Metro Spirit 01.15.2004

METRO SPIRIT Jan. 15-21 Vol. 15 No. 24

Augusta’s Independent Voice

21 — Kevn Kinney

at the Soul Bar

28 — Baker

Overstreet Exhibit

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Contents Metro Spirit

M E T R O S P I R I T

J A N U A R Y 1 5 - 2 1 • F R E E W E E K LY • M E T R O S P I R I T. C O M

ON THE COVER

The Birth of a King

By Stacey Eidson

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Cover Design: Natalie Holle Photo Credit: Charles Moore/Martin Luther King Jr., National Historic Site

By Stacey Eidson

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Opinion Whine Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 This Modern World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Letter to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Insider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

• Residential and Commercial loans • Pre-approvals for purchases - know your payment • Conventional and Sub-prime • Rate and Term Refinance • No-Income verification • Self-Employed • Rates as low as 3.25%* • Debt Consolidation • VA/Specialty programs • Member of the Augusta BBB

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Metro Wachovia’s $4 Fee Upsets Commission .10

Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee #11800 Rates change daily, call for current rates

Bite

2 FOR 1

Zany Décor, Great Homemade Food Distinguish Yo Pizza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Events

Two Artists, Two Exhibits . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Two Artists, Two Exhibits . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Cinema Movie Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Close-Up: Ben Stiller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Review: “Along Came Polly” . . . . . . . . . .34 Movie Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Music Kevn Kinney Plays Solo at the Soul Bar . .21 Funky Mellow Mushroom Offers More Than Just Pizza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 In The Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Music by Turner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Music Minis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Night Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Stuff News of the Weird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Brezsny’s Free Will Astrology . . . . . . . . .43 New York Times Crossword Puzzle . . . . .43 Amy Alkon: The Advice Goddess . . . . . . .44 Date Maker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

EDITOR & PUBLISHER David Vantrease ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Rhonda Jones STAFF WRITERS Stacey Eidson, Brian Neill ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Joe White ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Kriste Lindler PRODUCTION MANAGER Joe Smith GRAPHIC ARTISTS Stephanie Bell, Natalie Holle, Erin Lummen ACCOUNTING MANAGER/CLASSIFIEDS Sharon King ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ASSISTANT Lisa Jordan SENIOR MUSIC CONTRIBUTOR Ed Turner CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Amy Alkon, Joey Berlin, Rob Brezsny, Amy Fennell Christian, Rachel Deahl, Chuck Shepherd CARTOONIST Tom Tomorrow

METRO SPIRIT is a free newspaper published weekly on Thursday, 52 weeks of the year. Editorial coverage includes arts, local issues, news, entertainment, people, places and events. In our paper appear views from across the political and social spectrum. The views do not necessarily represent the views of the publishers. Visit us at www.metrospirit.com. Copyright © Metro Spirit, Inc. Reproduction or use without permission is prohibited. Phone: (706) 738-1142 Fax: (706) 733-6663 E-mail: spirit@metrospirit.com Letters to the Editor: P.O. Box 3809, Augusta, Ga. 30914-3809

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P

ersonally, I do not see what the big deal is: If the X-Mart on Gordon Highway offends you in any way, shape or form, get over it. You do not have to shop there. If the mere site of the store causes you strife, it will be OK. Simply take an alternate route to your destination or, if it is remotely possible with your closed minds, imagine it doesn’t even exist.

People have a right to shop at X-Mart if it tickles their fancy and, for many customers, it does.

Could someone explain the sea gulls in the K-Mart parking lot?

Has anyone else noticed the suspicious nature of a story that casually hit the news last week? The one about the ban on that diet supplement, ephedra. Isn’t it a blatant hypocrisy to, at the stroke of a pen and a press conference, declare it banned because it, quote, “Poses an unacceptable health risk to Americans”?

Hey, what about tobacco or alcohol, you idiots! There’s something fishy about this. Granted, there may have been deaths and adverse reactions from it, but I’ll bet my last buck that’s because people were taking five times more than they should have. But here’s the kicker. The day after the ban was announced, they said they’re going after all dietary and health supplements that may not be, quote, “Safe or effective.” Hmm. Sounds to me like the government wants to shut down a billion-dollar industry because their federal fingers aren’t getting a piece of the pie. (Does this mean all those penis enlargement ads will finally go away?)

It appears that Columbia County Commissioner Tom Mercer waffled again. This time it was the fire tax issue.

Mercer continues to speak and act in opposite directions. Remember the separate Chamber of Commerce, the renovation of the rain tax and now the fire tax.

Mercer says one thing and then does the opposite. He needs to be gone the soonest so we can try to get a replacement with integrity!

To all the satellite radio fans, beware. It looks great right now, but I can see a change coming. We were promised the same thing with cable television. No more commercials. When I grew up, television was free. All you needed was an antenna on the roof and you were watching TV. Then, we were sold on the idea of paying for television and not having to watch all those ads. With the exception of HBO, ShowTime, etc, all of the other channels are airing commercials, lots of them, and we pay the cable companies every month for them.

The cover photo of you Jan. 1 issue shows one of the two Petersburg boats filled with passengers who are not wearing life jackets. I guess the boats are unsinkable since they cost a total of $500,000, paid for by a grant from the Federal Transportation Enhancement Act (money from the taxpayers).

Well, once again Channel 12 has done it.

“CBS Sunday Morning” disappeared from the air after 45 minutes and 70 minutes later, the station is back on the air, just before the high-paying First Baptist Church service. To think that this station wants us to invest tens of thousands of dollars in high definition TV to get their lousy program choices.

There they go again, shutting down Central Avenue at the Water Works.

Don’t those lamebrains know that if

Words “This team can be as good as it wants to be. If we work hard and dedicate ourselves in the off-season, we can be one of the best teams in Georgia history.”

— University of Georgia defensive end, David Pollack, quoted in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, at a press conference to announce he was passing up a nearly guaranteed first-round pick in the NFL draft to finish out his senior year at UGA.

someone really wanted to poison the water supply they’d do it regardless?

Closing down that block helps nothing. I saw several places where someone could very easily slip through on foot, which is more than likely how they would do it anyway. Hell, no one drinks tap water anyhow, so unless they put something in it to turn all our butts blue when we shower, there really isn’t a problem.

Paranoia. I love it.

I can’t understand our reporters. I read a news report about our soldiers stating; “They can’t pay me enough!” This was in reference to a bonus they’d receive for

staying on in areas such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Reports like these exaggerate the truth, demoralizing our troops. The reporters failed to mention the percentage of those complaining. I’d like to see all of our soldiers return home soon. In the meantime, our soldiers need positive reinforcement. They’re doing a great job!

It would be much less expensive to fire Kolb and pay out the remainder of his contract than let him continue in a job he is unable to handle. He seems to always be a day late and a dollar short. Things have been going further down hill since he became administrator. Why did we let

a good administrator go for this egomaniac? There doesn’t seem to be an issue he doesn’t want to argue with his bosses about. This constant turmoil and lack of leadership must stop. I hope the supposed Public Works director gets a pink slip right along with Kolb. Wake up commissioners and look at all the money these incompetents are costing us.

I’d like to say thanks to Martha Burk and invite her back again this year. For the first time, I was able to watch the Master’s on TV without interruptions from Corporate America telling me that I owed it to myself as a middle-aged snob to drive a Cadillac or how the insurance conglomerate has blocked all healthcare reform in this country.

Also, how ridiculously overcharged the clients dumb enough to use their brokerage services are looking out for me. I hear rumors that this year we’ll have another Master’s without commercials.

Wow, more golf! Keep up the good work, Martha, and ya’ll come back now, ya hear?

Now that Ron Cross, chairman of the Columbia County Commission, is one slick politician. In his state of the county letter, he said there has been a “balanced budget for five years without a millage rate increase.” But what he omitted is that property assessments have risen significantly, 3-7%, every year. Too bad Cross lacks straightforward honesty. And he’s only been in office a year!

After 10 years on the Columbia County Commission, Diane Ford has finally been elected to a leadership position — vice chairman. Is that because the hate and anger from a small group of renegade Republicans has been laid to rest, or is the move to Ford just to let Mercer out of the limelight during the year he runs for reelection? Whichever the case, the overall effect will be minimal if waffle-man Mercer gets reelected!

What Augusta needs is a makeover from the Fab Five of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.”

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Yeah, Scott Peterson’s innocent. He goes fishing. His wife and newborn baby’s bodies wash up on shore a few days later.

Then he takes off with over $50,000 cash. He’s innocent. I’m Elvis.

These cell phones are getting ridiculous.

At first it was just people driving with their phones attached to their ears, oblivious to the traffic around them. You would think that if phones belonged on the road, pay phones would be found in the middle of the road instead of safely to the side. Then comes the person who must walk around in public having conversations at their normal voice volume.

Again, pay phones are found in public places off to the side out of everybody else’s way. Now you have these same cell

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continued from page 5 phone users with these oh so cool ring tones that must let their phone ring at maximum volume just because they like the sound of their rings. People, get a clue. If talking to your friends and family at all hours is necessary, be a little oldfashioned and visit them. The rest of us don’t want to be bothered with your social life.

Columbia County Chairman Ron Cross has done it again. This time he doublecrossed the voters. First, he said he would look for ways to reduce taxes when he ran for office. Then, he raised assessments, which was a tax increase.

Now, he’s squarely behind raising taxes to support the fire departments. The fire tax will evolve into another rain tax fiasco unless the commission keeps the fire tax as an impressed fund, solely for fire department support. But I don’t think the leadership has the moral courage to do the right thing.

I’ve gotta give props to the toughs who drive their parents’ SUVs to the coffee shop and hang out smoking and glaring at people. Why you so hard, playa? Tennis lessons too early in the morning for you?

I don’t see dead people but something much worse. I see 35-year-old single mothers embracing the baby tee and lowslung pants complimenting it with a bad perm and a Marlboro.

I left Augusta eight years ago, after many years of being involved in the local music scene. At the time, one couldn’t walk two blocks without tripping over a world-class musician, songwriter or band. When I returned here last year, I fully expected to find this phenomenon either totally dead or, at best, reduced to a pale phantom of its former glory. Imagine my surprise! Hats off to Joe Stevenson, Coco Rubio, Russ Yeargin, Ed Turner and all the great local bands making superb original music. You keep the sacred flame alive, guys. From deep in the vaults of the voodoo museum, thanks.

— Call our Whine Line at 510-2051 and leave your comments. We won’t use your name. Fax your whines by dialing (706) 733-6663 or e-mail your whines to whine@metrospirit.com.

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Finally, an under-represented minority on the Augusta Commission has finally found seats on the board: Women.

For too long, it seems, more than any other perceived differences, the commission has suffered from male egos trying to outdo each other. Not since consolidation took place in 1996 has a woman served on the body.

Hopefully, the recent additions of Betty

Beard and Barbara Sims will add some temperance to the board’s tone and some thoughtfulness to its discourse.

As one observer noted, shortly after the two women’s appointments to the board, the move would hopefully serve to significantly “lower the testosterone level” of the board, thus resulting in better decisions.

One hopes, anyway.

Thumbs Down The impending onslaught of high-profile court cases headed our way to compete with the already mind-numbing coverage of Britney’s various suitors and wardrobe changes. Just think. We’ll have Scott Peterson, Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Martha Stewart. Actor Robert Blake is still waiting in the wings, as is musician and record producer Phil Spector.

So sit back and enjoy the show and don’t worry about things like ensuring the existence of Social Security, how much money we’re funneling to Iraq, poor health care or the myriad other important topics that seem to elude Diane Sawyer’s misty, Vaseline-filtered eyes.

“Mary Hart, what’s tonight’s top story?”

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Truth is stranger than fiction!

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Request for Proposals HOPE VI Application Preparation and Consulting Implementation The Housing Authority of the City of Augusta, Georgia (AHA) is seeking a company, firm or consulting team to assist in the preparation of a 2004 HOPE VI application and on-going program services for the revitalization of Gilbert Manor, Project GA06P001003R, a low-rent public housing development consisting of 278 units. An original and two copies of a proposal in response to the Request for Proposals shall be submitted no later than 4:00 PM on February 4, 2004 to Jacob L. Oglesby, Executive Director, Augusta Housing Authority, J. Madden Reid Administrative Building, 1425 Walton Way, Augusta, Georgia 30901. Please visit our web page at www.augustapha.org to access the Request for Proposals.

Jacob L. Oglesby Executive Director Dear Editor, The decision made a few weeks ago by Augusta commissioners to build the new $74 million judicial center on contaminated property crisscrossed by railroad tracks should be reconsidered. There have been at least five locations recently discussed and it seems that Augusta commissioners won’t select the best location for the new courthouse.

The Richmond County Board of Education’s renovation of the H.L. Green and Davison’s buildings got me thinking that maybe there might be another large building that could be renovated into the new courthouse. The vacant J.C. Penny building on the 700 block of Broad Street should be considered as a possible location.

This Broad Street building has been vacant for over 20 years. Other than the

Executive House Augusta Hotel (now the Ramada Plaza Hotel), I can’t think of any large, new construction on Broad Street. It looks the same as it did 30 years ago. Broad Street needs another major new development such as the judicial center.

The J.C. Penny building would need major renovations, and additional floors constructed to get the 300,000 square feet required. A three level parking deck is also located directly behind the building. This looks like a solution that might benefit Augusta the most.

Over 700 people a day will occupy the new courthouse. Downtown merchants will happily welcome them into their stores and restaurants.

— Michael Teffeteller Evans

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Opinion: Insider

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Augusta Commission Love Fest?

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T

he first meeting of the Augusta Commission in 2004 had all the outward signs of a love fest.

Unanimous votes, the historymaking swearing in of two women as members (the first two under consolidation) and the compromise election of Commissioner Willie Mays as mayor pro tem combined to give the appearance that commissioners suddenly had a change of heart, putting aside the bickering that often characterizes commission meetings. Not exactly.

While everyone in Richmond County wants to believe there is a newfound civility emerging from the marble palace, it is doubtful this will last. Now, The Insider definitely desires a peaceful and cooperative Betty Beard new year downtown. Our city needs a good year. It’s just a little too early to expect that the death of Commissioner Lee Beard (District 1) and the appointment of Commissioner Steve Shepard (District 3) to the city attorney position, which led to the unanimous appointment of Beard’s wife Betty Beard and newcomer Barbara Sims as commissioners from the respective districts, will negate the hard feelings and rabid disagreements that have developed over the last few months. Yes, two women on the commission will result in a new dynamic that could tone down the unruly tongues of commissioners, but the bottom line is that any real changes could be superficial. Let’s hope not but we’ll see.

Pro Tem Battle and Lingering Bad Blood Commissioners Marion Williams (District 2) and Bobby Hankerson (District 5) fought bitterly for the mayor pro tem position. It was described by one commissioner as a blood feud. The only reason Mays Bobby Hankerson was selected is that neither Williams nor Hankerson wanted the other to get the job and wouldn’t budge from their positions. The deal was cut just minutes prior to the first meeting of the year.

Hankerson angered several black politicians for seeking the mayor pro tem

position. Hankerson is in his first term and many black pols thought secondterm commissioner Williams was entitled to the position. Hankerson may have hurt himself within the black community.

There is no doubt that he hurt himself among his fellow black commissioners.

Raw feelings remain. Keep an eye on how this plays out.

Zetterberg For Commission? Not So Fast.

After becoming city attorney, Steve Shepard’s District 3 commission seat was vacated. In the first commission meeting of the year Barbara Sims was selected by commissioners to fill Rob Zetterberg Shepard’s seat until a special election can be held in July. Sims has indicated she will run for the seat.

Former Augusta Commissioner Rob Zetterberg’s name has surfaced as another potential candidate. Zetterberg preceded Shepard as commissioner from the district. Therein lies Zetterberg’s problem.

Zetterberg was a darling of conservative Republicans during his term in office. After serving one term, he qualified for a second. Shepard, a lifelong Democrat, challenged him. Then, after the qualifying deadline for the election had passed, Zetterberg dropped out of the race, leaving the seat to Shepard and leaving Republicans without a candidate. Needless to say, Republicans were miffed and they haven’t forgotten the incident.

Zetterberg has been virtually inactive in local political circles for five years.

While he has a residence in Augusta, he also has a residence in another state and spends several months a year away from Augusta. Sims, on the other hand, is the clear choice of Richmond County Republicans, has been very active in Republican politics and will have support of the Republican establishment in a solid Republican-leaning district. Plus, she’ll attract many female voters.

While Zetterberg did a good job as a commissioner, his time has passed as far as the commission is concerned.

— The views expressed in this column are the views of The Insider and do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher.

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MetroBeat

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Wachovia’s $4 Fee Upsets Commission

By Stacey Eidson

J

udging from several of the Augusta commissioners’ reactions over a new fee implemented by Wachovia Bank, some commissioners may rename the bank, Walk-all-over-ya.

But according to bank representatives, it’s just a big misunderstanding.

At the beginning of the year, Wachovia informed city officials that it will begin charging Augusta-Richmond County employees who do not have a checking account established at any bank a $4 fee to cash their paychecks.

City Administrator George Kolb told the Augusta Commission’s finance committee on Jan. 12 that Wachovia representatives said this new fee is necessary due to the number of city employees without checking accounts tying up lines at the bank.

“There are about 300 employees in that category,” Kolb said. “And what they’re telling us is that they require additional personnel to handle the volume.”

Augusta Commissioner Marion Williams said that he had received several calls from distraught employees who were outraged that they had to pay $4 to receive money they had earned working for the city.

“Now, I understand that a lot of these people who don’t have checking accounts have been told if they open a checking account with Wachovia, then they won’t have to pay a fee,” Williams said. “Well, if I don’t want to bank with you, but your bank writes the checks for the company I work for, then I think you should cash my check without penalizing me.

“I mean, if we gave our low workers an $8 dollar raise, the bank is going to take $4 every time they go cash their checks,” Williams added. “That’s crazy.”

Augusta-Aiken Wachovia President Paul Menk said in a telephone interview following the finance committee meeting that he agreed to meet with city officials on Jan. 13 to come up with a viable solution.

Following that meeting, the bank has decided to suspend the $4 fee for one year.

“Our policy is that non-customers have to pay that fee, but what I don’t think the commissioners realized is that their employees can open up a free checking account or we have a product called Pay Access where customers can basically get their money out with an ATM card and all those options cost the employee nothing,” Menk said. “I think what has happened is we communicated with the city, but we should have talked with each commissioner. I think it’s a good case where they didn’t have all the facts.”

However, during the Jan. 12 meeting,

“If your money cannot get you respect, nothing else you’ve got will get you any.”

— Augusta Commissioner Willie Mays

Kolb tried to explain to commissioners that the city agreed to provide employees with information about Wachovia’s free checking account so that they can avoid paying the $4 fee.

“I don’t know what else to do at this point,” Kolb said. “We can just take our money from Wachovia, but that’s a very long process.”

Augusta Commissioner Willie Mays told Kolb that was complete hogwash.

“It would take 10 minutes Mr. Kolb,” Mays said, raising his voice. “Now, I would agree, if we were just housing a personal savings account with Wachovia with only a few dollars over there, maybe we couldn’t do much about any additional fees. But I took the liberty to check how much money we have over there, and I think it’s anywhere from $28 million to $30 million.

“If you can’t get a particular level of service from any institution housing eight figures of your money, then I don’t know what does get their attention.”

Mays said the city should not be intimidated by Wachovia’s complaints about long lines and the need for additional personnel.

“If the commission deems it necessary that you have unsatisfactory service at a bank, you can move the money as long as there is not a penalty on the money and the accounts that you have there,” Mays said. “Personally, I think the city should first have a conversation with Wachovia and try to work this out, but I think you also ought to be talking to some other folks who might like to have $29 million

or so in their bank.”

Augusta Commissioner Betty Beard agreed with Mays, saying that the bank is unfairly punishing the city employees.

“We all know the economy is bad now and banks are trying to get money any way that they can,” she said, adding that the city should be using its monetary influence with the bank to help relieve the financial burden on city employees.

Kolb explained that he believed that the city could renegotiate its saving accounts with Wachovia sometime this year, but moving the city’s money wasn’t as simple as just picking up the phone.

“There is a whole lot involved in moving money from a bank,” Kolb said. “It takes about a year to really adequately move money around.”

Mays told the commission that Kolb needed to check his facts.

“That is absolutely not correct,” Mays said. “Six votes can move it. It does not take the rest of this year to deal with inadequate service. If you believe it does, not only do we need another bank, we need new folks making the decisions on who deals with the banks.

“Because if your money cannot get you respect, nothing else you’ve got will get you any.”

Williams pointed out that less than four years ago when the city decided to move several millions of dollars in the city’s Link Deposit program from local banks, former City Administrator Randy Oliver moved the money all in one day.

“Our money was moved in 10 minutes with a call on the telephone,” Williams said.

“Now, maybe Mr. Kolb don’t know how to do it. But I can get him in touch with a man who did it and had no problems.”

Waiting a whole year to correct this situation was out of the question, Williams said.

“When you have people working from payday to payday, $4 is a lot of money,” Williams said. “I don’t have $4 to give to the bank when I cash my checks, so I know that they don’t have it. So, we need to address that right away.”

While Augusta Commissioner Don Grantham said he understood the other commissioners’ frustration over the $4 fee, he thought the city must realize they could face being financially penalized by Wachovia if they try to immediately move the city’s money from the bank.

“We are not all in the banking business,” Grantham said to his colleagues. “And I know you can move money around, but a lot of times when you make deposits, you obligate those funds for a certain period of time. And when you do that, you just can’t go and start yanking money out of the bank without a big penalty.”

Mays agreed that the city should move the money if Wachovia refuses to permanently drop the $4 fee and there is not a major penalty involved.

“When we moved the Link Deposit money the last time, we moved every penny and didn’t lose a dime,” Mays said.

“The only people who cried were the ones who had it and lost it.”

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The

BIRTH of a KING

By Stacey Eidson

Photos by Brian Neill The newly renovated neon sign outside of Ebenezer Baptist Church.

O

n Jan. 15, 1929, in a small upstairs bedroom of a two-story Victorian home located at 501 Auburn Avenue in downtown Atlanta, a King was born.

Martin Luther King Jr. – originally given the birth name of “Michael” until renamed Martin in 1934 – was one of three children of Martin Luther King Sr., pastor of neighboring

Ebenezer Baptist Church, and his wife, Alberta Williams King.

Known by the family as “M. L.,” Martin Luther King Jr. was the middle child in a close-knit household that often welcomed a number of extended family members into the home, including his maternal grandparents, a great aunt and an uncle.

While the rest of the world knows Martin Luther King Jr. as one of the most influential civil rights leaders in

American history, his older sister, Christine King Farris, hopes that as the nation celebrates her brother’s 75th birthday this year, people will also stop to remember the more human side of King.

Farris fears that, as the years pass since the assassination of her brother in 1968, many will forget that King was a spirited young boy from Atlanta who grew up to be a great man.

“My concern is that young people see Martin as an icon and that he’s way up

beyond their reach,” said Farris, during a recent visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta. “I want them to understand that he was once a child, just like them, who occasionally got into mischief like everyone else.

“I’m interested in teaching young people about Martin so they will be able to share and have some understanding of the past. I want them to know that he grew up just as they grew up and that he was a real person.”

In 1980, King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, was successful in convincing thenPresident Jimmy Carter to sign legislation creating the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site and Preservation District as a part of the National Park Service in honor of the King legacy.

The 23-acre park located east of downtown Atlanta includes the preservation of the King family home on Auburn Avenue; the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church where three generations of King’s family preached; Fire Station No. 6, the oldest remaining fire station in Atlanta and the first to become integrated in the city; and a reflecting pool where Martin Luther King Jr. is entombed.

All of these sites are free and open to the public to visit and learn about the history of Martin Luther King Jr. Each year more than 650,000 visitors come to visit the King Center, but along with having the opportunity to tour this historic site, Farris decided she also wanted to lend her own voice to the memory of her brother.

In order to help preserve the story of her brother’s childhood, Farris has written a book entitled “My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing Up With the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” published by Simon & Schuster Books.

In this children’s book, Farris tells stories of how she and her two younger brothers, Martin and Alfred Daniel or

“A. D.,” were like many curious sibling trios, known for occasionally stirring up a little trouble.

“Our best prank involved a fur piece that belonged to our grandmother,” Farris writes in her book, beautifully illustrated by artist Chris Soentpiet. “It looked almost alive with its tiny feet and little head and gleaming glass eyes.

“So, every once in a while, in the waning light of evening, we’d tie that fur piece to a stick, and hiding behind the hedge in front of our house, we would dangle it in front of unsuspecting passersby.”

But Farris’ book also deals with the realities of the times, telling the story of how their predominately black neighborhood in Atlanta, known as “Sweet Auburn,” sheltered her family from much of the negative, racial attitudes in the South.

It wasn’t until two white childhood friends, whose father owned a neighborhood convenience store, were told not to play with the King children that they began to realize the truth about segregation.

“The thought of not playing with those kids because they were different, because they were white and we were black, never entered our minds,” Farris writes. “Looking back, I realize that it was only a matter of time before the generations of cruelty and injustice that Daddy and Mother Dear and Mama and Aunt Ida had been shielding us from

13 M E T R O S P I R I T J A N 1 5 2 0 0 4

“During the civil rights movement, under my husband’s leadership, Ebenezer became the symbol of struggle, freedom and liberation.”

– Coretta Scott King, widow of Martin Luther King Jr.

continued on page 14

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broke through. But back then it was a crushing blow that seemed to come out of nowhere.”

These are the childhood experiences that shaped her brother into the powerful leader that he became, Farris said.

