Month: July 2009

Categories
Theater Theater Feature

Magic & Loss

Sometimes my instincts are wrong.

“I don’t think I can sit through Rent again,” I grumbled to
my wife last week on the night Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning
musical made its regional premiere at Playhouse on the Square.

We’d chosen to miss the play’s opening to take in an art exhibition
in a beautifully restored building on Front Street where we lived in
the mid-1990s when the neighborhood wasn’t nearly so nice and the roof
was falling in. It was the perfect clubhouse for a bunch of artists,
actors, writers, and musicians who functioned as an extended family and
didn’t mind working, playing, and crashing in near-squalor.

Watching all the neatly dressed patrons milling about at the art
opening reminded me how much I’d disliked Larson’s Friends-era
mashup of Puccini’s La Bohème and The Big Chill,
which I remembered as a silly cartoon-sized soap opera exploiting the
same indie-artist stereotypes who used to hang out at my grimy former
studio.

The touring Broadway productions of Rent have become
unimaginably precious, but in its leap to the regional stage, the show
may have evolved for the better. Playhouse on the Square’s up-tempo
take on this downbeat musical about artists and junkies who decide not
to pay for their crummy Alphabet City apartments is louder,
harder-edged, and more emotionally honest than anything Memphis
audiences have seen from this script. Director/choreographer Courtney
Oliver plays things straight without glossing over or romanticizing the
musical’s grittier elements, and she gets a show that recaptures a bit
of Rent‘s original spirit.

Alvaro Francisco practically emits his own light as Angel, the dying
transsexual who teaches the rest of the cast how to live. Francisco has
done his share of skirt roles this season, but this fabulousness was
worth waiting for.

Veteran techie Rory Dale is still new to acting at Playhouse, and
he’s a little stiff around the edges as Roger, the play’s spiky-haired
wannabe rock star who has a turbulent relationship with his
junkie-stripper girlfriend, Mimi. But Dale knows his way around the
guitar, and when he sings, he sounds like a kid who grew up pretending
to be a rocker — not pretending to be an American Idol
contestant. That makes a big difference.

Lili Thomas, Matt Reed, David Ryan, and Marcus Gill round out an
excellent ensemble.

Through July 26th

Wicked Good

I seldom enjoy a long-running Broadway shows once they’ve become
famous for being long-running Broadway shows. That goes double for
tours and triple if the show features cool special effects or humans
dressed up as cute animals. But the Wicked tour, currently
docked at the Orpheum, smashes all expectations. It’s energized and
fresh, and it boasts a stellar cast that won’t be upstaged by a bunch
of technical wizardry.

Wicked is a sophisticated steampunk-inspired prequel to
The Wizard of Oz that puts preconceived ideas about good and
evil on trial as it tells the story of two old friends: Glinda the Good
Witch and Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West.

Helene Yorke’s dynamic, bubble-headed Glinda cracks up her castmates
who break character to laugh but never miss a beat. Marcie Dodd is her
equal in every way, making Elphaba a nerdy green-skinned girl next door
with a voice so big and inviting it’s actually more impressive than the
gravity-defying stunt at the end of act one.

Wicked is a big show about minute details, from the finely
crafted set and costumes to the uniformly quirky and commanding
cast.

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

A Greener Party

CREDIT: justin fox burks

justin fox burks

No one likes to be a nag, but that cookout you’re enjoying may not
be that great for our planet.

Don’t fret. You can keep on barbecuing and having people over
because greening your party is simple.

Margot McNeeley, executive director of Project Green Fork, says that
the first thing to remember is that reusable trumps disposable. Some
hosts simply utilize their regular plates and glasses and deal with the
extra load of dishes after the occasion ends.

Having dishwasher-safe recycled plastic plates and cutlery on hand
is another option. Whole Foods Market has a selection of Preserve
plates and cups, which are made from recycled plastic and can be
re-used.

For one-time-use plates and cutlery, look for plastics marked with a
“1” or “2,” which are accepted for curbside recycling here in Memphis.
Place a clearly marked, recycling-only bin in the party’s vicinity
rather than leave it up to your guests to find the one hidden away
somewhere inside the house or garage.

