Vol. 8 | No. 28 // March 25 - 31. 2010

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DAILY BREAKING NEWS @ JFPDAILY.COM

Raising Healthy Kids McLaughlin, p.14

Counting Latinos in the Census Lynch, p 9

The Coathangers: Chicks on the Loose Williams, p 32

Dumplings, My Dear Bynum, p 36

Dr. Susan Love on Women’s Health, A Breastfeeding Saga, Nicole Dances Again, more starts p 19

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March 25 - 31, 2010

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jacksonian

When John Yu was a student at Jackson’s Chastain Middle School, he witnessed firsthand the effects that bullying can have. A boy in one of his classes brought a revolver to school to defend himself from bullies who had threatened him consistently that year. Yu, now 28, still vividly remembers the fear he felt on that day. “It was crazy,” he recalls, “(The administration) treated it like a tornado warning, so everyone was told to stay in their rooms with the doors locked. Students in our classroom were climbing out windows, running all over campus, and everyone was terrified. No one knew what to do because there were no antibullying policies in Mississippi at the time. Unfortunately, there still aren’t.” Yu, who was born in Starkville, works as youth programs coordinator for the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi in Jackson. He started as an intern there in 2009, after earning a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of North Carolina and a master’s degree in sociology from Mississippi State University. One of his major projects at the ACLU is helping to get anti-bullying legislation passed for all schools in Mississippi, a project he started while he was still an intern at the organization. “We see policy as a way to help all children in Mississippi,” Yu says. “As parents,

WRIJOYA ROY

john yu educators and responsible Mississippians, we shouldn’t expect children to be the first and last line of defense against school violence.” Currently, state lawmakers are debating proposed legislature that would mandate all schools to develop a policy on bullying, including writing procedures for how students should report bullying and how teachers should deal with it. Both the Senate and the House have passed S.B. 2015, and it has now been referred to the Senate conference committee. It will likely go back to both houses for another round of votes. Yu says it was a major victory that the bill was passed in the House, but it still has a lot of steps last before it becomes law. Yu explained that the most effective anti-bullying policies should contain enumeration: instead of an all encompassing rule or vague verbiage, a policy would include a detailed list of the categories of students and characteristics that are protected, including race, class, disability and sexual orientation. “Without enumeration, a bill doesn’t really have much to it,” Yu says. “Research shows that anti-bullying policy that does not contain enumeration is like having no policy at all. Students feel safer, and teachers are more likely to intervene when enumeration is included in school policies.” —Will Caves

Cover illustrated by Kristin Brenemen Mar c h 25 - 31, 2 0 1 0

VOL.

8 NO. 28 KENYA HUDSON; AMILE WILSON; DR SUSAN LOVE FOUNDATION;; BRICE MEDIA

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What it All Means

Taxing Junk

Love Your Body

Dancer Dancing

Confused by what’s in the new health-care bill? The JFP makes sense of it for you.

Mississippi failed to pass an anti-obesity tax on sugary soft drinks this session.

Surgeon and health advocate Dr. Susan Love explains new guidelines for mammograms.

Nicole Marquez talks about her return to dancing after being told 19 months ago that she’d never walk again.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 4 Editor’s Note 28 JFP Events

4 Slow Poke 31 Books

6 Talk 32 Music

12 Stiggers

34 Music Listings

36 Food

12 Editorial 41 Astro

26 8 Days 43 Sports

jacksonfreepress.com

contents

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Lacey McLaughlin News and JFPDaily.com editor Lacey McLaughlin is a Florida native who enjoys riding her bike around Jackson. She is always on the hunt for news tips. E-mail her at Lacey@jacksonfreepress.com. She wrote the cover story.

Lisa L. Bynum Lisa L. Bynum is a native of Grenada and a graduate of Delta State. She lives in Brandon with her husband, her cat Zorro, and a boxer puppy named Otis. She maintains a food and cooking blog at www.cookingbride.word press.com. She wrote a food piece.

Kristin Brenemen Editorial designer Kristin Brenemen is a local anime otaku with an ever-full mug of coffee and cream. She fears the inevitable Robot Apocalypse but is prepared for the oncoming Zombie Invasion. She designed the cover and many pages in this issue.

Christi Vivar Production designer Christi Vivar is a native Jacksonian and honors graduate of Hinds Community College. She loves cooking, illustrating and playing video games with her hubby. A master of the art of sarcasm, she helped design pages for this issue.

John Yargo Hailing from Franklinton, La, John Yargo attended Millsaps College, graduating with a Bachelor’s in English and classical studies. He also received his master’s from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He wrote the sports column.

Jesse Crow Editorial intern Jesse Crow, a Pensacola, Fla., native, is a Millsaps College sophomore. She enjoys playing with puppies, summer camp and going on long drives in her station wagon named Herman. She interviewed dancer Nicole Marquez for this issue.

Kimberly Griffin Advertising coordinator 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’s Obama’s water holder.

March 25 - 31, 2010

Wrijoya Roy

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Photography intern Wrijoya Roy is sophomore at Millsaps College who is planning to study public health. In her spare time, she loves photography, Facebooking and dancing. She photographed the Jacksonian.

editor’snote

by Donna Ladd, Editor-in-Chief

For Those We Love

W

e buried my cousin Anita last week. She was a beautiful, saucy blonde who used to tag around her brother Martie and me back on Fork Road in Neshoba County. Our mamas—both deliciously loud women married to Ladds—were great buddies, and took turns “keeping” us all. Martie and I were born the same year, and people used to think we were twins. Cigarettes killed sweet Anita, whom I will always picture about 12 years old, even though she was 46 when she died. The last time I saw Anita, it was at our cousin Sherry’s funeral in Neshoba County. Sherry died of a heart attack. She, too, was in her 40s. I have a history of early deaths in my family. I lost several aunts and uncles at young ages; one of my favorites died in Jackson from a heart attack when he was 37. My own father died at age 50 of a heart attack. I’d hoped that my generation would escape some of the health issues of our parents and grandparents. It is a different time than when they were working in fields, living in or near poverty, relying too heavily on prescription drugs and antibiotics, and eating fried chicken several times a week. But the curse clearly hasn’t passed my generation by, especially our women. This makes me sad and, frankly, scares me a bit. I don’t live the same life that my forebears did in Neshoba County. I am much more educated than my parents; but I’m beginning to wondering just how much illiteracy-to-Ivy League in one generation really helps. I mean, I’ve exchanged my parents’ hard lives for a version of my own: workaholism and the hazards that come with it. I don’t eat meat, but I have a couple more cocktails than I should each week (yes, I switch to water after one or two these days, but still.) I work 12-hour days several times a week. I don’t sleep enough. My back and shoulders and neck hurt all the time. I eat on the run too much. And I don’t find enough time for serious exercise. Oh, and I’ve never been able to afford good, regular health care. Neither have most people in my family. So I put stuff like routine exams and tests off. I’ve never been one to give two whits about getting older; I wear my age (now 48) on my sleeve. I hate it when women, or anyone, are embarrassed by aging. I want to age with style. And, frankly, there are so many mental advantages to getting older that they balance out any physical ones. Still. When younger cousins start dying, whether suddenly or after a prolonged bout with lung disease, it gives one pause. I’m pretty sure I have some bad stuff tucked into my genes—hell, it could be straight-up karma considering my genealogy discoveries of late, but that’s a story for another day—and despite my organic diet and meditative practices, I may not have transcended the odds. Eek. This column, though, isn’t meant to be

morbid or even particularly fearful. It’s more of an effort to reach out to my fellow Mississippians with an invitation to ingest a big dose of reality alongside me. Our health matters. And even if, like me, your biggest concerns are beyond yourself and lie in making a difference in your community, your state, your city, we need to face a simple fact. We need good health to sustain our work. In order to leave the world a better place, we need energy and vigor. We need to be zen about the stupidity around us (President Obama is my idol on that, if not his dumb-ass smoking); we need to breathe deeply, and we need to sleep enough. We’re not robots or super-humans. So I’m asking all of you to join me as I try to improve my personal health and increase my odds of getting more accomplished in this lifetime, not to mention be a good example for all the young people around us. We all have our bad habits, and we have the stuff we don’t want to give up. Many of you don’t want to give up the “soul food” (which is the food my family ate, and eat, too) that our mamas made so well. You can’t imagine cutting back on meat and fried food. You might eat too many sweets. I don’t have the same weaknesses as I did growing up. I probably had Coca-Cola in my baby bottle—most kids around me did—and I was addicted to the sugary poison well into adulthood. But after I left the South (and endured ribbing for using it to wake up in the morning), I conquered the addiction. I just stopped buying it and bringing it home. Still don’t, although I’ll have a Coke at a movie theater or while traveling sometimes. I was fortunate that my mother didn’t believe in desserts after every meal, so I don’t have a strong sweet tooth—dessert is a treat.

But I (and one of my cats) can devour an entire loaf of bread in one sitting; I am trying to control that urge. I don’t eat meat of any kind or many eggs, but I can go to town on dairy. But I choose low-fat options, including nonfat yogurt for smoothies and skim milk for my coffee (just work down to skim gradually). We can do this, Jackson. It won’t be easy; we are the capital city of the nation’s most obese state. Too often, southerners assume that we could never change our diets and, worse, then pass along those bad habits to children. And the tykes have it worse: Many of the foods we grew up eating now have hideous ingredients, and the sodas and fries have been “super-sized.” I encourage you to just start. Order the smaller soda even if the kid in the movie line thinks you’re crazy because you don’t want free refills. Get a salad with dinner and eat it first. Do like the first lady and grow something, and get the kids to help. Have a few meatless meals a week, and use the money you save to buy organic milk. (You really don’t want to ingest the garbage they’re injecting into cows.) Have fruit for snacks every other time. And fit in the exercise. Don’t choose the closest parking space. Walk early or in the evening. (My day isn’t the same if I don’t walk for at least 10 minutes in the morning.) Get outside on the weekends. Breathe deeply. On that note, quit smoking. Now. If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for your loved ones. I will never forget my cousin’s 27-yearold son’s pain last week at the cemetery as he had to give up his mama way too early. His life will never be the same without her. Let’s band together for a new kind of renaissance in our state: good health. Do it for those we love, and for those we’ve lost.

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jacksonfreepress.com

news, culture & irreverence

Thursday, March 18 State Corrections Commissioner Christopher Epps announces that the state will no longer segregate HIV-positive prisoners from other inmates beginning in May. There are currently 152 HIV-positive prisoners in Parchman. … Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. announces that he will fill the estimated $2.3 million shortfall by taking money from the municipal budget’s fund balance, which contains leftover and unallocated funds from each department. Friday, March 19 Tonic.com, a digital media company, awards a $30,000 scholarship to Constance McMillan, the Itawamba County Agricultural High School lesbian student fighting to take her girlfriend to the prom, when she appears on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” … Attorney General Jim Hood announces his intention to run for a third term in 2011, ending speculation that he might have run for governor. Saturday, March 20 The spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, culminates in the Mal’s St. Paddy’s Parade in downtown Jackson. The parade draws an estimated 70,000 people and brings $6.8 million in revenue for the city. Sunday March 21 The U.S. Congress passes a historic healthcare reform bill In Washington, D.C., with a 219-212 vote, mostly along party lines. No Republican voted for the bill.

March 25 - 31, 2010

Monday March 22 Virgin Galactic has the first successful tourist space flight at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. … A federal judge begins hearing arguments in the corruption trial involving former Hinds County District Attorney Ed Peters.

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Tuesday, March 23 A federal judge rules in favor of Itawamba School District’s decision to cancel the Itawamba County Agricultural High School prom after lesbian student Constance McMillen asked to bring her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo to the event. … President Barack Obama signs a health-care overhaul bill that will provide health insurance to an estimated 30 million Americans who currently lack coverage.

Toby Barker proves young doesn’t mean dumb, p. 10

Health Reform: What’s In It?

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resident Barack Obama enjoyed rising approval ratings Tuesday as he signed a historic health-care bill the U.S. House of Representatives passed late Sunday without a single Republican vote— the same health-care bill the Senate approved last December. “The bill I just signed puts Americans in charge of our own health care by enacting three key changes: It establishes the toughest patient protections in history; It guarantees all Americans affordable health insurance options, extending coverage to 32 million who are currently uninsured; and it reduces the cost of care—cutting over 1 trillion dollars from the federal deficit over the next two decades,” Obama said Tuesday. The Senate will debate a package of changes the House authorized the same day it passed the Senate bill. The Senate reconciliation is not subject to a filibuster and needs only a simple majority to pass. The question on everyone’s minds is: What does the bill mean for me—now and later? What are the specifics? The reform bill prohibits insurance companies from refusing coverage to customers, or raising rates, due to pre-existing conditions by 2014. This year, within six months, the prohibition will apply to children. The bill will immediately allow access to insurance for uninsured citizens who currently have no insurance because of a pre-existing

condition through a temporary $5 billion high-risk pool, until insurance exchanges are in place by 2014. It also prohibits insurance companies from dropping policy-holders who file an expensive claim or find themselves diagnosed with a condition requiring KENYA HUDSON

Wednesday, March 17 Gov. Haley Barbour announces plans to cut an additional $40.6 million from the state’s budget for the 2010 fiscal year, bringing the total cuts to $499.1 million this year.

In Mississippi, a half-million people have no health insurance. The state also has the highest rates of obesity and obesityrelated disease—diabetes, heart disease, stroke, etc., costing the state $757 million between 1998 and 2000, the latest figures available from the Centers for Disease Control.

Barack Obama signed health-care reform into law on Tuesday.

expensive treatment. In addition, the bill ends insurance companies’ controversial ability to set insurance rates based on gender, and it forces insurance plans to cover an enrollee’s dependent children until the kids reach age 26. It creates a new government-regulated policy review procedure wherein policy-holders may take action against rate hikes they argue are unreasonable. The bill requires insurance companies to give premium rebates to policy-holders suffering high administrative expenditures, exceeding 15 to 20 percent depending on the size of

by Adam Lynch the plan. It also requires companies to publicly disclose the percentage of premiums applied to the company’s overhead costs—including advertising costs and executive pay. The Congressional Budget Office confirmed that the bill will lead to a decrease in the national deficit of more than $1 trillion within two decades, but it also requires most Americans to purchase insurance by January 2014, or pay a penalty. The original Senate bill proposed a penalty of $95 a year or 0.5 percent of a household’s income, whichever is bigger, starting January 2014, and a $495 penalty, or 1 percent of income in 2015. In 2016, that number goes up to $750 or 2 percent of income—which caps off at $2,250 a year for the whole family. The House reconciliation bill keeps the $95 penalty in 2014, but increases the 2014 cap to 1 percent of a household’s income. The penalty goes up to $325 or 2 percent of income in 2015, and $695 or 2.5 percent of income in 2016—with a maximum penalty of $2,085 for a family. The reconciliation bill exempts from penalties any single-person household with an income below $9,350 a year, or any couple making $18,700 a year. Also exempted are Native Americans, people with religious objections or anybody who can prove financial hardship. Most income brackets will benefit from HEALTH REFORM, see page 7

by JFP Staff

BUTT

SOLUTION

“If this isn’t the solution, then come up with a solution.” —Rep. John Mayo, D-Clarksdale, defending a bill he sponsored that would have put a tax on sugary soft drinks in an effort to curb obesity in Mississippi. The bill never made it out of committee for a vote.

HEALTH CARE REFORM What exactly are the alternatives for the nearly 50 million Americans priced out of health insurance or excluded by pre-existing conditions? Here are some suggestions, in no particular order. • Have women deliver their own babies. • Import acupuncturists from China. • Give dentistry back to barbers. • Go to Costa Rica with Rush. • Go to Mexico for dentistry. • Legalize assisted suicides. • Install real death panels. • License witch doctors. • Hire ninja assassins. • Cease procreation. • Don’t get sick. • Go walking. • Pray.

talk

news, culture & irreverence

HEALTH REFORM, from page 6

federal subsidies, to insurers to manifest as discounts on the customer’s policy. The Senate version allows tax credits to people with incomes all the way up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level, which translates as $88,200 for a family of four. The bill requires a family of four, making $88,200 a year, to dedicate up to 9.8 percent of their income to insurance premiums. Households falling into the lower income bracket of $33,075 for a family of four, or 150 percent of the federal poverty level, must dedicate, at most, 4.6 percent of their income to insurance premiums. The House reconciliation bill would tweak the Senate bill slightly: Households below 150 percent of federal poverty level ($33,075 for a family of four) must pay only up to 4 percent of their income on premiums. Individuals who make less than 133 percent of the federal poverty level ($14,404) are able to enroll in the Medicaid program, which the bill expands. The Senate bill also carries a considerable mandate for larger employers, but does not apply to most small businesses. Starting in 2014, employers with 50 or more full-time workers could pay a penalty of $750 for each full-time worker if they do not offer health benefits—but only if any of their workers obtain subsidized coverage through new health insurance exchanges created by the bill. Companies whose workers obtain federal subsidies to buy their insurance could suffer a $3,000 per year penalty for each of those employees who receives subsidized coverage—or the $750 penalty for each full-time worker in the company, whichever is less. The House reconciliation version counts part-time employees toward the 50-employee

minimum on a pro-rated basis, based upon the number of hours the part-time employees work—which would bring more businesses into the 50-employee bracket required to provide coverage. The House reconciliation bill also increases the penalty to $2,000 for each full-time worker in the company, but exempts the first 30 employees when calculating penalties. An employer with 60 employees who does not offer health insurance, for example, could pay a penalty on 30 employees at a price of $60,000, under the House version. There is a difference between offering insurance and employees taking it, however. An employee whose share of health premiums is more than 8 percent of their income—with a cap of 9.8 percent—has the option of rejecting company insurance and buying less expensive insurance on their own. In that case, employers must provide a “free choice voucher” reflecting what the firm would have paid to provide coverage in the company insurance plan that the employee refused. If the employee rejects both these options, their decision could put them in line to pay their own penalties courtesy of the individual mandate mentioned above. The Senate bill sweetens the deal for employers, particularly small businesses with fewer than 50 employees. Starting this year, small businesses will get a tax credit of up to 35 percent of the employer’s insurance contribution for providing health insurance even though they are not mandated to do so. Employers with 25 or fewer workers and average wages of $50,000 or less also qualify for credits—while employers with 10 or fewer workers and average wages of less than $25,000 get a full credit of up to 35 percent of the costs of insurance premiums between 2010 and 2013. That credit goes up to 50 percent after 2013.

Sweet Potato Queens Leave St. Paddy’s Parade by Ward Schaefer

COURTESY SWEET POTATO QUEENS

jacksonfreepress.com

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uthor Jill Conner Browne con- stay at the Hilton Jackson on County Line firmed rumors March 21 at a Road and hold other events at BRAVO! brunch at the Jackson Hilton that Restaurant and the Everyday Gourmet in her group of Sweet Potato Queens Northeast Jackson. and wannabes, devotees of The Jackson Convenher book series, will not join tion and Visitors Bureau the annual Mal’s St. Paddy’s estimates that Mal’s St. PadParade in downtown Jackdy’s Parade draws 70,000 son next year. Instead, people to the city and proBrowne’s group will march vides an overall economic at Renaissance at Colony impact of $6.8 million for the city. Attendance for the Park in Ridgeland one week parade has risen, from an after the St. Paddy’s Parade. estimated 50,000 in 2006 Browne told the Author Jill Conner to 70,000 in 2008, the most Jackson Free Press that the Browne is starting a Sweet Potato Queens recent year for which data is parade has grown too large parade in Ridgeland available. to accommodate her group, beginning next year. The JCVB does not while the Sweet Potato Queens’ convention has grown beyond the have specific attendance numbers for the Sweet Potato Queens’ segment of the paSaturday parade. “The parade has gotten to be the rade, but Browne, who handles registration smallest part of what we do,” Browne said. and plans events for her group, said that “I think it’s a total win for everybody. (Pa- her convention draws “several thousand” rade founder) Malcolm (White) will be able attendees. This year, they marched at the end of a parade with 50 floats and various to have more floats.” The Sweet Potato Queens will still walking krewes.

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healthtalk

by Ward Schaefer

The High Cost of Calories

To register, call Continuing Education at Millsaps College at 601-974-1130 or visit www.millsaps.edu/conted

Web Programmer Needed Part-time Web programmer (HTML, CSS, PHP, JavaScript) sought for new and ongoing JFP web projects. iPhone/Android experience welcome. Also, paid or credit internships. Flexible hours possible.

March 25 - 31, 2010

Interested? Send resumé and sample links to todd@jacksonfreepress.com.

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ages cost less. “What we need to be doing is removing the tax on healthy food and leaving the tax on junk food,” Mitchell said. Mayo has proposed bills aimed at other facets of the obesity crisis, including a bill to exempts fruits and vegetables from the state’s grocery tax. Supporters of a soda tax might be AMILE WILSON

a 5-week course taught by author and literary agent James L. Dickerson classes begin April 6.

state tax on sodas, sponsored by Rep. John Mayo, D-Clarksdale, was effectively dead on arrival at the state Legislature this year, given the difficulty of passing any revenue measure during an economic recession. But the fate of Mayo’s proposal illuminates the challenge in addressing Mississippi’s obesity epidemic through legislation, and especially, taxes. Soda tax proposals have drawn attention recently in cash-strapped states and cities as a way of raising money while improving public health. Arkansas and Tennessee already have small soda taxes. State legislators in Kansas are currently considering a tax that would raise the cost of a 12-ounce soda by 10 cents; New York is weighing a one-cent-per-ounce tax. Arguments for a soda tax usually cite the social and economic costs of obesity. While a personal choice, the thinking goes, sweetened beverages can lead to obesity, which increases health-care costs. Obesity-related health care cost the state of Mississippi $757 million between 1998 and 2000, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Raising the price of sodas is a way to deter—or, at least, accurately price—costly behavior, Mayo argued at a hearing on his bill last month. “I do not disagree with anybody that drinking a sugared-up soda, not exercising and not eating properly—and, quite frankly, being fat—are personal choices,” Mayo said. “They are personal choices. But encouraging a healthy population, protecting the taxpayers’ dollars, is a state responsibility.” Mayo’s bill directed 80 percent of the revenue generated by the proposed tax to the state’s general fund and 20 percent to a handful of state agencies—including the Education and Health departments—for obesity-prevention programs. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Percy Watson, D-Hattiesburg, never brought Mayo’s bill up for a vote in committee, however, and the measure died. Roy Mitchell, director of the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program, says the state’s 7 percent sales tax on groceries should be sufficient deterrent, if healthier foods and bever-

Rep. John Mayo called his soda tax bill, which died in committee this year, a matter of state responsibility.

tempted to proffer a tax as a means of funding education, health care or other obesity-related programs. That would be a mistake, Mitchell said. When the Health Advocacy Program advocated for an increase in the state’s cigarette tax, it repelled some legislators by calling for the tax’s revenue to be spent on Medicaid. “It’s just a lot more palatable to legislators to have the revenue open-ended,” Mitchell said. A 1-cent-per-ounce tax on sodas could bring the state $153.2 million, according to a report prepared at Mayo’s request by the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University. A 2-cent-per-ounce tax would generate $215.9 million. Ed Sivak, director of the Mississippi Economic Policy Center, said a soda tax, if effective, would necessarily generate less revenue over time. “Theoretically, if it’s having the desired health outcome, it should be a decreasing revenue source,” Sivak said. “And if it’s a decreasing revenue source, it’s not something

you should count on to pay for things.” Moreover, Sivak said, a soda tax is regressive: Poor Mississippians are as likely to buy soda as the wealthy, but the excise tax would claim a greater portion of their income. A regressive tax may still be worthwhile, though, according to an opinion published in the New England Journal of Medicine in April 2009. Despite the regressive nature of such a tax, “The poor are disproportionately affected by diet-related diseases and would derive the greatest benefit from reduced consumption,” argued CDC director Thomas Frieden and co-author Kelly Brownell. While the confluence of cultural, genetic, behavioral and dietary factors that cause obesity is complex and still unclear, nutritional research has repeatedly found that drinking sugary beverages is linked to weight gain. And studies from Johns Hopkins University and elsewhere have confirmed that reducing consumption of sweetened beverages promotes weight loss. Research is less clear on the effects of a soda tax on soda consumption, but a study published in the March issue of Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that increases in the price of soda and pizza are associated with weight loss. The Stennis Institute report predicted decreases in per-capita body weight with a soda tax: a 1-cent-per-ounce tax would reduce per- capita body weight by roughly five pounds a year from 2010 to 2013, while a 2-cent-per-ounce tax would reduce body weight twice as much. At the committee hearing on his bill, Mayo grew visibly exasperated with questions from other committee members that suggested his bill made sodas a scapegoat for a massive, complex problem. The state has to upend the economic status quo that made unhealthy foods and drinks cheaper and more attractive than healthy ones, Mayo argued. “I must be a very dangerous person for actually proposing something to solve a problem,” Mayo said. “If this isn’t the solution, then come up with a solution.”

by Adam Lynch

COURTESY NALEAO

MIRA Leading Census Effort

NALEAO Director Gloria Montaño Greene is working to get accurate census information to Latinos.

