Stargazer
For All Signs Jupiter, planet of expansion, is within orb of the opposition to Uranus, planet of rebellion. This represents a period in which we are all subject to the desire to break free of whatever causes us to feel restricted. The need for liberation from routines may cause us to rebel now and possibly…
Home Theater
PAPER MOON (1973). A popular filmmaker in the early 70s until a string of expensive flops posthumously killed off his career, director Peter Bogdanovich had one of his biggest hits with this delightful adaptation (by Alvin Sargent) of Joe David Brown’s novel Addie Pray. Despite being in practically every scene, 10-year-old Tatum O’Neal won a…
Red Sky Gallery
Red Sky Gallery is in Phillips Place, the five-star satellite shopping destination down the road from SouthPark. This gallery is a place you want to go to buy a gift for someone very special. Unintentionally, that special someone will likely be yourself. Bring your plastic card and it will be hard to walk out empty-handed.…
Film Clips
NEW RELEASES FREAKY FRIDAY A pleasant out-of-left-field surprise, this remake of Disney’s 1977 hit (with Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster) is a treat for both kids and adults, updating the basic premise (first seen in Mary Rodgers’ book of the same name) while avoiding the common pitfall of tailoring the material to only appeal to…
Time Traveling Warrior Babes
Seeking to apply his fight choreography skills to a female combat drama, Tony Wright quickly discovered there were no existing scripts to suit his needs. So the actor/playwright, who directed last year’s slumber party version of Midsummer Night’s Dream, cooked up his own futuristic sci-fi potboiler, Alpha, now playing at the SouthEnd Performing Arts Center.The…
Why New Teachers Quit
In a post-Columbine world, what do you think of when you hear the word school? I bet you don’t imagine shiny, red apples or the hometown football team. That’s because we live in an educational era that has numbed our senses. Classrooms on wheels have created an odd landscape that brings to mind prehistoric playgrounds.…
Still Shining Bright
One thing you can say about artistic director Jennifer Sperry and her Brightstar Music Festival board of directors. They’re not afraid to fiddle with a successful formula. In its fifth year, Brightstar’s chamber concert series will stretch out over two weekends and offer four virtuosic programs.Can you remember the last time a classical string quartet…
The Hydrogen Car’s Dirty Secret
When President Bush unveiled his plans for a hydrogen-powered car in his State of the Union address in January, he proposed $1.2 billion in spending to develop a revolutionary automobile that will be “pollution-free.” The new vehicle, he declared, will rely on “a simple chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen” to power a car “producing…
CL Recommends
Hardback Ghost Riders by Sharyn McCrumb (Dutton). Much more than just another Civil War novel, this is a well told, atmospheric tale of that tragic era in the Appalachians — an area McCrumb has made her specialty. She manages to relate the intense conflicts the war caused among mountain dwellers while telling a compelling ghost…
Wet, Wild and Whipped
As we made our way ever higher into the vast wilds of the Great Smokies, I sensed her drawing near, and knew the moment was close at hand. For I had come to do battle — nay, to tame — the frothy white beast they call Nantahala. And if that didn’t work, I at least…
Arts Agenda
Classical Music American Art Song Recital Recital by Annelies Fryberger, piano, and Rebecca Ringle, mezzo-soprano. Appearances for solo piano by Kenneth Frazelle. Sat., Aug. 16, 8 p.m. No cover charge. Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte, 234 N. Sharon Amity. 704-366-8623. American Guild of Organists Recitals sponsored by Guild. August 17: Les Ackerman, Myers Park United…
Trash Talking
Jane Fraytet watched in horror last week as the contents of her recycling bin were thrown in the back of a garbage truck along with her garbage. For over three weeks, her recycling had not been picked up and paper, plastic and cardboard had begun to build up at her Arnold Drive home. “Does the…
Melting Pots
New York City merchant Charlie Sahadi observed, “We went from being an ethnic Middle Eastern store to a specialty food store featuring Middle Eastern food.” As immigrants made their way into mainstream American life, so did their food, observes Joel Denker in his back story on the international foods Americans eat. “Food is also part…
Government by Deception
There are messy-desk people and there are clean-desk people. I’m a major messy. About every six months, I am seized by a desire to Get Organized, so I start doing archaeological excavations into the midden heap on my desk. The result this time was a sort of time-lapse photography of where the country is headed.…
Birthday Wine Wishing
When cash is no object, or the occasion merits a group present, a bottle of wine from the person’s birth year makes a unique birthday offering. Perfect for the special someone whose closet is jammed with useless Brookstone gadgets, a birth year bottle screams cache. And, hey, it comes complete with a buzz. Really long-lasting…
It’s Our Party
Since I’ve been at Creative Loafing, we’ve punctuated the long and grueling process that leads up to our annual “Best Of” issue by holding a party. Some of these have been amazing — throwdowns that stopped just short of full-blown debauchery. Others have been as exciting as, say, an online bulletin board dedicated to tight-ass…
