Dirty Kitty Things
The Advice Goddess
The Urban Griot
Omar Tyree, the self-proclaimed “Urban Griot,” began planning his writing career while still an undergrad at Howard University. He wrote and self-published his first two books, Colored, On {a} White Campus and Flyy Girl, his sophomore year. From there, it was straight to the New York Times best-sellers list and a 2001 NAACP Image Award.…
Bush Vines
To understand Australia, you need to inhale it. The air is so crisp and clear that you can smell the oil scent from the eucalyptus (gum) trees and also the salt from the earth. At night this clarity allows the Milky Way to arc across the center of the sky of the southern hemisphere, right…
Blue’s Clues
Book Review
Fierce Female
Patrice Gaines’ life has been an observation in what my mama would call “learning the hard way.” She forged ahead through bad relationships that exposed her to abuse and drugs and the low self-worth that was at the core of every wrong turn she made during her early years. All of this life experience coupled…
No Compromising Feedback
Jurassic 5’s members are considered the underground superheroes of hip-hop. But to J5er Zaakir, there’s one superpower he’s not too fond of: invisibility. The subject comes up when he’s asked about the departure of J5’s longtime DJ, Cut Chemist, last year. Zaakir, who goes by Soup, says the band was amused by a recent online…
Random People
A sultry film star, a legendary drag queen, a revolutionary artist, the father of computer science and a musician who makes conch shell orchestras — wow, how’s that for a hot lineup? Type ‘n click! Monica Vitti www.monicavitti.com Vaginal Davis www.vaginaldavis.com The Cult of Marcel Duchamp www.toutfait.com Alan Turing www.turing.org.uk/turing Steve Turre www.steveturre.com
Cheap Thrills
CHARLOTTE COMICON Can you rival Unbreakable’s Elijah Price’s knowledge of superhero origins and weaknesses? If you answered YES to that question, then totally ignore this blurb because you already have your ticket. For everyone else, welcome to every comic lover’s dream (which, by the way, is no longer relegated to geeky teenage boys with no…
Yellow Gold
The closest place for Charlotte residents to get low-emission, 100-percent biodiesel (B100) is 130 miles away in Asheville. But thanks to a former Peugeot dealer, a corn furnace salesman and a few others, that’s about to change. Seven Charlotte residents have formed a cooperative business called Metrolina Biofuels to bring a public biodiesel pump to…
Stargazer
LEO The Lion (July 22 — Aug. 22) Those in co-dependent relationships are under stress now. You may be the one who has rescued ad nauseam and now you no longer have the emotional energy. Or, if you have not been handling your own baggage, your helper is totally fatigued. We each need to accept…
The Charlotte Literary Festival schedule
Presented by WTVI in association with RealEyes Bookstore More than 80 authors and 100 vendors on site, Aug. 12-13, 10 am to 6 pm. Most authors will be under one tent. Live bands (Soulganic, the Barnettes, etc.), poets, step teams, etc. Kids’ corner: boxing, storytellers, arts and crafts, and face painting. Food vendors. Please bring…
Spangled Muleteer
So there was once this cowboy who became an astronomer. Sounds crazy, no? Or like a wild juxtaposition that’s heading toward a punchline. Actually, it’s a fascinating story that Carl Sagan told in Cosmos, the PBS passkey to the universe that lingered in libraries as a best-selling book. Stan Peal checked it out in 1988…
Steely Dan
Quiet as it’s kept, quintessential Noo Yawk, cerebral, cynical “rock” band Steely Dan once did time in the Los Angeles canyon rock scene. Bandleaders Walter Becker and Donald Fagen once served as ABC staff songwriters, hired by their future producer Gary Katz in the early 1970s. Another key secret about this renowned duo named after…
Surprise, surprise
The poster for The Descent states that it comes from the same studio that brought us Saw and Hostel, and I wasn’t sure whether that was meant to be taken as a boast or a threat. But let’s not solely focus on Lions Gate, since they’re hardly the only ones sticking it to the horror…
Grape Stories
Corkscrew
Hell Hath no Fury
It’s a line to live by: “You should be polite and kind to everyone you meet, but you should also have a plan to destroy them.” Tom Iradi, a firearms expert from Eagle Rock Training Systems, uttered this gem of a quote at the first free self-defense seminar called P3 (Practical Personal Protection for Women)…
Hotel California
In popular culture, the causal relations among music, personae and prevailing social conditions are, perhaps, nowhere more complex or revealing than in the shifting tableau of Los Angeles during the 1970s. Therefore, it’s an occasion for delight that Barney Hoskyns’s new book, Hotel California, weaves a coherent and compelling narrative from the dross of a…
