v8n31 - JFP Film 2010

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Yet Another Lake Plan Lynch, pp 6 - 7

Larry Emmett & Michael Parker Vol. 8 | No. 31 // April 15 - 21, 2010

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DAILY BREAKING NEWS @ JFPDAILY.COM

Schaefer, p 24

Cooking for Two Stewart, p 26

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April 15 - 21, 2010

jacksonian

When Philip Scarborough was a child, he watched “HBO’s Behind the Scenes: Raider’s of the Lost Ark,” and decided to become a filmmaker. Scarborough’s parents bought him a Super 8 camera when he was 11, and he has captured stories ever since.

In his naturally lit studio in his Belhaven home, Scarborough, 38, shared some of his early work—home videos, an attempt at claymation with a character called Mr. Clay when he was 12 and a surrealist experimental series he filmed at 17 titled “Sandwich.”

“I love visually telling a story, I guess that’s what it really boils down to,” Scarborough says. “There’s so much technique that goes into filmmaking: It’s writing, but it’s also lights and sound and editing.”

Scarborough’s dedication to film brought the Jackson native back to Mississippi. He moved to Dothan, Ala., in 1992 when he was 3, but returned to attend film school at the University of Southern Mississippi.

“I wasn’t there to play around,” Scarborough recalls about USM. After graduation, Scarborough moved to Jackson to work at Imageworks, one of the largest film production companies in the region. After attending film festivals in Austin, Texas and New York City, Scarborough wondered why Jackson couldn’t have one of its own.

WRIJOYA ROY

philip scarborough He and a group of friends from film school organized the USM Student Film Showcase in 1998. The showcase was well received, so the group organized the Jackson Filmmaker Showcase and the Mississippi Filmmaker Showcase. In 2000, they founded Crossroads Film Festival to foster further filmmaking in Mississippi.

“Because of technology and the Internet, you can be wherever you live, make a film and distribute it to the world,” he says.

“Tell the stories that are at your fingertips. When I was younger, I thought I was going to move to L.A. … In the end, if you just want to make movies, if you just want to tell stories, then why do you have to go somewhere else to do that?”

Scarborough started freelancing as a filmmaker in 2004, and works mainly on television commercials. In his free time, he works on his own short and feature films.

Scarborough is now the technical director of Crossroads, and he owns his own film production company, Lathe Productions.

The filmmaker says he wants to prove the world wrong about its impression of Mississippi. “I don’t want to just entertain, I want to make people have something to talk about,” he says. “I want to make films that people can watch again and again and get something different out of every time.”

—Jesse Crow

Cover illustrated by Kristin Brenemen COVER PHOTO BY INCASE DESIGNS

contents

Apr il 15 - 21, 2 0 1 0

VOL.

8 NO. 31

10

14

26

Lake 255 Debuts

For the Little Ones

Goin’ to the Movies

Kissin’ Cuisine

The Levee Board hears about the latest lake plan for flood control. Is this one a winner?

You decide.

Everyone agrees that early childhood education is a good thing. Why isn’t Mississippi making sure kids have pre-K?

The Crossroads Film Festival is in town, sort of. See the reviews, the plans for a new theater and more.

Keep your honey sweet and mellow with easy recipes you can make together and cocktails just for lovers.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 4 Editor’s Note 26 Food

4 Slow Poke 28 8 Days

6 Talk 29 JFP Events

7 Slate

12 Stiggers 33 Music

12 Editorial 34 Music Listings

24 Hitched 41 Astro

jacksonfreepress.com

ADAM LYNCH; WARD SCHAEFER; CLIP ART; WRIJOYA ROY

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Ward Schaefer JFP reporter Ward Schaefer came to Mississippi to teach middle school, and is now a journalist.

His hometown of Chevy Chase, Md., was not named for the actor.

He is slowly learning to play banjo. He wrote Talks and film reviews.

Lacey McLaughlin News 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 Lacey@jacksonfreepress .com or call 601.362.6121 x. 22.

She coordinated the Crossroads coverage and wrote film reviews.

Adam Lynch Award-winning senior reporter Adam Lynch is a Winona native and graduate of Jackson State. He and his wife live in North Jackson.

E-mail tips to adam@jacksonfree press.com, or call him at 601-3626121, ext. 13. He wrote Talks and a film review.

Katie Stewart Jackson native Katie Stewart commutes from Jackson to her junior high English classroom at Canton Academy to teach. She is often found wandering around downtown with her husband, taking pictures with cheap film cameras.

She wrote the food piece.

Bret Kenyon Pittsburgh, Pa., native Bret Kenyon is a Belhaven College theater graduate who enjoys working in the community, theater, music and writing. He has worked with Off Kilter Comedy, Hardline Monks and Fondren Theatre Workshop.

He reviewed films.

Jesse Crow Editorial intern Jesse Crow, a Pensacola, Fla., native, is a sophomore at Millsaps College.

She enjoys playing with puppies, summer camp and going on long drives in her station wagon named Herman. She reviewed films and wrote the Jacksonian.

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.

April 15 - 21, 2010

Korey Harrion

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Web producer Korey Harrion is a saxophonist who runs a small computer-repair business. He enjoys reading, writing and playing music, origami and playing video games. He loves animals, especially dogs. He posts the Web stories for each issue.

editor’snote

by Ronni Mott, Managing Editor

Bring Back Cartoons

W

hen did ads and previews start taking up 30 minutes of good quality movie time? When I was a kid, cartoons preceded every movie on the silver screen. And while cartoons weren’t the feature, at least they weren’t advertising.

Not having kids myself, I have no idea if kid movies still get cartoons, or if, like the grown ups, production companies simply bombard children with coming attractions, along with the candy and drink ads.

When I was in marketing, I would never have wasted the opportunity of selling more of my product to a captive audience. A whole theater full of people waiting for “their” film to start is just too good a chance to sell more stuff. Never mind if it’s relevant to the film they’re waiting for, it only needs to fit the demographic—in a loose sort of way.

These days, I primarily sit on the consumer side of things, and I sincerely wish marketers and ad agencies would stop “marketing” on occasion and simply tell the truth about their products.

Fat chance, right?

In 1990, “Crazy People” starred Dudley Moore as an ad executive who suffers a nervous breakdown and takes some time recuperating at a sanitarium. There he discovers that being crazy—and telling the truth—is a plus. “Volvos: They’re boxy, but they’re safe,” headlines one of his “new” ads, and contrary to what the other, slightly horrified ad execs think, the ads produce results.

In my little neck of the marketing woods, we had a name for advertising that didn’t quite tell the truth about a product: We called it “painting the pig’s toenails.” It might still be a pig, but with a little lipstick and some nail polish, it could be a cute pig. Miss Piggy, that avatar of conspicuous consumption, would just be another porker without the wig and eyelashes, after all.

It’s not that far to travel from advertising to the halls of political power. Rhetoric, like marketing, can either be language used effectively or language used to push an agenda. In the latter case, rhetoric, like marketing, can fall a good bit short of the truth. And the more clever politicians hone rhetoric to a razor thin edge; a nearly imperceptible tilt to the right or the left, and political rhetoric can become something totally unrecognizable.

My parents were teenagers under the iron fist of a master of rhetoric: Adolph Hitler.

Hitler didn’t invent anti-Semitism or antihomosexual sympathies any more than he created fear of those with mental or physical disabilities. What he did, however, was exaggerate those fears, playing them like a pianist plays a symphony, blaming those unpopular groups for the troubles of the German people in the ’30s, until, gradually, Hitler’s rhetoric became the tool the regime used to murder millions of “undesirables.” Ordinary, “good” people got sucked in until they believed the lies. After all, who wants to be on the destructive end of rhetoric? It’s much better—and

much safer—to be in with those in charge than to be wrong (or dead).

In the forward to his book “All Marketers are Story Tellers,” Seth Godin says that we all believe things that aren’t true. (He substituted “Story Tellers” for “Liars” in his 2009 edition.)

“If you think that (more expensive) wine is better, then it is,” he writes. “If you think your new boss is going to be more effective, then she will be. If you love the way a car handles, then you’re going to enjoy driving it.”

In the world of marketing and politics, lies have sold a lot of products and gotten a lot of politicians elected. Joe McCarthy was another master of political rhetoric, convincing Americans of a communist threat that, for the most part, didn’t exist. Then there was Fen-Phen and Vioxx, those wonder drugs that gave people new illnesses and even killed a few with their side effects (whoops).

The Internet is one of the best tools ever created for separating spin from truth. Web sites like FactCheck.org and Politifact.com do the hard work of informing us who’s embellishing and who’s flat out telling lies in the political arena. As for those overblown marketing “cosmetics,” plenty of sites focus on that area as well: Consumer Reports and the Better Business Bureau might be a couple of the oldest, independent groups working for consumers, but count the Environmental Working Group, too.

Of course, “independent” can be in the eye of the beholder, too, so you have to be careful. Even “truth” can be subjective. My sisters and I frequently remember incidents in our childhoods quite differently, for example, and years after an event, who’s to say what “really” happened?

I’m not sure what would happen if ad

agencies and politicians started telling the truth instead of treating us like dumbasses who don’t have enough sense to come in out of the rain. The first result would probably be disbelief. After the shock wore off, though, we’d be grateful. Possibly the worst thing that could happen, however, would be for us to loose our healthy skepticism—because “truth” really is subjective, and power, well, you know, there’s that whole corruption thing.

It’s simply getting harder and harder to publicly lie, though, whether through “misrepresenting” a product or “spinning” politics to suit an agenda (or win an election). And that’s a good thing. Because seen from one angle, we live a dangerous world. I know that’s true, because we have bombs hundreds of times more powerful than those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 65 years ago.

Seen from a different viewpoint, however, the world is full of people who want to do the right thing, make a positive difference in the world, and create communities and products that work for everyone, not just a few.

Call it Pollyanna if you like. Against all the odds, though, we’ve managed not to blow ourselves to smithereens. Somehow, we’re paying attention to the needs of a planet that we’ve just assumed would be around forever. And somehow, we’ve managed to create a rather noisy community of progressive-minded people in Jackson, Miss.

None of those things was predictable—in fact, they’re all rather remarkable. Now, if we could just get cartoons back at the movies.

Have you ever thought about writing for the JFP? We’re looking for folks who want to write about music, arts, sports, health & wellness, theater, sports and more. Interested? Send an e-mail to editor@jacksonfreepress.com.

Quality Shirts under $100

jacksonfreepress.com

Thomas Dean exclusively at The Rogue

5

According to the Mississippi Film Office, the Civil War-era drama “The Crisis,” directed by Colin Campbell in 1916, is the earliest movie filmed in Mississippi.

JPD cracks down on speeders, p 11

news, culture & irreverence

Thursday, April 8 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancels his trip to the U.S. Nuclear Security summit later in the week. A lower ranking minister will go in his place. … A train hits Biloxi resident Walter Sharkey, 46. Witnesses tried to warn Sharkey about the train.

Friday, April 9: Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens announces he will retire at the end of his term. … Attorney General Jim Hood informs Gov. Haley Barbour that his office will not join the multistate lawsuit questioning the constitutionality of the recent health-care reform bill at this time.

Saturday, April 10 The plane carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski and several of the country’s top political and military figures crashes in Russia, killing all on board. … Some residents of Vancleave host a rally to support the possibility of their incorporation.

Sunday, April 11 Members of the Irish Republican Party ignite a bomb outside Palace Barracks, home to MI5, a domestic spy agency. There were no serious injuries. … Michael Olowo-ake Jr., 28, is shot and killed outside a Texaco station on North State Street. The Jackson Police Department is still looking for the shooter.

Lake 255 Makes its Debut ADAM LYNCH

Wednesday, April 7 Anti-government protesters in Bangkok, Thailand, move into parts of the city the Taiwanese government clearly banned them from. The protesters, mainly poor and rural, support former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. … Hinds Community College announces it will raise the price of tuition and meal plans.

also pushing for the possibility of damming the Pearl River between the expanded levees, creating a lake to coax real-estate development between Hinds and Rankin counties.

In February, Mississippi Engineering Group Inc. delivered to the board a 28-page draft of its economic-impact report on a Lower Lake Plan, which would create Waggoner Engineering Inc. project engineer Barry Royals a 6.5 mile lake. The lake’s introduced to the levee board on Monday an alternative design, as depicted in plan to dam the Pearl River that leaves LeFleur’s Bluff Park the report, permanently untouched by lake water. floods a large portion he Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood of LeFleur’s Bluff Park, including the Mayes and Drainage Control District Levee Lake campgrounds—a tragedy according Board is considering decreasing the to Mississippi Wildlife Federation Director size and depth of its Lower Lake plan Cathy Shropshire, who described the area as to save portions of LeFleur’s Bluff Park and its unique to most metropolitan areas.

“You just don’t get 300 acres of a nice adjoining campgrounds and hiking trails from park-like area in the middle of a big city like inundation. this unless you live in an area like Vancouver Last December, the Levee Board apor New York City. Most places don’t have that proved a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers kind of value,” Shropshire said. plan to expand the current levee system to The Lower Lake Plan and its environaccommodate a 200-year flood event similar mental issues face a veritable brick wall with in scope to the devastation of the 1979 Easter the Corps.

Corps Chief of Project Manageflood, which swallowed parts of downtown ment Doug Kamien told the Levee Board Jackson and did more than $200 million in last September that the Corps approved the damage. However, a majority of the board is

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April 15 - 21, 2010

6

levee plan almost exclusively due to environmental impacts of any plan to impound the Pearl River.

“The federal government has very strict guidelines in how we’re going to proceed, and we’re going to base our decisions on what’s in the federal government’s interest,” he said.

Corps spokesman Frank Worley told the Jackson Free Press that the Corps has not updated its opinion against any flooding of the Pearl River since September.

Mindful of the Corps’ determination to avoid environmental problems, Waggoner Engineering Inc. project engineer Barry Royals introduced to the board on Monday alternative plans that leave the park untouched by the tendrils of the new lake.

“Under this scenario, you do not flood the park or the walking trails, but you do put five feet of water into Town Creek where it goes underground (behind the planetarium),” Royals said.

Royals said the project could begin with the simple construction of a weir in the initial stages, but that the district could expand the lake northward just beneath the southern border of LeFleur’s Bluff Park by dredging the river in phases. Royals explained that the smaller lake, which averages six feet deep, can hopefully dodge the Corps’ environmental concerns by occupying an area that the Corps has already channelized.

Casting Call

DIDD

LAKE 255, see page 7

by JFP Staff

Because this is the annual JFP film issue, we though it only fair to come up with our own “who would play …” list for some of our Mississippi and Jackson celebs (or celebs in our hearts) worthy of a movie of the week, at least.

BUTT

LY

Monday, April 12 American troops fire on a bus outside Kandahar, Afghanistan, killing five civilians and wounding 18. … The Jackson Fire Department responds to an early morning fire at local nightclub Dick and Jane’s. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Tuesday, April 13 Jackson State University President Ronald Mason interviews for the presidency of Louisiana’s Southern University System, with campuses in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport.

by Adam Lynch

“[I]t’s trying to make a big deal out of something (that) doesn’t amount to diddly.” Gov. Haley Barbour last Sunday, coming to the defense of fellow Republican Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, who issued a Confederate History Month proclamation that failed to mention slavery.

Gov. Haley Barbour Attorney General Jim Hood iTodd Rep. Cecil Brown Sheriff Malcolm McMillin Otha Burton Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon Jeff Good Chief Rebecca Coleman Tougaloo President Beverly Hogan Julie Skipper Andy Hilton Kamikaze David Banner Bill Luckett Adam Lynch Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.

John Goodman Sammy Davis Jr. Robert Downey Jr. Haley Joel Osment Wilford Brimley Morgan Freeman Winona Ryder Nicolas Cage Pam Grier Angela Bassett Anne Hathaway Dennis Quaid Kenan Thompson David Banner Leslie Neilsen Quentin Tarantino James Earl Jones

talk

news, culture & irreverence

LAKES 255, from page 6

“Environmentally, that area had already been impacted. And there are levees all along it, so hydraulically you’ve already modified the area for drainage,” Royals said.”

The Corps could not be reached for comment on the more modest lake plan.

Waggoner Engineering Inc. maintains that the Corps has yet to study the new design.

Last year, Royals argued that engineers could not make the water level lower than a 10-foot average because of the risk of seasonal drying at the highlands north of the new underwater dam, without incurring extra costs for dredging along the dam. Royals could not give an exact estimate of the cost of the smaller lake project and its increased dredging requirements, arguing that it was still in its early stage. He suggested the cost could hover around $605 million.

“What we did was take the figures the corps used on the LeFleur Lakes Plan and halve it,” Royals said.”

The LeFleur Lakes Plan is an offshoot of a plan promoted by Jackson oilman John McGowan to dam the Pearl River and create a more massive lake flooding about 7,000 acres, including Mayes Lake. The Corps estimated that plan to cost $1.4 billion after environmental mitigation and levee installation. McGowan said the Corps inflated the cost of his lakes plan and disowned the LeFLeur Lakes project. He now favors a similar Two Lake

Plan, which he claims will cost only $350 million, and does not require levees to achieve flood control. The board rejected McGowan’s Two Lakes Plan when it approved the Corps’ levee plan last December.

Royals told the Levee Board that he also believed the Corps had inflated the cost of the LeFleur Lakes Plan, and used that assertion to contend that “Lake 255” could end up costing less than $605 million.

“It is my guess that it will be much less than what I mentioned to you because I believe the Corps dollars on the original plan were highly inflated,” Royals said.

Board member Leland Speed argued that levees are not needed for flood control, a contention rejected by fellow board member Richland Mayor Mark Scarborough, who complained that levees are unquestioningly needed in Richland thanks to growing water run-off from development in Rankin County.

Speed argued that the board could do away with levees entirely if it moved the underwater dam further down the river. The board then asked Royals and Waggoner Engineering to study the prospect, and decided to reconvene the meeting April 27 to hear the results.

Royals, looking discouraged, agreed. But he warned the board earlier in the meeting that no plan would move forward without the Corps’ input of $133 million—and reminded the board that the Corps wants levees.

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Doctor S sez: These spring games are crucial for your favorite college team. It might be the only game your heroes win this year.

FRIDAY, APRIL 16 College baseball, Ole Miss at South Carolina (6 p.m., Columbia, S.C., SportSouth, 97.3 FM): The Rebels face the Gamecocks in a matchup of SEC elites. …

Tougaloo at Belhaven (6 p.m., Smith-Wills Stadium, Jackson): The Bulldogs and Blazers meet in the opener of their intra-city GCAC series.

SATURDAY, APRIL 17 College football, Ole Miss spring game (1 p.m., Oxford, CSS): The first look at the Rebels in the post-Snead era. … Mississippi State spring game (5 p.m., Starkville): The Bulldogs preview Dan Mullen’s second season. CSS will show the game Sunday at 4 p.m. … College baseball, Alcorn State at Jackson State, 2 (noon, Jackson): The Braves and Tigers battle in a doubleheader. .

SUNDAY, APRIL 18 College baseball, Tennessee at Missis-

sippi State (1 p.m., Starkville, 105.9 FM): The struggling Bulldogs are looking for a little Super Bulldog Weekend magic against the Vols.

MONDAY, APRIL 19 Southern League baseball, Mobile at Mississippi (7:05 p.m., Pearl, 103.9 FM): The BayBears and M-Braves open a fivegame series at the T-P. TUESDAY, APRIL 20 College baseball, Delta State at Belhaven (6 p.m., Smith-Wills Stadium, Jackson, 930 AM): The Statesmen and Blazers are the state’s best small-college teams. …

Southern Miss at Ole Miss (6:30 p.m., Oxford, 97.3 FM): The Golden Eagles will be looking for payback against the Rebels.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21 Southern League baseball, Mobile at Mississippi (11:05 a.m., Pearl, 103.9 FM): The BayBears and M-Braves meet in a midweek matinee.

The Slate is compiled by Doctor S, who’s ignoring the first round of the NBA and NHL playoffs. But ignorance is not necessarily bliss at JFP Sports on www.jacksonfreepress.com.

jacksonfreepress.com

THURSDAY, APRIL 15 Southern League baseball, Mississippi at West Tenn (7:05 p.m., Jackson, Tenn., 103.9 FM): The M-Braves continue their series up against the Diamond Jaxx.

