january 2012 murfreesboro pulse

ALBUM REVIEWS:JEFFERSON GRIZZARD, KING

GREATER>THAN, JOZOARA SESSIONSADAM DALTON, DAX, SKY HI pg. 20

ONLINE AT: BOROPULSE.COM

Middle Tennessee’s Source for Art, Entertainment and Culture News

MURFREESBORO

MUSICWalnut House invites recording enthusiasts to experience Studio LIFE. pg. 20

LIVING GREENTips to reduce energy consumption and lower your electric bill.pg. 5

ARTSmyrna's New Earthsoul Gallery pushes community creativity. pg. 18

Vol. 7, Issue 1

January 2012

FREETake One!

to Better Fitness in 2012 The Ascent Climbing Wall Full Body Workout with Tri-Fit The Editor's Running Routine

CLIMBpg. 14

XX * JANUARY 2012 * BOROPULSE.COM

BOROPULSE.COM * JANUARY 2012 * 3

Well, our Jr. got his Buzz and Woody fi gures for Christmas. Life-sized, just like the movies.

And they came just in time, for a few days after Christmas we needed some extra manpower.

Bracken Jr. had spent a few hours at Recess Playroom, and now back at home the realization came that Blue One, the best, fuzziest blanket in the world—a blanket that would make Linus Van Pelt himself green with envy—had not returned.

"We must fetch it now," we agreed.Knowing this mission would certainly require some reinforcements,

Jr. quickly recruited the most trusty cowboy and courageous space ranger there are; “Woody come, Buzz come,” he says.

Yes, great idea. This could be a dangerous adventure.So, we proceeded to the Pulsemobile, my short little man with a

Disney/Pixar-inspired partner in each hand. Onto the Playroom, to recover our comrade—who has been known as Blue long before the restaurant located next to Recess Playroom took the name as its own . . . Blue One was recovered without incident. To infi nity and beyond!

What a year 2011 has been for villainous, caricatured foreign dictators; Osama, Muammmar and Kim Jong-il are all out.

Mr. Parrish predicts 2012 may see the demise of Cuba’s Castro. We shall see.

Do you ever wish you could just hibernate from New Year's Day until about Mid-March? If there’s a plus side to sickness, being sick makes one appreciate health even more.

So, if Israel needs the help of the U.S. military so much (evidently the assumption the U.S. operates under, at least), why don't we colonize her? Have the Israelis pay federal taxes that go towards the U.S. mili-tary. They will be the 51st state.

It shall be known as Jewish Carolina. While we're at it, let's become one with Mexico; share infrastructure, jobs and vacation destinations. Fight the border war by eliminating the border. South Texas, perhaps. And take back the Philippines, a little Asian infl uence in the empire building.

The major news outlets, already pretty hard to take seriously, have further damaged their own credibility in “reporting” on the Republican primary. It seems they favor and block out certain candidates.

Besides that, their coverage in general is ridiculous and more about the strategies used by the candidates to get elected just as much as any kind of issue that has real impact on people. Banks and fi nancial sector enterprises are large advertisers with the TV networks. Perhaps those types of business try and pressure to have Ron Paul marginalized

because they don’t want limitless supply of interest free money from the Fed to play around with cut off. Is that it? Is Boeing behind it? I don't know. I really am perplexed by the bias, but it certainly appears present.

After some study of our nation’s formation and history, it seems over the last century the people have repeatedly handed over their liberty out of fear. Some evil force comes along—Nazis, drugs, communism, ter-rorism—and people are willing to surrender money and liberty. Citizens have allowed this to happen and snowball until we all fi nd ourselves nearly fallen slaves to the military industrial complex.

“There’s bad guys out there, we better amend the Constitution so we can seize more of our own citizens’ money,” they said in World War I, when the U.S. Federal income tax was created.

“Plants will kill you and you people aren’t intelligent enough to pro-tect yourselves,” they said as the DEA was formed.

“Better let us have access to all of your communications and the right to search and detain whomever we want,” Obama says now.

“They try and build a prison, for you and me to live in,” says System of a Down.

Those who oppose the mad-ness are the ones the elites label unpatriotic traitors. Today, people choose to submit in order to make things easier for their families, rather than rebel to truly change the system for our children’s chil-dren. It’s a choice of convenience. We live a comfortable lifestyle. Most Americans have food on the table, and a heated house in which to sleep.

A solitary individual, a renegade with nothing to live for could make

the choice to make a statement, shoot some IRS or DEA agents, and possibly be remembered as a patriot or martyr for doing so. However, the family man or woman with a spouse and kids is generally not mak-ing life better for the family by truly challenging the government. Who wants to stir up trouble with a bloated, corrupt government when one has the the immediate necessities of life and family.

So rather than revolt, you must vote them out.It takes a long time, but that's the way the system is set up. It takes a

while to get the beast moving. I want to pass on to the next generations a land of opportunity. Not

a land of entitlement. A land where there is no IRS, DEA, Federal Reserve, national debt, 2 million people behind bars and ridiculous tax codes. The land of the free!

Peace,

Bracken Mayo, Editor in Chief

DEAR READERS:

Copyright © 2011, The Murfreesboro Pulse, 116-E N. Walnut St., Murfreesboro, TN 37130. Proudly owned, operated and published the first Thursday of each month by the Mayo family; printed by Franklin Web Printing Co. The Murfreesboro Pulse is a free publication funded by our advertisers. Views expressed in The Pulse do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. ISSN: 1940-378X

Publisher/Editor in Chief: Bracken Mayo

Art Director: Sarah L. Mayo

Copy Editor: Cindy Phiffer

Advertising Reps: Don Clark, Ryan Noreikas

Photographer: Jon WesenbergPULS

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CONTENTS

To carry The Pulse at your business, or submit letters, stories and photography: [email protected] North Walnut St., Murfreesboro, TN 37130(615) 796-6248

28 Z-Train Titans end above .500, but no playoffs.

29 A Running Routine for 2012 Getting started running is easy: run.

SPORTS

18 Earthsoul Gallery Angela Elkins opens new art exhibit space/learning center in Smyrna.

19 The Art of Arrowmont MTSU gallery hosts work from Gatlinburg arts and crafts school.

ART

10 Murfreesboro Entrepreneurs Larry Sims shares journey from young antique enthusiast to real estate leader.

11 Apple Talk Optical drives may be on the way out.

12 COMMUNITY EVENTS Polar Bear Plunge held at Sports*Com.

13 Read to Succeed Book Review Daughter of Smoke and Bone

BUSINESS

4 Gagflex: Goodbye 2011 A look at the year defined by protests, Osama's death and Tim Tebow. 5 Living Green Reducing home energy consumption.

6 Phil Valentine "Tax Cut" is just bribing workers with their own money.

7 La Palabra 12 Predicciones para 2012.

8 Military Men for Ron Paul More veterans show preferance for Paul.

MAIL

30 Blue Agave Flaming fajitas, tons of tequillas and fresh guacamole made tableside.

FOOD

27 Reviews The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Living Room Cinema The Series of Beginnings.

MOVIES

20 Studio LIFE Recording students can gain thousands of hours of studio time at Walnut House.

21 Album Reviews Sky Hi, Jefferson Grizzard, Dax, greater>than, King, Adam Dalton, JoZoara Coffeehouse Sessions

24 CONCERT LISTINGS Don't miss Kansas Bible Company at The Boro on Saturday, Jan 7.

SOUNDS

26 To Hold Our Destiny Dead Man's Cell Phone a poignant exploration at Out Front.

THEATER

Contributing Writers: Spencer Blake, Patrick Clark, Ryan Egly, Chris Goebel,Mai Harris, Bryce Harmon, Jason Johnson, Marcus Luche, Zach Maxfield, Ryan Noreikas, Jessica Pace, Michelle Palmer, Cameron Parrish, Jay Spight, Norbert Thiemann, Chris Wells, Adam Valentine, Phil Valentine

14 Time to Climb Just hanging out at The Ascent, Murfreesboro's indoor climbing facility.

16 Full Body Workout Tri-Fit goes over a few basic excercises anyone can do right at home.

17 MMA in Murfreesboro Guardian trains serious fighters and little ninjas at new location near Hasting's.

OUT & ABOUTOn The Cover

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2011, you brought us many great nuggets to talk, text and tweet about. Here are your 10 greatest hits.

1. Protests. In Arab countries, 2011 will be known as the year of the Arab Spring. Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Tunisia all had protests and revolutions that lead to the outing of longstanding governments and dictators. We also saw protests in Bahrain, Jordan and Oman. In the U.S., we had the Occupy Wall Street protest, or what’s referred to as the Dirty Jealous Hippy protests by people who work on Wall Street. Results are still pending.

2. The Death of Osama bin Laden. Who didn’t read every detail about the Navy Seals kill-ing Osama bin Laden? Okay, if

most American read then they would have read it. But I’m sure the made-for-TV movie will rock all the same. Sorry, Gadhafi. Be-ing dragged out of a drain pipe and shot by your own people doesn’t make the cut.

3. The GOP Presidential Field. I don’t know who’s going to get the Republi-can nomination, and I’m not sure that I care. It’s hard to care when Herman Cain is no lon-ger is the race. Where Rick Perry’s implosion was just a little hard to watch, Herman Cain’s fall was like a beautiful swan dive off a moun-tain of indefensible lies and bad ideas. Who cares what Romney has to say, we’ve heard it before. Also, Ron Paul has a few good ideas.

People might even take him seri-ously if his own party did.

4. Tebowmania. Of course, Tebow will continue to play foot-ball, but the cherry has already been popped on the first year of hysteria. Anyone who tries as

hard as he does deserves to succeed, unless of course you try hard at murdering.

5. The Debt Ceiling Fight. Obama should have seen it coming. He should know by now that Republican’s act anonymously as a party and are willing to bring the whole system down to get their way.

6. The End of the War in Iraq. It only took 8 years after George W. Bush declared “Mission accomplished” to pull our troops out of Iraq.

7. The Death of Kim Jong Il. It’s almost hard to imagine that the Dear

Leader could actually die with all the claims about his miracle existence. Then again the $650,000 he spent on cognac every year might have finally caught up to him.

8. Tornados. I hate ’em. They ravaged many parts of the South, and I fear they’ll come and get me if I leave them off the list.

9. The Royal Wedding. Americans once again got to act like they care about the big-gest welfare recipients in England. However, the one positive that can be taken away from the wedding is that Pippa Middleton exists.

10. Twitter. If you heard about the story before everyone else then you probably found out about it on Twitter. It doesn’t matter if it’s true, it matters that you know first. While Twitter has been around for a few years, 2011 is the year that people discovered that if it’s over 140 characters, then it’s probably not worth knowing.

GAGFLEXcolumn by JASON JOHNSON

[email protected]

Goodbye 2011

OPINIONS


A few years ago I heard a presenta-tion by two permaculturists while attending the monthly EarthSave Louisville potluck. The topic was

a community house that the presenters were building. I will never forget how the conven-tional home was described: the modern house is a heat and energy sink, sucking energy from the grid and consuming it in the form of AC, heating, lighting, appliances, electronics, etc. A motion was made by the presenter with both hands, narrow at the onset and widening downwards, which conveyed the message of energy disappearing into nothing. In the Vol-unteer State, that disappearing energy has two primary sources: natural gas and coal.

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that residential electricity use increased sharply from 1950-2000, while the use of natural gas decreased slightly during the same time period. Increases in appliance efficiency and home insulation have been offset by a number of factors. The average size of homes in the U.S. is 45 percent larger than 30 years ago, while the number of occupants has decreased. The result is an increase in per capita floor area, extra space that has to be heated and cooled. The number of appliances and electronics has also risen dramatically; many are never turned off.

Per capita residential electricity consumption in Tennessee is 6,868 kwh, which is 2,274 kwh higher than the national average and places us at No. 2 nationally (EIA). How embarrassing! Apart from our damaged pride, this staggering number translates into a higher carbon footprint as well as higher utility bills. Although house size is not something eas-ily fixed, there are a variety of ways to signifi-cantly reduce home energy use.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the average American household spends $2,000 on energy each year. About 25 percent of this could be reduced via measures like these (all numerical data courtesy energysavers.gov).

1. Insulation. Walls, windows, and doors. Check the R value of insulation in your attic and in crawl spaces. Check windows and doors for air leaks. Double-paned windows offer an R value in the 1.5–3.6 range, while single-pane windows are rated at about .85. Storm windows can reduce heat loss by 25–50 percent.

2. Stand-by electronics. Put all stand-by electronics on a single power strip than can be switched off, rather than allowing them to suck energy during off time (TV, DVD player, computer, printer, etc.). Reduce the number of household electronics. In addition to energy savings, eliminating all televisions in the home would provide an incalculable quality of life

benefit. A friend of mine turned his old, wood-framed cathode ray tube TV into a fish tank, providing hours of nature programming.

3. Appliances. Look for the Energy Star rat-ing. Appliances account for about 20 percent of home energy use. For best in class listings, visit energy.gov/appliances-electronics.

4. Hot water. Install low-flow shower heads and faucets to reduce water use. Use the low-est settings on dish and laundry washers (the bulk of the energy used for these activities is consumed when heating the water). Lower the thermostat on the water heater to 120 degrees (every 10 degree reduction provides 3–5 per-cent in energy savings). Turn the water heater off for extended periods of inactivity (days).

5. Home temperature. Invest in a programmable thermostat, which allows for different temperatures while away and at night. It is estimated that a 10–15 degree temperature reduction for 8 hours during the winter can save 10 percent on heating bills. In the summer, I find that a degree or two can make a signifi-cant impact on the AC cycle frequency.

The Murfreesboro Electric Department offers home energy audits and works with contractors who can implement chang-es. An audit costs $150, all of which will be refunded

in the form of a check if $150 worth of energy improvements are made within 90 days. You are also eligible for a 50 percent reimburse-ment of the installation cost, with a limit of $500, on TVA-approved improvements (see the Murfreesboro Electric website for more).

It is tempting to view reducing energy usage as merely an interesting experiment. Energy prices are kept artificially low by externalizing the environmental and health costs of using coal and natural gas, and many have the level of disposable income to overlook the issue. But consider a scenario in which coal and natural gas are monetized, which is a coming market-based solution to curb the insatiable American hunger for energy. When the true price of our lifestyle is correctly accounted for, it will be the prepared who will best accommodate the change. Additionally, the well-documented environmental damage caused by wanton energy wastefulness hurts everyone. And lastly, the egregious American energy footprint is not accompanied by a corresponding level of happiness. As wonderfully investigated in Eric Weiner’s A Geography of Bliss, happiness is largely comparative after basic needs are met.

I will leave you with some questions. What are we really getting for our larger homes and a perpetual turnover of gadgets, and is there another path more consistent with our values?

LIVINGGREEN

column by RYAN EGLY

Stay Out Mr. Frost!

Plant now for a burst of spring growth!


“Tax Cut” is Only Bribing Workers with Their Own Money

What if your employ-er came to you and said, “Hey, I’ve got some great news.

We’re going to lower your con-tribution to your 401(k). That’s going to put about $1,000 more in your pocket this year.”

You’d be asking the obvious questions, right? What does this mean for my 401(k)? Who’s going to make up the difference?

“Oh, you are, eventually,” the boss answers. “We’re going to either take a bigger chunk out of your paycheck down the road or we’re going to lower the amount you get when you retire.”

How many people would go for that? Then why are we go-ing for this ridiculous “payroll tax cut”? Both Democrats and Republicans keep calling it a payroll tax cut because they don’t want you to know what it really is. It’s a Social Security and Medicare contribution cut. Common sense would tell you

that if you contribute less there’s going to be less money when you retire. But it’s even worse than that. Since we’re paying for retirements right now, the cut in contributions has an immediate effect, in the billions of dollars.