“I want these memories to be available for generations to come,” Farris said, adding that after the death of her father in 1985, she, at age 76, is the last living family member that grew up in the house on Auburn Avenue. “So, when I’m not here anymore, I don’t want to leave things open to interpretation. I want people to remember Martin the way he truly was, because he’s more than a symbol. He was my brother.”

Home Sweet Auburn Standing on the porch of the King family’s Sweet Auburn home on a cold January afternoon, Park Ranger Khaalid Geter tells a group of 15 area students and teachers to make sure to notice the renovated shotgun-style homes across the street.

“When you stand on this porch and look out, you will see essentially what Dr. King saw when he was growing up on Auburn Avenue more than 60 years ago,” Geter said. “The King birth home was built in 1895, but Dr. King’s grandfather, the Rev. A.D. Williams, didn’t purchase the home until 1909. The cost of the home was about $3,500.”

Williams actually served as pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church prior to his sonin-law, Martin Luther King Sr., taking over after Williams’ death in 1931.

As the visitors are led into the Queen Anne-style house, many comment on the large size of the home, which includes five bedrooms, a large porch, 12-foothigh ceilings and a modern coal furnace in the basement.

The tour begins in the parlor of the home with a story that, according to Geter, came straight from King’s sister, Farris, herself.

“Here is the parlor where the young boys, M. L. and A.D., used to terrorize their piano teacher by loosening the legs of the piano bench so that when the teacher sat on the bench, it would fall to the floor,” Geter said, as several children on the tour giggled. “They even took a hammer and beat on top of the piano so that the piano would play out of tune.”

Geter pointed to the family piano in the corner of the parlor and asked a young girl in the crowd if she noticed anything strange about it.

The child just shyly laughed and glanced up at her teacher.

“If you look right above the piano bench, you’ll see that one key is actually chipped and broken,” Geter said.

“Because, of course, when you beat a piano with the hammer, you are going to break some of the keys right? That’s what A.D. did to that piano.”

The only song that the two King boys learned to play on the piano, Geter said, was “Moonlight Sonata.”

“So every time a special guest came into the home, that’s the one song that

they played because that was the only song they knew,” Geter said.

As the tour reached Farris’ childhood room, Geter said that, despite Martin Luther King Jr.’s dedication to nonviolent protest of discrimination in the South, King wasn’t always so peaceful.

“Martin used to take the legs and arms off of his sister’s dolls,” Geter said, smiling. “He even twisted their heads off and used them as baseballs. So, that’s an example of him not always being nonviolent.”

One of the most profound moments on the tour is when visitors are invited to

dream for equality.

In the 1998 autobiography developed from King’s writings by editor Clayborne Carson, King describes how both of his parents wanted their children to grow up with confidence, despite all odds.

“My mother taught me that I should feel a sense of ‘somebodiness,’ but that on the other hand I had to go out and face a system that stared me in the face every day saying you are ‘less than,’ you are ‘not equal to,’” King wrote. “She made it clear that she opposed this system and that I must never allow it to make me feel inferior. Then she said the

Auretha and Jethro English

“I remember the people crying (at King’s funeral). They just cried and cried. People, everywhere, were saying, “What are we going to do?’

The only thing I could say is, ‘He’s gone, but he would want us to go on.’”

– Jethro English, a member of Ebenezer Baptist Church look into the master bedroom upstairs.

“This is Dr. King’s parents’ bedroom and this is where all three of their children were born,” Geter said. “They were actually born in this very room.”

Because Farris arrived a little earlier than expected in 1927, the family hadn’t purchased a crib for the baby yet.

“So, she actually slept in a dresser drawer in the bedroom until a crib could be purchased a few days later,” Geter said. “Fortunately, by the time Martin was born in here, there was a crib already ready to go.”

From the tour, visitors can get a genuine understanding of how the King family played a significant role in helping form Martin Luther King Jr.’s

words that almost every Negro hears before he can yet understand the injustice that makes them necessary: ‘You are as good as anyone.’”

King described his father, a sharecropper’s son from Stockbridge, Ga., as a fearless man with an unstoppable will to achieve.

“I remember a trip to a downtown shoe store with Father when I was still small,” King wrote in his autobiography. “We had sat down in the first empty seat at the front of the store. A young white clerk came up and murmured politely: ‘I’ll be happy to wait on you if you’ll just move to those seats in the rear.’”

King’s father was outraged. “‘We’ll either buy shoes sitting here,’

my father retorted, ‘or we won’t buy shoes at all,’” King wrote. “Whereupon he took me by the hand and walked out of the store. This was the first time I had seen Dad so furious.

“I still remember walking down the street beside him as he muttered, ‘I don’t care how long I have to live with this system, I will never accept it.’”

At the very end of the tour, Geter wanted to make sure that students had a better sense of the real Martin Luther King Jr., beyond what they are taught in history classes.

“I hope you understand that Dr. King is just like you and me,” Geter told the students as they exited. “And he was able to go on to achieve great things. So, I hope that encourages you to try and do the same.”

King’s Spiritual Home It’s impossible to separate Martin Luther King Jr.’s devotion to God from his determination to peacefully achieve significant social change in this country.

And those spiritual beliefs began in a brick church about two blocks from his Auburn Avenue home, called Ebenezer Baptist.

Often referred to as King’s “second home,” Ebenezer was founded in 1886, but according to the King Center, the congregation did not move to its current location on the corner of Auburn Avenue and Jackson Street until 1922.

Both King’s father and maternal grandfather had served as pastors of Ebenezer and in 1960, King continued that tradition by accepting a copastorate position at the church alongside his father.

By that time, King had returned to Atlanta from Montgomery, Ala., where, as pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, he successfully led Montgomery citizens in a 382-day bus boycott protesting the city’s unconstitutional Jim Crow laws. This boycott began as a result of Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus to a white passenger as the city’s segregation policy required.

In 1957, King also organized a number of black leaders around the country to unify their civil rights efforts by forming a group known as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).

When King returned to Ebenezer, he moved the SCLC’s headquarters to Atlanta and held many of the meetings at the church, instantly giving the place of worship an international reputation.

But for King, Ebenezer was his religious foundation.

“Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church was the spiritual home of Dr. King during his formative years,” said Frank Catroppa, superintendent of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site. “He was baptized here at the age of 5, gave his first sermon from his pulpit at the age of 17. He served as co-pastor with his father from 1960 to 1968 and his funeral was held here in 1968.

“It is essential to the history of this

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“My concern is that young people see Martin as an icon and that he’s way up beyond their reach. I want them to understand that he was once a child, just like them.”

– Christine King Farris, Martin Luther King Jr.’s older sister country that this church be preserved for future generations.”

In March of 1999, because of the growing number of Atlantans attending Ebenezer, the congregation moved to a new building called the Horizon Sanctuary that was built directly across from the former church.

That same year, National Park Service officials recognized the need for drastic renovations to Ebenezer and, therefore, applied for and received a $620,000 grant from the federal Save America’s Treasures program. That funding, along with more than $500,000 in corporate donations and $522,000 from private individuals, allowed the national historic site to complete several restoration projects in 2002, including the upgrading of the building’s electrical system and the heating and air-conditioning units.

The park was also able to restore Ebenezer’s historic neon sign attached to the front of the church.

On Jan. 9, Ebenezer hosted an exclusive preview of Home & Garden Television’s program, “Restore America: A Salute to Preservation,” featuring the National Park Services’ efforts to restore Ebenezer. The program is scheduled to air on Sunday, Jan. 25 at 12:30 p.m. on HGTV. In addition to showing the program to a near-capacity audience at the church, organizers announced that an

additional $2.8 million of federal appropriations will be used to completely restore Ebenezer to the way it looked during King’s service to the church in the 1960s.

Attending the premiere of the program was King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, who told the crowd of more than 200 elementary students that it is truly gratifying to see the restoration of Ebenezer.

“Ebenezer was the spiritual incubator for the young Martin Luther King Jr. as he served alongside his father, Daddy King, as co-pastor of our congregation from 1960 to 1968,” she told the students. “Ebenezer had a global congregation during Martin’s co-pastorate.

People came from around the world to give praise to the Ebenezer family.”

Ebenezer was a cornerstone for community activism during the civil rights movement, Coretta Scott King said.

“I have so many poignant memories of historic events that are associated with this historic church,” she said. “For example, I remember standing in for my husband and presenting his agenda to some 60 pastors from across the South who gathered in Ebenezer’s Christian Education Building on Jan. 10, 1957.

“This was a preliminary meeting leading up to the founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference a month later in New Orleans, Louisiana.” continued on page 16

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continued from page 15 Coretta Scott King told the children that she was filling in for her husband and Ralph Abernathy, minister of Montgomery’s First Baptist Church, because tragedy had struck in Montgomery overnight.

“Martin and Ralph Abernathy had to return to Montgomery early that morning on Jan. 10 because four churches and two homes had been bombed,” Coretta Scott King said. “These are events that cannot be forgotten.”

Therefore it’s imperative that organizations like the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site protect these symbols of the past, she said.

“During the civil rights movement, under my husband’s leadership, Ebenezer became the symbol of struggle, freedom and liberation,” Coretta Scott King said.

“It was a place where the leadership and the foot soldiers came to be informed, inspired, renewed and recharged for continuing the struggle ... As we celebrate the restoration of Ebenezer Baptist Church, we can take great comfort that this precious heritage will be preserved as a bright beacon of hope and inspiration for generations to come.”

Following the ceremony, Jethro and Auretha English, a couple that have been members of the church for more than 70 years, said if Atlanta ever lost Ebenezer Church, it would be a tragedy.

“There’s been a lot of good and bad things happen at this church,” Jethro English said. “I met my wife downstairs and we’ve been married 66 years. I remember seeing M. L. running up and down these aisles as a child. But I also remember his funeral.”

Jethro English paused for a moment and looked around the church.

“I remember the people crying,” Jethro English said, about the day of

King’s funeral. “They just cried and cried. People, everywhere, were saying, “What are we going to do?’

The only thing I could say is, ‘He’s gone, but he would want us to go on.’

And he taught us, if you are going to follow Jesus, you can’t follow him mad. So, get your attitude right and get sincere about what you’re doing.”

That was a message that Jethro English said he repeated over and over in his mind several years later when King’s mother, Alberta, was shot and killed in 1974 by Marcus Chenault, a 21-year-old from Ohio, as she played the organ during a Sunday service at Ebenezer.

“I was here when that boy came in and shot Mrs. King,” Jethro English said. “He came in here as a visitor saying, ‘I want to see Rev. King (Sr.).’

And I said, ‘He is on business today, he won’t be here today.’

“So, he was sitting right over there,” Jethro English added, pointing over to a corner pew. “And when he got ready, he stepped up on the pew screaming and went over there and shot her. She fell down and we got a robe and put it under her neck.”

The Englishes said that is something that they will never be able to forget.

“I’ll remember that forever,” Jethro English said. “You have mixed emotions when things like that happen, but you can’t turn your back on it.

Whether it’s good or bad, it’s history and it needs to be preserved.”

For more information on events held during the upcoming King holiday, contact the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site at (404) 331-5190 or visit www.nps.gov/malu.

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The reflecting pool and grave site where Martin Luther King Jr. is entombed.

17 M E T R O

Getting a Grip

S P I R I T J A N 1 5 2 0 0 4

By Stacey Eidson Photos by Brian Neill

T

wo years ago, Nicole Cisco didn’t feel very good about herself.

She was a proud mother of two girls — Cassie and Maddie — and worked hard as the plant administrator for PQ Corporation, an Augusta manufacturer of sodium silcatebased products.

But Cisco had a self-esteem problem.

She was overweight and lacked the energy for everyday life — something her oldest daughter Cassie, now 8, couldn’t help but notice.

“When my daughter, who was 6 at the time, turned to me and said, ‘Mom you’re fat,’ I was devastated,” Cisco said.

“So, of course I go to my room and I cry for two days, but then I got up and said, ‘OK, I’m going to do something about this. This is crazy.’”

Cisco, who was then a size 24, began following the Atkins diet and joined Power South Gym & Fitness on Mike Padgett Highway to not only lose the weight but gain back her confidence.

These days, the old Cisco is a distant memory.

“I’ve lost 140 pounds in the last two years,” Cisco said, smiling. “I was a size 24, now I’m an eight. Once I started losing the weight, it was literally falling off of me. I was constantly having to buy new clothes.”

Her determination and drastic change in appearance was impossible to ignore.

“People here at the gym, the guys I worked out with, were like, ‘Nicole, oh my goodness, you are looking really good,’” she said. “When that transformation comes around, the self-confidence comes back.”

Most people would be satisfied with the personal achievement of losing almost half their body weight in two years, but not Cisco.

“When I started to come here to the gym and work out, everybody was competing in tournaments for body-building or something,” Cisco said.

Their enthusiasm over training inspired her to consider returning to an old love — arm wrestling.

“When I was in high school in Ohio, my dad taught at the school that I went to and was involved in arm wrestling,” Cisco said, explaining that her father, Malcolm, is a former professional arm wrestler. “I was always into weight-lifting, but when my family went to an arm wrestling tournament at the county fair in our area, my dad basically came up to me and said, ‘I want you to enter.’”

Cisco immediately told her father that she wasn’t interested, but he insisted she sign up.

“And I can remember, there was a woman there that was much older than me,

who was a prison guard that I was up against,” Cisco said. “You can imagine she was very intimidating. But I went up there and I beat her. I couldn’t believe it.”

Between the ages of 17 and 18, Cisco began competing in state tournaments and was very successful in the sport, but eventually went away to college and forgot about arm wrestling.

That was until last January.

“Exactly a year ago, I got on the Internet and found an arm wrestling tournament in North Carolina, the ‘Get A Grip’ tournament,” Cisco said. “I went there and won.”

Cisco was so thrilled she quickly signed up for a second tournament at Ohio State University.

“I got creamed,” Cisco said, laughing at herself. “This girl from West Virginia beat me and I was devastated. So, I came home and when I went to the gym, I told the people here, ‘I have a goal. I want to go to these tournaments and start winning.’”

Now, a year later, Cisco is a world champion.

In November, Cisco traveled to Suzdal, Russia to compete in the World Armsport Federation Championship after winning first place at the national level in both lefthanded and right-handed competitions in her weight class.

“There are two national organizations in arm wrestling. There is the American

Armsport Association (AAA) and there is the United States Armsports (USA) organization and they each have different national competitions,” Cisco said. “I competed in them both and won left and right hand in both organizations, which then placed me on two national teams.”

The AAA was headed to Russia for its world championship, while the USA was scheduled to compete for world titles in Canada.

“I chose Russia because, what other chance am I going to get to go to Russia?”

Cisco said, adding that she had never been outside the U.S. In fact, until the company that she works for sent her on a business trip to Florida last year, she had never even stepped on a plane.

“It’s been an incredible year,” Cisco said, referring to 2003. “This was the first year I’d ever flown and my trip to Russia was my first time out of the country, so it’s been unreal.”

When Cisco arrived in the small town of Suzdal, she said the people there were absolutely wonderful to the American team.

“Suzdal is I think four to five hours south of Moscow. And comparing Suzdal to Moscow is like comparing Augusta to Atlanta,” Cisco said. “It’s a small town and the people are very hospitable even though continued on page 18

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continued from page 17 there was a big language barrier.

“No one spoke any English and there were just a handful of interpreters who were spread around to all the teams that were there.”

But that didn’t bother Cisco. She was too overwhelmed by the entire experience.

“When we walked down to the lobby of our hotel and we all had our uniforms on, it was just such a thrill,” Cisco said.

“Everyone just stopped and looked and said, ‘There are the Americans.’”

Cisco said she can only imagine the pride athletes at the Olympics must feel for their country.

“We had a walk of nations like at the Olympics, but on a smaller scale at

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mailing people updates on the competition and asking them to pass the information on to other team members’ families.

“So, I would e-mail my office and have a long list of names and tell them, ‘Please call all these different people so we can get messages home,’” Cisco said.

After completing the left-handed arm wrestling competition in her weight class, 83 kg, Cisco got a chance to e-mail home.

“I was able to jump on the Internet and e-mail, ‘Can’t tell much, just got second place, left-hand.’ Everybody in the office went nuts,” Cisco said, explaining that she had placed second behind a woman from Brazil.

But Cisco didn’t have much time to celebrate because she still had to compete in the right-handed event in her weight

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CHARGE BY PHONE

“I checked my e-mail as

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soon as I got in the To Benefit:

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door and it said, ‘Hello World Champ.’”

— Nicole Cisco, world champion arm wrestler

Want to keep your New Year’s Resolutions this year?

Team In Training (TNT) can help.

Whatever your fitness level, TNT will provide everything you need to complete a marathon or half marathon. In addition to training you will also receive event entry, travel and accommodations to the event of your choice. In exchange, you will train in honor of a blood cancer survivor and raise money to support research and patient services.

Summer season events take place in Alaska and San Diago.

Worlds,” Cisco said. “I can’t even imagine walking into the arena with 100,000 people like the Olympics because the Worlds’ walk was just so amazing. The order of the line was Russia was first, then Brazil, then the U.S. and so on.

“And it was funny, as we walked through, I had my headset on listening to ‘Rocky.’ At that moment I thought, ‘I feel very American right now.’”

The only thing that made the trip to Russia hard on Cisco was the fact that the American team wasn’t able to talk to friends and family back in the states.

“The international code for the U.S. was blocked, so no one could call home,” Cisco said. “So we kept talking to the manager of the hotel and begging him, ‘Please let us use your Internet to e-mail home.’”

When the hotel’s Internet was available, Cisco said the team would take turns e-

class.

In that competition, Cisco was up against a Russian named Tsopoeva Rita.

Her co-workers were dying to learn the results of that match, but Cisco didn’t get a chance to e-mail them after the event.

She didn’t even get to talk to them before boarding the plane prior to her 10-and-ahalf-hour flight home.

“They didn’t know anything until I got to Kennedy airport in New York,” Cisco said.

“I called finally when we landed and said, ‘I won right (hand).’ And everybody went crazy. My boss was just so ecstatic.”

Cisco had placed first in the women’s 83 kg, right-hand competition.

In her first year as a professional arm wrestler, she had earned the title of being No. 1 in the world in that division.

When Cisco got home, she already had a message from her dad.

“I checked my e-mail as soon as I got in

Learn more at our information meeting for the Summer 2004 Season.

Thursday, Jan. 22 or Thursday, Feb. 5 • 6:30pm The Clubhouse (across from Augusta National) Call for information 706-667-7101 www.teamintraining.org/ga

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“I have two little girls

Acute Care for Healing Within Massage Therapy licensed & nationally certified therapists on staff

and I want them to be proud of me. I want them, when they think back on

accomplishments, to say, ‘That is my mom.’”

— Nicole Cisco, world champion arm wrestler

the door and it said, ‘Hello World Champ,’” Cisco said. “He was just so excited, he called all the newspapers in my hometown in Ohio and he got the high school I graduated from to clear out part of the trophy case. Part of my prize from Russia was a huge crystal vase and they’ve asked me to donate my vase to the school with a picture showing me when I won the world championship.”

Because Cisco’s father competed as a professional arm wrestler for many years, he knows many people involved in the sport. Therefore, Cisco said he occasionally calls his old friends to see how she’s coping with the stress of competition.

“It’s tough having him way up in Ohio, but I know he checks on me,” Cisco said.

“My dad has a legacy in the sport so everyone knows the name Cisco. And a lot of the people I’m training with, their parents knew my dad, so he’s always calling and asking, ‘How she’s doing? Is she OK?’ It’s like they treat me like I’m their baby sister now.”

But Cisco said she wouldn’t want it any other way.

“Arm wrestling really is a family sport,” she said, explaining that arm wrestling techniques and the lessons of good sportsmanship are often passed down through several generations. “In the women’s events, you will not see a woman be disrespected. Now, in the men’s competition, there is some trash talk ... but I’ve never seen a fight or seen anyone take another competitor outside.”

As for Cisco’s own family, her two girls are thrilled with their mom’s accomplishments.

“When I go pick up Cassie at day care,

she says, ‘This is my mom; she’s a good arm wrestler,’” Cisco said with obvious pride. “They think it’s cool and I try to get them interested in everything that I do so they know that they are a part of it and not just a spectator.”

Cisco believes her daughters are a little too young to travel with her to competitions, but in a few years she may consider introducing Cassie to the sport.

“When Cassie gets a little older, probably in the next two years, I may take her because some tournaments are starting to have kids’ divisions, like 10 and up,” Cisco said. “Because she already arm wrestles all the boys in class and beats them all.”

Cisco, who is currently single, admits she sometimes has guys asking her to arm wrestle them.

“A lot of guys will say, ‘Let me try,’” Cisco said. “The thing I tell them is, ‘I wrestle girls. I don’t wrestle guys.’ A man’s hand, by nature, is much stronger than a woman’s. Men’s wrists and hands are more powerful. And for a woman to think she can compete on a man’s level, I think they are really biting off more than they can chew.”

But most of the men that she’s met have been impressed with her success in the sport over the past year, Cisco said.

“So far, the guys that I’ve met have said, ‘Wow that is like so cool,’” Cisco said.

“And it’s not intimidating for them at all because I don’t challenge them. I’m a lady.

I present myself as a lady, first and foremost. I am also a Christian, so that’s how I carry myself — whether I’m in a tournament or in my daily life.

“After all, I have two little girls and I want them to be proud of me. I want them, when they think back on their mom and my accomplishments, to say, ‘That is my mom.’”

As for what’s in store for 2004, Cisco has already set some high goals for herself.

“I want to lose another 20 pounds and get down to a 67 kg weight class for next year,” Cisco said. “In the AAA organization you can only wrestle one weight class in a national event. But at USA (organization) you can wrestle any weight class you want to. So my goal is, I want to wrestle in the 67 kg weight class, the 80 kg weight class and the ‘super’ weight class and I want to take home first place in all three.

“That’s my goal. It’s never been done before, as far as a woman arm wrestler, so we’ll see what happens.”

For the average person, those goals may seem unattainable, but for those who know Cisco and all that she’s achieved this past year, many are betting that she will accomplish them.

“My dad has told me, ‘You are making quite a name for yourself. You make me proud,’” Cisco said, smiling. “But he also gives me good advice. He always tells me, ‘Be who you are and don’t get cocky.

Because as soon as you get cocky, you’re starting downward.’ So, I always keep it positive and never go in thinking I can’t be beaten. Anyone can be beaten, but I never dreamed I would get this far.”

For more information about professional arm wrestling, e-mail Nicole Cisco at ciscoarms@yahoo.com

M E T R O S P I R I T

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19

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20 M E T R O S P I R I T

Bite

Zany Décor, Great Homemade Food Distinguish Yo Pizza

By Amy Fennell Christian

J A N 1 5 2 0 0 4

W

hy would anybody in their right mind put a combination of olive oil and garlic, mozzarella, corned beef, sauerkraut, swiss and spicy mustard on a pizza? Or how about a combination of onion, mushroom, chicken, cheddar cheese, bacon, cashews and mozzarella over a bleu cheese base?

Because that’s what Yo Pizza in the Daniel Village Shopping Center is all about: Trying something a little different. I haven’t tried those particular pizzas yet, but I can tell you the ones I have tried work.

Take, for instance, the Yo Pie, a combination of garlic, spinach, hot sausage, artichokes, pineapple, feta and mozzarella over a ricotta cheese base. Lighter than you might think, this is an interesting mix of flavors. I wasn’t sold on the pineapple, and while I liked them at first, I do remember picking some of the pieces off.

The Veggie Deluxe is also a good pie, including spinach, onion, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, eggplant, artichoke and mozzarella over a ranch base. I never would have ordered it myself because I thought eggplant in a pizza would probably turn to mush (it didn’t), but I was glad a friend did order it.

Up until a couple of days ago, I had always ordered take-out (usually online through 2go-box.com) from Yo and picked it up to take home (no delivery, unfortunately). When I finally did sit down to have a meal in Deborah Rodriguez’s restaurant, I found a great

neighborhood spot and a fun place for anyone with kids.

Yo Pizza, in fact, looks like it was decorated by a bunch of kids with its multicolored walls, tables and chairs.

There are all manner of things hanging from the ceiling including balloons, Christmas ornaments and plastic fish.

Even the pie plates the pizzas are served on are individually decorated.

Despite these zany touches, it’s a pretty relaxing place to hang out. The friendly wait staff makes customers feel right at home, and Debroah flits from table to table, treating everyone as old friends. They are especially nice to kids, and even offer them after-dinner treats of Popsicles or lollipops. And the food is, of course, better when it’s served right from the kitchen.

During our most recent visit, we started with a small spinach salad ($3.25 for a small) that included tomato, pine nuts, crumbled bacon and croutons (homemade, if I’m not mistaken) with Caesar dressing. Even for two, the small is a good size and I liked the combination of the smoky bacon and the tangy dressing.

Of the 29 pizza combinations, we (as usual) had a hard time deciding, and one of the few complaints I have with Yo Pizza is that the menu is a little difficult to decipher. The descriptions of the combinations include only abbreviations which are spelled out in a key at the top of the page.

We finally chose the Cajun Pie ($14.75 for a large), a combination of mozzarella, onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, hot sausage, andouille sausage, pepperoni and shrimp, and it was probably the best pizza I’ve had there so far. The homemade hot sausage, a little salty but otherwise well-flavored, was great and the baby shrimp were flavorful. The topping were generous, but the hearty crust kept them on the pie instead of the table.

We also, for the first time, ordered a sandwich, and the Italian sausage sub ($5) with onions, peppers, mozzarella and dressing was very good, as was the homemade, skin-on potato salad.

