The Pulse - Vol. 8, Issue 14

Chattanooga’s Weekly Alternative

FREE • NEWS, VIEWS, MUSIC, FILM, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT • APRIL 7, 2011 • VOLUME 8, ISSUE 14 • WWW.CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

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The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 14 | April 7, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

PULSE BEATS 4 BEYOND THE HEADLINES 9 ON THE BEAT 22 LIFE IN THE NOOG 31 ASK A MEXICAN 38

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VOLUME 8, ISSUE 14 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

“I live up North and am frequently called upon to explain grits, the Rapture, and so on. Which keeps me feeling Southern— though not secessionist, nor Republican—to the core.”

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— Author Roy Blount, Jr., on being a Southern writer.

“Just placing an order in a restaurant, I choked up; dinner with my parents, and a flash on the local news had my eyes swollen with tears and my blood pressure skyrocketing.”

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— Alex Teach, on the murder of Chattanooga Police Sgt. Tim Chapin.

“When the band finally went to Africa for the first time, they were amazed and astounded at the musical mixes all around them.”

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— Janis Hashe on band Toubab Krewe.

“He explores a disjointed narrative structure that drops dark foreboding hints, clueing the audience in on a possibly insidious arrangement without revealing the overall picture.”

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— John DeVore on Duncan Jones' new film Source Code.

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NEWS Chattanooga’s Weekly Alternative President Jim Brewer, II Publisher Zachary Cooper Contributing Editor Janis Hashe News Editor Gary Poole Director of Sales Rhonda Rollins Advertising Sales Jaye Brewer, Rick Leavell Michelle Pih Calendar Editors Bryanna Burns, Leanne Strickland Graphic Design Jennifer Grelier Pulse Contributors Gustavo Arellano, Rob Brezsny Chuck Crowder, John DeVore Janis Hashe, Joshua Hurley Matt Jones, Ernie Paik Stephanie Smith, Alex Teach Editorial Cartoonist Rick Baldwin Contact Info: Phone (423) 265-9494 Fax (423) 266-2335 Email Inquiries info@chattanoogapulse.com Calendar Submissions calendar@chattanoogapulse.com The Pulse is published weekly and is distributed throughout the city of Chattanooga and surrounding communities. The Pulse is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. No person without written permission from the publishers may take more than one copy per weekly issue. The Pulse may be distributed only by authorized distributors.

The Pulse is published by

Brewer Media 1305 Carter Street Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402 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 300 words in length.

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

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Pulse Beats

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“We educate ourselves at the front end on all aspects [of the budget]. Then the administration presents its budget, and it’s at that time that the give-and-take discussion occurs.”

East Ridge Clarifies Intentions On Firework Sales

— City Council member Carol Berz on the ongoing city budget process.

East Ridge Interim City Manager Eddie Phillips, responding to questions and concerns about the suburban city’s attempts to get state approval to see fireworks sales within the city limits, has clarified the intentions of the city.

“I would like to clarify the City of East Ridge’s position and intentions regarding fireworks sales if and when state law is changed to allow it. The City asked our State Representative Vince Dean to introduce this legislation for several reasons: 1. Fireworks sales are already legal in surrounding counties, 2. Due to our excellent location on the state line and the ‘gateway to Tennessee’ and given our very high existing traffic counts and density this is an excellent source of potential sales tax revenue, and 3. The City Council and city administration are working very hard to find ways to enhance revenue and maintain our existing very low property tax rates while providing excellent levels of services to our citizens.

“The state legislature passing this law and making fireworks sales legal in East Ridge, as it already is in the majority of the state, is the first step. The next step would be for the East Ridge City Council to develop and pass an ordinance

The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 14 | April 7, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

controlling the sales, locations, buildings, signage, etc.

“If fireworks sales are permitted in East Ridge the City is committed to several things; • Maintaining safety by requiring fireworks stores to be in permanent buildings with full automatic fire sprinkler systems.

• Not allowing fireworks to be sold in tents, roadside stands, or other temporary structures.

• Requiring strong sign regulations as not to allow ‘gaudy’ or ‘outlandish’ signage that would harm existing businesses.

“We feel that with these regulations in place, and given our location and the consumer demand for fireworks sales, that this will be an enhancement to both our city revenues and our business community.”

The proposed plan by the city has engendered a good bit of controversy among members of the city council and residents of the city as well. A number of business owners support the move, which they say would bring shoppers into the city instead of having them travel on through to Bradley County or Marion County, the two nearest areas where fireworks sales are legal.

It is estimated that tens of thousands of Georgia residents travel to Tennessee every year, from as far away as Atlanta, to purchase fireworks.

News Briefs • Archer Daniels Midland Company has announced plans to construct a terminal facility in Chattanooga, to transfer liquid and dry bulk sweetener products from railcars to trucks for customer delivery. The terminal, which will handle corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, dry dextrose, dry starch, and dry and liquid sugar, will include a 50,000-square-foot warehouse and comprise 17 acres in Chattanooga’s Enterprise South Industrial Park.

Construction of the facility, pending city and county approval, is expected to begin in May and be completed by the summer of 2012.

• A donation of property will keep a view of downtown Chattanooga open to the public. The Tennessee River Gorge Trust handed over 37 acres of land along the top of Stringer’s Ridge to the city. The purpose is to create a city park and keep the land with the view from being developed. Rick Wood, the Director of the Trust for Public Land, says the park should be complete by later this year and that it is planned to include hiking and biking trails.

NEWS

Commentary

The Few and the Brave We appreciate the bravery of the heroes at the Chattanooga Police Department and other agencies who protected our employees, customers and other innocent bystanders on Saturday. We join the community in this time of mourning as we are deeply saddened by the tragic events that occurred.

Steve Scoggins U.S. Money Shops We in Hamilton County Government also mourn the death of Sergeant Tim Chapin Saturday morning in the line of duty. Sgt. Chapin’s regrettable murder is a grim reminder of the dangers first responders face every day they put on their uniforms and pin on their badges to protect and serve the public. On a personal note, Tim has been a friend for years, my thoughts and prayers are with Tim’s family and his fellow officers.

Jim Coppinger Hamilton County Mayor Words cannot express the sadness, the lost and yes, the anger over the senseless killing of Sgt. Tim Chapin. A lowlife thug

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.

from Colorado, wanted by police there, makes his way to our city and ends the life of a dedicated professional. The word “hero” gets way overused for athletes, rock stars, actors and such, but the real heroes are those like Sgt. Chapin who are willing to lay down their life every single day to protect the rest of us. His actions show the highest standards of the department

and the men and women who wear the uniform.

David Cutler Unattended Children I have a solution for the problem in unattended children in Coolidge Park: round them up, haul them in, when the parents eventually come to pick them up, charge them with child endangerment.

M. Cox Who Decides What Is An Adult?

With the city council passing their curfew law, which only applies to Coolidge Park (and ignores every other park and public space in the city), the question remains of what exactly is an adult. The ordinance makes it sound as if one has to be 21 years old, which is at odds with federal law which says 18 year olds are legally adults in everything except alcohol.

It also mentions a “lawful caretaker” without describing what that is or who decides what that is. I’m beginning to wonder if anyone on the council qualifies as an adult.

Cynthia Jennings www.chattanoogapulse.com | April 7, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 14 | The Pulse

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NEWS

Politics & Crime 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.

Here is one of the agenda items to be discussed at the Tuesday, April 12 meeting of the Chattanooga City Council.

7. Resolutions: c) A resolution authorizing the Administrator of the Department of Parks and Recreation to enter into an Interim Management Agreement between the University of Tennessee, on behalf of its Chattanooga Campus, and the City of Chattanooga allowing the University of Tennessee to use Engel Stadium between now and the transfer date of the property to the University of Tennessee.

With the recent padlocking of Engel Stadium over public safety concerns, the question of what to do with the once-proud baseball stadium has come to the attention of the council. When the Chattanooga Lookouts left to move to their then new digs downtown, a lot of ambitious plans were announced for the old stadium. Alas, years of neglect have come to a head, as it is now up to UTC to figure out how (and how much it will cost) to return the facility to a useful condition.

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 current agenda, and past minutes, visit www.Chattanooga.gov/City_Council

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• State agriculture officials claim that soybeans are the largest legal crop grown in Tennessee. However, one doubts that even the highest quality soybeans sell for upwards of $4,000 a pound. That’s the value of a crop of marijuana Hamilton County Narcotics officers discovered when, acting off a tip from an informant, they raided a North Chattanooga home last week. Inside the Bell Street residence, they found several rooms set up as an indoor “green house” filled with marijuana plants. All told, nearly $30,000 worth of equipment was confiscated, along with approximately $150,000 worth of what officers described as “high-quality product.”

The resident of the house was arrested and charged with three felony counts related to the manufacture of marijuana for resale.

• There appears to be a strange trend developing in Dalton involving people masquerading as police officers. Just a few weeks after a local security guard was arrested after trying to make a traffic stop on an undercover detective, another man is behind bars for doing nearly the same thing. A man driving along the Dalton bypass said a vehicle came alongside him and appeared to be wanting to race. When the driver tried to get away from the other vehicle, the 53-year-old driver activated a blue LED light bar across his bumper as well as a strobe light. The driver followed the other vehicle to a nearby carpet mill and

The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 14 | April 7, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

waited for officers to arrive.

After inspecting the Mustang, officers arrested the driver and charged him with impersonating an officer and having “unauthorized lights reserved for the designation of emergency vehicles.” The man told officers he only turned on the lights to “say hi” to the other driver, but they obviously did not believe his claims of friendly intent.

