SCENE: LOS DIAS DE LA NUEVA SOUTH

As Halloween draws to a close tonight attention will turn to Los Dias de los Muertas. Marigolds, paper mache calavera masks, candles, pan de muerto, tobacco, liquor, photographs, fruit, and sweets will adorn home altars and cleaned, painted and decorated cemetery graves. A few days ago, my friend Mark posted photos of freshly crafted sugar skulls to his Facebook profile. He lives in Charlotte, NC where the folks at Pura Vida Worldly Art are gearing up for a celebration to welcome the returning souls of the dead with art & music. With the Hispanic/Latino population growing faster in much of the South than anywhere else in the United States I have wondered for a while if Day of the Dead traditions have migrated along with our "new" neighbors over the years. The concept is, afterall, not really that foreign to the region to begin with...

photo credit here and below: Karen Singer Jabbour - click image for more info

The Driveby Truckers released an album called Decoration Day in 2003 but I had no idea what those words meant until I met Mrs. Bobbye Wade of Old Dora, a defunct mining town about 30 miles NW of Birmingham, AL. I had visited Old Dora in late spring and noticed that the graves in the cemetery on the hill above town were decorated with bunches of brightly colored plastic flowers. She explained that Decoration Day has just passed.

There is some debate about the who, what, when and where in regards to the history of Decoration Day but below is a remembrance that Bobbye has been kind enough to share:

In the South, Decoration Day is a day of Remembrance. The graveyard or cemetery had to look nice for Decoration Day. It was a matter of pride and duty for the people of Scotch/Irish, Scottish, Irish, English and German descent who had migrated into the hills and mountains of the Old South.

On a designated day, families would arrive at the graveyard with shovels, hoes, and rakes which they used to remove unwanted grass and weeds and to mound up the graves. Some families brought clean sand to spread on the cleaned graves. Many graves only had a rock at the foot and head as markers. Some had stone houses/boxes built over them and some had tent-shaped structures of stones/rocks covering them. I was told it was to keep wild animals from digging into the graves.

The families would stop for a bite of lunch and reminisce about those who had gone on before. They also caught up on who had married since last year, died or had a baby. There was a lot of whispering going on about family secrets that no one dared say aloud. The women would discuss what they were bringing for the dinner on the ground.

Usually, the biggest Decoration Day was the 2nd Sunday in May which was also Mother's Day. The families dressed in their finest Sunday clothes. That was the day that the local churches would have the largest number in attendance for the whole year.

The families arrived early Sunday morning to place the flowers on the graves before Church services began. The Mother was a walking "oral Historian" and she could identify every grave. Many of the Mothers would bring baskets of flowers from their gardens. She and the children would place flowers on forgotten graves .Then the whole family would file into the church building and fill up a whole row. Sometimes, there would be as many as five generations on a given row. Flowers would be given to the oldest mother and the youngest mother in attendance. Also, there were flowers for the mother that had the most children and for the mother that had the most children in attendance with her.

After the preaching service ended, the people would file out of the church, the men would set up rows of makeshift tables, and the ladies would spread table clothes over them. With those in place, the ladies would load the table down with fried chicken, chicken and dressing, chicken stew, baked ham, fried country ham, fried pork chops, kraut and wieners, peas, beans, creamed corn, corn on the cob, fried okra, boiled okra, collard greens, turnip greens, mashed potatoes, boiled potatoes, carrots and peas, potato salad, Jello salad, pickled beets, pickled peaches, spiced apples, banana pudding, peach cobbler, blackberry cobbler, apple pie, pecan pie, chocolate pie, lemon pie, coconut cake, chocolate cake, caramel cake and iced tea by the gallons. You can see why it was called a "groaning board" but mostly it was the people who overindulged that were groaning.

That was Decoration Day until a few years. After World War II, when everyone was able to buy a car, things started changing...People moved away from the community. Very few people still clean their family plots. Now there is perpetual care. The Veterans of Foreign Wars come in early, salute each veteran's grave and place an American Flag on his/her grave. A lot of families place the flowers on the graves on Saturday evening. Those who live far away send money to family members to buy flowers or hire a florist to decorate the grave.

Very few people come for the morning church service and dinner on the ground is a thing of the past. Families meet at the cemetery, place their flowers on the graves, find a restaurant that is open or go to Mother's house and have lunch. Then they regroup, go back to the cemetery, claim a spot of ground, and set up their chairs and umbrellas. Some of the people will drift away and visit other families that are doing the same type activity. Some people roam the whole cemetery, looking at the flowers and visiting with people along the way.

Decoration Day is a day of remembrance, honoring the dead and getting reacquainted with our past.

ART/SCENE: Prospect.1 New Orleans opens 11/1

On November 1, 2008, Prospect.1 New Orleans [P.1], the largest biennial of international contemporary art ever organized in the United States, will open to the public in museums, historic buildings, and found sites throughout New Orleans. Prospect.1 New Orleans [P.1] has been conceived in the tradition of the great international biennials, and will showcase new artistic practices as well as an array of programs benefiting the local community. Over the course of its eleven-week run, Prospect.1 New Orleans [P.1] plans to draw international media attention, creative energy, and new economic activity to the city of New Orleans. Events include a ribbon cutting ceremony, second line parade, jazz funeral, and all-night dance party in addition to tons of great art exhibits and installations in a variety of spaces and venues.

GOOD NEWS! There are still some very cool ways to get involved. Japanese artist Tatsuo Miyajima has issued a call for participation in his Work Shop On Line for PILE UP LIFE 2008 to be exhibited in the Biennale (sic)! Also, the [P.1] organizers are still looking for volunteer art assistants and interns. Contact: Aimée Farnet Siegel, Volunteer Coordinator504-615-5391 asiegel@prospectneworleans.org

EAT: Filth from the Swine by Michael A. Gonzales

photo credit Jared Swafford/Flickr

Perhaps if I had known exactly what chitlins were (or chitterlings, as some people spell it) when I was a boy, I never would have eaten them. Though the funk that wafted through the apartment when grandma stood over the sink cleaning them should have clued me in, how was I to know that my favorite meal was cooked pig intestines.

