Vowing to be Different: Personalized themes latest icing on the cake

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride, with 27 dresses to prove it. Grey’s Anatomy star Katherine Heigl plays that character in her latest film “27 Dresses,” that opens in theaters Friday. 

But in real life, Heigl is a newlywed who recently married former University of Mississippi student Josh Kelley, a nationally recognized singer-songwriter, whose new album Special Company will be released in February. The couple tied the knot Dec. 23 during a Christmas-themed wedding in Utah.

Christian artist Brandon Heath talks about ‘Blue Mountain’

When many Mississippians hear “Blue Mountain,” they think of the 135-year-old, private Christian college supported by the Mississippi Baptist Convention in the Appalachia region of Northeast Mississippi. 

It’s a place Christian singer Brandon Heath never knew existed when he created a fictional location called Blue Mountain, set in Appalachia, that is the theme of his new album by the same name. 

As a child, Heath often visited his parents, who lived outside of Knoxville. 

Israel Broussard: A Mississippi teen in ‘The Bling Ring’

n 2000, writer Nancy Jo Sales penned an article for Vanity Fair called The Suspects Wore Louboutins examining the lives of a group of celebrity-worshipping Los Angeles teenagers arrested for breaking, entering and stealing more than $3 million in designer clothing and jewelry in 2008 and 2009 from some of the richest and most famous people in Hollywood, such as Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Orlando Bloom. 

E! also aired a reality  show called “Pretty Wild” about Alexis Neiers, a member of the group that eventually became known as “The Bling Ring.” 

Fresh Faces, Old Places: Celeb makeup artist Billy Brasfield gives Mississippi hometown a makeover

Billy Brasfield felt like a colorful outsider growing up in monochrome Aberdeen. So after graduating high school in 1981, he planned his escape to New York City, where he has since painted the town as one of the world’s top makeup artists. 

Today, the 44-year-old has a different perspective. He is renovating 17 homes in Aberdeen, and has purchased and sold 20 others, investing more than $500,000 in the town he was so eager to leave more than 20 years ago. 

Mississippi native’s film ‘Big Sur’ premieres at Sundance Film Festival

Thirty years ago, director Ridley Scott’s film “Blade Runner” presented a dystopian vision of the future where genetically engineered robots that look like humans are hunted down by police. 

It was the first film that made a significant impression on Mississippi native Orian Williams, 47, putting him “On the Road” to Hollywood, where he is currently in Park City, Utah, at the Sundance Film Festival promoting his latest project. 

His film, “Big Sur,” based on the life of author Jack Kerouac, debuted this week at Sundance. 

PBS ‘Between the Lions’ filmed in Mississippi spotlights literacy

In a room full of camera operators and production assistants, the lion emerges from his den wearing a chef’s hat. He pauses between takes as the crew prepares for the next kitchen scene inside Mississippi Public Broadcasting studios, and in a deep voice, the cat shares his impressions of Mississippi. 

“The people are so friendly,” said Theo, one of the star puppets of “Between the Lions,” an award-winning PBS show filmed in Mississippi since 2004. “They hardly look twice when they see a lion buying liver at the grocery store. The food here is terrific. My only complaint is they don’t serve enough zebra, wildebeast and antelope.” 

Keep your eye on rising star Katherine Bailess: a Mississippi girl who has ‘Hit the Floor’ on VH1 

You may remember Katherine Bailess, 33, from the first “American Idol” movie “From Justin to Kelly” in 2003 when she played the singing, dancing vixen Alexa. Or maybe you’ve seen her in that recent viral video “$@!# Southern Women Say” that’s circulated the Web. 

But come Memorial Day, the Mississippi native will “Hit the Floor” as one of the stars of VH1’s new one-hour scripted series about the drama and comedy of a fictional professional dance team called the Los Angeles Devil Girls. The first of 10 episodes aired Monday.  

Behold Books: Mississippi religious educators tackle a variety of subjects

They spend most of their week enlightening college students about religion and spirituality. And when they’re not educating eager young minds, they’re writing about the topics they teach. 

Seven Mississippi educators – six religion and philosophy professors and a college president – have recently penned books. From belief systems, abortion and money management to Islam, Hinduism and atheism, a host of topics are covered. 

