Stargazer
For All Signs Venus, goddess of love, has been retrograding since mid-October. On November 21 she turns direct, which represents a shift toward the better in the world of relationships with eventual restoration to order (if indeed, relationships can ever be considered “orderly”). Many of us have been pressed to encounter ourselves and our personal…
Look Homeward, Y’all
Despite what some folks’ reaction to the recent Creative Loafing Carolina Writers Night might lead you to believe, North Carolina is a literary state. With real writers. Who have written real books, even some which are considered classics. Some were born here. Other writers, drawn by the scenery and down-home ambience, or looking for a…
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser:My daughter is upset by me seeing my ex again after we split up 10 years ago. We were together for six to seven years before that, when both his son and my daughter were small (he’s not her dad). Our kids are in their 20s now, and we are in our 40s.…
Cox Gets Methodical
Anyone who follows the news knows that on Nov. 5, the Mecklenburg County Commission was taken over by Republicans. What they may not realize is that the commission will now be run by two successful business owners, an accountant, a businessman and a homemaker with a fiscally conservative bent, all of whom are determined to…
Commedia dell’Kushner
Maybe it’s a queer phase of the moon. Two of our young theater companies opened last Thursday night with productions of comedies by estimable playwrights — and both have odd, unexpected overlays. At the Afro-Am Cultural Center, where BareBones Theatre Group is making their valedictory appearance, the Italianate commedia dell’arte style is being layered onto…
Long May It Rain
Last Saturday was just one of those days: cold, rainy and gray. Which was perfect, as far as I was concerned. Every now and then, I love nothing better, reminding me as it does of those days in London during the war (or at least watching movies about it). Hell, rain doesn’t stop Londoners from…
Wholly Temple
It has always been a pleasure to visit Gallery WDO as much to spend time with owner Rob Williams as to look at the objects on exhibit. WDO stands for Well Designed Object, and the name hints as much at Rob’s quick-witted humor as it reveals his commitment to exhibiting exquisite contemporary crafts from around…
Letters to the editor
Democrats Doomed Perhaps a better name for this article would be “Betrayed Always.” Black people in the South have no illusions about where we stand with whites, Democratic or Republican. We will always be third class citizens that are still free slaves in the minds of many. I urge all black people to consider the…
The Divided Self
Throughout his career, Sam Shepard’s films and written work have been characterized by a quest for a satisfying identity. Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1986, Shepard has appeared in such films as The Right Stuff, The Pelican Brief, and Fool for Love, and wrote the screenplay for the latter. Over…
Ultimate Stocking Stuffer
Unlike a year ago, Atlanta Braves pitcher Kevin Millwood has great expectations this holiday season. Not only are Millwood and his wife Rena expecting their second child on Christmas Day, the Bessemer City native could lock up a long-term contract over the next couple of months. “He would love to stay in Atlanta,” says his…
Arts Agenda
Classical Music Benefit Concert Featuring Armand & Angelina. All proceeds benefit the Voices of the Children foundation. Tickets may be purchased in advance or at the door. Sat., Nov. 30, 7:15 p.m. $12 for ages 16 and up. Unity of Charlotte, 1000 Woodlawn Ave. 1-800-704-0265. Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem Charlotte Symphony Classics. Featuring the Oratorio…
Striving for Insanity
I once had an editor who looked me dead in the eye and told me I couldn’t write. If I had any talent at all, he said, he’d be able to tell by now. And besides, no one really has anything worthwhile to say about the world until they are at least 35 and actually…
Going Native
When the Pilgrims made their way to Plymouth Rock in 1620, the native residents of Massachusetts helped those Europeans settle into the land, taught them about the indigenous food, and participated with the Pilgrims in giving thanks to a higher deity for the bounty of well being. This type of hospitality was seen frequently by…
Hasta La Vista, Baby!
