Metro Spirit 01.30.2003

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JAN. 30-FEB. 5, 2003 • VOLUME 14, ISSUE 26 • WWW.METSPIRIT.COM

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TS N , IS AI T R S UE S & ENTE

MEDIA-OPOLY

By Brian Neill

SWAY PUBLIC OPINION AS YOU

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J A N

Her Back Doesn’t Hurt...

February 10, 2003 at 7:30 p.m.

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The Georgia Sea Island Singers continue a tradition, begun almost a century ago on St. Simons Island, Georgia, of preserving the rich reservoirs of African-American culture, customs, and songs of the Gullah language spoken on the isolated islands of the Georgia coast. They travel throughout the world performing slave songs and dances, describing the world of their own slave ancestors, leading children in games, demonstrating slave dances, singing slave songs a capella, and explaining what those songs mean in the context of the last century.

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Contents The Metropolitan Spirit

JANUARY 30-FEBRUARY 5, 2003 • FREE WEEKLY • METSPIRIT.COM

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By Brian Neill ...........................................................................20

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Vonnegut at 80 By David Hoppe ...................................................................24 Opinion

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Whine Line ......................................................................4 Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down ...........................................4 This Modern World .........................................................4 Words ...............................................................................6 Suburban Torture ............................................................7 Guest Column .................................................................8 Austin Rhodes ...............................................................10 Insider ............................................................................12

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Commission Clash on Move to Laney-Walker ..........14 Cleaning Up Augusta’s Protest Laws .........................16 Gold Dome: Complete Coverage of the Georgia 2003 Legislative Session ......................................................18

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Larry Jon Wilson Welcomes Obscurity .......................48 Music By Turner ............................................................50 Hangnail Gallery Happenings ......................................51 Night Life .......................................................................52

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New Clubs Give Augusta Night Life Scene A Face-Lift ....................................................................28 First Friday Drags Its Battered Corpse to Eighth Street .............................................................................38 Improve Your Love Life With Pre-Valentine’s Day Performances ...............................................................40

START 2003 OFF WITH A NEW HONDA FROM GERALD JONES HONDA

with approved credit EDITOR & PUBLISHER David Vantrease ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Rhonda Jones STAFF WRITERS Stacey Eidson, Brian Neill ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Joe White ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Kriste Lindler, Jennifer H. Mar tin PRODUCTION MANAGER Joe Smith GR APHIC ARTISTS Stephanie Carroll, Natalie Holle ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER Meli Gurley RECEPTIONIST/CLASSIFIED COORDINATOR Sharon King ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ASSISTANT Lisa Jordan CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Meli Gurley SENIOR MUSIC CONTRIBUTOR Ed Turner CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Chuck Shepherd, Rob Brezsny, Austin Rhodes, Amy Alkon, Rachel Deahl CARTOONISTS Tom Tomorrow, Julie Larson

THE METROPOLITAN SPIRIT is a free newspaper published weekly on Thursday, 52 weeks of the year. Editorial coverage includes ar ts, local issues, news, enter tainment, 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.metspirit.com. Copyright © The Metropolitan Spirit Inc. Reproduction or use without permission is prohibited.

Phone: (706) 738-1142 Fax: (706) 733-6663 E-mail: spirit@metspirit.com Letters to the Editor: P.O. Box 3809, Augusta, Ga. 30914-3809

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Whine Line P

lease, before we have socialized medicine, figure out a way to make doctors satisfied with what their peers in Western Europe earn (generally, one fifth). Make prescription drugs cost as little as they do in other countries. Stop the trial lawyers from getting runaway judgements, and quit giving Medicaid patients more and better service than insured patients simply because it’s billable.

Your article on “brothers” Marion Williams and Andy Cheek failed to give a single instance in which Williams went along with Cheek on a white initiative.

It was always the other way. Sounds like Cheek has been played for a fool. Want to explain all that to us again?

I know that many of you are suspect or against everything Austin Rhodes supports, but I urge you to take a different position on child endangerment legislation. This bill will protect the children of Georgia from reckless and irresponsible parents. Please call your state legislator and urge him/her to support the child endangerment bill. Thank you Austin for your article in the Jan. 16th Spirit. We need more positive pieces from you.

I am truly disgusted with Y105. They made the most stupid decision by getting rid of Mackenzie Clark. That was ridiculous, and they are going down: 95 is going to completely kick their butt.

Without Mackenzie Clark Y105 is nothing. I can’t believe they would do something like that. They didn’t even have a reason. I don’t even know what happened. Y105 is going down.

I have just one question about the cover “War Games” of The Spirit: Was the American flag on the soldier’s shoulder on backward or was it an accident?

I’ve been holding this back for so long; it’s been jumping to get out of me: Bush is an idiot!

Andy Cheek and Marion Williams can run their mouths all they want to about what they think is right. The bottom line is, they are both losers and like most losers they don’t have the brainpower to recognize that in themselves.

To the person who wrote in about trial lawyers having to have liability insurance: Trial lawyers do have liability insurance, you dummy. Please, please know what you are talking about before you write in.

Hey, Representatives Harbin and Fleming: How does it feel to be excluded from the secret meeting on Augusta’s new civic center? Answer: Almost like a non-binding resolution for more government!

Since Judge Wheale blew a gasket last year, amazing things have been happening in the Richmond Co. Juvenile Court System and DFCS. Children are returned to parents who leave handguns and shotguns lying all over the house.

When the child accidentally shoots itself, the parents abandon the emergency room to rush home and save the weapons. Another child becomes developmentally delayed because there is just too much garbage on the floor to practice the finer points of infant crawling and walking. It makes one wonder just exactly what DFCS workers are doing when they conduct their “court-ordered” visits. In light of recent events, why are we not hearing a “pounding of the chest” from the superior court bully-pulpit? I want to know exactly what has been done other than a lot of political grandstanding.

If the American people need a perfect example of the incompetence and total use-

Thumbs Up Finally, it seems, someone may be getting to the bottom of the alleged shenanigans at Richmond County’s Community Mental Health Center.

State investigators, The Augusta Chronicle reported, are looking into allegations of fiscal impropriety at the center, which provides treatment to those in the region with substance abuse and mental health problems.

An anonymous tipster supposedly led to the investigation. The Spirit had tried for some time to get a concrete response as to what former state Rep. Robin Williams

had done in return for the mental health center giving him $30,000 for a fourmonth consulting job. Now, The Chronicle reported, a consulting company Williams is tied to is paying back roughly $200,000 in consulting fees. Executive Director Mike Brockman and Administrator Jim Points have also been placed on paid leave, though state officials have said that should not be construed to mean they are guilty of any alleged impropriety.

It will be interesting to see the outcome of the investigation. Very interesting, indeed.

Thumbs Down To think that Dwight York, the leader of the Nuwaubians, will be eligible for parole in 12 years seems a travesty. York, who held a mystical, god-like place for his followers at the Egyptian-themed compound in Putnam County, recently pleaded guilty to dozens of counts of aggravated child molestation and sex crimes against chil-

lessness of the United Nations please note the UN bozos just elected a new Commission on Human Rights chairperson — the Libyan representative. My Lord, is there no end to their duplicity? We need to remind them that, without the United

dren — often, the victims being the children of his most devout followers. York was sentenced to 50 years in prison, but would be eligible for parole in 12 years.

Even though the 57-year-old would be close to 70 at that time, it seems like no less than life would be the appropriate prison term for his crimes.

States, the UN is a league of nations, without the competence.

The idea of an $89 million horse barn continued on page 5

and football arena in the dying AugustaRichmond County is like pouring good money down a rat hole. The only winners will be the rats!

5 M E T R O

Columbia County participation in an $89 million Augusta civic center is nearly as dumb as a multimillion-dollar bike path that is used by less than 40 people per week. I say spend the money on a separate chamber of commerce and use it to promote county line to county line retail stores, a discount mall, and car dealerships — real sources of revenue for the county.

This is not really a whine; this is a thank you, to Mary Beth Pierucci and her commentary “Roe at 30: Behind Every Choice Is a Story.” I have never understood the pro-lifers and their drive to outlaw abortions. They say they are pro-life, but are they? Tell me what kind of life is it for the woman who has made a mistake, or who has been raped, or for whom conditions have changed that aren’t ideal for a new life to enter her life?

Austin and The Insider are on the opposite sides of the fence where Sonny Perdue is concerned, but neither of them has brought out the real issue of whom a beer and cigarette tax hits: the poor. The poor don’t tend to own a lot of land, but they do buy beer and cigarettes. You say that’s their choice, Austin? Well those who don’t want a property tax aren’t being forced to own property. They are free to sell it any time!

S P I R I T J A N 3 0 2 0 0 3

HOW MUCH ARE YOU PAYING FOR YOUR FREE CHECKING?

In reference to the Cheek/Williams article last week: Jeez Louise, somebody hose those two down!

OK, let me get this straight: Disc golf is the same as regular golf, except you use a Frisbee instead of a golf ball. Oh yeah, and the fact that you have to be a complete dork.

I read where Governor Perdue is raising the tax on beer and cigarettes. Many of us voted for him over the flag issue.

Stick it to us for being stupid, Sonny!

I wonder how the teachers of Georgia feel after being stabbed in the back by Sonny Perdue after the most of them voted for him?

This in response to the remarks made by local leaders lacking support for a new arena in an article by Stacey Eidson.

Particularly the statement by Ron Cross, “Very few in Columbia County are going to have much interest in revitalizing downtown Augusta.” This is so shortsighted. This parochial attitude by Mr. Cross and other leaders is what keeps Augusta from moving forward and achieving the status and image that should be given to Georgia’s secondlargest city. Any resident in the CSRA with any appreciation of economic growth realizes that the appeal of Augusta, our hub, affects the future

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continued from page 5 well-being of everybody in this region.

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The article in the last Metropolitan Spirit on the proposed $89 million arena needs further discussion. Most people in the CSRA believe that Augusta can’t afford a new $89 million arena, a new $63 million performing arts center and a new exhibit hall all at one time. First, the Augusta Civic Center can be renovated into a larger arena to attract major acts. The Bell Auditorium was renovated several years ago and it looks great; it can serve as the Augusta Performing Arts Center. Third, the proposed exhibit hall at Riverwalk next to the Radisson seems to be the best location, until you look to the future. There will not be enough room to expand when the convention center business grows. The Regency Mall has room to expand and the price now to save Augusta millions of dollars to develop.

Let’s not go in the wrong direction and build something Augusta doesn’t need or something that’s too small like our current civic center.

ABC TV’s Prime Time Thursday program aired a show graphically depicting young girls caught up in the hellish life of the pornographic movie industry.

The most infuriating part is the charge that many so-called “legitimate” corporations are involved with the purchase and distribution of these porno films.

These corporate names will shock you.

When “Joe Millionaire” finally tells the truth about himself, I’d love to see the girl he picks say to him, “I haven’t been too truthful with you either; I’m really a man!” That would serve him right.

Sunday as I attempted to exit Gordon Highway onto Broad Street, I was held up by horse-and-buggy riders. There were no warning signs at Broad Street exit, no detour, no nothing, just a bunch of horses and what comes along behind the horses. I sat there for about 20 minutes, watching these people ride by on

horses and buggies, waving like they were in the Thanksgiving Day parade.

Aren’t the constant trains enough in this town? Now we have to deal with man and beast in the middle of the road.

If Fort Gordon closes, the following groups of people will be devastated: (1) the lazy civil service folk, who come and go as they please and never have to be accountable, (2) anyone who has never punched a time clock, (3) retired military who have jobs created for them.

The rest of us will survive, especially those of us who do our jobs well and have worked in the civilian sector before.

Super Bowl: What was super about it?

So, you see an unmarked patrol car with a “plain clothes” officer wearing a cowboy hat on the side of I-20 and assume he has pulled over a citizen. Maybe next time you can assume he was an offduty deputy who stopped to assist a motorist and turned on his lights for safety. Do you have something against cowboy hats or our deputies? Either way, as Lincoln said, better to remain silent than to speak and let them know you are a fool.

Austin Rhodes has been rightfully described as a racist, a bigot, a male chauvinist, a liar and an egotistical maniac. Now we can add one more description to his character. His column in the January 23-29 issue of The Metro Spirit proves once again that he is a real hypocrite. Sonny Perdue and Don Cheeks ate from the Democratic Party trough for years and then switched to the Republican Party. Now that Perdue got elected by appealing to “Georgia rednecks,” Rhodes is heaping praise upon him. Yet, if a Democrat had proposed cutting back on much-needed homestead exemptions and raising taxes in the same breath Austin would have badgered him from the radio microphone for the next four years. I am pleased that The Spirit chose to print the Insider column opposite Rhodes’ column so your readers

Words “We were right constitutionally in 1861 to withdraw from the Union, and have every right to do the same thing now.”

Voted Best of Augusta for 18 years.

— Jim Arp, chairman of the Georgia chapter of the League of the South, as quoted in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about a possible solution if Gov. Sonny Perdue failed to take action on changing the state flag back.

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could make a quick comparison between the truth about Perdue by The Insider and the propaganda that spews from Rhodes every day.

When is The Spirit going to do a real piece of investigative journalism concerning the $89 million arena proposal?

I have yet to hear you guys bring up the fact that Scheersports is a developer of sports arenas so it is in their interest to recommend that we build one. The more expensive, the better for them.

Also, you have failed to mention that 12,000 seats is not a major improvement over the “small” arena we have now. Greenville has a 16,000-seat arena. Also, the proposed site near Riverwatch is an ecologically sensitive area that should be preserved. Come on Spirit, I would expect a little more hard-hitting stuff from you guys.

Columbia County residents should care about revitalization efforts in downtown Augusta, because these initiatives improve the quality of life for the entire metro area and this directly benefits all parts of the community. Companies, businesses, and new residents are more likely to be lured to come here if they find a vibrant central city having a thriving art culture, nightlife, and convention and sports venues, than a ghost town. In turn this will make Columbia County an even more attractive place to live and increase home values.

Most pro-life people are forgetting the extraordinary fecundity of the human race and the associated tragedies throughout history. Governments had to maintain orphanages in all major cities, and infanticide was far more common.

There are horrifying statistics from 18th century England, where few orphans survived to adulthood. It is a happy development that babies born today will be welcomed, and even an abandoned, disabled baby has a chance of adoption.

This is supply and demand functioning thanks to abortion rights. Also, once you grant a right, it is very difficult to take it away because those who have partaken of that right, and their associates, are afraid of retroactive punishment.

Suburban Torture BY

JULIE

LARSON

J A N 3 0 2 0 0 3

- 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@metspirit.com.

The redefined 2003 Volvo S40 comes equipped with standard safety features some other cars in its class don’t even offer as options. Things like full-length Inflatable Side Curtains and a Whiplash Protection Seating System.

The very same standard features that make a Volvo a Volvo. We can also safely say it’s more stylish than ever, with a redesigned exterior that’s more agreeable to the eye.

The redefined Volvo S40 certainly has a lot to offer. Including of course, safety features other imports have yet to even import. Visit your local Volvo retailer or volvocars.com.

*MSRP of the 2003 Volvo S40 as shown with optional equipment is $24,350. Price does not include destination charge, tax and title. See your authorized Volvo retailer for complete details. ©2002 Volvo Cars of North America, LLC. Volvo for life™ is a registered trademark of Volvo. Always wear your seat belt.

1 8 0 1 G O R D O N H I G H WAY

M E T R O S P I R I T

Residents of the CSRA, in discussing the proposed new area arena, should stop and think a moment before they let their politicians spend tax money. We have a new U.S. senator who just about admitted that Fort Gordon most probably would be closed in the next round of base closings. What will that do to the tax base of the area? This town could become a ghost town, if private money doesn’t think it is a viable package on its own. Why should tax money be wasted to pay for it?

G E R A L D J O N E S V O LV O

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738.2561

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Opinion: Guest Column

Building Bridges: A Pedestrian Crossing Over the Savannah

NEW YORK. NEW YORK.

P

icture the Savannah River lit by twinkling lights carefully placed along the sides of a cable stay pedestrian bridge connecting Augusta, North Augusta and communities beyond. Architecturally, the proposed crossing would resemble a miniature Golden Gate Bridge with one notable difference: no automobiles. Such a crossing would open up a leisurely flow of bicycle and walking traffic across the Savannah, benefiting businesses and neighborhoods on both sides of the river immeasurably. Perhaps it may sound like a pipe dream, but in reality such a bridge could be completed in less than two years.

Around the nation, progressive-minded communities are realizing the benefits that come from focusing on regional quality-oflife issues in an effort to provide their citizenry with healthy amenities and lure new businesses to their doorsteps. One word best illustrates how a fragmented region can come together to focus on the common good of the area: connectivity. There must be a common thread binding all the citizens of our region together. A bridge dedicated to opening pedestrian-friendly access to a multitude of cultural, educational and recreational activities for citizens on both sides of the river would serve as a lasting symbol of regional cooperation and of our connection to each other.

In the months and years to come, the CSRA has a tremendous opportunity to move ahead and become a model for regional cooperation in our quest to lure a state-of-the-art cancer center and a thriving biotech component to our area. The positive effects from our success in this endeavor will not stop at county, state or socioeconomic lines. However, such an opportunity will never be fully realized without our local municipalities putting aside their differences and working together for the betterment of the entire region. The completion of a project such as this, requiring the participation of two separate local and state governments, could easily become a watershed moment in our region’s history and set the tone for great things to come. Preliminary cost estimates for the project range from $2 to $3 million. At this point, the city of North Augusta has a commitment for partial funding from the state of South Carolina.

A combination of state, local and private funds on the Georgia side should be raised to complete the project with a minimum cost to local residents. To this point, the idea has been met on both sides with noth-

NONSTOP. NONSTOP. Introducing the only nonstop jet service from Augusta to New York, twice daily.

There are two good reasons to fly us to New York. Starting March 2, we’ll offer the only nonstop jet service from Augusta to New York, twice a day. And while you’re at it, why not join OnePass®, our awardwinning frequent flyer program. In fact, for a limited time you can earn double OnePass miles each way between Augusta and New York. Yet another double-good reason. To register for the double OnePass mile offer, visit continental.com or call 1-800-346-6090 and mention promotion code 53016. For reservations, call your travel agent or Continental Airlines at 1-800-523-FARE, or ticket online at continental.com.

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David S. Copenhaver ing short of vigorous enthusiasm. Thus, building such a bridge is assuredly within our grasp.

In an effort to promote the spirit of regional cooperation, the Central Savannah River Land Trust would like to call on the governments and citizens of our area to endorse and promote the development of a pedestrian-dedicated bridge to inextricably bind our community together. Over the past year and a half, our organization has established strong working relationships with other local non-profits and the governments of Augusta-Richmond County, Columbia County and North Augusta. Our recent fall symposium, “The Community Benefits of Greenways,” was co-sponsored by our three local governments, along with North Augusta 2000. The overwhelming success of the event was merely a glimpse of what can happen when we all work together. Plans are currently in development for a regional trail system comprising over forty miles of paths and connecting the three aforementioned counties together.

A public bridge linking these trails, as well as the people of our region, together would certainly be a lasting example for future generations of what can be achieved when we all work together.

— David S. Copenhaver is the executive director of The Central Savannah River Land Trust. The views expressed in this column are the views of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher.

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Three Emerge in Trying Times

A

s someone who observes political behavior for a living, I have always taken a keen interest in how our leaders react under pressure. Time and time again history has proven true the old cliche, “Crisis does not build character, but it does reveal it.”

Or the lack thereof.

Nixon learns his team is caught in the midst of treachery. He covers it up, then lies about it.

Clinton is confronted with illicit accusations. He orchestrates the character assassination of his one-time paramour, then blames the entire fiasco on a “vast rightwing conspiracy.”

Pop history will note little more about those two men, because they were ultimately defined by their failures.

Nixon reached out to China. Clinton reformed welfare. Watergate and Monica are far more familiar.

In this day and age it is almost impossible to become famous for doing the right thing, while legends spring from the rogues’ gallery like weeds. But, good men and women do have a way of making their way, quietly, confidently, completely.

Zell Miller, Paul Coverdell, Jimmy Carter. Say what you will about their politics, but you can never besmirch the solid track record each compiled by being honest and always trying to do the right thing.

In the course of two days this week, we have seen three leaders emerge from tough tests, and a political hat trick of sorts, as all three grew demonstratively in the process: President George W. Bush, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue and South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford.

While the book is long from complete on any of them, how many folks would have predicted they could so easily render their critics impotent in the course of 48 hours?

The harpies are still there, mind you, but all three have come through a tough gauntlet, smelling like a rose to all but the most strict partisans.

President Bush’s State of the Union Address covered many bases, and while there are going to be political differences on approach and philosophy, the case he made against Saddam Hussein was convincing. Tuesday night was not the night to lay out the “Cuban missile pictures.” Colin Powell will have that honor next month. But one thing was made very clear in the president’s address: Iraq’s illegal behavior must be stopped, and it must be stopped now. If the president was telling the truth, and not even his most ardent political enemies suggested he wasn’t, the case is solid and it is obvious.

President Bush does not lie to the American people. The Washington Democrats believe him; the media believes him, and even most of the Arab world (the ones allowed to read)

believe him.

The all-important evidence is coming, and no one in a position of power, on the right or left side of the aisle, doubts it anymore.

The Dems are gonna squawk about taxes and affirmative action and abortion from now until the cows come home. But in a very short period of time, the only naysayers on the subject of Iraq are going to be meeting in Cynthia McKinney’s living room.

Closer to home, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue has done a very interesting thing, he has become more popular, and I believe, powerful, by giving up his popularity and power.

A few weeks ago, Perdue told us the financial mess he inherited from Roy Barnes was going to force a tax increase.

It was ugly and it was coming.

After the predictable fallout, he did what his predecessor never had the humility to do: He stepped aside. He stepped aside and allowed the people to speak, and ultimately, to have their way.

There will be a tax increase, albeit a much smaller one. When presented with a difficult choice, reducing services or facing massive taxation, the people made their decision. They will get their way.

Barnes never did that. He was Daddy; he knew what was best. I hope he enjoys the show of real leadership his successor is putting on from the comfort of his rocking chair.

Finally, how many rich, powerful men have you seen (lately) choose duty over convenience? South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford has done just that. No one in their right mind could have logically argued that it was inappropriate for the chief executive of South Carolina to take a leave of absence, or resign, from his National Guard unit. It was a no-brainer.

But Sanford chose differently. In a letter released Tuesday, the governor informed the state that his commitment to his unit stands, and in the event they are called, South Carolina will have to go on without him.

Sanford is rich, powerful, secure and needs a resume “fluffer” about as much as I need hair curlers. His decision resonates and shows once more that the Palmetto State has elected a leader and not a politician. Every state should be so lucky.

There are trying times ahead for our states and nation, but this week the leaders of all three have proven themselves up to the challenge, and armed for bear.

— The views expressed in this column are the views of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher. The archived Austin Rhodes columns can now be seen at www.wgac.com.

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Opinion: Insider

The Walker-McIntyre Project

T

he idea of publishing a book chronicling the many contributions African-Americans have made during Augusta’s history is a good one. The selection of local historian Dr. James Carter III to conduct research for the book is an excellent choice. And, it will be no surprise if former state Sen. Charles Walker and former Mayor Ed McIntyre take their deserved place in the book as two AfricanAmericans who have made positive contributions to Augusta.

It is, however, somewhat surprising that Walker and McIntyre, who have battled over the political hearts and minds of the African-American community for years, are teaming up to lead this project.

What’s up?

In many ways it makes sense for these two political stalwarts to lead the charge.

Their impact on Augusta has been welldocumented and they are the two most prominent political leaders in the black community. No doubt, there is a sincerity in their approach that is unquestionable.

Having stated the obvious, there are other interesting aspects of their newfound partnership that may not be quite as apparent unless we explore the politics of their union.

Both political warhorses lost close and hotly contested races in the November election. Walker was shown the door from the state Senate in his narrow defeat at the hands of newly elected state Sen. Randy Hall (R-22) and McIntyre lost out to Mayor Bob Young, effectively ending his career as a viable political candidate.

After these stinging losses, why shouldn’t these two men, who have competed for political power for years, call a truce and work together? Perhaps they can accomplish more working together now than working at odds with one another.

Walker is financing the deal through research grants to McIntyre’s organization, the Augusta African-American Historic Committee (AAAHC). An initial grant of $15,000 plus additional money as the book moves forward will not only help the project but assist McIntyre in his effort to ensure his legacy. The AAAHC is also involved in an effort to install monuments or plaques along a historical walkway dedicated to African-Americans.

There is no question that McIntyre’s image will be prominent if this project comes to fruition. He has been pushing it for some time now and while there are dozens of monuments or plaques planned, it is well understood that McIntyre wants this for himself as much as for others.

Walker’s bucks will be helpful.

For Walker, the joint venture represents an effort to mend fences with his old political foe while regaining some of his lost prestige within the black community.

While Walker has been more politically powerful of the two for the last few years, it has been clear for some time that McIntyre is more loved and respected

Former state Senator Charles Walker

Former Augusta Mayor Ed McIntyre among African-Americans in Augusta.

His vote-getting prowess has exceeded Walker’s time and time again. Walker’s teaming with McIntyre will be good for Walker’s image among McIntyre’s supporters. In the event Walker chooses to run for office again, he can likely count on McIntyre for help. That hasn’t always been the case.

So, in addition to securing their place in the history books Walker and McIntyre can help each other along the way. Not a bad deal for either of them. There’s something about money and back-scratching in politics. And make no mistake about it; this worthy cause is as much about politics for these two guys as anything else.

— 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 Commission Clash on Move to Laney-Walker

I

t was supposed to give the Laney-Walker neighborhood a huge economic boost, but it appears the temporary relocation of the Augusta Fire Department’s administration into the yet-to-be-completed Augusta Neighborhood Improvement Corporation office building could be a bust.

Last May, the Augusta Commission agreed to move two city departments into the ANIC building that is currently under construction at 925 Laney-Walker Blvd.

Commissioners approved a three-year lease agreement with ANIC for office space to accommodate the city’s Housing and Neighborhood Development department. But because the fire department was planning to build new administrative offices on Highland Avenue by December 2003, the city agreed to only a one-year lease agreement for the fire department.

The commission’s reasoning behind moving the fire department’s administrative staff for only one year was that currently the fire chief and his staff lease office space from the high-priced Augusta Riverfront Center along Reynolds Street.

The rent for the city’s housing and fire departments in the riverfront building is $20,000 a month for approximately 8,000 square feet.

By moving the fire administration to ANIC’s building, commissioners originally believed they would not only be saving the city money, but also supporting economic development in the Laney-Walker area.

The only problem is ANIC’s office building was originally scheduled to be completed by the end of September 2002. Instead, ANIC just held its ground-breaking ceremony for the building on Dec. 10.

The new timeline for the completion of the ANIC office building is now either September or October of 2003 – a full year after the original deadline.

Fire Chief Al Gillespie told the Augusta Commission’s administrative services committee on Jan. 28 that the projected completion date of the fire administration offices on Highland Avenue is December 2003. Gillespie also estimated that the city would save about $100,000 by moving forward with the Highland Avenue project, instead of temporarily moving into the ANIC building.

Augusta Commissioner Bobby Hankerson said it made absolutely no sense for the fire department to relocate its

“

offices to the Laney-Walker neighborhood for only a twoto three-month period.

“I want to make it very clear,” Hankerson said, “my approach is not to stop anything from being built in LaneyWalker or any other place. My approach is the better utilization of our money.”

But Augusta Commissioner Marion Williams said that Hankerson, by suggesting that the fire department move directly into the Highland Avenue office, was negatively impacting the Laney-Walker neighborhood.

“Commissioner Hankerson is talking about saving money, and I think we ought to save money, but there is a lot of money being spent or not being spent wisely, is probably a better word, than this money here.

“I mean we are paying $20,000 a month for the rental property there (at the Riverfront Center) and the leasing agreement with ANIC is supposed to be half of that.”

It made no sense to stay in the Riverfront Center and continue to pay that much money, Williams told Hankerson.

“Laney-Walker is the heart of the inner city,” Williams said. “This whole agreement was to help them (ANIC) get established. We are talking about economic development and changing some things in Highland Park (along Highland Avenue). Well, I lived on Damascus Road for 20something years. I know Highland Park. It’s a nice area of town. It ain’t as nice as it used to be, but it’s nice. But down on Laney-Walker, people don’t even want to drive through there.

“If you go out Laney-Walker from Ninth Street, it looks like the ghetto that’s been forgotten about.”

Williams also chastised Hankerson for speaking to The Augusta Chronicle last week about his concerns regarding the fire department’s move to the ANIC building.

“I was very disappointed,” Williams said. “Being the public safety chairman, Commissioner Hankerson and I talked about it one day last week and the next morning I read in the paper about the fire department not being able to move out there. I totally really disagree with that.”

Williams went even further by saying that Hankerson was being “one-sided” by only questioning a lease agreement in the Laney-Walker area.

“We are talking about an ANIC building in Laney-Walker and a fire administration building in Highland Park, so it’s not one area,” Hankerson replied. “And, it’s not that I bring

BY STACEY EIDSON

only one-sided issues.”

Hankerson said he recently questioned the absence of a management company in the city’s parking deck located next to the Radisson hotel on Reynolds Street. He added that he was the one who insisted last year that the commission establish a committee to review how much the city spends each year leasing property.

“In that committee I learned that the city spends over $500,000 a year in leases,” Hankerson said. “That was about saving money. That was about economics. It’s not about what is going to be built in one community and what

When describing Laney-Walker, I say we are the people that are stronger than a roach in a nuclear war. We survive in spite of, and can prove it.

— Augusta Commissioner Willie Mays

”

is going to built in another community. It’s just about being good stewards of government money.”

Hankerson also pointed out that, under ANIC’s current lease with the city, it is facing penalties of about $9,000 a month for each month beyond the initial Sept. 30, 2002 scheduled date of completion.

“So, from September until now, it’s already accumulated about four months of penalties,” said Hankerson, adding that ANIC could owe up to $100,000 in penalties by the time their office building is completed or the fire department’s contract runs out in August 2003. “Does ANIC want to pay $100,000 in penalties? Or do we want to forgive them of the penalties?”

Augusta Commissioner Willie Mays said he understood Hankerson’s concerns about the project, but he told Hankerson that he needed to understand the history of the fire administrative offices along the river.

“The reason the fire department got over there (in the Riverfront Center) in the beginning was because that commitment was made by the old city to deal with economic development in that area,” Mays said. “I’m sure at that time something different probably could have been done.

However, it was not done as a shot in the arm by the city government to give that opportunity on the river to grow.”

Mays said he remembered even voting to use money that was supposed to be allocated for minority business development to help fund the riverfront development.

“I remember taking the criticism because I had to take money out of that minority business development to get something started on the river,” Mays said. “But it was for the overall betterment and good of the city.”

Now, in return, Mays said, he felt that the commission should support the ANIC office building so city funding can finally reach the economically depressed residents of the Laney-Walker neighborhood.

“When describing Laney-Walker, I say we are the people that are stronger than a roach in a nuclear war,” Mays said.

“We survive in spite of, and can prove it.”

By expressing such sentiments, Mays said he knows that

The Chronicle will criticize him and run columns stating that he is making the fire administration building a racial issue.

But considering William S. Morris III, publisher of The Chronicle, led the charge for the city to rent space in the Riverfront Center – a building that, at the time, was primarily owned by Morris – Mays said the newspaper doesn’t have much room to talk.

“We paid money over on the riverfront for the last two decades that nobody questioned, even when the offices were vacant,” Mays said. “There were no stories, no reporters calling to find out information on that deal as to how that money was used and where it was going.

“And I guess they didn’t have to because the only thing they had to do was call upstairs (to Morris) and they could find out exactly where the money was going because of the ownership of the building.”

In the end, the administrative services committee agreed to invite representatives from ANIC to its next meeting in two weeks to discuss the fire department’s one-year lease with ANIC. But before the discussion ended, Mays said, if the city is going to criticize him for wanting to temporarily locate the fire administration building in the Laney-Walker area, then he said citizens needed to look a little harder at other wasteful projects around the city.

“I’ve been here when we put the first money in the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame,” Mays said. “It’s a great area over there. Perfect place to have a wedding or a good lawn party. And I’ve heard all the promises of the (private) money that was going to be given to it.

“But we still don’t have a single building that’s over there and we continue to put money over there to the tune of millions of dollars for a nice garden,” Mays sarcastically added. “A great place for a tea party.”

That, Mays said, is not a wise use of public money.

“So, if we are going to get into it real deep and funky about how we save money and where we want it to go, I have a large list, too, I can use,” Mays said. “It’s kind of snotty and dirty, but I can bring it out if I need to.”

“

15

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Cleaning Up Augusta’s Protest Laws

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

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ounty Attorney Jim Wall thinks he’s solved most people’s concerns over his proposed changes to the city’s protest ordinance.

