Mark Pointer - stir Magazine Volume 6

ENDURANCE BLACK/STOUT

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[ingredients] 36 32

16 imbibe : art scene : scene :

Kat Hunter

Dance in Columbia

What’s Your Story Mike Krajewski

event :

Hispanic Culture in Columbia

listen :

“The Princess” Mary Liz

live : Unemployed? Keep Yourself Busy fashion : environment :

Green Power

love and money :

Cougars

review : the strip :

Epic

Modify

Our Social Commentary

accessorize :

The Coat

6 8 10 14 16 18 20 32 36 38 39 42

20 Designer Mark Pointer Editor in Chief Natasha Chilingerian Sales & Marketing Veronica Staub, Suzann Sox

Contributing Writers Cynthia Boiter Michelle Hardeman Autumn Eckenbrecht Scott Lefaive Alejandro Garcia

Contributing Photographers Scott Bilby Sarah Kobos Travis Teate James Quantz

To advertise please call Veronica or Suzann at 803.386.9131 or email us at sales@stircolumbia.com

Cover photography: James Quantz : on Stephanie: dress Poole Shop : on Brandon: Pant & Leather Jacket Revolution stir Magazine is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any manner, in whole or in part, without the publisher's written permission. ©2009 All Rights Reserved

[imbibe]

Photography by Scott Bilby

The

stir Cocktail

Welcome to stir’s monthly cocktail column – an up close look at some of our favorite bartenders and their latest concoctions.

Kat Hunter Bartender : Rollergirl

“

I don't absolutely know the recipe that she used, but what I can tell you is that apparently, the 'Demon Pacifier' is an original Art Bar creation. A google search for it only brings up weird spiritual shit and Art Bar's recipe, which is ---

“

Vodka Midori Splashes of Lime Juice Triple Sec Sour Mix Sprite.

Ask Kat to make one for you, just be nice about it.”

[art scene]

Written by Cynthia Boiter

veryone who loves the arts has something they love the most; a medium that most satisfies their inner cravings for meaning and soul-baring expression. For one woman it may be the theatre, and the houselights don’t go down at TRUSTUS without her feet beneath the seat of one of the cozy chairs Kay and Jim Thigpen keep warm down on Lady Street. The next guy may be all about music: he thinks Charles Wadsworth is Jesus and can hum the cello suites in his sleep. For someone else it may be the visual arts with the sun rising in Mana Hewitt’s metalworks and setting in David Yaghjian’s oils. I’m like most art geeks in that I love it all – my favorite time is opening night and I’d seriously consider voting Morihiko in as mayor if he’d run. But the thing that does it for me most is dance.

And that means I live in the right place.

As a city, Columbia has more than her share of dance entertainment opportunities, and unlike some folks who argue that one dance company to a town is enough, I heartily disagree. Just as no two dancers are the same, neither are any two companies. Each brings something different to the stage. From the sultry undulations of Unbound to the rhythmic punctuations of Terrence Henderson’s Leo Award winning Vibrations; from Martha Brim’s mature and modern Power Company, to the scarily cute kids from Dale Lam’s Columbia City Jazz; from Dancewordz Ballet that combines movement with poetry, to Wideman/Davis that is poetry in and of itself; from CMFA’s Carolina Ballet, which has been around forever, to USC’s Dance Company which has come into its own; and from William to Radenko – there I said it – they all have something unique to offer. And the benefactor of this wealth of diversity, this embarrassment of riches, is the Columbia, South Carolina dance audience. We never have a reason for being bored.

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8 * stir

One of the freshest and most exciting dance ventures in town this fall is Miriam Barbosa’s new iteration of the South Carolina Contemporary Dance Company, housed by her Gyrotonics studio down on Lady Street.

Inklings of this company began back in 2007 when Miriam was still on faculty at USC, with those inklings developing into a two-person performance of Story Lines earlier this year; original Barbosa choreography staged around Beth Melton’s textile installation at the Columbia Center for Contemporary Art on Whaley.

Since then, the company has grown in number – there are eighteen professional dancers now; in support – Marvin Chernoff and Chuck LaMark have both signed on as associate executive directors; and, in target audience – performances are already booked in Columbia, Charleston and Charlotte and the calendar seems to grow every day.

The premiere performance for this newly re-formed company is coming up on September 17th, at 7 p.m., at the Koger Center for the Arts, and there are two pieces on the dancebill. Miriam’s previous life as a dancer in the Martha Graham Company allows her the licensure to stage Maple Leaf Rag, the last piece choreographed by Graham before her death in 1991. Set to the turn-of-the-century music of Scott Joplin, Maple Leaf Rag was inspired by Graham’s visit to Charleston when her company performed at the 1989 Spoleto Festival. I had the opportunity to watch a rehearsal of the South Carolina Contemporary Dance Company perform this piece on a muggy afternoon in August, and though my toes told me I was in Columbia, Charleston all but came alive in that sweaty brick studio in the Vista. Staged around a massive black lacquered joggling board that could have easily just bounced off a portico somewhere South of Broad, the dancers perched and pranced and balanced in time to the seventh chords and syncopations with, dare-I-say, glee. Unlike so much of Graham’s heavier choreography, this piece is seventeen upbeat minutes of fun.

