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pub notes

THIS WEEK’S ISSUE: News & Features City Dope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Doug McKillip to Pete McCommons “The Republican legislators took no part in the committee that met all summer to come up with a local reapportionment plan. Then Rep. Doug McKillip rushed in at the last minute with a hastily drawn scheme, too late for it to receive formal consideration by the reapportionment committee” Pete—I know accuracy has no real place in your editorial.

But just so you and I know the truth—here goes…

First—I met with Mayor Denson, Frank Ginn and Keith Heard on May 3rd, 2011 to discuss the reapportionment committee itself, its make-up, and voiced my concerns about super districts, (hardly “last minute”) and I called this meeting to make sure all this was brought to local government’s attention very early on in the process.

Second—I attended two of the four reapportionment committee meetings (more than most commissioners), personally assisted in the preparation of two alternative maps, personally paid for the printing and distribution of one set, gave testimony at one meeting, and was prepared to answer questions at the other (hardly “took no part”).

Third—Commissioner Sims said at the meeting you and I attended together that maps submitted thereafter would be considered. Then, in a stunning reversal of position, the committee decided not to consider the 10-equal-size map with fully 90 days left before the legislative session began (hardly “too late for it to receive formal consideration”). They simply chose not to consider it.

Fourth—I drew the 10-equal-size districts plan only after it became clear to me that no plans other than the one “ordered” by the M and C would be passed. The point of that plan was only to show that with 10 districts, one could draw two majority-minority districts (so while it was “hasty”—it served its purpose and will go into the record should any group decide to challenge whatever might eventually get passed).

Pete—I know it is an editorial, and all the “overlord” jokes aside, you knew as you wrote this that it had significant errors.

Why not at least try to print the truth?

Doug

Pete McCommons to Doug McKillip Doug: I guess newspaper editors are as much accustomed as politicians to being told they have no regard for the truth.

The meeting you called with Mayor Denson, Sen. Ginn and Rep. Heard comes as a surprise to me and no doubt to everybody else in town. You, as a state representative, called a meeting with the mayor to tell her what you expected her committee to accomplish in the way of a local government reapportionment plan? Really, Doug? Was it at this meeting, “early on in the process,” that you were told that deleting the superdistricts was not reapportionment but reorganization? Did you somehow miss the point that the committee was authorized to reapportion the county’s districts according to the 2010 census but not to reorganize the government and change our charter? Is that why you showed up at the first meeting, said you had a plan but didn’t show it, cross-examined the committee’s consultant and then left the meeting? Is that why you waited until the final meeting of the reapportionment committee to submit your plan, when they had already concluded their work and were ready to vote?

I am trying, as you suggest, to print the truth. Perhaps you should, too. You told me on September 4 that you had “no intention” of forcing through a plan that was not supported by our local government, that you “respect the process.” Yet here you are, after the process is finished, still planning to go over the heads of our local government to force through a plan that fundamentally alters our charter.

Truthfully, Doug, I believe you are simply following the practice of your new Republican colleagues to dilute opposition voting wherever it exists, whether on the state or the local level. Your party has already cut Athens-Clarke County in half to make a safe district for your colleague, Sen. Bill Cowsert. Your party has already carved Athens-Clarke County into a new safe district for you and suppressed voter turnout here by moving our nonpartisan elections to July. How can I not believe that this latest redrawing of lines is anything but further Republican interference in local government for the sole purpose of political gain? Isn’t this really the truth, Doug?

Pete McCommons editor@flagpole.com

Athens News and Views

Selig has elected to pretend that no one opposes its Walmart development.

Athens Rising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 What’s Up in New Development

Is a bit of creative thinking too much to ask from the A&D developers?

Arts & Events Theatre Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 VOLDEMORT!–The Musical

Fans of Jesus Christ Superstar will not be disappointed, even without the rollerskating cats.

Why Buying Locally Matters . . . . . 10 Help Your Community This Holiday Season

Local business owners explain why avoiding the big-box retailers is so important.

Music Radiolucent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 The Road to Almost Famous

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city dope Athens News and Views The Battle Is Joined: Anyone who thought we were still waiting to see the beginning of the PR blitz to sell Selig Enterprises’ colossal Walmart shopping center on the eastern edge of downtown—which actually began about a month ago when Selig reps met privately with Athens-Clarke County commissioners and staff to install the mantra that the development is very, very good, and there’s nothing anybody can do to stop it—must have been finally disabused of that notion by a story that ran in last Thursday’s Athens Banner-Herald. The article paraphrased Selig VP Jo Ann Chitty as John Paul Gallagher

what that may indicate about the priorities of our “local business leaders.”

The point is that we can’t expect anything like fair or honest interactions with Selig or anyone who has signed on to help them shove this project through the local vetting process.

And that process must still play out, no matter how loudly the PR machine drums the refrain of “It’s a done deal.” No traffic studies have been completed. No site-specific designs have been produced. No plans have been submitted to zoning officials. And until that full process has been undertaken, we need to keep calling and writing to Selig, the mayor and our commissioners, and insisting on our right to help determine what our laws will and will not allow.

Then There’s All This Nonsense: If you haven’t already read Pete McCommons’ Pub Notes in this issue, please do so now. All finished? Good. Now, we can talk about the fact that Doug McKillip now reveals he called a meeting back in May with Sen. Frank Ginn, Opponents of the Board of Regents ban on undocumented students attend last Rep. Keith Heard and week’s meeting of the University Council.

Mayor Nancy Denson to talk about ACC’s local claiming that public reaction to the proposed redistricting, at which he says he raised his development, including the 100,000-squareconcerns about superdistricts. Neither Denson foot Walmart that would likely anchor it, “has nor McKillip recalls discussing minority repbeen mixed but mostly positive.” resentation, the linchpin of the Republican Well, that’s almost certainly true, assumdelegation’s current “concerns.” Nor, oddly, ing Selig has heard “positive” responses from does Denson recall advising any ACC commore than the 16,000-plus people who have missioners of the keen interest in our local signed a petition stating their opposition to redistricting—and in the “legality” of the the project’s inclusion of Walmart. But, wait! superdistricts, as McKillip remembers it—on Brian Brodrick of Jackson Spaulding, the local the part of the legislators who would eventuPR firm Selig has hired to pimp its project to ally be required to sign off on whatever plan us, says analysis of the petition shows that the commissioners approved.

40 percent of those who signed it don’t even And there you have it: yet another interlive in Athens, and that furthermore, some of esting bit of information that yet fails to the names on it are fake! As for the remainilluminate what in the world these guys are ing eight or ten thousand signees, who may doing monkeying around with Athens’ local therefore be assumed both to live here and districts now… except monkeying around with to be real people, “It’s not a big chunk of the Athens’ local districts. community,” says Brodrick. “It’s a small, vocal group.”

Take Your Enlightenment, And…: Last How true, Brian: almost as small as the Thursday, CNN ran a report about Freedom group that elected our current mayor last year, University, the quasi-covert initiative by UGA if indeed a little more vocal. Not even a tenth professors to offer free university-level courses of the local population, just farting around to qualified students prevented from attendon the Internet and weighing in on a zoning ing the state’s top universities by the Board issue, like so many people always do. Just a of Regents’ ban on undocumented immigrants silly 10,000 Athens residents, and another few (see also Melissa Hovanes’ Oct. 28 Flagpole thousand non-locals, who have intentionally article). It’s a truly inspiring and heartbreakgone on record to emphatically oppose this ing TV news story; you can find it by searching development in its currently proposed form.

“Freedom University” at www.cnn.com.

As ridiculously laughable as this kind of That same day, The University Council, spin may be, it’s worth considering what UGA’s highest-level faculty organization, voted Selig’s tortured manipulation of the facts to ask the regents to repeal the ban, essenabout the opposition to its project may say tially on the grounds that it disastrously about the reliability of its claims about the shames the university in the eyes of civiproject in general. (Hint: it’s all PR.) And lized people everywhere. The regents immewhile we’re at it, let’s also consider the fact diately sent word that they wouldn’t even that Brodrick, the chair-elect of the Athens consider a repeal, so if any of you stubborn Area Chamber of Commerce and a member of optimists were starting to get the idea that the Athens Downtown Development Authority Georgia’s benighting veil of ignorance and board, is shilling for the world’s most powerful hatred might soon begin to part… sorry, no. enemy of local business by denying the existence of passionate support for the same—and Dave Marr news@flagpole.com

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FLAGPOLE.COM ∙ DECEMBER 7, 2011

city pages Local Delegation Still Keen on Redistricting A tug-of-war between Athens-Clarke commissioners and the state legislators who represent Athens appeared unresolved last week—but at least not inflamed—as the two groups met together to discuss local commission districts. Commissioners have proposed a map that would make minimal changes to Athens-Clarke County’s current districts to reflect population changes; but some of the legislators want broader changes, perhaps to give Republicans a leg up in local elections.

The final decision is the Legislature’s.

The current county districts “are gerrymandered to elect Democrats,” Rep. Doug McKillip told Flagpole in October. State Senator Frank Ginn told commissioners last week he hoped they would “look at the type of government that you’ve got—the form of government” and not just tweak the districts. But “I’m a big proponent of local control,” he added, and “unless there’s something wrong” with the local plan, “I won’t seek to change it.”

The district map is only one of a number of items the ACC commission asked the legislators to bring forward at the Capitol, but the legislators have given redistricting far more of their attention than the commission’s other concerns—about the costs of state-mandated assessment freezes, for example, or underfunding of the Environmental Protection Division, or a state Department of Transportation that ignores local concerns. The legislators requested last week’s meeting (which was also attended by members of the committee appointed by Mayor Nancy Denson that came up with the proposed redistricting map).

“This thing’s gotten stirred up a lot,” said Ginn. Newbie legislator Chuck Williams agreed,

citing “insinuations [in the press] that positions have already been taken… My mind is still very much wide open on this entire matter,” he said. State Senator Bill Cowsert agreed. McKillip appeared more critical, pressing the point that ACC’s two at-large “superdistricts” dilute minority voting strength.

(McKillip himself had lobbied the redistricting committee for a third map, which he submitted after the committee had concluded its three public input sessions and which was rejected.)

As the only African-American and the only Democrat among the legislators, Rep. Keith Heard has scoffed at his colleagues’ newfound concerns about minority voting strength.

And Commissioner Harry Sims (who chaired the redistricting committee, and who is also black) said that the map reflects the desires of citizens who spoke at three public hearings and who overwhelmingly asked that changes be kept to a minimum.

As for black voters, they are far more widely spread out in Clarke County than they once were, said redistricting consultant Linda Meggars, who advised the committee.

“Things have changed,” she said. “It’s being gentrified. The younger blacks are dispersed throughout.” And while Georgia redistricting still must be reviewed by the U.S. Justice Department for adherence to the Voting Rights Act, race cannot legally be the only consideration in drawing district boundaries, she added. Other considerations, like clear boundaries such as streets and geographical features, must also be considered.

But both black and white commissioners said last month they don’t think race is a huge factor anymore in how people vote.

“I think we have moved beyond that,” said Commissioner George Maxwell.

John Huie

capitol impact Lawmakers Provide Comic Relief When Bobby Franklin passed away last summer from a heart attack, I thought we had seen the end of a legislative tradition.

Franklin, who represented Cobb County in the Georgia House for 15 years, was part of a yearly tradition at the Gold Dome. Every November, when legislators would start prefiling bills for the upcoming session, Franklin would introduce a bunch of measures that were out there on the far reaches of the political spectrum. His bills would require prison sentences for doctors who performed abortions or force state government to pay its bills in gold or allow Segway scooter riders to carry firearms.

These bills were never going to be seriously considered, but they would provide material for humorous feature stories and kick off the “silly season” leading up to the General Assembly session in January.

Even with Franklin having departed this life, I should not have worried that Capitol reporters would no longer have a “silly season” to write about.

Sen. John Albers, a firstterm lawmaker from Roswell, has stepped up to the plate and shown that he can be just as entertaining as Franklin. Albers and his cohort from the House, Rep. Jason Spencer (R-Woodbine), recently introduced bills that would require low-income people to pay for and pass a drug screening test before they could apply for Medicaid or welfare benefits. For those applicants being tested, “the bill does require bodily fluids,” Spencer helpfully explained at a news conference.

These bills likely are not going to pass, but even if they did, they would be tossed out by a federal judge as soon as someone could file a lawsuit. A drug-testing law similar to the one proposed by Albers was overturned in October by a federal judge in Florida.

Albers’ idea caught on quickly with other legislators, however, and a few have even

been saying that drug tests should be required of politicians as well as Medicaid applicants. At a chamber of commerce function in Savannah, Rep. Bob Bryant (D-Savannah) said he would support drug tests “if you require all elected officials to take the same exam.”

Anyone who holds elected office ought to be able to do so unimpaired,” Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) agreed.

Sen. Buddy Carter (R-Pooler), who owns and operates a pharmacy in Chatham County, said he was also okay with the idea: “I will be glad to take a test anytime. I sell drugs. I don’t take them.”

Albers has certainly stirred up some media coverage with this one, but he’s the kind of guy who knows how to attract attention in the public arena. When he was running for the legislature last year, Albers appeared at a political forum in Fulton County and boasted that he had been in charge of a $5 billion division at AT&T, the telecommunications giant. Unfortunately for Albers, there was a guy in the audience who really had been a vice president at AT&T. The AT&T executive said he had never heard of Albers. My journalistic colleagues at Politifact then checked into the Albers claim and ultimately determined that it was false.

This suggests that it might be a good idea for all politicians to start testing themselves for drugs before they make any public appearances—it may reduce the chances that they’ll say something inaccurate or misleading.

Rep. Scott Holcomb (D-Atlanta), in fact, is already on the case. He pre-filed a bill last week that would require all members of the General Assembly to be tested for drugs.

“If required for the poor, we need to do it too,” Holcomb declared.

Somewhere, surely, the spirit of Bobby Franklin is looking on and smiling.

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athens rising

toward the river, and take advantage of the rolling topography to create iconic views.

The historic buildings on the National Register could be integrated into the project to create an authentic urban environment that is reflective of local character. A mix of new and old, artfully blended together, would really cement this project’s identity as a part of Athens that contributes to, rather than detracts from, the unique character which brings so many tourists to town.

Already, the three-lane section of Oconee Street between thousands of residents who live in or commute through the The Jittery Joe’s Roaster structure is an easy example Williams Street and Thomas Street handles around 27,000 corridor. The problem can’t be fixed on Walmart’s property of how to create an interesting draw for the development. cars a day when classes are in. For comparison, local officials alone. The three-lane portion of the corridor extends another Already, groups come to see and learn about the roasting opergenerally don’t recommend three-laning as a solution for roads block to the south, threading between the Waterford apartment ation, as well as taste the coffee. Terrapin Brewery, likewise, that handle more than 20,000. Throwing an ill-conceived shop- complex and Nuçi’s Space, and also north, between the already is known for its tours and tastings. If Selig is serious about ping center onto that little road and pushing that count up by tight Farmer’s Hardware and former Athens Plumbing and Well getting in on the local foodie scene, then taking Jittery Joe’s 10 to 20 percent is a recipe for disaster. Traffic between the Supply. In order to get this corridor to be anything resembling and making it a landmark attraction for their project would loop and downtown is already pretty wonky in the afternoons. functional, it’ll take a partnership. be the right move.

When those thousands of folks are stuck in traffic for an extra The project will also fundamentally redefine this commuOconee Street’s got to be upgraded, clearly, and for Selig 15 minutes every day, they’ll have Mayor Denson to thank. nity and seriously shake that sense of quirky charm for which to work with the community to convert it into a proper fourThat’s an hour a week, two full days a year that Mayor Denson Athens is so consistently regarded the world over. This isn’t lane roadway, perhaps with attractive tree-lined sidewalks and will have taken from those folks’ lives. All for a few minimum- one of the best places in the country to retire because of the medians, would make it easier for customers to get to their wage jobs provided by a company with a track record development, and present an attractive front. of actually resulting in a net loss of jobs to the comOf course, part of working with the community munities it inhabits. means being willing to have a conversation about The whole notion that legitimate concerns about what the right sorts of tenants for the project might the scale of a Walmart right there are liberal elitism is be. Another shopping center in the works, Epps Bridge a lazy argument; especially when not four years ago Centre out on 316, comes to mind, not so much for a Target was proposed just on the other side of the its design but because of the alternative model that loop, generating the same reactions about size, scale it presents to financing and tenants. That project and impact on quality of life due to traffic. In that would include 10 “anchor” stores ranging in size from case, it was on a comparatively uncongested, five-lane 15,000–45,000 square feet. Apparently, it’s possible section of Lexington Highway. Our standards haven’t in this market to get something more reasonable in changed; this community is special, and meeting the scale, and to finance a project without relying on a barest minimums that the law requires, whether in single megastore. Has Selig simply taken the easy the ‘burbs or downtown, isn’t good enough when the route by courting Walmart? It certainly seems possible projects are this big. that several smaller tenants could provide a grocery Sense of place and quality of life are about all (perhaps even one run by Walmart) and other serwe’ve got going for us in Athens, but they’re a hell of vices, without creating the monolithic presence of a an asset—one that peer cities like Augusta and Macon 100,000-square-foot monstrosity. would kill for. Critics of ongoing efforts like the People How might such a partnership be most successful? for a Better Athens petition point to the opposition Well, the development will result in a huge increase of out-of-towners to the specifics of the project, and in property taxes, and reinvesting those revenues Traffic will only get worse for residents heading home to the Eastside if a proposed Walmart is in the area through the creation of a Tax Allocation say that the fact that they don’t live here proves the built on the outskirts of downtown, and it’ll take the city and Selig working together to fix the irrelevance of the arguments they support. But those District makes a lot of sense. Selig will pay tens of problem. out-of-towners bring a lot of money here, eating millions in property taxes over the next couple of at restaurants and staying in downtown hotels. We’re decades, and the county could bring that money to spending a lot of money to expand a convention center whose strip malls. A change like this is something we should get a the table as an offer to help get the infrastructure—including chief marketing angle is the unique downtown across the say in. If Selig were to come around and recognize the great streets, as well as the rail-to-trail, parks and other amenities— street. Calling attention to the value of that tourism industry opportunity that Athens presents, what shape might this to world-class standards. and trying to find a better road to economic development isn’t hugely significant development take?

Money talks, but it’ll require elected leaders to actually naysaying. Naysaying looks like a Chamber of Commerce presiSuppose that plaza of theirs were pushed over so that it lead, even when they aren’t required to vote on the issue. dent yelling that a project to create full-time jobs across the faced toward the greenway, rather than the parking deck?

Throwing your hands up and saying it’s beyond your control income spectrum will never work. We can do better.

Imagine biking across two trestles from Dudley Park and arrivis a de facto endorsement of the project, and it’s something Although supporters of the Selig development on the ing at a town square, ringed in storefronts, with apartments voters should hold on to and remember the next time we talk Armstrong & Dobbs site have pointed out that the land is priabove, and an appropriately scaled grocery on the corner. about who represents this community. vate property and developers have the right to do what they Rather than those fancy rooftop restaurants looking over will, the effects will reach miles out, and significantly impact a Disney-fied plaza and “Main Street,” they could look out Kevan Williams athensrising@flagpole.com

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Locally, cooperatively owned and operated for 14 years

google that sh!t Many web searches involving Walmart typically lead you to two general families of links: those concerning the globally injurious effects of the world’s largest corporation, and those arguing against the existence of those effects. Thing is, the proWalmart sites are in many cases created or funded by Walmart itself.

A number of Walmart-funded sites have emerged online (often to disappear soon thereafter) that advertise the corporation’s supposed worker-, family- and communityfriendly vibe. The corporate leviathan goes so far as to create and fund fake blogs (called “flogs,” says the Internet) on which, for example, a wholesome middle-American couple RVs across the country, camping in Walmart parking lots and reporting on how every single Walmart employee they encounter loves working there.

Walmart has created so-called “community groups” out of the online ether to fight for the corporation’s recent initiatives to move into city centers (like Chicago, New York and now even Athens). The fake groups’ fake members even post in the online comments sections of newspaper articles about Walmart’s activity in local areas. It is “astroturfing” par excellence, the strategy by which corporations and well-heeled political entities create fake grassroots support that appears to be grounded in authentic local movements. With enough money, a corporation like Walmart can create the convincing appearance of communities of support.

In 2005, over $370,000 was spent in Flagstaff, AZ alone to combat a proposed ordinance in that city limiting the square footage of future “big box” stores. Flagstaff is about the size of Athens, to give you an idea of the lengths to which the corporation will go to combat opposition to a prospective move. Few community groups can face off successfully against that amount of funding and PR knowhow. As is its practice in local battles, Walmart set up a fake community group called “Protect Flagstaff’s Future” as a front for its media blitz. Proportionally to the city’s size, the corporation spent an insane amount of money to manufacture the appearance of support.

But the amount of money spent isn’t even the most shocking thing.

At the height of its campaign, Walmart went nuclear and placed an ad in the Flagstaff newspaper featuring a photo of a Nazi bookburning pyre. Printed in bold: “Should we let government tell us what we can read?”

The ad clumsily pounded out an equation of the square footage ordinance with the Nazi regime’s violent suppression of thought.

Limiting Walmart Supercenters is tantamount to book burning, went the message. (Image search “Walmart Flagstaff Nazi” to peep the ad.)

Everything is cheap at Walmart, even the irony. Wasn’t it the Nazi regime that all but perfected the use of propaganda to influence opinion? Walmart’s activity in Flagstaff can only be described as a propaganda campaign, and an especially pernicious one, as it sought to override democracy and effectively have a corporation determining law.

And consider that irony in light of the fact that Walmart’s collusion with the brutal Chinese regime is about the closest contemporary analogue of European fascism of

the 1930s. Google “Tiananmen Square,” and understand that Walmart’s entire business model is predicated on the oppression of the Chinese people by that country’s authoritarian regime. It is the Chinese state that is the enforcer which maintains a compliant workforce for Walmart. The world’s largest corporation and the world’s largest dictatorship are showing us what authoritarian capitalism might look like.

And here we can see the real danger of the Walmart corporation. The face of the corporation—that which it presents to the public through advertisements, high-dollar PR, fake community groups and online ruses—is wholly dedicated to obscuring the corporation’s quite well-known business model: low prices to Western customers through Chinese wage slaves and poorly treated employees in the stores themselves. Any rational adult understands that Walmart’s low prices are precisely due to low costs of production—not only in China, but throughout the Global South.

In its stores, Walmart demands intense loyalty and hard work while ruthlessly suppressing the right of workers to organize for better conditions, policies clearly reflected in the company’s management training. A whistleblowing Walmart manager recently reported, “I saw how managers were trained to put that fear into hourly workers’ heads…

The anti-union training was the biggest part of our reading and training material.” Her training included an entire day dedicated to which words to be suspicious of. According to that training, a flier in the break room about a baby shower “committee” meant that the manager must “find the person who made the sign, find out why they used that word, then determine if the action got a warning or a write-up… They called it unlawful Walmart language,” she said.

The words “committee,” “meeting” and “organize” are dangerous to any regime, governmental or corporate, which relies on repression and fear. Walmart’s commitment to treating its employees poorly cannot be underestimated. Several years ago, Walmart shut down one of its stores simply because that store’s employees had voted to form a union to bargain with their employer. In a city where Walmart has destroyed its competition and remains the only source of groceries or pharmaceuticals, this nuclear option that Walmart reserves is a frightening form of collective punishment in which the entire town’s population is put at risk.

That’s where “low” prices come from: the high costs paid by those the Walmart corporation steamrolls. But all of those machinations operate behind a meticulously crafted facade.

In function, it is no different from the propaganda efforts of authoritarian regimes, in which oppression is obscured with intoxicating notions of country and family. Walmart calls itself a “family,” and regularly relies almost entirely on false and disingenuous scenes of American life. It’s Orwell meets Rockwell.

Try to find a frown in a Walmart television commercial. Try to find anything remotely resembling the lived experience of a typical Walmart employee. Try to find the precariousness and worry that come with the sort of economy Walmart and its suppliers have created in the last few decades. You won’t find it. No, the feverish expansion of history’s largest corporation leads with the panacea of “low prices,” the Hollywood-grade illusion of happiness and a savior-like promise of “revitalization.”

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theatre review VOLDEMORT! –The Musical

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Before I go into this review of Town the set dressing. There is one set, a plain & Gown’s production of JESUS CHRIST wooden backdrop that serves as a stage, the SUPERSTAR, I’d like to say a few words about garden of Gethsemane and the cross itself, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and the exigencies and a second piece with a dark screen that of staging community theater. After securserves as a window into Hell at just the right ing the rights to JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, moments. Everything else is accomplished by T&G received a notice from the producers of the canny use of benches, seen initially as the next year’s Broadway revival of JESUS CHRIST pews in a funeral service that bookend the SUPERSTAR that while they could stage play and then reconfigured by the actors to JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and promote JESUS form walls, merchant stalls, whipping posts CHRIST SUPERSTAR on local posters and their and the setting for the Last Supper. Lighting own website, any mention of JESUS CHRIST cues set the mood as needed, often to great SUPERSTAR in mailers or social media (i.e., effect. Everyone is in modern attire; Jesus’ Facebook, the number-one promotional tool followers disheveling themselves while the on the planet) was strictly forbidden, so as Pharisees, Pontius Pilate (Don Smith) and not to dilute anticipatory buzz for the “real” King Herod (Amy Miller) remain buttonedproduction of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. down. Coats come on and off variously as the The result has been two months of PR acro- company doubles as citizens and lepers. batics as T&G has tried to promote its show The band, led by musical director Jonathan without mentioning JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR Sparks, is tight and the vocal performances by name, referring to it instead as “The are very good. Carroll doesn’t have Ted Neely’s Musical Which Must Not Be Named” and “An upper register (who does?) but his delivery is Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical,” which has led powerful, striking the right balance of gentleto much speculation about a play featuring ness and force as he depicts Jesus undergosinging Argentine cats roller-skating through the catacombs beneath Paris.

As an exercise in proprietary muscle-flexing, the stifling of a community theater group in the middle of semi-rural Georgia is arbitrary and ridiculous.

Saddle up, Athens, apparently New York fears us.

