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Speeding noted n Here’s a note from a motorist who prefers to remain nameless, who said he got up-close and personal with an elected official’s vehicle last Friday morning. It happened at 75 miles an hour on I-40 between Blackwell and Atkins. We’ll let him take it from here: “Just past Blackwell, I am aware through my rear view mirror of a white pick-up weaving through traffic, appearing to be approaching rapidly and with reckless abandon. Within no time, the white Ford truck is immediately behind me and within what appears to be only a few feet off my bumper. A semi truck is to my right and I see I am cruising at a snail’s pace of 75 hoping not to get run over. I am trying to maintain a safe distance between me and the car in front, yet the white Ford truck continues to hover right on my rear bumper, so close I can not even see the windshield. ... “Suddenly, the white truck cuts quickly to the right, accelerates and then cuts back to the left, between my car and the vehicle just ahead that I am giving reasonable distance. I am furious by this reckless driving and absolute disregard for the safety of those on the highway. I glance at the license tag, which is all too visible since the driver has cut immediately in front of my car. I glare at the license plate devoid of any embellishments except for a solitary No. 2 in the center. Then it dawns on me: Elected State Official with license plate No. 2 is the irresponsible vehicle that is endangering lives. “Just as quickly as the truck passes my Nissan, it again veers to the right and continues to weave through the crowded highway at speeds somewhere north of 80 mph. Within a few minutes the white Ford has woven its way to the head of the pack some 15-20 vehicles in all and as suddenly as it appeared from out of nowhere, it proceeds to disappear over the next rise on the horizon and by the time I get to the rise it is no longer in sight.” Who was it? Well, Lt. Gov. Mark Darr has a white pickup. He also has a “2” Senate license plate by virtue of his position as presiding officer in the Senate, but we’ve been unable to learn what vehicle he uses it on, if any. The No. 2 officer in the House has a pro tempore speaker plate that is white and bears a state seal and the diamond from the state flag. The Senate plate is tan and plain. Our correspondent said the plate he saw was “tan or brown.” A spokesman for Darr told us initially that he had an appointment Friday morning, but she did not think it likely he had been headed westbound on I-40 in the Blackwell area. Calls for more information weren’t returned.
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www.arktimes.com • MARCH 23, 2011 3
Smart talk
Contents That other anniversary n Subscribers to the Arkansas History Listserv have been wondering if, with all the hoorah about the Civil War sesquicentennial this year if anyone remembers that Arkansas will turn 175 on June 15. Forget, hell! The Old State House Museum celebrates Arkansas’s statehood every year, this year on June 11, the Saturday before the anniversary. There will be a living history event; theme and hours are still being worked out. OSHMA — the Old State House Museum Associates — will celebrate as well, by throwing a fund-raiser from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. June 15 in the 1885 House of Representatives Chamber. There will be heavy hors d’oeuvres, libations, and a silent auction of Arkansas products, including an Arkansas flag to be painted by artist Pat Matthews during the event. Tickets are $75. Listserv subscribers have noted that the state’s sesquicentennial in 1986 got a lot of attention, with a special issue of license plates and a celebration in War Memorial Stadium, where a giant plywood stage in the shape of the state was erected at the 50-yard line. Just 25 years after Arkansas became a state, it seceded from the Union, and it is that anniversary that is getting all the attention this year.
Political extremists
HAS IT COVERED: The latest cover of National Geographic features an illustration of a historically recreated Machu Picchu, the famed Incan site in Peru. The University of Arkansas reports that the foundation of the design came courtesy of researchers at its Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (CAST), who spent time in 2005 and 2009 scanning Machu Picchu with high-resolution laser scanning instruments, which generated the first hi-res 3D data on the ruins. For a better visualization of the CAST researchers’work, check out the 3D fly-over video of Machu Picchu on National Geographic’s iPad edition.
n The spring issue of Intelligence Report, a publication of the Southern Poverty Law Center, included two Arkansans on a list of 23 “right-wing extremists” who ran for public office in America last year. Five of the candidates were elected, including one of the Arkansans. State Rep. Loy Mauch, RBismarck, is serving his first term in the legislature. Intelligence Report identified him as a “Neo-Confederate, white nationalist.” The other Arkansan on the list, Billy Roper of Russellville, received 49 votes running as a write-in candidate for governor. Intelligence Report calls him a “White supremacist, neoNazi.”
10 Marianna mistrial Did race play a role in a jury’s refusal to convict Curtis Vance on rape charges? — By David Koon
16 Film feast
Batesville plays host to the Ozark Foothills FilmFest, which offers a strong lineup in its 10th anniversary. — By Lindsey Millar
36 Treasure troves
An insider’s guide to the best antique malls in Central Arkansas. — By Arkansas Times Staff
DEPARTMENTS 3 The Insider 4 Smart Talk 5 The Observer 6 Letters 7 Orval 8-20 News 22 Opinion 25 Arts & Entertainment 45 Dining 53 Crossword/ Tom Tomorrow 54 Lancaster
Words VOLUME 37, NUMBER 29
n A former newspaperman writes concerning an Arkansas Times columnist: “Please stop [redacted] from contributing to the nauseating trend of turning nouns into verbs. In today’s blog he says, ‘One of Dabbs’ first official acts, by the way, was firing the human resources employee who’d backgrounded her about Bryant salary law.’ A few months back, he said The New York Times had ‘frontpaged’ an article on a certain subject. Is that our old city editor rolling over in his grave I hear?” To some people, seeing a noun become a verb is as horrifying as seeing Lon Chaney Jr. become The Wolfman. Yet this semantic transformation occurs frequently, and has been doing so for a long time, whereas The Wolfman appears only under a full moon. (Someone is trying to tell me 4 MARCH 23, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES
Doug S mith doug@arktimes.com
there are newer and better wolfmen than Lon Jr. Newer, maybe.) Furthermore, condemnation of the practice is not so easy to find as it once was. Some of my usage books raise no objection at all, and others issue only mild warnings against excess. Garner’s Modern American Usage says, “Although some writers enjoy referring to fast-tracking budgets, tasking committees, and mainstreaming children, be wary of these innovations. They reek of jargon.” Even Theodore Bernstein, whose
“The Careful Writer” was published in 1977, stopped well short of nausea, and Bernstein was picky. “As to the conditions under which nouns become acceptable verbs, the answer is not clear-cut. There are writers (and, of course, speakers) who delight in novelty ... They are the ones who would elevator themselves to their penthouses ... The writer who has respect for the language will treat such antics with disdain. But he will not close his mind to the possibility that there is a continuing need for new words either to express succinctly new situations or to express old situations that otherwise require the expenditure of too much verbal effort.” I adopt the old legislator’s position. “Some of my friends are for this bill and some of my friends are against it. I stand with my friends.”
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Spring beauties in the yard. Purple martins in the sky. Mayapples up, covering hillsides. Fiddlehead ferns unfolding. Ticks. No turning back now.
The Observer has seen him twice now as we turn off Markham onto Maple Street, only a few scant blocks from The Observatory: a cat with wee little legs. He looks just like a normal cat — black and brown fur, marbled like ... well ... marble, regular length body, regular length tail, regular size head — but with these stubby little legs. If it had been dark, we would have sworn it was a dachshund dog, but this was in broad daylight. Put away your butterfly nets. We know what we saw. Scurrying along on those stumpy little legs, the cat crossed the street in front of The Mobile Observatory on a fine March afternoon and zipped (without even stooping) under a nearby car. What would you call that kitty, anyway? Weeniecat? Lowcat? We don’t know, but we know we want to know more; would have jumped out, lain on our face by his/her hiding car and taken a closer look had we not been afraid the folks who got so up in arms about the Stifft Station Catnapper awhile back would come after us with torches and pitchforks. Both times we’ve seen Lowcat, we’ve burst into The Observatory and breathlessly told Spouse about our sighting. We don’t think she quite believes us, possibly suspecting we’ve been taken with a bout of Spring Fever, or maybe something purchased in a paper sack down at the liquor store. She always smiles, giving us the pity-nod when we expound on the fact that Lowcat would make quite a pair with our current feline, Mister Kitty — the round mound of sound — who started out a regular-sized, mostly-black kitty cat from the Pulaski County Humane Society, but who eventually grew to a whopping 26-pounder who hangs off both ends of the ottoman while snoozing. Anyway, The Observer is here to say: Rock on, Weeniecat. You’re an inspiration to us all, and you don’t seem to be letting your short little legs slow you down. If only The Observer could say the same for our own self.
The Observer wanted a motorcycle early in life, but our dear old Pa — God bless him — talked us out of it by
relating tales of Harley-riding horror from his youth, with bruised noggins, busted bones and road rash galore. By the time we got old enough to legally own and ride a two-wheeler on the street, we were content to stay planted on four wheels, thanks. Takes too much thinking to stay safe on a motorcycle, we think. That’s especially dangerous for The Observer, who is prone to zoning out and getting some of our best contemplatin’ done while driving. Regular tales of bi-wheel carnage in the newspaper always catch our eye, and lead us to believe that we’ve made the right choice so far to disregard those snazzy commercials that make riding a motorcycle seem like the best thing since sliced bread — equal parts testosterone, Brut cologne and gasoline. We got yet another lesson on why we never need to ride anything with two wheels that isn’t pedal-powered the other day. Walking to the freebie parking lot down by the freeway on a fine, spring afternoon, we were crossing River Market Boulevard at Third Street when we heard the familiar putt-putt-putt of a motor scooter. We looked up and saw a fella approaching the stop sign: a 40-something in business attire, astride a blue scooter, crowned with a white cue-ball helmet with full face shield. The helmet didn’t do anything for his sense of style, we thought, but we sure were glad he had it a few moments later. Still in the crosswalk, we were looking out toward the field of cars under the bridge, searching for the white lump of the Mobile Observatory, when we heard the screech of tires and then an awful thud and crackle. We turned, and saw the scooterist lying in the street 20 feet away. His machine lay nearby, having apparently bucked him off after hitting the slick streetcar track. We headed for the accident scene as quick as we could, which for us is slightly faster than mosey. Though we feared the worst, the gentleman quickly righted himself without help and then did the same for his cycle. He re-fired the beast, and — to our relief — was quickly on the road again, muttering something about “dangerous” as he passed. Be careful out there, two-wheelers. Gravity is everywhere, and the world is full of slick spots waiting to take you down. The same goes for the rest of you as well. www.arktimes.com • MARCH 23, 2011 5
Letters arktimes@arktimes.com
Fools and tools Anyone who promotes tax breaks for billionaires, and is not a billionaire, has been played for a fool and used as a tool. There is an immutable law in the physical world called conservation of energy. The total amount of energy in a closed system like our earth stays constant over time. Energy can only change form and location. There is a similar law in the political world. The total amount of political power stays constant in a closed system like the United States. All the tax protesters who say they want to limit the power and size of government are only telling us that they want to change the form and location of political power. Where do they want to send it? Follow the money. In 1971, the Gross National Product (GNP) of the U.S. economy was $1.1 trillion. In 2010, the GNP was $14.7 trillion. Meanwhile, real median wage of the bottom 90 percent of workers declined from $33,001 in 1973 to $29,143 in 2005. In 2009, the United States hit record levels of poverty. One in seven of all Americans live in poverty, which is defined as $22,000 annual income for a household of four. Where did the money go? In 1971, the top marginal income tax rate in the U.S. was 70 percent. It has since declined by half. In 1971, the top 1 percent earned 10 percent of all income. In 2010, the top 1 percent earned 23.5 percent of all income. The genius of the moneyed class is that it has used the multi-millionaire mainstream media, and bought and paid-for politicians, to make the middle class angry at the poor. The corporate take-over of government at all levels that control money is in process of turning the United States government into an unelected, hereditary economic aristocracy. Think your elected representatives are unresponsive? Just try to get an appointment with one of the Koch brothers or the Walton heirs. We have been here before. We are now at the same concentration of wealth that the United States hit in 1928. Does anyone remember how well that ended? Steve Davis Harrison
Prepare for disaster In light of the recent catastrophic earthquakes in New Zealand, and now Japan, not to mention the 1,000-plus earthquakes we’ve experienced in Central Arkansas, the time is now for our state government to act to prepare our state in the event of 6 MARCH 23, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES
major damaging events here. We are in no way prepared to deal with any type of catastrophic event of mass proportions and it’s time for the Legislature to step up on this issue. Since 2008, I’ve spoken with many state government officials and legislators regarding allocating funds to develop a “state disaster relief army” to be deployed with food, water, tents for tent cities, medical relief, blankets, etc. It could have doctors, dentists, nurses, firefighters and paramedics available to be deployed ASAP. It could also employ Arkansans of every age and provide them wages to feed their families. And Arkansans would be
proud to be a part of this relief army; they are amazing when disasters occur pulling together to help others. Yet, I have been met with the same response: Arkansas has a disaster relief agency. Yes we do. And they do an outstanding job but they just aren’t big enough to handle a disaster on a large scale. Exactly what would we do if a 6.0-8.0 earthquake rocked our state or we had massive flooding? What resources does Arkansas have in place to deal with a catastrophic event of this magnitude? Think about it. Then do it for the people of Arkansas. Lisa Burks Conway
R
VICTIM INFORMATION AND NOTIFICATION EVERYDAY
Note to the Ledge: A lot of good it will do Arkansans to be able to carry guns in churches if a major earthquake, flood, fire, or tornado devastates any part of our state. You may get your guns in churches, but you can’t shoot an earthquake, tornado, fire or a flood. You certainly can’t sleep on your gun. You can’t eat it, drink it or wear it either. Humankind is under pressure. Some people say that the end was always foretold. One fact is this: the population of earth cannot double anymore. War, disasters, or plagues could reduce population growth. A higher power could appear. There has to be an event or events coming because necessary resources (water, food) are limited. Something has to happen. There is simply and emphatically no way to feed and water all the population of the earth if it doubles again. Got Jesus? Gail Kelley Heber Springs
On the fringe
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Hats off to V. Liptak’s letter (“On the fringe”). It squarely confronts a practice that so many “mainstream” journals of opinion have of demonizing certain ideas as if they are somehow “crazy” when they are actually very conformist. Why are those striving for peace and justice not given front page coverage that is at least equal to the far right? There is a “silent majority” of true patriots outraged at U.S. wars of aggression, Wall Street’s great train robbery, and the deepening misery of working people. This reminds me of how the 19thcentury Populist Movement is trivialized and simply air-brushed out of the history books. A perfect example is Ernest Dumas’ column (“Paranoid politics”). True, members of this movement like Tom Watson of Georgia strayed off into branches of reactionary politics. But Mr. Dumas implies that the People’s Party was something other than “centrist” — as if trying to keep a relatively independent farm afloat, while being at the tender mercy of unregulated railroad companies and banks somehow makes you into a bad person guilty of being “paranoid.” Congratulations also to Tony Poe for his letter on the destruction wrought by fracking where he lives in North Texas. Mr. Poe is a member of the real silent majority in our nation today. The evidence is crashing in from all over our state that there may well be a connection between the upsurge in earthquake activity in the last months and fracking, not the least from newspaper and TV items and standard reports submitted by state and federal earthquake monitors. As Gerard Matthews’ article shows, public agencies are evidently not interested in addressing the issue. Anthony Newkirk North Little Rock
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MARCH 16-22, 2011 IT WAS A GOOD WEEK FOR …
TAX CUTS. Democrats and Republicans worked out a $35 million package of tax cuts. It’s a pittance against the quarter of a billion of tax increases that the highway builders hope to get separately. But pittance is good when essential state services are strained to the breaking point and the Tea Party kill-government cry sounds so loudly. ATTORNEY GENERAL DUSTIN MCDANIEL. His office has now entered the fray with calm and correct testimony about the unconstitutionality of a spate of anti-abortion bills Republicans have introduced to attempt to end availability of legal abortion in Arkansas. ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE PUBLISHER WALTER HUSSMAN. He sold the old Gazette building, valued at $1.1 million when he purchased the paper from Gannett, for $5.3 million to the eStem charter school, which had been leasing it from him. Hussman is one of the leading supporters of eStem and other charter schools. He’d loaned the school more than $3 million, at 6 percent, to improve the building. TAX INCREASES. See Max Brantley’s column. IT WAS A BAD WEEK FOR …
LEGISLATIVE HYPOCRITES. (Nearly all of them.) The blog Blue Hog Report provided rich detail on the pay supplements, likely unconstitutional, drawn by nearly all legislators. Particularly embarrassing were copies of the bogus bills for consulting services — from themselves — that lawmakers submitted for reimbursement. Republicans stood out because they cashed the smelly checks amid continuing attacks on tiny state spending increases, as small as $6,000 for the Arkansas School for the Deaf. SECRETARY OF STATE MARK MARTIN. With a fleet of state cars at his disposal, he bought a new car for state Board of Apportionment use without approval of the other two members of the board, Gov. Mike Beebe and Attorney General Dustin McDaniel. He also hired one employee and one consultant – both Republican operatives – to do board work. Lawful, lowcost government from the self-styled reformer this was not. 8 MARCH 23, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES
The Arkansas Reporter
Phone: 501-375-2985 Fax: 501-375-3623 Arkansas Times Online home page: http://www.arktimes.com E-mail: arktimes@arktimes.com ■
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Solve for XX + XY Hendrix to institute limited ‘gender-neutral’ housing for LGBT students. BY DAVID KOON
n Hendrix College in Conway will offer housing next fall for students who are openly gay or are questioning their sexuality. The “gender-neutral” student housing program is expected to make life a bit easier for students uncomfortable in a dormitory. Students who have applied for the program say it’s an important step, and a testament to the school’s inclusiveness. The pilot program will offer up to six two-person apartments that will be assigned without preference to gender while making an effort to select for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students, and hetero students who are comfortable living with an LGBT roommate. Unlike other student housing, each of the gender-neutral apartments will have two bathrooms, one for each resident. The application deadline was March 4. Administrators say that the program may be expanded if it’s a success. Jim Wiltgen, dean of students at Hendrix, said the college began studying the possibility of instituting limited genderneutral housing at the request of underclassmen who were studying gender issues. After some exploration of the topic, the college found only one other school of similar size to Hendrix that offers genderneutral housing. Hendrix will be the only college in Arkansas to offer gender-neutral housing for gay and lesbian students. Wiltgen called the application process for the housing “gender-blind,” though it does have optional check boxes where an applicant can identify his or her biological sex and “gender identity.” “We don’t ask invasive questions on the application, like whether they’re considering a gender [reassignment] operation,” Wiltgen said. “All we do is ask open-ended questions about why are you interested in this option, what makes you a candidate for this option, and then just describe your level of comfort with gender issues and sexual orientation.” Those questions, Wiltgen said, are to make sure the applicant is committed to the program. He said the college will ask those who assigned to gender-neutral housing to give feedback throughout the year. Wiltgen said the gender-neutral apartments will probably be on Clifton Street just off the western edge of the campus. The program is not available to first-year students. Though the process allows applicants to request a particular roommate, couples
BRIAN CHILSON
THE WEEK THAT WAS
LOGAN LEATHERMAN: A Hendrix junior says LGBT students are sometimes forced into uncomfortable living situations. involved in a relationship — no matter what their sexual orientation — shouldn’t take it as a chance to shack up. “If you’re in a relationship, we wouldn’t want you to be in that housing together,” Wiltgen said. “For students, it’s a tough enough relationship with roommates as it is. To add any kind of romantic entanglement wouldn’t be advisable.” Aaron Aldridge, a 19-year-old freshman at Hendrix, has applied for genderneutral housing for next fall. Aldridge, who is openly gay, said that living in mostly-straight student housing has its difficulties. “There is kind of this unspoken nature of all of it,” he said. “If you have a guy over at the dorm, it’s kind of uncomfortable — whether you introduce them as a friend, or someone you’re dating. It’s an uncomfortable thing to talk about on top of the fact that I just don’t really mesh with [heterosexual] guys that well.”
Aldridge said there was some confusion on campus early on over whether the housing was open only to transgender students. Once he looked into it, however, he learned that it was open to anyone and applied. Asked whether allowing gay and straight students the option to reside apart is a good thing, given that one aspect of college life is learning to live with those who aren’t like you, Aldridge said it might have its disadvantages, but the quality of life for gay students who might not be comfortable outweighs that for him. “I understand the value of being able to adapt to different situations,” he said. “But I really do like the prospect of having the option open for somebody [whose housing is] affecting their ability to do well in their classes and affecting their ability to be happy and proper as far as their personal Continued on page 13
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www.arktimes.com • March 23, 2011 9
BRIAN CHILSON
LEE COUNTY COURTHOUSE: Where the Vance rape trial was tried.
