Inweekly sept 10 2015 issue

CAROLL SPINNEY TALKS ABOUT ART, LIFE AND BIG BIRD Independent News | September 10, 2015 | Volume 16 | Number 37 | inweekly.net

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winners & losers

Gov. Rick Scott

winners PENSACOLA FIRE DEPARTMENT More than 90 members of the Pensacola Fire Department and Professional Fire Fighters Association Local #707 were out across the city with boots in hand for this year's Fill the Boot drive and raised a record breaking total of $12,667 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. For more than six decades, fire fighters have fueled MDA's mission to find treatments and cures for life-threatening muscle diseases.

RETIREMENT IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER. AND IT’S REALLY HARD TO SEE AROUND CORNERS. Here’s the curious thing about change, we’ll evolve your plan along retirement. Given its enormous with them. So when it’s time to turn size, it has the surprising ability to the corner toward retirement, there sneak up on people. One aren’t too many surprises. minute, it’s 25 years down It’s time to find out what a the road. The next, you’ve Raymond James financial reached the corner of advisor can do for you.

“Now what?” and “Where LIFE WELL PLANNED. to?” and you’re left facing complexities and Seeing what lies ahead questions you’ve never is a matter of preparation. faced before. We can And in some cases, magnification. help you find answers.

Our rigorously disciplined, longterm approach to individualized financial planning means we’ll work to build a sustainable income plan, so you can do all the next things you want to do. And should your needs

UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA The Military Order of the Purple Heart has recognized the University of West Florida as a “Purple Heart University” at the UWF Military and Veterans Resource Center.

The Purple Heart University designation is given to universities for outstanding service to military service members, veterans, dependents and their survivors.

UWF is the second university in Florida to earn the honor after Florida A&M earned the designation in 2014.

ROGER SCOTT TENNIS CENTER The U.S. Tennis Association’s Florida Executive Committee has selected Roger Scott Tennis Center to receive the 2015 Member Organization of the Year Award. With 18 hard courts and 10 clay courts, all lighted, Roger Scott Tennis Center is Pensacola’s premier tennis facility and one of the most acclaimed facilities in the region. The center was previously named National Municipal Facility of the Year by Tennis Industry Magazine in 2012.

losers RICK SCOTT Gov. Rick Scott's office scrubbed a press release written by his regulators to make the operations at Planned Parenthood clinics look worse than they actually were. Agency for Health Care Administration found no evidence of the mishandling of fetal remains at any of the 16 clinics it investigated. However, the governor’s office reported it would refer doctors who worked at those clinics to the state Board of Medicine for possible disciplinary action.

MAYOR’S OFFICE Since late July, Mayor Ashton Hayward’s senior leaders have known that county officials had problems with the city’s transportation expenditures and that a million dollars of gas tax revenues was at risk. Yet, they did nothing until two days before the Escambia County Commission discussed the issue. Maybe it is just another perception problem.

YOUTH SERVICES INTERNATIONAL Palm Beach County Mayor Shelley Vana and state lawmakers want the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) to end all contracts with Youth Services International (YSI), whose Palm Beach County juvenile detention facility is under investigation for sexual abuse and a lack of medical care.

Last year, DJJ canceled YSI's contract to run the Santa Rosa Substance Abuse Treatment Center for its staff’s excessive or unnecessary use of force or the failure to report safety and security issues.

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outtakes

by Rick Outzen

NO SANCTUARY IN PENSACOLA A sanctuary is a sacred place, a safe haven from the troubles of the world.

For the faithful, a church sanctuary is the house of God. For 13 centuries, churches in England, by law, were sacred places where fugitives could seek refuge, immune from arrests.

The fugitive had to come unarmed and had not committed any sacrilege. Anyone laying hands on a fugitive in a cathedral or abbey was subject to a fine.

King James I abolished churches as sanctuaries in 1623, but the concept never went away, especially among Christians.

In “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” Quasimodo, the half-blind hunchback, saves Esmeralda from the gallows by swinging down on a bell rope of the cathedral and carrying her off to the church under the law of sanctuary, protecting her from arrest. The scene was even in the Disney version.

This weekend, we learned that the concept of a church being a sanctuary is not sacred to the Pensacola Police Department. An officer entered Allen Chapel AME Church to take custody of a child during the Sunday service.

The video of the confrontation has gone viral. It shows a female officer, hand on her holstered gun, trying to coax a frightened child out of a pew while the pas-

tor, who is the child’s grandfather, repeatedly asks the officer to wait outside.

Police Chief David Alexander said that the officer properly did her job. The child’s father had gone to the police station and showed court documentation ordering the return of the child to his custody.

The officer went to the church and asked several adults to retrieve the child during the service. When they failed to do so, she interrupted the service to get the child.

The chief is right. The officer had the law on her side. The officer had better things to do, and the service was a long way. Grab the kid and go.

However, was the child in danger? Did the sight of an officer, hand on her gun, comfort or frighten the child? What was the harm of waiting until the service was completed?

Will police officers interrupt other Sunday services in the future?

How sacred are churches in the eyes of Pensacola’s city government?

On the city’s “Transparency” page, Mayor Ashton Hayward has said that he is willing to fight for the cross on display at Bayview Park.

“We want to respect all religions without showing preference to any,” he said.

Will the mayor ask his officers to show the same respect inside churches in his city? {in} rick@inweekly.net

This weekend, we learned that the concept of a church being a sanctuary is not sacred to the Pensacola Police Department.

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WHO GETS WHAT AT THE PUMP

Mayor Ashton Hayward

By Jeremy Morrison The city of Pensacola has dodged a milliondollar punch to the gut. For now, anyway.

Officials in Escambia County recently extended for 10 years the Local Option Gas Tax, which is six cents per gallon at the pumps. The distribution of that tax to municipalities within the county, by state statute, is either dictated by an inter-local agreement or based on the transportation expenditures made within each municipality receiving funds.

In the past, the county has divided the tax proceeds based on an agreement with the city. The Board of County Commissioners is now considering changing this to a split based on the city’s transportation spending. New allocation could mean a painful cut, more than a million dollars a year—painful enough for a trio of city officials to show up at a recent meeting of the Escambia Board of County Commissioners to plead their case.

Mayor Ashton Hayward, City Administrator Eric Olson and Chief Financial Officer Dick Barker each took their turn requesting that commissioners leave the funding allocation as it stands currently.

“For us to be reduced,” Barker said, “would just be detrimental.”

“What you will see,” Olson specified, “is a gradual deterioration of roads throughout the city.”

The city administrator said the city currently funds the repaving of 140 blocks each year with the money from the gas tax.

If cut by as much as the county staff has suggested, he warned that number would plummet to 15 blocks.

“If we can only repave that amount on an annual basis,” Olson said, “we are no longer able to stay ahead of the maintenance curve.”

Currently, the city of Pensacola receives a little more than $1.5 million a year, or 18.22 percent of the overall gas tax collected. The town of Century, for some comparison, receives about one percent of the tax. Escambia County gets the rest.

The county is considering using a state-recommended formula, based on an entity’s transportation expenditures, which will drop the city’s share to 5.45 percent, or $463,600, according to the county’s calculations using the city’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports for the past five years.

“I’m against it,” Barker said of using the formula, complaining that the formula did not take into account the city’s full transportation expenditures.

Barker said that he thought the county might have headed back to a long-ago higher percentage for the city in light of the fact that the city agreed to hand over its share of a separate gas tax aimed at funding mass transit to Escambia County.

“We’ve got to delve inside the numbers. It’s not as plain as what the formula says.” Grover Robinson

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“Quite frankly, I would have thought we would have gone back to the 24 percent, having resolved these mass transit issues,” Barker said.

While a return to that higher percentage is unlikely, the commissioners had little appetite to inflict a million-dollar hit on the city.

“I certainly don’t want to cut the city by a million dollars,” said Escambia County Commissioner Wilson Robertson. “That doesn’t seem fair.”

Commissioner Grover Robinson agreed, arguing that the cut would mean city residents seeing the service of their roadways—the paving, the maintenance—fall off.

