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The Day the Music Died

A couple of mornings ago, I woke up and started my day as usual (making coffee, watching the news on TV, checking emails)

It's the Weekend!

On Saturday, Bright Lights, Belhaven Nights is at 5:30 p.m. at Carlisle Street and Kenwood Place behind McDade's in Belhaven.

Parties Push 'Nonpartisan' Judges

Mississippi has nonpartisan judicial elections in name, if not in practice.

Bloomberg: Obama's New Financial Plan

Per Bloomberg today:

Former Gov. Kirk Fordice Dead at 70

Here is a statement from his family, following by a statement from Gov. Haley Barbour: "It is with a sad heart that our family announces the death of Daniel Kirkwood Fordice. Our beloved father lost his battle with leukemia earlier today at University Medical Center in Jackson. Over the last several weeks as news of his illness spread, our father was buoyed by the supportive calls, letters, visits and prayers he received from Mississippians across the state. The people he served while in office served to lift his spirits during his final days. We would like to express our gratitude to all of those who have been so kind to our father and to our entire family over the years. "

Burning Bush: A Review of "Fahrenheit 9/11"

Perhaps the most controversial (and deservedly so) film so far this year is "Fahrenheit 9/11," a new release from Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore. Winner of last May's Golden Palm, the highest award of the Cannes Film Festival, it became the highest-grossing documentary in history in just one weekend. Now playing in modest wide release, the movie is currently showing in Tupelo and will open at the Tinseltown theater in Pearl Friday, July 2.

What's a Throw?

I have family all over Louisiana, so Mardi Gras usually happens for me every year. It has trained my hand to only procure the best of the throws.

Heather Wagner

Heather Wagner credits her mother, Jane Philo, with inspiring her career in victims' rights law. Now retired, Philo spent 23 years working with victims of domestic violence in Biloxi, and Wagner saw the results of abuse first hand. "When she came and picked me up from school, that's where I went, to the shelter," she says.

Patricia Wynn

Local artist Patricia Wynn's passion for life pervades everything she touches. Her artwork, volunteer efforts and the community in which she lives thrive under her care.

Mike Padilla

Mike Padilla, 20, a Millsaps College student—an actor, a director, a techie and an award-winning playwright—is involved in the theater at Millsaps on every possible level. Right now he's working backstage on "The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr: Abridged," which opens Aug. 25. Next up, he's directing Jean Anouilh's version of "Antigone." When I asked him when we could get together, he told me to "just stop by the theater any time, I'll be there pretty much all day." I finally caught up with him sitting at a makeup table in the dressing room at Millsaps, writing in his notebook. Surrounded by masks, wigs and witch hats, Padilla seemed entirely at home.

James Meredith

Talking to Mr. James Meredith is a right-brain experience. The conversation isn't linear, organized, disciplined. It jumps around to topics that the thin, intense grandfather is interested in at the very instant. As the 70-year-old Kosciusko native talks first about the legacy of slavery in Brazil (where he just visited); the need for people to "blend" in society; Ole Miss back in 1962 when he integrated the stubborn old institution; the oddity of growing older; and finally young people's need to work harder, you can easily see why his name ended up in lights. It's hard to imagine someone more unique, more creative, more daring, more willing to offend one or another status quo.

Jill Conner Browne

Mississippians are so used to being on the bottom that, without provocation, we'll take aim at our own feet and fire at will just to prove we can blow a damned toe off. That's my thought whenever I hear someone whine about how Mal's St. Paddy's Parade has gotten "too big," or balk at joining the thousands of tiara-ed and sequined "wannabes" who drive, fly and hitchhike into Jackson every March to eat, drink and be friggin' merry enough to last another 11 months or so. It is unfathomable to me that a single Jacksonian would take for granted what Jill Conner Browne has done for this city and its residents.

Willie McKennis

Casually dressed in a black blazer, white dress shirt and blue jeans, Willie McKennis has a full schedule. However, he takes a break to tell the story of his life.

Beth Poff

Beth Poff laughs her best laugh as she ponders the question, "What do you do in your spare time?"

André de Gruy

André de Gruy did not want to be a public defender when he came to Jackson for law school 20 years ago. But recently, as the top lawyer in the Office of Capital Defense Counsel, his proudest moment came while sitting in the audience at the exoneration of Kennedy Brewer.

Ruth Oguhebe

As she walks into the empty school library, 17-year-old Ruth Oguhebe smiles and reaches out for a hug before sitting down at a table and taking off her shoes.

Daniel Fuller

Daniel Fuller isn't your mama's English teacher. He knows getting students excited about 16th-century literature requires a little innovation.

Keith Tonkel

For going on 35 years, Keith Tonkel has been in the pulpit, serving the congregation and neighborhood of Wells United Methodist Church on Bailey Avenue. His office, on the second-story back corner over the parking lot, is filled with memorabilia and books tightly packed into floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and atop every surface except for the big wooden desk and where the blue iMac sits. An old cloth-covered armchair and black vinyl loveseat, both well-sat-in, provide seating for Tonkel and his many visitors.

Bryan Owen

Music has always been a strong force in Rev. Bryan Owen's life, thanks largely to the influence of his acoustic guitar-playing father.

Navonda Moore

Sitting in McAllister's Deli, with her hair pulled back and up, ponytail style, her elbows on the table and chin resting comfortably on her hands, Navonda Moore looks like an average teenager. She is not. After moving to Mississippi from Kankkakee, Ill., at age 8, Moore later played basketball for Hardy Junior High and Murrah High School. "I always wanted to be around basketball," she says, "but I didn't play organized ball until I was in the 7th grade. I realized I had natural ability, and I wanted to use it." She has. At Murrah she was named All State, three-time Dandy Dozen senior forward, state tournament MVP, and as a senior, she will play in the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Game March 22 in Alabama.

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