Arkansas Times

ARKANSAS’S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF POLITICS AND CULTURE ■ MARCH 30, 2011

www.arktimes.com

ROLLING

THROUGH

FORDYCE

Keith Richards’ arrest left an indelible mark on the small Arkansas town.

BY GERARD MATTHEWS PAGE 10

THE INSIDER UA president search

n The University of Arkansas Board of Trustees meets Friday in Monticello and lobbying was at work to get the Board to name a new system president at the meeting to succeed the retiring B. Alan Sugg.

Trustee John Ed Anthony has been single-handedly talking with potential candidates so that their names can be protected from Freedom of Information Act disclosure. But he has said he has talked with two Arkansas businessmen and two academics from out-of-state.

The Arkansas Times learned this week that the in-state contenders were Marianna farmer and lawyer Stanley Reed, briefly a Republican candidate for Senate in 2010, and Frank Oldham, a Jonesboro banker who holds a Ph.D. from the UA. A board faction was said to support Reed, who enjoys strong backing from former trustee and real estate titan Jim Lindsey, a business partner with Reed.

But there’s also strong opposition to his appointment, including some of the same board members who put the brakes on a secret plan some months ago to designate Reed as Sugg’s successor without any search.

Reed carries political baggage from his days at the Farm Bureau, when it fought animal cruelty legislation, supported ballot initiatives to discriminate against gay people in adoption and marriage (the university has a sexual orientation non-discrimination policy, and generally held a regressive view of public policy. At press time, our sources say a 4-4 split on the Board exists over naming Reed, with Anthony and Jim von Gremp of Rogers viewed as swing votes.

A promising candidate from out of state dropped out Monday because his wife, a Ph.D., didn’t want to make a move to Arkansas. Some trustees favor extending the search.

LATE UPDATE: Board Chair Johnson tells me at deadline a president will NOT be picked Friday. Follow the Arkansas Blog for more details.

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Boozman’s false start

n U.S. Sen. John Boozman gave his first speech on the floor of the Senate Monday, a feel-good little oration. It included a historical mistake. In remarking on predecessors, Boozman remembered U.S. Sen. Hattie Caraway of Arkansas as the first woman “to serve” in the U.S. Senate. She wasn’t, though the mistake is frequently made.

The first was Rebecca Latimer Felton of Georgia, who served one day by appointment to fill a vacancy in 1922. Caraway was appointed nine years later to fill a vacancy created by the death of her husband, Sen. Thaddeus Caraway. She then became the first woman elected to the Senate in 1932, with campaign assistance from the Louisiana Kingfish, Huey P. Long. www.arktimes.com • MARCH 30, 2011 3

Smart talk

Contents

8 Redistricting plan

The Liberator n Former Pulaski Circuit Clerk Pat O’Brien was known for imposing rules on his employees. A long list of “personal appearance guidelines” included “Take a bath or shower daily. Use a deodorant,” “Wear clean undergarments daily,” and “Scrub your hands well with soap and hot water, brush under fingernails before starting work.” The wearing of jeans was banned, as were “Capri pants, unless worn as a matching set.” In the name of physical fitness, O’Brien CRANE: Jeans OK required timed runs by as long as they’re employees. To make them clean. smarter, he ordered book reports on books he’d chosen.

O’Brien’s successor, Circuit Clerk Larry Crane, has freed the employees from such coercion. (In fairness, Crane said that many of the personal-appearance guidelines had been drafted by a committee and were never actually enforced by O’Brien. That may have been because journalists had speculated merrily about O’Brien’s inspecting of underwear and deodorant.) Crane said he’d repealed the ban on jeans, “as long as they’re clean.” He has no compulsory reading list for employees, nor exercise requirements.

O’Brien ran for secretary of state last fall, and was defeated by Mark Martin, who is demonstrating that there are worse things than being a martinet.

offers the ‘Finger’

A regional battle informs the Congressional redistricting plan. — By Doug Smith

RUTTED: Torn up fields in Section 13.

Vandals on wheels n Thrill seekers who’ve apparently seen too many Ford truck commercials have been tearing up the playing fields created at Section 13 Park on Garrison Road. Because of truck and ATV damage, the Little Rock Parks and Recreation Department has had to make $12,000 in repairs for two years in a row, Assistant Director Mark Webre said.

Section 13 is 607 acres west of Little Rock and south of Highway 10. The Parks Department cleared, leveled and put grass on 10 acres. A fence divides a parking area from the cleared acreage but does not encircle it; trails from the south, east and west sides long in use by the neighborhood for ATVs lead to the clearing.

While the young and bored occasionally make donuts in many Little Rock parks, Section 13 “is so remote that you can do that all day long and have fun,” Webre said. The department has reported the activity to the county sheriff and has met with the neighborhood in vain attempts to stop the vandalism.

A soccer club is considering putting a program on the cleared area, which is large enough for three youth soccer fields, Webre said. He hopes that regular use of the park will discourage those who would tear up the fields.

Meanwhile, the Parks Department is plucking money from an already taught budget to disc, put more topsoil on and seed the fields in time for the growing seasons.

Elevator safety n At press time, a bill to exempt all elevators on the Capitol campus from regulation by the elevator safety board had passed both chambers and awaited the governor’s signature. Why the exemption, you ask? It’s Secretary of State Mark Martin’s bill, according to the sponsor, Rep. Barry Hyde, though Martin’s spokesman insists the bill comes from the Labor Department, which houses the elevator safety board. (The Labor Department also says it’s

Martin’s bill.) It’s all about a decrepit freight elevator at the Capitol Hill apartments, where select legislators are housed by Innkeeper Martin. There’s a question of whether the elevator can continue to receive a waiver from elevator safety regulations. A fix could cost $1.8 million for a new elevator, which Martin understandably would like to avoid. Our best guess? Martin is jousting for a political win over the elevator regulators, with the legislation to pressure granting of another waiver. He’s reportedly been unwilling to accept legislation that would merely exempt the freight elevator.

10 Parsing truth

from Keith Richards’ high time in Fordyce The legend of the Rolling Stones’ guitarist’s arrest in South Arkansas still looms large. — By Gerard Matthews

34 Cajun destination

Jacksonville’s Cayenne delivers for fans of boudin and etoufee. — Arkansas Times Staff

DEPARTMENTS 3 The Insider

4 Smart Talk

5 The Observer

6 Letters

7 Orval 8-17 News

18 Opinion

20 Arts & Entertainment

34 Dining

37 Crossword/ Tom Tomorrow

46 Lancaster

Words VOLUME 37, NUMBER 30

n Terri Ahke writes: “In the PBS series ‘Downton Abbey’ there’s a scene where a dowager countess is talking to a newly discovered cousin, a lawyer who says he can come to the family estate to help out on weekends. She looks at him and says, ‘What’s a weekend?’ It’s a good line, but I wonder how authentic it is. The series is set in the period just before World War I. Wouldn’t even a countess have learned by then that there are people who work during the week, but are off on the ‘weekend’?”

I was skeptical too, Terri. Odd that we were thinking along the same lines. But Random House says that weekend first appeared around 1875-80, so it wouldn’t have been terribly old at the time of “Downton Abbey.” It’s possible an aged countess, having little truck with ordinary 4 MARCH 30, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES

Doug S mith doug@arktimes.com

people, would have been unfamiliar with the word and the concept. There was no television in those days, remember, or Wikipedia either.

Anyway, it’s a good line, and well delivered by Maggie Smith. (No relation.)

I’m looking forward to the second season of Downton Abbey, even though AETN delays the showing for an hour, for reasons of its own. n While we’re mingling with British bluebloods, here’s an item from a

British periodical: “By the same token, proponents of a similar move in Ohio had to turf two reluctant Republicans out of the relevant committees in the state Senate to secure its passage.” Turf is British slang for “to remove from a desirable office or position; expel; kick out.” n Dennis Barry writes: “In the March 16 Arkansas Times was an economic comparison of Arkansas and Kazakhstan.

The writer noted that per capita GDP in Arkansas was $32,191, which he characterized as ‘47th worst in the US.’ Actually it is 47th best in the US, or 4th worst. If we were 4th best, we would be admired throughout the land for our industriousness and good fortune.” Instead, we’re admired for our looks and our charm.

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Current single-copy price is 75¢, free in Pulaski County. Single issues are available by mail at $2.50 each, postage paid. Payment must accompany all single-copy orders. Reproduction or use in whole or in part of the contents without the written consent of the publishers is prohibited. Manuscripts and artwork will not be returned or acknowledged unless sufficient return postage and a self-addressed stamped envelope are included. All materials are handled with due care; however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for care and safe return of unsolicited materials. All letters sent to ARKANSAS TIMES will be treated as intended for publication and are subject to ARKANSAS TIMES’ unrestricted right to edit or to comment editorially.

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The Observer was down in Latino folks call edible, but our hunger Southwest Little Rock the other day dur- knew no bounds. Being careful, we took ing the lunch hour, and as is our custom, a tiny little nibble off the barest tip and we stopped at one of the ubiquitous taco swished it around a bit. No problem. A trailers along Geyer Springs. Spouse al- sweet pepper, we decided. Still sitting at ways looks askance at us when we do the red light, we opened wide and took a this — says something about the wis- big ol’ bite. dom of putting something in our body What happened next can’t really be that comes from a place that might be described. It was as if our mouth was hooked onto and dragged elsewhere to- suddenly filled with fornicating wasps. morrow — but we can never hear her We rolled down the window and spit over the sound of our vigorous chewing the half-chewed pepper bits into the and yummy noises. The Observer is a street, where we’re sure they likely wholehearted supporter of the influx of melted through the asphalt and down Latinos into our fair city, and the con- to bedrock, but by then it was too late. current influx of great authentic tacos, Molten lead coursed down our gullet, up burritos and tortas, in all the flavors of our nose, and finally crawled down the the fleshy rainbow, has been an added tubes of our ears, where our earlobes bebonus. gan to glow cherry red. It was, without a From the trailer, The doubt, the hottest hot ever; Observer ordered our usuhotter even than the time al: a whole mess of chowe were dumb enough to We probably rizo tacos. We probably try the smoldering cactus, don’t wanna don’t wanna know what’s chili and beef concoction in that chorizo, but it sure know what’s in my uncle’s Panamanian is some good eatin’; the that chorizo, but friend brought to a party. perfect balance of greasy, Through the haze of tears, it sure is some we saw the light turn green meaty and spicy. Tacos like that are too messy to good eatin’; the and stepped on it, anxious try and eat in the car (evperfect balance to cover the 10 blocks beery shirt we own seems tween our own private hell to have a mysterious, per- of greasy, meaty and The Observatory. We manent grease stain on the keep a fire extinguisher and spicy. front, like a ghostly map there. of Madagascar) so we deThere was a Wendy’s cided to drop over to The cup in the cupholder, a Observatory in Capitol View on the way quarter full of long-since-melted ice that back to work, tie on our Jethro Bodine- had been sitting there so long we don’t grade bib, and go to town in the comfort know exactly when it was purchased. of our easy chair.

It was the only liquid in the car other The Observer was sitting at a stop- than the washer fluid and the antifreeze, light at 12th Street when the smell of so we drank that on the way. We’re not those tacos got the better of us. With proud of it, but it was an emergency. A mouth watering, we opened the box a blown stoplight, a near collision and a crack to sneak a peek. In addition to the half-gallon of milk later, we finally got tacos, Samantha No. 2 always throws in our tongue put out for the most part, but a bunch of lagniappe stuff: limes, grilled spent a good bit of the afternoon with onions, and tiny grilled chilies. We usu- our lips feeling like they were someally eschew that stuff and discard it where between asleep and quivering along with the styrofoam carton, but this ever so slightly, like the needle of a Geitime we decided to pick up one of those ger counter. little peppers.

In short, take it from your ol’ pal: beIt was really a lovely thing: browned ware taco wagon vendors bearing gifts. on one side, dark green on the other, and Just eat the grub you ordered and toss the shining with grease; a little shorter than rest. Unless you’re blessed with a cast our little finger. We know better than to iron stomach and an asbestos tongue, mess around with the peppers real-life your innards will thank you. www.arktimes.com • MARCH 30, 2011 5

Letters arktimes@arktimes.com

UA shows colors Once again Arkansas-Fayetteville has shown its true colors and what they are all about.

They had a good, decent man in John Pelphrey. One imagines he was called on to do much more than just teach and coach basketball. Of course, as in any learning process, you have to have people willing to learn and be capable of learning.

One would think that Arkansas-Fayetteville learned their lesson from the fiasco and black eye they got with the episode of Coach Malzahn. The arrogance and high-handed, covert manner in which they treated that good man left a stench they will never erase. Now the same kind of treatment for another good and honorable man. Coach Pelphrey made one mistake; he was too good of a man for the place he was in.

Things have worked out just fine for Coach Malzahn and hopefully the same will be true for Coach Pelphrey. ArkansasFayetteville will get what they deserve and they can go back to the tail wagging the dog instead of the dog wagging the tail.

You can’t walk thru the chicken yard without getting some chicken-s*** on your foot. Hopefully Coach Pelphrey can get his shoes cleaned off quickly.

Allan Dishongh Little Rock

Asterisked words I found Doug Smith’s Words column March 16 to be very insulting to any reader.

I’ve encouraged my great nieces and nephews to read all local newspapers and learn about the community and networking.

There was NO need to use the verbiage that was printed. If you don’t have anything else to write about, go away! There is enough negative going around out there and you publish words that had to have asterisks about them. Get real please!

Just saying, that is not the reading for pleasure that I enjoy. I do not know Doug Smith, but if that’s all he puts out there, I don’t wish to.

Karen Clay From the Internet

Right-wing excess As a liberal Democrat, I have few people (real human beings as opposed to social media) with whom to express my disgust at the right-wing excess of the day. With spokespersons of the class of Mike Huckabee, Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin there is a lot of toxic waste in the atmosphere. I have never had any respect for the party of Ronald Reagan but — in the past— Republicans were sometimes literate and seemed to be in touch with the same reality as the 6 MARCH 30, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES

rest of us. Now they have morphed into the Party of Paranoid Delusion and Baroque Fantasy. Obama was born on Alpha Centauri, plus he is a Socialist, or a Fascist, or whatever I feel like saying he is. Mainly he is black and smart, which is enough to earn Obama the hatred of a racist hick like Huckabee. I went to college with people like Huckabee. He is nothing but a lying fool. Why CNN spends so much powder and shot on him is beyond me. Palin and Beck are easy; they are entrepreneurs of hateful rightwing scandal. Stupid, uneducated and vitriolic. We would be better off without them.

The country seems to be stuck in an

economic rut similar to that of the 1890s, which Mark Twain referred to as “The Gilded Age.” Wealth continues to accumulate at the top (thanks to Republican efforts to relieve the super rich of any tax burden at all). The people who have done well, economically, since Reagan are the top tenth of the top one percent, which amounts to 300,000 Americans. So much for democracy or simple justice. I can’t think of another example of a postindustrial nation where the working class (folks who work for a living) consistently vote AGAINST their own economic interest. But they do in this country. Which proves to me that Americans are polarized

but not politicized: that is, as usual we feel deeply and think as little as possible. The average American would rather listen to a fraud like Rush Limbaugh than read “the Economist.” Even if they knew that “the Economist” existed. I suspect Palin has never heard of it.

So, I spend my summers in Rome and Naples. When politics becomes nothing but stand-up comedy, you can’t do better than Italy. Meanwhile, there are all those fascinating ruins, and great food.

James A. Means Natchitoches, La.

Tax gas for schools A recent article said that 95 percent of the gas severance tax goes to highways, roads and streets. Is the use of these funds somehow sacrosanct?

While the need to invest in Arkansas’s transportation-related infrastructure is arguably important, there is another crucial aspect of our infrastructure needing equal attention. It includes the desperate need to raise educational levels.

Few Arkansans would argue that our educational levels are dismally low. Economists have found that downturns in the economy are less severe where educational levels are higher.

Arkansas could launch a robust effort to tackle the educational deficit by earmarking half of the natural gas severance tax. By marshalling advocates in the educational sector, it would be realistic to push for a 7 percent tax, with few, if any exceptions.

It’s time to realize that Arkansas people are a large part of its infrastructure and must be given utmost consideration for participation in higher educational levels.

John V. Diaz Maumelle

Use chicken litter I would like to see the poultry producers in this state properly compost some of their chicken manure and market it to users, large and small.

There is a huge and growing need for organic fertility by urban and market gardeners. Selling them compost would bring profits to the industry.

To make the animals’ waste decomposable may require modifying the growing system so that fewer additives are needed and all are biodegradable. Even if the cost is somewhat greater, the meat might taste better, really be better and easily command a much higher price.

Arkansas calls itself the Natural State, but it is not. It is actually a place poisoned and polluted by agribusiness and the energy industry. Just reducing the pollution from one major source and supplying organic horticulture with good fertilizer would dramatically improve our state’s image.

Polly D. Davis Scott

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WHINING. From the painful shrieks, you’d have thought residents of Fayetteville were the only people to be moved to a new congressional district under a plan approved in House committee. Actually, some 200,000 or more must be shuffled, but the addition of Fayetteville to the 4th triggered an angry local reaction, abetted by Republicans who favor plans offering more protection to their members of Congress.

REPUBLICAN HYPOCRISY. Five Republican senators could have killed a nickel diesel tax increase in committee, but didn’t. Then they voted against the tax and criticized it after it passed. Sen. Missy Irvin made a fool of herself in a radio interview, saying she didn’t know how to ask for a roll call.

IT WAS A BAD WEEK FOR …

UTILITY REGULATION. The legislature passed a bill intended to limit court review of power plant regulatory decisions and to encourage courts not to overturn the previously botched rulings on the SWEPCO power plant in Hempstead County.

SECRETARY OF STATE MARK MARTIN. He acknowledged that he spent $27,000 of Board of Apportionment money that wasn’t his to spend, so he transferred the cost to his office budget. Next question: Why does your office need to buy a new car when it already has 23 and your party, the Republicans, has a pending lawsuit over state vehicle purchases?

8 MARCH 30, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES

■­

■

Property tax appraisal errors found Country club area owners benefit.

Rebsam

en Park

BY MAX BRANTLEY

n The homes of two of the wealthiest men in Arkansas are underappraised for tax purposes by millions of dollars because of assessment mistakes made at least eight years ago.

Evidence indicates the mistakes were inadvertent. The cost — in benefits to landowners and losses to taxpayers — is believed small because of the intricacies of property tax law.

The homes of Joe Ford, former CEO of Alltel, and Warren Stephens, head of the Stephens Inc. financial empire, have been underappraised since at least 2003 because of assessment office errors on land valuation. Both adjoin the Country Club of Little Rock in one of the city’s most exclusive neighborhoods.

Ford’s house at 2500 N. Jackson was purchased for $3 million in 1992. The 7,500-square-foot home, which sits on 2.38 acres, carries a current market value on assessor records of $691,270. At the 70.8 millage rate for that property, held in the name of Wooster Properties, the tax bill is about $9,685, not counting homestead exemption. At its purchase price, the bill could be as much as $42,048. But even if it had been properly appraised years ago, the bill would have been only a few hundred dollars higher because of technical aspects of the law on assessment and taxation.

Warren and Harriet Stephens have an 8,900-square-foot house on 1.52 acres at 1 Longfellow Place, just north of Ford’s home. The property, bought in 1986, is appraised by the assessor at $966,455. But the assessor’s office said a correct market value

KEY

is probably closer to Stephens home $3.1 million. The curFord home rent property tax bill is Dempsey land Longfellow homes about $15,464. At estiLittle Rock Country Club mated true market value, the full bill would be about $42,000. But, again, because of the legal technicalities, Stephens might owe more, but perhaps no more than about $200, according to assessor’s estimates.

In both cases, taxes will rise dramatically if Longfellow Ln. either Stephens or Ford sells his home.

Six other properties — 12 acres owned Hawthorne Rd.

by Demp and Paula Dempsey at the end Country Club Blvd. of Scenic Boulevard N adjoining the Country Club of Little Rock REAPPRAISED: An anonymous complaint led to a review that golf course and five discovered appraisal errors on these properties near the Country parcels of undeveloped Club of Little Rock. land behind homes on Longfellow Lane — also were found underon account of property tax freezes allowed appraised by the assessor. Those properties for older home owners. belong to Robert and Kathleen Brown, John The Arkansas Times learned of the isand Julie Jones, Mary Gray Millsap and sue after confirming an anonymous tip Gus Blass III. concerning the appraisal of Ford’s home.

In a rough estimate, the assessor’s office In checking it, Assessor Janet Troutman calculated that it could be collecting about Ward’s office (which had also received $10,000 more per year from the eight parmultiple anonymous mailings about the cels had the mistakes not been made. But Ford home) undertook a broad review of Continued on page 14 the amount would almost certainly be lower

Fayetteville in the Fourth?

Democrats look south.

BY DOUG SMITH

n Unlike the Polish Corridor, the Fayetteville Finger probably won’t lead to a shooting war. It’s almost as touchy, though.

Many in Northwest Arkansas are angry over a proposal to take Fayetteville from the Third Congressional District and, by means of an oddly extended boundary line, put the Washington County seat in the Fourth Congressional District. The Third District overall is strongly Conservative Republican, the most partisan region of the state, but Demo-

Rd.

vd.

PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS. In a secretive process, the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees moved toward choosing a new system president. Our reporting indicated a strong internal split over one faction’s push for former Farm Bureau President Stanley Reed to get the job. His stance on a number of issues should disqualify, but won’t, necessarily.

■

c Bl

MIKE ANDERSON. The Missouri basketball coach and former Hog assistant during the Nolan Richardson years struck a $2.2-million-a-year deal to come back to the University of Arkansas.

Phone: 501-375-2985­ Fax: 501-375-3623 Arkansas Times Online home page: http://www.arktimes.com E-mail: arktimes@arktimes.com

Sce ni

CORPORATIONS. The legislature isn’t quite done, but the winners are already clear. Corporate Arkansas won again.

See Ernest Dumas this week.

The Arkansas Reporter

Longfellow Pl.

IT WAS A GOOD WEEK FOR…

Redistricting Plan Legal SEE PAGE 18 crats are not extinct in Fayetteville, home of the University of Arkansas. Putting Fayetteville in the Fourth District presumably would help Democrats hold on to the Fourth District, the only one of the four congressional seats that now belongs to them. The redistricting plan had not been approved by

N. Jackson St.

MARCH 23-29, 2011

Van Buren St.

THE WEEK THAT WAS

the legislature as the Times went to press, but approval on a party-line vote, Democrats for and Republicans against, seemed within reach.

