Nov. 15-21, 2012
Vol. 9 • No. 46
Chattanooga’s Weekly Alternative
jefferson
in the age of obama JON MEACHAM ON TWO TALL, COOL MEN OF IDEAS
BUILDING A BETTER BOND SCREEN » ‘SKYFALL’ MAY BE
THE BEST BOND FILM EVER— BUT IT’S STILL A BOND FILM
THE BOWL‘p’ store • MAYOR berke? MUSIC RUSKO arts cessna decosimo
2 • The Pulse • nov. 15-21, 2012 • chattanoogapulse.com
INSIDE THE PULSE •NOV. 15-21, 2012 •vol. 9 •no. 46 Jon Meacham on ‘The Art of Power’
• Chattanooga’s bestknown literary native son, Jon Meacham, returns to his hometown to talk about his new biography of Thomas Jefferson and offer his take on the recent election. Interview by Bill Ramsey »P6
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EDITORIAL
Publisher Zachary Cooper The Editors Zach Cooper • Bill Ramsey Contributors Bailey • Rob Brezsny Chattanooga’sRich Weekly Alternative Chuck Crowder • John DeVore • Janis Hashe Matt Jones • Chris Kelly • D.E. Langley Mike McJunkin • Ernie Paik • Alex Teach Richard Winham Photographers Jason Dunn • Josh Lang Cartoonists Max Cannon • Richard Rice Tom Tomorrow Intern Erin McFarland
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the fine print
The Pulse is published weekly by Brewer Media and is distributed throughout the city of Chattanooga and surrounding communities. The Pulse covers a broad range of topics concentrating on culture, the arts, entertainment and local news. 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. We’re watching. The Pulse may be distributed only by authorized distributors. © 2012 Brewer Media
BREWER MEDIA GROUP President Jim Brewer II
chattanoogapulse.com • nov. 15-21, 2012 • The Pulse • 3
WEDNESDAYS
HOT
BOWL
THE
50 CENT
DRUMMIES CELEBRATE ThE SEASON
north shore
Debate not about Publix, but design to p, or not to p ... was absolutely not the question. Last week the North Shore Design Review Committee voted to let a big box development for an unnamed national grocery store chain on North Market Street go forward with an array of cosmetic and slightly more than cosmetic modifications. At some point during the last few months of controversy, it was leaked—a cynic might say strategically—that the store’s name is confidential, but it might begin with a P and end with an X. For a while, genuine grown-ups were calling it “the P store,” but most people finally gave up and called it what everyone assumes it is: Publix.
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TALK OF THE NOOG chattanoogapulse.com • facebook/chattanoogapulsE SEND LETTERS TO: INFO@CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM
Full disclosure: I’ve been embedded with a small group of concerned citizens that opposed the project, but not the presumed Publix. So yes, I am a partisan for good urban design and this is activist journalism. There were many urban design issues at stake—closing a street, sacrificing an entire city block for a suburban “parking ocean,” planning for tractor-trailers to make deliveries via Frazier Avenue and residential side streets, allowing a singleuse big box store rather than continuing the mixed use character of the district, and more. But these were entirely overshadowed because the developer and city officials had successfully positioned the issue as a false choice between saying “yes” to “the P store” or driving away the North Shore’s long-sought affordable grocery store. “The dispute should never have been about ‘Publix, yes or no,’” according to ur-
ban planner Jenny Shugart. “Nowhere in the North Shore Design Review Guidelines or the C-7 zoning ordinance does it state that everyone will follow the law except those whose name and/or tenants are arbitrarily deemed to be acceptable to the powers that be.” Urban design is not about picking tenants. It’s about guiding the physical development of the city to benefit current and future residents. “Much of Chattanooga’s resurgence has been based on collaboration. The Publix development on North Market had been in the works for two years, but it was pretty much a secret until mid-summer,” Jim Johnson, a business owner who lives in North Chattanooga, said. A representative of the landowners told him after one hearing that they had intentionally kept the project quiet “so the neighbors wouldn’t get upset.” “Just imagine if the mayor had used Publix to leverage and encourage other development,” Johnson said. “Not only would it have benefitted the community, but Publix would likely have gained from more people making the North Shore a shopping and walking destination and the landowners probably could have received more for their property. It could have been win-win-win, and even last week’s winners could have done better.” For more than 30 years, urban design has played a key role in bringing downtown back from being a largely abandoned place to being the heart of the city. The Tennessee Aquarium, for example, didn’t work its magic in a vacuum. The structure itself and private development on surrounding blocks were guided by urban design principles. That’s been the pattern time after time, in Ross’s Landing, North Chattanooga and the Southside. But in recent years, it seems we have forgotten the lessons of our own past. —Rich Bailey
#Votewhiskey
Liquor makers meet county commission just before the pulse went to press, the owners of Chattanooga Whiskey Co.
announced in an email and on their Facebook page their first appearance before Hamilton County Commissioners in their quest to allow Chattanooga Whiskey to be made in Chattanooga (the liquor is currently distilled in Indiana). Ledbetter and his business partner, Tim Piersant, will go before the Hamilton County Commission at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 15, to present the economic impact statement they hope will convince commissioners to lift the law banning distilleries in the county. In 2009, state lawmakers approved a law allowing counties the option of legalizing commercial distilleries. Ledbetter’s #VoteWhiskey Campaign has signed up more than 300 people to stand with them in front of the commissioners. The actual vote will occur on the following Wednesday, Nov. 21. “We remain optimistic that the commissioners will vote in favor of the resolution that will ask our Tennessee state legislators to add Hamilton County back to the 2009 bill, from which we were originally excluded,” Ledbetter said. —Bill Ramsey
ELECTION 2013
Does Berke have office in the bag? two days after election day, state Sen. Andy Berke (D-Chattanooga) picked up papers to qualify for the March 5, 2013, mayoral election in Chattanooga. But that move is a mere formality—Berke has been running for six months and gathering plenty of momentum in the press since deciding to step down from his Senate seat this year, which he has held for two terms. If no other “name” candidate steps in, Berke may easily take the mayors office with little more than a perfunctory effort. Since launching his formal campaign during a rally at Bessie Smith Hall on Nov. 15, Berke has appeared at several campaign events and you’ll likely begin to see “Berke for Mayor” signs pop up around town. But he faces only one declared opponent so far—former city transportation director Guy Satterfield—and his name recognition, guy-next-door personality and status as a rising political star may have already assured him a relatively easy path to power. We like Berke, but can it be this easy? We hope not. —The Editors ILLUSTRATION BY BILL RAMSEY
On the Beat
alex teach
Shut Up and Cuff Me so the guy jumps out of the car while it’s rolling and he breaks left while the car continues straight, which unfortunately is downhill on the side of a dark, grassy hill in the TVA recreation area on the north side of the Chickamauga Dam. As best I recall there’s nothing down that hill but some large trees and the mandatory “scary even in the daylight” cinder block restrooms, but I doubt even George Michael would be in there at 4 a.m. and that’s the thought I go with. (Hey, I had half a second to think it through, so back off. Unless you’re a Wham! fan, I suppose.) Being the more rational (or at least more practical) between my client and I, I don’t see a need to get out of my own car just yet, so I veer left and follow my customer at a much slower rate and take a second to wonder what his goal was in that little stunt. People bail, stopped or not, in wooded areas, neighborhoods, mall parking lots— heck, anywhere but an open field. Maybe he was new to crime? I had plenty of time to consider this now that I was following a felonious jogger, but rather than continue pondering the “if’s” I thought I’d just ask him directly. “WHY DID YOU LEAVE YOUR CAR, SIR?” I said over the P.A. system. He glanced over his left shoulder and actually mouthed something, but I could not hear what; I only saw a puff of breath caused by the chill night air. “I’M SORRY, I DIDN’T CATCH WHAT YOU SAID,” my voice blared through the P.A. “IT JUST SEEMS KIND OF WEIRD THAT YOU JUMPED OUT OF YOUR CAR LIKE THAT.” Another hasty glance, another unintelligible puff of air. “I’M JUST NOT HEARING YOU, SORRY. I’M GUESSING THAT WAS NOT YOUR CAR? DID YOU JUST CHANGE YOUR MIND OR SOMETHING? I’M A FORD
MAN, MYSELF.” He hadn’t slowed down or changed course, and I continued to keep him framed in my headlights. “LISTEN DUDE, WHERE ARE YOU GOING? I CAN GIVE YOU A RIDE, IT’S COOL,” I said. The open field really let my amplified voice carry, and at this he turned to look back again and I could just see that his unshaven left cheek was crooked up on one side enough to cause his left eye to squint above it, as if he had just said the word “What?” to an absurd question. And it was at that precise moment he tripped and flew forward towards the ground like a poorly secured surfboard being launched off of the roof of a car that just came to a sudden halt. It was kind of amazing. He landed without grace, his feet pigeontoed and his arms doing nothing to break his fall. “OOOHHHH!!!” I cried in mixed awe and sympathy, and gently applied the break to pop out and bag my prey. I was already congratulating myself for
my cleverness when I discovered that I was not, in fact, stopping. “AH, SHIT,” I said. (The P.A. was still in my hand, button depressed.) The slide went on for hours, days, weeks, it seemed, and the bottom of his feet got larger and larger until I couldn’t see them anymore over the hood of my extremely noncompliant cruiser in the short, wet grass. “Ah, shit,” I repeated, but this time unamplified. The car finally stopped, and I jumped out to see if this guy was dead or not. “Please,” he muttered, “please stop talking to me.” “Weird!” I say. “Everybody says that to me. Let’s get you out of there.” I cuff him just as another squad car finally arrives and ask him, “You are not a George Michael fan, I’m guessing?” He canted his head in confusion like a puppy, and asks the approaching cop, “Can you please, please ask him to stop talking to me?” The other officer smiled. “Everybody says that to him. Let’s get you out of here.” He began to cry. We got out of there. Alex Teach is a full-time police officer of nearly 20 years experience. The opinions expressed are his own. Follow him on Facebook at facebook.com/alex. teach. chattanoogapulse.com • nov. 15-21, 2012 • The Pulse • 5
HHH
NATIONAL
affairs H H H
Jefferson
in the Age of Obama Chattanooga’s best-know journalistic and literary export, Jon Meacham, returns to town with a new Jefferson biography and shares his thoughts on the American presidency, past, present and future. H
By Bill Ramsey H
“The only thing worse than winning a second term is not winning a second term.” —jon meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, political commentator, author of “Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power,” and native Chattanoogan, discussing the prospects for President Obama’s second term on “The Today Show,” on Friday, Nov. 9.