For those unfamiliar with the play (which seems hard to imagine, but it is possible), JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR is a Passion play done as rock opera, an all-singing retelling of the last days T&G’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar runs Dec. 8–11. of Christ, His betrayal by Judas, His trial and His crucifixion. Think The Passion of the Christ ing his personal struggles. Toledo’s singing but with ‘70s funk/rock numbers instead of is true and rich as she works through Mary Mel Gibson’s BDSM and snuff. Webber and Magdalene’s signature numbers (if you’re my lyricist Tim Rice focus on Jesus the man (Tracy age or older, you remember Yvonne Elliman’s Carroll) as an object of celebrity, surrounded songs being all over the radio). The showby Apostles and followers who are drawn more stopper in this production, however, is always to His charisma and the rush of belonging to a Judas. Webber and Rice give him the best movement than by His teachings. songs but also the most demanding ones, The only member of Jesus’ entourage requiring soul and anguish at an Otis Reddingwho seems to maintain any sort of perspeclevel of delivery. Ah Kuoi is more than up tive is Judas (Dustin Ah Kuoi), who believes to the task, and he delivers a tour-de-force that Jesus the teacher has gone dangerously performance, belting and dancing with selfoff-message with the “Son of God” stuff. It assured maximum funk. doesn’t help that Jesus has begun to keep This is not to say the production is perfect. company with Mary Magdalene (Chelsea The window to the Pit is a great effect when Toledo), written unabashedly here as a it’s used, but the piece takes up a third of the prostitute—Biblical scholars are still hashstage and is often distracting. The modern ing that one out—who truly loves Jesus but dress is also an interesting choice, but the is nonetheless a liability. Judas fears that actors are often washed out by the massive this burgeoning, lemming-like Messianic cult backdrop and could stand to pop with a bit is going to get everybody killed. As it turns more color. Basically, if your eye tends to out, he’s absolutely right. The Pharisees and wander, the production will lose some of its Scribes of the Sanhedrin (led by Adam Shirley impact. Fortunately, however, there is much and Joel Altherr) view Jesus as a rabble-rouser to capture your attention, particularly the and a threat to the Establishment (the play interplay between a very human Jesus and a was first staged in 1971, and the hippies-verstartlingly sympathetic Judas. Fans of JESUS sus-suits dynamic is inescapable) and want to CHRIST SUPERSTAR will not be disappointed, Kent State the entire movement. Judas goes even without the roller-skating cats. to them and offers to betray Jesus into their hands to save the others, even at the cost of John G. Nettles his soul.

There’s an awful lot going on in this proJesus Christ Superstar continues Thursday–Saturday, duction, and director G. Derek Adams wisely Dec. 8–10, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 11, at 2 p.m. chooses to focus on his players rather than Call 706-208-TOWN (8696) for reservations.

Shari Nettles / Aspasia Photography

theatre notes Drawing the Curtain It’s That Time of Year: Rose of Athens Theatre presents its production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, adapted by Shannon Rood and directed by Danielle Bailey Miller, on Thursday, Dec. 8 & Friday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m. at Seney-Stovall Chapel. Seeing as Dickens’ story is the third most-recognized Christmas tale in existence (#2 being the birth of Christ, and #1 being the one about the kid who wants a BB gun), there’s not a lot that needs to be said here, except that it’s been some time since a full staging of this show graced this town, and that’s a damn shame.

Tickets are $18 and available by calling 706340-9181 or visiting www.roseofathens.org.

Rock Operas: The Town & Gown Players will finish their run of Jesus Christ Superstar, the groundbreaking 1971 rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, with performances Thursday–Saturday, Dec. 8–10, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 11, at 2 p.m. As much as I hate giving props to Webber, this is a great show and perhaps his most iconic, and it’s well worth checking out. Tickets are $18, $15 for students and seniors, and $10 for students on Thursday night. Call 706-208-8696 to make reservations. See my review on p. 8.

The following weekend, T&G’s Second Stage breaks its moratorium on returning shows with a revival of John Cameron Mitchell’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch, the provocative drag rock musical, directed by Eric Kumsomboone and

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Cameron Logan, with Nathan Altman back as Hedwig. The show runs Thursday–Saturday, Dec. 15–17, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 18, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12, pricier than usual for a Second Stage production, but half the proceeds benefit the Boybutante AIDS Foundation. There will be no reservations taken for this show, so be sure to come an hour before the show, as this will sell out.

Workshop: I mentioned this a few months ago, but the date was pushed back, so here it is again. Lisa Mende, professional actress and comedian (“Seinfeld,” “Sex and the City,” about a million more credits) and driving force behind the Circle Ensemble Theatre, will be conducting an Improvisational Comedy Workshop at Floorspace in the Chase Street Warehouses beginning Saturday, Jan. 14. The class will run for eight weeks and should provide a great experience for beginning actors who want to learn some craft and seasoned performers looking for a brush-up and some new ideas. Preregistration for the workshop is $120 until Dec. 14 and $160 thereafter, and the class is limited, so get a jump on this.

Go to www.floorspaceathens.com/wp/events/ improvcomedy for more information.

Final Thoughts: This will be the last Theatre Notes column of 2011, and I suppose some sort of retrospective is called for, but I hate doing that. What I will say, however, is that

RECYCLE your paper.

Good boy.

T&G’s production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch runs Dec. 15–18. doing this column has been and continues to be a terrific experience and reinforces my belief that Athens remains one of the best towns of its size in America for cultural opportunities. It is my fervent hope that the residents of Athens and the students returning from far and wide take advantage of the many exciting and challenging offerings from the live-theater community in 2012.

Athens isn’t just a football town or a music town. It’s an art town, a film town, a book town, a comedy town, a burlesque town, a carnival town and, yes, a theater town. We

owe it to the continued welfare of the creative community as a whole to cross-pollinate and universally support the arts across the board, not just those of our particular spheres of interest. There is something to do in this town seven days a week, and often dirt-cheap, within a 20-minute drive. As you make your resolutions for the New Year, make one of them to get out and see some art, hear some spoken-word performance and attend the theater. We’ll all be healthier for it.

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DECEMBER 7, 2011 · FLAGPOLE.COM

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Why Buying Locally Matters

Help Your Community This Holiday Season

T

his holiday season, think outside the big box. If you choose to shop, make your gifts more meaningful by finding items that are truly representative of the community you’re a part of, not something that can be found on any shelf, in any town. Athens is unusual in that it’s home to a number of locally owned restaurants, bars and specialty shops. Yet, many of these independently owned establishments face the threat of being run out of business by corporate chains and the escalation of hyper-competitive online shopping. Keeping your favorite mom-and-pop shops around requires a conscious effort and faithful commitment to choosing to buy locally.

There are a multitude of reasons why shopping locally is the most economically beneficial choice for a community.

Independent retail shops often carry handmade items crafted by local or regional artisans, just as many independent restaurants focused on sustainability incorporate locally grown and seasonal produce into their menus’ recipes. Because these business owners recognize the importance of purchasing goods and services from other independently operated businesses, they are much more efficient at circulating money back into the local economy than chain stores which seldom, if ever, utilize locally sourced items. Building inventory through local purchasing also reduces our environmental impact, since less transportation is involved.

Small, independently owned businesses are adaptable when it comes to utilizing available rental space in their towns, and require comparatively lower infrastructure costs than nationally owned stores which typically demand uniform facilities.

Whereas chains’ profits go back to corporate headquarters out of town, almost everything spent at locally owned businesses is guaranteed to stay within the community.

Because business owners are more focused on their own interests than on national trends, a community of locally owned businesses is able to offer a very wide array of products and niche outlets. Preserving this diversity in an increasingly homogenized world is essential in promoting community growth and prosperity, as it brings in tourists seeking destinations with distinctive character and entrepreneurs looking to settle in an area friendly towards new start-ups and innovation.

Truly recognizing and caring about the needs of their community, locally owned businesses donate to local nonprofit organizations much more frequently than their big-box adversaries. They’re also more flexible when it comes to strengthening the community through hosting workshops, panel discussions, lectures and other events, which are rarely held at chains.

One of the greatest aspects of shopping locally is that you often get an opportunity to establish connections with the owners themselves. With that in mind, here are even more reasons to shop and dine locally this holiday season, given by a few familiar faces from around town: Leah Goodwin, co-owner of Helix: “Athens has a unique small-town atmosphere… People don’t come to Athens to go to Walmart or Starbucks. They come for funky shops, music venues and restaurants… If we don’t support local businesses, they will close, and the character will be gone, and Athens will be a sprawl of oversized stores and strip malls like a lot of other

towns… So, you can buy everything from Amazon and maybe even get it a little cheaper, but you aren’t investing in your friends’ businesses, and you miss the opportunity to meet the local business owners and employees and feel invested in your community.”

Corie Rein, co-owner of Ike & Jane: “For me, the value of shopping and eating locally is that you get to know your neighbors and you get to know your community. It’s wonderful to feel connected to everyone around you. That’s my favorite

Chuck Ramsey, chef/partner at Five & Ten: “At Five & Ten, we try to support our local economy by buying as much local produce, meats, etc., as possible. Dining with us, and other establishments like ours, helps to keep money in our local economy instead of funneling it elsewhere.”

Tricia Ruppersburg, owner of Aurum Studios: “It provides income to the stores that offer jobs to local residents, use other locally based businesses, advertise locally and put income into the local government for the use of all the residents… When you shop at an independent local store you are being helped by a person: a person who quite possibly knows you or your friends and cares about helping you. You are able to handle the products and compare items in person, seeing special items and unusual pieces that are not available in such mass quantities to make buying them online likely… And not least of all, you are supporting the establishments that support you and your community by donating goods and services, volunteering, serving on boards and participating in the myriad of activities that constitute a community.”

Danna Lea, owner of Athena Jewelers: “For over 20 years my local business has been supporting not only my family, but other families as well… Most small stores, if not all, are owned by families taking care of families… These families put their heart and soul into everything they do for their business and their customers.” thing about eating at restaurants that I know are owned and operated locally: that I know some people around me, whether it be from previous visits or from wandering around town.”

Kristen Bach, owner of Treehouse Kid & Craft: “More interesting local shops give Athens character and define what it is: a town of cultural production and community. If we were all chain stores, we wouldn’t have that. People are attracted to Athens for its charm, its interesting shops and its restaurants that you can’t find anywhere else… I have the opportunity to curate a shop for the people who visit: to bring them what they want and inspire them with what they’ve never seen. We buy a lot locally and from smaller companies, so we often know the names of the artisans we’re buying from.”

Airee Hong Edwards, owner of Agora: “Local business owners help lead this community. If we bring a 100,000 squarefoot Walmart to downtown Athens, our local businesses will close and leave our town with a gaping hole where downtown used to be.”

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Cooper Currin, co-owner of Mama’s Boy: “Local restaurants and local businesses in general have a relatively large impact on our local economy as local businesses don’t have headquarters elsewhere and tend to spend more money locally. Our employees spend locally, our plumber is local, and many of our purveyors and services are also local businesses… I am not making any judgments on the quality of the food in chain restaurants, but because they tend to run a lower labor cost, many of their dishes are pre-prepared before they arrive at the local location for ease of service. Local restaurants start from scratch and have a lot more creativity with the fresher, often locally grown, foods.”

Sanni Baumgaertner, owner of Community: “Shopping locally this holiday season is important because you don’t just get great gifts for your loved ones, but you also support your neighbors at the same time. For example, when you buy a local artisan product at Community, you give a gift to our artisans and help them be able to keep making beautiful things.”

Janet Geddis, owner of Avid Bookshop: “Deciding to shop locally is one of the most powerful things consumers can do.

By spending dollars at Athens businesses, a significant portion of your Athens-earned money stays here in town. Local businesses collect sales taxes (unlike certain online sellers that shall go unnamed), which positively affect our local schools, roadways and more… Small, locally owned businesses are often lauded as the backbone of the American economy. Help make that backbone even stronger by supporting your neighbors and choosing to spend more of your shopping money locally.”

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art notes

film notebook

Art, Sex and Politics

News of Athens’ Cinema Scene

Art is certainly no stranger to politics, and examples of artist-activists are abundant throughout history. The grassroots Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement attracted the attention of several local artists, including Tatiana Veneruso, who has organized a new exhibition at ATHICA titled “OCCUPY: This Is What Democracy Looks Like.” Veneruso made an open call for participants who would like to support OWS by donating an artwork for sale. She describes the response as attracting a wide variety of artists working in different styles and media, some who are professional artists and others who make art on the side.

All, however, share a desire to speak out in favor of the OWS movement, whether it is simply in support of peaceful protest against the

Zucker Saltz. The exhibition will include performances and other events throughout its run. Prepare to occupy ATHICA at the opening party on Saturday, Dec. 17 from 7–9 p.m.

Next door at Trace Gallery, another exhibit worth checking out is comprised of the maximalist and fantastical paintings of Jim Barsness, on view now through Jan. 20.

Barsness’ large-scale artworks mimic the look of Medieval tapestries with decorative borders enclosing scenes that are often part Biblical and part pop culture. Barsness, a professor of drawing and painting at the Lamar Dodd School of Art, has participated in more than a dozen group and solo exhibitions throughout the last two decades, picking up several awards along the way. His mixedmedia paintings at Trace create a brilliant hall of mirrors where we are invited to laugh at and celebrate our human foibles.

“Adam & Eve” is a great example.

Eve stretches across the canvas, balancing a small, pink and naked Adam on her knee as cartoonish children spill from between her legs.

The two appear to be speaking, perhaps about her fateful decision to take a bite from the forbidden apple.

His hands, spread in a questioning gesture, ask “Why?” while her steady gaze suggests, “Why not?” The serpent, wearing glasses, holds a mirror to Eve’s face, marking the moment of her realization of herself as a subject, divided from the divine unity she once experienced. The three are surrounded by copulating figures Jeff Owens’ artwork is part of the ATHICA show “OCCUPY: This Is and phalluses with a pair of Day of What Democracy Looks Like.” the Dead skeletons dancing at the bottom of the canvas, perhaps reppolicies of big corporations, or to express their resenting our human mortality upon expulsion frustration at the economy and ever-widening from the Garden. gap between the super-rich and the working This painting, like the others in the exhibipoor. tion, is a wonderful combination of classical, Artwork will be offered for sale by 99 artcartoon and graffiti-style drawing. Details ists at three different price points: $99, $9.99 like the way Barsness creates the flesh of his or 99 cents. Proceeds will go to the OWS main subjects in concentric circles of opalesmovements in Athens and Atlanta to help pay cent dots make the figures sparkle as if made for winter coats, legal fees, food and other from mosaics. Make an appointment to see items, as well as to defray costs of putting the these spectacular paintings by contacting the show together. Artists participating at the $99 always-accommodating gallery directors at level will receive a percentage of their sales, if (706) 424-1567, (706) 424-1016 or tracegalthey wish. leryathens@gmail.com.

“There is a stigma in this country that art is elitist, but most artists I know are broke!

Welcoming a Newcomer to the Art Scene: We act like we can’t talk about ‘class warfare’ ArtLand Loft Gallery, located above Chops and label people as anti-democratic for quesand Hops on Main Street in Watkinsville, tioning unfettered capitalism. It is exciting debuts its new space with an exhibition by that 99 percent of regular people are recogniz- Hatidza Mulic, now through Jan. 15. The galing that what they all have in common is that lery will feature the work of new artists every this system isn’t working for them—middle six weeks. Contact Valerie Mathews, gallery class, old people—not just disgruntled hipcoordinator, at valmmathews@gmail.com for sters,” says Veneruso, describing her reasons more information. for facilitating the exhibition.

Running from Dec. 17–Jan. 8, the exhibiGallery Days: At the Georgia Museum of Art, tion opens with a “Draw-In” from 1–3 p.m. on pick up a book or two for a holiday gift on opening day, where anyone can sit down at Dec. 8 & 9, from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Its collection a table to draw whatever they would like and of new and used art books—usually expensive add that to ATHICA’s gallery walls for sale to items due to their high production values— support the fundraising mission of the event. will be reduced to “low, low, prices.” On “The ‘Draw-In’ is about having a time and Saturday, Dec. 10, bring the kids for “Family place for our community to be able to literally Day” from 10 a.m.–noon, where they can all ‘sit at the same table together’ and doodle make holiday cards inspired by the museum’s or draw informally, as a way to think about permanent collection. The Meridian Women’s ideas and enjoy each other as creative people.

Chorus will also be performing at the event.

Children as well as adults are invited to participate,” says ATHICA’s artistic director, Lizzie Caroline Barratt arts@flagpole.com

Down by the Old Mainstream: Outside of Transformers and the rest of the Bay/ Bruckheimer oeuvre (and maybe the bottomless well of bridal-porn romantic comedies), there are probably no better exemplars of “dominant cinema” than the twin cycles of DC and Marvel Comics superhero films. As hugely budgeted “tentpole” productions that are supposed to make enough money to keep their studios in business, they’re carefully engineered and product-tested to reflect and amplify what the corporate entertainment industry views as current American tastes and values. I don’t see all of these movies, but I do see some. For one thing, I think they’re interesting to keep an eye on for their cultural relevance, but as someone who grew up reading a lot of comic books, I’m also invested enough in some of the characters to want to see what’s being made of them.

dealing with the isolation and death that are so central to the superhero premise with anything like the earnestness of, for instance, Lee’s Hulk or Bryan Singer’s first X-Men film.

Don’t expect that to carry over to Cap’s appearance in next summer’s The Avengers; it’s tough to imagine that budget-buster will aim for anything but, well, domination.

Supplemental Reading: Since we’re always on the subject of the rapidly changing landscape of film distribution and exhibition, I’m happy to be able to direct interested readers to David Bordwell’s blog post “Pandora’s Digital Box: In the Multiplex,” which is the concise insightful historical analysis of the rise of digital projection that we’ve all been waiting for. Bordwell is one of the world’s foremost film historians, and one of the original practitioners of a research-based method of film

Gary Cooper and Fredric March attend to Miriam Hopkins in Ernst Lubitsch’s Design for Living (1933).

Now and then an oddball gets thrown into the mix, like Ang Lee’s Hulk, the glum, desolate tone of which was so divergent from the rest of Marvel’s adaptations that the company took another shot at it just five years later. I had hoped Captain America—an origin story set in the middle of World War II—might be one of the weird ones, too, and I guess it is, a little. One of Marvel’s central priorities has always been to explore the tension between its characters’ fantastic lives as super-powered heroes and their parallel existences as people in the “real world” (in contrast with the outsized, iconic totems of DC, Superman and Batman). I thought a period film about a wartime Marvel hero who is literally an emblem of his country—not to mention, a soldier—could present some opportunities for contemplation of our current zeitgeist as a nation at war.

I know: what was I thinking? Captain America doesn’t bother with all that, opting instead for a pleasant-enough evocation of the relatively guileless entertainments of the era it depicts. It also doesn’t burrow very far into the emotional reverberations of its unusually generous allotment of tragedy. Only its unexpectedly melancholy final note, an acknowledgment of the “reality” of awaking from a hibernation the length of a human lifespan, at all signals the film’s interest in

scholarship that approaches theoretical inquiries through meticulously compiled historical evidence. Observations on Film Art, the blog he shares with his wife, the also-formidable Kristin Thompson, is a frequently updated treasure trove of top-level film writing, and the latest post is Bordwell’s first in a series on digital cinema, the further installments of which I’ll be eagerly awaiting. You should be, too.

Stocking Stuffer Alert: I don’t often make a big deal about new home video releases, but there’s one this week that I’m particularly excited about. Design for Living, Ernst Lubitsh’s 1933 comedy starring Gary Cooper, Fredric March and Miriam Hopkins—in a very bohemian ménage à trois—was released this week on DVD and Blu-ray by Criterion, which continues its absolutely invaluable work with Lubitsch’s catalog. The film is funny, racy and constantly surprising—an unsung gem from the twilight of the “pre-code” era of Hollywood that has been available up to now only as part of a cheapo DVD box set of Cooper films. If you have any taste at all for classic American cinema, I can’t recommend it highly enough.

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Dave Marr film@flagpole.com

DECEMBER 7, 2011 · FLAGPOLE.COM

11

movie dope Some releases may not be showing locally this week.

• indicates new review 50/50 (R) Cancer is scary and depressing. It’s even scarier and more depressing when it happens to a young person. So how is Jonathan Levine’s second film so darn funny and uplifting? Joseph Gordon-Levitt (the only young actor who can compete with Ryan Gosling in a battle of control and nuance), Seth Rogen (he excels in these sweet, supporting, puerile roles), Anna Kendrick (proving her Oscarnominated performance in Up in the Air was no fluke) and screenwriter Will Reiser are how.

ABDUCTION (PG-13) Taylor Lautner, whose apparent acting idol was Derek Zoolander, has translated his howevermany-pack into a Taylor-made bomb.

Abduction attempts to force moviegoers to recognize Lautner as a superstar at gunpoint, and it’s as terrible a movie as you suspect it to be. Every adult involved with this MTV action movie, from director John Singleton to respected actors Alfred Molina and Sigourney Weaver, should be ashamed for cashing this paycheck.

ARTHUR CHRISTMAS (PG) I’m a sucker for a good, creative, behind-theholiday-scenes sequence (Hop boasts a good one), and Arthur Christmas opens with a doozy. But this charming holiday surprise—coming from Aardman Studios—keeps charming as it delightfully recounts the Christmas Eve adventure of Santa’s younger son.

After another successful, hi-tech run masterminded like a military operation

by Santa’s older son, Steve (v. Hugh Laurie), Arthur (v. James McAvoy) discovers one little girl was missed. In a last-minute effort to save Christmas for that little girl, Arthur, his Grandsanta (v. Bill Nighy) and elfin wrapping specialist Bryony (v. Ashley Jensen, Ricky Gervais’s “Extras”) fire up the old sleigh, hitch up the eight famous reindeer and attempt to fly to England. Brits just get Christmas, and the animation gurus at Aardman, best known for Wallace and Gromit, have conjured up a lovely, happy holiday film.

BEING ELMO (NR) Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, this documentary explores the life of Kevin Clash, the creator of Elmo. Rare archival footage and interviews with Frank Oz, Rosie O’Donnell, Cheryl Hensen, Joan Ganz COoney and others offer a behind-thescenes look at Sesame Street and the Jim Henson Workshop.

DOLPHIN TALE (PG) I am not a sucker for sentimental animal movies. Were I, then I am sure Dolphin Tale would have fit the bill. A lonely 12-year-old, Sawyer (Nathan Gamble),

rescues a dolphin (real tail-less dolphin, Winter, as herself) caught in a crab trap. With the help of a marine vet (Harry Connick Jr.), his daughter (Cozi Zuehlsdorff) and a doctor who specializes in prosthetics (Morgan Freeman), Sawyer helps save the dolphin by fashioning a fake appendage. Money woes, a hurricane and the fish’s own dislike of potential new tails confound the boy’s attempts.

ELVES (PG-13) When teenager Kirsten (Julie Austin) accidently cuts her hand during a pagan ritual with her friends, her spilled blood awakens an ancient demonic Christmas elf who operates as the central figure behind a modern-day Neo-Nazi plot to bring about a master race of half-human, half-elf hybrids.

Alcoholic ex-cop Mike McGavin (Dan Haggerty) must protect Kirsten and help her destroy the elf.

HAPPY FEET 2 (PG) Mad Max creator George Miller may not be able to get a new entry in his post-apocalyptic Outback franchise off the ground, but he was able to continue his singingdancing penguin series. Sadly, I was underwhelmed by the first film, so I have little interest in a 3D sequel about tap-dancing penguin Mumble (v. Elijah Wood). Now a father, Mumble must help his son, Erik, find his place in the Emperor Penguin world while facing a new threat with his friends and family.

Featuring the voices of Robin Williams, Pink and other famous folks.

THE HELP (PG-13) An audiencewooer à la The Blind Side, this ‘60s Mississippi set melodramedy will draw raves from your mother, grandmother, aunt, the ladies of the church, etc., but the whitewashed world of The Help lacks the proper depth to feel real.

Every black servant is a saint; every white employer a demon. Thankfully, college-educated Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan (the extremely likable Emma Stone, who grows into her accent) comes home to Jackson to save its minority population through bestselling pop fiction. She collects the stories of long-serving maids Aibileen (the wonderful Viola Davis), Minny (Octavia Spencer, who shines as a lead rather than her typical small supporting player) and more into an illegal (in 1960s Mississippi) tome that scandalizes the gentry represented by Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard). A well-meaning movie, The Help serves up two-plus hours of laughter and tears with a pinch of moral outrage, mostly thanks to the top-notch source material and performances. First-time filmmaker Taylor smartly adapts and excises

MOVIE L ISTI N GS Schedules often change after our deadline. Please call ahead.

CINÉ (706-353-3343) check website for show times

Being Elmo (NR) 5:30 (starts F. 12/9) Elves (PG-13) 8:00 (Tu. 12/13) Margin Call (R) 5:00 (W. 12/7 & Th. 12/8) 7:15, 9:30 (starts W. 12/7) (no 9:30 show Su. 12/11), 2:30 (Sa. 12/10 & Su. 12/11) Melancholia (R) 5:15, 8:15 (W. 12/7), 2:15 (Sa. 12/10 & Su. 12/11)

Accurate movie times for the Carmike 12 (706-354-0016), Beechwood Stadium 11 (706-546-1011) and Georgia Square 5 (706-548-3426) cinemas are not available by press time. Visit www.flagpole.com for updated times.

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FLAGPOLE.COM ∙ DECEMBER 7, 2011

Kathryn Stockett’s 500-pager but could learn a few lessons about subtlety and depth. Mrs. Movie Dope, who devoured Stockett’s bestseller, thinks you should read the book before/rather than seeing this Lifetime movie writ large.

HUGO (PG) The resurgent popularity of 3-D over the last decade is the biggest sham Hollywood has thrust on the public since… well, the emergence of the technique in the 1950s. What would the process look like, however, if a real artist were to utilize it, wielding the 3-D camera for something more than poke-’em-with-a-stick ballyhoo?

Werner Herzog’s recent documentary, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, and Wim Wenders’ dance movie, Pina, have each garnered considerable acclaim for pushing the boundaries of what 3-D can do. Add Martin Scorsese’s Hugo to that rarefied list. Based on the award-winning children’s book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Scorsese’s

the finest movie Scorsese has created since the mid-1990s; it’s a great family movie, perfectly engaging the mind as much as the heart. [Hill] I MELT WITH YOU (R) Four 40-something college pals meet up for their yearly reunion; things spiral out of control. The familiar cast—Thomas Jane, Rob Lowe, Jeremy Piven, Carla Gugino—has potential but shows its stars’ HBO series roots with appearances by “Entourage” and “Hung” alums. Director Mark Pellington’s track record is spotty, littered with a lot of music videos, some great TV (“Homicide: Life on the Street”) and underwhelmingly not awful movies like Arlington Road, The Mothman Prophecies and Henry Poole Is Here.

IMMORTALS (R) An in-spirit sequel of style to Zack Snyder’s 300, Immortals cannot conjure the historical magic of that 2006 blockbuster, but it is certainly more visually appealing than

I told you just one beer. Now who’s gonna drive?

Hugo is a phantasmagorical tribute to the foundation of cinema itself and the vitality and transcendent nourishment that storytelling offers. Many Scorsese fans—specifically those who’d love it if he did nothing but crank out violent mob movies ad nauseam—will feel perplexed by the 69-year-old director making a full-fledged family movie.

Any doubts, however, should be dispelled by the time the hypnotically virtuosic and immersive opening scene transports us into a mythical steampunk-influenced Paris of the 1930s. A young orphan, Hugo (Asa Butterfield), makes sure that all the clocks run smoothly in a Paris train station.

He’s also the caretaker of a wondrous mechanical man inherited from his deceased clockmaker father (Jude Law) who found it in a museum. The automaton doesn’t work, though, and Hugo dreams of finding the key that will spark it to move. When Hugo meets a heartbroken elderly shopkeeper (Ben Kingsley) and his spirited goddaughter, Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moritz), he draws closer to making his dream a reality but, subsequently, becomes involved in an even bigger mystery.