We are in a pay-as-you-go sys-tem. In other words, what we’re

contributing now is paying for the retirement of our seniors

right now. Sorry, Virginia. There is no Social Secu-

rity Trust Fund. It was all a ruse. Most of us understand that and we’ve come to terms with that. In fact, we’re trying to figure out how to fix this whole mess.

One way you certainly don’t fix it is by depriving the Social Security system, which is already upside-down, of much-needed contributions. Yet both parties seem to think we’re stupid. Maybe we are. According to an AP/GfK poll, a full 58 percent of us are in favor of continuing this nonsense of a payroll tax cut.

I know what some of you are saying, “I thought you were for cutting taxes in order to stimu-late growth.” I am but this is the wrong tax to cut. This is not so much a tax but a contribution to a retirement plan. If we cut our contributions then there are seri-ous consequences. We instantly increase the deficits and the debt because they take money out of the general fund to make Social Security payments.

If President Obama re-

ally believed in stimulating the economy through tax cuts he would a) make the Bush tax cuts permanent for ALL Americans and b) lower taxes even more. So why hasn’t he? It’s pretty simple. Nearly 47 percent of the people don’t pay taxes in this country. Who do you think they vote for when they go to the polls? Everybody who’s drawing a paycheck pays into Social Security and Medicare. By lowering their contributions Obama is able to reach all those people who don’t pay income taxes. In other words, he’s managed to bribe us with our own money.

As I recall it was one of those real smart guys at our country’s founding who said once elected officials had learned to do that the jig was up. I’m paraphras-ing, of course. We have nearly 60 percent of the people who are either so misinformed, so gullible or so stupid that they would go along with a scheme that deprives Social Security of money just so they can buy a few more Christ-mas presents.

One congressman proposed that we give people an option. If they opted for the payroll tax cut their retirement would be put off by a month for each year they did it. It was shot down.

Yep, sure sounds like the jig is up to me.

Phil Valentine is an author and na-tionally syndicated radio talk show host with Westwood One. For more of his commentary and articles, visit philvalentine.com.

VIEWS OF A CONSERVATIVEcolumn byPHIL VALENTINE philvalentine.com

“We are in a pay-as-you-go system. In other words, what we’re contribut-ing now is paying for the retirement of our seniors right now. Sorry, Virginia, there is no Social Security Trust Fund.

It was all a big ruse.”

OPINIONS


IN ENGLISH:

Last January we made seven predictions for 2011, many of which turned out to be accurate. With 2012 here, I can’t resist us-ing my extraordinary powers to once again predict the future! I’ll admit that some weren’t exactly original but several were indeed made by yours truly. First, let’s look a few of them before begining our predictions for 2012.

We said last year that cyberwars and hac-tivism would escalate in a very big way during 2011. Attacks on government and commercial assets saw a sharp increase and were a daily occurrence throughout the year. In fact, on December 26th, it was reported that hackers stole more than 4,000 credit card numbers and other in-formation from a Texas based security “think tank.” Among the more dire predictions for the year, we also told Pulse readers that fuel prices would skyrocket and serious earth-quake activity would increase sharply. Unfor-tunately, gas prices did go way up, and while the famous Hollywood sign might not have suffered damage like I had envisioned, we did see enormous quakes in New Zealand as well as the Japanese earthquake that resulted in the ongoing nuclear disaster at Fukushima. As if those predictions weren’t enough to keep you reading La Palabra, we also predicted that voice activated technology would be featured prominently on new devices nearly a year before most of you were asking Siri for direc-tions on your new iPhone 4s.

Now get ready for some wild predictions for 2012! It’s too late to turn back now!1 2012 is the year “El Caballo” a.k.a. Fidel Castro goes to that big revolutionary paradise in the sky. Now just in case the “spooks” from the Dirección de Inteligencia Cubana (Cuban intelligence agency) are reading this, I want to be clear that if this actually happens I had nothing to do with it.2 Occupy Wall Street resurges this Spring, and protests will parallel flash rioting in US cities.3 Massive flooding in the Midwest and Southeastern regions of the US. My daughter Vanessa receives credit for this one but I fully agree. Buy flood insurance!4 Elvis Presley will be found living under the witness protection program.5 Many experts will be rethinking the timeline for human prehistory after a series of scientific breakthroughs including some on the planet Mars.6 We’ll see an increase in UFO reports.7 A devastating 9.0+ earthquake will oc-cur in North America. Recent nationwide earthquake drills and the government web-site ready.org is a clue that something big is

about to happen.8 United States defaults on sovereign debt marking the beginning of a major financial collapse.9 Additional evidence will surface support-ing the theory that Adolph Hitler did not die in 1945.0 A major cyber-attack will affect commerce on a nationwide scale.q Free energy technology will appear, which

holds the promise of revo-lutionizing life on Earth. Approximately 80 percent of what we pay for all goods and services can be attributed to energy costs

in one form or another. If this technology is used to benefit humanity, it will eliminate the need for borrowing and eradicate extreme poverty throughout the world.w Last but not least, Dec. 21, 2012, will not be the end of all life on Earth. However, if my other predictions come true it might just be “the end of the world as we know it.” Hope-fully, my last prediction comes true and the world as we know it will change for the better!

Happy New Year.

IN SPANISH:

En enero pasado hicimos 7 prediccio-nes para 2011, muchos de las cuales resul-taron ser exactos. Con 2012 aquí no pu-edo resistir a usar mis poderes ex-traordinarios de predecir otra ve z el futuro. Confesaré que unos no eran ex-actamente originales pero varios en efec-to fueron hechospor atentamente. Prim-ero vaya a mirar algunos de ellos antes begin-ing nuestras prediccionespara 2012.

Dijimos el año pasado que las ci-berguerras y hactivism se intensifi-carían de un modo muygrande duran-te 2011. Los ataques contra activos del gobi-erno y comerciales vieron un fuerteaumen-to y eran un acontecimiento diario a lo lar-go del año. De hecho, el 26 de diciem-bre serelató que los hackeres robaro-n más de 4 000 números de la tarjeta de crédi-to y otra informaciónde un Texas seguri-dad basada ”grupo de expertos”. Entre las pre-dicciones más extremas parael año tam-bién dijimos a lectores de Pulso que los pre-cios de combustible subirían como unco-hete y la actividad de terremoto seria aumen-taría bruscamente.

Lamentablemente los precios de gas real-mente fueron el camino y mientras el si-gno deHollywood famoso no podría haber su-frido el daño como yo había previsto, real-mente vimostemblores enormes en Nue-va Zelanda así como el terremo-to japonés que causó el desastrenucle-ar en curso en Fukushima. Como si aquel-

las predicciones no eran bastan-te para guardarleleyendo a La Palabra, tam-bién predijimos que la tecnología acti-vada de la voz sería presentadamuy a la vis-ta en nuevos dispositivos casi un año an-tes de que la mayor parte de ustedespidier-an Siri direcciones en su nuevo I-Phone 4s.

Ahora ¡prepárate para algunas prediccio-nes arriesgadas para 2012! Ya es demasiado tarde para retroceder ahora! !Adelante!1 2012 Es el año del caballo alias Fi-del Castro va a que gran paraiso revolucio-nario en el cielo. Ahora en caso de que los “spooks” de the Dirección de Inteli-gencia Cubana (la C.I.A. Cubano) es-tan leyendo, quiero aclarar que si lo su-cede yo no tenía nada que ver con ella.2 Durante la primavera “Occupy Wal-street” resurge con protestas mientras que tenemos disturbios repentinos en las ciu-dades grandes de Estados Unidos.3 Inundación masiva en el Mediooeste y re-giones del Sudeste de los EE.UU. Mi hija Vanessa recibe el crédito de éste pero estoy totalmente de acuerdo. ¡Compre el segu-ro contra inundaciones!4 Elvis Presley se encuentra vivien-do bajo el programa de protección de testigos.5 Muchos expertos repen-sarán la cronograma para la pre-historia humana después de una serie de brechas científicas incluso posible-mente unos en el planeta Marte.6 Veremos un aumento en reportes de OVNIS.

7 Un 9.0 terremoto devastador ocur-rirá en Norteamérica. Las taladrado-ras de terremoto de escalanacional recien-tes y el sitio web del gobierno Ready. org son pista que algo grande está apunto de pasar. 8 Incumplimientos en el pago de la deu-da soberana de EEUU marcara el inicio de un gran colapso financiero.9 Pruebas adicionales se aparece apoy-ando la teoría de que Adolf Hit-ler no murió en el año 1945.0 Un ciber-ataque afectará el comer-cio en una escala nacional.q Una tecnología de la energía libre apa-recerá que revolucionara la vida en la Tierra. Aproximadamente 80% de lo que esta-mos pagando por tdos los bienes y ser-vicios puede atribuirse a los cos-tos de la energía de una for-ma u otra. Si esta tecnología se utiliza en beneficio de la humanidad, que elimi-nará la necesidad de recurrir a présta-mos y tambien erradicar la pobreza extre-ma en todo el mundo.w Por fin 21 de diciem-bre de 2012 no será el final de toda la vida sobre la Tierra. Sin em-bargo, si mis otros prediccio-nes se cumplen podría ser ”el fin del mundo tal como lo conocemos”. Por suerte, si mi última predicción se convierta en reali-dad el mundo tal como lo conocemos cambi-ará para lo mejor!

Feliz Año Nuevo.

La PALABRAUna columna del idioma español por

CAMERON PARRISH

12 Predictions for 2012(12 Predicciones Para 2012)


The realization comes when you take a look at the donations. Ron Paul has pulled in more donations from current and former members of the military

than all the other Republican candidates and Obama combined. Clearly there is something odd going on. A quick check of the major news headlines and you will see several articles regarding Mitt Romney as well as Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry, but still little on Ron Paul. Also, the constant bleating from the talk radio pundits practically screams, “Don’t look at Ron Paul; he is a waste of your vote!” In fact, several Fox news anchors have outright stated, “Paul cannot win.” Yet, Paul appears to be either winning or in close contention in all of the early primary states as well as many of the later states. His supporters are organized and turn out in mass to events and there are simply tons of them.

At the beginning of October, campaign donation statistics showed Paul receiving $8 million dollars in the previous 3 months from over 100,000 different people. This averages out to about $80 per person. Although Paul received the third most money overall, at the time, the number of individuals who donated to Paul was more than the number of people who donated to all other candidates combined.

So what is it exactly that is keeping Paul out of the headlines and off Fox News shows, and causing him to constantly garner negative feedback from talk radio hosts?

“The Phil Valentine Effect” After conducting a local and rather unscientific poll here on the Square in Murfreesboro it becomes clear that most people either don’t know Paul is running or think that he has no chance and have not been paying attention to him. The second and smaller category is the people who know about him and are interested enough to have formed an opinion on him. This group mostly it consists of his supporters. Even here in Murfreesboro, I see yard signs quite often with Ron Paul’s “Restore America Now” slogan displayed. The people who support him mostly truly love him and are willing to work to show it. The other segment of the people who know Paul are those who like some of what he stands for but have a few things that are keeping them from supporting him completely. This is where the Phil Valentine effect comes in.

Phil Valentine is a talk radio show host from Nashville who is nationally syndicated and

broadcasts all over America. He is very similar to the Rush Limbaughs and other conservative talk radio hosts who dominate the air waves.

His stance on Paul is about 80 percent positive, which is actually better than most of the talk radio hosts, who can completely ignore Paul and even refuse to take calls from people who want to talk about him. However, before Herman Cain suspended his campaign, Valentine spent massive air time shilling for him. At the same time that Valentine started pushing Cain, nearly every talk radio show host and major TV news anchor simultaneously started pushing Cain all across America. To an unbiased bystander, the media’s dramatic uptick in coverage seemed almost planned out.

Of course, Cain faded quickly as his policies lacked real content, and he obviously suffered from some moral problems. So what will happen to Paul now that Cain disappeared in a similar fashion to Perry, and that Gingrich slips as more of his record is exposed? The answer is clear; Valentine and all of the others will do the same thing they did in 2008. As the primaries draw closer and closer, they will get behind the “default Republican” candidate Mitt Romney. I would like to address their reasons here, and hopefully convince them to POUR themselves into supporting Paul. If I fail, history will repeat itself and these same talk show hosts will be scratching their heads wondering how in the world the Republicans just lost to Obama again. We absolutely will see another four years of Obama if Romney, Gingrich or another mediocre and only remotely conservative candidate is the nominee.

Military As stated earlier, Paul gets more donations from veterans and active military members than all the other candidates combined.

But Valentine and the rest of the pundits continuously pronounce Paul to be weak on foreign policy. They even say that Paul’s foreign policies would be dangerous to the security of Americans, and the world.

Valentine’s, as well as most neoconservative arguments typically go as follows. Muslims and other people throughout the world hate Americans because they hate democracy and they hate freedom. These people hate us so much that they will go to all lengths to attack American interests anywhere, even if it means suicide attacks. Valentine believes that it is necessary to maintain a policy of leadership replacement throughout the Middle East region, and that it is necessary to maintain a huge military presence in the region. He is particularly concerned about our Israeli allies and their safety if we were to leave the region.

His arguments are flawed for several reasons. As a country who is rapidly approaching bankruptcy, the cost alone should be enough of a reason to leave. On a deeper level, consider what we are doing; for the last 40 years in the Middle East, our strategy has been “regime change” over and over again. What this means is to remove the ruling party and replace it with someone who is sympathetic to our purposes. The result is the creation of small independent divisions which form internal leadership and function similarly to how the American militias did in the Revolutionary War.

As a military strategy this makes no sense. Since it is of utmost importance to know your enemy, the most logical strategy is to leave strong leadership intact. Why would we pursue a policy that makes our enemies more difficult to fight? Between the U.S., and the former Soviet Union’s policies, we have created a monster now. The command structures of the forces we are fighting in the Middle East region are so broken that any war we pursue in the region has become virtually unwinnable. Even when we destroy the figurehead leadership, small insurgent elements indefinitely fight on and ultimately cost us in the form of American lives and American resources. Paul talked about how the Soviets were in Afghanistan indefinitely fighting an unwinnable war just before they went bankrupt and collapsed. Now America is in the same position.

Another major issue is that evidence shows that in times of constant war or constant economic depression, cultures will turn to religion as a way to cope with their trouble. In essence, by pursuing a policy of manipulation in the region, we have given strength to the hard-line Islamists we claim to be opposing.

If you watch or read the 1998 interview of Bin Laden, he declares war on the U.S. unless Americans remove troops and bases from Arabia (which is considered to be Muslim holy land). In no part of the interview or any other documented sources does Bin Laden ever talk about destroying the U.S. because it is a democracy, or because it is free. Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda movement only gained power through religious zealotry that was made

possible because of U.S. policy. They fight because they protect their home.

Regarding Iran and Nukes The general consensus from the pundits is that Iran is full of suicidal Muslim idiots who would stop at nothing to destroy the U.S. Some may be, but as a people, Iranians have history and culture they seek to protect as well as extremely important land. In fact, Iran is the home of several of the oldest and most holy cities in the Arab world. The policy of mutually assured destruction applies just as strongly to Iran as anyone else in history. If Iran were to use a nuclear weapon to attack Israel or any of our other allies, the result would be the complete destruction of Iran by a rain of nuclear hell by the U.S. and Israel. Iran would be reduced to a landscape of glass.

Additionally, Jerusalem has deep rooted tradition within Islamic history. Their prophet Muhammad was said to have made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem where he “visited heaven.” It is simply illogical that Iran would consider the complete destruction of one of the holiest places in the world to Islam.

