The Pulse - Vol. 8, Issue 25

The Lost Art of Ghosts Story by Cody Maxwell Photography by Lesha Patterson

FREE • NEWS, VIEWS, MUSIC, FILM, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT • JUNE 23, 2011 • VOLUME 8, ISSUE 25 • WWW.CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

2

The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 25 | June 23, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

Nightfall 2011 - Friday Night!

Michael Kaeshammer

JUNE

23 2011

ontents C

VOLUME 8, ISSUE 25 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

Want to watch a video of this week's Nightfall headliner? Download the FREE "QR Reader" on your smartphone and scan this code.

“While working as a manager at a local apparel store, he took his stimulus check and used every penny on printing 100 shirts of his designs.”

9

— Reginald Owens on fashion designer Mikey Jenny.

“I stood there awhile and he let birds light on his head. His broken concrete hands held up the blessing sign all the time.”

10

— Cody Maxwell on one of the area's pieces of “lost art”.

“The potential for Chattanooga to become a real vanguard of new and experimental music in the region is really strong, and I hope things like this will encourage a larger community of people who are experimenting outside the norms.”

20

— New Dischord Festival organizer Tim Hinck.

“Super 8 is a return to the films of my youth, a summer blockbuster with more than simply special effects and super stars. Super 8 is the heart of American cinema.”

26

—Film critic John DeVore on JJ Abrams' latest film.

Cover photo by Lesha Patterson

www.chattanoogapulse.com | June 23, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 25 | The Pulse

3

NEWS Chattanooga’s Weekly Alternative President Jim Brewer, II Publisher Zachary Cooper Contributing Editor Janis Hashe News Editor / Layout 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 Photography / Videography Josh Lang Contributors Gustavo Arellano, Rob Brezsny Chuck Crowder, John DeVore Janis Hashe, Matt Jones Louis Lee, Kelly Lockhart, Cody Maxwell, Reginald Owens Ernie Paik, Lesha Patterson Alex Teach Editorial Cartoonist Rick Baldwin Editorial Intern Lauren Haynes 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.

4

Pulse Beats

"Q"

Calling All Graphic Designers and Artists!

The Pulse will be publishing our 8th Annual State of The Arts issue on August 25. We are inviting artists and designers to submit artwork for consideration to be featured on our promotional poster and on the cover of The State of the Arts issue.

Each year, this issue focuses on the visual and performing arts in Chattanooga. We concentrate on topics ranging from leadership within arts organizations to emerging artists and their work along with seasonal announcements of the 2011-2012 schedule of exhibits, openings and performances.

Deadline for entry is Sunday, July 10.

The work can be in whatever medium you chose, but must be submitted as a digital image. The work must be suitable for printing on two separate formats—the cover of The Pulse on the annual State of The Arts issue and on promotional posters that will announce the issue publishing date.

Following are the important details submissions must adhere to:

The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 25 | June 23, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

“There were times when groups of juveniles would begin to run, causing the crowd to shift quickly, at times running out into traffic.”

— Chattanooga Police public information officer Sgt. Jeri Weary on the traffic nightmare downtown at Saturday’s Riverbend Festival-ending fireworks.

Dimensions of the pulse cover and promotional poster: • The Pulse cover art: 10.63” High X 10.626” Wide • Promotional Poster: 11” High X 17” Wide File specifications: The images must be at a resolution no less than 300 dpi.

The file that contains the artwork should be no larger than 30 MB to ensure delivery via email.

Along with being featured on the issue cover and the promotional poster, the winning design will be shown at the State of The Arts Preview Party being held at Warehouse Row on July 21. The winning artist will also be invited to show other works along with our selected group of exhibiting artists at the event.

Send your entries via email to art@chattanoogapulse.com. For examples of prior cover art and posters, visit the Pulse Blog on our website at www.chattanoogapulse. com.

Good luck!

News Briefs • The Tennessee Valley Authority has received a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to bring fuel to the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant for use in the Unit 2 reactor now under construction. The license allows TVA to receive, inspect and store new nuclear fuel at the site for Unit 2, which is scheduled to come online next year. “Receiving the license that permits delivery of new fuel is an important milestone for TVA,” said Dave Stinson, TVA vice president of Watts Bar Unit 2. “Having fuel ready to load into the new unit is critical as we approach the last year of construction.” This license—one of many that are required for the construction and operation of a nuclear power plant—allows the plant to take possession of “special nuclear material,” which includes fuel for the plant.

• Could you imagine US 127 up Signal Mountain being closed down for two years?

That’s the scenario painted by Tennessee Department of Transportation Chief John Schroer. Additionally, he said the cost of rebuilding the road could hit $100 million dollars. TDOT feels the number of rock slides every year that close the road make it necessary to consider alternatives, such as rebuilding the highway. It will take three to four months to study the plan, which has been met with some skepticism by local government leaders and elected officials.

NEWS

Opinion

School Board Shenanigans Mr. Smith was aware and understood the [school] board’s policy that the person in the Interim Superintendent position would not assume the Superintendent’s position, prior to accepting the interim position. I am concerned about the veracity of the board.

It appears there has been manipulation of this policy for a predetermined outcome.

K. Mahn Chuck Crowder & Guns Hey Chuck, what a arrogant piece of garbage you are for attacking your dad for owning a gun. Read the recent article where the lady was killed violently by her attacker in East Ridge. If she had a gun then she would be alive today. Your article is nothing more than brainwashing by you who uses this media to misinform the public. Your last paragraph says a lot about you and that you are nothing more than a coward.

Paul Kersey A friend of mine had a client that was an older woman. She got the holy crap beaten out of her five times when she was going from her house to her car. After the fifth time, she bought a gun. She shot the next guy that came after her and killed him. She

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.

was in her 60’s at the time. That was the last time she was a victim of violent crime, attempted or completed.

Kate I read the latest column by Chuck blasting his father for owning a gun. [The Pulse] should be ashamed for having this

anti-second amendment writer on your staff since he’s brainwashing those who might want gun for self-protection. I went to school with Chuck and always thought of him as a person with honor, but reading his latest column I now think of him as a arrogant piece of garbage for blasting his father. Chuck claims that crime doesn’t exist in the Hixson area and that no one should be allowed to carry a gun for self protection in the various establishments in this area. Actually crime does happen in this area more than Chuck lets on.

Major Cut The only thing that Chuck’s dad had a problem with was getting his age wrong.

The entire Crowder family and relatives have the innate ability to read written or spoken words and find humor in them.

You can’t take life so seriously or you will be a very miserable person. I think that it is a compliment to Chuck that he and his dad have that type of relationship. Chuck is a very caring and compassionate person and wouldn’t wish harm on anyone. I could almost bet that any person above the age of 50 got a huge laugh over this article.

Chuck’s Aunt Kay www.chattanoogapulse.com | June 23, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 25 | The Pulse

5

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, June 28 meeting of the Chattanooga City Council.

7. Resolutions: a) A resolution authorizing the Chief of Police to apply for and, if awarded, accept a grant from the Fire House Subs Public Safety Foundation in the amount of $15,000.00 for the purchase of patrol rifle mounts for 50 patrol vehicles.

Fire House Subs, founded by a pair of firefighters, has taken its public-safety heritage to heart with the creation six years ago of the Public Safety Foundation, which was designed to support fire and police services.

Considering the ongoing budget debates in the city, donations such as the above are quite welcome.

Fire House Subs founders Robin and Chris Sorensen make the goals of their foundation clear: “Our local heroes need to be prepared at a moment’s notice to protect and save lives. Many first responders are forced to make do with older equipment and have limited access or no access to available resources. Our goal is to ensure that we are able to impact local communities by providing fire departments, law enforcement and EMS with the tools, technology and training they need.”

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

6

• It’s never nice to steal, but especially annoying when people are caught stealing from those in need or just trying to pay their bills. The co-owner and a manager of a Dalton package-delivery store were arrested and charged with theft. The two were accused of stealing Target gift cards being shipped through their store to tornado victims in Tuscaloosa, AL. The pair is also accused of stealing cash rent payments left at the store by tenants. Dalton police are still investigating and think there may be other victims. They ask that if anyone has any information on these two or knows of other victims, please call the Dalton Police Department.

• One of the better “right place at the right time” stories turns into a “what were you thinking” story. One Chattanooga landmark cruise ship has another to thank for saving it from burning. Last Thursday, as the River Gorge Explorer from the Tennessee Aquarium was out along the Tennessee River, Captain Pete Hoeman noticed smoke.

It was coming from the Chattanooga Star, a paddlewheeler that used to ply the river with tourists aboard. The “Star” was on fire, so Hoseman pulled alongside and then he and his crew fought the fire, preventing the total destruction of the tour boat. For the last few years, the “Star” has been the home for its owner, who wasn’t on board when

The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 25 | June 23, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

the fire started. That’s where the story turns odd. As he was explaining to fire and police investigators what had happened, his girlfriend—who lived with him on the boat—arrived at the scene in what officers describe as a “highly intoxicated” state. To make matters even worse, she expressed her displeasure with the situation by smacking her boyfriend in the back of the head in full view of investigators. Who promptly took her into custody for public intoxication and domestic assault. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

• One of the most effective law-enforcement tools is the “saturation”, in which officers from multiple department team up and focus on one specific area of town. A warrant operation conducted last week yielded highly productive results (for law enforcement if not for the criminally minded). Officers from several area law-enforcement agencies collaborated to conduct the warrant operation that produced 19 arrests, 33 warrants and seven gang-related arrests. The operation was conducted to execute outstanding warrants and locate violent offenders. Police officials said they appreciate the assistance of the FBI, TBI, ICE, ATF, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department, East Ridge Police Department, US Marshall’s Service, and the Chattanooga Housing Authority in the warrant sweep.

• And if you ever wanted to get a great deal at a criminal’s expense, and help out law enforcement at the same time, have we got a deal for you. Or rather, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office has a deal for you. They will auction vehicles and surplus and seized property this Saturday, June 25, at the Fleet Garage at 2150 Blythe Avenue. The sale begins at 10 a.m. and will consist of approximately 25 vehicles and hundreds of items, including electronics, tools, jewelry and others too numerous to mention. There will be no firearms in the sale, however. The list of vehicles in the auction includes a 2003 Audi A8, 2003 BMW 745LI, 2003 Hyundai, 2002 Mercedes C23D, and a 2006 Infinity G-35.