Though some families only prepared chitlins during Christmas and New Year’s Eve, grandma was not a creature of ceremony. Whenever I saw the white ten-pound buckets taking-up space in the refrigerator, I knew there would be a feast by the end of the week. Raised in Virginia, grandma knew how to “put her foot” in a pot of chitlins.

Dumping the slimy swine parts into a large pan in the sink, grandma gripped the black handle of her long bladed knife with the skill of a butcher. Wearing a flowered apron tied around her thin waist, she managed to look lady like while doing one of the nastiest chores on the planet. Holding our noses, me and baby brother rushed to the front door and went outside to play.

Boiling the chitlins in a giant silver pot of salty water seasoned with celery, onions and vinegar, the entire flat smelled like pork heaven when we returned home hours later. “Are they ready yet?” I screamed, hanging-up my coat in the foyer closet.

“Boy, stop making all that noise and go get cleaned-up.”

After washing our face and hands, we sat at the faux-wood kitchen table, and shook crimson droplets of Red Devil hot sauce on the soul food that also included potato salad, black-eyed peas and collard greens. Devouring my grub with the quickness, I sopped-up the flavorful juice with cornbread and was ready for more. “Your eyes bigger than your stomach,” grandma laughed, as she proudly put more chitlins on the plate.

One thing about grandma, though she never ate much, she got joy from watching other folks eat.

Years later, when I was a freshman at Long Island University in Brooklyn, I hung-out at the college radio station and became friends with an overweight pothead named Gary. With flowing dreadlocks and a thick accent, Gary was an on-air personality (although the station only broadcast on campus) who introduced me to the music of Lee Scratch Perry, Peter Tosh and other reggae artists.

Enviably, when you get two fat guys in a room together, the conversation soon became about food. “You like what?” Gary screamed, not wanting to believe my culinary ignorance. “Man, do you know what chitins are? It’s the pig intestine; you know, what the shit goes through.”

“Get out of here…for real?” I looked at him as though he had gone rabbit hunting on Easter morning or lit the fireplace on Christmas Eve. “You’re joking, right?”

“No joke,” Gary assured me. “It’s the part of the pig that white masters used to give to the slaves, because they didn’t want it.”

For a moment, I was mute. Pondering the deepness of this history, I reflected on its meaning before finally determining that it was too late for me to turn back; blunted on surreality, I reasoned that rejection of chitlins would a denial of my southern heritage and family roots.

“Well, they taste good to me,” I said, much to Gary’s chagrin. Indeed, it was my intention, as my favorite southern female performer Gladys Knight once sang, “To keep on keeping on.”

Ten years after that discussion with Gary, grandma moved to Baltimore to live with my mother; a few years after that, she got stomach cancer. Scared by the fact that my grandmother wouldn’t be around for very long, I kept postponing my trip to Baltimore. Everyday I’d tell my ma, “I’ll be there tomorrow. I promise.”

Finally, tired of my triflingness, mom called me on a Thursday morning and tensely said, “When are you coming down here?”

“I don’t know ma, I got something to do today and…”

Cutting me off, she screamed, “My mother is dying, and instead of lying down, she’s standing over the sink cleaning chitlins for you.” In my mind, I clearly saw grandma’s frail frame as she held tightly to the black handled knife and carefully cleaned filth from the swine.

That same afternoon, as the Greyhound bus zoomed down Route 40 towards downtown Baltimore, I thought about my grandma’s hands and the steaming pot of chitlins simmering on the stove.

Michael A. Gonzales writes for Vibe, Stop Smiling and New York magazine, and blogs at uptownlife.net. A Harlem native with a southern sensibility, he lives in Brooklyn.

ART: GRANT AND LEE IN WAR AND PEACE

Robert E. Lee stands guard over Big D's bedroom. There's the small statue, which I made the mistake of messing with, on his dresser in his mama's house. And then there's the painting that greets you every morning when you awake. General Lee on his famous white horse hangs across from the bed on a wall adjoining a shrine touting acoutrements of D's own meritorious past - medals, trophies, certificates and photos from his days as a high school football and wrestling star, a model Eagle Scout, his being voted "Mr. Blue Devil" and celebrating his appointment, just like Lee, to West Point.

It's nice but I can't say I really "get" the whole Civil War "thing," especially the extent of what it means to a boy from Marietta, Georgia and why he becomes so intoxicatingly gleeful when showing me the place in the nearby Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park where the most Yankees were killed!

Luckily, the New-York Historical Society is hosting a “Grant and Lee in War and Peace” exhibit thru March 29. I guess it's not so simple as "we won the war, get over it." The exhibit obviously deals with the Civil War, but also: "America's tradition of citizen-soldiers volunteering to fight under professional officers but still thinking like democratic citizens. The exhibition will provide insights into the Army's role in an expanding United States, whether reshaping the landscape, patrolling frontiers, conquering territory or suppressing conflicts with Native Americans." The exhibit also "follows Grant and Lee back into civilian life, offers new scholarly assessments of the roles both men played after the Civil War. Visitors will leave the exhibition understanding why Lee was seen as the 'knight on white horseback' he became in Southern mythology, as the enduring symbol of a noble Lost Cause. A new and more realistic image of Grant will emerge: not simply the ineffective President surrounded by corruption, as he has been known, but a determined champion of Reconstruction and the rights of freedmen, and a far-sighted leader in seeking peace and justice for American Indians."

Pretty cool...

SCENE: RE-INSTATE HANK WILLIAMS

This petition calls for the reinstatement of Opry legend, and country music star, Hank Williams. Fifty years have passed since the tragic and untimely death of country music's greatest performer, who made his debut at the Grand Ole Opry on June 11th, 1949. A few years later, in 1952, Hiram Hank Williams was asked to leave the Opry -- with the intention that he would sober up and make a return to the stage that he loved so much. Before he could make that return, he passed on, in the back seat of a car on the way to an Ohio show. It's now 2008, and Hank Williams has yet to be reinstated to the Opry.

Hank Williams has been one of the most influential artists to ever record; changing the face of music, and the way that we view country music. Since his passing in 1953, he has posthumously achieved numerous rewards and achievements. In 1961, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and a few years later, he was added to the Country Music Hall of Fame Walkway of Stars. In 1973, he was the recipient of the Pioneer Award by the Academy of Country Music. He received a Grammy for 'Your Cheatin' Heart' in 1983, and was then inducted into the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. That same year he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Life Magazine even ranked Hank Williams #1 on the 'Most Important People in Country Music' list. Within his short years with us on earth, he had 11 #1 singles, including 'Lovesick Blues,' 'Kaw-Liga,' as well as 25 other Top 10 Singles.