Civil Rights Ron Paul’s viewpoints on civil rights are very simple and very clear. He uses the Constitution, and specifically the Bill of Rights to define his position. Yet somehow, these so called “conservative” talk radio show hosts oppose Paul and the Constitution. Recently, nearly every conservative talk show host in America stated their support for the killing without trial of American citizen Anwar Al-awlaki. I have to mention that Ron Paul received an odd endorsement from Michael Savage regarding his stance on this issue, but almost unanimously, Phil Valentine and the other pundits fell in line and supported President Obama in declaring it legitimate to kill without the necessity for a trial. This is a disastrous slippery-slope policy, and the Bill of Rights is exceptionally clear regarding this issue. The Constitution, specifically, the Bill of Rights, is simply non-negotiable. The letters and words contained in those documents are the core of what we as a country are. If these ideas are allowed to be circumvented based on whatever circumstances the current President deems appropriate, then I submit that this is no longer America.

As far as Dr. Paul’s civil liberties record is concerned, he is simply the best. He has fought his entire life to preserve our liberties, and he will continue to do so as president.

Our Department of Defense has been turned into a department of offense, and in turn it is costing us trillions. Those trillions of dollars are the reason why my generation’s kids will grow up with less than their parents for the first time in many years. I implore you, support Dr. Paul and stop the madness that is pervading our system.

Read the unabbreviated version of this column at boropulse.com

OPINION

Military Men for Ron Paul

column by CHRIS GOEBEL

“Who are the true patriots? Those who

conform or those who dissent to wars

without merit?” — Ron Paul


DEC.3

The fi rst venture into business for Larry Sims, a 1972 MTSU business admin-istration graduate, was in the antique industry. The young businessman with an interest in collecting and re-selling older pieces opened an antique

mall off the Buchanan Road Exit of I-24.“That’s where Ronnie Barrett makes his

.50 caliber rifl e now,” Sims said of his fi rst business’s location.

Sims then, in 1974, set out to build an antique center off the Church Street Exit in Murfreesboro.

“My main banker turned me down (for a loan), but I found a banker out of Clarksville. Barry Hawkins was his name, with First Ten-nessee. He knew I knew some things about antiques,” Sims said, adding a lot of bankers will only look at the numbers when consider-ing making a loan, and not the individual or their work ethic and ideas.

“But that property was my fi rst venture into real estate.”

“The codes weren’t so bad back then. Once I had the slab down, I had the building up and a business started within 14 working days,” Sims said. But the young entrepre-neur wasn’t satisfi ed with a single building.

“I wanted to expand. The next year, they worked me up a SBA loan. I went and built another building. They are now called Antique Centers 1 and 2.

“I wanted to learn more about the auction business,” Sims continued, so he went to work for Jim Stevens and from him he learned the trade of the auctioneer. But Sims’ holding of the antique center property wouldn’t last forever.

“When the ’90s rolled around, it was kind of a market like we have today,” Sims said. “The note came up, and even though it was worth twice of what I had into it, they wouldn’t renew. I was forced to sell the prop-erty and start over. I was broke.”

Sims didn’t let one door’s closing stop his career in business. He poured himself into his own real estate and auction business and today, two decades of countless deals and hard work after he had to start over, Sims and agents working under him have helped hundreds of Murfreesboro families buy and sell houses, and Sims Realtors & Auctioneers has its hands in transactions and auctions involving properties from industrial parks to churches to vacant lots.

“I don’t need to read Dave Ramsey, I’ve been through it. I don’t need to read about the De-pression. I’ve been through one,” Sims said.

MP: What businesses/people were an inspiration for you?LS: Going to work for C.B. Arnette. At that time he was one of the most successful entre-preneurs who had ever hit Murfreesboro.

The auction business is really easy to get into. You go to school for 14 days and boom, you’re an auctioneer. You hit the ground run-ning. The same thing with a real estate license, you can get a license in 3 months, and hit the ground running. But a good auctioneer or real estate agent are hard to fi nd. I’ve heard 20 percent of the real estate agents do virtually all of the business, and I imagine that’s still true.

But Jim Stevens was unique. He was just one of those guys who was blessed and had found his calling. He just knew how to make money. I learned the ins and outs of the auc-tion business from him. I learned from him it’s not as much about what you’re selling, but motivating the people around you.MP: What’s your favorite part of running

your business?LS: It’s obviously rewarding fi nancially if everything works.

What drives me is try-ing to make something happen. You get a chal-lenge, you get an oppor-tunity. The challenge of trying to sell something is very interesting. Usu-ally there is something that needs to be done to that type of property.

MP: How are you getting the word out about your business?LS: Change can be hard, especially if you’re having success, but we’re getting more high tech. We send e-mail blasts, have virtual tours of properties on our website.

I’ve found advertising is like a double-edged sword. You have to let people know about sales, and I’ve advertised a lot, but it can be expensive.It may take three or four things to get some-one interested in a property. They may see an e-mail, a newspaper ad and a fl yer in the mail before they actually decide to go see a property.MP: What’s the most diffi cult aspect?LS: The most diffi cult thing is when I’m not able to sell a property or get what I feel is a fair price for the seller.

What I or the seller feels is a fair price versus what the buyer feels can be greatly different.

When you lose the trust of a client. A lot of time the realtor is to blame, but a lot of time the market is just as much to blame.

I see a lot of potential in people, and it’s discouraging when agents don’t reach their potential, or if I put a lot of effort into some-

one and they go (to work) somewhere else.MP: Who are your clients?LS: When you fi rst get in the business, you think the doctors, the attorneys, the higher-ups will be your clients. But when you get into it, you realize you need to work with everyone.

You have to juggle the little deals to pay the bills. But the big deals are how you sur-vive over the years.MP: What is your advice to someone starting a business?LS: It’s important to go to work. It’s impor-tant to do something. If you work hard, a lot of good things can happen to you.

You’re making a huge mistake if you don’t

get active. You have to check things out, learn. It’s important to talk to people. I’m always talking to investors, bankers, auctioneers, I’m always asking for information and advice.

When I went broke, I learned that no one can take your experience and education from you. They can take your money, but they can’t take your mind. Prepare.

Know the clock can move very slow. You may not see results for a project you begin now for years, but if you commit to something, fi nish it.

If you are interested in buying or selling a home or property, contact Sims Realtors and Auctioneers at (615) 893-5252 or larrysims.com.

BUSINESS

40 YEARS OF DEALSLarry Sims says going broke taught him true

value of education and hard work.

story and photos by BRACKEN MAYO

Larry Sims, still an avid antique

collector and fan, says 2012

could be his best year ever in the real estate and

auction business.

Murfreesboro Entrepreneurs Association

ON BUSINESSSPOTLIGHT

FEATURED BUSINESS: Sims Realtors. Auctioneers

OWNER: Larry Sims

Other Thoughts from Mr. Sims . . .On the business climate in the U.S.: Politicians think they are helping people, but they are actually hurting business.

On the Occupy Movement: Some will tell them to stop complaining and get a job, and there’s some truth there, but there’s a lot of that to be commended with them (in-volved in the movement). They are express-ing frustrations that we all feel. There’s a lot that’s messed up with our system.

On the local real estate and fi nance market: We’ve got way too many banks, way too much development; that will correct itself.

On the government taking a hands-off approach rather the intervening in the markets: Business is like a golf swing. Without the strong downswing, the take-off up wouldn’t happen with nearly as much momentum. Let the cycle run its course. A lot of the time, the market will correct itself when you just leave it alone.

On Murfreesboro property taxes: They’ve put the burden on the taxpayer to raise the value of the property, when in actuality the value is going down. Really, they’ve chosen to raise taxes on a select group, commercial (property owners).


This month I’m going to consult my crystal ball and lay on you what to expect from Apple and the tech world in 2012. Hang on, this might be a bumpy ride!

NO MORE CD/DVD DRIVESOptical Drives (CD/DVD drives) will disap-pear completely from all Apple laptops. They’re fi nished, gone, kaput, history, see ya, wouldn’t wanna be ya! And I, for one, say good riddance. Real estate inside laptops is at a premium and I’m glad to see Apple leading the industry (as usual) by dropping these drives. In this world of ubiquitous high speed internet and $15 8GB fl ash drives, there is almost no need for a CD or DVD anymore. By dropping the optical drive in all their laptops, Apple can put something in that precious space. Maybe some cool new tech we haven’t seen yet or simply a larger battery. Adios, CD/DVD drives; we have some nice parting gifts for you.

7” iPOD TOUCHIt’s gonna happen this year. I see it clearly. In March, I think, right alongside the iPad 3 we’ll see a 7Ð iPod touch. Why do I see that? Because the only other tablets that are selling any numbers are the 7Ð Kindle Fire and the 7Ð Galaxy Tab, and Apple isn’t going to stand by and let that section of the market go unserved by the iPad/iPod line. The line-up will then be the current iPod touch, the 7Ð iPod touch and the 10Ð iPad. That will make for a damn impressive mobile team.

APPLE TVNo, not the little set-top box, but an actual large LCD Hi-Def TV with the Apple TV functionality built into it. LG is doing it, Sony is doing it; it’s time for Apple to do it. And why not? They already make the product. Simply stick an AppleTV set-top box into a nice large LCD and bam, there you are! You say, What does Apple know about making TVs? I say, Have you seen an iMac lately? I also say that Apple knew nothing about making cell phones until they did.

TABLETS RULEMost people don’t need a computer. There, I said it. Joe and Jane average don’t need a full-on computer with mouse, keyboard and monitor. They don’t need a big hard drive and to know how to install software and organize their fi les into folders and to backup their computers to another hard drive. Most people don’t want to do that stuff, and they will embrace any technology that takes that burden from them. That technology is the tablet. Whether it’s an iPad or Android tablet, a tablet device is all that most people need. Why? Because most people aren’t creators, they’re consumers. They read online articles and e-

books and they watch videos, listen to music, play games and use a few apps. But aside from a few emails or Facebook posts, they don’t generally create anything. So a tablet is perfect for them. So I see in the year 2012 that desktop and laptop computers will continue to decline in sales and tablets will continue to rise. Most households will have two or three tablets. The only ones who will have actual computers will be students and people who use their comput-ers for work and the people who create all that content that is consumed on tablets.

CABLE WARThe cable companies, with Comcast leading the way, will fi re a shot across the bow of the tech industry to let them know that they’ve had it up to here. For the last three years or so, early tech adopters across the nation have been can-celing their cable television service in favor of

set-top boxes such as Roku and AppleTV. With the avail-ability of Netfl ix streaming, Hulu Plus, Amazon video and the countless other great, and FREE, content channels that these little boxes offer, the writing is on the wall for Comcast and their buddies . . . and they’re pissed. So I look for Com-cast to attempt to either get

some legislation passed to hamper the set-top box companies or for them to appeal directly to the movie and TV studios to stop provid-ing content to Netfl ix, Hulu and Amazon. It’s another example of an outdated business model waging war against technology instead of trying to fi nd a way to remain relevant. And it’s gonna get ugly.

And that’s the way it’s going to be in 2012, ladies and gentlemen. These are exciting times to be alive and technology is going to continue to do some amazing things for us. But there will be some growing pains along the way as we let go of old technologies.

Now let’s see what this crystal ball has to say about the PowerBall drawing tonight.

Patrick Clark, owner of The Boro Mac Shop here in Murfreesboro, has repaired Macintosh computers and Apple devices since 1996, and Boro Mac Shop is Murfreesboro’s best Macin-tosh and iPhone repair shop. Contact him at (615) 796-6154 or boromac.com.

What to Expect in 2012

APPLETALK

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Calling All Polar BearsThe ninth annual Polar Bear

Plunge will be held Jan. 7 at the “Boro Beach” outdoor pool

at Sports*Com. The big slides at the new outdoor pool will be turned on to take the plunge to a whole new level. Brave men, women and children from around the area will don costumes and swimwear and take “polar” dips into the pool. There’s a rea-son to be freezin’ . . . families to be ben-efited by the Murfreesboro City Schools Family Resource Centers!

The Polar Bear Plunge is open to any-one 5 years or older who is a fan of having a good time for a good cause. For plung-ers under 18 years, a waiver/release form must be signed by a parent/guardian.

Each Polar Bear is required to bring nonperishable food items for the Fam-ily Resource Centers. Last year’s event raised over 1,200 pounds of food with over 600 plungers.

The average water temperature hovers around 40 degrees, but for the not-so-brave souls, there is a Chicken Plunge into the heated indoor pool. Registration will begin at 8:15 a.m. with plunges commenc-ing at 10 a.m.

Sports*Com is located at 2310 Memo-rial Blvd. For more information, contact Niki Hensley at 895-5040 or [email protected].

Music in the WildMurfreesboro Parks and

Rec will host Music in the Wild events on Saturday, Jan. 14,

and Saturday, Feb. 18, at the Wilderness Station at Barfield Park.

These music-filled evenings feature local artists performing some original songs as well as well-known classics. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for pre-concert activities includ-ing crafts for kids, coffee and snacks. Music will be from 6:30–8:30 p.m.

The Jan. 14 concert features The Se-cret Commonwealth, Middle Tennessee’s most enduringly popular Celtic band since its inception in 1993. Influenced by The Pogues, The Chieftains and traditional Irish pub bands, TSC mixes many styles of American and European folk.

The Feb. 18 concert features Rik Gra-cia and will also be an Unplug and Read event, in which families are encouraged to unplug from the televisions, computers and video games and enjoy a night out. Timeless easy listening classics from the ’50s to the ’80s are Gracia’s favorites, and he has a passion for sharing them with young and old.

For more information on the series, call (615) 217-3017 or e-mail [email protected].

Huckabee visits ’Boro as Gala Guest

Mike Huckabee will serve as Guest Speaker at the Middle

Tennessee Medical Center Foundation’s 2012 Gala. Diagnosed with Type II diabetes in 2003, within two years Huckabee lost 110 pounds and had completed four marathons. Continu-ing to call for a national emphasis on living a healthy lifestyle, Governor Huckabee

will share his experience about how he changed his life. For more information on the special Jan 14 event at Embassy Suites, call (615) 396-4996.

Women’s Conference Offers Renewal and Reflection

Cherie Jobe, hair stylist for 36 years, invites women to

join her for a time of refreshment and reju-venation at the New Beginnings Women’s Conference on Saturday, Jan. 21, from 9 a.m.–3 p.m. at the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro. This first-ever confer-ence will be a time to meet the author of Secrets from Behind the Chair, learn about how God “has made everything beautiful

in its time…” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) and wor-ship with other women who are seeking renewal.

Jobe will share her own story of broken-ness and how she was called to minister to broken women. Her story of how Jesus turned her mess into a message will chal-lenge and encourage conference attendees.

Secrets from Behind the Chair is current-ly in its second printing and was featured on “Helen’s Shelf” in the MBR Bookwatch, the online magazine for The Midwest Book Review. Other leaders and speak-ers participating in the conference include Stephanie Miller, Julie Byrne, Pam Ezell and Elisabeth Lee.

For more information, or to register, visit cheriejobe.com or call (931) 607-5828.

Almost Gardening Time!The Master Gardeners of

Rutherford County are accept-ing registrations for its annual

Garden Basics class series. Classes are held on Monday evenings

from 6–9 p.m., at the Lane Agri-Park building located at 315 John R. Rice Blvd. Class dates for the 2012 (5-week) series

are Jan. 23, 30, Feb. 6, 13 and 27.Garden Basics 2012 is designed to help

those new to gardening or horticultural activities, those new to Middle Tennessee soils and for the “experienced gardener” looking to better understand what goes on in their garden. Classes are taught by Certified Master Gardeners, in coop-eration with the local UT and Tennessee State University Extension Service. Topics include information on site selection, land-scaping, basic botany, composting, proven varieties, soil fertility, pest management, pruning, garden design, problem solv-ing, and more. For more information and registration, call (615) 898-7710, or visit mastergardeners-rc.org.

Art Barn Celebrates Re-openingThe Art Barn,

located at 8190 Hwy 99 in Rockvale, is under new ownership and will cel-ebrate its grand opening Jan. 7.

The event features free Jim 'n' Nicks BBQ from 4–6 p.m. and live music by The Steam Boars from 7–10 p.m.