J
n Meacham could have been talking about any American o president when he offered his prognostications for President Obama’s second term following his decisive re-election last week. In particular, he might well be referring to Thomas Jefferson, who served as the nation’s first secretary of state, its second vice president and it’s third president for two terms from 1801 to 1809. It is Jefferson’s influence and legacy Meacham finds so intoxicating and pervasive, a dynasty that that lasted for 36 of the 40 years between 1800 and 1840 in which Jefferson or a self-described Jeffersonian held the presidency—a feat that remains unmatched in American politics.
Meacham examines Jefferson’s preoccupation, pursuit and execution of power in his new book, “Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power,” arriving in bookstores just in time for the recent election. He may be uniquely qualified to investigate Jefferson’s Svengalilike grip on American politics, reaching back in time from the subject of his previous best-seller, the Pulitzer Prize-winning “American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House.” That book probed the politics of the battle-tested Tennessean and
seventh U.S. president whose enthusiastic followers created the modern Democratic Party. A Jeffersonian, Jackson also served two terms, from 1829 to 1837, a period that later became known as the era of Jacksonian democracy. Meacham, a Chattanooga native, will visit the city at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 20, for a program at Lindsay Street Hall to read from and discuss his new book, the recent elections and American politics during a talk and question-and-answer ses-
6 • The Pulse • nov. 15-21, 2012 • chattanoogapulse.com
sion hosted by the Arts & Education Council. Meacham will sign copies of his book, which are free to ticket-holders, following the engagement. The event kicks off the AEC’s Celebration of Southern Writers, to be held from April 18-20, 2013, in Chattanooga. Proceeds from the appearance benefit the organization’s literacy programs. Tickets are $50 and $100 and are available by calling (423) 267-1218. But why Jefferson—again? There are volumes of Jefferson biographies, more than a dozen
in the last 30 years, examining, praising and criticizing every aspect of the revered Founding Father. Meacham is undeterred. Besides the fact that Jefferson looms large in the age of Obama as the president we think we know best, Meacham says it was Jefferson’s day-to-day life that attracted him to this towering figure. Jefferson, Meacham points out, was consumed with the pursuit of power and his tactics, talents and influential gifts became a template for every great modern president who followed him—including Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. But it’s also personal for Meacham. “One of my many character flaws is that I like politicians,” Meacham said during a phone interview last week. “I blame Chattanooga for that. I grew up in the era of Dalton Roberts, Pat Rose, Gene Roberts—that whole generation of guys.” Meacham, 43, was born and raised in Chattanooga, a graduate of both the McCallie School and the University of the South, a former Chattanooga Times reporter who went on to become editor of Newsweek before exiting
journalism to pursue his fascination with political history in a series of best-selling books focusing on the American presidency. He is currently executive editor and executive vice president at Random House in New York and contributes frequently to TIME and as a guest on such political programs as “Morning Joe” and “Meet the Press.” He is currently working on a biography of President George H.W. Bush. “I was always fascinated by politics,” Meacham said, “and I think that Jefferson was the single greatest politician of the early republic. What made that worth pursuing was that even he did not want to acknowledge being a great politician. He knew political work would always be controversial, so he purposely dedicated his tombstone to his other accomplishments, as the author of the Constitution and the father of the University of Virginia.” Meacham’s book attempts to rescue Jefferson from caricature, uncovering him as the consummate political force of his time, not the wine-sipping philosopher of his beloved Monticello. “I wanted to recover what Jefferson was like, year to year, from
the 40 years between 1769 and 1809,” Meacham said, when Jefferson was a the height of his power as a working politician. “He was a problem-solver, a consensusbuilder, and that’s how we get things done in this country. I wanted to explore that.” Meacham points out that those attributes and other similarities link him to our current president, although Obama’s attempts at consensus-building during his first term was thwarted by radical Tea Party factions within the Republican Party. “They are both tall, cool, cerebral men of ideas,” Meacham said of Jefferson and Obama. “They are both intellectuals who were irresistibly drawn to politics, but don’t want to admit it. Any Democratic president works in the shadow of Jefferson or Jackson. What I find so interesting about the most successful presidents, what you see is that their successors admire them. Politicians admire success, and Jefferson left a deeper political mark on the country than anyone else.” Like his most admired predecessors— TR, FDR, Reagan and Clinton—Obama embodies Jefferson’s most marked characteristics: clarity of purpose, the politics of optimism and the art of compromise, although the latter trait has been abused by a partisan congressional majority in the House of Representatives who viewed Obama as illegitimate at worst and a oneterm president at best and who bit the president’s hand each time he reached out to them. But with his historic and decisive reelection, Obama is clearly a legitimate force to be reckoned with, and Republicans appear in awe of his political skills, if not his self-proclaimed mandate. Still, Meacham said he sees reason for optimism in the president’s second term, if only because there is no other option. “I’m optimistic because we have to be,” he said. “The next three months are crucial, and the now-famous ‘fiscal cliff’ is an opportunity for genuine reform. If it isn’t, I don’t know what could concentrate the mind. If a re-elected president with a mechanical, tangible deadline [created by Congress itself] can’t put together a working majority, then I don’t what they are concentrating on.” During the remaining moments of our interview, I shifted topics on Meacham, probing his thoughts on his former employer, Newsweek, which recently announced it will publish its final print edition on Dec. 31 and exist henceforth only in its current incarnation as a website edited by Tina Brown, continuing the marriage of The Daily Beast, a Huffington Post-like site she created, and the magazine. Meacham was reserved, complimentary and praised the enterprise, one that
It’s Only 10 Minutes to New Orleans It’s Cajun, It’s Bayou, It’s N’awlins
$10 Off Any Entree Jon Meacham visits Chattanooga on Tuesday, Nov. 20, to discuss his new biography, “Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power.” Photo • Gasper Tringale
has changed radically since he stepped down as editor in 2010 when the magazine and its assets were sold to businessman Sidney Harman by its longtime owner, The Washington Post Company. The news magazine has suffered enormous setbacks and loss of revenue over the past few years, and I asked if Newsweek, and its chief competitor, TIME, were doomed to become extinct in the digital era. “It’s an inevitable transition,” Meacham said. “The future is now in terms of the magazine business. I wish it well, and think that if anyone can survive [in this environment], Newsweek can.” As a Chattanoogan, Meacham is an enthusiastic cheerleader and ambassador for his hometown, though he notes jokingly that the city’s renaissance curiously coincided with his departure in 1992 to New York City. “I often say when I’m asked—and I’m asked quite frequently—that the city can chart its upward momentum from the moment I left town,” he said with a laugh, adding, “but I refuse to accept causality.” Chattanooga, Meacham said with evident pride, is “fantastic—I adored growing up here and love coming back. My children are devotees of Lake Winnie and we feed the carp each year when we return. The city is a great success story and people should be proud. It has been a marvelous thing to enjoy and watch. And if you want a bi-partisan model of public-private partnership, I tell anyone who asks, ‘Go to Chattanooga.’”
