v11n31 - Pass The Popcorn: The 2013 Crossroads Film Festival Is Back!

Randy PIPPINS

TEN YEARS OF COMMITMENT TO EDUCATION

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April 10 - 16, 2013

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Trip Burns

JACKSONIAN Valerie Blakey

W

hat initially started out as a year-long high-school project for Valerie Blakey turned into a promising career in the film industry.

“When I was in high school we had to do senior projects,” Blakey says.

“A lot of people chose teaching, police work or doctors. I wanted to choose something fun, so I picked filmmaking. That’s how I got involved with the Mississippi Film Office.” She became more involved with the film office and soon earned an internship there, starting out doing production assistant work for commercials and other media projects.

Blakey, 27, spent her childhood in Jackson, but moved to Texas at 18 to attend Texas A&M. She studied geography but kept her interests in film alive by coming back every year to Mississippi to share her knowledge at a filmmaking camp in Canton. For the last 10 years, she has given back by teaching others about the intricacies of the filmmaking process.

Then, last summer Blakey accepted the opportunity to work on the James Franco project “As I Lay Dying” in Canton. She reclaimed residence here and has been home ever since.

She now works at the Mississippi Film Office in the special projects department, where she assists filmmakers shooting in the state and works to solve the inevitable problems that occur when making movies. Although she hasn’t gotten the opportunity to make her own film, yet, she hopes to move into a producer role.

contents

Part of her job at the film office includes work on the Crossroads Film Festival, now in its 14th year. She says this year’s screenings run the gamut of genres: comedy blocks, documentaries, romance shorts, the world premiere of the craft-beer presentation, sci-fi and animations for children. Crossroads also offers educational workshops, which Blakey encourages media-interested Jacksonians to take part in.

“We have something for everyone,” she says. “I challenge people to go see one thing. …

There’s just something about watching a movie with other people who love movies.”

Outside office hours, free-spirit Blakey enjoys being physically active, riding her bike around downtown or training for the Ironman Triathalon. She says Jackson has lots of entertainment to offer, as long as people are willing to get out there. “There is always something fun to do, you just have to find it,” she says, adding that events like the Crossroads festival could lift the city to the next level, if Jacksonians get out there. “We have to support things in order to have things to do,” she says. “So let’s support this.”

Although Jackson may not be the filmmaking capital of our country, it is certainly a thriving part of the industry. Blakey is optimistic about the strides Jackson filmmakers like herself are making. She says the film scene is not underground. It is not invisible. It just has to be searched for and upheld by us all.

—Jacquelynn Pilcher

Cover photograph by Trip Burns

11 More for Ward 4

Dexter J. Robinson and Kourtney Paige both want to see major improvements for Ward 4, and plan to do something about it if elected to the city council.

32 Vino Vidi Vici

Sante South brings 32 high-end wines and the vintners that make them from across the globe to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association.

34 Lightnin’ Strike

Crescent City bluesman Guitar Lightnin’ Lee’s rock-infused sound hits Martin’s this week.

jacksonfreepress.com

4 ............................. editor’S Note 6 ................................................ YOU 8 ............................................ Talks 12 ................................... BUsiness 14 ................ Editorial Cartoon 14 ................................... Stiggers 15 ..................................... Opinion 16 ............................. Cover Story 28 .................................. Organics 30 ....................................... Travel 31 .................... Girl About Town 32 .......................................... food 34 ........................................ Music 35 ........................................... Film 36 ................................ eight days 37 ................................ jfp events 39 ........................................ music 40 ........................ music listings 42 ...................................... sports 43 ..................................... Puzzles 45 ............................... astrology 45 .............................. Classifieds 46 ............................................. Gig

daphne nabors; flickr/ derek gavey; trip burns; trip burns

april 10 - 16, 2013 | Vol. 11 No. 31

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editor’s note

by Donna Ladd, Editor-in-Chief

Hunting and Gathering

L

ast week, I had a young documentary crew called subSIPPI in my office asking me questions about whether Mississippi has changed.

This is nothing new: I’ve had a lot of documentary makers, along with other media, come through my door since the Jackson Free Press launched in 2002.

Usually, they have come here, or back here, from somewhere else—often Canada—and have fallen into two groups: those who want to show that Mississippi hasn’t changed at all and occasionally one who wants to show that it’s completely reformed.

I’ve even dealt with some documentary makers who leave their ethics at the state line: One tried to get me and my photographer to engage in subterfuge to get an old Klansman in Franklin County to yell at us so that he could “door-step” it on camera (and still won’t speak to us because we refused and told others about it). Another crew pretended to be horrible racists to get a former Klansman in my hometown to open up to them.

In addition to not sharing the journalistic ethics I’m trained to uphold, many documentary makers, I’ve learned, are extremely competitive, trying to elbow other filmmakers away from sources at big trials or even getting major players to sign agreements that they won’t talk to any other media, including local ones, as I saw one cut-throat filmmaker do during the Edgar Ray Killen trial in my hometown (which got her yelled at on the court square there by yours truly).

I’ve spent many, many hours over the years talking to filmmakers about the enigma that is Mississippi, figuring that if I can influence any of them not to over-simplify our state, we’re all better off.

So, to put it mildly, I’ve become a bit more reluctant to give documentary makers my time. My naive romance with the idea of someone sticking a camera in my face and

convincing me to open up my notes to just any filmmaker faded years ago.

But there have been good ones: I watched one native Jackson filmmaker, Myra Ottewell, face her own naivete about our state’s race history. Her documentary, which started out with a much rosier mission, became a compelling portrait of her journey into her hometown and state’s past. Myra, who now lives in Vancouver, admitted what many white people aren’t willing to face: She hadn’t known enough before about the real effects of our race history to be informed on it. She faced that void in her upbringing and turned it into a film, “Mississippi Remixed,” that appears on MPB and, from messages I’ve gotten about it (I’m in it a little), has hit the mark with people in a similar place as Myra.

How different this was from an attempt to “doorstep” a former Klansman.

Good storytelling—which is what all good artists manage to do, regardless of media—takes us places we might not go without a great narrative to guide us. Stories make us confront truths that are, otherwise, easily left hidden in a musty box. They help us know our history so that we can be smarter and more proactive about our present and future.

They allow us to look backward for context we need to move forward (which I call the answer to Mississippi’s riddle: do both).

Another filmmaker who visited me, Paul Saltzman, has done a remarkable job of doing both. I met Saltzman through my for-

mer intern Thabi Moyo, who produced for him while he was in Mississippi from, yes, Canada. He had been a civil rights worker in the 1960s and had violent experiences in Mississippi. He was back to see how we’d changed and, as it has turned out, to complete his own personal journey.

When Saltzman came through here years ago, he was still in what I like to call the “hunting and gathering” stage. He was looking for a story. And, boy, did he find one.

His film, “Prom Night in Mississippi,” was one result. He learned that a first-ever integrated prom was happening at Clarksdale High School, helped out by Morgan Freeman. He made an award-winning film about the prom, which he attended.

Recently, I looked at Twitter and someone mentioned that they had just seen “The Last White Knight,” and I was in it. Huh? “Must be one of those releases I signed years ago,” I thought to myself a bit nervously.

Turns out that Saltzman managed to meet up with and interview the son of Byron de la Beckwith, the bigot who murdered Medgar Evers. The son, also named Byron, had beaten Saltzman then, and is not exactly reformed now. Saltzman frames the film around their reunion to teach many lessons about our violent past. He is helped in the film by Harry Belafonte, Morgan Freeman and the late Jimmy Travis, who lived here in Jackson, among others.

In the film, Saltzman explores his subtitle, “Is Reconciliation Possible?” As good stories do, the film allows the viewer to make up his or her mind with powerful stories and dialogue between the characters; in this case, Saltzman and Beckwith.

What struck me is how Saltzman had the courage to get up close and personal with his former nemesis without subterfuge, even allowing the man known for white supremacy to interview him back about why he had come to Mississippi 43

years before (in response to the murders of Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner).

How different this was from an attempt to “doorstep” a former Klansman for a cheap shot. It’s storytelling of a much higher level: an attempt to understand even those whose actions we loathe—if for no other reason than to keep it from happening again. And through these deep conversations, the men got to know each other on a human level, even as they disagreed on so much.

Near the end, Saltzman asks Beckwith if their conversation is an example of “reconciliation.” Beckwith responds that respect and understanding came from it.

Saltzman replies that he likes Beckwith while disagreeing with him. (A feeling I completely understand from many of my interviews with controversial figures.)

Saltzman tells Beckwith that he appreciates “that we can be real with each other.”

The film ends with a combination of caution and hope. Harry Belafonte tells Saltzman that “ I have hope” for Mississippi, but adds, “I don’t feel safe here” … and that he fears “that the devil has just paused for a moment and is coming back.”

Meantime, Beckwith admits to Saltzman that he is of a dying breed, leaving the viewer feeling a bit relieved.

“I am the last … of the Beckwith Klan era” and “my children … do not feel the way I do,” he says, rather cheerily.

This is exactly the kind of film, and storytelling, that I want to see more of about this state. And it’s the moral of the remarks I made to the subSIPPI filmmakers recently in my office: Mississippi is a work-in-progress.

We’re better, but we have a long way to go.

And we’ll get there with a whole lot of uncomfortable conversation, and the willingness to both listen and to hear.

“The Last White Knight” screens this weekend at the Crossroad Film Festival, April 13 at 1:10 p.m. on Screen B at the Malco.

April 10 - 16, 2013

contributors

4

Amber Helsel

Samantha Towers

Mo Wilson

Bethany Bridges

Tyler Cleveland

Micah Smith

Richard Coupe

Kimberly Griffin

Editorial intern Amber Helsel, a native of Brandon, holds a bachelor’s in journalism from Ole Miss. She is a silly person who loves writing, photography, food and memes. She wrote for the cover package.

Sales Assistant Samantha Towers is a native Jacksonian and a graduate of Tougaloo College. She enjoys long walks on the reservoir, candlelight dinners, and creative endeavors like music and writing. Her favorite color is blue.

Editorial intern Mo Wilson is a Mississippi College student.

He enjoys pizza, the Internet, dancing alone in his bedroom, social justice, politics and giggling. He reviewed films for the cover package.

Editorial intern Bethany Bridges is a high school history and English teacher. She enjoys discussing politics and spending time with her family. Her ultimate goal in life is to raise a happy and sane family. She wrote for the cover package.

Reporter Tyler Cleveland attended Southern Miss. When not reporting on city politics, he spends his time around Fondren, listening to music and pulling for Mississippi sports teams. Contact him at 601-3626121 ext. 22.

Music columnist and reviewer Micah Smith is a senior at Mississippi College, a Jackson-based songwriter, an avid music listener and reviewer.

He prides himself on being the very best, like no one ever was.

He wrote a music review.

Richard Coupe, avid fan of the beautiful game, husband, brother and father of four, is still wondering what he wants to be when he grows up. He wrote a travel feature.

Advertising Director Kimberly Griffin is a Jackson native who likes yoga, supporting locally owned businesses and traveling. In her spare time, she plots how she can become Michelle Obama’s water holder.

SATURDAY & SUNDAY • APRIL 13 & 14 GATES OPEN AT NOON • $10 COVER • SPACE JUMP FOR KIDS

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SATURDAY 1PM - 5PM: ACOUSTIC CROSSROADS (UNDER TENT) SATURDAY 5PM - 9PM: KRACKERJACKS (UNDER TENT MAIN STAGE) SATURDAY 9PM - 1AM: DOUBLESHOTZ (ON THE DECK) SUNDAY 12 NOON - 4PM: ANDREW PATES (UNDER TENT) SUNDAY 4PM - 8PM: THE CHILL (UNDER TENT MAIN STAGE)

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SATURDAY 8PM - 1AM: GLITTER BOYS (INSIDE MAIN STAGE)

5

TRIP BURNS

[YOU & JFP]

Send us a photo of you and your JFP somewhere interesting.

You get a $20 gift certificate if we print it.

Name: Patrick Payton Occupation: Minister of Grace-Based Service at Galloway Church. “Serving breakfast to the disenfranchised, displaced, and homeless.”

Location: Jefferson Street Apartments JFP reader since: 2008.

Last book: “Prayer” by Philip Yancey Favorite part of JXN: “Downtown, around the capitol.”

Favorite quote: “It’s not what you do that kills you, it’s what you don’t do that kills you.”

Write us: letters@jacksonfreepress.com Tweet us: @JxnFreePress Facebook: Jackson Free Press Most Viral Stories at jfp.ms:

April 10 - 16, 2013

1. Ridgeland Fine Arts Festival, April 6 2. Gathering on the Green, April 6 3. Rock Concert at Rampage Extreme Park, April 5 4. Fondren After 5, April 4 5. Celebration of Light Event, April 6 Post events at jfpevents.com or email events@jacksonfreepress.com.

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Reggie ‘P’ Anderson “American History X.” Melissa Willis “Schindler’s List.”

John Adam Hackney “Anchorman,” the accuracy of journalism was just chilling ...

Norwood

Cheniece Shonté Smith “Angels in America.”

Lonnie Stringfellow “Shawshank Redemption.”

Linda Carver “Pay It Forward.”

Darius Williams “Snow on Da Bluff”: realism, innovation and thrilling.

Michael Wood “Pink Flamingos.”

My mind was forever warped beyond the ability to be anything normal or sane again.

Melissa Couch “American History X.” Marilynne Nelson “Paper Clips.”

Roxanne Cooper I think more in terms of scenes from movies. Mistah throwing the sister off the farm in “The Color Purple.” Aragorn telling the hobbits, “You bow to no one.”

Stuff like that.

Laurie Bertram Roberts “Very Young Girls.” It is a documentary about child prostitutes in the U.S.—mostly it shows girls in New York. It has haunted me. It graphically showed how young women are exploited into “the life,” especially young women of color. It will change your view of street prostitution forever when you think the average age for initiation is 13.

Carol O’Connor “Slam,” which featured Saul Williams and Sonya Sohn. It is a powerful indictment of the current “justice” system, and shows how people make decisions that change their lives, for better or worse.

Sabir Abdul-Haqq “Fresh.” just watch it.

Hunter McGee “Being There” with Peter Sellers. (And) “Star Wars” at the age of 5.

Yolanda ‘Micey’ Walker “America History X” and “The Untold Story of Emmett Till” documentary.

George Evans Light “Sullivan’s Travels” for teaching the importance of laughter in the face of pain and adversity.

David Rae Morris “Hearts and Minds.”

Tom Head “Rabbit-Proof Fence.”

(Runner-up: “Life is Beautiful.”)

Greta Durr “Harold and Maude.” I’ve learned something new every time I’ve watched it since age 5.

JP Lawless “Schindler’s List”: I remember it being very powerful and moving when I was younger.

Especially, that first screening.

An emotional powerhouse.

Janet Hendrick Clark “The Deer Hunter.”

COURTESY TILL FREEDOM COME PRODUCTIONS

Most Viral Events at jfpevents.com:

WHAT IS THE MOST POWERFUL FILM YOU’VE EVER SEEN?

COURTESY NEW LINE CINEMA

1. “Det. Eric Smith Killed at JPD Headquarters,” by Donna Ladd with R.L. Nave on the scene 2. “Det. Eric Smith Remembered,” by Ronni Mott, R.L. Nave 3. “Suspect Jeremy Powell Committed Suicide After Shooting Officer,” Verbatim Statement 4. “Developing ...

Officer and Suspect Dead Inside JPD Headquarters, MBI Taking Over Investigation,” by JFP Staff 5. “Chokwe Lumumba: From Militancy to the Mainstream,” by Jacob Fuller, R.L. Nave Join the conversation at jfp.ms/comments.

Deanna Graves The funeral scene in “Imitation of Life” had a profound in pact on me. Watching a daughter chase her mother’s casket trying to take back the hurt she caused drove home that you don’t always get a chance to make it right.

Bob Morris Sophie Scholl “The Final Days.” A powerful film if there ever was one. Youthful idealism and bravery in the face of evil. Can be rented at Amazon for $2.99 (7 days) if not available in your town library. Worth the money.

Donna Ladd “Sophie’s Choice”—for the moment the mother had to choose.

And the Emmett Till documentary.

Larry Butts “Schindler’s List.” And definitely the Emmett Till documentary.

Attorney General Jim Hood is bringing the Mississippi Foreclosure Prevention Consortium to your area to help distressed homeowners at risk of foreclosure.

If you are a borrower who: (1) is current on loan payments, but the mortgage exceeds the home’s value, (2) lost your home to foreclosure, (3) is behind on mortgage payments, or is KDYLQJ RWKHU GLIÀFXOWLHV ZLWK \RXU PRUWJDJH then you should attend one of these free events!

Thursday, April 18, 9am-noon Vicksburg Convention Center, 1600 Mulberry St, Vicksburg Thursday, April 18, 3-6pm Brandon Civic Center, 1000 Municipal Dr, Brandon Thursday, May 2, 9am-noon Community Students Learning Center, 333 Yazoo St, Lexington Thursday, May 2, 3-6pm Neshoba County Coliseum, 12000 MS 15, Philadelpha Friday, May 3, 10am-1pm Greensboro Center, 401 Greensboro St, Starkville Monday, May 20, 10am-1pm Cameron Center, 711 North 10th St, Laurel Monday, May 20, 4-7pm %ROWRQ 6WDWH 2IĂ€FH %XLOGLQJ %D\YLHZ $YH %LOR[L Tuesday, May 21, 10am-1pm Marion County Library, 900 Broad St, Columbia

If you are unable to attend an event, visit www.msmortgagesettlement.com or call 1-866-530-9572 for information on aid for Mississippians through the National Mortgage Settlement and the Mississippi Foreclosure Prevention Consortium.

jacksonfreepress.com

Tuesday, May 21, 3-6pm Pike National Bank, 702 Highway 51 N, Brookhaven

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“I see us changing the face of Jackson, and by changing, I mean helping Jackson evolve, making the city what we all know Jackson can become.”

—BlackWhite Development partner Alan Henderson

Thursday, April 4

Murder suspect Jeremy Powell shoots and kills Det. Eric Smith during an interrogation at the Jackson police headquarters before killing himself. … Alabama lawmakers posthumously pardon the “Scottsboro Boys,” nine black teens wrongly convicted of raping two white women in 1931.

Friday, April 5

A federal judge rejects BP’s request to block what could be billions in payouts to businesses that claim damage from the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. … Talks begin between Iran and a group of six nations over concerns that Tehran might produce nuclear weapons.

Saturday, April 6

A suicide bomber kills 20 people at a lunch hosted by a Sunni candidate in Iraq’s upcoming regional elections. … A Syrian government air strike in the northern city of Aleppo kills at least 15 people.

Sunday, April 7

Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi declares that Iran will never halt its nuclear development program. … A top U.S. military officer says the Pentagon has bolstered its missile defenses due to North Korean threats.

April 10 - 16, 2013

Monday, April 8

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher dies at age 87. …

North Korea says it will suspend operations at a factory complex it has jointly run with South Korea, pulling out more than 53,000 workers.

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Tuesday, April 9

Gov. Phil Bryant signs Senate Bill 2547, allowing the state to house federal inmates in Leflore County. …

North Korea urges foreigners in South Korea to evacuate, saying the countries are on the verge of a nuclear war.

Get news updates at jfpdaily.com.

Real estate agent Dexter Robinson wants a home on the Jackson City Council. p 12

—Rep. Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, on a planned outlet mall that received gave $25 million in tax incentives from the Legislature.

Remembering Eric Smith

by Trip Burns, Tyler Cleveland, Ronni Mott and R.L. Nave

E

ric T. Smith was always busy.

He was a husband, a father and a man who cared about his neighbors.

A Clinton resident, Smith was married to Eneke Williams Smith, who is a sergeant with JPD. He was a sports fan, first of his teenaged sons: Quentin, who played football at Clinton High School; and Eric Jr., a freshman forward for Copiah-Lincoln Community College’s basketball team. Like many Mississippians, he was also an avid follower of the New Orleans Saints.

Smith was also a Jackson police officer who put his life on the line for more than 18 years. That line was obliterated at 5:40 p.m. April 3, when a murder suspect killed Smith and then himself during an interrogation on the third floor of the downtown police station.

Five years before joining the Jackson Police Department in 1995, Smith graduated from Callaway High School. He also attended Hinds Community College.

Smith rose quickly and steadily through JPD’s ranks. As a detective with the department’s robbery and homicide division, Smith’s job frequently put him next to some of the roughest men and women in Jackson, people who had little regard for others’ lives, much less their own. He worked to solve the city’s highest priority cases, such as the 2011 murder of James Craig Anderson by a bunch of Rankin County teenagers out to terrorize African Americans in Jackson.

Winston J. Thompson III, attorney

for the Anderson family, worked with Smith during the investigation.

“I don’t think you’ll find anyone who’ll say anything bad about Eric,” he facebook

Wednesday, April 3

Department of Veterans Affairs officials organize a town-hall style meeting in response to complaints about the VA Medical Center in Jackson. … A bill mandating that a physician be present when a woman takes abortion-inducing drugs heads to Gov. Phil Bryant.

“I never thought I’d be saying, ‘We’re seeing Pearl, Mississippi, as a resort destination in Mississippi.’”

Jackson Police Det. Eric T. Smith was killed in the line of duty the night of April 4.

told the Jackson Free Press April 5. “That’s a loss for the department, the city of Jackson and the community.”

