About Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (May 11, 2011)
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
