Arkansas Times - July 17, 2014

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NEWS + POLITICS + ENTERTAINMENT + FOOD / JULY 17, 2014 / ARKTIMES.COM

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VOLUME 40, NUMBER 46 ARKANSAS TIMES (ISSN 0164-6273) is published each week by Arkansas Times Limited Partnership, 201 East Markham Street, Suite 200, Little Rock, Arkansas, 72201, phone (501) 375-2985. Periodical postage paid at Little Rock, Arkansas, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ARKANSAS TIMES, EAST MARKHAM STREET, SUITE 200, Little Rock, AR, 72201. Subscription prices are $42 for one year, $78 for two years. Subscriptions outside Arkansas are $49 for one year, $88 for two years. Foreign (including Canadian) subscriptions are $168 a year. For subscriber service call (501) 375-2985. Current single-copy price is 75¢, free in Pulaski County. Single issues are available by mail at $2.50 each, postage paid. Payment must accompany all single-copy orders. Reproduction or use in whole or in part of the contents without the written consent of the publishers is prohibited. Manuscripts and artwork will not be returned or acknowledged unless sufficient return postage and a self-addressed stamped envelope are included. All materials are handled with due care; however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for care and safe return of unsolicited materials. All letters sent to ARKANSAS TIMES will be treated as intended for publication and are subject to ARKANSAS TIMES’ unrestricted right to edit or to comment editorially.

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COMMENT

From the web In response to “The roots of Little Rock’s segregated neighborhoods,” July 10: As a teacher in LR, I have noticed that our students segregate themselves across racial lines. It happens in the hallway, at lunch, and even in the classroom (the reason an integrated seating chart is necessary or there would be an imaginary racial line drawn down the center of the classroom). I don’t think anything sinister is going on, but only the fact that people tend to naturally surround themselves with others like themselves. I also think it is important for these students to be encouraged to cross racial boundaries and work together. Your article makes it sound like there is a conspiracy plot going on, when I think much of this just occurs naturally. Instead of finger-pointing, how about we spend our time and energy on getting people to naturally integrate and value others for our diversity? FindX

mouth. I hope that this can end up being a space that can be used by the public. It is a shame that it is sitting empty when people are ready and willing to use it for events. PaulPrater In response to a post on the Arkansas Blog about former Gov. Mike Huckabee’s private jet travels and how he pays for them: Oink! Oink! Oink! That this talentless hack can make himself rich shows how stupid Americans are these days. Bro. Huck is one of the most dishonest con men to come out of Arkansas. We yack yack yack about him but no one both-

ers to investigate his record and get him behind the steel bars where he belongs. Continually escaping punishment for crimes committed creates monsters that we’re forced to live with and sets a terrible example for our kids. Huck should have been nabbed when he was taking money under the table to spy on Hillary back when we were paying him to be our Lt. Gov. His last year in office as our Gov., he committed outrages I didn’t think anyone could get away with ... and yet danced off to be the Fox darling of the dumbest people in America. It would seem Huck escaped his sins thanks to professional courtesy offered by his fel-

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I spent the first 25 years of my life being raised in Little Rock and only once do I recall a white stranger saying hello or good day to me (excluding folk at school of course). I have lived in N.Y. ever since and I am no longer treated that way (marginalized). In fact — instead of being the black this or that I am just simply Latonya. This is why I am tormented; should I go back home so my chocolate baby can grow up with family and friends or stay up here without family so as a brown person he can have better opportunities and higher self-esteem? It really is a no-brainer I guess but a terrible sacrifice just the same. I am certain that if I stayed in Arkansas I wouldn’t be a manager reporting to the VP of Operations for one of the richest companies in NYC. Latonya Brown In response to an item on the Rock Candy blog on the few films being shown at the Ron Robinson Theater: I have really had a difficult time with the theater. My understanding was that our tax dollars were going to support a space that could be used by the public. When I asked about that I was told it could only be used Monday-Wednesday if I wanted it in the evening. That pretty much cuts out any kind of public use. I was told it was being used to screen movies. Not many movies were on the calendar. Then, it took me nearly two months of back and forth email to just get a quote. I was then told that they weren’t booking anything anymore. After questioning this, I was contacted by someone else, who was very helpful, but by then, it was really too late for the planned event. It certainly left me with a bad taste in my 4

JULY 17, 2014

ARKANSAS TIMES

low politicians on both sides of the aisle in Arkansas and ain’t that a damn shame! Maybe because Huckabee is fat … he’s just too big to fail? Deathbyinches In response to an Arkansas blog post on Tom Cotton’s lead in second-quarter fundraising for his U.S. Senate race against Sen. Mark Pryor: I don’t know which is worse: out-ofstate billionaires who think they can buy Arkansas on the cheap, or a supposed Arkansan like Tom Cotton who is willing to sell out his fellow Arkansans to these out-of-state billionaires. I guess I can’t blame the billionaires as much as I do the sorry sapsucker who will betray his own people for the likes of the Koch brothers and Karl Rove. Cotton should be ashamed, but he is so cold and fishlike, he has no feeling or concern for real Arkansans. I could never vote for anyone like that, regardless of what party they are in. He is not one of us. Poison Apple I’ll consider voting for Rotten Cotton just as soon as his new bride moves to Arkansas. Further proof he’s not one of us! RYD

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In response to an Arkansas Blog post about headway being made in the South by Democratic politicians: This is the 50th anniversary of Barry Goldwater’s famous “extremism” speech to the Republican National Convention that brought the South into the Republican Party, thus changing that party from a party that espoused economic conservatism and social liberalism to one that espoused reactionary social views as well as economic conservatism. Even Barry Goldwater backed away from those views later, after he was defeated by Lyndon Johnson in what was the biggest margin ever up to that time. I remember that speech. The context then, of course, was Communism, aimed at bringing in the John Birchers, but the White Citizens Councils and other anti-civil rights groups in the South also took it as a rallying cry for resistance. It signaled the beginning of the Republican Party as we know it now. His opponent in the Republican primaries was Nelson Rockefeller, brother of Winthrop Rockefeller, who served as New York governor, and who was a very decent, respectable Northeastern Republican who would turn over in his grave if he knew what the Republican Party has now become. The Republican Party was civilized then. You remember Goldwater’s words: “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the fight for freedom is no virtue.” plainjim


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5


THE WEEK THAT WAS

EYE ON ARKANSAS

Best served warm Local politicos and national observers alike continue to chatter about Tom Cotton and whether – despite his sterling resume – he lacks the chops as a backslapping retail politician necessary to succeed in Arkansas. “A bit of a cold fish,” a pollster told U.S. News & World Report last week. If Cotton needs advice on upping the requisite charm and warmth, he might think back to another Arkansas politician with big national ambitions. Here’s Cotton himself, writing for the Harvard paper as an undergrad, about meeting then-Arkansas Attorney General Bill Clinton as a boy: “His eyes twinkled that twinkle that is now so familiar to all of us. He mouthed an inaudible thanks, and then moved on to the next face. Forty-five seconds, at most. And he absolutely meant it all, the way young couples mean it when they say. ‘I love you.’ … Bill Clinton is the most successful campaigner of our time because he is the most sincere campaigner of our time.”

LONELY OAK: On an old dirt road near Newport.

Quote of the week “What they did was a Band-Aid and it wasn’t a wellplaced one. … This is not found money. This is money we have used to pay insurance premiums. We don’t like that and if they’d asked we would have been glad to share that with them.” — Fort Smith School Superintendent Benny Gooden, on the legislative “fix” to the school employee health insurance crisis. The only money provided by the legislature to reduce the impact of yet another round of punishing premium increases for those who take school employee insurance was taken — $4.6 million — from school districts. The state stole savings school districts realize from contributions to insurance coverage. That money was used to lower premiums for employees. Now it’s gone.

Paint it white Two years ago, new shrubbery was stolen from St. Bartholomew’s Catholic Church, a historic congregation at 1622 Marshall St. Thieves struck the church again last month, stealing seven small evergreens recently planted by Father Francis Damoah. They’ve been replaced. But all 20 have now received some white identifying paint. If stolen again — and if you should see them around town — you know who to thank for the white-flocked greenery. The church is hopeful that the marking will discourage further thefts.

Air Huckster $253,000: The amount, according to a review of federal and state campaign finance records by Politico, that former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has racked up in private air travel bills to political events over the last few years. It’s good to be the Huck. 6

JULY 17, 2014

ARKANSAS TIMES

Ross wins debate, but …

T

he Arkansas Press Association had a one-hour gubernatorial debate at its convention in Hot Springs last week. I was among a tiny crowd that joined the show on-line. A contingent of representatives of the incredibly shrinking dead-tree press observed, but major public awareness was pretty well limited to Saturday readership (lake, anyone?) of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Too bad, because I thought Mike Ross was a clear winner over Republican Asa Hutchinson. Ross trails the better-known Hutchinson in the polls and so he was understandably aggressive. He delivered a strong populist message of the sort that used to be a sure winner in Arkansas. He wants no child to be denied a pre-K education because of income or ZIP code. He supports a ballot measure to increase the state’s rock bottom minimum wage to a barely passable $8.50 an hour by 2017. He attacked Asa Hutchinson’s income tax cut plan because it omits a dime of benefits for the 40 percent of workers at the bottom end of the income scale. He vigorously endorsed the private option expansion of Medicaid, which is giving insurance coverage to 200,000 previously uninsured Arkansans. He said flatly that he opposed an expansion of the state lottery into keno games. Asa dodged all this. (The legislature should raise the minimum wage, not voters? Really? The Republican legislature? As if.) He described Ross as a flip-flopper on health care, but Ross’ support of the Republican-crafted private option couldn’t have been more unequivocal. Ross grabbed the initiative by turning a meaningless same-sex marriage question to his simple, common-touch agenda. Hutchinson dished up a front-runner’s word salad. You might part with Ross on issues, but he offered specifics. Hutchinson didn’t. Problem: They were not alone. They were joined by Josh Drake of the Green Party and Frank Gilbert of the Libertarian Party. In often ingratiating ways, they described themselves as alternatives to same old grid-

locked major parties. I’ve always thought the formula dictated that Drake would siphon votes from Ross and Gilbert from Hutchinson. But they both might have some appeal. Gilbert is anti-Obamacare MAX through and through, sure to be a BRANTLEY maxbrantley@arktimes.com Tea Party fave. But gay marriage? OK by him. Legal marijuana, too. Drake talked about progressive tax reform and environmental protection (the state’s imperiled water supply, particularly.) Drake nailed Hutchinson, who stepped on his waffling Buffalo River hog farming answer by saying he wanted Arkansas to emulate Louisiana by streamlining its regulatory process. Drake — and I — have been to Louisiana. You can smell streamlined deregulation there. It doesn’t smell like Chanel. Drake and Gilbert were thoughtful and fearless. They can’t win given money and reflexive major party preferences. And they won’t be invited to all debates. Wider exposure would give them more votes. They may get enough as it is to be decisive. Think Ralph Nader and Florida in 2000. OTHER DEBATES: Democrat Nate Steel, in grasp of detail and presentation, appeared more qualified than Republican Leslie Rutledge to be attorney general. But apart from neatly putting down her major campaign theme — he said a promise to sue the feds whenever possible overlooks more important duties of the attorney general — he agreed with her more than he disagreed. In the lieutenant governor’s race, Democrat John Burkhalter said he was a businessman running against a political hack, Tim Griffin. True enough. Griffin, the Karl Rove campaign hit man and Florida vote suppressor and recent congressman, countered that the political hack was — non sequitur alert — Mike Ross. The third-party candidate in that race, Christopher Olson, indicated the office wasn’t necessary in the first place. True that.


OPINION

The lie that won’t die: Tax cuts help economy

T

he idea that lowering the taxes of businessmen and people with lots of money will cause an economic boom that will soak up unemployment and flood the government with revenues is the cat with 99 lives. The notion is simple, pleasing and wrong, but every demonstrated failure reinforces convictions that it is the right thing to do. Ronald Reagan tried it in 1981 and seemed so chagrined by the results that he spent the next six years raising taxes to fix the damage. George W. Bush gave the idea its biggest test and most catastrophic failure by cutting taxes the most and posting the worst jobs and economic record of all modern presidents. Since 2010, one state’s governor and legislature after another have slashed taxes sharply to get a leg up on sister states, but each experiment failed, a couple spectacularly.

Now it’s Arkansas’s turn. The legislature last year scheduled tax cuts for high incomes and ERNEST corporations that DUMAS will hammer the state budget the next several years for economic benefits that are yet to be seen. This year, the two major-party candidates for governor, Mike Ross and Asa Hutchinson, are outdoing each other with promises of income tax cuts and corporate tax exemptions. A good libertarian can make the case, plausible to some, that lower taxes for the well-to-do and businesses are fair and will shrink a state government that shouldn’t be doing much. But that is not what Ross and Hutchinson argue. They are cutting the taxes of the “job creators” so that they will

People power vs. power industry

E

ureka Springs, where my spouse and I have a second home, loves a parade. Most any holiday becomes an excuse for Eureka Springs to put its joyful quirkiness on display with a march down Spring Street to the Basin Park. Just over a year ago, those parades began to get a decidedly orange tinge. Activists carrying orange signs and wearing orange T-shirts with a slashed-out “SWEPCO” began to become visible in each parade to display their opposition to a proposal by the region’s power supplier to construct a mammoth 345 kV transmission line across Benton and Carroll counties. Rather than petering out, the number of Save the Ozarks activists in parades has become larger and, this being Eureka Springs, the displays more creative. At this year’s Fourth of July parade, the highlight was the protestors’ impressive man-made eagle with one person inside and two others flapping its wings. It served as a double entendre, simultaneously denoting the national symbol and the natural beauty of the Ozarks. Parade visibility is only one sign of

Save the Ozarks’ vibrancy across time. All over Carroll County, orange signs that went up in yards JAY and on roadsides BARTH remain omnipresent. More importantly, any community meeting on the subject becomes standing room only. Last summer saw hundreds testify at multiple days of public hearings on the subject (with all but one in opposition). In a community where conflict abounds, such unanimity is unheard of. All told, 6,000 verbal and written comments in opposition to the project were submitted. Most recently, a meeting with the area’s two legislators — Sen. Bryan King and Rep. Bob Ballinger, who have been slow to voice their opposition to the project — drew over 200 residents. Somewhat stunningly, Ballinger admitted his error in not being more emphatically opposed to the project earlier, tweeting: “I’m not as involved as I should have been. I’m against it 100 percent.”

provide an economic jolt for working people and for the government. Hutchinson’s plan is the most draconian. He would lower the top tax rates, cost the treasury some $100 million a year but give no tax cut to the poorest wage-earners, who he says pay so little that they don’t need a tax cut. Ross would phase in rate and bracket changes and calibrate them to natural revenue growth, which suggests that if things don’t work out as he plans he might forestall cuts. But he would excuse manufacturers from paying sales taxes on replacement parts, a giveaway that Hutchinson rightly ridicules. The theory, propounded by many economists but notably by Arthur Laffer of the Laffer Curve — he once sketched it on a napkin for Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld — is that the tax savings will induce the wealthy to save and invest and thus create jobs and produce more government revenue that will more than replenish the lost taxes. If Hutchinson and Ross get around to applying much math, they will

worry about the consequences if the theory breaks down. If there is no spurt of growth, what happens when another $150 million of revenue loss occurs in 2016 as the existing tax cuts for unearned income phase in if lawmakers enact the new governor’s tax cuts and perhaps some of their own? How will they meet the mammoth costs of prison expansion as the convict population soars past 20,000, keep up with the constitutional mandate to furnish a suitable education for all children or bail out the school health insurance program when it collapses from inattention? How will they counter the huge increase in state spending on medical care for indigents if Republican legislators (and presumably Hutchinson) end state participation in Obamacare’s Medicaid option and expenses are shifted back to the state? Sure, Arkansas has enjoyed a surplus every year, but that has largely been the result of Obamacare’s absorption of a large share of existing Medicaid costs and Obama’s 2009 stimulus

In addition to the success in moving legislators to their side, the movement, with the assistance of good legal work, has had success in the place that matters most: the Arkansas Public Service Commission, the entity that must approve any project. In January, a PSC administrative law judge approved a route for the 345 kV transmission line from the Shipe Road station in Centerton up into Missouri, then south to the proposed 345 kV Kings River station in Berryville. While disappointing to activists who opposed approval of any route, there were two victories for Save the Ozarks in this ruling: First, in a fairly unprecedented move, the PSC explicitly considered the “aesthetic impact” of the project in rejecting a cheaper, shorter route that would have come straight through several small towns and near Eureka Springs, marring sight lines of the natural beauty of the area. Second, the routing into Missouri created predictable backlash and new administrative hurdles in a state where SWEPCO does not provide service. In response to appeals from both sides, the PSC then took a bigger step to vacate the original PSC decision and to mandate a rehearing to further consider both whether the project is needed at all and its environmental impact. A couple of years ago, a report I produced for the Winthrop Rockefeller

Foundation and the Arkansas Public Policy Panel noted Arkansas’s tradition of pragmatic progressivism. The report also concluded, however, that Arkansans’ distrust of the value of working together on community causes — what social scientist Robert Putnam would term a social capital deficit — created significant roadblocks to the full flourishing of that progressive tradition. Locales with higher levels of social capital (evidenced by civic engagement, norms of social trust and work in voluntary associations) are more likely to be more thoroughly progressive in public policy outcomes. The combination of traditionalism and anarchism that provided the cultural basis for Arkansas’s political development were a one-two cultural punch against the development of a healthy civic culture. In a recent analysis, Arkansas is ranked 39th in “civic culture” (i.e. social capital) among the states. No matter the final outcome of the battle over the transmission line, the Save the Ozarks movement is proof of the power of grassroots organizing as a force in shaping policy outcomes. The odds have been stacked against the activists from the beginning, but sustained collective action is creating a fair fight with a powerful interest. There’s an important lesson to be learned here as Arkansas politics moves forward.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 33

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JULY 17, 2014

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FEBRUARY 20, 2014

17


THE OBSERVER NOTES ON THE PASSING SCENE

Field of dreams THE OBSERVER’S WINDUP is stiff, our curveball hangs and we don’t have the durability to fling our body under a tag, but sometimes we miss playing. We haven’t played ball since we took up golf in high school, a sport that will last us a lifetime, so we’re told. Now relegated to the bleachers, we miss the smell of that dusty dirt, the clopclack of our little red cleats on the dugout cement and all that hot leather. They say you can’t play baseball your whole life. Too much lateral motion. Too much stress on the elbow. Who would squat behind the plate at 65? The squirmy screwball of yesterday has conceded the mound to the overpowering heat, as Bruce Schoenfield reported in last week’s New York Times Magazine. Baseball, today more than ever, is a young man’s game. In the batter’s box, kids like the Washington Nationals’ 21-year-old Bryce Harper, the Baltimore Orioles’ 22-year-old Manny Machado and the Los Angeles Angels’ 22-year-old Mike Trout top the highlight reel with their bat speeds and biceps. Jeter’s leaving the stage. We’re not upset about it, either. We cheer for the young guns. Hell, they’re sure fun to watch. We saw Trout play left field for the Arkansas Travelers for $6 tickets only two years ago, and we roared when he pounded it over the fence time and time again. And don’t even get us started on Razorback baseball. Even as our favorite veteran commentator Chuck Barrett moves to basketball and football alone after 22 years in the baseball booth, we have and will continue to follow the diamond piggies as a more reliable source of success than the university’s football or basketball programs. We don’t think about it every day — how could we? But often, as we admire the speed and power of the young fellas who dominate the game, we’re ever reminded there’s no diamond for old men — at least until we found one last week. Headed east on Cantrell one recent afternoon, The Observer noted a ballgame on the Bill and Skeeter Dickey Field at the Junior Deputy Baseball Complex. Either because we like to reminisce or we like baseball (the two go well together), we pulled in. To our warmhearted surprise, the teams weren’t full of young bucks vying for scholarship offers with their fastballs. They were the old guys, amateur leaguers

dressed out in the respective cotton of the New York Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals, playing for nobody but themselves and a trio of women in the third base-side grandstand. The setting itself could take you back. An old, albeit still-functioning, railroad runs behind the fence. The home plate ump held his chest protector in front of him. And there wasn’t a metal bat in sight. The Yankees starter looked about 70, and The Observer estimated his fastball speed a little less than that. His windup was simple: He raised his arms to the height of his forehead, kicked with a stiff leg, and turned through on the release. He overpowered nobody, but he forced many a popup and groundball, and after the two innings we observed, nobody had crossed the plate. We were reminded of Greg Maddux, who pitched for 22 years in the National League and never whirled a fastball much faster than 90 mph, but who won four National League Cy Young Awards in the mid-’90s. He wasn’t powerful. He was crafty. They called him “The Professor.” The Observer’s chance to throw a 95 mph fastball has withered as the years have passed, but as we watched the Yankees hold the Cardinals scoreless by the river one Sunday afternoon, we realized maybe we haven’t lost this game for good. We may not be able to steal second, but we can play smart. We can be crafty. This weekend The Observer plans to dig our glove and our old crate of brown baseballs out of the basement. We need to work on that curve. SPEAKING OF SCREWBALLS: The Observer is an incorrigible eavesdropper, as you’ll know if you’ve watched this space for long. It goes with the title, and it sure does make going out on the town interesting, Yours Truly strolling through great fluttering swarms of conversation, hearing all the stuff that politeness and self-absorption would demand we miss. Here’s our favorite bit of overhearing from this week, netted while sitting in a restaurant over in North Little Rock, emanating from a group of seasoned ladies sitting one booth away: “He’s a Spaniard? Like, a SPANISH Spaniard?” The Spanish Spaniards we can abide. It’s them damned ol’ Zimbabwean Spaniards we have no use for. www.arktimes.com

JULY 17, 2014

9


Arkansas Reporter

THE

IN S IDE R

Taxi dispatcher City Director Joan Adcock’s long battle to prevent the entry into the Little Rock market of ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft broke into the open this week with a Democrat-Gazette article that followed her comments at a City Board meeting. City Attorney Tom Carpenter says the companies’ “business model” doesn’t comport with city codes on taxi regulation. But City Manager Bruce Moore has declined to take a “cease and desist” action against companies advertising for drivers until they actually attempt to operate. The companies, styled as ride-sharing ventures, work on cell phone apps that connect passengers with drivers and collect a credit card charge. Why does Joan Adcock care so much? Because she’s long had a mutually beneficial political relationship with Ellis Houston, operator of Greater Little Rock Transportation, which holds the only active cab franchise in the city of Little Rock for his 123-vehicle Yellow Cab fleet. Houston’s company gave $1,000 to Adcock, better than 5 percent of her money, in her 2012 race for the board. She’s directed used van donations by Houston to charities of her choice (eStem school, for example) and basked in the limelight when the vans were donated. Houston’s vehicles have also offered free rides to the polls. Critics of Adcock — and they are legion — insist this is operated as a get-out-the-vote-for-Joan campaign. Uber and Lyft have, by various means, attempted to show they meet vehicle and driver safety and insurance standards in city codes. They couldn’t do worse than Yellow Cab does in providing service in off hours or to bad parts of town. The cell phone prepayment, in fact, might guarantee better service to parts of town that cab drivers, though required to serve, are reportedly reluctant to visit. The services operate to high marks in such highly regulated cities as San Francisco and New York. Why not Little Rock? Ask Joan Adcock. Lawsuits are underway in a number of cities over the services.

