Uncle Jay’s year in review
Helping little minds understand big news stories.
Hot 97’s Holiday Intern…
So, Santa gets a holiday internship at Hot 97 in New York City and things don’t go well.
Who is the Czar of the Za? Revolution vs. The Pizza Peel
Who better took the Mellow Mushrooms place? Revolution or the Pizza Peel?
Chesnutt’s death exposes our inhuman health care system
Singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt, a critically acclaimed rocking folkie from Georgia, died at age 45 on Christmas Day in Athens. Ga. Chesnutt, who was partially paralyzed from the effects of an automobile accident, had cobbled together a successful career against all odds, and was admired by many other artists. As his record label put it, “Vic…
CMS’ Gorman gets $250 grant for …?
Did someone just hire a ‘yes man’?
Random after-Christmas sales
If you have any money leftover after holiday shopping, traveling and eating, then you should hit up some of these after-Christmas sales.
Songs for New Year’s Eve?
There are plenty of songs for Christmas, but what about New Year’s Eve? Of course, there’s Auld Lang Syne… and we could even add in U2’s “New Year’s Day.” But there have to be more, right? What songs come to your mind when you think of the end/start of a year? Do we include Prince’s…
Today’s Top 5: Monday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Tonight’s Top 5, 12/28/09
Now you know you ought to be resting up for New Year’s Eve … but here’s a list of events going down tonight anyway.
Picture Bush’s reaction to Detroit incident
The way the Obama White House reacted to the failed Christmas Day attempt to blow up an airliner in Detroit shows a marked contrast to how the Cheney administration — sorry, the Bush administration — handled such things. Umar Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian man charged over the weekend with trying to destroy an airplane, claims…
CMPD’s big bash
Forget the economy, the CMPD’s partying like it’s 2007.
Super Buffet at RuSan’s on NYE
If you love Ru San’s all you can eat lunch buffet, imagine a “Super Buffet.”
Shrimp Fra Diavolo
A tried and true weekday recipe that’s got a lotta shrimp, a lotta garlic, and a little wine.
Today’s Top(less) 5: Monday
Here are the five best events to get you hot and bothered with or without a date.
Best & Worst Films of 2009
From gems that soared to turkeys that were ugly.
Tonight’s Top 5, 12/25/09
Here’s a list of the top five nightlife-related events going down tonight, Dec. 25, as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing. • Holiday Extravaganza with open bar at Tempo • Christmas Champagne Jam at Halo • Tis the Season Christmas Celebration at House of Jazz • Mistle Toe and Martinis at Kiss Lounge •…
Today’s Top(less) 5: Friday
Here are the five best events to get you hot and bothered with or without a date.
Today’s Top 5: Thursday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Weekender
Check out these events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area this weekend.
Today’s Top(less) 5: Thursday
Here are the five best events to get you hot and bothered with or without a date going down.
Film reviews in brief, part 2
Sherlock Holmes, Nine, It’s Complicated and The Young Victoria
Lil Duval’s ‘New Christmas Song’
The comedian gives his account of the holidays.
Airheads… I don’t know why
Musicians aren’t so desperate for the radio anymore.
STEM, or Stupid Thing of the Week?
It’s both! Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, overreacting to the silly ruckus over the naming of Hough High School, is taking the timid way out when it comes to naming another school. Rather than just going ahead and naming the damned thing like a normal school system does, CMS wants you to take time out of your busy…
Friedland Foundation awards three scholarships
Students from three Title I schools receive financial help for college.
Same-sex benefits for city workers?
Maybe Bill James will show up at a City Council meeting to complain. Just a week after County Commissioner James made an ass of himself — *there’s a shock — during debate over the new county policy offering same-sex partner benefits, he’s being given another chance to shine. Mayor Foxx has let it be known…
Friedland Foundation awards three scholarships
Some people talk (a lot) about what needs to be done to give area students a boost. Others — like Dr. Michael Friedland — stop talking and start doing.
Holiday-themed parties at Halo
There’s nothing like a good party to get you in the swing of the festivities that await you during the holiday season. With that in mind, Halo, the first nightclub to take over the NC Music Factory, will be hosting two holiday shindigs for your partying pleasure. “Pure Mistletoe,” an 18-and-up party, will go down…
Millions in stimulus for going green
Free money for doing what’s right.
Duke Energy to pay big bucks for pollution problem
The bonus: 35,000 fewer tons of sulfur dioxide in the air.
