Ask the Advice Goddess
I fell in love with a woman I met in an online chat room a few months ago. We write and phone each other every day. Early on, she sent me photos of herself, and she was gorgeous. Recently, she admitted that she hadn’t been completely honest with me. The photos were old, she said.…
And The Walls Came Tumbling Down
The writing on the wall can only be ignored for so long. As city leaders debate how to make new homes more affordable, local public housing developments — which few want to talk about — are crumbling. And no one knows where the money will come from to fix them. Now, in the wake of…
Stargazer
For All Signs Mars, the ancients’ god of war, is gearing up again from now through the end of the year. That is not the best of cosmic news, considering that many of our culture are entering the Christmas holiday season. When Mars makes difficult aspects in the sky, we find it harder to cooperate…
Citizen Servatius: Throwing Animals Away
It was the most horrifying thing I’d ever witnessed. My dog’s soft, plump little body hung from the jowls of a dog four times her size. It came at her out of nowhere, it seemed, sunk its teeth into the flesh of her hindquarters and whipped her tiny frame back and forth a full foot…
Kennedy Space Center
After thinking about the sculptural work of Kevin Kennedy, one can’t help but consider the tangential relationship between sculpture and photography. After all, Kennedy is a photographer who makes sculpture. At first, there seems to be no connection. However, if you think more deeply, it makes a lot of sense that a photographer might decide…
Lucy Perkins
It’s about the time of year when I usually start my Christmas shopping. I say about that time of year because it is not yet Christmas Eve, and I find that I work much better under pressure. So I’m planning out my shopping list and find myself in the same situation I find myself in…
Black Theater Cash Cow?
In numerous cities across America, from San Fran to DC, Langston Hughes’s Black Nativity has become an entrenched landmark in the Yuletide entertainment landscape. Up in St. Paul, Penumbra Theatre counts on the gospel song play for 50 percent of its annual revenues — and must rent out a spacious auditorium to accommodate the 25,000…
The Winter I Planned to Steal a Horse and Go Out West
The Queen of the West cannot be dead. Dale Evans was the stuff of dreams for little girls growing up in the 1950s, but to a child in the depressed coal-fields of West Virginia, hers was a life to yearn for. The clean-cut, happy, singing cowboys and cowgirls in the movies were a sharp contrast…
Opening The Door Themselves
It’s so easy, when you’ve not yet learned to value your history, to let it slip through your fingers like yesterday’s newspaper, into the trash for your husband to take out. Mary Kratt, author of New South Women, dug through the landfill for this one, unearthing the untold, and until now largely unknown tale of…
Media: Jay Thomas To WBT?!
Charlotte radio insiders are yapping about the rumor around town that WBT-AM is talking to former Charlotte DJ-turned-actor Jay Thomas to turn their 9am-noon slot into a syndicated radio show, dumping the embattled Dr. Laura in the process. Thomas, who was in town for media exec Stan Kaplan’s recent funeral (Thomas worked for Kaplan at…
Arts Agenda
Classical Music * Messiah The Charlotte Symphony and Oratorio Singers of Charlotte celebrate the holiday season by performing the most popular sacred work of all time: Handel’s “Messiah”. Located at First United Methodist Church, 500 N. Tryon St. Wed., Dec. 19, 7:30 p.m. $18, can order online at call 704-972-2000, log onto http://www.charlottesymphony.org or buy…
Happy Hypocrisy
Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” In verse 34 of the Gospel according to Saint Luke, these words are among the last to be spoken by Jesus of Nazareth as his life ebbed away on the cross at Golgotha. These words place forgiveness at the heart of Christianity, but it is…
Black and White
“The difference between being a chef in a country club and being in my own place is now I have to deal with health inspections and restaurant critics,” says co-owner and chef Jim Alexander of Zebra Restaurant & Wine Bar. The good news is Alexander need not worry. Recently Zebra received a 100 point rating…
Homefront Advisor
A few times since September 11, the government has issued vague warnings about terrorist threats and has asked us to be alert. What does that mean? Unfortunately, even the government doesn’t really know. A visit to the White House’s Office of Homeland Security website (www.whitehouse.gov/homeland) offers little useful information about how citizens should react to…
Bubblies: Whenever/Wherever