“If you lived on these roads, you would feel the same way,” Robinson said.

“I go on, a lot of times, a gut feeling,” Robertson said. “Sometimes you throw formulas out the window, and you do what you think is right.”

On the other side of the debate, Commission Chairman Steven Barry leaned toward reducing the city’s share.

“There’s no way I can justify negotiating a number larger than the formula is going to say,” Barry said.

Commissioner Doug Underhill said that he was “fairly strongly opposed” to operating under an inter-local agreement and didn’t think the city should receive funding at the expense of other areas of the county.

“I understand,” Underhill conceded, “this is a tough cut, and it may be a little bit too deep of a cut at one time.”

Commissioner Lumon May appeared sympathetic to the city, but would not commit on the issue until he received further information about what specific transportationrelated work was planned for portions of his district that fall within the city limits. The

commissioner contended that his district, which includes predominately black and lowincome areas, was routinely neglected.

“What streets and what beautification is going to happen,” May said. “That’s real simple to me.”

While the commission has until July 2016 to decide exactly how it will divvy up the gas tax money, during which time the allocation remains the same, they appeared to favor a formula-based breakdown, but one that is much less severe for the city.

Underhill suggested the county look at the city’s transportation expenditures “with a kinder eye.” Robinson said the “number crunchers should be able to come up with something that’s more appropriate.”

“We’ve got to delve inside the numbers,” Robinson said. “It’s not as plain as what the formula says.”

At the crux of this conversation is how the city’s transportation expenditures are calculated. The city’s position is that it has not received full credit for its expenditures, including transferring its portion of the annual penny added to the gas tax for mass transit.

Of course, the city officials failed to mention it was contributing $900,000 annually to the Escambia County Transit Authority when the six-cent tax passed 10 years ago.

In the end, commissioners asked Assistant County Administrator Amy Lovoy and Barker to “go back to the drawing board.”

They asked the pair to take another look at the city’s expenditures and explore how the state formula might be softened.

Lovoy had noted earlier that the two number crunchers would inevitably have differing perspectives for the foreseeable future.

“If you are asking Dick and me to agree on the amount of transportation expenditures each spends,” Lovoy said, “that dispute will end when one or the other of us passes away, because we will argue each other to a standstill over transportation expenditures.”{in}

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September 10, 2015

7

BLUE MOON UPDATE

Sheriff David Morgan

By Rick Outzen Last month, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan held a press conference regarding a triple homicide in the Pine Forest area.

An elderly woman and her two adult sons were killed ritualistically, according to the sheriff.

He said that his investigators may have been tied to a blue moon that occurred a few days after the killing. When an additional full moon appears during a month, it is often referred to as a "blue moon."

Escambia County Sheriff deputies discovered the victims—49-year old Richard Thomas Smith, 77-year old Voncile Smith and 47-year old John William Smith—in their home on Deerfield Drive while doing a wel-

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fare check. All three victims were killed by multiple blows from a claw hammer.

Their throats were slit, and their bodies were positioned in a ritualistic manner.

“All three victims were killed by a blunt force trauma,” said the sheriff. “There was no forced entry into the residence.”

He said that several search warrants had been executed, and the sheriff’s office had a person of interest. The sheriff explained that the five-day delay from the discovery of the victims to the press conference happened because Richard Thomas Smith was an employee of the Department of Homeland Security.

“Out of respect for our fellow governmental agencies, we immediately made contact with individuals at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola and those individuals that work on Department Homeland Security issues,” said Sheriff Morgan. The federal government had determined that the deaths were not tied to Smith’s work at DHS. The sheriff’s office had ruled out robbery as a motive. He said, “There was a sizable amount of cash found in the house inside a safe that was not tampered with, so we believe that we can safely rule out robbery as the primary motive.”

He added, “An element of this case

that, sometimes I wonder if only in Escambia County, initial research has led us to believe that there is a potential that it was a ritualistic killing. The method of the murder, blunt force traumas, slit throats, positions of bodies and then our person of interest has some ties to faith or religion that is indicative of that.”

Later when pressed by reporters about the religious aspect of the crime, the sheriff said evidence indicated it might be tied to a form of witchcraft, which created a buzz in the national media that has since died down.

Last week Sheriff Morgan appeared on News Talk 1370 WCOA’s “Pensacola Speaks” to give an update on the investigation, which has been at a standstill while investigators wait for the FDLE lab to return test results. The sheriff said the volume of evidence found at the crime scene has complicated the investigation.

He said it took almost five days to clear that crime scene, and over 500 pieces of evidence were gathered.

“While this is going on, our investigators have done all the interviews that they could do,” he said. “The medical examiner’s office has made their determinations as to the cause of death, the time of death, and those sorts of things. And right now, we are waiting for all of the forensic side to come back.”

The investigators and crime scene technicians have worked to reconstuct where the victims were attacked and succumbed to attacks.

He called the past few weeks a “transition period” after the initial flurry of activity.

“In many cases, we make an arrest very early on because we can find the suspect, we can get enough witnesses and enough corroborating evidence on the physical side to affect an arrest,” Morgan said. “Well, in this case, that has not happened because of the complexity and the amount of evidence that we have."

The sheriff said his investigators have found few witnesses. During the August press conference, he said the Smith family lived a cloistered life and had little contact with their neighbors, based on interviews with neighbors and family members.

“Their neighbors had never been past the front door,” Morgan said on “Pensacola Speaks.” “And those that had been past the front door were never allowed past the kitchen in this house. They had never gone down a hallway and sat in the family room, and communicated or interacted—which most of us do every day with our neighbors.

And we have family and friends over to our homes.”

When it came to the forensic examination of the evidence, he explained that the sheriff’s office has limited capability on the scientific side.

The sheriff said, “Our technicians are primarily gatherers of evidence. In working the crime scene, our folks have in-field tests where they can tell whether the blood found is human and not animal blood or vegetable dye. In this case, we collected a tremendous amount of blood around the crime scene that we now have sent to the lab for DNA analysis.”

Sheriff Morgan said that his staff has been in regular contact with the state lab.

“We are on the phone every couple of days with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, finding out where is our DNA,” he said. “We are also helping them prioritize the DNA, what are things we think should be at the top of the list, in conjunction with the State Attorney's Office, to get back."

Until the FDLE lab completes its analysis, the Blue Moon investigation is in a holding position.{in}

"We are on the phone every couple of days with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, finding out where is our DNA.” David Morgan

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DIFFERENCE MAKERS UNITED WAY RECOGNIZES COMMUNITY PARTNERS AT ANNUAL MEETING On August 27, more than 250 United Way supporters and partners joined United Way of Escambia County at First Baptist Church of Pensacola to celebrate the year’s accomplishments and the many community partners who helped improve lives in our area. The 2014-15 Annual Meeting featured a keynote address from Superintendent Malcolm Thomas. Thomas shared educational successes and challenges in our community as well as what our community would look like if there were no United Way. United Way of Escambia County thanked donors, partners and sponsors for raising more than $3.14M. These funds were then leveraged to create an estimated $9.18M impact. Additionally, non-profit partners were able to secure over $2.39M in matching dollars. The total impact on our community will be over $11.57M.

Through a focus on improved education, health and financial stability, United Way’s collaboration with passionate partners and dedicated volunteers effectively leveraged funds to create better opportunities for all. To improve Readiness for Success in education, Cram the Van engaged 166 volunteers who helped supply 7,524 local children with over $58,000 worth of school supplies. Two partner agencies worked to increase Healthy Behaviors and Strengthened Independence by improving nutrition for 6,504 individuals. In order to address the Lack of SelfSufficiency regarding individuals’ financial stability, the MyFreeTaxes.com and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs resulted in a $5.1 million impact on the community.