Operating under the mission of “cultivating art in Middle Tennes-see,” the Art Barn offers handmade gifts and fine art, workshops and classes and live music and poetry jams once a month.

For more information, call (615) 722-1026 or visit theartbarntn.com.

COMMUNITY

EVENTSJAN.

7JAN.

7 JAN.14

JAN.14

JAN.23

JAN.21


Daughter of Smoke and Boneby Laini Taylor

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love.It did not end well.These opening lines of Daughter of Smoke and Bone are the

perfect glimpse into a fantastic world created by author Laini Taylor in her newest novel. The story begins with Karou, a 17-year-old art student living in Prague. Karou is far from your typical heroine, from her bright blue hair (not dyed, but natu-ral) to the bizarre family of monsters who’ve raised her, to the strange tattoos and scars that Karou does not remember getting.

Karou spends her days as a typical student, attending class-es, hanging out with friends and getting over the break-up with

her boyfriend. But at night, Karou returns to the strange shop where she was raised by half-human/half-beast creatures known as “chimera.” The household is headed by Brimstone, a fi erce monster who sends Karou on dangerous missions around the world collecting teeth, both human and animal. Karou’s very existence is fi lled with mystery. As a human, how did she become part of a chimera family? What is behind the closed door in Brimstone’s shop? And what does he do with all those teeth?

On one of Brimstone’s missions to Marrakesh, Karou meets Anika. Anika is an angel, but not the cute, cuddly kind of angel that you see on a greeting card. He is an angry, power-ful angel, part of an army of seraphim that is fi ghting to rid the world of the chimera race.

From the moment they meet, Karou and Anika are drawn to each other, and it is not until the last third of the book that we realize just how deep their bond is. Through Anika, Karou begins to learn the history behind her birth, and the terrible war taking place in an alternate universe.The literary world has had plenty of mythical creatures/human romances in recent years. But Daughter of Smoke and Bone offers something that most of its predecessors cannot—a magical world with creatures so fantastic, and a love affair so utterly heartbreaking, that it puts other books of its genre to shame. Karou is the balm for those

readers who are tired of weak, ineffectual female characters that seem to permeate much of today’s literature. Taylor’s attention to detail and incredible imagination make Daughter of Smoke and Bone a book where you can read for hours and completely immerse yourself, a story where chores and work and phone calls all seem to disappear.

A word of warning for those who like their books tied up in a tidy bow: Daughter of Smoke and Bone is the fi rst in a trilogy, and it ends with a cliffhanger. The abrupt ending leaves the reader frantically searching the last page of the book, and eventually, the internet, looking for the tiniest detail of what’s to come. It is a book well worth reading, placing on your list of favorites, and then reading again.

Michelle Palmer is a RTS One Book Committee member and author of the book blog, Turn of the Page at michellepalmersbooks.blogspot.com.Read To Succeed is the community collaborative created to promote literacy in Rutherford County. The objective of this partnership between schools, area agencies and businesses is to support local programming and raise awareness about the importance of literacy. For more information and to fi nd out how you can make a differ-ence in Rutherford County’s literacy rates, visit readtosucceed.org. The opinions expressed in this book review are not necessarily representative of Read To Succeed, but simply intended to promote the joy of reading.

READ TOSUCCEEDBOOK REVIEW

by MICHELLE PALMERmichellepalmersbooks

.blogspot.com


Climbing and fitness enthusiasts, chal-lenge seekers and people of a social nature unite; The Ascent has ar-rived! Inside a large green warehouse located at 831 Park Ave., tucked back

near the intersection of S. Church St. and Middle Tennessee Blvd., owner Jeff Hess and his highly motivated and passionate team have designed and built a 32-feet-tall wall and a 2,500 sq. ft. boulder for hours of climbing excitement.

For those new to climbing, bouldering is a style attempted without the use of a rope and is confined to short climbs over crash pads to prevent serious injury upon falling. The 12-foot-tall boulder includes holds of different sizes and shapes that are bolt-ed to the wood siding. These holds are what the climber grips as well as stands on to ascend. The team has designed 80 different routes on the boulder, which are called problems due to the problem-solving nature of the climb. Problems are color-coded with tape stuck next to the holds that are included on each route. There are four levels of difficulty on the boulder including recre-ational (for beginners), intermediate, advanced and open (which are the most difficult problems).

“There’s a real social subculture with boul-dering,” said Hess. “It’s faster [than high-wall climbing], more intense and mostly overhangs.” The overhangs to which Hess is referring are sec-tions of the boulder that protrude outward, inten-sifying the challenge. If the climber is able to reach the top, the final effort is to pull him/herself onto the top of the boulder. Once the climber is standing on top of the boulder, s/he may use a set of stairs to get back to the ground. The Ascent requires that a person be at least 12 years of age for bouldering, since no ropes are used.

Additional fun to the boulder is the high-wall, patterned with several holds offering assorted levels of difficulty, and

multiple ropes for belaying. The technique of belaying is a second person controlling the rope from the ground so the climber doesn’t fall far. The rope is connected to the climber by a harness and fed upward and around a friction device mounted at the top of the wall. From that point, the rope runs back toward the ground and is fed through a carabiner connected to a har-ness on the person belaying.

The carabiner is a metal loop that creates friction and allows the belayer to bet-ter control the rope. The facility does not

provide staff belayers, but instead trains and certifies everyone who is over the age of 13 to belay. This way, everyone belays each other and more time can be spent on the wall rather than waiting for a staff belayer to be available. In addi-tion to anchoring, the belayer serves as a com-municator to the climber in helping him/her to ascend the wall. The minimum recommended age for climbing the high-wall is five years. In some cases, a child younger than that can fit into the children’s full-body harnesses and the facility’s adult harnesses fit up to a 40" waist.

The Ascent provides a free belay certifica-tion class daily every hour from 4–8 p.m. The facility also offers yoga training classes includ-ing Hatha yoga and Kinetics For Climbing, which applies yoga practice to rock-climbing techniques.

“The objective [with Kinetics For Climb-ing] is to practice yoga

themes first; balance and awareness, breath and reach, core strength and courage, and then practice these themes on the wall,” said instructor and marketing director Hailey Traver. “This class has been a great way for our climbers to build strength, confidence, and trust in their skills and a camaraderie with each other.”

Hess and his team are currently building an additional high-wall for more belayed

OUT & ABOUT

Murfreesboro reaches new heights with The Ascent.

TIME TO CLIMBstory by RYAN NOREAKIS

photos by JASON OLDHAM

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climbing as well as lead climbing, where the climber clips the rope to the wall as s/he climbs, which is more difficult. As lead climbing becomes available, climbers must first qualify and then will be required to take a training course.

A one-day pass at The Ascent costs $20, including rental gear. The price is $12 if one provides his/her own harness and climbing shoes. A day pass means one may climb all day from open to close and can leave and return in the same day at no addi-tional charge. Discounted group rates and membership packages are also available. Rates and other informa-tion can be found at the official website climbyourrock.com and The Ascent can be followed on Twitter and liked on Facebook.

The Ascent shares the building with Cross-fit Murfreesboro and has worked out a deal to include cardio and weight training availabil-ity with an Ascent membership. The Ascent also features a large comfortable lounge for guests to hang out, including a big-screen TV displaying climbing videos, a gourmet coffee shop and a pro shop for climbing accessories, snacks and beverages.

For those who may be intimidated by the sport of climbing, know that nationally only

about 10 percent of gym climbers have ever climbed in nature, according to Hess. And much more than sheer physical strength, climbing is about balance and control, which can be learned through training and practice. The Ascent is a member of the Climbing Wall Association, which requires rigorous stan-dards for design, safety and training.

“Safety and having fun are our top priori-ties here,” said Hess. “We’re providing a com-munity for people to be social and challenge themselves. Some people climb, some may not, but the idea is that everybody has fun.”

IF YOU GO:WHERE: The Ascent, indoor climbing centerLOCATION: 831 Park Ave.HOURS: Mon.–Fri. 2–10; Sat: 10–10 p.m.; Sun: 12–6COST: One-day pass with gear: $20 (without gear: $12); monthly membership: $49ONLINE: climbyourrock.com

The Ascent is open for action for those who want to improve their fitness level, train for the real mountains or just hang around.


PLANK: By far the easiest and most basic core development exercise, the plank helps develop abdominal muscle strength and endurance as well as target stabilizer muscles surrounding the trunk.• Lie face down on mat resting on the fore-arms, palms flat on the floor.• Push off the floor, raising up onto toes and resting on the elbows.• Keep your back flat, in a straight line from head to heels.

• Tilt your pelvis and contract your abdominals to prevent your rear end from sticking up in the air or sagging in the middle.• Hold for 20 to 60 seconds, lower and repeat for 3–5 reps.

PUSH UP: The most renowned, yet usually performed incorrectly, the push up is one of the best exercises to strengthen the shoulders, chest and arms.• Lie face down on mat, with palms facing down beside the chest.• Feet are spread apart, with toes pressing into the mat• Head forward, begin pushing up until arms are fully extended. Hands should be in line with the chest, not the shoulder.• The goal is to remain in a straight line throughout the entire movement. If this is too hard, try using your knees instead of your feet as a base!• After returning to the mat, we have found it useful to release the hands and start back from a neutral position, then repeat steps. Releasing the hands prevents cheating and calls for a full range of motion.

SIT UP: Commonly referred to as “the crunch”, sit ups are a great way to sculpt those abs and strengthen core muscles.• Start by laying on the back, knees bent, and feet shoulder width apart.• With arms crossed, and elbows parallel with the floor, begin raising the upper body toward the knees, while keeping the lower body (from waist line down) still throughout the entire move-ment. Once elbows hit knees, return to the starting position on your back. Aim for 15–25 reps and repeat for 1–3 sets.• For advanced, reduce the amount of flexion in the knees by having less bend in the knees.

OVERHEAD SHOULDER PRESS: In this version of overhead presses, you can use dumbbells which will challenge each arm independently.• Begin standing or sitting with elbows bent and weights next to the ears.• Press the weights up over the head, refraining from touching dumbbells together.• Lower the weights, bringing the hands next to the ears and repeat for 1–3 sets of 10–16 reps.

OUT & ABOUT

A few key exercises daily can make a big difference. story by ADAM VALENTINE photos by BRACKEN MAYO

Full Body Workout with Tri-Fit

SQUAT: By far the best lower body strengthening exercise, our squat technique will engage the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes while maintaining perfect form.• Start with your hands together in front of chest, with elbows parallel to the floor.• Have feet firmly planted, and spread at least shoulder length apart.• Once you begin to sit back, ensure that your knees never come over the toes, resembling a “sitting” motion.• Once the elbows touch the knees, return back to the standing position while still keeping the knees from coming over the toes. If unsure about knees, squat next to a mirror! Repeat move-ment 10–15 times for 2–3 sets.*Form is key here, so for beginners, use a chair or surface to provide a safe surface to sit on, and then stand back up. When you feel comfortable and form is good, remove the chair and use your elbows touching the knees as a guide.

STANDING BICEP CURL: The banded bicep curl is a useful and cheap way to exercise the arms, while also not having to buy a set of dumbbells.• Simply place both feet on tube and grasp handles (the wider the feet, the harder the exer-cise).• Bend the elbows and curl hands up towards shoulder while keeping elbows in a fixed position.• Lower arms and repeat. Repeat for 10–25 reps, 1–3 sets. If resistance is too hard by last set, simply place one foot on the band rather than two.

Adam Valentine is a personal trainer with Tri-Fit. For more information or assistance in reaching your fitness goals, contact him at (615) 414-5974 or [email protected].


Mixed Martial Arts, one of the nation’s fastest growing sports, is a full contact sport that combines elements from the most effective martial arts. Although the

sport was outlawed in the state of Tennessee until just a few years ago, Guardian MMA is a premier academy that has built a strong tradi-tion in Murfreesboro over the past ten years. Whether you are looking to compete, learn how to defend yourself, or just have a great workout, Guardian Mixed Martial Arts has the experi-ence to help you reach your goals.

Guardian is in its new location in the Hast-ings shopping center off of Memorial Boule-vard, offering classes in Muay Thai Kickbox-ing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing and Wrestling as well as classes specially tailored for kids. Guardian is an academy that teaches martial arts in a rich family environment. Unlike most MMA gyms, the staff at Guardian understands that not everyone wants to be a fighter. Instead, the focus is on the individual, and what you can personally walk away with by studying the arts. The academy offers a free tour of their facilities, which includes a full gym, for anyone interested in a membership.

In 2001, Guardian was founded by Doug Frazier due to the fact many schools focused more on tradition instead on the principle pur-pose all martial arts were founded on, which is the martial aspect. The name “Guardian” was chosen since they were to be preserving the martial arts. Being a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, a rare accomplishment that takes on average ten years to achieve, as well as a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, Coach Frazier is a well-re-spected representative for not only Jiu-Jitsu, but for martial arts in general. He chose Jiu-Jitsu because he felt it was a simplistic form of self-defense, a place where everyone should begin. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is technical martial art form that emphasizes leverage and timing to control your opponent and focuses on the reality of self defense. The programs at Guardian give its students a well-rounded toolset for self-defense no matter where they find themselves.

For the Kids: Randy Walls, or commonly called Coach Palito, is the Kids’ Program Direc-tor for Guardian. Holding blacks belt in Tang Soo Do, Tae Kwon Do and Muay Thai, and what he says his is proudest accomplishment, a Purple Belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, Coach Palito has been a student of the martial arts from a young age. The Kid’s Program offers a variety of classes tailored just for kids. The kids begin as young three years old in the Little Ninja class, where they play Jiu-Jitsu, become comfortable with the movement, and have some fun! For ages 8 to 13 there is the Level One Jiu-jitsu class, where kids are taught Jiu-jitsu specifi-

cally designed for the bully encounter. After graduating this first class, Guardian has a more comprehensive class designed for competition and advanced children.

Guardian’s Kid’s Program offers a bully proofing system that helps children build confidence in themselves, discipline for the classroom, and integrity for life.

“Bullying is a real problem in schools, verbal as well as physical.” Witnessing a girl getting beat, while he was a student in high school, lead Coach Palito to become a Martial Arts Instructor.

For Adults: Quentin Clemmons, better known as ‘Q’, is Guardian’s Muay Thai instruc-tor. Muay Thai is a devastating martial arts style that teaches you to use your whole body as a weapon. Every blow is thrown with the hardest part of the body—namely shins and el-bows. However, in Q’s class you get more than just Muay Thai, since he studies other styles and borrows techniques from everywhere. Q disagrees that “practice makes perfect,” and instead likes to say “practice makes improve-ment, that way you will always strive to be perfect.” The average Muay Thai class takes about an hour. Beginning with a warm up, a few techniques are then taught, and finally a conditioning circuit to close out the session.

For those who are interested in Jiu-Jitsu, or self defense, the first thing you will learn is Guardian’s Gracie Jiu-Jitsu curriculum. This class has been designed to take a person to street readiness in the shortest time pos-sible. In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, there are over 600 techniques, but at Guardian only the 36 most effective techniques are taught in a systematic approach that does not require an individual to be strong, athletic or even young. Everyone can benefit from learning Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, including women. A women’s only class is actually in the works. In addition to Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai, there are boxing classes led by USA Boxing Coach Brian Ogletree. Wrestling and Judo are added into the curriculum to give competitors an edge on the mats.

For Everyone: Guardian Mixed Mar-tial Arts is a gym for everyone regardless of whether your ambition is to learn self-defense, be in better shape, or compete. Private training sessions are always available for those seeking to get ahead or find themselves behind. From time to time there are seminars offered with famous mixed-martial artists such as Israel Go-mez (UFC Middle Weight Champion Anderson Silva’s Coach). The gym is recognized as Ameri-can Top Team member under Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, Professor Renato Tavares, and has even produced UFC fighters such as Shane Primm.

