Author Archives: Scott

Unknown's avatar

About Scott

A cultural thinker with a life long interest in the arts and humanities: theatre, music, architecture, photography, history, urban planning, etc.

Legacies & Lunch today at noon – History of Weapon Laws in Arkansas

Posted on by

legaciesLegal issues of violence and gun possession were as prevalent in Spanish colonial Arkansas as they are today. Dr. Michael Dougan, distinguished professor of history emeritus of Arkansas State University, will discuss the history of Arkansas’s anti-gun laws in his talk, “Black Powder & Bowie Knives:  Violence and the Law in Arkansas,” at noon on Wednesday, October 2, in the Main Library’s Darragh Center, 100 Rock Street.

The talk is part of Legacies & Lunch, a monthly lecture series hosted by the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, a department of the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS).

Early American Arkansas passed a law against carrying concealed weapons that triggered a major case for the newly established Arkansas Supreme Court. The majority upheld the law, and anti-gun laws remained a part of Arkansas until well into the twentieth century.

Legacies & Lunch is free, open to the public, and supported in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council.  Attendees are invited to bring a sack lunch; drinks and dessert will be provided.

Anson discusses Alexander the Great to kick of 2013-14 Evenings with History

Posted on by

Ed-AnsonThe Evenings with History series, sponsored by the UALR History Institute kicks off the 2013-2014 series tonight.  This year’s series will focus on how the study and writing of history is done.

The six sessions of the 2013-2014 Evenings with History series will be on the first Tuesday of October, November, and December of 2013 and February, March, and April of 2014.

They are held at the Ottenheimer Auditorium in the Historic Arkansas Museum at 200 E. Third Street in Little Rock. Historic Arkansas’s downtown location and the museum’s adjacent parking lot at Third and Cumberland make the sessions convenient and pleasant to attend.

Refreshments are served at 7:00 p.m., and the talk begins at 7:30 p.m.

An individual subscription to the series, at $50 annually, includes admission to all six lectures.

Tonight, Edward Anson discusses “The Character of Alexander the Great.”

Professor Anson has been working for many years examining aspects of the life of Alexander the Great but wanted to write something about who he was as opposed to what he did. Ancient history presents unique problems for the historian. Sources seldom are contemporary with the topic studied. Standards of behavior often do not coincide with those of today.

This talk examines Professor Anson’s efforts to establish the character of Alexander, which resulted in his new book, Alexander the Great: Themes and Issues. Simply detailing what Alexander did produces serious difficulties, but getting into the mind of someone who lived more than two thousand years ago turns out to be even more difficult. Anson offers insights into how the historian uses the evidence of antiquity to overcome these barriers.

Edward M. Anson has authored or edited seven books, including Alexander the Great: Themes and Issues (2013); After Alexander: The Age of the Diadochi (323-281 BC) (2013); Eumenes of Cardia: A Greek Among Macedonians (2004), and more than thirty articles in journals, including Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, The Journal of Cuneiform Studies, The Journal of the American Oriental Society, Classical Philology, and The American Journal of Philology; twelve book chapters, and over fifty encyclopedia articles. He received his PhD from the University of Virginia and is currently Professor of History, a faculty senator, and a former President of the University Assembly.

Corporate sponsors for the 2013-2014 season include Friday, Eldredge, & Clark; Union Pacific Railroad; Wright, Lindsey, and Jennings; and the Teaching American History Program of the Little Rock School District.

Support and gifts in kind are provided by the UALR Ottenheimer Library; Historic Arkansas Museum, a museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage; UALR Public Radio—KUAR-KLRE; UALR public television; and Grapevine Spirits.

Orval Faubus, Language of Segregation – topic of UALR talk this evening

Posted on by

ualr logoDr. Lisa M. Corrigan, Assistant Professor of Communication and Chair of the Gender Studies Program at the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas will be the features speaker this evening at the UALR Cooper Honors and Gender Studies Program Lecture.  She will deliver a lecture entitled “Orval Faubus and the Language of Segregation:  Sexualized Violence and Racial Anxiety during the Little Rock Crisis.”

Dr. Corrigan uses the Orval Faubus Collection at the University of Arkansas to examine the rhetorical strategies embraced by the former Arkansas governor during the desegregation of Central High School.  In examining Faubus’ public speeches and private correspondence at the height of the desegregation crisis, her lecture will cover how he sought to control the rhetorical situation in Little Rock and how racial anxiety was articulated as sexual anxiety.

The program will take place at 6pm in the Dickinson Hall Auditorium on the UALR campus.  At 5:30 there will be a reception.

Nedelle Torrisi in concert tonight

Posted on by

Tonight West Coast singer-songwriter Nedelle Torrisi will inaugurate a new, intimate performance space in downtown Little Rock called The Undercroft with an 8 p.m. show, as part of a tour in support of her recent self-titled release. The cover charge is $5 at the door. The space is on the campus of Christ Church; the entrance is through the sidewalk-level red door on Capitol Avenue east of Scott Street.

Nedelle photoNedelle Torrisi has recorded six albums both as a solo artist, previously under the single name Nedelle for the label Kill Rock Stars, and as a member the band Cryptacize (with former Deerhoof guitarist Chris Cohen). She has also spent time touring with Sufjan Stevens, who has said that “her voice carries the uncomplicated clarity of a 1950’s movie musical.” Nate Chinen, music critic for the New York Times, has also called her voice “guileless… an instrument of earnest pleasure and petition.”

