Celebrate!

According to the Society of American Florists, Christmas/Chanukah is the No. 1 floral-buying holiday. Thirty percent of adults purchase flowers or plants as gifts for the holiday season. Now, before you start getting all misty-eyed about how sentimental we are, it turns out that more than a third of those surveyed buy those flowers and plants for themselves (34%).

So if your holiday season needs an infusion of color, fragrant aromas, or simply the promise of warmer days ahead, go out and buy yourself a bouquet. Better yet, have an artful arrangement delivered to your home, and then act all surprised when you receive it. Heck, it’s the holidays. You deserve it. We’ll never tell.

However you choose to celebrate the close of 2008, everyone here at Media South sends along best wishes for a safe, happy, and peaceful holiday season.

Hey, Mr. President

Plenty of people who know way more than we do are giving President-Elect Obama advice these days on topics ranging from resuscitating the economy to picking out the perfect dog for his daughters. While we could offer some sage design advice (such as, the White House really could use an emergency visit from “Extreme Home Makeover”), we’re a bit light on foreign policy and financial matters. That’s why we particularly enjoyed this “Open Letter to the President-Elect” from Chris Low, chief economist for First Tennessee.

Low’s commentary is a quick, easy read, which clearly articulates the key challenges facing the new President and our nation, while offering practical advice on how to respond. The letter is featured in the latest issue of Executive Highlights, a First Tennessee corporate business publication produced by Media South.

Comfort Food

When the economy is tanking, Americans typically turn to comfort food. We’re not quite sure how big vats of macaroni and cheese help soothe the psyche, but when the going gets rough, the nation starts carbo-loading.

While we love a steaming scoop of comfort carbs as much as anyone, we think a better (and healthier) culinary response to crisis is preparing and savoring the most delicious home-cooked dishes imaginable. Eating at home to save money doesn’t have to mean Hamburger Helper. Instead, make mealtime the highlight of an otherwise stressful day. Plan ahead, use some creativity, and add flavor, substance, and perhaps, a touch of the exotic to nourish both body and spirit.

For inspiration, visit the new Avanti Savoia website created by Media South with our partners at Averra Media. Avanti Savoia offers culinary treasures from around the world including all the ingredients needed to make fabulous and filling meals every night of the week. In addition to a catalog of the “best of the best” olive oils, pastas, chocolates, and more, the site includes recipes, special discounts, and gift certificates. Order by Dec. 23 for Christmas Day delivery, or treat yourself to some real culinary comfort any day of the year.

Talking Turkey

You may not realize that the writer who gave the world “Mary Had a Little Lamb” is the same person credited with convincing President Abraham Lincoln to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863. Sarah Josepha Hale (1788-1879), the influential editor of Ladies’ Magazine and Godey’s Lady’s Book, spent more than 40 years writing newspaper columns and letters to congressmen and presidents to promote the idea of a national day of thanks.

Here at Media South, we’re glad she never gave up. We’re particularly thankful for the day’s tastiest traditions, including made-from-scratch cornbread stuffing and the freedom to top everything with gravy.

And while we can’t guarantee we can turn your idea into a national holiday, we can promise we can achieve measurable results (in way less than 40 years). Whatever your communications challenge, we’ll do the research, develop a strategy, and then deliver a menu of creative solutions for you to consider.

Happy Thanksgiving from everyone at Media South.

Spread the Word

According to eMarketer estimates, more than 147 million people in the U.S. use e-mail almost every day. Chances are this total includes plenty potential customers for your business, plus many of your current clients. That’s why using e-mail to stay in touch with your target market can be an efficient and cost-effective way to introduce new products, distribute discount coupons, or promote special events. We say can be because if your intended recipient doesn’t open your message, then e-mail marketing is a huge waste of time.

At Media South, we create customized e-blasts worth clicking for clients ranging from Avanti Savoia to Initially Amy Fay. Each blast includes a quick message accompanied by an engaging photo or graphic. Blasts are sent out as often as you’d like, and we provide key metrics to help you track the results.

E-mail us at engage@mediasouth.net to learn how easy and inexpensive it can be to have Media South create and send custom e-blasts for you.

Showcase Your Clients

Our recent musings about Botox (Nov. 3rd) reminded us of Dr. Charles S. Fulk, the skin doc Media South profiled in the current issue of Executive Highlights. Fulk explained why cosmetic dermatology, such as Botox, is best left to actual physicians, not hair stylists, massage therapists, and day spa owners.

The Morristown, Tenn. dermatologist regularly sees patients who didn’t get the results they wanted (or got unwanted results such as skin damage) from laser services and other treatments administered by non-medical practitioners. Fulk got the opportunity to share his expert advice—and promote his business—thanks to an invitation from his commercial financial partner, First Tennessee. Media South produces the business magazine Executive Highlights for the bank, which showcases a couple of its top clients in each issue.

