v9n19 - JFP Issue: Tea Party Issue

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Vol. 9 | No. 19 // January 19-25, 2011

DAILYBREAKINGNEWS@JFPDAILY.COM

FREE

JEWISH

FILM FEST

MODAK-TRURAN, P 23

LIFE GOES ON FLYNN, P 32

FLORAL MANIA COLLIER, P 38

TEA PARTY, ANYONE?

THE EFFECT OF A CONTROVERSIAL MOVEMENT ON MISSISSIPPI LYNCH, PP 16-20

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Play to earn entries starting now.Get 10X entries now. Mondays, Tuesdays & Wednesdays.

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January 19 - 25, 2011

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Your Place. Your Purpose.

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If you’re looking to advance in the workplace and increase your management and leadership skills, Belhaven University has the right program for you! Our non-traditional undergraduate and graduate business programs are geared toward the working adult student. With our accelerated classes, it is possible to complete your degree in 15 to 18 months!

Information Session: Tuesday, January 25 – 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. McCarvey Triplett Student Center, 2nd Floor, Theater Please call 601-968-8947 to RSVP. Light refreshments provided.

www.belhaven.edu Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree.

jacksonfreepress.com

For more information: 601.957.1050 • www.thepremierbridalshow.com

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JACKSON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL TICKETS: Adults: $12 • Childrean/Students (with ID): $5 • Festival Pass: $40 (Includes all 4 screenings) • Patron Pass: $140 (Includes all 4 screenings + Sponsor Reception Saturday 6:00 pm)

January 19 - 25, 2011

FREE DESSERT AND WINE RECEPTION SATURDAY AT 6:15PM PRIOR TO THE SHOWING OF AJAMI Ajami Where I Stand: The Hank The Secrets For My Father Greenspun Story Nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 2009 Unsettled This film tells the story Hey, Hey It’s Blessed is the Match: Terek is a Palestinian forced to undertake a of Naomi, the brilliant Academy Awards. This crime drama is set on The film examines the endlesslyIsrael’s surprising withdrawal from the Gaza Strip suicide bombing mission Tel Aviv of to redeem and pious daughter of an ultra-Orthodox Life & inDeath the mean streets of the Ajami neighborhood Esther Blueburgerhis father’sThe life of Greenspun, a charismaticthrough newspaperthe eyes of six young honor. When his explosive vest rabbi. Shepeople. finds herself at a crossroads when, in Jaffa. The film moves among characters,

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a young Israeli fighting a criminal vendetta against his family, a Palestinian refugee working illegally to finance a life-saving surgery, and a Jewish police detective obsessed with finding his missing brother and an affluent Palestinian dreaming of a future with his Jewish girlfriend.

Saturday, Jan. 22, at 7:00 pm Millsaps College Academic Complex Recital Hall

man, Las Vegas icon and real-life Zelig. His Hannah Settlers determined to stay. Soldiers This engagingly original, fails to detonate, he isSenesh stuck in Tel Aviv over after her mother dies, Naomi is expected to coming-of-age epic journey from associate of mobster with different feelings about evicting comedy explores what it’s like to be the weekend, explosives still strapped immediately marry her father’s protege. . “Bugsy” Siegel to hero of Israel to maverick The first documentary featureto on the Jewsitsfrom their homes. is her an father an him, as the fuse is repaired. Terek who is caught SheOne begs to outsider allow herinone year your own world. Esther founder of the Las Vegas Sun (and longWWII-era poet & diarist became between terrorists who can blow up his bomb of study a women’s religious seminary activist whose killedatby a is not like other girls; in she befriends a running “Where I Stand” column) features a sister was a paratrooper, resistance fighter and remotely, the Israeli police patrolling the Safed, birthplaceduck, of the Kabbalah. terrorist bombing and sees the withtalks to God through the toilet motley crew of high-rolling businessmen and streets . modern Jewish Joan of Arc. drawal as the first step toward peace. and breakdances at her Bat Mitzvah. gangsters, movie stars, politicians, family Monday, Jan. 24 at 7:15 pm and wheeler-dealer friends. Thursday, Jan. 21,Optional 8:00 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, pm 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24, 2:00 p.m. dinner service will begin at 6:15 Tuesday, Jan. 25 at 7:00 pm Sunday, Jan. 23 at 2:00 pm Call 601-956-6215 for dinner reservations. Millsaps College Recital Hall Millsaps College Recital Hall Millsaps College Recital Hall Millsaps College Academic Complex Recital Hall Millsaps College Academic Complex Recital Hall Historic Fairview Inn, 734 Fairview St

For additional info and tickets, please call 601-956-6215 or visit www.bethisrealms.org

January 19 - 25, 2011

jacksonian

VOL.

9 NO. 19

contents

What Arena? The City of Jackson takes over the proposed arena project after private parties lose momentum.

KENYA HUDSON; AMILE WILSON; COURTESY GIRL TALK; LISA LAFONTAINE BYNUM

MEREDITH NORWOOD

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Cover illustration by Melissa Webster

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THIS ISSUE: Drowning in Tea

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The Tea Party wants America to go to the “good” old days before taxes and social safety nets.

.............. Editor’s Note ............................. Talk ...................... Editorial ........................ Stiggers ............................ Zuga .................... Kamikaze .................. Diversions .......................... Books ......................... 8 Days .................. JFP Events .......................... Music ........... Music Listings .......................... Sports ............................. STF ............................ Astro ............................ Food ........ Shopping Guide

kimberly jacobs Kimberly Jacobs’ 1,000-watt smile lights up the room as she hugs me during our first introduction. Without reservation, she begins to share her passion for promoting artists. “My gift is to help artists get their work seen, make it look beautiful and do it with genuine care, love and pride,” Jacobs says. At 24, Jacobs is the community arts outreach coordinator for the Greater Jackson Arts Council and the curator of exhibits at the Arts Center of Mississippi. She is also the gallery director at “The Gallery” at Jackson State University’s One University Place. Through her work, she often meets discouraged artists who have dreams of showcasing their artwork but don’t know how to do it. Jacobs helps schedule exhibits for local artists and bring together the local art community. “Art is meant to evoke emotion; be it happiness, wonder, doubt or fear,” Jacobs says. It’s these emotions she wants others to experience when they visit an exhibit. Jacobs has helped implement more than 50 shows in Jackson over the past few years, including Karla Pound and Leah Overstreet’s “Portrait of Jackson Women” photography exhibit; H.C. Porter’s “Backyards and Beyond”; The Goodwill Arts Show; and Ginger Williams’ solo show. In December, she helped coordinate Jackson artist Josh Hailey’s “I Love Mississippi” Retrospective—an interactive art show that

featured live bands, a hotdog cook-off contest, a light show and costumes. “It started as an idea for a simple art opening, but it turned into a large event with between 700 and 800 guests,” Jacobs says about Hailey’s show. She is currently helping coordinate Figment, a free participatory art show at the old Cola Plant in May. “The culture in Mississippi is deep and real, with amazing, unadulterated talent,” Jacobs says. A Jackson native, Jacobs earned her bachelor’s degree in fine art from Jackson State University in 2009. While attending JSU, she participated in the National Student Exchange allowing her to study art galleries at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. In December, Jacobs came on board to help develop “The Gallery” at One University Place, a multi-use development JSU recently completed. She plans to bring local and national artists to the commercial gallery, which is set to open early this year. Jacobs believes that a strong art community is critical for Jackson’s growth. “Art is a catalyst for economic growth and development,” she says. “ It is also an opportunity to get kids involved and for people to work together.” “Nothing comes without faith and hard work,” Jacobs adds. “I live to be an example.” —J. Ashley Nolen

29 Music, 2011-style Girl Talk, which has no girls, puts out an album that melds genres across the musical spectrum.

34 Lucky Peas It’s not too late to serve up some good luck for this new year. Blackeyed pea soup is just the thing.

jacksonfreepress.com

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Margaret Walker Center and the

Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame PRESENT

The Future of the SWAC February 8, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Participants Include: Donald Ray Sims, MS Valley Athletic Director W. C. Gorden, Former Head Coach Jackson State University Marino Casem, Alcorn Athletic Director Eddie Payton, Jackson State University Golf Coach Roscoe Nance, Writer for the Associated Press Lonza Hardy Jr., Athletic Director Hampton University

For the Best of Jackson party this year, Jackson Free Press is re-imagining Andy Warhol’s Factory.

We’re looking for artists to help make the space feel authentic.

January 19 - 25, 2011

If you’re interested in creating within this unique and fun atmosphere, contact Shannon Barbour for more details, shannon@jacksonfreepress.com.

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by Ronni Mott, Managing Editor

Our New American Myth: The Tea Party

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hen I was 6 years old, the concept of zero made my brain hurt. “How can there be nothing?” I wailed in utter frustration. “Even when you take away all the apples and all the oranges, you still have the basket; you still have the air!” And forget negative numbers. I have yet to find a practical application for why subtracting a negative number from a positive one results in a bigger positive number. Then again, maybe that’s how the derivatives market works. My dad, an engineer, thoroughly understood numbers; they seemed to speak to him in a secret language I will never understand. For every mathematical concept I struggled with, papa could explain it a half-dozen different ways. Not that his patience paid off for this girl—I was never so happy as the day I finished my last required math course. Still, I have never accepted “that’s just the way it is” as a reasonable explanation for anything. I want to know how things work and why the rules are the way they are. And while my intense need to know has confounded professors and pissed off bosses, it’s also made me a tenacious researcher. Being a journalist means I can ask all of those annoying why questions with impunity. That freedom is a legacy of America’s myth busting. In the middle ages, western society ran on the myth that God personally anointed royalty (kings and queens and their ilk) to rule over the masses. To rebel against one’s sovereign was not a political act; it was heretical and condemned you to hell. The prevailing secret language of the time, Latin (privy only to the educated few), ensured that the unwashed masses had to just believe. Our Declaration of Independence loomed large in eliminating that mythical

thinking, but it took a Revolutionary War or two to drive home the point. America has a long, proud tradition of upsetting the status quo, but you have to make an effort these days to learn just how deep and broad our doggedness for equality has been. Mississippi had to pass a law to make sure its schools include the history and impact of the Civil Rights Movement, for example. I was 13 when I showed up for my first anti-war rally, skipping school to hitchhike from suburbia to Washington, D.C., and the national mall along with thousands of others disgusted with a seemingly endless war that no one could give us a good reason to die for. A decade or two earlier, citizens had risen up in the South against the inhuman treatment of African Americans. Both movements cost people their lives and livelihoods, significant sacrifices for a better world. I’m guessing that these days kids don’t learn much about the labor movement, which forced businesses to provide safe workplaces and decent pay. Or the women’s movement, which not only fought for suffrage, but the right to inherit property, to work and be paid the same as men, and to have a say over our bodies. Or the Native American movement, advocacy for the disabled, or the myriad other grassroots social movements that have provided a modicum of decency and civility to the lives of ordinary citizens—those not ordained by God to rule. No, those events aren’t in the interest of the rich and powerful. What we do hear about is the myth that the Tea Party movement has its roots in the American revolutionary tradition. Many people believe America stopped making sense long ago. They just want someone to make it all work again—in that lily-white “Father

Knows Best” kind of way. Americans should be allowed to keep everything they earn, “like they used to,” they proclaim, and government, illegal immigrants, welfare freeloaders and Muslims (in no particular order) are to blame for our problems. Scratch just under the surface, though, and you’ll find that pretenders usurped the tea party from day one: profit-driven, fast-talking hucksters like Glenn Beck; white supremacists like John Tanton of the Federation for American Immigration Reform; and enormous wealth like that of the Koch brothers empire. Like Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority of the late 1970s and 1980s, the Tea Party is no more a grass-roots citizens’ movement than shopping at the Walmart in Flowood is shopping local. That mythical ‘50s sit-com America never existed, either, any more than God handpicked Henry VIII to rule England in 1509. American people have fought hard for every right and every benefit of living in America. And those people, despite ubiquitous isolationist rhetoric, are made up of every nationality, ethnicity and religious persuasion. People are scared. I get that. When cornered and forced to fight for its life, any animal can become dangerous. People want to believe in the American dream proffered by Madison Avenue. They don’t understand why they’re upside down in their mortgages, how a company they’ve worked hard for can simply no longer need them, or a country they’ve fought for can just hand money to “those” people. They can’t understand how Americans can elect a black man (much less one who they’ve been told is a foreign-born Muslim and a communist) with an un-American names like Barrack and (God-forbid!) Hussein. Yeah, I get it, but it’s hard not to be condescending about people who believe the myths peddled by talk radio and the “party of no,” who believe that moving backward is the right direction for America despite all evidence to the contrary. Life has never been easy for most people. As I watch Americans’ energy being drained by cheap fear-mongering and paranoia-based politics, sometimes I just want to scream: “Wake up! They’re lying to you!” And then I take a deep cleansing breath. Adding my screeching will not help. And, ultimately, I think I would fight for their rights as hard as my own. I’m digging in to the Tea Party like I dig into most things: I read books and articles, watch documentaries and talk with people. But most importantly, I follow the money. Unlike algebra, I find the language of Big Money easy to understand, with its motto of “I got mine. Screw you. Give me more.” The people and organizations pushing the Tea Party rhetoric aren’t on my side. But maybe I’ve got it all wrong. Maybe Wall Street gives a damn about something other than profits. Maybe Tea Partiers aren’t reacting out of fear and against their own best interests. Maybe it’s really just another secret language, like math, that I don’t understand.

Adam Lynch Award-winning senior reporter Adam Lynch is a Winona native and graduate of Jackson State. He and his family live in North Jackson. E-mail tips to adam@ jacksonfreepress.com, or call him at 601-362-6121, ext. 13. He wrote the cover story and Talks.

Melissa Webster Melissa Webster is a Delta State University graduate. Her life currently revolves around making art, planning an awesome trip to Japan this spring with her BFFs and dreaming of a 124-count pack of Crayolas. She illustrated the cover.

J. Ashley Nolen JFP editorial intern J. Ashley Nolen has studied English and print journalism. Among many identities, she’s a lover, a deep thinker, a dreamer, a traveler, a writer, a student and a teacher. She wrote the Jacksonian.

Andrea Thomas Advertising designer Andrea Thomas is the newest member of the JFP design team. Andrea is a native of Ridgeland and recently graduated from Antonelli College. She loves to sing, dance and write poetry in her free time.

Anita Modak-Truran Anita Modak-Truran is a southern convert, having moved here from Chicago over a decade ago with her husband and son. She loves the culture, cuisine and arts in these parts. She wrote the film feature.

James Dickerson James L. Dickerson is the author of 25 non-fiction books, including the prize-winning “Mojo Triangle: Birthplace of Country, Blues, Jazz and Rock ‘n’ Roll.” He wrote a book review.

Latasha Willis Events editor Latasha Willis is a native Jacksonian, a graduate of Tougaloo College and the proud mother of one cat. Her JFP blog is “The Bricks That Others Throw,” and she sells design pieces at zazzle.com/reasontolive.

Ashley Jackson Account manager Randi Ashley Jackson is a Brandon/Reservoir area native. She loves organic gardening and her goldfish GillBert. She strives to be the next Food Network star chef, if only in her own mind. She manages JFP sales accounts.

jacksonfreepress.com

editor’snote

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news, culture & irreverence

Thursday, Jan. 13 Mississippi economist Darrin Webb tells lawmakers that while the state’s economy is strengthening, it isn’t fully recovered. Webb predicts it will be 2015 before Mississippi reaches the employment levels of 2008, when the state started to lose jobs. Friday, Jan. 14 Registered nurse Nancy Adams Collins of Tupelo is sworn in to the Mississippi Senate. … Pope Benedict XVI signs off on the May 1 beatification of Pope John Paul II, the last step before the canonization process begins. Saturday, Jan. 15 South Sudan closed polling centers after a weeklong election process about independence from the north that could end a 20-year civil war. … Miss Mississippi Sarah Beth James competes in the nationally televised Miss America pageant. Sunday, Jan. 16 Mississippi State Bulldogs hosted the Auburn Tigers in “The Hump,” where they beat them 85-66. … The International Campaign for Human Rights condemns the Iranian authorities’ unleashing of an “execution binge,” averaging one hanging every eight hours.

January 19 - 25, 2011

Monday, Jan 17 Cities and communities across the nation observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day. … Apple CEO Steve Jobs announces he will go on medical leave. … Mississippi native Brett Favre files retirement paperwork with the NFL (again) after 20 seasons.

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Tuesday, Jan. 18 China’s President Hu Jintao begins his state visit in the United States in Washington, D.C. … Mississippi SB 2170, which would allow law enforcement agents to check the status of anyone they suspect to be in this country illegally, passes 34-15. The bill now moves to the House for a vote, where it also has to pass before becoming law. Get breaking news at jfpdaily.com.

The Slippery Arena Study

by Ward Schaefer

T

he push for an entertainment arena in downtown Jackson, once a private endeavor, is now a matter for city government. Last month, the steering committee of business leaders that has been raising funds for an arena feasibility study handed control of the project to Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. The change gives the proposed study a bit of official sanction, but it also pushes back the project’s timeline considerably. Johnson told the Jackson Free Press that he offered to take control of the study after learning at a December Jackson Chamber of Commerce meeting that private support for a study was flagging. “It appeared (that), for whatever reason, some of the momentum, some of the steam was leaving the effort,” Johnson said. “The message that I got was that it would probably fall off the table because there was no longer any leadership there. … I said, ‘Well, the city will take over, will step into that spot.’ There was a lot of fanfare in rolling out the effort, and we certainly would want to try to complete it.” Support for an arena downtown dates back to 2008, when Downtown Jackson Partners sponsored a bus trip to Little Rock, Ark. Local business leaders, inspired by Little Rock’s Verizon Arena, decided to pursue a similar facility in Jackson. That initial wave of enthusiasm subsided in 2009, however, and the steering com-

KENYA HUDSON

Wednesday, Jan. 12 President Obama gives a speech at the “Together We Strive” Tucson Memorial Service to honor those injured and killed at a shopping mall outside Tucson, Ariz., Saturday, Jan. 8. … Despite past statements Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour made minimizing the state’s issues during the Civil Rights Movement, he says there should be a Civil Rights Museum in downtown Jackson.

People have been drinking tea for thousands of years, but in recent decades a number of potential health benefits have been attributed to this ancient beverage, according to the Mississippi Baptist Health Systems website. Green tea contains high levels antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic and antibiotic properties.

Michael Teasley has taken the reins of the NAACP at Jackson State. p 11

An arena in downtown Jackson will have to be a good deal for taxpayers to win city support, Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. says.

mittee shelved the project until June 2010. On Nov. 16, 2010, the committee hosted an “Arena Extravaganza” to launch a new fundraising and publicity campaign. Less than a month later, on Dec. 9, however, the group had turned over control of project to the city, according to the group’s website. The committee’s online timeline states that it provided “official notification” of the changeover to the public on Dec. 20. Jonathan Lee, who served as president of the Jackson Chamber in 2010 and chair-

man of the steering committee, offered a version of the changeover that differed from the mayor’s. “Basically, the city stepped up and said that they would take a more active role in the process,” Lee said. “And, gosh, we were happy to oblige them. It’s really a great thing, I think. This is a breakthrough for us.” Lee acknowledged that the committee’s fundraising effort fell short of its year-end goal of $80,000. As of Dec. 9, the group had ARENA, see page 9

Start a Party

prete xt “When one of (the Tea Party members) has a mother who is a senior on Medicaid, who gets cut off, who are they going to call first? They’re going to call me, saying, ‘My Mom just got cut off Medicaid, and I want her back on it.’” —Rep. John Mayo, D-Clarksdale, regarding one of the Tea Party platforms: eliminating social safety-net programs.

Y

ou know you want to. The JFP staff put our heads together to come up with a few parties of our own (and a few we think others should start).

Soy Chai Latte Party —Ronni Mott Dirty Soy Chai Latte Party —Kristin Brenemen Dirty Martini Party —Todd Stauffer Sexual Chocolate Party —(We’re not telling; the deacons would have a fit.) Rainbow Confederate Party —Adam Lynch Blame Palin Party —Donna Ladd Garden Party —Lacey McLaughlin Roll Back the New Deal Party — Rep. John Boehner War of Northern Aggression Party —Rep. John Moore The Party of No … Maybe Yes —Mitt Romney Golden Voice Party —Ted Williams Pander Party —Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant Lesser Pander Party —Kim Wade No Pants Party —Chip Pickering

ARENA, from page 8

collected $65,915 in pledged contributions. “We were a little shy of that,” Lee said. “I’m pretty confident, whatever the figure ends up being—and it’s a moving target now—that we’ll be able to raise the money.” The group’s $80,000 fundraising goal was based on an assumed matching grant from the Hinds County Economic Development District. Lee said that the city will have to secure its own matching funds. The committee estimated the total cost of a feasibility study at $160,000. The project’s transfer will likely delay the actual start of a feasibility study. The steering committee had already selected consulting firm Populous Sports, which not only provides arena feasibility assessments but also designs facilities, to complete the study. Johnson said that the city’s planning department will have to review the Populous contract before deciding whether to retain the firm or solicit a new round of proposals from consultants. Beyond assessing the feasibility of an arena, the study should also estimate an arena’s cost, and present options for financing the facility’s construction and operations, Johnson said. “It’s only fair to request that information, because ultimately the taxpayers are going to be counted on to foot some of that bill,” Johnson said. Arenas, as entertainment and sports

venues, have typically cropped up in cities as publicly financed buildings with private operators. Concessions, luxury seating, sponsorships and naming rights tend to cover operating expenses, but often-controversial arenas themselves rarely provide considerable revenues to the cities and counties that finance their construction. Like arena supporters in other cities, proponents of a Jackson arena have argued that a 15,000-seat facility would allow the city to attract high-profile performers and events, and spur economic development around the arena site. Independent studies of arenas’ economic impact are hard to find and rarely conclusive, with the individual circumstances of each facility heavily influencing its relative benefit to the surrounding city. Johnson said that he expects the planning department staff to take the next four weeks to develop a new list of requirements for the study, one that includes the “benefits or burdens that would accrue to the taxpayers.” Only then will they decide whether to issue a new request for proposals. “Personally, I’d love to see an arena in downtown Jackson,” he said. “That’s my personal view. But as mayor of the city—a city, by the way, that has limited resources and many needs—I’m going to have to rely on an investigation and assessment by the professionals to let me know how feasible this notion is.”

Scurlock’s Serving Lunch Scurlock’s Donut Shop and Eatery, located downtown, has expanded its hours and menu to offer lunch. Owner Mark Scurlock said the lunch menu features hamburgers and fries. Scurlock’s (125 S. Congress St.) is now open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., as well as the first Saturday of each month from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, call 601-922-8618. Fondren Parade On Track The Fondren Renaissance Foundation and the Fondren Association of Businesses are seeking volunteers and merchants to participate in the Zippity

Brent’s Serving Breakfast Longtime Fondren lunch spot Brent’s Drugs has started serving breakfast. The soda fountain and lunch counter closed its pharmacy operation in 2009, and new owner Brad Reeves has had his sights on serving breakfast since purchasing the venerable eatery. The morning menu includes traditional Southern breakfast fare and lighter dishes. Brent’s serves breakfast Tuesday through Friday, from 6:30 to 10 a.m., and Saturday, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Get breaking business news at jfpdaily.com.

Founding Chapter, Parents for Public Schools, 1989 200 N. Congress, Suite 500, Jackson, MS 39201

www.ppsjackson.org

Mellow Mushroom pizza bakers 74 9

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www.MellowMushroom.com

Brent’s Drugs now serves breakfast on Saturdays.

Doo Dah Parade and Festival March 24 through 26. The festival is expected to bring hundreds of Sweet Potato Queens to Fondren. The parade route begins at the Woodland Hills Parking Lot on State Street, extends to the intersection of Old Canton Road and continues north on Duling Avenue. For more information, visit zippitydoodahparade. com or e-mail zippitycrew@ gmail.com.

Join us. For our city. For our children. For our future.

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JERRICK SMITH

by Ward Shaefer and Lacey McLaughlin

Public schools do more than educate children. They measure a city’s pride. They reflect community. They predict the social and economic well-being of a city’s future. For 20 years, Parents for Public Schools of Jackson has worked to keep our public schools strong, to empower parents as leaders for positive change, and to engage community support of our public schools.