Memo to the Terrorists
Citizen Servatius
Devilish fun for Blanco Diablo in Britain
Salutations, fellow denizens of the night, and welcome to our newly-launched local music round-up, “Queen City Inferno.” What’s up with the sinful moniker and horn-ed imagery? Well, as the preacher man said, popular music — rock, hip-hop, salsa, country, jazz — is the devil’s music. That’s my purview, friends, so who better to deliver the…
Black & White and Read All Over
Despite the hopes of many a librarian and professor, book festivals rarely draw new readers. More likely, such events are venues where bibliophiles bump elbows with fellow travelers. A sad state of affairs, especially in an era when people shamelessly boast of the time passed since they last opened a book. For bookstore owner Darren…
Meeting at Meat Markets
Brother with a Pen
See & Do
Wednesday, August 09 The Birmingham-based quartet the Rewinds wear their Brit-pop influences like a warm and comfy sweater. There’s a distinct Byrds-tinged pop layer in their rock & roll universe. The band’s self-titled debut recording is vibrant and overflowing with oh so potent hooks and harmony; but don’t take my word for it, catch them…
All Crespi, all the time
Boomer With Attitude
Film fusion
The Chinese American Association of Charlotte in association with the Light Factory presents a night of award-winning films from Asian-American film students from New York University (NYU). The headliner is North Carolina native Sasie Sealy whose Dance Mania Fantastic won the Student Visionary Award at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival. On Saturday, Aug. 12, the…
The Blotter
STALKER SAFETY TIP: For two weeks, a woman received harassing phone calls at home and on her cell phone. She advised the gentleman caller that she didn’t want anything to do with him. Still, he calls to say pseudo-romantic things like, “I just want to hear your voice.” The situation entered another realm of creepiness…
Is the U.S.-Pakistani alliance falling apart?
Like Mel Gibson’s chances of landing the starring role in a Steven Spielberg remake of Fiddler On The Roof, Pakistan’s relationship with the US has worsened in recent weeks. The first noticeable outward sign of growing animosity between the Bush Administration and the Pakistani military dictatorship it refers to as a “long-term strategic partner” and…
Film Clips
New Releases THE NIGHT LISTENER Robin Williams returns once again to the dark side — no surprise, since in recent years his dramatic turns have consistently earned better reviews than his comedic work. The Night Listener doesn’t call on the actor to conjure up as many demons as he did in One Hour Photo and…
Bitch Sitter
Moodswing
View From The Couch
JAYNE MANSFIELD COLLECTION (1956-1958). The popularity of this 1950s icon — the blonde bombshell who occupied the level below Marilyn Monroe but far above Mamie Van Doren — is based on her appearance in only two motion pictures, meaning that the third film in a box set devoted to her cinematic heritage is going to…
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: I have an evil cousin and there’s no love lost between us. I also have a younger sister who I adore. My sister is a pretty loving accepting human and is one of the few people who seems to genuinely care for our nasty cousin. As a result, my sister mistakenly considers…
Cosmic Americana redux
Here’s some waxed canyon rock, past and present, to illuminate the LA sound story: Aretha Franklin’s newly reissued Live at Fillmore West (Atlantic) double-disc, co-produced by the late Arif Mardin and Jerry Wexler, includes such LA rock staples as Stephen Stills’ “Love the One You’re With” and David Gates’ “Make It With You.” The significant…
Singing cowboys & englishmen
He set the scene: In memory of Arthur Lee (1945-2006) This is the tall tale of two canyons, Laurel and Topanga, and a fabled segment of West Hollywood called the Sunset Strip. Two recent books — Barney Hoskyns’ Hotel California (Wiley), Michael Walker’s Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock-and-Roll’s Legendary Neighborhood (Faber & Faber);…
Summer on a Stick
Kitchen Witch
Letters to the Editor
Cruisin’ For A Bruisin’ This is in response to the Boomer With Attitude column titled “Cruise Control” (John Grooms, July 19) from a black person’s perspective. Yes, most cruisers and other kids hanging out just want to have a good time. Sadly, there is a trouble-making subgroup that ruins it for everyone else. I call…
A Poet for the People
Nikki Giovanni’s career has spanned decades, starting in 1968 when she self-published Black Feeling, Black Talk/Black Judgment. She quickly became one of the most celebrated poets of the Black Arts movement and has since written more than two dozen books of various genres including poetry, children’s stories and essays. Born in Knoxville in 1943 and…
