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(01/23/13 4:23pm)
At least six undergraduate students have been accepted to the 27th annual National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR), forming what Honors Director John T. Scott believes to be the biggest contingent of Mercer students to attend in the history of Mercer’s participation in the conference.
The conference seeks students who are looking to make “an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline” through their undergraduate research. As a multidisciplinary conference, NCUR accepts original visual and performance art pieces in addition to the traditional research papers and posters. the conference has become one of the largest and most prestigious multidisciplinary conferences for undergraduate students.
According to Scott, four students from the Honors department and two students from outside the department have been accepted to present their research in the conference. “These folks are not the first group to go [to the NCUR],” Scott said, “but I think it’s safe to say that this is the largest contingent we’ve had going.”
According to Scott, Rebecca Cassady, Heather Williams, Kalie Frank, Aidan Kirkpatrick, Indie Coombs and Sarah Wibell will have the opportunity to attend the conference in La Crosse, Wis., on April 11-13.
One of Scott’s goals as the director of the Honors program has been to encourage more Honors students to showcase their research at off-campus presentations and conferences.
“A very small percentage of undergraduate students make any kind of presentation off campus at all, especially to something like NCUR,” Scott said. “One of the things I’ve discovered over the past two to three years is that for a lot of undergraduate students, the concept of making an off-campus presentation is completely alien.”
Senior classical studies major Aidan Kirkpatrick applied to the conference said that the NCUR “jumped out” at him while he was conducting independent research for scholarships and opportunities for presentations.
“It seemed to be a great way to pursue certain avenues of research that I’ll essentially be devoting my life to,” Kirkpatrick said.
“These are the kinds of presentations that put them [students] in better positions when applying for graduate schools.
Kirkpatrick explained that his research focuses on “the personal and political motivations behind the Roman poet Catullus’s decision to base his sixty-third poem on the ancient Anatolian goddess Cybelle.”
According to Kirkpatrick’s research, the poem describes the history of the cult of Cybelle, a kind of earth- mother goddess. He first became interested in the topic during a Latin course in which the class studied Roman love elegies.
Scott said that one of the draws of conferences like NCUR—aside from the academic prestige and notoriety that comes from the presentation itself—is the opportunity for students to collaborate with other students about their favorite topics.
“You’re going to learn,” Scott said. “You’re going to see what other folks are doing in your field of research.”
Kirkpatrick mentioned that he was looking forward to listening to other classical studies majors and gleaning some new perspectives during the presentations at the conference.
“This has really given me a new focus for my senior year—an avenue that will take me along the lines of what I really want to do with my life before I jump into my real passion, which is archaeology,” Kirkpatrick said.
(01/23/13 3:45pm)
If you are anything like me, you are probably the kind of person who likes opera in theory but gets somewhat bored in the theatre. I went to see “Don Giovanni” not too long ago and nearly fell asleep.
That being said, I was absolutely delighted with Mercer Opera’s latest performance. An opera for those who might need some convincing to give an opera a chance, Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Iolanthe” is light, fun, frivolous and hilarious.
The plot of “Iolanthe” sounds something like a rehash of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” with a satirical twist. Fairies fall in love with humans and completely turn Parliament upside-down (by actually making it run properly, for a change), and the hapless half-fairy hero chases after his lover, who has spurned him after catching him with an attractive young woman (who happens to be his mother). The humor abounds, particularly when played up by an absolutely shameless and enthusiastic cast.
The show was somewhat rough around the edges. Certain moments in the choreography were out of synch, particularly when the lords of the Court of Chancery come out to dance. Most of the acting was over the top and a little ridiculous. This became considerably more excusable when the satire had been established and made the show considerably funnier. Patrick Hamilton and Ryan Kirkconnell, among other people, are absolute hams.
Of course, the real strength in the music school lies in its vocals and in its orchestra. All of the cast members delivered strong performances when it came to singing, even the bit solos from unnamed fairies or lords. Adrienne Leggett (Phyllis) has a lovely voice that deftly scaled the high notes, and Patrick Hamilton’s (Strephon) baritone balanced Leggett’s higher tones well. I was unable to attend the performance in which Katie Trotter played Phyllis, but I’ve been told she did a lovely job. Lizamar Nieves had a throaty, heartfelt voice that carried a more mellow, calming tune for the audience well-befitting a mother. And the orchestra was absolutely gorgeous.
My favorite surprise from this play was the discovery of McKinley Starks, who played the Lord Chancellor. Excellent in both acting and singing, this sophomore transfer from Shorter has already proven himself to be an invaluable addition to Mercer’s music school. Danielle Rosborough was also brilliant as an actress and singer as the Queen of the Fairies.
Adding another layer to the political satire was the insertion of modern political references. The phrases “superpac,” “fiscal cliff” and “Parliamentary U-Haul” were dropped in the midst of the script and took the audience by surprise and cracked up the whole house. The biggest laugh probably came when the fairies, in the middle of a musical number, broke into an ode to Channing Tatum.
The set was fairly minimalist when compared to the detailed construction involved in Mercer Players performances. While not particularly impressive, it was charming and functional.
The costumes, however, were lovely. Though the costumes of the lords were simple—just robes in varying colors—the fairies personified frivolity. Whoever did makeup for the fairies did a good job; while sometimes a little overpowering, in most cases the color and the sparkles made for cute and playful additions to the costuming.
(11/28/12 11:00pm)
The most succinct explanation I can give of the Mercer Players’ latest performance comes from a conversation I heard during intermission between two elderly ladies sitting near me in the audience. They had been among those in the audience laughing hardest during the performance, and now they were keeping up a stream of wry commentary to pass the time until the second act.
As I pretended to read my program while keeping one ear on the conversation, I caught this exchange: “It seems,” one remarked drily to her friend, nodding toward the stage, “that we have a dysfunctional family.”
“Dysfunctional” is putting it mildly. “Independence,” by Lee Blessing, takes a look at the dynamic between three eccentric daughters and their borderline-crazy mother.
When Kess, the driven scholar of the family, comes home to assist her sister Jo after their mother’s impulsive actions afflict Jo with a neck injury, the tension in the family boils over as the women deal with pregnancy, lovers (male AND female), mental instability and the tendency of their hometown, Independence, to be exactly what one expects of a small town: a place where people settle and, even after generations, never seem to be able to escape.
“Independence” is not a plot-driven play, so not a lot happens.
However, the energy and tension were established from the first scene, as a simple conversation between Kess and Jo quickly erupts in bursts of pent-up tension. The two 45-minute acts flew by as the cast navigated their characters’ rocky relationships.
“Independence” only features four cast members, all female. With a cast this small, the ensemble is everything.
Director Scot Mann did an incredible job with his cast, whose chemistry was excellent all around.
Senior Suzanne Stroup, most recently seen as Portia in Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” earlier this fall, delivered what might be her best performance at the Back Door Theatre thus far.
She played the role of Kess, the responsible member of the Briggs clan whose main goal is to keep the fractured family together and repair her estranged relationships. Stroup’s performance as the restrained and independent Kess was incredibly believable.
Playing Kess’s gentler, earnest middle sister was another familiar face to the Back Door Theatre: Sarah Beth Roach, who is a junior this year.
Roach in particular had sizzling chemistry with the rest of the cast, adapting her role to her very different relationships with each of the other characters.
Her performance highlighted Jo’s sweet and self-sacrificial nature without completely obliterating a side of Jo her mother doesn’t always see: someone who earnestly wants to love and be loved, and who will often accept much less than she deserves just to have something to hold onto.