That ‘ghetto’ traffic box Public art depicting African-American men and women survives complaints. BY LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK

T

heresa Cates, a self-taught North Little Rock artist who paints sinuous and stylized African-American men and women, often praising God, has found that when it comes to public art, people aren’t color blind. Cates has done several public art projects in North Little Rock and one in Jacksonville. She’s also had several works painted over, including one on a traffic control box near City Hall, the first completed in a Main Street Argenta public art project in which several artists were chosen to paint traffic control boxes on Main Street. That box featured a preacher and women and white doves against an orange background. It has no image on it any longer. Another traffic box she did that year, at the John F. Kennedy Boulevard exit off Interstate 40, and the pylons surrounding it, were also painted over. The box now reads “Perfectly Park Hill.” Her latest project, a traffic control box at First and Martin in Jacksonville, almost suffered the same fate last week. Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher decided he’d have to remove Cates’ work after he got nearly a dozen complaints, including one from a resident who said that the box looked like a scene from a “ghetto.” The painting features women and men on an undulating keyboard on all four sides, holding Bibles. They are black women and men. Cates is used to adversity, living in poverty as a child and residing in a battered women’s shelter as an adult. Her father abused and terrorized Cates and her mother, knocking out Cates’ teeth before she was old enough to go to school. Cates fled her first husband after he mentally abused her. Painting was an escape for her. Now it’s a living. Cates, 45, is represented by Red Door Gallery and championed by gallery owner Melady Stanley, whom Cates calls her “white mama.” Stanley was a member of the Main Street Argenta group

Eureka supports equality Michael Walsh, who operates Out in Eureka to promote Eureka Springs as a friendly destination for same-sex couples, was alternately pleased and dismayed by what happened in Eureka after Pulaski Circuit Judge Chris Piazza’s historic marriage equality ruling. CONTINUED ON PAGE 11 10

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ARKANSAS TIMES

NO LONGER AT RISK: Theresa Cates stands by the Jacksonville traffic control box she painted.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 19


LISTEN UP

THE

BIG

Tune in to the Times’ “Week In Review” podcast each Friday. Available on iTunes & arktimes.com

ASK THE TIMES

PICTURE

INSIDER, CONT. Carroll County officials were at first reluctant to issue licenses on a Saturday, though a deputy clerk finally stepped in. Pressure from county officials ultimately prevented Carroll County from being open for same-sex licenses the full week they were available statewide, until a stay from the Arkansas Supreme Court. Walsh had already helped organize a Big Fat Gay Wedding Reception to be held Aug. 2 to honor the first same-sex couple legally married in Arkansas. It will be a communitywide event with refreshments and entertainment. But he also persuaded the Eureka Springs City Council to reaffirm its 2012 resolution in support of same-sex marriage. It did so Monday night, by a 5-1 vote. The resolution notes that Eureka has: 1) a symbolic domestic partner registry; 2) city insurance coverage for domestic partners of city workers; 3) a city anti-discrimination ordinance.

ORBEA

Residency questioned

Q.

How did the North American headquarters of the Spanish bicycle company Orbea end up in Little Rock?

A:

While there’s plenty of bicycling going on in Little Rock — fun fact: The Big Dam Bridge is the longest pedestrian and bicycle-only bridge in the U.S. that wasn’t converted from previous motor vehicle or railroad usage — it’s surely surprising to a lot of folks that the North American headquarters of a Spanish company that builds high-end racing bicycles that competitors in the Tour de France ride wound up here. Like a lot of transplants to Arkansas from far-flung places, though, there’s a pretty good story behind how the company found its way to the Natural State. Based in Mallabia, Spain, Orbea started out making rifles in the 1830s, but — like a lot of arms manufacturers, including Remington and Winchester — started making bikes as a sideline business. These days, the shootin’ irons have fallen to the wayside, and cutting-edge, feather-light road bikes are Orbea’s bread and butter. How the company got to Central Arkansas is this: While attending a trade show in Milan in 2000, Tony Karklins, a longtime employee and co-owner of Little Rock’s Chainwheel bicycle shop, walked into the booth for Orbea Bicycles. He was so impressed with the machines that he eventually brought the company to

Arkansas, opening a sales office and distribution hub in Riverdale — the first Orbea sales and distribution point on the continent. Karklins moved Orbea USA to a former roofing supply company warehouse at 600 N. Broadway in North Little Rock in 2004. There, in addition to sales, employees took parts from the mother ship in Spain and assembled speedy two-wheelers for distribution all over the country. Spreading out from Central Arkansas like so many bicycle spokes, the company has since become one of the best-selling European road bike brands in the U.S. Today, Orbea sells 200,000 bikes per year in 63 countries, and Karklins is now Orbea’s North American director of sales and marketing. The company announced in October 2013 that it would open a warehouse in Raleigh, N.C., to accommodate increased demand for their bikes on the East Coast. They’ve also established a western front, with another distribution center in Reno, Nev. In 2013, it was announced that Orbea USA would be wheeling back to Little Rock to a space at 119 Main St., with a 10,000-square-foot warehouse and a polished 4,000-square-foot shop to showcase their bicycles, racing jerseys, clothing and wetsuits for triathlon competitors.

The Little Rock Civil Service Commission last week voted 4-1 to overturn a recommended 30-day suspension and the chief’s recommended firing of Lt. Donald Hudson for beating Chris Erwin outside a Little Rock restaurant in 2011. Hudson was working private security at Ferneau’s. He said Erwin had been drinking, was rowdy and objected to his order to leave the premises. Witnesses who recorded the event, said Hudson repeatedly struck Erwin although Erwin was not resisting. The city is expected to appeal the commission’s reversal in Circuit Court. It has overturned Civil Service Commission wrist slaps for cops before. But the Arkansas Times set off another controversy in the interim. It takes four votes from the seven-member commission to adopt a motion. One of the four votes last week was from Brett Morgan, a car dealer who most people think is a resident of Scott, a rural community east of North Little Rock. On city records, Morgan lists his Little Rock address as a car dealership at which he no longer works. On voting records, he lists a home on Duclair Court in Chenal Valley that tax records say is owned by his parents, Joe and Judy Morgan. They claim a homestead and 65-and-older tax benefits on the home. Brett Morgan claims a homestead exemption on the Scott home, an exemption only allowed for a property owner’s principle residence. Morgan told the Times in an email that he and his father are joint owners of the CONTINUED ON PAGE 19 www.arktimes.com

JULY 17, 2014

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What it’s like

The Times gets personal for its annual LR Confidential issue.

S

ome subjects are too personal to ask a stranger about. Like, what’s it like to be transgender? To be quadriplegic? So, few of us know the answers. Then there are the impersonal questions you might not have thought to ask. But we did. Such as, what does your plumber hear and see down in your crawlspace? What’s it like being in front of a room full of squirming elementary school kids you want to teach but are constrained by No Child Left Behind’s perpetual testing requirements? What’s it like being a nurse in the operating room? The Times lifts the veil on these matters, thanks to our anonymous sources who let us ask, as long as we kept their confidences.

TRANSGENDER WOMAN

M

y earliest memory of selfawareness that I was a person who was different was 5 years old. I think the earliest thing was me being with my godsisters, and their grandmother buying both of them a Barbie doll. They were so confused as to why I didn’t have a Barbie doll. So I remember them taking them to their grandmother and saying: “Hey, why can’t he have a Barbie doll, too?” The grandmother replied: “Oh, because he’s a boy. Boys don’t play with Barbie dolls.” Adults made me realize that I was different. I was just doing what felt natural to me. It’s just like you or anybody else who is cisgender — which means your gender at birth and your identifying gender match up. Imagine if you were a man who woke up tomorrow in the body of a woman. That’s our experience, from birth. I always thought I was a girl, honestly. I’m a heterosexual transgender woman. I told my friend: “You’re a heterosexual cisgender woman, and I’m a heterosexual

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transgender woman. That’s the difference between us.” A lot of times when people talk to me, they talk to me as if they’re talking to someone who is gay. Or, they’ll refer to a man who may be interested in me as gay. It’s such a complicated thing. People can’t understand that transgender women are women, period. The men who get attracted to us are heterosexual men! It’s just not something that people can grasp. Everybody is used to “male” and “female.” They’re not used to the in-betweens and the ones on the outside, and all the mixtures. People want black and white. People want something easily explained. People want something defined. And you know what? Everything can’t be defined. Everything can’t be explained. And this is one of those things. When I first started to search for a title as a teenager, the only two options that I could see around me were either “gay” or “drag queen.” I knew I wasn’t a drag queen. So I started to identify as gay, which most transgender people do to begin with. But even CONTINUED ON PAGE 18


NURSE

I

wasn’t at all sure I could be a nurse. Partly because there are physical limitations. There’s a lot of running and toting and lifting and being able to move up and down hallways and in and out of rooms efficiently and quickly. And the sight of blood didn’t bother me, but the sight of bedpans upset me for a while. I had to get over that, you get immune to it. It’s still not my favorite thing (we call them Code Browns), but everyone participates and gets it all taken care of quickly. I’ve worked in Little Rock and very briefly in Austin, Texas. When I was still in school I got a job at a nursing home. There was a lady in one of the rooms who had by all reports been comatose for a number of years. Pretzeled up, mouth open, still breathing. I decided one day after work that I was going to take this lady and just do everything in the world for her: brush her teeth, wash her up, massage her. She was completely curled up and locked in a fetal position, and when I lifted her to turn her, I heard this little voice go, “You’re good to me.” I almost dropped her. It was, “Oh my God, it’s alive.” And it was horrifying to think

that she’d been conscious in that position for years, and everyone had her treated like she was comatose. Completely flipped me out. The first time I ever took a call at the O.R., it was a ruptured spleen. They opened this guy’s belly up and put the suctions in, and the canisters just filled up with blood. I just thought, “Damn, why are they still working on this person? He’s obviously dead.” And I’m standing there thinking they were going to pronounce him. But no, not dead. Because we don’t stop there, we don’t allow people to be dead. We transfuse them and we sew them back together. It’s very unusual to see people die. They die later. If they die in the O.R. it screws up your statistics horribly, because it’s considered an inter-operative death and nobody wants that. So we keep them alive until they can die three days later in the I.C.U. That’s my cynical view. And really the only people that happens to are people who are so sick that we operate on them as a last-ditch effort, a one-in-a-million chance. I have not seen a real “oops” death. I cannot think of one. I worked in the O.R. for a while and now I’m in the immediate post-op recovery room. Apparently there are a lot of people who have surgery who don’t expect to have pain after-

wards. I shouldn’t let that frustrate me, but it does, especially now that I’ve been doing this for a long time. You get a little jaded, you can’t help it. People wake up and go, “Why does it hurt?” And you just want to say, “Are you serious? Do you know where you are?” I know it’s because they’re surprised, and some of them really believe that they’ll get medicine for the pain and then it won’t hurt. But that’s completely unrealistic. We cannot cut into you without it hurting you. We can’t take a scalpel, cut you open, rearrange your inward parts and sew you back together without you waking up in pain. We’d love to, but we can’t. You get to where to you can pick out the drug seekers pretty well. Because their metabolism is so altered by their dependence on stuff, it’s almost impossible to control their pain. And they’re frustrated and I’m frustrated, but it’s quite common. They have such a high tolerance that nothing will override it. You have to explain that we can’t medicate them to the point where they’re at risk for respiratory arrest. My big line is always, “Respiration is mandatory, comfort is optional.” I don’t like doing kids. For one thing, they don’t understand what you’re doing to them. They scream their little lungs out and you CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

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JULY 17, 2014

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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER

S

o you want to know what it is like being an ping for the tests, all instruction stops. I feel like elementary school teacher in the public I have almost no control now about how I plan schools? I’ve been teaching for 27 years, for instruction, teach or help students. Everything 15 of them in Little Rock. I love it. I’m is planned and laid out for us. Very cookie cutter there for the kids. But. without regard for what kids need or the style and I’ve been through about five superintendents personality of the teachers. Teaching is an art and in the past 15 years. They all added programs and a craft. Let us teach! No Child Left Behind has left pet projects, and nothing ever got taken away. I us in a tailspin. It’s ruined us. fill out forms for a superintendent that was here Kids are very verbal these days, and their attenthree superintendents ago. It just goes in a file. tion spans are so diminished. The number of stuYou learn to triage, which forms to spend a lot of dents with attention deficit disorder has exploded time on, which will never be looked at. You’ve got — I’d never even heard of it when I started teachto, because there’s never enough time to teach. ing. They don’t know how to settle themselves. We spend too much time testing kids. It’s one Recess has been cut drastically. At home they thing for kids to know the content and another are constantly entertained with computers, TV to be able to regurgitate the information on a and video games. That’s tough to compete with! bubble sheet. All the tests are in a different form. So I make learning as active and positive as I can Students have to learn how to take the test. It’s with small group teaching and with instruction like basketball. Players may know how to dribble that meets individual differences. Then for a week and shoot, but not the rules of the game. We take right after spring break, we sit them in a chair and three to four weeks or more just prepping kids for tell them they have to be still and silent for an hour the rules and formats of the tests. If we’re prep- and a half to three hours three to five days in a

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row to take a test. Sometimes it feels like child abuse. No matter ... the little ones work so hard and they want to please their teachers and their parents, but the tests are too far above their level. Kids who’ve made remarkable progress are still labeled and told they’re not good enough. It breaks my heart. Why am I, a professional with a master’s degree in my teaching area, required to take 60 hours of professional development every year? That’s twice what doctors are required to have! And why are all those 60 hours taken from instructional time BEFORE the test? Why don’t we do that before school? In summer? They tell us everything. “I love you.” “Mommy and Daddy had a fight last night and the police came over.” One little girl in class wouldn’t stop crying. She told me, “The police came and took my mom, and I don’t think I’ll see her again.” Neither she nor I got much teaching or learning done that day. I held her in my lap most of the day. They all call me mom at some point. There’s always one who hangs on. There’s always one I just want to take home with me. CONTINUED ON PAGE 17


QUADRIPLEGIC The woman we spoke to for the following piece is an Arkansan in her 20s who has been confined to a wheelchair, with limited use of her arms and legs, since she was involved in a serious car accident in 2010.

I

don’t remember the wreck. Even the months before are hazy and mixed up. It was the Tuesday after Labor Day. I was in school studying, and I had to work that evening. I worked as a cocktail waitress, and as a makeup artist at [a local store]. I worked. I worked all the time. What happened was, my boyfriend at the time was driving, and he ran into the back of a semi that had pulled off the side of the road. I had been leaned back in my seat, asleep. I don’t remember any of this, but my boyfriend said that the entire time in the ambulance, my eyes were just darting around, darting and darting and darting. He said that I just kept repeating, in this kind of creepy, almost inhuman voice:

“Help! Help! Help!” over and over again, until they put the oxygen mask on me. I had a hangman’s fracture of the C2 vertebrae. They call it that because when they hang people, that’s what kills them. My C3 through C5 vertebrae were perched. It took two days of surgery — one 14 hours, one 12 hours — to fix that. I had collapsed both lungs, broken all my ribs, broke my arm, disconnected my voice box from my trachea by two inches and had contusions on my lungs and on my kidneys. I had a severe brain injury. I had a huge subdural hematoma and a subarachnoid hemorrhage, which is where you’re actually bleeding into your brain. They said I had minutes left to live, because the swelling was pressing on my brain stem. They took the entire right side of my skull off, and left it off for two months to swell. My brain swelled up so big that my dad said it was like a balloon. They put my hair in a baggie with my clothes, to give to my parents in case I died. I still have that hair and my cut-

up clothes to this day, in a big Ziploc bag in my closet. It’s just eerie to look at. I was in the ICU for a month, and then I went to rehab for eight weeks. They said I would never talk, eat or move anything below my shoulders. They said I would never breathe on my own. I remember asking my mom to kill me. I asked her to kill me. I begged her, begged her, begged her. If I had known I could’ve asked them to take me off the ventilator, I would have in a heartbeat. I didn’t know exactly what was wrong with me. I didn’t know that I was paralyzed. I just knew that something was really wrong. I remember them asking me to wiggle my toes in the ICU, and when I did it, they all clapped. But I didn’t get it. I didn’t understand it for so long. I started moving my right arm in about two weeks and pushing with my legs in about two weeks, and I had full sensation. But it took me a month and a half to be able to swallow, and a long time to be able to talk. At first, I had to use a head tracker to be able to type so I could talk. It’s like this: My legs are strong. I can feel CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

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PLUMBER

I

’ve been a plumber since I came home from Vietnam in 1970. I hated plumbing since the second week I was in it, but it’s been a good living. You do see some stuff when you are a plumber. In my 20s, on one of my first jobs, I was at a rent house. A guy was abusing his wife while I was working on his commode. I told him he was treating her like a junkyard dog. I hear a lot of abuse from crawlspaces. Anyway, this guy drew a pistol on me and said, “don’t talk to me like that in front of my wife.” I finished the job and left. It was a crappy house, owned by this executive. I quit taking his calls. I don’t answer every call for work. I don’t work for low-income people or if they sound odd on the phone. Indians and Pakistanis are hard to work with and Chinese don’t want to spend any money. I like my Filipino customers. All up in the Heights — they’re slow pays. One scumbag had his mother make him cupcakes for his office party and he dropped them on the floor and just picked them up and re-iced them. I put in a bathroom for him. He stiffed me about $700. But there are a lot of considerate people, too. I’ve been flown to Georgetown in Wash-

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ington, D.C., to put in a bathroom for a lady’s son. She said it was cheaper to fly us up there on her frequent flyer miles than hire someone there. That’s where I learned to drink espresso. I’ve been met at the door by naked women. I’ve seen that at the door in a high-dollar part of Little Rock. A woman in panties and a T-shirt. You know, for years I never went back to that house. Another woman was in bed with her boyfriend when I came over to work on her washing machine. She was drop-dead gorgeous. She was wearing a serape and that’s it. The guy in bed was laughing his ass off. I think it was a dare. It was in Hillcrest. They lean left. I lean my own direction. When I was apprenticing in North Little Rock, a lady wanted to swap out plumbing for, you know. She wanted a new water pipe. I said I didn’t think so. You got to draw a line somewhere. But I have dated some women I met on the job. I’ve been in danger on the job. I was in the Tie Plant area putting in a sewer line in a trench about five-foot deep when the sides started to ooze. I was laying the last joint when the sides started liquefying. The backhoe operator on the job swung his bucket over to me and I grabbed hold and he pulled me out. I was wearing chest waders, and the mud pulled the boots off of them. I got paid and lived happily ever after.