• With economic times still a bit on the rough side, criminals are looking for any way they can to get money. Stealing steel rods from railroad tracks, though, is not a very effective way to raise cash, even if the thieves can find a scrap yard that would take such items. Making things worse, an Ooltewah man and two teenagers were apprehended when police responded to the railroad tracks near Hickory Valley Road on a report of a theft in progress. Officers spotted a blue SUV near the tracks, and were led on a very brief chase as the driver, in a vain attempt to get away, tried to drive across a nearby field. A field that was almost completely saturated with water from all the recent rainfall. The SUV quickly became stuck in the mud, at which point officers were easily able to take the man and the two teen boys into custody, along with recovering 30 stolen steel rods. The driver confessed to stealing the rods and was charged with theft over $500 as well as two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

• When confronted by officers during an undercover drug bust, it is ill-advised to try to dispose of the evidence by swallowing the drugs. Yet that is just what a 45-year-old Chattanooga man is alleged to have done while being arrested. The man flagged down a pair of undercover officers on Seventh Avenue, telling them he could procure a prostitute for each of them. He then asked the officers if they wanted to buy either morphine or methadone and showed a pill bottle containing what appeared to be pills of both drugs. He got in the vehicle with the two officers and took them to a nearby residence where he introduced them to a woman and asked for a finder’s fee. When the officers identified themselves and began to arrest the man, he swallowed a handful of the pills. He was charged with tampering with evidence, as well as possession of controlled substances and promoting prostitution.

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OPINION

Beyond The Headlines

Veering Out of Orbit

By Janis Hashe, Pulse Contributing Editor

D

oes this ever happen to you? You’re happily zooming along in your world (or worlds) when you are suddenly reminded that there are other worlds out there that you keep meaning to explore—and then keep forgetting about in the press of the moment.

Let me explain what I mean. I’m an arts person through and through, never happier than when writing, directing, gazing at art or listening to music. The arts exhilarate and engage me completely and I spend quite a lot of my time trying to convince others of their power. They connect me with history, with outstanding inspiration and with my inner self.

But. When I moved here five years ago, one of the major draws for me was Chattanooga’s spectacular natural setting. “When I get there,” I said to myself, “I am going to do a lot of hiking. I’ll bring the bike and hit the road. Maybe I can even finally learn how to kayak correctly…”

in vain.

As a result, I have been on only a few small hikes in five years. Despite best intentions, I have never been to Cloudland Canyon or Raccoon Mountain. The bike has two flat tires and has had for about two years. As for kayaking—well, let’s just say I must be as bad as ever, if not worse.

So I am issuing a spring challenge to myself, and I invite everyone else to join me.

What’s your orbit? If you are an arts person, sit yourself down and make a commitment to actually do at least one of the outdoor things you’ve been promising to get to. Find a hiking buddy, get the bike fixed or visit our friends at Outdoor Chattanooga for a class in remedial kayaking.

C’mon, artist types! I dare you.

And, contrariwise, if most of your free time is spent on the trails, on the water, or hanging off rocks (and rock on, you, if that’s true), why not take one day to visit a gallery, one of our wonderful museums, attend

“When you return to the pursuits that are your delight, you delight in them even more, and perhaps in a way enhanced by your appreciation of another path.”

I was very serious about these goals. When I am outside, walking the dogs or doing yard work, I enjoy it immensely. But seemingly as soon as I go inside, I forget all about it. I retreat back into my “head cocoon” and the gorgeous outside world calls my name

a concert, see a play. Chattanooga’s arts community has not become nationally known for nothing. You will be amazed at the quality of what you encounter.

Why should we do this— especially if we love what are doing and are happy?

Because veering out of orbit offers the mind and spirit an opportunity to renew and refresh itself. New ideas are presented, new people encountered. You do not abandon what you love—but we humans are capable of loving a lot of different things. When you return to the pursuits that are your delight, you delight in them even more, and perhaps in a way enhanced by your appreciation of another path.

So look out, natural world! I vow that bike is getting fixed next week. I will find a friend who wants to go to Cloudland Canyon with me. And as for kayaking— well, the person going around and around in circles on the water—that’s probably me. Spare me a kind thought—and see you at the theatre!

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COVER STORY

Southern Literature

The Storied South:

Conference on Southern Literature a Must-Read

By Stephanie Smith, Pulse Contributing Writer

Greater than scene is situation.

Greater than situation is implication.

Greater than all of these is a single, entire human being, who will never be confined in any frame.

— Eudora Welty

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he Arts and Education Council’s Sixteenth Biennial Conference on Southern Literature this year is celebrating the various methods of disseminating Southern culture to the rest of the world.

No longer a sit-and-listen type of affair, this year’s conference will highlight various forms of creative expression, from movies to spoken word to art and music. And yet, through it all, the heartbeat of the event remains the same—a steady celebration of that single, entire human being who will never be confined in any frame—the Southerner.

The Pulse’s Stephanie Smith spoke to Dorothy Allison and Roy Blount, Jr., the two keynote speakers at the conference this year, to get their take on writing…Southern style.

toward writing funny.

Words are intrinsically funny to me, in the way that dogs and babies are, potentially. There’s a bit of video on YouTube in which a baby stares in horror at his or her mother blowing her nose offcamera and then erupts into whole-hearted chortles when Mom stops blowing. Over and over and over. I identify with that from way back.

TP: How important is it to you to be a Southern writer and included in this talented group of writers?

Dorothy Allison: It’s vital.

I’m gonna do the keynote and one of the things I’m gonna talk about is how challenging it is to be a Southern writer in American culture. We have a recognizable community that is considered less than the Northeast (which is the center of the universe) and we are basically considered regional writers. We have a sense of being embattled—that energy is there as a defense for our work. What I have found over time is that the place where we are unsure does the most damage; the only thing we can do is develop a real sense of pride and that’s what Southern writers do better than anyone.

RB: At the luncheon I intend to talk about explaining the South to the North. I live up North

“I live up North and am frequently called upon to explain grits, the Rapture, and so on. Which keeps me feeling Southern— though not secessionist, nor Republican— to the core.” — Roy Blount, Jr. The Pulse: What does it mean to you to be a writer and how did you decide on your style?

Roy Blount, Jr.: For some reason I leaned

and am frequently called upon to explain grits, the Rapture, and so on. Which keeps me feeling Southern—though not secessionist, nor Republican—to the core.

TP: How does the conference play a part in your life/work?

DA: The Conference on Southern Literature is like one of those visits home that I dream about… the one where we all sit around and tell stories and catch up on everything that has happened until someone starts laughing or crying or gets so inspired that they start scribbling on a napkin.

Once you’re a member, you’re invited in to talk about your work; it’s like moving to an extremely small town…you kind of don’t want to tell anyone, “This is a damn fine small town!” When I talk to friends who want to go listen to other writers, I tell them that part of what makes [the conference] so

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COVER STORY

Southern Literature

wonderful is the “down-home-gathering-sit-and-have-a-cup-of-coffeewith-Lee Smithand-see-Elizabeth Spencer-sitting-inthe-back” type atmosphere. That people really engage and really like each other— and occasionally they act out and that just makes it more interesting. I’m actually draggin’ five friends with me this time to see what it’s like when it’s done well.

RB: I look forward to seeing everybody, and laughing a lot.

TP: A lot of writers at the conference talk about their “day” job.

Are you able to write and/or lecture fulltime? If not, tell me about your day job.

RB: I’ve been a freelance writer since 1975, when I left the staff of Sports Illustrated. I have had the good fortune to make a living, though by no means a fortune, just writing and talking on

a piecework basis. I started breaking into that line of work when I was in high school, for the school paper and a local weekly paper. I’ve done just about every kind of writing, always had several irons in the fire.

Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me is a weekly news quiz [on NPR]; I do the show about once a month. It’s taped before a live audience, usually in Chicago, on Thursday night, then edited down to be broadcast on the weekend. I’m one of about 12 people, including Paula Poundstone, Charlie Pierce, Adam Felber, who take turns being the three panelists. We try to answer questions from the week’s news, and while we’re at it, we crack wise. Peter Sagal is host and Carl Kassel is the scorekeeper. There’s always a guest, anybody from Senator Barack Obama

“I tell them that part of what makes it so wonderful is the ‘down-homegathering-sitand-have-a-cupof-coffee-withLee Smith-andsee-Elizabeth Spencer-sittingin-the-back’ atmosphere.” — Dorothy Allison

don't miss a note - facebook.com/pulsebeat 12

The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 14 | April 7, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

COVER STORY

Southern Literature

to Tom Hanks. I was on the first show, 13 years ago I think it was, because they asked me to and it sounded like fun. Now it’s the most popular…I think 3 million listeners…and the least lucrative thing (aside from several things that spring to mind that don’t pay anything) that I’m involved in.

DA: I teach a lot and have ended up mentoring other writers for 30 years.

I’m also trying to raise a sane child. I teach and generally do a residency for most of the year, but my kid’s a senior in high school this year so I don’t go off for three or four months at a time now.

I’ve always said to be an American author you have to take it one small college at a time.

TP: Who was your mentor?

RB: It never occurred to me to have, or to want, a mentor, but at Decatur (Georgia) High School I had a great tenth-grade English teacher, Ann Lewis, who talked me into writing for the school paper and gave

TP: Could you tell me about the panels you are on and what you will speak about in your keynote addresses?

DA: (Laughing) I sometimes think people make up these panels late at night—but this is actually a good one [Discoveries Writers Make While Writing]. I don’t know any writer who doesn’t have moments where [his/ her] life changes in the course of the work.

There were two impetuses for creating the Spoken Word Award. The first was that there are really good writers out there who are also really good readers. But they get a lot of disdain as well. Spoken-word performances are held by a lot of writers in me the notion that I could be a writer. She turned me on to writers such as S. J. Perelman, Robert Bench- contempt. They look on it as a detraction from the work. My experience has been of people who read ley, James Thurber and E. B. White.

DA: I hear people talking about mentors and I think well and passionately—Minton Starks is a great example. She basically crosses back and forth, yet very “I never had one. I want one!” Well, I had a mother.

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COVER STORY

Southern Literature

little attention is given to her written work. So it’s a challenge both ways. That’s one reason I started the prize.

The second reason is that Southern writers get cast aspersions. Bringing passion and commitment is something I learned in Baptist Church—and there’s a certain honor and respect given as well. I’ve gone to hear poets with that “singsong voice”, words read in a flat abstract voice, and I think it’s a distraction. The prize is intended to focus more attention on spoken word. Now people can nominate people for the prize—I’ve funded it for 10 years. (Laughing) I’ll have to hold lots of readings to pay for it but...

