HAPPY NEW YEAR!

LA Times photo essay: Alabama's Homeboys

The LA Times has this really moving and sobering photo essay up:


For three years Los Angeles' Homeboy Industries, a nationally recognized gang intervention organization, has sent a select few of its members on an extraordinary pilgrimage to work with impoverished kids in Alabama Village, Prichard, Ala.

Watch the slideshow here.

The New York Times: Nifty 50

The NY Times' Nifty 50 came out a few weeks ago, with these southerners making the cut:

23. The New Orleans-based duo of singer-songwriters Grant Widmer and Ted Joyner, known as Generationals (pictured above), are nostalgically pop; their idea of techno is a Moog synthesizer. Their first single, ''When They Fight, They Fight,'' caught on, and so did they.

27. It's fitting that Boyd Holbrook should look more like an artist, a filmmaker and an actor than a model. This Kentucky-born 28-year-old got a bit part in ''Milk,'' had a gallery show in Chelsea and wrote a screenplay. A real model for models to follow.

41. The plucky Georgia teenager Melanie Oudin is American tennis's next big hope. She scored upsets at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open -- only a year after turning pro -- and has a breathless charm that brings to mind Alicia Silverstone in ''Clueless.''

Wishing you a safe & happy holiday

While I was sleeping...

Photo: Gothamist.com

I recently returned to NYC from a 2 1/2 month visit to southeast Alabama, during which time our beloved Cheyenne Diner had arrived safely and sequesteredly to the state. And then, according to Curbed via Lost City,

The same Alabama couple that took the Cheyenne Diner down south will rescue the Art Deco features of the shuttered Jay Dee Bakery in Forest Hills, and now both will be part of some sort of town/theme park the couple is developing in the Yellowhammer State.

As I prepare to return to AL in early 2010 I wonder - does anyone know where I can find this burgeoning mini-me-tropolis??

Kentucky gets lucky in NYC

Well it seems to be a Kentucky themed week around good old NYC. First off, former beauty queen and KY native Miss Diane has taken over for Charlie Gibson on ABC World News Tonight.
Secondly, I ran across these amazing looking caramel wrapped marshmallows on the Williams- Sonoma website. They remind me of similar goodie that I've only seen at See's Candy in Los Angeles. "Dubbed 'Modjeskas,' these soft caramel confections were named in honor of a beautiful Polish actress by a fervent admirer. They're produced by a family-owned candy company in Kentucky using the recipe that Great-Grandfather Bauer developed in 1889. The handmade marshmallows, enrobed with luscious caramel, still elicit rapturous." Santa, if you're watching...
And last but not least, The Bell House in BKLYN is kicking off 2010 with THE KENTUCKY COLONEL'S WINTER FOLLIES & EARLY BIRD DERBY DAY PARTY :

"Come join us for a Kentucky Derby themed masterpiece starring The Girls from Wasabassco Burlesque & The Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. and Chris McDaniel with his thrilling display of bullwhip & rope tricks. It's a Hee Haw inspired night celebrating everything southern and horsey. With another 119 days until The Kentucky Derby, we just couldn't wait to get the party started. This is a good time to make sure your hats and seersucker suits still fit. Things to get you in the spirit: Benedictine Sandwich appetizers, Mint Juleps (1 free for the first 100 peeps), Hat Contest, Race Track Game."

January 2 @ 9PM. Get your $10 tix here.

To Soak Or To Dip? Buttermilk is the Question

I'm just getting around to reading Time Out's Best of NY issue from last week. On the fried chicken front, TONY picked Georgia's Eastside BBQ (where they soak the chicken in buttermilk), and Buttermilk Channel (where they dip it).

So, dear readers, being that I don't cook, I wonder and ask: what's the difference, and which is better?

In the meantime, here are those TONY picks:

Fried chicken at Georgia’s Eastside
BBQ Aggressively salted, buttermilk-soaked, crusty, crunchy, juicy and hot—that’s how we like our fried chicken, and that’s how Georgia’s chef Shawn Collins makes it every time. 192 Orchard St between E Houston and Stanton Sts (212-253-6280, georgiaseastsidebbq.com). $14.

Buttermilk fried chicken with cheddar waffles at Buttermilk Channel
Riffing on the Southern classic, a cheddar-laced waffle is topped with half a buttermilk-dipped, snappy-skinned bird, made even tastier with a drizzle of balsamic–maple syrup reduction. 524 Court St at Huntington St, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn (718-852-8490, buttermilkchannelnyc.com). $18.