Gluten free pizza available by request

Facebook.com/MellowJACKSON

jacksonfreepress.com

news, culture & irreverence

www.MellowMushroom.com

talk

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museumtalk

by Ward Schaefer

History’s Return

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Where there’s always cold beer & hot music waiting for ya!

HAPPY HOUR

M-F, 2-7p & Sat-Sun, 11a-7p

Wednesday January 19

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Thursday January 20

Kenny Davis from Creep Left Friday January 21

Lucky Hand Blues Band Saturday January 22

The Wicked Gentlemen Tuesday January 25

Sheliah Earl-Hewitt 601-899-8842

January 19 - 25, 2011

6550 Old Canton Road Next to Mediterranean Grill

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2008. By the summer of 2009, however, the college had made no further progress, with the economic recession putting a damper on fundraising. In a statement released Saturday, Touanthony difatta

601.605.4511

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ov. Haley Barbour is a sucker for anniversaries, apparently. In his final State of the State address last week, the governor said that 2011—the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides and the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War—was the year to make a proposed Mississippi Civil Rights Museum a reality. “I urge you to move this museum forward as an appropriate way to do justice to the Civil Rights Movement and to stand as a monument of remembrance and reconciliation,� Barbour told legislators in his Jan. 11 speech. Barbour could be responding to forces beyond historical commemoration, such as the furor over comments he made praising the white Citizens Council’s work in his hometown of Yazoo City. As a potential 2012 Republican presidential candidate, Barbour could easily benefit from a legacy that includes a civil-rights museum. The governor also approved the original plan for a civil-rights museum, appointing a state commission to oversee the planning process and signing a 2006 bill to provide $500,000 in bond funds for design work. That early momentum dissipated, however, in disputes over selecting a site for the museum. A Tennessee-based consulting firm recommended Tougaloo College for its suburban setting, reminiscent of some other popular Jackson area museums, such as the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science. Downtown Jackson Partners President Ben Allen and other proponents of a Farish Street location pointed out that the Jackson Zoo, which has areas of urban blight around it, draws more visitors than any museum in the area. Other supporters of a downtown site suggested that the selection process was unfairly weighted toward Tougaloo, with three well-connected Tougaloo alums serving on the commission and a preliminary design that called for a suburban landscape. Despite their concerns, the commission awarded the site to Tougaloo in March

A proposed Civil Rights Museum honoring key figures like NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers (pictured) has new momentum.

galoo President Beverly Wade Hogan placed blame for the lack of progress on Barbour. “Following the action by the Commission and acceptance by the Governor, the Governor was to appoint a board of directors that would form a non-profit organization to organize the construction, funding and operation of the Museum,� Hogan wrote. “To my knowledge, this part of the process has not been fulfilled.� Hogan did not respond to a request for further comment. Barbour spokesman Dan Turner also did not return calls for comment. “Tougaloo College feels like the one invited to the long anticipated ball that was said to be given in her honor, only to discover there is no ball and she is without honor in a place to which she has given so much,� the Tougaloo president concluded, in her statement. Nevertheless, last week, Barbour presented the renewed museum effort as a compromise. Former Supreme Court Justice Reuben Anderson, a Tougaloo alum who chaired the original museum commission, had agreed with former Gov. William

Winter on a new site recommendation, Barbour announced. The new proposed site is next to the proposed Mississippi History Museum, at the corner of North and Mississippi streets near the Eudora Welty Library. On Monday, Sen. John Horhn, DJackson, introduced two bills to restart the museum-planning process. The first, Senate Bill 2633, establishes a new commission to oversee the project, replacing Barbour’s original panel, which Horhn described as “pretty much dissolved right now.� The new commission, under Horhn’s proposal, would include representatives from the state’s historically black colleges and universities, state tourism and history officials, representatives from civil-rights-related organizations in the state, and appointees of the governor and lieutenant governor. Horhn’s second measure, Senate Bill 2634, would provide up to $25 million in state bonds to finance the museum’s planning and construction. Barbour’s commission estimated the total cost of a civil-rights museum at $50 million, including an endowment. Bonds for the $500,000 have already been issued, and the funds remain in an account managed by the state Treasurer’s office. Horhn said that planning and design work would account for roughly 10 percent of the project’s total cost, and put the price tag for planning and design at $5 million. “The question is, do you just go for that, or do you go for the whole enchilada, the whole $50 million at one time?� Horhn said. “Or do you do half or some percentage of it? That’s what we’ve got to get worked out.� Horhn said while Barbour supports his proposal for a new museum commission, he has not had a “substantive discussion� with the governor on funding or the museum’s location. “I’m not sure that the Legislature is going to be in agreement with that (site) suggestion of his,� Horhn said. “We’ll see.� Comment at www.jfp.ms.

by Adam Lynch

Ronni Mott

Historic Energy

NAACP Jackson State University President Michael Teasley says he intends to focus the NAACP on voter awareness.

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ackson State University NAACP chapter members elected Michael Teasley as president of the NAACP’s JSU chapter last year. In return, Teasley, 38, says he intends to use his position to further invigorate college youth with a passion for voting. The political-science major spent his childhood in Pearl and Shreveport, La. The Washington Addition resident said he joined the NAACP in 2007, as a freshman at JSU, because he felt the organization better served the economic interest of people with his income. Teasley, who spent the majority of his adult life working various jobs after dropping out of junior high and getting his GED, said he does not expect his political science major to make him a rich man. He is the first white person to serve as president of the JSU chapter.

Why did you join the NAACP? When I got here in my freshman year, it was not so much that I was pro-Obama before the primary, as I was anti-Bush administration. I saw back then the gap between the wealthy and the poor, which was widening with the help of things like the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. It was all very much about economics with the NAACP. Also, the NAACP was the most prevalent organization on campus that was doing the most work on voter registration and economic awareness—and even teen-pregnancy prevention and the prevention of violence against women—issues that I’m very passionate about anyway. What has been your most memorable NAACP moment? I served as second vice president (of the NAACP JSU branch)

Get Today’s News in 2008-2009. That was around the time we had the primaries and the presidential election. People (who lived off campus) were sleeping on campus. There was so much (excitement) here. The night of the election meant a lot to me. I was a grassroots organizer. I was registering people to vote. I’m from Mississippi; I’m doing the right thing, I felt. And on the night President Obama was elected, people rushed out of their dormitories. It was a moment of historic energy. I could not believe there was no media here on campus to see it, the camera phones, the energy, and people on top of their cars shouting and laughing. It was a beautiful, perfect moment where everybody was united.

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Sounds like Woodstock. Maybe it was. I was a poll watcher all day, and then the polls shut down, and everybody migrated into their dorms to wait for the results. I had 10 or 15 NAACP people in my dorm when the news came. It was like Mardi Gras, but with a Woodstock kind of feeling. We led a very successful voter-registration effort. … We intend to continue that work by reaching out to other colleges, maybe doing cross-campus visits. What about Tougaloo, Alcorn University or Mississippi State University? That’s certainly a part of the plan. Yeah, voter registration in Hinds County exploded in the two years leading up to the election. I’m not about to take responsibility for that, but we sure participated. We registered probably thousands of people on campus, at football games and in the communities. It isn’t just me, of course. There are droves of students who show up to help the effort whenever we get a voter registration drive together. Where will you be taking the NAACP? I’m doing the exact same thing that other people were murdered for in the 1960s. I started out registering people to vote, and I got to be president of this organization … and I don’t have to worry about being murdered. It’s like a breath of fresh air. As a Rankin County Mississippian, I want to protect that freedom. We’ll be pushing for political awareness and democratic participation. Do you gauge the younger generation’s acceptance of race as better compared to older generations? By far. When I speak of a new breath of fresh air and energy in Mississippi, I see it in the lives of younger generations. I’m not saying the older generations are outright racists, but there’s a kind of racist undertone that’s there. In a new generation, such as myself, there’s a freethinking approach to race relations that makes it taste a little sweeter knowing that it’s coming from generations in Mississippi. Mississippi still has an immense amount of struggling to do, but we’ve also made an immense amount of progress. The generational gap is worthy of emphasis.

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11

Legislature: Week 2

by Adam Lynch

Adam Lynch

Latinos and Loans

Members of the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, including MIRA secretary Jeremy Tobin, vowed to fight a bill forcing local police to enforce federal immigration law.

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ississippi could be headed for a courtroom showdown if the full state Legislature passes an anti-immigrant bill mirroring an Arizona law that forces law-enforcement to profile people they suspect to be undocumented residents. On Tuesday, the Senate passed a bill mimicking the controversial Arizona law, followed this week by the approval of the Senate. “We don’t represent people who are here illegally,” said Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, minutes before voting to pass the bill, along with a majority of the committee. Fillingane is the primary author of the bill, which is almost an exact copy of a controversial Arizona law that the U.S. Department of Justice says oversteps the authority of the federal government, which retains exclusive right to enforce national immigration laws. Ellisville Republican Sen. Chris McDaniel, who said he considered it “an honor to be part of the process” that created the bill, said the federal government was not performing its immigration enforcement duty, and so the responsibility has to fall upon the states. Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance Executive Director Bill Chandler said the bill will “put a target” on the backs of all Latino Mississippians, regardless of resident status. Fillingane said the bill restricts police from pulling suspects over for potentially being an undocumented immigrant as a first offense. He said police could only inquire as to an individual’s status after pulling a driver over for a different offense, such as a seat-belt violation or speeding. Sen. Kelvin Butler, D-McComb, said the bill would encourage racial profiling, since police officers would likely base their inquiries upon a person’s appearance. Sen. T.O. Moffatt, R-Gautier, asked if Fillingane had available the potential costs to local law enforcement to enforce the bill. Police would have to dedicate manpower, training and jail space for new offenders. Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin said last year that he did not have the resources to adopt a role of the federal government. Fillingane said the figures were not avail-

able at the time of the committee vote, and said he would have produced them for committee members if was available. “We would have to ask (for the costs of) every municipality in the state, and we haven’t done that,” Fillingane said.. Senate Bill 2179 will go to a House committee for approval, and—surviving that—require a full vote of the House before going to Gov. Barbour for a signature. Fillingane did not speak with confidence upon the bill’s survival in the House, and said he expected the bill to be disputed in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. However, he considered the bill’s fight in the conservative 5th Circuit much easier than the Arizona bill’s battle in the more liberal 9th Circuit. Another big decision last week was the House Banking Committee’s move to tweak a state law exempting short-term lenders from a 36 percent annual percentage rate cap. House Bill 455, passed by the committee last Tuesday, extends an exemption allowing payday lenders to charge what can amount to a 527 percent annual-percentage rate on short-term loans of $400 or less. Currently, such short-term loans are exempt from a statewide 36 percent APR cap, but that exemption expires in July 2012. Opponents of short-term lending argue that borrowers taking out $100 loans regularly take out a string of similar loans throughout the course of the year—many times to repay some portion of their first loan. Ed Sivak, director of the Mississippi Economic Policy Center, said payday-lending customers take out seven to nine loans over the course of a year, potentially racking up about $66 for every $300 loan. The law allows lenders to charge 18 percent interest, or up to $21.95, for every $100 borrowers receive in cash. The state does not allow a lender to lend additional money to customers with outstanding balances, but lenders can take out multiple loans from different short-term lenders. On Tuesday afternoon, the House passed the bill in a 78 to 38 vote. “In Mississippi, there’s no way to track this from happening in real time,” Sivak said. House Bill 455, as passed by the committee, extends the APR exemption but also lengthens the current two-week life of the loan to 28 days. Financial Services Center Mississippi President Dan Robinson said the change halves the amount lenders can charge. Robinson said lenders needed the $21.95 fee to apply to two-week loans to stay in business. “If it goes to 28 days, we’ll have to reduce our rates. If we reduce our rate, we’re going to put small, rural operations out of business. There’s simply not enough volume in these small towns,” Robinson said last week. Sivak said many short-term lenders managed to survive in Arizona after that state let its short-term exemption law expire completely, although Advance America Cash Advance Centers Inc announced in July that it was closing all 47 of its Arizona stores.

Amile Wilson

truthwatch

by Ward Schaefer

State of the State: A Fact-Check

“While it took two-plus years, we got our budget back to where the state spent no more than it received in annual revenue, and we quit raiding balances in special funds. We replenished the Rainy Day Fund to its statutory limit of $375 million and created other reserves to cover potential federal liability. And we did it without raising anybody’s taxes.” In a September 2010 assessment of the country’s governors, the libertarian Cato Institute suggested that Barbour was not a smallgovernment conservative, giving him a “C” on its “Fiscal Policy Report Card.” The report noted that Barbour has approved two tax increases during his tenure: a 2008 tax increase on hospitals to fund a Medicaid shortfall and a 2009 tax hike on cigarettes. The report also noted that state generalfund spending increased 43 percent between

the 2004 and 2008 fiscal years. That span coincided with a surge in state sales-tax revenues following Hurricane Katrina, however. “Governor Barbour has a conservative reputation, but his tax and spending record over seven years as governor has not been very conservative,” study author Chris Edwards wrote. “Starting that first year, we implemented significant, successful changes to spur the creation of more, higher-paying jobs for our people. … The results include a 27 percent increase in personal per capita income despite the recession. This is the 15th highest increase in the country over this six-year period.” Statistics from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis don’t entirely support Barbour’s claim. From 2004 to 2009, per-capita income in Mississippi rose 21 percent, from $25,149 to $30,426. During that time, national per capita income rose 17 percent, from $33,881 to $39,626. Per capita income measures simply divide total personal income by a state’s population, however. Another measure of income, median household income, also shows a smaller increase than Barbour claimed. Median household income in Mississippi rose 15.8 percent,

$31,642 to $36,646, between 2004 and 2009, according to U.S. Census’ American Community Survey. Mississippi’s numbers rose faster than national figures but still fell short: national median household income rose only 12.4 percent over that period, from $44,684 to $50,221. “I’m pleased to tell you and the people of Mississippi that today our state Medicaid program is run with compassion and efficiency for its beneficiaries and their providers and for the people who pay for it: the taxpayers. The federal authorities reported last year that Mississippi’s Medicaid error rate is 3.47 percent, the fourth lowest in the country. The national error rate is more than twice as high.” In 2009, Barbour touted Mississippi’s low Medicaid error rates as vindication that his policy of requiring face-to-face meetings for all Medicaid applicants had reduced fraud. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities has argued that the “error rates” Barbour refers to, the federal Payment Error Rate Measurement program, do not necessarily demonstrate any improvement in Mississippi’s Medicaid system. “PERM does not measure fraud,” CBPP’s Sarah Lueck wrote in March 2009. “It

W

Gov. Haley Barbour delivered his final State of the State address Jan. 11.

is intended to examine how often states make mistakes in eligibility decisions and in paying medical claims.” Moreover, Lueck wrote, PERM is a flawed system and tends to overstate errors. Under the PERM system, even proper Medicaid claims could count as errors if service providers did not complete certain paperwork. “Finally, we’re optimistic that KiOR soon will be breaking ground in Columbus for its first biocrude refinery…” MDA spokeswoman Sally Williams says that Texas-based biofuels startup KiOR has not yet secured a purchase agreement from a major refining company, one of the conditions for the company to receive the $75 million in state loans that legislators approved last year. However, KiOR is proceeding with construction on its Columbus production facility using its own funds, Williams said.

pa i d a dv e rt i s e m e n t

hat mood is your mouth in? Chili’s can deliver a meal to suit your fancy for lunch or dinner. Located at 475 Briarwood Drive in Jackson, Chili’s just started a new Lunch Break special available Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. You build your own combo with either a halfChili’s in Jackson sandwich, soup or salad, and fries. Each combo offers three sandwiches or dishes to choose from along with the soup or salad and fries. Start with a bowl of chili, sweet corn soup, or the house salad, and for the $6 combo add the Classic Turkey Toasted Sandwich with lettuce, tomato, provolone, and mayo on wheat Texas toast. The $7 combo includes soup or salad with three choices, including Bacon Ranch Quesadillas freshly made with grilled chicken, bacon, ranch and cheese. Or you can choose from the $9 combo (with soup or salad) which offers Cajun Chicken Pasta, California Club Toasted Sandwich or the Fajita Chicken Toasted Sandwich, a sandwich piled high with grilled fajita chicken, guacamole and peppers and onions served on white Texas toast. Want to taste a little bit of everything off the menu? The #1 seller, the Triple Dipper, is the way to go, according to Owner Jason Sartain. He says you can pick your three favorites, all served with dipping sauces. So, what’s there to choose from the Triple Dipper? Try Big Mouth Bites, Boneless Buffalo Wings, Southwestern Eggrolls, Fried Cheese, and more. Chili’s cuisine is a pleasant mixture of Tex-Mex and American fare. The atmosphere is casual, so relax and set your focus on what you are going to order. Specialty favorites include the ribs, which, according to Sartain, match any made in Jackson. Other crowd pleasers include the Southwestern Eggrolls, a crispy flour tortilla filled with smoked chicken, black beans, corn, jalapeno Jack cheese, red peppers and spinach. Try their flame-grilled fajitas served with warm tortillas, house-made pico de gallo, cheese, and sour cream coupled with your favorite margarita, and you have a winning combo. If you’re just doing dinner for two, then double up on flavor with their two for $20 dinner. You share an appetizer, then select from two full-size entrees like Fried Shrimp, Bacon Ranch Chicken Quesadillas or Margarita Grilled Chicken. “We are a bar and grill, where people can come in and have a specialty margarita or sit down and have a nice dinner,” say Sartain. “We are very versatile. Our passion is to making people feel special, and we take pride making sure families and their kids have a good dining experience, too.” Visit Chili’s Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. or Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight. Call them at 601-957-7090 for more information.

jacksonfreepress.com

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ov. Haley Barbour used his final State of the State address, on Jan. 11, to tout his resume of accomplishments over two terms. Ever the savvy political communicator, the governor stretched the truth and papered over the more complicated reality. In other instances, his claims were outright wrong. Here’s a selection of Barbour’s claims and that truth behind them.

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jfp op/ed

opining, grousing & pontificating

EDITORIAL

Stand Up to Senate Scheme for Votes

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he Mississippi Senate shamed our state Tuesday when it approved an Arizona-style anti-immigrant law that will require law enforcement to profile anyone they think could be an “illegal” immigrant and demand their papers. This means, of course, that cops would end up asking dark, exotic-looking American citizens for their papers because they might be “illegals.” Folks, this is un-American. Not to mention, it is bad for our state’s economic well-being. For one thing, these politicians are in such a hurry to out-hate Arizona (and please the Tea Party) that they make this bill the top priority and are not reading the fine print. Or they’re lying about it. The truth is that even undocumented immigrants pay a variety of taxes, as do their citizen children born here. They buy stuff. They take jobs others don’t want. They helped rebuild our damn Coast. As Adam Lynch reports in his cover story this issue, the politicians aren’t telling you the whole story about the economic impact of immigrants, documented or not. That doesn’t serve their purpose. What is their purpose? This is a wedge issue to divide Mississippians and to get your vote based on an emotional plea. They use half-truths and outright lies to convince you that “illegals” are a threat precisely because they believe you, especially if you’re white but not only these days, will choose to distrust “the other.” In order words, Mississippi, these lawmakers are counting on you allowing bigotry to trump the actual facts about immigrants that are easy to find if you bother to look somewhere other than hateful blogs and FOX News. Try it. Of course, this little ploy—which is especially shameful because its backers will campaign on their effort whether it fails or not—is very bad for the reputation of Mississippi and for our ability to attract and keep good jobs and the professionals of all ethnicities who do want to work amid this level of political ignorance and hateful rhetoric. And, very sadly, it will help push the smart children out of the state, much as the stupidity of decades past made many of us flee. In other words, the brain drain that helps keep Mississippi in the economic basement (which hurts all but the most privileged; ahem) just got a shot in the arm by the Mississippi Senate. The vast majority of young people under 30 just don’t think this way these days, lawmakers. And many people of all ages know that you not only just offended people of color yet again in our state; you offended every Mississippian by pretending we’re a stereotypical hotbed of non-thinking bigots. We urge Mississippians of all races to stand up to these insults of our character. Do your homework, get on the phone, pay them a visit. We need to take back our state from those who insult us for their own political gain.

KEN STIGGERS

Le Swanky Steak Shack

January 19 - 25, 2011

B

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oneQweesha Jones: “Welcome to the Ghetto Science Television Network’s Post-Martin Luther King Holiday edition of ‘To Catch a Perpetrator in the Post-Racial Era.’ “Some people feel I shouldn’t produce a show like this. Some folk say to me: ‘Why don’t you people stop whining about what happened a hundred years ago?’ “Well, I feel that I should confront and combat any form of disrespect toward any individual—especially in the business sector. And in this so-called post-racial era, it looks like disrespect is at an all-time high—and climbing. “For example: A governor from Maine tells the NAACP to ‘Kiss his butt’ regarding not attending the local celebration of the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. Also, on the World Wide Web, hatred and disrespect runs rampant. And if someone does not stand up to this foolishness, our Post-Racial Era will become a retro-prejudiced Jim Crow slavery period. “It’s funny how a lot of people perpetrating disrespect toward ethnic minorities expect them to smile and be pleasant always. Those smiling and shuffling days are gone. Today, ethnic minorities are serious and intelligent enough to recognize the undertones of hatred and disrespect. “With that said, let’s investigate a controversial e-mail where the manager of ‘Le Swanky Steak Shack’ was terminated from his job for writing: ‘Looks like another Saturday night ghetto party. They sure love us, and we sure love paying customers. Tell BoneQweesha her party is booked.’ “What was he thinking? “Remember: Think before you click the ‘send’ button.”

Taking a Stand

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Kamikaze

’ve always said if change were going to come in Jackson, it wouldn’t come easy. I’ve known for years that some folks would have be dragged kicking and screaming into the new millennium. I know it’s comfortable when you’ve immersed yourself in “tradition,” apathy or complacency. A “rebirth” isn’t going to be pleasant. In fact, it’s going to be painful for some. It’s going to make some very important people squirm, tug at their ties and purses and exhale to relieve the tension. Are we ready for some blank stares? Are we prepared for deafening silence when we raise our voices in defiance? Several events have unfolded since the beginning of the new year that indicates to me the fire is lit and the gauntlet dropped. 2011 is going to be special. Not special in the clichéd “this-is-going-to-be-my-year” way, but special in the sense that I believe this is the year Jackson—all of us—takes a stand for our city. I was inspired by the wave of Twitter support that followed a few folks noticing that The ClarionLedger was doing a piss-poor job of moderating the comments on its website. Daily, it becomes a cesspool for vitriol, a rest haven for cowards who love to post offensive racial comments under the guise of anonymity. Our daily is not the only culprit, but the traffic to its site is too high for them to continue to allow anonymous posting without moderation. In 2011, we are taking a stand, letting bloggers know it is irresponsible to call women or races by derogatory names, make personal attacks, or take anonymous jabs at our city and its people without facts. There will be retorts. Believe that. Was I surprised when I read how a young lady trying to plan a birthday party for her mother accidentally received an e-mail from a Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse manager that described her party as “ghetto”? NO! Was I surprised when he quipped “they” really love us, don’t “they”? NO! Bet he was surprised when he and his marketing manager began getting calls and e-mails from black and white folks declaring they’d never eat there again. And he might have been sur-

prised when the company fired him as a result. Too many of us make beelines for Madison County to eat, not realizing the same cuisine is served in the city of Jackson. Has it yet dawned on you that our dollars aren’t respected? After the groundswell of support for the young lady and her mom exploded, I think folks are getting the picture. In 2011, I urge you to “Buy Jackson” and to “Eat Jackson.” Folks are realizing that complaining about water pipes and bad roads makes it incumbent upon us to spend our money in the city limits so we can shore up our tax base. In the end, I see this as a spark that will awaken the new generation. That fire is beginning to singe the coattails of the five or six people who spend their day posting about how dangerous Jackson is. To hear them tell it, Jackson is like a real-life reincarnation of the movie “The Warriors,” where men and women have to run a gauntlet of gangsters in biker jackets with spikes on their shoulders holding chains and crowbars. To hear them tell it, you’ve got to shoot your way into your home, and everyone’s a victim-in-waiting. In 2010, they had some success in scaring the hell out of people. They ran people out of town. In 2011, we’re not going to ignore it. NO! We’re not going to keep taking what you’re dishing. The facts are in our favor, and they trump your fear-mongering. You want steak? Eat at Olga’s or Monte’s. Eat at Nick’s, Walker’s, Babalu, Julep, Lumpkins or anywhere that has Jeff Good’s name attached to it. Don’t spend money where it doesn’t benefit you. Speak up where you see wrong. Call out hateful speech immediately. Refute propaganda with facts. Organize. Act. Identify leaders in your community. Train them and urge them to act. Call out the influential people in your circle and chide them for being silent. A very vocal minority of Jackson-bashers has beaten a very quiet majority of Pro-Jacks up until now, but 2011 is the year we turn the corner. And that’s the truth ... sho-nuff.