Sustainable partyware is biodegradable and often compostable. Bare
by Solo bamboo/natural fiber plates are available at Fresh Market for
$2.99 for a set of 15, and a full eight-piece place setting of
TerraWare earth-friendly plastic-alternative cutlery made from
cornstarch resin is $1.99 at Whole Foods. For large events, ordering in
bulk online is a good option, and McNeeley’s go-to site, ecoproducts.com, has everything —
even compostable straws.

To deck out the table, think about what you already have around the
house. Refashion an old cotton window panel or an interesting piece of
fabric to use as an outdoor tablecloth. Get some cloth napkins
(available for as little as $1 apiece), and after the party, just throw
everything in the washing machine.

Danny Seo, eco-lifestyle expert and green-living contributor for
Better Homes & Gardens, gets creative with unusual
materials. “I use a paint-splattered canvas tarp as a heavy-duty
tablecloth and colorful bandannas as napkins,” he says. “They’re fun
and reusable.”

Seo offers another idea that can add to your party’s green
atmosphere: “I think solar lanterns borrowed from the driveway make
great lanterns on the table.”

For centerpieces, turn to your own yard for flowers or ask your
neighbors’ permission to thin out what they’ve got. Flowers that are
fair-trade-certified are gaining in popularity, but many are still
shipped from far away; however, here in Memphis, Jill Forrester of
Whitton Farms offers gorgeous Arkansas-grown flora at the Memphis
Botanic Garden Farmers Market on Wednesday and the downtown Farmers
Market on Saturday.

Now let’s get cooking. Contrary to popular belief, grilling out may
not be as harmful as people think. McNeeley asserts, “The carbon
footprint of grilling is nothing compared to what people do in their
everyday lives.” However, she points out that there are a few steps
that can help us grill greener. While propane and electric grills are
more efficient, those who prefer charcoal grills can purchase
environmental charcoal or wood briquettes and use chimney starters in
lieu of fluid. Using Cowboy Charcoal is also a better choice because
it’s natural and sustainable. A trick that Seo recommends is using
“lint from the drying machine as a natural firestarter. It is
slow-burning, natural, and free.”

For the food, it’s a good idea to use what’s offered locally and in
season and to be sure not to overestimate what people will eat. Seo
says, “I think the biggest mistake people make is that we worry we
won’t have enough food for family and friends, so we overcook and
overserve everything. What happens? We end up with garbage bags full of
spoiled potato salad, snacks, half-full beverages, and perfectly good
corn on the cob. Instead, plan ahead and stick to a handful of quality
side dishes and entrées and one very good dessert. Serve
everything in resealable containers so it can easily be sealed back up
for leftovers.”

McNeeley advises hosts to turn off any unnecessary inside
electricity when everyone’s in the backyard but also says to take your
iPhone outside — there are applications that can help repel
mosquitoes. Sandalwood incense is another natural repellent that’s
widely available.

Going green doesn’t mean the party’s over. It’s simply about being
more responsible.

“Do the math,” Seo says. “The amount of trash and waste you generate
in your own backyard times the number of Americans who are entertaining
equals a lot of trash. I’m not advising against enjoying the warm
summer air for dining al fresco. I just think we can significantly cut
down on waste if we just make a few changes.”

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

A New Twist

CREDIT: justin fox burks

justin fox burks

Les Carloss, left, and Jeff Corrigan at the new Bluff City Bayou on Peabody

At Grill 83, in downtown’s Madison Hotel, executive chef
Chris Windsor has revamped his summer menu around lighter fare,
local produce, and lower prices.

The new appetizers and entrées reiterate one of Windsor’s
cooking axioms: Don’t get in the way of good ingredients. “We want to
showcase our fresh food, not cover it up,” Windsor says. “Especially in
the summer, it’s important not to overpower food with a lot of butter
and cream.”

He points out the restaurant’s new Vidalia onion, pear, and
goat-cheese tart, served with baby arugula and walnut vinaigrette and
priced under $10: “It’s a simple but delicious combination, because the
crispy pears, the sweetness of the onions, and the tartness of the goat
cheese work together perfectly.”

