuckerzeit to the ambient-leaning collaborations with Brian Eno. The release of the new studio album Qua comes after a decadelong hiatus (Cluster’s second), with members Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius going through different moods, from contemplative to playful. On the 17-track Qua, songs are often built from loops, and what’s immediately striking is the clean sound throughout the album; sounds occupy their own defined spaces, and there isn’t a viscous, cloudy mix like on certain early-’70s recordings. Remarkably, Cluster manages to sound atmospheric listener both a lightness of spirit and a depth of happiness. Love Is a War tells the story of love’s journey—love isn’t easy and it’s often painful, but it can be remembered with great fondness and a smile on your face. Some of the songs have a decidedly indierock feel, while others are folk with a country/rock infusion. The storytelling is simple and, perhaps most importantly, relatable. In short, there is something for everyone on this CD. The title track is a friendly reminder to a lost love: “I’ve seen you down like this before / There can be no peace, ’cause baby / Love is a war.” It’s an optimistic view of love with a take-life-as-it-comes attitude. The stories continue from living a life filled with love and other
without being new age-y or employing the lazy method of running everything through reverb and echo units. “So Ney” uses a beat loop with metallic percussion of an unclear geographic origin, underneath quivering tones that stroll by with a patient, hopeful attitude, and “Putoil” is notable for using the eerie wail of a squeaky door as its centerpiece. Qua captures the duo in fine form, creating sounds that don’t seem to reside in any particular time period, and the album has the creative spirit of the group’s past, while not floundering or lingering there. —Ernie Paik good things all the way up until the final number, “Only the Living”, which tells the story of memories from the life of the author, gently cautioning that “only the living are lonely.” The Corduroy Road is heavily influenced by The Avett Brothers, Old Crowe Medicine Show, and the other bluegrass/country crossover bands that are popular today. Their overall message seems to be to live and love with no regrets. Perhaps this philosophy is best summed up in “Four Things”: “Four things for happiness / Can you make them mine? / Steak when I’m hungry, whiskey when I’m dry / The girl that I love, and heaven when I die.” —Stephanie L. Smith
Ask A Mexican
What’s Mexican for “Oreo”? By Gusatvo Arellano themexican@askamexican.net
Dear Mexican, How can I get Mexicans to arrive to a meeting ON TIME? — Punctual Pete Dear Gabacho, Tell them you’re offering green cards on a first-come, first-serve basis. And then diles a gabachos to eliminate the concept of arriving “fashionably late” the way they did the Polish joke. Dear Mexican, I was reading through the glossary in your ¡Ask a Mexican! book and I came upon the word pocho, an Americanized Mexican. To me, it suggests some sort of essential Mexican-ness that I find to be disturbing. There is a similar ethic in the black community. The term “Uncle Tom” comes to mind. It is used as the ultimate humiliation to a black person and I wonder if pocho has the same weight to it? Being a person who has never fit into the ideal of anything, I sympathize with anyone else finds themselves on the outside. The pressure to relate to everyone else in your gene pool is ridiculous. In my experience, it often comes from the most mentally and economically impoverished, hence the term “ghetto pass.” The pressure is so great in the black community that black professors regularly use the words ain’t and folk, as if to prove their blackness. I suspect that there is a class component in the Mexican community also. What say you, wise Mexican? — Alma on Ice
Dear Negrito, The idea of ethnic or national purity of course isn’t limited to Mexicans, and I’m with you in ridiculing anyone who subscribes to such pinche notions. In the Mexican case vis-à-vis the negrito community example, differences exist. Pocho doesn’t necessarily signify a betrayal of the Mexican community to shuck and jive for the gabachos like “Uncle Tom” does for blacks; it just means the dilution of Mexican cultural and linguistic features in someone of Mexican descent (the term comes from an alternate meaning for pocho—rotting fruit—but not even the Royal Academy of Spanish has a clue about the word’s etymological origins). The most immediate corollary to Uncle Tom in Spanish is Tío Tomás or Tío Taco, but both are pochismos (pocho sayings) with little usage in Mexico, where the slur for a sellout is malinchista, referring to Cortes’ Indian translator, or a vendido. As you imply, the only Mexicans who care whether someone is Mexican enough are insecure twits who aren’t Mexican enough, and some of the most notorious examples come from Chicano Studies professors (but not all of you, o noble researchers of everything wab!) and Carlos Mencia. Oh, and immigrant elders, but their angst is excused—that’s the American immigrant experience, after all.
Dear Gabacho, Consult page 21 of my ¡Ask a Mexican! libro, then go ask New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez about his family. Hopefully, he’ll aim a spiral at your huevos.
