It was disappointing this week to see the Tennessee Republican Party join the chorus of right-wing loons who are trying to make a big deal of the fact that Barack Obama’s middle name is "Hussein."

Just for the record, a little Internet research tells me that John McCain’s middle name is...drumroll, please..."Sidney."

That’s right. John Sidney McCain. Actually, John Sidney McCain III, which shows that both his father and grandfather had a bit of a sadistic streak to them.

As far as tough-sounding names go, Sidney ranks in the same category as Percy and Xavier.

Which is something McCain’s supporters ought to keep in mind if they’re going to make endlessly repeating Obama’s middle name a central part of their campaign strategy for November.

Four months ago, writer-director John Sayles introduced his latest film, "Honeydripper," at a pair of sold-out screenings at the Indie Memphis Film Festival. Today, the blues-inspired independent film returns for a regular theatrical run at the Malco Ridgeway Four.

Sayles' appearance here was a real coup for Indie Memphis. The veteran director also is one of the nicest film folk I've ever met. For these reasons, it pains me to report that "Honeydripper" -- set in an African-American community in 1950s rural Alabama -- feels more touristy than authentic. My review is here.

Also opening this week: the 1970s period basketball would-be knee-slapper "Semi-Pro," the latest semi-funny wish-fulfillment vehicle for that overgrown child of a movie superstar, Will Ferrell, who's the comedy equivalent of the teenager in the old comic book "Dial H for Hero": He uses his power to transform himself into a different outrageous hero for each new adventure. (In "Dial H," the heroes included Giantboy and The Mole; in Ferrell's case, the "heroes" include NASCAR driver Ricky Bobby and figure-skater Chazz Michael Michaels.) My "Semi-Pro" review is here.

The film of "Beowulf," packed with grandiose special effects and awash with deluges of digital blood, somehow misses the tone of one of the scariest scenes in world literature. We're quoting from Seamus Heaney's splendid translation of the Old English epic published in 1999.

In off the moors, down through the mist bands

God-cursed Grendel came greedily loping.

The bane of the race of men roamed forth,

hunting for a prey in the high hall.

Under the cloud-murk he moved towards it,

until it shone above him, a sheer keep

of fortified gold.

The monster, more monstrous because of his humanoid form -- and "greedily loping" is perfect -- reaches the great hall of Hrothgar, king of the Danes.

Then his rage boiled over, he ripped open

the mouth of the building, maddening for blood,

pacing the length of the patterned floor

with his loathsome tread, while a baleful light,

flame more than light, flared from his eyes.

It's the flame in Grendel's eyes that transfixes us, a malevolent blaze that, as the poet implies, seems to project awful sentience beyond mere light.

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 On Tuesday (2/26/08), listeners who were tuned to National Public Radio's Morning Editon heard the bell toll at Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis. For insight into the yellow fever epidemics of the 19th century, NPR turned to Memphian Molly Caldwell Crosby, author of "The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic that Shaped Our History."

At Elmwood, every time a yellow fever victim was buried, the cemetery keeper's young daughter, Grace would ring the bell. In a recounting of the terrible 1878 outbreaks of the disease in Memphis, Crosby remarks "We are standing over 1,400 bodies right here. This was a large mass grave. The gravediggers were burying over 50 people a day."

Listen to this fascinating program at the NPR Web site http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19241319. You can also read an excerpt from Crosby's book there.

The Commercial Appeal's Fredric Koeppel reviewed Crosby's book, "The American Plague" when it came out in 2006. He begins: "Imagine a city turned into a charnel house. Streets are silent and empty except for stacks of coffins waiting for the dead to be carried from their dwellings, if anyone is alive to carry them."

For his complete review: (more...)