By David Royer

It’s February, when the LampLighter brings readers its annual Cooper-Young business guide, and despite a chilly national economy, things seem to be warming up around here. If a word could sum up the state of business in Cooper-Young lately, it might be: delicious.

Thirteen new businesses opened their doors in CY in 2011 and another three opened or are ready to open in the first two months of 2012.

Local businesses Charm Boutique, Shoenista and the Polish Bottle filled a need for fashionistas in the neighborhood, and hipster magnet Urban Outfitters anchored a revitalized retail spot at Cooper and Central last February. With more than 140 locations in the country, Urban Outfitters, a trendy clothing and dorm room décor outlet, is one of the few national retailers to establish a presence in the district’s mostly home-grown business community.

But mainly, growth in 2011 and early 2012 centered around CY’s thriving culinary scene.

“In 2011, we were excited to see Cooper-Young established as the restaurant district of Memphis, with 18 restaurants,” said Tamara Cook, director of the Cooper Young Business Association. “We have such a strong group of talented chefs.”

Sweetgrass opened a more casual side of its low-country-themed restaurant next door, at the appropriately titled Next Door. Stone Soup Cafe & Market is serving up breakfast and brunch across the street from First Congregational Church and Skunx Chef’s Pub took over the old Lou’s Pizza Pie spot on Young late last year, serving gourmet pizzas and more. And there aren’t many places in Memphis that serve real vegan fare, but Imagine Vegan Cafe began doing just that on Young.

The neighborhood’s newest restaurant, Mulan Bistro, is updating the former Bluefish space on the southeast corner of Cooper and Young and expects to open its doors in early February.

Mulan, a Chinese restaurant and sushi bar, opened in Collierville eight years ago, but managing partner Matt Kan said customers for years had requested a location in Midtown. Kan said Mulan will offer fresh, authentic Szechuan-style entrees along with sushi. But don’t look for an American-style buffet. Mulan’s head chef has 30 years of experience in the kitchen and previously worked in a five-star hotel in China, he said.

Kan said he’s a big fan of Cooper-Young, which reminds him of his hometown in China.

“I always come here to eat in the Cooper-Young area,” Kan said. “The Midtown area is really unique.”

Another unique-in-Memphis hotspot opened in November. When Alchemy brought its small-plate dishes and cocktail concoctions to the neighborhood, it also brought a sexy, cosmopolitan vibe and major crowds of up to 600 people on some busy weekend nights, general manager Ben McLean said.

The restaurant soon began offering valet parking to ease congestion and entice diners from outside the area.

“We like Cooper-Young because it’s kind of a destination now for restaurants,” McLean said. “We plan on being in Cooper-Young for a very long time.”

Though the neighborhood has seen some turnover among businesses in the past few years ― Alchemy took over the space vacated by Grace and Au Fond and another taco shop lasted just a month ― some restaurateurs said the competition is healthy.

“What’s happened in Cooper-Young is a rebirth, and it’s fantastic,” said Jacob Leonard, bar manager at Cortona. “A rising tide lifts all boats.”

Cortona, a contemporary Italian restaurant, began packing diners in at the former Dish location early in 2011 and will mark its first anniversary this month. Managers say they like being at the center of the city’s restaurant scene.

Both Cook and McLean noted a need for more retail and art in the district in 2012. But CY’s new reputation among diners could provide a foundation that would support a wider range of businesses this year, Cook said.

“We hope the stability and diversity of these restaurants will help bring in more retail and art venues,” she said.

By Donna Padgett Bowers

Donna Padgett Bowers was asked to tell the LampLighter a little about Painted Planet and Healing Planet as well as her feelings about Cooper-Young and being a CYCA Membership Sponsor (if you are a CYCA member, Donna will give you a 25% jewelry discount on regularly priced items every time you show your card). Here was her response.

Painted Planet has been in business for almost ten years and started right here in Cooper-Young at the corner of Cooper and Vinton. I don’t believe there is another retail store anywhere around where you can get better art, gifts, and jewelry, or get it at better prices with friendlier service than at Painted Planet. We have layaway and gift wrapping, and we will customize and repair your jewelry. Plus, we’re right here in your neighborhood, within walking distance for most of you.

