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VOLUME 38, NUMBER 16 ARKANSAS TIMES (ISSN 0164-6273) is published each week by Arkansas Times Limited Partnership, 201 East Markham Street, 200 Heritage Center West, P.O. Box 34010, Little Rock, Arkansas, 72203, phone (501) 375-2985. Periodical postage paid at Little Rock, Arkansas, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ARKANSAS TIMES, P.O. Box 34010, Little Rock, AR, 72203. Subscription prices are $42 for one year, $78 for two years. Subscriptions outside Arkansas are $49 for one year, $88 for two years. Foreign (including Canadian) subscriptions are $168 a year.

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COMMENT

On the web In response to Gene Lyons’ column (available weekly at arktimes.com) “Global warming is real” (Dec. 14): The only thing more worthless, false and wrong than global warming is this article. Why do liberals always believe the evidence for global warming but as soon as one of their leftist scientist claims it’s a hoax, they are the crazy ones not to be believed? Bill Gray is a fine example of this. Liberals were the first to believe his hurricane reports until he recognized his own work as being useless. Weathermen can’t even predict things week to week and yet a liberal is dumb enough to think that we can predict something 500 years into the future. While you’re predicting the weather, why not give everyone some stock tips, health advice or something actually worth something? Heck, lets pull a “Back to the Future 2” and ask liberal researchers to predict who will win the next 500 Super Bowls.

This is nothing more than a way to tax and control people. Make up a fabrication in the sky and scare people into thinking they are going to die a slow painful death. This article mentions heat as a sign of global warming. How many famines over time have there been? And on the other hand, how many floods and time of rain have we had over the years including this past one? It’s the weather! It changes from season to season and from year to year. Some years are hotter than others and some are colder. Do people not remember the mid-’80s when there wasn’t a single snow day for several years? And then there were some.

Liberalism is nothing more than scare tactics wrapped up in a big ol’ wad of tax increases. Trust in me, say the liberal snakes to the taxpayer.

Trust us with your money while we feast on the fatted calf. The global warming effort will fade away and fail just as all liberal ideas do. Soon, there will be another thing to be fearful of.

Another hoax to brainwash the people with. Another reason to rely on the government and do nothing until the sun fries them like an egg. Articles like this are soulless and wrong. That’s all there is to it.

Finally, since liberals could care less about the national deficit and generations that will come after them to pay for it, why should they care about the future of the planet? You guys won’t even be around. All the researchers wasting their time with lies about this will have been gone for years. Eat, drink and be merry, liberal.

4

DECEMBER 21, 2011

ARKANSAS TIMES

For the government tells you so.

B Rock Sucks

Courtway named UCA president” on the Arkansas Blog:

I have just about given up arguing the facts to global warming skeptics.

My question for them now, is “Who is going to foot the bill for damage caused by the rise in ocean levels?” We have already spent a million dollars to move a coastal village in Alaska further inland. There is surely more of that to come.

Theoutlier

Let me see if I understand this correctly. Courtway was legal counsel during the last two presidential implosions and either (a) looked the other way while shenanigans were occurring, or (b) didn’t know enough to get in that information loop and put a stop to it, and now he’s the most qualified person to lead a troubled institution?

Past performance is the best predictor of future performance, and

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the good old boy board of trustees got them another good old boy who will go along to get along. What a sad joke.

The inbreeding continues.

DrRingDing Don’t know Mr. Courtway, did not attend UCA, but in order to be above suspicion, an outsider would be the logical next step after TWO past presidents being either convicted or investigated.

Not Mr. Courtway’s fault but Lu Hardin and his little Napoleon complex of giving all kinds of tuition and housing favors to “connected” non-deserving students taints any local applicant.

Citizen1 The last president WAS an outsider.

Courtway has stepped in twice now and cleaned up the messes left by his two predecessors. My impression is that he is a humble man, not demanding the kind of salary and perks of others in similar position. He appears to be highly competent and apparently enjoys the enthusiastic support of the faculty, students and administration.

Of course, we could initiate the kind of “nationwide search” that generated Allen Meadors. Personally, I think I’ll stick with Courtway. santhony I think this is a good appointment.

Everything I have read and heard about him is good. The best indication that he will be good for the school is his lack of demands for taking the job. The Board should have been suspicious of anyone who came in with the demands that Allen Meadors had. Both of my kids went to school there and so I have a real interest in seeing the school get over the past two presidents — Hardin and Meadors. plainjim UCA couldn’t have asked for a better president than Tom Courtway. He taught one of my master’s of accounting courses. He has a strong knowledge of financial background, and he knows how and when to research if he is not 100 percent certain on his answers.

He is a great person with outstanding character. Cheers to Courtway for this accomplishment.

FormerUCA

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5

EDITORIAL

Pulaski Tech’s cooking

he Pulaski Tech Board of Trustees has voted to build a new facility for its growing culinary and hotel management curriculum on its South Campus on Interstate 30 near the Saline County line.

The decision was a disappointment to a downtown coalition led by Mayor Mark Stodola that urged Tech to build the school on what is now a parking lot at Sixth and Main Streets.

A revitalized downtown is important. An architecturally striking culinary school with a restaurant and hundreds of students coming and going would have been welcome on Main Street.

But the Tech board couldn’t overlook money.

The school has grown from next-to-nothing to almost 12,000 students with a dogged attention to both costs and student fees. Students — many working, many single parents, all making sacrifices — appreciate it and enroll by the droves.

The Tech Board wasn’t sufficiently assured that the costs for a comparable building downtown wouldn’t greatly exceed the $15 million it raised through a bond issue (supported by tuition) to pay for a new culinary school. Downtown backers promised to get additional help, but state law doesn’t allow construction on promises, only on money in hand. Construction must start soon. The Tech Board had concerns, too, about security downtown and the ease of adding related facilities, such as a child care center.

Downtown didn’t really enter the picture until November, months after planning for the South campus facility had begun. That was a late start.

Mayor Mark Stodola needs to get past understandable disappointment. Given a chance last week to say he’d endorse a coming Pulaski Tech request for a property tax increase — no matter the final decision on the culinary school — Stodola declined to do so.

It wasn’t so long ago that the mayor was dining at a fancy Parisian restaurant on a publicly financed junket. He defended his expenditure as necessary to stay in good graces with the Frenchowned plane manufacturer, Dassault, that’s a major employer at the Little Rock National Airport. One of the mayor’s main selling points then: The steady stream of students trained for important jobs at the Dassault plant by — who else? — Pulaski Tech.

Dynamic Pulaski Tech will present future expansion possibilities along with its existing vital programs. It needs, not retaliation, but appreciation, including a property tax and a fairminded mayor who doesn’t take the culinary school setback personally.

6

DECEMBER 21, 2011

ARKANSAS TIMES

BRIAN CHILSON

T

EYE ON ARKANSAS

PEACEFUL PROTEST: Occupy Little Rock protestors march on the State Capitol building Saturday in Little Rock.

Official secrets

T

he state Ethics Commission last week voted 4-0 to dismiss my complaint that the Committee for Little Rock’s Future, which spent more than $200,000 in support of Little Rock’s recent sales tax proposal, hadn’t adequately reported how it spent the money.

It was disappointing because the Commission had earlier vote 4-0 to find probable cause that I was correct.

The Committee hired a lawyer, Kevin Crass of the Friday Firm, to appeal. Crass persuaded the Ethics Commission that state law didn’t specifically guard against a scheme the committee employed to keeps its expenditures secret.

State law requires committees formed to support or oppose ballot measures to disclose every check of $100 or more. The Committee for Little Rock’s Future, apart from a checking account fee, only wrote checks to the Markham Group, a political consulting group.

The Markham Group spent the money on mailing, ads, campaign workers and other things, but didn’t report them publicly.

Disclosure of the handful of checks to Markham was enough, Crass said, though Ethics Commission rules attempt to guard against arrangements to defeat disclosure. For example, disclosure of a payment to a credit card isn’t enough. They underlying charges must be listed.

The Markham Group, Crass took great pains to argue, is a professional organization. No doubt. But it is, for practical purposes, a straw man, the same as any intermediary would be in laundering money so that expenditures need not be disclosed. Under the ruling last week, if a committee writes a single $1 million check to an intermediary disbursing agent to avoid disclosure of subsequent expenditures, it’s legal.

I took away a moral victory. Graham Sloan, director of the Ethics Commission, readily acknowledged I’d identified a loophole in the law. The Ethics Commission favors more disclosure of expenditures, too. Paul

Dumas, who acted as chair of the commission, said “it’s clear public disclosure is down the tubes the way this statute is written.” He said, as Sloan did, that he’d favor a legislative MAX solution for more accountability.

BRANTLEY maxbrantley@arktimes.com That can’t happen until 2013.

Meanwhile, most ballot question committees will continue to be secretive, as they have been for years. And it won’t be easy to change the law.

Neither Robert McLarty, head of the Markham Group, nor Jay Chessir of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, would offer even lip service to the general concept of more disclosure.

What’s Chessir got to do with it? Glad you asked.

He’s more evidence of the clandestine nature of political campaigns. His name appears nowhere on the Committee for Little Rock Future’s paper work. Yet he was called by lawyer Crass to defend the committee’s filing procedure. Though records don’t reflect it, the chamber stage-managed the entire campaign, from money raising, to figurehead leaders to implementation.

As Ethics Commission counsel Rita Looney noted, in calling my complaint “meritorious,” the Markham Group spent money as instructed and in behalf of those who hired them. McLarty also said secrecy was important to protect “proprietary” campaign strategy.

This is laughable. That same information is disclosed routinely by committees for political candidates, as opposed to ballot issues, and sometimes it’s disclosed voluntarily by ballot committees.

The Ethics Commission, given a chance to broadly construe law, narrowly construed it in a way that promotes secrecy. It was legally defensible. But mark this now: when the ethics regulators try to fix the law, the Chamber of Commerce, its hired cutouts and the moneyed interests will argue for continued secrecy.

And as I learned again last week, money talks.

OPINION

The Newt and us

T

he story line in the Republican presidential sweepstakes is that, unlike the ephemeral pack leaders who preceded him, Newt Gingrich has staying power because people already know all his warts and transgressions and have either accepted or forgiven them.

Don’t bet on it. Everywhere but in the South, which has a fabled history of accepting and forgiving philanderers, rascals and highbinders if they are colorful enough, Gingrich is apt to fall harder than the rest.

With the help of his opponents and the media, Newt now is coming back to them slowly.

It is coming back to us here in Arkansas, where for a dozen years our men in Washington had a close but not always proud association with the former House minority whip and speaker.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette helped bring it back a little by politely interviewing three Republican congressmen from the state who served with him, Tommy Robinson, Tim Hutchinson and Jay Dickey. Hutchinson and Dickey were around for Gingrich’s epochal collisions with President Clinton over the budget and the shutdown of the federal government in 1995-96 and Clinton’s impeachment, which Gingrich helped engineer.

They spoke politely of Gingrich although Hutchinson and Dickey are against him because they say he isn’t a conservative.

But Robinson was sore that people made so much of Gingrich’s foolishness with women: the serial ERNEST adulteries, his DUMAS $500,000 line of credit at Tiffany jewelers and his and his wife Callista’s recent Mediterranean cruise.

“He’s not running for sainthood,” Robinson said.

You might expect Robinson, who runs a liquor store at Brinkley, to be mad at Gingrich. Remember that Robinson and the rest of the Arkansas House delegation were big check-kiters at the House bank. Robinson, it would turn out, wrote 996 hot checks in 39 months, which made him No. 1 in the Congress. Gingrich wrote them, too, including a $9,463 hot check to the IRS to pay his taxes in 1990.

But Gingrich saw that since the Democrats had a 100-vote majority in the House and more overdrafts the issue would hurt them more than Republicans. So he pushed to have all the overdrafts made public and investigated by a special counsel. That’s when Robinson’s incredible total became public.

Gingrich was right politically. He survived his own check-kiting scandal back home by 980 votes, but 77 other House members, mostly Democrats, bit the dust.

Pro-man

T

here seems to be a growing consensus out there that the End of Men is upon us. That was the title of Hanna Rosin’s article in The Atlantic magazine last July. Since then, we’ve learned from the Wall Street Journal that “Women Are Better Investors,” from TIME magazine that “Women are Better at Everything” and then from last month’s Esquire that all of this has left men, “Pissed off, on edge, and very, very tired.”

If these articles are any indication, you’d think those of us of the more pitiable sex should simply donate to the nearest sperm bank and pack up shop. Now comes Kate Bolick’s article “All The Single Ladies” in the The Atlantic’s November issue.

Bolick’s basic assertion is that, with the shifts in economic and professional power moving toward women and away from men, there has been a disruption in the “romantic market” and that traditional marriage is on its way out. The article then demeaningly groups men into “playboys (whose power is growing)” and “dead-

beats (whose numbers are rising).”

In defense of all these articles, there is no shortage of facts to back GRAHAM up this “deterioGORDY ration of the male condition” theory. Boys are now generally a year and a half behind girls in reading and writing. Boys are less committed to school and less likely to go to college.

Girls read more books, outperform boys on tests, and more girls study abroad. More boys are suspended from school, are held back and drop out. More boys have ADHD, are involved in crime, alcohol and drugs.

When we grow up, things don’t look much better. And the fact that post-industrial society negates most benefits of size and strength means that men are, more and more often, left out in the statistical cold.

But does the fact that men’s societal power is on the wane mean that marry-

The GOP took control in 1995 and made Gingrich speaker.

He quickly feuded with Clinton over funding Medicare, education and pollution abatement. He got the House to shut the government down in the late fall and winter of 1995-96. Gingrich figured that since that they had convinced people that the federal government was bad, voters would rejoice at its shutdown. He didn’t reckon on their wrath and he sought a reconciliation with Clinton to end the crisis and save Republicans.

Gingrich had made it worse by complaining that the wily Arkansan had ignored him on an Air Force One flight to Israel for the funeral of Yitzhak Rabin and that he had been told to exit from the rear of the plane. That snub, he explained to reporters, was “part of why you ended up with us sending down a tougher continuing resolution” and closing the government. Even Republican colleagues were aghast at the childish petulance.

That may be why Jay Dickey, the former Pine Bluff congressman, was so uncharitable. When Dickey refused to go along with Gingrich on his surrender to Clinton on ending the government shutdown, Gingrich paid him back by not showing up for his scheduled speech at Dickey’s fundraiser. People felt sorry for their humiliated congressman and reelected him.

Then there was all the other ethics stuff, which finally drove Gingrich out of government. Faced with 84 ethics charges against him, the House Ethics Commit-

tee — half Republicans and half Democrats — voted 6 to 1 in 1997 to recommend sanctions by the House. The House voted 395-28 to censure and fine him for ethical wrongdoing, principally a shady book deal, claiming tax-exempt status for a college course he ran for political purposes and lies about them.

One of our own figured in that, too.

Gingrich’s chief defense lawyer was Ed Bethune, the former congressman from Searcy and Little Rock. Bethune had been a tough former prosecutor, but he couldn’t beat the rap for the speaker in the Ethics Committee. The next day, Bethune, Gingrich, the present speaker, John Boehner, and several others were on a conference call plotting an attack in the House on the Ethics Committee’s charges in clear violation of Gingrich’s and Bethune’s agreement with the Ethics Committee. A vacationing couple happened to pick up the phone signals on their police radio, taped the conversation and handed it to a Democratic congressmen, who shared it with reporters.

Everything headed downhill pell mell.

Facing a massive revolt in his own party, Gingrich resigned his congressional job and his leadership of the Republicans after their defeat in 1998, explaining that he was not willing “to preside over people who are cannibals.”

Cannibals! The memories are why Republican stalwarts everywhere — outside the forgiving South, of course — are not going to let Newt be in charge of their fate again.

ing down is inevitable for the 21st century woman? Yes, there was a time when men and women came together more out of necessity, to form a house, children, a farm; but if we still do, is it an outmoded holdover of lamentable ideals? Is economic interdependence the wholehearted explanation of why monogamy still survives at all?

Let me state two things without equivocation. First, that men and women have come together since the dawn of agriculture to raise crops and families isn’t actually a knock on marriage. Second, and more importantly, if the waning of men as providers is turning women away from men, then maybe women should examine the reasons they’re going to men in the first place.

Also, give us a break. Men have had a pretty good run. As Camille Paglia says, “Men created the world we live in and the luxuries we enjoy. ... Construction is a sublime male poetry.” That what we have traditionally done isn’t as prized anymore means most of us are a little sad. We put too much esteem into our jobs and we’re either losing them or, if we’re keeping them, they aren’t going well.

As for how all of this affects our romantic prospects, I do sympathize with the disillusionment. More than 50 percent of marriages end in divorce and a lot of the remaining don’t seem terribly happy.

Monogamy is a minefield, but that doesn’t mean we have to deny that we want it.

Platitudes like “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle” are charming, but the fact that most women don’t actually believe it for the first few decades of their lives tell us what we need to know. If you’re 40 and single and perfectly happy with it, I applaud you, but don’t mistake your disillusionment for doctrine.

It’s clear that in the 21st century, marriage has become more complicated than ever. Our modern era tries at it seem to fall into either a) flailing, or b) failing. Therefore, we do need to examine and endorse alternative family arrangements as much as possible in order to raise healthier, more stable kids. But if we’re unsuccessful at monogamy, it means that we’re still trying; we still want it. If we’re unsuccessful as men, maybe it’s the first step toward adapting to a new marketplace and getting better. Regardless, neither men nor love are ending anytime soon. www.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 21, 2011

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Basketball apathy

I

have a friend who has uttered this mantra, or some semblance thereof, for years: If the Hogs are winning on the football field, then no one will care about the basketball team. That is a rough, lightly embellished paraphrase of a harsh reality. Razorback sports of all manner take an obvious backseat to the gridiron goings-on, and that’s why it is disheartening to see Mike Anderson’s first Hog team playing so many early games in an echo chamber. Bud Walton Arena has long ceded its standing as one of the true collegiate hell-dens because the quality of play inside has been substandard for years, and this well-documented apathy, as much as anything else, led to Stan Heath and John Pelphrey being removed.

Despite audacious vows of message board cretins to return to the stands in droves when Anderson was hired, the unappealing schedule and the inescapable pull of the forthcoming Cotton Bowl have muted attendance. There’s a tendency to panic about this apparent disinterest, but it is likely that once the curtains have finally closed on the football team’s season, the lure of SEC games will correlate to bigger numbers in the stands. Nonetheless, there’s a fair chance that more people will see non-conference baseball at Baum Stadium in chilly weather than will see similar action at Bud Walton.

The most rabid Razorback supporters in Northwest Arkansas are showing up, and that’s about it.

After nipping a Southeastern Louisiana team filled with transfers on Saturday, Anderson’s squad was a rather pedestrian 6-3 (mid-week tilts against Eastern Kentucky and Louisiana Tech may enable the Hogs to push their record to 8-3 by the time this issue has been disseminated).