“It’s a sad day knowing that JPD lost one of their own doing his duty,” Gov. Phil Bryant, a former Hinds County deputy sheriff, told the JFP at an event celebrating the Mississippi Highway Patrol’s 75th anniversary.

Find Your Favorite Film The 14th annual Crossroads Film Festival kicks off this week. Below, find the titles (or parts of titles) of some of the films featured this year. Then, find out more about the films throughout the issue. Words can be found forward, backward, horizontally, vertically and diagonally. deepsouth

Heroes of the Round

Shotgun Wedding

Deserved Lesson

Genrevolt

Lucy

Ordinary Hero

Cardboard Titanics

We Didn’t Get Famous

Mississippi JUCO

As High as the Sky

Sound City

I Need a Hero

Out of True

The Last White Knight

Jackson Mobile

Changing Lives in the

Rather Die a Free Man

Pride and Joy

Delta

r r t t v e o r t s n t h c e d o i p o n d a h c e t d o s a t l d n i u d s w r h h i d s f n e u s d h a l r d u o r a n n l s n g h m

e n k t y p v a r v e k c m i s s i i e n i e u i e y e h d d r h o w i n f n e j g u a y n n d o e t f d n r i s i s o e d e h t n h r c i o d t e v n h t f h o e m j o t i e d s s a e d o l e r h a l n o p e h n h r d a e d p e h y r a n h t u o s p n f s n r h o n n d s i

v s s e o o m h n e i d r g h o e e h i e t o

His neighbors remembered Smith, 40, as sociable and friendly.

“Eric was a fine officer and a good detective who always gave 110 percent,” former Jackson Police Chief and Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin told the Jackson Free Press.

Former classmates, co-workers and friends—people who knew Smith best— reached out through social media. They remember him as guy who stood up to bullies, as a top policeman with a great sense of humor and as a good person.

“[T]hese are the saddest days,” wrote Ledireada Kent, a former dispatcher for the department, on Smith’s Facebook page.

“I will never forget the laughs we shared,” Nikita Roberts wrote. “You were always there when I needed you.”

“Eric T. Smith was a great officer and detective and will be truly missed by friends, family, co-workers and all,” Keyshia Rhymes wrote. “I encourage everyone to appreciate the lives we have and try to make them better. Help when you can, do not judge.”

“When Pops passed, you stepped up.

Treated me like your own son. You were the life of our family,” Jarvis Gatlin wrote.

“You made everyone laugh.”

Jackson City Councilman and attorney Chokwe Lumumba, who was at JPD headquarters after the shooting in the wake of reports of Smith’s death, told reporters he knew Smith for more than two decades.

“I had great respect for his work

e l s e j m a y t a s g o a u o j s h d e u l

u d i c h a a a o d e s e i o n i a s r d s r

o n a c w n p p i l f r o u t t o c c s c f k a i t s e j e v i l d t e n i d s t r m h y b t w w d e h e r i n d o u j h n s e i n d w e

l i j t o l y g h o g o a h p f h s a d t d e

h i u d f e t h v g n t o n s o u n d c i t y

w n c h t r l e e i i m n a h e e o u t h n n

d p e e o n m s r u m n r c g s a r e o g n h o o s d b y i r v t m p e d v w g g i n o g r

i e n t e c i d h d a l j a i d r o f l t n r

m l t u h r g h i a n e k e e h t n i i h c w n t i s n a o l n e e h w t u n e s o a d h b

“Everything —absolutely everything.”

“If we don’t make sure we get to the root cause of what creates these violent situations, I fear we’re just knocking our heads against the wall.”

—Mississippi Association of Educators President Kevin Gilbert speaking against a legislative proposal to increase the presence of armed guards in schools.

and his integrity,” Lumumba said. Smith’s stepson had played basketball on an Amateur Athletic Union team that Lumumba had also worked with.

“Eric helped take young men all over the country,” the councilman said. “He’s a real man in every sense of the word.”

In a statement released late on April 4, the city stopped short of naming Smith’s killer.

The city said that Jeremy Powell, 23, “was in the process of being arrested for the murder of Christopher Alexander, which occurred on April 1, 2013.” Powell “also died as a result of gunshot wounds,” the statement says.

A family friend of Powell’s called the JFP this morning because she wanted to make sure people knew another side of the man the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation has identified as Smith’s killer.

“It’s shocking to everyone because Jeremy was not that kind of person,” Crystal, a family friend who declined to give her last name, told the Jackson Free Press. “He has never been in trouble with the law. ...

He didn’t care if he had a bad day, he was going to make yours better.”

Warren Strain, spokesman for the MBI, which is in charge of the case, told the Associated Press April 5 that Powell shot Smith before killing himself.

Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. said coun-

selors and members of the clergy were available to JPD employees. He declined to answer reports questions during an April 5 press conference.

“I understand that many of you have questions. We’re still trying to find answers,” he said.

Smith’s funeral is set for 11 a.m. Saturday at the Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center on the Jackson State University campus.

Comment at www.jfp.ms.

facebook

– Jackson City Council candidate Kourtney Paige on what he would change about Ward 4 if elected.

Scheduled services for Det. Eric Smith • Visitation is 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Black’s Chapel Church, 3425 Robinson Road.

• Smith’s funeral is set for 11 a.m. Saturday at the Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center on the Jackson State University campus at 1400 Lynch St..

• Burial will be at Autumn Woods Cemetery, 4000 W. Northside Drive.

• Repast takes place at the Jackson Police Training Academy, 3000 Saint Charles St., following the funeral Saturday. If you can donate food, call 601-941-5212.

Det. Eric Smith and his wife, Eneka, a sergeant with JPD.

Gung Ho on Guns permits open-carry. He cites Section 12 of the Mississippi Constitution, which states that except for legislative regulations on carrying concealed weapons “the right of every citizen to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person, or property … shall not be called in question.”

Gipson doubts that his bill will result

owners or require permits or registration of gun owners, has some of the nation’s most relaxed gun laws. Mississippi is also a national leader in gun deaths, ranking No. 2 in a 2010 analysis of gun deaths nationwide by the Washington, D.C.-based Violence Policy Center. Mississippi sees 6.9 gun murders for every 100,000 people compared to the national average of 3.6 gun homicides per 100,000 people.

December’s tragic mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school and the flurry of calls for tighter gun-control in the United States prompted many of the gun proposals in Mississippi and around the nation.

Lawmakers introduced a bill designed to nullify any federal law seeking to regulate guns, ammo and accessories, and another that Rep. Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, is confident that Mississippians have the good sense not to walk would have permitted two staff around with guns strapped to their hips. members in each school to have a concealed firearm on school grounds. Both bills died before the in more gun-toting citizens or OK Corral- session ended. like shootouts.

However, lawmakers fast-tracked HB

“Mississippians have more discretion 485, which exempts conceal-carry permits than that,” Gipson said. from the state’s public-records laws, and ap Gipson’s assertion is debatable. Missis- proved measures exempting sales tax on firesippi, which does not require background arms and ammunition during Mississippi checks for transferring guns between private Second Amendment Weekend in Septem-

trip burns

B

y some measures, guns did not have a good year in the Mississippi Legislature. After lawmakers filed a arsenal of more than 30 gun-related measures in the opening weeks of the 2013 session, the vast majority of gun bills never saw the light of day, dying in committee.

The few gun bills that survived, most of which are headed to Gov. Phil Bryant’s desk for his signature, are significant. Among those is House Bill 2, which sponsors pushed as a technical amendment to the state’s concealed-weapons statute. It states that the law considers a weapon concealed that is holstered or sheathed.

One of the first bills filed during the session, and one of the first Bryant signed into law, HB 2 has caused a great amount of confusion.

“I think there are questions that will need to be answered,” said Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, who voted for the legislation and supports gun rights.

Among Blount’s questions are the law’s implications for concealed-carry permit holders. Some gun-rights advocates have interpreted HB 2 to mean the law will lead to “open carry,” permitting citizens to flourish weapons as long as the weapons are not technically concealed.

HB 2’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Andy Gipson of Braxton, said state law already

ber. Legislators also provided $7.5 million in state grants through the Mississippi Department of Education for schools to hire certified armed guards.

A January 2013 survey from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that 64 percent of Americans support putting armed security guards or police in more schools. Among respondents, 75 percent of people with high-school educations or less support armed guards at more schools, 68 percent of people with some college education agree while only 44 percent of college graduates support more armed school guards. The same study found 57 percent of people oppose arming teachers and other school officials.

Kevin Gilbert, president of the Mississippi Association of Educators, said introducing more guns to the school environment is a recipe for disaster. Rather than spending more money on school resource officers—who often send children to jail for minor infractions— Gilbert believes Mississippi should put more money into counseling and violence prevention.

“If we don’t make sure we get to the root cause of what creates these violence situations, I fear we’re just knocking our heads against the wall,” Gilbert said.

Comment a ww.jfp.ms. Email R.L. Nave at rlnave@jacksonfreepress.com.

jacksonfreepress.com

by R.L. Nave

9

TALK | crime

Curbing Murder in the Capital City

by Tyler Cleveland

April 10 - 16, 2013

10

a culture that leads to the killing.

“I know it’s discouraging,” he said. “It’s troubling, but basically it’s between people who have a beef (who) don’t seem to find another way to resolve it other than shooting each other.”

But according to leading 2013 mayoral candidates, there are ways to deal with the problem.

Jackson lawyer Regina Quinn outlined

Ward 2 City Councilman Chokwe Lumumba, a former defense attorney and current mayoral candidate, has a different take. He said bringing jobs to Jackson is the surest way to deter crime by providing an alternate means to make ends meet for would-be criminals.

“I’m in a unique position to understand people who have problems, and people are

Chris Mims OR City of Jackson

D

uring “Operation Bunny Hop,” Jackson police teamed up with the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department, the U.S. Marshals Taskforce and a narcotics unit and made 226 arrests in a three-day span from March 28 to March 30. Over the Easter weekend, the operation netted 14 felonies and 178 misdemeanors.

The joint effort, which included 104 total officers, also issued 1,491 traffic tickets, seized six illegal firearms and made 12 prostitution and 39 narcotics arrests.

It’s an impressive show of law enforcement, to be sure. But could large numbers of arrests be the magic bullet to bringing down Jackson’s murder rate, which has climbed for three years in a row?

Statistics, and police spokesmen, say no.

When it comes to the mother of all violent crimes, Jackson has been steadily between approximately 30 to 60 murders a year for three decades. Federal Bureau of Investigation information shows the capital city has averaged just over 52 homicides a year since 1980 and, if the notorious “crack era” (from 1991 to 1995 during which Jackson averaged more than 80 murders annually) is removed, that number drops to just over 46. During that period, Jackson has had six mayors -- all of whom talked tough on curbing violent crime.

But preventing that type of crime is a tricky task, and a topic often-sensationalized in municipal races. The political tactic of preying on people’s fears can be effective. The late Frank Melton rode scary crime numbers to a victory over current mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr.. in 2005 with promises to get it all taken care of in three to six months, depending on which speech you heard.

With non-violent crimes on the decline, Johnson has taken a more active role in recent months trying to curb the violent crime. In February, he announced a program that offers citizens a $500 reward for tips leading to the arrest of felons who own guns illegally.

But as Jackson Police Assistant Chief Lee Vance told WAPT news on Dec. 28, 2012, that violent crime, and murder in particular, are nearly impossible to stop without changing the hearts and minds of citizens.

“Well, basically, it’s the same reasons that we had in recent years,” Vance said when asked why homicides did not decline in 2012 over 2011. “That is, we have people in our city that get into conflicts, and they can’t seem to find any other way to resolve those conflicts besides killing each other.”

What the police can do is solve murders, which they did at a 65-percent clip in 2012, a full 15 percent higher than the national average of 50 percent, according to the same WAPT story. Vance explained that when it comes to preventing homicide, JPD is actually fighting

Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. (fourth from left) and JPD Chief Rebecca Coleman (third from right) recently recognized the efforts of Precinct 1 cops to reduce crime in the first quarter of 2013.

her plan in a JFP editorial-board interview last Thursday, saying it will take young leaders to convince today’s youth to avoid violence and illegal behavior.

“There needs to be more leadership among young people,” Quinn said. “Young people tend to follow other young people, and as mayor I would try to promote that ... Right now the kids with leadership skills are the ones leading our kids down paths we don’t want them to go down. We need to have a youth summit where our church officials and teachers identify leaders in our community, young people, so we can have a leadership training seminar and teach them to be positive role models for their peers.”

Although an earlier release from the Quinn campaign criticized Johnson for not doing enough to curb violent crime, she admitted any plan to achieve that goal would take years to take effect.

“When it comes to drugs, we won’t be able to save them all, but we can do more to help the people on the street who are addicted,” Quinn said.

“I know there is more we can do as far as grants and opportunities to create programs. Another thing we need to be very visible and have a police force that is using all the latest technology and do some creative crime fighting. I know we need to get guns off the street. The approach would be one of putting people around the table who have been experts in the field, people who have had success taking on tasks like this in other places, and let’s be about getting it done.”

marginal as far as crime is concerned,” Lumumba said in an interview with the JFP. “Our attack on them has to be get them a job, to re-orient their values. You’ve got to reduce the pool of people who might become criminals … that’s going to be a joint effort with churches, people like me who ran basketball programs.

“… [W]e have to say to those who continue to commit crimes that we’re going to sit down at this table and make a promise: You’re going to stop committing crimes, and I’m going to try my damnedest to get you a job, to create programs to get jobs, to encourage businesses to drop the “misdemeanor box” so you don’t get dropped from the job because you have to check off that you’ve been convicted of a misdemeanor. What your promise is going to be is you’re going to get out of the drug game, you’re not going to break into people’s homes. If you do that, you’ve breached our promise.”

Businessman Jonathan Lee, another mayoral hopeful, doesn’t claim to have all the answers, but said he thinks the mayor can use the bully pulpit to work with the school district to positively effect the lives of students and curb the high school dropout rate.

“There are no silver bullets,” Lee said. “I don’t have a single silver bullet in my pocket.

I think that’s important to say when we are discussing a subject as emotional as crime.

There are so many fronts that we have to work on to create an environment where people are happy and aren’t as stressed. That quality-of-life peace is not as black and white

as a crime statistic, but it is certainly a big part of the equation. … How can we make sure our citizens have access to great jobs, making sure our kids have a pleasant experience in the schools system, but also get the tools they need to succeed in the workplace.”

Lee added that JPD morale is low, but could be improved with common-sense solutions like added incentives for officers with higher education credentials and added benefits for officers.

“We have such an issue with the morale among our police officers and our ability to hang on to them is not very good,” Lee said.

“If we can improve our revenue (by seizing illegal drugs and contraband), we can offset some of the costs of things we’d like to go back to doing: for example, the police car take-home policy. If you are a beat cop, and you live in Jackson, I want you to take your car home. There’s empirical evidence out there that shows the equipment lasts longer, and we want those cars to go home with the officer. Not only for their morale but for the neighbors who want to see those cars parked outside their houses as a crime deterrent.”

Ward 5 Councilman Frank Bluntson said officer morale is the real issue, and recalled a story of a police officer, who Bluntson declined to identify, who had his shift changed because he was accused of having an altercation with a drug dealer.

“I feel that crimes are being committed because the officers are afraid to get out there and do their jobs,” Bluntson said. “They get called in for every little thing and get suspended.”

Read what other mayoral candidates say about crime at jfp.ms/mayorsrace2013. Comment at www.jfp.ms. Email Tyler Cleveland at tyler@jacksonfreepress.com.

Jackson Murders 1980-2012 Source: FBI

(FBI does not include “justified” homicides.)

Year Total 1980 42 1981 48 1982 52 1983 39 1984 32 1985 38 1986 33 1987 52 1988 48 1989 48 1990 44 1991 74 1992 63 1993 83 1994 91 1995 92 1996 67

Year 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Total 61 60 45 39 50 49 45 53 38 40 46 63 37 36 54 66

DISH | Ward 4 Candidates

Robinson: Education is Key

by Tyler Cleveland

D

Trip Burns

exter J. Robinson isn’t looking for the learned the ropes of the education system of their own to call a home.” attention. As the 11th of 12 sib- from the administrative side.

Now, the 43-year-old Robinson wants lings, he learned to stop doing that Recently, he’s gotten into the real estate to use his experience in education and govyears ago. What he is looking for is game, and along with a few other real estate ernment to help his community from the a platform, as city councilman for city council.

Ward 4, to fix the current problems he sees in his neck of the woods.

Would you support a 1-percent sales tax increase?

Robinson was born in Jackson in 1969 and got his education right First of all, I would have to know here in the capital city. He attended where it was going and how we are Callaway High School, Belhaven going to track it. We would have to College and Tougaloo College. be sure that the money would be He holds a bachelor’s degree in used for the purpose for which it economics and accounting from was allocated. That’s the only way Tougaloo and a master’s degree of I would support a tax increase. If business from Belhaven.

I knew that that 1 percent was go “My parents told me early on I ing toward roads or infrastructure, better go ahead and get a good eduI could get on board with that. But cation,” Robinson said. “Because The 11th of 12 brothers and sisters, Dexter Robinson learned if I couldn’t be sure of where that the value of education from his parents. that’s one of the things in life that money was going and what it was nobody can ever take away from you.” agents, has formed Centralized Realty Profesgoing to be spent on, I could not

Robinson got that education, and went sionals LLC. His work has taken him all over support that.” on to work at the Department of Veterans Jackson and its nearby cities.

Affairs for 16 years, and served on the Com- “It’s very rewarding work,” Robinson How can Jackson retain its young mittee on Waivers and Compromise and said. “I’m getting to help people who didn’t talent we seem to be losing to bigger as an educational specialist for the State of think they could ever afford to buy a house cities?

Mississippi. After that, he worked for nearly become first-time homeowners. We’re trying Basically, in order to retain our best and six years in alumni affairs at Tougaloo, where to work with people so they can have a house brightest … we have to have a market for

them. If we don’t have a market to employ and keep them here, we are going to keep losing them. ... I’ve worked with Tougaloo College, and I’ve helped students graduate and encouraged them to stay here and open their businesses right here in Jackson. If you are the kind of person who wants to invest in your community, you need to stay and you will see the rewards of their labor.

Can we go ahead with these development projects without fixing our problems first, i.e. infrastructure and education?

If we can say for certain that the new development projects guarantee to bring in funding that can then be used to fix some of our problems with infrastructure, and that those funds are clearly defined and outlined, then I can see us moving forward with the projects. I think a few of these projects—the Pearl River project (One Lake) and the other Downtown (Jackson) Partners project—will help us address our roads and our drainage and sewage issues.

Read the full interview and other candidate interviews at jfp.ms/citycouncilrace2013.

Email reporter at tyler@jacksonfreepress.com.

Paige: A Voice for the People

by Tyler Cleveland

Everything—absolutely everything.

I have some issues with the fact that, and I know it’s a business thing, but we paid money to have the Belk building (at Metrocenter Mall) remodeled. But we’re paying like $484,000 for this.

To me, it seems like for that kind of money we could have built our own building. The city owns the Dillard’s building (at Metrocenter Mall), but they don’t want to move in there because they are going to want to lease that out if someone wants to bring a department store and move in there.

In my particular ward, we don’t have anything. At first, we had Metrocenter Mall with 146 specialty stores, four major department stores, had a convenience center on the outside and a movie theater. Now, we don’t have any of that. In regards to Metrocenter, I really don’t personally think there’s help for it. The only way people will come back to Metrocenter, and I mean black and white, is if we bulldoze it to the ground and rebuild it like the Renaissance (in Ridgeland). It will really have to feel new and give the appearance that it is safe. That’s the only way you’re

going to get the clientele. It used to be the only mall we knew to go to.

Then, I have an issue with the Wendy’s on the corner of Ellis Avenue and Highway

Delta native Kourtney Paige sees a bright future for Jackson’s Ward 4.

80, they moved there because they were in a funky situation on the other side of the street. It was hard to cross over from the other side of the street, so they moved to the

corner. Now, the old building is sitting there abandoned.”

If elected, what can you do from the city council to stop emigration out of Jackson?

I can propose my ideas and try to get them initiated. … I don’t fault anybody for living where they live, because I live where I live. But it’s something when you earn a paycheck here and you got an education here and now you live in Madison. They have all those rules and regulations in Madison, but here in Jackson I can open up a restaurant and have a sign as tall as a street light, and as long as I pay the signage fee, Jackson’s all good with it. If I go out to Madison, they aren’t going to go for that. So I would try to get programs like that. Sometimes it’s a money thing, and you might have to offer people some kind of incentive to live inside the city limits. I’d be flexible about it, because I want to see young people staying here so we would have more people living inside the capital city.

Read the full interview and other candidate interviews at jfp.ms/citycouncilrace2013.

Email reporter at tyler@jacksonfreepress.com.

jacksonfreepress.com

What would you like to see change in Ward 4, specifically?

Trip Burns

K

ourtney Paige has spent his career working in radio. Now, he wants to lend his voice to the people of Jackson as city councilman for Ward 4.

A native of the small Delta town of Louise (population 199) in Humphries County, Paige moved to Jackson with his family when he was 7. Since then, he’s been moving around the southeast working in radio and television.

His career has taken him to other metropolises, including Birmingham and Atlanta, but he says his roots are in Jackson.

“I have been spent around 30 years living in Jackson,” the 43-year-old Paige said. “Even when I moved away for a job opportunity, I never really left here. My family is here.”