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8 • The Pulse • nov. 15-21, 2012 • chattanoogapulse.com
2318 Lifestyle Way • 423.468.3737 Mellow Mushroom Waterside
CALENDAR
LIST
THE nov. 15-21
BEAT HUNGER
HOLIDAYS IN THE
UTC PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE Annual concert features the city’s best young percussionists in a benefit for Chattanooga Community Kitchen. SUN 11.18 • 7:30 p.m. Roland Hayes Concert Hall 752 Vine St. (423) 425-4601 utc.edu/music
» pulse PICKS
» pulse picks OF THE LITTER
THU11.15
Telemonster’s ‘Girl I Knew’
MUSIC Shovels & Rope • Powerful punk-country duo pack a punch. 9 p.m. • JJ’s Bohemisa • 231 MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400 • jjsbohemia.com
EVENT Film Chattanooga Seminar
pEOpLE
FRI11.16
FALL LINE AVAILABLE ON
MUSIC
thENOOg.cOm
Big Eyes with Audacity
mONdAy, NOV. 19
• New rock from the Left Coast. 9 p.m. • JJ’s Bohemisa • 231 MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400 • jjsbohemia.com
SELEct LINE AVAILABLE At
Chattanooga Market & holiday Markets
EVENT • Cessna Decosimo’s new exhibit. See Arts»P14 5:30 p.m. • Tanner-Hill Gallery • 3069 Broad St. (423) 280-7182 • tannerhillgallery.com
SAT11.17 MUSIC Lon Eldridge • Troubadour plays Folk School Chattanooga. 6 p.m. • Folk School Chattanooga 1800 Rossville Ave. • (423) 827-8906 chattanoogafolk.com
EVENT Marvin Lee • “Last Comic Standing” finalist brings the laughs. 10:30 p.m. • Vaudeville Café • 138 Market St. (423) 517-1839 • funnydinner.com
gifforts
CHATTA-RIFFIC
• Learn techniques for film and video. 6:30 p.m. • Downtown YMCA • 301 W. 6th St. (423) 266-3766 • filmchattanooga.com
“Sacred and Profane”
CHATTA-CENTRIC
ANd At thE NEw • Debuting their second release this weekend, Telemonster looks to satisfy the fan base they have developed over the past couple of years, expanding on tracks they released early in the band’s career along with live performances. A Girl I Knew carries on with expertly crafted songs that deliver pop sensibilities while giving the listener something unique and fresh. With Ben Vander Hart on lead vocals, the harmonies and instrumentation are gathered and mixed with shimmering effects and shading that generally come from a band with much more maturity. Telemonster
performed at The Pulse’s’ Winterfest showcase bill at Track 29 in January and it was clear they had an impact on those in the audience who had never heard them. Although there is a foundation to the finished sound that Telemonster produces, it’s obvious that their influences are diverse. Citing a
range from Radiohead to Tchaikovsky, that diversity comes through. A Girl I Knew presents the range of vocals and instrumentation that lift the band to newer heights. Fresh, delightful and surprising. Those are easily the words that describe Telemonster, but they also have surprises where you least expect them. Telemonster Release Party with Elk Milk & Stories of a Madman Saturday, Nov. 17 8 p.m. • $5 The Camp House 1427 Williams St. (423) 702-8081 thecamphouse.com
Chattanooga Market general store At wArEhOuSE rOw
Full line available at
gallery
WINDER BINDER bookstore
40 FRAZIER AVE.
423.413.8999 MON-SAT • 11-6 SUN 1-6 winderbinder.com
chattanoogapulse.com • nov. 15-21, 2012 • The Pulse • 9
MEAT & TWO LUNCHES, GREAT TASTING HAMBURGERS & PRIME RIB, WEEKLY FOOD & DRINK SPECIALS, AND DELICIOUS WINGS! ENTERTAINMENT ALL WEEK LONG! KARAOKE MONDAYS, TUESDAYS, THURSDAYS & SUNDAYS AND “ROCK THE HOUSE” EVERY WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT WITH LIVE MUSIC!
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AND THERE’S ALWAYS A GOOD TIME! 5751 Brainerd Rd • Chattanooga • (423) 499-9878
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10 • The Pulse • nov. 15-21, 2012 • chattanoogapulse.com
Party at the richard winham
Rusko: ‘Heavy, Dirty Dubstep’ the dubstep dj rusko (aka christopher mercer) is coming to Track 29 next week. Asked to describe his sets in an interview in the British newspaper The Guardian, he said, “I make heavy, dirty, wobbly, party-time dubstep.” Ranked alongside Skrillex (who credits Rusko with introducing him to dubstep), Deadmau5 and Caspa in dubstep blogs, Rusko was introduced by DJ Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1’s Essential Mix in 2008 as “a … DJ from Leeds whose bass-driven take on dub step has re-energized that scene over the last 12 months.” Since then his reputation has been growing. Listening to Rusko’s seamless mix on the Radio 1 show from 2008 is akin to being inside a video game—a virtual firestorm of high-pitched synths and low-bass explosions popping at a frenetic pace. It’s a slightly disorienting experience. He calls it dubstep, but while the core rhythm is bassheavy dubstep, it’s overlaid with rapid-fire, tightly wound, skittering synth drums scattering like light on water. Dubstep, a drowsy, syncopated rhythm with a sensual swing, originated in South London in the late 1990s. An amalgam of a myriad styles of electronic dance music, dubstep uses the studio as an instrument much as the pioneering Jamaican producer Lee “Scratch” Perry and his many acolytes (including Augustus Pablo and The Mad Professor) did in the 1970s. Perry produced some of The Wailers’ early records, but he’s best known for being one of the progenitors of dub reggae— taking fully mixed tracks and stripping them down to their rhythmic foundation with an accent on the bass. The resulting tracks slowed the sinuous reggae rhythm to a thunderous walk. Dubstep retained the bass heavy emphasis of those early experiments, adding the increasingly manic synth drum
rhythms that originated in the UK with “jungle” and “garage” music—heavily percussive offshoots of American “house” played at spontaneous raves in the early and mid ’90s in and around London. The original dubstep records hewed closer to Perry’s vision of a darkly rhythmic, almost claustrophobic density. But as Pete Tong noted in his introduction to Rusko’s set for Radio 1 in 2008, Rusko has “re-energized” the music adding a lyrical and melodic pop sensibility making it accessible to a wider audience. Rusko isn’t from London; he grew up in Leeds, a city about 200 miles north of the capital. He moved to London to work with Caspa, one of the progenitors of dubstep. But within a few years he’d moved to Los Angeles (his wife is American). Interviewed recently in the UK magazine SQ about his success in America, he attributed it to his “in your face” approach both on stage and in the studio. Like Girl Talk, Rusko recognized the need for a DJ to do more than simply
stand behind a bank of laptops. “There’s nothing that’s too subtle or serious about my music, it’s just BANG!” he explained. “All that translates well over here. My songs are the type of songs that you’ll hear once, love it for a month and then get bored of it. They’re not the type of songs that you hear and grow on you after weeks—my tunes are just simple bangers. That’s all it is. Simple rave music. Americans are into that, they like it bang in the face—POW!” Fuelled by copious amounts of alcohol (he claims to consume a bottle of vodka a day when he’s working) as well as a range of other recreational drugs, Rusko’s stage show is a non-stop aural and visual assault. Following a show in
Houston this past summer, the reviewer for The Houston Press noted, “Hell, if a DJ can dance that hard and keep the beats going, it can be assured that the crowd couldn’t stop dancing.” In a recent online interview he said his sets are “about 70 percent original material, which is nice because it’s stuff that no other DJ in the entire world has. If you come to a Rusko show, don’t expect to hear stuff you know!” He’s just released an EP—the first new material from him in more than a year. While his music may still be rooted in slow drag dubstep, the four tracks on Kapow! have a furious energy. Shrieking synths and skittering machine-gun synth drum bursts chase pummeling four-on-the-floor bass drums punctuated by long, languorous bass riffs rumbling through the tracks like thunder. The EP is available for free from his website. After spending several years of selling his music through established labels, he’s now decided to just give it away. Judging by the number of blogs offering enthusiastic reviews of the music alongside downloadable sound files, it was, like moving to America, a very shrewd move. Rusko Tuesday, Nov. 20 9 p.m • $25/$28 18+, ID required Track 29 1400 Market St. (423) 558-0029 track29.co
All Week Long!
