The Pulse - Vol. 6, Issue 45

LIVING THE BLUES • DYSTOPIA • HOLIDAY FILM PREVIEW

A Man, A Plan, A Metro?

Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield Has A Lot On His Mind

by Gary Poole

FREE • News, Views, Arts & Entertainment • November 5, 2009 • Vol. 6 - Issue 45 • 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 •

cover story

page 11

NOVEMBER 5, 2009 • VOLUME 6, ISSUE 45

NEWS & VIEWS 6 BEYOND THE HEADLINES 8 SHRINK RAP 19 LIFE IN THE NOOG

22 ON THE BEAT 28 SHADES OF GREEN 30 ASK A MEXICAN

ARTS & FEATURES 16 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT By Michael Crumb Subterranean Circle is presenting “Dystopia” for those who savor unusual and intense performance art. This post-apocalyptic dance party at JJ’s Bohemia on Friday night will feature a mighty experiment in sideshow performance, along with the return of Chattanooga favorite Emotron and the startling Mose Giganticus.

21 FILM FEATURE

By Janis Hashe As we head into the holiday season, Hollywood has prepared a feast of the imagination—and this year, it looks like there is something for everyone. We’ve picked four upcoming films to preview.

24 MUSICAL FEATURE

By Hellcat I was happy to see that a friendly face and talented musician has returned to our little Chattanooga music scene. Honestly, I like it when people leave and come back. It helps to refresh a concept or gain new perspective and then bring it back to your original launching pad with a pad full of your own new ideas.

27 THE ART OF BUSINESS By Tara Morris As a Chattanooga native, I tend to forget how special our “little city by the river” really is, especially to those new entrepreneurs, students, and families in the Valley.

Cover photograph by Kelly Lockhart

MAKING THE PITCH FOR METRO GOVERNMENT

By Gary Poole There’s a good reason why the phrase “growing pains” is used to describe nearly all growth, of a person, a company or a city. Chattanooga has experienced a number of often-difficult growth periods from its start as a small trading settlement along the banks of the Tennessee River in the early 1800s.

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EDITOON LETTERS TO THE EDITOR PULSE BEATS CITY COUNCILSCOPE THE LIST POLICE BLOTTER CHATTANOOGA STREET SCENE

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A&E CALENDAR NEW IN THEATERS SPIRITS WITHIN MUSIC CALENDAR NEW MUSIC REVIEWS JONESIN’ CROSSWORD FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

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 Gary Poole gpoole@chattanoogapulse.com Calendar Editor Kathryn Dunn Advertising Sales Leslie Dotson Rick Leavell Leif Sawyer Townes Webb Contributing Writers Gustavo Arellano Rob Brezsny Chuck Crowder Michael Crumb Rebecca Cruz Hellcat Joshua Hurley Victoria Hurst Stuart James Phillip Johnston Matt Jones Ernie Paik Rick Pimental-Habib, Ph.D. Alex Teach Editorial Intern Tara Morris Art Director Kelly Lockhart Art Department Sharon Chambers Kathryn Dunn Damien Power Staff Photographer Damien Power Editorial Cartoonist Rick Baldwin Contact Info: Phone (423) 648-7857 Fax (423) 648-7860 E-mail info@chattanoogapulse.com Calendar Submissions calendar@chattanoogapulse.com Advertising advertising@chattanoogapulse.com The Pulse is published weekly and is distributed throughout the city of Chattanooga and surrounding communities. The Pulse is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. No person without written permission from the publishers may take more than one copy per weekly issue. The Pulse may be distributed only by authorized distributors.

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1305 Carter Street Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402 phone (423) 648-7857 fax (423) 648-7860 Letters to the editor must include name, address and daytime phone number for verification. The Pulse reserves the right to edit letters for space and clarity. Please keep letters within 500 words in length.

The Pulse covers a broad range of topics concentrating on culture, the arts, entertainment and local news.

Member

Letters to the Editor Halloween Humbug This is a stupid article [“Healthy Halloween Trick-Or-Treating”]. First of all, there is no real evidence that a little candy on a holiday contributes to obesity. Secondly, candy corn may stick to molars, but that is also unrelated to obesity. It causes tooth decay only if one does not brush one’s teeth afterward. Finally, the mention of checking candy for safety reasons demonstrates the lack of research for this article. There have been exactly ZERO deaths caused by Halloween candy, and only a very small number of slight injury. Toothpicks cause far more injuries than candy each year, yet no one suggests checking your club sandwich for dangerous debris.

J. Scott Lewis, Ph.D. Love For Officer Teach Love the articles by Mr. Teach.

Every week whilst driving back from Nashville I stop at the Chik-fil-A at exit 78-B, order a number five, cherry coke, regular sized with two things of bar-b-que sauce. After being told, “My pleasure” about four times, I then sit down next to an overly sized fish tank, and comfortably open up the Pulse paper. After nom nomming on about four to five bite sized pieces of grease godness, (yes… godness) I reach the pinnacle of all local writers. The Halloween take on the holiday from

a police officer when used with your tongue is brilliant [“Halloween: Can’t We Just Let It Go?”]. I was literally laughing out loud while a busload of cheerleaders starred through the thick transparent glass. The topping of the cake? “Why don’t we just kick Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny square in the crotch, you bitter and cheerless flag-burning assholes?” Pure gold. I was nervous at this point because I felt my heart stopping, which is more than likely brought on by lack of exercise and healthy once a week Chik-fil-A diet, but nevertheless, cheers cheers!

Joshua Sargon No Love For Officer Teach You accept free coffee? If you did that in my town I would take down your ass myself. I do not tolerate corrupt cowards. Also, shouldn’t you be working instead of drinking coffee and shoving donuts in your face? Lastly, your comments about stabbings are insensitive and pathetic.

Which I imagine so are you. Keep your cowardice and corrupt rants to yourself.

Joe Matthews Ready For Metro Government I do not understand why I pay the same amount of money to Hamilton County as city residents pay to the city, yet from what I am reading,

the Hamilton County government is not supplying the same services such as fire protection, etc. [“Littlefield Calls On County To Discuss Metro Government”]. And, several of my businesses are located in the City, so I have paid more than $90,000 in taxes to the city and the County for the past three years and have yet to receive any relief for the flooding issues my businesses face daily on Highway 58 due to poor storm water drainage issues and a creek the city can’t seem to clean out regularly (that I am not allowed to touch!). And, I just received my tax bills, and they have added $115 to all of those properties for additional storm water fees as well as going up on my property tax bills! Where are these benefits the city keeps saying I have?

If metro government will cut my taxes sand actually get me some help with my flooding issues, I am all for it.

Victoria Dunn Narcotics vs. Drugs As a writer, I am always attuned to the precise use of words. So I was amused to read in a recent Police Blotter that the big marijuana bust resulted “in more than a quarter million dollars worth of narcotics taken off the streets.” This is not just misleading, it’s incorrect. Marijuana is not a narcotic.

J C Reis

Send all letters to the editor and questions to info@chattanoogapulse.com We reserve the right to edit letters for content and space. Please include your full name, city and contact information.

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Pulse Beats

Quote Of The Week: A rundown of the newsy, the notable, and the notorious...

“Government works very hard to bring industry in, then overnight we tear it apart with this. I would hope the mayor and the City Council would take another look at this.”

—Hamilton County Commissioner Bill Hullander on the recent city increases in storm water fees.

Chattanoooga: The New Rowing Capital of the United States?

The Head of the Hooch Rowing Regatta, the 5,000-meter downriver head race returning to Chattanooga for the fifth year this weekend, has now surpassed the Head of the Charles in Boston as the largest single-day rowing regatta in county.

The event will bring more than 7,000 competitors to Ross’s Landing this Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and again on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The entire regatta is free and open to the public. The best viewing areas are along Ross’s Landing, at the Walnut St. Bridge, across the river at Coolidge Park, and along the Tennessee Riverpark between the Bluff View and the Boathouse Restaurant.

For those unfamiliar with the Head of the Hooch, rowing teams will stage upstream along the north shore and race downstream against the clock along the south shore. At Ross’s Landing, race officials will launch and recover a racing shell every 15 to 20 seconds at the height of competition.

If this sounds like something you’d like to get involved in, this year the organizers are hosting a “Learn to Row” experience for those who wish to learn more about the sport. The hands-on class is scheduled for this Friday from noon to 4 p.m. at Ross’s Landing, at a cost of $10 per person, with proceeds benefitting Row for the Cure.

Sign-up times are every 30 minutes starting at noon. Participants will have a half an hour of on-shore instruction and then a half an hour of actual rowing on the Tennessee River in downtown Chattanooga. If you do come down, be dressed for a light workout; tight clothes are better than loose outfits. Pre-registration is required online at www.headofthehooch.org.

Also new this year: The Chattanooga Market will set up a special arts and crafts market along Riverfront Parkway and Row for the Cure will offer tethered hot air balloon rides for better views of the action.

Here is one of the more interesting agenda items set to be discussed at the November 10 meeting of the Chattanooga City Council.

5. Ordinances - Final Reading:

Sponsored by the Atlanta Rowing Club and the Lookout Rowing Club, the Head of the Hooch is named for the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta, where the race originated in 1981. A head race is so named because it runs

from the “head” of a river. Threemile-long head races are known for challenging rowing teams to navigate turns and river currents, as well as testing their speed. Come out this weekend and enjoy the fun.

Chance to Follow Your Bliss The late Joseph Campbell was arguably one of the most influential Americans of the 20th—and now the 21st—century. His seminal book, The Hero With a Thousand Faces, presents his view that all the religions of the world are various, culturally influenced “masks” of the same fundamental, transcendent truths. According to Campbell, all religions can bring one to an elevated awareness above and beyond a dualistic conception of reality, or idea of “pairs of opposites,” such as being and non-being, or right and wrong.

Campbell became known to many people through the PBS series The Power of Myth with Bill Moyers, which still airs from time to time and is used in classrooms across the country. In it, Campbell uses his now-famous phrase, “Follow your bliss.”

Chattanooga now has an active Joseph Campbell Roundtable, which meets on the third Monday of each month at Grace Episcopal Church in Brainerd, at 7 p.m. in Room 120. According to member Diana Peterson, the group began last fall through the presentation of “Mythos” by Chris Campbell and has now developed into an ongoing program. “We are part of the international listing on the Joseph Campbell Foundation web site, www.jcf.org,” Peterson says.

The speaker for November 16 is Jas Milam on “Art and Archetype”. On December 21, Dr. Lilan Laishley will speak on “Myth and Symbol in the Astrology of the Winter Solstice.” On January 18, Ellen Hitchcock speaks on “The Inner Warrior/Creative Leader”, and on February 15, Ann Law will talk about “Dance, Metaphor and Myth.”

For more information, contact Peterson at LEP82@juno.com

a) An ordinance adopting a Plan of Services and extending the corporate limits of the City of Chattanooga, Tennessee, to annex certain territory contiguous to the present corporate limits of the City of Chattanooga known as Area 9B, being certain parcels adjacent to Old Lee Highway and Apison Pike within the Urban Growth Boundary of the City of Chattanooga, in Hamilton County, Tennessee, as shown by the attached map. (Public Hearing.)

After months of debate and political posturing (and a recent lawsuit, with more legal action promised to come), the above ordinance looks to be the final annexation move by the city, at least for the time being (one can never really predict what this current council will do next).

To date, all of the annexation ordinances have passed with Councilman Russell Gilbert being the only member to vote against each one of the ordinances.

On the prevailing side, council members Jack Benson, Manny Rico and Sally Robinson have voted in favor of each ordinance.

The remaining council members have split their votes on the various areas in question, but never enough to send down (in the end) any of the annexations.

