At this point, with the preservation-fueled revival of downtown bringing people, dollars, and uncustomary positive press to the city, the value of the community’s limited stock of old buildings might seem obvious. But their demolition is still occurring, often without much reason given. Jack Neely gives us a reminder of the value of old buildings—their practical value—and why preserving them is good for business, especially the business of a city.

As farm manager at CAC Beardsley Community Farm, Khann Chov is lead organizer of its Snow Day fund-raiser.

Knoxville filmmaker Steven Wesley Miller's humble goal.

Brand-new State Rep. Gloria Johnson gets shut out.

Highlights of the week ahead: Jan. 17-Jan. 21

Jessica Burke wants us to find (different) religions.

Overlooked seems to be the fact that Nissan is financing the expansion with a $1.4 billion loan from the Obama administration to promote green projects.

The turmoil over the Department of Energy Y-12 contract in Oak Ridge continues and the latest development could cost up to 500 jobs

Back in 2009, Knoxville’s City Council voted to continue banning guns from city parks, rejecting the carry permit provisions passed by the state Legislature.

Gov. Bill Haslam wants school vouchers, the Legislature wants a statewide charter authorizer, and those aren’t the only education reform measures heading down the pike this session. But the leaders of two of the most powerful non-profits influencing the changes actually have mixed results implementing those reforms, as Cari Wade Gervin reports.

Moon Taxi keyboardist Wes Bailey frequently mentions his idea of “synthesis,” of merging various moods and textures and genres into something slightly unexpected. That open-minded approach defines the band’s latest album, last year’s Cabaret, a thrilling set that blends eclecticism and radio-friendly pop smarts.

The basic framework of writer/self-mythologizer Jack Rentfro’s shambolic music project is familiar—spoken-word performance over moody, atmospheric, semi-improvised jazz rock—but the end result is decidedly not.

The CDC was recently awarded a grant from the city of Knoxville and wants to use the money to fund a mural on the Interstate 40 underpass between Washington and Glenwood avenues in northeast Knoxville

When local blues/jazz/rock guitar hero Hector Qirko moved from Knoxville to Charleston, S.C., almost three years ago, we all knew nobody would ever quite fill his spot.

Kathryn Bigelow’s mastery turns a largely spying-free spy movie into one of the best films of 2012.

Dishonored came out last October and didn’t quite upturn the gaming universe despite getting good reviews and hitting several best-of-2012 lists. Sales have been okay, and publisher Bethesda has stated that it considers Dishonored to be a new franchise. Yet grumpy gamers demanding new IPs (like me) haven’t swarmed this worthy title. So I say: Put your money where your mouths are, geezers—it’s not too late.

One of the real joys of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Classics Series has always been the potential for musical adventure, and even some discovery, that can be found in the vast territory outside of the usual full orchestra repertoire and in lesser-known works.

Perhaps it’s a function of generation, but I remain fascinated by the short period during which Charlton Heston was Hollywood’s Man of the Future, its übermensch of dystopia. Maybe it was simply the success of The Planet of the Apes (1968) that steered studios and the crag-like old-school star mutually toward scripts such as The Omega Man (1971) and Soylent Green (1973), but what emerged was a fairly durable triptych of films that also read as elegies for classic postwar Golden Age culture as it succumbed to nuclear madness, hippies, and libertinism. Nothing supports that idea more than the presence of the great trundling automaton that was Heston, a creature of red meat and Scotch who was out of place (onscreen, at least) in any time after 1965.

If you’re not familiar with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, the opening track on the band’s new album Meat and Bone gives you a good idea what the trio is all about, musically and even philosophically. “Black Mold” is a heavy, driving garage rocker that flirts with scuzziness but never gets too far gone, culminating with Spencer rattling off a list of records from his personal collection that were ruined by the titular fungus in the wake of a flood.

The Hard Rock Cafe in Gatlinburg is gearing up for the opening rounds of Hard Rock Rising, the company’s worldwide band competition, with registration open now through Jan. 21 and local performances set for Feb. 18-April 15.

Cheap Trick is one of America’s greatest bands. They are criminally underappreciated. As proof, consider that Cheap Trick can’t sniff the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame, even though it has inducted the likes of Donovan, Jackson Browne, and the Lovin’ Spoonful. That’s right, the Lovin’ Spoonful!