I’ve pulled all kinds of things out of pipes. Diamond rings, earrings, watches. Years ago, a lady in Rose City called and said she’d been out partying and came home, barfed in the commode and lost her false teeth. What we did was we took a long snake — a cable — sent it down the pipe and up to the manhole outside, wrapped it in old towels and dragged it back up to the commode. Never did find them. The choppers went down the sewer. Over in North Little Rock people thought they had a gas leak. A cat had crawled up under the house and died and swelled up. I was carrying it out on a wire hoping it didn’t pop. The lady gave me a $10 tip. I don’t work under houses anymore. Once I was working under a house in this long crawlspace, all the way at the end of the house. I was there for a long time and my flashlight was going dim and I was tired and I saw what I thought was a 220 cable going up to the stove. Then it started to move. What it was was a black snake. I was petrified. Scared the daylights out of me. Once I was paid in cash that smelled like pot. I know what pot smells like. I’m a child of the ’60s. It was a couple of thousand dollars. I’m not going to be a plumber forever. It gets boring. I might be a gardener. —as told to Leslie Newell Peacock


ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER, CONT. There are always kids who are coming in and out of the school, because their parents are having to move out of their houses for unpaid rent or whatever. I keep a seat and school supplies ready for a new student at all times. Once I had a new student show up on Valentine’s Day without valentines for the party. She was crying, but her mom wouldn’t listen. So we got a box of valentines for her and helped her sign them. The little girl hugged my neck at the end of the day and said it was the “bestest” party ever. The economy and social spending cuts hurt kids so much more than adults. As one example of many, I had a child who always came to school looking neat, her hair in braids, clothes clean and pressed, with a great big smile. She was doing well. Then I noticed that her clothes were a little wrinkled, and she didn’t look as tidy. I asked her if anything was wrong. She asked me, “Do you have any food? I didn’t get to eat last night or this morning.” She didn’t have any running water or electricity at home. Her mom had been getting water from a hose from the next-door neighbor to cook and flush the toilet. She wouldn’t ask for help. Then there are the kids who need glasses,

QUADRIPLEGIC, CONT.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

but their family can’t afford them. There are dental issues, too. Kids in pain. What I am most surprised about is how disrespectful kids are. It’s not a socio-economic thing. In the last 20 years, the level of respect for adults has gone to the bottom. One of my students wrote an essay about the size of my breasts, which he called “boobilicious.” He just handed it to me. He was suspended. I have only been afraid at school once. One day, the younger brother of a boy who’d been dealing drugs brought a gun to school. Sometimes the older ones give the younger ones guns and drugs to run. A boy in my class asked to see it and brought it to the classroom while we were split up into reading groups. I noticed the boy — basically a good kid — was hunched over. I turned around and heard a click. He had pulled the trigger. I was scared to death. He was scared, too. I didn’t say anything, just held out my hand and he put the gun in it and we walked to the office. Then a special ed kid, seeing how much attention the gun got the student, brought in a toy gun a few days later. He thought it was a big joke. They had to send him home, too.

I’ve seen a lot of changes, but I wouldn’t trade the last 30 years for anything. I put my own kids through LRSD. They are doing very well. It was a good experience. Some of my parents are so worried all the time. They want me to give their kids extra homework or spelling words. I want to tell them, just hug your kids. Work a puzzle with them at night. Read to them or with them. Let them be kids. Don’t worry so much. I’m a professional. I do my job well, and it’s all going to be OK. Enjoy the time you have. Like I said, I love it. Every year is a fresh start. Kids come up to me years later and say, “remember me?” I was the first one to make the lightbulb burn in that science lesson you taught us! I want to be a writer because you taught me how. One student came to my room specifically to invite me to his high school graduation because he said I had made him believe he could do anything he wanted if he just worked hard. And he did. First member of his family to graduate! I love seeing old students. It makes the hard stuff worth it. Sometimes you just say to hell with the system. I’m going to do my job in spite of you. —as told to Leslie Newell Peacock

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

a fly on my leg. I thought a quadriplegic meant — like most people do — that you couldn’t move or feel anything. But it’s more complicated than that. I get extremely upset when people in the medical community assume I can’t feel anything. I had a blood clot once, and the doctor was like: “Well, you couldn’t feel it.” But I could. When I try to move my leg muscles, every single other muscle in my body tightens up. My arms clench up. My fists clench up. My abs clench up. I can’t control it. To me, almost everything feels the same, except there’s a tingling all over my body most of the time. My muscles spasm. They’ll tighten up, and my hands will shake. I can feel a pinch. I can feel when someone lightly brushes my leg. But I can’t feel temperature, hot and cold on my feet. My hands are my weakest. My dexterity in my hands is awful, and I typically use a stylus to text with or type with. I miss my independence. I feel like a child. I lived with my parents for a while, but I moved into an apartment with a caretaker. I had to live with the caretaker, and they dictated when I had to go to bed. It was better living on my own with my caretaker because they were young and allowed me more freedom, but I’m back living with my parents now. I miss working. I miss being able to dress myself. I miss having a choice of what time I get up, what time I go to bed, how I want to do my makeup. I miss riding a bicycle. I miss

driving. Oh, my God! I miss driving, listening to music on the radio, and smoking a cigarette! I miss men’s stares when I walk into a room. I miss the simple things the most: walking to the fridge to get a drink. Stretching when I wake up in the morning. Turning the pages of a real book, feeling the paper against my fingers. Grocery shopping. Handwriting things. I fantasize about cleaning. That’s one of the things I miss the most. I fantasize about it. I would use old-school Comet to clean my bathroom, and I fantasize about doing that again. Scrubbing. I fantasize about washing dishes, and the way it felt, and the way the soap lathered up. I fantasize about using Clorox wipes to wipe down the toilet. I fantasize about the smells, about doing laundry, about folding sheets, folding clothes. I fantasize about riding bicycles and walking up the stairs. But I can’t remember what it feels like to walk. I can remember what it feels like to walk up the stairs or to ride a bicycle. But I can’t remember what it feels like to walk. I asked my therapist about that, and he said that when you walk, you’re not thinking about it. I told my therapist once: “I miss having control over my life.” And he said: “Name one person who has control over their life.” I said: “My mom, my sister, my brother. They get to pick out what they want to wear and where they want to go.” He said: “You’re talking about independence. No one has control. You wake

up thinking your car will start tomorrow, you wake up thinking you’re going to see your kids, you wake up thinking your wife is not going to be diagnosed with terminal cancer.” That made me think. That’s true. My boyfriend now is wonderful. The funny thing is, I would not have gone for him before the wreck at all. He’s just not somebody who I would have gone out with. It was a blind date, and when I first saw him, I said: “Hell, no.” He was wearing Dad jeans and a belt, with a tucked-in shirt. But then, we drove around in his car and listened to music and it was just gorgeous. I’m thankful for my boyfriend. For my family being around. Food. The weather. Music. Literature and art, and especially poetry. Poetry saves me. I can’t explain it any other way. I cannot say I’m grateful for my accident. But my daddy always told me that ever since I was a little girl, I was very intuitive and introspective, and that I’d see things with a different point of view. I think my wreck has allowed me to see more of the beauty in life and in people. Even in my darkest days in ICU, there was goodness around me. There were people who made me laugh. I can’t say that I’m grateful for my wreck quite yet, but I know that my whole outlook is different now. What I want to do with my life is just different. Now, I just think that life is beautiful. — as told to David Koon

www.arktimes.com

JULY 17, 2014

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NURSE, CONT.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

can’t tell if they’re frightened or if they’re hurting. Their metabolisms are super fast and they will go down in a second if something goes wrong. And their parents are there and are totally freaked out — and who wouldn’t be? It’s their baby. So then you’ve got two patients, the child and the mother or father. You have to tend to them as well, because they’re coming unglued. Here’s their baby looking like a semi-anaesthetized, shrieking monkey. It’s ugly. I dread having to deal with red tape. Like the Electronic Medical Record (EMR), which is computerized charting and which has had a lot of unintended consequences. Instead of having a piece of paper, they have a computer there for you to document everything on. I’m

TRANSGENDER WOMAN, CONT.

JULY 17, 2014

ARKANSAS TIMES

better.” What personality type does that? You can’t be a shrinking violet. Different people handle it different ways — I’ve met some very sweet, humble surgeons, and I don’t know how they do it. Because how do you do that job and not have a sort of God complex? The job isn’t gruesome at least, it’s a very controlled environment. Everything is sterile. And you’re making someone better, you’re not tearing them apart. You’re going to fix something and that’s fascinating. Anatomy and the way the human body works is fascinating. From a cellular level, it’s just perfection. On some level, no matter how messed up they are, the fact that they’re here at all is kind of miraculous if you think about it. — as told to Will Stephenson

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

“gay” didn’t feel right. Because I thought that I couldn’t do it, I pushed the dream of being a woman aside. I went with “gay” because it was easier. It was the role of least resistance. I had to play a role. I had to play the role of male. I had to check “male” when they asked my identity. That’s what trapped me, because I couldn’t properly express myself. Everybody expected me to act one way, but I felt another. And when I acted the way I truly felt, I was so ridiculed for it. I was punished. I was outcast. For being myself. I tried to conform for the longest time, until I couldn’t conform any more because it was killing me. Probably around 17 or 18 is when I first saw another black transgender woman in the media. Her name was Amiyah Scott. She was beautiful, and she was open about being trans. She was this great person who just lived courageously, unafraid of her truth. She forced people to deal with her. That’s when I thought: OK, this is me. This is who I am. I tried to identify with everything else before I finally accepted my identity as a woman. I remember telling my mother, and she was very supportive. I just knew that she was going to disown me when I told her. It had just gotten to the point where I was absolutely hating what I saw in the mirror. I was screaming and crying. I was lying on the bathroom floor. I just really wanted to die, but I had to make the decision: to live that day as who I really was. I was 20 years old. I feel really bad for transgender people who have to depend on their family financially, because they have to take disrespect in order to eat, in order to have a place to stay, in order

18

sure it was well intended, but the day it went live was the worst day of my career. I think it’s very bad for patients, because everyone is looking at their screens; no one is looking at the patients. These are real live people. You can’t watch the patient and do the computer at the same time. Dealing with doctors, though, has improved enormously. When I first started in nursing, if a doctor came into the room you got to your feet, stood at attention, gave them your chair and didn’t speak. It’s ever so much better now. They’ll be reprimanded now if they’re verbally abusive, so it’s much more collegial. It’s still not perfect. You have to have a sort of audacity to pick up a knife and cut into another human being and say, “I’m going to make this person

to have love. I really feel for those who are kicked out, put out, and have nowhere else to go — who have no one to turn to. When you’re a child or a teenager, you need that protection. You need that love. I really wish more people would be understanding. When you put your kid out, they could die on the streets, just because you don’t agree with who they are. A lot of times, a family lets religion or how other people see them get in the way. Most people don’t realize that there’s friction between gays and transpeople. Transpeople experience transphobia from gay people. We’re basically viewed as the bottom of the bottom. The lowest of the low. Way back when, when gays were trying to get their rights, there were gay groups that had this idea that if they could show how normal they were to the heterosexual mainstream, they would be more accepted. So gays ended up rejecting transgender people, because they felt like we would hold them back from being accepted by mainstream society. It’s still going on today. One of the biggest focuses of the gay rights movement has been marriage equality. For transpeople, that’s not a big deal to us. For us, things like workplace protections and protections against discrimination and violence are more important. We just want to live. Don’t get me wrong. Gays face discrimination, too. But transgender people need food on the table before we think about who we’re going to marry. People want to know about our genitalia, about our surgeries, about what we’ve done and how we have sex — all these very personal things. People tend to forget that there’s an actual living, breathing person behind all this.

It’s almost sexual harassment that people feel they’re justified in doing. Because we’re transgender, because we’re different from normal, people tend to subconsciously view us as less than human. When somebody is less than human, or at least less than you in your mind, you can treat them inhumanely. You can do things and ask them things and commit even violent acts against them because you don’t view them the same as you. It’s a very dangerous thing to be trans. A man is still viewed as justified if he hurts a transgender woman. There have been so many cases of transgender women being killed because men find out they’re transgender, and the dead women face more backlash than the men who killed them. I have never been assaulted because I’m transgender, and I’m so fortunate to say that. But that fear exists. I feel like I can protect myself. But at the same time, I don’t want to be put in that situation where I have to. It’s still not a safe world for transwomen. That’s why we strive to get being transgender viewed as a normal thing. We all need to learn how to be OK with ambiguity. We need to learn how to let people define themselves. I think that’s one of the things that’s beautiful about the trans movement: We’re pushing toward that. I won’t ever say I was born in the wrong body, because I absolutely love my body. I love everything that it’s becoming, I love everything that has been done to it, and everything that it’s been through. Because that has led to me being the person I am today. I didn’t get a whole new body once I started on my hormones. This is the exact same one. — as told to David Koon


THAT ‘GHETTO’ TRAFFIC BOX, CONT. Continued from page 10 when it selected Cates to paint the traffic boxes. And it was Stanley who Cates had to call for help when police stopped her as she was painting the box and surrounding pylons at the JFK exit. “Do you know this girl?” the police officer asked Stanley when she arrived. Cary Tyson, the former head of the Park Hill Neighborhood Association, said the decision to paint over the box had nothing to do with race. Ron Newport of Jacksonville, the former head of Keep Jacksonville Beautiful, invited Cates to take part in a public art project for that city after seeing her work. He and Mayor Fletcher both approved the image that Cates was to put on the traffic box, and she painted the work over a couple of Saturdays, finishing two weeks ago. She donated her time and materials; it cost her about $100 in paint. But last Tuesday, Newport called Cates to say someone had complained that the painting “reminded him of living in the ghetto,” Cates told a reporter, and that he was sorry but it would have to be painted over and the project — she was to do a second painting — discontinued. “He said, “I’m sorry. I’ll give you lunch. I said, ‘I’m not hungry,’ ” she said. “I felt like my breath was taken away from me. That was the most detailed [box] I’d ever done. My paintings start at $500 and go up.” Cates’ pastor, Jacksonville Alderman James Bolden, overheard a complaint about the traffic box painting while he was in City Hall. He then met with the mayor, who called Cates from his office to apologize for his decision. “He was real sympathetic,” Cates said. But he said it would be painted over. “I was at a loss for words,” Cates said. But on Thursday, Fletcher had a change of heart. This time she took him up on lunch, and she learned her work would not be painted over. Fletcher also invited her to take part in future Jacksonville public art projects, projects he said would use imagery that would reflect some identifying theme of the city, as does the military history mural on the building where Cates works, the Jacksonville Workforce Center. Fletcher told the Times that his original objection to the box was that he “wanted something more cheerful,” and did it have to be orange, a color he apparently didn’t consider cheery enough. What about a blue background? Cates declined to change the painting; orange backgrounds are a signature of hers. Cates said rumors that she was asked to paint the faces white were not true. So why did the mayor change his mind?

INSIDER, CONT.

Fletcher didn’t answer that question in a straightforward way, except to say that he personally liked Cates’ painting and her belief that public art is a way to expose kids to art that otherwise might not get to see original work. He acknowledged as correct an explanation Cates heard: that when he got home from work Tuesday, he told his wife he’d had a bad day and she told him she liked the painting and to leave it alone. “I grew up poor,” Cates said. “I’d never been to a gallery until I was in my 30s. A lot of children don’t go to museums. That’s why I do public art.”

Continued from page 11 Chenal Valley home (though no deed on file reflects that at last check) and he had long considered himself a Little Rock resident. He said he also owns homes jointly with his father in other counties. His primary homestead? “Hard to say how much time I spend at any one of the four ... this varies depending on work requirements, hunting seasons, summer gardening or crappie fishing in the spring!” Monday, City Manager Bruce Moore asked for an “expedited” legal opinion

on Morgan’s residency from City Attorney Tom Carpenter. Morgan’s membership, if invalidated, could be cause for reviewing both the Hudson decision and perhaps past decisions in which he’s participated. Employees on losing ends of Morgan votes, particularly, might have an interest. Coming soon for the Commission is consideration of Patrolman Josh Hastings’ appeal of his firing for dishonesty about events that led to his fatal shooting of a car burglary suspect and other elements of his record. Hastings was tried twice for manslaughter, but both trials ended in hung juries and the charge then was dropped.

Yellow Fever, Malaria, Tuberculosis, Cholera, Flu and Hookworm A Fascinating History of Arkansas’s 200 Year Battle Against Disease and Pestilence

Health THE

PUBLIC’S

STory of a narraTIvE HI nSaS aS SE E In arka HEaLTH and dI Art, M.D. by Sam Tagg

tes, M.D. Joseph H. Ba Preface by

This is a great Arkansas history showing that tells how public attitudes toward medicine, politics and race have shaped the public health battle against deadly and debilitating disease in the state. From the illnesses that plagued the states earliest residents to the creation of what became the Arkansas Department of Health, Sam Taggart’s “The Public’s Health: A Narrative History of Health and Disease in Arkansas” tells the fascinating medical history of Arkansas. Published by the Arkansas Times.

$1995

Payment: Check Or Credit Card Order By Mail: Arkansas Times Books P.O. Box 34010, Little Rock, AR 72203 Phone: 501-375-2985 Fax: 501-375-3623 Email:jack@arktimes.com 96 PP. Soft Cover • Shipping And Handling: $3 www.arktimes.com

JULY 17, 2014

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Arts Entertainment AND

READING IN THE ROCK

Summer book picks from locals.

N

othing says summertime in Little Rock like staying indoors, avoiding other people and pretending you are somewhere else. To that end, we reached out to a team of locally based novelists, screenwriters, rappers and magazine editors to assemble our 2014 summer reading guide, featuring graphic novels, Norwegian memoirs, essay collections and more.

Eliza Borne

Managing editor of the Oxford American

Emma Straub’s “The Vacationers” is one of the most delightful books I’ve read this summer. In the story, a dysfunctional family travels to Mallorca on vacation, and the patriarch reveals a devastating secret. Though the plotline may be a bit predictable, the characters are lovable and the dialogue endearing. I tore through the book on a hot afternoon, immediately gave it to my mother, then started daydreaming about a trip to the Mediterranean. I read everything by Meg Wolitzer, and her latest novel for adults, “The Interestings,” is recently out in paperback. Wolitzer follows a group of friends from adolescence to middle age, starting when they meet at a summer camp for promising young artists. The novel is a meaty and a satisfying meditation on success, ambition and friendship. It’s equally appropriate for both book clubs and beach reading. Maggie Shipstead’s debut novel, “Seating Arrangements,” is a quintessential summer read — a family comes together for a wedding on Cape Cod, and few things go according to plan. However, it’s Shipstead’s second book that kept me awake far too late on weeknights. “Astonish Me” immerses readers in the competitive world of profes20

JULY 17, 2014

ARKANSAS TIMES

sional ballet, combining gorgeous descriptions of dance with a compelling love story. Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention new releases from two of the South’s most beloved bookstore owners. Ann Patchett (of Nashville’s Parnassus Books) is best known for her novels, though I adored her book “This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage,” an intimate and lovely essay collection; she covers everything from her affection for nuns to her experience at the Los Angeles Police Academy. Lisa Howorth (of Oxford’s Square Books) debuted in June with the novel “Flying Shoes,” a portrait of a woman who must confront the longago murder of her stepbrother. Get to know the memorable main character in an excerpt published in the summer issue of the Oxford American.

Kevin Brockmeier

Author

Lately I’ve been gravitating to either the very long (Proust) or the very short (Helen Phillips, Giorgio Manganelli), but this summer I’ve read one great middlesized novel — not too hot and not too cold but just right. “Under the Skin” by Michel Faber straddles the border between character-driven realism and science fiction with a grace of presentation and an oddity of conception that reminds me of Walter Tevis’ “The Man Who Fell to Earth,” my favorite such borderline case and a clear influence on Faber’s work. Though I saw the recent film adaptation of “Under the Skin,” I had little idea where the novel would take me, or how compelling I would find the experience. Suffice it to say that it’s one of those books that reminds you what narrative fiction can do better than any other artistic medium: allow you to occupy another consciousness as if it were your own.

Nickole Brown

Poet and UALR professor

What comes to mind first and foremost is “The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature.” The premise of this book is deceptively simple: Biologist David George Haskell observed a one-square-meter patch in the woods of Tennessee (a small piece of land he calls his “mandala”) almost daily for a year and writes about what he saw. Now you wouldn’t think that someone could scribble nearly 250 absolutely fascinating pages out of staring at a tiny patch of dirt that long, but he pulls it off. His lyrical and informative chapters detail the lives of the countless creatures there: lungless salamanders and flowering spring ephemerals and hermaphroditic snails; even the unseen microbes in the soil below become part of an unexpectedly moving cast of characters in this old-growth forest. As deeply intelligent as it is poetic, I’d recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the life teeming right outside our doors.

Graham Gordy

Screenwriter

“What It Is Like To Go To War” (Karl Marlantes): One of the most significant books I’ve read in terms of combat, PTSD, but also acute human understanding. I don’t throw the word “brilliant” around. This book is brilliant. As a country at perpetual war, it should be required reading for every American. “Tenth of December: Stories” (George Saunders): The structure of every George Saunders story is, 1) Start reading and be charmed at how clever and whimsical are the world and characters Saunders creates; 2) Laugh frequently as a growing discomfort sets in and you feel your heart sink deeper and deeper CONTINUED ON PAGE 26


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

A&E NEWS “MARCH: BOOK ONE,” the bestselling collaboration between North Little Rock native Nate Powell, Congressman John Lewis and co-writer Andrew Aydin, was one of 2013’s best-received graphic novels, and this week the publisher revealed the cover and details for “Book Two,” set to be released early next year. According to the publisher, the sequel “will be significantly longer than ‘Book One,’ taking a step forward into the tumultuous events of 1961-1963 while continuing the framing narrative of President Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009. Major plot lines include the famous journey of the Freedom Riders, imprisonment at Mississippi’s Parchman Penitentiary, and young John Lewis’ involvement in helping to plan and lead the legendary 1963 March on Washington.” Powell designed the cover, which depicts “the Freedom Riders’ bus set on fire by a white supremacist mob in Anniston, AL, May 14, 1961,” and “Lewis’ fiery speech at the March on Washington, August 28, 1963.” THE INCREASINGLY PRESTIGIOUS HOT SPRINGS DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL, recently named an Academy Award qualifier (as we reported in February) and set to run Oct. 10-19, has named writer and film critic Lauren Wissot its new programming director. Wissot, a former programming director at the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival, is also a contributing editor at Filmmaker Magazine, a writer for venues like Slant Magazine and the author of “Under My Master’s Wings: One Year in the Life of a Female Submissive,” which she describes on her blog as a “memoir about her time spent as the personal slave to a gay-for-pay stripper.” THE RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM AND BAILEY CIRCUS will return to Verizon Arena Aug. 14-17 with a new show extravagantly titled “Super Circus Heroes.” The press release cites “unbelievable animal talent” and stresses that there will be “no computer generated animations.” The award-winning Italian clown Davis Vassallo will be on hand portraying a character named Mr. Boredom, as will the “Shaolin Warriors of China” and the “high-flying Cuban Comets.”

