Ladies and gentlemen, this is a great weekend for movies.

Six new movies arrived in Memphis theaters this week, and I review all of them today in the Playbook section of The Commercial Appeal.

Believe it or not, I liked 'em all, except one. (Two, if you count "Live Free or Die Hard," which overwhelmed me more than it moved me; having said that, I acknowledge that it delivers the implausible over-the-top action/destruction goods.)

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A can’t-miss show for Friday night features the return of nine-piece Nashville soul-funk revue The Dynamites, featuring veteran soul man Charles Walker. The band is promoting its new album, “KaBoom.” It all goes down at the Hi-Tone, where The Dynamites’ previous shows have been sweaty, memorable affairs. For a special sneak preview, check out the band live on the “Down in the Alley” program on WEVL/FM 90 from 10 a.m. till noon.

For the Hi-Tone show, doors open at 9. Buck Wilders and The Hook Up will warm things up on the deejay tip at 10. Cover charge is $10 well spent.

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I had to hold my tongue recently when my sister told me she lets her 10-year-old stay home for ”an hour or so,” watching his 7-year-old sister while she finishes her shift at Pier 1.  My son is 11, and I wouldn’t leave him home alone, with or without his sister. (OK, once when he was sick, [...]Continue Reading »

(click map to enlarge) Just a month or two ago, a friend and I — both of us relative Memphis noobs; she’s been here about a year and I’m coming up on two and a half years — were having lunch and the conversation inevitably turned (okay, I steered it there) to how to meet dateable [...]Continue Reading »

If you skipped "Black Snake Moan" in the theater (and apparently most of you did), you can now catch Memphis writer-director Craig Brewer's second major feature film on DVD.

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I read this article a week or so in USA Today and have been meaning to get other peoples opinions on it. The basic subject is the "phantom vibrations" that many people experience from their cell phone usage. Alot of people carry their phones in their pants pocket and are used to feeling the vibrating rings of their cell phones upon incoming calls. However, I've often caught myself thinking that my phone just vibrated, when in reality nothing of the sort ever happened. I just figured it was my own weird quirk but it seems its a growing national trend. Here are a few excerpts from the article itself but to read the whole thing just follow this link......

"Some call it "phantom vibration syndrome." Others prefer "vibranxiety" — the feeling when you answer your vibrating cellphone, only to find it never vibrated at all."

"Psychologically, the key to deciphering phantom vibrations is "hypothesis-guided search," a theory that describes the selective monitoring of physical sensations, says Jeffrey Janata, director of the behavioral medicine program at University Hospitals in Cleveland. It suggests that when cellphone users are alert to vibrations, they are likely to experience sporadic false alarms, he says."

"Phantom cellphone vibrations also can be explained by neuroplasticity — the brain's ability to form new connections in response to changes in the environment. When cellphone users regularly experience sensations, such as vibrating, their brains become wired to those sensations, Janata says."

I think this happens to many of us and there is really no point to this post other than my own idle curiosity about an annoying reoccurring oddity.

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Next week the food cover is my story about frozen drinks for summer, and I’ve been making them all day for a photo and video shoot. I’m a big fan of frozen drinks, slurped poolside, on a hot summer day. (I loved Slurpees when I was a kid, too). But I can’t stand the cheapies–ones made with mixes. I positively abhor those, which have nothing in common with a mango daiquiri made with fresh mangos. I also like a drink that’s pretty new to me–the pisco sour. Last summer friends made a pitcher of them at a Peruvian dinner party, and I’ve featured it in the upcoming story. Pisco is a brandy from Peru (also made in Chile and widely consumed in Peru, Chile and Bolivia) and it really has a different taste from the typical white summer liquors. I also jumped on the cachaca cart a couple of summers back, but just recently started making my caiparinhas with palm sugar, which makes a big difference. OK, I’m ready for the beach…

If anyone has a favorite summer cocktail, frozen or not, share the recipe.

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