Outgoing Chair, Gary Sammons, and 2015-17 Board Chair, David Peaden, were honored to recognize the stellar contributions of the following individuals and organizations:

RAYELL IRISH, COLOR A BRIGHTER WORLD: Mattie Broxton, The Salvation Army UNITED WAY PARTNER AGENCY OF THE YEAR: Legal Services of North Florida DISTINGUISHED BUSINESS PARTNER OF THE YEAR: Pensacola State College UNITED WAY SERVICE AWARD: Cedric Durre, Saltmarsh, Cleaveland & Gund DISTINGUISHED COMMUNITY SERVICE: Ed Carson, Carson Construction and Carson, Lovell, Inc.

VOLUNTEER GROUP OF THE YEAR: AMI Kids-Pensacola Escambia Boys Base

VITA VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR: Ed Blanc

DAY OF CARING VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR: Matthew Teston

United Way leadership shared their gratitude for the 2,676 community volunteers who donated over 30,000 hours of service to make this work possible. In total, their time and talent was a $703,035 gift to the community.

Sponsored by Quint and Rishy Studer September 10, 2015

9

MAKE OR BREAK GAMBLE Springfest is

asking Pensacola music fans to step up, take a leap of faith, and buy tickets to the revival of the once popular music event.

The acts haven’t been booked, and the concert dates have only been tentatively set for May 13 and 14, 2016, but organizers want to sell 3,000 tickets in September. The ticket sales will determine if Pensacola will support Springfest.

“We have put together a passionate and experienced team to complete the necessary due diligence to research if the area support for a music festival similar to Springfest is doable,” said Quint Studer, who has loaned the organizers funds to get the project off the ground.

“This current step is the make-or-break one.

We hope those that have wanted to see such a festival will now turn their verbal and written support to the purchase of tickets.”

Organizers have said Springfest 2016 will “encapsulate the spirit of downtown Pensacola's rebirth and celebrate our city's eclectic culture.” The main stages will be set in the original downtown location as the former Springfest, Spring Street near Pensacola City Hall. The plan calls for two days, two stages plus a variety

of downtown venues working together to feature a mix of talent and the brightest music artists of today, along with great local talent.

Events will include a launch party in the fall, special promotions, meet and greets, additional concerts and late night shows all throughout the festival weekend.

“We are turning the tables on traditional festival planning and looking to the community to support the event by purchasing tickets first. Even before we get sponsors,” said festival director Michelle Sarra.

Tickets went on sale Sept. 1 at 10 a.m. All tickets are two-day passes.

These tickets prices are only available until Sept. 30. To purchase tickets, visit pensacolaspringfest.com.

NUCLEAR SPARKS On Aug. 31, Democratic

Congressman Patrick Murphy came out in favor of President Obama’s Iran nuclear deal, calling it "the toughest decision of my time in Congress."

Murphy, who is running for the U.S. Senate in 2016, said, "I believe deeply in the unbreakable bond between the United States and Israel. This debate has proven to me that America and Israel are fortunate to have so many passionate, diverse voices who all want the same things: a nuclear-free Iran, a secure Israel, and peace in our time. In the interest of all three, I will be supporting this deal and voting against a Resolution of Disapproval in September."

It's the phrase "peace in our time" that caught fire among Republicans. Many tied the

"The United States of America is the greatest country in the history of the world, and we need to start acting like it again.” Patrick Murphy

General Admission tickets—$55 (outdoor stages) VIP—$129 (outdoor stages, VIP area, launch party invite and other events) Super VIP—$499 (Very limited availability) (Includes VIP access, plus entry to all venue shows)

Murphy quote to a similar one made by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain after he signed the Munich Agreement with Hitler.

Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who is running in the GOP primary for the same Senate seat, came on News Talk 1370 WCOA’s “Pensacola Speaks” to criticize Murphy.

“The United States of America is the greatest country in the history of the world, and we need to start acting like it again,” he said. “For the last six years, we've been acting like we have something to be apologizing for and extending a hand of friendship to our historical enemies. I think we need a little bit more Reagan here. We trust, but we verify and exercise foreign policy through strength, not weakness.”

The Lt. Governor said he believes the nuclear deal puts Iran on “the path to have a nuclear weapon in ten years.”

He said, “And at worst, if they continue to act as they have for the last 30-plus years, they could break out with a nuclear weapon sooner than that. I just don't understand how and why Washington, D. C. does what it does.” {in}

THANK YOU!

Thanks to the vision, the hard work, and the investment by the business community, our downtown is thriving. Our local legal community made a decision to tackle a project to further beautify our downtown by adopting almost thirty flower beds.

Through the financial contributions from fifteen law firms, the extremely cool fence designed by Fluid Metal Works, and the flowers and grasses selected by Executive Landscaping our downtown looks even better. Fluid Metal Works and Executive Landscaping donated their creative talents and product for cost and the following law firms contributed $75,000 towards the project:

Arthur Shimek Autumn Beck Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz Beggs & Lane Clark, Partington, Hart, Larry, Bond & Stackhouse David E. Hightower, PLLC David Lee Sellers 010 1

Law Office of J.J. Talbott Levin, Papantonio, Thomas, Mitchell, Rafferty & Proctor, PA Michles & Booth, PA Moore, Hill & Westmoreland, PA Stevenson Klotz Ward & Barnes, PA Zarzaur Law inweekly.net

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CAROLL SPINNEY TALKS ABOUT ART, LIFE AND BIG BIRD

By Jennifer Leigh For the past 45 years, Caroll Spinney has taught children important life lessons as one of the most recognizable characters on TV. But outside of the 8-foot, bright yellow bird suit, you may not know that 81-yearold Spinney is Big Bird, one of the most beloved residents on Sesame Street.

That has likely changed since the documentary "I am Big Bird: the Caroll Spinney Story" was released in May, which has been garnering positive reviews, both from puppets and people "I am a very fortunate fellow," he said from his home in Woodstock, Connecticut.

Fuzzy beginnings

When Spinney was 5-years-old, growing up in Waltham, Massachusetts, he saw his first puppet show about little kittens who lost their mittens and thought to himself, "I want to do that when I grow up."

"I thought it was a great way to tell a story," he recalled. "I found a monkey puppet at a rummage sale for a nickel. I put on September 10, 2015

shows for 2 cents. It was 1942, and a penny could buy four pieces of candy back then."

Spinney's mother encouraged his art, helping build sets and costumes for the puppets. His father, on the other hand, didn't think the arts were a profitable prospect. As a teenager, he started working birthday parties, putting on 15-minute shows and sending kids home with original drawings he would create on the spot.

"I would draw a portrait of them incorporating some features of the child with the animal of their choice," he said. "I've had some of those children come up to me as adults to say they still have their drawing."

Spinney's artistic talents served him well in the Air Force. He enlisted during the Korean War and became a draftsman.

While stationed in Germany, he created a comic strip, "Harvey", about military life.

The Air Force also brought him to Las Vegas, which he said was then a "tiny bump in the desert." There he created a TV puppet show for kids called "Rascal Rabbit."

The show, while short-lived, gave Spinney a taste for what he wanted to do. After the military, he finished art school at the Art Institute of Boston and played various roles

on the local children's shows "The Judy and Goggle Show" and the Boston broadcast of "Bozo's Big Top." Spinney wasn't making big paychecks on these shows, but he was having too much fun to care.

"I would've done it for free," he said.

"The shows gave me courage."

Meeting Jim Henson

Spinney first met Jim Henson at a small puppet festival in the early 1960s. Spinney performed with a different bird, an early character named "Goggle," who was a wise-guy.

Impressed, Henson asked Spinney to "come to New York and talk about the Muppets." But Spinney said he thought it was just an offer to hang out. At the time, Spinney was working on "Bozo's Big Top," making $28 a week playing Mr. Lion and couldn't afford a leisure trip.

It wasn't until 1969 that Spinney met Henson again when he performed at the Puppeteers of America. Henson

again asked for Spinney "to talk about the Muppets," he said. This time they did, and Spinney joined the inaugural cast of "Sesame Street" playing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch (another famous Muppet).

Henson was, of course, an influence of Spinney's.

"He was doing stuff nobody else was doing," he said.