We, the undersigned, feel that it is past due for Hank Williams' reinstatement to the Grand Ole Opry. Hank Williams was one of the most influential people to ever record or write music, and his untimely death made it impossible for his to 'redeem' himself in the Opry's eyes, but after 50 years we feel that his legacy has more than made up for any objections that the Opry may have had about his personal life. His lyrics and music helped create everything traditional country music became.

Sincerely, The fans of Hank Williams, Sr.

For more info, visit

BOOK: TRAILER TRASHED by Hollis Gillespie

Once upon a time, Hollis Gillespie was ashamed about having a hard-drinking, trailer-salesman dad and a missile-making mom with broken dreams of being a beautician. That was then. This is now. Trailer Trashed is a hilarious and heartbreaking collection of essays on one broad theme—Hollis’s relationships with her offbeat sisters, her precocious daughter, her bizarre friends, and the people they love. Brimming with irreverent, side-splitting observations on life that will wow fans of Augusten Burroughs and Sarah Vowell, Trailer Trashed follows an offbeat single mom through the raucous journey of her life, from hauling a safe to Nicaragua for her sister to selling a television series in Los Angeles for herself. (source)

Atlanta-based Hollis Gillespie is a "recovering slut," "bleachy-haired honky bitch," mother, writer and keynote speaker. She has recurring columns in Paste, Atlanta Magazine and Creative Loafing, and has published 3 books. She also holds writing workshops - the Shocking Real-Life Writing Academy.

She's kinda sorta an idol of mine...Trailer Trashed is out now.

EAT: GRANDMA'S GRITS by Michael A. Gonzales

Being raised by both my mother and grandmother had its advantages. Thinking back to life uptown during my 1970s wonder years, one of the first thoughts that come to mind is the food that was constantly cooking on our old stove.

Dark as mahogany, grandma came from Harrisonburg, Virginia; born into a family of country chefs who dwelled in the Negro neighborhood known as New Town (her own grandmother’s fresh biscuits and jelly were legendary), she seemed to think it was a sin if something wasn’t frying, broiling, simmering, boiling, baking or in the process of cooling off.

“Grandma cooks and mommy heats up,” I once told one of my mother’s friends. Yet, since grandma worked in a factory in New Jersey and was out of the flat before I awoke, Sunday mornings was the only time she made a full breakfast. Returning home from nine o’clock mass at St. Catherine of Genoa, where I was an altar-boy, the hearty smell of eggs, bacon, sausages and grits met me at the front door.

Though I’m not sure what was on my mind, I always said I didn’t want any grits. Maybe it was the way they looked or the way grits hardened in the pot when they were cold, but I wasn’t feeling them. “Boy don’t know what he missing, Mary,” grandma’s boyfriend Joe said and laughed. Staring at his plate, a yellow river of yolk from his over-easy eggs pooled into the grits.

“Well, if he don’t want’em, I can’t force him,” she replied. Although I could hear in her voice that my rejection of the grits was a slight betrayal to her, I refused to relent. In the same way that I (at the time) detested chicken and dumplings and pig feet, I spent my entire childhood gritless. A few years later, when I was fourteen, me, mom and baby brother moved to Baltimore. I stayed in the City of Poe graduating from high school. Then, in the August of ’81, I returned to Harlem and to my grandma’s soulful kitchen.

Although it was just the two of us living there, grandma still cooked as though an army was coming. Yet, as a freshman at Long Island University in Brooklyn, I became poplar because I often brought home hungry friends for Sunday dinner. “Now make sure you get enough,” she’ll say sweetly, her dark hands holding the spoon tightly as she put more food on our plates.

Afterwards, grandma wrapped-up the food in heavy aluminum foil and insisted my friend took some grub back to the dorm. I recall once asking if she had her recipes written down, but she just laughed. “I don’t need any recipes,” she said proudly, pointing to her temple. “I got them all up here.”

To this day, I can’t quite explain what got me eating grits; perhaps, as an adult, they became less gross or I just got more curious about what was such the big deal. I had put a little salt, butter and cheese on them, and shoved them in the mouth.

Expecting the worse, I was blown away by the taste. I thought about Joe, who had died years before, teasing me at Sunday breakfast. It was at that moment that my tongue began to do the happy dance. “Not you eating grits,” grandma blurted proudly that summer Sunday morning as we sat at the faux-wood kitchen table.

Fourteen years after grandma’s death on March 8, 1994, I still eat grits on Sunday mornings whenever possible; and with each massive forkful, I think about grandma. (end)

Michael A. Gonzales writes for Vibe, Stop Smiling and New York magazine, and blogs at uptownlife.net. A Harlem native with a southern sensibility, he lives in Brooklyn.

ART/SCENE: OBEY = VOTE!

South Carolina native Shepard Fairey continues to "Rock The Vote" with a series of video postcards created in mid-October in his Los Angeles studio and in New York. The video postcards will begin circulating virally today (10/22) and will feature Jack Black, Joaquin Phoenix, and Saul Williams, as well as Fairey's eclectic mix of talented friends whom have their own significant community. Think: pro-skateboarders, owners of popular clothing companies, infamous street artists, snowboarders, singers of goth bands, drum n bass DJ’s, authors, famed tattoo artists, fashion models, renowned architects, web-celebs, museum quality photographers…the cultural tastemakers - be they hipsters, outsiders, misfits or squares - who are brimming with HOPEand FIRED UP to get a message across: WE NEED AMERICA TO VOTE EARLY!

Shepard Fairey is a contemporary artist, graphic designer and illustrator who emerged from the skateboarding scene and became known initially for his "André the Giant Has a Posse" sticker campaign. The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston calls him one of today's best known and most influential street artists. He usually omits his first name. (source)

Fairey has an exhibit up until December 6 at Irvine Contemporary in Washington, DC, his second monograph, E Pluribus Venom, was recently published by Gingko Press, and the Boston Institute for Contemporary Art is planning a retrospective exhibition of Fairey's work for February, 2009.

