Month: February 2023

Categories
Film Features Film/TV

Poker Face

Poker Face, starring Natasha Lyonne, brings back old-school episodic television, much to this critic’s delight.

The X-Files paved the way for a big shift in how TV series work. Serial storytelling, where each episode advances a larger story line, was very common in the early days of film, radio, and television. It has the inherent advantage of keeping an audience coming back for more each week — especially if you end each episode with a cliffhanger, as the Saturday morning serials like Flash Gordon perfected.

The problem lies with onboarding new audiences. If I missed the first episode of a slow-burn mystery show like True Detective or Fargo and instead tuned in mid-season, I would probably be lost. If the drama depends on complex world-building like Game of Thrones, fuggetaboutit. But if I tune into just about any episode of 1970s detective show Columbo, I’m not lost at all. Here’s this weird little guy who solves murders. No need to learn any dragon names.

In 1990, Twin Peaks rescued serial storytelling from the soap opera ghetto. The X-Files, which premiered in 1993, split the difference between “Monster of the Week” episodes and serial “mythology” story lines, setting an example for a generation of showrunners. Now that prestige television is almost exclusively serial, Poker Face intends to reclaim episodic TV from the doldrums of endless CSI reincarnations. Created by Knives Out director Rian Johnson and Russian Doll star Natasha Lyonne, it is a self-conscious reinvention of the Columbo formula.

In the pilot episode, written and directed by Johnson, we meet Lyonne as Charlie Cale, a cocktail waitress at Frost Casino in Las Vegas who has an innate ability to determine when people are lying. If you’re thinking, “Charlie could make a killing playing poker,” she is way ahead of you. Charlie was using her disarming manner and human lie detector skills in backrooms and casinos when Sterling Frost Sr. (Ron Perlman) figured out her deal and gave her a job at the casino to keep her under control. Now that Sr. is retired, Jr. (a deliciously sleazy Adrien Brody) gets a notion to use Charlie to shake down a high roller. When her friend Natalie (Dascha Polanco), a hotel maid, is found dead next to her abusive boyfriend, everyone at first believes that it’s a case of domestic violence — sad, but all too common. Everyone, that is, except Charlie. Something about the way Jr. talks about the death of her co-worker sets off her Charlie-sense. In the ensuing tangle of flashbacks and reveals, Charlie ends up on the lam with Cliff (Benjamin Bratt), the Frosts’ head of security, in pursuit.

Every week, Charlie tries to settle down in a new place, but inevitably, someone commits murder, and her inquisitive nature and overdeveloped sense of justice get the better of her. It’s a little bit Murder, She Wrote, a little bit The Incredible Hulk (the ’78-’82 TV series, not the misbegotten Ang Lee movie), and a whole lotta Columbo.

The rather strict formula (a “howcatchem” in screenwriter parlance) means the pleasures of Poker Face are all in the execution. The stories have been uniformly good. Johnson and sister showrunners Nora and Lilla Zuckerman keep the settings proletariat: So far, Charlie has cleared a lesbian trucker (Hong Chau) of the murder of a Subway sandwich artist (Brandon Micheal Hall) and avenged the death of a barbecue pitmaster (Shane Paul McGhie). The talent on display has been impressive — in “Rest in Metal,” for example, indie film legend Chloë Sevigny is the singer of a one-hit-wonder metal band, her guitarist is the Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle, and her roadie Chuck Cooper has a Tony Award.

Poker Face is great, escapist fun, but not bingeable. It’s old-fashioned weekly appointment television, and when it’s done this well, there ain’t nothing wrong with that.

Poker Face is now streaming on Peacock.

Categories
Letter From The Editor Opinion

In a Fishbowl

Photo: Isselee | Dreamstime.com

I count myself lucky to never have used a dating app. I’ve pretty much been in one long-term relationship or another since high school, with blips of single/dating life between, so I’ve never had a need to join in the endless swiping — or whatever y’all are doing — on the variety of such apps that have become prevalent in recent years. I’m also glad to have been part of the meeting-people-in-person generation, before the World Wide Web took over so many aspects of our lives, including finding our perfect (or even just an okay) match via a never-ending selection of head shots and “about me” blurbs.

