Month: January 2009

Categories
Film Features Film/TV

Oscar Checklist

With most of this weekend’s new-release mediocrities (horror cheapie of the week The Uninvited, for instance) not screening in time for our Tuesday deadlines, I could have filled this space with a review of one of last weekend’s new-release mediocrities (Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, perhaps). But in a typically bad post-holidays period for Hollywood product, the truth is that thoughtful filmgoers are less likely to be choosing among these studio dregs (box-office gold right now: Paul Blart: Mall Cop) than playing catch-up with Oscar nominees they missed.

Nominations were announced last week, with David Fincher’s epic The Curious Case of Benjamin Button leading the way with 13 nominations, just ahead of “underdog” fave Slumdog Millionaire with 10 nominations. Joining these two among the Best Picture nominees are the Sean Penn-led biopic Milk, stage-to-screen adaptation Frost/Nixon, and the surprise nominee, literary adaptation The Reader. All five of these nominees are currently screening locally, with Slumdog Millionaire, The Reader, and Frost/Nixon all expanding into more theaters this week.

A year ago, in this space, I praised the 2007 Best Picture candidates — led by audacious work such as There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men — as the best slate since the mid-’70s. This year’s batch doesn’t include any outright dogs, but it is a bit of a return to the Oscars’ unadventurous norm.

If there was a surprise in the nominations, it was the absence of both The Dark Knight and WALL*E, a couple of summer blockbusters that were simultaneously more successful than any of the Best Picture nominees and more critically respected than, at the least, The Reader and Frost/Nixon. Combine this with the more predictable disregard of art movies like Happy-Go-Lucky, Rachel Getting Married, and Waltz With Bashir, and you have an Oscar list that neglects great filmmaking of both the “low” and “high” variety for the safe embrace of middle-brow “quality.”

Of the movies that did make the Academy’s cut, I’m probably most impressed with Benjamin Button, which I didn’t catch up with until recently. After his bravura performance with the similarly epic-length Zodiac last year, I had a lot of faith in Fincher’s ability to carve a watchable movie out of a star/gimmick-premise combination that didn’t seem very encouraging. Button takes its time, but it builds to a series of emotional high points that took me by surprise — and with plenty of interesting bits of business along the way. It doesn’t feel quite as momentous as Blood or No Country, but it’s an impressive work.

Unfortunately, Benjamin Button might be topped by Slumdog, a decent if increasingly mundane little Dickensian fairy tale set in Mumbai but directed by British filmmaker Danny Boyle. Slumdog has emerged as a cinematic cause célèbre despite lacking the verve of Boyle’s better films (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) and the claims of it capturing a culture being highly specious.

Much better is Milk, where Sean Penn gives his best, least fussy performance in years as martyred politician and gay rights pioneer Harvey Milk and director Gus Van Sant returns to the mainstream while avoiding most of the formulaic traps of the biopic genre.

Rounding out the group, Frost/Nixon and The Reader are watchable movies that don’t quite live up to their projected gravitas. With wooden direction (surprise!) from Oscar fave Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon all but jumps around and waves its arms trying to convince viewers that its titular encounter — and thus the movie made about it — is really important. The reality is that Frost/Nixon is more a diversionary pleasure. Frank Langella is enjoyably magisterial as the fallen man, Oliver Platt shows off a quick, funny Tricky Dick impression, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona’s Rebecca Hall slinks around as well-costumed and -coiffed eye candy. The Reader, on the other hand, provides the spectacle of Kate Winslet quite possibly winning her first Oscar for what is probably her least impressive major performance. It’s the kind of dutiful Oscar pick that seems important (to Oscar voters, anyway) at the time, but that no one remembers a couple of years later.

The downside, of course, to filmgoers descending on the multiplexes in the coming weeks with Oscar checklists in hand is the potential for better movies to be neglected. Clint Eastwood’s recently released Gran Torino — a farewell of sorts to Eastwood’s own on-screen persona — is an autumnal gem that was mysteriously shut out in the Oscar noms. But it’s a better film than at least three of the Best Picture nominees. Don’t forget it.

Categories
Editorial Opinion

Seeing Bottom

One of the more promising moments of the new Congress in the dawning Age of Obama occurred last week during discussion in the House Appropriations Committee of various formulas for the stimulus package which, in one form or another, will soon be coming our way.

That moment occurred when Republican congressman Zach Wamp of Chattanooga made his pitch for additional funding to deal with the catastrophic coal ash spill in East Tennessee.