Ninti Chance made her debut performance as Sherry, the youngest of the Briggs sisters. For her first Back Door appearance, Chance had a surprisingly strong performance as a rebellious, artistic and blunt small-town teenager.
At once a product of and a reaction to her environment, Chance’s character chafes against the bonds of Independence and yearns to leave home like her sister, who she resents for leaving the rest of the family behind.
Chance’s delivery was somewhat stiff at the beginning of the show, but I’m putting that down to opening-night jitters; she warmed up as the show progressed.
Her delivery was best when her character was worked up into an angry fit, and her exaggerated facial expressions were always spot-on.
Pam Burkhalter brought life to the matriarch of the Briggs family, Evelyn. Burkhalter, a retired teacher who moonlights as an actress at local Macon venues, provided an effective blend of being candid and crazy.
Evelyn’s character achieves an ambiguity that is hard to capture; one is never quite sure whether she has actualy succombed to mental weakness or if she is feigning it to get attention from her daughters, particularly Jo.
Burkhalter managed to convey a sense that her character had only a tenuous grasp on her sanity and self-control, which she retains through being dependent and manipulative.
Especially compelling were the scenes in which Burkhalter’s character gave vent to her less rational side—a transition that Burkhalter made seamlessly and effectively, without giving in to the temptation to go over the top in her portrayal of mental instability.
The acting alone made “Independence” one of the best performances I have seen on the Back Door stage. Every other aspect was icing on the cake.
I’m always amazed at the versatility of the venue’s small space, and this show was no exception: the set as well as the actresses’ delivery made me, as an audience member, feel as though I really was looking into the Briggs’ living room through a window.
The crew could convey the passing of time by changing the lights behind the set’s windows, creating daylight, nighttime, dusk and early morning.
In the area of costumes, “Independence” did not call for anything as elaborate as “The Merchant of Venice” required, but Shelley Kuhen still did a fantastic job at picking clothes that conveyed a sense of each actress’s character.
Even the music chosen for the scene changes gave a sense of continuity: because Kess is a professor of Scottish border ballads, Scottish music played during the blackouts.
At once darkly hilarious and painfully sad, “Independence” was a gripping emotional ride, keeping the audience laughing at one moment and gasping in shock the next.
Those who did not make it to the performance should know that they missed one of the best shows the Players have put on in recent years.
(11/28/12 11:00pm)
Macon said farewell to a local haunt in early November. The Shamrock, an Irish-themed pub and restaurant in Payne City, closed after a tearful and heartfelt send-off from members of the Mercer and Macon communities.
The Shamrock, which was at its Payne City location for 12 years, had been open since 1995. With live music, trivia nights and a menu that included Irish drinks and food (including some very tasty seafood nachos), the Shamrock offered a quirky but relaxed atmosphere for visitors.
The bar’s owner, Dargan McAfee, cited the ongoing economic downturn as the reason for the Shamrock’s closing.
“Basically, the past few years have been real tough on the local businesses around here,” McAfee said. “I’ve talked to a lot of small businesses and they’re all hanging by a thread. It’s not just the Shamrock.”
An unfortunate occurrence in the Shamrock’s recent history also put a blot on its reputation. Back in 2011, one of the Shamrock’s patrons was shot in the arm during a holdup in the bar on an early June morning.
“That didn’t help either,” McAfee reflected sadly. “That scared a lot of the local clientele.”
However, it did not stop locals from stopping by the Shamrock the night of Nov. 10 for a farewell drink. According to McAfee, the little pub was “packed.”
“I don’t know how many, exactly, but there were hundreds and hundreds coming in and out.” He added, “The parking lot was full, the street was full—it was like a mini St. Patrick’s Day.”
Senior Holly Burrell, who occasionally frequented the Shamrock for the food, music and company, went with a group of friends to say goodbye to what had become a favorite piece of her Mercer experience. She said that part of the last night’s activities included a round of toasts for the bar’s years of service.
“They toasted Dargan a few times, saying nice things about him,” Burrell said. “Just ‘Thanks for being here’ kind of stuff.”
While the Shamrock never quite reached the popularity among Mercerians that the Hummingbird Bar and Taproom have achieved, it had a small but faithful following among Mercer students.
Alumni Will Crews and Zach Stich used to attend the Shamrock’s trivia night on Thursday evenings with a group of friends.
“It was my good fortune to stumble upon this establishment during my years at Mercer,” Crews said. “I could have gone elsewhere to eat and drink and play trivia, but nowhere else could I have found another place with an atmosphere like that at the Shamrock. That atmosphere is difficult to describe to those who have not experienced it, but all initiates, the regulars, know and love it. The Shamrock was one of a kind and will be missed.”
McAfee said that his favorite night at the Shamrock was the last one, when people came to say goodbye to the bar he called his “baby.”
“It was a very touching and moving moment. It was hard. Sometimes you’re down and deep, and you feel bad…but people cared. This town cared. It was very supportive at a time when I needed it. It was the worst of times, but it was the best of times.”
McAfee said that there might be the possibility, in the future, of someone else taking the reins and reopening the bar when the economic timing is right. If that were to happen, McAfee said that he hopes the new management would keep it close to the way the Shamrock hd been in the past.
“People had been coming there a long time,” McAfee said. “It was part of their home.”
(11/28/12 11:00pm)
Alpha Gamma Delta’s annual all-you-can-eat dessert sale, “How Sweet It Is”, went off without a hitch once again despite the cold, wet weather Wednesday evening, Nov. 14.
The philanthropy coordinator for Mercer’s AGD chapter, Caitlin Donnelly, said that the event went as well as it has in previous years. After the ticket sales, Donnelly said, “It’s an event that runs itself.”
This was Donnelly’s first year as Philanthropy Coordinator and, therefore, her first year being in charge of the “How Sweet It Is” event. Additionally, she was in charge of Alpha Gamma Delta’s Wing Jam event last April.
According to Donnelly, the “How Sweet It Is” dessert sale usually raises around $800 in proceeds. Kalie Frank, Vice President of Finance for the organization, estimated that the event raised about $750 this year.
“If it’s a little bit short of [what we usually earn], I would guess it’s because of the weather,” Donnelly said.
Not long after the event began at 7 p.m. Wednesday evening, the already brisk weather turned bitingly cold and a frigid wind kicked up, accompanied by stinging rain that discouraged people from leaving their dorms.
Donnelly supposed that the weather had an effect on the number of people who usually show up to buy their tickets to “How Sweet It Is” at the door of the event.
While most ticket sales occur before the night of the event, Donnelly said that there are always stragglers who buy their tickets at the last minute. That number was lower this year than in the past.
In addition to accepting cash for the tickets, Donnelly said that the sorority accepted payment through Bear Cards this year.
As usual, ticket proceeds from the sorority’s fundraising event will go to the Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation.
One of the main purposes of the foundation is to provide grants and funding for diabetes research and education in addition to supporting families afflicted with the disorder.
Additionally, the organization supports sorority sisters in crisis areas such as those living in the wake of Hurricane Irene and, more recently, Hurricane Sandy.
This year, Mercer’s AGD chapter is also sending proceeds from “How Sweet It Is” to an organization called Maddy’s Mission, which supports a sorority sister named Maddy Watts from the University of Central Oklahoma chapter.
Watts was diagnosed with melanoma for the second time on Sept. 10 of this year.
Alpha Gamma Delta sisters from around the country have been sending proceeds from their fundraisers to Maddy’s Mission since then to spread awareness of the disease and to ease the burden of Watts’ medical bills.