There were known issues going into this season, namely a paucity of depth and a troubling lack of height. When Marshawn Powell wrecked his knee after two games, those wounds were exacerbated. This team wasn’t well-equipped to threaten the balance of power in the SEC in any circumstance, but the loss of the versatile Powell added injury to insult. If you watched this team during its losses (Houston, UConn, Oklahoma), your morbid curiosity probably was satisfied. Because Rotnei Clarke mercifully ended his Razorback career early by tucking tail prior to his final year, Arkansas again finds itself lacking a shooting threat, but the guard play has generally been very good anyway. BJ Young is the Hogs’ most complete freshman backcourt player in years, and sophomores Rickey Scott and Mardracus Wade are maturing and flourishing as expected in Anderson’s system. As the season wears

on, Hunter Mickelson and Devonta Abron must nibble away the minutes being granted to Michael SanBEAU chez and Marvell WILCOX Waithe; Mickelson is wondrously gifted but seems overly tentative at this point, and Abron simply needs polish because he has already demonstrated more of a post presence than the aforementioned seniors. The hallmark of an Anderson squad is feverish work on the defensive end, and even in defeat there have been spurts where the opponent was unbalanced and annoyed. Consistency has escaped these Hogs; dogged effort has not.

The few high-level talents on this team are completely green, and the contributions of the elder statesmen are so marginal that this squad sort of represents a pauper’s Fab Five. This will not be an NCAA tournament team in all likelihood, but its nucleus for 2012-13 will be stronger as a byproduct. It is likely that with Powell, Clarke and Aaron Ross, who committed to Arkansas during the Bush administration but somehow failed to qualify academically in 2011, this could have been a 20- to 25-win squad with decent postseason prospects; the return of a motivated Powell next year along with a few signees could bring the Razorbacks to the cusp of competing for an SEC title.

Because of the aforesaid attendance shortfalls, these next few weeks represent a critical juncture. The lower expectations for this team would seem to allow for some margin for error: if Arkansas plays hard, which seems assured with Anderson at the helm, then fans will forgive a smattering of losses in the process. But that doesn’t resolve the apathy problem. Will anybody get excited about next year if this year’s team wins only 14-16 games? Doubtful.

If Anderson is indeed going to be able to recapture the spirit of this program, his charges must swing some miracles, play over their collective heads for a stretch and at least give the team a chance to host an NIT game. For all the miserable moments of recent times, there were signs that sentient beings would still populate the cavern if the mood is right. Arkansas’s early burst in Pelphrey’s second year — nonconference wins over Oklahoma and Texas — gave the building renewed vigor for a couple of weeks before the bottom fell out for that season and, in retrospect, for Pelphrey’s Razorback career. Anderson cannot afford such a freefall: he must keep the ardent fans there for more than, say, three hours on a given Wednesday night.

Hey, do this!

➧

JANUARY

Food, Music, Entertainment and everything else that’s

DEC. 31

➧

➧ JAN. 3

Ring in the New Year in a big way! The Peabody hosts its annual New Year’s Eve party, beginning at 9 p.m., with music

by Rodney Block and the Real Music Lovers, Tyrannosaurus Chicken, Epiphany and One Night Stand and more. Tickets are $45 in advance or $55 at the door the night of the event. Call 501-399-8059 or visit www.rivertopparty.com for details. Ask about special New Year’s Eve overnight packages.

Verizon Arena kicks off the month with a good old-fashioned Smack Down of the WWE variety. The main event is a triple-threat match-up between Apex Predator Randy Orton, the World’s Strongest Man Mark Henry and the Largest Athlete in the World. Tickets are $17-$62 and available through Ticketmaster online at www. ticketmaster.com or by phone at 800-745-3000.

For more information, visit www.verizonarena.com.

JAN. 12

JAN. 20

the first Live at Laman concert for 2012. Live at Laman is a musical series held every 2nd Thursday of the month at Laman Library in North Little Rock.

All concerts begin at 7 p.m. For more information, visit www. lamanlibrary.org.

Verizon Arena. The team’s star-studded rookie class includes Paul Tiny Sturgess, the world’s tallest pro basketball player at 7’8,”Jonte Too Tall Hall, the shortest Globetrotter ever at 5’2,” and Fatima TNT Maddox, the team’s first female player since 1993 and only the ninth female player in team history. Come cheer on the new generation of stars to carry on the tradition of the world’s most entertaining basketball team. Tickets are $21.75-$108.75 and available through Ticketmaster online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 800-745-3000. For more information, visit www.verizonarena.com.

The Salty Dogs headline

JAN. 22

The Harlem Globetrotters bring their 2012 World Tour to

UCA Public Appearances presents The Enchanted Island, which brings together the world’s best singers, glorious music of the Baroque masters and a story drawn from Shakespeare. Inspired by the musical pastiches and masques of the 18th century, it showcases arias and ensembles by Handel, Vivaldi, Rameau, and others and a new libretto by Jeremy Sams.

The performance begins at 2 p.m. and takes place at Reynolds Performance Hall. Tickets are $15 and available online at www.uca.edu/publicappearances.

JAN. 31

JAN. 27

JAN. 10

FUN!

➧

Alfred Uhry’s Driving Miss Daisy, the heartwarming comedy about an unlikely friendship between a crotchety old lady and her chauffeur, takes the stage at Murry’s Dinner Playhouse. Don’t miss actress Candyce Hinkle (2010’s True Grit) as she stars in this classic. The play runs through Feb. 4. For show times and tickets, call 501-562-3131. Visit www. murrysdinnerplayhouse.com for additional information.

JAN. 21

Verizon Arena is proud to welcome back Evanescence with special guests Rival Sons and Electric Touch. Founded by Little Rock’s own Amy Lee, the band is touring in support of their latest album Evanescence, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts. Tickets are $39.50 and available through Ticketmaster online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 800-745-3000. For more information, visit www.verizonarena.com.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird is told through the eyes of Scout, the tomboyish young daughter of small-town lawyer Atticus Finch. This timeless tale compels us to take an honest look at our nation’s past and our moral responsibility to each other. Preview performances will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 25 and Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. Opening night is Friday, Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. and includes a postshow reception with the cast. Complimentary champagne and light hors d’oeuvres will be served. For more information, visit www. therep.org or call 501-378-0405.

JAN. 30

Elvis Lives: The Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Event is an unforgettable multimedia and live musical journey through Elvis Presley’s life. Come celebrate an icon who continues to inspire and captivate audiences of all generations. This phenomenal theatrical concert experience takes place at Robinson Center Music Hall. Tickets are $22-$49 and available through Ticketmaster online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 800-745-3000 and also at participating Walmart stores. For more information, visit www.celebrityattractions.com or call 501-244-8800.

Dec 17:

The Clinton Presidential Center hosts the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s Mozart Meets P.D.Q. Bach. The performance begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $22 and available online at www.arkansassymphony.org where you can Hop also on findthe a complete downtownschedule of upcoming events.

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artists, music performers, readings and theater performances. $10 ticket proceeds go to Thea Foundation. marketstreetcinema.net

DECEMBER 16 - JANUARY 2 www.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 22, 2011

9

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W O RDS

At war with the Newt He’s more to be censured than pitied: “In the end, after being censored for ethics violations by the House and the kind of frenetic managerial incompetence Gingrich was known for, even Republicans had had enough.” Newt Gingrich wasn’t actually censored by the House of Representatives, though the temptation must have been great. He was censured – “reprimanded; reproached in a harsh or vehement manner.”

Of a performing musician who also holds a regular job, a columnist wrote, “Three-night working weekends can be a bit tiring for someone who’s also keeping banker’s hours Monday through Friday, but Bowman said he enjoys it.”

Stephen Koch writes, “Banker’s hours, as I’ve always understood the term, would seem to lend itself well to working at other times of day — not that many bankers would need the extra cash.”

I believe the columnist used banker’s hours to mean “regular hours, 9 to 5.” But as Koch notes, banker’s hours refers to a short work day, a sweet deal for those who get it. The expression goes back to the old pre-computer days when banks were open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. five days a week.

Barbara Jacquish of Fayetteville writes, “A CNN memo announcing the layoffs of photojourDOUG nalists includes the SMITH dougsmith@arktimes.com statement ‘Consumer and prosumer technologies are simpler and more accessible.’ Have you ever seen this word?

I can only guess at its meaning.”

I couldn’t even do that. It’s not in standard dictionaries, even the on-line Merriam Webster. I found it in Wikipedia, that not-always-reliable source: “Prosumer is a portmanteau formed by contracting either the word professional or less often, producer with the word consumer. For example, a prosumer grade digital camera is a ‘cross’ between consumer grade and professional grade. … [Prosumer] also can be used to differentiate the traditional passive consumer with an active consumer role more involved in the process, such as activity in the design or customization of the end product.”

This sounds like it’s heading in the vicinity of proactive. I don’t want to go there.

WEEK THAT WAS

Impacting the lives of youth through sports

Michel Leidermann Moderator

EL LATINO Program AETN-TV 10:30 pm, Sunday, December 25 Broadcast in Spanish 10

DECEMBER 21, 2011

ARKANSAS TIMES

It was a good week for…

It was a bad week for …

TOM COURTWAY. After serving as interim president for the second time, most recently stepping in after former president Allen Meadors’ was fired over presidential home renovations and a contract with a food service vendor, Courtway was named president for the University of Central Arkansas.

He agreed to serve up to three years without a contract (no buyout!), no severance package and no car allowance.

CAMPAIGN DISCLOSURE. The Ethics Commission dismissed a complaint filed by Times senior editor Max Brantley that the Little Rock sales tax committee hadn’t properly disclosed its expenditures. It reported only checks to a consulting group, the Markham Group, which ran the campaign and spent money on advertising and other means in the committee’s behalf. Nonetheless, several with the Ethics Commission indicated that they would be willing to correct the reporting loophole in the disclosure law. Paul Dumas, who acted as chair at the hearing, said he’d back legislative action to tighten the statute. Graham Sloan, director of the Ethics Commission, also said he believed a recommendation for change was a strong possibility.

GUS MALZAHN. A year after winning the Broyles Award and, as offensive coordinator, guiding Auburn to a national championship, Malzahn agreed to become head coach of Arkansas State University. The Fort Smith native said ASU was the “right place at the right time.”

STUPID RESOLUTIONS. Rep. Mike Ross (D-Prescott) declared war against those making war on Christmas. He has a bloody shirt to wave, a House resolution asserting there are those intent on banning the mention of Christmas in public life (no names or details provided) and that Congress should protect the “symbols and traditions of Christmas.”

NEW IDEAS TO FEED THE HUNGRY. State Rep. Randy Stewart (R-Kirby) told the Democrat-Gazette he wants to institutionalize taxpayer subsidies to process wild game to give to the hungry.

This is wild game that, in many cases, the hunters don’t want to eat. Here’s an idea: How about putting a similar amount of state money into peanut butter, cheese, bean, rice and similar stores for cheap, nutritious and far more popular sources of food pantry stock for the hungry?

THE OBSERVER NOTES ON THE PASSING SCENE

The secret

I

t’s Christmas this week — can’t mas morning was here — that Santa you hear all the little kiddies yellhad came and went in the twinkling of an eye and a puff of chimney soot, ing “AT LAST!” all over town? — leaving good things behind. and this time of year always gets The Observer thinking about Christmases Back then, our favorite feeling in past. No, we’re not talking about that the world was waking up on Christmas morning and heading downstairs to see bit of underdone potato — more gravy than grave — that assailed old Ebenethe goodies stacked around the tree. zer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ most Ma had bought us all knitted stockings ghostly of Xmas tales, but it feels like some years before — stretchy jobs, each that sometimes. The older we get, the a good two feet long even before the stuff went in. Those stockings were more we feel like we’ve been whisked away into the past around Dec. 15 and always the best part for The Observer, are held hostage there until after New even better than the wrapped presYears Day — as if every colored light ents: the colorful stockings, too heavy plants our feet ever more firmly with to hang, lying on the hearth as lumpy as a cartoon snake that had eaten its one in history, one in the present, weight in apples and a toe edgand oranges and ing toward the candy. still-percolating Those stockings were future. As much Our own always the best part for son is 12 now, as we’d rather be The Observer, even better publicly flogged and figured the than the wrapped presents: than hear Barry whole business out long ago, Manilow sing the colorful stockings, too m aybe even “Silver Bells” heavy to hang, lying on quicker than one more time, the hearth as lumpy as a his Old Man. though, we can’t cartoon snake that had He’s smart like bring our self to eaten its weight in apples that. That said, be one of those and oranges and candy. his mother and Bah, Humbugfather will still gers when it be creeping comes to Christmas. We do still love it so. around the house after he’s gone off to dance with sugarplums on ChristThe Observer was a quick study in our youth, so The Great Secret of mas Eve, the two old elves sneaking Christmas Eve was self-revealed to us goodies out of hiding places and stasha bit quicker than some of our peers. ing them in the living room, filling the That said, we had at least seven good stocking to overflowing. Is it wrong years there — and, to be honest, two to keep something like that a part of more where we were HOPING it Christmas, even after magic has given was true — where Christmas mornway to understanding? If so, we don’t want to be right. We never, ever want ing was all about the magic, wonderto be right about that one. ing at tiny reindeer on the roof, what Santa thought of our cookies, and how The Observer has been a father exactly he squeezed himself through awhile now (we’d even consider our the keyhole. self an old hand at it) and we can tell Our dear old dad, who had grown you from experience what our dad up dirt poor in College Station, loved obviously knew: The joy of waking up the holidays. He was a very early riser, to find presents on Christmas morna trait he picked up in Army boot camp ing is nothing compared to the joy of and never shed himself of. At 3 a.m. waking up somebody else to find theirs. on Christmas morning, it was always Happy holidays, everybody. The him that shook The Observer and his Observer sends all the blessings in the brothers awake, telling us that Christworld your way.

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DECEMBER 21, 2011

11

Arkansas Reporter

THE

IN S IDE R

The Pulaski Tech Board of Trustees Tuesday decided they couldn’t afford to locate a new facility for its culinary and hospitality school downtown.

But some talk immediately emerged of another potential Pulaski Tech project. It’s mostly out in the ozone right now, but it goes something like this: Pulaski Tech and UALR could join forces on a downtown facility geared at providing college courses to downtown workers. A secretary, for example, could schedule a lunch hour three days a week to get college credit — toward a degree, toward a new degree, toward current job skills.

Talk about this is serious. It includes some private interests with the wherewithall to make things happen. Just scribble it down for the future.

‘Kite Runner’ too Islamic, school board told The ACLU of Arkansas is paying close attention to a move by Jonesboro high school patrons to remove “The Kite Runner” from a senior English class curriculum because of its “presentation of Islam as a viable and genuine religion.”

An article in the Jonesboro Sun did not name the two Valley View School District patrons who want the curriculum changed, but one is apparently a substitute teacher who learned of the curriculum while substituting in the class.

“The Kite Runner,” by Khaled Hosseini, is a redemption story about a boy who betrays his servant friend, flees Afghanistan as the Soviets rise to power and returns years later as the Taliban take over to make amends to the servant’s family. The servant boy is sodomized in one scene, and that and language in the book were also named as objectionable.

As quoted in the Jonesboro Sun, the patrons complained that the book “may cause some students to question the validity of our ‘one nation under God’ … Is it permissible to have a book which deals with Islam and a man’s journey to receive it as truth when most schools are not allowed to teach the same in relation to the Bible?”

Attempts to reach the school board president, Dr. Brian Gray, were unsuccessful, but according to the Jonesboro Sun, a couple of board members suggested the book be kept in the curriculum but not read CONTINUED ON PAGE 13 12

DECEMBER 21, 2011

ARKANSAS TIMES

DAVID BELL

Downtown Tech

NOT TRANSPARENT: Carroll Electric, according to lawsuit.

Power struggle Carroll County co-op board bad actor, lawsuit says.

BY CHEREE FRANCO

C

arroll County Electric Cooperative Corporation has been plagued by recent controversy — an unflattering documentary, a serious of member-initiated lawsuits and recently, on Dec. 5, a formal complaint lodged with the Arkansas Public Service Commission against the cooperative’s latest bylaw change.

On Oct. 27, Carroll Electric amended its bylaws to include an arbitration clause forbidding any member of the cooperative to “participate in a class action or putative class action against the Cooperative.” The timing was suspicious. Just three months earlier, cooperative members Gordon Watkins and Dane Schumacher filed a class action suit against the co-op, alleging that the utility’s bylaws and herbicide program are illegal and that the utility has denied members access to records, including financial records about member-owned funds.

According to their attorney, William Ikard of Austin, Texas, the bylaws amendment is unenforceable under the doctrine of unconscionability — meaning that one party is subject to oppressive terms, with no recourse or means of negotiation. “A member may not even know she was named in a putative suit. All Carroll Electric members are named in this suit, so they would all be in violation of the

bylaws,” Ikard said. The amendment “is ridiculous,” he said, and “inappropriate for a member-owned, democratic co-op.”

Because Arkansas law mandates utility monopolies, anyone with a business or residence in Carroll Electric’s service area — portions of Benton, Newton, Madison and Carroll counties — has no choice but to join the co-op.

Watkins and Schumacher, organic farmers and members since 1973 and 1998, respectively, were alarmed by the lack of information surrounding the utility’s use of herbicides.

In May 2008, members were notified by the Carroll Electric board that crews would be coming on property to control brush growing under power lines. “The first notification we received didn’t even have the word ‘herbicide’ in it,” Watkins said. Notification was staggered, so that many members learned of the program mere days before the crews were scheduled for their neighborhood.

A couple of weeks later, the federal Environmental Protection Agency sent Carroll Electric instructions to send out new notices identifying the “applicators” crews would use as herbicides. The associated controversy spawned an awardwinning documentary, “The Natural State of America,” featuring Arkansas naturalist Kent Bonar.

Though there was an “opt-out” process, Watkins found it confusing and unreliable. “I needed no-spray assurance in writing to keep my organic certification.

Carroll Electric couldn’t supply it,” he said. Some members opted out, but their property was sprayed anyway.

After they were thwarted in their attempts to obtain a copy of the vegetation management plan, which was implemented without the permission of the member-owners, Watkins and Schumacher became suspicious of the utility’s financial behavior.

“Members couldn’t attend board meetings, couldn’t see the minutes, couldn’t speak at the annual meeting, couldn’t bring cameras to the meeting,” said Watkins.

Carroll Electric formed in 1937 under New Deal legislation, drafted to provide rural communities with electricity. Its 88,117 members pool funds to finance infrastructure. Anything left after operating costs is to be returned to members as a capital credit.

Since 1973, Watkins has only received three checks from Carroll Electric. The largest was for a couple hundred dollars, even though he has about $6,900 on reserve. According to Nancy Plagge, director of communications for Carroll Electric, funds awarded in 2010 were for credits accumulated in 1983 because of the 25-year distribution cycle. In 2012, members will receive checks for credits accumulated in 1985.

Perhaps in reaction to a class action lawsuit filed by member Joe Capps in Benton County District Court in 2009 for a portion of the more than $170 million in capital owed to Carroll Electric members, the board changed the bylaws in January 2011, removing the language about when members would be notified about their funds. Prior to that, bylaws specified that patrons were to be notified of their reserve funds “within reasonable time after the close of the fiscal year.”

Other financial discrepancies are mentioned in Watkins and Schumacher’s suit. According to Plagge, the nine board members receive a $550 per diem per monthly meeting. But tax forms show that in 2007, an emeritus board member was granted $12,000, and in 2009, a former board member also received $12,000. In 2007, fees paid to board members totaled $289,707, which comes to $2,700 per meeting for a nine-member board.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

LISTEN UP

THE

BIG PICTURE

SPEAKING THEIR MINDS Reason number 1,918 the Internet is great: Capitol Words, a project from the transparency group the Sunlight Foundation, scrapes the Congressional Record so users can search the most-used words and phrases in Congress. The website, capitolwords.org, updates daily and includes records going back to 1996.

