Topic: Culture

A somber rememberence of September 11th, kicks off the 22nd annual Riverfest

September 12, 2009 |

On a glorious September afternoon the 22nd annual Riverfest began. The weather simply could not have been better.

The annual Riverfest Festival recognizes the role  the two rivers passing through the heart of our town have played in the heritage of our city. At its heart the City of Clarksville will always be a river town, our lives affected by their timeless ebb and flow. One of the greatest things about Riverfest is how it draws us together, all walks of life intermingling,  and for a that moment at least we are one people.

The final day of Riverfest will be jammed packed with things to see and do, so come early, and bring the whole family to join in this amazing celebration of our culture and heritage!

Riverfest Friday evening

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Never judge a person by appearances

By Sue Freeman Culverhouse | August 5, 2009 |

Our culture has become fixated on what a person appears to be. Hundreds of books have been written on the subject; numerous television shows now describe this; scores of people now make their living by telling people what to wear. We believe that youth is the crowning age of life and everyone must work daily to present a youthful, attractive appearance.

Both women and men are advised on how to succeed in their professions by wearing certain types of clothing, using the latest age-defying make-up, choosing the right hair style, buying that certain briefcase that shows you to be executive material, and having every blemish—from body language to teeth—corrected to fit the ideal presentation.

Over the years I’ve learned of some rather interesting misconceptions formed by judging people on their appearances. «Read the rest of this article»

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“Meet the Photographer” Event

April 18, 2009 |

On Friday, April 24th, David Farmerie will be holding a lecture and discussion in the museum auditorium at 7 pm. This event, sponsored in part by the Arts and Heritage Development Council, is free to the public. The subject of David’s talk will be his Seven Deadly Sins series. Farmerie says,” When I was asked to create this series I was virtually unaware of the Seven Deadly Sins other than a vague recollection from my youth while attending Catholic school. After researching, I was amazed at what I discovered. They were not the oppressive doctrine that I was expecting. In fact, they seemed to have a profound place in our society today…and that was the beginning of the conceptualization”. «Read the rest of this article»

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The Snowman: Perennial enchantment

By Christine Anne Piesyk | December 1, 2008 |

This review ran in Clarksville Online on Nov. 29, 2006. But as my granddaughter and I unpacked my collection of snowmen for the coming holiday, my carefully wrapped musical plush Snowman emerged, to the delight of both of us. Everything else was dropped as we sat in the living room, puling the cord that triggered a music box version of the film’s hit song: Walking in the Air. As a Christmas gift idea for the child all of us, and a reminder of just how good animation can be, I reprint this review, with an updated video clip. Enjoy.

I can’t recall how many copies of The Snowman I’ve bought over the years, but it’s been quite a few. I usually end up giving them away to children who watch and are captivated by its’ magic. And then I buy another copy.

To the uninitiated, The Snowman is a delightful, animated short film about a young boy, James, who builds a snowman that springs to life as midnight chimes. It has only a few lines of introduction at the beginning; the remainder of the film is a symphonic soundtrack that follows their adventures, first as Snowman explores James’ world, putting on pants with suspenders, trying on hats, discovering a music box and the dangerous warmth of a fire. James and his fantasy creation dance across the floor of the house before heading outside, where the he and Snowman, in his mossy green hat and scarf embark on a journey north, racing through the forest and flying through the sky to a magical gathering of snowpeople in the far, far north.

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Trail of Tears Commemorative Day to kick off 11th Annual Inter-Tribal PowWow

By Turner McCullough Jr. | October 7, 2008 |

The Trail of Tears Commemorative Day will lead off the Native Cultural Circle’s annual Inter-Tribal PowWow. The Port Royal site is the only remaining uncovered segment of the original trail in Tennessee.

October 11 and 12th. Mark your calendars. The second weekend of October is just around the corner. That means the Native Cultural Circle’s Inter-Tribal PowWow is here. Every year the group hosts the annual two-day powwow as a means of educating the general public about Tennessee’s native peoples traditions, culture and customs.

Clarksville is blessed, in that the powwow site has truly historic significance, because it is staged adjacent to last remaining uncovered segment of the Trail of Tears in Tennessee. The land is included in the Port Royal State Historic Park, where the quiet beauty of the area is well suited to the occasion. «Read the rest of this article»

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Trail of Tears Pow Wow drums connect heart and feet to Mother Earth

By Debbie Boen | September 10, 2008 |

On September 6th and 7th the annual Trail of Tears Pow Wow took place in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.  This Pow Wow is on the same weekend as the Clarksville Riverfest (that’s how I remember when it is).  I went there on Sunday afternoon (9.7.08) and saw several types of competition dancing for different ages and styles.  The hot day got hotter watching the young men give it their all in their competition run off.