Britney Spears backup singer goes gospel

In her song “Oops I Did it Again,” Britney Spears tells the fictional boy whose attention she has deceptively stolen that although he thinks she’s an angel sent from above, the truth of the matter is, she’s not that innocent.

But Kelly Clinger, 28, was too innocent to continue a career in pop music after spending a year as one of Spears’ backup singers during the Kentwood, La., native’s first national “Baby One More Time” tour in 1999.

Clinger, a Jackson native who grew up in Florida, was one of two girls selected from thousands during an audition at Orlando’s Transcontinental Studios.

Babalu: ‘I Love Lucy’ themed restaurant opens in Fondren

I Love Lucy fans are familiar with the word “Babalu.” Ricky Ricardo frequently belted out his signature song, a Cuban standard, at his Tropicana nightclub before it was renamed Club Babalu.

The song references Babalu-Aye, a deity of Afro-Caribbean origin in the Santeria religion – a faith that blends African religion with some aspects of Christianity. The singer cries out to Babalu to bring his lost love back. 

It’s also a word that Jackson restaurant owner Al Roberts tucked away in his mind, thinking it would be a great restaurant name.

From ‘Weeds’ to ‘Suburgatory,’ Tupelo native Allie Grant shines

When Allie Grant was in the third grade at Church Street Elementary School in Tupelo, she became obsessed with the film “Rain Man.” 

“I came to school as Rain Man,” she said, which prompted her teacher to call her mother out of concern. 

“She said: ‘Angie, I don’t really know how to tell you this, but your daughter won’t respond to anything other than Rain Man. I don’t know what’s wrong with her. I don’t know how to explain it, but you need to come pick her up and make sure she comes back to school as Allie.’” 

When her mom asked what was going on, Grant confessed she wanted to be an actor. 

Roles resonate with actor Jay Unger

As a Clarksdale elementary student, Jay Unger’s deep, reverberating voice never went unnoticed. 

“I used to try to change it to make it lighter because it carried so,” the 60-year-old Jackson engineer and actor recalls. 

He often got in trouble trying to whisper, but when a W. A. Higgins High School drama coach heard the seventh-grader’s voice, he enrolled him in a high school speech communication class. He also cast Unger in starring roles, which led to a best actor award in the state theater competition. 

Jackson native lands film role in major motion picture: Carrie MacLemore is a ‘Damsel in Distress’

When Carrie MacLemore was 2, she asked her father for a stage. 

“She would watch people on television and ask me to let her ‘do it, too,'” said her mother, Dolly MacLemore. “When adult friends came over, she wanted to sing for them. And one time, when she thought their attention was wandering, she said, “Wait! There’s more!'” 

Today, MacLemore, 25, is still getting attention for her performances.

After a number of minor television roles, she landed a significant part in her first film, “Damsels in Distress.” The movie was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics and is being distributed around the United States in limited release. 

Dances Crosses Many Lines: Beth Nielsen Chapman shares stage with Alabama troupe

She co-wrote the 1998 hit “This Kiss,” a song made popular by Mississippi native Faith Hill that became the soundtrack for the movie “Practical Magic.” It was nominated for a Grammy and was the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers’ 1999 Song Of The Year. 

Beth Nielsen Chapman has also written songs for Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Trisha Yearwood, Neil Diamond, Patty Griffin and Emmylou Harris, while producing numerous albums of her own. 

The singer/songwriter, whose new album “Back to Love” debuted on three Billboard album charts this week, will perform Thursday in Jackson during an International Ballet Competition Regional Dance America performance. The Alabama Dance Theater will present Dances of Faith at 2 p.m. at Thalia Mara Hall. 

Charlie Mars: Finding His Way: Mississippi native to perform in Jackson, Oxford

In the title song off Mississippi native Charlie Mars’ latest album, “Blackberry Light” (Rockingham Records/Thirty Tigers), he conveys the uncertainty of life for the young and the restless who ramble around trying to find their place in the world. 

“One minute, I want to pick up and move on,” he sings. “The next minute, I want to pack up and move home.” 