Thanking your customers is always good business, and shining a spotlight on them is even better. If you’d like to create a custom publication, promoting your organization and applauding your key accounts, call Media South at 865-525-0030 to explore the options.

Website Botox

Typical website redesign can be a bit like injecting Botox into tired, wrinkled skin. The surface structure looks new and improved, but dig a bit deeper and nothing’s really changed. Oh sure, the refreshed image might temporarily boost self-esteem and attract some new attention, but over time, the flashy effects begin to fade and the problems reappear.

Since there’s nothing typical about Media South, our website redesigns go way beyond skin deep. Our designers can take an existing site and create a more interactive and dynamic space. Our editorial team can refresh your existing copy or start from scratch to ensure that your site delivers a clear, concise, and compelling message.

If your website isn’t generating the traffic you’d like or the site design is showing its age, give us a call at 865-525-0030. We can’t reverse the effects of aging on you, but we can work wonders on your website.

Big Babushka Branding

When The East Tennessee Historical Society (ETHS) came to Media South with a complex branding problem, our immediate reaction was “Russian nesting dolls!” (That’s what is so cool about solving visual identity puzzles. Solutions rarely require reinventing the wheel, but typically they involve looking at the wheel, or in this case, the dolls, in a whole new way).

Here’s the story. Basically, ETHS was trying to figure out how to add a complementary brand for the East Tennessee History Center–with which they were affiliated–without losing their own identity in the process. Our creative solution was to develop a set of brand and style guidelines positioning ETHC as the marketing "container," or big Babushka doll, for the entities “nesting” within (the East Tennessee Historical Society, The Museum of East Tennessee History, the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection, and the Knox County Archives).

OK, so the result doesn’t looking anything like a set of Russian nesting dolls, but the theory is the same. The new ETHC logo (based on the Historical Society logo) frames the Center as the visual container housing this little family of related historical organizations.

We’re always up for a good brand and visual identity challenge, and love a chance to dive into the toy box for inspiration. So when you’re ready to get noticed, give us a call. In the meantime, check out our big Babushka solution for ETHS at www.EastTNHistory.org.

Pump Up Your Public Speaking

Take a guess about what American adults fear the most. Job loss? Hair loss? Weight gain? Nope, nope, and nope. According to the latest Gallup poll on the subject, we are most afraid of snakes, however, public speaking finishes a close second.

No matter what business you’re in, speaking in public probably comes with the territory—at least on occasion. If the thought of making a presentation in front of a live audience gets your sweat glands working overtime, check out the latest issue of Executive Highlights, a business magazine for C-suite execs designed, edited, and produced by Media South.

In “Pump Up Your Public Speaking”, Denise Graveline, president of Don’t Get Caught, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm, offers three easy ways for you to pump up your next presentation or speech. For more ideas on how to improve your communications skills, visit www.dontgetcaught.biz.

Our National Pool

If you’ve partnered with Media South, you know that we run a lean and mean operation. OK, more lean, than mean, but you get the idea. We’re actually pretty friendly, but we do keep fulltime staff and overhead to a bare minimum to offer the highest-quality corporate communications services at the lowest possible price.

The key to this strategy is having a national pool of experienced, talented freelance writers, editors, designers, and web and video specialists who enjoy working with Media South. Whatever your project or communications challenge, we have a team of experts on call who have what it takes to get your job done—on target, on time, and on budget.

A veteran member of our freelance pool, Maryellen Kennedy Duckett, is a featured contributor in this month’s issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine. Before you head out on your next business or pleasure trip, check out her Ultimate Guide to Sustainable Travel to discover 50 real ways to journey responsibly—and still have fun.

Live Clutter-Free!

We’ve been breaking out the sweaters around the office this week, because fall temperatures have officially arrived in East Tennessee (and we’re trying to save energy by keeping the thermostat set at 68-degrees!). Besides making us all look really spiffy in our L.L. Bean best, the cooler weather makes this the perfect time to dig into the piles of paper covering our desks and finally get organized. If you’re like us, and have been putting off an office overhaul for months because it was too hot, it’s time to come up with a better excuse or to start cleaning.

To help you get started, check out the latest issue of Business Review, a magazine for small business owners produced by Media South for First Tennessee. In the article “Stamp Out Stress: By Becoming Clutter-free and Organized,” certified professional organizer Mary Pankiewicz offers practical tips on how to conquer office clutter, and a quiz to help you see if the mess on your desk is causing you stress.