Even with DNA evidence that would have been ironclad in most courtrooms, the blacks on a Marianna jury refused to convict Curtis Vance of rape. The question is: why? BY DAVID KOON
10 MARCH 23, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES
I
t would be a nightmare for any woman — for any human being. On the morning of April 21, 2008, Kristen Edwards got up and started getting ready for school. A native of Maine, she’d been a science teacher at Lee High School in Marianna for seven years, assigned there by the Teach for America program, THE ACCUSED: Vance. which places eager young educators in under-performing schools. After getting out of the shower and putting on her bathrobe, Edwards was walking through the yellow house where she lived alone at 87 E. Mississippi St. in Marianna when a stranger grabbed her from behind. The attacker told her he had a gun; that he “knew her house,” and would kill her if she looked at him. Pushed face down on a nearby couch, she was raped in her own living room. After locking Edwards onto an enclosed back porch, the man fled with her cell phone and charger, a video and $3 — the only cash she had. Edwards never saw his face. Seven months later, the DNA taken from Edwards’ robe and body during a rape examination at a local hospital was processed at the Arkansas State Crime Lab. It turned out to
BRIAN CHILSON
Lee County Justice
BRIAN CHILSON
BRIAN CHILSON
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BRIAN CHILSON
be the break a lot of people a hundred miles away from Marianna had been looking for: a clear match for DNA evidence found in the home of KATV television anchor Anne Pressly, who had been raped and brutally beaten in her Little Rock home on Oct. 20, 2008, dying from her injuries five days later. Though police now had a DNA profile linked to both the Pressly case and a rape in Marianna, the sample didn’t match anyone in the system. Acting on a hunch, Marianna police detectives focused on a small-time burglar from town named Curtis Lavelle Vance. His cheeks were swabbed by investigators, and within days the news came back: Vance’s DNA matched the genetic evidence collected in both the Marianna case and at the Pressly crime scene. Vance was arrested in Little Rock on Nov. 26, 2008. The DNA evidence against him was a key factor in Vance’s eventual conviction in the Pressly case. Spared the death penalty by only two jurors who held out against capitol punishment, he now sits in prison for life without the possibility of parole. Given how good the DNA evidence is in the Marianna rape, how much of a slam dunk it seems — 16 out of 16 genetic markers, evidence that would be the high-five moment on any “CSI”-style police procedural show worth its salt — not to mention the fact that Vance took the stand in the rape trial and testified that he had, in fact, told Little Rock detectives in a taped confession that he was in Edwards’ house on the morning of the rape, it was confusing for a lot of people when on Feb. 3, a jury in Marianna decided they couldn’t reach a verdict. The case was declared a mistrial. The jury split seven to five along strictly racial lines — seven blacks and five whites. Even though it would be hard to find a genetics expert in the world who would tell you there was more than an unfathomably remote chance that the semen found inside the victim belonged to anyone other than Curtis Vance, the fact of the matter is this: All the white members of the jury were apparently swayed by that evidence, while all the black jurors were not. While some we talked to say that the reason for that could be everything from a community-wide distrust of police to a simple lack of understanding among the potential jury pool when it comes to DNA, others — including the victim — contend that the case was decided on a factor that has nothing to do with evidence: the race of Curtis Vance. ven by the standards of Eastern Arkansas, Lee County — of which Marianna is the county seat — is very poor. According to the latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, 38.6 percent of the population there lives below the poverty line. In the rest of the state, it’s 17.3 percent. Blacks comprise around 56 percent of the population. In the rest of the state, it’s just over 15 percent. Fletcher Long was the prosecutor in the Curtis Vance rape trial in Marianna. He said the DNA evidence speaks for itself, and should have been good enough to get a conviction. “That matched on 16 points with the swabs taken from the cheek of Vance,” Long said. “You either have the person that did it, or if he happens to have a twin brother running around out there somewhere, possibly it’s him — an absolute twin.” Though a transcript of the trial has not been produced by the court reporter as of this writing (and probably never will be given that Edwards decided to forgo pursuing another trial in the case), Long said that under cross examination, Vance testified he had admitted to Little Rock police
McCREE: Helped make the case against Vance.
detectives that he’d been in Edwards’ house on the morning of the rape, but only because “there were mobs roaming the streets in Little Rock” and he was afraid. “I don’t remember any mobs roaming the streets in Little Rock,” Long said, “but perhaps I missed something.” During the trial, the defense — led by Little Rock attorney Bill James, who had represented Vance in the Marianna rape since he was arrested — passed witness after witness without questioning, including asking no questions of any of the DNA examiners brought in from the Arkansas State Crime lab to testify about the collection, handling and testing of the evidence (see sidebar for James’ explanation of why). Even with what seemed to be overwhelming DNA evidence and with Vance’s taped statement admitting he’d been in Kristen Edwards’ house on the morning of the rape, Fletcher Long said that he told Edwards before the trial even started that the best he could probably do for her was a mistrial. When we asked why, Long told the story of another Marianna rape trial he was involved in a few years back, a case in which the crime lab found that the chance that the semen collected during the investigation belonged to anyone other than the defendant stood at around 2 trillion to one. That case, Long said, twice ended in a mistrial, the jury split strictly on racial lines, with the blacks for acquittal and the whites for conviction. After the second mistrial in that case with the jury again split strictly on racial lines, the victim decided not to press it any further. Unlike Curtis Vance, that defendant — innocent until proven guilty in a court of law — is walking the streets of Marianna today. It’s only one of the cases in the area, Long said, where a trial involving DNA wound up with “equally bizarre results” broken down on racial lines. “I’ve seen it in other types of cases,” Long said. “Although it gets particularly difficult to deal with in black/white crime, you can have it where it rears its ugly head in black-on-black crime. I don’t know of another way to put it other than a distrust of ‘The
Man’ leads the jurors to impose on the prosecution unbearable burdens.” Still, Long doesn’t believe that it’s some kind of conspiracy by the African-American community. “People don’t get together on the front end and say this is what we’re going to do,” he said. “They don’t even get together back in the jury room and say this is what we’re going to do. It’s an unspoken type of thing. It’s got so many different aspects to it, it’s like trying to pick up a Rubik’s Cube the first time you ever see one and work the puzzle.” Long said that the origins of that kind of thinking might lie with the media. “I think we spend so much time in the news nationwide and local to our state underlining, in the process of saying mea culpa, all the unjust things that have been done to blacks in the past, which creates a psychology of, almost, an ‘I’m going to level the score’ type thing.” While talking about race is a nervous proposition for any public official — maybe especially so for a white prosecutor who serves an area where the population is majority black — Long said that it’s something that needs to be discussed more often. “You get it out on the table and talk about it,” Long said. “This happened in this case three or four weeks ago now, but these are not new issues. We have just refused to talk about it because it’s not nice to say these things.” Marianna Police Sgt. Carl McCree, who first developed Vance as a suspect in the Edwards rape and the Pressly killing, is a man of few words, but said that he was “shocked” that Vance wasn’t convicted in the rape trial, given the evidence against him. Asked why it might have happened, McCree said that people in the Delta can be distrustful of the police. “Not everybody is going to like the police. If I arrest somebody’s family member committing a crime, everybody has a problem with that. You have very few people who’ll say, ‘Okay, I know he did it, whatever, hey man I’m upset.’ They don’t call us until they need us, basically.” McCree testified in the rape trial, and said the evidence was there for a conviction, but can’t say why black jurors apparently didn’t believe the DNA. Sitting in his cruiser in the street in front of Kristen Edwards’ old house on East Mississippi Street, he said that back in 2008 he made sure to tell the LRPD that they should try the Pressly case before the Marianna rape. “I’m glad we got it done, and that he’ll never get back on the street,” McCree said. “But I’m glad they tried him over there [in Little Rock] first. I am glad. I told the guys in Little Rock: Be sure you do your case first. When they decided to do it first, I thought, that’d be the best thing.”
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ohnny Malone Jr. was one of the white jurors in the Kristen Edwards rape trial. Though Arkansas Times attempted several times to reach black jurors in the case for comment, leaving over a dozen messages via phone and Facebook, we received no response. Malone said that while the deliberations were calm and courteous, it was clear within 15 minutes that they’d never be able to reach a verdict. The jury was divided black/white from virtually the moment the trial ended, he said, but the deliberations were rarely about issues of black and white. The only time race was discussed, Malone said, was when an older white male alternate brought it up, pointing out the fact that the jury had split on racial lines. “Automatically, the black jurors came up and said, this is not about race,” Malone said. “We hadn’t discussed it up until that point. Even the white jurors in there told him: It’s not really. We haven’t been running on racial lines. We’ve www.arktimes.com • MARCH 23, 2011 11
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out. They’re not all racial emotions, but they come out because of the situation that you’re in now. You’re deciding the fate of someone’s life.”
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BRIAN CHILSON
been looking at the evidence that they presented us, and the black jurors have an issue with a lot of the evidence that was presented — whether they didn’t understand it or didn’t want to understand it.” The larger issue on the table, Malone said, was the DNA evidence. The white jurors all accepted it as evidence of Vance’s guilt, while the black jurors seized on the fact that Edwards had never seen her attacker’s face. Malone said that he and another juror tried to convince the black members of the jury about the validity of DNA, but they wouldn’t budge. “For a lot of us, it was cut and dried. What a lot of the jurors had trouble with is that she couldn’t I.D. him physically — she didn’t see him, she couldn’t pin him being there. What all of us on the other spectrum of it were trying to explain to them was: once DNA is involved in this, that’s the same as seeing that individual.” As the deliberations dragged on, Malone said, several pro-acquittal members of the jury began inventing reasons why the evidence might have been tainted during collection or processing, or why Vance’s semen might have been found on Edwards’ body — none of which, he contends, was supported by evidence or testimony during the trial. “You had a lot of people in there saying things like, [Vance and Edwards] were seeing one another,” Malone said. “Some of that came up: ‘We don’t know if they were intimate with one another to begin with.’ That came up in the jury. That was conjecture by the jury, the possibility that it could have been consensual. No evidence about that came up in the trial. No witnesses, no testimony to that.” Though Malone said in a phone interview a few weeks after the trial that he believed the jurors who pushed for acquittal had come into the case impartial and willing to convict Vance, by the time we spoke to him face to face in Forrest City just after the beginning of March, he didn’t seem so sure. “You’ve got to look at the evidence and go from there,” he said. “That didn’t happen. You had people coming up with their own conclusions without any evidence at all.” Standing in the warehouse attached to the electric supply company where he works, Malone frowned and said the low point in the deliberations was when a black juror brought up the fact that Curtis Vance was in prison for life without parole, and they couldn’t understand why the prosecution was wasting time trying to convict him again. Malone said it made him sad to have to point out that Kristen Edwards deserved justice. “The sad part about it for me was, it had to be put out there,” Malone said. “It was kind of like she was a secondary issue here. ... What was sad was that I had to bring it to the forefront: This lady has just as much rights as anybody else has.” hough he doesn’t know for sure, Dion Wilson isn’t convinced that the mistrial in the Vance case was about race. A prominent black attorney with offices in Helena and Forrest City, Wilson has practiced in the area for 17 years. He said that the mistrial could have been because jurors in Eastern Arkansas are more skeptical of DNA evidence, and tend to be more skeptical when it comes to the police. Wilson said that in small towns, individual police officers can gain a bad reputation among the black community quickly, for everything from writing traffic tickets to arresting a person’s family members. That can come back to haunt prosecutors when those officers take the stand to testify. “When [blacks] have an encounter with a police officer,
JUROR: Johnny Malone of Forrest City.
it’s not always positive,” Wilson said. “You can pick out anything about the police officer — the way he wrote the ticket or the way he talked to you, or he didn’t give you a warning. A lot of times, in the small communities, you have police officers that everybody knows. Then, if that police officer has done something wrong to somebody in the community, that’ll spread ... that negativity gets magnified 10 times, as opposed to a bigger community where you might never see the same police officer twice.” Asked if the lower average levels of education in the area might make it harder for juries in the Delta to understand DNA, Wilson said an attorney has to prepare based on what the knowledge level of the potential jury pool might be. “You might not have a jury in Eastern Arkansas with seven people on it who have college degrees. But by the same token, you might have people on there who have graduated from high school, who work at jobs at the hospital, or do important things at the prison or who are farmers,” he said. “There are different levels of sophistication outside of having a college degree, so you have to tailor your case based upon what your jury pool might be.” He added that jurors are often skeptical of DNA because of how it’s presented in court. “When you use terms and words that the juror there didn’t understand or didn’t relate to, they may not have received it,” he said. “People will look to [race] as a scapegoat, but when you review the whole trial, you need to look at: Could I have been more persuasive in this area? Could I have been more persuasive in that area?” While Wilson said he believes most jurors in Eastern Arkansas really do intend to listen to the evidence impartially, the experience of being a juror is a jarring experience, which can bring up lot of emotion. That can all come to the forefront when it’s time to deliberate. “You go from drinking coffee in the morning and by 6 o’clock that evening, you’re deciding whether someone should go to prison for the rest of their life,” Wilson said. “That’s a big jump, so all sorts of emotions tend to come
hen we e-mailed her questions about her feelings on the mistrial in her case, the one question Kristen Edwards didn’t answer — though she answered almost all the others fully, intelligently, and with the good grammar befitting a long-time school teacher — was whether she was angry about it. At this point, it’s hard to argue with the idea that she’s got as much right to be angry as just about anybody on earth. The recipient of the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship from NASA, Edwards currently works at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., about as far east from Marianna, Ark., as you can get without falling in the Atlantic Ocean. Edwards said she “absolutely” believes the mistrial in her case was about color. “The jury was presented with incontrovertible DNA evidence — which was collected, transported, processed and verified flawlessly — that proved beyond all scientific certainty that Curtis Lavelle Vance is the man who attacked me,” she wrote. “Seven of those jurors either did not understand the evidence that was presented to them, or chose to ignore it and violate the oath they took to uphold justice.” Edwards said that she was not surprised by the outcome, and confirmed that Fletcher Long told her before the trial even started that a mistrial was probably the best they could hope for. Even knowing that, she said, she was adamant about having her case brought to trial. What upsets her most about the mistrial, she said, is that no one has been willing to have an intelligent discussion about what really went on in the courtroom and the jury room. “(T)here has been a lot of speculation and mud-slinging, but no one willing to really take a hard look at why verdicts like this continue to happen in the United States,” she wrote. “It frightens me to know that juries can completely disregard everything they have heard in the courtroom and hand down verdicts based on their personal beliefs and biases, and that victims can be denied justice simply because they have the misfortune of being attacked in a part of the county where people will consider the color of a victim’s (or perpetrator’s) skin rather than seeing one human being committing a heinous act of violence against another human being.” Edwards wrote that she hopes anyone who questions why her case ended the way it did will try to take “positive, proactive steps” to change things. “Don’t hide behind a screen name online and talk trash about Marianna, or engage in derogatory racial talk — nothing good will ever come of that. Engaging in honest, open discussion about the issues at play, and being willing to come to the table to talk about how to fix the obviously broken ‘justice’ system in the Delta — maybe one day verdicts like the one in my case won’t happen anymore.” Asked what she’d say to the members of the jury in the case, Edwards said that if the five jurors who voted for conviction did so based on the evidence presented in the courtroom, she thanks them for their honesty and for faithfully discharging their oath. To the seven who voted to acquit, she has harsher words. “I pray,” Edwards wrote, “that the seven jurors who voted for acquittal are never treated as unjustly as they have treated me; that they never have a violent crime perpetrated upon them and have a jury violate the oath they took. I also firmly believe that God will one day judge them in a manner consistent with their actions, and His justice is far more permanent than anything that can be handed down by man.”
BRIAN CHILSON
JAMES: “We protect his rights. We protect everybody’s.”
For the defense Vance’s attorney speaks.
M
y first thought on meeting Little Rock attorney Bill James was that he looked like an Arkansas lawyer, whatever that means. Beefy, well-dressed, with a desk as big as an aircraft carrier and offices in a Victorian mansion down on Broadway, James was Curtis Vance’s attorney in the Marianna rape case since the time Vance was arrested in Nov. 2008. James’ strategy in the Vance rape trial might look, at first glance, like no strategy at all: He passed most witnesses without cross-examination, asking — by his own count — only around 30 questions total during the whole trial. He honored Curtis Vance’s request to take the stand in his own defense, even though anybody who has ever watched anything vaguely legal on TV, from the O.J. trial to “Matlock,” knows that putting a defendant on the stand in a felony case is something just short of assisted suicide. Though James remained largely silent during cross-examination, it was during his opening and closing statements that he hammered home the idea that the prosecution hadn’t adequately explained the numbers or the science behind the DNA evidence they’d presented, and that there were others who might have committed the crime. James’ strategy didn’t sit well with juror Johnny Malone. Malone, for one, said he believes the defense knew there was a chance of a mistrial, and attacked the validity of DNA evidence in opening and closing statements while passing witnesses without questioning in order to confuse the jury. “Basically, what they threw at the jury was that everything was circumstantial, and evidently it stuck,” Malone said. “That weighed a lot with the jurors that were set on cutting him loose. They didn’t get to hear any rebuttal whatsoever from the defense, and then they had to make the decision themselves.” James makes no apologies for his defense of Curtis Vance, or any client — even the ones that might be guilty.
“You may not care about Curtis Vance,” James said. “You may not give a crap about him one way or the other. But the bottom line is: [if] we protect his rights, we protect everybody’s. Everyone has the right to be presumed innocent, and we’re not just going to just find people guilty because we think they’re guilty.” James said that it was not his original intention to handle the DNA evidence in the Vance case the way he did. As late as the morning the trial began, he said, he still planned on delivering a long presentation that would have explained to the jury how the science of DNA came about, how analysts arrive at the numbers, and arguments against its validity (which, he said, “some people would say was intended to create more of a smoke screen than clarification”). When he saw that prosecutors weren’t doing what he considered a very good job of explaining the DNA evidence, however, his strategy changed. “We thought: well, maybe we’ll go the other way. Maybe we’ll just say it’s their burden. I’m not going to fill in the holes for them. I think that if the DNA was the issue, our initial defense strategy would have maybe helped convict him.” James said the decision to not ask any questions at all of the DNArelated witnesses was a “daring” move, “but sometimes when you’re not going to be able to help yourself with a witness, sometimes just saying, ‘Hey I’ve got nothing’ as a show of strength kind of sends a message to the jury that [a prosecution witness] didn’t say anything.” James’ contention is that the prosecution made a miscalculation when they decided to focus largely on the DNA evidence while ignoring problems in their case, especially those created by questions of whether Curtis Vance was the only person who might have committed the crime. “I think they thought, going in, we’ve got the numbers,” James said. “We don’t want to create this circus. We don’t want to have to bring all this other stuff in, so we’re just going to convict him on just this [the DNA] ... In the opening and closing statements, I said: It’s a valid science, but what have they proven to you?” Asked if race played a factor in the mistrial, James said he doesn’t know, but points out the prosecution had juror strikes left over when jury selection was done. Too, James said, both the prosecutor and deputy prosecutor in the case are from the area, and “certainly should know who is honest and who is not.” If they had concerns about the honesty of a juror or their integrity toward the system, he said, they could have told the judge that. James said that there were holes in the prosecution’s case against Curtis Vance, and he exploited those holes. If the jury didn’t understand the DNA evidence, or there was a concern they might not accept it as valid, he said, the prosecutors should have taken more time to explain it to them. “There weren’t a lot of college-educated people on that jury,” he said. “But they’re still jurors, they’re still citizens, and you still have an obligation to prove to them what’s going on. If that means you have to spend a day baby-feeding it to them to make sure they understand what’s going on, then that’s your obligation.”
HENDRIX
Continued from page 8 life on campus. Once it starts going over into that area, it starts becoming necessary for there to be some sort of alternative option.” Logan Leatherman, who will be a senior at Hendrix in the fall, agrees. An officer in Hendrix’s gayand-lesbian student group, known as UNITY, Leatherman has also applied for gender-neutral housing, and hopes to be paired with a straight female friend who has also applied. Leatherman said that LGBT students are often forced into uncomfortable situations when paired with straight roommates of the same sex. “It’s more of the fear of they don’t know how their roommate will react to the news that they might be homosexual or bisexual or whatever, and then that’ll make their roommate uncomfortable,” he said. “[Many students] try to avoid that entire situation by just not saying anything. That’s a little bit of unspoken social oppression.” Leatherman said he thinks the gender-neutral option will give some students “a more positive college experience.” Dean Jim Wiltgen hopes that will be the outcome as well, and that the program will say plenty about the school’s dedication to inclusiveness. “We’re making a statement of sorts — that we do care about this issue,” Wiltgen said. “We have a conservative alumni in some ways, and there are some folks who might not agree with this, but it’s not a push toward co-ed housing. It’s really a limited program. It’s really to say and seek out, as Hendrix has always done: How can we meet the individual and help meet the individual’s needs?”
“my voice is my instrument. i can’t let it be damaged by smoke. CODY BELEW, Singer “
LET’S CLEAR THE AIR
Everyone deserves a smoke-free workplace. Comprehensive smoke-free policies do not hurt business. To learn more, visit ClearTheAirArkansas.com www.arktimes.com • MARCH 23, 2011 13
EYE ON ARKANSAS
Editorial n Like Goldilocks in the bears’ house, but not as cute, Secretary of State Mark Martin helped himself to whatever he wanted at the state Board of Apportionment, unconcerned that the property belonged to someone else. Ethics has never been Martin’s best subject. As a legislator, he was an incorrigible fudger of expense accounts. The Board of Apportionment, consisting of the governor, the attorney general and the secretary of state, meets every 10 years to redraw the state’s legislative boundaries after the federal census. The current board was allotted $200,000 to work with. At the board’s first meeting last week, the governor and the attorney general were dismayed to learn that Martin had already spent $70,000 of the board’s money, without authorization or consultation. He used the funds to buy a car and to hire a former Republican legislator as the board’s director of redistricting. Martin is the only Republican member of the board. Governor Beebe and General McDaniel were remarkably gracious on discovering Martin’s rash behavior. Beebe, apparently not well acquainted with Martin, suggested that the new secretary of state might not have known he was doing anything wrong. Even so, Beebe and McDaniel laid plans to hire a different person as the board’s redistricting director. The Republican former legislator will apparently go on the secretary of state’s own payroll. Payment for the new car, too, will become the secretary of state’s responsibility. Experts predict this will be the first of many irregularities during Martin’s tenure as secretary of state. People are already starting to refer to his predecessor, Charlie Daniels, as “Charles the Good.” By comparison, it’s justified.
C of C on class warpath n Urging still more economic stimulus for the very wealthy, a Chamber of Commerce spokesman told a legislative committee last week that opponents of the Chamber’s legislation were guilty of “class warfare.” He warned of this aggression from the less-privileged even as several state legislatures around the country were trying to stamp out labor unions, and the Arkansas House of Representatives was passing a bill to discourage voting by low-income citizens. Whenever working people practice self-defense, the Chamber of Commerce calls it “class warfare.” Randy Zook, president of the Arkansas State Chamber, spoke on behalf of a bill (HB 1002) to exempt capital gains from taxation, a move that would help only those Arkansans who need no help. HB 1797, a project of the Republican National Committee, would impose additional ID requirements, some costly, on voters. Its Republican sponsor, Rep. Bryan King of Berryville, said it shouldn’t be easier to vote than to buy pseudoephredine. His is a poor understanding of democracy.
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14 MARCH 23, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES
PAUL BARROWS
Pillager of state
SPRING HAS SPRUNG: Trees bloom in front of the state Capitol in Little Rock. Paul Barrows submitted this photo to our Eye On Arkansas Flickr webpage.
Little Rock’s sad state n Mayor Mark Stodola delivered his state of the city address last week and the message wasn’t uplifting. We haven’t had a street surfacing program for four years. The police headquarters is a health hazard. A new west Little Rock fire station can’t be staffed. No cop cars have been replaced in three years. Prisons and jails can’t take all our criminals. The parks are blighted by lack of maintenance. Dozens of city service jobs stand empty. So, the city will be pushing for an increase in the sales tax, at a half-cent since adoption in 1994. Most Arkansas cities charge more. But most Arkansas cities don’t disappoint their citizens so often. It was more than a little ironic to hear the mayor talk of deteriorating inner city neighborhoods and the struggling public schools. City leaders have, for decades, encouraged policies that encouraged inner city blight and abandonment of public schools. The city allowed Chenal Valley to develop outside the Little Rock School District, turbocharging white flight. The city has encouraged interstate highway corridors that divide rich and poor neighborhoods and send city workers speeding home to distant suburbs. Even in the cratered downtown, the city has harmed itself. We let the state build office buildings with parking decks and unfriendly street level frontage. Suburban commuters need not set foot on Little Rock soil while working here. Stodola is late to the vision thing, too. Just this week, I learned of another cultural institution lured to North Little Rock’s Argenta neighborhood by bighearted philanthropists and a can-do city government. In Little Rock, we create task forces; we draw up initiatives. We just don’t do much. The downtown, a significant chunk controlled by one of the state’s wealthiest citizens, withers. The River Market neighborhood is an exception thanks to brave private developers, a former president and a dynamic library chief. I had to laugh at the mayor’s call for “walkable” neighborhoods. The city has forever not required de-
Max Brantley max@arktimes.com
velopers to build sidewalks. I could only shake my head at the litany of beggared city services, particularly the lack of sufficient parks and fire services in western Little Rock. How many times have city officials — staff and elected — told us that westward annexations pay for themselves? That impact fees would only torpedo prosperity? Stodola’s right to tie city development and healthier people. Europeans live longer, in part thanks to socialized medicine. But compact, concentrated cities help, too. People walk more, even to reach the better mass transit. They shop in small amounts more often and there are more neighborhood markets with fresh vegetables to serve them. They aren’t spending hours carbound driving to and from Cabot. City planning that encouraged suburban development has now borne bitter fruit. The suburbs have their own shopping centers. Between them and the Internet, the Little Rock sales tax base has been shot to hell. Amid all this, the city wastes money. There’s the $200,000 taxpayer dole to a Chamber of Commerce that works against the interest of workers and the public schools. Then there’s the recent misspending and extravagant ways, with no consequences, the Times uncovered at Little Rock National Airport. These things happen because our government is unrepresentative. At-large board seats — and thus the moneyed interests — control government. The same special interests dominate appointments to the most important commissions. A poor economy is the least of the mayor’s worries in winning voter support for a tax increase. The biggest is city government itself.