During his 21 years working with Henson, Spinney said one of the biggest lessons he learned from the legendary puppeteer was to be kind.

"He was a very patient man," Spinney recalled. "The shows would drag once in a while. Once we had a famous actress on the show do her lines 56 times because she couldn't get it right."

It was 25 years ago this past May that Spinney put on the feathered suit, adding a tuxedo bib and green bow tie, for Henson's funeral at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. He was asked to sing "It's Not Easy Being Green." In YouTube clips, you can hear Spinney choke back tears

“I would've done it for free.

The shows gave me courage.�

13

as he makes it through the song.

"He was such a good fellow and a good friend," he said.

The Big time

Big Bird is arguably the quintessential symbol of "Sesame Street." And for 45 years and counting, Spinney has been the heart behind the loveable bird who has taught children to cope with difficult situations and be kind to one another.

Although Big Bird is a creation of Jim Henson, it was Spinney who gave the character heart. Even Henson admitted it. Like Spinney, Big Bird is an avid artist. You can see him in some skits wearing a beret and scarf holding a palette. Spinney would even create the drawings you see on Big Bird's easel.

"They were rather advanced drawings for a 6-year-old bird," Spinney said with a laugh.

Playing an 8-foot bird is physically demanding, which is illustrated in "I Am Big Bird." Yet inside the suit, Spinney has glided on roller skates and ridden a unicycle, all while controlling the arms and mouth of Big Bird. Spinney did this not just for TV shows, but for countless appearances and fulllength feature films.

Playing Oscar the Grouch, a Muppet who is the polar opposite of Big Bird and inspired by a New York City cabbie, is very satisfying, Spinney said. Having to juggle the two roles is just one of the reasons why he is not just a puppeteer, but an actor.

"It's very unusual to play the same character for so long," he said. "I think it's kind of neat that parents and grandparents are watching the show with kids, and yet it's the same guy in the suit."

But he's never tired of playing the same roles season after season.

"Not at all...it's so much fun," he said.

Impact of Sesame Street

From its inception, "Sesame Street" has sought to educate children while entertaining them. According to Sesameworkshop.org, thousands of studies show that

preschoolers who watch the show do significantly better cognitively than those that don't.

"It's really had a positive effect on education," Spinney said.

Over the years, the show has also become a pop culture icon. Celebrities are featured regularly on the show. Spinney recalls Michael Bublé being particularly star struck

by Oscar the Grouch and counts Waylon Jennings a friend after filming the full-length feature film,

"Follow that Bird."

While fuzzy red Elmo became a sensation among a new generation of "Sesame Street" viewers, Big Bird sort of took a back seat. That was until 2012 during the presidential debate when Mitt Romney said he would cut what he considered non-essential items in the budget including funding to PBS. "I'm gonna stop the subsidy to PBS. I'm gonna stop other things," Romney said. "I like PBS, I love Big Bird..."

That 30-second clip reminded everyone how loved Big Bird is. He was suddenly appearing on late night shows and "Saturday Night Live" poking fun at getting fired by the former governor.

"I was actually flattered," Spinney said of the Romney's comments. "It showed that Big Bird is still the symbol of “Sesame Street.” He actually did us a favor, because it proved that people still very much love the show."

"Sesame Street" re-entered the headlines in August when it was announced that the next five seasons of the show would be shown exclusively on HBO. After nine months, shows will be available for free on PBS. This has been seen as a win-win for both parties, since HBO has appealing children's programming, and "Sesame Street" wouldn't need to evict any Muppets.

Spinney said he sees the deal as a "good shot in the arm."

"The show has been struggling; we don't get the money we used to," he said.

"Now, with HBO, there's a bigger budget

to do more elaborate things, and we get 35 episodes instead of 26."

I Am Big Bird

In 2012, three filmmakers approached Spinney about doing a documentary on his life and working on "Sesame Street." They started a Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $120,000 to fund the project.

Combing through archive footage of "Sesame Street", as well as home videos shot by Spinney and his wife, Debra, the movie provides a closer look at a man who's been hidden by Muppets for nearly five decades.

"Since the documentary, I've been recognized a few times at the airport...but that's never really bothered me," Spinney said. "I didn't need to be known."

The documentary not only catalogs his success, but follows the love story of Spinney and his second wife, Debra, whom he met in 1979 on the set of "Sesame Street."

"It's kind of a love story," Spinney said.

"That's the best thing that's ever happened."

In the film, you also meet Spinney's understudy, Matt Vogel, who will one day take charge of Big Bird. Vogel, who has worked on "Sesame Street" since 1996, told cameras that he happily gets to do everything Spinney would rather sit out.

Spinney still provides the recognizable high-pitched voice for Big Bird and said he would like to hit the 50-year mark on the show. At 81, he jokes that he's the "country's oldest child star."

"I used to have ideas of retirement, but now I just want to continue doing it until I reach 50 years," he said. "And do a little more than that if I can."

Locals will get a chance to get to know Spinney when he comes to speak at WSRE as part of the Public Square Speaker Series. {in}

WSRE PUBLIC SQUARE SPEAKERS SERIES: CAROLL SPINNEY WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15 WHERE: WSRE Jean & Paul Amos Performance Studio, 1000 College Blvd.

COST: Free DETAILS: wsre.org

Spinney's Sesame Street Take a YouTube tour of these Muppet highlights.

BIG BIRD LEARNS ABOUT DEATH When Will Lee, who played Mr. Hooper, died in December 1982, "Sesame Street" decided not to shy away from teaching children an important life lesson on the show. Instead of bringing in a new actor, characters on the show explained to Big Bird in plain and gentle words that death is forever, but so are memories.

"I LOVE TRASH" The best-known dumpster diver, Oscar the Grouch, regularly sings his praises for discarded items in this classic tune that's made its way on the show a handful of times. Another fun tune from Oscar is "I Hate Christmas."

BIG BIRD SINGS "BEING GREEN" It takes a cold heart not to get choked up at Spinney putting on the Big Bird suit for Jim Henson's memorial service in May of 1990. "Dressed" in a tuxedo bib and green bow tie, Spinney sang one of the signature songs for Kermit the Frog towards the end of the program.

BIG BIRD IN CHINA After visiting China on a press tour with Bob Hope, Spinney took the idea one step further with the TV-movie "Big Bird in China", taking the audience on a tour of Chinese landmarks in search of a beautiful phoenix. The successful production was followed up with "Big Bird in Japan."

FOLLOW THAT BIRD The first full-length feature to come out of "Sesame Street," "Follow that Bird" is a comedy musical following Big Bird as he runs away from home. The 1985 movie has cameo appearances from Chevy Chase, John Candy and Waylon Jennings, to name a few.

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Arts & Entertainment art, film, music, stage, books and other signs of civilization...

Scrabble Battles

by Jennifer Leigh

Although students leave the program When Magera took her when they reach a level to get a GED, role at Learn to Read three there's never really a clear answer of when and a half years ago, she the meetings end since everyone learns at said she was surprised to a different pace. learn that 34,000 adults in "In some cases in can be years," Magera Escambia and Santa Rosa said. "They have commitments like work and Counties are illiterate, or family. Some leave and come back." functionally illiterate.

"One in five adults is illiterate," she said. "Next time you're standing in line at a fast food place, look at the people; the four people in front of you that have to order off the picture menu."

Illiteracy is not The students who come to Learn to just something that afRead each have their own personal goals that fects one adult, but can take brought them to seek help. a toll on the community.

"Some have a specific goal, like wanting to "It's affecting you and pass a driver's license test," Magera said. "We me," Magera said. "Seventyonce had someone come in that just wanted five percent of people on to be able to read the Bible. Most want to pass welfare are low-level readthe GED." ers...60 percent of prison The best part about the program is seeing inmates are low-level readthe students meet their goals. ers. Those who are illiterate "I think it was about five years ago that feel isolated and just give up one student came to us to get her GED. She and just go into survival mode." wanted to be a nurse," Magera said. "She Organizations like Learn to Read refuse to would come and drop in and drop out before believe that surviving is thriving. If someone she finally passed. She's probably started wants to learn, there's going to be a volunteer her first nursing class. She's going to make an helping them along the way. Magera said about excellent nurse."