Below are the most telling word-trends we found in the Arkansas delegation.

WORDS UTTERED MOST BY ARKANSAS’S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION SINCE 1996 1. Arkansans 2. Arkansas 3. Catfish 4. AR 5. dog

THE ARKANSAS CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION’S most used five-word phrase since 1996: “fiscally conservative Democratic Blue Dog.”

MIKE ROSS’ FAVORITE FIVE-WORD PHRASES

conservativ e Democrati c Blue Dog c the oalition fisca lly c ons erva tive Dem ocra tic B lue

RICK CRAWFORD hasn’t said much on the congressional record, but he is tied for the most use of the words “to regulate dust.”

TIM GRIFFIN’S FAVORITE FIVE-WORD PHRASES

STEVE WOMACK has used the words “threat of higher taxes” more than any congressman or senator since 1996.

MARION BERRY’S second most used word during his 14-year term was “Gillett.”

Tune in to the Times’ “Week In Review” podcast each Friday.

Available on iTunes & arktimes.com

INSIDER, CONT. aloud in class.

The board will take up the issue again at its Jan. 10 meeting.

Norm Stafford, a former professor of English at Arkansas State University and a member of the ACLU board, said he will join other ACLU representatives at the meeting. He said students were exposed to “far more explicit stuff about the Penn State story,” referring to the publication of allegations of abuse by former football coach Jerry Sandusky.

He cited the irony that the patrons would try to ban a book whose story line is set against the evils of the rise of the extremist, book-banning Taliban.

Reese joins ‘Devils Knot’ Fresh off starring in Jeff Nichols’ Arkansas-set film “Mud,” Reese Witherspoon is tied to another Arkansas-connected role. According to Variety, the actress will star in the film version of Mara Leveritt’s “Devil’s Knot” about the West Memphis Three case. She’ll play Pam Hobbs, mother of one of the three children slain in West Memphis in 1992.

In other WM3 news, The Nashville Scene reports that “West of Memphis,” the new documentary feature about the West Memphis Three case, will play at Nashville’s Belcourt Theater on Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. The showing is part of the Sundance Film Festival’s “Sundance USA” series, which will preview selections from this year’s Sundance Festival at nine theaters across the U.S. Tickets for the Belcourt show are on sale now.

“West of Memphis” is being produced by Damien Echols and Lorri Davis, with help from Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, the brains behind the “Lord of the Rings” films. Oscarnominated filmmaker Amy Berg is in the director chair. Jackson and Walsh quietly bankrolled the effort to free the West Memphis Three for years, with Echols traveling to New Zealand for a visit soon after his release.

While “West of Memphis” hasn’t reached theaters, it’s already the source of controversy, with a public and messy dispute between Berg and “Paradise Lost” directors Bruce Sinofsky and Joe Berlinger over access to key figures in the case.

CORRECTION In last week’s cover story about entrepreneur Brett Overman, we referred to the company started by Overman at one point as “National Disaster Services.” His company is actually called National Disaster Solutions. www.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 21, 2011

13

BEST WORST 2011

BY DAVID KOON ILLUSTRATIONS

BY TOMMY DURHAM

T

he 2011 Express is soon to wheeze into the station, so it’s time once again for our annual Best and Worst issue, the Arkansas Times’ roundup of all the news that was fit to print (and some that probably wasn’t) in the Sovereign Asylum of Arkansas this year. On the menu this go-round: dying blackbirds, tax breaks on rubber pants, justice from above (twice), home circumcision and coach Bobby Petrino’s sideline meltdown in the wake of the loss to LSU. It was a full year, folks. As my dear old Dad used to say: Thank the Lord we made it, and thank Him twice that it’s almost over.

Best signs of the impending Apocalypse On the night of New Year’s Eve, Beebe residents heard the pitter-patter of carcasses on their rooftops as over 5,000 blackbirds mysteriously dropped dead mid-flight and fell to earth. This was followed soon after by a spontaneous die-off of over 60,000 drum fish on the Arkansas River. Tinfoil hat sales skyrocketed as conspiracy theorists scrambled to pin the smitings on everything from aliens to double-secret testing at the Pine Bluff Arsenal.

Best yodel

Worst closing

In January, Miss Arkansas Alyse Eady came in first runner-up for the Miss America crown, which we believe to be a blatant, unmitigated theft after watching her talent: ventriloquist yodeling, featuring Eady and two wooden-headed friends belting out fellow Arkansan Patsy Montana’s “I Want To Be A Cowboy’s Sweetheart.” Her spunk got Eady and her dummies a guest spot on David Letterman a week later.

Citing fear for the safety of his customers and employees, the owner of Jim’s Razorback Pizza on Stagecoach Road in Little Rock closed down in January after the place was robbed seven times in five years — including twice when the joint was full of customers. Little Rock Police Chief Stuart Thomas told reporters that in his 30-plus years on the force, it was the first time he could remember a business shutting down solely because of crime.

Worst blockage The Harps grocery store up in Mountain Home caused a nationwide furor back in January after a manager blocked the covers of Us Weekly magazine showing the singer Elton John and his new baby with an obscene material placard — a rectangle of gray plastic imprinted with “Family Shield. To protect young Harps shoppers.” A customer snapped a photo of the blocked magazine and uploaded it to Twitter. After being deluged with angry e-mails and calls, Harps had the shield taken down.

14

DECEMBER 21, 2011

ARKANSAS TIMES

Worst cold Snowlocaust, Snomageddon, Snowpocalypse — whatever you called it, the snow storm that blanketed the state from border to border in early February was bad, especially in the Northwest corner of the state, which saw snow totals of up to two feet and a real, non-wind-chill-assisted temperature of 20 degrees below zero in some areas. Brrrrrrr.

Worst Confederate The mayor of Marshall decided to honor the birthday of Gen. Robert E. Lee in January by flying the Confederate flag over city hall through the long MLK Day weekend, including on the holiday devoted to King.

Best vote A week after the mayor’s dubious decision, the Marshall City Council convened an emergency session and voted that henceforth only the Arkansas flag and Old Glory can be flown on city property.

Worst stiff In February, a taxidermy shop in Romance that specializes in freezedrying dead pets so they can keep their owners company forever announced they were in talks to get their own reality TV show on Animal Planet. “American Stuffers” debuts Jan. 5.

was one of those swept up in a 2010 prostitution sting. The teacher said she had been working as an escort to help make ends meet after falling on hard times.

Worst motive Down in Union County in March, a man was booked on a charge of first-degree battery after he stabbed his uncle multiple times during an argument over a pig.

Worst collision Best evidence that teachers might need a raise

A math teacher at Little Rock’s McClellan High was put on administrative leave in February after the district learned she

In March, a smash-em-up on Broadway near downtown Little Rock sent an SUV careening into the wall surrounding Mount Holly Cemetery, one of the city’s oldest and most storied burial grounds.

The ensuing crash wasn’t enough to wake the dead, but it did do thousands

of dollars worth of damage to the wall and an iron fence.

Worst ignoring ignoramus The oldest bridge still in use in Arkansas — the 130-foot, circa 1891 Solgohachia Bridge over Point Remove Creek just outside of Morrilton — was pulled off its foundations in April after a gas drilling company truck driver ignored weight-limit warning signs and tried to cross in a rig weighing nine tons.

Worst heist In April, two men entered a convenience store in Little Rock, asked for a box of condoms, then put a $50 bill on the counter as if they were about to pay. When the clerk CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 www.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 21, 2011

15

opened the register, the robbers pulled pistols, grabbed the cash and fled. Left behind on the counter: The $50 bill and the condoms. The take from the register was apparently light enough that the crooks came close to going into the red on the transaction, though felony charges were thrown in for free.

Worst heist (runner up) In September, a trio of gunmen burst into a Little Rock church and relieved the members of a Sunday School class of their wallets, cell phones and jewelry at gunpoint.

Best spousal charity In May, Anna Johnson, a 24-year-old hairdresser from Conway, won the annual Toad Suck Daze “Stuck on a Truck” contest by keeping at least one hand on a red Ford F-150 for a record 5 days, 15 hours and 52 minutes. In her entry form for the contest, Johnson said she entered because she didn’t think her husband believed she could do it. She also said she planned to give him the truck.

Worst debate In the Garland County Jail in May, two inmates reportedly got in a fistfight because of a disagreement over which

Worst Father’s Day gift That would be: a stabbin’. On Father’s Day, police said, a Little Rock 18-year-old attacked his father with a knife after Dad tried to break up a fight between two of his sons that started over cigarettes. Dad was punched in the face, then later stabbed. When his son came at him with the knife again, police said, Dad clouted the younger man with a boat paddle.

Be happy with that tie you got, pal. Could have been a lot worse.

was worse: the prison system in Arkansas or the prison system in Louisiana.

Worst hit and run It came to light in May that freshman state Rep. Mark Biviano of Searcy was accused in a hit-and-run accident in Little Rock back in April. According to the other driver involved, Biviano’s truck hit her Toyota as he pulled away from the Capital Hotel. She said the lawmaker suggested they move their cars out of the roadway, then sped off. Finding him was fairly easy, given CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

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DECEMBER 21, 2011

ARKANSAS TIMES

It’s the return of the annual Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase as performers compete for an array of prizes. All acts who have at least four songs of original material are encouraged to enter. All styles are welcome.

2011 WINNER TYRANNOSAURUS CHICKEN

Semifinalists will compete throughout January and February at Stickyz and Revolution.

Weekly winners will then face off in the finals in March.

Check out arktimes.com/showcase12 for information on how to enter online and upload your files.

Door prizes will be given away to fans in attendance.

DEADLINE FOR ENTRY DEC. 31, 2011 FOR MORE INFO E-MAIL robertbell@arktimes.com Don’t miss the show of past showcase winners!

December 29 at Stickyz!

9 p.m., $5

Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase Entry Form NAME OF BAND HOMETOWN DATE BAND WAS FORMED AGE RANGE OF MEMBERS (ALL AGES WELCOME) CONTACT PERSON ADDRESS CITY, STATE, ZIP PHONE E-MAIL SEND ENTRIES AND DEMO CD TO: Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase, PO BOX 34010, Little Rock, AR 72203

¡REVOLUTION!

Biviano’s State House of Representatives license plate, but the case was closed without charges.

Best conspiracy Biviano, a Republican swept in on a Tea Party platform in 2010, told his hometown paper the story was part of a Democratic vendetta to discredit him.

Best Craigslist In May, on the Fayetteville Craigslist page, a poster offered $6,000 to any taxidermist who’d help fulfill his wife’s wish “to be stuffed so she can still watch over me [and] the grand kids after she goes.”

We’re hoping it was a joke, but given that this is Arkansas, it probably wasn’t.

Worst dumb In May, Hot Springs Mayor Ruth Carney — the titular head of a town which exists solely because of tourism — commented on a friend’s Facebook photo of a sniper by saying: “You know how I hate tourism and all, so I was seeing if [snipers] could maybe eliminate some of the tourists.”

Best drag In June, a hip-hop clothing store on Col. Glenn Road was held up by a trio of crooks, who the clerk identified for police as “three black homosexual males.” In the midst of the robbery, the clerk managed to wrestle away a gun and shoot one of them before they fled. Later, after a suspect turned up at a local hospital with a wounded accomplice, police discovered the three desperadoes were actually desperadettes — women, dressed as men.

Worst tragedy On June 10, a Fayetteville driver who police said found himself disoriented due to low blood sugar ran a red light and hit a Honda Accord, killing the passenger in the car. The passenger in the car turned out to be his wife, who was out searching for him with her son after a call from her husband saying he was feeling dizzy and needed help.

Worst old-timey In July, the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration announced the details of Arkansas’s August sales tax holiday, providing a short list of examples of clothing items that would be exempt. Among the garments listed by the DFA: “beach capes and coats,” bathing caps, girdles, overshoes, garters and garter belts, and “rubber pants.” What?

No bustles and pantaloons?

18

DECEMBER 21, 2011

ARKANSAS TIMES

Worst news for summer Yarnell’s Ice Cream of Searcy abruptly announced in late June that it would close after 78 years in business. The owners cited the ongoing bad economy, high ingredient costs, and a softening (no pun intended) market for ice cream.

The assets were bought late in the year by a Chicago company that promised to re-open the plant.

Worst streak Worst slight In July, attorneys filed suit in federal court on behalf of a black graduate of McGehee High School in Desha County. The reason? Even though she had the highest GPA in her class and was originally told she’d been named valedictorian, school officials later backpedaled and told her she’d be named “co-valedictorian” with a white student. Though the school’s student body is nearly 50 percent AfricanAmerican, there hasn’t been a black valedictorian at McGehee High since Reagan was president.

Best name The slighted student’s name from the above item was Kymberly Wimberly, which we figure ought to be worth at least 3/10ths of a point on her G.P.A.

Best Gobi Desert impersonation On Aug. 3, downtown Little Rock hit a real, non-heat-indexed temperature of 114 degrees, vaporizing the old all-time record of 112 in a cloud of steam and misery.

Less than a week after the Little Rock’s skyline nearly wilted in the heat, a cold front finally swept through the state, ending Fort Smith’s record 36-day unbroken run of 100+ degree temperatures.

Best spider-attack-fueled crash A garbage truck managed to hit a glassenclosed skywalk in downtown Little Rock in August, causing thousands of dollars in damage. The driver told police that during his last trash bin pickup before the crash, a spider had come into the cab and scared him. He was so flustered by the eight-legged hitchhiker that he failed to remember to lower the truck’s raised lifting arms before driving away, with the arms and steel dumpster striking the skywalk a few minutes later.

Best release On Aug.19, Jessie Misskelley, Jason Baldwin and Damien Echols — A.K.A. The West Memphis Three, who supporters say were wrongfully convicted in the 1993 murders of three 8-year-olds — walked out of jail free men after prosecutors agreed to a deal which had the three plead guilty

in exchange for their immediate release.

By then, Echols, Misskelley and Baldwin had been incarcerated for 6,648 days, with Echols spending much of that time in solitary confinement.

Best friend Jason Baldwin originally nixed signing off on the plea deal — an all-three-or-none proposition — because it would force him to plead guilty, but changed his mind after he was told of Echols’ failing health. When Baldwin gave up his dream of jury-confirmed innocence for his friend, he had reportedly only spoken to Echols once in 18 years: When he whispered a few words through the tray slot of Echols’ cell door while part of a cleaning crew brought in to mop the floor on Death Row.

Best winged justice In August, a Craighead County man who went up in a friend’s light airplane to shoot some aerial photos of his house was surprised to see a pair of burglars down below had broken in and were loading his worldly possessions onto a trailer.

He called police, then had the pilot follow the men as they sped away, directing the earth-bound cops to their location. Two men from Jonesboro were arrested.

Best winged justice (runner up) In September, a Fort Smith resident told police that Charlie, his pet Macaw — a large breed of colorful parrot — attacked two robbers who came into his apartment

and beat him while trying to steal prescription drugs. The man said Charlie bit them repeatedly with his powerful beak, and managed to take a chunk out of one man’s arm before the thieves fled empty handed.

Best alternate reality On the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Hot Springs Mayor Ruth Carney — yes, the same Mayor Carney who joked about having snipers thin the tourist herd back in May — told her local paper there never would have been a 9/11 if her sons had been on the planes that crashed into the Twin Towers.

Worst terror In September, a man armed with an assault rifle went on a shooting spree at the Crawford County Courthouse in Van Buren.

Though the man apparently began firing randomly after being told the judge who had presided over his divorce decree was out sick, only two people were slightly injured before police shot the gunman down on the courthouse lawn.

age 72, proudly noted that he was an Air Force veteran, an avid fisherman, and had been circumcised with his dad’s pocketknife.

Worst cave to special interests In October, the Lovely County Citizen newspaper reported that the Holiday Island Elks Club Auxiliary planned to add biscuits and gravy to the menu at their annual Pancake Breakfast, due to the previous years’ complaints that the Pancake Breakfast served only pancakes.

Worst sore loser

the SEC because CBS replayed Petrino’s cursing.

After watching his Razorbacks get demolished 41-17 by the LSU Tigers on November 25, coach Bobby Petrino was caught by TV cameras pointing across the field at LSU coach Les Miles and shouting what even an amateur lipreader would suspect was an obscenity.

To add insult to asshattery, during the post-game coaches’ handshake, Petrino managed only a token grasp with Miles before huffily turning his back and walking away. UA Athletic Director Jeff Long later said he complained to

When a defendant fled his courtroom on Dec. 5, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Barry Sims hopped off the bench in his robe and gave chase through the gallery, out the door and down the hallway. His Honor reportedly managed to deliver several applications of judicial discipline upside the guy’s head with his gavel before bailiffs were able to subdue the suspect.

Best superhero origin story

UALR Graduates @ Work • Wright, Lindsey & Jennings • American Chemistry • Nabholz Construction • Caterpillar • LM Windpower • Aristotle • Searcy Daily Citizen • Baptist Health • Entergy • FIS • Molex • Stephens Inc. • eStem High School • KARK • Acxiom • UAMS • AT&T • KTHV • Windstream • Verizon • BKD • Clinton Presidential

Best evidence of the hand of God at work

Library • Welspun • Arkansas Supreme Court • VCC • Lockheed-Martin • Jones

Though the shooter’s assault rifle was later test-fired successfully by investigators, during the rampage at the courthouse the weapon jammed and misfired up to 25 times, undoubtedly saving lives and giving police precious minutes to respond.

• Mangan Holcomb Partners • Arkansas Governor’s Office • Mitchell Williams •

Worst overkill White County Medical Center in Searcy announced in September that they would no longer consider smokers for employment, and would use random nicotine screening to make sure employees don’t use tobacco anywhere, even in their own home on their day off. While alreadyemployed puffers were grandfathered in, officials said, anyone hired after Oct. 1 who tests positive for nicotine will be immediately fired.

Productions • Hewlett-Packard • Delta Trust & Bank • Frost, PLLC • U.S. Bank Walmart • KATV • Historic Arkansas Museum • ESPN • Raytheon • U.S. Marshals Museum • U.S. Army • Arkansas Attorney General’s Office • Mosaic Templars Educational and Cultural Center • Arkansas Democrat-Gazette • Southwest Power Pool • The Communications Group • BAE Systems • Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield • Arkansas History Commission • Frazier, Hudson & Cisne • William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace National Historic Site • Central Arkansas Library System • Pulaski County Special School District • Arkansas State Police • Schueck Steel • TME • CLEAResult • Arkansas Department of Information Systems • St. Vincent Infirmary • Heifer International • Clinton School of Public Service • Arvest Bank • Friday, Eldredge and Clark • North Little Rock Police • Arkansas Children’s Hospital • Arkansas Business • AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals • North Little Rock School District • Arkansas Department of Human Services • Mainstream Technologies •

Worst grief In the early morning hours of Oct. 6, employees of the new Apple Store in West Little Rock who had come to the store to hang a mourning wreath in memory of company founder Steve Jobs found the front door shattered and a gang of burglars inside. The thieves fled, but managed to get away with tens of thousands of dollars worth of Apple laptops, iPads and iPhones.