Mon & tue LIVE DJ
Wii on the Big Screen wednesdays
Jonathan Wimpee Jam Session thursdays LOCAL LEGENDS
HOUSE PARTY WITH 5 DJS
WEEKEND
PARTY ZONE!
FRI $1 BEER 10-11PM LIVE MUSIC WITH
11.16.12 • PISTOL TOWN sat $1 BEER 10-11PM LIVE MUSIC WITH
11.17.12 • PISTOL TOWN Party on Two Floors!
Richard Winham is the host and producer of WUTC-FM’s afternoon music program and has observed the Chattanooga music scene for more than 25 years.
1st Floor: Live Music • 2nd Floor: Dancing
Raw Sushi Bar
Restaurant & Nightclub 409 Market Street •423.756.1919
chattanoogapulse.com • nov. 15-21, 2012 • The Pulse • 11
901 Carter St (Inside Days Inn) 423-634-9191 Thursday • November 15
Shovels & Rope • Long Gone Darlings
Friday • November 16
Audacity • Big Eyes • Future Virgins
Saturday • November 17 Maserati
Tuesday • November 20 Rusko Afterparty
Wednesday • November 21
The Bohannons • Shane Tutmarc
Thursday • November 22
Give Thanks to Guilty Pleasures Dance Party
Friday • November 23
Elk Milk • Shark Week • Big Kitty
Saturday • November 24 Rusko Afterparty
Sunday • November 25
Napalm Death • Municipal Waste
JJ’s Bohemia • 231 E MLK Blvd. 423.266.1400 • jjsbohemia.com
Chattanooga Live
Thursday, Nov. 15: 8pm Open Mic with Mark Holder Friday, Nov. 16: 9pm Hope Treider & Hannah Reynolds Saturday, Nov. 17: 10pm Scarlet Love Conspiracy Tuesday, Nov. 20: 7pm
Server/Hotel Appreciation Night $5 Pitchers $2 Wells $1.50 Domestics All shows are free with dinner or 2 drinks! Stop by & check out our daily specials! ●
Happy Hour: Mon-Fri: 4-7pm $1 10oz drafts, $3 32oz drafts, $2 Wells, $1.50 Domestics, Free Appetizers
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LIVE MUSIC
SHOVELS & ROPE • The Charleston-based sloppy-tonk duo made up of Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst spent most of the past two years on the road. Performing hundreds of shows across more than 60,000 miles, the band toured alongside of Hayes Carll, Justin Townes Earle, Jason Isbell, the Felice Brothers and Butch Walker. The tour continues, as they return to Chattanooga with polished harmonies and sometimes unpolished instrumentation. Long Gone Darlings open. THU 11.15 • 9:30 p.m. • JJ’s Bohemia • 231 E. MLK Blvd. • (423) 266-1400 • jjsbohemia.com
Thu 11.15
CHATTANOOGA NOV
SOUTHERN CULTURE with Clay and BJ Hightower
RUBIK’S GROOVE
Costumes, Videos & Fun Hits of the 80s
DOWNSTREAM
15 FRI. 10p 16 SAT. 9p 17 SUN. 4p 18 WED. 9:30p 21 THU. 9:30p
with DEEP SLEEZE & SINNER OF ATTENTION
ROCK THE BABIES A Benefit for Eric Ralls & Family
VELCRO PYGMIES
MUSIC CALENDAR
Annual Pre-Thanksgiving Party COMING: 11/22: DARK SIDE OF RAINBOW/AMBER FULTS 11/23: SMOOTH DIALECTS 11/24: THE BREAKFAST CLUB ALL SHOWS 21+ UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED • NON-SMOKING VENUE
221 MARKET STREET
HOT MUSIC • FINE BEER • GREAT FOOD BUY TICKETS ONLINE • RHYTHM-BREWS.COM 12 • The Pulse • nov. 15-21, 2012 • chattanoogapulse.com
Audi Burchett 7 p.m. Sugar’s Ribs, 507 Broad St. (423) 508-8956 sugarsribs.com Open Mic 7 p.m. The Camp House, 1427 Williams St. (423) 702-8081 thecamphouse.com “A Pink Carpet Celebration” with Randy Owen 7:30 p.m. Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad St. (423) 642-TIXS chattanoogaonstage.com Eliza Rickman with Amanda Rose Cagle 8 p.m. Barking Legs Theater, 1307 Dodds Ave. (423) 624-5347 barkinglegs.org Listen 2 Three 9 p.m. The Honest Pint, 35 Patten Pkwy. (423) 468-4192 thehonestpint.com Southern Culture
on the Skids 9:30 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. rhythm-brews.com Shovels & Rope, Long Gone Darlings 9:30 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400 jjsbohemia.com
fri 11.16 The Mailboxes CD Release Show with Erin Elisabeth Aubrey & Robinson 7:30 p.m. The Camp House, 1427 Williams St. (423) 702-8081 thecamphouse.com Lisa Ferguson 7:30 p.m. Rock City, 1400 Patten Road Lookout Mtn., Ga. seerockcity.com Brody Johnson and the Dirt Road Band 8 p.m. Acoustic Café, 61 RBC Dr., Ringgold, Ga. (706) 965-2065
ringgoldacoustic.com Animal Crackers 8 p.m. Tivoli Theater, 709 Broad St. (423) 642-TIXS chattanoogaonstage.com Rough Work 9 p.m. Bart’s Lakeshore, 5600 Lakeshore Drive (423) 870-0777 bartslakeshore.com Crossfire 9 p.m. SkyZoo, 5709 Lee Hwy. (423) 468-4533 skyzoochattanooga.com Hope Treider & Hannah Reynolds 9 p.m. The Office, 901 Carter St. (423) 634-9191. Big Eyes, Audacity, Future Virgins 9:30 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400 jjsbohemia.com Queen B & the Well Strung Band 9:30 p.m. Sugar’s
Ribs, 507 Broad St. (423) 508-8956 sugarsribs.com Rubik’s Groove 10 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. rhythm-brews.com Pistol Town 10 p.m. Raw, 409 Market St. (423) 756-1919
sat 11.17 Lon Eldridge 6 p.m. Folk School of Chattanooga, 1800 Rossville Ave, (423) 827-8906 chattanoogafolk.com Shades of Gray 7:30 p.m. Southside Saloon & Bistro, 1301 Chestnut St. (423) 757-4730 southside saloonandbistro.com Lisa Ferguson 7:30 p.m. Rock City, 1400 Patten Road Lookout Mtn., Ga. seerockcity.com Telemonster CD Release Show 8 p.m. The Camp House, 1427 Williams St. (423) 702-8081 thecamphouse.com Johnston & Brown 8 p.m. Acoustic Café, 61 RBC Dr., Ringgold, Ga. (706) 965-2065 ringgoldacoustic.com Husky Burnette 9 p.m. SkyZoo, 5709 Lee Hwy. (423) 468-4533 skyzoochattanooga.com Downstream with Deep Sleeze and
honest music
Sinner of Attention 9 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. rhythm-brews.com Maserati 9:30 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400 jjsbohemia.com Queen B & the Well Strung Band 9:30 p.m. Sugar’s Ribs, 507 Broad St. (423) 508-8956 sugarsribs.com The Scarlet Love Conspiracy 10 p.m. The Office, 901 Carter St. (423) 634-9191 Pistol Town 10 p.m. Raw, 409 Market St. (423) 756-1919
SUN 11.18 Jamey Johnson 7 p.m. Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad St. (423) 642-TIXS chattanoogaonstage.com El Cantador with Great Peacock 9 p.m. The Honest Pint, 35 Patten Pkwy. (423) 468-4192 thehonestpint.com Rock the Babies: A Benefit for Eric Ralls and Family 4 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. rhythm-brews.com
mon 11.19 Dan Sheffield 7 p.m. Sugar’s Ribs, 507 Broad St.