Defensive Reflex Editor in Chief Donna Ladd Publisher Todd Stauffer

EDITORIAL Managing Editor Ronni Mott News Editor Lacey McLaughlin Associate Editor Natalie A. Collier Senior Reporter Adam Lynch Reporter Ward Schaefer Events Editor Latasha Willis Music Listings Editor Natalie Long Assistant to the Editor ShaWanda Jacome Writers Quita Bride, Lisa Fontaine Bynum, David Dennis Jr., Scott Dennis, Bryan Flynn, Carl Gibson, Brandi Herrera, Garrad Lee, Lance Lomax, Anita Modak-Truran, Larry Morrisey, Chris Nolen, Robin O’Bryant, Casey Purvis,Tom Ramsey, Doctor S, Ken Stiggers, Jackie Warren Tatum, Valerie Wells, Byron Wilkes Editorial Interns Julia Hulitt, Holly Perkins, J. Ashley Nolen, Dorian Randall, Dylan Watson Consulting Editor JoAnne Prichard Morris

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I

believe the first thing I ever bought on eBay many years ago was an old L.C. Smith typewriter. Because it was incredibly heavy, the shipping cost me more than the winning bid. I had it sent to my office, and I remember showing it off to some of my coworkers with engineering backgrounds who were amazed at the level of precision of this fully functional antique typewriter. I work in the information-technology field, but I am not nearly as impressed with processors or circuit boards manufactured by some robot as I am with this beautiful, art deco apparatus of the 1930s. Computers are disposable. Intel co-founder Gordon Moore accurately predicted that the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit would double approximately every two years. A typical consumer laptop from 10 years ago is, for all practical purposes, completely unusable today. Yet, here is this 80-yearold typewriter, with its awkward-to-master keys, which is still every bit as functional today as when it was first produced. I have a close friend who collects Russian World War II rifles. I don’t fully understand the fascination with guns—to me they are weapons with the sole purpose of destruction and death. No matter whether you’re using a gun for target practice, hunting or protection, the fact is whatever is shot will most likely be destroyed, killed, neutralized or severely injured. In contrast, the few typewriters that I’ve collected over the years can be used as a tool of creativity, capturing intelligent dissertation. In the hands of a skilled writer, a typewriter (or any tool of writing) can be used to change the hearts and minds of most reasonable people better than any weapon ever could. Being “reasonable� is the key idea at play here. A lot of good, intelligent, reasonable people need to come to grips with the fact not everyone in our society needs to have a gun. Not everyone in our society is balanced or responsible enough to have a gun. Are we ready, yet, to have a serious and civil conversation about guns, violence, and hate? I watched President Obama’s address at the Arizona memorial service, and I believe he did an excellent job at setting the tone for how we, as a nation, should

make every effort to work toward better cooperation in problem solving. I believe he is wise to condemn finger pointing, as it can stir hate and discord just as quickly as gun pointing. It is now time for those who would generally cry foul at the first mention of gun control to step up. These tragic, senseless and audacious acts of violence should be, and largely could be, avoidable. The biggest hurdle in working together is for people to avoid the immediate “defensive reflex.� We live in a competitive society that generally rewards the stronger competitor, thus conditioning us to always be in attack mode. There are startup militia groups and parties that would consider any form of perceptive dialogue as a sign of weakness, and we simply can’t ignore the dangers of uncivil rhetoric. I hope politics in our country will turn around and be truly productive. I hope our civilization can be one with great accomplishments and not a lowperformance society, bogged down with each party occasionally winning a penalty kick. I hope disputes can be solved with rational thought rather than dissenting emotions. This is a call to all sensible people to hone your skills of cooperative persuasion. I’m tired of seeing one side acting hell-bent on showing the other side the error of their ways, and then not understanding why there is no cooperation or accomplishment as a result. I’m tired of seeing the other side “stick to their guns� and prey upon fear and vulnerability, and then shrug their shoulders when a madman goes ballistic. No offense to my close friend, but I’ll take my old typewriter any day over his collection of rifles of the same era. Nearly 200 years ago, English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote that the pen is mightier than the sword. That can still be true today. Please choose your words wisely; they can either change the world we all share, or they can continue a long and frustrating battle without victors. Scott Dennis is a Morton, Miss., native who lives in Pearl. Dennis earned a computer-science degree from Mississippi College, and works as an IT specialist with the U.S. Geological Survey. He is blessed with a wonderful wife and a small but growing family.

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Scott Dennis

15

Reading the Tea Leaves

The Effect of a Controversial Movement on Mississippi by Adam Lynch

T

January 19 - 25, 2011

Puzzled, I asked Wiggans his age. He said he was 57—meaning that he is drawing close to another federally administered social program known as Social Security, which many anti-government folks mistakenly call welfare or an “entitlement,” although workers contribute their own funds to it. I’d already mocked Wiggans’ age, and was feeling too awkward to argue the difference between the “socialized” health care he envisioned ending and the Medicare he would also be eligible for in only a handful of years. But Tea Party rallies around Jackson are dominated by a sea of graying hair in every auditorium they fill, who routinely call for eliminating all social services. A 2010 CNN Opinion Research poll reveals that young people under 30—Generation Y—aren’t drinking the anti-government tea: only about 20 percent of Tea Party activists are under age 29. But not all are gray, yet: The majority of Tea Party activists are between the ages of 30 and 64: with 40 percent age 30 to 49; 29 percent 50 to 64; and 12 percent over 65. The Power of Tea Last September, Rep. George Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, expressed bitterness during a legislative hearing at the state Department of Medicaid’s predictions for Medicaid enrollment in 2019—figures that Flaggs found uncomfortably high. “We have 699,000 people on Medicaid now, and we’re about to have another governor and another Legislature. If by 2014 we’ve got that many people still on Medicaid, then we need to be run out of this country. We’re not doing anything (to help) with the socioeconomic status of our people,” Flaggs said. “If that projection is true, then I might as well join the Tea Party tomorrow.” Republicans at Flaggs’ table cut loose a few chuckles at this and invited him to “come on over” to the Tea Party. Rep. Diane Peranich, D-Pass Christian, who rarely lets an opportunity slip, jokingly referenced a 1999 statement from Republican Delaware Senate nominee and Tea Party advocate Christine O’Donnell. Peranich warned

Flaggs that he would have to first “dabble in tax revenue that is too low to adequately pay witchcraft” to qualify for Tea Party status— for school materials and teachers. The Tea which abruptly concluded the Republican Party makes no mention of MAEP as a prilaughter, but sparked an outburst of giggling ority. The party is hostile toward any kind of from Democrats at the hearing. government-organized education. Mayo has While Republicans seem willing, or re- also taken a stand on other centrist ideas that signed, to work with the Tea Party, Democrats look downright liberal when compared to the are jittery about the influence Tea Partiers will House’s heavily slanted conservative coalition. have on state elections this year. Especially the Because of his political alignment, Mayo conservative, Blue Dog types such as those just fears the Tea Party’s organization could best driven from the U.S. Congress. him in the next election should it put its power Mississippi State University’s John C. behind a more conservative candidate. Stennis Institute of Government Director “I’ll be honest with you: I don’t know Marty Wiseman said the Tea Party will have a how I got re-elected other than by being atlasting impression on Republican Party orga- tentive to my constituents’ needs. My political nization in the state for years to come. philosophy is certainly out of the spectrum of “Tea Party folks will deny this, but they a number of people,” Mayo said, adding that almost always vote Republican. … [T]he al- a majority of his district is white and lives in ternative is a Democrat, and that is heresy to the conservative Desoto County region. He most Tea Party members I know. They say said he predicts the Tea Party movement this they’re not conelection year “will trolled by any have a huge negaparty, but they’re tive influence” on firmly in the Rehis campaign. publican camp, Rep. Bobby and their organiMoak, D-Bogue zation will help Chitto, waved off Republicans for a Mayo’s anxiety long, long time,” last October: “Ah, Wiseman said. Mayo says that Democrats every election in largely conyear, and every servative districts Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, submitted a bill election year he this month following a controversial Arizona law containing a high encouraged by Mississippi Tea Party groups. stomps his comportion of whites petition.” say they fear for But the power their re-election because of the Tea Party’s fero- of the party appears to linger over House and cious unity and organization. Senate members like an angry bear in your “The Tea Party is highly influential in outhouse: You really don’t want to anger it, Desoto County,” said Rep. John Mayo, D- but the rules of your own biology demand you Clarksdale. “It’s very well organized. I don’t eventually contend with it. Even politicians know any members, but from what I read and representing the state’s more liberal, urban arwhat I see and the influence they appear to eas do not loudly diss the party of tea, despite have on the members here in the House, they their obvious philosophical differences. appear highly influential.” Flaggs said the Tea Party does not comMayo is vocal about his support for fully prise a majority of voters who elected him to funding the Mississippi Adequate Education his seat, so he should arguably have nothing Program, a program that allocates state mon- to lose in spilling every cup of tea that comes ey to rural, underserved school districts with before him. Still, he said he tries to think of ADAM LYNCH

ea Party member Donald Wiggans was different. A small, wiry man, he stood quietly during an August 2009 town-hall meeting on health-care reform featuring U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson. Thompson, a Democrat leading a largely African American Delta district, was Mississippi’s only fervent supporter in Congress for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law March 23, 2010. Other Mississippi representatives like Republican U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper hosted their own forums, but used them to blast the health-care law, which opponents brand “government expansion” and “socialism.” People proudly calling themselves Tea Party members held signs such as “Tea: Taxed Enough Already?” during the town-hall debate. Angry, vocal Tea Partiers routinely stormed public hearings statewide to voice disdain for the health-care expansion, calling it “socialism” and worse, but most of the party members avoided the one forum in Jackson led by health-care advocate Thompson. Not Wiggans. He stood next to a woman holding a union-member sign advocating for health-care reform, so it initially seemed that Wiggans was with her—that is, until I saw the sign leaning against the wall beside him reading: “No New Taxes,” a Tea Party mantra. I asked him if that was his sign, and he paused a long moment before answering that it was. I then asked him his name. “Are you a reporter?” he asked, eying my digital recorder skeptically. “I’m with the Jackson Free Press.” “Never heard of that.” “Maybe if you were younger,” I said. Wiggans laughed out loud—a hearty, earnest laugh, which made me feel small for stabbing at his age. I asked Wiggans his issue with a healthcare renovation, and he launched into a monologue about what he considered the socialization of health care, and eventually told me that the country had been going in the wrong direction for decades. He said it was time to 16 “stop welfare” in the country.

handed out $196 million from 1998 to 2008 to conservative causes, including $12 million to FreedomWorks, which is closely allied with the national Tea Party movement. “So far, in 2010, Koch Industries leads all other energy companies in political contributions, as it has since 2006,” Mayer wrote And the Kochs are not alone. Media Matters for America called out The Wall Street Journal, owned by Rupert Murdoch (as if FOX News), for “whitewashing” the Tea Party movement, going so far as to it is a reaction to Republican members of Congress. All About the Business Business owner Alan Ramsay, a Mississippi Tea Party member and a fan of the party’s call to eliminate property tax, called incomebased federal taxation a scam on Jan. 6. He advocates for a new tax scheme based exclusively upon sales taxes. His system, known as the Fair Tax, would replace federal income taxes including personal, estate, gift, capital gains and Social Security, as well as Medicare, selfemployment and corporate taxes. The Fair Tax, as outlined at fairtax.org, allows you to keep every $1 you earn—no Social Security payment, no FICA. However, you get 30 percent added to the price of your purchases, from groceries to new cars, to houses. Under the Fair Tax, the federal government will provide a monthly payment to qualifying families to cover their increased purchasing costs. One family with two children would get a “prebate” of $351 monthly check from the government to cover their losses at the Piggly Wiggly cash register, but a home costing $200,000 will demand you borrow an extra $60,000 from your banker or mortgage loan officer to meet the new tax cost. Critics, like MSN finance writer Jeff Schnepper, point out that any advantage the poor could derive would come from the elimination of Social Security and Medicare taxes; the poor already don’t pay taxes on their first $31,400 in income if they’re married with one child. Americans for Fair Taxation Chief Economist David Burton wrote that those earning more than $200,000 in profits or salary—like the Kochs and other high-wage earners— would see their share of the overall tax burden decrease, and that “probably those earning between $40,000 and $100,000” would see their percentage of the tax burden rise though the implementation of the “fair tax.” A sales tax, by definition, is flat, in that the same tax applies to everyone buying the same product, states Fackcheck.org, but lowincome earners spend much more of their income upon necessities, unlike high earners, who have the option of ferreting most of their income away into savings or investment accounts, or into trust funds for their children. Ramsay said newer Republicans are more receptive of the Tea Party’s call for a Fair Tax. He said he sat down recently at a table with apparently old-school U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker and U.S. Rep. John Linder, R-Ga., to discuss the Fair Tax for an hour and made no headway on Wicker’s side of the table: “Roger did everything he could to find something wrong with it. Linder, who is a prime sponsor of the fair tax in Washington, had to cut him off at every turn. Roger did everything he could. He’s a politician. His stock

Advocates of the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance filled the Capitol rotunda to voice problems with a bill forcing law enforcement to adopt immigration enforcement duties. MIRA Director Bill Chandler said it would cause police to racially profile.

in trade is taxes. He sells taxes in exchange for campaign contributions, and he’s even convinced himself he’s doing the right thing.” Wicker did not return calls for comment. Killing the New Deal The Mississippi Tea Party held a Jan. 6 rally in the state Capitol rotunda “for the citizens to meet with their legislators and show support for several freedom-restoring initiatives.” The event amounted to a meet-andgreet with local legislators, and eventually broke down into squads of mostly middle-age and older people shaking hands with Republicans who didn’t mind posing with Tea Party members for photographs. The Mississippi Tea Party set up tables holding copies of the nation’s Constitution and information packets encased in an envelope and labeled with the name of a legislator. By 9:30, most of the unclaimed envelopes lwere those addressed to Democrats. Littered among the pamphlets were lists of Mississippi Tea Party priorities, such as: “phase out of Welfare Programs, initially requiring drug testing and eventually phasing it out completely.” Former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt kicked off a series of economic programs between 1933 and 1936 as a response to the nagging agony of the Great Depression. Many of those programs included Social Security and the Works Progress Administration relief program. Some, like WPA, shut down during World War II. Others, like Social Security, remain not only intact but wildly popular. Some legislators take more easily to the Tea Party philosophy than others. Rep. Mark Formby, R-Picayune, is a particularly zealous example of someone who agrees with it, saying it reflects his conservative beliefs. “I’m not hearing a lot from the Tea Party movement that I have not heard from someone in the conservative movement in the last 20 years that I’ve been here (in the Legislature) and in the 10 years prior to that when I was active in politics,” Formby told the JFP. Formby, a real estate salesman, has a face that does not intimidate. With his oversized ears and perpetual, unassuming smile, it’s difficult to trash-talk the guy. It may prove easier for the average Mississippian to disagree with his political bent, however. “(Jesus) Christ

taught welfare. What he didn’t teach us was taking money from somebody and mandatorily giving it to somebody else. Welfare is taking care of those who can’t take care of themselves, and all of us, I hope, who are Christian, would advocate taking care of those who can’t take care of themselves,” Formby said. “The wonderful goal of the Tea Party is to start going back 200 years to where we started. We started without government welfare, as defined today. Davy Crockett said the widow’s pension would open a can of worms a long time ago, and the proof is in the pudding.” (That supposed Crockett quote is apocryphal, and came from an 1867 dime-store novelist tale about an incident that did not happen, but is now widely circulated on the Internet, according to Ann Toplovich, the executive director of the Tennessee Historical Society.) The ability to deliver welfare, according to the Picayune Republican, should be the adoptive role of family members and friends, and the church, not the government. Formby says this while admitting that his own church offers less and less aid than it used to. Rather than citing dropping church attendance and revenue as the chief cause for sliding church charity, Formby blames an overly generous federal government: “Since the government has taken more and more responsibility for those people, the church has taken less and less.” “Mississippi is last in all categories that relate to social economic issues. We have to improve the condition of our people,” said Rep. Flaggs of the Tea Party’s effort to end welfare. “For the most part, we’ll continue to have the programs that are good.” Flaggs, who represents the largely progressive urban area of Vicksburg, did not slam every aspect of the party’s attack on welfare, despite his initial recoil at the suggestion. “I do agree that we need to revaluate all (social) programs and eliminate the ones that aren’t working. Some programs have become obsolete, and because they’ve become obsolete we need to look at more progressive programs so we can move the state forward.” Rep. Mayo of Clarksdale finds the Tea Party’s push for the dissolution of welfare proTEA PARTY, see page 18

jacksonfreepress.com

A Useful Revolution Many believe the Tea Party movement kicked off during the 2008 presidential run of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas. Considerable numbers of youth jumped behind Paul’s libertarian ideas, such as less spending overseas, decriminalizing all illegal drugs and prostitution, and pulling money from the nation’s bloated $600 billion defense budget. Teens advocating for Paul showed up in many of Jackson’s more progressive, urban areas, such as the Fondren, hoisting signs advocating Paul in the months leading up to the 2008 Republican primary. But the foundation was laid much earlier by conservative and libertarian billionaires bent on dissolving every social safety-net program and eliminating taxes for businesses and the wealthy. The party seems somewhat disorganized, with countless local factions that do not have to be officially accepted into a united statewide effort. Mississippi Tea Party Chairman and Brandon resident Roy Nicholson said the state party has only officially endorsed a handful of Mississippi’s own Tea Party upstarts. “The Mississippi Tea Party is simply the association of 10 of the different Tea Parties from around the state. We don’t represent all of them. There’s another 10 or 20 of them,” he said. But even though local chapters may not be in lockstep, the national Tea Party effort is firmly tied to corporate interests seeking release from government taxes and regulation. Brothers David and Charles Koch own Koch Industries, a private oil and chemical company whose annual revenues are about “a hundred billion dollars,” reported by Jane Mayer of The New Yorker in a seminal story that exposes Tea Party facts they don’t talk about much at rallies or on FOX News. Mayer reported that Koch is considered one of the top 10 polluters in the U.S., and fights regulation tooth and nail. “The report showed that, from 2005 to 2008, the Kochs vastly outdid ExxonMobil in giving money to organizations fighting legislation related to climate change, underwriting a huge network of foundations, think tanks, and political front groups. Indeed, the brothers have funded opposition campaigns against so many Obama Administration policies—from health-care reform to the economic-stimulus program— that, in political circles, their ideological network is known as the Kochtopus,” she wrote. Americans for Prosperity, founded by David Koch in 2004, holds training sessions and gatherings for Tea Party activists. The group has provided party activists lists of elected officials to target, hosted a website listing Tea Party talking points, held “Porkulus” rallies slamming President’s Obama’s stimulus measures and held more than 300 rallies against health-care reform. Mayer discovered through tax record searches that Koch-controlled foundations

Adam Lynch

the Tea Party movement as “any other party, which has a right to the democratic process.” “They’ve got some positions that they think needs voiced, and we’ll listen to them and look at it on their merits. I don’t attack. I don’t think it’s necessary to offend folks because they have a different opinion, but I think we have to support those issues that unite us rather than divide us,” Flaggs said.

17

TEA PARTY, from page 17

January 19 - 25, 2011

18

Immigrants and Tea Columbus Republican Rep. Gary Chism suffered an awkward moment last week when confronted by members of the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance. This month, Chism submitted a Arizona-style bill to force local law enforcement to profile people they suspect are undocumented residents, which may include American citizens, and ask them for paperwork establishing their legitimate residency. Last week, MIRA held a noon press conference blasting the bill and its Senate counterpart. MIRA Executive Director Bill Chandler beat the legislation as an open invitation to racial profiling, since the chief determiner for a residency request would likely be the suspect’s behavior or appearance. Chandler then sent MIRA representatives and advocates into the Capitol halls to argue their point with legislators. A handful happened upon the nervous Chism in the Capitol’s second-floor hall. It did not help that the majority of MIRA members fussing at Chism were women, at-

AMILE WILSON

grams, which he feels include programs like Medicaid and Medicare, an illogical prospect, considering the programs’ popularity. “When one of (the Tea Party members) has a mother who is a senior on Medicaid, who gets cut off, who are they going to call first? They’re going to call me, saying, ‘My Mom just got cut off Medicaid, and I want her back on it.’” Mayo said. “You have to be careful what you ask for.” Formby, like many dedicated Tea Partiers, says he “can’t think of any (social) program that can’t do with some shrinking.” “That includes education, Medicaid, transportation, human services. Most agencies are born, they eat, and they expand, like we do. We create a department, the department turns into an agency, and it grows and grows. You build a storage shed. It costs money, Five years later, you have to put a new roof on the storage shed,” he said. Wiseman is surprised by the Tea Party’s ability to convince residents of Mississippi— which has an extremely high poverty rate—to vote against programs that serve them. “It’s the darndest thing you ever saw,” said Wiseman. “I’ve never seen a state that’s more inclined to vote against its interest. Take earmarks: The polls show we don’t like earmarks, but we get more earmark money than any other state for our population.” Wiseman then referenced the Republican Party’s successful shutdown of the omnibus spending bill unsuccessfully pushed during the December lame-duck congressional legislative session. Heritage Foundation member Conn Carroll wrote in December that “the spirit of the Tea Party won another major victory when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was forced to drop his $1.27 trillion, 1,924page omnibus spending bill.” Wiseman pointed out, however, that Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi, combined, “will lose $104 million in combined research money,” compared to last year because of the bill’s demise.