As in years past, all of the desserts sold at “How Sweet It Is” were homemade by the sisters of Alpha Gamma Delta.
The substantial spread included banana pudding, several pies and a wide variety of cookies and cupcakes. Donnelly herself baked chocolate chip cookies and decorated doughnuts made to resemble snowmen.
(11/28/12 11:00pm)
With the recent premiere of “Breaking Dawn: Part II” (which, according to CNN, secured the “eighth biggest opening weekend of all time” despite earning a 46 percent from the critics at Rotten Tomatoes), the world saw the final installment of the Twilight film series. Unless Stephanie Meyer decides to capitalize on her moneymaking machine by continuing the story or writing prequels with her popular sparkly characters, we can finally say goodbye to Bella, Edward and Jacob.
To which I say: Thank GOD.
Yes, I have disliked the Twilight series (there is no way I am going to grant the word “saga” to that franchise) since high school, when I first picked up the books. Don’t get me wrong: I read them. I even enjoyed them as literary candy: kind of fun and quick to read, but not much substance. But it gets under my skin like no other series.
The books draw a lot of criticism for their classification as romance novels. I think we’ve all seen the meme that stacks pictures of Hermione, Katniss and Bella in a column with these respective captions: “I defeated a Dark Lord”; “I started a revolution”; and, for Bella, “I got married.” The message of the meme is that Bella is considerably less awesome than the heroines of those other books because her conflict is purely one of romance—but I think the meme picks on the wrong aspect of Twilight.
Romance is not my favorite thing to read, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the idea. And I definitely don’t think there’s anything wrong with a book in which someone gets married. When you think about it, marriage is a pretty scary undertaking: commitment to one person for the duration of the agreement, or, if you take the original vow seriously, for the rest of your life. Taking on a relationship of that magnitude is actually pretty brave. Marriage requires a lot of courage and fortitude. So does having children, and both Katniss and Hermione end up married with children at the end of their series’ too.
The scary thing about Twilight is that it makes the argument that “true love” grants the individual no agency in deciding who to love. Think about it: Bella has a fatal attraction to someone who, literally, wants to eat her whenever he gets near her. She seems to think that she can’t help herself; that, at least, is the argument Edward makes when explaining his feelings to her. Worse still is the imprinting of the werewolves. The love triangle including Jacob Black is actually kind of tragic. He spends years being infatuated with Bella only to fall into a hopeless attraction to her infant daughter through a werewolf process called “imprinting.” The fact that he has been attracted to Bella for so long leads to the conclusion that Jacob was going to imprint on Bella’s unborn daughter all along. He literally has no choice.
It also argues that true love is a one-chance opportunity. On the one hand, this is a romantic notion; on the other, it’s incredibly destructive. Bella flirts with the idea of falling in love with Jacob Black in the second book, “New Moon,” after Edward leaves her “for her own good” and she temporarily goes off the deep end. Despite the possibility of healing, Bella continues to do stupid, dangerous things to evoke her memories of Edward. She can’t, or won’t, move on. Later, when Edward thinks Bella is dead, his immediate plan is to commit suicide. Their logic: life is not living without the other person. There will be no one else.
I know elderly people who, after their spouses died, never remarried. They had one great love of their lives and that was it. And that’s a beautiful notion. But they are not broken, or devastated. Even though their spouses died, they saw reason—for themselves or for the other people they loved—to keep on living. Often, when speaking of healing after someone dies, those who are left behind say that the deceased would want them to heal because he or she loved them. It’s the kind of love that builds up, strengthens, rather than destroys.
That’s not the kind of love you get in the Twilight series. Healing becomes an un-romantic notion. It’s a terrible lie to tell anyone, especially an audience of young teenage girls whose first heartbreaks are right around the corner. And if that’s what true love is actually like, I for one want no part of it.
(11/28/12 11:00pm)
Development on the upcoming Cruz Plaza is scheduled to start Dec. 3 or 4, according to Dr. James Netherton, Executive Vice President for Administration and Finance at Mercer University.
Cruz Plaza, named after the Mercer trustee and donor who put forth the lead gift for the project, is the future name of what will be a revitalized area surrounding Porter Patch.
According to Netherton, trustee Milton L. Cruz put forth the gift after remarking to President Underwood that the road running from Greek Row in front of the UC, Stetson and Tarver needed to fit the aesthetics of the rest of Mercer’s campus.
Netherton called the plan “an idea to transform the center of campus.”
“It’s big, it’s expensive, it’s complicated and it’s going to be wonderful when we’ve finished,” Netherton said.
The center of Mercer’s campus used to be the historic Quad, but as the campus has grown, the center has shifted to Porter Patch and the area between the UC and Tarver Library. The road that runs alongside these buildings, Edgewood Avenue, is a major thoroughfare for university foot traffic throughout the day, but it was not part of the original campus plan.
“Mercer’s been on this location for a long time,” Netherton said. “We’re a lot larger than we used to be, and we’ve got old city roads going through the campus. The most unattractive part of our campus is Edgewood Avenue.”
Mercer approached Atlanta landscaping firm HGOR to undertake the project of reshaping Edgewood Avenue and the sidewalks running from outside Shorter Hall to Connell Student Center.
However, the original plan that the firm proposed would have involved construction taking place over a period of three to four years.
Instead, the administration opted for a plan that would take less than a year, beginning in December and concluding just before classes resume in August.
Netherton said that one of the first steps of the project will be to rip up Edgewood Avenue and replace all the utilities running beneath the street. Because this renovation will interfere with students trying to get to class, Netherton said that the administration expects to maintain crossing points for students down by the College Street intersection, by Tarver, near the bronze bear statue and close to Greek village.
“The ideas have continued to mature.”
Netherton said that he hopes that those who become frustrated by impediments caused by construction will react with “a little bit of patience and a little bit of understanding. This is going to inconvenience students, but it’s going to be good for their future.”
The final plan for the plaza includes water features for students to enjoy, new walkways, picnic tables and a “programmable” green space where Porter Patch is now. Netherton said that the space will provide an attractive location for outdoor concerts, pickup games of Frisbee or other sports and, potentially, an outdoor graduation ceremony.
Netherton also said that the plaza will accommodate handicap requirements for students with wheelchairs or other special needs.
“Part of what we’re trying to create is more inviting, informal places for students to gather,” Netherton said.
He added, “It’s also sort of neat that everyone will be able to see the transformation. That’s a place where students do so much. With the new design, they’ll be able to do so much more.”
A groundbreaking ceremony for the construction on the new plaza will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 12.
(11/07/12 11:00pm)
Though the infection rate has continued to rise slowly nationwide, the fungal meningitis outbreak that has been creeping through the U.S. has currently only infected one Bibb County resident. The District Public Information Officer for the North Central Health District, Jennifer Jones, said that to the knowledge of the health department, no cases have been reported since a 66-year-old woman exhibited symptoms in the weeks before Halloween.
As of Monday, The New York Times reported that just over 400 people have been infected with fungal meningitis over the course of this outbreak. The disease has claimed the lives of 29 people nationwide. The case of the Bibb County woman made Georgia the 17th of 19 states affected by the outbreak.
The outbreak has been traced back to a pharmacy in Framingham, Mass. The New England Compounding Center issued a steroid contaminated with fungal meningitis to facilities across the United States. Fungal meningitis is not contagious; instead, it spread through injection, as people received the steroid as a treatment for back pain.
According to Jones, the Forsyth Street Ambulatory Surgery Center is currently the only facility in Georgia that received medication proven to have the fungal meningitis infection.