Windsor’s finesse in the kitchen also enhances the menu’s summer
ingredients. For instance, before steaming his basmati, he layers fresh
herbs underneath the rice. “It’s a little step,” Windsor says, “but it
flavors the rice with the dill and the tarragon.”

The herbed basmati, along with chili-Parmesan broccolini, are side
dishes to another new entrée: merken pepper-dusted salmon.
Chilean chef Pilar Rodriguez, a guest chef at the restaurant during
Memphis in May, introduced Windsor to the seasoning.

Merkens are dried, smoked, and ground by the Mapuche, the indigenous
people of central and southern Chile. “The peppers are hot, but they
are mild in the smoke and not overly spicy,” Windsor says. “This gives
them a distinctive flavor.”

83 Madison, grill83.com
(333-1224)

After months of renovation, Bluff City Bayou has reopened in
Midtown at the intersection of Peabody and Cooper in the building
formerly occupied by One More Bar & Grill.

“It was more work than we anticipated,” says chef Les
Carloss, who operates the restaurant with co-owner Jeff
Corrigan. “It was an old building with a lot of skeletons in the
closet.”

Carloss and Corrigan, who have run restaurants in Memphis since
2003, closed their Medical Center location in December. “The new place
is perfect for us,” Corrigan says. “It’s two blocks from our house, so
we can walk to work.”

A neighborhood attachment is key to the restaurant’s focus. “We want
a small place with good food that is busy and fun,” Corrigan says. “And
we only want to serve dinner.”

The restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday from 5 to 9 (or 10)
p.m. “We aren’t going to chase people out if they want to sit on the
patio and have a few beers,” Corrigan says. “In fact, we are in the
process of putting together a smaller menu for after dinner.”

For now, Bluff City Bayou only serves beer, but guests can bring
wine for a $5 per table cork fee. The menu continues the Cajun-centric
meals Carloss is known for: po-boys, muffalettas, jambalaya, and red
beans and rice. Two of his popular daily specials have earned permanent
spots on the new menu: fried shrimp po-boys and Creole cordon bleu.

“Our cordon bleu is blackened chicken breast, served on a bed of
white rice with a tasso [Cajun ham] and Parmesan cream sauce,” Carloss
says. “It’s rich but good.”

2117 Peabody (274-8100)

Local restaurant operator Jay Uiberall knows how to throw a
party. On Tuesday, several hundred guests showed up at Alfred’s on
Beale to sample the food and services showcased by Uiberall’s newest
venture, Catering for U.

“We’re going all-out for the event,” Uiberall said a few days before
the party. “We’ll be sampling everything from sushi to carving stations
to boxed lunches to barbecue.”

Uiberall calls the catering business a one-stop shop: “We can help
with site selection, flowers, rentals, and, of course, the food, which
for us is the easy part.”

Menus will be far-reaching, reflecting the diverse cooking styles at
Automatic Slim’s, Ubee’s, and Dyer’s, Uiberall’s other Memphis
restaurants. “We have a wide range of kitchens to work from,” he says.
“We can do something simple, like cook our Dyer’s burgers onsite or put
together a large, formal wedding.”

Catering will be managed by Fara Snowden, who coordinated events for
Gibson Guitar before joining Uiberall’s team.

“We’re not worried at all by the economic downturn,” Uiberall says.
“There’s always a need to eat, congregate, and have fun, and we can
accommodate any budget.”

Categories
Film Features Film/TV

Same Old Song

First, an outing: I’ve never been much of a Woody Allen fan. Not big
on his movies, don’t want to eat him up with an
oh-so-witty-and-adorably-nerdy spoon. He almost ruins intellectual,
romantic New York City for me.

So maybe if you disagree in principle, you should treat my
borderline dislike of Allen’s newest, Whatever Works, with
distrust.

Even I don’t think it’s all bad. Larry David stars as Boris
Yellnikoff, a cranky, unlovable schlub and a Nobel-level thinker with
suicidal tendencies. Boris is constantly spouting his philosophy on
life — humans are a failed species, so do whatever works for you
so long as you don’t hurt anyone else — to his handful of friends
and even occasionally to the camera, breaking the fourth wall, though
to a lesser degree than Allen did in The Purple Rose of
Cairo.