ART: The Mark Of Great Art exhibit opens in NYC 10/22

The Maker's Mark "Mark Of Great Art" exhibit opens in NYC tomorrow (10/22) @ the Astor Center (Gallery Room), 399 Lafayette Street (at East 4th Street) NYC 10003.

“For over 50 years, Maker’s Mark has handcrafted their product, with every bottle considered a work of art. Now we are sponsoring a different project, one that gives Kentucky artists international prominence,” said Rob Samuels, Director of Global Brand Development for Maker’s Mark and concept developer of this new program.

In March 2008, Maker's Mark put out a call to Kentucky-based artists. Over 120 applications were narrowed down to 51 participating artists by a jury of experts. Each of these artists visited the historic Maker's Mark distillery to gain inspiration for their piece(s). The total collection has now be broken up into eight mini-collections, with each going to a different city: Louisville, Lexington, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, New York, London and Madrid, where they will remain indefinitely. The pieces will be placed in bars and restaurants throughout these cities. MM will host a one-night event in each city where people can view the collection in one place (each city will receive about 15 pieces). Click here to view the dates, locations, and times of upcoming events.

SHOP: Billy Reid opens in NYC

In an homage to his Southern, small-town roots, Alabama-based Billy Reid constructed his first New York shop entirely out of reclaimed materials from the South: The ceiling is covered in doors sourced from a Mississippi schoolhouse, and the clothing racks are made from apothecary cabinets rescued from the Mississippi Delta. The two-story space is a far cry from most Manhattan boutiques—the residential-looking shop features a parlor and hospitality area on the lower level, offering made-to-measure suiting by appointment. Reid showcases his signature men’s hand-tailored classics along with woven shirts, selvage denim, handmade shoes and leather accessories. It is also the only place his entire women’s capsule collection is sold. (source)

Reid, a Louisiana native and CFDA award winning designer, completes, along with Natalie Chanin and Robert Rausch, the trifecta of haute design meets downhome style in the Shoals area of Alabama. The trio hosts a monthly pot-luck gathering and other design events thoughout the year.

SCENE: SHOWDOWN IN T-TOWN (Tuscaloosa/Northport, AL)

Whether it’s football, art, BBQ or ghosts, competition is king on both sides of the Black Warrior River this weekend.

The 37th Annual Kentuck Festival of the Arts kicks off its all-encompassing 2-day celebration of Southern Folk Life tomorrow (10/18) in Northport’s Kentuck Park. Nestled on the banks of the Black Warrior River, under a cool canopy of tall trees, the festival offers a feast for the eyes, ears and palate, and a gentle alternative to the rammer jammer mayhem of UA game day over in adjoining Tuscaloosa.

WHY GO: Kentuck is Alabama’s most notable arts festival. It’s been named a Top Twenty Event by the Southeast Tourism Society, has received the Alabama Governor's Arts Award, and has been designated a “local legacy” by the U.S. Library of Congress. The festival boasts over 250 invited folk and visionary artists from across the country and celebrates both traditional Southern folk art and emerging American craft artists. Browse, buy, and learn across all mediums – from painting, pottery, and assemblage, to quilting, sculpture and basket weaving, to name a few.

Kentuck For Kids keeps the little ones engaged with hands-on craft demos and a petting zoo, among many other activities.

Kentuck gives a nod to Alabama’s esteemed literary history with an appearance by West African storyteller Diane Williams.

Two stages of music feature a variety of complementary genres from Cajun and blues to jazz and folk, welcoming such national and regional artists as Afrissippi, the Figs and Willie Sonny Boy King. In addition, food vendors will offer an assortment of local and ethnic specialties.

TICKETS: Two-day tickets are $15 per person. Dailies are $10. Children under twelve admitted at no charge. Tickets can be purchased online in advance at www.kentuck.org

GETTING AROUND: With annual attendance estimated at 30,000 visitors, as well as the Crimson Tide hosting Ole Miss (along with 92K+ football fanatics) on 10/18, it may be slow–going getting around in this small enclave. Festival organizers provide shuttle bus service to Kentuck Park from several key locations around town.

ROLL TIDE: Although the Cotton Bowl champion University of Alabama Crimson Tide football team is playing at home this weekend, good luck gaining entrance into the house that Bear built. Win or lose, that ticket stays hot, and the tide is on a winning roll right now!! Join the revelers on the green and around the stadium for pre and post game tailgating. In between time, head over to Wings, owned by Bob Baumhower, an All-American from the University of Alabama and 6-time All-Pro for the Miami Dolphins, for traditional sports bar cuisine and “lots of screens.” A smaller, but no less raucous, option is Tuscaloosa’s favorite hole-in-the-wall, Egan’s. In the shadow of Bryant-Denny Stadium you can savor the Tide’s victorious past at the Paul W. Bryant Museum.

13 GHOSTS: Not haunted by the “Bear?” Real ghosts await at the Drish House, an endangered landmark and one of Alabama’s most famous haunted houses. Another bloodcurdling year is planned for the United Cerebral Palsy's Fright Factory which is now located in an old Winn-Dixie. Got skeletons of your own? Head down Hwy 69 to visit with psychic reader Mrs. West.

ROLLING ON THE RIVER: With all this back and forth across the river, it may be high time to get out on the Black Warrior. The Bama Belle, a romantic paddlewheel replica, sails on Saturdays at 1PM from April thru November.

SLEEP: While the area has lost its only 2 B&B’s over the past 3 years it has gained 5 new chain hotels, but good luck scoring a room. Football weekends sell out early even with prices raised double and triple their normal rate! Rumor has it though that the newly renovated Home-Towne Suites had a block of 60 rooms available as of close of business last night (10/16).

EAT: For me, breakfast at the Waffle House is mandatory during any trip below the Mason Dixon line. Grub out on a soft, thin, crispy waffle dripping with butter and syrup, eggs, cheese grits, and hash browns - scattered, smothered, covered, chopped, diced, peppered, capped or topped. If you’ve got a taste for amazing biscuits, the locals flock to The Waysider to get their fix.