PAUL BARROWS
Partisan blindness n One problem with blind partisanship is that it can lead you to betray your own principles and the well-being of the people you represent. So it is with the invigorated Republican minority in the Arkansas legislature and the national health-insurance reform law. The Republicans are intent on stymieing anything that is associated with the new federal law, which they always call “Obamacare,” no matter if it is something they might otherwise support. The part of the law they commonly attack is the part borrowed from old Republican health plans, requiring sizable employers and individuals who are uninsured to either buy health insurance or pay a tax to support health services for the uninsured. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will create exchanges supervised by the federal Department of Health and Human Services, where employers and individuals starting in 2014 can shop for a private health plan that suits them and is affordable. As a sop to conservatives, Congress gave states the option of skipping the national exchange and setting up the exchanges themselves and regulating the companies and agents, as the states do already for existing health insurance and oth-
Ernest Dumas er forms of insurance. If a state chooses not to establish its own market for individual and small-group insurance, then people in that state will purchase a plan through the national market. The premium rates and conditions and the servicing of complaints then would be handled in Washington as well. It makes sense for a state like Arkansas to run the market instead of letting Washington do it. As a relatively low-cost state for medical care, Arkansas ought to get cheaper premiums and better conditions for employers and individuals than the national exchange likely will offer. New York might want to let the feds do it. So Gov. Beebe, no fan of the federal law (he worries that it will impose higher Medicaid costs on the state government in about 2019), wants the state to do the job, if the law stands up in the courts, as it almost certainly will. A bill would give the state Insurance Department the authority to avoid the national exchange and create the private insurance market for Arkansas em-
Democrats gesture toward Fayetteville n Considering that it now appears we might end up living with this wild concoction for the next 10 years, let us begin with a definition of terms. Pig Trail: The popular nickname of a meandering roadway, at once illogical and oddly convenient, that one can take northward from Interstate 40 toward Fayetteville. Gerrymander: An imaginative or abnormal drawing of a political district solely for the purpose of enhancing one party’s electoral prospects. Thus the Pig Trail Gerrymander, meaning the proposed extension of the 4th Congressional District from southern Arkansas northward along a conspicuous and narrow path to pick up the city of Fayetteville. It is plainly for the purpose of shoring up Democratic votes for the 4th District in exchange for taking from that district a few Southeast Arkansas Delta counties and giving those to the 1st District to shore up Democratic votes there. All of that is to try to produce a 2-2 split in Democratic and Republican con-
John Brummett jbrummett@arkansasnews.com
gressmen instead of the 3-to-1 Republican advantage the voters produced in a rightwing snit and in the existing districts last year. Some leading Democrats, peeved at my Pig Trail moniker, contend that this redrawing is not any more illogical, or even as illogical, as putting Harrison of the northwest mountains into the 1st District with Helena-West Helena, snug against the river on the southeast. But the Harrison/Helena configuration would be a logical progression of our redistricting pattern of recent decades, one that already puts Helena with Mountain Home in the 1st District. It is what you would do if you wanted to disturb the status quo as little as possible. But adding Harrison to the 1st District lessens the Democratic chance of taking
ployers and individuals, set the terms and regulate the insurance companies that offer the plans and the agents who sell them. You would think the Republicans would be clamoring to sign up. “We, not Washington, will run our business in Arkansas, thank you.” But they have blocked the bill in the House Insurance and Commerce Committee, with the help of weak-kneed Democrats who worry that they might be seen as siding on something with the black president with the Asian-sounding name. I don’t know, but I would guess that President Obama would be more than happy for Arkansas to let Washington manage the new health insurance market for Arkansans. The Republicans seem to think that if the legislature does not enact the insurance-exchange bill then the federal law would never be implemented in Arkansas even if the U. S. Supreme Court declares every bit of the law constitutional. That bit of ignorance is not surprising. The Republican critics have never evinced any grasp of the law, relying instead on the talking points that were drafted before the legislation was written. Sen. Gilbert Baker, the Republican leader, said last week: “We are not going to be implementing the federal health-care law. There is no strength in the Arkansas Legislature to enact Obamacare.” He said it was debatable whether the law could be
implemented in Arkansas if the legislature doesn’t adopt the legislation. Utter nonsense. The exchange bill merely exercises Arkansas’s option to run the insurance market itself rather than the federal government, if and when the law is ruled constitutional. Its defeat will accomplish only one thing: Arkansas businesses and individuals will be buying health insurance through the federal exchange supervised by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rather than from the locally devised and regulated market. Those who favored a centrally controlled health insurance system and wanted a public option (they are a good part of the polling majority opposing “Obamacare”) may side with the Republicans on this one. States generally have a poor record of regulating the insurance industry although Arkansas, at least in the past several years, is an exception. The Republicans and timorous Democrats will likely kill the exchange bill, thus significantly magnifying the federal government’s hand in health care delivery in Arkansas, but if you like the idea of universal health insurance this will not be a real setback. Yes, insurance may prove a trifle costlier for employers and individuals and more onerous for the industry and consumers than if the state were running the show, but this is tea-party government. We have to get used to it.
out Rick Crawford. On the other hand, that chance is improved by adding southern Delta counties to the 1st by taking them from the 4th and, in turn, rotating the 4th clockwise up this conspicuous swath to Fayetteville. This little extension looks like a single stubby finger extended from a fat hand, as if to produce a gesture. The question is who is getting this gesture. The Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce is, for sure. Democrats have abandoned the more logical notion of extending the 4th to Fort Smith, which is far less Democratic than Fayetteville. That is because, they say, Fort Smith civic leaders are dead set against it. So why oblige Fort Smith’s civic leadership and stick it to Fayetteville’s? Well, there is some thought that Fort Smith’s legislative delegation would never give you even a single vote for its redistricting, but that Fayetteville’s just might. There is a Democratic constituency in Fayetteville that may not object as much as does the chamber of commerce, and it is that the University of Arkansas might not mind so much having two congressmen, in a way. The Pig Trail Gerrymander has now advanced to the point at which its passage, so outlandish a thought a few days ago, actually can be envisioned. One thing that has happened is that African-American legislators seem to be accepting that any
concentration of their votes in a district serves Republican interests everywhere else. These plans must go to the respective State Agencies Committees. The one in the House contains 12 Democrats and eight Republicans and the chairman is a Delta farmer and Democrat who favors the Pig Trail Gerrymander. It is therefore likely to get voted out of that committee and is a threat to get 51 votes on the House floor. It would then go to the Senate State Agencies Committee, with four Democrats and four Republicans, and get hung up. But Senate rules permit that a bill may be pulled out of committee by a simple majority vote of 18 senators. Despite the Republican gains, Democrats still hold a 20-15 advantage. A caveat: If the Senate dares to pull one bill out of committee, then someone might want to excise another, and then another, and so forth. If Democrats intend to pass this thing, I’m thinking April 1 might be a good day for it. John Brummett is a columnist and reporter for Stephens Media’s Arkansas News Bureau. You can read additional Brummett columns in The Times of North Little Rock. www.arktimes.com • MARCH 23, 2011 15
arts entertainment
This week in
and
Kevin Kerby + Battery play AETN
‘The Aluminum Show’ at Robinson
PAGE 18
PAGE 19
TO-DO LIST 18
CALENDAR 20
‘METROPOLIS’: Rediscovered.
Still reeling Tenth annual Ozark Foothills FilmFest offers impressive slate. BY LINDSEY MILLAR
Y
ou could make a case that the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival is one of the country’s top doc events. Similarly, the Little Rock Film Festival is not just among the region’s best, but among the country’s fastest growing. It may attract far fewer attendees and far less attention, but the Ozark Foothills FilmFest, which kicks off on Wednesday in Batesville, is just as deserving of national distinction: It may very well be the best small festival in the country. At least this much is clear, according to founder Bob Pest: The FilmFest is the smallest festival in the country that receives funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
16 MARCH 23, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES
Sciences, which last year gave the festival $10,000 and $2,500, respectively. This year’s event marks its 10th anniversary, an achievement that’s hardly lost on Pest. “Think about all the people in Arkansas who would’ve never thought we’d make it 10 years,” he said to a reporter recently. “It’s a good feeling.” “Yeah, yeah, yeah, hooray for a persevering little festival in a little town,” the moviegoer in Little Rock might say. “But why would I want to drive nearly 100 miles to attend?” For several reasons, but chiefly because Pest is screening an original cut of Fritz Lang’s silent masterpiece “Metropolis” on Friday night. The dystopian film bombed
MOVIES 26
DINING 28
with audiences upon its initial release in 1927, so the studio recut it, shaving off about 30 minutes of footage. Film historians believed the original cut was lost, but a copy turned up in an Argentine museum in 2008 and that version has been screening at major festivals and theaters throughout the world since 2010. Better yet, Pest has secured the Alloy Orchestra to perform its new film score for “Metropolis” live onstage in Batesville. The three-man ensemble, which also appeared at the third and fourth festivals, scores silent films using a wide array of percussion instruments, found items and state-of-the-art keyboards and other electronic gizmos (Roger Miller, front man for post-punk heroes Mission of Burma, is responsible for keyboards and other gizmos). More highlights: On Wednesday, the festival continues its partnership with the French cultural attache in Houston with a program of contemporary narrative shorts from France. Thursday night, the promising documentary “Defining Beauty: Ms. Wheelchair America” follows five women as they compete in the 2010 Ms. Wheelchair America competition (Jacqueline Bettis, Ms. Wheelchair Arkansas 2009, will be in attendance). Friday, screenwriter Gordy Hoffman (“Love Liza”) hosts a screenwriting competition that Pest said sold out almost immediately. Saturday’s packed slate features an Arkansas narrative shorts program, an Arkansas documentary program that includes a short film about the time The Beatles flew into Walnut Ridge, an international animation showcase and two full-lengths — the documentary “God’s Architects,” about “self-taught and visionary builders” in the South, and the narrative feature “In/Significant Others,” which Pest compares to “Crash” for its webbed plot. Sunday, the potential highlights include “Westbound,” a documentary about 96-year-old “hobo artist” Adolph Vandertie; and a quirky feature about a man and his dwarf hamster produced by Arkansas’s Category One, “Etienne!” The screenings take place at Independence Hall at the University of Arkansas Community College-Batesville, Lyon College’s Derby Building and other venues. Most programs are followed by Q&A sessions with filmmakers. Some programs are free, but most are $5 ($4 for students and those 54 and older or $3 for Foothills Film Society Members). The “Metropolis” screening is $12 ($10 for students and those over 55 and $8 for society members). A “Red Eye” movie pass that includes admission to everything but “Metropolis” is also available for $25 ($20 to students and those over 54 and $15 for film society members). For more information, visit ozarkfoothillsfilmfest.org.
Swim 2011 Breckenridge Village • 501-227-5537
www.arktimes.com • March 23, 2011 17
■ to-dolist
berg’s know-it-all scowl and Jeff Tweedy’s ear for pop poeticism. Hopefully his debut on AETN’s signature local music program will spread the message to the majority of folks who don’t frequent music nights in Little Rock’s finer beer bars. Thursday night sees Kerby & Co. debut a couple of new numbers, one accompanied by Kevin’s young son. Tickets are free: RSVP at aetn.org.
BY JOHN TARPLEY
WEDNESDAY 3/23
G. LOVE & SPECIAL SAUCE
8:30 p.m., Revolution. $20 adv., $25 d.o.s.
n This year’s classes of incoming college freshmen were in utero when G. Love and Special Sauce’s signature songs, “Cold Beverage” and “Baby’s Got Sauce” were released and, no doubt, made popular by college kids of the mid-’90s. The mean music writer in me wants to scoff off the hippy-dippy, folk-hop act that’s mutated into a Beck knockoff with a freakish will to survive as an irrelevant holdover from the golden age of frat rock. But then I remember that this writer was the first to remind guys in his old frat house that their “baby ain’t sweet like mine.” Also, the fact that G. Love and Special Sauce has released 10 albums since, including the latest, “Fixin’ to Die,” produced and co-performed by The Avett Brothers. It’s the “Philadelphonic” mad blues scientist’s newest shot at reviving his well-worn sound into a more rustic groove, complete with swampy Pentecostal percussion and a Booker “Bukka” White cover serving as the title track. (The album’s attempts to redress Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” and Velvet Underground’s “Pale Blue Eyes” don’t fare as well: You’ll remember them for being audacious, not good.) So: irrelevant? Not as much as ambitious. And tenacious. And consistently popular. As always, expect him to pack a house with ease.
S AT U R D AY 3 /2 6
ARENACROSS
7 p.m., Verizon Arena. $19-$24
SOM-MORE COMEDY: Comedienne Sommore headlines a triple bill of comedy this Wednesday night.
7:30 p.m., Robinson Center Music Hall. $35-$65
18 MARCH 23, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES
DAYS OF THE NEW
10 p.m., Juanita’s. $15 adv., $20 d.o.s.
SOMMORE
n Is Robinson Center Music Hall becoming the state’s classiest comedy club? In addition to the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, the regular theater tours and the occasional (usually stellar, always welcomed, hint hint) music act, we’ve seen Kevin Hart, Rodney Carrington and Mr. Brown & Cora of Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns” dot the hall’s schedule. The laughs must be plentiful, because this week brings yet another stand-up, Sommore. (That’s “Sommore” as in “please, we want Sommore live music at Robinson this year.”) The comedienne and “Queens of Comedy” tour alum has been a regular guest on Def Comedy Jam, Showtime at the Apollo and BET’s Comicview, featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show and has lost 30 pounds in front of the country during Celebrity Fit Club. On stage, she subscribes to the “I’m gonna say what you’re thinking about dating, family, men and money except with more head
n Remember Excitebike? If you’re between 20 and 35, there’s a fine chance you probably neglected a good chunk of healthy, outdoor time as a kid by plugging into the old NES and wrecking 8-bit shop with those pixelated motocrossers. But while we were inside mashing buttons, Arenacross racers were probably outside, doing the real thing. Now, the AMA Arenacross Series lands in Verizon. It’s bringing along 150 truckloads of dirt to carve out a technical, ramp-filled track ready for 32 dirt bikers to do their thing. So yeah, it’s Excitebike. And Excitebike is awesome. The track opens again the next day, at 10 a.m., for an “amateur day.”
RECHARGEABLE: Kevin Kerby + Battery record an episode of “On the Front Row” at AETN Studios in Conway. bobs and cussin’ ” school of comedy. Funniest thing I’ve heard her say while writing this: “Gas is so high it makes you wanna bang a bus driver.” I laughed. Also along for the ride: D.C. Curry of the “Friday” sequels and one of “P. Diddy’s Bad Boys of Comedy,” Damon Williams.
THURSDAY 3/24
‘ON THE FRONT ROW’ WITH KEVIN KERBY + BATTERY 6:15 p.m., AETN Studios. Free with RSVP.
n The next time you log onto Facebook,
do a search for “Make Kevin Kerby the Poet Laureate of Pulaski County,” go to the page and “like” it. We may be a small group, about 50 strong, but we know that few other working scribes — certainly no songwriters — have written about the capital county with as much incisive wit and precise color as the wise (assed, usually) bard/barista/baseball fanatic. The fact that a native Texan is being drafted for a position that’s been vacated since 1945 could and will draw a round of “boo hisses,” but we’d challenge them to take “Beautiful & Bright” for a spin. His latest album, and his first with Battery, his top-notch backing cast, finds its muscle in a series of loosely-wound audio snapshots of Little Rock, wedged somewhere between Paul Wester-
n After grunge burned out and faded away in the late ’90s, making room for headier rock music, alternative techno and uncomfortably confessional singer/ songwriter styles, Days of the New forged on. The band emerged from Charleston, Ind., sporting acoustic guitars instead of the standard low-slung solid body and one of the most interesting voices of the genre, courtesy of Travis Meeks. (By “interesting,” I mean “it sounds like a really sincere jaw harp crammed in a tailpipe.”) Now, in 2011, Days of the New has grown into a solo endeavor for Meeks, who has spent the last 15 years hiring and firing a parade of backing musicians like prog-grunge’s volatile, megalomaniacal response to Mark E. Smith. In fact, his last 15 years have been, well, a lot more interesting than the music would suggest to unfamiliar ears: struggles with mild autism and a buffet of other mental imbalances; a nasty booze and meth addiction that left him with a weight in the double digits; six years cooped up in a studio as an active transvestite; a feature spot in an episode of “Intervention” and, eventually, sobriety. His upcoming album, “Days of the New Presents Tree Colors,” is his first in 10 years and, surely, a bare account of years of mayhem. Days of the New plays alongside Magnolia-based post-hardcore act A Faith Forgotten and local metal act At War’s End.
SOUTH CENTRAL BIKE POLO CHAMPIONSHIPS
■ inbrief
n In a town jam-packed with niche sport organizations (kickball, Gaelic football, bocce ball, roller derby and so on), the Little Rock Bike Polo league rolls hard, giving Arkansas a stake in what’s become something of a nationwide phenomenon in the last few years. This year, the team hosts the South Central Bike Polo Championship, an official, regional qualifier for the 2011 North American Hardcourt Bike Polo Championships in Calgary, Alberta. It’s expected to bring in 36 teams from as far as Wyoming and Mexico for two days of hardcourt action. For more information, visit leagueofbikepolo. com. And check out their awesome wizard artwork.
n Anthemic rockers Brenn bring synthesized grandiosity to Vino’s alongside Magnolia pop punk act belair, indie rockers Ellison’s Cage, and guitar thrashers The Alexei, 9 p.m., $5 adv., $7 d.o.s. Chris Henry sings and strums at Grumpy’s, 8 p.m., free. Thunder Thieves, the uber-buzzy newcomers who took the Next Big Thing award at the Musicians Showcase, make their White Water Tavern debut alongside Boston, Mass., bedroom pop act Aloud and Frown Pow’r, 10 p.m., $5. Trailer park garage rock trio Honky returns to Downtown Music Hall alongside West Virginia stoner metallist Karma to Burn and local dude-roots rockers The Reparations, 8 p.m., $8. At The Afterthought, local indie-folk singer/ songwriter Justin Bank takes the stage for a solo show, 9 p.m., free.
10 a.m., MacArthur Park Courts. Free.
THURSDAY 3/24
SUNDAY 3/27
DESTROYER
8:30 p.m., Stickyz. $10 adv., $12 d.o.s.
n Tastemaker-approved indie rock doesn’t get much more cryptic, nonconformist or notable than what comes out of the Destroyer camp. Fronted by eccentric Canadian visionary Dan Bejar (best known for his work in The New Pornographers), the Destroyer moniker has been plastered on a slew of releases since “We’ll Build Them a Golden Bridge,” his bedroom-recorded, 1996 debut that invited the first of his career-spanning comparisons to Bowie, Roy Wood, Mark Bolan and other literate, rangy space-rockers. Since, he’s remained a universally acclaimed pop revisionist, responsible for some of the better, more inventive bright spots in recent musical memory, including 2006’s “Destroyer’s Rubies” album, one of the decade’s best, and this year’s hugely successful “Kaputt,” Bejar’s witty, glittery take on synthy excess from the 1980s’ sonic vacuum, with layers of echoed saxophone, synth pads, gorgeously cheesy guitar tones and production right out of Lindsey Buckingham’s “Tango in the Night” playbook. Destroyer is already an all-star name to begin with, but this show catches him at what could be, judging from the non-stop Internet attention pointed his way over the last few weeks, the height of his career so far. Without a doubt, this is the one must-see of the week. Destroyer is joined by Philadelphia’s The War on Drugs, a frustratingly un-Googleable, grandiose band whose manic, driving take on new Americana is much more interesting than anything on “The Suburbs.” Sorry, Arcade Fire.
FRIDAY 3/25
PLAYING WITH FIRE: Dan Bejar, alias Destroyer, brings his wild, visionary brand of experimental pop to Stickyz for one of the season’s most anticipated shows.
SATURDAY 3/26
TUESDAY 3/29
‘THE ALUMINUM SHOW’
7:30 p.m., Robinson Center Music Hall. $22.80$55.15.
n This is some strange stuff. Also: unbelievable and also, admittedly, a lot more compelling than I expected before diving into this write-up. The plot, I understand, is that a piece of flexible aluminum tubing (think air duct) is born, loses its parents and sets forth on a journey through other metals to find them. But the visuals, part modern dance, part acrobatics, part “ooh, shiny,” are dazzling in the same style of “Stomp” or “The Blue Man Group.” If you’ve been itching for a spectacle, look no further. The troupe stays in Robinson for a three-day stint, continuing Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
n In Hot Springs, the Valley of the Vapors festival rolls on with manic twopiece Japanther and melodic, rambunctious New Zealanders Surf City, 8 p.m., $5. Reno’s Argenta Cafe hosts a singer-songwriter night with two of the best in town: throwback folkie Michael Leonard Witham and country-western chanteuse Bonnie Montgomery, 9 p.m., $5. Blues man Big John Miller takes the 12-bar guitar to Dugan’s Pub, 9 p.m. Cool Shoes returns with a “Spring Break Edition” deejayed by Wolf-E-Wolf, Red Six, Jason D., Rysk and Cameron Holifield, 9 p.m., $7. Maxine’s brings a triple-bill of metal from Iron Tongue, The Vail and From Which We Came, 8 p.m., $5 adv. , $7 d.o.s. Phillip McMath’s Civil War drama “The Hanging of David O. Dodd” returns to The Weekend Theater for its penultimate performance, 7:30 p.m.
RECYCLABLES: ‘The Aluminum Show’ brings modern dance, acrobatics and shiny visuals to Robinson Center Music Hall.
n Stickyz brings American Aquarium, the Last Chance Records alt-country act with a Wilco-referencing name, and Mandy McBryde & the Unholy Ghost, the stellar local country act with sweet Wilco-like effects pedals, 9 p.m., $7. The “Independent Music Night” hip-hop showcase returns to Downtown Music Hall, 9 p.m., $5. Red Dirt Country takes over Revolution when Wade Bowen takes the stage, 9 p.m., $10. In the nightclub world, Discovery offers Michael Shane in the disco, VJ g-force doing his thing in the hip-hop room and modern rockers Third Degree holding down the live band slot, 10 p.m., $12. And for the night owls, Ghost Town Blues Band takes it to Midtown Billiards, 12:30 a.m., $8 non-members. www.arktimes.com • MARCH 23, 2011 19
www.arktimes.com
afterdark
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.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23 MUSIC
Acoustic Open Mic with Kat Hood. The Afterthought, 8 p.m. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.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 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com. Brother Andy and His Big Damn Mouth, Nightmare River Band. White Water Tavern, 10 p.m. 2500 W. 7th. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. G-Love & Special Sauce, The Belle Brigade. Revolution, 8:30 p.m., $20 adv., $25 d.o.s. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com. Half-Handed Cloud, (clap!) Kidz Pop, Cucurbits, The Each and Everys. ACAC, 9 p.m., $5. 608 Main St. 501-244-2974. acacarkansas. wordpress.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 Pub, 9 p.m. 9700 N Rodney Parham Road. 501-246-4340. www.hiberniairishtavern.com/index.html. Karaoke with Big John Miller. Denton’s Trotline, 8 p.m. 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501-315-1717. The Poison Control Center, Brass Bed, Paleo. Maxine’s, 8 p.m., free. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxinespub.com. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 5 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel. com/CBG. The Spring Standards, Dignan. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $6. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyfingerz.com. Valley of the Vapors: The Extraordinaires, Guitars, Mr. Free and the Satellite Freakout, The Binary Marketing Show. Low Key Arts, 8 p.m., $5. 118 Arbor St., Hot Springs.