Best Too Much Information The obituary for Chan Holcombe, a resident of Fort Smith who died Oct. 13 at

Fox News • Arvest Mortgage • MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History • Central High School • Arkansas Department of Workforce Services • Williams and Anderson • Arkansas Times • Little Rock Central High National Historic Site • State of Arkansas • Old Statehouse Museum Misty Baugh Bachelor’s – Accounting Master’s – Taxation Our graduates are at work across Arkansas — from small businesses and nonprofits to government agencies, healthcare providers, and large corporations.

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University of ArkAnsAs At LittLe rock www.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 21, 2011

19

Arts Entertainment AND

2011 A-Z The Arkansas arts and entertainment year-in-review.

BY ROBERT BELL

B

Beaker Street

Crystal Bridges

C

Is Crystal Bridges: A) a first-class art museum that could transform the cultural landscape of Northwest Arkansas and expose budding young minds to worlds they might otherwise never see? B) a first-class art museum that was tragically plopped in the midst of flyover country where it surely will be neglected by ignorant, overweight hillbillies who will never care about fine art? Or C) a first-class art museum that was created by a modern-day robber baroness on the backs of millions of low-wage workers around the world?

While there might be more nuanced views of Alice Walton’s close to $2 bil-

D

E DECEMBER 21, 2011

The Little Rock Film Festival’s monthly series launched in September, dishing out some serious red meat for insatiable film buffs. At least once a month, Argenta Community Theater hosts a screening and a Q&A with one of the film’s principals, usually a director or producer. Thus far, the series has featured short films, documentaries like “Kassim the Dream” and “Marathon Boy” and buzzed-about indie features such as the fantastically demented “Bellflower.” Filmmaker and LRFF cofounder Brent Renaud told the Times that “the idea is to bring the kind of programming we do at the Little Rock Film Festival year-round. As the local filmmaking scene has boomed, we want to offer another place for people to come together and network with other filmmakers from around the country and even around the world.”

Like some psychedelic AM signal beamed straight out of rock ’n’ roll heaven, the long-running radio show Beaker Street had bounced around from station to station over the years, but wherever it went, listeners followed. Sadly, in February, Clyde Clifford’s beloved and formula-defying show issued its final broadcast. Canceling Beaker Street was “a business decision,” according to management at The Point, Beaker Street’s home in the last few years.

A

20

Argenta Film Series

ARKANSAS TIMES

lion labor of love (and whatever your take, there’s no question that Walton loves art), most folks’ opinions are going to fit neatly into one of the above categories. So what’s the only thing most people will agree on, at least at this early stage? That would be that Crystal Bridges is, indeed, a first-class art museum.

Doc fest This year was the 20th anniversary of the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. But the festival, which ran from Oct. 14-31, had only a few months earlier looked like it might not happen at all. The Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute’s financial house was a mess. It had $30,000 in debt and couldn’t pay its bills and staff, and in April, the nonprofit’s board voted to furlough the institute’s executive director and three more part-time employees. Two board members resigned, and former director Dan Anderson stepped in to help right the ship. But the show went on, screening 110 films and hosting more than 40 filmmakers from all over the world, including “Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory,” Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky’s latest film about the West Memphis Three. The Times will follow up on the state of the festival in early 2012, so stay tuned.

Edens Edge The 2006 Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase winners went on to big things: the band moved to Nashville, signed to Big Machine Records — home to Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts, among others — and went on tour with Brad Paisley. And it was on that tour that the band got into what we’ll call The Great Collegiate Door Mat Spat of 2011. Long story short: Edens Edge swiped Paisley’s West Virginia rug and replaced it with one bearing a Razorback. Paisley retaliated by burning the Arkansas mat, an act which was filmed and broadcast to the entire Internet. As is their custom, Hogs fans in no way overreacted.

They took Paisley’s inflammatory antics in stride, offering nothing but sportsmanlike civility and entirely rational responses to the harmless prank.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

ROCK CANDY Check out the Times’ A&E blog arktimes.com

AS THE DEC. 31 DEADLINE APPROACHES, your trusty Times

staff will continue to beat the old showcase drum. So here we go: You still have time to enter the 2012 Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase!

That’s right, if your band has been playing for 17 years or 17 minutes, you can toss your hat in the ring for a shot at glory and approbation and a drink named after you or your band and a spot performing on one of the big stages at Riverfest and a spot playing at the Arkansas State Fair and more great prizes that we don’t quite have finalized yet, but which will, no doubt, be worth your time.

You can go to arktimes.com/ showcase12 and upload your band info and tunes (we’ll need four).

That’s probably the easiest way to enter. You can also fill out one of the handy entry forms that have been running in the Times print edition the last few weeks, clip it and send it to us with a CD.

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THE FIRST FILM HAS BEEN SELECTED for the Little Rock Horror

Picture Show, the gore-and-scares sister fest to the Little Rock Film Festival scheduled for February. It’s the Australian horror feature “The Tunnel.”

The low-budget 2011 horror film, directed by Carlos Ledesma, follows a faux-documentary crew as they descend into abandoned subway tunnels under Sydney, Australia, to find out what’s been killing transients there. Damn the luck, they find the culprit, with murderous consequences. The trailer (seen on Rock Candy) looks pretty damn scary.

The films selected for the Little Rock Horror Picture Show will screen Feb. 17-19 at Market Street Cinema.

We’ll have more details in coming weeks.

FEATURING MUSIC FROM:

Tragikly White Tyrannosaurus Chicken Rodney Block and The Real Music Lovers Epiphany and Tomorrow Maybe Tre´ Day DJ G-Force DJ Brandon Peck

TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS will play Verizon Arena April

21. This, we feel fairly certain, is the band’s first concert in Arkansas.

We’ll report on ticket information when we get it.

Duck Master VIP Club tickets available in advance. NYE room packages available.

THE PEABODY LITTLE ROCK • THREE STATEHOUSE PLAZA • LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS 72201 www.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 21, 2011

21

F

G

H

I

Festivals

and Harvest Music Festival (pictured), both on Mulberry Mountain near Ozark — continued to solidify their positions with strong lineups.

Along with these are the many other smaller events focusing on blues, bluegrass, jazz, folk and classical. If you can’t find a music festival to your liking in Arkansas, you probably aren’t looking hard enough.

with Alzheimer’s. The 75-year-old then announced he would hit the road one last time. “The Glen Campbell Goodbye Tour” caps a career that’s spanned five decades, multiple No. 1 hits and millions upon millions of albums sold.

“It Is Fine!

Everything is Fine”

In addition to stalwarts like Riverfest and King Biscuit, 2011 saw the launch of several new music festivals and the further growth of some of the upstarts.

The inaugural Johnny Cash Music Festival at Arkansas State University featured heavyweights like Kris Kristofferson, George Jones and most of the Cash family. Hot Water Hills in Hot Springs and Festival on the Border in Fort Smith were promising new additions to the state’s slate of festivals, while others — Valley of the Vapors in Hot Springs, The Fayetteville Roots Festival and Wakarusa

Glen Campbell The singer, guitarist, session heavyweight, actor, stone-cold legend and native of Delight, Ark., told the world last summer that he had been diagnosed

Hubert Sumlin The legendary blues guitarist — who grew up in Hughes (St. Francis County) and provided spooky, scorching accompaniment to Howlin’ Wolf — died in early December of heart failure. He was 80, and his final performance was at Helena’s King Biscuit Blues Festival in October.

The second in a trilogy, Crispin Glover’s bizarre art-house masterpiece did not disappoint when he screened it in Little Rock and Hot Springs in July.

Glover travels the country personally screening his films, which are not available otherwise. He told the Times that he would come back to Arkansas “at a later date” to screen his first film, “What Is It?” Let’s hope that “later date” is sooner rather than later.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

E f f i g y H e a d Ve s s e l , H a m p s o n A r c h e o l o g i c a l Mu s eu m St a t e Pa r k

Petit Jean

Village Creek

Queen Wilhelmina

d i sco v er w ha t ’ s n ew f o r 2012 Admission to Arkansas State Parks museums will be FREE beginning January 2, so make plans to explore outstanding collections and connect your life to the people and events of Arkansas’s past. And some of your favorite parks are even better! Historic Mather Lodge at Petit Jean State Park and The Ridges at Village Creek, the Andy Dye signature golf course at Village Creek State Park, will reopen in spring following major improvements. Queen Wilhelmina State Park Lodge will close temporarily February 1 until summer 2013 for renovation while all other facilities at the park, including the campground and trails, will remain open.

888-AT-PARKS • ArkansasStateParks.com 22

DECEMBER 21, 2011

ARKANSAS TIMES

Keep up with all of this and more with the Arkansas State Parks On-the-Go Park Guide app for your smart phone.

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A TO Z, CONT.

Jeff Nichols The Little Rock native’s second film, “Take Shelter,” won two prizes at Cannes (the Critics Week Grand Prize and the Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers’ SACD Prize) and was nominated for two Gotham Independent Film Awards and five 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards. He wrapped up the biggest film shoot in Arkansas history last month with “Mud,” starring Reese Witherspoon and Matthew McConaughey. At this rate, Nichols seems likely to have a spot on this list nailed down for years to come.

J

Kid Rock What happens when you mix inclement weather, lackluster communication, Kid Rock and Kid Rock fans? We’re not exactly certain, but it probably looks something like this: disappointed fans who couldn’t make it to Verizon Arena on account of the snow complain on Kid Rock’s message board; Kid Rock extends an offer of “A REFUND, STRAIGHT OUT OF [his] POCKET,” and advises that his “so called ‘fans’ on [his] website bitchin and moanin and saying [he is] greedy, can GO FUCK [themselves], plain and simple.” So there you have it, the Great Kid Rock Concert Kerfuffle of 2011.

K

Lucinda Williams One-time Arkansan and hands-down one of the finest singer/songwriters of all time, Lucinda Williams played Juanita’s in October for a standingroom only crowd. Tickets sold out at near warp speed, but a few of the folks who got a hold of them complained afterward about the lack of seating. The Times therefore proposes that Williams come back to town, preferably on an annual-or-so basis, and play Robinson, followed by an after party at a smaller venue. How about it, Lucinda?

L

Metal Specifically, Southern metal, even more specifically, Rwake — the Little Rock act whose gnarly epic “Rest” was one of our most-played discs of the year — and the premiere of “Slow Southern Steel,” the film helmed by David Lipke and Rwake/Iron Tongue vocalist CT.

M

Nonsmoking Local institutions Stickyz Rock ’N’ Roll Chicken Shack and Flying Saucer Draught Emporium both went nonsmoking this year, to the joy of many nonsmokers and the dismay of smok24

DECEMBER 21, 2011

ARKANSAS TIMES

ers, who will now have to step all the way outside to have a cigarette. The Town Pump, long a smokers’ haven, went smoke-free in 2009, and the White Water Tavern followed suit in 2010, so we’ll have to see if the trend continues next year. Something tells us Midtown will ban smoking sometime right after hell freezes over.

n

Oxford American’s move Back in October, The Southern Magazine of Good Writing announced it had leased the South Main Street spot that had formerly housed Juanita’s. But publisher Warwick Sabin hinted at much grander possibilities for the space than simply a business office space: “I’m looking to continue to develop the Oxford American as more than just a magazine, to establish it as a cultural institution dedicated to preserving and perpetuating Southern culture in all its expressions,” Sabin told the Times.

Though the magazine’s editorial offices will remain in Conway on the UCA campus, the new space could eventually host a variety of OA-branded entertainment and possibly a Southern bistro.

This move should go a long way toward quelling some of the handwringing over the future of the South Main area that the departure of Juanita’s had elicited.

o

Porter’s Jazz Cafe After several construction-related delays, Porter’s Jazz Cafe opened in the renovated Gus Blass Building on Main Street. Upstairs, the place serves some tasty New Orleans-style cuisine, while the downstairs club area is a thoroughly stylish affair that hosts live music regularly. We hope this is just the first of many new additions to Main Street.

p

Quality control Rock Town Distillery — Phil Brandon’s local maker of gin, vodka and whiskey — got off to a bit of a, well, rocky start in 2010. Basically, because of a combination of equipment problems and rose-coloredglasses, the first batches of spirits tasted way off. “Everybody said that the vodka and the gin smelled and tasted like tequila,” he told the Times. “It wasn’t a clean tasting spirit. It had too many other flavors in it.”

Brandon opted for a quiet recall, taking back all the bottles from stores and restaurants. After tweaking the recipes and fixing the equipment, he rolled out new batches, including a new product, Arkansas Lightning, an un-aged, 125-proof whiskey that is, we kid you not, positively delicious. It also netted Rock Town some awards, including a gold medal from the Beverage TastCONTINUED ON PAGE 31

q

THE TO-DO

LIST

BY ROBERT BELL & GERARD MATTHEWS

WEDNESDAY 12/21

THE BODY

10 p.m. White Water Tavern.

Ah, The Body. These two Little Rock natives have come a long way since the days when they were just a couple of guys wearing burlap sacks on their heads and screaming about pain and scaring peoples’ parents at art-installation performances and whatnot. Chip King and Lee Buford got started way back yonder, like 1999 or so, in Fayetteville.

Hundred Years War, King’s previous band, had just split up, and so he and Buford started a new one. They’d set up and practice after-hours at their friend’s music venue/record store/porn shop.

I think maybe one of them even lived in the place for a while. There were couches there, naturally. Anyway, before too long, they up and moved to the East Coast, eventually settling down in the Providence/Warwick area in scenic Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

(that’s the state’s full official name — look it up if you don’t believe me). And now, well heck, here we are like 12 years later and these guys have put out a couplethree killer albums and a slew of singles, and they get all kinds of critical acclaim from such pillars of establishment credibility as NPR and The New York Times, and they go on tour with women’s choirs and it’s like, they’re “The Body — Critically Respected Avant-Garde Doom Metal Band.” But if ever there were two

guys who would never let all that stuff go to their heads, and who would still just be normal dudes and all, it’s Chip and Lee. Also playing is R.I.O.T.S., a newer band that will make you remember that you do love hardcore after all, and that all those terrible scream-y bands with their guyliner and dumb haircuts and 129-syllable band names can’t change that. Recommended pre-show warm-up listening: Void side of the Faith/Void LP and the first MDC album. —RB

WEDNESDAY 12/21

LUCERO

8:30 p.m. Revolution. $26.

Little Rock native Ben Nichols leads Lucero back to the natural state for this show to benefit CARTI. The band recently finished recording its forthcoming album “Women and Work” at Ardent Studios in Memphis. The new record will be available March 13, with Lucero set to embark on a nationwide tour in support of the release starting in late February. No official Little Rock dates have been announced (although the band will play back-to-back nights in Fayetteville Feb. 24 and 25), so unless you plan on venturing to venues afar, be sure to get yourself to the Rev Room Wednesday night for some goodtime tunes. Expect to hear cuts from the new record, which, from what we’ve heard, is a more-than-formidable follow-up to 2009’s “1372 Overton Park,” which found the Memphis rockers in full-on Memphis soul mode. The new tunes are straight up rock ’n’ roll (remember The Faces?) and will please the diehards while welcoming those new to the band.

Memphis songstress Amy Lavere opens. — GM

SOUL ROYALTY: Lalah Hathaway, daughter of soul legend Donny Hathaway, plays Cajun’s Wharf Wednesday night.

WEDNESDAY 12/21

LALAH HATHAWAY

7 p.m. Cajun’s Wharf. $25-$50.

We’ll just get this out of the way at the outset: Lalah Hathaway is the daughter of the legendary soul singer Donny Hathaway. But this isn’t yet another case of the child of a renowned musician trading on her father’s name. Lalah Hathaway is a trained singer and pianist (Berklee School of Music) whose 20-plus year career has included several critically lauded albums. She’s a versatile artist with a smoky, sultry singing voice that’s unmistakably hers. Hathaway’s latest disc, “Where it all Begins,” mixes propulsive, synth-heavy pop-R&B with more classically styled soul numbers, smoldering ballads and dance-floor burners. You’d better believe this show is a good bet for date night. — RB 26

DECEMBER 21, 2011

ARKANSAS TIMES

BARROOM ROCKERS: The longtime Memphis rock ’n’ rollers in Lucero return to Arkansas for a show at Revolution Wednesday night.

IN BRIEF

WEDNESDAY 12/21

THURSDAY 12/22

THE EVELYNS

10 p.m. Pizza D’Action. $3.

A few months back, a buddy recommended we go see The Evelyns at The Afterthought. He was hyped on this song they’d just put up on their Bandcamp and upon listening to it, it was an understandable reaction.

“What to Say” is 2 minutes and 11 seconds of woozy pop, a perfect

little gem that lends itself to playing over and over and over. Anyways, the show was really great, but there was this total chief in the audience, and apparently his delicate widdle eardwums were being inconvenienced by the rock ’n’ roll. He thought he’d be clever and slip the band a note that said something like, “You’d be twice as good at half the volume.”

This didn’t go over well with the band,

understandably, but Mr. Designer Jeans and Faux-hawk was nowhere to be found after their set, and thus they were unable to offer a rejoinder to his unsolicited and wrong advice.

So go see The Evelyns, but for the love of Jeebus, don’t tell them to turn it down. The opening band is Color Club, a synth-heavy haze-wave trio formerly of Fayetteville, presently of Little Rock. — RB

THURSDAY 12/22

If your pre-holidays partying typically includes some crunchy emo rock, Juanita’s can help you out, with Framing Hanley, 10 p.m. $12 adv., $15 d.o.s. Downtown Music Hall has a local showcase, with That’s No Moon, Crooked Roots, Indian Summer and Population Zero, 8 p.m., $6. The UALR Women’s Trojans take on Seattle, Jack Stephens Center at UALR, 7 p.m., $4-$35. Nashville hypnotist and comedian The Sandman comes to The Loony Bin to make audience members laugh at other audience members, as they do embarrassing things onstage while under The Sandman’s spell, 8 p.m., $8-$12, with additional shows Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Friday at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

THURSDAY 12/22

FAIR TO MIDLAND

7:15 p.m. Downtown Music Hall. $11 adv., $13 d.o.s.

