Good Eats
All Around Town Anntony’s Caribbean, 6434-F West Sugarcreek Rd., 704-598-6863; 2001 E. 7th St., 704-342-0749. A hint of the tropics; rotisserie chicken with Jamaican jerk sauce, ribs, Paradise Island fish special, curries, and Caribbean styled greens. $$ Azteca, 116 Woodlawn Rd., 704-525-5110; 9709 Independence Blvd., 704-814-9877; 1863 W. Franklin Blvd. (Gastonia), 704-866-7574. A favorite of…
From the editor
Words can be awfully powerful.”Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care,” the Buddha once said, “for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.” At Creative Loafing, we strive to use words that are beneficial and sympathetic, not harmful or hateful. Sure, we get snarky with public officials…
Seems Like The Prankster Days Are Back Again
Seems Like The Prankster Days Are Back Again
The New Mythology of AFRO-FUTURISM
Funky Prez-O-Dent George Clinton once asked, “What is soul?” And a heavily stoned chorus howled back out of the fuzz, “I don’t know!!” Well, we black bohemians in the cradle days of the 21st century are hardly wiser: Soul might indeed be “chitlins foo yung” or a “joint rolled in toilet paper.” Perhaps the requisite…
Screw-up or PR Move?
“What did he know and when did he know it?” That’s the question several Democratic operatives were asking themselves last week after Kevin Geddings, the only worthwhile mayoral candidate they’ve had in years, bowed out of the race. Had he used local Democrats to get thousands of dollars worth of free media PR for a…
Angry Southern Martyr Complex
Angry Southern Martyr Complex
Hillbilly Pleasures
Your girlfriend split and left you her Barbie collection; now you want to whap someone upside the head. Chill, dude: do something with those spare tires lyin’ around the yard, rig yourself a hillbilly RV and you’ll be all set for your next hot date. Trailer Park Barbie www.texasdolldesigns.com/trash.html Museum of Rasslin’ www.wrestlingmuseum.com Mr. P’s…
My Toxic Life: Part I
Sleep was terrible last night. I just had the funeral dream. Again. The one I have not had in so many years. The red doors, iron bells and pallbearers who all wear my own face. This is an ugly and recurring slice of childhood psychology. Now more than ever I am wide awake, now to…
My pile
I’d be the biggest klepto of all time if not for the fact that I’m afraid of getting crapped on by the karma gods. And this is especially painful to admit since I hate the whole concept of karma. Seriously. I believe you should do good things simply because you’re a good person, not because,…
Real Life Top 5
Andrew Webster is Charlotte music booster numero uno. He’s a musician himself; host of the influential local-music show “Complex Radio” on Gaston College station WSGE (91.7 FM); and compiler of the 9-CD box set Complex Radio: Charlotte-Area Music Compilation. When he isn’t busy talking, boosting, playing and compiling box sets (ha! this guy’s always busy),…
Misdemeanor Homicide
Last month, the body of Danny Kaye Johnson was found near soccer fields in a University area park. Johnson’s anguished family is desperate for any information about who killed him, and they want to know when an arrest will be made. So the family calls Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Detective Brad Koch frequently, hoping for news of…
The Blotter
Mama Forgot Her Meds: An argument broke out between a woman and her estranged boyfriend after she arrived at her ex’s house to pick up their kids. As the fight escalated, the woman stormed outside, picked up a brick and tossed it through the rear windshield of the man’s car, causing an estimated $300 in…
Girl Power
If representations of women in comics have been skewed, representations of lesbians are doubly so. Woman-on-woman action has been just that in comic books: solely about the physical acts. In a male-dominated industry in which women are seen as sex objects, lesbians have gotten the worst roles as either peripheral characters who kill themselves (i.e.,…
Letters
Preserve U.S. Sovereignty “The New Latino South” (by Jesse James DeConto, July 6) supported a bogus land claim for Latin Americans. The article noted interesting history, no doubt. However, the fort that Capt. Juan Pardo established, and then was overrun, represented Spain and not our friends down south in Latin America. Why did Professor Stephens…
