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Making Fair Food at Home

You might go for the extra-long corn dog, or choose an old favorite and navigate a Penn's chicken-on-a-stick. My favorite part of that stick of food is the fried pickles, but I digress. Or you might stick to consuming the sweets: funnel cakes and elephant ears made with lots of sugar, shortening and cinnamon. Any path you choose to take will likely lead you to a bit of a stomach-ache, but knowing that you got yourself into it on purpose might make you feel a bit better.

How I Stay Healthy

Carla Gayle Simpson, 24, is a fourth-year dental student at the University Medical Center. She takes classes six hours a week and sees patients from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. But even though she has a very busy and hectic schedule, she still manages to work out on a regular basis.

History as Art

The exterior of the spacious, charming house that sits directly across the street from a Jackson middle school is black. Inside James Luckett Powell's house, which was built in 1923, is a riot of color from the artifacts James has collected over the years. In the living room, there are dolls from other countries, fertility statues and stained glass windows. Art lines the wood-slatted walls. Clearly, both history and art are important to James.

With Great Power

I met my first super-hero—the amazing Spider-Man—when I was around 7 years old. I am 24 now and still keeping up with many of those same comics on a monthly basis. Like the Greeks and Romans, these characters—Batman, Superman, Flash, Spider-Man, the X-Men and thousands of others—comprise American mythology. Everyone knows Spider-Man, particularly after the first "Spider-Man" movie, directed by Sam Raimi, broke box-office records and was so well received by the public.

The Issues 2008

What's on your mind this election year? As the national media focus on the presidential horse race, and who's sprinting ahead, chances are good that these issues will crop up.

Never Say Die

I am surrounded by people with low back pain. It hurts to watch them—walking with that "can't stand up straight" shuffle, getting up from a chair and pausing to catch a breath, grimacing every time another searing pain shoots down their leg. Ouch. I remember it well.

Southern Hip-Hop

When Jabari Graham, 28, was laid off from his job as creative marketing manager at UniverSoul Circus in 2001, he took what money he had saved and organized an art show in Atlanta's Little Five Points. The success of that show grew into "Jack Daniel's art, beats + lyrics," an urban art exhibit currently touring the Southeast.

Bloom, Improv, Bloom

There is something happening in Jackson: Creativity has met community, and they are embracing.

No Safety Here

I wanted to like this book. I wanted to like this book about sticky Louisiana summers, lifelong friendships, severe Southern mamas and the vapid allure of Los Angeles.

Hoop Skirt Dreams

Damn. I'm having that dream again—you know the one with the Goo Goo cluster packages and kudzu floating around a lady in a hoop skirt. I think those are catfish logos, too, but I'm not sure. Maybe this time I can recall all the details when I wake up.

[Rev] A Bunch of Hell Raisers

Did you know that a car columnist recently won a Pulitzer Prize? His name is Dan Neil, and he writes for The Los Angeles Times. I told my mom, and now suddenly she's proud of me and my profession. Of course, Dan's in a different league. For instance, he probably got to attend the freaking New York City car show last week. The NYC show is the equivalent of the last few seconds of a Fourth of July fireworks display—automakers go all out to show off their new production vehicles, and pretend they are serious about various concept cars they've developed. It is the highest-attended car show in North America, and it's been going on for over a hundred years. It's the ultimate assignment! And I didn't get to go! Not enough money in the budget.

Chili to Share

Chili con carne is Spanish for chili with meat; it got started in Texas, and Texans think it's a crime to add beans to it. So says "The New Food Lover's Companion" (Barron's, 2001, $16.95).

Breakfast Worth Waking Up For

Nothing worth knowing about happens before noon; and if it does, someone will tell you about it. Thus, I carefully arrange my schedule to begin the awakening process around 11 in the morning. On the rare occasions I cannot avoid an early appointment, I follow a strict routine I recommend to all who wish to enter the day gently. The routine begins as my wife brings me a glass of fresh squeezed seasonal fruit juice while I am still in bed. As I shower, she fluffs my towel in the dryer (there is nothing worse than a cold towel) and irons my shirt so it, too, will be warm and fresh when I dress.

A Day in the Life of a Private School Kid

Youth Media Project

7:23 AM: Arriving at school, I remember it is Senior Skip Day, and park in the farthest area of the Junior parking lot, rather than at the gym where the Sophomores are supposed to park. I walk about what seems four miles to get to the library and print off my Chemistry lab worksheets, and then remember about my Hamlet test, which starts in eight minutes.

[Rev] Think Again

On Sept. 1, Ford announced that because of a sharp drop in sales last month its vehicles were piling up in the warehouses, and so they would cut back car and truck production by 7.8 percent. Around that same time, I was madly sending messages to Ford via the Rainforest Action Network (http://www.ran.org) that automatically composes letters like "Dear Mr. Ford: I am writing to express my deep concern about your company's disproportionate contribution to America's oil addiction and the global warming crisis."

A Tale of Redemption

Like most people, I'm sick and tired of Iranian abortionists having gay sex with flag-burning illegal aliens. Why hasn't Hollywood, America's No. 1 exporter of culture, done something about this by making a film about redemption and the power of completing a high school education and the importance of families?

Just Art, No Rules

Artist and community activist Teresa Haygood says it's not uncommon for a child to look up from their work In the middle of her mosaic classes and say to her, "Ms. T, I've never done an art project before."

Those Ever Elusive ‘Fish Stories'

Art: "Fisherman With Net" by Ron Lindsey

View Ron Lindsey's "Fish Stories" at Gallery 119, 3017 N. State St., 366-5141. The opening is Nov. 4 during Fondren ARTMix from 5 to 8 p.m.

Thoreau's Fire

True story: On April 30, 1844, Henry David Thoreau began the fire that eventually burned 300 acres of forest outside his home in Concord, Mass. He was never prosecuted for the act, but his neighbors shunned him for the next year, calling him "woods burner" behind his back.

Scorching Beauty

Blues melodies are gritty and rich with life's sorrows, just like the soil of the Delta; they haunt the listener long afterward. So does "Delta Blues," edited by Carolyn Haines (Tyrus Books, 2010, $17.95). An anthology of Delta storytelling featuring work from 20 authors, the volume captures the violent beauty of the Delta region.

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