plus 4, Going CLOG wild: Kentucky dance taps in an MTV sound - Courier-Journal

Going CLOG wild: Kentucky dance taps in an MTV sound - Courier-Journal
Concert ticket sales up in 2009, as U2 is No. 1 - Minneapolis Star Tribune
Doug Pullen: Traffic flow, other wishes for new year - El Paso Times
Sometimes, privacy should mean private - Times Union
A helping hand from piano man - Regina Leader-Post

Going CLOG wild: Kentucky dance taps in an MTV sound - Courier-Journal

Posted: 04 Jan 2010 11:59 PM PST

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She said people see groups like the Fab 5, which made it to the top-10 of NBC's "America's Got Talent" show by clogging to pop songs, and realize that clogging is no longer just crinoline dresses and country music.

"It's a cool thing to do now. It's on television and it's not hokey," Phillips said.

Angela Ford of Bardstown, who dances with Harbin's group of advanced cloggers and instructs the beginners group, Kentucky Home Cloggers, said 85 people took beginner classes this year — more than ever before.

People see her group clogging at local events and festivals and are drawn in by the diversity of music, the energy and the fun , said Ford, who is 31.

"We have a great time and you can't fake that," she said. "I think people are fascinated by what we do."

Ford and Harbin said they were introduced to clogging by friends and took lessons extensively. As children of the 1980s, they naturally gravitated toward pop, hip-hop and modern country.

They said clogging really began to change when people of their generation became instructors and choreographers.

Now Harbin and Ford fold all kinds of influences into their lessons. For example, their routine to the popular country-pop song "Wild at Heart" by Gloriana includes shuffle clogging, buck dancing (another traditional type of dance) , Irish folk and Canadian step.

"We're at the forefront," Harbin said.

Evolving traditions

The traditional style of clogging is still practiced most in eastern Kentucky and other parts of Appalachia, the area of the country where it began, Phillips said.

Appalachia was settled by Irish, Scottish, English and German immigrants . They brought along their traditional folk dances, which melded with African American and Cherokee Indian influences to form a distinctly new style.

Clog is a Gaelic word that means "time," as in keeping time with the rhythm of the music. Initially, it was more of an individual form of expression, but in modern times, dancers typically perform in groups.

Lou Maiuri, 81, of Summersville, W.Va., is vice-president of America's Clogging Hall of Fame, an organization dedicated to the preservation of clogging and old-time square dancing. He said the traditional form of clogging is alive and well .

"I think it's holding on," he said. "I don't think it'll be lost as long as there are organizations like ours."

Michael Ann Williams, head of the department of folk studies and anthropology at Western Kentucky University, said it shouldn't be surprising that clogging has evolved.

Clogging, like mountain music, has in some degree or another, always been influenced by the pervasive popular culture, she said.

"Just because it's a folk art, doesn't mean that it doesn't change," she said.

Reporter Niki King can be reached at (502) 582-4248.

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Concert ticket sales up in 2009, as U2 is No. 1 - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Posted: 04 Jan 2010 11:30 PM PST

Welcome to our new arts and entertainment blog. We'll use this space to post breaking stories, photos, concert updates, people items and more. Check it daily. Remain in the know.

Contributors

Mary Abbe, Jon Bream, Tim Campbell, Colin Covert, Laurie Hertzel, Tom Horgen, Neal Justin, Troy Melhus, Claude Peck, Rohan Preston, Chris Riemenschneider, Graydon Royce, Randy Salas and Kristin Tillotson

Find previous posts from Poplife and Remote Island.

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Doug Pullen: Traffic flow, other wishes for new year - El Paso Times

Posted: 04 Jan 2010 11:02 PM PST

Big enough: I don't know if promoters and venue operators here would agree with me, but it seems that this area, with more than 2 million people on both sides of the border, is big enough to support a 10,000- to 15,000-seat amphitheater.

It's certainly a more valid concept than a Downtown arena, don't you think. Maybe a cooperative effort could be made between El Paso and Las Cruces to study what the market needs and wants, with an idea toward locating such a venue between the two cities. I think we're big enough and we're only going to get bigger. Our weather certainly would allow it to operate for several months out of the year.

An insider tells me that what we really need is a good, multipurpose theater, about 5,000 seats, but with the planned renovation of the Abraham Chavez Theatre this year, I just don't see that happening any time soon.

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Sometimes, privacy should mean private - Times Union

Posted: 04 Jan 2010 09:57 PM PST

As a journalist, I'm supposed to be in favor of maximum access to court documents. As a human being -- and in particular as a mother -- I have a hard time seeing why the custody fight between Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston ought to be on the public record for all to see. An Alaska judge has denied Palin's request to keep the dispute under seal. How can this possibly be in the best interests of the child -- their son, Tripp?

Johnston's approach, it's safe to say after his recent appearance in Playgirl, is to let it all hang out. His lawyers argued that "the courts are not refuges for the scions of the elite to obtain private dispensation of their legal matters," and Johnston topped that off with a dig of his own at his former would-be mother-in-law.