The Fayetteville Finger, as it has come to be called, is protested by the Republican Party and its affiliated media; by the Northwest Arkansas business establishment, and by most of the region’s political establishment, including even some Democrats.

Steve Clark, the president and CEO of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, has been outspoken against the Finger. “And I’m a Democrat,” he says. “I still give money to Democratic candidates.” (He’s also a former state attorney general.) State Rep. Continued on page 14

ANNIE LEIBOVITZ

BACK IN THE DAY: Richards and Ronnie Wood hanging out in 1975.

FACT-CHECKING

KEEF

The Rolling Stones rocker’s account of his time in Fordyce is a page-turner, but how much of it is true?

BY GERARD MATTHEWS

“Why did we stop at the 4-Dice Restaurant in Fordyce, Arkansas, for lunch on Independence Day weekend? On any day? Despite everything I knew from ten years of driving through the Bible Belt. Tiny town of Fordyce. Rolling Stones on the police menu across the United States. Every copper wanted to bust us by any means available, to get promoted and patriotically rid America of these little fairy Englishmen.”

10 MARCH 30, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES

O

ut of all of his noteworthy life experiences — the sold-out shows, the Jack Daniels-fueled benders, the drugs and debauchery, the jam sessions with Muddy Waters and other guitar legends, the 1969 show at the Altamont Speedway where a fan was beaten to death by the Hells Angels — Keith Richards picked the tiny town of Fordyce and what happened there in the summer of 1975, to lead off his new book, “Life.”

GET CARTER: Former lawyer looks back and laughs.

BRIAN CHILSON

PROBABLE CAUSE: Carter said then, and now, the cops didn’t have it.

The story has become somewhat of an Arkansas rock legend. Richards, Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood and two others were pulled over in Fordyce on July 5, 1975, after a late lunch at the 4-Dice Restaurant. The police found some cocaine and a hunting knife, along with a trunk full of booze. Richards and Wood were detained and a media frenzy ensued until the charges were whittled down to reckless driving and the Stones hopped a plane to Dallas for their next show.

It’s been written about ad nauseum in local and national publications and the tale makes up considerable portions of personal biographies, including that of former Rolling Stones lawyer and Arkansas native Bill Carter.

Ronnie Wood also wrote about the incident briefly in his book, “Ronnie.” All of these accounts share a certain amount of continuity.

Now we have a first-hand account from Richards himself. His version stacks up well with previous accounts, although the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer adds a few details here and there. But some questions remain about what exactly happened that day in Fordyce, who’s telling the truth and whether or not it makes any difference.

“And here we were driving back roads in a brandnew yellow Chevrolet Impala,” Richards writes. “In the whole of the United States there was perhaps no sillier place to stop with a car loaded with drugs — a conservative, redneck southern community not happy to welcome different-looking strangers.”

Bill Carter had warned Richards and Wood not to drive through Arkansas at all and to stick to the interstate highways if they did. Rebellious as they were, they didn’t listen. Carter wrote about Richards’ stay in Fordyce exten-

sively in his book “Get Carter.” Even today, the thought of the whole fiasco draws a big belly laugh from the retired music industry lawyer, now 75.

“There are some things [in Keith’s book] that are maybe not quite as accurate as things I said in my book,” he said. “But that was the way he saw it. And I wouldn’t challenge his view of it. I just think — and remember he’s a huge rock star — that the world through his eyes is a bit different than it is to the rest of us.”

Richards visited Carter in 2008 to go over the details of what happened, refresh his own memory and swap stories. Carter said Richards’ recollection of what happened at the city hall in Fordyce is, for the most part, accurate.

It’s what happened before they got to city hall that might be a little bit fuzzy.

Richards describes pulling into the 4-Dice Restaurant: “So we drove and Ronnie and I had been particularly stupid. We pulled into this roadhouse called the 4-Dice where we sat down and ordered and then Ronnie and I went to the john. You know, just start me up. We got high.

We didn’t fancy the clientele out there, or the food, and so we hung in the john, laughing and carrying on. We sat there for forty minutes. And you don’t do that down there.

Not then. That’s what excited and exacerbated the situation. And the staff called the cops.”

But could anyone, stoned or not, spend 40 minutes in a bathroom? Maybe. Ronnie Wood writes in his autobiography that he and Richards “must have spent a couple of hours in the bathroom laughing.”

Paul Holt’s mother ran the restaurant at the time and his wife runs it now. A Stones fan himself, Holt was still in Memphis, having just seen the band perform on Friday

night. He said the idea of spending 40 minutes in the restaurant’s tiny bathroom is absurd.

“The bathroom’s still in the same spot,” he said pointing toward the thin wood-paneled door. “It’s a one-seater.

There’s no way they stayed in there for 40 minutes doing drugs. He’s trying to embellish the story to make himself look like the big outlaw. One thing I had a problem with was he said it was our waitress who called the police and that didn’t happen that way. My brother came in to eat lunch and the cop was sitting up the road with his nose out on the street looking this way. They had already been informed that there was somebody here.”

Holt is still a Rolling Stones fan to this day. The 4-Dice Restaurant is decked out with memorabilia including posters, pictures and a framed concert T-shirt.

When “Life” was released, Holt bought six copies to sell at the restaurant in case any customers wanted to buy a little piece of Fordyce history. He still has all six.

“It didn’t hurt my feelings that he said he didn’t like the food,” Holt said. “I don’t like British food either. He and Ronnie ordered steaks. You can’t just go into a onehorse town and order steaks. So for him to say he didn’t like it, it just makes the story better.”

To hear Richards tell it, there were drugs stuffed into everything that would hold them. He and Wood both say the door panels of the rental car were filled with drugs.

“All you had to do was pop the panels,” Richards writes, “and there were plastic bags full of coke and grass, peyote and mescaline.” Wood only remembered the first two varieties.

Richards also had some “hash, Tuinals and some coke” tucked into tiny pockets on his hat. But that’s a bit www.arktimes.com • MARCH 30, 2011 11

BRIAN CHILSON

HOLT: Ever the Stones fan.

40 MINUTES: Would you hang out in here that long?

of a stretch said Joe Pennington, a former sheriff’s deputy who arrived on the scene after the Impala was pulled over.

“There’s some accusations that there was drugs all in the side panels of the car and so forth,” Pennington said.

“I was there when they searched the car. Two state police criminal division officers searched the car and assisted in the arrest. They combed it pretty good. I don’t think they missed anything. There was only a little small package of cocaine seized with a spoon. It stayed around until I took it and put it in a display at the next county fair, the spoon and the cocaine. Back then nobody knew what cocaine looked like or what a spoon was. It stayed on display for two or three years at city hall then the cocaine got flushed down the toilet.”

The spoon, which now belongs to Pennington’s son, Allen, is one of the only remaining artifacts left in Richards’ wake. The gold coating is a little faded now, showing the effects of heavy use and time. Pennington said he’s never thought about selling it, auctioning it off on eBay or anything of the sort. He said he’ll probably get it framed, along with a picture, and hang it in the 4-Dice Restaurant.

Carter, who said he would “bet his life on” the fact nothing was stored in the car, has his own theory as to why Richards may have stretched the truth a bit.

“I think Keith knows he pulled one over on the authorities,” Carter said. “He needs to be thankful that the police bungled that job because while he gives me so much credit for getting them out of there, the fact is the police had violated every right that existed. And it would have never stood up in court the way they conducted the search and the way they conducted themselves generally.

He’s very lucky it occurred like that. So, now he’s beaten the authorities and he’s just kind of pounding himself on 12 MARCH 30, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES

the chest and rubbing it in a bit.”

No matter what version of the story you read, City Hall was where things started to get interesting. Richards, Wood, their friend Freddie Sessler and Jim Callaghan, head of the Stones security detail, were detained, but not locked up. Richards was charged with reckless driving and possession of a concealed weapon. Sessler was charged with possession of a controlled substance.

A crowd started to gather as word spread that two of the biggest rock stars in the world had been detained by Fordyce police. Crowd estimates vary greatly from Pennington’s “200 or so” to Richards’ guess of 2,000.

Carter, who was in West Memphis with former Judge Lindsey Fairley at the time, chartered a plane to Fordyce to bail out his clients. Judge Thomas Wynne, who according to everyone present had imbibed a fair amount on the golf course that day, was called in to adjudicate the matter.

Carter maintains that Richards’ recollections of what happened after the judge arrived on the scene are accurate. Tommy Mays, then city attorney and deputy prosecutor for the city of Fordyce who Richards describes as “idealistic, fresh out of law school,” agrees. For the most part, anyway.

Richards describes the cast of characters at the hearing. He said the police chief, Bill Gober, was “vindictive, enraged.” According to “Life,” Gober was extremely upset with the judge, threatening to place him under arrest if he “let these bastards go.”

Mays said things got pretty heated, but the fight was between the judge and one of the arresting officers, Joe Taylor, not Bill Gober.

“Bill Gober was the police chief, he’s got that right,” Mays said. “But if you remember in that chapter, he’s talking about the police chief wanting to hang ’em and

telling the judge he was going to lock him up. That was not Bill Gober. He was a very mild-mannered gentlemen and very professional. His actions were nothing like that.

He’s just got his people mixed up there.”

Mays, who considers himself more of a “Temptations man,” looks back fondly on the incident and said it taught him a great deal.

“I guess I kind of learned the way things really work in a lot of regards,” he said, “what goes on when you’ve got people of prominence, people with money and how they’re treated. It’s one of two extremes. The police officers almost wanted to go out and hang them up by their thumbs on the light pole. Then you have the other extreme of ‘they’re prominent people,’ the State Department’s calling, senators are calling telling us to let them go and get them out of there. I just learned how things really worked.”

Whether anything else was learned was a different story, he said.

“I don’t think anything was learned by the guys in the band. Here they were the hottest thing in the world. They knew Bill Carter was coming in. They were absolutely not concerned about anything. They weren’t worried.

They knew they’d just pay a fine or whatever. It was just another chapter of their lives. Just another little bump on the road,” Mays said.

Life lessons or no, the incident will forever be a part of the town’s history. Holt said he has reservations about glorifying an incident that was centered on a drug bust.

But he’s happy to be a part of the story.

“I love Keith, don’t get me wrong,” he said. “But he’s a blowhard and he’s trying to sell his book. When it happened it really wasn’t that big of a deal to most people, but it was to me and it was to all the young people. It’s been

STILL DOING IT: Richards in Little Rock, 2006.

a good thing. It hasn’t changed my life or anything. It’s just a wild tale that goes around and rears its head every so often.”

Stephen Steed, a local freelance journalist, wrote about the incident for the Little Rock Free Press back in 1994. He thinks Richards probably exaggerated a bit, but in the end, who cares?

“It’s a legend now,” Steed said. “And Keith took it to another level, there. There’s a lot of speculation as to what really went on. There was very little coverage that got into the charges and how they got out of there so quick. But, hey, it’s a piece of lore. It’s rock ’n’ roll. It’s like George Washington chopping down a cherry tree. It’s a good story.”

When asked about the discrepancies between Richards’ recollections and other accounts, the book’s publisher, Little, Brown and Company, said simply “Keith’s

recollections are in ‘Life.’ ” Carter said the tale, no matter who tells it, is pretty unbelievable.

“When the book came out, the publisher called me from New York,” he said. “They said, ‘We’ve read Keith’s book, the first chapter, and we’re going to be sued. There’s no way we’re going to print this.’ I could kind of picture it. Here’s a young lawyer in New York City, reading about this event in Fordyce, Arkansas, and Keith telling it and it just didn’t seem real. I laughed on the phone with him and I said there were still people who could testify that it really did happen. It was funny, though, to hear him question whether or not something like that could have happened, or whether it was Keith’s fantasy. But it did happen just exactly the way it reads.”

Richards pled guilty to reckless driving and paid a $162.50 fine. The concealed weapon charge was dropped.

BRIAN CHILSON

HAMMING IT UP: Wood and Richards with Wynne’s gavel.

In 2006, Mike Huckabee pardoned Richards, who never asked for the favor, wiping away the reckless driving charge. Even after all the research, interviews, news stories and autobiographical accounts some questions remain. What happened to the knife? The car?

Richards says the knife still hangs in city hall. It doesn’t. Carter said the judge — aside from asking for a photo with Richards and Wood — wanted to take it home, but, for whatever reason, didn’t. As for that Impala, supposedly crammed to the air vents with drugs?

“We left it in this garage loaded with dope,” Richards writes. “I’d like to know what happened to that stuff.

Maybe they never took the panels off. Maybe someone’s still driving it around, still filled with shit.”

So no one knows for certain. All that’s really left is a tiny cocaine spoon and a hundred different versions of the same story. Why let the truth get in the way of that?

“most customers don’t realize how much their smoking affects me. “

KATE MORAN, Waitress

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 30, 2011 13

APPRAISAL ERRORS Continued from page 8

property tax records and turned up the seven other residential properties in the vicinity of the Country Club of Little Rock that were underappraised.

“They’re wrong,” said Ward. “We messed up.” Finding the precise root of the problem has proved elusive.

The complicated story stems from the fact that the properties are carried as acreage (technically described by “metes and bounds”) on tax records, rather than as lots in a platted subdivision.

The mistakes cannot be corrected until the 2012 countywide reappraisal, under state law, and any changes will be reflected on 2013 tax bills. No taxes lost in years past can be recouped. Furthermore, because of other provisions in the constitution on property taxation, the correct tax rate can only be imposed over an extended period of time, if at all. It will produce annual tax increases of no more than 5 percent for the property affected (roughly $700 more per year in the Stephens case, for example).

The acreage designation is not unusual in undeveloped parts of the county, but rare in the city of Little Rock. More than 20 years ago, the city of Little Rock began insisting that all development be done in platted subdivisions with numbered lots, even those where lots might be an acre or more.

Gradually, most of the city has been put on the tax books that way. But the assessor’s office identified 27 parcels in the Heights and Hillcrest areas still carried as acreage with “metes and bounds” descriptions, not as subdivision lots.

When property is listed as acreage, any

REDISTRICTING Continued from page 8

Uvalde Lindsey of Fayetteville, a Democrat, opposes the plan too, and so do the chairman of the Washington County Democratic Committee, Tyler Clark, and the (unsuccessful) Democratic candidate for the Third District congressional seat last year, David Whitaker.

“Redistricting is not about partisan politics,” Clark says. “It’s about one man, one vote, and keeping communities of interest together.” Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville and Siloam Springs work together on government and economic development projects, Clark says. “We don’t have a lot in common with the Fourth District.”

Two Fayetteville legislators, both Democrats, are for the plan, Clark says — Sen. Sue Madison and Rep. Greg Leding. Clark says Madison is behind the plan, though she has said repeatedly that she didn’t initiate the plan, and that a number of people worked on it. She also has declined to say whether she’ll vote for it when and if it comes before the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs committee that she chairs, as the 14 MARCH 30, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES

houses on the land are appraised based on square footage and construction features and a visual inspection by appraisers. The land value is also supposed to be considered in the context of the neighborhood. In the Country Club neighborhood, for example, a small lot that’s a fraction of an acre might sell for $250,000. So an acre should be valued at much more.

But for reasons unclear, a handful of expensive residential properties had only standard Little Rock raw acreage values assigned to their underlying land. That standard acreage value is $17,500.

Many of the 27 parcels can’t be developed. They include tracts of significant size.

For example, they include the steep hillsides below the pricey Palisades neighborhood.

A $17,500 acreage price isn’t out of line for those properties, Ward and her chief deputy, Joe Thompson, said. A few of the 27 parcels, though carried as acreage, have been properly valued as to land, including four homes just north of Stephens’ and Ford’s homes, Ward said.

The five parcels on Longfellow are a special case. (See map.) Those five parcels are all undeveloped acreage behind homes on Longfellow which were platted as subdivision lots and properly appraised. But the longer, rear portions of these parcels outlined in red on our map are carried as simple acreage, five pieces of land ranging from 1.4 to 3.1 acres and appraised for tax purposes at market values ranging from $24,840 to $39,500. The land is undeveloped and there’s some question whether, even with existing easements, it could be developed.

But, even if landlocked, Thompson says the worth of such large lots in this neighborhood is significantly more than current appraisals,

perhaps as much as $250,000 an acre.

The assessor’s office estimated Dempsey’s 12 acres, purchased in 2001, is roughly worth as much as $5 million, though it currently carries a market value of $621,000.

A check of records showed that all these properties have carried the lower acreage valuations at least since the 2003 countywide reappraisal and were simply picked up again in the same manner in 2006 and 2009.

The valuations likely go farther back, before Ward took office in 2001. Appraisers look at every listed property as to home attributes during reappraisals, but do not consider underlying property valuation, Ward said. For that, the office studies subdivision prices as a whole looking for discrepancies on comparable properties in a subdivision. In this handful of cases among tens of thousands, prime properties were not in subdivisions in which prices could be compared. “They were just unique properties,” Ward said.

The lack of turnover on the properties helped perpetuate the errors. Each one has been held by the same owner since before the 2003 reappraisal. Many have been in the same hands since before a landmark 1996 reappraisal. That appraisal, and the resulting property tax rates it produced, is, by state law, the baseline for taxes on all property that has not changed hands since.

That 1996 taxing level is important in understanding why tax bills would only be slightly higher today even if these properties were properly appraised. A constitutional amendment contains a tax “circuit breaker” to guard against a big tax burden from the huge increases in value experienced statewide after correction of years of poor appraisal practices. It limited an annual home-

stead property tax increase to 5 percent of the tax bill and the 1996 tax rate is the beginning of the scale.

Even 15 years later, with an annual increase of 5 percent a year, the tax would remain small against today’s market given the 1996 tax levels. When Ford bought his house in 2002, its tax rate was pegged to the 1996 tax rate as the law required, not the sale price. The law has since changed.

A 2006 law required that properties be adjusted to market, as determined by the assessor, on sale.

Why can’t the erroneous appraisals be instantly adjusted? Because, Ward says, state law says that errors in value may be corrected in the every-third-year reappraisals. Errors in fact — a transcribing error, say — are instantly fixable.

One more thing: Joe Ford’s house will never be brought up to the level of taxes possible on a home with his value as long as he owns it. Why? Because he qualifies for the property tax freeze given on homesteads to people 65 and older. He turned 65 nine years ago. He’s actually never claimed the freeze, but the rate need not exceed that charged in 2003 and that was pegged to a 1996 tax bill.

Ford said he’d never given a thought to the value on his property tax bill. “When I bought the house I assumed they put down whatever they needed and sent me a bill.”

He said, “I think whatever the criteria is it ought to be the same for all in the same residential area.”

Stephens responded through a spokesman: “The county always sends me a bill for a property taxes, which I promptly pay and I will continue to do so. Regarding the total amount of taxes I pay, I don’t think anyone is getting shortchanged.”

bill (HB 1836) is likely to do.

Clark says that Madison and Leding were both conspicuously absent from a meeting with legislators at Little Rock that was sponsored by Northwest Arkansas government and political leaders. “And she knew about the meeting. If she was not behind it [the redistricting plan] she would have been there.” He says Madison has tried to get him fired because of his activities in opposition to the redistricting plan. Because of term limits, Madison cannot seek re-election to the legislature. Leding can.

One person clearly for the plan is the sponsor of HB 1836, Rep. Clark Hall of Marvell, a Democrat who chairs the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee. He’s been rather closemouthed, though, designating another member to present the bill to Hall’s committee, which endorsed it on a party-line vote.

The leadership of the state Democratic Party is also blamed or credited for the Fayetteville Finger. State Chairman Will Bond of Jacksonville denies he’s the mastermind behind the redistricting plan. “Redistricting is a legislative process,” he says. “We don’t have a vote.” Without much prodding, he’ll

defend the plan, though.

As with any legislative proposal, “You have to get something that a majority can agree on and pass,” Bond says. “Look at the Republican redistricting plans. They’re all about incumbent protection. They make wholesale changes to the congressional map.”

The courts have required that congressional districts be nearly equal in population.

To achieve that, “You can draw redistricting maps in a lot of ways, and somebody is always upset,” Bond says. “If we moved Sebastian County to the Fourth District [instead of Fayetteville] they’d be upset.” As would many Democrats. Sebastian County is mostly Republican. Putting it in the Fourth District would increase the chances of the Democrats losing the congressional seat. Obviously, Fourth District Congressman Mike Ross is concerned with the redistricting plan, but the Arkansas Times’ efforts to discuss it with him have been rebuffed.

That the Fayetteville Finger may look funny on the map is comparatively unimportant, Bond says, noting — correctly — that there are many funny-shaped congressional districts in America. “The legal

touchstone is one man, one vote. This plan is the closest one out there.”

Stephen Smith, a communication professor at the University of Arkansas, has defended the redistricting plan in a column written for a local newspaper. Smith is a Democrat and a former state representative.

“Fayetteville would be the largest city in the new district and would once again have a district congressional office, making it more convenient for our citizens to have direct contact with our representative and staff,” he wrote. “More importantly, Washington County could now have two members of Congress dedicated to looking out for our interests in Washington. … [W]e can have that advantage for Northwest Arkansas if we are smart enough to take it.”

Publicly, Governor Beebe is leaving congressional redistricting to the legislature, but as the state’s top Democrat, he’ll be suspected of complicity if the Fayetteville Finger is approved. He can’t run again, anyway.

People laughed when the Fayetteville Finger was first introduced; they’re serious now. Somebody deserves credit for advancing the proposal this far, but nobody wants to take it.

Hey, do this!

A P RI L

Food, Music, Entertainment and everything else that’s fri 1 Kenny Chesney makes a stop at Verizon MARCH 31 Be sure to catch the Aluminum Show at Little Rock’s

Robinson Center Music Hall, playing through Thursday, Mar. 31. A stimulating tour de force that combines movement, dance, visual theater and humor, dancers and actors breathe life into aluminum-tone industrial materials to tell the story of a young machine determined to reunite with its parents. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. and is suitable for all ages. Tickets range from $17-$47. Visit www. celebrityattractions.com or call 501-244-8800 for more information.

wed 6 The Arkansas Repertory

Theatre hosts Brew Ha Ha, including appetizers

from local restaurants and specialty beer provided

by Golden Eagle in the Rep’s Main Lobby. Afterwards, enjoy a special preview performance of Hairspray at 7 p.m. The classic musical based on the film by John Waters officially opens on Friday, April 8 and runs through Sunday, May 8. Tickets to Brew Ha Ha are only $30 and are available by phone at 501-378-0405 or online at www.therep.org.