For more “Clutter Free and Organized Tips,” visit Pankiewicz’s website.

Techie Tips For You

Occasionally, we stumble across a techie tip that is too wonderful not to pass along. What better place to put it than on our blog? Here are a couple we've discovered lately.

Do you have a folder on your computer that holds your entire life? For example, designers or writers often have a large folder of their best work for easy access. Well, apparently everything on your desktop is stored in RAM. So that big folder of all your work is tying up all of your computer's RAM, which is slowing everything down. Instead of keeping these large folders on the desktop, try dropping them in the "Documents" folder. You can even create aliases to these files on your desktop that don't take up space. Your computer will run faster and probably last longer, and you will be hitting your head with the table less as you're waiting for things to load!

And when you name a file, it's important to create a consistent system of naming so that you can find the file months later. With the number of icons available on your keyboard, it's really tempting to use them all, however, by using some of these characters you could be dooming the file to corruption. Windows is especially notorious for corrupting files with special characters, and transferring anything from a Mac to a PC can be dangerous. Avoid the following characters when naming files:

" * : < > ? \ / | ' & ; #

Taking a few minutes to clean off your desktop and clean up your file names will save you time—and potential headaches—in the long run.

Our Last Travel Destination - Omaha, Nebraska!

We're going out with a bang on our final summer journey to... Omaha, Nebraska! Let's talk about the trip with our Art Director, Lindsay Miller...
Where did you go? Shifting gears to the mainland, I had the privilege of visiting the fine city of Omaha, Nebraska for an AIGA leadership retreat. We stayed in the Old Market area – a perfect destination for a large group of designers.

How long did it take to get there and were there any travel problems? We flew from Knoxville to Dallas and back up to Omaha – any other connection configuration would have cost an extra $1,000.

What was the biggest difference you found between your vacation spot and Knoxville, TN? Old Market has a similar vibe to Knoxville's Market Square and Old City areas, but bigger. Interesting boutique shopping and restaurants. I was pleasantly surprised.

What was the most beautiful (or most eccentric) place you went to on your vacation? The most beautiful place was in front of the omelet chef at 8:00 a.m. Pre-game nutrition for a long day of activities. Actually, I think we brought the eccentricity to town dressed in head to toe Dolly attire. East Tennessee was well represented!

What was the favorite (or most expensive, odd, creative) item you purchased while there? I purchased a t-shirt from an AIGA Jacksonville event called re:Charge. It has a fun pink and white design silk-screened on a dark gray t-shirt. (You can never have too many fun t-shirts.)

Click on the photo montage for a larger view!

Travel Destination - Alaska

Our travels continue with a foray into Alaska with graphic designer Anne Brogdon...

Where did you go? On a whirlwind road trip from Anchorage, Alaska, up to Denali National Park and Preserve, a quick pass by Fairbanks, down to Valdez, and then back to Anchorage for the flight home.

How long did it take to get there and were there any travel problems? We spent most of the trip either in the air or in a car, so there were naturally a few bumps along the way. But the largest slip up was on the nighttime drive from Valdez to Anchorage to meet our flight home at 6AM. Little did we know that they completely closed the highway between Midnight and 5AM for construction! This being Alaska, there aren’t side roads or residential areas to cut through to get around the blockade. We would have had to go eight hours out of our way and miss the flight. Luckily, a gas station cashier alerted us to the closing just in time, and by breaking the speed barrier, we made the highway cutoff with five minutes to spare.

What was the biggest difference you found between your vacation spot and Knoxville, TN? Most notably at first was the temperature. A perfect 65 degrees during the day, followed by freezing temperatures that night, and snow the next morning! But also the distance between gas stations (the price of gas was $5.54 up there!), wearing a bear bell, and the scenic overlooks every three miles—which you had to stop at.

What was the most beautiful (or most eccentric) place you went to on your vacation? It is hard to find a part of Alaska that is not picturesque. Jaw-dropping vistas with glaciers and snow-capped mountains everywhere you look. As far as eccentric goes, there’s a little town called North Pole, Alaska right outside of Fairbanks. All of the telephone poles are candy canes – including the poles holding the ever-present McDonalds and Wendy’s signs! My favorite sightings in the town were of a sign for Universal Welding complete with candy cane poles, and the Elf’s Den Bar.

What was the favorite (or most expensive, odd, creative) item you purchased while there? Salmon jerky. Stay away from the Salmon jerky. You’ll never have fresh breath again!

Click on the photo montage for a larger view!

Hard Bargain: The Cherokee Prepare for War

The 18th Century comes alive at the Colonial Trade Faire in Fort Loudoun State Park. Featuring British soldiers and French soldiers, Creek Indians and Cherokee Indians, Magicians and Musicians, and even a Sword Swallower, this is the biggest event of the year at the Fort.