We support the CYCA because we love them and appreciate all they do in this community. We love being a part of this wonderful neighborhood and seeing familiar faces in our gallery. I have actually watched some of your children grow up and feel like many of you are family rather than patrons.

ABOUT PAINTED PLANET

Painted Planet offers many things to its friends and patrons. We offer colorful, affordable art, unique gifts, and beautiful, handmade jewelry. But we’re so much more than that! We offer art openings each month, and during those openings we provide great food and live music in addition to great art. Our events are always free and everyone is invited. On the second and fourth Saturday nights each month from 8-10pm we offer something called Saturday Night Live at the Planet where selected artists paint live and there’s live music too. It’s held in the fenced-in, private performance area behind the Planet (located at 798 S. Cooper). Folks can bring their kids, their coolers, and their lawn chairs and enjoy live art and music under the stars! We also offer art classes and are getting ready to start again soon with artist/teacher Tonya Angel, one of Painted Planet’s favorite acrylic artists. The upcoming classes will be posted on our Painted Planet Artspace Facebook page.

We have two events coming up that we would like to invite the community to. For This We Give Thanks is our November opening on Friday, November 4 from 8-10pm. Our gallery artists and many local artists have created paintings showing what they are most thankful for. It will be a great Thanksgiving Show with great art, holiday food, and live music. It is free and just in time to get you excited about the holidays. Then on Friday, December 2 from 8-10pm we’ll be showcasing the work of Greg Bowden and Jeff Forbes in Two Men with Paint. Greg is our top selling artist, and his work has been featured all over Cooper-Young. Many folks in CY will also remember Jeff, who was my curator for years when we were located on Young.

ABOUT HEALING PLANET

A few years into our business I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and during that challenging time my artists loved, supported, and helped me survive it. I knew I had to do the same for others. Healing Planet – Cancer Ministry was born out of the desire to bless others challenged by cancer. If you go on HYPERLINK “http://www.paintedplanetart.com/”paintedplanetart.com and click on Healing Planet, you can read the whole story of how and why the cancer ministry was started.

As a part of Healing Planet we offer Spa Night on the second Monday each month. We serve a healthy dinner at 6:30pm (sometimes including a nutrition demo) and Spa Night starts at 7pm. The event is free. As soon as women arrive, they sign up for whatever services they want including reflexology, facials, brows, manicures, pedicures, paraffin treatments, foot baths, hand and foot massage, full body massage, spot massage, chair massage, personal training, yoga, nutritional instruction, and prayer. Though we are a Christian ministry, we do not discriminate in any way. No one is asked what their beliefs are, and no one has to participate in prayer if they choose not to.

It’s funny how in the beginning, Healing Planet was just about the pampering and the free services we offer. But now many women come but don’t even get “pampered” by our caregivers. They come for the fellowship, the encouragement, and the prayer. It’s such a blessing to experience what goes on at Spa Night; seeing how these precious women interact with each other, how they touch each other with their words of encouragement, their heartfelt prayers, and their empathy – empathy that can only come from someone who’s been where you are. Some of these women are in total remission, some are newly diagnosed, some are in chemo and radiation now, some have been given little more than a death sentence by their doctors, and some have even left their hospice nurses at home to attend. We’re all at different places on that same road to healing, whether it will be an earthly or heavenly healing. We are all survivors and victors in our own way!

We also are a host site for Look Good Feel Better for the American Cancer Society. This service offers free makeup and healthy beauty products to women who are undergoing chemo and radiation for cancer. At one time Painted Planet was the only host site that was not a doctor’s office or hospital. Our Healing Planet schedule is posted on our Healing Planet – Cancer Ministry Facebook page.

Our top selling artist, Greg Bowden, has created paintings and subsequent prints to raise money for Healing Planet in the past. Recently, Greg brought in his newest creation. The painting is called Resounding Hope, and you can see it on Painted Planet’s Facebook wall. Prints of this painting will be sold during the year to raise money for Healing Planet, which helps us significantly.

After business expenses are paid, the rest of the money we earn goes to Healing Planet. For the last few years there’s not been enough to cover expenses. In response, I’ve sold my personal possessions just to keep the doors open. I have never received one penny in salary or personal compensation. This is totally a labor of love, but with financial times like they are right now, it’s challenging to say the least. We desperately need Cooper-Young residents to embrace us as we embrace them.