Wamp, who is taking his leave from Congress to hazard a run for governor next year, then made what amounted to a courtly introduction of his Middle Tennessee colleague Lincoln Davis, Wamp’s de facto successor on the all-important committee. Davis — whose district had suffered most of the environmental damage from the overflow — then continued the argument for a $25 million addendum to help cope with the disaster. What made that moment of comity all the more significant is that Davis, a Democrat, is an almost certain candidate for governor himself and is at least hypothetically destined to wind up throwing the usual campaign invective at Wamp — and receiving it in turn — in next year’s gubernatorial race. That the two potential opponents meshed for common cause was a good omen for the session to come.

So was the announcement later in the week by Memphis congressman Steve Cohen indicating that $167 million in public education allocations could be on its way to Shelby County for a variety of long-overdue renovation projects affecting the schools. But, as Cohen pointed out, the money, intended both to rehabilitate infrastructure and provide employment, may not be enough to do either job fully. The economy is in such a shambles that, as the congressman put it, “We can’t see bottom.”

One factor that could carve even deeper into the ongoing fiscal misery is potential competition between governments — state vs. local and city vs. county — over disposition of such federal money as could come our way. That’s what happens at a time when all area governments are equally needy and when the temptation to patch and fill budgetary deficits could divert the federal outlays away from their intended stimulus effect.

State government, dependent on sales tax revenue, is hollowing out financially because consumption by citizens in Tennessee, as elsewhere, is down, way down. Paradoxically, one of the primary purposes of the federal stimulus program is to encourage more spending at a time when people are inclined to hold on to their resources. Local governments are equally ensnarled in a condition of diminishing returns, dependent as they are on property tax revenues when the housing bust has caused a decline in home values that shows little sign of abating.

At such a moment, political partisanship is literally unaffordable. So is bickering between governmental jurisdictions — like the still unresolved dispute between city, county, and state over funding the Memphis public schools.

We may not see bottom, nor do we want to, but we may get there unless we learn to suspend obsolete rivalries and figure out how to work together to stem the current economic reversal.

Categories
Opinion

If Beale St. Could Talk

A pair of names in the news, John Elkington and Robert Lipscomb, want to clarify their roles in proposed changes in and around Beale Street.

A flurry of recent news stories has centered on a bitter lawsuit over control of Beale Street, the fate of the nearby Greyhound Bus Station, and a prospective massive redevelopment of several square blocks of blighted property south of downtown called Triangle Noir.

In separate interviews, Elkington said he wants credit for the 26 years he put in managing and leasing the Beale Street Historic District. Meanwhile, Lipscomb said he isn’t trying to push Elkington out in favor of a national developer with ties to singer Justin Timberlake.

“I may not have been the best, but I was not the absolute worst,” said Elkington, who was called “the most incompetent property manager in history” in open court last week by attorney John Candy, representing Beale Street Development Corporation. “Most people know I was a guy who stayed in there and made it work.”

Elkington said that he would gladly let someone else have the job and has told that to Mayor Willie Herenton many times. Elkington figures he is due about $100,000 a year in commissions as long as the leases he made with Beale Street tenants are in effect. More than money, he said, “I want a thank you very much for what you did” in bringing Beale Street back to life.

The city and Beale Street Development Corporation don’t see it that way.

As for his possible successor, Elkington said he met a representative of the Baltimore-based Cordish Company development firm at a convention last year but they did not talk about Cordish replacing Performa, Elkington’s company, on Beale Street. Cordish specializes in urban entertainment districts in cities including Baltimore, Louisville, and St. Louis.

E-mails published here last week indicate that between July and November of 2008, Cordish representatives, along with a financing firm and Timberlake’s stepfather Paul Harless, sought specific information about Beale Street leases, tenants, and profit-and-loss statements. Elkington believes the city may have turned over proprietary information to Cordish under the guise of collecting it for the lawsuit.

Rey Flemings, the former head of the Memphis Music Commission, arranged meetings last summer between Lipscomb and representatives from the Cordish team “to discuss Beale Street,” according to e-mails.

In an interview this week, Lipscomb said he had meetings with Cordish last year about the Memphis riverfront and its relationship to proposed downtown projects around Beale Street, FedExForum, and Union Avenue across from AutoZone Park that have been in the talking stage since at least 2006.

“We never had a discussion about them taking over Beale Street,” Lipscomb said. In May, he met with Jonathan Cordish, vice president of Cordish Company, according to an e-mail that Lipscomb provided:

“The meeting is informal as they are meeting in the lobby of the Peabody for 15 minutes regarding city projects which include the riverfront development initiative. Mr. Cordish is in town for a short period of time and we would like to capitalize on the opportunity to meet with him before his departure.”

Lipscomb, head of the division of Housing and Community Development, has been Herenton’s point man on major development projects for several years. It would be standard practice for any prospective developer interested in Memphis to schedule meetings with him. Flemings apparently played a middle-man role for Cordish. Lipscomb said he has not gone to Baltimore for any meetings with Cordish.