Home is Oxford, where Mars has lived since 2000 (minus a three-year stint in New York City) while building a career and fan base. 

I live on the Square in Oxford, and I have my coffee place that I go to, and life is good in Mississippi,” said Mars, who called from Annapolis, Maryland, while touring. “I travel a great deal, but it’s always been a nice place to come home to. I love being able to see my family and be close to them. And you can live a pretty nice life in Mississippi (cheaply). 

Curious College Collections: Famous manuscripts, artwork and music boost the profile of Mississippi’s college campuses

In file cabinets and boxes, manila folders and vaults at Mississippi colleges, you’ll find well-known folks tucked away for safekeeping, like John Grisham and B.B. King, Salvador Dali, and even Curious George, who has been monkeying around The University of Southern Mississippi since 1966.

They are part of college collections, some of which contain rare, irreplaceable, priceless materials that attract visitors from all over the world.

USM watches over the collection of H. A. and Margret Rey, authors of Curious George, in the McCain Library and Archives.

Ed Said: Mississippi Public Broadcasting introduces new puppet

He’s a 9-year-old boy with purple hair, an orange hoodie and a tiny pair of Chuck Taylor Converse kicks who has a rep on the playground for being a hardcore fruit and veggie rapper. 

When he’s not chillin’ with his friends at lunch, he will old-school battle-rap any kid on the playground about potatoes or freestyle about fruits. Yeah, he’s a B-Boy, if the “B” stands for bananas, beets or beans. 

Ed Said is Mississippi Public Broadcasting’s newest puppet, created to encourage children to make healthful eating choices after recent studies revealed that Mississippi has the highest childhood and adult obesity rates in the nation.

Mississippi native grateful for Gunther role on ‘Friends’: Winona native James Michael Tyler talks coffee

It seems hard to believe, but Sept. 22, 2014, will mark the 20th anniversary of “Friends,” a show that aired 10 years on NBC featuring characters we grew to love. 

There was Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joe, Phoebe and let’s not forget Gunther, the guy who owned the coffee shop where the friends hung out. 

What you may not realize is that James Michael Tyler, the guy who played Gunther, is a Mississippi native. 

Jackson Jewish Film Festival returns: Terrorism explored in several contemporary productions

The Jackson Jewish Film Festival returns to the area for the ninth time, bringing four films that will be shown Jan. 22-25 at the Millsaps College Recital Hall and the Historic Fairview Inn. 

The four contemporary Israeli and Jewish films include stories about the collision of different worlds, the life of newspaperman and Las Vegas icon Hank Greenspun, a nontraditional love story, and a man caught in a life-and-death situation. 

“Several of the films deal with terrorism,” said Marcy Nessel, who co-chairs the film festival committee. “It really forces you to take a look and see what life is like in other countries.”

A pardon for Cash, a party for fans

Because her daddy owned the local radio station, Sarah Matthews was privileged to have a backstage pass to all Starkville concerts.

So on May 10, 1965, the 26-year-old felt confident walking backstage inside Mississippi State University’s Animal Husbandry building, the only structure large enough to house the crowd that came to see Johnny Cash perform.

There, Matthews asked Cash and his fellow performer, June Carter, whom he later married, over to her house for a party.

Muppets and Mississippi: A magical connection

It’s difficult to imagine a world without Muppets. Sesame Street premiered in 1969. That means just about everyone 45 or younger has had the opportunity to make a magical Muppet connection. 

That’s the idea behind Jim Henson’s Fantastic World, a new exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and The Jim Henson Legacy. It offers a rare peek into Henson’s creative genius. 

It opens Saturday at the Mississippi Museum of Art and runs through March 14. Henson, a Mississippi Delta native, created the diverse characters to educate and entertain. 

Column: Is ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’ another prophetic work of fiction

I have always believed that science fiction writers are prophets and sometimes wonder if the same can be true of anyone who pens a fictional story. Perhaps they are connecting to the universe in some strange and mystical way that we can’t fully comprehend, resulting in a vision of the future.

Take, for instance, “The China Syndrome.” The film, starring Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas, tells the fictional story of a reporter and her crew who discover safety coverups at a nuclear power plant and witness an accident that narrowly avoids a nuclear meltdown.