Good Eats
Dilworth/Southend 300 East, 300 East Blvd., 704-332-6507. Locals have long gathered at this casual neighborhood bistro in a vintage house featuring an eclectic menu. L, D $$$ Berrybrook Farms Natural Foods, 1257 East Blvd., 704-334-6528. Homemade soups, herbed tofu sandwiches, bean burritos, and freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices found in a natural food shop.…
Letters
Don’t Forget ECK! The omission of Eckankar from Jesse Walker’s “Inside The Spiritual Jacuzzi” (July 30) was disappointing. Eckankar teaches that the real spiritual Jacuzzi from which all religions and spiritual teachings derive is the Light & Sound of God. As the source of all love, wisdom and truth, this audible and visible wave flows…
The Color Of Music
Imagine carrying a palette of carefully chosen colors down the street, headed to your already prepared canvas. Taking in the street sights, you eventually achieve a high of inspiration. You reach your destination, stop, and smash the palette against the canvas in a classic pie in the face move. It’s unexpected, but it’s art. You…
Glossed-over Propaganda
In wartime, one of the most effective weapons of mass distraction is propaganda. The ability to sway large numbers of people over to your way of thinking makes armed conflict either possible or avoidable, depending on your needs. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the US State Department envisioned a magazine as a potential vehicle…
They Want You To Want Them
Only Cheap Trick would dare start a power pop record with a sugary sweet anthem about the inherent superiority of women. “A man can’t do what a woman can do,” Robin Zander sings, amid buzzing guitars and soaring yeah-yeah-yeahs that make the listener want to scream, “Hello Wisconsin!” The song, “Scent of a Woman,” marks…
Five Stars Are Born
I told you when South Park emerged, and I’m telling you again. A new set of stars is born, and I’m quite taken with the orchid-wielding guys of Bravo’s summer hit, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Face it: any show that has the “Traditional Values Coalition” asking its member churches to protest it has…
Spins
Yo La Tengo Summer Sun Matador The new one from Hoboken indie rock sweethearts Yo La Tengo is not only a beautiful sonic progression of their eclectic pop sound, but will also be catchy and endearing to new listeners. Husband/wife songwriting team Georgia Hubley (drums) and Ira Kaplan (guitars) along with third-wheel bassist James McNew…
The Blotter
Priorities In Order: A young man walking through an intersection heard gunshots. He began to run, but after a short distance he realized that he was shot so he stopped running and went to use a phone. Instead of calling an ambulance to take him to the hospital, he called his father to come and…
Music Menu
WEDNESDAY 8.13 Hardcore Lounge — Formed by the always eclectic ex-Cyclone Mack duo of Chris Johnson (guitar) and Leon Daniel (bass), along with former It Could Be Nothing drummer Tim Benson and Johnson’s brother Wes (vocals), Hardcore Lounge was named when a local club owner described the then-unnamed act’s music thusly. Inspiration was theirs, the…
News of the Weird
A far cry from Walt: In Largo, Fla., private school principal (and Disney fanatic) Dick Baker, 52, was under pressure in August to resign after revelations by the St. Petersburg Times that he took chosen middle-school-age girls (his “princesses”) on dozens of overnighters to the Disney World resort, during which he supplied them with Disney-themed…
See & Do
August 14 – Thursday The Charlotte Knights are back home at Knights Stadium in Fort Mill, SC, for a few games. Tonight and tomorrow, the Knights host the Indianapolis Indians, both games starting at 7:15pm. On Saturday, the first 2,000 fans receive a Mark Packer Bobblehead Doll, so be sure to get there early for…
Soundboard
Wednesday, Aug. 13 Baoding Robert Fernandez Brickhouse Tavern, Davidson Robin Brown Cajun Queen 7th Street Gator Band Cuvee Wine & Art Gallery Bixx Trio Double Door Inn Hardcore Lounge w/ Bob & Jim Johnson The Evening Muse CD Release Party: Trip Rogers Gateway Village SuperGlide Graduate, Gastonia Acoustic Jam w/ Clee & Chris Sheridan Harper’s…
Ask the Advice Goddess
Clod Is In The Details I spotted a beautiful girl on Wednesday at a local bar. To break the ice, I sent her and her girlfriends a round of drinks. She and I flirted and talked the entire evening, and I got her phone number when she left. Friday afternoon, I left her a message…
Men Of Honor
Is there another film genre as intrinsically noble as the Western? Villainy flourishes as much as in any other type of film, of course, but pound for pound, the good guys always seem larger than life — decent, down-to-earth men often in touch with themselves as much as the magnificent land that surrounds them. In…
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: A lady from a local church keeps calling me trying to make me come check out their Sunday-morning casual worship service. It’s my own fault, really; a few weeks back, I went to this potluck dinner that the church was hosting for young singles. I’m freshly divorced and looking to meet new…
Movie Missives
The Charlotte Film Society has released its fall schedule, and it contains more movies than you can shake a membership pass at. In addition to the features that will be shown September through November as part of the “Second Week/Second Chance” series, the group will also present a bonus week of movies, to be screened…