Guardian offers training programs for all ages and experience level at new facility. story by CHRIS WELLS

MMA Training in Murfreesboro


Angela Elkins opens art gallery on Hazelwood Drive to nurture creativity in the community.

Smyrna’s Earthsoul Gallery

ART

A new art gallery opening this month in Smyrna offers a call to the local creative commu-nity to get involved.

“I grew up in Smyrna, and besides the art classes in school, there was nothing art based or that promoted art. I really wanted to have a place where the public could come in and experience different kinds of art,” said gallery owner Angela Elkins. “I wanted a place where kids could come in and take art classes that weren’t just prod-uct based or skill based. But based on creativity, on nurturing a creativity that would grow strong and last a lifetime. For about 10 years, I have been think-ing about opening an art gallery in Smyrna, and the vision has grown and fi nally, when the opportunity arose, we took it. None of this would have come into fruition without the huge support of my family and a few of my closest friends.”

Currently, Earthsoul houses work by artists Mai Harris, Jimbo Eanes, Yvette Parrish-Cowden, Mark Cowden, Paul Crommelin, Marty McEwen, Jerry Quinlisk, Jeffry Davis, Melody Erickson, Kim Eanes, Angela Elkins and Martha England. The goal is to change out art monthly with an opening each month, as well as host a few one-night art shows showcasing a specifi c idea or artist, Elkins said. Earthsoul will host a grand opening reception from 6-9 p.m. Jan. 27.

Artists interested in displaying work at the gallery can submit images and infor-mation via a form at earthsoul.co.

In addition to displaying work, Earth-soul’s mission “is to ignite and nourish a creative spirit in the community,” accord-ing to Elkins, and classes will focus on the enlightening creative journey moreso than technique or a fi nished craft.

“So many times our kids miss out on the play in art and it becomes a chore or just another academic study,” she said. “I want to provide them a place to play, to discover what they truly enjoy making, not for the end product but for the experience.”

Earth Soul Gallery is located at 307 Hazelwood Dr. in Smyrna. For more information, call (615) 586-1242 or visit facebook.com/EarthsoulGallery.

Drive to nurture creativity in the community.

(Above) Paintings by Mark Cowden (right and left) and Yvette Renee Parrish-Towden (center); (below) owner of Earthsoul Gallery, Angela Elkins; (below left) prints by Jimbo Eanes.

A mandala by Massood Taj (left) and statues by Jaimmie Williams and paintings by Mark Cowden (above) is just some of the work on exhibit at Earthsoul Gallery.

by Jaimmie Williams


The Todd Art Gallery in the Depart-ment of Art at Middle Tennessee State University presents a joint exhibit of

work by artists Chandra DeBuse, Dustin Farnsworth, Phil Haralam and Lisa Johnson. As artists-in-residence at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, they combine today’s contemporary artistic vi-sion with a commitment to continue the rich heritage of traditional craftsmanship found in the East Tennessee region.

Chandra DeBuse describes her work as functional pottery which incorporates narrative imagery, pattern and form to reflect human attitudes towards play. The intimacy of her work she states is “of using a handmade object infused with bouncing lines, candy-colors, low-relief and hand-drawn elements,” which “beckons users to pon-der the playful message illustrated on each.”

After concluding formal studies at Kendal College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids, Mich., Dustin Farnsworth moved to the “epicenter” of Appalachian craft in Ashe-ville to work and study under sculptors Stoney Lamar and Brent Skidmore. He comments, “[My] current work explores the narrative that unfolds as industry leaves the communities built upon its promise. [My] hand-carved and sewn figurative sculptures blur the line be-tween realism and vintage plaything, encapsu-lating the eerily life-like qualities of marionettes and their inherent innocence to examine the relationship between human beings and their physical and mental environment.”

Phil Haralam uses the complex exterior and interior levels of human nature to represent the psychological underpinnings that present themselves in social form and structure. There-fore, he combines sculpted forms and graphic imagery into non-representative psychological portraits. He says, “Each piece evolves from a central form, upon which I layer additional visual information through painting, incised line, and applied decals. Through the interac-tion and juxtaposition of these visual elements I create layered compositions that emulate the

seemingly random asso-ciations embedded within the human psyche.”

Lisa Johnson’s work involves metalsmith-ing and jewelry. Of her current work, she states, “The work I create exhibits vast methods of construction from both metalsmithing and ceramic disciplines.” Her works convey her further interest in “the juxtaposition of puns, translations, irony, and duality. Through identifi-able objects my obses-sion with redefining the recognizable is a direct

expression of observations or experiences that communicates as appealing, stimulating, and sometimes humorous.”

The Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts Exhibition opens Jan. 12 and runs through Feb. 2. A reception honoring these artists is scheduled for 6–8 p.m. on Jan. 18 with student lectures slated throughout Todd Hall earlier in the day.

Todd Art Gallery hours are Monday–Fri-day 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. For more informa-tion, call (615) 898-5653.

Todd Displays Work from Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts

By Dustin Farnsworth

by Phil Haralam


It’s a common predicament. A college gradu-ate applies for a position that requires not only an education, but a few years of prior experience in that position. Too often, it’s prior experience that new graduates don’t

have and internships don’t provide, especially in the music business and recording industry.

Nathan Adam has the right idea.Adam is the owner of Walnut House, a sort

of centralized music mecca at 116 N. Walnut St. which has provided space for dozens of record-ing projects (including those by nationally recognized recording artists) and live shows, as well as The Murfreesboro Pulse offi ce. Over the past fi ve years, Adam has overseen countless recording and engineering projects there, and his most recent development is Studio LIFE.

Studio LIFE is a recording fraternity, not to be confused with MTSU RIM fraternity Omega Delta Psi (which Adam also founded). Though student recording and producing have always taken place at Walnut House, Adam re-launched under the name Studio LIFE in August 2011. The club’s main purpose is to keep recording industry and music business students out of that post-college rattrap.

“Most entry level jobs have that dreaded phrase, ‘Entry level position, two years experi-ence required,’” Adam says. “Well, you can’t have two years of experience if you can’t get an actual position [laughs]. Our goal is that by the time they fi nish their degrees at MTSU, they’ll have 2,000 hours of hands-on studio and live, concert promotion, booking and contracts experience under their belts, so they literally decimate the competition.”

Since last semester, Studio LIFE’s member-ship has expanded to nearly 50 members from the core fi ve or six interns and volunteers who initially kept busy inside Walnut House.

Members are paired up based on interest and level of experience to make complementary and more productive teams.

“Some people come in, and they’ve done a lot of producing on their computer maybe, but not done any live sound. Other people have never recorded anything. Pairing people like that, especially if there’s someone more experi-enced, they’re able to teach and work with one another,” Adam explains.

There are four levels of experience—assis-tant, semi-pro and pro—with defi nitive goals and hours set for each. At the pro level, students will complete projects in leadership and service, as well as projects like running sound for live events, booking shows or producing in the studio to total 1,500-2,000 hours of hands-on experience.

Adam knows a lot about the hands-on.A learn-by-doing sort who describes his edu-

cation and career approach as “multi-faceted,”

Adam taught audio engineering and production classes for seven years at MTSU, four of which he served as Associate Chair of the Recording Industry department. He taught himself to record and produce by doing it, and says that apprenticeships held more weight than formal education in the recording industry at the time. He co-authored two books, Pro Tools 9: The Mixer’s Toolkit and Multi-Platinum Pro Tools. He worked on numerous recording and engineer-ing projects, including editing for MSNBC’s Tonight With Deborah Norville.

When Adam bought Walnut House in 2007, he had already been looking for a place to build a local music industry community since 2003. He says it took another three years or so to re-ally get the fraternity off the ground.

“You just have to have the right people,” he says.

Now there appears to be plenty of right people, who attest to their success at Studio LIFE on the website, sharing how they got involved with the fraternity and how member-ship has served as an education of the most practical kind.

Jake Tackett, an MTSU student and member

of Studio LIFE, has written, recorded and pro-duced music from a home studio as part of the band Hope Held High along with twin brother Nik. Like all LIFE members, he has a pretty unwavering ambition and career vision.

“I got involved because it’s what I am going to do with my life. I am going to own a profes-sional recording studio, and I want to network with people who can better me as an audio en-gineer. It’s about the hands you shake, not the grade you make,” Tackett says, adding, “Well, the grades still matter a little.”

Adam emphasizes that Studio LIFE is a supplement, not a replacement, for the formal education members gain at MTSU.

“The challenge of any school is that students can’t get all the hands-on time that they need. Especially in the fi eld of production, recording and live events, hands-on experience is the only place you can really start to grasp how every-thing comes together,” Adam says.

“So while students are getting this great education at MTSU, Studio Life is just a supplementary thing. No one thinks anything of someone studying phys ed also having a membership at Gold’s Gym. That would be

normal and expected. This is the Gold’s Gym for recording industry majors [laughs],” he adds.

Thus far, the club has provided for some members a bridge between school and the elusive paying job. Enhancing their resumes to top-of-the-pile quality over years spent at Studio LIFE, one student went into produc-tion at Murfreesboro’s World Outreach Church. Another was hired for audio/video supervising at a hotel.

The goal at Studio LIFE is to make entrepre-neurship in the music business and recording industries possible.

“We’ve sort of been taught from birth, once you fi nish college, you get a job. But that’s not the same for every industry, especially now. Things are changing, the world is changing. If something can be done overseas for cheaper, that’s going to happen. So we want to make sure everyone here has the hands-on experi-ence to say, ‘I know how to create my own job, whether that’s starting my own label, starting my own production company,’ and we’re pro-viding the facilities and support,” Adam says.

As for next semester, a teaching lab will be available for students, and it will be equipped with video content created by Adam on ad-vanced mixing, Pro Tools, miking techniques and more. A main focus for the coming semes-ter will be structuring projects around realistic production budgets to create a “real world” experience.

Adam will also be developing more oppor-tunities and projects for the business-oriented members interested in booking and promotion.

Studio LIFE members are close, Adam says, and he predicts that the accomplishments of the fraternity, or the “tribe,” as he calls it, will only get bigger, probably because of a collective, zealous dedication to the same thing.

“Everybody wants to belong to something where they’re surrounded by people who love the things they love,” Adam says. “I grew up as the only guy doing any recording and produc-ing, so to come to MTSU when I started nine years ago and be surrounded by people who were into that was a dream come true for me, and is a dream come true for a lot of students at Studio LIFE.”

Recording club offers chance to be immersed in real-world music industry scenarios.

story by JESSICA PACE

STUDIO KIND OF LIFE

Music is created and captured in one of the Walnut House’s multiple recording facilities.

SOUNDS


Larry Francis615.569.9682

It’s been two years in the making but Murfreesboro’s resident funk/soul nonet, Sky Hi, has spent their time juggling tremendous

live shows with life outside of the band and, thank God, studio time as they worked out their much-anticipated second full-length LP Testify, released out of GED Soul Records late this October. To think all we’ve had to work with for a while was the “Junkyard Dog” 45 released late December last year, but now it’s time to breathe easy once. Breathe easy to get down.

The 11-track release is unmistakable Sky Hi from the fi rst few seconds: the funk groove of the guitar and bass intertwined with the hi-hat driven beat to set the foundation for Murfreesboro’s fi nest horn sec-tion, the long vibrato and funk-punch of the organ, as well as Dee Adams’s unmistakable voice tirelessly running up and down.

Even though the band has gone through some lineup changes over the years, the name Sky Hi seems to hold onto its particular brand of big-funk as a growing entity itself, regardless of members. The fi rst track from Tes-tify, “Junk Yard Dog,” singled out as the early early 45 teaser, stands as a perfect example of the sound they’ve made their own, making it an ap-propriate opening track greeter from the band.

After the greeter, however, that theory weakens slightly hearing evident exploration further into their craft as the album progresses. The arrangement of the horn line and organ have grown more complex and powerful since their self-titled fi ve years ago (the title track is proof positive of that as well as brilliantly self-explanatory), and the fellows get around in Testify, too, dabbling a little in reggae

on “Do Not Want” and then taking it into a Latin shuffl e later in “Fell Short,” where the horn line manages to “throw” their sound down the line like in some Hawaii Five-0 music as Dee is obviously giddy, throwing his voice up and down the fi fty some-odd octaves in that man’s neck; just having a good time. It’s always great to hear these guys when you’re hav-

ing a bad day.Dee’s lyrics are as solid as the

music throughout, too, mainly fo-cusing on the little repressions life can dish out and dealing with them with a strong stance of self-worth be it in love, substances or survival. You have to keep yourself up, man.

So, keep your ears to the ground for Sky Hi live shows in the area if you haven’t seen them yet. The next one coming up is on Friday,

Jan. 13 at Wall Street. Copies of Testify as well as show schedules, news,

and if you want to bring your house down, book-ing information, too, can be found on the band’s fanpage, skyhifunk.com, or through their Facebook profile.

— BRYCE HARMON

Sky HiTestify

These days it seems like anyone who can hold a bow will throw some strings into their sound and slap “orchestral” in front of

whatever homespun twist on “indie” they’ve cre-ated. But the inclusion of strings on greater>than’s month-old EP Break Us is fl uid and natural, and to call the title track a folksy orchestral romp, a la Fleet Foxes, is fi tting.

First, the strings on “The Word” add a very palpable tang and sugar to the force of Dan Miller’s

percussion, while Isaac Johnson’s cello rises and falls, and guitar adds an unexpected jangle. Then, a sort of river dance is plucked out on “Sing Into My Silence” as vocalist Drew Miller reveals a plain but profound need: “I need to know I haven’t heard it all before/I need you to prove me wrong.”

It’s peppered with full-bodied vocal harmonies (“Meaningless”) and prolifi c tales, like “Sentimental Man,” which is a sort of “Nowhere Man” antithesis, opening with a comparison between the walls of an apartment and a man’s mind, as a mandolin (John-son) fl utters into the languid beat.

Easy and loose in its instrumentation, Break Us is lovely but not delicate, and Drew Miller’s not-so-smooth vocals and the liquidity of the music mis-match perfectly.

— JESSICA PACE

greater>thanBreak Us

Read more album reviews at ALBUM REVIEWS

Bands: send your albums and promotional materials to The Murfreesboro Pulse, 116-E North Walnut St., Murfreesboro, TN 37130.

We’re working hard to promote

good music in Middle Tennessee.*


Jefferson Grizzard came from a small town in Georgia, and his debut is A Crack in the

Door, the product of his home, his musical upbring-ing and his songwriting habits. A songwriter since he was a kid, Grizzard had scribbled out enough lyrics by age 18 to have impressed Ryan Adams. Like so many young contemporaries, Grizzard’s sound imitates the greats that spun on their parents’ record players. A Crack bears generous similarities to Dylan and Young, as well as hints of The Band, Skynard, Ryan Adams, The Highwaymen and far too many more to list.

Immediately, on the opener “Forces They Fail,” Grizzard establishes the spare, twangy, southern-plus-something-else sense of melody that channels Young with an unassuming little electric melody backing a haphazard philosophical daydream: “If all forces that

fail are originally good/and if nothin’ is real/how can I make myself feel/like I know I should.”

The Traveling Wilburys-esque chug-a-lug of “Since You Came Around” sounds as if as if Tom Petty or Roy Orbison should be switching off verses with Grizzard, and tracks like “Alaska” and “Puppet Show” have the same hushed beauty as those Dylan songs when he decides to soften his rustic vocals and woo the listener.

Dennis Wage’s keys ooze, bleed and crash over a somber stretch of guitar on “Burned Out Son,” bring-ing to mind something off Ryan Adams’ Cold Roses, and “Poisoned” has all the nighttime-car-ride charm of Tom Petty’s Full Moon Fever. Some understated but killer bass from Dow Tomlin bubbles up rather sexy-like amidst the Van Morrison-ish reeds and brass of “I Got the Spirit,” which conjure a sort of burlesque-show image.