Rep. John Mayo, D-Clarksdale, said he believes the Tea Party in his district will negatively affect his next campaign.

tacking him for submitting a bill that they felt discriminated against their children. “Whether or not you like it, those little babies are just as American as you,” said MIRA Treasurer Kathy Sykes. “I understand that,” Chism said, looking cornered, as a diverse group of about 20 MIRA members filled the hall to watch. Chism argued repeatedly that the bill forbids law enforcement from racial profiling through its wording, but Sykes and the others complained that forbidding profiling in the bill wouldn’t discourage profiling if police have nothing more upon which to base an inquiry. “I’m sorry. I have to go,” Chism eventually said, and almost jogged away. The Mississippi Tea Party stands behind initiatives enacting a law similar to Arizona’s controversial legislation, even if they are unlikely to survive court scrutiny over the long haul. U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton issued a preliminary injunction against the portion of the law forcing officers to inquire about residency status last July, in response to a legal challenge by the U.S. Justice Department. But the law is gathering traction in the Mississippi Senate, yielding a strong anti-immigrant talking point in conservative campaigns even if the law fails. The Senate passed Sumrall Republican Sen. Joey Fillingane’s Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act on Jan. 18. Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant, a candidate seeking Gov. Haley Barbour’s seat in the upcoming election, openly backs the Arizona law. In 2006, when he was state auditor, Bryant produced a report, “The Impact of Illegal Immigration on Mississippi: Costs and Population Trends,” which claimed “illegals” cost the state $25 million a year. But he did not calculate undocumented immigrants’ contribution in direct and indirect taxes. Statistics widely reported by diverse outlets from USA Today to the libertarian Reason Foundation shows that undocumented immigrants pay billions in taxes across the U.S. They pay personal income taxes, and have

Amile Wilson

Social Security and Medicare withheld—and often do not collect it due to their status. In 2008, for instance, “illegal’s” paid $9 billion in Social Security taxes alone, and paid a total of $90 billion in federal taxes over the first eight years of the century. They also pay state sales taxes, and their citizen children pay taxes through their jobs. IRS figures show that the children routinely pay thousands more in than the cost of government services that they consume. Bryant’s report also claimed that undocumented immigrants accounted for a significant portion of the state’s $504.6 million in uninsured health-care services in 2004, without acknowledging that the federal government created a fund to repay hospitals for uninsured immigrant care—and Mississippi had yet to deplete its share of the fund. The Tea Party’s opposition to Latino expansion in the state is marking MIRA as a clear enemy in upcoming battles over the state’s new political wedge issue. “The fact that a black man is the president of our country infuriates them,” MIRA stated in its periodical MIRA in Action. “The fact that people of color will be the majority in this country, in this century, puts them over the edge. A major party has been thoroughly taken over by them, and they seek power by any means necessary. Their goal is clearly to turn back the clock.” Jackson Ward 2 Councilman Chokwe Lumumba, who spoke at a Jan. 12 press conference at the Capitol against the Arizona-style bills, said Latinos and blacks are recognizing their enemy and are joining together to form a powerful “movement of the people” to prevent

a rollback of national race relations. “We are at a point in history where the people are beginning to stand up again, like one of those colossal movements like the Civil Rights Movement,” Lumumba told a crowd of about 80 MIRA advocates. “We’re at the point of history where people who have a legacy of coming from somewhere else and taking land from its original owners are complaining because the relatives of these folks whose land they stole are coming across the border in order to escape the wretchedness created in their country by corporations from this country,” Lumumba said. The Homogenous Party Tea Party rallies around the city of Jackson have never been multi-racial affairs, although the occasional person of color takes the microphone. Last July, Tea Party members at a rally in Madison drummed up support for the upcoming Arizona bill in the 2011 legislative session. Speakers included black Republican Bill Marcy, who compared the presence of undocumented residents in the country to a burglar making himself comfortable on your couch and demanding that you fetch him a martini. “Thirteen million people have sneaked through the back window, and now they’re starting to come into your living room and telling you that they actually own the house,” said Marcy, who failed to claim Bennie Thompson’s Second Congressional District seat last November. Local radio talk show personality Kim Wade, also an African American Republican,

Members of the state’s various Tea Party organizations hotly contest political decisions made by President Barack Obama. Some Tea Party members still question the legitimacy of the president. Many demand state sovereignty, a reminder of the state’s darker days.

was another speaker at the Madison rally, telling about 200 participants that their “nation is in peril,” and that they have bravely “decided to stand up on behalf” of the country by supporting an Arizona-style law in Mississippi. Wade revealed a voting-strength fear, though, when he suggested to the Jackson Free Press last fall that it would be fine for more immigrants to come to the U.S. if they agreed not to seek the right to vote, an argument that conjures memories of the long-time fear of the black vote in the state and the efforts white legislators made to try to stop it. “[W]hy don’t you step up ... and say, ‘we just want to work We don’t want to vote for

anybody.’ Do it like that,” he advised undocumented workers. “If the people who come into this country illegally say that, they’d find that they don’t have as many supporters as they thought they had, because the supporters they have only want to get them to vote for them.” Aside from Wade and Marcy, the Madison rally contained almost no people of color—just one Latino MIRA community organizer who grumbled later that none of his co-workers met him at the event. Whiteness also blanketed a September TEA PARTY, see page 19

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2010 town hall meeting in Rankin County, where Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker ended up defending the legitimacy of Obama’s birth certificate before a crowd of about 150, many of whom beat the “birther� drum. “This case was brought before a federal court. It went up through the appeal process, and the Supreme Court ruled that they would not take the case up—essentially upholding the decision of the lower court. In our rule of law, that settled it,� Wicker said, sparking some grumbling from the audience. “Birther� proponent Orly Taitz filed a suit in federal court last year, claiming a Kenyan birth certificate belonged to Obama. U.S. District Judge David Carter tossed the suit in October 2009. But the eagerness to undermine the president’s legitimacy remained strong among the Tea Party crowd at the Northwest Rankin High School Republican fundraiser. Yet, Tea Party members continually defend the whiteness of the group, saying that Obama disdain does not mean the group harbors openly racist members. But its own members, and their signs and other statements, often tell a different story. The NAACP issued a report last fall called “Tea Party Nationalism,� which criticized the national Tea Party over its racist members. The commissioned research by the Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights documents the origins and activities of six national tea-party organizations: FreedomWorks Tea Party, the Tea Party Patriots, 1776 Tea Party, ResistNet and Tea Party Express. The report claims the 1776 Tea Party group drew some members and leaders directly from the Minuteman Project, which is criticized as “one of the country’s largest, richest and most influential nativist extremist groups� by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which documents hate groups on the left and right in America, from black separatists to white supremacists. The report also found overlapping membership between ResistNet and what SPLC describes as the “white nationalist� Council of Conservative Citizens. Researchers “found Tea Party ranks to be permeated with concerns about race and national identity and other so-called social issues. In these ranks, an abiding obsession with Barack

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Mississippi NAACP President Derrick Johnson said the Tea Party needed to disown and push out racist elements within it, such as the Council of Conservative Citizens.

Obama’s birth certificate is often a stand-in for the belief that the first black president of the United States is not a ‘real American.’� It added that “rather than strict adherence to the Constitution, many Tea Partiers are challenging the provision for birthright citizenship found in the Fourteenth Amendment.� Tea Party organizations “have given platforms to anti-Semites, racists, and bigots,� and “hard-core white nationalists have been attracted to these protests, looking for potential recruits and hoping to push these (white) protestors towards a more self-conscious and ideological white supremacy,� the report cites. The Tea Party Nation event in Gatlinburg, Tenn., for instance, featured Wood County Tea Party leader Karen Pack, who is identified in the report as “a supporter� of Thom Robb’s Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Furthermore, the report claims that the Council of Conservative Citizens is active in Tea Parties, and even advertised several events in its tabloid Citizens Informer and through its website at www.cofcc.org, including a Mississippi Tea Party demonstration at Flowood City Hall last March; and a “Mississippi for Liberty March� at the state Capitol last April. (The Tea Party, by contrast, did not approach the Jackson Free Press about advertising.) Worker’s

compensation attorney Gordon Baum formed the CofCC in 1985 using the mailing list of the old Citizens Council, founded in Indianola in 1953 to stop integration of the races. The Citizens Council national headquarters was in Jackson until 1990. The Council of Conservative Citizens’ “Statement of Principals� includes an item describing the United States as “a European country and that Americans are part of the European people.� The same section speaks against the idea of interracial marriage. “We also oppose all efforts to mix the races of mankind, to promote non-white races over the European-American people through so-called ‘affirmative action’ and similar measures, to destroy or denigrate the EuropeanAmerican heritage, including the heritage of the Southern people, and to force the integration of the races,� the organization now states. The NAACP document pointed out that the Upper East Mississippi Chapter of the Council of Conservative Citizens sponsored a Halloween Tea Party at the Tippah County Courthouse, in Ripley, in March 2009. Nicholson said the party has little to TEA PARTY, see page 22

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no influence over what organizations choose to list its public events—eerily similar to the answer Haley Barbour gave about a photo of him posting with Mississippi CofCC leaders posted on their site in 2003. Nicholson insists that the Tea Party, as an organization, does not promote policies aimed at particular races. He would not speak for the CofCC’s sponsorship of the Ripley Tea Party Halloween event, and said the Mississippi Tea Party had no official member branches in Ripley. “I don’t even know anything about (CofCC),” Nicholson told the Jackson Free Press. “I can tell you that in all of the dealings that I’ve had with our member chapters. … I have never seen anything that was of a racist tone being brought into it. That doesn’t mean that at some rallies somebody doesn’t show up with a (racist) sign or something like that. We don’t have any control of that, but as far as the discussion that has come out of the groups themselves, there has never been a racist tone.” Nicholson said the Tea Party is “opposed to anything that limits opportunities or excludes people based on their race or national origin” or religion. He said the party concerns itself with policies and “peoples’ actions.” Mississippi NAACP President Derrick Johnson looked surprised when asked if the NAACP has updated its 2010 opinion of the Party. “The Tea Party should purge itself of the racist elements that have been identified within the party structure,” said Johnson last week. “How they feel about government and taxes is a policy issue, but there are individuals and organizations that have joined the Tea Party, like the (Council of Conservative Citizens Council) who have demonstrated a racial hatred of other individuals.” The wide spectrum of personalities welcomed under the Tea Party umbrella sets the stage for political embarrassment. One speaker at an April 2009 Tea Party rally at the state Capitol told an audience of a few hundred that government-mandated school integration had been a mistake. “When we integrated the schools 30 years ago, the reason was a balanced and fair education system; yet 25 or 30 years later the public schools in Jackson are over 90 percent black, and we have a huge private school system that flourishes in this area, and it’s well over 90 percent white,” said business owner Doug Wilson. “The unintended consequences are that we now have a dual system that is anything but fair and balanced.” Wilson later walked back his statement to the JFP: “My point was that government acts and does certain things, and it has unintended consequences. It was done with a good heart. It was done with pure motives, but the end result was bad. We’re still separate.” A Last Hurrah But it is basic demographics that could ultimately doom the Tea Party uprising. The U.S. population is changing fast with the Pew Research Center pointing out that only 53 percent of new mothers in 2008 were white, compared to 65 percent of new

mothers in 1990. Meanwhile 45 percent of new mothers in 2008 were African American, Latino or Asian, compared to 33 percent in 1990. Following recent trends, the Pew Research Center predicts non-Hispanic whites to become the minority in 2050, with a population of only 47 percent, when compared to other minorities, including Asians, Hispanics and African-Americans. The population trend spells trouble for the racially homogenous Tea Party. Former Vermont Governor and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean told an audience at a Jan. 5 Christian Science Monitor-hosted event that the Tea Party movement represents “the last gasp of a generation that has trouble with diversity.” “It’s a group of older folks who’ve seen their lives change dramatically. The country’s not the same,” Dean said at the rally. “All of a sudden, it’s here for them and they don’t know what to do. … Every morning when they see the president, they’re reminded that things are totally different than when they were born.” The racial dynamics of Mississippi are changing, as are attitudes of younger Mississippians toward diversity and the federal government. Certainly suburbs, such as Desoto County are growing in populations, as the progressive bastion of Jackson has shrunk. But the Mississippi Department of Education data show that black and Hispanic populations are dramatically increasing, even in Desoto. Ridgeland is experiencing its own brand of browning with a black student population in 2010 of 436, which outnumbered the 385 white students. In the 2003-2004 school year, this originally white suburb contained a black student population of only 264. Rankin County represents one of the fastest growing populations in the state, but February Census numbers could reveal that a significant portion of that population expansion into Rankin County is due to the flight of non-whites to the suburbs. The Hispanic student population in Rankin County schools more than doubled from 148 students in 2003 to 371 students in 2009. “Department of Education numbers are a pretty good way to discern the racial changes,” Wiseman said. “I’ve never maintained that the Democratic Party in Mississippi is completely dead,” Wiseman said. But the Democratic Party, Wiseman said, will have to take a lesson from the Tea Party’s organizational effort: “Campaigning has become so high-tech and sophisticated (that) Democrats will have to follow all the way through and knock on doors and bring them to the polls if they’re going to be successful,” Wiseman said. The party may also have a hard fight enticing younger voters to its cause: Generation Y isn’t dying to go backward to darker times. “They wouldn’t want to have the survival of the fittest society that existed before the New Deal,” said Tougaloo College political-science professor Stephen Rozman. “Go back before the New Deal, and you lose the safety nets. We’d be all at the mercy of people at the top who are controlling things more and more.

BOOKS p 24 | MUSIC p 29 | SPORTS p 32

Jackson Jewish Film Festival: A Multi-Cultural Celebration

L

ike most art forms, there’s something about a film that brings people together. Lessons about love, life and relationship always strike a chord, no matter your religious, familial or ethnic background. Some things are just universal. The films at this year’s Jackson Jewish Film Festival, a pre-eminent showcase for movies that examine Jewish life, are no different. The festival and its films celebrate ethnic diversity and promote multi-cultural dialogue for the ninth year in a row. From Saturday, Jan. 22, through Tuesday, Jan. 25, see four outstanding films, from “Ajami,” the most critically acclaimed Israeli film ever to be made, to the documentary, “Where I Stand: The Hank Greenspun Story,” to “The Secrets” (with a special dinner

at the Fairview Inn before the show), to the closing night gem, “For My Father.” Providing a panoramic worldview, these movies encourage tolerance and understanding and appeal to our humanity. The festival opens Saturday at 7 p.m. with “Ajami,” a film that won the 2009 Israeli Academy Award for Best Picture, received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film the same year and a special mention at the Cannes Film Festival. Co-written and co-directed by Scandar Copti and Yaron Shanim, who come from different faiths (Copti is a Christian Israeli Arab and Shanim is a Jewish Israeli), “Ajami” is an intense and harrowing film. The movie explores five different stories set in the impoverished neighborhood of Jaffe, which is tech-

Jackson Jewish Film Festival Saturday, Jan. 22, 7 p.m., “Ajami” Sunday, Jan. 23, 2 p.m. “Where I Stand … The Hank Greenspun Story” Monday, Jan. 24, 7 p.m. “The Secrets” Tuesday, Jan. 25, 7 p.m. “For My Father” All films screen at the Millsaps College Recital Hall, 1701 N. State St., except “The Secrets,” which screens at the Fairview Inn (734 Fairview St.). Purchase tickets by mail from the Jackson Jewish Film Festival (5315 Old Canton Road) or at the door. Individual films are $12 per screening ($5 for children). A festival pass for all four films is $40. A $150 patron pass includes a sponsor reception at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 22, at the Millsaps Recital Hall third floor art gallery. For more information, visit bethisraelms.org, or call 601-362-6357.

of a rabbi. Through the process of helping Anouk, Noemi and Michel become romantically involved, and family fall out is inevitable. This film goes deeper than melodrama, seeking to reconcile opposing religious beliefs and sexual intolerance. The festival closes Tuesday night, Jan. 25, with the transcendent drama “For My Father,” directed by Dror Zahavi. Nominated for seven Israeli Academy Awards and winner of the Audience Award at the Moscow International Film Festival, this film tells the story of an eventful weekend in Tel Aviv where things go terribly wrong—and right. “You’re doing something important,’’ an older Palestinian terrorist tells Tarek, a shaken young Arab who knows he will die a violent death within two days. He’s a suicide bomber, avenging his father’s cooperation with the Israelis. With explosives strapped to his body, Tarek walks into a crowded market in Tel Aviv, positions himself near a news camera, and pushes down on the detonator. Nothing. The trigger’s broken, and Tarek finds himself asking a Jewish electrician for a replacement. While waiting for the new part, he forms an intimate, meaningful bond with a young Israeli woman, as well as a new appreciation of how both Israelis and Palestinians are trapped by their cultures. As a result, Tarek begins to rethink the value of his own life. The powerful subject matter and the strong performances sustain this film to its poignant end.

“Secrets” premieres Monday, Jan. 24, 7 p.m., at the Jewish Film Festival. Fanny Ardant stars at the film’s protagonist, Noemi.

jacksonfreepress.com

Director Scott Goldstein brings the story of Herman “Hank” Milton Greenspun to the big screen with “Where I Stand: The Hank Greenspun Story.”

nically in Tel Aviv and known as “Ajami.” Non-professional actors who speak in Arabic and Hebrew play the main characters, and this combination lends itself to an authentic experience. The film balances broad political implications with intimate characters, and the result is a griping portrayal of the Middle East conflict. On Sunday, Jan. 23, at 2 p.m., the festival screens Scott Goldstein’s documentary “Where I Stand: The Hank Greenspun Story.” Narrated by Anthony Hopkins, with an original score by Elik Alvarez and Freddy Sheinfeld, this documentary examines the life of Herman “Hank” Milton Greenspun. Greenspun was a tough Brooklyn kid who went from lawyer to businessman to arms runner for the then-new nation of Israel to the controversial, crusading editor and publisher of the Las Vegas Sun to political activist cleaning up a mobbed-up city, ending segregation on the Strip and protesting the dumping of nuclear waste in Nevada. We see Greenspun emerge in this documentary as a “Zelig”-like figure (from Woody Allen’s 1983 film), showing up in the background of nearly every major event of the 20th century. Goldstein, whose credits as a writer, producer and director include “L.A. Law,” “Doogie Howser, M.D.” and “The Today Show,” drew from a treasure trove of information. Greenspun left behind columns, new stories, books, diaries, letters, filmed appearances, newsreels, photographs, home movies and family members who wanted to share his legendary story. Goldstein blends these elements into a well-crafted and captivating film. Filmmaker Scott Goldstein will be on hand to speak about the film after the screening. “The Secrets,” directed by Avi Nesher and starring one of my favorite actresses, Fanny Ardant, screens Monday night, Jan. 24. This deeply involved film tells the story of Noemi, the daughter of an ultra-Orthodox rabbi. She is her father’s most learned and devout student until her fall from grace. She refuses to be submissive to the will of her father and her future husband, and she dares to think that someday she could be a rabbi. When her mother dies, Noemi begs her father to put off the wedding to allow her one year of study at a women’s religious seminary in a secluded town in Israel. At seminary, Noemi meets the wildly passionate Michel. The two find themselves befriending Anouk, an ill French woman, just released from prison. Even though she is not Jewish, Anouk seeks Jewish healing, and Noemi performs the role

courtesy Institute of Southern Jewish Life

courtesy Institute of Southern Jewish Life

by Anita Modak-Truran

23

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DIVERSIONS|books

by James L. Dickerson

Art Disguised as Memoir

T

om Sancton has had an interesting career as a journalist. He is a former Time magazine reporter and editor, contributor to Vanity Fair, Fortune, and Newsweek, and author of a bestselling book about the investigation of Princess Diana’s death. But it turns out the most interesting things about him are his family ties and his adolescent jazz apprenticeship in New Orleans with Preservation Hall old-timers, some of whom were contemporaries of Louis Armstrong. I overlooked Sancton’s memoir, “Song for My Fathers: A New Orleans Story in Black and White” (Other Press, 2010, $14.95), when it was published in hardcover four years ago, but I am grateful that its reissue in paperback found its way to my doorstep. Sancton grew up in racially segregated New Orleans, where his father worked as a reporter for the Item and garnered a reputation as an unrepentant liberal during the early days of the Civil Rights Movement, when going against the grain could get you beaten up or worse. His mother, the daughter of a Mississippi Supreme Court justice and debutante in her native Jackson, was no less interesting, especially for the grace with which she supported her husband and then her son on racial issues. With parents like that, how could Sancton do anything but become the only white teen in New Orleans to play clarinet with the “mens” of Preservation Hall. Sancton’s notoriety as a teen was such that a local television station did a story on him as part of a series named “Terrific Teens.” The story was taped at Benjamin Franklin High School, so he figured that when it aired he would be greeted as a star by the other students. “Instead,” he reports, “people avoided me in the halls. The gym teacher, Coach O’Neal, took me aside and said, ‘I thought that show was going to feature Franklin. It was all about you and those people at Preservation Hall.’ He didn’t need to be more explicit. I understood then that … a young man trying to live in two worlds was considered weird.” If the heart of this book is the New Orleans music scene—not the hit-making superstars who rode about town in limos, but the lowly pioneers of jazz who drank cheap whiskey and made music because it was all that they knew how to do—then the soul of the book is the author’s account of his relationship with his father and mother. The book chronicles the author’s complicated family and music relationships in an engaging manner that makes it difficult for the reader to separate the two. The moving Courtesy Other Press

LAUGHTER IS A GIFT FROM GOD

death of the author’s mother is matched by his determination to repair a broken relationship with his father, due in no small part to his sometimes unflattering portrait of his father in the hardcover edition of this book. In the paperback edition, he writes of his mother’s final days and his father’s rejection, initially, of his attempt to be the good son. After his mother’s death, his father refused to allow him into his home, so bitter was he over their relationship. Concerned about his health, the author drove by his house on a regular basis and left groceries on the doorstep. Finally, he received a note from his grieving father: “I don’t need any more food. But I would appreciate it if you could come over and replace some light bulbs.” It was the opening that he had been waiting for. Later, his father told him: “We’re as different as a biological father and son can possibly be … but we have to find a way to work it out.” I have always had a weakness for coming-of-age books set in the South; however, it was not until I read Sancton’s memoir that I realized that such books are flawed as art if race is the engine that drives the story. After all that has been written about growing up in the South, beginning with Mark Twain’s fictional adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (thinly disguised memoir), and continuing to the present-day deluge of memoirs about growing up amid racial hatred, there is absolutely no reason to think that anything has been learned from all those hard-fought experiences, at least not by the population as a whole. Southerners are not quick learners when it comes to the past. We repackage history and try again in myriad ways to return to the so-called “good old days.” Nostalgia is a curse, not a blessing. We’ve been playing this sad tune since before the Civil War—and it just seems to go on and on and on. It makes you wonder if we will go into the next century and the one after that still dealing with the same unresolved issues. I’m not optimistic that the South in my lifetime will move far beyond current racial attitudes, which is why I think you might want to overlook that facet of this book and throw yourself into the rich music and the heartfelt father/son reconciliation that elevates this story from a pedestrian “music history” to a higher plane of art for art’s sake. James L. Dickerson’s coming-of-age story is presented in bits and pieces in “Devil’s Sanctuary: An Eyewitness History of Mississippi Hate Crimes,” (Lawrence Hill Books, 2009, $26.95) which he co-authored with Jackson attorney Alex A. Alston Jr.

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BEST BETS Jan. 19 - 26, 2011 by Latasha Willis events@jacksonfreepress.com Fax: 601-510-9019 Daily updates at jfpevents.com

Wednesday 1/19

Courtesy Institute of Southern Jewish Life

All Christmas decorations at N.U.T.S. (114 Millsaps Ave.) are 50 percent off through Jan. 22. Hours are 9:30 a.m.4 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Call 601-355-7458. … Historian Walter G. Howell speaks during History Is Lunch at the William F. Winter Archives and History Building (200 North St.) at noon. Bring a lunch; call 601-576-6850. … Rodney Crowell signs copies of “Chinaberry Sidewalks” at Lemuria Books (202 Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 N.); reading at 5:30 p.m. $24.95 book; call 601366-7619. … Ralph Miller performs at Irish Frog at 6:30 p.m. … Swing d’ Paris performs at Underground 119. … Big Juv is at Fenian’s. … Barry Leach performs at Hal & Mal’s. … Doug Frank’s Wednesday Night Jam at C-Notes is at 8:30 p.m.

Friday 1/21

Children’s toys and games at N.U.T.S. (114 Millsaps Ave) are 15 percent off today. Call 601-355-7458. … Glen Stripling signs copies of “Chronosia” at Cups in Fondren at 10 a.m. $12.79 book; visit chronosia.com. … The National Migration Week Festival at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum (1150 Lakeland Drive) starts at noon. Free; beer tasting $10 (starts at 4 p.m.); call 601-948-2365. … World Revolution 2011 kicks off at Making Jesus Real Church (422 Riverwind Drive, Pearl) at 6:30 p.m. with music by Vernon Moore and Jiafom, Safe in Shekinah and more. Free; call 601291-0204. … Col. Bruce Hampton and the Quark Alliance perform at Martin’s at 10 p.m. … The Lucky Hand Blues Band plays at C-Notes. … Forever Friday: Fifth Anniversary Edition at Knockers Sports Cafe (4586 Clinton Blvd.) is at 10 p.m. $10; call 601-454-8313.

601-957-1050. … See the opera film “Verdi’s ‘La Traviata’” at Russell C. Davis Planetarium (201 E. Pascagoula St.) at 2 p.m. $16; call 601-960-2300. … Jason Turner performs at Burgers and Blues from 5-9 p.m. … Cultural Expressions has open-mic poetry.

Monday 1/24

The “Attention to Detail” art exhibit at Cups in Fondren is up through Jan. 31. Free; call 601-362-7422. … The Central Mississippi Blues Society Jam at Hal & Mal’s is at 8 p.m. $5. … Irish Frog has karaoke with Kokomo Joe.