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: About 18 months ago I met “Kerry” at a friend’s going-away party. Since we both were losing a friend, we started meeting for drinks and found that we had a lot in common — despite him being 16 years older than me. He had some great stories. He had been married for…
Duran Duran
At the end of the 70s, New Wave went from referencing a style of French film to describing a new, punk-inspired pop sound. But just what the hell did it mean? According to legend, Sire Records owner Seymour Stein began using the term to separate his loud-fast punk bands like the Ramones from the evolving…
News of the Weird
News of the Weird LEAD STORY: The Jordan River, considered by believers to have been the gateway to the Garden of Eden (and by Christians to have been where Jesus was baptized), is now more than 50 percent raw sewage and agricultural runoff, according to a Middle East conservation group spokesman interviewed by Reuters in…
breaking news
McCrory Announces He’s Running for Sixth Term as MayorWill someone please find this man something else to do? President Bush Visits Belmont Textile PlantIn other news, arsonist visits site of his last fire. Will Ferrell to Make Ricky Bobby, a Movie About a NASCAR Driver, in CharlotteSpeedway, Days of Thunder, Stroker Ace, Eddie, Juwanna Mann,…
Sit & Spin
Brandi Carlile Brandi CarlileRed Inc/Columbia RecordsWhen I saw the name Brandi (with an “i”) and the cover image of a pretty girl in a Boy Scout shirt with just a tease of belly showing, I was skeptical. At best, the Indian-print blanket draped over her shoulders suggested Brandi might be a fake hippie; at worst,…
See & Do
July 20 – WednesdayThe wild costumes, nonsensical rhymes and mostly forgettable Andrew Lloyd Webber tunes are all back as CP Summer Theatre chooses Cats to close down Pease Auditorium. Cognoscenti long ago threw up their hands and surrendered to the dubious appeal of Grizabella, Rum Tum Tugger and Old Deuteronomy, so I’m dragging my wife…
Music Menu
WEDNESDAY 7.20 Duran Duran – If the new wave 80s proved anything, it was that fucked-up hairdo’s were no impediment when it came to getting laid : provided you were a musician, of course, especially if you happened to be one of the pretty boys in the British group so fond of boxer Roberto Duran…
Stargazer
For All Signs Mercury, the planet that rules communications, common business practice and travel, turns retrograde on July 22 and will remain so until Aug. 15. During this period it is best to gather data and double check facts. Contracts are better completed after the period is finished. Ideas conceived now may be discovered later…
Soundboard
Wednesday, Jul. 20 Amos’ Southend The Dragonflys feat. Rob Barraco & Jimmy Herring w/ The Driftwood Project Brickhouse Tavern, Davidson Robin B and Andy Seets Comet Grill The Relics Double Door Inn Wink Keziah & Delux Motel w/ Kellin Watson Ember Grille Kim Carper Band The Evening Muse Brian Vander Ark; Mark Ambrose w/ Mark…
Tales from the Tombs
Egyptians were the first people to leave us extensive and intact souvenirs. They were kind enough to leave behind stories of their lives written in amulets, pottery, jewelry, hieroglyphs and mummified remains. They were a “first” civilization by virtue of their penchant of collecting things. And saving things. We benefit from their stewardship. But they…
Moving With The Music
Hustle & Flow is a movie about a lot of things: poverty, the American Dream, prostitution and the music industry. These are all familiar subjects in movies, but the cinematic newbie in this film is crunk. Crunk, of course, is a subdivision of Southern hip-hop, originating in places like the movie’s setting of Memphis, Tennessee,…
Sailing With Hamlet
Feeling like your life, your universe and your favorite entertainments are just too exciting and easy to understand these days? An evening with Off-Tryon Theatre Company’s biggie-sized resurrection of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead may be just the medicine you need for your rampaging euphoria. Or maybe R&G’s pint-sized little sibling, The Hamletmachine, could tide…