STAGE: The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter closes Sunday (12/20)

ALERT: The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter closes this Sunday (12/20) at NY Theatre Workshop:

Carson McCullers’ classic novel is adapted for the stage by acclaimed playwright Rebecca Gilman (Spinning Into Butter) and directed by Doug Hughes (The Beard of Avon at NYTW, Doubt). The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is a beautiful and timeless tale about the universal need for human connection. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter follows the story of a deaf man, John Singer, as he navigates the world without his dearest friend who has been committed to an insane asylum. When Singer moves to a small Southern town, the locals flock to him as a newfound confidant, seeking compassion and understanding from the one person who needs it the most. Singer’s isolation in the world is mirrored in a few of the townspeople he meets along the way – a café owner, a rebellious teenager, a black physician, and an idealistic labor organizer whose dreams have been shattered. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter intertwines the lives of these characters in a surprising way that results in a deeply moving story of outcasts in the South during the Great Depression. (source)

SCREEN: Crazy Heart opens today (12/16) in NYC

Crazy Heart, which picked up a Golden Globe nomination yesterday, opens today (12/16) at the Angelika Theater in NYC:

Four-time Academy Award® nominee JEFF BRIDGES stars as the richly comic, semi-tragic romantic anti-hero Bad Blake in the debut feature film CRAZY HEART from writer-director Scott Cooper. Bad Blake is a broken-down, hard-living country music singer who’s had way too many marriages, far too many years on the road and one too many drinks. And yet, Bad can’t help but reach for salvation with the help of Jean (Golden Globe® Nominee MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL), a journalist who discovers the real man behind the musician. As he struggles down the road of redemption, Bad learns the hard way just how tough life can be on one man’s crazy heart. (source)

Ingram and Alabama and Heisman, Roll Tide!

I know i'm 2 days late but I was waiting on a friend to write about Mark Ingram's Heisman win in NYC this past Sunday (12/13). In the meantime, check out coverage in the Tuscaloosa News and the New York Times.

GIFT IDEA: Handmade For The Holidays!

The South is chock full of indie-prenuers, and crafty chicas. Support handmade this holiday season! Click on the pictures below to be transported to each shop.

Simple Joys Paperie - Tennessee

Jean Skipper - North Carolina

Cotton Purr - Georgia

The Quiet Owl - Alabama

Cotton Colors - Mississippi

L. Young Studio - Texas

Manic Muffin Totes - Alabama

Buggy Town Candle Company - Georgia

FIAZ CO - South Carolina

SCENE: Blues, Booze & BBQ tonight @ PowerHouse Arena

Blues, Booze, & BBQ, the first book by Michael Loyd Young, documents the 150 miles of Highway 61, the famed blacktop road snaking from Memphis, TN down to Greenville, MS. At the halfway point, in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, sits Clarksdale, MS, the city considered the birthplace of the blues and the location of Robert Johnson’s famed “Cross Road Blues” intersection of Highway 61 and 49.

The Delta has been home to blues legends such as Charley Patton, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Ike Turner, Cadillac John Nolden, B.B. King, T-Model Ford, Mississippi Slim, Big Jack Johnson, and Willie King, among countless others whose music has become the glue that holds these communities together as they struggle to survive. Young’s photographs, taken at juke joints, in private homes, or just hanging out, illustrate the bond blues creates between the Delta and its people. It is through this music that the people pass on their heritage and culture to future generations. (source)

T-Model Ford performs tonight (12/10) at the book launch party at the PowerHouse Arena in Brooklyn.

SCENE: Tennessee Williams talk @ The Times Center tonight (12/9)

Photo: Yusef Karsh

An all-star panel of actors and directors will talk about the enduring legacy of Tennessee Williams, who was among the most important and influential playwrights of the 20th century. The upcoming movie The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond, the directorial debut of actress Jodie Markell, is based on a rediscovered screenplay by Williams. Markell and two of the film’s stars, Ellen Burstyn and Bryce Dallas Howard, will be on the panel, along with the legendary Elaine Stritch, who recently presented an evening “The Lighter Side of Tennessee Williams,” and the equally legendary Eli Wallach, who made his memorable screen debut in Elia Kazan’s Baby Doll. Charles Isherwood, theater critic for The New York Times, will moderate the program. The evening will include scenes from films including A Streetcar Named Desire, Baby Doll, and The Fugitive Kind, and an exclusive look at scenes from The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond.