‘Marriage is a Love Worth Fighting For’ coming to Brandon: Former teen star Kirk Cameron to speak at church 

If you’re marriage is experiencing “Growing Pains,” a former teen heartthrob turned Christian actor and evangelist has a message: Marriage is a “Love Worth Fighting For.” 

Kirk Cameron, who first gained fame as a 1980s sitcom star, will appear Aug. 18 at Crossgates Baptist Church in Brandon. 

“The Love Worth Fighting For marriage event is a very special event that came out of the movie ‘Fireproof,” Cameron said by phone. “That was a movie that so many people saw and loved that we decided to turn it into a live event and bring it to the community.” 

Actor Kirk Cameron speaks about the ‘Growing Pains’ of marriage 

Former teen heartthrob turned Christian actor/evangelist Kirk Cameron opened his presentation at Crossgates Baptist Church Saturday by leading the audience in the “Growing Pains” theme song, fitting lyrics for Cameron’s “Love Worth Fighting For” marriage event. 

“If you are a woman 30 to 40 years old, you may have had a crush on Mike Seaver,” he said, referencing his sitcom character and getting the fact that he was once a teen idol out of the way. “You loved mullet hair styles, parachute pants and probably listened to a little Duran Duran. There’s a name for that. It’s called ‘Seaver Fever’ … Guys, she should have YOUR poster on her bedroom wall now.” 

Jackson native Kit Williamson talks about his ‘Mad Men’ role 

The season finale of “Mad Men” is tonight, so you can imagine how surprised I was to learn last week that one of the actors on the show is from Jackson. Yep, I did a little Googling and ran across Kit Williamson, a former St. Andrew’s student who landed a role on “Mad Men” this season as one of the advertising agency employees.

Kit was nice enough to grant a phone interview last week, and our story ran in Saturday’s paper, but it was heavily cut for space. So here is the original story with many more juicy details about Williamson’s role on “Mad Men,” his Mississippi ties and his other projects.  

Murder-mutilation case in Laurel spawns book

A Laurel farmer stumbled upon a discarded package and discovered the mutilated remains of a woman inside. 

That was Jan. 21, 1935, and the remains later were identified as Daisy Keeton. Authorities followed a trail of evidence that led to the interrogation, arrest and prosecution of her daughter, Ouida Keeton. 

The comely killer is known today by some as “Mississippi’s Lizzie Borden.” And the controversial story involves murder, mutilation and prominent citizens. 

Rankin County resident Hunter Cole has written a book, published by University Press of Mississippi, that tells the story.

Lifecasting: Canton attorney creates unique artform 

Bodies hang on the walls in the back room of attorney Bentley Conner’s Center Street law office. 

Twisting trunks, arching waists, snakelike spines and curling chests bend with the classical contour of the female physique, revealing the outer shell of life. 

Tiny feet, praying hands and sometimes round bellies bulging with life are replicated in an immortalization process called life-casting. 

It’s a unique art form Conner has been creating the last six years, and he’s believed to be one of only three life-casters in the state. 

Because he’s worth it: L’Oreal Paris inks deal with Mississippi native Billy B.

A Mississippi native turned celebrity makeup artist has just signed a deal with L’Oreal Paris to become one the company’s makeup experts. 

Billy Brasfield, also known as Billy B., will deal with product development, consumer education and trendsetting makeup looks for the company’s spokespeople. 

“I love my job,” he said in a news release. “I feel lucky to have discovered my talent and consider it a privilege to share what I’ve learned. Working with women to help them look their best and feel more confident is the most rewarding part of what I do.”

Mississippi ‘Mad Men’: Ridgeland ad agency exec offers insider’s take on show 

The term “Mad Men” refers to the advertising executives who work on Madison Avenue in New York City. Madison County has its own group of “Mad Men” – a Ridgeland advertising firm called Mad Genius. We asked its Creative Director Eric Hughes his thoughts on the show and how it has influenced pop culture. 

To better set the stage for his answers, Mad Genius held a “Mad Menius” party in which the entire office dressed like characters from the show. 

Q: When did you become a fan? 

A: First show, first season. Right off the bat, I was sucked in by the amazing title sequence and then immediately drawn into how Don Draper captured the specific feeling of doom.