COMEDY
Drew Thomas. The Loony Bin, 8 p.m.; March 25, 8 and 10:30 p.m.; March 26, 7, 9 and 11 p.m., $6-$9. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com. Sommore, D.C. Curry, Damon Williams. Robinson Center Music Hall, 7:30 p.m., $35-$65. Markham and Broadway. www.littlerockmeetings. com/conv-centers/robinson.
FILM
Ozark Foothills Film Festival 2010. Batesville’s film festival celebrates its 10th year with screenings, workshops, visiting filmmakers and a special screening of the recently completed and restored Fritz Lang classic, “Metropolis,” with live musical accompaniment from Alloy Orchestra. For more 20 MARCH 23, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES
Honky, Karma To Burn, The Reparations. Downtown Music Hall, 8 p.m., $8. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownshows.homestead.com. Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www. sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. Justin Bank. The Afterthought, 9 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com. Karaoke. Zack’s Place, 8 p.m. 1400 S. University Ave. 501-664-6444. www.zacks-place.com/. Mr. Lucky (headliner), Lyle Dudley (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www. cajunswharf.com. Ol’ Puddin’haid. Thirst n’ Howl, 7:30 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirstn-howl.com. “On the Front Row” with Kevin Kerby + Battery. The local band records an episode of AETN’s “On the Front Row” series. RSVP at aetn. org. AETN Atrium, 7 p.m. 350 S. Donaghey, Conway. 501-682-4131. Peter Jankovic, guitarist. Harding University, 7 p.m., $3. 900 E. Center Ave., Searcy. Pop Pistol. Maxine’s, 8 p.m., free. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxinespub.com. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 5 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel. com/CBG. Valley of the Vapors: Apollo 18, Dr. Mad Vibe, The Sound of the Mountain. Low Key Arts, 9 p.m., $5. 118 Arbor St., Hot Springs.
COMEDY
Drew Thomas. The Loony Bin, through March 24, 8 p.m.; March 25, 8 and 10:30 p.m.; March 26, 7, 9 and 11 p.m., $6-$9. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.
FILM
RUNAWAY MATINEE: The Dreamland Ballroom continues its Saturday matinee series with an afternoon of rugged melody from Runaway Planet, Little Rock’s reliably tight go-to for grade-A bluegrass. 3 p.m., $5.
information, visit ozarkfoothillsfilmfest.org. Valley of the Vapors: “The Last Waltz.” Directed by Martin Scorsese. 1978. For more information, visit valleyofthevapors.com. Garland County Library, 5 p.m., free. 1427 Malvern Ave., Hot Springs.
LECTURES
Valley of the Vapors: “What is Rock and Roll?.” Singer/songwriter Andrew Anderson delivers a multi-media lecture and open discussion on the “essence of rock and roll rebellion.” For more information, visit valleyofthevapors.com. Garland County Library, 4 p.m. 1427 Malvern Ave., Hot Springs.
CLASSES
“Children of Abraham: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.” Speakers and discussions explore the similarities, differences and interactions among the three Abrahamic religions, with a particular focus on the U.S. Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, through April 13: 6:30 p.m., free. 310 W. 17th St.
THURSDAY, MARCH 24 MUSIC
Ben & Doug. Markham Street Grill And Pub, 10 p.m. 11321 W. Markham St. 501-224-2010. www. markhamst.com. Brenn, Belair, Ellison’s Cage, The Alexei. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $5 adv., $7 d.o.s. 1300 S. Main St. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com. Chris Henry. Grumpy’s Too, 8 p.m. 1801 Green Mountain Drive. 501-225-9650. D-Mite and Tho-d Studios Showcase. Cornerstone Pub & Grill, March 24, 8:30 p.m.; March 31, 8:30 p.m. 314 Main St., NLR. 501-374-1782. cstonepub.com. “V.I.P. Thursdays” with DJ Silky Slim. Sway, 8 p.m., $3. 412 Louisiana. 501-907-2582. Frown Pow’r, Aloud, Thunder Thieves. White Water Tavern, 10 p.m. 2500 W. 7th. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com.
Ozark Foothills Film Festival 2010. See March 23. Valley of the Vapors: “Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone.” The history of the critically acclaimed ‘80s rock band. With a performance and Q&A by Angelo Moore, lead singer of Fishbone. For more information, visit valleyofthevapors.com. Malco Theater, 7 p.m. 817 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-623-6200. Valley of the Vapors: “Plaster Caster.” A portrait of “Cynthia Plaster Caster,” the groupie famous for casting penises of rock stars. For more information, visit valleyofthevapors.com. Malco Theater, 5:15 p.m. 817 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-623-6200. Valley of the Vapors: “Rock Under the Red Flag.” An American band tours China. For more information, visit valleyofthevapors.com. Malco Theater, 4:30 p.m. 817 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-623-6200.
SPORTS
Horse racing. Oaklawn, $2.50-$4.50. 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-623-4411. www.oaklawn. com.
FRIDAY, MARCH 25 MUSIC
Barrett Baber. Grumpy’s Too, 9 p.m. 1801 Green Mountain Drive. 501-225-9650. Ben Coulter & the Delta Outlaws. Fox And Hound, 10 p.m. 2800 Lakewood Village, NLR. 501-753-8300. www.foxandhound.com/locations/ north-little-rock.aspx. Big Daddy, DJ Debbi T. Town Pump, 10 p.m. 1321 Rebsamen Park Road. 501-663-9802. Big John Miller. Dugan’s Pub, 9 p.m. 403 E. 3rd St. 501-244-0542. www.duganspublr.com. Bonnie Montgomery, Michael Leonard Witham. Reno’s Argenta Cafe, 9 p.m., $5. 312 N. Main St., NLR. 501-376-2900. www.renosargentacafe.com. Charliehorse. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyfingerz.com. Chris Henry. Flying Saucer, 9 p.m. 323 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-7468. www.beerknurd.com/ stores/littlerock. Cool Shoes “Spring Break Edition” with WolfE-Wolf, Red Six, Jason D., Rysk, Cameron Holifield. Downtown Music Hall, 9 p.m., $7. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownshows.homestead.com.
UPCOMING EVENTS Concert tickets through Ticketmaster by phone at 975-7575 or online at www.ticketmaster.com unless otherwise noted. APRIL 1: Kenny Chesney. 7 p.m., $26.50$75. Verizon Arena. 975-9000, verizonarena.com APR. 3: Exene Cervenka and Kevin Seconds. 8:30 p.m. White Water Tavern, 2500 W. 7th St. 375-8400, whitewatertavern.com. APRIL 6: Cage the Elephant/Biffy Clyro. 9 p.m., $20. Revolution, 300 President Clinton Ave. 823-0090, revroom.com. APR. 7-13: Arkansas Literary Festival. Sessions, panels, workshops and visiting authors including David Sedaris, Charlaine Harris and Isabel Wilkerson. Various locations. Arkansasliteraryfestival.com. APR. 8: “Hairspray.” 7 p.m., $20-$40. Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 601 Main St. 378-0405, therep.org. APR. 26: Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band. 7:30 p.m., $67. Verizon Arena. 975-9000, verizonarena.com. APRIL 29: James Taylor. 8 p.m., $47-$71. Verizon Arena. 975-9000, verizonarena.com. MAY 10: Robert Randolph and the Family Band. 8:30 p.m., $20 adv., $25 d.o.s. Revolution, 300 President Clinton Ave. 823-0090,revroom. com. MAY 18: Foo Fighters, Motorhead. 7 p.m., $25-$49.50. Verizon Arena. 975-9000, verizonarena.com. MAY 24-26: “Beauty and the Beast.” 7:30 p.m. Robinson Center Music Hall, Markham and Broadway. 244-8800, celebrityattractions.com. MAY 27-29: Riverfest 2011. Downtown Little Rock. riverfestarkansas.com.
DJ Ja’Lee. Sway, 8 p.m., $5. 412 Louisiana. 501-907-2582. Dry County. Denton’s Trotline, 9 p.m. 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501-315-1717. Ed Burks. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, March 25-26, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-3242999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. FreeVerse. Midtown Billiards, March 26, 12:30 a.m., $8 non-members. 1316 Main St. 501-372-9990. midtownar.com. Genine Perez & Co. The Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www. afterthoughtbar.com. Hip Kitty. West End Smokehouse and Tavern, March 25-26, 10 p.m., $5. 215 N. Shackleford. 501-224-7665. www.westendsmokehouse.net. Iron Tongue, The Vail, From Which We Came. Maxine’s, 8 p.m., $5 adv., $7 d.o.s. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxinespub.com. John Sutton Band (headliner), Andy Tanas (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com. Josh Green. Markham Street Grill And Pub, 10 p.m. 11321 W. Markham St. 501-224-2010. www. markhamst.com. Katmandu. Capi’s, 8:30 p.m. 11525 Cantrell Suite 917. 501-225-9600. www.capisrestaurant.com. Lyle Dudley & the Red Mystic. Cregeen’s Irish Pub, March 25-26, 9 p.m. 301 Main St., NLR. 501-376-7468. www.cregeens.com. Phillip White, Billy Montana, Wynn Varble. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $8 adv., $12 d.o.s. 1300 S. Main St. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com. “Rep the Rock” with Rockstylez, more TBA. Vino’s, 9 p.m., $9. 923 W. Seventh St. 501-375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub.com. Spring Break Reggae Jam. Revolution, 9 p.m., $10 adv., $12 d.o.s. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 9 p.m. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/ CBG. Valley of the Vapors: Japanther, Surf City, Voyageurs. Low Key Arts, 8 p.m., $5. 118 Arbor St., Hot Springs. Valley of the Vapors: Dana Falconberry, Holly Cole and the Memphis Dawl. Artchurch Studio, 6 p.m., $5. 301 Whittington Ave., Hot Springs. 501-318-6779. www.artchurch.org.
COMEDY
Drew Thomas. The Loony Bin, March 25, 8 and 10:30 p.m.; March 26, 7, 9 and 11 p.m., $6-$9. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www. loonybincomedy.com.
DANCE
NexStar Dance Competition. For more information, visit nexstarcompetition.com. Robinson Center Music Hall, March 25-27. Markham and Broadway. www.littlerockmeetings.com/conv-centers/robinson.
EVENTS
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.
FILM
Ozark Foothills Film Festival 2010. See March 23.
SPORTS
Horse racing. Oaklawn, $2.50-$4.50. 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-623-4411. www.oaklawn. com. Toughman Contest. For more information, visit toughmancontest.com. Statehouse Convention Center, March 25-26. 7 Statehouse Plaza.
SATURDAY, MARCH 26 MUSIC
American Aquarium, Mandy McBryde & the Unholy Ghost. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $7. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyfingerz.com. The B-Flats. The Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com. Days of the New, A Faith Forgotten, At War’s End. Juanita’s, 10 p.m., $15 adv., $20 d.o.s. 1300 S. Main St. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com. DJ Ja’Lee. Sway, 8 p.m., $5. 412 Louisiana. 501-907-2582. Ed Burks. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. Ghost Town Blues Band. Midtown Billiards, March 27, 12:30 a.m., $8 non-members. 1316 Main St. 501-372-9990. midtownar.com. Hip Kitty. West End Smokehouse and Tavern, 10 p.m., $5. 215 N. Shackleford. 501-224-7665. www. westendsmokehouse.net. “Independent Music Night” Hip-Hop Showcase. Downtown Music Hall, 9 p.m., $5. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownshows.homestead.com. Josh Green. Flying Saucer, 9 p.m. 323 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-7468. www.beerknurd.com/ stores/littlerock. Jovan Arellano. Grumpy’s Too, 9 p.m. 1801 Green Mountain Drive. 501-225-9650. Julian Lage Group. Walton Arts Center, 8 and 10 p.m., $20-$30. 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-443-5600. Karaoke at Khalil’s. Khalil’s Pub, 7 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub. com. Larry Cheshire. Fox And Hound, 10 p.m. 2800 Lakewood Village, NLR. 501-753-8300. www.foxandhound.com/locations/north-little-rock.aspx. “The Light” with Bishop Kenneth Robinson & Chosen, Charisma Wright, Tracy Bell, Keys, Freedom Church Choir. The Land, 7 p.m., $15 adv., $20 d.o.s. 3700 W. 65th St. Lyle Dudley & the Red Mystic. Cregeen’s Irish Pub, 9 p.m. 301 Main St., NLR. 501-376-7468. www. cregeens.com. Michael Shane (disco); VJ g-force (hip-hop); Third Degree (band); Skye O’Hara Paige, Whitney Paige, Dominique Sanchez (theater). Discovery Nightclub, 10 p.m., $12. 1021 Jessie Road. 501-664-4784. www.latenightdisco.com. PG-13 (headliner), Brian & Nick (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com. Runaway Planet. Dreamland Ballroom, 3 p.m., $5. 800 W. 9th St. 501-255-5700. Ryan Couron. Denton’s Trotline, 9 p.m. 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501-315-1717. Shannon Boshears. Markham Street Grill And
Pub, 10 p.m. 11321 W. Markham St. 501-224-2010. www.markhamst.com. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 9 p.m. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/ CBG. This Holy House, Knox Hamilton. Vino’s, 9 p.m., $7. 923 W. Seventh St. 501-375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub.com. Tonya Leeks & Co. Dugan’s Pub, 9 p.m. 403 E. 3rd St. 501-244-0542. www.duganspublr.com. Valley of the Vapors: Nora O’Connor, Andrew Anderson. Artchurch Studio, 6 p.m., $5. 301 Whittington Ave., Hot Springs. 501-318-6779. www. artchurch.org. Valley of the Vapors: Tidal Waves. Low Key Arts, 8 p.m., $5. 118 Arbor St., Hot Springs. Wade Bowen. Revolution, 9 p.m., $10. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com. Wes Jeans. Maxine’s, 8 p.m., $5 adv., $7 d.o.s. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxinespub.com. Whale Fire. Cornerstone Pub & Grill, 9 p.m., $5. 314 Main St., NLR. 501-374-1782. cstonepub.com.
COMEDY
Drew Thomas. The Loony Bin, 7, 9 and 11 p.m., $6-$9. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-2285555. www.loonybincomedy.com.
DANCE
NexStar Dance Competition. For more information, visit nexstarcompetition.com. Robinson Center Music Hall, through March 27. Markham and Broadway. www.littlerockmeetings.com/convcenters/robinson.
EVENTS
Falun Gong meditation. Allsopp Park, 9 a.m., free. Cantrell & Cedar Hill Roads.
FILM
Ozark Foothills Film Festival 2010. See March 23.
SPORTS
Arenacross. Verizon Arena, March 26, 7 p.m.; March 27, 10 a.m., $15.00-$20.00. 1 Alltel Arena Way, NLR. 501-975-9001. verizonarena.com‚Äé. Horse racing. Oaklawn, $2.50-$4.50. 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-623-4411. www.oaklawn. com. South Central Bike Polo Championships. Little Rock hosts 36 teams from the U.S., Canada and Mexico for the first annual regional bike polo championship. For more information, visit lrbpolo. blogspot.com. MacArthur Park, March 26-27. 503 East Ninth Street. Toughman Contest. For more information, visit toughmancontest.com. Statehouse Convention Center, through. 7 Statehouse Plaza.
SUNDAY, MARCH 27 MUSIC
Airmen of Note. Big band jazz ensemble. For free tickets, call 870-245-5563 or visit wheata@obu. edu. Jones Performing Arts Center, Ouachita Baptist University, 8 p.m. 410 Ouachita St., Arkadelphia. Destroyer, The War on Drugs. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 8:30 p.m., $10 adv., $12 d.o.s. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyfingerz.com. Karaoke. Shorty Small’s, 6-9 p.m. 1475 Hogan Lane, Conway. 501-764-0604. www.shortysmalls.com. North Little Rock Community Concert Band. Patrick Henry Hays Center, 3 p.m., free. 401 W. Pershing, NLR. Pack of Wolves, Fallen Empire, Moment of Fierce Determination. Downtown Music Hall, 7 p.m., $7. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownshows.homestead.com. Sunday Jazz Brunch with Ted Ludwig and Joe Cripps. Vieux Carre, 11 a.m. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.vieuxcarrecafe.com. Tidal Waves. Revolution, 8:30 p.m., $10. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com. Trio Arkansas: “An Afternoon of Chamber Music.” First United Methodist Church, 2 p.m. 723 Center St.
DANCE
NexStar Dance Competition. For more information, visit nexstarcompetition.com. Robinson Center Music Hall, through. Markham and Broadway. www. littlerockmeetings.com/conv-centers/robinson.
EVENTS
Daisy Bates Home Tour and Tea Party. Fundraiser to maintain the home, sponsored by Annie
Abrams, 3:30-5:30 p.m., 1207 W. 28th St. 374-3459, annie.abrams@yahoo.com.
FILM
Ozark Foothills Film Festival 2010. See March 23.
SPORTS
Arenacross. Verizon Arena, 10 a.m., $15.00$20.00. 1 Alltel Arena Way, NLR. 501-975-9001. verizonarena.com. South Central Bike Polo Championships. See March 26.
MONDAY, MARCH 28 MUSIC
Brelmari. Mediums Art Lounge, 7:30 p.m., $5. 521 Center St. 501-374-4495. EOTO. Revolution, 9 p.m., $13 adv, $15 d.o.s. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com. Karaoke. Thirst n’ Howl, 8:30 p.m. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirst-n-howl.com. LaRue & Wagner. Grumpy’s Too, 9 p.m. 1801 Green Mountain Drive. 501-225-9650. Scarecrow Jones, The Safe and Sounds. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $5. 1300 S. Main St. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.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.
LECTURES
Matthew Emerzian. The co-author of “Every Monday Matters” discusses the role of children in social change. Free; reservation suggested. Clinton School of Public Service, free. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-683-5239. www.clintonschool.uasys.edu.
TUESDAY, MARCH 29 MUSIC
Anthony Kearns, tenor. Clinton Presidential Center, 5 p.m. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 370-8000. www.clintonpresidentialcenter.org. Brian Martin. Maxine’s, 8 p.m., free. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxinespub.com. Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www. sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. Johnny Cooper. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $7. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyfingerz.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. Mobley, Booyah! Dad. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., donations. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyfingerz.com. Owen Pye, Sam Walker, Canopy Climbers. Downtown Music Hall, 7 p.m., $7. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownshows.homestead.com. Scott Nolan. White Water Tavern, 10 p.m. 2500 W. 7th. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. Tuesday Jam Session with Carl Mouton. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com.
DANCE
“Latin Night.” Revolution, 7 p.m., $5 regular, $7 under 21. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. www.revroom.com.
EVENTS
Charity Bingo Tuesday. ACAC, 6:30 p.m. 608 Main St. 501-244-2974. acacarkansas.wordpress. com.
LECTURES
Leo Honeycutt. The former broadcast journalist will discuss his book, “Edwin Edwards: Governor of Louisiana,” about the four-term governor who was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for extortion in 2001. Free, reservation suggested. Clinton School of Public Service, 6 p.m., free. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-683-5239. www.clintonschool.uasys.edu.
Continued on page 22 www.arktimes.com • MARCH 23, 2011 21
Spring fights back n Sometimes all the news is so bad it feels as though the switch has been flipped. A threshold reached, no turning back. As if Elijah has been summoned, or the man on the pale horse is tramping up our lane. Death tolls on TV read rote and so monstrous that they are abstractions, our brains unable to reckon them as anything other than a number on a page. And didn’t that Libyan make nice, or go away? I seem to remember that. Meanwhile, the president’s bracket picks aren’t human enough or interesting enough to divert us from multiplying the nuclear fallout by the easterly wind speeds or subtracting the days since the earthquake from the sell-by date of our favorite fish. Sure, most of us think Franklin Graham is crazy, but this time when he says that these are “birth pains” for the Second Coming, our agnosticism feels flimsy in the face of what seems to be overwhelming evidence. Maybe he knows something we don’t.
CALENDAR
Continued from page 21
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30 MUSIC
Acoustic Open Mic with Kat Hood. The Afterthought, 8 p.m. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com. A m e r i c a n S t r i n g Q u a r t e t . Reynolds Performance Hall, University of Central Arkansas, 7:30 p.m., free. 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. 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 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.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 Pub, 9 p.m. 9700 N Rodney Parham Road. 501-246-4340. www.hiberniairishtavern.com/index.html. Karaoke with Big John Miller. Denton’s Trotline, 8 p.m. 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501-315-1717. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 5 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG.
COMEDY
Steve Hirst. The Loony Bin, March 30-31, 8 p.m.; April 1, 8 and 10:30 p.m.; April 2, 7, 9 and 11 p.m. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.
CLASSES
“Children of Abraham: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.” See March 23.
THIS WEEK IN THEATER “100 Years of Broadway.” Walton Arts Center, March 29-31, 7 p.m.; Fri., April 1, 8 p.m.; Sat., April 2, 2 and 8 p.m., $23-$33. 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-443-5600. “The Aluminum Show.” Robinson Center Music Hall, March 29-31, 7:30 p.m. Markham and 22 MARCH 23, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES
Graham Gordy Yet in the face of the gruesome, there’s another type of orgy going on. I noticed it first in a lone jonquil at the side of my driveway. A harbinger of nothing, its meekness all too easy to ignore. But in the weeks since, the birth pains are bringing something irrefutable to bear. Look around you, folks. Nature’s on a bender. There’s nothing subtle about spring. What the black tulip magnolia does is not bloom so much as detonate. And then the flowers spill like youth, or a life dispatched too soon. A field of crocus goes as fiercely as it came. And what you can’t help but acknowledge is not how tranquil, but how sublimely wasteful it all is. As Annie Dillard said, “Don’t believe them when they tell you how Broadway. www.littlerockmeetings.com/convcenters/robinson. “The Best Times of the Heart.” Four one-act plays directed by Karina Martinez, Ann Wilson, Katie Garner and Linda Rickel. For more information, visit pockettheatre.com. Pocket Community Theater, March 24-Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., March 27, 2:30 p.m.; Thu., March 31, 7:30 p.m.; April 1-2, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., April 3, 2:30 p.m., $5-$10. 170 Ravine St., Hot Springs. “The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society’s Production of MacBeth.” Phoebe Reece and her group of atrocious actor friends from the Farmdale Housing Estate take a crack at one of the Bard’s most difficult. Center on the Square, through March 26, 6:30 p.m.; through April 2, 6:30 p.m.; Sun., April 3, 12:30 p.m., $24-$27. 111 W. Arch Ave., Searcy. 501-368-0111. www.centeronthesquare.org. “The Hanging of David O. Dodd.” A military tribunal sentences 17-year-old Dodd to be executed for spying for the Confederacy, setting in motion a drama concerning two fictional women. Based on an actual incident during Civil War-era Arkansas. By Philip McMath. The Weekend Theater, through March 26: Fri., Sat., 7:30 p.m. 1001 W. 7th St. 501-374-3761. www.weekendtheater.org. “If You Give a Pig a Pancake.” Children’s Theatre production. Arkansas Arts Center, through March 27: Fri., 7 p.m.; Sat., 3 p.m.; through March 28, 2 p.m.; through March 25, 2 p.m., $11-$14. 501 E. 9th St. 501-372-4000. www.arkarts.com. “Southern Hospitality.” The Futrelle Sisters (of “Dearly Beloved” and “Christmas Belles”) have to save Fayro, Texas, their beloved hometown, from extinction. Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, through April 13: Tue.-Sat., 6 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.; Wed., 11 a.m., $23-$33. 6323 Col. Glenn Road. 501-562-3131. murrysdinnerplayhouse.com. “What My Husband Doesn’t Know.” A successful, urban couple is torn apart by an affair. Robinson Center Music Hall, Thu., March 24, 8 p.m., $39.75. Markham and Broadway. www. littlerockmeetings.com/conv-centers/robinson.