(423) 508-8956 sugarsribs.com.
tue 11.20 Jerry Fordham 7 p.m. Bart’s Lakeshore, 5600 Lakeshore Drive (423) 870-0777 bartslakeshore.com Rusko 8 p.m. Track 29, 1400 Market St. (423) 266-4323 track29.co Rusko Afterparty 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400 jjsbohemia.com
wed 11.21 England in 1819, Land Camera and Raenbow Station 9 p.m. The Honest Pint, 35 Patten Pkwy. (423) 468-4192 thehonestpint.com Velcro Pygmies 9:30 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. rhythm-brews.com The Bohannons, Shane Tutmarc 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400 jjsbohemia.com
Don’t let this happen. STYLISH & UNIQUE GIFT IDEAS THE PULSE HoLIDAY GIFT GUIDE 2012
COMING THIS HOLIDAY SEASON Map these locations at chattanoogapulse. com. Send live music listings at least 10 days in advance to: calendar@ chattanoogapulse.com.
CALL 423.242.7679 FOR INFORMATION
local and regional shows
SoCRo with SKiNNYiLL and Natural Habitz ($3)
Wed, Nov 14
9pm
Listen 2 Three with Special Guest ($3)
Thu, Nov 15
9pm
England in 1819 with Land Camera and Raenbow Station ($3)
Wed, Nov 21
9pm
Tryptophan Dance Party 2 ($3)
Thu, Nov 22
9pm
Special Show: El Cantador with Great Peacock [$5] • Sun, Nov 18 • 9pm Sundays: Live Trivia 4-6pm • Free Live Irish Music at 7pm • Nov 25: Molly Maguires
Full food menu serving lunch and dinner. 11am-2am, 7 days a week. 35 Patten Parkway * 423.468.4192 thehonestpint.com * Facebook.com/thehonestpint
chattanoogapulse.com • nov. 15-21, 2012 • The Pulse • 13
Cessna Decosimo: Watching Bacchus fied with Catholic and personal iconography. “I was raised by a Baptist mother and a Catholic father, so this is purely autobiographical,” Decosimo said. “My mother always said the Catholics left Christ on the cross because they didn’t understand grace, they needed the blood of Christ to be continually shed, whereas the Protestants did not. I say the Protestants threw the baby out with bath water.” On a 16-foot tall reproduction of a sign for Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church a few blocks from his Southside studio, Decosimo has overlaid a Christ figure based on a Catholic crucifix, with a snake twined around his head. The image—sign, Christ and snake—appears on both sides of the sign. The snake unifies these two churches, said Decosimo. “No matter what, they both have their carnal nature. It might be a priest preying on little boys, it might be the youth pastor preying on children. It’s happening everywhere. Or as my mom says ‘It only takes a little arsenic to kill.’” Another room of Decosimo’s studio has large paintings of lush female figures in vibrant royal blues, some classically draped and some nude. One was inspired by a night Decosimo spent last winter in Paris’s Montmartre district, perhaps the city’s most lurid mix of sacred
By Rich Bailey in his “sacred and profane” solo show, opening friday at Tanner-Hill Gallery, sculptor Cessna Decosimo takes a turn toward publicly showing works with religious and sexual themes that he has been exploring privately for decades.
Arts
“I’ve always been frustrated because I’ve been really excited about the work in my sketchbooks. Although a lot of this work manifests itself in public work, most of it has always stayed in the sketchbooks.” A week before the show’s opening, Decosimo previewed some of the pieces that will be in the show for me in his studio off of Main Street.
Re-Illustrating the Bible “My mom always wanted me to illustrate the Bible, perhaps not the way I’m illustrating it,” he said, showing me an illustrated edition of the Gospels he bought at Shakespeare and Company, the famous English-language bookstore in Paris. The book is illustrated twice, with four-color plates from the publisher and ink drawings by Decosimo on top of the text. “I started enjoying how the words were intersecting with the drawings, for example, the woman taken in adultery. If you look there you can see I’m drawing her nude on that page.” Decosimo credits Angela Usrey, owner of Tanner-Hill Gallery,
with making it possible for him to make these private themes public. When Decosimo told his former dealer that he was drawing nudes on Bible pages, he said, “Her response was, ‘Oh my God, I won’t be able to show those, not with my clientele.’ It was so disappointing.” When he started working with Angela Usrey, she not only encouraged him but—literally —gave him a bigger canvas. She presented him an antique Book of Common Prayer with oversize pages and gorgeous classical typesetting. “I called Cessna and said, ‘I have a present for you.’ It just felt right,” she said. “I’ve had that thing for 15 years and I just knew at some point I’ll know what I’m supposed to do with it. “Sacred and Profane” includes original pages from that book adorned with what might be thought of as “second illuminations” by Decosimo.
Unified by the Snake The next stop on the studio tour is a traditional Baptist church sign that has been modi-
“Athena” Cessna Decosimo
Your home away from home is open for the holidays!
Home of the $2 High Life & $3 well drinks
Thanksgiving Night and Christmas Night 5pm to 3am
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Eat Local, Drink Local 14 • The Pulse • nov. 15-21, 2012 • chattanoogapulse.com
Pub
The gift that keeps on giving is a Hair of the Dog Gift Card! Wrap one up for someone you love!
and profane, including the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the Moulin Rouge cabaret and numerous prostitutes. Staying in the cheapest hotel there, Decosimo woke up in the middle of the night to the sounds of passion coming through the wall. Changing his voice to a lurid whisper, he recreates this dialog: “Ca va? Ca te plait? Oui, ca me plait.” Translation: “How’s that? Do you like that? Yes, that’s good.” The result is “Ecstasy of the Sacred Heart”—named for the famous Basilica near the hotel—a simple but stunning sketch-painting of a woman in the throes of passion. Rather than working his vision of carnality into a detailed painting, Decosimo leaves the immediacy of the sketch intact, including a few drips of blue paint running down the canvas from a really wet brush. There’s also a lot of play in these works. “The Angel Marilyn,” in rich purple tones, depicts a very Monroe-like angel with heraldic sword and shield, inspired by the angel Moroni, who dictated the Book of Mormon to patriarch Joseph Smith. Decosimo says he was thinking a lot about Mormonism when he thought we might have a Mormon president. “If Joseph Smith had the angel Moroni, why can’t an angel come to me?” he thought. Decosimo said he wouldn’t mind being in charge of a new church, especially the iconography, but rather than a Moroni, “I’m requesting personally that I get a Marilyn. Her way of illumination and inspiration will probably be through carnality,” he deadpanned. Wall of Bacchus The biggest element in the new exhibit can’t be seen yet, but Decosimo and Usrey tell me about it. Earlier this year, when she called Decosimo to suggest that he paint a wall in the gallery, he already had the same thing in mind. The day before the show opens, Decosimo will paint a mural on one of the gallery walls. The process will be captured on video by another artist Usrey represents, Kevin McCarthy, a filmmaker and conceptual artist based in New Hampshire. As Decosimo and Usrey talk about how the mural was conceived, he starts sketching. “I have an idea. We’ll see if it works out,” Decosimo said. “I’ve been composing it in my head, roughly. What’s interesting is it’s going to have to be spontaneous. This is the first time I’ve drawn it.” He describes the scene as it takes shape on a piece of lined paper torn from a notebook. In the background is the Greek god Bacchus, along with a few of his many female followers, known as Bacchante. Decosimo is in the foreground painting the scene. “Bacchus is taking a break,” he said. “I’ll
