dining & entertainment

The University of Tennessee’s McClung Museum has orchestrated a Harmonic Convergence of beauty.

The museum has collected 50 works of art representing five major world religions — Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism — for the exhibit “Sacred Beauty: A Millennium of Sacred Art, 600-1600,” opening Saturday, Sept. 8 and continuing through Jan. 6, 2008.

Regal Riviera 8Many Knoxvillians have memories of going to the Riviera Theatre on Gay Street to see George Lazenby’s single turn as James Bond in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” or to watch Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn play games in “Charade” or even to see Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh trade barbs and kisses in “Gone With the Wind.” Now, the Regal Entertainment Group wants moviegoers to think new when they think “Riviera.”

Ordinarily, I approach heavily themed franchise restaurants with a wary eye. I don’t have a major problem with the Hard Rock Cafes and the Planet Hollywoods of the world, but I do tend to get a little cynical when large corporations try to replicate creative concepts with an assembly-line mentality.

So when I first heard of Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., a worldwide restaurant chain based entirely on one specific movie (“Forrest Gump”), I couldn’t help but sigh — while also marveling at the evil genius of this concept’s marketing potential.