One of the most remarkable characteristics of Griz-zard’s songwriting on the album, however, is the fact that he can create a full story with only about four lines repeating (“Horseleg Road”), one of the most promi-nent talents of a country artist. If this is Grizzard’s debut, it seems like he will only get better from here.

— JESSICA PACE

Jefferson GrizzardA Crack in The Door

DaxBesting Hearts and False Alarms

KingThe Teacher

ALBUM REVIEWS

Now a part of the Nashville singer/song-writer circle, Dax moved from an Indiana town to peddle a hooky pop craft

with a rock edge. Or hook-laden rock with a pop edge. Whatever, Beating Hearts and False Alarms is ten tracks of earnest, if not the most memorable lyrics, pretty acoustic riffs and the sort of pop sentiment sugarcoating a rock foundation that’s very reminiscent of Lifehouse.

The album, which the artist is offering as a free down-load, starts off with “A Flawed Design.” This is how he describes his heart, a description which simultaneously can provoke an “aw, that’s pretty” and an “oh, please.” More interesting are the vocals, which are strangled and

bookish and slightly alien, layering over the first of many pleasing acoustic riffs.

The uplifting rock jaunt “Alchemy” follows, intro-ducing the ’90s/early ’00s pop rock similarities before “Happy Holidays.” Usually when a singer/songwriter whips out a Christmas song, I skip past the track like you step around crap on the sidewalk. But Dax can handle this better than some—though it was a little precious (there’s talk of an ’80s-themed party and buying a ring), it’s at-tached to a sticky tune.

More infectious acoustic guitar follows in the shape of melodies that exemplify how acoustic translates to pop (“Run and Hide”) and accompanied by duskier vocals (“Radio Mind”). Not to say that the record is all acoustic. There’s a slippery electric melody in “The Darkest Hour,” whose tone matches the lyrical sadness.

If Dax’s album sticks with you, it will be for well-craft-ed pop hooks rather than anything particularly striking lyrically. I enjoyed Beating Hearts just for one-time pop nostalgia. But damn if it isn’t catchy. — JESSICA PACE

I didn’t ask questions when this little year-old number from an unknown hip hop artist in the Midwest (with amazing connections)

stumbled into the Pulse office. A lot of random hip hop recordings merit little more than a “This is hip hop; that’s all there is to say,” and King’s The Teacher isn’t groundbreaking by any means; in fact, it’s the opposite, rooted in ’90s hip hop. But it must be said that 1) this Indiana artist uses some interesting samples (plucky unexpected sounds, lines from A Few Good Men), and 2) he brought some interesting guests on board.

After working on the album for five years and

naming it after his aspiration to role model, King re-leased The Teacher in late 2010. Handled by the hands of experience, the record is a collection of 14 intense and pronounced tracks that aren’t short on rhythmic variety (though sometimes a little too busy, like “I Be In Indiana”) and feature a ’90s hip hop treasure trove.

Those aforementioned weird samples come in on tracks like “Movement Matters,” which features Wu-Tang’s Killah Priest, “Shut It Down” and “In the Sum-mertime.” Opener “Rollin Midwest” was produced by 2LiveCrew’s Mr. Mixx, and Digable Planets’ Doodlebug makes an appearance on “The Commercial.”

The Teacher is filled with names, but that’s the album’s insurance and the attraction for those who may be inclined to pass up a hip hop record with the presump-tion that it will be another of the lackluster, obnoxious endeavors already out there. King is above that with non-idiotic lyrics, a good voice and better beats.

— JESSICA PACE


Getting down Nash-ville’s way from Mas-sachusetts in 2007, jack of musical trades, Adam Dalton, has spent his

time taking in what a new town’s offered, mulling it over for a few years and putting together a contribut-ing interpretation for the Music City in Self-Loathing Blues. This 10-track release out of Blackbird Studio is made up of all-out grooving-blues/country lyrically powered by the woeful lives of men taken under by poor dispositions, all in a vocal framing similar to Paul Curreri’s.

The groovy blues music accompanies the subject matter well, adding an up-side to the album with a prominent and never-disappointing Wurlitzer B3 organ, up-tempo bending harmonica, jazzy tenor sax and electric piano all showing he and his pseudo-steady backing band do not take their musical duties lightly. All four of the instruments stand out regu-larly, from low key on-the-porch blues all the way to big-band jam sound in the latter half of the record. It’s a foot-tapper through and through, ideal for a good bar night in a Southern town and can definitely cheer you up if you see you’re nowhere near as bad off as the fellows Dalton is describing. However, that could be missed completely if everyone is busy find-

ing dance partners.Starting out with that sitting-on-the-porch-with-

some-friends styling of “Sweatpants Blues,” Dalton accepts a lazy day at home to take care of a few things around the house while the uppity contradiction of a Mississippi delta-fingered acoustic, steady tempo brushed snare and harmonica call out from the stoop. The blues of the album is taken to its extreme with the instrumental “Gesundheit” later on, while the second track “Further from the Truth” saves unleash-ing a huge tenor sax prevalent across the record, be it layered over itself for a big-band sound in the title track or linear solos in songs like “Won’t Stand” that stands as Dalton’s down-on-his-luck guy’s correctional declaration.

The Nashvillian-country aspect of Self-Loathing Blues is easily spotted within any given song, but captured wholly in the pedal-steel driven tonk, “Too Late” where there’s not a musician in the recording bored or drab.

It’s a celebration of not being down on your luck. There’s always someone everyone is glad they’re not and Dalton’s attentiveness to the regional genres sup-plies a proper template for his lyrical needs inspired by our Middle Tennessee.

Catching Dalton playing the music of Self-Loath-ing could be a good night if the live sound is even close to the studio version. Videos and touring infor-mation for January shows in Carbondale, Ill., along with downloadable copies of Self-Loathing Blues at no charge can be found at adamdaltonmusic.com.

—BRYCE HARMON

Adam DaltonSelf-Loathing Blues

Reviving the notions of Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s

Restaurant, Daniel H. Coleman, producer and artist promoter for the Murfreesboro label, Mastermix Music, joined forces over the past year with another fresh propriety, JoZoara Coffeehouse, ultimately releasing Live at JoZoara: Monkeys and Mochas at the end of September 2011. The 13-track sampler of local singer/songwriters who have graced the coffeehouse’s stage tells the story of the 3½-year-old Thompson Lane establishment, substituting Guthrie’s humor and aloofness with the more solid Christian-themed or love-based message accompa-nied by the gentle folk strumming of acoustic guitars and solo piano with little uppity and jazzy surprises along the way.

The album is solidity of production, family-ori-ented intentions and contemporary gospels collect-ing well as a subtle promotional tool for everyone involved as well as doing the good deed of spreading Murfreesboro culture to a wider audience.

The first song and title track, “Monkeys and Mo-chas,” is what puts you in that Arlo train of thought. Written specifically for this album by Rory T. Miller, he takes the lead with voice and guitar backed by a country brushed snare, snapping fingers and angelic background vocals as he paints a coffeehouse scene

welcoming little vacations from life.This is the first piece of promotional bread sand-

wiching the rest of the album of contemporary folksy gospel by the likes of Murfreesboro’s 180 Degrees Ministries’ Allen Morrell in “Who Am I,” the stride-stylings of Angie Kelly in “Christians Have Every-thing,” and a nice jazz version of “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” by First Fruit Jazz Project, sounding like these guys grew up listening to Weather Report.

The rest of the meat consists of the singer/song-writer love songs inspired by anyone from spouses or spouses-to-be such as in Daniel Gregory’s “Love Bug,” “Anna Sussanah” by Lulu Mae Music, and Chad Pittman’s “Beth” all the way to love for grand-parents in the beautifully banjoed “Fly Me Away (Sparrow’s Waltz)” by Roam Country Radio or in greater>than’s “Rocking Chair” later on Monkeys and Mochas.

Also, Lance Allen nails the second track, “Play It By Ear,” which is an impressive finger-picking ditty. Pat Donahue would be proud. And all of this before the second piece of selfless promotion bread completes the sandwich with Daniel H. Coleman’s own “Ballad of JoZoara,” written specifically for this album as well.

The folks at Mastermix and JoZoara released this year’s worth of coffee shop stage presence, but that doesn’t mean they’re not going to keep it up. JoZoara still hosts open mic night every first and third Satur-days of the month with Mr. Coleman taking applica-tions that can be found at JoZoara along with copies of Monkeys and Mochas (also available on Amazon.com). Store information and upcoming events can be found at jozoaracoffeehouse.com.

—BRYCE HARMON

Live from JoZoara, Monkeys and MochasCoffeehouse Sessions


THURS, 1/53 BROTHERS

The White Keys, Shyguy,Spoken Nerd, JE Double F

WRIGHT MUSIC BLDG.Middle TN School Band and Orchestra Association

FRI, 1/6BLUESBORO

Kanye Twitty, TendeezFANATICS

Freedom HillGILLIGAN’S

C-Winn, Bmak aka Lil Rockstar

WILLIE’S WET SPOTRebel Rulz

WRIGHT MUSIC BLDG.Middle TN School Band and Orchestra Association

SAT, 1/73 BROTHERS

Sweet Fancy MosesBLUESBORO

NashtonesTHE BORO

Kansas Bible CompanyFANATICS

Junkyard FunkWILLIE’S WET SPOT

Atomic Trunk MonkeysWRIGHT MUSIC BLDG.

Middle TN School Band and Orchestra Assciation

SUN, 1/8BLUE

Avent Lane, Larry Pinkerton

BLUESBOROLangoliers, TN Scum

THE BOROElvis’ Birthday Bash

TUES, 1/10BLUESBORO

Classic Blues Jam with CJ Vaughn

WILLIE’S WET SPOTFreedom Hill

WED, 1/113 BROTHERS

Open Mic Night with Gavin Yates

WILLIE’S WET SPOTShane & Lenny


Yer Heart, O Youth, Small Talk

BLUESBOROO Youth Brothers

FRI, 1/13THE BORO

Blood CulpritFANATICS

Brian Ashley JonesWALL STREET

Sky HiWILLIE’S WET SPOT

Some Assembly Required

SAT, 1/143 BROTHERS

Delaney BakerBLUESBORO

Chain ReactionTHE BORO

DeadchainCOACH’S

Junkyard FunkFANATICS

Zone StatusWALL STREET

AFRO, Deep Fried FiveWILLIE’S WET SPOT

Phoenix Rising

SUN, 1/15BLUE

Avent Lane, Larry Pinkerton

TUES, 1/17BLUESBORO



WRIGHT MUSIC BLDG.Greenbrook Ensemble: Jessica Dunnavant, flute; Paula Van Goes, saxophone; faculty recital

WED, 1/183 BROTHERS




Tetsuo, Langoliers, Babyshaker

GILLIGAN’SArchnemesis

FRI, 1/20BLUESBORO

Judd Hall, Lord T. and Eloise

THE BORODouble Intenders

FANATICSPimpalicious

WILLIE’S WET SPOTGreez Monkeez

WRIGHT MUSIC BLDG.Ensemble 1720, faculty Baroque ensemble

SAT, 1/213 BROTHERS

Austin Cole, Pilsbury XmasBLUESBORO

Copper Into SteelTHE BORO

Boxcar Bandits, Flea Market Hustlers

FANATICSGreez Monkeez

WALL STREETThe Only Sons, Wess Floyd & the Daisycutters


WRIGHT MUSIC BLDG.Winter Music Education Conference, Lynn Rice-See,faculty piano recital

SUN, 1/22BLUE

Avent Lane, Larry PinkertonBLUESBORO

Bold As Love, Scott Fernandez

TUES, 1/24BLUESBORO



WED, 1/253 BROTHERS


THE BOROMTSU Mid-Week Metal


FRI, 1/27BLUESBORO

Burning Las VegasTHE BORO

Adam Dalton & The B-SidesFANATICS

JunkboxWILLIE’S WET SPOT

Smiley Blind BandWRIGHT MUSIC BLDG.

Andrew Noble, graduate tuba recital

SAT, 1/28BLUESBORO

Atomic Trunk MonkeysTHE BORO

Star + Micey, Flea Market Hustlers

FANATICSElle & the Fine Lines

WILLIE’S WET SPOTStoopid Kool

WRIGHT MUSIC BLDG.MTSU Flute Festival

SUN, 1/29BLUE

Avent Lane, Larry PinkertonWRIGHT MUSIC BLDG.

Alan Shikoh, graduate guitar recital

MON, 1/30WRIGHT MUSIC BLDG.

Ai Goldsmith guest flute recital with flute faculty, Jessica Dunnavant, Deanna Little

IF YOU GO:3 Brothers223 W. Main St.410-3096

Aura Lounge114 S. Maple St.396-8328

Blue810 NW Broad St. 410-3383

Bluesboro114 N. Church St. 904-7236

Bunganut Pig1602 W. Northfield Blvd. 893-7860

Campus Pub903 Gunnerson Ave.867-9893

Coach’s Grill127 SE Broad St. 962-7853

Coconut Bay Cafe210 Stones River Mall Blvd. 494-0504

Dugger’s Food & Fun1738 W. Northfield Blvd. 809-2605

Fanatic’s 1850 Old Fort Pkwy.494-3995

Gilligan’s527 W. Main St.439-6090

Lanes, Trains and Automobiles450 Butler Drive890-3999

Liquid Smoke#2 Public Square217-7822

Maple Street Grill109 N. Maple St.890-0122

MT Bottle3940 Shelbyville Hwy. 962-9872

Murfreesboro/Center for the Arts110 W. College St.904-ARTS

Nobody’s Grill & BBQ116 John R. Rice Blvd.962-8019

Temptation Club2404 Halls Hill Pike 217-0944

The Boro Bar & Grill1211 Greenland Dr.895-4800

Wall Street121 N. Maple St. 867-9090

Walnut House116 N. Walnut St. 890-5093

Willie’s Wet Spot1208 S. Lowry St., Smyrna 355-0010

CONCERT LISTINGSSend your show listings to [email protected]

C-WINN, BMAK A.K.A LIL ROCKSTARFRIDAY, 1/6 @ GILLIGANS

Young hip hop artist C-Winn moved from Memphis to Murfreesboro when he was just five, and he began writing music and scoring studio time when he was barely in high school. With vo-cals that sometimes mimic Eminem’s, he’s planning to drop his debut album next summer. He’s sharing the stage at Gilligan’s this night with the intense samples and gangsta rap style of Chicago transplant Bmak, a.k.a. Lil Rockstar.

KANSAS BIBLE COMPANY SATURDAY, 1/7 @ THE BORO

That smorgasbord of delectable vintage rock sounds coming from the stage at The Boro tonight is Kansas Bible Company. Doesn’t matter where these guys play—their stuff is retro-hot, from the ’60s jangle of the Stones to the roughness and swagger of The Stooges; from brassy Motown touches to the everything else of The Beatles. Do yourselves a favor and see ’em live.

PULSE PICK

View Concert Listings Online:

LIL ROCKSTAR

PULSE PICK

SKYHIFRI. 1/13 @ WALLSTREET

Funk and soul ooze from this group with all the grandiose glory of Sly & The Family Stone. Just a few slick and slippery tracks off some puny 45s, via Southern label G.E.D. Soul Records, won the Pulse over a few years back, and Sky Hi’s live perfor-mance transcends the recordings with fluid bass lines, smooth horns and vocals that stretch . . . sky high.


In its continuing work to push theatri-cal boundaries and to discard theatri-cal conventions, Out Front on Main this month offered the dark comedy

Dead Man’s Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl. I was pleasantly surprised by the production in more ways than one. Director Leah Fincher, admittedly one of my favorite directors in the area, augmented one of playwright Ruhl’s weaker scripts with a beautiful and thoughtful score, and her insightful guid-ance was apparent in the skillful and subtle performances of the cast.