Dear Mexican, Why can’t Mexicans seem to learn and use English like most other immigrants elsewhere around the country? — Fucking Mexicans
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
¡ASK A MEXICAN GRATIS BOOK CONTEST! Sí, gentle readers: It’s that time of the año again where I give away an autographed copy of my book to one lucky reader from each paper that carries my columna, and cinco readers from everywhere else. The challenge: in 25 words or less, tell me your favorite local Mexican restaurant and what makes it so bueno. I’ll be traveling ’round los Estados Unidos in my trusty burro soon to research my coming book on the history of Mexican food in the United States, and need places to haunt and cactuses to sleep under. One entry per person, one winner per paper, and contest ends when I say so!
“The only Mexicans who care whether someone is Mexican enough are insecure twits who aren’t Mexican enough, and some of the most notorious examples come from Chicano Studies professors.”
95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 7.16.09 The Pulse
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Free Will Astrology CANCER (June 21-July 22): I invite you to write down brief descriptions of the five most pleasurable moments you’ve ever experienced in your life. Let your imagination dwell lovingly on these memories for, say, 20 minutes. And keep them close to the surface of your awareness in the week ahead. If you ever catch yourself slipping into a negative train of thought, interrupt it immediately and compel yourself to fantasize about those Big Five Ecstatic Moments. This exercise will be an excellent way to prime yourself for a New Age of Unhurried Bliss and Gentle Beauty, which I predict is just ahead for you. If you can keep the morose part of your mind quiet, there’s a good chance you will stir up a new ecstatic experience that will belong near the top of your all-time list. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Welcome to your aromatherapy workshop, Leo. We’ll be using imaginary scents because, frankly, sometimes fantasy yields better results than the real thing. (Especially for you right now; keep that in mind as you deal with other situations in your life.) For your first exercise, imagine the aromas of eucalyptus and vinegar. That’ll clear your head of static, creating a nice big empty space for your fresh assignment to come pouring in from the future. Next, imagine the fragrance of hot buttered popcorn. It will make you more receptive to the outside help that has been trying and trying and trying to attract your attention. Have you ever taken a new computer out of the box? Remember that smell? Simulate it now. In your subconscious mind, it will awaken the expectation that the next chapter of your life story is about to begin. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): O ye of little faith: Do ye not understand that the events of mid-July through mid-August of 2009 are but the fruition of seeds ye planted in September, October, and November of last year? Do not thank or blame the gods, but only thyself, for the destiny that is upon ye. Now please prepare to assume thy new goodies and perks, O favored one, as well as thy new temptations and headaches, with full knowledge that ye are receiving the exact rewards and responsibilities ye earned many months ago. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Sometimes this job of mine grinds me down with a heavy sense of responsibility. Am I doing the right thing by divulging so many cosmic secrets? Do people use my advice in good ways? This week I’m especially tormented. Would it be ethical of me to reveal that you could dig a hot tip out of a wastebasket, or that you could prosper because of someone else’s foolishness? Or how about if I disclosed that you’ve temporarily acquired a dicey edge over a competitor who’s previously kicked your butt? And would it be mean of me to suggest that you shouldn’t share a vast idea with a half-vast person? I guess I’ll just have to trust that you’ll show maximum integrity in using all of this inside dope. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): There goes your exaggerated respect for warped chunks of complications. Here comes an opportunity to make a break for bubbly freedom. To take advantage, Scorpio, you’ll need to travel much lighter. So please peel off your armor. Wipe that forty-pound sneer of doubt off your face. Bury your broken-down theories by the side of the path, and donate all your unnecessary props to the birds and the bees. Strip down, in other words, to the bare minimum. Where you’re going all you’ll need are your good looks and a big fresh attitude. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don’t leave me hanging, Sagittarius. What happens next? How could you even imagine you’ve wrapped the whole thing up? According to my analysis, you’ve got at least one more riddle to solve, one more gift to negotiate, one more scar to wish upon. (Yes, that says “scar,” not “star.”) To stop pushing for more adventure at this pregnant moment would be a crime against nature and a whole chapter short of a bestseller. Get out there and bring this story home. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): It makes me
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The Pulse 7.16.09 www.chattanoogapulse.com 95.3 Pulse News
By Rob Brezsny