I hope with Christmas around the corner, everyone in Cooper-Young will check us out. You will not only find great holiday gifts, but you will have the added satisfaction of knowing that your dollars have blessed women challenged by disease. We welcome your business, and we promise to continue to serve you and this community! For more info about Painted Planet/Healing Planet, check out HYPERLINK “http://www.paintedplanetart.com/”paintedplanetart.com or search on Facebook for Painted Planet Artspace or Healing Planet – Cancer Ministry. You can also email us at HYPERLINK “mailto:paintedplanet@bellsouth.net”paintedplanet@bellsouth.net or call us at 901-725-0054.

By Tamara Cook

The Cooper-Young Festival is a place where everyone feels comfortable. People from all over the city come to the Festival to celebrate together for one day, and the barriers that separate us go away. Those are some of the comments I heard during television interviews and videos from our recent Cooper-Young Festival on Saturday, September 17.

I have also received emails, phone calls, and Facebook messages from people all over the city, county, and beyond in praise of our Cooper-Young Festival. Everyone wonders how we pull off such a wonderful, safe, entertaining day year after year. People from all walks of life tell me they enjoy coming to the Festival more than any other event that Memphis has to offer.

This event is truly like none other in Memphis. It takes all of us to pull this off, and for that, I am grateful to the business community, the residential neighborhood, and the property owners. There are some specific people that really offered their help this year that I would like to thank. Please let me begin with the folks that are the backbone of the Festival that work on this event year-round to make it successful. They are Bill Stemmler, Stephen Crump, Chuck Parr, Ken Whitehead, Charlie Ryan, Lizi Beard-Ward, and Cameron Mann.

And now everyone else from the Cooper-Young area that helped put on the largest single day event in Memphis. Thank you so much for what you offered – however big or small.

Richard Sullivan – Comm-Trans Sully Corporation

Bill Malone – Crye-Leike Realtors

Ryan Trimm – Sweet Grass

Bret James – Decade Properties

Dale Johnson – Signworks

Nick Mitchell – Fortunes by Stephanie

Barb Elder and the Lamplighter staff

Kristan Huntley – Cooper-Young Community Association

DJ Naylor – Celtic Crossing

Reggie Frazier – Café Ole

Bobby Cook – Albert Cook Plumbing

Jim and Nancy Pettit – Memphis Drum Shop

David Bratton and Connie Buchanan – Bratton Construction

Eric Babb and Joey Price – Wilson-Babb Upholstery

Julia Hicks – First Congregational Church

Glen Melton and Mark Heath – Melton and Heath CPAs

Ray Todd, Jamie, and staff – High Electric

Jason Doty – The Sweet Life Bakery

Tom Knowles – Memphis Art Academy

David Cleveland – Cortona

Kevin Dean – Literacy Mid-South

David Smith – David Perry Smith Gallery

Theresa Clinton – Party Concepts

Bill Pritchard

Gene Hiteberger

Samantha Tate

And all those that are not in our neighborhood:

Billy Riley and staff – Combustion

Julie Terry and staff – Civitans

CeCe Palazola and students – Memphis College of Art

Victoria Parker, George Baldwin, and students – Visible Music College

Paul and Chris Averwater

Bumper Dunn

Lt. Chalmers and his Co-Act Officers

Officer Barbara Davis and her Reserve Team

I also wish to extend a special thank you to all of our sponsors for donating money and other items that help offset the cost of this huge event. Our 2011 sponsors were: A. S. Barbaro, Lenny’s Sub Shop, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Grizzlies, Sam’s Town, CVS, Comcast Communications, Memphis Drum Shop, Bank of America, T-Mobile, Albert Cook Plumbing, Southland Park Gaming & Racing, Visible Music College, Salvation Army – Kroc Center, Summer Winds Resorts, TCBY, Signworks, Vonage, Entercom Radio – FM100, WRVR 104.5, ESPN 92.9, WKQK 94.1, Toof Commercial Printing, Methodist Healthcare, EMHC, Delta Ice Services, Zebra Marketing, and ProShow Systems Memphis.

Please mark your calendar, September 15, 2012, for our 25^th anniversary Festival! See you then!