Hugo is Scorsese’s unabashedly melancholic yet joyous tribute to fantasy, film preservation and to the fathers of cinema itself: George Méliès and the Lumière brothers. This is no superficial excursion into nostalgia, however.

Hugo crackles with modern invention, wit and genuine emotion, employing advanced technology to bring cinema’s rich past to vibrant life. It’s a poignant, significant gesture, especially since how we make and watch movies is in major flux again. Hugo is not just

the bland, ugly Clash of the Titans.

One of Greek mythology’s greatest mortal heroes, Theseus (Henry Cavill, the soon-to-be-Superman), gets his exploits to foil King Hyperion’s (a quirky Mickey Rourke, who one can imagine bullying his way to portraying the villainous royal however he damn well pleased) plan to release the Titans and overthrow the gods told on the big screen. Quite probably the most visually striking film of the year, thanks to the genius of director Tarsem Singh (The Cell), the action adventure fails exactly as other films from the theater of the videogame have. Whereas cinematic videogames intercut predominantly weak storytelling with interactivity, films striving to look like videogames (the films of Zack Snyder and Paul W.S. Anderson) have yet to overcome their inability to be interactive, leaving the audience with thrilling visuals and a static, shallow narrative experience. Immortals’ dramatic sequences equate the cutscenes of a videogame, and they bore far more than the violent, bloody action thrills you never get to play.

IN TIME (PG-13) Gattaca writerdirector Andrew Niccol tweaks the sci-fi genre again with this take on Logan’s Run. In a future world, everyone is genetically engineered to stop aging at 25. To ward off overcrowding, people are also designed to only live to 26. In this ageless new society, a man accused of murder (Justin Timberlake) goes on the lam with a pretty hostage (Amanda Seyfried, Mamma Mia!).

With Olivia Wilde, Alex Pettyfer, Cillian Murphy, Johnny Galecki and Vincent Kartheiser (“Mad Men”).

JACK AND JILL (PG) Adam Sandler must have thought the fake movies from Funny People had real potential to have signed on for this pitiful comedy where he plays both Jack Sadelstein and his twin sister, Jill. They key to the entire one-joke movie is that Sandler makes an ugly woman. Jill’s homeliness and her lack of self-awareness propel one lame gag after another.

Sandler’s usual pals (Allen Covert, Nick Swardson) and celebrity cameos pepper the cast. Al Pacino’s appearance is the least likely and most unfortunate as he plays himself as a desperate man smitten with Jill. Regrettably, the flick also features more than a handful of casually stereotypical racial humor, though everything, even the lazy plotting and joke writing, is executed with the amiability that typifies its star.

However, geniality is no excuse for Sandler fans to continue his string of unsubtle, unoriginal comedy hits.

J. EDGAR (R) Clint Eastwood directs nothing overwhelmingly with this fairly straightforward biopic of the visionary American crime fighter J. Edgar Hoover. The two-hour plus awards-bait is a showcase for likely Oscar nominee Leonardo DiCaprio. The 37-year-old actor wastes not a moment of screen time, during much of which he’s clad in ultra-believable makeup as the aged Hoover, dictating his memoir to a string of junior G-men. The film unfolds as a sort of greatest hits of Hoover’s life. He recounts his promotion to the head of the FBI, the Lindbergh case, his close, working relationship with longtime secretary Helen Gundy (Naomi Watts), his close, private relationship with Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer, The Social Network), and his too-close relationship with his mother (Dame Judi Dench). Oscar winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black does not write this film with anywhere near the introspective depth of Milk; J. Edgar offers too few insights into an intriguingly complex subject who had his fingers in so many of America’s historical pies.

It’s simply a nice Cliff’s Notes version of what would probably be a mammoth biography through which to plow.

MARGIN CALL (R) A thriller about the financial crisis, Margin Call follows some key players at an investment banking firm during a 24-hour period near the beginning of the financial meltdown. Whoever J.C. Chandor is, the Golden Berlin Bear-nominated, first-time feature filmmaker corralled a hell of a cast. Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Simon Baker, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore and Stanley Tucci all appear. But can Chandor, who also wrote the film, make the most of this massive collection of talent?

• MELANCHOLIA (R) Apparently, Europe has forgiven renowned filmmaker/provocateur Lars von Trier for his failed Nazi joke (one hopes), as his masterful new film took top prize at the European Film Awards. It’s the end of the world as the Dane knows it, and Justine (Cannes Best Actress Kirsten Dunst in her bravest performance to date), a sometimes blushing, mostly depressed bride, is getting married while a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth. Starting with the stunning, nearly 10-minute opening montage, von Trier has composed an extravagant, mature meditation on the apocalypse, both personal and

planetary, and it is beautiful to behold.

The Danish firebrand loves putting his female leads, both actress and character, through the paces, and Melancholia is no different. Fortunately, Antichrist acted like a colonic, cleansing von Trier of his worst tendencies and allowing him to produce a product of incomparable purity. Visually the two pictures are kin; thematically and emotionally, they could not be any more distinct.

He might have doomed these two sisters (Dunst and Antichrist’s warrior Charlotte Gainsbourg), but hopefully their end marks a brilliant new cinematic beginning for him.

THE MUPPETS (PG) You can tell cowriter-star Jason Segel loves the Muppets. His reboot of Jim Henson’s lovable puppets is built with obvious love and understanding of what made their 1979 film debut so special. Gary (Segel), his puppet brother, Walter, and Gary’s longtime girlfriend, Mary (Amy Adams) travel to Los Angeles, where they discover a plot to destroy the Muppet Theater by oil tycoon Tex Richman (Chris Cooper). Together, they help Kermit reunite the old gang— Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, et al.—to put on a telethon in order to raise the money needed to buy back the property. Self-referential with a joke ratio that favors adults two-to-one (a Muppet staple), some terrific songs by one half of Flight of the Conchords and a bevy of celebrity cameos, this film revives the Muppets as you remember them.

NEW YEAR’S EVE (PG-13) So, Valentine’s Day wasn’t bad enough, now we have to suffer through Garry Marshall’s New Year’s Eve. Holidaythemed horror probably wasn’t a great idea (certain exceptions like Black Christmas and Halloween being the exceptions), and neither are holiday-themed romcoms. A cast of sub- and super-stars (including but not limited to Robert De Niro, Ashton Kutcher, Carla Gugino, Katherine Heigl, Lea Michelle, Alyssa Milano, Josh Duhamel, Abigail Breslin, Sofia Vergara, Zack Efron, Hilary Swank, Jessica Biel, Michelle Pfeiffer, Halle Berry and Sarah Jessica Parker) play couples and singles intertwining on New Year’s Eve. PUSS IN BOOTS (PG) Shrek’s fairy tale may have moved on to happily ever after, but Puss in Boots (v. Antonio Banderas) is still itching for a fight. His spinoff reveals the swordfighting antics that led up to Puss meeting up with Shrek and company. Naturally, this flick was once slated for a direct-to-DVD release; will the cat be able to match the ogre’s blockbuster results? Director Chris Miller previously helmed Shrek the Third. Featuring the voices of Salma Hayek and Zach Galifianakis. l THE SITTER (R) A college student (Jonah Hill) has his very own adventure in babysitting, when he takes on three neighboring charges (including Where the Wild Things Are’s Max Records). I don’t know if it’s the concept or Jonah Hill fatigue, but the trailers for yet another bad-boy comedy have not ignited a burning fire within me. I didn’t particularly care for David Gordon Green’s last high-concept comedy, Your Highness, either. With Ari Graynor, Method Man and J.B. Smoove.

SLEEPING BEAUTY (NR) University student Lucy (Emily Browning, Sucker Punch) is drawn into a mysterious world of desire in writer-director and Palme d’Or nominee Julia Leigh’s debut feature, a sexually charged film produced by Oscar winner Jane Campion, which makes perfect sense. Star Browning won Breakthrough Performer at the Hamptons International Film Festival. Unfortunately, reviews have not been as kind since its Cannes premiere. With Rachael Blake (A&E’s remake of “The Prisoner”) and Ewen Leslie.

THE SMURFS (PG) The live action/ CGI hybrid version of The Smurfs is not as bad as its atrocious trailers would imply, thanks largely to the smurfish talents of Neil Patrick Harris.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS (PG13) The latest adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ wonderful adventure novel doesn’t do anything particularly badly.

The cast—including one-time Mr. Darcy, Matthew Macfadyen, as Athos, Ray Stevenson as Porthos and Luke Evans as Aramis—is tons more literate than the 1993 trio of Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen and Oliver Platt. The airships are pretty cool, too. Tone is where “Ocean’s Three (Musketeers)” starts to stumble.

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY (R) During the Cold War, veteran spy George Smiley (Gary Oldman) must return from semi-retirement to hunt

down a Soviet mole within MI6. All eyes are on director Tomas Alfredson’s follow-up to Let the Right One In, a John Le Carre adaptation starring Oldman, Oscar’s reigning Best Actor Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Mark Strong and Ciaran Hinds. This film is a serious contender for several Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor.

TOWER HEIST (PG-13) With the help of a con (Eddie Murphy), a group of working stiffs (including Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck, Gabourey Sidibe and Michael Pena) plan a Danny Ocean-type heist on the high-rise home of the rich guy that took all of their money in a Ponzi scheme.

This action comedy from oft-maligned Brett Ratner, who really missed his decade (imagine the ‘80s buddy cop

movies he could have made), also stars Tea Leoni, Alan Alda and Judd Hirsch.

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN–PART 1 (PG-13) Stephenie Meyer’s extremely popular teen-vampromance took a surreal turn in the fourth book. Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) finally marry. On the honeymoon, Bella becomes pregnant with a thing that should not be. Now the Cullens are caught between the Quileute wolves and the ancient Volturi, both of whom are threatened by this unknown new adversary. I’ll be interested to see how director Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters, Dreamgirls) handles the book’s R-rated events (specifically, the baby’s bloody birth) in a PG-13 manner.

Drew Wheeler

movie pick You Better Be Goddamn Happy MELANCHOLIA (R) After a rapturous, hyperreal, eight-minute prologue scored to Wagner’s deliriously doomy Tristan and Isolde prelude, Melancholia grounds itself in the dramatic minutiae of the dysfunctional family. New bride Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and her meek husband, Michael (Alexander Skarsgård), arrive hours late to their lavish reception, held at the ridiculously opulent castle estate where Justine’s neurotic sister, Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), lives with her wealthy husband, John (Kiefer Sutherland), and their son Leo (Cameron Spurr). The reception is a disaster:

uniformly excellent performances and Manuel Alberto Claro’s striking cinematography than the actual narrative. Humor occasionally lightens up the monotony during the early scenes (courtesy of Udo Kier, Hurt and Rampling), but the second half, focusing on Justine’s increasingly agonizing depression, is grindingly lifeless. Dunst and Gainsbourg deliver subtle, powerful performances, proving once again that despite whatever cinematic sins Von Trier has perpetuated, he’s always coaxed real artistic courage out of his leads. It’s easily a career best for Dunst.

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John Hurt and Kirsten Dunst Justine’s divorced parents Dexter (John Hurt) and Gabby (Charlotte Rampling) can’t stop bickering, Justine’s boss (Stellan Skarsgård) keeps badgering her to complete an assignment, and the boorish John keeps complaining how expensive the party is. Justine, a manic depressive, retreats into herself and subsequently burns all her personal/professional bridges. In the aftermath, Claire attempts to nurse Justine back to health. Meanwhile, the planet Melancholia moves toward a possible collision with Earth.

Melancholia is director Lars von Trier’s most relentlessly focused work in years, arguably since the extraordinary Breaking the Waves, and the opening moments are brilliant in their hallucinatory beauty. That’s the good news. The bad news is, what follows is only intermittently interesting, due more to the

In the end, Melancholia feels lightweight and lacks serious complexity. Its major theme—when the worst finally happens to a person expecting it their entire life, they’re able to function better than “healthy” individuals—is simply too flimsy a premise to prop up a picture. The actors strain to assert themselves under the tyranny of the kitsch Romanticism, but ultimately fail to break free from Von Trier’s cosmetic nihilism. It’s pretty to look at, but Melancholia feels lazy—a transitory movie rather than a major one, and the work of a filmmaker still in crisis as he struggles to claw his way out of the creative impasse he’s been in for almost a decade. Who knew that the End of the World could be so non-challenging?

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threats & promises Music News And Gossip They always say never to begin anything by talking about the weather. So I won’t even think about doing that, or bother mentioning how many blustery days are upon us or anything of the sort. What we will do is invite you to cozy up with this week’s Athens music news and announce that I surprised even myself when I realized this may be the only 100 percent positive column to appear under the title “Threats & Promises” in, like, a really long time. Sorry if that turns you off. Sometimes that’s the way it is. So on with it…

Wintry Mix: If the stars align themselves correctly and everything else falls into place, a new album from El Hollín will come out next month. The record, as yet untitled, has been in the works since September and is now in the mixing and sequencing stage. The band recorded it with the seemingly tireless Steven Trimmer (Grass Giraffes). I’ve gotten to listen to the rough mixes, and the band sounds particularly comfortable on these new tracks in a way that suggests it has grown into its own skin, so to speak. Specifically, guitarist/ vocalist Dena Zilber sounds quite strong—her vocals are thankfully much more upfront than on previous El Hollín recordings—and the band overall has improved tenfold with regard

Blast Off: There are an awful lot of solid lineups that flow through Athens on a regular basis, largely due to the years of networking done by Athens’ own hardcore underground.

Unfortunately, press times and deadlines prevent me from covering a large swath of them. All of which is to say you should get yourself down to the Flicker Theatre and Bar on Thursday, Dec. 15 and catch Chicago’s jaw-droppingly good Manipulation. Sharing members and/or ex-members of notables Chronic Seizure, This Is My Fist, Pedestrians and No Slogan, you can expect the roof to fly off Flicker. One minute the band will be playing and the next minute everyone will look up and wonder where the roof went. Shaved Christ and Wade Boggs share the bill to round things out in a thrash yet sorta trad, nastiness and Superchunk-y pop-ness, respectively.

Check out steps one and three via www.manipulation.bandcamp.com and www.reverbnation. com/wadeboggs.

The Time Of The Season: Dodd Ferrelle and The Office Lounge will host their third annual benefit for the Athens Banner-Herald’s Empty Stocking Fund on Friday, Dec. 9. All proceeds go directly to families in need this season. For a suggested donation of $5, you’ll

n

Dodd Ferrelle to individual song arrangements. While still solidly in the indie-pop category, El Hollín is endearing without being overtly precious, thus avoiding the twee category altogether. If the final product is as good as these rough mixes promise, there’s every reason to look forward to spending the winter with this record. Keep up with the band’s progress over at www.facebook.com/elhollin and check out their earlier material at www.elhollin.bandcamp.com.

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Be Buyin’ Or Cryin’: Tickets are on sale now for the Drive-By Truckers annual three-night homecoming at the 40 Watt Club. The shows will happen January 12–14 and tickets are $30 for each show. Opening acts include Futurebirds (Jan. 12), Alabama Shakes (Jan. 13) and Free Mountain and Camp Amped Band (Jan. 14). As always with these shows, a portion of the proceeds will benefit Nuçi’s Space. Why am I telling you about this a month in advance? Because these shows always sell out, and there’s always a portion of the Athens slow-poke crowd that’s all like, “Wha? I didn’t even know tickets were on sale!” You know who you are. Now you have no excuses. Purchase advance tickets online at www.40watt.com.

get to see performances from Ferrelle plus Betsy Franck & The Bareknuckle Band, John Keane & Jim White, The Clay Leverett Band, David Barbe & the Quick Hooks, The Welfare Liners, Workhorses of the Entertainment/ Recreational Industry, The Burning Angels, Bloodkin and more. Commemorative t-shirts will be sold and a “Ferrelle Family Backyard Painting” will be raffled off. True to its title, the painting, which measures 3-feet by fourfeet, was done by Ferrelle, his wife and kids in the family backyard. The goal of this year’s benefit is to exceed the $2,500 total that was raised last year, and they seem to be on track to do just that.

Coming Right At You: The second installment of The New Town Revue will happen at the Avid Bookshop (493 Prince Avenue) Thursday, Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. The newly christened bimonthly event will feature live music from Jim Willingham (Old Smokey, Ham 1, Septien) and readings from Athens poet Jeff Fallis and author Beth Hall Thrasher. For more information, please see www.newtownrevue.word press.com.

Gordon Lamb threatsandpromises@falgpole.com

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Give the Gift of

Tournament

Manray Unleashes its Debut Full-Length L ocal band Manray has a reputation for putting on a rowdy live show, blazing through visceral sets of mathy punk flooded with sweat and raw power. With its first full-length album, Tournament, members Jordan Olivera (guitar, vocals), Ryan Olivera (bass, vocals), Derek Olivera (drums) and Gene Woolfolk (guitar, vocals) endeavor to replicate sonically the wild atmospheric disturbance that occurs wherever Manray plugs in. But beyond unfettered energy, what is Manray really all about? Ryan took a break from the wild side to fill us in.

or pumped about music. We are all very like-minded in the band room. When somebody says this part does/doesn’t work, everybody usually hears the same thing and we work to make things the best possible. Our idea of what great songs should sound like is very sympathetic, though, so we work fast.

Flagpole: How did Manray get started?

Ryan Olivera: Derek and Jordan and I are all brothers, so that part was easy, but we met Gene through Aaron Stephenson, who used to play bass in A. Armada.

FP: What can Athenians expect to experience at a Manray show?

RO: Our shows are notoriously upbeat, and we bring energy to shows. We love it when people get carried away with themselves, when they stop trying so hard to identify your gear or stare at their shoes. When people get pumped and throw up their hands and spill beer and laugh about it and get really close to each other, we have the most fun, and I take all those things as signs that everyone else is having fun, too. There is a picture Mike White took of Gene and me grinning like madmen at the 40 Watt for AthFest last year (with ‘Powers and Pride Parade and Cinemechanica). It was the most raucous, loseyour-shit show we have played to date. Mike called the picture ‘Smiles Inc.,’ and I think we were so visibly stoked because everyone else was also visibly stoked to have us playing for them. That is the type of show we hope to bring everywhere.

FP: What are the origins of Tournament, and how have you been getting the word out?

RO: We are all set to release the record on Dec. 10 here at the Caledonia, but as far as promotion goes, we are kicking it on the school bus, taking [Athens/Atlanta metal band] Lazer/ Wulf on the road with us to Florida from Dec. 1–9. The new album was a fucking blast! We had some really tight allies in the Hello Sir camp who were clutch in making the record happen. Joel Hatstat and Mike Albanese recorded the album, and we mixed it all at Joel’s studio in Normaltown. Bryant Williamson, who runs the Hello Sir label, provided the majority of the financial support and lent his ear on the mixes. We are really happy with how it all came together.

FP: Who are some of the band’s strongest musical influences?

RO: The influence question is getting more obtuse these days for us because we are all drawing from different places post-Tournament. When we went into the studio, we were all crushing very similar bands like Drive Like Jehu, Mastodon, The Bronzed Chorus, Faraquet, or Colour Revolt’s first EP, or Anathallo’s most recent record… tough songs or tunes with interesting structures. More and more, now that the record is finished, we are all retreating to our personal listening spaces, and I am consistently surprised by some of the artists that I catch on the rest of the band’s playlists.

FP: Do you consider yourselves to be primarily instrumentalists or songwriters?

RO: I think we are songwriters. We value musicianship and technical ability as far as they allow us to set ourselves apart from other people who have great ideas, but may not make them as intricate or detailed. Musicianship is a tool for us to make songs even more expressive. On the other side, there are certainly other, more talented technical players out there, especially in this town, but we try to focus on writing killer songs and not jump off into the world of musical masturbation where the only dudes getting off are the ones on stage. More than anything else, we try to write and execute the songs that we would want to hear on the radio, stuff that gets us excited

FP: Would you say that Manray has “something to say,” as in a message, theme or ideal?

RO: Manray’s message changes with whoever is answering the question… I will leave that one alone.

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FP: How did you translate the energy of your live show to the new album?

RO: It’s hard to box up everything we try to do with music and still have as much punch and emotion as the live show, but the live show has the strict advantage of us being physically there. With the record we are trying to come through your speakers or headphones with as much gusto as us live, so we spent a lot of time with our tone, tweaking knobs and plugging in many amps. The bass amping session, for example, had something ungodly, like seven mics tracking, and so many of the moves on the album were decisions between which mics to use for certain tracks or parts… There is a level of control there that isn’t available live. We did want to showcase some of the stuff we like to do live, so we changed parts on the fly, made up lyrics on the spot, and asked [Lazer/Wulf’s] Bryan Aiken to play guitar on a couple songs. If you enjoy us live, then I think you will be pumped on the album, too.

Kevin Craig

WHO: Manray, Cusses, Lazer/Wulf WHERE: Caledonia Lounge WHEN: Saturday, Dec. 10, 9:30 p.m.

HOW MUCH: $7 (21+), $9 (18+)

DECEMBER 7, 2011 · FLAGPOLE.COM

15

Radiolucent The Road to Almost Famous

A

YouReallY

CaN HaVeITall!

I can has website!

former MTV reality show star founding a record label and signing a smalltown alternative-country band sounds like a recipe for disaster, but in the case of Southern rockers Radiolucent, it’s the opening line to a budding success story. Over the past four years, this Athensbased four-piece has grown from playing to small crowds at local county fairgrounds to nearly packed-out venues across the Southeast and, most recently, aboard a Sixthman cruise featuring KISS—yes, the real KISS. Our story begins in 2007, when the band formed in true good ol’ boy style—through a networking circle of high school buddies and church friends. Vocalist and lead guitarist Michael Mann met drummer Andy Appling (Tealvox) while leading worship at Grove Level Baptist Church in Maysville, GA. The two were introduced to keyboardist Mike Cowan and former guitarist/vocalist Mack Chambers through a mutual friend, and finally rounded out the lineup with Appling’s Tealvox bandmate, bassist Cody Stalvey. The same year, the guys met former “Real World” cast member and co-owner of local bar The Bad Manor, Cohutta Grindstaff.

“I think [Grindstaff] had wanted to do something for a while with bands but just hadn’t found the folks he wanted to work with yet,” says Mann. “Then we came a-strollin’ in with inflated egos and receding hairlines—he just couldn’t say no.

He said, ‘these are them boys I’ve been wanting to start Old South Records with… thank you, Jesus!’ At least I believe that’s how it went.”

So began the journey to a fervent Athens following, growing attention throughout the Southeast and praise from all-star music manager Doc McGhee. Appling credits the band’s fast success to the guys’ openness and sincerity. “[We] try to be honest and transparent with everyone,” Appling says. “And our fans are just really loyal and awesome.”

Despite their outward appearance, these Southern gentlemen are anything but simple. Their unique sound combines elements of old-fashioned, gritty Otis Redding-style American soul with Eagles-esque classic rock, the everyman mentality of Bruce Springsteen and the moonshine-drunk twang of Lynyrd Skynyrd. It’s a hard-to-dislike sort of sound complete with witty, introspective lyrics and a well-waxed, all-American sheen that claims “Hell, I like to party, I might even like shootin’ deer, but I also paid attention in literature class.”

In addition to a wide range of influences ranging from Willie Nelson to U2, Mann attributes the band’s musical chemistry to the fact that each member is a strong songwriter. “I tend to get inside my own head too much, so bouncing ideas off the band helps a ton,” Mann says. “It is pretty mind-blowing how I can bring a song to them on acoustic guitar and it just comes alive. They are monsters.”

Although Radiolucent hasn’t yet released an album, the guys are heading into Atlanta’s ZAC Recording Studio later this month with Jim Zumpano, one of the masterminds behind The Kentucky Headhunters’ Grammy winner Pickin’ on Nashville and one of Mann’s personal favorites, Mariah Carey’s Music Box. Radiolucent’s debut record is due for release in early 2012. As for their upcoming 40 Watt show, the guys ensure newcomers that they’re in for quite a unique experience.

“It’s like watching The Notebook and listening to Skrillex,” Appling says. He also describes their sound as “A bald eagle flying over Toby Keith’s house on the 4th of July while Lee Greenwood is blasting through some sweet ass Alpine speakers.” In other words: American to the core.

Carrie Dagenhard

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FLAGPOLE.COM ∙ DECEMBER 7, 2011

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WHO: Radiolucent, Josh Daniels & the Dangerous, The Matt Joiner Trio WHERE: 40 Watt Club WHEN: Friday, Dec. 9, 9 p.m.

HOW MUCH: $5 (21+), $7 (18+)

Beirut

FIND MORE Find more of the gifts you love this holiday at Georgia Square Mall! You will find everything you need, all in one place, giving you more time to celebrate this holiday season.

B

eirut’s music comes from a place out of time. No matter where you are, it will make you want to travel. On the band’s debut, Gulag Orkestar, clanging, jangling, myriad percussion instruments and frontman Zach Condon’s baleful vocals invoked scenes of a ramshackle gypsy caravan spreading music from town to town. On their follow-up, The Flying Club Cup, intricate string arrangements suggested the airy whimsy of the French New Wave.

On 2009’s March of the Zapotec, Mariachi horn fanfares conjured up images of Spanish funerals shuffling down cobblestone streets.

Condon’s electronic side project, RealPeople, brings these old-world sounds into the 21st century with all the warmth and beauty their ancestry demands. And now, with this year’s The Rip Tide, Beirut has finally found its way to the States (musically speaking), crafting its most compact and personal album to date and investing sundry international influences in a decidedly Americana framework. With Condon under the weather, bassist Paul Collins kindly stepped in to talk to Flagpole about his everevolving band.

“I’m very happy with [The Rip Tide],” he says. “It’s exciting because it was the first time we really got together as a band and recorded everything together. It was very intimate, as opposed to in the past when things have been a lot more scattered. I’d say [the live show] is more refined now, but it’s still tons of fun. We have a piano—something that we’ve never done before—and we’re tighter than ever.”

With the band from the beginning, Collins’ story of how he first met Zach Condon is of one of those nights that is likely now the stuff of legend, witnessed by only a lucky few. “I saw him play a show,” he recalls. “It was actually at a punk rock club, and he just had his laptop, and a trumpet and no band. So I made it a point to come up to him after the show and told him how wonderful I thought he was, and really just tried to get his band going.

Ultimately he invited me along.”

One of the better-chronicled aspects of Condon’s story is that he extended that invitation to Collins while still in his midteens, having dropped out of school to travel Europe and focus on music. On the difficulty of Condon starting his artistic career at such a young age, Collins says, “Yeah, I think [he faced some adversity]. But also, the Arizona school system is pretty screwed up. The dropout rate there is pretty high. But I think Zach’s parents knew he was a smart and gifted kid, so he didn’t get in too much trouble.

And he got his GED right away, so you know, whatever.”

Surprisingly, Condon wasn’t even Collins’ first encounter with the hybridized Balkan folk music that was sprouting up throughout the indie rock landscape in the 2000s. “Man Man,” he reveals, “those guys are friends of mine, actually. Chris Powell, and Need New Body— the band that was before Man Man—I would say if I never saw Need New Body I probably wouldn’t have been in Beirut. They totally changed the way I look at music.”