For the run-off they did the chicken dance.  One might think that would look funny, like the white man’s version, but it was wildly fantastic leaving the audience roaring with applause.  One could see from the dancers’ movements that a chicken, like other animals who live on this planet with us, has it’s own “dance” that we can either laugh at and feel superior to, or study and learn from with respect to that animal.  It’s a choice that my culture usually doesn’t consider.

While the drummers, singers and dancers took a break, I bought an Indian fry bread, taco style, and while eating listened to the storyteller speak and play his flute.  Then I roamed around the booths surrounding the dance arena.  I moved through the crowds of people, checking out dream catchers, jewelry, leather goods, pottery, finger puppets, flutes, CD’s, tee shirts, sage, books, toys and tea. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure, Education, Events, News, Opinion | 2 Comments

First Friday Film: The Power of Nightmares

By Debbie Boen | July 30, 2008 |

The Power of Nightmares (Part 1) is being shown this Friday, August 1, at 7 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 3053 Highway 41A South. The screening is a continuation of the UU First Friday Film program.

Adam Curtis showed us in Century of Self a key way of controlling the masses is by making people good consumers. Make people want things they do not need by appealing to their secret desires. Come to present time in The Power of Nightmares, where terror and torture and the fear of such has become the new tools of control by governments.

About the movie: For a time politicians promised to create a better world. When this dream lost its promise, politicians were simply seen as managers. Their power to control has returned as their job became rescuing us from dreadful dangers. Much of the terrorism threat is a fantasy that is an exaggerated and distorted dark illusion spread by governments, security services, and the international media. «Read the rest of this article»

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Rubber-stamped travel: Corporate cloning of America’s landscape

By Christine Anne Piesyk | June 26, 2008 |

On the Road in America is an occasional and serendipitous column about people, places and observations, with publishing predicated on the random availability of internet access or lack thereof.

Being On the Road in America can sometimes be a bore.

Oh, there’s a great deal of beauty to be seen, from the Green Mountains of Vermont to the rolling farmlands across Ohio, from the rugged Rockies and the dramatic coastline of California’s 17-mile drive. That’s not the issue.

As implied in Josh Neuman’s Lemmings (right) ,what is troubling is the growing lack of identity, of uniqueness, of individuality, as one moves from state to state. North, south, east or west makes not a whit of difference. Commerce in America is cloning itself at breakneck pace, mass-producing blueprints for hotels, motels, box stores, shopping malls and restaurants that increasingly lack a sense of their own identity and certainly have no ties to community heritage or culture.

I’m on the road again, as Willie Nelson would sing, and I am heading for one of the few bastions of non-traditional development — via the central midwest to the rural northeast, home of green mountains, clothing optional backwoods beaches, interstate bike paths, and those perpetual golden arches relegated to the outermost borders of some cities. «Read the rest of this article»

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V-Day events set to climax in New Orleans

By Debbie Boen | March 10, 2008 |

VDay events for 2008 will culminate this year in New Orleans.  Eve Ensler calls New Orleans the Vagina of America and she has chosen the New Orleans Arena to host the V-day event of the decade. V to the Tenth will be in New Orleans on April 11 and 12th, 2008. In one of her Vagina Monologues Ensler says about the fertile New Orleans: We brag about her music, the way she moves, we beg to get inside her, but disown her later when she has needs… We (can) change her story and the story of women.

This New Orleans celebration of two performances of the award winning Vagina Monologues will feature Salma Hayek, Oprah Winfrey, Faith Hill, Jane Fonda, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Hudson, Glenn Close, Julia Stiles, Ali Larter, Sally Field, Marisa Tomei, Calpernia Addams, Rosario Dawson, Kerry Washington, and musicians Common, Eve, and Charmaine Neville. See details and get tickets at: http://v10.vday.org/

Ensler has a big picture for vaginas. V-Day is a vision to see a world where women live safely and freely. The monologues speak openly about vagina stories that were collected from women. Ending violence against women is the driving force behind the production. Women don’t talk about their own sexuality; they don’t talk about what pleases them, and when raped, they don’t talk about that either. Most of the time, they think it was their fault that they were attacked and they walk around with the hidden fear and shame of it. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure | No Comments

Candidates on the Issues: Abortion

By James Butler | January 14, 2008 |

Tennessee voters go to the polls on February 5th for the presidential primaries in this state. Tennessee is historically not given a great deal of attention by most candidates, and this election cycle is shaping up to continue the trend.

Unfortunately, this means Tennesseans often have to rely on news media sound bytes to obtain information about the candidates. However, since news media are businesses and therefore have as their proper goal the making of money, this often leaves viewers with precious little information about how the candidates would actually go about running the county and a disturbing amount about their private lives.

Let’s be honest, does it really matter than Barrack Obama has an Islamic heritage, that Hillary didn’t leave Bill, that Mitt Romney is Mormon or that John McCain allows his adult children to live their own lives? «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion, Politics | 5 Comments

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