By Alicia Cobbs

This year, the Memphis Hightailers have agreed to donate proceeds from their largest ride of the year – The Bluff City Blues 100 taking place on Saturday, October 1 – to bicycling and walking advocacy in Memphis! This is a huge step towards making Memphis into a bike and pedestrian friendly city, so let’s show the Hightailers how much we appreciate their support by volunteering at their event.

The Hightailers need volunteers for the event to assist in the rest area, finish area, registration, refresh area, and post-ride party. Volunteers are need from 7:30am until noon. Please contact Ms. Alicia Cobbs if you can help out at 901-725-8370 or info@livablememphis.org.

By Ginger Spickler
What can you do in an hour? Balance your checkbook? Catch a TV show? Clean out the fridge? It’s not a lot of time – less than 1% of your week, in fact. But in just one hour a week you can make a significant impact on not one, but two children’s lives by participating in the new STAR (Super Tutors Achieving Results) tutoring program at Peabody Elementary.
The STAR program, which is being run jointly by Peabody’s PTA and staff members, is based on another local tutoring program at an inner-city school that has seen impressive results in its short history. Almost 80% of kids who were tutored through the Ready Readers program at Georgia Avenue Elementary improved their reading skills by at least one grade level, and half of those children actually improved by two grade levels.
Peabody’s STAR program will focus its efforts primarily on struggling readers in 2nd and 3rd grades. An April 2011 study by Donald Hernandez reported, “Third grade is an important pivot point in a child’s education, the time when students shift from learning to read and begin reading to learn. Interventions for struggling readers after third grade are seldom as effective as those in the early years.” The report goes on to say that a child who is not reading on grade level by 3rd grade is four times less likely to graduate from high school on time than a child who is reading proficiently.
At Peabody, the faculty, staff, and parents are committed to making sure that all of our students are given a chance to see their stars rise. But because of a variety of factors, about 60% of students in Peabody’s 2nd and 3rd grades are currently reading below grade level, according to the new, tougher Tennessee standards, putting them at far greater academic risk than their proficient classmates. The good news is that there’s still time to get these children on track, and your one hour a week could be all it takes to put Peabody’s Rising Stars on the path to success.
The STAR tutoring program is designed to be as simple and straightforward as possible so that you know exactly what you’re signing up for. Each tutor commits to coming to Peabody for one hour each week from mid-October until late April for one school year. Can’t commit to every week? Recruit a few friends or co-workers and form a tutoring team so that each of you only has to come once or twice a month.
During your hour, you will tutor two students for 30 minutes each. Another tutor will work with those same students later in the week so that each Rising Star gets an hour per week of one-on-one coaching. The materials you need will be ready and waiting for you in the same place each week so that every minute you spend in the school building is focused on your students instead of rounding up supplies. You’ll also be able to communicate with the child’s teacher through a progress report in the student’s STAR file.
The requirements to participate in STAR are simple. First, you’ll need to attend one training session. Second, you’ll have to fill out the online volunteer registration form and get fingerprinted at the MCS main office. The last thing you need is simply a commitment to your students. They will look forward to seeing you and will count on your help as they work hard to become better readers.
And that hour you spend with them each week? Well, I’m guessing that the time you spend with Peabody’s Rising Stars will bring you a lot more satisfaction than even the most exciting episode of Dancing with the Stars. To learn more about the STAR program, including tutoring times and training details, or to sign up, please visit FriendsOfPeabody.org or call Ginger Spickler at 901-216-2162.