The M Files: Mississippians recount unidentified, unexplained objects

“The X-Files: I Want to Believe,” a film based on the popular television series about two FBI agents who investigate paranormal cases, lands in movie theaters today. 

And while agents Scully and Mulder explore the X-Files, we decided to take a look at the M-Files – some of Mississippi’s unexplained sightings. We asked readers if they had ever seen an unidentified flying object, and received many responses. 

Here are some of them:

The glowing orbs

In 1972, 17-year-old Rosa Rogers lived with her family in Smithdale, a rural Amite County community. 

The color of Cuba 

In 1996, Milly West of Oxford embarked on a quest to Cuba in search of fine art. 

She found it everywhere she went, from Havana to Santiago de Cuba, and it reminded her, in many ways, of the self-taught artists of the American South — poor people with a seed of brilliance and a desire to create something — but without money to buy materials like paint, canvases and paper — so they were resourceful, using found objects, house paint, paneling and old bed sheets to share their souls. 

West said resourcefulness is a commonality among Cuban artists who capture the intense bright colors and light of the country. 

Maud Falkner: The other old lady painter

A Mississippi native turned celebrity makeup artist has just signed a deal with L’Oreal Paris to become one the company’s makeup experts. 

Billy Brasfield, also known as Billy B., will deal with product development, consumer education and trendsetting makeup looks for the company’s spokespeople. 

“I love my job,” he said in a news release. “I feel lucky to have discovered my talent and consider it a privilege to share what I’ve learned. Working with women to help them look their best and feel more confident is the most rewarding part of what I do.”

Joel Osteen to visit Jackson: Pastor of America’s largest church to bring ‘Night of Hope’

Ten years ago, when Laine Lawson Craft was going through a dark period with a failing marriage, financial problems and sick children, she turned on the television and found inspiration. 

“I came across this little man on TV,” she said. “He was preaching about a God that can do the impossible. Our problems were so huge, but Joel made us have seeds of belief that our God was bigger and greater than anything we faced. I am convinced that through Joel, God was able to enlarge our expectations of who God was and is, and we experienced marriage restoration, financial breakthrough, and children healed.” 

The public can hear Osteen speak in Jackson at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 4 during A Night of Hope at the Mississippi Coliseum. Doors open at 6 p.m. Arena tickets are $15 and available at the venue box office, Ticketmaster.com or Ticketmaster outlets. 

Column: Second Life: A visit to the virtual world

Did you know that you could make money in a virtual game world? Ailin Graef, a Chinese-born German citizen who subscribes to the “Second Life” virtual world game, was recognized last week as the first virtual millionaire. 

In “Vanilla Sky,” Tom Cruise allows a futuristic company called Life Extension to create a new virtual life for him after his demise. But you don’t have to kick the bucket to have a “Second Life.” 

(Rucker’s avatar visits the offices of “Wired” magazine in the “Second Life” world. “Wired” also operates a dance club in “Second Life” called “The Edge,” where avatars congregate and dance to music using animation commands. The real-life magazine “Popular Science” also operates a virtual lounge in cyberspace.)

Selah sees faith tested

Headed to her first piano lesson, 4-year-old Amy Perry insisted she wanted to sing instead. 

My mother told the piano teacher that she didn’t know if I was going to participate, but the teacher also taught voice lessons,” Perry said. “I went in with her, and about five minutes later, she came out and told my mom: ‘She’s not a piano player. She’s a singer.”

Today, the California native is one of three members of the nationally known singing group Selah that includes Todd Smith and Allan Hall. The group has sold 2 million albums, won the Dove Award for Inspirational Album of the Year four times and has repeatedly topped Christian music charts. 

Sela Ward hosts benefit for her Mississippi charity Hope Village

Many Americans first met Sela Ward through her breakout, Emmy-award winning performance as Teddy Reed on the television series “Sisters,” which ran from 1991 to 1996. 

Then, there was that “little” role as Harrison Ford’s wife in “The Fugitive.” 

Today, many know her as Jo Danville, a DNA evidence investigator with a background in criminal psychology, who uses her wits to catch the bad guys. 