“Keep on churning till the butter comes.” — Roy Blount, Jr. quoting a song TP: What words of wisdom or creed do you live by that you would share with aspiring writers?

DA: Write. Don’t get distracted by the business of anything else. The most important thing you do is write. You can easily get seduced away from the writing, but in the end the writing is the only thing that will save you. (Laughing) This coming from someone very late with her book.

RB: My only words of advice for writers are from a song recorded by Wynonie Harris a number of years ago: Keep on churning till the butter comes.

For more information and to register for the conference, visit www.artsedcouncil.org

Conference On Southern Literature Schedule Thursday, April 14 10 a.m.

Welcome Remarks Jane Berz, 2011 Conference Chairperson 10 to 10:30 a.m.

A Conversation With . . . Elizabeth Spencer & Landscapes of the Heart Film Director Kevin McCarthy & Producer Sharon Swanson 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Landscapes of the Heart, The Elizabeth Spencer Story Film Premiere 2 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

George Garrett New Writing Award—James Hall.

Presented by Rodney Jones

2:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

Meet the New FSW Fiction Writers— “Contemporary Southern Voices: A Diverse Fellowship” Ann Patchett, Jayne Anne Phillips & Padgett Powell, Moderated by Robert Morgan

Wendell Berry (invited), Bobbie Ann Mason, Natasha Trethewey & Lee Smith Moderated by Jill McCorkle

3:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.

James Still Award for Writing about the Appalachian South—Jeff Daniel Marion Presented by Lee Smith

Friday, April 15

3:45 p.m. to 4:45 PM “When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.”

—John Muir A Writer’s Response to Environmental Threats: They’re Hauling Away My Place— Preserving the Southern Landscape

5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Book Signing

9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m A Tribute to Harper Lee . . .

Wayne Flynt & John Shelton Reed 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m Meet the New FSW Poetry & Fiction Writers—“Revisions and All That Jazz” Richard Dillard, Claudia Emerson & Ron Rash Moderated by Wyatt Prunty www.chattanoogapulse.com | April 7, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 14 | The Pulse

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Southern Literature

10:45 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Hanes Award Winner—Kate Daniels Presented by James Applewhite

“And in the end, of course, a true war story is never about war.” —Tim O’Brien The Ultimate Conflict: Writing About War Richard Bausch, Madison Smartt Bell & Robert Morgan

11 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

Hillsdale Award Winner—George Singleton Presented by Clyde Edgerton

11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Keynote Luncheon:Roy Blount, Jr. Cleanth Brooks Medal presentation to Ernest J. Gaines

1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. “. . . I don’t know so well what I think until I see what I say. . .” —Flannery O’Connor Discoveries Writers Make While Writing Dorothy Allison, Allan Gurganus, Josephine Humphreys (moderator) & Allen Wier

1:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

“When I stop working the rest of the day is posthumous. I’m only really alive when I’m writing.”—Tennessee Williams Producing Plays Jerre Dye, Jim Grimsley (moderator) & Katori Hall

2:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.

Cecil Woods Jr. Award for Nonfiction— Scott Russell Sanders Presented by George Core 3 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

Donald Justice Award for Poetry—Gerald Barrax Presented by Andrew Hudgins 3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.

“One place understood helps us understand all places better.” —Eudora Welty Southern Poetic Identities—Andrew Hudgins, Rodney Jones & Natasha Trethewey Moderated by James Applewhite 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Book signing 7 p.m.

Welcome—Susan F. Robinson, AEC Executive Director Remarks—John Shelton Reed, FSW Chancellor Keynote Address—Dorothy Allison

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“You can easily get seduced away from the writing, but in the end the writing is the only thing that will save you. (Laughing) This coming from someone very late with her book.” — Dorothy Allison 9 p.m.

Book Notes – After Party Tanner-Hill Gallery, Warehouse Row Featuring the painting of Clyde Edgerton and Louis D. Rubin, Jr. and music by Folk School of Chattanooga Saturday, April 16 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Meet the New FSW Fiction & Drama

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Writers—“How My On-Site and Vicarious Mentors Influenced Me” Elizabeth Cox, Tony Earley, Charles Frazier & Katori Hall Moderated by Clyde Edgerton 10 a.m. to 10:15 a.m Bryan Family Foundation Award for Drama— Jerre Dye Presented by Jim Grimsley 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

2:45 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Robert Penn Warren Award Winner— Elizabeth Cox Presented by Jill McCorkle 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Southern Politics and Southern Literature— Clyde Edgerton, Randall Kenan (moderator) & Sam Pickering 4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

FSW Award for the Spoken Word—Minton Sparks Presented by Dorothy Allison. . . and special performance 4:30 p.m.

Adjournment - Closing Remarks by Allen Wier, FSW Chancellor-Elect 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Book signing

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ARTS

Feature

Spencer’s Landscapes

By Stephanie Smith, Pulse Contributing Writer Kevin McCarthy is the writer and director of a screen adaptation of Landscapes of the Heart, a bio-documentary on the celebrated life of Elizabeth Spencer (The Light in the Piazza). He is a Hollywood veteran, having worked in development and production for a number of major studios and independent production companies, as well as a playwright and instructor at Dartmouth College. The film is being presented as part of the upcoming Sixteenth Biennial Conference on Southern Literature. Here’s what McCarthy had to say about “Landscapes.”

“L

andscapes of the Heart is about Elizabeth Spencer, who is a Southern literary legend. A number of people, Louis Rubin, Allan Gurganis, Lee Smith, Randall Kenan (all of whom were interviewed and appear in the film), as well as Jill McCorkle, were instrumental in getting the conference to honor Elizabeth by showing the film.

“The idea for film originated with Sharon Swanson and Walter Bennett, the producers. Both of them live in Chapel Hill like Elizabeth. They were surprised to see there was no major documentary film made on Elizabeth’s life and work. Elizabeth is now in the twilight of her years and they wanted to honor her while she’s alive. Sharon’s friends contacted me and asked if I was interested in making the film. I said that first I must read the work. I was completely knocked out and said I then needed to meet Elizabeth; then having met her, I knew she was at least as interesting as her work.

“We had access to a certain amount of archive material on Mississippi in the ’30s and ’40s and also large numbers of writers, thinkers, and historians able to contextualize her life and work in terms of the 20thcentury landscape.

Elizabeth has donated a large amount of photographic evidence to Chapel Hill, as well as spent much time and effort being candid about her life and writing as an adult.

“I wanted to create a parallel tribute in Elizabeth’s life and work—a narrative documentary was not that interesting to me.

Would a traditional documentary be a true filmic representation of Elizabeth’s work?

Probably not. I decided at the beginning not to use a script. Elizabeth was such a mystery to me as person and a writer, that to decode her without understanding seemed futile. I decided to look at the process as a mystery, not to solve but [as part of] a journey. By exploding the traditional form of the biopic on a writer/artist, I felt that I could come to a stronger understanding of my relationship to the woman as well.

“One of the crossovers between writing and film is that film is a way of thinking through a topic or subject in order to understand it better. I really believe all art is just a way of thinking— some people use words, some pottery, some celluloid—art is not about making points, it’s just about thinking. “[Before I began this documentary], I only knew the literary South, Williams, Welty, Faulkner. Like a lot of Europeans, I had a nostalgicized view of the South.

To land in delta Mississippi with Elizabeth was about as big a culture shock as I’ve ever felt. And I’ve traveled all over the world—Asia, Africa, Europe…there really is no place like the Mississippi Delta.

“One thing I really enjoyed was the amount of time I was able to spend with

“Like a lot of Europeans, I had a nostalgicized view of the South.”

“There is no question in my mind that Elizabeth Spencer is one of the foremost writers, like Eudora Welty, William Faulkner and Flannery O’Conner, of the 21st century.

She is one of the last of the generations with literary and historical contacts—her grandfather was in the Civil War and she grew up in racist Mississippi in the ’30s and ’40s. She has more than 100 years of experience written down. We wanted to capture how that shaped her thinking and growth.

black families in the South where other white people wouldn’t go—the poor Delta. To watch the struggle for dignity and quality of life and see the inherent goodness of people is humbling.

“Elizabeth Spencer’s cousin is John McCain, and those are the plantation [rich] folk. As with any plantation, there are both white and black McCains and I have spoken to many of them. One of them, Lillien McCain, teaches college in Flint, Michigan and we figured out we would be in the Delta about the same time, so I asked her to lunch at the Crystal Grill in Greenwood, Mississippi. She looked at me and said, “I can’t go in there with you.” “Why not?” I asked. “Because I’m black and you’re white.” And I thought about it and realized she was right—only the waiters and waitresses and cooks were black and it was shocking to me that two college professors couldn’t walk in a restaurant and eat together in 2010.

“This has definitely informed my other projects; a lot of my teaching at Dartmouth this year has been about race in the South, like Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings.

You can’t get past Southern pride. The interviews in the film changed my thinking; I wanted to talk about Elizabeth Spencer, but in doing so we talked about the South. It was an opportunity and I took it.”

Thursday, April 14 10 to 10:30 a.m.

A Conversation With . . . Elizabeth Spencer & Landscapes of the Heart Film Director Kevin McCarthy & Producer Sharon Swanson 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Landscapes of the Heart, The Elizabeth Spencer Story Film Premiere Only those registered for the full conference or for Thursday, April 14 can attend the premiere. For information, visit www.artsedcouncil.org www.chattanoogapulse.com | April 7, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 14 | The Pulse

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ARTS

Arts & Events Calendar FRIDAY

THURSDAY

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Maggie the Cat jumps onto the MainStage at the CTC. $10 - $25 7 p.m.

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

Thursday

Friends of the Library Spring Book Sale 9 a.m. Eastgate Town Center, 5600 Brainerd Rd. (423) 757-5310.

Chattanooga Eco Expo 10 a.m. Chattanooga Convention Center, 1150 Carter St. (423) 756-0001. www.chattanoogaecoexpo.com Meet the Artist Reception: “Draw In” Exhibit 5:30 p.m. Jewish Cultural Center, 5461 N. Terrace Rd. (423) 493-0270.

