Cooper-Young has been taken over by Zombies! Don’t worry, these monsters are just out for fun, read about their energy saving escapades and the Smallest User Competition in cover articles in this issue. Also inside find updates on the proposed Midtown Zoning Overlay, Midtown’s new dog park, Peabody School, and the construction on the Kroc Center. You will find articles about local art openings, book signings, theatre productions, a film series, and Jabberwocky.

By Jim Allman

The latest show to hit Midtown Memphis’ new but increasingly potent Gallery 210 is a collaboration between Chris Nadaskay and Melinda Eckley titled, Sitting up with the Dead. This title refers to the distinctly southern tradition of keeping a vigil over the recently departed. You’re probably wondering “Who’s passed?” According to Nadaskay and Eckley it is our modern culture’s place of archeological significance.

The show will exhibit a museum like atmosphere in an attempt to encapsulate the feeling that each piece is a “remnant of some future past” excavated and historically meaningful. But what is it that our present culture esteems, and how will its treasures be perceived when exhumed? What contribution, if any, will they make? Will they liberate, enlighten or impede?

Nadaskay and Eckley are both artists of repute and professors at Union University. Eckley is also an alumni of Memphis College of Art. Nadaskay currently works in mixed media/ceramic wall relief, while Eckley creates sculptural installations.

Gallery 210 is located in Lifelink Church at 1015 S. Cooper. The show opens with 
a reception and artist lecture and runs July 16th-August 15th. The opening night reception (July 16th from 6-8 pm) is open and free to the public. General gallery hours are from 
9 am-noon, Monday-Friday 
and 9 am-1 pm, Sundays. For more information please call 901-377-3372.

By Bill Bullock

The electricity network, all the way from generation to a customer’s meter, is similar to a highway system. If roads are built to handle all traffic smoothly during the few hours per week of rush hour then they are significantly over-built for the rest of the time. Often, there is a compromise in road building where there are bottlenecks and delays at times, but vehicles eventually get where they are going.

In distributing electricity, such compromise is not a good option. A bottle neck at any point in the process, whether a lack of generation or too small of a wire or transformer on a pole, can result in an outage. For this reason, infrastructure is built to handle peak load conditions.

Peak load conditions on an electric grid in the southeast US typically occur on hot summer weekday afternoons, between about 4 and 8 pm. During this time many businesses are still open, many residents are returning to their homes, and energy intensive air conditioning load is the most significant contributor to setting the peak. Power demand during those few hours per week can be significantly higher than demand for the rest of the week. There must be enough generation plants on line to handle that load, and even the least efficient and most costly plants must be operated to meet electricity demand at the peak.

Most electric consumers in Memphis are not aware of this because there is no residential time differentiated electric metering. The electric meters currently used act like odometers. They accurately measure usage over time and a meter reader reads them once per month. Monthly bills merely take the kilowatt-hours used during the month and multiply that number by an average rate. During peak periods, this average rate does not cover the actual cost of generation. During off peak periods, the average rate exceeds the actual cost of generation.

The industry is quickly moving towards giving customers information and price signals to encourage moving load off the peak. If you know you are paying a lot for electricity during a few hours of operation during system peaks, you may change your habits. Perhaps you would delay starting a dishwasher or electric clothes dryer. You may switch your pool pump off during that time. Perhaps you would even pre-cool your house so your air conditioner compressor would not come on very long during that period.

Activities like that, done by many people, will lower the cost of electricity. Fewer generation plants would need to be built, reducing capital expenditures. Additionally, the most inefficient plants would be used less, lowering operating costs.

However, turning things on and off, delaying start times, and other strategies for moving load off peak can be tough to accomplish. What if you forget? What if you are not home? When are the peak times?

This is where the Smart Grid comes into play. Smart Grid is a combination of equipment, communications, and processes that utilities use to provide enhanced operations. Under the umbrella of Smart Grid are smart meters, switches, monitors, analysis software, distribution system automation, demand response and communications equipment between the utility and customers. The basic concept of Smart Grid is to add monitoring, analysis, and communication capabilities to the national electrical delivery system to maximize its capabilities while simultaneously helping consumers to reduce their energy consumption.