Apparently that influence has spread from Powell and Need New Body, through Collins and Beirut, and wound its way all the way down to Brazil, where in 2009 a small group of Beirut fans used social networking to spread the music they loved, and spawned a countrywide phenomenon hence-dubbed Beirutando (“Beiruting”) in which tribute bands in nine different cities took to the streets with Brazilian-styled Beirut covers on Aug. 30 of that year. Collins sounds beyond humbled when discussing this unique honor, saying, “We actually went down to Brazil and played right after that got going. We met about 50 of ‘em, and they were really… enthusiastic would be an understatement. They were just like, rabid fans, and so excited to be a part of our music. It’s so amazing because they made themselves a part of our music and our lives, and now every time we do an interview they ask us about these kids. It’s inspiring.”

After Christmas the band heads to Australia and then Japan and South Korea, both for the first time ever. Though Collins is understandably excited about those destinations, his kind words about Athens will close this article better than I ever could.

“We’ve never been to Athens,” he says, “but Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, bands like that really just… their influence on our music, on Zach’s music, couldn’t be overstated. So for us, it’s like a pilgrimage.

It’s really exciting in that respect. So we’re just really excited to be playing in Athens and hope that everyone in the town is certainly proud of their musical tradition, because we love it.”

David Fitzgerald

WHO: Beirut, Perfume Genius WHERE: Georgia Theatre WHEN: Wednesday, Dec. 7, 8 p.m.

HOW MUCH: $20

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17

record reviews 285 W. Washington St. Athens, GA • Call 706-549-7871 for Show Updates

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WEdNESday, dECEmbER 7

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Quiet Hounds Independent Release

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QUIET HOUNDS

EVERyONE WELCOmE!

If you want to know any details about the band that created this seventrack audio tour de force, forget it. The ambiguity of this group is annoying and mesmerizing at the same time.

They might be a supergroup of seasoned musicians, or they might be a four-piece of super-talented nobodies.

Claiming neither origin nor identity, they use only the band moniker in all album credits and wear leather dog masks in their promo photo. Some say they’re from Atlanta, others claim Austin, but no one really seems to know for sure.

The fact of the matter is that this record is one of the most addictive little gems released this summer, and incorporates enough titillating and diverse ear candy to pull even the most cynical listener out of their dog-day funk.

Quiet Hounds, an EP which was supposedly written and recorded in two weeks, contains seven tracks, two of which are less than 17 seconds and filled with studio noise. The remaining five songs are an esoteric mashup hinting at Britpop and ‘70s psychedelia, with touches of feel-good ‘80s rock and a dash of Southern charisma. The combination of Pet Sounds-esque keyboard chords, tambourines, unpretentious vocals and introspective lyrics paint a story that is equally as simple and obscure as the band’s existence.

In all honesty, there isn’t a bad song on the entire EP, and it’s worth at least the 19 minutes it takes to listen to from start to finish. Find this record and give it a listen. We might not know who the Quiet Hounds are (yet!), but they make damn good music.

Carrie Dagenhard

All Shows 18 and up • + $2 for Under 21 * Advance Tix Available at Wuxtry Records ** Advance Tix Sold at http://www.40watt.com

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Where Did All this Dirt Come From Crowded Head

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1037 Baxter Street, Suite A Open Monday through Saturday

18

FLAGPOLE.COM ∙ DECEMBER 7, 2011

If you can re-imagine early Nirvana as three Southerners who dug hardcore and punk but weren’t trying to impress The Melvins by copying their sludge, you’ll come pretty close to what Music Hates You has produced. Embracing the descriptor “dirt metal,” Music Hates You underwent a complete lineup change a few years ago, retaining only guitarist and singer Noah Ray. I’ve known Ray long enough to feel comfortable saying that Where Did All This Dirt … is the album he’s always wanted

to make. It’s packed with influences and touchstones but wears nothing on its sleeve except sweat and, well, dirt.

This is the first record since the band became a three-piece. There’s really just no comparing the old band and this new creature that happens to have the same name. Ray’s lyrics on this album peel back his skin to full revelation in a way that Send More Paramedics only hinted at. If Send More Paramedics was Ray’s extended middle finger scream into the wilderness, then Where Did All this Dirt… is his clear-as-day, standing on the town square declaration of “This is my life and I can’t live yours, so I’m gonna play what I know and do the best I can.” This sentiment crystallizes completely on the final track “Some Sort Of Grace”—an acoustic number with only vocals and guitar—when Ray sings, “I ain’t got that much to give/Can’t afford the place that I live/Working eight days a week/Just so my little boy can eat/ But I know it gets better than this/Well, I’m making it better for those who will be here after I leave here.”

In an album packed with judgment and sharply tuned criticism, Ray points that finger at himself and, in the process, opens the window to his world fully for the first time.

Gordon Lamb

YOUNG ANTIQUES A Man, Not A Biography Two Sheds If you listened to “I Can’t Stand Anymore,” a track from the Young Antiques’ A Man, Not A Biography, you might swear that the Foo Fighters were the band’s primary influence. Listen to “Come On Let These Girl Blues Go,” you might guess My Morning Jacket; “The Last Thing”—you might say Tom Petty. Yet despite a myriad of influences, Young Antiques’ genre-bending sound successfully blends power-pop with Southern garage rock and a touch of country-bar-band swagger.

Lyrically, singer Blake Rainey sticks to the staples of Southern rock— drunken nights, whiskey, cigarettes and heartbreak are common themes—and Rainey refreshingly forgoes any aura of abstract indie introspection in favor of more earthy Springsteen-like storylines. Occasionally Rainey gets a bit too sappy for his own good, as in “Moon and Stars”: “In my room in the beautiful moon/Shines its light right through my window view/The stars above, how much I love/To see the constellations through and through.”

A line like this would be fine in the context of a cheesy country song; here it just sounds lame. However, given the number of influences that Young Antiques are drawing from here, an occasional slip into Brad Paisley lyrical territory is forgivable.

The seven-inch single from the album, “Fucked Up in Public,” works universally as an anthem for late barscene partying. Its Little Five Points references (the Atlanta strip that is the Young Antiques’ hometown stomping

grounds) certainly make it a local favorite. And though this album doesn’t have the big hooks of a Foo Fighters or Kings of Leon record, the overall quality of the trio’s musicianship coupled with some down home “dirty South” charm make A Man, Not A Biography a fine soundtrack to a evening of barhopping, debauchery and good times.

John Granofsky

DON CHAMBERS +GOAT Punch Drunk Independent Release The rootsy pulse of blues, folk and gospel that defines Don Chambers’ heart still beats, but this is unequivocally a rock record. And it’s a turn that adds about a thousand atmospheres onto the local artist’s already thick Southern Gothic murk. The band’s sound here has a harder twang and a bigger kick, demonstrated brightly by standout songs like the liberating strut of “Henry the Navigator” and the tough boogie of “Desire, Again.” But the core of this album is its dark, blackened marrow. And at its most gripping, the heavy rock aspect forces a heady plunge down a sweltering, churning rabbit hole to reveal a powerfully unsettled soul on fire. It’s Tom Waits fronting the Drive-By Truckers in their most smoldering fever dream, and even approaches Dead Confederate’s impressive depths of despair.

Specifically, the foreboding plod of “Vanish” lingers in the air like penetrating midnight humidity, while the slashing title track is a gut-clawing rocker that bleeds with blues ooze. But none capture it all like the monolithic “Mountain,” a diabolical, rubberburning drive down the road straight to hell. Like this song, Punch Drunk is a towering, swaggering triumph that’s dizzyingly rich, dark as the night and unrelentingly massive.

Bao Le-Huu

LERA LYNN Have You Met Lera Lynn?

Slow Lera Lynn’s got one of the strongest voices in Athens, and she’s at her best when she turns towards the past, adopting a traditional American approach like that of Brenda Lee, Dolly Parton or Connie Francis.

Under her own name she has steered towards country and away from the

jazz-inflected sounds of her past band, Birds & Wire. While that band was always melodious, the tunes tended to meander, and, thankfully, with Have You Met’s songs, Lynn has learned some country concision, getting to the point and getting out quick, and letting her controlled, crystalline vocals deliver songs pertinent to both heart and loins.

A version of Leonard Cohen’s “I Tried to Leave You” reinforces Lynn’s strengths as a re-interpreter but also some of her shortcomings as a lyricist. Cohen was able to balance folk standards with his own style, while Lynn still leans too heavily on predictable love-’em-and-leave-’em country tropes. For her words to stand out as much as her voice does, she could focus on what sets her apart; songs like “Fire & Undertow” and “Gasoline,” for instance, flirt with a horniness that’s a lot more interesting—and harder to find in female country singers—than the heartbroken stuff.

From honky-tonkers to lovelorn laments, the strong Have You Met Lera Lynn? showcases the talents of a number of local musicians, including AJ Adams, Thayer Sarrano, Karolyn Troupe and Marlon Patton, among others. While the entire album is full of variety, swinging from peppy to mournful to refined, individual tracks could benefit from some of that same varied approach; most lack an internal dynamism that demands repeat visits and really develops a memorable personality.

Chris Hassiotis

THE SKIPPERDEES Here’s to Hoping Independent Release At first blush the music of The Skipperdees—twin sisters Emily and Catherine Backus—seems breezy and lightweight. However, for all the implied optimism of its title, Here’s to Hoping is as world-aware and dark as anything ever birthed from the Appalachian folk tradition. Recorded in their living room with almost exclusively an acoustic guitar and banjo, the Backus sisters’ music is steeped in what Greil Marcus’ would call “the old, weird America.”

However inadvertent, The Skipperdees address the universal by writing their own stories. One of the best—and deliberate—lines appears in “Giving Up Your Ghost”: “Tonight I will try to forgive what I know I cannot change anymore/ You can’t take my song, you can’t right these wrongs.”

No matter how painful, the concept of ownership is a central theme on Here’s to Hoping.

With poetry worthy of Dickinson and an honesty rare as rubies, Here’s to Hoping is a breathtakingly accomplished album that will always sound fresh for the simple reason that the things that pained and pursued those before us continue to bother humanity now and will surely menace every future generation.

Gordon Lamb

the calendar!

WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK

Deadline for getting listed in the Calendar is every FRIDAY at 5 p.m. for the issue that comes out the following Wednesday. Email calendar@flagpole.com.

Tuesday 6 PERFORMANCE: Athens Choral Society (UGA Hodgson Hall) ACS performs Josef Rheinberger’s “The Star of Bethlehem” accompanied by full orchestra. 8 p.m. FREE! 706369-1947 PERFORMANCE: Chicago the Band Presents an Evening of Holiday Music (Beechwood Stadium Cinemas) Transmitted live to the theater, the band will perform songs from their new holiday album, Chicago XXXIII, “O Christmas Three,” with additional rehearsal and behind-the-scenes footage and interviews. 7 p.m. 706-546-1012 PERFORMANCE: Open TOAD Comedy (Flicker Theatre & Bar) A unique open mic experience. The audience gets to pelt the performers who go over their six-minute time limit with foam rocks. Performers get in FREE! but must sign up by 8 p.m. $5. www.myspace.com/flickerbar GAMES: Locos Trivia (Locos Grill & Pub) All three Athens locations of Locos Grill and Pub (Westside, Eastside and Harris St.) feature trivia night every Tuesday. For the next few weeks, a free pitcher of beer goes to the team with the best name! 8:30 p.m. FREE! www.locosgrill.com GAMES: Trivia (Shane’s Rib Shack, College Station) Every Tuesday! 7 p.m. 706-543-0050 GAMES: Trivia (Chango’s Asian Kitchen) Learn facts, eat noodles.

Every Tuesday. 7:30 p.m. FREE! 706546-0015 GAMES: Trivia with a Twist (Johnny’s New York Style Pizza) Compete! Tuesdays & Thursdays, 7:30–9:30 p.m. 706-354-1515

Wednesday 7 EVENTS: GLOBES End of Semester Potluck (UGA Memorial Hall) If possible, bring a dish to share. Hosted by GLOBES, the LGBTQ group at UGA. 6–8 p.m.

FREE! www.uga.edu/globes EVENTS: Make Your Own Holiday Cards (Madison County Library) Use Microsoft Publisher to design your own greeting cards. Dec. 6, 2–3 p.m. & 7–8 p.m. Dec. 7, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. FREE! 706-795-5597 ART: Tour at Two (Georgia Museum of Art) Meet docents in the lobby for a tour of highlights from the permanent collection. 2 p.m. FREE! www. georgiamuseum.org PERFORMANCE: My Fair Lady (The Classic Center) The iconic musical based on George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. 7:30 p.m. $10–65. 706-357-4444, www.classiccenter.com PERFORMANCE: “Rak the Watt” (40 Watt Club) An evening of traditional and modern Middle Eastern dance, featuring students

from the Healing Arts Centre and UGA’s Ramsey Center. 7:30 p.m. $8. www.40watt.com KIDSTUFF: Annual Winter Puppet Show (Lay Park) This year’s show is based on author Luli Gray’s version of the classic Aesop fable, The Ant and the Grasshopper. Dec. 7, 9:30 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. Dec. 8–9, 10:30 a.m. & 4:30 p.m. FREE! 706613-3596 KIDSTUFF: Books and Beans (Oconee County Library) Teens will celebrate “Read a New Book Month” by drinking coffee, reading and sharing recommendations. Those with book recommendations should bring the title, author and a short description to share with the group.

Ages 11–18. 6–8 p.m. FREE! 706769-3950 KIDSTUFF: Storytime (Oconee County Library) Enjoy a morning of stories, songs and crafts. For kids ages 2–5 and their caregivers. 10 & 11 a.m. FREE! 706-769-3950 LECTURES & LIT.: Book Signing and Discussion (Town 220) James T. Farmer, III will speak about his new book, A Time to Plant, which explains how people can use their gardens to create meals. 12 p.m. $65 (includes lunch and a signed copy of the book). gcgirls@godfreycox.com LECTURES & LIT.: Holiday Recommendations for Avid Readers (Avid Bookshop) Random House Books representatives Sarah Nasif and Toni Hetzel presents mini book talks about the best bets for everyone on your holiday shopping list. Featuring treats from Heirloom Cafe, as well a raffle for a gift basket gift certificate from Avid. Ten percent of profits benefit Books for Keeps.

RSVP. 7 p.m. FREE! 706-352-2060, avid.athens@gmail.com LECTURES & LIT.: Mystery Novel Discussion Group (Oconee County Library) Monthly meetings are held on the first Wednesday of every month. December’s featured book is On, Off by Colleen McCullough. 7 p.m. FREE! 706769-3950 LECTURES & LIT.: Nature Writing Group (Athens Land Trust) Examine great nature writing in a collegial environment and explore the outdoors.

First Wednesday of every month.

4:15–5:30 p.m. $5 (suggested donation). sgc45@hotmail.com LECTURES & LIT.: Word of Mouth (The Globe) Monthly open poetry readings every first Wednesday.

8 p.m. FREE! www.athenswordofmouth.com MEETINGS: Sandy Creek Park Bridge Public Information Forum (ACC Planning Department) ACC Departments of Leisure Services, Public Works and Transportation will host a public information open house for the community to view a proposed design schematic for a new pedestrian

bridge at Sandy Creek Park. 5:307:30 p.m. FREE! 706-613-3625 GAMES: Sports Trivia (Beef ‘O’ Brady’s) Test your sports knowledge every Wednesday night. 8:30 p.m.

FREE! 706-850-1916 GAMES: Trivia (Blind Pig Tavern) Wednesdays, 8 p.m. (Baldwin St. location), 8:30 p.m. (Broad St. location). 706-548-3442 GAMES: Trivia (Copper Creek Brewing Company) Test your trivia chops for prizes! Every Wednesday.

9 p.m. FREE! 706-546-1102 GAMES: Trivia (Mellow Mushroom) Every Wednesday. 8 p.m. FREE! 706-613-992 GAMES: Trivia (Willy’s Mexicana Grill) Trivia with a DJ! Every Wednesday. 8–10 p.m. FREE! 706548-1920 GAMES: Trivia (Your Pie, 5 Points) Open your pie-hole for a chance to win! Every Wednesday. 7:30 p.m.

FREE! www.yourpie.com

Thursday 8 EVENTS: Book Sale (Georgia Museum of Art) New and used books from GMOA as well as other publications will be available at low prices. All proceeds benefit the museum. Book donations accepted. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. FREE! 706-542-4662 EVENTS: MDA Lockup (Foundry Park Inn & Spa) Local business and community leaders agree to be “arrested” for having a “big heart” to raise funds for people with neuromuscular diseases. 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

770-391-6045 EVENTS: Terrapin Tastings & Tapas (The National) Taste Terrapin’s limited-release Free Spirit Farmhouse Ale and Reunion Brown Ale. 5–6:30 p.m. $15. m.c.erinwilson@gmail.com EVENTS: Zumba After Dark (40 Watt Club) Zumba, the dance-aerobics craze that’s sweeping the nation, is too good to only be enjoyed in the daytime and sober. This event will rectify that great injustice. Tonight’s theme is “ripped shirt style.” 7:30 p.m. $10. www.40watt.com ART: Big City Bread Holiday Market (Big City Bread Cafe) Featuring hand-crafted ceramics, jewelry, knitwear, homemade candies and more. 5–9 p.m. FREE! jamie@ soupstudios.com ART: Drawing in the Galleries (Georgia Museum of Art) Open hours for visitors to sketch in the galleries using graphite or colored pencils. 5–8 p.m. FREE! www.georgiamuseum.org ART: Opening Reception (Artini’s Art Lounge) For Vernon Thornsberry’s classical oil paintings.

5:30–8:30 p.m. FREE! 706-3538530 PERFORMANCE: Disney Herpes (Flicker Theatre & Bar) You really never know what Dave Barnes and

Casper & the Cookies play the 40 Watt Club on Saturday, Dec. 10. his comedy vaudeville group, Disney Herpes, will be up to. Improv, music and costumes. It’s always fun and it’s always a surprise. 8:30 p.m. FREE! www.flickertheatreandbar.com PERFORMANCE: New Town Revue (Avid Bookshop) Poems

by Jeff Fallis, a reading from Beth Thrasher and songs by Jim Willingham. 7:30 p.m. FREE! 706352-2060 THEATRE: A Christmas Carol (Rose of Athens Theatre) Adapted by playwright Shannon Rood, this rendition of the classic story features original music performed live by local musicians. 7 p.m. $8 (12 & under), $12 (students 13+), $18. www.roseofathens.org THEATRE: Jesus Christ Superstar (Athens Community Theatre) Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s popular musical that chronicles the last seven days of Christ. Dec. 8–10, 8 p.m. Dec. 11, 2 p.m. $10–18.

See Theatre Review on p. 8. www. townandgownplayers.org THEATRE: Overnight Christmas (Morton Theatre) Broadway-style production about Christmas traditions around the world. Dec. 8–10, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11, 2:30 p.m. $8–$15. www.mortontheatre.com KIDSTUFF: Annual Winter Puppet Show (Lay Park) This year’s show is based on author Luli Gray’s version of the classic Aesop fable, The Ant and the Grasshopper. Dec. 8–9, 10:30 a.m. & 4:30 p.m. FREE! 706613-3596 KIDSTUFF: Teen Book Club (East Athens Community Center) Ages 10-14. Every Thursday. 4:30–5:30 p.m. FREE! www.athensclarkecounty. com/leisure LECTURES & LIT.: Book Signing (Front Porch Bookstore) With Vince Dooley. 4–6 p.m. FREE! 706-3721236 GAMES: Trivia (Dos Palmas Restaurant & Cantina) Trivia and drink specials. Every Thursday. 8 p.m. FREE! 705-353-7771 GAMES: Trivia with a Twist (Johnny’s New York Style Pizza) Throw a lime in your Coors Light and compete! Tuesdays & Thursdays, 7:30–9:30 p.m. 706354-1515

Friday 9 EVENTS: Book Sale (Georgia Museum of Art) New and used books from GMOA as well as other publications will be available at low prices. All proceeds benefit the museum. Book donations accepted. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. FREE! 706-542-4662

EVENTS: Not So Silent Night (ATHICA) Bid on items at the third annual fundraiser for Clarke Central High School’s student publications, Odyssey Newsmagazine and Iliad Literary Magazine. Festivities include live music from Atlanta’s steel drum band Panablaze and catered food from The National, Donderos’, The Globe, Farm 255 and Mama’s Boy. 7-9 p.m. $20. 706-559-4520 EVENTS: A Small Green Footprint Open House (A Small Green Footprint, 264 Georgia Avenue) Bring your environmentally conscious brood out for a day of storytelling, door prizes and a wonderful selection of natural toys, kitchen items and organic products.

10 a.m.–5 p.m. FREE! www.asmallgreenfootprint.com ART: Big City Bread Holiday Market (Big City Bread Cafe) Featuring hand-crafted ceramics, jewelry, knitwear, homemade candies and more. 5–9 p.m. FREE! jamie@ soupstudios.com ART: Holiday Open House (Good Dirt) “The Spirit of Collaboration” features wheel-throwing demonstrations, workshops and a pottery sale. Some sales benefit the food bank. Dec. 9, 9 a.m.–9 p.m. Dec. 10, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Dec. 11, 12–5 p.m. FREE! 706-355-3161, www. gooddirt.net ART: Opening Reception (Flicker Theatre & Bar) For artwork by Jill Carnes. 7–10 p.m. FREE! www.flickertheatreandbar.com ART: Soap Making Workshop (Whole: Mind. Body. Art.) All supplies included. Leave with $35 worth of soap. Pre-registration required.

7 p.m. $70. 706-424-0195, info@ wholemindbodyart.com THEATRE: A Christmas Carol (Rose of Athens Theatre) Adapted by playwright Shannon Rood, featuring live, original music from local musicians. 7 p.m. $8 (12 & under), $12 (students 13+), $18. www. roseofathens.org THEATRE: Jesus Christ Superstar (Athens Community Theatre) Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s popular musical that chronicles the last seven days of Christ. Dec. 8–10, 8 p.m. Dec. 11, 2 p.m. $10–18. www.townandgownplayers.org THEATRE: Overnight Christmas (Morton Theatre) Broadway-style production about Christmas traditions around the world. Dec. 8–10, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11, 2:30 p.m. $8–$15. www.mortontheatre.com KIDSTUFF: Annual Winter Puppet Show (Lay Park) This year’s show is based on author Luli Gray’s version of the classic Aesop fable, The

Ant and the Grasshopper. Dec. 8–9, 10:30 a.m. & 4:30 p.m. FREE! 706613-3596 KIDSTUFF: Preschool & Toddler Storytime (Madison County Library) Includes stories, fingerpuppet plays, songs and crafts for literacy-based fun. For ages 2–5.

10:30 a.m. FREE! 706-795-5597 KIDSTUFF: Steampunk Holiday Party (ACC Library) Dress in your steampunk finest for holiday treats with tea or hot chocolate and Victorian ornament-making. Call to register. Ages 11–18. 7–9 p.m.

FREE! 706-613-3650 LECTURES & LIT.: Genealogy 101: The Basics (Oconee County Library) Learn how to begin your family history research! Registration required. 1-2:30 p.m. FREE! 706769-3950 LECTURES & LIT.: Glocal Economy Conference (Georgia Center) The “Future of the Social Welfare State: The U.S. and Europe” conference will bring together some of the nation’s top scholars to discuss the financial crisis in the public sector. 12:30–6 p.m. FREE! 706202-5230, www.spia.uga.edu

Saturday 10 EVENTS: Athens Farmers Market (Bishop Park) Buy fresh, locally grown organic produce, locally crafted goods and freshly baked breads.

Every Saturday. Added vendors for the holidays. Hugh Acheson will be signing and selling his cookbook, A New Turn in the South. 9 a.m.–noon.

FREE! www.athensfarmersmarket.net EVENTS: Christmas in Statham Celebration (Downtown Statham) Festivities include shopping for gifts and handmade crafts, food vendors, a Christmas train and caroling. Kids are invited to have hot chocolate with Santa after the parade, which will begin at 4 p.m. A tour of historic homes ($5) will benefit a local dog park. 9 a.m.–8 p.m. FREE! www. cityofstatham.com EVENTS: Claus and Paws (Memorial Park, Rec Hall) An Athens Canine Rescue tradition: get your pet’s picture taken with Santa! 10 a.m.–1 p.m. 706-613-3580, www. athenscaninerescue.com EVENTS: Deck the Hollow (Memorial Park) Holiday lights display at Bear Hollow Zoo with live music, storytelling, animal encounters and photo opportunities.

5:30–7:30 p.m. FREE! (2 & under), $3. 706-613-3580, www.athensclarkecounty.com/bearhollow k continued on next page

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THE CALENDAR! EVENTS: English Country Market at Christmastide (The Portico, High Shoals) Shop jewelry, soaps, artwork, textiles, handmade books and more from local artists while enjoying foods of the season. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. FREE! 706-340-7123 EVENTS: Family Day: Holiday Fun (Georgia Museum of Art) Holiday card-making inspired by the museum’s permanent collection and live music from the Meridian Women’s Chorus. 10 a.m.–12 p.m. FREE! www.georgiamuseum. org EVENTS: Handmade Hollyday Market (Treehouse Kid and Craft) Only handmade goods, including organic breads, homemade cookies, knit goods, clothing, toys and jewelry. 10 a.m.–5 p.m. FREE! 706850-8226 EVENTS: Holiday Market (Various Locations) Join N. Jackson St. businesses Community, Whole: Mind.

Body. Art., Dynamite Clothing, Over the Moon and Fringe Collective for an evening of sales and craft vendors. Live music provided by Mary Sigalas. Art show by Andy Cherewick. 5–8:30 p.m. FREE! info@wholemindbodyart.com EVENTS: Holiday Spirits Museum Mile Tour (Ware-Lyndon House) A tour through the T.R.R. Cobb House, Taylor-Grady House, Church-Waddel-Brumby House and Ware-Lyndon House. Three short theater performances will reflect 19th-century holiday traditions. Call to reserve a spot. 5, 6 & 7 p.m. $25, $15 (12 & under). 706-208-8687, www.athenswelcomecenter.com EVENTS: Larry Munson Memorial (UGA Sanford Stadium) Public memorial service for radio announcer Larry Munson, who served as the voice of the Georgia Bulldogs for 42 years and died Nov. 20. 12 p.m. (gates open), 1 p.m. (ceremony) FREE! EVENTS: A Small Green Footprint Open House (A Small Green Footprint) Bring your environmentally conscious brood out for a day of storytelling, door prizes and a wonderful selection of natural toys, kitchen items and organic products.