Yo Pizza also serves calzones, strombolis and other Italian dinners, but the real stars are the pizza

You Gotta Try …

Light and fluffy, Deborah Rodriguez’s homemade cheesecake is incredibly good. As with her distinctive pizzas, Deborah experiments with different cheesecake flavor combinations, but the Bananas Foster is a favorite of customers and staff alike. She says the secret is the Captain

Bananas Foster Cheesecake at Yo Pizza

Morgan’s rum and caramel sauce, but the best thing, in my opinion, is that it tastes just like real bananas. Not artificial-tasting; not overly sweet.

Just good. Cheesecake flavors vary from day-today and are $3.25 a slice. You can also order a whole one for $25.

and the homemade desserts, especially the cheesecake.

The fact that almost everything here is homemade and that kids are not only welcomed, but encouraged to be kids, makes Yo Pizza one of the best family spots in town.

Yo Pizza is located at 2803 Wrightsboro Rd. in the Daniel Village Shopping Center. Hours are 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and they accept most major credit cards.

21

Arts

& Entertainment

Kevn Kinney Plays Solo at the Soul Bar

W

hether you’re familiar with him on his own or as part of Atlanta rock outfit Drivin’N’Cryin’, Kevn Kinney has become somewhat of a Georgia institution. It’s been nearly 20 years since Kinney, Tim Nielsen and Paul Lenz came together to form Drivin’N’Cryin’. The band’s songs soon became college radio staples, particularly "Scarred but Smarter," "Powerhouse," "Straight to Hell" and "Fly Me Courageous." Mixing metal-pop sensibilities with working-class, folksy lyrics proved to be a successful formula for Drivin’N’Cryin’, slowly building up the band’s fan base throughout the Southeast and, eventually, the nation.

For his four solo releases, Kevn Kinney took the songwriting prowess of Drivin’N’Cryin’ and paired it up with a lofi sound. The results are narrative tunes in the singer/songwriter vein, rather than college party anthems.

Fortunately, Kinney is good at both.

His latest solo album, 2002’s "Broken Hearts and Auto Parts," has been lauded by both longtime Drivin’N’Cryin’ fans and critics alike.

There’s a lot to like on "Broken Hearts and Auto Parts," from the slow jam of the title track to the toe-tappin’ rhythm of "Comin’ Down This Way." Then there’s the Southern rock-flavored "Yes, That’s Me" and the country-tinged "Time."

"Broken Hearts and Auto Parts" was recorded in Hoboken, N.J., with the current members of Drivin’N’Cryin’, Nielsen, Mac Carter and Dave V. Johnson. Additional guests include Arlo Guthrie’s daughter, Sarah Lee Guthrie; Johnny Irion; Topaz; and Tom Clark and the High Action Boys.

Past collaborators include producer Warren Haynes, who’s worked with the Allman Brothers and Gov’t Mule; Edwin McCain; Allan Woody; John Popper; and Peter Buck, who assisted in recording Kinney’s first solo album, "Macdougal Blues," in 1990.

Kinney credits the communal feel of "Broken Hearts and Auto Parts" to lessons learned while on the road, touring with bands like Galactic, Moe, String Cheese Incident and Gov’t Mule, who all spent time backstage and on the tour bus jamming and exchanging ideas. Kinney brought those ideas and ideals in to the studio when working on "Broken Hearts and Auto Parts."

Longtime Drivin’N’Cryin’ and Kevn Kinney fans, as well as those who are just getting acquainted with Kinney’s material, will get an opportunity to see Kinney play live in Augusta Saturday, Jan. 24 at the Soul Bar. Augusta husband-and-wife duo the Livingroom Legends and Chris Cauley will open. For more information, be sure to visit www.soulbar.com and www.kevnkinney.com.

For his four solo releases, Kevn Kinney took the songwriting prowess of Drivin’N’Cryin’ and paired it up with a lo-fi sound.

M E T R O S P I R I T J A N 1 5

By Lisa Jordan

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22 M E T R O S P I R I T J A N 1 5 2 0 0 4

8

DaysA Week

Arts

Auditions

“THE WIZ” AUDITIONS with the Augusta Players Jan. 23-24 at Cutno Dance Studio. Auditions held at 7 p.m. Jan. 23, 3-6 p.m. (dance only) Jan. 24 and 7 p.m. Jan. 24. Roles available for children and adults of all ages. All those auditioning must have a prepared solo and will be asked to read from the script, as well as learn a dance routine. 826-4707.

ENOPION THEATRE COMPANY is looking for volunteers to act, sing, sew, build and more for their new musical, “Creation.”

Applications are available at www.imaryproductions.com or by calling (803) 442-9039.

SWEET ADELINES HARMONY RIVER CHORUS OPEN REHEARSAL for singers each Thursday at 7 p.m. at Church of Christ, 600 Mar tintown Rd. in Nor th Augusta. They are on the lookout for voices in the lower ranges. Contact Mary Norman at (803) 279-6499.

Education

SQUARE DANCE LESSONS at the H.O. Weeks Center in Aiken begin Jan. 26. Cost is $36 per couple. Call (803) 642-7631 for information.

ISRAELI DANCE WORKSHOP at the Augusta Jewish Community Center Sunday afternoons, 4-5 p.m. Open to teens and adults; no experience or partners are necessary. Cost is $2 per session, with the first session free. For information or to schedule a pre-class beginner/refresher session, contact Jackie Cohen, 738-9016.

ART CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS are offered year-round at the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art. Winter classes begin Jan. 6; those seeking scholarships for the quarter must apply by Jan. 5. Classes and workshops are open to toddlers through adults and feature instruction in drawing, painting, photography, pottery, weaving and sculpture. For a newsletter or detailed information on registering for classes at the Gertrude Herbert, call 722-5495. The Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art also offers educational tours; for information, contact the education director at the above telephone number.

ART CLASSES FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS at the Ar t Factory. The Ar t Factory also has a homeschool program and scholarships are available. Programs include painting, pottery, pilates, hip hop and modern dance and more. Classes are held at the Ar t Factory, 418 Crawford Ave., or at the Augusta Jewish Community Center. Call 731-0008 for details.

Exhibitions PAINTINGS BY MALAIKA FAVORITE will be on exhibit at the Lucy Craf t Laney Museum of Black History through the end of February. For more information, call 724-3576.

“ANNE HEBEBRAND: CURRENT WORKS” on display Jan. 20 at the Ger trude Herber t Institute of Ar t. Ar tists reception 6-8 p.m. Jan. 23. Call 722-5495.

PAINTINGS BY DIANE DAVIS will be on display at the Gibbs Library throughout January. Call 863-1946.

WORKS BY ROBERT LYON are on display at the Augusta State University Fine Ar ts Gallery Jan. 15-Feb. 5. Opening reception is 5-7 p.m. Jan. 15. Free. Call 737-1444.

CERAMICS BY JULIET DEARING will be on exhibit in the Lower Gallery of the Etherredge Center through Jan. 30. Call (803) 641-3305.

“JACK SPENCER: PHOTOGRAPHS FROM NATIVE SOIL” will be on display at the Morris Museum of Ar t through Feb. 15.

Call 724-7501 for information.

PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKS BY SELLY GOODWIN will be on display in the ar t hall of Sacred Hear t Cultural Center through Feb. 29. Call 826-4700 for more information.

“RABIN REMEMBERED” photographic exhibition highlighting the life and accomplishments of Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin at the Augusta Jewish Community Center. Free admission. 228-3636.

“LET’S PLAY: PASTIMES FROM THE PAST” through Feb. 15 at the Augusta Museum of History. For more information, call 722-8454.

“BABY-BOOM DAYDREAMS: THE ART OF DOUGLAS BOURGEOIS” will be on exhibit at the Morris Museum of Ar t through Feb. 15. Call 724-7501 for information.

“DEANNE DUNBAR: OBJECTS OF DESIRE” will be on display at the Rabold Gallery in Aiken through Feb. 14. For more information, call (803) 641-4405 or e-mail raboldgallery@bellsouth.net.

Dance

FUTURITY DANCE Jan. 28, 8 p.m.-midnight, at Julian Smith Casino. Tickets are $5 in advance and $10 at the door. Call (803) 278-4TIX. “AILEY II” will be presented by the Augusta Ballet at the Imperial Theatre 7 p.m. Jan. 19. For ticket information, call the Augusta Ballet at 261-0555.

THE AUGUSTA INTERNATIONAL FOLK DANCE CLUB meets Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m. No partners are needed and newcomers are welcome. Call 737-6299 for location and info.

THE DANCES OF UNIVERSAL PEACE held the first Saturday of every month, 7-9 p.m., at the Unitarian Church of Augusta, honor the religious traditions of the world through song and movement. Call (803) 643-0460 for more information.

AUGUSTA CHAPTER OF THE UNITED STATES AMATEUR BALLROOM DANCERS ASSOCIATION holds a dance the first Saturday of each month, from 7:15-11 p.m. Cost is $7 for members and $10 for non-members. Held at the BPOE facility on Elkdom Cour t. Contact Melvis Lovet t, 733-3890, or Jean Avery, 863-4186, for information.

Music

GEORGE WINSTON CONCERT to benefit the Golden Harvest Food Bank Jan. 29, 7:30 p.m., at West Acres Baptist Church in Evans. Please bring nonperishable food items to donate. Tickets are $20 per person. For more informaton call Laurie Roper Harmon at Golden Harvest Food Bank at 736-1199, ex t. 208.

AUGUSTA OPERA SOLOISTS will per form the Dr. Blanche Coleman Memorial Concer t as par t of the Tuesdays Music

The Augusta Ballet Brings “Ailey II” to the Imperial Theatre Jan. 19. For ticket information, call 261-0555.

Live series Jan. 27 at St. Paul’s Church. Concer t begins at noon. Call 722-3463 for tickets.

AUGUSTA SYMPHONY ENCORE CHAMBER SERIES DINNER CONCERT 8 p.m. Jan. 24 at the Radisson River front Hotel.

Hors d’oeuvres and cash bar served at 7 p.m., with seating for dinner and concer t at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $55 per person. Reservations must be received by Jan. 20. Call 8264705 for more info.

“DIE FLEDERMAUS” will be presented by the Augusta Opera Jan. 29 and 31 and Feb. 1 at the Imperial Theatre. Jan. 29 and 31 performances are at 8 p.m.; Feb. 1 performance is at 3 p.m. An opera chat will be presented one hour prior to each performance. For tickets and information, call 826-4710.

MUSIC AT THE MORRIS presents “Barbershop Harmonies” Jan. 25 with the Garden City Chorus. Concer t is held at 2 p.m. in the Morris Museum of Ar t’s auditorium. Free admission. Call 724-7501 for info.

“FEATURING OUR OWN” Augusta Symphony Masterworks Concer t Jan. 17, 8 p.m., in the Ma xwell Per forming Ar ts Theatre. Tickets are $15, $30 and $40, with half-price student tickets available at the door. Guest lecturer Ar thur Ross will present a complimentary preview lecture at 7 p.m. Call 826-4705.

MOUNTAIN DULCIMER JAM Jan. 17-18 at Mistletoe State Park in Appling. $2 parking fee. Call 855-7041.

FACULTY ARTIST RECITAL Jan. 22, 7 p.m., at USC-Aiken’s Etherredge Center. Call (803) 641-3305.

THE STUDENTS OF STUDIO ARTGRO per form in concer t Jan. 18, 2 p.m., at the Morris Museum of Ar t. Free admission. Call 724-7501.

Theater “LONE STAR” AND “LAUNDRY AND BOURBON” will be performed by the USC-Aiken University Theatre Players Jan. 29-Feb. 2 at 8 p.m., with a matinee per formance Jan. 31 at 2 p.m. Held at the Etherredge Center. For ticket information, call (803) 641-3305.

“ANNIE, GET YOUR GUN” will be at the Abbeville Opera House Jan. 30-31, Feb. 6-7, 12-14 and 20-21. Matinee performances are Jan. 31 and Feb. 7, 14 and 21 at 3 p.m. Call (864) 459-2157 for ticket information.

“THE MATCHMAKER” will be per formed by the Greenbrier High School Pack Players 7 p.m. Jan. 15-17 at the Greenbrier High School Auditorium. For more information, call 303-6057.

DAVIDSON FINE ARTS SCHOOL DESSERT THEATRE Jan. 22-23 at Beverly J. Barnhar t Theatre, Recital Hall, Dance Studio 124 and Commons. Admission is $8 adult, $7 senior citizen and children under 5 and $6 Davidson Fine Ar ts students. Call 823-6924, ex t. 122.

“WHAT BLACK FOLK SAY ABOUT BLACK FOLK (PERCEPTION OR TRUTH)” will be presented by Augusta Mini Theatre Jan. 15-16, 8 p.m., and Jan. 17-18, 3 and 8 p.m. , at the Jack B. Patrick Technology Center. General admission

is $12 adults, $10 students and $8 youth groups. For ticket information, call 722-0598.

HEALTH PAGE

“A THOUSAND CLOWNS” will be per formed by the Aiken Communit y Playhouse Jan. 16-18 and 23-24.

Call (803) 648-1438.

Attractions MOTORIZED TOURS OF HISTORIC AIKEN every Saturday, 10-11:30 a.m. Tours leave from the Washington Center for the Performing Ar ts. Reservations are required, and patrons must be age 2 and older. (803) 642-7631.

AUGUSTA CANAL INTERPRETIVE CENTER: Housed in Enterprise Mill, the center contains displays and models focusing on the Augusta Canal’s functions and importance to the textile industry. Hours are Mon.-Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sun., 1-6 p.m. Admission is $5 adult, $4 seniors and military and $3 children ages 6-18. Children under 6 admitted free. Guided boat tours of the Augusta Canal depart from the docks at Enterprise Mill at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturdays.

Tour tickets are $6 adults, $5 seniors and $4 students and children. For tour information, call 823-7089. For other info, visit www.augustacanal.com or call 823-0440.

THE BOYHOOD HOME OF WOODROW WILSON: Circa 1859 Presbyterian manse occupied by the family of President Woodrow Wilson as a child during the Civil War and Reconstruction. Original and period antiques, restored house, kitchen and carriage house. 419 Seventh Street. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Tues.-Sat. Tours available; groups of 10 or more by appointment only. Admission is $5 adults, $4 seniors, $3 students under 18 and free for ages 5 and under. 722-9828.

AUGUSTA GOLF & GARDENS OF THE GEORGIA GOLF HALL OF FAME features beautiful display gardens, as well as bronze sculptures of some of golf’s greatest masters.

Available for rent for a variety of functions. Group discount rates available. Closed Mondays; open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Tues.-Sat.; open from 1-5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $5.50 for adults; $4.50 for students, seniors and military; $3.50 for children (4-12); free for children 3 and under.

Sundays are two for one with a Super Sunday coupon.

Annual garden memberships are available. Call 724-4443 or 1-888-874-4443. Also, visit their Web site at www.gghf.org.

NATIONAL SCIENCE CENTER’S FORT DISCOVERY: Children and adults alike can immerse themselves in the wonders of science through live demonstrations, virtual realities, Starlab, KidScape and more than 250 hands-on exhibits. General Admission: $8 for adults; $6 for children, seniors and active military. Group rates available. Operating hours: Mon.-Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m. Call 821-0200, 1-800-325-5445 or visit their Web site at www.NationalScienceCenter.org.

REDCLIFFE STATE HISTORIC SITE: 1859 mansion of S.C. Governor James Henry Hammond, held by the family for three generations until 1975. Grounds and slave quar ters are open Thursday-Monday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. House tours will be offered at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. Admission to the grounds is free. Fee for house tours is $3 for adults and children ages 6-17. For more information, call (803) 827-1473. 181 Redcliffe Road, Beech Island.

THE EZEKIEL HARRIS HOUSE: Deemed “the finest 18th century house surviving in Georgia” by the “Smithsonian Guide to Historic America.” Open Saturday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. General admission is $2; senior admission is $1 and children get in for 50 cents. For more information, call 724-0436.

Museums MASTERWORKS OF SOUTHERN ART TOUR 3:30 p.m. Jan. 25 at the Morris Museum of Ar t. Free admission. 724-7501.

“GULLAH HOME COOKING THE DAUFUSKIE WAY: AN EVENING WITH SALLIE ANN ROBINSON” Jan. 20 at the Morris Museum of Ar t. Program is held from 6-8 p.m.

Reservations required. Call 724-7501 for information.

“ART AT LUNCH: THE ART OF FRAMING” Jan. 16, noon, at the Morris Museum of Ar t. Rober t Bazemore discusses the ar t of framing. A boxed lunch is available, or you may bring your own brown bag lunch. Fee is $10 for musuem members and $12 for non-members. Reservations required. 724-7501.

M E T R O

Take care of yourself. Let University help.

“Healthy” New Year!

“HealthTalk” on WGAC-580 AM Tune in on Monday, Jan. 19, at 8:30 a.m. to hear Thanh Vu, M.D., a boardcertified internal medicine physician on University’s Medical Staff discuss weight management strategies and advantages.

National Blood Donor Month January has been recognized as National Volunteer Blood Donor Month, and Shepeard Community Blood Center reminds you to give the gift of life through the donation of blood. Each day, patients across the country receive approximately 38,000 units of blood. This year alone, as many as 4 million patients will require blood transfusions. Please remember to celebrate this special month by donating this lifesaving resource. All blood collected by Shepeard Blood Center stays in the C.S.R.A. to serve the local hospitals, such as University.

SACRED HEART CULTURAL CENTER is offering tours of its 100-year-old building. Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. $1 per person, children free. 826-4700.

HISTORIC COTTON EXCHANGE WELCOME CENTER: Open Mon.-Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sun. 1-5 p.m. Riverwalk. Free.

Call 724-4067.

23

Subscribe to HealthMail HealthMail, a new feature of University’s Web site, gives you the opportunity to receive e-mails about upcoming events, offerings, news and updates of interest. Visit www.universityhealth.org and click "HealthMail" under "Site Highlights" in the left margin. Choose which health topics interest you.

“CELEBRATION OF FLIGHT” exhibit at For t Discovery’s Knox Gallery runs through Jan. 31. Admission to the exhibit is free with paid general admission to For t Discovery. For more information, visit www.NationalScienceCenter.org or call 821-0200.

Log on to learn more: www.universityhealth.org

THE GERTRUDE HERBERT INSTITUTE OF ART in Ware’s Folly exhibits works by local and regional ar tists. Ar t classes,

F OR FREE 24- HOUR

It’s a brand new year; are you ready for a brand new you? Activate your life this year! Moderately intense activities, such as taking your dog for a walk, can help you achieve and maintain a healthful weight and improve your overall fitness level.

There are dozens of opportunities each day to increase your activity level. Here are some to help you get started.

• Get fidgety on the phone. Stand up and pace while on the phone. Though it won’t burn a lot of calories, it can help improve your circulation.

• Deliver memos in person. Consider these excursions down the hall exercise breaks.

• Go shopping. Shopping is the ultimate easy walking workout. Wear athletic socks and walking shoes.

• Do your own yard work and gardening. Cutting your lawn with a push mower burns 420 calories an hour, on par with playing tennis. Trimming trees burns 500 calories an hour, equivalent to swimming.

• Shop with a basket instead of a cart. Consider it a free weight that keeps getting heavier, but switch the basket from hand to hand to balance the effect on your upperarm and shoulder muscles.

• Turn off the TV one night a week. Without the television to distract you, you’ll move around more than you would otherwise.

• Use the stairs. Each flight of stairs you climb burns 10 calories. That doesn’t sound like much, but taking 10 flights of stairs a day for a year can result in a 10-pound weight loss.

• Make exercise a hobby. Whether its salsa lessons or learning to play golf, you’ll be working out without even knowing it. Dancing can burn as many calories as walking, swimming or riding a bike.

Valentine’s Special at Health Central Get up to 6 months FREE at Health Central, University’s wellness facility. Lose weight, reduce stress and have a healthier heart by Valentine’s Day when you take advantage of this special offer, now until February 14, 2004.

Health Central, voted Augusta’s Best Fitness Facility for 19 years, offers group cycling, yoga, and weight training programs designed to fit any lifestyle.

For more information and a FREE tour, call today at 706/724-4408.

Log on to learn more: www.universityhealth.org

Your resource for healthy living.

COMMUNITY EDUCATION

To register or for more information, call 706/774-8917.

Fresh Start Smoking Cessation Program Jan. 20, 27 7:30-8:30 a.m. or 6-7 p.m.

University Hospital cafeteria FREE Registration required. Call 706/774-8900.

FREE Pulmonary Function Screenings Jan. 20 1-3 p.m.

University Hospital Asthma Clinic Second floor, main hospital Appointment required. For more information, call 706/774-5696.

Cervical Cancer and Pap Test: What you should know Miriam J. Atkins, M.D., medical oncologist Jan. 27 5:30 p.m.

FREE dinner University Hospital dining rooms 1-3 Reservations required. Call 706/868-3231 or 800/413-6652.

Wellness Wednesdays Jan. 21, 28 9 a.m.–noon University Seniors Club, 4106 Columbia Road For Seniors Club members only.

Includes FREE screenings on blood pressure, glucose, height and weight.

Prostate Cancer Jan. 20 7 p.m.

University Seniors Club, 4106 Columbia Road For more information, call Bob Graves at 706/364-6684.

Parkinson’s Disease Jan. 27 5 p.m.

St. John Towers 724 Greene St. For more information, call 706/863-6355.

Speech and Hearing Screenings For adults and children

Health Risk Assessment Program Daily Weight Management and Nutrition Center $35 per test

ASK•A•NURSE

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No appointment necessary. For information, call 706/868-3231.

To schedule an appointment, call 706/774-5777.

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workshops and other educational programming for children, youth and adults are held in the Walker-Mackenzie Studio.

Open Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday by appointment only. Admission is free, but a donation of $2 for adults and $1 for children and seniors is encouraged. Call 722-5495 or visit www.ghia.org for more info.

THE AUGUSTA MUSEUM OF HISTORY hosts permanent exhibition “Augusta’s Story,” an award-winning exhibit encompassing 12,000 years of local history. For the younger crowd, there’s the Susan L. Still Children’s Discovery Gallery, where kids can learn about history in a hands-on environment. The museum also shows films in the History Theatre and hosts a variety of programs. Located at 560 Reynolds Street. Open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday 1-5 p.m. Admission is $4 adult, $3 seniors, $2 kids (6-18 years of age) and free for children under 6. Free admission on Sundays. Call 722-8454 or visit www.augustamuseum.org for more information.

THE MORRIS MUSEUM OF ART hosts exhibitions and special events year-round. Open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sundays, noon-5 p.m. Closed on Mondays and major holidays. 1 Tenth Street, Augusta. Call 724-7501 or visit www.themorris.org for details.

THE MUSEUM OF LAUREL AND HARDY OF HARLEM, GEORGIA features displays of various Laurel and Hardy memorabilia; films also shown. Located at 250 N. Louisville Street in downtown Harlem. Open 1-4 p.m. ThursdayMonday. For more information, call 556-3448.

LUNCH AT NOON LECTURE SERIES held the second Wednesday of every month at the Lucy Craf t Laney Museum of Black History, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Call the museum at 724-3576 for more information.

Special Events AUGUSTA HORSE AND CARRIAGE PARADE in downtown Augusta 2 p.m. Jan. 25. Proceeds will benefit theraputic riding organizations. After the parade, registered par ticipants will be treated to a wild game cookoff. Call 823-3417 or 828-4382 for details.

WESTERN CULTURE AND FOOD FESTIVAL Jan. 22-25 on Seventh Street between Telfair and Talcot Streets in downtown Augusta. Admission is $4. Call 823-3417 for information.

ASU PUBLIC FORUM on United States trade policies 7 p.m.

Jan. 15. Forum is free, open to the public and held at Washington Hall Towers. For more information, contact Paul Harris, 667-4419.

AIKEN CAMELLIA SHOW will be at the Aiken Mall Jan. 17-18.

Those interested in entering blooms may bring them to the rear of the mall Jan. 17 between 8-10:30 a.m. For more information, contact Lee Poe, (803) 648-8249.

ASU MEET THE AUTHOR PROGRAM with Ralph Watkins Jan. 27, noon, in the Reese Room of Augusta State University’s Reese Library. Watkins will discuss “Rap, Religion and New Realities: The Emergence of a Religious Discourse in Rap Music,” which appears in “Noise and Spirit: The Religious and Spiritual Sensibilities of Rap Music.” Call Mellie Kerins at 6674912 for information.

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PHINIZY SWAMP WATERFOWL WALK Jan. 24, 9 a.m.-noon.

Contribution is $3 for members and $5 for non-members.

Registration deadline is Jan. 23. Call 828-2109.

S P I R I T

MR. AND MRS. CLARKS HILL LAKE PAGEANT is open to all CSRA couples who have been married for 50 years or more.

The winning couple will be crowned at a reception on Feb. 14.

Nominations due Feb. 1. For information on nominating a couple, call 541-1358.

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MARTIN LUTHER KING CELEBRATION with guest speaker, praise dancing, poems and readings Jan. 16, 5-7 p.m. at the Smith-Hazel Recreation Center. Open to all ages. Cost is $2 adults and $1 students. Call (803) 642-7635.

AUGUSTA METRO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WOMEN IN BUSINESS EVENT Jan. 20, 11:30 a.m., at Pullman Hall.

Program is on increasing efficency through life management.

Cost is $12 for members pre-registered by Jan. 16 and $15 for members at the door; $15 for non-members pre-registered by Jan. 16 and $18 for non-members at the door. Call 821-1306.