Arena on his Goin’ Coastal Tour 2011 in support of his #1 album Hemingway’s Whiskey, which is nominated for the Top Album of the Year from the Academy of Country Music and includes the current song “Live A Little,” and the #1 singles “Boys of Fall” and “Somewhere With You.” Billy Currington and Uncle Kracker will open the 7 p.m. show. Tickets are $26.50, $44.50 and $75 and are available through Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or online at www. ticketmaster.com. Visit www.verizonarena.com.

thur 7-wed13

The Arkansas Literary Festival is the state’s premier gathering of readers and writers. It has expanded to 80 authors in many locations on both sides of the Arkansas River. The festival includes a mix of panels discussions, workshops, special events and more. Most events are free and open to the public. Festival authors include Charlaine Harris, Kevin Brockmeier, Mark Christ, Paul Reyes, Nate Powell, Kyran Pittman, Jay Jennings and many more. An Evening with David Sedaris closes the event on Wed., April 13. Visit www. arkansasliteraryfestival.org. Don’t forget the Arkansas Times’ Pub or Perish event at Big Whiskey, April 9 at 8 p.m.

fri 8

Knuffle Bunny hops into Wildwood Park for the Arts for three performances on stage at the Cabe Festival Theater. Touring across the nation by the Kennedy Center Theatre for Young Audiences, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical is adapted by Mo Willems from his award winning children’s book. Two free morning matinees of Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale will be performed for Central Arkansas school kids on Friday, April 8. A public performance will follow that evening at 7 pm. Tickets to the evening show are $10 for adults and $5 for children. Doors open at 6:30 pm. To learn more about Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical, visit www.wildwoodpark.org or call 501-821-7275. Schools interested in attending the free matinees should contact Leslie Golden at leslie@wildwoodpark.org or 501-821-7575.

sat 16

Wildwood Park for the Arts presents BLOOMS!, a festival celebrating springtime in Central Arkansas, April 16-17. This year, WILD garden parties include a 1920 s garden party, storybook garden party, rockin’ the suburbs garden party with croquet and bocce ball and a high tea garden party. Live demonstrations, garden tours, kids’ crafts, live music and May Pole dancing are some of the activities to enjoy.

The festival runs from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday and 12-6 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children.

For tickets, visit www.wildwoodpark.org or call 501-821-7275.

Beginning at 6 p.m., enjoy wine and light bites from Cajun’s Wharf and Copper Grill. At 7:30 p.m., the Barbara Graves fashion show will begin on the Rep’s Hairspray set and will feature chic swimwear, loungewear and sleepwear. Tickets are $75. For tickets, call Bethany Hilkert at 501-378-0445, ext. 203 or email bhilkert@therep.org.

performances. He has amassed more than 50 million in record sales in his career and in 2010 he was honored with having the #1 Catalog Album of the Decade for his Greatest Hits album, which sold 9 million units. Tickets to see this legendary performer and his famous backing band are $67 and are available through Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or online at www. ticketmaster.com. For more information, visit www.verizonarena.com.

16 march 30, 2011 • ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE ARKANSAS TIMES

Designer’s Choice Fashion Preview will be co-hosted by local designer and Project Runway finalist Korto Momolu and actor Boris Kodjoe and will feature the latest collection by Reco Chapple, of Bravo’s The Fashion Show fame, as well as pieces by ten Arkansas designers. The 7 p.m. show takes place at the Clear Channel Metroplex. General admission is $30. VIP tickets are $50 and include preferred seating and access to a pre-show meet and greet with Boris, Reco and Korto at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are available at Jeanté, Box Turtle, Vogue Visage, 4th Dimension Salon, Uncle T’s and Ultra Studios in Fayetteville. For more information, email impressionsofu@yahoo.com.

thu 14

Theatre hosts Passion for Fashion.

time since 2007, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer will play Verizon Arena at 7:30 p.m. Seger, who turns 66 in May, is known for his live

sat 2 This year’s

Let’s play ball! The Arkansas Travelers host the Midland Rock Hounds at 7:10 p.m. in the 2011 home opener at Dickey Stephens Park in North Little Rock. This home field stand includes two additional games against the Rock Hounds on Friday, April 15 (7:10 p.m.) and Saturday, April 16 (6 p.m.). The Travs then host the Frisco Roughriders on Sunday, April 17 (4 p.m.), Monday, April 18 (11 a.m.) and Tuesday, April 19 (7:10 p.m.).

Tickets are $12 for adults and $12 for children for box seats; $8 for adults and $5 for children for reserved seats; and $6 for adults and $4 for children for outfield lawn seats. For a complete schedule, visit www. arkansas. travelers.milb.com.

mon 18 The Arkansas Repertory

tues 26 Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band are touring for the first

FU N!

fri 29

sat 23

Arkansas Earth Day takes place from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on North Little Rock’s North Shore Riverwalk. This year’s theme is Live Green Arkansas and will address ways in which Arkansans can contribute to global conservation and recycling efforts. Local bands will play throughout the day. Nonprofits, local businesses and food vendors will host booths at the noStyrofoam, no-plastic bottle event. Visit www.arkansasearthday.org for more information.

James Taylor needs no introduction. The iconic singersongwriter has earned 40 gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards and five Grammys. He has sold 40 million albums in his career, which began in 1968 when he was signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records.

Some of his most beloved classics include “Fire and Rain,” “Carolina in My Mind,” “Sweet Baby James” and “Something in the Way She Moves.” This is sure to be a memorable night. Tickets to the 8 p.m. show at Verizon Arena are $47 and $71.50 and are available through Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster. com. For more information, visit www.verizonarena.com.

www.arktimes.com • march 30, 2011 17

Editorial Set sights higher, UA n Frank Broyles had a rule about not hiring a head coach who had no previous experience as a head coach. Farmers, bankers, even editorial writers were considered unsuitable to fill coaching vacancies. The University of Arkansas Board of Trustees could do worse than follow Broyles’ example, much worse.

The trustees are seeking a new president for the U of A System, and it’s reported that Stanley Reed of Marianna and Frank Oldham of Jonesboro are two of those under serious consideration. Neither is a professional educator; both should be disqualified for that reason alone. In the case of Reed, there are several others. We don’t know much about Oldham, a banker, except that he and Reed are both former members of the UA Board of Trustees themselves, which is no qualification at all to be president. Trustees are appointed because they’ve made handsome financial contributions to politicians. If a university degree is to mean anything, presidents must be held to a higher standard.

Cronyism is not a legitimate major.

Reed, a farmer, is a former president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation, one of the state’s stronger and more regressive special-interest groups. Under Reed’s leadership, it fought savagely against legislation to stop the torture of animals, and it supported initiatives to discriminate against gay people in marriage and adoption. And speaking of discrimination, Reed has supported a segregationist academy in Lee County. His children attended it. The Waltons are already working through UA to undermine the public schools. They need no help from Reed.

GOP bats from hell n We know that Republicans hate paying taxes, and apparently they hate obeying speed limits, too. Laws are for poor people, as Dick Cheney said, or might have. A few weeks ago, a Republican state senator, Bruce Holland of Greenwood, fled from a deputy sheriff through Yell and Perry Counties at speeds in excess of 100 miles an hour, passing other vehicles dangerously along the way, according to the deputy. Now, there’s a report of a white pickup, license plate “2,” being driven with similar speed and recklessness on I-40 in Conway County. The driver in this case was not apprehended, but the Arkansas Times has learned that Lt. Gov. Mark Darr, another Republican, has a white pickup with a license plate that says “2.” Darr himself is lying low. The gangster Bugsy Siegel is supposed to have said of himself and his kind, “We only kill each other.” If these irresponsible Republican scofflaws could say the same, we’d gladly tell them to step on it. Unfortunately, they endanger law-abiding people too.

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18 MARCH 30, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES

FAYETTEVILLE FINGER: A Democratic congressional redistricting plan that expands the 4th District by running a finger of land up to Fayetteville has riled Republicans.

Below, an expert explains why “gerrymanders” drawn for political reasons are legal.

Legal gerrymander n As the so-called “Fayetteville finger” redistricting plan has gathered steam in the state legislature, some — most prominently GOP state chair Doyle Webb — have suggested that they will consider taking such an obvious political gerrymander to court. They’d be smart not to waste any energy on it.

In a 2004 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court essentially closed the door to lawsuits questioning the constitutionality of partisan redistricts (a tradition as old as the Republic). That precedent, Vieth v. Jubelirer, would drive any Arkansas case. The Vieth case emanated out of an aggressive gerrymander after the 2000 census by the Republicancontrolled state legislature of Pennsylvania’s congressional districts. Because the state was losing seats in Congress, the use of new technological mapping tools and the strategic pitting of Democratic incumbents against each other meant major gains for the GOP in the immediate aftermath of the redistricting. Democrats in the state cried foul and, specifically, cried that their Equal Protection rights had been violated.

The Democratic plaintiffs in the Vieth case had some hope that the Supreme Court would see things their way because of a 1986 Indiana case in which a majority on the Supreme Court had said that partisan gerrymandering did indeed raise Equal Protection concerns. Even more important, the Court majority in the Indiana case (Davis v.

Bandemer) dramatically shifted from previous courts in saying that the issue was not inherently a “political question” (that is, an issue to be dealt with by elected bodies and not by courts). Thus, the Davis court gave a green light to Equal Protection litigation when persistent, aggressive partisan gerrymandering could be shown. Reformers hoped that when an aggressive gerrymander, like that in Pennsylvania, came to the Court, a new day would dawn and partisan gerrymandering would go the way of districts where urban voters were undervalued and districts driven by racial considerations.

All the justices in the Vieth case bemoaned the ugliness of the politics that had driven the redistricting process and four liberal justices actually

Jay Barth said that the plan was unconstitutional, with different logic driving their separate decisions.

But, the decisive justices in the Vieth case said that there was simply no usable rule that could be established for gauging where partisanship in districting is bad enough to be unconstitutional. Justice Kennedy—in his usual role in the middle on the Court—said that he’d be open to such a rule being established in the future but had little hope that it could happen.

Congressional redistricting can’t violate the “one-person, one-vote” rule laid down by the Supreme Court in the 1960s. And, those plans can’t be driven by considerations of race or ethnicity that favor either the majority or the minority.

But, when it comes to partisan politics, the Constitution ultimately doesn’t come into play. As Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in Vieth: “Is the regular insertion of the judiciary into districting, with the delay and uncertainty that brings to the political process and the partisan enmity it brings upon the courts, worth the benefit to be achieved ... ? We think not.”

The best way for Arkansas’s Republicans to reshape district lines in their favor is to win control of state government by the time the next redistricting process takes place. (A more complex issue is whether they could do that before the next census, as the Texas legislature—driven by House Majority Leader Tom Delay—did in the middle part of the last decade.) For this is an area where elections truly have consequences.

Jay Barth is M.E. and Ima Graves Peace Distinguished Professor of Politics Chair of the Department of Politics and International Relations Director of Civic Engagement Projects at Hendrix College.

Corporate agenda wins n The jury is still out on whether the 88th Arkansas General Assembly will be celebrated chiefly for its occupation with trivia or with serving corporate interests.

Why not both? Those two impulses, after all, have defined state legislatures for a hundred years, and this legislature has abandoned itself to them more than any in memory. Having settled the war over the state nickname in its first month, the House battled last week over whether churches should arm the foes of infant baptism or the other side or just let them all carry heat to worship services. The House voted to let church leaders decide which parishioners to arm.

But I think the corporate agenda is the big winner. Corporations have not lost one, nor has a single issue been in doubt. They got tax cuts, staved off environmental regulation and consumer protections and got the legislature to reverse unfavorable court decisions.

Every lobbyist can report a 1.000 batting average back to corporate. But then they always do.

Let’s review some of the record.

• Although corporate profits are setting records, times are sort of tough so manufacturing and processing companies wanted some kind of tax cut. The legislature obliged by slashing the sales tax they pay for energy. The factories already pay less

Ernest Dumas for their electricity and gas than small businesses and homeowners and a lower sales tax as well, but they wanted more. The big winners: The big national paper and wood-products companies, Tyson Foods and the gas-burning power producers. The power companies had lost a court fight on their taxes so they had the legislature take care of it. The tax savings will improve the companies’ bottom line by $20 million a year.

• A North Little Rock lawmaker introduced a bill to close a loophole that allows the nation’s biggest companies to escape paying taxes on their profits in Arkansas by diverting the income to subsidiaries registered in the Cayman Islands or in postoffice boxes in Delaware or Nevada. His bill would require multistate corporations to use an accounting rule known as combined reporting. Like their small homegrown competitors, they would pay Arkansas taxes on the percentage of their national profits generated in the state. Most states now do that. The new Republican governor of Rhode Island included combined reporting in his budget last week. Lobbyists filled

Praise the Lord and pass the ammo n That was quite a productive little Friday morning they had in the state House of Representatives, voting to put guns in church and the Bible in school.

It sounds worse than it actually was.

In both cases the egregiousness was not so much what was done, but that anything was done at all.

Yes, what we have here is yet another case of big-government activism by socalled social conservatives falsely asserting small-government goals. They simply will not leave well enough alone. That is why they sometimes get called yahoo busybodies in this space.

Someday, after we evolve further, we will learn that, almost always, less is so much more.

Let us first take the matter of guns in church.

Several years ago, owing to our gun-addicted culture and to our insistence on being ruled by our fears, our legislature gave us a law by which a competent and law-abiding person could take a little training course and get a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

John Brummett jbrummett@arkansasnews.com

It was, while lamentable in a general way, fine by me specifically. I have more concern about a person who seeks and holds no permit for the gun he conceals.

But because yahoo busybodies inevitably over-legislate with their big-government intrusion, the Legislature felt obliged to put into this law a litany of locations into which one could not carry this otherwise legal and licensed concealed weapon.

We simply could have provided generally what ought to be a common-law assumption — that any property owner could deny admittance to his property, whether personal or commercial or otherwise, to persons with a concealed weapon. Or, imagine this, we could have left everything to human judgment and human reason and human liberty.

But instead the yahoo busybodies felt it

the committee room in Little Rock to warn of dire consequences if the bill passed. It was crushed. The biggest beneficiary of the current system? Probably (no one can be sure) Exxon Mobil. Its profits last year were a measly $31 billion. Thanks to your generosity at the gas pump, their profits will be lots more this year but their tax bill will be trifling.

• Subject to a popular vote next year, the legislature raised the diesel tax to support a highway bond issue, but it had to give the big trucking companies that rip up the highways something in return. They will be exempt from the sales tax and use tax on their big rigs. The effect is to shift money from the public schools and medical services for the aged and disabled to the Highway Department. You will pay for the rest of the highway program with more sales taxes on everything you buy.

• American Electric Power, one of the world’s largest electric utilities, was upset that the Arkansas courts invalidated a permit to build a big coal-burning plant in southwest Arkansas. It got the legislature to change the law so that it and other power generators will never again be denied. In the future, the major decisions will be made without a necessary notice to the public. The plant will primarily serve Texas and Louisiana, which did not want it in their states because it will blast 6 million tons of greenhouse gases a year into the atmosphere. The company hopes the legislature’s action will make the courts change their minds about the McNab plant, too.

• The energy industry did not like the idea of the climate-change forces to encourage the development of clean energy sources in Arkansas, so the Senate killed the bill by sending it off to be studied for a couple of years.

• If you detected a degree of public outrage over the destruction of roads, land, streams and water sources from the gas exploration companies, you must have been wrong. Seven bills that would impose some regulation and oversight of the drilling to increase the protection of landowners and the general public were crushed in a House committee. The exploration companies filled the room with people who worried that if the companies had to meet the standards imposed in other states they would pick up their rigs and leave. They need not have bothered. The legislature would never impose such restrictions.

• A bill to make the exploration companies pay the full 5 percent severance tax rather than 1.5 percent on their production (they pay 7 percent in Texas) was stopped in committee.

How, you may ask, can corporate lobbyists be so effective? It is not as if they arrived at the Capitol to find the legislature in rapt contemplation of the public interest. For most state legislators, rural or urban, commercial interests are their real constituency. Who’s paying attention? As V. O. Key observed 60 years ago, “The American people are not boiling with concern about the workings of their state government.”

necessary to legislate that a licensed carrier of a concealed weapon could take the hidden pistol into a restaurant, but not into a bar; and could take it happily down the street, but not into a government office or sporting event; and could not take it into a church.

Nowhere in these nanny-state edicts did these yahoo busybodies explain what the licensed gun-carrier was supposed to do with this usually legal gun from which he had to keep separating himself as he went about his life’s route.

Regarding church, the law essentially invited a person to carry his gun into the church parking lot, but then to put it under his car seat to be stolen while he was inside worshipping.

Here’s the deal: We have gazillions of guns. We have a law letting law-abiding people conceal these guns on their persons.

It is better to let these law-abiding people keep these licensed guns concealed on their persons, and to trust them to behave appropriately in whatever venue they’re inhabiting, than to leave these guns lying around.

Anyway, government should not be able under the U.S. Constitution to dictate to a church whom to allow on its pews and under what circumstances. That ought to be left to the elders or deacons or bishops.

We just cannot seem to get our arms around this separation of church and state, can we?

So some folks got worried that they were going to get shot in church. They thought

they might need their weapon in such a case.

Because we put this church exception into the law in the first place, it becomes necessary to remove the exception if we are to oblige those who want to be able to return fire legally in the sanctuary. And there you have the basis for this bill by which we attract national ridicule for seeming to be arming for shoot-’em-ups in our churches.

Alas, only a little space remains for teaching the Bible in school.

It is just as well because, as sponsoring Rep. Denny Altes of Fort Smith told me, his bill had been so watered down by amendments that “it’s a good bill — doesn’t do anything.”

Of course a yahoo busybody has to go ahead and pass the darned thing anyhow.

The bill merely authorizes a system by which school districts could design an elective nonreligious course based on the Bible and get it approved by the state Education Department. A couple of schools have done that already. No law was needed.

Most schools will continue having entirely too much sense to venture into this tinderbox with the yahoo busybodies who are about to pester us half to death with all their legislating.

John Brummett is a columnist and reporter for Stephens Media’s Arkansas News Bureau. www.arktimes.com • MARCH 30, 2011 19

arts entertainment ALL

This week in

Chesney to Verizon

PAGE 22

and

Tyrese to speak at Philander Smith PAGE 23

TO-DO LIST 22

CALENDAR 24

MOVIES 32

DINING 34

OVER THEPLACE

Fayetteville musician Joe Heffernan makes noise in European act Paris Suit Yourself.

BY JOHN TARPLEY

So what to say about “My Main Shitstain,” the debut from Paris Suit Yourself? a) “It sounds like TV on the Radio, had it not completely lost the point years ago.” b) “I thought music made by the French was supposed to suck.” c) “It’s one of the most rousing, inspired, thrilling, ridiculous rock albums in a long time.” d) “It’s at once one of the most divisive and most acclaimed albums of the year.” e) All of the above and more.

If writing about music, as the exhausted cliche goes, “is like dancing about architecture,” then this music writer has been currently perched on the highest point of Sacré-Cœur in a full-on, spit-launching, frenetic seizure fit over “My Main Shitstain” (yes, it’s a terrible title). And I’m not the only one: The better part of the European press at large, including the habitually staunch tastemakers at the BBC, have been united for months in a collectively raised fist for Paris Suit Yourself.

So imagine my surprise when, during this figurative 20 MARCH 30, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES

freak-out party, the drummer responsible for so much of the album’s madness strolled up and unleashed a fat “woo pig sooie!” in our direction.

Joe Heffernan, 34, was born in Fayetteville to U of A professor and celebrated poet Michael Heffernan and Fayetteville Adult Education program director Kathy Spigarelli.

His scattershot, wildly diverse musical history begins there.

“I’ve been playing piano since I was young, but I was wild and had a ton of energy and just didn’t want to keep going to the lessons,” the musician recalls. “In seventh grade I wanted to do all the heavy metal bands, y’know? I was a crazy teen-ager — all kinds of nonsense and shenanigans.

But I bagged all that and went into classical, started studying orchestration and playing piano again.”

He enrolled in the U of A to study percussion before moving to full-time composition.

“For six years, really all I did was study orchestration and music theory. I did arrangements for a symphony and did a lot of chamber music before I moved to Chicago. Left all the crazy punk rock energy behind to combine my mental state full of music theory and harmony but, y’know, my body needed to move!

“I’m really, really hyperactive. I have to play the drums or I’ll go insane,” jokes Heffernan in a still-wired, restless burst of energy.

It was a chance encounter and mutual passion for classical music with the three Bordeaux-based members of Paris Suit Yourself that kicked off Heffernan’s years-long frenzy around Europe.

“I met Luvinsky [Atche, frontman] in New York City and, seven months later, he called up and said, ‘Hey, man — you’ve gotta come play in this band. Now.’

“See, I’m a double Capricorn: I only go somewhere if there’s a function for me to do. A job or something, you know? So I dropped the classical stuff and moved to France.”

Heffernan joined Atche and the rest of Paris Suit Yourself, Marie Boye (bass) and Victor Tricard (guitar, keys), in the south of France, and over the next months darted around the continent, evading visa laws by lily-padding back and forth across the Atlantic and establishing Paris Suit Yourself as a band to watch in musical circles. (He also met his wife, Marie, a Swede.) The band earned its reputation in large part because of Heffernan’s hectic, innovative rhythms, which draw upon his background as a classical arranger.

“As a drummer, I also feel like a conductor, trying to shape things,” he says.

No doubt, it’s that classically-trained vantage point towards drumming that holds “My Main Shitstain” together and casts the band’s perverse splatter of art-rock into an accessible, dancehall-ready album. The album draws from forebears as far flung as afro-beat inventor Fela Kuti, postpunk/dub greats New Age Steppers, French garage legend Jacques DuTronc and Wu-Tang Clan’s late, great Ol’ Dirty Bastard. (I think the surprise in their track “Surprise” is the “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” shout-out at 1:55.)

It’s only appropriate that such an absurd, mind-blower of an album was born from such an absurd, mind-blowing inter-continental coincidence, isn’t it?

“My Main Shitstain” is available for download on the iTunes store and on Amazon, among other music stores.

Look for it in December 2011 in a number of year-end “best of” lists.

The answer is e) for both, though mostly a) and b), respectively.

Finish these statements: Hyperbole isn’t welcome in music writing because … a) … it’s a cheap rhetorical device to begin with. Duh. b) … showing your cards drains totally your hip cred, bro. c) … by definition, music writing is enriched by a healthy cynicism. d) … Christgau doesn’t use it, Robert Palmer didn’t, so what makes you think you can, you punk? e) All of the above.

