In the impressionistic documentary portrait "The Man Who Loved Couch Dancing," Monsieur Jeffrey Evans -- the Memphis singer-songwriter-guitarist-rock revivalist-musicologist -- wears a long white-striped beard. He looks like a rocked-out Walt Whitman or a Maharishi who'd rather jam with John Lennon on "Yer Blues" than hit on Mia Farrow in an ashram.

Directed by fellow musicmaker Ron Franklin, the film debuts at 6 tonight (Friday, Sept. 28) at the MeDiA Co-op at First Congregational Church, 1000 S. Cooper, as part of Gonerfest 4, sponsored by Goner Records. Read my full review here.

"In the Shadow of the Moon" fills you with pride for your country and your species. That's a rare feeling, inside or outside a movie theater. My review of this inspiring documentary about the Apollo space program and the men who walked on the moon can be found here.

Also opening today: "The Kingdom," a gung-ho military action movie swaddled in the desert camo of its "relevant" inspiration (the so-called war on terror). My review is here.

Could George Monger be the next Al Gore?

Gore, as some may remember, is a well-known Tennessean who ran for president a few years back. He lost that election (or so the U.S. Supreme Court said), but went on to win acclaim as the star of a documentary film.

So what does any of that have to do with Monger, the 18-year-old who’s running for the Memphis City Council’s District 8 Position 2 seat? Well, Gore and Monger may soon have something else in common besides the fact that they’re both politicians from Tennessee.

Jason Pollock, who worked with Michael Moore on the "Fahrenheit 9/11" documentary, has a new film project in which Monger could end up playing a starring role.

Pollock is doing a documentary about teenagers who run for public offices across the country - and apparently there are quite a few of them. So Pollock has been in Memphis the last few days, filming Monger’s campaign prior to the Oct. 4 election.

Pollock said Monger’s story is appealing for several reasons. For one, Monger had to persevere when the Shelby County Election Commission raised questions about his eligibility to run for office. For another, Monger would make local history as the youngest candidate ever elected to a city office. On top of that, Pollock said Monger doesn’t fit the nerdy image many of us have about kids who express interest in politics at an early age.

For all of those reasons, Pollock said he expects Monger will play a prominent role in the finished product, which he would like to get into theaters before next year’s presidential elections. Pollock hopes the film might inspire more 18- to 24-year-olds to become politically involved.

"I think the youth vote in this (’08) election cycle will be bigger than ever before," Pollock said.

Of course, it’s an even bigger story if Monger actually wins a seat on the council.

"If George wins, the entire nation will focus on what happened here," Pollock said.

But even if he doesn’t, Pollock still thinks Monger’s story will have a broad appeal.

"This is an underdog story," Pollock said. "We’ve been watching movies for a long time. We love underdog stories."

Well, this changes everything.

According to a brief item in our newspaper today, Bill Jacox has dropped out of the Memphis mayor’s race. So I guess maybe now Herman Morris, Carol Chumney and incumbent Mayor Willie Herenton will have a chance.

By the way, Jacox’s name will still be listed on the ballot. And since his name appears directly below Herenton’s name, perhaps Jacox will pick up some of those misguided votes Herenton seemed to be so worried about a few days ago.

OK, readers, I need some help here.

I’m a resident of Memphis City Council District 7. I haven’t voted early and, since our newspaper isn't endorsing any of the four candidates in that race, I'm at a loss as to whom to support.

But I still firmly believe in voting, so I’m going to try something I’ve never done before: I’m planning to vote for a write-in candidate.

That’s where you come in. I would like to get a few suggestions on who I should pick as my designated protest vote.

I’m trying to be serious about this, so please don’t suggest Donald Duck or Christina Aguilera. (Well, maybe Christina Aguilera. But don’t tell my wife. Since we just got married Sunday, I’d rather not borrow trouble.)

I’m looking for someone who lives in district, which generally encompasses Downtown and North Memphis, and would have been eligible for the ballot. Surely, finding someone better qualified than the current crop of candidates can’t be that difficult, can it?

(P.S. I reserve the right to make the final decision myself. But any serious input will be seriously considered.)

For those that read my first blog on the Edge you may remember it was about the Isiah trial and how ridiculous it was on face value. Apparently Bill Simmons at ESPN actually took the time to read the transcripts (I hope he didn’t attend the trial) and has some curious perspectives in his article “Idiots Guide to the Isiah Trial.”

Pau Gasol has hit the media circuit, joining Chris Wallace and Marc Iavaroni. Pau Gasol was interviewed by NBA.com via a confernce call, by Sports YA ( a Spanish site I believe but written in English) and Ron Tillery in today’s Commercial Appeal. Apparently Damon Stoudamire believes he is fully recovered from his knee surgery and will be competing for playing time with the young guns at tke point. Good luck Damon. We old folks are pulling for you! (more…)

Fun In Vegas
The Halupniks of Memphis  and the Plunks of Germantown, friends for more than 21 years and former neighbors, spent four days in Las Vegas recently. The highlight of the trip was sitting in the seventh row at a Barry Manilow concert.  Pictured in front of one of the many bronze lions at the MGM Grand are (from left) Tom and Cindy  Halupnik  and Molly and Bob Plunk.

 Meet me in Hawaii
Dexter and June Varnell of Southaven (left) and Mary Ann and Steve Reynolds of San Francisco, are shown on Maui during the summer. June and Mary Ann have been friends since the second grade and grew up in Covington. They discovered a few weeks before they left on their trips that they would be on Maui at the same time. Even though they were traveling with different groups on different schedules, they were able to connect for one day.

See your vacation photos in the newspaper and online. Write a note about your trip. Include a color photo (we may run it in black-and-white). Photos can't be returned. E-mail winburne@commercialappeal.com, or mail to Travel Snapshots, Attn. Peggy Reisser Winburne, The Commercial Appeal, 495 Union, Memphis, Tenn. 38103. Include a daytime phone number.