The Pulse - Vol. 6, Issue 33

Collaborations: Two Decades of African American Art

By Alison Burke

News, Views, Arts & Entertainment • August 13 - 19, 2009 • Volume 6, Issue 33 • www.chattanoogapulse.com • pulse news 95.3 WPLZ

CONTENTS T H E P U L S E • C H AT TA N O O G A , T E N N E S S E E • A U G U S T 1 3 , 2 0 0 9 • V O L U M E 6 , I S S U E 3 3

COVER STORY

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NEWS & VIEWS 6 BEYOND THE HEADLINES

21 ON THE BEAT

More voices on gentrification.

Green meanies: farces of nature.

9 SHRINK RAP

22 SHADES OF GREEN

The search for intelligent life.

Why you need to care about coral.

14 LIFE IN THE NOOG

27 ASK A MEXICAN

Band on the run.

Diacritics for dummies.

ARTS & FEATURES 12 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT By Michael Crumb Viewers at CreateHere have a chance to gaze upon the future and to understand better the complexities of the present in the unique aesthetic environment called “HelloWorld.”

17 TABLE SERVICE

By Molly Iles Repeatedly voted the “best dinner under $10” since it opened in 2001, Chef Lin is considered one of the largest international buffets in the Chattanooga area. It is also considered one of the best deals around.

18 MUSIC FEATURE

By Hellcat Currently, we have many musicians and projects making waves in our summer months. I would like to highlight some upcoming shows and events that are worth checking out, no matter what kind of music you are normally into.

25 FILM FEATURE

By Phillip Johnston In 1998, Nora Ephron directed You’ve Got Mail, one of the first movies about Internet communication. The story wasn’t completely original, but she transported it effortlessly to 1998.

Cover artwork "Young Heroes" by Charly Palmer

QUILTING TOGETHER COLLABORATIONS

By Alison Burke It’s ironic that a quilt brought Garbo and Archie Hearne to Chattanooga. A quilt that’s made to tell a story can, in fact, become the catalyst for new stories. A quilt that’s made by piecing together scraps of fabric can serve to bring people together around it. This is certainly the case for Phyllis Stephen’s story quilt, “A Red Hot Afternoon,” shown at Stephen’s Quilting Together workshop.

4 EDITOON 4 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 5 PULSE BEATS 5 CITY COUNCILSCOPE 7 POLICE BLOTTER 13 A&E CALENDAR

19 20 24 28 28

MUSIC CALENDAR NEW MUSIC REVIEWS NEW IN THEATERS MYSTICAL DUDE'S HOROSCOPE 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 Alison Burke Beverly A. Carroll Elizabeth Crenshaw Chuck Crowder Rebecca Cruz Michael Crumb Hellcat Molly Iles Phillip Johnston Matt Jones Louis Lee Kelly Lockhart Ernie Paik Rick Pimental-Habib, Ph.D. Stephanie Smith Alex Teach Julian Venable Colleen Wade

Letters to the Editor

Editorial Intern Molly Iles Editorial Cartoonist Rick Baldwin Art Department Sharon Chambers Kathryn Dunn Kelly Lockhart Damien Power Staff Photographer Damien Power 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.

The Pulse is published by

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.

Member

Unassuming Pagans Well as one of those normal unassuming Pagans that no one would realize is indeed… different, thank you [“Freedom of Religion: An East Lake Story”]! I appreciate that you realize that there’s plenty of us unassuming types and just a few “bad apples”.

Sadly they are what most people see.

Miss Sio Chattanooga Freedom of Religion The fact that something is a law does not mean it passes constitutional muster; rather, there must be an

example case before laws would generally be tested for constitutionality [“Freedom of Religion: An East Lake Story”]. This creates a chilling effect on the populace, by coercing people out of behaviors because they do not want to bear the costs of being the example case. If no one will stand up as an example, then an unconstitutional law could be passed and administered for many, many years. Time on the books is not a measure of constitutionality.

However, constitutionality is also not a factor in the beat officer's work.

Their job is to enforce the imperfect law and allow the courts to settle the questions. But when you begin to coerce others into following the law without question, you change from being an impartial observer into being an interested party, as more laws=more officers=more job security. Simplifying our laws and restoring freedom to our citizens would drastically cut the number of officers needed.

Sam Baughman Chattanooga Gentrification Losses I left the suburbs to move to a diverse, interesting community ["Whose Neighborhod Is It?"]. Each day the Southside looks more like the ‘burbs. The Mission is gone. I miss

chatting with those guys on my walks.

Tienda Jalisco is gone. I miss the food and the people. I hardly need to learn Spanish now. I long for a pizza joint where the families here can afford to go hang out together regularly. And while I want the local businesses to make it, I hate that we are paving Paradise with parking lots for more and more folks to drive in to spend.

Could the shuttle and the carriages bring them? A suburbs downtown is not what we were promised.

Brandy Davis Chattanooga Littlefield vs. Club Fathom I love it that Mayor Littlefield uses his power to run these damn churches out of town. Religion sucks: it only brings shootings and crime.

Glad to see Ron waking up and understanding the bars, strip clubs, and adult bookstores downtown are all peaceful. It’s those churches to be blamed for the gang banging downtown. Surprised the Bessie Smith Strut escaped the blame of that June 9th shooting, since the Fathom church wasn’t even open on Monday nights.

Ron must really have it out for those Christians. If he keeps this up, I might just have to start liking the old chap.

Shannon Madden Chattanooga

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: “I liked what I saw out here today. Our guys wanted to be out here today and were excited about the first scrimmage.”

A rundown of the newsy, the notable, and the notorious...

— First year UT-Chattabnooga head football coach Russ Huesman, commenting on the play by the Mocs football team at their first practice of the season.

Questions, Concerns Over “Use Of Force” In Fatal Shooting

By Gary Poole On July 18, officers of the Chattanooga Police Department were called out to the parking lot of the McDonald’s restaurant on Rossville Boulevard on a report of a “suicidal man” who had a weapon. As is standard practice on any such call, all available officers in the zone responded quickly to the scene, where three officers found 32-year-old Alonzo Heyward holding a rifle to his own chin, threatening to kill himself.

Two other men, who were with Heyward, told officers that he was intoxicated and had been making suicidal threats. Faced with a very dangerous situation—an armed man who appeared to be under the influence of alcohol—the officers drew their sidearms and, according to witnesses, literally begged Heyward to drop his weapon.

Three more officers arrived on the scene, and all six began to form a circle around Heyward. However, the situation became even more dangerous as a rather sizeable crowd began to gather, and the officers were afraid that if shots ended up being fired, an innocent bystander could end up being hit accidentally. However, before the officers could completely encircle Heyward, he began slowly walking towards his residence, which was just a few hundred yards away. He kept the rifle pointed to his own chin the entire time, and was followed by the officers and a large number of spectators.

When Heyward made it onto the porch of his house, one of the officers made an attempt to tase him. However, only one of the taser barbs made impact, the other missing. And as he was hit by the single taser barb, Heyward lowered the rifle and made a sweeping gesture directly at the officers. On an audiotape of the incident, officer Bryan Wood can be heard clearly shouting, “No, no, no” at Heyward.

Tragically, what happened next became inevitable. When police officers are confronted with an armed person pointing their weapon towards them, their training is clear. They are not trained to wound or “disable” a suspect, as that places the officer’s life in

unnecessary danger. They are trained to use deadly force if their life is being threatened. And when Heyward swept the rifle towards all six of the officers, they did exactly what they were trained to do. All six of them fired their weapons at Heyward.

What happened after that moment, however, is what has a number of people and organizations such as the NAACP raising some serious questions. According to the attorney representing the six officers, Heyward apparently survived the first volley of shots and kept the rifle pointed towards the officers, so they fired a second volley. Even then, Heyward was able to maintain what the attorney said was a “death grip” on the rifle, which was still directed towards the officers, at which point they fired a third and final volley.

According to the autopsy report and statements from police officials, the six officers fired a combined 59 times, striking Heyward approximately 43 times. When the report was released, it caused a great deal of consternation

Here is one of the more interesting agenda items set to be discussed at the August 18 meeting of the Chattanooga City Council.

6. Ordinances – First Reading: a) An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, Sections 38-2, 38-185, and 38-527, relative to the regulation of nightclubs. and concern over the sheer number of shots fired. An official with the local chapter of the NAACP even went so far as to call the incident a case of “excessive force” and believes that it was racially motivated. However, after a preliminary review of the incident by both the police department and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, all six officers were returned to active duty without discipline or reprimand, showing that the department considers the incident, at least for the moment, to be a “clean shoot”.

Chattanooga Moving Forward On City Annexation Plans The Regional Planning Commission met at the Hamilton County Courthouse on Monday before a packed audience to review Chattanooga’s latest annexation plans. With a mixed vote, the commission agreed to send on their annexation recommendations to the City Council..

A number of the commission members raised concerns over a number of “unanswered questions” about the city’s plan of services for the areas. However, Commission Chair Dale Mabee pointed out that the role of the commission was only to determine if the plan of services was adequate.

Mayor Ron Littlefield said he was pleasantly surprised by the turnout. “I really thought the vote would be closer than that,” he said. “I’m happy just to be moving along, we have other areas that will be coming up next month. This will be a long process.”

City Council members will now be setting up localized meetings within their districts to talk about the annexation, which should come before the full council by the end of the month for a final vote.

It’s back! The latest attempt to bring some order to the current nightclub chaos that has turned Brainerd Road into an 1850’s Dodge City—at least in the minds of some city and community leaders—first came up two weeks ago and was deferred so that all the council members could take a longer look at what could and should be done to regulate future clubs in our fair city.

The last time the council addressed this issue, the end result was voted down over concerns about the impact the new zoning regulations would have on future business (it was pointed out, accurately, that the vast majority of restaurants and nightclubs are run well and cause virtually no problems) along with questions about what some felt was an excessive 1,000-foot setback from residential areas for new clubs.

It also needs to be noted that this ordinance—in whatever final form it takes—will not have any impact on the current situation in Brainerd. Whether or not this ordinance pases, residents in Brainerd are still waiting for the city to do something about current problems they are facing.

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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Beyond The Headlines

More Voices on Gentrification

By Beverly A. Carroll As Chattanooga gears up for the growth anticipated to follow the billion-dollar VW plant opening here in 2011, the city has a unique opportunity to step into the driver’s seat, instead of being driven by the out-of-control growth that overran its well-known southern neighbor.

“The main thing we are going to see is a growing population,” Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield says. “How we plan for and accommodate is going to establish what kind of community we are going to be for the next 50 years.”