Daisey invites you to check out our selection of Porch Swings, Patio Furniture, Porch Chairs, Gates, Fences, Concrete Planters, Bird Baths and Bottle Trees!!

2600 Cantrell Rd 501-296-9955 | riverdale10.com Featuring Digital Light Projection & Dolby Digital Soun d

Show TimeS: Fri, July 18 – Thur, July 24 Planes: Fire & Rescue (Digital) PG | 2:00 4:00 7:15 9:00

Jersey Boys (Digital) R | 1:30 6:45

Sex Tape (Digital) R | 1:45 3:45 7:00 9:00

Snowpiercer (Digital) R | 1:30 4:15 9:35

Begin Again (Digital) R | 1:45 4:00 7:00 9:15

Transformers: Age of Extinction (Digital) PG13 | 6:45

Life Itself (Digital) R | 1:45 4:30 7:00 9:15 Korengal (Digital) R | 2:00 4:00 7:00 9:00 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Digital) PG13 | 1:30 4:15 6:45 9:30 Tammy (Digital) R | 2:00 4:10 7:15 9:15

Dog Days of summer!

Belle (Digital) PG | 2:15 4:20 7:15 9:10

Oliver’s

The Grand Seduction(Digital) PG13 | 4:15 9:30

Antiques 501.982.0064 1101 Burman Dr. • Jacksonville Take Main St. Exit, East on Main, Right on S. Hospital & First Left to Burman.

Family Films Tues 7/22 & Wed 7/23 11:30AM Smurfs 2 | PG Only $ 2

tues-fri 10-5. sat 10-3 or by appointment

Proudly Presents Starring Michael Henderson / Monica Clark-Robinson Brooke Ault / Hailey Weiner / Casey Labbate D.Brent Miller / Garrett Houston Jeremiah Elliott /Mary Ann Hansen Roben Sullivant / Eric Harrison Erin Martinez / Jeff Ward / Jamie Stewart Duane Jackson / Kristof Waltermire Ron Selby / Jeff Baskin / Carl Carter Katie Greer / Caleb Allen / Brian Earles Danny Jimenez / Nathan Owens Matthew Morley / Halo Skinner / Grace Pitts Drew Clark / Jack Pruitt and Dr. Charles Friedman as the Fiddler Directed by Bob Hupp

Choreography by Christen Burke Pitts

Costumer Shawn Sturdevant

Musical Director Kurt Kennedy

Costume Design Michael Bottari and Ronald Case

Set Design Rafael Castanera

Associate Set and Wig Designer Robert Pickens

Technical Director Sara Cooke

Produced by Judy Tenenbaum and Vincent Insalaco

JULY 22 – 27

Purchase Tickets now! www.argentacommunitytheater.com or call 501.353.1443

Presented By

www.arktimes.com

JULY 17, 2014

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THE TO-DO

LIST

BY WILL STEPHENSON, DAVID KOON AND LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK

FRIDAY 7/18

12TH NATIONAL DRAWING INVITATIONAL AND LECTURE

Arkansas Arts Center. Free.

When the Arkansas Arts Center says its “12th National Drawing Invitational” is a really big show, here’s what that means: really big drawings, such as wall-sized portraits, abstracts and narratives. Also: live drawing. Cut paper drawing. Installations. For this year’s biennial show,

revived in 2012 after a seven-year dormancy, independent curator Laura Roulet invited eight artists from the mid-Atlantic region who are “pushing the traditional boundaries of graphic art,” the Arts Center’s Ann Prentice Wagner says. The show opens to the public July 18, but if you’re not a member, you can pay $15 on July 17 to hear a talk by Roulet, “Contemporary Mid-Atlantic Drawing: Noun + Verb,” at 6 p.m. and then attend the members’ recep-

tion (6:30-8:30 p.m.). Invitational artist Gary Kachadourian, who is in the process of installing Xeroxed drawings around the Arts Center’s 1937 facade (now enclosed in the Winthrop Rockefeller Gallery) and elsewhere, will give a talk at noon July 18 as part of “Feed Your Mind Friday.” Also in the show: Victor Ekpuk, who’ll draw on the gallery wall on Aug. 21-22 and give a talk Aug. 21; Ian Jehle, who makes giant portraits of people he knows

intimately; Laura Ledbetter, whose drawings are three-dimensional thanks to the use of string and other objects; Linn Meyers, known for her abstract site-specific drawings at the Phillips Collection and other museums; Sharyn O’Mara, who cuts paper into threads; Mia Rosenthal, who illustrates the “story of life” on earth in large-scale drawings, and Andrea Way, featuring complex small black-and-white drawings and large color works. LNP

FRIDAY 7/18

BIG GAY RADIO SHOW RELAUNCH

5 p.m. Sway. $5.

“The Big Gay Radio Show,” the most popular show on KABF-FM 88.3 and the state’s only LGBT issue-oriented radio program, recently got a new host in Jason Wiest, the owner of the Little Rock nightclub Sway, who hopes to use the show to help “shake off the bigotry and oppression that unfortunately are still a fact of life for many LGBT Arkansans.” The show, which airs every Friday from noon to 2 p.m., was launched last August by former host Joseph Birdsong and remaining cohost H.L. Moody, in continuation of a KABF legacy that started with a show called “The Queer Frontier” back in 1996. To celebrate the new era, Wiest is hosting a Relaunch Happy Hour at Sway, featuring drink specials, new KABF merch and music by John Willis. WS

FIFTY TON WAR MACHINE: Devourment will be at Vino’s 8 p.m. Friday, $10.

FRIDAY 7/18

DEVOURMENT

8 p.m. Vino’s. $10.

After forming in 1995, Dallas death metal band Devourment released its first studio album four years later. It begins with a song called “Festering Vomitous Mass” — you can find the “karaoke” version, with subtitles, on YouTube. It’s

pretty chilling but more than that, it’s an impressive feat: Front man Ruben Rosas has a voice like an angry chopped-andscrewed ghost. His death growl is legendary. Later, he left the band to go to prison for a few years. There’s an interview with him from behind bars, where he complains about the food: “They very often use emu meat instead of beef,” he said, “and some-

times you’ll find rocks and dirt in your vegetables or weevils in your oat meal.” Now he’s back in the band. Their new record is called “Conceived in Sewage,” and opens with a track called “Legalize Homicide.” It’ll give you weird dreams. They’ll share a bill at Vino’s with Abandon The Artifice, Splattered in Traffic and Slamphetamine. WS

SATURDAY 7/19

THE GREAT ARKANSAS BEER FESTIVAL

5:30 p.m. Clear Channel Metroplex. $25 adv., $30 day of.

Dear God: Thank you for the rain and the little birds, the sunshine and the trees, the cool breezes and marijuana. But espe22

JULY 17, 2014

ARKANSAS TIMES

cially thank you for visiting upon mankind the divine knowledge of how to make beer, which is clearly your favorite beverage given that it’s about as close to the honeyed Balm of Gilead as my puny human mind can imagine. Also, thanks for people who love beer, as they’re a cheerful bunch, always ready to buy a round, and seemingly

much less ready to get their barroom brawl on than people who like to two-fist the hard stuff, if my limited experience is any yardstick. And thanks for this weekend’s upcoming Great Arkansas Beer Festival, which kicks off at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot of the Clear Channel Metroplex at 10800 Colonel Glenn Road in Little Rock.

It will reportedly feature suds from over 100 breweries, with more than 350 beers on tap. You can check the festival Facebook page, Dear Lord, at facebook.com/ GreatArkansasBeerFestival, and tickets are available at lrtix.com. Though, with you being The Almighty and all, you probably knew that. Amen. DK


IN BRIEF

THURSDAY 7/17 The 2014 Little Rock Fashion Week continues at the Statehouse Convention Center through Saturday, July 19.

SATURDAY 7/19

WINK BURCHAM

10 p.m. White Water Tavern.

In a video produced by Tulsa literary magazine This Land Press, Wink Burcham plays slide guitar on his porch, shoeless and apparently unshowered. He starts out by restraining his two dogs,

Amasa Hines will be taping “AETN Presents: On the Front Row” live at

pulling them back by their collars after something’s spooked them. Then he swigs what looks like Coors Light and starts playing a song called “My Old Man,” that begins, “I was born the son of a travelin’ man.” Tulsa is Burcham’s hometown, and his following is due

to the detailed story-songs he writes about it, folk songs about characters he remembers from childhood or people he met at the liquor store. If he had a local analogue, it would be Kevin Kerby, who as it happens is sharing the bill with Burcham Saturday night. WS

AETN headquarters in Conway, 6:30 p.m., all are welcome. Comedian Alex Ortiz will be at the Loony Bin through Saturday, July 19, 7:30 p.m. (and 10 p.m. shows Friday and Saturday), $7$10. Local jazz legend Walter Henderson will be at The Joint at 8:30 p.m., $7.

FRIDAY 7/18 Baltimore artist Gary Kachadourian will give a free lecture at noon at the Arkansas Arts Center as part of its Feed Your Mind Friday series. Run River North, the L.A.-based indie-folk band, will be at White Water Tavern with Mandy McBryde, 9 p.m. High Magic will be at The Lightbulb Club in Fayetteville with Doctor Nod and High Lonesome, 9 p.m., and Stephen Neeper and The Wild Hearts will be at Stickyz with Hibbity Dibbity, 9 p.m., $5.

SATURDAY 7/19 Disney Channel star Bridgit Mendler (she of the TV series “Good Luck Charlie” and the movie “Lemonade Mouth”) will headline at Magic Springs

NASHVILLE SOUND: Pujol will be at Stickyz 8 p.m. Monday, $10.

alongside Hot Springs native Kimiko, who will open the concert at 7 p.m.,

MONDAY 7/21

PUJOL

8 p.m. Stickyz. $10.

In an interview with Vice magazine, the Nashville garage punk musician Daniel Pujol describes the “narrative” of his new album “KLUDGE” as “essentially a Self ‘breaking up’ with

$49.99-$54.99. Cons of Format will be at Vino’s with Oh Jeremiah, 9 p.m., $7,

his/her Sense Of Self and rediscovering Other People. Just long enough to be seduced by their own identity again.” He also talks about Godzilla. It’s confusing, especially since the record itself is pretty notably direct and easily absorbed – loose, stoner noise-pop from a scene

that has also spawned bands like Turbo Fruits and Diarrhea Planet. The album’s cover prominently features LEGOs and it was supposedly recorded in the middle of the night at a teen suicide prevention center and also Jack White produced one of his songs. WS

and Mystic Dub will be at the Afterthought, 9 p.m. Soulcomm Collective will host “From Disco to Techno” at Zin Urban Wine and Beer Bar with DJs Brad G, Danny Enzo and James Bacon, 9 p.m. What Made Milwaukee Famous will be at Stickyz with A. Sinclair and American Lion, 9 p.m., $6.

MONDAY 7/21

WEDNESDAY 7/23

MOVIES IN THE PARK: ‘FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS’

Sundown. First Security Amphitheater. Free.

There’s a reason the word “fan” comes from “fanatic.” Some peoples’ devotion to sports borders on religious zealotry sometimes, with all the tearful huzzahs and thanks to Big G when their side wins, and all the rage and rending of garments when they don’t. Such religious devotion is even more pro-

Local R&B favorite Nicky Parrish will

nounced in small town America, where 16-17-18-year-old kids playing a game on grass or hardwood with a ball can get hopelessly tangled in an adult-woven Gordian knot of pressure, pride, racism, arrogance, local identity, economic reality and the Glory Days-fueled expectations of their has-been forebears. It can get ugly. Based on the book by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Buzz Bissinger, 2004’s “Friday Night Lights” tracks the fortunes of the Permian High School

football team in Odessa, Texas, as they compete for the state championship in 1988. Featuring Arkansas’s own Billy Bob Thornton in the role of Coach Cary Gaines (reuniting with an all-grown-up Lucas Black, who played young Frank in Thornton’s breakout film “Sling Blade”), it’s a hell of a flick about sports, fading small towns, the pressure adults can put on young athletes and all the things that can get forgotten while a ball is in the air under the bright lights. DK

celebrate her win on BET’s “Apollo Live” at Club Elevations with Rodney Block and Michael Walker, 7 p.m., $7. San Francisco metal group Castle will be at Juanita’s with Little Rock trio Mothwind (who have a new full-length on the way later this month) and Apothecary, 9 p.m., $8 adv., $10 day of. Amanda Shires will perform the first of two tourstops she has planned at White Water Tavern this month with Ben Danaher, 9 p.m. www.arktimes.com

JULY 17, 2014

23


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

THURSDAY, JULY 17

MUSIC

Amasa Hines. Live taping of “AETN Presents: On the Front Row.” AETN Atrium, 6:30 p.m. 350 S. Donaghey, Conway. 501-682-4131. Dirty River Boys. George’s Majestic Lounge, 9 p.m., $10. 519 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-442-4226. “Inferno.” DJs play pop, electro, house and more, plus drink specials and $1 cover before 11 p.m. Sway, 9 p.m. 412 Louisiana. 501-907-2582. Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-3242999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. Jocko. Oaklawn Park, 5 p.m. 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-623-4411. www.oaklawn.com. Krush Thursdays with DJ Kavaleer. Club Climax, free before 11 p.m. 824 W. Capitol. 501-554-3437. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Michael Eubanks. Newk’s Express Cafe, 6:30 p.m. 4317 Warden Road, NLR. 501-753-8559. newks.com. Open Jam. Thirst n’ Howl, 8 p.m. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirstn-howl.com. Open jam with The Port Arthur Band. Parrot Beach Cafe, 9 p.m. 9611 MacArthur Drive, NLR. 771-2994. RockUsaurus. Senor Tequila, 7-9 p.m. 10300 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-224-5505. www.senor-tequila.com. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 7:30 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG. Velcro Pygmes (headliner), Big Stack Acoustic (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5 and 9 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-3755351. www.cajunswharf.com. A Very Feary Brony Burlesque. With Flameing Daeth Fearies, The Machete With Love, Cabaret Kittens, Uno Rhymez and Jennifer Armstrong. Revolution, 9 p.m., $10. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com. Walter Henderson. The Joint, 8:30 p.m., $7. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

COMEDY

Alex Ortiz. The Loony Bin, 7:30 p.m., $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-2285555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

EVENTS

2014 Little Rock Fashion Week. Statehouse Convention Center, through July 19. 7 Statehouse Plaza. Antique/Boutique Walk. Shopping and live entertainment. Downtown Hot Springs, third Thursday of every month, 4 p.m., free. 100 Central Ave., Hot Springs. Around the World Thursday: Melbourne, 24

JULY 17, 2014

ARKANSAS TIMES

FIGHT TO KEEP: Run River North will be at White Water Tavern 9 p.m. Friday.

Australia. Forty Two, 6:30 p.m., $27.95. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-537-0042. www. dineatfortytwo.com. The Art of the Sandwich. Pulaski Technical College — South Campus, 5:30 p.m., $75. Exit 128, I-30. Geocaching. Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center, 8:30 a.m. 602 President Clinton Ave. 501-907-0636. www. centralarkansasnaturecenter.com.

LECTURES

“Contemporary Mid-Atlantic Drawing: Noun + Verb.” Arkansas Arts Center, 6 p.m., $15. 501 E. 9th St. 501-372-4000. www. arkarts.com.

POETRY

POETluck. Literary salon and potluck. The Writer’s Colony at Dairy Hollow, third Thursday of every month, 6 p.m. 515 Spring St., Eureka Springs. 479-253-7444.

KIDS

Lights! Camera! Arkansas!. Filmmaking workshop designed for rising 4th-10th graders. Old State House Museum, through July 18, 8 a.m., $75. 500 Clinton Ave. 501-3248643. www.oldstatehouse.com.

FRIDAY, JULY 18

MUSIC

Afterhours. Playtime Pizza, July 18-19, 10 p.m., $20. 600 Colonel Glenn Plaza Loop. 501-227-7529. www.playtimepizza.com. Club Nights at 1620 Savoy. Dance night, with DJs, drink specials and bar menu. 1620 Savoy, 10 p.m. 1620 Market St. 501-221-1620. www.1620savoy.com. Devourment, Abandon The Artifice, Splattered In Traffic, Slamphetamine. Vino’s, 8 p.m., $10. 923 W. 7th St. 501-3758466. www.vinosbrewpub.com. High Magic, Doctor Nod, High Lonesome. The Lightbulb Club, 9 p.m. 21 N. Block Ave., Fayetteville. 479-444-6100. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Mr. Lucky (headliner), Brian Ramsey (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www. cajunswharf.com. Peckerwolf, The Escatones, Dirty Lungs. Maxine’s, 9 p.m., $5. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. www.maxinespub.com. Run River North, Mandy McBryde. White Water Tavern, 9 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-

375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. Salt and Pepper. Oaklawn Park, July 18-19. 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-6234411. www.oaklawn.com. Stephen Neeper and The Wild Hearts, Hibbity Dibbity. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $5. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyz.com. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 9 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www. capitalhotel.com/CBG. Zodiac: Cancer Edition. Featuring Raydar, Shaolin, Lawler, Platinumb, Ewell and Andy Sadler. d Revolution, 8 p.m., $10. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com.

COMEDY

Alex Ortiz. The Loony Bin, 7:30 p.m., 10 p.m., $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

DANCE

“Salsa Night.” Begins with a one-hour salsa lesson. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $8. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.littlerocksalsa.com.

EVENTS


PARTY AT OUR PLACE!

Lights! Camera! Arkansas! Filmmaking workshop designed for rising 4th-10th graders. Old State House Museum, 8 a.m., $75. 500 Clinton Ave. 501-324-8643. www.oldstatehouse.com.

SATURDAY, JULY 19

MUSIC

Afterhours. Playtime Pizza, 10 p.m., $20. 600 Colonel Glenn Plaza Loop. 501-227-7529. www.playtimepizza.com. Bridgit Mendler, Kimiko. Magic Springs’ Timberwood Amphitheater, 7 p.m., $54.99$74.99. 1701 E. Grand Ave., Hot Springs. Club Nights at 1620 Savoy. See July 18. Cons Of Format, Oh Jeremiah. Vino’s, 9 p.m., $7. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. www. vinosbrewpub.com. Hazy Nation (headliner), Chris DeClerk (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www. cajunswharf.com. Indie Music Night. Juanita’s, 10 p.m., $10. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com. JB and the Moonshine Band. George’s Majestic Lounge, 9 p.m., $10. 519 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-442-4226. Karaoke at Khalil’s. Khalil’s Pub, 7 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www. khalilspub.com. Karaoke. Casa Mexicana, 7 p.m. 6929 JFK Blvd., NLR. 501-835-7876. Karaoke with Kevin & Cara. All ages, on the restaurant side. Revolution, 9 p.m.-12:45 a.m., free. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501823-0090. revroom.com. K.I.S.S. Saturdays. Featuring DJ Silky Slim. Dress code enforced. Sway, 10 p.m. 412 Louisiana. 501-492-9802. The Leave Me Be’s, Pagiins, Brothel

COMEDY

Alex Ortiz. The Loony Bin, 7:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m. $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

DANCE

Little Rock West Coast Dance Club. Dance lessons. Singles welcome. Ernie Biggs, 7 p.m., $2. 307 Clinton Ave. 501-247-5240. www.arstreetswing.com.

EVENTS

2014 Little Rock Fashion Week. Statehouse Convention Center. 7 Statehouse Plaza. Argenta Farmers Market. Argenta Farmers Market, 7 a.m. 6th and Main St., NLR. 501831-7881. www.argentaartsdistrict.org/ argenta-farmers-market. The Butler Center presents: 2014 Genealogy Conference. Ron Robinson Theater, 9 a.m., Free. 1 Pulaski Way. 501320-5703. www.cals.lib.ar.us/ron-robinsontheater.aspx. Craft Trade Day and Swap Meet. Plantation Agriculture Museum, 8 a.m. 4815 Hwy. 161 S., Scott. 501-961-1409. www. arkansasstateparks.com/plantationagriculturemuseum. Falun Gong meditation. Allsopp Park, 9 a.m., free. Cantrell & Cedar Hill Roads. Geocaching. Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center, 8:30 a.m. 602 President Clinton Ave. 501-907-0636. www. centralarkansasnaturecenter.com. Great Arkansas Beer Festival. Clear Channel Metroplex, 5:30 p.m., $25. 10800 Colonel Glenn Road. Hillcrest Farmers Market. Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. 2200 Kavanaugh Blvd. CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

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LECTURES

Sprouts. The Lightbulb Club, 9 p.m. 21 N. Block Ave., Fayetteville. 479-444-6100. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Mystic Dub. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 9 p.m. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www. afterthoughtbar.com. Pickin’ Porch. Bring your instrument. All ages welcome. Faulkner County Library, 9:30 a.m. 1900 Tyler St., Conway. 501-3277482. www.fcl.org. Salt and Pepper. Oaklawn Park. 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-623-4411. www.oaklawn.com. Singer/Songwriters Showcase. Parrot Beach Cafe, 2-7 p.m., free. 9611 MacArthur Drive, NLR. 771-2994. Soulcomm Collective presents “From Disco to Techno.” Featuring DJs Brad G, Danny Enzo and James Bacon Zin Urban Wine & Beer Bar, 9 p.m., free. 300 River Market Ave. 501-246-4876. www.zinlr.com. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 9 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www. capitalhotel.com/CBG. What Made Milwaukee Famous, A. Sinclair, American Lions. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $6. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyz.com. Wink Burcham, Kevin Kerby. White Water Tavern, 10 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com.