Hearing single friends dish on dating disasters, inappropriate DMs, and all sorts of meet-up mishaps is mind-numbing. Is it really that bad out there? Out of curiosity — and yes, research for this very column — I recently joined a local Facebook dating group, which claims it’s “a place for women to protect and empower other women while warning each other of men who might be liars, cheaters, abusers, or exhibit any type of toxic or dangerous behavior.” I’d found that dozens of my female friends — single, married, or otherwise partnered-up — were members (along with more than 6,500 others), and, well, I wanted to see what was going on in there.

The premise is harmless enough. You can find out if you’re getting played and/or warn others about abusive, cheating, narcissistic, or generally “toxic” men. But the reality is a little more convoluted. At times, it’s like witnessing a Jerry Springer episode unfold, with accusations and below-the-belt jabs in the comments sections. And so many of the posts — which typically include a photo of the gentleman in question, along with the inquiry “[tea emoji] or [red flag emoji]?” — are published anonymously, appearing as a question from an unknown “Group member.” I understand there could be circumstances that would necessitate anonymity when it comes to this type of thing, but after a few days as a silent observer, it’s leaving a bad taste. Are some of these “group members” simply hoping to stir the pot? Are they jilted lovers trolling for others to bash their ex or to prevent him from moving forward in another relationship? Wanting to start drama with current girlfriends, partners, or potentials? Some women provide info or experiences without the added bashing — and offer positive responses and recommendations to go ahead and date the guy — but it seems the group’s intent has been stretched into some warped reality-TV type territory. Grab your popcorn and settle into this week’s shit show.

I remember the days when you had to actually talk to and hang around a person to figure out if they were a creep or not. Never did I have the option to screenshot someone’s dating profile and post a poll for reviews. “Talked twice and then he ghosted me.” “He was nice but wanted to cuddle all the time, and we only chatted for a couple weeks.” “Total sex addict.” “Says he doesn’t have kids but has two who have nothing to do with him.” “Lives with his mom.” You get the idea. It’s a weird time we’re living in.

This group frames a bleak picture of the overall dating landscape in Memphis — and not just for women. But if the couples highlighted in this week’s cover story are any indication, enduring love exists. Their stories show that love isn’t just the butterflies and rainbows (though it has its magical moments) but also the challenges and growth two people experience on their journey together, the development of patience and understanding that carries them through the years.

You can find your person if you hang in there — perhaps without even trying. You may very well cross paths in the unlikeliest of places, off screen, in real life — in line at the bank, browsing the aisles of Cash Saver, or sitting at the bar of your favorite restaurant. Maybe you were too shy to introduce yourself to the cutie you locked eyes with at Hollywood Feed but you can’t get them out of your noggin. Let us help! We’re reviving the Flyer’s “I Saw You” missed connections. Send yours to isawyou@memphisflyer.com, and we’ll publish them in an upcoming issue. True love could be right around the corner.