Tuesday 1/25

The “Pieces of the Past: Casualties of War” exhibit at Old Capitol Museum (100 S. State St.) opens today 1/22 and shows through April 10. Free; call 601-576-6920. … The Statewide Black History Celebration includes a Americana Night at Broad Street (4465 Interstate 55 N.) 9 a.m. program at Jackson State University, McCoy Audi- at 5 p.m. includes specialty dishes and music by The Hustorium (1400 John R. Lynch St.) and the International Afri- tlers. $24 in advance, $26 at the door; call 601-362-2900. can Ball at the Jackson Convention Complex at 7 p.m. Free … The play “The 39 Steps” at New Stage Theatre (1100 morning program, $50 ball; call 601-813-5045. … The Jack- Carlisle St.) is at 7:30 p.m. and runs through Feb. 6. $25, son Jewish Film Festival begins with a screening of “Ajami” $22 students/seniors; call 601-948-3533. … Hunter Gibat Millsaps College (1701 N. State St.) in the recital hall; son and Rick Moreira perform at Fitzgerald’s. other films shown through Jan. 25. $12, $5 students, $40 festival pass, $150 patron pass; call 601-956-6215. … David and Tamela Mann of “Meet the Browns” perform at Thalia 1/26 Mara Hall at 7:30 p.m. $32.70, $37.85; call 800-745-3000. Mississippi Film Commission manager Ward Emling … Sound Wagon plays at Fenian’s. … The Molly Ringwalds speaks during History Is Lunch at the William F. Winter Arare at Fire. … The Jackson Roller Disco at Funtime Skate- chives and History Building (200 North St.) at noon. Bring land (931 Highway 80 W., Clinton) is at 10 p.m. For ages 21 a lunch; call 601-576-6850. … Jeanette Walls signs copies of and up. $12 (includes skate rental); call 415-425-9291. “Half-Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel” at Lemuria Books (202 Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 N.) at 5 p.m.; reading at 5:30 p.m. $15 book; call 601-366-7619. … Natalie Long and 1/23 Steve Deaton perform at “Natalie’s Big Ol’ Birthday Bash” at The Premier Bridal Show at the Jackson Convention Fenian’s. … Poets II has music with DJ Phingaprint. Complex is at noon. $22 in advance, $25 at the door; call More events and details at jfpevents.com.

Saturday

Wednesday

Sunday

See the Israeli film “Ajami” at the Jackson Jewish Film Festival Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. at Millsaps College.

January 19 - 25, 2011

At F. Jones Corner, Housecat plays during the blues lunch (free), and Amazin’ Lazy Boi performs at 10 p.m. ($5). … The opening reception for Roy Adkins and Jerri Sherer’s art exhibit at the Mississippi Library Commission (3881 Eastwood Drive) is at 5 p.m. The exhibit is up through Feb. 25. Free; call 601-432-4056. … The Third Thursday Art Rendezvous at View Gallery (1107 Highland Colony Parkway, Suite 105, Ridgeland) is at 5 p.m. Free; call 601-278-3991. … Mark Whittington is at Burgers and Blues from 5:30-9:30 p.m. … Suite 106 hosts the weekly Pandora’s Box at 5:30 p.m. Free. … Bret Mosley performs at Underground 119. … Legacy is at Fenian’s. … Dreamz Jxn hosts Centric Thursday. … 26 Snazz performs at Fire.

courtesy jeannie waller

Thursday 1/20

Jesse Robinson performs on Thursdays at Lumpkin’s BBQ during lunch.

jfpevents

Valentine’s Date Night Feb. 4, at circa. (2771 Old Canton Road). Artist Christy Henderson debuts her exhibit of intriguing abstracts and love-themed works. With artisan-made gifts and a scent bar, you’re sure to find a perfect Valentine’s gift for someone special and yourself. Free admission; e-mail shannon@jacksonfreepress.com. Ignite the Night Gala Feb. 12, 7:30 p.m., at Mississippi Children’s Museum (2145 Highland Drive). The event includes interactive exhibits such as the Mississippi Climbing Map, food, cocktails and prize giveaways. Choose an outfit from the costume closet and have your picture taken as a memento. $100; call 601-981-5469 or 877-793-KIDS. Mississippi Happening ongoing. The monthly broadcast is hosted by Guaqueta Productions and features a special musical guest. Download free podcasts at mississippihappening.com.

Community Export Finance and Incoterms Seminar Jan. 19, 8:30 a.m., at Mississippi World Trade Center (175 E. Capitol St., Suite 255). The seminar will introduce key provisions of Incoterms 2010, the standard used worldwide for contracts for the sale and shipment of goods. Participants receive a free copy of the Incoterms 2010 reference guide, a $60 value. $75; call 601-353-0909. Blood Pressure Checks for Seniors Jan. 19, 10:30 a.m., at Golden Key Multi-purpose Senior Center (3450 Albermarle Road). The City of Jackson’s Department of Human and Cultural Services and the staff of St. Dominic Health Service’s Care-A-Van outreach program provide blood pressure checks and glaucoma awareness information to qualifying individuals aged 55 or older living within the Jackson city limits. Free; call 601-960-0335. “History Is Lunch” Jan. 19, noon, at William F. Winter Archives and History Building (200 North St.). Historian Walter G. Howell talks about dueling, including the most celebrated duel of Clinton. Bring a lunch; coffee/water provided. Free; call 601576-6850. Mississippi Health Awareness Day Jan. 20, 10 a.m., at Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.). The day is geared toward promoting healthy living and providing disease prevention. Activities include health screenings, workshops, seminars and other preventative health activities. The “March from Obesity” at 9 a.m. from the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium (2531 N. State St.) to the medical mall precedes the event. Free; call 601-487-8269 or 601-982-8467. Ridgeland Rendezvous Jan. 20, 5 p.m. View artwork by Southern artists and enjoy food, fun and atmosphere at Ridgeland’s galleries, restaurants and shopping centers. Visit visitridgeland.com. Precinct 3 COPS Meeting Jan. 20, 6 p.m., at Jackson Police Department, Precinct 3 (3925 W. Northside Drive). These monthly forums are designed to help resolve community issues or problems, from crime to potholes. Call 601-960-0003. “Winter Stoneflies, The Coolest Bugs in Town” Jan. 20, 7 p.m., at Clinton Community Nature Center (617 Dunton Road, Clinton). In Price Hall. Dr. Bill Stark is the speaker. Learn more about these small, dark insects that locate mates, lay eggs and move around actively during the coldest periods of the year. Free; call 601-926-1104. Heart Beats of Jackson Health Fair Jan. 22, 8 a.m., at Mississippi Trade Mart (1200 Mississippi St.).

Mississippi Neurosurgical Society Conference Jan. 21-22, at Hilton Jackson (1001 E. County Line Road). The annual meeting offers professionals continuing educational opportunities, mainly topics regarding the spine. You must be a physician or nurse to attend. Free; call 601-815-1617. National Migration Week Festival Jan. 21, noon, at Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum (1150 Lakeland Drive). Catholic Charities is the sponsor. From noon-5 p.m., enjoy food from around the world, country displays and cultural performances. The international beer tasting with live music is from 4-8 p.m. Free admission, $10 beer tasting; call 601-948-2635. World Revolution 2011 Jan. 21-22, at Making Jesus Real Church (422 Riverwind Drive, Pearl). Revolution for Life and Youth Against Crime is the host. The event is designed to provide a platform for local youth to voice their issues and brainstorm to develop innovative, effective strategies to solve community issues. The opening concert Jan. 21 at 6:30 p.m. is open to all ages. The youth session and rally Jan. 22 at 9 a.m. is for youth ages 11 and up. Special guests include Vernon Moore and Jiafom, Safe in Shekinah, Something Positive, Shanda Steele and more. Free; call 601-291-0204. Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi Super Conference Jan. 22, 8 a.m., at Marriott Hotel (200 E. Amite St.). The event is for people with diabetes and their family, friends and health-care providers. Speakers include Dr. Ann Albright, Chef Luis Bruno and Dr. Herman Taylor. Group discounts available. Cost includes lunch. Limited Space. $25, $40 for two, $10 children 12 and under; call 601957-7878 or 877-DFM-CURE. Statewide Black History Celebration Jan. 22. The 9 a.m. program at Jackson State University, Rose E. McCoy Auditorium (1400 John R. Lynch St.) includes a keynote address by former Gov. William Winter and performances by local artists such as Ballet Magnificat!, the Jim Hill High School Choir and the Mississippi School of the Arts Chorale. The International African Ball at 7 p.m. at the Jackson Convention Complex (105 E. Pascagoula St.) includes dinner, music by saxophonist Dr. Russell Thomas and recognition of key persons and places. The honoree of the night is Dr. Alferdteen Harrison. Tickets available at BeBop, the Coliseum Box Office and New Horizons Bookstore. Free 9 a.m. program, $50 ball; call 601-813-5045. Jackson Roller Disco Jan. 22, 10 p.m., at Funtime Skateland (931 Highway 80 W., Clinton). Join local deejays Young Venom and Scrap Dirty, and Hot & Lonely as they spin disco, electro-funk, old school and house music at the skating party. ’70s and ’80s costumes strongly encouraged. For ages 21 and up. $12 (includes skate rental); call 415-425-9291. The Premier Bridal Show: Weddings & Celebrations Jan. 23, noon, at Jackson Convention Complex (105 E. Pascagoula St.). Mississippi’s top wedding professionals will be available for consultations. The event includes door prizes, a New York-style fashion show and samples. $22 in advance, $25 at the door; call 601-957-1050. Pastor Installation Jan. 23, 3 p.m., at Jackson State University, Rose E. McCoy Auditorium (1400 John R. Lynch St.). Dr. Michael T. Williams will be formally installed as the 14th pastor of College Hill Missionary Baptist Church. Williams is a native of Greenville and a graduate of Mississippi State University and Andersonville Theological Seminary in Camilla, Ga. Call 601-922-8890 or 601-988-8054. Book Buddy Volunteer Training Jan. 24, 2:30 p.m., at Boyd Elementary School (4531

Album Releases This Week Greg Allman “Low Country Blues,” Andre Nickatina & The Jacka “My Middle Name is Crime,” Ian Axel “This is the New Year,” Braids “Native Speaker,” The Decemberists “The King is Dead,” Steve Lukather “All’s Well that Ends Well,” Lady Lazarus “Mantic,” Keak Da Sneak, P.S.D. That Drivah & Messy Marv “Da Bidness Pt. 2,” Neon Quartet “Catch Me,” Robert Pollard “Space City Kicks,” The Script “Science & Faith,” Shilipa Ray and Her Happy Hookers “Teenage and Torture,” Madlib “Madlib Medicine Show No. 11: low Budget High Fi Music,” Smith Westerns “Dye it Blonde,” Social Distortion “Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes,” Tennis “Cape Dory,” Young Prisms “Friends for Now,” IMAKEMADBEATS “IMAKEMADBEATS” Broadmeadow St.). The program aims to help children progress in school. Rebecca Starling of Jackson Public Schools is the instructor. E-mail dhanson5@aol.com. Monday Night Football Mixer Jan. 24, 7 p.m., at Dreamz Jxn (426 W. Capitol St.). Watch football on the big screen TV and enjoy burgers, wings and drinks. Wrestling fans can watch WWE in the VIP Lounge. Free admission; call 601-979-3994. Health-care Reform Forum Jan. 25, 8 a.m., at Mississippi Center for Nonprofits (921 N. President St., Suite C). Attendees will learn about the health-care reform bill and expectations of employers regarding health insurance. Other topics include group insurance, information about a insurance product that MCN is offering and payroll-tax reductions for employees. $60, $35 members; call 601-968-0061. For Health’s Sake: It’s Time for You Jan. 25, 11:45 a.m., at Baptist Medical Center (1225 N. State St.), in Baptist for Women. Join OB/GYN Dr. Amanda Nicols to find out the key things you can do to protect and maintain your health. Registration is required. $5 optional lunch; call 601-948-6262 or 800-948-6262. Americana Night Jan. 25, 5 p.m., at Broad Street (4465 Interstate 55 N.). Enjoy specialty food and drinks including the Front Porch Swing, and music by The Hustlers. Reservations recommended. $24 in advance, $26 at the door; call 601-362-2900. Jackson Audubon Society Monthly Chapter Meeting Jan. 25, 6:30 p.m., at Eudora Welty Library (300 N. State St.). Sean Sullivan, co-chair of the Sierra Club Borderlands Team, discusses the impact of the U.S.-Mexico border fence on wildlife. Open to the public. Free; call 601-956-7444. Friendship Ball Honoree Call for Nominations through Jan. 28. Jackson 2000 is seeking nominations for Friendship Ball honorees for 2011. Individuals nominated must be involved in building bridges among races in the community and must promote racial harmony in their personal and professional lives. The deadline for submissions is Jan. 28. The Friendship Ball will be held March 5. E-mail todd@jacksonfreepress.com.

Stage and Screen “Fast Food” Auditions Jan. 21-22, 6 p.m., at Vicksburg Theatre Guild/Parkside Playhouse (101 Iowa Blvd., Vicksburg). Productions dates are April 29-30, May 1 and May 6-8. Call 601-636-0471. Arthouse Cinema Downtown, Jan. 21-22, at Russell C. Davis Planetarium (201 E. Pascagoula St.). Films include “White Material,” “The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer” and “Waste Land.” The Mississippi Film Institute is the sponsor; visit msfilm.org for show times. $9 per film; call 601-665-7737. “All Shook Up” Jan. 21, 7 p.m., at Vicksburg Auditorium (901 Monroe St., Vicksburg). The play with 24 Elvis songs tells of a small-town girl who dreams of the road, and the guitar-playing roustabout who brings excitement into her life. Tickets available at Ticketmaster and BeBop. $27.75$58.25; call 601-630-2929 or 800-745-3000.

Jackson Jewish Film Festival Jan. 22-25, at Millsaps College, Ford Academic Complex (1701 N. State St.). Films include “Ajami” Jan. 22 at 7 p.m., “Where I Stand: The Hank Greenspun Story” Jan. 23 at 2 p.m., “The Secrets” Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. and “For My Father” Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. Sponsors include Beth Israel Congregation, the Millsaps College Jewish Culture Organization, Jewish Cinema South, Goldring and the Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. $12, $5 students, $40 festival pass, $150 patron pass; call 601-956-6215. Laugh Out Loud Gospel Celebration Jan. 22, 7:30 p.m., at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E. Pascagoula St.). David and Tamela Mann portray Mr. Brown and Cora in the TBS sitcom “Meet the Browns.” Tickets available at all Ticketmaster outlets. $32.70, $37.85; call 800-745-3000. Verdi’s “La Traviata” Jan. 23, 2 p.m., at Russell C. Davis Planetarium (201 E. Pascagoula St.). The film from La Scala is presented by the Mississippi Opera and the Mississippi Film Institute. $16; call 601-960-2300. “The 39 Steps” Jan. 25-Feb 6, at New Stage Theatre (1100 Carlisle St.). Written by Alfred Hitchcock and adapted by Peter Parlow, the comedy play is about a man on the run after being accused of murdering a spy. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Jan. 25-29 and Feb. 2–5, and 2 p.m. Jan. 30 and Feb. 6. $25, $22 students/seniors; call 601-948-3533. Crossroads Music Video Showcase Call for Entries through Feb. 1. Musicians or filmmakers in or near Mississippi are eligible to participate. All music videos are due by 11:59 p.m. Feb. 1. Each music video selected for inclusion by the screening committee in the Crossroads Film Festival in April will receive tickets to the Music Video Showcase (one for the director and one for each band member). Please submit a separate entry form for each video. Free entry; visit crossroadsfilmfestival.com.

Music Alumni Recital Jan. 20, 7:30 p.m., at Belhaven University Center for the Arts (835 Riverside Dr.). This program of Bach, Beethoven, Bernstein, Mendelssohn and Liszt is the culmination of Sarah Sachs’ work at USM where she is completing her master’s of music in piano performance. Free; call 601-965-7044. Shelby Lynne Jan. 21, 7:30 p.m., at MSU Riley Center (2200 5th St., Meridian). Touted for being as tenacious and tough as she is talented, the Alabama native distinctively blends country, soul and rock. A pre-show party will be held at 6 p.m. $42, $36; call 601-696-2200. Emerson String Quartet Jan. 21, 8 p.m., at Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts (100 University Ave., Oxford). Violinists Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer alternate in the first chair position and are joined by violist Lawrence Dutton and cellist David Finckel. $20, $28; call 662-915-2787.

More EVENTS, see page 28

jacksonfreepress.com

Radio JFP on WLEZ ongoing, at WLEZ 100.1 FM and wlezfm.com. Join Donna Ladd and Todd Stauffer every Thursday from noon-1 p.m., where they discuss vital issues and play local music. Listen to podcasts of all shows at jfpradio.com. Free; call 601-362-6121, ext. 17.

Meet with area physicians and medical personnel and have screenings for cardiovascular disease. The fair includes nutrition and healthy-living workshops and guest speakers. Appointments for a free screening will be available to the first 350 individuals who call the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership office. Free; call 601-948-7575.

courtesy Knitting Factory

JFP-Sponsored Events

27

6A0=3E84F A M A LC O T H E AT R E

South of Walmart in Madison

ALL STADIUM SEATING Listings for Friday, Jan. 21st - Thursday, Jan. 27th No Strings Attached

R

3-D Green Hornet PG13 The Dilemma The Heart Specialist

PG13 R

The King’s Speech R

JFP on WLEZ

live every Thursday at noon on WLEZ 100.1 and wlezfm.com

Hosts: Todd Stauffer, publisher Donna Ladd, editor-in-chief podcasts available at jfpradio.com

Season Of The Witch PG13

Black Swan

R

3-D Gullivers Travels

PG

Gullivers Travels (non 3-D) PG 3-D Tron Legacy PG The Fighter

R

3-D Yogi Bear PG Yogi Bear (non 3-D)

PG

PG13

Chronicles Of Narnia: Voyage Of The Dawn Treader (non 3-D) PG

Little Fockers PG13

Tangled (non 3-D) PG

Country Strong PG13 True Grit

GIFT CARDS AVAILABLE

jfpevents

from page 27

Mississippi Opry Winter Show Jan. 22, 6 p.m., at Pearl Community Room (2420 Old Brandon Road, Pearl). Performers include Harmony & Grits and Alan Sibley & the Magnolia Ramblers. Refreshments will be sold. $10, children free; call 601-331-6672.

LITERARY AND SIGNINGS “Chinaberry Sidewalks” Jan. 19, 5 p.m., at Lemuria Books (202 Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 North). Rodney Crowell signs copies of his book; reading at 5:30 p.m. $24.95 book; call 601366-7619. “Chronosia” Jan. 21, 10 a.m., at Cups in Fondren (2757 Old Canton Road). Glen Stripling signs copies of his book. $12.79 book; visit chronosia.com. University of New Orleans’ Seventh Annual Writing Contest for Study Abroad through Jan. 31. Three prizes to attend the University of New Orleans’ writing workshops in Edinburgh, Scotland, will be given to a poet, a fiction writer, and a creative nonfiction writer. Writers who have not published a book of 45 pages or more in the genre in which they are applying are eligible. The award includes full tuition and lodging, and the winning works are published in The Pinch. The editors of The Pinch will judge. Submit up to three poems totaling no more than five pages or up to 4,500 words of prose by Jan. 31. $25 entry fee; visit unopress.org/writingcontest.

DAILY BARGAINS UNTIL 6PM

CREATIVE CLASSES

Online Tickets, Birthday Parties, Group & Corporate Events @ www.malco.com

Superfoods Workshop Jan. 19, 6 p.m., at Viking Cooking School (1107 Highland Colony Parkway, Ridgeland). Learn how to incorporate highnutrient foods into your daily meals. Techniques discussed include creating a classic emulsified sauce, working with avocados, making sushi hand rolls and preparing leafy greens. Space is limited. $89; call 601-898-8345.

Movieline: 355-9311

Painting with Cocoa Jan. 20, 4 p.m., at Pearl Public Library (2416 Old Brandon Road, Pearl). Learn how to make a painting with hot chocolate. For children in grades K-6. Free; call 601-932-2562. Pedals, Pipes and Pizza Jan. 22, 8 a.m., at Fondren Presbyterian Church (3220 Old Canton Road). The program introduces piano students (grammar through high school) to the pipe organ. The Jackson chapter of the American Guild of Organists sponsors the event. Participants should contact Billy Trotter at billytrotter @bellsouth.net or 601-924-7458 to register. Free; call 601-362-3235. Rings and Things—A Blacksmithing Class Jan. 22-23, at Mississippi Craft Center (950 Rice Road, Ridgeland). Brian Brazeal and Lyle Wynn ate the instructors. Learn to make rings, bangles and key fobs. Bring a hand hammer; other supplies are included. Classes are from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. both days. $200; call 601-856-7546.

January 19 - 25, 2011

Winter Community Enrichment Series Jan. 24March 31, at Millsaps College (1701 N. State St.). Most classes start Jan. 24 and fall into the categories of arts and crafts, computer, dance, health and fitness, heritage and history, home and garden, language and literature, money and business, music, personal development and special offerings. Contact the Continuing Education office for a brochure. Fees vary; call 601-974-1130.

28

Salsa Mississippi Dance Classes through Dec. 31, at Salsa Mississippi/La Salsa Dance Club and Studio (303 Mitchell Ave.). Zumba class is held Mondays at 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays, take the bachata class at 6 p.m. or the mild salsa class at 7 p.m. Wednesdays, beginners salsa is taught at 6 p.m., and intermediate salsa is taught at 7 p.m. Advanced salsa class is on Thursdays at 6 p.m. A beginner’s salsa class is also taught at the Chapatoula Building (115 Cynthia St., Clinton). $10 per class; call 601-213-6355.

Jewelry Making Class ongoing, at Dream Beads (605 Duling Ave.). This class is offered every Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. Free; call 601-664-0411. Adult Hip-Hop Dance Classes ongoing, at Courthouse Racquet and Fitness Club, Northeast (46 Northtown Drive). Learn authentic hip-hop dance techniques and choreography. Open to all ages 16 and older. Classes are offered Mondays from 7:30-8:30 p.m. and Fridays from 5:30-6:30 p.m. $10; call 601-853-7480. Fitness Center ongoing, at Jackson Roadmap to Health Equity Project’s Farmers’ Market (2548 Livingston Road). Options include aerobics and Zumba classes, equipment for resistance training and toning, and access to a personal trainer. No joining fee or long-term commitment is required. Hours are 8 a.m.-9 p.m. weekdays. $20 per month; call 601-987-6783.

EXHIBITS AND OPENINGS Art Reception Jan. 20, 5 p.m., at Mississippi Library Commission (3881 Eastwood Drive). See photography by Roy Adkins and glassworks by Jerri Sherer. The husband-and-wife team own Light and Glass Studio in downtown Jackson. Works are on display through Feb. 25. Free; call 601-432-4056. African American Art and Heritage Celebration Jan. 20, 5 p.m., at Negrotto’s Gallery and Custom Framing (2645 Executive Place, Biloxi). See an art exhibit that celebrates African American contributions. Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X, will sign copies of “Growing Up X” at 2:30 p.m. Free, $20 book; call 228-388-8822. Third Thursday Art Rendezvous Jan. 20, 5 p.m., at View Gallery (1107 Highland Colony Parkway, Suite 105, Ridgeland). Exhibitors include Helen Geary of Scentsy Wickless Candles, Laura Henderson of Laura’s Line and Katie Miller of Image Anthology, who will show her Vintage View jewelry line. A new selection of paintings is also on display. Free admission; call 601-278-3991. Art Exhibit through Jan. 25, at Fitness Lady (331 Sunnybrook Road, Ridgeland). See works by Jeanette Jarmon. Free admission; call 601-906-3458. “I Love My Pet” Contest through Feb 13, at Fondren Art Gallery (601 Duling Ave.). Bring a headshot of your pet to the gallery. A drawing will be held Feb. 13, and the winner will receive a free portrait of the photos painted by Richard McKey. Free; call 601-981-9222. Check jfpevents.com for updates and more listings. To add an event, e-mail all details (phone number, start/end date and time, street address, cost, URL, etc.) to events@jacksonfreepress.com or fax to 601510-9019. The deadline is noon the Thursday prior to the week of publication. Or add the event online yourself; check out jfpevents.com for instructions.