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ississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance President Bill Chandler says his organization will be working full time to make sure Mississippi’s Latinos are counted in the 2010 census. “We’re setting up service centers around the state where people can go. We’re creating a network here in Jackson, and we’re working on the Coast. We’re doing door-knocking in complexes and trailer parks and other places with Latino communities,” Chandler said. The effort is necessary because census reports and Mississippi Latinos typically don’t go well together, he said, thanks to Latinos’ relative unwillingness to release personal information. “Previous census counts have severely undercounted communities of color, particularly immigrants, because immigrants sometimes don’t respond to the census. They have a suspicion of government and people with clipboards,” Chandler said. “Often, immigrants have good cause to fear the government, which works hard to deport them.” Latino organizations are working to assure Latinos that the Census Bureau may not share personal information, such as citizenship status, with any federal, state or local government, said Gloria Montaño Greene, director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. “That information goes only to the census, for the purpose of the census. Nothing else,” Montaño Greene said. “This is a message that needs to get out.” Senate Republicans did not aid that effort last year. U.S. Sens. David Vitter, R-La., and Robert Bennett, R-Utah, attempted to insert an amendment on a Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies appropriations bill that would have required residents to answer a question regarding their citizenship and immigration status as part of the 2010 census. The amendment, which NALEO said was designed to scare undocumented immigrants and other noncitizens from being counted in the 2010 census, died after the Senate vote to end

debate last November. Efforts to discourage Latino turnout skews the census numbers. The 1990 census claimed 15,931 Latino people resided in Mississippi, which was the last decade the census nearly got it right, Chandler said. At the time, the Latino population consisted of a primarily stable group with secure employment and stable residential documentation. Many Latinos worked professional jobs at hospitals and universities. That changed after 1990, when the newly arriving casinos on the Coast demanded a quick influx of new workers to help assemble much-needed coastal infrastructure, and construct and staff hotels and the rest of the service industries surrounding the casinos. Chandler said the North American Free Trade Agreement of the 1990s further aggravated immigration by pitting government-subsidized U.S. crops against those of poor, rural Mexican farmers, many of whom inevitably lost their land to debt, and subsequently sought employment in the U.S. The 2000 census recorded a total of 39,569 people of Latino background out of Mississippi’s total population o 2.8 million. Chandler disputes that number by a wide margin, claiming counts at church congregations and union membership put the 2000 figure closer to 100,000. He says the number has gotten no smaller in the last 10 years. “We think there’s at least 200,000 Latinos in Mississippi,” Chandler said. “These aren’t small numbers.” Montaño Greene said an accurate census count helps a state get better access to federal grant money and other federal benefits. “The population figure sets up how the federal government distributes resources to the local, state, county and town, and how grant formulas are given,” she said. “You may be able to generate your city matching dollars for pothole repairs, but those census numbers dictate how many federal matching funds you get.” Chandler said an accurate count affects how the state does business with Latinos. “Demonstrating the fact that there are a significant number of Spanish-speaking people here will put pressure on our system of government services and education to provide interpreters or bilingual education,” Chandler said. “In theory, we’re already supposed to be providing some bi-lingual government services, but that doesn’t mean we’re adhering to it.” Mississippi suffered a hit from a population drop after the 2000 census, and had to abandon a congressional district. The resulting district merger pitted U.S. congressional Democratic incumbent Ronnie Shows against Republican incumbent Chip Pickering in a district that heavily favored Pickering. Chandler said a more accurate population count would not likely affect U.S. congressional districts, but would greatly affect statewide redistricting efforts in Mississippi after the new census data goes public in 2011.

The Journey invites you to join us on Friday, April 2 at 6:30 p.m. for communion and prayer in observance of Good Friday. We are now located at 4101 Northview Drive, Suite C-2, in Center Square Shopping Center.

Join us again on Suday, April 4 at noon in the Pavillion at Mayes Lake as we celebrate Easter. We will be serving a bbq lunch and will have games for the kids. Following lunch, we will have a service with music and the Easter story as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour followed by a Baptism service. Please bring your own blanket or chairs. Mayes Lake is located behind LeFleurs Bluff Park at the end of Lakeland Terrace off Lakeland Drive. The Easter service will be held in lieu of the morning and evening services.

Looking for a worthwhile family activity REALLY close to home?

Visit the Mississippi Petrified Forest! Come One, Come All! Bring along a picnic lunch, bring a tent or an RV, bring the kids, the house guests, even the family dog (on a leash of course).

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Anusara Immersion PART 1 “A Journey into the Heart”

April 23-25 & April 30-May 2 FRIDAYS, 6-9PM S ATURDAYS & SUNDAYS, 9 AM -12:30PM & 2:30-6PM The Immersion provides a gateway into a deeper practice and knowledge of yoga on all levels: heart, mind and body. The Anusara Yoga Immersion is designed for anyone seeking to take a journey into the heart; and for those who wish to learn the art of teaching. This Immersion is pre-requisite to an Immersion Parts 2 & 3, Anusara Yoga Teacher Training and is the first part of Butterfly Yoga’s 200-Hour Teacher Training Program (RYS 200)

E A RLY B IRD R EGISTR ATION P RICE : AVA IL A BLE THROUGH F RIDAY, A PRIL 9

P RE - REQUISITES : 30 HOURS OF A NUSA R A YOGA W ITH A NUSA R A C ERTIFIED A ND /OR I NSPIRED TE ACHERS

www.butterflyyoga.net 3025 North State Street - Fondren District - 601.594.2313

jacksonfreepress.com

cenustalk

9

politicsdish

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Rep. Toby Barker has sponsored bipartisan bills on bike safety and netmetering for solar power.

A

t 28, Toby Barker first-term representative, looks closer in age to the blueblazered pages ferrying bills across the House floor than he to some of the more grizzled legislators around him. In committee meetings, Barker speaks softly and rarely, writing in a Moleskine notebook. But when I met him recently, Barker was loose and opinionated, ruminating on the political attitudes of the Millennial generation and extolling the virtues of early childhood education. A native of Meridian, Barker holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Southern Mississippi. In 2007, he decided to run for the Hattiesburg House seat after a friend dropped out of the race. What expectations did you have about the Legislature? I had paged here in ’99 and saw a week of it, and there were certain times I would come up to Jackson and stop by. It just seemed so big. And you also saw, in the House, how raucous it could be at times. I think experiencing it is just so much more intense.

March 25 - 31, 2010

But at the same time, there’s so much unproductive time, too. It doesn’t have to be. It’s what you make of it, as with anything. I came in wanting to

10

by Ward Schaefer

Young Gun: Toby Barker WRIJOYA ROY

PORTION OF ANCIENT FGHANISTAN AND AJIKISTAN WAS AN IMPORTANT TRADING CENTER BETWEEN 600BC AND 600AD BETWEEN EUROPE AND CHINA.

help people, wanting to better my city. You can do that in so many ways, whether it’s contacting people back home, or researching to know what it is you’re talking about and voting on. You’re trying to build a reputation for yourself, because there’s a stigma when you walk in here, and you’re 25. People expect you to be quiet and do as you’re told and that’s it. Tell me about the net-metering bills you sponsored this year. There are two things that keep us out of the alternative-energy game: the net metering and the tax credit for the homeowner. I really think that if we instituted the tax credit where you would get the tax credit if you made solar improvements to your home, there’s a market for that. Is it ever going to replace power companies? No. We’ll still need power plants, whether it’s the Kemper lignite plant or a nuclear plant, but alternative energy benefits everyone. And I think you’d see some serious jobs created by that, too. How much Republican support is there for that in the Legislature? I think it’s very bipartisan. I will say that much of the support comes from the other people in my legislative class, the class of ’08. So where’s the hang-up then? I think a lot of it just has to do with a lack of knowledge of what it entails. Nobody’s trying to put a power company out of business. We are trying to open up the free market and get Mississippi in the alternative-energy game. What else do you want to adopt? Early childhood education, I think, is huge. Being a Republican, my natural inclination is that the less government is involved, the better. But there is a role for government in this. If we’re going to tackle early childhood education in Mississippi, we’re going to have to get everybody to the table. It’s got to be the private sector … and it’s going to take a big commitment from the churches. So many of these churches already have existing pre-school programs. We’re going to try to push an initia-

tive in Hattiesburg over the next year where we try to build a coalition to open up more slots for kids to have access to quality pre-K. If you look at any study, a lot of a child’s mind develops by age 5. I really think that if there’s such a thing as a silver bullet to cyclical poverty, it’s early childhood education. … Steering more resources to the front end and trying to save the generation that’s starting to rise up, I think, is a better use of our resources. What’s the role of the Legislature? That bill has been introduced for three straight years. Could an appropriation help to fund existing child-care centers or vouchers for child-care programs? Sure. But I think it’s more on the individual legislator to make something happen in his community. … I realize that I can’t change the entire state right now, but I can make life better for a few kids in Hattiesburg. Partisanship in the Legislature flares up noticeably at times. Where does it come from? It’s no secret that the speaker and the governor have had a contentious relationship since 2004. And I think that the speaker’s race from 2008 is still with us, and so a lot of it stems from that. Many times we disagree on an issue based on political philosophy. I think that’s OK. I think people have had their partisan affiliations all their life. It’s sort of a learned nature. Was it ever a question for you? Not really. I’ve always had the approach that a lot of government is probably not a good thing. But at the same time I … realize that we have to value people, and we have to be compassionate to a certain degree, try to help people get out and pull themselves up. Is there a tension, sometimes? Of course. But I think it’s very easy to reconcile the two. Ninety percent of the school kids in my city go to sleep at night below the poverty line. If that didn’t affect the way I see the world, what kind of person would I be?

Legislature: Week 11

by Ward Schaefer

Sen. John Horhn said that aid for some Jackson projects included in a massive state bonds bill may not survive negotiations between the House and Senate.

A

h, spring—the season when a state lawmaker’s mind turns to money. The Mississippi Legislature spent most of last week considering appropriations bills; lawmakers had until Friday to concur or invite conference on appropriations or revenue measures for the upcoming 2011 fiscal year. Budget negotiators will have a fresh set

of dismal revenue numbers to use, courtesy of the state’s economists, who predicted March 17 that 2010 state revenues will fall 6.3 percent below those of 2009. Gov. Haley Barbour responded to the fiscal news by announcing $41 million in additional budget cuts, bringing state agency budgets almost 10 percent below their original 2010 appropriation levels. The Senate struck a noticeably forceful pose March 18, when nine Republicans joined Democrats in amending an appropriations bill to give K-12 education $30 million more than Barbour and Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant called for. The bill matches the figure proposed by the House and just barely averts disaster, said Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, who sponsored the Senate amendment. “If it gets any lower, it’s going to be even more terrible,” Bryan said. The appropriations bill now heads to conference. Also due for a reckoning between the two chambers is a massive bond bill that would authorize the state to issue hundreds of millions of dollars in bonds for projects across the state. The version passed by the Senate March 17 includes provisions for several projects in Jackson, including $2 million for Jackson State University to continue improvements in the Lynch Street

corridor and $2 million for converting Capitol Street into a two-way street. The House version of the bill offers even more, including up to $6 million in loans to the Jackson Redevelopment Authority for repairing and upgrading the city’s water infrastructure and an increase in the amount of money available for loans to developers in the Farish Street Historic District. The Jackson City Council requested the water infrastructure provision following a rash of water main breaks in January. Also included in the Senate version is $16 million to fund relocating the state Departments of Revenue and Public Safety from their offices in Jackson to Rankin County. Not all the bond provisions will survive negotiations between the Senate and House, however. Even after passage, the state bond commission—composed of Barbour, Bryant and Attorney General Jim Hood—must approve bonds before they can be issued. “There are wide-ranging differences between the bills,” said Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson. “You go to conference to work out the differences, and not everything’s going to make it. Jackson won a significant legislative

victory on March 18, though, when the House gave final approval to Senate revisions on three bills relevant to the city. The first, House Bill 637, authorizes the state to sell the old School for the Blind property east of Interstate 55 to a private developer. Jackson businessman Ted Duckworth has sought to purchase the property for a mixed-use project he calls the District at Eastover, but his talks with the secretary of state’s office to lease the property stalled. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, would circumvent the secretary of state. Another, House Bill 1412, allows municipalities to assess the costs of maintaining dilapidated and abandoned properties to property owners by adding the costs to their property taxes. City spokesman Chris Mims has said that the city currently loses money mowing lawns and performing other maintenance on dilapidated properties, without any means of recouping its costs beyond placing a lien on the property. The third bill, House Bill 1153, gives Jackson an additional two school-board members for Jackson Public Schools. The additional members would come from the wards not currently represented on the board, Wards 2 and 6.

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

W

hen the weather starts warming up and spring is the air, you will find crawfish, corn and taters flowing at the Crawdad Hole on Lakeland Drive by Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson. For 14 years, the Crawdad Hole has delivered Jacksonians the best in crawfish, jumbo-sized boiled shrimp, sausage, crab legs, corn and taters.

The Crawdad Hole Don’t worry about being judged on your crawfish peeling and eating skills: the laid-back atmosphere offers you the comfort of enjoying your meal just like you would with friends in the comfort of your own home or out on an outdoor patio on a beautiful spring day. The Crawdad Hole has an indoor area decorated with sports and music memorabilia and photos of loyal customers, friends and even celebrities. An outdoor seating area is the popular spot on beautiful days and weekend evenings; in fact, it’s large enough for 150 or more to gather there. Live music is always a must, and the music matches the mood when you are enjoying the best crawfish in town. Owner Joe Showah said that if someone would rather take crawfish or boiled shrimp home for a feast, you can buy them by the pound at the window to the right of the entrance of the Crawdad Hole. “We have a lot of people dine in, but also a lot of our customers like to take several pounds of crawfish home to their families or friends for parties,” said Showah. You can pretty much create your own order: if it’s the perfectly seasoned boiled shrimp and an order of gumbo and boiled peanuts, the Crawdad Hole can make it happen. They are open Wednesday through Friday from 2 to 9:30 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and on Sunday from 11 a.m. until they run out of crawfish, according to Showah. Visit them at 1150 Lakeland Drive in Jackson next to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Smith-Wills Stadium. You’ll see why their parking lot is always full. Or for more information, call the Crawdad Hole at 601-982-9299.

jacksonfreepress.com

JOHN HORNE

Bonds, Boards and the School for the Blind

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jfp op/ed

opining, grousing & pontificating

EDITORIAL

Bluster Isn’t Enough, Governor

E

arlier this week, Gov. Haley Barbour announced that he would sue the federal government over the new health-care law the U.S. Congress passed March 21. In his usual windy style of political rhetoric, his press release was full of statements guaranteed to scare the bejeezus out of the uninformed while adding nothing substantive to the national conversation. It’s an effective, if less than honest methodology perfected by politicians since the days of the Southern Strategy: If you can scare people, they’re easier to control. In one sentence, Barbour managed to put a scare into just about everyone in Mississippi, if not America: The bill “infects the economy with harmful tax increases, strips benefits from senior citizens and robs each citizen of their basic freedom to choose their own healthcare,” he said in his statement. The problem is, of course, that it’s the same misinformation Barbour has been putting out since the health-care debate began in Congress after President Barack Obama’s inauguration. It is the kind of bluster that has caused political pundits to dub the Republican Party “The Party of No.” No one seems to have any qualms in saying that the current health insurance system in the United States is broken: Nearly 50 million Americans do not have health insurance; insurance companies regularly drop customers for getting sick; or refuse to insure people who have been sick in the past. Healthcare costs are spiraling out of control, helped along by insurers who continue to raise rates to unaffordable levels despite record profits. The largest category of individuals filing for bankruptcy relief is made up of those who can’t afford to pay their medical bills. And state budgets, including that of Mississippi, buckle under the weighty consequences of decades spent subsidizing industry instead of taking on the care of the country’s citizens. “Let’s Go Walking, Mississippi” barely scratches the surface of the health issues in Mississippi and nationally. By pushing the meme of “personal responsibility” to the extreme, the public is loath to venture into the state of America’s corporate food-production chain, which has reduced our food supply’s quality by introducing hormones, fillers and genetically altered crops and food animals, while increasing the quantities of cheap, nutritionally void foods available to the public at every fast-food joint from coast-to-coast. The local movement is one way to “vote with your wallet.” Insist on knowing who is responsible for growing your food and what methods producers use to get that food to your table. The other part of the equation is to take the time to understand what legislators are putting into the bills that affect your life. Vote again by telling them bluster and fear mongering won’t get it done. Seek the truth through unbiased sources; read the stories; get informed.

KEN STIGGERS

Rabid Race Mixers

March 25 - 31, 2010

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r. Announcement: “On this episode of ‘All God’s Churn Got Shoes,’ members and supporters of Operation White Backlash have organized a Tea Party protest rally and barbeque outside the offices of the Progressive Multi-Cultural Review, World Report and Other Stuff Journal Inc. “Captain Whitman, controversial ‘Right Power’ activist, is addressing a small crowd. Let’s join the protest rally, already in progress.” Captain Whitman: “What has happened to the America we once knew? Since the presidential election in 2008, it’s been a yearlong nightmare for folk like you and me. When I watch television, I’m shocked by images of different races of people hugging, holding hands and befriending each other. And those arrogant racial minorities and foreigners have taken over film and television. Our racial purity has quickly become impure. “The true Americans are frustrated because G.W. is not here to make the world go around anymore. Who opened this Pandora’s box of social chaos? The Rabid Race Mixers, like the newspaper we’re protesting today. It’s all of the leftwing, socialist, communist, minority, foreigner-loving media who influence our children with the hip-hop music of T-Pain, Kanye and Lil’ Wayne. And it’s old pot-smoking, LSD-taking hippies who want to return to the pre-miscegenation days by singing: ‘Ebony and Ivory live together in perfect harmony, side by side on the piano keyboard.’ “Just talking about this racial-reconciliation stuff makes my blood pressure go up! I guess I’ll just stick with the good ole ‘Right Power!’ “Are you with me?”

CHATTER

Comments from www.jacksonfreepress.com

Health-Care Reform Legislation “This effort exemplifies the way our constitutional republic is supposed to work. The Democrats ran on a platform of health-care reform. They won overwhelming majorities. They passed health-care reform. Now, the Republicans claim that rightwing polls show Americans do not support such reform. But our democracy is not based on polling. It is based on elections. Let the Republicans run on repealing health-care reform and see if they can win majorities.” —Brian C. Johnson

didn’t have health insurance through my 20s, and I never needed it. Now they will all be required to buy something they don’t want or need. That doesn’t sound like any sort of “freedom” at all. I guess the surtax for those people puts the lie to the “no taxes for people under $250k” slogan. Of course, the insurance pools will need those types of people to buy in to pay for those older and/or sicker people that the insurance couldn’t afford to pay out benefits for otherwise.” —WMartin

“Mr. ‘No Forced Insurance,’ who pays when you are forced to go to the emergency room with a life threatening accident? Or do you propose that the hospital turns you away because you have no insurance? Mrs. ‘No Mandated Coverage,’ age 49, what do you do when you find out you have cancer, and you can’t locate affordable insurance because everyone turns you down because of a pre-existing condition, and you aren’t old enough for Medicare, another one of those governmentrun health programs? Just wondering.” —Lanier77

“I’ve been somewhat uneasy about mandatory coverage, but think about this: You have to buy insurance if you drive a car. It’s government-mandated (albeit not from the federal level). How is this any different from mandated health insurance?” —goldeneagle

… “Young, healthy people may not see the need for health insurance. Not to mention those people that might just want to pay for their own care—strange as it may sound—to actually pay for services rendered out of their own pocket. I

“True, but we all will have health issues that will require a visit to a doctor’s office or even hospitalization some day, whether it’s through illness, accidents or physical assaults of some sort.” —goldeneagle

“Golden: The state mandates you have to car insurance if you own and drive a car on the highways; they don’t mandate everybody has to have car insurance even if you don’t own a car. Not the same thing.” —BubbaT

E-mail letters to letters@jacksonfreepress.com, fax to 601-510-9019, or mail to P.O. Box 5067, Jackson, Miss., 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 e-mail, fax or mail above with a daytime phone number. All submissions are subject to fact checks.

EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON

An Ugly Glare

EDITORIAL Managing Editor Ronni Mott News Editor Lacey McLaughlin Senior Reporter Adam Lynch Reporter Ward Schaefer Events Editor Latasha Willis Music Listings Editor Herman Snell Assistant to the Editor ShaWanda Jacome Writers Andi Agnew, Lisa Fontaine Bynum, Rob Hamilton, Carl Gibson, Deirdra Harris Glover, Anita Modak-Truran,Will Morgan, Larry Morrisey, Chris Nolen,Tom Ramsey, Doctor S, Ken Stiggers, Valerie Wells, Byron Wilkes, John Yargo Editorial Interns Will Caves, Jesse Crow, Eileen Eady, Ashley Hill, Kalissia Veal Consulting Editor JoAnne Prichard Morris

ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY Editorial Designer Kristin Brenemen Advertising Designer Lydia Chadwick Production Designer Christi Vivar Editorial Cartoonist Chris Zuga Photographers Tom Beck, Pat Butler, Josh Hailey, Kenya Hudson, Kate Medley, Meredith Norwood, Lizzie Wright Design Interns Ayatti Hatcher, Jessica Millis Photo Intern Wrijoya Roy Founding Art Director Jimmy Mumford

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T

he throng of angry whites jeered, catcalled and spat out borderline racial insults at the small group of mostly black protesters. This wasn’t a march against Jim Crow in Montgomery or Birmingham, or in Jackson, Miss., or Cicero, Ill. The year wasn’t 1963. The charged racial confrontation happened March 14, 2010, in the self-billed all-American, mostly white Los Angeles suburban bedroom city of Torrance, Calif. The march was called to protest the unwarranted stop, search and harassment of Robert Taylor, a prominent Los Angeles African American minister and civic leader by two white Torrance police officers on March 4. Following the stop, hundreds of outraged letters—many filled with vile, crude, and profane racist pot shots at blacks—flooded local newspapers blasting Taylor and civil rights supporters. The Taylor stop fit the all-too-familiar pattern of many unwarranted stops of black and Latino motorists. Torrance police officials claimed that he and the car he drove allegedly fit the description of a suspect and car involved in a robbery and assault a day earlier. The problem is Taylor is not even remotely close in appearance to the description of the suspect. The picture circulated was of a short, stocky dark-complexioned 30-ish black male. Taylor is tall, in his 60s and light-skinned. Predictably, as in most racial-profiling allegations, Torrance police and city officials hotly denied the profiling charge. They justified it with the stock story that crime is on the rise in the city, but offered no compelling stats to back up that claim. Taylor’s stop would have likely ignited the usual finger-pointing and charge-swapping, and then faded fast, except for one thing: Torrance has been slapped with a Justice Department lawsuit, civil rights lawsuits, court settlements, and hundreds of verbal complaints over the years by black and Latino motorists, shoppers, African American mail carriers—some in full uniform who work at postal stations in Torrance—and residents such as Taylor who allege they were racially profiled. Torrance is hardly unique. Over the past decade, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Miami, and other big and small cities have repeatedly been called on the carpet for alleged racial profiling. In an address to a joint session of Congress in 2001, then-President George Bush blasted racial profiling, “It’s wrong and we will end it in America.” The refusal of many public officials and many in law enforcement to admit that racial profiling exists has done much to torpedo nearly every effort by local and national civil-rights and civil-liberties groups to get law enforcement and federal

agencies not only to acknowledge racial profiling, but to do something about it. The throng of white protestors that harangued blacks and other supporters who protested the Taylor stop in Torrance was ample proof of that. House Democrat John Conyers’ perennial bill to get federal agencies to collect stats and do reports on racial profiling hasn’t gotten to first base. A similar racialprofiling bill met a similar fate in California in 1999. There, the state Legislature passed a bill mandating that law-enforcement agencies compile racial stats on traffic stops. Then-Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat, promptly vetoed it. Despite Davis’ veto, nearly 60 California city and county police departments, the California Highway Patrol, and University of California police agencies collect data on unwarranted traffic stops of motorists, either through mandatory federal consent decrees or voluntarily, and contact civilians to determine if there is a racial bent to the stops. Torrance is not one of those cities. Nationally, 46 states collect data either voluntarily or compelled by state law on unwarranted pedestrian contacts and traffic stops. Most police officials, as in Torrance, loudly contend that good police work is about the business of catching criminals and reducing crime, not about profiling blacks and Latinos. If more black and Latino men are stopped, it’s not because they’re black or Latino, but because they commit more crimes. The other even more problematic tactic used to deny racial profiling is the few statistics available on unwarranted stops, in this case not by police agencies, but statistics based on citizen responses. In two surveys, the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics took a hard, long, quantified look at racial profiling using information from citizens. Both times, the agency found that while whites are stopped, searched and arrested far less than blacks or Latinos, there was no hard proof that the stops had anything to do with race. This has done even more to damp down a public outcry to get police agencies and legislators to admit that racial profiling is a fact on many city streets and highways, and then to take firm action to eliminate it. The arrest last July of Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates touched off a brief furor over racial profiling. Taylor’s stop and search has done the same in a bedroom Southern California city. It has again cast the ugly glare on the always-troubling problem of racial profiling. Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His weekly radio show, “The Hutchinson Report,” is live-streamed nationally on http://www.ktym.com.