GREYHOUND MEET AND GREET with GreytHound Love greyhound adoption Jan. 17, 11 a.m.-3 p.m at PetsMar t. For more information, visit www.greythoundlove.org or call Jeanne McGee at 796-1708.

GIRLS INC. ALUMNI REUNION Jan. 24, 2-4 p.m. at Girls Inc., 1919 Watkins St. All members and board members of The Girls’ Center, Girls’ Club of Augusta and Girls Inc. of the CSRA are welcome to at tend. Please RSVP by Jan. 20 by calling 733-2512.

ANTIQUE SYMPOSIUM Jan. 16-17 at the Aiken Center for the Ar ts. Tickets are $25 per session or $90 for the entire symposium, and proceeds benefit the Aiken Center for the Ar ts. For more information, call (803) 641-9094.

JANUARY FILM SERIES at Headquar ters Library Tuesday nights at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free. Jan. 20 showing of “Midnight Cowboy” and Jan. 27 showing of “Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns.” Call 821-2600.

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. COMMEMORATIVE LUNCHEON Jan. 15, 11:30 a.m., at the Gordon Club at For t Gordon. Ralph Watkins will be the Guest speaker. Tickets are $9. Call 791-2014.

MCDUFFIE FRIENDS OF ANIMALS holds pet adoptions each Saturday, 1-3 p.m. at Superpetz on Bobby Jones Expressway. Call 556-9090 or visit www.pet finder.com.

COLUMBIA COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY holds pet adoptions every Saturday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and every Sunday from 1-4 p.m. at PetsMar t. For more info, call 860-5020.

RICHMOND COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL AND AUGUSTA ANIMAL RESCUE FRIENDS hold pet adoptions at Superpetz off Bobby Jones Expressway every Sunday from 1-4 p.m.

Call AARF at 364-4747 or visit www.aarf.net. Adoptions also held at the Richmond County Animal Control Shelter, Tues.Sun., 1-5 p.m. Call the shelter at 790-6836.

ANTIQUES IN THE HEART OF AIKEN show and sale will be at the Aiken Center for the Arts Jan. 30-Feb. 1. Preview party is 79:30 p.m. Jan. 29. Tickets to the preview party are $50 each or $95 for two and include a weekend show pass. General admission to the show is $6 for the weekend. Call (803) 641-9094.

THE CSRA HUMANE SOCIETY holds pet adoptions every Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and every Wednesday evening from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Pet Center located behind the GreenJackets Stadium on Milledge Rd. 261-PETS.

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APPLICATIONS FOR SANDHILLS WRITERS CONFERENCE SCHOLARSHIPS due Jan. 30. Conference is March 18-20 at Augusta State University. For more information, call 737-1500.

ROBERT BURNS DINNER will be hosted by the St. Andrews Society of Aiken Jan. 24. Held at the Knights of Columbus building in Aiken. Social hour begins at 6:30 p.m. Following dinner will be a ceilidh featuring Scot tish harping, fiddling, dancing and more. Tickets are $34. Call (803) 648-1873 or (803) 641-7537 for information.

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M E T R O

Become an anonymous egg donor! Ovations is seeking healthy, educated women between the ages of 18-31, living in or going to college in the Aiken-Augusta area.

Suitable donors will be compensated in the sum of $5,000

The Disc Golf Ice Bowl, Jan. 17 at Lake Olmstead, will raise money for Golden Harvest Food Bank. Donations of canned goods may be dropped off at the Julian Smith Barbeque Pit. Call 737-6095 for more information.

Out of Town

pub-style menu available one hour and 15 minutes before the performance. Tickets are $19.50-$24.50. Call (404) 874-5299.

CHARLES L. WELTNER FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AWARD BANQUET to benefit the Georgia First Amendment Foundation will be held Jan. 31. For information, call (404) 525-3646.

AT THE GEORGIA MUSEUM OF ART in Athens, Ga.: “Enchanting Modern: Ilonka Karasz, 1896-1981” through Feb. 8; works by Armin Landeck through Feb. 8; “Decorative Arts at Woodstock” through March. Visit www.uga.edu/gamuseum or call (706) 542-4662 for info.

“MY FAIR LADY” will be presented by the Alliance Theatre Company in Atlanta Jan. 28-Feb. 29. For tickets and information, call (404) 733-5000.

MINORITY HEALTH PROFESSIONS CONFERENCE 2004 will be held at the Emory University Mathematics and Science Building in Atlanta Jan. 24, 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Registration is free for high school and undergraduate students and the deadline for registration is Jan. 16. Contact Charles Collier or Kimberly Parker at (404) 727-4232 for more information.

COUNT BASIE ORCHESTR A will per form at the Newberr y Opera House in Newberr y, S.C., 8 p.m. Jan. 27. Call (803) 276-6264.

SOUTHERN GARDENING SYMPOSIUM at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga., Jan. 23-25. Optional pre-conference workshops will be offered Jan. 23. Symposium registration is $208. For more information, call 1-800-CALLAWAY.

“EDWARD HOPPER AND URBAN REALISM” will be on display at the Columbia Museum of Ar t in Columbia, S.C., through Jan. 18. (803) 799-2810.

“A SALUTE TO 25 YEARS OF THE GEORGIA MUSIC HALL OF FAME AWARDS” runs through Jan. 18 at the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon, Ga. Exhibits, programs and events honoring the 25th anniversary of the Georgia Music Hall of Fame awards. Call 1-888-GA-ROCKS for info.

AT THE HIGH MUSEUM OF ART in Atlanta: “The Undiscovered Richard Meier: The Architect as Designer and Artist” through April 4; “After Whistler: The Artist and His Influence on American Painting” through Feb. 8; and “Verrocchio’s David Restored: A Renaissance Bronze From the National Museum of the Bargello, Florence” through Feb. 8. Call (404) 733-HIGH or visit www.high.org for information.

STUDENT CHESS TOURNAMENT for K-12 players Jan. 24 at Julia P. Bryant Elementary in Statesboro, Ga. Check-in by 9 a.m., with last round starting at 3 p.m. Register by noon Jan. 21 by calling (912) 764-9770 or e-mailing j-lutz@enia.net.

“FERDINAND THE BULL” will be presented by Alliance Children’s Theatre at the 14th Street Playhouse in Atlanta Jan. 17-March 7. Call (404) 733-4600 or visit www.alliancetheatre.org.

“RAISE THE RAFTERS” gospel music series at Biltmore House in Asheville, N.C., runs weekends through Feb. 8. Call 1-800-543-2961.

“ANNIE” will be at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta Jan. 15-18. Call (404) 252-8960 for more information.

“A LION IN WINTER” will be at The New American Shakespeare Tavern in Atlanta through Feb. 1. Optional British

Benefits AUGUSTA BALLET MERCEDES RAFFLE: The Augusta Ballet will raffle off a 2004 Mercedes CLK 320 Cabriolet during May’s First Friday celebration. Tickets are $100 each and may be purchased through the Ballet office at 261-0555.

DISC GOLF ICE BOWL to raise money for Golden Harvest Food Bank 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Jan. 17 at Lake Olmstead. All players are welcome, regardless of ability. Entry fee is $20 plus a donation of canned goods. Those wishing to simply donate canned goods may drop them of f at the Julian Smith Barbeque Pit. For more information, contact Sue Anne Beym, 737-6095.

MLK Day Blood Drive Monday, January 19 • 10am-6pm Curtis Baptist Church 1326 Broad Street • 722-7348 • Free food for all donors • Free MLK t-shirt (while supplies last) “Anyone can be great, because anyone can serve” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

2856 Washington Rd. 73-STEAK 1654 Gordon Hwy. 796-1875

Come and serve your community by giving blood this special holiday For more information call 733-0130 1-866-517-7513

Shepeard Community Blood Center (706)737-4551

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LUTHER KING DAY BLOOD DRIVE Jan. 19 at 26 MARTIN Shepeard Community Blood Center. Open from 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

Call 737-4551 for details.

M E T AUGUSTA SOUTH ROTARY CLUB SCHOLARSHIP BENEFIT R FOR YOUTH CHALLENGE ACADEMY GRADUATES Jan. 22, O 7 p.m., at Hillcrest Baptist Church. Tickets include spaghet ti S P I R I T

dinner and roast of Augusta-Richmond County Commissioner Jimmy Smith. Call Sandra Gurley, 724-2601, or Susan Bly, 739-1379, for tickets.

AUGUSTA-RICHMOND COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL is in need of dog and cat food, cat lit ter and other pet items, as well as monetary donations to help pay for vaccinations.

J Donations accepted during regular business hours, Tues.A Sun., 1-5 p.m. at the shelter, 4164 Mack Lane. Call 790N 6836 for information.

Health PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT GROUP meets Jan. 15, 7 p.m., at University Seniors Club, 4106 Columbia Rd. Reservations required. Call Bob Graves, 367-1308.

FREE PULMONARY FUNCTION SCREENINGS Jan. 20, 1-3 p.m., at University Hospital Asthma Clinic. Apointment required. Call 774-5696.

“CERVICAL CANCER AND PAP TEST: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW” Jan. 27, 5:30 p.m. in University Hospital Dining Rooms 1-3. Reservations required; call 868-3231.

1 5 SHEPEARD COMMUNITY BLOOD CENTER BLOOD DRI-

INTRODUCTION TO INFANT CPR class Jan. 26, 6:30-8:30 p.m., at Universit y Women’s Center. Cost is $5. To register, call 774-2825.

2 detailed information on locations and times to donate, 0 visit www.shepeardblood.org. You may also call Susan 0 Edwards at (803) 643-7996 for information on Aiken 4

MCG HEALTH SYSTEM OPEN HOUSE FOR BLOODLESS MEDICINE AND SURGERY PROGRAM Jan. 24, 1-4 p.m. at the main conference center of MCG Children’s Medical Center. For more information, call 721-2677.

VES in various locations around the CSRA this month. For

locations and Nancy Szocinski at 737-4551 for information on all other locations.

AMERICAN RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVES at the Aiken Red Cross Blood Center on Millbrook Drive and the Augusta Red Cross Blood Center on Pleasant Home Road. The bloodmobile will also stop at various area locations this week. For a complete list, call the Aiken Blood Center at (803) 642-5180 or the Augusta Blood Center at 868-8800.

Learning AUGUSTA-AIKEN SOCIETY OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRESENTATION with motivational speaker Chester Elton will be held Jan. 16, 7:30 a.m., at the Radisson River front Hotel. Fee is $15 and reservations are required. Call Connie Mar tin, 481-7457.

HEART HEALTH FAIR Jan. 14, 9-10:30 a.m., at Episcopal Day School. For more information, call 733-1192.

HEALTHY NUTRITION TIPS with Mona Adams of the Georgia Ex tension Service at the Appleby Branch Library Jan. 29, 11 a.m.-noon. For more information, call 736-6244.

YOUTH COMPUTER TRAINING for high school students every third Saturday of the month, 1:30-4:30 p.m. at the Wallace Branch Library. Call 722-6275.

YOGA at the Augusta Jewish Community Center Sundays, beginning Jan. 18, from 1:30-3 p.m. Cost is $55. To register, call 228-3636.

GIRLS INC. INFORMATION SESSION 6-7:30 p.m. Jan. 22 at Girls Inc. of the CSRA, 1919 Watkins St. Please RSVP to 733-2512.

AUGUSTA BRAIN INJURY SUPPORT GROUP meets the second Thursday of every month, 6 p.m., at Walton West TLC. Brain injury survivors and their family members and caregivers are invited to at tend. 737-9300.

FAMILY STORYTIME at the Friedman Branch Library 6:30 p.m. Jan. 21. Open to children ages 3-10 and their families.

Please register in advance by calling 736-6758.

FORE THE HEALTH OF IT ADAPTIVE GOLF CLINICS held the first Tuesday of every month at First Tee of Augusta. Physical and occupational therapists from Walton Rehabilitation Hospital will guide the course. Call 823-8691.

TEACHER WORKSHOP Jan. 29, 5-8 p.m., and Jan. 31, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at Phinizy Swamp Nature Park. Learn how to get your K-12 students interested in wetlands. One SDU credit is available to those who at tend both days of classes.

Registratiion is limited, and a registration fee will be charged.

Free to Richmond, Columbia and Glascock Counties public school teachers. RSVP to 828-2109 by Jan. 23.

CHRONIC PAIN SUPPORT GROUP meets the first Thursday of every month, 10:30-11:30 a.m. at Walton Rehabilitation Hospital. 823-5294.

“NEW YEAR, NEW YOU” WORKSHOP with representatives from the Georgia Depar tment of Labor 6 p.m. Jan. 22 at the Ma xwell Branch Library. Learn to complete job applications, prepare a resume and more. 793-2020.

WALTON REHABILITATION HOSPITAL AMPUTEE CLINIC for new and experienced prosthetic users meets the third Thursday of each month, 1-3 p.m. 722-1244.

“SURVIVAL SPANISH” CLASS will be offered in January by the North Augusta Activity Center. Separate classes available for adults and children. Call (803) 441-4311 or e-mail simonsys_ed_resources@hotmail.com for more information.

USC-AIKEN CONTINUING EDUCATION offers Paralegal Cer tificate Course, Taming the Wild Child, Conversational French, Italian, Spanish for the Beginner, Sign Language, Debt-Free Living and more. Travelearn learning vacations for adults and Education to Go online courses also available. For info, phone (803) 641-3563.

“USING THE PINES CATALOG” Jan. 15, 9:30 a.m., at the Friedman Branch Library. Call 736-6758 to register.

CULLUM LECTURE SERIES, “South Asia: On a Tryst With Destiny,” continues Jan. 16, 11:30 a.m. with “A Yam Between Two Boulders: Culture and Conflict in Nepal”; Jan. 20 with 11:30 a.m. showing of “Bhutan: The Last Shangrila”; and Jan. 27 with 11:30 a.m. presentation, “Women, Work and Occupations Structure in Hyderabad, India” and 7 p.m. presentation of “A Melting Pot or Cultural Mosaic: a Brief Human Geography of India.” All events held in Butler Hall Auditorium. Visit www.aug.edu/library/cullum2004 or call Michael Bishku, 737-1709, or Jeff Heck, 667-4905.

BASIC MICROSOFT WORD COMPUTER TRAINING Thursdays, Jan. 15-Feb. 19, at the Wallace Branch Library.

Registration required. 722-6275.

AUGUSTA STATE UNIVERSITY CONTINUING EDUCATION is now offering the following classes: Beginning Shag, Beginning Ballroom, Beginning Arabic Language, SAT Review, Power Yoga, Beginning Photography, Origami and more. Also, ASU offers online courses. For more information, call 737-1636 or visit www.ced.aug.edu.

AIKEN TECH CONTINUING EDUCATION offers the following courses: computer technology courses, healthcare courses, contractor programs, real estate courses and more. Aiken Tech also offers Education to Go classes online. For more information or to register, call (803) 593-9231, ex t. 1230.

The Augusta Lynx play at home Jan. 15-17.

STROKE SUPPORT GROUP meets the last Wednesday of the month, 1-2 p.m., in the outpatient classroom at Walton Rehabilitation Hospital. 823-5213.

WALTON REHABILITATION HOSPITAL offers a number of health programs, including Fibromyalgia Aquatics, Water Aerobics, Wheelchair and Equipment Clinics, Theraputic Massage, Yoga, Acupuncture, Children’s Medical Services Clinic, Special Needs Safety Seat Loaner Program, Focus on Healing exercise class for breast cancer survivors and more.

Call 823-5294 for information.

THE MCG BREAST CANCER SUPPORT GROUP meets the first Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. and provides education and suppor t for those with breast cancer. For information, call 721-1467.

DIET COUNSELING CLASSES for diabetics and those with high cholesterol at CSRA Par tners in Health, 1220 Augusta West Parkway. Free. Call 860-3001 for class schedule.

PROJECT LINK COMMUNITY LECTURE SERIES is held the first Tuesday of every month and is sponsored by the MCG Children’s Medical Center. Project Link provides educational resources and guidance for families who have children with developmental delays, disabilities and other specialized health concerns. Free and open to the public; takes place from 6:30-8 p.m. in the main conference room at the Children’s Medical Center. Call 721-6838 for information.

UNIVERSITY HEALTH CARE SYSTEM COMMUNITY EDUCATION holds workshops, seminars and classes on a variety of topics: weight and nutrition, women’s health, cancer, diabetes, seniors’ health and more. Support groups and health screenings are also offered. Call 736-0847 for details.

Kids

GUEST STORYTELLER CHRIS VALOIS will be at the Ma xwell Branch Library Jan. 21, 10 a.m. 793-2020.

FAMILY Y JANUARY SCHOOL’S OUT PROGRAMS Jan. 19 for children 5-12 years old. Activities held 9 a.m.-4 p.m. with early drop-off and late pick-up available. Daily fees are $14 per child pre-registered or $20 per child registering the day of the program. Call 738-7006.

BILINGUAL PARENTING CLASSES offered by MCG Children’s Medical Center and the University of Georgia Cooperative Ex tension Service. January topic is “Family Budgeting.” Spanish version held 6:30-8 p.m. Jan. 15 at the Grovetown Senior Center. Free. To register, call 721-KIDS. AIKEN COUNTY PONY CLUB meets weekly. Open to children of all ages who par ticipate or are interested in equestrian spor ts. For more information, contact Lisa Smith at (803) 649-3399.

FREE CAR SEAT EDUCATION CLASSES for parents and other caregivers the third Monday of every month from 9-11 a.m. at MCG Children’s Medical Center. Registration is required; those who are Medicaid or Peachcare eligible should indicate status during registration and bring a card or proof of income to class in order to receive a free car seat. 721-KIDS. GIRLS INCORPORATED OF THE CSRA AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM runs through May 21. Open to girls currently enrolled in kindergar ten through high school. In addition to offering specialized programs, Girls Incorporated offers van pick-up at select schools, neighborhood drop-off, homework room and a hot evening meal. For information, call 733-2512.

WEEKLY STORY SESSIONS at all branch libraries. Visit www.ecgrl.public.lib.ga.us for more information.

FIRST SATURDAY STORYTELLING at the Lucy Craf t Laney Museum. In addition, there is a tour of the museum. Held 10 a.m.-noon the first Saturday of the month. Call 724-3576.

Seniors GRANDPARENTING CLASS Jan. 25, 2-4 p.m., at University Women’s Center. $10 fee. Call 774-2825 to register.

UNIVERSITY SENIORS CLUB has moved to a new location at 4106 Columbia Rd. University Senior Club offers health screenings, suppor t groups, health education classes and social activities. For more information, call 868-3231 or 1800-413-6652.

WRANGLER FAMILY FUN FEST will take place on Seventh Street in front of the Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center noon-5 p.m. Jan. 24. Tickets are $10 per family and include same-night admission to the Augusta Futurity cut ting competition. Call 823-3417 for information.

CELEBRATION OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY at the Senior Citizens’ Council of Greater Augusta and the CSRA 10-11:30 a.m. Jan. 16. Call Ann Knighton, 826-4480, ex t.

370, to reserve a lunch.

FAMILY FUN DAY Jan. 18, 1-5 p.m., at the Augusta Museum of History. Program will feature old-fashioned toys and games as par t of the special exhibit “Let’s Play: Play times From the Past.” Free admission. Call 722-8454 for more information.

HOME-BASED CARE available for low- to mid-income families seeking alternatives to nursing home placement. To participate, individuals must be aged 60 or up or must have disability status as defined by Social Security Administration guidelines. Applicants must also meet program income

guidelines. For more information, contact the CSRA Area Agency on Aging at 210-2018 or 1-888-922-4464.

WALTON REHABILITATION HOSPITAL offers Ar thritis Aquatics and People With Ar thritis Can Exercise. Call 8235294 for information.

SENIOR VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THE NEW VISITOR CENTER AT PHINIZY SWAMP NATURE PARK to greet visitors, hand out literature and sell merchandise. Volunteers are asked to commit one Saturday or Sunday per month, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. or 1-5 p.m. Call 828-2109 for information.

AIKEN PARKS AND RECREATION offers a multitude of programs for senior adults, including bridge clubs, fitness classes, canasta clubs, line dancing, racquetball, ar ts and craf ts, tennis and excursions. For more information, call (803) 642-7631.

THE ACADEMY FOR LIFELONG LEARNING offers lectures, courses, field trips, discussion groups and community information seminars on a variety of topics to mature adults. For more information, contact the USC-Aiken Office of Continuing Education at (803) 641-3288.

THE SENIOR CITIZENS COUNCIL OF GREATER AUGUSTA AND THE CSRA offers a variety of classes, including ballroom dance, aerobics, quilting, tai chi, Spanish, line dancing, bowling, bridge, computers, drama club/readers theatre and pinochle. For dates and times, phone 826-4480.

SENIORNET provides adults age 50 and over education for and access to computer technology. Many different courses are offered. Contact the USC-Aiken Continuing Education Office at (803) 641-3563.

Sports EXTRA INNING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BULL RIDING COMPETITION Jan. 23, 8 p.m., at the Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center. Tickets are $14 for adults and $7 for children 12 and under. Proceeds will benefit the USC-Aiken baseball scholarship fund. Call 828-7700 for tickets.

SPRING BASEBALL REGISTRATION for boys and girls ages 5 and older by Aug. 1, 2004. Registration is Jan. 26-Feb. 2 at Citizens Park II in Aiken. First time players must bring a bir th cer tificate to registration. Play begins in March. Call (803) 642-7761.

GIRLS’ FAST-PITCH SOFTBALL REGISTRATION Jan. 26Feb. 2 at Citizens Park II in Aiken. Open to girls ages 7 and older as of Jan. 1, 2004. Play begins in March. First time players must bring a bir th cer tificate to registration. Call (803) 642-7761 for information.

AUGUSTA FUTURITY Jan. 22-31 at the Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center. Visit www.augustafuturity.com or call 823-3417 for details.

MARTIN LUTHER KING BASKETBALL GAME Jan. 19, 6-9 p.m. at the Smith-Hazel Recreation Center. Cost is $50 per team to play and $1 per person to watch. Call (803) 642-7635 to enter.

FAMILY Y YOUTH SOCCER REGISTR ATION through Jan. 17 at Wheeler Branch and Marshall Branch and Feb. 23March 12 at Southside Branch. Call 738-6678, 364-3669 or 738-6680 for details.

FAMILY Y RECREATIONAL GYMNASTICS session held March 8-May 14. Classes available for toddlers through teens. Call 738-6678.

THE AUGUSTA VOLLEYBALL ASSOCIATION is looking for new members. For more information, visit www.augustavolleyball.com.

AUGUSTA LYNX HOME GAMES Jan. 15-17. For tickets, call 724-4423 or visit www.augustalynx.com.

THE AUGUSTA RUGBY CLUB is always looking for new members. Teams available for women and men; no experience necessary. Practice is Tuesday and Thursday nights, 79 p.m. at Richmond Academy. For more information, call Don Zuehlke, 495-2043, or e-mail augustar fc@yahoo.com.

You may also visit www.augustarugby.org.

donated products and assist in their agency shopping area.

Help is needed year-round. If you are able to lift 25 pounds, can commit to at least 3-4 hours per month and would like to help fight hunger in the Augusta area, contact Laurie Roper at 736-1199, ex t. 208.

AUGUSTA-RICHMOND COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL: New volunteer orientation is scheduled the first Saturday of each month at 1 p.m. at the shelter, 4164 Mack Lane. Schedule subject to change; call 790-6836 to verify dates and times.

Volunteer

SHEPEARD COMMUNITY BLOOD CENTER is seeking donors to prevent a blood supply shor tage. To donate call 737-4551, 854-1880 or (803) 643-7996.

FORTE INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE ASSOCIATION is in need of local host families for high school international exchange students for the 2004-2005 school year. For more information, contact Tracy Klemens, (678) 358-5890.

Meetings

AARP TAX-AIDE is looking for volunteers to dedicate four or more hours per week from Feb. 1-April 15 assisting senior ta xpayers. Five-day free training course for Ta x-Aide volunteers begins in January. For more information, contact William J. Kozel at 210-3048.

THE BEECH ISLAND HISTORIAL SOCIETY will meet at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 20 at the Society’s meeting house, 144 Old Jackson Highway. The public is invited to attend. For information, call (803) 867-0184.

THE EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT COALITION is looking for volunteers with basic computer skills to prepare ta x returns for individuals with low and limited income, individuals with disabilities, non-English speaking persons and elderly ta xpayers. Volunteers receive free training and instruction materials from the IRS and will serve at VITA sites throughout the community. For more information, contact Sheryl Silva, 826-4480, ex t. 341.

AUGUSTA/CSRA HABITAT FOR HUMANITY needs volunteers at ReStore, Walton Way and Tenth Street, to assist with receiving donations of new and used building and home improvement materials and warehousing them for sale to the public. The store is open Thursday-Saturday year-round. If you can commit eight or more hours per month, contact Steve Buck, 364-7637.

MENTORS AND VOLUNTEERS needed to provide suppor t for MACH Academy at the May Park Communtiy Center and the Fleming Tennis Center. Education, tutoring and technology sessions held Monday-Thursday, 3-6 p.m. at each location. Tennis instruction and fitness activities held MondayThursday, 6-7 p.m. at May Park and Monday-Tuesday, 6-8 p.m., Friday, 6-8 p.m. and Saturday, 2-5 p.m. at the Fleming Center. 796-5046.

FOSTER PARENTS NEEDED for children and teenagers in Richmond County. For information, contact Luera Lewis, 721-3718.

PHINIZY SWAMP NATURE PARK VISITOR CENTER is in need of volunteers to greet visitors, hand out literature and sell merchandise. Volunteers must commit to one Saturday or Sunday each month, from either 9 a.m.-1 p.m. or 1-5 p.m.

