Arkansas Times by Arkansas Times

Smart talk

Contents

Dirtier than coal?

GROWTH OF WIRELESS-ONLY HOUSEHOLDS IN ARKANSAS

n A recent Cornell University study found that, contrary to what most people might think – and certainly to what the industry might have you believe – the development of natural gas resources could actually have a bigger carbon footprint than the mining and combustion of coal. Although researchers agree that natural gas is a cleaner-burning fuel than coal, a significant amount of methane leaks into the atmosphere during hydraulic fracturing, the process of extracting natural gas from the ground and also known as fracking. “We are not advocating for more coal or oil, but rather to move to a truly green, renewable future as quickly as possible,” researcher Robert Howarth told the Cornell Chronicle. How big of an impact will the study have here in Arkansas? Bill Kopsky, with the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, says that will depend on whether or not future studies confirm the findings. “I don’t know if a lot of Arkansas policy makers care if natural gas is cleaner or dirtier than coal, to be honest,” Kopsky says. “From that standpoint I don’t know if it will change any policymakers’ views. You hear everybody talk about natural gas as a bridge fuel, but the Cornell study says it’s a bridge-to-nowhere fuel. I think the industry could do a lot to make it cleaner.”

35.2 percent

Our 17th Arkansas Times Academic All-Star Team of the state’s top 20 high school seniors impresses mightily. — By Arkansas Times staff

35 30.7 percent

31 Talkin’ Kinky

25 20.7 percent 20

11 Head of the class

2010

2007

PERCENTAGE OF ADULTS LIVING IN WIRELESS-ONLY HOUSEHOLDS

Kinky Friedman, funny man from Texas, talks about writing, political correctness and working with Billy Bob Thornton. — By Gerard Matthews

44 Country ’cue

Smokin’ Buns, on the outskirts of Jacksonville, is worth a drive. — By Arkansas Times staff

DEPARTMENTS Less than 20 percent 25-29.9 percent

More than a newspaper n As eagle-eyed readers may’ve noted, this week we have a new slogan on our cover, “Arkansas’s source for news, politics and entertainment.” The change reflects the not-so-new reality of the Times: We’re far more than a weekly newspaper these days. We have a website, arktimes.com, that breaks as much or more daily news as any outlet in the state and offers a wealth of information to help you navigate your free time — a comprehensive events calendar, a detailed dining guide and daily blogs devoted to art, entertainment and food. We also have a handy iPhone app for navigating local happy hours and bars called Cocktail Compass (arktimes. com/cocktailcompass). And recently we started a Friday podcast, hosted by Lindsey Millar and featuring Max Brantley, where we review the biggest stories of the week (arktimes.com/podcast).

20-24.9 percent Greater or equal to 30 percent

SOURCE: CDC

Arkansas goes wireless n Arkansas leads the country in the percentage of residents who’ve abandoned landline telephones to go strictly wireless. A new study from the National Centers for Disease Control says 35.2 percent of Arkansans live in cell-phone-only households, just ahead of Mississippi, at 35.1, for No. 1. The growth rate of wireless-only homes in Arkansas also outstripped the country — a jump from 20 percent in 2007 to 35 percent in 2010. Poverty is a positive marker for cell phone exclusivity. Younger people and people who move frequently are also more likely to use cell phones. Cell phone use was also heavy in states that had high numbers of people with no telephone service. Arkansas ranked fourth among the states with the highest percentage of people with NO home phone.

3 The Insider 4 Smart Talk 5 The Observer 6 Letters 7 Orval 8-24 News 26 Opinion 31 Arts & Entertainment 44 Dining 47 Crossword/ Tom Tomorrow 62 Lancaster

Words n Rafael Nunez says that after hearing the expression “What in tarnation?” in both Northern California and the Texas Panhandle, “I did some informal research and came up with this: ‘What in tarnation?’ is a corruption of, or is derived from, the expression ‘What in darnation?’ which itself is derived from ‘What in damnation?’. What do you think?” I yield to no man in the informality of my research — mine’s practically barefoot — so it might have been expected that when Mr. Nunez and I loosened our neckties, we’d arrive at pretty much the same conclusion. Darnation is indeed a word conceived in a time when people were given to euphemism, substituting darn for damn and heck for hell. Then darnation got hooked up with ’tarnal, a dialectal form of eternal. So, tarnation is at bottom eternal damnation, which sounds rough. 4 APRIL 27, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES

No wonder they liked euphemisms.

super.” In English, it means “being a superlative example of its kind or class (ubernerd)” and “to an extreme or excessive degree (ubercool).” Anglophones’ embrace of uber suggests they’ve gotten over that “Deutschland uber alles” unpleasantness of some years back.

n “Uber leftist columnist Art Decko’s recent babbling attempting to equate union labor tantrums to the power of the Tea Party would be laughable if not so ludicrous.” And you could make fun of it too, if it weren’t so ridiculous. I’m interested in that uber, as well. The word is all over these days — usually with an umlaut, but we don’t do unlauts at the Times. It’s personal. According to Merriam-Webster Online, uber is German for “over, beyond,

n Zoe and Boe: A recent mention of our reclusive junior senator prompted a letter from Homer DeBrave. “John Boozman says the o’s in his last name rhyme with go and not with boo, too, woo et al. Can you think of another word or name with double o’s that is pronounced the way Boozman says his name is pronounced?” I couldn’t, until I saw a report that the film actress Zooey Deschanel uses a long-o sound for her name.

Doug S mith doug@arktimes.com

VOLUME 37, NUMBER 34 ARKANSAS TIMES (ISSN 0164-6273) is published each week by Arkansas Times Limited Partnership, 201 East Markham Street, 200 Heritage Center West, P.O. Box 34010, Little Rock, Arkansas, 72203, phone (501) 375-2985. Periodical postage paid at Little Rock, Arkansas, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ARKANSAS TIMES, P.O. Box 34010, Little Rock, AR, 72203. Subscription prices are $42 for one year, $78 for two years. Subscriptions outside Arkansas are $49 for one year, $88 for two years. Foreign (including Canadian) subscriptions are $168 a year. For subscriber service call (501) 375-2985. Current single-copy price is 75¢, free in Pulaski County. Single issues are available by mail at $2.50 each, postage paid. Payment must accompany all single-copy orders. Reproduction or use in whole or in part of the contents without the written consent of the publishers is prohibited. Manuscripts and artwork will not be returned or acknowledged unless sufficient return postage and a self-addressed stamped envelope are included. All materials are handled with due care; however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for care and safe return of unsolicited materials. All letters sent to ARKANSAS TIMES will be treated as intended for publication and are subject to ARKANSAS TIMES’ unrestricted right to edit or to comment editorially.

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