famished just to think of you there stewing in your hunger. You almost remind me of a bear that’s just awoken from hibernation or a political prisoner who’s been on a hunger strike. And yet I know it’s not a craving for food that you’re suffering from. It’s not even an impossible yearning for sex or fame or power or money, either. You’re starving, you’re ravenous, you’re mad for something you don’t have a name for -- something whose existence you don’t fully understand and can’t quite imagine. But I predict you’ll uncover a fuller truth about this thing very soon, and then you’ll be more than halfway toward gratifying your hunger. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): If I were your daddy, I’d take you mountain-climbing or buy you a three-week intensive class in the foreign tongue of your choice. If I were your president, I’d give you a Purple Heart for your undercover heroism and make you ambassador to Italy. If I were your therapist, I’d send you on a pilgrimage to a sanctuary where everyone means exactly what they say. But I’m merely your five-minutes-a-week consultant, so all I can really do is say, “Escape the cramped quarters of your own mind. Slip away from the corners you’ve been backed into. Stop telling the convoluted stories you’ve concocted to rationalize why you should be afraid. Get out of the loop and escape into the big, fresh places that will rejuvenate your eyes and heart.” PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Long-standing myths are on the verge of mutating. Stories that have remained fixed for years are about to acquire unexpected wrinkles. The effects may be pretty spectacular. I suspect it’ll be the equivalent of Sleeping Beauty waking up from her long sleep without the help of the prince’s kiss, or like Little Red Riding Hood devouring the wolf instead of vice versa. There’s something you can do, Pisces, to ensure that the new versions of the old tales are more empowering than the originals: For the foreseeable future, take on the demeanor and spirit of a noble warrior with high integrity and a fluid sense of humor. ARIES (March 21-April 19): I fear you’re on the verge of slipping into a state of mind that wants everything and is therefore in danger of getting nothing. I worry that you’ll be lusting for such total control over so much wild sweetness that you won’t actually formulate a foolproof plan to commune with even a pinch of that sweetness. Let’s see if we can motivate you to overthrow this state of mind. Let’s try to coax you into devising a precise strategy to assemble paradise piece by piece. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Cuckoo birds build no nests of their own. Instead, they rely on trickery to raise their young. The female cuckoo lays her eggs in the nest of a host whose eggs are similar in size and color. The host, often a sparrow, cares for the cuckoo’s eggs as her own, and usually rears the hatchlings until they reach maturity. Does this behavior ring a bell? I suspect that something analogous is unfolding in your world. I’m alerting you to the situation so that you will be fully informed as you decide how to proceed. (P.S. I’m not saying this is a bad thing; just want you to acknowledge the truth.) GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I hate to admit it, but love is not always enough to solve every problem. On some occasions you need love, clever insights, strategic maneuvers, and fierce determination. In my astrological opinion, this is one of those times. Take a moment right now to shush the grumbling dialogue you keep having with yourself about what’s fair and what you deserve. Save all that mental energy for the work of fighting like hell for the fair share you deserve. Oh, and while you’re fighting like hell, don’t forget to be as strategic as Gandhi, as loving as Einstein, and as fiercely determined as Jack Black, Ben Stiller, and Sarah Silverman combined. Homework: Make a guess about the most important bit of self-knowledge you’re still ignorant about. Testify at FreeWillAstrology.com.
JONESIN’
By Matt Jones
“Yes We Can” –an international movement.
Across 1 Stockpile 6 Zwei times zwei times zwei 10 Ques. response 13 West Coast capital 14 Mrs., in Munich 15 “The Valley Isle” 17 Level draining device, to a Spanish yes-man? 19 Bar code on a book 20 Movie response to “Quick, let’s hide!” 21 Dec. holiday 23 U.N. secretarygeneral Hammarskjold 24 ___-mo instant replay 25 Fuel additive brand 27 June birthstone 29 Greek letter T 30 Selassie’s NYC restaurant, to a Japanese yes-man? 34 Nav. rank 35 Reaching like a puppy 36 President after HST 37 Hotel room list item 39 Contents of jewel cases 42 John Lennon’s son 43 Riled, with “up” 44 Went out with the chivalrous type, to a Russian yes-man? 49 First name in Notre Dame football coaches 50 Hayao Miyazaki genre 51 Damascus’s place: abbr. 52 Washing machine dye
brand 53 Last letter, in Leeds 54 Tag info 58 Reasoning behind a crime 60 Send out 62 U.S. uncle’s “Friday the 13th” character, to a German yes-man? 64 Went kaput 65 Concert load 66 Carb-loading dish 67 Craigslist postings 68 Pull-down list 69 Dream on? Down 1 Gave some help 2 The rest of the U.S., to Hawaiians (with “the”) 3 Place to pick up some brews 4 Spanish golfer Ballesteros 5 Russian org. and enemy in Bond novels 6 CIO’s labor mate 7 Core 8 “Mad Men” star Jon 9 Heavy marching band instrument 10 “___ not making myself clear?” 11 Index with a composite 12 Legacy maker 16 Fireplace spot 18 Org. that requested the Pet Shop Boys change their name to the Rescue Shelter Boys
22 Like cacti 26 Feed music through, as with Muzak 28 Rowing machine unit 31 Hawaiian porch 32 “Dallas” family 33 Op. ___ (footnote abbr.) 37 “Funeral Blues” poet W.H. ___ 38 Civil rights leader, in street names 39 “Singin’ in the Rain” actress Cyd 40 Word that comes from another word 41 Outline seen in local weather reports 42 1980s “truly outrageous” cartoon 44 In a fog 45 Condition meaning “lack of blood” 46 Spruced (up) 47 Song sung on Sunday 48 Their support is requested on some bumper stickers 55 Get in ___ 56 1974 Lucille Ball musical 57 Chris Berman network 59 Company that introduced non-stick cookware 61 Scores that may cause showboating afterward: abbr. 63 NW school that’s home to the Beavers
©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 #0423.
Solution To Last Week’s Puzzle
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