David is fun to watch. He seems to enjoy rolling with Allen’s words
in his mouth. It’s easy to see Boris as a stand-in for Allen. As such,
David is perfectly cast. His voice and demeanor are more New York than
New York and his delivery is a raspier, lustier variation on
Allen’s.

So I can’t help but be annoyed as the plot sees Boris become the
object of a hot crush from a beautiful, nubile girl who is turned on by
his intelligence and crusty sexiness. Gross. In light of Allen’s own
well-documented personal peccadilloes: really gross.

The May to Boris’ December is Melodie St. Ann Celestine (Evan Rachel
Wood), a Mississippi girl homeless on the streets of the big city.
Boris takes pity on her and lets her into his home. He peppers this
“imbecile child” with his rants, and she eats it up with big eyes, her
heart agape at the unparalleled sophistication she’s witness to.

The failures of Whatever Works are Allen’s. If he has an ear
for the Yankee, he can’t help but put a little too much South in
Melodie’s mouth. And if Allen has love for his fellow New Yorkers, he’s
parsimonious when it comes to his country cousins. (Matters are
complicated with the arrival of Melodie’s mama, played by Patricia
Clarkson, and daddy, played by Ed Begley Jr.)

The actors mostly do right by their characters. David is especially
good, though his dialogue starts to sound like an old-fashioned
typewriter: talk talk talk talk talk zing!

Boris is having too much fun to convince us that he’s really a
miserable suicide risk. Of course, his screed of a persona is all an
act but once that magical boundary between artist and audience gets
sledge-hammered, it’s just us adults talking here. Lacking the
character’s emotional motivation, what the audience gets instead is a
self-wounded monologue yelled at us from a jackass who wants to be
loved without giving anything real of himself.

Categories
Film Features Film/TV

Transformers Take Two

How can you tell quickly that a movie is going to be terrible? The
opening title “In association with HASBRO” is probably a pretty good
indicator.

The second feature film based on the ’80s-era toy line,
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen is even more preposterous
and pointless than the first film. It opens in 17,000 B.C. as sort of
an ersatz 2001: A Space Odyssey, with a tribe of primitive
earthlings discovering a metallic monument from a more advanced alien
race. It ends with a noisy, chaotic war-as-hell battle in the desert
— except with big, shiny robots. All in all, this 150 minute
box-office behemoth could well become the worst movie to ever gross
more than $300 million. (Take that Passion of the Christ! Take
that Phantom Menace!)

I’m not even going to bother trying to explain the plot here,
because it’s unbearably idiotic, and I can’t imagine even fans of the
film really caring. Besides, these films are, of course, purely
visual.

I found the first film somewhat enjoyable on these grounds. The
shape-shifting title entities are most interesting when small and not
in mid-combat. In the first Transformers, that meant everyday
objects like a portable radio and a vending machine springing to life.
Here, aside from an extended and over-played bit with a remote-control
toy truck (almost directly referencing the toys that the movies are
based on), that level of wit is missing. There’s a promising moment
early on when a kitchen full of small appliances transform into
creatures obviously inspired by Gremlins, but they’re dispatched
quickly. Instead, the film features an anachronistic and offensive
tag-team of “jive-talking” transformers that might be the worst comic
relief since Jar Jar Binks.

For much of the audience, the most compelling visual spectacle is
likely to be Megan Fox in denim Daisy Dukes or a black leather biker
get-up. But, like a “Decepticon” or “Autobot,” she’s less compelling
when she goes verbal. (Co-star Shia LaBeouf is more personable, but he
doesn’t exactly have a lot to work with.)

Transformers 2 is somewhat notable for its clear right-wing
undercurrent: Fox uses enhanced interrogation techniques on the toy
truck, the only real human villain is an Obama adviser who has the
nerve to exert civilian control over the military and suggest
“diplomatic solutions” (an idea the film openly mocks), and the finale
is a U.S. Army-led conflagration across a Middle Eastern desert village
whose residents barely register as people the audience is supposed to
think about.

