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What Would Jesus [Blank]?
“What would Jesus do?” was bad enough, but when the national “What would Jesus drive?” anti-SUV campaign began, I hit my exasperation limit. Where do people get off telling others how Jesus would act, when his teachings have been subject to widely varying interpretations for centuries? What presumption! What gall! Or at least that’s what…
The BIG Santa Bummer
I learned the truth about Santa Claus at 1:57am on December 25, 1974. My parents and I lived in a three-story townhouse in Blackwood, NJ; my room was on the top floor, and the Christmas tree was in the living room on the second floor. Between the floors was an aluminum duct system that conducted…
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: My little brother wants a motorcycle for Christmas. He is 19 and one of those cool slacker kids with long hair but a perfect SAT score. I have told my parents that a motorcycle is not a good Christmas gift. I’m certain that something bad will happen if he gets it. But…
What Really Happened On Election Day
Tara Servatius’ article “Betrayed Again: Darrel Williams and the White Democrat Problem” is supposedly based on “an analysis by Creative Loafing of past election voting patterns.” We disagree with the analysis and with the resulting conclusions drawn by Servatius. As seasoned political consultants with a combined experience of nearly half a century, we dispute the…
Stargazer
For All Signs We are approaching a full moon on December 19 at 9:53am EST. Although we have a full moon every month, this one is particularly emphasized because of its relationship to anger, aggression, accidents, and consequences of past actions (karma). The previous new moon, on December 4, was eclipsed which lends weight to…
Everybody Talks About The Weather. . .
What’s the big deal, he thinks on Wednesday evening. A little sleet, a little ice, a little freezing rain. Woooo. . .freezing rain — scary! OK, so I let my distaste for things like the Weather Channel, “storm teams,” and Doppler anything steer me astray. But it’s ridiculous to spend 10 minutes on weather on…
Christmas Lit Gift Ideas
So you’ve decided to give some of your friends or family members books this Christmas. That’s the easy part; now you have to choose. You don’t want to buy those humongous coffeetable books that are popular this time of year Cousin Jim doesn’t warrant a 50 buck book, plus you want to give something that…
Big Brother At The Airport
The American public will probably never know why anyone would want a digital eye scan of Doug Stuber on record. The Secret Service agents who detained Stuber at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in October wouldn’t tell him why they refused to allow him to board a flight to Hamburg, Germany, either. But he says they were…
Card Table Gladiators
The simplest things go wrong for the elderly as they fumble their way through their final days — or they’re neatly deposited into nursing homes. Take the new Generations Theatre Group, which opened their first production at Shalom Park last week. Opening night was scheduled for last Thursday, but the Ice Storm of 2002 shut…
Small Change
When I first began telling people I was pregnant, more than a few of my friends and relatives put on their most condescending tone of voice and informed me that my life was going to change and I’d better get ready for it. Like most people, I despise being condescended to which is probably at…
Arts Agenda
Classical Music Christmas at St. Mary’s Tomm Lorenzin returns as narrator. Medieval and Renaissance music, readings and carols. Sat., Dec. 14, 7 p.m. & 8:30 p.m. $12 regular admission, $6 students/seniors. St. Mary’s Chapel, 1129 E. 3rd St. 704-334-3468. From Rags to Rap A series of musical sessions that reflect how black music has evolved…
The Blotter
Crazy Drivers: While on the roadway, one driver got a sample of what road rage is all about. After he made a left hand turn, the driver behind him, who also made a left turn, became angry and decided that it was the other driver’s fault. To show the other driver just how upset he…
The Evolution of Providence Cafe
In November 1992 Providence Cafe, owned by Harding Stowe and designed by Don Ellis, opened in Myers Park. This stunning facility brought people into the dining room to admire the exquisite design. The bar area in those early years was always packed and was “the” place to be seen. In 1992, the primary spots for…
News of the Weird
A different Ironman: Inga Kosak won the first World Extreme Ironing Championship in Munich in September, beating 80 contestants (from 10 countries), who are judged on the degree of difficulty they can create for themselves in order to iron. One ironed while bouncing on a trampoline, another while surfboarding on a river, and another hanging…
Wine Labels
Distantly related to the peep shows in the back of the alt weeklies, grabbing a furtive glimpse into ordinary people’s lives can be titillating. Take wine selecting. You can almost see the wheels churning in buyers’ minds as they peruse the endless aisles, but what makes the final decision? With this burning question in mind,…
Goodeats
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.…
True Blue
For a musician, traveling around and living in different regions of a country promotes the natural opportunity to absorb local cultures and the luxury of experimenting with many diverse styles. This serves as a schooling and education during the impressional years while honing your skills and exploring your musical interests. Although jam sessions allow the…
Music Menu
WEDNESDAY 12.11 Guns ‘N’ Roses — Guns ‘N’ Roses! Guns ‘N’ (frickin) Roses. Man. Long time, huh? So Axl still hasn’t put out the long-promised CD Chinese Democracy. He probably never will. We might even see actual Chinese democracy before the record comes out. And no Slash, either — they replaced their top-hatted guitarist with…
Soundboard
Wednesday, Dec. 11 Amos’ Southend CD Release Party: Mandorico w/ Gruv Union Austin’s on Branchview, Concord Billy Scott & The Prophets Bi-Lo Center, Greenville SC Guns ‘N’ Roses w/ CKY Bonterra Restaurant & Wine Bar Daryle Ryce Cajun Queen 7th Street Gator Band Charleston Chops, Cornelius Kent Steel Coach’s Sports Bar Brandon O’Brien Double Door…
Cinematic Christmas Catering
It’s been duly noted that stereotypes are made to be shattered, but when it comes to Christmas shopping, maybe it’s easier — and less time-consuming — to propagate them. Perhaps there is some truth to the notion that dads invariably end up with neckties under the Yuletide tree, or that rambunctious nephews find themselves saddled…
Joey and Fred’s Footsteps
Here’s a trivia question for you, and the answer is not a VIP from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools: who visits 150 schools a year and puts out a positive message wherever he goes? In the lost tradition of famous former local kids’ TV hosts, WJZY/WWWB’s Jeff Johnson follows in the footsteps of the personalities that Charlotte-area boomers…
DVD Domain
THE PRODUCERS Writer-director Mel Brooks’ first foray into feature films pushed enough envelopes that it became an instant box office success — and earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, to boot. The basis for the Broadway smash, this 1968 effort finds Zero Mostel and then-newcomer Gene Wilder (himself earning a Best Supporting…
See & Do
Dec 12 – Thursday The Gin Game was a regal vehicle for Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy when it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1978. Now D.L. Coburn’s bittersweet comedy inaugurates a new company, Generations Theatre Group, taking up residence in Shalom Park. Veteran trouper Gene Kusterer will portray the cantankerous and volatile Weller Martin.…
Film Clips
NEW RELEASES ANALYZE THAT With Robin Williams ceasing his whoring ways with the one-two punch of Insomnia and One Hour Photo, it’s now squarely Robert De Niro who’s doing his best to keep the world’s oldest profession flourishing in Hollywood. In yet another take-the-paycheck-and-run example, the once respectable actor shamelessly mugs his way through a…
Jump To It
This week the Ministry of Silly Gifts features a jumping or bouncing theme — we thought it would be appropriate since many of you spent last week jumping up and down to keep warm or to express frustration with Uncle Duke. First, we found a Musical Bouncing Snowman in The Lighter Side catalog — for…
The Two-Wheeled Path
Bill Fehr’s morning started at about 7:30am. He hopped on his bike and began his usual 10-mile commute to downtown Charlotte, where he works as a courier. He hustled onto the elevator at one of the downtown high-rises, his mind racing with the day’s hectic itinerary. Also on the elevator were a nicely dressed, middle-aged…