Now, all he has to do is convince the Augusta Commission.

And of course, Martha Burk. And Jesse Jackson.

Well, maybe the problem isn’t completely solved.

Earlier this week, a few local activists in Augusta voiced their concerns that their First Amendment rights would be violated if the city required them to apply for a protest permit 30 days prior to a scheduled demonstration, as previously suggested by Wall on Jan. 21.

Under last week’s proposed amendments, Wall said the city would require a group consisting of five or more people to submit an application to Richmond County Sheriff Ronnie Strength at least 30 days before the scheduled protest.

The sheriff would then have 10 business days to respond to the demonstrators’ application. If the sheriff failed to meet that deadline, the request would automatically be granted.

If an applicant was notified that Strength had denied him or her the right to protest, that person could file an appeal with the sheriff. The city would then be required to go before a judge and prove why the applicant was legitimately denied a right to protest.

Therefore, the burden of proof would be placed on the city. Currently, if a protester is denied the right to demonstrate, he or she must take the city to court.

During the city’s recent court litigation with an adult video store, a federal judge told Wall that the city’s ordinances relating to free speech were weak and could easily be challenged. For that reason, Wall said, he submitted the proposed changes to the protest ordinance.

“I am concerned about the existing ordinance,” Wall said. “And it is my recommendation that, while we have the opportunity to change it, we change it.”

Not a bad idea considering both Burk, chair of the National Council of Women’s Organizations, and Jackson’s Rainbow/PUSH Coalition have publicly promised to protest at this year’s Masters Tournament in Augusta.

But some local residents were concerned that having to apply 30 days prior to any protest would be too restrictive.

Augusta Commissioner Bill Kuhlke suggested that the application time be

“

shortened, in order to relieve some of the citizens’ concerns.

Kuhlke told the Augusta Commission’s public safety committee that he talked to Wall and Strength and he believed he had found a compromise.

“I asked them if it would be workable to change the timing for applying for that permit from 30 days to 20 days,” Kuhlke said. “And if the sheriff would have, rather than 10 days to review (the application), he would have seven.”

And if the permit was denied, the city would be given only seven days to prove to a judge that the denial was justified.

“What I am looking at primarily on this thing is that we are not depriving anyone of the opportunity to apply for a permit,” Kuhlke said. “We are not trying to prevent somebody from coming in and demonstrating or protesting, because I would be opposed to anything like that.”

By establishing these criteria, Kuhlke said, he felt the city’s protest ordinance would no longer be “constitutionally problematic.”

“This is my suggestion, rather than putting ourselves in a position that, if the existing ordinance was challenged in court and we lost because our existing ordinance was not valid, then we are talking about thousands of dollars potentially that it would cost the taxpayers of Richmond County,” Kuhlke said.

Wall accepted Kuhlke’s recommendation and took it a step further. He suggested including in the ordinance the wording that applicants would not be prohibited from filing a protest permit for a demonstration scheduled less than 20 days away.

Therefore, someone could apply for a protest permit for a demonstration scheduled the next day. And only if the sheriff denied the request, would the 20-day timeline come into play.

Wall said he recommended adding the additional wording after speaking to a woman concerned about her right to protest.

“The scenario she alluded to was, suppose we were to go to war tomorrow and they wanted to demonstrate against that,” Wall said. “Well, you would not want a 20-day time period then.”

With the additional wording, someone could apply for the protest permit immediately and “in all probability,” Wall said, the permit would be granted.

“But if it’s denied then you get into the suggested 20-day time period,” Wall said.

“I think that will satisfy the concerns of

BY STACEY EIDSON

County Attorney Jim Wall those – where there is a sudden, unexpected event – who want to demonstrate.”

While Wall’s suggestion seemed to address most citizens’ concerns, it was obvious that many commissioners wanted to just leave the ordinance the way it is and avoid the national media spotlight altogether.

Augusta Commissioner Tommy Boyles suggested that maybe the city could sit down with Jackson and Burk and discuss the situation like civilized adults.

“Why don’t we have, whether it’s our mayor, whether it’s our sheriff, whether it’s our chairman of public safety (Marion Williams), why don’t we contact these folks (Burk and Jackson) and see when they want to come, what they want to do, and let’s be as accommodating to them as humanly possible,” Boyles said.

“Let’s keep the public relations front on our side and not talk as we did last week about sending them down to the Burke County line.”

Commissioners Lee Beard and Willie Mays nodded their heads in agreement.

“Wouldn’t that be a whole lot better?”

Boyles asked.

The sheriff, Wall and City Administrator George Kolb remained absolutely silent.

“We just pick a time and a place, where they can meet publicly and go ahead and do it,” Boyles said. “And then we will go ahead about our business of providing the best golf tournament in the world.”

Commissioners will reconsider Wall’s proposed amendments to the ordinance on Monday, Feb. 3.

I am concerned about the existing ordinance.

And it is my recommendation that, while we have the opportunity to change it, we change it.

– County Attorney Jim Wall

”

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Richmond County Republican Party The Richmond County Republican Party, Pursuant to the Rule of the Georgia Republican Party, hereby makes and issues this, the Official Call, to all legal and qualified voters of Richmond County, Georgia, who are in accord with the principles of the Republican Party, believe in its policies and are in sympathy with its aims and purposes, to unite in the pursuant to this call. There shall be Mass Meetings (by County Commission District) on February 8, 2003 at 10:00 am at the following locations, which shall elect Delegates and Alternates to County and District Conventions.

District 1: May Park, 622 Fourth Street & Walton Way District 2: Bernie Ward Community Center, Lumpkin Road District 3: Fire Training Facility, Central Ave & Kings Way District 4: McDuffie Woods Center, 3431 Old McDuffie Road District 5: Minnick Park Center, 1850 Kissingbower Road District 6: Burns Memorial United Methodist Church, 2372 Lumpkin Road District 7: Warren Road Community Center, 300 Warren Road District 8: Jessie Carol Community Center, 4977 Windsor Spring Road

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Free Morning Fitness Class** Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 8:45 am - 9:30 am Participants must pre-register.

Open to the public.

AARP Driver Safety Program**

Thursday & Friday, February 6 and 7, 12 pm Participants must pre-register.

Open to the public.

Covered Dish Luncheon

Monday, February 17, 12 pm Luncheon and Auxiliary Meeting held at Savannah Rapids Pavilion.

New Ballroom Dance Classes**

Tuesday, February 18, 6:30 pm Beginners/Intermediate.

Tuesday, February 18, 7:45 pm Intermediate/Advanced.

Cost is $48 for six lessons per couple.

Must pre-register

Educational Program – GYN Care After Menopause**

Friday, February 21, 11:30 am Presented by Dr. Lan Adams.

Free lunch provided. Please pre-register. **These Senior Friends programs will be held in the Senior Friends meeting area, located on the Doctors Hospital Campus Building III, 1305 Interstate Parkway, Senior Friends Meeting Area.

David M. Barbee, Chairman Richmond County Republican Party

For more information, call 651-2450 or visit www.doctors-hospital.net

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17

You’re a Big Girl Now*

Saturday, February 8, 10 am – 12 pm This class is for girls ages 9-12, along with their mothers. Information will be provided on puberty and adolescence.

Please pre-register by calling 651-2450.

"Go For the Gold" Swimming Clinic Saturday, February 8 2 Three-Hr. Sessions: 8 am - 11 am or 1 pm - 4 pm Augusta State Swimming Complex Sponsored by Doctors Hospital, and the Aiken-Augusta Swim League.

This Free competitors' swimming clinic will include discussions and demonstrations about proper swim stroke technique; injury recognition and prevention; warm-up drills and training methods; followed by keynote speaker Tom Jager, Olympic Gold Medalist. Registration is required, please call 651-2270.

Diabetes Support Group

Tuesday, February 11, 6 pm Location: Doctors Hospital – Office Building III, Classrooms 4 & 5.

An educational seminar for the person with diabetes and his/her family. Call 651-2468.

Community Health Screenings Wednesday, February 26, 7:30 am - 10:30 am Location: Doctors Hospital, First Floor, Classrooms 1 & 2. Health screenings include free cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure testing. Registration is not required. For additional information please call 651-6280. *For only $5.00, a special lipid screening will be offered.

3651 Wheeler Road • Augusta, GA

3 0 2 0 0 3

18

Gold Dome Revue

M E T R O S P I R I T

BY

GREG

LAND

Complete Coverage of the Georgia 2003 Legislative Session

J A N 3 0 2 0 0 3

Mum’s the Word

T

here were two big "State of ..." speeches this week that held particular interest for certain uniformed segments of the public. The first, of course, was Tuesday’s State of the Union address, in which a fittingly solemn chief executive laid out, in no uncertain terms, the unpleasant fate awaiting a certain mustachioed misanthrope who’s been making a nuisance of himself of the Middle East lately (where is Geraldo these days, anyway?), while promising the rest of us big ol’ tax cuts, jobs for everybody, health care for all, a massive campaign to treat AIDS in Africa, hydrogen cars, Star Wars — and eeeasy credit to pay for the whole shebang! Santa with a flamethrower and gold MasterCard. Nice. (Shhh. Don’t mention it to the grandkids.)

Our new governor, Sonny Perdue, must have been green with envy. Constrained by law to present a balanced state budget and facing an array of ticklish issues, Perdue presented a State of the State address the preceding night that, while full of fresh encouragement and enlivened by longtime-pilot Perdue’s airplane-flying-into-trouble imagery, seemed downright pedestrian by comparison. (Reality bites, huh?)

Facing a $620 million budget deficit, the closest thing to a tax cut Sonny could offer was a promise not to carry through on his earlier decision to roll back the state homestead exemption from $10,000 to $4,000, and to "permatize" the exemption at that level. (Isn’t "Permatize" some sort of method for waterproofing fabric?)

That decision — hailed by lawmakers from both parties — came in response to the chorus of howls that greeted Perdue’s announcement, earlier this month, that he would partly fund the budget shortfall by lowering the homestead exemption and raising taxes on alcohol and tobacco.

Users of those recreational substances, however, were offered no similar solace: The teetotaling, non-smoking governor signaled his intention to forge ahead with those increases.

The governor also introduced his ethics reform package — four bills (the first bill of which was dropped in the Legislature on Tuesday) that will drastically change the way elected officials and lobbyists do business and bring Georgia’s ethics rules

Gov. Sonny Perdue somewhat more in line with the rest of the nation — if our notoriously stickyfingered lawmakers can be prodded into passing them. The bill introduced Tuesday bans the now-common practice of lawmakers being able to funnel their own campaign contributions into the war chests of other candidates, restricts lawmakers from contacting the Pardons and Parole Board on behalf of inmates (a practice for which Perdue himself has been criticized), and tightens restrictions on campaign fund solicitation during the legislative session. (Already, legislators are forbidden from actually accepting money during the session; this measure further forbids lawmakers or their committees from seeking pledges ort otherwise dunning contributors.)

Lawmakers of both parties are complaining about the fund-transfer ban (among other items), and there is concern — the governor’s ethics focus notwithstanding — that the "new day" under the Gold Dome may prove much like the old days when it comes to the General Assembly, a body famous for its reluctance to police its own behavior with anything approaching the gusto with which it micromanages the citizenry’s affairs.

Two constituencies most awaiting word on their priorities may have been disappointed by the governor’s speech.

Teachers, who flocked to the Perdue camp due to dissatisfaction with the education policies of his predecessor, were already aware that much-hoped-for raises will not be funded in the budget. But they had hoped to hear something about one of their key concerns: "fair dismissal" — a.k.a. "tenure" — the review process formerly available to experienced teachers facing disciplinary or dismissal proceedings.

But, while he did promise to allow administrators, teachers and parents to be more involved in the education process and reverse the centralzation that characterized Roy Barnes’ education package, Perdue was coy about concrete areas like tenure; nor could he offer much hope to undo the reliance on standardized testing -- a component of the Barnes plan now solidified, as Perdue himself noted, in President Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act. But at least teachers were acknowledged in Perdue’s address. Another cohort of Candidate Perdue’s supporters — those whose interests are most publicly espoused by earnest fellows in uniforms of gray and butternut — were left with little more than a carefully worded sop from the now-governor, who seems

While most of the local delegation is still stumbling into broom closets and trying to find the offices into which many are only now settling, Sen. Don Cheeks — newly minted Republican, delegation chair and, with the departure of defeated Sen. Charles Walker, Augusta’s official Big Dog under the Dome — has been busy indeed.

increasingly determined not only to avoid espousing any opinion on the matter closest to their hearts, but to avoid even mentioning the issue by name.

For the governor — who gleefully courted the dismay and outrage of Georgians who felt betrayed by the cavalier manner in which a 46-year-old ceremonial design was jettisoned from the weal of Officialdom — continued to dance away from the dicey dilemma.

Promising to seek a referendum on state’s choice of "emblem," Perdue delicately attempted to finesse the subject without ever uttering the "F" word. Out of concern for the governor’s delicate sensibilities, we’ll try emulate his practice and eschew any further reference to the state f… well, to that thing. In fact, we join in wishing him a banner year, as he unfurls his plans and readies his staff to wave the state on to the very pole of success, unflappably exceeding every standard. May the strength of he and his confederates never flag … oops. Dang it -- sorry, Guv. On the home front …

While most of the local delegation is still stumbling into broom closets and trying to find the offices into which many

Sen. Don Cheeks

are only now settling, Sen. Don Cheeks — newly minted Republican, delegation chair and, with the departure of defeated Sen. Charles Walker, Augusta’s official Big Dog under the Dome — has been busy indeed.

Retaining his position as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee (a token of appreciation from the ascendant party), Cheeks was immediately thrust into the brouhaha that erupted this week over provisions of Georgia’s "predatory lending law," a hefty bundle of legalese passed last year to rein in certain financial interests that make high-interest loans to low-income and risky borrowers.

When leading underwriters Standard & Poors recently announced that, as of Feb.1, it would no longer rate bonds backed by Georgia mortgages because of the law, fighting began anew between the state’s mortgage bankers and consumer advocates. The stricture cited by S&P, which allows victims of predatory lenders to sue not only the offending initial mortgage lender, but also investors who buy bonds backed by the improper loans, seems to be a fairly simple item to fix (as simple as anything can be in the arcane world of mortgage banking and bond-rating, at any rate). But a packed House hearing called Monday to allow bankers to vent their concerns quickly turned ugly, with attendees inside and out exchanging insults and accusations.

Lobbyists for the mortgage industry have taken the opportunity to attack a range of provisions they don’t like, while consumer advocates (and their Senate champions) have charged foes of the bill with attempting to "gut" it. (And, admittedly, some are.)

In both House and Senate, bills have been introduced ostensibly "fixing" the problem — and scrapping other large sections, as well.

Into the fray wades Sen. Cheeks, who helped hammer out last year’s bill in conference committee, and who spent all day Tuesday sequestered in his office ("We’re under orders not to let anybody in but the governor’s office," confided a staffer), working on a solution.

"I have just dropped a bill that fixes the S&P problem," said Cheeks Wednesday.

"We hope to have it passed and fixed no later than the 15th (of February). I have a letter from Standard & Poors stating that this bill will address their concerns."

Cheeks firmly declined to discuss the another Senate bill, dropped by Sen. Casey Cagle (R-Gainesville) — an ardent opponent of last year’s reforms — that dramatically rewrites the measure.

"I am not ready to discuss any other bill until it is before my committee," he says.

"I’ve seen the Cagle bill; it seems that there’s some good and some bad there, but we’ll work that out in committee."

Cheeks has also seized the lead on another issue that’s already promising to spark legislative fireworks this session.

Last week, he dropped a bill creating the "Woman’s Right To Know Act," an antiabortion measure which would require a 24-hour waiting period before a woman could undergo an abortion, and a mandate that doctors deliver a lecture on the procedure: how bad it hurts, how some people wish they’d never done it, etc.

Hmmm. Maybe they should do the same things for vasectomies. And plastic surgery. And weddings …

19

HEALTH PAGE Take care of yourself. Let University help.

Knowledge and Exercise – Keys to a Healthy Heart

“HealthTalk” on WGAC-580 AM

Tune in Monday, Feb. 3, at 8:30 a.m. to hear Doris E. Tummillo, M.D., a boardcertified cardiologist and member of University’s medical staff, discuss the C-reactive protein test as an indicator of heart disease.

University presents a Family Life Series for today’s families.

“Part I: Challenges and Changes Facing Adolescents Today” Featuring Alan G. Getts, M.D. March 11 Registration/dinner: 6:30 p.m.; physician presentation: 7-8:15 p.m.

“Osteoporosis – The Bone Facts for Women and Men” Featuring Douglas R. Phillips, M.D. March 20 Registration/dinner: 5:30 p.m.; physician presentation: 6-7 p.m.

Both of the above programs will be held in University Hospital dining rooms 1-3.

Seniors Club members: $8; advance registration: $9; at the door: $10 To register, call 706/736-0847.

Save The Date!

March 30 12:15-5 p.m.

University Hospital Levi W. Hill III Auditorium, First Floor BabyFest is a FREE, funfilled, educational afternoon designed for new and expectant parents.

Pediatricians and infant care medical specialists conduct classes and provide educational materials designed to answer your questions about parenthood and your baby’s first year.

For more information, call 706/774-2825.

M E T R O

Heart Health Programs during February – National Heart Health Month Attend these special programs with physicians and hospital staff to learn how you can take care of your heart.

To register for the following evening programs, call 706/736-0847.

Registration and buffet dinner: 5:30 p.m.; physician presentation: 6-7 p.m.

Seniors Club members: $8; advance registration: $9; at the door: $10 Reservations are required.

“Preventive Strategies for Coronary Artery Disease in 2003” Paul E. Cundey Jr., M.D. Feb. 11 University Hospital dining rooms 1-3 “Cholesterol and Medications” Kellie V. Lane, M.D. Feb. 20 University Hospital dining rooms 1-3 “Taking Charge of Your Health — A Program for Women of All Ages” Jacqueline W. Fincher, M.D. Feb. 27 First Baptist Church of Augusta, 3500 Walton Way To register for these two programs listed below, call 706/738-2580 or 800/413-6652.

These two programs will both be held at University Hospital dining rooms 1-3. Reservations are required.

Breakfast with the Doctor “Prevention: The Key to Heart Health” Abdulla M. Abdulla, M.D. Feb. 20 9-11 a.m.

Seniors Club members: FREE; nonmembers: $3

“Health Risk Assessment Follow-up: Taking the Next Step” Featuring Holly Ford, program manager, University’s Weight Management and Nutrition Center, and Susan Cota, R.N., M.S.N., C.N.S., community relations manager, University Health Care System March 17 By attending any of these heart programs, you will receive a FREE health risk assessment (HRA) to complete. In March, you are invited back to attend this one-hour class in which the results of your HRA will be given to you. Learn what life style changes you should make for better health and well-being and receive suggestions for making those changes.

Registration and dinner: 5:30 p.m.; presentation: 6-7 p.m.

University Hospital dining rooms 1-3 Senior Club members: $8; advance registration: $9; at the door: $10 To register, call 706/736-0847.

Make The Move to A Healthier You! Special offer with this ad – Bring this ad with you to Health Central, University Hospital’s COMMUNITY fitness and wellness facility, by TOMORROW, Jan. 31, and receive • FREE massage • One week FREE • No enrollment fee, which is valued at $99 After your first year with Health Central, memberships are on a monthly basis.

Schedule a FREE tour of Health Central. Call 706/724-4408.

Lunch with the Doctor “Leg Pains – Varicose Veins” Steven M. Roth, M.D. Feb. 26 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Senior Club members: FREE; nonmembers: $5

If you are 50 or older, join University Seniors Club!

Review the wealth of benefits: -Health-related programs with physicians -Health screenings -Local and national discounts, including prescription drugs -Group travel -Special benefits if hospitalized at University Hospital New members, return your completed application with payment postmarked by Feb. 28, and qualify to win a FREE trip to Branson. Current members who renew and return the completed application with payment postmarked by Feb. 28 will qualify for a FREE one-day trip to the Riverbanks Zoo and Botannical Gardens in Columbia, S.C. on April 25.

Call 706/738-2580 for your application.

University Health Care System has been named the National Research Corporation’s Consumer Choice Award winner in the Augusta area for the fourth consecutive year.

F OR FREE 24- HOUR

Voted Best of Augusta for 18 years.

706/724-4408

www.universityhealth.org

Your resource for healthy living.

Healthy Adults Fresh Start Smoking Cessation Program Sponsored by the American Cancer Society Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27 6-7 p.m.

University Hospital dining room 1 FREE To register, call 706/774-8900.

Healthy Older Adults The following screenings are held at the University Seniors Club, Daniel Village Shopping Center. For more information, call 706/738-2580.

Glucose Screenings Blood Pressure Checks Height and Weight Measurements Every Wednesday during February 9 a.m.-noon FREE during February for members No appointment necessary

Healthy Parents All classes are held in the Women’s Center classroom on the third floor unless otherwise stated. Registration is required. Call 706/774-2825 for information or to register for the following classes: Childbirth Preparation Class Six-week series Tuesdays, Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25, March 4, 11 Thursdays, Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27, March 6, 13 7-9:30 p.m. $75 Women’s Center Tour Feb. 13 7-9:30 p.m.

FREE

Weekender Childbirth Preparation Class Friday, 6:30-9:30 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Feb. 21 and 22 $100

Log on to learn more: www.universityhealth.org

FREE Mammograms Available Through a grant from the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, University Breast Health Center offers a FREE mammogram and education for any woman 40 or older who qualifies.

HEALTH INFORMATION , CALL

Breast-Feeding Feb. 20 7:30-9:30 p.m.

Babies R Us, Bobby Jones Expressway FREE

Refresher Childbirth Preparation Class Feb. 17 and 19 7-9:30 p.m. $50

Healthy Women For the following classes or offers, registration is required. Call 706/774-4141 unless otherwise stated.

Breast Self-Exam Class Feb. 10 5 p.m.

University Breast Health Center No charge

Sibling Birthday Party Feb. 20 3-4 p.m.

FREE

FREE

Speech and Hearing Screening For Adults and Children To schedule an appointment, call 706/774-5777.

MUST PRESENT COUPON Redeemable at University Speech & Hearing Center, corner of R.A. Dent Blvd. & St. Sebastian Way

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S P I R I T J A N 3 0 2 0 0 3

20

J A N 3 0 2 0 0 3

MEDIA-OPOLY

By Brian Neill

A

s early as spring, the Federal Communications Commission will decide whether to do away with, lessen or keep intact limits on the number of media outlets a single enterprise can own in a community.

Aside from a smattering of stories in mainstream newspapers — considerably more have appeared in alternative publications like this one, along with magazines like Mother Jones and The Nation — little media attention has been given to the subject.

For one, the topic is not especially sexy, easily giving itself over to industry-watcher jargon like “crossownership,” “oligopolies,” “market share” and the like.

And for another, most of the outlets that could be reporting on it probably favor the prevailing silence on the pending FCC vote. After all, if the FCC does lift or significantly diminish the ban on a single company owning both a newspaper and television stations in the

same market — the most pertinent aspect of the debate — large media corporations will go, overnight, from trolling in a vast, open sea to snagging fish in a barrel in terms of advertising dollars, say some industry watchers.

But killing off the little guy could be termed innocuous when contrasted with the other potential effects of media consolidation.

We peer down our noses at oppressive countries that give their citizens only one or two news outlets to choose from, thereby limiting options for opinionforming and dissention.

But, we could face the same possible situation here, albeit with different ends in mind.

Lest you think this is just a case of the little guy grumbling about the possibility of not getting his share in this brave new media world, consider the potential ramifications for public discourse and news dissemination, particularly at the local level.

ONE VOICE WILL CONTROL ALL MINDS! OK, maybe that’s a bit extreme.

GO

S P I R I T

SWAY PUBLIC OPINION AS YOU

M E T R O

But say, for instance, the owner of the daily newspaper in town is suddenly allowed to also own television stations with local news broadcasts in the same market.

And say that owner has a particular venture in mind that needs public support to come to fruition. For argument’s sake, we’ll use the example of, well, how about an $89-million civic arena?

Before you discount this argument as just another transparent jab at The Augusta Chronicle by The Spirit, at least stop and consider the merits of the argument.

It’s no secret William S. “Billy” Morris, III , owner of Morris Communications Corp. and The Chronicle, wants the new facility, at least in part, to host future equine events associated with his Augusta Futurity.

How much private versus public dollars will go into the project though, seems as murky as whether the arena will happen at all.

And the plan to hit up the governments of surrounding counties and municipalities for funding brought responses of puzzlement and skepticism from the officials of those same governments,

when interviewed for a story that just ran in this newspaper.

The Chronicle’s take on the subject on its editorial page has, however, been that the arena will be the saving grace the community needs to move forward. And that opinion is not likely to change, regardless of how high that $89 million price tag climbs and how much Joe Taxpayer winds up having to shell out.

But what if one or more of the three local TV stations with news broadcasts — having come under Morris ownership — also had the same opinion, giving the financing quandary of the arena and other related issues softball coverage at best?

How about their takes on any of Morris’ myriad downtown properties or pet projects like Fort Discovery and the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame?

Where would people turn for an unbiased take on those issues? (We’ll spare you the shameless plug.)

Or, as Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Digital Democracy, told The Spirit for a story in April about convergence — the recent trend of training journalists in

MEGA PROFITS

MORRIS COMMUNICATIONS CORP.

PRICE: KILLING COMPETITION

MEDIA’S FATE

$ ?

MORRIS COMMUNICATIONS CORP.

PRICE: STIFLING VIEWPOINTS

multiple mediums for news dissemination (newspaper writers trained to write a TV newscast script and a story for Web site publication, for instance): “That’s (the potential lifting or weakening of the ban) unprecedented consolidation of local media power — the ability to dramatically shape public opinion, set the parameters for civic discourse and impact the local advertising market, as well. It’s far too much power in the hands of a single owner. Local democracy will suffer.”

Something to think about as the chips fall into place.

Morris Communications has positioned itself well in the event restrictions are eased or lifted, having bought heavily into a multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art media convergence facility on the campus of the University of South Carolina, called Newsplex.

Julian Miller, president of The Chronicle, said in the April convergence piece that he couldn’t speak for everyone at the daily, but he would certainly embrace the opportunity to broaden the company’s media tentacles to include a television station.

“I would like to experiment with it and see what we could do,” Miller said. “But you understand, I’m not in the position to effect that change, and of course, we have laws right now.

“But it wouldn’t surprise me if the law was changed to allow the crossownership that we would buy a station at some point.”

Of course, it could work the other way, as in a television station acquiring the daily. But “could” is only relevant in comparison with the piles of money Morris has already amassed through his extensive media holdings that include 27 daily newspapers, 25 magazines, a billboard company, 27 radio stations and two radio networks.

Locally, Morris not only owns The Chronicle, but also, Augusta Magazine, the Columbia County News-Times, the Bullseye Marketing company and the Fairway billboard company.

In other words, “could” doesn’t stand much of a chance.

That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with free enterprise, and Morris is entitled to buy as many newspapers, radio stations — and yes, even TV stations — as his little wallet will allow.

Allowing him to dominate the entire local market, however, is something totally different.

After all — though you wouldn’t necessarily believe it listening to commercial radio these days — the airwaves are supposed to belong to us, the people. And the FCC is ostensibly there to ensure that those airwaves don’t get trampled on to the extent that shows and content with inherent public interest are subjugated by the almighty dollar.

Of course, the FCC is also there to ensure that dialogue in TV movies shown even after prime time is uninterpretable or just plain ridiculous, owing to all the dirty words being hacked out. But we know governmental agencies are far from perfect.

To a large extent, the direction the FCC takes on media ownership issues in the ensuing months will depend a lot on the leadership and guidance of FCC Chairman Michael Powell, son of Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The decision, in part, will also be made by the FCC’s four commissioners, some of whom have already expressed the potential danger they see in lifting or weakening the newspaper and broadcast cross-ownership restrictions.

FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps, at a Jan. 16 forum on media ownership at Columbia Law School, said his agency and much of the public didn’t have the “foggiest idea” what the repercussions of lifting or weakening the cross-ownership restrictions would be.

But, Copps added, people could get a fairly good idea from looking at what happened to radio since ownership restrictions were severely loosened in 1996.

“Conglomerates now own dozens, even hundreds – and, in one case, more than a thousand – stations all across the country,” Copps said, his last example referring to Clear Channel Communications, which operates seven radio stations in Augusta and more than 1,200 throughout the country. “More and more programming originates hundreds of miles away from listeners and their communities. And there are 34 percent fewer radio station owners than there were before safeguards were eliminated.

The majority of markets today are dominated by oligopoly. And all this in only a few years!” continued on page 22

We peer down our noses at oppressive countries that give their citizens only one or two news outlets to choose from, thereby limiting options for opinion-forming and dissention.

But, we could face the same possible situation here, albeit with different ends in mind.

21 M E T R O

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Manager, Gift Shop and Interpretive Center The Augusta Canal Authority has an immediate opening for the position of Manager, Gift Shop and Interpretive Center. Candidates must possess a high school diploma with some college or technical training preferred with a minimum of two years experience in a similar job. A detailed job description is available upon request. Please send cover letter, resume and salary history by February 10, 2003 to: Dayton L. Sherrouse Augusta Canal Authority P.O. Box 2367 • Augusta, GA 30903 706-823-0440 sherrouse@augustacanal.com The Augusta Canal Authority is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Pick any night in February, from the 1st to the 28th, to indulge in any of our three SWEETHEART packages.

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Special Valentine’s Menu for Two in PI Bar & Grill includes appetizers, salads, entrees & desserts.

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MEDIA-OPOLY continued from page 21

Copps also expressed dismay at the lack of public input that has thus far been received on the issue.

(Public comments can be made by visiting the FCC’s Web site at www.fcc.gov. Go to the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau in the right-hand margin and follow instructions for electronic comment filing.)

A 147-page study by a group calling itself the Future of Music Coalition found that Clear Channel, since the 1996 Telecommunications Act was passed, has amassed 30 times the number of stations previously allowed; none of its competitors has even a fourth of the number of properties it owns.

Through consolidation in the radio industry, playlists and formats have become homogenized, and programming for a particular locality in many cases has been given over to someone who has never even stepped foot in that city, the study found.

Consolidation in radio also did much to silence independent voices and up-andcoming musicians because of insidious “pay-for-play” schemes, by which promoters and corporate recording execs give bonuses and perks to stations in order to get their talent — a term often used loosely these days — more airplay, according to the study.

This seems to smack of Standard Oil and the Rockefellers all over again.

When considering the vertically integrated behemoths that have sneaked under the monopoly radar thus far, however, it’s not as if the antitrust laws have amounted to a whole hill of beans lately, anyway. (Ironically, Powell served as chief of staff of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division before coming to the FCC, where he went on to approve the AOL-Time Warner merger.)

Consider, for instance, Viacom International, Inc., which owns Infinity Broadcasting radio stations and the CBS television network, as well as MTV, VH1 and BET. AOL-Time Warner’s holdings would take considerably more time and newsprint to itemize here.

Even many Internet news sites, Copps points out in an article he penned for The Nation, have come under ownership of the same corporations that own a majority of the newspapers, TV stations and cable companies in the country — thus limiting even further the outlets for alternative voices.

Defenders of media consolidation, however, disagree with such assessments and stand their ground on the belief that allowing them to pool vast resources into merging various mediums like TV and newspapers will only improve the immediacy and accuracy of news delivery.

And perhaps assuming the worst will happen if media consolidation is allowed to go forward is selling short those in the news biz, locally.

To give credit where credit is due, The Chronicle does seem to stay on top of its game in terms of news-gathering without the pressure of another competing daily, as in some markets.

There are also some aggressive news directors, editors and reporters at local TV stations vying to get the story first.

That competives spirit drives this business.

It's a business that boils down to people genuinely having their hearts in their craft. It certainly isn’t for the money.

It’s the sense of accomplishment in getting to the story first and/or telling it better than anyone else can — or at least aspiring to do such — that drives most reporters, broadcasters and editors.

That competition, known as “getting the scoop,” contributes greatly to diversity in news content. Getting better and unique stories from varying points of view means you’ve beaten the competition, as well as given your readers or viewers a more informative news foundation on which to make decisions or form opinions.

It’s still hard to imagine, however, that such a competitive spirit would continue to thrive when those other reporters, editors and broadcasters were all drawing paychecks bearing the same signature.

The signature of the same man with some of the deepest pockets in town.

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That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with free enterprise, and Morris is entitled to buy as many newspapers, radio stations — and yes, even TV stations — as his little wallet will allow.

Allowing him to dominate the entire local market, however, is something totally different.

