John Branston says the Unified School Board shouldn’t work but somehow isn’t all that bad.
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Month: November 2012
Playhouse on the Square actor/director Dave Landis talks about Annie and the Santaland Diaries…
And Santaland actor David Foster gives us a taste of his Crumpet.
For more information, click.
- Justin Fox Burks
- Ernest Chism (left) and Kenneth Whalum Jr.
A couple of years ago it might have seemed like the Dinner Party from Hell. Gather the members of the Memphis and Shelby County school boards, throw in some fresh faces, bust up the alliances, and put them in a room together for hours at a time for a year or so.
At the center of table sit superintendents Kriner Cash and John Aitken, total strangers four years ago. Nearby, county schools champion David Pickler sits next to MCS charter surrender leader Martavius Jones. As much as anyone, these two set the tone for frank but civil discussions in a series of debates and joint public appearances in 2010-2011.
The unified school system may or may not work, but the unified school board — by design and circumstance — has the most interesting seating chart in town. It may not lead to a world-class unified school system, but it has probably done as much consciousness raising as any public undertaking in recent history.
Other seatmates include Memphis firebrand Dr. Kenneth Whalum Jr. and Germantown schools lion Ernest Chism; Dr. Snowden Carruthers of the old county board and Tomeka Hart, coauthor of the MCS charter surrender; and David Reaves, another suburbanite and one of the board’s youngest members, and, a few seats away, Sara Lewis of Smokey City in North Memphis, one of the board’s senior members. At various times during Thursday night’s board meeting, they could be seen talking amiably and smiling and laughing together.
Not to attach too much significance to this or understate differences, but things could be worse. School board is the lowest-paying part-time public job, and probably the most demanding. Five-hour meetings are the norm. Members must have stamina as well as convictions. When the topic is closing schools, as it was Thursday, this is not a job for the faint of heart.
It is also old-school: the polar opposite of the Internet chat room or newspaper comment section. Anonymous online commenters of unknown expertise can post insults and opinions without ever having to face each other or the people they slam. Board members speak, opine, disagree, and vote in public, side by side, for all to see and hear, on issues that change people’s lives.
- John Branston
- Humes Middle School
Humes Middle School and Gordon Elementary School, two schools near north downtown that are on the chopping block or “repositioning” menu, are tough calls because they have customers, neighborhood ties, and attractive buildings that are not at all blighted.
Near the end of Thursday night’s meeting on school closings in north and south Memphis, a somewhat exasperated Chism, former principal at Germantown High School, protested that he was elected to represent the people of Shelby County.
The spectators gave him a small ovation. Chism voted against the closings, as did Whalum on most of the votes.
On Sunday, December 2nd, 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the Center for Southern Folklore, Memphis Farmers Market is hosting a Roasting & Concert honoring Steve Collins of One Sharp Dude.
Collins was a fixture at area farmers markets, known for his One Sharp Dude ambulance and his blunt teasing over the sorry state of customers’ cutlery.
After years of heart problems, Collins received a heart transplant on November 29, 2011.
“I’m one year old,” says Collins.
But, damage to spinal cord occurred during the procedure and Collins is now paralyzed from the waist down.
“I’ve accepted it,” he says. “I don’t complain about it.”
Sunday’s party marks the 1 year anniversary of Collins’ transplant. It will feature parody songs, and six people have been tasked with the roasting.
Collins says that he knew there was an event on Sunday but the scope and details were kept from him. Through little bits of information dropped here and there — his daughter coming from out of town, a question from lunch date — he figured out that the event was bigger than he had been first led to believe.
And he says that even though the last year has been difficult, he’s ready for a good roasting.
“Absolutely,” he says.
According to Collins, his “100 words or less” answer to folks who marvel over his good attitude is “Have you known me any other way?”
With the holidays and hunting season, it’s now the busiest time of the year for Collins’ sharpening business. For more information about getting your knives sharpened, go to the One Sharp Dude website, onesharpdude.com.
- John Branston
- Suhair Lauck
This was a hard year for Suhair Lauck and the hard-working staff of the Little Tea Shop, the downtown lunch place that is as famous for its hospitality as it is for its corn sticks, vegetables, and chicken dishes.
Suhair’s husband Jimmy Lauck, owner of the Little Tea Shop since 1982, died in July, and the restaurant was closed for several weeks after that. A holiday business boost would help make up for lost earnings, and there’s an easy and tasty way to help.
With 48 hours notice, Suhair will cook your side dishes to go with the turkey, ham, or wild game main dish you might be serving. She suggests you bring your own serving plates and she’ll arrange the veggies to fit them. If you’re lucky and extra nice, there might even be some corn sticks in the bargain, but don’t try to pass them off as your own creation — as if anyone would believe you.
Downtown, Memphis, the Memphis Tigers basketball team, and the Memphis Grizzlies have no better ambassador than Suhair Lauck. Good time to show the love.