10 a.m.–5 p.m. FREE! www.asmallgreenfootprint.com EVENTS: Soup Studios Holiday Market (Soup Studios, 2140 S. Lumpkin St.) Handmade pottery, jewelry, hats, scarves and festive edible goodies. 10 a.m.–2 p.m. FREE! jamie@soupstudios.com EVENTS: University Childcare Open House (University Childcare Center) UCC Director Nadia Perez and her staff will give tours of the facility and answer any questions that parents and children may have concerning the center’s daily operation. Dec. 10, 9 a.m.–12 p.m. Dec. 13, 5–7 p.m. www.universitychildcarecenter.uga.edu ART: African Art Warehouse Sale (Mbare Ltd. Warehouse) African arts and crafts. 1–6 p.m. FREE! 706354-1445 ART: Carter and Friends Pottery Sale (Carter Gillies Pottery) Featuring the works of Carter Gillies, Geoff Pickett, Juana Gnecco and Jeff Bishoff. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. FREE! 706546-7235 ART: Holiday Open House (Good Dirt) Wheel-throwing demonstrations, workshops and a pottery sale.

Dec. 9, 9 a.m.–9 p.m. Dec. 10, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Dec. 11, 12–5 p.m.

FREE! 706-355-3161, www.gooddirt.net ART: Holiday Pottery Sale (Blue Bell Gallery) Works by Tina McCullough and Tammy Nance.

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Saturday, Dec. 10 continued from p. 19

Open every Saturday through Dec. 24. 9 a.m.–1 p.m. www.bluebellgallery.net ART: Holiday Sale (R.Wood Studio) See the latest works of Rebecca Wood and her team of potters. 9 a.m.–4 p.m. FREE! www.rwoodstudio.com PERFORMANCE: Athens Symphony Christmas Concert (The Classic Center) Holiday concert featuring the Athens Symphony and the Athens Symphony Chorus.

Tickets required. Dec. 10, 3 p.m.

Dec. 11, 8 p.m. FREE! www.classiccenter.com THEATRE: Jesus Christ Superstar (Athens Community Theatre) Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s popular musical that chronicles the last seven days of Christ. Dec. 8–10, 8 p.m. Dec. 11, 2 p.m. $10–18.

See Theatre Review on p. 8. www. townandgownplayers.org THEATRE: Overnight Christmas (Morton Theatre) Broadway-style production about fun Christmas traditions around the world. Dec. 8–10, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11, 2:30 p.m. $8–$15. www.mortontheatre.com KIDSTUFF: Breakfast with Santa (Sandy Creek Nature Center) Santa is terribly busy this time of year, but he knows how important breakfast is. Join him for crafts, activities and photos! Call to sign up for a time.

10:15–10:45 a.m. $5–7. 706-6133615 KIDSTUFF: Holiday Hayride (Rocksprings Community Center & Park) Ride around the community, sing along with your favorite holiday songs and decorate cookies. Santa may stop by for some hot cocoa after the hayride. Call to register. 10 a.m–12 p.m. $3. 706-613-3062 KIDSTUFF: Mingle with Kringle (OCAF) OCAF hosts a children’s workshop where kids can create cards, jewelry, gingerbread houses and gifts for family members. There will also be holiday singers, a puppet show and a Mother Goose reading. A FREE! photo shoot with Kringle and sack lunch are included.

Register to reserve a spot. All proceeds benefit DFACS and Toys for Tots. 10 a.m.–12 p.m. & 1-3 p.m. $2 donation or new toy. 706-769-4565, www.ocaf.com KIDSTUFF: Saturday Morning Zoo Tours (Memorial Park) Learn the inside story of Bear Hollow Zoo’s residents. Every second and fourth Saturday. 10–11 a.m. FREE! www. athensclarkecounty.com/bearhollow KIDSTUFF: Second Saturday Storytime (Sandy Creek Nature Center) Join the SCNC staff for stories about the woods and its resident creatures. 2:30 p.m. FREE! 706-6133615, www.accleisureservices.com KIDSTUFF: Turtle Torpor Time (Memorial Park) Participants will learn about the difference between hibernation and torpor. Activities include a story, live animal presentation and a craft. 1:30–3:30 p.m. $3–5. 706-613-3616 KIDSTUFF: Zoo Open Classroom (Memorial Park) Explore the Exhibit Hall and visit with salamanders, pond turtles, snakes and more.

Every Sunday. 1–4 p.m. FREE! 706613-3616 LECTURES & LIT.: Book Signings (Barnes and Noble Café) Coach Vince Dooley (10 a.m.–12 p.m.), Adam Webb (4 p.m.), Jan Meeks (5 p.m.) and Kent Hannon (5 p.m.) will sign copies of their latest books. 10 a.m.–5 p.m. FREE! 706-354-1195 GAMES: Shadowrun RPG Demo (Tyche’s Games) Come play where magic meets machines. 12 p.m.

FREE! www.tychesgames.com

FLAGPOLE.COM ∙ DECEMBER 7, 2011

Sunday 11 EVENTS: Christmas at Donovan (Monsignor Donovan Catholic High School) The Athens community is invited for photos with Santa, storytime with Mrs. Claus, caroling by the St. Cecilia Choral Group and refreshments. Donovan elves will also help children wrap gifts. 1-3 p.m. FREE! www.mdchs.org EVENTS: Deck the Hollow (Memorial Park) Holiday lights display at Bear Hollow Zoo with activities including live music, story telling, animal encounters and photo opportunities in the illuminated zoo.

5:30–7:30 p.m. FREE! (2 & under), $3. 706-613-3580, www.athensclarkecounty.com/bearhollow EVENTS: Holiday Afternoon Tea (Athens Community Council on Aging, 135 Hoyt St.) Tea, sandwiches and desserts will be served and Santa Claus will make a special appearance. All ages are invited to attend. 3 p.m. $15 (children), $20.

706-549-4850. www.accaging.org EVENTS: Holiday Artists’ Market (Heirloom Cafe and Fresh Market) Eighteen vendors sell paintings, pottery, textiles, prints, knits, photography, jewelry, illustrations and pies.

Drinks for sale, snacks provided.

4–7 p.m. FREE! www.heirloomathens.com EVENTS: Pamper Your Pets Party (St. Stephens Anglican Church) Pet supplies and accessories for sale, as well as demonstrations on how to make pet treats. A portion of the sales will benefit the Athens Area Humane Society. 2–4 p.m. www. pamperedchef.biz/giftsbystephanie ART: Art Reception (140 and 305 Brookwood Dr.) Tour the studios of John Ahee and Jamie Calkin to see their new work, as well as works from eight guest artists. 2–5 p.m.

FREE! www.jamiecalkin.com ART: Artists’ Reception and Closing Ceremony (Athens Academy) For the artists of the “Extra Special Picassos” exhibit, a subset of the Extra Special People art therapy program, as well as artwork

by Stuart McCall Libby, LeeAnn Mitchel and Susan Nees. 2–4 p.m.

FREE! www.athensacademy.org ART: Athens Artist Market (Hotel Indigo) Annual showcase featuring local and handmade crafts from 45 vendors and live music from Kate Morrissey. Proceeds from refreshment sales benefit elementary school art programs. 11 a.m.–7 p.m. FREE! www.athensartistmarket.com ART: Carter and Friends Pottery Sale (Carter Gillies Pottery) Featuring the works of Carter Gillies, Geoff Pickett, Juana Gnecco and Jeff Bishoff. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. FREE! 706546-7235 ART: Holiday Open House (Good Dirt) Wheel-throwing demonstrations, workshops and a pottery sale.

Dec. 9, 9 a.m.–9 p.m. Dec. 10, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Dec. 11, 12–5 p.m.

FREE! 706-355-3161, www.gooddirt.net ART: Pottery Party and Sale (Fat Studio) First annual open house. 10 a.m.–6 p.m. FREE! www.fatstudiopottery.com ART: Spotlight Tour (Georgia Museum of Art) Meet docents in the lobby for a tour of highlights from the permanent collection. 3 p.m.

FREE! www.georgiamuseum.org PERFORMANCE: Athens Flute Choir (Young Harris United Methodist Church) Performing holiday songs. 7 p.m. FREE! 706353-7400 PERFORMANCE: Athens Symphony Christmas Concert (The Classic Center) Holiday concert featuring the Athens Symphony and

Monday, December 12

The Christmas Hoot Little Kings Shuffle Club Like the music it celebrates, The Christmas Hoot has been going strong for quite some time. The Athens Folk Music & Dance Society started The Hoot, a free monthly showcase of Americana music, in the 1980s. Susan Staley, who’s been booking these events since 1998, added a caroling sing-along element to the Christmas Hoot in 2000. Over a decade later, Staley reflects on how it all started at a standard Hoot.

“The whole show was just a bunch of us taking requests and playing whatever we could think of. Lots of folks in the audience would sing The Solstice Sisters along, and it was a tremendous energy when everyone was participating. That’s when I got the idea to [include] caroling for the next Christmas Hoot, and we’ve kept it a great tradition ever since.”

Few things are like seeing a widely known band; people from all over join together in a common chorus, united by their familiarity and love of the act. Similarly, the Christmas Hoot is, above all, about crowd participation.

“Here’s how it works,” says Staley: “Tommy Jordan [String Theory] passes out sheets with words on them. Then, you call out what you want to sing. Tommy accompanies on guitar, Dick Daniels on bass and everyone on vocals!”

In keeping with its inclusionary intent, The Chistmas Hoot welcomes and embraces diversity. Klezmer Local 42 will open this year’s show with traditional klezmer and Hanukkah songs, followed by The Solstice Sisters’ harmonious bluegrass and swing renditions of other holiday favorites. After that, it’s everyone’s turn to hoot and holler.

“Christians and non-Christians, we’ve all grown up with these same songs,” says Staley, “and they have enormous feelings of shared tradition. Everyone knows ‘Jingle Bells,’ ‘Santa Claus Is Coming to Town’ and ‘Joy to the World’… Music is a huge part of the season.” [Kevin Craig]

the Athens Symphony Chorus. Dec. 10, 3 p.m. Dec. 11, 8 p.m. FREE! www.classiccenter.com THEATRE: Jesus Christ Superstar (Athens Community Theatre) Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s popular musical that chronicles the last seven days of Christ. Dec. 8–10, 8 p.m. Dec. 11, 2 p.m. $10–18. www.townandgownplayers.org THEATRE: Overnight Christmas (Morton Theatre) Broadway-style production about Christmas traditions around the world. Dec. 8–10, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11, 2:30 p.m. $8–$15. www.mortontheatre.com GAMES: Full Contact Trivia (Amici Italian Café) Come test your knowledge! Sundays, 9 p.m. FREE! 706-353-0000 GAMES: Trivia (Buffalo’s Southwest Café) “Brewer’s Inquisition,” trivia hosted by Chris Brewer every Sunday. 7 p.m. FREE! 706-3546655, www.buffalos.com/athens GAMES: Trivia (The Capital Room) Every Sunday! Hosted by Evan Delany. First place wins $50 and second place wins $25. 8 p.m.

FREE! www.thecapitalroom.com

Monday 12 EVENTS: Deck the Hollow (Memorial Park) Holiday lights display at Bear Hollow Zoo with live music, story telling, animal encounters and photo opportunities.

5:30–7:30 p.m. FREE! (2 & under), $3. 706-613-3580, www.athensclarkecounty.com/bearhollow KIDSTUFF: Book Babies (Oconee County Library) Special storytime for young readers up to 23 months.

Stories, songs, nursery rhymes, bouncing, cuddling and playtime.

10:30 a.m. FREE! 706-769-3950 KIDSTUFF: Infant Storytime (ACC Library) Nurture language skills.

10:30 a.m. FREE! 706-613-3650 MEETINGS: Whatever It Takes Community Conversation (Athens Community Career Academy) Whatever It Takes publicly presents the Athens Community Plan For Children. Copies of the plan will be given to attendees, distributed throughout Athens and available for viewing online after the event. 2:30 p.m. 706-255-7996, www.witathens.org GAMES: Team Trivia (Beef ‘O’ Brady’s) Win house cash and prizes!

Every Monday night. 8:30 p.m.

FREE! 706-850-1916 GAMES: Trivia (Alibi) Every Monday night. 9 p.m. FREE! 706-549-1010

Tuesday 13 EVENTS: Bad Movie Night: Elves (Ciné Bar Cafe) Nazis dispatch a murderous elf to impregnate a virgin on Christmas Eve with the hope that this will somehow revive the master race. 8 p.m. FREE! www.facebook. com/badmovienight EVENTS: Deck the Hollow (Memorial Park) See Monday 12 Events. 5:30–7:30 p.m. FREE! (2 & under), $3. 706-613-3580, www.athensclarkecounty.com/bearhollow EVENTS: Drafts & Laughs (The Pub at Gameday) Local stand-up comedy. 9:30 p.m. 706-353-2831 EVENTS: Geminid Meteors and More (Sandy Creek Park) Come see a Geminid meteor shower, views of

Venus, cloud belts, moons of Jupiter and the winter constellations. 6–8 p.m. $2. 706-613-3631, www.athensclarkecounty.com/sandycreekpark EVENTS: University Childcare Open House (University Childcare Center) UCC Director Nadia Perez and her staff will give tours of the facility and answer any questions that parents and children may have concerning the center’s daily operation. Dec. 10, 9 a.m.–12 p.m. Dec. 13, 5–7 p.m. www.universitychildcarecenter.uga.edu PERFORMANCE: Dancefx Performance (Cleveland Road Elementary School) All proceeds benefit the CASA Foundation. 5:30 & 7:30 p.m. Donations accepted. www.dancefx.org PERFORMANCE: Georgia Children’s Chorus (UGA Hodgson Hall) “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” a Christmas concert, is presented by the Hugh Hodgson School of Music. 7 p.m. $5. www. georgiachildrenschorus.com KIDSTUFF: Storytime (Oconee County Library) Enjoy a morning of stories, songs and crafts. For kids ages 2–5 and their caregivers. 10 & 11 a.m. FREE! 706-769-3950 LECTURES & LIT.: Book Release Party (Treehouse Kid and Craft) For Recipes for Press by Amy Flurry.

6–8 p.m. FREE! www.treehousekidandcraft.com MEETINGS: Athens Fibercraft Guild (Lyndon House Arts Center) The Guild welcomes all amateur and professional fiber artists. Margaret Agner will hold a mini-workshop on creating polymer buttons. Every second Tuesday. 12:30 p.m. FREE! 706-543-4319

GAMES: Locos Trivia (Locos Grill & Pub) All three Athens locations (Westside, Eastside and Harris St.).

For the next few weeks, a free pitcher of beer goes to the team with the best name! 8:30 p.m. FREE! www. locosgrill.com GAMES: Trivia (Shane’s Rib Shack, College Station) Every Tuesday! 7 p.m. 706-543-0050 GAMES: Trivia (Chango’s Asian Kitchen) Learn facts, eat noodles.

7:30 p.m. FREE! 706-546-0015 GAMES: Trivia with a Twist (Johnny’s New York Style Pizza) Tuesdays & Thursdays, 7:30–9:30 p.m. 706-354-1515 * Advance Tickets Available

Live Music Tuesday 6 Amici Italian Café 11 p.m. FREE! 706-353-0000 JOSH ROBERTS AND THE HINGERS Josh Roberts and his band play hearty, Southern rock.

NEW SNEAKERS Five-piece Southern jam-rock fusion formerly known as The Blekers.

Caledonia Lounge 9 p.m. $5 (21+), $7 (18+). www.caledonialounge.com THE DESARIOS Local upbeat rock band with a singer who sounds a bit like Elvis Costello.

GROOVE TANGENT Playing covers from diverse rock acts like Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd and Jet. ANSLEY RUSHING Local singer/ songwriter of the farm-folk kind.

YOUNG BENJAMIN Solo project of guitarist/banjoist Matt Whitaker (The Premonitions, Emergent Heart).

Farm 255 10 p.m. FREE! www.farm255.com CLOUDEATER A blend of alternative, indie rock, electronic and no-fi.

DAMON KREBS BROKE OUR HEARTS New collaboration featuring Ali Sanders, Dustin Gannon (Glorious Dead) and Drew Carman (Corduroy Road).

VINCENT THE DOG Athens rock power trio informed by classic rock, blues, funk, jazz, hard rock and progressive rock. CD release show!

40 Watt Club “Poverty Is Real.” 8 p.m. $10 (adv). www.40watt.com CLAIRE CAMPBELL Gorgeous folk tunes from half of Hope for Agoldensummer.

FUTUREBIRDS Critically acclaimed local folk-rock band with a tattered, raspy edge and sweet harmonies.

PATTERSON HOOD Solo set from the Drive-By Truckers frontman, generally consisting of a mix of stripped down Truckers tunes and cuts from Hood’s solo releases.

MY COUSIN, THE EMPEROR This four-piece band from Brooklyn creates happy, easygoing music with beautiful vocal harmonies.

WOODFANGS Grungy, lo-fi psychedelic pop.

Georgia Theatre 8 p.m. $18. www.georgiatheatre.com BLACK COBAIN Virginia-born rapper strives to represent a positive image in his music. He’s collaborated with Wale, UCB, The Clipse and more.

DON TRIP Memphis-based rapper who recently collaborated with Cee Lo Green.

WALE Rap that incorporates a wide range of genres from electronic synthesizers to old-school drum and bass backbeats.

Go Bar 9 p.m. 706-546-5609 BLINDDATEBAND This new trio featuring Steve Hendriksen, KT Austin and Emileigh Ireland playing sweet, alternative and pop covers returns.

BOMBSBOMBSBOMBS Local band offers bouncy indie pop with alt-rock guitars and big hooks.

EUREKA CALIFORNIA Melodic, guitar-driven indie rock influenced by bands like Guided by Voices.

MAGICAL TALENT SHOW An oldschool talent show with a healthy dose of new-school Athens weirdness hosted by Jeff Tobias and Marie Uhler. Sign up on the Facebook page (search “Magical Athens Talent Show”) for a chance at the prizes, or just go check it out. Proceeds benefit Nuçi’s Space. Live music follows the talent show!

THE MOON LADDER New band featuring folks from Werewolves.

MURDERMORE MEGASTORE Originally formed at Face/Off, this new local trio features Jake Ward, Andy Dixon and Jeff Fox. RAW ORTHOPEDICS Jeff Tobias’ new solo project featuring experimental dance music.

Highwire Lounge 8–11 p.m. FREE! www.highwirelounge. com KENOSHA KID Centered around the instru-improv jazz compositions of guitarist Dan Nettles, Kenosha Kid also features Robby Handley (bass) and Marlon Patton (drums).

The Melting Point Terrapin Tuesday. 7 p.m. $5. www. meltingpointathens.com MRJORDANMRTONKS Two of Athens’ favorite pickers will perform a mix of bluegrass, Americana and folk tunes.

New Earth Music Hall 9:30 p.m. $5 (adv.), $8 (door). www. newearthmusichall.com* CRY WOLF This Raleigh-based duo creates electronic music influenced by dubstep and grime.

SUB SHANTI Melodies of traditional Indian music set to electronic beats.

WUOG 90.5FM “Live in the Lobby.” 8 p.m. FREE! www. wuog.org THE FUZZLERS Goofy punk with a highly interactive live show.

Wednesday 7 Blue Sky 5–10 p.m. www.blueskyathens.com VINYL WEDNESDAY Bring your own vinyl and be a DJ for the night.

Boar’s Head Lounge 9 p.m. 706-369-3040 OPEN MIC NIGHT Welcoming singer-songwriters every Wednesday.

Caledonia Lounge 9:30 p.m. $5 (21+), $7 (18+). www. caledonialounge.com ANDROCLES AND THE LION This local band plays airy indie-rock with lots of warm acoustic guitar.

BLUE BLOOD Gift Hourse frontman Hunter Morris plays a stripped down set of moody, melodic originals.

PILE This indie band from Boston offers eclectic post-punk and rock.

STONEBREAKERS Local act playing straight-up rock and roll with influences like Elvis Costello and The Who. Farm 255 Jazz Night. 9 p.m. FREE! www.farm255. com DIAL INDICATORS This jazz duo features Jeremy Roberts on guitar k continued on next page

Friendly Neighborhood Bar Free Popcorn • Pool Jukebox

Wednesdays 9:00pm

KARAOKE

Thursdays 8:30pm

BLUES NIGHT with THE SHADOW EXECUTIVES

Saturday, December 10 Local Artists’ Wares

Fresh Local Produce Still Available!

including pottery, handmade bags, jewelry, artisan glass, Verdae skin therapy products, photography & more!

SpeciAL HoLidAy KidS’ ActiVitieS

Friday, Dec. 9

3rd AnnuAl Empty Stocking FundrAiSEr 6:30 BIG E 7:00 WORKHORSES OF THE ENTERTAINmENT AND RECREATIONAL INDUSTRy 7:40 JOHN KEANE AND JIm WHITE 8:20 WELFARE LINERS 9:00 CLAy LEVERETT FULL BAND 9:40 DODD FERRELLE 10:00 BETSy FRANCK AND THE BARE KNUCKLE BAND 10:40 DAVID BARBE AND THE QUICK HOOKS 11:20 BLOODKIN 12:30 BURNING ANGELS

Saturday, December 10 9:30 pm

SALLy AND THE SIX GRAND BAND

706.546.0840

2455 Jefferson Rd. in Homewood Hills Open 2pm M-F • 12pm Sat

Athens Community Council on Aging invites you to the 3rd annual

Come see Hugh Acheson

and get a signed copy of his book, “A New Turn in the South” THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

College of Veterinary Medicine

Community Pet Clinic

Helping to train tomorrow’s veterinarians

We are a full-service small animal clinic offering: 3PVUJOF TQBZT OFVUFST GPS EPHT BOE DBUT %FSNBUPMPHZ BOE #FIBWJPS TFSWJDFT $PNQFUJUJWF QSJDJOH &BTZ SFGFSSBM UP UIF 6(" 7FUFSJOBSZ 5FBDIJOH )PTQJUBM JG OFFEFE

t t t t

Open Mon.–Fri., 8 a.m.–5 p.m.

By appointment: 706.542.1984 Drop-offs and walk-ins welcome

www.vet.uga.edu/CPC EARTH-FRIENDLY • WATER-WISE ORGANIC GARDENING

SOME GROW AS A HOBBY, WE DO IT FOR A LIVING

Bring Your Plants Indoors for the Winter!

We have fluorescent, LED & High Intensity Discharge grow lights perfect for overwintering!

www.FloraHydroponics.com • Mon-Sat 10am-6pm Now Open in Atlanta!

1239 Fowler St.

404-532-0001

Athens • 195 Paradise Blvd.

Behind Terrapin Brewery

706-353-2223

DECEMBER 7, 2011 · FLAGPOLE.COM

21

THE CALENDAR! and George Davidson on tenor sax playing odd covers and improvising on familiar themes.

Eat. Drink. Listen Closely.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6 Terrapin Tuesday Series featuring

MrJORDANMrTONKS

$5 admission • $2 Terrapin Pints all night!

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7

AMERICAN BABIES

Flight Tapas and Bar 7:30 p.m. FREE! 706-549-0200 MARY SIGALAS Visiting standards from the ‘20s through the ‘50s.

Tickets $5 adv • $7 at the door • $5 with Student ID

Georgia Theatre 8 p.m. $20. www.georgiatheatre.com BEIRUT An American indie-rock band heavily influenced by Balkan folk, klezmer and Eastern European brass.

See story on p. 17.

PERFUME GENIUS Pianist and singer/songwriter Mike Hadreas creates beautiful and powerful music.

MARK CUNNINGHAM & THE NATIONALS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8

LARRY KEEL

& NATURAL BRIDGE Tickets $10 adv • $13 at the door

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9

COL. BRUCE HAMPTON & THE PHAROAH GUMMITT YELLOWIRE

Tickets $9 adv • $12 at the door

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10

STRAWBERRY FLATS WE THREE KEANES

Tickets $9 adv • $12 at the door

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11

THE WOOD BROTHERS JOE McGUINNESS

Tickets $15 adv • $17 at the door

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16

ABBEY ROAD LIVE! Tickets $10 adv • $12 at the door

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18 Totally 80’s Holiday Toy Drive with

THE HIGHBALLS

Tickets $10 adv • $13 at the door EARLY SHOW! $5 off food with toy donation

JUST ANNOUNCED

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30 & SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31

Two Night New Year’s Eve Run with

MOTHER’S FINEST Tix on sale now! Hotel Room and show packages available!

Call 706.549.7020

UPCOMING EVENTS 12.13 12.15 12.23 12.27 12.30 12.31 1.5 1.6 1.7

GRASSVILLE THE SPLITZ BAND RACK OF SPAM BORDERHOP 5 MOTHER’S FINEST MOTHER’S FINEST NYE LIL’ MALCOM & THE HOUSE ROCKERS BIG DADDY’S BAND SWINGIN’ MEDALLIONS LOCATED ON THE GROUNDS OF

1.11 SARAH JAROSZ 1.20 RANDALL BRAMBLETT BAND 1.21 TONY RICE with MOUNTAIN HEART 1.25 ERICK BAKER, CALLAGHAN 2.3 ANVIL, ATHENS 2.7 STRING THEORY 2.10 GRAINS OF SAND 2.29 CALIFORNIA GUITAR TRIO 3.8 STEPHEN KELLOGG & THE SIXERS 3.15 COLIN HAY (of Men at Work) 3.22 ANDY McKEE 4.6 ABIGAIL WASHBURN 295 E. DOUGHERTY ST., ATHENS, GA

706.254.6909

WWW.MELTINGPOINTATHENS.COM

FOR TICKETS & SHOWTIMES OR CALL THE BOX OFFICE 706.254.6909

22

Flicker Theatre & Bar 8:30 p.m. FREE! www.flickertheatreandbar.com BROS. MARLER Brothers Drew and Daniel Marler play gypsyAmericana.

FLAGPOLE.COM ∙ DECEMBER 7, 2011

Hendershot’s Coffee Bar 8 p.m. $3. www.hendershotscoffeebar. com SCOTT SPILLANE Former Neutral Milk Hotel horn player plays a solo set every Wednesday in December.

Little Kings Shuffle Club 10 p.m. 706-369-3144 EUREKA CALIFORNIA Melodic, guitar-driven indie rock influenced by bands like Guided by Voices.

OPIATE EYES Ranging from experimental and progressive to catchy electropop.

SUSPECT RAPTOR Local band plays a mix of ‘90s grunge pop and indie post-punk.

The Melting Point 8:30 p.m. $5 (adv.), $7 (door), $5 (door w/UGA ID). www.meltingpointathens.com* AMERICAN BABIES Led by Tom Hamilton, this Brooklyn-based band plays upbeat, freewheeling folk with alt-country underpinnings.

MARK CUNNINGHAM & THE NATIONALS Local band plays soulful, heartfelt Americana.

The Office Lounge 9:30 p.m. FREE! 706-549-0840 KARAOKE With your host Lynn, the Queen of Karaoke!

Thursday 8 Amici Italian Café 11 p.m. FREE! 706-353-0000 40TH STREET CANDID COAL PEOPLE Derick Thompson plays an acoustic set full of originals.

Avid Bookshop “New Town Revue.” 7:30 p.m. FREE! 706-352-2060 JIM WILLINGHAM Frontman of local bands Ham1 and Old Smokey performs a solo set.

Caledonia Lounge 9:30 p.m. $5 (21+), $7 (18+). www. caledonialounge.com KILL KILL BUFFALO Grungy, hardrock duo based in Athens.

KEVIN ROWE Singer-songwriterdriven piano pop from Atlanta.