All items in the auction are “as is” and will be sold to the highest bidder. Terms are cash or pre-approved check. The BCSO fleet garage is located approximately a block from the Judicial Center on Blythe Avenue.

www.chattanoogapulse.com | June 23, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 25 | The Pulse

7

8

The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 25 | June 23, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

OPINION

Beyond The Headlines

Dreaming Down to a T

By Reginald Owens, Pulse Contributing Writer

M

any fashion designers can tell a sort of rags-to riches-tale. Mikey Jenny’s story will be no different. Born in a small town in North Carolina, the 27-year-old Jenny has spent his last dime pursuing his aspirations. While his mother lives in Columbus, GA and his father here in Chattanooga, he’s been to both ends of the country chasing pavements. His brand, ExeCUTE Clothing, has even left him occasionally homeless.

The beginning of Jenny’s adventure is misleadingly normal. It started with him doodling in class when he was supposed to be taking notes.

“I’ve been doing graphic art since I was in high school,” says Jenny. “I eventually started cutting out stencils, then I’d spray them onto signs and walls everywhere.”

From the doodling came bigger and better ideas. Jenny tired of the fashion norm, and found himself looking for something to identify with. He took a liking to rock band T-shirts.

cess of creating his own line of shirts and narrowing down a lasting logo. He had a few misfires— but the winning shot came off the hip. In late 2008, Jenny decided to meddle with his page on the then mega-popular MySpace. He set the self-timer on the camera and took a picture with his hands behind his back and a shirt over his head as if he was a victim of an old-school execution. Then, he manually placed the focus word “execute” on the picture next to his head.

“My friend had left one of his written scripts at my house, and I scribbled some of the words out and put the script in the background of my picture,” says Jenny. “One of the lines happened to land on the word ‘cute’. When I realized the word ‘cute’ was in the word ‘execute’, I left it there and changed my name on MySpace to exeCUTE.” Jenny had his idea, but didn’t have enough money to back it. While working as a manager at a local apparel store, he took his stimulus check and used every penny on printing 100 shirts of his designs.

“I was selling them at [the store] when I wasn’t supposed to for like $15 or even $5 if they didn’t have much,” says Jenny.

Naturally, he was fired soon after and began living off unemployment checks. He continued to spread the word about his clothing line, selling his shirts at every possible local rock concert. From this constant show-hopping, Jenny landed his shirts on bands like Dr. Acula, Atilla,

“While working as a manager at a local apparel store, he took his stimulus check and used every penny on printing 100 shirts of his designs.”

“I was that guy that wore band T-shirts every single day.

But I wore them because I love music and I love the graphics that were always on them,” says Jenny. “So I made a clothing line because I wanted to make something where anybody that appreciated the graphics could wear the shirt without having to represent a specific band.”

Following this concept, he dove into the creative pro-

Chelsea Grin, and Execute the Sinner. He even got Soulja Boy’s rap group SOD Money Gang to sport his shirts in one of their photo shoots.

Bands began to request Jenny to create a shirt for their music group, which was right up his alley.

Eventually, Jenny decided he had to travel in order to spread his name more. His next adventure involved a gig in California selling ADT alarm systems door-to-door. With $300 in his bank account, Jenny brought a $280 plane ticket and flew to the West Coast. Figuring he could work a job while getting his T-shirts spread throughout California, the leap of faith only seemed right. But the job thing didn’t go as planned.

“I never made a sale,” says Jenny.

“One day while my roommate was in the bathroom, I packed all my stuff together and just ran out of the building. I was stuck. I had no money, and my governmentissued phone had stopped working.”

After a complicated transaction of emailing his mother on gmail, getting her to call a nearby pay phone, talking her into purchasing a ticket to fly back home, and catching four or five buses to the airport to arrive 30 minutes before the flight, Jenny has recently settled back in Chattanooga.

Still cranking out shirts, he currently has his product in local boutique Zombi Candi and is working on getting ExeCUTE clothing into other retailers stores as well. So, the second part of this rags-to-riches story is coming soon— and we’ll be waiting.

To see exeCUTE designs, visit www.exeCUTEclothing.com

www.chattanoogapulse.com | June 23, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 25 | The Pulse

9

COVER STORY

Forgotten Places, Lost Art

The Lost Art of Ghosts Story by Cody Maxwell • Photography by Lesha Patterson

T his is a story about art. Not big-city museum art or coffeeshop hipster art. Not even Grandma Moses. Those

things are either admired or laughed at as each of us sees fit. This pile of words concerns roadside things that occasionally appear along backroads and in old, beat-up places.

Behind churches and by-the-week motel yards. Carved tree trunks and concrete Jesuses—stupid things.

10

The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 25 | June 23, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

It’s a strange story.

Let’s go to this dirt hill in Columbine, Colorado, by way of explanation. This dirt hill is the same as a lot of dirt hills around here. Rebel Hill, it’s called—we can relate to that.

It overlooks the high school there and sneaky kids sneak up there to tell spooky ghost stories at night. You know how kids can be, and it is a haunted place.

COVER STORY

Forgotten Places, Lost Art

The sky glows grey and orange behind the hill and the sky is vast in Colorado.

Around 11 a.m. on April 20, 1999, two boys carried backpacks full of guns and homemade bombs into the high school that stood in the shadow of Rebel Hill. In a little more than an hour, the two boys murdered 12 other children, then committed suicide in the library.

Outside there were cops, television reporters and helicopters in the sky. It was all a bloody mess.

The TV said there were dead children scattered everywhere.

Why? Nobody knew.

Later, there were rumors of two awkward boys and football team bullies. But that was silly.

We wanted to know why these two children did this. How could two awkward young boys murder all those other children? What was wrong with them? The boys were made fun of, tormented and cast out. So what? Lots of people are.

They were beat up and spit on. Humiliated and laughed at. Well, that’s just boys being boys. Teachers condoned it all and parents turned blind eyes. So. One of them once had a paper cup full of shit thrown on him at school. That’s not the same.

That’s not killing someone.

It was all inexplicable.

A few days later a man named Greg Zanis came to Columbine to build crosses to memorialize the dead children. The crosses were built from hardware-store fence posts and he painted them white. He wrote the name of each dead child on separate crosses and planted all of them atop Rebel Hill. He did this at night so no one would see. A hundred thousand visitors came to see the crosses in the days that followed. They left flowers and sad mementos.

Brian Rohrbough, a father of one of the dead children, didn’t like what Greg Zanis had done. He too climbed Rebel Hill and wrote on one of the crosses: MURDERERS BURN IN HELL. EVIL BASTARD was written on another. Two of these children were “evil,” Brian explained, and that’s why this tragedy had happened. These “evil” children had no place among the oth-

ers, who were angels. Innocent people agreed with him. Those who disagreed with him were also called “evil.”

Later, seeing that he’d created a bit of a stir, Brian phoned CNN and told them to bring a camera crew. He marched up Rebel Hill again with the cameras close behind him. Other innocent people followed, too. Brian further desecrated those two crosses. He swore at them, pulled them down and tore them into pieces. He explained that the dead children represented by these two crosses didn’t deserve remembrance.

God could not accept them.

These two children were full of hate, Brian said, not love. He threw their desecrated crosses in a dumpster.

Brian Rohrbough later became a spokesman. He speaks about terrible things, about all of us. He says you are morally corrupt. He says your children are killed because God is not in our schools. TV shows interview him and he speaks to us about terrible things. You’ve moved away from God, he says.

Suicide has become acceptable when it shouldn’t be. Jack Kevorkian was evil, too. Brian speaks about how pro-life God is.

Let’s come back to Chattanooga now. Columbine is not a place I want to stay too long—just wanted to let you know where I’m coming from. Let’s go out to Ooltewah, right down the road. A place called Summitt. I used to ride around out there with Malcolm Witherow when I was a boy.

Malcolm you may have heard of—he was the black man recently convicted of first-degree murder for shooting an old white girlfriend in 2008. Word is she wore a wire for the cops trying to bust Malcolm selling the dope she smoked. They said they found her lAying dead in the middle of some dark country backroad. She didn’t deserve to die the way she did. Nobody deserves to die like that. She did the right thing working with the cops and Malcolm will die in prison. Most people say he deserves to.

But Malcolm had a golden smile and a deep laugh. This was 20 years before that girl was killed. He drove an old pick-up

“I stood there awhile and he let birds light on his head.

His broken concrete hands held up the blessing sign all the time.”

www.chattanoogapulse.com | June 23, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 25 | The Pulse

11

COVER STORY

Forgotten Places, Lost Art

truck and he’d do concrete work back then.

He did whatever else he could, too, to get by.

I rode shotgun in the middle one day with the four-in-the-floor gearshift slamming against my left leg. It was a hot August day and the windows were down. Malcolm was driving and my old man was on my right, hollering over the antenna radio. We curved around past trailer parks and fenced-in livestock. Mick Jagger sang “Jumping Jack Flash” on the radio while Malcolm and my old man threw empty beer cans out the windows and into the ditches.

We stopped by this old graveyard out there. Malcolm wanted to. We got out and I followed them through there. The graveyard was overgrown and vile. Small pine trees and weeds had grown up everywhere.

Dead mothers and siblings rotted under the ground and the county landfill was nearby. You could smell the dump and a pig farm across the road. Rats and rabbits crawled through the grass. Buzzing bugs flew by and the sun was hot.

Malcolm had family buried there. My old man went with him and they talked like men do. The weather, the dry yellow grass, the cemetery’s upkeep and the county’s plan to close down the dump. They laughed some.

Drank the beer they’d brought with them.

Talked about who they knew buried in some of the other graves. Didn’t talk about anybody being sad, though. That’s not what men do.

I wandered off. That’s what boys do and I was a boy. The dry grass crunched under my feet. They hollered after me to watch out for snakes.

I walked past knocked-over tombstones.

Old names appeared out of the blackberry bushes. Some of them appeared on fancy crooked marble markers. Some of them just said last names and that God loved them.

Some of them had young babies’ names. I saw a cement brick with “MOTHER” handcarved into it. There were places that were nothing more than unholy indentations in

the ground and I was afraid to step over them.

Black crows squawked. Dump trucks poured over the road and I could smell the garbage at the landfill. Bugs buzzed in the air.

I looked up toward the middle of the graveyard and an old Jesus statue was there.

The statue’s hands reached out to bless the dead but his concrete fingers were broken off. I looked up at his face. Old Jesus. His head didn’t move but his eyes could see.

He looked at me but didn’t say anything. I stood there awhile and he let birds light on his head. His broken concrete hands held up the blessing sign all the time.

He looked across the cracked grass and watched the blackberries choke all those marble gravestones. Sinkholes in the bushes mark the spot where women were buried. Some chunked-up piles of red dirt just had rocks around them—those dead were nameless.

They were all paupers’ graves. Mothers, some of them, but paupers still—nobody was supposed to remember them. These were supposed to be people whose living family didn’t give a damn about them. Not enough for anyone to come and mow the grass, anyway. They were all in the hands of the Lord, according to some of the tombstones.