But to some, Ward is just a Mississippi girl who grew up in a little neighborhood in Meridian with two lakes where she learned to swim, and a cave where she participated in séances with neighborhood children. 

‘Star Trek’ doctor sang ‘Hotty Toddy?’: As new movie opens, Mississippi Trekkies have something to tout

Live long and prosper. 

It’s a “Star Trek” greeting and a physician’s goal for patients. 

But that famous hand symbol may hold even deeper meaning for University of Mississippi Medical Center faculty who know that one of the series’ main characters went to school at UMMC before boarding the USS Enterprise. 

Yes, there’s a good chance Dr. Leonard H. “Bones” McCoy chanted a futuristic version of Hotty Toddy at least once before joining Captain Kirk, Spock and Scotty. 

Switchfoot to the rescue: Mississippi concert to help restore civil rights leader’s music studio

His life as a civil rights leader and advocate of racial reconciliation inspired a 2009 rock song. 

Switchfoot – a nationally known, Dove award-winning rock band — released a track called “The Sound” (John M. Perkins Blues) last October on its latest album “Hello Hurricane.” It is about Perkins, the founder of Jackson’s John M. Perkins Foundation, who also appears in the video. 

The spiritual rock group from San Diego will perform at 7 p.m. today on the Belhaven University campus during an event called “An Evening with Switchfoot and Dr. John M. Perkins.” 

Jackson native produces ‘The Way, Way Back’

In fourth grade, Jackson native Tom Rice told his classmates that he wanted to be a film director. 

“I was a very creative-minded person growing up in a school that was very sports-centered,” he said. “If you didn’t play sports, you were kind of a fish out of water. 

“I tried to fit into the sports scene without playing sports. I was the school mascot. It was a way to fit in and adapt. But I had a family who loved me, an interest in artistic endeavors, and I was on my own to find out where I would find that creative satisfaction and find out who I was in the same way Duncan does.” 

‘True Blood’ vampires right at home in Mississippi: HBO show features scenes of Natchez’s Longwood

Russell Edgington, a red-haired antiques dealer with a thick Southern accent, is a notable figure in Mississippi politics. 

It’s uncertain whether he’s crossed political paths with Gov. Haley Barbour during his reign as the vampire king of Mississippi, but it would make sense. 

If you’ve lived 2,800 years on Earth, chances are you’d probably have connections with most movers and shakers, particularly those in your home state. 

Of course, Edgington isn’t the only vampire in town.

A ‘Twist’ of Fate: After 20 years, musical comes alive

When she was 10, Waynesboro native Tena Clark made a bet with her sisters: “I bet you $10 that I’m going to be famous in the music business one day.” Eventually, they had to pay up. 

“When I had my first hit, I called them up and said, ‘Is that $10 in the mail?'”

Clark, an award-winning songwriter/producer, has written music for Patti LaBelle, Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight and Olivia Newton-John. 

Other career highlights include contributing to the movie soundtracks of “Hope Floats,” “Where the Heart Is” and “My Best Friend’s Wedding.” 

Ty Herndon: ‘The Man I am Today’: Mississippi native recounts pain, hope, prepares for local concert

Byram resident Wanda Adams met country music star Ty Herndon in 1995 through his tour manager. 

She forged a friendship with the artist that has spanned more than a decade, and because of that relationship, Herndon has granted Adams’ request to perform at her Byram church. 

He will sing music from his new Christian CD “Journey On” at 7 p.m. July 24 at the First Baptist Church of Byram. 

“God brings people into our lives for a reason,” said Adams, who has followed the career ups and downs of the Meridian native who grew up in a musical family in Butler, Alabama. 

Mississippi Biting: Character on HBO’s ‘True Blood’ may make trip to Jackson

Aberdeen auctioneer John Dwight Stevens acquired a number of items last October from the estate of a deceased Natchez antique dealer. 

Among them: a wooden box containing a cross, Bibles, wooden stakes, a gun with silver bullets and garlic. 

The vampire killing kit, believed to have originated in 1840s New Orleans, sold for $14,500. 

“I don’t particularly believe in vampires, but I guess some people did,” said Stevens, who has sold antiques for a quarter of a century. “To me, it’s just a myth.” 