The New England Compounding Center has since recalled all of the products which might be contaminated with meningitis, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website. The CDC also reports that on Halloween, another Massachusetts pharmacy called Ameridose, LLC recalled its products as part of the ongoing investigation into the outbreak.
Jones said that around 180 patients were at risk for infection through the Forsyth Street center before the drug was recalled. She also said the center was prompt about calling all patients who had received potentially infected medication, alerting them to the risks and informing them what symptoms they should be looking out for. Fungal meningitis has a long incubation period, so symptoms can lie dormant for months before they become evident and the disease takes hold.
“It could be months before someone starts seeing symptoms,” Jones said. “Because of that, we’re not going to say we’re out of the woods and that this is the only case we’ll have. We hope so.”
If patients do not show symptoms for a certain number of months—as yet undetermined—Jones said, “We would then tell people, ‘Your chances are very likely that you’re never going to see any symptoms. If you were going to get sick, you would have gotten sick by now.’ But we’re not at that point yet.”
According to the CDC website, symptoms of fungal meningitis include “new or worsening headache,” “fever,” “slurred speech” and “increased pain, redness or swelling” in the place where the infected shot was administered. Only those who have reason to believe they were exposed to the disease through the infected medication should be concerned that they have contracted the disease. If symptoms occur and persist, contact your regular physician immediately.
(10/24/12 9:00pm)
A yellow slice of moon drifted in and out of the low clouds as my friend and I walked toward Riverside Cemetery. It was a Saturday night, dark and cool, and the main sources of light were the hundreds of candles lining the paths of the cemetery. Our tour guide, Terry Jordan, gestured with his flashlight to assemble a small group of people for the walk. After a brief introduction, Jordan turned to lead us along the candlelit path into the heart of the graveyard.
For me, the coolest thing about Halloween is that it coaxes old stories back into the light. Forget ghost stories: a person doesn’t have to come back from the dead to haunt you. When Halloween rolls around, I always get a delightfully eerie feeling by thinking about the lives and deaths of the people who lived before me.
This is why I enjoyed the Spirits in October walk at Riverside Cemetery. The annual nighttime ramble leads visitors to the graves of notable Maconites from the past 200 years. This year’s theme, “Incredible Firsts,” explores the stories of Maconites who accomplished great goals, built notable Macon sites or contributed essential firsts to the community. Don’t take my word for it, though; on the tour, you can hear it from the ghosts themselves.
The cemetery event brings in actors from the Macon community—including some Mercer faces—to play the roles of the ghosts of the graveyard. Periodically, the tour stops to introduce the visitors to one of the graveyard denizens. An actor stands above or near the grave of the person he or she is portraying and delivers a monologue about the life and accomplishments of the deceased. Cemetery conservancy director Suzanne Doonan wrote the script for the tour, weaving touching personal details into the stories while emphasizing the state of the world at the time the person lived in it.
The actors and actresses rotate through roles on different nights. On the night I went—Saturday, Oct. 20—the actress playing Mary Evans Glass gave a particularly strong performance. Glass, the founder of the ADPi sorority, recounted her time at Wesleyan—a time in which the school’s rules were much stricter, enforcing everything from kindling rations to chaperoned ventures off campus. Feisty and headstrong, the actress portraying Glass gave equal scope to her personal story and its context in the state of women’s rights and roles during her lifetime. Her performance was thrown into an interesting perspective a few graves later, when female pilot Hazel Raines stepped out from behind her stone to talk about her experience as one of the first women to fly military aircraft.
If you go on the right night, you’ll spot two familiar Mercer faces amongst the ghosts. Alum Evan Ayoub and freshman Kevin Kersey—both of whom recently appeared in Mercer’s “The Merchant of Venice”—deliver a fun and playful performance as the Coke brothers, whose photography studio can still be seen downtown.
I wouldn’t call the candlelit ramble “creepy” by any means, unless you are easily spooked. But there’s something thrilling about threading one’s way through history, and the Spirits of October event does a wonderful job of bringing that history to life.
Tours will be held Oct. 25-28, starting at 6 p.m. and running every 15 minutes until 9 p.m. Each ramble lasts about an hour. Tickets for students are $10 and can be purchased online at the cemetery’s website.
(10/24/12 9:00pm)
In 1856, Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner delivered a heated speech titled “Crimes Against Kansas.”
He was addressing the issue of whether Kansas would enter the Union as a slave state or a free state, and his rhetoric was targeting pointedly against those who supported the perpetuation of slavery in the new state.
Sumner, of course, was legally within his rights to say whatever he liked, especially since he held the floor in the meeting. This did not stop Representative Preston Brooks from tracking down Sumner after the Senate had adjourned, strolling up behind him calmly, and beating him brutally over the head with a cane in the middle of the crowded Senate chamber.
I’m often surprised at how ugly political discourse can get. Historical events like the one I just described remind me that when it comes down to it, our country has had a long and sometimes literally bloody tradition of people on opposing political sides bashing each other (again, sometimes literally).
It’s not like we’ve gotten any worse; at least, we haven’t had any Congress members braining their fellow politicians lately. But even though we haven’t had any physical altercations amongst our politicians, I would hesitate to say that we’ve gotten any better.
America’s etiquette for political discourse is awful. Point blank. When watching the debates, I flipped between feeling too mortified to keep watching and laughing out loud at the candidates’ childish behavior.
Unfortunately, I’m all too aware that it’s a bit of a caricature of American media. Watch an episode of “Jersey Shore” and you’ll see the same trends in communication on a more exaggerated scale: shouting, interrupting each other, being snide and just plain rude.
The first presidential debate was more entertainment than political discourse, to the point at which people were actually playing drinking games during the broadcast.
After the debate, I can’t tell you how many Facebook statuses I saw critiquing the candidates’ behavior. Most of the posts I saw thrown around included the words “childish” and “embarrassing,” including a general feeling that neither candidate had delivered substantial answers.
I also spied counterarguments to the critique, intimating the idea that the etiquette doesn’t really matter if the content is solid.
I’m willing to admit that favoring content over presentation is a valid argument. However, a presidential debate is a bit like a college paper: if you can’t present your position clearly and with decent grammar, then people are going to be less likely to believe your position is worth reading at all.
Likewise, if a candidate can’t present himself respectfully, calmly and with confident poise without being rude about it, people are disinclined to listen to what he says because they are so turned off with how he says it.
I think that as a culture we degrade immature discourse, even if we have trouble with abstaining from it.
In an age of skepticism, we have a hard enough time trusting and respecting our politicians; it gets even harder when they can’t present themselves well in a debate.
Wading through a conversation that just makes you want to punch the interlocutors becomes arduous. Getting people to care enough to vote is difficult enough—in the last election, only 64 percent of eligible voters submitted a ballot (according to a census document released in July).
Bad, rude discourse is just further justification for the 36 percent that decided voting wasn’t worth it.
I think the issue was summed up best at the end of the Vice Presidential debate, the moderator raised a concern she’d heard from a soldier who had expressed to her that he thought the campaigns were destructive and malevolent, doing more harm than good. The moderator phrased it this way: “At the end of the day, are you ever embarrassed by the tone?”
I find it very telling that neither candidate actually answered the question.
Frankly, each side of this presidential race ought to be embarrassed by its own conduct.
If the American government wants to garner some honest respect from its people, then its representatives need to start behaving more admirably.
If Americans want political representatives who don’t make us want to turn off the TV out of mortification, then we need to stop doing and saying things that make politicians think that this is the way to appeal to us.