Heather Danielsen returned to the Out Front stage for the role of Jean, a woman who answers the ringing cell phone of a fellow patron at a diner. From that first meeting, this fellow patron named Gordon, portrayed by JR Robles, is—as one might imagine from the title of the play—dead. Such a condition did not, however, prevent Robles from delivering a brilliantly executed monologue about the nature of life and death upon the opening of the show’s second act. Danielsen herself was almost flawless in her performance; her Jean was a perfect blend of humor and timidity, gumption and absurdity as she navigated her newly formed relation-ships with Gordon’s amusingly neurotic rela-tives, including his brother, mother and wife.

Buddy Jones again lent his considerable talent to the role of Dwight, Gordon’s brother and Jean’s would-be lover. He shone as a

beacon of comparative normalcy in a sea of unpredictability; Jones was well-suited to the role, and his portrayal helped ground the show in its own reality. Gordon’s mother, the domineering Mrs. Gottlieb, was unhesi-tantly played by Holly Amber. Her assertive performance was brilliant and gave rise to some of the show’s most hilarious moments. Ali Bergstrom rounded out the off-kilter family as Hermia, Gordon’s wife. She was her own bundle of neuroses, reminiscent to this audi-ence member of Lilith, the wife of television’s Frazier; her occasional vulnerability was moving and pro-vided a greater depth to the show.

In spite of a script that is oc-casionally flat and uncertain, Dead Man’s Cell Phone was a very enjoy-able production. Fincher brought together a cast and a vision to create a poignant and enervating exploration of the value of life that was a most memorable outing.

I Got Me To a NunneryThe holiday spirit was irrepress-

ible at the Center for the Arts as the theater presented the holiday musi-cal Nuncrackers. The audience filled the venue with laughter as they beheld the filming of a public access television Christmas special by the nuns at Mount Saint Helen’s minis-try. The performance was lively, and the actors were fully committed to the acts of insanity they were prof-fered in the script.

A trifle by Dan Goggin, Nun- crackers is the holiday offering in a series of plays that follows the antics of a less-than-orthodox Catholic church and its thoroughly unconventional members. The church is led by Father Virgil, portrayed fearlessly by Daniel Garner, whose impression of Julia Child was so spot-on as to be uncanny. As Virgil’s associates, the institution’s sisters each brought her own vivacious humor to the performance. Cindy Lamb played the Reverend Mother, Sister Mary Regina, and any attempts at queenly demeanor were humorously foiled by her sisters’ behavior. Sister Mary Hubert, portrayed by Center veteran Candi Ford, was delightful; and Sisters Mary Paul and Robert Anne, Tamara Garner and Debbie Philips, respectively, re-peatedly elicited raucous strains of pleasure from the audience.

The younger performers in the show were, as always with Center for the Arts produc-tions, delightful in their vim and vigor. In-cluding both familiar faces like Emily Conley, Lydia McLaurin, and Patrick Powell and relative newcomers like Colin McLaurin and Skye Dupree, the children attacked their roles with poise and panache equal to their adult counterparts. Especially exceptional was Adam LaPorte in the role of Tommy Webber; his vocal solo during It’s Better to Give was simply amazing. It’s a safe bet that we will be seeing much more of these talented youth as they continue to hone their skills.

Nuncrackers was directed by Center vet-erans Jeff Stateler and Tim Smith. Though this was their first time helming a produc-tion, their keen sensibilities guaranteed a delightful production. Though I must admit that I found the script trite, I believe I was singularly unimpressed by Goggin’s offering. If peals of laughter may be considered signs of success, Nuncrackers did not disappoint.

To Hold Our Destiny

THEATER

Double Feature: Mac and Alice, two works for youth by E. Roy Lee

based on the works of William Shakespeare and Lewis Carroll7 p.m. Jan. 13 and 14; 2 p.m. Jan. 15

at Murfreesboro Little Theatre

Guys and Dolls7 p.m. Jan. 6, 7, 13, 14, 20 and 21;

2 p.m. Jan. 8, 15 and 22at Center for the Arts

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

7:30 p.m. Jan. 27, 28, Feb. 3, 4, 10 and 11; 2 p.m. Jan. 28, Feb. 4 and 11

at Swan Performing Arts Center

Five Women Wearing the Same Dress

7:30 p.m. Jan. 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14 and 15

at Out Front on Main

JANUARY PERFORMANCES

PH

OTO

BY

MAY

FLO

WER

PH

OTO

GR

APH

Y

Un-Christmas offerings on Out Front on Main. column by MARCUS LUCHE

Holly Amber, Heather Danielson and Buddy R. Jones in Dead Man's Cell Phone


Director Guy Ritchie’s 2009 take on the world-renowned super sleuth Sherlock Holmeshad many things going for it. Riding the wave of recent Holmes revivals like the Holmes-cum-doctor TV show House and the BBC’s modern take via the excellent miniseries Sherlock, Ritchie added the necessary Hollywood fl air, while Robert Downey Jr. lent just the right kind of unhinged bravado to bring Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s drug-addicted genius detective to life. Throw into the mix Holmes’ reluctant sidekick Dr. Watson (Law), a formidable villain, a dastardly plot involving the occult and a series of clever yet intelligible mysteries, and Sherlock Holmes made for some satisfying holiday fl uff.

2011’s sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, includes all the same ingredients (mi-nus the occult, boo), but in different proportion. While this fi lm fi nally pits Holmes against his famed arch-nemesis Prof. Moriarty (an excellent Jared Harris) it quickly disposes of Sherlock’s pseudo-romantic interest Irene Adler (Rachel

McAdams). Holmes hardly bats an eye when Moriarty claims blame for her disappearance, but when he threatens Holmes’ beloved friend and biographer Dr. Watson (and Watson’s new and seemingly inconsequential wife), Holmes joins Moriarty’s dangerous game of wits with protective vigor. With any potential romantic in-terest for Holmes removed, the subtext between Holmes and Watson moves to the forefront, making for even more ridiculous situations this time around, fi tting for a sequel having to out-do its predecessor. Also befi tting of sequels, the action is ramped up considerably. In Sherlock Holmes, Guy Ritchie’s trademark slow-motion wizardry and hyper-kinetic editing added context to Holmes’ almost clairvoyant martial

prowess, but in Game of Shadows, not only is there more action, but less context. Though I called Sherlock Holmes “fl uff” earlier, it looks subtle and restrained next to its follow-up.

This lesser adventure is not without its charms. Noomi Rapace—aka The (Swed-ish) Girl With the Dragon Tattoo—guest stars, but in a surprisingly ancillary, entirely non-romantic role. And it must be restated how well Harris exudes the deadly intellect of Hol-mes’s one true rival. But where its predecessor succeeded in doing the opposite, AGOS suffers by trying to fi t Doyle’s contemplative detective within Guy Ritchie’s over-the-top action hero. Let’s hope the inevitable third installment readjusts the imbalance. — JAY SPIGHT

A CLASSICRATINGS: OUTSTANDING AVERAGE BELOW AVERAGE AVOID AT ALL COSTS DEAD

MOVIES

Thinking of a new year sparks hope for fresh and improved be-ginnings. There are rarely clear

ends to where new beginnings emerge. Instead, there generally seems to be a muddled mess of unforeseen occur-rences, despite our best efforts to con-trol outcomes. Hopefully, with age and experience comes wisdom and happi-ness. You will notice my compulsion to reference the Orient when pondering this fi rst article of the New Year.

Fireworks (1997) is also known as Hana-Bi in Japan. It stars its director and screenwriter, Takeshi Kitano (or “Beat” Takeshi). In many respects, it is a diffi cult fi lm that juxtaposes a violent policeman’s working reality versus the tranquility and deep refl ection that beckons him through his wife’s terminal state. It is unlikely in its beauty, and is very rewarding in its scope. If ever a fi lm might be labelled as underrat-ed, Fireworks would surely fi t that bill.

To Live (1994) is an epic Chinese fi lm directed by Zhang Yimou. The fi lm documents a once prosperous fam-ily’s survival through the confl icts of China’s identity struggles during the 1940s through the 1970s. Aside from the decisions that guide their lives, revolution plays an even larger role in their destiny. It chronicles the many new beginnings that they must either welcome or endure.

LIVING ROOM CINEMA column by NORBERT THIEMANN

[email protected]

The Series of Beginnings

Okay, so . . . we have here exactly what anyone following David Fincher’s career since Se7en and Fight Club should expect: a dark, violent, sexy, beautiful thriller that lasts upward of three hours. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo may be some diffi cult, previous-ly tackled material from author Stieg Larsson, but Fincher shines with these dense scripts, unafraid of delving into nuances and challeng-ing material for the audience.

Dragon Tattoo is a revenge plot wrapped in a murder mystery wrapped in a detective/mur-der mastermind type plot. Fincher facilitates the novel’s complexity deftly, but one drawback is that many important details appear in small text on a computer screen. Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), a talented journalist who has found himself in hot water because of a scath-ing piece he wrote, escapes to the family island of a wealthy German patriarch, Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer). Blomkvist has been

commissioned to write Henrik’s biography, but he is really investigating a 40-year-old murder of one of the family’s children.

Blomkvist soon learns that the family on the island is both extremely dysfunctional and hostile to outsiders. As his investigation thickens, he steps on more toes until they fi nally beg him to return to his home. But he has come too far to turn back, and Henrik Vanger has promised him some material which will bring down his rival.

Meanwhile, Fincher also follows the true hero, Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), a tattooed free-lance investigator, frighteningly thorough, who plays by no one’s rules but her own. When she is raped by her adviser in child services, she responds by blackmailing

him, tattooing “I AM A RAPIST PIG” on his stomach and forcing him to fund her high-tech surveillance.

Ultimately, the two, Blomkvist and Lisbeth, pair up to solve the mystery. They are the best in the business. Blomkvist needs Lisbeth’s resourcefulness and uninhibited dedication, but she likewise needs his grounded, thorough research to crack the case. When they split up to gather historical documents, Blomkvist is ab-ducted by the murderer they are closing in on.

What ensues is a brilliant fi lm by Fincher, one which showcases some great acting and incredible on-location scenery from Uppsala and Stockholm in Sweden, and some shots from Norway. Enjoy!

— SPENCER BLAKE

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher PlummerDirected by David FincherRated R

SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS

Starring: Roberty Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdamsDirected by Guy RitchieRated PG-13


Post-Season Frenzy

SPORTS

The NFL Playoffs are finally here, and as exciting as playoff time is, it also is a sad thing, as it is the final push to the end of football season.

The Bengals head to Houston to face the Texans. This is the first playoff ap-pearance for the Texans, and I believe they are one and done. The Texans have struggled down the stretch, losing their last three games, and as up-and-down as the Bengals have been, their rookie combo has been hot. Andy Dalton and A.J. Green have been nothing less than special this year, and they will handle the Texans.

The Steelers vs. Broncos match-up is probably my favorite of the weekend. I am taking the Steelers, but they are beat up with injuries. The Broncos have been playing poorly down the stretch, but with an injured Steelers team, you never know. It’s Tim Tebow and Jesus vs. The Dirty Towel Swingers.

The Saints will handle the Lions in a shootout. This game comes down to quar-terback play, and Drew Brees will outplay Matt Stafford any day of the week.

The Falcons vs. Giants is the only game where a clear winner doesn’t just pop into my head, but I am taking the Giants. Eli Manning has been hot and with a healthy Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nick, and the G-men will take care of the Dirty Birds. The Saints are the only team coming out of Wild Card weekend that I believe can win the whole enchilada. The Packers, Ravens, 49ers and Patriots all wait for their opponents, and I like them all except the 49ers—impressive, yes, but I am not buying a post-season run from them.

The Train Daddy has his Super Bowl prediction: Saints vs. Patriots and the Saints take the Lombardi Trophy home once again, “Who Dat”! That is the magic of the NFL, you never know what’s going to happen. We could have a 1998 Super Bowl rematch of the Broncos vs. Falcons. Well, I truly doubt that, but you never know.

So enjoy the final month of football. I know that even you non-football fans will enjoy the Super Bowl. Everyone does; it’s a reason to drink, eat and be merry with your friends. So holla at ya, people, the Train Daddy is rolling out of the station!

IT'S A NEW YEAR, TIME TO IMPROVE OURSELVES

Happy New Year! The Train Daddy is feeling great heading into 2012. I personally learned more in 2011 about myself than I have in my life, and the Z-Train is ready to roll over all the haters. I live and breathe sports, and I am allowed to; I have no children, and I have no wife. One day I plan on

having both, but until that day, the Z-Train rolls solo, baby!

I just want to say God bless sports. Not only sports, but God bless this country and the soldiers that fought to make her beautiful, and God bless friends and family. It is a new year and we have to enjoy the finer things in life: beautiful women, fine wine, steak and shrimp and most important, we thank God for making all these things possible.

In the NFL, post-season football is exciting and a challenge for any of the 12 teams that have dreams of lifting the Lombardi Trophy come Feb. 5 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. It just goes to

show how much the BCS sucks compared to the big leagues; it is, in my opinion, the most flawed system in all of sports.

A new year brings new hope, new ideas, new dreams and new plans for people like you and me, all for one purpose. That purpose is to better ourselves. College football should listen to the fans and

reevaluate itself. Someone deserving of a title shot always gets left out. You see, college football is like a 300-pound women who still is somewhat attractive; some guys out there like a thick women and wouldn’t want her to change, but the majority of men out there would prefer a slimmer, healthier lady. If this 300-pound woman would just make

some changes in her life and go on a diet, she would be more in-triguing to many more men.

Some people like college football these days just the way it is, but with some tweaks here and there, college ball would be much more intriguing to a larger audience.

SPORTS TALKcolumn by Z-TRAINtitanman1984@ yahoo.com

The season is over for the Tennessee Titans, and preparation and planning has already begun for the 2012 season. Now is the time for fans and critics to critique the 2011

season and break down every possible scenario that was a success or failure. The question I have for myself and the team would have to be Was the 2011 season a success, and I would give the team a B- if I were to grade them. The Titans definitely outperformed the projections of the sports analysts around the country; no-body had the Titans, and first-year Coach Mike Munchak projected to have a winning season. The team finished 9-7 and left some tough loss-es on the field like Week 1 with a 16-14 loss to a bad Jaguars team and Week 14 with a goal line stop as time expired against the Saints, causing the Titans to lose 22-17. The following week they gave the Colts their first victory. The Titans only had two losses that they honestly deserved this season, losing to the Steelers 38-17 and the Texans 41-7. The Titans defeated three of the six AFC teams in the playoffs this season, and for a team projected by the professionals to be at the bottom of the barrel, that seems like a success-ful rebuilding year to me.

When we talk about the quarterback spot, there is a lot to evaluate. Matt brought some leadership and talent to the table. I will agree he played well this season through some injuries, but he is not the future, and we all

know this. He is getting older and is slowly on the down-slope of his career. Rookie quarter-backs have shown in this league they can be thrown into the mix and be successful. The Jake Locker situation is turning out beauti-fully. He is showing signs of a star player in this league, and rather than being thrown into the lions’ den, he got a full season to learn and watch. Locker also got some good playing time in some very meaningful games. There were some times down the stretch when Matt struggled that I disagreed with the Coach for not putting in Locker. I don’t know the future, but Locker’s certainly looks bright. I hope this first-round pick is the answer to leading my Titans to the Promised Land.

You know I have to send a shout out to my boy Nate Washington for finally busting loose for the first 1,000-yard season of his career with seven touchdowns. He really stepped up after Kenny Britt went down with a season-ending injury. I was also impressed with the play of Jared Cook. It wasn’t consistent, but with a 759-yard season, he was getting open.

Chris Johnson, I have little to say. You wanted to get paid like a quarterback; you got your big deal and struggled, possibly single-handedly losing some games at the beginning of the season that could have made a differ-ence for a playoff run. Johnson came together towards the end of the season and just barely notched 1,000 yards.