December 9 @ 7PM @ the Times Center. (source)

SOUNDS: A.A. Bondy @ Bowery Ballroom 12/9

It's 12:52 in the morning and I'm at a hotel in Springfield, Ohio.

My new record is called When The Devil's Loose. To me it sounds like a radio washed ashore after a shipwreck. This whole thing started in upstate New York with snow on the ground. I got out of there, drove around the country for a bit and landed in Water Valley, Mississippi, where I kept working. The days grew longer and the snakes began to wake up. I ate catfish and walked around a lot. We got a lot of rain. The weeds grew at an alarming rate and we finished work one night under a red moon. My last record was called American Hearts. I know people that like it. Fat Possum Records put it out and is releasing When The Devils Loose. My brothers and my friends helped me record this new one. I'd like to thank them for that.

This hotel may have been nice once.
- A.A. Bondy When The Devil's Loose is released on September 1, 2009.

A.A. Bondy performs live tomorrow (12/9) night at Bowery Ballroom with The Duke and the King, and Willy Mason. (source)

SOUNDS: Rhett Miller @ Housing Works tonight

Photo: LeannaTown

Texas-native Rhett Miller is the front man and main songwriter of the hard-charging rock ‘n’ roll quartet the Old 97’s, as well as an accomplished solo artist. In addition to his seven records with the band, he has released three highly regarded solo records; 2002’s The Instigator, 2006’s The Believer, and 2009’s self-titled Rhett Miller. Miller continues to balance his solo endeavors with his membership in the Old 97’s. The still-active quartet recently released the critically acclaimed album Blame It On Gravity in 2008 and were also prominently featured in the Jennifer Aniston/Vince Vaugn romantic comedy, The Break Up. Rolling Stone magazine stated that Rhett “is full of gracefully rocking arrangements and ace tunes.” (source)

He performs tonight (12/7) at 7PM with actress/musician Jill Hennessey at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe.

GIFT IDEA: 20x200 Limited Edition Art Prints

ART FOR EVERYONE! Launched in September 2007, 20x200 uses the power of the Internet to bring the value and joy of collecting art to a wider audience than has ever been possible. Named for its signature $20 prints, which are released in editions of 200, the site offers photographs and works on paper in a variety of sizes, ranging in price from $20 to $5000. Curated and personally introduced by founder Jen Bekman in twice weekly newsletters, 20x200's exhibition-quality prints are delivered with artist-signed certificates of authenticity. Collectors clamor for original works from our artists and our editions frequently sell out. They are passionate about art and the Internet at 20x200 and they are excited about creating a place where any art lover can be an art collector.

The prints below were created in the South. You can view the work of artists from the South here.

think-make-think (second edition) by Clifton Burt

Hank Williams' Bed, Georgiana, Alabama by Scott Eiden

Penguin, Memphis, TN by Geoffrey Ellis

Hint: That "Penguin" is my fave!

GIFT IDEA: The Country Music Sale @ Christie's!

Today's the big day! (Oh yea, that's Hank Williams' hat up yonder!)

Christie’s is pleased to offer The Country Music Sale featuring property from the Estate of Hank Thompson, the first sale dedicated to the creation, history, and evolution of Country Music. The foundation of the sale is property from the estate of Texas Swing Band leader, song writer and country performer Hank Thompson.

This sale also includes important property from the classic and marquee names in Country Music, including musical instruments, stage outfits, and hand-written lyrics from American artists such as Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Waylon Jennings, Hank Snow, Hank Williams, Conway Twitty, Bill Monroe, Buddy Holly, Johnny and June Carter Cash, Luther Perkins, and John Hartford.

GIFT IDEA: Fort Rucker Remembered desk calendar

Shameless plug: I made the paper in Dothan AL for the Fort Rucker Remembered desk calendar that I shot and produced. Below is an excerpt of Debbie Ingram's piece:

Anne Kristoff, a longtime media and entertainment executive from New York City, has created a 2010 desk calendar with images taken at Fort Rucker.

The black and white spiral-bound calendar is a collection of some of Kristoff’s favorite images from around post. It includes photographs of a vintage airplane at the Army Aviation Museum; a soldier’s boots; a blackhawk helicopter at Lowe Field; a soldier’s salute of the flag; and a rattlesnake crossing sign near Lake Tholocco.

A portion of the proceeds from the calendar sales will be donated to TAPS.org, a 24/7 tragedy assistance resource for anyone who has suffered the loss of a military loved one. The calendar is available for $15 at http://www.poofny.etsy.com