A traffic engineer could lower road building costs if he could get commuters on a staggered schedule so they are not all on the road at the same time. Likewise, a utility system operator could lower electrical costs by mandating when you can turn on appliances. Neither will occur, but on the electric side, the Smart Grid will be able to give customers knowledge and tools to shape their load and save energy and money if they choose. Many people making small adjustments can have significant impact.

For example, if every household in the Tennessee Valley was able to shed the equivalent of two 100 watt light bulbs at system peak, this would eliminate the need for a generation facility the size of the Allen Generating Plant in Memphis. That is significant!

In addition to reducing the costs associated with generating electricity, the Smart Grid would allow MLGW to reduce its operating expenses. Meter readers will become a thing of the past, reducing staff. Additionally, misread or estimated meters would be virtually eliminated, reducing the need to staff for issues caused by those circumstances. MLGW would immediately know when a house or business has suffered a power outage, reducing the need for troubleshooting. Utility theft, an issue larger than most realize, would be much easier to prevent and catch because when meters are removed, MLGW would know it immediately.

It will be a while before all of Memphis is on the Smart Grid. In the mean time, however, know that your personal choices have an impact not only on how much electricity you consume, but on the cost to generate and distribute that electricity as well.

Log on to mlgw.com and click on “Smart Grid” for answers to frequently asked questions and MLGW’s progress on this topic. Go to “In Home Evaluation Program” to learn of MLGW/TVA incentives for making energy improvements and investments. Look at “Energy Tax Incentives” to see how some of these improvements qualify for Federal Tax Credits. Use “My Account” to track your energy use, get energy conservation tips, view and pay your bill, or sign up for paperless billing.

Bill Bullock has been working in the energy field for over 25 years, and is a long-time resident of Midtown Memphis. If you have questions regarding this information or energy use in general, contact him at bbullock@mlgw.org.

By J. Everett

Gallery Fifty Six reaches beyond Memphis as members of the Energy Art Movement (EAM) contribute their work for the July show, Energizing Radiance. EAM is an international contemporary multimedia art movement promoting quality, diversity, and evolution on the common ground of energetic depictions. The artists believe that enhancing their creations with energy adds value to their art as they strive to follow a progressive trend of evolution in the Fine Arts.

Founder Giorgio Vaselli says, “We are in a phase of transition where distressing economic times have crept into homes with real-life implications. The current mentality, however, is just a fleeting illusion, and it only takes a new energizing vision to alleviate it. This is the purpose of our exhibition. We wish to bring some of our inner light to the people.”

Vaselli, a Hungarian who now lives in Canada, will be at the gallery for the opening reception, as will participating artists from around the world. Vaselli along with curator, Janice Nabors Raiteri, and assistant curator, Rollin Kocsis, will be giving interviews about the movement throughout July at local TV and radio stations. Raiteri and Kocsis, members of EAM, each had several works selected for display in the show.

Energizing Radiance will bring light energy to people who see the show,” says Vaselli. “This show will shine at Gallery Fifty Six, catalyzing the much-needed mental transition from the recession toward more optimistic vistas.” The show will run from July 1-30.

The public is invited to the artists’ reception on Friday, July 9th from 5-8 pm, at the gallery. For more information, please call 901-276-1251 or go online to galleryfiftysix.com. For an intriguing look at EAM, check out their site at energyartmovement.org.

By Andrew Moore

It’s 1962, the ‘50s are out, and change is in the air. Baltimore’s Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, has only one passion – to dance. She wins a spot on the local TV dance program, “The Corny Collins Show” and, overnight, is transformed from outsider to irrepressible teen celebrity. But can a trendsetter in dance and fashion vanquish the program’s reigning princess, win the affections of heartthrob Link Larkin, and integrate a television show without denting her ‘do’? Only in Hairspray! Welcome to the ‘60s! “Irresistable! If life were everything it should be, it would be more like Hairspray!” –New York Times.