Adding to the struggle, Transformers 2 is at least half an
hour too long, with plenty to cut among its relentlessly boring action
set-pieces and sub-stupid storyline. Losing the ponderous voiceover
from white-hat robot Optimus Prime (a noble leader from another world
who disguises himself, even when he doesn’t seem to need to, as a
candy-colored semi-truck) wouldn’t have saved any time. But the cutting
could certainly begin with the gratuitous shot of John Turturro’s naked
ass.

Categories
Hot Properties Real Estate

Lots o’ Options

On the outside, it’s a Tudor Revival. There’s dark brick below, with
half-timbering and stucco in the steeply pitched, front-facing gables.
And there are arches on the front entry porch (hidden by nandinas under
the left gable), but that’s about as far as the Tudor details go. The
facade, with its twin gables and center dormer with the chimney right
behind it, is unusually symmetrical for a Tudor. If there were a center
front porch and siding instead of stucco in the gables, about all it
would take is a coat of white paint to make this a perfect Colonial
Revival cottage.

Inside, there are no arches, no diamond-paned windows, and no stone
mantel — things you would expect, given the exterior treatment.
Nevertheless, it’s a beguiling house, one of those increasingly rare
Midtown homes that has not been renovated (except for a ’70s kitchen
re-do), so you don’t have to wonder how it was laid out originally
— it’s perfectly clear. Now it really needs some sensitive
updating, but it provides the opportunity to do so the way you like
instead of undoing someone else’s ideas.

There are three distinct public rooms across the front: a sunroom
behind the front porch, a central living room with a fireplace, and a
dining room on the same side as the butler’s pantry and the “got to go”
kitchen.

The living room has three tall windows and doors on three sides,
making seating a challenge. The room could more easily hold a big,
round table and be a fabulous occasional dining room and the perfect
entry hall. The original dining room, butler’s pantry, and kitchen
could then be gutted and reconfigured. There’s plenty of wall space for
seating, and by removing two walls, there would be plenty of good
choices for a well-planned kitchen and breakfast area.

The largest of the three bedrooms is on the ground floor. It has the
largest closet and is adjacent to the existing full bath. These rooms,
too, could be combined to create a comfortable master suite, and a new
powder room could be added behind the kitchen.

The house is sited on a wonderful block in Central Gardens. It’s not
hard to imagine it updated and eminently livable by today’s standards.
Some houses can be a real challenge to renovate well, so it’s always a
delight to find one like this that has lots o’ options. It doesn’t
matter if it’s Tudor or Colonial, this one’s ready for a revival.
•

1917 Harbert

Approximately 2,130 sq. ft.

3 bedrooms, 2 baths; $235,000

Realtor: Hobson Company, 767-1622

Agent: Deborah Mays, 312-2939

Categories
Opinion The Last Word

The Rant

“The pure products of America go crazy.”

— William Carlos Williams

Only days ago, we were discussing the crackdown on dissent in Iran,
a world mired in an economic slump, a pending congressional showdown on
health care, and the Argentinian adventures of South Carolina governor
Mark Sanford, and then suddenly all that talk stopped.

Michael Jackson died.

In another of those “where were you” moments, my wife rushed in with
the news, and we settled in to watch the sad pageant of grief and
shock. It takes a person of enormous influence to halt the 24-hour news
cycle, and the filmed reports of people pausing worldwide to
acknowledge the loss proves Jackson was such an individual. Love him or
hate him, this artist’s contributions to popular culture are
immeasurable.

Jackson had become a touchstone in people’s lives. Multitudes grew
up with him. Can it really be 25 years since the release of
Thriller? I always place myself between the bookends of Elvis,
who was 12 years older than me, and Jackson, who was 10 years younger.
It’s curious that shortly before Elvis’ death, just before a major
tour, he was bloated almost beyond recognition with the effects of
narcotic painkillers, while Jackson’s most recent appearances showed
him looking confident, if frail. So, even though Elvis died at 42 and
Jackson at 50, Elvis appears forever older in my mind, while Jackson
remains eternally young. Coloring these images is the memory of Jackson
emerging as the leader of the Jackson 5 at age 10 — so commanding
as a singer, polished as a dancer, and gifted as a musical prodigy,
that he made a good singular argument for the existence of God.

