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Friday, December 30, 2011
Boomer with Attitude Kasey Kahne: Douche Nozzle of the Week
Posted By John Grooms on Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 2:00 PM
A few years ago, Creative Loafing ran a cover story on the “new, young hotties of NASCAR,” featuring a profile and cover shot of driver Kasey Kahne (pronounced “Cane”). I was editor at that time, and so it’s my duty today to apologize for ever having given publicity to someone as obviously prone to douchebaggery as Kahne proved himself to be on Tuesday, when he went tweet crazy.
Kahne tweeted that he saw a mom breastfeeding in a supermarket, and that he found it “nasty.” He also tweeted, “I don’t feel like shopping anymore or eating.” The comments caused a shitstorm of replies to Kahne, including this woman's observation: “I hope someday you have a kid and someone tells your wife that feeding your child looks nasty.” Kahne The Charmer dug himself deeper into the mire, replying, “And your [sic] a dumb bitch.”
Today, Kahne is apologizing big time and all over the map, “explaining” that, of course, women have a right to breastfeed and I was out of line, blah-blah-blah, and other my-publicist-is-making-me-say-this kind of things. To which this writer says, “Grow up, you sad, hung-up jerk. The culture went through the debate on public breastfeeding some time ago, and your sixth-grade comments show how narrow your little world really is, notwithstanding your success at driving fast and turning left."
To sort-of quote the late, great Amy Winehouse, “What kind of assholery is this?”
Boomer with Attitude YouTube clip ridicules Bank of America into action
Posted By John Grooms on Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 1:49 PM
Ken and Meredith Williams of Georgia finally got a home loan, but it took a Youtube video and some creative social-media maneuvering to nudge Bank of America out of its sloth.
The couple had to draw attention to BofA’s nonchalant attitude and notorious all-around pokiness to get the bank to close on the loan, according to ThinkProgress. After waiting more than two months past the closing date a senior mortgage officer had given them, the Williamses created a music video that pokes fun at BofA, and launched a social-media campaign to give it some juice.
The bank’s own social-media team took note and finally gigged the loan people into action. The loan was closed on Dec. 16, but not before a boatload of folks had watched the video, which includes the charming lyrics, “Don’t let anybody tell you you’re too big to fail/Cause you belong in jail.”
Watch the video here:
News UPDATED: Occupy Charlotte may split following flag-burning incident at campsite Friday morning
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn on Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 1:02 PM
After four men from the Occupy Charlotte campsite on the grounds of the Old City Hall on East Trade Street were arrested last night on arson charges when they reportedly burned two American flags, a spokesperson for the group's legal team said some members had decided to splinter off into a new movement.
However, after receiving the press release below, CL talked with a member of Occupy Charlotte and learned that the group's break-up may not be imminent, after all. That member said the group plans to bring up the issue at its general assembly tonight at 7 p.m.
The legal team member, Deanna St. Aubin-Bridgwood, issued the following press release just before 1 p.m. today:
Official Press Release 12/30/11 Occupy Charlotte MovementWe, the members of the Occupy Charlotte Movement are no longer affiliated with the camp at 600 East Trade Street. In light of the recent actions taken by a few anarchistic elements that we do not want to be associated with, we are moving on from the actual Occupation site. The flag burning incident in the early morning of December 30th does not reflect the people or the message of the movement.
The Occupy Charlotte movement, among the other Occupations throughout the country, has succeeded in kicking off a national conversation regarding the universal problems facing 99% of our population. It has inspired our community to stand up against the perils of rampant income inequality and demand accountability for the wholesale purchase of our representatives in government. It has brought the realities of our nation’s corrupt corporatocracy and crony capitalism to our collective doorstep.
However, due to a message that has become stagnant and more radical, and a General Assembly that no longer reflects the voice of this movement in Charlotte, it is now time to revitalize and to move on and expand beyond the Occupation. It is time to educate and organize in order to make changes within our current political and economic systems that better reflect the voice and will of the people, beyond the confines of 600 East Trade Street.
Please join us on January 14 at 10:30 am at Dilworth Grille as we move forward.
Deanna St. Aubin-Bridgwood
Occupy Charlotte
Legal Team Liaison
Democratic National Convention 2012 Democratic National Convention 2012 Notebook: GOP contest captures headlines, Democrats take a breather
Posted By Mary C. Curtis on Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 12:23 PM
You don’t have to travel to Iowa to glean the latest on the Republican contest for the presidential nomination. GOP politicians in the Carolinas are weighing in, trying to prove their relevance before the nomination is sewed up and endorsements no longer matter. Democrats look to control the narrative, in North Carolina anyway, as preparations begin in earnest for the 2012 convention in Charlotte. But to do it, they will have to cut through the noise of the contentious GOP contest.
On Tuesday, political observers will be watching the Iowa caucuses, where a confident Mitt Romney is polling close to top contender Ron Paul and the once-surging Newt Gingrich is losing support. Rick Santorum, with an appeal to the state’s religious conservatives, is experiencing his own surge and hoping for a miracle.
Film / Film Reviews Friday Film Reviews
Posted By Matt Brunson on Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 11:00 AM
- Columbia
- Christopher Plummer and Daniel Craig in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
No new films are opening locally over the New Year's weekend. However, here are links to reviews of some of the major movies released during the year-end holiday season.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol
Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Friday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 9:25 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Dec. 30, 2011 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• A Survey of Paintings and Collages at Jerald Melberg Gallery
• Tim Kidd at The Comedy Zone Fort Mill
• Side by Side at Snug Harbor
• Rock of Ages at Belk Theater
• Overmountain Men at The Milestone Club
Thursday, December 29, 2011
News Take a hike!