Our own Ken Smith will be involved in the festivities as his painting, Hard Bargain: The Cherokee Prepare for War, 1758, will be unveiled Saturday, September 6, 2008. It can be viewed starting at 10AM and will remain at the park’s Visitor Center after the Trade Faire is concluded. Limited edition prints of Hard Bargain will also be available for purchase at this time, as well as prints from the previous years. Ken will be on hand to personally sign prints on both Saturday and Sunday of the Trade Faire.

For more information about Fort Loudoun’s Colonial Trade Faire or to purchase prints, call Angie King at Fort Loudoun State Historic Area (432-884-6217), or to see more of Smith’s work, visit www.kensmithhistoricalart.com.

Travel Destination - Nova Scotia

Our second Travel Destination takes us to Nova Scotia with Media South's Creative Director, Ken Smith...
Where did you go? Fortress Louisbourg on the eastern tip of Nova Scotia (to participate as a British redcoat re-enactor in the 250th anniversary of the fall of the fortress).

How long did it take to get there and were there any travel problems? It was a five-hour drive from the airport in Halifax to Louisbourg, which was a bit of surprise. Nothing seems to be very close in Canada.

What was the biggest difference you found between your vacation spot and Knoxville, TN? Well, there’s the kilometers. When I saw the speed limit outside the airport was a 100, I was all “woo hoo,” but then I saw we weren’t talking MPHs. And there’s the bi-lingualage in French and Gaelic (instead of Spanish). Otherwise not so different (except maybe for the huge distances between gas stations and rest rooms).

What was the most beautiful (or most eccentric) place you went to on your vacation? Fortress Louisbourg itself was definitely the most eccentric (and pretty beautiful too). It’s the largest historic recreation in North America: a rebuilt 18th century French fortress and village on the eastern coast of the province, full of fog and costumed interpreters (of which we were a part).

What was the favorite (or most expensive, odd, creative) item you purchased while there? The most oddly expensive thing in Nova Scotia was Busch Beer. $11.00 a six pack!

Click on the photo montage for a larger view!

Travel Destination - New Zealand

At Media South, we love to travel. This past summer we went to several amazing places and we wanted to share them with you. Stay tuned for ideas of where to go for your next great adventure!

An Interview with Barbara Penland, Media South President and CEO

Where did you go? On a roadtrip from Auckland on the North Island to Dunedin in Otago at the base of the South Island of New Zealand.

How long did it take to get there and were there any travel problems? The plane ride to and from New Zealand is a 36-hour killer each way—made more challenging by first losing then regaining an entire day. We got up each morning for two weeks and drove to someplace new and exciting.

What was the biggest difference you found between your vacation spot and Knoxville, TN? When we left New Zealand, it was snowing, and we came back to Knoxville’s 95-degree heat in June. Even in the summers, New Zealand’s temperatures are mild--similar to our spring and fall. The roads are almost all two lanes, and there are traffic lights that hold for 20 minutes at tunnels because they are all one lane—as are many of the bridges. Gas stations are few and far between. There are more sheep than people in New Zealand, so the landscape is like the best of East Tennessee’s mountains with snow caps.

What was the most beautiful (or most eccentric) place you went to on your vacation? There were so many. Milford Sound in the South Island is called one of the most beautiful places in the world—peaceful, majestic (peaks 3 times the height of the Empire State building), and lush (9 meters of rainfall per year). The sulfur pools of the North Island boil and simmer and stink (think Mordor). The Maori tribal art and tattoos are beautiful and intricate. Who knew ferns could grow into 10-foot trees? And why are there California redwoods in New Zealand?

What was the favorite (or most expensive, odd, creative) item you purchased while there? Kiwi birds (not to be confused with kiwi fruit or Kiwis—what New Zealanders call themselves) are strange little birds that are almost extinct, so we came back with kiwi replicas of different sizes, shapes, and materials. We also brought back greenstone (related to jade) carvings of the Maori’s mythological heitiki (first man) that look a lot like embryos.

Click on the photo montage for a larger view!

Media South Creative Director featured in this month’s Tennessee Conservationist magazine

This month’s issue of Tennessee Conservationist magazine chronicles the creation of Ken Smith’s series of paintings commemorating the 250th anniversary of the life of Fort Loudoun, a French & Indian War-era fortification, built and occupied by the British army near Chota, the capitol of the Cherokee nation (just outside present-day Vonore, Tennessee).

