Each week, Susan Ellis holds a contest called “Guess Where I’m Eating.” Guess correctly and win a trip to Hawaii. No, that’s not true. But you’ll win something if you know the answer.
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Month: November 2013
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Alpha Omega Veterans Services Reaches Out
Louis Goggans has the inspiring story of AOVS, which is working provide help to homeless veterans.
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Pacers 94, Grizzlies 79
Kevin Lipe has a recap of the Grizzlies’ not-so-hot effort against the Pacers Monday night.
- Larry Kuzniewski
- Dave Joerger un-shortened the rotation against the Pacers, and it didn’t work out well.
Not much went well for the Grizzlies, who fell to 3-4 Monday night on the road against the still-undefeated Indiana Pacers. The Pacers, after coming up one game short of the NBA Finals last year, are on a mission to win home court advantage this year, and they’ve gotten off to a white-hot start, and at this point they’re the only team left in the league that has yet to lose.
The Grizzlies got off to a slow start, trailing 23-16 after the first quarter, and they never really got back into it from there. They only outscored the Pacers in the 4th quarter, and that was only by one point. Really, nothing went according to plan for the Grizzlies.
Game Notes
• Injuries came into play tonight: Jerryd Bayless did not dress for the second straight game after injuring his knee against the New Orleans Pelicans. Quincy Pondexter left the game after taking a nasty elbow from, well, Ed Davis, and X-rays on his face later revealed that he had a broken nose. It remains to be seen how much time Pondexter will miss, if any—Pondexter seemed to be back in the rotation after only playing limited minutes against the Warriors on Saturday night.
• The Pacers, honestly, are a better version of the Grizzlies. Roy Hibbert is in the top tier of NBA centers, and the Pacers have much more talent on the wings than the Grizzlies do at this point, especially offensively. George Hill gave Mike Conley all kinds of problems tonight, but what really killed the Grizzlies was the play of Lance Stephenson, who notched his first NBA triple-double, and Paul George. Until the Grizzlies are able to supplement their inside play and stifling defense with more offensive firepower—time will tell whether the addition of Mike Miller was enough to improve spacing for this year’s Grizzlies, but early signs point to “ehhhh”—they’re going to look like a scrappier, underdog version of this Pacers team.
• The interior defense problems popped back up tonight, with the Pacers’ guards and forwards able to slash through the heart of the Grizzlies’ defense at will. At least twice, Paul George drove straight through a crowd of four Grizzlies players to get a layup. That’s just not going to cut it. Sure, the Pacers are good, but the Grizzlies have to tighten that up.
• I’m still not panicking. I think we are starting to see what’s worth worrying about, though. Joerger beat a good team by shortening the rotation and then went right back to “play everybody” mode tonight in Indiana, except for Jon Leuer, even though Leuer had been playing really well. I don’t understand how it takes this long to see that the all-bench-players lineups aren’t able to do anything productive and that there’s no shame in always having a starter on the floor. Just because the team can go 12 deep doesn’t mean that (1) that has to happen every night and (2) you need to just sub the whole team out hockey-style. It’s early, but the shorter rotation worked wonders on Saturday night.
• Ed Davis, on the whole, was more good than bad against a very good team. In 17 minutes he had 5 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks, and while he had his moments—trying to dunk on Roy Hibbert was a bad decision—I thought he handled himself pretty well. Mild praise, I know, but Davis seems to be becoming a bit of a punching bag among Griz fans (Grizz fans? I know we’re having a “One Z or Two” debate in the Grizzlies universe right now…) and I want to point out that he wasn’t bad against Indiana.
That’s all I got. The Grizzlies lost on the road to a better team that was executing much better and looked much more confident in their identity. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Pacers in the Finals. I’m glad that’s the only place in the playoffs the Grizzlies could possibly have to play them.
UPDATE: The original version of this post mentioned Danny Granger in the Pacers’ wing rotation like he’d played tonight… which didn’t happen. Granger hasn’t played a game yet this season. To be honest, I don’t remember who I was thinking about when I typed “Danny Granger” instead, or whether I was thinking about this Granger update, so I just deleted that sentence. Blogging is a tough business, y’all. That said, whenever they do get Granger back, the Pacers are going to be even better.