GALLERIES, MUSEUMS NEW EXHIBITS, ART EVENTS
CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER, 1200 President Clinton Ave.: “The Secret Art of Dr.
economical and thrifty nature is, whose leaves return to the soil. Wouldn’t it be cheaper to leave them on the tree in the first place?” But there’s a lesson in that wastefulness. It’s not only a sign, but a testament to something larger. There’s no more reason for birds to sing than there are for trees to flower and, because of that, in the face of devastation, spring’s lovable defiance is to be cherished. “Go ahead,” it seems to say, “believe that life has no value.” Then, in one seeming stroke, its value comes in overflowing, beautiful and useless, everywhere and in everything. It’s a lesson, not that we should mirror its Bacchanal frenzy, necessarily, but of what a moment means. Spring is the hour every year where, no matter how far we have distanced ourselves, through blinding light and concrete, the world demands our attention. It won’t settle for less than our receptiveness and our concentration. And in that moment, we’re given the opportunity to forget the brutish horrors and recalibrate ourselves to the world’s captivating extravagance.
I opened my back door this morning to find a broken bluebird egg on the steps. There is little in the world as plainly pretty or innocent as a bluebird’s egg, so what could be more unnecessary than to see it in pieces? The world makes and makes and makes, then cuts down. Evolution itself is a pretty profligate way to make a creature change after all. Does all of this mean nature is savage or am I just sentimental? Ignoring all the bad news won’t deny its existence, yet by ignoring nature we deny ourselves some of our own. Whatever it is that makes beauty is sometimes peaceful but mostly excessive. It is inextricably tangled with the haunting and the horrifying. One week it wields its weight like a butcher, the next it charms us like a drunk bride. Attuning ourselves to nature isn’t just about adjusting to what is good about the world, but understanding the force that both drives and kills us. So look a little. To a sprouting sycamore leaf or a tulip or just what’s going on in the topsoil. What’s happening out there today is beautiful. We have the rest of our year for the harrowing.
Seuss,” through May 22; Super Seuss Saturday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. March 26; “Revolution and Rebellion: Wars, Words and Figures,” two original engravings of the Declaration of Independence produced by Benjamin Owen Tyler in 1818 and William J. Stone in 1823, through May 22; “Historical Figures of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars,” figurines by George Stuart, through May 22; 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. UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK: “Student Competitive Show,” Gallery I, March 30-May 4; galleries closed for spring break through March 25. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.1 p.m. Sat., 2-5 p.m. Sun. 569-8977. n Fayetteville UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS: “ヒロシマ: Hiroshima,” installation and sculpture by Hisae Kimura Yale about consequences of the bomb and ongoing nuclear energy issues, Fine Arts Center Gallery, March 28-April 7; “Interwoven: Global Concord/Entretejido: Concordia Global,” drawings by LaDawna Whiteside, Fine Arts Center hallway, March 28-April 29. 479575-7987. n Jonesboro ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY: “Right Before Your Eyes,” installation by The Art Guys, talk by Michael Galbreth and Jack Massing at 5:30 p.m. March 30, Bradbury Gallery. Noon-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 2-5 p.m. Sun. 870972-2567.
sculpture, through July 3; “Young Arkansas Artists 50th Annual Exhibition,” through April 17, Atrium, Sam Strauss and Stella Boyle Smith galleries; “Currents in Contemporary Art,” “Masterworks,” “Paul Signac Watercolors and Drawings,” ongoing. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. 3724000. ARKANSAS STUDIES INSTITUTE, 401 President Clinton Ave.: “Norwood Creech: Selected Works from the Northeastern Arkansas Delta,” through June 18, Mezzanine Gallery; “Book Arts,” handmade books and journals, through May 28, Atrium Gallery; “Anticipating the Future — Contemporary American Indian Art,” work from the collection of Dr. J.W. Wiggins. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.Sat. 320-5791. BOSWELL-MOUROT FINE ART, 5815 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Mixed media by Lisa Renz and Evan Pardue, ceramic vessels by Winston Taylor, through April 2. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat. 664-0030. CANTRELL GALLERY, 8206 Cantrell Road: “Brazil: An Endangered Beauty,” watercolors and pastels by Kitty Harvill, through April 9, portion of proceeds to benefit Audubon Arkansas, Society for Wildlife Research and Mater Natura Environmental Studies Institute.10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 2241335. CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 509 Scott St.: Kathy Thompson, needlepoint, oils, watercolors and mixed media, through April 4. 375-2342. 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. 6640880. GALLERY 26, 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Dominique Simmons, David Warren, recent works, through May 14. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 664-8996. GREG THOMPSON FINE ART, 429 Main St., NLR: “Benini: The Painter’s Journey,” works from his “Courting Kaos: Face of God” and “Riding Kaos: Truth and the Journey” series, through May 18. 664-2787. HEARNE FINE ART, 1001 Wright Ave.: Stained glass by Charly Palmer, lithographs by Samella Lewis, LaToya Hobbs and Elizabeth Catlett. 9 a.m.5 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri., 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. 372-6822. J.W. WIGGINS NATIVE AMERICAN ART GALLERY, 5820 Asher Ave., Sequoyah Center: “Oklahoma Clay: Northeast Oklahoma Native American Pottery,” through March 25. 569-8336.
NEW MUSEUM EVENT n Jacksonville JACKSONVILLE MUSEUM OF MILITARY HISTORY, 100 Veterans Circle: Jeff Meek and Mariann Findley, lecture, “World War II … Warriors on the Home Front,” 6:30 p.m. March 24; exhibits on D-Day; F-105, Vietnam era plane (“The Thud”); the Civil War Battle of Reed’s Bridge, Arkansas Ordnance Plant (AOP) and other military history. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $3 adults; $2 seniors, military; $1 students. 501-2411943.
ONGOING GALLERY EXHIBITS
ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, MacArthur Park: “Michael Peterson: Evolution/Revolution,” wood
Continued on page 25
A&E NEWS
New on Rock Candy n Porter’s Jazz Cafe remains a work in progress. But co-owner Marcell Dean hopes to open the Main Street restaurant and jazz venue by May. Part of developer Scott Reed’s renovation of the five-story Gus Blass building at 315 Main St., Porter’s will occupy 8,200 square feet on the ground and basement levels. A mezzanine on the ground level, which will house the cafe, looks down onto the stage below. Named for Art Porter Jr. and Sr., perhaps the most towering figures in Little Rock jazz history, the club will be open daily for lunch and dinner, with live music during both. The restaurant and venue will fill a void in Little Rock, Dean said. A jazz pianist and former owner of a jazz club in Texarkana, Dean coowns the club with Milton Shannon, an owner of Copeland’s franchises in Little Rock and Texarkana, and Augusta Farver, interim vice president for instruction at Pulaski Tech. Dean said that the club will host national and local acts. “Some of the artists we’ll bring in, people may not know,” Dean said. “But we’re hoping the experience is such that it becomes something where people say, ‘If Porter’s has it, it’s going to be good.’ ” Official capacity won’t be established until the fire marshal has his say, but Dean predicts it’ll be in the neighborhood of 200 people. The menu is still in the development process, he said. Stay tuned. We’ll keep you posted with updates.
Live Music WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23 BROtHER ANDY & HIS BIG DAMN MOUtH W/ NIGHtMARE RIVER BAND
A WAlk To Help puT Good Food on THe TAbles oF ArkAnsAns In need. peter brave, owner of brave new restaurant will embark on a 223 mile solo hike through the ouachita Trail, April 3-17, to raise funds and awareness on behalf of
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and is asking for your help in making a daily difference in the lives of others by supporting the hike with a pledge to POTLUCK – Arkansas’ only food rescue organization and The Common Sense Link Between Those With Too Much Food And Thousands Of Arkansans With Too Little. For more information about Potluck call 501.371.0303 • www.potluckfoodrescue.org
n The Arkansas Repertory Theatre has announced its 36th season, and it looks like a good one, with the Johnny Cash jukebox musical “Ring of Fire” opening the season on Sept. 16. The return of Second City, the latest from The Rep’s young artist program, “A Christmas Carol: The Musical,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Wiz,” “Next to Normal” and “A Loss of Roses” round out the season. n The Romany Rye, the Bakersfield, Calif., folk-rock quintet that includes four dudes from Arkansas, made it to the second round of the Rolling Stone “So You Want to Be a Rock ’n’ Roll Star” contest. The winner gets to be on the cover of Rolling Stone and a recording contract from Atlantic. The band can advance via public ratings, open on rollingstone.com from March 16 to April 11. www.arktimes.com • MARCH 23, 2011 23
Eat, Drink and Be Literary! ¶
ome one, come all to Pub or Perish, the Arkansas Times’ 8th annual fiction and poetry smack down, featuring live readings by the best writers from Central Arkansas and the Arkansas Literary Festival schedule. Food, drinks, and Big Whiskey’s poetry: who could ask for American Bar and Grill anything more? 225 E. Markham (corner of E. Markham and Bryan Borland LaHarpe at the Amoja “The Mo-Man” Sumler entrance to the and others. River Market) Saturday, April 9 from 8-10 p.m.
With
Plus: Open Mic!
For more information about Pub or Perish or open mic, e-mail: david@arktimes.com. Open mic slots are very limited, and available on a first-come-firstserved basis the night of the show. Sponsored by: The Arkansas Times, The Arkansas Literary Festival, and Big Whiskey’s American Bar and Grill. www.arkansasliteraryfestival.org 2 july 1, 2004 • ARKANSAS TIMES
Continued from page 22 KETZ GALLERY, 705 Main St., NLR: Michael Lindas, paintings, through April 11. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat. 529-6330. LAMAN LIBRARY, 2801 Orange St., NLR: “Visions of the Universe,” drawings and diagrams by Galileo and other astronomers, images by the Hubble Space Telescope, through May 20. 9 a.m.9 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 771-1995. LOCAL COLOUR GALLERY, 5811 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Art and jewelry by members of artists’ cooperative. 501-265-0422. MEDIUMS, 521 Center St.: “Splash of Rhythm,” paintings by Angela Green. 374-4495 or 612-4723. M2GALLERY, 11525 Cantrell Road (Pleasant Ridge Town Center): “Fourth Anniversary Show,” new work by Michele Mikesell, Jason Twiggy Lott, William Goodman, Robin Tucker, David Walker, Nathan Beatty, Cathy Burns, Lisa Krannichfeld, Melverue Abraham, Selma Blackburn. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 225-6257. RED DOOR GALLERY, 3715 JFK, NLR: Buddy Whitlock, featured artist, also work by Lola Abellan, Mary Allison, Georges Artaud, Theresa Cates, Caroline’s Closet, Kelly Edwards, Jane Hankins, James Hayes, Amy Hill-Imler, Morris Howard, Jim Johnson, Annette Kagy, Capt. Robert Lumpp, Joe Martin, Pat Matthews and others.10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 753-5227. 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. 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. THEA FOUNDATION, 401 Main St., NLR: “Martin Luther King Elementary Exhibition,” “2011 THEA Visual Art Scholarship Competition.” 3799512. STEPHANO’S FINE ART, 5501 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Paintings by new gallery member Eric Painter, also new series by Stephano, fused glass sculpture by Lisabeth Franco, paintings by Joy Schultz, Mike Gaines, MaryAnne Erickson, Stephano and Alexis Silk, jewelry by Joan Courtney and Teresa Smith, sculpture by Scotti Wilborne and Tony Dow. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 563-4218. n Benton DIANNE ROBERTS ART STUDIO AND GALLERY, 110 N. Market St.: Work by Chad Oppenhuizen, Dan McRaven, Gretchen Hendricks, Rachel Carroccio, Kenny Roberts, Taylor Bellot, Jim Cooper and Sue Moore. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. 8607467. n Calico Rock CALICO ROCK ARTISTS COOPERATIVE, Hwy. 5 at White River Bridge: Paintings, photographs, jewelry, fiber art, wood, ceramics and other crafts. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Thu., 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri.-Sat., noon-4 p.m. Sun. calicorocket.org/artists. n Conway UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS: “Annual Student Competitive Exhibition,” through March, Baum Gallery. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Wed., Fri, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Thu. n Fayetteville FAYETTEVILLE UNDERGROUND, 1 E. Center St.: Doug Randall, Josh Speer, R.W. Herndon, paintings; Leon Niehues, baskets. Noon-7 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. www. fayettevilleunderground.blogspot.com. WALTON ARTS CENTER, Joy Pratt Markham Gallery: “Watermarks,” mixed media installation by Bethany Springer, through April 13. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 479-571-2747. n Helena DELTA CULTURAL CENTER, 141 Cherry St.: “Nothing but the Blues,” watercolor portraits by Laurie Goldstein-Warren, through May. n Hot Springs
ALISON PARSONS GALLERY, 802 Central Ave.: “Daily Double” series, also at K.J.’s Grill, 1834 Airport Road. 501-625-3001. FINE ARTS CENTER, 626 Central Ave.: Works by area artists in all media. 501-624-0489. GALLERY 726, 726 Central Ave.: Work by new members Priscilla Cunningham and Pati Trippel. 501-624-7726. GALLERY CENTRAL, 800 Central Ave.: Paintings by Jan Gartrell and Sandy Hubler. 501318-4278. JUSTUS FINE ART, 827 A Central Ave.: New suede on pastel paintings by Robin HazardBishop, new paintings by Dolores Justus, sculpture by Robyn Horn, paintings by Elizabeth Borne, and more. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat. 501321-2335. LEGACY GALLERY, 804 Central Ave.: Landscapes by Carole Katchen. 501-624-1044. n Perryville SUDS GALLERY, Courthouse: Paintings by Dottie Morrissey, Alma Gipson, Al Garrett Jr., Phyllis Loftin, Alene Otts, Mauretta Frantz, Raylene Finkbeiner, Kathy Williams and Evelyn Garrett. Noon-6 p.m. Wed.-Fri, noon-4 p.m. Sat. 501-766-7584. n Pine Bluff ARTS AND SCIENCE CENTER FOR SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS, 701 Main St.: “Collaborations: Two Decades of African American Art,” through May 28. 870-536-3375. n Springdale ARTS CENTER OF THE OZARKS, 214 S. Main St.: 28th annual “Northwest Arkansas Senior High Art,” through March 29. 479-751-5441.
ONGOING MUSEUM EXHIBITS
ARKANSAS INLAND MARITIME MUSEUM, NLR: Tours of the USS Razorback submarine. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 1-6 p.m. Sun. 371-8320. 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. HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM, 200 E. Third St.: “Signs and Signals: Claire Coppola, Michael Davis Gutierrez and Marilyn Nelson,” mixed media, through May 8; “Game Face Rituals,” paintings by Liz Nobel, through April 3. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $2.50 adults, $1.50, $1 children for tours of grounds. 324-9351. MacARTHUR MUSEUM OF ARKANSAS MILITARY HISTORY, MacArthur Park: “In Search of Pancho Villa,” artifacts from soldiers of the period, medals and original sketches of the Mexican Punitive Expedition, the United States retaliatory action in 1916 against the Mexican general who attacked a small border town in New Mexico, through May; “Warrior: Vietnam Portraits by Two Guys from Hall,” photos by Jim Guy Tucker and Bruce Wesson, through April; exhibits on Arkansas’s military history. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat., 1-4 p.m. Sun. 376-4602. MOSAIC TEMPLARS CULTURAL CENTER, Ninth and Broadway: “Southern Journeys: African American Artists of the South,” works by 55 African-American artists, including Romare Bearden, David Driskell, Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth Catlett, Hughie Lee-Smith, Leroy Allen, Benny Andrews, Radcliffe Bailey, Richmond Barthe, Beverly Buchanan, Clementine Hunter, Faith Ringgold, Charles White and Dean Mitchell, through Aug. 11; exhibits on African-Americans in Arkansas, including one on the Ninth Street business district, the Mosaic Templars business and more. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 683–3593. MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY, 500 President Clinton Ave.: “Illusion Confusion,” optical illusions, through March; interactive science exhibits. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. Admission: $8 adults, $7 children ages 1-12 and seniors 65 and up, children under 1 free, “Pay What You Can” second Sunday of every month. 396-7050. www.museumofdiscovery.org. OLD STATE HOUSE, 300 W. Markham St.: “Arkansas/Arkansaw: A State and Its Reputation,” the evolution of the state’s hillbilly image; “Badges, Bandits & Bars: Arkansas Law & Justice,” state’s history of crime and punishment, through March. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9685.
WITT STEPHENS JR. CENTRAL ARKANSAS NATURE CENTER, Riverfront Park: Exhibits on wildlife and the state Game and Fish Commission. n Calico Rock CALICO ROCK MUSEUM, Main Street: Displays on Native American cultures, steamboats, the railroad, and local history. www. calicorockmuseum.com. n England TOLTEC MOUNDS STATE PARK, State Hwy. 165: Major prehistoric Indian site with visitors’ center and museum. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun., closed Mon. $3 for adults, $2 for ages 6-12. 961-9442. n Morrilton MUSEUM OF AUTOMOBILES, Petit Jean Mountain: Permanent exhibit of more than 50 cars from 1904-1967 depicting the evolution of the automobile. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 7 days. 501-7275427. n Rogers ROGERS HISTORICAL MUSEUM, 322 S. 2nd St.: “Buried Dreams: “Coin Harvey and Monte Ne,” photographs; “Rogers Auto-Biography: An Automotive History of Rogers,” through 2011. 479-621-1154. n Scott PLANTATION AGRICULTURE MUSEUM, U.S. 165 S and Hwy. 161: Artifacts and interactive exhibits on farming in the Arkansas Delta. $3 adults, $2 ages 6-12. Open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 501-961-1409. SCOTT PLANTATION SETTLEMENT: 1840s log cabin, one-room school house, tenant houses, smokehouse and artifacts on plantation life. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thu.-Sat. 351-0300. www. scottconnections.org.
CALL FOR ENTRIES n The Little Rock Workforce Investment Board is accepting entries for its 2nd biennial “Little Rock Is Working” photography contest and exhibit. Photographs must be turned in by 5 p.m. April 15 to Bedford’s Camera and Video in Little Rock or North Little Rock. Prizes of $500, $300 and $200 will be awarded. For more details and contest rules go to lrwib.org n The Center for Artistic Revolution (CAR) is seeking artists to create art with blank wooden hearts to be auctioned for CAR’s fund-raiser “Corazon.” Hearts are provided by CAR (call 244-9690 or e-mail artchanges@yahoo.com) and are due by March 27. The 7th annual Corazon (Heart) Art Auction will be held April 2 at the ACAC, 608 Main St. Proceeds go to support CAR’s work to educate and support lesbian, gay, transgendered and bisexuals, both youth and adult. n The Traditional Art Guild of Hot Springs will accept entries for its sixth annual juried exhibit between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. March 31 at the Garland County Library, 1427 Malvern Ave. The show will be held April 2-May 30. Entries are limited to members in good standing of the Traditional Art Guild (membership is $15). Entry fee is $15 for up to three paintings. (A total of $30.00 if the membership fee is being paid at the time of entry.) Cash prizes will be awarded. For a prospectus and the required labels for the paintings, e-mail Nina Louton at aoriginals@ hotmail.com. For more information, call 501-6223100 or 501-760-0897. n The Fine Arts Center of Hot Springs is seeking artwork that will express themes expressed in Civil War songs and letters for an exhibit that opens May 4. Entry deadline is April 5. For more information, including the songs and manuscripts the work should be based on, e-mail Donna Dunnahoe at hsfac620@sbcglobal.net. n The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program invites fifth- and seventh-grade students to participate in the 20th annual “Preserve Our Past” contest. Deadline is April 6. Students can enter artwork or an essay based on an Arkansas property that is at least 50 years old. The work should reflect the importance of preservation. For more information, write Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, 323 Center St., Little Rock 72201, or call 501-324-9786, or e-mail Amandad@ arkansasheritage.org. Trophies will be awarded to first, second and third place winners.
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www.arktimes.com • MARCH 23, 2011 25
CELEBRATING OUR 11th YEAR!
HELP WANTED ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
Friday, March 25 -Thursday, March 31 The CoNCeRT PG13 2:15 4:25 6:45 9:00 Aleksey Guskov, Melanie Laurent, Dmitri Nazarov Golden Globe, Cesar Awards
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The CoMPANY MeN R 2:00 4:20 7:15 9:15
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Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning, Chris Pontius Venice Film Fest
BARNeY’S VeRSIoN R 4:00 9:00
Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman, Minnie Driver, Rosamund Pike, Rachelle Lefevre, Scott Speeman Oscar Nominee
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MARCH 25-27
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FitNess 26 MARCH 23, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES
movielistings All theater listings run Friday to Thursday unless otherwise noted.
Showtimes for Breckenridge were unavailable at press time. Check www.arktimes.com for updates. Market Street Cinema showtimes at or after 9 p.m. are for Friday and Saturday only. NEW MOVIES The Concert (PG-13) – Thirty years after being fired for hiring Jewish musicians in the Bolshoi orchestra, a conductor gathers his interfaith lineup for a special reunion concert. Directed by Radu Mihaileanu. Market Street: 2:15, 4:25, 6:45, 9:00. Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules (PG) – “Wimpy” Greg and his bullying older brother Rodrick have to deal with their parents’ efforts to make a brotherly bond. With Zachary Gordon. Chenal 9: 11:15, 1:45, 4:00, 7:30, 9:50. Rave: 10:45, 11:45, 1:30, 2:30, 4:15, 5:15, 7:00, 8:00, 9:30, 10:30. From Prada to Nada (PG-13) – Two spoiled sisters wind up penniless after their benefactor father dies in this Latino adaptation of “Sense and Sensibility.” With Camilla Belle and Adriana Barraza. Market Street: 2:00, 4:20, 6:45, 9:00. Movies 10: 12:25, 2:50, 5:15, 7:40, 10:05. Sucker Punch (PG-13) – A young girl escapes to a fantasy world after being locked in a mental asylum by her evil stepfather. Directed by Zach Snyder. Breckenridge: 11:10, 1:45, 4:35, 7:10, 9:40. Chenal 9: 11:30, 2:00, 4:45, 7:15, 10:00. Rave: 11:00, 12:00, 1:45, 2:30, 4:15, 5:15, 7:00, 8:00, 9:30, 10:30. RETURNING THIS WEEK The Adjustment Bureau (PG-13) – A man soon to be elected to the U.S. Senate falls in love with a ballet dancer, but mysterious men keep them apart. With Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. Breckenridge: 11:20, 1:40, 4;20, 7:00, 9:25. Chenal 9: 11:35, 2:05, 7:25. Rave: 11:05, 1:55, 4:35, 7:10, 9:50. Barney’s Version (R) – A hard-drinking, dirtymouthed television producer reflects on his life, his family and his many marriages. With Paul Giamatti. Market Street: 4:00, 9:00.