828-2109.

UNITED HOSPICE OF AUGUSTA is in need of volunteers to support terminally ill patients. Scheduling and training times are flexible. Call Donna Harrell at 650-1522 for information.

THE ARTISTS’ CONSERVATORY THEATRE OF THE CSRA is looking for volunteer board members, actors and production crew. Call 556-9134 or e-mail act@theatermail.net.

SERVICE CORPS OF RETIRED EXECUTIVES (SCORE) provides counseling and mentoring to businesspeople star ting up a new business or expanding an ongoing business.

Services are provided free of charge. For more information, call the Augusta office at 793-9998.

THE JOHN BIRCH SOCIETY OF AUGUSTA holds a civic advocacy meeting every third Saturday of the month from 10 a.m.-noon at the Friedman Branch Library. For more information, contct Tonio at 373-3772.

GEM AND MINERAL SOCIETY meets the third Friday of every month, 7:30 p.m., at the Georgia Military College Building on Davis Road. Contact Jean Parker, 650-2956, or Connie Barrow, 547-0178, for more information.

THE MINDBENDER DEPRESSION AND BIPOLAR SUPPORT ALLIANCE meets Jan. 21, 6 p.m., in Room 105 of the Walton Building at First Baptist Church, 3500 Walton Way. 722-0010.

SELF-HELP FOR HARD OF HEARING PEOPLE GROUP meets Jan. 19, 5:30 p.m. in Room 100 of the Adult Education Building at First Baptist Church, 3500 Walton Way. Harry Embry will speak on the history of hearing loss. Contact Dave Welter at 738-2796 or dave.welter@comcast.net for info.

THE LEUKEMIA AND LYMPHOMA SOCIETY TEAM IN TR AINING INFO MEETING 6:30 p.m. Jan. 22 at The Clubhouse on Washington Road. Call 667-7101 or visit www.teamintraining.org.

GIBBS LIBRARY BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP meets 7 p.m.

Jan. 19 to discuss “Plainsong” by Kent Haruf. 863-1946.

BEGINNER LEVEL VIDEO MAKER CLUB meets the third Thursday of every month, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Maxwell Library. Contact Louise Coe at 592-6464.

“THE FIRST STEP” DIVORCE RECOVERY WORKSHOP meets Sundays through Feb. 29 from 4-6 p.m. in Room 201 of the Walton Building at First Baptist Church. Free to the public. Free childcare for kids up to age 5. No registration is required. For more information, call 733-2236 or visit www.fbcaugusta.org.

Weekly OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS meets every Sunday night, 7:30 p.m., at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Nor th Augusta.

For more information, call 278-5156.

NAR-ANON FAMILY GROUP for relatives and friends of drug abusers. No dues or fees. The group meets Mondays at 7 p.m. Call for location. For information, contact Josie, 4145576, or Lionel, 860-0302.

SOUTHERNCARE HOSPICE SERVICE is currently seeking volunteers to per form a variety of tasks, including relieving caregivers, reading to patients and running errands. Training is included. For additional information, contact Lisa Simpson, (803) 463-9888 or 869-0205.

GAMBLERS ANONYMOUS meets Thursdays, 7:30 p.m., in the basement of Fairview Presbyterian Church. 1-800-313-0170.

COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATE PROGRAM VOLUNTEER TRAINING: The CASA program is looking for volunteers 21 years of age and older to advocate for abused and neglected children in the juvenile cour t system. Volunteers need no experience and will be provided with specialized training. Call 737-4631.

NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS: If you want to stop using any drugs, there is a way out. Help is available at no cost. Call the Narcotics Anonymous help line for information and meeting schedules at 855-2419.

CSRA HUMANE SOCIETY NEW VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION PROGRAM the third Saturday of every month at the Pet Center, 425 Wood St. Orientation starts at 11 a.m. Volunteers under 18 years of age must have a parent or guardian present during orientation and while volunteering. Call 261-PETS for information.

THE KITTY ORTIZ DE LEON FOUNDATION needs volunteers to help promote organ donor awareness. For more information, please contact Cassandra Reed or Espy De Leon at 394-0838 or kodfoundation@aol.com.

GOLDEN HARVEST FOOD BANK needs volunteers during the day, from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, to help sor t

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: For more information and a meeting schedule, call 860-8331.

SEXAHOLICS ANONYMOUS, a 12-step program of recovery from addiction to obsessive/compulsive sexual thoughts and behaviors, meets Wednesdays at 8 p.m. at Christ Church Unity, 2301 Central Ave. Call 339-1204 and leave first name and phone number; a confidential reply is assured.

GUIDELINES: Public service announcements are listed in this section without charge at the discretion of the editor.

Announcements must be received by Monday at noon and will be included as space permits. Send to Events, Metro Spirit, P.O. Box 3809, Augusta, GA 30914 or fax (706) 7336663. You may also e-mail listings to rhonda.jones@metrospirit.com or lisa.jordan@metrospirit.com. Listings cannot be taken over the phone.

27 M E T R O S P I R I T J A N 1 5 2 0 0 4

28 M E T R O S P I R I T J A N 1 5

/////////////////////// Arts: Visual

Two Artists, Two Exhibits

By Rhonda Jones

2 0 0 4

M

alaika Favorite hates to waste paint. If she finds herself with leftovers, instead of tossing them out, she simply creates an “extra” piece. Making art that way, she said, has given her quite a few surprises.

“In a way what happens is, it’s actually like you’re creating from a different source because when I’m working on a particular painting, I know what I’m going to do.”

With the “leftover paint” paintings, she said, things are a bit different.

“I don’t have expectations; I’m just playing. … And what I’ve found is that, as a result of doing that, I’ve created a whole series that I never would have thought to create.”

Usually, she said, those pieces are small.

One such work is called “The Journey of the Amistad,” onto which she collaged a picture of a ship because the piece had begun reminding her of a “mysterious, strange journey.”

“They start off as nothing and then they begin to look like something,” she said.

This approach has given her a whole series of miniature paintings. When I asked her how many there were, she laughed.

“How many? I don’t know — There must be around 60. They (the series) just keep growing. I have a lot of leftover paint,” she said.

I asked her about inspiration. She said it’s nice when it comes, but it isn’t something she relies on.

“Well, I guess it’s just like any other profession: When you’re dedicated to something, you put all you have into it. I enjoy what I do, so it’s not just a question of waiting to be inspired.

“In the process of doing it, it creates its own inspiration.”

I asked her if she considered the act of creating a spiritual one.

“Oh yes, always. When you’re working, oftentimes you discover things inside yourself. I’m Christian and I’ll use the Bible a lot, collage in bits of scripture.”

For instance, she has a series based on the life of Christ. But, for Favorite, spirituality in creating is not just about using religious themes as subject.

“It’s kind of like you’re working by faith

that this is going to be something,” she said.

She said that, once upon a time, she used to labor over her work and try to control it, but time has taught her to relinquish that control.

“Gradually I’m just learning to trust myself and let the painting lead,” she said.

“When you work from your heart, you’re trusting the art to lead you somewhere and it always surprises you.”

As for the exhibit, there will be paintings from a series she did based on “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the black national anthem.

She said she took the hymn and broke it up into lines and sentences, and so therefore one of her paintings is titled “God of Our Silent Tears.” And that series has about 50 paintings in it, she said, spread over four shows.

“I intended to only do 33 and it wouldn’t let me go,” she said.

Past criticisms, she said, have told her that she had too much going on at one time. Variations on themes was her way of focusing on and developing one idea.

I asked her if she ever gets bored making so many paintings around one idea.

“That’s when I end it,” she said. “And so far that (particular series) hasn’t ended yet.”

Being a writer, of course, I asked if it would be accurate to compare the artist’s series to a novel. She seemed to like the idea.

“I would say that would be accurate.

People don’t think of it like that, but it’s like you’ve done a book and each painting is a chapter.”

I asked her why artists tend to build series, if it’s something they teach young artists in school that they should shoot for.

She said that art historians did it.

“I think that if you notice most famous artists and you study their work — art historians tend to put their work in series, like Picasso had a blue period.”

She guesses that artists tend to focus on one particular thing for a while anyway. “I guess it’s something that’s handed down in the art world,” she said. “And then usually when you’re doing a show you want it to work together as a group and so then you focus on a particular theme.”

I asked what it was like as an artist to attend her own art shows. “Well it’s good

“Facing the Rising Sun” by Malaika Favorite.

///////////////////////

to be able to see the work up on the wall together. When you’re at home or in the studio, you can’t put it all up. … It helps me to see the work up where everything’s nice and clean and it’s not a lot of color.”

Favorite agreed that seeing her art hanging in a show can be like seeing it for the first time. “Sometimes because you’re working on it … you work on it so long it’s hard to think about what it really looks like and you get it up on the wall in a public space and you see it in a different way, especially when it’s the first time you’re showing it. That’s the surprise.”

She said it’s also nice to see how other people react to her work. “Do they see what I’m seeing or do they understand where I’m going?”

Of course, she said, there’s an emotional aspect to the experience of showing work as well. “It’s like your children.

You finally dress them up and send them out into the world.”

Favorite’s “children” will be dressed up and on display at the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History through February. For information, call (706) 7243576, or visit www.lucycraftlaneymuseum.com.

And Then There’s Baker Overstreet He is not as experienced as Favorite but, as a graduating senior at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore in search of a graduate school, he is poised on the threshold of his career.

“I’ve been working with these make-believe characters that I gradually adopted,” he said.

“I put these individual characters in narrative.”

the viewer to think something.”

He feels it’s important for his titles to be ambiguous; therefore, the viewer can bring whatever he wants to the work.

The son of Superior Court Justice Carlisle Overstreet, he is at the moment back home visiting and enjoying his first exhibit at the Mary Pauline Gallery on Artists’ Row, Broad Street, in downtown Augusta.

He told me about developing a relationship with the gallery’s owner while still very young.

“I first met Molly, I guess, five or six years ago when she first opened the gallery and, considering what was going on downtown in terms of gallery space, I thought she was something worthwhile.”

A detail from Baker Overstreet’s “Cat Loves Nose.”

So he let her know just that and later did a stint with her as gallery And they are rather impossible to describe, assistant, and has kept in touch with so check out the kitty-pic. It’s a detail of a her since. larger painting titled “Cat Loves Nose.” Of “I was in France for a few months course, I had to ask him about that title. (last year) and made a body of work “That’s one of the hard things I think, there, and when I came back she asked giving a piece a title. You sort of steer to see it.”

“The character development, I think, really 29 came into play while I was there,” he added.

I told him those characters struck me as ME kind of whimsical.

T R “I don’t know how I feel about that word,” he said. “Because I think — when I O think of whimsical I think of a certain type S of charm. … I like to think there’s some- P thing a bit colder about it that I don’t think I R of when I think of whimsy.”

I But it is fun, nonetheless.

T “These are all imaginary characters,” he said. “Like a children’s storybook or AJ something. I like to think it takes you N on adventures.”

1 I asked him also about inspiration and 5 artist control. He says he likes for his art to 2 surprise him.

0 “Certainly I think there’s only a certain 0 amount of control over what you’re doing. 4 That’s what makes it exciting.”

He said he approaches certain aesthetics or images that attract him, and he likes to see how the painting “runs away with it.”

“I think if I wasn’t surprised when I was working, it would be a rather boring thing to do and I’d stop doing it,” he said.

Well, he doesn’t show any signs of doing that. When asked about his future, he said, “I’d like to make my work and live just by making my work. I don’t have much of a desire to teach or do commission work, but I would like to be a gallery artist.”

Come check him out at the Mary Pauline Gallery, 982 Broad Street, downtown Augusta, Jan. 16-Feb. 14, with an opening reception Jan. 16 from 5-8 p.m. For info, call the gallery at (706) 724-9542. Check out the Web site at www.marypaulinegallery.com.

Get to the heart of the matter.

Too often, heart disease is thought of as a man’s disease. Unfortunately, this has contributed to the fact that since 1984, more women have died of heart disease than men. In fact, 93 percent of the women right here in the C.S.R.A. have at least one risk factor for heart disease. So it’s important that women learn the symptoms of a heart attack and know that certain symptoms like back pain, jaw pain, fatigue and nausea are common to them. That’s why University Health Care System developed a program designed to increase awareness of heart disease. It’s called Women’s HeartAdvantage™. To learn more, talk to your physician or

call 706/828-2828 (local) or 1/866/601-2828 (toll-free)

request a Women’s HeartAdvantage Information Kit. ™

LISTEN TO YOUR HEART BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.

and

This program is made possible in part by the generous support of:

30 M E T R O S P I R I T

Cinema

J A N

“Torque”

Movie Listings

1 5

Warner Bros. Pictures

2 0 0 4

Along Came Polly (PG-13) — Ben Stiller is Reuben Fef fer, whose wife leaves him af ter hooking up with a scuba instructor on their honeymoon. Fef fer decides to play it safe and give up on love, but a chance encounter with a childhood friend thrusts him into a world where playing it safe is not an option. Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Ben Stiller, Philip Seymour Hof fman, Debra Messing, Hank Azaria.

Big Fish (PG-13) — The center of this film is stolid William Bloom (Billy Crudup). Near the end of his father's long life, Bill is still peeved with the old boy for telling so many tall stories, for endlessly embroidering the truth with his drawlin' Dixie whoppers. Beneficiaries of his motorized mouth include wife Sandy (Jessica Lange).

And Jenny, the woman who wanted him, a pinin' lady of the pines (Helena Bonham Car ter). The movie isn't deep or risky enough to earn the catch in the throat it finally asks for. But it has the appeal of good times remembered, and cute, cranky lines like, "Most things considered wicked are simply lonely, and lacking in social niceties." Cast: Alber t Finney, Ewan McGregor, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Car ter, Steve Buscemi. Running time: 1 hr., 50 mins. (Elliot) ★★1/2 Brother Bear (G) — Latest Disney animated of fering about a young man, Kenai, who is transformed by The Great Spirits into a bear. On a quest to gain back his human form, Kenai befriends a bear cub, Koda, and evades his human brother, who, not realizing Kenai has been turned into a bear, is on Kenai’s trail on a revenge mission. Cast: Jeremy Suarez, Joaquin Phoenix, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas.

Calendar Girls (PG-13) — The story begins in tragedy: Annie's (Julie Walters) wise, gentle husband John (John Alder ton) contracts, then dies of, leukemia.

Wanting to do something, she determines to provide a decent sofa for the visitors to the hospital's sick and dying patients. What bet ter way than through the Women's Institute's annual calendar? A problem: How to boost sales? She and her naughty-girl girlfriend Chris (Helen Mirren) come up with a most improbable scheme, and enlist enough of their fellow 40- and 50something W.I. members to make it happen. Mirren and Walters simply don't have enough story to work with; they seem almost to be flailing in their at tempt to gin up some drama from the flaccid script. Cast: Helen Mirren, Julie Walters, John Alder ton, Linda Basset t, Penelope Wilton. Running time: 1 hr., 48 mins. (Salm) ★★ Chasing Liberty (PG-13) — Mandy Moore is presidential daughter Anna Foster, still a virgin and ready not to be. Anna sickens of official routine and Secret Service guardians during dad's visit to Prague and flees to a rock concer t, then heads into the wild night on the Vespa of a stick-thin hunk, Ben (Mat thew Goode). Ben is an earnest Secret Service agent, let ting Anna run loose on a chain still linked to daddy. This is 2004's first airball of goo, so you can begin your binge long before summer. Because the soundtrack romps and stomps so of ten, you might set tle for buying the CD, but then you would miss the many postcard views of Europe. Cast: Mandy Moore, Jeremy Piven, Annabella Sciorra, Mark Harmon, Mat thew Goode. Running time: 1 hr., 51 mins. (Elliot t) ★★

Dreamworks Pictures

“House of Sand and Fog”

RATINGS ★★★★ — Excellent

Cheaper by the Dozen (PG) — To make an old (1950) Clif ton Webb comedy without Clif ton Webb is a serious loss, but get ting Steve Mar tin - a vanilla-shaked version of Webb's snappish fussiness — is not a bad idea for "Cheaper By the Dozen." He's engaging as Tom Baker, football coach and father of 12 kids. Bonnie Hunt plays the wife and mom, Kate, looking awfully good despite the wear. The Bakers have a great life in a small town where Tom coaches, but he's hired to go to a bigger team outside Chicago, and the only story is the stress on the family from their move. The film is simple and obvious and plastic, but diver ting. Designed to be fluf f, it's fluf fy all the time. Cast: Steve Mar tin, Bonnie Hunt, Piper Perabo, Hilary Duf f, Richard Jenkins.

Running time: 1 hr., 34 mins. (Elliot t) ★★ Cold Mountain (R) — Sick of the war, the wounded Confederate soldier Inman (Jude Law) trudges back home to Cold Mountain, N.C. Waiting for him, he hopes, is the woman he briefly knew, Ada (Nicole Kidman), the polished daughter of a preacher (Donald Sutherland). It's their unrequited love that draws Inman back, along with the land, and that keeps Ada going as she learns how to sur vive in the almost lawless countr y. Pushed along by old tunes that burr and rasp in the "O Brother, Where Ar t Thou?" mode, the movie has rhy thm, but it overall feels like just one darn hard day af ter another. Cast: Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger, Brendan Gleeson, Natalie Por tman, Philip Seymour Hof fman, Donald Sutherland, Giovanni Ribisi.

Running time: 2 hrs., 21 mins. (Elliot t) ★★1/2 Elf (PG) — Years ago, a human boy was adopted by one of Santa’s elves af ter sneaking a ride back to the Nor th Pole in Santa’s bag of presents. Now, he’s fully grown, his height and clumsy nature impeding his duties in the workshop. He decides it’s time to travel to the human world and search for his family. Taking a job as a depar tment store Elf, he inspires humans to believe in Santa Claus. Cast: Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Bob Newhar t, Mary Steenburgen.

The Fighting Temptations (PG-13) — Cuba Gooding Jr. plays Darrin, a junior adver tising exec with secrets. He's nearly broke and he lied on his resume to get his job. Then the worst-case scenario happens: His deception is discovered af ter he helps to land a major account for the company. Then he learns that his Aunt Sally has passed away and he's expected to at tend her funeral as her last surviving relative. Darrin learns that he'll gain a huge inheritance if he whips the church choir into shape in time for a gospel contest. This is where "The Fighting Temptations" falls into the pit of stupidity.

What saves the movie from being a total stinker is the music. As for Gooding, he seems to have confused charm and enthusiasm for acting. Cast: Cuba Gooding Jr., Beyonce Knowles, Mike Epps, Melba Moore, Angie Stone, the O'Jays, Montell Jordan and Rue McClanahan.

Running time: 1 hr., 28 mins. (McCormick) ★★ House of Sand and Fog (R) — As Col. Massoud Amir Behrani, refugee from the shah's regime in Iran, Ben Kingsley is dominant as this iron-spined but desperate man. Behrani has brought his wife and two children to the Bay Area, and he works hard, dir ty jobs to replen-

★★★— Worthy

★★ — Mixed

★ — Poor

ish the nest egg af ter his daughter's lavish wedding. He buys cheaply a beach home from which the owner, Kathy (Jennifer Connelly), was suddenly evicted.

Divorced and aimless, a recovered alcoholic, she lost the house in a ta x foreclosure, but now finds the grit to want her family's old nest back. The movie has a touchingly lived-in force of experience. In a way, it's all about the most sacred theme of California life: real estate. You can be killed by the fine print, and personal hell can be worse than escrow. Cast: Ben Kingsley, Jennifer Connelly, Ron Eldard, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Frances Fisher, Jonny Ahdout. Running time: 1 hr., 50 mins. (Elliot t) ★★★ In the Cut (R) — Meg Ryan is Frannie Avery, a teacher of writing who lives in a risky New York of bars and psychics and whores — while cops track a killer who butchers women. The film is about a hur t romantic so doused in passion and hope for it that her city is a sticky private maze, rather hellish but seductive. Frannie is excited but scared by a young detective (Mark Ruf falo) so full of cop talk, a gamey sexual player, passionate and feeling, maybe not to be trusted. The film could be "Klute" pushed through the lessons of "Last Tango in Paris." Frannie is an experienced Manhat tan survivor and her vulnerability shouldn't be this disabling.

Does she imagine that if life is about sex and danger, it's poetry? For her the tonic and toxic run together, juices exchanging heat, and their mix gives "In the Cut" a remarkable taste. Cast: Meg Ryan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mark Ruf falo, Kevin Bacon, Nick Damici. Running time: 2 hrs. (Elliot t) ★★★1/2 The Last Samurai (R) — Tom Cruise stars as Nathan Algren, a heroic Civil War veteran and then embit tered cavalry man, reduced to heavy drinking and shilling for a gun company. Algren goes to Japan, paid to train the new imperial army in modern ways and weapons. But he finds himself drawn to the insurgent cause and almost idyllic life in the hills of samurai leader Katsumoto (Watanabe), who fights for the old ways and hopes to win over the adolescent emperor from greedy modernists. Having come to teach, Algren stays to learn.

He is captured af ter impressing Katsumoto with his fighting spirit; the "barbarian" has a tiger within. "The Last Samurai" bides its time, has a predictable plot, but gives pleasure of a sustained kind. Cast: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Tony Goldwyn, Timothy Spall, Koyuki.

Running time: 2 hrs., 24 mins. (Elliot t) ★★★

Looney Tunes: Back in Action (PG) —

Director Joe Dante's hip game plan is a double-decker: one deck of enter tainment for kids (and teens who don't scof f at kids' movies), another for the grown if not greatly more adult viewers. Brendan Frasier stars with Bugs Bunny, Daf fy Duck and the stable of Warner Bros. cartoon characters. Joining Frasier are Timothy Dalton, Joan Cusack, Jenna Elfman, and Heather Locklear and Steve Mar tin as the mastermind villian. Running time: 1 hr., 32 mins. (Elliot) ★★★

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (PG-13) — lasts 200 minutes, and some of

those are long minutes. The last 20 can feel like an hour, for clearly creator Peter Jackson didn't wish to let his saga go. Bernard Hill, Viggo Mor tensen and Orlando Bloom are impressive fighters, and Cate Blanchet t

0— Not worthy

makes a gorgeous Galadriel. This is posing, not acting.

Sir Ian McKellen acts very well as noble Gandalf, but lines about hear t, courage and fate make him Lord For tune Cookie. "Lord" is All Epic, All the Time. Jackson loves bat tles, which means: hurling dense masses of mostly computerized fighters at one another. If the clima x bat tle this time is more overpowering than the Helm's Deep boggler in "Two Towers," does it truly deepen the story? Maybe it is just more spectacle, as clima xes are stacked high and then the epic winds down with Elijah Woods as Frodo (now mildly matured) exiting sweetly, his destiny done. Cast: Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchet t, Viggo Mor tensen, Ian Holm, Orlando Bloom, Sean Astin. Running time: 3 hrs., 20 mins. ★★ Love Don’t Cost a Thing (PG-13) — “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” is a remake of the 1987 teen comedy “Can’t Buy Me Love.” An unpopular geek blackmails a cheerleader into posing as his girlfriend in an at tempt to improve his reputation. Cast: Nick Cannon, Christina Milian, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Kal Penn, Steve Harvey, Kenan Thompson.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (PG-13) — The best film yet about men

?

fighting at sea under sail. Two of Patrick O'Brian's books have been beautifully transposed into a cogent and moving tale of the Napoleonic Wars. Capt. Aubrey (Russell Crowe) and his friend Dr. Maturin (Paul Bet tany) bond tightly despite amusing frictions and lead through storm and shot a stout crew against a French ship larger and bet ter built. It all fits and works like good seamanship, under Peter Weir's direction, manly without fakery.

Running time: 2 hr., 19 min. (Elliot t) ★★★★ The Matrix: Revolutions (R) — So much expectation, so much budget and now ... this? Yep, a grinding bore with more solemn neo-religious talk about savior Neo (Keanu Reeves), contending worlds (equally ugly) and video game (oops, action) payof fs that cost hugely, but of fer trite satisfaction (hordes of metallic bugs, a leaping fist fight in the rain). Nobody really acts, though Mary Alice is cute as a cookie-baking oracle. Hugo Weaving as the evil, grinning Agent Smith still seems like an FBI man hysterical about losing J. Edgar Hoover. It's a banal epic, for diehard fans only. Running time: 2 hrs., 9 mins. (Elliot t) ★ Mona Lisa Smile (PG-13) — Julia Rober ts has no Mona Lisa smile — enigmatic coyness isn't in her range — but her big, horsey grin flashes its horse sense and beaming charm through much of "Mona Lisa Smile," and viewers can smile in return. She plays Katherine Watson, a "Bohemian from California" who in 1953 comes to Wellesley College to teach ar t history.

Katherine is, of course, a Pacific breeze, a progressive, star tled to find that her class has mastered the curriculum tex t before her arrival. She quickly teaches the "girls" to stop being rote drones and confront a grand new Jackson Pollock, the holy grail of Ike Era modernism.

The movie has pinches of ar t history, but takes more time with Katherine's love life. Cast: Julia Rober ts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Constance Baker, Ginnifer Goodwin, Dominic West, Marcia Gay Harden. Running time: 1 hr., 57 mins. ★★1/2 My Baby’s Daddy (PG-13) — A trio of par tying bachelors from the ‘hood must curb their wild ways when they discover all three of their girlfriends are pregnant at the same time. Cast: Eddie Grif fin, Anthony Anderson, Method Man, Bai Ling, Paula Jai Parker.