Diverse Universe 7–11 p.m. $2 (suggsted donation).

ALMOST FAMOUS HOLIDAY KICKOFF PARTY Featuring DJ Lynn Carson, Sasha Stephens, KMC, Almost Famous All-stars and contestants from “Athens Got Talent.”

Proceeds benefit AIDS Athens.

Doors prizes all night!

Wednesday, Dec. 7 continued from p. 21

Farm 255 10 p.m. www.farm255.com THE HOBOHEMIANS Local sixpiece group playing American and European roots music.

Georgia Bar 10 p.m. 706-546-9884 THE VALLEY OF DREAMS CD listening party and children’s book release featuring musical performances by Jonathan Walker, Ivey Hughes and Nathan Thomas O’Rourke. Special guest appearance by Cassandra Sweet and the Soliders of Love.

Georgia Theatre 8 p.m. $12. www.georgiatheatre.com* LEE BRICE This modern country singer abandoned his civil engineering studies to follow his dream in Nashville.

HOLMAN AUTRY BAND Described as “a little bit of Hank, a little bit of Metallica and a healthy dose of Southern rock.”

Go Bar 10 p.m. FREE! www.myspace.com/ gobar DR. FRED’S KARAOKE Hosted by karaoke fanatic “Dr. Fred.”

Hendershot’s Coffee Bar 8 p.m. FREE! www.hendershotscoffeebar.com KINKY WAIKIKI’S COCONUT CHRISTMAS AJ Adams and the Owen Brothers (Big C and the Ringers) anchor this project of Pacific-style tunes.

Little Kings Shuffle Club 10 p.m. 706-369-3144 EMILY ARMOND The singer/songwriter performs her heartfelt folk ballads solo over banjo and guitar.

GREY MILK This edgy folk-rock outfit recently relocated to the Classic City from New England.

NELSONVILLAINS With influences like Modest Mouse and Bright Eyes, this New York band plays hauntingly dark “post-everything” tunes.

THE WIND-UP BIRD This trio plays instrumental ambient music.

The Melting Point 9 p.m. $10 (adv.), $13 (door). www. meltingpointathens.com LARRY KEEL AND NATURAL BRIDGE Two-time national flatpicking champion brings his blazing fingers and progressive mountain sound to Athens.

New Earth Music Hall 9:30 p.m. $3. www.newearthmusichall. com ALBATROSS Local band jams out with bluesy funk and classic rockinspired originals.

CONNECTED HOUSES Local sixpiece funk rock band with infectious grooves.

FUNK YOU A mix of funk and jazz from Augusta.

No Where Bar 10 p.m. $4. 706-546-4742 OTHER BROTHERS BAND Athens-based tribute to the Allman Brothers. Featuring members of Tent City, The Hypsys, Betsy Franck & the Bareknuckle Band and Lefty Hathaway Band.

The Office Lounge 8:30 p.m. FREE! 706-546-0840 BLUES NIGHT The Shadow Executives host an open, all-night blues jam, kicking it off with a set of their own originals. Sign up at 8 p.m.

Friday 9 Amici Italian Café 11 p.m. FREE! 706-353-0000 STRAIGHT NO CHASER Three-piece featuring members of Sumilan.

Applebee’s 10 p.m.–1 a.m. FREE! 706-543-1339 KARAOKE Every Friday.

ATHICA “Not So Silent Night.” 7-9 p.m. $20.

706-559-4520 PANABLAZE Renowned steel drum band from Atlanta.

The Bad Manor 9 p.m. FREE! (21+), $5 (18+ before 11 p.m.), $10 (18+ after 11 p.m.). www. thebadmanor.com FERAL YOUTH Banging electro house with top-40 remixes.

Buffalo’s Southwest Café 7:30 p.m. $10 (adv.), $12 (door). 706354-6655 A BUFFALO BLUE CHRISTMAS WITH ELVIS Featuring Elvis and His TCB Band!

Caledonia Lounge 9:30 p.m. $5 (21+), $7 (18+). www. caledonialounge.com THE ARCS Having solidified their place in the Athens music scene, The Arcs bring years of collective rock and roll experience to the table.

LANDMINE This is their third local show and will be featuring a new and dynamic lineup.

THE SPINOFFS Powerpop meets rock with this all-start lineup of Athens musicians.

Farm 255 10 p.m. FREE! www.farm255.com SAM SNIPER Post-alternative, country-fried twang.

SUSPECT RAPTOR Local band plays a mix of ‘90s grunge pop and indie post-punk.

SWEET LOU AND A PACK OF SMOKES Andrew Michael, from Statesboro, GA, plays a rich blend of Americana on guitar and harmonica.

Flicker Theatre & Bar 8:30 p.m. $5. www.flickertheatreandbar. com ADAMS FAMILY Country classics.

BACKSLIDERS Reunited Athens band plays alternative country rock.

DREW CARMAN Guitarist from local Americana group The Corduroy Road plays an acoustic set.

40 Watt Club 9 p.m. $5 (21+), $7 (18+). www.40watt. com JOSH DANIELS & THE DANGEROUS Buttery smooth, Southern singer-songwriter acoustipop with warm piano backing.

THE MATT JOINER TRIO Blues trio fueled by Matt Joiner’s exceptional guitar playing abilities.

RADIOLUCENT Popular local band falling somewhere between bluesy Southern rock and the poppier side of alt-country. See feature story on p. 16.

Georgia Theatre 8 p.m. $10. www.georgiatheatre.com EASTER ISLAND Lush, post rockinfluenced shoegaze with tender harmonies and shimmering guitars.

LERA LYNN This local songwriter has a haunting, smoky voice that glides over tender, original Americana tunes.

MODERN SKIRTS One of Athens’ favorite pop acts, this foursome went from piano-driven darlings to more experimental electronic-inspired dance pop.

Go Bar 10 p.m. 706-546-5609 FUZZ BUCKET Seven-piece local jam-rock band featuring several members of Juice Box. IMMUZIKATION High-energy electro and rock.

SMALL REACTIONS Surfy guitar lines and new wave meets post punk-style propulsion.

THICK PAINT Graham Ulicny (Reptar) experiments with loops, lights and his voice in his new ambient-psych solo project.

TWIN POWERS DJ Dan Geller and friends spin late-night glam rock, new wave, Top 40, punk and Britpop.

Hendershot’s Coffee Bar 8 p.m. $3. www.hendershotscoffee.com HEATHER LUTTRELL Georgia-based artist who plays bluesy, homegrown Americana. One of the top 15 contestents on “Rock Star: INXS.” Las Conchitas Caliente 7–9 p.m. FREE! 706-353-2500 GUITAR TRIO Jorge Noe and Beto play boleros, rancheras and more Latin music.

Little Kings Shuffle Club 10 p.m. FREE! 706-369-3144 DJ Z-DOG Zack “Z-Dog” Hosey spins dance classics, punk, ‘80s and more.

The Melting Point 9 p.m. $9 (adv.), $12 (door). www. meltingpointathens.com* COL. BRUCE HAMPTON AND THE PHARAOH GUMMITT The jam legend plays an avant-garde combination of bluegrass, blues and jazz.

YELLOWIRE This U.K. band is over on its first U.S. tour. Yellowire’s debut album draws from the gospel-ish fervor of early-’70s Rolling Stones.

New Earth Music Hall 10 p.m. $6. www.newearthmusichall. com ARPETRIO Livetronica trio from Knoxville, TN. GREENHOUSE LOUNGE Electronica-heavy dub from Florida.

The Office Lounge Empty Stocking Fundraiser. 6:30 p.m. $5 (suggested donation).706-546-0840 BETSY FRANCK AND THE BAREKNUCKLE BAND Soulful, brassy Southern rock and country songs rooted in tradition, but with a modern sensibility. (10 p.m.)

BIG E Eric Gregory of The Starlite Devilles. (6:30 p.m.)

BLOODKIN Darkly countrified barroom rock (11:20 p.m.).

BURNING ANGELS Local act that plays Americana soul. (12:30 a.m.)

DAVID BARBE AND THE QUICK HOOKS Barbe writes a special brand of full-throttle rock that ventures from indie psychedelia to twangy blues. (10:40 p.m.)

DODD FERRELLE Sweeping, anthemic ballads and alt-country rockers. (9:40 p.m.)

JOHN KEANE AND JIM WHITE Acclaimed producer and rocker Keane plays a special acoustic set with Southern gothic songwriter Jim White. (7:40 p.m.)

CLAY LEVERETT One of this town’s finest country frontmen, Leverett has led both The Chasers and Lona.

(9 p.m.)

WELFARE LINERS Bluegrass band complete with upright bass, banjo, mandolin, guitar and fiddle. (8:20 p.m.)

WORKHORSES OF THE ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATIONAL INDUSTRY Stripped-down, twangy country featuring William Tonks, Ben Reynolds and Rob Keller. (7:00 p.m.)

Bruno Postigo

Saturday, December 10

The Skrillex Cell, Two Fresh, 12th Planet Georgia Theatre Skrillex, né Sonny Moore, has become intimidatingly popular in very little time. Originally the lead singer of the emo band From First to Last, Moore reinvented himself as an electronic producer named Skrillex in 2010, with a self-released EP entitled—appropriately enough—My Name is Skrillex. That summer he would sign and tour with Deadmau5, joining the Mau5trap imprint. And in 2011 the heavily madeup star would release two more EPs—one on the newly resuscitated Skrillex American electronic label Big Beat.

It is hard to believe that it has been just over a year, but Skrillex is already the biggest name in American dance music. Indeed, it is no coincidence that Moore was on the cover of Spin magazine for its October dance issue.

Most controversially, Skrillex has also become the poster boy for dubstep, never mind that his music is as much influenced by electro house as it is by the sound developed out of reggae dub, 2-step and UK garage. This has become a point of contention for many in the very vocal, very fractured and very elitist cadre of electronic dance music. Accordingly, some have taken to labeling Skrillex (and the various American and Canadian producers influenced by him) by the pejorative “Bro-step,” supposedly a North American brand of dubstep that emphasizes, chiefly, sleazy sub-bass breakdowns.

Whatever you think about Skrillex, the uproar over his work is really just a matter of genre purists yelling, “Hey kids, get off my lawn!” The proof may be in the Beatport charts, the 300 shows Skrillex played this year, or in his remixes for Lady Gaga. And whether you enjoy his music or not, Skrillex’s sold-out show at the Georgia Theatre is a must-see, as rumor has it that Moore has hired most of the people behind Amon Tobin’s game-changing “ISAM: Control Over Nature” lighting rig (which The New York Times called “spectacular”). And as someone lucky enough to have seen one of Tobin’s only five American ISAM shows, I beg that you check out Moore’s simulacrum, which is essentially the equivalent of seeing the tiny model of the Statue of Liberty in Pont de Grenelle, Paris, in place of the one in New York Harbor. [Christopher Joshua Benton]

Omega Bar 6 p.m. FREE! (ladies, 6–7 p.m.), $5–10. www.theomegabar.com THE SEGAR JAZZ AFFAIR Smooth jazz tunes that provide a casual, relaxing atmosphere.

Saturday 10 Amici Italian Café 11 p.m. FREE! 706-353-0000 SUMILAN Technically proficient musicians playing progressive rock.

The Bad Manor 9 p.m. www.thebadmanor.com DJRX Mixing rock, rap and dubstep.

Caledonia Lounge 9:30 p.m. $7 (21+), $9 (18+). www. caledonialounge.com CUSSES Hard rock trio from Savannah.

LAZER/WULF This avant-metal instrumental trio mixes in prog, thrash as well as more eclectic influences for a high-energy live show.

MANRAY Local band waves a big middle finger to traditional song structure while playing “complicated-core.” Record release show! See story on p. 15.

Farm 255 10 p.m. FREE! www.farm255.com WILLIAM CHAMBERLAIN Vestibules and A PostWar Drama

frontman plays a stripped down set featuring special guests!

BRIAN CONNELL Original songs in the classic spirit of Leonard Cohen.

THAYER SARRANO Local singersongwriter and multi-instrumentalist with gentle melodies.

Flicker Theatre & Bar 8:30 p.m. $5. www.flickertheatreandbar. com COCONUT MOON All girl four-piece band plays Brazilian music.

RUBY KENDRICK Local singersongwriter with a sweet voice and prodding, poignant lyrics.

KATE MORRISSEY Best known for her dark velvet voice, Morrissey’s songwriting is literate and sincere.

40 Watt Club 9 p.m. $6 (21+), $8 (18+). www.40watt. com CASPER & THE COOKIES A danceable mix of quirky fun driven by keyboard and guitar.

SPACE TRUCKS Bryan Poole’s brand new project features an eclectic blend of experimental dance sounds.

VENICE IS SINKING Piano-based torch songs.

Georgia Theatre 8 p.m. SOLD OUT! www.georgiatheatre. com 12TH PLANET Dubstep artist who recently worked on Korn’s new dubstep album.

THE SKRILLEX CELL Grammynominated electronic musician. See Calendar Pick on this page.

TWO FRESH Electronic hip-hop meets jazz.

Go Bar 10 p.m. 706-546-5609 QURIOUS Soundscapes featuring female vocals, samples and synths.

ROBERTA & CHARLENE Tonguein-cheek country vocals backed by synth beats.

TWIN POWERS DJ Dan Geller spins late-night glam rock, new wave, Top 40, punk and Britpop.

Little Kings Shuffle Club 10 p.m. AAHS donation required for entry. Cash or dog/cat food accepted. 706-369-3144 “THE 6TH ANNUAL CHRISTMAS WITH THE BITCHES” Featuring DJ Bitchswitch! A dance party to benefit the Athens Area Humane Society’s Food Bowl.

The Melting Point 8:30 p.m. $9 (adv.), $12 (door). www. meltingpointathens.com* STRAWBERRY FLATS A heavy dose of psychedelia, covering classic songs from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s.

WE THREE KEANES The trio (John Keane and daughters) unites for their annual performance of Christmas songs.

Nuçi’s Space 7 p.m. $5. www.nuci.org FRANCO FUNICELLO Minimalist acoustic indie-rock.

GRIPE Local grindcore/powerviolence.

INCENDIARIES Ladies of pedigree enforcing angular sensibilities.

KATER MASS Local melodic punk band influenced by acts like Fugazi.

RIGHT ON, RED This trio from Watkinsville plays indie-pop tunes.

SHEHEHE Punk beats and indie gang vocals overlaid with arena leads.

VELOCIRAPTURE Loud and brash local rock duo that names Stooges among its influences.

The Office Lounge 9:30 p.m. FREE! 706-546-0840 SALLY AND THE SIX GRAND BAND Funky, soulful rock covers.

Sunday 11 The Georgian Tap Room 6 p.m. www.thecapitalroom.com OPEN MIC Every Sunday.

Highwire Lounge 9 p.m. FREE! www.highwirelounge.com NUTRITIONAL PEACE Tonight playing a “secular ambient” set of lush, hypnotizing soundscapes.

PRIZMATIC SPRAY Jace Bartet playing “chip tune”-style songs, a very retro videogame soundtrack style.

The Melting Point 8 p.m. $15 (adv.), $17 (door). www. meltingpointathens.com* JOE MCGUINNESS This singer/ songwriter plays bluesy folk tunes on both guitar and banjo.

THE WOOD BROTHERS An adaptation of blues, folk and roots-rock backed by harmonies.

Monday 12 Buffalo’s Southwest Café 7–10 p.m. $5 (includes practice and lessons). 706-354-6655, www.buffaloscafe.com/athens LINE DANCING Learn to line dance in the Big Back Room!

Little Kings Shuffle Club The Christmas Hoot! 8-10 p.m. FREE! 706-369-3144 CHRISTMAS CAROLING SINGALONG Lyrics will be passed around and leader Tommy Jordan will take requests from the audience.

See Calendar Pick on p. 20.

KLEZMER LOCAL 42 Playing traditional Hanukkah and klezmer songs.

THE SOLSTICE SISTERS Playing songs off their CD, Holiday Music from Around the World.

Tuesday 13 Applebee’s 10 p.m.–1 a.m. FREE! 706-543-1339 KARAOKE Every Friday.

Shop, Snack, Drink, Warm your hands, & Be merry!

Holiday Artists Market

Sunday, December 11 4:00-7:00 p.m.

Shop for ceramics, jewelry, paintings, letterpress, prints, photography, textiles, knitted items and even pies!

Featured artiStS Callahan Woodbery, erin Sanders, Juana Gnecco, Carter Gillies, Katherine arcate, Keara Connor, Keith rein, Laurel Hill, Megan Boling, Nora arkin, rhys May, Sarah ellis, Susie Burch & Jim Wilson

706.354.7901

Corner of Chase and Boulevard

heirloomathens.com

ORDER FOR HOLIDAYS

Flicker Theatre & Bar 8:30 p.m. FREE! www.flickertheatreandbar.com COPPERMOUTH Local band consisting of Ethan Davis, Mike Gavrieldes, Christopher Henderson and Ron Winders.

The Melting Point 7 p.m. $5. www.meltingpointathens.com GRASSVILLE An original bent on contemporary bluegrass.

No Where Bar 10 p.m. $2. 706-546-4742 DAVIN MCCOY Emotional, soulful songwriter with a bluesy jazz feel. * Advance Tickets Available

LOcALLY OwnED AnD OpERAtED SERvIng FRESH ARgEntInE InSpIRED HOmE cOOkIng

2270 Barnett Shoals Rd • 706-850-8284 DECEMBER 7, 2011 · FLAGPOLE.COM

23

bulletin board DO SOMETHING; GET INVOLVED! Deadline for getting listed in Bulletin Board and Art Around Town is every THURSDAY at 12 p.m.

Email calendar@flagpole.com. Listings are printed based on available space; more listings are online.

ART 37th Juried Exhibition: Call for Artists (Lyndon House Arts Center) Professionally oriented art competition seeks submissions from Athens area artists working in visual media. Submit 1-3 works of art to the Lyndon House on Jan. 26 between 12:30–8:30 p.m. or Jan. 27 between 10 a.m.–4 p.m. $25 (entry fee). 706-613-3623 Call for Artists (Amici Italian Café) Seeking art for display at Amici Italian Cafe. Send inquiries to ryan.myers@amici-cafe.com.

Call for Entries (Georgia Museum of Art) Seeking responses to the Kress Collection in all media through Feb. 1. No entry fee. $500 prize for 24 selected artists, writers, musicians, etc. See www.georgiamuseum.org/kressproject for details.

AUDITIONS A Few Good Men (The Elbert Theatre) Auditions for A Few Good Men, the first show of the new year at the Elbert Theatre. Come prepared to read from the script. Dec. 5 & 6, 6 p.m. FREE! 706-283-1049, tking@ cityofelberton.net

CLASSES Advanced Computer Classes (Oconee County Library) Classes by appoinment are taught one-on-one by the library’s computer specialist and tailored to each individual’s needs. 706-769-3950, watkinsville @athenslibrary.org Athens Vertical Pole Dance Academy (Canopy Studio) Ongoing pole dance classes for

beginners and intermediate students.

706-347-3708, www.avpda.com Beginning Bellydance (Whole: Mind. Body. Art.) Egyptian-style bellydance for people of all ages, sizes and fitness levels. Wednesdays, 7:30–8:30 p.m. $10. 706-424-0195, www.wholemindbodyart.com Bellydance for Fitness (YWCO) Have fun and exercise at the same time. Mondays & Wednesdays, 6–7 p.m. susiefaye@hotmail.com Clay Classes (Good Dirt) Weekly “Try Clay” classes ($20/person) introduce participants to the potter’s wheel every Friday from 7-9 p.m.

“Family Try Clay” classes show children and adults hand-building methods every Sunday from 2-4 p.m.

706-355-3161, www.gooddirt.net Eight Silken Qigong (Red Lotus Institute) Experience moving meditation to improve your health and harmonize your mind, body and spirit. Saturdays, 9-10 a.m. $10. www.acupunctureathens.com Figure Drawing Sessions (Fringe Collective Artistic Studios) Weekly drop-in sessions for artists wishing to draw the human figure.

Must be over age 18. Sundays, 2–4 p.m. $10. 706-540-2727, fringecollective@live.com Fused Glass Ornament Workshop (Good Dirt) Make beautiful glass holiday ornaments including trees, snowflakes and stars. For adults and mature children. Call to reigster. Dec. 11, 2–4 p.m. $50. 706-355-3161 Garden Geology (State Botanical Garden of Georgia) Explore the Georgia Piedmont and Eastern Blueridge rock types found at the garden. Fee includes Rocks of the Piedmont by Dan Williams.

Wednesdays, Jan. 11–Feb. 29, 4–6 p.m. $40. 706-542-6156, www.uga. edu/botgarden

Genealogy 102: Census Records Online (Oconee County Library) Research family history online using Ancestry Library Edition and HeritageQuest Online.

Call to register. Dec. 19, 3–4:30 p.m.

FREE! 706-769-3950 Gymnastics (Bishop Park) Registering now for the winter and spring gymnastics program. Classes offered for children ages 12 months through adults. 706-613-3589, www.athensclarkecounty.com/bishop Health and Wellness Classes (Athens Community Council on Aging) Senior-friendly Ballroom Dancing, Line Dancing, Yoga, Tai Chi and more! Go online for a complete schedule. 706-5494850, www.accaging.org Holiday Clay Classes (Good Dirt) Be productive and creative this season! Complete schedule online.

706-355-3161, www.gooddirt.net How to Write a Business Plan (Chicopee Complex) This course explains the sections and importance of a business plan. Dec. 13, 6–9 p.m. $69. 706-542-7436 Improvisational Comedy Workshop (Floorspace) Lisa Mende, professional actress and comedian, leads an 8 week class for beginning actors. Begins Jan. 14. $120 (before Dec. 14), $160. www.floorspaceathens.com Italian Lessons and Tutoring (Call for location) Personalized Italian lessons and tutoring for any level of Italian from Jeff Kilpatrick, Italian Instructor at UGA with a Ph.D. in Linguistics.

805-448-1657, kilpatrickjeff@ hotmail.com Monologues and More!

(Memorial Park, Quinn Hall) This program uses simple monologues, skits and improvisational scenarios to explore the benefits of drama, dis-

LILLY

Athens Area Humane Society

ADOPTION CENTER

Inside Pet Supplies Plus at Alps Shopping Ctr. • 706.353.2287 Maddie is a sweet and gentle girl who likes to chat. She’s not demanding but loves attention and hanging out with you.

Pretty and petite black and white.

11/24-11/30

MADDIE

24

Stewie is a very handsome all-black kitty with golden eyes and a long body. Only a year old, he may become a large cat. He is laidback and loves affection.

STEWIE

Siouxsie is a young girl whose mother was feral and she needs someone to be patient and kind to win her trust. She is playful and fun and will blossom in a home.

SIOUXSIE

ATHENS AREA HUMANE SOCIETY 7 Animals Received, 1 Animals Placed, 0 Adoptable Animals Euthanized ACC ANIMAL CONTROL 18 Dogs and 8 Cats Received, 19 Dogs and 4 Cats Placed

FLAGPOLE.COM ∙ DECEMBER 7, 2011

Little Lilly had just awoken from a catnap and was happy to meet some new folks and get some loving.

Very sweet and social little girl about three months old. She has a shaved belly because she very recently had her spay operationwhich means she is all ready to go home with you!

more pets can be seen online at

athenshumanesociety.org

Jill Carnes’ paintings are on display at Flicker Theater & Bar through December. cover different emotional responses and build self-esteem. For teens and adults with cognitive disabilities and their caregivers. Call to register.

Mondays, Jan. 9–Feb. 13, 1–2 p.m. $30-40. 706-613-3628, www.athens clarkecounty.com/act Online Computer Class (ACC Library) Introduction to Word 2007.

Dec. 20. 10–11:30 a.m. 706-6133650, ext. 354. www.clarke.public. lib.ga.us/services/classes.html#ath Power Yoga (Active Climbing) Vinyasa flow yoga. All levels welcome. Every Sunday. 11:45 a.m.–1 p.m. FREE! (first class), $5–8. www.activeclimbing.com Rain Barrel Workshop (ACC Water Resources Center) Learn how to make a rain barrel out of a 55 gallon drum and take the completed project home. Workshop fee includes the rain barrel. Dec. 12, 4–6 p.m. $20. 706-613-3440 Starting Your Own Business (Chicopee Complex) Lecture topics include traits of successful entrepreneurs, market research, financing alternatives, failure factors and business planning. Dec. 6, 6–9 p.m. $69. 706-542-7436 Tai Chi (Rocksprings Community Center & Park) Senior adults can learn the ancient art of Tai Chi. Thursdays. 11 a.m. $3 (ACC residents). $5 (non-ACC residents). www.athensclarkecounty.com/ rocksprings Winter Classes (Good Dirt) Now registering for clay classes, wheel throwing, handbuilding and sculpture. Classes begin January 15. 706355-3161, www.gooddirt.net Winter/Spring Art Classes (Lyndon House Arts Center) An array of beginner and advanced classes in a variety of disciplines for all ages. Register now. 706-613-3623, www.athensclarkecounty.com/ lyndonhouse Yoga Classes (Total Training Gym & Yoga Center) Classes offered in tai chi, vinyasa flow, power lunch Pilates and power lunch yoga. Check website for details. 706-316-9000, www.totaltrainingcenter.com Yoga in Five Points (Five Points) Offering classes in flow, fluid, power, prenatal, hatha, anusara and vinyasa

yoga for all levels. Check website for schedule. 706-355-3114, www.athensfivepointsyoga.com

HELP OUT! Become a Mentor (Boys and Girls Clubs of Athens) Volunteer one hour per week to make a difference in the life of a child. Training provided. 706-546-5910, www.athensbgca.com Blood Drive (Red Cross Donor Center) Give the gift of life! Call to make an appointment today. 706546-0681, 1-800-RED-CROSS, www.redcrossblood.org Drivers for Veterans Volunteers needed to drive veterans to Athens and Augusta hospitals.

Background check required. VA furnishes vehicles. Call Roger at 706-202-0587.

Food Drive (Red Cross Donor Center, 3525 Atlanta Hwy) The American Red Cross is collecting food for our neighbors and pets in need. Non-perishable food items may be donated through December.

Donations benefit Project Safe and the Athens Area Humane Society.

Monday–Wednesday, 1–7 p.m.

Thursday–Saturday, 8 a.m.–3 p.m. www.redcrossblood.org Give-a-Gift Tree (Oconee County Library) The Give-a-Gift Tree will be decorated with ornaments representing books, CDs, DVDs and other supplies that the library needs.

Community members are encouraged to choose an ornament from the tree and donate the cost of the item. Gifts donated in an individual’s name will include a commemorative book plate. Through December.

706-769-3950

KIDSTUFF Baton Twirling (Bishop Park) Dance-twirling, strutting, marching techniques and more, taught by the Classic City Majorettes for ages 5 & up. Students will have the opportunity to demonstrate their skills in community performances such as the Watkinsville Christmas

Parade and UGA Men and Women’s Basketball games. Register through Dec. 6. Tuesdays, Nov. 29–Feb. 28., 5:45–6:45 p.m. $65. 706-613-3589, www.athensclarkecounty.com/bishop Call for Submissions (Oconee County Library) The Oconee County Library seeks poetry, art, comics, prose and stories for the Young Adult Department’s Teen Zine. Ages 11–17. Submit by Dec. 31.