In the article Oil and Sweat: An Artist’s Perspective of the History of Ft. Loudoun, Smith provides a behind-the-scenes look at the process of creating these works of historical art. Commissioned by the Fort Loudoun Association, this is a five-year project, with each year adding a new depiction of the time when Redcoats and Cherokees worked and lived together in East Tennessee. The article discusses the very human aspects of Smith's work including his models and their experience in the artistic process.

“I always find it interesting to see the behind-the-scenes activity that goes into a piece of visual art, and I’m happy that Tennessee Conservationist readers will have a chance to see a little of the artistic process of the Fort Loudoun series” Smith says about the article.

Tennessee Conservationist is published bi-monthly by the State of Tennessee’s Department of Environment and Conservation. For information about the magazine, visit http://www.tennessee.gov/environment/tn_consv/.

For information about Fort Loudoun (and to buy a limited edition print of these paintings), go to www.fortloudoun.com.

Smith holds a BFA from the University of Tennessee, an MA from Syracuse University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Hartford. To see more of Smith’s artwork, visit www.kensmithhistoricalart.com.

Stop the Orphan Works Bill

Have you ever had your work reprinted without your permission? In the world of advertising and graphic design, such an experience is not terribly uncommon. Usually, a strongly worded email is enough for a retraction and apology, and if not, then perhaps a lawsuit can be filed with a reasonable chance of a successful outcome. Or at least, that was how things worked before the Orphan Works Act of 2008.

This bill (S.2913, H.R5889), currently being debated in Congress, states that any work will be considered “orphaned” five years after its completion date. Any creation (includ-ing photography, illustration, letters, emails, etc., of either a personal or professional na-ture) could then be used in any manner with no compensation whatsoever to the original artist.

The Orphaned Works Act will make it nearly impossible to protect the rights of your art-work/writings. The legislation’s proposed protection process is vague and cumbersome, requiring artists to scan and register all works with private, for-profit registries (which don't yet exist). The structure and cost for these registries has not yet been established, but an untenable fee of $100 per piece per registry is not out of the question. Infringers would only be required to perform a subjective “reasonable search” to determine the ownership status of a piece of artwork.

The Illustrators' Partnership has created a form letter that clearly expresses why artists of all ages and genres will be hurt by this legislation. You only have to provide your zip code to link to the email addresses of your state's congressmen and senators (there is also an option to add your own thoughts to the form letter). Please take a few minutes right now to send these letters and protect the rights to your intellectual property before it’s too late.

Contact your Senator in opposition to S.2913 by clicking here http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/issues/alert/?alertid=11389061

The House Judiciary Committee is considering H. R. 5889, the companion
bill to S.2913. Contact your Congressman in opposition to H.R. 5889 by clicking here http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/issues/alert/?alertid=11389081

To add your name to a petition against this Anti-Free Speech, Anti-Artist, Anti-Journalist Legislation. http://www.petitiononline.com/Stop2913/petition.html

If you are interested in further discussion on this topic, click below to a New York Times Op-Ed piece written by Stanford law professor, Lawrence Lessig who, despite his not being a fan of artist’s copyrights in general, still thinks this is a bad idea. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/20/opinion/20lessig.html

Projectile Roundup

by Jack Neely

Each April, this young man's fancy turns lightly to thoughts of the Civil War. When people ask me whether I'm a Civil War buff, I never know how to answer just because I'm not certain what a buff is, and don't want to give people the wrong idea. But April is the month the war started and the month it ended, and I always think about it.

Some enthusiasts–not to say buffs–ask why I don't write about the Civil War more often and the main reason is a book called Divided Loyalties, by Digby Seymour, M.D. Most of the good stories are already told, in there.

Whatever a buff is, Ed White is not one. He's an actor who for the last several years has been one of the most talented mainstays in dozens of comedies at Theatre Central on Gay Street.

A few months ago he volunteered to help a friend dig up an old fountain in her yard in Fort Sanders. As he was digging, he happened to turn up a heavy bullet-shaped object. It's thicker than any modern bullet. It's light tan in color, and looks like dirty limestone, but it's heavier than rock.

It has three rings around its shaft. But on the cone, near the tip, is a deep gash, as if it had collided at high speed with some object more solid than lead.

It's a Civil War minié ball, or bullet, as some prefer. It's named for Claude Etienne minié, the French army officer who designed it. The three rings on this one indicate it was probably of Union manufacture; its white color, which is typical, is corrosion. It was originally gray lead.

It's impossible to know when it was fired, and how it got here. As far as we know, a kid could have picked it up as a souvenir in Chattanooga in 1952, and it happened to fall through the hole in his pocket as he was helping his dad install a fountain. However, it seems at least as likely that it's no coincidence that Ed found it on the site of what was, 136 years ago, the deadliest fighting in Knoxville's portion of the war.