“This stuff has gotten out of hand,” he said. “It’s a bunch of disinformation, misinformation, and all kinds of stuff.”

The ongoing federal investigation of Herenton has put a mysterious cast on stories about possible new developments on and around Beale Street and the nearby Greyhound Bus Station. But Lipscomb said he has nothing to hide, and he provided copies of his own e-mail correspondence about Beale Street and Triangle Noir, a massive proposed development south of FedEx Forum stretching all the way to Crump Boulevard.

The city is seeking federal funds for Triangle Noir, as it did with the conversions of former housing projects next to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center.

“If you hope to get [funds] you have to have leverage, and that is why we looked at all the projects around it,” Lipscomb said.

Categories
Sports Sports Feature

Do Over

Before a single local media member had expressed an opinion on the matter, reports last week that the Grizzlies had fired head coach Marc Iavaroni only to almost immediately hire former assistant Lionel Hollins were greeted with bewilderment and skepticism. Surely Hollins was being brought back as an assistant coach again ran the message-board consensus. Nope. This time, Hollins was getting the top job.

Defenders of the Hollins hire make a good point in asserting that Hollins’ resume is as good as — if not better than — Iavaroni’s was at the time of his hiring. Both were former players and longtime assistants who had served under some quality head coaches. Actually, Hollins was a little bit better player in his day and has more head-coaching experience (though with very little success) than Iavaroni. But if Iavaroni was perceived as a good hire and Hollins as a curious one, the blame for that rests primarily with the Grizzlies themselves, who had Hollins on their bench and bypassed him on multiple occasions, most notably when the team needed an internal interim coach after Mike Fratello’s departure.

Former Grizzlies general manager Jerry West clearly didn’t take Hollins seriously as a head-coaching candidate. Hollins supporters would point out — again correctly — that West has been wrong before. (Another explanation for bypassing Hollins in the past and hiring him now, of course, is that the budget for head coaches has changed.)

The truth is you never know: Marc Iavaroni was universally considered a good hire and didn’t work out. Hubie Brown was greeted with initial skepticism and was a (short-lived) triumph.

But regardless of Hollins’ head-coaching potential, the circumstances of his hiring are unavoidably prickly.

After two previous interim coaching stints with the team, Hollins is essentially back for a third. Hollins, owner Michael Heisley, and general manager Chris Wallace would all disapprove of applying the term “interim” to this situation, but that’s what it really is. Most interim coaches are brought in to serve out a season. Hollins, by contrast, has been brought in to serve out a contract —  namely, Iavaroni’s.

Iavaroni’s coaching contract will still be on the books through the end of next season, and this team doesn’t want to spend too much on coaching — or anything else — right now. That doesn’t mean this is strictly a money move: The cheap thing to do would have been to do nothing, but the on-court regression and growing unhappiness of key players made keeping Iavaroni untenable.

Hollins can replace Iavaroni through the end of Iavaroni’s contract without adding too much additional expense and hopefully allow the team to get player development back on track while Wallace and Heisley finish putting the roster together. As someone who’s pursued a head-coaching opportunity for years, Hollins was apparently willing to take the job for the right price and potentially limited security.

In the summer of 2010, with Iavaroni’s and Hollins’ contracts both up, there will be a clean slate for a new coaching hire. At that point, presumably, the roster will be in place for a team that can compete for a playoff slot, making the job more attractive for established coaches than it is currently.

This doesn’t preclude Hollins from staying on the bench beyond the summer of 2010 if the organization thinks he’s a coach who can take the team to the next level. Like many other interim coaches, Hollins will have an honest opportunity to earn a reappointment. But as a longtime organizational man with strong ties to Memphis and a relationship with the owner, Hollins can possibly be transitioned out of the job (perhaps to another organizational post) with minimal drama or disruption.

The problem with this scenario occurs if Hollins is a disaster on the sidelines; if, rather than allowing development to occur and the locker room to settle down, his leadership is instead listless and counterproductive. This is the gamble the Grizzlies are taking. But, as past history has shown, all coaching hires are gambles.

Hollins doesn’t have to be Red Auerbach. He just needs to get players like Rudy Gay, Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo, and Marc Gasol buying in, working together, building chemistry, and developing their individual skills.

Hollins brings with him a commitment to the city that probably hasn’t gotten enough attention — in a nomadic profession, he’s maintained a sole residence here. If he can get things back on track, this ostensibly curious hire will work out fine. But if he can’t, the Grizzlies are stuck: Even though the franchise hasn’t made a long-term commitment to him, the circumstances all but guarantee that Hollins will serve out his current contract, and this team can’t afford any more lost time.