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2014 Little Rock Fashion Week. Statehouse Convention Center, through July 19. 7 Statehouse Plaza. Big Gay Radio Show reLaunch Happy Hour. Meet the new hosts of KABF’s “Big Gay Radio Show,” with music by John Willis and special happy hour drink specials. Sway, 5 p.m., $5. 412 Louisiana. 501-907-2582. Fantastic Friday. Literary and music event, refreshments included. For reservations, call 479-968-2452 or email artscenter@centurytel.net. River Valley Arts Center, Every third Friday, 7 p.m., $10 suggested donation. 1001 E. B St., Russellville. 479-968-2452. www. arvartscenter.org. Geocaching. Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center, 8:30 a.m. 602 President Clinton Ave. 501-907-0636. www. centralarkansasnaturecenter.com. LGBTQ/SGL weekly meeting. Diverse Youth for Social Change is a group for LGBTQ/SGL and straight ally youth and young adults age 14-23. For more information, call 244-9690 or search “DYSC” on Facebook. LGBTQ/ SGL Youth and Young Adult Group, 6:30 p.m. 800 Scott St.

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25


READING IN THE ROCK, CONT. into yourself; 3) Finish story and be left immobile, full of compassion, dread and a kinship with your own pain as Saunders has pulled that heart from that deep spot only to eviscerate it before your eyes. As someone who prides himself on discerning how storytellers manipulate me, I have studied Saunders’s work. I still do not know how he does this. “I Never Met a Story I Didn’t Like: Mostly True Tall Tales” (Todd Snider): Jerry Jeff Walker told Todd Snider, “You ought to set up some Christmas lights on your roof to spell out ‘SORRY.’ And then when you get home from a long night of drinking, you just flip on the lights and go to bed.” That’s the thesis statement of this book. I don’t know if Snider is a better songwriter or a better storyteller. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I woke my wife up at least a dozen times while reading this because I was laughing so hard I shook the bed.

Jay Jennings

Writer and Arkansas Literary Festival chair

Last week my vacation became a Karl Ove-cation, that is, I holed up with Karl Ove Knausgaard’s “My Struggle: Book One,” the first volume of a six-book autobiographical novel (or semi-fictional memoir) by a 45-year-old Norwegian writer. In the U.S., only the first three volumes have been translated into English and were published with little fanfare, until this summer, by a small Brooklyn nonprofit press. “Book Three” improbably made the New York Times bestseller list. Unlike others of his Scandinavian brethren, he doesn’t specialize in gruesome crimes or tattooed computer sleuths, but documents in often mundane but oddly hypnotic detail the ordinary course of his domestic and work life as a father, husband, son and ambitious writer. Often these descriptions seem to no purpose, even as they carry a reader along with familiar, poignant detail; sometimes they end (or begin) with intelligent, wrenching meditations on mortality. Near the end of “Book One,” he describes his state of mind at one point that captured my feeling about this remarkable project: “… my world, in all its unbearable banality, was radiant.”

Mara Leveritt

Writer and Arkansas Times contributing editor

“The Thing with Feathers; The Surprising Lives of Birds and What They Reveal About Being Human” (Noah Strycker): Let’s forget the second part of this book’s 26

JULY 17, 2014

ARKANSAS TIMES

subtitle. Not everything must be seen through our overlarge sense of importance. To this reader, the weakest parts of these 13 essays were their attempts to link interesting stories about birds and even more interesting science about them to humans. What we’re discovering about birds is marvel enough. Take the complexity of long-range navigation. Or the mathematical principles of triangulation inherent in the pecking order of chickens. Or the way a flock of starlings — a murmuration, we learn — swirls through the evening sky, following elegant rules that, we also learn, were first mimicked by a Hollywood animator. And what about vultures: Do they smell supper below or see it? Birds have fascinated and fed humans for eons, but now hard sciences, unlikely collaborations and big computers are probing behaviors more startling than our clever species suspected or fully understands. A quick, informative, humbling read.

ect. At the moment, I tend to find atypical stories more interesting, so I was recently led to this graphic novel called “Locke & Key” about a family who moves to a house after the father dies only to find these ‘magical’ keys. It came highly recommended from some credible sites that I visit and although I didn’t like it nearly as much as they did, I found this simple concept to be laid out in a unique story and told in a creative way, which I think only a “comic book” style medium would allow (although a pilot show was pitched and rejected by Fox). All and all, it was quick reading that became pretty gripping halfway through to end in a well-thought-out conclusion.

Patrick Oliver

Host of KABF 88.3’s “Literary Nation”

Rod Lorenzen

Butler Center for Arkansas Studies

On the eve of the Great Depression, Genevieve Sadler left her home in California for what she thought would be a short visit to the Arkansas farm where her husband grew up. The trip lasted seven years and Sadler’s life was changed forever in the time she spent among the cotton farms near Dardanelle in Yell County. The long and elegant letters she wrote back to her mother in California later formed the basis for her engaging memoir “Muzzled Oxen: Reaping Cotton and Sowing Hope in 1920s Arkansas” (Butler Center Books, 2014). “I went there a rebellious and homesick young woman, hating even the way the grass grew in that so-foreign land,” Sadler writes. “I departed years later, with a deepened understanding of the teeming life of the land, and of the friends I left behind me — kindly, courteous, hospitable, hardworking people, uncomplaining under the most unsatisfactory conditions. Indeed, to me, muzzled oxen.” Sadler has a poet’s eye and her descriptive powers transform this hamlet and its people into a lush story that strives to find meaning in everyday existence. Above all, she makes the reader feel right at home amidst a rural way of life that remains hardly more than a glimmer.

Caitlin Love

Assistant editor of the Oxford American

Lately — when I’m not meandering my way through Karl Ove Knausgaard’s “My Struggle” — I’ve been digging deep into essay collections, especially Les-

lie Jamison’s “The Empathy Exams,” which won the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize. In this book, Jamison writes about her time as a medical actor (which is fascinating, since I have a lot of friends who have done that at UAMS), strange diseases, travel in Mexico, heart surgery, bad breakups, James Agee. It’s incredibly expansive. She basically spends 150 pages deconstructing empathy, the ways we relate to other people (or the ways we don’t), how we experience our own pain and the pain of others. She’s published a lot of these essays in various magazines throughout the last year and a half. You can find the title essay in The Believer; “Fog Count” was published in the Oxford American; her essay on Morgellons disease is in Harper’s. Most of these essays are online — I like having them all in one place, though.

Chane “Big Piph” Morrow

Rapper

I’ve been finding myself picking up, but not finishing books as of late, as I’ve been in the creation state for a new proj-

Richard Williams’ master plan to create two tennis players without any formal training was ridiculed by the esteemed tennis world. His daughters Venus and Serena will go down in history as two of the most successful women tennis champions. In his book “Black and White: The Way I See It,” Williams shares with the reader his humble beginnings, wisdom and relentless (and very descriptive) ingredients for success. Because of the practical recommendations, this book is a must-read for beginning and current tennis players, parents, business and community leaders, educators and anyone interested in achieving against ongoing life challenges. Ace!

Trenton Lee Stewart Author

Tom Drury has been called “a major figure in American literature” (The New York Times Book Review) and “one of our living masters” (McSweeney’s). All his novels have been cited as notable books of the year, and GQ even called his first one, “The End of Vandalism,” one of the best of the last 45 years. The guy is good, in other words. But until recently I’d never read anything by him. Now I’ve read “The Driftless Area” and am really looking forward to Drury’s other books. Maybe you’ll feel the same. This one’s a short novel about a goodnatured young man who accidentally gets mixed up in serious trouble, falls in love with a mysterious woman and sets off down a dangerous path that seems eerily predetermined. Think literary Midwestern noir with Elmore Leonard dialogue and a splash of the paranormal. Funny, engaging and unexpectedly moving.


AFTER DARK, CONT. Historic Neighborhoods Tour. Bike tour of historic neighborhoods includes bike, guide, helmets and maps. Bobby’s Bike Hike, 9 a.m., $8-$28. 400 President Clinton Ave. 501-613-7001. Little Rock Farmers’ Market. River Market Pavilions, 7 a.m. 400 President Clinton Ave. 375-2552. www.rivermarket.info. Pork & Bourbon Tour. Bike tour includes bicycle, guide, helmets and maps. Bobby’s Bike Hike, 11:30 a.m., $35-$45. 400 President Clinton Ave. 501-613-7001. Youth Home’s Casino Night and Texas Hold ’em Tournament. Next Level Events, 4 p.m. 1400 W. Markham St. 501-376-9746. www.nextleveleventsinc.com.

SUNDAY, JULY 20

MUSIC

Divorce Horse, The Gunshy, Crooked Roots. Vino’s, 8 p.m., $6. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub.com. Irish Traditional Music Session. Hibernia Irish Tavern, first and third Sunday of every month, 2:30 p.m. 9700 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-246-4340. www.hiberniairishtavern.com. Karaoke with DJ Sara. Hardrider Bar & Grill, 7 p.m., free. 6613 John Harden Drive, Cabot. 501-982-1939. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Successful Sunday. Lulav, 8 p.m., $5-$10. 220 A W. 6th St. 501-374-5100. www.lulaveatery.com. Surrender The Fall, Artifas. Revolution, 8 p.m., $8 adv., $10 day of. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com.

EVENTS

Bernice Garden Farmer’s Market. Bernice Garden, 10 a.m. 1401 S. Main St. www.thebernicegarden.org. Geocaching. Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center, 8:30 a.m. 602 President Clinton Ave. 501-907-0636. www. centralarkansasnaturecenter.com. “Live from the Back Room.” Spoken word event. Vino’s, 7 p.m. 923 W. 7th St. 501375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub.com.

MONDAY, JULY 21

MUSIC

Amanda Shires, Ben Danaher. White Water Tavern, 9 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. Castle, Mothwind, Apothecary. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $8 adv., $10 day of. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com. Kyndryd Spryts. Oaklawn, 5 p.m. 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-623-4411. www.oaklawn.com. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Monday Night Jazz. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 8 p.m., $5. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com. Nicky Parrish, Rodney Block, Michael Walker. Club Elevations, 7 p.m., $7. 7200 Colonel Glenn Road. 501-562-3317. Pujol. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 8 p.m., $10. 107 Commerce St. 501-3727707. www.stickyz.com. Richie Johnson. Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.

cajunswharf.com. Sean Michel, Listener, `68. Revolution, 8:30 p.m., $10. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501823-0090. revroom.com.

CLASSES

Youth Chefs Culinary Camp Summer 2014. Pulaski Technical College - South Campus, July 21-25, 8 a.m., $250. Exit 128, I-30.

TUESDAY, JULY 22

MUSIC

Bad History Month, Dust From 1000 Years, Mister Blister. The Lightbulb Club, 9 p.m. 21 N. Block Ave., Fayetteville. 479-4446100. Brian and Nick. Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www. cajunswharf.com. Comfortable Brother, Swampbird. White Water Tavern, 10 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. Delta Donnie. Oaklawn Park, 5 p.m. 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-623-4411. www.oaklawn.com. Irish Traditional Music Sessions. Hibernia Irish Tavern, second and fourth Tuesday of every month, 7-9 p.m. 9700 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-246-4340. www.hiberniairishtavern.com. Jeff Ling. Khalil’s Pub, 6 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www. khalilspub.com. Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-3242999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. Karaoke Tuesday. Prost, 8 p.m., free. 322 President Clinton Blvd. 501-244-9550. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Music Jam. Hosted by Elliott Griffen and Joseph Fuller. The Joint, 8-11 p.m., free. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com. Tuesday Jam Session with Carl Mouton. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www. afterthoughtbar.com.

COMEDY

Stand-Up Tuesday. Hosted by Adam Hogg. The Joint, 8 p.m., $5. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock. com.

Danny Dozier

Micky Rigby

Steve Davison

DANCE

Danny Dozier

Micky Rigby

Steve Davison

“Latin Night.” Revolution, 7:30 p.m., $5 regular, $7 under 21. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. www.littlerocksalsa. com.

EVENTS

Geocaching. Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center, 8:30 a.m. 602 President Clinton Ave. 501-907-0636. www. centralarkansasnaturecenter.com. Little Rock Farmers’ Market. River Market Pavilions, 7 a.m. 400 President Clinton Ave. 375-2552. www.rivermarket.info. Tales From The South. With the Salty Dogs and Mark Simpson. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 6:30 p.m., $10. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyz. com. Trivia Bowl. Flying Saucer, 8:30 p.m. 323 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-8032. www. beerknurd.com/stores/littlerock. CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

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www.arktimes.com

JULY 17, 2014

27


AFTER DARK, CONT.

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‘SUM OF MANY PARTS’: Laman Library’s Argenta branch is showing an exhibition of contemporary quilts made by fabric artists from 14 states, including “Fibonacci Series No. 8” by Caryl Bryer Fallert (above). The show runs through Aug. 16 at the branch, 420 Main St., open every day but Sunday. The library will be open from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, July 18, for Argenta ArtWalk and will feature an artist’s demonstration by Diana Taylor of Ficklesticks Fabric Jewelry. Other ArtWalk venues include Greg Thompson Fine Art, Mugs Café and Claytime Pottery.

SHOP LOCAL 28

JULY 17, 2014

ARKANSAS TIMES

FILM

“Slingblade.” Vino’s Brewpub Cinema. Vino’s, free. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub.com.

CLASSES

Youth Chefs Culinary Camp Summer 2014. Pulaski Technical College - South Campus, through July 25, 8 a.m., $250. Exit 128, I-30.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 23

MUSIC

Acoustic Open Mic. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-6631196. www.afterthoughtbar.com. Ben Byers. Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com. The Grasshopper Lies Heavy. ZaZa. 1050 Ellis Ave., Conway. 501-336-9292. www.zazapizzaandsalad.com. Jeff Coleman and The Feeders. South on

Main, 7:30 p.m., free. 1304 Main St. 501-2449660. www.facebook.com/SouthonMainLR. Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-3242999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. Karaoke at Khalil’s. Khalil’s Pub, 7 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www. khalilspub.com. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Machine Head, Anti-Mortem, Dark From Day One, Enchiridion. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $18 adv., $20 day of. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com. Open Mic Nite with Deuce. Thirst n’ Howl, 7:30 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501379-8189. www.thirst-n-howl.com. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 7:30 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG.

COMEDY

The Joint Venture. Improv comedy group.

The Joint, 8 p.m., $7. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com. Tracy Smith. The Loony Bin, July 23-26, 7:30 p.m.; July 25-26, 10 p.m., $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www. loonybincomedy.com.

DANCE

Little Rock Bop Club. Beginning dance lessons for ages 10 and older. Singles welcome. Bess Chisum Stephens Community Center, 7 p.m., $4 for members, $7 for guests. 12th & Cleveland streets. 501-350-4712. www.littlerockbopclub.

EVENTS

Geocaching. The Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center, 8:30 a.m. 602 President Clinton Ave. 501-907-0636. www. centralarkansasnaturecenter.com.

FILM

“Friday Night Lights.” Movies in the Park Riverfront Park, 8:30 p.m., Free. 400 President


CLASSES

Youth Chefs Culinary Camp Summer 2014. Pulaski Technical College - South Campus, July 21-25, 8 a.m., $250. Exit 128, I-30.

THIS WEEK IN THEATER

“Always a Bridesmaid.” Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, through July 19: Tue.-Sat., 6 p.m., $25-$35. 6323 Col. Glenn Road. 501-562-3131. murrysdinnerplayhouse.com. “Fiddler on the Roof.” Argenta Community Theater, through July 27: Tue.-Thu., Sun., 7 p.m.; July 25-26, 8 p.m.; Sat., July 26, 2 p.m., $30-$50. 405 Main St., NLR. 501-353-1443. argentacommunitytheater.org. “Next to Normal.” The Weekend Theater, through July 27: Fri., Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 p.m., $20. 1001 W. 7th St. 501-374-3761. www.weekendtheater.org. “Rent.” Studio Theatre, through July 27: Thu.Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m., $16. 320 W. 7th St.

GALLERIES, MUSEUMS

NEW EXHIBITS, EVENTS

ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, MacArthur Park: “12th National Drawing Invitational: Outside the Lines,” July 18-Oct. 5, lecture 6 p.m. July 17 (members opening night) by exhibition co-curator Laura Roulet, $15 nonmembers, free to members; “Feed Your Mind Friday” with invitational artist Gary Kachadourian, noon-1 p.m. July 18; “Inspiration to Illumination: Recent Work by Museum School Photography Instructors,” through Oct. 26, Museum School Gallery; 56th annual “Delta Exhibition,” works by 65 artists from Arkansas and surrounding states, through Sept. 28, “Susan Paulsen: Wilmot,” photographs, through Sept. 28; “Young Arkansas Artists,” artwork by Arkansas students K-12, through July 27 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. 372-4000. GALLERY 26, 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Recent works by Marcus McAllister and Laura Fanning, opening reception 7-10 p.m. July 19 with live music by the Rolling Blackouts, show through Sept. 6. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.Sat. 664-8996. GREG THOMPSON FINE ART, 429 Main St.: “Summer Show,” works by artists from Arkansas and the South, including Glennray Tutor, Kendall Stallings, Sheila Cotton, Robyn Horn, Ed Rice, Joseph Piccillo, William Dunlap, Guy Bell, Sammy Peters and others, through Aug. 9, open 5-8 p.m. July 18, Argenta ArtWalk. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 664-2787. LAMAN LIBRARY ARGENTA BRANCH, 420 Main St., NLR: Artist demonstration by Diana Taylor of Ficklesticks Fabric Jewelry, 5-8 p.m. July 18, Argenta ArtWalk; “Quiltmakers in Contemporary America,” 15

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BENTONVILLE C RY S TA L B R I D G E S M U S E U M O F AMERICAN ART, One Museum Way: “Art Talk: Bringing Portraiture to Life,” Sam Green talks about his favorite works at the museum, 1-1:45 p.m. July 17; “Global Citizen: The Architecture of Moshe Safdie,” drawings, sketches, videos, photographs and scale models, through Sept. 1; “Anglo-American Portraiture in an Age of Revolution,” five paintings, including works from the Musee de Louvre, the High Museum of Art, and the Terra Foundation, through Sept. 15; permanent collection of American masterworks spanning four centuries. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon., Thu.; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wed., Fri.; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat.-Sun., closed Tue. 479-418-5700. HOT SPRINGS BLUE ROCK GALLERY, 262 Hideway Hills Drive: “Rock Music,” rock-inspired woven and felted tapestries by Barbara Cade, July 19-Aug. 15. 1-4 p.m. Tue.-Sun., felting workshops 9 a.m.-noon (call for reservations). 501-262-4065.

CALL FOR ARTISTS

The Arkansas Arts Council is accepting nominations for the 2015 Governor’s Arts Awards to be made in February 2015. Deadline for nominations is Aug. 1. Nominees will be accepted in seven categories: arts community development, arts in education, corporate sponsorship of the arts, individual artist, folklife, patron and lifetime achievement. Nomination forms are available at arkansasarts.org or by contacting Cheri Leffew at 324-9767 or cheri@ arkansasheritage.org. ArtsFest is now taking applications for booths for the “Art in the Park” event set for Oct. 4 in Conway’s Simon Park. Prizes will be awarded to non-student and student artists. For more information, contact kathrynoneal@gmail.com.

CONTINUING GALLERY EXHIBITS

CANTRELL GALLERY, 8206 Cantrell Road: “The Places in Arkansas That Keep Calling Me Back,” photographs by Paul Caldwell, through Aug. 14. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 224-1335. CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 509 Scott St.: Paintings by Dee Schulten, Dr. Lacy Frasier and Sue Henley. 375-2342. CHROMA GALLERY, 5707 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Work by Robert Reep and other Arkansas artists. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat. 664-0880. COMMUNITY BAKERY, 1200 Main St.: Work by members of Co-Op Art, through July. ARKANSAS CAPITAL CORP., 200 River CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

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Chilson

BOOKS

Desha Peacock. A presentation by the author of “Create the Style You Crave on a Budget You Can Afford.” Nightbird Books, 4:30 p.m. 205 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-4432080. www.nightbirdbooks.com.

A M R A E I Y V A I R F F O 15%

Foto por Brian Chilson

Wednesday Night Poetry. 21-and-older show. Maxine’s, 7 p.m., free. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-321-0909. maxineslive.com/ shows.html.

M E N T IO NO R F T H IS A D

Chilson

POETRY

quilts, through Aug. 16. 687-1061. MUGS CAFE, 515 Main St., NLR: Quapaw Quarter Figure Drawing Group exhibit, work by Tim Ellison, Judith Faust, Jennifer Freeman, Jeannie Hursley, Marty Justice, Bonnie Nickol, Diana Shearon and Dominique Simmons, July 18-Aug. 24, open 5-8 p.m. July 18, Argenta ArtWalk. 379-9101. WINTHROP ROCKEFELLER CANCER INSTITUTE, UAMS: “Oncology on Canvas,” 75 artworks on tour sponsored by the Lilly Oncology and the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, July 18-25. uams.edu

Foto por Brian

Clinton Avenue.

