|  |  |  | | | | | Arkansas news, politics, opinion, restaurants, music, movies and art, Arkansas Times | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Received an email from the folks over at OW Pizza... they've closed their West Little Rock location. Unfortunately, the rough winter and rising gas prices have increased produce costs, so they've raised the prices at their location in the shadow of the State Capitol at 1706 West Third Street. On the other hand, they're beginning to grow their own tomatoes, bell peppers and herbs. Menu changes have been promised. I'll be keeping an eye on this... and will check out those changes for you once they're implemented. [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ] | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | It's official. The University of Arkansas has announced the firing of Razorback men's basketball coach John Pelphrey. It's a business, as any sports fan knows. The news release doesn't mention buyout terms. Athletic Director Jeff Long's boilerplate: After a thorough and comprehensive evaluation of our men's basketball program, including an assessment of the overall student-athlete experience within our program, it is clear that we have not made the progress over the last four years that is necessary to return Razorback Basketball to a place of national relevance." Long said. "As a program, our initial goals are to challenge for Southeastern Conference championships, compete in the NCAA Tournament and support our student-athletes in the pursuit of a degree. Our program's tradition demonstrates those goals are certainly attainable at the University of Arkansas. "I want to thank John and his staff for their hard work and dedication to the Razorback program. I am appreciative of their efforts on behalf of the University of Arkansas." There's a 6 p.m. news conference. Mike Anderson and Marquette's Buzz Williams are getting mentions. [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ] | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  - Michael Roberts
- ORDER UP: Shrimp Taco Salad with Black Bean Puree at Arkansas Foodies
Jill and Kerry and the gang are covering the state's culinary travel for the state of Arkansas and the Department of Parks and Tourism over on the Arkansas Culinary Blog. Entries range from events you can attend around these parts to restaurant reviews to important state food announcements. Michael at Arkansas Foodies has been doing a splendid job of combining delicious recipes with restaurant reviews and festival updates. Bonus: he's pretty darn good at food porn photography, too. You really should check his blog out. I've been enjoying glancing over at Lindsey's Menu from time to time. There's no "about us" on it, just a post every day or so about a different recipe tried with a link to the recipe, results and a picture. That's pretty cool AND it meets the good blog rule: thou shall update the blogs you create. At Terri's Table, it's Terri coming up with the recipes, and some of them are fantastic. I've been meaning to try out her recipe for Grandmother's Bread, made with ricotta cheese whey. Sounds delightful. There's Dining with Debbie... I may have mentioned this blog before, but there's always something new. Along with other entries, Debbie does a "What's on the menu Wednesday" each week that covers some great recipes. I have to note Lorri Hambuchen. I met her back in my TV days and know few who can rival her knowledge of wine. Her Conversations on Wine blog is a very informative. I've found a wealth of useful topics on her website — everything from how to buy a good wine to what to pair with it. I especially appreciate her blog on pairing wine with chocolate. [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ] | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Little Rock's Wesley Clark, writing in the Washington Post, says the U.S. should consider the checkered history of short-term military interventions before jumping into Libya. To me, it seems we have no clear basis for action. Whatever resources we dedicate for a no-fly zone would probably be too little, too late. We would once again be committing our military to force regime change in a Muslim land, even though we can't quite bring ourselves to say it. So let's recognize that the basic requirements for successful intervention simply don't exist, at least not yet: We don't have a clearly stated objective, legal authority, committed international support or adequate on-the-scene military capabilities, and Libya's politics hardly foreshadow a clear outcome. We should have learned these lessons from our long history of intervention. We don't need Libya to offer us a refresher course in past mistakes. [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ] | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Nicholas Kristof isn't breaking new ground here, but it's worth repeating as the Tea Party and the school reform crowd promote the story line that teachers are overpaid, underworked and in need of mass firings. The facts are that equal employment opportunity for women (or something more nearly approaching it) has decimated what used to be a built-in advantage for school kids — mass numbers of smart women with fewer job opportunities outside the classroom. These days, brilliant women become surgeons and investment bankers — and 47 percent of America’s kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers come from the bottom one-third of their college classes (as measured by SAT scores). The figure is from a study by McKinsey & Company, “Closing the Talent Gap.” Changes in relative pay have reinforced the problem. In 1970, in New York City, a newly minted teacher at a public school earned about $2,000 less in salary than a starting lawyer at a prominent law firm. These days the lawyer takes home, including bonus, $115,000 more than the teacher, the McKinsey study found. It's very simple. We need to pay teachers more to attract more and better candidates into the profession. Isolated merit pay bonuses won't change that if the overall compensation iremains mediocre. Ruthless firing of teachers will only create still more openings in tough jobs with unexciting pay. You can imagine how many brainiacs are lusting to build a career in impoverished communities with a starting pay of $28,000 or so and classrooms full of kids from struggling homes. Pay teachers more. Value them more. That's a start. [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ] | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | John Brummett has a prediction of what likely will happen if religionist Rep. Denny Altes succeeds in legislating Bible courses in Arkansas schools.
