Advertisement
← Back to issues

September 8, 2005

Vol 3 • No 34

'Gardener' has a green thumb

The problem with Hollywood’s thrillers these days is that they aren’t really thrillers. Hitchcock made thrillers — tightly wound little puzzles of fear and logic, maybe with an evil henchman or three thrown in to keep everything interesting. These days w

The most inept

If there had been lingering doubt, Hurricane Katrina invested President George W. Bush with the title finally of the most inept administration in national history. Either that, or the least caring.

Check that gift horse

Somebody has to look in the mouth of a gift horse – a bonus pay experiment in the Little Rock School District. The Little Rock School Board is set to vote today (Sept. 9) on using its own money to continue a bonus plan for teachers at Meadowcliff Elemen

What's cooking-Capsule reviews

What's cooking: Poncho's Villa; Barking Frog. Capsule reviews: Seasons in the Heights; Bruno's.

The ultimate to-do list

Usually in this space I try to highlight something new — a recently opened store, a big sale, a product we haven’t been able to buy locally before. But last week I came across something at the Design Center that I have fallen so in love with that even

The Observer Sept. 8

New Orleans is — or was — the home of the national headquarters of ACORN, and the organization that advocates for low- and moderate-income people shares in the disaster that struck the city. “We’re looking for our staff,” Neil Sealy of Little Rock, head o

Bruce James calls the Hogs

God forbid we lose to Vanderbilt, but we didn't look good last week.

This Modern World Sept. 8

The Insider Sept. 8

We want to memorialize Republican gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson’s shining moment on national TV last week.

Editorial cartoon Sept. 8

Letters Sept. 8

Because I am a woman who seemingly has nothing better to do than cruise Central Arkansas (most likely in search of a shopping mall) with a cell phone happily glued to my ear, I may not have a full grasp on the argument in William Carlyle’s recent letter t

Why, I oughta ...

Things go from bad to worse. The wicked prosper. A-holes rule. More than 60 percent of us know the score now, but we also know it’s too late. Too long we were the three monkeys covering eyes, ears and yap. While we worried that the terrorists would w

Poor, pitiful them

There is a movement in America, financed by the radical rich, to eliminate all taxes on wealth and income from wealth. If it succeeds, the non-rich, the people who sweat for a living, will have to pay more in taxes to make up the difference.

Could we see Elton back again?

The last guy we’d figure for any “ambulance chasing,” so to speak, would be Alltel Arena general manager Michael Marion. But anyone would have to expect Marion to say yes if promoters from the New Orleans area came calling with dates and great acts in han

Words Sept. 8

In a hospital trade publication, Jeremy Peppas saw: “But most reporters are hardworking schnooks trying to support their families. They are good, decent, honest and fair-minded. Some few reporters are exceptional human be

Smart Talk Sept. 8

The announcement that wildly conservative commentator Ann Coulter will speak at the predominantly black Philander Smith College in Little Rock prompted us to look up some of Coulter’s more memorable quotes.

Orval Sept. 13

Left behind

It was only a matter of time before poor people in this country got it, but good. Back during the 2000 presidential election, when Al Gore tried to talk about issues relating to the growing disparity between the rich and poor, George W. Bush accused

‘Losing New Orleans’

Four months before it happened, I described for a New York editor, in detail and with stunning accuracy, the tragedy that is now unfolding in New Orleans. I say this, not to sound especially visionary, but to add my voice to the chorus demanding accou

By request

The Bob Boyd Sounds can take you back to a time of crystal chandeliers and velvet curtains, when well-coifed and well-dressed gentlemen crooners ruled the stage, but the group can also cover other eras as well. Check the band at the Afterthought on Monday

TV highlights

HURRICANE RELIEF TELETHON 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8 AETN (Comcast Ch. 3, Broadcast Ch. 2) While it might have been easy to think, just a few weeks ago, that disaster was something that only happened to other people, far a

More picks Sept. 8-14

Hot Springs Jazzfest, Kurt Weill music and a hunter's expo are among the week's attractions.

Traveling circus

It may feel frivolous to go to an art exhibit with a circus theme as the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina takes hold in our lives. But it was her own brush with death that inspired Minnesota artist Judy Onofrio to create the installation, “Judy Onofrio: Come

Good downtown Mex

Nearly neck and neck with the rise in Arkansas’s Latino population seems to be the number of Mexican restaurants in the state. Every time we turn around, there’s another Tex-Mex place springing up, each one declaring the freshness and authenticity of its

More 'Arkansas Folksongs'

The “Anthology of Arkansas Folksongs” is an annotated two-CD set packed with dozens of artists and songs — but it still represents less than 1.5 percent of the collection from which it’s drawn. The anthology, released by the Center for Arkansas and Region

Consolidation means fewer black school board members

The state-required consolidation of small Arkansas schools has resulted in a substantial decrease in the number of black school board members in those areas where the consolidations occurred, as well as a reduction in the number of black administrator

The week that was Aug. 31-Sept. 6

IT WAS A GOOD WEEK FOR … ARKANSAS. With open arms, volunteers welcomed a horde of people left homeless by Hurricane Katrina.

Witt to the rescue

Do you know where that ex-Arkansas county judge from Dardanelle is today who helped restore 370 cities in 50 states struck by catastrophes? He’s in Baton Rouge, where the governor of Louisiana has hired him to bring New Orleans back to life.

Katrina benefits set

Special events to aid the victims of the hurricane that hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are coming up this week. Here’s a list:

The Rep turns 30

Robert Hupp, the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s producing artistic director, brings together six regional theater veterans in the kickoff play of the Rep’s 30th anniversary season: Robert Harling’s “Steel Magnolias.”

More picks Sept. 15-21

Big stuff around the state: A jazz fest at Eureka Springs; BBQ and music in Pine Bluff; native singer Iris Dement will be at the Ozark Folk Center; and, in Little Rock, a big fish fry and a family event at the Little Rock Zoo.
Advertisement