23

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S P I R I T J A N 3 0 2 0 0 3

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

at 80

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By David Hoppe

Photo (c) 1994 Rosemary Carroll and www.vonnegut.com

sked how he’s doing, Kurt Vonnegut says, “I’m mad about being old and I’m mad about being American. Apart from that, OK.” Vonnegut has just turned 80. Although he claims he’s retired from writing, he has just finished an introduction for a book of anti-war posters by artist Micah Ian Wright. Vonnegut continues to be a cultural presence, speaking out against war with Iraq to 10,000 protestors at a rally in New York’s Central Park and making a spoken-word contribution to the new multimedia world music production, One Giant Leap.

While Vonnegut has always owned his Indianapolis sense of place, he has seemed less interested in grounding himself to a particular locale than in using place as a portal to some greater, universal understanding of life. Vonnegut has long argued that we are, ultimately, planetary citizens — whether we realize it or not.

As extraordinarily popular as Vonnegut’s work has proved to be — virtually everything he’s written is still in print — he’s hardly a bringer of reassuring tidings. History, he seems to suggest, is important not, as per Santyana, so that we can avoid past mistakes, but as a predictor of what we corrupt souls are likely to do to one another.

Vonnegut, after all, is an avant-garde artist, whose “aggressively unconventional” (his words) approach to storytelling would likely put readers off if it weren’t for the wryly aphoristic, conversational tone of his voice. He has said he learned to effectively write the way he talked by having to phone in

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stories during his days as a reporter for the Chicago News Bureau.

Kurt Vonnegut recently took some time to talk from his home in New York City about how he thinks things are going these days: Q. In 1991, you spoke to the Wordstruck Festival in Indianapolis right after the end of the Gulf War against Iraq. During your speech you remarked on television footage you’d seen of Iraqi soldiers who’d been taken prisoner and said, “Those men are my brothers.”

A. All soldiers are.

Q. And here we are on the brink of another war with Iraq.

A. I don’t want to belong to a country that attacks little countries. I don’t want to belong to that kind of country. I wrote a piece for 7 Stories Press here in New York. They’re about to publish a book of anti-war posters by a guy nobody’s heard of before — he’s a pretty good artist and so I was asked to write a piece for it.

Would you like me to read it?

Q. Please.

A. (Reading) “These anti-war posters by Micah Ian Wright are reminiscent in spirit of works by artists like Kathe Kollwitz and Georg Grosz and on and on during the 1920s, when it was becoming ever more evident that the infant German democracy was about to be murdered by psychopathic personalities — hereinafter P.P.s — the medical term for smart, personable people who have no conscience. P.P.s are fully aware of how much suffering their actions will inflict on

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others but do not care. They cannot care.

“The classic medical text about how such attractive leaders bring us into unspeakable calamities is “The Mask of Sanity” by Dr. Hervey Cleckley. An American P.P. at the head of a corporation, for example, could enrich himself by ruining his employees and investors and still feel as pure as the driven snow.

A P.P., should he attain a post near the top of our federal government, might feel that taking the country into an endless war with casualties in the millions was simply something decisive to do today.

So to bed.

“With a P.P., decisiveness is all. Or, to put it another way, we now have a Reichstag fire of our own.”

Q. What’s become of conscience?

A. Again, as Cleckley says, these people are around and do rise. Women are attracted to them. I mean, this is a defect, but women are attracted to them because they are so confident. They really don’t (care) what happens — not even to themselves. But this is a serious defect and, no, we haven’t been invaded and conquered by Martians. We have been conquered by psychopathic personalities who are attractive.

Q. Has television played a part in this?

A. We have no idea what technology has done to us. Last night I went to a party for Gordon Parks, a black genius.

Walter Cronkite was there. Cronkite’s an old friend. I said to him, “You know, the country you did so much to shape seems so shapeless now.” One thing about TV is you don’t have to do anything ...

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Q. We become spectators.

A. Yes. And that’s enough. We’re thanked for that: “Thank You For Watching ...” (laughs) Q. Ratings are becoming more important than votes.

A. Well, technology has f***ed us up in many ways. What I’ve said about the computer revolution is that it’s allowed white collar criminals to do what the Mob would have loved to do — put a pawn shop and a loan shark in every home!

Q. Technology changes us, yet it’s very difficult for us to recognize the changes because we’re in their midst.

A. Of course it does. Life asks us for this and asks us for that: Go get yourself some food. You have tasks, it turns out, in order to get satisfied. But you don’t have to do them now. You can sit at home and it’s simply done to you. So we’re not terribly interesting animals anymore.

Q. You’ve talked about how the Bush Administration seems driven by revenge.

A. It’s a story to tell. He’s in the same business I’m in. He’s telling stories. It turns out this is the simplest of all stories to tell. I mean, I want to hold attention when I write something. What he wants to be is interesting. And revenge is interesting. I’ve said there are two radical ideas that have been introduced into human thought. One of them is that energy and matter are pretty much the same sort of stuff. That’s Einstein. The other is that revenge is a bad idea. It’s an enormously popular idea but, of course,

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Jesus came along with the radical idea of forgiveness. That was radical. If you’re insulted, you have to square accounts. So this invention by Jesus is as radical as Einstein’s.

Q. You’ve placed a high premium on what you call decency.

A. One kid said he had the key to all my books and he put it in a sentence. He said, “Love may fail but courtesy will prevail.” Love does fail all the time, you know, and it makes people vicious.

Q. That’s interesting because it seems that psychopathic personalities tend to give courtesy a bad rap. They find it weak.

A. They are decisive. They are gonna do something every day and they are not afraid.

Q. You’ve used satire as a tool to defend against the world’s insanity.

Can it also work to change things?

A. I guess it works some. Just telling people, “You are not alone. There are a lot of others who feel as you do.” We’re a terribly lonesome society. For all I know, all societies are. You can make a few new friends, that’s all. You can’t change history. History is happening to us now. George Bush has hydrogen bombs if he needs them. It really matters who’s around and who’s holding attention. I don’t think television will let anybody else hold attention.

Q. Why is that?

A. During the Vietnam War, which lasted longer than any war we’ve ever been in — and which we lost — every respectable artist in this country was against the war. It was like a laser beam.

We were all aimed in the same direction.

The power of this weapon turns out to be that of a custard pie dropped from a stepladder six feet high. (laughs) Q. Powers Hapgood was an internationally known Indianapolis radical and socialist. You met him didn’t you?

A. Oh, yes. He was an official of the CIO then. He was a typical Hoosier idealist. Socialism is idealistic. Think of Eugene Debs from Terre Haute. What Debs said echoes the Sermon on the Mount: “As long as there’s a lower class I am in it. As long as there is a criminal element, I am of it. As long as there is a soul in prison, I am not free.”

Now why can’t the religious right recognize that as a paraphrase of the Sermon on the Mount? Hapgood and Debs were both middle-class people who thought there could be more economic justice in this country. They wanted a better country, that’s all. Hapgood’s family owned a successful cannery in Indianapolis and Hapgood turned it over to the employees, who ruined it. He led the pickets against the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti. Hapgood was testifying in court in Indianapolis about some picket-line dust-up connected with the CIO and the judge stops everything. He says, “Mr. Hapgood, here you are; you’re a graduate of Harvard and you own a successful business. Why would anyone

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25

THANKS AUGUSTA!

with your advantages choose to live as you have?” Powers Hapgood actually became a coal miner for a while. His answer to the judge was great: “The Sermon on the Mount, sir.”

My God, the religious right will not acknowledge what a merciful person Jesus was.

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Q. You left Indianapolis for the East Coast. But you’ve also said there’s good reason for staying put.

A. You leave home because of lonesomeness, no spiritual reason. You’re not going to be able to have shop talk. So you’re going to be terribly lonesome. So yes, you go to Greenwich Village or somewhere else where people are talking all the time. The turning point in my life, even though I was an established writer, was when I went to the Writer’s Workshop at the University of Iowa. We were talking about literature all the time!

On Cape Cod there was nobody for me to talk to. It’s a very simple social reason. Of course, I’ve also said the more provincial a story is, the more universal it becomes. That just happens to be true.

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Q. Why is that? Attention to detail?

A. Yes. It’s going to be a totally human story which people are going to recognize as such and so they’ll resonate with it. I mean: Madame Bovary — how provincial can you get?

Q. Your work moves people across generations. How do you account for that?

A. I don’t have to. All I know is it happened.

— David Hoppe is associate/arts editor of Nuvo, a weekly newspaper in Indianapolis.

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S P I R I T J A N

Q. Why are they so intent on making god a punisher?

A. Because they enjoy punishment.

It’s a form of entertainment. The reason we still have the death penalty in this country is because it’s a major form of entertainment — a way of holding attention.

I don’t want to belong to a country that attacks little countries. I don’t want to belong to that kind of country.

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G

ot crabs? If not, then you need to get some. Take yourself on out to Crabby Abby’s in the pink-andgray building on Peach Orchard Road, in front of Coyote’s.

“Alaskan snow crab legs are my specialty,” said owner Brent Terry, who opened the restaurant back in the spring with Jennifer Russell. “But I’ve got a wide variety of seafood and we’ve constantly been adding to it as well.”

Many seafood restaurants use frozen fish in their dishes. Not so with Crabby Abby’s.

Their fish are fresh.

“We don’t buy anything at all that is prebreaded and frozen,” said Terry. “Ninety percent of the items we have are all fresh and hand-prepared. We make our own breadings using flours and corn meals, and season them ourselves.”

It’s a source of pride with Terry and his partner Jennifer. In addition to that, they’ve got quite a school of menu items on the buffet alone: salmon, tuna, scallops, whiting, flounder, ocean perch, pollock, freshwater catfish.

The buffet also has crawfish, hand-stuffed deviled crabs, homemade hush puppies, and shrimp five ways: hot-boiled, cold-boiled, fried, grilled and popcorn. Dinner-only items include scallops; fresh, raw and fried oysters; tail-on shrimp and baked potatoes. The buffet comes with a wide variety of vegetables prepared fresh daily, as well as a dessert bar included in the price, with such luscious items as Key lime pies, blueberry and strawberry cheesecakes and three different kinds of fresh-baked cookies.

But the buffet isn’t the only thing going on over there; they also have a tasty dine-in menu and a to-go menu as well.

But wait: There’s more. Crabby Abby’s has added a breakfast buffet to the bounty. You can get honey-baked ham, sausage patties and links, bacon and fatback, and pork chops.

You can get grits, hashbrowns, biscuits with two choices of gravy: red sausage gravy, and Crabby Abby’s Sawmill Gravy. You have a couple of choices with your pancakes, too.

For those who like ‘em the old-fashioned way, there will be the traditional plain pancake. For those who like a little more pizzazz to their morning meal, there will be a fruit pancake. The fruit flavor will rotate each day.

There will be French toast, assorted baked goods, fresh fruit, cereal and milk. And while you fill your plate, you can get eggs to order. All for $4.99.

A small serving of orange or tomato juice is 90 cents; $1.25 for a large. For $2.25, you can have unlimited refills.

Crabby Abby’s, with its bright and festive interior, is the perfect place to take your family.

“We always like to keep some special running,” Terry said. “We’ve got the best seafood in town for the value. Just come try it out and see. We’re a little bit out of the loop, but we’re well worth the drive.”

Crabby Abby’s is located at 2510 Peach Orchard Road. They serve breakfast Wednesday through Saturday from 6:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m., and on Sunday from 7:30 to 10:30. Lunch is served from 11:30-2:30, and dinner lasts from 5:00 until the last customer is satisfied. On Sunday, they close at 9 p.m.

You can call them at (706) 790-7556.

If you’ve just gotta know more, visit the Web site at www.crabbyabbys.com. And don’t just take our word for it. Come in and taste the best-kept secret in town!

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28 M E T R O S P I R I T J A N 3 0 2 0 0 3

Arts

& Entertainment

New Clubs Give Augusta Night Life Scene a Face-lift

I

t all started with a mysterious email. The subject line enthusiastically read, “New Rock Club in Augusta, GA!” The body of the actual e-mail said, “I am sure there has been talk of a new club opening in Augusta, GA. Yep. It is called Hard Knocks Lounge. It is in the same building that Kokopelli’s was, but will have a great new atmosphere and a new owner.

In other words, this is a totally new club and not just a renovated, rehashed club.”

The e-mail was from Jonathan Karow.

You may know him as the vocalist and bassist for local band Simple Possession, but soon you’ll know him in a different capacity – as entertainment manager for the Hard Knocks Lounge, opening Feb. 7.

It was enough to make us wonder why the club scene changes so often. Between the opening up of new clubs and rumors of club owners taking over competitors – rumors that often prove to be false – it seems the local club scene is in the midst of upheaval. But, given the nature of the nightclub business, it’s not unusual, and it’s certainly not confined to Augusta.

A July 2000 interview with a Honolulu club owner in Hawaii Business magazine refers to it as the “turn and burn” phenomenon, so named because clubs can be hot one minute and cold the next.

Shutting down and remodeling a club – or selling it — is oftentimes the only viable option.

So just how does one turn a club past its prime into a brand-spankin’ new nightspot, ready for patrons old and new to enjoy? Karow offers some insight on the art of club transformation.

First of all, you need a concept.

“The concept of the club, I guess, if you will, is mostly a rock demographic, of all kinds of rock, of all walks of life, trying to not just be one type of rock club,” Karow says. “What we’re wanting to do is, it’s pretty much a rock ‘n’ roll club, but we’re trying to have a real variety of both local, regional and maybe some national acts come through.”

Renovations are still in progress at the Hard Knocks Lounge, scheduled to open Feb. 8.

To fulfill that concept, Karow has helped transform the location into a music venue worthy of spectacular performances. Being a musician himself, Karow paid special attention to detail.

“I was in the band Simple Possession for quite a while, and being a musician, I know what musicians are looking for,” he says. “I’m trying to make it as bandfriendly as possible.

“The concept of the stage area – again, we thought about bands – the big deal, the whole club idea is kind of like, the live music comes first. That’s the main thing about the club. Everything else is secondary. And I really wanted to give the stage and the music room really more of a national-act kind of stage.”

That kind of renovation takes a lot of investing, in time as well as money. And some manual labor, as Karow found out.

“The building was formerly Kokopelli’s. It’s a totally different owner, and I’d say about 80 percent of the interior of the building was pretty much gutted,” he says. “It’s all new windows and

sheetrock and floors and ceilings, and the men’s bathroom is three times as large as it used to be. There’ll be better wheelchair access. The stage is almost twice as large as it used to be. It has a drum riser.”

Though the finishing touches are still being put on the club’s interior, Karow is already the proud papa of an expanded, more professional stage setup. In addition to the drum riser, the club has brought in fog machines and an automated lighting system.

“If the drummer quits playing, then the lights stop doing their, they have what’s called a chase sequence,” he explains.

“Basically, it looks like you have a really awesome guy running lights and the patterns change, so you have a real dramatic light show.”

The club’s band-friendly atmosphere doesn’t end there. In addition to the onstage extras, Karow’s planned a backstage area, as well as a specific place for bands to display and sell merchandise.

“I don’t think there’s any club in town that has a place for bands to just get

BY LISA JORDAN

away,” he says.

It’s a point that leads to the reasoning behind the debut of many area clubs. In a business where competition can sometimes be fierce, new clubs are often looking to fill a void present in the local scene.

The recently opened Blind Pig, nextdoor neighbor to the Pizza Joint on Broad Street, caters to the blues crowd.

David Bryan, whose wife is the owner and operator of the club, handles some of the club’s entertainment and plays in the Blind Pig’s house band, Shameless Dave and the Miracle Whips, on the weekends.

“We felt there’s a lot of, some clubs in town, with a standard dance format and so forth,” he says. “We didn’t feel that would work downtown. We need something that would mix a variety of ages, and I think blues does that.”

When asked if he thought the Blind Pig filled a void in the Augusta club scene, Bryan replied, “I think so, for somebody committed to absolutely blues. … We looked at a lot of markets. We looked at the Atlanta market. And we just didn’t see any of that in Augusta.”

A niche club, Bryan says, can create a safe haven for patrons who wouldn’t otherwise feel comfortable in a club setting.

“We decided there’s a generation of people with nowhere to go,” he says.

“They need a place they can feel comfortable, relax and identify. I think we’ve corrected that.”

But clubs generally aren’t so selective they can’t mix it up a little bit.

“We’re trying to be a little different than some of the current clubs. We’ll have of course, dart and pool tournaments,” says Karow, citing popular club pastimes. “Actually, we’re going to have an outside party deck. We’re going to shoot for having some stuff, such as some car shows and motorcycle shows, some outdoor events, have some stuff like that in the warmer weather festivities, if you will.” continued on page 30

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continued from page 28 One of the pitfalls of taking over the space another nightclub used to occupy is getting customers to differentiate between the new club and the old. In our conversation, Karow stressed several times that the Hard Knocks Lounge is not affiliated with Kokopelli’s – it’s just utilizing the same physical space that Kokopelli’s once had.

“I look at it as an all-new club,” he says. “It really is a different club, and hopefully with a somewhat different atmosphere. This is not an extension of Kokopelli’s.”

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As with any club, Karow knows that the business can be fickle. “Of course, the average lifespan of any given nightclub is usually only three years, and that’s commonly time to change the name and remodel,” he says. “They try to freshen up once every three years.”

Once a club is established, there’s always pressure from the public to keep things fresh and up-to-date, as far as the physical space of the club is concerned.

“It’s an ongoing process,” Bryan says.

“We’re still doing things, improving, getting a lot of infrastructure in place.”

8

Days A Week

Arts

Auditions

“JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT” will be presented by the Augusta Players’ Youth Theatre, which is holding auditions Feb. 2, 2 p.m., and Feb. 3, 7 p.m., at 1001 Walton Way. Roles available for youth ages 13-18. Come with a prepared solo from the show; accompanist provided. Chorus roles available for children 6-12; audition material will be provided. Rehearsal at tire preferred, which means dance shoes or tennis shoes and comfor table clothing. Call 826-4707 for more information.

“INTO THE WOODS” AUDITIONS Feb. 4-6, 7 p.m. at the Bectel Experimental Theater Hall in the Washington Center for the Per forming Ar ts. Roles available for 10 men and 13 women who can sing and dance. Call the Aiken Community Playhouse at (803) 648-1438 for information.

AUGUSTA CONCERT BAND rehearses Monday evenings and is looking to fill vacancies on most band instruments.

Interested par ties should contact Ben Easter, (803) 2020091 or e-mail bandforaugusta@aol.com.

SWEET ADELINES PEACH STATE CHORUS OPEN REHEARSAL for singers each Thursday at 7 p.m. Held at 600 Mar tintown Road in Nor th Augusta. Contact Mildred Blain at 736-7740 or Mary Norman at (803) 279-6499.

Education

“COLLAGE AND WATERCOLOR: THE ADDED DIMENSION” adult workshop Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., at the Ger trude Herber t Institute of Ar t. 722-5495.

ART CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS are offered year-round at the Ger trude Herber t Institute of Ar t. Classes and workshops are open to toddlers through adults and feature instruction in drawing, painting, photography, pot tery, weaving and sculpture. For a newslet ter or detailed information on registering for classes at the Ger trude Herber t, call 722-5495. The Ger trude Herber t Institute of Ar t 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. Classes in visual ar ts, dance and drama are offered. The Ar t Factory also has a homeschool program and scholarships are available. 731-0008.

CERAMICS CLASSES at the Weeks Center Ceramics House in Aiken. Fees include one class per week and students can choose any class time: Mondays, 9 a.m. to noon or 6-9 p.m.; Tuesdays, 6-9 p.m.; or Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to noon. $30 per month. Call (803) 642-7631 for info.

USC-AIKEN MUSIC CONSERVATORY PROGRAM now open.

Students of all ages and experience levels welcome. Private lessons available for musical instruments and voice; instructors are USC-Aiken faculty and have at least a master’s degree in their per formance area. (803) 641-3288.

Exhibitions

ZIMMERMAN GALLERY GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION Feb. 7, 5-9 p.m., at the gallery, 1006 Broad St. Works by Lou

THE AIKEN CENTER FOR THE ARTS exhibits works by Patricia Viles in the Westinghouse Group Gallery, Marita Rappleye in the Wyat t Development Gallery and Mary Jane Davis and Betsy Wilson-Mahoney in the Founder’s Gallery.

The opening for these exhibitions is Feb. 13, 6-8 p.m., and it’s free and open to the public. For information, visit www.AikenCenter for theAr ts.org or call (803) 641-9094.

FINE ARTS EXHIBITION BY DOROTHY WRIGHT Feb. 2-27 at the Lucy Craf t Laney Museum of Black History. Opening reception is Feb. 2, 3-5 p.m. Admission is $3 per adult and $1 per child. Call 724-3576 for more information.

“THIRTY YEARS OF ROCK AND ROLL: PHOTOGRAPHY BY LARRY HULST” showcases images of such influential musicians as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Iggy Pop and more through the eyes of photographer Larry Hulst. The exhibit is at the Augusta Museum of History and runs through March 8. The museum holds a panel discussion on rock history Jan. 30, 7 p.m.; Larry Jon Wilson per forms at the museum Feb. 7 and Jeff Barnes per forms as Elvis on Feb. 12; “Legends” concer t featuring a Beatles tribute band March 8 at the Imperial Theatre. For information, call 722-8454.

“RECENT ACQUISITIONS: 2002” features works by John Baeder, Herb Jackson, Philip Morsberger, Tom Nakashima, Margaret Ramsey, Lorenso Scot t, Juanita Rogers, Purvis Young, Eleanor Hancock Pryor and Gilber t Gaul. The exhibit will be on display at the Morris Museum of Ar t through Feb. 23. Call 724-7501 for more information.

“THE DOGGY IN THE WINDOW” animal photography exhibition by Ginny Southwor th will be at the Aiken County Historical Museum now through Feb. 23. There is no admission charge. Call (803) 642-2015.

MARTHA SIMKINS SPECIAL EXHIBITION at the Morris Museum of Ar t through April 20. Call the museum at 7247501 for more information.

AT THE MARY PAULINE GALLERY: Philip Morsberger and Dederick Ward exhibit through Feb. 22. Call the Mary Pauline Gallery for details at 724-9542.

“COLLAGE WORKS: MELINDA MOORE LAMPKIN AND LUCY WEIGLE” features pieces by two local ar tists. The exhibit will be on display at the Ger trude Herber t Institute of Ar t through March 14. Call 722-5495 for more information.

BRUCE NELLSMITH exhibits his paintings at the Etherredge Center Lower Gallery through Feb. 1. Call (803) 641-3305.

CIVIL WAR ARTIFACTS of the First Independent Brigade will be on display at the Euchee Creek Branch Library in January. Call 556-0594.

M E T R O S P I R I T J A N 3 0 2 0 0 3

Ann Zimmerman, Marc Moon, Judi Jacobs, Gina Choma, Nancy Gerbasi, Ruth Herrera, Jeff Birchill, Patrick Meyer, Don Drumm, Ron Simon and Laura Yeung will be on display. The gallery will be open Tues.-Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, contact Lou Ann Zimmerman, 774-1006.

THE ETHERREDGE CENTER GALLERY at USC-Aiken will feature a ceramics exhibit by Renee Rouillier in the Upper Gallery and an exhibit of paintings by Bruce Nellsmith in the Lower Gallery through Feb. 1. (803) 641-3305.

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“Amélie” will be shown at 6 p.m., Jan. 31, as part of USC-Aiken’s “Around the World in 80 Days” film festival.

THE ARTWORK OF NANCY BANNISTER is on display at the Raging Bull, 828 Broad St., through the end of February.

Bannister specializes in landscape and abstract ar t, as well as interior/ex terior murals. Call 722-0444 for more information.

DANIEL HAYES will exhibit his ar twork at the Gibbs Library in January; for information, call 863-1946. He also exhibits at the Cafe Du Teau through Feb. 18, 733-3505; at P.J.’s Coffee and Tea Cafe, 736-6889; and the Pizza Joint, 774-0037.

AT THE GERTRUDE HERBERT INSTITUTE OF ART: “Ware’s Folly: An Architectural Perspective” is in the First-Floor Gallery at Ware’s Folly through Feb. 21; “Creative Expression” is in the Ware’s Folly First Floor Gallery through Feb. 21; “Ar tist-in-Residence: Craig-Houghton Elementary School Students Create” on display through Feb. 14. Call 722-5495 for more information.

Dance

“ROMEO AND JULIET,” presented by the Augusta Ballet, will be at the Imperial Theatre at 8 p.m. Feb. 7-8. Tickets are $12-$36. On Feb. 14-15, the Augusta Ballet per forms “Romeo and Juliet” at the Washington Center for the Per forming Ar ts in Aiken. Tickets are $20-$30. To purchase tickets for any per formance, call 261-0555.

AUGUSTA CHAPTER OF THE UNITED STATES AMATEUR BALLROOM DANCERS ASSOCIATION holds a dance the first Saturday of each month, from 7:15 to 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.

BALLROOM DANCE CLASSES March 11-April 22 at the H.O. Weeks Center in Aiken. Cost is $40 per couple and registration is accepted in pairs only. Call (803) 642-7631 for registration information.

SQUARE DANCE CLASSES: Intermediate classes run April 14-June 16. Call (803) 642-7631 for more information.

CSRA/AUGUSTA BOGEY-WOOGIE DANCE AND SOCIAL GROUP holds a monthly dance every third Saturday of the month, star ting at 7:30 p.m. There are also meetings every Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Salsa Ruedo Casino and every Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. Men are especially encouraged to

at tend. For information, phone 650-2396 or 736-3878.

SINGLES DANCE each Saturday night from 8-11 p.m. sponsored by the Christian Social Organization for Single Adults.

Held at Westside High School. Tickets $5 for members, $7 for non-members, and are available at the door. For more information, contact Doris Heath, 736-3376.

Music

SEA ISLAND SINGERS per form Feb. 10, 7:30 p.m. at the Ma xwell Per forming Ar ts Theatre on the Augusta State University campus. The group comes to ASU as par t of the university’s Lyceum Series. 737-1609.

VALENTINE POPS WITH QUINTANGO at the Bell Auditorium Feb. 8, 8 p.m. For tickets and information, contact the Augusta Symphony, 826-4705.

PRE-FESTIVAL CHORUS CONCERT Feb. 11, 7 p.m. at the Beverly J. Barnhar t Theatre at Davidson Fine Ar ts School. Admission is $3 adult, $2 senior citizens or children under 5 and $1 for Davidson Fine Ar ts students. Call 823-6924, ex t. 107 for details.

USC-AIKEN FACULTY ARTIST RECITAL Feb. 6, 7 p.m., at the Etherredge Center. Laura Tomlin, violin; Richard Thomas, cello; and Mary Losey, piano, will per form. Call (803) 641-3305 for more information.

MOREHOUSE COLLEGE GLEE CLUB IN CONCERT Feb. 2, 6 p.m., at Tabernacle Baptist Church, 1223 Laney Walker Blvd. Call 724-1230 for details.

“MUSIC COMPOSED BY AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMPOSERS: A LECTURE RECITAL” will be per formed by ASU faculty members Linda Banister and Roslyn Floyd as par t of the Music at the Morris series Feb. 9, 2 p.m. in the Morris Museum of Ar t auditorium. Free admission. Call 724-7501 for information.

TUESDAY’S MUSIC LIVE CONCERT SERIES: All performances in the concer t series held at noon at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Concer ts are free; optional catered lunch is $7 per person. 2002-2003 season schedule is as follows: Feb. 4, Lindsey McKee and Keith Shafer; Feb. 18, Cowboy Envy; March 4, The

M E T R O

COMMUNITY HEALING MEDITATION DRUMMING CIRCLE hosted every third Monday of the month by IDRUM2U, the Not Gaddy Drumming Studio. Held 7-9 p.m. at the G.L. Jackson Conference Center, 1714 Nor th Leg Cour t. Fee is $5 or a donation of canned goods for the Golden Harvest Food S Bank. All are welcome and drums will be available to rent. For P info, phone the Not Gaddy Drumming Studio, 228-3200.

I R I T

Theater

“STUDENTS CAUGHT IN THE ACT” at Augusta State J University’s Per forming Ar ts Theatre Feb. 6-9.

A Per formances are at 8 p.m. Feb. 6-8 and at 3 p.m.

N Feb. 9. Call 737-1609 for info.

to par ticipate in the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Region IV Festival in Savannah, Ga., Feb. 7 at 8 p.m. For information and tickets, call (803) 641-3305.

“THE SOUND OF MUSIC” comes to the Abbeville Opera House Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 7-8 and 14-15.

Matinee per formances held Feb. 1, 8 and 15. Call (864) 459-2157 for ticket information.

“LION IN WINTER” Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 at the Aiken Community Playhouse’s new theatre in the Washington Center for the Per forming Ar ts. Call (803) 648-1438 for information and reservations.

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p.m. and Feb. 16, 3 and 8 p.m. at USC-Aiken’s Etherredge Center. Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for senior citizens and $5 for students. There will also be a discussion session with the cast and crew immediately following the Feb. 15 per formance. Call (803) 641-3305 for details.

“WHEN THE REAPER CALLS” Feb. 14-15, 21-22, 2728 and March 1 at For t Gordon Dinner Theatre. Dinner begins at 7 p.m. and the show star ts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 for the general public, $28 for seniors (65 and up) and civilian personnel, $17 for active duty E7 and below and $10 show only tickets. Valentine’s Day package available for the same cost as a regular fullprice ticket. Call 793-8552 for reservations.

“A WOMAN’S REVENGE” Feb. 9, 4:30 p.m. at the Bell Auditorium. Tickets are $25.50 for floor seating or $21.50 for balcony seating; there is a $2 discount for groups of 20 or more. Tickets on sale at the AugustaRichmond County Civic Center Box Of fice or through TicketMaster, 828-7700 or www.ticketmaster.com.

“GOOD MEASURE, RUNNING OVER” dinner theatre per formance about the life of Emily Tubman Feb. 6 at the Augusta Museum of History. Two per formances will be held, one at 6:30 p.m. and one at 8 p.m.

Advance tickets and reservations are required; register

by Jan. 31. Cost is $25 per person. For information, call 724-0436 or 722-8454.

AN EVENING WITH DAVID COPPERFIELD Feb. 4 at the Bell Auditorium. Shows are at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tickets are $34-$48 for adults and $29-$43 for children. For tickets, call 828-7700 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

“MOMMA AND ME” stage show featuring Vickie Lawrence at the Newberry Opera House Feb. 23. Bus trip leaves from the H.O. Weeks Center in Aiken at 1 p.m. Registration is required by Feb. 6. Call (803) 642-7631 for details.

“WAX WORK” encore per formance presented by USCAiken’s University Theatre Jan. 30, 8 p.m. at the Etherredge Center. The play, writ ten by USC Honors College graduate Sarah Hammond, has been selected

Attractions 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 five 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. to 5 p.m.

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

FORT DISCOVERY/NATIONAL SCIENCE CENTER: Children and adults alike can immerse themselves in the wonders of science through live demonstrations, vir tual realities, Starlab, KidScape and more than 270 hands-on exhibits. General Admission: $8 for adults; $6 for children, seniors and active military. Group rates available. Half-price admission daily af ter 3 p.m. 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. Hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Thursday-Monday on the grounds. House tours are noon-3 p.m. by appointment. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

Admission to the grounds is free. Fee for house tours is $3 for adults and children ages 6 to 17. For more information, call (803) 827-1473. 181 Redcliffe Road, Beech Island.

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

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River walk. Free. 724-4067.

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

QUILTING ACTIVITIES AT THE LUCY CR AFT LANEY MUSEUM OF BLACK HISTORY: Quilting Workshop Feb. 8, 1-3 p.m.; Roundtable Discussion on the History of Quilting Feb. 9, 2-3 p.m. Reservations required for the workshop; the roundtable discussion is free and open to the public. For more information, call Kelvin Jackson, 724-3576.

“LES MISERABLES” Feb. 11-16 at the Bell Auditorium. Call TicketMaster at 828-7700 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

3 “THE LAR AMIE PROJECT” Feb. 10-13 and 15 at 8 0

son, children free. 826-4700.

“ART MEETS THE WORD: AN EVENING OF POETRY” at the Morris Museum of Ar t’s First Friday celebration, Feb. 7. The museum is open from 5 to 8 p.m.; local poets and Fossill will per form. Gallery spotlight tour, “All Dressed Up and Feelin’ Blue: The Ar t of Langston Hughes and Melinda Moore Lampkin,” is at 6:30 p.m.

Ar t Rush! Adult Ar t-Making Workshop held from 5:307:30 p.m. Admission is free. Call 724-7501.

AN EVENING WITH SOUTHERN FOOD AUTHOR JOHN EGERTON Jan. 30, 7 p.m. at the Morris Museum of Ar t.

Eger ton will give a lecture and sign his book “Cornbread Nation I.” Reception featuring Southern dishes will follow; reservations are required and the fee is $10 for members, $12 for nonmembers. 724-7501.