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

Post Post-Racial America

By Stuart James

The Top 9 Ways To Drive Safer 1. Drive defensively It seems obvious. By assuming the other guy is out to kill you almost always makes you a better, more alert driver.

2. Use your cruise control How many times have you been annoyed with the “speed up, slow down, speed up, slow down” driver on the highway? Don’t be that guy. Bonus: saves gas by improving mileage.

3. Be reasonable about merging Don’t wait till the very last minute to merge. Go ahead and sacrifice the extra minute or two and merge earlier where it’s safer.

4. The Two Second Rule Simple rule: Always keep two seconds between you and the car in front of you, no matter what speed you are both traveling.

5. The Other Two Second Rule Avoid driver fatigue by never looking at one thing for more than two seconds. Checking mirrors, blind spots, your speedometer, traffic signs, etc. keeps you alert.

6. Look as far ahead as you can When looking around, be sure to look past the car in front of you.

Think like a fighter pilot and be ready to react to everything—not just what is closest to you.

7. Glance before changing lanes Again, sounds like common sense, but just because the lane next to you was empty half a second ago doesn’t mean it still is… and a quick glance can be a life-and-death difference.

8. Stay to the right, pass to the left Contrary to popular belief, the left lane isn’t the “fast lane” (around here, ALL lanes are fast lanes most of the time), it’s a passing lane.

Keep to the right and everyone is safer.

9. Drive the real speed limit This may annoy some cops and all self-appointed lane rangers, but the safest speed to drive is the one the majority of others are driving.

If everyone else is doing 70, driving at 55 makes you far more dangerous. Also, doing 85 makes you just as dangerous as the 55 guy, especially if you two meet.

D

uring President Obama’s healthcare speech to congress, Joe Wilson, congressman from South Carolina, yelled out, “You lie!” Maureen Dowd, a political columnist, wrote the following about Wilson’s proclamation.

“Joe Wilson yelled, ‘You lie!’ at a president who didn’t. But, there or not, what I heard was an unspoken word in the air: ‘You lie, boy!’” Dowd was speaking of racism, a Southern politician referring to a black president as “boy.”

Jimmy Carter recently weighed in on the issue, stating his belief that attacks referencing Obama “as an animal or as a reincarnation of Adolf Hitler” are racially motivated. Carter says that certain opponents of Obama who “are guilty of that kind of personal attack against Obama have been influenced to a major degree by a belief that he should not be president because he happens to be African American.” Carter has backed off his statement. Nevertheless, we should consider whether Carter’s and Dowd’s statements are true—and whether there are racist feelings in America based on unspoken, and sometimes unacknowledged, feelings that many harbor against blacks.

parties, and politicians, play the card, it soon fades from the news and from public discussion.

We elected a black president. Some played the race card by accusing Obama of being a black anti-Semite.

In 2006, racial overtones appeared in the Tennessee Senate race when an ad suggested a white woman met Harold Ford Jr., the black candidate, at a Playboy party.

Many believe those responsible for the ad knew that playing the card in a Southern state could influence the election.

Some believe the “Harold, call me” ad defeated Ford.

These examples show a willingness to play the race card to win by appealing to unspoken racist feelings.

Both Carter’s and Dowd’s statements on racism re-opened the

“We are afraid to admit racism exists because it forces us to make an uncomfortable inspection of our own hearts and minds. Carter’s back peddling on the issue is evidence of that fear.”

Regardless of whether racial prejudice exists with the majority or minority, we often gloss over the issue.

We watch our political parties play the race card to win, or to gain the political high ground. After political

discussion on race, giving us the opportunity to openly talk about our racial biases. Without discussion, we turn our heads from the unpleasant reality that racism still exists. We are afraid to admit racism exists because it forces us to make an uncomfortable inspection of our own hearts and minds. Carter’s back peddling on the issue is evidence of that fear.

USA Today reports,”...more than six in 10 Americans predict in a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll that Barack Obama’s presidency will improve race relations in the United States in the years ahead. Four in 10 say it already has.”

Despite this optimism, the reality remains—there are unspoken racial feelings in our country, as evidenced

by Dowd’s and Carter’s commentaries.

Until we can face the issue both individually, and nationally, certain political hacks will continue to play that card to win.

But playing the race card is like playing strip poker: When the game is over, you may not like what you see.

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A weekly roundup of the newsworthy, notable and often head-scratching stories gleaned from police reports from the Chattanooga Police Department, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Department and the Dalton Police Department.

• An old police saying, used in reference to catching speeders, is that you can’t “outrun a radio”. A similar saying can be used in reference to trying to evade police: You can’t hide from a police dog. Officers responded to a “burglary in progress” call at the old Hixson Middle School and discovered extensive damage to windows, tables, chairs and walls. Calling in a K-9 unit, they discovered four teenagers unsuccessfully trying to hide inside the building. The four were quickly taken into custody and transported to the Juvenile Detention Unit, where they were charged with burglary, vandalism over $500 and evading arrest.

• After a rather lengthy respite from last winter’s rash of home invasions, a new wave of break-ins has sprung up.

Only this time around, the invaders are the ones ending up being victimized, often by their own actions. A recent home invasion on Dee Drive resulted in the invader shooting himself in the leg. He was able to get away from the angry homeowner, but his freedom was short-lived, as he was quickly apprehended by police after he called 911

and claimed to have been the victim of a drive-by.

The suspect was taken to the hospital for treatment of a minor arm wound, and then was arrested (along with a second juvenile) for aggravated robbery.

• An Athens doctor may possibly have to find a new career after being accused of trading drugs for sex. The medical Lothario has had his license suspended by the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners after being accused of having had sex with several of his female patients, prescribing controlled substances to a patient in exchange for sex as well as prescribing controlled substances to non-patients.

While this may be a great plot for an X-rated film, in the real world such actions are strongly frowned upon by medical authorities. If the charges are upheld, his license to practice medicine will be suspended permanently.

• Volunteer firefighters are, by and large, some of the most civic-minded people in any community. Their will-

Chattanooga Street Scenes

ingness to give of their free time to take part in often-dangerous situations to protect their neighbors is highly laudable. Which made it even more upsetting when two Mowbray Mountain volunteer firefighters were arrested on charges of aggravated arson. The two, in their late teens, are accused of involvement in a series of vacant residential arson fires. They allegedly set the fires, then responded to the scene as members of the Mowbray Mountain Volunteer Fire Department. Investigators are also looking at the two in reference to other recent suspicious fires in the mountain community.

Photography by Damien Power

New artwork by Daud Akhriev at the John Ross Bridge.

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Shrink Rap

Rescuing Yourself, Part 2

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

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“Take a few moments throughout your day to imagine what it would be like to be the person you wish to be.

Imagining— using your thoughts, your creative mind— is just the beginning.”

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.”

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ou’ll recall that a few weeks ago in this column we looked at the ways we abandon and rescue (not pups or stray cats), ourselves. How we let ourselves down, and how we regain the fortitude to pick ourselves back up. I mentioned examples such as: a newly sober person experiencing great disappointment because of falling off the wagon.

For someone else it may be abandoning personal principles in order to move up the corporate ladder. Another person may abandon himself with shameful or remorseful behaviors. Or we simply give up on ourselves—our hopes and dreams.

There are countless ways we abandon ourselves, ways both big and small, through thoughts, words, and actions.

This week, in part two, I want to pick up the discussion by looking more closely at our thoughts, and the power within us to rescue, and to become, who we want to be.

Let’s start here: Everything begins with a thought. And when we think of ourselves poorly, we make choices that reflect those thoughts. When we think of ourselves with healthy esteem, guess what? We make choices that reflect those thoughts. From small, daily decisions to large, lifealtering ones, our thoughts lead the parade, followed by our feelings, words, and actions.

“I’m not deserving of…” is a perfect example of what I’m referring

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to. “I’m not deserving of good health,” for example, leads to not exercising. Or those extra slices of pizza. “I don’t deserve to be loved” leads to unhealthy relationships.

Where you work, where you live, who your friends are, right down to what you eat for breakfast…on and on. What you think (and feel) about yourself determines all your choices.

(Regular “Shrink Rap” readers have heard this part before.)

So how do we rescue ourselves from the cascade of thoughts that threaten to spiral us down into living not our highest selves, but our mediocre selves, or our lowest selves?

How do we not spiral down into those places where we feel dark and hopeless? Or stupid, or unattractive, or unworthy? How do we stop abandoning our “better selves?”

Last time I suggested the use of meditation, prayer, conversations, ponderings, living as mindfully and consciously as possible, as a few ways which can bring you back to center, back on track again. And when we cannot (yet) rescue from within, we can reach out to friends and loved ones for help. Talking helps. We can find and observe healthy role models.

We can discuss the problem with the dog. (Well—or therapist.)

Now I want to add something to what you’ve often heard me refer to as your “Big Bag O’ Tools.” (And you might even enjoy this!)

Take a few moments throughout your day to imagine what it would be like to be the person you wish to be.

Imagining—using your thoughts, your creative mind—is just the beginning, and is the all-important beginning.

Perhaps you’d like to be more confident. OK, what would confident

feel like? What would it look like?

Try it out, today, by making one decision at work the way you envision a confident person would. Then see how it feels.

Maybe you’d like to be a more fun person. What would fun look like? How would this change the way others see you, and the way you see yourself? Today, think of a joke you heard lately and go share it with your neighbor, partner, kids, or co-workers.

Find the humor in something that would normally annoy you. Today, be a more fun person.

Maybe you’ve always wanted to be a writer. Or a painter. Or a singer.

How would it feel to tell others that you make your living as a writer? (Or painter or singer?) How would that change the way you walk, talk, dress, greet people, experience the world?

Make this real with the power of your mind and today, go write down a really great (or goofy or naughty or loving) note to your sweetie. Or go paint something…anything. Just paint. Or go sing, loudly, even if it’s in the shower. But do it today.

You can play with this, have fun with it! Today, be a rock star. Be a wonderful lover. Be a comedian. Be smart. Be attractive. Be a healer. Be deserving.

Use the power of your mind to think it, and let your feelings feel it, and notice the shift that occurs.

Go from thinking in ways that abandon you—i.e., you don’t deserve your hopes, dreams, inner voice, capabilities—to ways that rescue the inner you, the previously dismissed and ignored you. Think thoughts that empower you, entice and delight you.

Instead of giving up, think thoughts that rescue you. Today.

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Cover Story

Making The Pitch For Metro Government Going On The Record With Mayor Ron Littlefield

By Gary Poole

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Cover Story

Making The Pitch For Metro Government

By Gary Poole

T

here’s a good reason why the phrase “growing pains” is used to describe nearly all growth, of a person, a company or a city. Chattanooga has experienced a number of often-difficult growth periods from its start as a small trading settlement along the banks of the Tennessee River in the early 1800s.

A succession of mayors, both famous and nearly forgotten to all but historians, have steadily expanded the boundaries of the city limits, with nearly every effort met with opposition. Looking through dusty archives of the daily papers from the various eras shows controversy, condemnation and sometimes outright castigation of the leaders of the time who endeavored to enlarge the city and expand its reach both geographically and economically.

In politics as in life, the more things changes the more they stay the same.

Like his forebears, Chattanooga’s current mayor, Ron Littlefield, faces the same opposition to his plans to grow the city.

The Urban Growth Plan was adopted a decade ago in consultation with city, county and state leaders, yet, despite this, when the reality of annexation emerged during the last several months, individuals such as County Mayor Claude Ramsey and groups such as Hamilton County Residents Against Annexation (HCRAA) joined the chorus condemning and challenging the city’s latest expansion.

Harper’s Weekly 1863 illustration of downtown Chattanooga.

megasite to service Volkswagen, Chattanooga is facing a major growth spurt. So the question before city and county leaders is how to best prepare the region to deal with the growing pains.