60 to 70 adult students are in the program Magera said some of those students at any given time, not including the nearly 10 become the teacher and come back to Learn students that show up regularly at the walk-in to Read as a tutor. learning lab.

"That's always a good success story," she The members are all at different levels with said. {in} different goals and learning skills, which is why volunteers are so crucial to provide that oneon-one interaction.

"We're always in need of volunteer tutors," Magera said. "There's no experience necessary. We can train anybody in about four hours. You just WHEN: 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17 have to know how to read and have WHERE: Sanders Beach Community Center, compassion."

913 S. I St. Students and tutors meet twice a COST: $40 per person or $275 per team (up to week at their convenience. You might eight players); $30 to "gaze and graze" see them going over workbooks in DETAILS: learntoreadnwf.org libraries and churches; local busi-

“We actually encourage cheating.

Someone with deep pockets can buy a win.” Manette Magera

Scrabble Soirée 2014 / Courtesy Photo Maybe a game of Scrabble doesn't sound like the most exciting way to spend a Thursday night, unless you're going to the 4th Annual Scrabble Soirée.

The signature event behind Learn to Read of Northwest Florida isn't just tables of Scrabble boards, but a night of good fun where cheating is encouraged, nearly everyone gets a trophy and, of course, it all goes to a good cause.

"The event is crucial," said Manette Magera, executive director of Learn to Read of Northwest Florida. "It basically provides about 50 percent—$15,000—of our operating budget. It keeps the doors open."

For anyone who hasn't been to Scrabble Soirée, or even played Scrabble, don't worry about rules because there are none.

"It's team scrabble," Magera said. "We start with a starter board, and each team tries to have the biggest board. While they're playing, we have judges go around, and they're actually wearing judge's robes, carrying dictionaries."

The judges, Magera explains, can literally be bought when a questionable word September 10, 2015

comes on the board. Just lay some money down and if it fits, it scores.

"We actually encourage cheating," she said. "Someone with deep pockets can buy a win."

Regular teams secure their tables months in advance, looking forward to taking home bragging rights. Some come in costumes or company t-shirts. First and second place winners take home trophies, as well as the "biggest cheater."

"It's such a nice atmosphere," she said.

"One year we had over 200 people doing the conga line."

Even non-Scrabble players are invited to come with a "gaze and graze" ticket where they can cheer on teams and enjoy the food from Nancy's Haute Affairs, not to mention raffle prizes and a silent auction.

Beyond the soiree, Learn to Read is doing more than playing board games. For almost 30 years, the non-profit has provided free oneon-one tutoring to adults in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties in basic reading and writing, English for speakers of other languages and GED preparation.

SCRABBLE SOIRÉE

nesses have even lent office space for sessions.

15

a&e

by Emily Richey

Same Festival, New Faces “It’s light and crisp like an American adjunct lager, but has a nice floral, hoppy finish from the Centennial hops.”

BLUE PANTS BREWERY

September is here, which means it’s time for the annual Emerald Coast Beer Festival.

This year’s festival will be the largest one yet, with 66 vendors. On top of that, the festival is celebrating 20 years.

There will be many familiar faces on the brewing list, including Abita, Angry Orchard, Dogfish Head, Goose Island, Grayton Beer, McGuires, Pensacola Bay, Sierra Nevada, Sweetwater. Looking to try something new?

Make sure you check out the following three new additions to the roster. And don’t worry if the festival is your first foray into craft beer, we included a special category just for newbies.

REDNECK RIVIERA BREWING PROJECT

WHO: Embrace #drinklocal and make your way over to Redneck Riviera’s Brewing Project. The brewers, Brock and Tim, are

Pensacola locals, and their operation is based out of Goat Lips Chew & Brewhouse. Before launching Redneck Riviera Brewing Project, both Tim and Brock spent some time apprenticing; Tim at Sierra Nevada’s acclaimed Beer Camp and Brock with local nano-brewers in Manhattan and Brooklyn. So far they have only been serving their brews at Goat Lips, so needless to say they are pumped to be included in this year’s Emerald Coast Beer Fest.

“We are really excited to get some reactions from the downtown crowd. We’re just as excited to try everyone else’s beers...

There’s so much quality and creativity coming out of Gulf Coast breweries; it’s really an honor to pour alongside them.” said Brock.

WHAT TO TRY: The Sweet Potato Ale “We brewed a special batch of it just for the festival, using 84 pounds of sweet potatoes, which is double the amount in our usual recipe.”

FOR THE NEWBS: Shovel Bum Cream Ale

WHO: Based out of Madison, Ala., founders Michael and Allison Spratley named their brewery after their college nicknames, Pants and Blue. An avid home brewer, Michael saw an opportunity to start a commercial brewing operation in 2010 as the Alabama alcohol laws started changing to make the state more brewer-friendly.

Currently, they distribute to North and South Mississippi, with hopes to expand soon throughout the whole state.

WHAT TO TRY: “Hop Bursted” IPA Think IPA plus—this brew is a mix of over 17 different hop varieties, with a huge burst of aroma from distilled oils.

FOR THE NEWBS: The American Amber According to Blue Pants employee Chris Christian, it is “nice and malty with the caramel flavor from the malt shining through, with very low bitterness.”

start a journey that would one day end up leading to commercial brewing, consulting for new breweries, and eventually our own local brewery in Dothan.”

If all goes as planned, Folklore will begin Mead, or honey wine, operations in 2016 and hopefully build a new brewing facility dedicated to the ancient drink. For Pate, a self-professed “bee-loving hippie,” mead combines a love and respect for ancient brewing practice, as well as a passion for bees.

WHAT TO TRY: Golden Hawk “Swift and Deadly” Hefe-Weizen It’s brewed by Army volunteers stationed at Fort Rucker, Ala. Disabled American Veterans receive 10 percent of gross sales.

FOR THE NEWBS: Wiregrass Wheat and/or Grateful Red “We found that between those two beers we could capture most craft beer drinkers, even if they prefer hoppy or dark beers. Most people will like either or both of those beers. Anyone else that does not fit into those two categories are most likely space invaders or light invaders or light beer drinkers and should be monitored closely.” {in}

FOLKLORE BREWING & MEADERY

WHO: Dothan, Ala.’s Folklore Brewing & Meadery is the first “packaging” brewery in its hometown since prohibition.

While head brewer Jeremy Pate served beer at Emerald Coast in 2010 for the concept of Folklore, this year is the first year the brewery will be represented in full and working capacity. Although Folklore is relatively young, Jeremy has been in the beer biz much longer.

“I was a home brewer in a time that home brewing was not recognized as exactly ‘legal’ in Alabama.

I passed by an old homebrew shop one day and decided to stop in and

EMERALD COAST BEER FESTIVAL BEER PAIRING DINNER WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10 WHERE: Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. COST: $65 DETAILS: emeraldcoastbeerfest.com

EMERALD COAST BEER FESTIVAL

WHEN: 5:30-8:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11 WHERE: Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. COST: $30-$60 DETAILS: emeraldcoastbeerfest.com

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calendar THURSDAY 9.10

WINE TASTING AT AWM 5 p.m. Try something

new every week at Aragon Wine Market’s regular wine tasting, only a few blocks from downtown. Aragon Wine Market, 27 S. 9th Ave. aragonwinemarket.com BALLROOM DANCING 6:30 p.m. Learn how to waltz, hustle, and tango at this weekly class, which is followed by a social dance at 8:45 p.m.

