Courter: Save the arts, George S. Clinton pleads

Probably not too many people noticed, but whether they did it on purpose or not, HBO and Starz appeared to be paying tribute to Chattanooga native George S. Clinton this past week.

Clinton, you will remember, composes soundtracks, and HBO aired several of the films he has scored. "Mortal Kombat," "The Tooth Fairy" and "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" were in heavy rotation.

Over on Starz, you could also catch "Austin Powers in Goldmember" and "The Love Guru."

The composer was tickled to hear of the Clinton festival but really wanted to talk about the possibility that the city could be cutting funds from the local arts.

"These are dangerous times for the arts," he wrote back in an email. "Funding is being cut left and right, and it is taking its toll on everything from after-school programs to symphony orchestras.

"I was born and raised in Chattanooga and, as I stated when I conducted my 'Austin Powers Suite' there last year, the first orchestra I ever heard was the Chattanooga Symphony at the Tivoli. To be back there that night conducting my own music in that great theater with that world-class orchestra was a dream come true.

"Does Chattanooga realize how lucky it is to have such a great orchestra in such an amazing theater?"

Clinton is a CSO board member and said in his note he hopes that Chattanoogans will rise up and voice their opinions to their elected officials regarding funding the arts.

"The arts mean too much to Chattanooga," he said.

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A Herb Adcox Chevrolet ad has been nominated for the LoCo Golden Turkey award given by the Independent Film Channel to the best and most bizarre in local TV commercials.

Fans can vote for their favorites as well by visiting http://LOCOS.IFC.com, but the new awards will be judged by the stars of IFC's newest show, "Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings."

The Herb Adcox spot was done locally and features Henry the basset hound discussing the Lumina APV. You can watch the commercial here.

The awards will be announced July 27.

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I just finished reading a column on CNN.com by an author denouncing the latest literary phenomenon, "Go the (expletive) to Sleep," a bedtime story written for adults with a dirty word in the title and tons more inside. There also is an audio version with Samuel L. Jackson reading the prose that showcases the frustrations some parents can feel when trying to get a kid to go to sleep.

The columnist argues that the book is not funny because such language and violence should not be associated with children in any way. Both are harsh realities for far too many kids, she writes. She is right, of course, but there were many nights when I read to one of my kids that I thought nearly every word in this book, and this book made me laugh when I read it.

That is the point and the only point of the book. Sometimes things are just funny, and they don't need to be analyzed beyond that.

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