Movie Listings for Friday, March 26th through Thursday, April 1st How To Train Your Dragon 3-D PG

Alice In Wonderland 3-D PG

How To Train Your Dragon (non 3-D) PG

Brooklyn’s Finest R

Hot Tub Time Machine

R

The Crazies

R

Shutter Island

R

The Bounty Hunter PG13

It’s Complicated R

Diary of a Wimpy Kid PG

Avatar 3-D PG13

Repo Men

OPENING WED., MARCH 31

R

She’s Out of My League R Green Zone

R

Remember Me PG13

Nine

PG13

The Last Song PG Earn points towards FREE concessions and movie tickets! Join the SILVER SCREEN REWARDS

www.mississippihappening.com

Visit our website for weekly updates about new and upcoming MS artists Videos, Interviews, Photos, Announcements, Reviews, and Our Monthly Podcast Mississippi Happening is open for content submissions by: Photographers, videographers, journalists, and musicians (content must be about MS Music, Arts, and Culture)

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Editor in Chief Donna Ladd Publisher Todd Stauffer

13

HEALTH & WELLNESS || Childhood Obesity in Mississippi

O

March 25 - 31, 2010

n a Sunday afternoon at Lumpkin’s BBQ on Raymond Road, a predominately African American crowd dressed in formal suits and dresses fill their plates from a buffet line. The restaurant’s Sunday dinner features southern staples including fried chicken, beef brisket, ham hocks, collard greens, green beans and cabbage. A sign on the buffet glass reads: “Eat all that you want, but don’t take more than you can eat.” The sign is meant to reduce food waste, but it also serves as a caution to patrons whose eyes might be bigger than their stomachs. With their six children joining them for the lunch rush, owners Monique and Melvin Davis make the Sunday shift a family affair. Melvin works in the kitchen smoking ribs and cooking large pots of vegetables, while Monique refills drinks and greets customers, many of them regulars. The children eagerly help clean up and restock supplies, stopping occasionally to sit and talk with guests. Originally from Washington, D.C., the Davis family moved to Jackson in 2007 and opened Lumpkin’s. With a demanding six-day-a-week work schedule, Monique, 46, admits it can be a challenge to make healthy eating part of her family’s routine. “We were so much more (healthy) before I became an entrepreneur, because I had the time,” she says. “It takes time to plan menus, and it takes time to shop. I think a lot of people make unhealthy choices because it’s convenient. The problem is, we are killing ourselves with convenience.” Even though food surrounds them, Davis says she wants her family to have a varied diet. “If you had a steak restaurant, you would get tired of steaks,” she says. “I want the children to have diversity in their menu. I want to educate their palates and expose them to different types of food.” When her children were toddlers, Monique’s husband worked at Verizon in Washington, D.C., as the family’s sole 14 income provider. During that time, Monique made her own

LACEY MCLAUGHLIN

by Lacey McLaughlin

Jackson Roadmap to Health Equity Project Executive Director Beneta Burt is working on sustainable solutions to fight obesity.

baby food; she banned processed food from the house and breast-fed her children. The family still strives to be as health conscious as possible. Monique and her husband require family sit-down dinners every night, no matter how busy life is. Monique cooks fresh vegetables. Cereal is the only food that can come from a box, and take-out food is not allowed. She is also conscious about what kinds of food she brings into the house.

“The easiest thing as a parent is just to not buy it. It’s very difficult for me to control it once it’s in the house; once I bring it home, it’s a free-for-all. I’m only one person. I can’t see six people all the time,” she says. In a part of town where fast-food chains are more common than grocery stores, Monique knows that Lumpkin’s is one of the few places where residents can get their fill of fresh vegetables. At $8 for weekday lunch buffet, Monique says she wanted to make sure the meals are affordable for the community. Monique also admits that it’s hard to prepare food as healthy as she’d like to, because southerners are accustomed to sweet, fatty foods. “We had to sweeten our barbecue sauce when we got here because people just didn’t like it; they said it wasn’t sweet enough,” Monique says. “Now we are incrementally changing it back to a level we feel comfortable with. But in order to survive, we had to change our menu offerings to what people are going to eat.” Davis says that as a west Jackson resident it can be difficult to find fresh produce in her neighborhood. Recently, the Brookshires Grocery on Terry Road closed, and Sesame Seed, a supplemental health-food store, moved to Clinton. “There is a lack of fresh quality produce in this part of town,” Davis says.“[T]o rebuild Jackson as a total city is to equally distribute quality food and grocery stores.” Monique says the correlation between obesity and race dates back to when slaves had to prepare food to added calories and nutrients to the scant amounts of food provided to them. For example, sugar was often added to foods that had rotted to make them palatable, and vegetables were often overcooked so that slaves could gain nourishment from the water the vegetables were boiled in after serving their masters. Overcooking vegetables might contribute to a better taste, but doing so depletes vital nutrients. “People are accustomed to overcooking their vegetables,

COURTESY JACKSON ROADMAP PROJECT

How to End Obesity

Components of the “Let’s Move” Program by Lacey McLaughlin

Increase Availability of Affordable and Healthy Food

and we are trying to change their palates. They aren’t accustomed to eating vegetables that have a crunch to them,” she says. “The technique that was used for our survival is now killing us because we don’t know how to prepare our food.” Exercise is another priority for the Davis family, despite time constraints. When Monique became pregnant with her sixth child at 42, she started taking belly-dancing lessons as a way to stay fit, knowing that she was considered high-risk because of her age. Saturday mornings, Monique and her 9-year-old daughter, Ava, clear tables and chairs from the dining room at Lumpkin’s and instruct belly-dance classes. Monique says she started the classes as a way to provide access to affordable fitness classes for the community, with each class costing only $5. Currently, she has about 25 students and hopes to open a studio in Jackson in the next year. “It’s a good way for women to get in shape, and women here—especially African American women—need access to that,” she says.

National Spotlight On a sunny afternoon in March, Brinkley Middle School students wearing “Let’s Move” T-shirts and waving handmade signs cheered wildly inside the school auditorium as first lady Michelle Obama walked on stage. Obama visited Jackson March 3 as part of her “Let’s Move” campaign to promote health and exercise to combat a national obesity epidemic. She started the campaign last month with the goal of ending childhood obesity in the next generation. The national obesity rate has tripled in the past 30 years with 30 percent of American children now obese. Mississippi currently ranks No. 1 in the nation for obese adults and children, according to the Centers for Disease Control, with 44 percent of children and 32.5 percent of adults overweight or obese. Additionally, African Americans have a 51 percent higher prevalence of obesity that whites nationwide. Doctors have linked obesity to increased risks for a variety of conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, arthritis and heart disease—all of which ends up costing the state approximately $750 million per year. The goals of “Let’s Move” are to support parents, provide healthier food in schools, promote physical fitness, and make healthy and affordable food available in every part of the country through policy initiatives and education.

Speaking March 17 to representatives from companies like Coca-Cola, General Mills and Kraft Foods, Obama called for more accountability in marketing healthier foods to children during a meeting of the Grocery Manufacturers Association. The next day PepsiCo announced that it would pull fullcalorie soft drinks from primary and secondary schools by 2012. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration is researching consumers and the food industry to adopt new nutritional information for the front of food packaging. Despite the state’s poor health record, Obama highlighted Jackson Public Schools’ efforts to tackle the issue. “I am not here to highlight what’s wrong; I am here to highlight what’s right,” she said during her address to students. Obama also visited Pecan Park Elementary School. Both schools have implemented creative solutions to end obesity. Pecan Park has received several grants to create infrastructure and programs to encourage physical fitness for children. In 2006, with a grant from Home Depot, parents and students at Pecan Park built a playground for students. In 2007 a grant from Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi funded a walking trail. Mary Hill, 53, has served as the district’s food service director for the past 27 years. Last year, Hill secured funding from grants and the federal stimulus program to replace several schools’ deep fryers with ovens. She also secured funding from the United States Department of Agriculture Fruit and Vegetable Program, which makes fruit and vegetables available at no cost to students. The program not only ensures fresh fruit for school snacks, but also sends home fruit with the children. Hill says that one of the biggest challenges is making sure that healthy-eating and fitness habits translate to the children’s home life. “Many of our children still have eating habits that aren’t desirable for good health,” she says. “Sometimes it’s hard to get them to eat carrots or fruit. It’s a cultural change that has to take place for everyone to be on the same page.”

Physical Fitness for Children and Adults Children need 60 minutes of active play every day in order to maintain a healthy weight, reports the Centers for Disease Control. Currently, children are spending an average of 7.5 hours a day in passive activities such as watching television, using computers or digital devices, and playing video games. Playgrounds, parks, walking trails and sidewalks are essential in communities that report lower obesity rates. In Mississippi, organizations such as Bike Walk Mississippi and Safe Routes to School are lobbying the state Legislature and seeking grants for more recreational spaces and routes to school. Access to affordable gyms is also a need for lower-income communities.

It Starts with Schools More than 31 million children participate in the National School Lunch Program, and approximately 11 million children participate in the National School Breakfast program. The majority of these children consume at least half their daily calories at school. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is currently working with partners in schools to establish higher standards for schools food quality and nutrition education to students through the Healthier U.S. Schools Challenge Program. Over the next year, the department will double the number of schools that participate in the program. Schools can find more information about the program by visiting www.fns.usda.gov. The department is also working with major school-food suppliers to decrease the amount of sugar, fat and salt in school meals, increase whole grains and double the amount of produce schools serve within the next 10 years.

Educate Consumers The Food and Drug Administration is currently doing research and working with food manufactures to adopt new nutritional and consumer-friendly information and front-of-package labels on products. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also offers a menu planner and food pyramid on its Web site to help families plan meals and shopping lists.

Why Does a Salad Cost More Than a Big Mac? Federal Subsidies for Food Production, 1995-2005* Vegetables, Fruits: 0.37% Sugar, Oil, Starch, Alcohol: 10.69%

Nuts and Legumes: 1.91%

Sugar, Oil, Salt (use sparingly) Protein: includes meat, dairy, nuts, and legumes (6 servings)

Grains: 13.23%

Vegetables, Fruits (9 servings)

Change From the Top Down Beneta Burt’s desk sits in the center of what was once the New Deal Supermarket on Livingston Road. A partition divides the building: One side is an indoor farmer’s market, and the other is filled with medicine balls and

Federal Nutrition Recommendations

Meat, Dairy: 73.80%

Grains (11 servings)

SOURCE: PHYSICIANS COMMITTEE FOR RESPONSIBLE MEDICINE

OBESITY, see p 16

jacksonfreepress.com

Johnson Elementary School students work out with a trainer.

More than 23 million Americans, including 6.5 million children, live in low-income neighborhoods that are more than a mile from a supermarket, according to the “Let’s Move” Campaign Web site. With lack of transportation and few options for fresh produce, citizens often resort to fast-food choices that contribute to obesity. President Barack Obama has proposed a new program called the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, which will invest $400 million a year to bring grocery stores and farmer’s markets to underserved areas.

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HEALTH & WELLNESS || Childhood Obesity in Mississippi, from page 15

March 25 - 31, 2010

mats for community exercise classes. Burt has worked in many formal office settings, including a stint in the late 1980s when she worked for former Gov. Ray Mabus. Burt, 60, is the project director and principal investigator for the Jackson Roadmap to Health Equity Project. She eagerly gives a tour of the space that has become central in the city’s efforts to fight obesity. At the front of the building, tiered Styrofoam pots connected by PVC pipes contain romaine lettuce, strawberries, bell pepper and tomato plants. The plants sit in front of tall glass windows as the afternoon sunlight streams in.

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Burt has created a hydroponic garden—similar to a greenhouse—in hopes of teaching the community how to grow their own food. “I was thinking about how we could do something to help sustain our work,” Burt says. “We want everything we try to do to increase the status of health in the community, and anyone can do this—it’s a simple system.” Funded by a $1.5 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Jackson Roadmap to Health Equity Project started in 2006 as a community initiative to combat obesity. In 2000 a group of representatives from

the University of North Carolina, W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Jackson State University held a discussion addressing one central question: Why do African Americans get sick and die sooner than other groups of people? The discussion focused on Mississippi and the correlation between poverty and obesity rates and that conversation was the catalyst for a community steering committee that created goals and strategies to improve health for lower-income and predominately African American communities in Jackson. “The idea was to talk to the community as opposed to people coming and

thinking for the community,” Burt says. “[T]he goal is to institutionally change things that affect people’s health—not just do a program that lasts for a minute, but something that can institutionally change how communities operate.” Ultimately, the steering committee formed Roadmap to Health to make a systemic change in local schools. The steering committee chose to focus efforts at Johnson Elementary School, Brinkley Middle School and Lanier High School because they feed into one another. The steering committee then decided to change eating habits from the top down, starting with the food services workers who are responsible for feeding students. “We have food-service workers who cook for kids nine months out of the year, and if they aren’t healthy, that probably isn’t going to translate to good health for our children,” Burt says. “That’s when we started to approach our project schools and ask the food-service workers how they felt about their own health, if they thought the community was healthy, and how they felt about improving their own health status.” Burt discovered that the majority of the workers felt poorly about their health and lifestyle habits, but many worked two fulltime jobs and could not afford a gym or the time to exercise. The project organizers decided to bring personal trainers to the schools and provide fitness classes at the Roadmap building during the summer, free of charge. The training program was also extended to students in the project schools. “Inability to pay should not be a reason for people not to have good health,” Burt says. Once the training sessions started, Burt says the food-service workers reported having more energy and feeling better overall, which trickled down to the students. “The folks who now prepare the students food are role models to them,” Burt says. “Now when kids go through the food-service area in the morning, they see their food workers working out. And now when students go through the cafeteria line, food-service workers, who now look good, can say to a kid in a legitimate way, ‘Why don’t you have a salad today?’” Ernest Jackson is one of the personal trainers who works with the food-service staff and students at the project schools. A former YMCA manager, Jackson says foodservice workers look forward to his visits every morning. “Those women are die-hard health freaks now,” Jackson says. “If I’m five minutes late, they are already warming up and ready to go.” Jackson also trains students at Johnson Elementary and Brinkley Middle School three days a week for an hour at a time. The training is meant to supplement the physical education requirement for public schools, but Jackson says that recess and PE are often the first things cut when schools need more time to improve test scores.

WILLIAM PATRICK BUTLER

Filling a Gap Last July, Roadmap to Health started an indoor farmer’s market with a cooperative of Mississippi farmers, to address the lack of produce and grocery stores in the neighborhoods surrounding the Jackson Medical Mall. The market not only provides fresh vegetables; Burt and other volunteers give patrons healthy recipes and preparation tips. To ensure that the produce is affordable, Roadmap buys the produce at cost from the farmers and then sells it at a reduced rate to the community. Burt says that farmer’s market was never in the original plan for the project, but once trainers started working with students and food service workers, it became apparent that there was a need for affordable produce. Since the Jackson Medical Mall rents space to Roadmap to Health, Burt says having a fitness and healthy food facility fit in perfectly with the medical mall’s mission of providing wellness, economic development and affordable health care to the community. “In this neighborhood, we have folks coming in telling us how grateful they are that we are here, because they no longer have to pay people to take them long distances to buy fruits and vegetables,” Burt says. The market opens this year April 30, and Burt hopes to extend the market’s season year round. Plans for a Save-A-Lot grocery store to break ground at the Jackson Medical Mall is also underway, and Burt says she hopes to collaborate with the new grocery store to provide residents with more opportunities to purchase healthy food. The grocery store will open this summer. “There is a synergy that we can develop with Save-A-Lot and the farmer’s market. That’s the kind of partnership we want,” Burt says. “I can see us referring people from the farmer’s market to the store, because we know this is a store that is interested in the health of the community.” The project’s grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation officially ended in January, but the foundation has continued to fund the project on a month-to-month basis. In addition to looking for additional sources of funding, Burt is also implementing strategies for the project to sustain itself. Plans

for a greenhouse and a recycling center are in the works. The greenhouse, which will be located on the grounds of the Medical Mall, will be used to grow large quantities of food year round for the farmer’s market. Burt is planning to employ members of the community to work in the greenhouse and will start a floral business to fund the project. This summer, Roadmap will host “Food and Fitness,” a program for girls in grades six through eight. Dieticians and fitness trainers will educate the girls about healthy eating and fitness while allowing them to develop their own business models and sell food to their peers and families. “Hopefully, by the end of the summer, the girls will have better sense of themselves and higher self esteem,” Burt says. “They will also have a whole summer of changing their lifestyle because they will have worked in the market all summer long and eaten healthy foods.” Burt knows that it takes collaboration and partnerships to change values and lifestyles in a community. She spends a large portion of her day meeting with other health advocates and looking for ways to expand Roadmap to Health services. She wants to increase opportunities for fresh produce in south and west Jackson, for example. Currently, Duvall Decker Architects is working on a master plan for west Jackson that will include research about the access to grocery stores in west Jackson, and the nonprofit My Brother’s Keeper recently received a $360,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to increase farmer’s markets and affordable produce to all of Jackson. While the fight to end obesity involves changing cultural ideas and institutions, Burt says you have to look at the root causes of the problem and start there. “I wouldn’t say eating junk food is cultural; I would say that people eat what’s available to them. People of very low economic means have had to eat what their families can afford. Often times that means not having the most healthy foods available,” she says. “[Y]ou have families that are so strapped with other obligations that it’s easier to run to a fast-food store. But other times, it’s not knowing what’s considered healthy.”

jacksonfreepress.com

First lady Michelle Obama visited Jackson March 3 during her “Let’s Move” Campaign to promote healthy eating and fitness.

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HEALTH & WELLNESS

The new testing recommendations for breast cancer have a lot of women confused and scared. Can you shed some light on them? The studies that were done—the good randomized controlled studies … were all done with women over 50 until very recently. So the good, hard data has all been in older women. … [B]reast tissue before menopause tends to be more dense. On an x-ray it looks white, and cancer looks white, so it’s like looking for a polar bear in the snow. It’s just not a very accurate test in younger women. The magic of 50 is that once you go through menopause, then your breast tissue turns to fat … and cancer shows up against fat really well. So, in part, the issue is that it’s a better tool in post-menopausal women. Another issue is that the risk of radiation is higher in younger women than in older women. The younger woman’s breast tissue is more sensitive … so if you start getting mammograms every year when you’re in your 30s, the cumulative radiation … of doing it every year starting at 30 and going into your 50s is high enough that you actually see some cancers actually caused by the radiation. It’s not like this is a risk-free test. ... The third issue is that cancers in younger women tend to be more aggressive, and they’re the ones that are not as easily found by mammograms. … [S]creening is best at finding the slower cancers that are going to be around for a while. Younger women tend to have more aggressive (cancers) so they are often missed on a mammogram. … [F]alse negatives, where the mammogram is normal, and you really have cancer (are) more common in younger women. All of those problems make it a less effective tool in younger women. … The guidelines (change on a) regular basis. This time there has been as study the U.K., looking specifically at women 40 to 50. It’s a randomized study, and it shows that if you follow those women for 10 years, when they have their first mammogram at 40, you see no benefit. So you’ve got this mixture of data, and it’s on the edge whether it’s worth it for a younger woman. As a public screening policy, they suggested that we should not be doing it at 40. But they did say that women should discuss with their doctors, and look into their individual cases and decide what the right answer is for them. That got lost, but

by Ronni Mott

What should younger women be doing? Younger women should be aware of their breasts, and it doesn’t mean just at one time of month or any of that. It means be aware. … Just be comfortable and be aware of your body, and if you feel something that feels abnormal, get it checked out. … If there’s something that’s funny, and if the doctor doesn’t want to pursue it, then get another doctor. A lot of the fear lies in the statistics: One in eight women will develop breast cancer. In a 20 or 30-year-old, (the risks) not that high. I mean, it happens, but I think the media also conflates that … [T]hey always use a young woman because it’s so much more tragic and sexy and dramatic. They never have a 65year-old. The average age for breast cancer in this country is 65 or 66 or 64. It’s not to say it doesn’t happen young, but … I do think we’ve scared people a lot.

Author and surgeon, Dr. Susan Love is a tireless advocate for eradicating breast cancer in our lifetimes.

that’s actually what the guidelines were. So women should still take into consideration their family history and other risk factors, right? Exactly. If you’re at high risk, then you might well do something different. Now, the other thing they said that got misunderstood is that doctors should no longer teach breast self-exam. That was interpreted as: “You should never touch your breasts again.” (One woman over 50) said, “I had a mammogram, and it was normal, and then I felt a lump. If I had followed the guidelines, I’d be dead.” If you feel a lump, you’re supposed to go do something about it! The reason that they said we shouldn’t teach BSE is that there’s been a very good randomized, controlled study that showed that formal, what I like to call religious selfexam, is no better than the normal poking around we all do. … [T]hey did a large study in China where they trained one group very carefully in formal self-exam, and they video-taped, and they critiqued them, and there was this whole song-and-dance. And the other group they didn’t do anything. After 10 years, there was no difference in the number of cancers found, in the stages of the cancers, or in the death rate from the cancers. How big was the study? It was huge; it was about 10,000 women. … The thing that everybody misses is that the control group found their own cancers. They don’t do mammograms, and they don’t do yearly physicals (in China), so they found their own cancers. They just didn’t find them doing formal, religious breast self-exams. In the shower, rolling over in bed and your lover finds it—whatever—just poking around. It’s the “Gee, let me feel around in there” that most women do. … So really, what the study said is that normal poking around is enough. And therefore, if you’re writing a scientific guideline, it makes sense to say, “Don’t waste a doctor’s time training you in formal breast self-exam. It’s no better than your own poking around.”