Categories
Astrology Fun Stuff

Free Will Astrology: Week of 2/09/23

ARIES (March 21-April 19): During my quest for advice that might be helpful to your love life, I plucked these words of wisdom from author Sam Kean: “Books about relationship talk about how to ‘get’ the love you need, how to ‘keep’ love, and so on. But the right question to ask is, ‘How do I become a more loving human being?’” In other words, Aries, here’s a prime way to enhance your love life: Be less focused on what others can give you and more focused on what you can give to others. Amazingly, that’s likely to bring you all the love you want.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You have the potential to become even more skilled at the arts of kissing and cuddling and boinking than you already are. How? Here are some possibilities. 1. Explore fun experiments that will transcend your reliable old approaches to kissing and cuddling and boinking. 2. Read books to open your mind. I like Margot Anand’s The New Art of Sexual Ecstasy. 3. Ask your partner(s) to teach you everything about what turns them on. 4. Invite your subconscious mind to give you dreams at night that involve kissing and cuddling and boinking. 5. Ask your lover(s) to laugh and play and joke as you kiss and cuddle and boink.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You are an Italian wolf searching for food in the Apennine Mountains. You’re a red-crowned crane nesting in a wetland in the East Hokkaido region of Japan. You’re an olive tree thriving in a salt marsh in southern France, and you’re a painted turtle basking in a pool of sunlight on a beach adjoining Lake Michigan. And much, much more. What I’m trying to tell you, Gemini, is that your capacity to empathize is extra strong right now. Your smart heart should be so curious and open that you will naturally feel an instinctual bond with many life forms, including a wide array of interesting humans. If you’re brave, you will allow your mind to expand to experience telepathic powers. You will have an unprecedented knack for connecting with simpatico souls.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): My Cancerian friend Juma says, “We have two choices at all times: creation or destruction. Love creates and everything else destroys.” Do you agree? She’s not just talking about romantic love, but rather love in all forms, from the urge to help a friend, to the longing to seek justice for the dispossessed, to the compassion we feel for our descendants. During the next three weeks, your assignment is to explore every nuance of love as you experiment with the following hypothesis: To create the most interesting and creative life for yourself, put love at the heart of everything you do.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I hope you get ample chances to enjoy deep soul kisses in the coming weeks. Not just perfunctory lip-to-lip smooches and pecks on the cheeks, but full-on intimate sensual exchanges. Why do I recommend this? How could the planetary positions be interpreted to encourage a specific expression of romantic feeling? I’ll tell you, Leo: The heavenly omens suggest you will benefit from exploring the frontiers of wild affection. You need the extra sweet, intensely personal communion that comes best from the uninhibited mouth-to-mouth form of tender sharing. Here’s what Leo poet Diane di Prima said: “There are as many kinds of kisses as there are people on earth, as there are permutations and combinations of those people. No two people kiss alike — no two people fuck alike — but somehow the kiss is more personal, more individualized than the fuck.”

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Borrowing the words of poet Oriah from her book The Dance: Moving to the Deep Rhythms of Your Life, I’ve prepared a love note for you to use as your own this Valentine season. Feel free to give these words to the person whose destiny needs to be woven more closely together with yours. Oriah writes, “Don’t tell me how wonderful things will be someday. Show me you can risk being at peace with the way things are right now. Show me how you follow your deepest desires, spiraling down into the ache within the ache. Take me to the places on the Earth that teach you how to dance, the places where you can risk letting the world break your heart.”

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran author Walter Lippmann wrote, “The emotion of love is not self-sustaining; it endures only when lovers love many things together, and not merely each other.” That’s great advice for you during the coming months. I suggest that you and your allies — not just your romantic partners, but also your close companions — come up with collaborative projects that inspire you to love many things together. Have fun exploring and researching subjects that excite and awaken and enrich both of you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio writer Paul Valéry wrote, “It would be impossible to love anyone or anything one knew completely. Love is directed towards what lies hidden in its object.” My challenge to you, Scorpio, is to test this hypothesis. Do what you can to gain more in-depth knowledge of the people and animals and things you love. Uncover at least some of what’s hidden. All the while, monitor yourself to determine how your research affects your affection and care. Contrary to what Valéry said, I’m guessing this will enhance and exalt your love.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In his book Unapologetically You, motivational speaker Steve Maraboli writes, “I find the best way to love someone is not to change them, but instead, help them reveal the greatest version of themselves.” That’s always good advice, but I believe it should be your inspirational axiom in the coming weeks. More than ever, you now have the potential to forever transform your approach to relationships. You can shift away from wanting your allies to be different from what they are and make a strong push to love them just as they are.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I analyzed the astrological omens. Then I scoured the internet, browsed through 22 books of love poetry, and summoned memories of my best experiences of intimacy. These exhaustive efforts inspired me to find the words of wisdom that are most important for you to hear right now. They are from poet Rainer Maria Rilke (translated by Stephen Mitchell): “For one human being to love another human being: that is perhaps the most difficult task that has been entrusted to us, the ultimate task, the final test and proof, the work for which all other work is merely preparation.”

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): To get the most out of upcoming opportunities for intimacy, intensify your attunement to and reverence for your emotions. Why? As quick and clever as your mind can be, sometimes it neglects to thoroughly check in with your heart. And I want your heart to be wildly available when you get ripe chances to open up and deepen your alliances. Study these words from psychologist Carl Jung: “We should not pretend to understand the world only by the intellect; we apprehend it just as much by feeling. Therefore, the judgment of the intellect is, at best, only the half of truth, and must, if it be honest, also come to an understanding of its inadequacy.”

