Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Good Golly
Posted by Bruce Barry on Wed, Jan 31, 2007 at 8:46 PM
"It's hard to argue against cynics. They always sound smarter than optimists because they have so much evidence on their side."
- The unsinkable Molly Ivins, eloquent and outspoken voice for progressive politics and civil liberties, who died a few hours ago in Austin at 62. The Nation has a nice remembrance.
When Meatballs Go Bad
Posted by Jim Ridley on Wed, Jan 31, 2007 at 5:12 PM
Be on the lookout for a criminal wanted in connection with several suspicious packages in the Boston area. The suspect is considered round and dangerous.
William Gay: Don't Miss Him
Posted by Wayne Christeson on Wed, Jan 31, 2007 at 1:09 PM
William Gay is a scruffy and rumpled middle-aged man who lives in a single wide trailer outside rural Hohenwald (know where that is?). He has also become one of the lions of Southern literature over the past few years, after enduring almost 40 years of rejection. He has won a Guggenheim for his fiction and has held a Tennessee Williams fellowship at the University of the South at Sewanee. Clay Risen did an excellent profile of him in these pages in 2003.
Gay will be making a rare appearance on Saturday, 2/3, at Landmark Booksellers in Franklin. The fun starts at 3:00 p.m.
Landmark is at 114 East Main in Franklin and is well worth a visit itself. Specializing in things old and out of print, it has a vast collection of everything from an autographed Robert Penn Warren ($7,500) to copies of Shel Silverstein's hilarious children's books.
Be there.
Gay will be making a rare appearance on Saturday, 2/3, at Landmark Booksellers in Franklin. The fun starts at 3:00 p.m.
Landmark is at 114 East Main in Franklin and is well worth a visit itself. Specializing in things old and out of print, it has a vast collection of everything from an autographed Robert Penn Warren ($7,500) to copies of Shel Silverstein's hilarious children's books.
Be there.
Get Your Noir On @ The Belcourt: Kurosawa's High and Low
Posted by Mark Mays on Wed, Jan 31, 2007 at 12:34 PM
(Mild spoilers.)
Like TL said in comments on the San Francisco noir thread, tonight Nashville will have the opportunity to view a film-noir classic, Tengoku to Jigoku (a.k.a. High and Low). It's a sweaty pulp noir adapted from the American novel King's Ransom by one of the world's greatest directors, Akira Kurosawa.
Set against the cutthroat competition of early-1960s Japan, as the nation rose from post-war despair with the aim of becoming a world economic power, the movie is the story of Gondo, played with grim power by Toshiro Mifune. Gondo is one of Kurosawa's principled heroes who combats ignoble men: an executive in a Zaibatsu (big business) company rife with corruption. As he plans to gamble his life savings on a corporate takeover, a hard-luck criminal kidnaps a child he believes to be Gondo's son, demanding a hefty ransom equal to the amount of the buyout. As it turns out, the boy is the son of Gondo's chauffeur. Is the son of a poor man worth the ransom?
Like TL said in comments on the San Francisco noir thread, tonight Nashville will have the opportunity to view a film-noir classic, Tengoku to Jigoku (a.k.a. High and Low). It's a sweaty pulp noir adapted from the American novel King's Ransom by one of the world's greatest directors, Akira Kurosawa.
Set against the cutthroat competition of early-1960s Japan, as the nation rose from post-war despair with the aim of becoming a world economic power, the movie is the story of Gondo, played with grim power by Toshiro Mifune. Gondo is one of Kurosawa's principled heroes who combats ignoble men: an executive in a Zaibatsu (big business) company rife with corruption. As he plans to gamble his life savings on a corporate takeover, a hard-luck criminal kidnaps a child he believes to be Gondo's son, demanding a hefty ransom equal to the amount of the buyout. As it turns out, the boy is the son of Gondo's chauffeur. Is the son of a poor man worth the ransom?
Stand-up citizens
Posted by Carrington Fox on Wed, Jan 31, 2007 at 10:36 AM
The following update from the Downtown Partnership makes me feel safer already, but it also makes me giggle a little bit.
Sounds kind of fun, but if you'd rather tour Nashville by Segway without actually being responsible for law enforcement, check out the Segway Guided Tours Directory.
Segways Enhance Downtown Security
Look for more Segways on the sidewalks of downtown Nashville this year! The Nashville Downtown Partnership has added three new units which will be utilized by their Safety Ambassadors and Metro Police officers from the Central Precinct to patrol the downtown area more efficiently. Because of the Segway's platform height, the user has improved visibility. Other advantages include being able to cover a larger area, being perceived as more approachable, and improving the response time to urgent situations. Personnel using the units must first complete a training program.
Sounds kind of fun, but if you'd rather tour Nashville by Segway without actually being responsible for law enforcement, check out the Segway Guided Tours Directory.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Six-Layer Cakes
Posted by Liz Garrigan on Tue, Jan 30, 2007 at 2:17 PM
Hand it to Clement: he's raising a lot of dough for the mayor's race, however much of it a byproduct of the tired conventional wisdom that he's the guy to beat. His mouthpiece has alerted the media that his financial disclosure filing tomorrow will show more than $600,000 arm-twisted—I mean, raised—to date. With opponents Buck Dozier at $319,000 and Karl Dean at $156,000 (in Dean's case, over less than a month's time), it'll be interesting in particular to see what candidate David Briley, who's also been in the race only a relative nanosecond, has been able to muster so far. The only other major candidate, Vice Mayor Howard Gentry, showed a pitiful hand during last summer's financial disclosure period with less than $50,000 raised.
Still, given the huge disparity between how long Clement/Gentry/Dozier have been in the race and the fledgling candidacies of Dean/Briley, what they show during this reporting period isn't as important as it might seem. For 99 percent of Nashvillians, this race has yet to begin.