Pulse News Editor Gary Poole sat down with Mayor Littlefield for a wide-ranging interview covering annexation, police and fire manpower issues, his recent call for the creation of a metropolitan government, and related issues such as the homeless campus and the library system.

The Pulse: There have been a lot of questions about how we can afford the expansion of city services during a time of economic downtown and budgetary cutbacks. How do you answer those people who say Chattanooga doesn’t have the money?

Mayor Littlefield: Chattanooga does have the money. The capital projects are financed, just as anyone would do when you build onto your house, and they’ll be paid off over time. We finance a certain number of capital projects every year to enable the city to grow. Some of those are road projects, some of them are sewer projects, and some of them are fire stations, which we will be addressing in the coming budget.

TP: Where is the money going to come from to

“We are 170,000 people in the city, which means we are 139th in the ranking of cities by population. If we become a metro government, we move up to about 60. Right up to Pittsburgh, right up into the top 100.”

With the arrival of companies such as Volkswagen and Alstom Power Group, alongside a host of other parts suppliers and manufacturers that will be moving in to the Enterprise South

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pay for providing services for the annexed areas?

ML: The money will come from taxpayers, and we have calculated that the areas that we have annexed will pay their own way. The taxes generated by those areas, even today, will pay their own way. It’s notable that many of the areas we are annexing on Hixson Pike and Highway 58 are commercial areas, areas that will develop commercially. By taking them into the city now, the city will benefit from all of the future growth that will take place in those areas.

TP: There’s been a lot of confusion, especially when dealing with commercial properties, about how tax revenue will come into the city after annexation.

ML: If it’s commercial now, for example a retail operation, the sales tax will continue to go to the county for ten years. The county will still get their property taxes like they do from the rest of us who are county residents. However, if that business ceases or if the property is undeveloped and something new is developed there, the city will receive the sales tax. And that’s one reason why we need to annex property that might not be developed right now, or might be a candidate for redevelopment in the future.

TP: You’ve talked in the past about increasing the size of the police department. You’ve said that you want the department to grow to 500 officers. How? ML: It doesn’t really take us all that long, once we see the light at the end of the tunnel with the present economic circumstances that every city

Cover Story

An aerial view of downtown Chattanooga in 2009.

is in right now, to schedule an academy. People always say, “You’re short-handed in fire and police” because of the training cycle we have to go through. And you’re constantly losing people to retirement. It’s a relatively short career as a police officer or a firefighter. So we are constantly having to refill the roster of people in both of those departments. But we have a long-term goal, a short-term goal and a mid-term goal of adding five police officers per year until we pass 500.

We’ve taken a period of hiatus now until the economy recovers a bit, and then we will schedule an academy of 30 to 35 individuals and hope that we graduate most of them. Then we’ll schedule another academy of roughly the same size because in the 26 weeks that we will have trained those police officers, we’ll have lost some others to retirement. It’s going to take a couple of academies to catch up and them move ahead, but our plan is still in effect.

TP: Annexation has been, by and large, highly unpopular with the people being annexed.

However, recent polling by The Pulse and others show that about 60 percent of people are in favor of some form of metro government.

ML: I’m not surprised. I really think it is much more popular than people realize, and it’s timely because people now see that the other alternative for this community to grow is annexation. If people are going to resist annexation, which they inevitably do, then the other alternative is unifying the governments. In my opinion, that is the course that we need to take. If people are ready to go to the table and talk about metro, I’m ready.

TP: Why are you bringing this issue to the

table, so to speak, right now?

ML: I know that as people wake up to the fact that the city is growing, we have an opportunity before us right now with all that is happening with Alstom and Volkswagen and such to put this community into the right structure for the future. The thing that people really resist is change. When we changed to the council form of government, there were grave predications that if we did it things were going to fall apart, taxes would skyrocket, and so forth. What happened? Things got better. So we learned that we can change the form of government, even one that had been in place for 78 years, to a new form of government and things get better.

TP: County Mayor Claude Ramsey and several other members of the county commission have gone on record as saying that they’re not in favor of the idea of metro government.

ML: I don’t expect them to rise up and support it with quite the same enthusiasm that I might, because traditionally the county commission just doesn’t do that. They don’t like annexation and I’m sure a lot of them are still thinking it’s 1984 and it’s just after the last metro vote so let’s don’t bring it up again. They forget it’s been 25 years.

I think that, given time, they will find that it’s acceptable.

Someone from the county has proposed to me that the city give up its charter. Well, the county

doesn’t have a charter. It doesn’t have ordinance powers. It can’t do a lot of things that the city can do by ordinance. And that’s important.

They have to go to the state legislature to gets things done that the city can do itself.

Chattanooga is a home rule city. We can put up traffic signals but they don’t have the authority to do that, they have to go to the state to get a traffic signal. So why would we hamstring ourselves that way?

TP: Some commissioners have said they are interested in talking with the city about consolidation of various departments and services. Others, though, have referred to this as the “camel’s nose under the tent” theory, in that the more services get consolidated, the easier it would be to merge it all into a metro government.

ML: Again, if we merge the governments completely, that issue goes away. Let me say this about the small departments and the camel’s nose: we can merge the tax offices and the court clerks without too much of a problem. That involves just a few people. When you get to something like public works, though, that’s when the public confidence issue comes into effect.

When my friends at the county talk about merged services, it’s always merge in their direction. “Let’s have the county do it and have them pay us to do it.” I don’t mind a contract for sending out the tax notices or for collecting the fees at the court clerk’s office. But when it comes to filling potholes and taking care of the dayto-day needs that our public works department does, I don’t know a way to turn that over to the county and give the city council members who are elected by the people who benefit directly from those services, the confidence that that service will go on.

“If people are going to resist annexation, which they inevitably do, then the other alternative is unifying the governments. In my opinion, that is the course that we need to take.”

TP: What are some of the benefits of becoming a metro government?

ML: We are growing now. We are 170,000 people in the city, which means we are 139th in the ranking of cities by population. If we become a metro government, we move up to about 60.

Right up to Pittsburgh, right up into the top 100. Is that important? Yes, it is. Because when businesses and enterprises look at investment, they tend to look at the top-tier cities, and that would put us in the top tier.

TP: During your most recent campaign, there was a lot of talk and interest in developing a

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Cover Story homeless campus on the grounds of the old Farmer’s Market. What progress has been made in that regard?

ML: We had an opening down there a few weeks ago at the IHN building. They raised $600,000. I was roasted and raised $150,000 towards that total. They have a beautiful new facility down there and they represent 45 Christian and Jewish congregations working together to minister to homeless families, which is primarily women and children, the fastest growing part of the homeless population.

Immediately behind that, the SETHRA regional transportation system is finishing their new facility, which is about a $1,500,000 facility. It includes a training center and will be their hub for bus operations. SETHRA provides transportation for a number of purposes under contract. They’re a federal operation and, incidentally, provide transportation for IHN. A new police precinct is planned to replace the three that we have closed. I use the term “closed” guardedly, because we’ve had all sorts of people call and say we’ve closed their precinct. If they haven’t noticed, they’ve been closed for a long, long time. Having the precincts there, I think, gave the people a false sense of security. But we still need a downtown police station. And that’s what we’re going to do down here in the middle of the Farmer’s Market.

The other thing is the homeless heath care facility that is anticipating expansion. And the Chattanooga Community Kitchen opened up their day center and respite care facility. To me, that’s pretty dramatic improvement over time, and it’s been quiet simply because nobody wanted to talk about it.

the library is one of those.

The next step, after we get through annexation, is to set up committees with the city council and some people outside to talk about tax equity and to talk about refashioning that old sales tax agreement. By law, the same law that sets up annexation, we have to renegotiate the sales tax agreement between the city and county

by May 23, 2011. And believe me, that’s going to require a lot of difficult negotiation.

We might just throw up our hands say, “Forget about it, just give us our sales tax, we’ll support the things we want to support and the county can support the things they want to support.”

TP: What is your vision of the future of Chattanooga?

ML: I have always believed, and I have said it many times in past years, that Chattanooga has more unrealized potential than any comparable community that I know of. As a city planner I visited a lot of other cities, and I can gauge pretty well what they have to look forward to. I’ve always felt that Chattanooga has a lot to look forward to. We were blessed with this beautiful setting—I drive in every day through the ridge cut and I look down and the sun is splashed across the valley, sometimes the clouds are floating around the valley, and it’s just breathtaking, it’s beautiful!

With what we’ve accomplished on the riverfront and keeping our downtown from going down the black hole of urban decay which affected so many other communities, we have managed to survive the worst of the economic transition that this whole nation has been going

“I think that there is no city in the Southeast that has more promise right now and more likelihood of realizing that promise than Chattanooga.”

TP: The library system has been in and out of the news over the past several months. It’s been a bit of a touchy issue over expansion, development and basic funding of the system. Libraries are something that has been a bit of a cause of yours over the years.

ML: The unifying factor here is unifying. It’s a city and county operation. And the sharing of cost and such for the library is part of the old sales tax agreement which goes back to the 1960s when Ralph Kelly was mayor of Chattanooga and Chester Frost was the county judge, what we now call the county mayor. They fashioned an agreement where the city gave up a portion of its state sales tax for the county to take over responsibility for certain functions. There is a list of those in the agreement. There are others where we agreed to support 50-50 on things, and

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through since the 1960s. Now if you had asked me a few months ago what the missing element was, I would have said big job generators.

But now we have Alstom Power, which is underappreciated in my opinion for how much positive effect that $300 million investment can have on this community. It brings the nuclear industry back to Chattanooga just when nuclear power is beginning to take off again. And then there’s Volkswagen.

So my personal view for Chattanooga is that it is a community that will finally realize its potential. Our challenges are getting our education system advanced to where it is second to none, taking advantage of our university to make sure that it is not just a stepchild to Knoxville but a major university that stands on its own, and then that the community has a quality of life that attracts people here simply because they like the city. We’ve got to protect that because, as I told a group recently, when you used to talk about quality of life and tried to relate it to bringing blood and muscle type of jobs to the city, the old captains of industry would say you don’t want to talk about that. With both Alstom Power and Volkswagen, though, it was the quality of life in Chattanooga that closed the deal.

I think that there is no city in the Southeast that has more promise right now and more likelihood of realizing that promise than Chattanooga. And for that reason, I think we need to look beyond our differences, embrace change, show that change has improved this city.

We’ve gone through some dramatic changes, but changing the form of government could be the last step in assuring the future of our children.

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Arts & Entertainment

Dystopia: Strange Renewal

By Michael Crumb

S

ubterranean Circle is presenting “Dystopia” for those who savor unusual and intense performance art. This postapocalyptic dance party at JJ’s Bohemia on Friday night will feature a mighty experiment in sideshow performance, along with the return of Chattanooga favorite Emotron and the startling Mose Giganticus.

“Z” and “Pinky”, featured performers of the Sadistic Scenic City Sideshow, will engage in a live collaboration with Neon Viking Funeral and Secret Guilt to present sideshow acts with a dynamic, improvisational, electronic ambience. Having seen these acts individually, I greatly anticipate their interactive combination. This seems a natural melding of unnatural performance sure to propel the whole presentation into new levels of the weird.

Additionally, Emotron will bring his own improvisational music and performance mix to this party. Hard to define, but stunning in its impact, Emotron works within an “anti-beauty” concept that mixes his original music, performed with a sequencer, with a vulgar regard for “fierce theatrics” songs combined with rants and strange stories, often other people’s stories told in his own way, combining verbal weirdness with raw music into memorable bits.

According to Z, the emphasis of this whole show will involve an exploration

“This seems a natural melding of unnatural performance sure to propel the whole presentation into new levels of the weird.”