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “In love there are no vacations. Love has to be lived fully with its boredom and all that.” Author and filmmaker Marguerite Duras made that observation, and now I convey it to you — just in time for a phase of your astrological cycle when boredom and apathy could and should evolve into renewed interest and revitalized passion. But there is a caveat: If you want the interest and passion to rise and surge, you will have to face the boredom and apathy; you must accept them as genuine aspects of your relationship; you will have to cultivate an amused tolerance of them. Only then will they burst in full glory into renewed interest and revitalized passion.

Categories
News News Blog News Feature

Memphis in May In “Jeopardy” As Park Negotiations Fall Through

Credit: Memphis River Parks Partnership

An exasperated Memphis City Council urged Memphis In May (MIM) and Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP) to put aside “bad blood,” act like “grown ups,” and get a lease deal signed to bring the festivals back to the Tom Lee Park this year. 

Eighty-three days before May, the festivals are “in jeopardy,” according to MIM president and CEO James Holt. Some other contracts cannot be signed — like those securing artists for Beale Street Music Festival — until the lease deal for Tom Lee Park is in hand, he said. 

(Credit: City of Memphis)

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland has long had the groups in mediation to hammer out details. Holt described hours of meetings recently with Strickland and his team directly. Still, one detail has stymied the lease deal. 

MIM wants a cap on payments made to repair any damages done to Tom Lee Park during the festivals. MRPP wants no cap on those payments, in a sort of you-break-it-you-buy-it situation.

MRPP president and CEO Carol Coletta said renters are likely responsible for any damage done to government-owned facilities like the Renasant Convention Center and the new Memphis Sports & Events Center. 

”Jim Holt — after all the conversations over the last one, and after the mayor his [Chief Operating Officer] Chandell Ryan worked so hard to get the final pieces of this deal — walked away and said, ‘We can’t live with being responsible for our damages, the expense of our damages. We cannot do it. So, we walk away from the negotiations.’”

Holt said MIM agreed to up its average restoration fee of $50,000 a year to $500,000 for the 2023 festivals. Strickland added another $500,000 of city funds. That $1 million would be ready to clean up the park after the festivals. 

(Credit: Memphis River Parks Partnership)

The additional money is needed this year as Tom Lee Park is undergoing a major, $60-million renovation. The renovation will include new landscaping, new sidewalks, new buildings, new play and recreation infrastructure, and more.  

“We feel that [MRPP is] effectively attempting to shut down our festival,” Holt told council members Tuesday. “Now, the government contractor that the mayor and the city pays … is dictating the terms and has told the mayor and MIM, ‘no, $1 million is not enough. I only accept MIM to take unlimited responsibility for any damage.’”   

With MIM being on the hook for damages — even with $1 million in funds to fix any — it would incentivize the group to not damage the park, said council member Worth Morgan. Should the liability fall to MRPP, Morgan said they likely fear MIM “might damage the park unnecessarily as getting back” at MRPP.  

Tension between MRPP and MIM rose almost immediately after MRPP unveiled the new look of Tom Lee Park in 2017. MIM officials quickly pointed out that the new design would shrink the size of the festivals, which would also shrink its revenues, and taxes into city coffers. MRPP has defended the park design as a place for all. All of it has made for a tension between the two that even the public can feel.

(Credit: City of Memphis I Memphis City Council member Worth Morgan)

Morgan said the situation was like “the Greensward issue.” There,  a similar tension was publicly felt between the boards of the Overton Park Conservancy and the Memphis Zoo. That issue flamed, roiled, and simmered — and included an arduous council-led agreement process — from 2014 until a final agreement between them was inked last year. 

“There’s some bad blood between the two and that is really what is inhibiting this [lease deal] rather than dollars and cents.”

Worth Morgan

“You have two boards and there’s distrust, there’s some bad blood between the two and that is really what is inhibiting this [lease deal] rather than dollars and cents,” Morgan said. “That’s why we’re here trying to arbitrate this. So, I would strongly encourage the boards to put down their pitchforks that are pointed at one another and simply agree to the terms that we’ve talked about.”