From Clement's camp:
UPDATE: Briley reports $126,000 raised, including a $20,000 loan from himself:
UPDATE II: From the Gentry camp: "The Howard Gentry For Mayor Campaign raised $101,543.45 during the July 1, 2006-Jan. 15, 2007 reporting period, according to the disclosure the campaign will file Wednesday with the Davidson County Election Commission. That brings the total raised so far to $155,593.45."
Still, given the huge disparity between how long Clement/Gentry/Dozier have been in the race and the fledgling candidacies of Dean/Briley, what they show during this reporting period isn't as important as it might seem. For 99 percent of Nashvillians, this race has yet to begin.
From Clement's camp:
Bob Clement is receiving overwhelming support in his campaign for Mayor. The Clement Campaign has great momentum and has raised more than $630,000 so far in this Mayor's campaign. Clement will file his disclosure on Wednesday morning. The report will show that Clement raised $300,949.59 this reporting period and has $475,881.00 cash on hand.
"I am encouraged and humbled to receive such broad support from the people of Nashville," Bob Clement said. "Nashville is a great and growing city but we can do better. My vision is to have an open and accessible Mayor's administration and to make our neighborhoods safer, and improve response times for police, fire and ambulance responders. I will also work every day to make our local schools better. Together, we will make Nashville an even better place for our children and grandchildren."
UPDATE: Briley reports $126,000 raised, including a $20,000 loan from himself:
"With over 700 people contributing to our campaign, we are confident that we are building a base of support that reaches across Nashville from Inglewood to Antioch," said Briley. "This campaign is a marathon, and with the extensive fundraising base and quality finance committee we've established we are in a position to run and win this race."
UPDATE II: From the Gentry camp: "The Howard Gentry For Mayor Campaign raised $101,543.45 during the July 1, 2006-Jan. 15, 2007 reporting period, according to the disclosure the campaign will file Wednesday with the Davidson County Election Commission. That brings the total raised so far to $155,593.45."
Would you like blood with that?
Posted by Jack Silverman on Tue, Jan 30, 2007 at 12:34 PM
According to Nashvillian William Hoover, employees at the Thompson Lane Wendy's have really been putting themselves into their work. Of course, the notorious finger in the Wendy's Chili incident proved to be a scam—instead of earning the perps a hefty settlement from Wendy's, it earned them lengthy jail sentences. Either way, it's a bloody shame.
It Takes Some Rocks
Posted by Liz Garrigan on Tue, Jan 30, 2007 at 10:44 AM
Out and About newspaper is reporting that "former State Sen. Jeff Miller (R-Cleveland), the man who sponsored the constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, has solicited lobbying business from the Tennessee Equality Project. Miller, who has a gay brother (Gregg), sent out the form letter from his law office in Cleveland, Tennessee."
January 23,2007
To Whom It May Concern:
After my retirement from the legislature, I am pleased to offer to you my services as a lobbyist. Following the requisite waiting period, one year...I will be extending the governmental relations division of my private practice in an effort to assist you and others in ensuring that legislation essential to the betterment of your business practices is supported and legislation to the detriment of your business practices is strongly opposed. After twelve years as a state senator, sitting on numerous committees, attending both regular and special legislative sessions, and serving as Chairman of the Senate Environment Committee and Caucus Chairman of the Senate Republican Caucus, I have not only had the opportunity to observe and participate in the legislative process, I have also met and formed strong relationships with so many individuals continuously involved in the process. I have worked closely with and become dear friends with many holding office and those who keep the wheels turning behind the scenes. Further, through countless leadership and legislative policy meetings with the executive branch, I have both gained first-hand knowledge of how policy decisions are made and become intimately familiar with the applicable rules of law and procedure that regularly present necessary hurdles that cannot be circumvented.
Two No. 2s Land
Posted by Liz Garrigan on Tue, Jan 30, 2007 at 10:25 AM
Both Dave Cooley, former deputy governor, and Bill Phillips, Mayor Bill Purcell's outgoing deputy, have announced they're starting their own consulting businesses.
From a Cooley press release:
And from Phillips in a mass email to his contact list:
From a Cooley press release:
Former Tennessee Deputy Gov. Dave Cooley has formed Cooley Public Strategies, and will operate the new consultancy as a subsidiary of Nashville public relations firm McNeely Pigott & Fox, it was announced today. Cooley will also serve as a principal of MP&F. "Cooley Public Strategies will provide assistance with problem solving, strategic planning and market positioning for private-sector companies and organizations," Cooley said. "I am also excited about reconnecting with my longtime colleagues at MP&F. Their depth of experience and talent from top to bottom provide the perfect platform for launching a more specialized consultancy."
And from Phillips in a mass email to his contact list:
Bill Phillips Company (how creative!) will be established on Thursday of this week. Creating the "public affairs strategies" consulting company is something I have thought about doing for years. I now have the opportunity to do so. After considering various names for a firm, I decided my product is me and my expertise, thus the name Bill Phillips Company.... I anticipate beginning with primarily Nashville-based clients but do anticipate involvement with at least one national organization in the near future and have an excellent possibility of working with other existing consulting firms on projects as well. And of course, I plan on leaving time to do my volunteer work with the International Republican Institute to assist emerging democracies around the globe."
Monday, January 29, 2007
Barbaro
Posted by Wayne Christeson on Mon, Jan 29, 2007 at 5:51 PM
Barbaro has died, in his prime and as a winner. Perhaps Housman said it best:
To an Athlete Dying Young
The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.
To-day, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.
Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears:
Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.
So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.
And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl's.
To an Athlete Dying Young
The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.
To-day, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.
Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears:
Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.
So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.
And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl's.