BBQ BATTLE: "Ain't nothing like ‘em nowhere" is the motto at the legendary Dreamland Bar-B-Que which has been serving up ribs and sauce since 1958. The location in Tuscaloosa is argued to be “the best,” but the Northport spot has a wider variety of menu options. Wear a bib ‘cause you’re definitely gettin’ some on ya! (Me and my favorite baby blue shirt learned that the hard way).

“Dreamland is a distant, distant second to Archibald's in Northport,” insists a reader of the single southern guy blog. “There is also an Archibald's in Cottondale, down the road a bit. Northport also has Archibald's & Woodrow's. And Woodrow's in beautiful downtown Tuscaloosa. All serve the same great 'cue and the same sauce. ALL will beat Dreamland's, which is still an excellent rib. And all serve butt as well as rib, chopped or sliced, but not pulled.”

For fine dining and a selection of award-winning wines, try the Globe restaurant in downtown Northport for an eclectic and Shakespearian inspired menu (i.e. Twelfth Night Trout, the Much Ado club).

SCREEN: The Secret Life Of Bees

Living on a peach farm in 1960’s South Carolina with her harsh, unyielding father, Lily Owens has shaped her entire life around one devastating, blurred memory--the afternoon her mother was killed, when Lily was four. Since then, her only real companion has been the fierce-hearted, and sometimes just fierce, black woman Rosaleen, who acts as her "stand-in mother."

When Rosaleen insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily knows it's time to spring them both free. They take off in the only direction Lily can think of, toward a town called Tiburon, South Carolina--a name she found on the back of a picture amid the few possessions left by her mother.

There they are taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters named May, June, and August. Lily thinks of them as the calendar sisters and enters their mesmerizing secret world of bees and honey, and of the Black Madonna who presides over this household of strong, wise women. Maternal loss and betrayal, guilt and forgiveness entwine in a story that leads Lily to the single thing her heart longs for most.

The Secret Lives of Bees, starring Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Dakota Fanning and Alicia Keys, opens October 17. Based on the book by Sue Monk Kidd. (source)

SWOON: Banjo Jim & The Redhead

“Don’t you come home with a Yankee!!”

When he left his Marietta, GA home for the big bad land of Northern Aggression in 2004, Big D took with him, among other things, that stern warning from his mama. Two years later the words still echoed thru his head and jokingly fell out of his mouth on one of our first dates. Two years after that we were engaged. (Sorry mama!)

DATE NIGHT NYC: Taking D to eat "southern" in NYC is not bad. He's curious but skeptical, having reminded me at least once that he was "raised on good food." The Redhead is a bar that has morphed into a bar-ish-restaurant serving Sunday dinner comfort food and known for its bacon peanut brittle and its chicken fried pork rib “Devil Bones.” The décor is clean and minimal and the staff is ultra-accomodating.

There is something in the butter. And D refuses to let it leave the table. It’s that good. As is our shrimp & grits appetizer. These grits are substantial, more of a rough chop than a fine mill, with perfectly seasoned shrimp and a chunky sprinkling of andouille sausage. My main course fried chicken is light and juicy with a crackly/crispy crust and served with a savory/sweet multi-textured spinach salad. The best thing about the cornbread was it gave me an excuse to eat more of that crack-butter. For desert, we split the salted caramel Ho Ho. It is a weird mix of sweet and chocolaty with a hint of saltiness in the caramel cream filling. Heaven!

After dinner, we strolled thru the East Village until we stumbled upon a scrappy dive on the corner of 9th St. & Avenue C. Banjo Jim’s is awash in the reddish glow of Christmas tree lights. A garland of green mylar cacti dangle from the ceiling and posters for the upcoming mandolin contest stud the walls. The L shaped corner bar is lined with ladies and sweaty cans of PBR. All the while, crooner Megan Palmer fiddles old-timey originals and covers in the front corner by the door. Here, in the belly of Alphabet City, a whiff away from Latin-fare mainstays Casa Adele and Esperanto and across the street from La Plaza Cultural community garden, we found a honky tonk.

BOOK: Knitting & Nana...

I have warm childhood memories of little handknit yummies bestowed upon me by my, now 93 year old, grandmother. She used to knit us scarves and blankets and maybe some gloves but my alltime favorite was a white hat with blue - somewhere between royal and baby…maybe something in the neighborhood of UNC blue – anyway, a white hat with blue letters that spelled out my name – A N N E, and topped off with a magical matching pom pom.

A few years back, while traveling thru Appalachian Kentucky (Hatfield & McCoy country) I ran across a sweet little lady knitting wool caps in a store affiliated with the acclaimed documentary house Appalshop. The hipster knitting craze had taken over NYC at the time and both experiences melded into the bright idea of me asking my nana to teach me. However, I couldn’t seem to abide by the Mason-Dixon Knitting Rule Number 1: “Knitting is spoze to be fun.”

So, I gave up.

Luckily, for those who stuck with it, the bi-regional (NYC/Nashville) Mason Dixon knitting crew is back with their second book: Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines. Even if knitting’s not your thing, their story alone is pretty cool: KAY GARDINER and ANN SHAYNE met on an online knitting message board years ago, and their correspondence has grown into a community of more than 150,000 knitters, and 2 published books!

Their book tour comes to the NYC area this week:
NEW YORK, NY, Thursday, October 16
6:00pm, beloved Knitty City

NEW YORK, NY, Friday, October 17
TBA, sleek and fabulous Purl Soho

RHINEBECK, NY, Sunday, October 19
10:00am-4:00pm, the surreal experience that is the NY Sheep & Wool Festival

NEW YORK, NY, Tuesday, October 21
6:30pm, the beautifully bookish Brooklyn Public Library

SHOP/SCENE: SALVAGING NEW ORLEANS VIA ART AND UPCYCLING

It’s October and with Halloween fast approaching my mind begins to wander to New Orleans. Blame it, perhaps, on Anne Rice and her vampire tales. Couple that with multiple pokes around a voodoo museum and, always, three knocks on the grave of Marie Laveau in St. Louis Cemetary #1. Three knocks, spin around, leave some tobacco, candy and a bright, shiny new copper penny….make your plea somewhere in between. Regardless, the damp murkiness of being below sea level makes the city dark, moody, and inherently gothic.