While the impact of the VW plant— what a local architect described as the equivalent of a “small town”—will be spread over a multi-county region, the demand for housing is sure to be felt in many of the urban neighborhoods now experiencing a renaissance. St. Elmo, Highland Park, North Chattanooga, Main Street and the M.L. King areas all offer trendy homes, new and renovated, close to a downtown district flaunting the results of a $2 billion investment of public and private dollars over the last couple of decades.

“We have people moving here from Atlanta because they don’t want to live there any more because of the traffic and the water problems and the air problems,” Littlefield says. “I’ve heard Atlanta elected officials say, in my presence when they knew I was in the audience, that Chattanooga has done a better job of planning and implementing those plans. We have a quality of life advantage and the worst thing we can do is allow that to go away.”

For some, quality of life comes too dear. Residents in neighborhoods targeted for renewal sometimes end up driven out by property taxes buoyed by rising property values, or they sell out too soon to make enough money to move up. Many more are renters who cannot afford rising rents or to buy a home in an area where they’ve lived for years.

“A community attracts a new gentry, people who move in, bringing new expectations,” Littlefield says. “And the question always is, ‘What happens to the people who lived there before?’”

Though there is no simple answer to the question, Littlefield said the city has a responsibility to address the issue.

“We try to provide programs to support people who have been in their homes for decades,” he says. “We have a winterization program, for exam-

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"Gentrification can be the tide that raises the boat, not the wave that swamps it, local community leaders say." ple, that helps people tighten up their homes. That’s particularly useful to low-income and elderly residents on a fixed income.”

Gentrification, when residents are pushed out of their neighborhoods by renewal that outstrips their ability to maintain their increasingly valuable property, is an unfortunate side effect of neighborhood change, says Jean Lamb, compliance officer of Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise, a nonprofit advocate and builder of affordable housing. Jefferson Heights, a community off of East Main Street, is an example of an area that took on a life of its own, she says.

“The whole idea of that area was to get mixed income housing and it’s kind of picked up and gone on its own,” Lamb says. Many of the older homes have been razed and replaced with houses selling for prices as high as $350,000.

“To find the perfect answer or program is difficult, because you have to be fair with everybody,” Lamb says.

CNE, partnering with the city and Chattanooga area foundations such as Lyndhurst Foundation, offers a variety of programs aimed at diverting the effects of gentrification. Their first-time home buyer program helps people through the lending process and edu-

cates them about the responsibilities of homeownership.

Realtor Jim Lea, who with his wife Monique, specializes in urban and historic neighborhoods, says the benefits of gentrification can offset the disadvantages. Residents need support via programs to stay in their neighborhoods, he says. But in the long run, communities generally improve from gentrification.

“Look at what’s happened in Atlanta, in every downtown neighborhood in Atlanta, the average home is $250,000 or more and the average income is six figures or more,” Lea says.

“Imagine that’s what is happening in Chattanooga. Is that good thing or bad thing?”

Some say the result is the “breaking open” of concentrated pockets of poverty and spreading it out over neighborhoods with affordable housing.

“Twenty years ago, there was a massive concentration of poverty downtown—now there is more of a mixture,” Lea said. “Fast forward another 50 years and there is no more poverty downtown.”

People living in poverty tend to take on a “learned helplessness,” and expect others to take action on their behalf, Lea said. Spreading them out among people who know how to work with the system helps them learn how to take action to improve their quality of life.

“A rising tide lifts all boats,” Lea said. “We need to keep that at the forefront of our minds and our hearts.”

Please see our July 30 cover story, “Whose Neighborhood Is It Anyway?”, also by Beverly A. Carroll, for more points of view on this subject.

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.

• Once again, the inability to safely operate a motor vehicle has led to a sizeable drug bust. A Bradley County sheriff’s deputy spotted a car following too closely on I-75 last week, and when he pulled the vehicle over, he not only discovered the driver had a suspended license but that he and his passenger had six pounds of marijuana in their possession. The two men, who were from Kentucky, were arrested and charged with possession of marijuana for resale, while the driver was also charged with driving on a suspended license and following too closely. It’s amazing how many drug busts happen because of routine traffic stops. One would think drug dealers would be a bit more aware of traffic laws, but then again, there’s a reason why they call it “dope”.

• One of the many ways neighborhoods can fight crime is by organizing a neighborhood watch and keeping an eye on their neighbors. However, com-

mon sense also says that one should let law enforcement personnel handle stakeouts on suspected drug houses, as drug dealers do not take kindly to civilians camping out in front of their houses and taking photos. A neighborhood watch leader in East Lake learned this the hard way when he told police that one of the drug dealers came to his house and threatened to burn it down if any of the dealer’s friends ended up being arrested. Police agreed to monitor the suspected drug house as well as the neighborhood watch leader’s residence.

• It is considered impolite to cut in line, whether at the movie theater, the tag office, or even in jail. However, while doing so at most locations will likely result in nothing more than a few raised voices, doing so where criminals are known to hang out is generally not a very good idea. One lady learned this the hard way when she decided to bypass a group of visitors lined up to see friends and relatives at the county jail. One of the other people in line expressed her displeasure with the linejumping by throwing her cell phone at

her—and then punching her after she dodged the phone. Fortunately for officers, it was a very short trip to take the cell-phone thrower to booking.

• This past winter, there was a string of break-ins at area businesses in which front glass doors were broken, giving the thief (or thieves) access. Luckily for a business owner on W. 38th Street, although his front glass door was shattered, the would-be burglars were unable to get past the iron bars inside the door. He told officers this was the second time in two weeks someone had tried to break into his business in the same fashion. What frustrated the officers was: No one had reported the attempted burglary until well after the fact.

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local news and views

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Shrink Rap

The Search for Intelligent Life

By Rick Pimental-Habib, Ph.D www.DrRPH.com

R

ecently I spent a chunk of the day Googling the sorts of topics you often read about in this column. Topics such as mind/body/spirit wellness, personal growth, spirituality, diversity, living your best self, positive life lessons, and more.

I was poking around for both basic, folksy, homespun wisdom as well as new frontiers of thought—everything from older generation teachings such as “don’t make that face or it will get stuck that way” (remember that one?) to sustainable living and how every person, through their own conscious growth, can contribute to changing the world.

I learned about the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY, located on more than 100 acres in the gorgeous Hudson River Valley in upstate New York. Their motto is “Awakening the best in the human spirit,” and they gather world-renowned teachers, authors, and spiritual leaders to offer workshops in healing, relationships, spirituality, creativity, leadership, sustainable living, and more. Quite a place…one where the open-minded and openhearted can effect change both personally and globally.

My Internet search continued, and took me on a very interesting journey that day. One of the places I landed brought me back to some wonderful basics about the best in human spirit as I came across Robert

Fulghum’s 1988 landmark book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned In Kindergarten. You’ve probably read it, heard of it, or have seen quotes from it at one time or another, but in the spirit of personal growth and being the best we can be, let me share some of the highlights here: “All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten.

Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school.”

• Share everything.

• Play fair.

• Don’t hit people.

• Put things back where you found them.

• Clean up your own mess.

• Don’t take things that aren’t yours.

• Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.

• Wash your hands before you eat.

• Flush.

• Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

• Live a balanced life—learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

• Take a nap every afternoon.

• When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation.

Ecology and politics and equality and sane living. Think what a better world it would be if we all—the whole world—had cookies and milk at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon and then lay down for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.

I also came across essays about how the important stuff certainly was not all learned in kindergarten.

Through time, age, and experience we learn further lessons necessary for sane living. You know which ones—the harder ones, or, as a friend of mine puts it, the “character-building” lessons.

Things like: Good people sometimes get their hearts broken.

And even if you don’t hit others, sometimes you get hit anyway… and they might not say they’re sorry. People don’t always clean up their own messes, we don’t always have time for an afternoon nap, and cookies are fattening. Stick together?

Some people are far more invested in creating divisiveness than embracing diversity.

OK, so we find out, eventually, that not everyone plays fair. Or plays by the rules of kindergarten. So what?

Putting your energy toward the foibles and follies of the other guy, or even the cruelty and meanness of the other nation, the other culture, the other church, the other neighbor, doesn’t really get us anywhere. That which we resist, persists. So my suggestion is to face the light, stay your course, and keep your heart and mind open.

We each have our personal code of ethics, we have our notions of what living our highest self means, we have our minds, which have the capacity for new thought, and our hearts, which have the capacity to heal, expand, and embrace. That is what we know, and can count on. These are a few lessons that we gather along the way.

So what lessons did you learn when you were young, and do they still work for you?

Make a face. It won’t stay that way. Enjoy your warm cookies. Keep

“Good people sometimes get their hearts broken. And even if you don’t hit others, sometimes you get hit anyway… and they might not say they’re sorry.” the good stuff that works, the lessons that have built your character, and worry less about the rest. You have a conscience. You’re in the driver’s seat. You get to choose—and delight in—whatever awakens the best in your own human spirit.

Until next time: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” — Oscar Wilde 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

Quilting Together Collaborations

By Alison Burke

I

t’s ironic that a quilt brought Garbo and Archie Hearne to Chattanooga. A quilt that’s made to tell a story can, in fact, become the catalyst for new stories.

A quilt that’s made by piecing together scraps of fabric can serve to bring people together around it. This is certainly the case for Phyllis Stephen’s story quilt, “A Red Hot Afternoon,” shown earlier this year at Stephen’s Quilting Together workshop at the Chattanooga African American Museum (CAAM) and will be seen again in the Hearnes’ upcoming 54-artist exhibition at CAAM, entitled “Collaborations: Two Decades of African American Art”.

The story of Garbo and Archie Hearne’s gallery in Little Rock, AK takes a parallel path to that of Chattanooga African American Museum.

In each case, a business was launched in an effort to give voice to a black community on a local and national scale. In each case, what began decades ago as a small idea among friends became a multi-faceted community force that is still redefining its focus and scope today.

What is now Hearne Fine Art began 20 years ago as an idea in the minds of two people who, as Garbo Hearne puts it, “recognized a void in both the Central Arkansas art community and its African American community. The former lacked diversity, while the latter had no gallery or

“The paintings, photography, quilts, and sculpture that make up this diverse collection—at times political, at times emotional and evocative—together articulate the many stories of Black America.”

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retail space dedicated to its culture and heritage.”

They decided to carve out their own niche.

Beginning small as the Pyramid Gallery in 1988, the Hearnes’ business took off in the coming years. Within two years, they had not only moved to a bigger and more centrally located space, but were filling new shelves with books by prominent black authors and becoming a regular stop on book-signing circuits.