Paige was a victim of the economic recession and has been job-hunting recently, but until 2010 he worked for television station Fox 40 in Jackson, before it merged with WLBT. He does help out with Jackson State University’s closed-circuit television channel “Tiger TV” and works as the “unofficially official” student news director for the JSU-22 radio news program.

Paige said he’s ready to lead Ward 4 into the future.

11

TALK | business

Creative, Historic Space +LEDFKL /XQFK 6SHFLDOV VWDUWLQJ DW

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by Ronni Mott

T

Courtesy HRI Properties

ake a couple of enthusiastic young apartments that will rent for $550 to $670 blend into the city’s landscape while adding Jackson entrepreneurs and put them per month, a fitness center, business center, a hip, funky element to the whole project. together with an established urban- and shared studio and gallery space. Pre- HRI has taken the lead in the project, development company and what do ferred tenants will be working artists; how- providing the two young BlackWhite partyou get? Well, you might get some fabulous ever, all will be welcome to apply. ners a unique learning experience, while givlow-cost housing for artists and gallery space The concept for an inner-city artists’ ing HRI “boots on the ground” in Jackson. in the capital city’s downtown. space isn’t new. Collen cited Minneapolis, BlackWhite has taken on local needs from

Alan Henderson and analyzing the market to checkMatthew Bolian make up the ing measurements to working enthusiastic part of the equawith the city bureaucracy. tion: BlackWhite Develop “I see us changing the face ment. When they looked at of Jackson, and by changing, I the block of decrepit shops mean helping Jackson evolve, across the street from the King making the city what we all Edward Hotel, they saw opknow Jackson can become,” portunity, not decay.

Henderson said about Black “It was just a dream to do White’s commitment to the a downtown development,” city. He and Bolian, a former Henderson said. intern at the Jackson Free Press,

BlackWhite took an op- Developers see an opportunity to turn a rundown, partially vacant have passions for, smart, holistion to buy the buildings on block of West Capitol Street into artists’ lofts and galleries. tic urban development that will the block, several of which are entice younger Mississippians empty, then Henderson drew to stick around or return, stemup detailed plans of their vision while Bolian Minn.-based Artspace as a leader in creating ming the tide of the state’s brain drain. worked the numbers and wrote a proposal. similar low-cost artist communities around Because the Capitol Art Lofts will ocThe partners presented the package to inves- the country. HRI has created two such proj- cupy a historic area, contractors will have tors that they believed could help them bring ects in New Orleans: Blue Plate Artist’s Lofts tight guidelines to follow. The development their vision to fruition. and Bywater Art Lofts, located in a former is eligible for federal historic tax credits and

“I saw the potential,” Henderson said. mayonnaise factory and a former garment low-income housing tax credits, which will “It’s rare in downtown that you have that factory, respectively. make up about $7.6 million of the expected many intact, historical buildings. … It really “In addition to the living space, we $10 million to $12 million in costs. speaks to the historical fabric of the city.” try to create some common, collaborative The condition of the buildings isn’t

New Orleans-based HRI Properties, space—a gallery, a work area, things where great, but having experienced the King Edthe company that helped rehabilitate the people can come together, share ideas,” Col- ward’s state of dilapidation and with extenKing Edward Hotel and the Standard Life len said. The business center would provide sive experience in other historic preservation Building in Jackson, stepped up. With some the residents computers loaded with special- projects, Collen doesn’t see any structural isskin already in the city, HRI was a natural. ized software to create websites and market sues that would put a damper on the project.

“We really wanted the buildings across their creations, and would hold software The team hopes the Capitol Art Lofts to be the street (from the King Edward) to con- trainings three or four times a year, he said. ready for occupancy in December 2014. tribute to the revitalization that we started,” The idea is to create a downtown core “We don’t see any challenge with existJoshua Collen, HRI’s vice president of devel- of creative people to add a hip, fun element ing conditions,” Collen said. “… Given the opment, said. “This is the right fit that we to a downtown in need of fresh, imaginative kind of challenges that we had at the King think is finance-able and achievable.” energy. The fact that the developers plan to Edward, these are not in that same ballpark

The partnership created a new vision: retain many of the buildings’ historic ele- of difficulty.”

Capitol Arts Lofts in the 200 block of West ments—windows, high tin ceilings, mosaic Comment at www.jfp.ms. Email Ronni Capitol Street. Plans include 31 low-cost loft floors and even retail signage—allows it to Mott at ronni@jacksonfreepress.com.

601.664.7588

1002 Treetop Blvd • Flowood Behind the Applebee’s on Lakeland www.fusionjapanesethaicuisine.com

Congratulations to Our Staff Award Winners for the month of April

Falcon Award (Staff’s Choice):

Samantha Towers Sales Assistant

KickAss (Managers’ Choice):

Andrea Thomas

April 10 - 16, 2013

Advertising Designer

12

The Jackson Free Press is looking for freelance writers interested in covering the city’s music scene.

Please e-mail inquiries to

kathleen@jacksonfreepress.com.

Most Enterprising Reporting:

Tyler Cleveland Reporter

JCV7210-45 Event Week April 8 JFPress 9.25x5.875.indd 1

Save Some Dates!

4/8/13 12:09 PM

April 28 - May 4, 2013 Kickoff Party : April 28 ( join the list at JFPDaily.com to get an invite )

This spring, the JFP brings you JFP Chef Week, a wonderful opportunity to visit new restaurants and raise money for local charities! Each Chef will be offering a signature dish and working with a charity to get YOUR votes as to who will receive the prize money. so

far

Tom Ramsey

Adam Brown

Mitchell Moore

Derek George Char Restaurant

Islander Seafood and Oyster House

Louis Bruno

John Michael Smith

Shaun Fontenot

Chester Williams

Troy Woodson

Matthew Kajdan

Underground 119 and Roux

Sal and Mookie’s

Campbell’s Bakery Bruno’s Adobo

Sombra Mexican Kitchen

Amerigo Italian Restaurant

High Noon Cafe

Nathan Glenn 904 Pizza

Nic Laurie

Anjou

Parlor Market

:13;C?>/6B55/@B5CC

still time!

’s s: The61re Chellf60 x11 to learn 21 236 1Ca eek t JFP Chef W more abou

jacksonfreepress.com

Participating

13

Greed Is Good

B

oneqweesha Jones: “Welcome to the Ghetto Science Public Television premiere of ‘Stuff That Matters.’ Yes, I’m back on the scene like a record machine and ready to share and talk about important things. Please be advised: This is not a celebrity-gossip, hot-topic show with giddy hosts continuously chatting about entertainment, fashion and food.

“Tonight, I want to know why some teachers cheat for students on standardized tests. Maybe my special guest, Harris ‘Stotle’ Jenkins, will shed some of his street-intellectual insight regarding this matter.

“What’s the word, Harris?”

Harris “Stotle” Jenkins: “If you are referring to the public-school cheating scandal in Atlanta, my answer would be society’s ‘fascination with escalation.’”

Boneqweesha Jones: “Fascination with escalation? Sounds like you have an issue with ‘Hooked on Phonics.’”

Harris “Stotle” Jenkins: “In my humble opinion, we live in a society fascinated with pressuring individuals to succeed. Ivan Illich, author of ‘Deschooling Society,’ calls this trend ‘escalation leading to success.’

“For example: A company boss is pressured to make his or her workers more productive so that the company makes more money. If the boss fails, the company fires him and his fellow workers and replaces them with someone more capable. Also, the children suffer the most. Some folk will do anything to keep a job or get a bonus. I think that is what happened in this cheating scandal.”

Boneqweesha Jones: “Whatever happened to ‘enough is enough’?”

Harris ‘Stotle’ Jenkins: “Unfortunately, it has become ‘greed is good.’”

“poo-poo” “We’re going to have the entire Legislature in a septic tank, and when we climb out, we’re all going to have the same poo-poo on us.”

April 10 - 16, 2013

—House Appropriations Chairman Rep. Herb Frierson, R-Poplarville, on the political fallout over lawmakers’ failure to renew the Medicaid program.

14

Why it stinks: Well, there’s the poo thing.

Mississippi legislators have been slinging mud at each other over which party is to blame for not reauthorizing the state’s Medicaid program during the regular session, which ended last week. The Legislature must renew the program by July 1, which will require Gov. Phil Bryant to call a special session at taxpayer expense. At the same time, all have been adamant that politics isn’t the motivation.

Republicans say they can’t understand why Democrats would put the sick and elderly in eminent danger by not voting to reauthorize the program. Democrats say they can’t understand why Republicans won’t even debate the possibility of expanding the program under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, and accuse Republicans of putting poor Mississippians at risk by leaving many without health insurance.

Meanwhile, it’s the citizens—who expect their elected leaders to give them the facts about the ACA—who are left in the dark.

Begin a New Day

I

t’s been a rough couple of weeks for Jackson, with two highly regarded local men meeting untimely deaths. First, Hal White of the iconic Hal & Mal’s restaurant succumbed to a brain aneurysm. Then, a suspect, who later turned the weapon on himself, gunned down Det. Eric Smith, an 18-year veteran of the Jackson Police Department at JPD’s downtown headquarters.

Take a few deep breaths, Jackson. It’s time for a fresh start.

It’s easy to turn inward when tragedy comes knocking on our doors. But as trite as it may sound, life does go on. Fortunately, when Jacksonians are ready to rejoin the world, there’s an awful lot of life to be lived.

Jackson is a city ready to burst at the seams with creative energy.

This week heralds the return of the Crossroads Film Festival. Over four days, the festival offers the best of independent filmmaking, workshops, musical events and more. Crossroads has become a premier go-to event in the South, in a city that has tremendous potential to become a go-to destination.

It’s exactly the kind of fresh, vibrant energy that will have Jackson grow and prosper in the coming years—an outlook that dares to try something new, or take a good idea and model it into a totally fresh, completely Jackson, Miss., kind of happening.

It’s easy to become cynical in a city where it seems to take forever to get something accomplished. Certainly, the incessant talk of Farish Street’s renewal, and promises for a convention center hotel and a flood-control plan that benefits most of the city instead of a select few can become background noise—it doesn’t stop, and it never seems to change, either.

So what’s an ordinary Jacksonian to do?

Begin by recognizing the small changes that will eventually bring big shifts to the city’s demographics. Changes like creating an artist’s haven in the heart of downtown, a project spearheaded by Jackson’s BlackWhite Development. This project, which will transform a bit more of the urban blight so evident in the city, has tremendous promise to provide both beautification and low-cost housing in the heart of Jackson—two ideas that may seem counter-intuitive, but they work.

Begin by getting off your couch and getting involved with the dozens of creative endeavors going on around town. Take in a play or a concert. While you’re at it, take in the public art on the many traffic signal boxes around town. That’s a project that combines the lofty (fine art) with the mundane (big grey metal boxes) to create something entirely different.

It’s spring, Jackson. Time to come out and play. And get involved.

Email letters to letters@jacksonfreepress.com, fax to 601-510-9019 or mail to P.O. Box 5067, Jackson, MS 39296. Include daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

Or write a 300-600-word “Your Turn” and send it by email, fax or mail above with a daytime phone number. All submissions are subject to fact checks.

Joe Atkins

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O

XFORD – Fannie Lou Hamer, a folk philosopher of the Civil Rights Movement, knew what she was up against in a state and region where an entrenched hard-right oligarchy ruled at the expense of the majority.

“With the people, for the people, by the people—I crack up when I hear it,” said the former field hand, a woman wise far beyond her sixth-grade education. “I say, with the handful, for the handful, by the handful, ‘cause that’s what really happens.”

Hamer spoke those words decades ago, but they’re just as true today as hardright political leaders in Mississippi and across the South once again circle the wagons to make sure they stay in power even if it means people suffer across the land.

Witness the spectacle of Gov. Phil Bryant and the Republican bosses in the state Legislature opposing an expansion of Medicaid that would help 300,000 needy Mississippians – even though the federal government will largely fund it. They’re not going to threaten their party or their own political necks by giving Obamacare a chance to succeed.

Even the pleas of some 200 doctors and other health advocates who recently gathered in Jackson fell on deaf ears as Bryant and Co. stood in the door to block any expansion, much like Gov. Ross Barnett tried to block integration at Ole Miss back in 1962.

The comparison is fitting.

Here you have the poorest state in the nation, where one in five nonelderly residents lacks health insurance, a state that recorded the nation’s largest growth in the gap between the rich and poor between the late 1990s and mid-2000s.

This is a state that in the last two decades enjoyed a net gain (over what it paid in taxes) of $240 billion in federal aid to the poor and needy.

It’s the same story across the South, a region that will forever be the nation’s poorest so long as it continues to be ruled by oligarchies of self-interested pols and the business and corporate interests they serve. That has been the South through much of its sad history.

From Virginia to Texas—what Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson called the Confederacy—Republican governors have led the charge to oppose the Affordable Health Care Act and the Medicaid expansion that is a key part of it. Florida’s governor is the only exception.

“Many of the citizens who would benefit the most from this live in the reddest of states with the most intense opposition,” Kaiser Family Foundation President Drew Altman told the Associated Press.

The assault on the needy takes many forms. The Republican governor and

Legislature in North Carolina recently agreed to slash weekly benefits to the unemployed from $535 to $350. North Carolina has a 9.2 percent unemployment rate, fifth highest in the nation. It joins five other southern states—Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina—that have slashed benefits to the unemployed.

Back in Fannie Lou Hamer’s day, white Delta planters and their pet pols fought racial integration with every fiber of their being. Their minions killed and maimed activists. They burned churches and homes. They threw blacks like Hamer into jails and tried to beat them into submission.

The same federal government that finally forced Mississippi and the Delta planters to accept the black vote and black civil rights allowed that same leadership to control federal aid to the poor. Planters grew rich on federal farm subsidies but were misers when it came to doling out food stamps or other poverty assistance.

They had no compunction about withholding assistance to any black upstart who challenged the system.

Read historian James C. Cobb’s “The Most Southern Place on Earth” (Oxford University Press, USA, 1992) about those times. It’s painful but an education. Mississippi was “a kind of prison in which live a great group of uneducated, semi-starving people from whom all but token public support has been withdrawn,” said one observer, a physician from North Carolina who refused to believe how bad things were until he saw them in person.

The same hypocrisy exists today. State leaders in Mississippi managed to find $356 million in incentives to lure Toyota at a time when they wouldn’t even fund a burn center, forcing burn victims to leave the state for treatment.

“Nothing could be a greater threat to the southern cheap-labor economic strategy than universal, standardized federal social insurance,” author Michael Lind of the New America Foundation has written.

“In order to maximize the dependence of southern workers on southern employers in the great low-wage labor pool of the former Confederacy, it would be better to have no welfare at all, only local charity (funded and controlled, naturally, by the local wealthy families).”

In other words, government “with the handful, for the handful, by the handful.”

A veteran journalist who teaches at the University of Mississippi, Joe Atkins is author of “Covering for the Bosses: Labor and the Southern Press” and winner of the Mississippi Association for Justice’s 2011 Consumer Advocate Award. His blog is laborsouth.blogspot. com. Email him at jbatkins@olemiss.edu.

jacksonfreepress.com

‘By the Handful’

15

Deep Topics

by Amber Helsel

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isa Biagiotti drove 13,000 miles, went on more than a dozen road trips and talked to upwards of 400 people across the rural South to film a documentary about the rural South and how the HIV/AIDS epidemic affects the people there.. A native of New York, she has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, and has written and produced for the Los Angeles Times, PBS, and other publications and television networks.

Her critically acclaimed documentary, “deepsouth,” follows three main story lines: Josh, a college student from the Mississippi Delta who seeks support and mentorship with an underground gay family in Jackson; Monica and Tamela, who host a retreat in Louisiana for people who dealing with HIV/ AIDS; and Kathie, who spends most of the year on the road speaking about a change in policy and funding regarding the disease.

Biagiotti recently talked with us about her documentary, which is showing this year at the Crossroads Film Festival. See the film April 13 at 5:15 p.m. on Screen C at the Malco (2211 Grandview Blvd., Madison).

the South was that this wasn’t what I thought it was. Every time I talked to somebody, or everywhere I went, it wasn’t the same disease. It’s the same virus. It’s not the same disease as I grew up knowing about, you know, HIV/AIDS. It was much more of social illness in the South, and it was an indicator of a lot of other things, of a region in crisis. That’s kind of bold

shame your family, and the things that you don’t talk about, those were the things that reminded me of my own family.

Did you have any preconceptions about the South?

Are you working on any other projects?

You know, I didn’t. I certainly heard of the Civil War South. I grew up learning about that. But the more time I spent in the South, the more it felt familiar. My mother is Jamaican, and her family, her upbringing, the food, the conversation, the secrets they keep, all those things reminded me of the South. The culture seemed to me very similar. They both have legacies of slavery. They’re both extremely conservative and religious. The emphasis on family and never wanting to

I’m really focused on “deepsouth” right now. I have a couple of ideas, but it’s “deepsouth” all the time right now.

It’s great because organizations are calling me and asking me to bring the film. I was just in Oxford (Miss.). I’m going to Minneapolis, Boston and then Jackson, and then I have a five-stop tour in Alabama. Then I’m going to Houston, too, and then Key West and New York. I can’t really keep up.

There’s not really time for the next project.

How was your experience being around the South: the people, the places, everything?

Courtesy Lisa Biagiotti

The themes of the film are isolation, inertia, family, community (and) fighting against the system, and I think my experience in the South has touched on all of those themes. There were times when I felt extremely isolated, or I felt like I didn’t know what I was looking for or what I was investigating. There were times where I felt like Monica and Tammy (characters in the film), doing everything for myself, or like Josh, just kind of running in place and exerting energy, and I certainly felt like Kathie, who is this road warrior who goes around and says the same thing over and over again.

I’ve certainly felt that frustration.

There were moments when I really felt like I wanted to give up because it was difficult. Things weren’t panning out, and I didn’t know what story I was telling, and then something happened, or my subjects, who are very resilient, start giving me advice and not to give How did you get into filmmaking? up and do all those things. I think it’s a

I’m a journalist by trade. Film is blend of emotions, this range from bejust a medium for me to use, (but) I Filmmaker Lisa Biagiotti explored how various Mississippians deal with HIV/AIDS in “deepsouth.” ing completely isolated and frustrated also write and do multimedia journalto having a sense of community. All ism. The film for me was just a medium the subjects are going to be in Jackson that I could work in. This is my first independent feature. to say as a northerner about the South, but southerners are at Crossroads. They were joking with me just last week sayI have done longer-form TV documentaries and also short- kind of always doing it themselves, and you don’t hear them ing we’re like the “deepsouth” family. They didn’t know each form videos for television and online as well. clamoring for services and funding and all that. That doesn’t other before the film, at all, and that’s also part of the problem match the magnitude of the need in the South. which is that the geography affects connections.

April 10 - 16, 2013

What brought you into this particular topic?

I was working on some stories in Jamaica (for PBS) on homophobia and HIV in Jamaica, and I just came across some statistics in the South. I was really surprised by them, so I just started driving across the South and talking to people.

In order to film, I had a grant from MAC cosmetics, and I liquidated my retirement funds to finish it.

That seems like a big investment of your money.

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Yeah, it was, but I think what I saw as I was going across

This Boat Isn’t Built to Last

by Dustin Cardon

by Amber Helsel

N

A Mother’s Fear

by Nneka Ayozie courtesy Crossroads

I

n this engaging short film, director Andrew Fairbank explores the flaws in a mother-and-son relationship, which fester after a hit-andrun. While drinking and high off of his mother’s Valium pills, Sam hits a girl with his car. After calling 911, he is randomly connected to his mother, Alana, and that’s when things get really interesting.

Sam’s shifting sense of conscience contrasted with his mother’s feelings about the event result in some suspenseful, tense moments. Their relationship makes the viewer think about family values and how much they would put on the line for a family member’s safety. The idea of being recorded adds an interesting social commentary, too.

While watching the gritty drama, I felt that Sam’s accident was karmic payback for Alana’s terrible treatment of 911 callers and her fellow coworkers. This short grabs your interest, and leaves you dying to know the result of Alana’s poor decisions.

See “9-1-1” April 12 at 7 p.m. at Malco, on Screen C.

Unfamous, Not Forgotten

by Bethany Bridges

M

by Nneka Ayozie courtesy Crossroads

T

y grandmother used to say, “Didn’t nothing good come out the south, but Elvis and sweet potato pie.”

But grandmother, an avid music fan, might have changed her mind if she watched Camilla Aikin’s film, “We Didn’t Get Famous.”

The film follows several underground punk-rock bands from all over the South—places like Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. The bands, including Let’s Active, the Squalls, Pylon, Windbreakers, the Germans, Carnival Season and dB’s, worked fearlessly throughout their careers to be taken seriously as authentic, edgy rock musicians.

This film captures the raw emotions of these musicians as they share their testimonies on passion, work ethic, music, style and inspiration. The inward struggle they all seemed to face as southern musicians involved the challenge of removing their music and artistic personas from the likes of certain country-rock musicians, such as Skynyrd.

“We were definitely not the whiskey-drinking, rebel type of crowd,” says Tim Lees, front man for Windbreakers. What these bands wanted the most, it seems, was appreciation and credit for being punk/rock artists while keeping their mannerisms and southern upbringing.

“We were just southern kids who grew with politeness and manners,” Peter Holsapple of dB’s says.