BE THE CHANGE “Roof, Repair and Refresh” Project through Jan. 31. Habitat for Humanity/Metro Jackson needs your votes for Pepsi’s Refresh Grant. HFH/MJ is in the running for a $250,000 grant to “Roof, Repair and Refresh” the homes of Mississippi’s low-income families. The grant will go toward critical home repairs for 50 inner-city households and will provide continued resources for the families. Vote online at refresheverything.com/habitatmetrojackson or send a text message of 104866 to 73774. Vote once a day through Jan. 31. Jackson Public Schools Call for Volunteers ongoing. Jackson Public Schools is seeking volunteers to be mentors for seniors enrolled in the Advanced Seminar: Employability Skills course. Call 601-960-8310.

DIVERSIONS|music

by Chris Zuga

21st Century Spirit from any would-be legal challenges. The producer recommends listening to the tracks as one seamless piece, and it is solid advice. Samples from the last 50 or so years—rock staples, one-hit wonders, cheesy pop singles, hip-hop, the British Invasion, hippie anthems, ’70s stoner rock, ’80s soundtrack gems and more—fuse and bleed into one another, morphing as they go to create an instantly familiar and altogether new aural chimera from the ashes of popular music. On top of it all, Gillis layers some of the most capable and versatile MCs, rappers and

Natalie’s Notes

Courtesy Girl Talk

“A

ll Day” by Girl Talk is the latest entry in what is rapidly becoming “the” sound of the 21st century. The mash-up fits perfectly in a society where everything competes for attention in a machine-gun blast of information and advertising. It is no surprise that the melding of hip-hop, pop and rock hits, and oddities that DJs and turntablists have forecasted for years, has finally occurred. A manic, attention-deficit tornadotearing-through-the-history-of-modernsound, “All Day” is a cool record store run through a shredder and randomly taped back together to form new music. Girl Talk is actually Gregg Gillis, a former bioengineering student turned DJ. It’s one guy, a laptop, some software, a silly name and a boatload of samples. And while the artist claims “fair use” as his protection against copyright issues, putting out an album for free that relies so heavily on the work of others takes “profit motive” away

rhyme-smiths around. The beat-laden approach unifies the rock and rap aspects and make it all sound incredibly new, as if it should have been matched up to begin with. To try to critique “All Day” in terms of individual tracks would be an injustice to the strength of the album as a whole. The scope shifts in tempo and time, and its unclassifiable genre make it an effort in futility that reinforces the argument to just hit “play,” and let it be until the music stops. The only constant presence is an unending beat and the feeling that Gillis doesn’t just love music, he is

in love with music. Like a collage made from every iconic image from the last half century, “All Day” forces you to re-imagine the known—in this case, the music you grew up with—in a repurposed context. It is prefabricated soundtracks assembled for the montage mentality. What Girl Talk and other mashup artists are doing, in general, is not just regurgitating popular music as much as exposing the snake-eating-its-own-tail redundancy of it, then asking if it wants a second helping. “All Day” is available as a free download via Girl Talk’s website, illegal-art. net/allday. Download it as a single albumlength track or tracked individually. Offering their creations for free is an interesting idea that more artists, musical or otherwise, will hopefully embrace as a beneficial concept to promote their work and reward the people who support them. Call it the spirit of the 21st century.

Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?

by Natalie Long

While a great deal of county music has gone to the dogs, Lady Antebellum is among the few who’ve embraced the times but held on to tradition.

Leisure) and I are playing at Fenian’s that night. Many of my other Jackson musician friends will sit in to help me celebrate the day I kicked the world’s doors wide open. Come help me celebrate! Jan. 29, Hal & Mal’s hosts a fundraiser for A River Blue, which raises awareness for Northern Uganda, with Blue Mountain, Taylor Hildebrand and the Kudzu Kings performing. You will not want to miss this event. Hope your 2011 is going great, and if you see me out, please say hello. Read more at jfpmusic.com.

jacksonfreepress.com

Now that I’m off my soapbox, let’s get to the local music. Thursday night, Jan. 20, is Centric Thursdays at Dreamz JXN. And Brooklynite Bret Mosley performs at Underground 119. Get there by 9 p.m. to catch the whole show. Friday night brings us a night of awesome music in Jackson, with Candy’s Riverhouse playing at Fenian’s at 9 p.m.; Col. Bruce Hampton and the Quark Alliance blowing it out at Martin’s at 10 p.m.; and the John Moreira Duo at Burgers and Blues from 7 to 11 p.m. If you’re a skating nut like I am (former blocker for the Capital City Roller Derby Team, right here), the Jackson Costume Club is hosting Jackson Roller Disco at Funtime Skateland of Clinton (931 Highway 80) with DJ Young Venom, DJ Scrap Dirty and Hot & Lonely. Doors open at 10 p.m., admission is $12, and you must be 21 to enter. Whenever there’s a reason to skate and flash back to the ’70s at the same time, I highly encourage it. Also on Saturday, Jackson’s favorite cover band The Molly Ringwalds give love a bad name at Fire at 8 p.m., and Jackson’s newest upscale, urban lounge, Suite 106, hosts Kerry Thomas. Check-in starts at 9 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 23, recover from the weekend with mimosas and Dixieland jazz at the King Edward with the Howard Jones Trio from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jason Turner plays Burgers and Blues in the evening from 5 to 9 p.m., and jam out with Jackson’s talented musicians at Mike and Marty’s Jam Session at ToMara’s from 4 to 9 p.m. The best thing about these Sunday events? They’re all free. Mark your calendars now for two upcoming January events. Jan. 26 is my birthday, and Steve Deaton (of Buffalo Nickel, Rubber Soul, The Frustrations, Men of

courtesy Lady Antebellum

W

hen ever I’m driving down to Hattiesburg for gigs, I always enjoy listening to the local radio stations. My favorite on the FM dial is Super Country 99.1. They play all the classic country songs my daddy (pronounced “deddy”) and I listened to while I was growing up in Bogue Chitto, Miss. The station formed in the 1960s, playing the top-40 country songs of the day, and they have stuck to that format ever since. The only difference is now they incorporate classic country songs from artists like country outlaws Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson and hits from ’80s and ’90s country troubadours like George Strait, Dwight Yoakam and Rodney Crowell. Because I listen to this station religiously, I notice a difference, and it saddens me that country radio has changed. Merle Haggard, a country legend, put out a an album last year, and no country station, it seems, would even touch it because it didn’t fit their format. It’s heartbreaking that the groundbreakers who paved Music Row are now left with hardly any ground upon which to stand. To add insult to injury, this “new” country they’re shoving down our throats is nothing but soft-core ’70s pop—bad rock ‘n’ roll with a fiddle, says Tom Petty. I’ll admit: I do like Zac Brown, Lady Antebellum and The Band Perry, but other than that, country radio just isn’t what it used to be. It’s selling out to tweens and teens. I can only hope local musicians like The Colonels and Horse Trailer, and regional acts like Blue Mountain and Drive By Truckers, can overturn this corporatecountry debacle, because I’m pretty sure Hank didn’t do it this way. I’m pretty sure he didn’t foresee country radio turning its back on the hands that feed them, either. But that’s just me.

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livemusic Jan. 19 - Wednesday

LIVE MUSIC CALENDAR

Weekly Lunch Specials

aLL sHows 10pm unLess noted

WEDNESDAY

1/19

ladies night

LADIES PAY $5, DRINK FREE FRIDAY

1/21

COlOnel bruCe hamptOn & thE quARK ALLIANcE

SATURDAY

1/22

Open for dinner Sat. 4-10pm thursday

JANUARY 20

LADIES NIGHT LADIES DRINK FREE

WELLS & PONIES 9PM-2AM

friday

JANUARY 21

Minor Adjustments saturday

JANUARY 22

E Company tuesday

JANUARY 25

OPEN MIC with Cody Cox

GUNBOAT KaraoKe SUNDAY

MONDAY

1/23

1/24

OPEN MIC JAM TUESDAY

1/25

MATT’S LATE NIGHT KARAOKE

$2 MARGARITAS $1 HIGHLIFE & PBR WEDNESDAY

1/26

ladies night

January 19 - 25, 2011

LADIES PAY $5, DRINK FREE

30

SATURDAY

*DOLLAR BEER* wednesday

JANUARY 26

KARAOKE w/ KJ STACHE

thursday

JANUARY 27

LADIES NIGHT LADIES DRINK FREE

WELLS & PONIES 9PM-2AM

friday

JANUARY 28

GHOSTHAND WITH THE BILLS FREE WiFi

1/29

Banner fair 214 S. State St. • 601.354.9712 downtown jackson www.martinSlounge.net

Open Mon-Sat, Kitchen open Mon-Fri 11 am-10 pm & Sat 4-10 pm

F. Jones Corner - Jesse “Guitar” Smith (blues lunch) free Irish Frog - Ralph Miller 6:3010 p.m. Ole Tavern - Karaoke w/ DJ Stache Burgers and Blues - Jesse “Guitar” Smith 6:30- 9:30 p.m. Underground 119 - Swing d’ Paris Fenian’s - Big Juv Hal and Mal’s - Barry Leach Regency - Snazz C Notes - Doug Frank’s Wed. Night Jam 8:30 p.m.

Jan. 20 - Thursday Ole Tavern - Ladies Night F. Jones Corner - Housecat (blues lunch) free Amazin Lazy Boi Band 10 p.m. $5 Burgers and Blues - Mark Whittington 5:30-9:30 p.m. Underground 119 - Bret Mosley Fenian’s - Legacy Suite 106 - Pandora’s Box 5:30 p.m. free Hal and Mal’s - Fearless Four (rest.), Johnny Bertram and Lady Cop (Red Room) Brady’s Bar and Grill - Larry Brewer 7:30 p.m. Georgia Blue - Hunter Gibson Fire - Snazz Dreamz Jxn - Centric Thursdays Lumpkins Barbeque - Jesse Robinson C Notes - Kenny Davis from Creep Left 8:30 p.m. Jobe Hall Auditorium, Delta State - An Evening with Art Historian Robert Storr and Pianist Bruce Levingston 7 p.m.

Music listings are due noon Monday to be included in print and online listings: music@jacksonfreepress.com. Ole Tavern - Minor Adjustments Shucker’s - Snazz North Midtown Arts Center - Johnny Bertram and The Golden Bicycles (JXN) with Ladycop (NYC) 9 p.m. Hal and Mal’s - Joe Carroll Gang (rest.), MS Delta Night: Duff Dorrough, Tricia Walker, & Friends (Red Room) Knockers Sports Bar (formerly Lacey’s) - Forever Friday’s 5th Anniversary 9 p.m. $10 C Notes - Lucky Hand Blues Band 8:30 p.m. Soulshine, Old Fannin - The Shatto Boys 7 p.m. Soulshine, The Township Scott Albert Johnson 8 p.m. Sam’s Lounge - Danny Choctaw & the Deathmarch w/ Dikes of Holland, Zoltars, & Dead People 10 p.m. Hard Rock Casino, Biloxi Aaron Tippin

Jan. 22 - Saturday

Fun Time Skate Land, Clinton - Jackson Roller Disco: DJ Young Venom. DJ Scrap Dirty, Hot & Lonely 10 p.m., $12, 21+ to enter 4handed@ gmail.com Burgers and Blues - Adam Perry and Joe Carroll 7-11 p.m. F. Jones Corner - The Mule Men 10 p.m., $5, $10 after midnight Underground 119 - Vasti Jackson $10 Fenian’s - Sound Wagon Georgia Blue - Shaun Patterson Mississippi Opry, Pearl Community Room - Alan Sibley and the Magnolia Ramblers 6 p.m., $10 Jan. 21 - Friday Martin’s - Gunboat Irish Frog - Davey Arwine and Suite 106 - Kerry Thomas Nick Blake 6:30-10 p.m. Fire - The Molly Ringwalds F. Jones Corner - Norman Reed Pierce’s - Back 40 Clark (blues lunch) free, Ole Tavern - E Company Sonny Rydell 10 p.m., $5, Olga’s - Hunter Gibson $10 after midnight Shucker’s - Snazz Burgers and Blues - John Blind Pig Saloon - Blind Dog Moreira Duo 7-11 p.m. Otis $5 Underground 119 - Fearless Hal and Mal’s - The Vernon Four $10 Bros. (rest.), Wail Bone and Fenian’s - Candy’s Riverhouse Schroeder (Red Room) Martin’s - Col. Bruce Hampton ToMara’s - Backroads 9 p.m. and the Quark Alliance $7 10 p.m. colbruce.com C Notes - The Wicked Crawdad Hole - Emma Gentleman Wynters, Mark Whittington Soulshine, Old Fannin & James Bell 7-10 p.m. Gunter Cheatum 7 p.m. Suite 106 - Suite Life Fridays Beau Rivage, Biloxi - Huey 9 p.m. Lewis and The News Fire - Hinder Gold Strike Casino, Tunica Reed Pierce’s - Fade 2 Blue Loretta Lynn

Jan. 23 - Sunday Burgers and Blues - Jason Turner 5-9 p.m. King Edward Hotel - Howard Jones Jazz (brunch) 11-2 p.m. Fitzgerald’s - Andy Hardwick (brunch) 11-2 p.m. Sophia’s, Fairview Inn - Knight Bruce 11 a.m. (brunch) ToMara’s - Mike and Marty’s Jam Session 4-9 p.m. free Cultural Expressions - Open Mic Poetry

Jan. 24 - Monday Irish Frog - Karaoke w/ Kokomo Joe 6:30-10 p.m. Hal and Mal - Central MS Blues Society Jam 8 p.m. $5 Martin’s - Open Mic Free Jam Fenian’s - Karaoke F. Jones Corner - Jesse “Guitar” Smith (blues lunch) free

Jan. 25 - Tuesday Burgers and Blues - Jesse “Guitar” Smith 6:30- 9:30 p.m. Fenian’s - Open Mic Hal and Mal’s - Pub Quiz Ole Tavern - Open Mic w/ Cody Cox F. Jones Corner - Jason Bailey (blues lunch) free Fitzgerald’s - Hunter Gibson and Rick Moreira Broad Street - Americana Night: The Hustlers (Matthew Magee, TB Ledford, Aven Whittington, Austin Sorey, Chris Goodwin) 5-8 p.m., $24 adv., $26 at the door C Notes - Sheilah EarlsHewitt 8:30 p.m.

Jan. 26 - Wednesday Fenian’s - Natalie Long and Steve Deaton Irish Frog - Ralph Miller 6:3010 p.m. Burgers and Blues - Jesse “Guitar” Smith 6:30- 9:30 p.m. Ole Tavern - Karaoke w/ DJ Stache Underground 119 - Swing d’ Paris Poets II - DJ Phingaprint F. Jones Corner - Housecat (blues lunch) free Regency - Snazz Send music listings to Natalie Long at music@jacksonfreepress.com or fax to 601-510-9019 by noon Monday for inclusion in the next issue. Music listings must be received by the Friday before the new issue to be considered for 8 Days picks.

1/21 Huey Lewis and the News - L’Auberge Du Lac Casino and Resort, Lake Charles, La. 1/24 NOFX - House of Blues, New Orleans 1/26 Leon Redbone - Buckman Performing Arts Center, Memphis

88 Keys 3645 Hwy. 80 W in Metrocenter, Jackson, 601-352-7342 930 Blues Cafe 930 N. Congress St., Jackson, 601-948-3344 Alamo Theatre 333 N. Farish St, Jackson, 601-352-3365 Alley Cats 165 W. Peace St., Canton, 601855-2225 Alumni House Sports Grill 574 Hwy. 50, Ridgeland, 601-855-2225 Ameristar Casino, Bottleneck Blues Bar 4146 Washington St., Vicksburg, 800700-7770 Beau Rivage Casino 875 Beach Blvd., Biloxi, 800-566-7469 Belhaven University Center for the Arts 835 Riverside Dr, Jackson, 601-968-5930 Bennie’s Boom Boom Room 142 Front St., Hattiesburg, 601-408-6040 The Blind Pig Saloon 206 W. Capitol St., Jackson, 601-944-0123 (blues/dance) Borrello’s 1306 Washington St., Vicksburg, 601-638-0169 Buffalo Wild Wings 808 Lake Harbour Dr., Ridgeland, 601-856-0789 Burgers and Blues 1060 E. County Line Rd., Ridgeland, 601-899-0038 C Notes Studio Bar & Grill 6550 Old Canton Rd, Ridgeland, 601-899-8842 Capri-Pix Theatre 3021 N. State St., Jackson, 601-981-9606 Central City Complex 609 Woodrow Wilson Dr., Jackson, 601-352-9075 Cerami’s 5417 Highway 25, Flowood, 601919-2829 Char Restaurant 4500 I-55, Highland Village, Jackson, 601-956-9562 Cherokee Inn 1410 Old Square Rd., Jackson, 601-362-6388 Club 43 Hwy 43, Canton, 601-654-3419, 601-859-0512 Club City Lights 200 N. Mill St., Jackson, 601-353-0059 Club O’Hara 364 Monticello St., Hazlehurst, 601-894-5674 Congress Street Bar & Grill 120 N. Congress St., Jackson, 601-968-0857 The Commons Gallery 719 N. Congress St., 601-352-3399 Couples Entertainment Center 4511 Byrd Drive, Jackson, 601-923-9977 Crawdad Hole 1150 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-982-9299 Crickett’s Lounge 4370 Hwy 80 West, Jackson, 601-922-0500 Crossroads Bar & Lounge 3040 Livingston Rd., Jackson, 601-984-3755 (blues) Cultural Expressions 147 Millsaps Ave., Jackson, 601-665-0815 (neo-soul/hiphop) Cups in Fondren 2757 Old Canton Road, Jackson, 601-362-7422 (acoustic/pop) Cups in the Quarter 1855 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-981-9088 Davidson’s Corner Market 108 W. Center St., Canton, 601-855-2268 (pop/rock) Debo’s 180 Raymond Road, Jackson, 601346-8283 Diamond Jack’s Casino 3990 Washington Street, Vicksburg, 1-877-711-0677 Dixie Diamond 1306 Washington Street, Vicksburg, 601-638-6297 Dollar Bills Dance Saloon 103 A Street, Meridian, 601-693-5300 Dreamz Jxn 426 West Capitol Street, Jackson, 601-979-3994 Electric Cowboy 6107 Ridgewood Rd., Jackson, 601-899-5333 (country/rock/dance) Executive Place 2440 Bailey Ave., Jackson, 601-987-4014 F. Jones Corner 303 N. Farish St. 601983-1148 Fenian’s 901 E. Fortification Street, Jackson, 601-948-0055 (rock/Irish/folk) Fire 209 Commerce St., Jackson, 601-5921000 (rock/dance/dj) Final Destination 5428 Robinson Rd. Ext., Jackson, (pop/rock/blues) Fitzgerald’s Martini Bar 1001 E. County Line Road, Jackson, 601-957-2800 Flood’s Bar and Grill 2460 Bailey Ave., Jackson, 601-713-4094 Footloose Bar and Grill 4661 Hwy 80 West, Jackson, 601-922-9944 Freelon’s Bar And Groove 440 N. Mill St., Jackson, 601-353-5357 (hip-hop) Fuego Mexican Cantina 318 S. State St., Jackson, 601-592-1000

The JFP music listings are dedicated to founding music listings editor Herman Snell, who passed away in 2010. Fusion Coffeehouse Highland Colony Parkway, Ridgeland, 601-856-6001 Gold Strike Casino 1010 Casino Center Drive, Robinsonville, 888-245-7529 Grand Casino Biloxi 280 Beach Boulevard, Biloxi, 228-436-2946 Grand Casino Tunica 13615 Old Highway 61 North, Robinsonville, 800-39-GRAND The Green Room 444 Bounds St., Jackson, 601-713-3444 Ground Zero Blues Club 0 Blues Alley, Clarksdale, 662-621-9009 Grownfolks’s Lounge 4030 Medgar Evers Blvd, Jackson, 601-362-6008 Hal & Mal’s 200 S. Commerce St., Jackson, 601-948-0888 (pop/rock/blues) Hamp’s Place 3028 W. Northside Dr., Jackson, 601-981-4110 (dance/dj) Hard Rock Biloxi 777 Beach Blvd., Biloxi, 228-374-ROCK Hat & Cane 1115 E. McDowell Rd., Jackson, 601-352-0411 Hauté Pig 1856 Main St., Madison, 601853-8538 Here We Go Again 3002 Terry Road, Jackson, 601-373-1520 Horizon Casino Mulberry Lounge 1310 Mulberry St., Vicksburg, 800-843-2343 Horseshoe Bar 5049 Hwy 80 West, Jackson, 601-922-6191 Horseshoe Casino Tunica, 800-303-7463 The Hunt Club 1525 Ellis Ave., Jackson, 601-944-1150 Huntington Grille 1001 E. County Line Rd., Jackson, 601-957-1515 The Irish Frog 5o7 Springridge Rd., Clinton, 601-448-4185 JC’s 425 North Mart Plaza, Jackson, 601362-3108 Jackson Convention Complex 105 E. Pascagoula St.. Jackson, 601-960-2321 James Meredith Lounge 217 Griffith St. 601-969-3222 Julep Restaurant and Bar 105 Highland Village, Jackson, 601-362-1411 Kathryn’s Steaks and Seafood 6800 Old Canton Road, Ridgeland. 601-956-2803 King Edward Hotel 235 W. Capitol St., Jackson, 601-353-5464 Knockers Sports Bar 4586 Clinton Blvd., Jackson Koinonia Coffee House 136 S. Adams St., Suite C, Jackson, 601-960-3008 Kristos 971 Madison Ave., Madison, 601605-2266 LaRae’s 210 Parcel Dr., Jackson, 601-944-0660 Last Call Sports Grill 1428 Old Square Road, Jackson, 601-713-2700 The Library Bar & Grill 120 S. 11th St., Oxford, 662-234-1411 The Loft 1306 A. Washington St., Vicksburg, 601-629-6188 The Lyric Oxford 1006 Van Buren Ave., Oxford. 662-234-5333 Main Event Sports Bar & Grill 4659 Hwy 80 West, Jackson, 601-922-9987 Manda’s Pub 614 Clay Street, Vicksburg, 601-638-6607 Martin’s Lounge 214 S. State St., Jackson, 601-354-9712 (rock/jam/blues) McB’s Restaurant 815 Lake Harbor Dr., Ridgeland, 601-956-8362 (pop/rock) Mellow Mushroom 275 Dogwood Blvd., Flowood, 601-992-7499 Mississippi Academy of Ancient Music 103 Magnolia, Edwards, 601-977-7736 Mississippi Coliseum 1207 Mississippi St., Jackson, 601-353-0603 Mississippi Opera P.O. Box 1551, Jackson, 877-MSOPERA, 601-960-2300 Mississippi Opry 2420 Old Brandon Rd., Brandon, 601-331-6672 Mississippi Symphony Orchestra 201 East Pascagoula St., Jackson, 800898-5050 Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium 2531 N. State St., Jackson, 601-354-6021 Monte’s Steak and Seafood 1855 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-362-8182 Mugshots 1855 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-713-0383 North Midtown Arts Center 121 Millsaps Ave., Jackson, 601-497-7454 Okasions 1766 Ellis Avenue, Jackson, 601373-4037 Old Venice Pizza Co. 1428 Old Square Rd., Jackson, 601-366-6872

Ole Tavern on George Street 416 George St., Jackson, 601-960-2700 Olga’s 4760 I-55 North, Jackson, 601-366-1366 (piano) One Blu Wall 2906 N State St., Jackson, 601-713-1224 The Parker House 104 S.E. Madison Drive, (Olde Towne) Ridgeland, 601-856-0043 Peaches Restaurant 327 N. Farish St., Jackson, 601-354-9267 Pelican Cove 3999A Harborwalk Dr., Ridgeland, 601-605-1865 Philip’s on the Rez 135 Madison Landing Cir., Ridgeland, 601-856-1680 Pig Ear Saloon 160 Weisenberger Rd., Gluckstadt, 601-898-8090 Pig Willies 1416 Washington St., Vicksburg, 601-634-6872 Poet’s II 1855 Lakeland Dr., 601- 364-9411 Pool Hall 3716 I-55 North Frontage Rd., Jackson, 601-713-2708 Pop’s Saloon 2636 Gallatin St., Jackson, 601-961-4747 (country) Proud Larry’s 211 S. Lamar Blvd., Oxford, 662-236-0050 The Pub Hwy. 51, Ridgeland, 601-898-2225 The Quarter Bistro & Piano Bar 1855 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-362-4900 Que Sera Sera 2801 N. State St., Jackson, 601-981-2520 Queen of Hearts 2243 Martin Luther King Dr., Jackson, 601-454-9401 Red Room 200 S. Commerce St., Jackson (Hal & Mal’s), 601-948-0888 (rock/alt.) Reed Pierce’s 6791 Siwell Rd., Byram, 601376-0777, 601-376-4677 Regency Hotel Restaurant & Bar 420 Greymont Ave., Jackson, 601-969-2141 RJ Barrel 111 N. Union 601-667-3518 Roberts Walthall Hotel 225 E. Capitol St., Jackson, 601-948-6161 Sal and Mookie’s 565 Taylor St. 601368-1919 Sam’s Lounge 5035 I-55 N. Frontage Rd., Jackson, 601-983-2526 Sam’s Town Casino 1477 Casino Strip Blvd., Robinsonville, 800-456-0711 Scrooge’s 5829 Ridgewood Rd., Jackson, 601-206-1211 Shuckers on the Reservoir 116 Conestoga Rd., Ridgeland, 601-853-0105 Silver Star Casino Hwy. 16 West, Choctaw, 800-557-0711 Sneaky Beans 2914 N. State St., Jackson, 601-487-6349 Soop’s The Ultimate 1205 Country Club Dr., Jackson, 601-922-1402 (blues) Soulshine Pizza 1139 Old Fannin Rd., Brandon, 601-919-2000 Soulshine Pizza 1111 Highland Colony Parkway, Ridgeland, 601-856-8646 Sportsman’s Lodge 1220 E. Northside Dr. at I-55, Jackson, 601-366-5441 Stone Pony Oyster Bar 116 Commercial Parkway, Canton, 601-859-0801 Suite 106 106 Wilmington St., Jackson, 601-371-8003 Thalia Mara Hall 255 E. Pascagoula St., Jackson, 601-960-1535 Thirsty Hippo 211 Main St., Hattiesburg, 601-583-9188 Time Out Sports Bar 6270 Old Canton Rd., 601-978-1839 ToMara’s 9347 Hwy 18 West, Jackson, 601502-8580 (pop/rock) Top Notch Sports Bar 109 Culley Dr., Jackson, 601- 362-0706 Two Rivers Restaurant 1537 W. Peace St., Canton, 601-859-9979 (blues) Two Sisters Kitchen 707 N. Congress St. 601-353-1180 Two Stick 1107 Jackson Ave., Oxford, 662236-6639 Under the Boardwalk 2560 Terry Rd., Jackson, 601-371-7332 Underground 119 119 S. President St. 601-352-2322 VFW Post 9832 4610 Sunray Drive, Jackson, 601-982-9925 Vicksburg Convention Center 1600 Mulberry Street, Vicksburg, 866-822-6338 Walker’s Drive-In 3016 N. State St., Jackson, 601-982-2633 (jazz/pop/folk) Whistle Stop Corner Cafe 133 N. Ragsdale Ave., Hazlehurst, 601-894-9901 Wired Expresso Cafe 115 N. State St., 601-500-7800

Divisional

Wednesday, January 19th

SWING DE PARIS

(Gypsy Jazz) 8-11, No Cover Thursday, January 20th

BRET MOSLEY

(Americana) 8-11, No Cover Friday, January 21st

Championship

games

Sunday, Jan. 23rd 2 for 1 All Mixed Drinks, $1.50 Beer Specials, 50 cent Boneless Wings

FEARLESS FOUR

(Funk) 9-1 $10 Cover

Thursday is Wing Night!