Soon, they moved and expanded again to add a frame shop and space enough to host community events, such as annual Kwanzaa celebrations. All the while, Pyramid’s gallery space remained at the forefront of their endeavors, drawing exhibitions by worldrenowned artists like Elizabeth Catlett and George Hunt. They made annual trips to New York to participate in the National Black Fine Arts Show.

Over the course of two decades, what is now known as Hearne Fine Art has become not only a nationally recognized source for African American art and literature, but also the keystone between art and African American culture in Little Rock that it set out to be.

The Hearnes were not the only black Americans to recognize a lack of voice for their community in 1988. Although cities like Chicago, and New York had formed museums and centers for African American history, art and culture beginning in the ’50s and ’60s, in the Southeast, these things took a bit longer.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, African Americans all over the Southeast arrived at a similar realization: There were a lot of black stories to tell and not enough venues to tell them in. In cities across the region, African American history museums, cultural centers, bookstores, and galleries began popping up. In 1974, the Spirit Square Afro-American Cultural Center opened in Charlotte, NC. In 1978, Atlanta’s APEX Museum opened its doors. And the

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"Untitled" by Tafa

Tubman Museum of Macon, GA began showing work in 1981.

Chattanooga was no different. The CAAM, dreamt up in 1977 and realized in 1983, was part of this very movement. “It’s no coincidence that the idea for the museum came about the same year that the film Roots came out. A lot of people, especially in the African American community, were discovering their heritage,” says Carmen Davis, the museum’s education director and curator. “In ’77, a group of people came together and said they wanted to have some sort of Afro-American cultural center here in the city.

In ’83, we got our first building, and the whole shebang was in one room. Offices, gift shop, and museum—all in one room.”

In spite of these meager beginnings, the museum became a force in the local black community and in 1996, the CAAM moved from the one-room building that is now the Kingdom Center to its current location alongside Bessie Smith Hall. And much like Hearne Fine Art, the museum has steadily broadened its scope over

Cover Story the course of its 26 years. Says Davis, “Our focus is history, but there’s a lot we do outside of that. We’re very interested in preserving music that is unique to the African American community, like blues, jazz, and R&B. We offer a lot of dance and music lessons. We also bring in performing artists, visual artists, and writers. Really, we’re changing from primarily a museum to more of a cultural center.”

With such similar histories, it’s no wonder that the Hearnes have chosen the Chattanooga African American Museum as the first stop on the tour of their traveling collection, Collaborations. Their collection, which is accompanied by a coffee-table book of the same name, compiles the works of 54 black artist who’ve shown in the Hearnes’ gallery space over its 20 years, including Leroy Allen, Benny Andrews, John Biggers, Earnest Davidson, William Tolliver, and Ernest Withers.

Celebrated painter Dianne Smith, whose work “Cornered” is included in the exhibit, also wrote the afterward for the Collaborations book.

“Partnerships, alliances, relationships, synergy, and responsibility are what come to mind when I think of Collaborations,” writes Smith, “meaning that we should work together for a greater purpose. It is important for the artists and gallery to find a common ground to work towards a shared vision of protecting our cultural legacy through the visual arts.”

In this expression of artistic community, Smith touches on a focal point of the exhibition, which seeks to express both black history and black experience through visual art. The paintings, photography, quilts, and sculpture that make up this diverse collection—at times political, at times emotional and evocative—together articulate the many stories of Black America.

In Chattanooga, the exhibition itself is a historical event. “Because the exhibit covers… ’88 to 2008, you get to see some really heavy hitters like Elizabeth Catlett and George Hunt, but it also gives you some newer artists as well,” says Davis. “Normally, you wouldn’t be able to see many of these artists in Chattanooga, let alone all of them at one time in one exhibit.”

For the CAAM, the exhibit is as much about the future as it is about the past. In order to make room for Collaborations, the museum is taking down a collection of photographs by Chattanoogans who attended President Obama’s inauguration ceremony. Like the movement that sparked the movie Roots and initiated the first incarnation of CAAM, the election of the nation’s

“Their collection, which is accompanied by a coffeetable book of the same name, compiles the works of 54 black artist who’ve shown in the Hearnes’ gallery space over its 20 years, including Leroy Allen, Benny Andrews, John Biggers, Earnest Davidson, William Tolliver, and Ernest Withers.” first black president has created a new climate for African Americans to rediscover their heritage.

In her afterward, Dianne Smith writes powerfully about the importance of our time in history, the role this exhibit plays in telling necessary stories or the past, and its contribution to the future. “We need to run our leg of the race in preparation to pass the baton,” Smith notes. “This will help to spread and strengthen the vision of Hearne Fine Art. There will be generations of artists to come as Hearne Fine Art celebrates forty, sixty, eighty years.

Collaborations was twenty years in the making, yet it is part of a larger historical construct.”

"Pier" by Dean Mitchell

The exhibition also marks the beginning of many revitalizing changes for the museum itself. In September, CAAM plans to reveal a name change that will more adequately reflect the variety of cultural resources it provides. “A name change will allow us to really expand and show the community everything that we do,” says Davis, “and help people understand that we offer more than just history.”

Collaborations’ opening on Friday, August 21 coincides with the kickoff of the CAAM’s second annual Bessie Smith Heritage Festival, which takes place the following Saturday afternoon and features workshops with artists, as well as and nationally renowned jazz, funk, and R&B musicians such as Vasti Jackson, Roy Ayers, and Angela Winbush.

More than anything, the presence of the Collaborations exhibit at CAAM functions a great deal like the quilt that first began the dialogue between Hearne Fine Art and CAAM. The exhibition, made by piecing together works of art, serves also to bring people and communities together around it. The exhibition is made to tell a story, and yet it is also the catalyst for new stories—and new collaborations.

To learn about membership opportunities or to obtain additional information about this exhibit and others, call (423) 266-8658.

Collaborations: Two Decades of African American Art $5 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, noon – 4 p.m. Saturday Opens August 21, ends November 13 Chattanooga African American Museum, 200 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 267-1628. www.caamhistory.org

95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 8.13.09 The Pulse

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Arts & Entertainment

Elegance Behind the Curtain at “HelloWorld();”

By Michael Crumb

V

iewers at CreateHere have a chance to gaze upon the future and to understand better the complexities of the present in the unique aesthetic environment called “HelloWorld.”

Featuring a range of productions and some collaborations between artists and computer programmers, this dynamic exhibition surrounds visitors with the heretofore hidden elegance of web environments.

This “HelloWorld” environment functions as a high-tech snapshot of accelerating cultural change inherent in the progression of computer program design. Helen Johnson of CreateHere relates the serendipitous inspiration for this show from a conference with her web designer, Matt Turnure. On viewing various web codes, Helen recognized beauty in them. She collaborated with Leslie Jensen-Inman, who specializes in web education at UTC’s art department. Together, they conceptualized “HelloWorld” and invited artists

“Elegance connects the logical with the intuitive, provokes significant questions and drives accelerating cultural change.”

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and computer programmers to participate.

Helen emphasizes the importance of code design: “These are new languages of intrinsic importance!

Design is a great industry for Chattanooga to develop.” Helen’s vision was aptly amplified at the show’s reception by designers enthusiastically proclaiming that Chattanooga is becoming a design center. I must say that the reception on August 7 was impressive. Not only was it heavily attended, but overflowing with camaraderie among the artists, designers and viewers.

Great praise is due to Jessica Martin, who curated "HelloWorld" with devotion to its concepts and careful execution of its presentation, supportive of such élan.

Leslie Jensen-Inman’s defining piece for “HelloWorld” features a large chalkboard covered with code, emphasizing both the dynamic progress of code development and the need for correlative methods for teaching code design. Leslie’s husband Shaun Inman built the web site, addressed as “helloworld_show.com.” Jessica explains that “HelloWorld” is an initializing term for web site development that links the designer to the web, so that the site has a presence within the web while it is finalizing its presentation.

Poet Robert Browning coined the phrase “less is more,” and this brief definition of elegance resonates hugely in “HelloWorld.” Elegance imbues traditional aesthetics with its direct grace; calligraphy provides some fine examples. Elegance also has a logical sense in which fewer steps produce a more direct result. If design is elegant, there is room for more design. Elegance connects the logical with the intuitive, provokes significant questions and drives accelerating cultural change.

Less is more and more!

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There are works here both significant and informative, with whimsical elements that tease the fine arts context. New Orleans artist Weston McWorter’s untitled series presents designs printed directly onto canvas. His #4 is an amazing geometric abstract; others range from pixilation to “Op Art.” Los Angeles artist C. E. B. Reas’s “Pre-Process Execution” appears to mate code with geometry into a stunning presentation.

Chattanooga artists show well. Isaac Duncan III has presented a projection pyramid sculpture that supports multiple projections. Dan Rubin from Fort Lauderdale designed the projection for Isaac’s pyramid.

Dan is emphatic: “A unique and groundbreaking show here in Chattanooga, because of the presence of the talented programmers.”

Rudd Montgomery of Chattanooga has provided functional sculptures, hand-carved design furniture—so inviting.

Darron Walter features framed pieces of code next to his projection of his “Colors” web site, asserting the value of elegance, the site itself is fascinating.

I spoke with Karen Livingston, who works as an intern at the Hunter Museum: “The experience of code as art makes it familiar and inviting. It’s more and more part of our lives.”

I’ve tried to leave some great surprises for visitors to “HelloWorld,” so step over to CreateHere and step into the future.

“HelloWorld();” Free Through September 12 CreateHere, 55 E. Main Street (423) 648-2195. www.createhere.org

A&E Calendar

Send your calendar events to us at calendar@chattanoogapulse.com

Friday

Thursday “Sign of the Times” Photographer’s Reception 5:30 p.m. Jewish Cultural Center, 5461 North Terrace.

(423) 493-0270.

Fun Fridays Children’s Reading Hour 10:30 a.m. Rock Point Books, 401 Broad St. (423) 756-2855.

Screwtape 7:30 p.m. Ripple Theater, 3264 Brainerd Road, (423) 475-5006.

The Mystery of the RedneckItalian Wedding 6 p.m. Vaudeville Café, 138 Market St. (423) 517-1839.

Rhyme N Chatt Poetry Session Just listen or share your rhymes with the receptive crowd.

Free.

7 p.m.

Aretha Frankensteins, 518 Tremont Street. www.rhymenchatt.org

Noises Off! 7 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, Main Stage, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534.

Tracy Smith 8 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233.

Mystery of the TV Talk Show 8:30 p.m. Vaudeville Café, 138 Market St. (423) 517-1839.

Steel Magnolias 7:30 p.m. The Colonnade, 264 Catoosa Cir. (706) 935-9000. www.colonnadecenter.org

Sign of the Times New exhibit of art photography.