(09/26/12 9:26pm)
This past weekend Atlanta brought back the Music Midtown festival. Headliners such as the Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam, among many others, graced the stage to the wild enthusiasm of their many fans, who completely packed Piedmont Park for the sold-out weekend of performances.
I (Heaven) arrived right when the gates opened on Friday, after riding the MARTA for the first time, and tried to get a front row seat to see Joann Jett and the Blackhearts. Fantastic even at the age of 54, Joan Jett embodied all the unabashed boldness of her youth as she and the band blazed through her hits “Bad Reputation” and “Do You Want to Touch Me?” As one of Friday’s earlier acts, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts delivered an energetic introduction to what was shaping up to be an excellent weekend of music.
Friday was eventful as I attempted to dodge beer spills and tried not to get trampled by the crowd that Van Hunt, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, T.I., The Avett Brothers and the Foo Fighters attracted. Even though all of these bands sounded wonderful, I was most excited for the Foo Fighters’ performance. I stood in the same spot for a few hours just because I didn’t want to give up my spot where I could see the stage perfectly. I ended up standing next to a fellow Mercerian whom I had just met that day which was a nice coincidence. By the time Foo Fighters came onstage, the wait was worth it. Their sound was, of course, amazing, and their two-hour set crowned the night with pieces including “These Days,” “All My Life” and “Walk.” They topped it off with the ballad “Everlong.”
Saturday was just as hectic, but still an enjoyable day. The event featured a greater variety of bands such as Garbage, Neon Trees, Ludacris, Adam Ant, Florence + the Machine and Pearl Jam. It was great to see Garbage after their six-year hiatus.
Neon Trees did great for being one of the newer bands on the line-up. Lead singer Tyler Glenn was full of life, which made it a fun show to watch and dance to. Florence + the Machine, which was one of my favorites, did an amazing job even if the lead singer seemed a little out of it. Their performance was plagued with technical difficulties. When they finally began, the band delivered one of the best performances of the night.
Pearl Jam was obviously the main attraction of the night with a sold-out show of about 52,000 people. The sheer volume of people in the park was insane but amazing to see. Even though the festival had its share of drunk and rude people it was definitely something that I would attend again, and it was a great opportunity to see bands that don’t perform very often.
(09/26/12 8:48pm)
As an English major, I’ve always found it fascinating to watch the rise and fall of popular phrases in our everyday vocabulary.
Do you remember when “legit” was a thing? For that matter, does anyone remember when the question “Is that a thing?” became a thing?
Most phrases that worm their way into our meme-saturated culture are inane but humorous. Others are incredibly annoying but mostly harmless (“YOLO,” anyone?).
But there are certain phrases that insert themselves more insidiously into our speech and change the nuances of our language—phrases that, while they may be applicable in certain casual scenarios, have no place in our academic environment.
I’m thinking of one in particular: a seemingly innocent little linguistic chimera that has gotten out of control. You might think I’m crazy for suggesting this, but the phrase “I feel like” has got to go.
In your next conversation, pay attention to how many times you hear someone use the phrase “I feel like” to introduce a claim. Then compare it to how many times you hear it used in class—particularly if your class is seminar-based.
I can almost guarantee that the average in each situation will be pretty similar. In my own classes I’ve noticed that most of our comments—if not all—are prefaced with “I feel like.” And I can’t claim to be immune to the influence; several times I’ve literally had to stop the words from coming out of my mouth.
Somehow, we have made them a very natural part of conversation.
Which is unfortunate, because it’s kind of a stupid phrase. (Along with “kind of”. Count that one up in your next conversation, too. I dare you.)
When we preface what we say with the phrase “I feel like,” we are suddenly reducing our mental processes to something much more basic.
With this language, we say that the opinions we choose regarding religion, politics, human interaction and the way we view the world—all vitally important topics that deserve careful contemplation—are more like emotional whims than critically explored ideas.
And that is a big problem. Do we really want people making decisions based purely on feeling and impulse?
The underlying assumption of this seemingly innocent phrase is: Yes, we are perfectly fine with letting emotions trump reason. Whether we believe the sentiment or not, this is what the meaning of the phrase boils down to.
It’s also an apologetic way to introduce what we think. We know how fallible “feeling” is; that’s the point of logical thinking. But by introducing our thoughts as feelings, we hide behind that fallibility by default.
On the one hand, we can easily blame feelings we already know are illogical when someone challenges an argument we prefaced with “I feel like.”
On the other hand, we can assume that because our thoughts are feelings, they are placed beyond the realm of logic. As a culture we don’t often say to each other “Your feelings are wrong” for fear of stepping on toes.
Whenever an idea or argument is presented as a feeling, the unspoken assumption is “If what I’m saying is wrong, I can’t really help it; it’s just what I feel.”
We came to college to learn how to think. In a liberal arts education and in a science- and math-based education, we are taught to rely on logic and critical thinking.
The philosophers on whom our education is based argued for methodical, step-by-step processes by which we come to informed beliefs and decisions.
If they could hear us trampling all over that groundwork with our emphasis on “feelings,” they would probably be rolling in their graves.
Don’t get me wrong: it would be ridiculous to assume that this thought process runs through our heads every time we use the phrase “I feel like,” or that we consciously choose the words because we are trying to avoid having other people reproach or critique our ideas.
However, words carry with them nuances that affect the way we perceive them. Even if we mean “I think”—even if our entire class knows we mean “I think” when we say this in a Great Books discussion—the words “I feel” carry a very different nuance that our brains recognize, even if only subconsciously.
Let me also be clear that I don’t think that listening to one’s heart—one’s feelings—is always a bad thing.
Certain philosophers that I’ve quite agreed with have argued that some feelings are fundamental in human nature and help direct us toward truth.
Sometimes our sentiments have a better idea of what is going on in a situation—particularly a relational one—than our cluttered brains can comprehend.
However, when it comes to beliefs and especially when it comes to academics, a feeling just isn’t going to cut it in an argument.
If we truly regarded beliefs as ideas that sprang from our feelings and emotions, we would never challenge them and would never come to better understanding.
We would hinder our own growth. The heart and the mind aren’t mutually exclusive, and the best understanding is going to come from a marriage of the two.
I propose that we exorcise this linguistic from our vocabulary. At the very least, let us take responsibility for our mental processes.
Honestly, we are smarter than we think we are and should not try to hide our brains behind our emotions. As students of academia and of the world, we’re a lot better than that.
Comments on this opinion
can be sent to
entertainment@mercercluster.com
(09/12/12 4:00pm)
The studio behind “Coraline” brings another darkly charming children’s fable to life. “ParaNorman” tells the story of a little boy with a big problem: he can talk to ghosts. As the only person in his town with this gift, Norman becomes the only person standing in the way of the destruction of his town at the spectral hands of a witch’s vengeful spirit.
From the very beginning, this offbeat film makes the viewers feel like they have been plopped down in events that have long been set in motion. Norman is already familiar with his gift (or curse) of speaking to the dead and has resigned himself to his peers’ and his family’s response to it. The witch’s curse over the town of Blythe Hollow has been going on for three centuries—so long, in fact, that the town has worked its lore into a tourist-trap industry that trickles down even to the school play.
The only person who knows the danger of the curse is Norman’s creepy estranged uncle, Mr. Prendergast, who needs Norman to take up the mantle of keeping the ghost at bay. From here the plot clips along with an energetic pace and a predictable story line until a sudden twist causes the audience to reevaluate their understanding of the film.