Although they never made it to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they certainly left an impact on the Dirty South, adding more noteworthy names to the South’s long list of extraordinary musical talents.

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See “We Didn’t Get Famous” April 12 at 6:50 p.m. at Malco, on Screen A. courtesy Crossroads

Hope in Mississippi he 18-minute documentary “Delta 180: Changing Lives in the Mississippi Delta” takes a closer look at the at-risk youth in the Delta area. Director Anne Rayner takes a camera into the some of the most challenged areas of Greenville to explain the benefits and needs for the 180 Degrees Program. The afterschool program is aimed at reducing of juvenile crime rate, and increasing school performance, social awareness, and responsibility through interactive workshops and mentoring.

Dedicated citizens, known as facilitators, go through weekly training exercises for the program. In Greenville, the two sites of the Delta 180 program are the Ruff House Gym and Ella Darling Achievement system. The documentary defines the schools’ kids as survivors, children striving “just to make it through the day and fend for themselves.

Through testimonials from facilitators, juvenile participants and their parents, the documentary communicates the need for the program in the Greenville area. The film made me wonder why the program isn’t implemented in more schools around the nation. Delta 180 gives hope for the some of the most poverty-stricken, at-risk regions. I have special family ties to the Mississippi Delta area, so this documentary especially appealed to me, but its an important topic that more people should explore and learn about.

See “Delta 180: Changing Lives in the Mississippi Delta” April 13 at 1:10 p.m. at Malco, on Screen B.

othing takes you away from your worries and troubles quite like a good boat race, especially if those boats are made of cardboard. “Cardboard Titanics,” which director Sam Frazier Jr. taglines as “smart people doing something stupid for no apparent reason,” is a short documentary about the “Birmingham Boat Race” in Birmingham, Ala., where a group of highly intelligent, successful and smart people meet every year to construct cardboard boats and race them.

The rules are simple: Use regular cardboard (not cardboard with some kind of wax seal or whatever) and duct tape for only the seams. The boats cannot be covered in duct tape, a la Mythbusters. The top three racers are awarded first, second and third place with statues made out of cardboard and aluminum foil, but the most coveted it seems, is the DFL award (short for Dead F**king Last), which is awarded, rightly, to the last person to finish. They even have a new one called the Lead Boat award (called the Jennifer Coleman award during the ceremony), given to the team with the boat that sinks the fastest with no hope of return.

In the film, a woman with seemingly terrible boat ends up in the top four, to the surprise of everyone, including the viewer. A scientist sinks because his cardboard is too heavy.

It is a pointlessly funny film that makes you want to make your own cardboard boat and take off work one day so you can race your friends. The best part of the film, to me, is the Monty Python-esque narration over candidly funny sports photos at the beginning, and the scrolling commentary throughout the film. Definitely pay attention to that.

See “Cardboard Titanics” April 14 at 7:35 at Malco, on Screen C.

courtesy Crossroads

The 14th Annual Crossroads Film Festival runs from Thursday, April 11, through Sunday, April 14. The festival features more than 140 films, of which many are made in Mississippi, produced or directed by Mississippians, feature Mississippi actors or have some other Mississippi connection.

An all-events pass gets you into every film and event you want to go to. It’s $49 for Crossroads Film Society members, $59 for everyone else. Individual film blocks (generally a related short and a feature, or a group of short films) and workshops are $6 for members, $8 for non-members. A oneday pass for films and workshops are $15 for members and $20 for non-members.

For a complete schedule of events—films, music, workshops, kids’ events, receptions and more—and to buy tickets, visit crossroadsfilmfestival.com.

Email your questions to info@crossroadsfilmfestival.com.

jacksonfreepress.com

The Nitty Gritty

A Taste Of Spring

Some beautiful visitors have arrived at the Mississippi Museum of Art.

toMONET

April 10 - 16, 2013

OLD MASTERS

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three centuries of french painting from the wadsworth atheneum

THE ANNIE LAURIE SWAIM HEARIN MEMORIAL EXHIBITION SERIES

March 23–September 8, 2013

380 SOUTH LAMAR

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JACKSON, MS

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601.960.1515 OR 1.866.VIEWART

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WWW.MSMUSEUMART.ORG

This exhibition was organized by the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT, and is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. The Mississippi Museum of Art and its programs are sponsored in part by the city of Jackson and the Jackson Convention & Visitors Bureau. Support is also provided in part by funding from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

Heroes of All Kinds

Genres of Romance

by Mo Wilson

by Amber Helsel

“I courtesy Crossroads

need a Hero” tracks the progress and setbacks in the LGBT community’s struggle to be represented in the comic-book world.

Since comics became popular in the ’50s, it is not surprising that gay representation would be lacking. So it is both sad and unsurprising to hear that the head of Marvel, Jim Shooter, once said, “There are no gay characters in the Marvel universe.”

After a brief look at past failed representation, the film smartly moves right to current comic book artists and writers. In between gay-friendly quotes by superheroes, we hear writers of mainstream comics like “Archie” and “Green Lantern” talk about the struggle they faced introducing gay characters and storylines. Independent authors are represented largely through Prism, a nonprofit that supports queer comics.

Those looking for authors to support can find a wide variety of gay-themed comics from which they can choose. I thoroughly enjoyed the brief glimpse of “The Wuvable Oaf,” a comic with art featuring a huge hairy man surrounded by cute cats and pink lettering. The comic, by Ed Luce, follows a quest for “luv” in an alternative music world. The lesbian witch comic “Charm School” by Elizabeth Watson also caught my eye.

I would like to see more comics featuring gay people of color, gay women, and transgender people, rather than featuring one woman of color and interviewing a gay guy about trans comic-book writers. The film gets points off for including a comic with the offensive slur “tranny” to describe a trans character. Still, ultimately ending on somewhat of a triumphant note, the film casts much-needed light onto a less-well-known section of comics.

See “I Need a Hero” April 14 at 3:20 p.m. at Malco, on screen B.

courtesy Lion Dance

E

very couple eventually has some kind of movie night, whether it be at a theater or just sitting at home. Most run into the same dilemma: What movie do we want to see?

Action or drama? Horror or comedy?

The couple in “Genrevolt,” a short film from the minds of filmmakers and comedians Casey Dillard and Glenn Payne (who also play lead characters Shannon and Ben), find themselves in the midst of these movie cliches trying to figure out where they fit together.

Horror? Definitely not, because as Shannon puts it, “Is it really worth seeing somebody naked if it’s the last thing you ever see?” When they walk away from the crickety old house, a man in a scary mask wielding a machete jumps out, sighing when no one is there.

Drama is a bit of a doozy due to the tuberculosis Shannon gets and the fact that Ben is unhappy in lace. Action? It is Ben’s dream, but Shannon would prefer to not be “the girl.”

You know. The one that slows the hero down or dies in the beginning. They even find themselves in a low-budget porn film with a pizza delivery guy and a repairman. It is a go for Ben, but Shannon is not interested. Finally, they find themselves in a chick flick, where Shannon is ready to call it quits until they touch hands on a bridge and find themselves in the middle of a camera-turning, music score-playing happy ending.

The film pokes fun at romance, how we perceive it and how we all want our relationships to be like movies. We all want that happy ending.

If you like romance, drama, horror, action and happy endings, you will love this film.

See “Genrevolt” April 12 at 8:55 p.m. at Malco, on Screen B.

The Toughest League

by Tyler Cleveland

T courtesy Aunt Kiko Productions

A

s the short film “As High as the Sky” opens, we see Margaret, or Maggie, meticulously adjusting her décor.

Our lead character is a victim of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Thin and pale Maggie seems estranged despite her bright and colorful surroundings.

After consuming breakfast and a cupful of medicine, she gets a call from Aunt Barbara and Aunt Deborah. It goes to voicemail, where an unseen man says, “We are not home, leave a message”—another clue about Maggie.

As the film progresses, we meet Josephine, the nomadic sister, and Hannah, the niece, who make an unexpected visit to Maggie. It’s all awkward silence among the three, however. Josephine and Hannah have a very evident bond that appears to bewilder Maggie.

The film unfolds around these three women, plus aunts Barb and Deb, who all became bound together after Maggie’s parents’ death. Maggie is six weeks single from a three-year relationship with Matthew, the voice on the voicemail. She, Josephine and Hannah can’t seem to find common ground—or can they? The secrets of dysfunctional family unfold as Maggie comes to terms with her obsessive behaviors in this film by Nikki Braendlin.

See “As High as the Sky” April 14 at 5:25 p.m. at Malco, on Screen C.

jacksonfreepress.com

by Krista Davis

courtesy Crossroads

Family Ties

he Mississippi junior-college football system is unlike any other in the United States— more competitive, impassioned and with higher stakes than any other state.

That’s the premise of Director Cotton Yancey’s homage to Mississippi juco football “Mississippi JUCOs, The Toughest Football League in America.”

Locally produced by Jackson entertainment attorney X.M. Frascogna Jr., the documentary attempts to capture the passion of football-crazy fans and players that make Mississippi’s 14-team junior college league the most competitive in America while putting the organization in its proper historical context.

This viewer would have liked more of the history. Segments covering some of the state’s most colorful characters such as East Mississippi’s Bob “Bull” Sullivan (who could have been the subject of the whole movie) and Pearl River Community College’s Thomas “Dobie” Holden, as well as traditions like Itawamba Community College’s old stadium, known as “The Wall,” help connect the past to the present.

Arguably the most interesting segment in the movie comes early on, when we learn the story of how the junior colleges formed and the importance football played in gaining popularity for the schools. It left me wanting more.

What the film lacks in historical context, it makes up for in imagery. Yancey captures the passion and pageantry of the games, and the highlight-reel collisions speak to the violence critics refer to as “renegade football.”

Filmed in 2011, the director chose the games well. The pre-game speeches from coaches in locker rooms and in-game commentary with real-time game film gives viewers that “Friday Night Lights” feel. Devotees of Mississippi junior college football will love it.

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See “Mississippi JUCOs” April 14 at 3 p.m. at Malco, on Screen A.

April 10 - 16, 2013

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Through the Looking Glass

A Mobile City

by Amber Helsel

by Mo Wilson

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Sparks and Conflict

Passion for Food

courtesy Crossroads

he film “Mirror,” directed by animation artist Q, is about two cats who switch lives only to realize that one is not better than the other. One cat lives in a poor family with three young siblings and a mean mother who slaps him when he does not give her enough fish. Every time he tries to eat one, his siblings take it away from him.

The other cat is a successful businessman who lives in a mansion and has plenty to eat but wishes for a family.

One day the two cats find their bathroom doors glowing green. Curious (as anyone would be), they walk inside to find themselves facing each other in the mirror. They pull a Freaky Friday and switch bodies and start living each other’s lives until they are fed up and tired of the loneliness or the crowdedness that comes with each life.

A simple synopsis is not enough to describe the complexity of this short film. The animation is very dark, with bright blood spatters seen when the mother smacks each “son” for not bring home enough fish. Both cats are empathetic figures. The big family cat reminding you how big families mean brothers and sisters can get in your way. The business cat makes you feel his loneliness, with only his food and help for company at the top of his industry.

The darkness of the short is only amplified by the lack of dialogue—you hear only sound effects: the sounds of walking, the smacking sound of a slap, the characters’ sighs.

It is a bittersweet take on the notion of happiness and the grass being greener on the other side. If you want to watch this film because it has cute little cats, you will not like it.

They are not cute, but they are not meant to be, and that is the beauty of this short film.

See “Mirror” April 14 at 7:35 p.m. at Malco, on Screen C.

by Nneka Ayozie

by Amber Helsel

“P

courtesy Crossroads

ride and Joy” featured three of my favorite things: food, the South and Ole Miss. When I was in college, I attended speeches by John T. Edge and the like at Thacker Mountain Radio some Thursday afternoons, so I was slightly familiar with the Southern Foodways Alliance and their work. The organization’s purpose, as it states, is to document, study and celebrate the food culture and how it’s changing in the South—and as we all know, food plays a huge role around here.

The film, directed by Joe York and produced by John T. Edge, was shot all around the South from Texas to Virginia, and features people who work at the heart and soul of Southern food. It opens with Dori Sanders, of Sanders Peach Farm and Roadside Market in South Carolina, talking about how customers will leave her with a recipe or a story. In her eyes, food is used to tell a story.

The film also features an oyster shucker from New Orleans who found his passion when he snuck to the back of the restaurant and secretly shucked his first oyster, a paddlefish caviar fisherman who says that he would never eat caviar himself, and many others who live and breathe Southern food.

My personal favorite part of the film has to be when cattle farmer Will Harris of White Oak Pastures in Georgia (whose organic beef is sold in Whole Foods stores) says that he wakes up every morning and watches the sunrise while drinking coffee in the middle of the pasture, and he ends the day with a bottle of wine while watching the sunset in the same spot. He said that he hates missing either ritual—clearly, he has a lot of passion for his job.

“Pride and Joy” paints an incredible picture of the food and culture around the South and the people who live it.

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See “Pride and Joy” April 13 at 5:20 p.m. at Malco, on Screen B. jacksonfreepress.com

courtesy Crossroads

A

mother’s willingness to do anything for her child is the unexpected center of this dramatic story of a wedding photographer and his unintended subject. While walking in the downtown area taking candid shots, Mark becomes fascinated with a homeless woman named Ashley. Though startled by his advances, Ashley and Mark strike up a conversation. Filled with compassion at her story, Mark offers her his home for the night.

At Mark’s apartment, Ashley makes herself comfortable—perhaps too comfortable.

Sparks and conflict both fly before the sun comes up on the two. The final scene, which introduces some key new characters, is left unexplained to the audience.

This short, by New Orleans director Andrew Bryan, left me with many unanswered questions. I left feeling quite agitated at the lack of closure and conflicted, because I sympathized with Ashley while also finding her behavior strange. Maybe that was the point.

See “Out of True” April 12 at 8:55 p.m. at Malco, on Screen B.

courtesy Crossroads

I

walk to work every day during business hours, and I’ve only seen about 10 people walking with me. Mostly, everyone else on the sidewalk is just heading for the hospital parking lot to their cars.

The roads of Jackson are getting really rough to drive on, and everyone knows it.

Yet people aren’t walking, bikers are scarce and the JATRAN is a joke. What are we going to do to get around here? This is a question the documentary “Jackson Mobile,” created by George Jordan, Cody Millican and Taylor Coleman, tries to answer. As a short documentary about the need for public transport in Jackson, this movie is necessary but ultimately uninspiring.

The film tries to keep it interesting, with shots of the Lakeland Drive construction effectively underlining the topic’s importance for any Jacksonian. But too-frequent statistics and sped-up graphics of cars driving and crosswalk lights blinking manages to bore the viewer despite how interested he or she might be in the topic.

The film tackles its subject well, interviewing many different types of people who have different stakes in the Jackson transportation system. We meet Anna Richardson, who has never owned a car and rides her bike; Matthew Moore, who has been riding the bus for 15 years; and Matt Holloman, a city planner trying to get Jackson a train system. Richardson’s charm is easily the high point of the movie. I wanted her to narrate the whole thing.

This last man is where the movie’s heart really lies. After systematically blowing through each of the current options the interviewees present, the train seems to be the only answer.

The movie ends with a call for Jackson to adopt the light-rail system idea.

Let’s hope someone hears it.

See “Jackson Mobile” April 13 at 11 a.m. at Malco, on Screen B.

Lesson Learned

by Trip Burns courtesy Crossroads

April 10 - 16, 2013

“L

by Nneka Ayozie

I

n Virginia Crawford’s “Lucy,” rigid and tightly wound designer Jennifer drops coffee on her designs after being startled by noises coming from the apartment above. She is late for work.

Jennifer’s bad day gets worse as it progresses, until she finally decides to pay her noisy upstairs neighbor an unexpected visit.

To Jennifer’s surprise, Lucy—a young woman with special needs—answers the door and welcomes Jennifer to her 21st birthday party.

Elated that Jennifer showed up at her door, Lucy bombards Jennifer with praises and party favors. Jennifer realizes that Lucy is alone and decides to stay with her to celebrate her birthday, neglecting her career-changing deadline.

This touching story of personal interactions between perfect strangers and its effects on an individual’s perspective on life humbled me. Lucy exuding warmth and compassion melted Jennifer’s ice lady persona. I finished the film feeling happy, reassured that there was still good in the world. This short film is a real feel-good flick.

See “Lucy” April 14 at 1 p.m. at Malco, on Screen B.

courtesy Crossroads

The bug have you moping at Millsaps?

by Trip Burns ife has its hazards,” Joan Trumpauer Mulholland says in telling the story of participating in the Freedom Rides of the early ’60s. She’s the subject of Loki Mulholland’s documentary “An Ordinary Hero.”

Joan Trumpauer survived the Civil Rights Movement by participating (starting at age 19) in sit-ins, demonstrations and the Freedom Rides of 1961.

She had salt poured on her, fingers pointed at her and words shouted at her, but she remained a peaceful person. She was there when Martin Luther King Jr. spoke in Washington and uttered that he had a dream to thousands of people. It was an unprepared remark, as she recalls.

It’s a story told through Jane’s words and memories—not to mention clarity—of a time that was violent at many times and always filled with high tension.

Some situations, such as when the Freedom Rides rode through Ku Klux Klan-infested towns (with roaming, predatory lynch mobs), were particularly striking.

Other voices are included in the telling of Trumpauer’s story such as the contemporaries she sat with at the drugstore counters during desegregation.

Trumpauer says there’s an “extra responsibility” to surviving the violent situations she witnessed. She, too, was someone that was in danger—people wanted to murder her. She visits the grave of Medgar Evers in Arlington National Cemetary. She speaks of the civil rights era while holding up pieces of glass that shattered when a bomb set off and killed four little girls. She lived through those times while Medgar did not.

Because she lived though it, we are able to learn her story—ultimately one that should resonate with us.

See “An Ordinary Hero” April 12 at 6:45 p.m. at Malco, on Screen B.

courtesy Crossroads

“L

eccion Debida,” or “Deserved Lessons” in English, is a moody, disjointed movie with a nightmarish pace. The viewer is subjected to strange noises and stranger images.

Picture an older man, watching guard over a room.

People come in and speak about having their hands tied.

Two of these people are Luz and Alejandro, our protagonists. Luz is unaware of Alejandro’s intentions. They are preparing for something, but what? This is all apart of the mystery.

While watching this film by director Ivan Ruiz, the viewer tries to “keep up” with the story but it keeps one unfolding one moment at a time. Part of the pleasure of watching this film is precisely how the story gets told.

Even the artwork and the promotional material don’t reveal much.

As the story unfolds, images that were flashed onto the screen at the beginning of the story begin to make sense by the end of the picture. This is a Spanish film, so the culture and society of Spain add to the mystery.

The images are shot with delicate precision—sharp focus, foreground and background juxtapositions— and they are complemented by an atmospheric synth soundtrack. Together they lead the viewer into a world that is unfamiliar, threatening, maybe even dangerous.

See “Leccion Debida” April 12 at 9 p.m. at Malco, on Screen C.

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oxford-lafayette county chamber of commerce presents the 18th annual

The Killer Wedding

by Nneka Ayozie

WEDNESDAY 4/10

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Friday Forum

Fellowship

‘Sound’ Studio Secrets

by Mo Wilson

“S

ound City” is a documentary produced and directed by Foo Fighters frontman and Nirvana drummer David Grohl about the studio where Nirvana recorded its breakthrough album “Nevermind.” I went into this movie thinking that it was going to be a VH1 “Behind the Music” special, and in some ways it was. Those watching because of Grohl will have plenty to watch, but he largely steps out of the way and lets the movie focus on the incredible history of legendary recording studio Sound City.

Inside the brown shag-carpeted walls of this studio, bands recorded an amazing array of hit records.

Artists like Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, Cheap Trick, Pat Benatar and Metallica are just a tenth of the names mentioned in a rapid-fire blitz of past studio inhabitants. The studio’s secret is tape-based recording technology and a killer Neve soundboard.

Once digital recording technology entered the picture, Sound City couldn’t keep up with the times and was forced to close. When he heard the news, Grohl bought Sound City’s famed Neve board and took it to his own studio. In the last third of the movie, he sets up jam sessions for artist such as Stevie Nicks and Rick Springfield to honor the studio’s legacy and to prove that old styles of recording have something that the computerized versions don’t: a human soul.

Expect frequent trashing of digital technology’s limits. While talks about the benefits of past recording methods sometimes veer into trite “back in my day” territory, it’s hard to argue with Sound City’s impressive run, as well as the spur-of-the-moment jams between Paul McCartney and the remaining members of Nirvana.

Any fan of rock ‘n’ roll or Dave Grohl will be pleased.

See “Sound City” April 12 at 6:50 p.m. at Malco, on Screen A.

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groom’s life drastically changes in the days leading to his nuptials in “Shotgun Wedding,” a quirky comedy that kicks off with a bachelor party gone wrong.

When Robert, the groom-to-be, accidentally shoots the maid-of-honor at his bachelor party, he risks postponing the wedding. Concerned about her safety, he calls on his mother, who works as a nurse.

Unfortunately, for Robert, Mommy Dearest’s only desire is to see her son cross the threshold of marriage at any cost. In “Shotgun Wedding,” the mother of the groom plots to pull off the wedding, even if it means rekindling her romance with her ex- husband, taking the maid-of-honor hostage and killing off a cameraman or two.