Categories
News The Fly-By

Fly on the Wall

Ribbed for Pleasure

File under “Corrections & Amplifications.” Last week, Fly on the Wall reported, somewhat fallaciously, that Dale Earnhardt Jr. behaved more like a professional wrestler than a racing champion when Memphis Motorsports Park offered to provide the popular speedster with a lifetime supply of his favorite Rendezvous ribs if he’d come to town for one little race. It sounded like a delicious offer made in good faith and fun, but the source material quoted Earnhardt describing the offer as “some ridiculous deal … to try to get people to buy tickets. “I don’t want to sound like a jerk,” he said, sounding more like a heel than the good guy he’s known to play.

As it turns out, there was a bit of missing context. A source close to the ‘cue-related kerfuffle has since explained that Earnhardt, who rhapsodized about his love for Memphis barbecue on a recent episode of MTV’s Cribs, might not have been so surly if our local raceway had actually offered a lifetime supply of the Rendezvous signature char-grilled racks, which are his favorite. Instead, he was offered some other brand of ribs which may have been perfectly delicious but weren’t Earnhardt’s stated rib of choice.

Although he was merely exercising his God-given right to stand up for the ‘cue he loves, Earnhardt did come off as something of a jerk. But our kind of jerk. The Fly Team is sorry we ever doubted him.

Shooting Birdies

The Associated Press knows as little about Broadway musicals as it does about Memphis music icons. According to the AP, “the swivel-hipped Conrad Birdie is coming back to Broadway” when New York’s Roundabout Theatre presents a revival of Bye Bye Birdie, “the musical tale of an Elvis Presley-inspired rock-and-roll star and his effect on the teenagers in one small Ohio town.” Conrad Birdie is actually based on Conway Twitty, whose overt sexuality made Elvis seem like the very picture of decorum and civility.

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

What a Pair

CREDIT: Tom Schmucker | dreamstime.com

There are many classic food and wine pairings that work very well because they’ve been perfected over generations. But classics always can be more fun when they are played with a little bit.

Take steak and red wine, for example. Most of us think of New York strip or rib-eye when it comes to steak, and usually we reach for a Cabernet Sauvignon to pair along with it. But the cow is a big animal — it has plenty of other cuts to offer.

For a classically delicious pairing with a little twist, visit the Majestic Grille (145 S. Main, 522-8555) and try their Hangar steak with Laurel Glen’s Terra Rosa Malbec from Argentina. This particular cut of beef is a bit more “meaty” with a bolder beef flavor and more toothsome texture than many other cuts. Those factors match it well with the dark, deep flavors of black plum and full texture of the Malbec grape. Argentineans are fanatical about their beef and Malbec. One taste of this pairing will make anyone understand why.

Fish and white wine — that seems to be a mantra that is uttered over and over again in restaurants and in the seafood aisles of local groceries. However, it’s not as easy as it sounds. The ocean is vast and filled with a multitude of species of fish and shellfish. So where to start when pairing fish and wine?

Think of the strongest flavors on the plate and the weight and texture of the fish itself. At Restaurant Iris (2146 Monroe, 590-2828), the scallops with house-made gnocchi, fennel and vermouth cream, and citrus can be a deliciously interesting dish to pair. The fennel and vermouth add bittersweet tones, the citrus brings acid, and the scallops and gnocchi are lush and rich without being heavy. For this dish, try Chateau Vessiere, a blend of the grapes Roussanne and Grenache Blanc. Both grapes bring a rich texture without being overly heavy, much like the texture of the scallops and gnocchi. The wine’s acidity is bright enough to match the citrus and cut through the cream.

One of the best ways to end a meal is with a platter of cheeses and a good wine. Bari Ristorante e Enoteca (22 S. Cooper, 722-2244) has one of the best cheese selections in Memphis. To really experience what they have to offer, order a handful of cheeses and a good bottle of red that will pair across the spectrum of this dairy wonderland.

The cheeses that shouldn’t be missed are Gorgonzola Cremificato (a soft delicate blue), Tallegio (creamy, bittersweet, and pungently aromatic), Pecorino Sottoilnoce (available only twice a year, wrapped in walnut leaves, grassy and nutty), and Bianco Sottobosco (semi-soft, rich, and laced with black truffles). This varied and unique selection of cheeses needs an equally interesting wine.

I know many wine drinkers are still hesitant to explore dessert wines. One of the best ways to break through that doubt is to sample a good version alongside such varied styles of cheeses. One of the most famous and hallowed dessert wines is Italy’s Vin Santo, which means “holy wine.” The nutty, honeyed, floral, succulent richness of Fattoria di Felsina Vin Santo carries across the pungency of the Gorgonzola and Tallegio as well as the haunting earthiness of the Sottobosco.