As a songwriter, she combines a playful sense of language, often covering matters of the heart, with lilting, memorable melodies that swerve into unexpected places. On her latest, produced by Kenny Gilmore, who will join her for the show, she details the twisting trails of relationships that are rewarding but also shot through with melancholy, all wrapped in a glossy synth-pop package. In “Double Horizon,” she sings, “The cement has dried around my feet / No more dancing in the street/ But it can’t keep my heart from roaming.”

The new album, Nedelle Torrisi, is available on iTunes (along with a companion EP of solo piano versions of the songs). To stream it and read a recent interview with her in Rookie magazine, go to: http://rookiemag.com/2013/09/nedelle/

For information about the new performance space The Undercroft, contact Rev. Scott Walters at Christ Church at swalters@christchurchlr.org or 501-375-2342.

Former Congressman discusses state of Congress tonight at Clinton School

Posted on by

220px-Tom_Allen_110th_Congressional_portraitWith government shutdown, debt ceiling limit, continuing resolutions and other congressional contentions becoming hot topics for the general public, the Clinton School is featuring a speaker tonight at 6pm who has been in the halls of Congress.  This evening Congressman Tom Allen speaks about his book Dangerous Convictions: What’s Really Wrong with the U.S. Congress.

In his book “Dangerous Convictions,” former Congressman Tom Allen argues that what’s really wrong with the U.S. Congress is the widening, hardening gap in world-views that leaves the two parties unable to understand how the other thinks about what people should do on their own and what they are able to do together.

Allen represented Maine’s 1st congressional district from 1997 to 2009.  He was first elected by defeating incumbent James Longley Jr.  In 2008, he challenged incumbent Senator Susan Collins and was defeated.  Since then he has served as president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers.

Prior to serving in congress he had been a member of the Portland City Council, served as Mayor of Portland and ran for Governor of Maine.

The program will take place at Sturgis Hall.

*Reserve your seats for both programs by emailing publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu or calling 501-683-5239.

Arkansas Rep’s premiere of revival of PAL JOEY closes today

Posted on by

PalJoeyToday is the last chance to catch the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s world premiere revival of Pal Joey.

Kicking off the 2013-2014 season, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart’s Pal Joey has been reimagined by Tony winner Peter Schneider.  He and Rep Producing Artistic Director Bob Hupp have assembled a stellar cast and creative team to bring this classic tale to a new life.  The Rodgers and Hart songs are woven into a new book by Patrick Pacheco based on the stories of John O’Hara.

Peter Schneider is the Tony Award-winning producer of the internationally acclaimed Broadway musical The Lion King. He produced the award-winning documentary, “Waking Sleeping Beauty,” about Disney animation from 1984-1994, a decade within his 17-year tenure at the company where he served as President of the animation department and, later, as Chairman of the studio.

A new score has been enhanced with other memorable songs from the Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart catalog, such as “The Lady Is a Tramp” and “Sing for Your Supper,” intermingled with gems from the original 1940 show like “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” and “I Could Write a Book.” This Pal Joey explodes on stage with timeless jazz favorites, stunning tap dance numbers and plenty of sparkle while exploring morality, race, class and the timeless relationship between power and sex.

The cast is led by Clifton Oliver in the title role.  Playing the women vying for his attention are Erica Hanrahan-Ball and Theatre World Award winner Stephanie Umoh.  Jonas Cohen plays an added complication to the mix.  Others in the cast are Danielle Erin Rhodes, Jeffrey Johnson II, Elise Kinnon, Jordy Lievers, Joel Pellini, Ian Jordan Subsara and Matthew K. Tatus.  Michael Reno serves as the Musical Director and leads the band accompanying Joey.

Joining Schneider, Pacheco and Reno in the creative team are choreographer Dan Knechtges, scenic designer David Potts, costume designer Rafael Colon Castanera, props designer Lynda J. Kwallek, lighting designer Michael J. Eddy and sound designer Allan Branson.

Performances today are at 2pm and 7pm.

Little Rock Look Back: First Pulaski Heights City Council Meeting

Posted on by

Pul Heights CC minutesOn September 28, 1905, the first meeting of the Pulaski Heights City Council took place.  The newly elected Mayor was J. H. Joslyn, the Recorder was F. D. Leaming, and new Alderman present were E. E. Moss, Maxwell Coffir and C. C. Thompson.  Pulaski Heights had been incorporated on August 1, 1905.  At that time its population was estimated at between 300 and 400.

The first ordinance, which was offered by E. E. Moss, was to set a tax rate and give the City the ability to levy taxes.  Next was a motion to establish a committee to establish rules and procedures for the council. The final business before the Council was to allow the Recorder to order stationary, a seal and a record book (that record book is now in the vault at Little Rock City Hall).

The next meeting would be October 28.  At that meeting, two other Aldermen are mentioned in the minutes (Fauble and Paul) but were absent from that meeting as well.  Mr. C. M. Fauble was present at the third meeting.  Mr. R. O. Paul did not appear until the fifth meeting (December 13, 1905).

Interestingly the Recorder had a vote in the Council meetings (which was not a practice in the City of Little Rock at the time).

The Council did not have a permanent meeting place until the third meeting.  At that point in time, they used space in the offices of Dr. Hockersmith.

Pulaski Heights was a separate City until January 1916.  On January 4, 1916, Little Rock voters approved the annexation of Pulaski Heights by a ten-to-one margin, and the suburb became the city’s ninth ward. This established a couple of precedents for the City of Little Rock which are in effect to this day.  The first is that Little Rock would not be a central city surrounded by a variety of small incorporated towns (in the manner that St. Louis and other cities are).  It was this thought process which has led the City to continue to annex properties.

In addition, this move to annex Pulaski Heights was the first time that the City grew toward the west.  Previous growth had been to the south.  By emphasizing western expansion, this has allowed Little Rock to continue to grow.