The stage gets more serious during the second act of the night when the dancers perform a piece of Barbosa’s original choreography called, Catharsis. Set to the music of Argentine tango composer Astor Piazzolla, Catharsis was choreographed in conjunction with the art and inspiration of local visual artist Marcelo Novo who has found the theme of catharsis rise often in his work of late. The ballet is performed in three acts and takes on issues of love, passion, chaos, war, and purification, hence catharsis, and incorporates Marcelo’s original images into the backdrop and set.

Miriam explains that Marcelo’s completed work, “found voice and movement within my own experiences and so the collaboration was a fluid exchange of ideas that fit together perfectly, also reflecting a lot of our shared South American background.”

In fact, Marcelo’s inspiration for Catharsis has been a long time in

the making, going back as far as 1996 when he first began work on a triptych of a male and female character who may be familiar to Columbia arts’ patrons and those who frequent the restaurant/bar, Goatfeathers, in Five Points. Two of the three pieces will be used in the set of Catharsis.

The theme of water as a source of purification and redemption continued to subliminally surface throughout Marcelo’s art for over a decade, culminating in a two week period during which the artist conceptualized not just the look of the ballet Catharsis, but much of the movement as well. Evidence of the actualization of Marcelo’s vision is captured within the pages of his sketch book which holds notes to the effect of movement – with words like sharpen, angular, and discomfort; costuming – Marcelo sketched out designs for the dancers’ labyrinthine leotards, quilted wings and eerie masks, often on coffee shop napkins; and, set, including both the incorporation of existing art pieces and lighting suggestions.

From this, Marcelo explains, “Miriam created her amazing choreography and, during the entire process, there has always been a sense of real collaboration even if we drifted in and out of one another’s areas of expertise.”

The choreography is full of typical Barbosa faire – fullness, strangeness, lyricism, and athleticism. It’s almost as if the limited dimensions of the dance floor aren’t enough, so she takes her dancers into the air and actually suspends a few of them above the stage, using harnesses to simulate flight. Previously performed in 2005, there are changes to the choreography including the addition of a tango performed upside down. Don’t take your eyes off Maurice Johnson – he is a joy to behold. She’s also changing up her costumes a bit and has Barry Sparks, Columbia’s great thaumaturge of all things light and sound, doing her lighting, giving us even more to look forward to from this performance.

With Columbia’s dance season upon us, there is no shortage of excitement in store. Full length dance follows fantasy storylines that range from the frightening – hunchbacks and vampires – to the frivolous – mermaids and genies in bottles. Wideman/Davis takes on homelessness, while USC gives a nod to the classics and a wink to contemporary choreography a la’ Alan Hineline. There is dancing to poetry and there’s the poetry of dance. And God knows there’s a plethora of Nutcrackers, with Columbia City Jazz offering not one, but two Claras this season. There is plenty to love on the dance floors of our good city.

Not too much and, thankfully, not too little. When it comes to a good thing, we’ve got it good.

For more information on the South Carolina Contemporary Dance Company visit their website at www.scdanceco.com.

Cynthia Boiter is an award winning fiction writer whose freelance work focuses on the arts and travel. Her upcoming book, Bob, Beer and Me, written with husband and ER physician, Bob Jolley, will be out in Spring 2010.

Contact her at cindiboiter@aol.com or visit her blog at www.cynthiaboiter.wordpress.com

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[scene]

What’s your story Michael Krajewski?

Written by Autumn Eckenbrecht, Photography by Sarah Kobos

H

e’s plugged into the local art scene. He’s painting on a live nude model at the HoFP Gallery then playing local gigs and recording music with his band Unresolved. He’s not one for hype or shock value, but he’s passionate about the freedom of creative expression, and has hopes of seeing that perspective transform the arts. And he does not plan on slowing down.

What’s your story?

I started painting prolifically more so when I was in Athens, [Ga.]. I picked up the paintbrush a lot more, really enjoyed color, pushing it around and just started nonstop—it’s ongoing. Then I moved to Atlanta, hung out there for a little bit, struggled of course because the city’s a lot more expensive than Athens. Someone let me hang [art] in their restaurant or something. When I came here, I was doing a charity thing down Main Street, and the owner of the Hopf came by and took a look and she ended up buying a piece, and she was like, “Well, let me see how much work you got,” and I got a lot, you know? If the wall’s hanging my art up or not, there’d probably be a warehouse full by the time I was dead if not more. It’s the only thing I know. Solidified my life. I definitely will be painting until the end of my days—it’s the only thing I care about. If someone’s really true about [something], they’re just going to keep on going until they just can’t do it anymore.