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of the unusual, delving into negative energy and transforming it into positive energy. The interaction of the audience, whose imagination will be provoked by unconventional acts, will contribute to performative renewal. Audience members are encouraged to come in costume and to bring an open attitude.

Mose Giganticus will bring their keyboard-driven, futuristic post-punk sound.

Their minimalist approach produces a larger sound than might be expected, moving the audience into motion. Their approach will add another dimension to the complex musical range of this show, I spoke with Jerry Reed Jr., who along with Chris Griffin, makes up Neon Viking Funeral. They will combine with Tony Levi, who is Secret Guilt, to provide an interactive soundtrack to the Sideshow performance.

I’ve been very impressed with Neon Viking Funeral’s ability to rip away mundane mystical expectations and to lead listeners into unfamiliar aural territory.

There remains some confusion regarding the term “noise” with respect to music.

“Noise” as a communication term designates anything that interferes with communication.

However, the aesthetic of electronic music is founded on the range of sound, and that range includes noise; for example, white and pink noise generators form a part of electronic instrumentation. Further, electronic music itself maybe shorthanded as “noise.” Jerry Reed doesn’t mind that appellation, but he would remind listeners that noise is just a part of “valid electronic music expression.”

Although some avant-garde musical strategies predate electronic music, the explicit lack of scales and melodies in electronic music’s arrangements of sounds has caused it to be derided as “noise.”

Jerry considers this label just slang for the strange freedom and complex discipline of

The Pulse 11.5.09 www.chattanoogapulse.com 95.3 Pulse News

electronic composition. Sometimes this music has a scary effect, because the familiar conventions of ordinary music are absent. The interactive electronics that will improvise with the Sideshow performances should provide great enhancement.

Be sure to look for other Subterranean Circus events at the upcoming Chattacon and ConNooga events.

“Dystopia” $7 10 p.m.

Friday, November 6 JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd.

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

A&E Calendar Friday

Thursday

Gallery Talk for “Laborare est Orare” “To work is to pray” with artist Bob Fazio and Friends.

Free 6 - 8 p.m.

3918 Dayton Blvd., Red Bank.

(423) 870-2443. www.redbankgallery.com

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

“Surface Tension: AVA Invitational” Reception 5:30 p.m. Association for Visual Arts, 30 Frazier Ave. (423) 265-4282. www.avarts.org Spectrum Preview Party 6 p.m. Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View.

(423) 267-0968. www.huntermuseum.org Wind and Orchestra Concert 7:30 p.m. Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts, 1301 Dallas Rd. (423) 209-5929.

Killer Beaz 8 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233. www.thecomedycatch.com “Sticky Situation” sculpture

by Johnston Foster & “Gazer” paintings by Christine Gray Cress Gallery, 752 Vine St. (423) 304-9789.

Regrets Only CTC opens the Circle Season with a comedy of Manhattan manners. $15 8 p.m.

Chattanooga Theatre Centre, Circle Stage, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534. www.theatrecentre.com

Saturday

A Woman Called Truth The life of former slave Sojourner Truth. $8 Noon St. Andrew’s Center, 1918 Union Ave. (423) 987-5141. ensembletheatreofchattanooga.com

Monday Author Ruth Ellenson Noon. Jewish Cultural Center, 5461 Terrace Ave. (423) 493-0270.

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

“Sticky Situation” sculpture

by Johnston Foster & “Gazer” paintings by Christine Gray Cress Gallery, 752 Vine St. (423) 304-9789.

“A World of Glass” Houston Museum of Arts, 201 High St. (423) 267-7176.

“Echoes” River Gallery, 400 E. Second St. (423) 265-5033.

Holiday Open House 5 p.m. In-Town Gallery, 26A Frazier Ave. (423)267-9214. www.intowngallery.com Bob Fazio with Friends Opening Reception 5 p.m. The Gallery, 3918 Dayton Blvd. (423) 870-2443.

“Perspective” Opening Reception 6 p.m. Mosaic Gallery, 412 Market St. (423) 320-6758.

“Echoes” Reception 6:30 p.m. River Gallery, 400 E. Second St. (423) 265-5033. www.river-gallery.com Killer Beaz 7:30 & 10 p.m. The Comedy Catch & Giggles Grille, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233. www.thecomedycatch.com You Can’t Take it With You 8 p.m. Dixon Center, Lee

University, 1120 Ocoee St. (800) 533-9930.

UTC Opera Workshop 8 p.m. UTC Fine Arts Center, 615 McCallie Ave. (423) 425-4269.

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

“Angels” by Mary Ferris Kelly Exum Gallery, St. Pauls Episcopal Church, 305 7th St. (423) 266-8195.

“Surface Tension: AVA Invitational” Association for Visual Arts, 30 Frazier Ave. (423) 265-4282. www.avarts.org “Reflections” Shuptrine Fine Art and Framing, 2646 Broad St. (423) 266-4453.

“Magnificent Fifty” North River Civic Center, 1009 Executive Dr. (423) 870-8924.

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

Art Until Dark Noon. Winder Binder Gallery, 40 Frazier Ave. (423) 413-8999. www.artuntildark.com The Mystery at the Nightmare High School Reunion 6 p.m. Vaudeville Café, 138 Market St. (423) 517-1839.

Southern Jesters 7:30 p.m. Colonnade Center, 264 Catoosa Cir., Ringgold, GA. (706) 935-9000. www.colonnadecenter.org Killer Beaz 7:30 & 10 p.m. The Comedy Catch & giggles Grille, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233.

Regrets Only 8 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, Circle Stage, 400 River St.

(423) 267-8534. www.theatrecentre.com You Can’t Take it With You 8 p.m. Dixon Center, Lee University, 1120 Ocoee St. (800) 533-9930.

The Mystery of the Red NeckItalian Wedding 8:30 p.m. Vaudeville Café, 138 Market St. (423) 517-1839. www.funnydinner.com “Awkard: A New Media Exhibit” Association for Visual Arts, 30 Frazier Ave. (423) 265-4282. www.avarts.org “Close to Home” Photography

by Mark Wood Covenant College, 14049 Scenic Hwy. Lookout Mtn, GA. (706) 419-1430.

“Echoes” River Gallery, 400 E. Second St. (423) 265-5033.

Tuesday

Wednesday

Chattanooga Writers Guild Monthly Meeting 7 p.m. Chattanooga Hamilton County Library, 1001 Broad St. (423) 757-5310. www.lib.chattanooga.gov Soloist Marian Conti with the UTC Orchestra 7:30 p.m. Roland Hayes Concert Hall, UTC Fine Arts Center, 615 McCallie Ave. (423) 425-4645.

“Twenty Original American Etchings” Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View. (423) 266-0944. www.huntermuseum.org Works by Susan Dryfoos-Solo Show from New York Gallery 1401, 1401 Williams St. (423) 266-0015.

Southeastern Funny People Search Semi-finals round…will you see the next Seinfeld? $10 8 p.m.

The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2235. www.thecomedycatch.com

Wind and Orchestra Concert 7:30 p.m. Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts, 1301 Dallas Rd. (423) 209-5929.

You Can’t Take it With You 2 p.m. Dixon Center, Lee University, 1120 Ocoee St. (800) 533-9930.

UTC Opera Workshop 3 p.m. UTC Fine Arts Center, 615 McCallie Ave. (423) 425-4269.

2nd Annual Nala Ren Memorial Art Show 6 p.m. Winder Binder Gallery, 40 Frazier Ave. (423) 413-8999. www.artuntildark.com “Weak Big Headed Baby” Association for Visual Arts, 30 Frazier Ave. (423) 265-4282. www.avarts.org “Small Works” Jewish Cultural Center, 5461 Terrace Ave. (423) 493-0270.

Editor’s Pick: Featured Event Of The Week

“Perspective” Mosaic Gallery, 412 Market St. (423) 320-6758.

“Angels” by Mary Ferris Kelly Exum Gallery, St. Pauls Episcopal Church, 305 7th St. (423) 266-8195.

“Surface Tension: AVA Invitational” Association for Visual Arts, 30 Frazier Ave. (423) 265-4282. www.avarts.org “Magnificent Fifty” North River Civic Center, 1009 Executive Dr. (423) 870-8924.

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

UTC Opera Theatre: “Three American Operas” A chance to see three short operas by American composers: A Game of Chance, by Seymour Barab, A Hand of Bridge, by Samuel Barber and Slow Dusk, by Carlisle Floyd. $7 7:30 p.m. Friday, November 6 and 3 p.m. Sunday, November 8 UTC Fine Arts Building, Roland Hayes Concert Hall, corner of Vine & Palmetto Sts. (423) 425-4269. www.utc.edu

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Life In The Noog

Bell Bottom Blues

By Chuck Crowder

R

ecently I purchased what is likely the hardest garment to procure in any person’s wardrobe: blue jeans. I was in the mood and needed to replace a pair so off I went to the mall while the iron was hot, so to speak.

Now if you know what I am talking about when I say that I was “in the mood” to shop for jeans, then you know how frustrating this task can be. But I was so sorely disenchanted with one of the three pair of supposedly “identical” Gap jeans I’d purchased a year or so ago that I had to replace them immediately.

It seems that suspiciously one of the three pair faded too much, shrunk too high and was a victim of some sort of zipper malfunction that rendered them unwearable. And without three pair of jeans in good working order, my regular laundry rotation is thrown way out of whack. But instead of just running in the Gap and buying the same old style, I thought I would see what else was out there. This placed me in a situation that would prove to eat up an entire afternoon.

When I was a kid, buying jeans was easy. As soon as the cardboard knees of my Sears Toughskins started to protrude through the patented double-layer denim construction, it was time to buy more. And, since they came in about

ten different colors, picking out Toughskins was fun for an eight year old. I always felt sorry for my friends who had to wear “husky” sizes though, because they only came in three colors—brown, burgundy and regular old blue denim (which no kid wanted in the early seventies).

As a preteen, bell bottoms with hip embroidery became the style and my brother and I jumped on the bandwagon as if it was sitting still.

I remember not only the random stitching (either factory or Mommade), but the leg openings that were so big they’d completely cover your shoes.

When the eighties kicked in and my high school years progressed, I switched to the more peg leg look of the Levi’s 512 (low waist, slim fit, tapered leg). If they’re good enough for Ric Ocasik, Bowie and Mick then who am I to argue? And they looked really cool with the pointytoe shoes and checkerboard Vans of the day.

Even though in hindsight they must have looked ridiculous at the time, they were still nowhere near as tight and androgynous as the chick jeans all of the hip dudes are wearing now. I bought mine in the “men’s department” mind you. I admit now that I wore them for far too many years, only to ditch them during the grunge era when jeans went back to some sort of boot cut or something. But anyway, back to the story at hand.

On this particular denim excursion, I decided to branch out a little past my brand loyalty to see

if there was possibly some sort of blue jean revelation that was missing in my life. First I tried my luck at Marshall’s. Ghetto. Then I went to Dillard’s to retry Levi’s and try Lucky brand. Now I remember why I ditched Levi’s back in the eighties.

As I disappointedly made my way past “Pretzel Time,” I ran into some familiar faces. A husband/ wife team of local restaurateurs ready with some quick pant wisdom that was surely steeped in personal experience. “Don’t get the ‘sport cut’ cause they’ll highlight your junk too much,” said the wife to the husband’s speedy reply, “Yeah, she’s always buying me nut-huggers and they suck.” Point taken.

So then I tried Banana Republic.

Nut-huggers. In fact, I was shocked at how those and all of the other jeans were starting to look on my odd-shaped frame. But as I put back on the jeans I was wearing to go jeans shopping in the first place, I had an epiphany.

My old jeans were so comfortable and looked great in the mirror. Why am I spending so much time trying to find something as good or better than what I was already wearing?