7pm-11pm Wings for 55 cents! 1428 Old Square Road in Jackson 601.713.2700 lastcallsportsgrill.com

Saturday, January 22nd

VASTI JACKSON

(Blues) 9-1, $10 Cover

THURSDAY - JANUARY 20 LADIES NIGHT: DRINK FREE 9-11PM FRIDAY - JANUARY 21

Wednesday, January 26th

SWING DE PARIS

(Gypsy Jazz) 8-11, No Cover Thursday, January 27th

OSGOOD & BLAQUE

(Blues) 8-11, No Cover Friday, January 28th

JUVENATORS

(Blues) 9-1 $10 Cover

119 S. President Street 601.352.2322 www.Underground119.com

SATURDAY - JANUARY 22 LIVE MUSIC SUNDAY - JANUARY 23 8 BALL TOURNAMENT TUESDAY - JANUARY 25

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WEDNESDAY - JANUARY 26 MIKE MOTT KARAOKE

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GIANT OUTDOOR SCREEN & 25 TVS WE’RE GIVING AWAY

2011 SAINTS TICKETS! KID ROCK TICKETS & MORE! DRINK SPECIALS + FREE SWAG

DIVERSIONS|sports COURTESY ROBERT ESTES

ANNUAL OUTDOOR PARTY FOR THE

by Bryan Flynn

Life Goes On

WED. JAN 19 LADIES NIGHT & KARAOKE

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NBA BASKETBALL DRINK SPECIALS

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CALVIN WEBSTER

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32

601.978.1839

6270 Old Canton Rd. Jackson, MS 39211

Mississippi Magic players Chad Gibson (left), Robert Estes (center) and Jamaine Divine (right) mug for the camera after a wheelchair basketball tournament at Jackson State University.

T

wo nights before Halloween, on Oct. 29, 1995, Robert Estes’ life changed forever. As a boy, Canton native Estes loved to travel to see his family in St. Paul, Minn., and when he graduated from high school he moved there. “I wanted to try big-city life,” Estes says. While out with his brother, Calvin Brown, that October night, their car broke down. Estes, then 19, got out of the car to push, while Brown steered the vehicle to get it off the highway. The driver of a van traveling down the same highway did not see the broken-down car until it was too late. He slammed into Estes, severely injuring his back and legs. After the accident, Estes had several surgeries over the span of a week, and had to make the decision to have his left leg amputated above the knee because of an infection. Once out of the hospital, Estes spent the next year and half in a nursing home where he underwent physical therapy. Despite the therapy, the vibrant young man will be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Now 35, Estes credits his family with helping him to become independent. “I do not know what I would do without my family,” he says. “It seemed every week my mother was there to see me—along with my aunts, uncles, cousins and everyone else in my family.” An upbeat person, he didn’t allow his adversity to keep him down. For his 21st birthday, Estes wanted to go to a comedy club. He thought he would have to spend the day in the nursing home, but he was able to go out with his family, giving him his first real sense of freedom since the accident. In March 1998, Estes returned to Canton. He admits jobs were hard to find because of his handicap. He went back to school and enrolled at Holmes Community College, where he earned an associate degree in computer science in 2001. Estes found work at Living Independence for Everyone, or LIFE, through the AmeriCorps Project. LIFE is a nonprofit organization that helps disabled individuals transition from nursing homes to independent living by teaching job skills and providing furniture and other assistance. Working with AmeriCorp was a two-year commitment, but his supervisor, Margie Moore, hired him permanently in

2003 to work with clients. At LIFE, Estes met James Clayton who, at the time, was president and captain of the Mississippi Magic wheelchair basketball team. Estes began playing for the Magic in 2002. He smiles when asked whether the accident affects his ability to play. “I couldn’t dunk before my accident, so it does not make a difference now,” he says, laughing. Wheelchair basketball is played much like regular basketball. The game is played with five players on the court. Fouls are called for excessive physical play, and players are allowed five fouls per game. To not be called for traveling in wheelchair basketball, a player must bounce the ball once for every two pushes. Three-second violations and free throws are

Curses, Foiled Again Police said two men making their getaway after an armed robbery in Orange County, Fla., tried to distract authorities from pursuing them by reporting a carjacking. The vehicle they described, however, was the same white Honda Accord they were driving. Law enforcement officers spotted it and arrested the suspects, charging them with filing a false report in addition to the armed robbery charge. (Orlando’s WFTV-TV)

Slightest Provocation Police charged Tony Morris, 37, with using a crowbar to beat his brother, Thomas Morris, 41, while they were visiting their mother in Akron, Ohio, after the two argued because Tony thought Thomas had taken a bite out of a piece of chicken and placed it back in the frying pan. Tony tossed the half-eaten piece of chicken at Thomas, who suggested they go outside and handle their dispute like men. Tony grabbed the crowbar and charged after Thomas, who ran outside but slipped on the icy porch. Tony then struck him several times in the head. Their 57-year-old mother, who called 911, admitted to police that she ate the chicken. (The Akron Beacon Journal)

Silver Lining New York City authorities credit a postChristmas blizzard for saving the life of Vangelis “Angelos” Kapatos, 26, who tried to commit suicide Jan. 2 by jumping from his ninth-floor apartment window. Kapatos landed on top of a moun-

handled just like regular basketball. Clayton left the Magic after a heart attack, and the team members competed for the team captaincy by running competitive drills. The Magic named Estes as its new captain in 2008, and he is in the process of rebuilding it along with five deeply committed players. Basketball helps motivate him, Estes says, and gives him resources for handling daily life. He loves playing, and says that basketball helps make him a part of society. It teaches players that life doesn’t end just because they are in a wheelchair. Today, Estes is a family man who enjoys going to local high-school football games and supporting the Mississippi Magic. He found love with his former high school sweetheart, Yashika, and the couple married in 2005. They are the proud parents of two girls and three boys. Estes sees the lack of handicap-accessible businesses in the Jackson area as an impediment to the disabled. Those in wheelchairs have a hard time shopping at stores other than big-box chain retailers, he says. “[P]eople in wheelchairs are people, too,” Estes says. “We want to use your business and support local business, but we need accessibility.” Mississippi Magic plays at Jackson State University on Saturdays and Sundays and travel to compete in other states. Jan. 22, they will play the Jackson Police Academy and an AmeriCorps group, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Johnnie Champion Gym (1355 Hattiesburg St.) as part of a Martin Luther King Jr. Day project for the Low Income Networking and Communications Project. Call LIFE at 601-969-4009 for more info.

tain of trash bags that had piled up since nearly 2.5 feet of snow that fell on Dec. 26. (New York Post)

Reasonable Explanation After Raymond Hartley Jr., 28, was caught using a fake penis-and-bladder device during a court-ordered drug test, he told a judge in Northampton County, Pa., he strapped on the Whizzinator only because probation officers kept making fun of the size of his real penis. Judge Michael Koury Jr. rejected Hartley’s explanation and sentenced him to prison for violating probation. (Allentown’s The Morning Call)

Smoking-Class Hero Mark Moody, 40, was taking a cigarette break on the window ledge of his second-floor apartment and talking on his cell phone when two New York City police officers stopped and asked if he intended to commit suicide. He explained the ledge was his regular smoking spot and pointed out that he was only 12 feet off the ground and would probably just sprain his ankle if he jumped. The officers insisted he come down anyway. When he refused, they summoned three ambulances and four other patrol cars, broke down Moody’s door and took him to a hospital psychiatric ward for observation. The on-duty psychiatrist interviewed him briefly, concluded he was sane, apologized and released him. Moody, who happens to be a lawyer, filed a $400,000 lawsuit against the city and the officers. (New York Post) Compiled from mainstream media sources by Roland Sweet. Authentication on demand.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

In the early 20th century, many women at the beach covered most of their bodies with swimsuits made of wool. If they went in the water, they’d emerge about 20 pounds heavier. Swimming was a challenge. Your current psychic state has resemblances to what you’d feel like if you were wearing drenched woolen underwear and a drenched woolen clown suit and a drenched woolen robe. My advice? Take it off; take it all off. The astrological omens are clear: Whatever your reasons for being in this get-up in the first place, they’re no longer valid.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

In comedian Sarah Silverman’s memoir, “The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption and Pee,” she confesses that she was still wetting her bed at age 19. Depression was a constant companion throughout adolescence, and she took a lot of Xanax. Yet somehow she grew into such a formidable adult that she was able to corral God himself to write the afterword for her book. How did she manage that? “This is so trite,” she told Publishers Weekly, “but … sex.” I predict that a comparable reversal of fortune is ahead for you, Pisces. Some part of your past will be redeemed, quite possibly with the sexy help of a divine ally.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

The age-old question comes up for review once again: Which should predominate, independence or interdependence? The answer is always different, of course, depending on the tenor of the time and the phase of your evolution. But in the coming weeks, at least, my view is that you should put more emphasis on interdependence. I think you’ll reap huge benefits from wholeheartedly blending your energies with allies whose power and intelligence match yours.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

I find many of you Tauruses to be excessively self-effacing. It’s a trait that can be both endearing and maddening. Even as my heart melts in the presence of bulls who are underestimating their own beauty, I may also feel like grabbing them by the shoulders and shaking some confidence into them, barraging them with frustrated exhortations like “Believe in yourself as much as I

believe in you, for God’s sake!” But I’m guessing I won’t be tempted to do that anytime soon. You appear to be due for a big influx of self-esteem.

The cable-TV History channel has a reality show called “Ice Road Truckers.” It documents the exploits of drivers who haul heavy loads in their 18-wheelers for long distances across frozen rivers, lakes, and swamps in Alaska and northwest Canada. They bring supplies to remote outposts where humans work exotic jobs like diamond mining and natural gas drilling. If you have any truck-driving skills, Leo, you’d be a good candidate to apply for a gig on the show. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, your levels of courage and adventurousness will be at an all-time high in 2011. May I suggest, though, that you try to make your romps in the frontier more purely pleasurable than what the ice-road truckers have to endure?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

It will be good week to let your mind go utterly blank while slouching in front of a TV and sipping warm milk, or to spend hours curled up in a ball under the covers on your bed as you berate yourself with guilty insults for the mistakes you’ve made in your life. Not! I’m kidding! Please, don’t you dare do anything like that. It would be a terrible waste of the rowdy astrological omens that are coming to bear on you. Here are some better ideas: Go seek the fire on the mountain; create a secret in the sanctuary; learn a trick in the dark; find a new emotion in the wilderness. Go study the wisest, wildest people you know so that you, too, can be wildly wise.

Pop chanteuse Katy Perry is renowned not only for her singing ability but also for her physical appearance. Her preternatural ability to sell her musical products can be attributed in part to her sparkling good looks and charisma. That’s why it was amusing when her husband, the trickster Russell Brand, twittered a raw photo of her that he took as she lifted her head off the pillow, awakening from a night of sleep. (See it at tinyurl. com/RealKaty.) Without her make-up, Katy’s visage was spectacularly ordinary. Not ugly, just plain. In accordance with the astrological omens, Virgo, I urge you to do what Russell Brand did: Expose the reality that lays beneath and behind the glamorous illusion, either in yourself or anywhere else you find a need.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

This would be an excellent week to grieve madly and deeply about the old love affairs that shattered your heart. I’ve rarely seen a better astrological configuration than there is now for purging the residual anguish from those old romantic collapses. I suggest you conduct a formal ritual that will provide total exorcism and bring you maximum catharsis. Maybe you could build a shrine containing the photos and objects that keep a part of you stuck in the past, and maybe you could find the bold words and innovative gestures that will bid goodbye to them forever. Do you have any intuitions about how to create a rousing healing ceremony?

analytical mind is not lord and king. Does any of this ring true for you, Libra? Now is an excellent time to cultivate other modes of intelligence besides your analytical mind.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

If you’re planning on spending any time hibernating during the next few months, this would be an excellent time to do it. Your reaction time is slowing down, which is a very healthy thing. Meanwhile, your allergy to civilization is acting up, your head is too full of thoughts you don’t need, and your heart craves a break from the subtle sorrows and trivial tussles of daily life. So go find some sweet silence to hide inside, Scorpio. Treat yourself to a slow-motion glide through the eternal point of view.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

“Dear Rob: All my life I’ve been passionate about the big picture—learning how the universe works, meditating on why things are the way they are and probing the invisible forces working behind the scenes. Too often, though, I’m so enamored of these expansive concepts that I neglect to pay enough humble attention to myself. It’s embarrassing. Loving the infinite, I scrimp on taking care of the finite. Any advice? —Larger Than Life Sagittarian.” Dear Larger: You’re in luck. Members of the Sagittarian tribe have entered a phase when they can make up for their previous neglect of life-nourishing details. In the coming weeks, I bet you’ll find it as fun and interesting to attend to your own little needs as you normally do to understanding the mysteries of the cosmos.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

While I was growing up, I was taught to regard my analytical mind as a supreme tool for understanding reality. I’ve never stopped believing that. However, I eventually realized I had to add the following corollaries if I wanted to thrive: 1) My imagination and intuition are as essential to my success as my analytical mind; 2) I need to regularly express my playful, creative urges, and that requires me to sometimes transcend my analytical mind; 3) to maintain my emotional well-being, I have to work with my dreams, which occur in a realm where the

All the most credible studies say that the crime rate is steadily decreasing, and yet, three out of every four people believe it’s rising. What conclusions can we draw from this curious discrepancy? Here’s one: The majority of the population is predisposed towards pessimism. In my astrological opinion, Capricorn, you can’t afford to be victimized by this mass psychosis. If you are, it will interfere with and probably even stunt the good fortune headed your way. I’m not asking you to be absurdly optimistic. Just try to root out any tendencies you might have to be absurdly gloomy.

Look in the mirror and tell yourself an edgy but fun truth you’ve never spoken. If you care to share, write Truthrooster@gmail.com.

Last Week’s Answers

BY MATT JONES 60 Poker stakes ©2010 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com)

47 Super-cool computer geek language 50 “People” newsmaker 51 Spin around 54 2000 Radiohead album 55 U.S. Treasury agents 56 End zone scores, briefly 59 Inseparable

For answers to this puzzle, call: 1900-226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Must be 18+. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800-655-6548. Reference puzzle #0496 .

Down

1 Protrude 2 Suffix for sugars 3 It gets bleeped 4 Wrench or screwdriver 5 “___ the republic for which it stands...” 6 Split ___ 7 Market sign? 8 Scott Turow bestseller 9 1506, in Roman numerals 10 Get past the lock 11 Sunday deliveries 13 Page 6, on some calendars: abbr. 15 Court stat 17 Gentleman friend --making a certain letter less...pointy. 20 Leaning type type 21 Lavs 31 Native 22 Bale stuff 34 Physicist Mach who coined the 26 Tiny openings 1 Nine-to-five term “Mach number” 28 Little giggle 4 Yes, in Yokohama 35 End-of-the-day payment-fest? 29 Degas display, e.g. 7 Ovens, so to speak 37 Surround 32 Nine Inch Nails hit with the freaky 12 “Burn Notice” channel 40 With perfect timing video 13 “Rolling Stone” co-founder 41 Ram noise 33 Gothic novelist Radcliffe Wenner 44 Turkish city that housed the 35 Honey Nut Cheerios mascot 14 Newswoman Mitchell Temple of Artemis 36 “Well, there goes that option...” 16 Guy who knows his cake pans? 46 Some fish catchers 37 “C’mon, help me out here!” 18 Seesaws, really 48 Gp. that provides road maps 38 Shoulder decoration 19 “Cheers” actor George attending a 49 Religious offshoots 39 Word repeated in T.S. Eliot’s “The Massachusetts college? 52 “___ Small Candle” (Roger Waters Wasteland” 21 “Stop, horse!” song) 41 Wraparound greeting 23 Hits a bicycle horn 53 Richard Pryor title character with 42 Free throw path 24 Pond fish a big German dot on him? 43 Volcano spew 25 Opera singer Enrico 57 Nissan model 45 Obviously-named American 27 Accomplishes 58 One-legged maneuver for those financial giant 30 Barrett once of Pink Floyd

“Flat Tops” Across

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Each of the 26 letters of the alphabet is represented in this grid by a number between 1 and 26. Using letter frequency, word-pattern recognition, and the numbers as your guides, fill in the grid with well-known English words (HINT: since a Q is always followed by a U, try hunting down the Q first). Only lowercase, unhyphenated words are allowed in kaidoku, so you wonít see anything like STOCKHOLM or LONG-LOST in here (but you might see AFGHAN, since it has an uncapitalized meaning, too). Now stop wasting my precious time and SOLVE!! psychosudoku@hotmail.com

jacksonfreepress.com

chocolate balls? 61 Rembrandt’s city of birth 62 Cupid’s Greek counterpart 63 Skipbo relative 64 Give props to 65 Simple sandwich 66 Understand a joke

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by Lisa LaFontaine Bynum

LISA LAFONTAINE BYNUM

Letting a Little Luck In

Soda for Tea

KATIE STEWART

dining

A

For a healthier 2011, try tea.

LUCKY BLACK-EYED PEA SOUP

W

January 19 - 25, 2011

hat do good-looking men, lentils, no housework and kissing all have in common? According to superstition, they all bring good luck in the new year. January seems to have more hopes pinned on it than any other month. As the first month of a brand new year, it has come to signify a clean slate, starting over and new beginnings. Many people will go to great lengths to ensure that they have a successful new year; therefore, numerous traditions have sprung up over the centuries. For instance, the first person to step through your door on New Year’s Day should be a good-looking, dark-haired man. He has to knock and be let in, be carrying a piece of coal (so that your house will always be warm), a loaf of bread (to ensure that your household will always have food), money (obvious) and greenery (for long life). This individual brings extra luck if he comes on a horse. Just about everyone has heard of New Year’s superstitions surrounding food. Hopefully, you enjoyed the traditional southern

34

meal of black-eyed peas and pork to ensure good luck in 2011. On our first New Year’s Day as a married couple, my husband informed me that I had to prepare black-eyed peas and hog jowls, or we would be doomed for the next 365 days. I remember raising my eyebrows as if a man on a horse with groceries and cash had just knocked on my front door. He may as well have asked me to personally pickle some pig’s feet. Turns out, blackeyed peas or lentils bring riches and safety. Eating pork is lucky because pigs eat moving forward, thus guaranteeing that you will also move forward in the next year. I managed to convince my husband that any part of a pig would do, not just the jowls. This soup contains everything we needed to bring good fortune in our immediate future. I used ham hocks to season the soup, but if you have a hambone or two, you can use that instead. The result is a hearty, smoky, and slightly spicy dish that pairs nicely with warm crusty bread and a glass of red wine, perfect for any chilly night.

2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 cup diced onions 1/2 cup diced leeks, white parts only 1 medium (1 cup) green bell pepper, diced 1 stalk (3/4 cup) celery, diced 3-4 cloves minced garlic 4 ham hocks or ham bones 1 pound dried black-eyed peas 2-1/2 quarts chicken stock 2 bay leaves 3/4 teaspoon Creole or Cajun seasoning 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon cumin 1-1/2 cups diced cooked ham

Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat. Add onion, leeks, bell pepper and celery. Cook until slightly softened, about five minutes. Add garlic, ham hocks or ham bones, and black-eyed peas. Sauté for five minutes. Add chicken stock and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Cover pot and simmer for two hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Remove ham hocks or ham bones and allow to cool. Remove any meat from the bones and return the meat to the soup. Discard ham hocks or bones. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer until the ham is heated through, about five minutes. Serves eight.

by Katie Stewart

s 2011 marches on, our well-intended New Year’s Resolutions can gradually fall by the wayside. I have found that when my New Year’s goals are broad and vague— “Be healthier! Lose weight!—I quickly give them up. When my goals are small, specific and attainable, I’m more likely to keep going. Here’s a small goal I’ve surprisingly managed to keep up for a year now: Give up the afternoon soda. I realized in early 2010 that I was spending a dollar a day at the vending machine on Diet Coke or whatever soda struck my fancy on any given afternoon. Not only was this habit unhealthy, it was costing me a minimum of $20 a month. That added up to $240 a year that I would much rather spend differently. So I gave up the unhealthy soda and adopted a daily habit that benefits my health and my wallet—tea. Tea is not only healthy, but it is inexpensive and can be made in many different ways. It provides the same afternoon pick-me-up as soda, without the negative health consequences and caffeine crash. Hot tea is the perfect cold-weather beverage, because it has less caffeine than coffee and can help ward off sickness with its antioxidants. For those who dislike the taste of hot tea, it’s worth trying out different brands. Twinings, PG Tips and Tetley’s British Blend are high-quality black teas. For herbal varieties, try Tazo or Celestial Seasonings. You may find that after a few attempts, you look forward to your afternoon tea break. Hot tea (especially unsweetened or combined with milk) can be an acquired taste, but aspertame and high-fructose corn syrup were also acquired tastes. If you decide to start a hot tea habit, the microwave is not the ideal way to heat the water. It’s worth investing in a hot pot. Basic models run from $15 to $20, and they enable you to boil water without access to a stove. When preparing a cup of hot tea, make sure the water is at boiling point. For optimum taste, pour the boiling water over the tea bag. Steep for three to five minutes. Remove the tea bag. You can flavor your tea with honey, sugar, milk or lemon. Don’t combine milk with lemon or citrus teas; the milk will curdle. I look forward each day to my afternoon tea. And I don’t even miss my Diet Coke.