In November, 1863, Fort Sanders was a Union earthworks, its main ramparts along 17th Street, just five blocks east of this spot, within gunshot range. The ill-advised Confederate charge rolled right across this yard, long before it was a yard. In only 20 minutes, at least 129 men died. We say at least because after those 20 minutes, 226 were missing, some blown into fragments too small to recognize. In addition, 458 men were wounded, many of them by these three-ringed Federal minié balls.

I'm grateful to Ed for letting me borrow it for a while. I'd seen hundreds of minié balls in museums, but I'd never seen one freshly found. I'd never rolled one around in my hand. I've been carrying it around in my pocket, taking it to lunch, taking it for rides on my bicycle.

It was only a week after seeing that one, though, that I happened to see my second. It's framed on a wall over Ken Smith's desk.

Ken Smith is, arguably, a Civil War buff, though I'd never tell him so to his face; he used to be a re-enactor. He works as a designer at Media South in their new headquarters on Gay Street, though calling it new takes some license. It's a new-looking place, sure enough, with a design trendy enough to shoot a scene of Ally McBeal, but the office is actually in one of the oldest buildings on the street. It's a stretch of commercial buildings on the east side of Gay Street between Church and Cumberland. Besides the Lamar House, they're the only buildings on Gay Street that were probably there during the Civil War. A couple of them were heavily damaged by a a fire a year or two ago, but renovated, they appear to be in much better shape, and better used, than they've been in years.

The bullet looks a little different from the one Ed White found. For one thing, it has only two rings. That's supposed to indicate Confederate origin.

Renovator David Dewhirst found it a few months ago, and found it in an odd place. After a fire in the building, he pulled down some paneling and found it in the wall, just tucked there in the hollow of the concrete masonry between the bricks, as if someone had only placed it there.

Its origin seems less obvious. Though the first casualty of the Civil War in Knoxville was when a Unionist citizen was shot to death from a window at the Lamar House, right in this vicinity, in the spring of '61, there wasn't otherwise much combat downtown. We know there was a poolhall in this building at one time, maybe several over the years; Dewhirst found some old cue racks–and for all we know it may have been the same poolhall where Union veteran Samuel Dow organized the region's first baseball games in the summer of 1865. After actual battlefields like Fort Sanders, poolhalls are pretty high on the list of sites visited by gunfire.

Oddly, this particular minié ball doesn't appear damaged. Maybe it was never even fired, but just placed here for some now-forgotten purpose. Or maybe someone did fire it, perhaps a Confederate veteran disgruntled over an unpaid debt or a bad bank shot, and it slowed down going through something soft before coming to rest in this cozy niche in the wall.

Who knows how many more there are in Knoxville, probably thousands, in the walls of antebellum buildings and the lawns of Fort Sanders. I think about it every time I see a backhoe in Fort Sanders, scooping around where a house used to be. I watch them loading the dirt and debris and wonder where they're taking it, wonder whether anyone will ever notice that hundreds of men once bled on it.

Projectile Roundup originally appeared in Metropulse, Knoxville's alternative weekly magazine

Business Executives Take Note

Following on the heels of the successful launch of Executive Highlights magazine, First Tennessee Bank chose Media South for a redesign and redevelopment of their venerable publication, Business Review.

Directed at business executives across the First Tennessee/First Horizon region, the new Business Review features a colorful, easy-to-browse format with tips and advice on making your small business more efficient and profitable. This issue includes Best Practice business profiles of Alex Farris, president of Water Services, Inc. of Knoxville, Tennessee and Jim Fish, Executive Vice President of Echota Technologies, Inc. of Maryville, Tennessee.

To get your own subscription to Business Review, visit: www.firsttennessee.biz

Lindsay Miller offers her critique at UT's senior thesis presentations

Every year, another class rotates through the University of Tennessee's graphic design program. Around March panic sets in as seniors in the program realize there's only one month left to pull together a semester's worth of work. I can sympathize with March Madness because I graduated from the program 4 years ago, 10 lbs. lighter and sleep deprived.

Being invited back to to join the "professional panel" that critiques the thesis projects was a delight. Overall, the half of the class that presented on April 7th had solid projects and showed a great amount of potential. Students tackled subjects that were close to their own recreational, social and professional interests.

To bookend the day, the first student who presented is developing a book that celebrates the component of "chance" in relation to a designer's process. The book shows examples of how this student incorporated "chance" into her design and the results. In it's simplest form, it reminds designers that experimenting off the computer oftentimes leads to interesting, unpredictable solutions. The component of "chance" is the thrill seeking part of being a designer–it involves risk, audacity and can lead to the best design solutions you could ever think of (only thing is, you didn't think of them–you "chanced" upon them)!