I confess to being an unabashed Michael Jackson fan — the only
other artist of the age who belongs in the same category with Elvis and
the Beatles — since I saw him on The Ed Sullivan Show in
December 1969. When the Beatles appeared on the same program in 1964,
it was barely three months after the assassination of JFK, and they
brought joy to a grieving nation. The Jackson 5 appeared on our TV
screens eight months after the murders of Martin Luther King Jr. and
Robert Kennedy and gave particular solace to young, black Americans who
gained a new source of pride and inspiration. The corporate,
white-dominated music industry sprang into action and offered the
Osmond Brothers as a squeaky-clean alternative. The Jackson 5 got a TV
variety show; the Osmonds followed on their heels. A Saturday-morning
cartoon series was created around the Jacksons; the Osmonds had one
within weeks. The Jacksons put Michael forward as their child leader;
the Osmonds focused on Donny. It was the old practice of mediocre white
artists ripping off black performers that dated back to before Pat
Boone recorded “Tutti Frutti.”

Jackson’s talent drew so much attention at such a young age, you
knew he would be a major adult artist if he could only survive the
pitfalls that befell so many other child stars before him. Jackson’s
1979 Off the Wall solo LP, produced by Quincy Jones, was all the
evidence needed to know that the cute little boy had grown up. The
Jacksons stopped at the Mid-South Coliseum for their “Triumph” tour in
July 1981, after Off the Wall had been released. Portions of the
Memphis show were recorded for the follow-up Jacksons effort, the
double-album Live, and though the show was critically hailed, it
was clear that it was time for Jackson to step out on his own.

No one could have predicted the massive response to Thriller,
but something happened to Jackson afterward. Off the Wall and
Thriller essentially were rhythm and blues records, but the
international hysteria over Jackson grew so far and so fast, it was no
longer sufficient to cross over to a pop audience. He needed to
dominate the scene, and he did. Jackson brought in Eddie Van Halen to
play solos on guitar-based rock songs with a harder edge and soon
became the “King of Pop.” But by the time Bad was released,
Jackson had begun his sad transformation from a vibrant, young black
man into an old white woman. I believe it was to make himself more
race-neutral to his expanding international fan base, and the stories
of Jackson being teased by his father for his classic negroid features
are now legendary. But all his cosmetic surgeries and eccentricities
never compared to his lasting creative contributions to music and
dance.

It was his personal oddities that fueled the tabloid fodder, and
Jackson became a target for opportunists. I believe that Jackson was an
emotional man-child attempting to surround himself with the only group
of people he felt he could completely trust: children. Only Jackson
could have been naive enough to admit in a documentary that he shared
his bed with young boys in a nonsexual, innocent manner, like a
childhood sleepover, and expect people to understand. Even his trust in
children was betrayed when the boy he tried to help with medical
expenses and emotional support filed criminal molestation charges
against him. After the young man and his mother were proven to be
grifters and Jackson was acquitted of all charges, Jackson was forever
burdened with suspicions of pedophilia and became an object of
ridicule. This ordeal led the former Jehovah’s Witness into the world
of prescription meds, painkillers, and “boutique” doctors.

All the questions swirling around Jackson’s sudden death have yet to
be answered, but there is an object lesson in the latest saga of
Scottish singer Susan Boyle. The only thing we English-speaking
followers of pop culture enjoy more than placing a hero on a pedestal
to be worshipped is to rip them apart when we realize they are not gods
after all. In the aftermath of this tragedy, songwriter Don McLean’s
lyrics about Vincent Van Gogh seem most appropriate to Michael Jackson:
“This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.”

Categories
Cover Feature News

Two Terms Too Many

In politics as in investing, the secret of success is to buy low and sell high. Mayor Herenton’s resignation speech was pretty good. If he’d given it six or seven years ago, he would probably be better off. The rest of Memphis might also be better off or at least less pissed off.

It’s standard procedure in these post mortems to reach brilliant conclusions in hindsight, but Herenton’s loss of zeal, as he put it last week, was plain as day by the end of his third term. He was running on anger after that. It was at his 2004 New Year’s Day prayer breakfast that he went off on his divine calling and the inadequacies of his enemies on the council and in the political establishment (even though it was true that some of them — Rickey Peete and John Ford, among others — were indeed for sale).