(Credit: City of Memphis I Memphis City Council member Martavius Jones)

MRPP officials were present at Tuesday’s council hearing on the matter but were not given a chance to speak by chairman Martavius Jones, claiming the hearing was bumping against the council’s full meeting at 3 p.m. Jones invited MRPP back to speak at the next council meeting in two weeks but urged them to have a deal in hand. 

Categories
We Recommend We Saw You

WE SAW YOU: Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center Opens With a Gala

Dionne Warwick was the featured performer at the Schedit Family Performing Arts Centre. With her are the Scheidt children: Susan Arney, Helen Gronauer, Rudi Scheidt Jr., and Elkan Scheidt (Credit: Al Kapone)

Covering the February 4th grand opening gala for the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center at University of Memphis brought back fond memories of the late Honey and Rudi Scheidt.

A photo of the couple appeared with the first party I ever covered. It was a visit to Memphis by the Metropolitan Opera. The after-party was at the old Justine’s restaurant. It was in 1980, when I was working for the Memphis Press-Scimitar. 

I wasn’t taking photos back then, so the photographer on the assignment took the the picture of the Scheidts. But I took many pictures of the couple later on. I saw the Scheidts at concerts, art exhibit openings, and other cultural events and fund-raisers over several decades.

I got to know Honey and Rudi, and I was always happy to see them at parties. I loved Honey’s graciousness and Rudi’s wit. They were friendly and fun. And I got to know their children —  Susan Arney, Rudi Scheidt Jr., Elkan Scheidt, and Helen Gronauer.

The Scheidts were big supporters of Memphis music. In 2000, Rudi gave his first donation for the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at U of M, Arney says. “He gave a huge donation to improve the program and they named it after him,” Arney says. 

“They wanted to keep Memphis on the map as far as music,” Gronauer told the audience during the concert portion of the evening. She and her brothers and sister took the stage and talked about their parents and the legacy they left.

Ironically, Elkan said, “None of us can sing a tune.”

The Scheidts are continuing to keep Memphis on the map through their philanthropy. “We Zoom every  Monday morning to talk,” Arney says.

And that will continue with the next generation of 11 grandchildren, she adds.  “Just any kind of cause, whether charity or not, that we can help make Memphis a better city.”

Susan Arney, Rudi Scheidt Jr., Caryn Scheidt, Kyle Polack, Rachel Polack, Ezra Polack, Lindsay Grass, David Grass, Helen Gronauer, Mimi Scheidt at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Laurie and Elkan Scheidt at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
The Scheidt children — Helen Gronauer, Elkan Scheidt, Rudi Scheidt Jr., and Susan Arney — on stage at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Kevin Sanders, director of the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music, at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)

 The gala concert featured the University Symphony Orchestra, University Singers, and the Mighty Sound of the South Pep Band.

Al Kapone, who performed at Rudi’s birthday parties in February for years at the Germantown Performing Arts Centre, was master of ceremonies.  

Yours truly with David and Yvonne Acey and Al Kapone at the after party at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala.
Al Kapone was master of ceremonies at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Dionne Warwick was the featured performer. Warwick, who complimented the U of M performers, also sang just about every one of her hit songs by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Her more-than-an-hour-long concert  included “Message to Michael,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” and “Anyone Who Had a Heart.”

She performed duets with her drummer, the fantastic David Elliott.

Warwick invited the audience to sing along with “That’s What Friends Are For.” Instead of the lighters music fans once used to show their appreciation back in the day, audience members at the gala waved their lit cell phones.

Dionne Warwick at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Drummer/vocalist David Elliott performs with Dionne Warwick at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)

The evening began with a tour of the building and continued with dinner in a tent. Following the concert, guests returned to the tent for music and dancing to The Bar-Kays. And Krystal hamburgers and Gibson’s doughnuts.

The crowd gets into it at the after party featuring The Bar-Kays at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
James Alexander of The Bar-Kays at the after party at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
The Bar-Kays perform at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Asked what she thought about the evening, Arney says, “It was magical. To me, for a building opening for the first time and everything being new — all employees, all visitors, all community — and you’re student based, there was nothing that I noticed that went wrong. And truly better than I would have ever expected.”

The 82,000 square-foot Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center cost around $40,000,000, Arney says.