An Evening with Dr. Tritobia Hayes Benjamin 6 p.m. Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View. (423) 266-0944. www.huntermuseum.org Broad Street Film Festival 7 p.m. Carmike Cinema Majestic 12, 311 Broad St. www.broadstreetfilmfestival.com Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 7 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534. www.theatrecentre.com Senior Recital 7:30 p.m. Southern Adventist University Ackerman Auditorium, 4881 Taylor Cr. Collegedale.

(423) 236-2000.

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The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 14 | April 7, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

My Fair Lady 7:30 p.m. Lee University, 1120 N Ocoee St., Cleveland.

(423) 614-8343. www.leeuniversity.edu CSO Masterworks: Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 8 p.m. Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad St. (423) 757-5050. www.chattanooga.gov Josh Phillips 8 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233. www.thecomedycatch.com

Friday

Friends of the Library Spring Book Sale 9 a.m. Eastgate Town Center, 5600 Brainerd Rd. (423) 757-5310.

Earth Dayz 11 a.m. Rock City, 1400 Patten Rd. Lookout Mountain, GA. (800) 854-0675. www.seerockcity.com Opening Reception: “Outlaw Print Exhibition” 5:30 p.m. AVA Gallery, 30 Frazier Ave. (423) 265-1282. www.avarts.org Little Women 7:30 p.m. UTC Fine Arts Center, 725 Vine St. (423) 425-4269. www.utc.edu/Music My Fair Lady 7:30 p.m. Lee University, 1120 N Ocoee St., Cleveland.

(423) 614-8343. www.leeuniversity.edu The Robber Bridegroom 7:30 p.m. Dorothy Hackett Ward Theatre, UTC Fine Arts Center, Vine & Palmetto Sts. (423)425-4269. www.utc.edu

Stoning Mary 7:30 p.m. St. Andrews Center Theatre, 1918 Union Ave. ensembletheatreofchattanooga.com Josh Phillips 7:30, 10 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233. www.thecomedycatch.com A Night to Remember 8 p.m. Chattanooga Convention Center, 1150 Carter St. (423) 463-0687. www.anighttoremember.org Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 8 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534. www.theatrecentre.com CSO Masterworks: Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 8 p.m. Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad St. (423) 757-5050. www.chattanooga.gov Female Impersonation Show Midnight. Images, 6065 Lee Hwy. (423) 855-8210. www.imagesbar.com

Saturday

4th Annual Shamrock Golf Classic 8 a.m. Eagle Bluff Golf Course, 5808 Club House Dr. (423) 326-0243. www.cachc.org Friends of the Library Book Sale 9 a.m. Eastgate Town Center, 5600 Brainerd Rd. (423) 757-5310.

St. Elmo Spring Market 10 a.m. St. Elmo Fire Hall, 4501 St. Elmo Ave. 6th Annual Tour du Jour 10 a.m. Junior League of Chattanooga, 622 East Fourth St. www.jlchatt.org Brainerd Farmers Market 10 a.m. Grace Episcopal Church, 20 Belvoir Ave. (423) 458-6281.

The Robber Bridegroom

Alfred Uhry’s bluegrass musical. $12 7:30 p.m.

Dorothy Hackett Ward Theatre, UTC Fine Arts Center, Vine & Palmetto Sts. (423) 425-4269. www.utc.edu

Chattanooga River Market 10 a.m. Tennessee Aquarium, 1 Broad St. (423) 648-2496. www.chattanoogamarket.com Earth Dayz 11 a.m. Rock City, 1400 Patten Rd. Lookout Mountain, GA. (800) 854-0675. www.seerockcity.com Art till Dark Noon. 40 Frazier Ave. (423) 413-8999. www.arttildark.com Stoning Mary 2 p.m. St. Andrews Center Theatre, 1918 Union Ave. ensembletheatreofchattanooga.com Bella Sera 6 p.m. Tennessee Aquarium, 1 Broad St. (423) 265-0698. www.bellaseraevent.com Little Women 7:30 p.m. UTC Fine Arts Center, 725 Vine St. (423) 425-4269. www.utc.edu/Music The Robber Bridegroom 7:30 p.m. Dorothy Hackett Ward Theatre, UTC Fine Arts Center, Vine & Palmetto Sts. (423)425-4269. www.utc.edu

ARTS

Arts & Events Calendar

SATURDAY

Julie Guerry: Author Talk about The Rossman: a superhero at heart Local author discusses book about a special three-legged dog.

Free 2:30 p.m.

Downtown Library, 1001 Broad St. (423) 757—5310. www.lib.chattanooga.gov

My Fair Lady 7:30 p.m. Lee University, 1120 N Ocoee St., Cleveland.

(423) 614-8343. www.leeuniversity.edu Josh Phillips 7:30, 10 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233. www.thecomedycatch.com Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 8 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534. www.theatrecentre.com Saturday Night Movie with Ms. Kitty 8 p.m. Baylor School Student Center, 171 Baylor School Rd. (423) 267-8505. www.baylorschool.org Moscato Wine Tasting With Speed Dating 9 p.m. Bessie Smith Hall, 200 E Martin Luther King Blvd.

(423) 255-9114 Female Impersonation Show Midnight. Images, 6065 Lee Hwy. (423) 855-8210. www.imagesbar.com

SUNDAY

Sunday

Earth Dayz 11 a.m. Rock City, 1400 Patten Rd. Lookout Mountain, GA. (800) 854-0675. www.seerockcity.com Buddha’s Birthday Celebration Noon. Barking Legs Theater, 1307 Dodds Ave. (423) 622-2862. www.barkinglegs.org Friends of the Library Spring Book Sale Noon. Eastgate Town Center, 5600 Brainerd Rd. (423) 757-5310.

Cystic Fibrosis Strides Walk and Fun Run 1 p.m. Greenway Farms, Hixson.

(615) 255-1167. www.cff.org 2011 Chocolate Fling and Silent Auction 2 p.m. The Mill, 1601 Gulf St. (423) 634-1772. www.chocolatefling.com My Fair Lady 2 p.m. Lee University, 1120 N Ocoee St., Cleveland. (423) 614-8343. www.leeuniversity.edu Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 2:30 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534. www.theatrecentre.com Little Women 3 p.m. UTC Fine Arts Center, 725 Vine St. (423) 425-4269. www.utc.edu/Music Stoning Mary 6:30 p.m. St. Andrews Center Theatre, 1918 Union Ave. ensembletheatreofchattanooga.com Wind Symphony Spring Concert 7:30 p.m. Southern Adventist University Ackerman Auditorium, 4881 Taylor Cr. Collegedale.

(423) 236-2000. www.southern.edu

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

Monday

Friends of the Library Spring Book Sale 9 a.m. Eastgate Town Center, 5600 Brainerd Rd. (423) 757-5310.

Author Talk – Brian Hicks Toward the Setting Sun 6:30 p.m. Downtown Library Auditorium, 1001 Broad St. (423) 757-5310.

Graduate Recital 7:30 p.m. UTC Fine Arts Center, 725 Vine St. (423) 425-4269. www.utc.edu/Music Squires Hall Recital “Ning and Friends” 7:30 p.m. Lee University, 1120 N Ocoee St., Cleveland.

(423) 614-8000. www.leeuniversity.edu E. A. Anderson Lecture Series 8 p.m. Southern Adventist University, 4881 Taylor Circle, Collegedale. (423) 236-2753.

Tuesday

Chai Steppers Noon. Jewish Cultural Center, 5461 N. Terrace Rd. (423) 493-0270. www.jewishchattanooga.com Senior and Junior Recital 6 p.m. Lee University, 1120 N Ocoee St., Cleveland. (423) 614-8000.

Songwriter’s Line-up 7 p.m. The Camp House, 1427 Williams St. (423) 702-8081.

Small Jazz Combos Concert 7:30 p.m. Lee University, 1120 N Ocoee St., Cleveland.

(423) 614-8000.

Little Women

UTC Opera presents Mark Adamo’s adaptation of the Alcott classic. $7 3 p.m.

Roland Hayes Concert Hall, UTC Fine Arts Center, Vine & Palmetto Sts. (423) 425-4269. www.utc.edu Comedy Show 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. Martin Luther King Blvd. (423) 266-1400.

Wednesday

International Fest 9 a.m. Chattanooga State, 4501 Amnicola Hwy. (423) 697-3207. www.chattanoogastate.edu Main Street Farmers Market 4 p.m. Main St. at Williams St. www.mainstfarmersmarket.com String Theory 6 p.m. Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View. (423) 266-0944.

Harlem Globetrotters 7 p.m. UTC McKenzie Arena, 720 East 4th St. (423) 266-6627. www.harlemglobetrotters.com Ensemble Performance 7:30 p.m. UTC Fine Arts Center, 725 Vine St. (423) 425-4269.

EG Kight 7:30 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233. www.thecomedycatch.com The Robber Bridegroom 7:30 p.m. Dorothy Hackett Ward Theatre, UTC Fine Arts Center, Vine & Palmetto Sts. (423)425www.chattanoogapulse.com | April 7, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 14 | The Pulse

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OPINION

On The Beat

Living With Loss G

rief. Emptiness. Loss.

It doesn’t leave a footprint in your life…it leaves a great echoing valley so wide you can barely make out the edges as they are lit by brief flashes of lightning as you traverse it in the cold black depths of your heart, where chilly breezes are met by your numb skin.

It’s easy to slip into this void and feel the air brushing past your face as you glide ever downward…but like ancient (and foolish) explorers, some keep going, both intentionally and not. And as it consumes you and weighs you down with its relentless, crushing mass, and as you sink to what you think is the bottom of this cold and endless canyon, you find that it is actually also filled with huge, deep caverns that go underground into an even more complex network from which there are few ways to return, with strings or trails of bread crumbs far and few between.

And for just a few, you never return…and end up living there, in part or whole, as a thing blinded from the end of sunlight, scrabbling around to suck water from dry streams and to catch other lost souls like insects in a web, because, after all…misery loves company.

Loss. It has so many forms, so many faces.

This week, all the shallow pricks who brag on the selfrighteous idiocy of how “policing isn’t even in the top ten most dangerous jobs” in the country have gone silent locally in the aftermath of the death of a good and decent cop. I say “idiocy” because fishermen aren’t murdered by crabs, and loggers are not attacked by trees. You see, every profession they espouse as far more hazardous is dangerous due to accidents. Even firemen, heroes that they are, are not intentionally killed by fire or collapse: They too are victims of misfortune (as even in arson they are a rare target).

