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Beyond Borders

A Review of "The Constant Gardener"

In a spy movie without a spy, the bravest and most heroic figure is dead after the very first cut. At the beginning of "The Constant Gardener" (which the Crossroads Film Society screens Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Parkway Place Theater on Lakeland Drive), we see the heroine bidding farewell to her husband at the airport, then director Fernando Meirelles jumps us to a wrecked Land Rover spinning its wheels in the cracked red mud of a desolate lake bed. It's in northern Kenya, but the place looks as remote as the moon. The only sign of life is a flock of white birds that takes off, circles, and settles—unperturbed by death, like the rest of Africa. The dead woman—and there's no suspense about her fate—is Tessa (Rachel Weisz), recently married to midlevel diplomat Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes). Stationed in Nairobi, he's the polite, decent face of what's left of the British colonial presence in Kenya. To his superiors, however, that country's just another market—populated with guinea pigs, not lions.

Bananas and Peanuts

Buff, good-looking Rus Blackwell lay on the floor like an overturned bug, feet flailing in the air. Wild-eyed, Turner Crumbley was on his knees staring intently at Blackwell's crotch. "Push, push!" Crumbley demanded.

Write Your Own History

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich knows a thing or two about women. Whether misbehaved or well mannered, daring or demure, naughty or nice; every one of us deserves a podium from which we can broadcast our voices.

The 'Dirty' South

Another wrinkle for Mississippi Power Co.'s Kemper County power plant came last week as the company announced it had terminated a contract with a joint venture of KBR and W.G. Yates & Sons Construction, which was working on part of the $2.8 billion project.

TEST DRIVE: Hunting Hybrids

When Mr. K—Ms. D's brother—is in town, he and I have a tendency to disappear for hours at a time. If you happen to reach me by cell phone during one of our excursions, you'd likely find that we're in a new vehicle from a local dealership, one of us manning the controls while the other peppers the hapless salesperson with questions about the mileage, the engine's power, the quality of materials, the mindset of the workers who built the car, the exact chemical composition of the flecked plastic dashboard insets …

Symbiotic

Green is en vogue, and I don't mean the color. Sporting purses and jewelry made from recycled materials, celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Christina Applegate, Sienna Miller and Katherine Heigl are donning not just designer labels but eco-friendly and socially conscious accessories. Sometimes I've questioned movie-star trends, but influencing us with forward-thinking green fashion is a good thing.

Hurry Up And Wait

No one with the fortitude to support the New Orleans Saints for any appreciable amount of time is a stranger to sitting through the NFL's Wild Card Weekend with unspecific, non-wager-based rooting interest. In that sense, last weekend was typical of the first football weekend of any new year: plenty of postseason action, none of it wearing black and gold.

Shower Power, ‘Loving the Homeless Back to Life’

Shower Power founder Teresa Renkenberger came up with the idea of converting a food truck into showers for the homeless while she was having a conversation with a homeless friend.

Grrrl Justice at JSU, Virtual Learning at USM and Suicide Prevention Symposium at MSU

The Margaret Walker Center at Jackson State University and JSU’s student organization Gathering Information Related to Ladies are partnering to host a screening and panel discussion of the short narrative film “Grrrl Justice” on Friday, Sept. 18, at 6 p.m.

Wright's Foundation Car Raffle, Season of Wishes at the Outlets and Children's of Mississippi Toy Drive

Derick Wright, founder and chief executive officer of Jackson-based nonprofit Wright's Foundation for Better Communities, is holding a holiday car raffle until Dec. 23.

James Meredith Plans Museum and Bible Society in Downtown Jackson

James Meredith, the first Black person to graduate from the University of Mississippi, has set his eyes on another goal of building a personal museum in the next year, as well as starting a global Bible society.

Azia's Picks 2-5-21

I challenge us all to take our learning and including Black history to a deeper level this year. Do some private research into the rich history of Mississippi and maybe find a new Black hero or shero to learn more about or to simply be inspired by.

USM Women's History Month Events, JSU EnRICH Program and MSU Virtual Workshop

The Committee on Services and Resources for Women at the University of Southern Mississippi is sponsoring a series of activities throughout March in recognition of Women’s History Month.

USM Hosting StoryWalk, JSU Class of 1970 Commencement and MSU Film Award

The University of Southern Mississippi's School of Library and Information Science will host a literacy and physical activity-themed event called StoryWalk on Saturday, May 22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hattiesburg Pocket Museum.

District Donuts in Belhaven, AmeriCorps Classes, BeastCore Fitness and Jackson Public Pools

The Belhaven Town Center recently announced that New Orleans-based District Donuts Sliders Brew will take over the space that formerly housed Campbell's Craft Donuts during summer 2021.

'Disappointed in Jackson': Woman Lost Home to Fire, Blames Slow Fire Dept. Response

Carolyn Johnson, a nursing assistant, lost all her belongings to a fire outbreak in her home on Burton Street on the night of Thursday, June 17, 2021. She blamed the slow response of the Jackson Fire Department for her loss.

Dribble Drive Motion

Starting this Thursday, Ole Miss begins a 12-game run that will determine its seeding in the SEC Tournament. After playing Auburn and Arkansas, a highly anticipated matchup against John Calipari's top-ranked Kentucky team looms for Andy Kennedy's squad. Ole Miss is ranked 22nd and appears to be the strongest team Kentucky will face in their conference.

Hagel: U.S. Rethinking Possibly Arming Syrian Rebels

The Obama administration is rethinking its opposition to arming the rebels who have been locked in a civil war with the Syrian regime for more than two years, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday, becoming the first top U.S. official to publicly acknowledge the reassessment.

Antibiotics in Your Organic Apple?

When people think of organics, they think that the food they buy is free from synthetic chemicals of any kind. However, as noted in a recent article in ACRES USA magazine, organic apples and pears may be treated with antibiotics.

Times Have Changed

The mall was the largest shopping venue in the state. I was proud to be part of it.

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