The building is paid for, but much more is needed for the center, Arney told the audience. For instance, they need $1.5 million dollars for grand pianos. The pianos cost $200,000 apiece, she said.

I think it’s safe to say Rudi and Honey would have given the gala a thumbs up. “I know they’re here tonight looking at all of us,” Rudi Jr. said.

Jimmy Tashie, Nancy Tashie, and Rabbi Micah Greenstein at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Mario Monterosso, Dabney Coors, and Kortland Whalum at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Billy Orgel and that writer guy at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Billy Orgel)
Merry and Johnny Moore at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Mike and Sharon Goldstein at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Kathy and Roger Sapp at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Kate Duignan and Chris Peck at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
We Saw You
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News News Blog News Feature Uncategorized

Lookout: Lee Broke Little New Ground in State of the State

Bill Lee (Photo: tn.gov)

Gov. Bill Lee broke little new ground nor did he drop any policy changes in his fifth State of the State address Monday, choosing to highlight issues he has discussed for months and in some cases, years  —  including a transportation plan that would include “toll” roads for motorists who want to bypass congestion, a boost to the state’s rainy day fund, additional funds to address ongoing crises at the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, and funding for crisis pregnancy centers.

“And hear me when I say this: toll roads are not on the table,” said Lee of his Transportation Modernization Act. “We’re talking about choice lanes, public-private partnerships, new delivery models – solutions that have worked for states across the country, including our friends in Texas and Florida.” 

Lee introduced his transportation plan in early December and immediately caught flak from lawmakers over the choice roads portion, which will be added to existing routes and will cost drivers an extra fee to use. 

To kick off implementation of the transportation plan, about which few details have been provided, Lee announced he will inject $3 billion across the state for road projects and $300 million into Tennessee’s local highway fund. 

Lee also claimed success for a modified block grant program to support TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program, saying it will reap $300 million in shared savings the first year. 

In the portion of Lee’s speech devoted to “strong families,” he said that “Pro-life is much more than defending the lives of the unborn. This is not a matter of politics. This is about human dignity. We can have a healthy debate about the policy specifics, but we can also agree that America is rooted in a commitment to human dignity.” 

He will designate $100 million to crisis pregnancy centers in the wake of the state’s abortion ban that followed the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that reversed federal protections for abortion. 

In 2022, Lee gave money to crisis pregnancy centers to purchase ultrasound machines. On Monday, he said this year’s funds will be used to partner with nonprofits “that serve mothers, fathers, and families during a crisis pregnancy,” in conjunction with the Governor’s Office of Faith-based Initiatives.”

Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, and House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, are sponsoring a bill in the Legislature that gives the Office of Faith-based Initiatives more power. 

SB0279 removes prohibitions that require nonprofit partners of the office to cover expenses incurred in the course of the partnership as well as removing language that the state not incur extra cost resulting from the Faith-Based Initiatives office.

Democrats were quick to respond to Lee’s speech. 

“Instead of leading our state into the 21st century by investing in people and working families, Tennessee is only maintaining the status quo,” said Sen. London Lamar of Memphis, chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus. “We are not leading the nation as long as we have abused children sleeping on the floors of state office buildings. We’re not leading the nation if our families don’t have access to affordable housing, health coverage or childcare.”

Memphis Sen. Raumesh Akbari, Senate Minority Leader, said, “We are glad to see an emphasis on tax cuts for small business owners, the conservation of our natural resources, and some targeted investments in maternity care, children and state workers.

“But most of the new money in this budget is long overdue. They’re putting out fires that have been growing for a decade. State government has to break its bad habit of waiting until a crisis emerges to make meaningful change,” Akbari said.

Unlike the last few years, which have featured large protests before and during the gubernatorial address, Monday’s event was only disrupted once when three women in the House of Representative gallery shouted “White nationalism is our biggest threat. Gov. Bill Lee is our biggest threat,” before being escorted out by Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers. 

Lee also announced he will extend a holiday on grocery sales tax to three months from one month and that he will designate $50 million to create a Nuclear Fast Track fund, intended to recruit companies to establish an “ecosystem” for nuclear development and manufacturing.

