Thursday, November 30, 2006
What a Marvel
Posted by Carrington Fox on Thu, Nov 30, 2006 at 3:49 PM
During the heaviest postal season of the year, kudos to Nashville's Table for its colorful and clever mailing announcing the annual Non Event fundraiser. The Non Event, which solicits funds based on the merciful premise that you don't have to go to a rubber-chicken banquet, relies on a catchy direct mail campaign. This year's inspired mailing takes the form of a comic book about a dastardly character named Landfill, who devours so much perfectly good food while many Nashvillians go hungry. While spoofing all the comic book cliches, including the goofy mail-order toys, it actually makes you want to read more about the generous work of Nashville's Table, which serves more than 1 million meals to hungry people each year.
Alums are Mad as Hell
Posted by Liz Garrigan on Thu, Nov 30, 2006 at 3:39 PM
Apropos the New York Times story today about the wages of struggling workers at Vanderbilt, a letter from a Vanderbilt alum is being circulated to Chancellor Gordon Gee and other alumni urging the education giant to do better by its employees.
As a Vanderbilt alum, this is embarrassing. Why should I give any money to the university when it won't pay its hardest-working workers a decent wage? In light of the $6M renovation of your home, it is not as if there is not enough money to go around. I question whether alumni contributions are being properly allocated to fulfill Vanderbilt's mission. How this situation ever got out of hand such that it would even make it to the NY Times is appalling. I'm sure you will agree with me that Vanderbilt does not have a plantation-mentality and has no intention of perpetuating this view. The NY Times article, however, does nothing to dispel this notion for the rest of the nation. I'm proud to have graduated from this University, but this is not a proud day in Vanderbilt's history or for your administration.
Please, no more corporate double-speak about the "almost infinite number of decisions about how to expend resources" that is Vanderbilt's excuse for why the housekeepers, gardeners, etc. should not be paid more. It is wholly unconvincing and lacks credibility and sincerity. The solution to this fiasco should be apparent but inexplicably has yet to occur -- Vanderbilt should pay these workers a decent wage by increasing their wages to meet or exceed the national average. Given that you are the 3rd highest paid university president in the nation, I think a comparable adjustment to these workers' pay is sensible - put them at the top 3% of the national hourly wage scale for their positions. Alternatively, perhaps Alumni Relations can start a Low-Wage Workers Fund so I and similarly concerned alumni can direct our alumni contributions directly to these workers to supplement their income.
On a final note, I'm suspending any current and future giving to the university until significant progress is made in this area, and I hope my fellow alums will do the same and/or voice their comments to you and the administration.
Fellow alums, feel free to pass this email along to other Vandy alums.
MNPS Balanced Calendar Update
Posted by Bruce Barry on Thu, Nov 30, 2006 at 2:59 PM
Look for results tomorrow from the Metro Schools telephone survey earlier this month polling parents about a possible switch to a "balanced calendar" for the 2008-09 school year. An MNPS spokesman says we can anticipate a news release and an update on the school system's website Friday.
The survey asked a single question: Do you prefer the existing "traditional" school calendar, or favor the proposed balanced calendar (school would start in July rather than August), or have no preference. MNPS officials won't yet say what the survey response rate is, but are indicating it was "much greater" than the 10,900 who responded to a paper survey on the same subject last winter (there are roughly 74,000 students in the system). The school board also learns the survey results for the first time tomorrow; it will choose a calendar for 2008-09 at its regular meeting on December 12.
The survey asked a single question: Do you prefer the existing "traditional" school calendar, or favor the proposed balanced calendar (school would start in July rather than August), or have no preference. MNPS officials won't yet say what the survey response rate is, but are indicating it was "much greater" than the 10,900 who responded to a paper survey on the same subject last winter (there are roughly 74,000 students in the system). The school board also learns the survey results for the first time tomorrow; it will choose a calendar for 2008-09 at its regular meeting on December 12.
Ann Tiley
Posted by Jim Ridley on Thu, Nov 30, 2006 at 2:56 PM
Many people know Ann Tiley from sight: she's often seen around town behind an easel, painting Hillsboro Village cityscapes and other landmarks. But for two decades the Nashville artist and singer-songwriter has issued tapes of homespun recordings that function almost as newsletters—updates about her travels and where and how she's living now. She's an integral part of the bohemian folk scene that coalesced around Springwater in the late 1970s, when artists like her hero Townes Van Zandt were still regulars: she's performed for more than 20 years in Springwater's fabled "Working Stiff Jamboree" alongside talents such as Tom House and her Cherry Blossoms comrades John Allingham and Peggy Snow.
Tiley has just released her 31st album, You're the One For Me, and like the others it's a collection of plain-spoken back-porch songs that commemorate milestones in her life at the moment—as large and public as Hurricane Katrina and the death of Rosa Parks, as small and private as the trip she took last year to Scotland, from which she emerged with newfound appreciation for Tennessee sun. She performs 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, at Bobby's Idle Hour on Music Row with her friends and collaborators Carole Edwards, Tim Jones, Al Wiseman, Dean Goodsell and Ted Stevenson.
Here's a taste of Tiley: a menu sampling of MP3s.