Part of the fun of “ParaNorman” is the way it simultaneously teases and pays homage to the rich tradition of horror and thriller movies on which it draws. For the horror movie aficionado, the Easter eggs abound from the very first scene. The main group of oddball protagonists is made up of one classic trope after another—the clever but misunderstood hero; his hapless sidekick; his conceited, blonde older sister; the dumb jock and the dumber school bully—but, wonderfully, the movie turns each one on its head (except for Norman, who remains the classic hero). Far from making the movie flat or relying on the tropes for cheap humor, the parodied characters add another layer to the movie’s message that things are always more complex than they seem.
However, the movie is surprisingly dark, especially for having been advertised as a children’s movie. While some parts might be too macabre or scary for children, it keeps things interesting for a college crowd. The twist (I won’t give it away) is downright horrifying no matter what age you are, and throws the entire movie into a new light. But just as the morbidity serves to elevate the fear factor, it also becomes the butt of many a joke. Most of the slapstick and physical humor is accomplished through the dead, whether it’s the zombies or Norman’s dead uncle or the ghosts with whom he interacts. There is a sequence in which Norman tries to wrest the book he needs from his dead uncle’s stiff hands, which—while disturbing—manages to be morbidly funny. When I viewed the movie, the kids in the audience were cracking up, completely oblivious as to just how disturbing the scene really was.
The animation rises to the next level for stop-motion films. It becomes oddly geometric at times (such as Norman’s eyes, which are octagonal rather than round), which contrasts with the smooth curves we have come to expect from animation thanks to Pixar and DreamWorks. However, the oddity of the animation fits well with the more bizarre elements of the film. Animators employ CGI backgrounds for compelling scene changes to portray how Norman sees “through the veil,” combining the two animation styles in a beautiful way.
As for plot and characterization, there is no denying that “ParaNorman” is a simple film. None of the characters go through dynamic growth; even Norman himself is more of a static good. However, Norman’s static good makes him the catalyst for growth in other people and brings about the reconciliation of several important relationships.
The other characters, particularly in Norman’s oddball group, are interesting because of the way they subvert their archetypes rather than because of any dynamic progression in their characters. Speaking of subverting the archetypes, spoiler alert: one of the stock characters casually comes out at the end of the film. While it could be argued that this was done, again, to turn the stereotype on its head, this was a surprisingly bold and progressive move for an animated children’s movie.
It has its flaws, and it is certainly targeted to a younger audience, but ParaNorman is clever enough and dark enough to make it a fun and enjoyable movie for a college crowd. Its examination of the way the sins of the past haunt the people of the present is just mature enough to leave you thinking.
(09/12/12 4:00pm)
After a 10-year hiatus, 90s alternative band Matchbox Twenty has released their fourth album. Critics and fans are scratching their heads over what to make of “North”, which—though it has its moments—lacks direction and cohesion to the point where fans are no longer sure what genre they are listening to.
The clear and wistful strains of “Parade” are reminiscent of some of Matchbox Twenty’s best material, including lead singer Rob Thomas’s signature songwriting. The following track, “She’s So Mean,” continues the trend with a poppy tune featuring sing-able (if not terribly original) lyrics.
However, after the third track (“Overjoyed”) the album veers sharply from its alternative-rock history to model more contemporary music. While there’s nothing wrong with a band trying to branch out and experiment with new styles, it helps if the band is versatile enough to produce quality material. Here Matchbox Twenty drops the ball: “Our Song” is fun and bouncy, but it falls short of the kind of songwriting one expects from Thomas, and “Put Your Hands Up” could not possibly get any more generic. As if the heavy beat and synthetic additions to the instrumentals do not convey the clear message that this is a dance number, asinine lyrics such as “Put your hands up / it’s all right / singing ohh-ohh / until the sunrise” should get the job done.
The softer songs, including “Overjoyed” and “I Will,” have simple but sweet lyrics and gentle chords. “I Will,” particularly, is a solid track with its lovely incorporation of a piano and subtle strings in the background. While “Overjoyed” is a pretty valentine, “I Will” is more like a lullaby and fits well with the first three tracks. However, any cohesion the album might have claimed to have falls apart again after “English Town.” “How Long” matches the band’s lyrical quality but not its music, and “Radio” comes completely out of left field with an opening that places the song squarely in the era of early rock and roll (as in, I’m pretty sure I’ve heard an Elvis song with that opening). Things don’t get any better with “The Way” or “Like Sugar,” the latter of which sounds more like one of Thomas’s solo efforts than a song produced by the band as a whole.
Past hits including “3 A.M.”, “Unwell” and “If You’re Gone” featured painfully beautiful lyrics with several layers of meaning. While “3 A.M.” can easily be interpreted as being about a deteriorating relationship, Thomas has said that it was written about the time in his childhood when his mother had discovered she had cancer. None of the songs on “North” have the same power to tug at the heartstrings. While “Overjoyed” and “I Will” strike a more tender tone, none of the other tracks come close to the same raw emotion that characterizes the band’s earlier and arguably stronger music. The tracks of the past explore the human psyche, mental illness and human relationships. There is a depth of subject material that is sorely lacking in “North”.
Also missing are the soaring guitars and winning acoustics of the earlier days, replaced by heavy percussion that reappears often in the album. Listen to “She’s So Mean” and you’ll notice that the drum beat repeats itself in other tracks. Perhaps the band was trying to give the album a unifying factor in the percussion; certainly that is the only element that might.
The album has enjoyable aspects, don’t get me wrong. I was raised on Matchbox Twenty, so I’m predisposed to like their music as the anthem of my childhood. Maybe my nostalgia for their older work is born out of an attachment to “Yourself or Someone Like You”.
However, I don’t believe that I am the only critic who found that the album fell short of expectations. While I can enjoy “She’s So Mean” for what it is, there is no denying that as a Matchbox Twenty song, it—like the other tracks—is more fluff than substance. Perhaps some listeners will come to associate “North” with what they think of as Matchbox Twenty’s best. As for me, I’ll stick with my albums from the 90s. In some cases, you really just can’t beat the classics.
(09/12/12 4:00pm)
On Sept. 18, the Grand Opera House will bring foreign flair and African beats to Macon with the Royal Drummers and Dancers of Burundi, the group that—according to the Grand’s press release—inspired the first Word of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD) celebration back in the 80s.
Drawing on a rich tradition of tribal heritage, the Burundi dancers’ percussion ensemble performs dances that have been associated with important community ceremonies: births, deaths, the rise of monarchs and the coming of age.
None of the music is written down; like stories in an oral culture, the art has been handed down through the centuries from fathers to sons by rote.
According to the group’s biography, “the drums are sacred and represent, along with the king, the powers of fertility and regeneration.”
The group has been touring around the world since the 1960s, thrilling audiences with their energy and seemingly effortless performances.
The New York Times gave the dancers a glowing review, calling the performance “a celebration of ability, the sheer pleasure of competitive creativity, and…more virtuosic than sentimental.”
During the show the dancers focus their energies on their large drums, which were carved from the D’umuvugangoma tree—a name that translates to “the tree that makes the drums speak”, according to the program the Burundi dancers gave to Columbia Arts Management, Inc.
The drums become the center of the performance as the dancers perform their percussion pieces while dancing around the stage.
Executive Director Betsy Fitzgerald said that the event is kicking off two new series at the Grand Opera House: a variety series and GrandKids, an educational program geared toward schoolchildren to expose them to cultural events to which they might not otherwise have access.
“For many of them, it’s the only time—if ever—that some of these kids will walk into the opera house,” Fitzgerald said.