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do a Velasquez nude, a model that’s looking over my shoulder here and maybe another here. They’ve come over here to look and see what’s happened, to keep me company.” The wall painting will be Decosimo’s take on another polarity that complements the sacred and profane. The Greeks included much of what we consider profane within the sacred. They were more interested in a tension between the Dionysian and the Apollonian. In mythology, Bacchus (also known as Dionysus) is a somewhat dark god of revelry and intoxication ... or if he is disrespected, of frenzied madness. Apollo is the paragon of light and rational thought. In Decosimo’s wall painting, “You have the Dionysian, which is the flesh-loving, drunken, orgiastic, feeling response to life, and then you have the Apollonian. I’m trying in this image to create the dynamic between the Apollonian, which will be the study of the Dionysian, and the Dionysus scene.” When paint begins to hit the wall on Thursday night, Decosimo will be improvising, so this scene might not be what visitors see on the wall at Friday’s opening. As he finished the sketch and handed it to me he said, “I’m pretty sure this is going to be it. Here you go. See if that doesn’t happen.” Cessna Decosimo: “Sacred and Profane” New painting and sculptures Nov. 16-Jan. 11, 2013 Opening Reception and Talk Friday, Nov. 6 • 5:30 p.m. Tanner-Hill Gallery 3069 Broad St. (423) 280-7182 tannerhillgallery.com
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Sunday-Thursday: 11am-10pm Friday & Saturday: 11am-11pm
ElMesonRestaurant.com chattanoogapulse.com • nov. 15-21, 2012 • The Pulse • 15
Arts & Entertainment
CALENDAR (423) 425-4601 utc.edu/music Master Hypnotist 7 & 9:30 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Road (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com Enchanted Garden of Lights 6-9 p.m. Rock City, 1400 Patten Road Lookout, Ga. seerockcity.com “The Curious Savage” 7:30 p.m. Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga, 1918 Union Ave. (423) 987-5141 ensembletheatre ofchattanooga.com “My Three Angels” 7:30 p.m. UTC Fine Arts Center, 736 Vine St. (423) 425- 4371 utc.edu/finearts “Steel Magnolias” 8 p.m. Barking Legs Theater, 1307 Dodds Ave. (423) 624-5347 barkinglegs.org Marvin Lee 9:30 p.m. Vaudeville Café, 138 Market St. (423) 517-1839 funnydinner.com
Thu 11.15 Winter Wonders 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Creative Discovery Museum, 321 Chestnut St. (423) 756-2738 cdmfun.org Art After School (Ages 6-8) 4:30-6 Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View. (423) 266-0944. www.huntermuseum.org Art + Issues: The Idea of Wilderness 6-8 p.m. Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View (423) 266-0944 huntermuseum.org Photoshop for Beginners 6-8 p.m. AVA, 30 Frazier Ave. (423) 265-4282 www.avarts.org Three Blind Wines 2012 6-9 p.m. The Mill Chattanooga, 1601 Gulf St. (423) 634-0331 cff.org Film Chattanooga Seminar 6:30 p.m. Downtown YMCA, 301 W. 6th St. (423) 266-3766 filmchattanooga.org “AMG International 70th Anniversary Celebration” 6:30-8:30 p.m. Chattanooga Convention Center, 1150 Carter St. (423) 763-4366 chattanoogachamber.com Chattanooga Clarinet Choir 7-8 p.m. North River Civic Center, 1009 Executive Drive chattanooga.gov “A Pink Carpet Celebration” with Randy Owen 7:30 p.m. Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad St. (423) 642-TIXS chattanoogaonstage.com Master Hypnotist 7:30 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Road (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com “My Three Angels” 7:30 p.m. UTC Fine Arts Center, 736 Vine St. (423) 425- 4371 utc.edu/finearts UTC Jazz Band Ensemble
16 • The Pulse • nov. 15-21, 2012 • chattanoogapulse.com
sat 11.17
RANDY OWEN • Alabama singer Randy Owen headlines “A Pink Carpet Celebration” at the Tivoli on Thursday benefitting the Mary Ellen Locher Foundation’s 10th anniversary . THU 11.15 • 7:30 p.m. • Tivoli Theatre • 709 Broad St. (423) 757-51576 • chattanoogaonstage.com
7:30 p.m. UTC Fine Arts Center, 752 Vine St. (423) 425-4601 utc.edu/music
fri 11.16 Holidays Under the Peaks (Nov 16- Jan. 6, 2013) 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tennessee Aquarium Plaza, 1 Broad St. (423) 402-9960 tnaqua.org Home School Workshop: Color Theory
10 a.m.-Noon. Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View (423) 266-0944 huntermuseum.org “Sacred and Profane” Opening Reception 5:30-8:30 p.m. Tanner-Hill Gallery, 3069 Broad St. (423) 280-7182 tannerhillgallery.com UTC Brass Quintet and Horn Ensemble 6-8 p.m. UTC Fine Arts Center, 752 Vine St.
5th Annual Jingle Bell Run/Walk 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tennessee River Park, 4301 Amnicola Hwy. (423) 341-4788 chattanoogajbr.org Casting Workshop 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. Townsend Atelier, 201 W. Main St. 423-266-2712 townsendatelier.com Free Holiday Decorating Seminar 10 a.m.-Noon. Tennessee Aquarium Plaza, 1 Broad St. (423) 402-9960 tnaqua.org Big Fish Story 10:30 a.m.-Noon. Tennessee Aquarium Plaza, 1 Broad St. (423) 402-9960 tnaqua.org
“Quiet Spaces” 10 a.m.-5 p.m. River Gallery, 400 E. Second St. (423) 265-5033 river-gallery.com River Market 10 a.m. Tennessee Aquarium Plaza, 1 Broad St. (423) 402-9960 chattanoogamarket.com Book Signing: Local author Victoria L. Thurman 11 a.m. In-Town Gallery, 26A Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9214 intowngallery.com Bob’s Musical Bootcamp 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tivoli Theater, 709 Broad St. (423) 642-TIXS chattanoogaonstage.com Snow Day Noon-1 p.m. Creative Discovery Museum, 321 Chestnut St. (423) 756-2738 cdmfun.org Holiday Open House Noon-4 p.m. Georgia Winery, 6469 Battlefield Pkwy. Ringgold, Ga, (706) 937-WINE georgiawines.com “The Curious Savage” 2 p.m. Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga, 1918 Union Ave. (423) 987-5141 ensembletheatre ofchattanooga.com “My Three Angels” 2 & 7:30 p.m. UTC Fine Arts Center, 736 Vine St, (423) 425- 437 utc.edu/finearts North Pole Limited 5:45 & 7:30 p.m. Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, 4119 Cromwell Road (423) 894-8028 tvrail.com Master Hypnotist 7 & 9:30 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Road (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com “Steel Magnolias” 8 p.m. Barking Legs Theater, 1307 Dodds Ave. (423) 624-534 barkinglegs.org Marvin Lee
10:30 p.m. Vaudeville Café, 138 Market St. (423) 517-1839 funnydinner.com
sun 11.18 “Beat Hunger” UTC Percussion Ensemble 7:30 p.m. UTC Fine Arts Center, 752 Vine St. (423) 425-4601 utc.edu Run for Reece 8 a.m. River Park Pavilion 3, 4301 Amnicola Hwy. (423) 842-0177 runforreece.com Casting Workshop 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Townsend Atelier, 201 W. Main St. (423) 266-2712 townsendatelier.com Thanksgiving Market 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. First Tennessee Pavilion, 1829 Carter St. chattanoogamarket.com Engage 2012 11 a.m.-4 p.m. First Tennessee Pavilion, 1829 Carter St. chattanoogamarket.com “Quiet Spaces” 1-5 p.m. River Gallery, 400 E. Second St. (423) 265-5033 river-gallery.com Rock the Babies: A Benefit for Eric Ralls and Family 4 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. rhythm-brews.com “The Curious Savage” 6:30 p.m. Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga, 1918 Union Ave. (423) 987-5141 ensembletheatre ofchattanooga.com Master Hypnotist 5:30 & 7:30 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Road (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com Movie: “Wake in Fright” 8:30 p.m. Barking Legs Theater, 1307 Dodds Ave. (423) 624-5347 barkinglegs.org
mon 11.19 “Quiet Spaces” 10 a.m.-5 p.m. River Gallery, 400 E. Second St. (423) 265-5033 river-gallery.com
Chattanooga Monday Nite Big Band 7:30 p.m. The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Road (423) 499-5055 thepalmsathamilton.com
tue 11.20 “Quiet Spaces” 10 a.m.-5 p.m. River Gallery, 400 E. Second St. (423) 265-5033 river-gallery.com Art After School (Ages 9-11) 4:30-6 p.m. Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View (423) 266-0944 huntermuseum.org An Evening with Jon Meacham 6 & 7 p.m. Lindsay Street Hall, 901 Lindasy St. (423) 267-1218 artsedcouncil.org Story Slam 7 p.m. The Camp House, 1427 Williams St. (423) 702-8081 thecamphouse.com UTC Orchestra Concert 7:30 p.m. UTC Fine Arts Center, 752 Vine St. (423) 425-4601 utc.edu/music
A toast to the spirit of the season!