Foto por Brian

AFTER DARK, CONT.

DO: PATRICIA GUARDA SAR : IO ER ANIVER DADO PRIM ICIA GUARRTE PATR IO MUE AR SUAN : RS DEER DO IVE ARDA PRICIM GU IA 5 O PAG.MUER PATR SARI SUANIVERTE DEER PRIM PAG.5 UERTE DE SU M PAG.5

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www.arktimes.com

JULY 17, 2014

29


AFTER DARK, CONT. artwork by CALS employees. 918-3093. THE EDGE, 301B President Clinton Ave.: Paintings by Avila (Fernando Gomez), Eric Freeman, James Hayes, Jerry Colburn, St. Joseph Thomason and Stephen Drive. 9921099. E L L E N G O L D E N A N T I Q U E S , 5701 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Paintings by Barry Thomas and Arden Boyce. 664-7746. GALLERY 221 & ART STUDIOS 221, Pyramid Place: Arkansas artists’ cooperative, with galleries on first and second floors. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 801-0211. GALLERY 26, 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “Recent Works by Arkansas Society of Printmakers,” including Robert Bean, Warren Criswell, Debi Fendley, Melissa Gill, Jorey May

Greene, Diane Harper, Neal Harrington, Tammy Harrington, Samantha Kosakowski, David O’Brien, Sherry O’Rorke, Jessi Perren, Shannon Rogers, Dominique Simmons, Tom Sullivan and David Warren, through July 12. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 664-8996. GINO HOLLANDER GALLERY, 2nd and Center: Paintings and works on paper by Gino Hollander. 801-0211. LAMAN LIBRARY, 2801 Orange St.: “Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow: Living with the Atomic Bomb,” objects, film, graphics about American culture of 1940s, ’50s and ’60s and the bomb, through Aug. 11. 758-1720. L&L BECK ART GALLERY, 5705 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “The Wild Ones,” paintings by Louis Beck, through July, drawing for free giclee 7 p.m. July 17. 660-4006.

!

BOOKS FROM THE ARKANSAS TIMES

THE UNIQUE NEIGHBORHOODS OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS

!

Market Ave., Suite 400: “Bold Contrasts,” paintings by Matt McLeod, sculpture by Tod Switch, high contrast ink drawings by Robert Bean. BUTLER CENTER GALLERIES, Arkansas Studies Institute, 401 President Clinton Ave.: “Home Demonstration Clubs or How Women Saved the South,” paintings by Katherine Strause, through Sept. 11; “State Youth Art Show 2014: An Exhibition by the Arkansas Art Educators,” through Aug. 30; “Drawn In: New Art from WWII Camps at Rohwer and Jerome,” through Aug. 23; “Detachment: Work by Robert Reep,” through July 24. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.Sat. 320-5790. COX CREATIVE CENTER, 120 River Market Ave.: A Thousand Words Gallery features

Full of interesting voices and colorful portraits of 17 Little Rock and North Little Rock neighborhoods, this book gives an intimate, block-by-block, native’s view of the place more than 250,000 Arkansans call home. Created from interviews with residents and largely written by writers who actually live in the neighborhoods they’re writing about, the book features over 90 full color photos by Little Rock photographer Brian Chilson.

Payment: CHECK OR CREDIT CARD Order by Mail: ARKANSAS TIMES BOOKS, P.O. BOX 34010, LITTLE ROCK, AR 72203 Phone: 5013752985 Fax: 5013753623 Email: ANITRAARKTIMES.COM Send _______ book(s) of The Unique Neighborhoods of Central Arkansas @ $19.95 Send _______ book(s) of A History Of Arkansas @ $10.95

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JULY 17, 2014

ARKANSAS TIMES

LOCAL COLOUR, 5811 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Rotating work by 27 artists in collective. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 265-0422. ST. MARK’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 1000 N. Mississippi St.: “Icons in Transformation,” 100 expressionist works by Ludmila Pawlowska, through Aug. 17, percentage of sales proceeds to Artist-in-Residence program at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. 225-4203. STUDIOMAIN, 1423 S. Main St.: “Community Center Design Competition.” www.facebook.com/studio.main.ar. UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK, 2801 S. University Ave.: Julia Baugh, ceramics, Gallery II, through July 21; “Subtractive Sculpture: Marble, Alabaster & Limestone,” Gallery I, through Aug. 1. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri. 569-8977.

CONTINUING MUSEUM EXHIBITS, CENTRAL ARKANSAS

ARKANSAS INLAND MARITIME MUSEUM, North Little Rock: 371-8320. ARKANSAS SPORTS HALL OF FAME MUSEUM, Verizon Arena, NLR: 10 a.m.4:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 663-4328. CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSEUM VISITOR CENTER, Bates and Park: Exhibits on the 1957 desegregation of Central and the civil rights movement. 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily. 374-1957. CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER, 1200 President Clinton Ave.: “Chihuly,” studio glass, through Jan. 5, 2015; permanent exhibits on 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. ESSE, 1510 S. Main St.: “What’s Inside: A Century of Women and Handbags (19001999),” purses from the collection of Anita Davis, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Sun., $10-$8. 9169022. HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM, 200 E. 3rd St.: “Kateri Joe: Thank Your Lucky Stars,” mixed media, through Sept. 7; “A Beauty on It Sells: Advertising Art from the Collection of Marsha Stone,” 13th annual Eclectic Collector exhibit, July 11-Jan. 1; “So What! It’s the Least I Can Do …,” paintings by Ray Wittenberg, through Sept. 7, “Arkansas Made,” ongoing. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9351. MacARTHUR MUSEUM OF ARKANSAS M I L I TA R Y H I S T O R Y , M a c A r t h u r Park: “American Posters of World War I”; permanent exhibits. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-4 p.m. Sun. 376-4602. MOSAIC TEMPLARS CULTURAL CENTER, 501 W. 9th St.: “Arkansas’ African American Legislators,” permanent exhibits on black entrepreneurship in Arkansas. 683-3593. MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY, 500 President Clinton Ave.: “Wiggle Worms,” science program for pre-K children 10-10:30 a.m. every Tue., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun., $10 ages 13 and older, $8 ages 1-12, free to members and children under 1. 396-7050. OLD STATE HOUSE MUSEUM, 300 W. Markham: “Lights! Camera! Arkansas!”, the state’s ties to Hollywood, including costumes, scripts, film footage, photographs and more, through March 1, 2015. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9685. WITT STEPHENS JR. CENTRAL ARKANSAS NATURE CENTER, Riverfront Park: Exhibits on wildlife and the state Game and Fish Commission. 907-0636.


AFTER DARK, CONT. BENTON DIANNE ROBERTS ART STUDIO AND GALLERY, 110 N. Market St.: Work by Dianne Roberts, classes. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. 860-7467. ENGLAND TOLTEC MOUNDS STATE PARK, US Hwy. 165: Major prehistoric Indian site with visitors’ center and museum. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun., closed Mon. $3 for adults, $2 for ages 6-12. 961-9442. HOT SPRINGS ALISON PARSONS GALLERY, 802 Central Ave.: “Big Bang,” ceramic sculpture created with fireworks by Lori Arnold, through July. 501-655-0604. ARTISTS WORKSHOP GALLERY, 610 A Central Ave.: Paintings by Jim Reimer, jewelry and watercolors by Bonnie Ricci, through July. 50-623-6401. BLUE MOON GALLERY, 718 Central Ave.: Work by Kay Aclin, Diana Ashley, Janice Higdon, Wendeline Matson, David Rackley, Tom Richard and others. 501-318-2787. GALLERY CENTRAL, 800 Central Ave.: Dennis McCann, paintings. 318-4278. JUSTUS FINE ART, 827 Central Ave.: “Summer Show,” landscapes by Dolores Justus, abstracts by Donnie Copeland, summer themed work by Rebecca Thompson and Emily Wood, through July 30. 501-321-2335. JACKSONVILLE JACKSONVILLE MUSEUM OF MILITARY HISTORY, 100 Veterans Circle: Exhibits on D-Day; F-105, Vietnam era plane (“The Thud”); the Civil War Battle of Reed’s Bridge, Arkansas Ordnance Plant (AOP) and other military history. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $3 adults; $2 seniors, military; $1 students. 501-241-1943. PERRYVILLE SUDS GALLERY, Courthouse Square: Paintings by Dottie Morrissey, Alma Gipson, Al Garrett Jr., Phyllis Loftin, Alene Otts, Mauretta Frantz, Raylene Finkbeiner, Kathy Williams and Evelyn Garrett. Noon-6 p.m. Wed.-Fri, noon-4 p.m. Sat. 501-766-7584. PINE BLUFF THE ARTS AND SCIENCE CENTER, 701 Main St.: “I come from Women Who Could Fly: New Work by Delita Martin,” through August; “Shaping Our World,” science exhibit on acts of nature, through August. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 1-4 p.m. Sat. 870-536-3375. SCOTT PLANTATION AGRICULTURE MUSEUM, U.S. 165 S and Hwy. 161: Artifacts and interactive exhibits on farming in the Arkansas Delta. $4 adults, $3 ages 6-12. Open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 501-961-1409. SCOTT PLANTATION SETTLEMENT: 1840s log cabin, one-room school house, tenant houses, smokehouse and artifacts on plantation life. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thu.-Sat. 351-0300. www.scottconnections.org.

CONTINUING GALLERY, MUSEUM EXHIBITS AROUND ARKANSAS CALICO ROCK CALICO ROCK ARTISTS COOPERATIVE,

Hwy. 5 at White River Bridge: Paintings, photographs, jewelry, fiber art, wood, ceramics and other crafts. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Thu., 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri.-Sat., noon-4 p.m. Sun. calicorocket.org/artists. CALICO ROCK MUSEUM, Main Street: Displays on Native American cultures, steamboats, the railroad, and local history. www.calicorockmuseum.com. EL DORADO SOUTH ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, 110 E. 5th St.: “2014 Juried Art Competition,” 39 works by 31 artists chosen by 21C Museum manager Dayton Castleton, through July. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri. 479-862-5474.

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FAYETTEVILLE LALALAND, 641 Martin Luther King Blvd.: “Women of DAPA (Drawing and Painting Association of the UA),” Raven Halfmoon, Ashley Byers, Carrie Gibson, Mia Buonaiuto, Ashley Lindsey, Jessica Lynnlani Westhafer, Emily Chase and Natalie Brown. EUREKA SPRINGS EUREKA FINE ART GALLERY, 63 N. Main St.: Bob Harvey, paintings, through July, reception 6-9 p.m. July 12. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. 479-363-6000. FORT SMITH REGIONAL ART MUSEUM, 1601 Rogers Ave.: 66th annual “River Valley Invitational,” through Sept. 14; “Carol Dickie: An Artist’s Journey,” through Aug. 10. 479-784-2787. HARRISON ARTISTS OF THE OZARKS, 124½ N. Willow St.: Work by Amelia Renkel, Ann Graffy, Christy Dillard, Helen McAllister, Sandy Williams and D. Savannah George. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Thu.-Sat., noon-4 p.m. Sun. 870-4291683.

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MORRILTON MUSEUM OF AUTOMOBILES, Petit Jean Mountain: Permanent exhibit of more than 50 cars from 1904-1967 depicting the evolution of the automobile. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 7 days. 501-727-5427. POTTSVILLE POTTS INN, 25 E. Ash St.: Preserved 1850s stagecoach station on the Butterfield Overland Mail Route, with period furnishings, log structures, hat museum, doll museum, doctor’s office, antique farm equipment. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wed.-Sat. $5 adults, $2 students, 5 and under free. 479968-9369. ROGERS ROGERS HISTORICAL MUSEUM, 322 S. Second St.: “IMAGINE: A NEW Rogers Historical Museum,” conceptual designs of new exhibition areas to be built; “Up in the Air,” ceramic hot air balloons, through Sept. 1; “Regional Foodways,” food-related artifacts, “Hog Wild: Our Area’s Love Affair with the Pig,” farm tools, sausage-making gadgets, folk art, books, through Aug. 9. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 479-6210-1154. RUSSELLVILLE RIVER VALLEY ARTS CENTER, 1001 E. B St.: Paintings paired with floral vignettes, sponsored by the Hoe and Hope Garden Club, through July. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Fri. 479-968-2452.

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MOVIE REVIEW

‘DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES’: CGI monkeys star.

New day for ‘Planet of the Apes’ ‘Dawn’ stands out from other summer fare. BY SAM EIFLING

T

he reaction in the past week of “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” has been equal parts encouraging and depressing. Happily, the movie’s actually pretty good, and audiences, apparently starved for anything that doesn’t salute their intelligence with both middle fingers, turned out in droves. The damn dirty apes blew it up at the box office, raking in more than $100 million worldwide. And much of that was deserved: In its effects, plot, tone and action, “Dawn” is a fine sci-fi flick. The quickest praise to offer might be, it’s an epic with meaningful intimate moments, and it convincingly creates a world where the actions of one or two characters will determine the fate of multiple societies. Also, fun apes. Yet none of these things should be extraordinary. There was a palpable sense in the theater where I saw “Dawn” that the movie had outstripped expec32

JULY 17, 2014

ARKANSAS TIMES

tations. It was a Friday night show, one where people arrive early for decent seats and wind up gabbing and dinking around on their phones. Then, through the 130-minute feature, nary a peep. People didn’t leave in a post-traumatic daze, bludgeoned into mute submission by superheroes or Transformers or exploding alien ships. This was hardly a perfect movie; some of the time elements just don’t make sense, and for a crafty band of survivors who endured an apocalyptic plague that wiped out 499 of every 500 people on the planet, the humans tend to make stupid decisions. Still, as a summer potboiler, this doesn’t feel like a waste of 10 bucks. Too often the same cannot be said for its competitors. Andy Serkis, the biggest movie star no one ever sees, is back as Caesar, an ape made hyperintelligent by experimental dementia drugs in the previous film. (That was “Rise of the Planet of

the Apes,” confusingly synonymous with “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.”) He and his ape clan, a decade after the aforementioned epidemic, are situated nicely among some Ewok-grade treehouse digs in a forest north of San Francisco. All seems peachy till some stray humans stumble into their territory and, ‘murica, pop a cap into one of the juvenile apes. The apes, not amused, ride into town and tell the humans, from horseback, not to return to the apes’ zip code, under penalty of spearing. But because the humans are running out of fuel and need to jimmy a hydroelectric plant near the apes, confrontation looms. Jason Clarke does a fine job as a levelheaded peacemaker who brokers permission to take his crew into the woods and give the dam plan a chance. Meanwhile, his fellow colony leader Gary Oldman has determined that the dam is so essential, it’s worth going to war over, if need be. A

suspicious, bellicose ape named Koba (played by Toby Kebbell, like Serkis, fully obscured in seamless visual effects) finds the humans prepping for war, and palace intrigue ensues. Matt Reeves (“Let Me In,” “Cloverfield”) directs with an eye for lighting and a keen sense of pacing. A presumable weakness of “Dawn” — that most of its characters, even the primary ones, communicate only in simple thoughts, and slowly at that — proves something of a strength. Unlike most political thrillers, there’s not a lot of yakkity-jabber going on here. The sentiments are straightforward, and the themes, basic. Trust. Family. Risk. Aggression. Apes. This could easily have been a $170 million hangdog sequel. Instead, it gives the audience a modicum of credit, and because it’s an attempt at real cinema, it arrives like a glass of cool water. It is a good movie that in July is destined to set the curve for blockbusters.


DUMAS, CONT. Continued from page 7 program, which saved the state treasury some $825 million in medical expenses over four years. But the math from a few sister states that have gone through the process ought to be the most chilling. Take Kansas, where Gov. Sam Brownback pushed through the Republican legislature income tax cuts that he said would give Kansas a big advantage over other states. No Kansas businessman pays a dime of taxes on profits he reports on his individual return. “Our new pro-growth tax policy will be like a shot of adrenaline into the heart of the Kansas economy,” Brownback said two years ago. “It will pave the way to the creation of tens of thousands of new jobs, bring tens of thousands of people to Kansas, and help make our state the best place in America to start and grow a small business.” It didn’t happen. While the national job market has been improving in the past six months, it’s stagnant in Kansas. The state has been below the national average in job growth under Brownback. Average earnings and the registration of new businesses are down.

Since the growth didn’t occur and revenues didn’t rise (revenues this year fell $338 million below the forecast) the state has spent its once-admired rainy-day reserve and slashed support for schools and other services. Three months ago, citing the tax cuts and low confidence in the state’s financial management, Moody’s lowered Kansas’s debt rating. Give us a few more years to make it work, Brownback says. North Carolina and Wisconsin, where conservative governors and legislatures made deep income-tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, also are trailing nearby states that they were supposed to leave in the dust. Wisconsin ranked 35th in job growth in the three years since the tax cuts and is last among neighboring states. North Carolina, which cut its tax rates on high incomes below those of nearby states, is waiting for the big gust but the winds are still. But neither those experiences nor the research showing such tax cuts are ineffective mean anything. “You will find,” Adlai Stevenson said, “that the truth is unpopular and the contest between agreeable fancy and disagreeable fact is unequal.”

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Dining WHAT’S COOKIN’ STONE’S THROW BREWING at Ninth and Rock has announced it will double its capacity from 24 barrels to nearly 48 thanks to an expansion of its brewing facility. The brewer is also upgrading

equipment, adding an automatic keg-cleaner and more. Stone’s Throw will also release its new ALS Hoppy Wheat on July 18, sales of which will help fund research on ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Coming up: A block party Aug. 2 to celebrate the business’ first anniversary. BONEHEADS GRILL (not to be confused with Bonefish Grill), with a menu that touts grilled fish and South African piri piri (pepper) chicken, will open before the end of the year in a new building at the Promenade at Chenal. The 4,000-square-foot building, going up on the empty lot at the right of the main entrance, will house four businesses, including perhaps a yogurt restaurant. Bentonville is also getting a Boneheads franchise. Others are operated in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas.

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4 SQUARE CAFE AND GIFTS Vegetarian salads, soups, wraps and paninis and a broad selection of smoothies in an Arkansas products gift shop. 405 President Clinton Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-244-2622. BLD daily. ARKANSAS BURGER CO. Good burgers, fries and shakes, plus salads and other entrees. Try the cheese dip. 7410 Cantrell Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-663-0600. LD Tue.-Sat. BELLWOOD DINER Traditional breakfasts and plate-lunch specials are the norm at this lostin-time hole in the wall. 3815 MacArthur Drive. NLR. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-753-1012. BL Mon.-Fri. THE BLIND PIG Tasty bar food, including Zweigle’s brand hot dogs. 6015 Chenonceau Blvd. Full bar, CC. $-$$. 501-868-8194. D Tue.-Sun., L Sat.-Sun. BRAVE NEW RESTAURANT Chef/owner Peter Brave was doing “farm to table” before most of us knew the term. His focus is on fresh, highquality ingredients prepared elegantly but simply. Ordering the fish special is never a bad choice. His chocolate creme brulee sets the pace. 2300 Cottondale Lane. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-663-2677. LD Mon.-Fri. D Sat. BRAY GOURMET DELI AND CATERING Turkey spreads in four flavors — original, jalapeno, Cajun and dill — and the homemade pimiento cheese are the signature items at

34

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ARKANSAS TIMES

RO-TEL/FONDUE HYBRID: The melted Brie Artichoke and Sundried Tomatoes ($6.50) dip was served with ciabatta.

Bear pub Diamond does the brewing, Arkansas Ale House does the cooking.

W

hile recent years have seen a growing number of new breweries crop up around the state, the “brewpub” concept has lagged behind — which is no surprise given the amount of work it takes to run a brewery or restaurant alone, much less combined into one business. Vino’s Brew Pub was the only game in town for many years, and while it has been joined by regional chains Boscos and BJ’s, Central Arkansas has trended more toward small scale “nanobreweries” like Stone’s Throw and Flyway. So when Russ Melton’s Diamond Bear Brewing, the godfather of Arkansas craft beer, announced it would be opening a restaurant inside the brewery’s new North Little Rock digs, the excitement was palpable. The new venture is called the Arkansas Ale House, and anyone who ever drank a pint at Diamond Bear’s tiny Cross Street taproom will be amazed

by the wide open spaces, attractive bar and great view of the brewing equipment that greets diners as they enter the pub. Wood tables branded with the Diamond Bear logo provide seating away from the bar, and while the place was hopping on our recent visit, we didn’t feel crowded. A server was at our table in no time flat. He had some bad news for us: They were fresh out of Diamond Bear brews, save for the Paradise Porter. It turns out that the new brewpub has been even more popular than expected, with the thirsty masses drinking up in three weeks what management thought would last three months (newly brewed Southern Blonde, now available in a can, is expected to be ready by Friday, with Pale Ale to follow shortly thereafter). Lucky for us, the expanded bar area allows for more than just Diamond Bear brews on tap, so we contented ourselves

Diamond Bear Brewery/ Arkansas Ale House 600 N. Broadway St. NLR 72114 501-708-2337 www.diamondbear.com

QUICK BITE Diamond Bear remains one of the only places in Central Arkansas that has packaged beer sales on Sundays, so grab a six pack or two after you finish your meal. HOURS 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. OTHER INFO Beer only, all major CC accepted.

with an Abita Andygator ($4.50) and a Saddlebock Dirty Blonde ($4.50). Both beers were served in appropriate glassware: a pint glass for the Kolsch-style Blonde and a tulip glass for the helles bock-style Andygator. Our drinks in hand, we turned our attention to the menu. First up was the Brie Artichoke and Sundried Tomatoes dip ($6.50), a rich, creamy bowl of piping hot melted cheese served with tasty ciabatta for dipping.


