Eat Pray Love, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
EAT PRAY LOVE ***1/2 Just for the record, not all porn flicks are of the X-rated variety. More palatable for mass consumption are the films that qualify as “food porn,” works that show off delectable dishes in all their mouthwatering glory (e.g. Babette’s Feast, Julie & Julia). Then there’s the “travel porn” branch, efforts that…
The City regulates businesses to death
Editor, It looks like it’s going to be another stellar year for over–regulation by our local government. For those of you in the know, last year the city wanted private businesses to charge a cover charge for entering businesses during St. Patrick’s Day and hand the money over to the City of Savannah (in the…
Time for tax reform?
With state revenues plummeting and a stormy forecast predicted for the next several budget years, the newly formed Tax Reform Council convened for the first time at the end of July to begin the unenviable task of analyzing the state’s tax code. The eleven member committee consisting of economists and business leaders will create recommendations…
Mixed Bag
New products are beginning to trickle to market, early arrivals for the anticipated fall rush. Stay tuned for new flavored whiskeys, more new beer labels and what seems like an unending stream of new wine labels – and new offerings from familiar names. Back in Black A few weeks ago, I told you about a…
Random bites: Soul food
Paula Deen may still have ’em lined up around the block and Il Pasticcio may be selling out for Southern fried goodness, but the best Southern chow bar none in this county comes from the Soul food kitchens – big and small – that dot the landscape. From decidedly urban dives to suburban eateries -…
You don’t know Jack
When Jack Rebney had his meltdown, during the filming of an in-house video for Winnebago Industries, Ronald Reagan was in the White House, Johnny Carson was still hosting the Tonight Show, and Ben Steinbauer was in grade school. The year was 1988, and Rebney, a former CBS news producer with a no–nonsense, stentorian voice filled…
Hard times, but not all over
It’s a myth that hard times bring out the best in people. They don’t. It’s something we say to comfort ourselves, to find meaning in tribulation. But it’s not true. Hard times generally make what was already bad worse, and they tend to introduce new, unanticipated bad things into the mix. That’s why they call…
It’s never sunny in North Korea
It’s Never Sunny in North Korea • North Korea’s World Cup adventure began auspiciously with a hard-fought 2-1 loss to a superior Brazil team, leading the government to release photographs of the North Korean coach supposedly receiving long-distance telepathic strategy signals during the game from Dear Leader Kim Jong-Il. With the country’s hopes up, the…
The ol’ Oklahoma/railroad feud
In the Donald E. Westlake novel Drowned Hopes, character Tom Jimson says Oklahoma remained dry following the repeal of Prohibition and was so feisty about it that officials arrested a bartender serving drinks on a through train. In revenge, the passenger railroads pulled their trains out of Oklahoma, with the result that old railroad towns…
Exhibits & openings this week
Fashion in Focus – Photos and evening wear from the SCAD Museum collection, including original couture from some of the most famous names in fashion. Runs through Sept. 30. SCAD Museum, 227 MLK Jr. Blvd, http://www.scad.edu/scadmuseum From these Roots – An exhibit featuring hand-woven baskets from Canadian artist and filmmaker Clara Gough. Runs through Aug.…
John Mellencamp: No better than here
After thirty-some years in the public eye, and 40 million in album sales, John Mellencamp just isn’t interested in greasing the rock ‘n’ roll machine any more. His earliest hits, “Hurts So Good,” “Ain’t Even Done With the Night” and “Jack and Diane,” were textbook rock radio tunes – catchy choruses, big production, lots of…
Passafire, Trey Songz
PASSAFIRE At 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 13 Live Wire Music Hall, 307 W. River St. Still cruising at high altitudes on the considerable strengths of 2009’s Everyone on Everynight, Savannah’s melody-rich reggae/dub emissaries continue to tour the country’s swankier rock clubs and jam-band festivals. In fact, they just wrapped up their first go-round on the…
Mark your calendar: Savannah Jazz Festival
All these years after Morning Dance and Catching the Sun, two of the top pop/jazz fusion albums of the early 1980s, Spyro Gyra is still one of the most well-known groups in the genre. Saxophonist Jay Beckenstein and his cohorts haven’t exactly been tearing up the charts lately, but then again, instrumental pop/jazz doesn’t have…
It’s the bomb
A business owner on the eastside called police after he heard a loud explosion in the parking lot of his business. He went outside to see what had happened. A witness told police that it sounded like a shotgun had gone off at the back of the parking lot. It turned out to be a…
Where the wild things aren’t
My mom always called me a “noticer.” This summer, as I venture outdoors, I’m noticing that certain wild things – things I recall from dog days past – have gone missing. I’m no scientist, but I know what I don’t see. The clover growing in my lawn used to be a minefield of stinging honeybees…
News briefs
The LNG challenge Public Service Commission member H. Doug Everett issued a challenge to Atlanta Gas Light (AGL) and the El Paso Corporation to make Georgia one of the country’s leaders in Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fueling stations. “For the last twelve months I have been discussing various business models with AGL to construct the…
Burning man
End poverty? Bring about world peace? Cure cancer? Ted Batchelor’s personal goal isn’t so lofty. He wants to impress you by setting himself on fire. The 51–year–old native of Chagrin Falls, Ohio is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the Longest Full–Body Burn Without Oxygen (2 minutes, 38 seconds), and for Most People…