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 s !2+!.3!3 4)-%3

■ to-dolist

tious and, let’s face it, pretty odd idea for a charity benefit — auctioning off eggshaped objects decorated by artists and celebrities — has since turned into one of the biggest local fundraisers around. Since its inception, Eggshibition has raised upwards of $2 million for Youth Home, the outreach agency for troubled adolescents.

This year, in addition to the decorated eggs, the event is offering weekend trips to New York, Rio and Las Vegas and, for the football fan, primo tickets and a catered tailgate for the Nov. 19 Razorbacks game against Mississippi State as well as two seats in the Jones Family Suite at Cowboy Stadium for a yet-to-be-announced game.

BY JOHN TARPLEY

W EDN E SD AY 3/ 3 0

MONKHOUSE

8 p.m., White Water Tavern. $5.

THU R SD AY 3/ 31

‘LIVESTOCK’

7:30 p.m., The Peabody. $5 donation.

n Little Rock keeps rocking for a good cause the following night, as well, with a triple-bill of energetic indie bands taking to the downtown hotel to raise money for, this time, a superstar charity, Heifer Inter-

KENNY CHESNEY

7 p.m., Verizon Arena. $75-$44.

JUDEA JACKSON

n When the “Holy Ghost Rock & Roll Revival” pitches its proverbial tent each first Wednesday of the month at White Water, the tavern becomes what the band describes as “a sort of a church for pagans – saints and sinners.” Now, let’s not delve into the whole “saloon as church, bar as communion table, rock as gospel and tequila is the Eucharist” metaphor that’s been belched up by show-going drunks for decades. Instead, the still-new group taps directly into the long-standing, patently Southern well of gospel-sweetened roots, soul, swamp rock and blues music with “no preaching, no church-i-ness and no religion.” But there is an undeniable sheen of religion that lies thinly atop the music, an ever-present hint of old-time church goodliness that’s never proselytizing and only present if you’re out to see it there. (Much like that wooden cross that’s suggested over guitarist Nathaniel Greer’s head in the picture.) All of this, if not in the lyrics, lives in the actual reason behind the shows; Monkhouse donates the night’s $5 cover to SOAR and Helping Arkansas, two homeless advocacy groups based in Little Rock.

’HOUSE HELPS THE HOMELESS: Roots rock, gospel and blues get shaken up every first Wednesday of the month when Monkhouse lands in White Water Tavern for its regular benefit shows to raise money for local homeless organizations. national. First up: Carver, a new act from Conway that leans a healthy roots influence up against its indie-rock swagger. If the guys of Carver were a Heifer gift, they would be the $20 flock of chicks, because they’re young and all over the place. Next up: Whale Fire, the long-lived sunshine rockers whose whip-tight harmonies and surfboard-ready guitar licks should be no stranger to regular readers of this column.

If Whale Fire was a Heifer gift animal, it would most definitely be the $30 box of bees, because the band is sharp, fast and prone to making sticky, sweet music.

Finally: Sea Nanners, the blossoming rookies and Times favorites who are soon to release “Queen of the Brodeo,” their debut 7” with relentlessly catchy songs that have been on heavy rotation in my headphones for weeks. And if Sea Nan-

ners were a Heifer gift animal, it would be the $120 goat, and not just because, on the webpage, it has a cute, longing look that fits the band’s sound, but because singer Thom Asewicz’s vocals — some of the best and most idiosyncratic in town — are shuddered and vibrato, much like that of a singing goat.

FRIDAY 4/1

EGGSHIBITION XX: ‘EVOLUTION OF THE EGG’

7 p.m., Jack Stephens Center, UALR. $75.

n What began 20 years ago as an ambi-

n He is, by anybody’s count, one of the biggest country singers to twang his way to CMT-era superstardom. He’s the voice behind 18 singles and nine albums to reach the top of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs charts, one of the biggest touring names in music, period. Huge achievements all, no doubt. But with the personality-driven world of Walmart-country choked with faux authenticity, Chesney is just about the only one of his caliber who actually comes across as the “regular dude” he’s branded to be. That, combined with the fact that he’s an embodiment of the “hardscrabble singer turns huge” storybook tale, makes him even more endearing. Not bad for a guy who grew up in a pop. 900 town under the shadow of local hero Chet Atkins. The music? Well, he’s no Brad Paisley. His discography is freckled with songs that became punchlines and even sputtered on the country charts. But for every “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,” Chesney can unload a melodic, gorgeous track like his recent “Somewhere With You,” a smart, inspired track with hooks rooted in Elton John, melodies from Rod Stewart’s finer handbooks and a moody air akin to “Need You Now,” Lady Antebellum’s Grammysweeping 2010 single. He’s joined by Billy Currington, who returns to Arkansas for his third time in less than a year, and

NO SHOES, NO SHIRT, NO PROBLEM: Country megastar Kenny Chesney is the latest A-lister to visit Verizon Arena. He’s joined by Billy Currington and Uncle Kracker this Friday night.

22 MARCH 30, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES

SUNDAY 4/3

EXENE CERVENKA/ KEVIN SECONDS 8 p.m., White Water Tavern.

A MODEL EXAMPLE: Tyrese Gibson lands in the Central High School Auditorium to “Bless the Mic” in the final installment of Philander Smith’s popular lecture series.

Uncle Kracker, the PG-rated Kid Rock whose own story, which takes him from rap-rock to family-friendly country, is one of the strangest in recent memory.

solos, massive drum splashes, hop in your GTO (through the driver’s side window, of course), run a comb through your hair while sparking a Zippo to your cigarette, peel out, inhale some of the rubber fumes and crank up “Forbidden Fruit”: that’s the preferred way to enjoy the new album from local rockers Four on the Floor. Since 2007, the four-piece has made a name for itself opening for Ted Nugent, Jackyll and Heart, among other huge names, and took home a cool 10 grand during a Capri Casino battle of the bands. This morning, I wound up stuck in traffic with the album vibrating my decidedly un-rock ’n’ roll Honda. I didn’t bother getting my morning coffee. Fans of Smoke Up Johnny: heads up. Kicking off the night: The Fuzz. Great name.

TYRESE GIBSON

7 p.m., Central High School Auditorium.

Free.

n Philander Smith College’s popular “Bless the Mic” series closes out a successful season this Friday night with a lecture from Tyrese Gibson, the multitalented rapper, R&B singer, action movie actor and former model. And now the Renaissance man can add another title to his diverse resume: self-help author. It’s his bookshelf debut, “How to Get Out of Your Own Way,” that brings the heartthrob to town. Inside, Gibson bares himself in a confessional tell-all, exploring his childhood in the rough streets of Watts, Calif., and his problems with weight, recent divorces and other obstacles he chalks up to a cycle of self-destructive behavior.

Says Tyrese, “I was merely ... a man who learned to get out of his own way before it was too late.” Copies of the book will be available after his appearance.

n Icons, y’all. These two are icons, if not undeniable punk royalty. They also represent, perhaps more than anyone else from the late-’70s/early-’80s zenith of melodic punk, the easy-to-imagine, hard-to-achieve feat of aging gracefully.

Johnny Rotten is shilling Sex Pistols perfume, Henry Rollins has mutated into a meathead-curmudgeon-buster fogey, but Kevin Seconds (of hardcore legends 7 Seconds, whose sound can be traced, big time, to our Towncraft-era bands) and Exene Cervenka (of X, the single greatest band to ever come from Los Angeles) are spending their 50s studying the simple strands of folk DNA that provided the protein for punk music. And both punk and folk are all the better for it. Kevin Seconds’ last trip to town, opening for Ted Leo + Pharmacists at Vino’s in October, saw him take to the middle of the crowd for some harmonica-driven Americana sung with an earnest grimace and a high tenor. Cervenka, the “Alien Lord” herself, last visited White Water in February 2010, looking like a plucky Montessori teacher and lilting through what seemed to be (welcome) dozens of bite-sized, two-minute folk songs about love, the open road and regrets, wise and masterful, all. Just as interesting: the rows of young men — myself included — shamelessly swooning over the woman whose prime we weren’t around to see. (Seriously, who else has made so many rockers blush as radiantly as Exene during X’s numerous trips on early Letterman? Even young Dave couldn’t hold back a few unarmed titters.) Her latest album, “The Excitement of Maybe,” is a widely praised, intriguing addition to the melancholic, Southern Gothic canon that’s populated by the Neko Cases and Gillian Welches of the world.

FOUR ON THE FLOOR ALBUM RELEASE 9 p.m., Stickyz. $5.

n Chugga chugga chugga chugga thrash thrash; chugga chugga chugga chugga thrash thrash! Insert wails, “yeah’s,” guitar

CHARLIE LLEWELIN

S ATU R D AY 4/ 2

‘EXENE’ AS IN ‘QUEEN’: Exene Cervenka, the woman behind the influential X, returns to Little Rock alongside Kevin Seconds, front man of 7 Seconds.

■ inbrief

THURSDAY 3/31

n The Afterthought hosts a night of intricate, toe-tapping jazz/folk from The Smittle Band, 9 p.m., $7. Alize plays the Cajun’s Wharf deck for happy hour, 5:30 p.m., followed by Fjord Mustang, 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. DJ Silky Slim mans the booth at Sway, 8 p.m., $3. Thirst n’ Howl gets a dose of peppy acoustic folk from Ol’ Puddin’haid, 7:30 p.m., free. Country bar rocker Steele Jessup returns to Grumpy’s Too, 9 p.m. “The Aluminum Show” ends its three-day run of acrobatic spectacle at Robinson Center Music Hall, 7:30 p.m.

Maxine’s Pub in Hot Springs brings in a double-bill of poppy, multi-instrumental folk from Nicholas Altobelli and Bravo, Max!, 8 p.m., free.

FRIDAY 4/1

n Fresh off of recording an episode of AETN’s “On the Front Row,” Kevin Kerby + Battery return to White Water Tavern with Chris Michaels and the Cranks, 10 p.m. Vino’s hosts a night of country music from Ben Coulter, The Delta Outlaws and Damn Arkansan, 9 p.m., $7. Likewise at Revolution, where Riverbilly, Luke Williams and Chris Stillman take the stage, 9 p.m. Number 2 With Me and Hugh brings its rural Mississippi funk to Midtown Billiards, 12:30 p.m., $8 non-members. West End Smokehouse pop-punk regulars Pop Tart Monkeys return to the tavern stage, 10 p.m., $5. And baseball season keeps revving up with the UALR Trojans taking the field against Western Kentucky at UALR’s Gary Hogan Field, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY 4/2

n In Conway, the inaugural Jazz and Cuisine Classic of Conway lands in the Agora Conference Center, featuring dinner from a slew of great area restaurants, music from Carl Mouton and the Big Timers and featured guest, Devon Evans, a percussionist who has performed with The Wailers, Nina Simone, Sun Ra, Miles Davis and more, $50/person, $80/ couple, 7 p.m. VooDoo Sauce brings swamp blues (and homemade instruments) to The Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7.

Khalil’s Pub hosts karaoke, starting at 7 p.m. The always popular party band Boom Kinetic riles up the crowd at Revolution, 9:30 p.m., $10. Stalwart bluegrass outfit Runaway Planet lays into Cornerstone Pub, 9 p.m. Grand Serenade makes a welcome return to the stage with a late-night show at Midtown Billiards, 12:30 a.m., $8 non-members. Downtown Music Hall hosts Charlotte, N.C., crossover metal act Snakedriver, Memphis psych rockers The Unbeheld and doom/ sludge act Crowlord, 9 p.m., $7. www.arktimes.com • MARCH 30, 2011 23

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

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.

SPORTS

BOOKS

Mark Spitzer. Reading from “After the Orange Glow.” Faulkner County Library, 7 p.m. 1900 Tyler St., Conway. 501-327-7482. www.fcl.org.

MUSIC

COMEDY

Steve Hirst. The Loony Bin, 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.

THURSDAY, MARCH 31

FRIDAY, APRIL 1 MUSIC

MONET AND MORE: Claude Monet’s “Autumn on the Seine at Argenteuil” and other works by impressionist and post-impressionist artists go on exhibit April 1 in “The Impressionists and Their Influence” at the Arkansas Arts Center. The exhibition features work from the Arts Center’s collection, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and private collections. Admission is free to members or $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $6 for ages 6-17.

Road, Benton. 501-315-1717.

Johnny Rockett. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $5. 1300 S. Main St. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com.

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

“Livestock” wtih Sea Nanners, Whale Fire, Carver. Fundraiser for Heifer International. The Peabody Little Rock, 7:30 p.m., $5. 3 Statehouse Plaza. 501-906-4000. www.peabodylittlerock.com.

Nicholas Altobelli; Bravo, Max!. Maxine’s, 8 p.m., free. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxinespub.com.

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

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

Steele Jessup. Grumpy’s Too, 9 p.m. 1801 Green Mountain Drive. 501-225-9650.

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, through March 31, 8 p.m.; April 1, 8 and 10:30 p.m.; April 2, 7, 9 and 11

MUSIC

The Smittle Band. The Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7.

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

Alize (headliner), Fjord Mustang (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.

Butterfly and Irie Soul, DJ Hy-C. Mediums Art Lounge, 9 p.m., $10. 521 Center St. 501-374-4495.

D-Mite and Tho-d Studios Showcase.

Cornerstone Pub & Grill, 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.

Ghost Shirt, Jason Kutchma. White Water Tavern, 10 p.m. 2500 W. 7th. 501-375-8400. www. whitewatertavern.com.

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

Jocko Deal. Denton’s Trotline, 9 p.m. 2150 Congo 24 MARCH 30, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES

POETRY

Richard Lewis. Conservation-themed poetry activities. Main Library, 6:30 p.m., free. 100 S. Rock St. www.cals.lib.ar.us.

Horse racing. Oaklawn, $2.50-$4.50. 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-623-4411. www.oaklawn. com.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30 Acoustic Open Mic with Kat Hood. The Afterthought, 8 p.m. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-6631196. www.afterthoughtbar.com.

American String Quartet. 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.

Cory Fontaine. Flying Saucer, 9 p.m. 323 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-7468. www.beerknurd.com/ stores/littlerock.

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.

LECTURES

Eileen Turan. The Master of Arts candidate in art history and UALR adjunct faculty member delivers her lecture, “The Rise of Impressionism.” Arkansas Arts Center, 5:30 p.m., free. 501 E. 9th St. 501-3724000. www.arkarts.com.

Gil Hoffman. The chief political correspondent and analyst for The Jerusalem Post speaks in the EIT Auditorium. UALR, 2 p.m., free. 2801 S. University Ave. 501-569-8977.

Sheena Iyengar. A Columbia University professor of psychology, Iyengar will discuss her book, “The Art of Choosing.” To reserve seats, e-mail publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu. Clinton School of Public Service, 6 p.m., free. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-683-5239. www.clintonschool.uasys.edu.

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5th & River. Fox And Hound, 10 p.m. 2800 Lakewood Village, NLR. 501-753-8300. www.foxandhound.com/locations/north-little-rock.aspx.

Ben Coulter, The Delta Outlaws, Damn Arkansan. Vino’s, 9 p.m., $7. 923 W. Seventh St. 501-375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub.com.

Brian Nahlen. Dugan’s Pub, 9 p.m. 403 E. 3rd St. 501-244-0542. www.duganspublr.com.

Damn Bullets. Cregeen’s Irish Pub, 9 p.m. 301 Main St., NLR. 501-376-7468. www.cregeens.com.

DJ Ja’Lee. Sway, 8 p.m., $5. 412 Louisiana.

501-907-2582.

Drop Dead Syndicate, Morning View, Against the Gold. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $6. 1300 S. Main St. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com.

Fire & Brimstone. Capi’s, 8:30 p.m. 11525 Cantrell Suite 917. 501-225-9600. www.capisrestaurant.com.

Good Time Ramblers. The Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www. afterthoughtbar.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, April 1-2, 9 p.m.

1801 Green Mountain Drive. 501-225-9650.

Kenny Chesney, Billy Currington, Uncle Kracker. Verizon Arena, 7 p.m., $26.50-$75. 1 Alltel Arena Way, NLR. 975-9001. verizonarena.com.

Kevin Kerby + Battery, Chris Michaels and the Cranks. White Water Tavern, 10 p.m. 2500 W. 7th. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com.

Lady Xa Tollemache. The landscape and garden designer speaks about her projects throughout Europe. To reserve seats, e-mail publicprograms@ clintonschool.uasys.edu. Clinton School of Public Service, 12 p.m., free. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-683-5239. www.clintonschool.uasys.edu.

Number 2 with Me and Hugh. Midtown Billiards, April 2, 12:30 a.m., $8 non-members. 1316 Main St. 501-372-9990. midtownar.com.

Our Friends Fall Silent, My Hands to War, Medic Red, Words Within, Words Like Waves, The Front Line, On Hollowed Ground.

Downtown Music Hall, 6 p.m., $7. 211 W. Capitol.

501-376-1819. downtownshows.homestead.com.

Paperboys. Markham Street Grill And Pub, 10 p.m. 11321 W. Markham St. 501-224-2010. www. markhamst.com.

Pop Tart Monkeys. West End Smokehouse and Tavern, 10 p.m., $5. 215 N. Shackleford. 501-2247665. www.westendsmokehouse.net.

Riverbilly, Luke Williams, Chris Stillman.

Revolution, 9 p.m. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com.

Shannon Boshears (headliner), Rob & Tyndall

Continued on page 26

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CALENDAR

Continued from page 24 (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.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 9 p.m. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/ CBG. Thomas East. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, April 1-2, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com.

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

Tragikly White. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyfingerz.com.

COMEDY

Steve Hirst. The Loony Bin, 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.

EVENTS

“Art of Illusion.” Young magicians’ show. UALR, Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall, 7:30 p.m., $5-$10.

2801 S. University Ave. 501-569-8977.

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.

LECTURES

Tyrese Gibson. The singer, actor, model and author speaks for this season’s final “Bless the Mic” lecture.

Philander Smith College, 7 p.m., free. 900 W. Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive.

SPORTS

Horse racing. Oaklawn, $2.50-$4.50. 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-623-4411. www.oaklawn.com.

UALR Men’s Baseball vs. Western Kentucky.

UALR, April 1, 6 p.m.; April 2, 4 p.m.; April 3, 1 p.m.

2801 S. University Ave. 501-569-8977.

SATURDAY, APRIL 2 MUSIC

Aces Wild (headliner), Chris DeClerk (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.

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

Boom Kinetic. Revolution, 9:30 p.m., $10. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com.

Dikki Du & the Zydeco Krewe. White Water Tavern, 10 p.m. 2500 W. 7th. 501-375-8400. www. whitewatertavern.com.

DJ Ja’Lee. Sway, 8 p.m., $5. 412 Louisiana.

501-907-2582.

Evacuate the City, The Vail, Affectus. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $7 adv., $10 d.o.s. 1300 S. Main St. 501-3721228. www.juanitas.com.

Four on the Floor, The Fuzz. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m. 107 Commerce St. 501-3727707. www.stickyfingerz.com.

Grand Serenade. Midtown Billiards, April 3, 12:30

a.m., $8 non-members. 1316 Main St. 501-372-9990. midtownar.com.

Jay Jackson. Fox And Hound, 10 p.m. 2800 Lakewood Village, NLR. 501-753-8300. www.foxandhound.com/locations/north-little-rock.aspx.

Jeff Coleman. 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.

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

Runaway Planet. Cornerstone Pub & Grill, 9 p.m.

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

Shannon Boshears. Dugan’s Pub, 9 p.m. 403 E. 3rd St. 501-244-0542. www.duganspublr.com.

Snakedriver, The Unbeheld, Crowlord.

Downtown Music Hall, 8:30 p.m., $7. 211 W. Capitol.

501-376-1819. downtownshows.homestead.com.

Steve Bates. Cregeen’s Irish Pub, 9 p.m. 301 Main St., NLR. 501-376-7468. www.cregeens.com.

Take it Back, Change Today, messengers.

Vino’s, 8 p.m., $8. 923 W. Seventh St. 501-375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub.com.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 9 p.m. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/ CBG. Thomas East. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m.

500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www. sonnywilliamssteakroom.com.

Tuxedo Flamethrowers. West End Smokehouse and Tavern, 10 p.m., $5. 215 N. Shackleford. 501-2247665. www.westendsmokehouse.net.

VooDoo Sauce. The Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7.

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

COMEDY

Steve Hirst. The Loony Bin, 7, 9 and 11 p.m. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

DANCE

The Autism Dance Project with “Walk Now for Autism Speaks” and “Lilium Modern Dance Co.” Dance companies celebrate World Autism Awareness Day with performances by the Lilium Modern Dance Co. For more information, visit theautismdanceproject.eventbrite.com. Arkansas School for the Blind, April 2, 7 p.m.; April 3, 3 p.m. 2600 W. Markham. www.arkansasschoolfortheblind.org.

Ballet Arkansas: “4byTwo: The Ties That Bind.” Members of Ballet Arkansas’s company and junior company present four ballets, including the world premiere of a ballet by guest choreographer Ron de Jesus. For tickets or more information, visit balletarkansas.org. Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts, April 2, 7 p.m.; April 3, 3 p.m. 20919 Denny Road.

EVENTS

Falun Gong meditation. Allsopp Park, 9 a.m., free.

Cantrell & Cedar Hill Roads.

Jazz and Cuisine Classic of Conway. With live music from Carl Mouton & the Big Timers and Devon Evans (The Wailers). For tickets or more information, visit wpwproductions.com. Agora Conference and Special Event Center, 7 p.m., $50 regular, $80 couple.

705 E. Siebenmorgan, Conway.

FILM

“Crossroads: Rural Healthcare in America.”

A panel of public health officials lead discussion after the screening. Reservations suggested. Clinton School of Public Service, 3 p.m., free. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-683-5239. www.clintonschool.uasys.edu.

SPORTS

Horse racing. Oaklawn, $2.50-$4.50. 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-623-4411. www.oaklawn.com.

UALR Men’s Baseball vs. Western Kentucky.

UALR, April 2, 4 p.m.; April 3, 1 p.m. 2801 S. University Ave. 501-569-8977.

BOOKS

Marian L. Thomas. The author discusses her new release, “My Father’s Colors.” Entry fee includes a paperback copy of her new novel. Hilton Medical Center Hotel, 5 p.m., $15. 925 S. University Ave.

SUNDAY, APRIL 3 MUSIC

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

Eagle Claw. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $5. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www. stickyfingerz.com.