Out of Time (PG-13) — John Billingsley stars as Chae, a drunken wiseguy and pathologist trades corkers with Police Chief Mat t Whitlock (Denzel Washington), who sloshes through his latest case. The chief is suddenly the big suspect in a double murder caused by arson, af ter his incriminating, illicit af fair with past girlfriend Anne (Sanaa Lathan). Whitlock hustles through a hot day covering up the clues that point to him, while the main detective sleuthing his trail is his vampy, almost exwife, Alex (Eva Mendes). Dynamic, but obsessively remote from reality, "Out of Time" is like a drive-in movie for a car junkyard. Cast: Denzel Washington, Sanaa Lathan, Dean Cain, Eva Mendes. Running time: 1 hr., 54 mins. (Elliot t) ★1/2 Paycheck (PG-13) — Ben Af fleck is a computer genius who gets his memory wiped af ter a secret, three-year project, then finds himself cheated of the $92 million payof f from creepy CEO Aaron Eckhar t. But Ben lef t behind a kit of clues, and he's put them together, despite the big memory lapse. He even got a state lottery payof f for himself to compensate for the lost loot.

And try to believe in Uma Thurman as tag-along Rachel, trying to inser t some emotions between the clacking wheels of plot. At times, you may believe the script's memory has been evaporated. If whole pages are gone, or hurled together in a lot tery numbers bin, would we much notice, or care? Cast: Ben Af fleck, Uma Thurman, Aaron Eckhar t, Paul Giamat ti. Running time: 1 hr. 50 min. (Elliot t) ★1/2 Peter Pan (PG) — P.J. Hogan's film is like a cyberized revamp of Disney, but every thing is brighter, fuller, glitzier, with live actors and lots of mat ted ef fects. Capt.

Hook's pirate ship is a vir tual theme park awaiting customers. The feared crocodile seems to be from some Jurassic park. Clouds are so pink and cot ton-candied you expect Peter and the others to get stuck in them. The

magic can get a lit tle ballistic. It's a remarkably sensual film. The action scenes are amusingly zest ful, Peter is adorable but not too cute, the pirates are a spry bunch of uglies, but it's the characters connecting emotionally that makes "Peter Pan" fly. For kids, the movie is a sure thing. Cast: Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Sumpter, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Lynn Redgrave, Olivia Williams, Richard Briars. Running time: 1 hr., 32 mins. (Elliot t) ★★★ Radio (PG) — Ed Harris is Harold Jones, the coach of the high school football team in a small South Carolina town. Coach Jones takes pity on James (Cuba Gooding Jr.), a mentally handicapped young man who mutely pushes his shopping car t past the practice field every day, and makes him a kind of team, then school, mascot.

Nicknamed Radio, he melts the hear t of almost everyone he encounters. A few antagonists enter and exit periodically. The schmaltz-intolerant would be wise simply to Fed-Ex seven bucks and a vial of tears directly to Columbia Pictures. Cast: Cuba Gooding Jr. Ed Harris, Brent Sex ton, Riley Smith. Running time: 1 hr., 46 mins. (Salm) ★1/2 Scary Movie 3 (PG-13) — The third film in the “Scary Movie” series once again spoofs a series of recent horror hits, fantasy epic films and other pop culture sensations, including “8 Mile,” “The Matrix,” “The Ring,” “The Others” and “Signs.” Cast: David Zucker, Anna Faris, Charlie Sheen, Regina Hall, Denise Richards.

The School of Rock (PG-13) — Jack Black, having learned a few things about rocking from singing and playing guitar in his band, Tenacious D, is a wannabe rock star named Dewey Finn who stumbles into a substitute teaching job. In between his outbursts of hair-metal singing and energetic dancing, he teaches his class of private school fif th graders the impor tance of self-confidence and "sticking it to the man," while he, in turn, learns what it means to be a team player. At times, the film comes close to comedic mediocrity but, like its characters, is saved by rock 'n' roll. Cast: Jack Black, Joan Cusack, Mike White, Sarah Silverman. Running time: 1 hr., 48 mins. (Fu) ★★★ Something’s Gotta Give (PG-13) — Jack Nicholson plays with his cruising wolf image and his age (66), spor ting with them as compulsive single Harry Langer. Harry's latest find for a fling is svelte Marin (Amanda Peet), an auctioneer who treats him like a lusty antique. They go to her divorced parents' beach house.

But then he meets mother Erica (Keaton), a playwright, the awkward moments quiver. Harry has a sudden hear t crisis. He ends up stuck for a night with Erica. What happens is silly, knowing, wit ty, touching and abet ted def tly by a terrific score. When someone says of Erica's new play, "It's sweet, it's smar t, it's funny," that serves as a review of the movie. Critics should be pleased to echo it.

Cast: Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves, Frances McDormand, Amanda Peet. Running time: 1 hr., 47 mins. (Elliot t) ★★★★ Teacher’s Pet (PG) — Adapted from the Disney and ABC television series, “Teacher’s Pet” follows the plight of Spot, a talking dog who is trying to become human. He consults a mad scientist, with some hilarious results along the way. Cast: Kelsey Grammer, Nathan Lane, Debra Jo Rupp, David Ogden Stiers, Jerry Stiller.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (R) — It’s a remake of the original film and based loosely on true events that inspired that film and “The Silence of the Lambs.” A group of friends become isolated in the midst of a clan of cannibals. Cast: Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Eric Balfour, Erica Leerhsen.

Timeline (PG-13) — Using actual smoke and mirrors (yes, believe it), time-trippers go through a "wormhole" to turbulent France, 1357. Big men, big swords, catapults firing flaming balls, a princess falling for a modern hunk, David Thewlis wearing an American accent like armor, Billy Connolly being Scot tish, Paul Walker looking ready to head home for sur fing, Richard Donner hacking away as director: fun for boys and aging fans of 1950s MGM. Running time: 1 hr., 45 mins. (Elliot t) ★★ Torque (PG-13) — Biker Cary Ford returns to the hometown he lef t af ter taking several motorcycles belonging to a notorious drug dealer. The dealer is looking for his bikes, which contain a hidden stash in their gas tanks. When Ford refuses to give up the bikes, the dealer frames him for the murder of a rival gang leader.

Now, Ford must outrun the drug dealer, a biker gang and the FBI. Cast: Mar tin Henderson, Monet Mazur, Ice Cube, Jay Hernandez, Mat t Schulze.

21 Grams (R) — A combustive hash of hopeless destinies from the makers of "Amores Perros," shot in a leached but septic style, the plotline so tormented it knots up. Acting well but to numbing ef fect are Sean Penn, Naomi Wat ts, Benicio Del Toro, Charlot te Gainsbourg and Clea DuVall. Directed in a fever by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. 2 hrs., 5 mins. (Elliot t) ★★

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32

Cinema: Close-Up

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Comedies Not Always Fun For Ben Stiller

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ith the release of his latest film, “Along Came Polly,” Ben Stiller is surely now filmdom’s foremost comedian specializing in humorous bathroom scenes. Stiller has the hilarious ability to get caught with his pants down, in films from “There’s Something About Mary” to “Meet the Parents.”

He has another prolonged and painfully funny toilet episode in “Along Came Polly,” and, once again, it’s all for the love of a woman. Stiller plays an uptight professional risk analyst who embarks on a risky affair with Polly, a freewheeling Bohemian beauty played by Jennifer Aniston.

Shooting the film was not exactly risk-free for the 38-year-old actor. Aniston’s kooky character keeps ferrets as pets, and one of the critters turned on Stiller, chomping down on his chin.

Hilarity did not ensue; rabies shots did.

The son of Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller, Ben will be paired on-screen with his real-life wife, actress Christine Taylor, in the upcoming comedy “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.” Stiller will also be seen this year as Detective Dave Starsky in the big-screen comedy remake of “Starsky & Hutch,” and a “Parents” sequel with the eyebrow-raising title “Meet the Fockers.”

Q: What did you do to the ferret to deserve getting bit?

A: I didn’t do anything, I swear! It was really weird. We were doing this scene where I come running after Jennifer and I’m holding the ferret. I had just gotten a root canal the day before so I was a little sensitive around my mouth, but I was holding him up there anyway. And ferrets are weird. Do they have spines? Because he did this crazy turnaround thing and he literally bit and attached himself to my chin. And then he didn’t let go. He was holding onto my chin and it was like this surreal thing where you think, “OK. The ferret’s on my chin.” And their teeth are sharp, like razors. But I didn’t provoke him at all!

Q: Are you at all like your character in “Along Came Polly?” Do you have similar kinds of hang-ups?

A: I’m not neurotic about germs. I’ll quickly eat food off the floor if it just dropped. I don’t have that issue. But I’m not a great dancer, so that’s probably the closest thing we share. I don’t dance in public.

Q: You do have a funny salsa dancing scene in the film, and you also get to play racquetball. Filming those scenes would seem to be pretty fun.

A: Well, the racquetball scene was one of those things that we shot all day, and for the first hour you’re thinking, “Oh, this is great!

This is going to be so cool.” Of course, most people probably don’t play for more than an hour, even professional racquetball players.

So those last 11 hours of the day were torturous and horrible.

Q: What was the basis of your on-screen chemistry with Jennifer Aniston?

A: We both enjoyed each other’s company

and laughed at each other and had fun working together. And Jennifer’s just a great person to hang out with. She’s just an extremely giving, fun, good person.

Q: Could you pinpoint the comic elements of her work that you find particularly striking?

A: I don’t know how to say it. I don’t want to sound like, “Oh, there’s so few women who are good at comedy,” you know? It sounds like a really sexist thing to say. But she really is one of the few actresses I’ve known who has such impeccable timing as a comedian and actress. She really listens and she has timing, and I don’t think it comes out of a premeditated sort of thing. It’s just in her bones. She knows when to say something and when to not say anything, which is a real gift.

Q: You two do have an intimate scene in the movie. Because it is a comedy, what was the experience like on the set?

A: It’s just a weird experience, but being a comedic scene makes it easier. So it’s a whole other sort of vibe going on. It would be harder if it were a really heavy, romantic thing.

But it’s always weird though, for sure.

Q: With “Along Came Polly,” you do some pretty wild things to get laughs. Is there anything you would not do for comedy?

A: I guess not.

Q: Are you not embarrassed?

A: I am embarrassed. I am. What can I tell you? I’ve worked with the writer-director, John Hamburg, before. So he and I will have a discussion about the scenes which are sometimes difficult personally for me to approach.

We talk about it and figure out what’s right for the movie and if it’s really worth it. Usually the discussion is, “Well, we’ll try it. And if it doesn’t work, it won’t be in the movie.” And then it’s always in the movie.

33

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MOVIE CLOCK REGAL AUGUSTA EXCHANGE 20 Movies Good 1/16 - 1/22 Along Came Polly (PG-13) Fri-Sat: 12:10, 1:10, 2:35, 3:20, 4:50, 5:35, 7:05, 8:00, 9:20, 10:45, 11:35; Sun-Thur: 12:10, 1:10, 2:35, 3:20, 4:50, 5:35, 7:05, 8:00, 9:20, 10:45 House of Sand and Fog (R) 12:40, 3:30, 7:25, 10:15 Teacher’s Pet (PG) 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 7:00 Torque (PG-13) Fri-Sat: 12:15, 1:05, 2:20, 3:25, 4:30, 5:30, 7:35, 8:05, 9:40, 10:10, 11:45, 12:20; Sun-Thur: 12:15, 1:05, 2:20, 3:25, 4:30, 5:30, 7:35, 8:05, 9:40, 10:10 Win a Date With Tad Hamilton (PG-13) Fri: 7:00; Sun: 4:00 Big Fish (PG-13) 1:15, 1:45, 4:15, 4:45, 7:15, 7:45, 10:05, 10:35 Calendar Girls (PG-13) 11:55, 2:30, 5:10, 7:40, 10:15 Chasing Liberty (PG-13) Fri-Sat: 1:35, 4:10, 6:50, 9:25, 12:00; Sun-Thur: 1:35, 4:10, 6:50, 9:25 My Baby’s Daddy (PG-13) Fri-Sat: 12:25, 1:15, 2:40, 3:25, 4:55, 5:40, 7:20, 7:50, 9:30, 10:00, 11:40, 12:10; Sun-Thur: 12:25, 1:15, 2:40, 3:25, 4:55, 5:40, 7:20, 7:50, 9:30, 10:00 Cold Mountain (R) 12:00, 3:15, 6:45, 10:00 Paycheck (PG-13) 2:00, 5:05, 7:55, 10:40 Peter Pan (PG) 11:50, 2:20, 5:00 Mona Lisa Smile (PG-13) Fri: 1:20, 4:15, 12:15; Sat: 1:20, 4:15, 6:55, 9:35, 12:15; Sun: 1:20, 9:35; Mon-Thur: 1:20, 4:15, 6:55, 9:35 Cheaper by the Dozen (PG) 12:20, 3:00, 5:25, 7:50, 10:20 Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (PG-13) 12:00, 4:00, 8:00 Something’s Gotta Give (PG-13) 1:25, 4:35, 7:30, 10:25 Love Don’t Cost a Thing (PG-13) Fri-Sat: 9:00, 11:30; Sun-Thur: 9:00 The Last Samurai (R) 12:45, 4:05, 7:20, 10:30 Master and Commander (PG-13) 7:35, 10:35 EVANS 14 CINEMAS Movies Good 1/16 - 1/22 House of Sand and Fog (R) Fri: 4:00, 6:55, 9:30; Sat-Mon: 1:25, 4:00, 6:55, 9:30; Tues-Thur: 4:00, 6:55, 9:30 Along Came Polly (PG-13) Fri: 3:20, 5:30, 7:40, 9:50; Sat-Mon: 1:05, 3:20, 5:30, 7:40, 9:50; TuesThur: 5:30, 7:40, 9:50 Torque (PG-13) Fri: 3:00, 5:20, 7:30, 9:40; SatMon: 12:50, 3:00, 5:20, 7:30, 9:40; Tues-Thur: 5:20, 7:30, 9:40 Teacher’s Pet (PG) Fri: 3:10, 5:10, 7:10; Sat-Mon: 1:10, 3:10, 5:10, 7:10; Tues-Thur: 5:10, 7:10 Win a Date With Tad Hamilton (PG-13) Fri: 7:20; Sun: 4:00 Big Fish (PG-13) Fri: 3:45, 7:05, 9:45; Sat-Mon: 1:00, 3:45, 7:05, 9:45; Tues-Thur: 3:55, 7:05, 9:45 Chasing Liberty (PG-13) Fri-Mon: 2:10, 5:00, 7:25, 9:55; Tues-Thur: 5:00, 7:25, 9:55 My Baby’s Daddy (PG-13) Fri: 3:35, 5:35, 7:35,

9:35; Sat-Mon: 1:35, 3:35, 5:35, 7:35, 9:35; TuesThur: 5:35, 7:35, 9:35 21 Grams (R) Fri: 4:10, 7:15, 9:50; Sat-Mon: 1:30, 4:10, 7:15, 9:50; Tues-Thur: 4:10, 7:15, 9:50 Cold Mountain (R) Fri-Mon: 1:50, 5:40, 9:00; Tues-Thur: 5:40, 9:00 Peter Pan (PG) Fri: 6:40; Sat-Mon: 12:55, 6:40; Tues-Thur: 6:40 Paycheck (PG-13) Fri: 3:50, 10:00; Sat: 1:15, 3:50, 7:20, 10:00; Sun: 1:15, 7:20, 10:00; Mon 1:15, 3:50, 7:20, 10:00; Tues-Thur: 3:55, 7:20, 10:00 Mona Lisa Smile (PG-13) Fri-Mon: 3:30, 9:20; Tues-Thur: 9:20 Cheaper by the Dozen (PG) Fri-Mon: 2:20, 4:40, 7:00, 9:25; Tues-Thur: 4:40, 7:00, 9:25 Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (PG-13) Fri: 4:30, 8:30; Sat-Mon: 12:45, 4:30, 8:30; TuesThur: 4:30, 8:30 Something’s Gotta Give (PG-13) Fri: 4:20, 6:50, 9:40; Sat-Mon: 1:20, 4:20, 6:50, 9:40; Tues-Thur: 4:20, 6:50, 9:40 The Last Samurai (R) 9:10 MASTERS 7 CINEMAS Movies Good 1/16 - 1/22 Timeline (PG-13) Fri: 4:15, 7:05, 9:30; Sat-Sun: 1:45, 4:15, 7:05, 9:30; Mon-Thur: 4:15, 7:05, 9:30 Texas Chainsaw Massacre (R) Fri: 4:30, 7:30, 9:45; Sat-Sun: 2:00, 4:30, 7:30, 9:45; Mon-Thur: 4:30, 7:30, 9:45 Brother Bear (G) Fri: 5:00, 7:00, 9:00; Sat-Sun: 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 7:00, 9:00; Mon-Thur: 5:00, 7:00, 9:00 Scary Movie 3 (PG-13) Fri: 5:15, 7:25, 9:50; SatSun: 1:15, 3:15, 5:15, 7:25, 9:50; Mon-Thur: 5:15, 7:25, 9:50 Radio (PG) Fri: 4:45, 7:05, 9:25; Sat-Sun: 1:30, 4:45, 7:05, 9:25; Mon-Thur: 4:45, 7:05, 9:25 Matrix: Revolutions (R) Fri: 4:00, 6:55, 9:35; SatSun: 12:45, 4:00, 6:55, 9:35; Mon-Thur: 4:00, 6:55, 9:35 Elf (PG) Fri: 5:20, 7:15, 9:40; Sat-Sun: 12:55, 3:05, 5:20, 7:15, 9:40; Mon-Thur: 5:20, 7:15, 9:40 REGAL 12 CINEMAS Movies Good 1/16 - 1/22 Timeline (PG-13) 2:15, 4:40, 7:25, 9:40 Texas Chainsaw Massacre (R) 2:00, 5:00, 7:35, 9:55 Matrix: Revolutions (R) 2:20, 5:10, 7:50 In the Cut (R) 1:55, 4:25, 7:00, 9:25 Elf (PG) 2:30, 4:50, 7:40, 9:55 Scary Movie 3 (PG-13) 2:45, 4:55, 7:45, 9:45 Looney Tunes (PG) 2:40, 5:05, 7:15, 9:20 School of Rock (PG-13) 2:10, 4:45, 7:20, 9:35 Radio (PG) 2:05, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30 Brother Bear (G) 2:35, 4:35, 7:10, 9:15 Out of Time (PG-13) 2:25, 4:45, 7:30, 9:50 The Fighting Temptations (PG-13) 1:55, 4:30, 7:05, 9:45

Movie listings are subject to change without notice.

Cinema: Review

“Polly” Delights in Humiliation and Potty Humor

By Rachel Deahl

W

hat’s a good Jewish boy to do when he walks in on his wife screwing the scuba instructor … on his honeymoon?! In "Along Came Polly," the new film from writer/director John Hamburg, the answer is to let loose and prepare for even more humiliation. As in "Meet the Parents," which Hamburg also wrote, "Along Came Polly" delights in putting a well-meaning, good-natured character embodied by Ben Stiller through the proverbial relationship wringer. And although "Polly" doesn’t think up anything as funny as a character named Gaylord Focker, it provides the requisite amount of potty humor and awkward dating faux pas.

Stiller stars as Reuben Feffer, an insurance risk analyst who’s spent his life sticking to a plan and painfully very responsible. When his wife of a few days (a whiny Debra Messing) runs off with a French scuba instructor (played by Hank Azaria, who does an even more annoying accent than he did in "The Birdcage"), Reuben’s carefully orchestrated life falls apart. When he returns to Manhattan, sans his new wife, he must face the horrors of the single life once again.

Aside from his gruff boss (played by a hefty Alec Baldwin), who offers his prodigal employee a series of off-color one-liners about women, Reuben takes some notso-smart advice from his childhood buddy,

Sandy (Philip Seymour Hoffman). A former child star who now spends his days loafing around, Sandy is all vulgarity and reckless abandon. And Hoffman, with his potbelly sticking out, delights at the opportunity to play another self-absorbed, out of touch idiot. Whether hulking bricks on the basketball court or prancing around in tight sweatpants as Judas in a community theater production of "Jesus Christ Superstar," Hoffman’s antics are amusing, if mostly overwritten.

Offering less to the comedy, Jennifer Aniston stars as the object of Reuben’s misguided affections. A scatter-brained wild child, Aniston’s Polly is a free spirit who inadvertently pulls Reuben into very uncharted waters. Whether encouraging him to try ethnic food (which upsets his case of irritable bowel syndrome) or to salsa (which upsets his basic understanding of gravity), Polly strives to loosen up her tightly wound risk assessment honey with mixed results.

Like "Meet the Parents," "Along Came Polly" is little more than a series of humiliations one man suffers for, and at the hands of, the woman he loves. But unlike "Parents," "Polly" focuses on the area below the belt with plenty of the jokes originating or ending in the bathroom. For those who can’t get enough jokes about bowel movements, enjoy!

For everyone else, be warned.

Check us out on the web at www.metrospirit.com

Music

35 M E T R O S P I R I T

Funky Mellow Mushroom Offers More Than Just Pizza

By Lisa Jordan

J A N 1 5 2 0 0 4

I

n between seating guests, serving drinks and taking orders, Shawn Ledford, owner of the Augusta Mellow Mushroom, took a few minutes out of his afternoon to discuss the Broad Street location of this Atlantabased franchise. Though the Augusta Mellow Mushroom has only been open since April of last year, business seems to be booming, even at 3 o’clock on a Monday afternoon.

“I thought Augusta could support (Mellow Mushroom) because of the name recognition,” says Ledford, citing other Mellow Mushroom locations in Atlanta, Athens, Clemson and Statesboro as reasons Augusta natives might be receptive to the franchise. “It’s a good fit, especially for downtown. It’s a little Bohemian, so it definitely fits with that. It’s actually taken off and done very well.”

The idea of opening up an eclectic spot downtown seems to have been brewing in the back of Ledford’s mind since he first moved to the area in 1997. After meeting his wife, Katy, and living in Atlanta for two years, the Ledfords came back to Augusta at the end of 2001 and started preparing to open Mellow Mushroom.

“We were working to get back to Augusta,” he says. “We could see a renaissance downtown, and it’s exciting to be a part of the second or third tier of that.”

Ledford, his wife and her sister got to work coming up with the restaurant’s funky décor — inside, you’ll see everything from a cut-up, purple VW bus to lime-green walls.

“It was an old gas station, so I guess our theme is garage,” he says. “The theme was kind of a no-brainer.”

The VW bus, whose trunk now serves as Mellow Mushroom’s bar, is quite the conversation piece. Without a little bit of luck, this signature staple of the Augusta Mellow Mushroom would not have come into being.

“I wanted to cut up a bus and hang it on the wall,” says Ledford. “Two days later, I get a call from this guy who’s moving to Europe and selling everything, including his bus.”

In keeping with the restaurant’s eclectic vibe, Mellow Mushroom offers a variety of entertainment options to suit every palate.

“We do (live music) about once a month. We try to bring some different bands, bands out of Athens,” says Ledford. “We have what some people might call jam bands, bluegrass, jazzy funk, eclectic.”

Using Mellow Mushroom as another venue for live music makes this location all the more unique, because not all Mellow Mushroom franchises offer entertainment.

“It’s up to the owners. Some of them

try to have some type of entertainment,” Ledford explains. “If it’s located in a college town, they’ll usually have music.”

Ledford says he hopes to make Mellow Mushroom the type of venue that caters to the crowd that wants to be able to catch great live music without having to jeopardize all-important weeknight sleep.

“We try to finish up early and make it more convenient,” he says. “You can come down and have dinner and listen to live music.”

So if you’re jonesing for pizza, a beer and some tunes on a Monday or a Wednesday night, Mellow Mushroom serves up just what you’re looking for.

“We have open mic every Monday night. It starts eight-ish, and we just try to start a list every week,” Ledford says, adding that those interested in participating may sign up to be on the list any time during the week. “It’s open for poetry, pretty much anything. Really, everybody that’s come in, it’s kind of that singer/songwriter thing. No first-timers yet, but we do hope to see that. We’re going to start doing Acoustic Wednesday, eight-ish to 11.”

Acoustic Wednesday is scheduled to start Jan. 21. For more information on Mellow Mushroom, visit www.mellowmushroom.com.

36

In The Spirit

M E T R O S P I R I T J A N 1 5 2 0 0 4

Heather Cooper and Jennifer Rimmer at Surrey Tavern.

Brian Turner, Hui Wells and Phil Wells at Coconuts.

Tasha Rogers, Bryan Wasden, Tianna Camacho and Ryan Huffman at Stool Pigeons.

Hank, Janie and Richard Leonard at the Pizza Joint.

Misty Clarke, Steven O’Byrne and Betsie Jordan at Coconuts.

Chris Cooper and Ashley Tyson at Stool Pigeons.

Zandra Copeland, Alvin and Cara Hair and Kathy and Rick Utley at Coconuts.

Photos by Michael E. Johnson

37 M E T R O S P I R I T J A N 1 5 2 0 0 4

MUSIC MINIS

M E T R O S P I R I T J A N 1 5 2 0 0 4

And It Even Happened in Texas Ted Nugent has tried to cut off his leg with a chainsaw, but only succeeded in winning himself 40 stitches. He was on the set of his VH1 reality show “Surviving Nugent: The Ted Commandments,” which is a silly name. Go ahead — say it out loud and you’ll see what I mean. The show aired in October, and contestants were made to do really outdoorsy things like skin a Russian boar to win money and other prizes. The next show will take place on Nugent’s compound near Waco, Texas. And just for funzies I’ll let you in on the names of his family: wife Shemane, kid Rocco and ranch hands Big Jim and Big John.