Brangelina and the fam were recently sited in NOLA causing the expected hubbub. Of course, the real stars are the locals who continually find and create new ways to reuse, rebuild and recycle. Sweet Tea is shouting a few out today:

The Green Project is dedicated to creative recycling and reuse in New Orleans. It operates a warehouse store, supports others who salvage or deconstruct damaged or collapsed buildings by hand, serves as a local recycled paint resource and recycling center, offers gardening workshops, has merged with Recycle For The Arts to provide art materials to various entities and offer monthly recycled art workshops. GP also has an event space called The Green Room that displays local art and is available for workshops and community event, and finally, The Green Project is involved in green building and special p roject like solar panels, biodiesel and community outreach.

Brooklyn invitation designer MacKenzie Sala recently added a “New Orleans” design to her Kenzie Kate Invitations line. Ten percent of proceeds from the New Orleans go to the Green Project!

On a smaller scale, a bunch of Etsy shops are also using salvaged materials to create a variety of projects to preserve New Orleans’ architectural details and to raise money to help with the city’s ongoing rebuild and rebirth:

Rebirth Frames are constructed mainly from the siding and door and door frames of homes in and around the New Orleans area that have been leveled, destroyed or are being rebuilt. Ten percent of all proceeds will be sent to Habitat For Humanity.

Second Line Frames are built from authentic wood siding salvaged from homes destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. It’s their way of preserving a little part of the beloved memory of old New Orleans while helping to rebuild it toward a better tomorrow. A portion of each sale goes to assist in the rehabilitation of affected neighborhoods. The Second Line is a timeless New Orleans tradition – the colorful parade that follows a funeral procession to turn tragedy into a celebration of rebirth.

Bayou Salvage says: Never underestimate the power of debris to change your life. Kerry is an artist/educator who has at times has been a filmmaker, art director, costumer, prop stylist, and picker for antique shops in the New Orleans area. She has been reworking vintage and thrifting for 25 years. As of Friday, August 22, Kerry’s customers have raised $205.00 for the Make It Right foundation and rebuilding homes in the lower 9th Ward, New Orleans by purchasing her tree ornaments made from torn down homes in the 9th ward & shotgun houses.

The woman behind Nola Salvage is a full-time carpenter, helping to rebuild New Orleans, one house at a time. On her days off she enjoys making art, and small sculptures out of salvaged materials. “Part of loving New Orleans is loving its architecture and signature shotgun houses. Another part of my lifestyle is the abundance of debris, I keep finding interesting bits of metal and beautiful old wood that I don't want to throw away. These wall sculptures are a result of my love for art and junk!”

GONE FISHIN' - BE BACK MONDAY!

SCENE: Carolina Craft Attack

DIYers in NC are keeping the Tar Heel State’s long tradition of craft and design fresh, modern and innovative from the relative new(ish)comer Spoonflower, which gives folks an easy way to design and print their own fabric on demand, to the team of Etsy-iers who are hocking their wares both online daily and THIS WEEKEND in person at:

Carolina Craft Attack - Saturday, Oct 11 - 9:30AM – 5PM (rain or shine) @

Independence Neighborhood Park - 300 Hawthorne Lane, Charlotte NC

“Traditional craft has been at the center of North Carolina life for centuries, whether made by Native Americans, Scots-Irish immigrants, enthusiasts who 'rediscovered' crafts in the last century, or contemporary artisans who celebrate both form and function in endlessly creative ways. Today, craft is a $538 million creative industry in North Carolina, practiced by more than 6,000 craft artisans working in clay, glass, metals, fibers, wood and other disciplines. It is a living tradition, constantly reinventing itself, and constantly inviting you to participate through visiting, viewing or even making crafts of your own.” (source)

Whether you want browse, buy or actually learn for yourself, ops to score your fix abound in every corner of the state:

Penland School of Crafts in the Blue Ridge Mountains
Mint Museum of Craft & Design in Charlotte
Southern Highland Craft Guild in Asheville
John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown
Qualla Open Air Indian Market in Cherokee

Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University

Or you can blaze a new trail with HomegrownHandmade’s alliance between arts and agriculture.

SCENE: 10/10 & 11 - Art & Design converge in Tuscumbia, AL

Award-winning creative director/designer/photographer Robert Rausch has launched a series of design exhibitions at his GAS Design Center in Tuscumbia, AL. In conjunction with the upcoming exhibitions, GAS will host workshops, lectures and community events. This weekend he welcomes “Ceremony” by fellow Shoals native and esteemed design maven Natalie Chanin:

Friday, Oct 10 @ 6:30PM – Lecture on Design & Community by Natalie Chanin
@ GAS – 109A West 6th St., Tuscumbia, AL
Saturday, Oct 11 @ 4PM – Alabama Stitch Book signing at Cold Water Books
Saturday, Oct 11 @ 6PM – Ceremony Reception at GAS

Robert Rausch combines his talents as a designer and photographer with interest in sustainable and slow design. Be sure to check out his Etsy shop for cool upcycled glassworks.

SOUNDS: LIVE IN NYC OCT 8 -11

OCTOBER 8 @ 7:30PM - Lambchop: Kurt Wagner solo @ Joe's Pub

Kurt Wagner performs in support of Lambchop's new album OH (ohio), released October 7, 2008 on Merge Records. OH (ohio) was recorded in Lambchop's hometown of Nashville and produced by Mark Nevers and Roger Moutenot. 11 new songs: "Slipped Dissolved and Loosed," "National Talk Like a Pirate Day," and "Popeye." Hear some of OH (ohio) here and here.

OCTOBER 8 @ 9:30PM - Legendary Shack*Shakers & Pine Hill Haints @ Mercury Lounge

Since starting their hell-for-leather, Penta-caustic roadshow Th' Legendary Shack*Shakers have earned quite a name for themselves with their unique brand of American Gothic that is all-at-once irreverent, revisionist, dangerous, and fun. Led by their wildly charismatic rail thin frontman, the blues-harpist J.D. Wilkes, th’ Shack*Shakers are a four-man wrecking crew from the South whose explosive interpretations of the blues, punk, rock and country have made fans, critics and legions of potential converts into true believers. Wilkes' film "Seven Signs" accompanies the tour.