So without further adieu, I walked over to the tried and true glowing mecca of the Gap store and picked up a pair of the old familiar—never to stray again.

“On this particular denim excursion, I decided to branch out a little past my brand loyalty to see if there was possibly some sort of blue jean revelation that was missing in my life.”

Chuck Crowder is a local writer and general man about town. His opinions are just that. Everything expressed is loosely based on fact, and crap he hears people talking about. Take what you just read with a grain of salt, but pepper it in your thoughts. And be sure to check out his wildly popular website www.thenoog.com

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New in Theaters The Men Who Stare at Goats The basic plot of this military farce is simple: A broken-hearted journalist (Ewan McGregor) goes on the job to Iraq to prove to his exwife he isn’t weak or frail. There, he meets Lyn Cassidy (George Clooney) who is a “psychic” soldier for the U.S. government, trained by his hippie instructor Billy (Jeff Bridges) to use his mind, peace and love to overcome hairy military situations.

Yet the movie far exceeds the plot, showcasing the whip-smart comedic talents of McGregor, Clooney and Bridges (along with a superb turn

by Kevin Spacey). They bring their characters to life with great joy and a true sense of absurdity. Ever since the United States went to war in Iraq, movies set in and around the conflict have met with box-office disappointment. When the real world is depressing (recessions, real wars, etc.), movie audiences want to head to the multiplex for escapism.

The Men Who Stare at Goats provides that escapism the same way Robert Altman’s classic M*A*S*H did during the height of the Vietnam War. While it is unlikely that “Goats” will end up

in the same category as M*A*S*H, it is refreshing to see some of the best actors of this generation chewing up scenery and having a grand old time.

Starring: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey Director: Grant Heslov Rating: R

Also in Theaters The Box (New) Cameron Diaz and James Marsden are an unhappy couple who receive a mysterious box that brings instant wealth at a deadly cost.

Disney’s A Christmas Carol (New) Jim Carrey is the voice of Ebenezer Scrooge in a new animated adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic holiday tale.

The Fourth Kind (New) Milla Jovovich stars as a psychologist who discovers disturbing evidence of alien abductions in small-town Alaska.

Precious (New) A pregnant, illiterate teen is accepted into an alternative school where a teacher helps her find a new path in her life.

Michael Jackson’s This Is It A rare glimpse into the final days of Michael Jackson, compiled from an estimated 80 hours of rehearsal and behind-thescenes footage.

Astro Boy

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The Pulse 11.5.09 www.chattanoogapulse.com 95.3 Pulse News

A young robot boy endowed with incredible powers embarks on a journey of acceptance and learns what it means to be a hero.

Amelia Hilary Swank stars in the story of pioneering aviatrix Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.

Saw VI In this latest installment of the horror saga, Detective Hoffman emerges as the unchallenged successor to Jigsaw’s legacy of terror.

Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant A teenage boy finds his destiny when he stumbles upon a vampire and his traveling freak show.

Where the Wild Things Are A rambunctious boy named Max escapes to an island, where he meets mysterious and strange creatures who crown him their king.

Law Abiding Citizen Gerard Butler stars as a criminal mastermind out for revenge, sending an entire city into chaos from

the confines of his prison cell.

The Stepfather A young man grows suspicious of his mother’s new boyfriend—is he really the man of her dreams or could he be hiding a dark side?

Paranormal Activity A couple moves into a typical suburban house, but they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that could be demonic.

Couples Retreat Four couples embark on a tropical island vacation, only to discover that participation in the resort’s couples therapy is mandatory.

Zombieland A ragtag group joins forces to survive against worldwide zombie mayhem, and must determine what’s worse: the zombies or each other.

Capitalism: A Love Story Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore takes aim at the corporate and political shenanigans behind the global economic crisis.

Film Feature

Holiday Feast for the Imagination

by Janis Hashe

A

s we head into the holiday season, Hollywood has prepared a feast of the imagination—and this year, it looks like there is something for everyone. We’ve picked four upcoming films to preview. You might love them all, or perhaps only one fires your synapses. In any case, it looks like on of the more interesting line-ups of recent years.

Disney’s A Christmas Carol. In his apparent attempt to appear in every Christmas classic ever written, Jim Carrey returns to holiday fare in Robert Zemeckis’s Disney’s A Christmas Carol.

Carrey plays not only Ebenezer Scrooge in the 3-D film made with the same process as The Polar Express, but Ghosts Past, Present and Future as well. Colin Firth and Gary Oldman also star. Will either be fabulous or a very expensive turkey. Opens November 6.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox. The combo of director Wes Anderson and the dark children’s tale of Roald Dahl is intriguing, to say the least. The “claymation”-style adds yet another dimension.

The film tells the story of Mr. Fox and his “hen heckling, turkey taking and cider sipping, nocturnal, instinctive adventures.” This story

“The combo of director Wes Anderson and the dark children’s tale of Roald Dahl is intriguing, to say the least.”

has been made into a successful opera, so we’ll see what Anderson does with it. Opens November 25.

Avatar. A hotly awaited return from director Jim Cameron, Avatar is said to have been “ten years in the making.” Set in the future, the story follows a paraplegic war veteran who is brought to another planet that is inhabited by a humanoid race with their own language and culture. We love that Cameron has cast that veteran of interplanetary scariness, Sigourney Weaver. Opens December 18.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. An even-morehotly-awaited (and boy, have we awaited) return, this one from director Terry Gilliam.

The fact that it is also the final appearance of Heath Ledger has fans panting, and it doesn’t hurt that it also stars Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and musician Tom Waits. Described as a “fantastical morality tale, set in the present day,” the film follows Dr. Parnassus and his Imaginarium, a traveling show where members of the audience get an opportunity to choose between light and joy or darkness and gloom.

Opens December 25 in limited release only, so call your local theaters and request that we get it here.

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21

On The Beat

East Lake: A Rat Tale

By Alex Teach

I

was easing down the 2400 block of 4th Avenue between the magical late hours when the folks who stand around doing nothing weren’t out, and the folks with jobs weren’t yet on the way to work. The sidewalks and streets (things completely interchangeable to the former group) were empty and it was just me and the hum of my Crown Vic’s tires on the graded roadway.

It was a stretch of pavement that was perpetually under construction, a never-ending work project that in my mind validated my beliefs about the inherent corrosive nature that malt beverages and unemployment have on not just the human soul, but concrete and asphalt as well, and I loved it; it seemed safe somehow.

The area of the East Lake Courts was the heart of our patrol zone, and it felt like home plate in our perpetual game.

I was enjoying the last of the cool temperatures before winter gripped us fully by the throat when I caught something out of the corner of my eye on the corner of 4th Avenue and Foust Street that prompted me to slam on my anti-lock brakes and come to an unsatisfactorily slow stop. (The loss of threshold braking and the occasional intentional skid for dramatic effect were a deep wound in modern street policing, but that’s fodder for another week.)

I threw the shifter into reverse and rolled back to the offending spot, and after a moment tense enough to cause me to unconsciously reach for my pistol, I blew a sigh of relief and deescalated to the point of throwing the shifter the rest of the way up and parking in the deserted roadway to step out and relax.

I thought I had seen an opossum under the arc sodium street lights, an unsightly creature that has no business on these corners. Their long proboscis, needle-like teeth

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and dark beady eyes rest under what looks like an old man’s receding hairline and progress to no discernable neck, then straight into a fat body with a hideous hairless tail.

They best they can do to make up for this is by adding to their charm with nonstop waddling and an occasional hiss.

While I do respect them as North America’s only indigenous marsupial, I find them revolting and discourage their presence in the urban habitat. It’s occurred to me on some particularly long nights that I might simply be jealous of not possessing a fleshy pocket of my own in which I could raise young and/or keep Gummi Bears at the perfect near-melted temperature (and potentially never lose a set of car keys again), but after an unusual amount of thought on the subject I very objectively believe that they freak me out and I’ll never be able to bond with them. That said, thank God it was simply a huge project rat.

The rat I can grasp; the rat I can understand. They share physical characteristics (and in such concentrated Section 8 areas, the size) of a opossum, but they just seem to fit in here, whereas the opossum is doomed to only roam woodland areas in hideous isolation.

Rats are scavengers, survivors, resilient, and they multiply in great numbers…much like police and the area natives themselves.

The rats knew this too; this terrier-sized one especially, since I was within two yards of him and he never flinched. He was enjoying a bag of chips he held idly in one paw, and ate paw to mouth with the other. I pulled out a tipped Black & Mild and he nodded an acknowledgement as we silently enjoyed the night together, him leaning against a street lamp, me leaned up against the rear of my car, curls of my cheap cigar smoke mixing nicely with the soft nibbling of his chips. We parted ways with a final nod, and I moved on down the empty road.

While clearly disgusted, I wasn’t discriminating against the opossum.

I had also seen black bears off

“Until I see a little more initiative, I just don’t think other forest creatures belong in East Lake. If anything, for the animals’ own safety.”

Dodds Avenue (“If located, do not engage the bear”, my supervisor had said; “Your weapons are useless against it.” You could go your whole life waiting to use a line like that, the lucky bastard). Coyotes also fairly littered the city, and just this week a 19-year-old folk singer was killed by coyotes in Nova Scotia. (Google it, and know that in no way would Alex Teach laugh about picturing a folk singer being killed by coyotes.) Humanity and the rats simply earned their place in the urban food chain and until I see a little more initiative, I just don’t think other forest creatures belong in East Lake. If anything, for the animals’ own safety.

As for now, I think I think I’ll get off 4th Avenue and find a store somewhere; I have a craving for Gummi Bears for some reason. But then I’m heading back.

I think that rat was selling “the weed”.

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.

Spirits Within

Crowned Heads of Canada

By Joshua Hurley

L

ast week, we learned about bourbon whiskey, and how it is the official product of the United States. We also named Buffalo Trace our “Great Buy” of the week. If you are late joining The Pulse readership, “Great Buys” is where Riley’s Wine and Spirits on Hixson Pike in Hixson selects a special favorite from among our large selection of wine and spirits from around the world.

This week’s pick is from Canada: the classic Crown Royal.

Whiskey or whisky (with or without the “e”), is made from a fermented mash of grain which usually consists of corn, rye and barley. For hundreds of years, the Irish and Scots have waged a battle over the origins of whiskey (spelled with the “e” in Ireland and just across the channel in Scotland without the “e”. Today the battle continues even here in the Colonies, as in the United States it’s spelled whiskey, and in Canada, whisky.

It’s the subtle differences that give whiskeys their distinctive characteristics from country to country.

Let’s take Scotch and Irish whiskey, for example.

The primary difference between the two is the drying process. The Scots use peat moss to dry their malt, which gives Scotch its smoky flavor. The Irish use smokeless anthracite, which gives Irish whiskey its lighter flavor.

One thing that’s commonly believed by most customers of whiskey, be it the finer-made scotches or bottom-of-the-barrel bourbons, is that age is synonymous with quality. Well, that’s not true at all. It’s the same as saying a 50 year old is smarter than a 30 year old. To make whiskey “high end” or “first class”, you must begin at the beginning of the process, which is the selection of grain. Second—the quality of water. The best distilleries are located next to springs with crystal-clear water. But the water and grain must be mashed and fermented, distilled—then aged. Each step of the process is as important as the other and each can affect the whiskey's quality.

There are two types of whiskeys: straight or blended. Straight whiskeys are distilled from a base of 51 percent single grain and are aged in pot stills. Blended whiskeys are a seamless weave of a minimum of 20 percent straight whiskey and neutral grain spirits. All Canadian whiskeys, such as Crown Royal, are blended and are aged for at least three years before they are shipped to the United States.