Cops, though? We have that magical difference: Our deaths are a result of flat-out murder and as William S. Harley would agree; if I have to explain the difference…you

22

wouldn’t understand.

When Donald Bond was killed a decade ago, something inside me broke away. It was clipped off on the jagged rocks of the floor of the valley I described above because as I’ve reflected on it since then, that was the end of any concept of youthful invincibility. He was a friend with a parallel career in so many ways…and it made me “touchable”, now that I think about it.

When Julie Jacks was murdered so soon afterwards, I believe I sunk into those caves…probably willingly because if I was made touchable before, surely now I was cut, wounded and bleeding.

These? These had been acts of cruelty and violence, not poor timing, and being such a genius, I concluded that life was very literally futile and I no longer had to be concerned about how it ended. I knew now that there was no “grand design”, only blind luck, and the times that followed were exhilarating and relentless.

The Universe had no rules, so why should I? My career actually climbed, but not because I was good at my job: I was now unencumbered by “feelings”. I simply didn’t care.

(As I said…I was broken.)

It was horrible, but after some incredibly hard lessons…the feelings did grow back after several years. Living as if there were no tomorrow slowly returned to making plans for the future that seemed to approach with growing consistency, and I went with it, again, with great success. …And now, as I prepare to bury another great man…a man who, by choice, had continued to work past his retirement date despite our risks…I do not find myself in free-fall over that dark valley, but I do keep catching glimpses…flashes

Alex Teach

The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 14 | April 7, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

of it at the most random times. Just placing an order in a restaurant, I choked up; dinner with my parents, and a flash on the local news had my eyes swollen with tears and my blood pressure skyrocketing. I haven’t driven a car one full trip without randomly sobbing at some point over a song or a sight.

I am so sorry Sergeant Chapin is gone; he charged fearlessly into a battle in complete defense of his men taking fire and serves as both a reminder of what’s best in us, and also that doing everything right can still go terribly wrong. I am, however, also very grateful that another officer (Lorin Johnston) struck by a bullet in the same incident is resting at home surrounded by grateful family and friends, as I am for all the survivors of that awful battle. It works that way: The Universe hiccups, and one lives, and one dies.

But we pick up, and move forward.

“A flash on the local news had my eyes swollen with tears and my blood pressure skyrocketing.”

I have to wonder though…Tim’s killer, Jesse Mathews…. will he, too, see the edges of that dark valley? Feel the thunder like a frightened rabbit, and see the jagged rocks at its bottom as that needle slides into his vein and he feels that cold Pentothal begin moving up his arm before he goes to live in those caves for eternity? I’d like to hope so.

But this time, I’ll focus my energy on celebrating those that survived and honoring the one that died. I owe it to them, after all. Heck...we all do.

(Thanks for sitting through this; I needed it.)

When Officer Alexander D. Teach is not patrolling our fair city on the heels of the criminal element, he is an occasional student, carpenter, boating enthusiast, and spends his spare time volunteering for the Boehm Birth Defects Center. Follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/alex.teach

www.chattanoogapulse.com | April 7, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 14 | The Pulse

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The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 14 | April 7, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

MUSIC

Feature

Straight Outta Mali (via Asheville)

By Janis Hashe, Pulse Contributing Editor

T

he Village Voice called their music “a futuristic, psychedelic, neo-griot frenzy” and Time Out Chicago said, “Mali meets the Dirty South.”

Chattanooga will have a chance to create its own descriptions when Toubab Krewe, from Asheville, NC by way of West Africa, drums onto the Rhythm & Brews stage this Friday night.

The five band members, Heller on electric guitar and soku, Justin Perkins on kora, kamelengoni and electric guitar, David Pransky on electric bass guitar, Luke Quaranta on percussion and Teal Brown on drums, discovered a common love for West African music in college.

Heller, Perkins and Brown had known each other and played in bands together for years in Nashville, but it was meeting Pransky and Quaranta that drew the Krewe together. (“Toubab” means “foreigner in several West African languages, “Krewe” a homage to New Orleans.)

like?

“The first trip to West Africa, like all of our trips, was immersion/homestay style.

My first day in West Africa, in Conakry, Guinea, was hot and confusing but amazing. I enjoyed attempting to understand a single word of Susu and Malinke and failing to understand a thing.

My French skills at that point were basically non-existent. At first, music and dance was the only method of communication that felt coherent. We spent most of every day engaged in music making, either in intense multi-hour lessons, or hanging out and observing someone else’s lessons.

“We learned a lot by osmosis. Lots of things we were learning took some time to sink in. You’d struggle all week with something, and then out of the blue it felt like you’d always been playing it. We would venture out into the neighborhood (Tombolya) to go buy a cold soda every now and then. We

“When the band finally went to Africa for the first time, they were amazed and astounded at the musical mixes all around them.”

When the band finally went to Africa for the first time, they were amazed and astounded at the musical mixes all around them; people gathered on the street for weddings and funerals playing music on instruments that had been altered to create a marvelous, unique sound. Band members have spoken many times about the experience.

Evan Schlansky of American Songwriter asked guitarist Drew Heller: Talk a little about your different trips to Africa. What were the formative ones

spent a lot of time playing music casually in the evenings. When you are pushed to the absolute limits of what you are capable of learning, it makes you really appreciate the abilities that you have already developed. I remember having a lot of great jam sessions at the end of the day with new songs coming and going like it was nothing.

“Each successive trip has been richer than the last especially as spoken and cultural languages are becoming more illuminated.”

Toubab Krewe is currently touring in support of its new studio album, TK2, which they recorded for labal Nat Geo. Anyone interested in music that transcends the now-cliché world should not miss this show.

Toubab Krewe with Rubberbucket Orchestra $13 10 p.m.

Friday, April 8 Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. (423) 267-4644. www.rhythm-brews.com www.chattanoogapulse.com | April 7, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 14 | The Pulse

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MUSIC

Concert Calendar FRIDAY

THURSDAY

McKay’s Road to Nightfall: Finals

Audience picks one of this season’s Nightfall headliners. $5 7 p.m.

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

Thursday

Vinyl Night 6 p.m. Pasha Coffee & Tea, 3914 St. Elmo Ave. (423) 475-5482. www.pashacoffeehouse.com Open Mic Night 7:30 p.m. The CampHouse, 1427 Williams St. (423) 702-8081. www.thecamphouse.com Blues Jam with Rick Rushing 7:30 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260. www.marketstreettavern.com Toxic Lab Rats, Deep Sleeze, Strip District 8 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-1400. www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia Jimmy Harris 8 p.m. The Coconut Room at The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202.

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

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The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 14 | April 7, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

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

(423) 499-5055. www.thepalmsathamilton.com Jack Corey 9 p.m. The Office, 901 Carter St. (inside Days Inn). facebook.com/theofficechatt DJ “O” Mixing Up The Beats!

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

Friday

Johnny Cash Tribute Band 5 p.m. Chattanooga Choo Choo Victorian Lounge, 1400 Market St. (423) 266-5000.

Jimmy Harris 6:30 p.m. The Coconut Room at The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202.

(423) 499-5055. www.thepalmsathamilton.com Divine Jazz 9 p.m. The Office, 901 Carter St. (inside Days Inn). facebook.com/theofficechatt DJ and Dancing 9 p.m. Spectators, 7804 E. Brainerd Rd. (423) 648-6679.

DJ and Dancing 9 p.m. The Lounge at The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202. (423) 499-5005.

Rick Beyer 9 p.m. The Acoustic Cafe, 61 RBC Dr., Ringgold.

(706) 965-2065. www.ringgoldacousticcafe.com

Bounty Hunter Band 9 p.m. Southside Saloon & Bistro, 1301 Chestnut St. (423) 757-4730. southsidesaloonandbistro.com Zaib Khan 9 p.m. Raw, 409 Market St. (423) 756-1919. www.myspace.com/jimstriker Gaslight Street CD Release 9 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260. www.marketstreettavern.com Duane Cliatt 10 p.m. T-Bone’s, 1419 Chestnut St. (423) 266-4240. www.tboneschattanooga.com Blushin’ Roulettes, Gerle Haggard, Eric Nelson 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400. www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia Toubab Krewe with Rubberbucket Orchestra 10 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. (423) 267-4644. www.rhythm-brews.com The 45’s, The Alcohol Stunt Band, Fastboys, Defect Defect 10 p.m. Sluggo’s North, 501 Cherokee Blve. (423) 752-5224.

Karaoke & Dancing 10 p.m. Chattanooga Billiards Club East, 110 Jordan Dr. (423) 499-3883. www.cbcburns.com Downstream 10 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878. www.budssportsbar.com

Toubab Krewe, Rubberbucket Orchestra

Toubab Krewe is “the intersection of West African traditional music and American rock.”. $13 10 p.m.

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

Saturday

The Blushin Roulettes 10 a.m. Chattanooga River Market, Tennessee Aquarium, 1 Broad St. (423) 265-0698.

All-Day Music Noon. The Acoustic Cafe, 61 RBC Dr., Ringgold.

(706) 965-2065. www.ringgoldacousticcafe.com Johnny Cash Tribute Band 5 p.m. Chattanooga Choo Choo Victorian Lounge, 1400 Market St. (423) 266-5000.

Every Word a Prophecy, Unspoken Triumph, Permillisecond, Deus Invictus, 6 p.m. The Warehouse, 5716 Ringgold Rd., East Ridge. www.myspace.com/warehousetn Jimmy Harris 6:30 p.m. The Coconut Room at The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202.

(423) 499-5055.

MUSIC

Concert Calendar

SATURDAY

Bob Livingston

Texas roots music meets the cosmos. $10 8 p.m.

Charles & Myrtle’s Coffeehouse, 105 McBrien Rd. (423) 892-4960. www.christunity.org Bob Livingston 8 p.m. Charles & Myrtle’s Coffeehouse , 105 McBrien Rd. (423) 892-4960. www.christunity.org Foundation Band 8 p.m. Fireside Grill, 3018 Cummings Hwy. (423) 821-9898.