If Herenton had nudged his retirement announcement forward to the summer of 2002 or even 2003 instead of last week, he could have given would-be successors as much as a year to make their case instead of throwing the city into political chaos. He certainly would have been remembered more fondly.

The big local stories in the summer of 2002 were the heavyweight championship boxing match between Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson at the Pyramid, the construction of FedExForum, the coming of Jerry West (still “the logo” and not yet Mr. Cranky) to the Grizzlies and A C Wharton to the Shelby County mayor’s office. Two-year-old AutoZone Park led the minors in attendance. Soulsville got under way. Memphis had some momentum. The stock index peaked in 2007, but the Memphis index has never been higher in 40 years than it was in 2002 and 2003.

If Herenton had only said “so long” after three terms, there would have been no Joe Frazier, Joe Lee, Hurricane Elvis aftermath, MLGW bond deal, shakin’ off the haters, Herman Morris the “boy,” Elvin Moon deals, Bass Pro nonsense, empty Pyramid headaches, federal grand jury investigation, increased taxes, obsessed reporters, rehab rumors, idiotic racist comments on the Internet, school board snub, snakes, strippers, step outside, garage-gate, Election Night 2007 smackdown, phony 2008 resignation, or all that other crap.

The housing boom would continue through 2005. Herenton was 62 years old in 2002, in perfect position to cash in on the coming five-year bull market in stocks that would take the Dow above 13,000. Like thousands of politicians before him, he could have walked through the revolving door to Herenton Ventures Ltd., turned his name and contacts into an ATM card, and given a few sage elder statesman interviews every now and then about how his successor was learning what it was really like to be the one in the arena. Instead, he hung on until the bottom fell out of the Herenton market. He sold low. He became increasingly arrogant, bored, isolated, and frustrated, speaking of himself in the third person, doling out jobs to loyalists and sycophants.

Running for a fourth term was unwise. Running for a fifth term that he had no intention of completing was inexcusably irresponsible and selfish. He ought to be charged with the cost of the special election.

Memphis deserved better. So did the mayor.

Every mayor of Memphis has a portrait in City Hall, but only two of them have statues. E.H. Crump’s is in Overton Park, and Willie Herenton’s is on Walker Avenue across from LeMoyne-Owen College. The site used to be the dirty and dangerous LeMoyne Gardens housing project and is now a green and pristine mixed-income neighborhood. The Herenton haters should see that, both the development and the statue.

Some reporters made a fuss last week over Herenton’s pension of about $75,000. Get over it, folks. He earned it. Added to his $171,500 salary, the pay package is less than the $285,845 Kevin Kane made in 2008 to run the Convention & Visitors Bureau, the $361,300 Pat Halloran made to run the Orpheum in 2007, and not much more than the $216,969 Benny Lendermon made in 2008 to run the quasi-government Riverfront Development Corporation. Which job do you think is hardest? And the mayor’s pay is pocket change to the CEOs who ran the regional banks into the ground, like Dowd Ritter of Regions Financial, who was paid $9,261,865 in compensation last year.

Mayors, coaches, and weathermen get too much credit when things go well and too much blame when they don’t. The “downtown revival” in sports, entertainment, and residential development ignores the half-empty office buildings, the vacant former retail stores, the bankruptcies, and the overbuilding. That $89 million surplus on the city’s books is in part a result of the highest property taxes in Tennessee.

The real power of the mayor is to inspire, set an example, sign contracts, forge partnerships, and make appointments to boards and city divisions. The last big executive decision is when to make your exit. Herenton muffed that one.

Categories
Cover Feature News

The Interim Mayor

On July 11th, city councilman Myron Lowery will replace Willie
Herenton as the mayor of Memphis. Lowery, 62 years old and retired from
FedEx, will hold the job at least until a special election in October.
He plans to be a candidate in that election while holding on to his
council seat.

Flyer: Were you surprised last Thursday?

Lowery: I was thoroughly surprised. We've heard rumors
for the past two years. It was beginning to sound like people were
crying wolf. It looks like the mayor is sincere this time because he
has applied for his pension and he’s moving forward.

Have you met with him since the press conference?