AT THE AUGUSTA MUSEUM OF HISTORY: January’s film is “The Founding of Georgia.” February’s film will be “The Morehouse Men.” Films play continuously in the History Theatre and are free with admission. Feb. 5 Brown Bag History Series features talk on “Emily Tubman: Benefactress, Christian, Humanitarian.” Free for members and $2 for non-members; reservations required. Bring your lunch and the museum provides a beverage and dessert. For more information, call 722-8454.

THE GERTRUDE HERBERT INSTITUTE OF ART in Ware’s Folly exhibits works by local and regional ar tists. Ar t classes, workshops and other educational programming for children, youth and adults are held in the Walker-Mackenzie Studio. Ware’s Folly galleries open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; and Saturday by appointment only. The Walker-Mackenzie Studio gallery is open Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is free, but a donation of $2 for adults and $1 for children and seniors is encouraged. Call 722-5495 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. Thursday-Monday. 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 THE AIKEN BIRD CLUB’S 8TH ANNUAL WINTERFEST BIRD FAIR Feb. 8-9 at the Aiken Jaycees Fairgrounds.

Activities include a raffle, prizes and bird displays.

Admission is $3; children under 12 get in free. For details, contact Jim Kannenberg, (803) 649-5407; Bill Barnes, 667-0827; or June Roseborough, (803) 648-1336.

“TAKING A KICK OUT OF VIOLENCE: A SELFDEFENSE SESSION” is sponsored by the Lakeside High School Family Career and Community Leaders of America and the Columbia County Sherif f Depar tment.

Held in the Lakeside High School Gym Feb. 11, 3 p.m.

Free and open to the public, but space is limited, so contact Sana Hashmi at 650-9959 to reserve a place.

PAINE COLLEGE MASKED BALL Feb. 7, 8 p.m. at the Radisson River front Hotel. For more information, call 821-8200.

“SWAMP DWELLERS THROUGH HISTORY” program Feb. 8, 1-3 p.m., at Phinizy Swamp Nature Park. Discover facts about the people and animals who have historically called the swamp home, and use natural swamp materials to fashion items used by former swamp dwellers.

Reserve your place by Feb. 7. 828-2109.

PAINE COLLEGE FOUNDERS’ DAY CONVOCATION Feb. 7, 10:30 a.m., in the college’s Gilber t-Lambuth Memorial Chapel. Lou Rawls will deliver the keynote

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M E T R O S P I R I T J A N 3 0 2 0 0 3

34 address. Open to the public. Call 821-8200 for info.

AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY CONFERENCE Feb. 3-7

M E at Paine College. For more information, call 821-8200.

T R BLACK HISTORY MONTH ACTIVITIES AT FORT DISO COVERY in February: “African Skies” program in the S P I R I T

StarLab Planetarium provides visitors the oppor tunity to see the constellations as interpreted through African legend and lore; “Black Scientists and Inventors” exhibit on the contributions and achievements of African-American scientists and inventors. Call 8210224 for details.

J “AROUND THE DAY IN 80 WORLDS” FILM FESTIVAL A at USC-Aiken. “Amélie” will be shown at 6 p.m. on N Jan. 31. Admission is $2 for the general public and

free for students, faculty and staf f of USC-Aiken. Call

3 (803) 641-3448 for information.

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JASON PROJECT PUBLIC DAY Feb. 1 at For t Discovery features family-oriented activities, workshops, live broadcasts hosted by oceanographer and underwater explorer Rober t Ballard and more. Free with paid general admission. 821-0607.

GEORGIA HERITAGE CELEBR ATION Feb. 6-7, 9 a.m.5 p.m., at Augusta Golf and Gardens. For more information, call 724-4443 or 724-0436.

SWAMP SATURDAY Feb. 1, 9:30 a.m., at Phinizy Swamp Nature Park. Volunteer-led tour through the park. Wear weather-appropriate outerwear and comfor table shoes, and bring insect repellent, sunscreen, cameras and binoculars. Free, but donations are welcome. Call 828-2109 for information.

NATIONAL PR AYER BREAKFAST Feb. 5 at For t Gordon’s Gordon Club features Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz as the speaker. Open to all; advance tickets required for admission. Recommended donation is $5 for civilians. Call 791-4683 or 791-5634.

UNVEILING AND DEDICATION OF STATUE bearing the likeness of General James Edward Oglethorpe Feb. 6, 11:30 a.m. at The Augusta Common. A luncheon to

honor a delegation from The Friends of Oglethorpe in Godalming and Cranham, England, to follow at the Radisson River front Conference Center. Luncheon is $30 per person and reservations must be made by Feb. 3. Call 724-0436 for information.

40th Anniversary of the Augusta Ballet. A Lexus SC 430 coupe will be raf fled of f during the intermission of the Feb. 8 “Romeo and Juliet” per formance at the Imperial Theatre. Tickets are $100 and may be purchased by calling 261-0555.

ITALIAN-AMERICAN CLUB OF THE CSR A’S 19TH ANNUAL PASTA FESTIVAL Feb. 7 at the Hellenic Center, Greek Or thodox Church. Lunch is available from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and dinner is available from 4:308 p.m. Tickets are $6.50 for adults and $3.50 for children under 12. For information, call 863-3308.

FASHION SHOW EXTRAVAGANZA AND DRAMA PRODUCTION of “Love Never Fails” Feb. 8. Fashion show begins at 6:30 p.m., with the play beginning at 7:30 p.m. Free admission. Call 798-0123 for more information.

ANTIQUES IN THE HEART OF AIKEN Jan. 30-Feb. 2 at the Aiken Center for the Ar ts. Jan. 30, 7-9 p.m., is a preview par ty; tickets are $95 per couple or $50 per person. The show is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Jan. 31-Feb. 1, and 1:30-5 p.m. Feb. 2, with a brunch that day from noon until 1:30 p.m. Admission is $5, good for the duration of the show. (803) 641-9094.

“FIRESIDE CHAT WITH THE MAESTRO” Jan. 30 is par t of the Augusta Symphony’s Por t folio of Par ties.

Call 826-4705 for an information packet.

24TH ANNUAL AUGUSTA FUTURITY through Feb. 1.

Tickets for individual events run from $6-$15.50 for adults and $2-$5 for children under 13. General admission gold tickets available for $40. Tickets can be obtained through TicketMaster, by phone at 8287700, on www.ticketmaster.com or at all TicketMaster outlets, as well as at the Civic Center Box Of fice.

2003 CULLUM LECTURE SERIES at Augusta State University: The title of this year’s series is “Frontiers in Motion: U.S.-Latin American and Caribbean Borderlands.” On Feb. 4, Luis Mar tinez-Fernandez gives a lecture entitled “Geography — Will it Absolve Cuba?” at 11:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. in Butler Lecture Hall. Feb. 11 showings of “Frida” at 11:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. in Butler Lecture Hall; a dif ferent version of the film will be presented at the morning and evening sessions. Admission to all Cullum events is free. For more information, visit www.aug.edu/library/cullum2003.

AUGUSTA BALLET LEXUS R AFFLE to celebrate the

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. to 3 p.m. and every Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. at PetsMar t. For more info, call 860-5020.

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

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

LOW-COST RABIES VACCINATIONS: Augusta-Richmond County Animal Control holds low-cost rabies vaccination clinics the four th Sunday of every month for privately owned pets. $8 per animal. 1 p.m. at Superpetz. Dogs must be on a leash and cats in a carrier. Puppies and kit tens must be three months old and current for all vaccinations. Schedule subject to change, so please call 790-6836 to verify dates and times.

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

Out of Town

“RHINOCEROS” will be presented by the University of South Carolina’s Theatre Depar tment Feb. 7-16 at Drayton Hall in Columbia, S.C. Per formances are Tues.-Sat., 8 p.m. and Sunday, 3 p.m. Tickets are $12 general admission, $10 USC faculty and staff, senior citizens and the military and $9 for

students. Group tickets are $7 for par ties of 10 or more.

Purchase tickets by calling (803) 777-2551.

“RODEO” will be per formed Feb.7-8 by the Columbia City Ballet at the Koger Center for the Ar ts in Columbia, S.C. For tickets, call (803) 251-2222 or visit www.CapitolTickets.com.

“PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY JAM” at noon daily Feb. 10-14 at the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon, Ga. Admission to each concer t is one canned good to benefit the Middle Georgia Community Food Bank. 1-888-GA-ROCKS. “SAINT LUCY’S EYES” will be presented by the Alliance Theatre Company Feb. 5-March 9 at the Woodruff Ar ts Center in Atlanta. Tickets are $17-$46; call (404) 733-5000.

“WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE: MAURICE SENDAK IN HIS OWN WORDS AND PICTURES” exhibit at the Richland County Public Library in Columbia, S.C., Feb. 3-May 18.

(803) 799-9084.

“ROOM SERVICE” presented by Class Act Theatre in Mariet ta, Ga., Jan. 31-March 3. Tickets are $15 adult, $13 senior and $12 children. Call (770) 579-3156.

“A VOICE OF THEIR OWN: BLACK CLASSICAL MUSIC IN GEORGIA” EXHIBIT Feb. 1-May 26 at the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon, Ga. Opening reception with Mat tiwilda Dobbs Feb. 7, 7 p.m. Call 1-888-GA-ROCKS. ADOPTION INFORMATION SESSION at the Independent Adoption Center in Tucker, Ga., Feb. 1. Held 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Make reservations by calling 1-800-385-4016.

“SHAKESPEARE’S R&J” will be presented on the Her tz Stage in Atlanta by the Alliance Theatre Company through March 2. Tickets are $25-$31, with discount rates for groups of 10 or more, and are available by calling (404) 733-5000 or online at www.alliancetheatre.org.

THE HIGH MUSEUM OF ART’S FOLK ART AND PHOTOGRAPH GALLERIES host two exhibitions through Aug. 9: “Land of Myth and Memory: Clarence John Laughlin and Photographers of the South” and “Faces and Places: Picturing the Self in Self-Taught Ar t.” Call (404) 577-6940.

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begins at 2 p.m. Feb. 2, as story teller Baba Raa El 35 uses music, stories, quizzes and games to share the oral tradition of African culture. Families are encourM aged to wear traditional African dress. Free. 724-7501. E

THE ATLANTA TURKEY HUNTING, FISHING AND OUTDOOR SHOW Jan. 31-Feb. 2 at the Atlanta Expo Center. Admission is $7 for adults, $4 for seniors and kids 6-12 and free for kids under 6. For information, contact Doug Rithmire, (770) 787-7887 or drithmire@gwf.org.

BIG HELP DAY Feb. 8, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Golden Harvest Food Bank’s Faith Food Factory. Kids ages 512 will be able to learn about volunteering by sor ting through food donations and other planned tasks.

Advance notice is required, so call Laurie Roper, 7361199, ex t. 208, to reserve a place.

AT THE GEORGIA MUSEUM OF ART in Athens, Ga., through March 23: “There Is No Eye: Photographs by John Cohen” and “Visualizing the Blues: Images of the American South, 1862-1999.” Call (706) 542-4662 for information.

S P I R I AUGUSTA MUSEUM OF HISTORY’S FAMILY FUN DAY T

AT THE GEORGIA NATIONAL FAIRGROUNDS AND AGRICENTER in Perry, Ga.: Tickets are now on sale for the Georgia National Rodeo, Feb. 20-22. Call (478) 987-3247 or 1-800-987-3247 for info.

activities Feb. 8-9 feature historical re-enactors from the colonial, antebellum and Civil War eras, as well as a one-woman dramatization of the life of Emily Tubman. The Emily Tubman program takes place in the History Theatre at 3:30 p.m. on both days. Admission is free. 722-8454.

“A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM” through Feb. 9 at the New American Shakespeare Tavern in Atlanta. Tuesday-Saturday performances at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday per formances at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $19.50 Thursdays and Sundays, $22.50 Fridays and $24.50 on Saturdays, with $10 Tuesday and Wednesday night per formances. Student and group discounts available. Optional British pubstyle menu served one hour and fif teen minutes prior to show. Call (404) 874-5299 for reservations.

“TWENTY YEARS AGO” will be presented by NarroWay Productions Winter Dinner Theatre in Myr tle Beach, S.C., Jan. 31 and Feb. 14-15. Tickets are $24.95 or $23.95 for groups and senior citizens. To make reservations, call (803) 802-2300 or 1-888-437-7473.

“FOR THIS WORLD AND BEYOND: AFRICAN ART FROM THE FRED AND RITA RICHMAN COLLECTION” through May 25 at the High Museum of Ar t in Atlanta.

Call (404) 733-HIGH or visit www.high.org for info.

“THE BREMEN TOWN MUSICIANS” will be presented

by ASU’s Born to Read Literacy Center and Patchwork Players Feb. 10, at 9, 10 and 11 a.m. at the Ma xwell Per forming Ar ts Center. Tickets are $3 per person. Call 733-7043 for more information or to reserve tickets.

The Morehouse College Glee Club comes to Augusta Feb. 2 to perform at Tabernacle Baptist Church. Call 724-1230 for information. on locations and times to donate, visit www.shepeardblood.org. You may also call Susan Edwards at (803) 6437996 for information on Aiken locations and Nancy Szocinski at 737-4551 for information on all other locations.

TICKETS FOR “VAREK AI,” a production by the Cirque du Soleil, now on sale. Shows are March 6-30 at Cumberland Galleria in Atlanta. Visit www.cirquedusoleil.com for more information.

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.

“DEFINING CR AFT I: COLLECTING FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM” exhibit at the Columbia Museum of Ar t in Columbia, S.C., through Feb. 23. For more information, call the museum at (803) 799-2810 or visit www.columbiamuseum.org.

Learning

“PARIS IN THE AGE OF IMPRESSIONISM: MASTERWORKS FROM THE MUSEE D’ORSAY” will be at the High Museum of Ar t in Atlanta now through March 16.

This exhibition marks the first time since the Orsay opened that pieces in its collection have traveled to the U.S. For more information, visit www.ParisinAtlanta.org, www.high.org, or call (404) 733-HIGH.

Benefits BOOT SCOOT BOOGIE BASH to benefit the Augusta Red Cross. Held Feb. 1, 7-11 p.m. at Savannah Rapids Pavilion.

Steak dinner, raffle, dancing, and silent and live auctions will be par t of the celebration. Dress is casual or western.

Reservations are $50 per person. Call the Augusta Red Cross office at 724-8483 for more information.

EMPTY BOWL LUNCHEON Feb. 9, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Augusta Jewish Community Center. Family tickets are $35 and include an all-you-can-eat buffet and two hand-made pottery bowls crafted by local artists. Individual tickets are available for $15 and include lunch and one pottery bowl. Proceeds benefit the Golden Harvest Food Bank and the Augusta Jewish Community Center. Call 736-1199 or 228-3636 for details.

CELEBRITIES CELEBRATING ARTISTS’ ROW silent auction of works by local ar tists and celebrities. Proceeds benefit the Ar tists’ Row Scholarship Fund; the scholarship is awarded to a graduating CSRA student who is planning a career in ar t. Held at par ticipating ar tists’ studios in downtown Augusta, 6-9 p.m. Feb. 7. For information, contact Lou Ann Zimmerman, 774-1006, or Kristin Varn, 722-1028.

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.

Donations accepted during regular business hours, Tues.Sun., 1-5 p.m. at the shelter, 4164 Mack Lane. Call 7906836 for information.

“A TASTE OF SOMETHING WILD” WILD GAME TASTING AND SOIREE is sponsored by the Augusta West Rotary Club and benefits the Alzheimer’s Association. Held Feb. 1, 5-9 p.m., at the Julian Smith Barbecue Pit. Live bluegrass music.

Tickets are $30 per person and are available through any Augusta West Rotary Club member. For information, contact: Wallace Zealy, 737-0860; Toni Giusto, 737-9400; Dallas Simon, 733-5529; Bill Phillips, 796-4332.

SHEPEARD COMMUNITY BLOOD CENTER BLOOD DRIVES in various locations around the CSRA this month. The blood center is urging people of all blood types to donate in order to combat a blood supply shor tage. For detailed information

T R O

“HOW TO GET PEOPLE TO PAY” BUSINESS SEMINAR Feb. 12, is sponsored by Augusta State University. Management consultant Glenn Shepard will speak; workshop is designed for businesses which collect their own accounts receivable.

Tuition is $149. Held 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at the Par tridge Inn. To register, contact Cindy Edwards, 1-800-538-4595.

CPR FOR THE PROFESSIONAL RESCUER REVIEW at the Augusta Red Cross Feb. 11, 6-10 p.m. The class is designed for cer tified lifeguards who need to renew their CPR cer tification. Call 724-8483 to register.

BUSINESS PLANNING WORKSHOP Feb. 6, 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in Room 140 of the Business and Education Building, USCAiken. Registration is required; call (803) 641-3646 or email SBDC@usca.edu.

AUGUSTA MUSEUM OF HISTORY CONTINUING EDUCATION CLASS features “An Introduction to Georgia History” Feb. 4 and 11, 5-7 p.m. Call 722-8454 for details.

SILK RIBBON EMBROIDERY CLASS teaches the basics of silk ribbon embroidery and par ticipants will make a project to take home. Open to adults 18 and older. Cost is $30 per person. Held at the H.O. Weeks Center in Aiken Feb. 4, 14:30 p.m. Call (803) 642-7631 for information.

REGISTRATION FOR WINTER 2003 CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSES AT AUGUSTA STATE UNIVERSITY is now underway. For course information or to request a catalog, call 737-1636 or log on to www.ced.aug.edu.

BRIDGE CLASSES at the H.O. Weeks Center in Aiken.

Intermediate class is held March 25-May 20. Cost is $20 per person, plus a $14 materials fee that must be paid at the first class. Call (803) 642-7631 for information.

USC-AIKEN CONTINUING EDUCATION offers the following courses: Conversational French, Spanish for the Beginner Par t 2, Spanish for the Medical Field, Computer Courses, Financial Strategies, Yoga and more. Call the Office of Continuing Education at (803) 641-3288.

AUGUSTA STATE UNIVERSITY CONTINUING EDUCATION is now offering the following classes: Drivers’ Education, Microsof t Excel, Spanish for Kids Level 1, Basic CPT-4 Procedural Coding, Acting Workshop, Stained Glass, A Prosperous Retirement and more. Also, ASU offers online courses. For more information, call 737-1636 or visit www.ced.aug.edu.

AIKEN TECH CONTINUING EDUCATION will offer the following courses in January: Intro to Computers, Windows 2000 Basic Concepts, Health Care courses, Rape Aggression Defense, Beginning Cake Decorating, Professional Cooking 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.

Health “PAIN TREATMENT PART 2: THE MAN APPROACH — MOVEMENT, AROMATHERAPY, NUTRACEUTICALS” free health education class at the Downtown Division of the Life Learning Center, Room 2D-114. Program begins at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 13. To enroll, call 733-0188, ex t. 7989.

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. Feb. 4 lecture is “Transitioning From School to Work.” 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. Suppor t groups and health screenings are also offered. Call 736-0847 for details.

PEACHCARE FOR KIDS AND RIGHT FROM THE START MEDICADE offers free or low-cost health coverage to qualifying families. Coverage includes prenatal care, hospitalization, vaccines, dental and vision care and is available to pregnant women of all ages and to children through age 19. Contact the RSM Project at 729-2086 or 721-5611 for information.

YOGA CLASSES at Walton Rehabilitation Hospital are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-8 a.m. for $45/month or 10:30 a.m. to noon for $55/month. Call 823-6294.

FREE HIV/AIDS TESTING every Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m. at St. Stephen’s Ministry, 922 Greene Street. Free anonymous testing, pre- and post-test counseling and education.

HATHA YOGA CLASSES at the St. Joseph Home Health Care Center in Daniel Village Plaza. Held 10 a.m. to noon Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 6:30-8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. $10 per class or $60 a month for unlimited classes. Mats are provided, but bring a towel and a water bot tle.

Call Tess at 738-2782 for more information.

A FREE WOMEN’S HEALTH CLINIC is held from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesdays at the Salvation Army and Welfare Center, 1383 Greene St. Services include Pap smear, breast exam and the diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmit ted diseases.

For more info or an appointment, call the St. Vincent dePaul Health Center at 828-3444.

W.G. WATSON, M.D., WOMEN’S CENTER CONDUCTS EDUCATION CLASSES at University Hospital. Course topics include Lamaze, breast feeding, parenting and grandparenting. Par tners will learn positive suppor t techniques. There are also programs designed to help older siblings adjust to new family members. Some classes are free, while others require a fee. Registration is required by calling 774-2825.

Kids “ARTR AGEOUS SUNDAY!: AFRICA IN AMERICA” family program at the Morris Museum of Ar t. The fun

GIRLS’ FAST-PITCH SOFTBALL REGISTR ATION Feb. 3-10 at Citizens Park II in Aiken. Open to girls ages 7 and older by Jan. 1, 2003; first-time players must bring a bir th cer tificate to registration. League play begins in April. For information, call (803) 642-7761.

DIXIE YOUTH BASEBALL REGISTR ATION at Citizens Park II in Aiken Feb. 3-10. Open to children ages 5 and older by Aug. 1, 2003; first-time players must bring a bir th cer tificate to registration. League play begins in April. Call (803) 642-7761.

AFTER-SCHOOL PROGR AM at the Smith-Hazel Recreation Center in Aiken through May, 2-6 p.m.

Open to kids ages 5-13. Call (803) 642-7635.

CHILDREN’S LEARNING CENTER at the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History open Monday-Friday, 4:30-6:30 p.m., through June. For information, call 724-3576.

ACADEMIC HELP AND TUTORING available Saturdays, 2:30-4:30 p.m. at the Wallace Branch Library. Call 722-6275 to make arrangements.

GIRLS INCORPOR ATED AFTER-SCHOOL PROGR AM runs through the end of the 2002-2003 school year. A variety of programs will be of fered. Services include van pick-up at select schools, evening drop-of f, homework room and hot evening meal. Open to girls in kindergar ten through high school. Af ter-school program of fered 2:30-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri. For more information, call 733-2512.

YOUTH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT SKILLS PROGRAM for teens ages 12-19 held the third Saturday of the month at the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History. Call 724-3576.

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. to noon the first Saturday of the month. Call 724-3576.

Seniors JUD C. HICKEY CENTER FOR ALZHEIMER’S CARE provides families and caregivers of those with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia a break during the day. Activities and care available at the adult day center, and homecare is available as well. For information, call 738-5039.

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.

PEOPLE WITH ARTHRITIS CAN EXERCISE (PACE) meets at Walton Rehabilitation Hospital Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-2 p.m. Call 823-5294.

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

ARTHRITIS AQUATICS offered Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at Walton Rehabilitation Hospital. Classes meet 99:45 a.m., 10-10:45 a.m. or 12:15-1 p.m. $37.50/month. To register, call 733-5959.

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.

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9 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.

M E T R O

CO-ED VOLLEYBALL LEAGUE begins at the H.O. Weeks Center in Aiken in the spring. Organizational meeting held at Citizens Park Feb. 4. Fees and rosters due Feb. 18, with play beginning March 17. Open to adults 18 and older. Call (803) 643-4663 for more information.

S P I R I T

TEN STAR ALL-STAR BASKETBALL CAMP is accepting applications for its summer programs through April. Boys and girls ages 10-19 are eligible. Call (704) 373-0873 for info.

J A N

UPCOMING AUGUSTA LYNX HOME GAMES: Feb. 7-8, 12, 14-15, 20, 22-23 and 28 and March 1, 14-15, 19, 21-22, 25, 28 and 30. For tickets, call the Lynx ticket office at 724-4423.

3 0

TICKETS NOW ON SALE for the Augusta GreenJackets 2003 season. Home games at Lake Olmstead Stadium. Tickets available at www.tixonline.com or by phone at (803) 278-4TIX. There is also a TIX outlet inside Harmon Optical in Southgate Plaza.

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YOUTH MONTHLY SPARRING the last Thursday of the month, 5:30 p.m., at the Augusta Boxing Club. Call 733-7533.

Lou Rawls is scheduled to deliver the keynote address for the Paine College Founders’ Day Convocation Feb. 7.

Sports GREATER AUGUSTA SPORTS AWARDS GALA will be at the Radisson River front Hotel Feb. 11. Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Reeves will be the keynote speaker. Tickets are $60 for individuals and $470 for a table of eight. 722-8326.

THE AUGUSTA JUNIOR ROWING ASSOCIATION begins its spring season Feb. 10, 4 p.m., at The Boathouse.

Prospective rowers are welcome to at tend; enrollment is open to all high school students. Call 863-2598 or visit www.augustarows.com for more information.

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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, 7-

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Volunteer NEW WEEKDAY VOLUNTEER EDUCATOR TR AINING Feb. 10, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Phinizy Swamp Nature Park.

The staf f will train new volunteer educators to lead weekday school programs. Lunch provided.

Registration deadline is Feb. 7. Call 828-2109.

AUGUSTA MUSEUM OF HISTORY DOCENT TR AINING Feb. 3, 10, 17 and 24, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Call 722-8454 for details.

GERTRUDE HERBERT INSTITUTE OF ART DOCENT TR AINING PROGR AM: Volunteers will guide”If Walls Could Talk” tour, featuring the history and architecture of Ware’s Folly. Contact the Education Director at 7225495 for more information.

THE EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT COALITION CAMPAIGN seeks volunteers to prepare basic ta x returns for low/limited income individuals, those with disabilities, non-English speakers and the elderly. Volunteers receive free training and instruction materials from the IRS. Call the Mayor’s Of fice for Work force

Development at 821-1834.

GOLDEN HARVEST FOOD BANK needs volunteers during the day, Monday-Friday, to help sor t donated products and assist in their agency shopping area. Help is needed year-round. If you are able to lif t 25 pounds and would like to help fight hunger in the Augusta area, contact Laurie Roper at 736-1199, ex t. 208.

THOROUGHBRED R ACING HALL OF FAME DOCENTS NEEDED: Duties include opening and closing the Hall of Fame, greeting visitors and providing information about museum exhibits. Call Lisa Hall, (803) 6427650 for information.

OLDER AMERICANS ACT SENIOR NUTRITION PROGRAM is looking for volunteers to serve meals to needy older residents. To volunteer, contact the Senior Citizens Council at 826-4480. For those in need of home-delivered meals, call 210-2018 or toll free at 1-888-922-4464.

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.

THE CSRA HUMANE SOCIETY is looking for animal lovers willing to donate a lit tle of their time. Volunteers are needed every Saturday at the Pet Center located behind GreenJackets Stadium on Milledge Road. Call 261-PETS for more info.

SHEPEARD COMMUNITY BLOOD CENTER is seeking donors to prevent a blood supply shor tage. To donate call 7374551, 854-1880 or (803) 643-7996.

Meetings THE AUGUSTA SKI AND OUTING CLUB is open to those who enjoy snow skiing, boating, camping, whitewater raf ting, cycling and other outdoor recreation. The club meets the first Tuesday of every month in the Alamo Room at Lone Star. Call (803) 279-6186 for more information.

Weekly

THE AUGUSTA CHAPTER OF THE EMBROIDERER’S GUILD OF AMERICA meets the first Monday night of every month.

Meetings held in the First Alliance Church, 2801 Ingleside Rd., 7:30 p.m. Call Rebecca George, 951-6764 or 860-7631.

FREE ‘N’ ONE SUPPORT GROUP for those battling addiction to drugs and alcohol. Approach is a spiritual one. Held every Thursday night. For information, contact Sarah Barnes, 772-7325.

TOUGH LOVE SUPPORT GROUP Monday nights, 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the South Augusta Resource Center. Learn how to understand addiction and how to exercise tough love with those you care about. Call Sarah Barnes, 772-7325, for info.

THE FIRST STEP DIVORCE RECOVERY WORKSHOP Sundays through Feb. 9, 4-6 p.m. in Room 201 of the Walton Building at First Baptist Church of Augusta. Meetings are free to the public and no pre-registration is required; however, you must call to reserve childcare for children age 5 and under. 731-5355.

WALT DISNEY PIN TRADING GROUP is forming for all those interested in collecting and trading pins from Walt Disney World, Disneyland and other Disney resor ts. For more information, contact Tim Conway, 729-9900.

GEORGIA-CAROLINA TOASTMASTERS meets Wednesdays at noon at the Clubhouse, 2567 Washington Rd. $8 for lunch; visitors welcome. 860-9854.

SEXAHOLICS ANONYMOUS, a 12-step program of recovery from addiction to obsessive/compulsive sexual thoughts and behaviors, meets Wednesdays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 7 p.m. at Augusta Counselling Services. Call 339-1204 and leave first name and phone number; a confidential reply is assured.

AUGUSTA TOASTMASTERS CLUB #326 meets Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. at Advent Lutheran Church. Call 868-8431.

BUSINESS NETWORK INTERNATIONAL Augusta Chapter meets every Thursday morning from 7 to 8:30 a.m. at the Cour tyards by Mariot t. The group is a business networking group designed to give and receive referrals. All professionals welcome. For more information or to join, call Barbara Crenshaw, 868-3772.

RIVERWALK TOASTMASTERS meets Mondays, 7 p.m. in Classroom 3 at University Hospital. Call Gale Kan, 855-7071.

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, The Metropolitan Spirit, P.O. Box 3809, Augusta, GA 30914 or fax (706) 733-6663. You may also e-mail listings to rhonda_jones@metspirit.com or lisa_jordan@metspirit.com.

Listings cannot be taken over the phone.

Saturday Night Fever this saturday night february 1, 2003

disco costume party COVER

$3 w/ costume $10 w/out costume

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER!

DOORS OPEN @ 8PM $50 CASH & $20 BAR TAB EACH FOR - Best Male Costume - Best Female Costume - Best Overall Dance Moves

M E T R O S P I R I T

2003’s inaugural costume party Forget all your problems and return to the days of disco … colorful clothes, fun music, cheap drinks, and a sexually charged dance floor!!!

So put on your best new hairdo and polyester suit, and boogie on over to Modjeska to catch

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DJ Boriqua Spinning Your Favorite Disco Songs Food Provided by Pizza Joint Fashion Show @ Midnight by 8th Street Vintage

MODJESKA

Ultra Lounge & cocktails 813 Broad ~ www.modjeskalounge.com ~ 706.303.9700

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

Arts: Events

First Friday Drags Its Battered Corpse to Eighth Street

BY RHONDA JONES

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fter a three-month dormant period, First Friday shows signs of waking up as a new creature.

Those first stirrings are coming from a two-block section of Eighth Street, home to Hangnail Gallery, Kind Finds, Eighth Street Vintage and a new studio/gallery to be called The ? Mark. They call themselves the Eighth Street Contingent.

Artist Robert Bazemore Jr., owner of The ?

Mark, is their leader.

Or at least he has been acting as official spokesman for the group, who wants to bring the festival atmosphere back to First Friday. He says their mission is to bring back the fun in an organized, manageable way: by confining it to Eighth Street, and by clearing it with the proprietors whose businesses may be affected by such an event. Bazemore said that he has yet to be turned down.

The Eighth Street Contingent is hoping to attract 40 vendors to set up outside Eighth Street businesses in the parking areas, Bazemore said, as well as acoustic street musicians. Vendors will be required to apply through Main Street Augusta, however, as well as check in with the Contingent before setting up. And, yes, there will be a $25 fee for craft vendors, and a $75 fee plus proof of health inspection for food vendors.

Of course, there is the possibility that “rogue vendors” will show up and set up without filling out an application. “We know we’re going to have them,” Bazemore said. “We will ask them to leave if they don’t want to pay the application fee. We’re open to anybody coming down, but we have to comply with Main Street Augusta.”

“This is a highly organized event. It’s not going to be a hodge-podge,” Bazemore added.

On First Friday, Bazemore said, a twoblock area of Eighth Street will be blocked off from Broad Street to Greene Street, with a police officer positioned at the Ellis Street blockade. These provisions and vendors will be set up by 5 p.m., with festivities to run until 10 p.m. “A lot of the kids who come down to that area don’t come down until 9:00 anyway,” he said.

There will also be portable bathrooms set up for patrons, Bazemore said. As for cleanup after the party, the Contingent will handle that as well. “So it won’t look like Broad Street after First Friday,” Bazemore said. “We want to keep it looking seedy, like it did before, but certainly not over-thetop seedy.”

“I had a meeting with Main Street Augusta, with (Director) Chris Naylor last night, and other members,” he said on Jan. 23. “That’s gone before the board. It’s been approved.”

Bazemore said that about 20 vendors have expressed interest. Naylor said that no applications had been filled out at the time, however.

As for entertainment, Bazemore said that the Contingent has arranged with the Tire City Potters to have a raku demonstration

Contingent’s plans, but that possibility hasn’t dampened their resolve.

In that case, they said, they will do the best they can.

“We’re flying by the seat of our pants this time,” Benjamin said. “February is our ‘let’s try it out and get it started; start spreading the word,’” he said.

Robert Bazemore Jr. shows off a piece of art he is preparing for exhibit. on the street, and have also arranged to have a glass-blowing demo.