Free.

9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Jewish Cultural Center, 5461 North Terrace Road.

(423) 493-0270. www.jcfgc.com

Saturday

Saturdays in St. Elmo 11 a.m. Incline Railway, 3917 St. Elmo Ave. (706) 820-2531.

Art Until Dark Noon. Northshore, Frazier Avenue.

(423) 413-8999. www.arttildark.com

Best-selling author and awardwinning playwright. $30 11:30 a.m.

The Chattanoogan, 1201 Broad Street. (423) 267-7870. www.chattanooganhotel.com

Monday Why Faith Matters 7:30 p.m. Jewish Cultural Center, 5461 North Ter. (423) 493-0270.

“Speak Easy” spoken word and poetry 8 p.m. Mudpie Restaurant, 12 Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9040.

“Cultural Fragments” Lookout Mountain Gallery, 3914 St. Elmo Ave. (423) 394-1071.

Helen Roberts: “Leo the Lion” Watercolors and Photos from tour of Europe In-Town Gallery, 26A Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9214.

Fine Handmade Jewelry by Mary Helen Robert In-Town Gallery, 26A Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9214.

The Mystery of Flight 138 8:30 p.m. Vaudeville Café, 138 Market St. (423) 517-1839. www.funnydinner.com

Tracy Smith 7:30 p.m. & 10 p.m. The Comedy Catch & Giggles Grille, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233.

Night Visions: The Art of Frederic Remington and Frank Tenney Johnson 10 a.m. Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View.

(423) 266-0944. www.huntermuseum.org

Noises Off! 8 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, Main Stage, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534.

HelloWorld.Show(); Create Here, 55 East Main St. Ste. 105. (423) 648-2195. www.createhere.org

Sunday Mosaic Market 11 a.m. 412 Market St. (corner of 4th/Market) (423) 624-3915.

An Afternoon with Pearl Cleage

Almost, Maine 8 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, Circle Stage, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534. www.theatrecentre.com

New Voices Poetry Reading 6 p.m. Pasha Coffee Shop, 3914 St. Elmo Ave. (423) 315-0721. www.pashacoffeehouse.com

Screwtape 7:30 p.m. Ripple Theater, 3264 Brainerd Road, (423) 475-5006. www.rippletheater.com

Screwtape 2:30 p.m. Ripple Theater, 3264 Brainerd Road, (423) 475-5006. www.rippletheater.com

Steel Magnolias 7:30 p.m. The Colonnade, 264 Catoosa Cir. (706) 935-9000.

Tracy Smith 8 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233. www.thecomedycatch.com

Tracy Smith 7:30 p.m. & 10 p.m. The Comedy Catch & Giggles Grille, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233.

Noises Off! 8 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, Main Stage, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534.

River City Red Hots Jazz Show and Dinner 6:30 p.m. Delta Queen, Coolidge Park. (423) 468-4500. www.deltaqueenhotel.com

Almost, Maine 8 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, Circle Stage, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534.

Tuesday

Wednesday

Talking Across Generations: Diversity in Generational Differences Noon. Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View.

(423) 266-0944.

“ArtsChatt” 5 p.m. Easy Bistro, 203 Broad Street. (423) 266-1121. www.easybistro.com Classic Literature Book Club Review, Brideshead Revisited 7 p.m. Rock Point Books, 401 Broad St. (423) 756-2855. www.rockpointbooks.com “The Other Race in Chattanooga: Native Americans” 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.

“Jellies: Living Art” Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View. (423) 266-0944.

“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.

“Cultural Fragments” Lookout Mountain Gallery, 3914 St. Elmo Ave. (423) 394-1071.

Noises Off! Hapless British touring company goes hilariously off the rails. $10-$20.

2:30 p.m.

Chattanooga Theatre Centre, Main Stage, 400 River Street.

(423) 267-8534. www.theatrecentre.com

Works by Stephen Scott Young Shuptrine Fine Art and Framing, 2646 Broad St. (423) 266-4453.

“Accessing the Artist’s Brain: Drawing as a Metaphor” Association for Visual Arts, 30 Frazier Ave. (423) 265-4282.

“Discovery” River Gallery, 400 E. Second St. (423) 265-5033. www.river-gallery.com

Editor’s Pick: Featured Event Of The Week Meet Britcom actor Nicholas Smith Britcom lovers, rejoice—and head to this reception for one of the stars of Are You Being Served?, the wellloved series that will live on forever. Bow ties not required, but appreciated.

Saturday, August 15 Free, but reservations requested.

6 p.m.

WTCI-TV Studios, 7540 Bonnyshire Drive.

(423) 702-7800. www.wtcitv.org

95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 8.13.09 The Pulse

13

Life In The Noog

Band On The Run

By Chuck Crowder www.thenoog.com

A

nyone who knows me is well aware of my passion for live music. Nothing can quite eclipse the powerful angstridden raw sweaty rawk of a great band on a great night.

And nowhere else in town delivers more great bands on more great nights than JJ’s Bohemia.

Just last week I witnessed two great nights of entertainment on the very same weekend. On Friday, JJ’s featured a really good R&B band from Atlanta as well as the Noog’s very own shining R&B jewels The Distribution—plus a marching band. That’s right, the What Cheer?

Brigade made its way down to ML King after their scheduled gig on the Walnut Street Bridge to light up the ‘hood with 19 pieces of brass and drums.

Then on Saturday, JJ’s hosted local faves The Nim Nims and likely the finest local band this town has to offer of late, Moonlight Bride.

To me a sound-like combination of Radiohead and U2, Moonlight Bride combines passionate, insightful lyrics with keyboard/guitar-driven power pop/rock sensibilities. What does that mean? It means that you just need to go see them, and anyone else who graces the JJ’s stage. ’Cause you never really know who they are, or where they came from.

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Case in point: One night last spring, JJ’s was lucky enough to host a couple of vanloads of bands gigging their way cross country from the SXSW festival in Austin back home to NYC and Asheville, NC. On that random night the crowd on hand was privy to Kaiser Cartel and Stephanie’s ID. Both bands at the time were experiencing a flurry of press attention as “up-and-coming artists to watch.” Especially Courtney Kaiser, a former back-up singer with John Mellencamp and The Wallflowers, and partner Benjamin Cartel. You could tell right away that their act was much bigger than the room and, by their extraordinary talent, something of a coup to have on hand.

But those kinds of musical treats aren’t as uncommon as you would think. In addition to the abovementioned evenings, I’ve also seen an extremely rare reunion of ’80’s jangle-pop giants Let’s Active at JJ’s, and just last week a great Chicagobased outfit, The Saps. Lucky for us though, there’s always been a “JJ’s” in Chattanooga to deliver the goods.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a Chattanooga club back in the ’80s that brought in the likes of Black Flag and Red Hot Chili Peppers for skeleton crowds before they shot off to stardom. I also remember seeing Mr. Crow’s Garden (Black Crowes) play the Rock n’ Country Club on one of their very first gigs. And there have been a few other clubs since that have done the same.

The Pulse 8.13.09 www.chattanoogapulse.com 95.3 Pulse News

The Lizard Lounge, vibrant around the turn of the (most recent) century, was notorious for bringing in top-notch talent. On many occasions I saw now-prominent artists such as Drive-By Truckers, Neko Case and Tift Merritt take the Lizard stage and be happy that a few folks actually showed up to watch.

And the Lizard Lounge wasn’t afraid to take a chance on bringing in bigger artists in hopes that we locals would read the schedule and circle the dates. I saw great shows

by Sylvain Sylvain & Cheetah Chrome (former NY Doll & Dead Boy, respectively), Nashville Pussy, Marc Olsen (Jayhawks) & Victoria Williams, and Alejandro Escovedo in the few short years the club was open.

That’s the great thing about this city. Someone is always willing to fill the need of being the live music venue that features nothing but bands with original music. And right now, that venue is JJ’s Bohemia (and Rhythm & Brews, too, on most weekdays).

Support them. It’s on more than an occasional basis that while enjoying good shows there I think to myself, “Man, we’re lucky to have this going on right here in the Noog.”

Rock on!

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

“That’s the great thing about this city. Someone is always willing to fill the need of being the live music venue that features nothing but bands with original music.”

95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 8.13.09 The Pulse

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The Pulse 8.13.09 www.chattanoogapulse.com 95.3 Pulse News

Table Service

Never Go Home Hungry at Chef Lin

By Molly Iles

R

epeatedly voted the “best dinner under $10” since it opened in 2001, Chef Lin is considered one of the largest international buffets in the Chattanooga area. It is also considered one of the best deals around.

Where else can you find crab legs, steak, and oysters at such an affordable price?

You could say that the history of the Chef Lin started in 2001 when the restaurant first opened. Or you could go back even further to 1993, when Tony Lin first arrived in America. Though his family was in the restaurant business, the owner and namesake of Chef Lin did not began his cooking career until age 14 when he first started working in a kitchen washing dishes. But by the time he made the move to New York City in ’93, Lin knew that he wanted to open his own place. Fast forward eight years and Lin, who was living in Atlanta at the time, finally found his restaurant. The China Garden in Chattanooga was for sale. The eatery was already in the style of a Chinese buffet, and Lin quickly snatched it up. Now he had his restaurant—the only problem was getting the customers’ attention. To Lin, the best way to do that was to offer the best food possible at a great price.

That idea became the central selling point of Chef Lin. For just $10 (and that’s just for dinner, lunch is only six bucks!) a customer can come in and expect one of the largest arrays of food in town.

Lin and his wife, who are almost always at the restaurant, are steadfast in offering the best meal they can at the lowest price possible. “You can eat at other restaurants and pay $30 for one lobster,” said Lin, “or you could come here and eat shrimp, steak, and crab legs for only ten.” The customers will always get their money’s worth at Chef Lin because there is really just too much to chose from.

There is no way to go home hungry from a place with six long buffet tables full of food.

According to the chef, the buffet tables offer some 200 items, including Peking Duck, New

Zealand Mussels, Salmon Steak, Shrimp Cocktail, Crab Legs, Ribeye Steak, Oysters and much more. The list goes on and on. The restaurant also offers a sushi bar, salad bar, and hibachi grill as well as an assortment of fresh fruits and even French pastries. Signature items include the Coconut Cream Shrimp and what Lin considers his special crawfish.

“No one else has that same flavor,” remarks the owner.

The owner of Chef Lin takes pride in his food. He also takes pride in the fact that his food is fresh and warm no matter when a customer comes in to eat. “That’s important—a lot of buffet food is dry and cold—we always keep it fresh and hot,” Lin says, “even during the slow times.” The customer is a top priority, and Lin wants every person who walks into his restaurant to leave happy.