It’s weird how the mind works. For example, every day we’re assailed by sights, smells, sounds and more. Yet we’re able to filter out so much of it.

Our recent issue about What Knoxville Needs stirred up an old futuristic dream that won’t die. We talk about it today in the same tones we used in the ’60s when we talked about jet packs and hovercraft and computers.

Crinkle: Please address the recent nuisance: uneven folding of your paper.

Hardwig: Come on in, the riding’s fine!

Scott: It will happen, Jack. Just not right now. Be patient; keep spreading the vision, and keep the faith.

Using that specious logic, the money for education belongs to the parents. But it doesn’t.

I have a friend that has a habit of saying negative things about another friend of mine. She knows that I am friends with this guy she talks about. Whenever she does it, I just stop participating in the conversation, but should I be doing more?

Eight days after Newtown, he told us that it would actually be a good thing to go to heaven. He had not been told of the event.

Barack Obama won the 2012 presidential election with nearly five million more popular votes than Mitt Romney and a resounding electoral vote majority of 332 to 206. But was his electoral vote victory necessarily so clear?

In addition to our Restaurant Guide, Bar Guide and Band Guide, Metro Pulse staff work throughout the year to provide in-depth coverage of Really Good Things to Know About Knoxville. How to be a good and happy cyclist in town? Got you covered. Want to give your dollars to local holistic health providers in town? We'll point you in the right direction. We've collected our Guides to Knoxville in one place for easy perusal.

So what's really "best" about Knoxville?

You can't really point to any one aspect—it's a confluence of all the things we experience here from day to day. And that's why we have so many categories in the Best of Knoxville—this year more than ever as we've added health and home sections. When we launched our readers poll in 1994, life in Knoxville was pretty self-contained. Things were easy to keep track of here. Now there are an overwhelming number of restaurants, businesses, services, events, and arts and entertainment venues clamoring for our attention. Which makes you and your fellow readers' opinions of what's "best" all the more important—here are the things that truly make life better in Knoxville circa 2012. — Coury Turczyn, ed.

This is it: The one true Best of Knoxville. Read more and see the winners >>

Peruse our previous Best of Knoxville winners.

Finally, you can read Metro Pulse's restaurant guide Yummm! online. We will continue to add our special publications, so stay tuned...

Tips, Shortcuts, Pointers, Advice, and the Straight Dope on Making Life Easier for Yourself in the Marble City Read the Metro Pulse Insider's Guide to Knoxville >> And here's Volume 2.

A Resource Guide to Outdoorsy Activity in the Knoxville Area Read the Metro Pulse Outdoors Guide >>

Read the 2013 Knoxville City Guide >>

Download the Drinking Guide Flowchart (PDF) >>

May is National Bike Month, and Metro Pulse is celebrating by giving over most of this issue to bikes and bicyclists. Meet Kelley Segars, your regional transportation planner and bicycling advocate. Meet Elle Colquitt and Jon Livengood, who have sniffed out the best bike routes around Knoxville ... and share their favorites here. Get some air with Corey McPherson, closet BMX-er and ace photographer (and Metro Pulse designer). And meet your many fellow bicyclists and local bike-sellers through our handy list of bicyclists' resources—everything from off-road routes to clubs to shops to upcoming events to rules of the road. Read the Metro Pulse Bike Guide >>

Want to start feeling healthier but don't know where to start? Or are you a gym veteran who wants to take it up a notch? Find out what services the Knoxville area has to offer you for Holistic Health, Eating Well, Fitness & Feeling Good, and Mental Health. Read PEP!—the Metro Pulse Good-Health Guide >>

Mine our Earth Day coverage for what global warming means for the Smoky Mountains, how some Knoxvillians are working their own plot of land at Beardsley Community Farm, and local green living tips. Read the complete Earth Day coverage >>

You can never start planning to early, right? Mine our 2011 Valentine's Day Gift Guide and Christmas Guides (for him and for her) to start planning for your next gift-giving occasion.

Written and edited by local riders, Handlebars covers the full range of motorcycling: touring, sport, cruisers, vintage, dirt, and more. We'll tell you about the people, places, and events that make the area's motorcycle scenes so unique, and we'll give you the scoop on interesting new bikes coming onto the market. Handlebars aims to bring you the best of East Tennessee motorcycling. Check out fromthehandlebars.com >>