In addition to the Tuesday night performance, the Burundi dancers will perform for the GrandKids program on Wednesday and Thursday, dancing in two performances each day at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. for schoolchildren from elementary to high school.
The two morning performances, which are targeted toward students from Macon’s elementary, middle and high schools, are the first of many future events of the same nature.
Fitzgerald said that the GrandKids program aims to be more than just a school outing; it is meant to complement what they are learning about in school.
“They attend the performance, but the education doesn’t stop there,” Fitzgerald said.
“We prepare and provide lesson plans and worksheets according to standard curriculum to make the experience go beyond just going on a field trip.”
In addition to the two new programs, Fitzgerald hinted that other opportunities might arise for high school and college students to get involved with the Grand.
She gave few details other than to say that the potential program will be a sort of “ambassador” position and will provide “a wonderful way to build [the students’] resumes with community involvement” by working with a quality venue like the Grand Opera House.
“We provide the same level of programming that you would find in any metropolitan area, and we’re able to have that right at our backdoor,” Fitzgerald said.
According to the website, tickets for the Royal Drummers and Dancers of Burundi performance are $9 for college students.
(09/12/12 4:00pm)
The Robert McDuffie Center for Strings broke from its traditional Labor Day festival to conduct its first annual free concert for the community: “McDuffie Loves Macon,” which took place on Aug. 30.
Members from the Macon and Mercer communities gathered to watch a lively and engaging performance by the center’s renowned musical faculty and conservatory-level students.
The event, held at the Grand Opera House at 7 p.m., completely packed out the sizable venue.
McDuffie, the center’s founder, said that the event was a great success and that the center as a whole “had a great time.”
“We were really fortunate and happy to see that it was packed,” McDuffie said. “They actually had to turn a lot of people away—which was not that fortunate, but it shows that a lot of people in Macon know what’s going on at Mercer with music, and that’s exciting.”
The event took the place of the Labor Day Festival of Strings, a recruiting event the center has held each year since its founding.
In the past the center invited high school musicians for a weekend of study with its faculty of top strings musicians, all of whom travel and perform with famous conductors and symphonies around the world.
The event was meant to expose talented high school musicians to the center’s many assets so that they might apply to Mercer and join the center.
However, the center is currently doing so well that McDuffie said they had no need of a recruiting event of that magnitude this year.
“Now we’ve grown to a critical mass,” McDuffie said.
“Our limit is 26 kids in the center, so we don’t need to have that big high school push anymore. But we’d have concerts at that time, and the community loved coming, so we didn’t want to shut them out.”
Jessica Pickersgill, a viola player in her junior year at the Center for Strings, said that the center’s students had a week and a half to learn the music for the concert, rehearsing almost every day with McDuffie and violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti.
Students from the center have a limited amount of time to learn the required pieces.
They put in hours of work in order to perfect their skills for the large crowds that they will be performing for.
“I had no idea that more than 900 people would be showing up,” Pickersgill said.
“That was a shock, for sure, but that made it really fun.”
The music for the night featured what McDuffie called a “hodge-podge of fun, American music.”
The program included “Hoedown” from Aaron Copeland’s “Rodeo Suite,” an adagio by Samuel Barber, and the “Star-Spangled Banner” in addition to the tangos and sambas played in smaller chamber groups.
“It was a real eclectic night,” McDuffie said.
“It wasn’t the kind of music that anyone would look at and think, ‘I’m intimidated by that.’”
McDuffie has been quite pleased with the performance. He hopes to educate people on how beautiful classical music can be.
He added, “We wanted to show how far we’d come but also how accessible classical music could be… not the elite, intimidating art form that some people think it is.”
McDuffie plans to make the free concert an annual event for the community.
He encourages Mercer students and the Macon community to participate in the event.
He has already playfully dubbed next year’s concert “McDuffie Loves Macon, The Sequel.”
(08/29/12 4:04pm)
After weeks of deliberation, Bibb County officials have finally released the names of the two individuals who have reached the last round of scrutiny for the director’s position at the county animal shelter on 11th Street.
The two candidates are Sarah Tenon, who has been the supervisor of an Alabama animal shelter, and Richard Rice, the former executive vice president of the Atlanta Humane Society.
County officials will not be making a final decision for another two weeks at least as both candidates are carefully reviewed for the position.
Since July, the Bibb County Animal Shelter has had two interim directors until the county could make a decision as to who could take over the shelter permanently.
Currently Steve Layson, the county Chief Administrative Officer, is filling in until either Tenon or Rice is granted the position.
Prior to Layson the county pulled in Deborah Biggs from Florida, where she has helped to improve several other shelters.
Biggs had a two-month contract with the county to come in and report any problems she saw with the current facilities.
County Public Affair’s Officer Steve Barrare said that part of the county’s logic in placing Biggs at the shelter was that they wanted someone who “wasn’t tied up in a lot of the politics” and who could look at the shelter without worrying about her future position.
According to Barrare, the county spokesman for the matter, Biggs reported back that the shelter was overcrowded and that the watering system was full of roaches and needed to be cleaned.
The actions Biggs took to improve matters at the shelter, including uprooting the infested water system and returning the shelter’s holding capacity to 60 dogs and 20 cats—the holding capacity the shelter has on record with the Department of Agriculture—drew criticism and outrage from members of the area’s animal rescue groups.
Many of those same members preferred Van VanDeWalker, a former animal control officer who also served as the shelter’s interim director, for the permanent position.
VanDeWalker was honored for the Pardon Week initiative he began last fall, which resulted in a seven-week run in which no animals were euthanized at the shelter.
However, VanDeWalker resigned from the shelter shortly after Biggs took over and reduced the holding capacity.
He applied again for the position of Animal Welfare Director, but the Telegraph reports that officials were already so far into the selection process that they were no longer accepting new applications.
The county will continue to institute reforms to improve conditions at the existing facility, but according to Barrare, “It’s a completely inadequate facility for our community and for the number of animals we have.”
Even when the shelter maintained that its holding capacity was 100 animals, it was still almost always full.
The county is moving forward with plans to build a new facility with a larger holding capacity.
Barrare estimated that the shelter should be completed within the next eighteen months.
In order to help with the problem of overpopulation within the existing shelter, Barrare recommended that people spay and neuter their pets and pay attention to licensing laws and other pet regulations.
(08/29/12 4:00pm)
Changes are coming to the Cox Capitol Theatre as Tim Obelgoner, the newly hired general manager, settles into his new role while juggling two major downtown music venues.
Obelgoner, who also manages the Hummingbird Bar and Taproom on Cherry Street, took the helm of the Cox Capitol Theatre on Wednesday, Aug. 15 after a late meeting of the theater’s board of directors named him the theater’s new manager.
“They [the board] have realized for some time that the theater was not reaching its full potential and wanted me to come down and help with some of that,” Obelgoner said.
Obelgoner became a viable choice for the board due to his success at the Hummingbird, which has a regular stream of locally and nationally known bands coming through.
As manager of both venues, Obelgoner is aiming to create a complementary but not dependent relationship between the establishments.
“We’re looking to doing some joint activities but both venues need to stand on their own,” Obelgoner said.
He added, “It’s very important for me to understand that the Bird is a bar and the Capitol is a historic entertainment venue.”
Obelgoner intends to pull in national acts who need a bigger venue than the Hummingbird.
The Cox Capitol Theatre can legally hold 380 people, but with a few changes to the traffic flow of the building and with the fire marshal’s permission the theater can hold upwards of 600 people, making it an ideal space for downtown acts.