While his mother continues her mischievous antics, Robert, aided by his best man Ted, stumbles into compromising situations that test his morals and his loyalty to his beloved Rosemary. In this comedy by the writers of Madatoms.com, the wedding party really puts the “shotgun” back into the shotgun wedding.

The film’s wedding documentary style fits well with the plot and makes the feature feel less like a low-budget film and more like an old home video. The slapstick humor of the mother-of-the-groom’s crazed acts is reminiscent of scenes from Todd Phillips’ “The Hangover” and “Project X” (albeit in a much more macabre manner).

See “Shotgun Wedding” April 13 at 3:20 p.m. at Malco, on Screen B.

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Summer Camps & Classes Guide - Paid Advertising Section

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DINE-IN OR TAKE-OUT! Sun-Thurs: 11am - 10pm Fri-Sat: 11am - 11pm

27

TRAVEL p 30 Girl About Town p 31 Food p 32

Risky Business at the Nursery

W

April 10 - 16, 2013

ould-be and weekend gardeners are flocking to stores this time of year with hopes of finding already-started plants to put in their gardens. Some of those offerings have been in stores for weeks and now look a bit bedraggled. Often severely marked down, are they really a bargain? What should consumers look for in selecting a plant?

First, choose plants that come from certified organic seeds, which were developed to grow in the home garden, not thousand-acre fields of industrial agriculture.

If not available, the second-best option is to choose heirloom varieties.

Heirloom seeds are called “heirlooms” for a reason. They are treasured because of the flavor, taste, size, color and other characteristics of the plants they produce that make them worth handing down.

Big seed companies are focused on developing hybrids or varieties they can patent.

That ensures bigger annual sales because patented seeds must be purchased anew every year. Heirlooms are stable (meaning they produce offspring that resemble the parent), are open pollinated (meaning they are not artificially manipulated) and have at least a 50-year history as a distinct variety.

The giant seed companies go so far as to create genetically engineered seeds that cannot be found in nature. Such genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can contain genes from bacteria, viruses, insects and even animals inserted into their DNA.

GMOs are prohibited in certified organic. So, when purchasing a plant or seeds, you want varieties that are open pollinated (non-hybrid) and untreated (not dyed or contaminated by chemicals, such as antifungals), and marked as being either certified organic or heirlooms.

A few companies even sell certified organic heirlooms, but they are extremely rare.

28

List of Don’ts: Don’t choose tall spindly plants or, con-

versely, stubby plants that are “woody” on the stems. Both are examples of plants that have exceeded their prime.

Don’t choose plants that have leaves that are spotted, off color or rimmed with white (examples of various rots, fungus or other maladies).

Don’t buy plants with obvious signs of insect or other attack.

Don’t buy plants that have weak root systems: Stick your finger in the pot; if it’s wet and the roots are rotting, that’s a difficult condition to overcome.

Don’t buy plants that have roots that are wound around the inside of the pot or sticking out through the bottom. To replant it, you’ll damage the root system, which also will retard growth.

Don’t buy plants that already have flowering buds or small produce on them. You may think you’re getting “a head start,” but in fact, you are getting a plant that has been stressed into fruiting. If you buy it, pinch off the flowers or fruit once it’s planted. That way, it can more efficiently allocate its resources.

A Big ‘Do’

Finally, if the nursery or garden center offers a “sale” so that plants with any or all of these maladies are offered with big savings, do keep walking! It’s no “bargain” to waste time on plants that are already half dead.

Stressed plants invite bugs and disease if they don’t already have blights on their leaves or in their soil. Don’t buy trouble!

Buy healthy plants for a healthy garden. You’ll have enough to do keeping your garden a happy place without importing problems.

Certified Organic Seeds Want to know if a brand of seed is certified organic? See the Organic Seed Finder website, hosted by the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies: organicseedfinder.org.

Flickr/tinyfroglet

by Jim PathFinder Ewing

Know what to look for when shopping for plants at nurseries this time of year.

Build an organic ‘Jim’s Plot’ for Earth Day! Earth Day is April 22. What better way to celebrate than by creating a small organic food garden—especially one that can serve others!

Certainly, you know there are elderly people who would love to grow their own organic vegetables or herbs, or perhaps a kitchen garden, by their back door. Or teach a child how to grow food, instilling life skills like self-sufficiency.

Start by outlining a 4-foot-by-8-foot area and enclosing it in nontoxic materials, such as synthetic lumber or materials on hand such as concrete blocks. Or, simply mound up the soil as a natural boundary, or use cedar or redwood lumber.

In the plot, dig up the soil, 4 to 8 inches deep, using a tiller or shovel (if you’re elderly or incapacitated, enlist a hardy neighbor or relative to do the work). Add bagged soil (check that it’s approved for certified organic use) or dig from areas of the yard where leaves may have accumulated over the years to provide loamy soil.

Voila! You have your garden. Add plants, and start keeping a compost bin to add to the plot periodically and to build up the soil.

Happy Earth Day, everyone!

Are Your ‘Green’ Products Really Green?

Consumer Reports has an online resource for quickly looking up product labels using your smartphone to determine if a product at the supermarket is really “green.” You can search by product, category or certifier.

Visit greenerchoices.org/eco-labels.

Jim PathFinder Ewing is a journalist, author, writer, editor, organic farmer and blogger. His latest book, “Conscious Food: Sustainable Growing, Spiritual Eating” (Findhorn Press) is in bookstores now. Find Jim on Facebook or follow him @edibleprayers or @organicwriter or visit blueskywaters.com.

THIS WEEKEND JX//RX

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jacksonfreepress.com

Saturday, April 13, 2013

29

LIFE&STYLE | travel

Island of Enchantment

by R.H. Coupe

advocate for forming their own country and see the United States as an occupying force.

They are relatively few in number, but I was more careful in my conversations after that.

Politically, Puerto Rico is a confused place. The citizens are Americans and have served in our armed forces with distinction for many years. But they speak Spanish as their first language. They cannot vote in our national elections, and now there are more Puerto Ricans living on the U.S. mainland then there are in Puerto Rico. They live in what the psychologists call a state of cognitive dissonance, or a feeling of discomfort when simultaneously holding two or more conflicting ideas, beliefs, values or emotional reactions. For instance Puerto Rican speed limits are posted in miles per hour, but distance markers are in kilometers. Puerto Ricans sell gasoline by the liter and generally refer to the dollar as a peso. They use the “cuerda,” which is a unit of area left over from Spanish colonial days and is equal to almost an acre. They also sell their beer in 10-ounce cans (for the R.H. Coupe

Nature buffs will love Puerto Rico’s El Yunque rainforest.

life of me I cannot figure out why).

Puerto Rico is not generally known as a tourist destination like many of the other islands in the Caribbean. Most visitors are on their way to another island, or hopping on a cruise ship in San Juan’s famous harbor.

R.H. Coupe

N

oticing the grim look on my boss’ face and her hand turning white from gripping the door handle, I tried to reassure her this was how people drive in Puerto Rico. But the gentleman in the Fiat beside us—who was threequarters of the way up on the sidewalk and a quarter in the road while both cars raced towards a fire hydrant—was unnerving her.

“Shouldn’t you slow down and let him in?” she gasped.

“Absolutely not,” I said. “That would be showing fear, and only make matters worse.”

At the last second the Fiat sped up, swerved completely up onto the sidewalk and around the fire hydrant, and merged back into traffic a few cars in front of me. “See?” I said. “It all turned out well.” But the look she gave me told me that she did not understand.

Puerto Rico, an American territory since the Spanish-American war at the turn of the 20th century, is one in a long arc of Caribbean islands that stretch from Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula to Trinidad and Tobago just off the coast of Venezuela. Cuba is closest to Mexico, then Haiti and the Dominican Republic sharing the same island, and then Puerto Rico. The rest of the arc is made up of much smaller islands, including the U.S. Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Antigua, Martinique, Barbados and Grenada.

I, probably like most Americans, didn’t know anything about Puerto Rico before travelling there for the first time in January 2011. Being a history buff, I did remember that in the early 1950s a couple of Puerto Ricans tried to assassinate President Truman and in 1954, four Puerto Ricans opened fire on the House of Representatives wounding a number of people. Jimmy Carter pardoned them in the late 1970s.

My naiveté lead to an uncomfortable conversation with a waitress our first night on the town. I had no idea that she was a separatist—or that some Puerto Ricans still

Puerto Ricans have an interesting cultural identity, both part of and apart from the U.S.

In reality, though, Puerto Rico has everything a tourist looking for an exciting holiday could want. The main tourist area called Condado has well-tended beaches, museums and marvelous restaurants. My favorite is the Argentine steakhouse, but the ceviche at the Peruvian restaurant was to die for, and there is also Brazilian cuisine, many others as well.

Of course, we also loved the more causal restaurants that specialize in traditional Puerto Rican food such as the ever-present and delicious mofongos, a dish made from fried green plantains. Do be careful with this dish though, as mofongos are sometimes made with a lot—and I mean a lot—of garlic, and I spent a couple of uncomfortable nights before I figured this out.

I have been to Puerto Rico three times now and have not run out of things to see and do. Viejo San Juan (Old San Juan) is still a favorite of mine for an evening walk.

It is a picturesque 10-square-block area full of shops, bars and cafes, with narrow blue cobblestone streets and flat-roofed brickand-stone buildings dating back to the 16th and 17th century when Puerto Rico was still a Spanish possession. Imbedded in Viejo San Juan are massive stone forts that have withstood the likes of Sir Francis Drake to

explore, nearby there a rum factories to visit with free drinks, fabulous museums, homegrown coffee (the elixir of life it’s scientifically proven that whatever it is you’re going to die from, it takes longer to die if you drink coffee) to drink and coffee plantations to visit.

The outdoor-minded might enjoy El Yunque, the only tropical rain forest in the U.S. National Forest System, which is full of walking trails, waterfalls and beautiful vistas. Not to forget the bioluminescent bays, a strange other worldly experience where millions of tiny sea creatures called dinoflagellates that live in the water create light when agitated and you swim in the dark surrounded by moon light emanating from the water around you.

But, of course, like everywhere, it is the people who make the place. And Puerto Ricans are among the best at extending hospitality and friendliness; they have the Spanish heritage after all. In the tourist areas everyone speaks English and Spanish, and some a host of other languages for the many international visitors to the island. In the countryside, the people are still friendly, but may not speak English well.

But that is no problem—just remember pointing is a universal language.

April 10 - 16, 2013

Shut Up and Create!

April 27, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

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JFP Editor Donna Ladd’s newest workshop will benefit any artist, writer or anyone who wants to be more creative. This interactive workshop will involve games, exercises and tools to help you be more creative long after the class. Take it to be inspired and have fun! $50, includes materials and lunch.

Call 601-362-6121 ext 15 or email class@writingtochange.com for more information.

Gift

Cert Ava ificates ilabl e!

LIFE&STYLE | girl about town

by Julie Skipper

Old and New

“M

come join them. Never one to turn down cocktails at Parlor Market (115 W. Capitol St., 601-360-0090), I quickly walked over.

“PM” is one of those places that worked its way into the collective Jackson ethos as a special place. The thoughtful purpose behind each element of the place, from the wood in the bar to the leather seats to the lightbulbs, to the name, has a meaning tied to Jackson and the building’s history, thanks to the late Craig Noone’s vision and passion for the restaurant and the city.

It remains evident, and I think that, along with the talent and passion that the staff there have for their craft and service make it a place that feels like going home. That’s why it was no surprise to walk in to find a bar full of downtowners. Settling in, I knew I was in for a fun evening with some of my favorite folks, at a new(ish) favorite place. Spending time with friends I’ve come to rely on as an adult, my fellow and his old friend, I knew I was right where I was supposed to be.

Jackson manages to maintain a thrilling combination of exciting new additions and old favorites, like Keifer’s The next day, a sororRestaurant. ity sister I hadn’t seen since Millsaps graduation was in town, and she decided to can continue, evolving as we do. gather several other Tri Delta alumna from

I feel that way about Jackson and about our class for lunch at a Millsaps staple: Keifcertain places that I love here in the city. er’s Restaurant (705 Poplar Blvd., 601-355Some are filled with nostalgia from my col- 6825). True, the restaurant has a shiny new lege days at Millsaps. After my undergradu- physical home across the street from its old ate years at Millsaps, I moved away for law location where we spent many an hour the school, and in those three years, the city and day after parties or carbing up as we studied I both started to do some growing up. I no for comps—but we don’t look exactly the longer frequent many of the places I went same as we did back then, either. And much to as a coed, but I remember them fondly, like the soul of the restaurant, which kept and when I go back, it’s easy to pick up right its laid-back vibe, patio seating and muchwhere we left off. Other, newer places have beloved menu, our spirits remain the same quickly grown to feel like home. even though we may be a few years older.

The same is true of people, too. I still Laughing as we left, I giggled to one of share a deep friendship with friends from my the other girls, “I’d forgotten what a talker collegiate years who also still live here, but Rebecca is.” (It’s true; she’d admit it.) And others I stay in touch with only on a more much like in undergrad, though we all are social level or don’t talk to much anymore doing different things and are at different but remember fondly. In the meantime, I’ve stages in life—from single and growing a made new friends since returning to Jackson. new business to married and raising a famThose I’ve known since I moved downtown ily—we were able to offer support to each six years ago have become a sort of fam- other and celebrate the happiness that each ily. Others are more recent acquaintances, has found. friends of friends, and the people who staff And that’s what a strong sense of place the places I love to eat and drink. does: It helps you find yourself and your

One recent weekend presented op- happiness. This city, and the people and portunities for me to enjoy and reflect on places within it, have helped me find who people and places both old and new. Friday and where I’m supposed to be. For that and evening, my fellow met a friend after work, for them, I am grateful each day. I look forand after they caught up on manly things for ward to many more happy years with people a while, I got a message asking if I’d like to and places old and new.

013 2 , 3 1 l i Apr

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age

Vill d n a l h g Hi

Trip Burns

ake new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other gold.” So goes the song we learn as children. In my adult life, I’ve found that it’s not just true with people, but with places.

Like old friends, you can have a relationship with a city, a bar or a restaurant. Some we revisit time after time. Others come into our lives for a while and we then outgrow them.

Still others come into our lives new, and we quickly come to wonder how we ever lived without it. A sense of place can reflect a certain time in our life, or our experience of it

jacksonfreepress.com

Grand Cru Sponsor:

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LIFE&STYLE | food & drink

Wine Down

by Kathleen M. Mitchell

Flickr/Michael_Spencer

Flickr/derekGavey

S

pringtime means good eats and drinks in Jackson. If you’ve been hiding out from freak hailstorms by eating soup at home, now is the time to put down the ladle and get out into the city—all for a good cause. Three food and drink events are blasting into Jackson in a seven-day span, benefitting three community-minded organizations: the Alzheimer’s Association, the Jackson Zoo and Fondren Renaissance Foundation’s children’s art program.

Sante South brings 32 top wineries to Highland Village April 13.

Zoo Brew offers adult-only entertainment in a childhood nostalgic setting April 19.

& Ales

Apes

April 10 - 16, 2013

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f wine isn’t your thing, but beer and bears are, don’t miss Zoo Brew at the Jackson Zoological Park (2918 W. Capitol St., 601-352-2580). The event is April 19 from 6 to 9 p.m. The zoo will stay open late, and keep the craft beer flowing and the music blasting from Southern Komfort Brass Band, Jesse Robinson, Jason Turner and DJ George Chuck.

Wing Stop, Jaco’s Tacos, Pan Asia, Underground 119 and Flap’s Tamales are all providing bites for visitors. Plus, guests can enjoy a cigar lounge from Hops and Habanas.

Tickets for Zoo Brew are $25 in advance, $30 at the door, $60 VIP and $15 for designated drivers, and are available via the Facebook event and at jacksonzoo.org.

Sante South,” says Sarah Gibson of the Alzheimer’s Association. “It is the actual vintners that live on the winery and actually make the wine. And so it’s really nice to have up close and personal time with the vintners, but it makes it even more personal that we only sell 200 tickets for that first hour. So you really can talk to the vintners and ask questions and get more of a personal experience.”

Proceeds go to the Alzheimer’s Association, which benefits from Sante South for the eighth year.

Restaurants from across the state will be on hand serving some of their signature dishes, but the wine is truly the star

Taste the Neighborhood

H

ot off the heels of Taste of Mississippi, the Fondren neighborhood is putting its own flavors on display, all in the name of raising money for arts programs for local kids.

Taste of Fondren, which was postponed from the fall, is 6 to 9 p.m. April 18 on Duling Avenue. Local restaurants will be serving their signature dishes with cocktail and beer pairings.

The event raises money for arts education, including scholarship summer art camps at The Cedars and in-school art instruction at Boyd Elementary, among others. In that vein, student art from Boyd Elementary, the Education Center, St. Andrew’s Elementary and St. Richard’s Catholic School will be on display in a clothesline art show throughout the block.

Over the weekend, ticket holders can enjoy a show house tour in Woodland Hills at June and Harper Stone’s historic former home, filled with work from Fondren galleries and interior designers. Friday and Saturday, the home is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday,

Flickr/Natalie_Maynor

I

n Mississippi, you can get up close and personal with a lot of interesting folks. But rare is the chance to talk to true wine vintners, the people who make some of the most sought-after wines worldwide. Enter Sante South, a luxury wine festival celebrating its ninth year.

Sante South brings the winery experience to Jackson April 13, with 32 visiting winemakers from around states such as California and Oregon, and countries such as Argentina, New Zealand, South Africa and Chile.

“The thing that makes Sante South special is that it is not the regional sales person from the winery that is coming to

of the event. Unlike similar events in Mississippi, Gibson says Sante South has an edge due to the wineries that participate.

“I think two things (make this event stand out). The thing that makes Sante South different from other food and wine festivals is the selection of wine. We are very proud of the selection we have,” Gibson says. “And then, the fact that the actual vintners are coming to Mississippi from overseas to participate.”

Scott Jackson, certified sommelier and founder of Colony Wine Market, was integral in helping to choose the wines and reach the vintners.

It’s meant to be a learning experience for guests, who are encouraged to ask lots of questions, take notes and find new favorites. “Another thing that’s neat is we give you a little book, it’s a wine guide and it will have each winery in there,” Gibson says. “We encourage people to take notes or mark off ones they like, and then they can take it to their local wine store if they find one they really like and purchase it.”

During the event, a drawing will take place, where one winner will receive one bottle from each of the 32 vintners scheduled to be present. Raffle tickets are $20 each, with a total wine haul at stake worth $1,200 to $1,300.

Sante South is April 13 at Highland Village. The VIP tasting, limited to 200 tickets, is from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and tickets are $125, advance purchase only. The grand tasting is from 7:30 to 10 p.m. and is $80 in advance, $90 at the door. Tickets are available at santesouth.com/events.

Duling Avenue turns into a block party all about Fondren food and arts April 18.

it is open from 1 to 4 p.m.

Tickets to both the tasting event and the open house are $50 in advance and $65 tickets at the door (limited availability only), and tickets for the open house alone are $10, all available at fondren.org.

DINEJackson Paid listyour yourrestaurant.r restaurant.r Paid advertising advertising section. section. Call Call 601-362-6121 601-362-6121 x11 x1 totolist

AMERICAN/southERN CuIsINE Another Broken Egg (1000 Highland Colony #1009 in Renaissance, 601.790.9170) Open Daily 7am-2pm for breakfast, brunch and lunch.

Two Sisters Kitchen (707 N. Congress St. 601-353-1180) Lunch. Mon-Fri, Sun. Koinonia (136 Adams St. 601-960-3008) Coffeehouse plus lunch and more!

Broad Street Bakery (4465 Interstate 55 N. 601-362-2900) Hot breakfast,coffee espresso drinks, fresh breads and pastries, gourmet deli sandwiches.

For Heaven’s Cakes (4950 Old Canton Road 601-991-2253) Cakes and cupcakes for all occasions including weddings, parties, catered events.

PIzzA The Pizza Shack (925 E. Fortification 601-352-2001) New locations in Belhaven and a second spot in Colonial Mart on Old Canton Rd. in Northeast Jackson.

Sal & Mookie’s (565 Taylor St. 601-368-1919) Pizzas of all kinds plus pasta, eggplant parmesan and the fried ravioli. Bring the kids for ice cream!

Mellow Mushroom (275 Dogwood Blvd, Flowood, 601-992-7499) More than just great pizza and beer. Open Monday - Friday 11-10 and Saturday 11-11.

Sat | April 13 | 9 pm | $5

Join us for Happy Hour

Blues & BBQ

Best of Jackson 2008 - 2013

Delta Mountain Boys D’Lo Trio | Every Thursday 7-10 pm | No Cover

south of thE boRdER Babalu (622 Duling Ave., 601-366-5757) Fresh guacamole at the table, fish tacos, empanada, smoked pork sholders, Mexican street corn.

Jaco’s Tacos (318 South State Street) Tacos, burritos and quesadillas. Tex-Mex at its finest and freshest.

La Morena (6610 Old Canton Road Suite J, Ridgeland, 601-899-8821) Tortillas made fresh order. Authentic, Mexican Cuisine (not Tex-Mex). Mexican Cokes!

Fernando’s Fajita Factory (5647 Hwy 80 E in Pearl, 601-932-8728 and 149 Old Fannin Rd in Brandon, 601-992-6686) A culinary treat traditional Mexican.