I have to send one more shout out to the Young Gun Damian Williams who came out of nowhere and played well with 592 yards receiving and five TDs. The future looks bright and young. The defense is very young and played well, but like all young defenses, they

had some very bad games also. I was person-ally upset with the lack of turnovers between the two veterans in the backfield; Finnegan and Griffin totaled three interceptions, and that’s a long way off from a few years back when they both made the Pro Bowl.

Rob Birronas still has a hell of a boot and isn’t going anywhere, and if you own a Chris Johnson bobble head, it is still relevant because that fool is a head shaker. Bobble, bobble, baby! That’s enough said. I stand behind Coach Munchak, and I think it is time Daddy gives the keys to his ride to the youngster, Jake “The Snake” Locker!

THE TITANS AND JAKE THE SNAKE

Titans' rookie Jake Locker has looked good in the action he's seen so far. Many feel he should get the starting role in 2012.

Drew Brees


MAKE A RESOLUTION TO RUN

In the Light in the Night 5k, held at Gateway Island Park on Dec. 3, Robert Davis of McMinnville led the pack with a 18:13 time.

Kristen Wasik of Murfreesboro led the females with a finishing time of 22:07.

Though the competitive road racing season will be in a bit of a lull for the next couple of months, it’s a great time to train (indoors, perhaps, during the coldest times) and prepare to enter a race later in the year.

Fleet Feet, located at 544 N. Thompson Lane, holds Saturday morning runs every week at 8 a.m. if you feel a group run will help you get moving.

Many who have never run before may say that running is boring. However, in actuality it can be one of the most interesting, beneficial and different times in your day.

Not only is running great for improving your respiratory and cir-culatory systems, shedding weight and strengthening legs and core, it is also great for mental health. Thirty or forty minutes on the road allows one to reflect on the previous day and prepare and organize for the following one.

If you care to use a small mp3 player (which can be pretty afford-able these days), you can use the time to check out new music or listen to recorded books or podcasts. But even without the earbuds, the peace that comes with focusing on a single thing for a half hour is nice.

Once you’re able to maintain a strong pace for a number of miles, there are plenty of things to vary up your runs to keep things interesting from day to day.

On one day, after a warm-up of at least five minutes of an easy jog, hit a mile as hard as you can. The site gmap-pedometer.com allows run-ners and cyclists to plot, calculate the distance of and save routes on roads in your own neighborhood. So I sug-gest setting up a route of a mile and a 5k (3.1 miles) right in your own part of town. Use the stopwatch on your phone or watch to time your quickest mile possible. Walk for five minutes and then do it again, though it’s understandable if your second timed mile is a bit slower. A treadmill could

come in handy, if the temperature outside is unfavorable to you and for precisely timing your distance ran.

On another day, start with a five-minute easy jog again to get pump-ing and reduce the chance of injury, and then sprint for 30 seconds. Run like someone’s stealing your baby and you must catch them—big strides, high knees, heels to the butt, pumping your body to the absolute maximum, Olympic sprinting-finals style. Go back to an easy jog for a half or a whole minute and do it again. Try at least five of these alter-nations; work up to 10. Cool down with an easy jog before collapsing.

On the third day of my weekly routine, I’m currently doing a 5k plus one additional mile, for a total of 4.1 miles. If I can push and improve my pace on this as if I am in a road race, actually running a 5k will be a breeze. I’d like to make this day more of a hill training day, but Murfreesboro is so flat compared to so much of Tennes-see, I need to look for some big hills to conquer. The incline is another good feature of a treadmill.

The fourth day could be an endur-ance day. Set a distance that is rea-sonable to you but still taxing, and do it, no matter how long it takes. I’m just at six miles on my long day, but I will continue to add half miles until I do just a little better than double that and am able to complete a 13-mile half marathon regularly.

If the temperature is between 35 and 100 degrees, I’m fine. Below freezing and above 100, it gets a little less fun. But yet another reason to use a treadmill, particularly on these long days, is to take advantage of the TV mounted on them or the full-size movie cinema they are in, as the Murfreesboro Athletic Club offers. Running from 4:30-6 p.m. on a

Sunday is not a problem if there are a couple of competitive NFL games on the treadmill’s TV.

The rest days in between the run-ning days are certainly important, and they give your body a chance to recover. But I like to have more running days than off days, so the 4-day running plan will place one set of consecutive running days next to each other at the end of each cycle (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, for example).

If you want to truly improve your times, the sprints and hill training are important. The biggest factor in a runner’s increase in speed is due to improved lung capacity. In other words, work your breathing hard and the changing amount of air your lungs can take in with one breath is the single most impor-tant thing one can do to shave of seconds on finishing times.

For many runners, it’s all about the “PR” or personal record for a particular distance moreso than trying to outdo another runner. It probably feels great to win a race, but it also feels great to break your own time in a mile or a 5k.

Do not be intimidated. Compared to most hobbies and sports, running is incredibly easy to get into. The first step: run. Tie your shoes and take off. Remember, even if you get up and jog easily for 10 minutes, the results will be better than if you had not.

Think about your whole body as you run. Make sure you’re pushing off with your toes each stride and not just shuffling your feel along and not bending at the ankles. Pick up your knees. Kick your tail with your heels. Pump your legs as quickly as possible (be mindful of your “cadence”), but take large strides. Land on the front part of the foot, not the heel. Keep breathing under control. I usually start a run by inhaling for four steps, exhaling for four steps, then switch-ing to three and then two as my lungs ask for more air.

It seems like keeping the shoul-ders and elbows engaged is one of the top inefficiencies of many runners. Don’t keep the elbows

bent and your fists up high. This uses blood, oxygen and energy. Keep the arms straight and relaxed. Swivel at the hips slightly each step and rotate the rib cage from side to side. Use your hands and extended arms swinging back and forth as momentum pendulums, weight that helps you move forward, rather than running with bent, and therefore shorter, extremities.

Run with power. Don’t lean back by any means. You’re going forward, so project your body weight forward slightly. I think of the Tennessee Titans powerful tight end Jared Cook as I run. That guy is like a locomo-tive going down the field. It always seems like when he does get tackled or tripped up, he’s still going to fall about 8 yards forward before he ever comes down because of the power

and momentum with which he runs down field. Run in such a way that if you did just give out or trip, you’re momentum is carrying your body forward rather than just collapsing straight down right where you are.

Hopefully these tips will inspire some to run (without giving out all of my personal training secrets), or even improve their health in another way. Even if on your first jog you are winded after a couple of minutes, everyone has to start somewhere, and the important thing is that you’re literally taking steps in the right direction and that you improve your lungs and your time your next running day.

I am by no means a running or fitness expert, but this strategy has helped helped me shed pounds and improve my times.

Run and run regularly; anyone can work to improve mind and body story by BRACKEN MAYO


Dimly lit with multiple dining areas colored with subdued oranges and blues and a barroom with a fully stocked bar that is delightful on the

eyes, Blue Agave is not a run-of-the-mill Mexi-can restaurant. “This city is ready for good Mexican, not just rice and beans and Speedy Gonzalez [combina-tion plate],” says co-owner Armando Lopez. “We have the potential to do that.” Lopez and his business partner Jesus Ortega opened Blue Agave in June 2011 in the building that formerly housed The Parthenon.

A great thing about Mexi-can restaurants is that free chips and salsa are served immediately, so if you’re extremely hungry you don’t have to wait long to get something in your stomach. I highly recommend the cheese dip in addition to the salsa. It is significantly more flavorful than any other cheese dip I’ve tried;

I found out the restaurant incorporates white American, queso fresco and Chihuaha cheeses. Dip on with a sizable order of guacamole made fresh tableside. Customize your guac with flavor boosters of diced onions, jalapeños, tomatoes, cilantro, salt and pepper and fresh lime juice. It’s fun to watch, tasty and good for you.

For my night out with the Mayo family, I went with my favorite dish of Chili Verde, a

plate full of pork bites sim-mered in a savory green chili pepper sauce served with soft white corn tortillas and beans and rice on the side. For those who like a kick, I recommend ordering a side of tomatillo salsa. Pour some in a Chili Verde-filled tortilla and it also makes for another superb dip for chips.

Sarah ordered a taco salad complete with a large crunchy tortilla bowl filled to the top with ground beef,

shredded chicken, tomato, lettuce, and other toppers. Bracken received a colorful plate of sliced grilled chicken, mushrooms, pineapple chunks, bell peppers and onions. This dish, the Pollo Queso Agave came with tortillas, pico de

gallo, guacamole, rice and beans. And two-and-a-half-year-old Bracken Jr. annihilat-ed his plate of rice and beans.

After filling our bellies with

these incredible meals, Sarah and Junior called it a night, but Bracken and myself hung out and saved room for dessert. No, not the Tres Leches, which I hear is nothing less than amazing, but rather, some tequila tasting with Lopez.

“I want to teach people about tequila,” said Lopez. “It’s not just to drink and get drunk. To me it’s like wine.”

He informed us that the state of Tennes-see allows 185 different tequilas, 120 of which are from Mexico, and Blue Agave is the first restaurant in Middle Tennessee to carry them all. Tequila is very much incorporated into the restaurant by way of the bar and also the food. It is used in sauces and marinades and also as a fuel to ignite the fajitas as they arrive at your table; Blue Agave is apparently the only restau-rant in the city to serve flaming fajitas.

In fact, the name Blue Agave references the plant from which true tequila is derived. Guada-lajara, in the Mexican state of Jalisco, is the only

region in the world where the blue agave plant grows. Lopez affirmed, “If it’s not from the blue agave plant, it’s not good tequila.” It takes the blue agave seven to ten years to mature, Lopez says and if you’d like to get a look at the plant, there are several hanging in the restaurant.

Tequila prices at Blue Agave range from $4.50 to $150 per shot and the restaurant often runs specials on quality tequilas. Lopez shared one of his favorites, Don Julio 1942. Aged 17 years, we followed his method for drinking it, sip-by-sip with a chaser of sangria. Lopez informed us that the bottled sangria, which “has to be from Spain,” kills any sourness and accents the agave flavor. As an alternative, he recommended orange juice to bring out the tequila flavor. Note that lime and salt are not mentioned in his method.

Lopez continued as we sipped along, “Look for a cork on the bottle. If there’s no cork, it’s not good tequila.” He took another sip, “1942 is a perfect blend.”

On Feb. 2 from 7–8:30 p.m., Blue Agave will host a tasting celebration for Don Julio tequila’s 70-year anniversary, complete with Don Julio Blanco (white), Añejo (aged), Reposado (rested), 1942, Don Julio Real (top shelf), and will end the night with the special edition Don Julio 70-year Anniversary tequila.

Lopez intends to introduce more authentic dishes to the Blue Agave menu little by little, and a regular draw is a two-for-one margarita special and trivia every Wednesday evening. For more information, visit blueagavetn.com.

Read more about local restaurants at:

THE DISHNAME: Blue AgaveLOCATION: 1935 S. Church St. PHONE: (615) 624-6478HOURS: 11 a.m.–9 p.m. (Sun. –Tues.) 10 p.m. (Wed.–Sat. )PRICES: Pollo Queso Agave: $8.99; Enchiladas Suizas: $8.50; Handmade guaca-mole: $4.99WEB: blueagavetn.com

Pollo Queso Agave

Blue Agave staff prepares fresh

guacamole tableside.

story by RYAN

NOREIKAS

FOOD

TEQUILA!

Armando Lopez talks of his restaurant and plans for future dishes and events.

Blue Agave presents fun flair with Mexican cuisine and . . .

photos by BRACKEN

MAYO


SOUP-ER BOWLCHICKEN RICE SOUPTastes just like Demos'. Well, almost.

Serves: 4–6, Level: Easy

INGREDIENTS:1 tablespoon butter (or margarine)

1/8 cup all-purpose flour

2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans chicken broth (reduced sodium or fat free is fine)

2 cups cooked chicken , shredded

1/2 teaspoon salt , to taste

1/2 teaspoon pepper, to taste

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

½ (1 1/4 ounce) packet Italian salad dressing mix

1 cup milk (2% and skim work fine)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon white wine

fresh parsley (1 small bunch, coarsely chopped) (optional)

2 cups long-grain rice , cooked

DIRECTIONS:In a large pot, melt the butter or margarine.

After the butter is melted, mix the flour in until smooth.

Slowly pour in chicken broth, whisking or stir-ring continuously until no lumps remain.

Add the shredded cooked chicken, salt, pep-per, garlic powder and Italian salad dressing mix; bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, and simmer for 12 minutes.

Add the milk, lemon juice, white wine and parsley, if desired.

Reduce heat to low, add the cooked rice and cover.

Cook until rice is heated through.

Recipe courtesy food.com

MEXICAN CORN SOUPTastes just like the soup your Mexican grandmother used to make.

Serves: 4–6, Level: Easy

INGREDIENTS:4 ears fresh or 3 cups frozen, thawed corn kernels

2 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped

2-4 cups chicken broth

½ teaspoon dried oregano

4 slices thick cut bacon

½ onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Salt and pepper

½ cup heavy cream, optional

3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

½ cup queso fresco, fresh farmer’s cheese, feta cheese, pepperjack cheese or sour cream

Tortilla chips or fried tortilla strips

DIRECTIONS:If using fresh corn, scrape kernels from cobs using small sharp knife or spoon. Place half of the corn kernels in blender with tomatoes, 2 cups of broth and oregano. Puree until smooth. Set aside.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook bacon, turning once until brown and crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Set aside. Add onion to bacon fat in saucepan and cook, stirring frequently until onion is soft and translucent. Add garlic and stir for another minute.

Add tomato-corn puree to saucepan with remaining 1–2 cups of broth or water. Bring to a low boil and add remaining whole corn kernels. Simmer over medi-um-low heat until thickened, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally and remove any foam as it develops with a large flat metal spoon. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix in half of the parsley and cream, if desired, and heat through. Serve garnished with crumbled bacon, remaining parsley, crumbled cheese and tortilla chips or strips.

Note: Canned corn is tasty in this recipe too.

Recipe courtesy foodnetwork.com

POTATO SOUP WITH SHRIMPThis one-pot meal is hearty and delicious.

Serves: 6, Time: 45 Minutes, Level: Easy

INGREDIENTS:½ stick butter

1 small onion, diced

2 medium carrots, diced about the same size as the onion

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

8 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed

4 cups milk, whole, reduced fat (2 percent) or low fat (1 percent)

2 chicken bouillon cubes, dissolved in ½ cup hot milk

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

2 cups salted water

1 pound medium shrimp

Crumbled bacon bits, for garnish

Grated sharp Cheddar, for garnish

Dill sprigs, optional garnish

DIRECTIONS:In a 4-quart saucepan, melt the butter and saute the onion and carrots until both

are slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the flour, and cook for 1 minute. Add the potatoes, milk and dissolved bouillon cubes. Cook over medium heat for 15 min-utes, until the potatoes are very soft and some of them have begun to dissolve into mush. Add salt, and pepper.

In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups lightly salted water to a boil. Add the shrimp all at once and stir well. Watch the shrimp closely; as soon as they all turn pink, about 2 to 3 minutes, turn off the heat and drain. The shrimp should be slightly undercooked. When they are cool, peel them, and chop roughly into big chunks. Add the shrimp to the soup and stir well. Serve soup sprinkled with bacon bits and grated cheese. Garnish with dill sprigs, if desired.

Cook’s Note: If you don’t have access to shrimp, use corn. May use 2 cups chicken stock or broth for flavor instead of 2 cups water and bouillon cubes.

Recipe courtesy foodnetwork.com

Warm up this winter with a few of our favorite soups.When it’s cold out, there’s nothing more sat-isfying than sitting down to a hot bowl of soup. These recipes take a bit more time than cracking open a can of Campbell’s, but they’re worth it. Freeze leftover portions in airtight containers for a quick meal later on.

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january 2012 murfreesboro pulse

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