Exene Cervenka (of X), Kevin Seconds (of 7 Seconds). White Water Tavern, 9 p.m. 2500 W. 7th.

501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com.

Karaoke. Shorty Small’s, 6-9 p.m. 1475 Hogan Lane, Conway. 501-764-0604. www.shortysmalls. com.

“Margarita Sunday.” With Tawanna Campbell, Jeron, Dell Smith, Cliff Aaron and Joel Crutcher.

Juanita’s, 9 p.m. 1300 S. Main St. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com.

Stardust Big Band. Arlington Hotel, April 3, 3 p.m.; May 22, 3 p.m.; June 12, 3 p.m., $8. 239 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-623-7771.

Sunday Jazz Brunch with Ted Ludwig and Joe Cripps. Vieux Carre, 11 a.m. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.vieuxcarrecafe.com.

DANCE

The Autism Dance Project with “Walk Now for Autism Speaks” and “Lilium Modern Dance Co..” See April 2.

Ballet Arkansas: “4byTwo: The Ties That Bind.” See April 2.

FILM

Graduate Film Screening. Thesis films from candidates for the Master of Fine Arts in Digital Filmmaking Bryan Allen, Lesley Allen, Collin Buchanan, Jonathan Childs, Bryan Dawson, Brett Neal and Eric White.

Reynolds Performance Hall, UCA, 6 p.m., free. 350 S. Donaghey, Conway.

“Paradise Lost.” The HBO documentary about the West Memphis Three case. “Devil’s Knot” author Mara Leveritt speaks after the screening. Garland County Library, 1 p.m., free. 1427 Malvern Ave., Hot Springs.

SPORTS

UALR Men’s Baseball vs. Western Kentucky.

UALR, 1 p.m. 2801 S. University Ave. 501-569-8977.

MONDAY, APRIL 4 MUSIC

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

Richie Johnson. Cajun’s Wharf, through April 30:

UPCOMING EVENTS Concert tickets through Ticketmaster by phone at 975-7575 or online at www.ticketmaster.com unless otherwise noted.

APRIL 7-13: Arkansas Literary Festival.

Sessions, panels, workshops and visiting authors including David Sedaris, Charlaine Harris and Isabel Wilkerson. Various locations.

Arkansasliteraryfestival.com.

APRIL 8: “Hairspray.” 7 p.m., $20-$40.

Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 601 Main St. 378-0405, therep.org.

APRIL 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.

5 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www. cajunswharf.com.

Steele Jessup. Grumpy’s Too, 9 p.m. 1801 Green Mountain Drive. 501-225-9650.

LECTURES

Thomas Leitch. The literary critic and Film Studies director at University of Delaware delivers a lecture titled “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change: Revising the Classics” in the Donaghey Student Center. UALR, 7 p.m., free. 2801 S. University Ave. 501-569-8977.

TUESDAY, APRIL 5 MUSIC

Alpha & Omega, Expire, Take Offense, Degradation. Downtown Music Hall, 7 p.m., $8.

211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownshows. homestead.com.

Arkansas Symphony Orchestra: “River Rhapsodies.” Clinton Presidential Center, 7 p.m.

1200 President Clinton Ave. 370-8000. www.clintonpresidentialcenter.org.

Breathe Carolina, Before Their Eyes, This Century. Juanita’s, 8 p.m., $12 adv., $15 d.o.s. 1300 S. Main St. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com.

Brian & Nick. Cajun’s Wharf, 5 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com.

Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors, Mockingbird Sun. Stickyz Rock ’n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m.

107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyfingerz.com.

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

Continued on page 28

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FRAZIER: Singing for his supper.

■ media Start me up Kickstarter gives artists a shot in the arm, maybe.

BY GERARD MATTHEWS

n It’s tough to be artistic and make money. Let’s face it, finding the start-up capital to make the documentary you’ve always dreamed of shooting or produce the record you’ve been hearing inside your head for years is difficult if not impossible.

But the Internet is a brave new world.

One where virtual cream rises to the top of Google searches and the masses have more say in what becomes popular and what becomes obsolete. At least that’s the hope.

Internet start-ups are looking for new ways to fund projects and spread content through social networks. Take Kickstarter.

Kickstarter.com is a website that bills itself as “the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world.” The site pairs projects with donors through an allor-nothing funding model, where users set a monetary goal and a time limit to achieve that goal between 1 and 90 days. Most users offer tiered-rewards to potential donors. If a project isn’t fully funded by the deadline, no money changes hands.

In terms of funding creative projects, the site could prove to be revolutionary. It completely eliminates the traditional gate-keepers that have dominated the entertainment industries for years. Think about it: big time

record labels and radio stations once dominated what songs got radio-play, publishing houses decided what books you had to choose from and Hollywood studios picked which films were green-lighted. Now, you can do that.

It’s a model that Little Rock singer/songwriter Bryan Frazier hopes will pay off.

Frazier started a project on the website in early March. His goal is to make a record at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville. He’s asking for $25,000 to cover recording costs and to recruit musicians to play and produce the album. Donors will receive rewards including autographed copies of the final product and private shows.

“The money’s not just going to line my pockets,” Frazier says. “It’s going to go completely toward the record and it’s not just any record. I’ve talked about advocating for a lot of different causes including the West Memphis Three, tons of nonprofits, environmental groups. I plan on continuing that on a larger level, but music is my voice and that’s really the only way to get it out there and get some attention for these causes.”

Kickstarter takes a 5 percent cut of all money raised. That’s a small price to pay,

Frazier says, to circumvent traditional industry channels for making and distributing a record.

“The entertainment industry is such an elitist thing anyway,” he says. “But there’s so much talent out there. There are so many people with great ideas, great songs and great stories that need to be heard and this website is the first step in a series of companies and avenues that are going to let these people be heard. Get a record out there. It could be a hit record that would never have been a hit 10 years ago because labels are broke, they don’t want to gamble anymore and if you don’t know someone personally, it’s not going to happen.”

Other Arkansas artists have found funding through Kickstarter. Jo Ann Kaminsky, a licensed counselor and art therapist from Fayetteville, raised $920 to rent a venue and host a puppet show by the England-based Thingumajig Theatre. Kaminsky says they met their goal faster than they expected.

“It was just kind of like a dream,” she says. “ ‘We’ll put this out here and we’ll see if people go for it.’ And they did. We wrote it in a fun way. My friend helped us with a video. So once we did that, we had something interesting to look at. And who doesn’t want to see puppets? This troupe is really, really good. Since I do puppet work here and we have a festival every year, it was in everybody’s best interest to bring this puppet show here.”

The show was a success and Kaminsky says she now donates to other projects through the website.

As of this writing, Frazier has 44 days left to reach his $25,000 goal. Right now 17 people have donated over $1,400. He says he’s confident he’ll reach the goal and plans to promote his efforts at upcoming gigs around Little Rock.

“The studio company’s going to help me promote it because I’m going to be paying them to record it, so they want me to be successful,” he says. “For them, I’m a potential customer. I’ve got some mid-level donations. About half of them are friends and the other half are people that I have no idea who they are. Right now, we’re just going with ‘We’re going to get there. We’re going to get it.’ ”

Tyrese Actor and Singer

Friday, April 1

7 p.m.

Central High School Philander Smith College · www.philander.edu All lectures are free and open to the public. For more information call 501-370-5279. No tickets or RSVPs required.

A&E NEWS

New on Rock Candy

n Start practicing your best air guitar, y’all. Beginning this week, the Times is looking for your best cover/karaoke/ dance interpretation/music video treatment of a Foo Fighters song. In exchange, we’ve got a handful of tickets to the band’s May 18 concert at Verizon Arena.

We’ll accept submissions, in just about any digital form — YouTube, Vimeo, Soundcloud, mp3 — through April 30. From May 1-7, we’ll put all the entries online and ask our readers to vote for their favorite.

Send links or digital files to calendar@arktimes.com. n Eureka Springs’ perennial “Opera in the Ozarks” program returns this summer for its 61st season at Inspiration Point. The six-week intensive training program culminates every year in a month-long opera music festival.

The 2011 lineup offers 23 performances from June 24 to July 22, including Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus,” Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” and Mark Adamo’s 1998 twist on a Louisa May Alcott classic in the opera version of “Little Women.”

Tickets go on sale May 1. For tickets or more information, visit opera. org. n Little Rock native David Gordon Green is adding to his diverse resume as a producer of a new pilot for Comedy Central. “Black Jack” follows “a former special ops agent who must adapt to normal life after being decommissioned,” according to the Hollywood Reporter. Green, who also serves as a consulting producer on HBO’s “Eastbound & Down” and whose new film “Your Highness” debuts on April 8, hopes to remake the horror classic “Suspira” for his next project, according to The Playlist.

Join us for

Open House Sat., April 2

10 a.m - 3 p.m.

Registration at 9:30 a.m.

For information call: 501-370-5221 www.arktimes.com • MARCH 30, 2011 27

17 Menu Items Under $8

AMERICAN BISTRO LUNCH @ LULAV

CALENDAR

performance of “Hairspray.” Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 6 p.m., $30. 601 Main St. 501-378-0405. www.therep.org.

sonnywilliamssteakroom.com.

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

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

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

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

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

Neil Rutman, pianist. Music by Franz Liszt, JeanPhilippe Rameau and Prokofiev, Snow Fine Arts Center Recital Hall. University of Central Arkansas, 7:30 p.m. 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. www.uca. edu.

Tuesday Jam Session with Carl Mouton. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd.

501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com.

Dan Ben-Canaan. The professor gives a lecture about China’s changing role in the global economy.

To reserve seats, e-mail publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu. Clinton School of Public Service, 6 p.m. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-683-5239. www.clintonschool.uasys.edu.

Dean Baquet. The Pulitzer-winning Washington bureau chief for the New York Times presents the annual Roy Reed Lecture. Janelle Y. Henbree Alumni House, University of Arkansas, 7 p.m., free. Maple Street and Razorback Road, Fayetteville.

Continued from page 26

DANCE

DINE IN OR TAKE OUT

“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.

“Tales From the South” with Graham Gordy and Montgomery Trucking. Starving Artist Cafe, 7 p.m. 411 N. Main St., NLR. 501-372-7976. www. starvingartistcafe.net.

501.374.5100

Lunch: Mon-Fri 11am-2pm Dinner: Nightly 5-10pm Cocktails: Nightly 5pm until 220 West 6th St., Little Rock

MENUS & ONLINE ORDERING: www.lulaveatery.com

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28 MARCH 30, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES ARKANSASBLOG • Lor autatincil dolutpat. Andre dunt utpat.

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MUSIC

Acoustic Open Mic with Kat Hood. The Afterthought, 8 p.m. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-6631196. 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.

Cage the Elephant, Biffy Clyro, Sleeper Agent. Revolution, 8:30 p.m. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com.

Cary Hudson, Kevin Kerby. White Water Tavern, 10 p.m. 2500 W. 7th. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com.

Funky Motif. 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.

Liu Fang. Pipa (Chinese lute) virtuoso plays Chinese traditional classical music. Arkansas State University, 7:30 p.m., free. Jonesboro, Jonesboro. www.astate. edu.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 5 p.m., free.

111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel. com/CBG.

EVENTS

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6

Tracy Smith. The Loony Bin, April 6-7, 8 p.m.; April 8, 8 and 10:30 p.m.; April 9, 7, 9 and 11 p.m., $6-$9.

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

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SPORTS

UALR Men’s Baseball vs. Oral Roberts. UALR, 6 p.m. 2801 S. University Ave. 501-569-8977.

COMEDY

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LECTURES

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.

Justice Breyer will discuss his book “Making Our Democracy Work: A Judge’s View.” To reserve seats, e-mail publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu.

Clinton School of Public Service, 6 p.m., free. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-683-5239. www.clintonschool.uasys.edu.

SEE WHAT’S HANGIN’ AROUND AT the

“Brewhaha.” Appetizers, beer and a special

LECTURES

THIS WEEK IN THEATER “100 Years of Broadway.” Walton Arts Center, through March 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, through March 31, 7:30 p.m. Markham and 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, Thu., March 31, 7:30 p.m.; through April 2, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., April 3, 2:30 p.m., $5-$10. 170 Ravine St., Hot Springs.

Central Arkansas Opera Theater: “The Gondoliers.” The two-act operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan features 17 soloists and a 30-member chorus. Reynolds Performance Hall, University of Central Arkansas, April 6-8, 7:30 p.m. 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway.

“The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townsowmen’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 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.

“Hairspray.” A round, cheery Baltimore teen’s dream comes true when she lands a spot dancing for the popular Corny Collins Show. Based on the cult classic by John Waters. For tickets or more information, call 378-0405 or visit therep.org. Arkansas Repertory Theatre, through May 1: Wed., Thu., 7 p.m.; Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 and 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 and 7 p.m., $20-$40. 601 Main St. 501-378-0405. www. therep.org.

“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.

GALLERIES, MUSEUMS NEW EXHIBITS, ART EVENTS

ACAC, 608 Main St.: 7th annual “Corazon (Heart) Art Auction,” April 2, 6 p.m. preview, 7 p.m. auction, hors d’oeuvres, music, libations, with speaker Will Phillips, $5 advance, $7 at the door. Proceeds benefit CAR (Center for Artistic Revolution). 244-9690.

ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, MacArthur Park: “The Impressionists and Their Influence,” paintings and works on paper by Monet, Cezanne, Renoir, Degas, Pissaro, Bonnard, Vuillard, Signac and others from the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, private collections and the Arts Center Foundation collection, April 1-June 26, $10 adults, $8 seniors, $6 youth, members free; “Michael Peterson: Evolution/Revolution,” wood 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. 372-4000.

JACK STEPHENS CENTER, UALR campus:

Continued on page 30

■ artnotes Muse of the spheres Benini is back, at Greg Thompson.

BY LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK

n The thing about the paintings of Benini, the Italian-born artist who helped build Hot Springs’ art scene and now lives in Texas, is that they require you to befriend the circular and the otherwise shaped.

That doesn’t come naturally. Shaped canvases fall into that netherworld of beings that straddle form, like tadpoles and toads, caterpillars and butterflies — sculpture and painting.

I find them hard to like; circles put edges on images in ways that rectangles, thanks to our Western eye, don’t. Ken Noland turned his square paintings 45 degrees to make them diamonds, and that drove me nuts, because they were no longer about lines and color in space but about line trapped in a shape.

But Noland was all about flatness, and Benini is all BENINI’S ‘JOURNEY’: Paintings, including “Face of about dimension and light. God Dodici,” and divertimenti by the Texas artist are on Even when he’s working exhibit at Greg Thompson Gallery. on a flat surface, Benini’s images curve. The circular and shaped together, obscuring the pink background canvases make a kind of sense. but not blending themselves. A dominating So keep all that in mind, or at least 73-inch-by-48-inch acrylic, “Face of God: some of it, when you go to Greg ThompDodici,” completed just before the exhibit, son Fine Art in Argenta to see the current is also on the Kaos theme — a canvas that exhibit, “Benini: The Painter’s Journey.” seems illuminated in its center, in this case The show offers up some atmospheric saturated in red, receding from its edges of paintings from his Kaos series of the past gold and pink splatters. In “Courting Kaos: several years and some earlier works, like Between” Benini offsets a rusty red backaluminum roses and ribbons from the ground that changes from dark to light in 1980s and 1990s. Benini lately combines a horizontal, rather than central, fashion; his precise airbrushed trompe l’oeil glow here the splattered edges, in black, gold, with thick (and highly controlled) splatters gray and white, nearly converge, squeezaround (and standing out from) the edges; ing the background from left and right. think Jules Olitski walking in space. BeThe palette’s combination of colorless/ nini joked at the opening reception for his deep color is tremendous. show last Friday, during the third Friday I’m still uncomfortable with the circuArgenta ArtWalk, that he’s gotten old so lar paintings, though the spherical images now he drips. He will be 70 this year, his Benini conjures with his touchless-method wife and tireless promoter, Lorraine Beniof manipulating paint is wonderful. But ni, said, but he has in no way gotten old; his we’re not supposed to be comfortable with strength shows in the large canvases and art; Benini avoids the decorative, which is careful, intentional application of paint. fairly hard to do in abstract art.

Besides creating circular paintings, One of my favorite pieces in this show Benini also dares paint in pink. His sexy is from the 1990s: a metallic ribbon that 30-inch-by-40-inch (rectangular) “Courtfurls about a red star. It’s Benini’s paean to ing Kaos: Open Pleasure,” for example, is Texas, where he and Lorraine now have a a rosy glow framed by gold and pale pink Hill Country sculpture ranch on a hundredsplatters; the splatters are so thick they run plus acres once owned by LBJ.

Hilarious Southern -Fried Farce Southern Hospitality Now - April 23 The Futrelle Sisters beloved hometown, Fayro, Texas, is in danger of disappearing and it’s up to the sisters to save it from extinction.

Always Patsy Cline

Neil Simon’s Chapter Two April 26 – May 22 George and Jennie fall in love, but the memory of George’s late wife presents an obstacle to their happiness. One of Neil Simon’s most poignantly funny plays, is about letting go, starting over and finding love for the second time.

May 24 – June 26 The story of legendary country singer Patsy Cline’s friendship with fan Louise Seger, inspired by letters signed “Love always...

Patsy Cline.”

Colonel Glenn & University • murrysdinnerplayhouse.com • 562-3131

www.arktimes.com • MARCH 30, 2011 29

CALENDAR

Continued from page 28

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EATARKANSAS • Lor autatincil dolutpat. Andre dunt utpat.

TODAY’S NEWS

ON ARKANSAS BLOG

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TODAY’S ENTERTAINMENT

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see arkansas from top to bottom

“Evolution of the Egg,” Eggshibition XX auction of artist-decorated eggs to benefit Youth Home, 7 p.m. April 1. Tickets $50. youthhome.org.

L&L BECK GALLERY, 5705 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “Spring Flowers,” oils and carvings by Louis Beck, through April. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 6604006.

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; “Our Lives, Our Stories: America’s Greatest Generation,” April 6-May 25. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Fri.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 771-1995.

OLD STATE HOUSE, 300 W. Markham St.: Brown Bag Lecture on the firing on Fort Sumter with historian Michael B. Dougan, noon-1 p.m. April 6. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9685.

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK: “Student Competitive Show,” Gallery I, March 30-May 4. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sat., 2-5 p.m. Sun. 569-8977.

THEA FOUNDATION, 401 Main St., NLR: “Arkansas Arts Educators Central Region Student Art Show,” competitive show for students K-12, through April 1; “2011 THEA Visual Art Scholarship Competition,” through April 10. 3799512. n Benton SALINE COUNTY LIBRARY, 1800 Smithers Drive: “Young Arkansas Artists Exhibition,” winners from the 49th annual show, Bob Herzfeld Memorial Library, through April 15. 501-778-4766. n Hot Springs ALISON PARSONS GALLERY, 802 Central Ave.: “Art Vessels,” ceramics and glass by Lori Arnold, reception 5-9 p.m. April 1, Gallery Walk. 501-6550604.

AMERICAN ART GALLERY, 724 Central Ave.: “Flora, Fowl and Fauna,” paintings by Jimmy Leach, demonstration by clay sculptor Bob Willis, 5-9 p.m. April 1, Gallery Walk. 501-624-055.

BLUE MOON GALLERY, 718 Central Ave.: Register for April 2 drawing to win a free limited edition book of Randall Good’s Stations of the Cross, 5-9 p.m.

April 1, Gallery Walk. 501-318-2787.

GALLERY 726, 726 Central Ave.: Trey McCarley, oils; Charles and Michael Riley, glass art, open 5-9 p.m. April 1, Gallery Walk. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Tue.-Sat. 501-624-7726.

GALLERY CENTRAL, 800 Central Ave.: Equine bronzes by Jan Woods, reception 5-9 p.m. April 1, Gallery Walk. 501-318-4278.

GARLAND COUNTY LIBRARY, 1427 Malvern Ave.: 6th annual “Traditional Art Guild Juried Exhibit,” April 2-May 30. aoriginals@hotmail.com.

HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, Bathhouse Row: 6th annual “Outdoor Sculpture Showcase,” unveiling of 14 sculptures and reception 5 p.m.

March 31.

JUSTUS FINE ART, 827 A Central Ave.: New paintings by Donnie Copeland, also work by Robin Hazard-Bishop, Mike Elsass, Steve Griffith, Robyn Horn, Dolores Justus, Tony Saladino and Rebecca Thompson. Reception 5-9 p.m. April 1, Gallery Walk. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.Sat. 501-321-2335. 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. 870-972-2567. n Russellville RIVER VALLEY ARTS CENTER, 1001 E. B St.: “Stories and Stitches,” mixed media, oils, writings by Rachel Trusty, opens with reception 1-3 p.m. April 3, through April. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.Thu., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Fri. 479-968-2452.

ONGOING GALLERY EXHIBITS

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. 224-1335.

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. 6642787.

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.

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.

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. 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. STEPHANO’S FINE ART, 5501 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Eric Painter, Stephano paintings; Lisabeth Franco glass. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 5634218.

ONGOING MUSEUM EXHIBITS

CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER, 1200 President Clinton Ave.: “The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss,” through May 22; “Revolution and Rebellion: Wars, Words and Figures,” through May 22; “Historical Figures of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars,” 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.

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.

MOSAIC TEMPLARS CULTURAL CENTER, Ninth and Broadway: “Southern Journeys: African American Artists of the South,” works by 55 AfricanAmerican artists, including Romare Bearden, David Driskell, Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth Catlett, Hughie Lee-Smith, Leroy Allen, Benny Andrews, Radcliffe Bailey, Richmond Barthé, 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.

Synergy: Works on Paper;

!"#$%&$&'()*+,-&'.%&),)*)-

Elizabeth Catlett, Samella Lewis, LaToya Hobbs

/$00-",-& !"#$%#&'()#&)*$)&+,#&)(& %-#./$"&#0#')%&$%%(./$)#+& 1/)*&)*#&$'',$"&234$'%$%& 5/)#3$36&7#%)/0$"8&)*#&29:& ;$""#3/#%&1/""&'()&-$3)/./-$)#& /'&2-3/"<%&='+&73/+$6&23)&>/?*)@

CELEBRATE THE ARTS AND Literacy CREATE A HAIKU WITH “SYNERGY” FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 5PM-8PM Angelica Enthroned II, 2010, LaToya Hobbs, Woodcut Monoprint, 43” x 26”

1001 Wright Ave. Suite C Little Rock, AR 501-372-6822 www.hearnefineart.com

Gypsy Bistro 501.375.3500

200 S. Commerce, Ste. 150 River Market District (Old Vermillion Location)

300 Third Tower • 501-375-3333 coppergrillandgrocery.com

SEE kathy thompson LIVE AT LULAV AND ENJOY A FREE PRINCIPESSA april 8, 5-8pm 501.374.5100 • www.lulaveatery.com 220 West 6th Street • Little Rock

ArtLounge

Mediums

Featured Artist Gabriel Griffiths

521 Center St. • (501) 374-4495

The 2nd Friday Of Each Month Apr 8, 5-8 pm

These venues will be open late. There’s plenty of parking and a free trolley to each of the locations.