Usually death is one of the main reasons why you stop at something.

What makes you feel alive? What inspires you artistically?

A lot of things. I mean, other people’s feelings and emotions can make you feel alive—it doesn’t necessarily have to always draw from your own self. I have a family and friends and that’s what society and living in culture is about in the first place, you know? Not everyone can function on their own. If everyone’s blanked out or running around with the same head and ideas, you’re certainly not going to perpetuate yourself or get anywhere. Inspirations for this year have been lots of different things—family pet died, that was kind of hard. I really miss—what inspired me—was sleeping next to flowers. I miss that. I really miss that.

What are the main themes you see repeated in your work? What do you want to communicate?

[I want to] communicate, basically, what I’m doing at that point in time, what’s going through my mind. Musicians—what note he’s hearing right then and there he’s going to want to throw out. It may read true the colors and the emotions are what they say, or I may do the exact opposite maybe to disguise what I’m trying to feel, or try to pull myself out of that idea of what I’m thinking. It’s an outlet, of course—that’s a given. It may not make sense,

maybe shaving off a piece of your hair or skin, plucking an eyelash and throwing it onto a plate. It’s giving small pieces at a time—I mean you can’t give yourself completely every single time because it’s so much emotion just for one person. Something about painting for myself is in striving—[and asking,] “What am I pouring in here?”

Typical mediums/materials?

I used to work on cardboard a lot, ‘til I found out that it’s really acidic, and it’s not going to last. I think I did something on the back of a piece of carpet sample before, and that’s as far-thinking as I’ve gone. I also worked with a different medium this year—I haven’t played with clay since high school, and that was really frustrating at first but then really fun, and I can’t wait to show that off just to see what kind of feedback I get and what people think about that. I’m excited about clay pieces. You’re doing more with your hands and it’s visually stimulating to see a three-dimensional piece come to life.

How do you see the art scene in Columbia changing?

I’d like to think I’m a part of that, and I’m sincere about that, because it’s been a real tradition around here. People need to be a lot less judgmental and a lot more open, because that’s what art’s about. It’ a free forum—you should be able to express yourself in any way within the confines of the law.

What’s the most powerful thing art has done to you—creating and/or seeing it?

You get things either out of your soul or your mind or your heart. You get to pour it out, and maybe even let someone share in that, and they can relate. And maybe I am helping someone out that I don’t even realize. I have to pull it out of myself first and then pour it out, but it’s not like I’m doing it for other people. That just wouldn’t make sense—I’d be a slave.

What musical roles do you place in Unresolved, and what’s the current status of where Unresolved is musically?

I write lyrics, and I write for the guitar, drums, keys, and harmonica. It’s starting pretty fast and we recently recorded for Time Warner On Demand. That means in about two weeks you can go on the Time Warner On Demand channel and see the videos we did, along with other Columbia musicians.

How would you describe your music and who do you perform with?

That’s hard—it’s such a mixture. It’s like my art in that, because it’s such a solidified body of work, I can go wherever I want with it. People have said it sounds somewhere along lines of Jim Morrison, a mixture between softer stuff and a little bit of indie rock, and maybe a hint of a late 60s kind of feel.

It’s pretty eclectic, and there’s no solidified song that classifies it, which I appreciate because I’d be bored of singing the same way. Mark McKellar—he’s rhythm guitarist, Christopher Tuck—we call him Tuck—is the lead guitarist, and then our drummer is Dave—we call him drummer Dave.

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[event]

ver the last year or so, we have heard about new artists coming from out of town for a short residency program that is offered to up and coming Latino artists here in Columbia, including a recent show of Eliana Pérez´work, an up and coming Latina artist based in New York City. This is just part of the efforts of a recently founded not for profit organization that is promoting Hispanic arts, culture and heritage in the state: Palmetto & LUNA. For those of you who might not know, every year from September 15 to October 15 we celebrate the achivements and contributions of the ever growing Hispanic Americans in this country and for that month Palmetto & LUNA is gearing up with a unique programing aimed to showcased exactly that: Hispanic culture in South Carolina.

The program includes a presentation by Dr. Alejandro Bernal -a Chilean professor of literature at USC- his presentation will mainly focus on new trends of Latin American literature and will be offered in association with the Consortium of Latino Migration Studies. The program follows with an a unique Spanglish poetry Slam, showcasing the work of Chicana poet and Columbia resident Vera Gómez, these two componets of the program are actually organized by the bilingual Book Club, Páginas, which is part of the foundation. Finally, to wrap up the month of events the organization is putting together a show from Colombian artist Diana Farfán, who will be showing her ceramic sculptures with an opening on October 3rd at the Friday Cottage located at the Robert Mills historic neighborhood in downtown Columbia. (1830 Henderson St.) The goal of these events is to increase awareness of the vast variety of cultural expressions of the Latinos in the United States. So, if you are into arts and culture, these are events that are not to be missed!

