STARGAZER
For All Signs On April 12 Mercury moves into its “preview shadow” pattern. As a planet goes retrograde, it appears to slow its motion to a point of full stop, after which it seems to go backward from the earth’s point of view. Mercury will not be officially retrograde until the 26th, but as it…
Film Clips
NEW RELEASES ANGER MANAGEMENT After delivering subtle, shaded performances in The Pledge and About Schmidt, Jack Nicholson reverts back to his familiar “wild and crazy guy” persona in Anger Management — yet that’s not a bad thing. Nicholson gamely gets into the swing of the satire as Buddy Rydell, an unorthodox therapist whose methods threaten…
Fox In The Henhouse
So, how goes journalistic objectivity in this brave new war? During a March 27 protest in New York, the ticker on Fox News’ Sixth Avenue headquarters jeered down at anti-war demonstrators below: “War protester auditions here today. . .thanks for coming!”, “Who won your right to show up here today?”, “How do you keep a…
War– The Ultimate Reality TV Show
Soldier Charles Horgan, after a bomb had blown part of his right heel off in Operation Iraqi Freedom: “I looked down and saw I had my legs and I was pretty happy about that,” Horgan said. “It was just like in the movies.” What isn’t like the movies, according to Horgan and other soldiers, is…
A Stammering Moor
For sustained tension, rich exotic lyricism, and diabolical wit, no Shakespearean tragedy pleases me more than Othello. Yet until last year, no homegrown production of the classic script had appeared in Charlotte during the Loaf Era. Even up in High Point, home of the NC Shakespeare Festival, The Moor of Venice hasn’t been seen since…
Guilt trip
Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. I skipped going to the symphony to watch Blade II and 40 minutes of Joe Millionaire. I ate two Slim Jims and an entire bag of salt “n’ vinegar potato chips for dinner. I played Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for more than an hour, but at least…
Miracle Whipped
When a newborn multi-million dollar theatre property arrives on Broadway, stern gatekeepers from the press corps lie in wait to render judgment — in reviews that often determine whether the creature thrives or perishes in the cradle. For the recent Charlotte Rep revival of The Miracle Worker, slated to begin Broadway previews on April 8,…
Missing War News
Big surprise: reporting on the war in Iraq varies from country to country — and sometimes within the same country. In our age, when slick PR methods are used to prop up governments and regimes that are otherwise backward, it pays to doublecheck what you’re being told whether you’re in Iraq, Egypt, the US, or…
Bizarre Island Mishmash
Robert Stone’s latest novel — only his seventh in 40 years — began life as a short story titled “Dominion” in the December 27, 1999, issue of the New Yorker. It described a day in the life of a college English professor who goes deer hunting with two colleagues. What he experiences in the wilderness…
Who Stole the Stratton Kids?
There’s a reason I call my voicemail at Creative Loafing the “fruit and nut line.” At one point or another, every fruit and nut in town has recorded a rant or rave on it. I have a very simple formula for deciding who to take seriously: if more than two governmental agencies are involved in…
Arts Agenda
Classical Music Ensemble Series: Chamber Singers & Jazz Voices Two vocal ensembles present a concert of contrasting styles of vocal music. Tue., April 15, 8 p.m. Free. Barnes Recital Hall, Winthrop U, Rock Hill. 803-323-2108. Israel in Egypt The North Carolina School of the Arts Symphony Orchestra, NCSA Cantata Singers and the Winston-Salem Symphony Chorale…
Shocked And Awed
“I have seen enough to know I have seen too much.” That was a line from the movie A League of Their Own, after the dramatic final game of a women’s baseball championship. It perfectly describes how I (and, I suspect, many of you) have been feeling in the days since March 19 when the…
Eastern Parade
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 cuisine. India is a vast country with multiple regional culinary…
The Blotter
One Big Mess: A woman had been called 300 times at her home and on her cell phone by the same guy. Then the harasser said, “Wait till you get home and see your condo.” When she got home she saw that the man had entered the patio of the woman’s condominium, broken two lanterns,…
Black Oak Grille
ADAM’S 7th STREET MARKET New York Style Deli First true New York Deli in Charlotte. Voted best lunch by a celebrity. Breakfast served until 11am everyday. Hot lunch specials Monday – Friday, 11am – 2pm. Sandwiches made your way or select one of our 17 signature sandwiches. We also feature over 15 homemade salads to…
Letters