You’d probably never guess it from the title but Musical of Musicals: The Musical is, in fact, a musical and one that doesn’t take itself too seriously either. For diehard fans with a good ear and a keen sense of silliness this tightly-wound mashup/sendup of American musical theater can pay off like the loosest slot machine in town. It’s also a bit of an insider’s game, and if you haven’t seen at least a few productions of Oklahoma, Carousel, South Pacific, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, Phantom of the Opera, Sunday in the Park with George, Cats, Starlight Express, Evita, Hello Dolly, Mame, La Cage aux Folles, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Chicago, and Cabaret you might get lost in the invisible woods.
MOM:TM plays out like an improv comedy game. Four core characters— the boy, the girl, a wise older woman, and a greedy landlord— tell one simple story five different ways in the style of composers Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Kander & Ebb. The plot distilled: “I can’t pay the rent”/”But you must pay the rent.” (Rent, get it?) And that’s just about all there is to that.
Daniel Kopera’s all purpose pink and purple set telegraphs instantly that the audience is in for a bare bones theatrical drenched in cheap sparkly stuff. The strong ensemble cast, dressed all in black with sequins and rhinestones, fulfill every garish promise.
Musical of Musicals is a perfect showcase for Jude Knight, a veteran of the musical stage who has appeared in many of the show’s she’s spoofing. She brings fun understatement to an over-the-top ensemble. Amy (Polumbo) Nabors gives a standout performance as the all purpose blonde, matching fantastic singing with hilarious character development. Multiple threat performer Brennan Villines is always a pleasure in song and dance roles, but nothing beats the joy of watching Kent Fleshman try his hand at spoofing the Emcee from Kander & Ebb’s Cabaret. This isn’t the sort of role a beefy baritone like Fleshmen would ever have the chance to play otherwise and he just goes for it.
The real star of this ensemble show show is just off stage: musical director/accompanist Gary Beard who has been given all the show’s secret laugh lines, and who nails every single one.
Over the years director Bennett Wood has staged many a classy musical revue and there are moments when one gets the sense that he’s spoofing himself as much as anybody else.
I don’t want to encourage bad habits, but a few cocktails before showtime isn’t a bad idea. This is a lounge act disguised as theater. Or maybe it’s the other way around.
Musical of Musicals: The Musical is at Theatre Memphis through November 23
Sing All Kinds has a meme alert involving Dana from Homeland (played wonderfully by Morgan Saylor).
Many people hate Dana. It’s a thing. I actually like her, but just not on Homeland. Spin her off. Let her get into hijinks that don’t involve national security — or that do, but don’t have anything to do with Carrie and Saul. I’d love to watch Dana try to date boys in the insular, inside the Beltway District of Columbia. What happens when Dana dates the Muslim son of the Iranian ambassador? How does her Mom feel about that? I’d watch that.
Until then, we’ll just have to amuse ourselves with Dana memes. Interestingly, her image is finding purchase in the pop cultural Zeitgeist ancillary to college football.
I wrote the cover story (plug, plug) in the November Memphis magazine, on the Grove scene in Oxford, Mississippi, during football season.
A sharp-eyed reader — Flyer Managing Editor Susan Ellis — noticed something odd on the Memphis magazine cover, and paired it with a Tweet she saw last weekend.
It appears Dana is on the cover of Memphis magazine. Play Where’s Waldo? and see if you can find her, or just take a gander below:
[jump]
So, someone appears to have a large poster of Dana in the Grove. Homemade signs are nothing new to college football, of course. Not even when they feature idiosyncratic subjects, such as Dana from Homeland.
The art of homemade fan signs finds its ultimate exhibition on the set of ESPN’s College GameDay. For the more casual fan, it’s just as entertaining to spot the signs in the background of GameDay as it is to hear the talking heads blather. GameDay is like MOMA for homemade signs.
Last weekend, GameDay was in Tuscaloosa for the LSU-Alabama tilt. The folks at the Twitter account @LostLettermen noticed Dana in the background, behind Kirk Herbstreit.