Categories
News

With the Flow

CREDIT: by Paul Gerald

A couple years ago, in what might have been my own version of the midlife crisis, I made a list of things I wanted to do while I still could. Among the items was to see a presidential inauguration. And on the evening of November 4th, while watching Barack Obama’s acceptance speech, I knew it had to be this inauguration. Once that thought was in my head, I didn’t really have a choice. My sister lives in the D.C. area, and I had frequent-flier miles.

So here, from the perspective of one little drop in the sea of humanity, is a description of Washington, D.C., on January 20th:

I was up at 6 a.m. and out the door at 7, like a springlet on a hillside miles from the ocean. On the street I joined a larger flow, then a wall of people on the train. I wedged into a person-sized hole, and at each station we said we’d never be able to make room for any of the platform throng. Once, somebody cracked us up with a “Yes we can!”

Downtown was a river of people. We filled six-lane avenues and poured down sidewalks. Crossing the street was like swimming a river, and if you wanted to take a picture or stop for any reason, you had to get in the leeway of a street sign or vendor truck.

The energy was joyful, confident, even giddy. We were doing the “Gimme an O … gimme a B” and then all yelling together, “OBAMA!” We were waving flags, sporting glitter, and strutting our collective stuff.

I made for the hill at the Washington Monument to have a look. Between there and the Capitol building, which is about a mile and a half away, was nothing but people. It was a human landscape. Our springs and creeks and rivers had formed a sea.

Like water seeking to get closer, we backed up against tight spots and street crossings, eddied behind buildings, and streamed into open areas. The Mall is a mile or more long, fully 200 yards wide, and all of that was filled with people.

I headed back to the monument, high ground. By 11 a.m., it was so crowded I couldn’t change places. Whenever I looked around, I saw others doing the same, all with expressions of pure, happy awe. Almost 2 million human beings, all in one place for the same reason!

Up on the Jumbotrons, as the ceremony got started, we saw various political celebs, who got various responses. Clinton, Carter, Gore, Powell, and Kerry: big cheers. Cheney got “Dr. Strangelove” jokes for being in a wheelchair.

Bush got the biggest boos, loud enough to be heard on TV. When he was officially introduced, the crowd, by now a single living thing, serenaded him with “Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, Goodbye!” A proud American moment, I say.

The ceremony was something of a blur. I was a long way from a Jumbotron, with a delay of a couple of seconds between the video and the audio — and probably five seconds between speakers talking and us hearing it. Aretha Franklin was amazing, her voice careening all over the landscape.

When it came time for Obama, some 500,000 cameras were hoisted into the air. The crowd was poised like a slingshot, waiting for “So help me God,” and when he said that, the cheer started down by the Capitol and came to us like a wave, and it swept us into pandemonium. Everyone was hopping and clapping and waving flags, and I looked out towards the mall and saw all those thousands and thousands of flags, whipping back and forth.

Afterward, the crowd broke up in all directions, some lingering like puddles in the dusty, windswept, completely trashed mall. From that point on, it was all about gathering souvenirs and getting home. Up in the neighborhoods, stragglers were showing signs of fatigue, and the once-mighty crowd was thinning back into streams.

I was exhausted but glad and proud to be among millions of Americans cheering the new and jeering the old. I felt a genuine national pride that day, and I was part of one of the greatest gatherings in the history of our country. That doesn’t make me special or accomplished, just lucky. And no matter what happens the next four years, at least we can all say we remember when President Obama gathered us together and said, “Let’s do better.”

Categories
Cover Feature News

No Place to call home

CREDIT: by Justin Fox Burks

Just before 8 o’clock on a blustery January morning, about 50 men and a few women gather on the front porch of a modest house on Jefferson Avenue in Midtown. Some are bundled in coats, scarves, and hats, while others wear only ragged jeans and too-thin jackets.

Inside, volunteers of Manna House, a hospitality facility for the homeless, are preparing to open the doors and welcome a small group of the city’s chronically destitute.

One volunteer offers to man the coffee station, while another holds a jar of vitamins to hand to those in need of proper nutrition. Another person volunteers to staff the laundry room, where homeless folks can trade their dirty togs for clean, used clothing and socks.

Manna House head volunteer Peter Gathje, a tall man with gentle eyes and a shaved head, leads the group of 20 or so volunteers in a short prayer, as they hold hands and stand in a circle.

When the “Amen” has been delivered, Gathje opens the Manna House doors and shouts, “Good morning!” A cheerful “Good morning!” sounds from those gathered on the small porch.