Are there different guidelines for African American women? African American women get breast cancer younger. They’re less likely to get it than white women, overall. … In African American women in this country … (the risk) flattens out after 50. Pre-menopausal … it tends to, in general, be at a younger age in African American women, and it tends to be more deadly. Not just because of access to care, but also because it’s one of the kinds of breast cancer that is more aggressive. Are there medical practices done out of habit that women shouldn’t be subjecting themselves to? I think in general, we over test and over do. … Pap smears, for example: The data for a long time has shown that if you’re monogamous and have had three normal pap smears then every three years is fine for a pap smear. And yet, most women probably either don’t do it, or they go every year. That’s promoted by gynecologists a lot because they want to see you every year; that’s how they make their money. That’s the problem with the fee-for-service healthcare system. But, in actual fact, we probably do many more pap smears than we need to do. And that may even get to be less with the vaccine. What about the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV): Is it a good thing? I think it’s wonderful. It’s great, and I have a 21-yearold daughter, and I had her vaccinated, nagged her, kicking and screaming. I think it’s great. That, in a way, is my model for what we need to do with breast cancer. When I was a resident, 30 years ago, if you had an abnormal pap smear, you had a total hysterectomy, because we didn’t know what else to do. … And then we figured out it was sexually transmitted; and then we figured out it was the virus. And now we have a vaccine. So in 30 years, we went from not knowing what we were doing to having a vaccine. … [Breast cancer] could be caused by a virus, and if a virus caused it, how cool would that be: we could get a vaccine and then we wouldn’t have to worry about all the rest of this junk.

jacksonfreepress.com

T

he Dr. Susan Love Foundation located in Santa Monica, Calif., is a non-profit group working to eradicate breast cancer in our lifetime. Love is known worldwide as one of the founding mothers of the breast cancer advocacy movement and is the author of “Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book,” (Da Capo Press, 2005, $22.) Love advocates for an integrative, holistic approach to medicine that treats the whole patient, not just the disease, and believes that research into women’s medical issues should be completed on women, not male rats, as is the prevailing practice. Her wellness message, which is especially relevant to Mississippians, is straightforward: “Whether it’s cancer, whether it’s diabetes, whether it’s heart disease, all of these things are worse if you’re overweight. And also, exercise, apart from weight, decreases the chances of getting breast cancer, and it decreases the chances of dying of breast cancer.” Love believes science can find a vaccine for breast cancer, similar to that of the human papillomavirus, which causes cervical cancer. She spoke to the Jackson Free Press via telephone the day before she was to leave for Shanghai to begin a large-scale study to find out whether proteins found in women’s breasts could be predictive markers for the disease.

DR SUSAN LOVE FOUNDATION

Dr. Susan Love: Be Aware of Your Body

Do you think that’s really a reality in our lifetime? Absolutely, I do. Absolutely! But, we have to do it. We have to focus on it. Read more of the interview on www.jacksonfreepress.com. To learn more about the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, 19 visit www.dslrf.org.

Holy Week at Bellwether MAUNDY THURSDAY, APRIL 1 6:30pm, Supper & Worship Fondren space next to Cups cafe’ GOOD FRIDAY, APRIL 2 11:30am service of the Cross Jackson Academy EASTER MORNING RESURRECTION, APRIL 4 10:30am at Jackson Academy

This Easter, Raised to New Life in Christ

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HEALTH & WELLNESS

Breast is Best

Kelly Bryan Smith and her son, Simon, enjoy the benefits of breastfeeding.

B

ecoming a mother was quite different from what I expected. I anticipated a long labor with special breathing, baths, books, walks, games, massages and music as distractions. Instead, I had a short, intense labor. Mostly, I had a wet washcloth over my face and an epidural in my back, and was telling my husband and mother to stop talking or touching me. I should have known that my visions of my newborn starting to breastfeed without any issues might also deviate from reality. Whether to breastfeed was never a question: My mom breastfed her three children; my mother-in-law breastfed her two children; my aunt breastfed my cousin. Breastfeeding helps a baby’s immune system, and it’s free. Formula smells bad and is expensive. I was going to breastfeed my baby. As determined as I was, I had no idea how hard it would be to get started. Just a few hours after giving birth, I was lying in my hospital bed in a state of bliss, admiring the perfect little person I somehow managed to grow for nine months. Then the nurse came over. “It’s probably about time to get some food in that baby’s belly, mom!” she said, cheerfully. My husband helped prop me upright with my favorite pale green pillows from home. He positioned our 7-pound boy on the safari-print nursing pillow. The nurse instructed me in the proper way to hold the baby and to ambush his tiny mouth with my nipple. I’ll spare you the details, but let’s just say that our nurs-

ing relationship did not get off to the smoothest start. Baby Simon and I both cried as we tried to figure out how to get him to latch on so that he could nurse without causing me to cry out in pain and frustration. Before I knew it—and far before I felt ready—it was time to go home. Despite lots of help from the nurses and the neonatologist and the hospital lactation consultant, nursing was still rockier than the heavily potholed roads we winced over as we drove Simon home. The next morning, I realized that I had suddenly grown two boulders on my chest. My milk had come in. Something had to give. I needed to get that milk out of my breasts and into my baby before I exploded. My mom ran out to rent a breast pump, since the nonhospital-grade one that a friend loaned me did nothing to relieve my engorgement and extract my milk. It was slow going at first, but I started to love my big blue breast pump almost as much as my infant son. For the first few weeks of Simon’s life, he flourished with our love and care, and with my breast milk in a bottle. About six weeks later, with the help of friends, family and a lactation consultant, Simon and I finally managed to nurse without causing either one of us too much distress. We transitioned from bottle to nipple shield and straight to the breast at last. When he was 8 weeks old, I started to work full-time. The transition to pumping at work was pretty painless, since I had become a pro in the early days of my son’s life. I pumped at work, refrigerated my milk and took it in bottles to day care. I pumped extra and froze it for emergencies. When I picked up Simon after work, we reconnected with a long nursing session on the couch. Of course, pumping at work takes on an interesting dimension when one works as a teacher. I pumped in my darkened classroom with a table blocking my unlockable door and a curtain pulled over my windows. At first, I had a little trouble relaxing. Staring at pictures of my baby, talking to my husband on the phone, and smelling a onesie that Simon had worn helped stimulate my milk. Before long, my body got into a rhythm. I stopped having embarrassing milk leaks. I was able to pump quickly and then get to meetings and such. I was able to pump even in moments of panic when a student would come looking for me and try to open the door. If I had a dollar for every time I shouted, “I’ll be out in 10 minutes!” I could probably buy my own hospital-grade breast pump.

W

e all could use a little boost of nutrition in our lives. Between balancing a hectic schedule of work, family and community responsibilities, nutrition is often left to the local fast-food restaurant, leaving us deficient in vital nutrients. A recent study published in the Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism found that 59 percent of women are deficient in vitamin D, for example. Women need different supplements at different ages. Here’s a breakdown of the supplements and vitamins women should be taking in addition to a multi-vitamin. Consult a physician before taking any supplements if you are on regular medications to guard against harmful interactions.

Women Ages 20-40 Vitamins • D3, folate (folic acid, 400 mcg twice daily), niacin and pantothenic acid Minerals • calcium, magnesium, selenium and potassium Additional vitamin-like substances: • Lycopene: from tomatoes, 400 mcg per week • Lutein: one leafy green vegetable per day • Quericin: large portions of garlic, onion, celery or lemon juice every day • Omega3: 2 ounces of fatty fish each day or 600 mg. of DHA

Getting Started 1. Start preparing your nipples with Lansinoh ointment several weeks before your baby is born. 2. Get fitted for a nursing bra. 3. Stock up on washable cotton breast pads. 4. Eat right and stay hydrated after your baby is born. 5. Avoid caffeine or foods that irritate baby’s stomach. 6. Get enough rest. 7. Relax and enjoy bonding. 8. Don’t be afraid to get professional help.

Local and Online Resources Dr. Becky Saenz Mississippi Breastfeeding Medicine Clinic 111A Depot Drive, Madison 601-898-7979 www.msbfmedclinic.com/ La Leche League Second Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Christ United Methodist Church, room 59 6000 Old Canton Road www.lllalmsla.org/ drjacknewman.com kellymom.com

by Eileen Eady Women Ages 40-50 Vitamins • D3, folate (folic acid, 200 mcg twice daily), niacin and pantothenic acid Minerals • Calcium, magnesium, selenium and potassium Additional Vitamin-like substances • Lycopene: from tomatoes, 400 mcg per week • Lutein: one leafy green vegetable per day • Quericin: large portions of garlic, onion, celery or lemon juice every day • Omega3: 2 ounces of fatty fish each day

RODRIGO SENNA

What Should I Be Taking?

I did not broadcast my milk-making, but it was helpful to have a few coworkers in the loop; they could cover for me if I was late for a meeting, or would understand if I needed someone to watch my students for 15 minutes if we had a schedule change. Now my son is 9 months old, and I have continued to breastfeed him despite a full-time job, a run-in with swine flu and four simultaneous baby teeth in the last month. Simon only wants to nurse a few times a day now as he ventures into the world of Cheerios and green beans and mangoes, but it is still an amazing time to bond. I love holding his warm little body as he slowly stops his incessant squirming and starts drifting off toward sleep. I am thrilled that I can still give him the most perfect baby food and soothe even his most frustrated moments. With determination and patience and support, I was able to make breastfeeding work for us.

• Aspirin: 162 mg a day with two glasses of warm water Women Ages 50 and up Vitamins • D3, pantothenic acid Minerals • Calcium, magnesium, selenium and potassium Additional Vitamin-like substances • Lycopene: from tomatoes, 400 mcg per week

• Lutein: one leafy green vegetable per day • Quericin: large portions of garlic, onion, celery or lemon juice every day • Omega3: 2 ounces of fatty fish each day • Aspirin: 162 mg a day with two glasses of warm water • Coenzyme Q10: if over 62 SOURCE: OPRAH.COM “VITAMINS AND YOU” BASED ON RECOMMENDATIONS FROM DR. MEHMET OZ AND DR. MICHAEL ROIZEN.

jacksonfreepress.com

COURTESY KELLY BRYAN SMITH

by Kelly Bryan Smith

21

HEALTH & WELLNESS

“I

t’s a lot easier to ride a horse in the direction that it’s going,” I said to the seven people sitting across from me. It was my regular Wednesday night gig at Butterfly Yoga on State Street, and all eight of us were on the floor, cross-legged on yoga mats at the beginning of class. “My day was all about meetings,” I continued. “At some point, I realized that my mind wasn’t in the meeting where my body was sitting. I was thinking about the hundreds of little things on my plate instead of being where I was. As soon as I realized that, I became present to the meeting, and where before I was annoyed and impatient—and the meeting felt like a pain in my ass—I relaxed, and things started moving smoothly.” “I had surrendered to reality,” I said. “Instead of suffering and fighting what was so, I began ‘riding the horse’ in the direction it was already going. Surrender, in that sense, doesn’t mean giving up.” As a yoga instructor, one of the things I do to prepare for class is to come up with a theme, something my students can think about and use as I instruct them through our practice together. Usually, I reach into my bottomless bag of aphorisms, my knowledge of Buddhist and yoga philosophy, and illustrate the theme with an example from my life. I’ve heard that the teacher teaches best

what she needs to learn. If that’s the case, it’s no wonder that so many of my themes come back to a common place: Be here now; get present to your presence. In my go, go, produce, produce existence, it can be tough: I always have a halfdozen or more projects in the works. But yoga has taught me that the first thing to do when I’m stressed or feeling put upon is simply to breathe. You’ve heard it, too: Calm down; count to 10; take a breath. It’s the tough yoga poses—and the tough life situations—where we forget to breathe. And that makes everything harder. It’s a simple demonstration of how closely our bodies and minds are intertwined. Our minds and bodies function best as a unit. When I’m feeling stressed (an emotion centered in my mind), my body reacts to protect itself, getting ready to fight or take flight. My breathing becomes shallow and fast; I begin to produce stress hormones (like cortisol, GH and norepinephrine) that direct blood flow away from digestion and into my extremities. My reaction to pain diminishes, my pupils contract, and my awareness is heightened. I’m ready to meet the threat of that proverbial saber-tooth tiger, even when none exists. I can feel the reaction as I type this, safe and cozy in my little JFP office. Simply by changing my breathing pat-

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Present to My Presence

by Ronni Mott tern, slowing it down and drawing it deeply into my abdomen, my mind begins to calm down. The harmful effects of too much stress begin to dissipate with my next exhalation. It presents the question: Does my mind affect my body, or does my body affect my mind? Smiling and laughter is another example. Your mind reacts to the stimulation of turning the corners of your mouth up. It can’t tell the difference if it’s a “genuine” smile caused by a funny joke or a cute puppy, or whether you’re faking it. Just the physical action of a smile—or better yet, a good hearty laugh— makes us feel better, lighter, refreshed. And we react to smiles; it’s hard not to. Telephone customer-service reps are told to “put a smile in their voice,” by putting a smile on their face. Why? Because it’s hard to be angry with someone who’s smiling. The mind-body connection has a fancy name in Western medicine—integrative. Eastern medicine and philosophy has never lost the knowledge that it all works together. “Blame it on Descartes,” my yoga teacher told me. It was Rene Descartes’ theories of dualism that separated our minds from our bodies in the 16th century, heralding the onset of the Western mode of physical medicine: Treat the body if the body is sick, the mind if the mind is sick. That’s a vast oversimplifica-

tion, of course, but it has led to predominance of doctors in the west who treat diseases and forget about patients. Wellness is more than just treating disease, it’s a deliberate effort to prevent illness and prolong life, being healthy in body and mind. And it’s recognizing the body-mind connection as a legitimate route to being well. By whatever path we take—yoga, meditation, prayer, mindful eating, taking the inner journey—it all works together. And it all falls apart, together. As the stories in this issue have brought back to me, wellness depends on recognizing that healthy bodies and healthy minds come together as a package. In a time when so many of us are sedentary and overweight, we have to stop fighting that reality. The “horse” called health has always been going in the direction of wholeness. When we surrender to that path, being healthy is bound to get easier.

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23

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Beauty All Over

How is therapy going? What sorts of things are you able to do now that you haven’t been able to do since the accident? Imagine not being able to dress yourself or wear your own clothes, and that was totally me. Just yesterday I was able to put on a pair or socks and tennis shoes, and I can get dressed by myself. Being able to dress myself in privacy is really nice. (Therapists have) been teaching me to be more independent because I’m 27, and I live at home with my parents. So far it’s been going pretty good. I can’t complain. I mean, I could, but it wouldn’t do me any good. What can you tell me about the Ask for More Arts benefit at The Auditorium. I’m going to be dancing in it. Now granted I’m not going to be doing flips and turns and pirouettes and splits, but it’s the start of something. You have to remember that a couple years ago, my doctor’s prognosis in New York for my outcome was not so good. I just wanted to get better. I really don’t look good in a wheelchair—it’s just a fashion faux pas. Even though I could say, “Never say never,” I’m human. It scared me when they said I was never going to walk again.

And yeah, I’ve had a lot of dark moments, but now I can lift the remote. I can type on the computer. I can talk on the phone. I can be 27. What sort of preparation has gone into being able to dance again? Hard work. I’ve wanted to do it from the time I even thought about having this event. I didn’t know the outcome as far as what all I’d be able to do. But I had certain goals for myself that I wanted to set, and slowly but surely it’s piecing itself together. Also, Caitlin’s made my life really great the last couple months. Even though she’s just assisting me with things I’m not able to do, she still pushes me, which is great. To a degree I’ve kind of been pampered the past couple months. People have been putting on my clothes and cleaning my room and driving me around. It was fun while it lasted, but now it’s time to see what’s up on the horizon. What have you been doing aside from therapy since you’ve been back in Jackson? Right now I’m doing motivational speaking, which is really weird—talking about myself. It’s turning my situation around into something positive instead of crying about it. The world is the ugly, cruel place, but at the same time there’s lots of beauty all over. And right now being in the dance studio with those girls preparing for this event, it’s like the dance studio is my sanctuary. In that moment in time, even though we’re there for two hours twice a week, in that moment time doesn’t exist. My worries don’t exist. I don’t care about anything else. It’s just like any art. What do you plan to do in the future? It’s getting close for me to write a book, so that’s something that I’m probably going to start working on this summer. Also, I have a lot of soul searching to do. My independence and identity was, I don’t want to say taken away from me, but it’s in the closet somewhere. It’s about time for me to fish through all the boxes and find it. And for the most part, I’m really happy. As long as I can laugh and breathe and walk, I’m OK. I still plan on dancing on Broadway. That’s probably why I didn’t die, because it’s going to happen. I don’t know when, but it’s going to happen. After that I can die happy, with a smile on my face. It has to be a really good show, ‘cause I’m not one for musicals. I’m excited and nervous about the future. I don’t know

March 25 - 31, 2010

COURTESY HARPER

Not the Usual Self-Help Book

24

I

am generally not one for reading self-help books, but I loved this one. The book cover for “The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun” (Harper, 2009, $25.99) and its subtitle grabbed my attention. I read the

BRICE MEDIA

O

n Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008, the superintendent of Nicole Marquez’ apartment building in Harlem found her unconscious and bleeding on the bottom of the structure’s airshaft. Barely alive, Marquez had broken her neck, her lower back and pelvis, and all the ribs on one side of her body. One of the ribs had punctured and collapsed a lung, and she had lost a lot of blood. A dancer and actress, Marquez drifted in and out of consciousness for days, clinging precariously to life. “I didn’t want to believe I was in the hospital,” she told the Jackson Free Press eight weeks after the accident. She thought she was in her apartment having a bad dream. It wasn’t a dream. Doctors gave her less than a 50/50 chance of walking again, But as she told the JFP after she had been transferred back home to Methodist Rehabilitation Hospital in Jackson, she was determined to dance again: “You can’t stop this dancer—trust me. I’ve got a whole lot of living to do.” I sat down with Marquez and her assistant and friend Caitlin McNally on a sunny afternoon outside Basil’s in Fondren. Marquez had a big smile on her face full of freckles, radiating positivity even before she spoke. She and McNally, who describe themselves as “silly,” frequently stopped to talk to people, whether they knew them or not, as they passed by.

by Jesse Crow

synopsis on the inside flaps and decided to give this book a chance. After reading its “Twelve Commandments” and the “Secrets of Adulthood,” I was convinced that this book was going to play a major part in finding more happiness. One thing that I loved about the book was that its author, Gretchen Rubin, actually went through every single step of the happiness project and struggled with most of those steps. I enjoyed her testimonies about her “ah ha” moments. After each chapter, she included blog posts from people sharing their experiences through their own happiness project. The book’s chapters correlate with the months of the year, and each month presents a step you must ac-

Nineteen months after a fall that nearly killed her, Nicole Marquez will dance at the Ask for More Arts Benefit March 27 at The Auditorium in Fondren.

what’s in store for me, but at the same time I don’t want to know. Each day is just like opening a Christmas present. Can you tell me about the benefit at The Auditorium? Taking the thing that you love the most and putting it on hold is like a piece of you missing. In June, I knew that I wanted to do something to give back to the community, because when I had my accident the entire community came out of the woodwork. The event is in conjunction with Parents for Public Schools and its program, Ask For More Arts, which promotes arts in education. I’m a firm believer that those turkeys you draw (by) outlining your hand (as a kid), that changes your life. I wanted to give back, but I wanted to put my spin on it. “An Evening of Hope,” a fundraiser for the Ask For More Arts initiative, is Saturday, March 27, at The Auditorium. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the event includes: signature drink; three-course meal; live music; art auction; video presentation; a performance choreographed by Marquez; and her solo dance. Tickets are $75. For information, call 601-969-6015, or visit www.ppsjackson.org. To read more about Marquez, see “Glorious, Beautiful Leaps,” at www.jacksonfreepress.com.

by Pamela Hosey complish to complete your happiness project in a year. January is boost energy month, for example; February is about remembering love, and March is titled “Aim Higher,” and it addresses work. Of course, you can begin your happiness project during any month of the year. I don’t want to give away too much because you deserve to give yourself the satisfaction of reading this book. “The Happiness Project” comes across as a story, but by the end of each chapter, you will have learned a lesson. One of the most impressive parts of the book is Rubin’s “Suggestions for Further Reading” at the end. I strongly recommend “The Happiness Project” to people who want to change their life but don’t want to read boring, sappy self-help books.

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BEST BETS March 25 - April 1 by Latasha Willis events@jacksonfreepress.com Fax: 601-510-9019 Daily updates at jfpevents.com

THURSDAY 3/25

COURTESY JASON “TWIGGY” LOTT

Spring Market opens daily at 9 a.m. at the Jackson Convention Complex (105 E. Pascagoula St.) through March 27, with 125 fashion and gift vendors. $8, $12 3-day pass, children 12 and under free; visit springmarketshow.com. … The 24th annual Puppetry Jam at the Agriculture and Forestry Museum (1150 Lakeland Drive) is from 9 a.m.-noon and continues March 26. $6, $5 children; call 601-977-9840. … The opening reception for Jason “Twiggy” Lott’s “Reconstruction” exhibit at Nunnery’s Gallery (426 Meadowbrook Road) begins at 5 p.m. Free admission; call 601-981-4426. … V-Day 2010 at Hal & Mal’s kicks off tonight with “The Vagina Monologues” at 7 p.m. Tomorrow, see the film “What I Want My Words to Do to You” at 7 p.m. and the play at 9 p.m. Proceeds benefit the Mississippi Coalition Against Do-

sissippi.com. … 4ever Friday at the Electric Building (308 E. Pearl St.) includes art, poetry, music by DJ Phingaprint and a late-night breakfast. $10 before 10 p.m.; call 601-454-8313. … Catch Eden Brent at Underground 119 from 9 p.m.-midnight. $10. … The Special Passenger Records Showcase on Hal & Mal’s patio at 9 p.m. features performances by Dee Bird, Lizzie Wright Super Space Ship, Dubb Nubb and The Bachelorettes. $5. … Grady Champion performs at Schimmel’s at 9 p.m. Call 601-981-7077. … It’s reggae, hip-hop and old school night at Cultural Expressions starting at 10 p.m. $5.

TUESDAY 3/30

Hubfest, an annual festival in downtown Hattiesburg, includes art, animal exhibits and live music. Free admission; call 601-296-7500. … The Crawfish Blowout at McB’s is from 1-4 p.m. and includes music by the Sofa Kings, Elmo & the Shades and the Carlton South Carolina Show Band. Call 601-956-8362. … “An Evening of Hope with Nicole Marquez” at The Auditorium starts at 5:30 p.m. Proceeds benefit Parents for Public Schools’ “Ask for More Arts” initiative. $75; call 601-624-7827. … Cassandra Wilson sings blues at the MSU Riley Center (2200 5th St., Meridian) at 7:30 p.m. $38-$44; call 601-696-2200. … “Bravo V” with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and the Mississippi Chorus at Thalia Mara Hall begins at 7:30 p.m. $20 and up; call 601960-1565. Gospoetry at Koinonia is from 8 p.m.-midnight. $5. … Pete Ross and The Bailey Brothers perform at Martin’s at 10 p.m. Call 601-354-9712.

Amazing Lazy Boi plays during the blues lunch at F. Jones Corner at noon. Free. … Come to the 2010 College Series baseball game at Trustmark Park (1 Braves Way, Pearl) where Ole Miss will play against Mississippi State in the Governor’s Cup. $23-$28; visit ticketmaster.com.

SUNDAY 3/28

Spend your lunch break listening to bluesman Jesse Robinson at Lumpkin’s from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. … Radio JFP with Todd Stauffer and Donna Ladd starts at noon on WLEZ 100.1 FM; visit wlezfm.com. … The Young Professionals Alliance lunch at the Clarion-Ledger Community Room (311 E. Pearl St.) begins at noon. Free; send an RSVP to nmcnamee @greaterjacksonpartnership.com. … Come to “Downtown at Dusk” at Underground 119 for crawfish, beer and music. Free; e-mail nmcnamee@greaterjacksonpartnership.com. More events and details at jfpevents.com.