The last student had a compelling personal story that motivated her to develop a journal for girls who are suffering from abuse. The journal intends to reach out to girls who are in a transitional state between knowing they need help and taking action steps. The final product will be a small, disguised journal that includes encouraging quotes from other women who have been in the same situation, questionnaires, room for journaling and a resource guide with local contacts of where to go to take the next steps.

Those are only two projects and many more were just as notable. If you're interested in learning more, UT's Senior Show is Friday, April 25th, 6-9PM at the Downtown Gallery.

Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended Cuts Out the Excuses

This month AIGA Knoxville sponsored an Adobe Photoshop Workshop to show off all the new features Photoshop now offers. What do these upgrades mean? Well, there's now no excuse for unmistakable photoshop disasters. The program is too sophisticated to leave in extra appendages or blur out belly buttons.

Go easy with the spot healing brush!

Have a nice Friday.

Media South launches museum web site

The Sequoyah Birthplace Museum near Vonore, Tennessee interprets and memorializes the accomplishments of Sequoyah, the inventor of a writing system for what had previously been a completely oral Cherokee language.

Media South recently developed and launched a new and improved online presence for the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum. This attractive and informative web site includes photo galleries of the Museum and other local attractions, a calendar of upcoming events, easy-to-follow directions, downloadable copies of Sequoyah Speaks (the museum newsletter), as well as information about Sequoyah himself--the only man in the history of the world who was able to perfect a system for reading and writing a language, without being literate in any language himself.

Check out the new site at www.sequoyahmuseum.org

Adobe Photoshop CS3 Workshop

Need to sharpen your photo editing skills?

A representative from Adobe will be conducting a Photoshop CS3 Extended Workshop this weekend. The session is for designers and photographers interested in learning new photo retouching and color correction tips, as well as an overview of the new software features.

Best of all, attendees will be entered to win the Adobe Creative Suite® 3 Design Premium. (That's a $1,799 door prize!)

AIGA Knoxville will host the workshop. You can find out more or register online at www.knoxadobeworkshop.com.

Saturday, April 5, 2008 1-4 PM at the Crowne Plaza Hotel
Admission: AIGA Members $10, Students $15, Non-members $25

AIGA Knoxville Shows Helvetica at the Knoxville Museum of Art

Why watch "Helvetica" at the Knoxville Museum of Art when you can fetch it from Netflix? Well, if you're creative and you know Helvetica refers to a typeface (what the #$%vetica!), it's like watching an episode of Crocodile Hunter with a room of Steve Irwins (respectfully). When do you get a room of crocodile hunters, or rather designers, together and watch a movie? Not often! I can't remember the last time I watched a good film about a typeface....

Everyone's welcomed to join the camaraderie on March 27, 7:00 p.m.

Find out more at knoxville.aiga.org.

The Mother of all Chocolate Sauces

If you've read about the arrival of Avanti Savoia's new catalog of Culinary Treasures and are anxious to try out the new recipes, here's a Fresh Idea from Avanti Savoia that will leave you with your mouth watering:

The Mother of all Chocolate Sauces

This sensational chocolate sauce will be a big hit with the chocolate lovers in the family.

Break three bars of Extra Fonente 61% Dark Chocolate – (Castagna #50015) in pieces. Combine the chocolate pieces with 1 cup of milk over a hot water bath. Stir the mixture continuously with a sauce whip. In a bowl mix 7 tsp. starch with 1 cup of milk and 7 Tbsp. sugar. Add the mix to the warm chocolate. Cook the sauce over a hot water bath continuing to stir with the whip until it’s lightly thick.

Serve hot over vanilla ice cream, fresh cheesecake, and other confections. Also try it as a topping for heated Pandoro slices – (Dociaria A. Loison #51590), delicious!

If you'd like to track down these special chocolate ingredients, click on the item link above or call 800-213-2927. For your own personal copy of Avanti Savoia: Culinary Treasures From Around the World, visit www.avantisavoia.com and sign up.

Avanti Savoia catalog and web site design by Media South.

Avanti Savoia Spring and Summer Catalog Available Now!

Media South is happy to announce that the new spring and summer catalog for Avanti Savoia is off the press. Chock full of delicious gourmet items from all over the world, the AS catalog is a go-to resource for gourmet cooks and gourmet diners of all stripes.

The catalog includes exquisite facts and tips about using these delicacies as well as original recipes developed by Avanti's own Chef Joseph (from Spaghetti Aglio e Olio to Texas Chili and many taste treats in between).

Media South is proud to take care of the catalog design, production, copy editing and photo research. To grab your own personal copy of this publication delicacy go to avantisavoia.com and sign up for your free Avanti Savoia: Culinary Treasures from Around the World catalog.

