Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: Being a Christian, I don’t believe in “karma,” because I know that is an idea that the Hindus use. But I do believe in the golden rule, and I do believe that I’ve made some mistakes regarding its usage. My friend Nell and I have managed to maintain a friendship like few…
YOGA, INC. Where dollars meet divinity
According to the latest polls, about 18 million Americans now practice yoga. The average yoga practitioner’s yearly expenditure on all things yoga — instruction, mats, props, clothing, weekend workshops, books, CDs — comes to ballpark $1,500, conservatively speaking. That amount, times 18 million equals $27 billion. To put that into perspective, if the yoga business…
Stargazer
For All Signs Jupiter turns direct on April 3 after a four month period of retrogradation. He is known as Zeus to the ancients, father figure to the others, and his better side symbolizes human expansiveness and spiritual wisdom. His negative qualities are ostentation, pomposity and expansion without discipline or roots. During his retrograde periods,…
The rise & fall of a Boomer Outlaw
When NC native and former Charlotte resident Edwin Dodson was interred recently in his hometown of Shelby, it marked the end of a bizarre and bittersweet journey. The story began in the early 70s when, after living in Charlotte for a few years, Dodson moved to California and opened a successful and trendy antique shop…
Play Ball
At last, another baseball season is upon us. The sports pages have finally, in recent weeks, begun jousting over the merits, or demerits, of Mike Piazza charging the mound after being bonked by Guillermo Mota in an exhibition game. Pete Rose is again begging forgiveness but admitting nothing. Happily, George Steinbrenner is back to being…
Queens In “Other” Final Four
For the second time in three years, the men’s basketball team from Charlotte’s Queens University garnered national attention as they competed in the Elite Eight (Division-II’s status equivalent to Division-I’s Final Four) in Lakeland, FL. The Royals advanced farther in post-season play than any team from the area this season, making it to the Division-II’s…
A Scream In The Dark
WAR SERIES #0111017-D657, by Marek RanisA Scream In The Dark Earlier last month, artist Marek Ranis installed eleven paintings and two vinyl floor coverings in the lobby of the Carillon building downtown. Marek removed the art a few days later on request from Shorenstein Realty Services, owners of the Carillon. Shorenstein made the decision following…
It’s A Jihad, Stupid
Somewhere in America, there’s got to be a CIA analyst who wants to bang his head against a wall every time he opens a newspaper. Somewhere, I’m convinced, there must be people who get it, who clearly see the war the United States must fight, who see the enemy multiplying and dividing while good people…
PC Pieties on Trial
Journeying less than an hour from Charlotte on I-85, my wife and I discovered an alternate theater universe in downtown Salisbury. The Meroney Theater, undergoing a lengthy process of renovation, offers a magnificent lobby and a fine balconied hall. Set and lighting design by company director Reid Leonard, for the current Spinning Into Butter, are…
Refuge of the Scoundrel
“This,” a large, angry acquaintance of mine insisted loudly, “is not what my father fought for in Vietnam! This is not what my brother is fighting for in the Persian Gulf!” She waved a sheaf of papers in my face and generally presented the appearance of an extraordinarily irate person. And I’ll be honest. At…
Arts Agenda
Classical Music Arts at the Abbey A concert by Carolina Pro Musica. Tue., April 8, 8 p.m. Free. Belmont Abbey Basilica, 100 Belmont-Mount Holly Rd., Belmont. 704-334-3468. Chatham Baroque Music from Baroque Spain and Latin America. Tue., April 8, 7:30 p.m. $15. George A. Batte Jr. Fine Arts Center, Wingate University. 704-233-8300. Ensemble Series: Chamber…
Letters
Wheeler: Let’s Share I read with fascination your “The List Issue” (Mar. 12) that included “Lynn Wheeler’s Private To Do list” by John Grooms. My, my John — you have spent a lot of ink over the years making fun of me, so much so that I am beginning to conclude that you are obsessed…
Shutting Down Restaurants close for a variety of reasons
A few weeks ago, a reader called to tell me that Restaurant Tokyo had closed. “I’ve been going there since they were in the Econo Lodge on Independence Boulevard,” the reader said with clear regret in his voice. “This is awful. They were my favorite restaurant in town.” Yoshi Shioda opened Restaurant Tokyo in 1984,…
The Blotter
Take A Walk: A man walked up to the drive-thru window of a local fast food business, tried to place an order, and was refused. The cashier told the man that he had to place his order inside and that the drive-thru was for customers in cars. The man became very angry and picked up…
A Washington State Of Mind
