Jan 29 – Feb 4, 2014

Jan 29 - Feb 4, 2014 / Vol. 27 / No. 49

Cover Story

Madam C.J. Walker: She had a dream

Despite conventional wisdom, Madam C.J. Walker did not invent the straightening comb. The woman who started life as Sarah Breedlove of Louisiana — the first child in her family born into freedom, in 1867 — earned fame and fortune through ingenuity, innovation and hard work. Despite hard times and loss, Walker is regarded as America’s…

Mary C. Curtis

The Mountaintop details MLK’s last hours

As Martin Luther King famously told a strike-weary crowd of Memphis sanitation workers, he had seen the Promised Land. But true to what the civil rights champion said a moment later — “I might not get there with you” — he was gunned down outside his room at the Lorraine Motel the following night, April…

Perry Tannenbaum

Singing backup for Lou Christie

Although it may say something deeply disturbing about me, ever since I was little, I liked guys with high voices. Frankie Valli may have been the first man I heard suddenly shoot up into a wonderfully-startling falsetto, allowing me to intuitively understand that walking like a man and singing like a woman were not paradoxical…

Peter Gerstenzang

Bizarre crimes from Charlotte police files (Jan. 30)

For Protection: Two men were arrested in south Charlotte after police arrived on the scene of a fight while it was still happening. Police reported that one of the men held a firearm during the entire fight, even pointing it at the other man’s head while police were there. Sleeping In: A 37-year-old man regrets…

Ryan Pitkin

Labor Day: Holiday weakened

LABOR DAY ** DIRECTED BY Jason Reitman STARS Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin With just four films, Jason Reitman established himself as a director who was interested in original and offbeat material, teaming with scripter Diablo Cody to make Juno and Young Adult and taking it upon himself to adapt the novels Thank You for Smoking…

Matt Brunson

Weekly horoscope (Jan. 31-Feb. 6)

For All Signs: The planets Jupiter and Pluto are opposed across the signs of Cancer and Capricorn. This opposition has been in effect since last summer and will continue through this June. It is exact on Jan. 31 and will be so again in April. This transit has a bright side and a dark side.…

Vivian Carol

The Orwells’ late-night love

Singer Mario Cuomo looked a little bit out of it. He stumbled over a speaker, thrust his hips into the air while writhing around on the floor and made his way to a couch where he took a few deep breaths. Guitarist Matt O’Keefe, in the intensity of the song’s final notes, broke all of…

Jeff Hahne

Jake Shimabukuro’s mortal instrument

These days, it’s not uncommon for a musician’s career — or some silly new fad — to take off from YouTube. But back in 2005 when the website first launched, the pools of talent being discovered online shocked the masses. Hawaii native and ukulele master Jake Shimabukuro was one of those musicians whose early live…

Anita Overcash

Plainly speaking: Nan and Byron’s

Think “farmer” and undoubtedly the image of a rigid man holding a pitchfork standing next to a dour younger woman in front of a small wooden house pops up. Arguably, Grant Wood’s “American Gothic” is one of the most recognizable paintings of the last millennium. This American painting has come to symbolize the country’s farm…

Tricia Childress

Higher taxes for you, refunds for Richie Rich

Welcome to a new episode of Ask Boomer With Attitude, where readers ask questions, or I make up reader questions, or both. Enjoy! Dear BWA: You recently wrote: “You know your state taxes are going up, right?” I thought the General Assembly passed a big tax cut. — Hoping for a refund Dear Hoping: It…

John Grooms

Walgreens bid threatens Krazy Fish

First, a developer threatened to buy out the Thirsty Beaver’s land owner, presumably to build apartments. Now, another Plaza-Midwood favorite is facing possible extinction. Krazy Fish owner George Prisco says Walgreens has offered to buy the land the quirky restaurant occupies from owner Bobbye Howell. Howell has told Prisco that she would sell to him…

Ana McKenzie

Local Love: John and Wes

Name of the couple: John, 36, and Wes Sherry, 39 Date: Dec. 7, 2013 (the fifth anniversary of their first date) Venue: Mint Museum Uptown Attending: 100 people What were you trying to accomplish on your special day? Wes: It may be the goal of some weddings to be unconventional. For us, we wanted to…

Kimberly Lawson

Scars of love

Love hurts. Just ask Mark Kotula. “It feels like taking a hot bacon-grease shower with a 9-volt battery attached to your dick.” That’s how the artist at NoDa’s 510 Tattoos describes the process he recently endured to remove the small diamond he and his ex-wife got tattooed on their ring fingers during their marriage. The…

Ana McKenzie

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