DanceCraft, 8618 Pensacola Blvd. $10. dancecraftfl.com EMERALD COAST BEER FESTIVAL BEER PAIRING DINNER 7 p.m. This year’s dinner features Os-

kar Blues. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. $65. emeraldcoastbeerfest.com

FRIDAY 9.11

WINES WITH HILARY 4 p.m. SoGourmet, above

Bodacious Olive, 407 S. Palafox. $15. sogourmetpensacola.com WINE TASTING 5-7 p.m. Out and about in East Hill on Friday night? Stop by City Grocery for their free weekly wine tasting before settling in or heading out for the night. City Grocery, 2050 N. 12th Ave. LATIN DANCING 6:30 p.m. Learn the basics of salsa dancing. DanceCraft, 8618 Pensacola Blvd. $10. dancecraftfl.com DANCING AT LUGHNASA 7:30 p.m. UWF Department of Theatre presents a stirring drama set in the back hills of 1936 Ireland. Mainstage Theatre, Center for Fine & Performing Arts, 11000 University Pkwy. $5-$16. uwf.edu/cfpa

POWERTRASH 7:30 p.m. With Kid Eternity, Delta5ive, In Sonitus Lux, Mad Happy, and Jamey Jones. Sluggo’s Vegetarian Restaurant, 101 S. Jefferson St. $5-$10. Sluggosflorida.com GRAYSON CAPPS 8 p.m. With Mama Lucky Band, Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox. $10. vinylmusichall.com

SATURDAY 9.12

SANTA ROSA FARMERS MARKET 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Fresh local produce, honey, baked goods, and live music. PARA Football Complex, 54005551 Limbaugh Lane, Pace.

PALAFOX MARKET 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Fresh produce, live plants, baked goods, fine art, and antiques are just a few of the items offered at the weekly Palafox Market. Items originate directly from participating vendors, including dozens of local farmers, home gardeners, and area artists. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza, N. Palafox. palafoxmarket.com THEMES IN BUDDHIST LEGEND 10:30-Noon.

The next installment in “The Wisdom of Myth.”

West Florida Public Library meeting room, 239 N. Spring St., downtown Pensacola. Contact: mythos.sd@gmail.com EMERALD COAST BEER FESTIVAL 5:30-8:30 p.m. Come celebrate Emerald Coast’s 20-year anniversary and try this year’s latest brews!

Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government. $30-$60. emeraldcoastbeerfest.com ARTIST VIVIAN SPENCER-OPENING RECEPTION

6-9 p.m. Open Books Bookstore and Prison

F I E S T A

O F

Book Project, 1040 N. Guillemard St. CASABLANCA 7 p.m. Set in unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II, an American expat meets a former lover with unforeseen complications. The Saenger Theatre, 118 S. Palafox. $5. pensacolasaenger.com DANCING AT LUGHNASA 7:30 p.m. UWF Department of Theatre presents a stirring drama set in the back hills of 1936 Ireland. Mainstage Theatre, Center for Fine & Performing Arts, 11000 University Pkwy. $5-$16. uwf.edu/cfpa JELLY ROLL 8 p.m. With Alexander King, Cutthroat, Big Bone, and Cremro. Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox. $10-$14. vinylmusichall.com WORST CASE ONTARIO 8 p.m. With The Circle, Nebular Theory, Sloppy Dollars, and Flagger.

Sluggo’s Vegetarian Restaurant, 101 S. Jefferson St. $5. Sluggosflorida.com

SUNDAY 9.13

SHOOTER JENNINGS 7 p.m. With Waymore’s Outlaws. Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox. $20$25. vinylmusichall.com BLACK TUSK 9 p.m. With LAZER/WULF, Wrong, Blight, Black Titan. The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. $12. pensacolahandlebar.com

MONDAY 9.14

KNIFE SKILLS: A CUT ABOVE THE REST 6 p.m.

Hone your knife skills in this cooking class.

Pensacola Cooks Kitchen, 3670 Barrancas Ave. $30. pensacolacooks.com

F I V E

F L A G S

COUNTRY & WESTERN DANCING 6:30 p.m.

Learn the Country Two-step at this weekly class, which is followed by a social dance at 8 p.m. DanceCraft, 8618 Pensacola Blvd. $10. dancecraftfl.com

TUESDAY 9.15

DANCECRAFT BALLROOM DANCING & SWING CLASS 6:30-9 p.m. This class teaches the skills

necessary to become a practitioner of Ballroom and West Coast Swing, a popular partner dance that can be enjoyed with virtually any kind of music. Tuesday class fee is $10 per person or free for people 30 years of age and younger.

DanceCraft, 8618 Pensacola Blvd. dancecraftfl TUESDAY NIGHT POETRY NIGHT 7 p.m. Free open mic poetry event every Tuesday. Sluggo’s Vegetarian Restaurant, 101 S. Jefferson St. facebook.com/TNPNS BANDS ON THE BEACH 7 p.m. Southern Breeze will perform at this week’s Bands on the Beach—which is a free outdoor concert series featuring regional artists held every Tuesday night through Oct. 27. Gulfside Pavilion at Casino Beach, 735 Pensacola Beach Blvd. visitpensacolabeach.com ONE MAN BREAKING BAD 7 p.m. Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox. $10-$15. vinylmusichall.com

WEDNESDAY 9.16

EARL SWEATSHIRT 7 p.m. With Remy Banks.

Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox. $20. vinylmusichall.com

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17

calendar

Ears & Fingers

by Jason Leger

Miley Cyrus “Miley Cyrus and Her Dead Petz”

By no means am I a music doomsdayer, saying it is being led to destruction by pop nonsense and the industry. But on the

same tip, I am also not at all impressed by pop frontrunner Miley Cyrus’ antics or music.

She isn’t doing anything new. She has gone from bubblegum teeny-bop to showing her boobs to whoever will look and, in all fairness, we should probably feel badly for her. She had to work out her awkward phase and raging hormones and growth spurts on a national level in front of all of us. Not to mention, a lot of her family’s money came from ‘Achy Breaky Heart.’ She simply seems like a young girl wanting to turn from her family’s agenda and what everyone expected from her by over-correcting and singing about pot and sex and overusing the word ‘f*ck.’

Last week, she hosted the MTV Video Music Awards, and celebrated the event by releasing a surprise album with Her Dead Petz, or as you may know them, The Flaming Lips. Her relationship with Wayne Coyne has been well publicized over the past year. It seems strange, but in her favor, if Miley does want to create artistic, drug-related music, she went to the right place.

Coyne’s touch is all over this album. Some of it is taken over the top by her lyrics and her personality, but to be honest, there is some of it that isn’t unlistenable and plays out like a Flaming Lips record, specifically, tracks like ‘The Floyd Song (Sunrise),’ ‘Evil is but a Shadow,’ and ‘Something about Space Dude.’

These tracks are hazed out and, honestly, interesting. In fact, the highlight track, ‘Tiger Dreams,’ is hazy as hell, Lana Del Rey style dreamy, and features Ariel Pink. At times, she even seems to embody some of the ‘90s brazen ladies of dark pop, like Poe, Beth Gibbons, or Tracy Bonham. I honestly never saw myself listening to an album like this and finding some of the tracks, dare I say, enjoyable.

Now, I understand if you are opposed to giving this a shot, even if the involvement of The Flaming Lips can’t get you over the hump.

I get it, I really do. However, if you can work up the courage to chance it, listen to ‘Tiger Dreams’ or ‘Evil is but a Shadow’ first. If you can’t surpass those two, you won’t make it much further. Fans of Miley’s former work, this album may be trying for you, as well. It’s

quite a leap from ‘Wreckingball’ and the like.

As far as everyone else is concerned, those who don’t have an affinity or disdain either way, you find yourself between music snob and indifference, and it isn’t a bad place to be. Give it a shot, and at the very least, you’ll be closer to having a foot in one camp or the other. “Miley Cyrus and Her Dead Petz” is out now via Smiley Miley Inc.

TRACK OF THE WEEK:

Tender Defender ‘Hello Dirt’

Rising from the ashes of Long Island punk band Latterman, Tender Defender has released their first punk rock gem in lead single ‘Hello Dirt ,’ and captured my heart with what is possibly my favorite band name ever. ‘Hello Dirt’ has the attitude of early ‘90s punk rock with chanted vocals, social consciousness, and palm muted glory. Check out the track on the band’s Bandcamp page (http://tenderdefender.bandcamp.com), and keep an eye out for more from these cats. {in}

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calendar arts & culture

≥Exhibits

IT’S ELECTRIC On

exhibit through October 2. Museum hours and location: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Artel Gallery, 223 Palafox Place. artelgallery. org MICHAEL FAGAN

Fagan’s process of using “layered acrylics” begins with a textured surface, a background wash of acrylics, watercolor ink, and metallic paints. Michael then uses pen and ink and a specially-designed nib for acrylic backline for a crisp foreground contrast.