Don’t miss it – lots of fun!

FREE PARKING at 3RD & CUMBERLAND FREE STREET PARKING ALL OVER DOWNTOWN AND BEHIND THE RIVER MARKET (Paid parking available for modest fee.)

Sponsored by

!!!"#$%&'()'*%'("+(, 7(3&A(3#&/'B(3A$)/('&('&)*#&7#%)/0$"8 0/%/)&111@$34$'%$%"/)#3$36B#%)/0$"@(3?@

Opening reception for

Empty Spaces: Jasmine Greer Music by Arkansas Mandolin & Guitar Association

Nightlight

A museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage

200 E. 3rd St. 501-324-9351 www.HistoricArkansas.org

Art from The ArtGroup Maumelle All Arkansas Artists

521 President Clinton Ave. River Market District (501) 975-9800

Works by Kathy Thompson needlepoint, oils, watercolor, and mixed media

VISIT US NEXT MONTH artist reception 5-8 pm MAY 13, 5-8 PM libations and refreshments AR Pastel Society Spring Show Christ Church

509 Scott Street | 375-2342 www.christchurchlr.org Little Rock’s Downtown Episcopal Church

come ride the free trolleys!

HELP WANTED ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

CELEBRATING OUR 11th YEAR! Friday, April 1 -Thursday, April 7

The KINg’S SPeech Pg13 2:00 4:20 7:15 9:30 Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter Winner 4 Oscars

cedAR RAPIdS R 1:45 4:00 7:00 9:00 John C. Reilly, Ed Helms, Anne Heche

INSIdIouS Pg13 2:00 4:20 6:45 9:00 Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins

FRee wI-FI IN The LoBBY

The coNceRT Pg13 2:15 4:25 6:45 9:00 Aleksey Guskov, Melanie Laurent, Dmitri Nazarov Golden Globe, Cesar Awards

The coMPANY MeN R 1:30 7:00

Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper, Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones Satellite Awards

BIuTIFuL R 4:15 9:30

Javier Bardem, Maricel Alvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib 2 Oscar Nominations

Chinatown • R • tues 4/12 • 7pm • only $5 9 PM ShowS FRI & SAT oNLY

NOW SERVING BEER & WINE

EMAIL CINEMA8@CSWNET.COM FOR SPECIAL SHOWS, PRIVATE PARTIES & BUSINESS MEETINGS OR FILM FESTIVALS CALL (501) 223-3529 & LEAVE MESSAGE

CENSORED

501-312-8900 marketstreetcinema.net

1521 MERRILL DR.

hAve fun.

See reSultS! THE KING’S S*****: This week, The Weinstein Company pulls the R-rated version of the Academy Award winner for Best Picture in favor of a re-edited cut, free of the barrage of F-bombs in a crucial scene. The MPAA granted the new version a PG-13 rating.

Northside WomeN’s Boot Camp is the QuiCkest, easiest Way to Jump-start your FitNess program.

A specialized program of fitness instruction, nutritional counseling provided by Certified Class Instructor/ Personal Trainer Kaytee Wright.

LoCATIon: Lakewood nLR, classes at 5:15am and 8:30am M,W,F

call Kaytee Wright 501-607-3100 For more information and the Women’s Boot camp calendar, visit www.northsidefitness.net

Northside A c h i ev e . B e l i ev e . S u cc e e d.

FitNess 32 MARCH 30, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES

APRIL 1-3

movielistings All theater listings run Friday to Thursday unless otherwise noted.

Showtimes for Rave and Movies 10 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 Hop (PG) – The day before he’s scheduled to take over the family business, E.B., the teenage son of the Easter Bunny, runs away to Hollywood to pursue his dream of being a rock drummer. Voiced by Russell Brand and Hugh Laurie. Breckenridge: 1:30, 4:30, 7:15, 9:40. Chenal 9: 11:15, 1:45, 4:15, 7:15, 9:30. Riverdale: 11:05, 1:10, 3:15, 5:20, 7:30, 9:35.

Insidious (PG-13) – A realm called The Further threatens to trap a comatose child. His parents learn to battle something that science can’t explain. With Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne. Breckenridge: 1:40, 4:45, 7:40, 10:05. Market Street: 2:00, 4:20, 6:45, 9:00. Riverdale: 11:45, 2:10, 4:30, 7:15, 9:45.

Source Code (PG-13) – A celebrated soldier wakes up in a stranger’s body and discovers he’s part of a top-secret government mission to stop a bombing in downtown Chicago. With Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan. Breckenridge: 1:20, 4:35, 7:45, 10:00. Chenal 9: 11:25, 1:55, 4:25, 7:25, 10:00.

Riverdale: 11:30, 1:35, 3:35, 5:35, 7:45, 10:00.

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. Riverdale: 11:20, 1:40, 4:20, 7:00, 9:25.

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, NeYo. Chenal 9: 11:00, 1:30, 4:10, 7:00, 9:40.

Beastly (PG-13) – A modern-day, teen-age retelling of “Beauty and the Beast,” using New York City as the backdrop. Breckenridge: 1:45, 4:00, 7:35, 10:10.

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: 4:15, 9:30.

Cedar Rapids (R) – A naive insurance salesman is sent to Iowa for an industry convention and winds up with three convention veterans who are no stranger to trouble. With Ed Helms, John C. Reilly.

Market Street: 1:45, 4:00, 7:00, 9:00.

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: 1:30, 7:00.

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.

Breckenridge: 1:50, 4:50, 7:30, 10:10. Chenal 9: 11:30, 2:00, 4:35, 7:30, 9:45.

The King’s Speech (PG-13 version) – 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). Market Street: 2:00, 4:20, 7:15, 9:30. Riverdale: 11:25, 1:50, 4:15, 6:40, 9:05.

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: 4:20, 7:20, 9:50. Chenal 9: 11:20, 1:50, 4:20, 7:20, 9:55. Riverdale: 11:40, 2:20, 5:15, 7:35, 10:05.

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: 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 9:45. Chenal 9: 11:05, 1:40, 4:30, 7:10, 9:50. Riverdale: 11:55, 2:25, 4:55, 7:25, 10:10.

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. Breckenridge: 1:10, 4:05, 7:05, 9:25.

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: 1:25, 4:10, 7:10, 9:30.

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: 1:05, 4:15, 7:00, 9:45. Chenal 9: 11:35, 2:05, 4:40, 7:35, 9:55.

Riverdale: 11:00, 1:15, 3:30, 5:45, 8:00.

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: 1:10, 4:10, 7:10, 9:35.

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: 1:25, 4:25, 7:25, 9:55. Chenal 9: 11:00, 1:30, 4:00, 7:00, 9:35. Riverdale: 11:10, 1:45, 4:35, 7:10, 9:40.

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. Riverdale: 11:35, 2:05, 4:40, 7:20, 9:55.

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, 312-8900, www.marketstreetcinema.net.

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

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

“Toto, we’re not in AR-Kansas, anymore!”

Get swept away to another land in our New Orleans-Style Courtyard and dine al fresca lunch or dinner.

You can rent the patio for your upcoming party or special event.

Lunch: Tues.-Sat. 11am-3pm • Dinner: Fri.-Sat. 5pm-9pm 411 Main St. • argenta artS DiStrict • north LittLe rock 501.372.7976 • www.StarvingartiStcafe.net

‘SUCKER PUNCH’: Emily Browning (center) stars.

■ moviereview Punch drunk Director Zack Snyder tries everything in ‘Sucker Punch.’ n It turns out that Zack Snyder, who slathered the screen with id in “300” and “The Watchmen,” was in fact modeling Spartan restraint throughout those pictures. We know this because in “Sucker Punch” the director/writer/producer finally just slumps forward on the throttle. What’s your flavor?

Twenty-year-olds in corsets and short skirts with semi-automatics? Done. What about shoot-’em-up action sequences? With, like, titanic samurai or mechanized Nazi zombies or dragons and orcs or glossy cyborgs? ’Cause we’ve got that. How about a haphazard blend of steampunk, anime, fantasy and Hot Topic haircuts? Or hyper-literal pop song selections — a cover of “Where Is My Mind?” during a tour of an asylum, “Army of Me” in a one-woman battle scene? Is there anything Snyder could stand to leave out of this stewpot?

But then, would you want him to?

Scrape away the CGI sequences and there’s scant little story here, really. A diminutive blonde with a China doll face (Emily Browning) is committed to the worst mental asylum in all of Vermont by an equally wretched stepfather. There she gets the name of Baby Doll, per the imagined reality that she and other patients/ inmates adopt to cope with their surroundings. We learn that the sleazy administrator (Oscar Isaac) is willing to accept bribes to assign brutal, irreversible treatments. So Baby Doll knows she has only days to orchestrate an escape, with the help of other young women possessed of the finest bone structure in New England: sisters Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish) and Rocket (Jena Malone); Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens) and Amber (Jamie Chung).

Once they enter their imagined world,

they are dancers compelled to delight scumbags of all stripes, and it’s in this realm that the great majority of “Sucker Punch” unfolds. The journey goes deeper yet when Baby Doll realizes she has the power to mesmerize everyone around her with her dances, during which she lapses into gonzo action sequences that symbolize — well, some sort of inner reservoir of ass-kicking. The story nests two and three layers deep so often that it comes to feel like “One Thousand and One Nights,” with Baby Doll’s subconscious playing Scheherazade for us. This leads to some awfully versatile action sequences, but also gives the movie the ultimate free pass, since in dreams, no one ever really gets hurt. Your attention will wander the first time Baby Doll is kicked through a temple door and across a huge chamber, and face-plows a ditch through stone and earth, only to pop up as though she’d merely bungled a monkey-bars dismount.

Snyder’s approach is two parts bubble gum, three parts steel. Sexual assaults are implicitly threatened, though never shown; the most explicitly violent moments in the story involve killing monsters or robots, and when people become the targets, bloodshed is minimal. Maybe therein lies the director’s restraint: Dude still had to hold this carnival to a PG-13. If you can get past the sense that you’re watching someone else play a video game — one that even has an prescribed list of items the girls will need in order to escape — you’ll probably get some kicks out of “Sucker Punch.” But I defy you to describe the characters’ personalities in much detail an hour later.

— Sam Eifling

SHOP ‘N’ SIP First thursday each month shop ’til 8pm and enjoy dining in one of the many area restaurants.

HILLCREST SHOPPING & DINING

Join us for the Access school rAffle!

GreAt Prizes!

4523 WoodlaWn (Historic Hillcrest) 501.666.3600

LIVE MUSIC BY REVERBURRITOS SURF BAND

hop in For unique eASTer iTeMS!

RHEA DRUG 2801 KAVANAUGH LITTLE ROCK • 663-4131

april 1st and 2nd

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sale 50-75%off tons of stuff

501-353-2504 2612 Kavanaugh Blvd.

Find your dream home at www.LiveInLittleRock.com

2616 Kavanaugh • 661-1167 M-F 10-6, SAT 10-5 www.arktimes.com • MARCH 30, 2011 33

n Tropical Smoothie is opening a franchise in the River Market’s Ottenheimer Hall, hopefully by the end of April, area developer for Arkansas and Oklahoma Chris Kramolis said. Brad Newcomb and Josh Inmon are the franchisees who’ll run the space. The Tropical Smoothie staples will be offered, but it’ll be more of an express menu, Kramolis said. The space, located in the southwest corner next to soon-to-open Shugg’s BBQ, also offers a window for customers who want to order from the street.

Kramolis said the initial plan is for the outlet to be open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. He added that he expects to do a lot of catering in the downtown area out of the River Market.

For more on Tropical Smoothie, visit tropicalsmoothie.com. n On Thursday, April 21 at the Chenal Country Club, the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Auxiliary is hosting Arkansas a la Carte, a fundraiser featuring food from 23 local restaurants. Among those participating include Arthur’s Steakhouse, Cantina Laredo, The Capital Hotel, Copper Grill, Forty Two, The Pantry, Vesuvio, Whole Hog and YaYa’s. Tickets are $100 per person via the ACH Foundation at 501-364-1476 or achfdn@archildrens.org.

The Times’ food blog, Eat Arkansas, is giving away a pair of tickets.

Visit arktimes.com/alacarte to register to win.

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 4 SQUARE GIFTS Vegetarian salads, soups, wraps and paninis and a daily selection of desserts in an Arkansas products gift shop. 405 President Clinton Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-244-2622. L daily. D Mon.-Sat. APPLE SPICE JUNCTION A chain sandwich and salad

Continued on page 35 34 MARCH 30, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES

■ dining Born on the bayou Mostly hits, some misses at Cayenne’s in J’ville. n It should be said before we get started that this writer lived in Lafayette, La., for two years awhile back, so I know a little bit about Cajun food beyond spicy fried crawfish tails at Popeye’s chicken and King Cakes from Kroger’s at Mardi Gras.

That doesn’t make me an expert by a long shot, but it does mean I think I know what real-deal Cajun food is supposed to taste like. I’ve bought and devoured gumbo from cracked bowls in clapboard shacks that look like they were about to keel right over, and eaten crawfish off newspaper in little dives so far back in the sticks that I couldn’t understand a single word any person within arm’s reach was saying. For a foodie who loves seeking out the local joints the tourists never hear about, two years in Cajun Country was a beautiful thing.

But enough of my dissertation on theoretical Cajun food. Let’s talk about the real thing. Driving back from an assignment the other day, your friendly reviewer noticed Cayenne’s Cajun Cuisine. Located in a strip mall just north of the airbase exit off 67/167 in Jacksonville (don’t blow past it on the freeway, or you’ll have to drive to Cabot to turn around), it’s the kind of place you’ll miss if you blink. A few days after we noticed it, some relatives tried it out and pronounced it good. While relative-endorsements are always a little iffy for us, we decided that was enough to try it ourselves.

Inside, Cayenne’s is spanking-new clean and purty. Though they have a full menu (featuring stuff like burgers and poboys), a lot of the stuff on it is also on their good-sized Cajun buffet ($9.99 for lunch, $15 for dinner) so we tried that. Though we have soured quite a bit on steam table dining as the years have worn on — quantity over quality in most cases we’ve found — this one sure looked good. One table was devoted to bowl stuff: two kinds of gumbo, shrimp Creole, dirty rice, Jambalaya, etoufee and the like. Another was all about the fried goods: catfish, fried shrimp tails, fried alligator, stuffed crab shells and frog legs, but also stuff like veggies, peel-and-eat shrimp, boudin sausage, two kinds of cobbler and more. They’ve also got a salad bar, but if my father taught me anything about buffet dining it’s dodge the rabbit food and go for the expensive stuff.

Heeding that advice, I took a Herculean sampling of goodies and headed back to our table.

The fried stuff was, on balance, good.

Though it could have stood a bit more spicy zing for our taste, the catfish was fleshy and flaky, with a nice breading.

BRIAN CHILSON

what’scookin’

FRESH, FRIED: Cayenne’s buffet.

Same went for the especially good popcorn shrimp and stuffed crab; the latter of which were large and packed with a meaty filling. The best thing about everything was that none of it appeared to have come frozen from a plastic bag in a freezer somewhere. Though I might be wrong, everything appeared to be scratch made, and the idea that somebody got their hands in flour or batter while preparing the fried foods anywhere always gets a thumbs up from me. The peel-and-eat shrimp were similarly good, with a hint of spice and a buttery texture (they serve them warm, which was a pleasant change from the served-on-ice delivery of most places). Also good: the frog legs (big and meaty, with a crispy peppered breading); a very good grilled sausage, bell pepper and onion mix, and the boudin. Too, while I know it’s weird to brag on condiments, I really enjoyed their very thick and spicy cocktail and tartar sauces, which I suspect were made in-house.

Moving on to the bowled end of things, I wasn’t as impressed. Though the gumbos were hearty and meaty, they seemed a bit too salty for my taste (though, to be fair, I always thought the gumbos down in LaLa Land were a bit too salty as well). However, a spoonful or two of the dirty rice, etoufee and shrimp creole found them to be tasty. We finished things off with the apple cobbler, which was steaming hot and full of sweet goodness, lacking only a dollop of ice cream on

the side to be complete.

Doing Cajun food outside of Louisiana can be hard, just because South Louisiana — up until maybe 75 years ago — was The Land that Food Forgot, with cooks there having developed their own ingredients, spices and techniques. Because of that, Cajun food is really more like ethnic food, and your average diner — weaned on a diet of Cajun-means-hot and gumbomeans-okra thinking by too much bad Cajun grub — can find the real deal a little jarring. All that said, I hope Cayenne’s catches on and makes it. With good variety, very friendly service and some tasty and authentic selections on their buffet and menu, it’s worth checking out.

Cayenne’s Cajun Cuisine 2650 John Harden Drive Jacksonville 501-241-2121 Quick bite

On Wednesday nights, Cayenne’s offers all-youcan-eat crab legs for a $10 premium over the cost of a regular buffet. We didn’t spring for the crab legs, but from what we saw they seemed to be big and plentiful, and the waiters kept ’em coming as fast as diners had them cracked and scarfed down.

Hours

11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Other info

All credit cards, full bar (private club)

BRIAN CHILSON

Restaurant capsules Continued from page 34

spot with sit-down lunch space and a vibrant box lunch catering business. With a wide range of options and quick service. Order online via applespice.com. 2000 S. University Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-663-7008.

ARGENTA MARKET The Argenta District’s neighborhood grocery store offers a deli featuring a daily selection of big sandwiches along with fresh fish and meats and salads.

Emphasis here is on Arkansas-farmed foods and organic products. 521 N. Main St. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$.

501-379-9980. BL daily, D Mon.-Sat. ARKANSAS BURGER CO. Good burgers, fries and shakes, plus salads and other entrees. Try the cheese dip.

7410 Cantrell Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-6630600. LD Tue.-Sat. ASHLEY’S The premier fine dining restaurant in Little Rock marries Southern traditionalism and haute cuisine.

The menu is often daring and always delicious. 111 W. Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $$$-$$$$. 501-374-7474.

BLD Mon.-Sat. BR Sun. BELWOOD DINER Traditional breakfasts and plate lunch specials are the norm at this lost-in-time hole in the wall. 3815 MacArthur Drive. NLR. No alcohol, No CC. $.

501-753-1012.

BONEFISH GRILL A half-dozen or more types of fresh fish filets are offered daily at this upscale chain. 11525 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $$$. 501-228-0356. D daily.

BRAVE NEW RESTAURANT The food’s great, portions huge, prices reasonable. Diners can look into the open kitchen and watch the culinary geniuses at work slicing and dicing and sauteeing. It’s great fun, and the fish is special.

2300 Cottondale Lane. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-6632677. LD Mon.-Fri. D Sat. BUFFALO WILD WINGS A sports bar on steroids with numerous humongous TVs and a menu full of thirstinducing items. The wings, which can be slathered with one of 14 sauces, are the staring attraction and will undoubtedly have fans. 14800 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $$.

501-868-5279. LD daily.

BURGER MAMA’S Big burgers and oversized onion rings headline the menu at this down home joint. 13216 Interstate 30. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-225-2495. LD daily.

BY THE GLASS A broad but not ridiculously large list is studded with interesting, diverse selections, and prices are uniformly reasonable. The food focus is on high-end items that pair well with wine — olives, hummus, cheese, bread, and some meats and sausages. 5713 Kavanaugh Blvd. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-663-9463. D Mon.-Sat. CAFE HEIFER Paninis, salads, soups and such in the Heifer Village. With one of the nicest patios in town. 1 World Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-907-8801. BL Mon.-Fri., L Sat. CAPITAL BAR AND GRILL Big hearty sandwiches, daily lunch specials and fine evening dining all rolled up into one at this landing spot downtown. Surprisingly inexpensive with a great bar staff and a good selection of unique desserts. 111 Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-374-7474. LD daily.

CAPITOL BISTRO Formerly a Sufficient Grounds, now operated by Lisa and Tom Drogo, who moved from Delaware. They offer breakfast and lunch items, including quiche, sandwiches, coffees and the like. 1401 W. Capitol Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-371-9575. BL Mon.-Fri. CATERING TO YOU Painstakingly prepared entrees and great appetizers in this gourmet-to-go location. 8121 Cantrell Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-664-0627.

L Mon.-Sat. CATFISH HOLE Downhome place for well-cooked catfish and tasty hushpuppies. 603 E. Spriggs. NLR. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-758-3516. D Tue.-Sat. CHEEBURGER CHEEBURGER Premium black Angus cheeseburgers, with five different sizes, ranging from the Classic (5.5 ounces) to the pounder (20 ounces), and nine cheese options. For sides, milkshakes and golden-fried onion rings are the way to go. 11525 Cantrell Rd. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-490-2433. LD daily.

CIAO BACI The focus is on fine dining in this casually elegant Hillcrest bungalow, though tapas are also available, and many come for the comfortable lounge that serves specialty drinks until late. 605 N. Beechwood St. Full bar, All CC. $$$-$$$$. 501-603-0238. D Mon.-Sat. CRAZEE’S COOL CAFE Good burgers, daily plate specials and bar food amid pool tables and TVs. 7626 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-221-9696. LD Mon.-Sat. CUPCAKES ON KAVANAUGH Gourmet cupcakes and coffee make this Heights bakery a great spot to sit and sip on a relaxing afternoon. 5625 Kavanaugh Blvd. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-664-2253. L Mon.-Sat. DIVERSION Hillcrest wine bar with diverse tapas menu.

From the people behind Crush. 2611 Kavanaugh Blvd., Suite 200. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-414-0409. D Mon.-Sat. DOE’S EAT PLACE A skid-row dive turned power brokers’ watering hole with huge steaks, great tamales and broiled shrimp, and killer burgers at lunch. 1023 W. Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-376-1195. LD Mon.-Fri., D Sat. DOUBLETREE PLAZA BAR & GRILL The lobby restau-

For Sale in Central arkanSaS? find it at

arkansasautobuyer.com 10,076 new and Used Cars and trucks online this Week!

Photos! Descriptions! Prices! only one Click away!