In 1857, Joseph E. Seagram founded the Seagram Company in Canada, and by 1883, he was the sole proprietor. In 1911, his sons joined the fold and the distillery’s name was changed to Seagram and Sons. In 1939, Crown Royal was created to honor a visit by the king and queen of England to Canada.

Both were noted whiskey connoisseurs and while on a train tour of Canada consumed a rather large amount of it.

Since its arrival in the U.S. in 1965, Crown Royal has become the number-one selling Canadian whiskey in the U.S. “Crown” is fantastic straight up, with water and ice or with a mixer. The purple bag was chosen as a symbol of the brand’s royal heritage.

It's distilled in Gimli, Canada at the Gimli Distillery which is located on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba. Gimli has the perfect natural resources, key to making this brand what it is. The glacier-fed lakes and rivers supply the water needed for the early, important step in the distillation process. Crown Royal is a blend of more than 50 individual whiskies, which is considerably more than all the other blends from Canada. These 50 different whiskies include seven base whiskies, 11 batch whiskies, 15 bourbon-style whiskies, 13 rye-type whiskies and some various whiskies used for flavoring. Upon maturation in American oak barrels, all of the individual whiskies are blended together by the master distiller. In addition to the original classic, there are three labels offered: Crown Royal—Special Reserve, Crown Royal—X-R and Crown Royal—Cask No. 16.

Crown Royal, the original classic, is gold in color, and has been aged to ensure perfection and smoothness unmatched by no other Canadian whiskey. It is full-bodied with a sweeter honeyed taste followed by a peppery finish.

Crown Royal—Special Reserve is blended from

the very best whiskies and given a little more extra care from the distiller. “Reserve” is bolder in color, richer in taste and smoother all-way-round. When you taste it, you’ll know where the extra money went.

Crown Royal—X-R (Extra Rare) was created using the last remaining batches of whiskey from the old Waterloo distillery, which closed in 1991. This whiskey is extremely smooth and should only be drunk straight up. Its tastes include vanilla, toffee and spice.

Crown Royal Cask No. 16, along with “X-R” are probably the two finest whiskies to ever come out of Canada. It uses ''Special Reserve'' whiskies for its blend, then is aged in French cognac casks. Like “XR”, Cask No. 16 should be enjoyed straight or on the rocks only. The addition of any other mixture diminishes the taste, which includes layer upon layer of flavor: butterscotch, raisin, peach and some pear, all balanced with the grain of whiskey and a sweetoaky finish. Cheers!

at Appy State, Sat. Nov 7 @ 3:30pm

95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 11.5.09 The Pulse

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Music Feature

Ain’t Nothing But the Blues

By Hellcat

I

was happy to see that a friendly face and talented musician has returned to our little Chattanooga music scene.

Honestly, I like it when people leave and come back. It helps to refresh a concept or gain new perspective and then bring it back to your original launching pad with a pad full of your own new ideas. It allows for less opportunity to become stagnant, bitter, or jaded.

I couldn’t be happier to see Husky Burnette back in action. The band consists of Mark Merritt and Burma Shave on drums, and Robert Grier on upright bass and harp, with Husky on guitar and vocals. I am a fan of blues, particularly the funky rock spin Husky adds onto the bayou beats.

If you’ve heard it, you know exactly what I mean.

Hellcat: So what’s your deal?

Husky Burnette: I bring older Mississippi delta blues sounds into the music in a new and different way. It’s by no means mainstream blues.

HC: What makes you different from other blues bands?

HB: I don’t think one certain thing makes me stand out from other bands in the genre and if it does I certainly don’t recognize it. I just do what I do, you know? I try to put my interpretation, my feel, my twist to that good ol’ Southern swampy blues boogie music that I love to play and love to listen to.

non-stop since 2007, up to 150 shows a year, touring, recording, etc, and needed a break physically and mentally. A vacation. Plus I was married back in January; so taking time for the family was much needed. It was time to slow down and recharge, so to speak. It was also a good time to write some tunes as well.

I didn’t get a lot of down time in the past year to write very much. I wrote some here and there but nothing like when you’re sitting at home for two months straight, in peace and quiet.

You end up pumping them out.

HC: What prompted you to come back? How did you know you were ready?

HB: Why I’m comin’ back?

Because other than my family, music is my life. It’s all I know. Music is my trade, my career.

It’s my job now.

I would never give it up for a long period of time. I just needed some real time off to recharge the batteries and concentrate on my family and myself instead of being balls to the wall working, playing gigs, etc. But I can’t stay away for too long. I love getting out there and playing live. It’s one of the best rushes in the world.

HC: What do you have coming up for us?

HB: I’ve got a live album coming out in 2010 entitled Givin’ It Hell...

“I try to put my interpretation, my feel, my twist to that good ol’ Southern swampy blues boogie music that I love to play and love to listen to.”

HC: What do you call your style?

HB: Some people like to call it alt-blues or punk-blues, but it’s all just blues to me. As long as people are digging it, then I’m good to go— however it’s labeled.

HC: Why did you take a break?

You’ve been gone a good minute or two.

HB: I’ve been on the road playing

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Live!. No exact release date, other than mid-2010 as of yet. The editing is done, so all I need to do is seal the deal to distribute pressings in the U.S. and overseas. I’ll be selling CDs at shows pretty soon though, on my own.

HC: Any new stuff?

HB: I’ve got a full-length studio album coming out in 2010 as well, entitled Done Got Bad. Lots of new tracks, some people have heard, some that they haven’t. I’m pretty stoked about this one. We’re recording in Nashville at Fry Pharmacy Studios.

Killer studio, great engineer, all classic analog equipment, two-inch tape reel, the works, some of which came from Chess Records studio. Very excited about this one! Just like “Givin’ It Hell”, I have to seal the deal to distribute.

HC: Considering you’ve toured with Roger Alan Wade and Hank Williams III, I’d say you will come up with something.

HB: If nothing comes along that I like for distribution, I’ll be putting both CDs out myself on Husky Burnette Music to get them out quicker. Either way, 2010 is the year they both come out.

HC: Where can we see and hear your backwoods basement blues?

HB: More dates are being worked out, but right now I play every other Thursday and one Saturday a month at Champy’s Chicken.

You can check out Husky Burnette’s comeback on November 5, 19, and 28 this month at Champy’s, and more in December.

Music Calendar Friday

Thursday

Cadillac Sky with Michael Ford Jr. and Apache Relay Cadillac Sky brings experimental “psychobilly bluegrass” to the Valley. $15 8 p.m.

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

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

Ashley Robertson, Taylor Corum 7 p.m. Mudpie Restaurant, 12 Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9043.

Evergreen Terrace, For the Fallen Dreams, Asking Alexandra, Faded, BTS 7 p.m. The Warehouse, 5716 Ringgold Rd., East Ridge.

Husky Burnette 8 p.m. Champy’s, 526 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 752-9198.

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

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

(423) 499-5055.

Trey Bien Art Show with Live Music 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400.

Mose Giganticus, Emotron and Sadistic Scenic City Sideshow Neon Metal of West Philly pairs with local SSCS for chaos and blasphemy. $5 9 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd.

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

Saturday

DeathFace and more at Bangers Ball Brooklyn comes to town with DeathFace. Dance, melt and bang. $10 for 18 and up $5 for 21 and up 10 p.m.

Contrapasso, 1400 Rossville Ave. (423) 648-0992. loosecannonartsandevents.com

Monday Awake Fellowship 7 p.m. The Warehouse, 5716 Ringgold Rd., East Ridge. www.myspace.com/warehousetn Old Tyme Players 7 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260. www.marketstreettavern.com DJ at the Palms 8 p.m. The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202.

(423) 499-5055. www.thepalmsathamilton.com Fireside Lounge 4021 Hixson Pike, (423) 870-7078.

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

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

Kathy Tugman 7:30 p.m. The Foundry, 1201 Broad St. (423) 424-3775. www.chattanooganhotel.com The Tyreez Project 8 p.m. Ziggy’s Hideaway, 607 Cherokee Blvd. (423) 634-1074 Mike and Rhonda 9 p.m. T-Bones, 1419 Chesnut St. (4230 752-1977. www.tboneschattanooga.com Rick Rushing 9 p.m. Champy’s, 526 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 752-9198.

Matt Stillwell 9 p.m. Midtown Music Hall, 818 Georgia Ave. (423) 752-1977.

CrossFire 9 p.m. Spectators, 8201 E. Brainerd Rd. (423) 648-6679.

Illicitizen 9 p.m. Riverhouse Pub, 224 Frazier Ave. (423) 752-0066.

Zoso: Tribute to Led Zeppelin and Cadillac Sky 10 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. (423) 267-4644.

Blues Hammer 10 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260. www.marketstreettavern.com BaadMojo 10 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878. www.budssportsbar.com DJ Spicolli Raw Sushi Bar Restaurant & Nightclub, 409 Market Street, (423) 756-1919.

DJ GOP The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202, (423) 499-5055.

Ari’s Harbor Lights 9718 Hixson Pike, (423) 843-2800.

Sunday Up with The Joneses, Hey Penny, Madeline, Mother Jackson, Diakaju 8 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400. www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia SubConscious, Stillwater Drive, Edith Blade 8 p.m. Ziggy’s Hideaway, 607 Cherokee Blvd. (423) 634-1074. www.myspace.com/ziggyshideaway Summer Dregs CD Release Party 8 p.m. CreateHere Studios, 55 E. Main St. (423) 648-2195. www.createhere.org Kararoke 8 p.m. Rhapsody Café, 1201 Hixson Pike. (423) 266-3093.

Kathy Tugman 8 p.m. The Foundry, 1201 Broad St. (423) 424- 3775. www.chattanooganhotel.com

David Berkely 8 p.m. Charles & Myrtle’s Coffeehouse, 105 McBrien Rd. www.christunity.org Open Mic Night 9 p.m. Mudpie Restaurant, 12 Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9043. www.mudpierestuarant.com Sam Hayes 9 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260. www.marketstreettavern.com Ten Years Apart 9 p.m. Spectators, 8201 E. Brainerd Rd. (423) 648-6679.

Dead Levy 10 p.m. Riverhouse Pub, 224 Frazier Ave. (423) 752-0066.

Behind The Sun: Red Hot Chilli Peppers Tribute 10 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. (423) 267-4644. www.rhythm-brews.com

Tuesday

Wednesday

The Overseer 7 p.m. The Warehouse, 5716 Ringgold Rd., East Ridge. www.myspace.com/warehousetn Billy Hopkins & Friends 8 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260. www.marketstreettavern.com Open Mic with Hellcat 9 p.m. Raw, 409 Market St. (423) 756-1919.

Channing Wilson 9 p.m. Spectators, 7804 E. Brainerd Rd. (423) 648- 6679.

Open Mic with Mike McDade 9 p.m. Tremont Tavern, 1203 Hixson Pike. (423) 266-1966. www.tremonttavern.com Gunslinger, The Owls, Keith and Kelly 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400. www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia

Tim Lewis 6 p.m. Big River Grille Hamilton Place, 2020 Hamilton Place Blvd.

(423) 553-7723.

Ben Friberg Jazz Trio 6:30 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260. www.marketstreettavern.com Nathan Farrow 9 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878. www.budssportsbar.com The Regular Guys 9:30 p.m. The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202.

(423) 499-5055.

Tremont Tavern 1203 Hixson Pike, (423) 266-1996. www.tremonttavern.com Double Hill Billiard Club 1966 Northpoint Blvd, (423) 875-8760.

Big Gigantic and RoboSapien The Colorado-based electro group Big Gigantic has shared the stage with STS9 and The Disco Biscuits. $13 10 p.m.

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

Gary Pfaff annd the Heartwells, Sonia Leigh Noon. First Tennessee Pavilion, 1829 Carter St. www.chattanoogamarket.com Open Mic w/Jeff Daniels 4 p.m. Ms. Debbie’s Nightlife Lounge 4762 Highway 58, (423) 485-0966.