O

From “We Human Marionettes” Ceramic Sculpture by Diana Farfán For more information or support please contact: Alejandro Garcia at 803.397.7686.

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[listen]

For Mary Elizabeth McDonald, life in the past three years has been marked by monumental moments. She will never forget the feeling of hearing a six-piece band play her music on stage behind her, the first time her song played on the radio, and her father’s last year after he was diagnosed with cancer in October 2006. It seems like someone else’s fictional story, but the truth is that it’s her reality.

Written by Autumn Eckenbrecht, Photography by Travis Teate

orn and raised in Irmo, singer-songwriter Mary Liz, 19, was the kid who was singing since she could talk, playing the piano at age three, and holding concerts in her backyard.

“I’m a strong believer in chasing after your dreams and that society today is kind of—they give up their dreams for what they know is safe, and they’re being led to believe that they can’t make it in what they really want to do,” Mary Liz says. “A lot of people forget about their dreams they had as a kid.”

Her musical career, which began right before her father died in November 2007, got a little more serious when music business partner Chris Greene saw her singing outside in the open less than a year ago.

“It would be at a party or at a club after we were leaving and there were lots of people around. My friends like to take me out and would just be like, ‘She sings! She sings!’” Mary Liz says. “[Greene] heard me sing and came up to me and said, ‘You don’t need to be singing out in the open like this; let me give you my phone number. We need to keep in contact. I’m going to give you some pointers, and I want to listen to your music.”

Since then she’s been living the double-life of student and musician, and when she’s not hiding away in a USC practice room, she’s in the studio.

With no financial backing, playing anything from background music at Willy’s Foxfire Grill to opening up for the So Icy Tour at the Coliseum has become the sole income to support her pursuits. She’s planning on making it in the music industry by age 23—a goal she feels she can conquer, especially after watching her father digress in his last year.

“I feel like I can handle anything after that happened, and if you listen to the words in a lot of my songs, you hear me talking about him,” Mary Liz says.

After her dad was diagnosed, Mary Liz says she was “like a sponge,” taking in as much wisdom from him as she possibly could in light of the possibility that he soon wouldn’t be around to give it anymore.

“He used to always pray—always, and it used to drive me nuts— he would pray, ‘Dear God, I pray that Mary Elizabeth has all the success she can handle,’ and I’m like, why can’t I just have success?

And now that I’m older, I realize what he meant by that,” Mary Liz says. “Sometimes too much success can make you go crazy. It can make you unsuccessful, and you can’t handle everything you have in your future—that’s why you don’t get it unless you work for it.”

After he died, she says she went “full sprint” toward music, knowing it was what her father wanted her to do.

In between school semesters, Mary Liz dedicated all of summer 2009 to music, knowing that soon school would become a priority again.

She sat down and sent her three songs to the 15 DJs she knew.

Brian Paiz from 100.1 The Beat, now a member of her management team, was one of them. When he called to let her know that her song Come Get Me was going to be on the radio, she was elated.

“He told me the time and date and I sat and listened in. It was just me and my mom at home, I was up in my bedroom, and I was just jumping up and down on the bed, screaming, clapping, listening to it,” Mary Liz says. “It was really weird to hear the radio host say, ‘This is Mary Liz, this song is hot!’”

After that, she knew she had a lot more credibility, a lot more to show for the time and energy she had been putting into recording and performing. She goes back and forth to Atlanta—which she describes as “a melting pot of starving artists” and a place where “if

B

you hand a CD to someone they’ll probably hand you one back.”

Mary Liz says she’s a songwriter before a singer, which is surprising to hear if you’ve heard her sing before. With a distinct, smoky voice quality and a resonant sound, it’s not exactly the voice you’d expect to come out of a more unpretentious young woman. She has a big voice, but has great control of it. With inspirations like Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys and Trey Songz, her sound is a mix of R&B, pop and hip-hop, and right now she is working on developing that sound to make it her own.

At her first big show at Headliners this past summer, she was introduced by the emcee as “the princess of R&B,” and ever since then, it’s been an extension of her stage name. Headliners was the first venue where Mary Liz says she “stepped out from behind the keyboard” to sing while a band played her music.

“I got chill bumps throughout every single song,” she says. “It’s one thing to hear an instrumental of your music from a keyboard, and it’s another thing to hear it completely surrounding you, and it’s your music. It’s something I wrote that other people have taken time to hear and play and add their own spin to it, and it was kind of larger than life.”

She won’t play anything she hasn’t written, and she won’t write anything she hasn’t experienced. Most of her writing is about relationships or overcoming obstacles, but she says there’s more depth and keep reading on page 35

[live]

Written by Michele Hardeman

Economy bad, recession, Armageddon, blah blah blah - and now you’re unemployed.