A sudden loud crack startled me and I ran back to where Malcolm and my old man were. A long black and green snake was writhing into itself on the ground in front of them. Malcolm had shot it. My old man said it was only a chicken snake and told Malcolm he should have left it alone. “You’re crazy,” my old man said. “Somebody’s calling the cops right now. Put the g****m gun back up and let’s go.”

Malcolm said he’d kill any snake that crossed his path.

But that was a long time ago, and I was a boy then.

We’re not boys anymore. We’re past the age of those Columbine boys and I was a young kid when I rode around with Mal-

“Moss and old tree bark hung on to the back of her wings. But her eyes seemed to damn anybody that looked at her.”

12

The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 25 | June 23, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

COVER STORY

Forgotten Places, Lost Art

colm. I’ve got a boy of my own now and he rides with me.

His name’s Simon. Madcap’s his name in our secret club, but don’t tell anybody. One of the duties of our secret club is to hunt out the places ghosts may be hiding. That’s the mission Simon and I were on the other day.

We rode around the backside of Lookout Mountain and through Tiftonia.

Tiftonia is another one of those halfdead towns still percolating because of a super Wal-Mart.

Dead motels and kudzu line the main road through there. There are as many “For Rent” sign in storefront windows as there are windows with “Open” signs flashing. It’s about two miles worth of a town. Old scratchedup and fading signs invited us to visit Raccoon Mountain and the Alpine Slide. Simon wanted to go, so we went.

We soon learned that Raccoon Mountain is an RV park with a cave in the back. The Alpine Slide was closed years ago when a newly developed subdivision out there complained about the noise. You can see a private golf course through the trees there. It’s part of the subdivision that didn’t like the noise the Alpine Slide made.

On the way back out, we stopped at an old motel at the top of the road there. It was called the Alpine Lodge. A sign out front advertised “Color RCA TVs”. On the outside walls of the motel were hand-painted scenes of eagles flying over mountains or perched in great big trees. Undying plastic flowers were in pots everywhere. Bright red, yellow, orange and blue. I didn’t see any cars there, so I pulled in.

The man thought so. He said that a long time ago, Tiftonia wanted to offer something to the thousands of tourists who visit the big attractions on the mountain every year. Ruby Falls, Rock City and all those places. Tiftonia built the motels, put the Alpine Slide up outside the Raccoon Mountain cave and restaurants suddenly appeared. The man who created the Alpine Lodge and all the paintings and carvings there was one of those people who believed the town would build itself up that way. But it never happened. Nobody came.

“They were hoping too much,” he smiled.

His brother-in-law planned to sell the place soon. “It’s two acres. Someone could doze everything down and build eight houses here. It’s nice property.”

I told him I didn’t have any money and he laughed. I asked him if Simon and I could look around a little before we left. He didn’t mind and went back inside.

Simon was out in the grass wandering around.

He followed me to a gazebo that was further up the hill. It was at the edge of the property near the woods. I sat there with all the big plastic flowers hanging in pots and looked down at the owl-face woman with angel wings still accusing me.

Simon couldn’t stay still. He said this was the perfect place for ghosts. He pointed his finger toward the woods and said he knew there were ghosts hiding in there. He said he was going to find them. I told him to go ahead but don’t go too far.

Watch for snakes.

“He pointed his finger toward the woods and said he knew there were ghosts hiding in there.

He said he was going to find them.”

Around back Simon said, “Look at that.”

I parked the car. We got out and I saw it.

There was a figure carved from a cedar tree that once stood there. The figure was a lifesized owl-faced woman with angel wings.

Beady eyes and a hook nose stared down accusingly and angel wings were folded at her side. Her feet grew into what was left of the cedar trunk. Moss and old tree bark hung on to the back of her wings. But her eyes seemed to damn anybody that looked at her.

A man came out of the motel office’s back door. He walked toward us. I waved hello and he nodded toward me. When he came closer I saw he was an older Middle Eastern man. He asked us what we needed and Simon stood close behind me. I told him we were curious about the statue.

He didn’t know anything about it. It was there when his brother-in-law bought the place, he said.

He didn’t know who carved it.

I told him it was a strange statue to be in a motel’s back yard. I wondered if the same person who carved this weird angel did all the paintings on the outside of the buildings, too.

www.chattanoogapulse.com | June 23, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 25 | The Pulse

13

ARTS

Feature

Rent Blows the Roof Off the Circle Stage

By Janis Hashe, Pulse Contributing Editor

O

f course it is the stuff of which drama itself is made—Jonathan Larson, the auteur of Rent—collapsed and died the night before the Off-Broadway premiere of the work that would make him immortal. He received three posthumous Tony Awards and a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for drama—but what theatre–lovers can’t help asking themselves is “What if? What would we now have from the creative spirit of Jonathan Larson?”

And yet—Larson himself might well be laughing at the cosmic joke.

The whole point of his rock-opera masterpiece, as expressed in the duet “Another Day”, is that we have only the moment we’re in—so make the best of it: There is no future There is no past I live this moment As my last

“Everything works—the direction, the design and most of all, the commitment from the 20plus cast members.”

No other road No other way No day but today The glorious production of Rent now on the Chattanooga Theatre Centre’s Circle Stage is, if not the best, certainly one of the top three best productions I’ve ever seen at the CTC. Everything works—the direction, the design and most of all, the commitment from the 20-plus cast members, who hurl them-

14

The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 25 | June 23, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

selves into the songs and staging with all the vitality of their youth and talent.

As many know, Larson based Rent closely on Puccini’s La Boheme. But the soul of the work is pure 1990s New York. Some of the characters dream of, and sing about, moving to Santa Fe and opening a restaurant, but, as they ruefully admit, New York is the center of the universe, at least of theirs. Rent captures a time in that city, just as La Boheme captures a time in Paris.

Scott Dunlap, who not only directs, but designed the set, costumes and lighting, lets audiences know immediately that we are back in that time. The “Keith Haring” designs on the floor, the band stuffed in a graffiti’d “subway station”, the costume colors—we’re there, and thrilled to be so. This production is truly the best use of Dunlap’s multiple talents I’ve seen so far.

Props also to sound designer Paul Hughes, who had the difficult task of making music and voices work in the three-quarter staging of the Circle.

In a uniformly strong cast, some really deserve to be singled out. One mark of an outstanding, as opposed to simply good, production, are performances in smaller roles. Brock Ward as “The Squeegee Guy” (and others) is hilarious. Hannah Parke, a recent CCA graduate, has marvelous smarmy élan as Alexi Darling. And for my money,

ARTS

Feature

“But for pure boffo, socksknocking theatre mojo, Terrance Wright (Tom) and Andrew Chauncey (Angel) dominate every moment they are onstage.” show that shows people of all colors and all sexual identities in their life-affirming variety.

As a work of art, Rent is not perfect. The second act, despite opening with the show’s most famous song, “Seasons of Love”, beautifully sung by the cast, has, as so many works by young playwrights do, trouble sustaining the momentum of the first. The character’s Mimi’s miraculous recovery from near-death strikes, for this viewer, a rare false note. But the cast ramps it up for the finale, and the audience is left with no choice but to give them Sonia Rippe as Mark‘s Mom (and others) hits the But for pure boffo, socks-knocking theatre a well-deserved standing ovation. parental nasal nail on the head with her perpetually mojo, Terrance Wright (Tom Collins) and Andrew Take my word for it, folks. Make your reservaChauncey (Angel) dominate every moment they tions now to see this one, as it will undoubtedly sell unanswered voicemail messages.

Among the leads, Thaddeus Taylor has the dif- are onstage. It’s pure magic that they play the un- out. The song says it best: No day like today. ficult job of being the “Larson” character and he likely university professor/drag queen couple, since Rent rises to the occasion. His voice is ideal for the role, both of them have stage presence in spades and $18 8 p.m. and he perfectly captures the physicality of the fabulous voices. Chauncey’s solo “Today 4 You” Fridays and Saturdays through July 16 stops the show in the best Broadway tradition, and nerdy, put-upon-but-principled Mark. His duet Chattanooga Theatre Centre, Circle Stage, with Hayley Graham as Joanne, “Tango: Maureen” their duet “I’ll Cover You” shows chemistry that is 400 River St. (423) 267-8534. delightful and, eventually, very moving. www.theatrecentre.com is a highlight.

Once again, I salute the CTC for producing a

www.chattanoogapulse.com | June 23, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 25 | The Pulse

15

ARTS

Arts & Events Calendar FRIDAY

THURSDAY

A Small Act

(part of AEC’s Back Row Film series) The kindness of a woman in another country has far-reaching effects in Kenya. $10 (includes post-film discussion) 6 p.m.

CreateHere, 55 E. Main St. www.backrowfilms.com

Thursday

Dynamo of Dixie Downtown Tour 10 a.m. Sheraton Read House, 827 Broad St. (423) 228-0448.

In Her Shoes Movie/Lunch 11:30 a.m. Jewish Cultural Center, 5461 N. Terrace Rd. (423) 493-0270. www.jewishchattanooga.com Going Deeper into Between the States 6 p.m. Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View. (423) 266-0944. www.huntermuseum.org AEC Back Row Film Series: A Small Act 6 p.m. Create Here, 55 E. Main St. www.backrowfilms.com Bluff and Bridges Downtown Tour 7 p.m. Walnut Street Bridge, 1 Walnut St. (423) 228-0448.

Mystery of the TV Talk Show 7 p.m. Vaudeville Café, 138 Market St. (423) 517-1839. www.funnydinner.com Lookouts vs. Jacksonville Suns 7:15 p.m. AT&T Field, 201 Power Alley. (423) 267-2208. www.lookouts.com

16

The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 25 | June 23, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

UTC Master Chorale Concert 7:30 p.m. Second Presbyterian Church, 700 Pine St. (423) 425-4601.

Scenic City Comedy Search 8 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233. www.thecomedycatch.com Chattanooga Ghost Tour 8:15 p.m. Walnut Street Bridge, 100 Walnut St. (423) 821-7125. www.chattanoogaghosttours.com

Friday

Dynamo of Dixie Downtown Tour 10 a.m. Sheraton Read House, 827 Broad St. (423) 228-0448. www.chattanoogasidewalktours.com Opening Reception: Denice Bizot 5 p.m. Planet Altered, 48 E. Main St. www.planetaltered.com Born to be Wild 3D 6 p.m. IMAX Theater at the Tennessee Aquarium, 1 Broad St. (800) 265-0695.

Ultimate Wave Tahiti 3D 7 p.m. IMAX Theater at the Tennessee Aquarium, 1 Broad St. (800) 265-0695.