“There’s going to be a lot of fire and smoke and real festival-type stuff,” Bazemore said.

“All the stuff that Artists’ Row doesn’t want to have, we’re going to have.”

He stressed however, that his group is not in competition with the Broad Street artists’ coalition who started First Friday. “All we’re really trying to do is take the pressure off of Artists’ Row.” And, he added, Eighth Street can help First Friday become an event with little pockets of activities to appeal to all types.

He and his cohorts fully expect their neck of the woods to appeal to a different set than the wine-and-cheese gallery viewings and family-oriented activities do.

“I’ve been down in the Johnson Building for eight years,” Bazemore said. “I’ve seen it (Eighth Street) go through several transformations, but there’s always been a gritty, grassroots, underground feel to it.”

From the punk set who go to the Capri for their fix, or the goths who wander down to the Hangnail Gallery from time to time, Eighth Street has always been where some of the more interesting subcultures hang out. The Eighth Street Contingent want to keep it that way, Bazemore said, so they want to attract acts and vendors who have a little something different to offer.

“This may not be for everyone’s taste,” Bazemore said. “But I think it’s important for us to show another side of the arts community in Augusta.”

Artists’ Row gets plenty of attention, but some segments of the art community, who

are creating worthwhile work, according to Bazemore, need an outlet for expression.

Entertainers who feel the need to express themselves on Eighth Street – musicians, wielders-of-fire, and what have you – will be directed to Andrew Benjamin, owner of The Hangnail Gallery, photographer, and the personable madman who fronts the Hellblinki Sextet.

Benjamin actually has fire-wielders in his possession as we speak. No, he’s not holding them hostage. As far as we know. But nevertheless Pyroteque will perform outside on First Friday, he assures us. In fact, he says, they may bring fire-wielding buddies as well.

“We’re also trying for a drum circle and acoustic acts,” he said, adding that they really don’t have much else in the way of entertainment confirmed at the moment.

(Bazemore has threatened to “get out and do something creative or spastic” if he has to.)

But what if it rains?

“If it rains, they (Pyroteque) will probably perform inside,” Benjamin said. “But they were talking about doing a ring of fire thing in the street.”

If that makes your toes curl with excitement, he said Pyroteque will most likely begin their hot act just after dark.

In addition, there will be plenty of indoor fun, as Benjamin has bunches planned for The Hangnail Gallery: art by himself and local artist Ethan Brock, “open mic oddities” and Incidental Orchestra. (If you thirst for more details, see Lisa Jordan’s story, P. 51.)

Rain and cold weather could conceivably put a damper on the outdoor portions of the

Other Neat Stuff Happening Downtown: Augusta Museum of History You may have noticed that some rather interesting happenings have lately been the order of the day at the Augusta Museum of History. The museum’s current photo exhibit, “30 Years of Rock and Roll,” and the Feb. 6 dinner theatre seem to suggest that the history museum is going cool on us. Well, say museum officials Scott Loehr (director) and Elizabeth Donsbach (director of education), it just sort of happened that way.

“I would say in the case of the rock ‘n’ roll exhibit, that’s just a natural for programming,” Loehr said. “Consequently, we’re doing some things that match well with subject matter.”

He conceded that such an exhibit was “slightly out of the ordinary” for the History Museum, but well within the bounds of their mission.

“As a museum, we’ll use any and all means to interpret history,” he said. “Artifacts, a docent giving tours – or a dramatic interpretation of a person or period in history.”

The latter – the dramatic interpretation – is happening at the museum on Feb. 6.

There will be a dinner theatre, no less, featuring Elizabeth Nelson-Walpert as Emily Tubman in a play by local writer and communications professor, Dr. James Garvey of Augusta State University. It is called “Good Measure, Running Over.”

So is this a harbinger of things to come?

The education director doesn’t seem to mind the idea. “I would love to have more plays and productions here,” Donsbach said.

On Saturday, Feb. 8, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 9 from 1-5 p.m., there will be characters from the colonial, antebellum and Civil War eras on hand to demonstrate how early Americans did their thing. For information, call (706) 722-8454.

Donsbach added that spring will bring some more performance-type activities, such as Ben and Keeter’s Puppets on March 9, and an April 27 encounter with Revolutionary War re-enactors from both the Colonial and British sides. (Let’s hope a skirmish doesn’t break out.)

Dinner theatre shows will begin at 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., with dinner provided by Carrabba’s Italian Grill. Advance tickets and reservations are required, at a price of $25. Tickets may be purchased by mailing a check to Historic Augusta, Inc., at P.O. Box 37, Augusta, Ga., 30903-0037.

Reservation deadline is Jan. 31, 2003. For more information, call (706) 724-0436 or (706) 722-8454.

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39 M E T R O S P I R I T J A N 3 0 2 0 0 3

S P I R I T

Arts: Theatre

Improve Your Love Life With Pre-Valentine’s Day Performances

BY RHONDA JONES

Attention all Valentine’s Day-challenged individuals: Why not take your honey on a date? Got no honey? Take yourself on a date! There are quite a few romantic performances to take in, on and around the Eve of the Ides of February. Love, passion, death – it’s all there.

J A N 3 0 2 0 0 3

Romeo and Juliet: A Love Story To Die For

J

ulia Morgan, who will star in Augusta Ballet’s February production of “Romeo and Juliet,” has done something not many dancers manage to do – return to the stage after having kids.

Six-year-old Anne and 3-year-old Neal have kept her pretty busy for the past few years. “I stopped dancing when I got pregnant with him almost four years ago,” she said.

She has kept in shape by teaching at the Augusta Ballet school and training at the gym, but there’s nothing like the rigorous training of a full-time dancer to keep a girl ... ahem ... on her toes.

“I didn’t start with the company class again until September. It has been very difficult. I’m 34,” she said. “Most of the dancers in the company are in their early 20s. And it’s harder to keep up, I think, now. I lost a lot of flexibility.”

She’s had to retrain her mind as well, to quickly learn complex dance routines.

One thing that’s helping her comeback is her Romeo, Tom Shoemaker, who is a few years older than she.

“He’s a brilliant partner,” she said. “And he does everything he can to make me look good.”

Don’t get used to seeing her on stage, though. Morgan is eager to return to her little ones.

“The children will be having many babysitters until ‘Romeo

and Juliet’ goes up,” she said. “That was a definite concern coming back to dance. It’s just for six weeks. I know it’s going to end. They know it also, that they’ll be able to have their mommy back.”

In the meantime, husband Dave Morgan has a role to play too: Mr. Mom. But, in spite of the rearranging their home life has been through, Morgan is very glad to get back to the stage. “I have that extra bit of fulfillment. As a mom I don’t get applause every day or flowers. While it might seem silly, I do miss that.”

Augusta Ballet will perform “Romeo and Juliet” on Feb. 7-8 at the Imperial Theatre and on Feb. 14-15 at Aiken’s Washington Center for the Performing Arts. Pick up tickets during business hours at the Ballet office at the Sacred Heart Cultural Center or call (706) 261-0555 for ticket information.

Teachers, ask about reservations for your students for the New Visions Dance Education Outreach program offered to South Carolina schools on Feb. 13 and 15.

During the Feb. 8 intermission, the Ballet will hold a drawing to see who will drive away with a brand-new car – the 2003 Lexus SC 430. Tickets are $100 each and are also available through the Ballet office. A maximum of 950 tickets will be sold.

Photo by Bruce Boulineau

M E T R O

QuinTango: Pulse-Quickening Poetry of Dance

I

f you want to get a jump on Valentine’s Day, and maybe your sweetie too, Augusta Symphony has provided you an opportunity to do just that with the next installment of their Pops! At the Bell series. Employ the rare magic of tango on Feb. 8 to excite all the passion that music and dance has at its disposal.

Or something like that. Anyway, QuinTango’s coming. They’re a five-person group who plays tango tunes while dancers Harby Gonzalez and Emilie Tobias perform the dance itself.

February or no February, you may want to bring a fan.

Augusta Symphony’s ticket manager Adria Gunter witnessed a QuinTango performance two years ago at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. She said they were very good.

“It’s tango music. It’s something you feel, you know? I don’t know ... it’s just very dramatic and you kind of watch the violinist. And the emotions ... It’s really emotional music.”

“Exciting?” we asked.

“Oh yes. Very.

“You always get the feeling when you’re listening to tango music that they’re lovers somehow. I don’t know exactly what tango means or what it was written for, but you always sense some struggle between the lovers.

“It’s not just love, love, love – you always sense some anguish and pain. Mixed emotions, I think.”

QuinTango performs with two violins, a cello, a double bass and a piano, presenting arrangements from Carlos Gardel to Astor Piazzolla, so that the audience may take in old and new creations alike.

Here is a statistic you may actually enjoy reading: Four out of five QuinTango members are women. Joan Singer and Rachel Schenker are the violinists. Singer is the founder and director of the group and also plays with the Baltimore Opera Orchestra and Capitol Chamber Ensemble. Cellist Irma Cripe also performs with the Annapolis Chorale and Alexandria Symphony. Libby Blatt plays double bass and is a charter member of the Capitol Chamber Ensemble. Quota male and pianist Bruce Steeg has played with the National Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, and the Cleveland Orchestra.

They’ve been all over. They’ve performed at the White House, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Smithsonian Institution, the Organization of the American States, the Embassy of Argentina and the Meridian International Center. QuinTango said its first hello to the world at the 9th International Festival of Costa Rica in August 1999, a year after releasing its debut CD, “QuinTango.”

For ticket information call (706) 826-4705. For tidbits about Augusta Symphony and its guest artists, visit www.augustasymphony.org. For more information on QuinTango, and even aural niblets of their work, visit them at www.quintango.com.

Photo Courtesy of Augusta Symphony

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

Cinema

3 0

Movie Listings

2 0 0 3

About Schmidt (R) — Sad, very sad. Not only because Jack Nicholson is playing a sour, dumpy bore, but because the movie is a bore. As Schmidt, he's the lit tle American loser who set tled for mediocre, false comfor t through conformity, but Alexander Payne directs as if this dull fact is a fresh revelation.

The film is iner t, rarely funny and rarely dramatic, though Kathy Bates swings her jived bulk into a hot tub and briefly sparks Jack into an inkling of his stellar self; then he shrinks. Sad. 2 hrs. (Elliot t) ★ Adaptation (R) — "Adaptation" is an occasionally inspired film about a writer stymied by his screenplay.

Nicolas Cage plays both Charlie Kaufman and his brother Donald (who isn't real), a sor t of creative antibody. Cage's Charlie is a sweat bag of fear about every idea, frantic about losing his hair and not appealing to women he can barely approach; Don is an upbeat, pushy doof prone to bad jokes and happily stupid at titude. Beyond the doubled Cage compulsion (good acting, even bet ter tech work), the film has rich filler.

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Cara Seymour, Tilda Swinton. Running time: 1 hr., 54 mins.

(Elliot t) ★★★1/2 Analyze That (R) — This sequel to the 1999 hit "Analyze This," in which Rober t De Niro was top hood Paul Vit ti and Billy Crystal was his rabbit-nerved Jewish shrink, Dr. Sobol, is a string of mildly connective skit bits held together by capable casting and silly nonsense. Vit ti gets out of prison into the angst-rife care of Sobol, whose wife (Lisa Kudrow) is sarcastically aghast. Who would have thought De Niro, who carried the method to the edge of personality erasure,

and was infamously a dull, stone-panic interview, would evolve into such comic confidence? When he sings "I Feel Pret ty" from "West Side Story," brilliantly badly, your jaw may drop like a punch line. Cast: Billy Crystal, Rober t De Niro, Lisa Kudrow, Joe Viterelli, Anthony LaPaglia, Cathy Moriar ty-Gentile. Running time: 1 hr., 34 mins. (Elliot t) ★★1/2 Antwone Fisher (PG-13) — Denzel Washington directed himself, as a Navy psychiatrist in San Diego, and Derek Luke as Fisher, a sailor spikey with anger because of his tormented youth. Washington's authority is manifest and humane, the story has moments of honest searching, but the appealing Luke never quite gives us the pain of a truly agonized man. 1 hr., 53 mins. (Elliot t) ★★1/2 Biker Boyz (PG-13) — Described as a “contemporary Western on wheels,” “Biker Boyz” delves into the underground world of motorcycle racing.

Undefeated champ Smoke dominates California’s racing scene, but his position is threatened by a young racer named Kid. Kid’s out to win Smoke’s helmet — and his fame. Cast: Laurence Fishburne, Derek Luke, Orlando Jones, Djimon Hounsole, Lisa Bonet, Kid Rock.

Brown Sugar (PG-13) — "Brown Sugar " is a romantic comedy focusing on two childhood friends who have both found success in the world of hip-hop: one is an A&R executive at a record label and the other is the editor of a glossy music mag. Even though they’re both involved with others, the two find that they may have already found love – years ago with each other. Cast: Sanaa Latham, Taye Diggs, Queen Latifah, Mos Def.

New Line Cinema

“Final Destination 2”

RATINGS

★★★★ — Excellent.

“The Recruit”

Spyglass Entertainment

42

Catch Me If You Can (PG-13) — From the breezy opening credits done in '60s hip style, Steven Spielberg's charmed enter tainment flies along with confidence. Leonardo DiCaprio is entirely engaging as Frank Abagnale Jr., con ar tist and ace kiter of checks, pursued with increasingly caring fixation by Tom Hanks as a square FBI man. Christopher Walker is the smooth-talking flop dad whom Frank yearns to impress. 2 hrs., 15 mins. (Elliot t) ★★★ Chicago (PG-13) —- It's been 23 years since Richard Gere stripped on Broadway for "Bent." Now he gets to pull of f his clothes as slick shyster Billy Flynn.

Mostly in wonder ful suits, his hair shining like creased silver, Gere is having the best time of his movie life, singing and tapdancing and lording over women with rakish snaz. He's a lioness-tamer; the main cats are Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones), a cabaret sex bazooka and killer on Death Row and newcomer Roxie Har t (Renee Zellweger), a Bet ty Boop who killed her lover. For cash and headlines, Flynn will help guilty women beat the law. "Chicago" is zip for depth, but it has all the sexy sur face it needs to be ex travagantly alive. It tops of f at the Chicago Theater, and the old show palace looks delighted. Cast: Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, John C. Reilly, Queen Latifah, Christine Baranski, Taye Diggs. Running time: 1 hr., 53 mins. (Elliot t) ★★★★ Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (R) — It star ts with Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell), creator of "The Gong Show" and other gif ts to culture, as a suicidal slob in a hotel room in 1981. His frantic life is coming up on him like a bad meal. Directed by firsttimer George Clooney, Barris is rabidly ingesting life and then feeling nauseated about it. He comes to loathe even his TV game shows. The source is Barris' "unauthorized autobiography," in which he is a legend in his own mind and avows that, while being a king of junkyard TV, he was also a cover t agent and killer for the CIA. Clooney plays Barris' CIA control like a cement replica of Ernie Kovacs doing a spoof of "I Led Three Lives." Of ten shot in bleached, pasty tones of nostalgia (for what?), Rockwell's "real" character has no base of reality. The gong sounds early. Cast: Sam Rockwell, George Clooney, Drew Barrymore, Julia Rober ts, Rutger Hauer. Running time: 1 hr., 53 mins.

(Elliot t) ★1/2 Darkness Falls (PG-13) — A young man in a small town, isolated because the locals think he’s crazy, is the only one who can help a young boy, the brother of his childhood girlfriend. The boy is threatened by a centuries-old evil, a force that served as the inspiration for the seemingly innocuous tale of the tooth fairy. Cast: Chaney Kley, Emma Caulfield, Joshua Anderson, Andrew Bayly, Emily Browning.

Drumline (PG-13) — A young street drummer from Harlem wins a scholarship to at tend a Southern university and decides to make the trek af ter being convinced by the university’s band director, even though he knows he’ll have a hard time fit ting in.

Gradually, his drumming skills help the other students

★★★— Worthy.

★★ — Mixed.

★ — Poor.

warm up to him. Cast: Nick Cannon, Orlando Jones, Zoe Saldana, Jason Weaver.

8 Mile (R) — As Jimmy "Rabbit" Smith, Eminem flunks his first hip-hop bat tle, a cut ting contest of insult rhymes at a black club, is pegged a choker and sulks back to his grueling job at a metal-stamping mill.

The simple story is how Rabbit motorizes his mouth, confirming the "genius" proclaimed by pal and club emcee Future (Mekhi Phifer). As a buzzer, it has juice.

Thanks to Eminem and the rising rap momentum, "8 Mile" is engrossing. In this urban, if not urbane, fantasy, the hero takes a bad beating, gets up and goes to work, interrupts work to wow everyone at the hip-hop club, then returns to work af ter a verbal outlay that would have put even Winston Churchill in bed for days.

Cast: Eminem, Kim Basinger, Mekhi Phifer, Evan Jones, Brit tany Murphy, Anthony Mackie. Running time: 1 hr., 58 mins. (Elliot t) ★★★ Empire (R) — Victor Rosa is John Leguizamo's best movie work so far, a subtle and richly internalized per formance. Vic is a Bronx drug dealer who runs his four-man crew of buddies. Feeling successful but crowded, and now at tached to a woman he loves (Delilah Cot to), Vic meets the smoothie Jack Wimmer (Peter Sarsgaard). This yupster grif ter has an Ivy League purr of success and suits that seem tailored down to his chromosomes; he lures Vic into an airy investment scheme that seems more legal and less lethal than Vic's drug jungle. Grateful to be adopted into a dream world he has envied, feeling this is a classy "out," Vic is being suckered. The movie is good at building momentum but less so in delivering, and the feeling for noir doom is never as credible as the sense of upward hunger. Cast: John Leguizamo, Peter Sarsgaard, Denise Richards, Vincent Laresca, Sonia Braga, Isabella Rossellini. Running time: 1 hr., 30 mins. (Elliot t) ★★1/2 Final Destination 2 (R) — As in the first movie, a group of teen-agers manages to cheat death. But death, unsatisfied with the teens’ getaway, pursues in a myriad of disturbing ways. Kimberly, driving a group of friends to Florida, has a premonition that helps them avoid being caught in a fatal freeway pileup. Death has other plans. Cast: Ali Lar ter, A.J. Cook, Michael Landes, T.C. Carson, Jonathan Cherry, James Kirk, Tony Todd.

Formula 51 (R) — It stars Samuel L. Jackson as "master chemist" Elmo McElroy, chief supplier to the illicit drug trade and inventor of a total happy pill called Formula 51. Elmo flies to Liverpool for another $20 million oppor tunity, wearing a kilt and carrying a bag of golf clubs. Giving Elmo competition in profanity is Luverpudlian pot ty-mouth and thug, Felix (Rober t Carlyle). They bond in greed. If you are a person of taste and sensitivity, you have the pedigree to be appalled by "Formula 51." But if you are a moviegoer who realizes that your habit is not sustained by absurd demands on taste and sensitivity, then "Formula 51" is the par ty junk you need as relief from worse junk.

Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Rober t Carlyle, Emily

0— Not worthy.

Mor timer, Meat Loaf, Rhys Ifans. Running time: 1 hr., 32 mins. (Elliot t) ★★★ A Guy Thing (PG-13) — Jason Lee plays good guy Paul, who just wants to keep on the straight and narrow at his own bachelor par ty. Apparently, that’s too much to ask, because the nex t morning he wakes up nex t to a beautiful girl, his head too fuzzy to remember any thing from the night before. Even worse, the girl turns out to be his fiancée’s cousin, and what star ts out as one lit tle lie snowballs into a fib of comedic propor tions. Cast: Julia Stiles, Jason Lee, Selma Blair, James Brolin, Shawn Hatosy.

Half Past Dead (PG-13) — Steven Seagal action flick about a criminal mastermind whose big plan is to infiltrate a ma ximum-security prison and obtain information on the whereabouts of $200 million wor th of gold from a death row inmate. What he doesn’t know is that planted inside the prison is an undercover federal agent (Seagal). Cast: Morris Chestnut, Steven Seagal, Mat t Bat taglia.

The Hours (PG-13) — The story begins with Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) taking her famous last walk into a river, af ter put ting a big stone in her coat pocket. The movie keeps piling stones. Woolf's creation of "Mrs. Dalloway" and her much later final weeks with devotedly desperate husband Leonard (Stephen Dillane) are intercut with suf fering Woolfian women in two stories. The depressed housewife Laura (Julianne Moore), in 1950s Los Angeles, and the modern New Yorker, Clarissa (Meryl Streep), frantic about preparing a par ty for her AIDS-dying former lover, the writer Richard (Ed Harris). The stories link. The conception is all of a piece, organically imagined. It sends out tendrils of dark feeling about life and dying, ar t and love and transience. Cast: Meryl Streep, Ed Harris, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Stephen Dillane, Miranda Richardson, Jef f Daniels, Claire Danes.

Running time: 1 hr., 54 mins. (Elliot t) ★★1/2 Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie (G) — The animated group of vegetables that stars in the "Veggie Tales" car toons comes to the big screen in "Jonah." A van of singing veggies breaks down in front of a strange seafood joint inhabited by a lazy bunch of pirates who proceed to spin the tale of Jonah and the whale for the impressionable young vegetables. Cast: Phil Vischer, Kristin Blegen, Mike Nawrocki, Lisa

sy puts Jennifer Lopez into a cute maid's uniform at a 43 swank New York hotel. She's Marisa, and when she tries on the very expensive, if rather Bel Air trophy M wife, out fit of a snobbish guest, this at tracts the "play- E T boy" eye of senatorial hopeful Chris Marshall (Ralph R Fiennes). Chris' manager (Stanley Tucci) is in control- O freak agony that the Republican politician might fall in love with someone not toity and rich. The film is most S P marked by the flagrant waste of talent. As the sitcom I yucks racked up their lit tle nif ties, perked along by R I music, I had a weird, tiny pinch of nostalgia for T "Jackass: The Movie." Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes, Bob Hoskins, Natasha Richardson, Stanley J A Tucci, Tyler Garcia Posey. Running time: 1 hr., 35 N mins. (Elliot t) ★1/2

“Formula 51”

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (PG) —

Vischer. Running time: 1 hr., 23 mins.

Just Married (PG-13) — Sarah, who comes from a well-to-do, snobbish family, falls in love with a traf fic repor ter — much to her family’s chagrin. The happy couple embarks on a honeymoon plagued by bad luck and the inter ference of Sarah’s ex-boy friend, commissioned by her family to split up the fledgling marriage. Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Brit tany Murphy, Christian Kane, David Moscow.

Kangaroo Jack (PG) — Two childhood friends, Charlie (Jerry O'Connell) and Louis (Anthony Anderson), from Brooklyn are forced to deliver a mysterious envelope to Australia af ter one of them accidentally causes the police to raid a mob warehouse.

En route to the land down under, Louis peeks in the package and discovers that it contains $50,000. Af ter the guys arrive in the Outback, they accidentally run over a kangaroo. Louis decides to take pictures of the animal and even puts shades and his lucky jacket on the 'roo, which is only stunned and hops away with

the jacket containing the money. Now the guys are forced to chase the animal through the Outback, or they'll have to repay the mob with their lives. The real star of "Kangaroo Jack" is the beautiful Outback. That alone may be wor th the price of admission. Or not.

Cast: Jerry O'Connell, Anthony Anderson, Estella Warren, Christopher Walken, Dyan Cannon, Mar ton Csokas. Running time: 1 hr., 30 mins. (McCormick) ★

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (PG13) — Long, violent, death-fixated, dark in tone, heavy in heroic mood, this is a film for addicts of the series. Lit tle Frodo is marginalized as Viggo Mor tensen leads the defense of a castle from hordes of vicious scumballs, and the two grand beards (Ian McKellan, Christopher Lee) contend for Middle Ear th.

There's a lit tle schizo in a wispy loincloth, expressively per formed and voiced, but the almost Stone Age my thology rolls over us like layers of geology. 3 hrs.

(Elliot t) ★★ Maid in Manhattan (PG-13) — The airy fanta-

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Unmarried Toula Por tokalos is a 30-year-old waitress in her parents’ Greek restaurant, Dancing Zorba’s.

Vowing to change, she gets a makeover and takes a job in her aunt’s travel agency, where, newly confident, she meets handsome Ian Miller — a high-school teacher who is definitely not Greek. The tale is familiar: strong and fiercely commit ted to their ethnic roots family but ts heads with the outsider wanting to marry into the group. But “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” of fers enough in the way of wit to stifle the sitcom feel a film like this might otherwise have. Cast: Nia Vardalos, John Corbet t, Louis Mandylor, Gia Carides, Joey Fatone. Running time: 1 hr., 35 mins.

Narc (R) — opens with a breathless foot chase.

One man is shot in the throat, another is shot dead, a pregnant woman is wounded. Narcotics detective Nick Tellis (Jason Patric) is mentally on the street every moment. An ace at undercover work, but emotionally too strapped to his work, Tellis is suspended for that opening carnage. His wife wants him to quit. It isn't a pension plan that makes him want to stay on the force, it's his pride — and the glory-in-risk of a topping case, to solve the murder of another narcotics of ficer. But to do that he must work with the strong-arm veteran Lt. Henry Oak (Ray Liot ta), who is stoking a hot fuse about his young, dead par tner and the worm farm that is depar tment politics. The case drags them into a sor t of moral mudslide. "Narc" suggests that the mean

continued on page 44

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continued from page 43 streets are meaner than you want to know — but might wish to see filmed and acted this ef fectively.

Cast: Ray Liot ta, Jason Patric, Anne Openshaw, Busta Rhymes. Running time: 1 hr., 45 mins. (Elliot t) ★★★1/2 National Security (PG-13) — Mar tin Lawrence and Steve Zahn play L.A.P.D. rejects on both ends of the spectrum who get paired up as security guards.

While on par tol, they uncover a smuggling operation, in between bits of slapstick that are obligatory for films of this genre. Cast: Mar tin Lawrence, Steve Zahn, Eric Rober ts.

The Recruit (PG-13) — Al Pacino stars as Walter Burke, tough training leader for fresh-faced CIA of ficers. One of his students, the intelligent and eagerto-please James Clay ton, surpasses Burke’s expectations with his success in training. Then Burke decides to up the stakes with a very real — and very dangerous — mission. Cast: Al Pacino, Colin Farrell, Bridget Moynahan, Gabriel Macht.

The Ring (PG-13) — begins with the telling of an urban-legend-like tale that, for a while, seems likely to consign this movie to the slasher/horror bin: A weird videotape is circulating. As soon as you're through watching it, the telephone rings. A voice on the phone informs you that you have seven days to live. Seven days later, you die. The film boasts first-rate per formances, a gorgeous look, an engaging plot and a jangly, thrumming sense of dread. The ef fectiveness of such a movie depends entirely on the beholder. Save for a long, uneasy feeling of foreboding and one solid jolt, I didn't find it all that scary. Two young women exiting the theater in front of me, however, declared that the thing had terrified them, and I'm willing to take their word for it. Cast: Naomi Wat ts, Mar tin Henderson, David Dor fman, Brian Cox. Running time: 1 hr., 55 mins. (Salm) ★★1/2 School Daze (R) — This film reaches back into the Spike Lee vault to present issues that are as relevant today as they were in 1987. Lee peeks in on the lives of a set of middle-class African-American youths at a southern college. The two main men, one a political and social activist, the other a frat boy, occupy both ends of the spectrum. It’s a tool that Lee uses to examine intraracial conflict. Cast: Tisha Campbell, Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito.

Signs (PG-13) — Mel Gibson plays Father Graham Hess, an Episcopal priest who lost his faith and retired his collar af ter his wife was killed in an auto accident. He lives in an old farmhouse with two adorable kids, plus a younger brother (Joaquin Phoenix). Big, elegantly precise "crop signs" turn up in their cornfield. It's space aliens, and the movie teases us as the signs pile up. The aliens show up, shoving clawed hands under doors but scared by steak knives, full of evil strength, yet not able to knock down the pathetic blockade of a fruit cellar. "Signs," though handsomely shot, seems meant for viewers who need to believe in tabloid aliens, and that we can beat them with plain-spun, homeland vir tues. It should be called "Sins" for compounding the sins of bad filming. Cast: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, M. Night Shyamalan, Cherry Jones. Running time: 1 hr., 46 mins. (Elliot t) ★

Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (PG) — A cheer ful theme park of a comedy about

junior spies, with a bigger budget and more inventive fun than the 2001 original (the plot is no advance).

Rober t Rodriguez directed, wrote, helped with the digital ef fects and gizmo touches, including excellent creatures. The many Hispanic rif fs do not land with PC heaviness, and the lively cast includes Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara as the main kids, plus Antonio Banderas, Steve Buscemi, Carla Gugino, Alan Cumming, Bill Pa x ton, Tony Shalhoub, Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin and (still macho at 81) Ricardo Montalban. Running time: 1 hr., 27 mins. (Elliot t) ★★★ Sweet Home Alabama (PG-13) — Only a year and two weeks af ter New York became our most tormented but inspiring city, it is upstaged by a happy hicksville called Pigeon Creek. Why? Because cute "Mel" (Reese Witherspoon) fled poor-folks marriage to Pigeon Creek sweethear t Jake (Josh Lucas). She is now a light of Manhat tan as fashion designer Melanie Carmichael. And she has the love of politically upward dreamboat Andrew (Patrick Dempsey, son of The Apple's tough but dishy mayor, Candice Bergen). Andy doesn't know that his betrothed is still married to 'Bama boy Jake, who is hur t, haunted and planning his own rise from mediocrity. Mel returns home for a divorce, puts on her corn-pone accent instantly, and rediscovers the joys of Pigeon Creek. Director Andy Tennant serves this corny material with the skill of a machine punching out Alabama license plates. Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas, Patrick Dempsey, Fred Ward, Mary Kay Place, Candice Bergen. Running time: 1 hr., 40 mins. (Elliot t) ★★ They (PG-13) — A grad student witnesses a horrifying incident, which rekindles her childhood fears of the dark and night terrors. Soon, she finds herself wondering if the images that plagued her as a child were real. Cast: Laura Regan, Marc Blucas, Dagmara Dominczyk, Ethan Embry, John Abrahams.

Treasure Planet (PG) — The movie transmutes Rober t Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" into the heavily digitalized animation of a "Star Wars" of fshoot.

Now Jim is a very American and stalwar t 'toon-teen voiced by Joseph Gordon-Levit t, and Silver (Brian Murray) is a huge cyborg with an old-salt pirate face and tech arms wor thy of the Terminator on a hardware rampage. A space movie that has interstellar craf t with lof ty, luminous sails and crusty barnacles on hulls is so absurd that it's charming. In visual fer tility, "Treasure Planet" rivals the top Japanese animations of recent vintage. For the sub-13 crowd (and many beyond it), this is satisfying enter tainment. Voices: Joseph Gordon-Levit t, Emma Thompson, Michael Wincot t, Brian Murray, Mar tin Shor t, Laurie Metcalf, Roscoe Lee Browne, Patrick McGoohan. Running time: 1 hr., 35 mins. (Elliot t) ★★★ Two Weeks Notice (PG-13) — Lucy Kelson (Sandra Bullock) is a smar t but stressed at torney whose client, millionaire George Wade (Hugh Grant), is deeply dependent on her. George won’t let her quit until she finds her own replacement – a young lawyer who has her eye on George. George, however, is looking elsewhere: at what just lef t. Cast: Sandra Bullock, Hugh Grant, Alicia Wit t.

—Capsules compiled from movie reviews written by David Elliott, film critic for The San Diego Union-Tribune and other staff writers.

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Cinema: Close-Up

Q&A With Laurence Fishburne

Pamper your at

By Joey Berlin

I

n his first big role in a major movie since “The Matrix” in 1999, Laurence Fishburne stars in “Biker Boyz” as the near-mythic leader of a street-racing motorcycle club who is eager to reclaim his former glory.

Directed by Reggie Rock Bythewood, “Biker Boyz” also features “Antwone Fisher” star Derek Luke, as well as Orlando Jones, Tyson Beckford and Kid Rock. But the focus remains squarely on Fishburne’s character, a relative old-timer passing the torch to the younger racers.

Fishburne caught the acting bug as a child and never looked back. The 41-year-old Georgia-born actor’s varied career is filled with distinguished performances in respected films, such as “Apocalypse Now,” “The Color Purple,” “Boyz N the Hood” and “What’s Love Got To Do With It.” This year, Fishburne will rack up plenty of additional screen time. “The Matrix: Reloaded” arrives in May, followed in October by the Clint Eastwood-directed thriller “Mystic River” and “The Matrix: Revolutions” in November.

Q: Is riding motorcycles one of those things that you just cannot understand unless you do it?

A: Do you mean is there something special about riding? Yeah, there is. Can I tell you what it is? No. Because there’s no real way to put it into words. It’s one of those mysteries.

Q: Are you always afraid of falling off?

A: I belong to a motorcycle club. It was started by a guy who runs the Guggenheim Museum, and he put together this show called “The Art of the Motorcycle.” It has 100 of the most beautiful motorcycles ever produced.