Sometimes you encounter something that many people seem to dig but that, for whatever reason, you simply cannot comprehend in any way. This is the case for me with the Dallas band Fair to Midland. I can’t even make a value judgment about this band because I’m so thoroughly dumbfounded by every single thing about them. Among the things about Fair to Midland that I do not understand: first, the name — a pun on the term “fair to middling.” Whether BAFFLING BAND: Fair to Midland, out of Dallas, brings an entirely mystifying blend of this band is amazing or awful I cannot dozens of influences to Downtown Music Hall Thursday night. say, even — no, scratch that — especially after listening to several of their songs. But whichever it is, it is nowhere near the middle of the quality spectrum. This band is playing either the most incredible, mind-blowing, game-changing shit ever, or the worst, most incalculably terrible songs ever even imagined. And I absolutely cannot tell which one it is, though I’m leaning slightly toward the former after checking out the “Violitionist Sessions” EP on Bandcamp. If I had to guess, I’d say they were just being cheeky with their name choice, and that they’re actually well aware that their bewildering and potent synthesis of Rush, Tool, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Van der Graaf Generator, Tim Buckley, System of a Down, Bob Dylan circa the Rolling Thunder Revue and probably like 47 other bands is in no way typical or “middling.” This seems like the most likely scenario. Also, the band’s song “Dance of the Manatee” is another thing that really, really confuses me, but I’m running out of room here. Opening acts are Dead Letter Circus and Mainland Divide. — RB

Stickyz hosts an 18-and-older show with local folk-rock luminaries Free Micah, with Whale Fire and James Lepine & The Chasers, 9 p.m., $6. Down in the Spa City, Maxine’s hosts a showcase for Thick Syrup Records. The indestructible rock juggernaut that is Smoke Up Johnny headlines, with the garage-rock demolitionists in Bloodless Cooties and The Good Kids, which is the new version of The Walking Lawsuits, 8 p.m., $5 adv., $7 door. Over at Browning’s Mexican Grill, you can be serenaded by sausage enthusiasts The Swinging Franks, 8 p.m. Jazz guitar virtuoso Ted Ludwig is at Capital Bar and Grill, 5 p.m. At Cajun’s wharf, check out Covershot, with happy hour tunes courtesy of Mayday by Midnight, 5 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. Much-loved Memphis song-man Cory Branan plays what’s sure to be a packed house at White Water Tavern with David Hause, 10 p.m.

FRIDAY 12/23 FRIDAY 12/23

THE BIG CATS

FRIDAY 12/23

CHRISTMAS WITH PAMELA

6 p.m., 9 p.m. White Water Tavern. $10.

7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Porter’s Jazz Cafe. $10.

You know, it just wouldn’t quite feel like a Little Rock holiday season without some Big Cats shows. The band, whose members are spread out on both coasts and in Arkansas, has been getting back together around Christmas for so long that it feels like a tradition. This year, the Cats are back, but with some new recorded tunes, to boot. “The Ancient Art of Leaving: High & Low” dropped last week on CD and digital formats, but it’s only the first of two albums the band recorded this year. The other album will be out in March, and in May, Max Recordings — lead Cat Burt Taggart’s record label — will release a 3-LP set with all 25 songs. Opening up for the first show are lo-fi pop-punk newcomers Crooked Roots, while the second features a set from local singer-songwriter fave Mandy McBryde. — RB

Normally, you see Pamela Smith in the early a.m., on KATV’s Good Morning Arkansas program.

But here’s a chance to see Smith in a nightclub setting, singing popular Christmas favorites such as “This Christmas,” “Santa Baby” and “Joyful Joyful.”

The show is a benefit for Women and Children First, a nonprofit support group for victims of domestic violence. In addition to the cover, Smith is encouraging everyone to bring donations for WCF, including toiletries, such as hand soap, tissue, diapers, wipes and paper towels, as well as batteries, pillows and bedding, blankets and family-friendly DVDs for the shelter. Light hors d’oeuvres will be served. — RB

Triniti Nightclub has performances from Dominique, Gi Gi Galore and Whitney Paige, 9 p.m., $5 for 21 and older, $10 18-20. The Toneadoes tear it up at Fox and Hound, 10 p.m., $5-$10. Over at Shooter’s Sports Bar & Grill, The Larry Lee Cheshier Band brings the rock ’n’ ruckus, 9 p.m., $5.

Gold Diggin’ Mothers pay tribute to indie Southern rockers Kings of Leon, at an 18-and-older show, Stickyz, 9:30 p.m., $6. Come on, you know you want to legalize it, so go to “Legalize It,” a concert to promote medical marijuana, featuring performances from Tim Anthony, Changus B, GrOOvMeant, Darril Harp Edwards and Charlotte Taylor, Cornerstone Pub & Grill, 8 p.m.

www.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 21, 2011

27

AFTER DARK All events are in the Greater Little Rock area unless otherwise noted. To place an event in the Arkansas Times calendar, please e-mail the listing and all pertinent information, including date, time, location, price and contact information, to calendar@arktimes.com.

Springs. maxinespub.com.

“VIP Thursday” with Power 92 and Stack 3.

Juanita’s, 9 p.m. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com.

COMEDY

The Sandman. The Loony Bin, Dec. 22, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 23, 8 and 10:30 p.m., $8-$12. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www. loonybincomedy.com.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 21

MUSIC

Acoustic Open Mic. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www. afterthoughtbar.com.

Alternative Wednesdays. Features alternative bands from Central Arkansas and the surrounding areas. Mediums Art Lounge, 6:30 p.m., $5.

521 Center St. 501-374-4495.

The Body, R.I.O.T.S. White Water Tavern, 10 p.m. 2500 W. 7th. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com.

Bolly Open Mic Hype Night with Osyrus Bolly and DJ Messiah. All American Wings, 9 p.m.

215 W. Capitol Ave. 501-376-4000. allamericanwings.com.

Brian & Nick. Cajun’s Wharf, 5 and 9 p.m.; Dec. 28, 5 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com.

Framing Hanley. Juanita’s, 10 p.m., $12 adv., $15 d.o.s. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com.

Grim Muzik presents Way Back Wednesdays.

Cornerstone Pub & Grill, 8:30 p.m. 314 Main St., NLR. 501-374-1782. cstonepub.com.

Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com.

Karaoke at Khalil’s. Khalil’s Pub, 7 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com.

Karaoke. Hibernia Irish Tavern, 9 p.m. 9700 N Rodney Parham Road. 501-246-4340. www. hiberniairishtavern.com.

Karaoke with Big John Miller. Denton’s Trotline, 8 p.m. 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501-315-1717.

Lalah Hathaway. Cajun’s Wharf, 7 p.m., $25$50. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www. cajunswharf.com.

Lucero, Amy Lavere. 18-and-older show.

Revolution, 8:30 p.m., $21. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 5 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG. That’s No Moon, Crooked Roots, Indian Summer, Population Zero. Downtown Music Hall, 8 p.m., $6. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownshows.homestead.com.

EVENTS

Arvest River Market on Ice. See Dec. 21 Lionels at Laman. See Dec. 21.

BENEFITS

CHRISTMAS WITH CHUCK: Chuck Dodson — jazz pianist, composer and filmmaker — will perform with Jay Payette on drums and Bill Huntington on bass. Guest appearances include Shirley Chauvin, Clyde Pound, Amanda Avery and more at Maxine’s on Friday, 6 p.m., $5.

SPORTS

UALR Women’s Trojans vs. Seattle. Jack Stephens Center, UALR, 7 p.m., $4-$35. 2801 S. University Ave.

THURSDAY, DEC. 22

MUSIC

Asleep at the Wheel. Walton Arts Center, 7 p.m., $17-$22. 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville.

479-443-5600.

Chris DeClerk. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., free.

2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com.

Cory Branan, David Hause. White Water Tavern, 10 p.m. 2500 W. 7th. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com.

Covershot (headliner), Mayday by Midnight (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-3755351. www.cajunswharf.com.

D-Mite and Tho-d Studios Showcase.

Cornerstone Pub & Grill, 8:30 p.m. 314 Main St., NLR. 501-374-1782. cstonepub.com.

The Evelyns, Color Club. Pizza D’Action, 10 p.m., $3. 2919 W. Markham St. 501-666-5403.

Fair To Midland, Dead Letter Circus, Mainland Divide. Downtown Music Hall, 7:15 p.m., $11

COMEDY

The Sandman. The Loony Bin, 8 p.m.; Dec. 22, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 23, 8 and 10:30 p.m., $8-$12.

10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

EVENTS

Arvest River Market on Ice. Ice skating rink.

Go to holidaysinlittlerock.com/river_market_ on_ice/ for schedule. River Market Pavilions, through Jan. 8, 2012, $9 an hour. 400 President Clinton Ave. 375-2552. www.rivermarket.info.

Lionels at Laman. Display from the Arkansas Chapter of the Lionel Collectors Club of America. Laman Library, through Dec. 22, 9 a.m.; through Dec. 31, 9 a.m., free. 2801 Orange St., NLR. 501-758-1720. www.lamanlibrary.org.

28

DECEMBER 21, 2011

ARKANSAS TIMES

Gourmet N Hot Chocolate EW

Corner Of Cantrell Blvd. And Chenonceau (Next To NYPD Pizza) 501.868.8194

adv., $13 d.o.s. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownshows.homestead.com.

Free Micah, James Lepine & The Chasers.

18-and-older Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $6. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyfingerz.com.

“Inferno.” DJs play pop, electro, house and more, plus drink specials and $1 cover before 11 p.m.

Sway, 9 p.m. 412 Louisiana. 501-907-2582.

Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com.

Karaoke. Zack’s Place, 8 p.m. 1400 S. University Ave. 501-664-6444. www.zacks-place.com.

Ol’ Puddin’haid. Thirst n’ Howl, 7:30 p.m., free.

14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirstn-howl.com.

Port Arthur Band. Parrot Beach Cafe, 9 p.m.

9611 MacArthur Drive, NLR. 771-2994.

The Swinging Franks. Browning’s Mexican Food, 8 p.m. 5805 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-9956. www.browningsmexicangrill.com.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 5 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG. Thick Syrup Showcase: Smoke Up Johnny, Bloodless Cooties, The Good Kids. Maxine’s, 8 p.m., $5 adv., $7 door. 700 Central Ave., Hot

3 Lives Blood Drive. The focus of this drive is on recruiting minority donors, though everyone may donate blood. Remington College-Little Rock, 8 a.m. p.m. and 4 p.m. 19 Remington Drive. 501-312-0007. www.remingtoncollege. edu.

FRIDAY, DEC. 23

MUSIC

After Eden. West End Smokehouse and Tavern, 10 p.m., $5. 215 N. Shackleford. 501-224-7665. www.westendsmokehouse.net.

The Big Cats. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m., $10. 2500 W. 7th. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com.

Christmas with Chuck Dodson. Maxine’s, 8 p.m., $5. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxinespub.com.

Christmas with Pamela. Featuring KATV’s Pamela Smith. Bring donations of toiletries, blankets and family-friendly DVDs for Women and Children First. Porter’s Jazz Cafe, 7 and 9 p.m., $10. 315 Main St. 501-324-1900. www. portersjazzcafe.com.

DJ Silky Slim. Top 40 and dance music. Sway, 9 p.m., $5. 412 Louisiana. 501-907-2582.

Dominique, Gi Gi Galore, Whitney Paige. Triniti Nightclub, 9 p.m., $5 21 and older, $10 18-20.

1021 Jessie Rd. “The Flow Fridays.” Twelve Modern Lounge, 8 p.m. 1900 W. Third St. Funky Motif (headliner), Richie Johnson (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www. cajunswharf.com.

Gold Diggin’ Mothers (Kings of Leon Tribute).

18-and-older Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9:30 p.m., $6. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyfingerz.com.

I Was Afraid, Second-Rate, Lifer, That’s No Moon. Downtown Music Hall, 8 p.m., $7. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownshows. homestead.com.

Josh Green. Flying Saucer, 9 p.m., $3. 323 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-7468. www. beerknurd.com/stores/littlerock.

Larry Lee Cheshier Band. Shooter’s Sports Bar & Grill, 9 p.m., $5. 9500 I-30. 501-565-4003. www. shooterslittlerock.com.

Legalize It benefit. Featuring Tim Anthony, Changus B, GrOOvMeant, Darril Harp Edwards, Charlotte Taylor. Cornerstone Pub & Grill, 8 p.m. 314 Main St., NLR. 501-374-1782. cstonepub.com.

OTR. Denton’s Trotline, 9 p.m. 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501-315-1717.

Ramona Smith & Co.. The Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www. afterthoughtbar.com.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, Dec. 23, 9 p.m.; Dec. 30, 9 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG. Thomas East. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com.

The Toneadoes. Fox And Hound, 10 p.m., $5-$10.

2800 Lakewood Village, NLR. 501-753-8300. www.foxandhound.com/locations/north-littlerock.aspx.

COMEDY

The Sandman. The Loony Bin, 8 and 10:30 p.m., $8-$12. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

EVENTS

Arvest River Market on Ice. See Dec. 21 LGBTQ/SGL Youth and Young Adult Group.

Diverse Youth for Social Change is a group for LGBTQ/SGL and straight ally youth and young adults age 14 to 23. For more information, call 244-9690 or search “DYSC” on Facebook. 800 Scott St., 6:30 p.m. 800 Scott St.

SATURDAY, DEC. 24

MUSIC

Karaoke at Khalil’s. Khalil’s Pub, 7 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com.

EVENTS

Arvest River Market on Ice. See Dec. 21 Falun Gong meditation. Allsopp Park, 9 a.m., free. Cantrell & Cedar Hill Roads.

SUNDAY, DEC. 25

MUSIC

Porter’s Sunday Jazz Brunch. Porter’s Jazz Cafe, 10 a.m. 315 Main St. 501-324-1900. www.portersjazzcafe.com.

EVENTS

Arvest River Market on Ice. See Dec. 21 Christmas Day Brunch at The Peabody. The Peabody Little Rock, 10:30 a.m.:30 p.m., $15 children, $40 adults. 3 Statehouse Plaza. 501906-4000. www.peabodylittlerock.com.

Christmas Day on the River. Includes cruise and meal. Arkansas Queen, 12:30 p.m., $25-$40. 100 Riverfront Park Drive, NLR. 501-372-5777. www. arkansasqueen.com.

MONDAY, DEC. 26

MUSIC

Karaoke. Thirst n’ Howl, 8:30 p.m. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirst-n-howl.com.

Traditional Irish Music Session. Khalil’s Pub, Fourth and second Monday of every month, 7 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com.

EVENTS

Arvest River Market on Ice. See Dec. 21

TUESDAY, DEC. 27

MUSIC

Jeff Long. Khalil’s Pub, 6 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com.

Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com.

Karaoke Night. Cornerstone Pub & Grill, 8 p.m.

314 Main St., NLR. 501-374-1782. cstonepub. com.

Karaoke Tuesday. Prost, 8 p.m., free. 120 Ottenheimer. 501-244-9550.

Karaoke with Big John Miller. Denton’s Trotline, 8 p.m. 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501-315-1717.

Lucious Spiller Band. Copeland’s, 6-9 p.m. 2602 S. Shackleford Road. 501-312-1616. www.copelandsofneworleans.com.

Mandy McBryde. Maxine’s, 8 p.m., free. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxinespub.com.

Tuesday Jam Session with Carl Mouton. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com.

The Wicked Good, Jab Jab Sucker Punch.

White Water Tavern, 9 p.m. 2500 W. 7th. 501375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com.

DANCE

“Latin Night.” Revolution, 7 p.m., $5 regular, $7 under 21. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-8230090. www.revroom.com.

EVENTS

Arvest River Market on Ice. See Dec. 21 Lionels at Laman. See Dec. 21.

Tales from the South. Authors tell true stories; get schedule at www.talesfromthesouth. com. Dinner served 5-6:30 p.m., show at 7 p.m.

Reserve at 501-372-7976. Starving Artist Cafe.

411 N. Main St., NLR. 501-372-7976. www.starvingartistcafe.net.

Trivia Bowl. Flying Saucer, 8:30 p.m. 323 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-7468. www.beerknurd. com/stores/littlerock.

THIS WEEK IN THEATER

“A Christmas Carol, The Musical!.” A musical retelling of Dickens’ classic, with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Arkansas Repertory Theatre, through Dec. 21: Fri.-Sun., 2 p.m.; Wed.-Sun., 7 p.m.; Tue., Wed., 2 p.m., $30$60. 601 Main St. 501-378-0405. www.therep.org.

“It’s A Wonderful Life.” TheatreSquared presents this stage adaptation of the classic Frank Capra film about the true meaning of Christmas.

Walton Arts Center’s Nadine Baum Studios, through Dec. 31: Thu.-Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Sat., Sun., 2 p.m.; Wed., Dec. 21, 2 p.m., $10-$26. 505 W. Spring St., Fayetteville. 479-443-5600. theatre2.org.

“Not Now, Darling.” British farce concerns the hilarious complications between a fur shop owner, mobsters and mistresses. Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, through Dec. 24, 6 p.m.; through Dec. 31, 6 p.m., $15-$33. 6323 Col. Glenn Road.

501-562-3131. murrysdinnerplayhouse.com.

GALLERIES, MUSEUMS

ONGOING EXHIBITIONS

ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER: “Will Barnet at the Arkansas Arts Center: A Centennial Exhibition,” through Jan. 15; “Cast, Cut, Forged and Crushed: Selections in Metal from the John and Robyn Horn Collection,” through Jan. 15; 43rd “Collectors Show and Sale,” drawings ranging from 18th century to contemporary and contemporary craft from 26 New York galleries, through December. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.Sat. 372-4000.

THE ART LOFT, 1525 Merrill Drive: Work by Dan Thornhill, Catherine Rodgers, Patrick Cunningham, Rosemary Parker, Kelly Furr, Melody Lile and others, with music by Rico

Novales. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sat. 251-1131.

BUTLER CENTER GALLERIES, Arkansas Studies Institute: “Ark in the Dark: An Exhibition of Vintage Movie Posters about Arkansas,” 35 posters for films dating between 1926 and 2009, from the collection of Ron Robinson, through Feb. 25; “Thomas Harding, Pinhole Photography,” through December; “Reflections in Pastel,” Arkansas Pastel Society’s 4th national exhibition, through Jan. 14; “Leon Niehues: 21st Century Basketmaker,” through Jan. 28.

9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 320-5790.

CANTRELL GALLERY, 8206 Cantrell Road: “Night Owls,” paintings by John Deering, through Dec. 24. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 224-1335.

CHROMA GALLERY, 5707 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Work by Robert Reep and other Arkansas artists. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Sat. 664-0880.

GALLERY 26, 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd.: 17th annual “Holiday Art Show,” show and sale of work by dozens of Arkansas artists, through Jan. 14.

Holiday hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun., 1-5 p.m. Dec. 30. 664-8996.

GREG THOMPSON FINE ART, 429 Main St., NLR: “Interwoven: The Work of Robyn Horn and Dolores Justus,” sculpture, works on paper, paintings, through Jan. 14. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.Fri., 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sat. 920-2778.

HEIGHTS GALLERY, 5801 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Work by contemporary Arkansas artists, gifts.

10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat. Extended holiday hours. 664-2772.

KETZ GALLERY, 705 Main St., NLR: Sulac, recent works, through Dec. 30, also work by more than 30 artists. 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat. 529-6330.

L&L BECK GALLERY, 5705 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “Religious Art,” originals and Old Master reproductions by Louis Beck. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.Sat. 660-4006.

LOCAL COLOUR GALLERY, 5811 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Art and jewelry by members of artists’ cooperative. 265-0422.

M2GALLERY, 11525 Cantrell: Work by Lisa Krannichfeld, Michelle Mikesell, Ann Laser, Joan Heiden, Frank Milo, Jason Gammel, Chris Hill, Richards Sutton, Robin John Tucker, Zilon Lazer, Toby Penney, Kathy Bay, Keith Newton and others. 225-6257.

OLDE WORLD PIZZA, 1706 W. Third St.: “Travels,” photographs by Grav Weldon, through December. 374-5504.

REFLECTIONS GALLERY AND FINE FRAMING, 11220 Rodney Parham Road: Work by local and national artists. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sat. 227-5659.

ROCK PAPER SCISSORS BY MARSHALL CLEMENTS, Promenade at Chenal: Impressionist landscapes and still lifes by Trey McCarley, through December. 10 a.m.-8 p.m.