OCTOBER 9 @ 8PM - Dead Confederate @ Mercury Lounge with Catfish Haven

Rolling Stone says: Georgia rockers Dead Confederate made their debut album, Wrecking Ball, in a tiny, dingy Austin studio — the same place where the sound effects for the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre were recorded. "It was a shit-shack," says bassist and songwriter Brantley Senn, 28. "We called it 'the dump.' It was spooky." The eeriness seeped deeply into the quintet's music — a raw, howling take on Southern rock that recalls the darkest moments of Nineties grunge; not surprising, since they are the first band on the new label from Gary Gersh, the A&R exec who signed Nirvana and Sonic Youth. Lead singer Hardy Morris' raspy vocals are a ringer for Kurt Cobain's, while lead guitarist Walker Howle kicks out Dinosaur Jr.-like spiraling riffs. "Our music has always been dark," says Senn. "I don't think I've ever written a song when I wasn't angry or hurt by something." But the band's growing popularity is making it harder for Senn to get into the proper songwriting mind-set. "I'm at the point where I am about to take a minimum-wage job just so I can be unhappy about something so I can write a good song." (also at Union Hall in BK on Oct. 10)

OCTOBER 11 @ 8:30PM - ELEPHANT 6 @ Knitting Factory

Flavorpill says: Mentioning the Elephant 6 collective to music geeks is like bringing up Godard with cinephiles: there's a pretty good chance they're obsessed. The gang of Atlanta psych-folkies spawned distinctive acts like the Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, Neutral Milk Hotel, and many more. While the group is less active these days, Music Tapes frontman Julian Koster brings together members of the aforementioned bands for a grand old celebration of all things E6. There's been no mention of the elusive Neutral Milk Hotel mastermind Jeff Mangum showing up, but the holidays are all about miracles, right?

BOOK/EAT: Putting Up by Steve Dowdney

In Putting Up, author Steve Dowdney colorfully and descriptively guides readers safely through the home canning process. In his plainspoken narrative, Dowdney explains how to put up crops harvested during each month of the year and includes 65 of the most popular and delicious recipes he produces for his successful canning business. Also included is a resource section that contains information on where all essential canning supplies can be purchased. More than just a how-to manual, Putting Up is a wonderful guide for canners and non-canners alike. It is chock full of anecdotes, stories and vignettes of a long gone agrarian south that filled the author's youth and still fills his heart and memory.

For twelve years, Steve Dowdney was the owner and chief operator of South Carolina's premiere "small batch" processing and canning company. As founder of Rockland Plantation Products, he takes great pride in the knowledge that the company's products taste exactly like the best of a grandmother's home put up stores. An avid writer with a novel in the works, Dowdney is a former Ranger, Airborne and Special Forces qualified combat veteran, and a graduate of The Citadel where he and fellow classmate Pat Conroy co-wrote the yearbook. He resides in Charleston, SC. (source)

SCOOP: Time Out NY's Southern Saunter (edited!)

photo credit: David Sifry

Excerpted from Time Out NY's sorta goofy and ignorant but still maybe a bit useful:

Great walks - A Southern saunter By Allie Haake

Head on down to Brother Jimmy’s BBQ (multiple locations), a premiere Dixieland college sports hangout. Grab a PBR and hone those Dick Cheney shooting skills on the Big Buck Hunter. (Camo not included.)

Mosey on down to The Trailer Park Lounge & Grill (271 W 23rd St at Eighth Ave; 212-463-8000), where every inch of the haunt is done up in Gummo kitsch: Vintage soda signs, a 40¢ cigarette-vending machine and a PBR-swilling, fuzzy-slipper-wearing pregnant mannequin are just the beginning. We suggest the impressively strong $5 frozen strawberry margarita or the Can-O-Champagne ($7).

Ax that hunger with a slab of award-winning meat from RUB BBQ (208 W 23rd St between Seventh and Eighth Aves; 212-524-4300). No honky-tonk stuff here—just a modern take on burnt ends, fried green tomatoes and deep-fried Oreos.

Wanna-be Southern belles and Texas cowboys can find themselves some real deals at The Family Jewels Vintage Clothing emporium (130 W 23rd between Sixth and Seventh Aves; 212-633-6020), which specializes in square-dancing dresses, one-of-a-kind Western shirts and shitkicker boots.

Juicy tidbit! The red building on the corner of Sixth Avenue and 11th Street (adjacent to the cemetery) has a secret. It sits on the former site of the Grapevine, a Civil War tavern where Union officers (and Confederate spies) collected to drink and talk business. Hence the phrase I heard it through the Grapevine.

Cool off at The Pink Tea Cup (42 Grove St between Bedford and Bleecker Sts; 212-807-6755) with the sweetest sweet tea you’ve ever tasted. *NOTE: Southernist would begin here with breakfast - fish n' grits, eggs, biscuits, turkey sausage = heaven! *

What better way to remember your walk than with a Southern-themed souvenir? Continue down Grove, go north on Hudson and stop at the Cowgirl General Store (519 Hudson St at 10th St; 212-633-1133), great for braided belts, rock candy, farm toys and other geegaws. *NOTE: Southernist considers this more western but yummmmmy regardless - frito-pie!*

We’re hoping you’ve saved room for some Paula Deen–caliber desserts. Bourbon Street Southern Gourmet Pantry (529 Hudson St between Charles and W 10th Sts, 212-337-0988) boasts award-winning sweet jams and syrups, plus an organic hummingbird cake made with banana, vanilla, cinnamon, and topped with cream cheese icing.

GONE FISHIN' - BE BACK MONDAY!

In the meantime, please visit Poof NY for some fab photo finds!

SCOOP: Ft. Gaines, GA by Mallory Hill

As I drive, I a catch the faint smell of peanuts through the AC. I instinctively roll down the windows and take in the fresh country air. The smell of the harvest rolls over me and I realize, I am home.

This is how I feel when I go home, though the seasons and the smells change, I can always tell by the change in the air I am nearing home. It's a different and fresh world, and I love it. For me Fort Gaines, Georgia is home. It is a small quiet town in rural Southwest Georgia, but it has become one of the favorite getaways for the friends I've made over the years. They always love going home with me because they know it is an escape each time. The world moves a little slower and it's easy to just relax.