"I hope that if it is open she will stay out of it," he said in an affidavit. "I think a public case might go a long way in reducing Sarah Palin's instinct to attack." This is more than a bit hard to take from a man who was happy to dish to Vanity Fair about life behind the scenes chez Palin: Sarah and Todd's talk of divorce, Todd's nights on the living room recliner, Sarah in her "two-piece pajama set from Wal-Mart." Talk about an instinct to attack.

A British newspaper, the Guardian, later asked Johnston whether he thought his remarks about Tripp's grandmother might be harmful to his child. "I hope not, but what else are you going to do?" For starters, maybe act like a grown-up?

Law is all about precedents, and Bristol Palin's lawyers note that the custody disputes between Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger and between Britney Spears and Kevin Federline were conducted under seal. The most ironic argument, though, comes in their citing a 2007 Alaska Supreme Court ruling emphasizing that the state constitutional right to privacy extends to minors as well as to adults. The decision overturned a 1997 state law requiring parental consent for minors seeking abortions -- a ruling then-Gov. Palin denounced as "outrageous."

The harder question in the case is whether Bristol Palin's request for sole legal and physical custody of her son -- with Johnston given visitation rights -- should be granted. It's clear that Bristol has taken on nearly all the burden, physical and financial, of raising her son; it's less clear whether Johnston has failed to step up to the plate because he has been blocked from it or because he is a slacker. Has his behavior been so irresponsible that he should be ousted from having any say in his child's upbringing?

As Emily Bazelon has pointed out in Slate, "Modeling for Playgirl doesn't make Levi a model for decorous fatherhood, but it's hardly enough to strip him of his right to help make decisions about his son's life, which is what sole legal custody for Bristol would mean."

If I were the judge in the case, I'd want to know more before deciding -- but I'd do it the right way, behind closed doors.

Ruth Marcus writes for The Washington Post.

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A helping hand from piano man - Regina Leader-Post

Posted: 04 Jan 2010 11:45 PM PST

Time's up: Domino's Pizza has responded to reality show star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi's not-so-nice words for companies who pulled advertising from Polizzi's controversial MTV show Jersey Shore. "F-- you! If you don't want to watch, don't watch. Just shut the hell up! I'm serious ... F-- you!" Polizzi told Steppin' Out magazine. Domino's Pizza has come up back with a cheeky response of its own. "Our first response was, 'What a classy young lady -- her parents must be so proud,' " a representative told eonline.com. "There's no need to get into a war with this young girl, because ticktock, her 15 minutes are almost up." Way to go Domino's, this public response might have given her an extra five minutes.

Lady love: YouTube sensation and Britain's Got Talent star Susan Boyle has got a fan in fellow singer Lady Gaga. "I love Susan Boyle. She is my woman of the year. She has achieved more in this year than most artists will in a lifetime," Lady Gaga said, according to thesun.co.uk. "This time last year nobody even knew who she was and now she is knocking the world's most established artists off the album and singles charts. Our styles are different. I don't know if we could work together, but never say never. It would be great to work with somebody of that talent." MTV should add in Amy Winehouse and bill it as the next Madonna/Britney Spears/Christina Aguilera spectacle.

Mad about Madonna: Kate Hudson dumped New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez because he was still all about ex-girlfriend Madonna, according to okmagazine.com. Hudson gave the baseball player an ultimatum -- her or Madonna -- and in the end the "Material Girl" won. "Kate was mad with jealousy," a source said. "She gave A-Rod three chances to stop contacting Madonna. When she found out that he was still calling and texting her, she hit the roof. How would you feel if your new boyfriend kept calling his ex?" Shouldn't Rodriguez know that after three strikes you're out? It doesn't sound like he put up much of a fight in this one.

For love or money?: Brooke Mueller can gain $1 million if she returns to husband Charlie Sheen, according to radaronline.com. Sheen, who was arrested Christmas Day for allegedly assaulting Mueller, is willing to give his wife an extra $1 million on her prenuptial agreement if he stays out of prison and the couple stays married. Radaronline.com also reports that Mueller wants a divorce, but doesn't want to be left without any money so she plans to keep Sheen out of jail and leave him once the legal situation is resolved. Maybe these bad husbands should spend their money on working toward being honest, decent human beings instead of rings, cash and extravagant gifts for their disgruntled wives.

DUMB: Rapper Bow Wow, formerly known as Lil' Bow Wow, regrets a few postings he made on his Twitter account around midnight on New Year's Eve after partying with Chris Brown and Akon in Miami. "Face numb im whippin the lambo. Tispy as f--. Just left @livmiami," Bow Wow wrote, according to tmz.com. A few minutes later he added, "Im f-- up!!! Ohhhh damn. Y i drive the lambo. Chris might have to drive after next spot." The rapper has since taken down his postings and admitted he was in the wrong, "Apologize for that tweet. it was stupid and immature. not a way i want to kick my #2010 year off. i got too much good stuff lined up. my bad." Yeah, texting AND driving drunk is stupid and illegal.

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