Mon.-Sat., noon-7 p.m. Sun. 821-3700.

SHOWROOM, 2313 Cantrell Road: Work by area artists, including Sandy Hubler. 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

Mon.-Fri. 372-7373.

STATE CAPITOL: “Arkansans in the Korean War,” 32 photographs, lower-level foyer. 7 a.m.-5 p.m.

Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sat.-Sun. STEPHANO’S FINE ART, 5501 Kavanaugh Blvd.: New work by Stephano, Thom Bierdz, Tony Dow, Kelley Naylor-Wise, Michael A. Darr, Mike Gaines, G. Peebles, Steven Thomas, Alexis Silk, Paula Wallace and Ron Logan. 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 563-4218.

ST. JAMES UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, 321 Pleasant Valley Drive: Jeannie Stone, oils, through Jan. 3. 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. weekdays and before and after Sunday services. 221-3559.

THEA CENTER, 401 Main St., NLR: “Arkansas League of Artists Winners Show.” 379-9512.

BENTONVILLE CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, 600 Museum Way: American masterworks spanning four centuries. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon., Thu., Sat.-Sun.; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wed.-Fri. Tickets free but timed; reserve at 479-418-5700.

FAYETTEVILLE FAYETTEVILLE UNDERGROUND, One E. Center St.: “Art for the Holidays,” works by Fayetteville Underground studio and E Street artists and others, through December. Noon-7 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. HOT SPRINGS ALISON PARSONS GALLERY, 802 Central Ave.: Paintings by Alison Parsons. 501-625-3001.

AMERICAN ART GALLERY, 724 Central Ave.: Paintings by Jimmy Leach, Jamie Carter, Ersele Hiemstra, Margaret Kipp, Kim Thornton, Sue Coon, Virgil Barksdale and others. 501-624-055.

GALLERY 726, 726 Central Ave.: Shirley Anderson, Barbara Seibel, Caryl Joy Young, Sue Shields, Becky Barnett, Janet Donnangelo, Marlene Gremillion, Ken Vonk and others. 501915-8912.

GALLERY CENTRAL, 800 Central Ave.: Michael Ethridge, paintings. 501-318-4278.

JUSTUS FINE ART, 827 A Central Ave.: New work

by Steve Griffiths, Dolores Justus and Rebecca Thompson, through December. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Wed.-Sat. 501-321-2335.

ONGOING MUSEUM EXHIBITS

CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSEUM VISITOR CENTER, Bates and Park: Exhibits on the 1957 desegregation of Central and the civil rights movement. 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily. 374-1957.

CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER, 1200 President Clinton Ave.: “The Art of the Brick,” LEGO sculpture by Nathan Sawaya, through Feb. 12; exhibits about policies and White House life during the Clinton administration. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $7 adults; $5 college students, seniors, retired military; $3 ages 6-17. 370-8000.

HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM, 200 E. Third St.: “Found-Fired-Formed: Sarah May Leflar, Donna Uptigrove and Amber Uptigrove,” through Feb. 5; “Tesseract Dancing: Brett Anderson and Emily Galusha,” through Feb. 5; “Playing at War: Children’s Civil War Era Toys,” through Jan. 10; “Reel to Real: ‘Gone with the Wind’ and the Civil War in Arkansas,” artifacts from the Shaw-Tumblin collection, through April 30. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9351.

MOSAIC TEMPLARS CULTURAL CENTER, Ninth and Broadway: “Soul Sanctuary — Images of the African American Worship Experience,” artifacts and photos from the museum collection; permanent exhibits on African-American entrepreneurial history in Arkansas. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 683–3593.

OLD STATE HOUSE MUSEUM, 300 W. Markham: “An Enduring Union: Arkansas and the Civil War, through March 11. 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9685.

www.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 21, 2011

29

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ARKANSAS TIMES

MOVIE LISTINGS

DEC. 23-24

Market Street Cinema showtimes at or after 9 p.m. are for Friday and Saturday only. Rave shows are for Saturday only. Breckenridge, Chenal 9 and Lakewood 8 times were not available by press deadline. Find up-to-date listings at arktimes.com.

NEW MOVIES The Adventures of Tintin (PG) – Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of one of the most popular comic series of all time, concerning Tintin, a plucky young Belgian reporter. 11:00 a.m., 1:45, 5:00, 7:45, 10:30 (2D), 10:00 a.m., 12:45, 4:00, 7:00, 9:45 (3D).

Don 2 (PG-13) – Bollywood crime action flick.

Rave: 12:05, 6:30 (2D), 3:15, 9:55 (3D).

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (R) – The first in a series of film adaptations of Stieg Larsson’s best-selling Millennium Trilogy, directed by David Fincher (“Seven,” “The Social Network,” “Zodiac”). Rave: 9:45 a.m., 10:15 a.m., noon, 1:15, 3:30, 4:45, 7:15, 8:15, 10:45. Riverdale: 11:15 a.m., 2:45, 6:15, 9:40.

House of Pleasures (NR) – French period piece about the interpersonal relationships of the inhabitants of a Parisian brothel. Market Street: 1:45, 4:15, 6:45, 9:15.

My Week with Marilyn (R) – Starring Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe circa 1956. Market Street: 2:00, 4:15, 7:15, 9:15.

We Bought a Zoo (PG) – They sure did. Made a movie about it, too, if I’m not mistaken. With Matt Damon. Rave: 9:40 a.m., 12:50, 4:05, 8:00, 11:15. Riverdale: 11:15 a.m., 1:50, 4:25, 7:05, 9:40.

RETURNING THIS WEEK A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (R) – Remember how the first Indiana Jones movie was awesome, and the second one was kinda meh, but then the third was awesome again?

(3D Stoner Christmas comedy). Movies 10: 12:30, 2:50, 5:00, 7:40.

Alvin and The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (G) – That rascally Alvin is at it again, driving Dave crazy and making him scream “ALVIN!” Only this time it’s on a cruise ship. Also, Alvin raps.

Rave: 9:30 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 12:20, 1:55, 2:40, 4:25, 5:10, 6:45, 7:35, 10:00. Riverdale: 11:00 a.m., 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 7:00, 9:00.

Another Happy Day (R) – Tense drama about a wedding day fraught with potential for explosive outbursts among family members who can’t seem to get along. Market Street: 2:00, 7:00.

Arthur Christmas (PG) – 3D computer-animated film answers the question of how Santa manages to deliver all those gifts in one night. Rave: 9:35 a.m. Riverdale: 11:35 a.m., 2:00, 4:20, 6:35, 8:55.

Courageous (PG) – Wholesome family movie about courage and God and police officers and things like that. Movies 10: 12:50, 3:45, 7:05.

Cowboys & Aliens (PG-13) – Exactly what it sounds like, from director Jon Favreau. Movies 10: 12:45, 7:25.

The Descendants (R) – Clooney inches ever closer to making his “About Schmidt” in this tale of furrowed-browed, middle-aged soulsearching set in scenic Hawaii. Rave: 11:45 a.m., 2:55, 5:40, 8:25, 11:20.

Dirty Girl (R) – A precocious young lady and a closeted young man traipse across the country, she in search of her biological father, he to escape his homophobic small town. Market Street: 4:20, 9:15.

Dolphin Tale (PG) – This story about an injured dolphin overcoming adversity and learning to

‘MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL’: The fourth film in the “Mission: Impossible” franchise has gotten near universal acclaim despite the presence of Tom Cruise. use a prosthetic tale will jerk the tears out of your face so hard you’ll get whiplash. Movies 10: 12:15, 2:45, 5:20, 7:50.

Footloose (PG) – This remake of the 1984 classic will probably make you side with the humorless minister who doesn’t want the small-town kids to have any fun ever. Movies 10: 4:15 p.m.

Hugo (PG) – Martin Scorsese’s latest is a familyfriendly 3D epic based on the best-selling “The Invention of Hugo Cabret.” Rave: 9:35 a.m., 12:55, 3:55, 7:05, 10:05 (3D). Riverdale: 11:25 a.m., 2:00, 4:45, 7:20, 9:55.

Ides of March (R) – Clooney directs Clooney in this political thriller starring Ryan Gosling, who seems poised to become the next Clooney.

Movies 10: 12:20, 2:40, 5:10, 7:30.

Jack & Jill (R) – Dear sweet Lord, is there any way for us to all just pay Adam Sandler to not make movies? Rave: 7:40, 10:10.

Like Crazy (PG-13) – An international love story about the perils of long-distance relationships.

Market Street: 2:15, 4:25, 6:45, 9:00.

Melancholia (R) – The latest from Dutch director Lars von Trier has to do with celestial destruction as a metaphor for feeling bummed out.

Your goth girlfriend will love this film. Market Street: 1:45, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (PG-13) – Ol’ Middle-tooth is back in this, the fourth MI flick, which supposedly is really good with killer special effects and action sequences. Rave: 9:50 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 1:00, 2:00, 4:15, 5:15, 7:30, 8:30, 9:15, 11:00. Riverdale: 11:00 a.m., 1:45, 4:25, 7:10, 9:55.

Moneyball (PG-13) – Baseball can seem pretty boring, but this movie makes it look funny, but also people learn things about life and themselves. Movies 10: 1:00, 4:00, 7:00.

The Muppets (PG) – This Muppets reboot starring Jason Segel and Amy Adams has gotten nothing but glowing reviews. Rave: 10:10 a.m., 1:20, 4:50. Riverdale: 11:05 a.m., 1:30, 4:05, 6:40, 9:15.

New Year’s Eve (PG-13) – What could possibly go wrong with a holiday-themed rom-com starring Ashton Kutcher, Jon Bon Jovi, Ludacris, Ryan Seacrest, Zac Efron and everyone else in the world? Rave: 11:55 a.m., 3:00, 5:50, 8:40, 11:30. Riverdale: 11:25 a.m., 1:55, 4:30, 7:00, 9:35.

Paranormal Activity 3 (R) – The franchise continues with more found footage of people who conveniently videotape their lives. This one takes us back to the genesis of the demon from the first two. Movies 10: 12:40, 2:55, 5:05, 7:15.

Puss in Boots (PG) – A Shrek spin-off following the adventures of Puss in Boots, voiced by Antonio Banderas. Movies 10: 1:10, 3:30, 5:50, 8:15 (2D), noon, 2:20, 4:40, 7:20 (3D).

Real Steel (PG-13) – You know they’re turning Battleship into a movie, too. (Boxing robots).

Movies 10: 1:15, 4:10, 7:10.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (R) – Robert Downey Jr. once more stars as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as his trusty sidekick Dr. Watson. Rave: 9:30 a.m., 10:25 a.m., 12:40, 1:35, 3:50, 4:55, 7:10, 7:55, 10:15, 11:10. Riverdale: 11:15 a.m., 1:50, 4:20, 6:55, 9:45.

The Sitter (R) – Jonah Hill plays an Apatovian man-child who must decide whether he will be the babysitter or else become the babysat, from director David Gordon Green (“Pineapple Express”). Rave: 11:10 a.m., 5:05, 10:20.

Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (PG-13) – Vampires and werewolves and young actresses and supernatural battles and sexual tension and dramatic things and other stuff all are factors in this movie. Rave: 1:40, 7:20.

Young Adult (R) – Charlize Theron stars as an unlikeable former prom queen turned desperate old hag who has returned to her small hometown to try to woo back her now happily married old flame. Rave: 10:20 a.m., 1:05, 4:10, 7:25, 9:50.

Chenal 9 IMAX Theatre: 17825 Chenal Parkway, 821-2616, www.dtmovies.com.

Cinemark Movies 10: 4188 E. McCain Blvd., 945-7400, www.cinemark.com.

Cinematown Riverdale 10: Riverdale Shopping Center, 296-9955, www.riverdale10.com.

Lakewood 8: 2939 Lakewood Village Drive, 7585354, www.fandango.com.

Market Street Cinema: 1521 Merrill Drive, 312-8900, www.marketstreetcinema.net.

Rave Colonel Glenn 18: 18 Colonel Glenn Plaza, 687-0499, www.ravemotionpictures.com.

Regal Breckenridge Village 12: 1-430 and Rodney Parham, 224-0990, www.fandango.com.

Sex and Salander David Fincher’s ‘Dragon Tattoo’ adaptation titillates.

BY CHEREE FRANCO

D

avid Fincher’s interpretation of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” — the first in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy — is gorgeous, haunting, compelling and, for those of us who saw the Swedish version released in this country two years ago, redundant. The Hollywood adaptation would have greater impact if the Swedish film had not been so well-received. There is little variation in scenes, even down to the manner in which certain flashbacks are staged. Niels Arden Oplev managed to do with $13 million what Fincher did with $100 million.

So Larsson’s novel seeded a great Swedish movie. And now, it has seeded a great American movie.

The secretive character of Lisbeth Salander required an actress without loads of Hollywood baggage, and Rooney Mara is spectacular in the breakout role.

She owns nearly every scene in which she appears — and not only because, half the time, she’s flashing skin. The film is a 158-minute detective story, slowly unfurled against the draconian beauty of rural Sweden and intercut with flashy bits of sex, violence and chase. The result is a Hollywood thriller, stretched into an impressionistic blur.

As the film opens, Swedish investigative journalist Michael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) has narrowly escaped prison after

‘THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO’: Rooney Mara stars.

losing a libel case. Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), the patriarch of a fading industrial family, invites Blomkvist to live on his family’s private island and take a shot at solving the 40-year-old murder of Harriet Vanger, his teen-age grandniece.

Blomkvist retreats to a monastic cabin on the frozen, inaccessible island and busies himself unraveling a web of Old Testament lore, sexual perversion, misogyny and deep rooted anti-Semitism.

When Blomkvist asks for a research

assistant, the misanthropic Lisbeth Salander joins him in the cabin. She’s a 23-year-old waif and computer savant with antisocial tendencies and a photographic memory. Her violent retaliation against a childhood trauma led the state to claim her as a ward.

Salander already knows everything about Blomkvist, because she was hired

by Vanger to perform his background check. In the process of illegally pilfering his hard-drive, she develops an understated obsession with the journalist. This bit of “girl moons over boy” convention lends Salander a displaced aura of sentimentality. Otherwise, she quickly becomes a graphic-novel-style heroine — fiercely loyal, adhering to her own moral code and displaying disconcerting physical strength when necessary.

While sequestered in the cabin, Salander pragmatically offers herself to Blomkvist. This initiates an Ayn Randian series of sexual encounters — lukewarm, bearing vaguely recognizable traces of emotion. She’s in control, she’s a bit cheeky, she’s more into it than he is. In one instance, Blomkvist is so distracted that he tries to discuss work while Salander straddles him.

Sex in many (often unsavory) varieties supplies the psychological backbone of the film. In one scene, Salander is anally raped by her guardian. With heavy piercings, bleached eyebrows and spiky hair, she resembles a hip urban clothing model.

She’s a pixie punk, a projection rather than a reality, an easy object of lust.

There’s an element of titillation, familiarity and voyeurism as she writhes,

chained to a bed, while her underwear is ripped off and her bare ass flashed onscreen. It’s a pornographic trope, a Hollywood depiction of an anti-Hollywood moment. The scene unleashes its full horror only after her paunchy, middle-aged guardian becomes an unavoidable part of the act. And there’s nothing enticing or sexy afterward, as Salander limps home.

Later, she offers her own version of restitution, echoing and even surpassing her rapist’s brutality. But because the subject of the act is not a hot, twenty-something female, the scene lacks the conflict or gratuitousness of the one in which she is victim.

All of this sex weaves through an engaging storyline, couched in symbolic sets, darting edits and smooth cinematography. Photos zip across Salander’s laptop, lightening quick and laser sharp, mirroring the workings of her fingers and her mind. And many scenes involving Harriet’s brother, Martin Vanger, take place in his mid-century Swedish home — a marvel of economic luxury and clean lines, with interiors that radiate a warm orange or cool white. It’s a metaphor for Martin himself — calculatedly showy, impenetrable and methodical.

More than the serial killer plot mystique, Lisbeth Salander and, to a lesser degree, Mikael Blomkvist propel “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” By the end of the film, Salander is an incongruous character, switching her allegiance to the protection of women to the protection of one man. Maybe the certain sequels will contain surprises, even for those familiar with the Swedish films.

A TO Z, CONT.

R ing Institute in Chicago. At the San Francisco World Spirits Competition held in March, Brandon’s gin won a double gold medal — one of only six gins entered that won double gold. At The Ultimate Spirits Challenge in New York City, Brandon’s Vodka bested hundreds of others from around the globe — including the output of storied makers like Stolichnaya, Skyy and Ketel One — and came within one point of being named the best in the world.

Rep renovation In September, The Arkansas Repertory Theatre unveiled its first major renovation since it opened back in 1988. “When you would take somebody new to The Rep for their first time, you would just try to

S divert their gaze upward to the art on the wall or the stairwell or just anything but looking down,” Rep board chair Catherine Hughes told the Times, with a laugh. “And I’m sure that carpet was beautiful 20 years ago, when it was first put in.” In addition to the new carpeting, The Rep completely rehabbed the bar upstairs, christening it Foster’s at The Rep after former chairman of the board Vince Foster; added about 30 seats, and improved sightlines and acoustics, said Bob Hupp, producing artistic director.

Souls resurrected This year saw the release of “True Soul: Deep Sounds from the Left of Stax,” on the respected reissue imprint Now Again.

T The collection compiles the output of the legendary Arkansas label True Soul, which entrepreneur and musical impresario Lee Anthony started in the ’60s and operated through the ’70s. Available as two separate CD+DVDs or a single 4-LP set, it was a gorgeous work born of obsessive love of the soul, R&B and funk of a bygone era, complete with detailed liner notes, interviews with Anthony and vintage photos, ads and handbills. For souls of a different flavor, Psych of the South Records released “Lost Souls Vol. 3 Arkansas Garage Psychedelic Rock 1963-1971,” its latest installment mining the Natural State’s psychedelic rock nuggets. As with previous volumes, this edition was culled from 45s that were released on regional labels such as Clark, Silver-Dollar, Zay-

Dee and others, as well as acetates and reel-to-reel tapes of rehearsals and shows.

Much of this stuff had been gathering dust in somebody’s box of forgotten dreams for the last 40-plus years, until Psych of the South owner Harold Ott came along to help this music see light of day once more.

Todd Herman Back in April, the Arkansas Arts Center announced its hire for director: Todd Herman. Times arts writer Leslie Newell Peacock profiled Herman in July. Her impression: “His passion for art is palpable and infectious and bound to stir donors into shelling out, which is exactly what the Arts CenCONTINUED ON PAGE 32

www.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 21, 2011

31

A TO Z, CONT. ter needs.” One of Herman’s most important tasks in the near future will be to ensure that AAC doesn’t lose prestige in the wake of the recently opened Crystal Bridges.

U

Ubiquitous Bonnie Montgomery was everywhere this year: The Searcy native went to New York City so she could stage a reading of “Billy Blythe,” her opera about a day in the life of an adolescent Bill Clinton, and stayed for a while and played a bunch of shows at all kinds of hip nightclubs and speakeasies. She recorded a radio concert and went on MSNBC and appeared in the pages of The New York Observer and Huffington Post and TIME and The New Yorker and several other publications. Upon returning, Bonnie got right back to it, playing all over the state with Montgomery Trucking, her country-rockabilly hybrid outfit, and beginning a collaboration with another internationally known Searcy native, Brace Paine (A.K.A. Nathan Howdeshell) of the band Gossip.

V

W

Venues In 2011, we saw several venues close, open and move to new locations.

The nonprofit Arkansas Community Arts Cooperative, which had changed locations three times in about as many years, ceased operation with a spokesman citing “a crisis in existence” as the reason. Capi’s — the Nuevo Latino restaurant and bar in West Little Rock — closed in September. The Underground, a River Market stalwart, closed in June. And The Village, the former movie theater dome on Asher and University avenues, closed earlier in the year.

Twelve Modern Lounge opened on Markham in Capitol View, in the space that once housed the shortlived Star Bar, and Juanita’s moved to the River Market.

X

Y

WM3 freed The West Memphis Three — Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley — likely need no introduction for Times readers. And this year, they were set free, thanks in no small part to the “Paradise Lost” series of documentaries about the case made

by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, the third of which had its Arkansas premiere at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival in October and will run on HBO on Jan. 12. In August, it was reported that renowned direc-

z

32

DECEMBER 21, 2011

ARKANSAS TIMES

POWER STRUGGLE, CONT. tor Atom Egoyan would helm a $20 million adaptation of “Devil’s Knot”

by Times contributor and indefatigable WM3 advocate Mara Leveritt.

Earlier this month, it was announced that Reese Witherspoon would star in the film. And Damien Echols is working on “West of Memphis,” another documentary about the case, with director Peter Jackson.

X-rated True Grit You know, it’s just a damn shame when someone takes something that you love and turns it into a porno. But that’s exactly what’s happening to “True Grit.” Some dudes are making a porn version of the Coen brothers’ 2010 adaptation of Charles Portis’ brilliant, timeless novel, according to September story on XBiz Newswire.

And they didn’t even bother to come up with a clever porn-pun variation on the title. It’s just called “True Grit XXX,” which could very well lead confused video store customers to wonder how they missed the other 28 sequels chronicling the further adventures of Rooster Cogburn and Mattie Ross.

“Yik3s!”

Adrian Tillman, a.k.a. 607, is probably the hardest-working man in show business in Arkansas. Whether with solo projects or with his brother Bobby as the duo Ear Fear, Tillman is restless and relentless. On Halloween, he released “Yik3s!” On the album’s Bandcamp site, Tillman notes,”I think Big KRIT had the best album out this year. We performed with him and beat him on stage. I wanted to beat his album. So i did that. Enjoy.”

ZooJam This daylong event — headlined by Toby Keith and billed as the first of an annual series of concerts to benefit the Little Rock Zoo — did not go as planned. And that is putting it mildly.

The promoters had counted on a crowd of around 20,000 for the event, but only about one-tenth that many actually bought tickets. Several of the vendors and others involved in putting on the show said they were not paid, including the staging company, which had to leave the stage up for several days until workers could be paid to dismantle it.

The Zoo eventually received a grand total of $4,000 in the form of a check from the promoters, the amount representing 25 percent of the gross alcohol sales, a requirement of the beer sales permit.

The Times’ inspection of the cooperative’s 2010 tax returns found that board members received on average $1,826 per meeting.

Watkins and Schumacher did eventually receive a copy of the vegetation management plan, 10 months after they initially filed the request. They were also allowed to view truncated minutes from board meetings, but they had to go through Carroll Electric’s lawyer. “So we decided that we would elect someone to the board who might truly represent our interests,” Schumacher said.

Marci Brewer, a joint accountholder with Schumacher, decided to run. She needed 690 member signatures, including at least 250 from her district. By March 2011, she collected 1,300 signatures, but Carroll Electric disqualified Brewster’s petition, alleging only 242 signatures came from her district. Plagge said that signatures by anyone other than the account holder didn’t count.

One of the disqualified signatures belonged to Brewster’s 85-year-old neighbor — a member for decades. Her signature was disqualified because the account was still in the name of her deceased husband.

October’s bylaw changes also included a new ballot nomination requirement for potential new board members. All nominees must first be approved by a board-appointed official, who then submits qualified nominees to the nominating committee. Only candidates who don’t make it through this committee are allowed to submit a nomination by petition.

“This change was just to streamline the process,” said Plagge, who maintains that Carroll Electric has one purpose: to provide reliable, cheap electricity to its members. The cooperative accomplishes this goal. Carroll offers residential electricity at eight cents per kilowatt per hour. The state average is 9.54 cents.

Schumacher, Watkins and the dozen members who have filed public comments on the PSC docket in support of the class action case represent less than 0.1 percent of Carroll Electric’s total membership.

But to Schumacher, that’s just more reason to fight. “Most members don’t understand the terms of the co-op or their rights, and they may not have Internet access to help navigate the maze. They may not even understand what herbicides mean,” she said. “Carroll Electric operates like a for-profit corporation with an appointed, rather than elected, board.”

But Plagge said the bylaw changes are in the interest of all members. “Since we’re a co-op, when you sue us, you’re suing yourself. You pass the costs of the litigation along to all the co-op members. We can’t allow members to continue to use up our capital this way.”

Dining

Information in our restaurant capsules

reflects the opinions of the newspaper staff and its reviewers. The newspaper accepts no advertising or other considerations in

exchange for reviews, which are conducted anonymously. We invite the opinions of

readers who think we are in error.

B Breakfast L Lunch D Dinner $ Inexpensive (under $8/person) $$ Moderate ($8-$20/person) $$$ Expensive (over $20/person) CC Accepts credit cards

BELLY UP Check out the Times’ food blog, Eat Arkansas arktimes.com

BRIAN CHILSON

WHAT’S COOKIN’

RICH AND CRABBY: SBiP’s she-crab bisque.

Hits and misses Mixed bag at the confoundingly-named SBiP’s.

T

here are things to like about Stephanie Beth Phillips’ semieponymous restaurant, SBiP’s, though the name remains an awkward head-scratcher. (It’s pronounced Sbips, not S-bips, fyi.) But restaurants don’t live or die based on their name, do they?

There’s a hominess and warmth to the restaurant tucked into the first floor of Quapaw Tower on Ninth Street just off the interstate. Many of the dishes we tried from the relatively small menu were good, others not so much. The service was just what you’d want — consistent but not overbearing, informed, flexible to special requests and friendly.

There is seven-day-a-week mid-day and evening dinner service, which must be welcome to the folks who live in Quapaw Tower.

We’re rooting for SBiP’s, as downtown needs more full-service, every-day dining options. And it’ll be interesting to see how it goes in what — other than a built-in, on-site clientele of some number – is an off-the-beaten path location with little curb appeal.

Crab is a focus at SBiP’s, with hot crab dip, crab-stuffed mushrooms and she-crab bisque featured on the main menu and crab Benedict on the Sunday brunch menu. We started with the dip ($10), which comes piping hot in a crock with herbed, crunchy-soft grilled pita.

It’s billed as featuring “jumbo lump

SBiP’s

700 E. Ninth St. Quapaw Tower, Suite 1E Little Rock 372-7247 www.SBiPsRestaurant.com

QUICK BITE SBiP’s will offer a five-course dinner on New Year’s Eve, including a champagne toast, for $75 a person or $125 a couple, including salad featuring dried fruit and candied walnuts, choice of lobster bisque or chicken vegetable soup, a lemon sorbet palate cleanser, the choice of an 8-ounce filet mignon served with a rock lobster tail or stuffed chicken breast with a basil pesto cream, asparagus, Dauphinois potatoes and “a dessert to remember.” Wine and Roses, featuring William Stuckey, will play from 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

HOURS 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday.

OTHER INFO All credit cards accepted. Full bar.

crab meat,” but it didn’t seem especially crabby, and the crab we found was neither “jumbo” nor “lump.” But the dish had a nice seafood twinge, was creamy, hot and satisfying.

The she-crab bisque (so how do they differentiate the male and female crabs anyway?) was similarly rich and creamy,

and definitely crabbier than the dip. It is very rich, so an eight-ounce cup ($7) is probably the better bet, though the 12-ounce bowl is tempting for only $1 more. Chicken noodle was the soup of the day, and we did up-size to the bowl for the extra dollar — $5 vs. $4. It was as good as we’ve had — rich broth, lots of shreds of white-meat chicken and not an overload of noodles.

Kudos also to the burger — large, flavorful and juicy — which is $9 and served with fries, sweet potato fries or homemade potato salad. The fries were standard-issue and in our case lily-white and a bit soft; more time in the fryer was needed.

The most disappointing parts of our meal, unfortunately, were two entrees that we had heard and read good things about: The cedar-plank salmon ($17 with vegetable du jour and rice or potato) was bland, despite the pumpkin-bourbon sauce, and undercooked.

We should have sent it back for more time on the plank. The half roasted duck ($18) was bounteous at three large pieces, but it was also bland and a bit dry. It needed more spice, more herbs, a sauce or some other kind of “oomph” provider.

We soldiered on through dessert, finding the peanut butter cheesecake decent, but not sweet enough and the texture a bit thick and cloying. The apple pie also was decent, but the apples could have been cooked a little longer.

SBiP’s offers six appetizers — gator strips and escargot (both $11) sound interesting; there are four salads, three other sandwiches besides three burgers (including a grilled portabello instead of meat option) and seven dinner options served 3-10 p.m. A 10-ounce New York strip sounds like a deal for $17; conversely, the eight-ounce filet at $28 sounds like the opposite.

The Sunday brunch menu includes Eggs Benedict served with country ham ($7) and several down-home breakfasts, including biscuits with sausage gravy ($6), two eggs served with cornmealbased “Johnny cakes,” with a choice of bacon, sausage or ham, and home fries ($8), build-your-own omelettes ($8) and French toast ($6). There’s even one lunch-type option — fried chicken ($8).

We’ll give SBiP’s another whirl and continue to hope for the best for the independently owned, downtown restaurant.

DESPITE HAVING A CAR CRASH

through its dining room last Thursday morning, Pizza D’Action remains open for business. By the time you read this, there likely won’t be any sign of the crash.

Little Rock Police Department spokesman Lt. Terry Hastings said a witness saw a white Toyota Camry slam into the building around 5:20 a.m. Thursday — the driver apparently having missed the curve coming onto Markham off Kavanaugh.

After the dust settled, the driver threw it into reverse, backed out of the restaurant, and drove away. An investigation is ongoing, though Hastings said they do have a good description of the car and a partial license plate.

The restaurant boarded up the hole, cleaned up a bit, and reopened the same day.

Pizza D’Action is open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Friday, noon to 1 a.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. until midnight on Sunday. The phone number is 666-5403.

DINING CAPSULES

AMERICAN

ALLEY OOPS Plate lunches, burgers and homemade desserts. Remarkable Chess Pie. 11900 Kanis Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-221-9400. LD Mon.-Sat. B-SIDE The little breakfast place turns tradition on its ear, offering French toast wrapped in bacon on a stick, a musthave dish called “biscuit mountain” and beignets with lemon curd. 11121 Rodney Parham Road. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-7162700. BL Wed.-Sun. BOGIE’S BAR AND GRILL Menu filled with burgers, salads and giant desserts, plus a few steak, fish and chicken main courses. 120 W. Pershing Blvd. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-812-0019. D daily.

BUFFALO GRILL A great crispy-off-thegriddle cheeseburger and hand-cut fries star at this family-friendly stop. 1611 Rebsamen Park Road. Full bar, CC. $$.

501-296-9535. LD daily. 400 N. Bowman Road. Full bar, Beer, All CC. $$. 501-2240012. LD daily.

CHEERS Good burgers and sandwiches, vegetarian offerings and salads at lunch and fish specials, and good steaks in the evening. 2010 N. Van Buren. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-663-5937. LD Mon.-Sat. 1901 Club Manor Drive. Maumelle. Full bar, All CC. 501-851-6200. LD daily, BR Sun. CORNERSTONE PUB & GRILL A sandwich, pizza and beer joint in the heart of North Little Rock’s Argenta district.

314 Main St. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $-$$.

501-374-1782. LD Mon.-Sat. CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

www.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 21, 2011

33

CROSSWORD

DINING CAPSULES, CONT.

EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ Across 1 Some undies 5 Go unhurriedly 10 January 1 game 14 Half court game?

15 Joyful tune 16 Ibuprofen target 17 Common result of a lane closing 19 Pronoun in hymns 20 Looking intently 21 Symbol of sturdiness 22 Vilify 23 Outdoor affair 26 Computer for one who’s on the go 30 Nationality suffix 31 Nondairy dairy aisle item 32 Address the flock 36 Abbas’s grp.

39 Large, fun quantity, in a saying

42 Word that appears eight times on a dollar bill 43 Baseball star nicknamed Godzilla 44 Missing roll call, say 45 Avian source of red meat 46 Gives a thumbsdown 48 Performer with sinuous moves 54 Some golf clubs 55 Stephen of “V for Vendetta” 56 Reach the Top 40, say 61 Mozart’s “___ Fan Tutte” 62 Shot follower, often … and a hint to the starts of 17-, 23-, 39and 48-Across 64 Blissful spot 65 Anesthetized 66 Singles bar delivery

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE G R O W D I M

M O P I E S T

A L E N C O N

G U A S I N T E A G T E R C R A U N M

N M O O N T O N I N A F S F I S G I N N N O N I N S U U I N R E G S E T

S T A G N I K G E N I A L

R O L F

P S O E O P L F I O O T E S D S N I S H T E O A E E P E R D N A A S O N G T O A E S S A G N A U D I N T I L E S T E

H A R D H A T

I O R T S T O O N K E S

I T S A B E T

M A T I L D A

S L Y N E S S

67 What’s tender in Mexican restaurants?

68 Mean-spirited 69 Writing on the wall Down 1 Cake with a kick 2 Journal on YouTube, maybe 3 Flash drive filler 4 ___ bath (therapeutic treatment) 5 Breeze through 6 Lord’s home 7 Slicer input 8 Social contract theorist John 9 Fraternal member 10 Penguin’s nemesis 11 Earthy tone 12 ___ penny (pre1959 cent) 13 Smelling a rat 18 Building block brand 22 Warren ___, baseball’s winningest lefty 24 Heap kudos on 25 Kind of salad made famous by Julia Child 26 Timber wolf 27 ___ Freed, 1960s payola figure 28 ___ Noël (French Santa Claus) 29 Rocky hill 33 Go to seed 34 Abysmal grades 35 ___ Darya (river of central 58Down)

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24

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Puzzle by Gary Cee

36 Hymnals’ storage spots 37 City on the Rhône 38 Nobel Institute city 40 TV honors 41 Bandleader Kyser 45 Phenomenon named for the infant Jesus

47 Keystone’s place 48 Muscle strengthened by curls, informally 49 Chip away 50 Shakes, so to speak 51 Kind of football with eight-player teams 52 Requisites

53 Insertion indicator 57 Soccer segment 58 See 35-Down 59 Monopoly payment 60 Lineage depiction 62 Hamburger helper?

63 Get blubbery

For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-814-5554.

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THIS MODERN WORLD

DAVE AND RAY’S DOWNTOWN DINER Breakfast buffet daily featuring biscuits and gravy, home fries, sausage and made-to-order omelets.

Lunch buffet with four choices of meats and eight veggies. 824 W. Capitol Ave. No alcohol. $. 501-372-8816. BL Mon.-Fri. E’S BISTRO Try the heaping grilled salmon BLT on a buttery croissant. 3812 JFK Boulevard. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-771-6900.

FLIGHT DECK Inventive sandwiches, salads and a popular burger. Central Flying Service at Adams Field. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-375-3245.

BL Mon.-Sat. GREEN CUISINE Daily specials and a small, solid menu of vegetarian fare. Try the crunchy quinoa salad. 985 West Sixth St. No alcohol, CC. $-$$. Serving.

KITCHEN EXPRESS Delicious “meat and three” restaurant offering big servings of homemade soul food. Maybe Little Rock’s best fried chicken.

4600 Asher Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-666-3500. BLD Mon.-Sat., LD Sun. LYNN’S CHICAGO FOODS Outpost for Chicago specialties like Vienna hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches. 6501 Geyer Springs. No alcohol, All CC. $. 501-568-2646. LD Mon.-Sat. MADDIE’S If you like your catfish breaded Cajun-style, your grits rich with garlic and cream and your oysters fried up in perfect puffs, this is the place for you. 1615 Rebsamen Park Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-660-4040. LD Tue.-Sat. PHIL’S HAM AND TURKEY PLACE Fine hams, turkeys and other specialty meats served whole, by the pound or in sandwich form. 11121 N. Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-225-2136. LD Mon.-Fri. L Sat. SAY MCINTOSH RESTAURANT Big plates of soul food, plus burgers, barbecue and famous sweet potato pie. 2801 W. 7th Street. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-664-6656. LD Mon.-Sat. L Sun. SPECTATORS GRILL AND PUB Burgers, soups, salads and other beer food. 1012 W. 34th St. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-791-0990. LD Mon.-Sat. SPORTS PAGE Perhaps the largest, juiciest, most flavorful burger in town.

414 Louisiana St. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-372-9316. L Mon.-Fri. VICTORIAN GARDEN We’ve found the fare quite tasty and somewhat daring and different with its healthy, balanced entrees and crepes. 4801 North Hills Blvd. NLR. $-$$. 501-758-4299. L Tue.-Sat.

ASIAN

CHI’S DIMSUM & BISTRO A huge menu spans the Chinese provinces. 6 Shackleford Drive. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-221-7737. LD daily. 17200 Chenal Parkway. No alcohol, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-821-8000.

FAR EAST ASIAN CUISINE Old favorites such as orange beef or chicken and Hunan green beans are still prepared with care. 11600 Pleasant Ridge Drive. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-219-9399. LD daily.

FU LIN Quality in the made-to-order entrees is high, as is the quantity. 200 N. Bowman Road. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-225-8989. LD daily.

IGIBON JAPANESE FOOD HOUSE The Bento box with tempura shrimp and California rolls and other delights stand out. 11121 N. Rodney Parham Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-217-8888. LD Mon.-Sat. KOBE JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE & SUSHI Though answering the need for more hibachis in Little Rock, Kobe stands taller in its sushi offerings than at the grill. 11401 Financial Centre Parkway. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-225-5999. L Mon.-Sat. D daily.

VAN LANG CUISINE Terrific Vietnamese cuisine, particularly the way the pork dishes and the assortment of rolls are presented. 3600 S. University Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-570-7700. LD daily.

BARBECUE

CAPITOL SMOKEHOUSE AND GRILL Beef, pork, sausage and chicken, all smoked to melting tenderness and doused with a choice of sauces.

915 W. Capitol Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-372-4227. BL Mon.-Fri. CROSS EYED PIG BBQ COMPANY Traditional barbecue favorites smoked well such as pork ribs, beef brisket and smoked chicken. 1701 Rebsamen Park Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-265-0000. L Mon.-Sat., D Tue.-Fri. 1701 Rebsamen Park Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-2277427. LD daily.

FATBOY’S KILLER BAR-B-Q Tender ribs and pork by a contest pitmaster.

Skip the regular sauce and risk the hot variety, it’s far better. 14611 Arch Street. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-888-4998. LD Mon.-Fri. HB’S BAR B.Q. Great slabs of meat with fiery barbecue sauce, but ribs are served on Tuesday only. 6010 Lancaster. No alcohol, No CC. $-$$.