Mystery of Flight 138 7 p.m. Vaudeville Café, 138 Market St. (423) 517-1839. www.funnydinner.com Bluff and Bridges Downtown Tour 7 p.m. Walnut Street Bridge, 1 Walnut St. (423) 228-0448. www.chattanoogasidewalktours.com Lookouts vs. Jacksonville Suns 7:15 p.m. AT&T Field, 201 Power Alley. (423) 267-2208. www.lookouts.com La Llorona: Three Tales 7:30 p.m. Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga, 1918 Union Ave. (423) 987-5141.

James Gregory 7:30 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233. www.thecomedycatch.com Rent 8 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534. www.theatrecentre.com Born to be Wild 3D 8 p.m. IMAX Theater at the Tennessee Aquarium, 1 Broad St. (800) 265-0695. www.tnaqua.org Chattanooga Ghost Tour 8:15 p.m. Walnut Street Bridge, 100 Walnut St. (423) 821-7125. www.chattanoogaghosttours.com Ultimate Wave Tahiti 3D 9 p.m. IMAX Theater at the Tennessee Aquarium, 1 Broad St. (800) 265-0695.

Stand Up Comedy! Johnny Millwater 9:30 p.m. Vaudeville Café, 138 Market St. (423) 517-1839. www.funnydinner.com Vinnie Coppola 10 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233. www.thecomedycatch.com Female Impersonation Show Midnight. Images, 6065 Lee Hwy. (423) 855-8210. www.imagesbar.com

Saturday

“Run for Ringgold” 5k Run/Walk 7 a.m. 5063 Old Alabama Rd. www.active.com Dynamo of Dixie Downtown Tour 10 a.m. Sheraton Read House, 827 Broad St. (423) 228-0448. www.chattanoogasidewalktours.com Brainerd Farmers Market 10 a.m. Grace Episcopal Church, 20 Belvoir Ave. (423) 458-6281.

Denice Bizot: “Looking Out from Lookout”

Gallery opening for sculptor famous for her “shovel heads.”

5 –8 p.m.

Planet Altered, 48 E. Main St. (423) 400-4100. www.planetaltered.com Chattanooga River Market 10 a.m. Tennessee Aquarium, 1 Broad St. (423) 648-2496. www.chattanoogamarket.com 1st Annual ACT-SO Student Showcase 10 a.m. Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library, 1001 Broad St. (423) 757-5310. www.lib.chattanooga.gov Art till Dark Noon. 40 Frazier Ave. (423) 413-8999. www.arttildark.com Georgia Winery Grill & Chill Noon. Georgia Winery, 6469 Battlefield Pklwy., Ringggold.

(706) 937-WINE. www.georgiawines.com Rock City Summer Music Series Noon. Rock City, 1400 Patten Rd. Lookout Mountain, GA. (800) 854-0675. www.seerockcity.com The Great Cobbler Taste-Off 1 p.m. Creative Discovery Museum, 321 Chestnut St. (423) 648-6043. www.cdmfun.org La Llorona: Three Tales 2 p.m. Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga, 1918 Union Ave. (423) 987-5141.

ARTS

Arts & Events Calendar

SATURDAY

Rent

Your chance to see the Tony Award-winning rock opera based on La Boheme. $18 8 p.m.

Chattanooga Theatre Centre, Circle Stage, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534. www.theatrecentre.com Arts Live: Theatre Games 2 p.m. Creative Discovery Museum, 321 Chestnut St. (423) 648-6043. www.cdmfun.org The Great Kiwanis Duck Race 5 p.m. Walnut Street Bridge, 1 Walnut St. www.firstthings.org Mystery at the Nightmare Office Party 5:30 p.m. Vaudeville Café, 138 Market St. (423) 517-1839. www.funnydinner.com Born to be Wild 3D 6 p.m. IMAX Theater at the Tennessee Aquarium, 1 Broad St. (800) 265-0695.

Bluff and Bridges Downtown Tour 7 p.m. Walnut Street Bridge, 1 Walnut St. (423) 228-0448.

Ultimate Wave Tahiti 3D 7 p.m. IMAX Theater at the Tennessee Aquarium, 1 Broad St. (800) 265-0695.

Lookouts vs. Jacksonville Suns 7:15 p.m. AT&T Field, 201 Power Alley. (423) 267-2208. www.lookouts.com James Gregory 7:30, 10 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233. www.thecomedycatch.com

SUNDAY

Dancing with the Stars Chattanooga 8 p.m. Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad St. (423) 757-5050. www.chattanooga.gov Rent 8 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534. www.theatrecentre.com Born to be Wild 3D 8 p.m. IMAX Theater at the Tennessee Aquarium, 1 Broad St. (800) 265-0695. www.tnaqua.org Mystery at the Redneck-Italian Wedding 8 p.m. Vaudeville Café, 138 Market St. (423) 517-1839. www.funnydinner.com Ultimate Wave Tahiti 3D 9 p.m. IMAX Theater at the Tennessee Aquarium, 1 Broad St. (800) 265-0695. www.tnaqua.org Chattanooga Ghost Hunt 9:30 p.m. Patten Chapel, 615 McCallie Ave. (423) 821-7125. www.chattanoogaghosttours.com Stand Up Comedy! Johnny Millwater 10:30 p.m. Vaudeville Café, 138 Market St. (423) 517-1839. www.funnydinner.com Female Impersonation Show Midnight. Images, 6065 Lee Hwy. (423) 855-8210. www.imagesbar.com

Sunday

Dynamo of Dixie Downtown Tour 10 a.m. Sheraton Read House, 827 Broad St. (423) 228-0448. www.chattanoogasidewalktours.com Chattanooga Market 11 a.m. First Tennesee Pavilion, 1826 Reggie White Blvd. www.chattanoogamarket.com

Rock City Summer Music Series Noon. Rock City, 1400 Patten Rd. Lookout Mountain.

(800) 854-0675.

Lookouts vs. Jacksonville Suns 2:15 p.m. AT&T Field, 201 Power Alley. (423) 267-2208. www.lookouts.com Bronco Billy’s Sentence, New Dischord, DJK7, Monica Ellison, student multimedia 3 p.m. The Well/Loose Cannon, 1800 Rossville Ave. www.newdischord.org La Llorona: Three Tales 3 p.m. Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga, 1918 Union Ave. (423) 987-5141.

Bluff and Bridges Downtown Tour 7 p.m. Walnut Street Bridge, 1 Walnut St. (423) 228-0448.

Movie Night 8 p.m. Sluggo’s North Vegetarian Cafe, 501 Cherokee Blvd.

(423) 752-5224.

Monday

Foreign Policy Supper Club 6 p.m. Jewish Cultural Center, 5461 N. Terrace Rd. (423) 493-0270. www.jewishchattanooga.com Bluff and Bridges Downtown Tour 7 p.m. Walnut Street Bridge, 1 Walnut St. (423) 228-0448.

Lookouts vs. Jacksonville Suns 7:15 p.m. AT&T Field, 201 Power Alley. (423) 267-2208. www.lookouts.com

Tuesday

Women’s Night: Cowgirls Don’t Get the Blues 6 p.m. Jewish Cultural Center, 5461 N. Terrace Rd. (423) 493-0270. www.jewishchattanooga.com

Chattanoogins at the Chattanooga Market

Shave your head for kids with cancer with 12-yearold Jack Skowronnek.

Free 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

First Tennessee Pavilion, 1826 Carter St. (423) 648-2496. chattanoogamarket.com

Classic Literature Book Club: The Bridge of San Luis Rey 6 p.m. Pasha Coffee & Tea, 3914 St. Elmo Ave. (423) 432-8579.

Songwriter’s Line-up 7 p.m. The CampHouse, 1427 Williams St. (423) 702-8081. www. thecamphouse.com

Wednesday

Dynamo of Dixie Downtown Tour 10 a.m. Sheraton Read House, 827 Broad St. (423) 228-0448. www.chattanoogasidewalktours.com Main Street Farmers Market 4 p.m. Main St. at Williams St. www.mainstfarmersmarket.com Bluff and Bridges Downtown Tour 7 p.m. Walnut Street Bridge, 1 Walnut St. (423) 228-0448. www.chattanoogasidewalktours.com Joseph Campbell Roundtable: The Seven Spiritual Principles of Superheros 7 p.m. Grace Episcopal Church, The Undercroft, 20 Belvoir Ave. Chattanooga Ghost Tour 8:15 p.m. Walnut Street Bridge, 100 Walnut St. (423) 821-7125. www.chattanoogaghosttours.com www.chattanoogapulse.com | June 23, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 25 | The Pulse

17

18

The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 25 | June 23, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

OPINION

On The Beat

In Good Faith I

was knocked out of sleep by the abrupt sound of an old analog phone with traditional bells for a ringer, real metal-striking-metal that clanged like the apocalypse.

Nothing today compares to those ringers, not even the most fiendish of digital styles that are the modern equivalent of sharp nails down a slate chalkboard. Were I in a rush I’d just say, “I nearly shit the bed when the phone rang,” but I’m neither so hurried nor crude; I had to think though…how did people put up with these for so many years?

No wonder my dad always seemed pissed off.

The thought was still in my head when I answered it to the sound of static (another bygone sound) then a slow-paced, high-pitched voice asked how I was, and apologized for the call. I shuddered when I had the bizarre feeling that I was talking to someone part insect, then dropped the receiver as if discovering it were radioactive about the same time I recognized the voice. Anthony Held. He’d been dead for 11 years.

I hadn’t had this nightmare for ages so I shook it off, sat up on one elbow, and thought, “What the hell?” as I reached down beside the bed and picked the phone up to see what was going on with ol’ Anthony.

You see, I believe in a Hell, folks; not for the traditional reasons—but whatever my logic, I knew it wasn’t every day it dialed you up on the phone.

“Yell-low?” I said cheerfully enough. There was a bit of static, a long buzz, then a carrier tone. Call over.

Hell: Figures it would be so rude as to hang up on me, but what was I expecting from evil incarnate? Certainly not a reliable wake-up call during my next hotel stay.

I hung up, but my hand was empty and the receiver was gone…only my trusty cell phone was there on top of a book. (I reflected on how it was once the stories in books that scared me, but now brought me comfort and sleep). I

Alex Teach

rubbed my eyes, still propped up on one elbow, and thought “Well, shit…” and sat the rest of the way up. There’d be no more sleep now.

Faith. It’s a strange bit.

Have I ever talked with you about it before, loyal reader?

It’s a funny thing for a cop. Some are extremists, using it to shield them from the horror this job can bring.

Others are nihilists and find it easier to believe in “nothing” for the same reason. They’re not necessarily atheists, mind

you; there is a difference.