One by one, the homeless pour through the front door to take in a few hours of warmth and hospitality. Some rest on tattered couches, while others stand and chat with volunteers.

Manna House, funded by donations from churches and individuals, offers the city’s homeless a place of welcome, at least for the few hours it’s open on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday mornings. The rest of their days are often spent trekking back and forth between downtown and Midtown, seeking free food, spare change, and a place to rest.

“There are 1,800 homeless people in Memphis on any given day — at least that we can find,” says Pat Morgan, executive director of Partners for the Homeless, a nonprofit organization attempting to coordinate resources and services for the city’s homeless. “We know there are more than that, but we can’t find them.”

Morgan’s numbers come from a head count of homeless people on the street and in the shelters taken on one designated night each year. Though Partners staff and Memphis police check parks, alleys, and abandoned buildings (known as “cat holes”), it’s impossible to pinpoint the actual number of Memphis’ homeless population.

But one thing is certain: There aren’t enough resources for the chronically homeless in Memphis. The city is lacking permanent supportive housing for the low-income to no-income poor. There are very few shelter beds open to intact families.

Unlike many large cities, Memphis has no free shelters for men, yet men make up about 80 percent of the city’s homeless population. And based on recent spikes in shelter statistics — the Union Mission served 14,371 meals in February of last year compared to 18,094 in December — the economic downtown may be driving even more Memphians into homelessness.

Give Me Shelter

Bone*, a young man wearing silver rings on every finger, probably wouldn’t strike most people as homeless. But he’s been living on the streets, off and on, for four years.

“My grandparents raised me, and after they passed away, I ended up on the streets,” says Bone, on the porch of Manna House.

Bone has slept in abandoned houses and at bus stops. He stays at the Union Mission, the city’s largest men’s shelter, when he can.

“I prefer the shelter, where I don’t have to worry about getting robbed,” Bone says. “Ain’t nothing wrong with the Union Mission building. The problem is the other people in it. It’s better than being outside though.”

The Union Mission, a Christian ministry since it opened in 1945, provides 120 beds and 100 mats per night for men willing to listen to a sermon by on-site pastor Jeff Patrick. Each man receives four free nights of lodging, but every night after that costs $6.

The mission dishes out an average of 600 plates per day of free breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In addition to acting as an emergency shelter and soup kitchen, the mission also provides a residential drug and alcohol treatment program for the homeless.

by Justin Fox Burks

Peter Gathje, left, volunteers at Manna House, a hospitality center for the homeless on Jefferson Avenue in Midtown.

“On some nights, we’ll have 250 people in here, but there’s no violence,” Patrick says. “The guys that stay here regularly love it because they feel safe.”

Other shelters — such as Midtown’s Living for Christ shelter, Peabody House, and the Salvation Army — provide emergency shelter for men or women, but most charge a nominal fee per night. In total, there are 1,126 beds for the homeless in Memphis, but some of those are reserved for people recovering from substance abuse and the mentally ill. Others are available only by referral from a nonprofit agency.

Yet some homeless people, like Mike, seek out alternatives to the shelters. In his mid-40s, Mike has been on the streets since September 2006, after he was released from spending a year in jail due to missing court on a DUI charge.

“I do my four free days at the Union Mission, but most of us would rather sleep outside than sleep there. It’s just too crowded,” Mike says. “I’ve stayed in cat holes. I used to sleep at the [temporarily closed] Magevney House, and it even had a bathroom.”

Those who do wish to sleep in a shelter will not only need $6 to $8 per night, depending on where they stay, but they’ll also need a picture ID.

“We help people get birth certificates, since picture IDs are required for shelter stays,” says David Figel, executive director of the Hospitality Hub, a point-of-entry center for the newly homeless. “To get an ID, you need a birth certificate, two letters (no older than four months to show residence), and a Social Security card. We let people open a mailbox here, and we send them two letters. The process takes about three to four weeks.”

The Hospitality Hub, located on Jefferson Avenue downtown and funded by the Downtown Church Association, provides access to computers, one free local and long-distance phone call per day, free books, and locker rentals so the homeless have a safe place to store their belongings. They also assist people in finding jobs, though with the economy in the dumps, that task has been more difficult.

“Jobs are becoming more scarce,” Figel says. “We used to have a list of day labor centers, but now day labor isn’t hiring as much. We really feel the cutbacks at this level.”

by Justin Fox Burks

Bone

Power to the (Homeless) People

Homelessness can happen to anyone. Take Sam, a small-framed man who hangs out in Court Square. He attended college and says he was once an expert guitar player and a skilled electrical worker. But in August 2007, Sam was hit by a car. One of his hands was severely injured, and the medical bills began stacking up. Since he was uninsured, he eventually lost everything. His injured hand prevents him from doing the electrical work he once loved.