The very real concern is that little Johnny the preacher’s kid is apt to run home and tattle if the teacher suggests, for example, that the story of Adam and Eve is an allegorical variation on common mythology and lore and that maybe the fruit was not really fruit and that maybe the serpent was not really a serpent, but that they represent temptation and sin. Someone somewhere is going to find himself in a raucous special school board meeting with Reverend Holy Roller all up in his face. You see, Reverend Holy Roller does not see the Bible as something to study with academic detachment, or to scour for symbolism and narrative inspiration, but as a marching order for him to impose his view of religion. Perhaps you ask: Isn’t that widespread lack of sophistication the very reason we need such a course? Yes, indeed, but, for now, in college, not at Hickory Knot High.
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DAMIEN JURADO/VIVA VOCE
10 p.m., White Water Tavern. $15. When Damien Jurado released "Arkansas," a Shirelles by-way-of "Hallelujah" requiem to a lost love in the Natural State, Black Oak Arkansas's "When Electricity Came to Arkansas" and Bruce Springsteen's "Mary, Queen of Arkansas" had to make a little room for another great, twang-y ode to the greatest state in the whole dang country. And it was about time the Seattle native had a chance to sit at a table with the greats. For the better part of two decades, Jurado has released a flood of evocative, moody Americana, spun from the sweatier, muddier corners of the rural landscape. His latest album, "Saint Bartlett," his 20-somethingth release, takes his one-man lyrical ambition and sets it in front of wintery orchestration to gorgeous results. Likewise, the signature Viva Voce combination of folk and psychedelic pop is executed skillfully, release after release, by the husband/wife duo, whose music is more expansive than Jurado's claustrophobia, but no less affecting. The out-of-towners get local support from Adam Faucett, whose latest album, "More Like a Temple," should make Jurado-sized waves any day now. All ages. Check it out:
Damien Jurado - "Ghost of David" (live at The Earl)
Viva Voce - "Red Letter Day" (live at Musica) [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ] | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
WILD FLAG/TIMES NEW VIKING
8:30 p.m., Stickyz. $10. Even though they didn't release a proper recording of a song until last weekend, when NPR broke the Britt Daniel-produced "Glass Tambourine," the indie rock godmothers of Wild Flag have been the subject of much rock crit drooling for months, piquing interest by way of grainy YouTube videos, not to mention their lineup. Supergroup alert: The band is made up by Carrie Brownstein, Mary Timony, Janet Weiss and Rebecca Cole, members of The Minders, Helium, Quasi and Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks. Also, do you remember how Sleater-Kinney is, like, probably one of the best American rock bands of all time? Yeah, we never forgot, either. With Brownstein and Weiss, Wild Flag is half Sleater-Kinney. You're pretty much required to go to this one. Also playing: fellow Merge Records band Times New Viking, the ever-amazing lo-fi pop trio who are currently the fourth most-listened-to artist on my last.fm charts and, on some days, my favorite active American band, period. If you haven't given "Move to California" a spin, you're missing out on one of the best songs of the century, period. Oh my God, y'all. This is a big one. Check it out:
Wild Flag - "Future Crimes" (live @ Doug Fir Lounge, Portland)
Times New Viking - "Thing With a Hook" (Half Japanese cover, live @ The Cake Shop, NYC) [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ] | | | | | | | | | |  | |  | |  |
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