The opening reception for Jason “Twiggy” Lott’s “Reconstruction” exhibit at Nunnery’s Gallery begins at 5 p.m. March 25.

March 25 - 31, 2010

Jesse “Guitar” Smith performs at F. Jones Corner at noon. Jesse Robinson’s 500-lb. Blues Band performs from 11:30 p.m.-4 a.m. $5. … Come to Martin’s for music by Tooz Co. (6 p.m.) and Colonel Bruce Hampton and the Quark Alliance (10 p.m.) Call 601-354-9712. … Salsa Mississippi’s Latin Rooftop Dance Party at the Fondren Corner Building 26 (2906 N. State St.) starts at 9 p.m. $10; e-mail sujan@salsamis

WEDNESDAY 3/31 “History Is Lunch” with author William Morris at the William F. Winter Archives and History Building (200 North St.) starts at noon. Bring your own lunch; call 601-5766850. … Enjoy blues music by Joe Carroll at Fenian’s from 8-11 p.m. … Bill & Temperance perform bluegrass at Underground 119 from 8-11 p.m. Free.

THURSDAY 4/1

Watch “The Toad Prince” puppet show at the 24th annual Puppetry Jam March 25 and 26 at the Agriculture and Forestry Museum. COURTESY PETER ZAPLETAL

FRIDAY 3/26

Marley Monday at Dreamz starts at 6 p.m. … The 22nd annual Taste of Mississippi at Highland Village (4500 Interstate 55 North) begins at 7 p.m. Proceeds benefit Stewpot Community Services. $65 in advance, $80 at the door; call 601-353-2759. … The Central Mississippi Blues Society Jam at Hal & Mal’s is from 8-11 p.m. $5.

SATURDAY 3/27

The Greater Belhaven Market at the Mississippi Farmers Market (929 High St.) is from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Call 601-5062848 or 601-354-6573. … Knight Bruce plays during brunch at Sophia’s starting at 11 a.m. Call 601-948-3429. … Jedi Clamplett performs at Shucker’s from 3-7 p.m. Free. … The City of Hattiesburg Concert Band performs with the 3 Trumpeters at Saenger Theater (201 Forrest St., Hattiesburg) from 3-4:30 p.m. Free.

mestic Violence and the Women’s Fund. $20, $15 for play, $5 for film; visit jfptickets.com; call 601-362-6121, ext. 11. … Fingers Taylor and Friends perform at Soulshine in Ridgeland from 7-9:30 p.m. Free. … Rhythm Masters play at Shucker’s from 7:30-11:30 p.m. Free. … Legacy plays Irish dance music at Fenian’s from 8-11 p.m. Free.

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JFP SPONSORED EVENTS Radio JFP on WLEZ ongoing, at WLEZ 100.1 FM and wlez.com. Join Donna Ladd and Todd Stauffer every Thursday from noon-1 p.m., where they will discuss vital issues, play local music and feature special guests. Call 601-362-6121, ext. 17. V-Day 2010 March 25-26, at Hal and Mal’s (200 Commerce St.). The two-day event includes the play “The Vagina Monologues” and the film “What I Want My Words to Do to You.” Performance times for the play are 7 p.m. March 25 and 9 p.m. March 26. The movie will be shown at 7 p.m. March 26. Proceeds benefit the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Women’s Fund. $20 for play and film, $15 for play only, $5 for film only; call 601-362-6121, ext. 11. Buy tickets at jfptickets.com.

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Mississippi Happening March 25, 7 p.m., at the Mississippi Happening Web site. The live monthly broadcast is hosted by Guaqueta Productions and features a special musical guest. Download the podcast at mississippihappening.com. Free; visit mississippihappening.com. An Evening of Hope with Nicole Marquez March 27, 5:30 p.m., at The Auditorium (622 Duling Ave.). Activities include a signature drink upon arrival, a three-course meal presented by Chef Nathan Glenn, a live auction and a dance performance featuring Nicole Marquez. Funds will help the “Ask for More Arts” initiative, a school-community-arts partnership sponsored by Parents for Public Schools. $75; call 601-624-7827. 22nd Annual Taste of Mississippi March 29, 7 p.m., at Highland Village (4500 Interstate 55 North). Dozens of Mississippi chefs and fine restaurateurs will share their culinary favorites. Proceeds benefit Stewpot Community Services. $65 in advance, $80 at the door; call 601-353-2759.

COMMUNITY

THIS WEEK COMMUNITY

SPRING MARKET: BOUTIQUE SHOPPING AT ITS FINEST Join us for fabulous food & libations at this exclusive & unique event benefiting the Northeast Jackson YMCA. Gallery 119, March 27, 6pm, $50, $100 Luck of Draw tickets. 601-709-3760, www.gallery119.net CULTURE

MAHLER’S SYMPHONY NO. 2, THE RESURRECTION Thalia Mara Hall, March 27, 7:30pm 601-960-1565, www.msorchestra.com MUSIC

DEE BIRD, LIZZIE WRIGHT SUPER SPACE SHIP, DUBB NUBB, THE BACHELORETTES Hal & Mal’s, March 26, 9pm, $5 601-948-0888, www.halandmals.com DINING

PALETTE CAFE’ March 25 - 31, 2010

Come by the Palette Café by Viking for the Palette Café Chicken Salad or the Deep South Greek Salad.

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Visit www.downtown-jackson.com for a complete calendar. Call 601-353-9800 for calendar information.

Legal Clinic March 25, 9 a.m., at Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.). The Mississippi Center for Justice will offer free advice regarding foreclosure prevention, alternatives to payday lending, access to healthcare, school discipline hearing rights and more. Free; call 601-352-2269. Playing by the Rules: Legal Compliance for Nonprofits March 25, 9 a.m., at the Mississippi Center for Nonprofits (921 N. President St., Suite C). This one-day workshop will address key issues for nonprofit operations, teach you how to maintain your tax-exempt status and manage unrelated business income. Registration is required. $60 members, $110 non-members; call 601-968-0061. Spring Market March 25-27, at the Jackson Convention Complex (105 E. Pascagoula St.). Shop for the latest in spring fashions, home decor and gourmet food. Hours are 9 a.m. -6 p.m. March 25, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. March 26 and 9 a.m.-6 p.m. March 27. $8, $12 3-day pass, children 12 and under free; call 662-890-3359. Events at the Mississippi e-Center (1230 Raymond Road). • 5th Annual Veterans in the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement Conference March 25-27. Sessions are 9 a.m-9 p.m. March 25-26 and 8:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. March 27. Keynote speakers include Rev. Jeremiah Wright March 25 and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee March 26. Other guests include Myrlie Evers Williams, Brad “Kamikaze” Franklin and Rep. Bennie Thompson. $100 adults, $25 college students, $10 high school students; call 601-979-1520 or 601-979-1515. • Social Work Celebration March 31, 11 a.m. The guest speaker is Dwayne Buckingham, who will also sign copies of his book, “A Black Man’s Worth: Conqueror and Head of Household.” Register by March 26. $25, $15 for students with ID, $12.99 book; call 601-979-2631.

Precinct 4 COPS Meeting March 25, 6 p.m., at Redeemer Church (640 E. Northside Drive). These monthly meetings are forums designed to help resolve community issues or problems, from crime to potholes. Call 601-960-0004. Moreton Lecture Series March 25, 7 p.m., at Millsaps College, Ford Academic Complex (1701 N. State St.), in room 215. Dr. Michael Slattery of Texas Christian University will speak on large-scale wind farms. Free; call 601-974-1344. Nation Day March 26-28, at Tougaloo College (500 W. County Line Road, Tougaloo). The series of lectures, presentations, and performances will take place in Kincheloe Hall and the Owens Health and Wellness Center. Activities also include the “Free the Scott Sisters” rally at the State Capitol March 26 at noon and related events at the James Meredith Building. Contact the host for specific times and dates. $25, $20 seniors, $15 students; call 601-896-4400. Dismantling the Cradle to Prison Pipeline Statewide Summit March 26-27, at Callaway High School (601 Beasley Rd.). The event is a call to action to stop funneling children down paths to prison. Registration is required. The summit will be from 4:30-9 p.m. March 26 and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. March 27. Free; call 601-321-1966. Community Health and Wellness Fair March 27, 9 a.m., at Davis Temple Church of God in Christ (1700 Dalton St.). Activities include health screenings, chair massages and advice on nutrition and aging. Free; call 601-953-9706. Farish Street Storytelling Session March 27, 11:30 a.m., at Peaches (27 N. Farish St.). Historians and architects share the history of Farish Street from 1890 to the present. Free; call 601291-7381. J. Auberney’s Launch Party Mixer March 27, 6:30 p.m., at Koinonia Coffee House (136 S. Adams St., Suite C). Come out for mixing and mingling with Jackson’s up-and-coming author and entrepreneur J. Auberney, who will unveil her new business venture, Awe-Inspiring Moments, and celebrate the publication of her poetry collection titled “Just A Shadow Of Me.” Hors d’oeuvres, cocktails and music will be provided. Call 601-212-7295. Cellular South Howell Trophy and Gillom Trophy Presentation March 29, 5:30 p.m., at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame (1152 Lakeland Drive). The Howell Trophy in men’s college basketball and the Gillom Trophy in women’s college basketball will be given to deserving players. The reception is at 5:30 p.m., and the ceremony starts at 6:30 p.m. $75, $25 skybox; call 601-982-8264. SafeHeart Screenings March 30, 8 a.m., at Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.), in the Community Room. Get five ultrasound and EKG screenings for cardiovascular diseases. $129, free for those who qualify; call 601-450-5483 or 866-548-3006. Saving OurSelves (SOS) Seminar March 30, 6 p.m., at Hinds Behavioral Health Services, Region 9 (3450 Highway 80 W.), in the Conference Center. Learn healthy self-help strategies for living in a stressful world. Free; call 601-321-2400. “History Is Lunch” March 31, noon, at William F. Winter Archives and History Building (200 North St.). Jacksonian William Morris will show images from and talk about his book, “Ole Miss at Oxford: A Part of Our Heart and Soul.” Bring lunch; coffee/ water provided. Free; call 601-576-6850.

MUSIC Praise Party 2010 March 26, 6 p.m., at Jackson State University, Rose E. McCoy Auditorium (1400 Lynch St.). James Fortune and Fiya, Dathan Thigpen and Holy Nation, Earnest Pugh and the JSU Interfaith Choir will perform. Proceeds benefit

Cassandra Wilson. The jazz vocalist and Mississippi Blues Trail honoree will perform live at these dates and locations: • March 26, 8 p.m., at Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts (100 University Ave., Oxford). $30 and up; call 662-915-2787. • March 27, 7:30 p.m., at MSU Riley Center (2200 5th St., Meridian). $38, $44; call 601696-2200. Bravo V: Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, The Resurrection March 27, 7:30 p.m., at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E. Pascagoula St.). The Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and the Mississippi Chorus perform the classic composer’s music. $20 and up, $5 children 4-18 and students with ID; call 601-960-1565.

STAGE AND SCREEN 24th Annual Puppetry Jam March 25-26, 9 a.m.noon, at Agriculture and Forestry Museum (1150 Lakeland Dr.). See the Puppet Arts Theatre in “The Toad Prince” and make puppets at the Puppet Factory. $6 adults, $5 children; call 601-977-9840. “The Little Engine That Could” March 29, 9:30 a.m., at MSU Riley Center (2200 5th St., Meridian). Watty Piper’s tale is presented by Omaha Theater Company and is for children in grades K-4. Show times are 9:30 a.m. and noon. $5; call 601-696-2204.

CREATIVE CLASSES Shut Up and Write! April 3–June 12, at JFP Classroom (2727 Old Canton Road, Suite 224). Sign up for the workshop series of JFP Editor-in-Chief Donna Ladd’s popular non-fiction and creative writing classes. Classes will be every other Saturday from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Gift certificates are available. $150 (including materials), $75 non-refundable deposit required; call 601-362-6121, ext. 16; e-mail class@jacksonfreepress.com.

LITERARY AND SIGNINGS “Escape From Paradise: How to Win Against All Odds” March 25, 5:30 p.m., at Koinonia Coffee House (136 S. Adams St., Suite C). Dr. Pauline Pearson Hathorn signs copies of her book. $15.99 book; call 601-566-6995. Events at Lemuria Books (202 Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 North). Call 601-366-7619. • “Walking to Gatlinburg” March 26, 5 p.m. Howard Frank Mosher signs copies of his book; reading of the book at 5:30 p.m. $25 book; call 601-366-7619. • “Caught” March 29, 5 p.m. Harlan Coben signs copies of his book; reading of the book at 5:30 p.m. $27.95 book; call 601-366-7619. Writer’s Spotlight March 27, 7:30 p.m., at The Commons Gallery (719 N. Congress St.). Local writers will read samples of their work. Free; e-mail janinejulia@gmail.com. PBS Kids Go! Writers Contest through March 31, at Mississippi Public Broadcasting (3825 Ridgewood Road). Children in kindergarten through 3rd grade can submit stories with illustrations. Applications are available online at mpbonline.org/mpbkids. Free; call 601-432-6565.

GALLERIES “Streets/Roads/Paths” Art Show March 25, 5 p.m., at Pearl River Glass Studio (142 Millsaps Ave.). The Attic Gallery in Vicksburg is displaying theme-based artwork from 27 artists. Free admission; call 601-638-9221 or 601-353-2497. “Reconstruction” Opening Reception March 25, 5 p.m., at Nunnery’s Gallery (426 Meadowbrook

Road). Jason “Twiggy” Lott exhibits assemblages made from discarded objects. Free admission; call 601-981-4426. Outdoor Days at the Center March 27, 9 a.m., at Mississippi Craft Center (950 Rice Road, Ridgeland). Meet the craftsmen who create the work seen in The Gallery and at the Chimneyville Craft Festival. Free admission; call 601-856-7546.

EXHIBITS AND OPENINGS John Hopkins Photography Exhibit March 30, 5 p.m., at Sneaky Beans (2914 N. State St.). See pictures taken by elementary students who were given photography lessons by Josh Hailey. Free admission; call 601-214-2068. Events at Arts Center of Mississippi (201 E. Pascagoula St.). Call 601-960-1557. • “Backyards and Beyond” through April 1. The exhibition of post-Kartina artwork by H.C. Porter is paired with audio recordings. Proceeds benefit Backyards and Beyond. Hours are 10 a.m.6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Donations welcome; e-mail tomjohnson14@comcast.net. • “Just Dance” Call for Entries through April 30. To commemorate the International Ballet Competition, the Greater Jackson Arts Council is calling for entries to its juried invitational in media such as painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, film/video, mixed media and installation. $25 entry fee; call 601-960-1557. Check jfpevents.com for updates and more listings. To add an event, e-mail all details (phone number, start/ end date and 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.

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Shut up and Creative Writing Classes April 3 - June 5, 10am - 12:30pm Every other Saturday $150 $75 deposit is required for a spot in the class. Men and Women Welcome. e-mail class@jacksonfreepress.com or call 601.362.6121 ext.16 to reserve a spot.

BE THE CHANGE Luck of the Draw Fundraiser March 27, 6 p.m., at Gallery 119 (119 S. President St.). Purchase an art ticket and get 30 seconds to select a piece of art. Contributors include Tony DiFatta and Sheriff Malcolm McMillin. Proceeds benefit the Northeast Jackson YMCA. $25 before March 13, $50 thereafter; $100 art ticket; call 601-969-4091 or 601-500-0743. Footsteps in Hope Walk March 28, 2 p.m., at Old Trace Park (Post Road, Ridgeland). The 8K walk/run is in support of HIV/AIDS projects such as Grace House. Donations welcome; call 901-338-7011; visit footstepsinhope.org. “Support Haiti Relief” Show through March 31, at Bryant Galleries (3010 Lakeland Cove). 50 percent of all sales go to the American Red Cross Haitian Relief Fund. Free admission; call 601-932-5099. Mustard Seed Book Drive through April 5, at Borders (100 Dogwood Blvd., Flowood). Donate books in good condition to the residents of The Mustard Seed. Donations welcome; call 601-992-3556. Shamrock Project Golf Tournament March 26, 1 p.m., at Whisper Lake Country Club (414 Annandale Parkway, Madison). Registration is required. 80 percent of the proceeds benefit the Family Support Center. $100, $400 four-person team, $500 corporate team; call 972-658-2691 or 225-978-9029. Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi’s Easter Egg Hunt March 27, 10 a.m., at Highland Village (4500 I-55 North), at the Center Court. Open to children 8 and under, the event includes hunting for the golden egg and pictures with the Easter bunny. Proceeds benefit Camp Kandu. $5; call 877-DFM-CURE.

jacksonfreepress.com

the Faith Fund at JSU. $15 in advance, $20 at the door; visit ticketmaster.com.

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March 25 - 31, 2010

by Lynette Hanson

A Story That Deserves Telling

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COURTESY OAK HARBOR PUBLISHING

hen three white men invaded the home of an African American family in rural Attala County, the nation saw much of the story through the eyes of Billy McMillan, a photographer and reporter at his father-in-law’s weekly paper, the Kosciusko Star-Herald. We hear all the time about Emmett Till, about Medgar Evers, about so many despicable events in Mississippi’s past. Why never this particular story? Leon Turner shot and killed three of Mary Ella Harris’ children, and also shot her husband—who later died from his wounds—and an older daughter, who survived. For its time, the story received extensive local and national media coverage. One particular photo ended up garnering McMillan the 1950 Best Journalistic Photograph award from the National Press Photographers Association. That photo is now on the cover of “One Night of Madness” (Oak Harbor Publishing, 2009, $18.99), authored by the photographer’s son, Stokes McMillan. The author’s mother, proud of her husband’s accomplishment, had pasted it onto the cover of a scrapbook made from a 30-by-30-inch book, normally used for page layout at the paper, adding more as the coverage expanded far beyond Kosciusko. As a boy, Stokes McMillan occasionally looked at the photos in the scrapbook that his mother kept under the bed, but it wasn’t until 2001 that he began to read the clippings. “I laid the large scrapbook out on a table and turned to the first page. A headline from the January 29, 1950, St. Louis Post-Dispatch blared ‘Murder in Mississippi’ in bold print. I began to read, and time melted away as a story of violence, fear, race, love, revenge, politics and courtroom drama captured me. When I finally closed the cover, I knew that the story of this 1950 event deserved more than to be secreted within the pages of an old scrapbook—it deserved to be told, and ownership of the scrapbook made me the one to tell it,” he writes. After nearly eight years’ research, eyewitness interviews and visits to the sites detailed in “One Night of Madness,” McMillan wrote what he calls “… a true account of actual events as best as I could sort them out.” Using the genre creative nonfiction, like Truman Capote had done with “In Cold Blood,” McMillan lays it all bare, separating “One Night of Madness” into three parts: the people, the crime and the trials. He tells the story of how these people all knew each other and how the two races lived in close proximity in rural Attala County. He included extensive footnotes and an epilogue that

tells what happened afterward to the book’s principal players. One of the strongest segments in “One Night of Madness” comes at the beginning of Part 3: “During America’s era of slavery, the State of Mississippi, among other Southern states, failed to secure equal justice for all. Long after emancipation, African Americans remained subject to inequality before the law and were often victimized by society. In 1950 the trial of three accused child-murderers provided an opportunity for Mississippi to etch its own commitment to ‘Equal Justice Under Law.’ The nation was watching.” “The press dogged local officials, eager to obtain their comments about the case,” McMillan writes. “Asked to provide a possible motive for the senseless murders, District Attorney Henry Rodgers offered that the three white men had been arrested during a previous visit to the home when they had tried to rape Mrs. Harris and her teenage daughter. Blaming the Harris family for the sheriff’s arrival and their being taken into custody, the men broke out of jail and returned to the home in a ‘drunken orgy of revenge.’ The killings thus took on a name. The press began calling the crime the ‘revenge murders.’” Mississippi’s reputation suffered again when the murders became lynchings. McMillan explains the definition of a lynching, as set by Tuskegee University: “[T]he nation’s organizational expert on lynchings, classifies it as meeting the following conditions: ‘There must be legal evidence that a person was killed. That person must have met death illegally. A group of three or more persons must have participated in the killing. The group must have acted under the pretext of service to Justice, Race, or Tradition.’” State leaders hoped they would not be so classified even though they knew a horrible crime had been committed. Hodding Carter Jr., editor and publisher of the Greenville (Miss.) Delta Democrat-Times, then expressed “… the emotions of his fellow Mississippians … ‘There was no color issue in this at all. People were outraged by the wanton murder of three children, just as people would be anywhere had this thing happened to any children.’” Nevertheless, the deaths of the children were classified as lynchings. As difficult as it is to assimilate the horrors of this story, all the while trying to understand why it is not included in the pantheon of race-related incidents that crowd Mississippi’s history, I thank Stokes McMillan for writing “One Night of Madness,” detailing what led Leon Turner to wreak havoc on the family of Mary Ella Harris. McMillan told a story that had to be told.

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books

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music

by Wes Williams

COURTESY THE COATHANGERS

For a Good Time, Call The Coathangers

The Coathangers will perform Saturday, April 3, at Ole Tavern on George Street.

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raucous all-girl band from Atlanta, The Coathangers leave a trail of confetti and googly-eyed boys in every town. Their rough-hewn rhythms and slumber-party taunts shatter the most stoic buffalo stance. A pawnshop guitar comes caterwauling into the mix, and the next thing you know, you’re shouting along to a song entitled “Toomerhead.” The Coathangers don’t get the party started so much as provoke it. Case in point: When I arrive shortly before show time at the Thirsty Hippo in Hattiesburg, I find The Coathangers devastating the other band on the bill, Jeff the brotherhood, in a game of “cups.” Crowded around a beer-drenched table, they run a rowdy relay race of barroom dexterity. Then, riding high on victory, The Coathangers join me for what was technically supposed to be an interview. The first page of my notes reads verbatim: “Booooom. Rashasha. Chrishmus Pushy. Duuuuuuke.”