Battle: Los Angeles (PG-13) – When Earth is brutally attacked by extraterrestrial forces, a platoon of Marines must defend Los Angeles, the final stronghold on the planet. With Aaron Eckhart, Ne-Yo. Breckenridge: 11:45, 2:10, 4:45, 7:15, 9:45. Chenal 9: 11:00, 1:30, 4:10, 7:00, 9:40. Rave: 10:30, 1:20, 2:55, 4:10, 7:25, 8:25, 10:20. Beastly (PG-13) – A modern-day, teen-age retelling of “Beauty and the Beast,” using New York City as the backdrop. Rave: 11:20, 1:35, 4:20, 6:45, 9:00, 11:20. Biutiful (R) – A man entrenched in the seedy underworld of modern-day Barcelona tries to reconcile his business with his role as a family man. With Javier Bardem. Market Street: 1:30, 4:15, 7:00, 9:30. The Company Men (R) – An ultra-successful company man has to trade in his nice house and Porsche for a job in construction after a round of corporate downsizing. With Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones. Market Street: 2:00, 4:20, 7:15, 9:15. The Eagle (PG-13) – A young Roman goes to Britain to find out who was behind his father’s disappearance. With Channing Tatum. Movies 10: 1:30, 4:30, 7:20, 10:00. Gnomeo and Juliet (G) – Romeo and Juliet with gnomes. Voiced by James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Michael Caine. Rave: 10:40, 1:00, 3:15, 5:50. The Green Hornet (PG-13) – Playboy Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) starts a new career as a crime-fighter with help from his kung-fu expert chauffeur, Kato (Jay Chou). Directed by Michel Gondry. Movies 10: 1:00, 4:00, 7:05, 10:10. Hall Pass (R) – The Farrelly Brothers (“There’s Something About Mary”) return with this comedy about a two couples engaging in mutual, extramarital booty calls. Rave: 11:25, 2:05, 5:10, 8:10, 10:50. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never 3D (G) – Justin Bieber being Justin Bieber. With young Justin Bieber and teen-age Justin Bieber. Rave: 6:30, 9:15.
The King’s Speech (R) – After being crowned George VI of an England on the verge of turmoil, “Bertie” (Colin Firth) works to fix his debilitating speech impediment with help from eccentric Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Breckenridge: 11:25, 1:50, 4:15, 6:40, 9:05. Chenal 9: 4:25, 9:40. Limitless (PG-13) – A metropolitan copywriter runs from a group of assassins after discovering and taking a top-secret drug that gives him superhuman abilities. With Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro. Breckenridge: 11:40, 2:20, 5:15, 7:35, 10:05. Rave: 11:15, 12:15, 2:00, 3:00, 4:45, 5:45, 7:30, 8:30, 10:15, 11:15. Chenal 9: 11:20, 1:50, 4:20, 7:20, 9:55. The Lincoln Lawyer (R) – A lawyer runs his firm out of the back of an old Lincoln while working on a high-profile case in Beverly Hills. With Matthew McConaghey and Marissa Tomei. Breckenridge: 11:55, 2:25, 4:55, 7:25, 10:10. Rave: 10:35, 11:35, 1:25, 2:25, 4:40, 5:40, 7:35, 8:35, 10:25, 11:25. Chenal 9: 11:05, 1:40, 4:30, 7:10, 9:50. Mars Needs Moms (PG) – A kid finds out how much he needs his supposedly annoying mom after she’s abducted by aliens to mother their kids. Voiced by Joan Cusack, Seth Green. Rave: 11:10, 1:40, 4:05. The Mechanic (R) – An elite assassin avenges his murdered mentor with help from a young, impulsive rookie. With Jason Statham, Donald Sutherland. Movies 10: 12:20, 2:45, 5:05, 7:35, 9:55. No Strings Attached (R) – Two life-long friends discover that separating casual sex and romance is tougher than they thought. With Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. Movies 10: 12:30, 4:10, 7:10, 9:45. Paul (R) – Two sci-fi geeks on a cross-country pilgrimage to Reno meet and befriend a wisecracking alien on the lam from a top-secret military base. With Nick Frost and Simon Pegg. Breckenridge: 11:50, 2:15, 4:50, 7:40, 10:15. Chenal 9: 11:10, 1;35, 4:05, 7:05, 9:35. Rave: 10:55, 11:55, 2:15, 5:00, 5:55, 7:45, 10:45, 11:30. Rango (PG) – A quixotic chameleon has to succeed at being the daredevil he thinks he is after winding up in an old West town. Breckenridge: 11:00, 1:15, 3:30, 5:45, 8:00. Chenal 9: 11:25, 1:55, 4;35, 7;35, 9:55. Rave: 10:30, 1:05, 3:45, 7:05, 9:40. Red Riding Hood (PG-13) – In a medieval village that’s haunted by a werewolf, a girl falls for an outcast orphan even though her parents arranged for her to marry a wealthy young man. With Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman. Breckenridge: 11:30, 2:00, 4:30, 7:05, 10:00. Rave: 11:30, 2:35, 5:25, 8:05, 10:35. Somewhere (R) – Sofia Coppola’s examination of a hedonistic actor trying to reconnect with his 11-year-old daughter. With Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning. Market Street: 1:45, 7:00. Tangled (PG) — Daring bandit Flynn Rider, Princess Rapunzel and Rapunzel’s 70 feet of hair find adventure and romance during their journey through the outside world. Voiced by Mandy Moore. Movies 10: 2:15, 7:00 (3D); 12:45, 3:20, 5:40, 8:00, 10:25 (2D). True Grit (PG-13) — Rugged U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) helps a stubborn girl track down her father’s killer. Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Breckenridge: 11:35, 2:05, 4:40, 7:20, 9:55. Unknown (PG-13) – A man wakes up from a coma, discovers that his identity has been stolen and that no one believes he is who he says he is. With Liam Neeson and January Jones. Rave: 8:45, 11:30. Yogi Bear (PG) — A devastating four-hour epic about the decline of a 19th century Hungarian farm cooperative and the interpersonal complications that arise in its wake. Not really: It’s just Yogi Bear. Movies 10: 12:15, 4:35, 9:25 (3D); 1:15, 3:15, 5:25, 7:30, 10:15 (2D). Chenal 9 IMAX Theatre: 17825 Chenal Parkway, 821-2616, www.dtmovies.com. Cinemark Movies 10: 4188 E. McCain Blvd., 9457400, www.cinemark.com. Cinematown Riverdale 10: Riverdale Shopping Center, 296-9955, www.riverdale10.com. Market Street Cinema: 1521 Merrill Drive, 3128900, 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.
the first place is a story all Americans need to hear. Get some Doritos, fire up and watch.
MARIJUANA: A CHRONIC HISTORY ‘PAUL’: Kristen Wiig, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg star.
■ moviereview Alien among us ‘Paul’ hits, misses. n If you caught the trailer for “Paul,” you glimpsed the entire plot. A couple of geeky Limeys hit up Comic-Con and then road trip around the UFO tourist traps in the American Southwest. Along the way, they run across an actual alien — slender neck, bulbous noggin, eyes like rugby balls — bent on escaping from the U.S. government, black-suited agents of which are in pursuit. And since the movie stars co-writers Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, the duo from buddy comedies “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz,” you know you’re going to bust a gut. Well, “Paul” isn’t their finest. It’s amusing. It’s visually convincing. It belongs in the stoner pantheon, with some fine weed jokes. But it doesn’t rise to the level of classic. Perhaps it’s because Pegg forfeits most of the best material to Paul, voiced admirably by Seth Rogan playing the same droll stoner he always does. Stuffed into the alien form of Paul, Rogan controls the tone of the whole enterprise, and he has never been better. Still, “Paul” needs more Pegg. The best laugh of the entire movie arrives, surprisingly, via one impeccably timed facial expression by Pegg. He’s too good to play so tamely here. To catch you up: Paul has been stranded on Earth since 1947, when he crashlanded in Wyoming and was promptly scooped by the feds. Under their care, he explains, he lived a fairly comfortable if solitary existence, feeding them science facts and socializing amicably. It’s when he outlives his usefulness that he knows he has to get the hell off Earth. When he runs into the Brits and their RV, they race to stay one step ahead of the dogged Agent Zoil (Jason Bateman). Along the way they accidentally ensnare a half-blind RV park attendant named Ruth Buggs (Kristen Wiig). Greg Mottola (“Adventureland,” “Superbad”) directs. As the plot would suggest, the meta-
nerdish pop references swarm in this one, exactly as you’d hope. Just brush up on “Star Wars,” “Star Trek,” “Aliens,” “Men in Black,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Titanic,” “X-Files,” “E.T.,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Predator,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Mork and Mindy,” “Flash Gordon,” “Mac and Me,” “Lord of the Rings,” and “The Blues Brothers” to name but several, with a hat tip to “Total Recall” for grins. (The casting mirrors this cultural churn: The film is peppered with veterans of “Arrested Development,” “Saturday Night Live” and “The State.”) Part of this cultural cannibalism follows one of the most pleasing notions in “Paul,” the idea that the government drip-fed his (seemingly stereotypical) image to the culture at large, to prepare us in case news of him ever leaked. Meanwhile Paul was allowed to work as a creative consultant to Hollywood on the side. It’s a Mobius strip of a premise: “Paul” doesn’t rip off half a century of science fiction because everything else has in fact derived from Paul. But after 104 minutes laughing at the idea of Comic-Con types besotted by sheer dorkiness, a grim truth dawns. As Admiral Ackbar would say, it’s a trap. The more of “Paul” you get, the more you are, in fact, the butt of the joke. Mostly this is harmless good fun. There are a couple of passages, though, that are pretty rough on fundamentalist Christians, and unfortunately for any real meeting of minds, they’re not particularly brave. If you’re the sort who gets kicks watching primordial religion take its shots, well, you’ll get a chuckle out of the Bible-bleating Ms. Buggs’ two-minute conversion to agnostic heathen. But it’s meaner (and less funny) than necessary. As with so much in “Paul,” it accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do. You just wish it had reached a bit higher. — Sam Eifling
The History Channel 7 p.m. Saturday, March 26 n Let’s just let it hang in the air: In the United States and many other countries, we’ve made a plant illegal. Not a pill. Not some dastardly concoction cooked up from Drano and cold medicine by a hillbilly in a bathtub. A plant. While this writer doesn’t personally smoke pot, there’s a broad segment of the American population that does. An estimated 100 million of us have tried marijuana at least once. For many with chronic illness, pot is medicine, helping them lead better lives. Even in the case of those who use marijuana every day, research has never supported the idea that pot has any of the violent and deadly side-effects of alcohol, which can be bought in most any street corner store. Given all that, why is it that marijuana is still not only illegal, but ranked in law enforcement and sentencing classifications on the same level as drugs like heroin, cocaine? The history of marijuana and its prohibition is a fascinating tale, equal parts fear, power and propaganda, with the latter spouted by everybody from First Lady Nancy Reagan to newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst (who reportedly demonized marijuana in his newspapers because new methods of making cheap, renewable paper from hemp jeopardized his forestry and paper mill holdings). Even if you don’t tend to agree with the idea that marijuana should be legalized, the story of how it came to be illegal in
MILDRED PIERCE HBO Starts 8 p.m. Sunday, March 27 n Trying to remake a classic film is usually a foolhardy exercise. Who would want to remake “Citizen Kane,” for example, other than some kind of egomaniac? Even with a new “Batman” film in the works, who would want to give a stab at playing the Joker, after Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning turn in the role? Still, there is certain source material that’s just too delicious to leave alone. Case in point, James M. Cain’s 1941 novel “Mildred Pierce.” The novel, by the author of “The Postman Always Rings Twice” and “Double Indemnity,” has mostly slipped out of the literary canon, but the 1945 film adaptation is unforgettable, not to mention the role that won Joan Crawford an Oscar. Like a lot of Cain’s work, the plot is full of sexy suspense. Focusing on the title character and spanning 9 years, it’s the story of a middle-class housewife living in Glendale, Calif., who leaves her unemployed, philandering husband at the height of the Great Depression and sets out to create a new, independent life for herself and her children. After getting a job as a waitress, she eventually rises to own a chain of restaurants and a pie business while dealing with her rebellious daughter. While that might sound pretty pedestrian, anybody who’s seen the film or read the book knows that it’s a story that packed full of sex and intrigue, the former of which the 1945 version could really only hint at. Luckily for us, HBO has produced a new, five-part version of the story, starring the very tasty Kate Winslet in the title role. Definitely one to check out, given the source material and HBO’s record of quality projects. — David Koon
‘MILDRED PIERCE’: Kate Winslet stars. www.arktimes.com • MARCH 23, 2011 27
n Shugg’s BBQ Kitchen is coming to the southwest corner of the River Market’s Ottenheimer Hall, likely in midApril, according to co-owner Angela Rogers. Rogers’ husband, Brian Rogers, who also owns four Subway franchises, will run the business. Brian Rogers has been entering barbecue contests for years, according to his wife, and he’ll put that experience to use at Shugg’s with a menu that includes not just barbecued meats, but plate lunch specials like BBQ pizza, BBQ spaghetti and BBQ baked potatoes. At some point, The Rogerses plan to open Shugg’s for breakfast and possibly use the exterior to-go window in the space to serve late-night crowds. n Boulevard Bread Co. has moved its baking and catering operations to its new outlet at 1417 S. Main St. The new location offers the same sandwich and salad menu, bread selection, beer and wine and deli items as the Heights location, but with more grocery items. Boulevard’s Sonia Schaefer said the South Main outlet will likely start offering take-out dinners in a month. The new location is open 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday to Friday and 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. The phone number is 375-5100. n A restaurant called Seoul has filed an alcohol permit with the Arkansas ABC. The address is that of the long-vacant former home of Satellite, 5923 Kavanaugh Blvd. Korean barbecue maybe? We’ll keep you posted.
Restaurant capsules Every effort is made to keep this listing of some of the state’s more notable restaurants current, but we urge readers to call ahead to check on changes on days of operation, hours and special offerings. What follows, because of space limitations, is a partial listing of restaurants reviewed by our staff. Information herein 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. Restaurants are listed in alphabetical order by city; Little Rock-area restaurants are divided by food category. Other review symbols are: B Breakfast L Lunch D Dinner $ Inexpensive (under $8/person) $$ Moderate ($8-$20/person) $$$ Expensive (over $20/person) CC Accepts credit cards
LITTLE ROCK/ N. LITTLE ROCK AMERICAN ADAMS CATFISH CATERING Catering company with carry-out restaurant in Little Rock and carry-out trailers in Russellville and Perryville. 215 N. Cross St. All CC. $-$$.
Continued on page 29 28 MARCH 23, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES
■ dining Want healthy grub? Get Fresh Start You don’t? It’s got burgers and fries, too. n We wouldn’t say turkey is king at Fresh Start Cafe, but it talks pretty loudly. We ourselves had the Turkey Burger, a third of a pound of ground turkey on a bun with lettuce, tomato, pickles and onions. For another 49 cents, you can add a slice of cheese. We did; we didn’t want to get too healthy. And we got fruit salad on the side rather than French fries or “Fresh Start Potatoes,” which are diced and fried with peppers and onions. How much can you ask of us? Although a little dry, a common complaint about turkey, the turkey burger TALKING TURKEY: Fresh Start’s turkey burger with fries. was not bad. For a turkey burger. If you care only for pleasure, you can order the Fresh Start Burger, which is like the Turkey Burger Try the Southwestern Burrito except it substitutes ground beef for tur— scrambled eggs, chorizo, key. And with the beef burger you can add bacon and fried egg for 49 cents each. You green chiles, cilantro, onions could probably do that with the Turkey and Cheddar and Pepper Burger too, but people might look at you Jack cheese in a tortilla. It funny. As it is with the burger, so it is with was more than we could the Reuben (corned beef or turkey, your eat, but we enjoyed it as choice) and the patty melt (turkey or beef). long as we could. Among many other sandwiches is a Turkey Delight — grilled turkey with bacon, lettuce, tomato and Monterey Jack cheese on toasted wheat bread. Of the non-turkey hadn’t been cooked to order, as the turkey sandwiches, the Fried Cluck caught our burger had been. The sides were serviceeye. This is a crispy and well seasoned able turnip greens and a small, convenchicken breast on ciabatta bread with lettional salad. tuce and tomato. The menu said someFresh Start has a few appetizers. We thing about chipotle mayo too, but when liked the fried pickles with chipotle dip. the sandwich arrived, it lacked any kind of For what it’s worth, these pickles were mayo, or any other dressing. The waitress quartered lengthwise and fried; they brought us some mayonnaise when we weren’t the fried pickle slices we’d seen asked, but it entailed a small wait. before. Fresh Start offers a bunch of big salThe cafe opens for breakfast at 7 a.m. ads, including You’re Nuts (craisins, apand it serves up some hearty breakfasts ples, granola, mixed nuts and chicken on indeed. No, check that. It doesn’t serve Romaine lettuce with fat-free raspberry them to you at a table. From 7 until 11 vinaigrette dressing) and Ahh-m-Asian a.m., Fresh Start is strictly a takeout op(mixed greens, scallions, crispy rice nooeration. We were told that it wasn’t yet dles, sesame seeds and mandarin oranges attracting enough breakfast customers to with ginger vinaigrette dressing). Fresh justify hiring a waiter. Some of the breakStart needs to work on these names. fasts on the menu seem a little elaborate A daily special plate lunch is available for takeout, such as the avocado and baat Fresh Start too. One of us had the fried con omelet, and the country ham with catfish. It was a generous serving — she two eggs, biscuits and grits. You can add took some home — but not as crispy as shrimp to the grits for 99 cents. Try the she’d expected, possibly a sign that it Southwestern Burrito — scrambled eggs,
NELSON CHENAULT
what’scookin’
chorizo, green chiles, cilantro, onions and Cheddar and Pepper Jack cheese in a tortilla. It was more than we could eat, but we enjoyed it as long as we could. The dining room is open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The menu at Fresh Start is different from other downtown lunch and breakfast places; we plan to go back and try more of these things. But prospering won’t be easy. A Subway and a Sufficient Grounds Express share the first floor of the Lyon Building with Fresh Start; the venerable Franke’s Cafeteria, also serving breakfast and lunch, is across the street. The Fresh Start ownership is optimistic, though. According to the back of the menu, Fresh Start Cafes in West Little Rock and North Little Rock are Coming Soon!
Fresh Start Cafe
401 W. Capitol Ave., Suite 103 (The Lyon Building at Capitol and Broadway) 372-2237 Quick bite
An engaging mix of healthy and un-. We hope the Little Rock Marathoners found the egg-white omelet with sliced mushrooms, onions, spinach and diced turkey, served with wheat berry toast and a fruit cup.
Hours
Breakfast from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday through Friday (take-out only). Lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with the dining room open.
Other info
No alcohol. Credit cards accepted.
NELSON CHENAULT
Restaurant capsules Continued from page 28
501-374-4265. LD Tue.-Sat. ALL AMERICAN WINGS Wings, catfish and soul food sides. 215 W. Capitol Ave. Beer. $-$$. 501-376-4000. ALLEY OOPS The restaurant at Creekwood Plaza (near the Kanis-Bowman intersection) is a neighborhood feedbag for major medical institutions with the likes of plate lunches, burgers and homemade desserts. Remarkable Chess Pie. 11900 Kanis Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-221-9400. LD Mon.-Sat. ATHLETIC CLUB What could be mundane fare gets delightful twists and embellishments here. 11301 Financial Centre Parkway. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-312-9000. LD daily. B-SIDE The little breakfast place in the former party room of Lilly’s DimSum Then Some turns tradition on its ear, offering French toast wrapped in bacon on a stick, a must-have dish called “biscuit mountain” and beignets with lemon curd. Top notch cheese grits, too. 11121 Rodney Parham Road. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-554-0914. B Wed.-Fri.; BR Sat.-Sun. BAR LOUIE This chain’s first Arkansas outlet features a something-for-everybody menu so broad and varied to be almost schizophrenic. 11525 Cantrell Road, Suite 924. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-228-0444. LD daily. BIG WHISKEY’S AMERICAN BAR AND GRILL A modern grill pub in the River Market with all the bells and whistles: 30 flat screen TVs, boneless wings, whiskey on tap. Plus, the usual burgers, steaks, soups and salads. 225 E. Markham. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-324-2449. LD daily. BOBBY’S COUNTRY COOKIN’ One of the better plate lunch spots in the area, with some of the best fried chicken and pot roast around, a changing daily casserole and wonderful homemade pies. 301 N. Shackleford Road, Suite E1. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-224-9500. L Mon.-Fri. BOGIE’S BAR AND GRILL The former Bennigan’s retains a similar theme: a menu filled with burgers, salads and giant desserts, plus a few steak, fish and chicken main courses. There are big screen TVs for sports fans and lots to drink, more reason to return than the food. 120 W. Pershing Blvd. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-812-0019. D daily. BUFFALO GRILL A great crispy-off-the-griddle cheeseburger and hand-cut fries star at this family-friendly stop. 1611 Rebsamen Park Road. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-2969535. LD daily. 400 N. Bowman Road. Full bar, Beer, All CC. $$. 501-224-0012. LD daily. CAFE 201 The hotel restaurant in the Crowne Plaza serves up a nice lunch buffet. 201 S. Shackleford Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-223-3000. BLD daily. CATFISH CITY AND BBQ GRILL Basic fried fish and sides, including green tomato pickles, and now with tasty ribs and sandwiches in beef, pork and sausage. 1817 S. University Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-663-7224. LD Mon.-Sat. CHEERS IN THE HEIGHTS Good burgers and sandwiches, vegetarian offerings and salads at lunch and fish specials, and good steaks in the evening. 2010 N. Van Buren. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-663-5937. LD Mon.-Sat. 1901 Club Manor Drive. Maumelle. Full bar, All CC. 501-851-6200. LD daily, BR Sun. CORNERSTONE PUB & GRILL A sandwich, pizza and beer joint in the heart of North Little Rock’s Argenta district. 314 Main St. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-374-1782. CRACKER BARREL Chain-style home-cooking with plenty of variety, consistency and portions. Multiple locations statewide. 3101 Springhill Drive. NLR. 945-9373. BLD. 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. All-you-can-eat catfish on weekend nights. 824 W. Capitol Ave. No alcohol. $. 501-372-8816. BL daily. E’S BISTRO Despite the name, think tearoom rather than bistro — there’s no wine, for one thing, and there is tea. But there’s nothing tearoomy about the portions here. Try the heaping grilled salmon BLT on a buttery croissant. 3812 JFK Boulevard. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-771-6900. FLIGHT DECK A not-your-typical daily lunch special highlights this spot, which also features inventive sandwiches, salads and a popular burger. Central Flying Service at Adams Field. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 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. $-$$. JASON’S DELI A huge selection of sandwiches (wraps, subs, po’ boys and pitas), salads and spuds, as well as red beans and rice and chicken pot pie. Plus a large selection of heart healthy and light dishes. 301 N. Shackleford Road. Beer, Wine. $-$$. 501-954-8700. BLD daily. JIMMY JOHN’S GOURMET SANDWICHES Illinoisbased sandwich chain that doesn’t skimp on what’s between the buns. 4120 E. McCain Blvd. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-945-9500. LD daily. KITCHEN EXPRESS Delicious “meat and three” restaurant offering big servings of homemade soul food. Maybe Little Rock’s best fried chicken. 4600 Asher Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-666-3500. BLD Mon.-Sat., LD Sun. LETTI’S CAKES Soups, sandwiches and salads available at this cake, pie and cupcake bakery. 3700 JFK Blvd. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-771-2837. LD (closes at 6 p.m.)