Atheists piss me off because they spend the majority of their days blathering on about how stupid you are for believing in God and how many ways they can disprove the existence of such... stimulating conversation, each and every time. My response? Get OVER yourselves (or a good “Hey, how about shutting up?”). Really.

I can take apart an old watch, too, but that doesn’t make me a genius because taking the sumbitch apart doesn’t mean I then know how to put it back together.

You see, deconstruction doesn’t make you advanced. It makes you a two-year-old. It’s easy; anyone can do it, and there are few wrong ways to do it.

Quick factoid, though? You are just as annoying as any Baptist or Jehovah’s Witness at my front door, but for the opposite reason.

No…nihilism (my old favorite) is the cold absence of everything, including the need to rattle on about it.

Faith in general, though…the majority of the career-

cops have it because to do this job right, you have to be a believer, and I’m not speaking in a religious sense: You have to believe in “society”, in the concept of the Republic, or you risk slipping into the abyss.

You have to believe you’re doing this for a reason. That’s “faith”, and that’s the fuel that keeps you going when your knees are out, your back is aching, your lungs are screaming for air and your vision is doubled from the heat, and the shirtless kid you’re chasing is still increasing his lead (or, conversely, coming at you head-on with a hammer and knife).

“Faith” is what keeps us from quitting when you land an asshole for a boss, and “faith” makes you move forward when the Sarge isn’t watching over you to ensure such.

Having felt the presence of evil, though…I mean true black-hearted emptiness, like looking into an ocean made entirely of black sharks’ eyes…that helps, too, albeit not with the peaceful dreams. (I’ll tell you later about the guy that runs out of a closet at me. Wow.)

“Having felt the presence of evil, though…I mean true black-hearted emptiness, like looking into an ocean made entirely of black sharks’ eyes…that helps, too, albeit not with the peaceful dreams.”

Faith…it’s a strange thing, but definitely mandatory.

(Pardon me now, though; the phone’s ringing again and I’ve got to take this call.)

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 | June 23, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 25 | The Pulse

19

MUSIC

Feature

Harmony in Dischord

By Ernie Paik, Pulse Music Writer

I

n the Carson McCullers short story “Art and Mr. Mahoney,” a classical music concertgoer suffers disdain and public shame after enthusiastically clapping at the wrong time. But back in Mozart’s time, this wouldn’t have been a big deal—as pianist Robert Levin explained in the documentary series On the Edge, Mozart wrote in a letter about playing a new, custom-written passage for his immediate audience, which resulted in a welcome burst of applause, right in the middle of the movement. All too often, stuffiness and rigidity are associated with classical music today; this wasn’t the case centuries ago, when there wasn’t a large gap between popular and serious culture and even between the performer and the audience.

The Chattanooga new music ensemble New Dischord is striving to tear down barriers for curious listeners to experience and enjoy contemporary classical music, and its adventurous spirit will be manifested in its most ambitious event yet, the three-day New Dischord Festival.

their minds around the sounds that they’re hearing.”

Drawing influence from NYC’s Bang on a Can collective and Bonnaroo founder Ashley Capps’s Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Hinck envisioned the New Dischord Festival as a community event on a smaller scale, with more intimate performances.

Although New Dischord presents music that is often challenging, Hinck has found Chattanooga listeners to be open-minded and receptive.

“A major component of the New Dischord Festival is trying to challenge the Chattanooga audience by having them listen to things they might not necessarily go hear by having it interspersed with things that are more immediately accessible and listenable,” says Hinck.

“There’s a broad mixture of styles… we like music that sits in between genres, that’s hard to classify.”

Over the weekend, Chattanooga will host a wealth of local and regional talent as well as a rare visit from the British duo of saxophonist Trevor Watts and pianist Veryan Weston, known as bold, trailblazing, veteran free improvisers. The Nashville outfit Hands Off Cuba presents fusions of electronica, jazz, and rock, and UTC professor Jonathan McNair composed an original score to be performed with a screening of the silent film Bronco Billy’s Sentence. The festival will also feature some record-spinning from DJK7, student musician workshops, and an avant-garde version of open mic night.

The New Dischord Festival goes beyond music into other

“The potential for Chattanooga to become a real vanguard of new and experimental music in the region is really strong, and I hope things like this will encourage a larger community of people who are experimenting outside the norms.”

“It’s all about getting people who are creating new music in direct contact with the audience and in dialogue with musicians who are playing the music,” says main festival organizer, pianist and composer Tim Hinck. “That sort of environment where the composers themselves have the chance to speak about the music goes a long way in helping the audience wrap

disciplines, as Hinck explains. “I think in our generation, we’re so used to communicating on a visual level that you reach a broader audience with a visual element, which is a great excuse for me to work with all these amazing visual artists that I never would have had a chance to work with before.”

UTC professor Phillip Lewis and his students have prepared a multimedia presentation for the festival, and Susan Creswell will do live painting at one performance; Monica Ellison and Ann Law will accompany the New Dischord ensemble with modern dance.

Hinck’s own composition, Dekacophony, makes its world premiere at the festival; it’s a single-voice chamber opera with elements from pop music and experimental electronic music, sung by baritone Ron Ulen about the disillusionment and meltdown of a high-powered business executive.

“The breakdown happens simultaneously with his re-embracing of his true spirit of creativity; so, it’s a really interesting role since Ron is such a dynamic singer, and he has such control over a huge emotional range when he portrays a character,” says Hinck.

Events like the New Dischord Festival present Chattanooga as a musically diverse and inviting city, going beyond traditional forms and helping to change people’s attitudes toward modern classical music and its possibilities.

“I want to say that the potential for Chattanooga to become a real vanguard of new and experimental music in the region is really strong, and I hope things like this will encourage a larger community of people who are experimenting outside the norms,” says Hinck.

Over the weekend, there will certainly be many memorable, unique performances at the festival, rewarded with an abundance of applause—all of which will be welcomed.

New Dischord Festival June 24-26 www.newdischord.org Trevor Watts and Veryan Weston show: $10 All other events: free admission Friday, June 24 • 6 p.m. - Townsend Atelier (201 W. Main St.): DJK7 and New Dischord • 6 p.m. - Conga Restaurant patio (207 E. Main St.): open-mic performances by experimental musicians • 8 p.m. - Barking Legs Theater (1307

20

The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 25 | June 23, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

Dodds Ave.): Trevor Watts & Veryan Weston Saturday, June 25 • 10 a.m. - The CampHouse (1427 Williams St.): student musician workshops with composers • 2 p.m. - The CampHouse (1427 Williams St.): New Dischord and Hands Off Cuba in concert with Susan Creswell (live painting) and Ann Law (dance) • 8:30 p.m. - Warehouse (201 W. Main

St.): Hands Off Cuba and Dekacophony premiere with Ron Ulen, Aaron Roche, and New Dischord Sunday, June 26 • 3 p.m. - The Well/Loose Cannon (1800 Rossville Ave.): Bronco Billy’s Sentence scored by Jonathan McNair, New Dischord, DJK7, dancer Monica Ellison, and multimedia by students of Phillip Lewis (UTC)

MUSIC

New Music Reviews

Oz Almog & Shantel

Kosher Nostra: Jewish Gangsters Greatest Hits (Essay Recordings)

“It seems to be trying to sell the notion of romanticizing Jewish gangsters.”

Satanized

Technical Virginity

(Damage Rituals/Skin Graft) The Philadelphia quartet Satanized has a dystopian existentialist worldview, and at the risk of sounding like the most insufferable college lecturer ever, this writer would like to explain that it makes complete sense when regarding the band’s musical style. The stance is that, yes, the world is a messed up place, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy yourself, among the disorder, and put some meaning

Italian-American organized crime has undoubtedly become romanticized and mythicized through popular culture, and some of the most notable fictional incarnations are linked with their own distinctive soundtracks, such as Nino Rota’s theme for The Godfather or even Frank Sinatra with The Sopranos. The compilation Kosher Nostra: Jewish Gangsters Greatest Hits, assembled by visual artist Oz Almog and electro-Balkan musician Shantel, arrives with the unusual intention of demonstrating the influence of Jewish organized crime on American musical culture, but instead, it seems to be trying to sell the notion of romanticizing Jewish gangsters, some of whom have already had Hollywood portrayals such as Bugsy Siegel and Dutch Schultz. One angle, though, that is worth examining is proffered by the inclusion of an embellished Ben-Gurion quote in the liner notes, essentially saying that crime and prostitution would be a sign of reaching normality in the Jewish state; for the Jewish-American, normality would translate to assimilation and adoption of cultural tastes, presented on this compilation as a cross-pollination of musical styles.

The album’s concept is a bit flawed in this writer’s mind, even if one ignores the thorny territory of morals and stereotypes, and the “greatest hits” designation is silly, considering the number of obscurities and

novelties included, like Tom Jones singing “My Yiddishe Mamme.” Three tracks (two more than necessary) from Connie Francis’s Sings Jewish Favorites are here, and the most puzzling selection is Chubby Checker’s pale take on “Misirlou”—although many klezmer renditions exist, this has hardly a trace of klezmer, apart from some clarinet notes. Although not particularly earth-shaking, the compilation’s best numbers are primarily the pre-war big band numbers, such as “Yiddisher Charleston” by the Gilt Edged Four and Wilmoth Houdini’s “Black But Sweet” (which has an uncanny resemblance to “Hell” by Squirrel Nut Zippers). At times rousing and entertaining, but equally frustrating, the compilation isn’t quite the iconic soundtrack that it strives to be. — Ernie Paik

into it all. There’s joy to be had, reveling in the mess of it. What this means, sonically, is that Satanized uses sharp, jarring dissonance wherever possible, sometimes lurching along menacingly before exploding into quick mindbending passages with all players tightly bound together. This may not sound like lighthearted, cheery stuff, but the group is far from being overwrought and grim, sporting a sly sense of humor.

The band’s new album, Technical Virginity, currently available on cassette on Damage Rituals and to be released later this year on CD and vinyl on Skin Graft Records, is an ode to backdoor carnality, delivered with a wicked smirk and a tongue-in-cheek gesture. The opener, “One for Asmodeus,” refers to the demon of lust and twisted desire, using a ghostly, synthetic syrup that’s one of the album’s few respites. From then on, listeners never get the

chance to stay in a comfort zone, with rapid, blinding sucker punches and Mahavishnu-oncrack cunning stunts that demonstrate proficiency and rigorousness in a severe way. Guitarist Alex Nagle has a distinct, treble-heavy chrome-spark sonic style, and bassist Evan Lipson has a forceful, insistent attitude with a keenly precise, all-over-the-fretboard delivery.

