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Accent
Sunday, August 1, 2010
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Births .... 2E
Jim Cook
Eagle columnist
True
fan
Pin a scarlet “F” to my
shirt, because I’m about to
delve into the nether regions
of fanboyism in this column
by expressing my great appreciation for the HBO series “True Blood.”
“True Blood” is one of the
rare film or television adaptations of a book that actually surpasses the quality of
the source material. Many
people feel that a screen
adaptation of a book fails unless it slavishly follows every
detail of the book.
I’d argue that there isn’t
any artistry to painting by
numbers. A good screen
adaptation treats the source
material with respect, but
retells the story in a manner
that fits well within the
medium in which it is being
portrayed.
“True Blood” is actually
smoother and funnier than
the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris,
which provide good and interesting concepts, but in
execution read sort of like
one of those books intended
for unsatisfied housewives
who are just two bon-bons
shy of needing a motorized
scooter to serenely cruise
the aisles of Walmart. The
show takes Harris’ vision
and refines it, turning raw
gold into fine jewelry.
While there are many
vampire book and television
series out there today, “True
Blood” is different in the approach it takes to the myth.
In other series, vampirism is
treated with heavy gloom,
doom and angst. “True
Blood” recognizes that living
forever and being able to fly
and turn anyone who ticks
you off into dinner is probably more fun than it is depressing and thus abandons
the wearisome “pining for
lost humanity” theme common to most vampire fiction.
The show instead provides a
raucously fun and entertaining story.
The show offers a good
combo of elements aimed to
appeal at a wide audience,
good acting, particularly by
Nelsan Ellis and Alexander
Skarsgard, plenty of romance for the ladies and action for the guys, plenty of
skin to appeal to our baser
instincts and some pretty
solid comedy to lighten the
mood at appropriate moments. The show also provides some sly satirical
commentary on identity politics and religious fundamentalism if you’re canny
enough to catch it.
Midway into its third season, the show appears to
have hit its stride, providing
an interesting storyline, believably unbelievable characters and a lot of fun.
Perhaps the only way
“True Blood” could be made
any better at this point
would be to introduce a
midget, or little person, if
you will, into the permanent
cast. Midgets bring success
to any enterprise. I’ve been
trying to talk corporate into
getting the Eagle a few for
years now, with little luck. I
can guarantee that this column would be a lot funnier if
a midget had written it. The
word “midget” probably
would have been used a lot
less too, but that’s a column
for a different day.
We appear to be in the
midst of a midget renaissance of the small screen,
with many television programs focusing on little people (Pit Boss, Half-Pint
See COOK, 7E
Inside
Engagements
and weddings
6E
Sunday
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Birthdays .... 2E
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Sharon Randall .... 2E
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Accent briefs .... 2E
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Animal Tracks .... 3E
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Ask Carley .... 6E
Smiles all around
Radio fundraiser nets $45,000
for Miracle League playground
Peggy Ussery
aussery@dothaneagle.com
Bud Ford and Jerry Broadway
hit the airwaves each day at 6
a.m., playing a selection of country music for listeners of 95.5
WTVY.
Biz Markie, Tone Loc and
Guns n’ Roses are not the typical
artists heard on the Dothan
radio station. But the duo known
as Bud and Broadway stayed on
the air 12 hours recently to raise
money for a playground
designed for children with special needs. If the price was right,
the country station played any
request.
And with a grand opening
expected in late August, the new
Miracle League playground got
a $45,000 boost from the
fundraiser.
“The more out there they got,
the more we charged them,”
Broadway said.
The fundraiser was personal
for both Ford and Broadway.
Broadway’s 8-year-old son was
born with a brain malformation
and is severely developmentally
delayed. It’s difficult to find a
safe place for his son to play
that’s free, Broadway said
“He needs somewhere he can
go and burn off some energy,”
Broadway said.
Ford has a 30-year-old brother
who is also developmentally
delayed and uses a wheelchair to
play with the Miracle League’s
adult baseball teams.
“It’s a big deal for him,” Ford
said.
Did you know?
The Miracle League
playground is being built
for children with special
needs at Westgate Park. It
is expected to open in late
August.
During the July 23 fundraiser,
requests started at $10 for standard country songs and went on
up to $200. A request for Celine
Dion’s “I Believe in You” was
granted for $150. Listeners even
paid to have “Happy Birthday”
sung.
“Somebody paid $100 for a
Springsteen song that even
Springsteen doesn’t remember
recording,” Broadway said.
The fundraiser far surpassed
the original goal of $10,000.
The Miracle League was
established for youth and adults
with physical and developmental
disabilities. Baseball fields feature a rubber surface for wheelchairs and walkers to move
across smoothly. Able-bodied
athletes, called buddies, help
Miracle League athletes during
games.
The radio station also partnered with Friend Bank to sell
hamburger lunches, which
raised $4,000. In the end, the
radio marathon raised close to
$20,000. An anonymous donor
bumped the total to $25,000.
Magic Broadcasting, which owns
Photos by Jay Hare / jhare@dothaneagle.com
Morning radio personalities Bud Ford and Jerry Broadway
stayed on the air 12 hours recently to raise money for the Miracle
League playground, which is designed for children with
special needs. The marathon generated $45,000 for the project.
the radio station, added another
$20,000.
The Dothan Rotary and
Dothan-Houston County Rotary
clubs have handled fundraising
efforts since the Miracle League
baseball field in Westgate Park
was in its planning stages.
The Rotary Miracle Field
opened in 2008, and on opening
day there was already talk
about a playground.
Angelia Turner of the DothanHouston County Rotary Club
said the radio fundraiser was
one of the larger amounts raised
by an outside group. Donations
have been received from indi-
viduals, businesses and other
service organizations to help
reach the $500,000 goal.
“The awareness they created
for us was as important as the
money,” Turner said. “It created
a whole new community effort
and brought attention to what
we’re trying to do. ... It’s an
awareness that one day children
of all abilities can play together and none of them see that
they’re different.”
Main photo: The gates
at the Miracle League
playground welcome
everyone with a smile.
Left: The playground
features a ramp to
access equipment and
has shaded areas.
Bringing back the theater
Michael Moore wants to put
movies in downtowns again
John Flesher
and Mike Householder
Associated Press
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.
— For generations, Americans viewed films in stately,
single-screen theaters that
were pillars of city business
districts — an experience
that faded with the rise of
suburban multiplexes and
the decline of downtowns.
Michael Moore wants to
bring those theaters back.
The Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker has a plan to refurbish or
prop up downtown movie
houses in his home state of
Michigan — and eventually
nationwide.
Such efforts have been
made before. But Moore’s
approach has a twist, modeled on the successful resurrection of the State Theatre
in Traverse City, his adopt-
ed hometown in northern
Michigan.
The way to rescue downtown movie houses, Moore
says, is to run them as nonprofit ventures staffed
mostly with volunteers.
That slashes costs and gives
the community a stake in
the theater’s survival, he
says.
Moore plans to provide
grants and training to theater operators who use
those methods. The money
would come from a fund he’s
creating with his rebate
from a state film tax credit
earned by producing his
Associated Press
The State Theatre marquee is illuminated as activity
bustles along Front Street in Traverse City, Mich., on
Tuesday during the Traverse City Film Festival.
documentary, “Capitalism:
“One of our goals is to
A Love Story,” in Michigan. create an economic boost,
He expects the refund to
See THEATER, 7E
total about $1 million.