706-769-3950 Family Creative Movement (Floorspace) Explore creative movement, yoga, dance improv and music for parents and children of all ages.

Wednesdays, 10 a.m. $6–12. www.floorspaceathens.com Holiday Mini-Camp: An OldFashioned Christmas (Memorial Park) Three-day camp exploring the ways winter holidays were celebrated throughout history.

Pre-registration required by Dec. 14. Dec. 19–21. 9 a.m.–3 p.m. $45.

705-613-3580 Knee-High Naturalists (Sandy Creek Nature Center) A program of age-appropriate nature exploration, hikes and crafts. Alternating Wednesdays, 3:30–4:30 p.m. $24.

706-613-3515, www.athensclarke county.com/sandycreeknaturecenter Mama-Baby Yoga for Crawlers (Mind Body Institute) For crawling babes until they begin walking (about 8–18 months age) and their mamas. Wednesdays, 12:30 p.m. $60 (10 classes). 706475-7329, www.armc.org/mbi Winter Explorers Mini Camp (Sandy Creek Nature Center) Children ages 4–12 participate in nature activities, arts and crafts, games and hikes. Register by calling. Dec. 28–30, 9:30 a.m.– 12:30 p.m. $16. 706-613-3615, www.athensclarkecounty.com/camps Youth Basketball Registration (Various Locations) Sign-ups for recreational basketball league. Now enrolling at Bishop Park, East Athens Community Center and Lay Park.

706-613-3589, www.athensclarke county.com/leisure ZumbAtomic for Kids (Whole: Mind. Body. Art.) Fast-foward fusion of Zumba moves designed to let kids

max out on fun and fitness at the same time! Mondays & Wednesdays, 6:30–7:30 p.m. $6. 706-424-0195, www.wholemindbodyart.com

SUPPORT Alzheimers Support Group (Athens Community Council on Aging) Fellowship with caregivers of those with Alzheimer’s Disease or related dementias. Lunch served. Third Tuesdays. 12 p.m. FREE! RSVP 706549-4850, mlopp@accaging.org ANAD Support Group (Holy Cross Lutheran Church) New support group from the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders for individuals suffering from eating disorders.

Saturdays, 10 a.m. 678-612-2697, www.anad.org/get-help/supportgroups/georgia Emotional Abuse Support Group (Call for location) Demeaning behavior can be just as harmful as punches and kicks.

Childcare is provided. Call the Project Safe hotline: 706-543-3331.

Wednesdays, 6:30–8 p.m.

Emotions Anonymous (Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Athens) Informal and supportive 12step program open to anyone with a desire to become well emotionally.

Fridays, 3:30–4:30 p.m. at Aloha Counseling. Sundays, 4–5 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

706-202-7463, www.emotions anonymous.org Mental Health Support Groups (St. Mary’s Hospital) Meets in the lobby conference room.

NAMI Connections, 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month. Emotions Anonymous, 2nd and 4th Thursdays.

Thursdays, 6:30–8 p.m. 706-5401320, www.athensmentalhealth.org Sapph.Fire (Nuçi’s Space) Social, support and volunteer organization for lesbian and bisexual women.

Email for next meeting date. 6:30–8 p.m. FREE! Sapph.fire@yahoo.com, www.facebook.com/sapphfire.athens

ON THE STREET Circus Athena (Call for location) Circus Athena is looking for circus talent for its production on Feb. 17

ART AROUND TOWN Amici Italian Café (233 E. Clayton St.) Abstractexpressionist original acrylics by Frances Jemini.

Through December.

Antiques and Jewels (290 N. Milledge) New paintings by Mary Porter, Lana Mitchell, Taylor Dubeau and others. Through December.

Art on the Side Gallery and Gifts (1011B Industrial Blvd., Watkinsville) A gallery featuring works by various artists in media including ceramics, paintings and fused glass.

Artini’s Art Lounge (296 W. Broad St.) Vernon Thornsbury’s classical oil paintings interjected with his own life experiences. Through January.

ArtLand Gallery (2 S. Main St, Watkinsville) Works by Hatidza Mulic. Through Jan. 15.

Athens Academy (1281 Spartan Dr.) Original art

by Kate Sherrill, illustrator of Jack the Cat, a recently published children’s book about Charleston and Fort Sumter through the eyes of a gray tabby cat. Through Dec. 9. • Works by Stuart McCall Libby, LeeAnn Mitchell and Susan Nees. Closing reception Dec. 11.

Through Dec. 11.

Athens Institute for Contemporary Art (ATHICA) (160 Tracy St.) Works by 99 artists for $99, $9.99 and 99 cents to benefit the Occupy Athens protesters. Through Jan. 8.

Aurum Studios (125 E. Clayton St.) Paintings by Rich Panico and Coco. Through Jan. 17.

Ciné Bar Cafe (234 W. Hancock Ave.) “The Fabric of Things” features still-life paintings from UGA Gallery Director Jeffrey Whittle. Through Dec. 14.

Farmington Depot Gallery (1011 Salem Rd., Farmington) Owned and staffed by 16 artists, the gallery exhibits paintings, sculpture, folk art, ceramics, fine furniture and more. Permanent collection artists include John Cleaveland, Alice Pruitt, Leigh Ellis, Suzanna Antonez and more.

Flicker Theatre & Bar (263 W. Washington St.) Works by Jill Carnes. Opening Dec. 9. Through December.

Gainesville State College Oconee Campus (1201 Bishop Farms Pkwy.) “The Tilted Series” by Nina Barnes contains works utilizing digital media, collage and watercolor to form figurative images. Through Dec. 8.

Georgia Museum of Art (90 Carlton St.) Pioneering artist Bill Viola brought video art to greater prominence in the contemporary art world of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Through Feb. 19. • “Buon Natale” features holiday woodcuts with a distinctly Italian flavor by Libby Bailey. Through Jan. 8. • “Introduction to the Centers” is a small, daily exhibition introducing the Henry D. Green Center for the Study of the Decorative Arts, one of the four new units of the museum.

Through Mar. 4. • “Lycett China” contains 30 painted porcelain pieces by Edward Lycett. Through Mar. 4. • “Originality by Subscription,” was originally printed in l’Estampe Originale, a quarterly started in March 1893 in France. Through Dec. 31.

Georgia Museum of Natural History (East Campus Road) “Lost Species: Visions of Landscapes

& 18. Interested performers can visit the website to set up an audition. www.circusathena.com Holiday Recordings for Families (Pigpen Studios) Bring in the whole family to sing your favorite holiday songs together and have them recorded professionally onto a CD. Offered through December. 706-461-2584, pigpenstudios@yahoo.com Reiki (Over the Moon Creative Possibilities) Drop in for a 10-minute, non-invasive therapy.

Wednesdays, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. and Thursdays, 4–6 p.m. $10. 706540-2712 Win a Gingerbread House (Oconee County Library) A gingerbread replica of the historic Eagle Tavern featuring Star Wars characters. $1 raffle tickets benefit the Oconee County Library Friends and will purchase books for the children’s department. 706-769-3950 Yoga Teacher Training (Call for location) Yogaful Day Shala is accepting applications for a four-month program beginning in January. Apply by Dec. 16. www.yogafulday.com f

Past,” looks at historic, Southern landscapes and the species that inhabited them. Through Dec. 9.

The Grit (199 Prince Ave.) New mixed media by Toby Cole. Through Dec. 11.

Heirloom Cafe and Fresh Market (815 N. Chase St.) Artwork by Karla Pruitt. Through December.

Hotel Indigo (500 College Ave.) “Dawgs and Dogs: The Works of Wingate Downs and Mary Engel.”

Through December.

Jennings Mill Country Club (1500 Chambers Ct.) Fine art photography covering golf, St. Andrew’s, Georgia, Scotland and Italy. Through Dec. 11.

Jittery Joe’s Coffee (1230 S. Millledge Ave.) Paintings of Athens and UGA landmarks by Heidi Hensley. Through December.

Just Pho…and More (1063 Baxter St.) “Funky Fruits and More” includes a variety of paintings, prints and new work from Pamela Rodgers Smith.

Through January.

Lyndon House Arts Center (293 Hoyt St.) “Community,” features works of art by by students of the Clarke County School District, emphasizing the theme of community and connection. • “Deck the Walls” is a holiday-themed market on display in the Gallery Shop and Ronnie Lukasiewicz Gallery.

Through Jan. 7.

Madison-Morgan Cultural Center (434 S. Main St.) “Scapes” is an exhibition of landscapes, cityscapes and seascapes by Steffen Thomas.

Through Feb. 18.

OCAF (34 School St., Watkinsville) The Artist Shoppe features the works of 35 regional artists.

Oconee County Library (1080 Experiment Station Rd.) Abstract paintings and still lifes combining Cubism and realism by Teri Levine. Through December.

Over the Moon Creative Possibilities (159 N. Jackson St., Suite 31) New gallery featuring the Georgia Theatre Art Quilt and artwork by Timothy and Jennifer Schildknecht. Through December.

State Botanical Garden of Georgia (2450 Milledge Ave.) “Forged from Nature” is an outdoor series of sculpted garden gates by artist Andrew T. Crawford. Through Dec. 23.

StudiO (675 Pulaski St.) “Breathing Room” is a collection of landscape photography by Brian Cole.

Through January.

Trace Gallery (160 Tracy St.) Detailed and colorful artwork by Jim Barsness. Through Jan. 20.

UGA Lamar Dodd School of Art Galleries (270 River Rd.) BFA Printmaking Exit Show. Through.

Dec. 13.

UGA Science Library (210 DW Brooks Dr.) Scientific illustrations by Sam Davidson from Monteverde, Costa Rica in pen and ink, carbon dust and watercolor. Through December.

Visionary Growth Gallery (2400 Booger Hill Rd., Danielsville) “Drawing Pretty Pictures Is a Way to Meet God in the World Like It Is” features works

by Lois Curtis, Carter Wellborn, Peter Loose, Alpha Andrews, Betty Wansley and Annie Wellborn. Through April.

Walker’s Coffee & Pub (128 College Ave.) Artwork by Ben Harris. Through December.

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DECEMBER 7, 2011 · FLAGPOLE.COM

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comics Tuesdays Half Price Bottles of Wine WedNesdays Live Jazz with Mary Sigalas 8pm

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Do You Want to Change Your Drinking Habits?

26

FLAGPOLE.COM ∙ DECEMBER 7, 2011

reality check Matters Of The Heart And Loins So, my roommate and I have been friends forever. We grew up together, went to grammar school and middle school together, and then she moved. Now we’re in college, and we have an apartment and another roommate, and things are great. We all get along very well. The thing is, my roommate and I don’t like to do the same stuff that much. On weekends, she goes out and parties and drinks and goes dancing, and I like to go to shows or hang out with a small group of friends. I do drink, but I rarely get anything near drunk.

She has a certain friend from high school that comes to visit about once a month. I like this girl okay during the day, but at night she’s always running wild, getting really drunk and doing unpredictable things, including leaving my roommate at the bars alone while she goes home with some guy and, in some cases, bringing some guy back to our house and doing him on our couch, usually after I have gone to bed. The next morning the guy is always gone, and sometimes she is, too. And very often my roommate can’t remember anything about where they were or how they got home. This always means that one of them drove drunk, because they never take a cab— her friend doesn’t believe in it.

I have talked to her about this. It scares me that she doesn’t know what’s going on; it scares me that this friend will bring any random guy home to my house. I am afraid for her safety and for mine and my other roommate’s.

I have begged my best friend not to drive. I have told her I would give them a ride after the bars close, that she can call me when they’re done, and I will come and pick them up no matter what time it is. They don’t. She always feels bad and looks guilty and apologizes the next day, but it’s like she isn’t capable of seeing the situation while she’s in it and knowing what to do.

I love her, and I mostly really like living with her, but when this friend is around, I don’t feel like any of us are safe. I have gotten up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and found some pretty sketchy rednecks in my living room. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to be her mom, but I can’t handle this situation any more. Her friend never feels bad the next morning, always blows me off when I talk about how dangerous their behavior is. I need help.

Worry Wort If you can’t make your best friend care about her own safety, you can at least stand up for yours and your other roommate’s. Tell her if she and her friend want to get wasted and sleep with total strangers, they need to either go home with the guys or get a damn hotel. What she’s doing is irresponsible and completely unfair. It seems like it’s all about the one friend, too, so it should be an easy fix.

If she doesn’t listen, get a chain lock for your door, hotel style. That way they can’t slip in with strange men after you’ve gone to bed.

Seriously, don’t back down here. You know you’re right, and from what you’re telling me, she knows she’s wrong.

I am 24 and gay. I have been in a relationship with my boyfriend for about two years. We get along great, but we are currently living in different cities. I finished school, and I have a very busy job. I don’t see this as a career, but I am definitely in a place where I make good money, and I am getting awesome experience that will pay off for me in a few years.

I am living in a very small town where there isn’t really much nightlife. I live with a girl that I am very good friends with and have known for a long time. She’s like a sister to me. I have friends in a nearby city, so when I do get out I can at least have a good time and hang out with other gay guys my age. (There are very few in my town, and I don’t necessarily want to hang out with them.) Basically, I am happy with my life the way it is for now, but I know that it won’t stay this way forever.

My boyfriend lives in a big city. He is still “looking” at grad schools, has a half-ass job and a lot of friends from work that are kind of losers. He parties all the time and sleeps until noon. We see each other about every other month, but we talk on the phone every day, and we both still really care about each other. He would like to move here, but I know that he would hate it (he hates even visiting, so there’s no reason for him to subject himself to this place full-time), and he would resent me for it. He is having a hard time with the distance thing, and I have so little time anyway that I just don’t have time to worry about it. I keep telling him if he would get his shit together and get into school, things would be better. I worry about the people he hangs around. They are not smart or ambitious, and I think they are dragging him down.

Recently, a woman that I know at work asked my roommate if I was single. This woman is an acquaintance, she is gay and married, and they have a friend they would like to introduce me to. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t curious. I laughed at the time, and thanked her and told her I wasn’t available, but now I can’t stop thinking about it. Is it wrong of me to want to maybe meet her friend? Can I do it without telling my boyfriend? I wouldn’t cheat, but I would really like to know who this other guy is.

Anonymous I think you’re having trouble seeing where your current relationship is going. That’s completely understandable, and at your age, I think it’s natural. If you were absolutely positive and you wanted to be with your boyfriend forever, you would just tell him to move to your small town, and you’d find a way to make it work. Basically, you aren’t sure. And frankly, you don’t need to be. I think you should tell this woman that you are not looking for a relationship but that you would love to meet other gay guys to hang out with, since there are obviously not that many in your town. If you end up really hitting it off, then maybe you and your boyfriend need to have a state of the union chat. If not, hopefully you’ll at least make a new friend. I say go for it, but make sure everybody knows where you stand at every step.

Jyl Inov

DECEMBER 7, 2011 · FLAGPOLE.COM

27

classifieds

Buy It, Sell It, Rent It, Use It! Place an ad anytime at flagpole.com  Indicates images available at flagpole.com

Real Estate Apartments for Rent $575/mo. 2BR/2 private BAs. 3 min. to campus. Lg. LR, kitchen w/ DW, W/D conn., deck, lots of storage, water & garbage incl. in rent. New carpet & paint, very safe area, no pets. 145 Sandburg St. Avail 12/1.

Owner/Agent. Call Robin, (770) 265-6509. $460/mo. Huge 1BR apt., walk-in closet, on-site laundry facilities, 18-unit complex off N. Milledge.

(706) 764-6854, leaseathens.com, Lease Athens, LLC. 1BR/1BA. All elec. Nice apt. Water provided. On busline. Single pref’d.

Avail. now! (706) 543-4271.

1 BR across the st. from UGA at Baldwin Village Apts. 475 Baldwin St. No pets. Avail. now.

Free parking. Water and pest incl. $475/mo. (706) 354-4261 1BR basement apt. in 5 Pts. for quiet N/S. New appls., carpeting & paint. Private entrance; windows.

Utils., cable & wireless incl. $460/ mo. (706) 254-5474.

2BR/1BA & 1BR/1BA apts.

Great in–town n’hood.

Wa l k e v e r y w h e re . Wa t e r & garbage paid. $490–$695/ mo. Check out boulevard propertymanagement.com or call (706) 548-9797.

2BR/1BA off King Ave. Nor maltown area. In quiet, safe n’hood. Water & garbage p a i d . To t a l e l e c t r i c , C H A C .

No smoking. No pets. $575/ mo. Available now. (706) 8505510.

3BR/2.5BA townhomes reduced again! On Eastside. On bus route. FP. W/D incl. Spacious & convenient. Pets welcome.

Avail. immediately. Now only $ 6 0 0 / m o . ! A a ro n , ( 7 0 6 ) 2 0 7 2957. AtlasRealEstateAdvisors. com.

Av a i l a b l e J a n . L a r g e 1 B R Dwntn. Out of bar scene, close to everything. Historic bldg.

Light w/ large windows. DGH Proper ties. Call Geor ge, (706) 340-0987.

Affordable, in-town 1BR apt., just $400/mo. Very basic, but clean & quiet. Convenient A R M C / N o r m a l t o w n a re a , l o w $99 sec. dep., move in now or pre-lease, (706) 788-2152 or GaAveApts@aol.com.

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PLACE AN AD • At flagpole.com, pay with credit card or PayPal account • Call our Classifieds Dept. (706) 549-0301 • Email us at class@flagpole.com

Affordable 1BR/1BA Normaltown efficiency apt., water & garbage p/u incl. Move in today for just $450/mo. w/ only $99 security dep. Call (706) 788-2152 or email thomas2785@aol.com.

Baldwin Village, across street from UGA. Free parking, laundry on premises, hot water, on-call maint., on-site mgr. Microwave & DW. HWflrs.

1, 2, 3BRs. $475 to $1200/mo.

Contact (706) 354-4261.

Eastside quadraplex, 2BR/2BA, $500/mo. & 2BR/1BA, $475/mo.

Eastside duplex, 2BR/1BA & FP, $475/mo. 3BR/2BA & FP, $650/mo.

Call McWaters Realty, (706) 3532700 or cell, (706) 540-1529.

Half off rent 1st 2 mos. when you mention this ad! 2BR/2BA apts. a few blocks from Dwntn. off North Ave. Pet friendly & no pet fee! Dep. only $150. Rent from $625-675/mo. incl. trash. (706) 548-2522, www. dovetailmanagement.com.

Loft, 640 sf. Chase Park artist complex. Granite, ceiling fans, washer, storage. Nice! Nathan, (478) 290-6283, (478) 274-8141.

Was $600, now $549. Pictures on Facebook, “Bracewell Lofts.”

Commercial Property 2 Dwntn. bars for sale. 150K & 250K. Serious inquiries only. (706) 254-4343.

Eastside offices, 1060 Gaines School Rd. Rent 1200 sf. $1200/ mo., 750 sf. $900/mo., 450 sf. $600/mo. (706) 546-1615 or athenstownproperties.com.

P a i n t a r t i s t s t u d i o s -160 Tracy St. Historic Boulevard area artist community. Rent 300 sf., $150/mo. 400 sf., $200/mo. athenstownproperties.com or (706) 546-1615.

Condos for Rent 2BR/2BA condo apt. Eastside.

Avail now! On bus line. Lg. rooms, W/D, swimming pool on grounds, no pets. $575/mo. (706) 207-3427.

HOUSES FOR LEASE IN CLARKE COUNTY

Call for Location and Availability.

Hamilton & Associates

28

FLAGPOLE.COM ∙ DECEMBER 7, 2011

194 Childs Street, 2BR/2BA. One of the best houses and locations in Boulevard, $950. 2BR/1BA, 440 Yonah. Screened-in porch, FP, W/D. Great price! $695/mo.

(706) 548-9797 or boulevard propertymanagement.com.

Tw o - s t o r y 3 B R / 3 B A i n T h e Woodlands for rent. $450/ mo. OBO. Gated community w/ clubhouse, pools, workout facility & more! Ample parking & on busline. Contact ashleycleary@ gmail.com.

170 N. Church St. 2BR/1BA. 4 blocks to 40 Watt/UGA. Pets OK, no fees. Fenced yd., deck, screened porch, W/D, stove, fridge. $800/ mo. Dan, (516) 507-8654.

Condos For Sale Just reduced! Investor’s West-side condo. 2BR/2BA, FP, 1500 sf., great investment, lease 12 mos. at $550/mo. Price in $40s. For more info, call McWaters Realty at (706) 353-2700 or (706) 540-1529.

Duplexes For Rent 2BR/1BA in duplex in Watkinsville, near Dwntn. Yard. Avail. Jan. 1. $600/mo. (706) 543-5497.

5 Pts., 2BR/1BA duplex. $600/ mo. Beautiful HWflrs., W/D, CHAC, ceiling fans, across street from Memorial Park. No dogs, cats OK. Avail now. Call (706) 202-9805.

Houses for Rent $1200/mo. 4BR/2BA. Tim L a n e W i n t e r v i l l e , m i n s . f ro m Eastside, newer home on 1.5 a c re w o o d e d c u l - d e - s a c l o t .

FP, HWflrs., high ceilings, lg. rooms, open kitchen & LR, tile BAs, nice back deck, houset r a i n e d - p e t f r i e n d l y, 2 - c a r garage. Call RE/MAX Realtor Helen Martin at (706) 540-2010.

175 Sylvan Dr. 3BR/1BA home w/ great location near ARMC. $900/ mo. Avail. now! Pls. call (706) 5401810, (706) 433-2072, or email cbolen@upchurchrealty.com. One owner is a licensed realtor in the state of GA. 1 or 2BR, recently renovated, private, quiet location near Publix. All elect., CHAC, new appls., W/D, DW, HWflrs., water & garbage paid. $650/mo. www. boulevardpropertymanagement. com, (706) 548-9797.

1BR cottage on busline. Hard pine floors, pets OK. $450/mo. Call Paul, (706) 714-9607.

706-613-9001

2 Bedroom / 1 Bath Cottage Available on Milledge Avenue $600/Month CALL TODAY!

• Deadline to place ads is 11:00 a.m. every Monday for the following Wednesday issue • All ads must be prepaid • Set up an account to review your placement history or replace old ads at flagpole.com

Dwntn. Athens Luxury Condo – The Georgian. 1BR/1BA only 2 blocks from UGA’s N. Campus.

HWflrs., granite countertops, 10 ft. ceilings, stainless steel appls.

Secure bldg, parking. $199,900.

(706) 540-1150.

TOWNHOUSES IN 5 POINTS, EAST SIDE AND WEST SIDE Call today Prices range from $ to view!

750-$1000

Hamilton & Associates 706-613-9001

DUPLEXES C. Hamilton & Associates

706-613-9001

www.athens-ga-rental.com

AVAILABLE

CLARKE & OCONEE COUNTIES

Call for Availability

Hamilton & Associates 706-613-9001

2BR mill house. Heart pine flr., 11 ft. beam ceilings. Sunny LR, new BA, W/D, DW, CHAC, pet friendly!

477 Whitehall. $500/mo. (706) 3531750, ext. 104.

2 B R / 1 B A a p t . f o r re n t . 1 2 5 Honeysuckle Ln. off Broad St. near King Ave. Quiet, secluded setting.

Water & trash incl. No pets. $450/ mo. Lease, dep., references req’d.

(706) 540-4752.

2-3BR/1BA house for rent. Newly renovated. Central location at 135 Honeysuckle Lane off Broad St. across from King Ave. 1 acre lot.

Pets OK w/ approval. W/D, WD, HWflrs. $595/mo. Lease, dep., references req’d. Avail. now. Call (706) 540-4752.

2BR/1BA close to Dwntn./UGA. HWflrs, sunny, CHAC, W/D, sec. sys., fenced yd. Great for pets.

Mama’s Boy area. $600/mo. Avail.

1/1 or sooner. Liz, (706) 540-5979.

2BR/1BA cottage for rent in Normaltown. CHAC, private offstreet lot w/ dog pen. Pets welcome w/ dep. $700/mo. (706) 372-8625.

2BR/1BA on busline. Walk to Dwntn.

W/D, DW, CHAC, pets OK. $700/ mo. Call Paul, (706) 714-9607.

2BR, $750/mo. Flexible lease/ dep. Truly stellar house, must see inside. Pets OK! Fenced yd., W/D incl. Hardwoods/tile, modern/hip design. 226 Johnson Drive. Call (706) 340-5054.

3BR/1.5 BA. Lg. washroom with W/D. deck, front porch. Rent to own. $650/mo. + $650 sec. dep.

(706) 254-2936.

3BR/2BA house in Crawford. LR, dining, den/office, carport, porch.

15 min. from Athens. Garden spot avail. $800/mo. (706) 743-5212.

3BR/2BA, CHAC, HWfls., W/D, DW, carport, close to Dwntn./campus, spacious, $990/mo. + dep., cats OK. Avail. now, 395 Oak St., (706) 613-8525 or (315) 750-6156.

3BR/3BA new Dwntn. Private baths, hardwoods, walk-in closets. Walk everywhere! W/D & lawn maint. incl. Now pre-leasing for Fall 2012. $1500/mo. Aaron, (706) 207-2957.

AtlasRealEstateAdvisors.com.

3BR/2BA, lg. yard, on busline. Pets OK, W/D, DW, CHAC incl. Avail. now! $825/mo. Call Paul, (706) 714-9607.

RIVERS EDGE

LARGE 2BR/2BA TOWNHOUSES AND FLATS

Some units include fireplaces and Washer & Dryers. $550-$600/mo. Call Today to view.

Hamilton & Associates 706-613-9001

3BR/2BA remodeled house w/ bonus rm. 320 Conrad Dr., DW, W/D, all elec., 1 mi. from Dwntn.

Athens. $900/mo. + dep. Avail. now. Contact Brian, (706) 6137242.

4BR/4BA new Dwntn. Private baths, double porches, walk-in c l o s e t s , h a rd w o o d s . Wa l k everywhere! W/D & lawn maint. incl. Pre-leasing for Fall 2012. $1950/mo. Aaron, (706) 2072957. AtlasRealEstateAdvisors. com.

5 8 0 A u b r e y D r. , B o g a r t .

3BR/1BA. HWflrs., carpet, CHAC, W/D hook-up, fenced yd, sec. sys., lawn mowed, GRFA welcome. $700/mo + $400 dep.

Avail. now! (770) 725-7748.

Awesome house! 597 Dearing St., 4BR/2BA, $1050/mo. 2045 Robert Hardman Rd., Winterville, 5BR/2BA, $1095/mo. 4BR on Whitehall Rd., $750/mo. 1045 Macon Hwy., 4BR/2BA, separate o ff i c e , $ 9 9 5 / m o . C a l l N a n c y Flowers & Co. Real Estate, (706) 546-7946, or visit nancyflowers. com for virtual tours. You will love them!