Shame On CL Your article (“Charlotte’s Top 15 Drunk Drivers,” by Tara Servatius, Mar. 26) demonstrates an inadequacy of our law enforcement and criminal justice systems in regard to drunk drivers, and the difficulty of rehabilitation for those who are alcoholic. Your statement in the article, “Whatever the case, the majority of our “winners’ show…
Carolina Wine
Perhaps in 2025, we will all look back on the fledging North Carolina wine industry in the early 2000s and wish we knew now what we will know then. But for now, the wine industry in our state has annual sales of $25 million and ranks 10th nationally in wine production.A Guide to North Carolina…
News of the Weird
The forgotten: Scientists at the University of Southern California will soon begin testing an artificial brain prosthesis (a silicon chip that mimics the hippocampus), which, if successful, can help people who cannot store future and recent memories of their experiences. One problem with the project (according to a March story in New Scientist): Subjects might…
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.…
Yep, another award
Tara Servatius, Creative Loafing reporter and columnist, won an award in the Southeast’s most competitive journalism contest. The Green Eyeshade Awards are given annually by the Society of Professional Journalists for articles and broadcast segments deemed by judges as the best in the previous calendar year in states from Virginia to Louisiana. Winners were announced…
Crue Cuts
Moby, the earnest if flaky master of vegan electronica, found it amusing a few years ago to tell interviewers how he had recently discovered a pop-culture relic from 1983. It was Motley Crue’s Shout at the Devil album, which sold several million copies and, in essence, unwittingly became the linchpin for VH1’s Behind the Music,…
Correction
In Sam Boykin’s April 2 story about Eddie Dodson, “The Rise & Fall of a Boomer Outlaw,” we understated the number of banks Dodson robbed. Don’t worry, the former Charlotte resident is still the most prolific bank robber in history; it’s just that he robbed a total of 72 banks — not 64 as we…
Soldiering On
A group of concerned Charlotte musicians and artists are banding together to put on a large-scale multi-media event, War Charlotte: Life in a Nameless Decade, April 11 and 12 at the Steeple Lounge. Described as “an assault the artists have waged on their own apathy and non-involvement,” the event features visual art, music, performance art…
Music Menu
WEDNESDAY 4.9 Bluestring — The accent in this melodic rock band from Athens, GA, is on percussion and horns squirming in and out of the rhythm. They’re a jam band with jazzy overtones on funk beats layered over roots-based music. Initial listens may make you turn the dial or reach for the remote, but they’ll…
Rank Punk Amateurs
Last week, we here at the stately CL compound received a press release, from the Charlotte Area Transit System. Normally, we’d scan the press release for any usable news and then ball it up to prep for a nice game of wastepaper basketball. However, it turns out they were having something called a Bus Roadeo,…
Soundboard
Wednesday, Apr. 9 Cajun Queen 7th Street Gator Band CPCC North Campus Hipshack Double Door Inn Joan’s Inn The Evening Muse Chris Cook, Tome Eure & Dean Fields Fairwinds Coffee Co., Cornelius Lena Mars Fat City Bluestring Hickory Tavern Meet Mary Ann Jocks & Jills, UNCC Five Against One Mama Mia Too at the Holbrook…
See & Do
APRIL 9 WEDNESDAY The eighth annual Taste of the Nation will take place today in Wachovia Atrium. The event, a fundraising project of Share Our Strength, raises funds for organizations fighting hunger and poverty in the Charlotte area. Over 30 area restaurants, food suppliers and wineries are supplying the food and drink to accompany the…
Child’s Play
Film: EMMA’S GIFTS Synopsis: Emma’s Gifts is a documentary that centers on Emma Corrigan, a little girl who was born with Down syndrome, and the various ways in which her family — mom Mitzi, dad Michael, and twin sister Abigale — have not only educated themselves (and others) about the child’s condition but have also…
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: My life has been, well, rough lately. I’ve grown sick of hanging out with these larger-than-life characters. I usually shrink into their shadows and bask in their limelight. After a while, it just gets boring always playing second fiddle to someone else’s ego. I decided to strike out on my own. I…
Getting Their Kicks
BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM DIRECTED BY Gurinder Chadha STARS Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley You don’t need one whole hand to count the number of American movies that have centered on women’s soccer — a single cuticle will do just fine. The lone example that comes to mind is 1992’s Ladybugs, a dismal comedy that found…