It quickly became apparent that I was not going to steer this conversation. Not that The Coathangers were being difficult. Quite the contrary, they were just having too much fun. Every answer immediately diverged into a string of asides and inside jokes that, to their credit, they did their best to explain. Despite the indie hype and swooning critics, The Coathangers function more like a social club than a band. There’s really not that much difference between a conversation with The Coathangers and listening to their records. A little less rhyming, maybe. Talk of bad boyfriends, for instance, comes back around to the story behind the aforementioned “Toomerhead.” Stephanie Luke (drums, vocals) divulges about the song’s inspiration: “I really started to worry that he had some kind of brain tumor. Seriously. That would be the only way to explain the sudden shift in personality to total a**hole.” Dismayed that I wasn’t familiar with “pager code,” Julia Kugel (guitar, vocals)

patiently explains the numeric pre-cursor to texting. “That’s what our song ‘143’ is about. That’s pager code for ‘I love you.’” Most of The Coathangers have been fast friends long enough to have been paging each other in high school. They reveal that touring is really just an excuse to hang out together since they seldom see each other at home. Much of this quality time is devoted to singing along to Britney Spears deep cuts in the van. Employed as bartenders, waitresses and prom-dress couturiers, they also relish the opportunity to escape “our sordid customers” as Meredith Franco (bass, vocals) puts it. On the road, they have a different sordid sort to deal with. After their set, we sit down outside to continue our conversation and beers. Kugel goes missing in action for a bit, then shows up with a slightly concerned look and a bizarre concern to match: “There’s a chubby guy in there that really wants to interview us on video—and wrestle,” she says. Candice Jones (keyboards, vocals) recounts fending off riotous fans during a close-quartered New Orleans show. Which, of course, leads to an enlightened discussion of Steven Seagal’s career. I do manage to glean some band business specifics throughout the evening. They have a couple of upcoming 7-inch singles on Suicide Squeeze, one of which features a Dan Deacon remix. Regarding the release schedule, Luke says: “We really prefer singles for their immediacy. You’re really able to capture a moment,” After the South by Southwest run, they

have a short stint with The Thermals. But on this first night of tour, the ladies are most stoked for Austin. “It’s like spring break for bands. We get to see all our friends and favorite bands play. A lot,” Franco offers. They also hold high hopes for their Ole Tavern show. Last year’s stop in Jackson was a spectacle for crowd and band alike. They’re still sweeping up glitter at 121 Millsaps Avenue. A Coathangers show is kind of like the kids from “Over the Edge” taking over an episode of “Dance Party U.S.A.” They find a good beat, take it to the brink of chaos and shout out lyrics ripped from a note taken up in class. Spirited and spastic, it’s at once disorienting and charming. But whether they’re lamenting Toomerheads or railing against O.P.P (“Don’t Touch My Sh*t”), The Coathangers always make sure to leave behind the wreckage of a pop song. After the dust has settled from the night in Hattiesburg and The Coathangers have successfully eluded the wrestler, they start up their own dance party to the Hippo’s soundsystem music. I say my goodbyes as ESG kicks up, and they insist I demonstrate a signature move. I bust out a little herky-jerky robot, which earns smiles of positive reinforcement. They continue vogueing and twirling as everyone files out. The show is never over for The Coathangers. The Coathangers play Saturday, April 3, at Ole Tavern on George Street. The Quills and Senryu round out the bill. Anyone wearing a onesie gets in free. COURTESY VIRGIN RECORDS

Gorillaz in the Mist post-apocalyptic. Listening to any of the albums is experiby Rob Hamilton encing a world ravaged and destroyed by humans. It is a hen Gorillaz released its self- world dominated by sorrow and longing, titled debut album in 2001, yet occasionally tempered with occasional the group had all the makings spouts of jubilation (hear the joyous “19of a one-and-done band. It was 2000” on the band’s debut to counteract being used as an undoubtedly gimmicky dreary “Clint Eastwood”). platform for a cartoon group, featuring “Plastic Beach” continues this aesone of the England’s biggest rock stars. thetic and, if anything, amps up the dreariBands with this sort of makeup don’t last. ness. The guest appearances are as plentiful Except Gorillaz did. Granted, Dan as they are eclectic. The cohorts this time the Automator (the producer) left after the around range from the Lebanese National debut, but Damon Albarn (lead singer of Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music to Blur) enlisted the production wizardry of Bobby Womack to Snoop Dogg. Danger Mouse and released the outstandIt takes about four songs before ing follow-up, “Demon Days.” More “Plastic Beach” starts really rolling. Snoop impressive, rather than trying to cash in by Dogg’s verses on “Welcome to the World releasing “Clint Eastwood 2,” Gorillaz was of the Plastic Beach” by and large miss the expanding its sound beyond the self-titled mark, and the musical accompaniment is album’s confines. This evolution continues not as imaginative or adventurous as we on its third release, “Plastic Beach.” have come to expect from the group. Once Gorillaz albums have always sounded the album hits “Rhinestone Eyes,” though,

March 25 - 31,. 2010

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it becomes clear that we have walked into the next step of Gorillaz’ progression. It is a love song that displays all the twisted, moribund beauty—lyrically and musically—we have come to expect from the group. From here, the album amps up the intensity as the band delves right into its lead single, “Stylo,” before turning the show over to De La Soul on one of the album’s true emotional highpoints: “Superfast Jellyfish.” De La Soul shows once again on this album why they are the perfect hip-hop counterpart (short of maybe Kool Keith) for Gorillaz. Long aficionados of over-the-top cartoony rhymes and stories, they blend right into Gorillaz’ similarly warped sense of reality. Lou Reed (“Some Kind of Nature”) and Mick Jones and Paul Simonon from The Clash (“Plastic Beach”) each also throw themselves headfirst into this world, and their respective songs also stand out as the best work they have done in years. The one thing this otherwise excellent

The Gorillaz’ new album “Plastic Beach” combines a diverse mix of artists and musical genres.

album lacks is a standout single. It misses the type of song that can lure new listeners into this post-apocalyptic wasteland, the way “Dare” and “Feel Good Inc.” did on “Demon Days.” “Stylo,” the lead single, is a good song, but it is far too abstract to get anywhere near the airplay of the group’s preceding singles. At this point, however, Gorillaz doesn’t care about recruiting new fans. Its wasteland is pretty crowded.

JFP Editor-in-Chief DONNA LADD

BANDS/DJS FOR HIRE Disc Jockey (DJ) Service Professional DJ - 20 Years Experience - Holiday Parties/Weddings/Birthdays/Private Parties, Lights/Fog/Etc available, Photography Services Available, Live Band Availble (601) 850-4380

GEAR Bach stradivarius trombone Bach Stradivarius professional trombone w/ F -rotary valve, Excellent condition. Dynamic tonal quality. $1,600.00 - Call:- 769 232 2415 Bass gear Quality professional gear. Swr Silverado combo. 350 watts RMS. $400. New aoustic 200 watt bass head $200. Two Swr 1 15’ and horn cabinets $250 ea. Loud and Clean Sold seperately or together. (601) 214-4412 Professional Sound Engineers Need sound equipment or just a couple of engineers at your next event call Daniel 601.488.0436 any venue large or small anywhere in the south. Complete PA Huge carvin pa for sale, all accessories, cables, processors, mics, stands, lights, amps, etc. Over $20,000 in gear to sell for best offers. Equipment is in as new condition. (225) 341-9391 Guitar Gear - Must Sell!! Vox AD120VTH Valvetronix Stereo Head $400, 1x12 and 2x12 cabinets- $80-$125. (601) 540-1739 Need extra sound? Need sound or just an engineer at your next event call Daniel 601.488.0436 or Mike 601.291.9713. 1 - 1604vlz 1 - pmp-5000 - powered mixer 10 - b1520 pro - speaker cabinets 6 - b1800x pro - sub cabinets 4 - f1520 pro - monitor cabinets 5 - ep1500 - power amps 2 - ep2500 - power amps 1 - 266xl - compressor limiter 2 - s - 3-way crossover 2 - ew165g2 e865 - wireless mics 6 - pr99 - mics. Lighting also available: 6 - Scanners 12 - Par Cans 1- Lazer

MISCELLANEOUS Grand Piano Needed Children’s Charity Organization needs small grand piano for its teaching space. Tax deductable! Call Royce, 601-594-2902 (601) 594-2902 Need A Few Good Musicians Interested in helping to set up music non-profit organization (centered around the blues) for disadvantaged youths in the jackson metropolitan area? If so, i am looking to talk to you. Need musicians who can teach everything from banjo, guitar, dobro, mandolin, fiddle, accordion, harmonica, piano, etc., Etc. Come be a part of this great project! (601) 924-0210.

MUSICIANS AVAILABLE Rock Singer Available Male Rock/Metal Singer looking for experienced cover band. Many years experience. Contact myspace or facebook: Crystal Quazar. Phone: 601-572-6253

Please join Jackson Free Press Editor-in-Chief Donna Ladd at the Medgar Evers/Ella Baker Lecture Series where she will discuss Women and the Movement for Social Justice. Other Panelists Include: • Dr. Beverly Wade Hogan, President of Tougaloo College • Dr. Susan Glisson, Executive Director of William Winter Institute • Dr. Tiyi Morris, Ohio State University • Dr. Michelle Deardorff, Professor of Political Science at Jackson State University • Angela Stewart, Curator, Margaret Walker Alexander Research Center • Nsombi Lambright, Executive Director of the ACLU

March 24 at 6:30pm Jackson State University Dollye M.E. Robinson Liberal Arts Building E-mail hamer.institute@jsums.edu or call 601-979-1562 for more information

MUSICIANS WANTED A New Sound Need original band. Old Deftones/old Clutch/ She Wants Revenge. www.myspace.com/anzalduasongs Radio-play. Album on iTunes. anzaldua@mail.com (512) 787-7840 Deathcore guitarists Metal band looking for 2 exp’d guitarists. Influences include WhiteChapel, Carnifex, Opeth, etc. Call David for more info (601) 201-3815 Metal Singer & Bassist Wanted AnnX is looking for a Experienced Energetic METAL Vocalist and a Bass Player to play shows and write new material. (601) 383-4851 Become our Next Instructor Major Scales Studio is accepting applications for a classical or rock or jazz guitar teacher. Must have professional appearance. Please email your resume to Majorscales@aol.com. Cellist Needed For Album/tour Cellist needed for my album and possibly to tour shortly after. I am signed with South City Records. I need to start recording ASAP! Must be reliable and dedicated. Please contact me at scorpiano31@gmail.com Drummer/Bassist needed - Metal We are in need of a drummer and a bassist. Experience in metal (death, black, etc.) is preffered, but not completely necessary. Call Buddy at (601)5025647. Thanks for reading. -Buddy

Looking for band mates? Wanting to sell your gear? Advertise here for free! Visit JFP Classifieds.com. If you are interested in sponsoring the Musicians Exchange call JFP Sales at 601-362-6121 ext. 11.

jacksonfreepress.com

BANDS WANTED vocalist looking for band im a rock vocalist looking for a band in need of a lead singer please call at any time my name is shane (601) 940-0510

Drummer Available Mature/seasoned drummer available. Have played everything from country to Christian Contemporary. Would like to join existing band or form new one with seasoned musicians ONLY...no beginners please! Would like to play classic rock, blues and/ or contemporary. Call if interested. (601) 613-5835 Looking to Start Band I am a bass player new in town and am looking to start a band in the Jackson area. I need a guitarist, drummer and lead vocals. No specific genre is preferred, but the band will be based on rock and metal (no death or black metal). I’ve played in several bands and played out hundreds of times and am able to get gigs. If interested or for more info please call Chris @ 386-365-2944 Female Vocalist Seeking Band I am a 16-year-old female vocalist seeking a synthpop or rock band. Ages of band members preferrably 25 years or younger due to parental objections. Contact by email at freezepopforever10 29@hotmail.com. Old Drummer Available! Drummer available: most recently, i have played with the veterans of foreign bars band. Interested in playing blues, funk, soul, maybe country. I am an older guy and settled in for the duration. I would be interested in a steady band, fill-in, and, possibly, a new start-up. Let me hear: mcdrum89@yahoo.Com or call 601-832-0831 Musician Available 25 Years experience playing Drums, Guitar & Bass. Recently relocated to Jackson from Memphis, TN. All genres of music. Contact Tim at 601-665-5976. Or email: reeves@cgdsl.net Serious inquires only. Drummer Looking For Band I’m an experienced drummer looking to form/join a band. I have mostly played metal, but I am open to rock/hard rock/metal, etc. Call Dave at (769) 226-0845.

33

livemusic 8

around S A Lthe O Ocorner N

Country and Rock Music OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK - 4 P.M. ‘TIL

HAPPY HOUR 5-7, MON -THURS

LIVE MUSIC CALENDAR ALL SHOWS 10PM UNLESS NOTED WEDNESDAY

WEDNESDAY - MARCH 24

Karaoke w/ Mike Mott THURSDAY - MARCH 25

JACKTOWN LADIES NIGHT (FREE DRAFT CUP 9-11)

3/24

LADIES NIGHT LADIES DRINK ALL YOU CAN

FRIDAY - MARCH 26

GHOST TOWN SATURDAY - MARCH 27

MUSTANG SALLY

8PM-12AM FOR $5 - NO COVER THURSDAY

3/25

80’S NIGHT DIFFERENT THEME EACH WEEK FRIDAY

3/26

COL. BRUCE HAMPTON & THE QUARK ALLIANCE

SUN. & MON. - MARCH 28 & 29

2 for 1 Domestics TUESDAY - MARCH 30

Pool League Night 2636 S. Gallatin Jackson, MS 39204

601-961-4747

www.myspace.com/popsaroundthecorner

MARCH 25, THURSDAY Hal & Mal’s Red Room - Digital Leather, Los Buddies, Bare Wires (garage) 9 p.m. myspace.com/digitalleather Lumpkins BBQ - Jesse Robinson (blues lunch) 11:30-1:30 p.m. free Underground 119 - Howard Jones Jazz Trio 5:30-7 p.m. free; Barry Leach (jazz) 8-11 p.m. free Fenian’s - Legacy (Irish Dance) 8-11 p.m. F. Jones Corner - Jason Bailey (blues lunch) free; Blues at Sunset Challenge Band 8-12 a.m. free 930 Blues Cafe - Jackie Bell, Norman Clark & Smoke Stack Lightning 8 p.m. $5 The Auditorium - Welch/McCann 7:30-9 p.m.; Eddie Cotton (blues) 9:18 p.m. $20 Kathryn’s - Larry Brewer (classic rock) 6:30-9:30 p.m. Soulshine, Township - Fingers Taylor & friends 7-10 p.m. free Footloose - Karaoke 8-12 a.m. Que Sera - Shaun Patterson 6-9 p.m. Time Out - Shaun Patterson 10-1 a.m. Regency Hotel - Karaoke 7 p.m. free Shucker’s - Rhythm Masters 7:3011:30 p.m. free Cherokee Inn - D’lo Trio (Americana) 6:30 p.m. Poets II - Karaoke 10 p.m. Electric Cowboy - DJ Cadillac (country/dance/rock) 9 p.m. McB’s - Karaoke 7 p.m. free Eli’s Treehouse, V’burg - Karaoke 8 p.m. Two Rivers, Canton - Hunter Gibson & Rick Moreira 7-10 p.m. Lyric, Oxford - Pretty Lights

MARCH 26, FRIDAY

SATURDAY

3/27

PETE ROSS

W/ THE BAILEY BROS. SUNDAY

3/28

ROCK 93.9 presents the 2010 Taco Bell Battle of the Bands! OPEN AUDITIONS Friday, April 2 at 7pm

KARAOKE TOPTEN MONDAY

3/29

OPEN MIC JAM TUESDAY

3/30

MATT’S LATE NIGHT KARAOKE $2 MARGARITAS $1 HIGHLIFE & PBR WEDNESDAY

3/31

March 25 - 31, 2010

LADIES NIGHT

34

LADIES DRINK ALL YOU CAN 8PM-12AM FOR $5 - NO COVER 214 S. STATE ST. • 601.354.9712 DOWNTOWN JACKSON WWW.MARTINSLOUNGE.NET

SONGS THIS WEEK 1 CHEVELLE – Letter From A Thief 2 JANUS - Eyesore 3 BREAKING BENJAMIN – Give Me A Sign (Forever and Ever) 4 ALICE IN CHAINS – Your Decision 5 FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH – Walk Away 6 GODSMACK – Cryin Like A Bitch 7 DROWNING POOL – Feel Like I Do 8 SICK PUPPIES – Odd One 9 THEORY OF A DEADMAN – Little Smirk 10 THOUSAND FOOT KRUTCH – Fire It Up

Martin’s - Tooz Co. 6-9:30 p.m.; Col. Bruce Hampton & The Quark Alliance 10 p.m. www.colbruce.com The Auditorium - Robby Peoples 7: 30-9 p.m.; Eddie Cotton (blues) 9:18 p.m. $20 Underground 119 - Eden Brent (R&B) 9-12 a.m. $10 Hal & Mal’s Patio - Special Passenger Records Showcase: Dee Bird, Lizzie Wright Super Space Ship, Dubb Nubb, The Bachelorettes 9 p.m. $5 Fenian’s - The Bailey Bros. (rockin’ blues) 9-12 a.m. Soulshine, Township - Hal & Connie (Americana) 8-10:30 p.m. Soulshine, Old Fannin - Jamie Mitchell 6:45 p.m. free Ole Tavern - Poacher+ 10 p.m. F. Jones Corner - Jesse “Guitar” Smith (blues/solo) noon; Jesse Robinson’s 500lb. Blues Band 11:30-4 a.m. $5 Sam’s Lounge - Soul Skard 10 p.m. Shucker’s - Rainmakers (classic rock) 8-1 a.m. $5 930 Blues Cafe - Blues/Jazz 5:30-8 p.m.; Jackie Bell,+ 9 p.m. $10 Schimmel’s - Grady Champion (blues) 9 p.m. Touch Nightclub - DJ Trashy 9-3 a.m.

3/24 3/24 3/26 3/27 4/02 4/02

Electric Cowboy - DJ Terry (country/dance/rock) 9 p.m. Footloose - Karaoke 9-1 a.m. free Regency Hotel - Topper 9 p.m. $5 McB’s - Jam Haus Sportsman’s Lodge - Brad Baird 9:30-1:30 a.m. free Dick & Jane’s - Show Night/DJ Allen 9 p.m. $6; 18+ $10 Kathryn’s - Fulkerson/Pace 7-10 p.m. free Cultural Expressions - Reggae/HipHop/Old School Night 10 p.m. $5 Reed Pierce’s - Snazz 9 p.m. free RJ Barrel, Canton - Emma Wynters 7-10 p.m. emmawynters.com Beechwood, V’burg - Gravity 10 p.m. myspace.com/musicgravity Silverstar, Choctaw - Creedence Clearwater Revisted (classic rock) 8 p.m. 866-44PEARL

MARCH 27, SATURDAY MSU Riley Center, Meridian - Cassandra Wilson 7:30 p.m., $38$44, 601-696-2200 Thalia Mara Hall - Miss. Symphony Orchestra: Bravo V: Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony w/Miss. Chorus 7:30 p.m., $20+, 601-9601565, www.msorchestra.com Martin’s - Pete Ross (Aussie alt. country singer/songwriter), The Bailey Bros. 10 p.m. myspace.com/peterosslive ; www.myspace.com/thebaileybros Ole Tavern - St. Adonis 10 p.m. Fenian’s - Brad Biard & Eric Neely (alternative) 9-12 a.m. Underground 119 - The Fearless Four 9-12 a.m. $10 McB’s - Crawfish Blowout: Sofa Kings (blues groove) 1-4 p.m.; Elmo & the Shades, Carlton South Carolina Show Band sofakingsjxn.com Crawdad Hole - Emma Wynters, Mark Whittington & Fingers Taylor 7-9:30 p.m. emmawynters.com F. Jones Corner - The Houserockers (blues) 11:30-4 a.m. $5 930 Blues Cafe - Blues/Jazz 5:30-8 p.m.; Jackie Bell, Grady Champion 9 p.m. $10 The Auditorium - Robby Peoples 7: 30-9 p.m.; Eddie Cotton (blues) 9:18 p.m. $20 Cultural Expressions - Kamikaze & Yardboy (hip-hop/Soul) 9 p.m. $5 Shucker’s - The Xtremes 3-7 p.m. free; Rainmakers (classic rock) 8-1 a.m. $5 Regency Hotel - Topper 9 p.m. $5 Electric Cowboy - DJ Terry (country/dance/rock) 9 p.m. Dick & Jane’s - House Party/DJ Allen 9 p.m. $6; 18+ $10 Club Clarion - DJ Koinonia Coffee - Gospoetry 8-12 p.m. $5 Footloose - Pieces Of Time (classic rock) 9 p.m. $5 Petra Cafe, Clinton - Karaoke 8 p.m. Reed Pierce’s - Back 40 - 9 p.m. free V’burg Auditorium - Jamey Johnson (country) $32-$36, 800-745-3000 Biscuit Co., V’burg - George McConnell

Vivian Girls, Wetdog - Two Stick, Oxford Japandroids / A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Proud Larry’s, Oxford Wilco - Fox Theatre, Atlanta Cassandra Wilson - MSU Riley Center, Meridian King Khan & the Shrines - Hi-Tone, Memphis Ted Leo - One Eyed Jack’s, New Orleans

Pop’s - Mustang Sally Beechwood, V’burg - Gravity 10 p.m. myspace.com/musicgravity Downtown H’burg - Hubfest

MARCH 28, SUNDAY King Edward Hotel - Howard Jones Trio (jazz brunch) 11-2 p.m. Warehouse - Mike & Marty Open Jam Session 6-10 p.m. free Fitzgerald’s - Andy Hardwick (brunch) 11-2 p.m. Sophia’s, Fairview Inn - Knight Bruce 11 a.m. (brunch) Shucker’s - Jedi Clampett 3-7 p.m. free McB’s - Crawfish Blowout: Dr. Zarr’s Amazing Funk Monster,+ Colonial Country Club (2nd floor) - New Bourbon Street Jazz Band 3-6 p.m. $10 The Hill - Open Blues Jam 6-11 p.m. Footloose - Karaoke 7-11 p.m. free Cultural Expressions - Open Mic Poetry 8 p.m. $5 Saenger Theater, H’burg - City of H’burg Concert Band w/3 Trumpeters 3-4:30 p.m. free

MARCH 29, MONDAY Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - Central Miss. Blues Society Jam 8-11 p.m. $5 F. Jones Corner - Stevie J (blues lunch) free Fitzgerald’s - Hunter Gibson & Rick Moreira 8-12 a.m. free Martin’s - Open Mic 10 p.m. free Fenian’s - Karaoke 8-1 a.m. Dreamz - Marley Mondays/DJ (world) 6 p.m.