Mon.-Fri. L Sat. LYNN’S CHICAGO FOODS Outpost for Chicago specialties like Vienna hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches. Plus, other familiar fare — burgers and fried catfish, chicken nuggets and wings. 6501 Geyer Springs. No alcohol, All CC. $. 501-5682646. LD Mon.-Sat. MADDIE’S If you like your catfish breaded Cajun-style, your grits rich with garlic and cream and your oysters fried up in perfect puffs, this Cajun eatery on Rebsamen Park Road is the place for you. 1615 Rebsamen Park Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-660-4040. LD Tue.-Sat. MIMI’S CAFE Breakfast is our meal of choice here at this upscale West Coast chain. Portions are plenty to last you through the afternoon, especially if you get a muffin on the side. Middle-America comfort-style entrees make-up other meals, from pot roast to pasta dishes. 11725 Chenal Parkway. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-221-3883. BLD daily. MORNINGSIDE BAGELS Tasty New York-style boiled bagels, made daily. 10848 Maumelle Blvd. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-753-6960. BL daily. MR. BELL’S SOUL FOOD Rose City soul food spot owned by Leon and Loreta Bell serves typical meat-and-two options: smothered pork chops, pigs feet, yams, greens. The desserts are delectable; the dinner menu includes an all-you-can eat choice (as long as advance payment is made and no doggy bags are expected). 4506 Lynch Drive. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-945-9000. LD Sun.-Fri. (closes at 6 p.m. Sun. and 7 p.m. Mon.-Fri.). PHIL’S HAM AND TURKEY PLACE Fine hams, turkeys and other specialty meats served whole, by the pound or in sandwich form. 11121 N. Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-225-2136. LD Mon.-Fri. L Sat. RED MANGO National yogurt and smoothie chain whose appeal lies in adjectives like “all-natural,” “non-fat,” “glutenfree” and “probiotic.” 5621 Kavanaugh Blvd. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-663-2500. LD daily. RESTAURANT 1620 Steaks, chops, a broad choice of fresh seafood and meal-sized salads are just a few of the choices on a broad menu at this popular and upscale West Little Rock bistro. It’s a romantic, candlelit room, elegant without being fussy or overly formal. 1620 Market St. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-221-1620. L Mon.-Fri., D Mon.-Sat., BR Sun. SADDLE CREEK WOODFIRED GRILL Upscale chain dining in Lakewood, with a menu full of appetizers, burgers, chicken, fish and other fare. It’s the smoke-kissed steaks, however, that make it a winner — even in Little Rock’s beefheavy restaurant market. 2703 Lakewood Village. NLR. Full bar. $$-$$$. 501-812-0883. SAY MCINTOSH RESTAURANT Longtime political activist and restaurateur Robert “Say” McIntosh serves up big plates of soul food, plus burgers, barbecue and his famous sweet potato pie. 2801 W. 7th Street. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-664-6656. LD Mon.-Sat. L Sun. SIMPLY NAJIYYAH’S FISHBOAT AND MORE Good catfish and corn fritters. 2900 S. University Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-562-3474. SLICK’S SANDWICH SHOP & DELI Meat-and-two plate lunches in state office building. 101 E. Capitol Ave. 501-3753420. L Mon.-Fri. SPECTATORS GRILL AND PUB Burgers, soups, salads and other beer food, plus live music on weekends. 1012 W. 34th St. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-791-0990. SPORTS PAGE Perhaps the largest, juiciest, most flavorful burger in town. Grilled turkey and hot cheese on sourdough gets praise, too. Now with lunch specials. 414 Louisiana St. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-372-9316. L Mon.-Fri. STARVING ARTIST CAFE All kinds of crepes, served as entrees or as dessert, in this cozy multidimensional eatery with art-packed walls and live demonstrations by artists during meals. The Black Forest ham sandwich is a perennial favorite with the lunch crowd. Dinner menu changes daily, good wine list. “Tales from the South” readings at 7 p.m. Tuesdays; live music precedes the show. 411 N. Main St. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-372-7976. LD Tue.-Sat. SUFFICIENT GROUNDS Great coffee, good bagels and pastries, and a limited lunch menu. 1401 W. Capitol. No alcohol, All CC. $. 501-372-1009. BL Mon.-Fri. T.G.I. FRIDAY’S This national chain was on the verge of stale before a redo not long ago, and the update has done wonders for the food as well as the surroundings. The lunch combos are a great deal, and the steaks aren’t bad. It’s designed for the whole family, and succeeds. Appetizers and desserts are always good. 2820 Lakewood Village Drive,. NLR. $$-$$$. 501-758-2277. TROPICAL SMOOTHIE CAFE Besides the 30 different fruit smoothies on the menu, the cafe also serves wraps and sandwiches (many of them spicy) and salads. 10221 N. Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-2242233. BLD daily. VICTORIAN GARDEN We’ve found the fare quite tasty and somewhat daring and different with its healthy, balanced entrees and crepes. 4801 North Hills Blvd. NLR. $-$$. 501-758-4299. L Tue.-Sat. WHITE WATER TAVERN Excellent, cheap pub food from Little Rock native Nick Castleberry, who’s spent the last 15 years in Seattle earning raves for his affordable, approachable food. With vegetarian options. 2500 W. 7th. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-375-8400. D Tue., Thu., Fri. L Fri.
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Continued on page 30
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diningfeature course you get a bit of a beer buzz. It tastes different — you can almost feel the nutrition in the beer, if that makes any sense. It’s not like having a beer at the ball game. Instead, your body’s going “carbohydrates!”
Chinese provinces and offers a few twists on the usual local offerings, plus there’s authentic Hong Kong dim sum available. 6 Shackleford Drive. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-2217737. LD daily. 17200 Chenal Parkway. No alcohol, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-821-8000. EASTERN FLAMES Maki rolls and half rolls, fresh nigiri and sashimi, katsu, lunch boxes and a nice variety of sake grace the menu at this sushi bar. 7710 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-227-7222. LD Mon.-Sat. FU LIN Quality in the made-to-order entrees is high, as is the
quantity. 200 N. Bowman Road. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-2258989. LD daily. HUNAN BALCONY The owner of New Fun Ree has combined forces with the Dragon China folks to create a formidable offering with buffet or menu items. 2817 Cantrell Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-666-8889. LD. HUNAN ORIENTAL CUISINE Old favorites such as orange beef or chicken and Hunan green beans are still prepared with care in very nice surroundings out west. 11600 Pleasant Ridge Drive. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-223-9966. LD daily.
BRIAN CHILSON
little bit of a mid-life crisis. With a through-hike, the word “fun” would probably not be one of the top words to describe. It’s more about a sense of accomplishment, you know, challenging yourself. And I’ve gotten my weight and my times down to where it is enjoyable. Are you going to cook on the trail? A lot of the hardcore guys that do this through-hiking stuff don’t cook at all. I’m going to cook because my stove weighs 15 grams — I use little fuel tablets. So I’ve got oatmeal, coffee and reconstituted dinner. My whole pack of food weighs 13 and a half pounds! But are you going to do real cooking, or just eat reconstituted dinner? If I go out for three or four days I’ll take gourmet food, a steak or a lobster tail. But for this particular thing you’ve got to do the calories versus the weight, it’s a real ratio that you’ve got to be conscious of. They’ve made such advancements in dehydrated food, freeze-dried food — the power bars are better than they used to be. What will you crave when you come back? Cheeseburgers and beer. Your body craves those carbs. You’re thirsty so of
I notice that you’re not wearing chef pants but shorts. I guess technically they’re chef shorts? And in camo? ChefWear. They are chef shorts. Are you going to be hiking in those things? Noooooo. In the woods, everything is synthetic. No cotton, whatsoever. You need the wicking. These are essential to your kitchen, though? For me, yes. Growing up I did work in the toque hat — the tall eraserhead — chef’s jacket, long pants, houndstooth, all the way down. I could always wear my Burks, they didn’t dictate that. So you’re like kind of a punk in the chef world. Yeah, but not anymore. It’s mainstream as hell. It doesn’t seem like your menu changes a whole lot. Yes and no, and that’s an interesting conundrum if you will because we’re called Brave New Restaurant. The very first lesson I had in that was when I opened up 20 years ago. This was pre-kids, more creativity, more vitality, all of those things. I opened up, was wildly successful. Three or four months later I got my menu and just to flex my creative chef-y muscles I trashed it and did a whole new menu. Were people angry? They freaked out! It’s a fine line between wanting to be able to show off your creativity and creating a business model that has people coming back. But I tweak the menu seasonally. Do you ever get bored by your menu? Yes. Absolutely. But I get over it because there’s that businessman-artist balance. Like take food shows, where people are a bit more creative. Getting employees in here with that perspective, you get these prima donnas in here that want to do trout eyeball ice cream because they saw it on a
HIKING CHEF: Brave will walk for Potluck Rescue.
A Brave New trail Chef Peter Brave prepares to make a 200-mile hike for charity. BY CAROLINE MILLAR
n From April 3-17, Brave New Restaurant’s Peter Brave will attempt a solo hike on the 223-mile Ouachita Trail to raise awareness and money for Potluck Food Rescue of Arkansas (donate via potluckrescue.org). On a recent sunny afternoon, I met Chef Brave at his Riverdale restaurant to talk about trail food, chef pants and how families can cook well on a tight budget. Tell me about training for the Ouachita Trail. I’m actually more in rehab mode now than anything else. August is when I started training. This is a through hike. That’s what they call it, when you start at one end and end up at the other end. There’s no stopping. That’s versus section hiking, which is what I’ve been doing in the training — you go out and do a section at a time. I’ve realized that, you know, with my joints and the weight I was carrying — it’s a fine line when you’re 50 years old to be in shape or overused and out of shape. What gave you the idea to do this? I used to do a lot of backpacking when I was a kid and through my high school days and before I moved off and started doing the chef-y thing. And I think some of it is just me chasing my youth, you know. A
Restaurant capsules Continued from page 29
cooking show, make sure you get a little filet with your meal, and do plenty of dunking in that fabulous ginger sauce. 2 Riverfront Place. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-374-8081. L Sun.-Fri., D daily. CHI’S DIMSUM & BISTRO A huge menu spans the
30 MARCH 23, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES
chef competition, and you say, “Dude, look, first of all, you’re stealing from someone on TV, and second of all, you’re in Little Rock, Arkansas, and even in some of the more extreme locations on the globe, that stuff doesn’t fly.” What kind of food did you eat growing up? I’m kind of a Yankee — my family’s all from Chicago. I moved here with my family when I was three but I didn’t grow up traditional Southern. My folks love to tell the story of when I was very young we were off camping with a bunch of families and they were having biscuits and gravy, and I said I liked the gravy, asked for some more and said, “I love that sauce that goes on the rolls.” Any advice on eating well on a tight budget? Through Potluck Food Rescue, I’ve done some cooking classes at Our House. I went to Kroger with 25 bucks to theoretically shop for a family of four. You buy the whole chicken, Kroger brand rices and pastas, you go to the freezer section and buy frozen vegetables, you go to the canned vegetables section and you get the three for one bargain deal. With the chicken, I broke it down. I took the breasts off it. I took the thighs off it. So I’ve got four different pieces of meat, with the white meat and the dark meat. You put the bones in a pot full of water and make a stock. You’ve got this incredible amount of flavor and moisture — all the things that are otherwise not going to be taken advantage of. Real old school, the way grandma used to do it. So there’s your stock. Now, with the other pieces of meat, you flour the breasts and pan saute them or whatever. With the thighs and drumsticks, you’ve got a different approach. Put them in braises, put them in rice and some of the chicken stock that you’ve made. For a family of four that’s at least two meals. The chef-y skills and the efficiency you have to run a kitchen with are very applicable translated into a family scale. Read about Peter Brave’s tips for cooking good seafood, the French and Italian influences on his cooking and more in an extended version of this interview at arktimes.com/chefbrave.com. IGIBON JAPANESE FOOD HOUSE It’s a complex place, where the food is almost always good and the ambiance and service never fail to please. 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-
No. 216
5999. L Mon.-Sat. D daily. P.F. CHANG’S Nuevo Chinese from the Brinker chain. 317 S. Shackleford. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-225-4424. PANDA GARDEN Large buffet including Chinese favorites, a full on-demand sushi bar, a cold seafood bar, pie case, salad bar and dessert bar. 2604 S. Shackleford Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-224-8100. LD daily. PEI WEI Sort of a miniature P.F. Chang’s, but a lot of fun and plenty good with all the Chang favorites we like, such as the crisp honey shrimp, dan dan noodles and pad thai. 205 N. University Ave. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-280-9423. LD daily. SUPER KING BUFFET Large buffet with sushi and a Mongolian grill. 4000 Springhill Plaza Court. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-945-4802. LD daily. VAN LANG CUISINE Terrific Vietnamese cuisine, particularly the way the pork dishes and the assortment of rolls are presented. Great prices, too. Massive menu, but it’s user-friendly for locals with full English descriptions and numbers for easy ordering. 3600 S. University Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-570-7700. LD daily.
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. $$. 501-224-0224. LD daily. BR Sun. THE PANTRY Owner and self-proclaimed “food evangelist” Tomas Bohm does things the right way — buying local, making almost everything from scratch and focusing on simple preparations of classic dishes. The menu stays relatively true to his Czechoslovakian roots, but there’s plenty of choices to suit all tastes. There’s also a nice happy-hour vibe. 11401 Rodney Parham Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-353-1875. LD Mon.-Fri., D Sat. STAR OF INDIA The best Indian restaurant in the region, with a unique buffet at lunch and some fabulous dishes at night (spicy curried dishes, tandoori chicken, lamb and veal, vegetarian). 301 N. Shackleford. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-227-9900. LD daily. TAZIKI’S This sole Arkansas location of the chain offers gyros, grilled meats and veggies, hummus and pimento cheese. 8200 Cantrell Rd. All CC. $$. 501-227-8291. LD daily.
■ CROSSWORD
CAPITOL SMOKEHOUSE AND GRILL Beef, pork, sausage and chicken, all smoked to melting tenderness and doused with a choice of sauces. The crusty but tender backribs star. Side dishes are top quality. 915 W. Capitol Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 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. Miss Mary’s famous potato salad is full of bacon and other goodness. Smoked items such as ham and turkeys available seasonally. 1701 Rebsamen Park Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-2650000. L Mon.-Sat., D Tue.-Fri. 6015 Chenonceau Blvd. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-227-7427. LD daily. FATBOY’S KILLER BAR-B-Q This Landmark neighborhood strip center restaurant in the far southern reaches of Pulaski County features tender ribs and pork by a contest pitmaster. Skip the regular sauce and risk the hot variety, it’s far better. 3405 Atwood Road. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-888-4998. LD Tue.-Sat. HB’S BAR B.Q. Great slabs of meat with fiery barbecue sauce, but ribs are served on Tuesday only. Other days, try the tasty pork sandwich on an onion roll. 6010 Lancaster. No alcohol, No CC. $-$$. 501-565-1930. L Mon.-Fri. MICK’S BBQ, CATFISH AND GRILL Good burgers, picnic-worth deviled eggs and heaping barbecue sandwiches topped with sweet sauce. 3609 MacArthur Dr. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-791-2773. LD Mon.-Sat. SIMS BAR-B-QUE Great spare ribs, sandwiches, beef, half and whole chicken and an addictive vinegar-mustard-brown sugar sauce unique for this part of the country. 2415 Broadway. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 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.
Edited by Will Shortz
BARBECUE
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Puzzle by Michael Barnhart
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For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-814-5554. Annual subscriptions are available for the best of Sunday crosswords from the last 50 years: 1-888-7-ACROSS. AT&T users: Text NYTX to 386 to download puzzles, or visit nytimes.com/mobilexword for more information. Online subscriptions: Todayʼs puzzle and more than 2,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year). Share tips: nytimes.com/wordplay. Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/learning/xwords.
ITALIAN DAMGOODE PIES A somewhat different Italian/pizza place, largely because of a spicy garlic white sauce that’s offered as an alternative to the traditional red sauce. Good bread, too. 2701 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-664-2239. LD daily. 6706 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-664-2239. LD daily. 10720 Rodney Parham Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-664-2239. LD daily. 37 East Center St. Fayetteville. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 479-444-7437. LD daily. GUSANO’S They make the tomatoey Chicago-style deep-dish pizza the way it’s done in the Windy City. It takes a little longer to come out of the oven, but it’s worth the wait. 313 President Clinton Ave. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-374-1441. LD daily. 2915 Dave Ward Drive. Conway. Beer, All CC. $$. 501-329-1100. LD daily. LARRY’S PIZZA The buffet is the way to go — fresh, hot pizza, fully loaded with ingredients, brought hot to your table, all for a low price. Many Central Arkansas locations. 10312 Chicot Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-565-6006. LD daily. 12911 Cantrell Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-224-8804. LD daily. LUIGI’S PIZZARIA Excellent thin-crust pizza; whopping, well-spiced calzones; ample hoagies; and pasta with tomatoey, sweet marinara sauce. 8310 Chicot Rd. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-562-9863. LD Mon.-Sat. NYPD PIZZA Plenty of tasty choices in the obvious New York police-like setting, but it’s fun. Only the pizza is cheesy. Even the personal pizzas come in impressive combinations, and baked ziti, salads are more also are available. Cheap slice specials at lunch. 6015 Chenonceau Boulevard, Suite 1. Beer, Wine, No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-868-3911. 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 non-descript section of west Little Rock. 1501 Merrill Drive. Full bar, All CC. $$$. 501-225-0500. D daily. VILLA ITALIAN RESTAURANT Hearty, inexpensive, classic southern Italian dishes. 12111 W. Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-219-2244. LD Mon.-Sat.
MEXICAN CASA MANANA Great guacamole and garlic beans, superlative chips and salsa (red and green) and a broad selection of fresh seafood, plus a deck out back. 6820 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-280-9888. BLD daily 18321 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-868-8822. BLD daily 400 President Clinton Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-327-6637. 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. $$. 501-835-7876. LD daily. COZYMEL’S A trendy Dallas-chain cantina with flaming cheese dip, cilantro pesto, mole, lamb and more. 10 Shackleford Drive. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-954-7100. LD daily. EL CHICO Hearty, standard Mex served in huge portions. 1315 Breckenridge Drive.
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Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-224-2550. LD daily. 201 Skyline Drive. Conway. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-327-6553. LD daily. EL PORTON (LR) Good Mex for the price and a wideranging menu of dinner plates, some tasty cheese dip, and great service as well. 12111 W. Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-223-8588. LD daily. 5201 Warden Road. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-753-4630. LD daily. 5507 Ranch Drive. Full bar, All CC. $$. LD daily. EMMA’S TAQUERIA Try the torta hawaiiana — a pork sandwich with avocado, pineapple and onions — even more enticing. The homemade pickled cucumbers that come on the side of every order are reason enough to visit. 4818 Baseline Road. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-310-1171. LD daily. LA HACIENDA Creative, fresh-tasting entrees and traditional favorites, all painstakingly prepared in a festive atmosphere. Great taco salad, nachos, and maybe the best fajitas around. 3024 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-661-0600. LD daily. 200 Highway 65 N. Conway. All CC. $$. 501-327-6077. LD daily. LA VAQUERA The tacos at this truck are more expensive than most, but they’re still cheap eats. One of the few trucks where you can order a combination plate that comes with rice, beans and lettuce. 4731 Baseline Road. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-565-3108. LD Mon.-Sat. 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. LONCHERIA MEXICANA ALICIA The best taco truck in West Little Rock. Located in the Walmart parking lot on Bowman. 620 S. Bowman. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-6121883. L Mon.-Sat. MERCADO SAN JOSE From the outside, it appears to just be another Mexican grocery store. Inside, you’ll find one of Little Rock’s best Mexican bakeries and a restaurant in back serving tortas and tacos for lunch. 7411 Geyer Springs Road. Beer, All CC. $. 501-565-4246. BLD daily. RIVERIA MAYA Typical Mexican fare for the area, though the portions are on the large side. 801 Fair Park. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-663-4800. LD daily. RIVIERA MAYA Typical Mexican fare for the area, though the portions are on the large side. 801 Fair Park Blvd. Full bar, Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 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 resh flour tortillas, overstuffed burritos, sopes (moist corncakes made with masa harina), chili poblano are the real things. 7411 Geyer Springs Road. Beer. $-$$. 501-565-4246. LD daily. SUPER 7 This Mexican grocery/video store/taqueria has great a daily buffet featuring a changing assortment of real Mexican cooking. Fresh tortillas pressed by hand and grilled, homemade salsas, beans as good as beans get. Plus soup every day. 1415 Barrow Road. Beer, No CC. $. 501-219-2373. LD and buffet daily. TAQUERIA JALISCO SAN JUAN The taco truck for the not-so-adventurous crowd. They claim to serve “original Mexico City tacos,” but it’s their chicken tamales that make it worth a visit. They also have tortas, quesadillas and fajitas. 11200 Markham St. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-541-5533. LD daily. TAQUERIA LOURDES This Chevy Step Van serves tacos, tortas, quesadillas and nachos. Colonel Glenn and 36th Street. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-612-2120. LD Mon.-Sat. TAQUERIA SAMANTHA On Friday and Saturday nights, this mobile taqueria parks outside of Jose’s Club Latino in a parking lot on the corner of Third and Broadway. 300 Broadway Ave. No alcohol, No CC. $. D Fri.-Sat. (sporadic hours beyond that). TAQUERIA Y CARNICERIA GUADALAJARA Cheap, delicious tacos, tamales and more. Always bustling. 3811 Camp Robinson Road. NLR. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-7539991. BLD daily.
AROUND ARKANSAS CONWAY EL ACAPULCO Tex-Mex served in hefty portions in a colorful atmosphere. 201 Highway 65 N. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-327-8445. LD Mon.-Sun. EL HUASTECO Reasonably priced Mexican fare. 720 S. Salem Road. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-7641665. LD Mon.-Sun. EL PARIAN Traditional Mexican and Tex-Mex favorites are offered by this Arkansas restaurant chain. 2585 Donaghey. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-513-1313. LD Mon.-Sun. FABY’S RESTAURANT Nuevo Mexican and Continental cuisine meet and shake hands at Faby’s. The hand-patted, housemade tortillas are worth the visit alone. 2915 Dave Ward. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-329-5151. LD Mon.-Sun. THE GREAT AMERICAN GRILL Hotel restaurant. 805 Amity Road. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-329-
1444. BLD Mon.-Sun. LA HUERTA MEXICAN RESTAURANT Standard Mexican fare with an emphasis on family favorites. 1052 Harrison Street. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-762-0202. LD Mon.-Fri. LOS AMIGOS Authentic Mexican food where everything is as fresh and tasty as it is filling. At lunch, go for the $4.99 all-you-can-eat special. 2850 Prince St. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-329-7919. LD daily. MARKETPLACE GRILL CONWAY Big servings of steak, seafood, chicken, pasta, pizza and other rich comfort-style foods. 600 Skyline Dr. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-336-0011. LD Daily. MIKE’S PLACE Delicious New Orleans-inspired steaks and seafood, plus wood-fired pizzas, served in a soaring, beautifully restored building in downtown Conway. 808 Front St. Conway. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-269-6493. LD daily. NEW CHINA OF CONWAY Another buffet in the chain. 2104 Harkrider. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-7641888. LD Mon.-Sun. PATTICAKES BAKERY 2106 Robinson Ave. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. (501) 205-1969b. SLIM CHICKEN’S OF CONWAY Chicken in all shapes and sizes with sauces. 550 Salem Road. Conway. All CC. $$-$$$. 501-450-7546. LD Mon.-Sun. SOMETHING BREWING CAFE Coffee, pastries, sandwiches and such dot the menu of this longtime Conway favorite. 1156 Front St. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-327-5517. BLD Mon.-Sun.