Information in our restaurant capsules reflects the opinions of the newspaper staff and its reviewers. The newspaper accepts no advertising or other considerations in exchange for reviews, which are conducted anonymously. We invite the opinions of readers who think we are in error.

Sharp, creamy brie was tempered nicely by the deep, rich flavor of the tomatoes. This dish was a sort of hybrid between classic Arkansas Ro-tel cheese dip and high-end fondue — and while that may seem strange, it worked like a charm. Right after we tucked into the brie, our second appetizer came: two bratwurst sausages ($6.75) sliced into bitesized chunks and served with mustard. The grilled brats were just the way we like them, with a lot of spice to the meat and a snappy natural casing. We had read that manager Matt Beachboard was looking to bring some European beer hall flavor to the menu, and we’d say that he has succeeded with both appetizers we tried. Something that isn’t European but certainly fits for a bar menu is wings, so a plate of the Thai Chili Style ($6.75) seemed in order. These wings mixed hot, sweet and savory flavors together nicely, with a garlic chili sauce in just the right amount to leave the wings crispy. Diners who are used to sloppy plates of neon orange Buffalo wings should order a plate of these to learn how chicken wings should taste. By this time we were getting rather full, but we found room for our last item, a Reuben ($8.50). This was probably the weakest thing we ate all night, though it wasn’t bad by any means. The toasted rye bread, tangy sauerkraut and sweet dressing were all on point, but the corned beef was a little tougher than we like it. It was a perfectly passable sandwich, but given the number of great Reubens available in Arkansas, we’re afraid that the Ale House is going to have to up its game to compete. The Arkansas Ale House is still obviously a work in progress. The walls lack much in the way of decoration, and the serving staff still seems to be learning the ropes. The food is at a great price point, with portions befitting a bar menu. Diamond Bear is hard at work getting some brews finished, so the current shortage of its brews is temporary, and in the meantime folks can enjoy beers from other great breweries from Arkansas and beyond. Given the pub’s proximity to Dickey-Stephens Park, we foresee that it will become a go-to watering hole for visitors to North Little Rock, and an impressive one at that.

BELLY UP

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

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

Chris Bray’s delicatessen, which serves sandwiches, wraps, soups, stuffed potatoes and salads and sells the turkey spreads to go. 323 Center St. Suite 150. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-353-1045. BL Mon.-Fri. CAPITAL BAR AND GRILL Big hearty sandwiches, daily lunch specials and fine evening dining all rolled up into one at this landing spot downtown. Surprisingly inexpensive with a great bar staff and a good selection of unique desserts. 111 Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-374-7474. LD daily. CAPITOL BISTRO Serving breakfast and lunch items, including quiche, sandwiches, coffees and the like. 1401 W. Capitol Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-371-9575. BL Mon.-Fri.

CATFISH HOLE Downhome place for wellcooked catfish and tasty hushpuppies. 603 E. Spriggs. NLR. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-758-3516. D Tue.-Sat. CIAO BACI The focus is on fine dining in this casually elegant Hillcrest bungalow, though excellent tapas are out of this world. The treeshaded, light-strung deck is a popular destination. 605 N. Beechwood St. Full bar, All CC. $$$. 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. DEMPSEY BAKERY Bakery with sit-down area, serving coffee and specializing in gluten-, nut-

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and soy-free baked goods. 323 Cross St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-375-2257. Serving BL Tue.-Sat. DIXON ROAD BLUES CAFE Sandwiches, burgers and salads. 1505 W. Dixon Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-888-2233. D Fri.-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. 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. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-666-3700. LD Mon.-Fri. FLYING FISH The fried seafood is fresh and crunchy and there are plenty of raw, boiled and grilled offerings, too. The hamburgers are a hit, too. It’s counter service; wander on through the screen door and you’ll find a slick team of cooks and servers doing a creditable job of serving big crowds. 511 President Clinton Ave. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 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. $-$$. 501-225-3768. LD Mon.-Sat. GUS’S WORLD FAMOUS FRIED CHICKEN The best fried chicken in town. Go for chicken and waffles on Sundays. 300 President Clinton Ave. Beer, CC. $-$$. 501-372-2211. LD daily. HOMER’S Great vegetables, huge yeast rolls and killer cobblers. Follow the mobs. 2001 E. Roosevelt Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-374-1400. BL Mon.-Fri. 9700 N Rodney Parham. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-224-6637. LD Mon.-Sat. IRONHORSE SALOON Bar and grill offering juicy hamburgers and cheeseburgers. 9125 Mann Road. Full bar, All CC. $. 501-562-4464. LD daily. J. GUMBO’S Fast-casual Cajun fare served, primarily, in a bowl. Better than expected. 12911 Cantrell Road. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-916-9635. LD daily. JIMMY’S SERIOUS SANDWICHES Consistently fine sandwiches, side orders and desserts for 30 years. Chicken salad’s among the best in town, and there are fun specialty sandwiches such as Thai One On and The Garden. Get there early for lunch. 5116 W. Markham St. No alcohol, CC. $-$$. 501-666-3354. L Mon.-Sat., D Mon.-Sat. (drive-through only). K. HALL AND SONS Neighborhood grocery store with excellent lunch counter. The cheeseburger is hard to beat. 1900 Wright Avenue. No alcohol, CC. $. 501-372-1513. BLD Mon.-Sat. (closes at 6 p.m.), BL Sun. 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 Mon.-Sat. LOCA LUNA Grilled meats, seafood and pasta CONTINUED ON PAGE 36 www.arktimes.com

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DINING CAPSULES, CONT.

ADVERTISEMENT

hearsay ➥ THE GREEN CORNER STORE & SODA FOUNTAIN and THE ROOT CAFÉ are cohosting a Birthday Block Party from 4-9 p.m. July 19 at 15th and Main streets downtown. The Green Corner Store & Soda Fountain opened in July 2009 and is celebrating five years in business. The Root Café opened in the summer three years ago. There will be a potluck dinner, live music, street vendors, food trucks, samples and prize drawings. The Root Café will host their annual potluck supper starting at 5 p.m. Local musicians Bonnie Montgomery and Joe Sundell & the Shreds of Decency will perform. The Root Café will provide barbecue pork shoulder from Falling Sky Farm, vegetarian BBQ tofu and non-alcoholic beverages. Guests are asked to bring a side dish, bread, or dessert. Local craft brewers will sell beer with a portion of the proceeds donated to the Studio Main Streetscape Project. Inside The Green Corner Store & Soda Fountain, Loblolly Creamery will serve free sample scoops of birthday cake ice cream. There will be samples of Living Raw chocolate truffles and Mountain Bird Coffee. There will be door prizes and complimentary birthday cake. Other SoMa merchants are getting in on the fun as well, and there will be a street fair atmosphere to the whole event. The event is free for all to attend. For more information, call The Green Corner Store, 501374-1111 or email info@thegreencornerstore.com. ➥ GALLERY CENTRAL in Hot Springs will host a fund-raiser for PAWS IN PRISON from 1-5 p.m. Aug. 3. The gallery will have a selection of paintings created by artists just for this sale, and proceeds will benefit a great program that brings rescue dogs and prison inmates together for both to learn new skills and hopefully find better lives on the outside. The inmates work with the dogs teaching them basic obedience skills and properly socializing the animals, making them more adoptable. For more information about Paws in Prison or to find out how you can adopt one of these precious pooches, visit www.adc.arkansas.gov.

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JULY 17, 2014

ARKANSAS TIMES

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 Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-663-4666. BR Sun., LD Mon.-Fri., D Sat. THE MAIN CHEESE A restaurant devoted to grilled cheese. 14524 Cantrell Road. Beer, Wine. $-$$. 501-367-8082. LD Mon.-Sat. MILFORD TRACK Healthy and tasty are the key words at this deli/grill that serves breakfast and lunch. Hot entrees change daily and there are soups, sandwiches, salads and killer desserts. Bread is baked in-house, and there are several veggie options. 10809 Executive Center Drive, Searcy Building. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-223-2257. BL Mon.-Fri., L Sat. NATCHEZ RESTAURANT Smart, elegant takes on Southern classics. 323 Center St. Beer, Wine, CC. $$-$$$. 501-372-1167. L Tue.-Fri., D Wed.-Sat. OYSTER BAR Gumbo, red beans and rice (all you can eat on Mondays), peel-and-eat shrimp, oysters on the half shell, addictive po’ boys. Killer jukebox. 3003 W. Markham St. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-666-7100. LD Mon.-Sat. OZARK COUNTRY RESTAURANT A longstanding favorite with many Little Rock residents, the eatery specializes in big country breakfasts and pancakes plus sandwiches and several meat-and-two options for lunch and dinner. Try the pancakes and don’t leave without some sort of smoked meat. 202 Keightley Drive. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-663-7319. BL daily. PURPLE COW DINER 1950s fare — cheeseburgers, chili dogs, thick milk shakes — in a ‘50s setting at today’s prices. 8026 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-221-3555. LD daily, BR Sat.-Sun. 11602 Chenal Pkwy. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-224-4433. LD daily, BR Sat.-Sun. 1419 Higden Ferry Road. Beer, All CC. $$. 501-6257999. LD daily, B Sun. THE RELAY STATION This grill offers a short menu, which includes chicken strips, French fries, hamburgers, jalapeno poppers and cheese sticks. 12225 Stagecoach Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-455-9919. LD daily. THE ROOT CAFE Homey, local foods-focused cafe. With tasty burgers, homemade bratwurst, banh mi and a number of vegan and veggie options. Breakfast and Sunday brunch, too. 1500 S. Main St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-414-0423. BL Tue.-Sat., BR Sun. SALUT BISTRO This bistro/late-night hangout does upscale tapas. 1501 N. University. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-660-4200. L Mon.-Fri., D Tue.-Sat. SANDY’S HOMEPLACE CAFE Specializing in home-style buffet, with two meats and seven vegetables to choose from. It’s all-you-can-eat. 1710 E 15th St. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-3753216. L Mon.-Fri. SCALLIONS Reliably good food, great desserts, pleasant atmosphere, able servers — a solid lunch spot. 5110 Kavanaugh Blvd. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-666-6468. L Mon.-Sat. 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. $$. 501-224-3344. LD daily. SLIM CHICKENS Chicken tenders and wings served fast. Better than the Colonel. 4500 W. Markham. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-9070111. LD daily. SONNY WILLIAMS’ STEAK ROOM Steaks, chicken and seafood in a wonderful setting in the River Market. Steak gets pricey, though. Menu is seasonal, changes every few months. 500 President Clinton Ave. Full bar, All CC. $$$. 501-324-2999. D Mon.-Sat.

SOUTH ON MAIN Fine, innovative takes on Southern fare in a casual, but well-appointed setting. 1304 Main St. Full bar, CC. $-$$. 501-244-9660. L Mon.-Fri., D Tue.-Sat. STAGECOACH GROCERY AND DELI Fine po’ boys and muffalettas — and cheap. 6024 Stagecoach Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-455-7676. BLD Mon.-Fri., BL Sat.-Sun. TABLE 28 Excellent fine dining with lots of creative flourishes. Branch out and try the Crispy Squid Filet and Quail Bird Lollipops. 1501 Merrill Drive. Full bar, CC. $$$-$$$$. 224-2828. D Mon.-Sat. TERRI-LYNN’S BBQ AND DELICATESSEN High-quality meats served on large sandwiches and good tamales served with chili or without (the better bargain). 10102 N. Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-227-6371. L Tue.-Fri., LD Sat. (close at 5pm). 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. $$. 501-224-7665. L Fri.-Sun., D daily. WINGSTOP It’s all about wings. The joint features 10 flavors of chicken flappers for almost any palate, including mild, hot, Cajun and atomic, as well as specialty flavors like lemon pepper, teriyaki, Garlic parmesan and Hawaiian. 11321 West Markham St. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-224-9464. LD daily.

ASIAN

A.W. LIN’S ASIAN CUISINE Excellent panAsian with wonderful service. 17717 Chenal Parkway. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-821-5398. LD daily. CHINA PLUS BUFFET Large Chinese buffet. 6211 Colonel Glenn Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-562-1688. LD daily. CHINESE KITCHEN Good Chinese takeout. Try the Cantonese press duck. 11401 N. Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol, CC. $-$$. 501-2242100. LD Tue.-Sun. HANAROO SUSHI BAR One of the few spots in downtown Little Rock to serve sushi. With an expansive menu, featuring largely Japanese fare. Try the popular Tuna Tatari bento box. 205 W. Capitol Ave. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-3017900. L Mon.-Fri., D Mon.-Sat. LEMONGRASS ASIA BISTRO Fairly solid Thai bistro. Try the Tom Kha Kai and white wine alligator. They don’t have a full bar, but you can order beer, wine and sake. 4629 E. McCain Blvd. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. 501-945-4638. LD daily. MIKE’S CAFE VIETNAMESE Cheap Vietnamese that could use some more spice, typically. The pho is good. 5501 Asher Ave. Beer, CC. $-$$. 501-562-1515. LD daily. MR. CHEN’S ASIAN SUPERMARKET AND RESTAURANT A combination Asian restaurant and grocery with cheap, tasty and exotic offerings. 3901 S. University Ave. $. 501-562-7900. LD daily. NEW CHINA A burgeoning line of massive buffets, with hibachi grill, sushi, mounds of Chinese food and soft serve ice cream. 4617 John F. Kennedy Blvd. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-753-8988. LD daily. 2104 Harkrider. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-764-1888. LD Mon.-Sun. 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. LD Mon., Wed.-Sun.

ROYAL BUFFET A big buffet of Chinese fare, with other Asian tastes as well. 109 E. Pershing. NLR. Beer, All CC. 501-753-8885. LD daily. SEKISUI Fresh-tasting sushi chain with fun hibachi grill and an overwhelming assortment of traditional entrees. Nice wine selection, also serves sake and specialty drinks. 219 N. Shackleford Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-221-7070. LD daily. SHOGUN JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE The chefs will dazzle you, as will the variety of tasty stir-fry combinations and the sushi bar. Usually crowded at night. 2815 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-666-7070. D daily. TOKYO HOUSE Defying stereotypes, this Japanese buffet serves up a broad range of fresh, slightly exotic fare — grilled calamari, octopus salad, dozens of varieties of fresh sushi — as well as more standard shrimp and steak options. 11 Shackleford Dr. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-219-4286. LD daily. WASABI Downtown sushi and Japanese cuisine. For lunch, there are quick and hearty sushi samplers. 101 Main St. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-374-0777. L Mon.-Fri., D Mon.-Sat.

BARBECUE

CHIP’S BARBECUE Tasty, if a little pricey, barbecue piled high on sandwiches generously doused with the original tangy sauce or one of five other sauces. Better known for the incredible family recipe pies and cheesecakes, which come tall and wide. 9801 W. Markham St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-225-4346. LD Mon.-Sat.

EUROPEAN / ETHNIC

ANATOLIA RESTAURANT Middle of the road Mediterranean fare. 315 N. Bowman Road. No alcohol, CC. $-$$. 501-219-9090. L Tue.-Sun., D Tue.-Sat. CREGEEN’S IRISH PUB Irish-themed pub with a large selection of on-tap and bottled British beers and ales, an Irish-inspired menu and lots of nooks and crannies to meet in. Specialties include fish ‘n’ chips and Guinness beef stew. Live music on weekends and $5 cover on Saturdays, special brunch on Sunday. 301 Main St. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-3767468. LD daily. I S TA N B U L M E D I T E R R A N E A N RESTAURANT 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. LAYLA’S GYROS AND PIZZERIA Delicious Mediterranean fare — gyros, falafel, shawarma, kabobs, hummus and babaganush — that has a devoted following. All meat is slaughtered according to Islamic dietary law. 9501 N Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-227-7272. LD daily (close 5 p.m. on Sun.). L E O ’ S G R E E K C A S T L E Wonderful Mediterranean food — gyro sandwiches or platters, falafel and tabouleh — plus dependable hamburgers, ham sandwiches, steak platters and BLTs. Breakfast offerings are expanded with gyro meat, pitas and triple berry pancakes. 2925 Kavanaugh Blvd. No alcohol, CC. $-$$. 501-666-7414. BLD Mon.-Sat., BL Sun. (close at 4 p.m.). LITTLE GREEK Fast casual chain with excellent Greek food. 11525 Cantrell Road. Beer, All CC. $$. LD daily. NEXT BISTRO & BAR Mediterranean food and drinks. 2611 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, All CC. 501-663-6398. D Tue.-Thu., Sat.


DINING CAPSULES, CONT.

ITALIAN

CAFE PREGO Dependable entrees of pasta, pork, seafood, steak and the like, plus great sauces, fresh mixed greens and delicious dressings, crisp-crunchy-cold gazpacho and tempting desserts in a comfy bistro setting. Little Rock standard for 18 years. 5510 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-663-5355. LD Mon.- Fri, D Sat. CIAO ITALIAN RESTAURANT 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. $$. 501-372-0238. L Mon.-Fri., D Thu.-Sat. GRADY’S PIZZA AND SUBS Pizza features a pleasing blend of cheeses rather than straight mozzarella. The grinder is a classic, the chef’s salad huge and tasty. 6801 W. 12th St., Suite C. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-663-1918. LD daily. IRIANA’S PIZZA Unbelievably generous handtossed New York-style pizza with unmatched zest. Good salads, too; grinders are great, particularly the Italian sausage. 201 E. Markham St. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-374-3656. LD Mon.-Sat. MELLOW MUSHROOM Popular high-end pizza chain. 16103 Chenal Pkwy. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-379-9157. LD daily. ROMANO’S MACARONI GRILL A chain restaurant with a large menu of pasta, chicken, beef, fish, unusual dishes like Italian nachos, and special dishes with a corporate bent. 11100 W Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-2213150. LD daily. U.S. PIZZA Crispy thin-crust pizzas, frosty beers and heaping salads drowned in creamy dressing. 2710 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-663-2198. LD daily. 5524 Kavanaugh Blvd. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-664-7071. LD daily. 9300 North Rodney Parham Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-224-6300. LD daily. 3307 Fair Park Blvd. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-565-6580. LD daily. 650 Edgewood Drive. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-851-0880. LD daily. 3324 Pike Ave. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-758-5997. LD daily. 4001 McCain Park Drive. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-753-2900. LD daily. ZAFFINO’S BY NORI A high-quality Italian dining experience. Pastas, entrees (don’t miss the veal marsala) and salads are all outstanding. 2001 E. Kiehl Ave. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. 501-834-7530. D Tue.-Sat.

LATINO

BAJA GRILL Food truck turned brick-and-mortar taco joint that serves a unique Mexi-Cali style menu full of tacos, burritos and quesadillas. 5923 Kavanaugh Blvd. CC. $-$$. 501-722-8920. LD Mon.-Sat. CANON GRILL Tex-Mex, pasta, sandwiches and salads. Creative appetizers come in huge quantities, and the varied main-course menu rarely disappoints, though it’s not as spicy as competitors’. 2811 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-664-2068. LD daily. CILANTRO’S GRILL The guac, made tableside, margaritas and desserts stand out at this affordably priced traditional Mex spot. 2629 Lakewood Village Plaza. NLR. Full bar, CC. $-$$. 501-812-0040. LD daily. COTIJA’S A branch off the famed La Hacienda family tree downtown, with a massive menu of tasty lunch and dinner specials, the familiar white cheese dip and sweet red and fieryhot green salsas, and friendly service. 406 S. Louisiana St. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-244-0733.

L Mon.-Fri. EL CHICO Hearty, standard Mexican served in huge portions. 8409 Interstate 30. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-562-3762. LD daily. FONDA MEXICAN CUISINE Authentic Mex. The guisado (Mexican stew) is excellent. 400 N. Bowman Road. Full bar, CC. $$-$$$. 501-3134120. LD Tue.-Sun. LA REGIONAL A full-service grocery store catering to SWLR’s Latino community, it’s the small grill tucked away in the back corner that should excite lovers of adventurous cuisine. The menu offers a whirlwind trip through Latin America, with delicacies from all across the Spanish-speaking world (try the El Salvadorian papusas, they’re great). Bring your Spanish/ English dictionary. 7414 Baseline Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-565-4440. BLD daily. LAS AMERICAS Guatemalan and Mexican fare. Try the hearty tamales wrapped in banana leaves. 8622 Chicot Road. $-$$. 501-565-0266. LD daily. LOS TORITOS MEXICAN RESTAURANT Mexican fare in East End. 1022 Angel Court. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-261-7823. LD daily. RIVERIA MAYA Tasty, cheap Mexican food. Try the Enchiladas con Chorizo. Lunch fajita is outstanding. 801 Fair Park Blvd. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 663-4800. LD daily. SENOR TEQUILA Cheap, serviceable Tex-Mex, and maybe the best margarita in town. 2000 S. University Ave. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-6604413. LD daily. TAQUERIA KARINA AND CAFE A real Mexican neighborhood cantina from the owners, to freshly baked pan dulce, to Mexicanbottled Cokes, to first-rate guacamole, to inexpensive tacos, burritos, quesadillas and a broad selection of Mexican-style seafood. 5309 W. 65th St. Beer, No CC. $. 501-562-3951. BLD daily. TAQUERIA SAMANTHA II Stand-out taco truck fare, with meat options standard and exotic. 7521 Geyer Springs Road. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-744-0680. BLD daily.