Happy g! n i v i g s k n Tha
wed 11.21 “Quiet Spaces” 10 a.m.-5 p.m. River Gallery, 400 E. Second St. (423) 265-5033 river-gallery.com “The Art of Gifting” 1-5 p.m. In-Town Gallery, 26A Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9214 intowngallery.com Eric Foster Comedy Night with Mia Jackson 7:30 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Road (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com
Choice wine and spirits to warm your holidays
Map these locations at chattanoogapulse.com. Send calendar listings at least 10 days in advance to: calendar@ chattanoogapulse.com.
3849 Dayton Blvd. • Ste. 113 423.877.1787 At the corner of Morrison Springs Road and Dayton Boulevard in the Bi-Lo Shopping Center chattanoogapulse.com • nov. 15-21, 2012 • The Pulse • 17
FRESH LUNCH & DINNER SPECIALS
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“THE BLUE BIRD” PUPPET SHow A wonderful puppet show by Fred Arnold
Nov. 16 & 17, at 7pm Nov. 17 & 18 at 2pm Admission: $8 Mountain Arts Community Center 809 Kentucky Ave. Signal Mountain • (423) 886-1959 signalmountainmacc.org
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East Brainerd 1414 Jenkins Road (next to Lupi’s) Monday-Thursday • 6am-8pm Friday & Saturday • 6am-10pm Sunday • 7am-2:30pm 423.531.3444
TastyDaylightDonuts.com • Facebook.com/TastyDonuts 18 • The Pulse • nov. 15-21, 2012 • chattanoogapulse.com
Screen
JOHN DEVORE
A Human Bond in tenth grade, i had to write a book report on any fiction book from the library. I somehow settled on an Ian Fleming novel about the world’s most conspicuous spy, James Bond. I don’t remember which one it was—I didn’t finish reading it. I had seen plenty of James Bond films and the book didn’t match. It was mostly descriptions of foreign cities and the types of food Bond ate in the hotels there. I got about half way through the report, got bored, and created my own ending. I believe I took the boat chase scene from beginning of “The World is Not Enough” and transplanted it into the report. My teacher didn’t notice. The point here is that all James Bond films are essentially interchangeable. Some are higher quality than others, but after 23 films and 50 years, the audience knows what to expect. That said, “Skyfall” is more than moderately entertaining—it’s likely the best Bond film made in my lifetime. However, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a Bond film. “Skyfall” follows in the footsteps of the most recent “Casino Royale,” meaning that it attempts to inject more realism into a world generally fraught with absurd gadgets and one liners. The film makes references to the more campy days of MI6, with clever nods to exploding pens and Aston Martins, but is far more character driven than previous incarnations. This isn’t saying much; most Bond characters serve the purpose of sex symbol, cannon fodder, or authority figures for Bond to wryly insult. In “Skyfall,” Bond seems like slightly more of a person —the film makes an effort to reveal minor details about his past, his vices (finally acknowledging alcoholism), and his limited future with the agency. Bond is getting older, no longer at his peak. This also seems to be the first time a Bond film has highlighted 007’s
more human qualities. The plot is recycled—a former MI6 agent has a vendetta against M and her agency. No world domination or shark tanks are necessary. But as I mentioned before, after so many movies, it would be pretty easy to mix and match plot points from the previous incarnations of Bond and create something that seems new. “Skyfall” boasts a fairly impressive cast for a Bond movie. Judi Dench returns as M and Ralph Fiennes co-stars as an interested party. Javier Bardem plays an effective villain, one who appears to have a genuinely understandable motivation and irrational access to military hardware, as most Bond villains do. However, he is quite a bit more threatening a film like “No Country For Old Men.” He speaks a little too much in “SkyFall”— the silence of Anton Chigurh is far more frightening than the constant speech making of Silva, although neither character has a competent barber. The other actors appear to take their roles seriously, which is important when trying to make a serious Bond film.
The humor is downplayed for the action, which will likely please most fans. I felt it went on a little long. Filmmakers seem to have been especially long-winded this year. I’ve seen quite a few that are over two hours, sometimes pushing three. I don’t have that much time on the weekends, especially when so much can be cut out without losing any of the story. This is certainly true with “Skyfall.” If they’d cut out a bit more, it might have been more fun to watch. There isn’t a lot to say about a Bond film that hasn’t been said of each predecessor. I enjoyed it for what it was—there were several inventive scenes, beautiful locations, and exciting car chases. It was more consistent than “Quantum of Solace” to be sure. I like Daniel Craig in the character. If you’re a Bond fan, you won’t have any complaints. If not, you’ll at least be watching a well-made film that does the series justice and lovingly treats an icon with the respect he deserves. So, in that sense, it’s certainly worth seeing.
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chattanoogapulse.com • nov. 15-21, 2012 • The Pulse • 19
Free Will Astrology SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): An
environmental organization in New Zealand found that the local fishing industry wastes about 70 percent of its haul. In contrast, Iceland manages to use 96 percent of every fish caught. For example, New Zealand companies throw away most of the liver, roe, and heads of the fish, while Iceland has come up with ways to take advantage of all that stuff. Judging from your current astrological omens, Scorpio, I conclude that it’s crucial for you to take your cue from Iceland rather than New Zealand in the coming weeks. Be inventive, efficient and thorough in harnessing the power of all your raw materials.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “They will say you are on the wrong road,” said poet Antonio Porchia, “if it is your own.” I suspect you may have to deal with wrong-headed badgering like that in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. In fact, you could experience a surge of discouraging words that tries to shoo you away from the path with heart. Some of the push may come from enemies, some from friends or loved ones, and some from deluded little voices in your own head. I hope you won’t be demoralized by the onslaught, but will instead respond like a brave hero who uses adversity as a motivating force. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
I’m sure you’ve got thousands of practical details to attend to. Your schedule may be as busy as it has been in months. But I hope you will find time to do what I consider essential to your well-being, and that is to wander and wonder. In fact, let’s make that your motto: to wander and wonder. Even if it’s just for a few stolen moments between your serious appointments, allow yourself to meander off into the unknown and marvel at all the curious things you find. Be on the lookout for high strangeness that thrills your imagination, for exotic pleasures that titillate your lust for novelty, and for fertile chaos that blows your mind in all the right ways.
AQUARIUS
(Jan. 20-Feb. 18): James Joyce was a great novelist, but not much of a fighter. He picked a more imposing and athletic buddy to go drinking with, though: Ernest Hemingway. If the two men encountered any alcohol-induced trouble, Joyce would slink behind his friend and yell, “Deal with him, Hemingway, deal with him!” I don’t anticipate that you’ll be in the vicinity of any bar scuffles in the coming week, Aquarius. But I do think you would benefit from having a potent and persuasive ally on your side. It’s time to add some heft and clout to your arsenal of resources.
20 • The Pulse • nov. 15-21, 2012 • chattanoogapulse.com
rob brezsny
PISCES
(Feb. 19-March 20): Is it possible that you have been too receptive and empathetic for your own good lately? I mean, I love how attuned you are to the ebb and flow of subtle energies, but I fear you may be going too far. As heroic as it might seem to be the most sensitive and responsive person in a tenmile radius, I’d rather see you work on being more self-contained right now. That’s why, for a limited time only, I’m recommending that you turn the full force of your touchyfeely solicitude on yourself.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In old
Christian and Islamic lore, the dove was a symbol of the holy spirit. The bird was considered so pure and sacred that the devil, who was an expert shapeshifter, could not take on its form. The dove had a different meaning in other traditions, however. Among the ancient Greeks, it had a special relationship with Aphrodite, the goddess of love. In Rome, its eggs were regarded as aphrodisiacs. Drawing on all these meanings, I’m nominating the dove to be your power animal in the coming week. You will have an excellent chance to intensify your connection with divine truths through the power of love and eros —and vice versa.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Your
next assignment is to deepen and refine your relationship with your temptations. That doesn’t mean you should shed all caution and simply give in to them. Rather, I’m suggesting you escape the bind that makes you feel like you have to either ruthlessly repress your complicated longings or else thoroughly express them. Is there an in-between position you can find? A way you can appreciate the mysterious gift that the temptations confer and not be miserably obsessed by them?