Continued on page 36 www.arktimes.com • MARCH 30, 2011 35

t. tA k 6 eN M . 1 G r’S Pr Ar Me S A r N FA oPe A FuLL SerViCe NeiGHBorHooD GroCery LoCAL ProDuCe FroM LoCAL PeoPLe

NEw

LoCALLy GRowN SALAD BAr Local Lettuces, tomatoes (really!), Spinach, Cheeses and Home Made Vinaigrettes GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Gather round the watering hole with us

The Faded Rose

®

LITTLE ROCK’S mOST awaRd wInnIng RESTauRanT

400 N. Bowman Road 501-224-3377 1619 Rebsamen Road 501-663-9734

Special

Gyro Sandwich, FrieS & drink $6.65 oFFer expireS 04/27/11.

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

fresh, delicious Mediterranean cuisine

9501 N. Rodney Parham • 227-7272 Bryant: 612 Office Park • 847-5455

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

• Full Service Neighborhood Grocery • Commitment to Local Farmers • Fair and Competitive Pricing • Five Star Customer Service

ArGeNtA MArket

521 Main St. Argenta Arts District 7am to 8pm Mon-Sat, 9am-5pm Sun • argentamarket.com

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

36 march 30, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES

Restaurant capsules

Edited by Will Shortz

■ CROSSWORD

rant in the Doubletree is elegantly comfortable, but you’ll find no airs put on at heaping breakfast and lunch buffets. 424 West Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $$.

501-372-4311. BLD daily.

DOWNTOWN DELI A locally owned eatery, with bigger sandwiches and lower prices than most downtown chain competitors. Also huge, loaded baked potatoes, soups and salads. 323 Center St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-372-3696. BL Mon.-Fri. DUB’S HAMBURGER HEAVEN A standout dairy bar. The hamburger, onion rings and strawberry milkshake make a meal fit for kings. 6230 Baucum Pike. NLR. No alcohol, No CC. $-$$. 501-955-2580. BLD daily.

EJ’S EATS AND DRINKS The friendly neighborhood hoagie shop downtown serves at a handful of tables and by delivery. The sandwiches are generous, the soup homemade and the salads cold. Vegetarians can craft any number of acceptable meals from the flexible menu. The housemade potato chips are da bomb. 523 Center St. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-666-3700. LD Mon.-Fri. FIVE GUYS BURGERS & FRIES Nationwide burger chain with emphasis on freshly made fries and patties. 2923 Lakewood Village Dr. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-246-5295. LD daily. 13000 Chenal Parkway. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$.

501-225-1100. LD daily.

FLYING FISH The fried seafood is fresh and crunchy and there are plenty of raw, boiled and grilled offerings, too. The hamburgers are a hit, too. It’s self-service; wander on through the screen door and you’ll find a slick team of cooks and servers doing a creditable job of serving big crowds. 511 President Clinton Ave. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-375-3474. LD daily.

GRUMPY’S TOO Music venue and sports bar with lots of TVs, pub grub and regular drink specials. 1801 Green Mountain Drive. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-2259650. LD Mon.-Sat. HOMER’S Great vegetables, huge yeast rolls and killer cobblers. Follow the mobs.

2001 E. Roosevelt Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-374-1400. BL Mon.-Fri. THE HOUSE A comfortable gastropub in Hillcrest, where you’ll find traditional fare like burgers and fish and chips alongside Thai green curry and gumbo. 722 N. Palm St. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-663-4501. D daily, BR and L Sat.-Sun. JIMMY’S SERIOUS SANDWICHES Consistently fine sandwiches, side orders and desserts. Chicken salad’s among the best in town. Get there early for lunch. 5116 W. Markham St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-666-3354. L Mon.-Sat. KRAZY MIKE’S Po’Boys, catfish and shrimp and other fishes, fried chicken wings and all the expected sides served up fresh and hot to order on demand. 200 N. Bowman Road. Beer, All CC. $$. 501-907-6453. LD daily.

LOCA LUNA Grilled meats, seafood and pasta dishes that never stray far from country roots, whether Italian, Spanish or Arkie. “Gourmet plate lunches” are good, as is Sunday brunch. 3519 Old Cantrell Rd. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-663-4666.

L Sun.-Fri., D daily.

LULAV Comfortably chic downtown bistro. 220 A W. 6th St. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-374-5100. BL Mon.-Fri., D daily.

MILFORD TRACK Healthy and tasty are the key words at this deli/grill, featuring hot entrees, soups, sandwiches, salads and killer desserts. 10809 Executive Center Drive, Searcy Building. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-223-2257. BL Mon.-Sat. NEW GREEN MILL CAFE A small workingman’s lunch joint, with a dependable daily meat-and-three and credible corn bread for cheap, plus sweet tea. Homemade tamales and chili on Tuesdays. 8609-C W. Markham St. No alcohol, No CC. $.

501-225-9907. L Mon.-Sat. OYSTER BAR Gumbo, red beans and rice (all you can eat on Mondays), peel-andeat shrimp, oysters on the half shell, addictive po’ boys. 3003 W. Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-666-7100. LD Mon.-Sat. PERCIFUL’S FAMOUS HOT DOGS If you’re a lover of chilidogs, this might just be your Mecca; a humble, strip-mall storefront out in East End that serves some of the best around. The latest incarnation of a LR joint that dates to the 1940s, longdogs are pretty much all they do, and they do them exceedingly well, with scratch-made chili and slaw. Our fave: The Polish cheese royal, add onions. 20400 Arch St. No alcohol, All CC. $. 501-261-1364. LD Tue.-Sat. PLAYTIME PIZZA Tons of fun isn’t rained out by lackluster eats at the new Playtime Pizza, the $11 million, 65,000 square foot kidtopia near the Rave theater. While the buffet is only so-so, features like indoor mini-golf, laser tag, go karts, arcade games and bumper cars make it a winner for both kids and adults. 600 Colonel Glenn Plaza Loop. 501-227-7529. LD Thu.-Sun., D Mon.-Wed. PURPLE COW DINER 1950s fare — cheeseburgers, chili dogs, thick milk shakes — in a ’50s setting at today’s prices. Also at 11602 Chenal Parkway. 8026 Cantrell Road.

Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-221-3555. LD daily, BR Sat.-Sun 11602 Chenal Parkway.

Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-224-4433. LD daily, BR Sat.-Sun. 1419 Higden Ferry Road.

Hot Springs. Beer, All CC. $$. 501-625-7999. LD daily, B Sun. SALUT BISTRO This bistro/late-night hangout does upscale Italian for dinner and pub grub until the wee hours. 1501 N. University. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-6604200. L Mon.-Fri., D Tue.-Sat. SCALLION’S Reliably good food, great desserts, pleasant atmosphere, able servers — a solid lunch spot. 5110 Kavanaugh Blvd. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-6666468. L Mon.-Sat. SHIPLEY DO-NUTS With locations just about everywhere in Central Arkansas, it’s hard to miss Shipley’s. Their signature smooth glazed doughnuts and dozen or so varieties of fills are well known. 7514 Cantrell Rd. No alcohol, All CC. $. 501-6645353. B daily.

SHORTY SMALL’S Land of big, juicy burgers, massive cheese logs, smoky barbecue platters and the signature onion loaf. 1100 N. Rodney Parham Road. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-224-3344. LD daily 1475 Hogan Lane. Conway. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-764-0604. LD daily.

SONNY WILLIAMS’ STEAK ROOM Steaks, chicken and seafood in a wonderful setting in the River Market. Steak gets pricey, but the lump crab meat au gratin appetizer is outstanding. Give the turtle soup a try. 500 President Clinton Ave. Full bar, All CC. $$$. 501-324-2999. D Mon.-Sat. STAGECOACH GROCERY AND DELI Fine po’ boys and muffalettas — and cheap. 6024 Stagecoach Road. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-455-4157. BL daily. D Mon.-Fri. TERRI-LYNN’S BAR-B-Q AND DELI High-quality meats served on large sandwiches and good tamales served with chili or without (the better bargain). 10102 N. Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-227-6371. LD Tue.-Sat. (10:30 a.m.-6 p.m.).

UNION BISTRO Casual upscale bistro and lounge. Try the chicken and waffles.

3421 Old Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $$$. 501-353-0360.

No. 0223

Continued from page 35

Across 1 Audibly in shock 6 Rack item 9 Canʼt stomach 14 State-run revenue source 15 1945 flag-raising site, briefly 16 Arledge who pioneered Monday night football 17 Grammy winner James and others 18 Horror film star Chaney 19 Widely known 20 Big Bopper hit 23 [as printed] 24 Common gout site 25 Title for Paul McCartney 26 Actor McShane of “Deadwood” 29 Barrier with a diamond pattern

33 Thurman of film 34 Baseballerturned-spy Berg 35 Unaccompanied 36 Place to get a bucket of balls 39 In a funk 40 Like some paper and coats 41 “Understood” 42 Sock-in-the-gut reaction 43 Mauna ___ 44 Group overseeing Notre Dame Cathedral 49 H.M.S. part 50 Just fine 51 California town name starter 52 Rockʼs ___ Rose 54 Remote possibility … or a hint to 20-, 29and 44-Across 58 Yawlʼs pair 60 “No dice!”

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE A R T H U R S

J A M E S

N E V A D A N

B U L O V A

E N G R A V E D A M T R A K

L E A P Y E A R I P H O N E

E G S O M E S E R S N I S P K S I N K L E T R S T R E A B L B A Y M

A S H S L O H O W S N E O O L M A L I N G N E E B E E T T S A C K C H C A

H A G I G C L H E

E L I N O R

S O L A C E

A G E C A R T A T O W O T I A R I N J A C K A D A L R E L E

S T A L K

E N C A S E D

61 Weighed down 62 Russian pancakes 63 First Liston/Clay fight result, in brief 64 Republicanturned-Democrat Specter 65 Itʼs a plus 66 Anthem contraction 67 Like a neglected lawn Down 1 Smart guys?

2 Notre Dameʼs architectural style 3 Tack on 4 Satirist Freberg 5 When racehorses are at the gate 6 Jewish campus group 7 M.P.ʼs quarry 8 Press secretary under George W. Bush 9 Kennel outburst 10 Old U.K. carrier 11 Follow a signal to 12 Admit ___ 13 Badly chafed 21 Inner Hebrides isle 22 ___ button (Facebook icon) 27 Oxy 5 target 28 ___-to-know basis 30 Boring tool 31 “Bye for now!”

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Puzzle by Barry C. Silk

32 ___ González affair of 2000

42 Shouts of surprise 36 Rolling in it 43 Ray who built McDonaldʼs into 37 1975 Wimbledon a giant winner 38 Phobic disorder, 45 Watch a kitty e.g.

46 Limb-bending muscle 39 Check out 47 Thing to snuff 40 Ordinance aimed 48 Go over at pet owners

53 1974 title role for Dustin Hoffman 55 ___ Reader (alternative magazine)

56 Flood barrier

57 Rhine feeder

58 Wharton deg.

59 Capp and Capone

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.

Continued on page 38

www.arktimes.com • MARCH 30, 2011 37

Restaurant capsules Continued from page 38

WEST END SMOKEHOUSE AND TAVERN Its primary focus is a sports bar with 50-plus TVs, but the dinner entrees (grilled chicken, steaks and such) are plentiful and the bar food is upper quality. 215 N. Shackleford. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-224-7665. L Fri.-Sun., D daily.

WINGSTOP It’s all about wings. The joint features eight flavors of chicken flappers for almost any palate, including mild, hot, Cajun and atomic, as well as specialty flavors like lemon pepper and teriyaki. 11321 West Markham St. Beer. $-$$. 501-224-9464. LD daily.

ASIAN ASIA BUFFET Massive Chinese buffet. 801 S. Bowman Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-225-0095. LD daily.

CHINA INN Massive Chinese buffet overflows with meaty and fresh dishes, augmented at dinner by boiled shrimp, oysters on the half shell and snow crab legs, all you want cheap. 2629 Lakewood Village Place. NLR. Beer, Wine, All

CC. $-$$. 501-771-2288. LD daily.

FORBIDDEN CITY The Park Plaza staple has fast and friendly service, offering up good lo mein at lunch and Cantonese and Hunan dishes. 6000 W. Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-663-9099. LD daily.

FU XING Chinese buffet. 9120 N. Rodney Parham Road.

Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-223-0888. LD daily.

GINA’S A broad and strong sushi menu along with other Japanese standards. 14524 Cantrell Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-868-7775. LD daily.

HANAROO SUSHI BAR Under its second owner, it’s one of the few spots in downtown Little Rock to serve sushi. With an expansive menu, featuring largely Japanese fare with a bit of Korean mixed in. 205 W. Capitol Ave. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-301-7900. L Mon.-Fri., D Mon.-Sat. PHO THANH MY It says “Vietnamese noodle soup” on the sign out front, and that’s what you should order. The pho comes in outrageously large portions with bean sprouts and fresh herbs. Traditional pork dishes, spring rolls and bubble tea also available. 302 N. Shackleford Road. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-312-7498.

ROYAL BUFFET A big buffet of Chinese fare, with other Asian tastes as well. 109 E. Pershing. NLR. 501-753-8885.

LD daily.

SEKISUI Fresh-tasting sushi, traditional Japanese, the fun hibachi style of Japanese, and an overwhelming assortment of entrees. Nice wine selection, sake, specialty drinks. 219 N. Shackleford Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-221-7070.

LD daily.

SHOGUN JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE The chefs will dazzle you, as will the variety of tasty stir-fry combinations and the sushi bar. Usually crowded at night. 2815 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-666-7070. D daily.

WASABI Downtown sushi and Japanese cuisine. For lunch, there’s quick and hearty sushi samplers. 101 Main St. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-374-0777. L Mon.-Fri., D Mon.-Sat.

BARBECUE BARE BONES PIT BAR-B-Q A carefully controlled gas oven, with wood chips added for flavor, guarantees moist and sweet pork, both pulled from the shoulder and back ribs. The side orders, particularly the baked potato salad, are excellent. 5501 Ranch Drive, Suite 4. Beer, All CC. $-$$.

501-868-7427. LD daily.

CHIP’S BARBECUE Tasty, if a little pricey, barbecue piled high on sandwiches generously doused with tangy sauce. Better known for the incredible family recipe pies and cheesecakes, which come tall and wide. 9801 W. Markham

St. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-225-4346. LD Mon.-Sat. DIXIE PIG Pig salad is tough to beat. It comes with loads of chopped pork atop crisp iceberg, doused with that wonderful vinegar-based sauce. The sandwiches are basic, and the sweet, thick sauce is fine. 900 West 35th St. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-753-9650. LD Mon.-Sat.

EUROPEAN / ETHNIC ARABICA HOOKAH CAFE This eatery and grocery store offers kebabs and salads along with just about any sort of Middle Eastern fare you might want, along with what might be the best kefte kebab in Central Arkansas. Halal butcher on duty. 3400 S. University Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$.

501-379-8011. LD daily.

CREGEEN’S IRISH PUB Irish-themed pub with a large selection of on-tap and bottled British beers and ales, an Irish inspired menu and lots of nooks and crannies to meet in. 301 Main St. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-376-7468. LD daily.

ISTANBUL MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE This Turkish eatery offers decent kebabs and great starters. The red pepper hummus is a winner. So are Cigar Pastries. Possibly the best Turkish coffee in Central Arkansas. 11525 Cantrell Road. No alcohol, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-223-9332. LD daily.

LEO’S GREEK CASTLE Wonderful Mediterranean food — gyro sandwiches or platters, falafel and tabouleh — plus dependable hamburgers, ham sandwiches, steak platters and BLTs. Breakfast offerings are expanded with gyro meat, pitas and triple berry pancakes. 2925 Kavanaugh Blvd. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-666-7414. BLD daily.

SILVEK’S EUROPEAN BAKERY Fine pastries, chocolate creations, breads and cakes done in the classical European style. Drop by for a whole cake or a slice or any of the dozens of single serving treats in the big case. 1900 Polk St. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-661-9699. BLD daily.

ITALIAN CAFE PREGO Dependable entrees of pasta, pork and the like, plus great sauces, fresh mixed greens and delicious dressings, crisp-crunchy-cold gazpacho and tempting desserts in a comfy bistro setting. 5510 Kavanaugh Blvd.

Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-663-5355. LD Mon.-Fri., D Sat. CIAO Don’t forget about this casual yet elegant bistro tucked into a downtown storefront. The fine pasta and seafood dishes, ambiance and overall charm combine to make it a relaxing, enjoyable, affordable choice. 405 W. Seventh St. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-372-0238. L Mon.-Fri., D Thu.-Sat. GRADY’S PIZZAS AND SUBS Pizza features a pleasing blend of cheeses rather than straight mozzarella. The grinder is a classic, the chef’s salad huge and tasty. 6801 W. 12th St., Suite C. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-663-1918. LD daily.

IRIANA’S PIZZA Unbelievably generous thick-crust pizza with unmatched zest. Good salads, too; grinders are great, particularly the Italian sausage. 103 W. Markham St. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-374-3656. LD Mon.-Sat. PIERRE’S GOURMET PIZZA CO. EXPRESS KITCHEN Chef/owner Michael Ayers has reinvented his pizzeria, once located on JFK in North Little Rock, as the first RV entry into mobile food truck scene. With a broad menu of pizza, calzones, salads and subs. 889 W. 3rd St. No alcohol, No CC. $$. 501-410-0377. L Mon.-Fri. U.S. PIZZA Crispy thin-crust pizzas, frosty beers and heaping salads drowned in creamy dressing. Multiple locations: 4001 McCain Park, NLR, 753-2900; 3324 Pike Ave., NLR, 758-5997; 650 Edgewood Drive, Maumelle, 851-0880; 8403 Highway 107, Sherwood, 835-5673; 9300 N. Rodney Parham, 224-6300; 2814 Kavanaugh, 663-2198. 5524 Kavanaugh. Beer, All CC. $$. 501-664-7071. LD daily. 710 Front Street. Conway. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-4509700. LD Mon.-Sun. ZAFFINO’S BY NORI A high-quality Italian dining experience. Pastas, entrees (don’t miss the veal marsala) and salads are all outstanding, and the desserts don’t miss, either. 2001 E. Kiehl Ave. NLR. Beer, Wine. 501-834-7530.

D Tue.-Sat.

MEXICAN CANON GRILL Creative appetizers come in huge quantities, and the varied main-course menu rarely disappoints, though it’s not as spicy as competitors’. 2811 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-664-2068. LD daily.

CAPI’S The eatery has abandoned its previous small plates format for Nuevo Latino cuisine heavy on tamales, enchiladas and Central American reinterpretation of dishes.

Fortunately, they kept the great desserts. 11525 Cantrell Suite 917. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-225-9600. LD Tue.-Sun., BR Sat.-Sun. COTIJA’S A branch off the famed La Hacienda family tree downtown, with a massive menu of tasty lunch and dinner specials, the familiar white cheese dip and sweet red and fiery-hot green salsas, and friendly service. 406 S. Louisiana St. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-244-0733. L Mon.-Sat. LAS MARGARITAS Sparse offerings at this taco truck.

No chicken, for instance. Try the veggie quesadilla. 7308 Baseline Road. No alcohol, No CC. $. LD Tue.-Thu. LA REGIONAL A full-service grocery store catering to SWLR’s Latino community, it’s the small grill tucked away in the back corner that should excite lovers of adventurous cuisine. The menu offers a whirlwind trip through Latin America, with delicacies from all across the Spanishspeaking world (try the El Salvadorian papusas, they’re great). Bring your Spanish/English dictionary. 7414 Baseline Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-565-4440. BLD daily.

2630 Pike Ave. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-2464163.

38 MARCH 30, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES

From natty dresser to no-clue, a fashion primer for men

BY KATHRYN HELLER PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN CHILSON

M

en’s fashion, both here in the Mid-south and elsewhere, has become increasingly prevalent in the past few years. In 2007, Evolve, a contemporary men’s clothing store, popped up on the Little Rock retail landscape while long-standing retailers Bauman’s and Mr. Wicks started adding more casual lines to their impressive array of menswear. Nationally, the presence of street style photogs at men’s trade show Pitti Umo has broadcasted images of hunky and stylish fashion editors and buyers in cropped suits and bright scarves to the entire world.

Personal style blogs such as Street Etiquette and Style Salvage are showing us that there is rich history and craftsmanship in the world of men’s dressing.

So, after a little fashion math, spring 2011 seems like the perfect time to fully embrace the fashion wagon. But not in a misguided, preening peacock kind of way. Good style is all about being comfortable and confident, which means spending a little time at stores and with sales staff finding items that work with what you’ve already got.

MARCH 30, 2011

Small plaid woven

by Shirt By Shirt

Casual cotton blend Blazer by HOWE

Continued on page 40

hearsay ➥ B. BARNETT covers all the bases. Clothes: March 30, the Spring 2011 Rena Lange collection. Makeup: March 31, the Trish McEvoy Resort Collection. Jewelry: March 31-April 1, Amanda Sterett trunk show. And last, but certainly not least, shoes: March 31, Delman Footwear Trunk show. ➥ Mark your calendars for one ginormous kids’ consignment sale. the RHEA LANA Spring/Summer Event, Tuesday, April 12-Saturday, April 16. Private presale for volunteers, consignors and guests, Monday, April 11. Note the new location in Riverdale, 2610 Cantrell. ➥ Flower power. L&L BECK ART GALLERY plans to feature a different theme each month; that theme for April is, fittingly, “Spring Flowers,” a series of portraits of seasonal flowers such as irises, geraniums and tulips. ➥ Parlor games. CANTRELL GALLERY will be hosting “Lee Nora Parlor’s Painted Photo Album,” oil paintings inspired by photographs in Parlor’s grandmother’s album, April 15-May 28. The opening night reception will be April 15, 6-8 p.m. ➥ Lip service. Be on the lookout for MAC’s new lip liners, available April 6 wherever MAC products are sold (here, that means DILLARDS). ➥ Stockpots in stock. Emile Henry is now available at KREBS BROTHERS in North Little Rock!

This fine French line of ovenware and gourmet cooking and bakeware products may have been around since 1850, but it just got here. A bite of trivia: the company still manufactures all of their products from Burgundy clay using their special state-of-the-art manufacturing process. ➥ Bossypants—and more. The popular and popularly priced lined Hugo Boss is now available at the BAUMANS! Visit the Baumans Pavilion store on April 1-2 for a big Boss is Back celebration co-hosted by Heineken. Enjoy two premium German imports simultaneously!

into The “Protégé”, straight leg fit by AG

Available at EVOLVE ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE ARKANSAS TIMES • MARCH 30, 2011 39

Share the Road

For Cyclists Share the road Tips for SAFE cycling on the road.

