Cooling at the Cave Tommorow

By Bill Larson | July 27, 2007 |

Those lazy, hazy days of summer that we wish could always be here, are back!

In the days of old, Clarksvillians spent summer afternoons at Dunbar Cave gathering cool breezes emitting from the mouth of cave while enjoying board and card games, live music and a general light-hearted afternoon of fun and frolic.

On Saturday, July 28th, from 4:00PM - 6:00PM, Friends of Dunbar Cave invite you, your family and friends to participate in a delightful afternoon reminiscent of those good old days at Dunbar Cave State Natural Area, 401 Old Dunbar Cave Road, in Clarksville, Tennessee

Tables and chairs will be arranged at the mouth of the cave where you will be transported back to the time when everyone played “board” games. Checkers, Chess, Monopoly, and cards will be available. However, you may bring your favorite game to share. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments of will be available free of charge, but donations to the friends group are welcomed. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure, Events | 1 Comment »

Haunted Drive-In Saturday Night

By Christine Anne Piesyk | July 27, 2007 |

Though known for spectacular epics such as Ryan’s Daughter, Robert Wise also lent a deft hand to the creation of tales of the supernatural, including the classic film, The Haunting, circa 1963, based on a novel by Shirley Jackson.

In the style of Alfred Hitchcock, Wise opted to let the mind, the imagination, be the biggest instrument of fear. The haunting has a prologue the outlines the shadowed history of the house, a haunted mansion  in old New England (the film was actually shot in a British manor), where four guests are about to gather with the intention of debunking, demystfying a haunted home. Julie Harris leads the cast a Eleanor Vance, a believer in the supernatural and unsettled by the recent death of her mother. Richard Johnson is Dr. Markway, the requisite anthropologist, the science behind the sensory. The beautiful and elegant Claire Bloom plays an eccentric, free-living lesbian (a role a  ahead of time in the conservative sixties) with extra-sensory abilities, and the equally requisite playboy, Luke Sanderson (played by Russ Tamblyn, dimples intact). Sanderson is the prospective owner of Hill House via inheritance.

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Sections: Arts and Leisure | No Comments

Step into The Looking Glass (4.5 stars)

By Christine Anne Piesyk | July 26, 2007 |

Tumble into The Looking Glass and let your senses savor its unique decor and often exotic cuisine.

This Warfield Boulevard restaurant is housed in a small modern plaza that could be Anywhere, USA, but that’s this eatery’s only resemblance to the rest of the region. Step inside The Looking Glass and whirl into the whimsical, a colorful kaleidescope of mismatched chairs of all shapes and sizes, unique tables, sheer tablecloths and eccentric dolls garnished with tulle and feathers perched on mini-columns, set and ready to eavesdrop on your conversation over dinner. Frosted ornaments spill from the ceilings in random patterns. One wall of glass with a quiet table for two is highlighted by a pair of stained glass hangings of lush wisteria; another is tucked beneath a wedding-like garland of illusion veiling and white ornaments. Hand-painted chairs with gentle messages grace still another table. A deep leather couch invites one to linger over morning coffee and pastry. It’s craft and class pulled from a Lewis Carroll collection of magical stories.

Our server Tiffyalena arrives with tall cool peach iced teas

My companion and I decided to sample a variety of foods. Our sweet and unsweet peach teas (mine with a slice of lemon) were rich and refreshing, the ultimate sip-able on a hot afternoon as we browsed the menu. Choices. Choices. We sampled “leftover” breakfast pizza squares that could easily have become dinner. We were both tempted by the asparagus soup, a creamy concoction served in a bowl on a plate surrounded by a dozen slices of the bread of our choice: sourdough slices for me, French bread for my companion. The soup was thick, hearty and delicious, but could have benefited from the inclusion of chucks of asparagus (so speaks the asparagus fiend). I can never get enough asparagus. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure, Business | 2 Comments

Community revitalization workshops underway

By Christine Anne Piesyk | July 26, 2007 |

The Clarksville Office of Housing and Community Development is hosting a series of community workshops related to future development of the Red River and Brandon Hills area. The workshops will be held at the Burt School at 110 Bailey Road (off 8th Street at APSU) in Clarksville on July 31, August 14, September 4 and Sept. 18 from 7-8:30 p.m.