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 5:55 PM
State Parks in North Carolina are working to help all of you New Year's resolution people out with your fat-melting plans. Here's the press release:
State parks in North Carolina are creating a new tradition for New Year’s Day by offering First Day Hikes on trails across the state, according to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation.First Day Hikes guided by rangers and volunteers will be held at 28 state parks. All state parks and state recreation areas will be open on the holiday with cold-weather recreation opportunities as well as warm visitor centers with exhibit halls presenting cultural and natural history.
“Connecting with the outdoors brings a sense of rejuvenation that’s especially appropriate on New Year’s Day, and state parks are the perfect place for that experience,” said Lewis Ledford, state parks director. “We would hope that exploring our natural areas on Jan. 1 will become a tradition for every citizen.”
Detailed information about scheduled hikes in North Carolina’s state parks can be found under “Education” on the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation website, www.ncparks.gov.
First Day Hikes are being promoted in North Carolina in concert with a national effort by America’s State Parks and the National Association of State Park Directors. News about hiking opportunities in all 50 states along with tips on winter hiking can be found on the America’s State Parks website, www.americasstateparks.org. The effort promotes a healthy lifestyle as well as appreciation of natural resources.
“Studies have proven that getting outdoors is one good way to relax and recharge the body, mind and spirit,” said Phil McKnelly, NASPD executive director. “We hope that hiking along a trail in a state park will become part of an individual’s or family’s regular exercise routine.”
Arts / See & Do: The Weekender Weekender, Dec. 30-31
Posted By Anita Overcash on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 5:17 PM
Check out these events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area this weekend— as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
Friday, Dec. 30
Rock of Ages
Belk Theater
Rock of Ages is pretty much what you can expect from the title: an arena-rock musical featuring some of the most popular bands and songs from the ’80s. This includes music from Journey, Styx, Pat Benatar and Poison and what would that be without a love story to tie everything — big hair, too — together?
• Music Long-established guitarist, drummer and vocalist Cedric Burnside, who learned the craft of blues playing alongside his grandfather R.L. Burnside, leads his latest combo that fires up the amps with a mix of slow-burning acoustic to rousing hill-country blues. A bit of blues-rap is also in the offing. The band is on the road plugging the new recording The Way I Am. More...
• Comedy John Wesley Austin, aka "cowboy comedian," has lassoed his funniest material and I taking to the stage of The Comedy Zone Charlotte. He’s known for picking up the guitar for parodies of familiar country songs and some originals too. Yeehaw to that! More...
Saturday, Dec. 31
Decades Disco Ball
Phoenix
Glam and glitz go hand in hand at Phoenix’s Decades Disco Ball. The dazzling New Year's Eve throwdown features performances by an entourage of glittery go-go dancers, an aerialist, stilt walkers and diva drag queen Bethann Phetamine. DJs Johnny Vicious, Andy Kastanas, Scott Weaver, Tober, Dick Tracey, Sasha Taylor and Steve Tuohy will spin through the night. Balloon drop, confetti, party favors and other surprises too.
• Nightlife 2012 is coming, even if it feels as though you're taking a blast into the past at Breakfast Club's Back to the Future Bash. The ninth annual NYE shindig features three levels of festivities, party favors, a champagne toast and confetti at midnight and, most importantly — for those who haven't quite moved forward musically — '80s and '90s dance mixes all night long. More...
Pop Culture Musto on 2011: Global economic meltdown makes Mike merry
Posted By Mark Kemp on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 1:44 PM
- Village Voice
- Musto occupies the CLog
Warning: I love the Village Voice's Michael Musto. Always have. So my CLog post today fairly beams with Musto love. And there's much to love about a man who celebrates global catastrophe.
What does a Michael Musto cover story in the Voice have to do with Charlotte? Well, glad you asked: We have occupiers, too, and they've made, to quote a dead '70s glam king, life a gas.
Replace "New York" and "Wall Street" with "Charlotte," and Musto's words here may also resonate for those of us living in the Wall Street of the South in these last days of 2011. Y'all.
New York became fun again in 2011.Thanks to a global economic meltdown! The lingering desperation in the air brought down our emotional walls, and New Yorkers became friendlier and more open than we've been in ages, most of us no longer propped up by elitism as we reached out to one another like we were having a massive midlife crisis together—in a good way.
Even better, activism replaced bottle service as we saw the rise of Occupy Wall Street, a grassroots movement hating on the corporate greed and corruption that has led to drastic social inequality, unemployment, and crappy pizza. . . .
The generation being propelled into the hopelessness of someone else's making wasn't going to take it in a prostrate position, even if incidents of police brutality and neighborhood antagonism were trying to wet-blanket the excitement. "Get a job!" yelled the idiots, forgetting that this uprising was happening because there weren't any!
Enjoy the rest of Musto's glee here.
Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Thursday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 8:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Dec. 29, 2011 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• The Night Time is the Right Time exhibit at The Light Factory
• Carrie Rodriguez at The Evening Muse
• Matrimony at Visulite Theatre
• Wine tasting and flamenco at The Wine Cellar
• Shiprocked at Snug Harbor
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Question the Queen City: The unsolved death of Delette Nycum 2
The trial that followed was nothing short of a Charlotte version of the O.J. Simpson spectacle.
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Today's Top 5: Wednesday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
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Scott Avett shares art
The one day exhibit showcases impressive new paintings by Avett.