Now Sam lives on $675 a month in disability. Sometimes, when he has money left, he stays in cheap hotels. But he’s often forced to seek out a shelter bed or an abandoned building.

In the current economic crisis, stories like Sam’s are becoming more common. Patrick of the Union Mission says in recent months they’ve seen an increase in “East Memphis types who’ve lost it all” and checked into the shelter. The foreclosure crisis is putting more and more intact families on the streets.

“We’ve never had enough housing for families,” Morgan says. “We’re not serving the ones who need our help the most.”

Only women’s shelters accept children, so fathers are often separated from their families. The Union Mission does provide five fully furnished transitional homes for needy families, but there’s a waiting list.

In 2002, the Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness, a group of service providers and government representatives, outlined a “blueprint to end chronic homelessness,” identifying key service areas that could use a boost. But, as Morgan indicated at a meeting of the Center City Commission in December, the plan hasn’t come very far in the past six years.

The blueprint lays out the city’s biggest needs for the homeless. Among them are filling housing gaps, developing safe havens of supportive housing, and providing more assistance for homeless people discharged from rehabs and hospitals.

“There’s still nowhere to house the medically fragile,” Morgan says. “The current emergency shelters can’t handle them.”

There hasn’t been much progress in filling housing gaps either. There’s currently no permanent housing for people with substance-abuse problems, but Morgan says Partners is working to develop apartments for people discharged from residential rehab facilities.

by Justin Fox Burks

David Figel of Hospitality Hub counsels one of Memphis’ homeless.

Though not outlined in the mayor’s plan, Jacob Flowers of the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center has long advocated for a large free shelter for males and females, similar to the Nashville Rescue Mission.

“I think a free shelter could be federally funded,” Flowers says. “Partners for the Homeless brings in money from the [Department of Housing and Urban Development]. Why can’t we put that money into a free shelter?”

But Morgan believes providing free shelters promotes irresponsibility among the homeless.

“If you work all day with a day labor crew and then you get paid and smoke it all up in crack, I’m not paying for your room tonight, thank you very much,” Morgan says. “We have to teach the homeless to be responsible and be good stewards of the money that people give us.”

But not all homeless people are on drugs. Tony, a middle-aged Vietnam veteran, doesn’t do drugs, but he’s currently homeless and out of work. With day labor jobs becoming scarce, it’s often hard to come up with shelter money without panhandling.

“Memphis is a bad place for homeless people,” Tony says. “The Nashville shelter is as big as a Home Depot or a Lowe’s, and it’s free. Most cities I’ve been to have free shelters.”

Flowers believes the answer to addressing the needs of the homeless lies in the formation of a homeless-run advocacy group like the Nashville Homeless Power Project.

The group, made up of homeless and formerly homeless people, has managed to secure $800,000 in Nashville city funding for 60 units of low-income housing, and they’re campaigning for more. The group also has registered more than 1,000 homeless people to vote, and they’ve trained Nashville police officers in how to deal with the homeless.

Each Thursday at Manna House, Flowers leads a discussion group with homeless people interested in advocating for their own needs, such as free shelters and an end to harassment by the Center City Commission’s public safety officers in Court Square. In addition to stopping panhandlers, the officers cite homeless people for public urination, cursing, and sleeping on park benches.

Flowers believes letting homeless people address their own needs could be more effective than waiting on the city to step up to the task.

“It’s not effective for us as privileged individuals to advocate on behalf of the less fortunate,” Flowers says. “We’re trying to identify people on the streets who can organize themselves around these very real issues, and we’re training them in grassroots advocacy. We have to address the root causes of homelessness if we’re ever going to truly fix the problem.”

* Some names of the homeless have been changed to protect their identities.

by Justin Fox Burks

Jeff Patrick, pastor of the Union Mission on Poplar

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Yes, They Did

CREDIT: by Justin Fox Burks

For Abram Desrosier, January 20th means more than the inauguration of a new president.

Three years ago to the day, he opened the Flyer Saucer in Cordova, where he worked as the restaurant’s manager. Last Tuesday, while the Obamas were celebrating in Washington, D.C., Desrosier threw open the doors of The Silly Goose, the new downtown lounge he owns and operates with Daniel Masters.

“I didn’t realize the coincidence at first,” Desrosier said. “The day was so crazy. We got our liquor license at 3:30 in the afternoon, and we were open by 8.”

Compliant vendors, an enthusiastic staff, and a weekend run to Nashville to push along licensing helped launch the Manhattan-style lounge without a hitch. “We were hoping for a quiet first night, but within 45 minutes, we were packed,” Desrosier said.