Ozzy’s Collarbone Gone People with medical degrees have replaced Ozzy Osbourne’s collarbone with a rod. Even though reports at the time that it happened last month said he was in no danger of anything too weird happening to him, current reports say that he spent time on a ventilator and nearly lost his arm. He also had to have an artery transplant, and at one point had no pulse, wife Sharon said, according to reports. she said he also thought he had been on tour and in a bomb blast in Wales and was asking about a sheep dog he thought he’d bought. But that could just be Ozzy.

COMPILED BY RHONDA JONES Information compiled from online and other music news sources.

Surrey Tavern

MUSIC

BY TURNER

I

t was almost as if she had finished just as she was getting started.

The absence of activity from LAURYN HILL has been quite baffling to her fans and the music biz alike, especially when one considers that the talented singer-songwriter sold over six million copies of her first album, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.” The disc, released in 1998, remains her only solo studio recording. So where has she been?

After a poorly-received MTV “Unplugged” segment from a couple of years ago, Ms. Hill’s behavior has been erratic. Controversial statements about the Pope and religion in general haven’t increased her star power and her lack of new material has made critics wonder if she’s a sure bet in the WHITNEY HOUSTON wacky-cuckoo sweepstakes.

Currently, she still has no new album to promote but is selling autographs, poems and videos at her Web site LaurynHill.com. Her eventual biography must be getting real intriguing.

Cuddle Up 2004 Dept.

NORAH JONES’ sophomore release, “Feels Like Home,” might be another month away but, from early reports, the album will be another major success. Ms. Jones enlisted the help of two of the three surviving members of THE BAND, keyboardist GARTH HUDSON and drummer LEVON HELM, a move that will obviously enliven the proceedings very nicely. Also contributing is songwriter JESSE HARRIS, who penned “Come Away With Me” and several other tunes on her astounding debut. A U.S. tour is planned for the summer.

THE BLACK CROWES remain “on hiatus,” but the band’s inactivity hasn’t kept guitarist and group co-founder RICH ROBINSON at home counting his royalties from “Shake Your Moneymaker.” Until recently, Robinson was touring with a new group HOOKAH BROWN but, after that project

r Thu

failed to gel, he formed a new band that’s ready to tour. A few dates in New York set for later this month will be recorded and sold on the band’s Web site. Unlike his brother CHRIS, Rich has not sung lead vocals on a Crowes album so this new band will mark his debut as a vocalist.

Two entirely different shows are set for Atlanta Jan. 25 as diva BETTE MIDLER visits Philips Arena for an evening of her bestknown songs. Her comedy, Broadway numbers, oldies and dance routines will probably be more lively and energetic than the recent play of the hapless Atlanta Hawks. Across town on the same evening, former BLACK FLAG frontman HENRY ROLLINS will attack the Variety for an evening of rock, humor and mayhem.

Rollins never fails to astound, amaze and amuse, so check him out. I think he only comes out at night.

Turner’s Quick Notes COLDPLAY’s CHRIS MARTIN, BRIAN WILSON and DAVID BOWIE contribute to the upcoming film about L.A. legendary DJ RODNEY BINGENHEIMER, “Mayor of the Street” … Don’t forget to pick up your WILLIE NELSON tix for his Feb. 28 show at The Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center … BARENAKED LADIES visit Charlotte’s Cricket Arena March 7 in support of last year’s fine “Everything to Everyone” disc … Former RIGHTEOUS BROTHER BOBBY HATFIELD’s death in November wasn’t just caused by heart disease but also “acute cocaine intoxication” as listed in the coroner’s report.

Turner’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Jeopardy A. Waylon Jennings, Jim Croce, Sly Stone and B.B. King all worked in this business before they were stars.

Q. What are disc jockeys at radio stations?

38

Jam d s e r u T ncha a l B Pat

15

aded e H Red Child p e t S 17 Sat & 6 Fri 1 ayback Pl

471 Highland Ave. | 736-1221 Open Mon-Sat at 4 pm until

Lauryn Hill

BY

ED TURNER

Night Life

39 M E T R O S P I R I T J A N 1 5 2 0 0 4

The Kilpatrick Project is just one of the bands set to take stage at Acoustipalooza at Crossroads Jan. 16.

Thursday, 15th The Bee’s Knees - Meditate on This!

Blind Pig - Pat Blanchard with The Broad Street Jam Cafe Du Teau - Bernard Chambers Club Argos - Karaoke Dance Par ty with DJ BJ Coliseum - Karaoke with Travis, Hi-Energy Dance Continuum - Playa*Listic Thursday Coyote’s - The Rhes Reeves Band D. Timm’s - The Section Finish Line Cafe - DJ Fox’s Lair - Andy McCraw Greene Streets - Karaoke The Helm - Karaoke Joe’s Underground - Pete Last Call - DJ Richie Rich Locals - Preston and Weston Metro Coffeehouse - Josh Pierce Michael’s - Marilyn Adcock Modjeska - The Comedy Zone with Julie Scoggins, Greg Hall Playground - Open Mic The Pourhouse - National Karaoke Competition Robbie’s Sports Bar - DJ Rusty Shannon’s - Karaoke with Peggy Surrey Tavern - Red-Headed Stepchild Wheeler Tavern - DJ Dog

Friday, 16th Back Roads - DJ The Bee’s Knees - Projections and Selections Blind Pig - Shameless Dave and the Miracle Whips Cafe Du Teau - Bernard Chambers Charlie O’s - Live Band Club Argos - Argos Angels Stephanie Ross,

Jackie Chanel, April Alexander Coconuts - Bikini Contest Coliseum - Sasha Cotton Patch - Ruskin Coyote’s - The Rhes Reeves Band Crossroads - Acoustipalooza with Jeremy Carr, Miles Kilpatrick, Chelsea Logue, Josh Pierce, Trend, Billy S. D. Timm’s - The Section El Rodeo - DJ Sontiago Finish Line Cafe - DJ Fox’s Lair - Doug James Greene Streets - Karaoke Hangnail Gallery - Dif fuser, Silverstein, Spitalfield Highlander - Arlington Honk y Tonk - Magic Hat, DJ Doug Romanella Jeremy’s Nightclub - Spoken Word, Open Mic, Dance Par ty with DJ Dick Joe’s Underground - John Kolbeck Last Call - DJ Richie Rich Little Honk y Tonk - Live Enter tainment Marlboro Station - Dana Anderson, Dance Par ty with DJ Mark Michael’s - Marilyn Adcock Modjeska - The Flavour Shoppe with DJ Ty Bess Ms. Carolyn’s - The Horizon Partridge Inn - Kari Gaf fney, Jef f Williams Playground - Barroom Olympics The Pourhouse - The Recaps featuring Sassy Brass Robbie’s Sports Bar - DJ Rusty The Shack - DJ Chip Shannon’s - Bar t Bell, Allen Black Soul Bar - ‘80s Night Stillwater Tap Room - High Town Strut ters Surrey Tavern - Playback Wheeler Tavern - DJ Dog

Jazz Sessions with Moniker will be at The Bee’s Knees Jan. 17.

Saturday, 17th Back Roads - DJ The Bee’s Knees - Jazz Sessions with Moniker Blind Pig - The Patrick Vining Band Cafe Du Teau - Bernard Chambers Charlie O’s - Live Band Club Argos - Kat’s Bir thday Bash, Argos Angels, Claire Storm’s First Anniversary with Sasha, Dianne Chanel Coconuts - DJ Tim Coliseum - Petite Dee JonVille Cotton Patch - Jayson and Michael Coyote’s - The Rhes Reeves Band Crossroads - The Vellotones, Livingroom Legends D. Timm’s - The Section El Rodeo - Tracy’s Karaoke Finish Line Cafe - DJ, Karaoke Fox’s Lair - Chuck and Jason Greene Streets - Karaoke Hangnail Gallery - Sick Sick Sick, Remnant, Tur tleneck, Saragashum Honk y Tonk - Magic Hat, DJ Doug Romanella Jeremy’s Nightclub - Open Mic Joe’s Underground - Joe Stevenson Last Call - Foam Par ty Little Honk y Tonk - Live Enter tainment Locals - Blind Draw Marlboro Station - Stephanie Ross, Dance Par ty with DJ Mark Metro Coffeehouse - Live Af ternoon Bluegrass with Eryn Eubanks and the Family Fold Michael’s - Marilyn Adcock Modjeska - DJ Jorge Makepeace Partridge Inn - Sandy B. and the All-Stars Playground - Barroom Olympics The Pourhouse - The Recaps featuring Sassy Brass Robbie’s Sports Bar - DJ Rusty

The Shack - DJ Buckwheat Shannon’s - Kool Katz Soul Bar - Pat Blanchard Band Stillwater Tap Room - County Farm Surrey Tavern - Playback Wheeler Tavern - DJ Dog

Sunday, 18th Adams Lounge - DJ Cafe Du Teau - The Last Bohemian Quar tet Hangnail Gallery - On the Rise, Another Broken Vehicle, Three the Hard Way, In Full Ef fect Marlboro Station - Claire Storm, Dance Par ty with DJ Jon Jon Orange Moon - Smooth Jazz Sunday with Emery Bennet t Robbie’s Sports Bar - DJ Rusty The Shack - Karaoke with DJ Joe Steel, Sasha Shannon’s - Tony Howard, Shelly Watkins Somewhere in Augusta - Patrick Blanchard T.G.I. Friday’s - Brandon Bower Wheeler Tavern - Karaoke with DJ Dog

Monday, 19th Coliseum - Q.A.F. Continuum - Monday Madness Fox’s Lair - Open Mic Greene Streets - Karaoke Joe’s Underground - John Kolbeck Michael’s - Mike Swif t

Tuesday, 20th Adams Lounge - Keith “Fossill” Gregory The Bee’s Knees - 12Tone Lounge Blind Pig - Sabo and the Scorchers Coliseum - Tournament Tuesday

Upcoming Malcolm Holcombe - Stillwater Tap Room Jan. 22 Faye Woodroof - Red Carpet Events - Jan. 23-24 The Kevn Kinney Band - Soul Bar - Jan. 24

George Strait - The Arena at Gwinet t Center, Duluth, Ga. - Jan. 15 My Morning Jacket - Cot ton Club, Atlanta Jan. 17 Sarah Brightman - The Arena at Gwinnet t Center, Duluth, Ga. - Jan. 19 Helloween - Masquerade, Atlanta - Jan. 20 Penny wise - Masquerade, Atlanta - Jan. 21 Gomez - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta - Jan. 24 Bette Midler - Philips Arena, Atlanta - Jan. 25 Henry Rollins Spoken Word - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta - Jan. 25 Ronnie Milsap - Macon City Auditorium, Macon, Ga. - Jan. 30 Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular - Fox Theatre, Atlanta - Jan. 30 Taj Mahal - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta - Jan. 30 Left Front Tire - Cot ton Club, Atlanta - Jan. 30 moe. - Fox Theatre, Atlanta - Jan. 31 Puddle of Mudd - Roxy Theatre, Atlanta - Feb. 2 Vonda Shepard - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta Feb. 6 Kid Rock - The Arena at Gwinnet t Center,

Food & Beverage Sunday!

Spitalfield plays the Hangnail Gallery Jan. 16.

Duluth, Ga. - Feb. 7 Mushroomhead - Masquerade, Atlanta - Feb. 9 Rod Stewart - Philips Arena, Atlanta - Feb. 10 Dillinger Escape Plan - Masquerade, Atlanta Feb. 11 Yonder Mountain String Band - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta - Feb. 12 Robert Earl Keen - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta Feb. 14 MXPX, Simple Plan, Billy Talent - Tabernacle, Atlanta - Feb. 14 O.A.R. - Tabernacle, Atlanta - Feb. 20 Hank Williams III - Masquerade, Atlanta - Feb. 26 Lou Rawls - Anderson Theatre, Mariet ta, Ga. Feb. 27 A.F.I. - Tabernacle, Atlanta - Feb. 28

New Happy Hour Times!

NEW HAPPY HOUR This Week’s Weekly Special:

$3.75 FEATURING LIVE MUSIC

BY BRANDON BOWER

Many tickets are available through TicketMaster outlets, by calling 828-7700, or online at w w w.ticketmaster.com. Tickets may also be available through Tix Online by calling 278-4TIX, online at w w w.tixonline.com or at their outlet location in Southgate Pla za. Night Life listings are subject to change without notice. Deadline for inclusion in Night Life calendar is Tuesday at 4 p.m. Contact Rhonda Jones or Lisa Jordan by calling 738-1142, fa xing 736-0443 or e-mailing to rhonda.jones@metrospirit.com or lisa.jordan@metrospirit.com.

Food & Beverage Sunday!

NEW HAPPY HOUR

MONDAY-FRIDAY 9PM-11PM $1 OFF ENTIRE BAR

“The Original Home of F&B Night!”

11PM-2AM

$1.50 DOMESTIC PINTS $2 SELECTED APPETIZERS

$1.50 Budlight Bottles

Fried Mozzarella, Potato Skins, Potstickers, Onion Rings, Quesadillas

$2.50 Cuervo

2800 Washington Rd.

736-8888

$2.50 Jagerbombs $1 Off Entire Bar Weekly Specials

“The Original”

11PM-2AM Home of Food & Beverage Night!

$2 Appetizers

Don’t Forget About Food & Beverage Night Every Sunday!

$2.50 Jager

$1.50 Drafts

Crown Royal

Willie Nelson - Macon City Auditorium, Macon, Ga. - Feb. 29

$2 Appetizers

$1.50 Drafts

Elsewhere

$1.50 Drafts

$2 Appetizers

New Happy Hour Times!

$2 Appetizers

2 0 0 4

The Bee’s Knees - Meditate on This!

Blind Pig - The Backus Brothers featuring Candice Hurst Coconuts - Karaoke Continuum - Open Mic Jam Sessions Coyote’s - The Rhes Reeves Band Crossroads - Keith “Fossill” Gregory D. Timm’s - The Section Fox’s Lair - Mark and Wellford Greene Streets - Karaoke The Helm - Karaoke Joe’s Underground - Paul Arrowood Last Call - Karaoke Michael’s - Marilyn Adcock Playground - Karaoke The Pourhouse - Karaoke with The Pourhouse Friends Robbie’s Sports Bar - DJ Rusty Shannon’s - Bar t Bell, Allen Black Somewhere in Augusta - John Kolbeck Soul Bar - Live Jazz Surrey Tavern - Pat Blanchard Veracruz - Wayne Capps

$1.50 Drafts

1 5

Wednesday, 21st

Food & Beverage Sunday!

J A N

New Happy Hour Times!

S P I R I T

PJs and DJs Pajama Party - Last Call - Jan. 24 Rev. Jeff Mosier - Stillwater Tap Room - Jan. 30 Charlie Brown - Coliseum - Jan. 30 Roots-A-Fire Reggae Band - Soul Bar - Jan. 31 Lokal Loudness Choice Awards - Crossroads Jan. 31 Mercy Me, Amy Grant, Bebo Norman - Bell Auditorium - Feb. 7 Hope for Agoldensummer - Soul Bar - Feb. 7 Down to the Shake, L.E.A. - Crossroads - Feb. 7 Honestly - Crossroads - Feb. 18 Ghoultown - Hangnail Gallery - Feb. 19 Sean Costello - Blind Pig - Feb. 20 Willie Nelson - Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center - Feb. 28 The Woggles - Soul Bar - Feb. 28 Anthony Gomes - Blind Pig - March 6

Food & Beverage Sunday!

M E T R O

Fox’s Lair - Open Mic French Market Grille West - Wayne Capps Greene Streets - Karaoke Joe’s Underground - John Kolbeck Metro Coffeehouse - Irish Night with Sibin Michael’s - Marilyn Adcock Surrey Tavern - Tuesday Night Jam Session with Pat Blanchard and Friends

New Happy Hour Times!

40 D. Timm’s - The Section

ENTER & WIN

a Super Bowl Party for 20!

The Boll Weevil ★ Cafe & Sweetery ★

and

2 WINNERS WILL RECEIVE: PARTY PACKAGE (serves 20)

2 HOMEMADE DESSERTS

• Chicken Strips

SLICE OF COFFEE (serves 14) - Rich chocolate

• Macaroni & Cheese

brownie torted with 3 different coffee mousses -

• Cole Slaw

covered with chocolate ganache and coffee icing

• Yeast Rolls

LEMON ZEST (serves 14) - Lemon cake with

• World Famous Iced Tea

lemon mousse layer & tangy sweet lemon zest

• Plates, Forks, Cups & Napkins

icing topped with lemon glaze & white chocolate

Courtesy of

Courtesy of

The Boll Weevil ★ Cafe & Sweetery ★

KOOZIES

HURRY, WINNERS WILL BE DRAWN 1/26/04 Name________________________________________________ Address_____________________________________________ Daytime Phone Number_____________________________ E-mail (optional)____________________________________

M E T R O S P I R I T J A N 1 5

Brought to you by:

20

41

Mail, fax, or email your entry to: P.O. Box 3809, Augusta, GA 30914 Fax (706) 733-6663 spirit@metrospirit.com

2 0 0 4

42 M E T R O S P I R I T J A N 1 5 2 0 0 4

Pizza Bakers 10 Specialty Pies 15 Monumental Hoagies 7 Scrumptious Salads 4 Spring Water Calzones

PLUS Parmesan Pretzels Full Bar Open 7 Days a Week Lunch & Dinner LIVE MUSIC EVERY SUNDAY NIGHT OPEN MIC MONDAY NIGHTS

Corner of 12th & Broad :::: Downtown Augusta :::: 828-5578

Gentleman's Club NOW HIRING!

Drink Specials Nightly

Monday-Friday 12pm-2:45am Saturday 6pm-1:45am

580 Broad Street 823-2040

News of the

Weird D

erek Leroy McSmith of Forest City, Ga., has filed 10,618 formal openrecords requests to local governments in the last eight months, according to an Atlanta JournalConstitution report. Most were, he said, to satisfy his curiosity about how government works, but one day, he asked for 490 magazines and, on another day, he checked out 100 books (and soon, according to the librarian, walked outside and dropped them into the return bin). Each request must be logged in and processed, and a Forest City clerk spends almost full-time on McSmith’s work. Several officials said that after they locate his documents, he only glances at them (or, if there is a cost involved, declines the documents). A local First Amendment advocate said the situation was merely “one of the downsides of a free and open society.”

News That Sounds Like a Joke (1) In November, police in Brooklyn, N.Y., set a trap and arrested a 44-year-old man and his 22-year-old associate for having kidnapped a teenager earlier in the day and having sought a $20,000 ransom from his mother. The sting was set up after the men, for some reason, released their victim (who went straight home) but continued to demand the ransom. (2) According to a December Miami Herald story, the condition of museum-goers who grow faint or suffer anxiety attacks while viewing art (or viewing too much in a short time) has a name, Stendhal’s syndrome, that, although rare, has been studied for almost 200 years.

Fetishes on Parade Steve Danos, 24, was arrested as allegedly the man who had been sneaking into young women’s apartments to watch them sleep and to snuggle with them (and, sometimes, to fold their laundry) (Baton Rouge, La., October).

And Japanese men’s fetish for schoolgirls’ used underwear is such a problem, concluded a civic panel, that shops that cater to them are proliferating, thus enticing more and more girls to become suppliers (Tokyo, October).

Compelling Explanations • Timothy Paul Kootenay, 43, jailed in Aspen, Colo., in November on a California warrant for probation violation, said he would fight extradition on the ground that he is a citizen of the notorious “Republic of Texas” and that, actually, Aspen and Vail are located on a sliver of land that is also part of the Texas nation. Kootenay’s separatist colleagues (some of whom have taken up arms) believe that Texas was never legally annexed by the United States and is thus a sovereign nation that should respond only to international law.

• In a deposition earlier this year as part of his divorce proceedings (and released in November), the president’s brother, Neil Bush, admitted that he had had sex with several women while on business trips in Asia, but that he did not seek them out, insisting that they simply came to his door.

Asked his ex-wife’s lawyer, “Mr. Bush, you have to admit it’s a pretty remarkable thing for a man just to go to a hotel room door and open it and have a woman standing there and have sex with her.” Responded Bush, “It was very unusual.”

• In October in Hennepin County, Minn., Rafiq Abdul Mortland, 38, was sentenced to eight to 10 years in prison as the man who habitually asked store clerks whom he robbed to also hand over some Rolaids. When asked by police why he did that, Mortland said it was to relieve the stress he got from committing robberies. [St. Louis Park Sun/Sailor, 10-15-03] • The parents of a teenage girl, who had inhaled nitrous oxide from “whippet” propulsion cartridges just before a car crash that left her with permanent brain damage, filed a lawsuit in Boca Raton, Fla., in December against the store that sold her the canisters.

However, a store manager claimed that, even though his is a video store whose whippets are sold from an “adult” room, he believes that his customers are not inhalant-abusers but just people who want to make their own whipped cream.

The Latest Human Rights • In September, a government appeals board in Melbourne, Australia, changed its mind and ruled that organizers of a lesbian festival could not, after all, limit attendance to just those lesbians who were born female, because that discriminates against transsexual lesbians.

The female-born organizers had said they needed to exclude ex-males in order to affirm their identity and “consolidate our culture.”

• Spain’s Catalonian High Court ruled in November that the Barcelona construction company Perez Parellada Promotions had improperly fired a worker who admitted smoking marijuana on the job, finding that he only smoked during meal breaks and did not smoke enough to affect his work.

Least Competent Criminals In November, Michael Patrick Mikitka, 35, was arrested and charged as the man who had held up six banks in one week in the Pittsburgh area, including one in which he had written the holdup note on a check issued to him when he opened his account. In the final robbery, at the PNC Bank in Wilkinsburg, he was on his way out the door when the security guard said that the teller needed to see him again, and as he walked back in, the doors locked and the guard grabbed him. Pending trial, Mikitka was sent to drug rehabilitation, but he left the facility on Dec. 22 and was re-arrested the same day when he allegedly robbed the same National City bank that he had robbed twice during his November spree.

— Chuck Shepherd © United Press Syndicate

Brezsny's Free Will Astrology ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Aries actress Sarah Jessica Parker announced recently that she washes her hair with Mane ‘N’ Tail shampoo, a product made for horses. I recommend that you consider switching to it, too.

It’s time to please your inner thoroughbred, whose animal intelligence and wild vitality will be essential to you in the coming weeks. You’re finally ready to activate higher levels of ambition; to enter a bigger race for a better prize.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

“Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed movies released in 2003. Yet some of its fervent fans have come forward to identify its many problems with continuity. Did you notice that Frodo’s scar migrates from his right cheek in one scene to his left cheek in a later scene? That’s just one of over 30 flaws registered by readers of the moviemistakes.com Web site. I applaud this effort. I’ve always believed that the most useful critiques often come from people who deeply appreciate the subject they’re critiquing. This so happens to be your mandate in the coming week, Taurus: Compassionately assess what needs improvement about everything you love.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

My survey of New Year’s resolutions by Geminis reveals some surprising trends. Twenty-one percent of you have vowed to lose weight in 2004, but 26 percent of you hope to gain weight. Thirty-six percent of you plan to launch a new hobby, whereas 58 percent want to get rid of one of your hobbies so as to have more time for the others. While 31 percent of you are plotting to supercharge your ambitions or career, 42 percent of you are quite sure you want to work less and cultivate more leisure and luxury. Finally, 16 percent of you want more “espresso sex” — quickies with casual acquaintances — while 69 percent have your hearts set on deep, slow, cozy love-making with emotionally intelligent partners who crave cuddling.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)

The “Weekly World News” reports that U.S. President George W. Bush, the world’s most famous Cancer, plans to invade the moon and declare it the 51st state. To fill the office of the moon’s live-in governor, Bush intends to appoint his former foe Al Gore, who garnered 540,520 more votes than the President in the election of 2000. In the weeks ahead, I urge you Crabs to come up with an equally nutty and brilliant strategy as you expand your empire to exotic new locales and shake off old adversaries.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

“Dear Doctor Rob: I’m battling mixed emotions.

On the one hand, I have frequent surges of intense compassion that make me want to build houses for poor folks. On the other hand, I’m beset by flashes of vanity that make me want to spend my money on Prada shoes and expensive jewelry rather than on trips to Third World countries to help Habitat for Humanity. Is it crazy and self-defeating to want both things? — Guilty Leo” Dear Guilty Leo: You’ve summed up a dilemma that many Leos are wrestling with. My advice? Honor both your urge to express beauty and your desire to aid your fellow humans. I have a vision of you wearing a gold tiara and Prada’s Sculpted d’Orsay pumps as you frame a wall for a new house in Haiti.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

I predict that 2004’s mysterious gifts will free you from your old self. At least one of your inhibitions will disappear. Attacks of self-consciousness will diminish in frequency and intensity. You’ll realize how fun it is to rebel against your antiquated image. The only new taboo you might take on is a taboo against imitating the overused shticks that have worked for you in the past. Because of these explosive improvements in your relationship with brash spontaneity, you may be ready to acquire your porn name. Here are two suggestions about how to generate the new moniker. 1. Combine the

name of your first pet with the name of the street where you lost your virginity. 2. Go to www.mypornname.com and follow the directions.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

To frame your assignment this week, I’m plundering an old horoscope from “The Onion” (www.theonion.com), America’s finest source of news and entertainment. “Even the mighty Ozymandias, king of kings, was brought low by time,” the ‘scope read. “If possible, live your life without this mysterious phenomenon.” To help you carry out this difficult but rewarding task, Libra, here are a few tips: 1. In your initial attempt, don’t overdo it. Spend no more than three days eluding the oppressive grip of time. 2. Hide all clocks and watches. 3. Read historical novels and watch movies set in other eras. 4. Fantasize about what you were in your previous incarnations and what you’ll be in your future lives. 5. Meditate on Plato’s idea that “Time is a moving image of eternity.”