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educationtalk

by Ward Schaefer

WARD SCHAEFER

Pre-K: An Ounce of Prevention

Little Samaritan Montessori, in Jackson’s North Midtown neighborhood, offers private pre-kindergarten to 62 children.

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April 15 - 21, 2010

ittle Samaritan Montessori is an unusual sight in Jackson’s Midtown neighborhood. In an area with high rates of vacancy and a declining population, Little Samaritan represents the future. The child-care center serves 62 children, from 6 weeks to 5 years old, with a Montessori curriculum, an experiential approach to education that emphasizes students’ self-direction.

Good Samaritan Midtown, which operates the Montessori program, is also pursuing an initiative to make sure that every child under 5 in Midtown receives some form of quality early childhood care.

“In a neighborhood like this, where we’re already dealing with all these issues, it’s all about prevention,” Executive Director Kristi Hendrix says. “We’ve got too much to do here to not be comprehensive in our work.”

Programs like Little Samaritan Montessori—along with publicly operated programs like Head Start and Jackson’s Early Childhood Development Centers—represent Mississippi’s best opportunity to beat cyclical poverty and ensure long-term economic development, according to a new report issued by the Southern Education

8

Foundation. Children in quality pre-K are more than twice as likely to go to college than those who don’t receive early childhood education and far less likely to repeat a grade or drop out.

The reported economic benefits of quality pre-K are staggering. For every dollar of state investment, a quality early childhood program targeted at poor kids would generate $12.30 in private and public returns, the Southern Education Fund report estimates. Those returns would come in many forms, chiefly a lower incarceration rate and a better-educated and more productive work force.

In fact, while spending on economic subsidies creates more jobs than investing in pre-K in the short term—within 30 years—spending the same amount on preK creates almost twice as many jobs in the long term, over 75 years.

As the only southern state currently without a state-funded pre-K program, though, Mississippi risks being left behind by its peers, the report argues.

Little Samaritan is also emblematic of the shortcomings of early childhood education in Mississippi. Despite an admissions preference for Midtown residents, roughly

75 percent of the children at Little Samaritan come from outside Midtown. Many, Hendrix says, are children of professionals who work in downtown Jackson. This influx of children from more privileged backgrounds is a good thing for a neighborhood that suffers as much from vacancies and a population drain as it does from poverty, Hendrix points out.

“Bringing people into this neighborhood is important—bringing positive traffic in,” Hendrix says.

Still, outreach to Midtown residents has not been completely successful. A community assessment Good Samaritan conducted revealed that many mothers in the neighborhood simply keep their children at home. Good Samaritan currently employs two home visitors to work with mothers and young children in their homes.

“We’re trying to find the parents where they’re at,” Hendrix says.

For some, tuition at the Montessori program, which runs $120 per week for infants and $110 per week for children over 1, may be prohibitively high.

Others may enroll their children in the city of Jackson’s far less expensive preschool programs, which cost between $76 and $84 per week.

According to a the Southern Education Fund report, more than 25,000 of the state’s 85,000 3- and 4-year-olds are enrolled in Head Start, the federally funded pre-school program. The report estimates that at least another 5,900 children participate in private pre-school programs like Little Samaritan. All told, the report says, around 53 percent of the state’s 3- and 4year-olds are in some form of early childhood program.

Rhea Bishop, director of early childhood for the Mississippi Center for Education Innovation, agrees that extending and improving the state’s network of existing pre-K programs and groups is a more realistic goal.

Groups like Mississippi Building Blocks have already raised millions of

dollars from corporate donors to support early childhood research and programs, and the Children’s Defense Fund has trained child-care providers to coordinate their work with the school system for seven years, she noted.

“Most of our public schools are not designed to handle pre-kindergarten children, particularly those younger than the age of 3,” Bishop said. “(Universal, state-funded) pre-K would the ideal way to go. But in this state, with the budget situation the way it is, that ain’t going to happen. So what we’re trying to do is meet communities where they are.”

The report makes two immediate recommendations.

First, it calls on Mississippi’s U.S. congressional delegation to support the Early Learning Challenge Fund. The competitive federal grant program, proposed by President Barack Obama, would fund early childhood education efforts in states.

Second, the report urges state lawmakers to establish a bipartisan commission that would plan a statewide pre-K program.

Political efforts to follow the second recommendation have fallen short so far.

House Education Committee Chairman Cecil Brown sponsored a bill in the Mississippi Legislature this year that would have created a task force to study universal prekindergarten programs.

The House of Representatives passed Brown’s bill with significant Republican support, but the measure died in committee in the Senate.

“Mississippi has failed to start a statewide high-quality Pre-K program because its leaders believe that it is a poor state without enough money,” Southern Education Fund Steve Suitts writes in the report.

“The truth is that Mississippi will remain a poor state without enough education, jobs, or income for its children and grandchildren if it does not undertake every effort to invest in high-quality Pre-K now.”

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9

citytalk

by Adam Lynch

JPD Officers Get Commission Hearings

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those expenditures. Weill said he wanted better results than suspensions and dismissals if investigations discovered enough evidence for fuel theft.

“I believe if fraud has been committed by city employees, then stern measures need to be meted out. A brief suspension without pay or a lengthy suspension with pay is not satisfactory,” Weill said.

ADAM LYNCH

T

he Civil Service Commission has granted former Det. Ernest Perry a hearing to contest his 90-day unpaid suspension from the Jackson Police Department following an internal fuel theft investigation.

Early last year, in response to an ongoing internal affairs investigation on Fuelman theft that spun off from a 2009 city audit, thenPolice Chief Malcolm McMillin demoted former Deputy Chief Ron Sampson from deputy chief to lieutenant. He also transferred Perry from his former department where he directly oversaw Fuelman gas-card usage for the police department in 2008.

At the time, McMillin said both men violated city policy regarding Fuelman, but never filed charges against them. “I transferred Perry from the position that he was occupying based on the investigation that was completed by the internal affairs division of the Jackson Police Department,” McMillin said. Currently the sheriff of Hinds County, McMillin would not go into detail on the issue, saying that was the job of the city of Jackson.

The internal affairs investigation continued under new Police Chief Rebecca Coleman after McMillin’s departure last year.

Coleman said the investigation concluded this year—around the same time the city Personnel Department no longer reported Perry as an employee. (The city Personnel Department reports that Sampson still currently serves as commander of Precinct 3.)

Fuelman is a third-party account through which city employees re-fuel city vehicles for municipal business, but a 2009 city audit discovered about 9,000 errors in Fuelman-card transactions between July and October 2008.

At the time, council members like Ward 1 Councilman Jeff Weill complained that more than 80 percent of city employees with city-paid gas cards were not properly tracking odometer readings and could be stealing gas from the city.

Weill pointed out that the city spent $4.6 million in fiscal year 2008-2009 on fuel, including police-patrol vehicles and feared the city used little accountability in monitoring

City Attorney Pieter Teeuwissen said he will defend the city’s decision to suspend former Det. Ernest Perry from the police department in an upcoming Civil Service Commission hearing.

City Attorney Pieter Teeuwissen said his office will defend the city’s decision to suspend Perry from his job. “The office of City Attorney is charged with defending the discipline that various department heads give out before the Civil Service Commission. We’ll do the same thing in this case that we would in any other,” Teeuwissen said.

Perry refused to answer questions from reporters at the hearing. He is not the only cop with business before the commission. The commission will decide in upcoming weeks if the city had the right to dismiss former Jackson Police Officer Kevin Nash after allegations that he used excessive force against a civilian and violated his city employment agreement.

Coleman fired Nash after an investigation into his alleged Sept. 7 beating of 19year-old Clinton resident Cameron Hamel at Pine Trail Apartments, where Nash worked as a security guard. In addition to the alleged

beating, Nash’s employment as a security guard for the Clinton apartments constitutes a violation of city policy, but his attorney, Kate Eidt, argued that the offense constitutes a violation suitable for suspension, not dismissal.

“When you step back and look at it, the charges are too severe,” Eidt told the panel.

Coleman testified at last week’s hearing that the internal affairs investigation determined that Nash used “excessive force” against Hamel. Coleman said she considered Nash’s history when she decided to fire him. One allegation resulted in a 15-day suspension for Nash. Coleman would not go into detail on the allegations.

Hamel’s mother, Carla Kennevrew, testified before the panel that Nash intercepted her son, who is not a resident of Pine Trail Apartments, while he was on the apartment grounds. Kennevrew claims Nash kicked Hamel in the groin, then beat his face with his fist and a pistol before calling Clinton police to arrest him for assaulting a police officer.

Nash testified that the apartment manager warned him of Hamel, and told him to remove him from the property. Nash said he subdued him in a gesture of self-defense when Hamel’s hands went into his pockets. Hamel later admitted to JPD Internal Affairs that he had marijuana on him at the time of the alleged assault.

“I felt threatened. He put his hands in his pants while I was talking to him,” Nash said.

Nash denied beating Hamel before the panel and claimed the bruises on Hamel’s face depicted in JPD Internal Affairs photos were the result of wrestling Hamel to the ground.

Nash claims he sustained minor injuries from the fight, and filed an affidavit in Clinton Municipal court in September charging Hamel with assaulting a police officer.

Deputy City Attorney Michelle Purvis told the panel that the city forbids police officers from working outside of corporate limits specifically to avoid situations similar to the Nash issue: “We have a duty to make sure that orders are followed so that the city won’t be the subject of a lawsuit when these kinds of issues arise,” Banks said.

April 15 - 21, 2010

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10

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citytalk

by Adam Lynch

Police Chief Rebecca Coleman followed through on her vow to get more police officers on the streets, as indicated by the steep increase in traffic citations.

“I

’ve never seen more police along this highway,” said Ridgeland resident Jeanie Briggs as she gassed up her vehicle at an Old Canton Road service station during lunch hour. “I don’t see state troopers anymore. I mostly see Jackson police pulling people over.”

The trend offers a distinct upside for the state’s capital city. City revenues are slipping, but JPD is making a dent in the budget hole by stepping up traffic citations,

issuing 31,000 citations just during the first quarter of this fiscal year.

Last month, the Jackson City Council authorized Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. to transfer $2.3 million in savings from city departments to make up for an estimated $2.3 million in lost sales tax revenue in the fiscal year. The Clarion Ledger reported the city’s budget recording a $30 million gap between revenues collected in the first quarter of this year and the first quarter of last year.

However, Interim City Administrator Rick Hill explained that the brunt of that $30 million gap included internal transfers from last year that the city did not record in the first quarter of this fiscal year, joined with some one-time federal grant money, the sale of water and sewer utilities to the city of Ridgeland and revenue from citation-collecting automatic traffic cameras.

The city of Jackson enjoyed an influx of about $300,000 from the temporary use of the traffic-light cameras before legislators outlawed their use during the last session.

Police Chief Rebecca Coleman said her police officers can do what the traffic cameras did, only better—and the Jackson municipal court is seeing the difference, according to revenue estimates. Johnson told city council members that the munici-

pal court budget fell $153,724 below the $895,677 first-quarter budget projections.

But the court recorded a $124,388 increase in 2010 February collections from this month last year. Hill said he has not compiled municipal court numbers for March but suspects that month to be another good month for revenue.

Jackson Police Department spokesman Joseph Daughtry said police are only doing their part to keep the public safe. “Basically the men and women of this department are dedicated to increasing safety and the quality of life for the residents of Jackson,” said Daughtry, who denied the crackdown arose from a need to plug budget holes.

“We have many perfectly good reasons for stepping up enforcement of highway safety,” Daughtry said. “First of all, there’s no such thing as a routine traffic stop. It’s amazing what you can uncover at a traffic stop. You can stop somebody for a broken taillight and sometimes they’re wanted for something very serious in the state of Michigan. Routine traffic stops are where we get a lot of our arrests.”

The department’s onslaught along Interstate 55 also increases the chances of bagging a suburban commuter, possibly even more effectively filling the role of the

outlawed traffic-light cameras—two of which drove red-light-dodging commuters nuts last year by occupying commuterheavy intersections on Lakeland Drive and Pearl Street.

The Mississippi Department of Public Safety and the Mississippi Office for Highway Safety in February honored 170 officers, deputies and state troopers for their efforts on seat-belt enforcement. JPD officers held the top two spots on the list.

Jackson patrolman Herman “Ticketmaster” Tarrio, issued 1,700 citations for seat-belt violations and 430 citations for improper or no use of child restraints in February, winning him top billing in both citation categories. Jackson patrolman Michael Mooney was right behind him in both categories, issuing 1,128 seat-belt citations and 319 tickets for child restraint violations.

Coleman told the Jackson Free Press this week that she followed through on her February promise to work with police schedules to get more officers on city streets and highways for more hours. “Even though we don’t have the 500 police that we supposedly need, you can still tweak shifts to effectively distribute your officers,” Coleman said.

jacksonfreepress.com

WILLIAM PATRICK BUTLER

Traffic Citations Flooding City with Revenue

11

jfp op/ed

opining, grousing & pontificating

EDITORIAL

Stop Stalling Flood Control

I

t becomes more clear with every Levee Board meeting that the strategy of hard-core Two Lakes development supporters is to stall any alternative plan that could render their plan moot—even though the local levee board has voted to pursue other options. That strategy is severely flawed.

It’s been one effort after another in recent months to circumvent the authority of the Levee Board. There were blatant attempts in the Legislature to expand the Levee Board with more state appointees and to set up a stateappointed board to review its decisions, as well as one seemingly designed to take away authority from the folks who oversee the reservoir (the Two Lakes plan requires using the reservoir for flood control, although its board and every expert interviewed says it won’t work). Those efforts—which the Two Lakesat-any-cost Northside Sun made clear were about reviving Two Lakes—failed this session.

Then this week, the Levee Board showed up for its meeting to find out that Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann—the long-time treasurer and a director of the Two Lakes Foundation—had listed the board (which gets no state funding) as a “state agency.” Thus, the board’s attorney has to research how to keep that apparent control attempt from moving forward.

Two Lakes supporter and Levee Board member Leland Speed also managed to delay the study of the “Lake 255” proposal (see page 6) that could be a way to get flood control, downtown development and avoid the massive environmental upheaval of Two Lakes.

But delay and win-at-any-cost seem to be the tunnel vision of some Two Lakes supporters. Mr. Speed circumvented talk of more study of the more environmentally friendly Lake 255 proposal Monday by insisting that the board look at the possibility of moving an underwater dam further down the river rather than doing levees—another attempt to keep the Two Lakes proposal alive.

Any new ideas are welcome—and long overdue, considering that Two Lakes proponents have framed the entire argument as levees v. Two Lakes for more than a decade now, rather than supporting the pursuit of alternatives.

And Speed’s apparent delaying tactic Monday left many in the room including Lake 255 strategist Barry Royals frustrated at another apparent delay tactic.

The backroom takeover politics must end, and all responsible parties must come to the same table to look for viable alternatives that won’t cost more than a billion dollars and destroy our local environment. The sport of blaming the albeit-imperfect Corps for not approving an unfeasible development plan is wasting time and energy; we need flood control that can happen in our lifetimes.

KEN STIGGERS

Naked Truth

April 15 - 21, 2010

B

12

oneqweesha Jones: “This is a ‘Qweesha Live’ television news special report! Let’s go to TaaQweema Jenkins, Suma Cum Laude graduate of Hair-Did University School of Cosmetology, reporting live from the Ghetto Science Team’s Museum of Fine Arts and Culture, where the controversial Brother Sylvester, Christmas Missin’ Toe artist, has another thought provoking exhibit titled ‘Breast-N-Plants: Exposing the World to the Naked Truth.’”

TaaQweema Jenkins: “Brother Sylvester has pushed and shoved the envelope straight out of the box with some very incendiary works of art. What inspires you to create and produce such art?”

Brother Sylvester: “I’m inspired by people, places and current events in our society. I’m compelled to counteract injustice, intolerance and impatience with the stroke of a paintbrush or pen. Therefore, my artistic creation mirrors and exposes the major quirks within our society.”

TaaQweema Jenkins: “So you’re like that little child who told the emperor that he was truly ‘butt naked.’”

Brother Sylvester: “I call it like I see it.”

TaaQweema Jenkins: “Describe some of your artwork for our viewers.”

Brother Sylvester: “The first piece is an enlarged black-and-white photo of a sign I noticed in the waiting room of a doctor’s office titled ‘Sign of the Times: No Dogs, Negroes, Mexicans or Supporters of Health-Care Reform.’

The second piece is a line drawing of a nude figure looking out from a second story window titled ‘Naked Truth: An Alternate View.’ It’s my ‘window seat’ tribute to singer Erykah Badu.”

OBAMA EXTREME FREEDOMS SOCIALIST COMMUNIST

KAMIKAZE

Open the Dialogue

M

y father and I are the only non-educators in my immediate family. My mother and my siblings were once or are all teachers.

And since my father sees every conversation as a "teachable" moment, I guess he could qualify as some sort of "teacher."

But I digress.

As a child, I watched my mother come home, check our homework, prepare dinner for five, and then grade her assignments. Without fail, she ended each night by calling the parents of every kid who'd either missed homework or was failing her English class. Didn't matter if it was two or 200, those calls were made and most times in enough time to tell each of us good night.

She was rare: one of the good ones. To her, education was the single most important thing to a child's future. She demanded the best of us and likewise demanded the best of those who were our teachers and administrators. She was harder on her peers because she expected them to care as much as she did. Quite frankly, some did and some didn't.

But in all my years of public schooling I never heard her put down public schools or the quality of product they were producing.

Times have changed, oddly enough, and every child isn't getting a fair shake. Teachers, our greatest resource, are being spread thin. They're underpaid,

over worked and sometimes ill-prepared to handle their workload. And those are the good ones, like my mom.

Then there are the unqualified, lazy, "just drawing a check because I had no other job leads" teachers: the ones who are "too busy" to call parents; the ones who don't go the extra mile, but barely go half of it. They are one reason why public schools have become a pseudo-scapegoat.

Admittedly, some schools are underachieving, poorly run and poorly staffed; however, the playing field is still skewed, and without a good start we can't expect our kids to make a decent finish right?

That brings up the debate of charter schools.

Are they indeed effective? Or are they just a way to further alienate the struggling student in the struggling school? Are they a means to rescue some of our kids or get rid of them?

I haven't developed a firm opinion yet but one thing is clear. There are nearly 200 failing schools in Mississippi. Our state continues to languish near the bottom in education. And when our legislators need to make cuts, what's the first place they look?

Yep. Education.

Summarily, our kids suffer. Clearly what we're doing is not working. Now is the time to open a dialogue. Our children's future depends on it.

And that's the truth ... sho-nuff.

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.

ANITA MODAK-TRURAN

GRANDVIEW A M A LC O T H E AT R E

And We’re Rolling

South of Walmart in Madison

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, Jackie Warren Tatum Anita Modak-Truran,Will Morgan, Larry Morrisey, Andy Muchin, Chris Nolen,Tom Ramsey, Doctor S, Ken Stiggers,Valerie Wells, Byron Wilkes, John Yargo Editorial Interns Will Caves, Jesse Crow, Alexandra Dildy, Deanna Graves, 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

ONLINE Web Designer Vincent Falconi Web Producer Korey Harrion

SALES AND OPERATIONS Sales Coordinator Kimberly Griffin Account Executive Randi Ashley Jackson Account Executive and Distribution Manager Adam Perry Accounting Montroe Headd Distribution Clint Dear, Nicole Finch, Amy Lovell, Michael Jacome, Brooke Jones, Steve Pate Founding Ad Director Stephen Barnette

CONTACT US: Letters letters@jacksonfreepress.com Editorial editor@jacksonfreepress.com Releases releases@jacksonfreepress.com Queries editor@jacksonfreepress.com Listings events@jacksonfreepress.com Advertising ads@jacksonfreepress.com Publisher todd@jacksonfreepress.com News tips adam@jacksonfreepress.com Internships interns@jacksonfreepress.com

Jackson Free Press P.O. Box 5067, Jackson, Miss., 39296 Editorial (601) 362-6121 Sales (601) 362-6121 Fax (601) 510-9019 Daily updates at jacksonfreepress.com The Jackson Free Press is the city’s award-winning, locally owned newsweekly, with 17,000 copies distributed in and around the Jackson metropolitan area every Thursday. The Jackson Free Press is free for pick-up by readers; one copy per person, please.