A few hours late and a few hundred words short, but here are three quick thoughts on tonight’s Grizzlies game, which concludes a season-long five-game homestand:
1. The Suddenly Frisky Pistons: After an 0-8 start, the Pistons have rebounded to go 5-3 over their past eight. This run began with an 18-point road win over the Sixers and also includes a 20-point win over Boston and, most recently, a 40-point win — no typo! — over the Suns. So as the third “bad” Eastern Conference team the Grizzlies will have faced at FedExForum this week, the Pistons come in tonight in better shape than the Cleveland Cavaliers or Toronto Raptors did.
2. Present and Future in the Paint: With Pau Gasol’s recent struggles in Laker Land, the Grizzlies can reasonably claim to have the best frontcourt tandem in the NBA with Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. But the Pistons might be able to lay legitimate claim to having the most promising young frontcourt tandem in the league in 22-year-old Greg Monroe and 19-year-old rookie Andre Drummond.
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“Anna Karenina” at the Movies
Greg Akers reviews the new movie, Anna Karenina, based on Tolstoy’s classic novel.
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Art Openings: Downtown and Everywhere
Dwayne Butcher previews the weekend’s art openings.
This weekend is the beginning of Unveil South Main, where 20 artists will display work for 20 days in various shops and businesses on South Main. There was the Unveil Downtown early this year. I wonder if they will be doing an Unveil Pinch District or an Unveil Raleigh. (Being from Raleigh, I support this idea fully. Raleigh Springs Mall would be perfect.) The kick-off event is at Jack Robinson Gallery, 44 Huling, Friday, November 30th, 5-7 p.m. Then the openings at the assigned locations happen from 7-9pm.
There are a couple of artists that has some interesting work on view for this event.
Howard Paine’s work for the past decade has been an investigation on the way technology can affect organisms. On his daily walks, Paine collects botanicals, leaves, seed pods, flowers as well as insects. He then photographs or digitally scans in the objects, prints these out then manipulates the objects with drawings, etchings, ink washes, and other mark-making processes. A recent development that came from working this way is the mortality of the individual. He has become interested in what remains after death both physically and as a source for memory.
Howard Paine’s work will be on view at SOB|South of Beale, 361 S. Main Street.
Chloe York, a recent graduate from the Memphis College of Art, is interested in all things colorful and oceanic. She is particularly interested it was is deemed ugly by society and what is the standard for what is considered beautiful. This led making a statement about the manner in which we decorate ourselves, covering up what is already there. Her use of pattern and decoration explore this idea of what is beautiful and pleasing to the eye.
Her work can be seen at Muse Inspired Fashion, 546 S Main.
Also on South Main Friday night but not as a part of the Unveil South Main is work by Justin Bowles, current MFA candidate at MCA, at Ameriprise Financial, 465 S. Main Street #101.
“Making fun of boys is fun,” Bowles states. Her exhibition “Boys Are Stupid,” is about exactly that, making fun of her ex-boyfriends. These text-based works came about partly to memorialize the relationships and the rest is simply a purging. The exes are represented as animals that are based on the boyfriends personality. One is a cat because, “that guy was a self-involved sybarite.”
Other animals are more of a representation of the type of boyfriend she viewed them as, for example, a way younger boyfriend is “a super cute baby bunny” makes an appearance in one of the works. Most of that work lives in that liminal space between disappointment and the ridiculous, exploring the point when one stops viewing the failed relationship as tragic and accept the lameness of it all. She is saving the scorned lover material for future projects.
Since you will be downtown to see these three exhibitions, you might as well stop by and see the MFA exhibition at the Memphis College of Art. “Hysterics” features the work of Raquel Adams, Rebecca Coleman, Shirin Shahin, and Lindsey Gwaltney Todd. The opening is Friday 6-9 p.m. and runs through December 15th at the Nesin Graduate Center, 477 S. Main.
Since you have seen the MFA show at MCA, why not be sure to check out the BFA show as well. The exhibition at MCA’s main campus in Overton Park features the work of 15 BFA candidates and includes a variety of media. The opening is Friday 5-7 p.m. and runs through December 12th.
Since you are in the mood to see student exhibitions, see the previous post about the work at Marshall Arts, why not visit the University of Memphis’s MFA exhibition at the Art Museum at the University of Memphis. “Corner” features the work of Katie Maish, Jennifer Burton, Brian Bundren and Kathleen Murray. The opening is Friday 5-7:30PM and runs through January 12, 2013.
I always like it when there are some many simultaneous exhibitions of student work. I like to think of it as a battle royale where the students and the institutions battle it out for Memphis Art World supremacy. I think I may be the only one that thinks this way.
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Cherry Party with Kitty Wompas
The monthly “Cherry” party for lesbians and their friends will feature a return performance by burlesque dancer Kitty Wompas and special guest Lady Doo Moi at Cafe Society on Saturday, December 1st.
As always, host Julie Wheeler will sing a few tunes and provide comedy. There will be complimentary hors d’oeuvres and drink specials ($5 martinis and $5 wine), plus a special after-hours menu by chef Cullen Kent. Doors open at 9 p.m. Cover charge is $8.