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

“When in a doughnut-eating competition,” writes Esquire’s Cal Fussman, “press down hard on each one before biting into it. If you don’t, the air inside will bloat your belly and you’ll get blown out after six.” I suggest you regard this as your metaphor to live by in the coming week, Scorpio. Squeeze out all the filler that might dilute your enjoyment of the really killer stuff. Don’t get bogged down in empty symbolism and vacant fantasies that wear down your competitive edge.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

In Greek myth, Psyche was a pure-hearted young woman whose misadventures with love got her into trouble. One day she found herself at the mercy of the goddess Aphrodite, who commanded her to sort a big heap of mixed millet, wheat and poppy seeds into separate piles. You’re now in a situation that reminds me of Psyche’s predicament, Sagittarius. Is there any hope for you to complete your own version of this seemingly impossible task? Yes, there is — especially if you garner the kind of help that Psyche did. Feeling compassion for her plight, thousands of ants swarmed to her aid, separating the seeds for her overnight. Can you call on an equivalent ally?

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

You now have the power to design and implement a fresh version of fate for yourself. This window of

opportunity won’t last long, though, so I suggest you act with swift decisiveness. To guide your work, I offer two observations. The first is from Alan Kay, who conceived the laptop computer: “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”

The second is my paraphrase of astrologer Hadley Fitzgerald’s paraphrase of Ram Dass: “On the one hand, everything is preordained. On the other hand you have complete free will. When you truly grasp that paradox, you’re no longer a slave of your conditioning.”

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

Aquarian singer Justin Timberlake suffered a temporary blow to his reputation last November.

Speaking to ABC-TV’s Diane Sawyer, his ex-lover Britney Spears implied that he is under-endowed in a part of his anatomy that most men take very seriously. It didn’t take long for Timberlake’s grandmother to come to his defense. “I helped raise him, and I can assure you that there’s nothing wrong with him physically,” 70-year-old Sadie Bomar told the press. I predict you will soon undergo a similar fall and redemption, Aquarius.

Start rounding up the allies you will want to testify in your behalf.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

“Thinking outside of the box presupposes you were able to think in it.” This gem from automotive executive Bob Lutz sets the tone for your new plan of action, Pisces. In the coming week, you should concentrate on understanding your life’s long-term trends from an inside-the-box perspective. Stick closely to what you actually know, as opposed to what you might speculate or fantasize. Confine your analysis to the data you can definitely confirm. Starting next week, it’ll be time to think outside the box. Having prepared a strong foundation, you will have ensured that your imagination will provide useful visions when you finally unleash it.

— © Rob Brezsny You can call Rob Brezsny, day or night, for your Expanded Weekly Horoscope

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F

or a year, I’ve been dating a man who insisted on dating other people — even though I wasn’t interested in seeing anybody but him. This was a source of conflict between us. We’re now seeing each other exclusively, although we never really made a verbal agreement to that effect. He has many ex-girlfriends, and he’s always referring to them: “My ex-girlfriend who liked this ...” or “My ex-girlfriend who did that ...” Also, he often tells me about other women he thinks are hot: his (college) students, co-workers, a journalist who interviewed him. For a long time, I tried to ignore his remarks, but they’re really starting to get to me. Why does he do this, and, more important, how can I get him to stop?

— Feeling Crowded

Men’s brains aren’t all porn all the time.

Occasionally, men are forced to take a break from picturing themselves bagging the checkout girl or getting a lap dance from the librarian to focus on where they left their wallet or keys.

The women in their lives remain blissfully unaware of these mental smut loops — as long as the men have the decency to refrain from simulcasting them. Most men do — including all your ex-boyfriends who’ve managed to ask hot waitresses “Do you have a wine list?” without adding the closed-circuit portion of their thoughts: “... and bring those breasticles home to daddy.”

Of course, men aren’t the only ones whose uncut thoughts are best left unaired. There are women out there who can’t go 10 steps without bumping into really hot men — a side-effect of them tailing said men around the grocery store while trying to get a closer look. Most are merely hoping to cop a good stare, not create a mental photo spread of the frozen foods Adonis so they can wallpaper it across their boyfriend’s ego at day’s end. That would be cruel. About as cruel as excavating exes and marching their long-lost wondrousness all over the current relationship. It does, however, send a clear message — the same message your boyfriend has been sending you: “Barrier! Barrier! Step away from the relationship!”

Maybe you’re seeing him “exclusively” at the moment, but he’s literally telling you he’s seeing a lot of other women in his past and future.

Believe him. Oh, but maybe he’s just afraid of getting too close, and maybe he’s just insecure and trying to make you jealous; and maybe the rusty safety pin holding his manners gave way,

and hostile tackiness is the result. Well, if he isn’t ready for a relationship, he might be kind enough to say so instead of holding you up like a caught cockroach against every girl who’s long-gone from his life — especially considering that exes are always at their most sparkling in the distant abstract.

Barring the kindness of strangers and passiveaggressive boyfriends, you should at least be able to count on your own. Hellooo? Anybody home? No ... you were probably too afraid you’d lose him if you spoke up when he made you feel bad. You never had to get shrewish about it — just toss off some joke that the way to your heart was probably not through his warm memories of his last girlfriend’s extraordinary back end. Your saying nothing said it all — that he’s free to make you feel bad whenever he wants. How can you get him to stop? How about forgetting your dream of a beautiful future with him and taking immediate steps to make him part of your relatively unpleasant recent past? ____________________________________ I’m a fit, attractive, 40-something man with no exes, children or vices, who believes in cherishing, honoring and adoring a woman on a daily basis. I’ll never let a day go by without saying “I love you,” giving my unconditional support and doing all the little things for my partner. Are there no women who are willing to be loved in such a manner?

— Ready to Give Clearly, you’re a man who doesn’t sweat the small stuff, like finding a bride before you pledge to spend the rest of your life with her: “Hi, I cherish you, can I get your phone number?” Sadly, most women are likely to get stuck on the wildly impersonal aspect of your love — the fact that you’re ready to declare it every morning at 8:22, but have yet to even meet the object of your affection. Relax, stop looking for the love of all time and find a woman you like this week. Go out on dates, and consider how you actually feel about her before hurling your plan to cherish, honor and adore her into motion. You might even make a little space for her to show affection back. Some day, the world may be ready for your reverse approach to romance. Until then, err on the side of seeming hard-to-get instead of hard-to-getrid-of.

— © 2004, Amy Alkon

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M B D F H C LTR

Male Black Divorced Female Hispanic Christian Long-term Relationship

G W A S J P N/D N/S

Gay White Asian Single Jewish Professional Non-Drinker Non-smoker

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J A N 1 5 2 0 0 4

To become a member, call 1-888-223-7044 To listen and respond to ads, call 1-900-226-8908

46 M E T R O

Calls cost $1.99 per min., Must be 18+.

To respond to ads using a LOOKING FOR MS. RIGHT SWM, 37, 5’9”, 180lbs, enjoys biking, sports, travel, dining out. Seeking outgoing, attractive SF, with similar interests, for friendship, possible LTR. ☎557954

Honest, friendly SM, 46, auburn/green, likes

J scuba diving, motorcycles, travel, Elvis, documentaries. Seeking SF to share happy times, A talks, and possible relationship. 776373 ☎ N 1 5 2 0 0 4

STARTING OVER Non-smoking SM, 19, 5’11”, 155lbs, brown/brown, medium build, likes movies, travel, sports, reading, quiet evenings at home.

Seeking outgoing, adventurous SF, 18-21, N/S, for LTR. ☎752673 CALL ON MY Active, fun and intellectual SBM, 5’ 11”, Slim build, 20, Sagittarius, smoker, seeks woman, 20-24, smoker, for friendship, possible romance. ☎755250 CAN WE TALK ?

Spiritual SWM, 44, Capricorn, smoker, who enjoys the Fall. Seeking AF, 30-50, for LTR. ☎755341 A LOT TO OFFER easygoing SWM, 5’ 11”, Athletic build, 23, Cancer, N/S, seeks woman, 18-35, for friendship, possible romance. ☎761055 CIRCLE THIS AD SWM, 5’ 10”, Average build, 45, Gemini, smoker, with salt-n-pepper hair, loves cooking.

Seeking fun loving WF, 30-45, for friendship, possible romance. ☎762032 ACTUAL NICE GUY Independent, professional SBM, 5’ 9”, Average build, 30, Pisces, with a nice smile, N/S, seeks woman, 27-37, N/S, for friendship, possible romance. ☎751873 DONT PASS ME BY SWM, 41, Sagittarius, smoker, who enjoys cooking. Seeking Attractive WF, 30-50, to date. ☎752123 ACTUAL NICE GUY Handsome, outgoing, open-minded SWM, 5’ 11”, Average build, 51, Leo, smoker, enjoys traveling. Seeking woman, 40-50, for LTR. ☎733850 HERE I AM! SM, 43, likes playing golf, the outdoors, nature, country music, some rock-n-roll. Would like to get together with a young lady, 27-45, who likes the same things. ☎703650 COMMITMENT-MINDED SWM, 5’7”, slim build, new to area, enjoys reading, movies, dining out, travel, sports. Seeking SF, 25-47, with similar interests, for friendship, possible LTR. ☎695638 SEEKS WARRIOR QUEEN Warrior SBM, 29, likes movies, horseback riding, travel, romantic evenings. Seeking warrior queen, 18-29, with similar interests. ☎695792 LOOKING FOR YOU SWM, 43, Taurus, smoker, likes funny movies.

Seeking WF, 29-35, smoker, for friendship, possible romance. ☎693348 GETTING TO KNOW YOU SWM, 54, Libra, N/S, loves baseball, jogging, and swimming. Seeking WF, 40-55, for friendship, possible romance. ☎685199 A SMILE SAYS IT ALL Easygoing SBM, 32, new to area, enjoys dining, sporting events, quiet times home. Seeking SF who enjoys sports and doesn’t always need to be on the go, for romance, LTR. ☎683984 ARE YOU LOOKING 4 LOVE? you’ve found it! Honest, trustworthy SM, 33, enjoys drives, cruises, quiet times at home, time with friends, good conversations. Seeking communicative, outgoing, intelligent lady to share friendship and maybe relationship. ☎681924 WELL-ROUNDED MAN Educated SBPM, 41, 5’11”, loves reading, working out, the arts, dining out, travel, quiet times.

Would like to meet SWF, 30-45, with similar interests, for fun, friendship, and maybe more. ☎442021 HEART OF GOLD SWM, 31, 6’3”, 210lbs, brown/blue, enjoys reading, movies, travel, sports. Seeking outgoing, attractive SF, with similar interests, for friendship, possible LTR. ☎556440

EASY TO TALK TO SWM, 48, loves good Italian or French cuisine, and is looking for a man who is easy to get along with, for romance. ☎870126 ACTIVE SBM SBM, 49, Pisces, N/S, enjoys bowling, movies, playing sports, seeks compatible BM, 30-46, N/S, with similar interests. ☎846543 SEEKING SPECIAL GENTLEMAN SBM, 33, 6’2”, 245lbs, Taurus, N/S, likes movies, camping, music, reading, sports.

Seeking out GM, 35-48, for friendship, possible romance. ☎824261 SEEKING FRIENDSHIP SBM, 6’1”, 214lbs, enjoys indoor activities.

Seeking masculine SW/BM, honest, sincere, who is looking for new friendships. ☎737679 MASCULINE AND FIT SWM, 39, Libra, smoker, 5’8”, brown/brown, masculine, works out, fit, likes movies, riding bikes, camping, cooking, time at home. Seeks SWM, 30-43, with similar interests. ☎545309 I WANT TO MEET YOU! GBM, 32, 5’7”, average build, Pisces, N/S, likes reading, movies, dining out, travel, sports.

Seeking outgoing, caring GWM, 24-45, with similar interests, for friendship, possible LTR. ☎850885 NO MORE DRAMA Good-hearted GBM, 33, N/S, looking for levelheaded single guy, 25-48, who knows his direction in life, for no-games dating and LTR. ☎854633 INTERESTED? Independent SWM, 37, 5’8”, 150lbs, brown/brown, would like to meet fun-loving, honest, real, professional, secure female to share dates, talks, walks, dinners and romance. ☎848764 FUN TO HANG AROUND WITH GWM, 52, 5’2”, smoker, enjoys playing pool, having fun, seeks outgoing GWM, 40-55, smoker, with similar interests. ☎844895 SEEKING SOMEONE SINCERE GWM, 42, 5’11”, 175lbs, brown/blue, somewhat masculine, outgoing and friendly, likes dining out, travel, movies and shopping. Looking to meet honest, passionate SBM, with similar interests, for dating, possible LTR. ☎769411 FRIENDSHIP FIRST GWM, 26, 5’3”, athletic build, N/S, likes sports, working out, travel, reading, swimming. Seeking non-smoking GW/AM, 20-26, with similar interests. ☎764332 HEALTHY AND FIT SBM, 25, 5’5”, 170lbs, masculine, nighttime inventory stocker, Capricorn, N/S, enjoys working out. Seeking energetic, passionate, masculine WM, 20-50, N/S. ☎708544 A LOT TO OOFER Outgoing SWM, 5’ 10”, average build, 44, Capricorn, smoker, seeks WM, 40-50, smoker, to date and enjoy a lifetime companionship. ☎691527 DONT MISS OUT Fun-loving GWM, 24, likes sports, dining out, movies, quiet evenings at home, music. Seeking romantic, affectionate GM, with similar interests, for friendship, possible LTR. ☎675371 SPRINGTIME BLOOM SWM, 33, with an education in business, seeks a man who loves country music, karaoke, springtime, and making a connection with a good person. ☎659296 ROAM IF YOU WANT TO SWM, 42, loves cool weather and the renewal of Spring. Seeking a man who is strong both physically and emotional. ☎661792

How do you

GREAT PERSONALITY SBM, 18, 6’3”, 220lbs, masculine build, seeking SBM, 18-29, very masculine, energetic, fun-loving, to go out for dinners, walks and more. ☎627150 RELAXING AT HOME SBM, 35, Virgo, N/S, likes relaxing at home, fun, concerts, trips going to the beach. Seeks fun, spontaneous SBM, 26-37, N/S. ☎532700 TAKE A CHANCE GWM, 43, 6’2”, 195lbs, black brown, seeks other GWM, for fun times and maybe something more. ☎493530 LET’S MEET FOR COFFEE Good-looking GWM, 36, 6’, 200lbs, muscular, tan, enjoys working out, yard work, spending time with my dogs. Looking for attractive SM, 32-48, for dating, maybe leading to LTR. ☎436231 ME IN A NUTSHELL WM, 18, brown/blue, medium build, looking for fun, outgoing, energetic guy, 18-30, for movies, hanging out, quiet evenings at home, and more.

Friends first, maybe becoming serious. ☎425471

WHY WAIT? SWF, 38, 5’6”,140lbs, short brown hair, easygoing, enjoys playing golf, the beach. Seeking feminine female, 20-40, to have fun times and more. ☎448489 LOVES CHILDREN Easygoing, nice SF, 32, looking for someone with the same qualities, 29-39, and a people person. ☎388943 ONLY A WOMAN WILL KNOW GBF, Capricorn, N/S, likes reading, movies, dining out, travel, sports. Seeking outgoing, caring GWF, 27-52, N/S, with similar interests, for dating and more. ☎850614 THE SWEETEST THING SBF, 26, 5’8”, 145lbs, wants to get out and have fun with a new friend, maybe more with time. ☎832018 1 YOU’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR BiWF, 27, enjoys everything, promises you won’t regret it. If you’re looking for a good time and friendship, I’ll be perfect for you. ☎830500 PLAYS GUITAR, WRITES... poetry, and rollerblades.

NativeAmerican/African-American female, 18, 5’5”, 117lbs, very toned, laid-back, a goofball at times, N/S, seeks woman, 18-29. ☎818596 BONEVILLE BABE SWF, 31, 5’5”, 130lbs, brown/green, smoker, enjoys playing golf, movies, and picnics at the lake. Seeking WF, 25-40, for friends, possibly more. ☎818908

WAITING FOR YOU SBF, 19, is in search of a friend first, maybe more with time, with a lady who likes to get out and have fun. ☎874312

DIVA WITH DIMPLES Independent DWF, 23, Gemini, smoker, enjoys hip-hop, R&B, and country music. Seeking WF, 20-30, smoker, for friendship, possible romance. ☎808179

GET TO KNOW ME SBF, 25, Taurus, N/S, enjoys movies, travel.

Seeking woman, 21-30, N/S, for friendship, possible romance. ☎803723 A LOT TO OFFER Non-smoking GBF, 37, N/S, seeks very attractive, unique, romantic, fun, intelligent, feminine GF, 27-37, for friendship, dating, possibly more. ☎749660 A NEW BEGINNING Attractive and outgoing SWF, 5’ 5”, Athletic build, 20, Aquarius, smoker, loves the outdoors, camping and hiking. Seeking WF, 21-50, for LTR. ☎751226 JUST THE FACTS SBPF, 41, Libra, N/S, seeks PF, age and race unimportant, who enjoys dining out, quiet times at home, and movies, for LTR. ☎730225 SEEKING STRONG FRIENDSHIP BiWF, 27, 5’8’’, 145lbs, student, enjoys romantic comedies, fall, quiet restaurants. Seeking female for clubbing, shopping, dancing, dining, movies, television. ☎700095 LOOKING FOR A FRIEND GBF, 38, black/brown, medium build, N/S, likes dining out, movies, travel, sports. Seeking kind, sweet, honest GBF, 30-38, with similar interests, for friendship, possible LTR. ☎695904 ENJOYS BOWLING SBF, 32, Gemini, N/S, 5’3”, 145lbs, mother of one, enjoys movies, the mall, dining, going out to eat, bowling, quiet times at home, seeks woman, 21-38, for friendship, possible romance. ☎646271 BEAUTIFUL AND FEMININE GWF, 32, 5’7”, 135lbs, enjoys reading, movies, dining out, travel, sports, music, movies.

Seeking GWF, 25-39, with similar interests, for friendship, possible LTR. ☎329063

©2003 TPI

S DO YOU LIKE 2 TRAVEL P SM, 59, sociable and fun, enjoys bingo, dining I out, movies, travel, more. Seeking sincere, R happy, spontaneous lady for possible LTR. I ☎774081 T MAYBE YOU’RE MY LADY

,call 1-866-832-4685

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Classifieds Alt. Lifestyles

MARLBORO STATION

THE COLISEUM

Premier Entertainment Complex & High Energy Dance Music

Friday, January 16th Sasha Saturday, January 17th Petite DeJohnville COMING: Friday, January 30th Charlie Brown

Aiken’s Ultimate Dance Club ★

★ ★

★

★

★ ★

★ Drink Specials: WED $9 Wet N' Wild FRI & SAT Famous Beer Bust All You Can Drink $9

★

★

★

★

$1.00 D Every N raft ig All Nigh ht t

★

★

★ ★

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ STARLIGHT CABARET THUR - Dance Party SAT - Dance Party FRI - Dance Party Stephanie Ross Dana Anderson & DJ Mark & DJ Mark SUN- Dance Party Claire Storm & DJ Jon Jon

Open Mon-Fri 8pm-3am Sat 8pm-2:30am

Fri & Sat. No Cover Before 10 p.m.

141 Marlboro Street, N.E. Aiken S.C. • 803-644-6485

1632 Walton Way • Augusta, GA

DOORS OPEN AT 8:00 THURS, FRI, SAT, & SUN • 8PM-2AM

706-733-2603

18 to Party • 21 to Drink • No Cover With This Ad

Email: ColiseumAugusta@aol.com

Music

Rosedale Transport Needs OTR Drivers, both team and solo.

If you have one year experience, CDL Class A with haz-mat, good driving record. Home weekly, 1-800-486-3681 (01/15#8319)

Jonathan Karow’s

Help Wanted

New & Used Musical Instruments • Buy • Sell • Trade • Consign • Lessons • Repairs • Open Late

Business Opportunity Live Life at the NEXX Level!

Own Your Own Business PT/FT Training Provided Call Me Today 888-742-1777 LeRoy NEX X Independent Rep (01/15#8332)

Equipment AFFORDABLE • CONVENIENT Tan At Home Payments From $25/month FREE Color Catalog Call Today 1-800-842-1305 (01/15#8320)

SPECIAL READINGS WITH CARD

MRS. GRAHAM

thank you

341 S. Belair Rd.

FOR SUPPORTING OUR ADVERTISERS

Call 738-1142 to place your Classified ad!

Premier Investigations •Domestic •Child Custody •Background Checks •Cover t Surveillance 869-1667 (01/15#8334)

Services

Turn Your “Trash” Into Cash!

READINGS BY

••••• ••••• •••••

RAY WILLIAMSON & ASSOCIATES Private Investigations 17 years experience Domestic Relations and Child Custody Cases Licensed and Bonded in Georgia & Carolina 706-854-9672 or 706-854-9678 fax (01/15#8327)

Poor Water Drainage?

• French Drains • Gutter Drains • Catch Basins • Erosion Control • Waterproofing • Crawl Space

GUARANTEED SOLUTIONS

OLDETOWN

Full Body Massage!

Therapeutic tension relief, intense or tender touch, rela xing music, aromatherapy, by appointment only - $49.00/hr.

Call Joy - 706-771-9470 or John - 706-868-5598 (01/15#8326)

R E A D I N G S

2 0 0 4

Real Estate

Mind, Body & Spirit

Open from 9 a.m. til 9 p.m.

Call (706) 733-5851

Professional Therapeutic Massage Prevention & Treatment Sciatica, Back, Neck, Hip, Knee, Ankle, Shoulder, Whiplash, Hamstrings, Tennis Elbow, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Repetitive Use Injury Therapy 706-592-9450 Or 399-8527 (01/08#8338)

LICENSED • INSURED

706-869-9988

www.sundownconstruction.com

Telephone Service

*

Sell your unwanted items or advertise your garage or yard sale in Metro Spirit Classifieds.

Call 738-1142

Unlimited Long-Distance & Local Calling One Price, One Bill, One Company Keep Your Same Phone # Call 1-800-392-4050 Eula NEX X Independent Rep (01/15#8331)

Travel

We accept VISA or Mastercard. *And remember ... one person’s trash is another man’s treasure.

Religion Metropolitan Community Church of Our Redeemer A Christian Church reaching to all: including Gay, Lesbian, and Transgendered Christians.

Meeting at 557 Greene Street, 11 am and 6 pm each Sunday. 722-6454 MCCOurRedeemer@aol.com www.mccoor.com (01/15#8128) Meditation & Buddhism: Tuesdays, 7 - 8:30 PM, Jan 13 - 27th at the Unitarian Church of Augusta 3501 Walton Way Ex tension Ganden Center (803) 256-0150 or www.MeditationInSouthCarolina.org (01/15#8322)

S P I R I T

1 5

Private Investigator

DOWNTOWN CONVENIENCE SPACIOUS 2 BR, 2 1/2 BATH TOWNHOUSE $685 PER MONTH, PLUS DEPOSIT WILL SELL FOR $75,000 CALL 706-877-4419 OR 706-877-4420 FOR APPOINTMENT (01/29#8337)

M E T R O

J A N

230 8th Street • 724-1172

JOHN LEDERHAUSE & ASSOCIATES 211 Pleasant Home Road Suite A2-5 Augusta, GA 30907 Private Investigations Licensed and bonded in SC 803-349-5551 or 803-349-5553 (01/15#8339)

WOLFF TANNING BEDS

Mrs. Graham, Psychic Reader, Advises on all affairs of life, such as love, marriage, and business. She tells your past, present and future. Mrs. Graham does palm, tarot card, and Chakra balancing. She specializes in relationships and reuniting loved ones.

Pilates

Where Musicians Shop

$250 - $500 a Week Will train to work at home helping the US Government file HUD/FHA Mor tgage Refunds No experience necessary Call 1-800-778-0353 (01/15#8335)

C A R D

Call 738-1142 to place your Classified ad today!

Employment

ATTENTION! Home based Business!

Control Your OWN Hours and Income!

Full Training. Free CD-ROM and INFO Booklets www.goldmine4alll.com 1-888-232-9833 (01/15#8333)

Claire Storm’s 1st Anniversary

47

Wheels

Dead Bodies Wanted

We want your dead junk or scrap car bodies.

We tow away and for some we pay.

706/829-2676

OR

706/798-9060

’ s e i d a L e g n u o L Saturday, January 24 The Ultimate Ladies’ Experience Featuring sexy hip-hop & R&B by DJ Kenny Ray Free gifts throughout the night Lingerie fashion show Butlered hors d’oeuvres by the men of the evening $2 featured martinis & $12 bottles of wine Doors open at 9pm • Ladies only until 11:30

813 Broad Street - Downtown Augusta - 706.303.9700 - www.modjeskalounge.com

This is what Augusta has been waiting for … our own comedy club!

Featuring Nationally recognized comedians from Comedy Central, David Letterman, The Tonight Show and HBO. Every Thursday spend the funniest night of your life at The Comedy Zone (8 and 10PM)

THURSDAY NIGHTS ONLY

$1 domestic draught • $2 imported draught • $3.50 cocktails For reservations and advanced tickets visit www.augustacomedy.com

$2.00 off Admission Compliments of the Comedy Zone www.augustacomedy.com

Jan. 29th

Jan. 22nd

offer expires January 30, 2004

David L.

Grandma Lee

Marc Ryan

Collin Moulton