Eslava’s Grille

6954 Old Canton Rd. Ridgeland, MS

601-956-5040

Seafood, Steaks and Pasta

Open daily 11 am-2 pm and 5-10 pm for dinner

%*/&+BDLTPO Paid listyour yourrestaurant.r restaurant.r Paid advertising advertising section. section. Call Call 601-362-6121 601-362-6121 x11 x1 totolist

ONLY $13.95!

coffee houses

STEAK & SHRIMP DINNER 5-10p.m. Fri-Sun

Cups Espresso Café (Multiple Locations, www.cupsespressocafe.com) Jackson’s local group of coffeehouses offer high-end Arabica beans, a wide variety of espresso drinks. Wi-fi. Wired Espresso Café (115 N State St 601-500-7800) This downtown coffeehouse is a true gathering place, featuring great coffee and a selection of breakfast, lunch and pastry items. Wi-fi.

bakery

italian

barbeque

SUNDAY BRUNCH

11 a.m. - 2 p.m. A Metro-Area Tradition Since 1977

Free Apple Martini or Cosmo

Live Music

No cover.

Thurs. 1/20 - Larry Brewer Fri. 1/21 - Mike and Marty Sat. 1/22 - Live Trivia

Lunch: Fri. & Sun. | 11am-2pm Dinner: Tues. -Sat. & Sun. | 5pm-9pm

601-919-2829 5417 Lakeland Drive ~ Flowood, MS 39232

6720 Old Canton Rd., Ridgeland | 601.812.6862 601.812.6862

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bars, Pubs & burgers Cherokee Inn (960 Briarfield Rd. 601-362-6388) Jackson’s “Best Hole in the Wall,” has a great jukebox, great bar and a great burger. Plate lunches, cheesy fries and tons more, including a full bar and friendly favorites. Cool Al’s (4654 McWillie, 601-713-3020) A Best of Jackson fixture, Cool Al’s signature stacked, messy, decadent, creative burgers defy adjectives. And don’t forget the fries! Fenian’s Pub (901 E. Fortification St. 601-948-0055) Classic Irish pub featuring a menu of traditional food, pub sandwiches and beers such as Guinness and Harp on tap. Stamps Superburgers (1801 Dalton Street 601-352-4555) Huge burgers will keep you full until the next day! The homestyle fries are always fresh. Hal and Mal’s (200 S. Commerce St. 601-948-0888) Pub favorites meet Gulf Coast and Cajun specialties like red beans and rice, the Oyster Platter or each day’s blackboard special. Last Call (3716 I-55 N. Frontage Road 601-713-2700) Burgers, sandwiches and po-boys, plus sports-bar appetizers and specialities. Pay-per-view sporting events, live bands. Martin’s Restaurant and Lounge (214 South State Street 601-354-9712) Lunch specials, pub appetizers (jalapeno poppers, cheezsticks, fried pickles) or order from the full menu of poboys and entrees. Full bar, massive beer selection and live music most nights. Time Out Sports Café (6720 Old Canton Road 601-978-1839) 14 TVs, 1 projector and two big-screens. Daily $9 lunch specials, pub-style appetizers, burgers, seafood and catfish po-boys, salads, and hot entrees including fish, steak and pasta. Ole Tavern on George Street (416 George St. 601-960-2700) Pub food with a southern flair: beer-battered onion rings, chicken & sausage gumbo, salads, sandwiches and weekly lunch specials. Plus, happy hour 4-7pm Monday through Friday.

is Thursday Night

BR

Hickory Pit Barbeque (1491 Canton Mart Rd. 601-956-7079) The “Best Butts in Town” features BBQ chicken, beef and pork sandwiches along with burgers and po’boys. Lumpkins BBQ (182 Raymond Rd. Jackson 866-906-0942) Specializing in smoked barbeque, Lumpkin’s offers all your favorites for on-site family dining or for catered events, including reunions, office events, annivesaries, weddings and more.

Ladies Night

ST

BRAVO! (4500 Interstate 55 N., Jackson, 601-982-8111) Wood-fired pizzas, vegetarian fare, plus creative pastas, beef, and seafood specials. Award-winning wine list. Cerami’s (5417 Lakeland Drive, Flowood, 601-919-28298) Southern-style Italian cuisine features their signature Shrimp Cerami (white wine sauce, capers artichokes) along with veal, tilapia, crawfish, chicken and pasta dishes. Now with liquor license! Fratesi’s (910 Lake Harbour, Ridgeland, 601-956-2929) “Authentic, homey, unpretentious” that’s how the regulars describe Fratesi’s, a staple in Jackson for years, offering great Italian favorites with loving care. The tiramisu is a must-have!

601-932-4070 tel 601-933-1077 fax

4654 McWillie Dr., Jackson|Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 10AM-9PM Friday & Saturday 10AM-12AM, Sunday 11AM-5PM

K ET I N JAC

S

Every Thursday Performing Live:

JESSE ROBINSON

Good Paper “Live Band”

January 22nd, 2011 9:00pm | $5.00 Cover 601-362-6388

1410 Old Square Road • Jackson

SUNDAY

BUFFET 11 AM - 3 PM

Tues. - Fri. 11am - 3pm, Closed Sat. 182 Raymond Rd. in Jackson, MS Telephone: 601-373-7707 E-mail: lumpkinsbbq@comcast.net

jacksonfreepress.com

Mellow Mushroom (275 Dogwood Blvd, Flowood, 601-992-7499) Pizzas of all kinds, munchies, calzones, grilled hoagies, salads and more make up the extensive and “eclectic” menu at Mellow Mushroom. Award-winning beer selection. The Pizza Shack (1220 N State St. 601-352-2001) 2009 and 2010’s winner of Best Pizza offers the perfect pizza-and-a-beer joint. Creative pizza options abound along with sandwiches, wings, salads and even BBQ. Sal & Mookie’s (565 Taylor St. 601-368-1919) Pizzas of all kinds plus pasta, eggplant parmesan and the local favorite: fried ravioli. Best Chef, Best Dessert, Best Kid’s Menu & Best Ice Cream in the 2010 Best of Jackson.

2481 Lakeland Drive Flowood, MS 39232

ON

Pizza

Danilo Eslava Caceres, Executive Chef/GM

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Broad Street Bakery (4465 Interstate 55 N. 601-362-2900) Hot breakfast,coffee espresso drinks, fresh breads and pastries, gourmet deli sandwiches, quiches, soups, pizzas and dessert. Campbell’s Bakery (3013 N State Street 601-362-4628) Cookies, cakes and cupcakes are accompanied by good coffee and a full-cooked Southern breakfast on weekdays . Primos Cafe (2323 Lakeland 601-936-3398/ 515 Lake Harbour 601-898-3400) A Jackson institution featuring a full breakfast, blue-plate specials, catfish, burgers, prime rib, oysters, po-boys and wraps. Save room for something from their famous bakery! For Heaven’s Cakes (4950 Old Canton Road 601-991-2253) Cakes and cupcakes for all occasions including weddings, parties, catered events. Beagle Bagel (4500 I-55 North, Suite 145, Highland Village 769-251-1892) Fresh bagels in tons of different styles with a variety of toppings including cream cheese, lox, eggs, cheese, meats and or as full sandwiches for lunch. Paninis, wraps and much more!

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Rush houR specials Monday - Friday from 4-6pm

COOL WATER CAFE & CATERING

Half-Price Maki Rolls, Appetizers, Stir-Fry Bar, Draft Beer, Cold Sake, Martinis and Bottled Wine

20% OFF your order at regular price. Drive-Thru or Dine-In!

25% OFF Our Burgers, Unlimited Salad Bar and Chargrilled Steaks

Get here early! Pan-Asia and Cool Water CafĂŠ & Catering banquet rooms are booking fast for holiday parties and social events. Call Suzy at 601-832-0108 or email us at susan.conerly@jackiesinternational.com to book your event today!

6OTED "EST OF *ACKSON

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Limited Time Only! Gift card promotion available at Pan-Asia and Cool Water CafĂŠ & Catering

One FREE $20 GiFt CaRd with every $100 in gift card purchases through December 1st. Pan-Asia

One FREE $10 GiFt CaRd with every $100 in gift card purchases after December 1st.

Fresh Market CafĂŠ

720 Harbour Pt. Crossing Ridgeland, MS 601-956-2958 www.pan-asia.com

1877 Spillway Rd. Brandon, MS 601-919-8636

Cool Water CafĂŠ

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1011 Lake Harbour Ridgeland, MS 601-956-6332 www.coolwatercafe.com

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VOTED BEST PIZZA

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- BEST OF JACKSON 2010 AND 2009 -

2 NEW PIZZAS & NEW BEERS! Stop in and try our Pizza Margherita and our Cordon Blue Pizza Now Serving Tall Grass Ale and Diamond Bear Pale Ale

January 19 - 25, 2011

Dine-In / Carry-Out

36

Mon - Thur: 11am-10pm Fri - Sat: 11am-11pm Sun: 11am - 9pm

601-352-2001 1220 N. State St.

(across from Baptist Medical Center)

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Nagoya (6351 I-55 North #131 @ Target Shopping Ctr. 601-977-8881) Nagoya gets high marks for its delicious-and-affordable sushi offerings, tasty lunch specials and high-flying hibachi room with satisfying flavors for the whole family. Ichiban (153 Ridge Drive, Ste 105F 601-919-0097 & 359 Ridgeway 601-919-8879) Voted “Best Chinese” in 2010, cuisine styles at Ichiban actually range from Chinese to Japanese, including hibachi, sushi made fresh with seafood, and a crowd-pleasing buffet. Pan Asia (720 Harbor Pines Dr, Ridgeland 601-956-2958) Beautiful ambiance in this popular Ridgeland eatery accompanies signature asian fusion dishes and build-your-own stirfrys using fresh ingredients and great sauces.

Lunch Special - $7.75 + Tax

3 Tacos + Fountain Drink

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Poets Two (1855 Lakeland Drive, Suite H-10, 601-364-9411) Pub fare at its finest. Crabcake minis, fried dills, wings, poppers, ultimate fries, sandwiches, po-boys, pasta entrees and steak. The signature burgers come in bison, kobe, beef or turkey! Sportsman’s Lodge (1120 E Northside Dr. in Maywood Mart 601-366-5441) Voted Best Sports Bar in 2010, Sportman’s doesn’t disappoint with plenty of gut-pleasing sandwiches, fried seafood baskets, sandwiches and specialty appetizers. Underground 119 (119 South President St. 601-352-2322) Jumbo lump crabcakes, crab quesadillas, beef tenderloin parfaits, orange-garlic shrimp, even “lollipop” lamb chops. Add a full bar and mix in great music. Opens 4 p.m.-until, Wed-Sat. Wing Stop (952 North State Street, 601-969-6400) Saucing and tossing wings in a choice of nine flavors, Wingstop wings are made with care and served up piping hot. Every order is made fresh to order; check out the fresh cut seasoned fries!

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with Student ID

Tortas • Tacos • Antojitos • Burritos • Bebidas Quesadillas • Empanadas... And MORE! 1290 E County Line Rd (next to Northpark Mall) Ridgeland, MS 39157 | 601-983-1253

VASILIOS

AUTHENTIC GREEK DINING

Monday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.

• Fresh Seafood Daily

SoutherN cuISINe

Mimi’s Family and Friends (3139 North State Street 601-366-6111) Funky local art decorates this Fondren eatery, offering cheese grits, red beans & rice, pork tacos and pimento cheese, among many others. Breakfast and lunch, new days are Tuesday-Sunday. The Strawberry Café (107 Depot Drive, Madison, 601-856-3822) Full service, lunch and dinner. Crab and crawfish appetizers, salads, fresh seafood, pastas, “surf and turf” and more. Veggie options. Desserts: cheesecake, Madison Mud and strawberry shortcake. Two Sisters Kitchen (707 N. Congress St. 601-353-1180) 2010 Best of Jackson winner for fried chicken offers a sumptious buffet of your choice of veggies, a salad bar, iced tea & one of three homemade desserts. Lunch only. Mon-Friday, Sun.

SteAk, SeAfood & fINe dINING

Eslava’s Grille (2481 Lakeland Drive, 601-932-4070) Danny Eslava’s namesake feature Latin-influenced dishes like ceviche in addition to pastas, steaks, salads and other signature seafood dishes. Rocky’s (1046 Warrington Road, Vicksburg 601-634-0100) Enjoy choice steaks, fresh seafood, great salads, hearty sandwiches and much more in the “polished casual” dining room. Open 24/7 in the Riverwalk Casino. Parker House (104 South East Madison Drive, Ridgeland 601-856-0043) European and Creole take on traditional Southern ingredients. Crawfish, oysters, crab and steaks dominate, with creative option like Crab Mac ‘n Cheese, Oysters Rockefeller and Duck Jezebel.

M-F -, - S - C A

.. |  H M

Jackson

Byram

1801 Dalton Street (601) 352-4555 Fax: (601) 352-4510

5752 Terry Road (601) 376-0081 Fax: (601) 373-7349

A True Taste

of Italy

medIterrANeAN/Greek/INdIAN

Aladdin Mediterranean Grill (730 Lakeland Drive 601-366-6033) Delicious authentic dishes including lamb dishes, hummus, falafel, kababs, shwarma and much more. Consistent award winner, great for takeout or for long evenings with friends. Kristos (971 Madison Ave @ Hwy 51, Madison, 601-605-2266) Home of the famous Greek meatball! Hummus, falafel, dolmas, pita sandwiches, salads, plus seasoned curly fries (or sweet potato fries) and amazing desserts. Mezza (1896 Main St., Suite A, Madison 601-853-0876) Mediterranean cuisine and wood fired brick oven pizzas. Come experience the beautiful patio, Hookahs, and delicious food. Beer is offered and you are welcome to bring your own wine. Vasilios (828 Hwy 51 in Madison 601-853-0028) Authentic Greek dining featuring fresh seafood daily along with gyros, greek salads, appetizers and signature Mediterranean desserts. Their redfish is a standout, earning rave reviews.

2003-2010, Best of Jackson

707 N. Congress Street 910 Lake Harbour Dr. Ridgeland | 601-956-2929 Monday - Saturday | 5 - until

Downtown Jackson • (601) 353-1180 Open 11am-2pm, Sunday thru Friday

VeGetArIAN

High Noon Café (2807 Old Canton Road in Rainbow Plaza 601-366-1513) Fresh, gourmet, tasty and healthy defines the lunch options at Jackson’s own strict vegetarian (and very-vegan-friendly) restaurant.

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!

Best Butts In Town!

since 1980

601-956-7079

1491 Canton Mart Rd. • Jackson

jacksonfreepress.com

mexIcAN/LAtIN AmerIcAN

Fuego Mexican Cantina (318 South State Street,601-592-1000) Next to Club Fire in downtown, Fuego is Jackson’s all-new Mexican restaurant. King Tortas International Deli (1290 E. County Line Rd, Ridgeland, 601-983-1253) Bakery and taqueria; try the fried plantains!

37

Bringing the Outside In

by Ashley Nolen

“A morningglory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics

O

n the dreary and cold days of winter, few things offer a vibrant feel the way houseplants do. They appeal to our eyes; we’re mesmerized by the colors in the petals and fascinated by their texture and size. Simply looking at a plant relieves stress and reduces your heart rate, and, of course, they help absorb harmful toxins. 1 Watercolor by Sory Yager, $80, Brown’s Fine Art and Framing 2 Raku bud vase, $55, circa. 3 Maple leaf dish, $58, circa. 4 DwellStudio “Peacock” bedding set (includes duvet cover

and two shams), full/queen $280 and king $320, SummerHouse 5 Instant Happiness arrangement, $54.99, Greenbrook Flowers 6 Large ivory pot, $14.95, Everyday Gardener

3

2

of books.”

5

—Walt Whitman

Flower Knowledge Claim your own serenity this winter by adding a colorful houseplant to your home. Those of you feeling somewhat unlucky may want to try a bamboo plant.

1 6

Find protection for yourself with colorful snapdragons. To glance into the future, you may want to bring marigolds into your home; they’re said to bring psychic powers.

Where2Shop

Brown’s Fine Art & Framing (630 Fondren Place, 601982-4844); circa. Urban Artisan Living (2771 Old Canton Road, 601-362-8484); Everyday Gardener (2905 Old Canton Road, 601-981-0273); Greenbrook Flowers (705 N. State Street, 601-957-1951); SummerHouse (1109 Highland Colony Parkway, Suite D, Ridgeland, 601-853-4445)

4 SHOPPING SPECIALS

Send sale info to fly@jacksonfreepress.com.

CoatTails (111 West Jackson St., Ridgeland, 601-853-1313) Enjoy fall and winter finds at half price throughout the store.

Green Oak Garden Center (5009 Old Canton Road, 601956-5017) Houseplant sale starts Jan. 20.

Mattress Warehouse (5465 Interstate 55 N., Frontage Road, 601899-8820) Don’t pay full price. Get 60 to 80 percent off all major brands of mattresses, wool rugs and furniture.

Miskelly Furniture (www. miskellys.com) Sign up online via e-mail list to receive exclusive special offers.

January 19 - 25, 2011

Cowboy Maloney’s Electric City (1313 Harding St., 601-9485600) Ask about “Mirror-Plus Pricing.” You’ll never pay more for identical merchandise found elsewhere.

38

Check out flyjfp.com for information about other sales around the city, trends and various things fly people should know.

0).+ Lamborghini 3TORE 7IDE 3ALE 15%-40% off :Qc 2MXX

2M_TU[Z_ Everything M^Q -^^UbUZS 0MUXe 310 Mitchell Ave Jackson, MS 601.366.6403

Fashion Boutique

We have something for every occasion!

I Do

Like We Do

3931 Hanging Moss Road in Jackson 601-397-6133 | Tues.- Sat. 11am-7pm

10% off

haircare se rvic in January e

Happy New Year!

Nobody does

Everything you need for a moment like this...

Only half the price.

Thank You For Your Patronage. 10% off all hair care services in January. Mention this ad for discount.

www.halfoffdepot.com/jackson

5352 Lakeland Dr ste100B | 601 992-7980

Buy Online

3TART THE NEW YEAR OFF RIGHT WITH CUSTOM JEWELRY

www.CarterDiamonds.com

Only $2,995

&RESH 7ATER 0EARLS

1935 Lakeland Dr. 601.906.2253

601-853-3299 • 398 Hwy 51 • Ridgeland

www.villagebeads.com

Exclusively at

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b ...or may

.NET EATSTREET W W W.REP

RIDGELAND

LOCATION

Follow us:

626 Ridgewood Road 601-605-9393

823B Hwy 12 W LOCATION 662-324-2641

STARKVILLE

@ Repeat Street Metro Jackson

@ RepeatSt

Downtown Jackson Corner of High Street & State Street Phone: 601-354-3549 New Location in Vicksburg 3412 Pemberton Boulevard Phone: 601-631-0700

jacksonfreepress.com

mother’s Not your .. ent store.. consignm

39

Specialty Coffee Drive-Thru

Part-time, preparing specialty coffee drinks, smoothies. Application required, located at Coffee Bus in Highland Village. Includes some weekend and day hours. (601) 366-5106

ALL AREAS - ROOMMATES.COM. File Ch. 7 & 13 Bankruptcy for $900 + Federal Filing Fee! Just $400 Down Flexible Payment Plans Available

Neil B. Snead

A  C A L Jackson • (601) 316-7147 FREE BACKGROUND INFO. AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

Browse hundreds of online listings with photos and maps. Find your roommate with a click of the mouse! Visit: http://www.Roommates.com.

Valentine’s Day Sale

February 12-14. Buy the best quality gift. Big Tent Sale Corner Bailey Avenue and Fortification. Three big days $10 & up (601) 942-9661

PREGNANT? CONSIDERING ADOPTION?

Talk with caring agency specializing in matching Birthmothers with Families nationwide. LIVING EXPENSES PAID. Call 24/7 Abby’s One True Gift Adoptions 866-413-6293

Home Cleaning

dixiedivascleaningservice.com

ARIZONA BIG BEAUTIFUL LOTS Everything you need for a moment like this...

$99/mo., $0-down, $0-interest. Golf Course, Nat’l Parks. 1 hour from Tucson Int’l Airport. Guaranteed Financing. NO CREDIT CHECK! (800) 631-8164 Code 4054 www.sunsiteslandrush.com

$$$HELP WANTED$$$

Extra Income! Assembling CD cases from Home! No Experience Necessary! Call our Live Operators Now! 1-800-405-7619 EXT 2450 http://www.easyworkgreatpay.com

Paid In Advance!

Make $1,000 a Week mailing brochures from home! Guaranteed Income! FREE Supplies! No experience required. Start Immediately! www.homemailerprogram.net

Experienced DJ & Karaoke Jock Only half the price.

10 years of experience, 200,000 + karaoke song selection. Call Ricky @ 601-813-1332

Guitar Gear - Must Sell!! www.halfoffdepot.com/jackson

Vox AD120VTH Valvetronix Stereo Head $400, 1x12 and 2x12 cabinets- $80-$125. (601) 540-1739

Piano Lessons!

New to area & accepting new students immediately! $12/half hour lesson per week or $45/month. Call/ email if interested. Carp5@comcast.net (231) 730-2624

NEED A FEW GOOD MUSICIANS

Interested in helping to set up music non-profit organization (centered around the BLUES) for disadvantaged youths in the Jackson metropolitan area? If so, I am looking to talk to you. Need musicians who can teach everything from banjo, guitar, dobro, mandolin, fiddle, accordion, harmonica, piano, etc., etc. COME BE A PART OF THIS GREAT PROJECT! (601) 924-0210.

Something Different

Hand percussionist seeking saxophonist and drummer for jazz/world music/avant jamming, possibly leading to more. (601) 856-8653

Bassist Looking For Band

Bassist with 9 years experience looking to form band. Pixies meets Arcade Fire. Call Adam at 662-418-8242

Experienced Drummer

Mature, experienced drummer looking for established band. Any genre except metal or rap. Contact: drummer1122@hotmail.com

Bass gear

Quality professional gear. Swr Silverado combo. 350 watts RMS. $400. New aoustic 200 watt bass head $200. Two Swr 1 15’ and horn cabinets $250 ea. Loud and Clean Sold seperately or together. (601) 214-4412

Professional Sound Engineers

Need sound equipment or just a couple of engineers at your next event call 601.488.0436 any venue large or small.

Haven’t you always wanted to Belly Dance?

BELLYDANCE

NEW CLASSES begin Jan. 24 @ 6:30pm

Bring a friend. Gift Certificates Available.

For more info., call Millsaps College at 601-974-1130

Marketing

& Events Interns Wanted

Complete PA

Huge carvin pa for sale, all accessories, cables, processors, mics, stands, lights, amps, etc. Over $20,000 in gear to sell for best offers. Equipment is in as new condition. (225) 341-9391

GAIN NATIONAL EXPOSURE.

Reach over 5 million young, educated readers for only $995 by advertising in 110 weekly newspapers like this one. Call Jason at 202-289-8484. This is not a job offer.

Want to learn more about Marketing and Events Production in a fast-paced environment? Need college credit* or marketing experience? Jackson Free Press is looking for dynamic marketing/event interns. Interested? Send an e-mail to: kimberly@jacksonfreepress.com, telling us why you want to intern with us and what makes you the ideal candidate.

Security Cameras • Attendant On Duty Drop Off Service • Free Wi-Fi

1046 Greymont Ave. (behind La Cazuela) CALL US AT 601-397-6223!

*College credit available to currently enrolled college students in select disciplines.

/08 01&/

SHOP BIG SAVINGS!

Open Mon-Sat 10-6 SHOP WITH US BEFORE YOU BUY! Located on I-55 Frontage South next to Cowboy Maloney’s and Big Lots @ the Briarwood exit.

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