Mississippi writer’s memory honored: Eudora Welty recalled as a fascinating person

She had a unique inside view of Eudora Welty’s world. 

Daryl Howard was the personal caretaker of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author for the last 10 years of her life, and she held the 92-year-old writer’s hand the day she passed away in July 2001 at Baptist Medical Center in Jackson. The two had met there a decade earlier. 

On Monday, almost eight years after Welty’s death, Howard returned to the home where she was Welty’s friend and aide. But this time, her perspective was that of an outsider. Like others who came to tour the 1119 Pinehurst St. home during the week of Welty’s 100th birthday celebration, Howard walked through as an observer.

Zombie Mania: The year of the living dead

This year, Brandi LaShay Wesley was named Zombie Queen of the Mississippi International Film Festival Zombie Ball. The Ridgeland resident and Madison hairstylist is quite the zombie fan.

“I dress as a zombie year-round,” she said. “Me and some of my friends will just do it for fun and take pictures and post them on social networks. 

“As a personal fan of the recent decade worth of quality produced zombie films, as well as the TV show ‘The Walking Dead’ being a hit, I am excited that Jackson is liberally accepting such a trend for Halloween celebrations throughout the city. It presents a new entertainment edge for the city’s growing tourism.”  

Column: Reviving 1990s television shows

The buzz in pop culture news today is that Disney and ABC may be reviving the 1990s classic television show “Boy Meets World” that centered around Cory Matthews, a kid who grew up on the show’s seven seasons (1993-2000) from grade school boy to married man.

The new show would be called “Girl Meets World.” The girl is Riley Matthews, the 13-year-old fictional daughter of stars Cory and Topanga (Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel.) 

This is particularly interesting to Generation Y or “the millennials,” who were still very young when this show premiered, as well as their parents, who watched it with them. 

Riches of Merigold

Jamie Smith grew up playing in clay at his aunt and uncle’s pottery shop in Merigold.

“My first sculpture piece was Moby Dick,” he said. “I took a big block of clay and hammered on it. I beat a tail into it. Then I put some little teeth in it. They dried it slowly for well over a month.”

Today, Jamie and his brother, Stephen, help run McCartys Pottery, a hidden Mississippi gem nestled in the foliage in this tiny town outside Cleveland.

Lee McCarty and his wife, Pup, who died last year, founded the studio, which remains one of the unique features of the small Bolivar County community, population 608.

Facing the blues: Blind artist captures spirit of Mississippi musicians

If Sharon McConnell-Dickerson could see, she might still be living in New England with no knowledge of Mississippi’s rich blues heritage and no interest in art.

But because her vision began to fade in 1995, she turned to art to cope. That decision eventually brought her to the state where she began working on a decade-long project creating lifecasts of the faces of legendary blues musicians.

The original casts have been exhibited at Delta State University since 2008, and a smaller exhibit is now housed in Cleveland’s Martin and Sue King Railroad Heritage Museum.

From basketball player to bluesman

When Jarekus Singleton was 12, he played for a basketball team called the Jackson Panthers, and spent most of his time on the bench, even though he knew he could play ball. Soon, he left the Panthers for the Jackson Tigers, and his perspective began to change.

“My coaches saw something in me that I guess the Jackson Panthers didn’t,” said Singleton, 28. “My first year playing, I won the Newcomer of the Year Award. We went to nationals, and I was one of the top 10 scorers. Nothing had changed. I was the same guy. I was the same player. But I had to sit on the bench and watch people play in front of me, and I knew I was better than that.

Mississippi prison graduates first class in theatrical arts

Upon entering the Marshall County Correctional Facility just outside Holly Springs, Mississippi, visitors were scanned, patted down and led through several locked doors to the gym.

Inside, inmates wearing white and black striped pants with “MDOC Corrections” written on the back in block letters waited inside the building that featured icons of sports teams on the walls, from the Chicago Bulls to the Miami Heat.

Two barber chairs were positioned on the floor of the basketball court. A sign on the wall read: “It’s simple. Learn from yesterday. Live in today. Hope for tomorrow.”

Coming Soon

Future Story

Coming Soon

Future Story