Unemployment could be the best thing to happen to you. Hopefully you have savings and aren’t packing up your hobo sack (although train hopping is certainly a fun way to spend your time). Either way, let’s talk about a few things you can do for fun and/or money. pdate your resume. Keep it short and relevant, free of silly fonts and gimmicks. Google other resumes in your field, to get an idea of the competition – don’t plagiarize, but see how you might improve what you’ve got. Ask friends to take a look for technical errors and overall readability – it must contain the information an employer needs to determine if you’re worth an interview, but you also want it to flow well and be a cohesive statement of who you are, as a potential employee.

U

Bake a pie from scratch. Make tamales (and invite me over for dinner). Get a batch of mead started. Stuff some grape leaves.

Whatever you never have time to make, but have always wanted to try. Get crafty! Melt those record bowls and hand-dye that t-shirt! If you can’t think of a project, peruse the cookbooks and arts&crafts shelves at the library. Discover your knack for Colonial glass etching. If you can get something going, there are many places in town willing to consign with you. Host a potluck craft night (free meal for you) and work on individual projects or learn one new thing together.

Cleanse. “Detox” is all the rage these days, but products claiming to detox or cleanse you are pretty much all bunk. There are no Mr. Clean magic erasers for your colon, and Chinese sticky pads will draw only money from your wallet. Set aside three days, and eat only fruit and vegetables, drink water and herbal (Decaf) tea. No caffeine. No booze. No smoking! Get some yoga DVDs from the library.

If you skip the weight-loss hype and testimonials, 21 Pounds in 21 Days: The Martha’s Vineyard Diet Detox by Roni Deluz has a great program (ask me about my colonic!)

Get some boxes. Start in one corner of one room. Look at each and every thing and ask yourself, “Do I need this?” “Would I rather have this or ten bucks?” Put it in the box. Or, take a picture of it and immediately post it for sale on Craigslist. Then put it in the box. Get up at 5 a.m. on Saturday or Sunday and take all your boxes to the flea market. A table will cost you $12, but you’ll make that in your first hour. Average profit is $100-$200 for five or six hours of standing around drinking coffee. Not to mention the delightful folk you will meet on your flea market adventure. Take anything leftover to a thrift store (His House is right down the road) and get a receipt (to fatten your tax refund, more profit for doing next to no work).

Volunteer. Volunteer work ensures your resume shines. When Potential Boss asks about your down time you have an answer you have a good, interesting, answer (“built homes with Habitat for Humanity” v. “impregnated my fake wife in Fable 2”). Whether it’s feeding/fostering homeless cats (petfinder.com) or something more intensive like being an advocate for an abused child (childadvocate.org), there is no better way to spend your new-found free time than making the world a better place.

Ride the bus. Get your camera, pay ten bucks for ten rides, and explore Columbia like you’ve never seen it. Take your first bus ride and enjoy an opportunity to see the city, rather than the jerk in front of you ignoring the whole turn signal “law.” If you moved here from a Real City revel in the nostalgia of the public transportation you miss. Plan your adventure and coordinate times at gocmrta.com.

Maybe we’ll start a Flickr group, for our adventure’s photos…?

Craigslist. Why Columbia has yet to fully appreciate the fact we’re a featured city is a mystery. Start at the top, looking for a volunteer opportunity, and end at the bottom, deciding whether or not you could diaper a grown man. Start a band.

Fall in love. Laugh at the people thinking they’ll find love. Sell stuff. Get free stuff.

Get a job!! Or be proactive post and pimp yourself out - not in “Misc. Romance,” mind you. What can you do, that people might pay for? Cook? Clean? Fix stuff?

Craigslist offers unlimited – and free! – opportunities.

Go to church. If you don’t have a specific denomination in mind, join Methodists, Wiccans, Buddhists, atheists and the general spiritually-minded at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Shandon. Discuss modern, relevant topics at the 9:30 a.m. forum and stick around for the worship service at 11. A recent remembrance service included George Carlin; this is not the church of your youth so many of you despise! Events ranging from Tai Chi to crafting and contra dance fill the rest of the week, chaliceweb.org/uufc.

Orson Scott Card quipped, “Unemployment is capitalism’s way of getting you to plant a garden.” Whatever you decide to fill your newfound freedom with, make the most of it as a time of person and professional growth - and enjoy it, while it lasts!

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[fashion]

Gown, belt, handbag, shoe, ring, and cardigan: Coplon's.

Earrings and blue topaz ring: Unforgettable.

20

Photography: James Quantz, Styling: Veronica Staub, Hair: Jenny Thompson, Bombshell Studio, Make-up: Lauren Hahn.

See page 34 for complete shop listing.

Sport coat, shirt: Billy Reid Tie: Yves Saint Laurent Vintage Belt, Pant: Revolution Sunglasses: 20!20 Vision Shoes: Bob Ellis

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Trench: Revolution Pant, button-down, vest, and tie: Granger Owings Shoes: Bob Ellis Fedora: vintage Holding bag: Billy Reid

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Coat: M Boutique Blouse and gloves: Coplon's Skirt: Poole Shop Shoes: Kick's Earrings: Unforgettable Bag: Bob Ellis.