One is a coincidence. Two is a trend. Anybody know of any others? Or why this is happening in the first place (other than that it’s awesome)?
UPDATE (6:27 p.m.)
It wasn’t until the drive home that I realized the obvious connection between these two photos (I’m no John Nash). Though one was in Oxford and the other in Tuscaloosa, the home teams shared a common visitor on separate game days: LSU. I’m gonna conjecture that the anonymous Banksy behind the Dana sign is a Bengal Tiger.
For nearly a century, November 11th has been recognized nationwide as the day to honor those who have served in the military to preserve our country’s freedom.
However, for some, Veterans Day is also a solemn reminder that many of these same individuals who invested their time and sacrificed their lives for the United States are plagued with the hardship of being homeless, suffering from substance abuse, mental illnesses, unemployment, and other challenges.
Veterans make up only seven percent of the nation’s population but nearly 13 percent of the homeless adult population, according to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.
In Memphis, 30 percent of all homeless people are veterans, according to Alpha Omega Veteran Services (AOVS). Since 1987, AOVS has provided resources, housing, and services to 8,000 veterans.
“We try to get every single one of [the city’s homeless veterans] some form of housing, and we try to get them the tools they need to get back in society,” said combat veteran and AOVS member Jerome Hardaway. “We help guys with [post-traumatic stress disorder] and physical disabilities.”
AOVS provides readjustment counseling to veterans so they can socially re-integrate back into society. This involves helping veterans learn how to cope with negative events of their military history, overcome their battle with substance abuse, and obtain employment or housing.
The veterans that AOVS services range from those who participated in World War 2 to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Hardaway said the only requirement to receive assistance from AOVS is to be a veteran that didn’t have a dishonorable discharge.
“We cover the whole stake, from the 1940s to now. We don’t ignore anybody,” Hardaway said. “We don’t turn anyone away, because they’re not a combat vet or from a particular era of war. Everybody gets help. The youngest veteran learning the tools to cope with PTSD is 23 years old, having served two tours in Afghanistan. The oldest veteran is 81, suffering mental and physical disabilities due to the Vietnam War.”
Hardaway is an Afghanistan and Iraq veteran. He served six years as a Phoenix raven, which is a component of the U.S. Air Force Security Forces.
He said AOVS assists more than 120 veterans (75 to 90 of them are combat veterans) a year and boasts a 98 percent success rate. Hardaway said it’s disheartening to know that there are so many veterans suffering from homelessness, substance abuse, and other burdens in Memphis and across the country.
“You don’t come back home the same as you left just due to the fact that you’re dealing with the ideology from going from just a normal person to having taken lives,” Hardaway said. “And then you’re trying to cope with that. It’s not as easy as it seems on a video game. You can’t just press reset. It’s life-changing. And one of the things that pushes me is that it’s hard watching someone having to learn how to deal with that.”
The organization’s primary headquarters is located at 1183 Madison Ave. For more information on AOVS, how to donate to the organization, or volunteer for it, visit www.aovs.org
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Donna K. Ford’s debut romance novel, Healing Hearts, tells the story of two women — a grieving woman attempting to move on after her partner’s death and a reclusive artist/former FBI profiler on the run — who meet at a women’s retreat in the mountains of East Tennessee.
Ford will be signing Healing Hearts at Dru’s Place on Friday, November 15th from 3 to 5 p.m. and again from 6:30 until the bar closes.
Healing Hearts is published by Bold Strokes Books, which specializes in LGBTQ literature. Ford lives in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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Blue is the Warmest Color
Addison Engelking reviews the controversially explicit film, Blue is the Warmest Color.
This week’s contest is a three-parter. Correctly identify the dish and each restaurant to win a prize.
Dish #1
Dish #2
Dish #3
To enter, submit your guess to me via email at ellis@memphisflyer.com.
The winner receives his/her choice of 5 Malco movie passes or $50 gift certificate to Folk’s Folly.
The answer and winner will be announced in next week’s contest post.
The correct answer to last week’s contest was Holiday Deli & Ham. And the winner is … Kelly Rhea.