So fresh, so clean 

Something about the shift in seasons makes people want to change things up. Recently, my mom put my dad through "renovation hell" — his words, not mine — by updating their 35-year-old (and my childhood) home. Well, all she really did was redo the kitchen and rip out the shag carpet throughout the house to put in hardwood floors. I can now slide down the hallway Risky Business-style whenever I visit.

But, you probably don't care much about that.

What you might be interested to hear though — at least for a quick chuckle — is that our dear old governor has done some updating of his own. The Associated Press reported on Nov. 4 that the McCrory administration spent $167,000 on renovations at the North Carolina Executive Mansion — including adding bullet-resistant windows to the lower level.

Hey, at least he backed off spending $230,000 on remodeling his bathrooms.

In the spirit of keeping things fresh, we at CL have done a little updating of our own. Here are a few things to take note of as you surf through this and future issues.

• For the guy who emailed us a few years ago to say how much he loved our political cartoon This Modern World but hated that it was in the Adult Section — you're welcome. Tom Tomorrow's witty cartoon is now in our News & Views (formerly News & Culture) section, so you no longer have to explain to friends and co-workers why you, a happily married man, are perusing the massage parlor ads.

• For the ladies who are past the age of binge drinking in uncomfortable heels, have no interest in politics and/or have little time to enjoy the events we highlight in each issue because of kids, we bring you Vodka Yonic. Started in our sister paper The Nashville Scene, Vodka Yonic is the alt-weekly's version of a women's column — it's alternately humorous and poignant, and is always sharp and well-written. Some of my favorite columns include a woman's hilarious account of awkward sexting as well as another writer's honest confession of never genuinely believing in God. Since July, this column has lived exclusively online. Well, ladies (and the cool guys among you), check out the latest edition in print — and keep coming back each week for a new column.

• For the people who complain there's nothing to do in Charlotte: Y'all are crazy. Our CL Recommends section — now located right after our cover story — is chock-full of local events our writers recommend each week, from concerts to comedy shows, festivals to film screenings. But taking it a step further, we've solicited the advice of one of the city's premier event promoters, Michael Kitchen of The Sol Kitchen. Each week, he'll offer up his pick for a must-check-out event — straight from his own calendar. If you've ever been to his Wednesday night party Pop Life or a concert he's hosted, you know you can trust his judgment.

Furthermore, if you haven't noticed in the last few issues, our event listings section Happenings is back in the paper. Our thought is, if we're going to be the go-to source for arts and entertainment in Charlotte, we need to be able to tell you everything that's going on. Or at least everything we can fit in readable font on a half page or so of space.

Other News

• FILTERED: We are currently taking submissions in our first ever photo contest Filtered. We're looking for readers to wow us with their photography skills and send us images that adhere to the theme of "Old Charlotte versus New Charlotte." However you interpret the colliding worlds of the past and present of this city, we want to see it — and maybe publish that image on the cover of a future issue. Visit www.clclt.com/photocontest for more info.

Coming Soon

• JEFF HAHNE'S HOMEBREW VOL. 6: Banish those thoughts of beer — our Homebrew will instead satiate your thirst for good local music. Homebrew is our local music compilation, and while we're finalizing the list of local musicians to be featured on the album, put the release party on your calendar: Dec. 5, 8 p.m. at the Neighborhood Theatre. Performances by Amigo, Scowl Brow, Forever FC, Colby Dobbs Band and Alt-Ctrl-Sleep.

• CALL FOR FICTION: It's almost time again for our fiction contest; the winning entry gets published in a January issue of Creative Loafing. Creative writers, you may want to remember this upcoming contest as you pen your 50,000 words for National Novel Writing Month. (Except we'll only want, like, 1,000 words.)

• CALL FOR LUST LIST NOMINEES: We're not saying it's OK to be superficial, but for the next couple of months, CL staff will be on the lookout for hot folks to feature in the February return of our Lust List. Readers, we're going to want your nominations. Stay tuned for how to submit your picks for the hottest folks in Charlotte's service industry.

More details on Homebrew, CL's fiction contest and Lust List nomination form will be available soon here, on Twitter at @cl_charlotte and on Facebook.

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