Local Bloggers Lose Arch Nemesis
Posted by Tracy Moore on Thu, Nov 30, 2006 at 2:45 PM
Finally, local bloggers can stop being outblogged by the sensationalist mystery blogger who blogged his way into our hearts and onto their blog shit lists. Where else could I have worked a variant of blog into that sentence? A moment of blog silence, anyone?
From Nemesisboy:
(Posted earlier on Nashville Cream)
From Nemesisboy:
Hello everyone, my name is Kate and I figured it was time to let everyone in on a big secret. "Nemesisboy" and the website (including all written and visual content) was a project for my Interpreting Media class at Volunteer State University. I set out to show my professor the power of the internet to entertain, inform, misinform, persuade, and so on. Needless to say, I got an A! I started out using the local music scene to reach out and write about (and enrage at times), and the idea of using a persona that seemed nearly illiterate and downright stupid was part of the study. It provided a buffer for the reasons behind some of the posts. I moved on to local news because I realized the importance and power of local media (including local papers) to the blog readers. All of the data that was collected is quite staggering (links, referrers, hit counts, search results, IP traces)! It also showed my professor the power of the internet and the power to persuade and falsly inform even Nashville's most "intelligent" web surfers. So......thanks for enjoying my project. I appreciate the hit counts! If you have any questions or further interest (or if you'd like a copy of my A+ paper via email) send an email to the contact address on the website. Thanks again!
Kate.
(Posted earlier on Nashville Cream)
Sucker Editorial(s) of the Week
Posted by Liz Garrigan on Thu, Nov 30, 2006 at 10:33 AM
We gave the paper a bye on their John Kerry editorial and subsequent mea culpa a few weeks ago, but yesterday's Tennessean editorial entitled, "High bar for charters" represented perhaps the least informed and naive writing we've seen on that page in a while. Defending the notion that three recent charter school applications were summarily rejected in a process rife with imperfections and possible illegalities, the piece said, "Metro schools should be commended for their insistence on innovation that does not sacrifice excellence." Perhaps the Tennessean editorial board doesn't understand which kids get to attend charters: the ones who now go to quantitatively failing schools. For those kids, there's no excellence in sight. Meanwhile, there's a well documented bias against reform efforts within Metro schools.
Meanwhile, Clint—and I say this lovingly—you and Dr. Frist should really get a room.
Meanwhile, Clint—and I say this lovingly—you and Dr. Frist should really get a room.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
magnolia blossoms
Posted by Jim Ridley on Wed, Nov 29, 2006 at 12:28 PM
You've gotta love the folks at Magnolia Pictures, who've rescued some of the coolest overseas genre films of recent years—including the martial-arts epics Ong-Bak and District B13 and the original Japanese Pulse—and brought them to the attention of U.S. audiences. They're about to release Bong Joon-ho's excellent The Host, a Ray Harryhausen-meets-Jaws shocker from South Korea that features the most fearsome movie monster since Alien. It won't reach Nashville until next year (maybe at the Belcourt), but CHUD has the trailer to start horror fans salivating. (Big plus: the trailer is red band—for restricted audiences only!)
Now comes word via ScreenGrab that Magnolia has picked up Wisit Sasanatieng's Tears of the Black Tiger, a boldly stylized Thai Western that was thought to be out of commission. A hot item on international DVD sites, it was made in 2000 and acquired by Miramax for U.S. distribution. Instead, the company prepared a chopped-up version for American audiences, only to shelve it indefinitely. Magnolia has the rights now, and the movie's booked for a January slot at New York's Film Forum—which means it has a good chance of reaching Nashville by early spring. What's the big deal? Watch.
awwww
Posted by Jim Ridley on Wed, Nov 29, 2006 at 10:59 AM
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sen. Bill Frist has officially abandoned his aspirations for the 2008 presidential race. According to the WSJ's David Rogers, Frist said he wants a "sabbatical from public life" but did not rule out a future presidential run. "I really do need to re-energize in terms of who Bill Frist is," Frist said of himself in the third person.
According to the WSJ, that leaves 2008 GOP hopefuls such as Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani and New York Gov. George Pataki, among others. Let the chirping of crickets commence.
According to the WSJ, that leaves 2008 GOP hopefuls such as Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani and New York Gov. George Pataki, among others. Let the chirping of crickets commence.
The doctor is out
Posted by John Pitcher on Wed, Nov 29, 2006 at 10:50 AM
It's official: Bill Frist released a statement saying he won't run for president. It seems he never really had a chance against guys like McCain and Giuliani in the first place. Thoughts?
Folkways Records and Nashville Sit-Ins
Posted by Collin Wade Monk on Wed, Nov 29, 2006 at 10:19 AM
The Smithsonian Folkways website has a great podcast on the history of Folkways Records and its founder/owner Moses Asch. While there a few howlers, such as "...SENATOR Joseph McCarthy and his HOUSE Un-American Activities Committee," it gives a clear picture of Asch, his accomplishments and faults. Of local interest is Episode 14: Music and the Winds of Change: The Civil Rights Movement. There is a section on the Nashville Sit-Ins starting at 36:00, including music and period interviews with Peggy Alexander, who took part in the protest and with Greenville Pitts, who is described as "the manager of a large department store in Nashville."
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