The inside is surprisingly large, with several dinning areas, including a private room for parties and meetings that can hold up to 60 people. Roughly 200 people pack themselves into the restaurant on a Friday or Saturday night when the place is busiest. Chinesethemed wall art hangs in the dinning rooms and decorative archways and ceiling tiles add to the effect. The rooms are light and clean and the aroma of hot, fresh food wafts in and out. It makes a person hungry! And Lin is not above a little self-promotion here and there—the restaurant’s foyer is decorated with award certificates.

While there are no specials at Chef Lin, lunch is a steal at only $6, and Sunday brunch is about a dollar more. Children (ages 3 to 9) eat for half price, and kids under 3 eat free. Even seniors get a ten-percent-off deal. And don’t forget to ask about the free Birthday Dinner offer. The restaurant does carryout and catering with gift certificates available.

“For just $10 (and that’s just for dinner, lunch is only six bucks!) a customer can come in and expect one of the largest arrays of food in town.”

Since 2001, Chef Lin has been considered the “best dinner under $10” in Chattanooga. The restaurant remains dedicated to offering good, affordable meals, knowing that a happy and satisfied customer will always return for more.

Chef Lin is located at 5084 S. Terrace Road in the South Terrace Plaza. (I-24 Exit 184, next to the Rave Movie Theater). (423) 510-1998.

95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 8.13.09 The Pulse

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Music Feature

What’s Stirring in Chattanooga

By Hellcat

C

urrently, we have many musicians and projects making waves in our summer months.

I would like to highlight some upcoming shows and events that are worth checking out, no matter what kind of music you are normally into.

First, we have The Distribution, an intriguing, fairly new band that has made quite a commotion in our little music scene. They are a bluesy, vocally driven, R&B band, intermingling funk and modern edge in their mix. I recently asked Travis Knight, the bass player, on how this all came together.

Hellcat: How did you transition into this band? I mean, you were in a rock act, Actress, and a wear-skinnyjeans-and-V-necks indie band, Coral Castles. How did you get involved in the project?

Travis Knight: Carl Cadwell, Mary and Michelle Higgins were working on some songs, and then out of the blue Carl called me, and wanted to record some bass tracks on these songs. He later decided he wanted to start a live band around the recording and was trying to get a band together. He asked if I wanted to play. Which was awesome because I was a big fan of his from his previous band, Infradig. They were spacey and jazzy. I was stoked to be asked to play in this R&B band because I always loved Motown, and because if you’re a bass player and you don’t secretly want to play R&B, you might as well quit. Somewhere in your soul you just want to.

HC: What has it been like, considering your completely different

“If you’re a bass player and you don’t secretly want to play R&B, you might as well quit.

Somewhere in your soul you just want to.”

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The Pulse 8.13.09 www.chattanoogapulse.com 95.3 Pulse News

background?

TK: It’s been really challenging. They all go together so well, and they’ve all played together before at some point. They are all just so good. It was really challenging coming in with my bargainbasement music education and trying to play with them. There are different chords that don’t show up in pop or rock music, a bunch of seventh chords and creative sounds.

HC: How was the transition?

TK: Well, I didn’t know if people were even going to like us. If you are in an indie band, you have about two months of people standing there with crossed arms, while they decide if they like you. Luckily for us, people just seemed to get it. They are more apt to dance and let loose because it’s all about having a good time. There are some crossover fans from one band to the next. I’ve been shocked by it personally; they’ve really exceeded my expectation.

HC: Describe the sound?

TK: We call it, “New Old Soul”. Basically soul music with a little bit of funk and a modern twist. Sly and the Family Stone meets LCD Sound System.

The Distribution will be playing Nightfall, this Friday, with Rocco Deluca and the Burden, as well as August 22 at Rhythm & Brews with the Space Capones, a pretty rocking group from Nashville.

Next up in Chattanooga music news, some past, present, and future favorites, Up with the Joneses, have finally finished their long-awaited follow-up album. It’s called Over the Sound, and they do not scrimp on the rock. The album is a full 14 songs, and most of those songs push into four minutes or more. For all of you uber music dorks out there, they just might have put on some bonus material by way of a hidden song. I will tell you that this is a very mysterious combination of material… that may or may not have to be slowed down and played backwards to get the full story. I digress.

I will go ahead and say that in the beginning I was not a Joneses’ fan. I know I will get in trouble for saying

so, but it’s the truth. It was too jam band for my taste, and while some people really dig into that sound, I do not. I have always loved the energy and talent of the band, as well as the live show, but I didn’t rock out to their tunes in my car. I can say that this has all changed now. With the new material has come a new sound that truly offers something for everyone.

The crossover single and first track, “Filters”, is a perfect example of how their sound has evolved and is capable of taking many forms. I can see that song playing to a very mixed audience and getting a great response. The band has branched out. There are traces of country and southern rock in this album, as well as indie rock, and their signature funk jams. There really is a complete spectrum of sounds and range here that I feel pretty good about. I will be the first to admit that I am more than impressed.

When I spoke to TJ Greever, Matt Bohannon, and Adam Brown, they all seemed to say that the versatility and strength of this album comes from them maturing as musicians, and that they took their time putting this album together. It’s been a full year of recording, start to finish, and that doesn’t count all the songwriting.

Every song sounds different, which is harder than it sounds. “Things to Believe in”, “Bricks”, and “What Could be Worse” could arguably be mistaken for being by completely different bands. That in itself, is a feat. Congrats, gentlemen. Their CD release party will be at JJ’s Bohemia this Friday. Come out and see what I mean.

Music Calendar

Send your calendar events to us at calendar@chattanoogapulse.com

Friday

Thursday Dana Rogers (inside stage) 8:30 p.m. Mudpie Restaurant, 12 Frazier Avenue. (423) 267-9043.

Billy Hopkins (outside stage) 8:30 p.m. Mudpie Restaurant, 12 Frazier Avenue. (423) 267-9043.

Channing Wilson 9 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878.

Digital Butter with Newberry Jam Chattanooga’s Digital Butter is “techy, grimy beets smothered in buttery vocals.” $7 10 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-1400. www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia

Open Mic Night 9 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260.

Throttle Bottom 9 p.m. The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd #202.

Boom Box 10:30 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. (423) 267-4644.

Rocco DeLuca and the Burden with The Distribution Four-piece alt-rock band from California shines at Nightfall.

Free.

7 p.m.

Nightfall, Miller Plaza, 850 Market Street. (423) 266-1400. www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia

Saturday

Papa Mali with Ike Stubblefield 7 p.m. Chattanooga Waterfront.

(423) 756-2211. www.riverfrontnights.com

Live Stock Musical Festival Noon. The Warehouse, 5716 Ringgold Rd., East Ridge. www.myspace.com/warehousetn

Up with the Joneses CD Release, with Matt Kurtz one, Lambhandler 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400.

The Harper Monica Jazz Duo 7:30 p.m. Blue Orleans Creole Restaurant, 3208 Amnicola Hwy. (423) 629-6538. blueorleanscreolerestaurant.com

Black Moon 10 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878. www.budssportsbar.com

Grassy Blue 8 p.m. Club Fathom, 412 Market St. (423) 757-0019.

The Distribution 10 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260.

Kathy Tugman 8:30 p.m. The Foundry, 1201 S. Broad St. (423) 424-3775.

Appetite for Distruction 10 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. (423) 267-4644.

Preston Pariss 8 p.m. The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd. #202.

(423) 499-5055.

Summer Music weekends featuring New Binkley Brothers Noon. Rock City Gardens, Lookout Mtn., GA. (706) 820-2531. seerockcity.com/summermusic

Mitch Barnett 8 p.m. Charles & Myrtle's Coffeehouse, 105 McBrien Rd. Kathy Tugman 8:30 p.m. The Foundry, 1201 S. Broad St. (423) 424-3775.

Open Mic w/Jeff Daniels 4 p.m. Ms. Debbie’s Nightlife Lounge 4762 Highway 58, (423) 485-0966. www.myspace.com/debbieslounge

The Molly Maguires 9 p.m. The Tin Can, 618 Georgia Ave. (423) 648-4360.

Three-brother band from Alabama that takes no rock prisoners.

Suffercell, Mushina 8 p.m. Ziggy’s Hideaway, 607 Cherokee Blvd. (423) 634-1074.

Dance The Hunger Fight: Bands and DJs benefit Chattanooga Area Food Bank 6 p.m. Loose Cannon Gallery, 1800 Rossville Avenue. www.dancethehungerfight.com

$7 10 p.m.

Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market Street. (423) 267-4644. www.rhythm-brews.com

River City Hustlers, I Am Band, Rapidears, April Cover 8 p.m. Club Fathom, 412 Market St. (423) 757-0019.

Autovaughan, The Zou, Kyle Tallman 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400.

Tuesday

Wednesday

DJ at the Palms 8 p.m. The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd. #202.

(423) 499-5055.

The Ben Friberg Trio 7 p.m. Table 2, 232 E. 11th Street, (423) 756-8253. www.table2restaurant.com

Ben Friberg Jazz Trio 6:30 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market Street, (423) 634-0260.

Karaoke Night 9:30 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878. www.budssportsbar.com

Billy Hopkins & Friends 8 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260

Johnston Brown 8 p.m. The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd. #202.

(423) 499-5055.

Monday

The Beaters 9 p.m. The Tin Can, 618 Georgia Ave. (423) 648-4360. www.thetincanchattanooga.com

Sunday Live Stock Musical Festival 7 p.m. The Warehouse, 5716 Ringgold Rd., East Ridge. www.myspace.com/warehousetn

Lynam with Camp Normal

Hill City String Band Noon. Miller Plaza, 850 Market St. (423) 265-0771. www.downtownchattanooga.org

Hoth, Tideland, Pizza 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400. www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia

DJ at the Palms 9 p.m. The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd #202.

(423) 499-5055. www.thepalmsathamilton.com

Chris and Reece of Bud Lighting 9 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878.

Tremont Tavern 1203 Hixson Pike, (423) 266-1996. www.tremonttavern.com

Open Mic with Mike McDade 9 p.m. Tremont Tavern, 1203 Hixson Pike. (423) 266-1966. www.tremonttavern.com

DJ at the Palms 9 p.m. The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd. #202.

(423) 499-5055.

Lucky’s 2536 Cummings Highway, (423) 825-5145.

Spoken Word/Poetry Night The Riverhouse, 224 Frazier Avenue, (423) 752-0066.

Dave Matthews Acoustic Band 9:55 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. (423) 267-4644.

Irish Music Time to escape the heat with a pint and some Celtic tunes.

No cover 6:30 p.m.