Visit www.ceramis.net for specials & hours.

601-919-2829

601-362-6388

1410 Old Square Road • Jackson www.cherokeedrivein.com

ItAlIAN BRAVO! (4500 Interstate 55 N., Jackson, 601-982-8111) Award-winning wine list, Jackson’s see-and-be-seen casual/upscale dining.

Cerami’s (5417 Lakeland Drive, Flowood, 601-919-28298) Southern-style Italian cuisine features their signature Shrimp Cerami. stEAk, sEAfood & fINE dINING Islander Seafood and Oyster House (601-366-5441) Seafood, po’boys and oyster house. Casual fine dining that’s family-friendly with a beach vibe.

Crab’s (6954 Old Canton Rd., Ridgeland, 601-956-5040) Crab’s Seafood Shack offers a wide variety of southern favorites such as fried catfish and boiled shrimp.

Eslava’s Grille (2481 Lakeland Drive, 601-932-4070) Latin-influenced dishes like ceviche in addition to pastas, steaks, salads and other signature seafood dishes.

Rocky’s (1046 Warrington Road, Vicksburg 601-634-0100) Enjoy choice steaks, fresh seafood, great salads, hearty sandwiches.

The Penguin (1100 John R Lynch Street, 769.251.5222) Fine dining at its best.

Tuesday-Saturday 5-7pm

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5417 Lakeland Drive ~ Flowood, MS 39232

4654 McWillie Dr. Jackson, MS Monday - Thursday: 10AM - 9PM Friday & Saturday: 10AM - 10PM Sunday: CLOSED

Cool Al’s CoolAlsJxn

601.713.3020

Second Location Opening Soon!

900 Suite E. County Line Rd Former AJ’s

2481 Lakeland Drive Flowood

601.932.4070

MEdItERRANEAN/GREEk Aladdin Mediterranean Grill (730 Lakeland Drive 601-366-6033) Delicious authentic dishes including lamb dishes, hummus, falafel, kababs, shwarma. bARbEquE Hickory Pit Barbeque (1491 Canton Mart Rd. 601-956-7079) The “Best Butts in Town” features BBQ chicken, beef and pork along with burgers and po’boys.

Haute Pig (1856 Main Street, 601-853-8538) A “very high class pig stand,” Haute Pig offers Madison diners BBQ plates, sandwiches, po-boys, salads.

Now accepting the JSU Supercard.

CoffEE housEs Cups Espresso Café (Multiple Locations, www.cupsespressocafe.com) Jackson’s local group of coffeehouses offer a wide variety of espresso drinks. Wi-fi.

AsIAN ANd INdIAN Mr. Chen’s (5465 I 55 North, 601-978-1865) Fresh authentic Chinese Food, located within an actual grocery store with many unique produce offerings.

Ruchi India (862 Avery Blvd @ County Line Rd. 601-991-3110) Classic Indian recipes, lost delicacies, alluring aromas and exotic ingredients. Fantastic Indian cuisine from multiple regions. Lamb, vegetarian, chicken, shrimp and more.

Pan Asia (720 Harbor Pines Dr, Ridgeland 601-956-2958) Beautiful ambiance and signature asian fusion dishes and build-your-own stir-frys.

Thai House (1405 Old Square, 601-982-9991) Voted one of Jackson’s best Asian 2003-2012,offers a variety of freshly made springrolls, pad thai, moo satay, curry.

VEGEtARIAN High Noon Café (2807 Old Canton Road in Rainbow Plaza 601-366-1513) Fresh, gourmet, tasty and healthy defines the lunch options at Jackson’s own strict vegetarian (and very-veganfriendly) restaurant adjacent to Rainbow Whole Foods.

In Town & in the USA -Best of Jackson 2003-2013-

-Food & Wine Magazine-

707 N Congress St., Jackson | 601-353-1180 Mon thru Fri: 11am-2pm • Sun: 11am - 3pm

Where Raul Knows Everyone’s Name

Raul Sierra, Manager Since 1996

-Best Barbecue in Jackson- 2003 • 2006 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 1491 Canton Mart Rd. • Jackson • 601.956.7079

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bARs, Pubs & buRGERs Burgers and Blues (1060 E. County Line Road, Ridgeland 601-899-0038) Best Burger of 2012, plus live music and entertainment!

Hal and Mal’s (200 S. Commerce St. 601-948-0888) Pub favorites meet Gulf Coast and Cajun specialties like red beans and rice, the Oyster Platter or daily specials.

Cherokee Inn (960 Briarfield Rd. 601-362-6388) Jackson’s “Best Hole in the Wall,” has a great jukebox, great bar and a great burger.

Cool Al’s (4654 McWillie, 601-713-3020) Cool Al’s signature stacked, messy, decadent, creative burgers defy adjectives. And don’t forget the fries!

Fenian’s Pub (901 E. Fortification St. 601-948-0055) Classic Irish pub featuring a menu of traditional food, pub sandwiches and Irish beers on tap.

Martin’s Restaurant and Lounge (214 South State Street 601-354-9712) Lunch specials, pub appetizers or order from the full menu of po-boys and entrees. Full bar, beer selection.

Ole Tavern on George Street (416 George St. 601-960-2700) Pub food with a southern flair: beer-battered onion rings, chicken & sausage gumbo, salads, sandwiches.

Underground 119 (119 South President St. 601-352-2322) Pan-seared crabcakes, shrimp and grits, filet mignon, vegetarian sliders. Live music. Opens 4 p.m., Wed-Sat Wing Stop (952 North State Street, 601-969-6400) Saucing and tossing in a choice of nine flavors, Wing Stop wings are made with care and served up piping hot.

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FILM p 35 | 8 DAYS p 36 | MUSIC p 39 | SPORTS p 42

Guitar Lightnin’ Lee’s Crescent City Blues

by Larry Morrisey

Daphne Nabors

New Orleans blues guitarist and vocalist Guitar Lightnin Lee performed at CS’s in Jackson last month.The Ninth Ward resident is bringing his mix of blues and New Orleans R&B to Martin’s Lounge April 19.

April 10 - 16, 2013

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lues is not the first type of music that comes to mind when thinking of New Orleans, but the music has strong roots in the city.

Guitarist and vocalist Leroy “Guitar Lightnin’ Lee” Washington is a Crescent City native who calls several of the city’s legendary blues players mentors. Washington’s version of the blues brings together a number of different musical strands, including Delta blues, New Orleans R&B and some punk attitude. The guitarist and his backing group, the Thunder Band, are regular performers in the city’s clubs and festivals.

Washington grew up in the Ninth Ward in New Orleans, but he had a lot exposure to the Mississippi blues through some older musicians in the neighborhood. Washington learned from “Boogie” Bill Webb, a Jackson native, and Arzo Youngblood, a bluesman originally from Tylertown (and grandfather of current Jackson blues musician Louis “Gearshifter” Youngblood). Webb, in particular, was a strong influence on Washington, who he remembers as a visible presence in the neighborhood.

“Old Boogie Bill would sit in his

yard all the time. I’d go by and sit there with him,” he says. “He would work on lawn mowers and play the guitar. He’d do a little bit (of work), then stop and play some more.”

When he was 17, Washington followed the route taken by many southern blues musicians, leaving home for Chicago. He didn’t play in the city’s bustling club scene at the time, but he did get to meet one of his musical heroes. The guitarist got a job with a man who lived next door to the legendary bluesman Jimmy Reed.

While Washington waited for his boss each

morning, Reed would come out and give him some advice. It wasn’t the musical tips he was hoping for.

“He’d come out and say, ‘Why don’t you go back to New Orleans?’” Washington remembers. “He’d tell me that all the time.”

Washington did finally leave Chicago, spending time in Los Angeles before returning to New Orleans in 1965. He became a regular performer at clubs around the city, playing with fellow bluesmen Little Freddie King, Polka Dot Slim, Earl King and many others.

The guitarist met drummer Paul Artigue, his current main musical collaborator, in 1997. Artigue was barely out of his teens when he first sat in with Washington, but the bluesman saw potential in Artigue.

They performed as a two-piece for several years, but eventually brought in other younger musicians to form the Thunder Band. Artigue and the other band members are also active in New Orleans’ punk scene (Artigue is the drummer for Die Rotzz and used to play with Jackson’s punk veterans The Overnight Lows) and have brought a rock influence into Washington’s sound.

“I was more into to the Delta blues, but when I got this band I have, it looks like I started getting closer to that rock ‘n’ roll sound with the blues,” Washington says. “It’s kind of a mixture of the two.”

Artigue has helped to introduce Washington to the punk and rock audiences in New Orleans. The bluesman now splits his playing time between blues and rock clubs.

He proudly notes that he’s a regular performer at many of the rock and alternative clubs that line St. Claude Avenue in the Marigny neighborhood.

“They used to call me the Prince of the Delta Blues, now they call me the Prince of St. Claude Avenue,” he explains.

Guitar Lightnin’ Lee and the Thunder Band bring their unique brand of blues to Jackson at Martin’s Lounge (214 S. State St., 601-354-9712) Friday, April 19. The cover is $10. For more information on Washington, check out guitarlightninlee.com.

DIVERSIONS | film

by Anita Modak-Truran

L

egendary film critic Roger Ebert transcended his long battle with cancer last Thursday. He died at age 70, leaving behind a world richer from his words, deeds and actions. Only two days before his death, Roger took a “leave of presence.” He wrote to readers:

“Forty-six years ago on April 3, 1967, I became the film critic for the Chicago SunTimes. Some of you have read my reviews and columns and even written to me since that time. Others were introduced to my film criticism through the television show, my books, the website, the film festival, or the Ebert Club and newsletter. However you came to know me, I’m glad you did. … I must slow down now, which is why I’m taking what I like to call ‘a leave of presence.’”

It makes me sad that Roger’s “leave of presence” now extends beyond his work.

He never slowed down, even when his body begged to differ. As my mother texted me the moment she heard of Roger’s death, “He’s in a better place.”

In remembrance of his 20th wedding anniversary, Roger posted an essay about his

marriage to his lovely wife, Chaz. My husband forwarded it to me. It was so touching. It may be my most favorite thing I’ve read written by Roger. He wrote, in part:

“How can I begin to tell you about Chaz? She fills my horizon, she is the great fact of my life, she has my love, she saved me from the fate of living out my life alone, which is where I seemed to be heading. If my cancer had come, and it would have, and Chaz had not been there with me, I can imagine a descent into lonely decrepitude.

I was very sick. I might have vegetated in hopelessness. This woman never lost her love, and when it was necessary she forced me to want to live. She was always there believing I could do it, and her love was like a wind forcing me back from the grave.”

Roger and Chaz have a great love story.

He shared it with us. And he shared with us his love for the movies.

Roger’s thumbs-up approval amounted to a cinematic royal blessing, particularly for indie filmmakers striving to find an audience. A thumbs-up created demand.

In past years, “Eve’s Bayou,” “Monster’s Ball” and “Crash”—all small budget indie

courtesy chicago sun-times

The Death of a Critic

films—topped Roger’s end-of-the-year lists and helped give these movies box-office legs. He provided critical support to “Ballast,” a movie produced by Mississippian Nina Parikh, which was the darling of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. He praised Daniel Lee’s “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by SapLegendary film critic Roger Ebert passed away last phire.” In 2012, Roger reThursday at age 70 after battling cancer. viewed a record 300 films.

A small film called “Beasts of the Southern Wild” received Roger’s his own experiences with film festivals. And stamp of approval, landed on his top 10 now Crossroads celebrates another year … list and it received a Best Picture Oscar The passing of Roger marks the nomination. That was Roger’s true power: death of not only a world-class critic, but discovering the raw, small and fringe film film criticism itself. With the wild, free and bringing it to a mainstream audience. and exponential growth of e-information, And he was a world-class essayist, critic no one can do what Roger did. So at this and commentator. time of reflection, let us thank Roger for When the Crossroads Film Festival the journey. was still in its inception, I emailed Roger “We’ll see you at the movies.” about our aspirations. He returned the Read a longer version of this story at email at 1 a.m. He offered tips, based on jfp.ms/Ebert.

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ALL STADIUM SEATING

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for Thur.

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The Host

Fri. 4/18 PG13

Scary Movie 5 PG13

3-D The Croods PG

Evil Dead

The Croods (non 3-D)

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Olympus Has Fallen

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The Call

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3-D Oz: The Great And Powerful PG Oz: The Great And Powerful (non 3-D) PG

GIFT CARDS AVAILABLE DAILY BARGAINS UNTIL 6PM Online Tickets, Birthday Parties, Group & Corporate Events @ www.malco.com

Movieline: 355-9311

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Listings 4/12 –

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THURSDAY 4/11

THURSDAY 4/11

The Ultimate Fashion Show is at the Country Club of Jackson.

The Crossroads Film Festival kicks off at Malco Grandview Theatre.

FRIDAY 4/12 Two for One Skate Night is from 4-10 p.m. at Rampage Extreme Park.

BEST BETS

Wednesday 4/10

Jackson 2000’s Discussion Luncheon is at 11:45 a.m. at the Arts Center of Mississippi (201 E. Pascagoula St.); topic is the Dialogue Circles program. $12 ($10 members); RSVP at bevelyn_branch@att.net. … JSU professor Dr. Leslie McLemore talks about the Mississippi Freedom Trail during History Is Lunch at noon at the William F. Winter Archives and History Building (200 North St.). Free; call 601-576-6998. … See “Round Midnight” during Jazz Movie Night at 7 p.m. at Russell C. Davis Planetarium (201 E. Pascagoula St.). Free; call 601-979-8672.

Thursday 4/11

jaime butler

The Ultimate Fashion Show and Champagne Brunch is from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Country Club of Jackson (345 St. Andrews Drive). Enter to win a Honda Civic in the Car

wenig-lamonica associates

April 10 - 17, 2013

Plant Sale and Birthday Party is from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Eudora Welty House and Museum (1119 Pinehurst Place).

Free admission, $25-$45 plants (cash or check); call 601- 353-7762. … Catholic Charities hosts the National Migration Festival from noon-9 p.m. at the Mississippi Farmers Market (929 High St.). Free, $10 donation for beer tasting; call 601-355-8634. … The Creative Arts Festival kicks off at 1 p.m. at Jackson State University (1400 John R. Lynch St.); runs through April 13. Free; call 601-979-2055. … Two for One Skate Night is from 4-10 p.m. at Rampage Extreme Park (931 Highway 80 W.). $10; rampagextremepark.com. … The Crossroads Film Festival continues with screenings starting at 6:45 p.m. at Malco Grandview Theatre (221 Grandview Blvd., Madison). Runs through April 14. $8 per film, $6 for seniors, students and members, passes available; crossroadsfilmfestival.com. … The play “Gold in Saxophonist Kim Waters headlines the Battle of the the Hills” is at 7:30 p.m. at Parkside Playhouse (101 Iowa Saxes at Jackson State University April 13 at 7 p.m.

Blvd., Vicksburg). Shows through April 27. $12, $10 seniors 55 and older, $7 students, $5 children ages 12 and under; call 601-636-0471. … Zoso plays at 9 p.m. at Duling Hall. For Lynch St.), in McCoy Auditorium. $25, $35 reserved seating; ages 18 and up. $15 advance, $20 at door; call 601-292-7121. call 800-745-3000. … The Meat Puppets and the Tomatoes perform at 10 p.m. at Martin’s. For ages 21 and up. $12 advance, $15 at door; ardenland.net.

Saturday 4/13

The Meat Puppets perform at Martin’s April 13 at 10 p.m.

April 10 - 16, 2013

4 a Cure Giveaway. Proceeds benefit the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi. Limited seating; RSVP. $60, raffle tickets: $25 for one, $100 for five, $200 for 10; call 601-957-7878. … The Belhaven University Dance Ensemble’s Spring Dance Production is at 11 a.m. at Belhaven University, Bitsy Irby Center (1500 Peachtree St.). Shows through April 13. $10; $5 students and seniors; call 601-965-1414. … The Crossroads Film Festival kicks off with the Music Video Showcase at 7 p.m. at Duling Hall. $5; crossroadsfilmfestival.com.

Friday 4/12

The Spring Market of Jackson is from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. at the Mississippi Trade Mart (1200 Mississippi St.) and runs through April 14. Girls’ Night Out is April 13 from 5-9 p.m., and silent auction proceeds benefit CARA. $7, $15 three-day pass, $12 Wine & Women event April 12 at 5 p.m., $10 Market Madness wristband, children 12 36 and under free; call 662-890-3359. … The Eudora Welty

The Komen Central Mississippi Steel Magnolias Race for the Cure is from 8 a.m.-noon at the War Memorial Building (120 S. State St.). Proceeds go toward breast cancer research efforts. $20-$35; call 601-932-3999; komencentralms.org. … KidFest! Ridgeland is from 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m. at Freedom Ridge Park (235 W. School St., Ridgeland). Continues April 14 and April 20-21. $10, children under 2 free; call 601-853-2011; kidfestridgeland.com. … Ezra Brown headlines the Township Jazz Festival that is from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. at Township at Colony Park (1037 Highland Colony Parkway, Ridgeland). Refreshments for sale. Free admission; call 601-368-9950 or 601-856-6001; townshipjazzfestival.com. …Shucker’s annual crawfish boil is today and Sunday, $10. ... Sante South Wine Festival is at 6:30 p.m., at Highland Village (4500 Interstate 55 N.)

by Latasha Willis with more than 120 wines and food from more than 20 Missisjacksonfreepress.com sippi restaurants. VIP tasting at 6:30 p.m.; grand tasting is at Fax: 601-510-9019 7:30 p.m. Proceeds benefit Daily updates at the Alzheimer’s Association jfpevents.com of Mississippi. $80-$140; call 601-987-0200; santesouth. com. … Saxophonist Kim Waters headlines the Battle of the Saxes at 7 p.m. at Jackson State University (1400 John R.

Sunday 4/14

See the film “Rather Die a Free Man Than Live a Slave” at Malco Grandview Theatre (221 Grandview Blvd., Madison). The film, by Kent Moorhead (see page 46) is about black soldiers in the Civil War. $8, $6 seniors, students and members, passes $15 and up; crossroadsfilmfestival.com.

Monday 4/15

Poet and fiction writer Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie gives a reading at 2 p.m. at Jackson State University (1400 John R. Lynch St.) in the Liberal Arts Building. Master class at 6 p.m. in room 155. Free; call 601-977-2249.

4/16 events@ Tuesday

The play “Other Desert Cities” debuts at 7:30 p.m. at New Stage Theatre (1100 Carlisle St.); runs through April 28. $28, $22 seniors and students; call 601-948-3533.

Wednesday 4/17

Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion with Grayson Capps perform at 7:30 p.m. at Hal & Mal’s. For ages 18 and up. $8 advance, $10 at door; ardenland.net.

JFP-SPONSORED EVENTS Jackson 2000 Discussion Luncheon April 10, 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m., at Arts Center of Mississippi (201 E. Pascagoula St.). Experience what the Dialogue Circle Program is like. The focus is to understand racism and bring about positive change in the community. RSVP.. $12, $10 members; email bevelyn_branch@att.net; jackson2000.org.

Ultimate Fashion Show and Champagne Brunch April 11, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., at Country Club of Jackson (345 St. Andrews Drive). Includes a fashion show featuring local celebrities. Enter to win a Honda Civic. Proceeds benefit the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi. Limited seating. $60, raffle tickets $25 and up; call 601-957-7878.

Crossroads Film Festival April 11-14, at Malco Grandview Theatre (221 Grandview Blvd., Madison). Enjoy dozens of independent films, workshops and parties. Discounts for members, students and seniors. $8 film block, $15 one-day pass, $59 all-access pass; crossroadsfilmfestival.com.

Sante South Wine Festival April 13, 6:30 p.m., at Highland Village (4500 Interstate 55 N.). Sample more than 120 wines and food from more than 20 Mississippi restaurants. VIP tasting at 6:30 p.m.; grand tasting is at 7:30 p.m. Proceeds benefit the Alzheimer’s Association of Mississippi. $80-$140; call 601-987-0200; santesouth.com.

COMMUNITY American Board Teaching Career Information Sessions. Learn how to earn a professional teaching license. Sessions are at 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Bachelor’s degree required. Online registration available. Free; abcte.org.

• April 10, at Ridgeland Public Library (397 Highway 51, Ridgeland).

• April 11, at Canton Public Library (102 Priestley St., Canton).

Events at Clinton Community Nature Center (617 Dunton Road, Clinton). Call 601-926-1104.

• Spring Native Plant and Antique Rose Sale April 13, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Purchase perennials, roses, trees and shrubs. Free; call 601-672-0732 for plant information.

• Monarch Festival April 13, 10 a.m. Includes a haiku awards ceremony and a walkathon. Free.

• Nature Nuts Preschool Program April 17, 1011 a.m., in Price Hall. For ages 2-5. Adults must accompany children. Registration required. $8, $5 members.

Events at Jackson Zoo (2918 W. Capitol St.). Registration required. Call 601-352-2580, ext. 240.

• Nocturnal Animals: A Family Sleepover April 12, 7 p.m. The overnight stay includes animal encounters, a zoo hike and a behind-the scenes tour. $35, $30 members.

• Professional Development Workshop for Teachers: Classification 101 April 13, 9 a.m.2 p.m. Educators learn to teach animal classification concepts. 0.5 CEU credits available. $25.

