If Santa Claus Knew Karate
Good afternoon, everyone.
One of the more painful aspects of modern culture is how heavily it demands conformity. With this in mind, I tasked Geneva a few months back with digging around the fringes of Nashville to uncover interesting characters, and she continues to deliver profiles of eccentric and wonderful people in the city.
The claim that modern culture is conformist might sound odd, as we’re confronted by a parade of seemingly “different” people whose primary distinction is their race, sexual orientation, or some other shallow attribute. But the primary thing binding all these supposedly “different” folks is their rigid adherence to the same ideological worldview. To quote President Joe Biden on this point, “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”
As such, our series is an attempt to highlight those who live out truly alternative lifestyles—those who do not lead with superficial descriptors to set themselves apart. We need more characters in this world.
Onward.
Since 1972, Steve Cooper has been learning as much as he can about how to run his body and mind like a well-oiled machine. But in 2019, he reached enough long term training goals to devote much more of his time to teaching: becoming a 10th-degree black belt in karate and gaining a teaching certification in Grand Master Chen Chuan Gang’s School of the Wild Goose. At the time, he says he struggled with finding a new purpose before realizing he “didn’t need to repurpose, just needed to continue purpose.”
Now at 70 years old, Cooper teaches very exclusive martial arts classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, just outside of Nashville. Meanwhile, he continues his own studies in other areas that run the gamut from impersonating Santa Claus to decalcifying his pineal gland. I had the absolute joy of speaking to him about all of this.
Cooper’s always been what some would call a “health nut,” and has certification in acupuncture as well as chiropathy. Each morning, he spends a couple of hours practicing Qigong—a thousand-year-old health practice involving deliberate breathing, slow movement, and careful full-body posture. Following Qigong, Cooper spends forty-five minutes in seated meditation, and his “day starts at about noon after that.”
His fascination with karate began in 1972, when he was on a drive with a friend. The two saw a sign for a karate demonstration, pulled over, and checked it out. Cooper started taking karate classes himself the following week. His friend, he laughs, “dropped out when he got married, as a blue belt.” But fifty-two years later, Cooper’s still at it.
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🤳 Fusus Back On The Docket During tonight’s Metro Council meeting, the body will be revisiting a sole source contract with technology company Fusus to connect surveillance cameras in Davidson County. Two years ago, the Metro Nashville Police Department carried out a pilot program which allowed businesses and residents to voluntarily integrate their private security cameras with MNPD’s network. During the trial, the police department found that combining private and public footage with their system increased their ability to efficiently dispatch officers and collect useful information from crime scenes.
Similar to the discussions over License Plate Readers, officially adopting the integrated surveillance camera network has caused a stir. During last night’s Community Review Board meeting, Director Jill Fitcheard informed the board that the CRB will be weighing in on the technology during tonight’s council meeting. According to Member Shawn Whitsell, CRB members were given a detailed demonstration of the Fusus program. Chair Alisha Haddock explained that MNPD has yet to answer some of their questions, including those regarding privacy, the location radius of cameras, and whether audio is captured.
🏫 SROs For All? The council will also be weighing in on a resolution to apply for the Statewide School Resource Officer Program Grant to help fund the placement of full-time SROs in every public and public charter school. Last summer, Chief Drake became the fall guy for Metro Nashville Public Schools when the city rejected state SRO reimbursement. On July 14, 2023, the Tennessean reported that MNPD needed just “20 officers to reach full strength.” The very next day, WSMV covered a press conference where Drake told local media that Metro was still short 170 officers. He cited the shortage as the reason MNPS turned down grant funding to put SRO officers in elementary schools—a convenient excuse for Metro School’s Director Adrienne Battle, whose controversial takes on SROs put her at odds with the state. “It criminalizes childhood behavior,” Battle said of the initiative.
Last October, the council only accepted state funding to reimburse MNPD for the existing SROs placed in MNPS middle and high schools. However, this year’s application would allow funding for SROs “in all Nashville public elementary, middle, and high schools and public charter schools.”
📑 CRB Comes To An Agreement Yesterday, the Community Review Board and Metro Nashville Police Department officially accepted the terms of a memorandum of understanding. Last week, the CRB’s attorney, Frank Brazil, informed the board’s executive committee that Chief Drake had agreed to participate in quarterly meetings with CRB Director Jill Fitcheard—one of the last points of contention left to iron out after a year of discussions.