Drummer Pete Angevine unloads blastbeats and anchors all the schizoid tempo changes effortlessly, and vocalist Andrew Gaspar uses a maniacal sing-speak combination, mostly agitated and downright unhinged on “Pain Is My Barometer,” on which he raves, “Everybody’s doing it, why can’t we do it also?” For fans of aggressive, face-melting avant-rock, it’s an intense, off-kilter concept album about looking for lust in all the wrong places. — Ernie Paik Satanized will play Sluggo’s North (501 Cherokee Blvd.) on June 25. www.chattanoogapulse.com | June 23, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 25 | The Pulse

21

MUSIC

Concert Calendar FRIDAY

THURSDAY

Heypenny, Moonlight Bride, PDA.

Nashville’s Penny alongside Chattanooga’s Bride. $7 9:30 p.m.

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

Thursday

Ben Friberg Trio 7 p.m. Table 2, 232 E. 11th St. (423) 756-8253.

Blues Jam with Rick Rushing 7:30 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260. www.marketstreettavern.com Audience Choice Night 7 p.m. McHale’s Brewhouse, 724 Ashland Ter. (423) 877-2124. www.mchalesbrewhouse.com Open Mic Night 7:30 p.m. The CampHouse, 1427 Williams St. (423) 702-8081. www.thecamphouse.com Catbird Seat 8 p.m. Barking Legs Theatre, 1307 Dodds Ave. (423) 624-5347. www.barkinglegs.org Soul Survivor 8 p.m. The Lounge at The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202. (423) 499-5055.

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

(423) 499-5055.

22

The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 25 | June 23, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

Jonathan Wimpee 9 p.m. The Office, 901 Carter St. (inside Days Inn). www.facebook.com/theofficechatt Jordan Hallquist 9 p.m. Tremont Tavern, 1203 Hixson Pk. (423) 266-1996. www.tremonttavern.com HeyPenny, Moonlight Bride, PDA 9:30 p.m. Rhythm and Brews, 221 Market St. www.rhythm-brews.com

Friday

DJK7 and New Dischord (part of New Dischord Festival) 6 p.m. Townsend Atelier, 201 W. Main St. www.newdischord.org Experimental Open Mic (part of New Dischord Festival) 6 p.m. Conga Restaurant, 207 E. Main St. www.newdischord.org Jimmy Harris 6:30 p.m. The Coconut Room at The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202.

(423) 499-5055.

Strung Like A Horse 7 p.m. Nightfall Concert Series, Miller Plaza. www.nightfallchattanooga.com Faretheewell CD Release Party with Waterfall Wash, 7 p.m. The Warehouse, 412 Market St. www.warehousevenue.com Live DJ Party 7 p.m. McHale’s Brewhouse, 724 Ashland Ter. (423) 877-2124. www.mchalesbrewhouse.com Elk Milk, Behold the Brave, Dead Rabbits 7:30 p.m. The CampHouse, 1427 Williams St. (423) 702-8081. www.thecamphouse.com

Michael Kraeshammer 8 p.m. Nightfall Concert Series, Miller Plaza. www.nightfallchattanooga.com Trevor Watts and Veryan Weston (part of New Dischord Festival) 8 p.m. Barking Legs Theatre, 1307 Dodds Ave. (423) 624-5347. www.barkinglegs.org Martha’s Trouble 8 p.m. Charles & Myrtle’s Coffeehouse, 105 McBrien Rd. (423) 892-4960. www.christunity.org Troy Underwood 8 p.m. Palms Patio at The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202. (423) 499-5055. www.thepalmsathamilton.com Midnight Riders: An Allman Brothers Tribute 9 p.m. Rhythm and Brews, 221 Market St. www.rhythm-brews.com Digital Butter 9 p.m. Raw, 409 Market St. (423) 756-1919. www.myspace.com/jimstriker DJ and Dancing 9 p.m. Spectators, 7804 East Brainerd Rd. (423) 648-6679.

DJ and Dancing 9 p.m. The Lounge at The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202. (423) 499-5055. www.thepalmsathamilton.com Stan Neese 10 p.m. Tremont Tavern, 1203 Hixson Pk. (423) 266-1996. www.tremonttavern.com Dave Dykes Band 10 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260. www.marketstreettavern.com

Michael Kaeshammer, Strung Like A Horse Boogie-woogie and stride piano, plus locals SLAH. Free.

7 p.m. opener, 8 p.m. headliner Nightfall, Miller Plaza, 850 Market St. nightfallchattanooga.com

Karaoke & Dancing 10 p.m. Chattanooga Billiards Club East, 110 Jordan Dr. (423) 499-3883. www.cbcburns.com

Saturday

New Binkley Brothers Noon. Rock City Summer Music Weekends, 1400 Patten Rd., Lookout Mtn. New Dischord, Hands Off Cuba (part of New Dischord Festival) 2 p.m. The CampHouse, 1427 Williams St. www.newdischord.org Jimmy Harris 6:30 p.m. The Coconut Room at The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202.

(423) 499-5055.

Collective Clothing 2 Year Anniversary with Jumbling Towers, Cigarette, Chrome Pony 8 p.m. Collective Warehouse, 4015 Tennessee Ave. (423) 488-0631. www.collectiveclothing.com Chris Proctor 8 p.m. Barking Legs Theatre, 1307 Dodds Ave. (423) 624-5347. www.barkinglegs.org

MUSIC

Concert Calendar

SATURDAY

Chris Proctor

Master of the 12-string guitar. $10 advance, $12 door 7:30 p.m.

Barking Legs Theater, 1307 Dodds Ave. (423) 624-5347. www.barkinglegs.org John Lathim 8 p.m. Charles & Myrtle’s Coffeehouse, 105 McBrien Rd. (423) 892-4960. www.christunity.org Hands Off Cuba, Dekacophony premiere (part of New Dischord Festival) 8:30 p.m. 1427 Williams St. www.newdischord.org Satanized, Shaking Ray Levis, Brain Drain, Rough Rope 9 p.m. Sluggo’s North, 501 Cherokee Blvd. (423) 752-5224.

Mark “Porkchop” Holder 9 p.m. The Office, 901 Carter St. (inside Days Inn). www.facebook.com/theofficechatt The Regulars Band 9 p.m. Raw, 409 Market St. (423) 756-1919. www.myspace.com/jimstriker Flibberty Gibbett 9 p.m. McHale’s Brewhouse, 724 Ashland Ter. (423) 877-2124. www.mchalesbrewhouse.com DJ and Dancing 9 p.m. The Lounge at The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202. (423) 499-5055. www.thepalmsathamilton.com

SUNDAY

Roger Alan Wade 10 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260. www.marketstreettavern.com Bassheads: One Year Anniversary with Wick-It the Instigator 10 p.m. 412 Market Downstairs aka The Bassment, 412 Market St. Mighty Sideshow with Dangerous New Machine and Shutter 10 p.m. Rhythm and Brews, 221 Market St. www.rhythm-brews.com

Sunday

New Binkley Brothers Noon. Rock City Summer Music Weekends, 1400 Patten Rd., Lookout Mtn. New Dischord, DJK7 (part of New Dischord Festival) 3 p.m. The Well/Loose Cannon, 1800 Rossville Ave. www.newdischord.org Free Range Mystics 3 p.m. Pasha Coffee and Tea, 3914 St. Elmo Ave. (423) 475-5482. www.pashacoffeehouse.com Open Mic with Mike McDade 7 p.m. The Office, 901 Carter St. (inside Days Inn). www.facebook.com/theofficechatt Younger Siblings, Dolphin Mouth 8 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400. www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia Star and Micey, Wrong Side of the Tracks 8 p.m. The Honest Pint, 35 Patten Pkwy. (423) 468-4192. www.thehonestpint.com Karaoke with DJ Salt 9:30 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878.

Monday

Old Tyme Players 6 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260. www.marketstreettavern.com Music Mondays 7 p.m. Pasha Coffee and Tea, 3914 St. Elmo Ave. (423) 475-5482. www.pashacoffeehouse.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 Karaoke with DJ Salt 9:30 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878. www.budssportsbar.com

Tuesday

Emery, Oh Sleeper 6:30 p.m. The Warehouse, 412 Market St. www.warehousevenue.com Iven and Alyosha with Allie Moss 9 p.m. Rhythm and Brews, 221 Market St. www.rhythm-brews.com Open Mic with Mike McDade 9 p.m. Tremont Tavern, 1203 Hixson Pk. (423) 266-1996. www.tremonttavern.com Karaoke with DJ Salt 9:30 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878.

Www.budssportsbar.com Street Eaters, Hidden Spots, The OneTimers 10 p.m. Sluggo’s North, 501 Cherokee Blvd. (423) 752-5224.

Find them on Facebook

Emily Lynch

Country meets pop with this singer/songwriter.

Free 12:30 p.m.

Chattanooga Market, First Tennessee Pavilion, 1826 Reggie White Blvd. chattanoogamarket.com

Wednesday

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

(423) 499-5055. www.thepalmsathamilton.com Ben Friberg Trio 7 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260. www.marketstreettavern.com Open Mic Night 8 p.m. Acoustic Café, 61 RBC Dr., Ringgold, Ga. (706) 965-2065. www.ringgoldacoustic.com Prime Cut Trio 8 p.m. The Lounge at The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202. (423) 499-5055. www.thepalmsathamilton.com Children of Spy, Opposite Box, Mythical Motors 9 p.m. The Honest Pint, 35 Patten Pkwy. (423) 468-4192. www.thehonestpint.com DJ ScubaSteve: Jenntastic Wednesdays Open Mic/Karaoke/ Poetry/Comedy/Local Music 9 p.m. Holiday Bowl, 5518 Brainerd Rd. (423) 899-2695. www.holidaybowlbrainerd.com www.chattanoogapulse.com | June 23, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 25 | The Pulse

23

24

The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 25 | June 23, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

OPINION

Life In The ‘Noog

Living Happily Ever After I

’ve been thinking a lot about my life.

With the recent passing of a couple of friends and the discovery of others my age who are very ill, there comes a point in your life when you start to evaluate how you live, what you’ve done with your life and what you plan to do “from now on.”

They say Happiness is the key to leading a healthy life. Those who are truly happy are those crinkly old codgers you see blowing out candles on their 100th birthday cake. And it makes me wonder how I can lead a life that’ll ensure no regrets should the regretful happen sooner than I expect.

Despite a few wrong turns and dead ends I’ve traveled in my time, I can say with only a limited amount of regret that I’ve pretty much lived life on my own terms. I’m in no way a traditionalist. It’s been said more than a few times that I’m a “little off center” in my life choices; but I must say that the way I do things is squarely focused on the never-ending, proverbial “pursuit of happiness.”