On exhibit through October 2. Museum hours and location: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Artel Gallery, 223 Palafox

September 10, 2015

Place. artelgallery. org FRESH PRODUCE

Sally Miller transforms the vault into a warm room of inviting colors.

On exhibit through October 2. Museum hours and location: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Artel Gallery, 223 Palafox Place. artelgallery. org

TERRA INCOGNITA: PHOTOGRAPHS OF AMERICA’S THIRD COAST On loan from

the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, this exhibit is a photographic project of 15 years duration by nationally-recognized photographer and author, Richard Sexton. On display August 21-October 17. Museum hours and location: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admis-

sion $10 for adults; $8 for seniors and military; members and children 11 and under are free for the rest of summer.

Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. pensacolamuseum.org OUT OF LIGHT This exhibit features the photography of Dottie King. On display until September 19.

Museum hours and location: TuesdaySaturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission $10 for adults; $8 for seniors and military; members and children 11 and under are free for the rest of summer.

Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. pensacolamuseum.org RETROSPECTIVE OF WORKS BY KREG YINGST This ex-

hibit features Kreg Yingst’s intriguing

narrative paintings and block prints from the past 15 years. On display until Oct. Gallery hours and location: Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Anna Lamar Center for Visual Arts, Building 15, 1000 College Blvd. visualarts.pensacolastate.edu

Classes & Workshops

“MAKE-YOUROWN-GLASS” CLASS

10a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, September 11 and Saturday, September 12. Held weekly on Friday and Saturday, First City Art Center offers weekly “MakeYour-Own-Glass” classes, no previous glassblowing skills necessary. The classes are open to anyone age 8 and

older and range in price from $25-$45.

Pre-registration and pre-payment are required and can be made by calling 429-1222. First City Art Center, 1060 N. Guillemard St. firstcityart.org

hands-on time at the wheel. The class is $40 and open to individuals age 14 and up.

Pre-registration and pre-payment are required and can be made by calling 429-1222. Class is

limited to two participants. First City Art Center, 1060 N. Guillemard St. firstcityart.org

INTRODUCTION TO POTTERY ON THE WHEE L 6-8:30

p.m. Monday, September 14.

During this weekly workshop held on Monday evenings at First City Art Center, instructor Pearl VanHoove works individually with students to develop consistency in throwing on the wheel.

Participants receive an introduction to materials, equipment and throwing techniques. Each session begins with a brief demonstration followed by

Transience by Richard Sexton

19

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calendar p.m. Peg Leg Pete’s, 1010 Fort Pickens Rd. peglegpetes.com

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p.m. Paradise Bar and Grille, 21 Via De Luna Dr. paradise-bar.com

SUNDAY 9.13

ROBBY WALTON 6

p.m. Peg Leg Pete’s, 1010 Fort Pickens Rd. peglegpetes.com

bars & nightlife

≥bar games

Thursdays POKER 8 p.m. The Ticket 1, 7250 Plantation Rd., ticketsportsbar.com POOL TOURNAMENT

8 p.m. The Ticket 2, 2115 W. 9 Mile Rd., ticketsportsbar.com Fridays DRAG BINGO 6-8 p.m. Ages 21 and over. Emerald City’s The Other Side, 406 E. Wright St. emeraldcitypensacola. com

POOL TOURNAMENT

8 p.m. The Ticket 1, 7250 Plantation Rd., ticketsportsbar.com Mondays

TEXAS HOLD ‘EM FOR FUN AND TRIVIA 7

p.m. The Sandshaker Lounge, 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd. sandshaker.com TRIVIA NIGHT 7-9 p.m. World of Beer, 200 S. Palafox. wobusa.com/locations/ Palafox BAR BINGO 8 p.m.

Apple Annie’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com MONDAY NIGHT TRIVIA 9:30-10:30

p.m. Mugs and Jugs, 12080 Scenic Highway. facebook.com/ MugsJugs Tuesdays TUESDAY TRIVIA 8 p.m. The Bridge Bar and Sunset Lounge, 33 Gulf Breeze Parkway. facebook.com/ September 10, 2015

thebridgebargb TICKET TEAM TRIVIA

8 p.m. The Ticket 1, 7250 Plantation Rd., ticketsportsbar.com POKER 8 p.m. The Ticket 2, 2115 W. 9 Mile Rd., ticketsportsbar.com TEAM TRIVIA 9 p.m.

Hopjacks. 10 S. Palafox. hopjacks. com DRAG BINGO 10 p.m.Midnight. Ages 21 and over. Emerald City’s The Other Side, 406 E. Wright St. emeraldcitypensacola.com Wednesdays PUB TRIVIA NIGHT

7-9:30 p.m. Goat Lips Beer Garden, 2811 Copter Road. facebook.com/ goatlipsdeli

WEDNESDAY QUIZ TRIVIA 8 p.m. The

Cabaret, 101 S. Jefferson St. cabaretpensacola.com TICKET BAR BINGO

8 p.m. The Ticket 1, 7250 Plantation Rd., ticketsportsbar.com BAR BINGO 10 p.m.

Play, 16 S. Palafox, Suite 200. iplaypensacola.com iplaypensacola.com

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Thursdays Lili Marlene’s at Seville Quarter, 8 p.m.

130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com The Sandshaker Lounge, 9 p.m. 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd. sandshaker.com Mondays The Cabaret, 9 p.m.

101 S. Jefferson St. 607-2020 or caba-

retpensacola.com Tuesdays The Sandshaker Lounge, 8 p.m. 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd. sandshaker.com Play, 9 p.m. 16 S. Palafox, Suite 200. iplaypensacola.com

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THURSDAY 9.10

ANTHONY MICHAEL

6 p.m. Peg Leg Pete’s, 1010 Fort Pickens Rd. peglegpetes.com VIC SHEPHERD & REVERB 6 p.m. Paradise

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LUCAS CRUTCHFIELD

6 P.M. The Deck, 600 S. Barracks St. fishhousepensacola.com RAY COLEY 7 p.m.

Hub Stacey’s Downtown, 312 E. Government St. hubstaceys. com

FRIDAY 9.11

PLATINUM PREMIERE BAND 6 p.m. Peg

Leg Pete’s, 1010 Fort Pickens Rd. peglegpetes.com POST PLUTO 6 p.m.

Paradise Bar and Grille, 21 Via De Luna Dr. paradise-bar.com THE BLENDERS 8:30 p.m. Hub Stacey’s Downtown, 312 E. Government St. hubstaceys.com

SATURDAY 9.12 CALYPSONUTS 6

JOHNNY SKETCH & THE DIRTY NOTES 3

p.m. Paradise Bar and Grille, 21 Via De Luna Dr. paradise-bar.com RAY COLEY 4:30 p.m.

Hub Stacey’s Downtown, 312 E. Government St. hubstaceys. com

MONDAY 9.14

DOC ADAMS 6 p.m.

Peg Leg Pete’s, 1010 Fort Pickens Rd. peglegpetes.com

PAPER STREET SOAP CO. 8 p.m. Seville

Quarter, 130 E. Government St.