MARCH 30, TUESDAY F. Jones Corner - Amazing Lazy Boi (blues lunch) free Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - Pub Quiz 8 p.m. Fenian’s - Open Mic 9 p.m. Martin’s - Karaoke Bonnie Blairs Irish Pub - Shaun Patterson 7-10 p.m. Shucker’s - The Extremez 7:30-11: 30 p.m. free Time Out - Open Mic 8 p.m. McB’s - Karaoke 7 p.m. free Final Destination - Open Mic

MARCH 31, WEDNESDAY F. Jones Corner - Sherman Lee Dillon (blues lunch) free Fenian’s - Joe Carroll (blues) 8-11 p.m. Underground 119 - Bill & Temperance (bluegrass) 8-11 p.m. free Shucker’s - DoubleShotz 7:30-11: 30 p.m. free Fitzgerald’s - Rainmakers (classic rock) 8-12 a.m. Kathryn’s - Hunter Gibson 6:30-9:30 p.m. The Auditorium - Karaoke 9-12 a.m. Regency Hotel - Snazz 8:30 p.m. myspace.com/snazzband2 Footloose - Karaoke 8-12 a.m. free Electric Cowboy - Karaoke Time Out - Chad Wesley 8:30 p.m.

venuelist Wednesday, March 24th Fusion Coffeehouse Highland Colony Parkway, Ridgeland, 601-856-6001 Garfield’s Restaurant & Pub 6340 Ridgewood Court, Jackson, 601-977-9920 Gold Strike Casino 1010 Casino Center Drive, Robinsonville, 888-245-7529 Grand Casino Biloxi 280 Beach Boulevard, Biloxi, 228-436-2946 Grand Casino Tunica 13615 Old Highway 61 North, Robinsonville, 800-39-GRAND The Green Room 444 Bounds St., Jackson, 601-713-3444 Ground Zero Blues Club 0 Blues Alley, Clarksdale, 662-621-9009 Grownfolks’s Lounge 4030 Medgar Evers Blvd, Jackson, 601-362-6008 Hal & Mal’s 200 S. Commerce St., Jackson, 601-948-0888 (pop/rock/blues) Hamp’s Place 3028 W. Northside Dr., Jackson, 601-981-4110 (dance/dj) Hard Rock Biloxi 777 Beach Blvd., Biloxi, 228-374-ROCK Hat & Cane 1115 E. McDowell Rd., Jackson, 601-352-0411 Hauté Pig 1856 Main St., Madison, 601853-8538 Here We Go Again 3002 Terry Road, Jackson, 601-373-1520 The Hill Restaurant 2555 Valley St., Jackson, 601-373-7768 Horizon Casino Mulberry Lounge 1310 Mulberry St., Vicksburg, 800-843-2343 Horseshoe Bar 5049 Hwy 80 West, Jackson, 601-922-6191 Horseshoe Casino Tunica, 800-303-7463 The Hunt Club 1525 Ellis Ave., Jackson, 601-944-1150 Huntington Grille 1001 E. County Line Rd., Jackson, 601-957-1515 The Ice House 515 S. Railroad Blvd., McComb, 601-684-0285 (pop/rock) JC’s 425 North Mart Plaza, Jackson, 601-362-3108 James Meredith Lounge 217 Griffith St. 601-969-3222 Julep Restaurant and Bar 105 Highland Village, Jackson, 601-362-1411 Kathryn’s Steaks and Seafood 6800 Old Canton Road, Ridgeland. 601-956-2803 Koinonia Coffee House 136 S. Adam St., Suite C, Jackson, 601-960-3008 LaRae’s 210 Parcel Dr., Jackson, 601-944-0660 Last Call Sports Grill 1428 Old Square Road, Jackson, 601-713-2700 The Library Bar & Grill 120 S. 11th St., Oxford, 662-234-1411 The Loft 1306 A. Washington St., Vicksburg, 601-629-6188 The Lyric Oxford 1006 Van Buren Ave., Oxford. 662-234-5333 Main Event Sports Bar & Grill 4659 Hwy 80 West, Jackson, 601-922-9987 Manda’s Pub 614 Clay Street, Vicksburg, 601-638-6607 Martin’s Lounge 214 S. State St., Jackson, 601-354-9712 (rock/jam/blues) McB’s Restaurant 815 Lake Harbor Dr., Ridgeland, 601-956-8362 (pop/rock) Mellow Mushroom 275 Dogwood Blvd., Flowood, 601-992-7499 Mississippi Academy of Ancient Music 103 Magnolia, Edwards, 601-977-7736 Mississippi Coliseum 1207 Mississippi St., Jackson, 601-353-0603 Mississippi Opera P.O. Box 1551, Jackson, 877-MSOPERA, 601-960-2300 Mississippi Opry 2420 Old Brandon Rd., Brandon, 601-331-6672 Mississippi Symphony Orchestra 201 East Pascagoula St., Jackson, 800-898-5050 Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium 2531 N. State St., Jackson, 601-354-6021 Monte’s Steak and Seafood 1855 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-362-8182 Mugshots 1855 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-713-0383 North Jackson Pockets 109 Culley Dr., Jackson, 601- 362-4939 Okasions 1766 Ellis Avenue, Jackson, 601-373-4037 Old Venice Pizza Co. 1428 Old Square Rd., Jackson, 601-366-6872 Ole Tavern on George Street 416 George St., Jackson, 601-960-2700 Olga’s 4760 I-55 North, Jackson, 601-366-1366 (piano)

One to One Studio 121 Millsaps Ave., in the Millsaps Arts District, Jackson One Blue Wall 2906 N State St., Jackson, 601-713-1224 Peaches Restaurant 327 N. Farish St., Jackson, 601-354-9267 Pelican Cove 3999A Harborwalk Dr., Ridgeland, 601-605-1865 Pig Ear Saloon 160 Weisenberger Rd., Gluckstadt, 601-898-8090 Pig Willies 1416 Washington St., Vicksburg, 601-634-6872 Pool Hall 3716 I-55 North Frontage Rd., Jackson, 601-713-2708 Pop’s Saloon 2636 Gallatin St., Jackson, 601-961-4747 (country) Proud Larry’s 211 S. Lamar Blvd., Oxford, 662-236-0050 The Pub Hwy. 51, Ridgeland, 601-898-2225 The Quarter Bistro & Piano Bar 1855 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-362-4900 Que Sera Sera 2801 N. State St., Jackson, 601-981-2520 Red Room 200 S. Commerce St., Jackson (Hal & Mal’s), 601-948-0888 (rock/alt.) Reed Pierce’s 6791 Siwell Rd., Byram, 601-376-0777, 601-376-4677 Regency Hotel Restaurant & Bar 420 Greymont Ave., Jackson, 601-969-2141 Rick’s Cafe 318 Hwy 82 East, #B, Starkville, 662-324-7425 RJ Barrel 111 N. Union 601-667-3518 Sal and Mookie’s 565 Taylor St. 601368-1919 Sam’s Lounge 5035 I-55 N. Frontage Rd., Jackson, 601-983-2526 Sam’s Town Casino 1477 Casino Strip Blvd., Robinsonville, 800-456-0711 Schimmel’s Fine Dining 2615 N. State St., Jackson, 601-981-7077 Scrooge’s 5829 Ridgewood Rd., Jackson, 601-206-1211 Shuckers on the Reservoir 116 Conestoga Rd., Ridgeland, 601-853-0105 Silver Star Casino Hwy. 16 West, Choctaw, 800-557-0711 Soop’s The Ultimate 1205 Country Club Dr., Jackson, 601-922-1402 (blues) Soulshine Pizza 1139 Old Fannin Rd., Brandon, 601-919-2000 Soulshine Pizza 1111 Highland Colony Parkway, Ridgeland, 601-856-8646 Sportsman’s Lodge 1220 E. Northside Dr. at I-55, Jackson, 601-366-5441 Steam Room Grille 5402 Interstate-55 Frontage Road. 601-899-8588 Stone Pony Oyster Bar 116 Commercial Parkway, Canton, 601-859-0801 Super Chikan’s Place 235 Yazoo Ave., Clarksdale, 662-627-7008 Thalia Mara Hall 255 E. Pascagoula St., Jackson, 601-960-1535 Thirsty Hippo 211 Main St., Hattiesburg, 601-583-9188 (indie/ alt.rock/jam/world) Time Out Sports Bar 6270 Old Canton Rd., 601-978-1839 Touch Night Club 105 E. Capitol St., Jackson, 601-969-1110 Two Rivers Restaurant 1537 W. Peace St., Canton, 601-859-9979 (blues) Two Sisters Kitchen 707 N. Congress St. 601-353-1180 Two Stick 1107 Jackson Ave., Oxford, 662-236-6639 Tye’s 120 N. Congress St., Jackson, 601949-3434 Under the Boardwalk 2560 Terry Rd., Jackson, 601-371-7332 (country/ classic rock) Underground 119 119 S. President St. 601352-2322 VB’s Premier Sports Bar 1060 County Line Rd., Ridgland, 601-572-3989 VFW Post 9832 4610 Sunray Drive, Jackson, 601-982-9925 Vicksburg Convention Center 1600 Mulberry Street, Vicksburg, 866-822-6338 Walker’s Drive-In 3016 N. State St., Jackson, 601-982-2633 (jazz/pop/folk) The Warehouse 9347 Hwy 18 West, Jackson, 601-502-8580 (pop/rock) Wired Expresso Cafe 115 N. State St. 601-500-7800

Ladies’ Night w/ Snazz 8:30 pm - Guys’ Cover $5

BUY 1 GET 1 WELLS Thursday, March 25th

Bike Night w/ Krazy Karaoke

Weekly Lunch Specials

7:00 pm - No Cover

$2 MARGARITAS! Fri. & Sat., March 26th & 27th

Parking now on side of building

Open for dinner Sat. 4-10pm thursday MARCH 25

TOPPER 8:30 pm - $5 cover Exquisite Dining at

The Rio Grande Restaurant

LADIES NIGHT with MR. NICK! LADIES DRINK FREE WELLS & PONIES 9PM-2AM

friday MARCH 26

POACHER 400 Greymont Ave., Jackson 601-969-2141 www.regencyjackson.com

DIRECT T.V. MEGA MARCH MADNE SS PKG. NIT TOURNEY & NCAA TOURNEY

with

The Bad Assets saturday MARCH 27

lunch specials $7.95 - includes tea & dessert

Smoke-free lunch

weekdays 11am-3pm

WED. LADIES NIGHT & KARAOKE

$10 Buckets of Beer during Tournaments

THURS. $1.50 BEER (BUD, BUD LIGHT, BUD SELECT & ULTRA)

Sun Hotel with TBA

tuesday MARCH 30

FRI.

HE’S BACK!!

BRAD BAIRD 9:30PM - 1:30AM NO COVER CHARGE

COLLEGE NIGHT BRING STUDENT ID

SAT.

NCAA

BASKETBALL

MON. S.I.N. NIGHT TUES. JACKPOT TRIVIA

OPEN MIC with Cody Cox

*DOLLAR BEER* wednesday MARCH 31

Kick Ass Karaoke WITH KJ JOOSY

$2 DOMESTICS

ON SUNDAY, BLOODY MARYS $4 & MIMOSAS $3 THURSDAY 2-FOR-1 MONDAYS, $1.50 PINTS ON

FREE WiFi Open Mon-Sat, Kitchen open Mon-Fri 11 am-10 pm & Sat 4-10 pm

jacksonfreepress.com

61 South - Rainbow Casino 1380 Warrenton Rd., Vicksburg, 800-503-3777 88 Keys 3645 Hwy. 80 W in Metrocenter, Jackson, 601-352-7342 930 Blues Cafe 930 N. Congress St., Jackson, 601-948-3344 Alamo Theatre 333 N. Farish St, Jackson, 601-352-3365 Alley Cats 165 W. Peace St., Canton, 601-855-2225 Alumni House Sports Grill 574 Hwy. 50, Ridgeland, 601-855-2225 America Legion Post 1 3900 W. Northside Dr., Jackson, 601-605-9903 Ameristar Casino, Bottleneck Blues Bar 4146 Washington St., Vicksburg, 800-700-7770 Beau Rivage Casino 875 Beach Blvd., Biloxi, 800-566-7469 Belhaven College Center for the Arts 835 Riverside Dr, Jackson, 601-968-5930 Bennie’s Boom Boom Room 142 Front St., Hattiesburg, 601-408-6040 Borrello’s 1306 Washington St., Vicksburg, 601-638-0169 Buffalo Wild Wings 808 Lake Harbour Dr., Ridgeland, 601-856-0789 Capri-Pix Theatre 3021 N. State St., Jackson, 601-981-9606 Central City Complex 609 Woodrow Wilson Dr., Jackson, 601-352-9075 Cerami’s 5417 Highway 25, Flowood, 601-919-2829 Char Restaurant 4500 I-55, Highland Village, Jackson, 601-956-9562 Cherokee Inn 1410 Old Square Rd., Jackson, 601-362-6388 Club 43 Hwy 43, Canton, 601-654-3419, 601-859-0512 Club City Lights 200 N. Mill St., Jackson, 601-353-0059 Club O’Hara 364 Monticello St., Hazlehurst, 601-894-5674 Club Total 342 N. Gallatin St., Jackson, 601-714-5992 The Commons Gallery 719 N. Congress St., 601-352-3399 Couples Entertainment Center 4511 Byrd Drive, Jackson, 601-923-9977 Crawdad Hole 1150 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-982-9299 Crickett’s Lounge 4370 Hwy 80 West, Jackson, 601-922-0500 Crossroads Bar & Lounge 3040 Livingston Rd., Jackson, 601-984-3755 (blues) Cultural Expressions 147 Millsaps Ave., Jackson, 601-665-0815 (neosoul/hip-hop) Cups in Fondren 2757 Old Canton Road, Jackson, 601-362-7422 (acoustic/pop) Cups in the Quarter 1855 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-981-9088 Davidson’s Corner Market 108 W. Center St., Canton, 601-855-2268 (pop/rock) Debo’s 180 Raymond Road, Jackson, 601-346-8283 Diamond Jack’s Casino 3990 Washington Street, Vicksburg, 1-877-711-0677 Dick & Jane’s 206 Capitol St., Jackson, 601-944-0123 (dance/alternative) Dixie Diamond 1306 Washington Street, Vicksburg, 601-638-6297 Dollar Bills Dance Saloon 103 A Street, Meridian, 601-693-5300 Edison Walthall Hotel 225 E. Capitol St., Jackson, 601-948-6161 Electric Cowboy 6107 Ridgewood Rd., Jackson, 601-899-5333 (country/ rock/dance) Executive Place 2440 Bailey Ave., Jackson, 601-987-4014 F. Jones Corner 303 N. Farish St. 601983-1148 Fenian’s 901 E. Fortification Street, Jackson, 601-948-0055 (rock/Irish/folk) Fire 209 Commerce St., Jackson, 601592-1000 (rock/dance/dj) Final Destination 5428 Robinson Rd. Ext., Jackson, (pop/rock/blues) Fitzgerald’s Martini Bar 1001 E. County Line Road, Jackson, 601-957-2800 Flood’s Bar and Grill 2460 Bailey Ave., Jackson, 601-713-4094 Footloose Bar and Grill 4661 Hwy 80 West, Jackson, 601-922-9944 Freelon’s Bar And Groove 440 N. Mill St., Jackson, 601-353-5357 (hip-hop)

35

dining

We Do It All!

by Lisa LaFontaine Bynum

LISA LAFONTAINE BYNUM

Dining on Dumplings

For catering, 601-978-7878 5050 I-55 N Jackson, MS www.foodiesjackson.com

NEW ORLEANS JAZZ BRUNCH Every Sunday 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Weekly Events & Specials * Happy Hour * Monday-Friday 3-7pm * Biker Monday * * Wasted Wednesday *

March 25 - 31, 2010

* Karaoke Thursday *

36

* Live Entertainment * Friday & Saturday

6340 Ridgewood Court

601-977-9920

T

he layman’s term for gyoza (gyohZUH) is potsticker, those little meat-filled dumplings you can order steamed or fried as an appetizer at your favorite Asian restaurant. Gyoza originated in China and found their way to Japan in the late 17th century. You can cook gyoza in several ways: deep-fried, boiled, steamed or pan-fried. Connoisseurs eat the deep-fried dumplings (age-gyoza) as finger foods, while enjoying the soft, boiled gyoza (sui-gyoza) either hot or cold. Steamed gyoza (mushigyoza) are also soft, but diners usually eat them hot. The most common way to cook gyoza is pan-frying (yaki-gyoza). Cooks first fry the dumpling on one flat side, creating a crispy skin. They then add water and seal the pan with a lid, steaming the upper part of the gyoza. Making homemade gyoza is easy. Traditionally, after filling a dumpling wrapper, you pleat the dumpling’s edges, causing the dumpling to resemble a little purse. This is a skill that takes some practice to master (and one that I am still not very good at). Assembling all those tiny dumplings can also be time consuming. Luckily, you can store uncooked gyoza in the refrigerator for up to two days and cook them up quickly for an easy lunch or snack. The recipe below includes the most common gyoza filling: ground pork, minced garlic, cabbage and ginger. You can easily vary the recipe can to include a wide variety of fillings, including ground beef, shrimp or diced vegetables.

Taste of Mississippi Benefits Stewpot by Eileen Eady

T

he Southeast Tourism Society says it’s a Top 20 Event, but for Jacksonians, the 22nd Annual “Taste of Mississippi: Homegrown Hunger Relief” means fellowship and good food from Mississippi chefs, all to benefit Stewpot Community Services. Scheduled for Monday, March 29, at 7 p.m. in Highland Village, more than 40 restaurants and beverage vendors have committed to the event, including the new King Edward Grill and perennial favorites like BRAVO!, Que Sera, Sera and Amerigo. YOHAN PAMUDJI

Hot Lunches and Dinners, Catering, Meals-To-Go, Rent-A-Chef, Gourmet Foods

GYOZA Makes 40 dumplings 4 cups minced Napa cabbage, loosely packed, 1/2 teaspoon salt 9 ounces ground pork 1/2 tablespoon freshly grated ginger 2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely minced 1 tablespoon green onion (green part only), minced 2 teaspoons miso paste 1 teaspoon sesame oil 1 teaspoon crushed red chili pepper 1/4 teaspoon sugar 40 wonton wrappers

Place cabbage in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the salt and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Squeeze cabbage firmly and drain excess water. This will prevent your dumplings from becoming mushy. Transfer the cabbage to a large mixing bowl. Add the pork, ginger, garlic, green onion, miso, sesame oil, crushed red pepper and sugar. Mix everything together with your hands until all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Lay a wonton wrapper on a dry work surface, and place a heaping teaspoon of the meat mixture in the center of the wrapper. Using a fingertip moistened with water, trace a line along half of the edge of the round wrapper. Fold the wrapper over to enclose the filling and pinch the wrapper in the center to seal the edges together at that spot. To pleat, hold the filled half-circle in your left hand, and pleat the top of the wrapper from the middle out, pressing it to the flat edge of the wrapper at the back. Alternately, wet the edge of half of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper over to enclose

This year’s entertainment will feature Pryor and the Tombstones in the atrium and Ralph Miller in the north courtyard. In addition to the music and food, the benefit includes a live and silent auction featuring local art and merchandise. Proceeds from the event help provide needy central Mississippians with housing, shelter, food and medical care through Stewpot’s 17 programs. Event co-chairman Stan Magee says that Taste of Mississippi is the largest annual fundraiser for the non-profit organization, meeting about 7 percent of the annual budget. Last year, Stewpot raised $114,000 for its ministries, which include a food pantry, after-school programs and summer camp for children, a legal clinic,

For cooking the dumplings: 1 tablespoon sesame oil 1/2 cup water, divided Dipping Sauce: 6 tablespoons soy sauce 3 tablespoons rice vinegar Several drops of chili oil or sesame oil (optional)

the filling and press firmly along the edges to seal, forming a half moon. Bring the two corners of the wrapper together and pinch so that the dumpling will stand upright. In a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat one teaspoon of sesame oil over medium-high heat. Place as many dumplings as you can into the pan without the dumplings touching each other. Cook the dumplings for three minutes or until nicely browned on the bottom. Once the bottoms are browned, carefully pour in 1/4 cup of water. When the splattering stops, drizzle in 1/2 teaspoon of the sesame oil around the edge of the skillet. Place the lid on the skillet and lower the heat. Simmer for two minutes or until the wrappers appear slightly translucent and the meat feels firm. Remove lid and continue to cook until all the water has evaporated and dumplings do not stick to the pan. If they stick to the skillet, remove the skillet from the heat and replace the lid for 1 minute. Remove the dumplings from the skillet and serve hot with dipping sauce.

and family counseling. “People come to the Taste of Mississippi and become more aware of Stewpot and more involved,” Magee said. Taste of Mississippi also provides an opportunity for area businesses to support Stewpot and develop mutually beneficial relationships in the community. “Being partners with Stewpot helps them and it helps us,” Magee said. In exchange for working a two-hour shift, Taste of Mississippi volunteers can purchase tickets at half price. To volunteer, e-mail Heather Ivery at hivery@city.jackson.ms.us., or call 601-353-2759. For more information or to buy tickets, go to the Taste of Mississippi Web site at www.tasteofms.org, or call Susan Frazier at 601-353-2759. Tickets are $65 each. You can also pre-purchase silent-auction items and buy T-shirts and aprons on the Web site.

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(Multiple Locations, www.cupsespressocafe.com) Authentic Cajun/Creole cuisine including favorites like our Andouille & shrimp Jambalaya, Crawfish Etoufee, Red Beans & Rice, Seafood Gumbo, Shrimp PoBoy, Oyster PoBoy, Blackened Ribeye and more.

COFFEE HOUSES Cups Espresso Café (Multiple Locations, www.cupsespressocafe.com) Jackson’s local chain of coffeehouses offer high-end Arabica beans, a wide variety of espresso drinks, fresh brewed coffee and a selection of pastries and baked goods. Free wi-fi! Wired Espresso Café (115 N State St 601-500-7800) This downtown coffeehouse across from the Old Capitol focuses on being a true gathering place, featuring great coffee and a selection of breakfast, lunch and pastry items. Free wi-fi.

BAKERY Broad Street (4465 Interstate 55 N. 601-362-2900) Hot breakfast, coffee espresso drinks, fresh breads and pastries, gourmet deli sandwiches, quiches, soups, pizzas, pastas and dessert. A “see and be seen” Jackson institution! Crazy Cat Bakers (Highland Village Suite #173 601-362-7448 & Fondren Corner Bldg) Amazing sandwiches: Meatloaf Panini, Mediterranean Vegetarian, Rotisserie Chicken to gourmet pimento cheese. Outlandish desserts. Now open in Fondren Corner on North State Street.

ITALIAN Cozy Bar Inside, Covered Patio Outside

Basilʼs Belhaven (904 E. Fortification, Jackson, 601-352-2002)

TAKE- OU T AVAIL ABLE

The signature Paninis are complimented by great Italian offerings such as spaghetti and meatball, tomato basil soup, cookies and cupcakes. Dinner menu includes fresh tilapia, shrimp and risotto, seafood pasta, generous salads—and don’t forget the crab cakes. Party menu includes a “panini pie.” BYOB.

971 Madison Ave. in Madison 601.605.2266 | Open 7 Days a Week www.kristosofmadison.com

BRAVO! (4500 Interstate 55 N., Jackson, 601-982-8111) Wood-fired pizzas, vegetarian fare, plus creative pastas, beef, and seafood specials. Wonderful atmosphere and service. Bravo! walks away with tons of Best of Jackson awards every year.

Ceramiʼs (5417 Lakeland Drive, Flowood, 601-919-28298) Southern-style Italian cuisine features their signature Shrimp Cerami (white wine sauce, capers artichokes) along with veal, tilapia, crawfish, chicken and pasta dishes. Now with liquor license!

Fratesiʼs (910 Lake Harbour, Ridgeland, 601-956-2929) “Authentic, homey, unpretentious” that’s how the regulars describe Fratesi’s, a staple in Jackson for years, offering great Italian favorites with loving care. The tiramisu is a must-have!

BARBEQUE Hickory Pit Barbeque (1491 Canton Mart Rd. 601-956-7079) The “Best Butts in Town” features BBQ chicken, beef and pork sandwiches along with burgers and po’boys. Wet or dry pork ribs, chopped pork or beef, and all the sides.

Lumpkins BBQ (182 Raymond Rd. Jackson 866-906-0942) Specializing in smoked barbeque, Lumpkin’s offers all your favorites for on-site family dining or for catered events, including reunions, office events, annivesaries, weddings and more.

2003-2010, Best of Jackson

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Rib Shack B.B.Q. & Seafood (932 J.R. Lynch Street, Jackson, 601-665-4952) Hickory-smoked BBQ beef or pork ribs, BBQ chicken, giant chopped BBQ beef or pork sandwiches. Fried catfish, pan trout, fried shrimp, po boys. Tues-Thurs (11-8pm) Fri-Sat (11-10pm). Alumni House (574 Hwy 51 Ridgeland 601-605-9903, 110 Bass Pro, Pearl, 601-896-0253) Good bar food, big portions and burgers (with “blackened” as an option) known for their sweet buns. Televisions throughout, even small tubes at your table. Po-boys, quesadillas; good stuff! Fenianʼs Pub (901 E. Fortification St. 601-948-0055) Classic Irish pub featuring a menu of traditional food, pub sandwiches and beers including Guinness and Harp on tap. Free live music most nights; Irish/Celtic bands on Thursdays. Cool Alʼs (4654 McWillie, 601-713-3020) A standard in Best of Jackson, Al’s stacked, messy, decadent, creative burgers defy adjectives. Or try pineapple chicken, smoked sausage...or the nationally recognized veggie burger. DINE LOCAL, see pg. 38

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Fitzgeralds at the Hilton (1001 East County Line Road, 601-957-2800) Bar favorites with a Gulf Coast twist like Gumbo Ya Ya, Shrimp Cocktail and Pelahatchie artisan sausage and cheese antipasto. Plus grilled oysters, tournedos of beef, chicken pontabla and of course the fried stuff—oysters, catfish, shrimp, seafood or chicken. Did we mention the bar? Hal and Malʼs (200 S. Commerce St. 601-948-0888) Pub favorites meet Gulf Coast and Cajun specialties like red beans and rice, the Oyster Platter or each day’s blackboard special. Repeat winner of Best of Jackson’s “Best Place for Live Music.” Last Call (3716 I-55 N. Frontage Road 601-713-2700) Burgers, sandwiches and po-boys, plus sports-bar appetizers and specialities. Try chili cheese fries, chicken nachos or the shrimp & pork eggrolls. Pay-per-view sporting events, live bands. Martinʼs Restaurant and Lounge (214 South State Street 601-354-9712) Lunch specials, pub appetizers (jalapeno poppers, cheezsticks, fried pickles) or order from the full menu of po-boys and entrees. Full bar, massive beer selection and live music most nights. Shuckerʼs Oyster Bar (116 Conestoga Road, Ridgeland 601-853-0105) Serious about oysters? Try ‘em on the half shell, deep-fried, charred from the oven or baked in champagne. Plus po-boys, pub favorites, burgers, mufalettas, pizza, seafood and steaks! Sportsmanʼs Lodge (1120 E Northside Dr in Maywood Mart 601-366-5441) Voted Best Sports Bar, Sportman’s doesn’t disappoint with plenty of gut-pleasing sandwiches, and fried seafood baskets. Try the award-winning wings in Buffalo, Thai or Jerk sauces! The Regency (400 Greymont Ave. 601-969-2141) Reasonably priced buffet Monday through Friday featuring all your favorites. Daily happy hour, live bands and regular specials. Time Out Sports Café (6720 Old Canton Road 601-978-1839) 14 TVs, 1 projector and two big-screens. Daily $9 lunch specials, pub-style appetizers, burgers, seafood and catfish po-boys, salads, and hot entrees including fish, steak and pasta. 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 and weekly lunch specials. Plus, happy hour 4-7pm Monday through Friday. Pelican Cove Grill (3999A Harbor Walk Drive 601-605-1865) Great rez view! Shrimp and seafood appetizers, soups, salads, burgers and sandwiches, plus po-boys, catfish baskets, and dinners from the grill including mahi-mahi and reggae ribs. Underground 119 (119 South President St. 601-352-2322) Jumbo lump crabcakes, crab quesadillas, beef tenderloin parfaits, orange-garlic shrimp, even “lollipop” lamb chops. Add a full bar and mix in great music. Opens 4 p.m.-until, Wed-Sat.

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Tokyo Express (5050 I-55N 601-957-1558 and 900 E County Line 601-899-8838) Lunch or dinner hibachi orders (chicken, shrimp, steak, scallops) and cooked sushi rolls (snow crab, philly, crawfish, dynamite, titanic) along with fried rice and appetizer. Ding How Asian Bistro (601-956-1717, 6955 Old Canton Rd, Suite C, Ridgeland) Dishes from Thai; Chinese; Japanese and Korean. All the dishes are prepared with healthy ingredients, offering low oil, low salt, no MSG cooking. Hong Kong-style dim sum on weekends. STIX (109 Marketplace Lane off Lakeland Dr Flowood 601-420-4058) Enjoy the quick-handed, knife-wielding chefs at the flaming teppanyaki grill; artful presentations of sushi; the pungent seasonings and spicy flavors of regional Chinese cuisines. Nagoya (6351 I-55 North #131 @ Target Shopping Ctr. 601-977-8881) Nagoya gets high marks for its delicious-and-affordable sushi offerings, tasty lunch specials and high-flying hibachi room with satisfying flavors for the whole family. Ichiban (153 Ridge Drive, Ste 105F 601-919-0097 & 359 Ridgeway 601-919-8879) Voted “Best Chinese” in 2010, cuisine styles at Ichiban actually range from Chinese to Japanese, including hibachi, sushi made fresh with seafood, and a crowd-pleasing buffet. Julep (1305 East Northside Drive, Highland Village, 601-362-1411) Tons of Best of Jackson awards, delicious Southern fusion dishes like award-winning fried chicken, shrimp and grits, blackened tuna and butter bean hummus. Brunch, lunch, dinner and late night. Primos Cafe (515 Lake Harbour 601-898-3400 and 2323 Lakeland 601-936-3398) A Jackson institution featuring a full breakfast (with grits and biscuits), blue plate specials, catfish, burgers, prime rib, oysters, po-boys and wraps. Save room for something from the bakery. Sunioraʼs Sidewalk Cafe (200 South Lamar Street 601-355-1955) Homecooking, soul food, buffet and pizza for lunch in downtown Jackson. Soup and salad bar every day, plus daily lunch specials. “Mama’s in the kitchen!” Mon-Fri, 11am-2pm. Sugarʼs Place (168 W Griffith St 601-352-2364) Hot breakfast and weekday lunch: catfish, pantrout, fried chicken wings, blue plates, red beans & rice, pork chops, chicken & dumplings, burgers, po-boys...does your grandma cook like this? The Strawberry Café (107 Depot Drive, Madison, 601-856-3822) Full table service, lunch and dinner. Crab and crawfish appetizers, salads, fresh seafood, pastas, “surf and turf” and more. Veggie options. Desserts: cheesecake, Madison Mud and strawberry shortcake.

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Two Sisters Kitchen (707 N. Congress St. 601-353-1180) 2010 Best of Jackson winner for fried chicken offers a sumptious buffet of your choice of veggies, a salad bar, iced tea & one of three homemade desserts. Lunch only. M-F 11-2, Sun. 10:30-2.

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FINE DINING Huntington Grille at the Hilton (1001 East County Line Road 601--957-1515) Chef Luis Bruno offers fresh Gulf seafood, unique game dishes and succulent steaks alongside an expansive wine selection; multiple honors from Best of Jackson, Wine Specator and others. Schimmelʼs (2615 N. State St. 601-981-7077) Creative southern fusion dishes at attractive prices make the atmosphere that mush more enticing. New appetizer menu, “Martini Night Football” and others bar specials for football season! Steam Room Grille (5402 I-55 North 601--899-8588) Great seafood featuring steamed lobster, crab, shrimp and combo patters. Grilled specialities include shrimp, steaks, and kabobs. Fresh fish fried seafood, lunch menu, catering, live music.

THIS IS THE PLACE! B.B.Q., Blues, Beer, Beef & Pork Ribs Saturday & Friday Night Blues Band Coming Soon! Lunch & Dinner Hours: Tuesday - Thursday 11a.m. to 8p.m. Friday & Saturday 11a.m. to 10p.m. 932 Lynch Street in Jackson (Across from the JSU Baseball Field)

MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EASTERN Aladdin Mediterranean Grill (730 Lakeland Drive 601-366-6033) Delicious authentic dishes including lamb dishes, hummus, falafel, kababs, shwarma and much more. Consistent award winner, great for takeout or for long evenings with friends. Jerusalem Café (2741 Old Canton Road 601-321-8797) Yes, it’s a hookah bar in Jackson, which also happens to have a great Meditterean menu, including falafel, lamb shank, feta salad, kabob, spinach pie, grape leaves and baba ghanouj. Kristos (971 Madison Ave @ Hwy 51, Madison, 601-605-2266) Home of the famous Greek meatball! Hummus, falafel, dolmas, pita sandwiches, salads, plus seasoned curly fries (or sweet potato fries) and amazing desserts. Petra Cafe (104 West Leake Street, Clinton 601-925-0016) Mediterranean and Lebanese cuisine in the charm of Olde Towne Clinton. Stuffed grape leaves, spinach pie, shrimp kabobs, greek salads, hummus and more. Lunch and dinner served seven days a week.

PIZZA Mellow Mushroom (275 Dogwood Blvd, Flowood, 601-992-7499) Pizzas of all kinds, munchies, calzones, grilled hoagies, salads and more make up the extensive and “eclectic” menu at Mellow Mushroom. Award-winning beer selection. Dine in or carry out. The Pizza Shack (1220 N State St. 601-352-2001) 2009’s winner of Best Pizza offers the perfect pizza-and-a-beer joint. Creative pizza options abound (“Cajun Joe, anyone?”), along with sandwiches, wings, salads and even BBQ. Sal & Mookieʼs (565 Taylor St. 601-368-1919) Pizzas of all kinds plus pasta, eggplant parmesan and the local favorite: fried ravioli. Voted Best Chef, Best Kid’s Menu and Best Ice Cream in the 2009 Best of Jackson reader poll.

CARRIBBEAN Taste of the Island (436 E. Capitol, Downtown, 601-360-5900) Jerk chicken or ribs, curry chicken or shrimp, oxtails, snapper or goat, plus bok choy, steamed cabbage and Jamaican Greens, Carry out, counter seating or delivery available. 11a-7p.

VEGETARIAN High Noon Café (2807 Old Canton Road in Rainbow Plaza 601-366-1513) Fresh, gourmet, tasty and healthy defines the lunch and brunch options at Jackson’s vegetarian (and vegan-friendly) restaurant. Weekly lunch specials push the envelope on creative and healthy; wonderful desserts!

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LUNCH MENU DAILY

DINNER MENU

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Seafood, Steak, House Specialties

Tuesday Beef Stroganoff and Egg Noodles/One Side Wednesday Pork Chops w/ Red Skin Mashed Potatoes/One Side Thursday Baked Chicken w/Mushroom Rice/One Side Friday Grilled and Fried Catfish w/Two Sides

HAPPY HOUR Tuesday-Friday 4:30pm-6:30pm All Drinks Half Price

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin w/Garlic Cheese Grits 21.95 Chicken Pasta w/Basil Pesto 18.95 Cajun Shrimp and Pepperjack Grits 22.95

EVERYDAY SPECIALS Red Beans & Rice w/ Smoked Sausage 8.95 Angus Burger w/Sweet Potato Fries $8.95 Fried Oyster Po Boy $8.95

DESSERTS Made In-house Daily $7.95

- SCHIMMEL’S EVENTS The Grady Champion Revue featuring one of Mississippi’s Best Harmonica Players and 2010 International Blues Challenge Winner

GRADY CHAMPION Live at Schimmel’s

Friday, March 26 Starts at 9pm

March 25 - 31, 2010

www.gradychampion.com

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Follow Schimmel’s on Twitter, Myspace and Facebook for music updates!

BY MATT JONES

ARIES (March 21-April 19) All but one of our planet’s mountain ranges have been mapped: the Gamburtsev Mountains, which are buried under 2.5 miles of ice in Antarctica. Recent efforts to get a read on this craggy landscape, aided by a network of seismic instruments, have revealed some initial details about it, including its role in forming the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. I recommend that you regard the Gamburtsevs as an iconic metaphor in the coming months, Aries. They’ll be an apt symbol for one of your life’s featured themes: the discovery and exploration of a massive unknown territory that has been hidden from view.

It’s my opinion that everyone has a duty to periodically check in with themselves to make sure they still are who they say they are. Over time, there’s a tendency for all of us to fall into the habit of believing our own hype; we get entranced by the persona we project. We’re tempted to keep capitalizing on our past accomplishments in ways that lull us into complacency and give us unconscious permission to stop growing. You, Taurus, are in no worse danger of doing this than any of the rest of us. But the coming weeks will be an excellent time, astrologically speaking, for you to do an intensive check-in.

Beyoncé. It epitomizes everything that’s crazy-making about our culture: brilliantly executed, gorgeous to behold and perversely seductive, even though its subject matter is degrading, demoralizing and devoid of meaning. In my role as a kick-ass educator, however, I encourage you to watch the video at least once. I think you’d benefit from seeing such an explicit embodiment of the crazy-making pressures you’ll be wise to avoid exposing yourself to in the coming weeks. You can find it at tinyurl.com/ycx6p34 or tinyurl.com/ycvkkdz.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

The odds are higher than usual that you’ll encounter a future soul brother or soul sister in the coming weeks. Potential allies are gravitating toward you, even if neither they nor you are aware of it, yet. You’re also likely to brush up against a tribe or team you could benefit from knowing more about. That’s why I’m counseling you to be extra open to meeting people you don’t know. Talk to strangers. Ask your friends to introduce you to their friends. And consider the possibility of skipping over the customary social formalities so you can reveal some of the core truths about who you are right from the start.

“Most of the time, life does not talk to you,” writes Robert T. Kiyosaki in his book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad.” “It just sort of pushes you around. Each push is life saying: ‘Wake up. There’s something I want you to learn.’” Different people respond in different ways, Kiyosaki says. “Some just let life push them around. Others get angry and push back. But they push back against their boss, or their job, or their husband or wife. They do not know it’s life that’s pushing.” I’m here to tell you, Scorpio, that what he says is particularly apropos for you right now. And I hope that you will neither allow yourself to get pushed around nor blame the wrong source for the push. Instead, make yourself available to learn the lesson that life’s nudging you to pay attention to.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

Sci-fi author Neil Gaiman sometimes invites his readers to get involved in his creative process. While working on the story “Metamorpho,” for example, he Twittered: “Trying to decide if broccoli is funnier than kohlrabi in a list of vegetables.” When a number of fans suggested “rutabaga” instead, he took their suggestion. (Thanks to The New Yorker for that report.) I’d like to borrow Gaiman’s approach as you’re entering a phase of your astrological cycle when you’ll have maximum power to shape your own destiny. So here’s my question: What accomplishment would you like your horoscope to say you will complete by May 15? E-mail me at Truthrooster@gmail.com.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) From the 9th to the 15th century, the Khmer empire thrived in what is now Cambodia. Its rulers were regarded as deities who had privileges that common folk didn’t have—as well as special responsibilities. For example, each god-king was expected, according to custom, to engage in sexual relations with a sacred nine-headed serpent every single night, whether he was in the mood or not. (An actual human being usually served as a proxy for the magic snake.) I suspect you may get an inkling of the god-king’s double-edged situation in the coming week, Leo. On the one hand, you’re likely to be presented with the possibility of experiencing uncommonly interesting pleasure. On the other hand, there may be an obligatory quality to it—a slightly oppressive pressure that is fully blended with the bliss.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) According to the oracular priestess at the ancient Greek shrine of Delphi, whom I consulted in my dream last night, your code phrases for the week are “luminous shadow” and “hidden light.” That was the gist of her entire message; she didn’t provide any more practical clues. But here are some ways I might interpret her prophecy if I were you: What dark place in your life might soon shine forth with a new radiance? Or: What secret beauty is aching to be found? Or: What odd asset have you been concealing for no good reason?

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) In my role as moral sentinel, I strongly urge you not to watch “Telephone,” the music video by Lady Gaga and

NASA scientist Richard Gross believes that the recent 8.8 earthquake in Chile was so strong that it shifted the planet’s axis and shortened the length of the day. The amounts were relatively small—three inches and 1.26 microseconds—but it was enough to make “the Earth ring like a bell.” I predict a somewhat comparable seismic shift for you in the coming weeks. The main difference is that yours will not be generated by a painful jolt but rather by a breakthrough that’s half smart and half lucky.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) In a library in Warsaw, there is a 1,000+-page memoir written by my great-great-great-great grandfather, Leon Dembowski, a close adviser to the last king of Poland. Someday I’ll make a pilgrimage over there, photocopy that family heirloom, bring it back to America” have it translated into English. The task I envision for you in the coming weeks, Capricorn, has a certain resemblance to mine. I think you will have the chance to uncover a wealth of material about where you came from, but it’ll take a lot of footwork and reinterpretation.

“Burns, Baby, Burns”—it’s a growth industry. Across 1 Pal until the end, for short 4 Lesser-known part of a record 9 Attack your peas with a fork, say 13 Longtime Notre Dame coach Parseghian 14 *Author Isaac who sported enormous white mutton chops 16 Low-impact sound 17 Person from Dakar 19 Actress Moreno 20 Number-picking game 21 *He sported close-cropped sideburns playing Dylan McKay on TV 23 Rope device that can tow a car 26 “The ___ Not for Burning” (1948 comedic play set in the Middle Ages) 27 It’s a genuine article 28 “___ they do that?” 31 That’s a laugh 32 *Flight of the Conchords member with big sideburns 37 Burn quickly 38 *Impersonators grow their sideburns to imitate him 39 Architect Ludwig Mies van der ___ 41 *Motorhead frontman famous for his mutton chops 44 Security measure built into some credit card processors: abbr.

45 “Take ___ a compliment!” 46 Portland-to-Las Vegas dir. 47 It may float over a stadium 50 “___ of Mine” (1991 Genesis song) 52 *Short-lived screen icon who kept his sideburns short 57 Crafts questioned by skeptics 59 Country near the Strait of Hormuz 60 Camden Yards facility 63 “Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes” musical 64 *Charles who had mutton chops before he got older and grew a long white beard 65 Vancouver runner, in 2010 66 Actor Kristofferson 67 Diagnostics 68 Recipe amt.

©2010 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) For answers to this puzzle, call: 1900-226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Must be 18+. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800-6556548. Reference puzzle #0453.

Last Week’s Answers

Down 1 Soak in the glory 2 Roll along independently 3 Corporation in 2008 news alongside Freddie Mac 4 Go droopy 5 “This ___ stickup!” 6 It may be in a pickle 7 Australia’s national bird: var. 8 Small grove of trees

BY MATT JONES

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) There’s no need for you to get a T-shirt that says, “Oh no, not another learning experience.” According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you are not about to have an embarrassing stumble that could, in retrospect, be euphemistically referred to as a “learning experience.” On the contrary, the educational events you’ll be communing with will be pretty pleasurable, and will more closely resemble a hop, skip and a jump than a stumble.

Last Week’s Answers

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) I’m inclined to prophesy that in the days to come, you may be able to read the minds of people whose actions are critical to your success. I also suspect that you will know exactly what to do in order to banish a minor health problem. I’m even tempted to believe that when you gaze into the mirror you will be more intrigued than you’ve been in a while. Have you ever heard a bird sing a song just for you? Did you ever find a small treasure you assumed was lost forever? Developments like those are in the works. There’s only one catch: To get the most out of this grace period, you will have to summon more faith in yourself than you usually do.

Listen to my blasphemously reverent “Prayer for Us.” It’s here: bit.ly/PrayerforUs. Then read the lyrics at bit.ly/OurPrayer.

“Kaidoku”

Each of the 26 letters of the alphabet is represented in this grid by a number between 1 and 26. Using letter frequency, word-pattern recognition, and the numbers as your guides, fill in the grid with well-known English words. Only lowercase, unhyphenated words are allowed in kaidoku, so you wonít see anything like STOCKHOLM or LONGLOST in here (but you might see AFGHAN, since it has an uncapitalized meaning, too). Now stop wasting my precious time and SOLVE!!

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TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

9 Some campus figures in the ‘70s 10 Like gamma, in the Greek alphabet 11 Singing cowboy Gene 12 Times to give gifts, briefly 15 Geese formation 18 Mind-boggling time 22 Professor of board games? 24 Actor McBride 25 Apiary offerings 27 Hooker and Maxx 29 Lawrence with a bubble machine 30 607, in Rome 31 He’ll agree to anything 33 Military strength 34 Cheery tune 35 “Hold up just a second!” 36 1980s Saturday morning cartoon characters who lived underwater 40 Before, to poets 42 Team leaders, initially 43 Metric opener 47 Singer with the 2001 album “Vespertine” 48 Worse, like some excuses 49 Singer Coppola 51 Have dinner 53 It coordinates the USAF and USN 54 Part of QED 55 Suffix with million 56 “___ the perfect time!” 58 Pass over 61 Wasted 62 Nav. rank

41

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FRIDAY, MARCH 26 Men’s college basketball, NCAA Tournament (6 p.m., Ch. 12): The Sweet 16 concludes with the South and Midwest Regional finals. … College baseball, LSU-Shreveport at Belhaven (6 p.m., Smith-Wills Stadium, Jackson): The Blazers, who are atop the GCAC standings, begin a home series. SATURDAY, MARCH 27 Men’s college basketball, NCAA Tournament (3:30 p.m., Ch. 12): The first two tickets to the Final Four will be punched in the East and West Regional finals… College baseball, Florida at Ole Miss (6 p.m., Oxford, CSS, 97.3 FM): Two of the SEC’s best meet in Game 2 of their weekend series. SUNDAY, MARCH 28 Men’s college basketball, NCAA Tournament (1 p.m., Ch. 12): The final two spots in the Final Four will be filled in the South and Midwest Regional finals. MONDAY, MARCH 29 MLB baseball, St. Louis vs. Minnesota (noon, ESPN): Two of this season’s contenders duel in the sun of Florida. Isn’t spring training great? TUESDAY, MARCH 30 College baseball, Mississippi State vs. Ole Miss (6:30 p.m., Pearl, 105.9 FM, 97.3 FM): Trustmark Park plays host to this year’s installment of the Governor’s Cup. Peace, love and understanding won’t be in attendance. … Mississippi College at Millsaps (6 p.m., Jackson): The struggle for the Maloney Trophy continues. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31 College baseball, Tougaloo at Jackson State, 2 (3 p.m., Jackson): The Tigers entertain the Bulldogs in an intra-city double header. The Slate is compiled by Doctor S, who reminds you that sports gambling is illegal, even if the odds are high that you’re doing it. JFP Sports is your best bet at www.jacksonfreepress.com.

A

t one point in the season, both Ole Miss and Mississippi State were both ranked. Today, though, they’ve begun preparations for the college basketball’s consolation prize. Ole Miss just didn’t do well enough in a mediocre SEC, and the Bulldogs have to be wondering “What if?” What if Renardo Sidney had qualified? What if that scholarship offer had been extended to another player? What if Kentucky had stuck it out another year with Billy Gillispie or failed to land John Calipari (and his star-studded 2009 recruiting class)? And, of course, they were on the wrong side of two of the finest games in college basketball. Last week, Kentucky pulled off another overtime victory to send Mississippi State to the NIT. Twice this season, State should have beaten Calipari’s squad. Fans of the Bulldogs can take solace in the fact that teams as inexperienced as Kentucky don’t get far in the tournament. (Two-year and three-year veterans led Calipari’s Memphis teams that went to the Final Four, though the teams were lifted by super-freshmen Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans.) Also, Calipari’s shortcomings in game management have cost his team a national title before, namely his 2008 National Championship. This year’s NCAA Tournament should be special. Every year, it seems that my attempt at rationalizing my picks exposes some deep counter-intuitive, or perhaps irrational, trends. (After this column, I’m going to take solace in an article by mythmaker of upstream swimmers and Louisiana native, writer Michael Lewis.) My entire bracket is posted on my blog—The Irregular Season—and these are the highlights: No. 8 Texas over No. 9 Wake Forest: For not entirely explicable reasons, I have Texas going deep in the tournament. Recently, they’ve been blown out by Texas A&M and Baylor, and perhaps the Longhorns shouldn’t even be in the tournament. But I believe in a team that was 17-0, with victories over Michigan State and Pittsburgh. They remind me of Jim Valvano’s 1983 North Carolina State team. No. 7 BYU over No. 10 Florida: Since Florida won back-to-back titles, the program has been slipping. The reasons vary from bad-apple recruits to an improving SEC conference. BYU comes in as a talented, overlooked team and a good pick for this year’s Cinderella. In fact, there’s smart money on BYU going deep in the Tournament, based on statistical trends, though I have them losing in the second round. No. 9 Louisville over No. 8 California: This pick might be prejudiced, since I’ve seen Louisville play often over the last few years. Still, the Cardinals have a

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Mississippi State should have beaten John Calipari’s inexperienced Kentucky team twice this season. They didn’t.

misleadingly mediocre record in a premier conference, the Big East, and drew a very favorable matchup, in terms of location. They play the Golden Bears, a West Coast team, in Jacksonville. No. 10 Missouri over No. 7 Clemson: The ACC just hasn’t been very good, and the Big Ten is better than it’s given credit for. Clemson feasted on overrated teams, while Missouri has been well tested. The winner of this game gets to play West Virginia, coached by talented, troubled Bob Huggins and loaded with talented and troubled players. If WVU goes deep, you can go ahead and cue ESPN’s token “Redemption” feature. Must-Watch Games in the First Two Rounds: No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 16 East Tennessee State is the only 1-16 match-up worth your time, if for no other reason than to see how John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins respond to the tournament’s unique pressures. No. 7 Oklahoma State vs. No. 10 Georgia Tech is a match-up of mid-tier power-conference teams. The winner of this game has a clear path to the Sweet Sixteen. Could the Ivy League win its first NCAA Tournament game in recent memory when No. 12 Cornell upsets No. 5 Temple? Teams That Could Surprise (and Disappoint): No. 7 BYU, No. 12 Utah State, and No. 4 Purdue have been underestimated and could make a deep run. On the other end of the spectrum, Villanova and Notre Dame are overrated. Saint Mary’s was robbed of a spot in the Tournament last year and could find their way to the Elite Eight, by defeating them both.

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THURSDAY, MARCH 25 Men’s college basketball, NCAA Tournament (6 p.m., Ch. 12): The Sweet 16 begins with the East and West Regional semifinals

Show Me the Tourney! COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY

Doctor S sez: Everybody’s NCAA brackets were busted last weekend, so now we can relax and enjoy the games.

by John Yargo

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