Sometimes I look around at those peers who’ve done things “the right way” and feel a little out in left field.

These are the guys who graduated high school, completed college in less than five years, got married to the last sorority girl they dated, took a good job, bought a McMansion on Signal Mountain and now leave work a little early each day to pick up the kids at daycare.

Their weekends are spent aerating the lawn between Little League tournaments and washing the minivan before settling down in the evenings to watch college football on massive big screens in their man cave retreats a few steps downstairs from the family unit. They can’t remember the last time they had sober sex with their wives outside of procreation duties although they think about it often while sipping Mic Ultra’s or MGD 64’s.

That’s just not me. I did all of those things at one point in my life, my midtwenties. About the same time most of those poor saps entered the game. But

Chuck Crowder

“Live life on your own terms. Do what makes you happy.

Throw caution to the cab and have that one more beer. Put down the travel books and actually go.” by age 30, I felt as if I’d compromised my happiness in exchange for a life that would make others a little happier with where I’d ended up. So I got out, and aside from helping raise my beautiful daughter, I’ve never looked back.

I chose a path usually traveled by those who either hadn’t found that life yet, or didn’t want it to begin with. My thirties were spent doing what I love—traveling, seeing live music and having a good time with my friends. I regretted a lot less the choices I made in those years as opposed to my twenties. And I felt a lot better about where I was headed.

One of the things I regretted during those years (that thankfully was taken away from me) was to accept a straight corporate gig. For most of those years, I supported my life’s habits helping toe the bottom line for a company that in the

big scheme of things didn’t care whether I did or not. And now taking on selfemployment in my mid-forties is one of the happiest life choices I’ve ever made.

I also figured out that a good relationship only adds to the party.

Things are much different for my generation, and will be much more so for my daughter’s generation, than those who came before us. My grandparents, and even my parents, put up with a lot of crap without ever considering any sort of exit strategy. In some sort of self-sacrificing way, people just didn’t think about their own happiness when they weighed it against the tonnage of “responsibility.”

And I can’t say with a respectable amount of certainty that any of my lineage were completely happy with the way things turned out in their lives.

The real wake-up call for me was when my presumably healthy father had a heart attack a few years ago. There really wasn’t any conceivable cause outside of possibly pent-up stress and unhappiness that had been crammed down the old ticker for the 30 years he spent at a company, and with a family, that drove him nuts. Since then, he’s gained a much greater perspective oN creating happiness. And we’ve started appreciating his pursuit, as well as him, a lot more.

So without sounding too much like Dr. Rick, all I have to add is that if you are sacrificing your own happiness just to please others, you aren’t doing yourself any favors. Live life on your own terms.

Do what makes you happy. Throw caution to the cab and have that one more beer.

Put down the travel books and actually go. Train for that marathon, and run it. Whatever it is that you’ve always wanted to do, you’d better do it this time around—cause you never know when the sand’s gonna run out in your life’s hourglass.

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. www.chattanoogapulse.com | June 23, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 25 | The Pulse

25

SCREEN

Film Feature

Childhood Revisited in Super 8

By John DeVore, Pulse Film Critic

S

teven Spielberg is the voice of my childhood fantasies.

Nothing spoke more to my 12-year-old self than Jurassic Park. It had everything a young man needs in a film: exciting chase scenes, exotic locations, a sweeping film score by John Williams, and plucky kids with gumption and sass who could stand toe-to-toe with the heroes. On top of that, it had freaking dinosaurs that ate lawyers. Spielberg remains one of my favorite filmmakers, just on the merits of Jurassic Park.

You can tell a Spielberg film solely by the way it looks. Spielberg’s America is all-expanding sky and kids on bikes. Mystery waits around every corner and children stare unblinking into danger.

Though Spielberg may only have a producer credit in Super 8, it is clear that he either had a strong hand in its direction or J.J. Abrams is particularly adept at co-opting his style. Nevertheless, Super 8 is a return to the films of my youth, a summer blockbuster with more than simply special effects and super stars. Super 8 is the heart of American cinema.

rowing train derailment.

The kids witness the accident and are warned that should they speak of what happened, their entire families will be murdered. So naturally, they decide to use footage of the accident in their zombie movie.

There is sweetness to the commitment and ignorance of the children; they continue with their lives as if they hadn’t been nearly killed and in spite of vanishing townspeople and significantly increased military presence. Those of us with children are intensely aware of the baffling ways that children can ignore seemingly major events in favor of minor joys. The kids continue to play until life rudely interrupts with a dangerous reality.

It’s the way that Abrams pulls performances out of the children that sets Super 8 apart from films like The Goonies. The child actors here are all excellent, well coached in realistic reactions and dialogue.

They speak the way children should, peppered with adult language out of context for the sake of sounding grown up. Spielberg always had kids in his films, but most were cast because they were cute rather than because they could act. Abrams knows that cuteness only takes a performance so far and cast kids with real ability. Additionally, Abrams avoided using A-list Hollywood players. It would have been easy to cast a Tom Cruise or a Brad Pitt, hoping to bring in an audience with names rather than quality. But the filmmakers are confident in their movie and allow the cast to tell the story convincingly, without ego or pretense. Abrams, creator of Lost, knows how to tell a story and create suspense.

“Super 8 is a return to the films of my youth, a summer blockbuster with more than simply special effects and super stars.

Super 8 is the heart of American cinema.”

Joe Lamb is 13 years old when he loses his mother in an accident in a steel mill. He is left alone with his father, a local sheriff’s deputy, in a neighborhood filled with kids his own age.

We get the impression that his father doesn’t relate well to Joe because of his own grief, and Joe finds comfort and support in making a zombie film with his friends. The scenes with the young filmmakers could almost be enough to carry a feature film. There is enough character built into the backstory that a fantastic sci-fi adventure might have been extraneous in less capable hands. Strange things begin to happen after a har-

26

The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 25 | June 23, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

Spielberg does too. The collaboration is evident in nearly every aspect of the film and it works well.

While I haven’t yet seen everything yet, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Super 8 is the film of the summer. It has original material, a great story and a wonderful cast. Sequels and reboots will never be as interesting or entertaining as a film like this. In this movie, we are allowed to not know what happens next. We don’t know the characters, we don’t know their backstory, and we don’t know the actors. One of the best parts of watching a movie is discovering the unknown alongside the characters. Comic-book movies are at their core inferior simply because most of us already know the players. It’s all winks and nods and inside jokes. Sequels rehash the old. While rollicking sci-fi and adventurous kids aren’t necessarily new, this film retells without revealing. Super 8 might not be an Oscar-worthy film, but it’s a film that defines what summer movies should look like. It is what popcorn movies should strive for.

Super 8 Directed by J.J Abrams Starring Joel Courtney, Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning Rated PG-13 Running time: 1 hour 52 minutes

SCREEN

New In Theaters

Vroom Vroom Part Two

Cars 2 Lightning McQueen, pit boss Mater, and the rest of Lightning’s crew enter the Race of Champions, a multinational event taking place in Japan, Germany, Italy, France and England. As an animation studio, Pixar has a perfect record. Every film of theirs has opened on top of the box office, and every one has made at least $160,000,000 in the U.S. And while Cars may have had the least critical acclaim of the Pixar movies, it still contained all the Pixar touchstones: animation so good you forget about how good it is, a story that captures the imagination of children and adults, and voice acting that fits the characters instead of the other way around. And it’s not like Pixar is unfamiliar with sequels, coming off the massive success of Toy Story 3. So what’s with the negative buzz among certain critics and online websites? The only explanation is that the blue-collar appeal of Larry the Cable Guy somehow doesn’t connect with some critics, yet it’s highly doubtful mainstream audiences will care one way or the other. After all, what’s not to like about a loveable talking tow truck?

Starrring Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Caine Directed by John Lasseter & Brad Lewis

Bad Teacher Dumped by her sugar daddy, an unsaintly schoolteacher targets one of her colleagues as her next lover—a plan that pits her against a popular co-worker.

Cameron Diaz is obviously working the “make R-rated movies to rejuvenate a flat career” angle, and while we can’t wait to see her in the Gambit remake being done by the Coen brothers, this highschool farce seems a bit forced. Director Jake Kasden helmed both Walk Hard and Orange County, which had their moments, and screenwriters Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky did wonders writing for The Office but stumbled on their first big-screen outing, the abysmal Year One. However, even if the humor seems forced at times (and Justin Timberlake seems strangely disconnected from his character), there is an audience for Rrated comedies, as evidenced by the recent success of The Hangover 2. And let’s face it, a crazy Cameron Diaz can be quite entertaining.

Directed by Jake Kasdan Starring Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel, Justin Timberlake A Better Life A gardener in East L.A. struggles to keep his son away from gangs and immigration agents while trying to give his son the opportunities he never had. In the midst of the summer blockbuster season comes this quiet film that packs an emotional punch perfect for those tired of mindless action, aliens and comic-book superheroes. Director Chris Weitz likewise takes a break from big-budget fantasy epics—he helmed both The Golden Compass and New Moon— to tell an intensely personal drama. Demian Bichir, who was last seen as Fidel Castro in Steven Soderbergh’s grand Che, brings a real-life take to a difficult role that may quietly build awards buzz once all the summer big-budget histrionics are forgotten.

Starring Demián Bichir, José Julián Directed by Chris Weitz www.chattanoogapulse.com | June 23, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 25 | The Pulse

27

ENTERTAINMENT

Free Will Astrology

CANCER (June 21-July 22): A company that manufactures processed food made a promotional offer: If you purchased ten of its products, it would give you 500 frequent flyer miles. An American man named David Philips took maximum advantage. He bought 12,150 pudding cups for $3,000, earning himself more than a million frequent flyer miles— enough to fly to Europe and back 31 times. This is the kind of legal trick you’re now in a good position to pull off, Cancerian. So brainstorm freely, please: How could you play the system, outwit the matrix, rage against the machine, or subvert the Man? No need to break any laws; the best gambit will be an ethical one.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): While watching fast-talking politicians talk on TV, my Polish grand-uncle would sometimes mutter, Zlotem pisal, a gownem zapieczetowal. I only learned what those words meant when I turned 18 and he decided I was old enough to know the translation: “written in gold and sealed with crap.” One of your interesting assignments in the coming weeks, Leo, will be to identify anything that fits that description in your own life. Once you’ve done that, you can get started on the next task, which should be rather fun: Expose the discrepancy, and clean up the mess.