Precinct 2 COPS Meeting April 11, 6 p.m., at Jackson Police Department, Precinct 2 (711 W. Capitol Street). These monthly forums are designed to help resolve community issues.

Free; call 601-960-0002.

Minority Business Network Monthly Meeting April 11, 6 p.m., at Divine Ministries (1417 W.

Capitol St.), in the Multipurpose Center. Refreshments and prizes included. Bring business cards.

RSVP. Free; call 601-750-2367 or 601-316-5092.

New Vibrations Network Gathering April 11, 6:30-8 p.m., at Unitarian Universalist Church (4866 N. State St.). Bring business cards and brochures. Free, donations welcome; email newvibrations2003@hotmail.com.

Millsaps Friday Forum: Fabio Rojas April 12, 12:30-1:30 p.m., at Millsaps College (1701 N. State St.). The sociology professor from Indiana University talks about how the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan impacted American politics. Free; call 601-974-1305.

Marriage Conference April 12, 7 p.m., and April 13, 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m., at Mt. Salem United Methodist Church (11151 Springridge Road, Terry). The theme is “How to Strengthen the Foundation of Your Marriage.” Breakfast and lunch served April 13. Free; call 601-421-0842.

Metro Master Gardeners Plant Sale April 13, 8 a.m.-noon, at Mynelle Gardens (4736 Clinton Blvd.). Prices vary; call 601-955-0247; email glex3@aol.com.

Jackson Public Schools Job Fair April 13, 9 a.m.noon, at Cardozo Middle School (3180 McDowell Road Ext.). JPS is looking for prospective teachers, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and maintenance workers. Free; call 601-960-8745.

Fondren Challenge April 13, 5-7 p.m., in Fondren. Fleet Feet Sports hosts the race and trivia scavenger hunt. Teams of two complete challenges at Fondren businesses. Prizes for the top three teams. After-party includes a round of beer from Southern Beverage. Free; signmeup.com.

Horses for Handicapped April 15-18, 9 a.m., at Mississippi State Fairgrounds (1207 Mississippi St.). Children and adults with disabilities participate in horseback and wagon rides. Includes a petting zoo and games. Volunteers and donations welcome; horsesforhandicappedms.com.

AgVentures! April 16-17, at Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum (1150 Lakeland Drive).

Fourth-grade students and teachers learn the importance of agriculture through activities and educational displays. Reservations required; space limited. Call 601-372-1424.

College Night for Adults April 16, 5-7 p.m., at Hinds Community College, Jackson Campus (3925 Sunset Drive). Potential adult students learn about admission requirements, register for classes, and enjoy food and prizes. Free; call 601987-8164 or 800-HINDS-CC. Mental Health First Aid Training Course April 17, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., and April 18, 8 a.m.noon, at Hinds Behavioral Health Services (3450 Highway 80 W.), in the Conference Center.

Learn to become a first responder for someone having a mental-health crisis. Registration required. 12 CEU credits may be applicable. $100 per person for one to two people, $75 for a third person; call 601-321-2436; eventbrite.com.

More Than Good Credit and a Business Plan: 12 Steps to Finance Your Business April 17, 1-3 p.m., at Small Business Administration District Office (210 E. Capitol St., 10th floor), in the conference room, 10th floor. Registration required; space limited. Free; email rosetta.harris@sba.gov. more EVENTS, see page 38

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Scotta Brady and Jerusha DeGroote Stephens will be offering a combination yoga/acupuncture class.

You will receive the powerful, synergistic benefits of both modalities in one class! To attend this or any other future yogapuncture classes, you will need the physician referral.. You can download that form at butterflyoga.net.

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We are excited and honored to once again host Desirée Rumbaugh for a weekend yoga workshop. Her technical ability, sense of humor, strength, vulnerability, and deep inspiration have endeared her to many here in the Southeast and many others all over the world!

4136!Opsui!Tubuf!Tusffu!.!Gpoesfo!Ejtusjdu!.!712/6:5/3424

April 23 & 24 Jackson’s Thalia Mara Hall @ 7:30 pm Ticketmaster.com 1-800-745-3000

jacksonfreepress.com

Kvof!32.34-!3124

37

from page 37

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Wellness Get the Skinny on Bariatric Surgery April 16, 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m., at Baptist Medical Center (1225 N. State St.), in the Baptist for Women Conference Room. Dr. Erin Cummins explains how the weight-loss surgery works. Registration required. Free, $5 optional lunch; call 601948-6262; mbhs.org.

Literary and Signings “Taste of Insanity” Book Release and Signing April 13, 3-5 p.m., at Koinonia Coffee House (136 S. Adams St., Suite C). Morenike’ signs books. $10 book on site, $15.95 on Amazon and in bookstores; call 601-750-6511.

Jump Start Jackson Spring Farmers Market April 13, 8 a.m.-noon, at Battlefield Park (953 Porter St.). Enter from Highway 80. Call 601898-0000, ext. 118; email jcollins@mbk-inc.org.

Events at Lemuria Books (Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 N., Suite 202). Signings at 5 p.m.; readings at 5:30 p.m. Call 601-366-7619.

• Jill McCorkle signs “Life After Life” April 10. $24.95 book.

• Rita Leganski signs “The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow” April 12. $14.99 book.

• Bee Donley signs “Mostly Ghosts” April 16. $10 book.

Olde Towne Spring Market April 13, 9 a.m.1 p.m., at Jefferson Street, Clinton, in front of City Hall. Shop at the open-air market in Olde Towne Clinton. The theme is “Spring into Green” and includes the annual Caterpillar Parade. Call 601-924-5472.

Mary Church Terrell Literary Club Annual Luncheon April 13, noon, at Regency Hotel and Conference Center (420 Greymont Ave.). The event includes a presentation from author Rosie Camper Weary. Proceeds go toward scholarships and service programs. $40; call 601-982-9987.

Stage and Screen

“It All Starts From Something” Book Release April 13, 1 p.m. at Willie Morris Library (4912 Old Canton Road). Felicia Tillman reads and signs her book. $18 book; call 601-497-2924.

Farmers Markets

“The Dixie Surgeon” April 13, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., at Outlets at Vicksburg (4000 S. Frontage Road, Vicksburg), in Suite 109. The Civil War reenactment is a dramatization of the lives of Dr. David Harris and Captain Skip Trumbull. Free; call 601636-7434; outletsatvicksburg.com.

Fairy Tale Theatre Auditions April 13-14, 2-4 p.m., at Parkside Playhouse (101 Iowa Blvd., Vicksburg). For children ages 7-18. Production dates are June 27-30. Free; call 601-636-0471; vicksburgtheatreguild.com.

Music Events at Belhaven University Center for the Arts (835 Riverside Drive), in the concert hall.

Doors open at 7 p.m. Free; call 601-974-6494.

• Best of Belhaven II April 15, 7:30 p.m. Enjoy the best performances of the semester.

• Choral and Vocal Arts: Jazz Vibrations April 13, 7:30 p.m. Listen to jazz and jazzinspired music.

High Note Jam April 11, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). Enjoy live music and refreshments in the Art Garden.

Free with cash bar; call 601-960-1515.

South Indian Flute Concert April 12, 7 p.m., at Millsaps College, Ford Academic Complex (1701 N. State St.), in the recital hall. “Surmani” V. K. Raman performs. Free; call 601-974-1333.

James S. Sclater Chamber Series April 12, 7:30 p.m., at Mississippi College (200 Capitol St., Clinton), at Aven Hall. Members of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra perform. $25, $10 students; call 601-925-3440.

One Night Before the Father: When Praise Meets Worship April 12, 7-10 p.m., at New Horizon Church International (1770 Ellis Ave.) Performers include Doug Williams, Vergia Dishmond and the Anointed Carla Nicks. $20; call 601-953-6657.

Mississippi College Singers Spring Concert April 14, 7 p.m., at Northside Baptist Church (2300 Newport St.). The performance is part of the choir’s spring tour. Free; call 601-925-3440.

Juke Joint Festival April 11-14, in downtown Clarksdale. Options include blues concerts, history tours, arts exhibits and a 5K/8K race. Cost varies, some events free; call 662-624-5992; schedule at jukejointfestival.com.

An Evening with Tom Franklin April 16, 7 p.m., at Powerhouse Arts Center (413 S. 14th St., Oxford). Franklin is the author of “Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter.” Love Cannon performs.

Dinner and drinks available for a small voluntary donation. Free; call 662-236-6429.

Creative Classes Shut Up and Create! April 27, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. JFP Editor-in-Chief Donna Ladd’s newest workshop will benefit any artist, writer or anyone who wants to be more creative. This interactive workshop will involve games, exercises and tools. $50 (includes materials and lunch); call 601-362-6121, ext. 15 or email class@jacksonfreepress.com.

Exhibits and Openings Events at Arts Center of Mississippi (201 E. Pascagoula St.).

• Pastel Society of Mississippi Spring Show April 11-28. Opening reception April 11 at 7 p.m.; includes art talk from artist Terry Ludwig. Free; call 601-368-9534.

• Power APAC Visual Arts Exhibit through April 30. See works from students in grades 412. Free; call 601-960-5387 or 601-960-1500.

A View of France: Art, Music, and Literature April 16, 6 p.m., at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.), in Trustmark Grand Hall. The Alliance Française de Jackson presents live music, a literary reading and an art lecture. Cash bar at 5:30 p.m. Free; call 601-960-1515.

Be the Change Charity Yard Sale April 13, 6 a.m.-2 p.m., at 109 Brigade Ave., Canton. Proceeds benefit Girl Possible, an organization that hosts empowerment seminars. Call 601-790-0554.

Check jfpevents.com for updates and more listings. To add an event, email all details (phone number, start and end date, time, street address, cost, URL, etc.) to events@jacksonfreepress.com or fax to 601-510-9019.

The deadline is noon the Thursday prior to the week of publication. Or add the event online yourself; check out jfpevents.com for instructions.

DIVERSIONS | music

Impermanent Art

by Genevieve Legacy

T

courtesy Julian Rankin

he High Note Jam Series is the musical lovechild of partnering, a strategic approach in an era of two anchor arts organizations in downtown Jackson, declining funding for the Arts. namely the Greater Jackson Arts Council and the “The High Note Series was created so Mississippi Museum of Art. The outdoor concert se- we could step out and promote local music, as ries, which kicked off in 2011, runs twice a year at the height well as what’s happening downtown in the new of the spring and fall seasons. arts district,” Golden says. “We wanted to cre Located in the museum’s Art Garden, families and ate something that would attract a new audifriends can gather after work for live performances by regional ence to downtown. All the musicians that we bands and musicians. For a month of consecutive Thursday work with agree to self-promote. We want to evenings, the garden’s welcoming green space is offset by the bring their following downtown so they can see transitory art of music and sound. what’s going on.”

“The museum and the Arts Council are neighbors,” Beginning in April, when the flowers are MMA Director of New Media Julian Rankin says. “We’re in bloom and the leaves have reached full green, two, distinct organizations working in one, this spring’s installment of big partnership.”

High Note Jam shows equal The High Note Jam combines local music, outdoor art, and

The two organizations sit on the north promise and potential. Each community bonding each spring and summer. and south ends of one city block, with rays night in the series has a The Spring 2013 of sidewalk span the garden and lawn betheme: Indie Music, Urban High Note Jam tween, connecting the two literally and Hip-Hop and Mississippi S c h e d u le figuratively. For the concert series, the yin(Blues) Music. The season will wrap up in their submissions. Judges will choose 12 finalists from the site April 11: Indie Night with Liver Mousse, and yang pairing plays out beautifully—with early May with an exciting new addition: to perform their song May 2, The judges will award first, secAlexis and the Samurai. the Art Garden as venue, MMA provides The Arts Council’s first “Sing Your Song” ond and third place cash prizes, with a top prize of $1,000.

April 18: Urban Hip-Hop the facility, staff and security, while the Arts contest, which they plan to make annual.

Another big draw for the series, thanks to the help Night with Rappers Council researches and handles the bands

“We’re really excited about the of corporate sponsors, the concerts are free of charge. The Jody Boy, 5th Child, Py and musicians who perform and both oropportunity to showcase local talent,” Art Museum will offer a cash bar but people are welcome Infamous, and James Crow, each backed by ganizations promote.

Golden says. “So much of what we to bring their own picnic food. Both Rankin and Golden DJ Young Venom.

“Working with the Arts Council has do at the Arts Council involves visual stress that the concerts are family friendly—Urban Hip-Hop April 25: Mississippi been great,” Rankin says. “They have inarts—we’re looking forward to tapping Night included—and meant to be enjoyed by all ages. The Music Night with Scott roads into the music community, so we into the really strong musical talent here concerts run from 5:30 to 7 p.m., leaving plenty of time to Albert Johnson & rely on them to help us figure out who in Jackson.” get back home for dinner and homework.

Chalmers Davis the performers will be for the season.”

An event in and of itself, the Sing

For more details about the series, visit msmuseumart.org/ May 2: Sing Your Song Contest with 12 finalists

Tammy Golden, the special events Your Song contest will be managed by on- events-current-month.html. All Sing Your Song contest rules and performing their songs. manager for the Arts Council agrees with line marketing platform, sonicbids.com. restrictions and submission details are available at sonicbids.com/ Rankin and elucidates on the benefits of Songwriters have until April 10 to upload singyoursong.

The Dear Hunter’s ‘Migrant’ Moves, Shifts

MUSIC REVIEW

thing. Think of it as wiggle room rather than pure departure, as those elements are key in songs like the bonus track Courtesy The Dear Hunter

I

f lead singer, multi-instrumentalist and one-man renaissance Casey Crescenzo’s post-hardcore history kept your attention directed away from The Dear Hunter’s previous releases, his newest album “Migrant” promises to turn your head, at the risk of breaking your neck. Boasting evolving arrangements of brass, backing vocals, strings and guitars of virtually every variety, “Migrant” can simultaneously remind listeners of complex contemporaries like Circa Survive, As Tall As Lions, The Mars Volta and even Colour Revolt, albeit with Crescenzo’s naturally gritless voice, procured by way of pop.

One of the first releases not filtered through the lens of the band’s “Color Spectrum” series or “Acts I-III” concept, “Migrant” slides itself loose from the tight, progressive rock edge that they shared with occasional collaborators Manchester Orchestra, but that never feels like a bad

The Dear Hunter’s newest progressive rock release, “Migrant” offers plenty of introspective moments.

“Dig Your Own Grave” and “Girl”—affected drums, bluesy guitar riffs and all.

However, The Dear Hunter heaves plenty of introspective moments into the driving distortion, pumping oxygen into an often-facile genre.

“Migrant” is nothing if not diverse.

That is evident from track to track, of course, but also within a single song. The first track, “Bring You Down,” opens with a tense and intensifying string section that would feel at home in a slasher film just before the audience screams, “He’s right behind you!” That is, before it resolves with gentle, spacious piano and acoustic, which eventually yield to an energetic tempo change deserving of the involuntary foot tapping that it will likely produce. Though most songs on the release don’t contain so stark a contrast, each offers clever components that clearly set it apart.

Sadly, the heights of Crescenzo’s intricate arrangements make the lows feel especially less than stellar. While there is

an implicit change of pace from more dynamic tracks like “Let Go” and “Whisper” to more standard, deliberate tracks, those slower songs tend to clump together with less consideration.

To be fair, nothing is fundamentally “bad” about the more sluggish material like “The Vicious Place” or “Don’t Look Back.” Alone, their effective characteristics suggest some very intentional, knowledgeable songwriting decisions, but placed as the “final word” on the album, they feel woefully forgettable.

While it represents an important move for The Dear Hunter, which spreads its feathers and shirks the concept album coating, several less memorable slow tracks peck conspicuous holes into “Migrant,” a commendable, complicated album that proves itself far from flightless. Should The Dear Hunter stay that course, expect many more releases that push the boundaries of progressive rock.

jacksonfreepress.com

by Micah Smith

39

Music listings are due noon Monday to be included in print and online listings: music@jacksonfreepress.com.

April 10 - Wednesday Ole Tavern - Karaoke Pop’s Saloon - Ladies Night Philip’s on the Rez - Karaoke w/ DJ Mike Burgers & Blues - Jesse “Guitar” Smith Club Magoo’s - Karaoke 8 p.m.

Last Call - Karaoke Martin’s - Ladies Night Hal & Mal’s - New Bourbon Street Jazz Band Soul Wired Cafe - Card Shark Invasion 7 p.m.-1 a.m. free

WEEKLY EVENT CALENDAR THURSDAY

$4 Appetizers • 5 -9pm 2 for 1 DRAFT

Shake It Like A Caveman FRIDAY

SATURDAY

4/11

10pm

PARALLAX

MEAT PUPPETS

SUNDAY

4/12

4/13

4/14

A BENEFIT FOR THE FAMILY OF OFFICER ERIC SMITH A Thin Blue LIne

Noon-6pm • 10 Live Music Acts on 2 Stages Children’s Activities • Food • Bike Rally • Car Show MONDAY

4/15

2 for 1 DRAFT ALL DAY OPEN MIC 10pm

TUESDAY

4/16

SHRIMP BOIL • 5 - 10 PM MATT’S LATE NITE KARAOKE • $1 PBR & HIGHLIFE $2 MARGARITAS • 10 - 12pm • Live Music from 6- 10 by

Howlin’ At The Moon with Hunter Gibson Request Night 6-10pm

UPCOMING SHOWS April 10 - 16, 2013

5.4: Black Francis

40

(front man of the Pixies)

SEE OUR NEW MENU

W W W. M A R T I N S L O U N G E . N E T 214 S. STATE ST. • 601.354.9712 DOWNTOWN JACKSON

April 11 - Thursday Cherokee Inn - D’lo Trio Ole Tavern - Ladies Night Hot Shots, Byram - Karaoke 8 p.m.

Club Magoo’s – Ladies Night Brady’s - Karaoke Soul Wired Cafe - Roots, Rock & Reggae 7 p.m.-1 a.m. free F. Jones Corner - Amazing Lazy Boi Band (midnight) Martin’s – College Night Burgers & Blues - King Street The Art Garden, MS Museum of Art - Indie Music Night featuring Liver Mousse Georgia Blue, Flowood - Larry Brewer 6:30 p.m. free Que Sera - DoubleShotz 6:3010 p.m. free Olga’s - Hunter & Rick 6:309:30 p.m. free

April 12 - Friday The Penguin - Amos Brewer 11 a.m.- 3 p.m.

Martini Room, Regency Martini Fridays 9 p.m.

Hot Shots, Byram - Karaoke 8 p.m.

The Boardwalk - Karaoke Debo’s Lounge – Karaoke Bottoms Up – DJ w/ Special Events Reed Pierce - Faze 4 9 p.m. free New Horizon International (Ellis Ave.) - One Night Before the Father Gospel Explosion featuring Doug Williams, Vergia Dishmond, & Carla Nicks 7-10 p.m., $20 Duling Hall - ZOSO: The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience 9 p.m., $15 adv., $20 door, 18+ Soul Wired Cafe - MINDgasm Erotic Poetry 8 p.m.-3 a.m. $5 Med Grill - Akami & The Key of G 9:30 p.m.-midnight, $10 Underground 119 - Bryan Lee 9 p.m. $10 Martin’s - Renegade 6-10 p.m.

Pop’s Saloon - Snazz Hal & Mal’s - DoubleShotz

Ole Tavern - The Amazin Lazy Boi Band Sam’s Lounge - Napoleon Avenue Cups, Fondren - Erin Callie F. Jones Corner - Amazin Lazy Boi Band Burgers & Blues - Evans Geno 6-10 p.m. free

April 13 - Saturday Hot Shots, Byram - Karaoke 8 p.m. courtesy john mora

MUSIC | live

Sombra Mexican Kitchen - John Mora 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Char – The Big Easy Three 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Burgers & Blues - Starving Artist 4-8 p.m. free

April 15 - Monday Hal and Mal’s - Central MS Blues Society (rest) 7 p.m.

Martin’s - Open Mic Free Jam Fenian’s - Karaoke Ole Tavern - Pub Quiz Burgers & Blues - Karaoke The Penguin - Mellow Mondays Pelican Cove - Hunter & Rick 6-9 p.m. free

April 16 - Tuesday John Mora

Bottoms Up – DJ & Show 9 p.m.

Martin’s - The Meat Puppets w/ The Tomatoes 10 p.m. ardenland.net Reed Pierce - Faze 4 9 p.m. free Cherokee Inn - Delta Mountain Boys 9 p.m. $5 Hal & Mal’s - Jarekus Singleton 9 p.m.

Pelican Cove - Richard Lee Davis 1-5 p.m. free Soul Wired Cafe - Strictly Soul Saturday 8 p.m.-2 a.m. $5 Underground 119 - Mark “Muleman” Massey 9 p.m. $10 Kathryn’s - Renegade Township at Colony Park, Ridgeland - Township Jazz Festial feat eZra Brown 10 a.m.-7 p.m. free admission Julep - Larry Brewer 11 p.m. free Shucker’s - DoubleShotz (Shucker’s Crawfish Festival) 9 p.m.-1 a.m.

Ole Tavern - Light Beam Rider Sam’s Lounge - American Automatic w/ Farthest Side Down Pearl Community Room - Jason Boone Band, Brick Street Barbershop Quartet 6:30 p.m., $10 Burgers & Blues - JJ Thames & The Volt 6-10 p.m. free

April 14 - Sunday Hot Shots, Byram - Mike and Marty’s Jam Session Sophia’s, Fairview Inn - Knight Bruce 11 a.m. (brunch) Fitzgerald’s - Andy Hardwick (brunch) 11 a.m.