Directed by Resident Company Member Dave Landis (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Into the Woods), Hairspray stars Resident Company Member Courtney Oliver (Romeo & Juliet, The Full Monty), Guest Artists Ken Zimmerman (The Producers) and Jordan Nichols (Urinetown, The Goat or Who is Sylvia?). The show also features Associate Company Members Hannah Dowdy (Pippin, Narnia), Bryan Robinson (Narnia, The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940), and Laura Stracko (Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, The Miracle Worker), as well as Whitney Branan (Pippin), David Foster (Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, The Santaland Diaries), Carla McDonald (The Light in the Piazza, Jerry Springer: The Opera), and Karlos Nichols (Pippin).

Hairspray runs at the new Playhouse on the Square June 25th – July 25th, Thursdays-Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm. The new Playhouse on the Square is located at 66 South Cooper Street. For more information, or to make reservations, please call 901-726-4656 or visit our website at playhouseonthesquare.org.

By Kimberly Richardson

Tea is considered the second most popular beverage in the world after water. In today’s world, the choices are endless. You can have black tea, red tea or rooibos, the sacred but still satisfying white tea, and even the popular green tea almost anywhere. Tea companies now create blended flavors to satisfy even the most discriminating of palates. Even iced tea has come a long way in its chic. Yet, tea has a dirty, murderous, and unsavory history, one that not too many people know about while reading their history books in school. Sarah Rose, author of the book All The Tea In China: How England Stole the World’s Favourite Drink and Changed History, sheds some light on this past for all to see and perhaps appreciate their morning cup of Earl Grey a little more. Within the pages of this slim book is the story of a Scottish botanist named Robert Fortune and his tale of how he both initially unsuccessfully and finally successfully shipped camellia sinensis from China to his beloved England amid opium wars, backhanded deals, and growing tensions between England, China, and India through the highly powerful East India Company. It is a story of how one man braved the highly stacked odds to give his fellow Brits a taste of the East through a cuppa’.

As a journalist, Rose adds her own appreciation for the East by making her work not only a book about the history of tea but also a book of traveling to exotic lands. One feels as though they are standing next to Fortune and his Chinese assistants as they travel deeper into the heart of China in search of rare tea specimens for the glory of England. One can smell the breezes scented with fragrant flowers only found in China as well as the scent of unwashed, opium soaked bodies blended with mud and blood from the sick and dying. Rose also does a thorough job in showing the readers the tensions between the British and everyone else. The British viewed themselves as the top of the evolutionary chain amid the “savages” of India and China, though the Chinese had a far superior civilization, philosophy, and way of life, as well as the material goods that the British so desperately wanted. The Chinese mirrored Britain’s contempt by lacing their shipped out green tea with a poison that made the tea appear green for its British customers. This is why the British drink more black than green tea even today. After the Boston Tea Party, the Americans even wanted a part of the tea craze, but due to mitigating circumstances they remained far behind everyone else in the mad dash to China and later India and in the creation of Darjeeling teas, considered to be the “champagne” of all teas (and it is!).

This is not just a history book but also a travel guide to the past that gives us a peek into a world that thankfully no longer exists. Thanks to Rose, I now understand the importance of the Silver Needle White tea that I drink on a daily basis and why the craze for all things tea has surged again with the Americans now leading the race. Thanks to men like Robert Fortune, people can now have their cup of Darjeeling without fear of war but rather with a newfound respect for the leaves that assist them in reaching their liquid paradise.

The LampLighter is working with the CYCA to bring you meaningful crime information. In addition to the crime map, which details crimes within a one-mile radius of the Cooper-Young intersection, we also included a list of crimes that happened within our neighborhood. This list includes the case number, which you can use to contact the police. The crimes were reported 
from May 24th, 2010 to June 23rd, 2010. The list this month is longer than usual and is due 
in part to multiple charges being filed for the same incident.

By Erik Jambor

Launching on Mandela Day weekend (July 15th -18th), Indie Memphis is presenting a sequence of films to provoke conversations concerning topics related to freedom. The Freedom Series is scheduled to take place in a number of different venues throughout the city, beginning in July and culminating with special screenings on October 21st-24th as part of the 13th annual Indie Memphis Film Festival. Discussion forums will follow each film in hopes of cultivating cross-cultural understanding and compassion. These follow-up conversations will be moderated by respected speakers relevant to each topic.