You go to this show, you see these bikes that are like works of art. It’s great. Now, they also made a book, and in the book it talks about falling. There’s this whole chapter about falling. It says when you ride, you have to always be thinking about falling, and you have to always not be thinking about falling.

Because no matter what, you’re going to fall.

So you’ve just got to know how to fall, what to do if you fall, what the consequences of falling are.

Q: Did you know you wanted to be in “Biker Boyz” as soon as you read the script?

A: No, I didn’t know that from the outset. It wasn’t about the script, it was when Reggie showed me his storyboards. When I saw those drawings of how each scene would play, that’s when I knew. I liked his visual concept for a modern Western inside the context of this world. That really appealed to me.

Q: It sounds like you got a lot of personal satisfaction from making “Biker Boyz.”

A: It’s great. I’m really excited. It’s something that we haven’t seen before, something that I’ve wanted to see for a long time. And Reggie’s so brilliant, because he’s made the kind of movie that I’m not only excited to see, but I’m also happy to be in. I’m really blown away at how moving this movie was for me, this seemingly action-oriented movie.

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Q: Even though most of the cast is black, race isn’t an issue in the story. Is that still relatively rare in Hollywood?

A: I should think so. This movie is about a community that created itself, and it’s centered around these machines, these races and competitions, and there’s a hierarchy and a code. So, in that sense, it’s culturally specific, but it’s universal. And that’s the great thing about it. They’re not drug dealers. There are no guns in the movie, nobody gets shot in the movie. There’s not even talk of gunplay in the movie. It’s, “I’m going to race you. I’m going to take your helmet.” That’s bigger.

Q: What was your impression of the young star, Derek Luke?

A: He’s wonderful, really wonderful. We had some time to work out the very challenging aspect of our relationship in the film, and between myself and Reggie and Derek, we walked through these scenes, which are very difficult. These are not the kind of people that have expressive language, they’re physical.

So the whole fight that they have in the bar is a conversation that they’re having. It’s the only way they can have it.

Q: Was there a benefit to you as an actor, filming the two Matrix sequels back-to-back?

A: There was a benefit to everybody involved. It was just too huge to have tried to do them any other way. It made all the sense in the world. But the other thing I can tell you is that this is the first time that a story will be told in multimedia fashion, so that you’ll be able to access different parts of it using different mediums.

You can go to a Web site and see two animated shorts, then you can go to a theater and see another animated short, which will set up “The Matrix: Reloaded.” Then there’s the game, which has scenes that bridge the movies. So you’ll be able to see this from a lot of different perspectives. It’s going to be really interesting.

It’s not just a couple of sequels.

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n some ways you have to admire the creative team behind “Final Destination,” because, essentially, they’ve stripped the horror film down to its bare essentials: the death sequence. Like the series of cult videos entitled “Faces of Death,” which were purportedly nothing more than actual deaths committed to film (they were the pornos of horror films, you might say), the “Final Destination” movies have removed all remnants of things like plot and character development in favor of presenting far-fetched, gorily kitschy death scenes. And, while the final product is about as mind-numbing and shameful as an episode of “Joe Millionaire,” it is, like that reality show, relentlessly watchable.

Holding the grim reaper up as an unstoppable force, “Final Destination 2” repeats the blueprint of the original film. In that 2000 sleeper hit, which starred up-and-coming young actors like Devon Sawa (“Extreme Ops”), Sean William Scott (“American Pie”) and Kerr Smith (“Dawson’s Creek), a group of teenagers dies in a series of freak occurrences after serendipitously escaping an airplane crash. Compelled to get off the plane after Sawa’s character has a prophetic vision of the crash, each member of the group goes on to die in a bizarre manner. The rub for the teens is that, though they escaped the crash, they are targeted by Death, killed off one by one in the sequence they would have died in the crash.

In the rehashed sequel the same scenario is presented, with the catastrophe being a devastating highway collision instead of a plane crash. When Kimberly

(A.J. Cook) has a vision of a massive pile-up on the highway (wouldn’t you know that the logging rig is the one to set it off) she pulls her car off the road, blocking the rightful victims from their impending, and grisly, doom. Then, as the disparate group (which includes a single mom and her teenage son, a scruffy but well-meaning drug addict and a handsome state trooper) disperses, they begin to die. Kimberly, quickly realizing the current state of affairs is connected to the plane crash from the first film, visits the one remaining survivor from “Final Destination” – Clear Rivers (Ali Larter).

Voluntarily locked away in padded cell for protection, Kimberly convinces Clear to help the newest batch of victims … before it’s too late.

Focused on the aberrant joy, and, let’s face it, humor, inherent in watching people die in highly unlikely ways, “Final Destination 2” presents a plethora of killings to satiate the brain-dead teenager in all of us. Whether your favorite is the youngster who survives an accidental death by nitrous in the dentist’s chair only to be crushed by a heavy plate of falling glass on the way out of the office or the druggie whose body is severed in multiple spots by a flying barbed wire fence – there are more than enough decapitations and impalements to go around.

Of course, if bottom-of-the-barrel entertainment isn’t your thing, it’s best to steer clear of the endless gore and bad dialog that “Final Destination 2” offers up. After all, what can you expect from a film that features a character named Clear Rivers, who is neither a prostitute nor a stripper?

REGAL AUGUSTA EXCHANGE 20 Movies Good 1/31 - 2/6 Final Destination 2 (R) Fri-Sat: 12:30, 3:05, 5:15, 7:45, 10:20, 12:35; Sun-Thur: 12:30, 3:05, 5:15, 7:45, 10:20 The Recruit (PG-13) Fri-Sat: 12:05, 2:35, 5:00, 7:30, 10:05, 12:40; Sun-Thur:12:05, 2:35, 5:00, 7:30, 10:05 Biker Boyz (PG-13) Fri-Sat: 12:15, 12:45, 2:55, 3:25, 5:30, 7:00, 8:05, 9:50, 10:40, 12:30; SunThur: 12:15, 12:45, 2:55, 3:25, 5:30, 7:00, 8:05, 9:50, 10:40 The Hours (PG-13) Fri-Sat: 1:05, 3:55, 6:55, 9:25, 12:15; Sun-Thur: 1:05, 3:55, 6:55, 9:25 Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (R) 12:10, 3:00, 5:35, 8:10, 10:45 Darkness Falls (PG-13) Fri-Sat: 1:15, 3:35, 5:45, 8:00, 9:40, 10:25, 12:05, 12:40; SunThur: 1:15, 3:35, 5:45, 8:00, 9:40, 10:25 A Guy Thing (PG-13) 11:50, 2:20, 4:40, 7:15 National Security (PG-13) Fri-Sat: 12:35, 2:45, 5:05, 7:20, 9:30, 11:45; Sun-Thur: 12:35, 2:45, 5:05, 7:20, 9:30 Chicago (PG-13) Fri-Sat: 12:00, 2:00, 2:30, 4:30, 5:10, 7:00, 7:40, 9:35, 10:10, 12:00; SunThur: 12:00, 2:00, 2:30, 4:30, 5:10, 7:00, 7:40, 9:35, 10:10 Antwone Fisher (PG-13) Fri-Sat: 1:20, 4:15, 7:05, 10:00, 12:35; Sun-Thur: 1:20, 4:15, 7:05, 10:00 Just Married (PG-13) Fri-Sat: 12:20, 2:40, 5:00, 7:25, 9:55, 12:15; Sun-Thur: 12:20, 2:40, 5:00, 7:25, 9:55 NARC (R) 2:50, 7:50 Kangaroo Jack (PG) Fri-Sat: 12:25, 2:25, 4:35, 6:45, 9:00, 11:10; Sun-Thur: 12:25, 2:25, 4:35, 6:45, 9:00 Catch Me If You Can (PG-13) 1:10, 4:10, 7:10, 10:10 About Schmidt (R) Fri-Sat: 1:00, 4:00, 6:50, 9:45, 12:25; Sun-Thur: 1:00, 4:00, 6:50, 9:45 Two Weeks Notice (PG-13) Fri-Sat: 1:50, 4:20, 7:20, 9:50, 12:20; Sun-Thur: 1:50, 4:20, 7:20, 9:50 Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (PG-13) Fri-Sat: 12:10, 4:00, 7:55, 11:30; Sun-Thur: 12:10, 4:00, 7:55 Maid in Manhattan (PG-13) 11:55, 5:20, 10:30 Drumline (PG-13) 1:35, 4:25, 7:35,10:15 EVANS 12 CINEMAS Movies Good 1/31 - 2/6 Adaptation (R) Fri-Sun: 2:00, 4:20, 7:00, 9:20; Mon-Thur: 4:20, 7:00, 9:20 The Recruit (PG-13) Fri-Sun: 2:20, 4:30, 7:20, 9:30; Mon-Thur: 4:30, 7:20, 9:30 Final Destination 2 (R) Fri: 3:30, 5:30, 7:30, 9:50; Sat-Sun: 1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30, 9:50; Mon-Thur: 5:30, 7:30, 9:50 Chicago (PG-13) Fri-Sun: 7:00 Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (R) Fri: 4:00, 9:30; Sat-Sun: 1:00, 4:00, 9:30; Mon-Thur: 4:00, 7:00, 9:30 Darkness Falls (PG-13) Fri: 3:35, 5:35, 7:35, 9:35; Sat-Sun: 1:35, 3:35, 5:35, 7:35, 9:35; Mon-Thur: 5:35, 7:35, 9:35

About Schmidt (R) Fri: 4:10, 7:10, 9:40; Sat-Sun: 1:10, 4:10, 7:10, 9:40; Mon-Thur: 4:10, 7:10, 9:40 National Security (PG-13) Fri: 3:55, 5:55, 7:55, 9:55; Sat-Sun: 1:55, 3:55, 5:55, 7:55, 9:55; Mon-Thur: 5:55, 7:55, 9:55 My Big Fat Greek Wedding (PG) Fri: 3:25, 5:25, 7:25, 9:25; Sat-Sun: 1:25, 3:25, 5:25, 7:25, 9:25; Mon-Thur: 5:25, 7:25, 9:25 Just Married (PG-13) Fri: 3:45, 5:45, 7:45, 9:45; Sat-Sun: 1:45, 3:45, 5:45, 7:45, 9:45; Mon-Thur: 5:45, 7:45, 9:45 Kangaroo Jack (PG) Fri: 3:15, 5:15, 7:15, 9:15; Sat-Sun: 1:15, 3:15, 5:15, 7:15, 9:15; MonThur: 5:15, 7:15, 9:15 Catch Me If You Can (PG-13) Fri: 4:05, 7:05, 9:45; Sat-Sun: 1:05, 4:05, 7:05, 9:45; MonThur: 4:05, 7:05, 9:45 Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (PG-13) Fri: 4:40, 8:20; Sat-Sun: 1:00, 4:40, 8:20; MonThur: 4:40, 8:20 MASTERS 7 CINEMAS Movies Good 1/31 - 2/6 Biker Boyz (PG-13) Fri: 4:30, 7:15, 9:30; Sat-Sun: 1:30, 4:30, 7:15, 9:30; Mon-Thur: 4:30, 7:15, 9:30 Final Destination 2 (PG-13) Fri: 5:15, 7:30, 9:45; Sat-Sun: 1:15, 3:15, 5:15, 7:30, 9:45; Mon-Thur: 5:15, 7:30, 9:45 Chicago (PG-13) Fri-Sun: 7:00 Darkness Falls (PG-13) Fri: 5:20, 7:20, 9:20; Sat-Sun: 1:20, 3:20, 5:20, 7:20, 9:20; MonThur: 5:20, 7:20, 9:20 Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (R) Fri: 4:00, 9:35; Sat-Sun: 1:00, 4:00, 9:35; Mon-Thur: 4:00, 7:00, 9:35 Kangaroo Jack (PG) Fri: 5:10, 7:10, 9:10; SatSun: 1:10, 3:10, 5:10, 7:10, 9:10; Mon-Thur: 5:10, 7:10, 9:10 National Security (PG-13) Fri: 5:25, 7:25, 9:25; Sat-Sun: 1:25, 3:25, 5:25, 7:25, 9:25; MonThur: 5:25, 7:25, 9:25 Antwone Fisher (PG-13) Fri: 4:05, 7:05, 9:40; Sat-Sun: 1:05, 4:05, 7:05, 9:40; Mon-Thur: 4:05, 7:05, 9:40 REGAL 12 CINEMAS Movies Good 1/31 - 2/6 Formula 51 (R) 2:15, 4:35, 7:00, 9:30 Analyze That (R) 2:20, 5:05, 7:50, 10:00 They (PG-13) 2:45, 5:10, 7:40, 9:30 Half Past Dead (PG-13) 2:35, 4:50, 7:30, 10:05 Empire (R) 2:05, 4:30, 7:10, 9:35 8 Mile (R) 2:25, 4:55, 7:20, 9:50 The Ring (PG-13) 2:40, 5:00, 7:25, 9:40 Treasure Planet (PG) 2:30, 5:15, 7:45, 9:40 Sweet Home Alabama (PG-13) 2:10, 4:40, 7:15, 9:50 Brown Sugar (PG-13) 1:55, 4:25, 7:05, 9:45 Spy Kids 2 (PG) 2:00, 4:25, 7:35, 9:55 Signs (PG-13) 2:00, 4:45, 7:00, 9:25 ASU SPRING FILM SERIES Movie Good 2/3 School Daze (R) Mon: 7:00

Movie listings are subject to change without notice.

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Salem Family Ministries focuses on family. They stress the unity of family, marriage, personal relationships, financial goals, and parenting. They also lead motivational meetings on overcoming obstacles such as abuse, abandonment, poor self-image, and finances.

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

Music

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Larry Jon Wilson Welcomes Obscurity

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n a recent Friday, I had the pleasure of being kidnapped for the afternoon by singersongwriter Larry Jon Wilson.

For an artist whose talents have been revered by other musicians and critics alike, both in the United States and abroad, Wilson moves around his hometown in relative obscurity. And that, it seems, is the way he likes it.

“I’m exactly where I always was,” he says. “The name of my next record is ‘Flaunting Obscurity,’ and that’s exactly what I’ve always done.”

It’s evident in the way he tours the Augusta Museum of History’s current exhibit, “Thirty Years of Rock and Roll: Photography by Larry Hulst.” In addition to Hulst’s photography, the museum has local music memorabilia on display: A copy of Wilson’s “New Beginnings” album and a poster sit back-to-back with photographs and clippings of James Brown, Steve Morse and Brenda Lee. We pause in front of Wilson’s display.

“What do you think?” I ask.

“I don’t,” he replies, with a grin.

Wilson slowly walks around the perimeter of the room, looking not so much at the quality of the photography, but at Hulst’s subjects, occasionally punctuating the silence with a whispered, “I know him,” “I’ve met her,” or “He’s a nice guy, excellent songwriter.”

Wilson’s voice is so quiet, the only other viewer of the exhibit doesn’t bother to turn around. If he did, he would notice that the legend immortalized in the glass case he’s looking at is standing right behind him.

We spend another half-hour or so exploring the rest of the museum, and Wilson has his own story to tell about almost everything on display. Some of the pieces remind him of his youth in Augusta: the old-fashioned gas pumps, a trolley car, a radio station broadcast booth.

But that’s to be expected. Wilson is, first and foremost, a storyteller, and that’s what he does best. His albums

are chock-full of tales of the South, slices of a culture that represents one facet of Americana. On a CD reissue of his first two albums, “New Beginnings” and “Let Me Sing My Song to You,” Wilson’s rich, deep voice weaves tales of family, Southern locales infused with atmosphere and

“

BY LISA JORDAN

ing troubadour.

“I didn’t get a guitar till I was 30,” he says, sitting back in his chair. “I’ve learned absolutely alone.”

In the nearly 30 years since the release of Wilson’s first album, the same period of time encompassed by the Augusta Museum of History’s exhibit, a lot has

ARTISTS THAT ARE SONG INTERPRETERS – THAT KIND OF MUSIC JUST RISES ABOVE THE OTHERS. I’M DELIGHTED WHEN I HEAR IT RISE FROM THE TOP 30.

even the girl-chasing of Wilson’s college days. The introductions to some of the songs are composed of minimal instrumentation and spoken details.

Later, over a cup of coffee and a chocolate chip cookie Wilson was generous enough to share, he tells more stories, including how he gave up a regular ol’ job for the life of a wander-

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changed in the music world, and Wilson’s witnessed the evolution (or devolution, depending on your point of view) of the music industry.

“Rock ‘n’ roll was beginning its death knell when I got into music, in the late ‘70s,” he says. “(The record companies) made contracts (with artists) that I don’t think they could sell enough

albums to get back the amount of money that they paid. I think the reason people are successful now is because the thing is market-driven, when it used to be music-driven.”

Wilson pauses for a moment and cocks his head, listening to the song playing at the Metro Coffeehouse. It’s Sheryl Crow’s “If It Makes You Happy.”

“I know this girl,” he says, before continuing to talk about the changes he’s seen in the music business. When Wilson speaks about the other musicians he knows, it feels as if he’s talking in footnotes about friends old and new.

“The radio used to determine what hit music was,” says Wilson. “If you paid radio to play music, you’re breaking the law. Now just a package comes in.

I can’t relate to – how does a record that no one’s heard of come in No. 1?”

Especially with artists out there, he says by way of example, like Norah Jones, whose debut album “Come Away With Me” took 45 weeks to reach the No. 1 spot. “To see that kind of thing happening, to see someone that young delving back a couple of generations and not doing hits, but snatching something obscure.”

The best musicians, Wilson says, are “Artists that are song interpreters – that kind of music just rises above the others. I’m delighted when I hear it rise from the top 30.”

Far from being a disadvantage, obscurity can, in the music world, foster artistic integrity. Instead of making music for a profit-driven industry and the mass consumerism that automatically follows, these musicians craft songs out of love.

“That’s one of the great advantages of obscurity,” says Wilson. “Obscurity is a welcome thing to me still, in the world where we live. To be obscure artistically in that kind of environment is a compliment to me.”

And, he says, “Certain kinds of music aren’t even trying anymore. … The market now decides. I don’t know what percentage of the audience is planted

49 M E T R O S P I R I T J A N 3 0 2 0 0 3

for the camera scans. That may be a bit cynical, but it can be sour grapes.”

But as he’s talking, Wilson is smiling. He shrugs and says, “If it has to be put in the blender from time to time, all of us have to have patience. But I love to see this town – look where we’re sitting. There’s live music in all directions. People are coming down to hear, in these few blocks, a lot of different things.”

By the time darkness and midwinter chill begin to set in, it’s time to head back. Wilson drops me off at The Spirit offices with a folder of photographs and news clippings. Before handing it over, he thumbs through the materials, reading a few fragments out loud.

When one passage refers to him as “the very

talented Larry Jon Wilson,” he skips the “very talented” part.

He shouldn’t.

On Feb. 7, Wilson will give a rare hometown performance. In conjunction with the Augusta Museum of History’s exhibit, the museum is staging a series of unplugged concerts. Wilson, the first musician in the series, plays at 6:30 p.m. at the museum, and reservations are required. Other upcoming concerts sponsored by the museum are a Feb. 12 performance by Jeff Barnes as Elvis and the “Legends” concert featuring a Beatles tribute band March 8 at the Imperial Theatre. For tickets and information, call the museum at 722-8454.

MUSIC

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BY TURNER

S P I R I T

Gentleman's Club

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NOW HIRING!

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

580 Broad Street 823-2040

O

ne Sunday night around 10 years ago, I was on the air broadcasting a Mad Music Asylum show when I received a very strange request. It was for a new song called “Hold My Hand” from a group that had one of the worst names I had ever encountered. There was just no way that a group called HOOTIE AND THE BLOWFISH could ever be taken seriously, much less actually making it big in the biz.

That evening I aired the tune (which featured terrific backing vocals from DAVID CROSBY) that eventually turned out to be the lead single from one of the biggest albums of the ‘90s. “Cracked Rear View” sold over 10 million copies and sported two more monster hits, “Let Her Cry,” and “Only Wanna Be With You.” Throughout 1994 and 1995, Hootie was the biggest thing going at a time when what was then known as “alternative rock” became one with the current mainstream drivel.

So what happened to the Carolina rockers?

No, there hasn’t been any AXL ROSE-type drug-induced spaceouts or tragic accidents involving loss of life or limb. Hootie simply burned out. They hit the golf course and several group members (including singer DARIUS RUCKER) got married. A poor sophomore effort, “Fairweather Johnson,” led to the eventual downfall of the band, leaving some to wonder “where are they now?”

In this case, it’s the studio, where the band has teamed up with big-bucks producer DON WAS in recording a new self-titled disc due March 4. Regardless of the results, the band more than likely is toast, especially when you consider the fact that live performances have never been their strong suit. It’s tough to repeat success, especially when you’re considered last year’s model, and in this case the flavor of the month actually wasn’t that good in the first place.

176 Keys Dept.

BILLY JOEL and ELTON JOHN are hitting the road once again for a three month tour of the States. The two piano men, rapidly becoming the FERRANTE & TEICHER of their generation, have a March 14 date set for the fabulous new Carolina Center in Columbia. The pair have been sharing stages all over the world since 1994. John also has two solo gigs lined up Feb. 18-19 in Atlanta that will benefit the Elton John Aids foundation.

AUDIOSLAVE, the new supergroup comp osed of members from SOUNDGARDEN and RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, begins a short U.S. tour next month. A March 9 show is set

Life is hectic. Weekends shouldn't have to be. Join Scott Simon for Weekend Edition every Saturday at 8:00 AM on WACG, 90.7 FM. Reclaim your Saturday and hear weekend news, views, and commentary. From

BY

AUDIOSLAVE

for Atlanta’s Tabernacle, as the band is busy supporting their debut album, which contains their modern rock hit “Cochise.” Vocalist CHRIS CORNELL remains one of the stronger frontmen in music today, and the band is simply white-hot in a live setting.

One of the cooler sites that I’ve come across lately on the Web is setlist.com. This site is full of actual setlists from most of the bigger acts currently on tour. Wanna see what tunes PHISH played last night? Are you curious to see if THE ALLMAN BROTHERS are varying their shows much these days? You can even see what concertgoers have to say about specific shows. Check it out.

Super Sunday ll Dept.

It’s Mad Music Asylum Sunday, Feb. 2, beginning at 7 p.m. on WEKL-FM 102.3.

Join yours truly as we spotlight tunes from your favorite rockers, straight from our infamous dusty vaults. Tired of the same old rock tunes? Tune in this Sunday, as we’ll accept all of your requests, suggestions, threats and bribes. We’ll even have free passes to Augusta’s historic Forest Lawn Drive-in Theater for all of our knowledgeable Rock and Roll Jeopardy and Mystery Tour Mystery Tune contest winners. Wanna see your spouse and kids again? OK, then what about the kids? Be there.

Turner’s Rock and Roll Jeopardy: A. This rocker once performed solo in Augusta, backed only by a reel-to-reel tape player.

Q. Who is Todd Rundgren?

ED TURNER

gardening tips and film reviews to in-depth news analysis, Peabody Award-winning host Scott Simon eases you into the weekend with a fresh

Photo of Scott Simon by Lisa Berg

perspective.

Call us at (800) 654-3038 or visit us at www.gpb.org for more information about our programming.

Visit us online. For all the latest in Arts, Entertainment and Local Events. Visit our website at metspirit.com.

Hangnail Gallery Happenings

A

ndrew Benjamin has been quite a busy guy lately. That’s understandable – and it’s certainly not hard to believe, given Benjamin’s many roles in the Augusta arts community.

As the man behind the oddities you’ll find going on in, at, and around the Hangnail Gallery, Benjamin has been busy planning musical events and bringing other kinds of entertainment to the club. Working with the newly formed Eighth Street Contingent, Benjamin is aiming to bring a different kind of First Friday to downtown (see Rhonda Jones’ article on First Friday’s battered corpse, p. 38, for more details on this end of Benjamin’s work). When he’s not heading the innovative pirate blues group known in these parts as the Hellblinki Sextet, he’s creating visual art.

Some of that art will be on display come Feb. 7. It’s part of the Hangnail Gallery’s First Friday celebration.

Benjamin’s visual art, just like his music, isn’t your typical artistic fare. All manner of funky-looking creatures inhabit the world Benjamin has created on the canvas. Look closely, and you’ll see they’re

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BY LISA JORDAN

up to some pretty wild stuff. It’s something you’re just going to have to see for yourself to believe.

In addition to artwork, the Hangnail Gallery plans to hold a thing called Open Mic Oddities on First Friday, an event they’ve staged on First Fridays past, but are working to bring back. The basic idea, Benjamin said during a brief visit to The Spirit offices, is to hold an open mic night that deviates from the typical guywith-a-guitar act you might see at a regular ol’ open mic night. So if you hang around long enough, you might see some talents you never in a million years thought you’d bear witness to. There will also be a performance by Incidental Orchestra, and fire (outside, weather permitting) by Pyroteque. The festivities begin at 9 p.m., and the Hangnail won’t be the only Eighth Street spot hosting some out-of-the-ordinary fun. It’s shaping up to be an interesting First Friday in Andrew Benjamin’s corner of the world.

And That’s Not All …

Of course not. The Hangnail’s got something planned the weekend before First Friday. (That’s this upcoming week-

M E T R O S P I R I T

end, for those of you who haven’t purchased your 2003 calendars yet.) They’ve also got events planned for the weekends following First Friday.

This weekend, on Friday, Jan. 31, the Hellblinki Sextet isn’t the only act to take the stage at the Hangnail Gallery. Cycle joins the bill. Shell, who is, as of now, booked to play the Hangnail again in late February and late March, is also scheduled to play that night.

On Feb. 15, Lovefest is planned. We’re not yet sure exactly what that is, but we suspect it’s something you and your unique valentine will enjoy, so ditch the heart-shaped boxes of chocolate and get on down there.

And there’s more on the horizon. Feb. 21 sees the Jaded Luxury Industrial-Goth event come to the hangnail, with a live performance by Urn and spinning by DJs Telal, Wicked Goth and Kantrip. The Independents play Feb. 22.

For more information about upcoming events at the Hangnail, call the gallery at 722-9899, or visit www.hellblinki.com/hangnail.

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Photo: Jeff Miles

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

Night Life

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Thursday, 30th Cafe Du Teau - Buzz Clif ford Club Argos - Karaoke Night Coliseum - Karaoke with High-Energy Dance Music Continuum - Playa*Listic Thursday Coyote’s - The Rhes Reeves Band D. Timm’s - Joe Patchen and the Blue Diamond Express Eagle’s Nest - Karaoke with DJ MJ Fox’s Lair - Karaoke Garden City Bar and Grill - Karaoke with Mad Dog Mike Greene Streets - Karaoke Joe’s Underground - Michael Baideme Michael’s - Marilyn Adcock Modjeska - Three Six ty, DJ Ryan Mar tin Playground - Open Mic Night with Doug James of 420 Outback The Shack - DJ Billy Time Piecez - DJ Dance Par ty Whiskey Junction - DJ Chaos

Friday, 31st Blind Pig - Shameless Dave and the Miracle Whips Borders - Will McCranie Cadillac’s - New Day Cafe Du Teau - Buzz Clif ford Club Argos - Special Guest Enter tainer Coconuts - DJs Doug and Eric Coliseum - Nicole Rober ts Continuum - Jemani Cotton Patch - John Kolbeck Coyote’s - The Rhes Reeves Band Crossroads - Black-Eyed Susan D. Timm’s - Joe Patchen and the Blue Diamond Express Five Pines Saloon - The Hard Times Band Fox’s Lair - Roger Enevoldsen Garden City Bar and Grill - Karaoke Greene Streets - Karaoke Hangnail Gallery - Shell, Hellblinki Sex tet, Cycle

Highlander - DJ Ty Bess Honk y Tonk - Danny Rhea and the Empty Pockets Joe’s Underground - Keith “Fossill” Gregory Last Call - Tony Howard, DJ Richie Rich Michael’s - Marilyn Adcock Modjeska - DJ Boriqua The Shack - DJ Buckwheat Soul Bar - Disco Hell Tops Lounge - The Inhibitors Whiskey Junction - D.B. Bryant Band Whiskey Road Oyster Factory - Weston & Preston

Saturday, 1st Blind Pig - Shameless Dave and the Miracle Whips Borders - Josh Pierce, The Silent Child Orchestra Cadillac’s - New Day Cafe Du Teau - Buzz Clif ford Capri Cinema - The Green Goblyn Project, The Super villains Club Argos - Cabaret Show Coconuts - DJs Doug and Eric Coliseum - Rabionne Starr Continuum - DJ Divine Starr Cotton Patch - Sabo and the Scorchers Coyote’s - The Rhes Reeves Band Crossroads - Lokal Loudness Music Awards D. Timm’s - Joe Patchen and the Blue Diamond Express Five Pines Saloon - The Hard Times Band Fox’s Lair - Roger Enevoldsen Garden City Bar and Grill - Karaoke with Mad Dog Mike Greene Streets - Karaoke Honk y Tonk - Danny Rhea and the Empty Pockets Joe’s Underground - Red-Headed Stepchild Last Call - Tony Howard, DJ Richie Rich Michael’s - Marilyn Adcock Modjeska - Saturday Night Fever Costume Par ty The Shack - DJ Buckwheat Soul Bar - Last Night a DJ Saved My Life with The Ear thling, Shawnee

Singer-songwriter David Gray visits Atlanta’s Fox Theatre Feb. 4 in support of his latest album, “A New Day at Midnight.”

Whiskey Junction - D.B. Bryant Band

Sunday, 2nd Cafe Du Teau - Buzz Clif ford and The Last Bohemian Quar tet Pizza Joint - Patrick Blanchard The Shack - Karaoke with Buckwheat and Doober Somewhere in Augusta - Doug and Henry Whiskey Junction - Will Austin

Monday, 3rd Coliseum - Q.A.F. Continuum - Monday Madness with Perry Anderson Crossroads - Club Sin Dance Par ty with DJ Chris Greene Streets - Karaoke Joe’s Underground - John The Shack - DJ Billy

Tuesday, 4th

Black-Eyed Susan has two dates with Crossroads this week – Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. The Feb. 1 show is part of the Lokal Loudness Music Awards; guitarist Michael Baideme is nominated. You can catch him solo this week as well, Jan. 30 at Joe’s Underground.

Adams Nightclub - Karaoke with Bill Tolber t Coliseum - Tournament Tuesday D. Timm’s - Joe Patchen and the Blue Diamond Express Greene Streets - Karaoke Joe’s Underground - Keith “Fossill” Gregory Metro Coffeehouse - Irish Music Michael’s - Marilyn Adcock The Shack - DJ Billy

Wednesday, 5th Coliseum - Wet ‘n’ Wild Wednesday Continuum - Open Mic Night Coyote’s - The Rhes Reeves Band Crossroads - The Family Trucksters D. Timm’s - Joe Patchen and the Blue Diamond Express Greene Streets - Karaoke Joe’s Underground - Keith “Fossill” Gregory Michael’s - Marilyn Adcock Playground - Karaoke with Dave Long The Shack - DJ Billy Somewhere in Augusta - Patrick Blanchard Soul Bar - Live Jazz

Upcoming Battery - Crossroads - Feb. 12 13th Annual Miss Valentine’s Day Pageant Coliseum - Feb. 14 Jerry Halliday - Club Argos - Feb. 15 Southern Soul Festival - Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center - Feb. 21

Elsewhere Mad Margritt - The Maple Street Mansion, Atlanta - Jan. 30 Todd Rundgren - Roxy Theatre, Atlanta - Jan. 31 Mac McAnally - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta -

continued on page 54

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SEE DETAILS ON PAGE 63

SEE DETAILS ON PAGE 63

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Jan. 31 Avail - Cot ton Club, Atlanta - Jan. 31 Monte Montgomery - Red Light Cafe, Atlanta Feb. 1 Jorma Kaukonen - Variety Playhouse - Feb. 1 Jimmy Buffett - Philips Arena, Atlanta - Feb. 1; The Carolina Center, Columbia, S.C. - Feb. 5 Lyricist Lounge - Cot ton Club, Atlanta - Feb. 2 Malevolent Creation - Masquerade, Atlanta Feb. 2 Elliot - Cot ton Club, Atlanta - Feb. 3 David Gray - Fox Theatre, Atlanta - Feb. 4 Big Head Todd and the Monsters - Roxy Theatre, Atlanta - Feb. 5 Jack Russell’s Great White - Riviera Club, Atlanta - Feb. 5 Trust Company - Masquerade, Atlanta - Feb. 5; 40 Wat t Club, Athens, Ga. - Feb. 6 Swinging Medallions - Cowboys Atlanta, Kennesaw, Ga. - Feb. 7 Ja Rule, Eve, The Roots, Jurassic 5, Biz Markie, MC Doug E. Fresh - Americasmar t, Atlanta - Feb. 7 Austin Lounge Lizards - Red Light Cafe, Atlanta - Feb. 7 Wayman Tisdale, George Duke - Dekalb Atlanta Center, Atlanta - Feb. 7 Dave Matthews Cover Band - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta - Feb. 8 Papa Roach - Eleven50 Club, Atlanta - Feb. 12 Kasey Chambers - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta Feb. 12 Bon Jovi, The Goo Goo Dolls - Philips Arena, Atlanta - Feb. 13 Henry Rollins Spoken Word - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta - Feb. 13 Jump, Little Children - Georgia Theatre, Athens, Ga. - Feb. 13 Marvin Sease - Macon City Auditorium, Macon, Ga. - Feb. 14 Nile - Masquerade, Atlanta - Feb. 14

Juice plays at the Lokal Loudness Music Awards Saturday night at Crossroads. The band has three nominations.