These workshops are designed to help determine the vision and future revitalization for both neighborhoods and will be facillitated by Nashville Civic Design Center with funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Clarksville Office of Housing and Community Development. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Events, Politics | No Comments

Roxy rocks with ‘Chicago’

By Christine Anne Piesyk | July 26, 2007 |

From the first shimmy of a garter and stocking-clad leg, the lingerie-laden Roxy production of Bob Fosse’s Chicago romps across the stage with vaudevillian style that both charms and delights.

The show opens with a disclaimer that “all costumes have accidentally landed in North Dakota,” which literally sets the stage for a classic Fosse opener: scantily clad dancers in bustiers, garters and sex appeal moving in the exotic angular motions that characterize Foss’s distinctive choreography. The opening number, All That Jazz, sets this vaudevillian stage for jazz singer Velma Kelly’s (Harmony Livingston) arrest for the murder of her husband and sister, and introduces the city’s aspiring showgirl and newest murderess, Roxie Hart (Allyson Jean Malandra), who just offed a lying lover.

Both women land on “murderers row” in Chicago’s Cook County Jail, in the care of Morton (Kara Haynes), prison matron whose hands are greased with payola. With the wheels of justice well lubed, we are gifted with lawyer Billy Flynn (Scott Ramsey), who job is to find a way, any way, to help his obviously guilty female clients get away with murder. He’s good at it. «Read the rest of this article»

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Minimum Wage should be increased even more

By David W. Shelton | July 26, 2007 |

The minimum wage increase went into effect on Tuesday. It’s now $5.85 per hour. Strangely, some corporations have whined that it would lead to layoffs. I could go on for hours why this notion is poppycock, but I’ll just as easily make my point with just one company.A few years back while I was a manager for a movie theatre chain, I was under a standing order to never, ever ask for a wage increase for hourly employees. They would start at minimum wage, and would be kept there! Furthermore, theatre chains are exempt from overtime laws. Some employees would work sixty to eighty hours a week to make ends meet, and were limited to minimum wage. These are often kids starting out in their first jobs, adults who want to supplement their incomes, or retired folk who just wanted something to do. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion, Politics | 11 Comments

John Edwards’ “Hair”

By Bill Larson | July 24, 2007 |

When you can’t fight the message, attack the messenger. This is a time tested rule in politics. That is what the political establishment and the corporate news media attempted to do to John Edwards. They attempted to kill his message and credibility, by making snide comments about him, and a $400 hair cut.

John Edwards has strong positions on issues of public importance. His positions have merit and should be discussed and debated in a reasonable society. The political establishment and corporate media would have none of it. Well John Edwards has had enough, and taken steps which should finally put an end to it.

Here’s a John Edwards the corporate media, the other candidates, and the political establishment would prefer you never ever saw. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Politics | 3 Comments

Our Most Important Voice: My Letter On S1487

By Debbie Boen | July 24, 2007 |

I am providing testimony or comments for submission into the record of S1487 hearings. Debbie Boen, Clarksville, TN 37040

After the election of 2004 mainstream media would not research or publish the following accusations about electronic voting. Along with no mainstream media attention or public outcry, these facts still exist.

• 80% of all votes in America are counted by only two companies: Diebold and ES&S.
• There is no federal agency with regulatory authority or oversight of the U.S. voting machine industry.
• The vice-president of Diebold and the president of ES&S are brothers.
• The chairman and CEO of Diebold is a major Bush campaign organizer and donor who wrote in 2003 that he was “committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year.”
• Republican Senator Chuck Hagel used to be chairman of ES&S. He became Senator based on votes counted by ES&S machines.

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Sections: Opinion, Politics | 3 Comments