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Grizzlies Fall to Raptors 106-103 in Third Straight Loss 

Jaren Jackson Jr. goes up for a bucket. (Credit: Joe Murphy/NBAE for Getty Images)

The Grizzlies are in a slump, that much is clear. After a season-high ten game winning streak, the Memphis Grizzlies have lost 8 of their last 9 games. Sunday afternoon they faced off against the Toronto Raptors, and due to faltering in the fourth quarter, lost a game they once led by 15 points.  

Let’s get into it.  

Memphis has been missing Steven Adams in the lineup, but on this Sunday, they were also without star Ja Morant, due to wrist soreness, and Dillon Brooks, who was serving a suspension after brawling with Donovan Mitchell in Cleveland.  

Poor ball handling and sloppy execution on behalf of the Grizzlies led to the Raptors putting up 23 more field goal attempts than Memphis. 23. That’s just embarrassing, as is the 20 turnovers that Toronto turned into 29 points. And that isn’t even getting into six missed free throws in a game they lost by three points.  

Whatever else happens, there needs to be a “come to Jesus” meeting behind the scenes. Because these are not the actions of a team that is serious about contending for a championship.  

By The Numbers:  

Desmond Bane led all scorers with 26 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 1 blocked shot, while shooting 4 of 7 from three-point range. This is the Desmond Bane the Grizzlies need for the rest of the season.  

Jaren Jackson Jr finished with 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks.  

Santi Aldama was moved into the starting position in place of Brooks, and he closed out with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks.  

Xavier Tillman Sr assumed the starting center role and put up 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists.  

Now on to the next one, and put this one in the rear-view mirror. 

Who Got Next? 

The Grizzlies are returning to their home floor Tuesday night against the Chicago Bulls. Tip-off is at 7 PM CST.  

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Music Music Blog

Jim Stewart, Other Memphians Recognized at 65th Annual Grammys

Honoring Jim Stewart at the Grammys: (L-R) Pat Mitchell Worley (Soulsville Foundation CEO), Stewart's children Shannon, Lori, and Jeff Stewart, Michele Smith (VP, Estate & Legacy Brand Management for Concord Records), and Jim's granddaughter, Jennifer Stewart. Photo courtesy Soulsville Foundation.

It’s been less than twenty-four hours since the Grammy Awards wrapped, and there’s been just as much online chatter about what the Recording Academy missed about Memphis as about what they got right. Celebrating fifty years of hip hop music with a sprawling medley, featuring the Roots backing up star rappers from the past half century, was bound to ruffle some feathers, and many zeroed in on the absolute omission of the city’s greatest hip hop innovators.

“If Three 6 Mafia isn’t in this 50 years of hip hop performance at the Grammys than [sic] I don’t want it,” tweeted Silly Little Goose, later adding, “sleep with one eye open tonight, @RecordingAcad.”

Another Twitter user, Jamesetta M. Walker, quipped, “Wow, Gangsta Boo was not included in the Grammys’ 2023 memoriam. No way they never heard of Three 6 Mafia.”

The lack of recognition was indeed striking, given what Memphis has contributed to the genre over the decades. Yet the sprawling medley, curated by Questlove, included a stunning mix of performers such as Grandmaster Flash, Mele Mel, Rahiem, Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott, Lil Wayne, Big Boi, Public Enemy, Busta Rhymes, De La Soul, Lil Baby and others. And Memphis was at least represented well by the breakout star Glorilla, who performed a segment of her hit, “F.N.F. (Let’s Go).”

Nevertheless, Memphis music, being the force of nature that it is, was bound to turn up elsewhere during the proceedings. Erstwhile Memphis writer Bob Mehr, now living in Tucson, Arizona, won the Best Album Notes Grammy for his contribution to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition), his second in that category, while that album’s producers, including Cheryl Pawelski of Omnivore Recordings, also won in the Best Historical Album category.

Meanwhile, Arkansas’ Ashley McBryde won the Best Country/Duo Performance award for “Never Wanted to Be That Girl” with Carly Pearce, and Aaron Neville’s song “Stompin’ Ground,” performed with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band for the film Take Me to the River: New Orleans, which counts Cody Dickinson and Boo Mitchell among its producers, won Best American Roots Performance.