26

Suit and button-down: Revolution Tie: Billy Reid Shoes: Bob Ellis Holding shoe: Coplon's

29

Pant and top: Coplon's Shoes: Kick's Earrings: Unforgettable Ring: John Hardy

30

[cruise]

2010 Tesla Roadster Price: Starts at 109,000 HP:248 horses 0-60 in 4 seconds 220 EPA Combined Cycle

2010 Toyota Prius

Features: *full charge in 3.5 hours *electronically activated parking

Price: Starts at 22,000 HP:134 horses 0-60 in 10.1 seconds 51/48 mpg Features: * solar powered sunroof which cools the interior when parked *navigation system with radar based adaptive cruise control that matches your speed to the speed of the driver ahead

How the 2010 Tesla stacks up against the 2010 Prius (Verdict: Classic Turtle and Hare scenario, how much green do you have?)

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Where to Shop Cover Leopard Print Silk Shift Dress by Alexander Wang.

Available at Poole Shop : Charlotte : 704-553-8868 Leather Motorcycle Jacket & Skinny Pant.

Available at Revolution : Charlotte : 704-563-9990 : revolutionshop.net

Congaree Swamp Green Satin Gown by Leem Acra. Cashmere Cardigan by Alberta Ferretti. Black Satin Belt by Oscar de la Renta. Peridot, Diamond, and White Gold Ring by Jude Frances.

Rosette Tote by Valentino. Leopard Pony-Hair Peeptoe Pump by Christian Louboutin.

Available at Coplon's Columbia: 803.790.0015 : Charlotte: 704.643.1113 : Greenville: 864.271.1600 coplons.com Blue Topaz Cocktail Ring and Drop Earrings.

Available at Unforgettable : Columbia: 803.779.3636 : unforgettable-jewelry.com

River Walk Khaki Trench with Lambskin Trim by Mackage. Cashmere Houndstooth Vest with Pockets and Dress Shirt both by Ralph Lauren. Heather Brown Wool Tie by Ralph Lauren Royal Label Collection.

Available at Granger Owings : Columbia : 803.252.6714 : grangerowings.com Brown Degrade Loafer by Prada. / Available at Bob Ellis . Charlotte: 704.366.6686 Charleston: 843.722.2515 bobellisshoes.com Brown "Portfolio" Bag by Billy Reid .

Available at Billy Reid.

Charlotte: 704.365.6311 Charleston: 843.577.3004 Florence, AL: 256.767.4692 New York: 212.598.9355 Dallas: 214.346.0010 Houston: 713.552.0333 billyreid.com

Approaching Columbia Aviator Sunglasses by Gucci.

Available at 20/20 Vision, Columbia : 803.748.9994 Wool Military Sport Coat and "Tuscambia" Dress Shirt by Billy Reid. Tailored Slacks by J. Lindeberg, Revolution . Loafers by Prada, Bob Ellis.

Rosewood Hanger Black cropped wool jacket by Tulle.

Available at M Boutique : Columbia: 803.765.2243 : shopmboutique.com Ruffle T-strap stiletto by L.A.M.B. Available at Kick's.

Columbia: 803.254.3937 : Lexington: 803.957.8892 : shopatkicks.com Cable Cashmere Opera-Length Gloves and Silk "Tree Print" Blouse by Lela Rose, Coplon’s . Lambskin Pleated Skirt by Phillip Lim, Poole Shop.

Python Carry-all by Prada, Bob Ellis

Lady Street Parking Garage Black "Paulie Tux" Suit by J. Lindeberg, Revolution. Classic White Dress Shirt and Crimson Striped Tie by Billy Reid. Black Logo Driver by Prada, Bob Ellis. In model's hand "Tahiti" Silver Glitter Mary-Jane by Jimmy Choo, Coplons

The Moon Silk Jersey "Mindano" Print Pants by Emilio Pucci. Black Silk Folded Collar Blouse by Lela Rose, Coplon’s . Suede Bootie with Floral Embroidered Detail by Tibi, Kick’s. White Gold Hoop Earrings, Unforgettable. Black Sapphire Cocktail Ring, John Hardy, available at Neiman Marcus.

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continued from page 17

poetry to it. When she’s having trouble writing, her antidote is simply to write more.

It’s clear that Mary Liz is ambitious and comfortable with her talent; she’s not one to use false modesty as a disguise for pride. Instead, she’s honest about her potential. And with a management team and plenty of mentors and family members who look out for her, she is fortunate to have avoided being manipulated.

“It’s not hard to get a deal; it’s hard to get the right deal,” she says. “You have to find the people who want to work for your benefit and not just the people who don’t care about you and want to benefit themselves. I’ve had contracts before me, that the second line says, ‘We get 80 percent, you get 20,’ and that’s when you just ball it up and throw it in the trash.”

Despite the setbacks, Mary Liz has no plans of relenting. She’s aiming for that platinum album, and she’s glad to have started here.