Yes, I met with him after the meeting of the Shelby County Election
Commission Thursday afternoon. He told me we would be meeting soon to
talk about transition.

What are a couple of things you will do as mayor?

Change is already occurring. I made the statement that we had a lack
of leadership in some areas of City Hall and I would be looking to
replace ineffective leaders. The mayor said Thursday there would be
additional resignations. Today, three more (Ken Moody, Yalanda
McFadgon, and Michael Gray) resigned. I have not yet spoken to division
directors, but those who are ineffective know how I feel through years
of budget hearings and the questions I have raised.

There will be more transparency at City Hall. As a former
journalist, I’m open to the media and I want division directors to feel
free to meet with people. I will hit the ground running on some crucial
issues. The fairgrounds and Bass Pro, those are two.

Will you replace directors with new people or people who are
already there?

Case by case. I am not prepared to make a blanket statement.

Will you do fund-raising as interim mayor?

I’ll take my cue from the county mayor, who says he is going to
campaign in the evening. Obviously, I have to raise funds. I don’t have
a war chest as big as A C Wharton. I can’t run on name recognition
alone.

Will your yard signs say “Keep Mayor Lowery”?

I’ll think about it. I’m in a unique position. Never in the history
of this city has there been [one person acting as] chairman of the
charter commission and City Council and mayor in the same year. I’m
blessed.

Categories
Art Art Feature

Lee, Myatt Works “Best in Nation”

A pair of works by Memphis artists Anthony Lee and Greely Myatt have been identified as among the best in the nation in the prestigious Public Art Year in Review, which is assembled by the Washington, D.C.-based Americans for the Arts organization.

Lee’s “Modern Hieroglyphics” mural on South Main Street and Myatt’s “Cloudy Thoughts” billboard on Madison Avenue were both privately funded public artworks developed in conjunction with Memphis’ UrbanArt Commission.

“This is a big deal,” says John Weeden, the UAC’s energetic executive director. There is an uncommon busy-ness in Weeden’s Broad Avenue offices. The front of the sparely furnished space functions as an art studio and a group of teenagers from the city’s summer work program are busy painting a “portable mural” on one of many giant vinyl banners donated by Clear Channel Communication, while the commission’s skeleton crew of project managers peck away on their computers in the background.

There are more than 300 organizations similar to the Urban Art Commission across the United States, and Americans for the Arts recognized the top 40 projects in 2008-’09.

“It’s rare to see more than one in the same city, and it’s even more uncommon that both projects came out of the same organization,” Weeden says, explaining that cities such as New York and Chicago often have several, more specialized organizations dedicated to the creation of public art.

“My master plan is to empower people to rebuild their city,” Weeden says, noting that he gets one step closer to realizing this plan every time his organization works with a neighborhood association or community development group. “The groups learn what it takes to develop public art. They not only learn about the tools, they get to see the impact.”

Having a work of public art recognized isn’t the same as getting a good review for a gallery show. Artists working on large-scale public works have essentially gone into the construction business, and the honor speaks to their project-management skills. According to Weeden it’s not just good for Memphis and the UAC, it’s a seal of approval that raises both Myatt’s and Lee’s national profiles.

“Modern Hieroglyphics” and “Cloudy Thoughts” were both produced with budgets of $5,000 for UrbanArt’s10th anniversary series. That’s a drop in the paint bucket compared to larger projects that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. “It’s a good example of what can be accomplished with little expense,” Weeden says.

Both “Cloudy Thoughts” and “Modern Hieroglyphics” were created to enliven urban elements which might otherwise be described as eyesores. The former decorated a blank concrete wall connected to the train station while the latter brought a whimsical aesthetic to a blank billboard.

Weeden has often described his job as making “neighbors out of strangers,” noting the ability of distinctive art and architecture to bring communities together and begin public dialogues that might not have happened otherwise.

In this case, Weeden hopes the artworks have helped to open up a dialogue about the kinds of things that can be done to neglected or wasted spaces. That’s a dialogue he intends to continue with the development of the UAC’s portable mural project. Once painted, the vinyl banners can be used to screen off blighted lots or to cover damaged buildings in neighborhoods in transition.