Table 100 - Raphael Semmes (jazz brunch) 11:30 a.m.1:30 p.m.

Hal & Mal’s - Pub Quiz Ole Tavern - Open Mic Fenian’s - Open Mic Time Out - Open Mic Night Margaritas - John Mora 6-9 p.m.

Burgers & Blues - Jesse “Guitar” Smith Shucker’s - Larry Brewer 7:3011:30 p.m.

Martin’s - Hunter Gibson 6-9 p.m.

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral - John Paul (harpsichordist) 7:30 p.m., $15, $5 students, $120 Mississippi Academy of Ancient Music season tickets

April 17 - Wednesday Ole Tavern - Karaoke Pop’s Saloon - Ladies Night Philip’s on the Rez - Karaoke w/ DJ Mike Burgers & Blues - Jesse “Guitar” Smith Club Magoo’s - Karaoke 8 p.m.

Last Call - Karaoke Martin’s - Ladies Night Hal & Mal’s - Sarah Lee Guthrie, Grayson Capps, & Johnny Irion 7:30 p.m., $8 adv., $10 door Soul Wired Cafe - Benefit Concert for Bluesman 7 p.m.1 a.m. $5-$10

Send your music listings to us at music@jacksonfreepress.com

or fax to 601-510-9019 by noon Monday for inclusion in the next issue.

For a list of music venue addresses and phone numbers, visit jfp.ms/musicvenues.

4/12 Josh Turner – Hard Rock Casino, Biloxi 4/19 Brantley Gilbert, Kip Moore – BancorpSouth Arena, Tupelo 4/19 Crystal Castles – House of Blues, New Orleans 4/20 David Sedaris – Michael Rose Theatre, University of Memphis

- Thursday Night: Ladies Night -Karaoke with Matt (Wed - Sat)

Hairicane Friday April 12

Splendid Chaos Saturday April 13

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41

DIVERSIONS | jfp sports

the best in sports over the next seven days

SLATE

Yee-Haw!

by Bryan Flynn

I

Flickr/tasweertaker

arrived at the Mississippi State Fair- Steve Godbolt, who worked the event and grounds on a cold mid-April morning generously gave me a tour, agreed with Orr. last year. Buses and cars were already “We rely on the generosity of many parked from schools all over the state. A volunteers,” Godbolt said. “The support we line of kids and adults waited with patience get from the fairgrounds is outstanding, and but with a bubbling excitement to enter the they are great at getting the area ready.” horse arena. The smell of livestock greeted No paid staff are involved with Horses me almost as fast as the smiling faces lined for Handicapped. Every person who takes up to get inside. part donates his or her time or food to help

The fairgrounds were hosting Horses feed other volunteers. T-shirt sales and donafor Handicapped. Most of the people in line tions help finance the next year’s event. waiting to get in were special-needs kids and Horses for Handicapped, now celadults. A ramp leading to the arena greeted ebrating its 32nd year, is usually in April at the participants, with two strong young men the fairgrounds. It takes 250 volunteers to at the end, ready to lift those who needed extra help on to a horse.

Once a participant was in the saddle, another volunteer sat behind the rider to hold her steady, and a group of about five people ringed the horse, ready to help just in case the rider began to fall.

As the riders circled the arena, they were beaming and waving—their faces looked like Christmas had come early. At certain points, volunteers hollered “yee-haw!” as a rider went past.

Those yee-haws made the riders Horses for Handicapped gives local kids and adults with smiles even broader as they made disabilities a chance to interact with horses. their three laps around the arena.

Horses for Handicapped gives people with special needs a chance to ride a horse, and participate in pull off the four-day happening. Horses for horsey games like pin the tail on the donkey Handicapped relies on donated and loaned and horseshoes. During the event, partici- supplies for everything: Tack, petting-zoo pants could enjoy a petting zoo, a wagon ride animals, wagons and the horses themselves or have their pictures taken on a patient and are all contributed. Wranglers even donates still horse. Over four days, more than 1,600 bandanas for participants to wear, so they’ll special-needs kids and adults made their way feel like real cowboys. through the fairgrounds.

Watching the riders and volunteers,

“This is the finest humanitarian event it struck me how much able-bodied folks, that happens on the fairgrounds during the like myself, take for granted in everyday year,” said Billy Orr, executive director of the life. I also noticed that those standing near Mississippi State Fairgrounds Commission. me—the teachers, parents, and volunteers

Bryan’s Rant

April 10 - 16, 2013

T

42

are touched, and aren’t afraid to show their emotions. These kids and adults reminded me that there are things in life we should cherish more such as simple horse rides.

Joann Benjamin, in an article for the American Hippotherapy Association website, argued that interaction between horses and people with disabilities has positive physical and psychological effects. Some of the physical effects are motor coordination, posture improvements, and balance. Psychological effects include self-esteem and being outdoors instead of a doctors office.

Groups like the American Physical Therapy Association along with other organizations recognize the benefits of horse interactions with handicapped individuals.

Moving around the event, it was fun to watch the petting zoo, where kids walked timidly toward the crowd of sheep and goats.

Once they fed the animals or began to pet them, their mood lightened and their faces shone with broad smiles. Children petting the animals looked back and smiled at their teachers or parents as they kept feeding or petting. I wished that the moment could never end for these kids.

“We are fortunate to have experienced and good horse people to help ease the horses and the kids,” Godbolt said. “We are also fortunate to have great volunteers in our stations as well.”

Horses for Handicapped exists solely through donations and volunteers. The organization is a 501c3 non-profit, which means any money donated is tax deductible. The event will be at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds (1207 Mississippi St., 601-961-4000) April 15-18. For more information or to donate, visit the Horses for Handicapped website at horsesforhadicappedms.com.

Getting Paid or Really Hurt

he National Football League might have found its way to win the concussion lawsuit that more than 4,000 former players have brought against the league. Roger Goodell and the rest of the NFL might want to send a thank-you card to former West Virginia University and Miami Dolphins quarterback Pat White.

White, who was suing the NFL over concussions, dropped his name from the lawsuit last week after getting back into the league with the Washington Redskins.

Washington Times sports writer Nathan Fenno blogged that White claimed he “continues to suffer from permanent injuries including severe headaches, speech issues, memory loss and diminished self-esteem.”

Many people felt some of the players suing the NFL were actually attempting litigation in a money-grab endeavor. Now with White returning to football and dropping his lawsuit, expect the NFL to

pound that thought into the jury members’ minds.

Two other players have re-signed with NFL teams as well since suing the league. The Seattle Seahawks signed Patrick Chukwurah before the playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons, and Brett Romberg signed with the Falcons.

Chukwurah has not dropped his lawsuit against the league, but I found no clear information one way or the other about Romberg. In fact, many more players may have returned to the league after jumping into the concussion lawsuits after their playing career ended for a short time.

If, as White claimed, you suffered from the types of physical, emotional and mental aliments described, would you go back to playing football?

Why would Chukwurah or Romberg return as well if they felt that their health had been damaged by playing?

It doesn’t matter if the three players drop out of the lawsuit against the NFL or stay in the

fight—it still gives the NFL a big bullet to fire in the court room.

It gives the idea that concussion lawsuits were just a money grab even more backing. Players who are truly suffering from the effects of playing football and getting concussions just got stabbed in the back by White and other players going back to the NFL.

What happens if White gets cut by the Redskins before, during or after the 2013-14 season?

Will he jump back into the concussion lawsuits?

How laughable would that be? How clear White’s motives would become if he rejoined the lawsuit.

I’m not saying guys aren’t suffering effects from concussion. White’s moves just make me wonder how many guys are truly damaged from football and how many guys just want to get paid.

I know which idea the NFL lawyers are going point out. ...

by Bryan Flynn

The sports world is starting to hit its annual summer slowdown. College basketball is over, the NBA and NHL are playoff-bound and the NFL will go dark after the draft.

Thursday, April 11 NBA (7 p.m.-1 a.m., TNT): Its a double header featuring playoff teams in the East and West starting with the New York Knicks at the Chicago Bulls and followed by the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Golden State Warriors.

Friday, April 12 Golf (2-6:30 p.m., ESPN): Round two of The Masters as players try to make it to the weekend final.

Saturday, April 13 NASCAR (6:30-11 p.m., Fox): Jimmy Johnson has the points lead as he and the other drivers of NASCAR go racing under the lights in the first night race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Sunday, April 14 Golf (1-6 p.m., CBS): The final round of The Masters featured Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy and defending champion Bubba Watson all battling to wear the green jacket.

Monday, April 15 MLB (6-10 p.m., ESPN): Remember to get your taxes done before you settle in to watch the Cincinnati Reds host the Philadelphia Phillies.

Tuesday, April 16 NBA (7-9:30 p.m., TNT): The Indiana Pacers travel to the east coast to face the Boston Celtics in a potential first-round match up in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Wednesday, April 17 NHL (6-9 p.m., NBCSN): The top two teams in the Eastern Conference face off when the number-one Pittsburgh Penguins host the secondplace Montreal Canadians.

Looking for a major underdog to root for at this year’s Masters? Check out 14-year-old golfer Tianlang Guan of China, who is the youngest player ever to tee off at The Masters.

Follow Bryan Flynn at jfpsports.com, @jfpsports and at facebook.com/jfpsports.

BY MATT JONES

short) 52 ___ Lingus (Irish carrier) 53 What many gamblers claim to have 55 “Double Dare” host Summers 57 Cheese that melts well 59 Part of TNT 60 Debt to ducts?

64 Wilkes-___, Penna.

65 Kings of ___ 66 Duncan of the Obama Cabinet 67 One-for-one trades 68 ___ Tomb (solitaire game) 69 Ray of light

35 ___ Taylor LOFT 36 Bobby, to Hank Hill 37 Track star Jones 38 Israeli statesman Abba 39 Moorish fortress in Spain 43 ___-Roman wrestling 44 Symbols called “snails” in some languages 48 Dress 49 Shakespearean title city 50 Feuder with Moby 52 City where Van Gogh painted 54 Positive vote 56 Gp. for Baby Boomers

57 Hot wings cheese 58 Out-of-control situation 60 Channel with the slogan “Very funny” 61 Labor org. based in Detroit 62 Sandwich that’s now a potato chip flavor 63 It’s settled when settling up ©2013 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com)

Last Week’s Answers

For answers to this puzzle, call: 1-900-226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Must be 18+. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800 655-6548. Reference puzzle #611.

Down

Across

1 Liberty org.

5 Dave’s bandleader 9 Used as source material 14 Each episode of “24” 15 “Major” constellation 16 Blah 17 Thieves who take X-rated DVDs? 20 Gorp piece 21 He killed Mufasa 22 Nebula animal 23 Really untrustworthy looking 25 As well 26 Tachometer stat 29 Roll call response

30 Company with orange-and-white trucks 33 Like some minimums 34 Fascination with Dre, Eve and Wiz Khalifa?

37 Get wind of 40 Fleur-de-___ 41 Start of a Danny Elfman band 42 Jamaica or Puerto Rico, if you’re drawing a map?

45 Bert who played the Cowardly Lion 46 Change the clock 47 Icicle spot 51 “I’m ___ Boat” (“SNL” digital

BY MATT JONES Last Week’s Answers

“Sum Sudoku”

Put one digit from 1-9 in each square of this Sudoku so that the following three conditions are met: 1) each row, column, and 3x3 box (as marked off by heavy lines in the grid) contains the digits 1-9 exactly one time; 2) no digit is repeated within any of the areas marked off by dotted lines; and 3) the sums of the numbers in each area marked off by dotted lines total the little number given in each of those areas. For example, the digits in the upper-leftmost square in the grid and the two squares directly beneath it will add up to 15. Now do what I tell you—solve!! psychosudoku@hotmail.com

jacksonfreepress.com

“Ob Course” —getting a new start.

1 Zooming noise 2 Like cookies made without ovens 3 Keaton of the Silent Era 4 Parabolic path 5 Add sparkle to 6 51, for one 7 Superpower that split up 8 Calif. newspaper 9 Spanish actress often seen on “The Love Boat” 10 Kansas county seat (hidden in VIOLATION) 11 Pinky’s partner 12 It’s north of Afr. 13 Dungeons & Dragons game runners, for short 18 Key at the top left 19 School, to Sarkozy 24 Feeling while watching slasher movies 25 Skirmish 27 ___-rock 28 “Tell ___ secrets...”

31 Less like thou?

32 Seemingly endless pit 33 They usually weren’t hits

43

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ARIES (March 21-April 19):

German theologian Martin Luther (1483-1546) was a central figure in the rebellion against the Catholic Church that led to the Protestant Reformation. You’ll never guess where he was when he was struck by the epiphany that became the core axiom of his new religion. I’ll tell you: He was sitting on the toilet in the Wittenberg Monastery. The Holy Spirit gave him the crucial knowledge then and there, or so he testified. In this spirit, Aries, keep a very open mind about where you will be and what you will be doing when your illuminations arrive this week.

Your task is to uncover the semi-happy ending that was hidden back in the story’s beginning. Once you do that, you may be able to create a graceful and honorable climax. In fact, I don’t think you will be able to bring about the semi-happy ending any other way. It’s crucial that you return to the original flash of inspiration—the time when all the plot lines that eventually developed were first germinating. You need to remember fate’s primal promise. You’ve got to read the signs you missed in the early going.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

If you play poker, the odds are one in 649,740 that you will get a royal flush. That’s an ace, king, queen, jack and ten of one suit. As for drawing a straight flush—any five consecutive cards of one suit—the odds are one in 72,192. Judging from the current astrological omens, Gemini, I’d say your chance of getting one of those hands is far better than usual—maybe one in 88,000 for the royal flush and one in 8,888 for the straight flush.

But those still aren’t great odds. On the other hand, getting a flush—all five cards of the same suit—is normally one in 509, but these days it’s pretty likely for you. The moral of the story, not just for when you’re playing cards, but in whatever you do: Expect really good luck, but not miraculous, out-of-this-world luck.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

“Wherever you stand, be the soul of that place,” wrote the poet Rumi. This is excellent advice for you right now, Cancerian. You are nearing the peak of your power to express yourself with beautiful accuracy. You have more skill than usual at understanding and conveying the interesting truth. As a result, you’re in a position to wield extra influence. People are receptive to being moved by your heart-felt intelligence. So please do more than simply push for greater efficiency, order, and discipline.

Those things are good, but I hope you will also be a radiant role model who exemplifies what it means to be soulful.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

Golden Rock is a Buddhist holy site in Burma. It’s a small pagoda built on top of a giant boulder that in turn seems to be precariously balanced at the edge of a down-sloping bed of rock. How does the boulder remain stationary? Why doesn’t it roll off the edge? It appears to defy gravity. Legend says that it’s held in place by a single strand of hair from the Buddha’s head. I suspect that many of you Leos will soon have access to a tricky asset with resemblances to that magic strand. True, it might be merely metaphorical. But if used correctly, it could become a key element in a future foundation.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

It’s Soul-Searching Season: a good time to go in search of your soul. To aid your quest, I’ll offer a few lines from “A Few Words on the Soul,” a poem by Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska. “We have a soul at times,” she says. “No one’s got it non-stop, for keeps. Day after day, year after year may pass without it. For every thousand conversations, it participates in one, if even that, since it prefers silence. It’s picky: our hustling for a dubious advantage and creaky machinations make it sick. Joy and sorrow aren’t two different feelings for it. It attends us only when the two are joined. We can count on it when we’re sure of nothing and curious about everything. It won’t say where it comes from or when it’s taking off again, though it’s clearly expecting such questions. We need it but apparently it needs us for some reason too.” (Translation by Stanislaw Baranczak and Clare Cavanagh. Read the whole poem here: tinyurl. com/SearchSoul.)

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

“I do not believe in God,” said Mexican painter Diego Rivera, “but I believe in Picasso.” My poet-musician friend Tanya has a similar philosophy. “I don’t believe in God, or even Goddess, for that matter,” she says. “But I do believe in Patti Smith.” Do you have a God-substitute, Libra?

Or, if you do have faith in a Cosmic Wow, is there also a more approachable, second-tier source of divinity you love? According to my reading of the astrological omens, you would really benefit from feeling an intimate kind of reverence right now—a tender devotion for something higher and brighter that awakens the sleeping part of your lust for life.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

This would be an excellent time to stage staring contests with yourself in the mirror. There’s a high likelihood that you will win every time. I think you’ll also have great success whenever you try to read your own mind. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you’ve got an uncanny knack for plucking buried secrets and self-deceptions out of their hiding places. One more thing, Scorpio: Have you ever considered how fun it might be to wash your own brain and kick your own butt? Now would be an excellent time to experiment with radical acts of healing.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

“It’s so hard to forget pain, but it’s even harder to remember sweetness,” writes novelist Chuck Palahniuk.

“We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace.” Your assignment in the coming days, Sagittarius, is to prove Palahniuk wrong. As the surges of sweetness flow through you, as your secret joy ripens into bright blooming bliss, imprint the sensations on your memory. Vow to remember them for the rest of your life.

Make these breakthrough moments into talismans that will serve as magical spells whenever you need rejuvenation in the future.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein had his priorities straight. This is what he said about his profession: “In philosophy the race is won by the one who can run slowest—the one who crosses the finish line last.” It’s my belief, Capricorn, that a similar rule should apply to you in the coming days—no matter what project you’re working on or goal you’re trying to accomplish. Proceed slowly enough to be absolutely thorough, meticulous, and conscientious. As you make your way to the finish line, be as deep as you dare.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

In Samuel Beckett’s novel “Molloy”, the main character talks about a long overland journey he took on foot and by bicycle. Before the trip, he had read somewhere that when people are lost in a forest, they often imagine they’re moving in a straight line when in fact they’re going in a circle. That’s why, during his own travels, he intentionally walked in a circle, hoping thereby to go straight.

Although this might sound like a loopy strategy, Aquarius, I think it will make sense for you to adopt in the coming week. Your apparent path may be very different, maybe even opposite, to your actual path.

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PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

Are you in competition with someone who is doing mediocre work? Do you find it incomprehensible that anyone would pay attention to that weak expression instead of flocking to your beautiful vibe? If so, here’s my advice.

Withdraw your attention from your inferior opponent.

Don’t waste a minute feeling jealous or resentful or incredulous. Instead, concentrate your energy on making your production so strong and smart and irresistible that you simply overshadow and overwhelm your rival’s.

Homework: I’m guessing that many of you will soon be discovering secrets about where you came from.

Report results to Freewillastrology.com.

jacksonfreepress.com

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

BULLETIN BOARD: Classifieds

45

courtesy kent moorhead

Gig: Movie Maker

by Kathleen M. Mitchell

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Lot of creative things: journalist, photographer, musician.

Describe words.

your

workday

in

three

All three words are the same: storytelling.

What tools could you not live or work without?

My brain; both the analytical and the creative sides.

What steps brought you to this position?

Name: Kent Moorhead Age: 58 Job: Documentary filmmaker. His film “Rather Die a Free Man Than Live a Slave” is showing at Crossroads Film Festival April 14. The film is about the creation of the U.S. Colored troops during the Civil War, as well as the larger black liberation struggle that was part of the Civil War.

A strong wish to find the truth and then tell it—same thing that drove William Faulkner; I grew up in his town. New York University Film School in 1970s taught me the craft of filmmaking; I was in the last generation to be taught by some of the great Hollywood masters.

What’s the strangest aspect of your job?

To come to understand that some people

want to live with myths—and that telling the truth often means a fight.

What’s the best thing about your job?

You get to meet fascinating people, hear interesting stories and reveal things others want kept secret.

What advice do you have for others who would like to become filmmakers?

Learn your craft. No one thinks they can just wake up one day and become a brain surgeon; same thing is true about film—assuming you want to make something good.

Kent Moorhead is a Mississippi native currently living in Sweden. Find out more about him and his films at foreveryoungproduction.com.

Gig is a new spotlight on interesting jobs around the Jackson metro area. If you have a great job, or know someone who does, suggest it to kathleen@jacksonfreepress.com.

HOME FOR SALE

Exciting new restaurant opening in Fondren. Located at Suite 102, 3100 North State Street, Jackson, MS 39216 (next to the Bankplus on Duling Street). Hiring bartenders, servers and kitchen staff. Applications taken Mon - Sat from 9:30 am until 5:00 pm.

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46

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All Day Every Monday Half-Price on select draft beer & craft beer

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Monday Sushi Madness All Day Every Monday (from select menu) Pick 3 Rolls for $15 OR 1 Roll & 5 Pieces of Nigiri for $15 OR 2 Specialty Rolls for $20

Nail services by appointment only.

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Sake Tuesday

Where fashion meets beauty…

Wine Down Martini Wednesday Thursday

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Announcing Chef Brenda’s To Go Pick Up • Delivered • Catered

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TO

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Delivery charges will apply.

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jacksonfreepress.com

From Traditional to Contemporary • Executive Boxed Meals • Breakfast • Brenda’s Home Cooking

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Canvas Painting Night April 13 • 7pm • Taught by Caroline Huey

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www.jfp.ms

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news as it occurs + • events • sports • music

fondren cellars wine & spirits

Wine Wednesday - 10% OFF!

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jfpdaily.com

getting it daily?