“I feel like I’ve gotten a lot of shine out of Columbia because there are a ton of artists, but not a lot are rising to the top. I’m blessed to have been in Columbia because a lot of people get overlooked in other big cities and I haven’t—yet,” Mary Liz says.

“This is just the beginning—I have to keep reminding myself that.”

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[love & money]

hey make some benign comment about men their own age. for instance, in passing, she’ll mention the high-ranking executive with whom she’s recently broken up and how at dinner he once told her she’d look better with more makeup. before you have time to respond, she’ll emit a sound of disgust and say that he lacked spunk and wasn’t spontaneous enough for her.

t

it’s difficult to look at someone close to your mom’s age and tell her, straight out, that it’s her fault she remains single. you want to suggest that maybe if she tried applying some foundation to brighten her skin and subtle eyeshadow to emphasize her eyes, which, admittedly, are really nice, her problems would disappear; perhaps men her age become more rigid because she meets them for dinner with hair disheveled. it’s not as if you believe in anachronistic roles for men and women, you just think it’s polite to look like you put effort into dressing up when you’re eating an expensive meal with someone whom you are affectionate toward. for now you’ll conceal your values and reply with a knowing nod that betrays your youth and tell her that you think she looks fine just the way she is (and, anyway, it’s true).

ing that was originally sold as a shirt. it’s extremely form fitting and features a combination of writing about dark subjects, with some cyrillic thrown in for good measure, and images, including at least one of the following: hawks, swords, religious iconography, or skulls. she talks quickly, with a kind of chirping cadence, in order to confuse you and appear much younger than her years. in short, she is on the prowl. i’ll tell you that all older women do not look like demi moore. but, then again, you yourself are no ashton kutcher, even if you did once bring a picture of him in to your hairstylist. maybe you’re still intrigued. as is said, appearances are not always what they seem. for instance, maybe you don’t realize that two of the toes on mr. kutcher’s left foot are fused together (yeah, i read an unauthorized biography, but not because i’m obsessed with him or anything).

look at this from another angle though. for a moment, take the view that the woman who is asking you about her appearance is not only close to your mom’s age but is hypersexual. suddenly you’re no longer merely giving her relationship advice. instead you’re playing an awkward game of cat and mouse where the mouse (you) is blind and the cat’s house smells like cheese (i know, it’s a terrible comparison and worse simile, but work with me on this).

i’m still going to attempt to dissaude you from continuing when she denounces men her age, not because i necessarily think persuing her is a bad idea, but, more so, because i like assuming the role of the voice of reason. in the future, simply tell her to keep putting herself out there, sooner or later she’ll find someone who can match her spontaneity and overall lust for life. it’s not you, though, so excuse yourself and walk away. do not, under any circumstances, stick around as she tells you she lives in the same building as your friend and then suggests that you knock on her door the next time you visit. whatever you do, don’t joke with her. she has no time for humor. don’t tell her that one of the biggest draws of your friend’s apartment is that he has a drum set and ask if hers has similar amenities.

by day, she works as a physician or lawyer or widow with inherited fortunes (she’ll let you know which is the case as soon as you begin talking with her), but at night she wears as a dress a piece of cloth-

she’ll smile, the wrinkles around her mouth and eyes resembling a map of tributaries leading into the mississippi river, “oh, so you’re looking for something to bang.”

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Timeless Design Creative Collaboration 803.708.4770 2101 Main Street, Suite J – Columbia

modelhouseint.com stir

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[review]

Written by Michele Hardeman

odybuilders, drag queens and those with full facial tattoos:

B

Modify (2005) is an 85-minute documentary about the spectrum of body modification (the permanent or semi-perma-

nent deliberate altering of the human body for non-medical reasons) beyond the societal, superficial clichés of tattoos and piercings. Body modification, old as civilization itself, started as a way to honor, memorialize and celebrate. Though such communal rituals may be all but obsolete in American culture, each person choosing to modify their physical appearance, whether it be metal through the skin, plastic bags of gelatin under the skin or color tattooed in the skin has their own reasons/justification. Here, Modify serves as an open door into the hearts and minds of folks that otherwise are treated as “freak shows” and “Satan.”

Interviews with those on the receiving end (such as the notorious Lizardman) and the providing end (a famous plastic surgeon, “body art” pioneers and visionaries) are spliced with surgical footage of liposuction, tongue bifurcation, breast augmentation and more, providing a visceral approach to the hows and whys of the personal choices some make concern-

Modify is decidedly one-sided. There are none interviewed

ing their appearance. Is it art? Is it mutila-

who provide a counterpoint to the film’s motif, best evident

tion? Is it necessary? Why would someone

in its tagline, “No one should dictate to me what I can or

spend hours a day, thousands (upon thou-

cannot do with my body.” Several interviewees seem on

sands) of dollars creating an unnatural body

the defense-understandable in a society that does not

(whether with exaggerated muscle mass or a

look kindly on those uninterested in the status quo. The

sex-change operation)? How is removing your

discrimination they face from the general public is

body hair, because it makes you feel more com-

touched upon, briefly. “I’m just a regular guy with a family,”

fortable in your skin any different than Stalking

shrugs a young man with subdermal horns on his forehead. Those

Tiger replacing all this teeth with custom-made fangs, in his quest to

already understanding of such decisions will enjoy the footage of var-

feel “himself?”