• Bicycles are vehicles on the road, just like cars and motorcycles. Cyclists must obey all traffic laws. Arkansas Uniform Vehicle Code #27-49-111 • Cyclists must signal, ride on the right side of the road and yield to traffic normally.

Bicycles are vehicles on the road, Code #27-51-301/403 just like must cars have andamotorcycles.

• Bicycles white headlight and a red tail light visible fromall 500traffic feet and have a Cyclist should obey laws. bell or warning device for pedestrians.

Arkansas Uniform Vehicle Code #27Code #27-36-220 49-111 • Make eye contact with motorists. Be visible. Be predictable. Head up, think ahead.

Cyclists should signal, ride on the • On the Big Dam Bridge... go slow. right side of the road, and yield to Represent! traffic other • As younormally pass, say “Onlike yourany left... thankroad you.”

• On the River vehicle.

CodeTrail... #27-51-301/403 use a safe speed, don’t Share the Road intimidate or scare others.

Watch for dogs Give 3 feet ofCyclists clear space when and For leashes.

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Bicycle Advocacyonofthe Arkansas • Bicycles are vehicles road, just like Code #27-51-311 www.bacar.org

cars andLeague motorcycles.

Cyclists must obey of American Bicyclists

allwww.bikeleague.org/programs/education trafficby laws.

Uniform Code Cyclist lawArkansas can not rideVehicle on the #27-49-111 sidewalk in some areas, some bikes • Cyclists must signal, ride on the right side can roads of theonly roadhandle and yieldsmooth to traffic normally.

Code cracks, #27-51-301/403 (no potholes, trolley tracks).

• Bicycles must have a white headlight and a LR Ord.#32-494

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red tail light visible from 500 feet and have a

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Drive • Makepredictably. eye contact with motorists. Be vis-

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Please ghost bikes.

• On the prevent Big Dam Bridge... go slow. www.ghostbikes.org Represent!

• As you pass, say “On your left... thank you.”

For more information: • On the River Trail... use a safe speed, don’t BicycleorAdvocacy Arkansas intimidate scare others.ofWatch for dogs and leashes.www.bacar.org For more information...

League American Bicyclists BicycleofAdvocacy of Arkansas www.bacar.org www.bikeleague.org/programs/ League of American Bicyclists www.bikeleague.org/programs/education education

501-225-M2LR www.M2LR.com 11525 Cantrell Rd. Little Rock, AR

support your community

Stone grey chinos by Ermenegildo Zegna

Small Town

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We Buy and Sell Gold & Silver, Fine & Costume Jewelry Now Accepting Vintage & Used Leather Goods!

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Graphic Tee by Ben Sherman

Poplin Khaki Pant by Z-Brand

Racing inspired graphic Tee by Wicked Quick

Poplin Khaki Pant

by Ben Sherman

Available at EVOLVE

MEN’S FASHION Continued from page 39

Step into Evolve right now and you’ll see a myriad of colors in the form of striped and plaid button-ups along with a great selection of denim slung over a bar for easy comparison. Greg, co-owner of Evolve, says a straight-leg jean is one of the best styles for all men, but still a bit fashion-forward for the state. A nondenim casual pant is also a must. They offer a lightweight, straight-leg style from Ben Sherman in both khaki and stone. There is also has a large selection of Toms 2226 Cantrell Rd., Little Rock, AR 72202 • 501.374.3130 • 501.773.8743

40 MARCH 30, 2011 • ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE ARKANSAS TIMES

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shoes. In the next few weeks they’ll have suits in stock. A slim, tailored style from Ben Sherman with a $550 price point is not exactly the $99 sale at Jos A. Banks, but in the scheme of finding an off-therack modern suit available locally, it’s a bargain. One of most exciting things available now at Evolve is their vintage selection in the back of store. The prices peak at $75, and it’s an easy way to add a unique t-shirt or slim tie to the sports coat you just found in the front of the store.

Color is also the first thing a customer notices when they step in Bauman’s.

Though Bauman’s Sean Cullers says they’ve always been a “color store,” a cobalt blue suede driving shoe (also available in more subdued hues) says there’s no time like the present to liven up your casual wardrobe.

Billy Reid, CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund 2011 winner and fellow southerner, has created a Spring 2011 line sure to inspire. The images offer styling tips that

would work well with the preppy casual pieces from Bauman’s and more conservative items from Mr. Wicks: roll up your khakis like you’re picnicking at the Buffalo River, find a linen shirt and a pair of lace up shoes (no socks, of course), and you’re ready for hot weather. Those less inspired

by Jack Nicholson in “Chinatown” should concentrate on silhouette. A slim tailored fit is where we are today and is the mantra echoed by local retailers. Shoulders should be snug, pants and sleeves should be long and lean.

The takeaway for spring fashion is that color is key to freshening up a wardrobe.

Advanced dressers can replace the laces of their desert boots with a bright purple or red pair or, go tone on tone with navy pants and bright blue top. Those just starting out with color should look for plaid tops that mix restrained colors with brighter ones. Or, just hit the ground running and throw a blue gingham sportscoat over anything in your existing wardrobe.

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Schway… A Salon (adj.) of exceptional quality, a thing worthy of positive attention, cool or awesome.

Specializing in creative color and cuts plus perms, facial waxing and extensions including feather extensions. We also offer freelance hair and makeup services off-site for weddings and other special occasions.

SALON: Schway OWNER & STYLIST – Ginnie Oliver STYLIST – Amanda Morley

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M Salon welcomes Shelly Holmes to our design group!

Salon Scarlet is located in the Pleasant Ridge Town Center, inside Scarlet Boutique. We are known for our L.A. inspired looks with weightless texture and movement.Kevin Murphy has easily become one of our favorite hair care lines, providing us with the knowledge and styling tips that are used all over the world. We love being involved in the world of fashion and keep up with trends everyday.

We guarantee you’ll love your hair after coming to us, or we will give your money back! Our promise to you is that you will enjoy your experience, have a lot of fun and walk out with a new look and a new attitude for 2011!

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Ballet Arkansas Spring Performance Ballet Arkansas Professional Company Ballet Arkansas Junior Company

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Saturday, April 2 • 7pm Sunday, April 3 • 3pm Wine Tasting Begins One Hour Prior To Each Performance Wildwood Center for the Performing Arts 20919 Denny Road, Little Rock Tickets for prime seating are $25 adult/$20 child and $15 for side seating.

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Save the date Monday, april 18, 2011

6:00 p.m.

Wine & Light Bites

7:30 p.m.

Fashion Show with Barbara Graves on The Rep’s Hairspray set

tiCketS $75 Seating is limited. all proceeds go to the arkansas Repertory Theater.

For tickets contact Bethany hilkert Phone: (501) 378-0445 ext. 203 email: bhilkert@therep.org

Chairs: Susan Cohen & Cathy hooker hostess Chair: Luann ashley

www.arktimes.com • march 30, 2011 43

BRIAN CHILSON

NATIVES GUIDE

US PIZZA CO.

PIZZA CAFE

ACADIA

Outdoor dining

W

ith the weather on the verge (we hope) of a sustained period of justrightness, this week we examine the best places to eat or drink outside. In selecting what follows, we looked for good views, large seating areas and spots that, even if they didn’t satisfy the first two criteria, still steadily draw crowds.

ACADIA For casual fine dining, it’s hard to think of lovelier outdoor seating than at Chef James Hale’s consistently excellent Hillcrest restaurant. Elevated above Kavanaugh and with part of its three-tiered wooden deck wrapped around an oak tree, Acadia’s outdoor tables can make you feel like you’re in a tree house.

Go on fixed-price Mondays and Tuesdays, when you can get three courses for $24.50. Or if you’re more interested in drinking, wine by the bottle is 20 percent off on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and martinis are discounted from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. 3000 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar. CC. 501603-9630. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 5:30 p.m.-10 p.m.

Mon.-Sat. BOSCOS Maybe the best patio with a view in the River Market district, Boscos’ skinny second-story back deck can accommodate close to 80 people. When there’s a concert at the amphitheater and during Riverfest, the restaurant and brewery requires either a level of spending or a cover charge — often $25 per person — to sit outside. Buyer beware, the sight lines are great 44 MARCH 30, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES

unless nearby crepe myrtles are in bloom. Still, there’s no better perch for people-watching. Another good time to go? During happy hour, from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. during the week, when appetizers, martinis, wine and beer are discounted. 500 President Clinton Ave. Full bar. CC. 501-907-1881. 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Mon.Thu., 11 a.m.-12 a.m. Fri.-Sat., 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Sun.

BRAVE NEW RESTAURANT On summer nights, when the temperature drops and Brave New standbys like Arkansas heirloom tomatoes and peaches are in season, don’t let your hunger convince you to take a table inside if there’s a wait for one of the 10 on the Riverdale restaurant’s back deck. Brave New deservedly takes some lumps for being located in an office building, but whatever atmosphere the surrounding space lacks, the back porch, overlooking big willow trees and the Arkansas River, makes up for it. Perhaps the best food with a view in town. 2300 Cottondale Lane. Full bar.

CC. 501-663-2677. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Mon.-Sat. FORTY TWO If the Clinton Presidential Center architects had situated the restaurant on top of its cantilevered section instead of below it no other outdoor patios could compete. But the ground floor deck, accessed through the center’s lower level, is still nice, with a great view of what will soon be the Clinton Presidential Park Bridge. The food is good, too, and reasonably priced. Every third Thursday evening of the month, Forty Two offers a five-course “Around the World” tasting menu, usually with entertainment; reservations are required. Sunday is a brunch buffet. 1200 President

Clinton Ave. Full bar. CC. 501-537-0042. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. daily.

CAJUN’S WHARF The deck by which all others are measured in Central Arkansas. With around 55 tables, a small stage area and a dedicated bar (that’s generally open Wednesday through Saturday) overlooking the Arkansas River, it’s the biggest outdoor party space around on spring and summer weekends. Between 4:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., minors accompanied by a guardian can sit on the porch. Otherwise, it’s 21 and up. Go during happy hour, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Monday through Friday, when beer, well drinks, wine and Cajun’s play-de-do cocktails are all discounted.

Wednesday through Saturday, there’s live music, too.

2400 Cantrell Road. Full bar. CC. 501-375-5351. 4:30 p.m. until close Mon.-Wed., 4:30 p.m.-2 a.m. Thu.-Fri., 4:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Sat.

CASA MANANA Possibly the only Mexican restaurant in town with a nice patio area, Casa Manana keeps us coming back for its salsa (red and green) and frosty cervezas. When the weather’s nice, nothing can cure a hangover like chorizo and eggs, a michelada (beer, tomato juice and hot sauce) and a table on the cozy back patio. Breakfast is rarely crowded. Go for booze specials from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. every day but Sunday.

6820 Cantrell Road. Full bar. All CC. 501-280-9888. 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Sat., 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Sun. PIZZA CAFE Arguably the coldest beer in town and excellent thin, crunchy pizza make this cozy, open-

OUTDOOR DINING air deck one of the most popular around. During peak hours during the weekend, expect to wait. Otherwise, somebody always seems to be getting up. Select domestic beer is discounted during all-day happy hour on Monday and Tuesday and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday.

1517 Rebsamen Park Road. Wine and beer only. CC. 501-664-6133. 11 a.m.9 p.m. Thu., 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Sun.

REVOLUTION With two bars, a restaurant and the River Market’s biggest venue inside, the back deck at Revolution isn’t the main attraction, but it’s a great escape during a concert and a perfect spot for pre-partying before attending an event at the nearby amphitheater. More recommended times: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, when all drinks are discounted, and Saturdays, when there’s karaoke on the deck. 300 President Clinton Ave. Full bar. CC. 501-823-0090. 4 p.m.-10 p.m. Mon., 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Tue.-Wed., 11 a.m.11 p.m. Thu.-Sat., 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Sun. (or later on show nights).

SCALLIONS Where ladies who lunch in the Heights go for warm-weather patio dining. Tucked below street level, under a canopy of trees and patio umbrellas, Scallions’ outdoor seating is the rare set-up that stays relatively cool during the day when the days start to really heat up. And with around 25 tables, you’re usually assured of a seat or at least a short wait. 5110 Kavanaugh Blvd. Wine and beer. CC. 501-666-6468. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat. STARVING ARTIST The only restaurant with outdoor seating to speak of in Argenta, Starving Artist’s open-air back patio doesn’t offer any sort of view except of the stars, but when the weather’s right, it’s the go-to destination in downtown North Little Rock.

Enjoy a drink outside when you’re waiting for the restaurant’s popular reading series, “Tales from the South,” to get going. 411 N. Main St., NLR. Full bar. CC. 501-372-7976. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Tue.-Thu., 5 p.m.-close Tue. (for “Tales from the South” dinner and show), 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Fri.-Sat. U.S. PIZZA In nice weather, the patio at the Temple of Pizza in Hillcrest is the toughest table to get in town. Cozy, but relatively massive by typical outdoor seating standards, it’s rimmed by a stacked rock and wrought iron fence and lushly landscaped

Other favorites ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER The small patio off Best Impressions Restaurant offers a view of MacArthur Park and tables with umbrellas; dine on salads and fancier fare.

Ninth and Rock Streets.

BUFFALO GRILL The Riverdale hamburger joint expanded its outdoor seating several years ago. That was smart; it’s still full in nice weather. 1611 Rebsamen Park Road.

CAPERS One of the few West Little Rock outdoor seating areas that doesn’t overlook a parking lot.

14502 Cantrell Road.

CIAO BACI The L-shaped porch at this Hillcrest bungalow-turnedrestaurant is usually hopping. 605 N. Beechwood St. THE HOUSE A good range of beer selections, including cheap PBR, make this a prime drinkers’ porch.

722 N. Palm St. STICKYZ Look for live music at this patio-turned-parking-lot every once in a while. Otherwise, a great place to get some air during a sweaty rock show. 107 Commerce St.

Travs 2011 Home Opener Thursday, April 14 vs.

with bushes and young trees. Take advantage of drink specials Monday through Thursday. Tuesday, when drafts are $1.50 all day, is especially popular. When the lower patio is full, the upstairs porch opens. 2814 Kavanaugh. Wine and beer. CC. 501663-2198. 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Mon.Thu., 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sun.

VINO’S For years, Vino’s back patio wasn’t much more than a smoker’s refuge for regulars. But then the brewpub added a second-story deck.

The view’s still not much, but there’s plenty of room to spread out now and enjoy a slice or a pint or three of the house beer. Get it at happy hour prices from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday, noon to 6 p.m. Saturday. 923 W. Seventh St. CC. Beer and wine. 501-375-8466. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Mon.-Wed., 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Thu., 11 a.m.-12 a.m. Fri., 11:30 a.m.-12 a.m. Sat., 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.

Sun.

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Clemmer scheme n The Arkansas Times weblog had a news item last week about a state legislator from Benton having employed a nifty little scheme to gouge taxpayers.

In addition to receiving her regular legislative pay, this state rep submits expense accounts that include consulting fees amounting to thousands upon thousands of do-la-re.

Only the consultant that she allegedly consults in these consultations, and to whom she authorizes payment of those audacious additional sums, is herself.

She’s her own consultant, and her consultant’s only client is herself.

And you get to pay her both. Unlike the STP guy, you pay her now and pay her later too. And as many more times as she’s of a notion to bill you.

This isn’t a Ponzi scheme. It’s a variety of the old-fashioned double-dip now known locally as a Clemmer scheme. There are other names for it among those who are hot about how bad it sucks, but nevermind about that.

Anyway, the blog report on this got me wondering why only legislators get to have Clemmer schemes. Why couldn’t we all have a Clemmer scheme? Fix yourself one tailored to your particular occupational situation, and I’ll personalize one for Ol’ Moi. In my case, I’d hire myself out to myself

Bob L ancaster as a newspaper column-writing consultant, and send the bill for the consulting fee to my employer, the Arkansas Times.

Here’s a more detailed look at the Ol’ Moi Clemmer.

All right, Ol’ Moi the columnist decides that this column — this column right here, I mean — could use some fresh air. It’s got tired and stale. It lies around like an old dog.

It lately has tacked from the gutless eccentric directly into the totally opaque. It needs a good consultant to help it get its groove back.

So I launch a Bobslist search, and, I doggies Lum, it turns out that the best consultant of the type I’m looking for is from none other than the celebrated firm of Me Myself & I. Ol’ Moi the consultant (this would be Ol’ Moi the columnist’s alter ego) has the requisite experience, credentials, expertise, and geezerly numb-minded time on his hands that would be better spent on moonlight selfconsultation than what he spends it on now,

which, I’m sorry to say, is a kind of generic pottering that beggars further description.

So Columnist Ol’ Moi rings up Consultant Ol’ Moi to propose the Clemmer scheme.

Consultant Ol’ Moi tentatively agrees but says, “The only thing is, I’m not going down for gum wrappers any more. I’ve proed all the bono in this racket that I’m going to.”

Columnist Ol’ Moi replies to that: “I’m not trying to lowball you, Dude. I might anybody else but it wouldn’t make much sense here.”

Consultant Ol’ Moi says: “I’m talking a high fee, Bro, like Zig Ziglar gets, and them thrice-divorced motivational types that live in a van down by the river. You think the Arkansas Times would spring for that?”

And Columnist Ol’ Moi: “Aw, yeah, they’ve always been generous in their pursuit of journalistic excellence. They’ll spare no expense if they think it’ll draw a little higher quality punditry out of a body. It’s the oldest free alternative weekly west of the Mississippi River, after all, bringing its readers local, national, and international news since 1819. Or thereabout.”

Consultant Ol’ Moi affects a mulling posture, then finally says: “All right, then, as I understand it, the going Clemmer rate is $2,000 a whack. The kind of work we do is at least twice as important as what state legislators do — I’m citing Edmund Burke here — so how does $4,000 sound?

C

Columnist Ol’ Moi:“How much consulting would $4,000 buy me?

Consultant Ol’ Moi shrugs: “An hour’s worth?”

Columnist Ol’ Moi: “How about $50 worth just for a trial run?”

Consultant Ol’ Moi: “For $50 I could give you a topic for this week’s column. It’d be about legislators finding clever new ways to rip off taxpayers, and how that might inspire luckless old newspaper hands to try something similar.”

Columnist Ol’ Moi: “C’mon now. You’re just looking at the preceding paragraphs.

You didn’t have anything to do with writing those, so you can’t charge $50 for suggesting them post facto. Not in good conscience you can’t.”

Consultant Ol’ Moi: “I don’t think good conscience has any place in a Clemmer scheme.”

He had a point there. Columnist Ol’ Moi thought of Bill Bennett and Ralph Reed and Dick Morris the toe-sucking guy and some of the other $4,000-level consultants who are also $4,000-level pricks.

Consultant Ol’ Moi says: “OK, I’ve got you another topic. Earthquakes.”

Columnist Ol’ Moi: “ Dude, you Google earthquakes. You don’t look for them here.”

Consultant Ol’ Moi: “No, I mean the humorous side of earthquakes.”

So we’ve got the humorous side of earthquakes in the bank. Coming soon to a column near you. Maybe next week.

S

LASSIFIED LASSIFIED

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Field Workers-2 temporary positions; approx 8 months; Duties: to operate tractors during the preparation and maintenance of the sugar cane crop before, during and after the harvesting season. $9.10 per hour; Job to begin on 5/1/11 through 12/31/11. 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 Paul Milano Farms, Inc. located in Gonzales, LA. Worksite located in Sorrento, LA. Qualified applicants may call employer for interview (337) 845-5086 or may apply for this position at their nearest State WorkforceAgency using job order # 378450. For more info regarding your nearest SWA you may call (501) 682-7719.

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a new concept of the Cato Corporation, has an opening for District Manager in the Little Rock, AR area. It’s Fashion Metro offers quality, in season, name brand, Junior, Plus, Men’s and Children’s apparel, including infant and toddler fashions for the entire family at everyday savings of 20% to 60% off department and specialty store prices. We also offer a wide assortment of shoes and home décor at similar savings!

You’ll need 1-2 years management experience in a retail operation (multi-store management experience is beneficial), good communication skills, strong recruiting skills and the ability to coordinate multiple responsibilities simultaneously. Merchandise presentation skills and a sincere desire to work in a retail environment are essential.

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EOE For consideration, please visit our website at http://www.catofashions.com/ Then print and fax to 205-591-8844 or e-mail to nsutt@catocorp.com. EEO/Drug Testing

46 MARCH 30, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES 46 March 30, 2011 • ARKANSAS TIMES

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Legal Notices Excel Constructors is seeking bids from M/W/DV BEís subcontractors for the Verizon Little Rock, AR Switch Station. The bid date is April 11th, with subbids due at 1:00 pm. A Confidentiality Release Form must be signed and re- turned to Excel prior to viewing this project. The form is at www.excelconstructors.com/bids.

Legal Notices IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF PULASKI COUNTY, ARKANSAS,17th DIVISION LAND TRUST #33N2860002000, MIB, INC., TRUSTEE PLAINTIFF vs. No. 60CV20111041 Lot 3, Block 3, Iron Mountain Addition to the City of North Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas AND ANDRE FLETCHER, and the UNKNOWN SPOUSE OF ANDRE FLETCHER; ARKANSAS OFFICE OF CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT; and THE UNKNOWN HEIRS OF ANY NAMED DEFENDANT NOW DECEASED DEFENDANTS NOTICE OF QUIET TITLE ACTION. Notice is hereby given that a Petition has been filed in the office of the Circuit Clerk of Pulaski County, Arkansas, to quiet and confirm title in and to the following described property in Pulaski County, Arkansas: Lot 3, Block 3, Iron Mountain Addition to the City of North Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas Plaintiff claims ownership of said lands pursuant to Limited Warranty Deed for Forfeited Property Sold issued by Mark Wilcox, Commissioner of State Lands of the State of Arkansas under the authority of Arkansas Act 626 of 1983, as amended. Any person claiming any title or interest of any kind to such property or who claims in consequence of any informality or any irregularity connected with the said sale is hereby notified to appear herein within thirty days of the first publication of this notice, to assert his title or interest in such property and to show cause why title to the above described property should not be quieted and confirmed in the Plaintiff herein. WITNESS my hand and seal of the Court this 8th day of March, 2011. THIS NOTICE First Published March 30, 2011.

LARRY CRANE, CLERK-By: Angela Ramsey, Deputy Clerk

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.

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Green Friendly Junk & Rubbish Removal

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