Go With The Flow
Hustle & Flow earned the Audience Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and it’s easy to see why: When a filmmaker is bold enough to make a pimp his film’s protagonist and — more surprisingly — gently coerces his viewers into caring about this morally dubious character’s fate, it’s apparent that there’s real talent…
Unnecessary War,
This first-person narrative by journalist Aaron Glantz shows how the Bush administration’s strategies, if they can be called that, resulted in the current tragic mess in Iraq. Those of us who remember the Vietnam War recall such terms as “light at the end of the tunnel,” “stay the course,” “quagmire,” “credibility gap.” Administration officials and…
Film Clips
NEW RELEASES CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY Forrest Gump’s mama famously declared that “Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get.” You never know what you’re going to get with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, either, given that director Tim Burton tends to fluctuate between enfant terrible and…
Arts Agenda
Classical Music Charleston Symphony Orchestra Gospel Choir The choir will present a concert entitled “The African in American Music.” Sat., July 30, 7 p.m. Free. Friendship Memorial Baptist Church, 3301 Beatties Ford Rd. 704-392-0392. Comedy Charlotte Comedy Theater Live Improvised Comedy. Interactive, improvisational comedy similar to Whose Line Is It Anyway. Rated R. www.charlottecomedy.com. July…
28 Months Later
Twenty-eight months ago, the Bush administration sent US troops to invade Iraq, supposedly because Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, harbored terrorists, was going to attack the world with chemical weapons, etc., etc., blah blah blah. In Bush’s fratboy psyche, Saddam was a modern Hitler and we were going to kick his ass. These…
It’s About Time
As Charlotte’s number of Indian restaurants has grown and the popularity of this complex cuisine has increased, I had wondered how long it would be before a restaurateur dared to open a “fine dining” Indian restaurant in town. This restaurant would not have to be along the lines of those gorgeous lavish emporiums of Danny…
North Carolina Troops Killed in Iraq
Thirty-five soldiers who called North Carolina home have lost their lives in the war in Iraq. We have listed them here alphabetically by hometown, followed by their names, rank and the date they died.Aberdeen Voss, Michael Staff Sergeant 08-Oct-2004Apex Tosto, Michael L. Sergeant 17-Jun-2003Ayden Murray, Rodney A. Sergeant 09-May-2004Chapel Hill Beard, Bradley S. Specialist 14-Oct-2004Charlotte…
Women and Company
A few weeks ago, I wrote about those chefs the culinary community considered to be Charlotte’s best. No woman appeared on that list. However, Charlotte has a growing list of female restaurateurs who have made a successful go in a business with a notorious failure rate. Many of these places have become landmark spots around…
U.S. Fatalities After Iraq War’s So-Called Turning Points
As of July 14, 2005: US Fatalities from beginning of the war to the fall of Baghdad (“Mission Accomplished”), May 1, 2003: 139 US deaths since the fall of Baghdad: 1,699Hostile US deaths since the fall of Baghdad: 1,253US deaths since July 2, 2003 (when Pres. Bush announced, “Bring em on”): 1,551US deaths since December…
Look Over Here!
My friend used to produce obnoxious car commercials; the ones with hyper, macho music and the screeching guy who sounded constipated. Although it pained this budding artist to squander his creativity on annoying 30-second radio spots, the commercials apparently sold cars. Just like the little annoying “shelf talkers” at wine shops – those tags that…
When HIV comes home
It wasn’t until her seventh bout of chicken pox that Lorraine Mitchell discovered what was really wrong. In a six-by-eight-foot room, a doctor eyed her curiously and broke the news: She was HIV-positive.Mitchell still remembers what the hallway outside looked like, 12 years, four months and 22 days later. She remembers the smells, the doctor’s…