Sparkling wine is one of life’s simple pleasures. There ain’t nothing like watching tiny bubbles flood a tall, fluted glass and feeling the intense anticipation before you sip. If you haven’t experienced the sensation, it’s difficult to describe fizz overtaking your tongue. “Sensual” is close. So why wouldn’t everyone want to experience this everyday and…
SCENE & HERD
Barely alive at the hive: We all have our own opinions about the proposed new arena and whether or not the Hornets should stay or move, but the fact is, they’re still here, they’re playing well and it’s a shame seeing the team getting shafted by low attendance. Last Thursday (December 13) a crowd of…
GoodEats
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
Commissioners’ Brown Noses To The Editors: Re: “Lake Warriors,” by Sam Boykin (November 21). In the Palisades development question, the county commissioners had an opportunity to break from their traditional pattern. They could have made a courageous decision based on intelligence and foresight that actually looked beyond their brown noses and the next election. Instead,…
Kiss And Tell
If Gene Simmons’ new autobiography and Kiss box set reveal anything, it’s that the fire-breathing, blood-spitting Demon bassist remains unwilling to bite his considerable 8-inch tongue. Rarely humble, always blunt and consumed with a greed-is-good dedication rivaling Gordon Gekko, Simmons, 52, pounces when asked to define his band’s loyal audience. “I would say our fan…
The Blotter
* A man walked into a store at 7:30 in the morning, cell phone on belt, but by 7:35, the phone was missing. He went back into the store, where, he claims “he found that some unknown suspect had taken his phone.” How he gleaned this fact is unknown. * A woman had her purse…
Music Menu
ANTiSEEN Charlotte ain’t got a lot that’s original, but ANTiSEEN certainly fall under that category, although some of the members are scattered now. You have a Libertarian politician on guitar, and a wrestling-mad lead singer who breaks beer bottles over his head and has rather limited views on multiculturalism, folding tables, thumbtacks, rebel flags and…
Soundboard
Wednesday, Dec. 19 23 Studio/Pat’s Tavern Groove Riot Bayou Kitchen Bill Noonan Cajun Queen 7th Street Gator Band Cajun Queen, Pineville 7th Street Gator Band II Comedy Zone Jerry Farber Connolly’s Craig & Rich Dilworth Coffeehouse Open Mic w/ Bert Wray Double Door Inn QuasiMojo The Evening Muse CD Release Party: Tom Eure w/ Mike…
Christmas Cheer (And Jeer)
Considering all the money already spent by moviegoers on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Monsters, Inc. alone (half a billion bucks and counting) — and considering many folks are scrambling to complete their last minute Christmas shopping — it’s a wonder anybody still has any cash left to spend on the remainder of…
Black and White
“The difference between being a chef in a country club and being in my own place is now I have to deal with health inspections and restaurant critics,” says co-owner and chef Jim Alexander of Zebra Restaurant & Wine Bar. The good news is Alexander need not worry. Recently Zebra received a 100 point rating…
Film Clips
CURRENT RELEASES AMELIE After making his mark with the delightfully deranged films Delicatessen and City of Lost Children, French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet made the ill-fated mistake of going Hollywood by overseeing the hapless Alien: Resurrection. Amelie finds Jeunet back in his element: as the creator of enchanting, quirky comedies that, like their central characters, march…
New Year’s Eve Listings
Aqua 521 N. College St., 704-377-9962 Theme: “James Bond.” Frolic. Fire. Friction & Bond girls. Doors open at 9pm. $10 cover. Amos’ Southend 1423 S. Tryon St., 704-377-6874 Jupiter Coyote w/ Beth Wood & Cast Iron Filter. $20 advance/$25 at the door. Doors open at 8:30pm. Call for more information. Bar Charlotte (704-342-2557), Dixie’s Tavern…
How The Taliban Stole Christmas
Christmas is always a busy time of year up here in the North Pole, but this year the pressure has been just incredible. I haven’t felt this kind of stress since the Cabbage Patch Doll crisis, and I’m just counting the days until my usual post-holiday vacation in Cancun. But before I can taste the…
8 Days A Week
WEDNESDAY 19 Still flying high after their victory over UNC a few weeks back, the Davidson Wildcats take on another ACC squad, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, tonight at 7pm at the Charlotte Coliseum. For more information or tickets, call 704-522-6500. Christmas Town USA, the McAdenville light spectacular, is back and backing up traffic for…
Now the Real Work Begins
Last week’s County Commission vote approving the Palisades development didn’t put an end to this long and contentious issue. There are still many crucial details to be worked out, and the battles seem far from over. When commissioners voted 8-1 in favor of the 1,500-acre golf course development near the shores of Lake Wylie, they…
