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W-O-M-E-N: In Mississippi, Are Girls On The Side?
Just a generation ago, most Mississippi women were facing an M.R.S. degree. "In 1969, graduating from Millsaps, your choice was to become a teacher or a nurse or go to grad school so that you could make more money as a teacher," Linda Montgomery explains. "It was always, 'Get a job that you can fall back on,' which meant in case your marriage didn't work out. It was, of course, assumed that you would get married."
Intent to Ravish
Like so much of Mississippi culture, its laws concerning sex crimes harken back to a hypothetically more genteel time when ladies swooned and men did not use curse words in their presence. The states' rape statutes use vague, anachronistic words such as "ravish," "chaste" and "buggery" instead of rape, virgin and anal intercourse.
Honoring Our Soldiers: Are Mississippi Lawmakers Doing Enough?
Mississippi is paying dearly with our soldiers' lives in the Iraqi War. Since the war began in March 2003, at least 37 servicemen from Mississippi have lost their lives. In fact, Mississippi currently ranks fifth in the nation in per capita loss of servicemen.
Holga Happiness
Throughout our relationship, my boyfriend Mason and I have photographed our road trips and special dates with cheap disposable camera film. This tactic occasionally results in grainy and out-of-focus pictures, but it also consistently yields dazzling, comical images.
Noise and Pulse, by Scott Albert Johnson
Every shaman knows that, at the very heart of the universe, there lies an inexorable, joyous pulse. As the late Nigerian percussionist and drumming scholar Babatunde Olatunji once put it: "We say that rhythm is the soul of life, because the whole universe revolves around rhythm, and when we get out of rhythm, that's when we get into trouble."
[Gigs] From Ole Miss to Al Jazeera
Annie Kate Pons knows the South. The Old Miss grad was born in Hereford, Texas, the beef capital of the world, and her dad was a cattle rancher. A committed Christian, she used to work for Fox News in Washington, D.C. Now she works for Al Jazeera English, a 24-hour television channel, broadcast by satellite to 100 million households worldwide.
A Vegetarian's Cafeteria Survival Guide
It's noon on your first real day of classes, and you can't remember a time you were this hungry. You could eat a horse, if eating horse wasn't against your personal dietary code of ethics. You approach the cafeteria with a dangerous sense of hope—excited to sample one of the many vegetarian options promised in your registration pamphlet. No more brown sack lunches, you tell yourself, you're in college, where they understand the needs of a vegetarian.
Some Thoughts on the 2007 Elections
With the March 1st filing deadline fast approaching, I don't see any evidence that any well-known Democrat has emerged to make a viable challenge to Haley Barbour. A channel surf to WJTV TV-13 a few minutes ago made this especially clear to me. The three announced D candidates are:
Whip It Good
Watching George Glass demonstrate his skill with a bullwhip, I was convinced that I could grow to enjoy this sport. On eBay I could find myself an inexpensive whip, then I could order some videos from Western Stage Props: "Whip Cracking Made Easy" and "Whip Cracking Made Easy—Part Two," finally working my way up to "No Bull Whip Cracking"—a study of over 30 advanced whip cracking techniques." For now, though, Glass—a 57-year-old insurance man who lives in Ridgeland with his wife, Sherrie, a music teacher at Northwest Middle School—is my best bet for hands-on whipping.
Post Offices Safe Until May 15
The U.S. Postal Service is in what one might call a tough spot. Since people learned how to pay bills online, parents learned how to tweet baby pictures and companies discovered pop-up ads, the centuries-old agency has tried to cope with lowered revenues by raising stamp prices, moving services online and making cuts.
No Stoplight for Bubba
With his stiff blue collar and black-rimmed glasses, state Rep. Randy "Bubba" Pierce looks and smiles just like a politician. When we spotted him at the Neshoba County Fair, he was standing inside a horseshoe of similarly dressed men, addressing all of them at once. They seemed to be entranced by his words. Later, he said, "I speak impromptu, from the heart. I don't script myself. I like to talk to people, not speak at them." He has not written a speech so far in his political career, he said, including the one he gave that morning at the Fair.
] Getting It Done
About a month ago, I admonished up-and-coming artists to embrace the concept of free music. The argument was simple: Free music makes it easier for artists to disseminate their product to as many people as possible. Exposure is the new currency.
Reducing Energy Costs
The U.S. Department of Energy ranks Mississippi 30th in the nation for electricity consumption; we're ninth in residential per capita electricity consumption, 38th in the amount of homes heated with natural gas and 42nd in per capita natural-gas consumption.
Eating in the Moment
Eating healthy means different things to different people. My wife and I, for example, cook nearly every meal using as many fresh ingredients as possible. For us, this is ideal, but it can't work for everyone.
[Mott] I Surrender
My sister Inga was a Diet Coke junkie. She kept spare quart bottles of the stuff in reserve so she wouldn't run out. If you saw her out and about, chances are she had a Diet Coke in her hand; it was a fixture, like "Weeds" Nancy Botwin's ubiquitous Starbucks iced coffee.
Evolve My Mind
I have always measured the quality of my education against what my father taught me. School bored me mostly, but having a conversation with Papa rarely did. He was a natural teacher of philosophy, political science and history. He peppered his lectures with anthropology, science and economics.
On the Water
David Moore is a hard guy to miss. Driving up in his red SUV, the two kayaks on top draw your eyes automatically. Even more striking is Moore himself, who, at 48, is built like a 20-year-old. Moore is a New Jersey transplant who is discovering Mississippi's kayaking and canoeing world.
[Halloween] Cool Costumes and General Stupidity
For adults like me, Oct. 31 is a great day. And, no, it's not because my youngest son will turn 26 that day and thankfully be too old for the draft Dubya assures us will not ever happen. (Talk about scary.) It's because Oct. 31 is Halloween, a chance for adults to create costumes, to frighten others and to get scared silly—all in fun.
[Ladd] Just As I Am
I was baptized when I was 13 in a Southern Baptist church in Neshoba County. I wasn't particularly spiritual; there was more anger and selfishness and confusion in my heart than love. I couldn't have been ready to live a godly life; I didn't know what it meant. I just walked down the aisle because everybody else was doing it.
The Past Lives On
The heart of the historic Farish Street district follows North Farish Street from Amite to Fortification streets. The street is named for Walter Farish, a former slave who lived on the northeast corner of Davis and what is now Farish Street. The district is on the National Register of Historic Places.