David Allan Coe - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta Feb. 14; Georgia Theatre, Athens, Ga. - Feb. 15 Erykah Badu - The Tabernacle, Atlanta - Feb. 14 Long Beach Short Bus - Masquerade, Atlanta Feb. 15 Juliana Theory - Roxy Theatre, Atlanta - Feb. 18 Mission of Burma - Echo Lounge, Atlanta - Feb. 20 Dirty Dozen Brass Band - Georgia Theatre, Athens, Ga. - Feb. 20; Cot ton Club, Atlanta Feb. 21 George Strait - The Arena at Gwinnet t Center, Duluth, Ga. - Feb. 21 Gary Allan - Cowboys Atlanta, Kennesaw, Ga. Feb. 21

Susan Tedeschi - Rox y Theatre, Atlanta Feb. 22 Steve Earle - Variet y Playhouse, Atlanta Feb. 22 Engelbert Humperdinck - Gaillard Auditorium, Charleston, S.C. - Feb. 26 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - The Arena at Gwinnet t Center, Duluth, Ga. - Feb. 28 Bill Gaither and Friends - Charlot te Coliseum, Charlot te, N.C. - March 7 The Smiling Assassins - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta - March 8 Les Nubians - Cot ton Club, Atlanta - March 8 Grenadier Guards - Fox Theatre, Atlanta -

March 9 Yanni - Philips Arena, Atlanta - March 11 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 or online at w w w.tixonline.com. 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@metspirit.com or lisa_jordan@metspirit.com.

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Readers’ Choice • Michael Brown, 33, was arrested in Marked Tree, Ark., in January and charged with burglarizing the lobby of the Marked Tree Bank after security cameras caught him hauling away a clock radio, a CD player and a handful of Dum-Dum suckers, which the bank has on hand for customers’ children. The next morning, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, police followed a trail of Dum-Dum wrappers down Frisco Street, across the railroad tracks, and into the mobile home park where Brown lives.

rights had been violated during his arrest.

Contrary to the suspect’s contention, O’Keefe said that when Rocky the police dog nuzzled the suspect’s crotch, it was merely a “social gesture” that dogs habitually do, rather than an indecent assault.

• In November, convicted Hawthorne, Calif., rapist Jaime Garcia Padilla, 42, lost his state appeals court case in which he had argued that his girlfriend had unlawfully seized his sperm for testing. The girlfriend’s sister had claimed that it was Padilla who had awakened her at night and raped her in the dark, and Padilla’s girlfriend needed to find out if Padilla was the one. She had consensual sex with Padilla and turned in his sperm to authorities, and it was indeed matched to both women. California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled that Padilla, not having “express(ed) any further interest” in his semen at the time that he ejaculated with the girlfriend, “basically lost all possessory interest in (it),” and cited Roe v.

Wade as legal authority.

• A family court judge in White Cloud, Mich., ruled in November for Kristin Hanslovsky, who in a child-custody dispute had tried to prevent her ex-husband, Jonathan Fowler (a member of the Native American Church of the Morning Star), from letting their 4-year-old son use peyote in ceremonies at the church. Fowler said the 4-year-old should decide for himself if he wanted to use peyote, which Fowler personally credited for helping overcome his own alcoholism and to “come into contact with God.” • The town of Recklingshausen, Germany (near Cologne), which operates a zoo, found out in November that it could not summarily fire its zookeeper, even though it had caught him barbecuing and eating seven of his animals (five Tibetan mountain chickens and two sheep from Cameroons). After a labor court hearing, the town was forced to comply with German law and give the zookeeper six months’ severance pay.

• New York City criminal court judge Gerald Harris ruled in October that drug suspect Vincent Cooper’s rights were violated when a police officer pinched his cheeks, causing four bags of marijuana to fall out. The arresting officer had asked Cooper what he was doing in a notorious drug neighborhood, and when Cooper allegedly mumbled an answer, the officer attempted to clear Cooper’s mouth so he could understand him.

Latest Cutting-Edge Research

People Different From Us

• A study by psychology professor Barry Jones (Glasgow University) found that men and women who have had three beers perceive people of the opposite sex as 25 percent more attractive than they did before they started drinking (August). And, writing in the Journal of Clothing, Science and Technology, a Southampton University (England) physicist found that many women wear the wrong-size bra because retailers commit a math error known as “spurious rounding” when converting bust and ribcage size to bra size (December). And studies at Jikei University (Tokyo) found that people who employed seven rules for good health (e.g., adequate sleep, no smoking) had about 6 percent higher blood pressure than people who were not so concerned about their health (October).

• The Boston Globe profiled homeless philosopher Donald Keaney, 61, in December, describing his Walden-like existence in the woods near Brookline, Mass.

Keaney lives under a plastic tarp, warmed by several heavy blankets, but the rest of his possessions consist of about 10 years’ worth of newspapers (New York Times, New York Daily News, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, Investors Business Daily, Boston Globe and Boston Herald) that are methodically filed and sealed in plastic bags and strewn around the ground as if they were chairs and tables. Keaney, a political conservative, also attends protests, lectures and concerts, and, by the way, has long been the beneficiary of a trust fund which he has chosen so far to ignore.

“Living in the woods, you can see life is very tragic,” he told the Globe. “I don’t know if I’m a misanthrope, but (people) have a lot of limitations.”

— Chuck Shepherd © United Press Syndicate

News of the

Weird A

Montana district judge ruled in January that for a homicide suspect with apparent multiple personalities, exercise of a Miranda right by one of them carries over to all the others. Tessa Haley lawyered up when police sought to question her about the stabbing death of her roommate, and though police questioning ceased, Haley transformed into “Martha” and spontaneously confessed to the crime, according to officers. Judge Thomas Honzel ruled that Martha’s statements could not be used against Haley (although Haley is still free under existing law to argue that she is not responsible for Martha’s crime).

• Among the fashions introduced at the seasonal shows in Milan, Italy, in January was British designer Vivienne Westwood’s “Man” collection, featuring male-only items with frilly cuffs and sleeves and bonnet-like scarves, along with tight, knit sweater sets and jumpers worn over male models’ fake breasts. Westwood (a pioneer of punk clothing in the 1970s) said her design had something to do with “how men are so attached to the breast of their mother, a symbol of eternal warmth.”

Latest Rights • Australian Supreme Court Justice Barry O’Keefe rejected the challenge of a drugpossession suspect in November that his

55

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Brezsny's Free Will Astrology ARIES (March 21-April 19)

“A man is rich in proportion to the things he can afford to let alone,” said Henry David Thoreau.

That might be an exaggerated definition of wealth at most other times, Aries, but it’s quite apropos for you right now. There’s never been a better time for you to declare total amnesty for everyone who’s ever slighted you. Forgiving and forgetting would not just be a nice thing to do; it would serve your ambitions in ways you cannot yet foresee. (Plus you would get some free kisses and hugs.)

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Years ago I lived in a run-down old house in rural North Carolina. At $50 a month, the rent was steep considering that there was no running water and most of the windows were broken when I moved in. My bathtub was a bucket I dipped into a well and filled with water that I heated up on my puny gas stove. When my food stamps ran out each month, I’d ride my one-speed bike six miles to the cafeteria at a local college, where I scavenged scraps that students left behind on their plates. I hope this vignette inspires you, Taurus, to recall in detail the lowest, most deprived period of your life. It’s time to take inventory of how far you’ve come — and to imagine a future that’s as much an improvement over now as now is over then.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

The Gemini who drove me to the airport told me that when he’s not putting in 60 hours a week driving a cab, he’s working on a screenplay that has garnered interest from two agents. Meanwhile, the Gemini woman who operates the carousel at the zoo confided that before she comes to work each morning she spends an hour writing grants that could help her start a tutoring program for homeless kids. I have a message for them and for all you other Geminis whose big dreams haven’t been getting anywhere near your full attention: It’s time to kick a labor of love into high gear; to

transform a hobby into a vocation; to take a giant step towards graduating from your amateur status and turning pro.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)

When will your swirling urges for adventure boil over, Cancerian? When will it become impossible for you to keep ignoring the call of illuminating temptations and exotic sanctuaries? When will you finally give in to your longing to escape and wander? The astrological omens suggest the turning point will come soon. They say that in the frontiers of your imagination, the vision of a brave quest is already simmering. Where will the mysterious awakening lead you? To the ends of the earth? To the secret heart of a familiar stranger?

To the gritty depths of your dreams of the future?

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

Hold your breath as you stick out your tongue in front of a heart-shaped mirror and howl like a lonely wolf. Jump up and down on a bed with your pajamas on inside out as you laugh like a horny hyena and try to lick your left elbow. Apply edible, jalapeno-flavored body paint to your thighs as you pant like an exuberant dog and listen to the song “Love Is the Drug.” Rub the head of a match covered with caramel on your ear lobe as you recite passages from your favorite holy book in your sexiest voice. And then, Leo, dream up even more techniques for getting yourself in the mood to try wilder, looser, funnier love.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

You’re starting to resemble the fruit of a prickly pear cactus: covered with sharp, inedible spikes on the outside but soft and delectable in your hidden places. There’s probably a good reason for this, so I won’t ask you to change. Don’t be surprised or upset, though, if people act as if they’ve been stung when they brush up against you. And if you care about them, be quick to let them know how to work around the thorny exterior and get to the good parts within.

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Page 6142 SEESeePAGE

New York Times Crossword Puzzle

56

ACROSS Big drops Small intake Rib British medical journal, with “The” 15 One of the Aleutian Islands 17 Debut of Sherlock Holmes 19 Seeker’s question 20 Understands, slangily 21 Need to pay 22 In ___ (isolated) 24 1st, 2nd and 3rd, e.g.: Abbr.

26 60’s TV kid 29 Henry James biographer Edel 31 Freezing 35 Headed 36 Debut of Kinsey Millhone 38 Distributes, as tasks 1 7 10 14

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

You’re looking especially fine. If you’re ever in your life going to be asked to do a modeling job, it might be this week. You also smell really good right now, Libra, and your pheromones are unusually enticing. I’m betting you’ll attract more than your usual number of interested parties. A cautionary note: Even though your exceptionally radiant and fragrant persona may bring you joy and attention, it could also cause a bit of confusion. Not everyone who comes under your spell will know who you really are or what they want from you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

In the coming week, Scorpio, I suggest that you allow yourself the luxury of moving like a Galapagos tortoise. Or check into a motel in a small town where no one knows you and do nothing but lie around and read books that will change your life. Or give yourself permission to sample 15 different flavors of ice cream during a picnic in your warm living room in the company of a deepthinker who would never judge or criticize you. Or induce a waking dream, a kind of do-it-yourself movie-in-your-mind’s-eye, in which you audition potential muses who’d like to play a starring role in your inspirations a few weeks from now.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

Last week I urged you to be inspired by sevenyear-old Sagittarian Michael Wong-Sasso, who celebrated his birthday party at his favorite spot, a garbage dump. I hope you treated yourself and your allies to a Purge the Junk Party. There’s another element of Michael’s story that’s apropos to your life right now. It seems that his mother often hears from critics who think she should redirect her son’s passion away from trash. Her response: “Some people say, ‘Why don’t you steer Michael in a different direction?’ My answer is, this is his passion. Whatever his interest is, I support it.” I’d like you Sagittarians to give yourself this same unconditional support in the coming weeks. Be your own perfect mother. Nurture and don’t judge the fascinations that are ripening in you, even if others regard them as dross.

wrinkles. And yet I hate to be just another media parasite exploiting the disposable issue-of-themoment. The truth is more important to me than what’s popular. You’re a lot like me in this regard, Capricorn. And sometimes that interferes with your ability to enjoy the fringe benefits of good old frivolous nonsense. But you don’t have to worry about any of that now. Your commitment to what’s authentic and long-lasting will serve you well in the coming weeks.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

The angel Gabriel has played a role in stories dear to three major religions. He was a heavenly advisor to the Old Testament Jewish prophet Daniel.

He gave the word to Mary that she was pregnant with a soul who’d call himself the “Son of God.” And he delivered the entire text of the Koran to Mohammed, founder of Islam. While I’m not necessarily saying you’ll be visited by this versatile angel, Aquarius — but then again, who knows? — I do predict you’ll at least have a close brush with an influence that awakens you to mind-blowing truths. Like Gabriel, this influence will deliver insights that are beyond the grasp of your current beliefs; to understand them, you’ll have to temporarily put aside your theories about how the world works.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

“Dear Dr. Brezsny: I hate to be stood up by any man I’m dating, but I usually don’t take it personally. And if a woman friend stands me up, I’m almost always pretty forgiving. Lately, though, I’ve had to endure a new version of this crap: God Himself has stood me up twice. It’s hard not to come to the conclusion that there’s something wrong with me. Do you have any insight, O Wise Guy? -Paranoid Pisces.” Dear Paranoid: God’s not being mean; He’s merely trying to motivate you.

He wants you to get so mad that you’ll push through your passivity, and never again put up with anyone making promises they don’t keep.

— © Rob Brezsny You Can Call Rob Brezsny, day or night, for your Expanded Weekly Horoscope

1-900-950-7700

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

I’m ambivalent toward trends. To be of service to my readers, I have to stay abreast of the latest

40 Bun toppers 41 Debut of Philip

64 Samuel

Barber’s “___ for Strings” 65 Door fixture 66 Brown with His Band of Renown 67 Render harmless, in a way

Marlowe 43 Haughty outburst 44 Fail ignominiously 45 “Stop rowing” command 46 Comfortable, as accommodations DOWN 47 Blue 1 Dig sans tools 49 World Cup 2 Work (out) legend 3 Table payment Maradona 4 Winding road 51 Milk source for section Romano cheese 5 Daughter of King Aeëtes 54 First capital of the kingdom of 6 Bay of pigs?

Italy 7 Option not available in a 56 “Camelot” convertible composer 8 ___ many words 60 Debut of Lew Archer 9 Smokers’ units 10 Disturb 63 Black Canyon carver, with 11 Christiania, now “the” 12 Bias 13 More than ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE antipathy C H E S T T A M E S C A T 16 Closing moment R O V E R E T A L H A N A 18 Weak yes I R A Q I R O M E A D D L 23 React to some T A D C O M P A C T D I S C static I C E M E N S T U L O U 25 Ward on TV C E D E E A R S L A L O M 26 Declaim T A P P E T A M A N 27 Ottoman C A R M E C H A N I C Empire A U L D R A I L E D governor A L L S E T P S T S P E C 28 Miniature photo, R A D N E T H E T E R O maybe C R E A T E H A V O C E R G 30 Leader’s aid H U S H O R C A A P L A N 32 Transitional I M A M F E E S S I E N A state E S C E F E S T H A R D C 33 Girder

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$1.99 per minute • 18 & over • Touchtone phone required • C/S 612-373-9785 • www.freewillastrology.com/

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Puzzle by Patrick Berry

34 Like good

gossip columnists 36 Bolshevik, e.g.

37 Kyle ___, “The Terminator” hero 39 Wading bird 42 Unmanageable horses, in the Southwest

46 Triumphant

shout 48 2001 British Open champion David ___ 50 Clearing 51 Do work on glass, say 52 Shout from a coach 53 Slender fish

55 Depend (on) 57 Frozen food

brand

58 Peter who

directed “The Truman Show” 59 Town on the Thames 61 Heavy-duty locks?

62 Smidgen

For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.20 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-814-5554.

Annual subscriptions are available for the best of Sunday crosswords from the last 50 years: 1-888-7-ACROSS. Online subscriptions: Today's puzzle and more than 2,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/diversions ($19.95 a year).

Crosswords for young solvers: The Learning Network, nytimes.com/learning/xwords.

57 M E T R O

!"#$%&$'()*+(),+(-)+(--+(-.+(-/(&01(2&$34() <&**/182?2RKSK222.G0E82-2RKSK T)(/*:&*/+2<)B2.R/@&)(U22V0A12+R/@&)(2+0S/0*/ 1/@/&'/+2@)*;B82)210+/2)*;2S01/2):2*02/P:1)2@G)1O/U !"#$%&'&(&)*+ !,-$./*&01+23452620'/17829/:&1//+82)*;2<=2%&'&(&)*+ !>?$=@:&'/2<A:B2C?262D/(0EF !>#$.G0E2H*(BF 3F*0:2)')&()I(/2J/IK2>LK2MG/+/2:&@N/:+2)')&()I(/20*(B2:G10AOG2I0P20QQ&@/K7

I

am a single guy, 39. I’ve noticed that, since about 13 years ago, I always seem to be dating older women. I, in no way, plan this — it just always seems to work out that way. I have no intention of getting serious with these women, but they often want a serious relationship with me, and it becomes a problem. How do I avoid this in the future?

—Spring Chicken Apparently, there are gangs of elderly women on the loose. When they aren’t challenging skate punks to tur f wars, or popping wheelies with their walkers, it seems they’re clocking guys like you on the head with their canes and dragging them back to Senior Acres. Yes, one moment, you’re making the moves on some young chickie; the nex t, you’re waking up hog-tied with a pair of suppor t hose, being given away at bingo.

You can’t be the only middle-aged man victimized by these gangs of lit tle old ladies. Surely, there are suppor t groups for your kind — maybe “Men Who Can’t Say No to a Lady With Liver Spots” — for the poor men who eventually find themselves strangely compelled to throw themselves at the (aching) feet of Aunt Bea and friends: “He’s mine, Florence, you old bag!”

“Out ta my way, Beatrice. You’re not sinking your dentures into that boy!”

“Back off, girls! Studboy is mine!”

Hmmm. Must be something in their Metamucil.

But, what’s your excuse? Perhaps you secretly long to add the element of danger to sex — say, the danger that your date will break her hip if she has it. Or, maybe you’re hot to go to bed with a woman whose mat tress comes equipped with guard rails that look like they were yanked off the side of the highway. Or, perhaps you’re doing it for historical reasons; maybe because you find it fascinating to spend time with a woman who was around when the president was shot — President Lincoln, that is.

Just don’t be dating older women for duller reasons — like that you’ll do anything to blacken the blank spots at dinner time in your day planner.

(Dating while uninterested until something bet ter comes along and trips over your date’s or thopedic shoes.) Charming. With full disclosure, this wouldn’t be such a big deal. But, the women you’re dating obviously assume you’re with them because you think they’re babes, not bait.

This brings us to the big question: On occasions when you aren’t kidnapped by the bridge club, how do you end up on dates with older

women? (Hold on while I channel Socrates ...)

Uh, you ask them? Or fail to decline when they ask you?

It’s time you put a lit tle selectivity into your date selection process. This means coming up with, and sticking to, minimums for what you want in a woman — from the deeply super ficial to the super ficially deep, and beyond. Say, for example, you aren’t at tracted to girls a day over 27. If you recognize this as one of your dating minimums, you’ll know bet ter than to be so cruel as to ask out 28-year-olds. This isn’t to say you necessarily have a chance with 27-year-olds, or even 28-year-olds. Just that it isn’t fair to use those old, spent 28-year-olds as social filler material.

Forget the notion that you should try to be open-minded. We’re hard-wired for what we’re at tracted to — which, in your case, is probably women who call you “Gramps” behind your back. Oh, well. As the saying goes — whatever revs your golf car t, bounces your adjustable bed, and makes your hear t-lung machine go pit terpat ter.

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FOR TICKETS CALL 733-2512 INSPIRING ALL GIRLS TO BE STRONG, SMART & BOLD

I’m a 40-year-old, single, urban, homosexual male. I responded to a personals ad, which was placed by an amazing guy I’ve actually seen in a social setting, but have never approached. Now, he wants to meet. Unfortunately, I have tremendous job stress now, as I inherited an important project — two months of work, really, that must be completed in 10 days. I’m home, working nonstop, feeling stressed, depressed, and unpresentable. How do I go out with him without coming off that way?

—Temporarily Underwhelming This is dating, not customer service. Calls needn’t be answered in the order they were received. Even if you crawl out from under the empty pizza boxes, shower, shave and fumigate, you’ll still come off like something that should be strapped down and writ ten about in case studies. (Not good, since you don’t mention anything about him wanting to hook up with a “Ted Kaczynski type.”) Tell him you’d love to go out with him — just as soon as you finish playing Hercules for the nex t 11 days ... thus, giving yourself an ex tra day, post-project, to have a nice, long soak in a vat of Lysol and use chewing gum to fish your self-esteem out of the sewer.

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58

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Miscellaneous For Sale Mahogany End Tables, nice condition been in family for years $70 each. 706-444-8619 (03/27#7973) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Golf Clubs-Taylor Made irons super steel. Rifle shafts reg. flex 3-PW $199, 706-650-7487 (03/27#7972) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– EMACHINES 333cs Computer, keyboard, mouse, speakers, stand. $250 OBO! Call 7962769 after 5pm. (03/27#7971) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Nordic Track, Excellent condition. Comes with video tape and info. $65.00 Small exercise cycle use sit ting in chair, $25.00. 855-5521 (03/27#7970) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Outdoor Furniture, Chase, 3 cushion set te, and chair, sell for $50.00. Cocktail Table, four pedistal base in gold with heavy glass top sell for $75.00, Call 803-649-6658 (03/20#7963) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Computer Workcenter By Sauder with doors.

Holds monitor, CPU., printer, etc. New $499.00 sell for $100.00, Call 803-649-6658 (03/20#7962) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Luxman Phono Preamp was $600 sell $90.

AudioSource SS Five surround sound processor was $200 sell $50.00. Call 706-210-4884.

(03/20#7961) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Computer - 166MHZ Pentium-Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, 56k Modem. Good Condition and internet ready. $250.00, Call Nancy at 803641-0446 (03/13#7951) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Golf Clubs: Biggest Big Ber tha, regular graphite, 10°, $150.00; Adams GT-363 Titanium, regular graphite, 10°, $100.00; Steelhead Plus 7-wood, graphite $90.00; Call Les 860-3387 (03/13#7951)

Miscellaneous For Sale Mounted Deer Head and shoulder 8 point,Very Good Condition $145.00 706-541-0656 (03/13#7950) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Book: Black West Documentary, Pictorial History, 9 & 10 Calvary Buffalo Soldier & more $300, OBO Call, C. Allen 706-560-9782 (03/06#7946) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Commercial Freezer, 1 year old , double door, all stainless steel. $800.00 OBO Barstools 803594-9594 (03/06#7942) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Sears Lawn Tractor L.T. 1000 - 21 Horsepower 46”-cut Used 4 Months - Like New - Original New Price $1,400.00 - Now Only $900.00 OBO. 706-836-3082 (02/27#7941) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Midwest Ferret Cage, 4 ft. tall. 3 Levels. Great Condition. $125.00. 2 Water bot tles are free with cage. Retails for $189.99. Call 706-8540231 (02/20#7932) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Queen Anne Style Dining Room Group, Cherry finish, table, 6 chairs, and china cabinet. $250.00, Call 706-836-3120 (02/13#7927) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Kenwood Stereo, 3 disc CD changer, equalizer, dual casset te player, surround sound speakers and rack. $200.00. Call 706-793-0077 (02/13#7927) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Small Truck Toolbox. Metal with tonneau cover for bed. $50.00, 803-278-2669 (02/06#7919) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 6 New Patio Chairs, Outside - Mar tha Stewar t - Paid $360.00 - Sell $180.00, Call 279-0447 (02/06#7917) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Kindercraft Crib, White enamel wide slats excellent condition. Linen drawer pulls out from underneath w/ mat tress $200.00 Call Kim, 706-733-0031, Leave message. (01/30#7913) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Golf Clubs. Several golf clubs: custom set of irons ($95.00), Mizuno driver ($35.00), 2 fairway woods ($20.00) 706-495-9900 (01/30#7911)

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

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BE MY FRIEND Attractive SWF, 29, 5’7”, 129lbs, brown/brown, N/S, no kids, never married, seeks SWM, 2037, in shape, friendship first, possible LTR. ☎945103 THE LONG RUN SBF, 43, single parent, health service technician, Capricorn, N/S, loves basketball. Seeking BM, 37-47, N/S, for friendship, love, and beyond. ☎872160 HONESTY IS KEY DWF, 38, mother of two/homemaker, loves Bon Jovi, dining out, quiet time at home. Seeking honest, sincere SWM, 38-45. Could it be you? ☎910404 TIRED OF BEING ALONE SWF, 49, 5’9”, 164lbs, Cancer, N/S, social drinker, mother of one, enjoys music, dining out, reading. Seeking SWM, 44-59, N/S, for LTR. ☎890570 SERIOUS ABOUT LIFE SBCF, 50, 165lbs, Scorpio, N/S, church-goer, mother of one, seeks outgoing, christian SBM, 50-60, N/S, with good heart, who is serious, for LTR. ☎885036 OLD-FASHIONED VALUES Honest, relaxed, christian SBF, 56, Aries, N/S, enjoys cooking, dining out, quiet times at home. Seeking marriage-minded, financially secure SBM, 50-56, N/S, for LTR. ☎829149 COMPATIBLE? Funny, smart SBF, 19, fun-loving, friendly, enjoys movies, clubbing, hand holding, dancing. Seeking SM, with like interests and qualities for friendship and possible LTR. ☎701088 TABLE FOR TWO SWF, 57, 5’4”, blond/green, easygoing, outgoing, enjoys cooking, fishing, reading, NASCAR. Seeking honest, respectful S/DWM, 57-65. ☎965851 TRUE: One is a lonely number. DWF, no children, selfsupporting, my physical appearance won’t embarrass you, retired and seeking a loving, truthful, reliable man, 50-75. ☎896701 SWEET AND SINGLE SBF, 30, Scorpio, N/S, student, enjoys quality time, movies, dining out, quiet times. Seeking friendship with SBM, 29-43, for possible LTR. ☎890152 GOOD GIRL Attractive SWF, 38, 5’4”, 145lbs, blonde/hazel, N/S, Pisces, enjoys outdoors. Seeking tall SWM, 30-42. ☎864247 BEACH BUM SBF, 31, with bachelor’s degree in communications, Taurus, N/S, loves dining out, movies, working out, and reading. Seeking man, 26-36. ☎869451 ARE YOU SINCERE? SF, 28, blond/blue, enjoys the gym, time with family and friends. Looking for an honest guy, 26-35, who is not into games. ☎857530 A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN... inside and out. SBF, 26, 5’10’’, light complexion, enjoys movies, music, just having a good time. Seeking honest, sincere man for LTR. ☎861401

ABSOLUTE ALTRUISM SBF, 42, 5’7”, 125lbs, seeks emotionally secure gentleman, 35+, with honor, wit, and wisdom. ☎605946 STRONG WILL SBF, 45, outgoing, attractive, youthful, enjoys writing, music, traveling. Seeking mature, strong-willed SBM, 35-48, for friendship. ☎965893 POSITION AVAILABLE! Mother of two lovely daughters, 34, employed with the Board of Education, seeks SW/HM, 33-48, to begin with friendship and possibly evolve into an LTR. ☎651992 KIND-HEARTED, REAL Petite, green-eyed SWC mother, 39, Scorpio, N/S, seeks WM, 33-45, N/S, to build a love that lasts a lifetime. ☎648419 I’LL COOK Fun-loving, intelligent SBF, 22, Capricorn, N/S, student, mother of three, seeks man, 21-30, to accompany me in life. Kids a plus. ☎647824 IN SEARCH OF MY SOULMATE He must be a tall (5’10”-6’4”), Christian man, 42-55, N/S, who is honest, faithful, devoted and lively. I am a SBPF, 5’6”, 150lbs, and looking for LTR. ☎641005 TAKE IT SLOW SWF, 49, 5’6”, reddish/blonde hair, outgoing personality, wants to build a serious relationship with a SWM. ☎642309 GOOD-HEARTED DWF, 61, 5’9”, honest, neat in appearance, with a good sense of humor. Seeking WM, 6070, who’s honest and caring. ☎574264 LONELY WOMAN SBF, 32, single mom, seeks SWPM, quality military man who has old-fashioned values, financially secure, for LTR. ☎591885

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Monday-Saturday 10am-9pm 2635 Washington Road | Augusta, Georgia 30904 | 706.738.7777 www.windsorjewelers.net SEEKS GENTLEMAN SWF, 29, 5’11”, 145lbs, enjoys outdoors, dining, movies, bowling and quiet evenings at home. Seeking honest SM, 29-39, for LTR. ☎550425 ARE YOU THE ONE? College educated SWF, early 40s, 5’6”, 136lbs, extroverted, enjoys camping, country living, animals, movies, traveling. Seeking same in SWM, 40-50, similar interests. ☎965910 WAITING TO HAPPEN DWF, 45, 5’4”, brown/green, likes sports, music, dining out. Seeking serious, honest, hardworking SWM, 40-55. ☎965902 AN AUTUMN SPECIAL Hard-working WF, 38, 5’4”, 100lbs, blonde/ brown, enjoys biking, watersports, cooking, and travel. Seeking WM, 35-50, for possible LTR. ☎965904

OPEN-MINDED Fun-loving, humorous SF, 18, 5’4”, blond/blue, likes shopping, clubbing, sports. Seeking SM for friendship and casual dating. ☎589903 SENSE OF HUMOR REQUIRED SF, 33, 5’, full-figured, cocoa complexion, looking for friendship leading to relationship with SM, 25-40, who doesn’t play games. ☎579505 MAKE MY HEART LAUGH SBF, 22, 5’8”, 155lbs, part-time student, seeks sensual, kind man with a great heart, for movies, dining out, and open-minded conversation. ☎565120 LONELY HEART Hard-working DWF, 41, 5’5”, 234lbs, brown/ blue, enjoys conversation, music, poetry, cuddling. Seeking DWM, 38-42, who still dreams of that one true love. ☎563879

IF YOU’RE READING THIS... why not give me a call? SWCM, 19, 6’, 185lbs, brown/blue, relaxed attitude, Capricorn, N/S, seeks WF, 19-25, N/S, for possible LTR. ☎938173 OLD-FASHIONED GUY SHM, 34, 5’4”, 170lbs, Virgo, N/S, writes and loves country western music, helping the homeless, church. Seeking SHF, 32-36, N/S, with similar interests. ☎835306

WORLD RECORD GENTLEMAN Fun-loving, financially secure, happy-go-lucky, new to area DWM, 70, Scorpio, social drinker, N/S, seeks to meet a lady-like SWF, 50-70, N/S, for companionship and possible committed relationship. Loves travel, beaches. ☎113357 ARE YOU LONESOME? SM, 37, 6’5’’, 350lbs, would like to meet a nice female, 18-40, to get to know first. Let’s see where this leads! ☎780940 SINGLE TOO LONG SWM, 35, 5’10”, curly/hazel, in good shape, loves kids, cooking, movies, animals. Seeking WF, 25-42, fun and witty. ☎945669 MY DEMANDS ARE SIMPLE SBM, 34, seeks a relationship with a faithful and honest BF, 28-39, smoker, for an honest relationship. ☎949160 IT TAKES TWO SBM, 33, Gemini, N/S, enjoys art, jazz, classical music, hiphop. Seeking SBF, 23-43, for shared interests in music, life, and happiness. ☎941377 LET’S MAKE A CONNECTION Laid-back, easygoing, employed SBM, 48, seeks similar SB/WF, 30-60, into music, dining out, spending quality time together. There’s no need to be lonely! ☎919786 LOOK ME UP Well-educated, professional SWM, 45, no children, never married, enjoys boating, fishing, camping and exploring life. Seeking SF, with similar interests, for fun and friendship. ☎898023 A REAL MAN Handsome SBM, 39, compassionate, financially secure, seeks romantic, attractive, compassionate BF, 21-45, for romantic dinners, movies, walks along the beach, true friendship, LTR. ☎920361

Stud Finder YOU HAVE 6 NEW MATCHES

A GOOD-HEARTED WOMAN Honest SWF, 5’4”, long dark brown/hazel, would like to meet a trustworthy SWM for a good, honest, open relationship. I smoker, so another smoker is preferred. Grovetown. ☎111411

SINCERE BEAUTY Sophisticated SBCF, 23, 5’2”, 140lbs, interested in seeking educated, independent, employed SBM, 23-30, long walks, stimulating conversation, friendship, dating, more. ☎849311 GENUINE GEMINI Sweet SWF, 21, 6’, in medical field, enjoys Nascar, long walks. Seeking tall SWM, 25-35, with similar interests. Friendship first, possible LTR. ☎848654 I LIKE LIFE Single mom, 32, looking for a man with a vibrant personality and a love for living. ☎844138 I’LL WRITE YOU A POEM! SF, 25, 5’4’’, 150lbs, Virgo, enjoys reading, cooking, music, movies. Seeking a man who likes to try new things. ☎841437 WILLING TO MAKE TIME Busy, hard-working SBF, 31, nurse, mother of one, Taurus, N/S, enjoys traveling, walks, shopping. Seeking SBM, 31-39, N/S, for LTR. ☎836074 TAKE A CHANCE Laid-back SF, 30, enjoys dining in/out, going to the movies, church activities. Seeking SM, secure in himself to share those things. ☎767576 BRAINS & BEAUTY Spirited executive SBF, 41, 5’8”, 138lbs, Gemini, enjoys dancing, dining, intellectual conversation, laughter, picnics, adventures.