I know for most "city folk" would look at this town as a place where there's nothing to do. Well they are right and dead wrong all at the same time. You can drink in history or you can just sit in a swing and drink sweet tea; it makes no difference to us. Just kick back and relax as the world spins a little slower.

Fort Gaines was an active fort during the Indian wars. It held a prime spot on a bluff over-looking the Chattahoochee River. The fort is long gone but there is a historic village that has been created where it once stood. Historic homes that once rested all over the region have been donated and moved to this location to give visitors an idea of what things looked like 200 years ago. A tower stands atop the hill that is a recreation of one of the towers that originally stood as a part of the fort. As you climb inside and look across the river you realize why this was the perfect place to set up defenses. A massive cannon is still perched ready to fire on Alabama. The Frontier Village as it is called is a wonderful place to visit any time of year. Most of the buildings on the site are open and you are free to look around. There is a large hall that remains locked that was once home to the Fort Gaines Women's Club and is still used today for gatherings of all kinds including my wedding reception.

There is one day each year this building is open to the public. It is the day Fort Gaines and the Frontier Village sees the most visitors and that is the day of the annual Christmas at the Fort. Every year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving the Frontier Village is swarmed with guests browsing the seemingly endless lines of vendors carrying everything from home-made jams and jellies, crafts, jewelry, boiled p-nuts and fresh ground cane juice and syrup made as you watch. If you're hungry grab one of Granny's Apple Dumplings after you've picked up your barbecue made in the VW Bug smoker or any of the delicious goodies you can find. Wonder around the used book sale as you enjoy the music from live local performers. Everyone's friendly and you're sure to find something you love.

November has become a busy month in Fort Gaines now that they are having the second annual Georgia's Longest Yard Sale. It stretches from the Georgia line down 60 something miles of Hwy 37 through numerous small towns. You can find all kinds of goodies from antiques to crafts and home-made barbeque on the Saturday before Veterans Day each year. You may want to bring a trailer to carry all of your goodies home with you.

On the northern side of town you will find Lake Walter F George. Here you can find some of the South's best fishing in this 23 mile long lake stretching between Georgia and Alabama. The dam houses some of Georgia Power's best hydroelectric generators and helped form this beautiful lake. The shores are home to the annual July 4th fireworks show that draws visitors from areas all around. A few miles north of town you will find George T Bagby State Park sitting right on the banks of the lake. Here you can stay in their spacious lodge and enjoy your meals in the restaurant porch while you gaze at the lake or share a more intimate visit in one of their lakefront cabins. The park has several hiking trails that wonder through the woods and allow you to experience its southern nature. If you take a walk through the park around sunset you are almost guaranteed to see some of the many deer that inhabit this park or the local family of foxes that call it home. If you are a golfer , Bagby is home to one of Georgia's championship golf courses.

If you just want to experience more of the town's history there is a town tour you can take. Put on your walking shoes or hop in your car and follow the map around town. It points at many historic locations and gives you some of the history of these places. Don't expect to be able to go inside most of these locations since many of them are homes, including my parents house which was built in 1880. One place you can go in and look around is the museum. Located downtown, it is filled with items that have been donated by families in the area and is rich with history.

Crickets and frogs will sing you to sleep each night and you'll see more stars than you can imagine. As you drive on to where ever the road leads you every car you meet will greet you with a smile. It's a simple town but its simplicity will relax your mind and rejuvenate your soul. Roll down your window and drink it in.

Mallory Hill is a proud Army wife who splits her time between Fort Gaines, GA and Fort Hood, TX. She recently started her own photography business, Pope Hill Photography, with which she specializes in helping military families share their lives.

ART/BOOK: Still Here and Sanctuary capture post-Katrina New Orleans

STILL HERE - Tonight (10/2) @ PowerHouse Arena in Brooklyn: August 29, 2008 marked the third anniversary of the horror that Hurricane Katrina inflicted upon the north-central Gulf Coast. Its devastation is a wound not yet healed and its survivors are the subject of Joseph Rodriguez’s fourth powerHouse Book, Still Here: Stories After Katrina. In it, he documents the ongoing expressions of hope, perseverance, and suffering in the affected communities.On Thursday, October 2, 2008, Rodriguez will present a slide show of images from the book and will speak of his experiences while photographing and interviewing families and individuals throughout New Orleans and Texas. Like the photographers who worked with the Farm Security Administration during the Great Depression, Rodríguez’s work alerts readers to the ongoing pressures faced by some of the country’s most distressed and vulnerable people. His black-and-white photographs remind the viewer that despite the loss of home, community, and culture, so many continue to push forward, and are “still here.”

Date: Thursday, October 2, 2008
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Location: powerHouse Arena
Street: 37 Main Street
City/Town: Brooklyn, NY
Phone: 718-666-3049

ALSO: SANCTUARY on exhibit thru October 4 @ Soho Photo:

Sanctuary features six photographers from New Orleans–Victoria Ryan, Samuel Portera, Lee Area, Eric Paul Julien, Jennifer Shaw and Michel Varisco—all brought together by the devastation and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It allowed them to reexamine their own sacred places and the refuge that is New Orleans. Sanctuary is about this seductive city of dreams and inspiration where one can muse about life and death, direction and vision. For these six photographers, sanctuary literally came in the refuge of their art and resulted in six unique visions of the city. The 30 images in the show describe life spawned by the Mississippi, its rich wetlands and fragility of the land, its historic architecture, and free spirited people. Photographer Michel Varisico’s exhibit was sponsored in part by the Louisiana Cultural Economy Foundation.

Soho Photo
15 White St, NYC 10013
212-226-8571

SCREEN: BALLAST OPENS TODAY @ FILM FORUM NYC

In the cold, winter light of a rural Mississippi Delta township, a man’s suicide radically transforms three characters’ lives and throws off-balance what has long been a static arrangement among them. Marlee is a single mother struggling to scratch a living for herself and James, her 12-year-old son, who has begun to stumble under drug and violence pressures. So when the opportunity to seek safe harbor at a new home arises, she grabs it, though the property is shared by Lawrence, a man with whom Marlee has feuded bitterly since James’s birth. With circumstances thrusting them into proximity, a subtle interdependence and common purpose emerge for Marlee and Lawrence as they navigate grief, test new waters, and tentatively move forward. (read more)