Newspaper Page Text
r
i
AFOOT AND LIGHTHEARTED
Walking to work the other morning, I was listening to the
radio when the announcer informed me that there was an 80
percent chance of rain. That's an alarming message when you're
hoofing it down Prince Avenue under sunny skies without even
a jacket. By the time I was informed that a light rain was fall
ing, I remembered that I had switched to WNYC in New York
City to get away from the relentless hounding of the Georgia
Public Broadcasting fundraisers on what used to be our local
station, WUGA. Public radio's fundraising is always a nuisance,
but the gang from Atlanta—endlessly pre-empting "Morning
Edition" walking to work and "All Things Considered" going
home—drove me to escape from their demands. I tolerated the
fundraising a lot better back when Rob 'n them were doing it
for the local cause with a kind of ironic detachment.
The news, which has recently been dominated by Donald
Trump, turned to speculation on whether Newt Gingrich would
run for president. That's my dream Republican ticket: Newt
& Trump, except that they'd both have to be number-one, so
they probably couldn't get together. Nobody with a chance to
win wants to go up against President
Obama, who is standing tall right now.
Passing The Grit, I was reminded
that longtime waiter Steve Scurry,
local expert on the Creek Indians,
speaks this Sunday, May 15 at 3
p.m. in the Athens-Clarke County
Library auditorium. Steve goes back
to the original documents and discovers amazing insights
into what was going on in this area during the period before
and after the American Revolution. As he will point out in
his lecture, "Stones and Scorpions for Fish and Chips: U.S.
Peacekeepers on the Oconee and Civil Rebellion in Georgia,"
our young state was a challenging and complicated area when
George Washington was president, including the Trans-Oconee
Republic, a rump state established by our namesake, Elijah
Clarke, a secessionist before his time.
Cutting through downtown, I turned up Clayton Street
past the Last Resort, where Jaamy and his staff walked away
with a ton of well deserved awards in Flagpole's recent Athens
Favorites readers poll. Then, alas, I passed Dog Ear Books, now
defunct, another locally owned independent bookstore gone.
Jon says he just didn't have the financial staying power to wait
for the business to build. What's more, his wife is pregnant, so
he luckily found a job with the wildlife service. Bye, bye, Dog
Ear: we hardly knew ye.
In the middle of town I encountered local superlawyer Hue
Henry, who informed me that he has turned the upstairs of his
law office on Broad Street into a rental apartment. I can't wait
to see it. The more such upstairs living we get downtown, the
sooner we'll have groceries and more urban services (like book
stores). Good going, Hue! One would never believe that our
local ordinances once prohibited upstairs apartments, just as
they once forbade sidewalk cafes.
Heading on down to Mama's Boy for breakfast, I walked
across the Oconee Street bridge over the river into the rush-
hour traffic heading into town. Inside the car, we have no
idea what a noisily frightening juggernaut we make. Facing
the oncoming traffic speeding down the hill two lanes abreast
just a few feet away, I was reminded of a stock car race I once
watched, sitting on a bank above the far turn of the oval track.
These cars were just as densely packed, but driven by men and
women on their way to teach a class or manage an office or
serve a meal, for the moment transformed into hard-eyed race
car drivers.
Later, walking back from breakfast, I took the scenic route
along the greenway through Dudley Park and was sorry I didn't
have time to linger over the many historic markers through
there. They tell the story of Athens' five different rail lines and
how they connected us to the world, especially after the tres
tles were built. That's a great area to take a child (or an adult)
and a pleasant place this time of year to get a quick dose of
history. There's some good information, too, about waterpower
and products made in the mills along the river.
Walking along clears the mind and puts things into per
spective. As I climbed the hill back up East Broad in the fresh
morning breeze, Walt Whitman's words came to mind: "I think
heroic deeds were all conceived in the open air."
Pete McCommons editor@flagpole.com
“I think heroic
deeds were all
conceived in
the open air.”
i
THIS WEEK’S ISSUE:
NEWS & FEATURES
City Dope
Athens News and Views
A local referendum on Sunday alcohol sales will likely be pushed to March 2012.
Athens Rising
What’s Up in New Development
ACC needs a cross-departmental planning apparatus to help promote a unified vision.
Beer Notes
Local, Fresh Beer Continues Coming to Georgia
Breweries and brew pubs are a growth industry.