Seeking humorous, classy gentleman, 35-45, with kindred spirit. ☎751454 SKATE, RIDE, BOWL, ETC. African-American mom, 23, 5’, 159lbs, mother of two, currently in school, looking for honest, trustful family-man, 20s-30s, who’ll give his 100%. ☎751642 I’M YOUR VENUS SWF, 44 (looks younger), 5’, blonde/blue, with a full-figure, seeks HM, 5’5”-6’, who is secure. ☎747133 WORK OF ART Voluptuous SBF, 28, loves fishing, swimming, cooking. Looking for a man with the same passions. ☎747775 IMPORT FROM EUROPE This foreign born SWF, 40, Aries, N/S, seeks a fine BM, 35-50, smoker, for friendship and dating. ☎744559 ATTENTION... your miracle date is in Augusta. SF seeks military male, 28-50, with good qualities and values. Children ok, race open. ☎732101 COMPANIONSHIP DWF, 48, enjoys antiquing, travel, dining out, movies and more. Seeking DWM, 48-58, for loving, tender relationship. ☎732056 AQUARIUS HERE SWF, 18, brown/brown, loves, reading, travel, movies, outdoors. Seeking mature companion with an easygoing attitude, for friendship, possibly more. ☎732141 GOD LOVER Athletic, shy SBF, 33, 5’5”, 160lbs, Gemini, smoker, enjoys church, dining out, cooking, traveling, shopping, reading. Seeking outgoing man, 35-50, smoker, for LTR. ☎709843 NEED A SPARK... try me. Attractive, petite SWF, 57, fun, friendly and affectionate, raising grand children, seeks SWM, mid 50s-60s, trustworthy with open heart, for dining, movies, music. Friendship first. ☎702738 NO GAMES PLEASE DWF, 33, 5’10”, full-figured, brown/hazel, selfemployed mother of three, seeks WM, 25-45, honest, faithful, devoted, for fun, friendship, LTR. ☎680330 TWO PIECES OF A PUZZLE Full-figured, very attractive, independent woman, 31, 5’2”, seeks someone special to spend time with. You: honest, fun-loving, varied interests. ☎685405

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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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To respond to ads using a WAITING ON YOU Clean-cut DWM, 44, 5’4”, brown/hazel, great personality, enjoys dining out, trips to the lake, camping, sports (football, baseball). Searching for young lady, no games, interested in LTR founded on friendship. ☎910547 MY DREAM LADY... is a spontaneous woman with a serious mind and who knows what she wants in life. SBM, 42, believes dreams can come true. ☎907741 MATURE WOMAN WANTED Hardworking DM, 48, brown/green, looking for S/DF, who’s independent, spontaneous, openminded and mature, D/D-free, who knows what she wants in life, for friendship and maybe romance. ☎898762 FUN FOR ALL SWM, 50, seeks intelligent, aware SF, in shape, for indoor and outdoor fun. Looking for a friendship, that may lead to more. ☎902103 PHONE CALL AWAY Self-employed SWM, 40, Pisces, N/S, N/D, enjoys dining out, movies, cooking in, many activities. Seeking similar SWF, 28-45, N/S, to share good times with. ☎882776 LET’S GET IN TOUCH! SWM, 20, Cancer, smoker, enjoys fishing, hunting, walking, playing games. Seeking older woman, 30-60, for possible relationship. ☎888111 LET’S HOOK UP 34-year-old SBM, 5’9”, 180lbs, Aquarius, nurse, bald head, new to area, open-minded, fun-loving, hopeless romantic. Seeking woman who loves to be romanced. ☎849401 SEEKING CHRISTIAN WOMAN Friendly, committed, independent SBCM, 42, 5’11”, enjoys quiet evenings. Seeking attractive, committed, independent SBCF for friendship, possible LTR. ☎796760 WILL SEND PHOTO Peace-loving, dark blonde, 5’11”, 200lbs, friends say handsome, I say ok. Seeking Asian, mulatto, or dark haired american lady, 25-35, no kids, for travel, dining out, plays, and music events. ☎882215 IN NEED OF LOVE, SERIOUS SWM, 44, 6’, never married, blond/blue, Aries, smoker, seeks honest, romantic SWF, 25-38, enjoys sports, country walks, and more, for LTR, marriage. ☎889184 THE PERFECT MATE DBM, 40, 6’, 195lbs, with 1 child, Capricorn, smoker, homeowner, loves gardening, cooking, and hunting. Seeking WF, 28-42, petite, to bedazzling. ☎873556 NOT JUST ANOTHER... stud. DBM, 33, with 3 children, Libra, N/S, seeks a lucky lady, 25-45, N/S, with whom to share quality time. ☎868350 KNOCK-KNOCK, WHO’S THERE? Call me and find out. SWM, 34, Cancer, N/S, loves to tell jokes. Seeking WF, 25-39, N/S, for friendship and relationships. ☎775609 GET IN TOUCH WITH ME SM, 21, 6’3’’, athletic build, student, loves movies, clubs, church. Seeking compassionate, down-to-earth, fun woman. ☎861556 DON’T MISS THIS! SBM, 45, 5’10’’, 230lbs, interested in sports, jazz, movies, dining out. Would like to meet a woman with the same interests. ☎862898 SHOW ME YOUR SMILE SM, 44, enjoys kayaking, cooking, art, biking, exercise, outdoors. Looking for a female, 3450, who has the same kinds of interests. ☎858979 POET SEEKS MUSE SBM, 45, loves all sports, board games, fishing, travel. Seeking a woman to share movies, dining and romance with. ☎843396 DARE TO DREAM Outgoing SBM, 21, 5’9”, 165lbs, Capricorn, N/S, loves going out, outdoors, children.

Seeking SWF, 20-26, N/S, for possible family. ☎835444 EARLY XMAS GIFT Very romantic SBM, 31, 6’1”, 255lbs, Scorpio, N/S, enjoys church, dining out, cooking.

Seeking stable SBF, 25-35, for friendship first, leading to something long-term. ☎837718

LET’S TALK SM, 28, 6’5”, 320lbs, enjoys sports, reading, movies, dining out, travel. Seeking attractive, intelligent, sensual SF, with similar interests, for dating and more. ☎796390 LET YOUR HAIR DOWN SHM, 26, Leo, N/S, lives a regular, clean-cut lifestyle. Seeking a petite, active woman, 1830, sophisticated southern belle, with back woods babe heart. ☎790345 YOU WIN MY HEART SWM, 44, N/S, seeks clean, sincere, honest, intelligent, wise, crafty SBF, 35-45, N/S, for life mate and deep friendship. ☎704669 I’M HERE FOR YOU SM, 42, teacher, seeks honest SF, 21-42, for friendship, possibly more. I like music, movies, conversation. How about you? ☎779153 CALL ME SM, 51, fun-loving, enjoys sporting events, movies, dancing more. Seeking fun woman with similar interests. ☎761290 SEEKS MATURE Spontaneous, sincere SM, 20, seeks older, loving lady, to explore life with, possible LTR. ☎767728 LET’S BE FRIENDS Outgoing, active SM, 31, enjoys sports, traveling, movies, dining out, and fun. Seeking SF,with same interests. ☎769857 HEY LADIES! Outgoing happy SM, 24, 5’6”, 150lbs, slender and fit, brown complexion, braided hair, seeks SF, who’s open-minded and down for whatever. ☎767971 FIT FOR A QUEEN Restaurant manager SWM, 40, 6’, black/green, moustache, enjoys outdoors, hunting, fishing, camping, movies. Seeking big beautiful woman, 25-50. Tell me about you. ☎754399 GREAT CATCH SWM, 53, enjoys church, music, dining out, travel and more. Seeking kind, understanding SCF, with similar interests. ☎732175 CHANGE R LIVES 4 THE BEST Outdoorsy SWM, 57, enjoys fishing, quiet conversation seeks the right woman to be at my side. Let’s accomplish much in life! Looking for a SW/HF, 45-60. ☎718103

BE YOURSELF Honest, caring SM, 47, 5’10”, 220lbs, seeks outgoing, ambitious, down-to-earth man, to share friendship, fun times and maybe more. ☎895468 WHAT’S HAPPENING? SWM, 30, 5’7”, 200lbs, brown/blue, Aries, N/S, seeks BM, 19-35, N/S, outgoing, for friendship first, possible LTR. ☎958402 YOU CAN MAKE MY DAY Male, 60, Cancer, N/S, seeks a WM, 49-65, N/S, for casual relationship. Why not call me? ☎927707 BEYOND SWM, 32, 5’11”, 155lbs, light hair, looking for good time with GM, 18-45, ☎966003 YOU NEVER KNOW Fun-loving, easygoing GWM, 51, 5’11”, 198lbs, enjoys cooking, movies, fishing, walking.

Seeking interesting GWM, 18-33, who’s full of life, for casual relationship, possibly more. ☎676662 DOESN’T PLAY GAMES Unattached GBM, 41, interested in meeting open-minded, fun-loving, honest, truthful, compassionate and loyal GM for LTR. ☎920995 DARK CHOCOLATE SBM, 23, with a dark complexion, wants to go out and have good times with a great guy. ☎917508 CALL ME... you will not be disappointed. SM, 35, Indian, 5’9”, seeks the same. Let’s get together. ☎916175

How do you

COOL WORLD SBM, 22, loves bowling, football, chess. In search of a man who loves the same things. ☎907631 LET’S JUST CUDDLE Lonely GWM, 33, Aries, smoker, enjoys quiet nights, relaxing, being with somebody. Seeking GWM, 20-30, for possible LTR. ☎887748 100% LAID-BACK SBM, 35, 5’11”, brown skin, dark brown eyes, Virgo, smoker, bookworm, loves tv. Seeking masculine, spontaneous BM, 30-45, smoker. ☎958192 I’D LOVE TO MEET! SM, 47, likes dining out, having fun, malls, movies, television. Looking for sincere male for possible relationship. ☎861252 YOU WON’T BE SORRY Real, honest, and sweet GBM, 18, 5’11”, darkskinned, Gemini, N/S, seeks friendly GBM, 1835, not into games. I’m ready for a commitment. ☎831448 NEW TO THIS BiWM, 49, 5’10”, thick, black/blue, Libra, N/S, seeks friendly, fun-loving GWM, 35-65, N/S, for possible LTR. ☎839145 IT’S YOUR CALL GWM, young 46, 5’11”, 200lbs, brown/brown, masculine, outgoing, enjoys travel, dining out, movies, shopping, Nascar. Would like to meet honest, passionate GM, with similar interests, for dating, possible LTR. Serious inquiries only. ☎792384 FREE SPIRIT SBM, 24, loves having fun, enjoys tennis, racquetball, waterskiing. Seeking SM, to share a night out on the town, friendship and maybe a lasting relationship. ☎768054 SHOW ME THE TOWN... and what there is to do around here. Me: SWM, 42, N/S, new to the area. You: SWM, under 51, anxious to show me how wonderful Augusta is. ☎719366 LOOKING FOR LOVE GWM, 41, 5’8’, 140lbs, Pisces, enjoys fishing, television, wood working, gardening, arts, crafts. Seeking GWM, 25-45, for friendship first, possible LTR. ☎705204 I KNOW WHERE IT’S AT SBM, 25, practical yet fun, outgoing, Aquarius, smoker, seeks a masculine, alluring, wellrounded BM, 23-45, smoker, with his priorities in order. ☎695448 OUT SPOKEN SWM, 32, 5’11”, 145lbs, enjoys camping, fishing, Nascar. Seeking laid-back WM, 23-35, for LTR. ☎560095

LOOKING FOR LOVE SBF, 32, 140lbs, 5’8”, down-to-earth, likes clubs, movies, and quiet times. Looking for a female, 30-35, with the same interests. If you’re the one, call me. Aiken, South Carolina. ☎113533 LIKE MALLS & MOVIES? Feminine BiBF, 25, 5’4”, 145lbs, short hair, Sagittarius, smoker, loves movies and tv.

Seeking another feminine woman, 18-30, with whom to hang out and chat. ☎958642 OUTGOING FUN WF, 28...

5’3”, medium build, loves movies, putt-putt golf, and bowling. Seeking WF, 25-40, medium build, for fun and friendship. Hope to hear from you soon. ☎958847 MAN FOR ALL SEASONS GBF, 31, 5’6”, brown/brown, Cancer, smoker, enjoys kids, bowling. Seeking open-minded, passionate, understanding GBF, 23-45, for LTR. ☎941850 NO INTRO NEEDED SWF, 39, 5’7”, 145lbs, homeowner, easygoing, selfless, Taurus, smoker, loves movies and bowling. Seeking WF, 35-49, with comparable interests. ☎935299 CHURCH-GOER SBF, 38, Virgo, N/S, heavy-duty equipment operator, seeks BF, 30-45. Enjoys motorcycle riding, playing bass guitar. ☎799776 I WON’T LET YOU DOWN Single GBF, 32, mother, non-smoker, looking to become acquainted with a laid-back, sensual GBF, who enjoys quiet times, movies.

Interested? ☎910581 FRIENDSHIP SBF, 38, 5’7”, slim, fit, seeks SF, for friendship and fun. Must be outgoing, love to wine and dine, travel, movies and theater. ☎878217 CHOCOLATE SEEKS CREAM SF, 39, new to the area, down-to-earth, loves laughing, sight-seeing. Seeking WF, 30-45, to show me a great time! ☎861222 SOMEONE TO LOVE GBF, 21, with brown complexion, seeks femme GBF, 21-30, with no baggage, and her priorities straight. ☎843696

VERY PRETTY SBF...

28, two children, confident, feminine, seeks female, 20-35, with the same qualities, who is not into head games. ☎785531 A GOOD HEART SF, 39, goes to church, works for a living, likes having fun, going on trips. Seeking a similar female, 37-49. ☎780112 SPECIAL FRIENDSHIP Attractive, feminine SWF, 41, 5’4”, seeks a very open-minded WF, 35-48, for fun and exciting times. ☎775074 RAINBOW SEEKER Seeking my butch. SWF, 41, 5’2”, enjoys movies, walks, reading, quality snuggle time.

Honesty is a must. Seeking SWF, with no drama, 30+. ☎754885 JOIN ME GBF, 32, nurse, part-time student, Capricorn, N/S, enjoys bowling, movies, shopping, traveling. Seeking casual relationship with woman, 25-45. ☎711628 BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN SBF, 58, mature, attractive, young-at-heart, Sagittarius, N/S, seeks woman, 48-62, N/S, who is ready to live again and likes traveling, playing cards, and bowling. ☎691703 TO THINE OWN SELF... be true. SBF, 27, 5’5”, 165lbs, Sagittarius, N/S, has 2 kids, enjoys walks, movies, and quiet times. Seeking an honest woman, 27-35, N/S, for friendship first and foremost. ☎693934 I’M LOOKING 4 U Easygoing, loyal SBF, 31, 5’3”, 155lbs, security officer, people person, fun-loving, nice, caring, honest, enjoys bowling, movies, cuddling at home. Seeking trustworthy, outgoing SBF, 26-35, for friendship, maybe LTR. ☎965835 FRIENDSHIP FIRST! Funny, smart, down-to-earth GBF, 5’6”, 125lbs, loves long walks, hand holding. Seeking GF, 21-30, who likes kids and doesn’t play games. ☎965829 ZEST FOR LIFE Articulate, adventurous WF, 32, 5’8”, brown/brown, enjoys animals, running, movies and dining. Looking for WF, 25-40, for friendship. ☎965827 GIVE ME A RING Cute SBF, 30-something, seeks attractive SF, 25-45, for friendship, maybe more. No games. ☎965825 WASTE NO TIME GBF, 36, enjoys dining out, cooking, dining out.

Seeking attractive, open-minded, fun, nice GF, 25-45, for friendship and possibly more. ☎965823

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Cars 1968 FORD MUSTANG, metallic blue, hard top, 289 hi performance engine, auto, rebuilt engine, excellent condition, $4700, call Bryan 706627-2331 (903/0227) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1981 FORD GRANADA, gray, 4dr, 68K, good car, needs tires, $1000 OBO, 803-649-2422 after 3 pm or leave message (889/0220) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1982 HONDA ACCORD, silver, 4dr, 5spd, good clutch, new tires, not running, $300 OBO, 706-868-7599 (829/0130) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1986 FORD TEMPO, white/blue, one owner, runs well, 5spd, am/fm, cassette, $950 OBO, 706-651-9969 (872/0213) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1986 PONTIAC 6000, auto, runs great, 86K, V6, dependable transportation, $1200 OBO, 706-650-1971 day or night (898/0227) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1987 HONDA ACCORD, needs body work, drums & rotors turned, has new master cylinder, shoes & wheel cylinders, $650, 706-667-0915 (885/0220) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1989 CADILLAC SEVILLE, blue, 4dr, leather, 706-5566124 (928/0306) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1989 FORD MUSTANG, black, grey interior, auto,

mechanically good, 706-7384555 or 706-306-5464 (905/0227) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1990 PORSCHE 928, black/black, 5spd, leather, 135K, 6CD changer, excellent condition, call Ralph 706-6511114 or 706-951-0013 (870/0213) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1991 VOLVO 240, maroon, good condition, AC, PS, PB, PW, am/fm, cassette, cruise, $3000, 912-829-4556 (817/0227) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1992 BMW 735il, gray, CD, 14K, lovingly cared for, all extras, $13,000, 706-7365333 (827/0130) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1992 CHEVY CAMERO RS, 25th Anniversary Edition, green, gray interior, 305, auto, t-tops, excellent condition, 120K, $6000 firm, 706-3394531 (811/0227) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1992 INFINITI G20, runs great, 4dr, CD, leather interior, must sell, $1500 OBO, 706823-6607 (815/0227) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1993 FORD TAURUS, very good condition, new tires and brakes, low mileage 66K, loaded, as is, reduced, for quick sale, $3000, 706-7339434 or 706-721-8304 (808/0227) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1993 HONDA ACCORD, white, manual, PL & W, AC tape, cruise, $2000 FIRM, 706-854-8665 (833/0206) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1993 HONDA ACCORD EX,

the power of dreams

GERALD JONES

HONDA 2 0 0 3 G O R D O N H I G H W AY • A U G U S TA , G A • 7 0 6 - 7 3 3 - 2 2 1 0 • W W W. G E R A L D J O N E S H O N D A . C O M

owner spared no expense, 80K, (15820A) $6,995, Gerald Jones Honda, 706-733-2210 (913) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1994 CADILLAC DEVILLE, hard to find any nicer, 94K, great in and out, $8000, 803648-6731 or 803-645-2352 (828/0130) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1994 CHRYSLER LHS, grape-pearl/silver, sporty, loaded, family size car, excellent condition, 117K, 22mpg, list $30,288, ask $4450, 803279-1584 (907/0306) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1995 BMW 325i, white, 5spd, 72K, excellent condition, premium package, priced to sell (KBB: $12$15,000) asking $11,800,

706-722-0665 (816/0227) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1995 MITSUBISHI DIAMANTE, ES, dark green, V6, tan cloth seats, full power, cruise, cassette, 82K, $5300, 706-863-2483 (929/0306) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1996 DODGE INTREPID ES, leather, CD, roof, only $11,288 wow! Andy Jones Mazda, 803-202-0002 (922) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1996 HONDA ACCORD EX, champagne, V6, leather, auto, all power, CD, alloys, garaged, maintenance records, excellent condition, $9800,OBO, 706-733-7297 (902/0227) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1996 HONDA CIVIC LX, pampered, (15718A) $3,995,

Gerald Jones Honda, 706733-2210 (916) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1996 MITSUBISHI GALANT, 4dr, passenger side wrecked, 60K, $1500 OBO, 706-5600775 or 706-785-4018 (931/0306) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1996 NISSAN 200SX, green, 5spd, cruise, CD, well taken care of, $3400 OBO, 706267-1295 (814/0227) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1996 PONTIAC GRAND Prix GTP, white, rear spoiler, tint windows, 3.4L, V6 high output, 4spd auto w/OD, well cared for, 129K, $6500, Jim 706-721-3365 days or 706547-7878 eve. (822/0206) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1996 TOYOTA COROLLA

DX, gold, 79K, AC, am/fm, cassette, $6000, call 706231-5430 or 706-267-6350 (932/0306) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1996 TOYOTA COROLLA, hunter green, very clean, 4dr, auto, excellent condition, new tires, $3900, 706-364-6756 (868/0213) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1997 ACURA 3.2TL, Premium, loaded, great ride, new tires, remote keyless entry, power locks & windows, AC, climate control system, Bose radio/cassette/CD, remote sunroof, $10,900, 803-279-8326 (887/0220) ––––––––––––––––––––––––––

continued on page 62

CHECK US OUT ONLINE WWW.METSPIRIT.COM

2 0 0 3

62 M E T R O

A L L

N E W

S U B A R U

2 0 0 3 B A J A

S P I R I T J A N 3 0 2 0 0 3

S TA R T I N G AT $23,995* - All wheel drive - Open Cargo bed - Switch back system expands cargo bed into passenger area for hauling longer items - 2.5 liter box engine - Fully independent heavy-duty raised suspension * Plus destination charge, tax, title & fees

GERALD JONES 1801 Gordon Highway, Augusta

706.738.2561

To t e k c i T r u o Y eat Finding Gr Flicks.

Check out Cinema Movie Listings to make the best choice for your viewing pleasure!

continued from page 61 1997 HONDA CIVIC LX, lots of miles left, (14920B) $8,995, Gerald Jones Honda, 706733-2210 (911) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1997 HONDA CIVIC EX, manual, power windows & locks, spoiler, sunroof, CD player and alarm, 64K in great condition, $7500, 706-2405384/706-790-3676 x2736 (896/0227) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1997 VW PASSAT GLX, VR6 package, gun metal grey, black leather, auto, sunroof, heated seats, mint condition, 68K, $9500, 706-832-1812 or 706-868-7159 (867/0213) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1998 ACURA INTEGRA GSR, white, excellent condition, all power, many extras, 66K, warranty $15,500 OBO, 706-284-9693 (812/0227) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1998 HONDA CIVIC LX, superbly maintained, (6991A) $8,995, Gerald Jones Honda, 706-733-2210 (914) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1998 MAZDA 626 LX, champagne, sedan, 4dr, auto, 54K, sunroof, loaded, excellent condition, $9000, 706-7740404 or after 5pm 706-7385154 (904/0227) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1999 HONDA ACCORD LX, family size comfort, (15252A) $12,995, Gerald Jones Honda, 706-733-2210 (912) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1999 HONDA CIVIC EX, black, 5spd, euro lights, one owner, excellent condition, low mileage, $10,500 OBO, 706-373-6178 after 7pm (909/0306) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1999 PONTIAC GRAND AM, bright red, auto, loaded, 87K, cold air, electric seats, etc, 6cyl, clean, $2000 under book, 706-3649431(899/0227) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2000 ACURA INTEGRA, silver, 2dr, 5spd, all power, sunroof, cold air intake, low miles, warranty, excellent condition, must sell! $13,000 OBO, 706-297-2691 (886/0220) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2000 BMW 323Ci, titanium silver bullet, sports package, 5spd, Xenon, Z-Rated tires w/7yr/100,000 BMW transferable warranty, 43.5K, $23,500 (906/0306) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2000 DODGE NEON, auto, air, stereo/cassette, looks and runs good, 37K, $8500 OBO, 706-364-9431 (897/0227) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2000 FORD MUSTANG LX, loaded, special this week, $11,770 wow! Andy Jones Mazda, 803-202-0002 (925) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2000 FORD MUSTANG LX, white/tan, new tires, oil change, 36K, excellent condition, $11,400 OBO, call 706733-1901 (866/0213) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2000 HONDA ACCORD SE, 4dr, auto ABS, alloys, PW, PL, CD/cassette, security system, 32K, trunk liner & net, $15,600, 706-733-6807 (835/0206) ––––––––––––––––––––––––––

2000 HONDA S-2000, convertible, thrill to drive, (7335) $23,995, Gerald Jones Honda, 706-733-2210 (918) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2001 HONDA ACCORD EX, showroom condition, (14694B) $18,995, Gerald Jones Honda, 706-733-2210 (910) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2001 HONDA CIVIC LX, your kind of car, (7310) $12,995, Gerald Jones Honda, 706733-2210 (917) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2002 HONDA CIVIC LX, low miles, smells like new (7333) $13,995, Gerald Jones Honda, 706-733-2210 (915) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2002 MAZDA PROTEGE S, auto, leather, roof, chrome wheels, save thousands, $15,995, Andy Jones Mazda, 803-202-0002 (920)

Motorcycles 2000 HONDA XR650R, enduro off road only, XC, #1 winning bike in desert racing, many power enhancing extras, priced to sell 706309-9526 after 6 pm (458/0206) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2002 HONDA SABRE, 1099cc, custom pearl silver paint job w/fadin candy blue flames. 1920 miles, excellent condition, $7600, matching helmet available, 803-2793410 (818/0227)

Other CESSNA 150 H COMMUTER, 4000 TT, <150 SMOH, for more information call, 803-278-2669 leave message, (869/213)

SUVs 1992 FORD BRONCO XLT, Nite, needs transmission work, $4000 OBO, call 706738-8311 (926/0306) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1992 FORD EXPLORER XLT, 4X4, new tires, new transmission, $4500, 803-279-9278 (873/0213) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1996 CHEVY TAHOE, Sport, 4X4, extra nice, 90K, $8900 OBO, 706-737-6100 (927/0306) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1997 LANDROVER LSE, loaded, leather, excellent condition, 27K, $16,000, 706667-0599 (901/0227) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1997 FORD EXPLORER XLT, 4WD, PW, PS, PL, PM, leather 85K, extended warranty, excellent condition, $9500, 706-733-6582 (834/0206) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1997 HONDA CRV EX, smooth as silk, (7031A) $10,995, Gerald Jones Honda, 706-733-2210 (919) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1998 CHEVY BLAZER, full size, loaded, leather, 45K, excellent condition, $13,000, 706-667-0599 or 706-729-

0829 (900/0227) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1999 LEXUS RX300, black/grey leather, 16K, luxury package, excellent condition, one owner, 2WD, $29,600 OBO, 706-373-6178 after 7pm (908/0306) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2001 CHEVROLET BLAZER LS, low miles, CD, only $14,988, Andy Jones Mazda, 803-202-0002 (923) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2001 ISUZU RODEO LS, loaded, only $16,399 wow!

Andy Jones Mazda, 803-2020002 (924)

Trucks 1984 GMC SEMI, Cummings 350, 7spd, 12 ton hydraulic tilt trailer, runs great, new rubber, $10,000 firm, 706-3390189 (894/0220) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1991 CHEVROLET S-10, red, 4.3liter engine, power windows & locks, AC, auto, runs but needs work, $800, 803-645-6099 or 803-8199964 (930/0306) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1996 CHEVY S-10, LS, green, 3dr, V6, auto, CD, 83K, $6500, 803-279-3961 (892/0220) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1996 FORD RANGER XLT, white, extended cab, V6, cassette, class III hitch, 117K, great condition, $4500, 803278-0654 (895/0227) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1997 FORD RANGER, silver, sport bed, 2.3L, 5spd, AC, stereo, alloy wheels, 75K, showroom condition, $5495 OBO, 706-738-3830 (891/0220) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1998 CHEVROLET 1500, 3rd door, just traded, very sharp, only $15,955, Andy Jones Mazda, 803-202-0002 (921) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2000 FORD RANGER, 24K, warranty good to 36K, auto, air, disc player, 4cyl, looks new, $9000 OBO, 706-7368032 (884/220)

Vans 1982 FORD VAN, 12 passenger, well maintained, V8, auto, air, $2500, call Bert, 706-7368185 9a to 2p or Jimmy 706738-0911 after 6p (890/0220) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1990 CHEVY ASTRO, loaded, power everything, very good condition, V6, auto w/overdrive, cold AC, many extras, 110K, $3450, 706541-0656 (888/0220) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1994 CHEVY ASTRO, 177K, AC replaced 2 yrs ago, excellent condition, $3000, 706738-9662 (871/0213) –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1997 FORD WINDSTAR GL, dark red, auto, 7 passenger, 3.8 V6, AC, tilt, power windows, 146K, $3900 OBO, 706-860-5001 (774/0220)

63

C H E C K O U T T H E S E G R E AT P R E - O W N E D D E A L S

M E T R O

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2001

1996

FREE AUTO CLASSIFIEDS

* Automobiles for sale by an individual may be placed in our FREE Auto Classifieds. The same ad will run continuously for six weeks or until the vehicle sells, whichever comes first. After two weeks, if you want to keep running the same ad, you must call The Metropolitan Spirit by 5 p.m. on Friday or we will assume you sold the vehicle and will delete the ad. All vehicles must indicate price. FREE Auto Classified ads are offered to individuals only and are not offered to commercial companies or dealers.

TO PLACE YOUR AD: Mail: P.O. Box 3809, Augusta, GA 30914-3809 Email: classified@metspirit.com Fax: 706-733-6663 Website: www.metspirit.com Visit Us At: 825 Russell Street, Augusta, GA MUST BE MAILED, FAXED OR EMAILED ON SPECIFIED FORM. ADS ARE NOT TAKEN BY PHONE.

GENERAL POLICIES: The Metropolitan Spirit reserves the right to reject, revise, alter, or reclassify any classified advertisement. Please check your ad for errors the first week the ad is published.

The Metropolitan Spirit is not responsible for any errors which appear after the first week the ad is inserted.

AD PLACEMENT FORM:

DEADLINES: In person - Monday at 3PM By mail, fax or email - Friday at 4PM

Name_________________________________________________________________________ Daytime Phone_________________________________________________________________ Address______________________________________________________________________ City______________________________________________State________Zip_____________ Ad Copy 20 words or less________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

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CHEVROLET BLAZER LS

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GUARANTEED CLASSIFIEDS

* Items for sale by an individual may be placed in our Guaranteed Classifieds. The same ad will run continuously for ten weeks or until the item sells, whichever comes first. You must call by 5PM on Friday every two weeks to renew the ad or The Metropolitan Spirit will assume the item has been sold and will delete the ad. There is a $5 reinstatement fee if you forget to renew your ad. All items must indicate price. Guaranteed classified ads are offered to individuals only and are not offered to commercial companies. Guaranteed Classified ads do not include any automotive vehicles, real estate or pets.

RATES: FREE ADS Merchandise Under $250 $8 ADS Merchandise $251 to $500 $15 ADS Merchandise $501 to $1000 $20 ADS Merchandise over $1000 20 Words or Less - No Exceptions.

ADS MUST BE PREPAID DEADLINES: In person - Monday at 3PM By mail, fax or email - Friday at 4PM

TO PLACE YOUR AD: Mail: P.O. Box 3809, Augusta, GA 30914-3809 Email: classified@metspirit.com Fax: 706-733-6663 ADS ARE NOT TAKEN BY PHONE Website: www.metspirit.com Visit Us At: 825 Russell Street, Augusta, GA MUST BE MAILED, FAXED OR EMAILED ON SPECIFIED FORM. PAYMENT OPTIONS: (ADS MUST BE PREPAID) Cash-Money Order-Check

AD PLACEMENT FORM:

Name_______________________________________Daytime Phone_____________________ Address______________________________________________________________________ City______________________________________________State________Zip_____________ Payment â?&#x2018; Cash â?&#x2018; Check â?&#x2018; Money Order â?&#x2018; Visa â?&#x2018; MC Card No./Exp. Date_____________________________________________________________ Billing Address (if different from above)_____________________________________________ City______________________________________________State________Zip_____________ Ad Copy 20 words or less________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ GENERAL POLICIES: The Metropolitan Spirit reserves the right to reject, revise, alter, or reclassify any classified advertisement. Please check your ad for errors the first week the ad is published. The Metropolitan Spirit is not responsible for any errors which appear after the first week the ad is inserted.

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