501-565-1930. L Mon.-Fri. MICK’S BBQ, CATFISH AND GRILL Good burgers, picnic-worthy deviled eggs and heaping barbecue sandwiches topped with sweet sauce. 3609 MacArthur Dr. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-791-2773. LD Mon.-Sun. SIMS BAR-B-QUE Great spare ribs, sandwiches, beef, half and whole chicken and an addictive vinegar-mustard-brown sugar sauce unique for this part of the country. 2415 Broadway. Beer, CC. $-$$. 501-372-6868.

LD Mon.-Sat. 1307 John Barrow Road. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-224-2057.

LD Mon.-Sat. 7601 Geyer Springs Road. Beer, All CC. $$. 501-562-8844.

LD Mon.-Sat.

34

DECEMBER 21, 2011

ARKANSAS TIMES

DINING CAPSULES, CONT.

EUROPEAN / ETHNIC

KHALIL’S PUB Widely varied menu with European, Mexican and American influences.

Go for the Bierocks, rolls filled with onions and beef. 110 S. Shackleford Road. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-224-0224. LD daily. BR Sun. THE PANTRY The menu stays relatively true to the owner’s Czechoslovakian roots, but there’s plenty of choices to suit all tastes.

There’s also a nice happy-hour vibe. 11401 Rodney Parham Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-353-1875. LD Mon.-Fri., D Sat. STAR OF INDIA The best Indian restaurant in the region, with a unique buffet at lunch and some fabulous dishes at night (spicy curried dishes, tandoori chicken, lamb and veal, vegetarian). 301 N. Shackleford. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-227-9900. LD daily.

TASTE OF ASIA Delicious Indian food in a pleasant atmosphere. Perhaps the best samosas in town. Buffet at lunch. 2629 Lakewood Village Dr. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-812-4665. LD daily.

ITALIAN

PALIO’S Not quite artisan-grade, but far better than the monster chains and at a similar price point. 3 Rahling Circle. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$.

501-821-0055. LD daily.

VESUVIO Arguably Little Rock’s best Italian restaurant is in one of the most unlikely places – tucked inside the Best Western Governor’s Inn within a nondescript section of west Little Rock. 1501 Merrill Drive. Full bar, All CC. $$$.

501-225-0500. D daily.

VILLA ITALIAN RESTAURANT Hearty, inexpensive, classic southern Italian dishes. 12111 W. Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-219-2244. LD Mon.-Sat.

eat local support your community

Special

Gyro Sandwich, FrieS & drink $6.65 oFFer expireS 1/18/12

gyros • hummus • tabbouleh • baba ghannouj pizza • calzone • mediterranean salad

fresh, delicious Mediterranean cuisine

LR • Rodney Parham • 227-7272 LR • Ranch Blvd. • 868-8226 Conway • Oak Street • 205-8224

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MEXICAN

CASA MANANA Great guacamole and garlic beans, superlative chips and salsa and a broad selection of fresh seafood. 6820 Cantrell Road.

Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-280-9888. BLD daily 18321 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$.

501-868-8822. BLD daily 400 President Clinton Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. L Mon.-Sat. CASA MEXICANA Familiar Tex-Mex style items all shine, in ample portions, and the steak-centered dishes are uniformly excellent. 6929 JFK Blvd. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$.

501-835-7876. LD daily.

LAS DELICIAS Levy-area mercado with a taqueria and a handful of booths in the back of the store. 3401 Pike Ave. NLR. Beer, All CC. $. 501-812-4876.

MERCADO SAN JOSE One of Little Rock’s best Mexican bakeries and a restaurant in back serving tortas and tacos for lunch. 7411 Geyer Springs Road. Beer, CC. $. 501-5654246. BLD daily.

RIVIERA MAYA Typical Mexican fare for the area, though the portions are on the large side. 801 Fair Park Blvd. Full bar, All CC. $$.

501-663-4800. LD daily.

SAN JOSE GROCERY STORE AND BAKERY This mercado-plus-restaurant smells and tastes like Mexico, and for good reason: the fresh flour tortillas, overstuffed burritos, sopes, chili poblano are the real things. 7411 Geyer Springs Road. Beer, CC. $-$$. 501-565-4246.

BLD daily.

SUPER 7 This Mexican grocery/video store/ taqueria has great a daily buffet featuring a changing assortment of real Mexican cooking.

Fresh tortillas pressed by hand and grilled, homemade salsas, beans as good as beans get. Plus soup every day. 1415 Barrow Road.

Beer, No CC. $. 501-219-2373. LD and buffet daily.

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A MONTH

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DECEMBER 21, 2011

35

DECEMBER 21, 2011

Swiss Mister

Loganberry owner Ron Logan adds delectable hot chocolate to menu

BY KATHERINE WYRICK PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN CHILSON

O

A close-up look at the process of making each cup of allnatural coco at Loganberry.

hearsay

n a brisk December day, family in tow, I take a break from the frenzied rush to indulge in a bit of decadence and selfsoothing—Loganberry’s new hot chocolate bar.

Upon entering the frozen yogurt shop, we’re instantly awed by the cool vibe of the place and warmly greeted by the affable owner, Ron Logan, who left the corporate world several years ago to get into the restaurant/yogurt business.

Phillipe Starck would approve of the decor: Lucite armchairs with a bold graphic print, shimmering tile counter, and a pop art mural. For a moment, we feel we’ve left Little Rock and landed in some sleek, urban oasis. But instead of being in NYC, we’re next door to NYPD pizza (which Logan also owns).

My kids head for the self-serve yogurt, which we soon discover is, hands down, the best in town, while I amble up to the hot chocolate bar. There are several choices divided into two categories: Premium and Ultra Premium. Among them: Candy Cane, Mountain Mint, Gourmet White Hot Chocolate, and Organic fair trade (described on the menu

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Check the Kitchen Co. web site for details, www.kitchenco.net.

36

DECEMBER 21, 2011

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO ARKANSAS TIMES

as “smooth, creamy and ethical.”) A separate HandCrafted Chocolate Menu details a more exotic list of offerings, including Mayan Spice 68 (once the drink of Mayan Royalty), Scharffen Berger (a European blend made of 99% pure cacao, vanilla and sugar), and other concoctions from different parts of the globe. All are topped with hand-made whipped cream and your choice of drizzles.

Being a purist (and unadventurous), I opt for the nofrills Loganberry House Blend.

Behind the counter, Logan begins whisking and stirring, performing the alchemy that will result in the perfect cup of hot coco. He presents it to me like a gift—a peak of whip cream flecked with shaved chocolate on top—and adds a homemade marshmallow in a final flourish.

And though it tastes decadent, it’s really not. Logan becomes excited when talking about the health benefits of real hot chocolate (as opposed to the processed, powdered kind). He notes that studies have shown that hot chocolate contains more antioxidants than wine and tea and can reduce the risk of heart disease, and that the flavonoids found in the cocoa also have a positive effect on arterial health. One sip and Continued on page 37

➥ Goodwill hunting. Finish last-minute holiday shopping and clear out the clutter in one trip to your local GOODWILL. Now through the end of the year, receive 20% off Goodwill purchases when you donate clothing, footwear, outerwear, accessories, housewares, books, games, furniture, arts and electronics.. Coupons are available at www.goodwillAR.org and Goodwill’s Facebook page. All donations are tax deductible, and receipts are available upon request. For this year’s tax return, donations must be made by 12/31. ➥ A shopping Tip. Holiday decor is 50% off at all TIPTON & HURST locations, including pre-lit wreaths, trees and garlands, wool, felt and yarn ornaments, and hats and stockings. Spend $100 on a Tipton & Hurst gift card and get a $20 gift card free. ➥ Daily deals. VESTA’S is having daily sale specials on certain items. Like them on Facebook for details.

BY KATHERINE WYRICK PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN CHILSON

shop dogs (n.) A feature profiling our canine friends in retail. (Not just limited to dogs. Other species—cats, canaries, lizards—appear here, too.)

Bark the herald angels sing Premium Pet’s Christmas collie

W

e’ve featured many a dog in these pages, but perhaps none as wellbehaved and poised as Connor of Premium Pet Products. Connor, full name Winter Woods Celtic Blue, is an eightyear-old border collie with a long list of accomplishments. His owner, Colleen Backus, trainer by trade (Blue Sky Dogs), has a particular affinity for herding breeds and says of Connor, “He has lots of agility titles and has shown for years. He’s also been featured in some international calendars and several American breed books about the border collie.” We have to admit we’re a little star-struck, though none of it seems to have gone to Connor’s head.

Connor also recently made his theatrical debut as Sandy in Little Rock Christian’s production of Annie.

Wearing the collar from the Christmas scene, and wearing it with dignity we might add, he poses for the camera like a pro. Backus says, “He did all four performances off-leash, without me being on the stage.” Now that’s disciplined.

“He loved it,” adds Backus. “He had a great time with the kids.”

Being the over-achiever that he is, Connor also recently added therapy dog to his long list of credentials and, even at age eight, continues to appear at public events (most recently for Out

SWISS MISTER

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 36

I feel better already. It’s sweet, but not too sweet, creamy without being heavy— in other words, sublime.

As with Loganberry’s yogurt, allnatural, quality ingredients are key. The yogurt is made from real dairy, fresh milk, real fruit purees, and high counts of beneficial live yogurt cultures including probiotic—and you can taste the difference. Logan applies the same philosophy to his hot chocolate making and strongly believes that the fewer ingre-

Connor sports the Christmas collar that he wore in a recent production of Annie. of the Woods animal rescue) and take part in safety talks.

As for his training Backus explains, “You’ll notice there’s no correction. I use positive reinforcement, which is the same thing they do with sea mammals in zoos.” Backus has had herding breeds for years, and when asked what draws her to these dogs, she responds, “Their trainability and willingness to work. They have an ancient soul; they’ve been around a long time. Also, I enjoy studying pack dynamics, and

dients, the better. “It’s all an organic, single-sourced superfood,” he enthuses, and Logan is very enthusiastic when it comes to coco.

He demonstrates by making my husband, decidedly more daring, a cup of the Stone Ground Traditional Mexican which consists of only three simple ingredients: water, high-quality chocolate and a hint of chipotle. It’s dark and rich with a little kick at the end and surprisingly smooth and creamy considering the absence of milk. Logan proudly shows us the chocolate used in the process, a neat disk packaged in

Connor’s Top 5 Backus’ 5-month-old grandson Performing

Working at Premium Pet Playing ball Being with his pack they’re easy to have as a pack.”

Backus and her husband diligently tend to their pack, which includes border collies and Australian Shepherds, providing them with ample acreage to explore, a huge exercise run, and even a dog room that connects to the master suite in the house. Backus sheepishly admits that her husband had a new platform bed made so that the older dogs could get on it. She makes sure to spend quality time with each one, taking regular weekend hikes, and says, “I make sure that they all get individual attention. Every weekend I pick a different dog and go on an outing.”

When I note how calm Connor seems, unlike some skittish border collies I’ve known, Backus says, “People think that they’re nervous, but he’s real easy to live with. They just need adequate exercise and mental stimulation.” She remarks on another commonly held belief about the breed, “People think border collies are smart, but you’ve got to be their personal trainer ... We’ve been partners for a long time.” And it’s a partnership that has nourished and benefited them both. “I’m a cancer survivor,” says Backus, “and these dogs saved my life.

They kept me going.”

shop local

Support our community.

501-225-M2LR M2LR.COM

Premium Pet 9112 N. Rodney Parham Rd. 221-9873 www.premium-pet.com

crepey paper.

When we leave, we vow to make another trip west in the near future, first for a bite at NYPD and then for a cup of coco at Loganberry. It might even become a winter ritual, and how sweet would that be?

Loganberry 6015 Chenonceau Blvd.

868-8194 www.loganberryfroyo.com Hours: Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

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ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO ARKANSAS TIMES

DECEMBER 21, 2011

37

All they want

N

o child uncoerced ever said “All I want for Christmas is my two front teefe.” Waste a rare and precious Christmas wish by asking for an unessential body part that’ll inevitably be arriving soon anyway? Not likely. Kids aren’t stupid. Songwriters, though …

I remember my Uncle Carney’s Christmas wish one year was for a mule to help him — about 50/50, I would guess — with the garden plowing. He didn’t get it, because Aunt Kate couldn’t find one for less than $8, her limit, and she wasn’t sympathetic to the request anyway. Unk earned the Santa Claus money as a sawmill boiler operator, but Auntie was the comptroller and unhainted by the Ghosts of Past, Present or Future. He got his mule the following spring but only because an old man who lived up the road from us died and his wife wasn’t able to harvest sawbriers in the quantities that their mule required for subsistence. She might near gave the old thing away. In other words, got about what it was worth.

“All I want for Christmas is to win the Iowa caucuses,” Michelle Bachmann told Santa Claus last week. Think she really meant to put that “all” in there? If so, it’s a modest enough request. Bro. Pat Robertson stormed Iowa one time, only to

be obliged to slink back to his role as beg-a-thonery’s Big Giant Head. Pretty much the same fate befell last time’s BOB Iowa GOP caucus LANCASTER champeen, subsequently reduced to having to sign on with either Rupert Murdoch or Vince McMahon, and choosing the more outlandish of the two.

The congressional GOP letter to Santa Claus this year demanded he lay off distributing Christmas gifts free to poor and hopeful children, as those children are coming to consider such gifts entitlements. Can’t have that.

Alvin finally got the hula hoop, leastwise Dave said he did. Ralphie got the Red Ryder, and sure enough might near shot his own eye out first thing.

Napoleon Bonaparte’s most devout Christmas wish was that somebody would hurry up and invent Preparation H. Mark Twain wanted some Viagra almost as bad.

Just didn’t know what to call it.

Prince Charles said one Christmas all he wanted was to be prestidigitated into one of his girlfriend’s tampons. In a way, yeah, wish was granted.

I have it from some of the oldest residents of the Pine Knot Nursing Home that there was a time when not a single child’s Christmas gift list included a telephone.

You believe that?

Lonnie Avey said, “I might’ve asked for some other stuff along there, but I wadn’t really paying attention.”

Curly Roberts wanted Christmas every day, long as he could be only on the getting end.

A Lash Larue bullwhip was at the top of the Ol’ Moi list one year but enthusiasm for it waned rather quickly as I never got where I could snap the ash off a lit cigarette in somebody’s mouth and they were loath for some reason to give me permission for retries.

It was someone from Hades, Miss., as I recall, who wanted the diamond as big as the Ritz.

Woe to the likes of Rep. Harris and Sen. Key for first-degree offenses against the Real Reason for the Season. For shameful ventures that chug along on equal parts piousness and gall. Birthday Boy himself spoke the warning: You’ve had your reward. Be somebody else’s turn up yonder.

It was never conclusively determined which member of a recent State Capitol clan asked Santa for a family-size hogshead of Velveeta.

There was the Christmas I decided to test the odd theorem that it’s more blessed to give than to receive. Clutch-

ing my 50-cent piece “earned” by having completed some routine chore — churning, perhaps — I surveyed the Christmas wares at Hendon’s 5-and-10 Cent Store and finally settled on buying my mother a tablespoon.

Not silver; not even stainless; I’d guess tin; Uri Geller could’ve bent it double with just a sidelong glance. But had it gift-wrapped, and felt self-abnegating and proud. She acted thrilled at the opening, and it might not’ve been all acting. My first choice had been a roll of quilting cotton but of course that was out of my range.

One of Uncle Earl’s requests, socks for his rooster.

All the dick Cheney wants is that war with Iran that Santa has denied him lo these many Christmases. Expect him, if denied again, to tell Santa to go f-word himself.

You and the reindeer you rode in with.

One Christmas I asked Rhoney Rubow what he wanted and he said an old Rex Jelly bucket filled to the brim with Dr. Tichenor’s Antiseptic. Said if he got it he’d tie it to his living-room light-bulb cord, punch a tiny hole in the bottom, and lie under it the whole 12 Days of Christmas lapping up the drip.

One of the Magi, according to the Gospel of Judas: “Aw, it was just some old second-hand myrrh lying around the castle.”

Bennie Mac, our town bootlegger, was always happy when Santa agreed to replenish his fruit-jar stock. He’d take pints but most of his delivery was in quarts.

ARKANSAS TIMES CLASSIFIEDS Employment Farm Tractor Operators-5 temporary positions; approx 9 months; Duties: to operate tractors with the cutting of the hay fields. Fluffing, raking, baling and storing of the hay. $8.97 per hour; Job to begin on 2/15/2012 through 11/15/2012. Must have 3 months experience in job offered.

All work tools provided. Housing and transportation provided to workers who can not reasonably return to their permanent residence at the end of the work day; _ guaranteed of contract; upon completion of 50% of work contract traveling expenses to worksite will be reimbursed. Employment offered by S & S Cattle Company, Inc. located in Natchitoches, LA . Qualified applicants may call employer for interview (318) 471-2771 or may apply for this position at their nearest State Workforce Agency using job order # 402383. For more info regarding your nearest SWA you may call (501) 682-7719

Field Workers-4 temp positions10 months; job to begin 2/1/12 through 12/1/12Duties: to operate tractors in the fields during the preparations, planting and maintenance of the crop before, during and after the harvesting season. $8.97 per hr; 3 months experience in job offered required. All work tools provided. Housing and transportation provided to workers who can not reasonably return to their permanent residence at the end of the work day; _ hours guaranteed in a work day during contract. Employment offered

by Blanchard & Patout, Inc. located in Jeanerette, LA. Qualified applicants should fax resume to Kevin Blanchard at (337) 276-9445or apply during normal business hours. Applicants may apply for this position at their nearest State Workforce Agency using job order # 402034. For more info regarding your nearest SWA you may call (501) 682-7719.

The Oxford American magazine is seeking a candidate to join its sales staff to sell advertising for one of the most acclaimed literary magazines in the country.

Ideal candidate will have 2 to 5 years outside sales experience with proven track record. Print advertising experience preferred.

Salaried position with commission and bonuses. We offer competitive benefit plan that includes medical, 401k and a full range of supplemental insurance.

Interested candidates should send cover letter and resume to rwittenberg@oxfordamerican.org 38 December 21, 2011 ARKANSAS TIMES 38

DECEMBER 21, 2011

ARKANSAS TIMES

Education Field Workers-4 temp positions 10 months; job to begin 2/1/12 through 12/1/2012; Duties: assisting with planting and harvesting crops and nursery plants including tractor driving, hand planting of container plants, land pulling of weeds, trimming trees and plants, fertilizing, mowing and irrigating. Must be able to lift heavy containers and seed bags and walk through fields pulling weeds and using a hoe. $8.97 per hour; 3 months experience in job offered required. All work tools provided. Housing and transportation provided to workers who can not reasonably return to their permanent residence at the end of the work day; _ hours guaranteed in a work day during contract. Employment offered by Boone Farms located in LeCompte, LA and Broussard’ s Nursery located in Forest Hill, LA. Qualified applicants may fax Frank Hebert at 318776-5610 or apply during normal business hours. Applicants may apply for this position at their nearest State Workforce Agency using job order # 402036. For more info regarding your nearest SWA you may call (501) 682-7719 Paid In Advance! Make $1,000 a Week mailing brochures from home!

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