Tremont Tavern, 1203 Hixson Pike. 1203 Hixson Pike.

(423) 266-0966. www.tremonttavern.com

Live Stock Musical Festival 7 p.m. The Warehouse, 5716 Ringgold Rd., East Ridge. www.myspace.com/warehousetn Whiskey and Co., True Stereo, Me and the Devik, Company of Ghosts 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400. www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia

Editor’s Pick: Featured Event Of The Week

Up with the Joneses CD Release Party One of our longtime local favorites spends some time at JJ’s celebrating a new CD. Why not celebrate with them?

Friday, August 14 $7 10 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-1400. www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia

95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 8.13.09 The Pulse

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New Music Reviews

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By Ernie Paik

Bellows

Various Artists

Bellows (myspace.com/bellowsbellows)

Teenbeat Number One Record (Teenbeat)

One might use a piccolo for a delicate, fluttering musical passage. For a piece that bespeaks refinement and elegance, maybe a bassoon or oboe is chosen. But if a musician wants to express “Get the hell out of the way!” it’s fitting to use some heavy brass. The Providence, Rhode Island trio Bellows understands this, and although its instrumentation may seem like a novelty—sousaphone, baritone sax, and drums—it makes sense upon hearing the results.

The band has elements of doom rock, drone, and free jazz, and its intensity and execution bears certain similarities to groups such as Lightning Bolt and Zu, but Bellows is not quite as spastic as those acts.

Comparisons can also be made to avant-jazz saxophonist John Zorn when he’s functioning in death mode, like with Pain Killer, but Bellows comes off as being more damaged rather than sounding tortured. The vocals are fitting, being husky and distorted but not quite metal, and the sousaphone completely dominates the low end, even drowning out the bass drum beats and sometimes vibrating oppressively or even ringing.

Between the wilder moments, Bellows takes the time to stretch its muscles, allowing its embers to smolder before the next flare-up. For example, “Haunt” begins with some ghostly sax sounds before settling into a bit of plodding, seemingly without direction until the climax hits. “Half-life” opens with a flurry of twisted sax notes, possibly like Albert Ayler during his more unrestrained outbursts, run through a gauntlet of electronic manipulation, and it whips up a murky mist using buzzing hums.

The wandering moments may lose those who are partial to the thrashjazz side of things instead of the doom-drone side, but when Bellows breaks its shackles and lets loose, the impact is something to behold, like angry sharks riding an elephant, dropped out of the sky.

The D.C.-area independent pop/rock label Teenbeat Records (no relation to the magazine) has cultivated a quirky, insider appeal over its 24 years of existence; formed by Unrest member Mark Robinson with nods to the British label Factory Records and the ’70s art-rock band Henry Cow, it went from musicgeek high schoolers releasing homemade cassettes to getting critical attention, even landing a release on a year-end top-ten list in Spin.

Part of the label’s previous compilation, released in 2005 to commemorate its 20th anniversary, looked back at catalog highlights from key bands; however, the sampler at hand, the cheekily titled Teenbeat Number One Record Label, is entirely fresh, consisting of 23 new tracks, each with an individual spoken introduction. It begins with a Brazilian flair, with a pleasant, if slight cover of João Gilberto’s “Hô-ba-lá-lá” by Latin Hustle (a True Love Always side project), and appropriately, it leads to a lo-fi track by Bossanova (creator of the underrated 2006 album Hey, Sugar), with a gentle rhythmic tug and a lounge-soul vocal delivery.

Teenbeat has always been shamelessly incestuous, with both band-memberswapping and collective approaches; for example, “Cabin” by Stick Insect sounds like it could be a song by the post-punk, post-Unrest trio Flin Flon, but not as tight and with female vocals.

As perhaps another tip of the hat to Factory Records, there are two New Order covers: a straightforward take of “Age of Consent” by Versus member Fontaine Toups’s rock combo, TFT, and an unremarkable techno cover of “Bizarre Love Triangle” by MMM’s Live Archive. Some of the better tracks from are from Teenbeat newcomers, like the easy-to-digest pop from The Ballet and a contribution from Nethers, dominated by a gloriously noisy guitar.

One of the disc’s highlights is a concept piece from the typically goofy Viva Satellite!, apparently trying to make a psychedelic Serge Gainsbourg tribute, with tongue-in-cheek, seductive, whispered girl/boy vocals. With all tracks being exclusive, the compilation has built-in appeal for label aficionados, and the two brief tracks from Flin Flon and Maybe It’s Reno (Bridget Cross’s post-Unrest outfit) perhaps best sum up the overall feeling I get from the disc: while it’s not their best material, I’m happy to hear they’re still in the game.

On The Beat

The Green Meanies: Farces of Nature

By Alex Teach

I

was sitting with my attorney at a local pub, and he was in rare form. I was melancholy by comparison, but it was due to deep reflection even prior to the heavy drinking. He, on the other hand, was just getting started.

“Balls, I says! Balls to them!” he cried, cheap gin sloshing out of his martini glass as he waved his hand around for effect to no one in particular. We had no audience as the bar was nearly empty, but the dark polyurethane wood and planked floor were audience enough when the object of your aggression is an unseen force.

I was soliciting his advice regarding a community group who had taken offense to my choice of words during a recent community event. “I’m at the top of Shitlist.

Com,” I said, and he laughed. “No, really. I’m literally at the top of the list. Turns out these folks are like the ‘AIDS’ of hatred.” No one was present but I immediately regretted saying that, not having pissed off any AIDS awareness groups in the last four months.

I was currently embattled by a group of self-important botanists over a crack about what to expect when you sleep in poison ivy or eat poorly prepared rhubarb salad. I was using it as an analogy for what I perceived to be a growing trend of trading common sense for selfimportance, and the whole event went horribly wrong when it was taken as a low blow to various professional and hobbyist botanists who had themselves gotten rashes and been poisoned from time to time in their herbivorous pursuits.

You’d have thought I’d wiped my ass with a baby seal while trying to peddle kiddie porn, for Chrissakes, and I was branded with a capital “A” for “Asshole”. I was talking

with him because they had gone so far as to start a grassroots movement to have me fired, and I made my hesitant phone call once I confirmed they had even contacted a U.S. senator over the matter. No, really.

“Screw ’em if they can’t take a joke!” my attorney cried, pounding a fist and accidentally splattering honey mustard on the extremely wrinkled blue-and-white pinstriped suit he seemed to perpetually sport.

He paused at this, looking down and fingering the substance in an attempt to remove it, which of course only resulted in spreading it around. So totally absorbed was he, a string of drool began to stream from the corner of his mouth and he drifted forward until he nearly fell out of his chair, his equilibrium lost several “two-for-one happy hour” specials ago. I observed with amusement that despite this lack of coordination, his right hand held his martini glass with gyroscopic precision; he was God’s own drunk all right. The near-fall jolted him back into the “now” and he resumed, honey mustard completely forgotten.

“You’re a good man, Alex. I won’t let you go down like this, not at the hands of these freaks anyway.

Probably a bunch of eco-terrorist ‘Earth Liberation Front’ types, ran out of trees to spike or blood to throw on women’s fur coats. Relax, son.” We were only ten years apart in age, but he was on a roll so I let it pass. “That thing you did for me, that time at that place? I’ll never forget it. Neither will the Read House, but that’s another story.

I’ve got your back on this thing my man, rest easy. We’ll be gnawing on their green thumbs before you know it. Just stay firm though, because you can’t negotiate with these types. They’re zealots.” He paused, his eyes narrowing. “They’re Democrats.” He shook his head and shrugged as if he’d just experienced a sudden chill, then waved over a waitress in an attempt to get under the 6 p.m. drink special radar, and I was grateful his attention was finally diverted.

“I was currently embattled by a group of self-important botanists over a crack about what to expect when you sleep in poison ivy or eat poorly prepared rhubarb salad.”

I knew in my heart that he was right. True zealots. I’d dealt with bigots, racists, anti-Semites, bullies, thugs, and cowards, but never had I dealt with the tenacity of pure ecofanaticism before and the thickness of their skulls was as deep and wide as the sweet, sweet Tennessee Valley.

I’d taken people to task about taking themselves too seriously, and as a result instead of enlightening them, I’d only focused their narrow beam of “Dumb” directly at my chest. Or as they hoped, my Badge. I’m all for a challenge, but wow. Lamar Alexander? Really?

At least tonight, though, things would be much easier to grasp: A very drunken attorney I could handle.

“Coke, please, Miss. And a wetnap for my friend’s coat here.”

When officer Alexander D. Teach is not patrolling our fair city on the heels of the criminal element, he is an occasional student at UTC, an up and coming carpenter, auto mechanic, prominent boating enthusiast, and spends his spare time volunteering for the Boehm Birth Defects Center.

95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 8.13.09 The Pulse

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Shades Of Green

Why You Need to Care About Coral

By Colleen Wade Editor’s note: This week’s Shdes of Green guest columnist Colleen Wade is very involved in the local effort to save the world’s coral reefs.

T

he coral reefs of the world are dying. I know, it seems melodramatic… almost like something you’d expect to hear in a documentary with a James Earl Jones-esque voice providing the narration. But the fact is: It’s true.

We often hear about the decline of rainforests. There are a number of groups whose sole intent is to protect rainforests and the indigenous and traditional populations of the rainforest—which is a wonderful pursuit. But did you know that researchers at the University of North Carolina released a study in August of 2007 reporting that coral reefs are disappearing at twice the speed of rainforests?

Coral reefs around the world have been in decline for the past 35 years.

You might ask: Why, when reefs have been self-sustaining for thousands of years, are they in such danger now?

Scientists continue to study the decline of reefs, but have identified some factors that are definite threats, such as global warming, pollution, and overfishing.

Reefs are delicate ecosystems, reliant on consistent temperatures.

We’ve seen, in the past 10 years, warmer summers, leading to warmer ocean waters in. Granted, these changes are less than two degrees, but in a fragile reef ecosystem, that’s more than enough to cause “bleaching,” which it has in vast amounts over large areas of the world’s reefs.

“Bleaching” is what occurs when the unicellular algae that live within the coral are expelled or die. This typically results in the death of the coral. As for pollution, according to the EPA’s report to the Senate in 2004, more than 40 percent of our nation’s rivers, lakes and estuaries are impaired due to pollutants. Now, take that and multiply—and you have ocean pollution. Pollution from landbased sources is a primary cause for the decline of reefs all over the world.

Excess nutrients from runoff can

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cause “bad” algae to grow on reefs, displacing the coral. Then there’s overfishing. Overfishing is just what it sounds like: catching fish faster than they can reproduce. Reefs depend on certain types of fish for ecological balance and biodiversity. Combine these negative factors and you have a disaster waiting to happen—or rather, a disaster that’s happening right in front of us.