Rick Mayo 5 p.m. Champy’s, 526 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 752-9198.

Irish Music Sessions 6 p.m. Tremont Tavern, 1203 Hixson Pike. (423) 266-1966. www.tremonttavern.com Open Mic Gene’s Bar & Grill, 724 Ashland Terrace, (423) 870-0880.

DJ GOP The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202, (423) 499-5055.

Editor’s Pick: Featured Event Of The Week Summer Dregs CD Release Party What happens when you have 10 local musicians, give them a MakeWork grant and put them in a room together?

Summer Dregs. Their release, Green to Gold, is a collaboration of amazing styles and minds that could never be harnessed by one man alone. (See this week’s CD Reviews.) Locals Reeve Hunter and Charles Allison will also perform.

Saturday, November 7 $7 8 p.m.

CreateHere, 55 E. Main St. (423) 648-2195. www.createhere.org

95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 11.5.09 The Pulse

25

New Music Reviews

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The Pulse 11.5.09 www.chattanoogapulse.com 95.3 Pulse News

By Ernie Paik

Arrington de Dionyso

Summer Dregs

Malaikat dan Singa

From Gold to Green

(K)

(myspace.com/summerdregs)

One of the most startling and arresting albums I’ve encountered this year has got to be the latest release from Arrington de Dionyso, best known as the front man of the Olympia, Washington band Old Time Relijun. It’s loosely rockcentric, but the sounds are so alien and disorienting that most listeners will probably scratch their heads and wonder where on earth this recording came from. First of all, the entire album is incomprehensible because it is sung in Indonesian, and the liner notes reveal that some lyrics are translations of snippets taken from poet William Blake and also from the mystical, Kabbalistic work the Zohar. Knowing this only complicates things. At times, de Dionyso practically spits out the words, with an ardent, dramatic delivery, and at other moments, like on “Mani Malaikat,” he snarls like he’s starting an argument. However, when de Dionyso wants to sound particularly wicked, he pulls out his secret weapon; this is the ability to do multi-phonic throat singing to create unsettling, otherworldly drones.

Labelmate Karl Blau, playing bass and percussion, serves as the album’s straight man and anchor, and for a few songs, de Dionyso is even joined by his Old Time Relijun bandmates.

When on guitar, de Dionyso leans toward a garage-rock approach, but his instrument of choice seems to be the bass clarinet, which he plays wildly and freely. Comparisons are difficult, as the album keeps listeners on their toes using foreign rhythms and percussion in the mix. Although the closest (American) point of comparison would probably be the Sun City Girls, Malaikat dan Singa is not as messy, irreverent, or hit-ormiss. By the time the listener thinks he might have the album figured out, de Dionyso throws a curveball by borrowing a motif from Serge Gainbourg’s “Requiem pour un Con” for “Tak Terbatas.” It’s definitely not an album for everyone, but it’s for the adventurous type who embraces the unfamiliar.

Summer Dregs is the name of the virtual Chattanooga super-group organized by keyboardist and songwriter Carl Cadwell, presenting the results of fruitful collaborations with choice musicians and singers from the area. Cadwell is currently a member of the soul-funk band the Distribution, but it is Cadwell’s previous band, Infradig, that immediately comes to mind when listening to the Summer Dregs’ debut, From Gold to Green. It’s ostensibly an electro-pop album, but it goes beyond that by defying pop repetition with constantly changing sound sequences. The electronics are animated and effervescent, with an infectious, hopeful, and bright delivery, and the recording itself is incredibly clean, surely the result of seemingly endless clicking and dragging and micro-tuning so that each piece is in its own proper place. Certain electronicsheavy bands bear comparison, like the Domino bands Four Tet and Caribou, and fans of the Postal Service might find Summer Dregs to be more sonically dense and intricate.

Josh Green, drummer for the Distribution and Infradig, contributes his talents on most of the tracks, including “To Convince Whom,” with notably busy and tight freestyle beats. The vocal performances are solid, from people including Reeve Hunter (Chinasaur), John Totten (The Quiet Ones), Robert Heiskell, and Chris Ammons (Jairus), and the most memorable ones are from Ryan Dixon (The Heroes Are Horses) and Stephen Nichols (The Good Players).

Dixon sings with an easy, friendly pop charm with a hint of earthy folk goodness, and Nichols harmonizes using an effortless, assured delivery that’s somewhat reminiscent of Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip when he’s in ballad mode. Studio wizard Mason Neely adds his touches on alternate mixes for “Bones” and “A,” which features some choice, vaguely disco-flavored string arrangements. What is served up on From Gold to Green isn’t exactly dregs, but the distillation of some of the finest pop talent Chattanooga has to offer.

The Art Of Business

Color Her Artist

By Tara Morris

A

s a Chattanooga native, I tend to forget how special our “little city by the river” really is, especially to those new entrepreneurs, students, and families in the Valley. Everywhere I go, there is someone discussing better ways to utilize our resources from within, and offer opportunities to network and communicate with what really makes us work: arts and entertainment.

The bar has been raised and the pace set higher then I’ve seen before for our own involvement as a city. Terri Zitrick-Dennehy, owner of My Color Images Boutique and Gallery, understands this and has a new location at 330 Frazier Avenue, specializing in art, jewelry, and more. My Color Images hosts two local artists a month, one in the realm of fine arts and one in the realm of crafts.

Along with these changing artists, she sponsors a different nonprofit organization each month that receives a percentage of proceeds from all sales.

“Along with these changing artists, she sponsors a different nonprofit organization each month that receives a percentage of proceeds from all sales.”

Terri was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. Coming from a military family that then took up a corporate life, she moved 30 times before the age of 30. After discussing the different areas she had called home, I was surprised when she told me that before moving here she had actually never been to Tennessee.

Researching through the Chamber of Commerce and visiting once with a friend, she realized what she was missing in life that Orlando and Seattle could not give her.

She was ready for something new and as she put it was finally, “Ready to move for me.” Chattanooga stole Terri’s heart. Two weeks after that visit, she was here to stay.

The mountains, river, natural foliage, and our open art community sealed her decision.

My Color Images will host jewelry workshops every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday through the end of the year—just in time for the holiday season. For $30 to $36 you can learn how to make unique personal jewelry and bring your creation of the day home. I see this as the perfect time to have the sisters get together, bring in the office to bond, or learn something new for yourself. All materials are provided and gift certificates will be available. Affordability is an important word to Terri.

Jewelry starts at $12 and art prints at $27 to framed at $90 and up. She provides layaway that gives you a three-to six-month window to get that piece you so desire. There is also an impressive assortment of beads available in house and custommade jewelry is available with usually no extra charge.

My Color Images on Frazier opened in October, and in her first month, Terri hosted Peter Ewing and Sandi Channon, both of Chattanooga, with the proceeds going to Make-A-Wish Foundation. This November, she will have her own art on display as well as that of Melanie Honea. Proceeds in

November will go to the Alzheimer’s Association.

My Color Images will have their open house for the month of November on Thursday, November 5, from 4-7 p.m. Light hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be available during a meet-andgreet with the artists.

With years of work in interior design and an appreciation of art instilled at a young age, Terri radiates a natural awareness of the art that surrounds her, and a desire to come into our community and give back to the city that has given her a new path on her journey. Terri ZetrikDennehy is also a member of AVA, The Chamber of Commerce, Northshore Merchant Collective, and a supporter of Allied Arts.

95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 11.5.09 The Pulse

27

Shades Of Green

Porters of Poison?

By Victoria Hurst

A

“Some think that SIGG should have been promoting the truth about their products instead of riding the wave of another product’s failure.”

28

few years ago, we learned that our plastic bottles could be leeching BPA into the water we drink. All of a sudden, we were turning skeptical eyes toward our trusty Nalgenes.

Our attempts to reduce bottled water waste and stay hydrated were being counteracted by the fears of what might happen if we continued to ingest bishpehnol-A (BPA) on a regular basis.

BPA has recently been put on the Environmental Protection Agency’s “priority review list.” This chemical, used to harden plastic (thus the “indestructible” Nalgene), has been linked to the development of diabetes, premature puberty in girls, reduced sperm count in men, and developmental problems in infants, among a variety of other health problems. With these dangers being linked to plastic bottles, more and more waste-conscious water drinkers were switching to aluminum.

Although Nalgene reformed their product, the Swiss company SIGG started to replace the popular plastic brand.

SIGG benefited greatly from having the right product at the right time. This company answered the call to provide an attractive and quality product with a practical purpose but which would not put the consumer in danger. With merchandise ranging from simple to trendy and girly, including a line of kid’s-sized sippiebottles, which some parents invested in to avoid using plastic baby bottles,

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SIGGs started to become the norm.

The company received plenty of free advertising as the aluminum bottles started to appear in the hands of ecoand health-savvy celebrities. Now you can find the aluminum bottles (SIGG and their knock-offs) at most stores, usually in a rack above the plastics.

Little did eager consumers know: These aluminum bottles, the seemingly safest choice for portable water, are not necessarily BPA-free.

In fact, SIGG bottles that were manufactured before August 2008 all contained the chemical. However, it was less likely, the company claimed, for BPA to leech into the water from the aluminum in the way it does from plastic. There haven’t been any reported cases of the BPA leeching into that generation of bottles, but some think that SIGG should have been promoting the truth about their products instead of riding the wave of another product’s failure.

The company is reported to have started research developing a new, BPA-free liner as early as 2006. Meanwhile, consumers were spending about 20 dollars on what they thought to be a completely safe container. In 2007, new research was released to the public about BPA and its effects. Some states, including Illinois, Connecticut, and Michigan, have placed bans on the chemical, and more states are starting to follow suit. As the hype grew, consumers started to discover that SIGG, in fact, contained BPA in its liners. When their discrepancy was brought to light, the company, while refusing requests to give refunds, agreed to exchange older bottles for newer, BPA-free models. CEO Steve

Wasik became a target of customers’ outrage, and he promised in a mass e-mail that his company would not let them down in the future, admitting that to be a “green company” one must maintain a high level of “corporate transparency.”

If you are reading this and starting to stare down at your SIGG, sitting so innocently next to you, and wondering if it may actually be a porter of poison, take a look inside.

The older, copper colored inside contains the BPA-infused liner. The new EcoCare liner, which is powderbased and co-polyester, is a pale yellow color. SIGGs with this new liner are said to be 100 percent BPAfree. If you search the company’s web site, you can find the section on their exchange program. A part of it reads: “Please note that you will need to pay to ship your bottles inbound to SIGG for replacement as this is a voluntary program—not a recall.

To our knowledge, the companies that made plastic polycarbonate #7 bottles—which in 2008 were pulled from retail shelves for leaching BPA— never offered their consumers any sort of free exchange program. We believe our exchange policy is very fair.”

The exchange program was available only through October 31 of this year. Some retail locations may still offer the exchange.

In the end, it seems as if SIGG did what they could to make right by their customers. They are still producing the original product we all love, but now it is actually “safe,” or at least, safer than it was.

Victoria Hurst is a proud resident of the Appalachian Mountains. She has recently graduated from Warren Wilson College with a B.A. in English: Creative Writing.

JONESIN’

By Matt Jones

“Uh-Oh, It’s Magic” –your standard cheap trick.

Free Will Astrology SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): A 13-year-old girl shocked everyone by winning a plowing contest in England. Driving a 12,000-pound tractor and pulling a five-furrow plow, Elly Deacon did a better job than all of the middle-aged male farmers she was competing against. What’s more remarkable is that she was a newcomer, having had less than a week’s experience in the fine art of tilling the soil with a giant machine. She’s your role model for the coming week, Scorpio. Like her, you have the potential to perform wonders, even if you’re a rookie, as you prepare a circumscribed area for future growth.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I hope that by now you have finished scrabbling along on your hands and knees over burning hot shards of broken glass. The next and hopefully final phase of your redemptive quest should be less torturous.