ious suspension performances and hearing Steve Haworth (just one

Modify is not easy to watch. The directors filmed several surger-

example) discuss how the idea for subdermal implantations came to

ies (one director passed out during a shoot) and body modification

him. Not a documentary on body modification as a whole, Modify

procedures, threading them with the interviews and philosophical

offers a personal, point-of-view exploration of the many ways humans

waxing. Upon discussing why someone would want to split their

can opt to stretch their physical (and often spiritual) boundaries,

tongue in half, you watch as it becomes reality. It is bloody. It is grue-

pushing far beyond common notions of beauty, pain and what is

some. It is fascinating, what the human body is capable of, and what

“normal.”

humans are capable of thinking of, to do to their bodies.

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[happy hour] Meeting someone for happy hour and not sure where to go?

Look no further than stir’s happy hour listing – a rotating collection of our favorite Columbia happy hours.

Drink up!

Downtown The Whig 1200 Main St, 931-8852 thewhig.org Mon-Fri 5-8pm: $1 off drafts, house liquor and wine

SakiTumi 807 Gervais St, 931-0700 sakitumigrill.com Mon-Fri 4:30-7pm: $2 crab, salmon, cucumber & asparagus sushi rolls / $4 pomegranate martinis, $2 dom beer

White Mule 1530-D Main St, 661-8199 thewhitemule.com Mon-Sat 5 - until

Five Points

The Vista

Delaney’s

blue.

721-A Lady St, 251-4447 Mon-Fri 4-8pm: $0.50 off all alcohol

741 Saluda Ave, 779-2345, delaneyspub.com Mon-Fri 4-7pm: $1 off most beers and liquor

Flying Saucer

Goatfeathers

931 Senate St, 933-9997 beerknurd.com Tue-Thu 4-7pm and Fri 4-8pm

Pawleys 827 Harden St, 771-8001

2017 Devine St, 256-3325 Mon-Fri 5:30-8pm: 25% off food, variety of discounts on all alcohol

Gervais and Vine 620-A Gervais St, 799-8463 gervine.com Mon-Fri 5-6pm: $2 off all tapas / $1 off all drinks

Jake’s Bar & Grill 2112 Devine St, 252-5253 Mon-Fri 4-7pm: $1 off liquor, $0.50 off beer

1001 Washington St, 254-4464 Mon-Fri 4-8pm: $2 bourbon, $3 aluminum bottles, $10 Long Island Tea pitchers

Liberty 828 Gervais St, 461-4677 libertytaproom.com Mon-Fri 4-7pm

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Cock ‘n Bull 2910 Rosewood Dr, 251-4474 Mon-Fri 4-7pm: $1 off drafts and liquor

Diannes on Devine 2400 Devine St, 254-3535 diannesondevine.com Mon-Fri 5-7pm & Wed all night: Half price house wine / $0.50 oysters on the half shell (Wed only)

Granvilles 2865 Devine St, 799-3277 granvillescafeandcatering.com Mon-Fri 4-7pm

Yo Burrito 2631 Devine St, 799-7579 yoburrito.com Mon-Fri 4-7pm: $3 margaritas, $5 mason jar margaritas, $12 mexi beer buckets

Forest Acres Village Idiot

Kelly’s

Shandon/ Rosewood

2009 Devine St, 252-8646 villageidiotpizza.com Mon-Fri 4-7pm: $1 cheese pizza slices, $0.40 wings / $2.25 domestics, $2.75 imports, $3.50-$4.50 pitchers

Bonefish Grill 4708 Forest Dr, 787-6200 bonefishgrill.com

Rosso 4840 Forest Dr, 787-3949 rossocolumbia.com

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[accessorize]

The Jacket: Ballin sport coat, the latest in fashion innovation.

Inspired by denim, this “washed wool” garment is specially engineered to provide the best in performance and comfort, characterized by it’s ability to move and breathe.

Available at Brittons : 2818 Devine St : 771.2700 : brittonsofcolumbia.com

The Jacket: Corneliani brown quilted “ID Jacket”.

Handcrafted and tailored to perfection with hand cut seaming and ample pocket room. Cashmere-wool blend fabric made exclusively from prized yarns.

Available at Granger Owings : 1333 Main St : 252.6714 : grangerowings.com

Denim

Apparel

Shoes

Jewelry

803.256.3255 713 Saluda Ave 5 Points Columbia, SC Greenville, SC l The Shops at Western Plaza, Knoxville, TN l Athens, GA l Birmingham, AL

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