AROUND ARKANSAS

BENTON

TAQUERIA AZTECA The best authentic Mexican in the Benton/Bryant area. Try the menudo on Saturday. 1526 Highway 5 N. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-794-1487. LD Mon.-Sat.

BENTONVILLE

ELEVEN A reasonably priced, modern take on traditional southern dishes. Try the shrimp and grits. 600 Museum Way. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 479-636-1240. L daily. D Wed.-Fri. FLYING FISH The fried seafood is fresh and crunchy and there are plenty of raw, boiled and grilled offerings, too. 109A Northwest 2nd St. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 479-657-6300. LD daily. TUSK & TROTTER It’s not just barbecue and pigs feet, despite the name. The dinner menu has everything from french fries (pommes frites) to burgers to duck confit. At lunch, find a lamb sandwich from local growers to hot dogs. Microbrews, too. Terrific. 110 S.E. A St. Full bar, All CC.

BRYANT

HOME PLATE DINER This teal-and-chrome soaked diner in Bryant has drawn quite a following for generous breakfasts, great lunches, big burgers and an ever-changing range of desserts each day. 2615 N. Prickett Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-847-3331. B Mon.-Sat. L Mon.-Fri. TASTE OF D’LIGHT The dinner entrees are

gigantic; the $8.50 Chicken Delight contains a full portion of General Gau’s, Chicken with Vegetables and Lemon Chicken and is easily enough for three people. Home of the fattest cheese rangoon in Arkansas (purportedly). 3200 N. Reynolds Rd. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-847-6267. LD daily.

CABOT

JANE’S KITCHEN Typical neighborhood joint serving up breakfast and lunch to a crowd of regulars. 211 E Main St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. (501) 843-7171. BL Mon.-Sat. SORELLA’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT Big orders of pasta, pizza and salad. The sauces tend to be garlicky and the bread is a little salty, but it’s a pretty good deal for the money. 2006 S. Pine St. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-941-7000. LD Tue.-Sat. UNCLE DEAN’S CATFISH AND SUCH Hot fresh American raised catfish and egg rolls are the stars at this eclectic restaurant. Don’t miss out on the relish. 818 S. 2nd St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-941-3474. LD Mon.-Sat.

CENTER RIDGE

BUCKET LIST CAFE Serving daily specials. 5308 Highway 9. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-8939840. BL Mon.-Sat.

CONWAY

BEAR’S DEN PIZZA Pizza, calzones and salads at UCA hangout. 235 Farris Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-328-5556. LD Mon.-Sat. BLACKWOOD’S GYROS AND GRILL A wide variety of salads, sandwiches, gyros and burgers dot the menu at this veteran of Conway’s downtown district. 803 Harkrider Ave. No alcohol, All CC. 501-329-3924. LD Mon.-Sat. BOB’S GRILL This popular spot for local diners features a meat-and-two-veg cafeteria style lunch and a decently large made-to-order breakfast menu. Service is friendly. 1112 W. Oak St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-3799760. BL Daily. CROSS CREEK SANDWICH SHOP Cafe serves salads and sandwiches weekdays. 1003 Oak St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-764-1811. L Mon.-Fri. DAVID’S BURGERS Burgers, fries, shakes and drinks — that’s all you’ll find at this Conway burger joint. 1100 Highway 65 N. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. (501) 327-3333. DUE AMICHE ITALIAN RESTAURANT Stromboli, pasta, pizza, calzones and other Italian favorites. 1600 Dave Ward Drive. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-336-0976. LD Mon.-Sun. ED’S CUSTOM BAKERY Bakery featuring pastry classics, rolls, cakes, doughnuts and no-nonsense coffee. 256 Oak St. No alcohol, All CC. $. 501-327-2996. B Mon.-Sat. FABY’S RESTAURANT Unheralded MexicanContinental fusion focuses on handmade sauces and tortillas. 1023 Front Street. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-513-1199. L daily, D Mon.-Sat. 2915 Dave Ward. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-329-5151. LD Mon.-Sun. FU LIN RESTAURANT Japanese steakhouse, seafood and sushi. Good variety, including items such as yam tempura, Karashi conch, Uzuzukuri and a nice selection of udon. 195 Farris. No alcohol, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-3291415. LD Mon.-Sun. HOG PEN BBQ Barbecue, fish, chicken 800 Walnut. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-326-5177. LD Tue.-Sat. HOLLY’S COUNTRY COOKING Southern plate lunch specials weekdays. 120 Harkrider. No alcohol, All CC. $. 501-328-9738. L Mon.-Fri.

LA HACIENDA Creative, fresh-tasting entrees and traditional favorites, all painstakingly prepared in a festive atmosphere. Great taco salad, nachos, and maybe the best fajitas around. Multiple locations throughout Central Arkansas. 200 Highway 65 N. All CC. $$. 501-327-6077. LD daily. LOS 3 POTRILLOS A big menu and lots of reasonably priced choices set this Mexican restaurant apart. The cheese dip is white, the servings are large, and the frozen margaritas are sweet. Try the Enchiladas Mexicanas, three different enchiladas in three different sauces. 1090 Skyline Dr. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-3271144. LD Mon.-Sun. OLD CHICAGO PASTA & PIZZA Pizzas, pastas, calzones, sandwiches, burgers, steaks and salads and booze. The atmosphere is amiable and the food comforting. 1010 Main St. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-329-6262. LD daily. ORIENTAL KITCHEN Traditional, reasonably priced Chinese food favorites. 1000 Morningside Drive. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-328-3255. L Sat. D Mon-Sat. PITZA 42 You’ll find pizza made on pita bread and a broad salad menu here. 2235 Dave Ward Dr. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-205-1380. SMITTY’S BAR-B-QUE Meat so tender it practically falls off the ribs, and combos of meat that will stuff you. Hot sauce means HOT. 740 S. Harkrider. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-327-8304. LD Mon.-Sat. SMOKEHOUSE BBQ Hickory-smoked meats, large sides and fried pickles among other classics offered at this 40-year-old veteran of the Conway barbecue scene. 505 Donaghey. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-764-4227. LD Mon.-Sat. WHOLE HOG CAFE The pulled pork shoulder is a classic, the back ribs are worthy of their many blue ribbons, and there’s a six-pack of sauces for all tastes. A real find is the beef brisket, cooked the way Texans like it. 150 E. Oak St. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-513-0600. LD Mon.-Sat., L Sun. ZAZA The Conway spin-off of the beloved Heights wood oven pizza, salad and gelato restaurant is bigger than its predecessor, with a full bar and mixed drink specials that rely on a massive orange and lime juicer. 1050 Ellis Ave. Conway. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-3369292. LD daily.

EUREKA SPRINGS

CASA COLINA Nuevo Mexican with some truly innovative dishes, accompanied by traditional favorites and several mighty fine steaks. 173 S. Main St. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 479-363-6226. D Wed.-Mon. GARDEN BISTRO This locavore and organic restaurant nestled down Eureka Springs’ Main Street features fresh and innovative dishes on a creative ever-changing menu so fresh it’s written anew each night on the wall. 119 N. Main St. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 479-253-1281. L Tue.-Sun. D Wed.-Sat. THE GARDEN BISTRO Farm-to-table bistro featuring fresh vegetables and herbs from local producers. Seasonal menu featuring meats and produce available from the area. 119 North Main St. 479-253-1281. NEW DELHI CAFE This Indian-American fusion cafe tucked under the hustle and bustle of Eureka Springs’ shopping district features a breakfast of ethnically-charged items and American favorites, a lunch buffet and some of the best live music you’ll hear on a patio. 2 N. Main St. Wine, All CC. $$. CONTINUED ON PAGE 38 www.arktimes.com

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DINING CAPSULES, CONT. 479-253-2525. BLD. THE OASIS This Eureka Springs lunch spot may not be easy to find, but its hefty menu and daily specials incorporate Arkansas flavors in traditional Mexican dishes for a one-of-a-kind taste experience. 53 Springs St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 479-253-0886. L.

FAYETTEVILLE

BALLER FOOD TRUCK Food truck serves comfort food in the form of balls, including risotto balls, mashed potato balls, etc. 6375 W. Greens Chapel Road. $-$$. CAFE RUE ORLEANS Top quality Creole food and a couple of Cajun specialties (a soupy gumbo, a spicy and rich etouffee) from a cook who learned her tricks in Lafayette, La., and the Crescent City. Best entree is the eggplant Napoleon. Oyster bar downstairs to make your wait for a dining table pleasant. 1150 N. College Ave. Full bar, All CC. 479-443-2777. LD Tue.-Sat., BR Sun. COMMON GROUNDS All-day dining on Dickson Street with a broad selection of eats, including breakfast late in the day on the weekend and great coffee anytime. Probably the largest coffee drink menu in Northwest Arkansas. 412 W. Dickson St. Full bar, All CC. $$. 479-442-3515. BLD. CORNER GRILL Hearty sandwiches, a tasty and inexpensive weekend brunch, friendly staff in new location away from Dickson Street. Highway 112. 479-521-8594. BLD. DOE’S EAT PLACE This may be the best Doe’s of the bunch, franchised off the Greenville, Miss., icon. Great steaks, and the usual salads, fries, very hot tamales and splendid service. Lots of TVs around for the game-day folks. 316 W. Dickson St. 479-443-3637. D. ELLA’S Fine dining in the university’s vastly reworked Inn at Carnall Hall. A favorite — it figures on the UA campus — is the razor steak. 465 N. Arkansas Ave. 479-582-1400. BLD. THE FARMER’S TABLE CAFE Locally sourced cafe. 1079 S. School Ave. CC. $-$$. 479-9664125. BL Tue.-Sun., D Fri.-Sat. HUGO’S You’ll find a menu full of meals and munchables, some better than others at this basement European-style bistro. The Bleu Moon Burger is a popular choice. Hugo’s is always worth a visit, even if just for a drink. 25 1/2 N. Block St. Full bar, All CC. 479-521-7585. LD Mon.-Sat. JAMES AT THE MILL “Ozark Plateau Cuisine” is creative, uses local ingredients and is pleasantly presented in a vertical manner. Impeccable food in an impeccable setting. 3906 Greathouse Springs Road. Full bar, All CC. $$$-$$$$. 479-443-1400. Serving:D-Mon.-Sat. JOSE’S MEXICAN RESTAURANT Epicenter of the Dickson Street nightlife with its patio and Fayetteville’s No. 2 restaurant in gross sales. Basic Mexican with a wide variety of fancy margaritas. 234 W. Dickson. Full bar, All CC. 479-521-0194. LD daily. PENGUIN ED’S BAR-B-Q Prices are magnificent and portions are generous at this barbecue spot with an interesting menu, a killer sausage sandwich, burgers, omelets and wonderful lemonade. 2773 Mission Blvd. 479-587-8646. BLD. PESTO CAFE This nice little Italian restaurant in, yes, a roadside motel offers all the traditional dishes, including a nice eggplant parmesan. 1830 N. College Ave. Beer, Wine. $. 479-5823330. LD Mon.-Sun. POWERHOUSE SEAFOOD Build-your-own fried seafood platters, great grilled fish specials. 112 N. University. 479-442-8300. LD. VENESIAN INN People swarm in for the Italian 38

JULY 17, 2014

ARKANSAS TIMES

fare and feast on what may be the best homemade rolls in the state. 582 W. Henri De Tonti Blvd. Beer. $$. 479-361-2562. LD Tue.-Thu., D Fri.-Sat.

FORT SMITH

CALICO COUNTY The spot for breakfast on the Western Wall, Calico County serves up all the favorites with a diverse menu with something for everyone. Country cooking defined at its finest, served up with those comforting cinnamon rolls at every meal. 2401 S. 56th St. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 479-452-3299. BLD. LUCY’S DINER Another one of Fort Smith’s excellent 24 hour diners, Lucy’s offers traditional Americna diner fare including plate lunches and dinners that are far less expensive than the chain diners. Impressive number of side items and a decent Frito Chili Pie. 4605 Towson Rd. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. (479) 646-1001. BLD daily.

HOT SPRINGS

CULINARY DISTRICT A coffeehouse and lunch cafe inside a kitchen store/gourmet grocery with delectable sandwiches and such. The grilled cheese with blue-cheese mayo is addictive. 510 Ouachita Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-624-2665. L Tue.-Sat. THE ENGLISH MUFFIN The muffins referenced in the name are those famed Wolfermann muffins brought in fresh each day in a dozen or so different flavors. Breakfasts are wellbalanced with light omelets in a wide variety. Blue plate specials are also available. 4832 Central Avenue. All CC. $-$$. (501) 525-2710. BL daily. THE PANCAKE SHOP The Pancake Shop’s

ARKANSAS TIMES

MARKETPLACE TO ADVERTISE IN THIS SECTION, CALL LUIS AT 501.375.2985

longevity owes to good food served up cheap, large pancakes and ham steaks, housemade apple butter and waitresses who still call you “honey.” Closes each day at 12:45. 216 Central Avenue. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-624-5720. BL daily. PURPLE COW DINER 1950s fare — cheeseburgers, chili dogs, thick milk shakes — in a ’50s setting at today’s prices. Also at 11602 Chenal Parkway. 1419 Higden Ferry Road. Beer, All CC. $$. 501-625-7999. LD daily, B Sun. ROLANDO’S NUEVO LATINO RESTAURANTE Mexican fare with flare, such as spinach and sour cream enchiladas and house favorite tilapia with black beans and mango. 210 Central Ave. Full bar, All CC. VINA MORITA RESTAURANT AND WINE BAR The chef and therefore the cuisine are from central Mexico, so while there are many items familiar to Arkies for whom “Mexican” means “Tex-Mex,” there are many more options, including amazing fish dishes and daily specials that impress. 610 Central Ave. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-6257143. LD daily.

HOUSTON

TOAD SUCK BUCK’S Juicy steaks, various fried things and cold beer in a dive that’s easy to love in the middle of nowhere, 12 miles west of Conway. 11 Roaring River Loop. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-759-2067. D Thu.-Sat.

MAUMELLE

AMERICAN PIE PIZZA Handmade pizza on perfect thin crust with varied toppings, and inexpensive. We liked the olive-oil-based margherita and supreme, plus there are salads,

sandwiches and appetizers, all for cheap. 9708 Maumelle Blvd. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-758-8800. LD daily. 4830 North Hills Blvd. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-753-0081. LD daily. 10912 Colonel Glenn Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-225-1900. LD daily. COCK OF THE WALK Yes, the chicken and shrimp are great, but go for the unbeatable catfish. Plus, we say the slaw is the world’s best. 7051 Cock of the Walk Lane. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-758-7182. D Mon.-Sat., LD Sun.

MORRILTON

MOM AND POP’S WAFFLES Waffles and breakfast items are the stars at this locally owned breakfast-only joint. 1504 Oak St. No alcohol, All CC. $. 501-354-8284. B daily. RIVER ROCK GRILL Though the choices at the upscale restaurant at Winthrop Rockefeller Institute are limited, what’s available is tasty. The brown sugar-encrusted steak is not to be missed. 1 Rockefeller Drive on Petit Jean Mountain. 1 Rockefeller Drive. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. (501) 727-5435. L Thu.-Fri., D Fri.-Sat.

SCOTT

COTHAM’S Hamburgers as big as hubcaps, killer catfish, big sweet onion rings and spectacular Mississippi Mud dessert. 5301 Highway 161. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-961-9284. L Mon.-Sat., D Fri.-Sat. 1401 W. 3rd St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-370-9177. L Mon.-Fri. HARDIN FARMS AND MARKET TOO Smoked meats and fresh veggies are the speciality at this outpost of Hardin Farms in Grady. 15235 Hwy. 165. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-961-1100. LD Mon.-Fri. (closes at 6 p.m.), BLD Sat. (closes at 6 p.m.).

HealtH Care PoliCy DireCtor arkansas advocates for Children and Families, a nonprofit advocacy organization, is looking for a driven individual to lead the fight to improve health care coverage, access, and quality for arkansas’s low and middle income children and families. Must have proven track record in health care policy analysis, state and federal Medicaid policy, and advocacy. a master’s degree or the equivalent in public policy, public health, health care/public administration, economics, law, or related field. Send cover letter, resume, writing sample, and references to cneal@aradvocates.org. Competitive salary and benefits. aaCF is an equal opportunity employer.

GRAPHIC ARTIST

NO ORDINARY

PAWN SHOP

Arkansas Times is looking for a graphic artist with experience in magazine layout and advertising design. Applicants should have advanced skills with Adobe’s Creative Suite,especially InDesign,Photoshop and Illustrator. Web Design experience is a plus.

Please send resume and portfolio to weldon@arktimes.com MONDAY-FRIDAY 9 am-5:30 pm SATURDAY 9 am-3 pm 5925 South University, Little Rock, AR 72209 (501) 565-0011 www.usaloansinc.com


HEALTHY ADULTS NEEDED FOR RESEARCH STUDY We are currently seeking VOLUNTEERS 18-50 years. If you are healthy and not taking certain medications you may be eligible to participate in a study to test the behavioral effects of common medications. Participation involves completing a medical evaluation and attending 6 sessions at the Psychiatric Research Institute at UAMS. Monetary compensation and taxi service to youhave have problem with cocaine cocaine youprovided. may If Ifyou aaproblem with maybebeeligible eligibletoto and from sessions will beyou

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ou have a problem with cocaine you may be eligible to cipate in a 15-week UAMS research study looking at the f Carvedilol on cocaine use. This study includes a 2-week participateininaa15-week 15-weekUAMS UAMS research participate researchstudy studylooking lookingatatthethe Outreach DirectOr npatient stay and there is no cost for participation. effects of Carvedilol on cocaine use. This study includes a 2-week If you are interested, effects of Carvedilol on cocaine use. This study includes a 2-week please call Keith at

inpatientstay stayand andthere there isis no inpatient no cost costfor forparticipation. participation. 501-526-8468

Call:Call:501-526-7969. 501-526-7969. Call: 501-526-7969. STRICT CONFIDENTIALITY STRICT CONFIDENTIALITY IS ASSURED STRICTSTRICT CONFIDENTIALITY IS ASSURED IS ASSURED IS ASSURED CONFIDENTIALITY

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arkansas advocates for children and Families seeks an advocate to lead efforts to promote tax and budget policies and public programs that improve the lives of low- and moderate-income families. Must have proven track record in outreach, coalition building or political organizing. Bachelor degree required. competitive salary and benefits.

• Aid in choosing the right Mac for you and your budget • iMac, MacBook, iPad, iPhone • Troubleshooting • Wireless internet & backup

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Send cover letter, resume, and references to cneal@aradvocates.org.

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cindy@movingtomac.com • 501-681-5855

Pet Obits Your Pet Passages Issue Dates: Thursdays Material Deadline: Mondays, same week of publication.

July 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, and 27, 2014

Children and adults

Feature your pet with a photo. Ad Size 1/16 1/8 1/4

Dimensions 2.12 W x 2.62 H 4.5 W x 2.62 H 4.5 W x 5.5 H

Beautiful SmileS make Happy people! We accept: ar-Kids, Medicaid, Care Credit and all types of insurance.

Rate $70 $150 $300

PayMent Plans available

Accepting New Patients

Feature your pet without photo Ad Size 1/32 1/16

Dimensions 2.12 W x 1.18 H 2.12 W x 2.62 H

Rate $35 $70

Directed by Ralph Hyman Music Direction by Lori Isner July 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, and 27, 2014

Tickets:Tickets: $20$20Adults / $16 Students Adults / $16 Students and Seniors andatSeniors Fridays and Saturdays 7:30 pm • Sunday Matinees at 2:30 pm Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm Sunday Matinees at 2:30 pm

For more information contact us at 501.374.3761 or www.weekendtheater.org 1001 W. 7th St., LR, AR 72201 On the corner of 7th and Chester, across from Vino's.

For more information contact us at 501.374.3761 or www.weekendtheater.org

NEXT TO NORMAL is presented through special arrangement with Music Theater International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. 421 West 54th St., New York, NY 10019 • Phone: 212-541-4684 Fax: 212-397-4684 • www.MTIShows.com Original Broadway Production Produced by David Stone, James L. Nederlander, Barbara Whitman, Patrick Catullo and Second Stage Theatre.

Developed at Village Theatre, Issaquah, WA (Robb Hunt, Execuı ve Producer; Steve Tomkins, Arı sı c Director). An earlier version was presented in the 2005 New York Musical

New York Premiere Produced by Second Stage Theatre, New York. February, 2008 Carole Rothman, Artistic Director. Ellen Richard, Executive Director.

Lilliam Prado, DDS

• • • • • •

Gentle teeth Cleaning tooth extractions Ceramic Crowns & bridges tooth Colored Fillings implants X-rays

Theatre Fesı val. Support for the development of ‘Next To Normal’ was provided by the Jonathan Larson Foundaı on.

‘Next To Normal’ was subsequently produced by Arena Stage in November, 2008. Developed at Village Theatre, Issaquah, WA (Robb Hunt, Executive Producer; Steve Tomkins, Artistic Director). An earlier version was presented in the 2005 New York Musical Theatre Festival. Support for the development of ‘Next To Normal’ was provided by the Jonathan Larson Foundation.

1001 W. 7th St., LR, AR 72201 On the corner of 7th and Chester, across from Vino’s. Support for TWT is provided, in part, by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the DAH, and the NEA.

Contact luis@arktimes.com 501-492-3974

thursdays at 301 S Grand ave, Stuttgart Call for an appointment 7301 baseline rd · little rock · (501) 565-3009 · (501) 562-1665 find us on facebook · monday–Saturday faith Dental Clinic · www.faithdentalclinic.com www.arktimes.com

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39


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ARKANSAS TIMES


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