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You’re
a bit like a professional jet pilot who is operating the pirate ship ride at an amusement park. You have resemblances to a top chef who’s shopping for gourmet ingredients in a seedy convenience store. In other words, Gemini, you may feel slightly off-kilter or dispossessed, even though you have a lot going for you. Here’s the best possible thing you could do while you wait for the fates to show you how to make a correction: Make it your intention to feel centered, poised and at peace exactly as you are right now.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Contrary to conventional wisdom, there is currently enough food available to feed everyone on the planet. The problem is, it’s not dis-
tributed efficiently. Some people get far more food than they need, and even waste a lot of it, while less fortunate folks go hungry. I invite you to think about whether you might have a metaphorically comparable situation in your own life, Cancerian. Is there a part of your psyche that’s well-nurtured but a different part that receives meager shares of love and support? The coming weeks would be an excellent time to correct such an imbalance.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): This horoscope is not an advertisement for ceremonial shovels. I am receiving no payment from a ceremonial shovel company for suggesting that you procure a customized engraved gold digging tool for your own personal use. And I will feel fine if you don’t actually get a real one, but instead merely imagine yourself wielding a pretend version. The fact is, Leo, the coming weeks will be an excellent time to do a groundbreaking ritual: to dig up the first scoop of metaphorical dirt in the place where you will build your future dream house, masterpiece, or labor of love. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I don’t think you’re fully aware of the game you’ve been immersed in. You may even be in denial that you’re playing it. If I’m right about this, please make it a priority to acknowledge what’s going on and identify the exact nature of the game. You can’t afford to be innocent about the subterranean forces that are in motion. It’s especially important not to be too nice and polite to see the complicated truth. There’s no need to be a cynical shark -- that would be as inappropriate a response as being a sweet little lamb. But you should definitely activate your jungle senses. LIBRA
(Sept. 23-Oct. 22): On Reddit.com, someone asked members of the community the following: What is your best unanswerable question? Among the more serious offerings were “What is love?”, “What is magic?”, “Why is there something as opposed to nothing?”, and “What is the meaning of life?” Then there were more avant-garde possibilities: “Where do squirrels go during hurricanes?”, “Could Jesus microwave a burrito so hot that he himself could not eat it?”, and “If I asked you to sleep with me, would your answer be the same as the answer to this question?” After evaluating the current astrological omens, Libra, I urge you to pose your own best riddle—a query that will provide maximum stimulation as you meditate on it during the next four months.
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1. Suggestive hit from Van Halen 5. Prefix meaning “both” 9. Bog stuff 13. British children’s author ___ Blyton 14. Actress Witherspoon 16. Supreme Court Justice ___ Bader Ginsburg 17. UFO tracker’s headwear, it’s said 19. Writer Sarah ___ Jewett 20. Be 21. Shrimp and salmon, it’s said 23. Org. with the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response 25. 300, to Caesar 26. It figures heavily in the Mediterranean Diet, for short 27. Doha resident 31. Strudel topping 33. They’re full of old growth 38. Award for a 30-second spot 39. “Heroes” villain (anagram of L-RAYS)
40. Out-of-control situation 43. Song title followed by “in all the wrong places” 46. Battery terminal 48. Company that owns the “Star Wars” franchise 49. Bro, e.g. 50. Dog seen during “Family Ties” closing credits 53. Massive Brit. lexicon 54. Shar-pei’s features 57. Bunch 62. Tiny bit 63. Secret the theme answers contain 65. “Rhinestone Cowboy” singer Campbell 66. More weak, like excuses 67. Aberdeen resident 68. Government org. “launched” in 1958 69. “Climb ___ Mountain” (song from “The Sound of Music”) 70. Dick Tracy’s love ___ Trueheart
Down
1. Ballet leap 2. Operating
system option 3. ___ Cooper 4. Some printable files 5. “All Things Considered” reporter Shapiro 6. Thin toast 7. Competitor of Glidden and Sherwin-Williams 8. Designer Mizrahi 9. Univ. worker 10. Song contest with previous winners ABBA and Celine Dion 11. When many take lunch 12. Homework eater, supposedly 15. Suffix after “diet” or “synth” 18. “SNL” alum Cheri 22. Mark Harmon series on CBS 24. Belarus city not far from the similarlynamed capital 27. Network seen in “The Soup” segment “Tales From Home Shopping” 28. Feel sick 29. Fossilized marine animals 30. “There’s ___ reason for this...”
32. “Save” shortcut on some computers 34. “I thought this’d be helpful” acronym 35. Former name of the cable network Versus 36. UK flying corps 37. Etch away 41. The ___ Glove (“As Seen on TV” mitt) 42. Scottish novelist Josephine 44. Egg, on a French menu 45. Fingerprint line 46. Pass out homework 47. Inventor Tesla 51. Prepare water for pasta 52. Arm bones 53. Willow variety 55. Grandma, to some 56. Forthcoming psych book 58. Robbie who played Cousin Oliver on “The Brady Bunch” 59. Way back when 60. Crafts from another planet 61. Crate & Barrel buys 64. ___ rub
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Jonesin’ Crossword created By Matt Jones. © 2012 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 No. 0598. chattanoogapulse.com • nov. 15-21, 2012 • The Pulse • 21
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Visit chattanoogajobpost.com or call 423.242.7671 22 • The Pulse • nov. 15-21, 2012 • chattanoogapulse.com
chuck crowder
Five Years of the Noog it might come as surprise to you guys (and likely the editors of this fine publication, as they haven’t said a word to me about it … unless they’re planning a surprise party) that I have been waxing on and on about useless issues in The Pulse every single week now for, as of this month, five years. It’s an achievement that I’m particularly proud of because for me that’s a long time to continuously do anything. I’ve never had a relationship last that long. I’ve come very close, but there’s never been a fiveyear anniversary with any one girl (yet). I’ve lived in my current home for seven years now, the longest time I’ve laid my head in the same spot since I was a teenager. I did keep a job for nearly nine years once, but again, a fluke. In fact the longest I’ve done any one thing, besides writing, is being a father (17 years and counting). So if it seems like I’m patting myself on the back in my 251st column it’s because I am. This achievement goes beyond the commitment of longevity. Sitting down to crank out 600 to 800 words about whatever drivel is in my head each and every week for 250 weeks so far is tougher than it reads. Despite rhetoric from those critics who throw snowballs at the subject matter of my opinions like it’s some sort of hard news reporting, there’s a certain kind of art to bullshitting. All this column was ever meant to be are observations of everyday topics set to whatever humor I can muster up (i.e.: bullshit). Some of the subjects I’ve deconstructed over the years have been more memorable than others. I still get comments from readers about the one I wrote concerning my spotty history of couch ownership, my thoughts
“
Zach tried to ease my concern about it’s positioning by telling me it’s a ‘destination piece.’ Ah, the art of bullshitting. on powerchair economics, leaving the Noog to marry Molly Ringwald, who I met at the Read House Starbucks on April Fool’s Day, the alluring qualities of Old Spice and the ballad of Tremont Tavern mug #29. And, infamously, there was that one column that nearly propelled The Pulse into a lawsuit. That’s why you’ll notice I never mention proper names of those who aren’t in the public eye. I will mention Zach Cooper though. He’s been the publisher of this thing since its beginnings in 2003. He’s not only a cherished friend, but before that, he was the guy who shot down my initial attempts at writing “Life in The Noog” in the first place. “This sucks,” I recall his reaction to the first two. But three’s a charm
I guess, because now you can find this column neatly tucked away on the next to last page each week. Just keep turning pages, past the calendars, horoscope, crossword puzzle and nearly every ad and you’ll come across it eventually. Zach tried to ease my concern about it’s positioning by telling me it’s a “destination piece.” Ah, the art of bullshitting. But despite it’s bathroom readership and common use as a drink coaster, I love writing for The Pulse. Not only is it one of my favorite creative outlets, but The Pulse is the only news publication in the Noog unafraid of calling attention to issues without bias to its advertisers or fear of being discounted for telling the truth, whether good or potentially unpopular. And there’s something to be said about that. So whether you find my opinions valid, politically correct, funny, stupid or just plain useless, it’s my honor to deliver them to you—each and every damn week. Oh, you can read Alex Teach instead if you want. In fact I hope you read him anyway. But hopefully I’ll continue to have the opportunity to contribute for another five years. And if this particular entry seems a little selfserving, it’s because they all are. Cheers! Chuck Crowder is a local writer and man about town. Has it really been five years? His opinions are still his own.
chattanoogapulse.com • nov. 15-21, 2012 • The Pulse • 23