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College Town: What's Here
Belhaven University
[Kamikaze] Same Place, Different Memories
As the years pass, I find it hard to accurately remember each and every detail of my life. It's easy for stories to be skewed, embellished or just plain forgotten. My wife says I sometimes "adjust" the facts of stories to keep from getting fussed at, and I can't recall if I do or not.
Othor Cain
Othor Cain, 38, radiates an exuberance for life in his smile, his body language and, most of all, his deep-toned voice. That voice, were it visible, would surely be the burnished gold of fine jewelry.
[Dickerson] Who's Zooming Whom?
Earlier this month, President Bush signed into law revisions to the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. It gives the Bush administration new power to screen your e-mails and listen in on your telephone conversations.
Hot Author, Cold Biscuits
We know a few things to be constant in the South: Coworkers are extended family members, porch swings are adult-sized cradles, the weather changes its mind at the drop of a hat, and food is a bandage that will heal any wounded soul.
We Want Our Indie Pics
Why can't we see "The Pianist" (pee-a-nist, it's OK to say it) in Jackson? For that matter, why can't we see "Bowling for Columbine" or "The Quiet American"? Why are our choices limited to the same 10 or 15 mind-numbing films at all three of our local multiplexes? Don't get me wrong, sometimes I'm all for a little cheap thrill of a movie or a quick belly laugh. But, on the other hand, when was the last time you saw a movie, on a big screen in Jackson, er, "the Metro," that made you think or challenged your sensibilities?
[Kamikaze] Local Music Stands Up
Well, we've come to another music issue. I'm sure this one will prove to be bigger than the last. Each one in the future will be bigger than the one before. I must say I'm very proud of the progress I've seen in our blossoming music scene. From rock to rap, we've made huge strides. Local artists are packing clubs and selling records. I remember a time not too long ago when local radio totally ignored its homegrown talent.
SPANN: Invisible Woman
Black clothing is the choice du jour to disguise excess weight. The blackness of night can camouflage all sorts of "down low" activities. But I didn't realize that black could make people invisible. Until recently I never really paid it much attention. I'd be approaching someone on a stairwell or passing a stranger on the sidewalk, and then it would happen: I'd suddenly become invisible. Amazing! Was I a scientific mystery, or should I join the ranks of the X-Men? It even happened when I was out with white friends. People could see them, but I was perfectly invisible as greetings were exchanged or as we were being shown to our table in a restaurant.
‘Gone Weekly'
If there's one JFP-related question I've heard more than any other from folks around Jackson in the past few weeks and months, it's been this one: "Are y'all going weekly?"
The Path of Least Drama
Everyone who reads me regularly knows that I despise the question "Why does she stay?" when asked about domestic-abuse victims.
Smart? Not Really
Growing up with eager readers, Sumrall native David McRaney flocked to the art of storytelling. McRaney, 34, works by day as director of new media at WDAM, but in his spare time is an avid blogger and published author.
Dinner and a Movie
Last Saturday night, Todd and I sat at a small table next to the open kitchen at Parlor Market and were dazzled by the chefs' performance.
The Wonder of it All
In the early 1960s, Mama and Papa leased an old, rundown gas station in Liberty, N.Y., in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains, and spent every weekend of one winter and spring converting the property into our summer "retreat." We lived in Brooklyn at the time, but my parents were determined to get my sisters and me out of the city as much as possible, especially during the summer.
Mayor Tries to Clean House
Jackson Mayor Frank Melton, elected July 4, was already looking to shake the system July 27, calling for the resignation of city board and commission members. In a press release, Melton's office told the media in an unprecedented announcement that he wanted immediate resignations of the almost 200 members of the 22 boards and commissions "in an effort to assure that the necessary policies and programs are initiated."
Not Yet out of the Woods
Following the election of Barack Obama, there seemed to be a great national catharsis - a collective sigh of relief or joy heard 'round the world. The past few weeks we (those who voted for Obama, specifically) have been relishing the great feeling of victory and watching history unfold. To date, the work the transition team has been spot on and this has even been noticed by many Conservatives who are close to me as friends and family.
Green Girl to Green Mama
You might think you have made your home and lifestyle as green as possible, but a new addition to your family is sure to test your eco-fortitude. If you start making green choices for your child before the day he or she is born, it will probably be easier to stick to your green guns.
Ledger Spreads Bad Info About Columbus Daily
The Commercial Dispatch in Columbus was surprised to learn yesterday that it was changing format from a daily newspaper to a weekly "advertiser" format. Except that it wasn't true. Turns out The Clarion-Ledger was mailing subscribers in the town, spreading false information to try to increase its own subscriptions in the area.
Berwood: Left Behind and Unified
As you drive down Northside Drive on the north end of town, you pass a recently renovated McDonald's, a Taco Bell that has been remodeled to add a Long John Silvers, and a New Deal grocery store that once was a Jitney Jungle and before that a Kroger. But tucked away in a maze of different neighborhoods bordered by Watkins Drive and Azalea Drive is Berwood—a neighborhood that, despite all of the changes around it, primarily has had the same occupants since the early 1970s. Like many areas in the South and Mississippi in particular, Berwood's membership was shaped by white flight.
The Earliest Speech I Ever Gave
So after a jam-packed week in Seattle and then in Portland), I got up Sunday morning to drive the hour or so to a town I'd never visited to speak to a church about race relations in Mississippi (and in Oregon, and everywhere in between). My talk to the First Christian Church, as described today in the Albany (Ore.) Democrat-Herald, came about because of an interview I did on NPR back in January after the Seale indictments.
A Delta Manhunt, With Booze and Guns
Federal authorities are investigating an Aug. 20 incident in which armed white citizens, using a military vehicle, helped search for an unarmed black burglary suspect in the Delta.