TUESDAY 9.15

RICHARD MADDEN 6

p.m. Peg Leg Pete’s, 1010 Fort Pickens Rd. peglegpetes.com

JOHNNY SKETCH & THE DIRTY NOTES 6

p.m. Paradise Bar and Grille, 21 Via De Luna Dr. paradise-bar.com

LUCAS CRUTCHFIELD

6 P.M. The Deck, 600 S. Barracks St. fishhousepensacola.com

WEDNESDAY 9.16

LUCAS CRUTCHFIELD

5 P.M. The Deck, 600 S. Barracks St. fishhousepensacola.com THE IGUANAS 6 p.m.

Paradise Bar and Grille, 21 Via De Luna Dr. paradise-bar.com RONNIE LEVINE 6 p.m. Peg Leg Pete’s, 1010 Fort Pickens Rd. peglegpetes.com

for more listings visit inweekly.net 21

a&e

by Emily Richey

A Love Letter to “Breaking Bad”

We are all familiar with the gut-wrenching feeling that comes with watching the series finale of our favorite TV shows. If you watch TV, you have most likely experienced the grief that occurs when one of your favorite programs ends. “Parenthood”, anyone? “Lost”? Even the end of a season

Wednesday Wings & Wackers $5 each ATE M I T L U The Sports ex Compl 40 TVs

can leave one feeling bereft. (We’re looking at you, “Game of Thrones.”)

So what was one to do to fill the gaping hole in their heart, say, when “Breaking Bad” ended in 2013? In the case of actor Miles Allen, the obvious solution was to start a one-man comedy show which sums up the entire show (all five seasons) in 60 minutes—“One Man Breaking Bad: The Unauthorized Parody.”

“After “Breaking Bad” had finished, there was a huge hole in my TV viewing experience. I felt that I could keep the “Breaking Bad” flame alive by combining my comedy and impressions ability to make what is essentially a love letter to the show.”

Of the 10 plus main characters of the show, Allen has no hesitation about who is his favorite to portray: “Jesse Pinkman, Bitch!”

Aside from the way Jesse’s famous line rolls off the tongue, Allen finds him the easiest character to identify with.

“Not only does Jess have a lot of fun mannerisms and great “one-liners,” but as the show goes on, he’s given so much more depth as character, so much so that the

audience members identify more with him than Walt towards the end of the series, myself included.”

“One Man Breaking Bad” has become a world-wide hit, with over a million hits on Youtube and sold out shows as far as Melbourne, Australia, and this year Edinburgh’s famed Fringe Festival. To Allen, the best part of the show is not how far it has taken him, rather the act itself: “taking some of the most serious moments in “Breaking Bad”, and making them gut-bustingly hilarious. I love the art of parody; it’s so fun to find comedy in dark places!”

“One Man Breaking Bad” is a show for those who have seen “Breaking Bad” and those who have not. It is a great way to quickly catch up on the main plot points, and audiences have loved the condensed format. While Allen has been a sensation, he was coy when it came to any new parodies in the works.

“Maybe a “One Man Better Call Saul” [the “Breaking Bad” spin-off] is down the road? I guess we will have to wait and see…”

Allen has managed to fill up his TV card though, naming “House of Cards”,

“Game of Thrones”, “Daredevil”, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”, and “Wet Hot American Summer” as some of his favorite current shows. GRR Martin should watch out; we bet Allen could do a killer Khaleesi impression…

How has the original “Breaking Bad” Team responded to Allen’s take on the story?

“Bob Odenkirk (aka Saul Goodman) has expressed interest in coming to see my show. They’ll be shooting “Better Call Saul” in Albuquerque when I perform there, so I’m excited to see some of the cast and crew come and enjoy the show with me.”{in}

ONE MAN BREAKING BAD: THE UNAUTHORIZED PARODY

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news of the weird A PAPER DRONE The Federal Aviation Administration recently granted (likely for the first time ever) an application to fly a paper airplane. Prominent drone advocate Peter Sachs had applied to conduct commercial aerial photography with his "aircraft" (a Tailor Toys model with a tiny propeller and maximum range of 180 feet), and the agency, concerned with air traffic safety, accommodated by treating the request (unironically?) under the rules for manned flights (that, among other restrictions, Sachs must not exceed 100 mph and must engage a licensed airplane pilot to fly it). "With this grant," said the "victorious" Sachs, "the FAA has abandoned all logic and sensibility."

NEW WORLD ORDER Digital World: (1) The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction announced in July that it would be experimenting with online phys ed courses for high schoolers. Students would watch videos on certain activities, then engage in them, and later self-report their (as the agency calls it) "mastery." (2) British police warned in August of a brand-new sex crime based on the iPhone app AirDrop.

The app sends text or photos instantly to nearby AirDrop users (who choose to receive from "contacts" or from "everyone"). Thus, perverts can "flash" strangers by posting nude pictures of themselves to reach AirDrop users set carelessly (or purposely!) to "everyone."

GOVERNMENT INACTION The streets of Jackson, Mississippi, apparently have potholes that rival the worst in the country, but without adequate budget to fix them, according to Mayor Tony Yarber. His remedy, offered earnestly to constituents in August: prayer. "I believe we can pray potholes away." (Yarber, elected in 2014, was pastor of the Relevant Empowerment Church.)

NAMES IN THE NEWS Charged with choking and punching his fiancee: Mr. Daniel Gentleman, 28 (Prescott, Arizona, May). Charged with killing her husband and burying his body in a manure pile on their farm: Ms. Charlene Mess, 48 (Attica, New York, April). Charged with sexual assault: Mr. Huckleberry Finn (Keene, New Hampshire, July). And prominent in the news (confusingly so) when the Food and Drug Administration approved the so-called "female Viagra" drug Addyi in August: FDA spokesperson Dr. Janet Woodcock.

LEAST COMPETENT PEOPLE"Selfies" continue to take their devastating toll on Americans. On Aug. 30 in Orient, Maine, driver Jordan Toner, 29, attempting to lean into a seven-person selfie among his passengers, crashed into a tree, causing numerous injuries. On Aug. 24, Alex

by Chuck Shepherd

Gomez, 36, of Lake Elsinore, California, tried to take one after draping an angry 4-foot-long rattlesnake around his neck.

The predictable bite was damaging but not fatal. On Sept. 1 in Houston, a 19-year-old man taking selfies while clumsily fondling his handgun is no longer with us.

SEEMS LIKE THE SEASON OF EMAIL MUDDLES (1) All Sherri Smith wanted was copies of background emails about her son (who has a disability) in the files of the Goodrich, Michigan, school system, but the superintendent informed her in June that the Freedom of Information request would cost her $77,780 (4,500 hours of searching—taking two years to complete). (Michigan's FOI law was somewhat liberalized on July 1, and Smith said she may refile.)

(2) After a McKinney, Texas, police officer was filmed pointing his gun at unarmed black teenagers at a pool party in June, the online Gawker Media filed a Public Information Act request for the officer's records and any emails about his conduct. The city estimated that request's cost at $79,229 (hiring a programmer, for 2,231 hours' searching—plus "computer time"). Gawker said it would appeal.

READERS' CHOICE A thief grabbed the purse of an elderly woman shopping with her husband at a Fred Meyer store in Spokane, Washington, on July 23 and fled through a parking lot. They had no chance to catch the man, but he happened to run right by hospital nurse Heidi Muat, 42, who surmised the situation and started after him. The thief quickly saw that Muat could outrun him, and he gave up the purse, which Muat returned to the couple. Muat later revealed her alter ego: On her Spokannibals Roller Derby team, she is known as Ms. "Ida B. ChoAzz." A NEWS OF THE WEIRD CLASSIC (FEBRUARY 2009) Though India is recognized as a world leader in promoting the health benefits of urine, its dominance will be assured by the end of the year (2009) when a cow-urine-based soft drink comes to market. Om Prakash, chief of the Cow Protection Department of the RSS organization (India's largest Hindu nationalist group), trying to reassure a Times of London reporter in February, promised, "It won't smell like urine and will be tasty, too," noting that medicinal herbs would be added and toxins removed. In addition to improved health, he said, India needs a domestic (and especially Hindu) beverage to compete with the foreign influence of Coca-Cola and Pepsi. {in}

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From Universal Press Syndicate Chuck Shepherd’s News Of The Weird © 2015 Chuck Shepherd

Send your weird news to Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 18737, Tampa, Fla., 33679 or weirdnews@earthlink.net, or go to newsoftheweird.com September 10, 2015

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