Burr named D.C.’s top party animal
The Sunlight Foundation, a nonpartisan group that works for transparency in government, has just unveiled their list of the “Top Congressional Partiers” for 2009. We’re so very proud to announce that North Carolina’s own Sen. Richard Burr was named Washington’s top party animal. What it means is that Burr held more parties and fundraisers with…
Tonight’s Top 5, 12/23/09
Here’s a list of the top five nightlife-related events going down tonight, Dec. 23.
Today’s Top 5: Wednesday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Today’s Top(less) 5: Wednesday
Here are the five best events to get you hot and bothered with or without a date.
AJ
favorite producer: DR
Foxx’s new job raising eyebrows
Oh boy, here we go. The revelation last week by the Business Journal that Mayor Anthony Foxx has a new job — in-house attorney for DesignLine International — is raising some eyebrows. Now that the daily paper has run a story about it, albeit a week late, you can be sure conservatives will be raising…
12 Days of YouTube with Norah Jones, Jimmy Kimmel
Jimmy Kimmel and Norah Jones celebrate the holidays… and YouTube. \\\\\\\\\\
More new jobs for the Q.C.
Santa loves us. He really loves us.
Beauty’s all about the average
Scientists actually spend time on this sorta thing.
Carolina Voices to hold auditions
Carolina Voices will hold auditions for its choirs on Jan. 5 and 7 at Myers Park Baptist Church.
Video: Jay-Z & Mr. Hudson’s “Young Forever”
Who doesn’t reminisce fondly of their younger days? Jay-Z’s new video for “Young Forever” draws images of late-night pizza and pickup basketball, understandably, Brooklyn (stereotypically), but tractors and skateboarding? Not so much. As you’re watching all it’s Bod body spray and teamwork PSA imagery of kids in black and white, people frolicking through prairies and…
‘How The Grinch Stole Kwanzaa’: A funny video
A funny video that is sure to offend.
Gift Guide: For the last minute-shoppers, go to Paper Skyscraper
Five random gifts you can find at Paper Sky
The Q.C.’s PR problem
“They” say they’re on it.
This week’s new releases (12/22/2009)
Here’s a quick list of some of the new albums hitting stores today: Mary J. Blige Stronger with Each Tear Dave Matthews Band Europe 2009 Box Set Metallica Orgullo, Passion y Gloria Box Set Mudvayne Mudvayne
Dark days for Santa
What better way is there to get your aesthetic fix than to pack the family into the car and head out to look at Christmas lights?
Tonight’s Top 5, 12/22/09
Here’s a list of the top five nightlife-related events going down tonight, Dec. 22.
Today’s Top 5: Tuesday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Today’s Top(less) 5: Tuesday
Here are the five best events to get you hot and bothered with or without a date.
THEATER: Defending The Caveman
Geico’s commercials featuring cavemen shed light on an emotional side not typically associated with Neanderthals. But the humorous production of Defending The Caveman takes emotions to a whole ‘nother level. It highlights the complicated relationships between men and women and suggests that sometimes opposite sexes just can’t “get” each other (you know, emotionally), however tightly…
The Year in Review: News
A look at 2009’s most headline-grabbing local news events
MUSIC: Clutch
An early ’90s band that’s been rocking to the present day, Clutch, will visit the Q.C. for a performance at Amos’ Southend tonight. The Maryland-based quartet’s — comprised of vocalist/guitarist Neil Fallon, guitarist Tim Sult, bassist Dan Maines, and drummer Jean-Paul “J.P.” Gaster — ninth studio album, Strange Cousins from the West, features the powerful,…
Loving and loathing the holidays
Just when it seems like I’m hitting my stride, the end of the year draws near, and I find myself saying, “I can’t believe it’s December. This year flew by.” Although this is the time that we’re supposed to be winding down, it seems like life speeds up and the to-do list grows by leaps…
MUSIC: Telepath at Neighborhood Theatre
The three piece Philly-based band, known as Telepath, delivers multi-layered groove sounds, with touches of electro and Middle-Eastern flair (Just take a listen to “Subterfuge”). The group will visit Charlotte for a performance at Neighborhood Theatre tonight. With Dubconscious. $12. 9:30 p.m. Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36th St. 704-358-9298. www.neighborhoodtheatre.com.