Sons of Tonatiuh, Gravebound, Night Of The Wolf 8 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400. www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia Stagolee, The Gills, Shelly Fraley 9 p.m. The Honest Pint, 35 Patten Pkwy. (423) 468-4192.

Tadd Harlin 9 p.m. The Office, 901 Carter St. (inside Days Inn). facebook.com/theofficechatt Power Players Show Band 9 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260. www.marketstreettavern.com Muddy Mule 9 p.m. McHale’s Brewhouse, 724 Ashland Ter. (423) 877-2124. www.mchalesbrewhouse.com

SUNDAY

Stevie Monce 9 p.m. Raw, 409 Market St. (423) 756-1919. www.myspace.com/jimstriker John Sexton 9 p.m. Southside Saloon & Bistro, 1301 Chestnut St. (423) 757-4730. southsidesaloonandbistro.com DJ and Dancing 9 p.m. Bart’s Lakeshore, 5600 Lakeshore Dr. (423) 870-0777. www.bartslakeshore.com DJ 33 and Dancing 9 p.m. Backstage (inside Holiday Bowl), 5518 Brainerd Rd. (423) 899-2695.

DJ and Dancing 9 p.m. The Lounge at The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202. (423) 499-5005. www.thepalmshamilton.com The Grinnin’ Mules 10 p.m. T-Bone’s, 1419 Chestnut St. (423) 266-4240. www.tboneschattanooga.com Slippery When Wet: A Bon Jovi Tribute with Power Players Show Band 10 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. (423) 267-4644. www.rhythm-brews.com Downstream 10 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878. www.budssportsbar.com

Sunday

Traditional Irish Music 3 p.m. The Honest Pint, 35 Patten Pkwy. (423) 468-4192.

Karaoke w/ DJ Salt 9:30 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878. www.budssportsbar.com PRUSSIA, Child Bite, Black Painter 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400. www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia

Monday

Old Tyme Players 7 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260. www.marketstreettavern.com Big Band Night 8 p.m. The Coconut Room at The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202.

(423) 499-5055. www.thepalmsathamilton.com Live DJ – Karaoke 8 p.m. Bart’s Lakeshore, 5600 Lakeshore Dr. (423) 870-0777. www.bartslakeshore.com.

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

Tuesday

Open Mic with Mike McDade 9 p.m. Tremont Tavern, 1203 Hixson Pike. (423) 266-1996. www.tremonttavern.com The Drive By Truckers with Dylan LeBlanc 9 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. (423) 267-4644. www.rhythm-brews.com

Prussia, Child Bite, Black Painter

From Detroit comes psychedelic-pop Prussia. $7 8 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd.

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

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

Wednesday

Jimmy Harris 8 p.m. The Coconut Room at The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202.

(423) 499-5055.

Fried Chicken Trio 8 p.m. The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202.

(423) 499-5055. www.thepalmsathamilton.com DJ Spins Karaoke 9 p.m. Bart’s Lakeshore, 5600 Lakeshore Dr. (423) 870-0777. www.bartslakeshore.com Arlo Gilliam 9 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878. www.budssportsbar.com Opposite Box 9:30 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. (423) 267-4644. www.rhythm-brews.com www.chattanoogapulse.com | April 7, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 14 | The Pulse

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MUSIC

Ernie Paik's News Music Reviews

Matthew Shipp

Art of the Improviser (Thirsty Ear)

“It’s a complicated, nontraditional approach that is forceful, with a calculated delivery, while sounding spontaneously unpredictable.”

To stand out in the jazz world, having chops is not enough. Certain musicians have playing styles that are so distinctive that they can be easily recognizable on any record, in any setting. On the piano, Thelonious Monk distinguished himself with an unusual swing and by deliberately sounding accidental, and Cecil Taylor is known for a wild, highly unconventional, percussive playing style.

Today, Matthew Shipp deserves a place in the pantheon of distinctive, instantly recognizable jazz pianists, with a complex, compelling and memorable style that stands apart from his predecessors.

Describing it is a challenge—it’s a complicated, nontraditional approach that is forceful, with a calculated delivery, while sounding spontaneously unpredictable; at times it’s explosive, with a sense of conviction, while other moments use dissonance and disorder.

Shipp’s latest album, Art of the Improviser, is a superb double-disc set that captures two live performances from 2010, and it can serve well as an introduction. The first disc features Shipp’s trio, erupting with the opener “The New Fact,” which starts with its main theme before furiously and enthusiastically diving into improv sections, including an extended unaccompanied solo from bassist Michael Bisio that’s relentless and driving. Drummer Whit Dickey gets his own solo on the second half of “3 in 1,” not holding

Christina Carter Texas Blues Working (Blackest Rainbow)

Don’t be deceived by the title— Christina Carter’s Texas Blues Working is not a blues record, nor does it sound particularly Texan or country-influenced. It was originally released in 2008 as a limitededition cassette, and it has been re-released recently as a double-album on vinyl with a 21-minute bonus track, entitled “Lady Friend.” With long, rambling songs with

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back with a pummeling, volatile approach. On “Circular Temple #1,” Shipp scampers delicately over the keys, contrasting with his typically muscular playing and even plucking a few strings inside the piano; it’s followed by the standard “Take the A Train,” presented with a highly erratic style, with multiple transitions leading the listener to an unexpected destination. Similarly uncertain is “Fly Me to the Moon,” covered on the second disc—a solo set—with Shipp impatiently rushing through the head, into prickly and inventive improv segments. The composition “Wholetone” has distinct sections, alternating between the grandiose and the whimsical, and the album ends with “Patmos,” using brisk, shimmering improv passages that demonstrate Shipp’s adept quickness, both of the mental and physical kind.

Matthew Shipp will perform at Barking Legs Theater on Friday, April 15.

beautiful, mysterious vocals, it requires a patience that pop-song-oriented listeners may not have, and even if they have the endurance, they will likely find it to be unfocused and strange. It won’t seem strange to fans of her main musical outlet, the prolific band Charalambides (now in its 20th year) with musical partner Tom Carter, which creates engrossing, lengthy, zone-out guitar-based pieces with a low-rent elegance and slightly psychedelic mood.

On Texas Blues Working, the songs unfold steadily with a basic structure using electric guitars and vocals, typically with one guitar playing a repeated pattern and another guitar wandering through an improvised melody. Carter sings with a clear voice, slightly blurred by reverb, sometimes harmonizing with herself or double-tracking her voice, creating an eerie effect. On “Bird’s Nest,”

one of the album’s highlights, Carter duplicates certain vocal lines, singing back words after a delay—it’s a simple, yet gorgeously effective vocal approach, amid the confused sounds of a warbling, slightly distorted guitar. On “A Blind Eye,” the guitar sounds genuinely bewildered, as if fumbling around in darkness, while the backing vocal tones are like gliding, ghostly Theremin notes. The album ends with its most unusual number, “Lady Friend,” a stark and unsettling sidelong track that is reminiscent of some of the bleaker moments of Jandek (everyone’s favorite enigmatic outsider musician from Texas) without the atonality. Christina Carter’s music just might be the aural equivalent of taking a bath in warm milk; it’s an odd thing, but ultimately, it’s a form of escape—a soothing, enveloping experience.

www.chattanoogapulse.com | April 7, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 14 | The Pulse

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OPINION

Life In The ‘Noog

Of Sunblock & Sandcastles L

ike many of you out there with kids, I just returned from Spring Break on the beach. It’s that time of year when you rediscover your inner child by sitting in one of the Gulf Coast’s enormous sandboxes and playing in the massive swimming pool known as the Atlantic Ocean.

I honestly can’t remember the last time I was at the beach, as I prefer exploring new cities while on vacation rather than simply relaxing. Call me new-fashioned, but I have trouble decompressing down to a lawn chair, feet in the sand, reading a good book for more than a couple of days without wondering what else I could be doing with my off time. I just can’t sit still that long.

When there’s a kid on a beach trip however, there’s not as much time plopped down relaxing as there is doing what you’re supposed to be doing on the beach—having fun. And when I thought about what I’d entered into— salt-water waves, loads of sand and sweltering tanning sun—why spend all of my time sitting there reading the third Keith Richards biography I’ve cracked open in my never ending quest of learning all I can about my legendary favorite band? It’s time for me to create something.

Hence the classic architectural beach project of the sand castle. My partner in crime, a 9 year old, had limited experience in the fine art of mechanically manipulating loose sand into a structure fit for whatever nautical king and queen would inhabit this time-tested housing structure. And her inexperience in such matters heightened the trial-and-error of castle building that’s as ingrained (no pun) in my adult mind as riding a bike.

She was equipped with the right tools—a good shovel,

sand scrapper, and a host of various sized buckets and molds to make the finest of multi-level royal mansions. All she needed was the right advice and help in the subtleties of granular construction. As she dug the moat around the real estate on which her creation would stand, I was learning that Keith admitted to only using a pedal effect on one song in his entire career— “Satisfaction.”

As she moved on to her initial attempts of filling her molds with sand and making them stick into actual buildings, I was reading about Keith’s eye-opening near-miss encounters with rednecks during his first car trips down Southern two-lanes. But after looking up occasionally to check the progress of my little friend’s plight with the unforgiving nature of loose sand, I decided it was time to intervene.

I met her down at the bucket-filling sand station near the water to inquire about where in fact she was digging for her foundation. It was then I discovered she was filling half the bucket with sand and then filling the remainder with water—like you would for producing the “sandment” (sand cement) for a drip castle. However, in order to produce the hardened sand needed for traditional castles, I taught her that you have to dig closer to the water’s edge where the sand was saturated perfectly for sandment. Then we got to work together on building our own customized castle.

As we were doing so, I noticed that my pale skin was quickly becoming pink. No problem, I have like 30 SPF on and was reapplying often. But my years away from

Chuck Crowder

the intense sun of the beach environment came calling in a way that would leave me feeling like white sandwich bread left in the toaster a little past edibility. I was burnt.