Quick Word Association Test: What do you think of when you hear “Washington State wine”? If nothing comes to mind, then you’re in the unfortunate majority. Unfortunate …absolutely…since you’re missing out on some really tasty, easy-priced wines. Washington State’s 200-plus wineries drip with value and quality, but the lack of buzz hasn’t created the love…
News of the Weird
Why stamps cost so much: A New York Daily News investigation revealed in March that the Postal Service has spent at least $3.6 million of stamp buyers’ money in recent years sending its inspector general staff through a series of executive conferences that featured exercises in wrapping each other in toilet paper and aluminum foil,…
Good Eats
All Around Town Anntony’s Caribbean, 400 S. Tryon St., 704-339-0303; 2001 E. 7th St., 704-342-0749. All locations have different owners. 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.…
A Correction, Of Sorts
In our March 12 issue, we noted that the Charlotte Observer had mistakenly reported that the Coffee Cup restaurant was closing. They emailed to say that they hadn’t said any such thing. Technically, they are right and we were incorrect: the words “the Coffee Cup is closing permanently” are nowhere to be found in the…
Moon Over Memphis
The lives of the members of Delta Moon have changed considerably since last October, when the Atlanta-based group graced the stage of the Double Door Inn and ended up winning the Charlotte Blues Society’s 8th Annual Blues Talent Contest. Taking first place in this competition provided the band with the opportunity to represent Charlotte in…
Taj Mahal Indian Cuisine
Eastern Parade Indian cuisine leaves you well-fed BY TRICIA CHILDRESS Heavenly scented and nearly fat-free dishes are the hallmarks of Northern Indian food. “We do not add sugar,” says owner Kumar Balvinder of his Taj Mahal Indian Cuisine. “That is the difference between Northern Indian cooking and Southern Indian cooking.”There is no one “typical” Indian…
Creativity Is Relative
Uncle TupeloDaniel Corrigan/Warner Bros. Records Like most musical pioneers, the members of Uncle Tupelo had no idea they were engaged in anything as momentous as altering rock & roll listening habits. But the alt-country founding fathers’ modest four-record catalogue is, in retrospect, the touchstone of a small but significant music revolution.The innovative evidence will be…
Music Menu
WEDNESDAY 4.2 Matador Red — A relatively new quintet here, featuring some veteran area players: Leon Daniel (formerly of Cyclone Mack), Greg Pancake, Thomas Hendley, Shannon Mims and Anje Seufert. The band has been working with Mitch Easter as of late, a producing choice that would seem to be a perfect fit for the group’s…
Soundboard
Wednesday, Apr. 2 Cajun Queen 7th Street Gator Band Comet Grill Pervis Lee & Sonya Lee Double Door Inn Major Nelson w/ Matador Red The Evening Muse Mike Strauss, Teddy Goldstein & Rosanna Lee Fairwinds Coffee Co., Cornelius Lena Mars Fat City Nathan Brown Jocks & Jills, UNCC One Year Later The Meeting House Restaurant…
See & Do
APRIL 2 . WEDNESDAY Cathy Rigby, who last wowed Charlotte with her role in the revival of Peter Pan, returns in her current musical tour, Seussical The Musical. It’s the witty world of Dr. Seuss brought to life with songs as some of your favorite characters try to bring harmony back to their world. Shows…
Movie Missives
Two things were obvious on the heels of last week’s Academy Awards telecast. First, it was clearly one of the more entertaining Oscar shows in recent memory (note to Michael Moore: God bless you. Even though the Hollywood hypocrites turned their back on you, I applaud your conviction in telling it like it is). Second,…
Dave Matthews Does Davidson
A group of Davidson students and administrators recently went all out to nab an acoustic tour featuring Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, and the school was one of only about a dozen nationwide to be selected, from a pool of hundreds. The University’s Belk Arena, however, doesn’t hold that many people, especially for concerts. If…
Head of State: Rock The Vote
HEAD OF STATE **1/2 DIRECTED BY Chris Rock STARS Chris Rock, Bernie Mac Although Mel Brooks recruited Richard Pryor to help with the screenplay for what would eventually become the 1974 comedy classic Blazing Saddles, he had intended for the rising young comic to play the leading role in the film. But the studio nixed…
War on The Wild Side
President Bush’s “Coalition of the Willing,” widely criticized for being little more than a list of B-team countries who’ve agreed to accept our bribes (Croatia, Micronesia, Latvia, etc.), got a big credibility boost last week with the addition of an impressive list of new members – namely, (true story) 2000 monkeys from Morocco, some Navy-trained…
Film Clips
NEW RELEASES BASIC The satisfaction derived from such “gotcha!” titles as Seven and The Usual Suspects is that these movies successfully take us for a perplexing ride before zapping us with a surprise ending that feels absolutely right. Conversely, many similar brain twisters have fallen flat from the start, by offering supposed plot turns that…