In this upcoming chapter, the operative metaphor might be assembling a jigsaw puzzle with 200 pieces, all of which are red. Amazingly enough, you actually have it in you to accomplish this improbable feat—as long as you don’t spread out the puzzle pieces all over the burning hot shards of broken glass. Find a nice, clean, quiet place to do your work.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): According to psychologist Carl Jung, one of the most potent influences that our parents have on us is their unlived lives. Whatever dreams they didn’t pursue, whatever longings they didn’t fulfill, are likely to worm their way into our core, often without our conscious awareness. There they get mixed up with our own dreams and longings, causing us confusion about what we really want. The coming weeks will be a good time for you to get clear about this. You’ll have the power to untangle your own deepest, truest desires from the muffled wishes your mommy and daddy deposited in you.

Across 1 With 17-across, what you’re instructed to pick 4 Knock down ___ (berate) 8 Word before Borealis or Australis 14 “Did I not tell you?”

15 Entree list 16 Actress Leachman 17 See 1-across 20 Vinyl record 21 Kentucky Derby month 22 Some microwaves, brand-wise 23 Pikes ___, Colorado 24 4, on some old clock faces 26 ___-Magnon man 28 Long, long times 30 WWI hideout for soldiers 33 Sound effect now heard after putting it back 37 Life’s work?

38 Cattle ranch area 39 James Bond creator Fleming 40 Question I hope to be correct 43 Divide into two equal parts 44 Stadium cheers 45 Charlemagne’s domain, for short 46 Maalox competitor 48 Study all at once 52 Comedian Margaret 54 Musical talent 55 Bit of verse, in Veracruz

56 Response I’m really hoping to get 61 Giving the look to 62 Telegram punctuation word 63 “The dog ___ my homework” 64 Make thinner, like mountain air 65 “Good ___” (Alton Brown show) 66 Response that, odds are, I’m probably going to get Down 1 Org. with the slogan “We create music” 2 Novelist Zora ___ Hurston 3 ___ Buena (town that later became San Francisco) 4 Dual format for older car radios 5 According to 6 Ambient musician Brian 7 ___ worms (chewy candy) 8 Like sore muscles 9 Suffix for mod or nod 10 Blagojevich in 2009 news 11 Pacific Northwest evergreen tree 12 Bento box staple 13 Poses a question 18 Home of the Blue Devils, for short 19 ___ chi 24 Overwhelm with bugs

25 “It’s Your Thing” singers The ___ Brothers 26 Something depended upon too much 27 He rules over balls 29 Rainn Wilson sitcom, with “The” 30 Insect midsection 31 Dressed (in) 32 Barnyard layer 33 Emphatic assent, in Spanish 34 It may be taken before bed to relax 35 Tokyo, formerly 36 Speaks after a few drinks, perhaps 37 Baby’s protector 41 That girl 42 Neckwear for Paul Lynde 46 Like Logo’s target audience 47 Got out of bed 49 Amy Winehouse hit 50 Former senator Alphonse D’___ 51 San ___, CA 52 “Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves” singer 53 Georgetown athlete 54 Boundary-pushing 55 The Boston ___ (Boston Symphony Orchestra subsection) 57 Go kaput 58 Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony No. 6 ___ Major 59 Tony-winning Hagen 60 Morse morsel

©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 #0439.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “Awesome” has become a commonplace word that is used to express gladness about small triumphs and simple pleasures. Today, for instance, a woman at the local cafe uttered a sweet “Awesome!” when someone pointed out to her where she could find an electrical outlet to plug in her laptop.

Back in the old days, however, “awesome” was a portentous term invoked only rarely. “Awe” referred to an overwhelming feeling of wonder, reverence, admiration, inspiration, or even agitation in the face of a sublime or numinous experience. In the coming week, Aquarius, I expect you will experience more than your usual quota of both kinds of awesome.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): According to Leonardo da Vinci, you could magnify the power of your prayers or meditations ten-fold by bathing in purple light. Back in his time, that was easiest to accomplish by standing near a church’s stained glass window that was tinted purple. These days you can get the same effect with the help of a purple light bulb. Alternately, you could simply close your eyes and visualize yourself surrounded by a shimmering purple glow. I recommend this practice for you in the coming days. It’s an excellent time to do anything and everything to intensify your spiritual power. P.S. Experts in color theory say that purple nurtures the development of the imagination, which would be of great value to you as you tone and firm your devotional impulses.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): A whitewash happens when you use deceit to cover up the messy facts about a situation. A blackwash is just the opposite: It’s when you invoke candor as you reveal complications that have previously been veiled. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, the coming weeks will be prime time to enjoy a jubilee of blackwashing.

But I suggest that you proceed gently. Remember that not all hidden information is a sign of malfeasance or evil intentions. Sometimes the truth is so paradoxical and nuanced, it’s hard to get it completely out in the open all at once. And sometimes people are motivated to keep things secret mostly because they’re afraid to cause pain.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Dear Rob: I’ve read

By Rob Brezsny

horoscope columns written by many astrologers, and yours is the only one that’s not prejudiced against at least one of the signs. You really do treat everyone equally. You play no favorites. But that’s exactly the bone I have to pick with you. I’m wondering if you’ve got a passion deficiency or something. It seems abnormal not to display a hint of bias now and then. -Suspicious Taurus.” Dear Suspicious: My own birth chart includes elements of both Taurus and Libra. The Taurus part of me has strong feelings and deep passions, while the Libra part of me is fair-minded and well-balanced.

They’ve worked out a synergistic arrangement that allows me to maintain my equilibrium as I feed my intensity. I recommend this approach to you right now.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Personally, I’ve never been very smart about making investments. At least in that area of my life, my intuition seems to work in reverse. I often do the precisely wrong thing at the wrong time. Billionaire businessman George Soros, on the other hand, is a genius.

When facing a decision about which way to go financially, he says he becomes a jungle animal guided by actual sensations in his body. You Geminis have arrived at a phase when your choices could have long-term effects on your relationship with money. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you’ve got the potential to be like Soros rather than me. Trust your instincts.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): This will be a smooth, easy, and graceful week for you—if, that is, you get yourself out of the way and allow the universe to do its job. Can you do that? It doesn’t mean you should be passive or blank. On the contrary, in order for the cosmos to perform its magic, you should be on the lookout for what captivates your imagination and be primed to jump when life says “jump!” Be both relaxed and alert; receptive and excitable; surrendered to the truth and in intimate contact with your primal power. Then the song will sing itself. The dream will interpret itself. The beauty will reveal itself.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Mathematician Charles Babbage (1791-1871) is considered a “father of the computer.” Among his many inventions, he created a mechanical calculator that was a forerunner of the magical device that’s so indispensable today. And yet Babbage had other obsessions that were not as useful. For his own amusement, he once counted all of the panes of glass that had been broken in a factory over a period of 10 months, and investigated the cause of each break. He also spent an inordinate amount of time estimating the statistical probability that the miracles reported in the Bible had actually occurred. I bring this up, Leo, in the hope that you will concentrate on your own equivalent to Babbage’s calculator, and not get sidetracked by meditations on broken glass and Biblical miracles.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “Everything that emancipates the spirit without giving us control over ourselves is harmful,” said Goethe. Luckily, Virgo, you’re in the midst of a process that may emancipate your spirit and give you more control over yourself. Here are two ways you could cash in on this potential: 1. Brainstorm about a big dream even as you attend to the gritty details of making the dream a reality. 2. Expand your imagination about your tricky situation even as you burn away the illusions you have about your tricky situation.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Have you heard about the new sport of chess boxing? Two competitors play chess for four minutes, then put on boxing gloves and try to punch each other for three minutes; they continue this rhythm for up to 11 rounds. I suspect you’ll soon be asked to meet a similar challenge, going back and forth between two contrasting modes. If you treat this challenge as a fun game rather than a crazy-making exertion, you’ll do fine.

Homework: You’re invited to celebrate Unhappy Hour, a ritual that gives you a license to whine and howl. Go here: http://bit.ly/28nbB9.

95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 11.5.09 The Pulse

29

Ask A Mexican

Lowdown on Lou Dobbs

By Gustavo Arellano

“You’re as rare in your field as the truth on Lou Dobbs Tonight, but get over that: you made it. Camina proud. Take the nervousness of colleagues as proof of your chingón-ness, and leave the whining to Dobbs.”

30

Dear TONTO, You know why the ladies laugh at you? Because you don’t know the difference between a beaner and a gabacho. Shit, even Lou Dobbs knows the difference, and he’s about as sharp as the edge of a tortilla.

only Mexican in the program.

To date I’m number two to come into the program in the past six years. Anyway, I was a little unsure of myself and always looking for approval from my thesis committee.

When I stopped seeking their approval and started to challenge them on everything they said, I started earning their respect. Now when I interact with others in my work place, I’m confident and exacting in my questioning, but somehow this has translated into people being intimidated by me.

I have to wonder—is it the brown skin that scares them more? I see others that are no different than me acting the same way and not having this problem. So, my question to you is this: since you put gabachos in their place on a daily basis by calling them on what they say and hitting them with facts that are hard to argue with, are you considered intimidating by your brethren gabachos in the press room?

— El Einstein

Dear Mexican, I’ve recently been told that I am scary—not once but multiple times by different gabachos. The thing is, I’ve never considered myself intimidating but have found that I need to be very confident in what I say in order to just get people to listen to what I have to say. Maybe a little background will help: I recently received a doctorate in molecular biology, and I was the

Dear Wab, The current batch of gabachos around me? They’re my pasty hermanos. The previous bola? Gotta comprar my bio, Orange County: A Personal History, for all the chisme.

But basta con Lou Dobbs—err, me.

Actually, sí: bastadobbs.com for more info on the campaign to tell CNN that the alternately hilarious/ cringe-inducing Latinos in America was a mere quota fulfiller that

Dear Mexican, Why do beaners or gabachos deliberately try to ignore white people and act like they’re not there, or when your walking by, the lady beaners laugh so hard with a repulsive fake laugh that makes you want to just punch them?

Not only I have noticed this, but a lot of other people say the same thing. Is it their secret way of saying, “Hey notice me, I can have fun too!” It’s just plain, right-out rude, and I wish these gabachos or beaner girls would stop already with that extra-loud fake irritating laughs.

Why do you think they do this all the time? Please help!

— Too Outraged Near the Ocean

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allows them to justify keeping that lying gas bag on the air.

On to usted: I’m not sure que piensas lo que your problem is.

You’re not alleging discrimination but rather that you think you intimidate others. What’s the problem with that? Yes, you’re as rare in your field as the truth on Lou Dobbs Tonight, but get over that: you made it. Camina proud.

Take the nervousness of colleagues as proof of your chingón-ness, and leave the whining to Dobbs.

Dear Mexican, Don Hernando de Alvarado Tezozómoc was the grandson of Montezuma and the author of Crónica Mexicayotl.

My question is: Are there any living pretenders to the Tenochtitlan throne who can credibly document their ancestry to Montezuma?

— Royally Intrigued Dear Gabacho, None that I know of, and even if there was, they’re wrong: the last true, non-conquistador puppet tlatoani of the Aztec empire was Cuauhtémoc, and he left no verifiable descendants.

The grand martyr of the Mexica, however, did leave a message to future generations: “¡BASTADOBBS.COM!” Ask the Mexican at themexican@ askamexican.net, myspace.com/ocwab, find him on Facebook, Twitter, or write via snail mail at: Gustavo Arellano, P.O. Box 1433, Anaheim, CA 92815-1433.