So, here we are in Chattanooga— landlocked. How can this possibly affect us? Here’s an example: According to NOAA (US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), “Coral reef plants and animals are important sources of new medicines being developed to treat cancer, arthritis, human bacterial infections, heart disease, viruses, and other diseases.” Coral reefs are important to the worldwide ecology.

Their existence and continued health are vital.

What can be done? How can we help save the reefs? First, we have to be educated. On April 17, 2009, the Tennessee Aquarium opened its first coral reef exhibit. For months prior to that, Thom Demas and Pete Larson worked with the Aquarium’s maintenance engineers to build a system replicating an actual coral reef.

In mid-December of 2008, they got their first group of corals. Working with a program created to trade “frags,” or pieces of propagated coral, they quickly began filling their tank, using pieces aquired from the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska, Atlantis Aquarium in Long Island, New York, and Landry’s Downtown

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Aquarium in Denver, Colorado. Now, each day at the Aquarium, docents give talks about reef life and, as always, focus on conservation.

The next step is to replenish what is being destroyed. Programs have popped up along the coasts of the US aimed at doing just that. Artificial reefs are being designed by companies that specialize in growing, managing and protecting reef ecosystems.

Decommissioned naval ships are being sunk for use as artificial reefs. Corals are propagated from captive-bred colonies, rather than being taken from imperiled colonies among the reefs.

Locally, the Chattanooga Reef Club has an annual “frag swap”, allowing hobbyists around the country to get pieces of coral for their tanks or farms. Bryan Summers, president of the Chattanooga Reef Club, expects companies from as far away as California and Wisconsin at the 8th Annual Frag Swap. Chattanooga’s local reef club has members from the surrounding areas, and meets monthly to discuss hobby-related topics and promote conservation through coral propagation. This year’s Frag Swap is Saturday, August 15 at the Ooltewah United Methodist Church. According to Summers, the club expects as many as 500 people to attend, and members are more than willing to talk to anyone about the hobby.

Slowly, changes are made. Steps are taken. Policies are implemented.

Companies and activist groups are formed. But until we, as a society, are educated about—and commited to— saving the reefs, their future remains in doubt.

“Researchers at the University of North Carolina released a study in August of 2007 reporting that coral reefs are disappearing at twice the speed of rainforests.”

95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 8.13.09 The Pulse

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New in Theaters District 9 In a striking low-budget film produced by Lord of the Rings’ Peter Jackson, an alien spacecraft appears over Johannesburg, South Africa. What seems at first to be an Independence Day-type film turns into something entirely different as the ship is filled not with hostile aliens intent on taking over the Earth, but instead a large group of alien refugees.

Writer/director Neill Blomkamp, who was originally tapped by Jackson to direct a big-budget version of the popular video game Halo before it was shut down after studio infighting doomed that project, instead has made a startling film that relates strongly to South Africa’s past history of apartheid—only this time between humans and aliens. The buzz around the film exploded after a screening of footage from the film at last month’s San Diego ComicCon, where audiences hailed it as a truly original look at not just the classic “first contact” story, but also a deep look at how greed and xenophobia can turn

even the best of human intentions into something much darker.

Starring: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, Nathalie Boltt Director: Neill Blomkamp Rating: R

Also in Theaters Bandslam (New) Vanessa Hudgens is part of group of high school misfits who form a fledgling rock band to compete in the ultimate battle of the bands.

The Time Traveler’s Wife (New) Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana star in the tale of a man cursed with a genetic anomaly that causes him to skip back and forth through time.

A Perfect Getaway A young newlywed couple goes backpacking in a remote island paradise, only to be thrust into brutal battle for survival.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra A Real American Hero, based on the 1980’s cartoon/action figures, comes to life to battle the evil forces of Cobra.

Funny People In the latest from director Judd Apatow, Adam Sandler stars as a veteran stand-up comedian who has a near-death experience.

Aliens in the Attic A group of kids must fight off an alien

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attack when knee-high extraterrestrials invade the family vacation home.

The Collector A would-be robber breaks into the home of his employer, only to become a reluctant hero confronted with a kidnapping situation.

Orphan A mourning couple decides to adopt a child, only to discover that the seemingly angelic little girl is not what she appears to be.

The Ugly Truth Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler team up as TV morning-show producers searching for the ugly truth on what makes men and women tick.

G-Force An elite team of highly trained secret agent guinea pigs is the world’s last hope against an evil plot to take over the world.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Daniel Radcliffe returns as the teen wizard, back at Hogwarts and facing his darkest threat yet.

(500) Days of Summer Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel star in the boy-meets-girl story of an unpredictable noholds-barred love affair.

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.

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! (And, yes, Cannes has added a 3D award category.)

Film Feature

Cooking Their Way to the Top

By Phillip Johnston

I

n 1998, Nora Ephron directed You’ve Got Mail, one of the first movies about Internet communication. The story wasn’t completely original, but she transported it effortlessly to 1998. Following in her own tradition, Ephron has now made Julia & Julia, perhaps the first movie about blogging and one that also happens to be about legendary chef Julia Child.

In 2002, Julie Powell (Amy Adams) lives in post 9/11 New York City with her husband Eric and spends her days in a cubicle answering phones for a government recovery agency. She’s on the verge of 30, her office hours are long, her closest friends are corporate jerks, and the only relief from a hard day of work is the solace of her miniscule kitchen.

In need of a challenge, she picks up Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking and decides (at first against her will) to cook her way through all 524 recipes in 365 days and blog about it all the way along.

In a story told simultaneously, Julia Child (Meryl Streep) has just moved to post-World War II Paris with her husband Paul (Stanley Tucci) and refuses to conform to the French housewife mold of daily hat-making classes. Improbably tall at six feet, two inches, she doesn’t easily fit in everywhere.

But her first meal in France is a revelation for her (the real Julia would later describe it as “an opening of soul and spirit”) prompting her doting husband to ask over dinner, “What is it that you really like to do?” Her reply: “Eat.” Her love of French food—a love not derived from pretense, but from intense gastronomical pleasure—prompts her to join a cooking class at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, in which she is the only woman. Years after finding her niche in the kitchen, she’ll have the world’s top cooking show, a bestselling French cookbook, and she’ll teach Julie Powell and millions of others how to revel in the hard-won pleasures of gourmet cooking.

Director Nora Ephron clearly has a passion for food and there are scenes in which she makes the process so vivid that it begins to look easy. She has the visuals down, but her script is a different matter.

In her best films (You’ve Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally), Ephron creates her own characters, usually out of educated, sexually frustrated, New York-dwelling archetypes, but when writing for characters who already exist outside of her normal paradigm, Ephron proves uncomfortable in their skin. Luckily, she has good performers on her side.

Amy Adams never fails to be delightful even when she’s given mediocre material.

Julie Powell’s side of the story is rather bland, sometimes making me wish the film was a “Just Julia” show because Meryl Streep, as can be expected, mimics Julia Child with sparkling exactness in a performance that never veers into caricature or satire (although Dan Aykroyd’s legendary Saturday Night Live sketch does get some screen time).

Per the script, the role of Julia isn’t a terribly serious one, but it’s clear that Streep has studied Child’s mannerisms and, of course, her voice. She even mimics the sudden straightening of the back when the chef would sit up, as if suddenly remembering to keep posture a priority. What a chameleon she is.

Both Julie and Julia find themselves charging into new territory. At first glance, one might say that each woman has the same goal: to become a better cook. But this is just Julia’s task—a task that leads her into a future of fame.

Julie Powell already loves to cook (she’s making a beautiful bruschetta in one of her first scenes), but blogging is her challenge. Just as Julia’s new life in France injects her with the impetus to cook, so Julie’s goal of cooking and blogging through Mastering the Art of French Cooking forces her to become the writer her husband has always told her she is. The real Julie Powell would go on to become a successful published writer.

A few years ago, Pixar’s masterful film Ratatouille, with the help of a rat with impeccably good taste, told us “anyone can cook.” In Julia Child’s story, her love of eating quickly became a love of cooking. Known for wearing pearls in the kitchen and never ever disguising her cooking blunders (“Never apologize!” she would always say), she remains a role model for anyone who loves great food and Julie & Julia is a blithe and informative little comedy that is as unpretentious as the legendary chef herself.

Julie & Julia Directed by Nora Ephron Starring Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci Rated PG-13 Running time: 123 minutes

95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 8.13.09 The Pulse

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Ask A Mexican

Diacritics for Dummies

By Gusatvo Arellano themexican@askamexican.net

Dear Readers, We begin, as we do each week, with cojones, although the huevos in question deal with my column a couple of semanas ago on why gabachos prefer the former term for testicles as opposed to the latter. I gave a rough etymology of the two (cojones comes from the Spanish singular cojón, testicle, from the Latin coleo—sack—while huevo actually means egg and derives from ovum). A sometimes-reader wrote in with a clarification: Dear Mexican, A recent column contained comments on huevos as opposed to cojones. As a retired Latin teacher who is also fluent in French and moderately competent in Spanish, I offer this correction not as a quibbler, but as someone hopeful that you are always open to learning something new. The language of your columns suggests to me that that is the case. In Latin, coleus was a popular word for the testicle, and coleos habere was a proverbial expression equivalent to “to have balls (courage).” The derivation of cojon (sorry, I don’t know how to type the accent) reflects the transformation of the sound “L + yod” into “j” by Latin speakers in Spain. Other examples are hijo from filius and hoja from folia. Thus the correct etymon of cojon/es is coleus. Your citing ovum as the etymon for huevo/s is, of course, correct. — Tar Hill Tory

Dear Gabacho, Gracias for the clarification, although you didn’t correct anything—you offered the plural origins of cojón, while I explained the singular. Pero chichi for tat: as I’ve previously explained but will again not just for you but for the muchos who continue to preguntar this, it’s facil to type out all the diacritics the Spanish language uses on both Macs and PCs. To make an acute accent appear on a Mac, hold down the option key, hit the E key, release option, then type the vowel you want accented. Spanish’s other diacritics get registered roughly the same way. An umlaut appears by pressing option, hitting the U key, releasing option and hitting U again; do the same if you want a tilde, but substitute the N key for U. For upside-down exclamation points, hold down option and hit the 1 key—¡voila!

An upside-down question mark is a bit trickier—hold down option plus shift, then punch the questionmark key, ¿comprende?

Microsoft Word is somewhat harder. Upside-down exclamation points and question marks require you push control plus alt plus shift, then type whatever you want flipped around. Acute accents pop up after you hold down control, then hit the apostrophe key; release and type in your vowel.