Cedar Creek: 4BR/2BA, lg. fenced yd., $950/mo. 5 Pts.: Off Baxter St., 4BR/2BA, $1200/ mo. Call McWaters Realty, (706) 353-2700, (706) 540-1529.

Holiday special! 1 mo. free! Lease now/pre-lease for Fall! Homes & condos avail. Close to UGA & s h o p p i n g . O n b u s ro u t e . $300-550/BR. (706) 2156848, Bob@CallBobAllen. com.

I heart Flagpole Classifieds!

Moder n 3BR/2BA house on 3 acres. Quiet countr y location just 9 mi. from Dwntn. Athens.

B i g k i t c h e n , L R w / F P. W / D hookup. $950/mo. (706) 5408461.

Newly renovated, quiet n’hood, 3BR/2BA. $850/mo. References, credit report & dep. required.

(706) 338-0725.

R e d u c e d ! 4 B R / 2 B A , 8 4 5 W. Hancock, HWflrs., CHAC, avail. now. Pets OK! 4 blocks to Dwntn. Pics on Craigslist. $1050/mo. Call (864) 784-3049.

Retreat South, 4BR/4BA. Beautiful cottage off S. Milledge. Located next to p o o l w / p o rc h e s a n d d e c k s o v e r l o o k i n g f o re s t . C h e c k i t o u t a t w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m / s c o t t p ro p e r t i e s o r c a l l S t a c i (706) 296-1863.

Student special! Near bus line. 4BR/2BA, ample parking, fenced yd. w/ storage bldg., $800/mo. + $800 dep. Call Rose, (706) 255-0472, Prudential Blanton Properties.

War m & Cozy! Boulevard n’hood, 3BR/2BA, HWflrs., CHAC, modern kitchen, ro c k i n g c h a i r f ro n t p o rc h . $1200/mo. (706) 5436368.

Parking & Storage UGA parking spaces. Across the street from campus, law & library. $25/mo. Contact Keith, 10 a.m.–2 p.m., (706) 3544261.

Roommates 2BR/1BA duplex. Bogart. Your rm. furnished w/ TV. 6 mo. lease, $300 first mo., $400 thereafter.

Dep. (678) 879-9772.

Roommate needed ASAP. Oak Hill Apts. off Old Hull Rd. $375 total rent & utils. 1st mo. free!

For Dec. Contact: Dusty, (706) 424-9601 or gotcha72981@ yahoo.com.

Rooms for Rent $450 BR/BA in cute house on North Ave. Fenced yard, alarm system, W/D in house. Pets OK. Alarm system. Close to Dwntn. Call Ellen, (540) 8402754. $300/mo., 1/3 utils. for 3BR/2BA home. 1 rm. avail.

5-10 min. to campus/mall/ grocery store. High speed WiFi. HD Dish Network, CHAC, W/D. Quiet n’hood, yard/ garden. No drugs, no drama.

Call (706) 351-2708.

Dashiell Cottages. Move–in, $85/wk.! (706) 850-0491.

River loft, all amenities, WiFi, unlimited long distance. Enjoy our river community, 5 blocks to UGA. Enjoy the wildlife observation.

Stuck in a lease you’re trying to end? Sublease your house or apartment with Flagpole classifieds! Visit flagpole.com or call (706) 5490301.

Sub-lease 2BR/2BA River Mill apt. Open kitchen & LR w/ HWflrs. 2 private baths. $900/mo. Ends 7/31/12.

5 min. walk to Tate. (404) 6431239.

For Sale Art Paragon electric ceramic kiln.

Metal clad, 7 cubic ft., 28 in. x 48 in. outside w/ stand. Old, mostly working condition w/ extra heating element, manual. $100. (770) 7250552.

Miscellaneous Bidders Buy Auction. New & used items, collectables, & antiques. Auctions ever y Fri. & Sat. 1459 Hargrove Lake Rd. in Winterville. Visit www. biddersbuyauctions.com or call (706) 742-2205 for more info.

Go to Agora! Awesome!

Affordable! The ultimate s t o re ! S p e c i a l i z i n g i n r e t r o everything: antiques, furniture, clothes, bikes, r e c o r d s & p l a y e r s ! 2 6 0 W. Clayton St., (706) 316-0130.

I n s t a n t c a s h is now being paid for good vinyl records & CDs in fine condition. Wuxtry Records, at corner of Clayton & College downtown. (706) 369-9428.

TV and Video Big screen HDTV 65 in. Mitsubishi 3-D Ready, $700. Sony 60 in. big screen HDTV, $600. Sansung 42 in. big screen HDTV, $250. Call (706) 372-0535.

Music Equipment Nuçi’s Space needs your old instruments & music gear! All donations are tax-deductible. Call (706) 227-1515 or come by Nuçi’s Space, 396 Oconee St. We buy musical instruments & equipment every day!

Guitars, drums, pro-sound & more. (770) 931-9190, www. musicgoroundlilburn.com. Huge, online inventory. We love trades!

Come visit Music Go Round soon...

Instruction Athens School of Music.

Instruction in guitar, bass, drums, piano, voice, brass, woodwinds, strings, banjo, mandolin, fiddle & more. From beginner to expert.

Instrument repairs avail. Visit www.

AthensSchoolofMusic.com, (706) 543-5800.

Music Services Amp repair! McNeece Music, 149 Oneta, Ste. 6C-7. Next to BikeAthens. Years of experience.

Buy-sell-trade, custom builds, strings & acc., electric amps. (706) 548-9666, Tues.–Sat., 12–8 p.m.

Eady Guitars, Guitar Building & Repair. Qualified repairman offering professional set ups, fret work, wiring, finishing & restorations.

Exp. incl. Gibson & Benedetto Guitars. Appt. only (615) 714-9722, www.eadyguitars.com.

Fret Shop. Professional guitar repairs & modifications, setups, electronics, precision fretwork.

Previous clients incl. R.E.M., Widespread Panic, Cracker, Bob Mould, John Berry, Abbey Road Live!, Squat. (706) 549-1567.

Kitchen Table Stereo since 1989, electronic technical services.

Vacuum tube & transistor amplifier repair, effects, pedals, keyboards.

Sound system sales, service & installation. (706) 355-3071.

W e d d i n g b a n d s . Q u a l i t y, professional bands. Weddings, parties. Rock, jazz, etc. Call Classic City Entertainment. (706) 549-1567. www.classiccityentertainment. com. Featuring The Magictones Athens’ premiere wedding & party band. www.themagictones.com.

Musicians Wanted L o o k i n g f o r a d r u m m e r, guitarist, bass player, violinist?

Looking for a band? Find your music mate with Flagpole Classifieds! Call (706) 5490301.

Services Cleaning ’Tis the season for house cleaning! Give your family & friends the best gift going at the best price in town. Professional, re l i a b l e , p e t & E a r t h friendly. Local references o n re q u e s t . Te x t / c a l l Nick: (706) 851-9087.

Email: Nick@goodworld. biz.

Health Pregnant? Considering a d o p t i o n ? Ta l k w / c a r i n g agency specializing in matching birthmothers w/ families nationwide.

Living expenses paid. Call 2 4 / 7 . A b b y ’s O n e Tr u e G i f t Adoptions, (866) 413-6293 (AAN CAN).

Home and Garden Advertise your seasonal b u s i n e s s ! Firewood, Christmas trees, holiday decorating! Let our readers know how to contact you! Call (706) 549-0301.

Misc. Services Looking for work? Need advice & support? Athens Career Coach is organizing a wkly. meeting group.

Call Sean at Cook Coaching & Consulting. (706) 363-0539 or sean@higheredcareercoach.com.

Pets Boulevard Animal Hospital December Special: Board your cat 2 nights & get 1 night free! 298 Prince Ave. www. downtownathensvet.com (706) 425-5099.

Jobs Full-time ATL Promotions Inc., serving North America for over 100 yrs., seeks over 100 positions to be filled from entry-lvl. to mgmt. in our new location in Winder, GA. Entry pay starts at $950/ bi-wkly.! Call now for interview, (678) 963-7842.

Are you a DRee and Company stylist? Our open concept salon has room for you to create and be part of the team environment you’ve been searching for. Apply in person, 760 N. Chase St.

Free groceries! Receive $2000 in grocery savings. Grocery stimulus program provides savings to participants of shopping survey. All major and local supermarkets. Call now (877) 301-1691 (AAN CAN).

High School diploma! Graduate in just 4 wks. Free brochures. Call now. (800) 532-6546. Ext. 97. Go to www.continentalacademy.com (AAN CAN).

Paid in adv.! Make $1K/wk. mailing brochures from home! Guar. income! Free supplies! No exp. req’d. Start immediately! www. homemailerprogram.net (AAN CAN).

Counter help needed Tues.–Fri. 9 a.m.–1 p.m. at Donderos’ Kitchen at the State Botanical Garden.

Call (706) 389-7955.

N o w h i r i n g d i s c re e t p r i v a t e lingerie models. Flexible schedules, no exp. needed, good working environment, upscale clientele. Unlimited earning potential. Call for info: (706) 6138986.

Vehicles Autos

1996 GMC Jimmy 4 dr. In good cond. runs well, v. reasonable.

Reliable transportation. Call (706) 248-4649 after 2 p.m.

Reasonable prices.

FT work. Great pay plan & flexible hrs. For promotional agents, new branch opening in Athens. No exp. required. Have fun & make money!

(706) 548-0020.

2001 Chevrolet G3500 15 passenger bus w/ wheelchair lift & 2 wheelchair tie-down areas. Diesel engine, A/C, automatic, white. No CDL license needed. $15,900 or OBO. (706) 549-9456.

Earn $75-$200/hr. Media Makeup Artist Training make–up artist for ads, TV, film, fashion. 1 wk. class.

Stable job in weak economy. Details at http://www.MediaMakeupArtists. com, (310) 364-0665 (AAN CAN).

Follow Buy Local Athens on Facebook and email us at athensbuylocal@gmail.com to join the We Are Athens organization.

Part-time

Dos Palmas is now hiring experienced servers. Apply in person between 2–5 p.m., Mon.– Thurs. 3523 Atlanta Highway. No phone calls, please.

Opportunities

When you buy from local independent businesses, you are helping keep your favorite Local Athens establishments open and are contributing to the vitality of the Athens economy.

Mystery shoppers earn up to $100/day. Undercover shoppers needed to judge retail & dining establishments. No exp. req’d.

(888) 729-6151.

1976 Camaro, gunmetal grey, beautiful head-turner, unique custom interior & rims. $11,111.11.

New Edelbrock engine. Runs great.

Call (828) 421-7466.

Disclaimer! Flagpole does its best to scout out scams but we cannot guarantee. Be careful giving out personal information.

Call to report scams, (706) 5490301.

USE US or LOS E US

Help wanted. Earn extra income assembling CD cases from home.

No experience necessary. Call our live operators now. (800) 405-7619 ext. 2450 www.easywork-greatpay. com (AAN CAN).

Call center representative.

Join established Athens company calling CEOs & CFOs of major corporations generating sales leads for tech companies. $9/hr.

BOS Staffing, www.bostemps.com, (706) 353-3030.

Shenanigans Salon is now accepting applications for experienced hair stylists, clientele pref’d. Email resume to admin@ shenaniganssalon.com or present in person. 1037A Baxter St. (706) 548-1115.

ATHENS LOCAL BUSINESSES:

Misc. Vehicles

Cash for cars: any car/truck.

Running or not! Top $ paid. We come to you! Call for instant o ff e r, ( 8 8 8 ) 4 2 0 - 3 8 0 8 , w w w. cash4car.com (AAN CAN).

Notices Messages Trying to get a group together to form a roving band of Christmas carolers? Flagpole classifieds make it easy to reach a lot of people!

Low rates, high potential for holiday cheer. Call (706) 5490301.

Week of 12/5/11 - 12/11/11

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ACROSS 1 Blue hue 5 Morally correct 10 Old furnace fuel 14 Deceptive ploy 15 Studio "quiet" sign 16 Story starter 17 Stadium level 18 Item in a Greek salad 19 Moon goddess 20 Toothed wheel 22 Problem drinker, e.g.

24 Can of worms, say 25 Agenda listing 26 Carnival ride?

29 Like Casper 33 Therefore 34 Purse closer 35 Teensy 36 Wading bird 37 High-society group 38 Lions or Tigers 39 Tiresome grind 40 Genetic double 41 Dig (into) 42 1968 film with Jack Nicholson 44 Morose

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Copyright 2011 by The Puzzle Syndicate

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Event for hounds Poker declaration Good-for-nothing Unlikely story Chills and fever Wake-up call On in years Without, in France Dance that takes two Sales prospect Ancestry record Encourage Catch a glimpse of

DOWN 1 Song and dance 2 Clever remark 3 Computer operator 4 Workout class 5 First-timer 6 Coastal cove 7 Horse's stride 8 AIDS-causing virus 9 Scholarly paper 10 Newspaper feature 11 Heavy burden

12 Teen's woe 13 Shakespeare king 21 Gumshoe's gig 23 Kin to a honk 25 Angry 26 Baby bird sound 27 Word puzzle with pictures 28 Togetherness 29 Lighter igniter 30 Obsess (on) 31 Sailor's vacation 32 Red Sea republic 34 Special influence 37 Stretch out 38 Revealing 40 Gulp down 41 Boring 43 Edam or gouda 44 Chinook or coho 46 Ship's load 47 Rope fiber 48 Food thickener 49 Sandy hill 50 Space Age drink?

51 Many a moon 52 Sudden increase 53 Counter current 56 Bring up the rear

Crossword puzzle answers are available at www.flagpole.com

DECEMBER 7, 2011 · FLAGPOLE.COM

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Benefits Policy Changes for UGA Half-time Workers No Longer Qualify Jan. 1, a change in the benefits policy instituted by the Board of Regents is set to cut benefits for 242 parttime University of Georgia employees.

During an August meeting, the board voted to change the policy, offering benefits—which include health insurance, disability, life insurance and dental coverage—for part-time workers employed 30 or more hours per week. This changes the current policy at UGA and other state institutions, where employees who were on the books for at least 20 hours per week have been eligible for benefits.

At UGA, there are 242 employees who work between 20 and 29 hours per week; 152 receive traditional benefits through the university, and another 90 don’t have health insurance, but instead have benefits from another source, according to Tom Gausvik, associate vice president for human resources at UGA. This other source could be benefits such as disability, but the employee would need to increase his or her hours in order to keep the benefit, Gausvik said.

Statewide, the policy change affects about 750 employees, according to Tom Scheer, associate vice chancellor for life and health benefits for the University System of Georgia.

Scheer said the change brings state colleges and universities in line with a national standard that’s part of the health care reform package passed by Congress. This change, which goes into effect in 2014, requires all employees who work 30 hours or more to have

access to health insurance.

“The driving factor behind this change is the fact that a 30-hour benefit eligibility is a ‘best practice’ already adopted by many of our peer systems and institutions,” Scheer said in an email to Flagpole.

“Yes, it may save some money, but that’s not the prime rationale. Also, it is consistent with the new national health care policy, which sets a 30-hour-perweek definition.”

Granted, offering benefits to employees working 20 hours or more would still fall in line with the 30-hour minimum, but Gausvik added that UGA’s policy of offering benefits to half-time workers— those employed a minimum of 20 hours per week—is no longer a national standard among colleges and universities.

“Usually the standard in higher education is 30 hours,” he said. “It used to be 20 hours, but as times have changed, you see moving from 20 to 30 hours as a standard practice.”

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Gausvik also noted that while there may be some cost savings to the university system as a whole from fewer claims, the overall savings would be minimal. And Scheer noted that because there are four different health insurance options available to employees, it’s impossible to know yet what any cost savings might be.

Open enrollment for UGA employees’ health insurance plans ended Nov. 18.

Lydia Lanier, senior director at UGA’s benefits office, said all part-time employees will be kept in the system and were encouraged to reapply for benefits. “If they’re not 75 percent on Jan. 1, their benefits end,” she said. “We didn’t turn them ‘off’ since so many don’t know what that will be yet. We encourage everyone to make [updates to their insurance plans].”

Employees who will continue at fewer than 20 hours per week at the start of the year will be eligible for COBRA coverage, and Lanier

Crazy Good Fun All Week Long! shoP loCal at loCos!

EastsidE

Kristen Morales

Please join us for the 4th annual

Silent Night

Dinner, Live Music and Silent Auction to benefit The Odyssey and The Iliad

Monday – Ladies Night Half Price Wine Bottles, $3 Martinis Tuesday – Trivia Night at 8:30!

Daily Beer Specials!

Reserve the Moose Room for your next private party! TVs, private kitchen and restrooms!

Award-Winning Journalism at Clarke Central High School

1985 BarnEtt shoals rd. • 706-208-0911

Dondero’s Kitchen · The National · The Globe Farm 255 · Mama’s Boy · Marti’s at Midday

WEstsidE

Daily Drink Specials Happy Hour Mon-Fri 4-7 Tuesday – Trivia Night at 8:30!

Longer, Harder, Fuller

said some had already asked for information about that.

But other part-time employees say their supervisors are able to find enough extra duties—and room in their department’s budget—to bump them up to 30 hours, allowing them to keep their benefits.

For some, it will be a welcome addition to their take-home pay, while others enjoyed the flexibility a 20-hour work week allowed them as they juggled family responsibilities or a career outside of UGA. Gausvik said it’s up to each department to determine whether it has the duties and the budget to bring someone up to 30 hours per week, essentially increasing a half-time employee’s workload by 50 percent.

“It won’t be 100 percent,” he said of the number of employees who will see increased hours. “Not all units have the budget… It’s up to the local unit to move the hours. There are two factors: one, do they have the budget, and two, there has to be enough work to do.”

Retired employees who have been rehired as part-time employees will not be affected by the change, Gausvik said. Of the 242 UGA workers affected by the change, 87 are faculty positions—for example, a professor who is teaching a class—and 142 are staff members working in various departments. The remainder work in the service area, such as custodial or food service.

Not So

On

2020 timothy road • 706-549-7700

Friday, December 9 • 7-9pm • $20 Music by the Atlanta Steel Drum Band

Panablaze

A gourmet feast will be provided by:

Items services to be auctioned include:

Local Artwork · Jewelry · Ceramics Photography · Dinner Gift Cards · Tennis Lessons Sporting Goods · Local Band Items · Vacation Rental Salon Items · Portrait Sessions · Dancewear Local Coffee · Vera Bradley

harris st.

Homewood Shopping Center 706-546-4864

30

M-Th 10a-11p F-Sat 10a-12a Sun 1-10p

FLAGPOLE.COM ∙ DECEMBER 7, 2011

(campus) Daily Drink Specials Tuesday – Trivia Night at 8:30!

Huge Porch and Hi-Def Big Screens!

Reserve the Mooseyard for your next private party before the weather turns cold! Private bar, restrooms, stage and UGA scoreboard backdrop!

581. s. harris st. • 706-548-7803 locosgrill.com

at Chase Park Warehouses 160 Tracy St.

city Feel Better from Head to Toe with Kimberly!

During this last year Strategic Action Teams of approximately 500 people from the co and over 70 institutional partners have wo www.georgiatheatre.com of thousands of hours to assemble a plan th 215 North Lumpkin St. • Athens, GA a18 &seamless over / ID reqd. Ticketslongitudinal available online and at Georgianetwork Theatre Box Office of suppor from preconception to post-secondary gra

salon During this last year Strategic Action Teams made up of approximately 500 people from the community During this last year Strategic Action Teams made up and over 70 institutional partners have worked tens of approximately 500 people from the community of thousands of hoursand toover assemble a plan that creates 70 institutional partners have worked tens During this last Action Teams up a seamless longitudinal network ofStrategic kids of thousands of year hours tosupport assemble afor plan thatmade creates approximately 500 people from the community aofseamless longitudinal network of support for kids from preconceptionand to post-secondary graduation. over 70 institutional partners have worked tens from preconception to post-secondary graduation.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7

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Learn how you can help ensure that ALL children in Athens-Clarke County are healthy, safe, Learn how can help children in aAthens-Clarke County engaged in theyou community and ensure on courseALL to graduate from post-secondary education!

ThuRSDAY, DECEMBER 8

are healthy, safe, engaged in the community and on course to graduate

MONDAY, DECEMBER 12th • 2:30PM WITh LearnMONDAY, how DECEMBER you can12th help ensure that ALLhOLMAN children in Athens-Clarke County are h AuTRY BAND • 2:30PM DOORS 8:00pm • ShOW 9:00pm the Athens Community Career • community 440 Dearing Extension, Building #1 on course to graduate from a post-secondary e engaged inAcademy the and MONDAY, atDECEMBER 12th • 2:30PM at the Athens Community Career Academy • 440 Dearing Extension, Building #1 fRIDAY, DECEMBER 9 TICKETS Learn how you can help ensure that ALL children in Athens-Clarke County are healthy, safe,

706.552.1515 100 Athenstown Blvd.

Citysalonandspa.com

from a post-secondary education! engaged the community and on course to graduate from aare post-secondary Learn how you can help ensure that ALLinchildren in Athens-Clarke County healthy,education! safe, engaged in the community andaton to graduate a post-secondary education! thecourse Athens Community Careerfrom Academy • 440 Dearing Extension, Building #1 During this last year Strategic Action Teams made up of approximately 500 people from the community and over 70 institutional partners have worked tens During this last Action Teams up of thousands of year hoursStrategic to assemble a plan thatmade creates approximately 500 people from the community aofseamless longitudinal network of support for kids and over 70 institutional partners have worked tens from preconception to post-secondary graduation. of thousands of hours to assemble a plan that creates a seamless longitudinal network of support for kids PlEAse USyear FoRStrategic THe PUbLIC RolLoUT Of DuringJOIn this last Action Teams made uptHE from preconception to post-secondary graduation.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 12th • 2:30PM Do You Smoke Cigarettes? fOuNDRY ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS

STILL AVAILABLE!

Athens Community MODERN at the Athens Community Career Academy • 440SKIRTS Dearing Extension, B Athens Community Plan for Children Children • We are conducting a research Plan study onfor smoking.

LERA LYNN of approximately 500 people from the community

PlEAse JOIn FoR THepartners PUbLIChave RolLoUT Of tHE and over 70US institutional worked tens

of thousands of hours to assemble a plan that creates a seamless longitudinal network of support for kids Learn how you can help ensure that ALL children in Athens-Clarke County are healthy, safe, from preconception to post-secondary graduation. engaged in the community and on course to graduate from a post-secondary education!

engagedTHe in the community andDECEMBER on course to graduate post-secondary education!

MONDAY, 12thfrom•a 2:30PM PlEAse JOIn US FoR PUbLIC RolLoUT Of tHE

• Participation will include twoatin-person assessments, the Athens Community Career Academy • 440 Dearing Extension, Building #1 MONDAY, DECEMBER 12th • 2:30PM including one magnetic resonance imaging scan. at the Athens Community Career Academy • 440 Dearing Extension, Building #1 • You will be paid up to $65 for ~5 hours of participation.

Learn how you can help ensure that ALL children in Athens-Clarke County are healthy, safe,

Athens Community Plan for Children

Learn how you can help ensure that ALL children in Athens-Clarke County are healthy, safe, engaged in the community and on course to graduate from a post-secondary education!

Call 706-542-6881 for more information MONDAY, DECEMBER 12th • 2:30PM

During this last year Strategic Action Teams WITh EASTER ISLAND DOORS 8:00pm • ShOW 9:00pm of approximately 500 people from the co and over 70 institutional have wo SATuRDAY, DECEMBER partners 10 of thousands of hours to assemble a plan th aO WITh network of suppor LD OuT!longitudinal S seamless from preconception post-secondary gra TWO fRESh ANDto12Th PLANET

ThE SKRILLEX CELL DOORS 8:00pm • ShOW 9:00pm

at the Athens Community Career Academy • 440 Dearing Extension, Building #1

ThuRSDAY, DECEMBER 15 PlEAse JOIn US FoR THe PUbLIC RolLoUT O

Athens Communit Plan for Childre ThE DARNELL BAND ThE WhISKEY GENTRY & hIGh STRuNG STRING BAND DOORS 8:00pm • ShOW 9:00pm

fRIDAY, DECEMBER 16

uGA MuSIC BuSINESS PROGRAM and GEORGIA ThEATRE Learn how you can help ensure that ALL children in Athens-Clarke County are h ThE GEORGIA ThEATRE PRESENT GuITARtoRAffLE engaged in the community and on course graduate from a post-secondary e

DRAWING

BLOODKIN AND

MONDAY, DECEMBER 12th • 2:30PM fRIENDS EXILE ON LuMPKIN ST.

If you are in crisis due to domestic violence, Athens Regional Medical Center wants you to find help.

at the Athens Community Career Academy • 440 Dearing Extension, B

When you are struggling to meet the demands of a controlling and jealous partner it is hard to plan for the future. Project Safe has advocates available to help you sort through what options are available to you, and how you can stay safe while you explore options. All services are free and confidential.

706-543-3331

Hotline, 24 hours/day

Linea de crisis, las 24 horas del dia

7:00pm on the ROOfTOP Tickets $5

DOORS 8:00pm • ShOW 9:00pm

COMING SOON 12/29 GRAMATIK & BREAK SCIENCE 12/30 fuTuREBIRDS (AT BuCKhEAD ThEATRE) 12/31 REPTAR AND fRIENDS 1/6 BOBBY COMPTON 1/18 ZOSO 1/19 MIMOSA with LuNICE 1/20 WOODfANGS, INTERNS & hOLY LIARS

1/21 uGA hERO’S BuLLDOG BRAWL - Boxing 1/26 EMANCIPATOR 1/27 YAChT ROCK REVuE 2/2 CAROLINA ChOCOLATE DROPS 2/4 ZOOGMA with POLISh AMBASSADOR 2/11 MEDESKI, MARTIN & WOOD

DECEMBER 7, 2011 · FLAGPOLE.COM

31

What are you doing for the holidays?

Banging your wife.

WEEKDAY SPECIALS Get Liquored Locally! Book Your Holiday Parties Here!

MONDAYS $ 2 WINE TUESDAYS $ 2 DRINKS WEDNESDAYS $ 2 SHOOTERS

20 SELECT DRAFT BEERS Build Your Own Bloody Mary Bar 200+ Bottled Beers • Expanded Wine List • Huge Screen TVs Pool Tables Smoking Welcome on Our Patios

256 E. CLAYTON ST. • (706) 549-0166 Open Mon-Sat Noon-2am • www.allgoodlounge.com Please Drink Responsibly.

Located on the Corner of Lumpkin and Washington Across from Georgia Theatre

2

COME ENJOY OUR OUTDOOR FIREPLACE AND SEASONAL HOT DRINKS OPEN MIC WEDNESDAYS 260 EAST WASHINGTON STREET • DOWNTOWN • 706-369-3040 TOP OF JACKSON ST. • 12 STEPS FROM THE CORNER

tuesday, december 13

drafts and laUgHs Free Wi-Fi & Wi-Fi games!

HappY HoUr eVerY daY From 3:30 till 9:30 doLLar oFF eVerYtHing

great draft and craft beer selection!

best prices on good beer

PUB AT GAMEDAY • ClAYTon ST • nExT To ShokiTini

706-353-2831