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Books for Mom
Getting any gift for Mom is always a daunting task. It's either classy or sassy, depending on her style. So why not get her a book? It can appeal to both sides, and do and learn something new on her special day.
Jazz Supreme, by Andy Saje
For many, seven is a lucky number, representing good fortune. In jazz, the seventh chords are one of the essential building blocks of improvisation. In downtown Jackson, Seven* is the latest urban jazz café. And for Seven*'s proud owner Ezra Brown (also a jazz musician), the seventh letter of the alphabet represents God—whom Brown credits as the inspiration behind his latest creation.
Letting a Little Luck In
What do good-looking men, lentils, no housework and kissing all have in common? According to superstition, they all bring good luck in the new year.
[Wine] Viognier ... What is That?
In the quest to discover wine, many of us peruse our favorite package stores and restaurant wine lists for new things to try. Every now and then something pops up that makes us wonder, "What on earth is that?" Viognier, to the novice wino, is one of those things.
The Artist and the Councilman
Photograph by Jessica Kinnison
Mid-afternoon on New Years Eve, Ward 1 City Councilman Ben Allen is finishing an eight-year run on the Jackson City Council, and artist William Goodman is heading toward his first major exposition in New York City. Worlds apart, Allen surfs through introductions with his gold wedding ring resting against the crease of his jeans, leaning back in his chair just as he does in City Council meetings. The purple acrylic paint on Goodman's fingernail looks bold against the green grapes, as he grabs another from the bag he brought with him to the interview.
JPS to Hold Town Hall Meetings
Correction: The date for the second set of town hall meetings has been corrected below.
Is Jackson a [Good] College Town?
Image by Ken Patterson
Forget Boston, it's too far away. Baton Rouge, too. Hell, forget Oxford and Starkville while you're at it. Home to five major colleges (Belhaven, Jackson State, Millsaps, Mississippi College and Tougaloo) and several junior colleges (Holmes, Hinds), the Jackson area is where you want to be as a student, relishing the best years of your life. Right?
Living Within Your Means
"Live within your means," a female voice forcefully asserted over the radio waves one morning as I was making the daily commute from Jackson to Clinton for class.
Gifts That Matter
Every time I pick up my mail these days, I get a half-dozen pleas from non-profits and charities to send money. Unfortunately for them, it was last year that I had the cushy big-corporation management job. This year is going to be different.
DRIVE: ‘Ion: Say It With Me'
Every week our car-shopping adventure starts out pretty much the same. We have the best of intentions, planning a Car Driving Day soon after the most recent JFP has been printed and distributed. That's the day we promise—really swear—to go to another dealer and see another car.
[Stiggers] Hope and Ambition
Greetings, fellow hustlers. Welcome to the 'Work from Home without a Place to Live Entrepreneur and Job Search Seminar'—co-sponsored by the 'Lord Have Mercy We Really Need Work to Pay Our Bills Center for the Unemployed' and the 'Compensatory Investment Request Training and Development Support Group, L.L.C.
Party On, Big Ben
In case you haven't heard, the Pittsburgh Steelers are playing the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL on Sunday. Doctor S doesn't know if the Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is going to play like a champion, but dude definitely knows how to party like a champion. Hopefully he and Keith Richards can get together while they're both in Detroit.
Luck of the Draw
Every Sunday morning, the glorious sound of hymns fills the sanctuary of Northminster Baptist Church in Jackson. Behind every great choir, there's a great choir director, and at Northminster, it's Timothy "Tim" Coker.
[ArtTalk] The Fire This Time
Art piece by Ji Wan Joo
I'm not from Mississippi, but I have lived here off and on for enough years that I have a certain attachment to the state. I was lucky enough to attend a rather fine state university located in Mississippi, thus creating an even stronger bond. I happened to take a few classes in art history and ceramics. I assume that due to our locale there was considerably more emphasis placed on people like the Mad Potter of Biloxi than there might have been if we were in another state. I was also fortunate enough to get to hold in my hands a piece made by the Mad Potter and feel the delicacy and surprising lack of heft. This moment left a mark in my mind that none of my pottery ever came close to matching and also cemented lightness and delicacy as a sign of quality ceramics.
Women Speak Out
We asked JFP readers and domestic-abuse victims to share their stories. Here are a couple of the many responses we received. I always thought I was too strong, smart and grounded to be caught up in the cycle of domestic violence, but here I am. The funny thing is, while I was with my abuser, I defended him. I lied to myself and made excuse after excuse for his behavior, not because I condoned it, but because I didn't understand the subtleties of domestic violence.
Learning Early
Becoming a girl-about-town takes years of practice. Case in point: I vividly remember the pair of high heels that get credit for training me so that today, I can navigate anything in stilletos. They were purple snakeskin and lived in my neighbor's dress-up box filled with treasures from the Junior Auxillary's thrift shop. And they were fabulous. I teetered around in them at least three times a week from the ages of about 6 to 9.
Just a Jump to the Left
It's not exactly the '80s again. But there is a time warp-theme in Jackson theater right now (no, not Rocky Horror) with lots days-gone-by fare offered this spring. If you want a weekend with a truly historic feel, head on down to the river city for the Vicksburg Theater Guild's production of "Our Town" about early 1900s small-town life.
Welcome, New Jacksonians
Fact: Jackson is a college town. The metro area is home to eight colleges and universities plus a few technical schools. Despite the popular (and false) saying of "there's nothing to do in Jackson," people flock here for their education, swelling the city's population by 30,000 to 40,000 people. There are plenty of places to go and things to see, some of which are free.
A Journey to the Center of the Mind
Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer-Prize award-winning 1930s drama, "Our Town," is not just a play, but a spiritual voyage. The stage is barren, except for a row of chairs, and dialogue is often spoken atop ladders that represent houses.
Tonight: Childer's Tele-Town-Hall Meeting
Blue Dog Democratic Rep. Travis Childers announced yesterday that he will be holding a town-hall meeting via telephone tonight at 7:20 p.m. The congressman will make opening remarks, after which he will take questions from participants regarding the health care reform plans currently under debate.