Admission to the series is free 
and open to the public, though a $5 minimum donation to the hosting organization is suggested. Community organizations are invited to attend and participate. Groups are encouraged to make arrangements in advance, as seating is limited. “The goals of the Freedom Series are to cultivate cross-cultural compassion, broaden and enlighten the conversation on freedom, and further diversify the Independent film community,” explains Erik Jambor, executive director of Indie Memphis. “We are hoping that other groups and organizations will want to become involved and invite their memberships to attend the series.”

The following programs have been scheduled for the inaugural weekend:

• Thursday, July 15th, 7 pm at the Studio on the Square (2105 Court Avenue), Indie Memphis presents The Veiled Commodity and the feature documentary Complaints Choir for conversations about human rights and free speech. The filmmaker is scheduled to attend.
• Friday, July 16th, 7 pm at the Latino Memphis Community Center (2838 Hickory Hill), Latino Memphis, Christian Brothers University Graduate & Professional Studies, and Certified Financial Planning present La Vos De Los Sin Vos with the feature documentary Intimidad for conversations about political freedom and civil liberties.
• Saturday, July 17th, 3 pm at Abundant Grace (1574 E. Shelby Drive, ½ mile west of I-55 Memphis), Abundant Grace Fellowship presents .45 to 50 with the feature documentary Getwell for conversations on human rights and health care.
• Sunday, July 18th, 3 pm at the National Civil Rights Museum (450 Mulberry Street), the National Civil Rights Museum presents the previously unreleased, last living interview with Helen Suzman, From Helen Suzman’s Story and exclusive interviews with Nelson Mandela from Voices from Robben Island for conversations on human rights and restorative justice.

Each program includes additional unlisted short films. Further community hosted screenings will be announced in the coming months. Those wanting more information should visit indiememphis.com/freedom

By Donna Bowers

This Saturday night and every Saturday night through August 31st the Painted Planet Artspace will host “Saturday Night Live at the Planet” in the fenced-in performance area directly behind the Painted Planet art gallery. On these Saturday nights, the Planet offers live performance art and live music plus hot dogs, chips, and sodas all free for all our art lovers.

On the second Friday of each month, Painted Planet presents an art opening spotlighting one or more of Painted Planet’s favorite artists. The July show, opening on July 9th from 8-11 pm will spotlight the mystical, dreamlike works of Cherokee Indian Dream Coach and artist Kevin “Chasing Wolf” Hutchins. Read this artist’s bio and see his work on our website, paintedplanetart.com, on the “featured artist” page. We will have live music and refreshments on that evening and some of the most inspirational art you’ll find anywhere. Mark your calendars and invite your friends to join you at Painted Planet.

Healing Planet, Painted Planet’s free cancer ministry for women, meets the 2nd Monday night each month for Spa Nite from 6:30-9:30 pm, where we offer a multitude of free pampering services for women in the fight of their lives. Healing Planet is a host site for the American Cancer Society’s Look Good Feel Better Program. If you are fighting cancer or know someone who is, tell them about Painted Planet – Healing Planet’s free cancer ministry.

Painted Planet is located at 798 S. Cooper. Our hours of operation are noon-6 pm Tuesday– Friday (except on opening nights) and noon-10 pm on Saturdays. Call us at 901-725-0054, email us at paintedplanet@bellsouth.net, look us up on the web at paintedplanetart.com, or check us out on Facebook at The Painted Planet Art Gallery and Healing Planet.

By Anne Mautner

Are you looking for something free, fun and educational for your child this summer? Imagine whirling, creating, storytelling, and singing. Learning has never been this much fun, and no other experience offers more ways for children to grow! This unique, free opportunity allows you and your child to experience the most respected programs in early childhood music education first-hand. Together you’ll share the wonder of learning through music.

Kindermusik is the world’s leading music and movement program for young children, newborns through seven years old. It is based on years of research showing the positive effects of musical activities on a child’s early learning development and capabilities. For example, learning to keep a steady beat and rhythm are not only basic to music, but they also improve skills such as using scissors, problem solving, and even dribbling a basketball! A good beginning with Kindermusik truly never ends!

If you are interested in experiencing Kindermusik first-hand please come to one of our free classes on July 20 or 21, 10 am at First Baptist Church, 200 E Parkway N. To register, contact Annette Morris at 901-409-3367 or visit kindermusikwithmsannette.com.