Solution To Last Week's Crossword

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Years ago I did a book tour that brought me to Eugene, Oregon, where my sister and her husband and their daughter live. They came to my reading at a bookstore. My Virgo niece Jasper was seven years old at the time. I was surprised and delighted when she heckled me several times during my talk, always with funny and good-natured comments that added to the conviviality of the moment and entertained everyone in attendance. Who said Virgos are well-behaved to a fault? Your assignment this week is to be inspired by my niece: With wit and compassion, disrupt the orderly flow of any events that could use some smart agitation.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “Life is like playing a violin in public and learning the instrument as one goes on,” wrote author Samuel Butler. Ain’t that the truth! You may be practicing as diligently as you can, gradually trying to master your complex instrument, but in the meantime your lack of expertise is plainly visible to anyone who’s paying close attention. Luckily, not too many people pay really close attention, which gives you a significant amount of slack. Now and then, too, you have growth spurts—phases when your skills suddenly leap to a higher octave. The coming weeks should be one of these times for you, Libra.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In August and September, millions of seabirds known as Sooty Shearwaters leave their homes in New Zealand and travel thousands of miles to the Gulf of the Farallones, just off the coast of San Francisco.

Why do they do it? The feeding is first-class; the tasty fish and squid they like are available in abundance. I suggest you consider a Sooty Shearwater-type quest in the coming weeks, Scorpio. The very best samples of the goodies you crave are located at a distance, either in a literal or metaphorical sense.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I really thought I’d understand sex better by now. After all these years of doing it and studying it and thinking about it and talking about it, I still can’t regard myself as a master of the subject. The kundalini’s uncanny behavior continues to surprise me, perplex me, and thrill me with ever-new revelations. Just when I imagine I’ve figured out how it all works, I’m delivered to some fresh mystery. How about you, Sagittarius? Judging by the current astrological omens, I’m guessing you’re due for a round of novel revelations about the nature of eros.

As long as you keep an open mind, open heart, and open libido, it should all be pretty interesting.

28

The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 25 | June 23, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): A few years ago, Eve Ensler took her famous play The Vagina Monologues to Pakistan. She and a group of local Muslim actresses wowed a crowd in Islamabad with discourses on vibrators, menstruation, and “triple orgasms.” I invite and encourage you to try something equally brave in the coming weeks, Capricorn.

Give your spiel to a new audience; take your shtick to a wild frontier; show who you really are to important people who don’t know the truth yet.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): When my “macho feminist” memoir The Televisionary Oracle was published in 2000, I suffered from comical delusions about its chances for mainstream acceptance. For example, I tried to get a review in The New York Times. As I know now, that had as much likelihood of happening as me traveling to the moon in a rainbow canoe carried by magical flying mermaids.

But in lieu of that kind of recognition, others arrived. One of my favorites: My book went along for the ride with a group of goddess-worshipers on a spiritual tour to the ancient matriarchal city of Catal Huyuk in Turkey. They read my writing aloud to each other, amused and entertained.

I suspect you will soon have a similar experience, Aquarius: having to “settle for” a soulful acknowledgment that’s different from what your ego thought it wanted. Take it from me: That’s actually better.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): My favorite plant food for my African violets is a natural fertilizer called Big Bloom.

One of its key ingredients—the stuff that makes it so effective—is bat guano. I’d like to suggest that you’re about due to embark on the Big Blooming phase of your own cycle, Pisces. And it’s more likely to reach its deserved pinnacle of fertility if you’re willing to summon just a hint of bat-sh** craziness from the depths of your subconscious mind. But remember: just a dollop, not a giant heap.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Golden orb spiders of Madagascar spin robust webs. Their silk is stronger than steel yet able to bend and expand when struck by insects. Here’s an equally amazing facet of their work: Each morning they eat what remains of yesterday’s web and spend an hour or so weaving a fresh one. I’m thinking that your task in the coming weeks has some similarities to the orb spider’s, Aries: creating rugged but flexible structures to gather what you need, and being ready to continually shed what has outlived its usefulness so as to build what your changing circumstances require. (Thanks to the California Academy of Sciences for the info on orb spiders.)

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The year is almost half over, Taurus. Shall we sum up the first part of 2011 and speculate about the adventures that may lie ahead of you in the next six months? The way I see it, you’ve been going through a boisterous process of purification since last January. Some of it has rattled your soul’s bones, while some of it has freed you from your mind-forged manacles. In a few short months, you have overseen more climaxes and shed more emotional baggage than you had in the past three years combined. Now you’re all clean and clear and fresh, and ready for a less exhausting, more cheerful kind of fun.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Advertisements are often designed to make you feel inadequate about the life you’re actually living so you will be motivated to “improve” your lot by buying what they’re selling. In this short horoscope, I don’t have room to express how much soul sickness this wreaks upon us all. Recently HBO unleashed an especially nefarious attack. Promoting its new streaming service, it informed us that ,”The story you could be watching is better than the one you’re in.” Fortunately, Gemini, you won’t be tempted to swallow that vicious propaganda anytime in the coming weeks. Your personal story will be profoundly more interesting and meaningful than the narratives that HBO or any other entertainment source might offer.

ENTERTAINMENT

Jonesin' Crossword — "That's So Money" Across 1 Jumbo-sized 6 Cinnamon-covered snacks 13 He was found in a spider hole 14 It’s shown with a rolled-up sleeve 15 Deodorant options 16 Plant used in food coloring 17 Former domestic carrier 18 Streamlined 19 Without a gosh-dang thing on 25 Added boost 26 ___ noire 27 Actor who played himself in “Zombieland” 29 Give off 30 Comparable to 31 Interior designer’s concern 33 Standing upright 38 Prolific science fiction author Isaac

44 Palindromic fashion mag 45 Substance that may be donated 49 Get ready (for) 50 Highest point 51 Chewy fried seafood dish 53 Job that determines chicken genders 55 “Hungry” board game animal 56 Put complete faith in 59 “Is it bigger than a breadbox?” asker 61 Speak haltingly 62 How some words are best left 63 It’s on the mast 64 Nobel Prize-winning physicist Bohr Down 1 Like interplanetary travel 2 “Sounds fun” response 3 Deck out

4 Palindromic woman’s name 5 Symbols after brand names 6 Hoops group until 2009 7 Solo on the big screen 8 Coffee dispensers 9 Less phony 10 Like movies for “mature audiences” 11 Sandinista leader Daniel 12 Robinson of R&B fame 13 “What’re you gonna do about it?”

15 Got the genie out of the lamp 20 “This is only a test” gp.

21 Spectra maker 22 Airline in Holland 23 Tahiti, par exemple 24 Ethnomusicologist’s deg., maybe 28 Exploit 32 Aries, e.g.

34 Revenge tactic

35 Punctuation that lets you trail off 36 Gave a round of applause 37 Kind of muscle 39 ___ fly (baseball play) 40 Dublin’s country, in the Olympics 41 Blood vessel imaging machine 42 ___-pah bands 43 Beetles and Rabbits, e.g.

45 Most vile 46 Words before “interpretation” or “the public” 47 Like batters in the ondeck circle 48 Puts forth effort 52 “One of ___ days...”

54 Trebek’s “High Rollers” co-star Lee 57 Six, in Italy 58 Carson Daly’s former MTV show 59 Piece 60 Start for sex or corn

Jonesin' 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+ to call. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800-655-6548. Reference puzzle #0525

www.chattanoogapulse.com | June 23, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 25 | The Pulse

29

OPINION

Ask A Mexican

Muy Caliente Summer Edition Dear Mexican, I’m wondering how Mexicans feel about the communities of American expats springing up all over Mexico (especially those who live near or in these communities)? Also, are there places in Mexico where it doesn’t get so hot that Americans are generally pretty comfortable year round? Could you name a couple of regions or areas? You know there may come a time when hordes of Americans start moving to rural Mexico seeking a lifestyle with less stress, less air pollution, fresh locally grown food, etc.

— Listo Pa’ Jubilarme

Gustavo Arellano

Dear Ready to Retire, Hombre, not all of Mexico is the Sonoran Desert, you know? The great thing about the Empire of the Sun is that there are climates for everyone. Like the Caribbean experience? Veracruz is for you. Prefer something a bit cooler, but just as colonial? San Miguel Allende, Guanajuato es para ti! Love more of a surfer lifestyle. Baja, baby! Or love the mysticism that is massive rainstorms in an urban area? Mexico City, chulo, Mexico City! All the places I mentioned, by the way have robust gabacho communities, just some of the nearly half-million Yankees estimated by the State Department that live south of the border year round, and the mucho more who pop in for a couple of months. Mexicans tolerate those gabachos, although we can’t stand that many of them don’t assimilate, are loud, and don’t bother to learn the native language. But we don’t worry too much— we’ve ensured they can’t amass too much power by

30

banning foreign ownership of land, disallowing birthright citizenship, and making it fiendishly difficult for them to find work, measures enacted we don’t end up with the same immigrant morass the United States has with youknow-quién.

“Mexicans tolerate those gabachos, although we can’t stand that many of them don’t assimilate, are loud, and don’t bother to learn the native language.”

Dear Mexican, Will I ever be able to tame my spicy ecuatoriana? She keeps talking mucho basura about Mexico and talks about Ecuador like it was the Estados Unidos! Shut my spicy up once and for all!

— Bicho Raro Dear Oddball, Ecuador? We gave the country its greatest achievement in its two-century existence by allowing them to play our soccer squad to a 1-1 draw earlier this year, and have fed information to Ecuadorian officials in our respectively Pyrrhic drug wars—and that’s how she pays us back? Your chica has no reason to hate on Mexico, and definitely has no reason to wistfully reminisce about a country whose greatest contribution to human society is teaching us that guinea pigs make a tasty dinner.

Ecuador is so forgettable that Colombians make fun of their own citizens for sounding like Ecuadorians.

I suspect your chica is just tired of people mistaking

The Pulse | Volume 8, Issue 25 | June 23, 2011 | www.chattanoogapulse.com

her for a Mexican in this country, kind of how everyone in South America mistakes Ecuadorians for Peruvians, or has absorbed too much Know Nothing anti-Mexican rhetoric. Since I suspect you’re a Mexi, you know what to do: let the words and arguments come to a silence, and let the chorizo run rampant over her Andes.

GOOD MEXICAN OF THE WEEK: Dave Zirin is not a Mexican, but he might be the last sportswriter in America who thinks the coming Major League Baseball All-Star game in Arizona should still be moved due to the state’s reprehensible anti-Mexican S.B. 1070 bill. Zirin has always sided with the undocumented and blasted Know Nothings across the board, and his proudly progressive politics and sharp mind forge some of the most gripping columns published in this country—and that his subject matter happens to be sports, historically the refuge of apolitical pendejadas? Someone buy Zirin a bottle of Corralejo! Read more over at edgeofsports.com and for Christ’s sake, buy his A People’s History of Sports already!

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 | June 23, 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 25 | The Pulse

31