For almost two decades, Scenic City vino lovers have looked forward to fall in anticipation of Wine Over Water and an evening of sampling wines from all over the world.

In a sense, Cody ChesnuTT is as much an emotional exhibitionist as a neo-soul singer with a vintage sound that's as smooth as crushed velvet.

I fully intended to spend this column crying foul over the "shameful" misrepresentation of Chattanooga's Internet speeds in "Iron Man 3."

If there were a royal court of African music, Zimbabwean vocalist Oliver Mtukudzi would undoubtedly occupy a place close to the throne.

Some fathers and sons bond over fishing, throwing a ball around or working on cars. The Thompsons trade riffs.

This week, I want to bring things back down to earth and talk about something serious: Bigfoot.

To some, Bigfoot is just a myth, the product of overactive imaginations and a plaything of hoaxers for decades.

One of the fastest metabolisms in the animal kingdom. The most featherweight of avian species. The only bird that can hover, fly backwards or even — gasp — upside down.

On an oscilloscope, the brash, no-frills sound of The Cusses probably looks something like a single-finger salute. Care to guess which one?

To get a feel for just exactly how authentically funky Lee Fields is, just listen to the first 12 seconds of "I Don't Know Where I'm Going," a track buried in the middle of his 2002 album, "Problems."

Now that we've all turned the pages on our kitten calendars to May, let's get this out of the way: This is going to be a big month for music ... really, really big.

He has Hugh Hefner's libido, Bill Gates' bank account, Stephen Hawking's IQ and a suit of high-tech armor with enough firepower to make the Joint Chiefs of Staff drool.

Southsidenstein Stout. St. Elmo Smart Ass. The Mud Slinger. Seven States Pilsner. Hill City India Pale Ale.

They'll keep your mugs frosty and serve you an honest pint, but at bars and restaurants around Chattanooga, bartenders' duties run the gamut from friend and tour guide to confidant and matchmaker.

When he was growing up, there was every chance that James McMurtry's career could have been swallowed up in the shadow of his father, Pulitzer Prize-winning "Lonesome Dove" author Larry McMurtry.

When he entered the studio last year to work on his latest album, "The Bright Spots," Randall Bramblett took a page from Frankie Goes to Hollywood and relaxed.

Last week, I met a woman who convinced me that, even if genes and circumstance conspire to keep me from reaching my 100th birthday, I'd settle for anything past 90.

Even with longer life expectancies, there's no such thing as an average nonagenarian, but all it takes to tell that Lidabell Beagles is special is a handshake.

Shoes that insult sedentary behavior but applaud your jump shot.

To those who used to frequent Chad's Records on Vine Street, the idea of owner Chad Bledsoe responding positively to questions about his business probably sounds like the start of a tall tale.

Before she selects a single color or brush, artist Connie Wyatt dons an orange plastic poncho. When you're as fast as she is, the paint can literally start to fly, and a little protection is a necessary precaution.

It has the liveliness of traditional Irish music, the improvisation of jazz and the virtuosic complexity of classical music.

From the digital confines of their team profile portraits, they scowl out with malice in their eyes.

By the time you read this, I will be gone.

Dogs. We groom them, clean their teeth, dress them in designer outfits like furry starlets prepping for a trot down the red carpet. (Well, some of us do.)

When it comes to attending concerts, just as with romance, there's nothing quite like your first time.

In 2012, advocates of the silver screen made serious headway putting Chattanooga on filmmakers’ maps, and for 2013, that trend seems set to continue.

The Chattanooga area has for years been home to a long and varied set list of talented musicians. Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Fred Cash and Sam Gooden of The Impressions were born and still live here, for example. Grammy Award winners Norman and Nancy Blake call Rising Fawn, Ga., home.

Local theaters upgrade moviegoing experience with better lights, sound, amenities.

For video gamers, spring and summer can be a difficult season.

A denim-clothed cowboy sits cross-legged, head bowed in the middle of a lonesome highway winding through a landscape baked colorless by the Southwestern sun.

On Feb. 15, Chattanooga lost a musical and artistic visionary with the passing of Shaking Ray Levi co-founder Dennis Palmer.

On Tuesday, fans of the video game "Rock Band" will face a hard truth. The music, it seems, is about to die (or at least stop).

For many 18-year-olds, receiving the first credit card offer is a rite of passage, a promise of access to adult financial resources accompanied by flattering statements of pre-approval.

Ten of its 14 tracks were recorded in just 15 hours, and it lasts only slightly longer than the average sitcom.

Normally, crowds at McKenzie Arena tend to ignore the guy on the bench, but all eyes will be riveted there Saturday, March 23, when Elton John takes the stage for his second performance there in two and a half years.

From bouldering in Little Rock City to fishing on Nickajack Lake to hang-gliding off Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga has drawn outdoor enthusiasts for years.

How many weeks you want to spend in Fiji. Which free candy bar to accept.

On Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2003, Mars came within 35 million miles of Earth — mere spitting distance, astronomically speaking, and a once-in-60,000-year occurrence.

Sitting at an easel during a group painting class at Spirited Art on Gunbarrel Road, I was faced with a crisis of artistic conscience.

To devotees, coffee is as complex as wine and as difficult to master as music. It is the rare imbibable that approaches the level of art, a beverage that deserves to be served with reverence by experienced, knowledgeable hands.

In the typical office, the greatest danger workers face is running out of coffee or putting up with tedious Muzak in the elevator.

Sunday is St. Patrick's Day. Normally, that means I would spend this space waxing poetic about how delightful it is to be a traditional Irish musician, but there are entirely too many great events happening this week for that kind of self-puffery.

There are rows of Dell laptops for browsing the Web and updating Facebook profiles, stacks of the latest Japanese manga and a big-screen TV equipped with a trio of video game consoles and dozens of titles.

According to the Chinese zodiac, 2012 was the Year of the Dragon, but after a slew of high-profile digital incursions in the last 12 months, a more apt title might be Year of the Hacker.

For generations, the Chattanooga area has been a hotbed for old-time string bands, but back in the 1930s, the city was the genre's equivalent of Motown or Nashville.

If you really want to see The Infamous Stringdusters shine, catch them after they've had a few days to fly-fish, hike or ski.

The longer you listen to music and the more widely you explore its many corners, the more you realize the form is so vast that coming up with categories to describe it is almost an art unto itself.

Even "Sesame Street" had to start somewhere.

Usually, unveiling a new generation of video game consoles is cause for celebration among gamers, who get a glimpse at the hardware that will drive evolution in the medium for years.