A tilde: control+shift+squiggly mark, release, the letter N. Both Macs and Bill Gates require you hold the shift key after executing the above instructions if you want a

diacritic to top a capital letter. And remember, people: no grave accents in Spanish, or tildes on letters other than n—that’s the domain of the mongrel tongue known as Portuguese.

Dear Mexican, Who is Carlos Slim Helú?

— Guillermo Verjas Dear Gabacho, Mexico’s answer to Bill Gates, except fatter, less charitable by ninetenths, and with a monopoly on Mexico’s telecommuncations that would’ve made Rockefeller seem like a rag picker. Should focus on buying California instead of the New York Times to make the Reconquista legit. ¡ASK A MEXICAN BOOK CONTEST! In 25 words or less, tell me your favorite local Mexican restaurant and what makes it so bueno. I’ll soon be traveling ’round los Estados Unidos in my trusty burro to research my upcoming book on the history of Mexican food in the United States, and I need places to haunt and cacti to sleep under. One entry per person, one winner per paper, five winners total for areas that don’t carry my column, and contest ends when I say so!

“For the muchos who continue to preguntar this, it’s facil to type out all the diacritics the Spanish language uses on both Macs and PCs.”

Ask the Mexican at themexican@ askamexican.net, myspace.com/ocwab, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.

95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 8.13.09 The Pulse

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The Mystical Dude's Horoscopes Leo (July 23-August 22): It’s exciting to see your wider ambitions realized, isn’t it? Your partner encourages you to show off, and the weekend is all about having fun. Monday brings serious talk around finances; you need to develop better organisation and self-worth. On Tuesday, your dynamic network and associations brings more excitability. Whether this is beneficial remains to be seen, but expect an eccentric release of energy that will…change…things. Make adjustments to let go of old ways and bring in new attitudes.

Wednesday sees a trip down memory lane to fondly recall what could have been: better to stay in the present now.

Virgo (August 23-September 22): Opportunities arise with career ambitions on Thursday.

Simultaneously learn a healthy routine or diet.

Over the weekend, you consider self-confidence issues: acting behind the scenes has been beneficial for you…until now. Monday brings a difficult decision in your approach to life. You’re seeing limitations in relationships; the pressure’s on to talk correctly without being too narrow-minded or critical. On Tuesday, pressure is building that could make you reckless or foolhardy. Suddenly someone else is at a loose end as you bid for freedom. A caring friend is there Wednesday to tell you the tough choice with boundaries makes sense.

Libra (September 23-October 22): Increased enthusiasm for personal hobbies or time with children brings fresh creative advances on Thursday. A weekend holiday away with friends involved heightens the fun. On Monday orderly thoughts dominate: Are you feeling unappreciated or misunderstood? Deal with an old backlog before moving forwards. Process information carefully to discriminate what stays and what goes. By Tuesday, you’re impatient at work; being risqué and unpredictable could be called for. It’s good to be outspoken in your beliefs and ruffle a few feathers—but keep the balance and don’t upset anyone, either. Charming the boss on the quiet has benefits on Wednesday.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21): Dreamy opportunities to expand the house have some benefits but lead to wasteful spending (Thursday).

Rash decisions over joint resources could bring partnership disagreement...so keep saving? The weekend sees you further considering the direction you’re going. On Monday, you’ll be defensive about wider ambitions; they need restricting to fit with current reality. By Tuesday, your willpower’s been rising and erupts! Avoid ruptures in the outside world, and instead channel it to innovative self-expression and freedom-loving activities. On Wednesday, a charming teacher offers shrewd advice that helps you restructure your objectives.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21): You’re impressed by your other half’s independent drive and ability to take action (Thursday).

Stand back and observe as they help themselves and you simultaneously. The weekend sees you jointly broadcasting a shared belief that boosts enthusiasm. A short break away brings much vitality, too. Monday brings responsible and difficult work decisions; you want to be seen as capable and hardworking at this important time, yet your usual flexibility is now restricted. Your partner again ramps up the energy around the home (Tuesday), demanding radical and eccentric changes that rub you the wrong way. Balanced talk on shared resources helps solve career crisis on Wednesday.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19): Your recent go-getter attitude toward work pays off (Thursday), letting you indulge in a little lavish spending over the weekend on items that help to enhance your skills. Monday sees you gaining understanding over a legal issue, which, although restricting your thoughts, brings a practical guideline to follow. By Tuesday, you’re feeling plenty of energy to break out those revolutionary ideas to change your work environment. Pay attention so you will not overwork your body with too much nervous energy. Wednesday sees an agreeable partner assisting you with the task of spreading knowledge according to your beliefs.

Aquarius (January 20-February 18): Your recent

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zest for life and increased vitality is evident Thursday; over the weekend a close confidante encourages fun times. Monday brings an important day, making difficult yet appropriate changes as you learn about other people’s values.

Pull purse strings tight and make adjustments and rules. A desire to freely and creatively express yourself accelerates rapidly on Tuesday, where you might feel forced to spend surprising amounts of money on leisure activities or on your children.

On Wednesday, a co-worker or creative employee helps you to set new boundaries that emphasize fairness in the overall financial picture.

Pisces (February 19-March 20): Restlessness building up at home flows differently Thursday when you discover time alone helps. Over the weekend, this develops into illuminations about work routines and health. Monday brings pessimistic and worrying thoughts about partnerships. Don’t be so self-critical or defensive!

Any inhibitions can be transmuted with focused thoughts, rather than fantastical rambles. A stressed domestic situation sees you suddenly switch to assert your freedom-loving and unique approach on Tuesday. You might want to run away now—but it’s not the time. Wednesday sees your children or a romantic partner giving helpful insights about long-term commitment.

Aries (March 21-April 19): Speak your mind! A fortunate friend takes the edge off (Thursday) and helps you express yourself (Friday). The weekend sees you having fun and speaking to a group or association. Monday brings you to the treadmill with a weighty decision; take the heavy workload and avoid grumbling to co-workers. In the long run, you’re learning useful new skills. On Tuesday, be ready to let off pressure in a surprising way; try to avoid arguments with people close to you springing up for no apparent reason. Domestic bliss takes some of the weight off your shoulders on Wednesday.

Taurus (April 20-May 20): Opportunities for professional advancement look promising (Thursday) because of the effort you’re putting in. Family members recognize your pains this weekend and help you be king of the castle, generating self worth and feel-good. Monday sees you verbally setting new rules to play by; there are strict boundaries to keep to if you’re to have fun.

On Tuesday, one of your future plans abruptly switches around. The action you take is good for yourself and good for the world. On Wednesday, think peacefully and speak with charm; it will help you organize your self-expression and romantic nature.

Gemini (May 21-June 20): Use that headstrong attitude on Thursday by being daring. The weekend brings fun playing with words and styles of communicating your message. The hangover hits Monday with family members: You’re building a responsible domestic life, so it’s harsh if you’re seen as judgemental or narrow-minded.

Tuesday sees you making an eccentric or contrary change in your professional direction. It’s about time to let go of old ways and release that pressure valve, isn’t it? Now you can pursue a new set of ambitions. On Wednesday, be sensitive and balanced towards an ownership issue, especially if it involves depreciation.

Cancer (June 21-July 22): On Thursday, opportunistic money issues get you enthusiastic and ready for action. Secretly assert your true motivations to avoid reawakening an old unconscious foe. Get things back into balance and sort out your values in time for a stiff set of restrictions laid on by a sibling or someone close on Monday. Tuesday sees you flying against the wind, airing out your sometimes radical beliefs and wanting to be freer than circumstances will allow. Be aware of what you’re doing! On Wednesday, finally integrating the advice given earlier helps you to present yourself peacefully and with that naturally charming self-expression.

Julian Venables is a British astrologer whose worldwide travels bought him to Chattanooga.

Email themysticaldude@gmail.com for a personal consultation. Visit www.mysticaldude.com to discover more about the local astrology group, classes and the free podcast on iTunes!

JONESIN’

By Matt Jones

“Sausage Party” –can you find the missing link?

Across 1 Want really bad 6 Stock-and-gelatin dish 11 Crematorium vessel 14 Fox News “Red Eye” contributor Alison 15 Khan who is “every woman” 16 Weddings page word 17 In any way 18 Less stale 19 Actor Shepard of “Idiocracy” 20 High-vitamin oil source 22 Part of a sign at a historical inn 24 “Dirty Sexy Money” star Peter 25 Less substantive 28 Bus. conference 29 Business biggies 32 “It’s freezing out!”

35 Is talented in, with “for” 37 It may be made for dessert 39 Numskull 40 “___ tuned!”

41 Michelob beer variety 43 Charlemagne’s realm, for short 44 “On the Road” author 45 A.M.A. members 48 Elevator creator Otis 50 Thin porridges 54 “Monty Python’s Life of ___”

56 Kid who’s lived in many states, perhaps 58 Stimpy’s smarter half 59 Preface 62 Metamorphosis stage 63 Crazy way to go?

64 iPod varieties 65 Like boisterous crowds 66 Neither mate 67 Kofi Annan’s home country 68 Word that can follow the ends of 20-, 35-, 41and 56-across Down 1 “___ Is Wack” (antidrug slogan) 2 Helicopter part 3 Carne ___ grilled steak (Taco Bell option) 4 Paper from mammal skin 5 Take a recruiter’s offer 6 Skin problem 7 He-Man’s twin sister 8 Cat’s foot 9 Eisenhower’s nickname 10 Woozy from the ride 11 Sworn to tell the truth 12 Gather, as crops 13 Waiting room call 21 Be idle, with “out” 23 Panetta and Trotsky, for two 26 “There, there” followup

27 Tom Clancy protagonist Jack 30 Tar Heels’ st.

31 Scottish terrier breed 32 “Space Ghost Coast to Coast” simpleton 33 Capital on the Tiber 34 He was a real Meathead on TV 35 Moonshine 36 Circle segment 38 “Kiss My Axe” fusion guitarist Al Di ___ 39 Financial degs.

42 Making a total mess of 45 Film studio that introduced Droopy 46 Prohibition-era rule 47 Outback manufacturer 49 Composer Copland 51 What computers repeat out loud while shooting sparks, in old sci-fi movies 52 Exudations from eruptions 53 One end of a maze 54 Antithesis of kids’ cereal with cartoon mascots 55 Property taken back 57 Civil rights figure Parks 60 “Don’t think so” 61 Strip club offering, for short

©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 #0426

Solution To Last Week’s Puzzle

Never Worry About Losing A Copy Of The Pulse Keep Up Online at www.chattanoogapulse.com 95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 8.13.09 The Pulse

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