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ANOTHER YEAR
You're Not Slack!
Thanks once again to everybody who submitted material
to use in this Slackpole issue. We begged so much and so long
that you inundated us with good stuff, making it difficult to
winnow it down to the pieces included in this year's Slackpole.
Each time we have lain back and let our readers write most of
the paper, we have been tempted to say: "Shoot, we ought to
do this every week." Then we see that same thought running
through the boss's mind, and we quickly change the subject to
planning all the great stories we're going to do in the coming
year.
Nevertheless, we very much appreciate everybody's effort,
which pioves once again what a richly talented community
surrounds us. It bucks us up and reminds us that Flagpole read
ers recognize good writing when they see it and when they
write it. That makes us try harder to assure that our own stuff
is worthy of the discerning eyes that scrutinize Flagpole. And,
honestly, you have really helped us out. We're hard at wo-k
on getting this paper out, even before the current issue has
hit the streets. Your contributions make it possible for us to
do this and take a week off, and you also help us through the
tight financial squeeze at the end of the year. So, thanks a lot.
Flagpole readers/writcrs/cartoonists/photographers. We're tak
ing off. Our next issue is Jan. 11. See you then. Keep an eye
on the store.
Happy New Year!
We've got a really good state university; we've got a really
good public school system; we've got special assets like our
extensive and well known music scene; we've got attractive
architecture and livable, walkable, bike-able, drivable neigh
borhoods; we've got an affordable cost of living; we've got a
beautiful natural environment nestled among hills and rivers
with a moderate climate (OK—not in August); we have an
interesting downtown; our suburbs are within easy reach; in
addition to the music, we have lots of activity in the arts: the
ater, painting, writing, cinema, pottery; we've got a good bus
system; we've got sports; we're a short drive to the mountains
and a not-as-short drive to the ocean;
we can fly out of Atlanta but don't
have to live there.
Athens is not perfect, but we've
got a lot going for us. Let's make this
new year the time when we really
focus on understanding how to bring
in the kinds of businesses that want to live in our kind of
town and that will contribute to strengthening Athens without
messing it up. Let's also take a good, close look at how we can
enhance what we have. We can insist that our economic devel
opment people understand what we have here and learn how
to add to it, instead of chasing phantom industries that aren't
coming and wouldn't fit.
Even if we can't control what the university pays its custo
dial workers and graduate assistants, we can document what
kind of impact those wage scales have here. We can also take a
look at our local government and make sure it is not a part of
the poorly paid job problem.
Let's make this the year that we devise even better coordi
nation and knowledge among the projects and agencies that
are trying to ameliorate our endemic poverty. Let's be sure our
local government, our university and our state government are
drawn even more closely into a focused examination of poverty
here. There are many reasons for poverty in Athens, and the
big one is that our county presently and historically offers jobs
not available in the surrounding counties and also public hous
ing and other forms of assistance not available in the outlying
areas.
This is our big challenge in the new year: to find ways
to extend our quality of life to those who are left out, while
enhancing our community—to realize that we all gain from
lifting up our lowest members. We have had setbacks recently
and in the past, but we must persevere, because we are all in
this community together, and we are interdependent, whether
we realize it or not. Let's resolve to give special, local meaniny
to the salutation, "Happy New Year!''
Pete McCommons edilor@flagpole com
This is our big
*
challenge in
the new year...
THIS WEEK’S ISSUE:
City Dope .
Athens News and Views
The Clarke and Oglethorpe county governments are negotiating with residents
close to the landfill to mitigate potential harm from its expansion.
4
EVEINIT
Movie Dope 6
Capsule Movie Reviews
Drew Wheeler's lowdown on local cinematic offerings.
(MUSA©
Threats & Promises 7
Music News and Gossip
A special preview of what to expect in 2012.
Athens, GA Half-Marathon Recap. .27
Running My Hometown
Want to know what it feels like to run the half-marathon?
Why I Occupied 31
Changing the Conversation
A lifetime of trying to make things better has led to participation in the Occupy
Athens movement
CITY DOPE 4
ATHENS RISING 5
MOVIE DOPE 6
THREATS & PROMISES 7
THE CALENDAR! 10
BULLETIN BOARD 14
ART AROUND TOWN 15
NEW YEAR’S EVE 17
CLASSIFIEDS 18
CROSSWORD 19
SLACKPOLE 20
ABBY’S CHOICE 22
THE ROARING ‘20s 22
A MODEST PROPOSAL 23
WORD SEARCHES 24
DUDE! 25
BLACK METAL CLUB 25
SCAVENGER HUNT 26
HALF MARATHON 27
JITTERY JOE S 27
WATER POLLUTION 28
PLANTS .28
SLACKLIBS 29
COMICS 29
RASTA RON PAUL 30
WHY I OCCUPIED 31
EDITOR & PUBLISHER Pete McCommons
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR & PUBLISHER Alicia Nickles
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Larry Tenner
MANAGING E0IT0R Christina Cotter
ADVERTISING SALES Anita Aubrey, Melinda Edwards. Jessica Pritchard
MUSIC E0IT0R Michelle Gilzenrat
CITY EDITOR Dave Marr
CLASSIFIEDS. DISTRIBUTION & OFFICE MANAGER Jessica Smith
ASSISTANT OFFICE MANAGER Sydney Slotkin
A0 DESIGNERS Kelly Ruberto. Cindy Jerrell
CARTOONISTS Chelsea Lea. Havivah Salt/, Jamie-Lee Morton. Katherine Shook. James Woglom
ADOPT ME Special Agent Cindy Jerrell
CONTRIBUTORS Eugene C Bianchi. Malt Burns, Liz Conroy, Juliet Easton. Marilyn Estes. Ellison
Fidler, Hillary Gaunt. Matthew James Hudgins. Gordon Lamb. Daniel LoPilato. Blane Marable,
Maureen McLaughlin. Jessica Morris. Matthew Pulver. Mallory Sadler. Stella Smith, Abby Snyder.
Jimmy Straehla, Kennesaw Taylor. Jefl Tobias, Drew Wheeler. Kevan Williams. Alec Wooden
CIRCULATION Charles Greenleaf. Jesse Mangum, John Richardson. Doug Krump, Will Donaldson
WEB DESIGNER Kelly Ruberto
CALENDAR Jessica Smith
ADVERTISING INTERNS Rebecca McGee. Morgan Guritz
MUSIC INTERNS Jodi Murphy. Ryan Anderson
COVER DESIGN by Kelly Ruberto
STREET ADDRESS: 112 Foundry St.. Athens. GA 30601
MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 1027. Athens. GA 30603
EDITORIAL: (706) 549-9523 ADVERTISING: (706) 549-0301 FAX: (706) 548-8981
ADVERTISING: dds@flagpjle.com
CALENDAR: calendar@f lagpole.com
COMICS: comics@flagpole.com
EDITORIAL editor@flagpole.com
LETTERS: letters@flagpole.com
MUSIC: music@flagpole.com
NEWS: riCws@flagpole.com
WEBSITE: web@flagpole.com
Flagpole, Inc. publishes Flagpole Magazine weekly and distributes 14.500 copies free at over
275 locations around Athens, Georgia. Subscriptions cost $70 a year, $40 for six months.
©2011 Flagpole. Inc. All rights reserved
VOLUME 25
ISSUE NUMBER 51
® 0 0
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DECEMBER 28, 2011 & JANUARY 4, 2012 • FLAGPOLE.COM 3