Art Notes
Spin the Bottle
Eight printmakers now with work at Flicker invite you to give them a spin.
9
COVER DESIGN by Kelly Ruberto
featuring artwork by Taylor Williams on
display at Flicker Theatre & Bar (see p.9)
MUSIC
The Jompson Brothers 16
Playing It Straight
Grammy-nominated country songwriter Chris Stapleton goes classic rock with this band.
Surf That Couch! 17
An Affordable Way to Travel (or Tour) This Summer
The CouchSurfing spirit is all about meeting new people and making connections around the world.
CITY DOPE
4
ARNOLD BEAN
15
CITY PAGES
5
THE JOMPSON BROTHERS
16
CAPITOL IMPACT
6
COUCH SURFING
17
ATHENS RISING
7
THE CALENDAR!
18
BEER NOTES
8
BULLETIN BOARD
24
ART NOTES
9
ART AROUND TOWN
25
MOVIE DOPE
10
COMICS
26
MOVIE PICK
11
REALITY CHECK
27
THREATS & PROMISES
13
CLASSIFIEDS
28
RECORD REVIEWS
14
EVERYDAY PEOPLE
31
MUGS IM MdlPOlLlo 1
►► World View thinks Palestine may be ripe for revolt in
spite of the Hamas-Fatah detente
►► Plus loads of Record Reviews and Live Reviews
►► Let us know about your next event: email calendar©
flagpole.com
►► Jyl Inov still wants to hear from YOU! Get a free Reality
Check about your partner's crazy habits
►► Contact Us! Submit your original, non-published
writing, story ideas or cover art to editor@flagpole.
com
►► Check out our blog from Cannes! Sophie Kohn reports
from the film festival
EDITOR & PUBLISHER Pete McCommons
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR l PUBLISHER Alicia Nickles
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Larry Tenner
MANAGING EDITOR Christina Cotter
ADVERTISING SALES Anita Aubrey. Melinda Edwards. Jessica Pritchard
MUSIC EDITOR Michelle Gilzenrat
CITY EDITOR Dave Man
CLASSIFIEDS. DISTRIBUTION l OFFICE MANAGER Nico Cashin
AD DESIGNERS Kelly Ruberto. Cindy Jerrell
CONTACT US:
STREET ADDRESS: 112 Foundry St., Athens, GA 30601
MAILING ADDRESS: P.0. Box 1027, Athens, GA 30603
EDITORIAL: (706) 549-9523
ADVERTISING: (706) 549-0301
FAX: (706) 548-8981
CARTOONISTS Cameron Bogue. Lee Gatlin, Missy Kulik. Jeremy Long. David Mack
ADOPT ME Special Agent Cindy Jerrell
CONTRIBUTORS Caroline Banatt. Kevin Craig. Tom Crawford. John Huie, Gordon Lamb. Mark LaMountain,
Bao Le-Huu, T. Ballard Lesemann. Nate Mitchell. Emily Patrick. Matthew Pulver, Jessica Smith. Brian Veysey.
Drew Wheeler. Kevan Williams. Marshall Yarbrough
CIRCULATION Charles Greenleal. Nash Hogan. Jesse Mangum. Matt Shirley
WEB DESIGNER Kelly Ruberto
ADVERTISING & EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Jessica Smith
ADVERTISING INTERNS Caroline Harris. Sarah Zagorski
MUSIC INTERN Bnan Walter
ADVERTISING: ads@flagpole.com
CALENDAR: calendar@fiagpole.com
COMICS: comics@flagpole.com
EDITORIAL editor@flagpole.com
LETTERS: letters@flagpole.com
MUSIC: music@flagpole.com
NEWS: news@flagpole.com
WEB SITE: web@flagpole.com
VOLUME 25
SSUE NUMBER 18
Flagpole, Inc. publishes Flagpole Magazine weekly and distributes 17.00^copies
tree at over 275 locations around Athens. Georgia. Subscriptions cost $55 a v**:,
$35 tor six months. © 2011 Flagpole. Inc. All nghts reserved.
( itU i I Alios
I VERIFICATION |
col \ ( i l
® ® ©
AuorWMn of Mtcnutu* IwmwMib
MAY 11,2011 -FLAGP0LE.COM 3