Several people will be pleased with this column. It’s my last one for Creative Loafing, at least for many months. My wife, Linda Brown, CL’s longest serving art critic, and I are under contract with an English publisher for a book on urban planning and design, due out in 2004 in America and Britain. With…
Wine in the Sky
Nowadays, airline travel is a pain. As I’m herded through the cattle line into coach class, I glare greedily at the smug “Platinum” or “Elite” passengers clutching their glasses of free liquor. When the chosen liquor is wine, my curiosity naturally gets piqued. But then I stop and wonder if jealousy is merited. After all,…
The Blotter
This Sucks: An altercation over a vacuuming job reached the point of police involvement at a local garage. A car owner was having some routine maintenance done on his car and asked for it to be vacuumed after it had been serviced. The car owner claims that when his car received a shoddy vacuuming by…
Good Eats
Dilworth/Southend 300 East, 300 East Blvd., 704-332-6507. Locals have long gathered at this casual neighborhood bistro in a vintage house featuring an eclectic menu. $$$ Berrybrook Farms Natural Foods, 1257 East Blvd., 704-334-6528. Homemade soups, herbed tofu sandwiches, bean burritos, and freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices found in a natural food shop. $ Comet…
News of the Weird
Crappy job:Among issues in the months-long labor-management strife at the Taronga Zoo (Sydney, Australia): Workers have resisted managers’ alleged solution for getting Kibabu the gorilla to mate (following his rejection of all females for six years now), which was to have the keepers sedate him, stimulate him manually, and collect his sperm in a container…
Getting the Drift
In April of this year, a relatively unknown little entity calling themselves Eyes Adrift rolled into town. Mind you, the members of said band weren’t unknown. There’s Curt Kirkwood, known for his body of work with the Meat Puppets. There’s Bud Gaugh, the former drummer for Sublime. And then there’s bass player Krist Novoselic, whose…
CD-Discoveries
Tori Amos Scarlet’s Walk Epic Marriage, motherhood and a last minute label change can be cathartic forces in an artist’s life and this much is evident among the lines of Amos’ newest offering. Her haunting voice and ethereal piano retain the strength of their convictions, though heavily flavored with the “casi-eighties.” The harsh bite of…
Music Menu
WEDNESDAY 11.20 Dr. Didg — Dr. Didg (aka Graham Wiggins) got his name because of his fascination with the didgeridoo and because he’s really a doctor — he earned his PhD at Oxford University. And what this educated fella has done with the traditional wind instrument is truly interesting. He’s blended a primitive sound with…
Sound Board
Wednesday, Nov. 20 Bankers Raw Bar 24-Jam-22 Cajun Queen 7th Street Gator Band Charleston Chops, Cornelius Kent Steel Coach’s Sports Bar Brandon O’Brien Connolly’s On Fifth Backyard Green Double Door Inn Interstellars The Evening Muse Laura Minor, Mike Strauss & Phyllis Tannerfrye Fat City WCRO Down w/ DJ Nemesis JB’Z The Sweaty Head Band Lynn’s…
See & Do
NOV20 – WEDNESDAY The latest installment of popular spoken word event Wordphoria happens tonight at The Visulite Theater. Hostess Jessica Deltac ushers in a new group every week, with the regulars well represented, of course. Bring yourself, an open mind, and something to write on. Open mic from 7-8pm, pre-scheduled poets from 8:30-11pm. For more…
Heavenly Creature
And Lana Turner and Jane Wyman thought they had problems. In Far From Heaven (opening Friday at the Manor), writer/director Todd Haynes’ sumptuously designed homage to the highly stylized 50s melodramas of Douglas Sirk — including the Turner vehicle Imitation of Life and Wyman’s Magnificent Obsession and All That Heaven Allows — Julianne Moore plays…
Purple Haze
One of the legends of rock & roll isn’t a musician at all but an artist named Cynthia Plaster Caster. Her claim to fame as a follower — OK, groupie — was that she cast in plaster the, um, manhood of famous and not so famous musicians and roadies, including Jimi Hendrix. The Plaster Casters…
Magical Mystery Tour
We all know about the law of diminishing returns, the one that states that movie sequels are never as good as the originals, but as with any rule, there are exceptions: The Empire Strikes Back, Aliens and The Godfather Part II are just a few of the filmic follow-ups that either equal or surpass their…
Don’t Let Your Guard Down
I distinctly remember being in high school the first time I heard the word AIDS. Tons of sex-crazed, teen-oriented movies like Porky’s, Revenge of the Nerds, The Last American Virgin, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High were being released, along with their equally successful sequels. It used to be that herpes was the most serious…
Film Clips
NEW RELEASES ALL OR NOTHING Few filmmakers craft movies as brutally honest about the hardships of everyday existence as writer-director Mike Leigh, yet for the first time, the patented blueprint that has long served him well is starting to look a bit frayed around the edges. Whereas titles like Secrets & Lies, Life Is Sweet…