Discrimination, CMS style
Charlotte–Mecklenburg Schools sure has a strange definition of discrimination. To understand it, you can’t listen to what school administrators say. You’ve got to watch what they do. Take a look at the fate of three programs recently, and you’ll see it in action. Last week, construction magnate C.D. Spangler made a bizarre offer of a…
ART: Loïs Mailou Jones: A Life in Vibrant Color exhibition
Boston artist Loïs Mailou Jones touched many with the by-product of her paintbrush hitting the canvas. Her works, birthed of the late Harlem Renaissance, grew into more contemporary art with influences splattering from across the globe, including America, Africa, France and Haiti. That in mind, you don’t want to miss Mint Museum of Art’s new…
The Year in Review: Music
The top CDs of 2009 — as selected by CL‘s musical brain trust
ART: Green Rice Gallery’s Small Works Collaborative Art Show
Green Rice Gallery’s current exhibition, titled Small Works Collaborative Art Show, displays a variety of handcrafted works, including jewelry, paintings, drawings, photography, pottery, ornaments, sculptures, and more, by more than 65 artists. Be sure to check it out the next time you are in the NoDa area. Exhibition continues through Jan. 31, 2010. Wednesday-Friday, 11…
The Year in Review: Books
The most page-turning tomes of 2009
The Year in Review: Comic books
CL‘s resident comic geek picks the best titles of 2009
Bizarre crimes from Charlotte police files
Bad Programming: Police responded to a domestic disturbance and spoke with the victim outside the residence. He told officers that someone unlawfully and willfully damaged a bedroom door by throwing a TV through it. This has been happening a lot lately – ever since Jersey Shore started airing on MTV. Ninja Assassin: Last week, a…
What’s better, farm-raised salmon or wild? Are upscale restaurants serving ugly fish?
On the one hand, I want to eat farm-raised salmon because wild salmon is being depleted by overfishing. On the other hand, I hear there are all sorts of pollutants in salmon farms, and farm-raised fish are full of antibiotics. So which is better, farm-raised or wild? — Judith I’ve heard most fish served in…
Horoscope for Dec. 23-29, 2009
Capricorn The Goat (Dec. 21-Jan. 19): You may be taking a sober look at one or more relationships. Even the very closest friends cannot know each other from the inside. Sometimes we forget this fact and need to become aware that we are actually separate beings, helping when we can. Sometimes our energy is too…
Capsule reviews of films playing the week of Dec. 23
THE BLIND SIDE Precious is different in that it allows an African-American character to tell her own story, never ceding the camera to anyone else and remaining the focal point throughout. The Blind Side is more typical of the sort of racially aware films Hollywood foists upon middle America, purportedly focusing on a black protagonist…
Holiday movies to fit all demographics
So did Santa deem me a good little boy or a bad little boy this year? Hard to say. On one hand, his helpers at the Fox studio didn’t screen Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel for local press, and for that, I’m eternally grateful. On the other hand, those bastards at Fox also didn’t…
Understanding Champagne
The vibe is elusive, elegant, but not chaotic. Tiny streams of pinpoint bubbles emanating from the rounded bottom of a flute fall in line, free flowing to the top. While some may eat mac and cheese, or pints of ice cream, I find solace in Champagne. Those tiny bubbles represent a cathartic release when I’m…
Trying to ‘keep it moving’
Being a girl can have its downfalls when it comes to nightlife. Sure, we essentially get to play without having to pay … but coming from an insider to the gender, whenever you get groups of girls in a one place — there always seems to be drama of some sort. Especially in a co-ed…
MUSIC: Travis Porter at Alive
Wanna get out and do something — besides the whole church thing — on Christmas Eve? If so, Alive will be having its “Official All The Way Turnt Up Christmas Eve Bash” for those of you who like hip-hop and rap vibes. The festivities are set to feature a live performance by Travis Porter, in…
CL previews upcoming concerts (Dec. 23-28)
WEDNESDAY, DEc. 23 Josh Daniel and Friends Daniel, truly one of the nice guys in the Charlotte music scene – after a while in the quote-unquote biz you learn to truly appreciate these sorts of people – is perhaps best known for his work with The New Familiars and his one-man-band (except whilst playing live)…
HOLIDAY: Christmas Day
Halo, the first nightclub to take over the NC Music Factory, will be hosting its “Christmas Champagne Jam,” featuring $4 champagne all night long, tonight. Folks can bring a can of food and get in free — not to mention this is the perfect getaway for those of you trapped in a house full of…
The Year in Review: A Boomer’s point of view
Columnist John Groom rewinds the high and lows of 2009
Creshaye
alias: “No alias or alter ego…I like my given just fine.” inspiration: “My family, they’re my first and last teachers, and people I’ve met along my way.’ passion: “I’m a cancer (zodiac)…I’m passionate about a lot of things!!…But families, kids, good food, music, and most recently, writing (to name a few).” favorite type of music:…