The next day, I decided to leave my opened shirt on for most of our sun time. I even coated my burning flesh with waterproof SPF 50—you know, the napalm-like jelly you slather on a newborn baby to keep them from boiling alive. Sitting in my beach chair under an umbrella, my shirt blew open to one particular side as the wind came in from the east throughout the day. I didn’t think anything of it, until I got back to the condo that evening.

When I took my shirt off in the mirror of the bathroom, I noticed a funky phenomenon that I still can’t explain to this day. The sun had tattooed within the red palette of my chest a large number seven. So now, in addition to my burning red flesh, I now was emblazoned with my very own football jersey—number seven.

“She was equipped with the right tools—a good shovel, sand scrapper, and a host of various sized buckets and molds to make the finest of multi-level royal mansions.”

Several days later, my sunburn still burns—and now itches—all over, except for the half-Z insignia of the seven that still adorns my unfortunate chest. But looking back at the quality time I was able to spend with two of my favorite ladies on the planet, I guess I’m lucky to have had such fun relaxing at the beach. Lucky 7.

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 popular website at www.thenoog.com

www.chattanoogapulse.com | April 7, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 14 | The Pulse

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SCREEN

Film Feature

Fabric of Reality Torn in Source Code

By John DeVore, Pulse Film Critic

I

often wonder about choices I have made, about the way I ended up in this specific house, in this specific city, with this specific person. I have heard tales of string theory, of infinite alternate timelines existing just outside our own reality. In more simplistic terms, sometimes I think of choice and fate as a cosmic Plinko board.

For those of you unfamiliar with the best game on The Price is Right, Plinko is a tall board with hundreds of pegs, and dollar amounts at the bottom. The goal is to drop however many discs you have down through the pegs, hoping that it won’t end up in the zero columns.

We all have a choice of where we drop our disc, but the pegs determine where we end up. Each peg leads to a different path; each path leads to a different outcome. There is no predicting the final resting place. Well, maybe that’s not entirely true.

I’m sure, deep down among the turtles holding up the universe, there are numbers and calculations that answer all the questions of man. Quantum mechanics and parabolic calculus, for instance. These are complicated subjects indeed. They serve as a rudimentary explanation for a much larger question involving the fabric of reality and the creation of our own unique notion of “self” in the best new movie of 2011, Source Code.

I won’t reveal details of the plot. This film is to be enjoyed in the dark, both physically and m e n t a l l y.

The trailer shows a train, and explosion, and lets potential audiences know that Colter Stephens(Jake Gyllenhaal) is charged with preventing a terrorist attack by experiencing the disaster first hand, through the eyes of a man on the train. He needs to find the bomb and the bomber in eight minutes, the same eight minutes, replaying over and over again, before the world is again attacked.

How is this possible? Quantum mechanics and parabolic calculus; it’s complicated. The explanation isn’t important.

The mission is. But things begin to unravel, answers begin to manifest, and the very nature of reality begins to come apart at the seams. Like last year’s Inception, this film delves deeply into the realm of the mind. However, dreams aren’t tangible, they can’t affect others, and they only exist within the context of their own world.

But is the same true of the source code?

We’re told that time only moves one direction outside of that eight minutes. So what happens during minute nine?

I often applaud films where great performances drive the narrative. Here we have something different. Gyllenhaal’s role could be played by any number of actors. That doesn’t mean he isn’t talented; I have enjoyed his work immensely in films like the often-overlooked Zodiac and October Sky. But the material here is so rich, so complex, that any actor worth his salt would have a playground of

“He explores a disjointed narrative structure that drops dark foreboding hints, clueing the audience in on a possibly insidious arrangement without revealing the overall picture.”

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Human rights, sacrifice, tragedy, love, the beauty of the ordinary, and the paradoxical nature of fate are all intertwined in the story of a decorated military pilot dropped into a rabbit hole of alternate realities, taking place eight minutes at a time.

The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 14 | April 7, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

emotions and backgrounds to examine.

A convoluted sense of the real is a hallmark of director Duncan Jones’ last film, Moon, a British true sci-fi marvel that wasn’t released widely in U.S. but shines on DVD. In both films, he explores a disjointed narrative structure that drops dark foreboding hints, clueing the audience in on a possibly insidious arrangement without revealing the overall picture. Jones understands sci-fi better than directors like Spielburg or Abrams; he knows that questions aren’t found in flashy lens flares but in the introspective essence of the soul, wherever it might be housed.

I would rather see a good sci-fi film than anything else in the world. They aren’t just future predictions, space operas, or silly black-and-white B movies. Good sci-fi embodies real world questions, explores deeply philosophical problems, and provides powerful insight into the nature of the human condition. It allows writers to remove the constraints of traditional narrative structure, freeing them to experiment with the passage of time, the construction of thought, and the alternatives to what is defined as real.

Source Code achieves what it intended.

And its intention is sorely needed when faced with a summer of remakes, reboots, and sequels. Go see this one. It might be December before you see something else like it.

Source Code Directed by Duncan Jones Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michele Monaghan, Vera Famiga Rated PG-13 Running time: 1 hour, 33 minutes

www.chattanoogapulse.com | April 7, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 14 | The Pulse

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WINE & SPIRITS

Riley's Spirits Within

Fabulous Antique Whisky Discovered!

By Joshua Hurley, Riley's Wine & Spirits

I

magine a large distillery. Hiding in its dark corners, covered by musty shadows, are forgotten barrels containing aged whiskey matured to a supreme level of smoothness.

This is no fantasy—nor is it some concoction coming from an overblown imagination—this is reality. This week, Riley’s unearths three “Great Buys” brought to you by Buffalo Trace Bourbon Whiskey—The Experimental Collection: 1989, 1991 and 1993— very rare, small-batch bourbons.

Located in Frankfort, Kentucky, Buffalo Trace is the country’s oldest distillery. Production began in 1773 by a colonist named Hancock Lee. In 1812, the distillery expanded by adding several new buildings and employees as well as increasing its distribution to include neighboring cities and states.

1870 saw Lee Distillery change not only its owner, but its name as well, becoming O.F.C. Distillery under Edward Taylor’s ownership.

The year 1878 brought about more change with O.F.C. Distillery becoming the George T. Stagg Distillery with the name and the owner one and the same.

The Stagg ownership brought about one very significant change—the addition of steam heating, which made his distillery the first climate-controlled distillery in the country. Today, the distillery’s name is Buffalo Trace, a name that comes from paths created by American bison that, centuries ago, made a crossing along the Kentucky River in Frankfort, a hundred yards from the distillery’s location. This path cleared the way for America’s early pioneers’ trek west. It was to honor this that the distillery’s top label, Buffalo Trace Bourbon Whiskey, was created.

In 1998, Trace Distillery acquired the Old Charter Distillery, and it was then that during a routine inventory the last barrels were discovered. Some of these last barrels were either completely empty or tasted awful, but a handful survived the long-term aging to become exceptional small-batch bourbons called the Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection. The label’s individual years are offered: 89, 91 and 93 in a very limited supply.

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Relic number one is 1989. This “oldie” has been bottled from a scant seven barrels. This dark, amber-colored whiskey was put into the white oak barrels on November 17, 1989.

As one would suspect, the two decade plus barrel aging makes oak the dominant character here, but dominance doesn’t translate into overbearing as full flavors of vanilla and caramel exist alongside it. Just call it a hard, homemade candy-type palate.

Batch two is the 1991 label, which originates from eight surviving barrels. This batch went into the oak on October 29, 1991. This one is both a little warmer and spicier and contains a walnut flavor that’s complemented by a nice fruit-forward finish.

The third and last batch is 1993. It also comes from only eight barrels that were put into oak on May 13, 1993. The youngest of the bunch is different with its rich and creamy texture. It tastes like some sort of “whiskey latte”, with vanilla making this concoction even more apparent. 1993 is perfect for a cold night next to the fireplace.

The Experimental Collection is a very welcome addition to the small-batch bourbon whiskey selection at Riley’s. Try them all today. 1989 is $58.99 plus tax, 1991 is $54.99 plus tax and 1993 is $50 plus tax.

www.chattanoogapulse.com | April 7, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 14 | The Pulse

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ENTERTAINMENT

Free Will Astrology

ARIES (March 21-April 19): When he was three years old, actor Charlie Sheen got a hernia from yelling too much and too loud. I definitely don’t encourage you to be like that. However, I do think it’s an excellent time to tune in to the extravagant emotions that first made an appearance when you were very young and that have continued to be a source of light and heat for you ever since. Maybe righteous anger is one of those vitalizing emotions, but there must be others as well—crazy longing, ferocious joy, insatiable curiosity, primal laughter. Get in touch with them; invite them to make an appearance and reveal the specific magic they have to give you right now.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The hydrochloric acid in our digestive system is so corrosive it can dissolve a nail. In other words, you contain within you the power to dematerialize solid metal. Why is it so hard, then, for you to conceive of the possibility that you can vaporize a painful memory or bad habit or fearful fantasy? I say you can do just that, Taurus—especially at this moment, when your capacity for creative destruction is at a peak. Try this meditation: Imagine that the memory or habit or fantasy you want to kill off is a nail. Then picture yourself dropping the nail into a vat of hydrochloric acid. Come back every day and revisit this vision, watching the nail gradually dissolve.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Now and then I include comments in these horoscopes that might be construed as political in nature. For instance, I have always endorsed a particular candidate in the American presidential elections. Some people are outraged by this, saying, in effect, “How dare you?! What do your political opinions have to do with my life?!” If you feel that way, you might want to stop reading now. It’s my sacred duty to tell you that the twists and turns of political and social issues will be making an increasingly strong impact on your personal destiny in the months ahead. To be of service to you, I will have to factor them into my meditations on your oracles. Now let me ask you: Is it possible that your compulsive discontent about certain political issues is inhibiting your capacity for personal happiness?

CANCER (June 21-July 22): If you were a poker player, the odds would now be far better than usual that you’d be voted one of the “50 Sexiest Poker Players in the World.”

If you were a physician volunteering your services in Haiti or Sudan, there’d be an unusually high likelihood that you’d soon be the focus of a feature story on a TV news show.