FAYETTEVILLE A TASTE OF THAI Terrific Thai food, from the appetizers to the entrees to the desserts. Only the brave should venture into the “rated 5” hot sauce realm. 31 E. Center St. Fayetteville. All CC. $$-$$$. 479-251-1800. LD Mon.-Sat. ARSAGA’S FAYETTEVILLE COFFEE ROASTERS A locally owned and operated chain of Fayetteville-area coffeeshops featuring hot coffee and chai, sweet pastries, sandwiches and live performances by area musicians. 1852 N. Crossover Road. Fayetteville. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. (479) 527-0690. BLD daily. DAMGOODE PIES A somewhat different Italian/pizza place, largely because of a spicy garlic white sauce that’s offered as an alternative to the traditional red sauce. Good bread, too. 37 East Center St. Fayetteville. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 479-444-7437. LD daily. HERMAN’S RIBHOUSE Filets, not ribs, are the big seller at this classic, friendly, dumpy spot. The barbecue chicken is another winner. 2901 N. College Ave. Fayetteville. 479-4429671. MARKETPLACE GRILL Appetizers set on fire, Italian chips,
funky low-fat dressings, prime rib and pasta in big ceramic bowls, the fare is a combination of old standbys and new-age twists. Also at 3000 Pinnacle Hills in Rogers. 4201 N. Shiloh. Fayetteville. No alcohol. 479-750-5200. LD 600 Skyline Dr. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-336-0011. LD Daily. SLIM CHICKEN’S Chicken in all shapes and sizes with sauces. Also locations in Rogers, 3600 W. Walnut Street; and Conway, 550 Salem Road. 2120 N. College Ave. Fayetteville. All CC. $$-$$$. 479- 443-7546. LD 550 Salem Road. Conway. All CC. $$-$$$. 501-450-7546. LD Mon.-Sun.
FORDYCE
BRIAN CHILSON
Restaurant capsules
■ UPDATE KLAPPENBACH BAKERY Don’t let the name fool you. There’s a lot more to Klappenbach Bakery than pies, cookies, cupcakes and freshmade bread. We stopped in for lunch and ordered the burger ($6.99), not expecting much. What came out of the kitchen wasn’t just OK-for-abakery, it was great-for-a-burger-joint. The Angus beef was hand-patted and came in close to a third of a pound. It was well-seasoned and grilled, not over-done. The fixins — tomato, lettuce and pickles — were fresh as could be. Served with a side of homemade potato salad, it made for a near perfect lunch. For dessert, there’s a selection of pies to choose from — caramel, lemon meringue, pecan, apple, chocolate and cherry. We chose the latter and were not disappointed. Added all up, it gets a little pricy (burgers, soft drinks and slices of pie for two will run you upwards of $27), but it’s hard to complain about the quality. 108 W. 4th St., 870-352-7771. BL until 5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 3 p.m. Sat. CC. No alcohol.
drivers Please be aWare, it’s arkansas state laW: Use of bicycles or animals
How will Arkansas be affected by the changes to overcome the economic crisis?
Every person riding a bicycle or an animal, or driving any animal drawing a vehicle upon a highway, shall have all the rights and all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle, except those provisions of this act which by their nature can have no applicability.
AETN-TV presents EL LATINO Sunday, March 27th at 10:30pm
overtaking a bicycle
Broadcast in Spanish
http://www.aetn.org/programs/ellatino 32 MARCH 23, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES
Moderator Michel Leidermann
The driver of a motor vehicle overtaking a bicycle proceeding in the same direction on a roadway shall exercise due care and pass to the left at a safe distance of not less than three feet (3’) and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken bicycle.
yoUr cycling friends thank yoU!
A seasoned veteran predicts ‘fresh and fiesty design’ for 2011 BY KATHERINE WYRICK
T
he bad news: swimsuit season is fast approaching. The good news: Barbara Graves has options galore and suits to flatter any figure. In the following interview, she stresses that form follows function, a principle usually associated with architecture and interior design but one that—as we discovered—relates to swimwear, too. CUE: What are some of the trends or styles this season? Barbara Graves: Swim 2011 has fresh and feisty design, and it is all about color, fabric and construction. At Barbara Graves Intimate Fashions, we have seen a steady two piece or separates growth; but one piece swimwear continues to be strong. The message: what fits and looks good is the best style for you. CUE: Any advice on bikini wearing for those loyal to one piece suits (or those who object to the word “tankini”)? Continued on page 34
MARCH 23, 2011
hearsay ➥ As one store closes, another store opens. Isn’t that how the saying goes? PAZZAZ INTERIORS on Cantrell has recently undergone what you might call retail mitosis. Andi Leslie of Pazzaz explains that they used to share space with another store and have recently moved ½ a mile down the road. “We wanted to be a single store,” she says. They auctioned off their entire inventory in mid-February and now have all new merchandise in their new location at 14810 Cantrell Rd. ➥ The store that Pazzaz once shared space with is now called OBSESSIONS INTERIORS and still occupies the 14300 Cantrell Rd. location. Owner Barbara Fryxell explains she took over the lease on March 1. Fryxell has worked in the interior design business for over eight years and used to be with David Claibourne. “We’re a bright and happy store,” she says. ➥ VESTA’S just received a new jewelry line called Love Heals, and here’s how it works: you choose a strand of pearls, silver ball chains or amethysts and select fun charms to adorn. Word has it that there’s also a major hat event on the horizon. More to come. ➥ Spotted: THE BOX TURTLE crew unloading boxes upon boxes of new sunglasses in a myriad of colors and styles. ➥ BARBARA JEAN celebrates the Escada Fall 2011 Event, March 29-30 and shoe guru Stuart Weitzman, March 31-April 1. Also March 31-April 1, the Lida Baday Fall Event.
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Miraclesuit uses a patented Miratex fabric to help women look l0 pounds lighter in l0 Continued from page 33 seconds. They are beautiful one piece suits with unique construction and fabric that BG: Two piece swim suits are all controls and shapes. Seafolly features one about fit and function first and then fashpiece swimsuits with elegant design feaion. Whether it is a bra sized bikini top or tures, and their two piece suits sizzle with a tankini top paired with a retro hipster colorful prints, ruffle trims or retro styling. or a swimskirt, the function—whether CUE: How have swimsuits changed you’re water skiing, diving. poolside since you’ve been in the business? with young children or just catching BG: Barbara Graves Intimate some rays—will determine the swimsuit Fashions started in style. Mixing and 1973, and the swimmatching separates, When there is nothing wear business was creating your own between you and the world but bra sized tops with individual look, a smile and your swimsuit, look coordinating bikini is what swimwear for a suit that fits your body, your bottoms. Thirtythis season is all lifestyle and your personality. eight years later we about. Sunset — Barbara Graves have seen a return Separates has wonto separates, with derful tops, all the the introduction of tankini tops as a swim way up to hard to find D, DD and E cup option. sizing with bikini, hipster, retro briefs or CUE: Any parting advice for suit seekers? skirted coordinates. L Space has stunning BG: Just as important as the swimsuit two piece separates in colorful solids or is the COVERUP! Coverups are not just prints, a dramatic one piece in an ethnic for the beach; they can elegantly dress a print trimmed with fringe and delightful woman while she is beachside or poolmonokinis. side. They can be versatile and worn dur CUE: What are some of your favorite ing the day, on the street or can be dressed lines? up at night and worn out. The trend in covBG: There is a lot of creativity and erups is easy to move in and easy to wear. ingenuity that goes into swim design.
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BRIAN CHILSON
NATIVES GUIDE
AESTHETICALLY PLEASING: The artfully designed Sweet Home & Clement.
Antique Malls BY KATHERINE WYRICK
L
ittle Rock and its environs abound with antique stores and antique malls of different stripes, offering many options for discerning shoppers. A few (particularly one in Bryant, which shall remain nameless) are so packed as to be panic-inducing or at the least worthy of an appearance on “Hoarders.” Those did not make the cut. This selection, gleaned from years or scouring and searching, runs the gamut — from stores that require a bit of digging to the higher-end variety where the editing has already been done for you. FABULOUS FINDS ANTIQUES Centrally located (meaning, next to La Hacienda), Fabulous Finds is a seemingly endless warren of nooks worth exploring. You’ll find much to choose from here, from a jadeite pitcher to a modern log side table that you might see at modern furniture dealer mertinsdykehome or someplace similar. The store’s got an excellent selection of architectural accents, too: doors, windows and corbels. Because of its size and the quality of the merchandise, 36 MARCH 23, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES
count on spending time here — and money. But deals can be found, too. 2905 Cantrell Road. Cash, check or credit cards. 501-614-8181. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Sun.
HIDDEN TREASURES If you make it past the pack of dachshunds behind the front desk, treasures really do await. Some of the booths aren’t worthy of a look, like those filled with Coca-Cola and/or NASCAR memora-
bilia, but most hold surprises. One trip there yielded a major discovery — a vintage basket purse with a spectacular lion painted on it. Antique malls abound in this area, but this one is definitely worth a thorough look-over. While in the area, it would be wise to also hit up Kiehl Avenue, Twin City and Crystal Hill Antique Malls. Oh, and why not Savers, too? Make a day of it. 9107 Arkansas 107, Sherwood. Cash, check or credit cards. 501-833-0200. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri.-Sat.
MID-TOWNE ANTIQUE MALL Mid-Towne is a standby for those in need of a fix or quick gift. As one might expect, there are booths filled with Yankee Candles and past-its-prime potpourri, but there’s also great dishware, collectibles and art. A handful of local hipsters have booths here, so the vintage clothing is primo, albeit on the high end. Everything else, however, remains quite reasonably priced. 105 N. Rodney Par-
ANTIQUE MALLS
Travs 2011 Home Opener Thursday, April 14
BRIAN CHILSON
vs.
VINTAGE JEWELRY: At Mid-Towne Antique Mall.
ham Road. www.midtownantiquemall. com. Cash, check or credit cards. 501223-3600. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Sun.
OLIVER’S ANTIQUES Oh, how we love Oliver’s! The vintage washtubs filled to the brim with buttons, the oversized farm tables set as if for a party and the color-coordinated, beautifully arranged merchandise. Owner Sherry Oliver, who’s just about one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, organizes her store by color, which creates a pleasing rainbow effect that’s easy on the eyes and makes shopping a breeze. (Even nicer, her prices are easy on the pocketbook.). Be sure to check out the stoneware, some vintage, some crafted by her husband. P.S., if you’re in the mood for rummaging, Oliver will let you go next door to the warehouse. 1101 Burman Drive, Jacksonville. Cash, check or credit cards. 501-982-0064. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. or by appointment.
Chris Clement (Clement) share more than space in this charming Hillcrest shop — they also share a good eye and an aesthetic sensibility. The result is one beautiful store, artfully arranged and full of delights. You might want everything in here, from the little glass birds roosting on the mantle to the chandelier in the back. 2909 & 2911 Kavanaugh Blvd. sweethomefurnishings.net. Cash and check only. 501269-9198. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat.
BLUE SUEDE SHOES Now go, cat, go! In business for nine years, Blue Suede Shoes claims to be the largest antique mall in Arkansas. Whether that’s true or not, the massive store is definitely in the running. It has 250 vendors in 460 booths covering 32,000 square feet. Plan to spend half the day there. The vintage clothes and jewelry are spectacular and in pristine condition, but expect to pay for that. 22460 I-30, Bryant. Cash, check or credit cards (Visa or MC). 501-653-2777. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun.
*SWEET HOME & CLEMENT It’s been said time again, and for good reason: Owners John Bell (Sweet Home) and
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Springtime n There was a time when, out on a spring jaunt, if you came across a bubbling spring, you could drink from it. Cup your hands. Very refreshing. Not a good idea anymore. E. coli from the omnipresent chicken doo is one of the lesser concerns. I think what puts me off the worst is the floating zombie bodies. Some wag always has to throw in a Baby Ruth. Springtime has nothing to teach us mole people of today. What insights does it have to offer on Charlie Sheen? Can you spread a thumb and forefinger and get a zoom view of a scarlet tanager? How much consolation are this spring’s cherry blossoms to this spring’s Japanese? There’s no volume control on the Great Outdoors, and it totally screws your cell reception if you walk under a waterfall or have to take refuge from a nuclear accident in one of those lead-lined fallout shelters that dot the countryside. It used to be instructive studying the springtime wildlife. Bambi’s mother and Smokey the Bear and Bucky Beaver had life lessons to teach us. But the wildlife have a different agenda now. With the doe deer that agenda is called “Anything for a Buck,” but for most of them dodging semis is a full-time job. They don’t have time to
Bob L ancaster school naked apes. I have to say, though, that I’ve learned more from red-headed woodpeckers than from red-headed peckerwoods. Dull-eyed and obviously brain-dead adolescents risk their lives to turn picturesque roadsides into ugly mud-slashed ATV tracks that run on for miles, and every spring here come a slew of idiot wildflowers and crimson clover trying like dotty old Lady Bird Johnson to turn these landscapes back into something beautiful. Why? We made this bed, why not let us sleep in it? Make those shoulder gouges deeper and uglier, more spattered and more offensive, and we might learn something from the spectacle. Hide it with shiner Susans and Zorro asters and who’ll ever give a flip? The same blooms and blossoms cover up a lot of litter that didn’t get there without some effort. You have to buy those burger wrappers and fry boxes and drink cans— and they don’t come cheap – and if you get no more out of their disposal than just roll-
ing down your car window and tossing the stuff out, not to be seen or thought about again, what’s the point of it all? To give jumpsuit prisoners plenitudinous filler for their orange plastic bags? They say birds are just what’s left of dinosaurs, so why are they such a springtime BFD? I’d vote for renaming starlings. Start calling them Charles Krauthammers. About all larks are good for anymore is to make a plural of the word exaltation. As the swallows to Capistrano and the buzzards to Hinckley, OH, the capstone of the spring migration in our little bailiwick is the return of the cowbirds to Ico. Awesome. You can’t make a pet out of a butterfly. They won’t fetch. Or speak or roll over or catch mice or any of the things that pets get paid to do. You can’t make message carriers of them like spies do pigeons because their feelers droop under the weight of even the lightest canister. And they’re worse than a cat if you try to put one of them on a leash. Not good fishbait either. Stop me if I’ve told you the one about Mother and the japonica bush ... Oh, OK then. But you have to admit it encapsulates what’s really annoying about the mindless inconquerable indefatigability of spring. You ever wish that whatever’s happened to the bees had happened instead to the wasps? I can’t see that total wasp extinction would have a downside. Yes, some of these eunuch fruit wasps do the world a favor (by shepherding the species’
C
ladies unfertilized through their estrus), but they don’t do it on purpose. So why give them the big props? I can co-exist with dirt dobbers (usually misspelled) but their physical resemblance to wasps is too disconcerting for me to ever even consider inviting one of them to one of my frequent soirees. When there were still bees, they would pack all this pollen into tiny buckets and haul it off to sandbag levees or cut blow. Now, with no bees, the stuff collects on parked cars and window sills and silts up sinuses, transmuting springtime behind your eyes into pure melancholia. Springtime is when the insects remind you that they can take over any time they want to. They’re just waiting till one of them masters the concept of manifest destiny. I used to like trees. (Well, except pine trees.) But now I spend eight months a year cleaning up after them, so my arboreal ardor has cooled. It’s nearly April and I’m still raking last year’s merfing leaves. After the brief chartreuse hiatus and the slightly longer emerald interval, it’ll be yardbroom deja vu all over again. On top of which, about all trees do for me now is interfere with my satellite TV reception. People who used to appreciate them for their shade now just stay in the house. Fruit trees look good for about two weeks in the spring, but then for 50 weeks they’re just a mockery.
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LASSIFIED LASSIFIED
Employment HOLTGER BROS., INC. UTILITY CONTRACTOR Since 1946 Immediate Opportunities in Telephone Industry for experienced: • Aerial Technicians • Cable Plow/Backhoe Operators • CDL Laborers Training offered. Travel is required for all positions. hbicareers@holtger.com or call 501-410-0209 18505 MacArthur Dr. North Little Rock, AR 72118 EOE by AA
Apricot Girls Boutique is accepting applications for Hostess. For more information call 501.545.6545 or send an email to: 2 kc@ apricotboutique.com Printing 2 C0 ompany in swlr LOOKS for experienced person with adobe cs3 or higher, pt w option to ft, for more details diverse environment call 570-0333
Instructor
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, AR is seeking a candidate who will be responsible for collecting microscopic images, research data and preparing Power Point slide summaries of samples required. Participate in the evaluation of research results and perform statistical analyses of data collected. Establish and coordinate research laboratory, including preparing purchase documents, ensuring equipment maintenance and initiating grant submission materials. Assist with organization of materials necessary for conferences and scientific manuscripts. Design and manage database for research. Access, provide, and log tissue blocks and/or slides and research data for research review by Principal Investigator. Assist with research protocol planning and writing. Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences or Statistics plus 3 years of experience in Biomedical Sciences or Statistics required.
Qualified applicants send CV to: UAMS, Dr. Nalini S. Bora, Department of Ophthalmology, 4301 W. Markham, #523, Little Rock, AR 72205.
Field Workers-5 temporary positions; approx 10 months; Duties: to operate tractors during the preparation and maintenance of the fields for the harvesting season and during the harvesting season. $9.10 per hour; Job to begin on 5/1/11 through 02/28/12. 3 months experience required 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. Employment offered by Patch Farms located Jeanerette, LA. Parish of Iberia. Qualified applicants may call employer for interview (337) 519-3398or may apply for this position at their nearest State Workforce Agency using job order # 376879. For more info regarding your nearest SWA you may call (501) 682-7719.
Field Workers-5 temporary positions; approx 8 _ months; Duties: to operate tractorsin the fields during the preparations, planting and maintenance of the crop before, during and after the harvesting season. 3 months experience in job offered required. $9.10 per hour; Job to begin on 4/15/11 through 1/1/12. 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. Employment offered by Rodrique Planting Company located in Vacherie, LA. Qualified applicants may call employer for an interview at (225) 265-4282 or may apply for this position at their nearest State Workforce Agency using job order # 375903. For more info regarding your nearest SWA you may call (501)682-7719
NOW HIRING WIRELESS SPECIALISTS in Maumelle, Arkansas The ideal candidate will have: 1 year experience in retail sales/customer service Strong interpersonal, verbal, & communication skills Ability to work independently & multi-task Responsibilities include: Deliver outstanding customer service Retail sales/service of phones & wireless services Operations of retail store We offer: Health & life insurance, paid sick days & holidays Incentive programs, & industry discounts and perks
Applications accepted at: www.careerbuilder.com Keyword Search: Russell Cellular
38 MARCH 23, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES 38 March 23, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES
Adoption & Services Client Engineer sought by J.B. Hunt Transport Inc. in Lowell, AR to dsgn, install & maintain complex personal comp workstations, incl hardware, s/ware, peripherals, devices & integrated systems & mgmt processes; Provide direction on use & implmt’n of personal comp technologies to meet bus. needs; Test, eval, recommend & document new PC h/ware & s/ware; Establish tech specs by analyzing bus. reqmts; Diagnose unusual h/ware & s/ware problems & seek resolutions to these problems; Write intermediate to advanced comp prgms to enhance client functionality or distribution; Build & tune workstation images from which client PCs are produced; Stay abreast of new dvlpmts in assigned technologies; Conduct training on assigned technologies; Provide project leadership functions; Provide assistance within Client Engg group concerning tech issues & needs; Establish IT policies, procedures, architectural stds, governance & controls to meet bus. objectives. Min. Req. Bach deg in Comp Engg or Info Systems or foreign equiv. together w/ 3 yrs Comp Operations or PC Support exp. together w/ prgmg language. Must be proficient in various s/ware prgms, n/work & telecomm eqpmt; competent w/ Windows XP operating system & command line, Microsoft Office applic s/ware, communications s/ware (3270 emulation), & email clients. Must be familiar w/ DB2 d/base platform & TCP/IP networking protocol in an Ethernet envrmt. Must have knowl of prgmg language such as C#, Delphi, VB Script, or Java(J2EE). Will accept any suitable combo of edu, exp. & skills. Send resume to: Jackie Whorton at J.B. Hunt Transport Inc., 615 JB Hunt Corp. Dr., Lowell, AR 72745.
Adoption & Services *Adopt* A young professional couple (stayhome-mom) excited to give baby LOVE, music, laughter, opportunity. Expenses paid. David & Robyn 1-800-989-6766
Adoption: Adoring couple longs to adopt newborn. Will provide security, endless love. Expenses paid, Adam & Meredith. 888-501-4194
Legal Notices Notice of Filing Application for restaurant wine & beer permit. Notice is hereby given that the undersigned has filed with the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division of the State of Arkansas applications for a permit to sell and serve beer and wine with food, only for consumption on premises, at: 5923 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, Pulaski County. Said application was filed on March 17, 2011. The undersigned states that he is a resident of Arkansas, of good moral character; that he has never been convicted of a felony or other crime involving moral turpitude; that no license to sell alcoholic beverages by the undersigned has ever been revoked within five (5)years last past; and, that the undersigned has never been convicted of violating the laws of this State, or any other State, relative to the sale of controlled beverages. Dong-Ryeol Lee for Seoul. Notice of Filing Application for restaurant wine & beer permit. Notice is hereby given that the undersigned has filed with the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division of the State of Arkansas applications for a permit to sell and serve beer and wine with food, only for consumption on premises, at:6813 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, Pulaski County. Said application was filed on March 9, 2011. The undersigned states that he is a resident of Arkansas, of good moral character; that he has never been convicted of a felony or other crime involving moral turpitude; that no license to sell alcoholic beverages by the undersigned has ever been revoked within five (5)years last past; and, that the undersigned has never been convicted of violating the laws of this State, or any other State, relative to the sale of controlled beverages. Vincent Schallenberg for All Aboard.
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The To-do lisT ➤➤➤ The comprehensive list of everything worth doing this weekend from Times entertainment editor, Lindsey Millar. Whether it’s live music, dance, theater or an exhibit, Lindsey steers you to the best. The To-Do List email newsletter arrives in your in-box every Wednesday afternoon with an eye toward planning for your weekend. The To-Do List is a sure bet for your active life!
➤➤➤ The comprehensive list of everything worth doing this weekend from Times entertainment editor, Lindsey Millar. Whether it’s live music, dance, theater or an exhibit, Lindsey steers you to the best. The To-Do List email newsletter RIVERMARKET BAR & GRILL arrives in your in-box every Wednesday afternoon with an eye toward planning for your weekend. The To-Do List is a sure bet for your active life! CLUBS, CONCERTS & MORE @ arktimes.com
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SMILES & CORN DOGS AT THE ARKANSAS STATE FAIR
Restaurants with changes, corrections or for more information email cocktailcompass@arktimes.com
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www.arktimes.com • March 23, 2011 39
from Here
Retirement looks good
“
WE HAVE IT ALL... fun people, gourmet food and activities! – Beth Ward
” “
Woodland Heights is a special place for people in their later years. It’s a place where a hundred or so retired people live together in a healthy, happy environment; a place where friendships abound and friendliness is everywhere. It’s a place where the food is delicious and nutritious. Living at Woodland Heights has been an unexpectedly happy period of our lives. We participate in many very enjoyable social activities everyday, including exercise programs, water aerobics and others. In a nutshell, Woodland Heights is a wonderful place to live, to be healthy, happy, and live independently and feel good about the closing years of your life. It’s much better than you ever dreamed it could be. – Kathryn & Roger Bost & “Honey”
”
8700 Riley Road
|
Little Rock
|
WOODLAND H E IG H TS
Call Teresa Farley at 501.224.4242 for more information.
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reathtaking views of the surrounding hills, deluxe modern amenities and more – the
luxurious high-rise residences of Woodland Heights take retirement living to a whole new level. Tucked away in the serenity of nature yet only minutes from the bustle of the city, you’ll love life from our point of view.
woodlandheightsllc.com