Ruth Ashmore, the theater’s newly hired director of sales, has been put in charge of seeking out and booking “financially viable events” such as nationally known musicians.
The complete event schedule for the Cox Capitol Theatre has not yet been released, but the Dirty Guv’nahs are booked for a show at the theatre on Sept. 14.
Because some of the national bands who come through have successful side projects, Obelgoner hopes to be able to feature the side project at the smaller of the two venues, the Hummingbird, creating a complementary concert experience.
Patrons can view the show at the Hummingbird as an opening act before heading to the theater for the larger performance. Obelgoner calls it a “mini pub crawl.”
Speaking of pubs, another of the changes that Obelgoner has in the works is the revamping of the bar service at the Capitol.
“I’ve heard people say ‘You just can’t get a cold drink at the Cox,’” Obelgoner said, but he said he plans to change this.
Reorganization of the existing equipment and furniture in the concessions area are included in the plan to improve drink service for thirsty patrons.
The past two weeks for the new manager have entailed basic housework: merging staff, hiring new employees to join the existing Cox Capitol Theatre staff, and making sure the new management has business cards and proper lines of communication set up in their workplace.
Once the real work of finding and booking popular acts begins to bear fruit, however, Obelgoner is confident that the theater will become “financially self-supporting very quickly.”
“We’ve got to establish ourselves as a top entertainment destination,” Obelgoner said. “We’ve been very successful with that at the Bird and we’ve got to do the same here at the Cox, and very quickly.”
For further information regarding the Cox Capitol Theatre’s upcoming events, show times and ticket prices, visit www.coxcapitoltheatre.com.
(08/29/12 4:00pm)
Bernard owns a stylish little apartment in Paris where he lives with his French maid and his American fiancée, a flight attendant with TWA named Gloria. When Gloria is away on international flights, he lives with his French maid and his Italian fiancée, Gabriella with Air Italia. And when Gabriella is away, Bernard lives with his German fiancée, Gretchen of Lufthansa. Does anyone else see a problem here? So begins Marc Camoletti’s hilarious farce “Boeing Boeing.” Bernard, a noncommittal ladies’ man, has his romantic life timed down to the minute to keep his three flying fiancées from find out about each other. To his maid Berthe and his visiting friend Robert, the setup seems a bit more precarious than Bernard seems to—that is, until a storm sends Gretchen in early and prevents Gloria from leaving, just as Gabriella touches down. Now Bernard, Berthe and Robert have to juggle three demanding fiancées (with some incredibly strong accents) to keep Bernard from landing in hot water. As Berthe says at the end of the first act, “We’re in for a bumpy night.” The Macon Little Theatre’s rendition of the play starts out slow but picks up quickly for an enjoyable night with a lot of laughs. I was honestly a bit worried when the play opened for its first scene. The exposition of a play generally takes a while to heat up and get interesting, but the first half of the first act dragged and I don’t understand why Byron Grant, the play’s director, decided to begin the show in such a weak way. Lauren Day (Gloria) and Jonathan Kent (Bernard) were shaping up to be the weakest actors on the cast, especially when balanced with Weldon Ledbetter, the actress who plays Berthe. The unconvincing delivery of their lines was thrown into stark relief by Ledbetter’s consistent and clear French accent and brisk, sarcastic demeanor. The action inched its way to being interesting only after Scot Cooley, playing Bernard’s old friend Robert, entered the scene, closely followed by Betsy Brindger’s wonderfully over-the-top Gabriella. Once the speed of the farce picked up the play became much more enjoyable and the humor more evident. Cooley, once he warmed to his role, stole the show as his character began to move in on Bernard’s fiancées. Some of his movements were awkward, but more often than not his stage presence and his delivery made him one of the most fun characters to watch. All of the fiancées—including Gloria, who was stiff in the first scene—are dynamic and funny to watch, but none more so than Gretchen, played by Christine Yoder. She owned her role as the buxom and passionate German, and her chemistry with Cooley was spot-on. The play relies a good bit on physical humor as well as the situational humor and the dialogue, but for the most part the cast did a good job handling it. Lauren Day gets a lot funnier when she starts flirting and making out with Robert (“It’s a good way to pass the time!”), and Yoder is unabashed in the way her character throws herself around the room. And Cooley is just hilarious. Brindger’s character does not use much physical humor at all, but her lively delivery, trilling Italian R’s and Latin sass make her just as dynamic. If only the same could be said for Kent—while his performance does improve as the pace picks up, he just does not look comfortable in his character as he kisses the actresses or fans a hyperventilating Gabriella with his coat. No, it isn’t Broadway. And no, it’s not going to make you think very much—this isn’t an “edifying night at the theatre” kind of play. But if you’re looking for a good laugh, the Macon Little Theatre’s “Boeing Boeing” should be right up your alley.
(08/29/12 4:00pm)
There is a new bench in Washington Park. You’ll be able to spot it clearly the next time you go: it’s bright pink, curvy and metallic whereas the other park benches are carved from gray stone.
Unless the winds have blown them away, there are still bouquets of flowers laid upon the seat.
The bench is for Lauren Giddings, the Mercer Law student who was found slain a little over a year ago.
Friends and family gathered in Washington Park on Saturday, Aug. 25, to celebrate Giddings’ life and memory in a Second Sunday-style event in one of Giddings’ favorite spots in the city.
Those who knew Giddings initiated the planning and execution of the event, including donating all of the needed amenities.
Sarah Gerwig-Moore, who taught Giddings in class at the law school, said, “We wanted to find a way to honor her [Giddings] without focusing on what happened to her—not how she died but who she was.”
People picnicked and kids tumbled around in the grass as background music from the stage speakers filled the warm August evening.
All of the music was chosen by Giddings’ loved ones to include her favorite songs. Many people showed up wearing pink, Giddings’ favorite color.
Two bands played at the celebration: Sue and the Bastards, a faculty group from the law school which included Gerwig-Moore; and Sterling Weight and the Cotton Avenue Hustlers, made up of friends of Giddings.
“It’s all Lauren all the time,” said Lindsey Curcio, one of Giddings’ friends and classmates.
Gerwig-Moore estimated that between 350-400 people showed up to the celebration by the end of the night.
Some of them traveled great distances to attend the celebration. Giddings’ family came down from Maryland, and Curcio traveled from North Carolina.
“I don’t think this has happened since we lost her, having everyone together like this,” Curcio said.
At 8 p.m., the gatherers convened around the bench for the dedication ceremony.
The architect of the bench, Scott Tisdale, explained his reasoning for the bench: pink for Giddings’ favorite color, curves for her femininity and metal for her strength. Father David Kwiatkowski of Macon’s Saint Joseph Catholic Church offered up a blessing of the bench.
Giddings’ family was unavailable for comment, but her sister Sarah told a Telegraph reporter, “I know Lauren would have been happy to have something like this done.”
Curcio shared a few stories with the Cluster in honor of Giddings’ memory.
She said that one of the clearest things she remembered about Giddings was her “infectious laughter.”
“She had a way of making the most boring, unpleasant situation you’ve ever been in into one of the most fun things you’ve ever done,” Curcio said.
Curcio said that her dog, Zooey, used to be adept at escaping the yard and that more often than not, Giddings would be the one to find her. Giddings would keep Zooey with her own dog, Butterbean, until she could return Zooey to Curcio.
“She was important to Zooey too,” Curcio said.
“She was important to everybody. You only had to meet her once.”
The spirit of Lauren Giddings will be in the minds of her loved ones for many years to come.