The Third Biannual TEN Show Now Accepting Entries

The TEN Show is a statewide AIGA design competition that gives Tennessee designers a chance to show off their best in visual communication solutions from the past year. This year's competition is being hosted by AIGA Memphis, but we'll give a nod to AIGA Knoxville for starting the event in 2005.

Entries will be submitted in 10 categories, including areas like packaging design, book design, website and interactive design, editorial design and more.

Tennessee is unique in that it has four AIGA chapters statewide, rivaled only by California and Florida. Thus, we take pride in collaborating on an event that distinguishes our state as a design breeding ground ready to be reckoned with (ya'll)! We're not the typical cities you may think of when considering breakthrough design, but we're making it happen. If you live in Tennessee and have a hot project to share, get on board and submit an entry. Deadline for entries is February 15, 2008.

www.tenshow.org

Ken Smith to Teach "Painting the Human Figure"

Starting February 6th, Media South Creative Director, Ken Smith, will begin teaching a six-session class on Painting the Human Figure through U.T.'s non-credit program.

This is a class for beginners, but there are usually a variety of skill levels represented. For more information, or to sign up go to:

https://aceweb.outreach.utk.edu/CourseStatus.awp?~~282218

For more information on Ken's artwork, go to:
www.kensmithhistoricalart.com

And here's the official class announcement:

Working from live models, this introductory class will focus on depicting the human form through a naturalistic use of light, shadow, and color. Emphasis will be on simplifying the complex human form and developing a process by which it can be realistically portrayed. Instruction will be geared toward the use of oil, but other mediums are welcome. Knowledge of your chosen medium will be helpful, but no previous experience with figurative art is required. A materials list can be found online at www.outreach.utk.edu/ppd and a model fee of $25-50 (depending on enrollment) will be payable to the instructor at the first class.

A materials list can be found on our web site at www.outreach.utk.edu/ppd A model fee of approximatedly $25- $50 (depending on enrollment) is payable to the instructor at first class.

Single Shot Rifle Journal Hits The Newstands

Actually, you have to be a member of the American Single Shot Rifle Association to get the Single Shot Rifle Journal, but nevertheless, the new issue, Volume 61, Number 1, is just back from the printer.

The American Single Shot Rifle Association (ASSRA) was founded in 1948 as an organization that promotes the responsible use, study and preservation of single-shot rifles. These include original and reproduction arms from the 19th and early 20th centuries as well as rifles of more current design.

Media South designs and produces the Journal of the ASSRA and Vol. 61, No. 1 marks the 60th Anniversary of this venerable organization.

The cover of this issue features "A Truly Gorgeous Rifle." This rifle has a Frank Wesson #1 Long Range Action, precision-built (with emphasis on precision) by Steve Earle. All of the metal work (with the exception of the action) was done by Glenn Fewless of Waterford, Wisconsin. Glenn's treatment of the barrel (half octagon with wedding ring) is superlative. The magnificent wood was supplied by Quaking Aspens of California. The woodwork and checkering is by Doug Mann. Barrel length is 34 inches and the caliber is 45/70. Skeleton butt plate is by Glenn Fewless and the engraving is by Master Engraver, Ken Hurst of Robersonville, North Carolina.

To join this venerable organization and receive your own copy of Single Shot Rifle Journal, contact: Keith Foster, Membership Administrator, 15770 Rd. 1037, Oakwood, OH 45873. Annual dues are $35.00.

Media South's President, Barbara Penland, Named Woman of the Year in Branding, Custom Web Design and Communications

Knoxville, TN. December 3, 2007. The National Association of Professional and Executive Women recently named Barbara H. Penland, President of Media South, “Woman of the Year” in Branding, Custom Web Design, and Communications. Only one woman from each industry is named “Woman of the Year” by the NAPEW and each honoree is selected from thousands of women in their field. They are chosen based on outstanding accomplishments, leadership and service and will nationally represent their industry in the “Women of Excellence” Registry.

Barbara has 11 years of experience in the area of branding, custom web design, and communications. As president of Media South, she works with clients on marketing communication strategy, custom publications, and branding solutions. She is also responsible for business management and administration for the firm.

Barbara became involved in marketing communications as a result of her tenure as Managing Editor at Whittle Communications, where she participated in more than 50 new publication launches. Her firm maintains an outstanding reputation and takes pride in the high quality services it provides.

In her spare time, Barbara enjoys traveling, water skiing, and reading mystery novels. She is involved in several local community organizations, including the Knoxville Executive Women’s Association, Rotary International, University of Tennessee Chancellor’s Associates, and the Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership.