Out In The Cold
There are conflicting opinions about which great Russian realist writer observed, “We all came out from under Gogol’s ‘Overcoat.'” Could have been Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Turgenev, Fyodor Dostoevsky, or all of the above by various accounts. Likely, none of them actually mouthed the words. But they should have, and in the realm of fiction, that…
Preventing Holiday Hangover
Does this scenario sound familiar? You use credit cards to do your holiday shopping, promising yourself you’ll pay the bills off within two or three months. Six months later (or more), you’re still paying, and those items that seemed like such bargains end up costing you 10 to 20 percent more than you thought, due…
Santa Says, “Read, Dammit!”
Here is a baker’s dozen of some of our favorite books of the past year, any of which we feel would make a fine gift for the lit hound on your list. In addition to these hardbacks, we also highly recommend two novels now in paperback: White Teeth by Zadie Smith, one of the most…
New Housing Policy Proposed
A lot of people spent a lot of time hammering out the city’s proposed affordable housing policy. But in the midst of figuring out what should be built where and how $40 million in bond money should be spent, a critical detail was left undecided. That detail is who, if anyone, should be ultimately responsible…
Arts Agenda
ARTS/RELATED AFRO-AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER 401 N. Myers St. Ongoing through December 9: “HBCU Football: North Carolina Legacies.” Returning for an indefinite run: “Juke Joint,” Willie Little’s exhibition of childhood memories. For more information, call 704-374-1565. APPLEWOOD GALLERY 3920 Park Rd. On display through November 30: the works of Terry Thirlon, mixed media paintings; the works…
Sports
With Charlotte’s competition for the Hornets so marginal — at least until Louisville signs off on “The KFC Bucket” arena — it would behoove the powers that be in this town to make a serious play to retain what is likely to be this city’s only NBA franchise in our lifetime. In my opinion, here’s…
Gourmet Gift List
Need some gift ideas for the gourmands, gourmets, and oenophiles on your list? For friends who live outside the South send a ceramic Krispy Kreme coffee mug with the Krispy Kreme bowtie logo ($4.95). Krispy Kreme, whose homebase is in Winston-Salem, has become a Starbucks-like status symbol in many of the nation’s cosmopolitan areas. Even…
Citizen Servatius: Killing Off Their Own Kind
In all of nature, there’s only one animal that consistently works against its own survival, stubbornly refusing to evolve or adapt to its changing surroundings. That animal is the Christian conservative Republican. It has such a long track record of consistently killing off its own kind in statewide North Carolina politics that at least one…
Corkscrew: For The Winos On Your List
We hate to tell you this, but the holidays are lurking just around the corner, waiting to pounce on gift procrastinators (like you) who haven’t even thought about what to buy the winos in their lives. Since you can’t always depend on that red-suited-fat-guy to save your butt at holiday time, we’re here to help…
Lucy Perkins
There are some movies that appeal just to kids and not to parents (like Thomas the Always Smiling Yet Incredibly Boring Steam Engine) largely because they’re mind-bogglingly slow and elementary. Or like Pokemon, they’re just so fast-paced that parents not raised on a steady diet of MTV can’t keep up. In contrast, you have movies…
THE WINE LIST
CAROLINA WINE CLUB CLASSES Morning classes run from 10-11:30am. Evening classes run from 6:30-8pm. All classes are held at the Mint Museum of Craft + Design. Sessions include: Wine and Cheese Pairings for Everyday and Special Occasions, French vs. American Wines: A Comparison, Exploring Dessert Wines and Ports, The Three faces of Pinot; Noir, Gris…
Scene & Herd
Medeski Martin & Wood, those merry pranksters of white instrumental soul, played two smoke-free sets at Tremont Music Hall on Sunday night. Cigarette smoke-free, that is. Signs were posted informing the audience of the band’s wish for the big room to remain smoke free, but folks were lighting up the wacky tobaccy all around me,…
Good Eats
ALL AROUND TOWN ANNTONY’S CARIBBEAN 2001 E. 7th, 704-342-0749; 145 Brevard Court, 704-339-0303; 20910 Torrence Chapel Road, Cornelius, 704-894-0280. A fun, change-of-pace restaurant for a casual lunch or dinner. Limited menu features rotisserie-cooked barbecued meats, what else, Caribbean style. $ BRUEGGER’S BAGEL BAKERY All over town. Chewy bagels, crisp on the outside, and served with…
Letters to the Editor
Joke Of A Column To The Editors: This letter is in regard to the recent commentary by Lucy Perkins (“Christ! What’s Wrong With You People?” November 14). Ms. Perkins, it’s obvious that you’re one of those so-called liberals that find it amusing to blatantly state your ignorance. In your recent little writing, you tried to…
Some musical suggestions for the holidays
Everyone knows Santa doesn’t always have the best music taste in the world — I mean, why else do the guys in Mannheim Steamroller have a career? And if in fact Santa doesn’t exist (we’ve heard rumors), how can you trust Aunt Ida to know the difference between, say, Blackfoot and Black Flag? You can’t,…
The Blotter
* A man was attacked by another man who hit him in the face, tried to run him over with his car, and then threatened him. At this point, yet another man came up behind the first man and hit him in the face with a wooden stick. * Various assault incidents reported this week…
First Night In Charlotte
First Night On Earth will make their local debut with a CD Release Party at Mojo’s Restaurant & Spirits on Friday, November 30. The band features Wes Grasty (vocals/guitar), Stephen Yount (guitar), Chris London (bass), Vance Carlisle (drums) and Tina Cargill (keys, guitar, backing vocals). The CD is titled no one knows anything for sure,…
Music Menu
Bellglide Formed by former Laburnum bandmates Adam Roth, John Cates and Taylor Short, Bellglide fit into the whole Coldplay/Doves/Travis/ Spiritualized thing quite well. All three of the guys are accomplished players, as those who heard some pre-Bellglide instrumental open-mics can attest. They’re joined by someone named Slappy, of whom I know nothing about. With a…
Soundboard
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28 BAYOU KITCHEN Bill Noonan CAJUN QUEEN 7th Street Gator Band CAJUN QUEEN, PINEVILLE 7th Street Gator Band II CAT’S CRADLE, CARRBORO Beenie Man CHARLIE BROWN’S, CHARLOTTE Rob & Rob COMEDY ZONE Mike Harvey CONNOLLY’S Craig & Rich DILWORTH COFFEE HOUSE Open Mic w/ Bert Wray DOUBLE DOOR Bruce Hazel & The Noise…
DVDeals For Christmas
There’s a commercial currently playing on TV in which a guy is so excited about all the cool electronic gadgets and gizmos he’s bought himself for Christmas that he soon realizes he forgot to buy any gifts for his wife and kids. It’s an amusing ad, yet it also demonstrates the extent to which people…
Film Clips
NEW RELEASES SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK With Woody Allen’s best filmmaking days behind him, it appears that fellow New Yorker Edward Burns has elected to pick up the slack when it comes to crafting romantic fables set in the Big Apple. Sidewalks of New York frequently plays like an homage to Allen’s Annie Hall, right…
8 Days A Week
WEDNESDAY 28 The Davidson College Theater Department will open their second play of the season, Boy Gets Girl, starting tonight in the Black Box Performance Space of the Cunningham Fine Arts Building on the campus of Davidson College. The show will run tonight through Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2pm. Tickets are $4 for…
Buy humbug!
It’s holiday time again, and it’s the most wonderful time of year if you’re an upper-middle-class, Methodist mom, living in a sprawling, ranch-style house that glows like a jewel box in the snowy landscape and screams “cozy.” Your glamorous and intelligent children are rushing home for the holidays in colorful woolens from their prestigious universities.…
Stargazer
For All Signs The theme of Saturn opposite Pluto that we have experienced since summer, continues to drum. Saturn represents human time, the consequences of past actions, and human justice. Pulling from the opposite direction in Sagittarius is Pluto, planet of inevitable transformation. The theme is exaggerated at this time by the full moon in…
Homegrown Hero or Development Monster?
Last week we reported on the ongoing controversy involving The Palisades, a massive 4,150-home and golf course development proposed by Crescent Resources near the shores of Lake Wylie. Although things started out amicably enough back in 1999 when Crescent put together an environmental advisory panel to help develop the project, the situation quickly turned sour.…
Gift-Sized Art
What is the size of a gift? What determines that an original work of art is “gift-sized”? Your imagination probably helps define “gift-sized”; it’s probably smaller than a refrigerator, say, or a sofa, though this depends upon your own definition. If a new car is your idea of something gift-sized, then the concept at work…
Metrobeat
If Crescent Resources is anything, it’s prolific. Up and down the Catawba River at Lakes James, Norman and Wylie and at Mountain Island Lake, you’ll find their work. As the size and number of Crescent developments have increased over the years, so have the public’s objections. Here is a rundown of some of the most…