By Mary Baker
At their regular meeting on August 2, members of the Idlewild Neighborhood Association (INA) voted to make a contribution to Preservation Memphis (PM) to support the restoration of the historic Peabody Park Pavilion. Idlewild neighbors learned about the fundraising efforts of PM through an article published in the July Lamplighter. There was immediate interest and support in the neighborhood because Peabody Park is within the boundaries of Idlewild and is an important place for neighbors to meet for recreation within our community. Many of those at the meeting routinely go the park with their families.
Alex Turley and Kenny Jabbour of Preservation Memphis were invited to attend the INA meeting to make a presentation. Their presentation was about the history of the pavilion, which was built more than 100 years ago and has been the location of July 4th and other celebrations in the community. They also talked about the impressive details of the pavilion that have been covered over with many insensitive repairs and repainting jobs that did not respect the original construction.
Their presentation won great support from the Idlewild neighbors at the meeting, who passed the hat and collected $136. In addition, members voted to donate $400 from INA funds to PM. In total, Idlewild presented Preservation Memphis with $536 toward the restoration of the pavilion.
Beverly Crockett, a former president of INA, said that this project fulfills a desire that the neighborhood association has had for many years. She added that when the City of Memphis reconstructed facilities at the park, including adding the spray park, the neighborhood asked for restoration of the existing historic pavilion. The City did not restore the pavilion saying that there were not sufficient funds in their budget for park improvements.
Margo Mueller, current vice president of INA said, “I think it was important to give to the preservation of the pavilion because of the historical aspect of it. It’s nice to have something that represents the past right next to the modern playground equipment.” She thinks preserving the historic structure and restoring it to its original appearance will provide a physical link to the history of the neighborhood and the City.
Jerry Brown, an active INA member and block captain said, “In a neighborhood where we have to constantly fight for the preservation of our historical landmarks and where so many of those battles have been lost, the restoration of the Peabody Park Pavilion is critical. A well designed strategy is in place and a major part of the funds have been raised to accomplish this goal. A final push toward completion will leave us with an irreplaceable part of our neighborhood history ready to be enjoyed by generations to come. I commend the effort of those involved.”

By Richard Kendrickson
Memphis artist Jan Hankins will present his new work in an exhibition titled Parsimone’s Flotsam at Gallery Fifty Six during the month of September. The subjects of these paintings are based on objects that Hankins has found and picked up over time along the beaches of Florida, in the Pickwick Forest by his mother’s home, from the streets of Memphis, and elsewhere.
Jan Hankins describes these paintings as studies for a series of paintings that he calls Parsimone – 10th Muse. Hankins explains, “This trim, frugal goddess has her stingy hand on the throttle. Her “lex parsimoniae” brings the simple solution to a complicated life. She’s a hard muse to follow when you’re bent on stuffing the canvas with every bit of detritus from beach to street. Nothing goes to waste: shells, clinkers, jacks, roots, and rocks from decades of combing the ground – roots on velvet, shells on sky, coral on foil, flotsam on jetsam – my own private islands.”
Jan Hankins is a native Memphian who studied painting at the Art Academy, now the Memphis College of Art. Hankins has exhibited at Rhodes College, the University of Memphis, and the Brooks Museum of Art. He is also a talented professional sign painter who has created many of the business signs in the Cooper-Young area.
This exhibition will be on display during the month of September. There will be an artist’s reception on September 9, from 5 to 8pm at Gallery Fifty Six, 2256 Central Avenue. The public is invited to this free event. You may contact the gallery at 901-276-1251.

By Josh Spickler
According to Google Maps, the beer I’m drinking right now (a Magic Hat Blind Faith IPA) was brewed 1268 miles away from my Cooper-Young living room. And that’s okay, because unlike the vast majority of the beer consumed in the United States, my IPA was made by people who thought a lot about how it tastes. They happen to live half a continent away, but they are as passionate about their brewing in South Burlington, Vermont as they would be if they brewed it in my backyard (my backyard is available for brewing operations, by the way).
But the inescapable fact remains, that my delicious “Limited Engagement” ale has spent a fair amount of time in warehouses, trailers, and stock rooms, and that has affected its quality. Plus, there is almost no chance that I will ever bump into one of its brewers at Easy Way when I’m picking up some cilantro (it’s always cilantro) on my way home from work.
For a long time, beer-loving Memphians did not have access to fresh, locally-brewed beer. Of course, the good folks at Boscos and Ghost River have changed all that, and coming very soon, we’ll even be able to bring home Ghost River in bottles! With these welcome additions, Memphis is simply mirroring the nationwide craft brew trends.
Across the country, craft breweries are opening every day. There were 1753 breweries operating in 2010, the most since the late-1800s. Because of that, more and more Americans are discovering the joy of beer brewed by people they know – or at least people they’d like to know and not robots who are known to use rice, corn, and occasionally, Fruity Pebbles in their beer.
Well, because we hate beer-brewing robots and want all Memphians to know the joy of fresh beer, the Cooper-Young Regional Beerfest is back! On October 15, brewers from within a one day’s drive of Memphis will be in Cooper-Young with some of their best beers. Better yet, they’ll be available to discuss their beers, their brewing techniques, and how they’ve managed their breweries without robots.
In this, our second year, we’ll have more beer, more education, more shade, more places to sit, and even more good times than last year. Tickets are on sale now at the CYCA office, beerfest.cooperyoung.org and other locations around town. Check the website for details. While we are adding a few extra tickets this year, they are still limited, and we expect to sell out again. So, get your tickets now and get ready for the best beer festival in Memphis. Robots need not apply!

By Mary Baker

The Idlewild Historic District Association gathered at Chimes and Occasions, 201 South Cooper, for a potluck dinner on July 5. Idlewild neighbors brought dishes that included spaghetti, fried chicken, vegetable salads, and deviled eggs. It all added up to a delicious and fun meal. Everyone was especially thrilled when Anne and Douglas Wood came in with a basket full of Ripley tomatoes.

Jerry Brown was in charge of selling raffle tickets for two raffle drawings: one for an Idlewild Historic District Plaque and one for an Idle While You Cook cookbook that features favorite recipes of Idlewild neighborhood residents. The plaque raffle drawing was all fair and square, not in any way influenced by the Ripley tomatoes. Nevertheless, everyone was pleased when Anne and Douglas Wood’s ticket was picked as the winner. Margo Mueller, Vice President of the Idlewild Association, won the cookbook.

Emily Bishop of Cooper-Young attended the potluck dinner as an invited special guest representing the LampLighter. Emily received a round of applause and an Idle While You Cook cookbook for helping Idlewild get our events, stories, and pictures in the LampLighter.

By Matt Martin

No one questions watching cold, snowy movies in winter. It just seems right. Every year, as the holidays approach and the weather outside turns cold and bitter (well, for Memphis anyway), we huddle together inside watching movies and television about warm, emotional human interaction amidst freezing temperatures and snowy climates. When we watch movies like White Christmas, It’s a Wonderful Life, or Christmas Vacation, it has extra relevance and connection during the winter because the events on the screen seem to almost be happening in reality with us. The cold weather outside as we watch the movie adds to the suspension of disbelief, making the film seem more real and aids in our getting lost in the story. If you need an example, try watching Christmas Vacation or The Polar Express during the heat of summer. Trust me, they have zero power. They’re just not as much fun to watch, as if they’re bound to the season. And we, the culture, accept that and watch them continually every year, but only when the winter cold outside makes them truly dazzle and come to life.

But watch a movie set amidst sizzling temperatures and overbearing sun during an actual heat-wave summer and people might look at you strange, as if to ask, “Why would you want to see more of this awful, hot weather?” But much like certain winter films, there are some films that you can only watch in the summer. And not just any summer, but a painfully hot, sweltering summer that drives us inside, blurs our thinking, and controls our days. These are not only films set in the summer, but ones where the heat is a character of its own, as influential, pervasive, and integral as any human character. Like their winter counterparts, these films thrive and come alive if you watch them during an uncomfortably hot season. So take a pause during these dog days of summer to use the heat to your advantage. With a cool drink, a little shade, and not too-much air conditioning, get lost in these sun-blistered, 100-degree cinematic scorchers. And don’t wipe away your sweat. Trust me, it will help.

REAR WINDOW (1954) – Alfred Hitchcock’s voyeuristic masterpiece, set during an acrid, hot Manhattan summer, finds Jimmy Stewart as a wheelchair-bound photographer who passes the boring hours of the day observing the growing tensions between his neighbors in the courtyard below his apartment window. The heat really starts to rise, both in the weather and in the drama, when he and his girlfriend (a luminous, but tough Grace Kelly) suspect one of them of murder. Hitchcock’s close, tense shooting style and claustrophobic setting capture the discomfort and growing unease of big city asphalt summer perfectly. When watched during really hot weather, the characters motivations and feelings of desperation seem all the more palpable.

THE SEVEN-YEAR ITCH (1955) – This is one of the great comedies about summertime and easily one of Marilyn Monroe’s most charming roles. Based on the award-winning play by George Axelrod and set during another grueling Manhattan summer, the story centers on daydreaming businessman Richard who sends his wife and son away to the countryside for the season, while he stays in the city to work. All of his co-workers immediately start partying the moment their wives leave, while Richard swears to play it straight and narrow. But then the heat-wave forces an unexpected bond between him and his beautiful neighbor Monroe, who has no air-conditioning of her own. Fun, funny, sweet, and steamy, it was considered very risqué for its time. In one scene, Marilyn made cinematic history and her most iconic look, when she pauses over a subway street grate in a white, summer dress to playfully let the passing cool subway wind blow up her skirt. Magic.

THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE (1962) – Released during the height of the early-1960s cold war panic and on the eve of the Cuban Missile Crisis, this honest and disturbing look at global Armageddon was the ultimate nightmare for many at the time. After simultaneous atomic tests in America and Russia cause a shift in the Earth’s axis, humankind discovers that Earth is falling out of orbit and set to collide with the sun. As the heat rises and water becomes scarce, governments begin taking drastic measures to control the masses, as mankind prepares for one last attempt at a solution. Although dated and peppered with some unnecessary melodrama (as films of this kind were at the time), the film sets up a sweaty, slowly-boiling wasteland that was once familiar, now seeming impossibly hot. The fear and heat-based sickness feel all the more disturbing when watched during a sweltering summer. A similar idea was explored in a phenomenal episode of The Twilight Zone from 1963 called “The Midnight Sun”. Want something more modern in heat-focused science fiction? Check out Danny Boyle’s 2007 sci-fi mind-blower Sunshine about civilization facing a dying sun. A team of engineers and astronauts are sent toward the sun to attempt to force it to reignite through nuclear explosions. Brilliant, dizzying, and most importantly, believable. Space never seemed so hot before.

DO THE RIGHT THING (1989) – On the hottest day of the year on a street in Brooklyn, the resentment, hatred, and racism of the neighborhood is smoldering under a veneer of fake tolerance. As the heat sets in, tempers flare, arguments turn to fights, and before long, no one is spared the explosion of violence that from the first scene, seem inevitable. Spike Lee’s groundbreaking cinematic signpost brought the independent film scene to life and started a new wave of black filmmaking in America, while being one of the most controversial and confrontational films of the 1980s. Each and every frame captures the oppressive nature of extremely hot weather, and its ability to alter and cloud our thinking and actions, as well as strip away the pleasantries of civilized life. The heat literally acts as a character representing their tensions. Lee uses a gallery of camera and editing tricks to convey it, from oversaturated lighting to forced camera perspectives to bright, hot color schemes. This is one of the greatest day-in-the-life films in history that takes on extra relevance when watched in the heat and humidity of summer.

BARTON FINK (1991) – The Coen brothers deliver one of their darkest movies in this uncomfortably-comedic drama about a New York intellectual writer in 1941 who moves into an eerie, extremely hot hotel in Los Angeles to write a low-budget wrestling movie for money. As writer’s block stalls him longer and longer, the heat and distractions of the hotel start to push his boundaries of sanity. Infused with multiple strains of film noir cinema, the directors let the subtleties of peeling wallpaper, cramped moist hallways, and long strands of sweat on an actor’s face convey the growing heat, both in the environment and in Barton’s mind. It all culminates with a jaw-dropping sequence when the heat really turns up, taking us all into Barton’s private hell. Funny, uneasy, and unforgettable. Ideally, you should watch this in a small, un-air-conditioned hotel room in the summer, but I guess your living room will do.

And there are so many more hot, summer movies bound to the season. Here are ten more to keep the more cinematic among you busy: Key Largo, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Streetcar Named Desire, Paris When It Sizzles, 12 Angry Men, Night of the Iguana, Dog Day Afternoon, Endless Summer, Meatballs, and Falling Down.

And if you’re like me, you like to liberally dose your seasonal cinema feasts with plenty of summer horror movies, from Friday the 13th to Sleepaway Camp. And don’t forget to watch Wet Hot American Summer, the 2001 parody of summer camp films, starring first-time performances from a massive group of future A-listers, including Janeane Garofalo, Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, Bradley Cooper, Elizabeth Banks, and Christopher Meloni.

Now wipe the sweat out of your eyes and get to watching while the painful summer sun still owns us all.

Matt Martin has written movie reviews for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and is co-owner of Black Lodge Video, located on the corner of Cooper and Evelyn. Black Lodge is the largest video store in the eastern US and is a faithful CYCA membership sponsor.