But it was a figure from Memphis history that received the ultimate recognition yesterday, in the form of a Grammy Trustees Award: Stax Records’ co-founder Jim Stewart, who passed away last December 5th. The award, which recognizes “individuals who, during their careers in music, technology, and so on have made significant contributions, other than performance, to the field of recording,” was also given to photographer Henry Diltz and jazz educator (and musician) Ellis Marsalis Jr.

Receiving the award puts Stewart’s name in the company of such legends as Duke Ellington, The Beatles, Thomas Edison, George and Ira Gershwin, Jerry Wexler, and Stewart’s sister and fellow Stax-founder, Estelle Axton.

On hand to receive the award in Stewart’s name were his adult children, Shannon, Lori, and Jeff Stewart, along with Jim’s granddaughter Jennifer Stewart. As Lori noted, “when dad’s dream of being in the music business first began, he was a nine- or ten-year-old boy who received a guitar for Christmas.”

Jennifer Stewart added, “Grandaddy was a man before his time. Not only was he an innovator in the music industry, by creating that distinct Stax sound, he was also an advocate for equal rights and opportunities for everyone. He didn’t care where you came from, what color your skin was, or your gender. If you had any kind of talent, he wanted you to be a part of his family.”

It was a fitting tribute to a man who represented a more progressive demographic among Southern professionals at the time, paving the way for the multi-racial camaraderie that the Stax community strove to foster through all its days.

Jim Stewart with Stax Records publicist Deanie Parker in 2018 (Photo courtesy The Soulsville Foundation)

Categories
Politics Politics Beat Blog

Herenton Jumps Into Race

Willie Herenton during his 2019 mayoral are

Former longtime Mayor Willie Herenton, who had sent recent online smoke signals regarding a seventh race for Mayor, made it official on Monday with a post on his Facebook page and with the following message:

TO THE CITIZENS OF MEMPHIS:

My public service career in Memphis spans over three 

decades. It was a privilege to serve as superintendent of 

the Memphis City Schools for twelve years. And later, 

elected five consecutive times as mayor of Memphis.

Today, it saddens me to see my hometown in a deep 

and embarrassing crisis. Our city is in need of proven 

leadership. This is not the time for on-the-job training.

 In my opinion, and in all respect to the announced 

candidates for the Mayor of Memphis – 2023, not a single 

candidate has proven to be prepared for the challenges 

facing my hometown.

 I care about Memphis deeply.

 For these reasons and more, I have decided to once 

again, offer my services as a candidate for Mayor – 2023.

 If I am your choice once again, I will faithfully serve all the 

people of Memphis to the best of my abilities.

Yours truly,

Willie Herenton, Ph.D.

Here is the video of Herenton’s announcement.

Categories
Film Features Film/TV

Music Video Monday: “Sound” by Marcella Simien

Sometimes, your best bet is to keep it simple. “There were several different music videos made for this song over the past two years,” says Marcella Simien. “To say I overthought this video would be an understatement.”

But all that work pays off today when “Sound” makes its Music Video Monday debut. “It’s just the way it is, being an artist,” says Simien. “You DEEPLY care about what you create, every step of the way. Especially being an independent artist with no big label support, sometimes it can feel like everything is riding on you and every move you make.

“We kept it sweet and simple for this video, and used my handwritten words as a lyric video interspersed with some shots we did in early morning light,” says Simien. “I’m filled with gratitude for all of the people who helped me find my way on this video. Lawrence Matthews was like a guru, who ‘found the space the between the notes,’ so to speak, by helping us remove the imagery that wasn’t serving the work. Jonny Pineda helped us do multiple shoot days, idea days and multiple edits. Eileen Neryssa choreographed an entire dance/movement piece to this song, and that footage will see the light of day soon. Our friend Chris Davenport saved the day this month as we approached the rollout. He helped us finish it off, adding my handwritten lyrics, creating some low-fi animation that we then juxtaposed with the higher-res quality video footage and made a harmonious lil lyric video.” 

The final video is simple, beautiful, and most importantly, it serves the music. “I realized along the way, as I was overthinking this project, that this video about the SONG, not about how many looks I could wear or how many different cool locations I could fit in. I grew up a lot during this process in a lot of ways”

If you would like to see your music video on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.