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Poets Changing Human System

Like Halley's Comet, it might happen at most twice in a lifetime, where two of the most widely recognized names in poetry come together at the same time and place to enlighten and inspire. That time is this weekend. Get outside, because the stars are shooting: Sonia Sanchez and Amiri Baraka are coming. This year marks Jackson State University's Margaret Walker Alexander National Research Center's fifth Creative Arts Festival, and nationally and internationally acclaimed authors Sanchez and Baraka are two of the special guests.

Local Art, Open HEARTS

Where can a potential art buyer find pieces from Bewey Bowden, Jason Anderson, Tony Davenport and Stephanie Marie Robertson, to name a few, under one roof? A pop-up art gallery, of course: the 19th annual MS HeARTS Against AIDS.

Kimberly Jacobs

Kimberly Jacobs' 1,000-watt smile lights up the room as she hugs me during our first introduction. Without reservation, she begins to share her passion for promoting artists.

Rev. Otis Moss III

Rev. Otis Moss III, senior pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ of Chicago, visits Tougaloo College to speak to teenage girls this week.

No-Meat Grilling

This year, it is my turn to host my family's annual Fourth of July cookout, and it will be different. No beef, pork or chicken will sizzle on my grill because my New Year's resolution was to cut meat from my and my kids' diets. That resolution caused me to drop 55 pounds already! So now, I am pleased and motivated to continue my vegetarian lifestyle.

St Paddy's Shopping Guide

Before you head out to strut your stuff at the Parade this Saturday, why not spend some green at some of Jackson's finest, and generate some green for the city?

Local Love

My favorite love song is Stevie Wonder's "For Once in My Life." The song is a constant reminder of how lucky I am to have a wife who loves and needs me as much as I love and need her. But the great thing about love songs is that there are so many, and each can mean different things to different folks.

Love Thyself

Valentine's Day was originally conceived as a way to express gratitude for our beloved companions with small tokens of affection—so it's also completely appropriate to reserve the day to take care of, and show love for, the most important person in your life: you. What better way to honor thy self than with a DIY at-home spa retreat filled with rest, contemplation, indulgent spa treatments and heart-centered activities?

[Kamikaze] Yet Another Distraction

So, another politician has gotten caught with his finger on the "send" button, or in this case, the "tweet" button. We all know how this movie plays out. Politician has vice; politician gets caught; politician denies impropriety; politician denies again; politician is presented with irrefutable evidence; politician comes clean and apologizes. Repeat.

Just Cookin' With Justin Cook

Justin Cook, of Jackson-based rock band Mr. Kid and the Brothers Fox, has a mean bass face on the stage. Off stage, he loves to cook great food.

[Kamikaze] Freedom and Responsibility

Ah, the First Amendment: freedom of speech—that little inalienable right that we all have and that we all have invoked. Clearly some of us don't really understand what it means. Nor do we understand the responsibility that comes with it.

[Balko] Leviathan's Lawyers

Attorney General Eric Holder's announcement last month that the U.S. Justice Department's Office of the Solicitor General would no longer defend the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act in federal court spurred some interesting discussion among legal scholars and commentators about the decision's rationale and significance.

Support Your Local Food

When I was a child, I would wait with maddening anticipation for Friday night. That's when my dad would pick me up for the night shift at Doubles Pizza, the restaurant he owned.

Bringing the Outside In

"A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books." —Walt Whitman

Drifting in the Groove

You've probably never heard of Daniel Lanois, but you've certainly heard his work. He has quite an impressive resumé: producer of CDs recorded by Bob Dylan, the Neville Brothers, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, U2 and Peter Gabriel, to name a few.

Top 5 Best Books For New Moms

So many questions, so many worries. What to do when the baby is sick? Or when the baby chews on something? Fortunately, here are some solutions to help getting back your sanity.

I Heart Lasagna

Good lasagna is meaty, drips with rich tomato sauce and oozes with gooey cheese. It's a meal where you can really stretch your dollar. I have yet to come across a lasagna recipe that doesn't make at least three or four meals for two people. Lasagna is filling and comforting at the same time.

[Head] Hazardous Civility

In 2009, I spent 48 minutes on Paul Gallo's SuperTalk radio show. I wanted to persuade Gallo to help me expose the mainstream resurgence of the Council of Conservative Citizens, a segregationist group patterned after the 1960s-era white Citizen's Councils that had recently received public support from a state senator.

Bridging the Gaps

Book selling was a profitable enterprise in the oft-mythicized but very real city of Timbuktu. In the late 15th century, after the emperor Aska Mohammed's reign, the city was at its most prosperous, its scholars widely celebrated.

Verde Do Krewe

As a child, one's only real responsibility is to have fun, and obey our parents and other authorities. As we get older, though, things change. Careers, mortgages, families and countless other responsibilities begin to weigh down and consume our time. It's an understatement to say that growing up is bittersweet, but it is. It takes a special adult to remember how to let loose and have fun.