When the final MOU agreement was addressed during last night’s CRB meeting, the tone was noticeably more positive compared to past discussions. “As always, I want to remind us of the importance of transparency and accountability in law enforcement,” said CRB Chair Alisha Haddock. “It is moving forward in Nashville, it is moving forward in this state and in this country, and there is much work to do. So let's strive to make tonight's meeting not just productive but meaningful, paving the way for the ongoing work and challenges ahead.”
📜 Saving Historic Nashville Yesterday, Historic Nashville, Inc. released the 16th edition of their annual Nashville Nine list, highlighting Music City’s most endangered historic properties. The sites on their radar include:
- Colemere Manor: 1400 Murfreesboro Pike
- Day-Morgan Cemetery: Clintondale Drive
- Belle Meade Theater: 4301 Harding Pike
- Metropolitan Community Church: 131 15th Avenue
- Elijah Robertson House: 7704 Old Charlotte Avenue
- Mt. Calvary Baptist Church: 611 Creative Way
- William Scruggs House: 6430 Hillsboro Pike
- Merritt House: 441 Humphreys Street
- Small music venues across Nashville
The press release also featured a number of Nashville Nine success stories. Though not mentioned, it’s worth noting that the Naval Reserve Training Center near Shelby Bottoms Park is set to be salvaged. The building, shaped like a ship, was established as a historic landmark in 2015. By 2026, the team of nonprofits funding the renovation project plan to gut the building and convert it into a creative campus. According to the Scene, it will include a “restaurant, event space, bike and kayak rental, office spaces for Friends of Shelby Park and the Arts and Business Council, and affordable artist studios for short-term and long-term rental.”
DEVELOPMENT
- GBT Realty to develop new Sprouts Farmers Market in fast-growing suburb (NBJ)
- 525-Unit Mixed-Use Development Advances In North Nashville (Now Next)
- National restaurant chain eyed for Gulch tower (Post)
✹ THIS WEEK IN STREAMING (November 18)
Twisters (Peacock) Charging audiences by forgetting the chemistry between Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt and the maniacal joy of Philip Seymour Hoffman in the ultimate storm-chaser blockbuster is a big ask. But this sequel to the long-dormant, 28-year-old movie franchise manages to not only exceed expectations but also prove itself 2024’s best blockbuster. Hollywood man of the hour Glen Powell stars as the dudebro who just may be able to harness the power of the tornado alongside an enviable ensemble cast of Young Hollywood heavyweights like Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos, Kiernan Shipka, and Sasha Lane. With 2020’s Minari, director Lee Isaac Chung proved he had a knack for rural local color. As we said this summer, he’s turned Twisters into a bona fide western character study that actively resists obvious climate change bromides in favor of investigating the reality of red-state life.
Dune: Prophecy (Max) We’ve got a way to go before Denis Villeneuve gets to work on his third film in the Frank Herbert universe, but HBO’s new prequel series provides some insight into the world of messianic prophecy as two sisters (Emily Watson and Olivia Williams) ready the desert wasteland for Paul Atreides. Dune diehards will be unable to resist and its thoughtful character study may well win over some new converts.
Closer (Netflix) No one has committed career suicide with the same aplomb as Julia Roberts during her ill-advised foray into the politics of joy. Regardless, this 2004 movie featuring her as part of a love quadrangle involving Jude Law, Natalie Portman, and Clive Owen proves that, while the actress’s judgment has waivered, she was always more than a steady romcom star. Patrick Marber’s script based on his own play is as brutal as it is hilarious, and few directors have escaped the staginess of theatre-to-film adaptations like Mike Nichols of The Graduate fame. A perfect dissection of love, longing, and the self-inflicted pitfalls of long-term commitment.
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown here.
📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide and yearly festival guide.
TONIGHT
🪕 Green River Review @ Station Inn, 8p, $20, Info
🎙️ Dionne Warwick @ Schermerhorn Symphony Center, 7:30p, $68+, Info
+ Presented without the Nashville Symphony
🎸 Zach Meadows @ The Basement, 6p, Free, Info
🎸 Daryl Hall @ Ryman Auditorium, 7p, $99+, Info
🎸 Honky Tonk Tuesday @ Eastside Bowl, 8p, $10, Info
+ two-step lessons @ 7p, The Cowpokes @ 8p
🎸 Cole Ritter and the Night Owls @ The Underdog, 11:30p, Free, Info
📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.