First-class subscriptions are available for $100 per year for postage and handling.

The Jackson Free Press welcomes thoughtful opinions. The views expressed in this newspaper are not necessarily those of the publisher or management of Jackson Free Press Inc. © Copyright 2010 Jackson Free Press Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Association of Alternative Newsweeklies

T

he independent film scene is less robust than 20 years ago when it was the ultimate cool. The major studios have a tough enough time reaping profits today, and with a few exceptions such as Participant Media, the big players have virtually abandoned personal filmmaking because the numbers don’t add up. As a result, mainstream film fare typically targets hormonally charged youth who unfailingly pack the theaters.

Following the golden rule of “know thy audience,” the major studios rely on the latest and greatest computer-generated gimmickry to satiate the thrill-seeking appetite of the video-game generation. These films require lots of money, and the trend is to throw in 3-D for an extra boost. The movie has a chance at boxoffice success if it has good-looking vampires, blood and guts, explosions, big guns and an artillery of implausibility led by a supercut action hero shouting monosyllabic commands like, “We’ve got to make a stand!”

It hardly pays to take a stand anymore.

As famous film writer Pauline Kael wrote, “[P]eople no longer go to a picture just for itself, and ticket-buyers certainly aren’t looking for the movie equivalent of ‘a good read.’ They want to be battered, to be knocked out—they want to get wrecked. They want what ‘everybody’s talking about.’”

Most indie filmmakers don’t have the money to pay the people working on their project, much less any spare change for creating an event. But the ones that succeed (sort of like making it into the NFL or NBA) understand that no matter how brilliant your low-budget movie may be, the secret to success is building an audience, buzz, drama, and the extravaganza of an alternative reality where people live out their dreams. This is where film festivals like the Crossroads Film Festival make a real impact.

Film festivals have a track record of launching careers and building audiences. Festival success, through word-of-mouth buzz, has launched the careers of Kevin Smith, Quentin Tarantino and countless others. Smith’s career went into high gear after “Clerks” became the darling of the 1994 Sundance Film Festival, and he sold the film to Miramax. Smith has gone from shooting his first film on a budget of $27,575 to making $30 million pictures.

Like Smith, Tarantino’s career break came through a film festival. Without the success of “Reservoir Dogs” at the Sundance Film Festival, Tarantino may not have had the opportunity to make “Pulp Fiction,” and without the success of “Pulp Fiction” at the Cannes Film Festival, no “Kill Bill” Vols. 1 and 2, and without “Kill Bill,” no “Inglourious Basterds,” which was nominated for eight

Academy Awards this year, one of which was awarded to Christoph Waltz for his outstanding performance as Col. Hans Landa.

The big festivals, like Sundance, Cannes, Berlin, Venice and Toronto, are not the only ones to launch and sustain filmmaking careers.

The 11th Annual Crossroads Film Festival, which runs Friday through Sunday at the Malco Grandview Theatre on Madison, has had a significant impact on filmmakers, audiences and the local filmmaking community.

“I see other people’s works, and it keeps me inspired to pursue my own film ideas,” says local filmmaker Philip Scarborough, who co-founded the festival.

Scarborough directs, edits and shoots for his Jackson-based company, which offers full production services. Among other things, he worked on “Prom Night in Mississippi,” which premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and starred Morgan Freeman.

Nina Parikh, a festival founder and the associate director of the 2010 festival, has seen the long-term effects of Crossroads. “I’ve seen individuals attend their first film workshops one year and present their own film in a following year. I’ve seen high school students submit the videos they’ve made with friends to Crossroads, then move into studying film in college and then into the film/video industry.

And I’ve even seen visiting filmmakers come back to Mississippi after attending the festival to shoot new films. It’s cool to see the organization successfully meet many of its missions.”

Crossroads also provides an opportunity for the filmmakers to meet and connect with the audience. Ferrell Tadlock, a festival founder, said that “feedback from an audience such as Crossroads is invaluable to a filmmaker. It is incredibly difficult to be objective about one’s work. Only by submitting to the screening and the audience can a filmmaker know that what he or she does will be accepted.”

The continued viability of independent filmmaking, which seems to have been withering on the vine during the past five years, depends on film festivals like the Crossroads Film Festival. Crossroads and other festivals in Mississippi—such as the Jewish Film Festival, Magnolia Independent Film Festival, Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration, Oxford Film Festival, Tupelo Film Festival and Delta International Film and Video Festival—nurture the film leaders of tomorrow, expand the audience base and build upon the firm foundation of Mississippi’s film industry.

Anita is a filmmaker and former Crossroads president. See her short, “Crimes Against Pizza,” Friday, April 16 at 7:10 p.m.

CORRECTIONS

In the Issue 29, Vol. 8, Editor’s Note, “Mapping Our Future,” Lacey McLaughlin erroneously identified Jane Jacobs and her book “The Death and Life of Great American Cities,” as Jane Jacob and “The Death and Life of American Cities.” Also in that issue, we incorrectly identified the MSU School of Architecture—one of our favorite spaces in the city—as the JCDC Architecture School. In the Issue 30, Vol. 8, article “Musical Harmony, Cultural Acceptance,” the writer and editor mistakenly identified Adam Jerrell Collier as Adam James Collier.

The Jackson Free Press apologizes for the errors.

ALL STADIUM SEATING Movie listings for Friday, April 16th thru Thursday, April 15th Kick Ass

R

Death at a Funeral R Date Night

Hot Tub Time Machine

R

The Bounty Hunter PG13

PG13

Clash of the Titans 3-D PG13 Clash of the Titans (non 3-D) PG13 Why Did I Get Married Too? PG13 The Last Song PG

Diary of a Wimpy Kid PG Alice In Wonderland 3-D PG Earn points towards FREE concessions and movie tickets!

Join the SILVER SCREEN REWARDS

How To Train Your Dragon 3-D PG

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

Movieline: 355-9311

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)

Follow Mississippi Happening on Facebook and Twitter

jacksonfreepress.com

Editor in Chief Donna Ladd Publisher Todd Stauffer

13

CROSSROADS FILM FESTIVAL

S

everal months ago, a group of local film enthusiasts started the arduous process of screening films for the Crossroads Film Festival. After spending entire weekends camped in front of a television watching hundreds of films—some inspiring, and some not so inspiring—they democratically selected this year’s festival line up.

In this issue of the JFP, we’ve provided reviews and a smattering of other features for your film-going pleasure.

Crossroads brings some of the most thought-provoking and inspiring films and filmmakers from all over the world to Jackson. All-access passes for the festival, which runs Friday through Sunday at Malco Grandview in Madison, are $60 for Crossroads Film Society Members and $80 for non-members. Individual movie tickets are $6 for members and $8 for nonmembers. For the festival times and schedule, visit www.crossroadsfilmfest.com.

Events you don’t want to miss: Friday, April 16 • Meet the filmmakers at Sal and Mookie’s Pi(e) Lounge, 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

• After party at Hal & Mal’s 9 p.m., featuring music by Ben Shea and Star & Micey.

Saturday, April 17 • Youth Animation Workshop, 9 a.m. at Malco.

• Filmmakers Forum, 11 a.m. at Malco.

• Forum with Elizabeth Dampier: “Young Tiana” in Disney’s “Princess and the Frog,” 1 p.m. at Malco.

• Meet the filmmakers, 4:30 p.m. at Malco.

• After party at Hal & Mal’s Red Room, 9 p.m., featuring music by 7even:Thirty & 5th Child and Furrows.

Building a Better World

F

bee himself, as seen and heard in candid, never-before-seen interviews conducted by filmmaker Sam Douglas in 1999.

A bear with a thick beard, Mockbee dispenses architectural wisdom in these clips with a deep drawl.

At 60 minutes, the movie feels less like story telling and more like a series of conversations on the proper work of an architect. Colleagues and followers crop up to offer similar takes on Mockbee’s style and contributions to the profession,

April 15 - 21, 2010

COURTESY CROSSROADS FILM FESTIVAL

or more than 20 years, a quiet revolution in American architecture took place in Canton. Samuel Mockbee, a Meridian native, practiced a defiantly local but widely influential form of modernist architecture in the Deep South from the 1970s until his death in 2001. In an era when architectural success is typically defined by huge, high-profile projects—museums in major American cities and skyscrapers in Dubai—Mockbee’s art was remarkable for its moral charge.

Mockbee’s work—specifically the Rural Studio at Auburn University’s architecture school, which he co-founded in 1993—is the focus of “Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee & the Spirit of the Rural Studio.”

A fifth-generation Mississippian, Mockbee grew up in Meridian. After two years of military service, he enrolled at Auburn University, graduating from its School of Architecture in 1974. In 1977, he opened a practice in Canton, and in 1983 joined forces with Coleman Coker, another Canton-based architect. Together, Coker and Mockbee developed award-winning designs that melded modernist influences with a sense of Southern identity.

Mockbee ditched his lucrative private practice in 1993 to start the Rural Studio in Newbern, Ala., chasing what he called “a more socially responsive architecture.” The Rural Studio takes Auburn architecture students to Hale County, Ala., for a semester to design and build structures in one of the poorest places in the country, using cheap, often recycled materials like old tires and hay bales.

In 2000, Mockbee became the third architect ever to win a prestigious McArthur Foundation Fellowship, a fiveyear, no-strings-attached $500,000 “genius grant.” Tragically, Mockbee succumbed to complications of leukemia one year later, in December 2001.

“Citizen Architect” is a joint work of director Sam Douglas, Mockbee’s son-in-law, and producer Jay Sanders, who was a former student and instructor at the Rural Studio. The filmmakers’ affection and respect for Mockbee is palpable throughout the movie, as is Mockbee’s own generous personality. The film intersperses footage of Rural Studio students at work with interviews of Mockbee’s col14 leagues, students and family. The heart of the film is Mock-

with little disagreement. The film is short on critical views of Mockbee’s work, offering only one counter-argument from an architect: Peter Eisenman, an architect and professor at Yale. Eisenman is known for his heady, deconstructivist designs that often discomfit visitors—a far cry from Mockbee’s inviting, if also eye-catching work. In one of the film’s most memorable moments, Eisenman recounts an experience designing an affordable housing project. He had no interest in meeting or interacting with the future residents, he said.

“Do I need to engage with the people in these projects?”

Eisenman asks rhetorically. “No.” For the most part, Mockbee’s architecture doesn’t come across well, however impressive it may be. Shown primarily in still elevation shots, we rarely get the sense of how it must feel to move through these buildings. The exceptions are the few scenes where we see the buildings in use: The crowd clustered around an undulating chain-link backstop at a community baseball field makes the students’ work look lived-in and all-American, even as their swooping design

makes the game look newly weird. A man clips a leash onto a dog under the arching roof of the open-air Hale County Animal Shelter, which could be an airplane hangar or the dried-out belly of a whale.

When the film really lives is in the affectionate, sometimes jousting interactions between architects and clients in Alabama and in the few shots of people interacting with the Studio’s handiwork. Douglas and Sanders bookend the film with a pair of conversations between Sanders and Peanut Robinson, a resident of Newbern.

In the first conversation, Robinson is dubious that a group of architecture students, most of them white, have provided any tangible help to Hale County.

“What has the Rural Studio done for this community?” he asks. At the film’s end, Robinson sits outside the Newbern Fire Station, another Rural Studio project. He has changed his mind, but the film offers no direct explanation why.

The film’s best illustration of how the Rural Studio changes lives is in the house students built for Jimmie Lee Matthews, an eccentric who calls himself “Music Man” and lives in a collapsing, leaky trailer crammed full of stereo equipment.

Douglas and Sanders follow Rural Studio students as they plan Music Man’s new home and then build it themselves.

Near the film’s end, we see Music Man in his Rural Studio home. Sunlight filters down through skylights in the house’s narrow, high-peaked ceiling and falls on the same jumbled assortment of stereo equipment and belongings in plastic bags that filled Music Man’s old shelter.

“Is this the best that architecture can do?” the scene seems to ask. Sanders himself suggests that the most significant feature of Music Man’s new house is the 183foot well supplying drinking water, not the beautiful and resourceful building design. But Music Man is smiling as he putters around his new house, cranking up his stereos.

The architecture has not changed the day-to-day of Music Man’s life, but the Rural Studio has given it a more beautiful, humane vessel.

--Ward Schaefer The screening of “Citizen Architect” is Sunday, April 18 at 7:25 p.m.

2010 CROSSROADS FILM FESTIVAL Shorts on Shorts

“S

ebastian’s Voodoo,” (directed by Jaoquin Baldwin, 4:07 minutes) may be a computer-animated short, but it is not for kids. Let me stress this again in case you were skimming— this animation is not for kids. It creeped me out, and I’m the guy that saw “Grindhouse” in theaters twice. “Sebastian’s Voodoo” is a tale told from the perspective of voodoo dolls, and each day is a horror. They sit on giant hooks like a scene from a “Texas Chainsaw” movie until a giant grabs them one by one and kills them slowly with giant needles. But as dark as this film is, I couldn’t pull myself away. The animators were able to squeeze gut-wrenching emotion from the faceless bags of canvas, and for a movie about voodoo, the story has a very messianic theme. I like darker animations because they can shock you into thinking. But bring your kids, and they’ll be shocked into sleeping in your bed until they’re 19 years old.

—Bret Kenyon The screening of “Sebastian’s Voodoo” is Saturday, April 17, at 5:30 p.m.

MAYBE PITTSBURGH

M

aybe Pittsburgh (directed by Lyn Elliot, 26 min.) is a liveaction short that tells the story of a young wife who tries to save her marriage by taking her husband on a tour of Pittsburgh. As a native of Pittsburgh, I’m not sure where the idea came from that the city is romantically therapeutic, unless coal dust and drunken football fans are what brought the couple together in the first place. But Emily (played by Emily Rossell) believes otherwise. Her husband Joe (Nathan Holt) has just admitted to finding a new female friend: one he enjoys being with more than his wife. Emily decides the only thing that can save them is an industrial getaway.

The couple starts revealing secrets to each other, and honesty does no favors to the relationship. Joe, who comes across more of a caricature than a character at times, exacerbates the situation by constantly challenging the fine line between “artistic dedication to his writing” and “laziness.”

I won’t give away too much about the ending, but I didn’t see it coming. Literally. The film just ... ends. Emily’s final lines communicate that she has made a final decision, but the film doesn’t make it clear what that decision is. “Maybe Pittsburgh” is worth the watch: Elliot tells the story well, gives you characters to love, and ends before it gets boring.

—Bret Kenyon The screening of “Maybe Pittsburgh,” is Sunday, April 18, at 2:50 p.m.

The Mouse That Soared

“T

he Mouse That Soared” (directed by Kyle T. Bell, 5:45 minutes) is a computer-animated short that tells the story of a baby mouse adopted by well-meaning parental birds after the very un-Disney death of its parents. The animators depict the baby mouse in all its baby-mouse ugliness, the characters face grim death constantly, and at one point giant buzz saws get involved. Long story short, I couldn’t stop laughing and ended up watching it twice.

—Bret Kenyon The screening of “The Mouse that Soared is Saturday, April 17, at 5:35 p.m.

We Are All Here

“W

e Are All Here,” (directed by Yonghwa Choi, 1: 48 minute) is a student film that combines cutout animation similar to South Park, with stop-motion animation—a technique that creates animation by stringing together still photographs (seen in such movies as “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “Wallace and Gromit”). In less than two minutes, the film teaches us that if we don’t stop our partying, the world will collapse. Literally. I realize we’re working with metaphors here, and yes, I understand the underlying message, mainly because we see this theme all the time. But the visuals and art design are catchy, the music fits perfectly, and is well done.

—Bret Kenyon The screening of “We are All Here” is Saturday, April 17 at 5: 35 p.m.

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Maybe Pittsburgh

DEALING

portrays the essence of the song visually with no discrepancies between the two, which is exactly what a successful music video should do.

The music video looks like a vintage home movie. It captures a group of friends’ time around Jackson, in the Waffle House on High Street, Sneaky Beans and the Fondren Corner building, just to name a few. The familiar setting coupled with the carefree actions of the characters, playing air guitar on a spatula in Sneaky Beans, for example, capture the feeling of youthful nostalgia.

—Jesse Crow The screening of “Kings of Crop” is Friday, April 16, at 9 p.m.

Two Worlds

“S

unday,” (directed by Kris Daw, 12 minutes) is an experimental short film that chronicles a day in the main character’s life. The film opens with an animated alternate world, filled with indescribable creatures that monitor and control the main character’s actions, and switches between this world and real life. It’s evident that the man’s daily actions are mundane and mechanical because the actor portrays them lifelessly.

At the end of this day the man lies down on a couch and loses all the life from his eyes. While this happens, a bare tree attacks and defeats the controlling creatures. The film immediately changes gears, from a dull to a hopeful tone, suggesting the importance of breaking away from a monotonous routine.

The animation and the acting are done well, but the connection between the two worlds is subject to many interpretation. In all, this is a short that will make you think —Jesse Crow The screening of “Sunday” is Saturday, April 17, at 5:35 p.m.

Dealing with Darkness Experimenting with Beauty

“D

ealing” is a three-minute experimental film produced and directed by Jackson’s Front Porch Dance Company.

The film begins with an aerial shot of four dancers seated at a card table on the porch of the Commons and Eudora Welty’s birthplace. The dancers take turns dealing cards to the rhythm of local musician Jamie Weem’s mandolin.

The cinematography creates an aesthetic transition from the card table to various spots at the commons where the dancers perform modern dance and ballet gracefully while putting on their best poker face. This short film captures the beauty of the Commons and talent of local artists. —Lacey McLaughlin The screening of “Dealing” is Saturday, April 17, at 3 p.m.

Encounter in the Desert

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n the short film “The Big Bends,” a man diagnosed with a terminal illness decides to spend his remaining days in a camp trailer in the desert while he waits to die. When he encounters a man and woman crossing the border from Mexico, he tries to stop them by force. But when he sees that the woman is pregnant and going into labor, he decides to let them use his car to seek help.

The dying man narrates the film and muses on the new life the immigrants will face in American. “He’ll be doing work that’s a lot harder than he imagined, and getting paid a lot less than he should,” the man remarks. In less than five minutes, the film captures the isolation of the desert, frailty of life and hardships of immigrants.

—Lacey McLaughlin The screening of “The Big Bends” is Saturday, April 17, at 3 p.m.

“D

eep Sleep” (directed by Alejandro Alvarex, 15 minutes) is the story of how a brother and sister, Cam and Fiona, deal with the suicide of Cam’s wife and Fiona’s closest friend, Eleanor. Eleanor remarks that “death is about the living,” and this film is an exploration of that theme. The film mainly focuses on Fiona, who slips into a deep depression following Eleanor’s death because she felt responsible. Fiona copes with Eleanor’s death by sleeping; she is able to speak and be with Eleanor in her dreams.

The acting in “deep sleep” is incredibly powerful. Alvarez makes great use of the juxtaposition between Fiona’s dreams and real life—while dreaming, she is outside in a bright field, but really she is in a dark, dreary room looking ill. The film presents the hardships of loss and offers a clear resolution.

—Jesse Crow The screening of “Deep Sleep” is Saturday , April 17, at 1:20 p.m.

SUNDAY

jacksonfreepress.com

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Sebastian’s Voodoo

COURTESY CROSSROADS FILM FESTIVAL

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t’s quite possible you’re one of the many people who go to film festivals on purpose. While I consider myself a movie buff, I will visit my first Crossroads Film Festival this year, and just to make sure I don’t wind up watching a two-hour experimental film chronicling the violent love affair of two yard snails, I snuck a peek at a few of the films heading our way this year.

Local Fun

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very time I watch the “Kings of Crop” music video for the local band Law School, I’m reminded that it’s great to be young, especially in Jackson. The song has a refreshingly whimsical feel—it’s a perfect song for driving with the windows down on a summer day. The cinematography of the video

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Fighting Injustice

introduction (current price: $1.05). While local Butchers gave the pigs’ ears to the restaurant free of charge, the price of ears has gone up due to their current use as a popular dog’s chew toy.

York, on staff at the University of Mississippi Media and Documentary Projects Center, not only shoots and edits the documentary so well that it looks like a History Channel feature, but he manages to use a local delicacy to tell the story of Jackson’s glory days.

The Southern Food Alliance produced the documentary. Dubbed by the Atlantic Monthly as “this country’s most intellectually engaged (and probably most engaging) food society, the SFA attempts to tell a locale’s history by exploring the roots of its unique cuisine.

I wish more films could do what this film does—find a unique device to tell the history of home. The past few decades have been unkind to Farish Street, but the popularity and stream of musical legends that passed through that place made me wish I could have spent a day there in its prime. Who needs a Bourbon Street or a Beale Street when you have something like this?

The film left me inspired to hold out hope that Jackson can one day regain some of what it once had. In the end, it’s not a documentary about some far away place or people you’ll never meet in a lifetime; it’s a documentary about our backyard.

—Bret Kenyon The screening of “Smokes and Ears” is Saturday, April 17, at 3 p.m.

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hen we hear stories of the Civil Rights Movement, we often think of the struggles of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or James Meredith. But one of the most powerful and unheard stories is that of African American sanitation workers in Memphis during that time period.

“I am a Man. From Memphis. A Lesson In Life” is a 30-minute documentary that tells the struggles of Elmore Nickelberry and other sanitation workers. Nickelberry, 70, still makes his rounds as a garbage truck driver down Memphis’ Beale Street.

Racial violence and discrimination was rampant in Memphis during the 1960s.

The city’s sanitation workers, who were all African Americans, earned a mere $5.49

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COURTESY CROSSROADS FILM FESTIVAL

from page 15

for a day’s worth of work. In the first few minutes of the film, sanitation workers are brought to tears as they discuss the conditions they endured, like coming home from work covered with maggots and waste.

When two employees died after the back of a garbage truck malfunctioned and crushed them, workers went on strike to demand better conditions and pay. On April 3, 1968, King was assassinated when he came to Memphis to support the strike.

Nickelberry and 1,300 other workers risked their lives and their family’s livelihood by going on strike, but bravely stood together holding signs that read: “I am a Man.” Their efforts eventually led to better work conditions and pensions.

The documentary also highlight’s Nickelberry’s recent trips to elementary schools where he shares his story with younger generations. This short documentary is an inspiring story that demonstrates the power of determined group of men.

—Lacey McLaughlin The screening of “I am a Man. From Memphis. A Lesson Learned.” is Sunday, April 17, at 1 p.m.

In a Pig’s Ear

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Questioning Human Nature

April 15 - 21, 2010

a Tasmanian native—the first human the troupe had come across since their escape from prison. There is little to say of the encounter without adding a spoiler, but suffice to say that the meeting says plenty about our attitudes toward the self-perceived superiority of our own culture—as evidenced in Lieutenant Cuthbertson’s misplaced summary of Pierce’s behavior as “savage.”

Rowland’s Irish-Australian drama hit big at the European Independent Film Fest, with the short movie taking home Best Non-European Dramatic Feature at the festival’s fifth presentation in Paris.

Prior to that, the film won an Inside Film Award and an Apra Screen Music Award.

It earned them all.

Watch the film and know, as Pearce puts it, that “a full belly is prerequisite of all manner of good.” The unstated portion of that line, of course, is that without that full belly, well, things could be different.

—Adam Lynch The screening of “The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce is Sunday, April 18, at 12:45 p.m.

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lexander Pearce was an Irish convict transported to Tasmania by the British judicial system for theft of six pairs of shoes in 1819. He was also, by accusation of the British government, a cannibal.

Directed by Michael James Rowland, “The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce” takes place in 1824 Tasmania, as the incarcerated and condemned Pearce (Ciaran McMenamin, “Sunday”) lays pouring out his wretched soul before the priest overseeing his last rites. Father Phillip Connolly (Adrian Dunbar, “The Crying Game”) is at once hostile and unsympathetic toward the convict, but hears the man’s tale of his weeks-long journey through the inhospitable wilderness of Tasmania. As the yarn unfolds, Connolly comes to view mankind as less a predetermined creature bound by his creator for Heaven or Hell, and more as either beneficiary or victim of the environment in which he lives.

Eight convicts escape the brutal penal colony of Van Diemens Land, but only one survives the escape in the long run. The tale between the first and last part of that story is a sad account of depravity fit only to make one question the nature of the human condition.

(A less introspective member of the audience will probably liken it to the gradually shrinking pool of contestants on “American Idol.”)

One of the most humbling moments in 16 the film comes when the lone survivor meets

mokes and Ears,” directed by Joe York of Oxford, is a 26minute documentary tells the story about the Big Apple Inn on Farish Street, and its speciality sandwich. Also known as “Big John’s,” the small restaurant’s trademarks are two sandwiches: the Smoke, a spicy ground-sausage sandwich about the size of a Krystal’s burger, and the Pig’s Ear sandwich.

Bet you’ll never guess what that’s made from.

I’ll admit that I gagged a little when I first saw a small child devouring a boiled pig’s ear slapped on a bun. But by the end of the film, I was craving one.

Local history begins to bleed into the narrative as the film’s explains the sandwich origins and ingredients. We learn that the Big Apple was a safe house for planning political strategy during the Civil Rights Movement.

We discover that the restaurant was built by a young immigrant who started out selling hot tamales on the street corner, and that the price of a Pig’s Ear sandwich has only gone up approximately a penny a year since their

Building on Faith

“G

od’s Architects” is a documentary that explores the works of five self-appointed architects who cite a higher power as the reason for constructing their environments.

Filmmaker Zachary Godshall spent three years documenting the works of artists like 92-year-old Rev. H.D. Dennis from Vicksburg, who transformed his wife Margaret’s Highway 61 grocery store into a colorful brick maze of archways and signs pronouncing God’s love. He also transformed the inside of an old school bus into a small chapel complete with a pulpit and pews. He uses his creation as a way to minister to others who pass through.

A newspaper article hangs inside the store, with a quote from Dennis that reads: “God is the greatest architect, I am only his assistant.”

One of the most compelling artists is Leonard Knight who painted an entire side of a mountain, adding the message “God is Love.” When Knight’s hot-air balloon crashed in the desert of Southern California in 1984, he took it as a sign that God wanted him to stay there and work with his hands. Since then he has made his home in the desert, surviving by donations from supporters. Knight compares himself to a modern-day King Solomon, who asked God for wisdom and knowledge so he could build Jerusalem’s first temple.

Knight’s creation includes a three-story round structure made with adobe covered hay bales and painted to include birds and waterfalls.

Godshall also explores the work of Shelby Ravellette, who built a stone castle in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri to honor the memory of his deceased daughter Lacey Michele. The castle, reminiscent of medieval architecture, has been Ravellete’s work in progress for more than 20 years.

As each artist reveals the motivation behind his work, they speak of the need to fulfill a greater life purpose. They have each dedicated their entire lives to building these structures to inspire others. All humble men, they teach us that the greatest treasures are created out of passion and perseverance instead of profit and fame.

—Lacey McLaughlin The screening of “ God’s Architects “ is Saturday, April 17, at 1:20 p.m.

2010 CROSSROADS FILM FESTIVAL

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COURTESY CROSSROADS FILM FESTIVAL

The Cost of Witnessing

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hen it comes witnessing tragedies and historic events, journalists are often the ones in the crosshairs. But the perception that journalists are tough as nails isn’t always true. After Hurricane Katrina destroyed the Gulf Coast, television anchorman Mike Walter created the documentary “Breaking News, Breaking Down,” to show how catastrophic events take a toll on journalists.

Walter tells his story of how his own experiences covering Sept. 11, 2001, affected his life and sent him spiraling into depression. Walter spent several months after the attack covering stories of victims and their loss. The constant grief and loss he encountered was almost too much to bear. Walter ended up seeking treatment, but his experience compelled him to raise awareness about the issue.

Walter’s personal story is just a small part of

Radio: Mississippi Style

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lively foot-stomping crowd gathers every week to hear author readings and live music in the most unlikely of places: a bookstore.

“Thacker Mountain Radio: The Documentary,” directed by Mary Warner and Joe York, highlights the history and success of the weekly radio show at Square Books in Oxford that has been on the air for more than a dozen years.

In the film, the show’s founders—Caroline Herring, Square Books owner Richard Howorth and Bryan Leford—reflect on the show’s quirkier moments and its humble beginnings.

In 1997, the show started with a shoestring budget, but its popularity grew with the intimate performances and variety of talented artist that passed through. Now the show is aired live in Oxford and rebroadcast every Saturday night on Mississippi Public Broadcasting.

The film includes clips from performances by pianist Jim Dickinson of the Yalobushwackers, Elvis Costello, former host Tom Arriola, and authors

this 36-minute documentary. He focuses on New Orleans Times Picayune reporters who not only covered Hurricane Katrina, but also had their own homes and lives devastated by the storm. Walter spends time with a group of journalists who come together to help rebuild their colleague’s homes.

The documentary also focuses on Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist John McCusker, who photographed the flood-ravaged streets of New Orleans for the Times Picayune after the storm. McCusker, who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, led police officers on a highspeed chase after learning his insurance would not cover the cost to rebuild his home. The reason he led police on a chase, McCusker said, was his hope that they would shoot him to death.

“Breaking News” is an important documentary to educate and remind the public that the people who deliver the news are the one’s whose stories are often overlooked.

—Lacey McLaughlin The screening of “Breaking News, Breaking Down,” is Saturday, April 17, at 3:35 p.m.

such as Barry Hannah.

The film also highlights humorous moments like when Herring had to search the square for an author when one canceled at the last minute before the show went live, or when an author accidently dropped the “F” bomb during a reading.

The light-hearted and humorous documentary tells the story of a collaborative effort between artists while preserving the history of what has become a Mississippi radio staple.

—Lacey McLaughlin The screening of “Thacker Mountain Radio: A Documentary” is Friday, April 16, at 7 p.m. more C r

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COURTESY THACKER MOUNTAIN RADIO

he life force, our survival instinct, is incredibly strong. For most of us, dying is not something to look forward to. Mostly, we don’t want to talk or even think about death. But for those living with incurable illnesses, life often becomes so painful that it’s no longer worth living. What then?

“Last Rights: Facing End of Life Decisions” takes a straightforward, mostly unsentimental look at that question, one that many of us will have to face at some point.

The film, written and directed by Karen Cantor and produced in association with Mississippi Public Broadcasting, documents the final journeys of four people who asked the question, mostly along with their families and friends. Along the way, the hour-long documentary includes numerous interviews from doctors, clergy, hospice, right-to-die and right-to-life advocates, and the survivors of those who died.

“Last Rights” is a compassionate, yet unflinching look at the decisions each of the four made, underscoring a complex and emotional process, often made even more difficult by legalities and the medical system.

Dr. Scott Nelson, a family doctor from Cleveland, Miss., is the film’s narrator. His father, Elbert Nelson, terrified about taking pain medication for his kidney cancer and anguished over the pain his illness would inflict on his family, unexpectedly committed suicide by shooting himself.

Doug Gladstone, a seemingly

healthy biologist in his 50s from the Washington, D.C., area, received a diagnosis of liver cancer. His widow, Lennie Gladstone, speaks eloquently of the shock of the initial diagnosis and his death 22 months later, a death made easier through hospice care that was able to alleviate the worst of his pain, and allowed him to die in peace in his home.

Two strong, independent women are at the heart of the documentary. Both women chose their time to die after their illnesses progressed to the point where they no longer had any quality of life.

Merian Frederick, of Ann Arbor, Mich., was dying of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease), an incurable and fatal disease where neurons that allowed her to control her muscles began to die. Frederick, nearly paralyzed, became Dr. Jack Kevorkian’s 19th assisted death at age 72, dying with her pastor by her side.

Her children, who knew and honored her decision, did not attend her death because if its illegality.

Peggy Sutherland of Oregon was terminally ill with lung cancer. Sutherland took advantage of Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act in 2001, and died with her family at her side.

Ultimately, the film makes a strong argument for giving us all the final freedom to decide when our lives are over.

It doesn’t make the decision easier or the legal and moral arguments less thorny.

But it is an issue worth understanding from all angles, before it’s decided for you.

—Ronni Mott The screening of “Last Rites” is Sunday, April 17, at 5:15 p.m.

jacksonfreepress.com

A Good Day to Die

after 20 years. It’s also about facing realities after years of hoping things couldn’t really be as bad as they are “I believe my mom really, and my dad … they know what I’m doing,” Gabriel says after he learns his parents are both dead. “... There is no better way to honor them than really, to help people and contributing to making life better in Ariang village.”

—Ronni Mott The screening of “Rebuilding Hope” is Sunday, April 18, at 1 p.m.

COURTESY CROSSROADS FILM FESTIVAL

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t’s hard to imagine a country that’s been at war for as long as you’ve been alive, but Sudan, which includes the states of Darfur, has seen almost continuous civil war since 1956, the year I was born. In that year, British colonial powers left an autocratic Arab minority in the northern city of Khartoum in charge of the largest country on the African continent. It wasn’t long before the black majority rose up against their “foreign” rulers.

In the 1980s, war reached the southern villages of three boys who are the subjects of Jenna Marlowe’s documentary “Rebuilding Hope.” Koor Garang, Gabriel Bol Deng and Garang Mayuol didn’t know one another at the time, but as they saw their villages burned and their families slaughtered, the boys joined the millions of refugees—mostly children—escaping the bloodshed that has taken 2 million lives.

The boys eventually ended up in northern Kenya in 1991, after fleeing from yet another war in Ethiopia where they first settled. In the Kakuma II Refugee Camp in Kenya, the three “lost boys” first met and became friends. All three applied to come to the United States in 2001, and ended up scattered across the country: Koor went to Tuscon, Ariz., Garang

to Chicago, and Gabriel to Syracuse, N.Y. The second of Sudan’s civil wars ended in 2005 after 22 years, and the boys—now men who had kept in contact over the years—planned a return to their country. Koor, studying to be a nurse, wanted to provide medical supplies and mosquito nets to the still-impoverished villages near his home. Gabriel, now a college graduate, wanted to build a school. Garang simply wanted to find his mother, but joins the others in 2007 in wholehearted support of their projects.

“Rebuilding Hope” is thin on historical details; there are enough books and films that chronicle the politics and devastation of war in Sudan, and the film skillfully blends images of the country’s beauty with the wreckage of war.

The film’s deep richness, however, emerges in the eyes of the three young men, the power and vibrancy of reunions, and even in disappointment as they realize that they haven’t brought nearly enough supplies for the hungry and sick population.

Marlowe makes no overt attempts at tugging viewer’s heartstrings; still, this is a powerful film about hope. Hope that this time, the fragile peace will last. It’s about returning to people that never left the affections of these three, a connection so profound that they cannot deny it, even

COURTESY JEN MARLOWE

The Greatest Connection

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The Kid In the Picture

How did you find out about the film?

I just heard about it one night on the 10 o’clock news that they were going to have an open casting call at the Coliseum, at the Trade Mart. So I took her.

They wanted little girls around the age that she was, five years old. We’d never done anything like that before. There were plenty, plenty of little girls there. The only question they asked her that day was, “Would you cut your hair, if we wanted you to?” And of course she said, “No.” So, I thought for sure we’d never hear back from them. A week or so later, they called and wanted to do an interview with her. It was probably about four or five different callbacks before we knew she had the part.

Natalie had a speaking role. What were her lines?

What scenes were you in?

I was in the (political) rally scene, where they’re in Canton. George Clooney and the other guy are on the back of a black truck, and they pull up at the rally and jump out of the back of the truck. As he gets out of the truck, I’m walking across the street with two other extras. Actually they put me as playing this couple’s daughter. I was an adult, with kids, but I’m real short, so they put me as playing their daughter. We’re walking across the street like we’re going to the rally. My other scene was in the banquet scene in Vicksburg.

Has your daughter done any acting since then?

She’s done just a few things—a Patty Peck commercial, some stuff like that. She actually auditioned a month ago for the (Coen brothers’ upcoming) “True Grit.” She got a call back, and we went back, and that was the last we heard.

Is there anything else that stuck out to you about the experience?

(Natalie) was little, and she would just say whatever. Her and (Clooney) joked a lot on set about— there was one time in particular in the Woolworth’s store. Of course, he’s got thousands of lines, and he had forgotten one of his lines. And she was like, “If you would just remember your lines and hurry up.” And I was like, “Oh no, you do not talk to George Clooney that way.”

The Crossroads Film Society will show a 10-minute compliation of interviews with other locals who played roles in the film’s production on Saturday, April 18, directly before the 2:50 p.m. screening of “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” in honor of the film’s 10th anniversary.

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n elderly woman drags her walker behind her as she trudges through a field, occasionally glancing at an unassuming building behind her while Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” plays eerily in the background. The woman comes to an old barbed-wire fence, hurling the walker over it with every ounce of strength, proceeding to crawl through it. An alarm sounds.

Two men dressed in nurses’ uniforms come sprinting from the building, clearing the barbed-wire fence with a single bound. They easily catch up to the woman, at which point she yells at them, and the scene concludes.

This might seem like the ideal set-up for consecutive scenes that are just as murky and confusing, but Tom Huckabee’s “Carried Away” (2009) is a delightful movie that is refreshingly down-to-earth yet hilariously distant.

The movie’s action centers on Ed Franklin (Gabriel Horn), an aspiring young Hollywood actor coming home to visit his family in Fort Worth, Texas. Ed’s mother, Jean (Morgana Shaw), welcomes him at the airport, catching him up on

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by Lacey McLaughlin

hen young filmmakers think of places to start their future careers, cities like New York or Los Angeles usually top their lists. But a 36,000-square-foot film studio in Canton—slated to open this spring—could make Mississippi a more desirable location for film and television production.

The Mississippi Film Studios @ Canton, located on 5.8 acres outside the Canton Square, will be the first film studio in the state built from the ground up. Jo Ann Gordon, executive director of the Canton Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, has spent the last 20 years promoting Canton as a location for the film industry. She has worked at the bureau during filming of “A Time to Kill,” “My Dog Skip” and “O Brother Where Art Thou?”

“It’s one of the best industries that the state of Mississippi can embrace,” she said. “It provides job creation, work-force training and education. It comprises every great component for economic development.”

Nick Smerigan is the founder of RoadTown Enterprises, the Los Angeles-based firm that is managing the studio. He said the studio will provide opportunities for filmmakers so that they don’t have to leave the state. RoadTown will be in charge of marketing the studio

family news.

Rex (Mark Walters) is Ed’s cigar-chomping, mustached father whose good intentions for his family are limited by his own selfishness. Davy (Tyler Corie) plays Ed’s soft-spoken younger brother, who is facing criminal charges for selling drugs, while Steve (Bryan Massey) plays Ed’s unforgivingly pugilistic old brother.

By painting an elaborate depiction of the individuals, Huckabee gives the cast all the fuel they need as they drive madly across Texas in search of, well, each other.

Juli Erickson, who plays Ed’s grandmother, remains comically determined to break out of her confined life, though she is often spaced out throughout the film. When Ed visits his grandmother after coming home, he is disturbed to learn she loathes the nursing home, claiming abuse from the orderlies.

Because her son, Rex, sold her home (unbeknownst to her), Granny has nowhere else to live, until Ed comes up with a new living arrangement: She can live with him at his Hollywood apartment. What follows is a nursing home break-out and the makings for a cross-country road trip back to California. While Ed and Granny make it out of Fort Worth successfully, Rex takes it on himself to bring his mother and son back

to potential producers and overseeing the construction.

“Mississippi has incredible locations for filming,” Smerigan said. “The historic architecture makes Jackson a great city, shooting wise. There are incredible locations up and down the state.”

Smerigan said that the production studio will allow for more non-specific location shoots.

“What is a lake in Mississippi can be a lake in up-state New York,” he said. “The trick is to bring the professional infrastructure. … When other film companies spread the word that Mississippi is open for business, it’s going to become a great location in the long term. “ The film studio will create 25 to 30 permanent jobs and employ as many as 150 to 250 employees when film production is underway. In 1996, after the filming of “A Time to Kill,” Warner Bros.

Studio donated the original stage to the city’s convention bureau, which will now be renovated to complete the studio.

Gordon said the studio complements the Mississippi Development Authority’s Mississippi Motion Picture Incentive Program, a measure the state Legislature passed six years ago that returns a portion of a companies’ expenses incurred in the state while producing a motion picture.

COURTESY CROSSROADS FILM FESTIVAL

A Different Kind of Road Trip

Deep South Tinseltown

to reality, while Steve and Davy ride along.

“Carried Away” portays one family’s struggle to come to terms with who they are and what they’ve become, staying thoroughly entertaining and humorous throughout, even during the more poignant interludes.

—Byron Wilkes The screening of “Carried Away” is Saturday, April 17, at 19 7:20 p.m. jacksonfreepress.com

COURTESY JEANNINE SHEDD

Natalie Shedd (left) with George Clooney and Jeannine Shedd (right) on the set of “O Brother Where Art Thou.”

When he (George Clooney) walks into the Woolworth’s store, she runs and says, “Daddy, Daddy!” He picks her up, and she laughs. After that, she says, “ ‘Cause you was hit by a train.” Then her line after that is, “Seven, Daddy.” You can hear her say it in the background; they don’t actually show her. Those are her big lines.

It was a lot of fun, and she got paid well, I thought. She had her own trailer with her name on the door.

COURTESY ROADTOWN ENTERPRISES

W

hen brothers Joel and Ethan Coen filmed “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” in Canton 10 years ago, they gave many Jackson-area residents their first—and in some cases, their only—taste of Hollywood. The Coen brothers hired locals as extras for crowd scenes and even cast some in roles. Natalie Shedd of Pearl, then 5 years old, won one of the most enviable roles: one of the four “Wharvey gals,” daughters of Everett Ulysses McGill (George Clooney) and his estranged wife, Penny (Holly Hunter).

Shedd’s mother, Jeannine, also appears in the movie as an extra in two scenes. Jeannine, now 34, shared their experiences with the Jackson Free Press.

by Ward Schaefer

FILM

CANNON NISSAN A Jew for Palestine OF JACKSON

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Above: Cannon Nissan salesman, Darryn Lilly hands Beverly Roberts the keys to her new 2010 Nissan Rogue. “The service I received was great, and they delivered my new car right to my door! I’ll do business with Cannon Nissan again!” Roberts said.

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20 905 I-20 S Frontage Rd. in Jackson | 601-360-7490

S

eated in a well-appointed living room, a pretty young woman tells a tragic story in an eerily steady voice.

Anna Baltzer is speaking in the 2008 DVD “Life in Occupied Palestine: Eyewitness Stories & Photos,” a recording of her presentation about daily life for West Bank Palestinians.

Baltzer relates that a Palestinian woman, seven-months pregnant with twins and in labor, headed to the hospital with her husband. Just outside their village, they stopped their car at an Israeli checkpoint, one of dozens of concrete and barbed-wire barriers that the Israeli Army has erected along West Bank roads.

The Israeli soldiers on duty politely told her that crossing the checkpoint at night was prohibited. The couple argued with the soldiers for hours, Baltzer says.

Finally, the husband called an Israeli friend who knew an army officer who arranged for the woman to cross. However, she couldn’t take her car or husband. She entered a waiting ambulance and immediately gave birth to the twins. During the hour-long drive to the hospital, the premature babies died.

“I tell this story not because it’s heartbreaking and not because I’m trying to demonize these soldiers,” Baltzer says in the DVD. “...[T]he greatest crime of all is not so much the acts of individual soldiers ... but the system itself, the fact that things are structured this way such that there are even soldiers there to begin with, who can decide whether people can go to the hospital.”

The example is just one in Baltzer’s case against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. Her allegations of Israelis usurping Palestinian rights may be true, but she supports them mainly with anecdotes rather than facts and makes no attempt to present the Israeli government’s perspective.

Baltzer describes herself as a Jewish American granddaughter of Holocaust survivors who graduated from Columbia University and won a Fulbright Scholarship to Turkey. “I saw Israel as an entirely defensive, peace-seeking nation, a democracy—and it was actually only my personal experience that helped shape a more realistic view of what’s going on,” she said in a 2009 interview on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.”

Israel captured territories during the 1967 Six-Day War, including the West Bank from Jordan and the Gaza Strip from Egypt. As Baltzer noted, thousands of Israelis moved into the territories, motivated by financial incentives offered by the Israeli government—settlements that Baltzer and others believe are illegal under

COURTESY ANNA BALTZER

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Anna Baltzer will discuss her experiences in Palestine April 20 at Millsaps College.

international law.

Of the nearly 2.5 million people estimated to be living in the West Bank in 2009, approximately 2.1 million were Palestinian and about 400,000 Israeli. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, assigning Israeli soldiers to evacuate thousands of Jewish settlers; however, hundreds of thousands of Israelis continue to occupy the West Bank and other strategic territories, the source of considerable tension and bloodshed in the region.

Although Baltzer advocates nonviolent resistance to the occupation, she is a controversial figure speaking on a controversial topic. Israel has long been a U.S. ally in the Middle East, and the proIsrael Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America has criticized Baltzer for using “her Jewish heritage to accrue credibility before predominantly non-Jewish audiences who often fail to see through her deception.”

On her Web site, she urges readers to join local and national solidarity groups for peace and justice, and the movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions against “Israeli Apartheid.” Saying that the mainstream U.S. media ignore the situation in the West Bank, she urges people to monitor local media and “demand accurate coverage of what’s happening in Israel/Palestine.”

Baltzer will speak Tuesday, April 20, at 7:30 p.m. in the Ford Academic Complex Recital Hall at Millsaps College. Author of “Witness in Palestine: A Jewish American Woman in the Occupied Territories,” she often appears at American colleges and churches and reports on her trips to the occupied territories on her Web site, www.annai nthemiddleeast.com. For more information, call Lamees El-Sadek at 601-953-3775.

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APRIL 21TH WEDNESDAY

21

A Movie Theater in Jackson?

680 DULING AVE.

by Lacey McLaughlin

T

he exodus from Jackson to the suburbs over the last several decades took a heavy toll on movie theaters inside the city limits. As more theaters popped up outside the city limits, several theaters closed in Jackson leaving the city without a place for Jacksonians to catch a flick.

Neil Polen, a fifth-year architecture student at Mississippi State University, wants to change that. Polen, 24, is working on plans for his thesis that entail a unique movie theater and restaurant on the ground floor of a three-story apartment building on the PARKING ENTRANCE corner of Old Canton Road and Duling Street in Fondren. While still just an idea, Polen says that having several small intimate theaters in addition to apartments is one way to create more density and add to the artistic Fondren atmosphere.

“This gives us the chance to create something different than the suburbs,” Polen says. “Let’s skip being like everyone else; let’s be different and unique so that people from the suburbs want to come here.”

Polen’s model is inspired by Living Room Theaters in downtown Portland, Ore., a concept with small theaters with couches, lounge chairs and tables that are coupled with a restaurant and bar.

To learn more about Polen’s movie theater and restaurant thesis, contact THEATER THEATER him at rnpolen@gmail.com.

Aspects of the Design ¸ 13,000-square feet per floor. ¸ Residential apartments on the second and third floor. ¸ Five 1000-square-foot theaters that seat 45 people each. ¸ Ground-level restaurant where patrons can dine, or they can be served inside the theaters. ¸ Bar and lounge area. ¸ Small theaters meant to show a mix of mainstream and independent films. ¸ Comfortable lounge chairs and tables for dining in the theater. ¸ Private entrance for residents.

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by Ward Schaefer

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24

Open Mic

arry Emmett and Michael Parker have been together for 18 years, but they couldn’t get married before 2003, when Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage.

The couple met and started dating in southern California, but they had nearly crossed paths in Hawaii when Emmett was stationed there for the Navy and Parker was only 12. One day after Emmett had visited a protected beach, a six-foot great white shark got over the wall shielding the beach. Parker was there, swimming with his family, and Emmett heard about it on the news.

In 1994, the couple moved to Maine, where they started an ice-cream shop. A year later, they planned to move to New Orleans, but an ailing car forced a layover in Jackson. With four cats and a 13-inch color TV, the pair moved into the Dollar Save Inn. Emmett got jobs in local restaurants, while Parker stayed home to hide the cats from the motel’s management. Eventually, when they moved to Belhaven, Parker took classes at Millsaps College.

Today, Emmett and Parker are co-owners of the Pizza Shack, which they opened together in March 2006. On Dec. 7, 2009, they married in front of a justice of the peace in Bridgeport, Conn.

when we’d be up there. We went to his door, and he married us right there in his hallway. Then we said goodbye, hit the road and started going home.

At what point did you two decide you wanted to get married?

Parker: Well, we’d wanted to get married for years, but it’s not an option. We had a holy union here in Mississippi in 1998 at the Metropolitan Community Church.

People do it as a symbol of being married, but it’s not a marriage. So we did that; we had a lot of friends, had the ceremony and so forth. So, at what point did we decide to go do this in Connecticut? Honestly, a few days before we did it.

Emmett: My mother was visiting; she lives in South Carolina. We were going to take her home on a Sunday, and he went to my mom on Thursday and asked her for my hand in marriage. I said yes.

Michael Parker and Larry Emmett have been together for 18 years. Recently, they traveled to Connecticut, one of the only states to recognize same-sex marriages, to get hitched.

L

Tell me what happened when you got to Connecticut.

Emmett: We went to the courthouse and waited for the marriage license for about an hour. Then we drove to the justice of the peace. Three minutes later, we were married.

Parker: At the courthouse they give you a paper that lists all the justices of the peace with little stars next to the ones that will marry same-sex couples. So obviously some of them refuse to marry same-sex couples. We called one guy and told him

Emmett: Even with a living will sometimes it’s not enough.

Parker: People have gone to various extremes. As far as the law’s concerned, here in Mississippi, he and I are just friends. If something happens to him—for instance, suppose he’s on a respirator, suppose he’s about to die. I don’t have the right to make the decision what to do with him. Not in this state. You’d have to call in his family, who’s all in South Carolina, to make that decision.

Did you celebrate at all that day?

Parker: No, we didn’t. It was crappy weather, and we didn’t know anything about Connecticut. So we spent the next four or five hours driving back down to Maryland. The next day we drove to Atlanta, and we celebrated that day. We went to the aquarium. I know it’s not very exciting, but it was the idea of getting married that was important, not the celebration aspect of it.

WRIJOYA ROY

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Larry Emmett & Michael Parker

Why did you want that legal document?

Emmett: First of all, we can save on insurance. I’m 53 years old, and I’m still paying the same taxes as an 18-year-old would.

Parker: As a single person would. It was insurance purposes— Emmett: —but not only that. I love him.

And what is it about the legal side that matters so much?

Parker: Well, the legal side is insurance; it’s death protection. If you’re gay, your family can swoop in and take everything.

Were there any legal protections you could get in Mississippi before?

Parker: I know of people that have adopted their mate, so they could have the dependent. This is how crazy it gets.

You’ve got to have a living will if you’re a gay couple.

Now that you’re married, where are the points of conflict?

Parker: Now it’s not recognized here, but some lawyer hopefully will want to make a name for himself. We will be happy to challenge laws if a lawyer is willing to show us how to do it. We know we’re going to lose, but hopefully it will be a starting point so more people do it.

Emmett: This has just started becoming legal in the last seven years. Finally we’re able, financially—well actually we aren’t, but we did it anyway—to take advantage of it.

Parker: There are a lot of people that simply can’t afford to go to Connecticut and a lot of gay couples that want that little piece of paper. We would like to see them be able to (get married) at home. And if people aren’t taking advantage of it in Connecticut and other states that allow it, then there’s no model.

I’m sure all your straight friends have gotten divorced now that they know you’re married, becausesame-sexmarriageweakens “traditional marriage.”

Parker: Of course. (People) say that this is going to influence the future of their children, that it’s going to promote gayness. I don’t think anybody really wants to be gay.

“Wow, it’s cool to be gay this week.” It’s an inherent thing; you’re born that way.

Wait, so you’re saying there’s no homosexual agenda?

Parker: Well, there’s a little one. We will rule the world. Here’s the thing, the younger generation has no problems (with homosexuality). Particularly in this state, there was a lot of racial prejudice, and as people get older and die, there’s a lot less of it. Anybody you know that’s a racist is probably 50 or older. And I think eventually change will occur here. The gay prejudice, it’s generally with older folks.

One day, (same-sex marriage) will be legal here. There’s no doubt. But you have to take those steps to make it happen. And by getting married, we have started to do our part.

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WHEN: Sunday, Apr. 18 6:30pm - 8:30pm WHERE: Jackson Academy’s Performing Arts Center (4908 Ridgewood Road) WHO’S INVITED? Metro Area Middle & High School Students

25

dining

by Katie Stewart

Canoodling by the Icebox

T

he Bradford pear trees have finally announced the arrival of spring. For my husband, Mason, and me, this means it’s time to open up the windows, forgo the soups and stews of winter, and enjoy refreshing springtime recipes. Like any newlywed couple on a budget, we are always looking for fun and creative ways to eat and spend time together without over-spending.

If you are planning a date with your sweetheart, why not cook appetizing food at home as a way to save money and have a lot of fun? Turn on music, relax and enjoy the

process as fragrant smells fill your kitchen in preparation for a romantic meal.

Here’s a tip: Cook together. Even if your significant other is no good at whipping, measuring, or determining doneness, ingredients always need chopping, and dishes always need washing.

For a tasty dinner or picnic, try the simple chicken salad recipe. Although its ingredients are minimal and the process is easy, Mason and I enjoyed its unique flavor.

As a special dessert, the strawberry shortcake is all

the more delectable with the rum-and-vanilla whipped cream. It adds a tropical flair to this springtime treat. (A word on quality ingredients: It really is worth the few extra dollars to purchase authentic vanilla extract. It tastes so much better than any imitation flavor.)

Budgeting money doesn’t mean you have to cut back on romance, or even good food.

Katie Stewart, nee Shelt, was a “Hitched” bride in the JFP Volume 8, Issue 13, dated January 10, 2010.

STRAWBERRY DAIQUIRI SHORTCAKE

CURRY CHICKEN SALAD

Serves 2-3

Serves 2

Shortcake: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1-1/2 tablespoons sugar (This recipe has a subtle sweet flavor; if you would prefer it sweeter, add another ½ tablespoon of sugar.)

3 teaspoons baking powder 4 tablespoons shortening 3/4 cup milk 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Mix flour, salt, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl. Cut in shortening using a pastry cutter. Once shortening is combined with the dry ingredients, add milk and vanilla extract. Stir, scraping the sides of the bowl, until the mixture reaches the consistency of dough.

Form the dough into a ball and remove from bowl. Place on a floured surface and knead, folding eight to 10 times. Separate the dough into biscuitsized portions and place about two inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Brush the tops of the shortcakes

with melted butter.

Bake for 15 minutes. Ovens vary, so be sure the shortcakes are golden brown on top, but not burned on the bottom. Remove them from the cookie sheet and cool until they reach room temperature.

Filling: 1 cup heavy whipping cream 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon rum 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 8 ripe strawberries

For perfect whipped cream, chill the bowl you’ll use ahead of time.

Whip the cream, sugar, rum and vanilla until stiff peaks form. If you don’t have a mixer, it can be done by hand with a whisk, although you’ll have to be prepared for an arm workout.

Slice the strawberries. Depending on their sweetness, you may want to add an extra dash of sugar. Serve the cream and strawberries between two shortcakes, or one sliced in half.

3 chicken breasts Dash salt Dash pepper 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1 celery rib, chopped 1/3 cup chopped pecans 1 teaspoon curry powder 1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries or raisins (optional)

Place the chicken breasts in a baking pan. Coat them with salt, pepper and olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove chicken from pan and chill.

Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Mix with mayonnaise, celery, pecans, curry powder, cranberries or raisins. (Some people prefer more or less mayonnaise, so feel free to use your judgment.) Add salt to taste.

I served the salad on a romaine lettuce leaf, and we accompanied it with naan, an Indian fried flatbread.

The salad would also be delicious on a sandwich or even with crackers. A glass of white wine or a flavorful beer would be its perfect complement.

Music for Cooking Up Romance

N

o date is complete without music.

Here’s an eclectic playlist for your cooking adventures: “More Than a Feeling”

by Boston “My Spirit of Adventure”

by Michael Giaccomo (Up soundtrack) “You Make Me Feel So Young”

by Frank Sinatra “You and I”

by Ingrid Michaelson “Night and Day”

by Ella Fitzgerald “Goodnight and Go”

by Imogen Heap “Do You Remember”

by Jack Johnson “Forever Young”

by Alphaville “I Can’t Stop Loving You”

by Ray Charles “Two”

by Ryan Adams “You Are the Best Thing”

by Ray Lamontagne “The Nearness of You”

by Norah Jones

Perfect Date Cocktails

by Sahil Grewal

CHAUD FROID Serve with the main course.

ROY

26

2 ounces red wine (Pinot noir recommended) 1 ounce cranberry juice 1 ounce cinnamon syrup Lemonade to top 4 lemon wedges 5 slices of cucumber 6 mint leaves Pilsner glasses Cucumber or cinnamon stick, for garnish

WRIJOYA

April 15 - 21, 2010

his cocktail, translated as “hot and cold” in French, is red hot in color, but has a cooling effect when you drink it.

Think About It

Serve with a starter or appetizer.

1-1/2 ounces vodka 1 ounce peach schnapps 2 ounces cranberry juice 5 raisins Lime juice, a dash Curry power, a dash Bitters, a dash Sparkling wine to top Cocktail or martini glass

WRIJOYA ROY

T

B4U Muddle cucumber slices, lemon wedges and mint leaves in a tall glass. Add ice, red wine and cranberry juice. Top off with lemonade and then the cinnamon syrup. Garnish with cucumber or cinnamon stick.

Add raisins, vodka, lime juice and peach schnapps to a shaker, and muddle together. Fill the shaker with ice and shake hard. Strain into a cocktail or martini glass. Top off with sparking wine and garnish with a dash of curry powder and bitters.

• The chaud froid contains red wine, which is good for heart and skin.

Red wine contains flavonoids and other antioxidants that research has show helps reduce the risk for heart disease and raise HDL “good” cholesterol, according to the American Heart Association.

• Use fresh cranberry juice instead of fruit cocktails that contain artificial flavors.

• Appearance is important. Make your drink appealing to the eye; coordinate the colors with the colors of the meal.

• A cocktail should always complement the meal, not overpower it.

27

jacksonfreepress.com

BEST BETS April 15 - 22

by Latasha Willis events@jacksonfreepress.com Fax: 601-510-9019 Daily updates at jfpevents.com

SATURDAY 4/17

Jesse Robinson performs during the blues lunch at Lumpkin’s from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., and Sherman Lee Dillon performs during F. Jones Corner’s blues lunch starting at noon. Free. … Radio JFP with Donna Ladd and Todd Stauffer begins at noon on WLEZ 101.1 FM and wlezfm.com. Call 601-362-6121, ext. 17. … Music by the D’lo Trio at Cherokee Inn starts at 6:30 p.m. Call 601-362-6388. … Soulshine at Township has music by Fingers Taylor and Friends from 7-9:30 p.m. Free. … The Howard Jones Jazz Group performs at Underground 119 from 8-11 p.m. Free. … The Blues at Sunset Challenge Band plays at F. Jones Corner from 8 p.m.-midnight.

Free. … Jackie Bell, Norman Clark and Smoke Stack Lightning perform at 930 Blues Cafe at 8 p.m. $5.

The Gathering on the Green at the Old Capitol Museum (100 S. State St.) starts at 10 a.m. with music

by Buie, Hamman & Porter and The Remynders. Free admission; call 601-576-6920. … The Mississippi Opera presents “Die Fledermaus” at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E. Pascagoula St.) at 7:30 p.m. $20-$55; call 601-960-2300. … Catch another Crossroads after-party in Hal & Mal’s Red Room at 9 p.m. $7, $5 members. … Seth Libbey & the Liberals play at Fenian’s at 9 p.m. Free. … Akami & the Key of G perform at Schimmel’s at 9 p.m. $5.

COURTESY TARAH STEWART

THURSDAY 4/15

SUNDAY 4/18 Crawdad Hole’s music festival begins at 3 p.m. with music by Pat Thomas. Other performers include the Mayhem String Band, Rocket 88 and Jimbo Mathus & TriState Coalition. $15, $5 coolers. … Rock-N-Romance at The Auditorium (622 Duling Ave.) begins at 4 p.m. with music by the Hunter Gibson Gator Trio. Proceeds benefit the Mississippi Firefighters Memorial Burn Association. $15, $25 couples, $6 book; call 601-540-2559 or 601507-9319. … Adhiambo’s Sunday Wine Down at 7 p.m. at Monte’s Steak and Seafood (1855 Lakeland Drive, Suite N-10). $7 in advance, $10 at the door; call 601-922-1184. … Bring two canned goods for Stewpot to “Spoken Word in the City” at the Roberts Walthall Hotel (225 E. Capitol St.) starting at 7 p.m. and get half off $10 admission. E-mail events@jacksonrepublic.com. … Goodwhether performs during Bellwether Church’s Metro Youth Night at Jackson Academy’s Performing Arts Center (4908 Ridgewood Road) from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Middle and high school students are invited. $1 refreshments; call 601-500-7930.

MONDAY 4/19 The Celebrity Golf Scramble at Refuge Golf Course (2100 Refuge Blvd., Flowood) starts at 12:30 p.m. $250, corporate rates for teams available; call 601-982-8264. … The Detectives Mystery Dinner Theatre presents “Where There’s a Tawanna Shaunté Chapman and other members of Eclectik Soul will perform at Afrika Book Cafe’s grand opening April 16 at 8:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.

April 15 - 21, 2010

The Crossroads Film Festival is from April 16-18 at Malco Grandview Theatre (221 Grandview Blvd., Madison). $8, $80 all-access pass, $30 one-day pass, discounts for members; call 601-510-9148… The Earth Day Celebration at the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership (201 S. President St.) starts at 5 p.m. Call 601-948-7575, ext. 234. … Operation Shoestring’s Operation Spring Fling at the Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.) starts at 7 p.m. $25; call 601-353-6336; visit operationshoestring.org. … Eclectik Soul performs during the grand opening of Afrika Book Cafe (404 Mitchell Ave.) at 8:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. $15 advance tickets only; call 601-259-8517 or 601-951-8971. … Come to the Crossroads after-party at Hal & Mal’s at 9 p.m. in the Big 28 Room and the Red Room. $7, $5 members for Red Room.

TUESDAY 4/20 The JSU Vocal Jazz Ensemble performs during “Live at the Legacy” at Jackson State University (1400 John R. Lynch St.) at noon in the new Student Center. Free; call 601-9790623. … Enjoy art and classical piano during Unburied Treasures at the Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.) at 5:30 p.m. Free; call 601-960-1515. … The “Best of Belhaven II” concert at Belhaven University Center for the Arts (835 Riverside Drive) starts at 7:30 p.m. Free; call 601-965-7044. … The play “The Color Purple” opens at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E. Pascagoula St.) at 7:30 p.m. with an encore performance April 21 at 7:30 p.m. $41.70-$57.10, $36.55-$51.95 children under 12; call 601-353-0603; visit ticketmaster.com.

WEDNESDAY 4/21 Jon and Pamela Voelkel will sign their book “Middleworld” at Lemuria Books (202 Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 N.) at 5 p.m. followed by a reading at 5:30 p.m. $8.99 book; call 601-366-7619. … Catch the Rainmakers at Fitzgerald’s from 8 p.m.-midnight. Call 601-957-2800. … Snazz plays at the Regency Hotel at 8:30 p.m. Call 601-969-2141.

THURSDAY 4/22 In honor of Earth Day, bring your own mug to any Cups location and get a cup of free brewed coffee. Call 601853-2371. … See the exhibit “A Holgatastic Photographic Expose” at The Welty Commons Gallery (719 Congress St.) at 6:30 p.m. Free; call 601-540-1267. … Pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii performs at Millsaps College, Ford Academic Complex (1701 N. State St.) at 7:30 p.m. $100; call 601-960-1565.

More events and details at jfpevents.com.

Jon and Pamela Voelkel will sign copies of “Middleworld” at Lemuria Books April 21 at 5 p.m.

COURTESY JENNY BROD

FRIDAY 4/16

Will … There’s a Way” at Anthony Z’s (1888 Main St., Suite A, Madison) at 7 p.m. $44; call 601-291-7444.

jfpevents 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 discuss vital issues, play local music and feature special guests. Free; call 601-362-6121, ext. 17.

JFP Lounge at Pi(e) Lounge April 15, 6 p.m., at Sal and Mookie’s (565 Taylor St.). Enjoy a special JFP “Creative Class” martini, free munchies, and lots of fellowship with Jackson creatives and progressives.

Free admission; call 601-362-6121, ext. 11.

Earth Day Celebration April 16, 5 p.m., at Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership (201 S. President St.). The event includes a 5K run/walk, a half-mile kids’ fun run, live music and refreshments. Bring your old T-shirts and running shoes to donate to charity. Registration by April 13 at msracetime.com/Earth_Day.php is required for the races. $20 5K run/walk, $10 fun run; call 601-9487575, ext. 234.

Operation Spring Fling: A Benefit for Operation Shoestring April 16, 7 p.m., at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). Slap on your favorite blue jeans, sample some delicacies and dig the sounds of Horse Trailer at 7 p.m. and Wiley & the Checkmates at 9:15 p.m. to benefit Operation Shoestring. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com, BeBop and at the door. $25; call 601-353-6336.

Crossroads Film Festival April 16-18, at Malco Grandview Theatre (221 Grandview Blvd., Madison). More than 70 independent films will be shown. An opening reception for pass holders on April 16 at Sal & Mookie’s (565 Taylor St.) is from 4:30-6 p.m., and after-parties at Hal & Mal’s (200 Commerce St.) will start at 9 p.m. each night.

The film “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” will also be shown in honor of its 10th anniversary. $8, $80 all-access pass, $30 one-day pass, discounts for members; call 601-510-9148; visit crossroadsfilmfest ival.com for a list of films and show times.

Southern Fried Karaoke - “May Day” Edition, May 1, 9 p.m., at Hal & Mal’s (200 Commerce St.). Todd Stauffer and Donna Ladd are the hosts.

All singers welcome; great singers are hugged, kissed and sometimes make it into documentary films!

Come sing along with all the bar room favorites.

Every Southern Fried Karaoke is an experience.

Free; call 601-362-6121, ext. 16.

COMMUNITY Skin Cancer Screening April 20, 5 p.m., at Baptist Medical Center (1225 N. State St.), in the Hederman Cancer Center. The free screening includes UV light evaluation for overall skin health. Preregistration is required. Free; call 601-948-6262 or 800-948-6262.

Easy Perennial Gardening Class April 19, 7 p.m., at Millsaps College (1701 N. State St.). The class covers all aspects of selecting and growing plants that come back year after year and bloom through all seasons with little or no fuss or care. $40; call 601-974-1130.

Nature Day April 17, 10 a.m., at Clinton Community Nature Center (617 Dunton Road, Clinton).

Activities include food, games, entertainment and the annual spring native plant, antique rose and bedding plant sale. Free admission; call 601-9261104.

National Library Week April 12-17, at Pearl Public Library (2416 Old Brandon Road, Pearl). Events include a visit by Pearl mayor Brad Rogers on April 12 at 10 a.m., National Library Workers Day on April 13, a puppet show on April 14 from 4-5 p.m., Wii baseball with Pearl High School athletes on April 15 from 4-6 p.m. and cleaning up the library grounds on April 17 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Coffee and cookies will be served daily from 9-10:30 a.m.

Free; call 601-932-2562.

Events at St. Dominic Hospital (969 Lakeland Drive).

• Adult HeartSaver CPR Class April 15, 9 a.m., at The Club at St. Dominic’s. Learn basic CPR techniques. $40; call 601-2004925.

• Car Seat Safety Check April 17, noon, at the Medical Mall entrance. Mississippi Safe Kids will show caregivers how to properly install a child’s car seat. Free; call 601-200-6934.

Mississippi Economic Council Annual Membership Meeting April 15, 9 a.m., at Jackson Convention Complex (105 E. Pascagoula St.). Get information regarding MEC’s initiatives in the state, as well as opportunities to network with hundreds of businesspeople from around Mississippi. Pre-registration is available at msmec.com. $65 members, $75 non-members; call 800-748-7626.

Sowing Seeds of Success April 15, 10 a.m., at Metrocenter Mall (3645 Highway 80 West), at Center Court. The event includes a job fair, free tax preparation for qualified taxpayers, financial tips and other forms of assistance. Free; call 601-327-9308.

“Black Power” April 15, 6:30 p.m., at Smith Robertson Museum (528 Bloom St.). Part of the Medgar Evers/Ella Baker Civil Rights Lecture Series, panelists will discuss the black power movement.

Free; call 601-979-1562.

Jackson Public Schools Moms Conference April 15, 5:30 p.m., at Galloway Elementary School (186 Idlewild St.). Registration begins at 4:30 p.m. “Celebrating Moms - Empowering Our JPS Lifesavers” includes dinner, workshops, information tables, a health and beauty showcase, a visit and display by the MilkPep Milk Mustache Mobile, giveaways and door prizes.

The National Great Gallon Milk Giveaway will give free milk to the first 500 registrants. Preregistration can be done at research.zarca.com or at the child’s school. Free; call 601-960-8945.

Precinct 3 COPS Meeting April 15, 6 p.m., at Jackson Police Department, Precinct 3 (3925 W. Northside Drive). These monthly meetings are forums designed to help resolve community issues or problems, from crime to potholes. Call 601-960-0003.

Fannie Lou Hamer Humanitarian Awards Luncheon April 16, 11:30 a.m., at Jackson State University, Jacob L. Reddix Building (1400 Lynch St.), in the General Purpose Room. Rev. Horace Buckley, Charles McLaurin, Bill Minor, Dorothy Stewart, Jimmie Travis (posthumously) and Dorothy Triplett will he honored for their service and leadership. $35, $250 table of eight; call 601-9791562 or 601-979-1563.

“Greeks in Unity” Community Affair Day April 17, 8:30 a.m., at Hardy Middle School (545 Ellis Ave.). Sponsored by the National PanHellenic Council of Metro Jackson, activities include workshops and a step show. Free workshops; $5, $3 children ages 6-16 for step show; call 601-506-5616 or 601-573-6014.

Mississippi Natural Healthcare Day April 17, 9 a.m., at Tougaloo College (500 W. County Line Road, Tougaloo), in the George and Ruth Owens Health and Wellness Center. Experts will teach you how to reduce your risk of illness and promote healing without drugs or surgery.

Pre-registration is available online. $10-$20 before April 15, $15-$25 thereafter; e-mail registration@ msnaturalhealth.net.

WaterFest 2010 April 17, 8 a.m., at Lakeshore Park (Lakeshore Drive, Brandon). The purpose is to bring attention to the need to improve and protect water quality in and around the Ross Barnett Reservoir. The day will feature fun and educational activities for children and adults, as well as exhibits, food, music, demonstration areas and more. Free; e-mail ashley@cirlot.com.

More EVENTS, see page 30

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jfpevents

from page 29

Gathering on the Green April 17, 10 a.m., at Old Capitol Museum (100 S. State St.). Enjoy fun, food and other festivities on the historic Old Capitol Green. Call 601-576-6920.

Homebuyer Seminar April 17, 11 a.m., at Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.).

Learn about buying a home, budgeting and building wealth. Registration is required. Free; call 601957-5602.

State Powerlifting Championships April 17, noon, at Mississippi Coliseum (1207 Mississippi St.).

Sponsored by the Mississippi High School Activities Association, the event will have nine platforms featuring the best high school powerlifters in the state.

Purchase tickets from the Coliseum Box Office. $8; call 601-353-0603 or 601-924-6400.

Stress Management Conference April 17, 2 p.m., at Willie Morris Library (4912 Old Canton Road). The conference offers strategies and real-life scenarios for helping people manage stress. Willie and Terica McKennis, authors of the book “Can I Really Be Stress Free?” are the hosts. Free; e-mail nypublicity@gmail.com or wdmckennis@hotmail.com.

Sister Thea Bowman Catholic School’s 4th Annual Draw Down April 17, 6:30 p.m., at Christ the King/Sister Thea Bowman Catholic School (1217 Hattiesburg St.), in the Multipurpose Building.

Ticket purchasers have a chance to win a $15,000 grand prize. Proceeds benefit the Sister Thea Bowman Catholic School. $100; call 601-948-8867.

Adhiambo’s Sunday Wine Down April 18, 7 p.m., at Monte’s Steak and Seafood (1855 Lakeland Drive, Suite N-10). Enjoy food, art, music and a silent auction which includes a signed Minnesota Vikings football that will be up for bids. Proceeds benefit the Adhiambo School. $7 in advance, $10 at the door; call 601-922-1184.

Celebrity Golf Scramble April 19, 12:30 p.m., at Refuge Golf Course (2100 Refuge Blvd., Flowood).

The event is sponsored by First Commercial Bank and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Corporate rates are available for teams. $250; call 601-982-8264.

“History Is Lunch” April 21, noon, at the William F. Winter Archives and History Building (200 North St.). Jackson attorney Alex Alston Jr. talks about the book he wrote with James L. Dickerson Jr. called “Devil’s Sanctuary: An Eyewitness History of Mississippi Hate Crimes.” Bring your own lunch; coffee/water provided. Free; call 601-576-6850.

STAGE AND SCREEN “The Watch They Keep” April 9-17, at Old Clinton Junior High School Auditorium (Fairmont St., Clinton). A woman’s adult children are forced to face the severity of her dementia. Show dates are April 9-11 and April 15-17 at 7 p.m. each night except for a 2 p.m. matinee April 11. $12, $8 seniors and children; call 601-925-9825.

April 15 - 21, 2010

“Herb and Dorothy” Film Viewing April 15, 6 p.m., at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.), in Trustmark Grand Hall. The film tells the story of Herbert and Dorothy Vogel, who managed to build one of the most important contemporary art collections in history with very modest means. A cash bar will be available. Free admission; call 601-960-1515.

30

“Murder in the Cathedral” April 15-24, at Belhaven University Center for the Arts (835 Riverside Dr.), in the Blackbox Theatre. The drama tells the story of the martyrdom of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. Show dates are April 15-17 and April 21-24. Show times are Wednesdays-Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 2 p.m. $10, $5 seniors and students; call 601965-7026.

“The Color Purple” April 20-21, at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E. Pascagoula St.). The play based on

Alice Walker’s award-winning novel and film will begin at 7:30 p.m. both nights. Tickets are available at the Coliseum Box Office or ticketmaster.com. $41.70-$57.10, $36.55-$51.95 children under 12; call 601-353-0603.

“All Shook Up” April 22-May 2, at Actor’s Playhouse (121 Paul Truitt Lane, Pearl). The play with 24 Elvis songs is the story of a small-town girl who dreams of hitting the open road, and the guitarplaying roustabout who brings excitement into her life. Show times are 7:30 p.m. on weeknights and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. on Sundays. $15 adults, $10 students and seniors; call 601-664-0930.

MUSIC University Jazz Series, at Jackson Academy (4908 Ridgewood Road) in the Performing Arts Center.

The University of Southern Mississippi Jazz Lab Band performs April 15, the University of Mississippi’s principal student jazz ensemble The Mississippians perform April 16, and the Mississippi State University Jazz ensemble performs April 23. Each show begins at 7 p.m. $5, $2 students, children under 5 free; call 601-364-5710.

Eclectik Soul April 16, 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., at Afrika Book Cafe (404 Mitchell St.). The band will perform live at the grand opening of the business. Seating is limited. $15, call 601-259-8517 or 601-951-8971.

Events at Belhaven University Center for the Arts (835 Riverside Dr.) in the concert hall. Free; call 601-965-7044.

• Guitar Ensemble Concert April 17, 7:30 p.m.

This concert showcases the best student guitar solos and ensembles.

• Best of Belhaven II April 20, 7:30 p.m. This concert offers the most exemplary student performances of the semester.

“Die Fledermaus” April 17, 7:30 p.m., at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E. Pascagoula St.). The Mississippi Opera performs the comedic operetta by Johann Strauss, sung in English. Ticket discounts for seniors, students, groups and children are available. $20-$55; call 601-960-2300.

LITERARY AND SIGNINGS Events at Borders (100 Dogwood Blvd., Flowood).

Call 601-919-0462.

• “Forecasts and Faith” April 17, noon. WLBT chief meteorologist Barbie Bassett signs copies of her book. $22.95 book; call 601-919-0462.

• Story Time ongoing. A story will be read to children every Friday at 10 a.m. Free.

“Middleworld” April 21, 5 p.m., at Lemuria Books (202 Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 North).

Jon and Pamela Voelkel sign copies of their book; reading of the book at 5:30 p.m. $8.99 book; call 601-366-7619.

Magnolia State Romance Writers Meeting ongoing, at Flowood Library (103 Winners Circle, Flowood). The organization meets every third Saturday from 10 a.m.-noon. Get tips on writing a romance novel. Free; call 601-992-9831 or 601992-4691.

CREATIVE CLASSES Broadway Jr. Summer Camp Intensive Scholarship Auditions April 17, 8 a.m., at New Stage Theatre (1100 Carlisle St.). By appointment only.

Scholarships are based on need. Free; call 601-9483533, ext. 232.

Jewelry Making Class ongoing, at Dream Beads (605 Duling Ave.). This class is offered every Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. Free; call 601-664-0411.

Belly Dance Class ongoing, at Lumpkin’s Restaurant (182 Raymond Road). The class is held every Saturday at 9:30 a.m. $5; call 601-373-7707.

A Holgatastic Photographic Expose April 22, 6:30 p.m., at The Commons Gallery (719 N. Congress St.). Photographs taken by Ridgeland High School students will be displayed. Free; call 601-540-1267.

“Songs of Innocence/ Songs of Experience” through May 6, at Gallery 119 (119 S. President St.). Jerrod Partridge’s artwork on paper and canvas is on display. Free admission; call 601-969-4091.

Artist Reception for Becky Barnett April 15, 5 p.m., at Southern Breeze Gallery (1000 Highland Colony Parkway, Ridgeland). See portraits, still lifes and landscapes by the artist during Ridgeland Rendezvous. Free admission; call 601607-4147.

Earth Day Art Show Opening Reception April 22, 5 p.m., at Brown’s Fine Art (630 Fondren Place).

Artwork by Lori K. Gordon and David “Cairo” Wheeler will be featured. Free admission; call 601982-4844.

EXHIBITS AND OPENINGS Events at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Tuesday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. on Sundays. $3-$5, children under 5 and museum members free unless otherwise noted; call 601-960-1515.

• Power APAC Exhibit of Scholastics through April 18. Artwork by gold and silver key winners of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards will be on display. An awards ceremony will be held on April 18. Free.

• Unburied Treasures - April Session April 20, 5:30 p.m., in Trustmark Grand Hall. Come for hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar and live music. Ann Bittick will give a lecture on the artwork of Olive Parker Black, and Jacqueline Wheelock will read excerpts from her memoir, “Unasked Questions.” Free admission.

• Jazz, Art & Friends April 22, 5:30 p.m. Enjoy free hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, listen to the best jazz Jackson has to offer, and mingle with friends while surrounded by world-class art. A cash bar will be available. $5 members, $7 nonmembers, $3 1-5 year olds; call 601-960-1515.

Mississippi Junior Duck Stamp Art Competition Exhibit through May 1, at the MIssissipi Museum of Natural Science (2148 Riverside Drive). See award-winning artwork by students representing schools from Madison, Meridian, Natchez and North Carrollton. Museum hours are 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. $3-$5, free for members and children under 3; call 601-354-7303.

“Growing Up In Mississippi: 1857-1888” through April 30, at Manship House (420 E. Fortification St.). Hands-on activities teach children what life was like for 19th-century children in Mississippi.

Reservations are required. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Monday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 8 a.m.1 p.m. Saturday. Free; call 601-961-4724.

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

• JumpstART Exhibit April 17-30. The works created by 24 Jackson public elementary schools during a collaborative teaching residency with an artist will be on display. JumpstART is a program of the Ask for More Arts initiative. Free; call 601969-6015, ext. 301.

• “Just Dance” Call for Entries through April 30.

To commemorate the International Ballet Competition’s return to Jackson, 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.

Sheep to Shawl Day April 17, 10 a.m., at Mississippi Craft Center (950 Rice Road, Ridgeland).

“Mound Bayou: The Promise Land, 18872010” through April 30, at Smith Robertson Museum (528 Bloom St.). See photographs related to the founding of the city. Museum hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. $4.50 adults, $3.00 seniors, $1.50 children under 18; call 601-9601457.

It’s time for a new Spring Wardrobe!

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.

BE THE CHANGE Ultimate Fashion Show and Champagne Brunch April 15, 11 a.m., at the Country Club of Jackson (345 Saint Andrews Dr.).

The show will feature spring fashions, The Patty Peck “Car for a Cure” giveaway and models from Camp Kandu. Proceeds benefit the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi. $60 admission; $25-$200 car giveaway entry fee; call 601-957-7878.

Farmer Jim Neal Golf Tournament April 16, 8 a.m. and 1 p.m., at Whisper Lake Country Club (414 Annandale Parkway, Madison).

Winners will be awarded at the end of the tournament. The player’s fee includes three meals, a gift bag and a tournament cap. Sponsorships are available. Proceeds benefit the Friends of Mississippi State Hospital. $125; call 601-351-8377.

Fiddlin’ in Fondren April 16, 6 p.m., at The Cedars Historic Home (4145 Old Canton Rd.). View and buy artwork, enjoy food prepared by three chefs and listen to music by Tim Avalon. Proceeds benefit the Veritas School. $30; call 601-713-4040 or 601-238-3322.

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure April 17, 7 a.m., at Trustmark Park (1 Braves Way, Pearl). Registration begins at 7 a.m., and the races start at 8:30 a.m.

Proceeds benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a foundation focused on breast cancer education and research. Donations welcome; call 601-932-3999; visit komencentralms.org.

Guardian Angels Blood Drive April 17, 9 a.m., at Calvary Baptist Church (1300 W. Capitol St.). The event also includes a health fair and karate expo. Blood donors will receive a free T-shirt. Donors must show ID. Free; call 888-902-5663.

Rock-N-Romance April 18, 4 p.m., at The Auditorium (622 Duling Ave.). Admission includes one free drink and one drawing entry.

Hunter and the Gator Trio will entertain the crowd while the restaurant serves a limited menu. The drawing includes prizes donated by local businesses. Skye Savoy will also sign copies of her book, “Finding Her Perfect Master.”

Proceeds benefit the Mississippi Firefighters Memorial Burn Association. $15, $25 couples, $6 book; call 601-540-2559; 601-507-9319.

Spoken Word In the City: “Can Goods for a Good Cause” April 18, 7:30 p.m., at Roberts Walthall Hotel (225 E. Capitol St,). Canned goods for Stewpot Community Services will be collected during the event. $10, $5 with two canned goods; e-mail thevdj@aol.com or events@jacksonrepublic.com.

2475 Lakeland Drive, Flowood

601.933.0074 LAUGHTER IS A GIFT FROM GOD

Come be a part of a Community of Joy!

Services: 10:30 am and

6:00 pm 650 E South St. Jackson, MS 39201

(601)944-0415

jacksonfreepress.com

GALLERIES

Experienced artisans will show how wool and other natural fibers are spun into yarn and woven or knitted into finished items. Hands-on activities for children are part of the demonstrations and exhibits of work by guild members. Free; call 601-856-7546.

31

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Shut up and Creative Writing Classes April 10 - June 12, 10am - 12:30pm Every other Saturday $150 $75 deposit is required for a spot in the class.

Men and Women Welcome.

April 15 - 21, 2010

e-mail class@jacksonfreepress.com or call 601.362.6121 ext.16 to reserve a spot.

32

music

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

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 The acid-blues juke raucous of Scissormen return to Martin’s this Friday night.

for details. Also this Saturday, the indiepop group Manchester Orchestra will perform at the Lyric in Oxford.

The annual spring music fest at the Crawdad Hole on Lakeland Drive happens this Sunday—it is Crawfish season after all.

Pat Thomas kicks off the all-ages fun at 3 p.m., followed by the Mayhem String Band at 4 p.m.; Rocket 88 at 5:15 p.m.; South Memphis String Band at 6: 30 p.m.; Alvin Youngblood Hart & the Muscle Theory at 8 p.m.; Jimbo Mathus & Tri-State Coalition round out the day at 9:15 p.m. Tickets are $15; $5 coolers; call 601-982-9299.

If you’re up for a road trip, Elvis Costello headlines at the IP Casino Resort in Biloxi Saturday, April 17. Also on April 17 is the annual downtown Clarksdale Juke Joint Festival with Honeyboy Edwards, Jimbo Mathus and 50 others.

The fun goes from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m., and tickets are $10. Call 662-624-5992, or visit jukejointfestival.com.

Next Saturday, April 24 head to the Oxford Courthouse Square Double Decker Arts Festival with Machine Gun Kelley, American Aquarium, Wiley & the Checkmates, Cornmeal and Grupo Fantasma. Info at doubledeckerfestival.com.

Make plans now for this year’s New Orleans Jazz Fest, highlighted by the Crowes, George Clinton and Steel Pulse April 23; Better Than Ezra and Simon & Garfunkel April 24; Galactic and the Allman’s April 25; Blues Traveler, Gov’t Mule and Elvis Costello April 29; Band of Horses and Pearl Jam May 1; The Dead Weather, Richie Havens, B.B. King, the Neville’s and Van Morrison May 2. More details at nojazzfest.com The Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis runs April 30-May 2.

Go to thebealestreetmusicfestival.com for details.

—Herman Snell

Warwick bass 4 sale Warwick Corvette Standard bubinga 4 string passive with gig bag, warranty, manual, hercules stand, and acoustic B20 practice amp. $850. obo (601) 278-7854 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 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 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

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 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 freezepopforever1029@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.Metal, etc. Call Dave at (769) 226-0845.

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 Bass Player Needed for eclectic cover band that features pedal steel guitar. -Vocals a plus- want to gig once or 2x a month and have lots of fun -Buck Owens to REMcall 601 488 6907 +leave msg

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

COURTESY SCISSORMEN

S

pring fever is in the air, and you’ll find lots going on this week around town. Friday, turn out to support Operation Shoestring at the Spring Fling Benefit at the Mississippi Museum of Art with Horse Trailer from 7-8:30 p.m. and the very fun, danceable old-school soul band Wiley & the Checkmates on stage from 9-11:30 p.m.. Tickets are $25 at Be-Bop Record Shops or at the door.

Go to operationshoestring.org for details.

Also this weekend is the 11th Annual Crossroads Film Festival, showing movies at the Malco Grandview in Madison. Rub elbows with visiting filmmakers after their films or head downtown for the afterparties in Hal & Mal’s Red Room Friday and Saturday nights at 9 p.m. Tickets for the parties are $7 for non-Crossroads members at the door, $5 members. Hear Ben Shea and Star and Micey Friday night, and 7even:Thirty & 5th Child and Furrows Saturday night.

Hal & Mal’s Big Room hosts a triple bill of heavy rock ‘n’ roll Friday night with the up-and-coming metal band Burning Windsor, Bloodstyne and Shaken at 9 p.m.

Head to Martin’s Friday for the return of raucous blues-juke throw-down Scissormen Friday night. Fuzzed-out slide guitar hellcat Ted Drozdowski tries to one-up his reputation for blowing minds by mixing through the crowd, walking across tables during a solo and leaving a pint of piss and vinegar on the stage at the end of the gig. A Scissormen show is spontaneous free-form acid-blues injected straight into your veins. Scott Albert Johnson will lend harp to the juke.

Bystanders with heart conditions should not attend.

For long-haired entertainment of another sort, the Mississippi Opera performance of Johann Strauss’ three act opera Die Fledermaus will be at Thalia Mara Hall this Saturday night, with the curtain rising at 7:30 p.m.; $20-$55. The Mississippi Opera is now in its 65th year, promising professional, top-caliber productions. Visit msopera.org for details or for advance tickets.

This Saturday is the 30th Anniversary Alcorn Jazz Festival at the Vicksburg Convention Center. High School and College jazz ensembles will perform from 8:30-4 p.m. The featured performance will be the McCoy Tyner Trio with Gary Bartz at 7 p.m. All shows are free. Call 601-877-6602 or visit alcorn.edu/jazzfest

33

NOW SELLING LIVE & BOILED CATFISH 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

Karaoke w/ Mike Mott

ALL SHOWS 10PM UNLESS NOTED

CHAD WESLEY

WEDNESDAY

WEDNESDAY - APRIL 14 THURSDAY - APRIL 15

w/ 3 Hail Mary Jane 4/14

LADIES NIGHT

LADIES NIGHT (FREE DRAFT CUP 9-11)

FRIDAY - APRIL 16

DICKY & THE BACKROADS

LADIES DRINK ALL YOU CAN

SATURDAY - APRIL 17

8PM-12AM FOR $5 - NO COVER

BACK 40

THURSDAY

4/15

80’S NIGHT

DIFFERENT THEME EACH WEEK FRIDAY

4/16

SCISSORMEN

SUNDAY - APRIL 18

8 Ball Tournament TUESDAY - APRIL 20

Pool League Night 2636 S. Gallatin Jackson, MS 39204

601-961-4747

www.myspace.com/popsaroundthecorner

W/ SCOTT ALBERT JOHNSON SATURDAY

4/17

THEJACKTOWN

RAMBLERS

SUNDAY

4/18

KARAOKE MONDAY

4/19

OPEN MIC JAM TUESDAY

4/20

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

4/21

April 15 - 21, 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

ROCK 93.9 AND FIRE PRESENT

SICK PUPPIES WITH CREEP LEFT AND SALLY JAYNE THURSDAY, APRIL 22 AT FIRE!

TOPTEN SONGS THIS WEEK 1 BREAKING BENJAMIN – Give Me A Sign (Forever and Ever) 2 DROWNING POOL – Feel Like I Do 3 FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH – Walk Away 4 SICK PUPPIES – Odd One 5 CHEVELLE – Letter From A Thief 6 GODSMACK – Cryin Like A Bitch 7 THREE DAYS GRACE – The Good Life 8 SEVENDUST - Unraveling 9 BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE – Your Betrayal 10 SEASONS AFTER – Cry Little Sister

livemusic APRIL 15, THURSDAY F. Jones Corner - Sherman Lee Dillon (blues lunch) free; Blues at Sunset Challenge Band 8-12 a.m. free Lumpkins BBQ - Jesse Robinson (blues lunch) 11:30-1:30 p.m. free Underground 119 - Howard Jones Jazz Group (Dixieland Jazz) 8-11 p.m. free www.howardjonesjazz.com 930 Blues Cafe - Jackie Bell, Norman Clark & Smoke Stack Lightning 8 p.m. $5 The Auditorium - Tiger Rogers (lunch); Larry Brewer 7:30-9 p.m.

Footloose - Karaoke 8-12 a.m.

Ole Tavern - Guilt Ridden Troubadour (honkey tonk/alt. country) 9 p.m.

Regency Hotel - Karaoke 7 p.m. free Jackson Academy Performing Arts Center (JA) - USM Jazz Lab Band I 7 p.m. $5, $2 students Shucker’s - Will & Linda 7:30-11: 30 p.m. free Pop’s - Chad Wesley w/3 Hail Mary Jane AJ’s Seafood - Hunter Gibson 6:30-10 p.m.

Cherokee Inn - D’lo Trio 6:30 p.m.

Soulshine, Township - Fingers Taylor & friends 7-9:30 p.m. free Parker House - Gena Stringer Pelican Cove - Team Trivia 7:30 p.m.

Poets II - Karaoke 10 p.m.

Electric Cowboy - DJ Cadillac 9 p.m.

McB’s - Karaoke 7 p.m. free Union Street Books, Canton - Open Mic 7-9 p.m. 601-859-8596 Eli’s Treehouse, V’burg - Karaoke 8 p.m.

APRIL 16, FRIDAY Miss. Museum of Art - Operation Shoestring Benefit: Horse Trailer 7-8:30 p.m.; Wiley & the Checkmates 9:15-11:30 p.m. $25 www.operationshoestring.org Underground 119 - The Fearless Four (blues) 9-1 a.m. $10 Martin’s - Scissormen w/Scott Albert Johnson 10 p.m. $5 scissormen.com Hal & Mal’s Big Room - Burning Windsor, Bloodstyne, Shaken 9 p.m.

Hal & Mal’s Red Room - Crossroads Film Fest After Party: Ben Shea 9 p.m.; Star & Micey 11 p.m. $7, $5 members crossroadsfilmfest.com Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - Vernon Brothers (bluegrass) 8 p.m. free Hal & Mal’s Patio - Cindy Woolf & Hank Overkill 9-12 a.m.

Afrika Book Cafe, Fondren Eclectik Soul 8:30 & 10 p.m. advance tix $15, 601-259-8517 eclectiksoul3.com Fenian’s - Sherman Lee Dillon & the Dillonaires (blues rock) 9 p.m.

Fire - Storage 24, Creep Left, Cleverform 9 p.m. myspace.com/ storage24live Shucker’s - Travelin’ Jane Band 8-1 a.m. $5 930 Blues Cafe - Blues/Jazz 5:30-8 p.m.; Jackie Bell, 9 p.m. $10 The Auditorium - Tiger Rogers (lunch); Shaun Patterson 7:30-9 p.m.; The Chadwicks 9:30 p.m.

Soulshine, Township - Jason Bruce 8 p.m. free Soulshine, Old Fannin - Bofus 6:45 p.m. free F. Jones Corner - Sherman Lee Dil-

lon free; Jesse Robinson’s 500lb.

Blues Band 11:30-4 a.m. $5 McB’s - Sofa Kings 8 p.m. free Electric Cowboy - DJ Terry 9 p.m.

Footloose - Karaoke 9-1 a.m. free Hunt Club - Gravity 9-1 a.m. myspace.com/musicgravity Poet’s II, Quarter - Shadz Of Grey 9-1 a.m. $5 Pelican Cove - Karaoke 7-10 p.m.

Pop’s - Dicky & the Backroads Jackson Academy Performing Arts Center (JA) - The Mississippians (Ole Miss Jazz Ensemble) 7 p.m. $5, $2 students Regency Hotel - Snazz Cultural Expressions - Reggae/HipHop/Old School Night 10 p.m. $5 Reed Pierce’s - The Colonels 9 p.m. free RJ Barrel - Common Ground Blues Band

APRIL 17, SATURDAY Old Capitol - Gathering on the Green: Buie, Hamman & Porter 11:30 a.m.; The Remynders 1:30 p.m.+ Thalia Mara Hall - Miss. Opera: Die Fledermaus 7:30 p.m. $20-$55 www.msopera.org F. Jones Corner - Sherman Lee Dillons Miss. Sound w/Anna Lee Dillon 11:30-4 a.m. $5 Underground 119 - Grady Champion (blues) 9-1 a.m. $10 Hal & Mal’s Red Room - Crossroads Film Fest After Party: 7even: Thirty & 5th Child 9 p.m.; Furrows 11 p.m. $7, $5 members crossroadsfilmfest.com Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - Glynn & John Lancon 9 p.m. free Fire - Behind the Sun 9 p.m. www.myspace.com/therhcptribute Fenian’s - Seth Libbey & the Liberals (blues) 9 p.m.

Shucker’s - Mike & Marty 3-7 p.m. free; Big Daddy Band 8-1 a.m. $5 930 Blues Cafe - Blues/Jazz 5:30-8 p.m.; Jackie Bell, 9 p.m. $10 Cultural Expressions - Kamikaze & Yardboy (hip-hop/Soul) 9 p.m. $5 The Auditorium - Shane & Fraizer 7: 30-9 p.m.; Eddie Cotton 9:30 p.m.

Fitzgerald’s, Hilton - Sofa Kings 8-12 a.m. free Huntington’s - Ralph Miller 6-9 p.m.

Schimmel’s - Akami & the Key of G (R&B) 9 p.m. $5 Pelican Cove - Doug Frank’s Surreal Life 6-10 p.m. free McB’s - Fade 2 Blue Pop’s - Back 40 Kathryn’s - Fulkerson/Pace 7-10 p.m.

Hunt Club - Gravity 9-1 a.m. myspace.com/musicgravity Regency Hotel - Gravity Reed Pierce’s - Rainmakers (classic rock) 9-1 a.m. free RJ Barrel - Karaoke 7 p.m.

V’burg Convention Center - 30th Anniversary Alcorn Jazz Festival: High School/College Jazz Ensembles 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.; McCoy Tyner Trio w/Gary Bartz+ 7 p.m. free, 601877-6602 alcorn.edu/jazzfest/ Downtown Clarksdale - 4th Annual Juke Joint Festival www.jukejoin tfestival.com Lyric, Oxford - Manchester Orchestra, Thrice (indie rock)

APRIL 18, SUNDAY King Edward Hotel - Howard Jones Trio (jazz brunch) 11-2 p.m.

Crawdad Hole - Pat Thomas 3 p.m.; Mayhem String Band 4 p.m.; Rocket 88 - 5:15 p.m.; South Memphis String Band (L. Dickinson, A. Hart, & J. Mathus) 6:30 p.m.; Alvin Youngblood Hart & the Muscle Theory 8 p.m.; Jimbo Mathus & Tri-State Coalition 9:15 p.m. $15, $5 coolers (all ages) 601-982-9299 The Auditorium - Firefighters Memorial Book Release Party: Hunter Gibson Gator Trio 4-7 p.m. $15 mfmba.org Roberts Walthall Hotel - Spoken Word in the City w/ DJ Scrap Dirty/Young Venom 7-12 a.m. $10, $5 w/can good donation 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 - Will & Linda 3-7 p.m. free Pelican Cove - Jedi Clampett 3-7 p.m. free 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

APRIL 19, 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 Free Jam 10 p.m. free Fenian’s - Karaoke 8-1 a.m.

Dreamz - Marley Mondays/DJ 6 p.m.

APRIL 20, TUESDAY F. Jones Corner - Amazing Lazy Boi (blues lunch) free Miss. Museum of Art - Unburied Treasures (art/classical piano/ readings) 6 p.m. free Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - Pub Quiz 8 p.m.

Hal & Mal’s Red Room - Brutal Beauty Fenian’s - Open Mic 9 p.m.

Martin’s - Karaoke 10 p.m. free 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

APRIL 21, WEDNESDAY F. Jones Corner - Sherman Lee Dillon (blues lunch) free Fenian’s - Brian Jones 9 p.m.

Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - Singer/ Songwriter Night Shucker’s - Hunter Gibson & Rick Moreira 7:30-11 p.m. free Underground 119 - The Rounders (mountain jazz) 8-11 p.m. free Fitzgerald’s - Rainmakers 8-12 a.m.

The Auditorium - Karaoke 9-12 a.m.

Pelican Cove - Jam Session 7:30-10 p.m.

Regency Hotel - Snazz 8:30 p.m. myspace.com/snazzband2 Footloose - Karaoke 8-12 a.m. free Electric Cowboy - Karaoke

4/15 Acid Mother’s Temple - Hi-Tone, Memphis 4/16-18 Coachella Music Festival - Indio, CA coachella.com 4/17 Elvis Costello & the Imposters - IP Casino, Biloxi 4/17 Juke Joint Festival: Honeyboy Edwards, Jimbo Mathus, +50 others, Downtown Clarksdale $10, 10 a.m.-1 a.m., 662-624-5992 jukejointfestival.com

venuelist Wednesday, April 14th 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 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 Top Notch Sports Bar 109 Culley Dr., Jackson, 601- 362-0706 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 p.m. - Guys’ Cover $5

BUY 1, GET 1 WELLS Thursday, April 15th

Weekly Lunch Specials Parking now on side of building

Bike Night w/ Krazy Karaoke 7:00 p.m. - No Cover

$2 MARGARITAS! Fri. & Sat., April 16th & 17th

SNAZZ 8:30 p.m. - $5 cover Exquisite Dining at

The Rio Grande Restaurant

Open for dinner Sat. 4-10pm thursday

APRIL 15

GUILT RIDDEN TROUBADOR REID STONE OF DAYBREAKDOWN LADIES NIGHT with MR. NICK! LADIES DRINK FREE WELLS & PONIES 9PM-2AM

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

BASEBA LL SEASON IS FINALLY HERE! WATCH YOUR TEAM @ THE LODGE 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)

FRI.

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

COLLEGE NIGHT BRING STUDENT ID

SAT.

NCAA

BASKETBALL

MON. S.I.N. NIGHT TUES. JACKPOT TRIVIA $2 DOMESTICS

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

friday

APRIL 16

DIRTY BOURBON RIVER BAND W/ NEW GRASS COUNTRY CLUB saturday

APRIL 17

Capital City Roller Girls After Party! tuesday

APRIL 20

OPEN MIC with Cody Cox

*DOLLAR BEER* wednesday APRIL 21

Kick Ass Karaoke with KJ JOOSY 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)

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Mellow Mushroom pizza bakers 9

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reek meets American at the Lamar Restaurant, one of downtown Jackson’s oldest restaurants. Lamar Restaurant opened its doors in 1952 and today continues to serve its famous Greek salads and gyro wraps at 209 South Lamar Street.

The Lamar Restaurant brings 58 years of dining experience to the table. Their Greek salads are topped with a variation of delicious items from grilled chicken, grilled shrimp, grilled tilapia and pita bread. Each Greek salad comes with feta cheese, Greek peppers, calamata olives and tomatoes.

Chris Grillis

Gyro wraps range from traditional beef and lamb to grilled chicken or grilled shrimp with lettuce, tomato and cucumber yogurt sauce piled high inside of pita.

If your hunger takes you in another direction, then owner Chris Grillis recommends the hamburger steak smothered with onions and gravy and served with French fries and a salad. Order it any day of the week, or feast on the veal cutlets or the famous hand-pattied hamburgers.

Taking the healthy route when making menu selections? Try the grilled tilapia. It comes with French fries and a salad, but you can step up the order with a Greek salad.

The Lamar Restaurant makes their very own feta vinaigrette for all their salads and, of course, they have the traditional Jackson favorite: Comeback dressing.

April 15 - 21, 2010

Put the fi nishing touches on your lunch with a slice of homemade cake, daily varying from red velvet, Devil’s food, or the to-die-for caramel cake. Grillis swears by the ooey-gooey brownie: it’s not on the menu, but you can inquire about it. You’ll fi nd a brownie warmed up with “three scoops of Greek ice cream,” says Grillis, “meaning they are tiny scoops because I’m cheap,” he jokingly says. The top of the ice cream is covered with chocolate and caramel sauce.

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Grillis says that customers who come in for lunch or breakfast will fi nd the same casual atmosphere his parents, Emanuel and Kiki Grillis, created 58 years ago. After graduating from Ole Miss, Grillis was Director of Operations for Mr. Gatti’s Pizza in Jackson and then opened and operated Christo’s Deli. He sold Christo’s and came back home to the restaurant he grew up in.

Find out why the Lamar Restaurant stands strong as a Jackson icon and a Grillis family legacy.

They are open 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturdays 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and closed on Sundays. Visit them online at www.lamarrestaurant.net or stop in at 209 South Lamar Street in downtown Jackson. For more information, call 601-354-9300.

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

Campbellʼs Bakery

Serving:

3013 N State Street 601-362-4628 Now serving lunch! Cookies, cakes and cupcakes are accompanied by good coffee and a full-cooked Southern breakfast on weekdays in this charming bakery in Fondren.

H OT P ASTA D ISHE G RILLED F ISH P ANINI S ANDWICH

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COFFEE HOUSES

from the Belhaven bakery

Cups Espresso Café (Multiple Locations, www.cupsespressocafe.com) Jackson’s local group 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.

Mon. - Thurs., 11am - 8:30pm | Fri. & Sat. 11am - 9pm 904B E. Fortification St. - English Village

Call Us: 601-352-2002

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.

LUNCH: MON.-FRI., 10AM-2PM

ITALIAN

See Us Come kfast! a e r For B

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

7AM -10AM

168 W. Griffith St. • Sterling Towers

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.

Across from MC School of Law

601-352-2364 • Fax: 601-352-2365 Hours: Monday - Friday 7am - 4pm

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)

“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!

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Fratesiʼs (910 Lake Harbour, Ridgeland, 601-956-2929)

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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!

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$5 LUNCH SPECIAL! Find out more at wiredespresso.com

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.

“Now Dats Italian”

A metro-area tradition since 1977 Dinner Hours: Lunch Hours:

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.

Tues-Fri 11am-2pm

Tues-Thurs 5pm-9pm Fri & Sat 5pm-10pm

601-919-2829

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).

5417 Lakeland Drive ~ Flowood, MS 39232

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.

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?

DINE LOCAL, see pg. 38

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Best Butts In Town! since 1980

601-956-7079

1491 Canton Mart Rd. • Jackson

jacksonfreepress.com

BARS, PUBS & BURGERS

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DINEJackson Telephone:

601-665-4952 For the sizzling taste of real hickory smoke barbeque -

THIS IS THE PLACE! B.B.Q., Blues, Beer, Beef & Pork Ribs Saturday & Friday Night Blues Band Coming Soon!

Italian Done Right.

Remember you can buy our lasagna by the pan!

910 Lake Harbour Dr. Ridgeland | 601-956-2929 Monday - Saturday | 5 - until

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)

BAKERS Now with TWO locations to better serve you

(

still need help paying off our student loans

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NEW! FONDREN CORNER | 11AM - 2PM HIGHLAND VILLAGE | 10AM - 6PM 601.362.7448 • CRAZYCATBAKERS.COM

Bring this ad for a FREE order of Beignets!

Wasted Wednesday .50 Wells starting at 9pm

Karaoke Thursday 2 for 1 Margaritas at 9pm

2003-2010, Best of Jackson

Saturday Zydeco Band & Masquerade Party starting at 9pm

Sunday Brunch 707 N. Congress Street Downtown Jackson • (601) 353-1180 Open 11am-2pm, Sunday thru Friday

featuring a live Zydeco band 10:30am-2pm 6340 Ridgewood Court, 601-977-9920

Come see Why We Were Voted One Of Jackson’s Best Mediterranean Restaurants

April 15 - 21, 2010

Mediterranean & Lebanese Cuisine

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Lunch starting at just $6 .99 Hours of Operation: Everyday 11am-until

Paid advertising section.

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.

ASIAN 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.

DINEJackson

Paid advertising section.

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.

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 appointed dining room that much more enticing. Daily lunch specials, red beans and rice, angus burgers. Dinner menu includes pork tenderloin, basil-pesto pasta with chicken, cajun shrimp, steaks, seafood and more.

Steam Room Grille (5402 I-55 North 601--899-8588) Known for 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.

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 and 2010’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 Dessert, Best Kid’s Menu and Best Ice Cream in the 2010 Best of Jackson reader poll.

TWO FREE DRAFT BEER MUGS

Join us for lunch starting at $7.99 Great selection of meats & vegetables.

Includes beverage

When you buy any menu item over $8 after 8pm every Fri. and Sat.

Daily Lunch Specials - $9 Happy Hour Hour Everyday Everyday 4-7 4-7 Happy

(non-alcoholic)

LIVE MUSIC Every Tues. thru Sat.

Time and 1/2 Thursdays

LATE NIGHT HAPPY HOUR Sun. thru Thurs. 10pm - 12am Two-for-One, YOU CALL IT!

Ladies drink 3 for 1, 9pm-12am

“BADGE SPECIAL” Military, Fire, Police, & Emergency Personnel 2-for-1 drinks all day, everyday!

HAPPY HOUR Mon. - Sat. | 2-7pm

1428 Old Square Road in Jackson 601.713.2700 lastcallsportsgrill.com

601.978.1839 6270 Old Canton Rd. Jackson, MS 39211

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

MOVING BACK TO THE PATIO COME OUT & LISTEN TO THE SOOTHING SOUNDS OF

DJ MISSISSIPPI SINATRA APRIL 14

$3 MARGARITAS 5402 I-55 Frontage Road Jackson MS st eamro o mgrille.co m

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High Noon Café (2807 Old Canton Road in Rainbow Plaza 601-366-1513) Fresh, gourmet, tasty and healthy defines the lunch options at Jackson’s own strict vegetarian (and very-vegan-friendly) restaurant. Daily lunch specials -- like mexican day and the seaside cakes on Fridays -- push the envelope on creative and healthy; wonderful desserts!

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April 15 - 21, 2010

153 Ridgeway, Ste. 105F • Flowood Telephone: (601) 919 - 0097

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(Next door to McDade’s Market Extra) Mon. - Sat., 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. • Maywood Mart Shopping Center 1220 E. Northside Dr. • 601-366-5676 • www.mcdadeswineandspirits.com

BY MATT JONES

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Photons work hard to get from the heart of the sun to the surface. They can take up to 160,000 years to complete the more than 400,000-mile journey. And yet once Earth-bound photons get topside, they travel the 93-million-mile distance to our planet in just over eight minutes. I foresee a metaphorically similar situation unfolding in your life in the coming weeks. A development that has been a long time in the making will accelerate tremendously in its last phase of ripening.

Taurus genius Irving Berlin (1888-1989) has been called the greatest songwriter who ever lived. Among his 1,500 compositions were iconic tunes like “God Bless America” and “White Christmas,” as well as scores for 18 Hollywood movies and 19 Broadway shows. And yet he never learned to read or write music. Was he embarrassed about his handicap? Not at all. He even bragged about it. He felt that having such a minimal grasp of the conventions of songwriting was an advantage, giving him the freedom to be extraordinarily original. Is there any way in which you’re like Irving Berlin, Taurus? Do you have a seeming limitation that is actually an aid to your creativity and uniqueness? Celebrate it this week.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) “Every changed circumstance contains opportunities, which accrue to the first people to recognize them,” wrote poet Charles Potts. “Since circumstances are in constant flux, there is a steady stream of opportunities. Learn to spot them and make them your own.” I offer you this advice, Gemini, because you’ll soon be in a prime position to derive great benefit from it. If you tweak your attitude just right—aligning your novelty receptors to be on high alert—the clattering commotion of metamorphosis that’s headed your way will bring with it a bustling welter of unforeseen openings.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) First the negatives: Don’t be a martyr to what you’ve won. Don’t let your success oppress you. Don’t become a slave to the useful role you’ve earned. Don’t neglect your own needs as you serve the needs of those who admire you for what you give. Now let’s try a more positive way to frame the challenges ahead of you: Keep questioning whether the fruits of your victories are still enjoyable and fulfilling to you. Make sure the triumphs of the past don’t get in the way of the potential triumphs of the future. Find out how your success may need to evolve. Push beyond what’s good and head in the direction of what’s great.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) My rage against the machine began early. I joined my first protest march at age 15, led a boycott at 17 and was tear-gassed by cops at a demonstration when I was 18. In the intervening years, my anger at injustice has broadened and deepened. I’ve lent my rebel yells to hundreds of righteous causes. But in 2006, I decided to shift my approach. Instead of fighting every single abuse that incited my ire, I chose three to concentrate on: the obscene militarism of the American government; the extreme financial disparities between the rich and poor; and the environmental degradations caused by corporations and corporate culture. Since then, my crusading energy has been more focused and effective, and my general mood has brightened. I recommend you consider a similar change, Leo. It’s an excellent time for you to give more of your passion to fewer causes.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Do you remember the monster that sometimes lived under your bed when you were a kid? Recently it found its way back to you and has been spending time in your closet. It’s not as frightening as it used to be, and I’m not alarmed by its return. In fact, I think it has an important message for you that would be valuable to discover. I encourage you to invite it out for a conversation. As you might suspect, as soon as it delivers its crazy wisdom, it will leave you in peace.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) Present the following dare to a person or persons with whom you would like to go deeper: “You think you know me, but you really know just a tantalizing fraction.

Would you like to experience the rest of the story?”

And if anyone expresses interest, take him or her on

a magical tour they won’t forget. Reveal the sides of you that are too mysteriously interesting to show the general public, or too intimate to reveal to anyone you don’t trust, or so potent they might intimidate those who don’t have a lot of self-possession.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) In North America, California Condors are the biggest flying birds that live on land. Their wingspans are up to ten feet. Once sacred to certain Native Americans, these members of the vulture family can live for 60 years and soar as high as 15,000 feet. But they came close to extinction in the 20th century, mostly because of human activity. In 1987, conservationists intervened. In the hope of replenishing the population in captivity, they captured every last one of the 22 remaining wild condors. Painstaking efforts gradually yielded results, and today there are 348 birds, including 187 in the wild. I bring this to your attention, Scorpio, because I believe now is an excellent time to begin a project to save your own metaphorical version of an “endangered species.”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) According to Us Weekly, baseball star Alex Rodriguez owns two paintings of himself in which he’s portrayed as half-man, half-horse. This is an excellent time for you to be inspired by his example. Gazing at a picture of a mythical centaur who looks like you would speak to your subconscious mind in just the right way. Bypassing your rational ego, that stirring icon would animate and cultivate the wise animal in you. It would stimulate the sweet spot where your physical vitality overlaps your visionary intelligence. Do you know anyone who could Photoshop this powerful image for you?

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Here’s my startling prediction: More Capricorn spiritual seekers will become enlightened in the next five weeks than in any comparable period of history. Hell, there will be so much infinity mixed with eternity available for your tribe that even a lot of you non-seekers could get a lightning bolt of illumination or two. That’s not to say that you have to accept the uplifting revelations, or even tune in to them, for that matter. If you’d prefer to ignore the sacred hubbub and go about your practical business without having to hassle with the consequences of a divine download, that’s fine.

“It’s a Tough Job”—but you totally get used to it.

Across 1 Convertible’s cover 7 Frowned-upon aerosol chemicals, for short 11 Controversial flavoring 14 Without a compass 15 Slave in Pearl S. Buck’s “The Good Earth” 16 iPhone program 17 Her hair hissed 18 Rapper with the hit single “How Low” 20 Anguish over a huge credit card bill?

22 Goes to the TV screen 23 Waste of fireworks 24 Bill Cosby’s late son 26 Shaq, once 28 “Gone With the Wind” plantation 31 “See ya” 32 What perverts did to dream of being more perverted?

35 Skosh 38 Gnarls Barkley singer ___-Lo 39 Conk out 40 Suffix with Power or Gator 41 Textiles elevated to a higher

status?

45 “Parklife” group 46 Capital on a fjord 47 Fish, on an Italian menu 51 They help you limber up 53 Washroom, to a Brit 55 Airport stats 56 Did a baby care activity (or this puzzle’s theme, literally) 60 Home of a chicken mascot 61 Mafioso’s code of silence 62 “The Fifth Beatle” Sutcliffe 63 Menial laborer 64 Laura of “The Squid and the Whale” 65 ___ Willy (schoolyard annoyance) 66 In ___ (at heart) 67 Venomous snakes

Last Week’s Answers

Down 1 Flautist Jean-Pierre ___ 2 Title role for Hilary Swank 3 Suddenly lose power 4 Secured tightly 5 Brewer’s kiln 6 Kilt pattern 7 Hades rarity, it’s said

BY MATT JONES

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Can you imagine what it would be like to venture into the opposite of the Bermuda Triangle? You know, a zone where wonderfully odd things occur rather than bad strange things? I think that such a place exists, and I think you’ll soon find it. The luck that unfolds for you will be a blend of dumb and brilliant. The discoveries you make may be useless on the outside but valuable on the inside. Lost keys may reappear and missing links will materialize out of nowhere. Here’s the piece de resistance: An apparent memory of the future could provide a secret passageway to a previously hidden enclave that contains “magic garbage.”

Last Week’s Answers

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) In honor of the new identity you’re evolving into, I hereby give you the nickname of “Miracle Player,” or else—if you like one of these better—”Sleek Cat” or “Giant Step” or “Fate Whisperer.” You may hereafter also use any of the following titles to refer to yourself: “CEO of My Own Life” or “Self-Teacher of Jubilance and Serenity” or “Fertile Blur of Supple Strength.” Feel free, as well, to anoint your head with pure organic virgin olive oil, fashion a crown for yourself out of roses and shredded masks, and come up with a wordless sound that is a secret sign you’ll give to yourself whenever you need to remember the marvelous creature you are on your way to becoming.

Read and interact with free excerpts from my book “Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia” here: http://bit.ly/ BeautyTruth. Respond at Truthrooster@gmail.com.

“Kakuro” Fill in each square in this grid with a digit from 1 to 9. The sum of the digits in each row or column will be the little number given just to the left of or just above that row or column. As with a Sudoku, you canít repeat any digits in a row orcolumn. See the row of four squares in the upper-left with a 10 to the left of it? That means the sum of the digits in those four squares will be 10, and they won’t repeat any digits. A row or column ends at a black square, so the four-square row in the upper-right with a 26 to the left of it may or may not have digits in common with the 10row to its left; theyíre considered different rows because thereís a black square between them. Down columns work the same way. Now solve!!

jacksonfreepress.com

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

8 Chimney passage 9 Contemptible guys 10 Rickman, in the “Harry Potter” films 11 Red sauce 12 Full of life 13 Navigational tracker 19 “Why ___?”

21 Scissors users 25 “Soldier of Love” singer 27 Flavorful 29 It may list sped-up terms and conditions at the end 30 Garage sale condition 33 Take back property 34 Hatchery noise 35 Fro-yo establishment, for short 36 Earmark 37 It’s cheaper by the dozen 42 Threesome 43 “Finished!”

44 Where the diving boards are 48 “Tristram Shandy” author 49 President who won the Nobel Peace Prize 50 College application pieces 52 Take shots (at) 54 String quartet member 57 The Bee ___ 58 Inflated self-images 59 In the center of 60 Dir. opposite NNE ©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 #0456.

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(BUDWEISER & BUD LIGHT) Stop by and watch Basketball on the flat screen

Dine-In / Carry-Out Mon - Thur: 11am-10pm

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April 15 - 21, 2010

(across from Baptist Medical Center)

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CATERING AVAILABLE

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M I S S I S S I P P I ’ S C O M P L E T E B E E R S O U RC E Ask for these beers at stores and restaurants in Central Mississippi.

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Capital City Beverages

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DUI & CRIMINAL DEFENSE Protect Your Rights!

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309 Catalina Circle 3 BR / 2 BA Fixer upper, Owner Financing or Cash Discount, $1000 Down, $430 a Month, 1-803-403-9555

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Fondren/Med Center Area Newly renovated 2 Br,1 BA apts in quiet 4plex. Credit ck/lease required. $500, $650/month. Call Karen 601-201-4795.

Affordable Yard Cutting No yard too big or small. Quality service. 601-371-8881

Heating & Air Conditioning Services. Tile & Hardwood Floor installation. Sheet metal Fabrication & Design.

Soffit & Fascia Repair. Pressure Washing. Welding & Repair. Gauranteed lowest prices Free Estimates 24/7 (601) 506-1843 Security Cameras • Attendant On Duty Drop Off Service • Free Wi-Fi

234 Keener Ave, 3 BR / 1 BA Fixer Upper, Owner Financ2ing or Cash Dis, $500 Dn, $171 a mo, 1-803-254-0474

ALL AREAS - ROOMMATES.COM. Browse hundreds of online listings with photos and maps. Find your roommate with a click of the mouse!

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Alterations and Custom Made Suits & Shirts 258 Dogwood Blvd., Flowood | 601.992.1373 Mon.-Fri. 8:30 a.m.-7:00 p.m. and Saturday 8:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

111 Colony Crossing Ste. 280, Madison | 601.607.3443 Monday - Saturday 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

Tony’s Tire & Automotive, Inc. Oil Change and Tire Rotation

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Want a better deal than that? Go to www.halfoffdepot.com/Jackson to save half off on your next visit to our shop (will apply to specials).

Owners - Tony Murphy, Sr. and Tony Murphy, Jr. 5138 N State St. Jackson, MS 39206 • Phone: 601-981-2414 • Fax: 601-981-2435 Hours of Operation: Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

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