Downtowners have been keeping an eye on the Silly Goose, named after a childhood story created by Masters’ grandfather. Previously occupied by the martini bar Swig, the location on the ground floor of the Peabody Place office tower has been hidden behind covered windows for weeks.

“Blogger Paul Ryburn described it best,” Masters said, laughing. “We’ve de-Swigified the place. We’ve gone in an entirely different direction.”

Working since late September, the partners transformed the space with rich red walls, brocade sofas, and original artwork.

“Our bartenders are still working on our signature cocktails, but we have some favorites already,” Masters said, citing Jack Daniel’s shaken with muddled rosemary and a dash of lemon, along with specialty aperitifs, bottled beers, and PBR on tap.

For now, the Silly Goose will be open from 4 p.m. to 3 a.m., serving a menu of appetizers (baked ravioli, hummus, spinach dip), soups (chili, potato with bacon), salads (Caesar, house, chef), flatbreads (pesto chicken, pepperoni, build your own), and paninis (pastrami melt, Black Forest ham, Italiano).

“In a few weeks, we’ll be open for lunch,” Masters said. “And eventually, we would like to do delivery.”

The Silly Goose, 100 Peabody Place (435-6915)

In a hurry for lunch but still hungry for a meal that is delicious and affordable? Then head to Automatic Slim’s for chef Michael Patrick‘s new midday menu.

“The food is out within 15 minutes,” said Jay Uiberall, one of the operators who purchased the restaurant from Karen Carrier last fall. “We wanted customers to be able to get back to work within an hour.”

A handful of the restaurant’s signature items are still on the menu, but the majority of selections are new, including ahi tuna salad and open-faced sandwiches (roast beef or turkey) on grilled sourdough.

All lunch selections cost $10 or less, a price point also reflected in the restaurant’s new brunch menu served on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Everyone loves the chocolate chip pancakes and the Creole eggs Benedict,” Uiberall said.

No wonder. The pancakes (three on a plate) are topped with orange honey butter. And the poached eggs? They are served over fried green tomatoes and drizzled with Creole hollandaise sauce.

Look for more developments at the downtown restaurant, including a tweaked dinner menu in February, a Valentine’s Day special for two, and live music on Friday nights beginning in March.

Automatic Slim’s, 83 S. Second,

automaticslimsmemphis.com (525-7948)

Now that your mouth is watering, learn how to finesse your own kitchen with the “Cooking at the Garden” series from continuing education at the University of Memphis. The classes are offered on Sunday afternoons, beginning with “Knife Skills: Slicing and Dicing” on February 1st.

On March 1st is a class on vegetarian cooking taught by Flyer photographer Justin Fox Burks. His class will feature cooking fundamentals for vegetarians as well as recipes from his popular blog, thechubbyyvegetarian.com. “We’ll also be doing a lot of eating,” Burks said. “For a class that costs $49, people need to leave with knowledge and a full belly.”

Rounding out the series will be a class on sushi conducted by Umai’s Ken Lumpkin on April 5th and a May 3rd class on cheese making (fresh mozzarella and ricotta!) taught by local-foods advocate Melissa Petersen.

Professional and Continuing Education at The University of Memphis, umce.Memphis.edu (678-6000)

Categories
Flyer Flashback News

Flyer Flashback

At the end of January 1993, the nation was welcoming a bright young man to Washington as the new president of the United States. And back in Memphis, the most powerful and controversial politician in town was the target of federal prosecutors.

This is how Flyer reporters covered the inauguration of President Bill Clinton and the jury selection process in the trial of U.S. representative Harold Ford Sr.:

“One quarter of a million people, an apparent record number, would gather out of doors on an unexpectedly warmish day, on and around the U.S. Capitol and its surrounding grounds, to see the 42nd president take the oath in the flesh.”

The inaugural bash was called “an American reunion” in a bid to symbolize “the spanning of ages, genders, tribes, and persuasions in our fractious, multicultural times.”

At the Washington Hilton, Clinton greeted a crowd of Tennesseans “and whatever fatigue had set in disappeared as the once-pilloried candidate, now an idol, paraded across the stage in the manner of his adopted alter ego, Elvis.”

In Memphis, Ford was about to go on trial for the second time, his first trial having ended in a mistrial due to jury tampering. The big controversy was over jury selection from a pool of West Tennesseans outside Shelby County.

“The potential jurors in Jackson have been equally exposed to the media and have developed equal, if not stronger, biases,” Ford said. “The issue is not that I am a U.S. congressman or that I am black. The issue is that no citizen of the United States should be denied his or her constitutional rights to be judged by a jury of his or her own peers.”

Ford’s protest was in vain, and the majority-white jury was chosen from outside Shelby County. Six weeks later, he was acquitted. — John Branston