And even if you were just a pet groomer or life coach or yoga teacher, I bet your cachet would be rising. Why? According to my reading of the omens, you Cancerians are about to be noticed, seen for who you are, or just plain appreciated a lot more than usual.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): No other country on the planet has a greater concentration of artistic masterpieces than Italy. As for the place that has the most natural wonders and inspiring scenery per square mile: That’s more subjective, but I’d say Hawaii. Judging from the astrological omens, Leo, I encourage you to visit one or both of those two hotspots—or the closest equivalents you can manage.

(If you already live in Italy or Hawaii, you won’t have far to go.) In my opinion, you need to be massively exposed to huge doses of staggering beauty. And I really do mean that you NEED this experience—for your mental, physical, and spiritual well-being.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Healer Caroline Myss coined the term “woundology.” It refers to the practice of using our wounds to get power, sympathy, and attention. Why give up our pain when we can wield it to manipulate others emotionally? “I am suffering, so you should give me what I want.” When we’re in pain, we may feel we have the right to do things we wouldn’t otherwise allow ourselves to do, like go on shopping sprees, eat tasty junk food, or sleep with attractive people who are no good for us. In this scenario, pain serves us. It’s an ally. Your assignment, Virgo, is to get

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touch with your personal version of woundology. Now is a good time to divest yourself of the so-called “advantages” of holding on to your suffering.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): As an American who has lived most of my life in the U.S., I write these horoscopes in English. But for years they have also been translated into Italian for the zesty Italian magazine, Internazionale. Over the years, my readership there has grown so sizable that an Italian publisher approached me to create an astrology book for Italians. Late last year Robosocopo appeared in Italy but nowhere else. It was an odd feeling to have my fourth book rendered in the Italian language but not in my native tongue. I suspect you’ll be having a comparable experience soon, Libra. You will function just fine in a foreign sphere—having meaningful experiences, and maybe even some success, “in translation.”

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You can gain more power— not to mention charisma, panache, and love by—losing some of your cool. This is one time when too much selfcontrol could actually undermine your authority. So please indulge in a bit of healthy self-undoing, Scorpio. Gently mock your self-importance and shake yourself free of selfimages you’re pathologically attached to. Fool with your own hard and fast rules in ways that purge your excess dignity and restore at least some of your brilliant and beautiful innocence.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): This week will be a time when you might want to get a hold of a toy you loved when you were a kid, and actually play with it again; a time when you could speak so articulately about an idea you’re passionate about that you will change the mind of someone who has a different belief; a time when you may go off on an adventure you feared you would regret but then it turns out later that you don’t regret it; a time when you might pick out a group of stars in the sky that form the shape of a symbol that’s important to you, and give this new constellation a name; and a time when you could make love with such utter abandon that your mutual pleasure will stay with you both for several days.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The Norwegian film Twigson is about a boy who feels so friendless and isolated that he seeks companionship with a talking twig. In the coming weeks, I encourage you to be equally as proactive in addressing the strains of your own loneliness. I’m not implying that you are lonelier or will be lonelier than the rest of us; I’m just saying that it’s an excellent time for taking aggressive action to soothe the ache. So reach out, Capricorn. Be humbly confident as you try to make deeper contact.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): During one of 2010’s Mercury retrograde phases, astrologer Evelyn Roberts wrote on her Facebook page that she was doing lots of things you’re “not supposed to do” during a Mercury retrograde: buying a new computer, planning trips, making contracts, signing documents. Why? She said she always rebels like that, maybe because of her quirky Aquarian nature. More importantly, she does it because what usually works best for her is to pay close attention to what’s actually going on rather than getting lost in fearful fantasies about what influence a planet may or may not have. During the current Mercury retrograde, Aquarius, I recommend her approach to you.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Damon Bruce is a San Francisco sports talk-show host I listen to now and then. He told a story about being at a bar and seeing a guy with a tattoo of a life-sized dollar bill on the back of his shaved head. Bruce was incredulous. Why burn an image of the lowest-denomination bill into your flesh? If you’re going to all that trouble, shouldn’t you inscribe a more ambitious icon, like a $100 bill? My sentiments exactly, Pisces. Now apply this lesson to your own life.

ENTERTAINMENT

Jonesin' Crossword — "Hulk on the Job" Across 1 Memorable time period 4 Screw-up 9 Via ___ (ancient Roman road) 14 Gnarly 15 Long-snouted critter 16 Prince William’s mother 17 8:53 AM: “Hulk punch ___!”

19 Others, in Oaxaca 20 Netflix list 21 Bumped into 23 Shortened, like a dict.

24 9:15 AM: With 38-across, “Hulk smash ___!”

29 Detoxifying place 30 More pale in complexion 31 “Don’t do drugs” ad, for short 34 Days before the big day 37 “___ Marner” 38 See 24-across 41 Beck who claims not

to polarize 42 Skeezy look 43 1960s campus protest gp. restarted in 2006 44 Tijuana Brass bandleader Herb 46 ___ Khan 48 10:02 AM: “Hulk attack ___!”

54 Part of a j 55 Cousin of Eur. and N. Amer.

56 Not static 58 Done, on some movie screens 60 10:44 AM: “Hulk break ___!”

63 Pear-shaped instruments 64 Berlusconi’s country 65 Jollies 66 “___ Peculiar Man” (Simon & Garfunkel song) 67 Tag cry 68 Do some surveillance Down 1 La Salle on eight sea-

sons of “ER” 2 Amassed, as a phone bill 3 Cost to run a spot in a newspaper 4 Make abundantly clear 5 “I don’t right reckon so” 6 Where to get mil. mail 7 Terra ___ 8 “Did I do that?” character 9 “Much ___ About Nothing” 10 Really crunchy food 11 Put in hot water, but only for a little bit 12 Owing 13 ___ in “aardvark” 18 “___ Gang” 22 “La-la” lead-in 25 Frank 26 Target of gazing 27 To be: Lat. 28 AMA members 31 Precious metal that’s element #46 32 Enters, as a stage

33 Pardons to large groups of people 35 Suffix ending many languages 36 Avoid the euphemisms 39 Cross inscription 40 Cogito follower 41 Leg, to a film noir detective 45 New Deal prog.

47 Four-time Indy 500 winner 49 “It’s ___ Science” (G4 show) 50 Prefix before type or planet 51 Dobby, in “Harry Potter” 52 Links go there 53 Hog, as a phone line 57 “You other brothers can’t ____” (Sir Mix-ALot line) 58 Tallahassee’s st.

59 Fast transport: abbr.

61 Squealer 62 151, to Claudius

Crossword created By Matt Jones. © 2011 Jonesin’ Crosswords. 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 #0514.

www.chattanoogapulse.com | April 7, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 14 | The Pulse

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OPINION

Ask A Mexican

Don’t Get Fooled Again Dear Mexican, I’m a blanquita, and I’ve recently begun dating a CALIENTE mexicano.

I adore this man. The first time we were intimate, I noticed his necklace (which I had always assumed to be a rosary) was a name necklace...a WOMAN’S name necklace. He says that his mami gave it to him just before he left the country. I have quite a few Hispanic friends, but none from Mexico. Is this a likely scenario? I ask because a Mexican man burned me in the past; after two years of dating, he told me that he had a wife back in Mexico. I don’t want that again, and I really like this man, but he’s wearing a necklace that says “Rosa.” What’s your take?

— Asustada al Amor

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Dear Scared at Love, What’s that saying you gabachos have? Something like, “Fool me once, pendejo eres tú; fool me twice, el pendejo soy yo?” Something like that.

Anyhoo, the only mom that hombres wear around their neck is scapulars of the Virgin of Guadalupe, so “Rosa” is quite obviously the guy’s chica back in the rancho.

Academic literature on Mexican migrant infidelity rates are too limited in scope to make a cobija statement on the frequency of such, but the paper “Effects of Husbands’ Migration on Mental Health and Gender Role Ideologoy of Rural Mexican Women” published a couple of years ago in Health Care for Women International does detail the emotional devastation created by such pendejo husbands. You might adore the wab, Asustada, but realize he’s probably just using you and cheating on his chica—and you’re probably not his first sancha, which means he’ll cheat on you, también. It’s The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 14 | April 7, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

Gustavo Arellano

“The only mom that hombres wear around their neck is scapulars of the Virgin of Guadalupe, so ‘Rosa’ is quite obviously the guy’s chica back in the rancho.” as inevitable as Mexicans migrating to el Norte.

Dear Mexican, I recently graduated college and am thinking about doing grad school.

Throughout my college career I played the Hispanic race card for financial aid and a decent internship. Que piensas: should I apply and bet on my average G.P.A. and hope they’ll choose me on my education, or play the race card again and remind them of the low number of Mexican in engineering graduate programs (computer science, in my particular case) along with all the trials and tribulations of La Raza? Espero tu aviso.

— Usando lo que Puedo Dear Using What I Can, I’m going to call bullshit on your

question, and you know why? Too many red banderas. Only Know Nothings capitalize the term la raza when using the term to refer to Mexicans (as opposed to the shorthand used when referring to the National Council on La Raza), and they also make the mistake of conflating “Hispanic” with “race.”

I also refuse to believe that anyone so openly cynical about affirmative action would exploit the very system they decry, since the people I know who are skeptical about the program avoid it altogether on the old-fashioned principle of integrity; you, on the other hand, come off as incredibly selfish at best, pathological at worst. ¿Finalmente?

If you had really played a “Hispanic” hand during college, you would’ve joined the Mexican-American Engineering Society (MAES), the longstanding college organization created to help engineering students such as yourself and get motivated to increase your ranks instead of mock how few of ustedes exist.

But on the off chance you’re legit, though, my advice is to play the affirmative-action card: any college administrator will look at your middling grades and still reject you, Mexican or not, and give the slot to another Mexican who is deserving, affirmative action or not. Game that reality, pendejo.

GOOD MEXICAN OF THE WEEK! Obviously, MAES. We’ll get our Guillermo Gates yet. Learn more at www.maes-natl.org Have a question? Ask the Mexican at themexican@ askamexican.net, be his fan on Facebook, follow him on Twitter or ask him a video question at www.youtube.com/askamexicano!

www.chattanoogapulse.com | April 7, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 14 | The Pulse

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